Author: Karakhanian Suren

NO MILITARY CARGOES FOR ARMENIA THROUGH UPPER LARS

news.am
March 4 2010
Armenia

Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze rules out any possibility
of transportation of military cargoes from Armenia through the Upper
Lars checkpoint. The Georgian FM made a relevant statement in response
to Azerbaijan’s concern over the possibility of Russia’s transporting
military cargoes to Armenia through the check point.

"I understand my Azerbaijani counterpart’s concern, but I declare with
all responsibility that no bullet will go through Lars," Gruziya Online
() reported, referring to the Minister.

NEWS.am reminds readers that official Baku has expressed its concern
over the reopening of the Upper Lars check point. Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov stated Azerbaijan will immediately respond
in case Russia transports weapons to Armenia through Georgia.

ARMENIAN OLYMPIANS HAVE BEEN HONORED IN VANCOUVER

hos17010.html
13:17:58 – 02/03/2010

February 28, at S. Vardan Armenian Church in Vancouver a ceremony of
honoring the first Armenian winter Olympians – Kristina Khachatriyn,
Ani-Matilda Serebrakyan, Sergei Mikaelyan and Arsène Nersisyan was
held. The ceremony was attended by about 200 Armenians living in
Vancouver.

TURKISH RAPPROCHEMENT IN CRISIS – ARMENIAN ANALYST
Kamala Mammadova

news.az
March 2 2010
Azerbaijan

Alexander Iskandaryan News.Az interviews Alexander Iskandaryan,
Armenian political scientist and director of the Caucasus Institute.

The Armenian parliament submitted the Armenian-Turkish protocols to
parliament, but decided to postpone their discussion. The Turkish
side, in turn, accused Armenia of not being constructive. How do you
evaluate Turkish-Armenian relations? Has the process reached deadlock?

The presidents of Armenia and Turkey have submitted the protocols to
their parliaments and in both cases the discussions are frozen. The
legislative procedures in the two countries are a little different:
the protocols had to undergo consideration in the Constitutional Court
in Armenia. In fact, there is nothing extraordinary about the "freeze",
the problem is complicated, there are many foreign and domestic policy
considerations and it is unrealistic to expect everything to proceed
smoothly in two days.

What further steps will be taken? Will the parliaments of both
countries ratify the protocols?

This depends on very many parameters: on the approval of House
Resolution 252 in the US Congress foreign affairs committee [on
recognizing the Armenian genocide], the dynamics of the ruling party’s
rating in Turkey, the possible change of date in the parliamentary
elections in this country from 2011 to autumn 2010, the parameters of
tacit competition in Gul and Erdogan’s secret cooperation and so on. I
think the process is in crisis though there is a small possibility
of ratification. Meanwhile, the problems mostly lie with Ankara. No
one doubts that the Armenian parliament will ratify the protocols if
the executive authorities have the political will.

What do you expect from 24 April? Will the US president use the term
"genocide" to describe the 1915 events in his traditional speech?

He will do it in any form. He did it last year. Mets Yegern is the
Armenian equivalent of "Holocaust", which is the name of the Armenian
Genocide. I think the possibility of his using the word "genocide" in
English, which is painfully perceived by Turks, is low. The Americans
would hardly benefit from losing the opportunity to put pressure on
Turkey over the issue after 24 April.

What are the current dynamics in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations? Are
achievements on Karabakh possible in the near future?

There have been no dynamics in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations at least
since 2001 if not since 1996. These relations are static rather than
dynamic. There is a dynamic of rhetoric, which is toughened or softened
at different times. This is connected not with Armenian-Azerbaijani
relations but with resistance to attempts by foreign powers to
settle the conflict. Theoretically, both parties want the conflict
to be settled, but their scenarios are so discrepant that they are
incompatible. Meanwhile, the real settlement is only possible if
both sides lose something. As the sides are not ready for this,
the process is turning into the imitation of a settlement. I dare
say that had it not been for the external world, none of the parties
would have conducted any negotiations at all.

What is the role of the superpowers in the Karabakh settlement?

It is significant. The superpowers are a serious part of the balance
of overlapping interests in the region. The more or less expressed
consensus of the superpowers stabilizes the situation in the conflict
area.

What do you think can put an end to the conflict between Armenians
and Azerbaijanis?

Nothing in the political perspective. In the historical perspective
a solution can become possible through changes in the mentality of
the population from a zero-sum-game to other concepts, permitting
the perception of the negotiation process not as a bludgeon but as a
search for compromise. Then the politicians may have carte blanche
to develop a mutually profitable settlement option. Of course,
the chance of such a solution may appear. but the current political
situation does not leave hope for this. Therefore, I have no hopes for
a settlement in the short or medium term. Resistance to resolution
inside the region is stronger than pressure from outside. I do not
believe the discourse of war is serious. If we count out settlement
and war, that leaves us with nothing.

