Category: News

Armenian GDP up in Q1 2004
RosBusinessConsulting, Russia
May 21 2004
RBC, 21.05.2004, Yerevan 18:09:20.Economic growth of Armenia exceeded
9 percent in January to March 2004, Armenian President Robert Kocharian
told journalists today. According to him, it became possible to achieve
such a good result thanks to the gradual development of all economy
industries. The president said that positive trends would not stop
at that point.
According to preliminary data of the National Statistics Service of
Armenia, GDP growth amounted to 9.3 percent in January to April of
2003 against the same period in 2003. According to the state budget,
the Armenian GDP growth for 2004 was planned to be 7 percent.

Wrestling With the Spirit–and With Death
by Giga Chikhladze
Transitions on Line, Czech Republic
May 21 2004
Once championed by Tolstoy, the pacifist Russian Dukhobors of
southern Georgia now find themselves without a champion or much of a
future.
GORELOVKA, Georgia– Small white-and-blue houses, all decorated with
ornamental window frames, some topped by storks’ nests. A landscape
whose only touches of modernity are scattered electricity poles,
vertical complements to the ash trees that blaze with red berries in
the autumn. Villages named Gorelovka, Orlovka, Bogdanovka and peopled
with fair-haired, blue-eyed Russian-speakers. But for the harsh,
stony highland countryside with bluish hills outlined against a
dove-gray sky, it could be a village somewhere on the steppes of
southern Russia.
This, though, is the Caucasus and the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of
Georgia, home to a unique and dying way of life.
FROM A HARD PLACE TO A ROCKY PLACE
For the pacifist, non-conformist Russian Orthodox who came to be
known as the Dukhobars, this spot near the Armenian border and the
outer edges of the Russian Empire became a haven 150 years ago.
It was not a haven they chose.
The Dukhobors appeared in southern Russia in the 18th century, at a
time when nonconformists of all kinds were splitting away from
established Russian Orthodox ways and doctrines. One foundation story
says the Dukhobors were followers of a certain American Quaker who
somehow found his way to the steppes—and, certainly, the similarities
between the two faiths are striking. Like the Quakers, the Dukhobors
rejected the priesthood, original sin, and the authority of the
Bible. They were vegetarians, teetotalers, and pacifists.
The central thread of Dukhobor spirituality is the teaching that
God’s kingdom resides in our souls and God’s words direct our
actions. The believer needs no priest nor church hierarchy to
intercede between the individual soul and God. The “struggle for the
soul” is their essential dogma–and the origin of the epithet,
originally derogatory, they earned in Tsarist Russia: Dukhobor, or
“spirit wrestler.” In time the expression lost its insulting
overtones and became a neutral term.
The Dukhobors’ migration to the edges of the Russian empire began in
the early 19th century, when Tsar Alexander I settled them near the
Sea of Azov. The next three decades saw the most peaceful period in
the sect’s history, according to historian Valery Oghiashvili of
Tbilisi University.
As the political mood grew increasingly reactionary, particularly
under Alexander’s successor, Nicholas I, the Orthodox Church again
stepped up the pressure on this splinter group. Traditionalists saw
the Dukhobors’ rejection of religious ritual and the clerical
hierarchy as a rejection of the state. In 1837, the authorities
ordered the Dukhobors to be resettled in the Caucasus territories
recently annexed to the empire. Many went there on foot; others
scattered across Russia, disappearing from history or returning to
the Orthodox fold. Those who made it to Georgia were first settled in
the Kakheti region, then in the remote highlands of
Samtskhe-Javakheti.
When they first came to this high plateau, emptied of people as a
result of Georgia’s wars with Turkey and Persia, the Dukhobors lived
in primitive mud huts. Here, in conditions far removed from what they
had known on the south Russian steppe, they began to breed cattle,
grow vegetables, and spin wool.
TOLSTOY’S LEGACY
The spiritual—and practical—struggles of the Dukhobors won them the
support of Leo Tolstoy, the sage of Russian literature. Tolstoy, who
was strongly influenced by their devotion to pacifism and communal
living, helped the Dukhobors by paying for a school to be built in
Gorelovka at the turn of the last century. The school was only one in
the district for the next 45 years and is still where young people in
the village go to for their schooling.
