Author: Hunanian Jack

MEETING OF PRESIDENTS POSSIBLE SOON, BRYZA SAYS

armradio.am
18.04.2008 15:39

A private meeting between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia
Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan, to discuss the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict may take place in the near future, Matthew
Bryza, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, said
addressing the meeting of the Commission on Security and Cooperation
in Europe (US Helsinki commission) at the US Congress on 17 April,
ITAR-TASS reported.

Bryza did not respond unilaterally to the appeals by legislators to
elaborate on the date of the talks between Aliyev and Sargsyan. The
planning of such a meeting could take place within a matter of
months. The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers who are eligible
to arrange talks between Aliyev and Sargsyan, may meet within a month
or more," the US diplomat said.

He reiterated that the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh, as per the
aspect of Washington, does not have a military solution. The United
States considers that it is necessary to achieve a compromise of
‘political agreements’, Bryza stated.

He did not agree with reports stating that the activities by the OSCE
Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh under the co-chairmanship of Russia,
France and the United States, were not efficient. The work undertaken
by the Group represents tremendous value and is very efficient,
the Assistant Secretary of State said.

TIGRAN MARTIROSYAN EUROPEAN WEIGHTLIFTING CHAMPION

armradio.am
18.04.2008 13:34

Armenian weightlifter Tigran Martirosyan (69 kg) showed the result of
346 kg in the snatch and clean and jerk combination in the European
Weightlifting Championships underway in Lignano (Italy), achieving
the champion’s title. He outran his main competitor V. Dabaya of
France with 13 kg.

Tigran Martirosyan won in the snatch event with the result of 158 kg,
outrunning his opponents with 12 kg.

Tigran Martirosyan and V. Dabaya showed the same result (188 kg)
in the clean and jerk, but Dabaya won because of his lighter weight,
setting two new youth records.

In the women’s contest Hripsime Khurshudyan failed in the snatch.

However, she achieved a gold medal in the clean and jerk with the
result of 141 kg.

As of today, the Armenian women’s team has achieved 7 gold medals
and decisively leads in the team competition.

PM TIGRAN SARGSYAN INTRODUCES TEH NEWLY APPOINTED MINISTER OF JUSTICE

armradio.am
17.04.2008 16:32

Today RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan presented the newly appointed
Minister of Justice, Mr. Gevorg Danielyan to the staff of the Ministry
of Justice.

Congratulating the Minister on assuming office, the Prime Minister
noted he is glad that Gevorg Danielyan is going to head the Ministry,
because he is a just, honest and decent person and has achieved this
fame thanks to his long activity.

RA Prime Minister noted that the role of the Ministry of Justice is
extremely great in having an effective Government. "If the Ministry
of Justice works effectively, we shall be able to make the whole
governance system healthier," he noted.

"There are different opinions about justice in Armenia. There is
serious criticism, as well. The opinion prevails among the society
that we have not managed to form a legal system in Armenia that
would allow people to feel defended, and would ensure the rule of
law in the country. I think we should overcome this psychological
complex via devoted joint work. I’m sure Gevorg Danielyan is the
person who can solve this issue together with you, and naturally,
due to teamwork of the Government," Tigran Sargsyan noted.

Thanking the Prime Minister and the President, Gevvrg Danielyan noted
that the staff working with him realizes its tasks and succeeds to
acquire necessary professionalism.

"You are informed about the problems that exist in the system. I
assure that the expectations you connect with the system will come
true. There are unsolved issues, and we shall do our best to solve
those," Gevorg Danielyan assured.

MOSCOW MAYOR’S OFFICE FRUSTRATING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATIVE EVENT?

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.04.2008 14:17 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Every year on April 24, marking the anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by Young Turks in 1915-1923, the
Union of Armenians of Russia (UAR) organizes a rally at the Turkish
Embassy in Moscow.

Levon Mukunyan, head of the Youth Association of SAR Moscow
Organization told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter that Moscow mayor’s
office works to prevent the action this year.

"We petitioned for authorization. However, no response has come yet,"
he said.

Meanwhile, as PanARMENIAN.Net came to know from a source in Moscow,
the Turkish Embassy is giving a reception on April 24, 2008.

