Author: Badalian Vardan

Czech News Agency (CTK)
June 11, 2005
Czech state attorney travels to Armenia to question witnesses
PRAGUE (CTK)
The state attorney in charge of the case of a 24-member organised
criminal group which has been charged with tax evasion involving
millions of crowns, and a police officer, have recently traveled to
Armenia to question witnesses.
“We have obtained important evidence there which can be used in a
court,” state attorney Vlastimil Rampula from the serious economic
crime office told CTK.
Police have charged 23 men and one woman of having deprived the Czech
state of 75 million crowns in unpaid taxes. Their criminal activities
were connected with imports and exports of goods. Most of the 24
defendants face between five and 12 years in prison. Apart from 18
Czechs and one German woman, two Armenians, one person without
citizenship, two Czechs of Armenian nationality and one Russian
national are being prosecuted.
The state attorney asked Armenian authorities to question five
Armenian witnesses, alleged importers of goods from the Czech
Republic, as part of international legal assistance.
“We wanted to attend the questioning also to be able to ask
additional questions and thus prevent the questioning from being
repeated,” Rampula said.
The Armenian authorities showed a very accommodating stance and even
allowed the defence lawyers of the accused to be present at the
questioning, contrary to their legal practice.
In Armenia, the defence lawyer has no right to be present at the
police interrogation, Rampula said, adding that he had also asked
Lithuania for legal assistance and intended to travel there as well.
According to the police, the criminal group organised fictitious
transactions with goods worth hundreds of thousands of crowns in the
past few years, depriving the Czech state of millions of crowns.
By busting the group, police prevented further transactions from
being implemented which would result in an additional 19-
million-crown tax evasion.
Rampula has frozen the property of four of the accused and said that
he expectd the court to expropriate property of all the defendants
given the damage they caused to the state.

BAKU: EGYPT TO FURTHER SUPPORT AZERBAIJAN IN ISSUE OF NAGORNY KARABAKH
YEREVAN, JUNE 10. ARMINFO. Egypt recognizes the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan and will further support Azerbaijan’s efforts in
settlement of Karabakh conflict. Officials of Egypt made such
statement at a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan
Khalaf Khalafov, who was in Cairo on a working visit June 5-8, the
525th newspaper reports.
According to the source, the Azerbaijani diplomat met with Egyptian
foreign minister, the presidential advisor for foreign policy,
Secretary General of the League of Arab States and the minister for
foreign cooperation, as well as the co-chairwoman of the
Azerbaijani-Egyptian Inter-governmental Commission for Economic and
Scientific-and Technical Cooperation. The sides discussed development
of cooperation of Azerbaijan and the League of Arab States as well as
exchanged opinions on the strategic projects in the regions of Middle
East and the South Caucasus.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 11, 2005 Saturday 9:40 AM Eastern Time
Moscow-based tycoon advocates for liberation of Armenian pilots
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
The liberation of Armenian pilots in Equatorial Guinea proves of
effective and fruitful cooperation between Armenia and the Armenian
community abroad, said Ara Abramyan, chairman of the World Armenian
Congress.
Abramyan, who played a key role in the liberation of Armenian pilots,
said on Saturday, “This is an example of effective and fruitful
cooperation between Armenia and the Armenian community abroad.”
Earlier in the day, the pilots returned home.
The entrepreneur noted that Armenia and the Foreign Ministry worked
hard. He recalled that Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan “visited
Equatorial Guinea. Officials of the Foreign Ministry had been
visiting the country seven times.”
Chief pilot Ashot Karapetyan said the crew felt the support provided
by the Armenian leadership. He thanked the people, the president, the
government, the Foreign Ministry and His Holiness Catholicos Garegin
II for their care and participation in the liberation of pilots.
He said the crew turned to be an instrument in the hands of different
forces in Equatorial Guinea and outside it. “There is no evidence
that we’re guilty,” the pilot said.
The six Armenians, chief pilot Ashot Karapetyan, first officer Samvel
Darbinyan, navigator Samvel Machkalyan, mechanics Razmik Khachatryan
and Suren Muradyan, and engineer Ashot Simonyan, are the aircrew of
an Armenian transport plane that was hired by a German airfreight
company over a year ago to ship cargo to the oil-rich nation. They
were arrested in March 2004 and sentenced to between 14 and 24 years’
imprisonment on November 26 along with a group of South African
nationals on charges of involvement in a reported plot to topple
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema.
The pilots, backed by the Armenian government and their German
employer, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Amnesty International
condemned their trial as “grossly unfair.”