But Tolstoy also sowed the seeds that might ultimately lead to the
demise of the community in Georgia. The Russian authorities may have
effectively exiled the Dukhobors, but they did not exempt them from
their duties to tsar and country. In 1895, a mass protest by the
pacifist Dukhobors against military conscription prompted many to
look for a refuge outside Russia. Tolstoy came to their aid,
sponsoring their migration to Canada. Some 10,000 people left “New
Dukhoboria,” as the Georgian community was known, for Canada at the
turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In Canada, they took the name
the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood; today, the
denomination counts about 40,000 adherents, most in British Columbia.
For those who remained in Georgia, life was tough. “I still remember
the time when my grandmother went 160 kilometers on foot to Armenia
to buy wool,” says Maria Fedorova, a 76-year-old from Gorelovka.
“Then she would spin the wool here and take [the yarn] back to
Armenia, where she sold the goods she made. There was a time when we
lived from the wool business alone.”
Stalin made life harsher still. Lyubov Demidova, former head of the
Gorelovka village council, says that in the 1930s, Stalin’s
collectivization practically uprooted their way of life. Despite
their poverty, the Dukhobors were branded kulaks–well-off
farmers–and thus, class enemies.
“Most of our people suffered repression, and the remaining few had to
change their lifestyle. In spite of that all, though, we retained our
beliefs,” Demidova says.
THE FUTURE IS ELSEWHERE
What state repression could not accomplish, though, the invisible
hand of the market may. The collapse of the Soviet-era planned
economy brought hard times to Georgia’s highlands. Poor roads and a
lack of investment heightened the area’s isolation, forcing many
able-bodied workers to seek better opportunities, most in Russia.
Others left for fear of war between Georgia and Armenia. Although
that war never came, the Dukhobor population in Georgia, already
reduced to some 7,000 in 1990, plummeted to fewer than 1,200 in 2003,
about half of them in Samtskhe-Javakheti.
Most ethnic Georgians have also left the area. The population drain
has only partly been replenished by local Armenians.
The Dukhobors who remain eke out a living. After Georgia’s
independence, agricultural cooperatives were set up, but most have
gone bankrupt under the burden of high taxes and legislation. Large
herds of well-kept cattle used to graze on these hills, but now,
though villagers still keep a few cows and grow potatoes for their
own use, the farming economy in Samtskhe-Javakheti and other less
hospitable areas of Georgia has been devastated.
The impoverishment has been cultural as well as economic. “We’ve lost
and forgotten a lot,” laments Lyubov Demidova. “Only our old women
remember our ancestral songs, prayers, rituals, and traditions. Once,
mixed marriages between Dukhobors and outsiders were unimaginable.
This rule doesn’t apply now. We were vegetarian. Now we eat
everything. We didn’t drink alcohol, even beer. Now we do … We didn’t
smoke. Now we do …”
One of the few true Dukhobor features the locals have not yet
forgotten is the extraordinary influence of women. Women run almost
all aspects of life, not through formal structures but through family
ties. This matriarchal way of life is considered something close to
heresy in Georgia’s male-dominated society.
But not even matriarchy may be strong enough to hold the Georgian
Dukhobors together any longer.
Many believe it is time to leave if they can. Russia is no longer the
destination of choice. Even though most Dukhobors still speak only
Russian, many would head for Canada given the choice. “Our only hope
is the Canadian Dukhobor community,” says another (unrelated)
Demidova, Luda.
“They still cherish the old traditions and rituals. We would go there
if we could. We have no future here. Nobody helps us in Georgia. We
are simply disappearing.”

“Christians and Muslims stand united against terrorism,” Patriarch Aram I says
AsiaNews.it, Italy
May 21 2004
Beirut (AsiaNews) – Fighting against violence and terrorism are
absolute priorities in cooperative efforts made between Christians
and Muslims, said Armenian Patriarch Aram I Keshichian at the end
of conference on “Iranian-Armenian International Religious Dialog”
which opened yesterday.
Organized at the Armenian patriarchate in Antelias, 20 km from Beirut,
the conference aimed to promote dialog among Eastern Christians and
the Islamic faithful.
At the conference were Iranian Imam Mohamed Al-Iraqi (president of the
Iranian Islamic Affairs bureau) the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon,
university officials and scholars from Tehran as well as members of
Iran’s Religious Dialog Commission. There were also three bishops
from Iranian dioceses: Sebuh Sarkissian of Tehran, Shahen Sarkissian
of Isfahan and Nishan Tobozian of Azerbaijan, in addition to many
more lay and religious exponents.
