Author: Boshkezenian Garik

ARMENIA, TURKEY, AGREE TO MOVE TOWARDS NORMALIZATION WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS
Anna Nazaryan

"Radiolur"
08.05.2009 12:15
Prague

On May 7 the President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, had a meeting with
his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in Prague. This was the second
meeting of the two Presidents after Abdulla Gul’s visit to Yerevan. The
Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Turkey Edward Nalbandian and Ahmed
Davudoghlu were present at the meeting.

The Presidents of Armenia and Turkey positively assessed the talks
in Prague. During the meeting the parties agreed to "honor all
previous agreements and move forward towards the normalization of
the Armenian-Turkish relations without preconditions and within a
reasonable time frame."

"The meeting was useful. We agreed to respect the agreement reached,"
the Armenian President told reporters after the meeting.

"Any precondition in the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish
relations is excluded," President Sargsyan added.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said the normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations would establish stability in the South
Caucasus, which derived from the interests of all the countries.

SCHOTT’S VOCAB: MEDS YEGHERN

New York Times Blogs
eds-yeghern/
May 6 2009

An Armenian term meaning "great calamity" – used to describe the
murder of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in 1915.

Many Armenians in America, and elsewhere, were disappointed recently
when President Obama shied away from using the word "genocide" to
describe the 1915 massacre, Ali Bulac reported in Today’s Zaman.

During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama said:

The Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion or
a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an
overwhelming body of historical evidence. America deserves a leader who
speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide and responds forcefully
to all genocides.

Yet in a statement on Armenian Remembrance Day (April 24), President
Obama appeared to moderate his language:

Ninety four years ago, one of the great atrocities of the 20th century
began. Each year, we pause to remember the 1.5 million Armenians who
were subsequently massacred or marched to their death in the final days
of the Ottoman Empire. The Meds Yeghern must live on in our memories,
just as it lives on in the hearts of the Armenian people.

Discussing the "G word" in The Independent, Robert Fisk argued that
President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush had both reneged
on promises to call the 1915 massacre a genocide.

However, Ali Bulac’s analysis of President George W. Bush’s speeches
on the subject indicated that the 43rd president may have been inching
towards the term genocide by a process of rhetorical inflation:

George W. Bush, had described the events as a "tragedy." In 2006,
he called it a "horrible tragedy"; in 2007, he called it one of the
"greatest tragedies of the 20th century," and lastly, in 2008, he
said it was "an epic human tragedy."

Commenting on President Obama’s linguistic light touch, Agence
France-Presse reported:

After pressure from key U.S. ally Turkey, which is currently involved
in reconciliation talks with Armenia, [Obama] trod a delicate
diplomatic path and pointedly refrained from using the English word
"genocide."

OSCE OFFICE ORGANIZES ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN VISIT TO FRANCE

OSCE.org
May 5 2009

A two-day visit of Armenia’s Ombudsman, Armen Harutyunyan, to the
French Ombudsman institution, organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan
with the French Embassy in Armenia, finished today.

Harutyunyan and his French counterparts discussed investigation
of individual human rights complaints, co-operation with state
bodies, public relations and other practical matters. He also met
representatives of the Foreign Ministry and France-Armenia Friendship
Group at the National Assembly, and was filmed for French TV programme
Dossier Urgent with the French Ombudsman, Jean-Paul Delevoye.

"I found this trip very useful from the point of view of sharing
experiences and getting new ideas on how the Ombudsman institution
should operate. This kind of initiative strengthens the co-operation
between institutions and contributes to their effectiveness," said
Harutyunyan.

Later this month, an event to mark the fifth anniversary of
the Armenian ombudsman institution will be organized with the
participation of human rights institutions from different countries,
including France.

"OSCE participating States should support and promote the vital role
played by the human rights institutions in protecting human rights in
their respective countries," said Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, the Head
of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. "Supporting exchanges of experience and
information between national human rights institutions will strengthen
the work of human rights defenders."