SwissInfo Deutsch
10 juni 2005
Neue Irritationen zwischen der Türkei und der Schweiz

ISTANBUL/BERN – Die Verstimmungen zwischen der Türkei und der Schweiz
ziehen weitere Kreise. Wie die türkische Presse berichtete, wurden
geplante Besuche von Bundesrat Deiss in der Türkei und des türkischen
Handelsministers in der Schweiz abgesagt.
Nach Berichten der türkischen Tageszeitungen “Radikal” und “Milliyet”
sagte der türkische Handelsminister Kürsad Tüzmen seine Teilnahme am
“Swiss-Turkish-Business-Council” (STBC) ab. Dieses sollte vom 22. bis
24. Juni in Zürich stattfinden.
Das Treffen sei bereits vor einem Monat auf unbestimmte Zeit
verschoben worden, bestätigten die STBC und der Sprecher des
türkischen Handelsministers gegenüber der Nachrichtenagentur sda.
Nach Angaben von Manuel Sager, Sprecher im Eidg.
Volkswirtschaftsdepartement (EVD), annulierte die türkische Seite
gleichzeitig auch das für dieses Datum geplante Arbeitsessen mit
Wirtschaftsminister Joseph Deiss “wegen Terminproblemen”.
Die türkischen Zeitungen “Radikal” und “Milliyet” berichteten weiter,
Wirtschaftsminister Joseph Deiss habe im Gegenzug einen für September
geplanten Gegenbesuch in der Türkei abgesagt. Im Eidg.
Volkswirtschaftsdepartement (EVD) hiess es dazu lediglich, der Besuch
von Deiss im September sei von türkischer Seite nicht bestätigt.
Die türkische Botschaft in Bern wusste nichts von einer Absage. Der
Besuch von Deiss in der Türkei sei nach wie vor für diesen Herbst
geplant, sagte Presse-Attaché Sibel Gal.
Handelsminister Tüzmen begründete seine Absage mit den
Vorermittlungen der Justiz in Winterthur gegen den türkischen
Historiker Yusuf Halacoglu. Der Historiker soll bei seiner Rede den
Völkermord an den Armeniern verharmlost und damit das
Anti-Rassismus-Gesetz verletzt haben.
Trotz der jüngsten Spannungen soll nun am Montag eine türkische
Parlamentarier-Delegation für eine Woche in die Schweiz reisen.
Gemäss Paolo Janke, Sekretär der Aussenpolitischen Kommission (APK),
wird der Besuch wie vorgesehen stattfinden. Geplant sind unter
anderem Treffen mit den Ratspräsidenten und den Bundesräten Micheline
Calmy-Rey und Deiss.

The Mountain Press, TN
June 11 2005
Absence of policies makes it hard to speak about Iraq