Patriarch Aram I, in his opening address yesterday, stressed the
importance of religion and culture when considering “the road toward
reciprocal trust and cooperation among people”.
The Armenian patriarch praised the role Iranian Christians have played
in making this possible and the historically good relations between
Christian Armenians and Iranian Muslims. Aram I said religion was a
“basis for development of peaceful solutions to conflict.”
The patriarch said, however, there is no need to “exploit religion for
reasons other than those of theology”, adding that there “the needs of
today’s world force religions to overcome their theological differences
by concentrating on (common) spiritual, ethical and social values”.
“These form the real basis of (Islam and Christianity) working together
and for a continued cooperation,” he said.
Reflecting on the current issues of conflict between Islam and
Christianity, the Aram I said “fighting violence and terrorism are
absolute priorities in any cooperation between our faiths.”
The patriarch warned that “terrorism, in all its facets, has
become dividing force” in the world. Hence, he said, it has become
indispensable (for Christians and Muslims) to work together put a
stop to such attitudes by fostering principles of spirituality and
ethics and by making common efforts for peace and justice.”
The head of the Iranian delegation, Mohamed Al-Iraqi, said that
“today’s society needs the guidance of religion more than ever.” Each
day, he added, “we hear about the occupation (of countries), human
rights being violated, cases of immorality and many other actions
contrary to God’s will.”
Armenian Catholics are the largest Christian community in Iran
(360,000), where they enjoy rights of religious worship and expression
and are even represented in the country’s parliament (the Majliss).
In Iran there are also Armenian schools and news publications in the
language. (PB)

Araz River Is Being Polluted By Wastes Funneled From Armenia, Experts Say
Baku Today, Azerbaijan
May 21 2004
Officials from the hygiene and epidemiological center in Azerbaijan’s
autonomous republic of Nakhchivan say the country’s second longest
river, Araz, is being heavily contaminated by wastes funneled from
Armenia, ANS reported on Thursday.
The officials say a recent examining of the river has indicated
that the level of its contamination in Nakhchivan’s Sadarak, Julfa
and Ordubad districts has become from eight to ten times as more
than the annual limit. The situation with the contamination is more
disastrous in Sadarak District. Experts of the center have called
upon international organizations to examine the case and urge the
Armenian side to stop polluting the river.
The main polluter of the river is considered Armenia s Metsamor nuclear
plant, which experts believe is also a source of a potential danger
for the whole region in view of Armenia s being a seismically active
country. A powerful earthquake that jolted Armenia in December of
1988 put end to the lives of tens of thousands of people.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
May 21, 2004
___________________
WORKSHOP IN WATERTOWN FOCUSES ON WOMEN’S MINISTRY
Before running a marathon, you must first train. Before taking that
important test, you have to spend time studying and preparing.
The same might be said for living a Christian life: it takes
preparation and training.
Earlier this year, women from throughout the Watertown, MA, area
gathered at the St. James Church for a retreat titled “The Modern
Woman: Shaping Up For Faith; Training to Run the Good Race.” The event
was organized by “Circle of Friends” — the Watertown parish women’s
group focused on Christian fellowship and personal spiritual growth.
“The retreat was a great reminder of the practical steps we can take
to help us run the good race — that is, build a closer relationship
with Christ,” said Elaine Westermark, who coordinates the “Circle of
Friends” programs with Yn. Natasha Aljalian.
The half-day retreat on January 17, 2004, was coordinated by Elise
Antreassian, Diocesan coordinator of Christian education. It attracted
not only members of the St. James parish but women from other area
Diocesan churches, as well as from the local Armenian Catholic and
Protestant communities.
The day’s focus grew out of a conversation between Yn. Aljalian,
Westermark, Laura Purutyan, and Adrenna Antreasian, about the need for
more topical, spiritual programming for their diverse group of women,
who range in age from 20 to 70.
“We knew we were all committed to helping meet the need for spiritual
programming for women and so, with Der Arakel’s blessing, we decided
to jump in and begin planning,” Yn. Aljalian said. “We know how much
women can learn from one another and how much comfort we get from
sharing with one another, particular as women are often the ones
responsible for making Christ present in their homes and in the lives
of their families.”
