Author: Hambardsumian Paul

RA PRESIDENT’S "OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO GLOBAL IT" AWARD CEREMONY TO BE HELD IN JUNE

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.03.2010 15:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The official ceremony of the Armenian President’s
"Outstanding Contribution to Global IT" (GIT Award) will be held on
June 28, 2010.

Rich Goldman, director of the Synopsys Armenia, informed that the
award ceremony will be attended by the first winner of the annual
award, former Chairman of the Board of Intel Corporation Craig R.

Barrett and his wife. Some prominent figures are also expected
to arrive.

"This is a very important step, the results of which we see in the
near future. When we established this award, it was very important
for us to connect Armenia with the international network, as well as
with the prominent people who have committed revolutionary changes in
technology," Hovik Musayelyan, General Manager of Synopsys Armenia,
chairman of the Presidential Award organizing committee said.

According to Mr. Goldman, selection of the Award recipients resembles
the system of selecting nominees for the Nobel Prize. The winner is
determined by the Committee, composed of 20 eminent IT workers.

The presidential medal is made of high-grade gold (300 grams) and
diamonds. The obverse side of the medal depicts an eagle by Rafael
Israyelyan with a diamond eye. The reverse side of the medal depicts
an emblem of Armenia against the background of Silicon Valley symbol.

The designer of the medals is Valery Rickard (who worked on Star Wars).

The event is sponsored by Public Television of Armenia (PTA) and
VivaCell MTS company. Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by the PTA
President Alexan Harutyunyan and chairman of the Presidential Award
organizing committee Hovik Musayelyan.

TURKISH OPPOSITION CALLS ON PARLIAMENT TO KILL PROTOCOLS

Asbarez
rkish-opposition-calls-on-parliament-to-kill-proto cols/
Mar 22nd, 2010

ANKARA (Hurriyet)-Turkey’s leading opposition party on Monday
requested that a session of Parliament be called to determine a
strategy for Ankara to take in combating efforts to gain recognition
of the Armenian Genocide.

The motion carried the signature of key members of the Republican
People’s Party (CHP) Kemal Anadol, Kemal Kilicdaroglu and Hakki
Suha Okay.

The motion said the protocols signed on Oct. 10 between Turkey and
Armenia created serious pitfalls for Turkey’s national interests and
that continuing to make it appear as though the agreements will pass
through Parliament will also not help prevent President Obama from
using the word genocide on April 24.

"There is no advantage to keeping the protocols in Parliament but
rather serious disadvantages," the motion read.

It said that the Armenian Genocide resolutions passed in the U.S.

Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Swedish parliament earlier in
March would inevitably have destructive consequences on relations
between Turkey and European Union countries.

The motion also said the fact that the protocols are being held in
Parliament after the passage of the resolution in the U.S. House
Committee on Foreign Affairs creates the wrong impression and invites
pressure on Turkey.

TURKISH POLITICIAN DISCOVERS DEMOCRACY FEATURES IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2010-03-23 12:47:00

ArmInfo. Turkish and Armenian peoples neighboring each other for
nearly 700 years deserve more than the current situation in the
relations of the two countries. Turkish journalist, Chairman of the
Liberal Democratic Party of Turkey, Cem Toker, made such statement
in Yerevan on Tuesday.

Cem Toker said that it is his fifth visit to Armenia over the last 24
months and he tries to make his contribution to normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations. He believes that the current situation in
the two countries’ relations is not in favor of the two peoples. The
Turkish journalist thanked the Armenian mass media for the interest to
his person and expressed confidence that the Armenian media is free,
which testifies to high level of democracy in Armenia.

Modern Armenian History Course to be Offered at UC Irvine
By Asbarez
Mar 19th, 2010

IRVINE-The University of California at Irvine has scheduled a course
in modern Armenian history for this spring quarter. The 4-unit class
was offered for the first time last spring and it will be taught again
this year by Dr. Levon Marashlian, professor of history at Glendale
Community College.