The most frequent and difficult question asked of me since returning
from Iraq has been: “What positive or helpful news can you tell us
about the mess in Iraq?”
The answer that the 2/278th, the “Tennessee Peacemakers,” is doing a
marvelous job preparing their area for transfer to Iraqis’
responsibility for security does not seem to satisfy the questioners.
One reason that makes it hard to speak positively about progress in
Iraq is the absence of stated long-term American policies for the
Middle East and western Asia.
The Kurds may offer a partial answer of hope. United for the first
time, the Kurds have enjoyed nearly 15 years of semi-autonomy. They
owe that respite from oppression to the U.S. and acknowledge it
gratefully. Most Kurds would like a long-term partnership with the
U.S.
One possible positive outcome of America’s invasion and occupation of
Iraq could be a secure, long-term air base in Kurdistan. Turkey could
terminate our high-rent bases at any time, especially if fanatic
religious parties gain the few more votes they need to control the
Turkish parliament. In any case, U.S. airbases in Turkey are
positioned against Russia, not for controlling the petroleum Middle
East or Western Asia.
If you listen carefully to U.S. government claims about the
importance of Iraq, you hear “central” emphasized. Iraq is not
central to the Arab world. Iraq is the Arabs’ border with Farsi
(Indo-European) speaking Iran and Turkish (Turko-Ugaritic) speaking
Asia Minor (Turkey). Egypt’s population is four times Iraq’s.
For the past seven centuries, Egypt and Syria have been culturally
and politically more central to the Arabs than Iraq. Economically,
Arabia and the Gulf eclipse the rest of the Arab world. The only way
Iraq could be considered central would be strategically if the U.S.
plans to be a new imperialist power in western Asia and the Middle
East.
An air base in Kurdistan (northern Iraq today) could dominate as far
east as Pakistan and Afghanistan and as far north as Uzbekistan where
the U.S. has a temporary base. It would put Turkmenistan well within
range. It was Turkmenistan’s natural gas and oil that took the USSR
into Afghanistan and the U.S. and our mercenary Muslims – the
Mujahidiin – there to get the Communists out. Turkmenistan may be a
more pressing reason for the U.S. return to Afghanistan than Osama
bin Laden.
While the west dickers with Iraq, China may pre-empt access to
Turkmenistan’s gas and oil, a key to 21st century power.
An air base in Kurdistan could dominate Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia
and our present Turkish allies as well as everywhere in the Arab
world from the Nile eastward. It would be especially protective for
America’s clients: Israel and the Sauds. If the United States aspires
to be a new imperialist power, then northern Iraq, Kurdistan, is
central.
– Graham Leonard, of Johnson City, went to Iraq as an embedded
journalist with the 2/278th.

Neue Zürcher Zeitung
10. Juni 2005
Türkischer Handelsminister sagt Reise in die Schweiz ab
Ankara/Bern, 9. Juni. (ap) Der türkische Handelsminister Kursad
Tuzmen hat eine Reise in die Schweiz auf unbestimmte Zeit verschoben.
Nach Angaben der Nachrichtenagentur Anatolia wollte Tuzmen Ende Juni
ein türkisch-schweizerisches Handelsforum besuchen.
Aus Protest gegen das in der Schweiz laufende Strafverfahren gegen
den türkischen Historiker Yusuf Halacoglu hat er die Reise abgesagt.
Gegen diesen läuft seit 2004 in Winterthur ein Strafverfahren wegen
Verdachts auf Verletzung der Rassismusstrafnorm. Laut Medienberichten
soll der Präsident der Türkischen Historischen Gesellschaft in einer
Rede in der Schweiz den Völkermord an Armeniern von 1915 geleugnet
haben. Wie die Nachrichtenagentur Anatolia weiter schreibt, wird
Bundesrat Joseph Deiss die Türkei im September dieses Jahres
ebenfalls nicht wie vorgesehen besuchen. Im Eidgenössischen
Volkswirtschaftsdepartement bestätigte Sprecher Manuel Sager auf
Anfrage lediglich, dass von einer Reise von Deiss in die Türkei die
Rede gewesen sei. Diese sei jedoch bisher von türkischer Seite nicht
bestätigt worden.

Newropeans Magazine
June 8 2005
Turkey legalizes the Denial of the Armenian Genocide – 3rd Part –