The retreat began with participants getting to know each other and
sharing experiences and opinions, such as what they felt were high
and low points in the Sunday liturgy, and challenges to spiritual
growth they faced.
Participants then explored where they were going personally, by
assessing where they were in a session that covered personal finances,
relationships, happiness, and health.
During a discussion on the habits of a disciple, the group focused on
specific characteristics of Christian discipline: spending time with
God’s word by reading the Bible regularly; being prayerful in action
and attitude; being generous with the blessings and gifts that come
from God; and creating a fellowship of believers, such as the Circle
of Friends.
“The Circle of Friends has given me the outlet and resources to deepen
my understanding of life and God’s purpose,” said participant Lisa
Zeytoonian. “Everyone should have this kind of outlet.”
The Diocese conducts such retreats and seminars throughout its local
parishes for women’s groups, parish councils, couples organizations,
and general congregations.
“I am always amazed and inspired,” said the Diocese’s Elise
Antreassian, on her second visit to the Watertown women’s group.
“When people of different backgrounds, ages, and life stories come
together in the church, seeking the love of Christ in the fellowship
of one another, it feels magnificent.”
To arrange for a similar program in your area, contact Antreassian
by e-mailing [email protected] or calling the Diocese at
(212) 686-0710 ext. 57.
— 5/21/04
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable on the
Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): Dozens of women from throughout the Watertown, MA,
area gathered at the St. James Church recently for a retreat run by
the Diocese and designed to enrich their personal faith.
# # #

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th Street NW Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2004
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ANCA RENEWS CALL FOR U.S.-ARMENIA TAX TREATY
— Treaty Needed to Address Growing Bilateral Commerce
and Increased Diasporan Economic Involvement in Armenia
WASHINGTON, DC – In a letter to Treasury Secretary John W. Snow and
in correspondence sent today to members of Congress, the Armenian
National Committee Of America (ANCA) renewed its call for the U.S.
government to facilitate the growing levels of U.S.-Armenia trade
and investment by negotiating a comprehensive tax treaty with
Armenia.
“With the expansion of U.S.-Armenia economic ties, it is more
important than ever that our government negotiate a comprehensive
and far-reaching tax treaty that will strengthen the U.S.-Armenia
economic relationship for many decades to come,” said ANCA
Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “The Department of the Treasury
should be working closely with the Armenian government and with
American businesses operating in Armenia – including the growing
number run by Diasporan Armenians – to specifically tailor an
agreement that addresses the needs of Americans who divide their
careers between the U.S. and Armenia – or who plan to retire to
Armenia – in terms of portability of pensions and healthcare and a
variety of other concerns.”
The U.S. has negotiated tax treaties with over forty nations in
order to clarify the taxation of transactions, investments, rents,
royalties, management contracts, dividends, interest and salaries
of companies and employees working in both countries. The U.S. has
recently exchanged instruments of ratification with three new
countries – Ukraine, Luxembourg, and Denmark.
As part of its broader efforts to strengthen U.S.-Armenia bilateral
economic relations, the ANCA has been working for more than four
years to encourage the U.S. to negotiate a tax treaty with Armenia.
Other elements of this effort included helping to secure Armenia’s
membership in the World Trade Organization – which took place in
February of last year – and the granting to Armenia of Permanent
Normal Trade Relations Status (PNTR). Several thousand Armenian
Americans have written to the Social Security Administration using
the ANCA WebFax program to call for a Social Security Agreement
that would help U.S. citizens who work part of the year or plan to
retire in Armenia. At the state level, the ANCA-Western Region
spearheaded the creation of the California-Armenia Trade Office,
which is set to open in Yerevan later this year.
In January of 2002, Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) urged the then Treasury
Secretary, Paul O’Neill, to help expedite a bilateral tax treaty
between the U.S. and Armenia that would effectively eliminate the
“double taxation” of income of citizens working in both countries.
The appeal came on the eve of an inter-agency U.S. Armenia Task
Force meeting, which discussed taxation issues as part of an
overall framework to promote bilateral trade and economic
cooperation between the two countries.
For an overall review of U.S. Tax Treaties
For the full text of most U.S. Tax Treaties:
ind_info/ treaties.html.
