Author: Nadirian Emma

BAKU OPPOSES OPENING OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER PRIOR TO FREEING KARABAKH

Interfax
March 2 2009
Russia

The opening of the Turkish-Armenian border before the end of the
Armenian occupation of Azeri lands would contradict Azeri national
interests, Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov told the media on
Thursday, ANS channel said.

"If Armenian forces do not withdraw from the occupied Azeri lands
and the border opens, that would contradict national interests of
Azerbaijan," he said.

In the words of Mamedyarov, the Azeri position has been conveyed to
the Turkish administration.

"I must say that the Turkish administration recognizes that and
stresses the need for further negotiations and the pullout of Armenian
forces from the occupied lands. This is the only way to open the
border," the minister emphasized.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT RATIFIED A TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 2009

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.04.2009 18:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ At Thursday sitting the Armenian Government ratified
a Tourism Development Program 2009. The program stipulates the
following development directions: advertising, broadcasting of Armenia
commercials, festive events aiming to attract tourists, organization
of foreign tour operators and journalists visits to Armenia .

According to development program data, in recent years, due to target
tourist programs implemented by government, with the assistance of
state authorities, municipal government, private sector and local
population, a stable tourist inflow growth has been registered
in Armenia.

In 2007 the number of tourists visiting Armenia comprised 510 000
and in 2008 – 558 400. The Program will provide strategies to boost
tourist inflow to Armenia to 650 000 people.

KREMLIN TO HOST TASHIR MUSIC AWARDS CEREMONY ON APR. 4

AN.Net
02.04.2009 19:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Kremlin will host 4th Tashir Music Awards
ceremony on Apr. 4. Tashir Awards are annually granted to singers,
musicians and arts workers for their contributions to Armenian
music. This year, Inga and Anush Arshakyans will participate in the
4th Tashir Awards ceremony. The singers will represent Armenian at
the oncoming Eurovision 2009 musical contest.

Award Ceremony show will be broadcast live by Armenian Public
Television. International celebrities like Charles Aznavour,
Khulio Iglesias, Liz Mitchell, Sher attended previous Tashir Awards
ceremonies.

"THE ARMENIANS: SPIRIT OF SURVIVAL" EXHIBIT TO BE HELD IN BERGEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.04.2009 00:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Bergen Community College in Paramus (US, NJ)
will celebrate the Armenian people’s triumph over tragedy with
the New Jersey premiere of "The Armenians: Spirit of Survival," a
photography exhibit sponsored by the College’s Center for the Study
of Intercultural Understanding, the Bergen Community College Peace,
Justice and Reconciliation Center and the Bergen Community College
Foundation.

Gallery Bergen, the College’s art exhibition space, will house the
display from Saturday, April 25, to Friday, May 22. The gallery
is located on the third floor of the College’s high-technology and
arts building.

According to The Armenian Reporter, the exhibit, provided by Project
SAVE Armenian Photograph Archives, Inc., chronicles the struggle of
the Armenian people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as their
culture, religion, language and very existence were threatened by the
Ottoman, Russian and Persian empires, and then later by the Soviet
Union. The Armenian people were the targets of the Armenian Genocide,
which led to the deaths of as many as 1.5 million people in 1915. The
Armenians persevered – in spite of great loss – and found the spirit
needed to thrive.

Ruth Thomasian, executive director of Project SAVE, will conduct a
presentation on Tuesday, April 28 in Gallery Bergen on the origins
of the Armenian photograph archives and on the development of the
exhibition.

The Gallery Bergen display will feature 40 large photographs and
include text documenting the Armenians’ internment, mass execution and
subsequent diaspora from Asia Minor. Project SAVE’s 25,000 photographs,
which date from 1860, feature families living during the Ottoman,
Russian and Persian empires, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia
and the Republic of Armenia.

Project SAVE, founded in 1975, is a Watertown, Mass.-based nonprofit
whose mission is to collect, document and preserve the historic and
modern photographic record of Armenians and their heritage. Thomasian
maintains the world’s only photographic archive chronicling the
journey of the Armenian people.

WRESTLING: FIRST VICTORIES

A1+
01:35 pm | April 01, 2009

Sports

Free style wrestling is still ongoing in Vilnius, Lithuania. Wrestlers
of 60, 74 and 96 kg weight categories compete today. Armenia has
representatives in all the categories.

Armenian sportsman Arthur Arakelyan (60 kg) wrestled with Saurunas
Yurkis of Lithuania and beat his contestant 6:0. A serious ordeal is
awaiting Arthur Arakelyan at the next round. He is to grapple with
Adam Batirov, a leading wrestler of Moscow’s CSKA.

Another Armenian sportsman, Suren Markosyan beat Michael Grundy of
Great Britain (10:0) in the 74 weight category. Markosyan’s next
contender will be Gela Saghirashvili of Georgia.

The Armenian team has already won two medals at the European Wrestling
Championship. Ruslan Basiev (120 kg) and Jirayr Hovhannisyan (66 kg)
won silver and bronze medals respectively.