EDWARD NALBANDYAN: STATEMENTS, BEING VOICED IN TURKEY, STRIKE AT ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROCESS

ArmInfo
2010-03-02 12:26:00

ArmInfo. The statements, being voiced in Turkey, strike at the
process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations, Foreign
Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan said today when commenting on
the last statement of Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
at ArmInfo’s request.

"Return to the language of preconditions strikes at the
Armenian-Turkish process. We hope that Turkey will get rid of the
artificial obstacles it creates, and we shall have a chance to move
forward based on the agreements reached", E. Nalbandyan said.

To recall, in view of the forthcoming March 4 voting in the USA
concerning the Armenian Genocide resolution, the Turkish prime
minister said if an incorrect step is made on March 4 or April 24,
the Armenian-Turkish process will fail. He expressed hope that members
of the American Congress will take this nuance into consideration.

TURKS AND ARMENIANS TO REBUILD HISTORIC BRIDGE ON BORDER

Hurriyet
Feb 28 2010
Turkey

Turkey and Armenia are cooperating to reconstruct a 10th-century
bridge on the Arpacay River despite the faltering of the process of
political reconciliation between the two countries.

The Arpacay River establishes the border between Turkey and Armenia;
the ruined bridge that once spanned it had one foot in each country.

The Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey, or TEPAV, initiated
the effort to reconstruct the bridge, which is on the historic Silk
Road. The project is supported by both Turkish President Abdullah
Gul and the Yerevan administration, and is said to be looked upon
favorably by members of the Armenian diaspora as well.

Built by the Armenian Kingdom, the defunct bridge connotes the lack
of economic and political ties between the two countries, but its
reconstruction could symbolize a new era in bilateral relations.

TEPAV President Guven Sak first approached Armenian Prime Minister
Tigran Sarkisian and Deputy Culture Minister Arev Samelyan about
the project. Gul, who has been interested in the effort since he was
first informed about it in February 2009, was briefed on the current
situation Friday following the visit of a TEPAV delegation to Yerevan.

According to TEPAV officials, there is an urgent need to have a set
of creative and genuine confidence-building steps in the relationship
between Turkey and Armenia.

"It is important to strengthen the momentum. The positive impact of
the political reconciliation on society should be reinforced," said
one official from TEPAV, which has also been active in projects to
bring Palestinians and Israelis together. "Symbolic steps will give
visibility to the political will. These steps should increase the
contacts between the two peoples and enable them to open the borders
in their mentalities."

Such steps should also aim at preparing the economic infrastructure
of the South Caucasus, the official added.

Turkey previously restored the Armenian church in Akdamar Lake, near
the eastern city of Van, as well as some of the historical buildings
near Kars. Armenia, however, did not participate in those efforts

SUMGAIT TRAGEDY VICTIMS COMMEMORATED IN ROMANIA

news.am
March 1 2010
Armenia

February 28, memorial service on commemoration of Sumgait victims
was conducted in Armenian church in Bucharest, RA MFA press service
informed NEWS.am.

RA Ambassador to Romania Yeghishe Sargsyan, Priest Yezras Bogdan,
Deputy President of Union of Armenians in Romania and Romanian
Parliament member Varuzhan Pambukchyan delivered speeches.

The participants laid flowers to the memorial in the yard of the
church.

GENOCIDE ARMENIEN: ANKARA ESPERE LE REJET D’UNE RESOLUTION AD HOC PAR LE CONGRES US

RIA Novosti
.html
1 Mars 2010
Russie

Le ministère turc des Affaires étrangères a prévenu lundi les
Etats-Unis que l’adoption par le Congrès américain d’un projet
de résolution reconnaissant le génocide arménien dans l’Empire
ottoman en 1915 porterait atteinte aux relations turco-américaines
et aux efforts visant a normaliser les relations entre la Turquie
et l’Arménie.

"Nous espérons que le projet de résolution sera rejeté", lit-on
dans une déclaration du porte-parole de la diplomatie turque Burak
Ozugergin.

Il a rappelé que malgré les avertissements réitérés d’Ankara,
la commission des affaires internationales du Congrès avait inscrit
le projet de résolution a l’ordre du jour de sa réunion du 4 mars.

"Les membres de la commission doivent comprendre que l’adoption du
projet nuira aux relations entre la Turquie et les Etats-Unis et aux
efforts de normalisation dans le Caucase du sud", a fait savoir le
diplomate, invitant les législateurs américains "a faire preuve de
sens des responsabilités".

