Author: Jagharian Tania

ARMENIA HALTS DEAL ON TURKEY TIES

europe/8636800.stm
Published: 2010/04/22 11:12:13 GMT

Armenia’s ruling coalition has said it is halting the ratification
in parliament of landmark accords on normalising relations with Turkey.

It said it was because of Turkey’s refusal to "ratify the protocols
without preconditions", chiefly over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The countries signed a historic deal in 2009 to re-establish diplomatic
ties.

There had been a century of hostility following the World War I mass
killings of Armenians.

MASS KILLINGS OF ARMENIANS

Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians killed by Ottoman Turks
in 1915-6 Many historians and the Armenian people believe the
killings amount to genocide Turks and some historians deny they were
orchestrated More than 20 countries regard the massacres as genocide

Diplomatic moves to normalise relations have faltered recently.

The Armenian coalition decided to halt the ratification process of
the accord signed in October last year after Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it would depend on a peace deal over
Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian statement said.

"Considering the Turkish side’s refusal to fulfil the requirement
to ratify the accord without preconditions in a reasonable time,
making the continuation of the ratification process in the national
parliament pointless, we consider it necessary to suspend this
process," the statement said.

"The political majority in the national assembly considers statements
from the Turkish side in recent days as unacceptable, specifically
those by Prime Minister Erdogan, who has again made the ratification
of the Armenia-Turkish protocols by the Turkish parliament directly
dependent on a resolution over Nagorno-Karabakh," it said.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 to protest against
Armenia’s war with its neighbour Azerbaijan over the enclave, which
is within Azerbaijan but under the control of ethnic Armenian forces.

Thousands of people lost their lives in a conflict that erupted after
the break-up of the Soviet Union.

A fragile ceasefire was signed in 1994 leaving Karabakh under de
facto ethnic Armenian control.

In October last year, Turkey and Armenia signed a historic accord
normalising relations despite differences over the World War I mass
killings of Armenians.

Armenia wants Turkey to recognise the killings as an act of genocide,
but successive Turkish governments have refused to do so.

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915, when they were
deported en masse from eastern Anatolia by the Ottoman Empire.

They were killed by troops or died from starvation and disease.

ARMENIAN DIASPORA OF MALTA TO COMMEMORATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 22, 2010 – 18:17 AMT 13:17 GMT

On April 24, the Armenian community of Malta will commemorate the
Armenian Genocide victims at khachkar set in the center of Valetta,
miasin.ru reported.

TURKEY, ARMENIA SHOULD ‘MOVE AHEAD’

news.az
April 22 2010
Azerbaijan

Sabine Freizer Ankara and Yerevan should act now on the less
controversial aspects of the rapprochement accords, setting aside
full ratification until later.

This is the view put forward by Sabine Freizer, Europe Program director
for the International Crisis Group.

Writing for the Global Post, Freizer said that the protocols on
normalizing relations and opening the border, signed by Armenia and
Turkey in October 2009, had stalled with no likelihood of ratification
in the respective parliaments any time soon.

‘The Turkish government decided that it could not ignore Azeri pressure
and with difficult negotiations going on concerning constitutional
reform, it does not want to pick a fight over border opening with
the nationalist opposition in parliament. There is little chance
that the twin protocols can move until after the next round of
Turkish elections in 2011, or until Azerbaijan and Armenia sign
the long-awaited agreement on basic principles on Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict resolution,’ Freizer said.

She writes that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is also under
pressure. ‘Even though a quick ratification in Armenia would firmly
put the ball in Turkey’s court and give Yerevan credit internationally,
domestic opposition is strong.’

Armenia and Turkey could go ahead and establish diplomatic ties,
the analyst said.

‘The decade of confidence-building that preceded the Turkey-Armenian
protocol signing could now be lost unless there is progress soon. The
best step now would be for Ankara and Yerevan to temporarily put
aside the most difficult aspects of the protocols and move ahead with
the less controversial parts. Despite current troubles, they could
proceed with the establishment of diplomatic ties and recognition of
their mutual border. These need no parliamentary approval, are purely
about bilateral relations and are not linked to Nagorno-Karabakh.

‘Turkey and Armenia have a mounting number of bilateral issues to
address requiring simple consular services. There are up to 40,000
Armenian citizens living in Turkey, tens of thousands of Armenian
tourists visit the Turkish riviera every year and countless Turkish
truck drivers and small businesses operating in Armenia.’

RADIO AURORA CHANGING PLAYLIST ON APRIL 24

Tert.am
22.04.10

An Armenian local radio station Aurora is changing its play-list from
the midnight on April 24 on the occasion of the commemoration of the
Armenian Genocide. On this day the station will air music performances
relevant to the symbolism of the atmosphere of the day.

Also part of the commemoration Aurora will air the following text in
different languages:

"April 24 is the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in the
Ottoman Empire.

This was the first international crime in the history of mankind
orchestrated with the aim of exterminating a whole nation for its
national affiliation.