A "SHEAKSPEARE FESTIVAL" – IN THE KAPAN STATE DRAMATIC THEATRE AFTER A. SHIRVANZADE

ARMENPRESS
Apr 2, 2009

KAPAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS: The Armono "Shakespeare Festival" will
kick of April 14 in the newly reconstructed building of Kapan State
Dramatic Theatre after Al. Shirvanzade with the participation of
theatrical groups from 27 countries of the world.

Head of the theatre Kamo Arzumanian told Armenpress that the theatre
hall has 200 seats, which wholly corresponds to the demands of
mono-performances which are intended to be presented to the audience
within the frameworks of the festival. The Kapan municipality has taken
up the sponsorship for conduction of the international festival due to
which the entrance of the audience will be by invitations. Within the
frameworks of "Shakespeare Festival" which is being held in Kapan for
the first time, the Dramatic theatre after Al. Shirvanzade will perform
a premiere – the "Killer" performance of Karapetian. Head of the
theatre assured that during the festival there will also be surprises.

The "Shakespeare Festival" will also be held in the capital. With
the suggestion of Syunik Governor Surik Khachatrian 1-2 performances
of the festival are possible to be held in the Goris state dramatic
theatre after V. Vagharshian for the Goris audience.

RA NA PRESIDENT RECEIVES THE DELEGATION OF GERMANY

National Assembly of RA
March 31 2009
Armenia

On March 30 President of RA National Assembly Mr Hovik Abrahamyan
received Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal
Republic of Germany (FRG) Mr Gernot Erler and Chairman of Germany-South
Caucasus Parliamentary Group of FRG Bundestag, representative of the
Social- Democratic Party Mr Steffen Reiche. RA NA Vice President,
head of Armenia-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group Mrs Arevik
Petrosyan, Deputy Foreign Minister Mrs Karine Ghazinyan, Ambassador
Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of the Federal Republic of Germany
to the Republic of Armenia Mrs Andrea Viktorin attended the meeting.

RA NA President highly assessed the present level of the
Armenian-German relations, noting that the political dialogue with
Germany is highlighted both in the context of bilateral development, as
well as development of European cooperation, which is also conditioned
by the growing interest of Germany and European Union towards the
South Caucasus regional developments. Mr Abrahamyan emphasized the
importance of the development of the inter-parliamentary relations,
noting that probably in autumn the National Assembly of Armenia will
host the head of the German Parliament, which will boost the deepening
of cooperation between the two countries. The sides highlighted the
activation of mutual visits, contacts, the exchange of information
and the implementation of legislation expertise.

Touching upon the process of the settlement of Karabakh problem NA
President Mr Hovik Abrahamyan noted that Armenia highlighted the
mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in the process of the
conflict settlement as a functioning format of negotiation process,
and Armenia adhered tо the settlement of the problem only through
peaceful way. To Mr Abrahamyan’s conviction, the sides should be
free of any steps, which could create additional tension on the
way of peaceful process, to which Azerbaijan impeded with bellicose
statements. The NA President stressed that the base of the settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement was the recognition
of the self-determination of the Nagorno Karabkh people and the
implementation of the right, the land connection between the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic (NKR) and Armenia and guarantees of security of the
NPR population. Mr Abrahamyan expressed gratitude to the German side
for its unbiased position. In the context of regional security and
stability NA President Mr Hovik Abrahamyan highlighted the development
of Armenia-Turkey relations, noting that Armenia was ready for the
establishment and development of the inter-state relations without
preconditions.

Reserving an important role in the development of the relations between
the two countries to the inter-parliamentary cooperation Minister of
State at the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany
(FRG) Mr Gernot Erler separated the cooperation of the parliamentary
friendship groups and thanked the NA President for the support to
the International Parliamentary Fellowship Programme. Mr Erler said
that within the framework of Cultural Days of Germany in Armenia
numerous events were envisaged to be held, which would more deepen the
Armenian-German friendly relations in different directions. The State
Minister positively assessed Armenia’s steps directed to make closer
the relations with the neighbours, in particular, the progress in the
Armenian-Turkish relations. Within the framework of the settlement
of the NKR problem he considered necessary to resume the immediate
contacts of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

During the meeting the sides touched upon the inner-political
situation of Armenia, highlighted the just and transparent conduct
of the elections of Yerevan Council of Elders and discussed other
issues of bilateral interest.

AYF LEADS DISCUSSION ON GENOCIDE WITH STUDENTS AT LAKEWOOD HIGH
By Allen Yekikan

026_3/31/2009_1
Tuesday March 31, 2009

LAKEWOOD, CA–Hundreds of tenth and eleventh grade history students
gathered in the Lakewood High School Library on Monday to participate
in a discussion on genocide with members of the Armenian Youth
Federation (AYF).