La Turquie nie avoir exterminé près 1,5 million d’Arméniens pendant
la Première Guerre mondiale et réagit douloureusement a la critique
de la part de l’Occident.

Le génocide du peuple arménien a été reconnu par de nombreux
pays, dont l’Uruguay, la Russie, la France, l’Italie, l’Allemagne,
les Pays-Bas, la Belgique, la Pologne, la Lituanie, la Slovaquie,
la Suède, la Suisse, la Grèce, Chypre, le Liban, le Canada, le
Venezuela, l’Argentine et 42 Etats des Etats-Unis.

Le massacre a également été reconnu par le Vatican, le Parlement
européen et le Conseil mondial des Eglises.

L’Arménie et la Turquie n’entretiennent pas de relations diplomatiques
bilatérales, et leur frontière commune est fermée depuis 1993 a
l’initiative d’Ankara.

Cette inimitié s’explique, entre autres, par le soutien d’Ankara a
la position azerbaïdjanaise sur le conflit du Haut-Karabakh et par
la réaction violente de la Turquie a la reconnaissance internationale
du génocide arménien.

Le 10 octobre 2009, les chefs de diplomatie arménien et turc Edouard
Nalbandian et Ahmet Davutoglu ont signé a Zurich le Protocole sur
l’établissement des relations diplomatiques et le Protocole sur le
développement des relations bilatérales. Ces documents ont été
soumis pour ratification aux parlements des deux pays.

RALLY STARTED

s17000.html
17:43:49 – 01/03/2010

Today in Yerevan, near Matenadaran, the rally of the Armenian National
Congress started. The leaders of the opposition headed by Levon
Ter-Petrosyan arrived. The number of ralliers is several thousand
and it keeps increasing.

The rally started with one-minute silence honoring the memory of the
victims of March 1. The parents of the victims also held speeches.

According to them, their children were killed by the government.

Though the authors of the March 1 crimes have not been punished,
the parents are not discouraged and are determined to struggle up to
the end.

The Armenian National Congress accepts proposals from citizens in
connection with placing a monument in memory of March 1 victims.

Armenian-Russian innovation center to be established in Armenia

2010-02-26
more/id/592137/lang/en

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26, ARMENPRESS: Armenian-Russian innovation center
will be established in Armenia for coordinating the scientific
potential of the CIS member-countries. Samuel Harutyunyan, Chairman of
the State Committee for Sciences, said at a press conference today and
added that establishing such a center will be considered by CIS
member-states a pilot-project. He expressed hope that the center will
be established in late month and said the project is fully funded –
10% is provided by the Armenian side and 90% by the Russian side.

Division of Public Health
University of Utah
Contact: Hripsime Zatikyan Wright, MD, MPH
[email protected]
1605 Franke Cir.
Salt Lake City, Utah 84104
Tel: 801-808-0414

The Armenia Public Health Study Abroad Program at the University of
Utah is an essential component of University’s Global Health
Initiative.

The Study Abroad program is part of much larger public health
collaboration between the Ministry of Health in Armenia, the American
University of Armenia and the University of Utah. However, this
program is key for successful partnership with Armenia, because, along
with addressing pressing health issues in Armenia it creates awareness
about Armenia in our academic and professional spheres, creating
interest and drawing more intellectual assets to aid Armenia.

This program is truly one of its kind. It uses community-based
participatory research model as a foundation of projects, and engages
in community partnerships that focus on collaboration and sustainable
outcomes. In other words, instead of only handing out humanitarian
aid, our goal is to produce positive, measurable improvements among
populations experiencing health inequalities by training, educating
and mentoring local professionals while we address pressing health
issues in Armenia.

Hripsime Zatikyan Wright, a faculty member at the University of Utah
and BYU established the Armenia Public Health Study Abroad Program. As
a survivor of Armenia earthquake she has firsthand experience in
catastrophic public health situations, and has aimed her professional
experience and this program to improving the quality of life and
reducing preventable sickness and death in Armenia.

For the program to have a lasting impact it needs your help and
support. The project faces cancellation due to insufficient
enrollment. All contributions are tax deductible and should be made to
the Division of Public Health at The University of Utah. The Armenia
Study Abroad program is a tremendous opportunity to make a lasting and
sustainable difference in many lives in Armenia and promoting Armenian
Studies and potentially a center at the University of Utah. Please
join us in supporting this valuable resource for promoting health in
Armenia.

Attached please find a brochure for the program and the URL for
the website.

https: //utah-horizons.symplicity.com/index.php?mode=3Dfo rm&id=3D23a731fc3392df6a3441d253df198245&s =3Dprograms