The killing of 1.5 million of Armenians … It will be impossible
to hide the physical extermination of one of the oldest nations in
the world which had a large investment in the development of human
civilization.

The text will be read in the following languages: Armenian, Russian,
English, French, Spanish, Italian, Georgian, Ukrainian, Arabic,
Turkish, Persian, German, Chinese, Belorussian, Kurdish, Polish,
Greek and Jewish.

PROGRAM ON CREATION OF RESTORATION CENTER TO BE LAUNCHED IN SEPTEMBER 2010

ArmInfo
2010-04-22 12:36:00

ArmInfo. The program on creation of a Restoration Center will be
launched in September 2010, Armenian Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan
told ArmInfo correspondent.

She recalled that in January 2010 an agreement was signed with the
Italian government on grant provision. Poghosyan said that the first
tranche of the grant was doubled to 1 mln EUR. "We are glad to say that
the Italian party promised to provide us with every possible support
in implementation of the program on creation of the Restoration
Center",- she said. The Center will operate on the basis of other
establishments. For instance, a center for restoration of frescoes
will be launched at the Erebouni Reserve Museum, and a center for
restoration of cultural values – at the National Gallery.

The future Center will be actively engaged in education activities.

ITALIAN OPPOSITION DEMANDS SENATE RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Tert.am
22.04.10

An Italian Senator from the Democratic Party has demanded the Senate
to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

At an April 21 speech at the Senate Albertina Soliani, recalling
that April 24 is commemorated in Armenia as the day of the Armenian
Genocide, said the following.

"We call on all our colleagues to commemorate the remembrance of
the victims together with the Armenian community in Italy and in
the Republic of Armenia. We do believe that the recognition and
acknowledgment of that atrocity will establish a new and stable basis
for cooperation between Armenia and Turkey," said Senator Soliani,
adding that Italy’s Senate should recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Armenian President To Address The Nation April 22

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 22, 2010 – 12:19 AMT 07:19 GMT

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan briefed on the outcomes of his
visits to Washington and Moscow during the April 21 meeting of the
RA National Security Council.

President Sargsyan said he held a series of consultations with the
leaders of parties forming the political coalition.

On April 22, he will address the nation to inform of the decision
taken as a result of the above mentioned discussions, the presidential
press office reported.

GOVERNMENT RELEASES ADDITIONAL 3.3 BILLION DRAMS FOR EARTHQUAKE ZONE

/ARKA/
April 20, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, April 20, /ARKA/. The Armenian government has released
additional 3.3 billion Drams to finance construction of residential
compounds in Armenia’s second largest town of Gyumri and other towns
and villages in the so-called disaster zone that was razed to ground
by a 1988 earthquake, urban planning minister Vardan Vardanian told
a news conference today.

He said initially 1056 apartments had been planned to be build by
May, but the date was postponed until June after president Serzh
Sargsyan recently visited the area, instructing the ministry to pay a
greater attention to connecting new homes to the natural gas network,
installing heating systems and so on.

The 2010 budget earmarks 24 billion Drams for the disaster zone. The
minister said the extra release of 3.3 billion Drams will be spent to
eliminate the shortcomings found by the president. Vardan Vardanian
said also construction of schools will be launched in the area from
mid-May.

‘We are planning to complete construction of housing for homeless
people in 2013. Currently we have a list of 7,000 such families,’
he said.

The 1998 December 7 earthquake razed to ground Gyumri and Spitak, and
over 100 rural communities, killing, according to government figures,
25,000 people and injuring 140,000. Half a million people lost their
homes. ($1- 394.24 Drams).

EVENT DATED TO 95TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE HELD IN MOSCOW

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 20, 2010 – 10:16 AMT 05:16 GMT

An event dated to the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in
the Ottoman Empire was held in Nekrasov central town library of Moscow.

The event was organized by Ararat Cultural Union and Culture Department
of Moscow.

Senior official of the Armenian Embassy to Russia Robert Ananyan
emphasized in his remarks that recognition and condemnation of the
Genocide will make it possible to prevent such tragedies in the future.

Political Science Ph.D. Alexander Svarants, Chairman of the
Russian-Armenian Cooperation NGO Yuri Navoyan and Deputy Chairman of
the Russian Union of Cooperation and Friendship with Armenia Vladimir
Osipov also delivered speeches.

Prominent Armenian and Russian politicians, science, art and culture
workers attended the event, RA MFA press service reported.

ARMENIAN DIASPORA MINISTER CALLS ON NATIONAL HOKEY TEAM TO VISIT MOTHERLAND OFTEN

ArmInfo
2010-04-19 21:48:00

Arminfo. Armenian Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakopyan received today
members of Armenian national hokey team

As press-service of the Ministry reported, having congratulated members
of the team on victories, the minister advised hokey-players to draw
mote attention to their education and called them to unite in order
to fight challenges of the XXI century. Hakopyan also presented the
programme "Ari tun" (come home) to the guests and advised them to
visit Motherland as often as possible.