History 183, Modern Armenian History, is a survey of major
developments from 1800 to the present. Topics that the course covers
include Armenians in the Ottoman and Russian empires, the Armenian
Question, the Armenian Genocide and its consequences, the first
Republic of Armenia, the treaties of Sèvres and Lausanne, Soviet
Armenia, the Karabakh conflict, re-establishment of Armenia’s
independence in 1991 and its relations with the Diaspora, Turkey, and
the United States up to 2010.

The class is centered on extensive use of specially compiled video
material, including rare material from years and decades ago. Using
the video screen as a sort of interactive blackboard to augment the
lectures and reading assignments, the instructor moves from one
segment to another, pausing frequently to provide further explanation
and spark discussion with students.

Professor Marashlian explains that `the learning experience is
enhanced by the real footage of people and events in documentaries and
television news reports that not only provide historical information,
but themselves become part of the historical record because they
reflect the contrasting ways a particular event or issue was
interpreted at a particular time.’

The course is scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 6:20 pm,
beginning March 30. For more information, please contact the UCI
Department of History at 949-824-6521 or the instructor directly at
818-240-1000 ext. 5463.

LENDING BY UNIVERSAL CREDIT ORGANIZATIONS UP 70.2%

ArmInfo
19.03.2010

ArmInfo. Lending by Armenian commercial banks and credit companies
for Jan-Feb 2010 as compared to the same period of 2009 grew 70.2%
to 4.2 billion drams.

ACRA Credit Bureau told ArmInfo the UCOs provided 10300 loans for Jan-
Feb 2010 which was 57.4% higher than a year ago.

The source reported that ACRA Credit Bureau has databank on 2.7
million redeemed and 649,000 current loans as well as nearly 943,5
credit histories (including 18,2 thousand histories of legal entities
and 925,3 natural persons).

As of March 1 2010, there were 22 credit companies in Armenia,
including 4 leasing companies, 22 UCOs and a credit union.

ACRA Credit Reporting" CJSC, the first private credit bureau
in Armenia, was founded in January 2004 by Credentials Inc. The
shareholders of the company are the Central Bank of Armenia (10%),
17 commercial banks, First Mortgage Company, Dun & Bradstreet
International LTD and other companies. All the 22 commercial banks
in Armenia and most of the loan companies use ACRA’s services.

EXCHANGE RATE FOR AMD PER USD DOLLAR REACHES 404.34

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.03.2010 16:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Average market exchange rate of Armenian Dram to
US Dollar on Armenia’s foreign exchange market reached AMD 404.34
for USD 1 as of March 19, 2010 press office of the Central Bank of
Armenia reported.

Thus, according to the report, the exchange rate fell by 0.02 points
compared to March 18, 2010.

DOES SWEDEN COMPENSATE THE DECISION OF ITS PARLIAMENT?

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.03.2010 17:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The government of Sweden has stated about its
readiness to politically and materially support Turkey on the way
to its accession to the EU. The web-site of the Swedish government
published a statement of intent to develop strategic cooperation with
Turkey. That statement stressed that Turkey’s EU membership will be
encouraged and supported by Sweden.

According to the statement, Turkey will get support in matters of
democracy, equality and human rights. "Turkey is one of the most
important partners of Sweden, and reforms conducted in this country
are important to us," the statement reads. It indicates that Sweden is
ready to assist Turkey not only in legal reforms, but, for instance,
in attracting women to the democratization process and in projects
related to minority rights.

SIDA and the Center for Turkish-Swedish friendship at the Embassy of
Sweden in Istanbul will coordinate the development of cooperation
between Turkey and Sweden. SIDA, for example, will provide an
opportunity to Turkish students to take part in human rights and
democracy projects. Similar projects will be implemented in Turkey
with participation of Swedish students, TRT-Russian said.

On March 11 Swedish Parliament (131 votes in favor and 130 against)
recognized Armenian Genocide, as well as genocide of the Assyrians
and Pontic Greeks in the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey has started negotiations over its EU accession in 2005.