Written by Houry Mayissian
Wednesday, 08 June 2005
90 years have passed since Ottoman Turkey committed genocide against
its Christian Armenian subjects in 1915. Although several parliaments
have recognized the Armenian Genocide and many historians have
established that it is a historical fact, the Turkish government
still refuses to acknowledge it. It has, in the past 90 years,
implemented several methods to deny the genocide ever happened. The
latest of these measures was the recent criminalization of the
acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide in the new Turkish Penal
Code, which took effect on June 1.
On 4th October 2004, the office of US Congressman Frank Pallone
(D-NJ), who also is the co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues, informed in a press release that the congressman had
urged the State Department to condemn article 305 of the Penal Code
(1). The congressman wrote a letter to the Secretary of State, Colin
Powell, urging him to condemn the article and pointing out that its
adoption is `an imprudent step on the part of a nation that is
desperately trying to establish an image of having a free and
democratic society.’
Given that the new penal code was adopted by demands from the
European Union and considered `one of the key elements in the
country’s bid to start membership negotiations with the European
Union'(2), The European Union also made references to article 305 in
several reports on Turkey’s membership.
On 30th November 2004, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European
Parliament adopted a proposal for a resolution on the `2004 regular
report and the recommendation of the European Commission on Turkey’s
progress towards accession’. In its report the Foreign Affairs
Committee adopted an amendment welcoming the reform of criminal
procedure, but considered that `article 305 of the new Turkish penal
code which sanctions alleged `threats to fundamental national
interests’ and the explanatory statement of which targets freedom of
expression, in particular related to the Cyprus and Armenia issues,
is incompatible with the 1950 Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.'(3) The Committee called for the
repeal of the article. In December, prior to the European Union
summit that would give the green light for accession talks with
Turkey, the European Parliament adopted the parliamentary report on
Turkey’s progress toward accession. In its report, the Parliament
included the amendment mentioned above (4).
The OSCE representative on Freedom of the Media Haraszti, described
article 305 in his May 2005 review as a de facto censorship
provision, given that it can be used to punish any speech that is not
in conformity with the views of the Government on the issues listed
in paragraph 4 (5). Referring to the clause about receiving benefits
for spreading propaganda, Haraszti pointed out that the article does
not `exclude any interpretation of journalistic salaries as pecuniary
benefits for spreading propaganda.’ (5)
The article was also criticized by Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF),
the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN, the
International Publishers Association (IPA) and Amnesty International.
RSF considered that article 305 `specifically targets freedom of
expression’ (6). The IPA sent letters to the EU Dutch presidency,
Romano Prodi (then president of the European Commission) and
Jose-Manuel Barroso, its new president, calling on them to urge the
Turkish Government to abandon the criminalization of the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide (7). IPA considered the article a move that
jeopardizes freedom of expression and the freedom to publish. IPA and
PEN issued in December a joint guide entitled `New Turkish Penal
Code: A Long Way to Freedom of Expression’. In the guide, the
organizations called for the repealing of the explanatory report of
article 305 that includes the examples on the Armenian Genocide and
the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus. The organizations
pointed out:
`Allegations of genocide against Armenians and Kurds’ is a ground
that is sometimes brought against writers and publishers. This was
for instance the case of publisher Ali Varis and writer Mamo Bayram
for the book entitled: `Kocgiri – Northwest Dersim’. This book was
banned. Mr. Varis faced the risk of imprisonment. We are not sure
whether the case is still pending or not. However, Article 305 of the
New Turkish Penal Code will provide prosecutors with a new legal
device to prevent an open and democratic debate from taking place in
Turkey on two fundamental issues: the Armenian Genocide and the
presence (occupation) of Turkish troops in Cyprus(8).Part l 4th Part
Amnesty International issued an action alert on May 13 considering
that the imposing of criminal penalty for statements that acknowledge
the Armenian Genocide as a historical fact or call for the withdrawal
of Turkish troops from Cyprus `would be a clear breach of
international standards safeguarding freedom of expression.’ (9)
(1) Pallone urges state department to condemn new Turkish Penal Code
punishing Turks who object to government’s policy toward Armenia &
Cyprus. Retrieved 14-12-2004.
(2) Lungescu, O. Turkey’s quest to join Europe. Retrieved 01-01-2005.
(3) Turkey: The Foreign Affairs Committee against the European
Parliament. Retrieved 02-01-2005.
(4) European Parliament calls on Turkey to explicitly recognize the
Armenian Genocide. Retrieved 02-01-2005.
(5) Haraszti, M. Review of the Draft Turkish Penal Code: Freedom of
Media Concerns. Retrieved 19-05-2005.
(6) Turkey still far from European standards of Press Freedom.
Retrieved 02-01-2005.
(7) IPA calls for amendment to Penal Code to allow for free
expression on Armenian genocide. Retrieved 02-01-2005.
(8) New Turkish Penal Code: A long way to freedom of expression.
Retrieved 02-01-2005.
(9) Turkey: Freedom of expression/torture/prisoners of conscience.
Retrieved 19-05-2005.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Economist, UK
June 9 2005
The oil satrap
Jun 9th 2005
The Economist print edition
David Woodward and being a giant in a small country
FOR much of the 18th century the managers of the mighty East India
Company were also said to be the de facto rulers of chunks of the
Indian subcontinent. These days, perhaps the only foreign
organisation with so big a say in the affairs of the countries that
host it is the American armed forces. But according to some observers
in Baku, British Petroleum (BP) has almost the same status in
Azerbaijan, a Caucasian petro-state on the western shore of the
Caspian Sea.
There are few countries in the world more dependent on one industry
than Azerbaijan is on energy. Oil products account for more than 80%
of exports. BP is the biggest player in Baku, the capital. It has the
largest stake (34%) in the `Azeri, Chirag and Deepwater Gunashli’
(ACG) oil project, a deal known as `the contract of the century’ when
it was done in 1994, relaunching Baku as a major oil town after it
declined as the Soviet authorities concentrated on Siberian energy.
BP, whose turnover last year was over 30 times the size of
Azerbaijan’s GDP, is also the biggest shareholder in a new pipeline,
officially inaugurated last month, which will deliver Caspian oil
from Baku to the Black Sea port of Ceyhan in Turkey, via Tbilisi in
Georgia. Named after those towns, the BTC pipeline and the oil wells
are seen by some as making David Woodward, BP’s local boss, the
country’s second most powerful man, after Ilham Aliev, who inherited
the presidency from his father after a disputed election in 2003.
Others rank Mr Woodward third, behind the American ambassador.
British Petroleum has information about its operations in Azerbaijan.
BP also reports on its activity in the Caspian region. See also the
BTC project, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and
Azerbaijan’s president.