The discussion covered a range of issues, from the basic history of
the Armenian Genocide to how its denial put into motion a cycle of
genocide that has characterized the 20th century, as the bloodiest
in history. The recurrence of that cycle today in the 21st century
was underscored as the root cause of the genocide currently taking
place in Darfur.

Lakewood High teacher Angela Wood, who had taken the lead on teaching
the Armenian Genocide in her history classes, reached out to the
AYF to organize the discussion with class. "We’ve been teaching WWI
History to our students for many years and seeing as the Armenian
Genocide occurred at this time, we’ve always wanted our students to
be aware of this issue," she explained.

Vache Thomassian, the AYF’s chairperson, led the discussion covering
the five phases of the Genocide, focusing on how Turkey’s ongoing
denial of its crime continues to provide genocidal regimes with ample
precedents for how to carry out their crimes.

"The denial aspect is arguably the most disheartening, because not
only has the Turkish government committed the crime, but now they are
trying to rewrite our ancestor’s history by distorting the truth,
and this has led to other perpetrators believing that they can get
away with doing the same thing," said Thomassian. "We are thankful
that Ms. Wood has allowed for us to come here today to talk about the
reasons and the means that our generation has confronted in order to
prevent the government from completing this act of inhumanity."

The presentation itself lasted for 4 class periods, with Thomassian
and fellow AYF member Arek Santikian speaking to over 200 mostly
non-Armenian students about the evils of genocide.

"It was amazing how motivated these students were by the discussion,"
exclaimed Santikian, adding that many were anxious to find out ways
they could make their voices heard on the issue.

Lakewood’s congressional representative, Linda Sanchez, is currently
not signed on as a cosponsor of the Armenian Genocide Resolution,
H.Res.252. Santikian urged the students to call their congresswoman
and share their concern over the cycle of genocide.

"The best way for any individual in America to get their voice heard
is to reach out to their representative in congress and urge them to
do the right thing," he said.

At the end of every discussion, Thomassian and Santikian passed out
fliers, sponsored by the Armenian National Committee of America,
detailing all the simple ways to reach out to congressional
representatives on this and other issues.

The ANCA on Monday launched a nationwide online and print
campaign, urging concrete action to end the Darfur genocide and full
U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Titled the "Fierce Urgency
of Now," the grassroots campaign gives anti-genocide activists
across the U.S. an opportunity to learn more about the worsening
humanitarian situation in Darfur and how this atrocity fits into
the cycle of genocide that started with the Armenian Genocide
of 1915-1923. Individual’s can use the campaign’s website to send
webfaxes to members of congress and President Obama.

Founded in 1933, the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) has grown
to become the largest and most influential Armenian American youth
organization; with chapters throughout the United States and affiliated
organizations around the world. Inspired by our past and motivated
by the needs of the future, the AYF actively strives to advance
the social, political, educational and cultural awareness of all
Armenian youth.

ASPHALTING BEFORE ELECTIONS

A1+
07:24 pm | March 31, 2009

Society

Asphalting has picked up "great" momentum for a couple of days now
in the Nor-Nork district before the upcoming elections for Yerevan
city council. Even the yards of buildings are being asphalted.

"We are asphalting the areas that need asphalting," say workers.

According to them, there hasn’t been any asphalting for the past
couple of years and they must finish the job within 15 days.

One of the workers said that the important thing is that they have
something to do during the current crisis and not the minimum wage.

"If elections were held a couple of times a year, we would be employed
and would benefit from that. It doesn’t matter if they bribe or
not. The candidate whom the authorities favor will be elected,"
says Artash, 50.

Residents, however, fear that the partially asphalted road will not
sustain and will break in a short while. They say that the officials
use every chance they get to show off their good side to the public.

"They should asphalt all yards and streets and not save money by
partial asphalt," said Mrs. Svetlana.

Mrs. Varduhi praised the work that was being done, yet said that this
should be on a regular basis.

Let us remind that head of the Nor-Nork district is Republican Davit
Petrosyan who is also on the list of the Republican Party.

1116 ENTERPRISES WITH RUSSIAN CAPITAL

LRAGIR.AM
16:37:59 – 31/03/2009

The scale of the Russian investments in the Armenian economy in the
2000-2008 period counts 1, 079 billion dollars, the co-chair of the
Armenian and Russian inter-parliamentary cooperation commission
Aram Safaryan said hosted at the international media centre
"Novosti". According to him, beginning from January 1, 2009, 1116
enterprises with Russian capital have been operating in Armenia.

According to the data presented by Aram Safaryan, the trade circulation
of 2008 increased by 151, 8 % reaching 850 million in comparison with
2004 year. At the same time, the scale of import from Russia arrived
at 19, 3% and export from Armenia to Russia – 20, 2 %. The export from
Armenia to Russia grew by 107, 2 % comparing with the year 2004, and,
within the same period, the import grew by 169, 3 %.

Aram Safaryan noted that the level of the economic cooperation between
Armenia and Russia in 2009 will diminish due to the financial-economic
crisis.