In 1963 Turkey signed a treaty with the EU predecessor, the European
Economic Community (EEC), which recognized the right of the country
to join the union.

In 1978-1979 Turkey is invited to join the EEC, together with Greece,
but Turkey refused.

In August 2002, the reform program was adopted by the Turkish
parliament, and in October 2004 the European Commission recommended
to start negotiations with Turkey over its EU accession.

Turkish-European relations are complicated by Turkey’s unwillingness
to recognize Cyprus, which in May 2004 joined the European Union. In
1974 Turkey invaded the northern part of the island, and since then
its government has not recognized the legitimacy of the government
of the south – Greek part.

ERDOGAN BLASTS MEDIA FOR ‘MISQUOTING’ DEPORTATION THREAT

Asbarez
Mar 19th, 2010

ANKARA (Hurriyet)-Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
once again slammed the media, accusing the press of distorting his
remarks to the BBC about deporting Armenian migrants from Turkey.

In the same speech Friday, Erdogan also had harsh words for Israel
regarding settlement plans in east Jerusalem and Tel Aviv’s treatment
of Palestinians.

Erdogan threatened the "possibility to expel 100,000 Armenian
undocumented workers in Turkey" in response to U.S. and Swedish
lawmakers passing resolutions recognizing the Armenian genocide when
he spoke to the BBC Turkish service late Tuesday.

Without giving any names, the prime minister Friday criticized "some"
columnists for comparing Roma and Armenian citizens to undocumented
immigrants. "This is disrespectful to my Roma citizens and my Armenian
citizens," Erdogan said, addressing his party’s members in a televised
speech.

The prime minister stressed that he was not referring to Turkish
citizens of Armenian heritage in his remarks made to the BBC.

"Regretfully, it was quoted by cutting off the word ‘undocumented,’"
he said. "It is malicious destruction because of the significant
difference between Armenians and undocumented Armenian workers."

"Especially the foreign press is attempting to arouse indignation by
purposely ignoring the adjective ‘undocumented,’" Erdogan said. "There
are dirty games [being played] even though I was the first Turkish
prime minister to speak about mistreatments of minorities in the past."

The Turkish prime minister also said that "baseless genocide claims"
will harm the normalization efforts with Armenia. "You cannot write
history through parliamentary votes," he said. "If you are sincere
about learning what happened, you can examine the archives and see
what is true or not."

"I re-call on Armenia and third countries to be constructive and
responsible," Erdogan said. "All initiatives that deteriorate the
[normalization] process will carry a heavy cost – [not to] Turkey but
[to] the creators and supporters of those malicious initiatives."

The prime minister also expressed his anger at columnists who had
criticized his remarks to the BBC. "Those columnists trying to teach
me humanity should first defend the rights of Turkey. Look in the
mirror first," he said.

"Have you ever heard them saying anything positive about the
government?" he asked, referring to his critics. "They have eyes,
but are blind to our achievements."

Erdogan also highlighted that his government’s "democratic initiative"
encompasses more than just increasing rights for Kurds. Apologizing to
Roma citizens on behalf of the state, he said: "My Roma citizens have
not benefited from citizenship rights. We will fix these problems."

"We have changed a lot of things with the [democratic] initiative. We
are now in a position to understand each other better," he said.

The prime minister also countered critics who claim that his
government’s democratization efforts have slowed down. "The process of
national unity and brotherhood has managed to create mutual empathy,"
Erdogan said. "It has economic, social and security dimensions. We
support this hope [of democratization] with concrete steps."

Erdogan also harshly criticized Israeli settlement plans in east
Jerusalem and vowed not to normalize relations unless the humanitarian
tragedy of Palestinians comes to an end.

"Building 1,600 new settlements in east Jerusalem is not acceptable.

It is a tactic to wipe Palestine out, piece by piece," Erdogan said,
noting that Turkey’s role is not confined within the country’s borders.