On the same day The Lark Farm will be for the first time screened
in Russia.

As adapted from the novel by Antonia Arslan and co-directed by
legendary Italian brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani in 2007, The
Lark Farm marks one of the few international features to tackle the
Armenian Genocide head-on.

529,231 USERS CONNECTED TO REPUBLICAN GAS SYSTEM

Noyan Tapan
April 15, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The number of actual users of
ArmRusgazprom CJSC increased by 2,872 in March and made 529,231
users connected to the gas system as of April 1. NT correspondent was
informed by the company’s press service that the 200 thousandth user
was linked to the gas system of Yerevan on March 31.

It is noteworthy that gas supply networks have been installed in 472
settlements of the country. The company envisages investing at least 62
bln drams (about 200 mln USD) in the system this year. ArmRusgasprom
transfers 75 mln drams to the RA state budget and 6 mln drams to the
Social Fund a day.

OSCE TO MONITOR BORDER REGIONS

Trend News Agency
April 14 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 14 April / Trend News corr. E.Huseynli / On 15
April, OSCE will hold monitoring on the border line near Tapgaragoyunlu
village of Goranboy region of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Defence Ministry
reported TrendNews.

Personal representative of Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Peter Ki
and Antal Herdich, will hold monitoring from Azerbaijani side.

>From the Armenian side the monitoring will be held by Imre Palatinus,
Irji Aberli and Jaslan Nurtazin, the Field Assistant to Personal
Representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office.

In 1994, Armenia and Azerbaijan reached ceasefire agreement and peace
negotiations are ongoing between the countries so far.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988, due to the Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

Since 1992, the Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven neighboring
districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire
agreement which ended the active hostilities. The Co-Chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding
the peaceful negotiations.

NEW PREMIER INTRODUCED TO ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT

Interfax News Agency
April 10 2008
Russia

President Serzh Sargsyan introduced newly appointed Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan to the national government on Thursday.The appointment
was made on April 9, and the Armenian parliament accepted Sargsyan’s
resignation from the position of the Central Bank chairman earlier
in the day.

The government will fulfill ambitious plans under the guidance of
the new premier, the president said. The new premier said he favored
teamwork.

The president thanked the government for the joint work. He also
signed an ordinance, which dismissed the incumbent government, on
April 9. Incumbent ministers will perform their duties until a new
government is formed.

Sargsyan was inaugurated for president on April 9.

In line with the Armenian constitution, the new government will be
formed within 20 days of the appointment of the new premier.

Tigran Sargsyan was born in Kirovakan (currently Vanadzor) on January
29, 1960. He is married, with two children. He is not a party member.

Sargsyan is a reserve officer. He graduated from the Voznesensky
Finance and Economics Institute in Leningrad in 1983 and did post-
graduate studies at the International Law Institute in Washington
and the World Bank’s Economic Development Institute.

Sargsyan was the chairman of the Association of Armenian Banks in
1995-1998 and chaired the Central Bank in March 1998 – April 2008.

JUDGEMENT TO BE PRONOUNCED ON APRIL 14

A1+
11 April, 2008

The Appellate Court is due to pronounce a judgement on GALA TV Company
at 2:00, April 14. Today the Court held a hearing on the case.

The chief executive of the TV Company, Karine Harutiunian, informed
A1+ that the proceedings had been held without "major" incidents.

"The representative of the City Hall didn’t want the proceedings to
be shot. Nevertheless, the Court permitted shooting as his arguments
were groundless," she said.

Karine Harutiunian says the Court was loyal and well-disposed. Even
her fellow colleagues noticed it.

To note, the Company challenges the verdict of First Instance Court
of Gyumri under which the disputed television tower belongs to the
plaintiff – the City Hall of Gyumri.

SURVIVORS REMEMBER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
By Jessica Lyons

Queens Courier
/04/09/news/local/news36.txt
April 10 2008
NY

As the 93rd anniversary of the Armenian genocide approaches, the few
remaining survivors continue to tell their stories in order to make
sure that the world knows what happened and does not soon forget
about it.

The anniversary is commemorated on April 24, which marks the date
that the Armenian Genocide began in 1915. From 1915 to 1923, 1.5
million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were killed by Young Turks.