The OSCE Office in Yerevan has supported the Ombudsman institution from
its inception through the provision of legislative expertise, capacity
building exercises, expert opinion and best practices in the field.

RUSSIA PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN NKR CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2009 19:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ NKR conflict settlement negotiations have recently
intensified, significant progress could become possible after Prague
meeting between Armenian and Azeri Presidents, Turkish ex-Foreign
Minister Hikmet Cetin reported.

According to him, Russia plays a key role in NKR conflict
settlement. "Both US and Russia intensified their efforts aimed
at NKR conflict settlement. Armenian and Azeri Presidents signed a
"Declaration on inadmissibility of conflict settlement by military
force" through the instrumentality of Russia, which is no coincidence,"
Turkish Media cited Cetin as saying.

CANCEROLOGY INSTITUTE TO OPEN IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.05.2009 13:50 GMT+04:00

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan met with Director of Development
of Armenian Medical Projects France-based organization Dr Norbert
Avetian to discuss issues concerning the establishment of a cancerology
institute in Yerevan as a part of the nuclear therapy center program.

The Prime Minister noted that health care development and the
establishment of a nuclear therapy center are among the government’s
priorities and his government endorses the idea of launching an
institute of cancerology in Yerevan as part of said program. Tigran
Sargsyan advised that the representatives of Dr Avetian’s organization
have been invited to participate in the proceedings of a coordination
task force enabling discussion of issues concerning the creation of
the above-stated institute.

Dr Avetian said as soon as an arrangement is reached over the
project, his organization will have best European equipment and
methodologies imported into Armenia. Local specialists, too, will
have the opportunity of working at the Institute and taking training
courses in France on a regular basis. According to Dr Avetian,
several foreign investors are prepared to invest into this project
at this point of time.

Reiterating the importance of this program to our country, the
Prime Minister assured of his government’s readiness to extend every
possible support under this program once an investment program and
a time-table are produced by the French side, the RA government’s
press office reported.

ARMAVIA ANNOUNCES FOUR-PERCENT DISCOUNT FOR ALL TICKETS BOUGHT ON ITS OFFICIAL SITE

/ARKA/
May 4, 2009
YEREVAN

Armavia, Armenian national air company, has announced four-percent
discount for all tickets bought on its official site, Nana Avetisova,
press secretary of the company, said on Monday.

She also said that every 15,000th passenger will receive a pleasant
surprise. Armavia is a member of International Air Transport
Association (IATA).

The company operates more than 170 flights a week to CIS, Europe and
the Middle East. Armavia has carried some 647,000 passengers over 2008.

The air company has three A 319, two A 320 one Il 86 and one Tu 134.

Sukhoy Superjet S-100 will join them soon. Aviation risks are
insured by ISG Company, the only and reliable partner to Armavia
among companies insuring aviation risks.

ARMENIAN MINISTER, NATO DEPUTY CHIEF DISCUSS COOPERATION ISSUE

Mediamax
April 28 2009
Armenia

Yerevan, 28 April: Armenia intends to strengthen and develop
cooperation with NATO within the framework of the Partnership for
Peace programme, Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan said at
a meeting with NATO Deputy Secretary-General Claudio Bisogniero today,
Mediamax news agency quoted the Armenian Foreign Ministry as reporting.

Armenian Foreign Minister said that Armenia’s Individual
Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO is an effective format for
cooperation. Bisogniero noted that NATO highly rates the partnership
with Armenia and the results of IPAP implemented in 2006-2008 and
expressed hope that the Action Plan for 2009-2010 will also be
implemented successfully.

In the context of discussing regional issues, the NATO deputy secretary
general expressed his satisfaction with the progress reached in the
process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations, noting that the
alliance supports steps directed to establish normal ties between
Armenia and Turkey.