The oil off the coast of Azerbaijan, says Mr Woodward – or `VoodVard’
as he is known in Baku – is `an oil-man’s dream.’ The water is
relatively shallow, and the drilling conditions good. The trouble has
been finding a way to get it to market. America lobbied hard for the
BTC; the route avoids both Iran and Russia and it will help to reduce
global dependence on Middle Eastern supplies. The fillip it brings to
Azerbaijan, and to a lesser extent to Georgia, will help to shore up
the shaky finances of two ex-Soviet countries. Turkey, the other
beneficiary, wants no additional tankers to use the already-choked
Bosphorus, a conduit for oil from an existing pipeline from Baku.
In the unstable Caucasus, the BTC’s completion, albeit after a decade
of wrangling, is a triumph. Each time the government of one of the
participating countries has changed, says Mr Woodward, the new one
had to be re-educated. The route itself is a metaphor for the
region’s volatile politics: along its 1,770km (1,010 mile) length, it
bends northwards through Georgia to cut out Armenia, with which
Azerbaijan fought a war in the 1990s.
The hope is that, as the oil travels south-west, stability will flow
the other way along with the revenues. But there are big risks.
Armenia still occupies part of Azerbaijan, and there are separatist
enclaves in Georgia and restless Kurds in Turkey. Mr Woodward says
that other targets will be easier for terrorists to strike, and more
difficult to rebuild, than the pipeline, which is buried at least one
metre under ground and will be guarded by horseback patrols.
Earthquake risk has been mitigated, says Mr Woodward, by laying the
pipe obliquely across the fault zone.
The BTC will take up to six months to fill: the first shipments will
not leave Ceyhan until the last quarter of this year. By 2008, it
will carry 1m barrels of oil per day, or about 1.3% of global supply.
But it may not deliver quite so much as BP first hoped. Mr Woodward
insists that `the contract of the century’ remains a good deal, and
that, with the ACG’s 5.4 billion barrels of recoverable reserves, the
pipeline will more than cover its $4 billion total cost. (Starting
next year, gas produced by another BP-led consortium will flow
through a parallel line.) And yet the other giant oil finds once
expected in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian have so far failed
to materialise. Talk about Azerbaijan being the new Kuwait has faded.
The BTC consortium now hopes that some of the oil in the Kazakh
fields across the sea will pass through the new pipeline, or perhaps
oil from Russia, despite the Kremlin’s distaste for the project.
When the oil runs out
A good deal for BP, and a useful if marginal contribution to global
oil flow; but a good deal for Azerbaijan? Sceptics of big oil’s
motives might expect BP’s only political goal in Azerbaijan to be
stability, even if, under President Aliev, that sometimes involves
the sort of nastiness evident when a demonstration was violently
dispersed just before the pipeline ceremony. Some in Baku who
expected BP to import democracy along with its drilling kit are
already disenchanted. But Mr Woodward says that, for BP’s involvement
to be sustainable, the population needs to share in the benefits of
the country’s oil windfall, and quickly. In Azerbaijan, says Mr
Woodward, who has worked previously in Norway and Alaska, BP has
entered `unknown territory,’ exploring the limits of enlightened
self-interest.
The big challenge, in a country that ranks among the world’s most
corrupt, is to ensure that Azerbaijan’s share of the oil revenue is
used to transform its economy (rather than, for instance, to pay for
another war with Armenia). Unemployment is high; outside the oil
sector, even many who have jobs live in poverty. `Dutch
disease’ – whereby the exchange-rate impact of the oil revenues damages
other exports – has already struck. There are, as Mr Woodward says,
some encouraging signs. Diplomats in Baku say that the state oil
fund, the receptacle for the windfall cash, is the country’s most
transparent institution. Mr Aliev’s government has signed up to the
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a British-backed
scheme designed to help resource-rich countries avoid corruption. BP
and international financial institutions are helping too. But one
day, of course, when the oil and the gas run out, BP and its partners
will pack up. Will they leave behind a prosperous country, or a mess?
Perhaps only President Aliev can decide that.