For information about Armenia on the website of the U.S. Department
of Commerce:
To learn about USAID’s private sector aid to Armenia:
### ##

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
May 21, 2004
___________________
DIOCESAN KHRIMIAN LYCEUM COMMEMORATES CULTURE, WORKS TO KEEP IT ALIVE
The setting was modern: the Eastern Diocese’s Haik and Alice Kavookjian
Auditorium, with parents and friends waiting for students in the
Diocesan Khrimian Lyceum educational program to showcase their talents
on stage. But the message was one from the past: the importance of the
Armenian culture and language, and the need to vigorously pass it on to
the next generation.
To open the Khrimian Lyceum’s 2004 “Gala des Amateurs” — the annual
opportunity for students in the six-year program to display their
Armenian language skills, musical ability, and cultural knowledge — the
group of students led the audience in singing “Mer Hayrenik”.
About 60 students attend the Diocese’s Khrimian Lyceum in New York City.
(Similar programs were opened this year in Boston and Chicago.) During
the Gala, they sang songs in Armenian, such as: “Ov Soorp Mesrob”,
“Asdvatdzhshoonts”, and “Eentchoo”. Several students also performed
solos during the show, including Grace Tcholakian who sang “Hayerenuh
Eem Baberoos”. The choirs sang an ode to St. Vartan Cathedral, with Ani
Nalbandian accompanying them on the piano.
STRONG ACADEMICS
During the school year, the Diocesan Khrimian Lyceum — a six-year
program designed to train12- to 18-year-old graduates of Diocesan
Armenian schools to become the next generation of leaders for the
Armenian Church — brings experts to the students through monthly
classes, lectures, and workshops. The program also organizes an annual
symposium, which this year took students on a “virtual tour” of Armenia,
past and present.
The speakers opened the world of Armenia to the students. Arto
Vorperian, who has worked for Armenia’s tourist industry and now works
with the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), took the participants to
Armenia through a lively presentation. Artemis Nazerian spoke about the
talented musicians who have come from Armenia for more than 15
centuries. Armenian arts and crafts came to life with a hands-on
discussion led by Mariam Atarian. Armenian literature and journalism in
the Republic of Armenia and the diaspora was covered by Vehanoush
Tekian.
The students got an authoritative exploration on the Armenian Christian
faith from Fr. Haigazoun Najarian, who told them about its role in
historic Armenia and for Armenians today.
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Along with language lessons, the students also get lectures on what it
means to be a leader, and take non-academic studies such as orchestra
and drama. During the “Gala des Amateurs”, the Khrimian Lyceum
orchestra, joined by pianist Deanna Gulmezian , performed a number of
lovely Armenian-themed pieces, such as: “Zeytoontsener”, “Arpa Sevan”,
“Azk Parabandz”, and “Gakaveek”. Other solo instrumental performers
included Nareg Naviters on the saxophone, and Sharis Aiazian on piano.
Along with the orchestra and choir groups, the program’s dance troop —
under the direction of Talar Zokian — also took the stage, and
performed a number titled “Ov Hahyots Ashkhar”, in beautiful costumes
borrowed from the Shushi Dance Ensemble.
The school’s actors took the stage to perform a play called “Ahnpahn
Hooren”, which recreated a slice of Armenian village life.
SENDING OFF THIS YEAR’S CLASS
Along with being a celebration of the Armenian spirit, the Gala was also
a chance to honor those students who completed the six-year program.
The 2004 graduating class includes: George Chahinian, Grace Cholakian,
Laura Dulgerian, Mary Gulmezian, Talar Parisian, Roy Seter, and Ida
Zohrabian.
“My parents were surprised to see how much we had learned,” Ida
Zohrabian said that night, when the students thanked their instructors
by approaching them and presenting them with red roses.
For more information on the Khrimian Lyceum programs in New York,
Massachusetts, and Illinois, and to sign your child up for next year’s
classes, contact Sylva der Stepanian, coordinator of Armenian education
at the Diocese, by calling (212) 686-0710, ext. 48.
— 5/21/04
# # #

OPPOSITION’S MODUS OPERANDI AFFECT COUNTRY’S IMAGE, PRESIDENT KOCHARIAN SAYS
ArmenPress
May 21 2004
YEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS: In a televised appearance on May 20
evening Armenian president Robert Kocharian described his recent
visit to Moscow as “very effective and fruitful,” saying a variety of
key issues of bilateral relations topped the agenda of his meetings.
“During my talks new issues came to the foreground and the meetings
took even more time than previously scheduled,” he said.