An additional 500,000 were exiled.

Survivor Onorik Eminian, now 95 and living at the NY Home for the
Armenian Aged in Flushing, was just a little girl playing ball
outside when the Turks invaded her home in Izmir. Two Turks entered
her family’s home, pulling her hair and slapping her as they asked
where her father was. They took Eminian’s father away with them,
but the Turks returned to her house.

"They killed my father and they brought his jacket and pants (back),
all (covered with) blood," Eminian said.

Eminian saw her mother and grandmother shot and killed and her baby
brother thrown and killed. She was also hit with a rifle butt that
she still has scars from.

Eventually, the Red Cross took Eminian in and placed her in an
orphanage. She later went to Greece and moved to the United States
in 1930.

Born in Palu on December 22, 1909, Perouz Kalousdian was six years
old when the war started. One of the first things she said happened
was all of the men were taken away and never seen again.

"After that, they took everything away from us," said Kalousdian,
also a resident of the home in Flushing. "I’ll never, never forget."

Charlotte Kechejian, a 95-year-old survivor who was born in Nikhda,
remembers walking through the desert with her mother, feeling tired,
thirsty and hungry. Her mother kept promising her that it would only
be a little while longer and that in the end she would have comfort
and happiness.

"Thank God I had my mother," said Kechejian, who came to the United
States with her mother when she was 10 and is now living at the NY
Home for the Armenian Aged. "If I didn’t have my mother, how would
I have had courage (at) eight years old?"

Survivor Arsalos Dadir’s father was also killed. Being that her
family was wealthy, Dadir, now 94, and her mother, grandmother and
great-grandmother were able to find safety with a wealthy Turkish
family that they were on good terms with. The family eventually
moved to Constantinople, where Dadir married and raised two children,
moving to the United States later in life. She now also lives at the
home in Flushing.

Armenian genocide expert Dr. Dennis R. Papazian estimates that there
are roughly 200 to 300 survivors still living in the United States.

On Sunday, April 27, the Armenian genocide will be commemorated with an
event in Times Square at 2 p.m. There will be free bus transportation
to and from. In Queens, there will be a bus at Baruyr’s at 40th Street
and Queens Boulevard.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SWORN IN AFTER MONTHS OF UNREST OVER ELECTION

Earthtimes
April 9 2008
UK

Moscow/Yerevan – Armenia’s President Serzh Sarkisian was sworn into
office Wednesday after months of violent protests in the capital since
his February 19 election in a contested vote. The inauguration included
a military parade in the capital Yerevan’s Liberty Square, scene of
major demonstrations led by opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian
after elections in the small Caucasus of 3.2 million.

"You had the right not to vote for me," Sarkisian told those present
for Wednesday’s event. "But I’m your president."

He said that as president he would "do my utmost to reach a mutual
understanding in society and rid it of polarization and vulgar strife."

The opposition has been carrying out daily protests against the
election results, but has taken care to limit demonstrations to less
than 100 and launch them from activities such as chess in order to
bypass government restrictions after a state of emergency was declared
in the capital.

Outgoing President Robert Kocharian imposed emergency rule that banned
mass gatherings and censored the media after a night of violent clashes
between police and opposition protestors left eight dead on March 1.

The US and British embassies in Yerevan Wednesday warned citizens of
possible violence in the capital.

"We wish to remind American citizens that even demonstrations intended
to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into
violence," The US embassy said in a statement.

During the inauguration ceremony, about 100 opposition members gathered
to erect a monument to those who died in the overnight protests,
Interfax news agency reported.

Supporters of opposition leader and first president Ter-Petrosian
held banners reading "Fight till the End" and "Levon President",
while others stood silently with candles and pictures of the dead
and those currently held in detention.

Armenian authorities have confirmed that over 60 opposition activists
are being held on charges of orchestrating unrest.

Western powers fear instability in the strategic region could disrupt
gas pipeline routes from the Caspian and further undermine a fragile
security situation with Armenia’s neighbours Georgia, Azerbaijan
and Turkey.

Sarkisian is expected to keep to the line set by his political mentor
incumbent Kocharian during his decade at the helm – specifically
strong ties with Russia.