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIAN BLESSES OPENING OF LIBRARY AT RESIDENCE OF
HEAD OF US WESTERN DIOCESE
YEREVAN, June 8. /ARKA/.Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II has
blessed the opening of a library at the residence of the Head of the
US Western Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Berbank, suburb
of Los Angeles, USA. The press service of the Holy Echmiadzin reports
that the Arakel and Shake Agha-Sargsyan library has been founded on
the donations of Harut and Sargis Agha-Sargsyan. Garegin II
appreciated the initiative displayed by the faithful sons of the
Armenian people, congratulating the diocese on the library. Attending
the opening ceremony were RA Consul General to the USA Gagik
Kirakosyan and Mayor of Atlanta Bill Campbell. P.T. -0–

Daily Yomiuri, Japan
June 8 2005
AICHI EXPO 2005 / Expo head stresses harmony
Hiroko Ihara / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer
Bernard Testu, chairman of the operating committee of the 2005 World
Exposition Aichi, on Tuesday emphasized the harmony between the
Japanese organizers and the international community as represented by
the international pavilions at the expo.
Testu, 50, who also heads the French Pavilion, told The Daily Yomiuri
that the theme of the expo, “Nature’s Wisdom,” is extremely
appropriate for the time.
“It’s important for people today, especially those in developed
countries like Japan,” Testu said. “It can make all people concerned
about the [environment] issue, including those who weren’t interested
before.”
He said he was proud of the popularity of the French Pavilion, which
has attracted more than 1 million visitors. One of the main
attractions is the Immersion Theater, which provides huge cubic
images that focus on the problems faced by humans.
“Poverty, water resources, intensive famine, energy supply, waste.
[Of these problems] the most serious one is extreme poverty,” Testu
said. It still exists in the 21st century and causes many deaths, he
added.
Testu who served at the past two expositions for the French
government, spoke about the themes of the next two
expositions–“Water and Sustainable Development” in Spain in 2008 and
“Better City, Better Life” in China in 2010.
“The theme for 2008 is related to that of the present one,” he said.
“The following one is important as by 2010, it’s said four out of
five people in the world will live in urban areas. But for me, it
might be ‘Better Country, Better Life’ as France has a rich
countryside, so I have mixed feelings about it.”
Addressing the role of international expositions, he said: “Expos
give time to think to governments, administrators, companies and also
the average person. It’s important to take time just to think.”
Meanwhile, Armenia marked its national day at the expo with Prime
Minister Andranik Margarian in attendance at Expo Hall.
After being welcomed by people waving tricolored Armenian national
flags and the playing of the national anthem, Margarian praised the
expo was showing the diversity of the international community.
He said that to achieve international integration, each nation needed
to have basic values and develop its own individual culture.
A jazz performance featuring the duduk, an ethnic Armenian wind
instrument, followed his speech.