ARNO BABAJANYAN YOUNG PIANISTS CONTEST ORGANIZERS AND PARTICIPANTS ARE SATISFIED WITH RESULTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.05.2009 16:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On Apr. 25, 8th Young Pianists contest launched
in Armenia, under RA Ministry of Culture and Arno Bababajanyan
International Fund aegis.

The contest aims at discovering talented young pianists, assisting
them in their studies and future career; helps prepare young musicians
for participation in international festivals.

In 2009 the contest hosted 67 young pianists from Armenia and NKR,
featuring 2 age categories: "under 12" and "13 to15".

The awards ceremony on the closing evening was held today in Arno
Babajanyan Concert Hall. Young Pianists contest has been held once
in 3 years, since 1986.

REQUIEM FOR A MILLION IN ARMENIA

The Telegraph
p/calcutta/story_10897634.jsp
April 30 2009
India

For many an Indian, April 24 is the Little Master’s birthday. But for
Armenians across the world, it was on this day in 1915 that around
250 of their leaders were rounded up by Turks during World War I
and killed.

The day, known as the Armenian Genocide, was followed by the death
of more than a million Armenians.

This year, the incident was commemorated by the Armenian College
and Philanthropic Academy at Gorky Sadan with the screening of a
documentary on the incident.

"The aim of the event was to remind the young generation of the
sacrifices made by their forefathers," said Fr Oshagan Gulgulian,
pastor of the Armenians in India and former manager of Armenian
College.

Reading out an address from the President of Armenian, Ashot Kocharian,
the Armenian ambassador to India, said: "This gathering of people
from several diasporas to pay tribute to the victims will help in
spreading awareness."

While students from classes VII to X put up an exhibition of
photographs on the genocide, the school choir sang four songs
in Armenian. "We charred the black-and-white images at the edges
and surrounded them by red handprints to depict the horror of the
situation," said Arez Markarian, a Class IX student of the school,
set up in 1821.

The school, affiliated to the ICSE board, has 80 students, including
those from Iran, Iraq and Armenia.

Andrew Goldberg’s 2006 documentary, Armenian Genocide, depicted the
events that led to the April 24 massacre and its fallout. Including
accounts of survivors, it described the survivors whose mourning
remains incomplete as their pain has not been acknowledged by Turks
or other nations of the world.

The programme included the recitation of the English translation of
Armenian poet Siamanto’s The Dance. Siamanto was one of those killed
in April 1915. "It is about a German woman witnessing a group of
20 naked brides being whipped and burnt alive outside her window,"
explained Arez. The poem, dramatised by students, ends with the German
woman wondering how she can gouge her eyes out after seeing something
so cruel.

Doel Bose BA, English St Xavier’s College

Georgian national behind Baku academy massacre – embassy

18:30 | 30/ 04/ 2009

TBILISI, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – The Georgian ambassador to
Azerbaijan confirmed on Thursday that a Georgian national was
responsible for a massacre at a college in Baku earlier in the day.
"Official sources have confirmed the information," Nikoloz Natbiladze
said.
At least thirteen people were killed and 11 wounded when a gunman
opened fire at the State Oil Academy in Azerbaijan’s capital on
Thursday morning, according to the country’s health ministry.
Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry named the shooter as Georgian national
Farda Gadyrov, born in 1980 and of Azerbaijani origin.
Gadyrov was reported to have killed a security guard and cleaner after
entering the academy. He then continued shooting indiscriminately at
students and staff with a Makarov pistol while going up a staircase.
Azerbaijan’s ANS television channel said the gunman had killed 17 and
wounded 13, including Azerbaijani, Turkish and Syrian nationals,
before killing himself.
The academy is a major international center for the training of oil
industry specialists. Former students include Soviet-era secret police
head Lavrenty Beria and Vagit Alekperov, president of Russia’s largest
independent oil producer, LUKoil.
A probe into the incident has been launched under the supervision of
Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev, who has already conveyed his
condolences to the families of those people killed in the attack.