Kocharian said he has invited Russia’s president Vladimir Putin to
pay an official visit to Yerevan, the date of which is being now
considered. Armenia’s president said also one of the subjects of his
talks with Putin were Armenia’s domestic developments. “Putin was
well-informed about the recent developments here, expressing his
concern and rendering his full support to the incumbent Armenian
authorities,” he said.
“Moscow’s attitude to any development in Armenia that is aimed at
weakening its positions is very negative. The reason is that a weak
Armenia, weak Armenian authorities may be prone to other influences,
which does not stem from the interests of our bilateral relationship,
since Armenia is Russia’s strategic ally in the region and that is
why all developments that can cause such problems are viewed as a
threat to bilateral relations,” Kocharian said.
Referring to his recent visits abroad when Armenia’s foreign partners
were eager to learn what the opposition wants, president Kocharian
said: “They all asked what the opposition wants, saying that they
could not make out from reports what its goal was. This brings in
some elements of carelessness, which is not positive in general. The
street campaign of the opposition is not taken seriously abroad,”
Kocharian, adding that he was not happy about it at all.
“Opposition is part of Armenia’s political system and when the attitude
towards its is unclear, this extends also on the whole country. It
is here where the opposition should feel the responsibility for
the country, as apart from the authorities, it too has to build its
international image,” Kocharian said, adding that unfortunately the
opposition has devaluated by its way of acting what is perceived as
‘opposition.’

KOCHARIAN VISITS LOCAL FACTORY
ArmenPress
May 21 2004
YEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS: President Robert Kocharian visited
today a local Hayasa Group company. It was established in 1981 to
produce stockinet. Today it operates on local capital manufacturing
goods mainly for export, sold in France, USA, Russia. Among its
products are clothes and uniform for women and children, hunters,
military. Orders are coming also from China as well but the company
fears that it is not yet ready to expand production. It employs 240
people with 35,000 average salary. It has a division for deaf people
where 25-30 people work.
According to Hayasa executive director, Eduard Harutunian, last year
200 million drams worth output was produced, 80 percent of which
was exported. It is not profitable to work with the domestic market
as it is small with lots of imported goods, the company director
said. He also said that light industry has always been prospective
in Armenia. It demands lots of investment. One of current challenges
are high interest rates at the banks, Harutunian said.
After the meeting, Robert Kocharian spoke to reporters. He said that
the company has increased its production volumes 3 times compared to
the last year. In general, a rise of 90 percent is observed in the
light industry, he said. One of the aims of this visit was to learn
about the difficulties and challenges that the company is facing and
to understand what are the ways to boost it.
“Step by step working with each sector today we have 9 percent
economic growth in 4 months,” Kocharian noted. Armenian president
said they are trying to boost Armenian export through participation
in international exhibition. He also said that no question was raised
about the influence of political development on the economy during
the meetings with the business people. “Business people intuitively
feel that no serious development are expected and are concerned with
more practical issues,” he said.

FRANCOPHONIA WEEK LAUNCHED IN YEREVAN
ArmenPress
May 21 2004
YEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS: The week of Francophonia (May 21-25)
was announced today by “France-Armenia: Cultural Dialogue” conference
at the Yerevan State University (YSU). YSU rector Radik Martirossian
greeted that participants and mentioned that the conference aims to
reinforce Francophonia in Armenia, contribute to the development of
multi-culture civilization and build on a century-long Francophonia
tradition. Attaching importance to the role of French in international
field, Martirossian said teaching of French is on a high level in
Armenia. He expressed his feeling of pride that one of the biggest
experts in Armenology, Antoine Mayer was French.
French Ambassador Henry Cuny greeted the participants and said:
“It is not possible to be a francophone and not to be a humanist.”
The Ambassador informed that Armenia has expressed willingness to
join the International Association of Francophonia as an observer
and its membership will be approved in the pending November session.
Minister of education and science Sego Yeritsian said that development
of French in the country will ensure that Armenian are able to read one
of leading world literature in the original. He said that this week is
marked by boosting cooperation between the two countries. S. Yeritsian
assured that they will continue the policy of developing Francophonia
in the country making such initiations more regular.
The Francophonia week is initiated by National Assembly, Armenia
ministry of education and science, YSU, French University of Armenia,
University after Briusov, Alliance Frances and will be marked by an
extensive range of events.