"We are aware of multi-headed politics in Israel. But this multi-voiced
government should review this situation. As both the U.N.

and the U.S. oppose [the settlements], such a step means ignoring
the 1967 agreements," he said.

Erdogan threatened not to normalize ties with Tel Aviv as long as
the situation continues. "How can we make contact, my brother?" he
asked, addressing Israeli politicians. "First, you need to align with
international law and avoid any cruelty or outrages."

"Turkey will not be present anywhere innocent people suffer," he said.

ARMENIA RETICENT ON NEW KARABAKH PEACE PLAN

Asbarez
Mar 18th, 2010

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on
Thursday refrained from publicizing Armenia’s position on international
mediators’ recently modified plan to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. He also denied that Azerbaijan has largely accepted the
proposed peace deal.

The U.S, Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group submitted
what they call an "updated version" of the so-called Madrid Document
to the conflicting parties in December and January. The Armenian
government reportedly responded to it in writing last month.

Nalbandian discussed the matter with the mediators in Paris on
Tuesday. He seemed to downplay the significance of the still
unpublicized changes made by them in the document during a news
conference in Yerevan.

Asked whether those changes are acceptable to the Armenian side,
he said: "We have long said that we accept the Madrid principles as
the basis of negotiations and we are continuing negotiations on the
basis of the Madrid principles. The co-chairs have been submitting
working proposals, and all of them are being discussed."

In a joint statement issued late on Wednesday, the co-chairs also
declined to specify whether Yerevan has accepted their modified
peace proposals. They confirmed that the Paris meeting focused on
"the Armenian comments on the co-chairs’ latest formulations of the
Basic Principles for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict."

"The talks were held in a constructive spirit, and will be continued
during the forthcoming travel of the Co-Chairs to Yerevan and
Nagorno-Karabakh," added the statement.

According to Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, the
updated Madrid Document is acceptable to Baku "with a number of
exceptions." "Let Armenia declare whether or not it accepts this
variant so that we can decide what to do next," he said on Monday.

Nalbandian dismissed these statements as misleading, saying that the
Azerbaijani "exceptions" outweigh provisions acceptable to Baku. "When
you look at statements made by them in recent days you see that there
are more exceptions than things which they accept," he said. "There
are a dozen exceptions and one or two issues relating to consequences
of the conflict which they accept."

The top Armenian diplomat went on to again accuse Baku of seeking to
"distort the essence of the negotiating process." He described Baku’s
statements about the framework peace plan as "just a smoke screen."

"Azerbaijan has not been recognizing the Madrid Principles for a long
time and if at last Baku has decided to take the documents as a basis
for negotiations we can only welcome this fact," Nalbandian said.

Meanwhile, Mammadyarov on Thursday rejected the idea of holding
a referendum on self-determination in Nagorno-Karabakh, which
is reportedly a key element of the peace formula favored by the
mediators. "Under the Azerbaijani constitution, when it comes to the
country’s territorial integrity, a referendum should be held in the
entire territory of the republic and all of its citizens should take
part in the vote," he said, according to Regnum news agency.

U.S ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: TURKEY, ARMENIA MUST SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS THEMSELVES

Today
64348.html
March 18 2010
Azerbaijan

Turkey and Armenia must deal with solving of their problems themselves,
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip
Gordon said.

"The problems between Turkey and Armenia must be resolved between
the two countries," Gordon said.

According to the Turkish-Armenian protocols and the adoption of the
resolution, the Committee of the Congress, recognizing the so-called
"Armenian genocide" – two different things, unrelated.

He said the Turkish-Armenian protocols and the adoption of the
resolution recognizing the so-called "Armenian genocide" are two
different things not related with each other in the Committee of
the Congress.

After the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of
Representatives adopted the "Armenian resolution" March 4 and the
Parliament of Sweden March 11, Turkey has recalled its ambassadors
in Washington and Stockholm for consultations.

Assistant Secretary of State also called on Ankara and Yerevan to
ratify the protocols soon.

Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward
Nalbandian signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocols in Zurich Oct. 10.