Moldovan, Azerbaijani presidents call on UN to help resolve separatist conflicts
By CORNELIU RUSNAC

The Associated Press
04/21/05 12:10 EDT

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) – The presidents of Moldova and Azerbaijan
called Thursday on the United Nations to discuss separatist conflicts
in the two ex-Soviet countries.

“We are countries who have suffered from aggressive separatism,”
said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev, who met with his Moldovan
counterpart, Vladimir Voronin, during a visit to the Moldovan capital,
Chisinau.

Separatist movements in Moldova and Azerbaijan have hampered the two
countries’ development since they became independent in 1991. Facing
similar problems, the countries’ leaders vowed to collaborate in
resolving their conflicts.

Increased involvement by the international community would also help,
though, Aliev said.

“The truth and the international laws are on our side,” Aliev said.

The two presidents also pledged to boost economic ties and to
collaborate on their countries’ European integration.

Aliev was in Chisinau to take part in a meeting of a regional
organization known as GUUAM, which groups the ex-Soviet countries of
Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova.

The group was established in 1997 in a bid to seek economic cooperation
outside the influence of Russia.

The summit on Friday will also be attended by Ukrainian President
Viktor Yushchenko and Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Romania’s President Traian Basescu and the president of Lithuania,
Valdas Adamkus, will also participate as observers.

Moldova has struggled for years to reach a settlement with
its separatists in the eastern, Russian-speaking province of
Trans-Dniester. A brief war in 1992 left more than 1,500 people dead.
Trans-Dniester is not recognized internationally, but receives support
from Russia, which has troops in the province.

Azerbaijan has faced ethic strife in Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous
region that has been under the control of ethnic Armenians since the
early 1990s, following fighting that killed an estimated 30,000 people.

A cease-fire was signed in 1994, but the enclave’s final political
status has not been determined and shooting breaks out frequently
across a demilitarized buffer zone.

Frankfurter Allgemaine Zeitung, Deautschland
20 April 2005

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Armenian President: Turkey is denying its past
——-

Armeniens Präsident: Türkei leugnet die Vergangenheit

20. April 2005 Kurz vor dem 90. Jahrestag des Beginns der Massaker an
den Armeniern im Osmanischen Reich hat der armenische Präsident
Robert Kocharian dem Nachbarland Türkei die Leugnung historischer
Tatsachen vorgeworfen.

~DDie Position der türkischen Seite ist nicht nur durch die Leugnung
der Vergangenheit, sondern auch durch eine andauernde Blockade
Armeniens geprägt”, sagte Kocharian am Mittwoch in der Hauptstadt
Eriwan.

~DDie Anerkennung ist wichtig”

Die Türkei müsse die Verfolgung und Vertreibung der Armenier im
Ersten Weltkrieg endlich als Völkermord anerkennen: ~DDie Anerkennung
ist wichtig, um Völkermorde in der Zukunft zu verhindern”, sagte
Kocharian. Armenien sei zur Aussöhnung bereit: ~DWir gedenken der
Vergangenheit mit Schmerz, aber nicht mit Haß.”

Am Sonntag gedenkt Armenien des Beginns der Massaker am 24. April
1915. Während Armenier darauf dringen, daß der amerikanische
Präsident George W. Bush die Massaker als Völkermord brandmarkt,
lehnt die Türkei diesen Begriff ab. Die amerikanische Regierung
bereitet derzeit die traditionelle Erklärung des Präsidenten zum
Jahrestag der Massaker an den Armeniern vor. Im vergangenen Jahr
hatte Bush das Wort vermieden.

~DFanatische armenische Organisationen”

Unterdessen haben türkische Parlamentsabgeordnete den amerikanischen
Präsidenten zur ~DObjektivität”aufgerufen. Die armenischen Vorwürfe
eines Völkermordes hätten nichts mit der historischen Wirklichkeit zu
tun und seien politisch motiviert, schrieb der Vorsitzende der
Türkischen Parlamentarier-Vereinigung, Hasan Korkmazcan, nach Angaben
der Zeitung ~DZaman” in einem Brief an den Präsident Bush.

Die Türkei sei sich ihrer Verantwortung im Umgang mit der eigenen
Vergangenheit bewußt. Die Aktivitäten ~Dfanatischer armenischer
Organisationen” hätten jedoch negative Auswirkungen auf die
türkisch-armenischen Beziehungen.

Kriegsbedingte Zwangsumsiedlung?

Bei Massakern und Todesmärschen im damaligen Osmanischen Reich wurden
zwischen 1915 und 1917 mehrere hunderttausend Menschen getötet.

Armenien und ein Großteil der internationalen Öffentlichkeit bewerten
dies als Völkermord, die Türkei als Nachfolgerin des Osmanischen
Reiches spricht von einer kriegsbedingten Zwangsumsiedlung.

Seit 1993 hält die Türkei die Grenze zu Armenien geschlossen, was der
armenischen Wirtschaft schweren Schaden zufügt.

–Boundary_(ID_jfml9sZ5LyfxHQqZXYNr+w)–

FRENCH AND ARMENIAN LEADERS TO PAY HOMAGE TO MASSACRE VICTIMS

Agence France Presse
Thursday, 21 April 2005

PARIS, April 21 (AFP) – Presidents Jacques Chirac of France and Robert
Kocharian of Armenia will lay a wreath Friday at a Paris monument
commemorating the victims of the massacres of Armenians by the Ottoman
Turkish authorities which began 90 years ago, Chirac’s office said.

The two men will hold talks at the Elysee palace at 5:45 p.m. (15H45
GMT) before being driven to the monument on the banks of the river
Seine which was inaugurated in 2003.

Armenia will this weekend mark the 90th anniversary of what it calls
the genocide perpetrated between 1915 and 1917.

Some 1.5 million people may have died in the massacres, though
the Turkish government puts the figure at between 250,000 and half
a million.

The French parliament adopted a controversial law in 2001 which states
that “France publicly recognises the Armenian genocide.”

France has a large community of Armenians, estimated at around 400,000.

Lebanon Is on the Brink

Syria Begins Arming its Supporters

DEBKAfile Special Report (Tel Aviv)
February 19, 2005

Lebanon’s climate has been charged with latent violence since the
assassination Monday, February 14, of Lebanese former prime minister
Rafiq Hariri, and his funeral two days later. Sparks began flying
when the opposition unveiled their “peaceful democratic uprising for
independence” Friday, February 18, and, as revealed by DEBKAfile’s
intelligence sources, Syrian forces began distributing weapons to
groups supporting Damascus and the 1.4 million expatriate laborers
in the country.

The resignations of president Emil Lahoude and the Karame government
were forcefully demanded by the opposition leader, Walid Jumblatt,
head of the Lebanese Druses who speaks for a rare multiethnic coalition
made up of his own community, Christian factions endorsed by Maronite
Catholic Archbishop Nasrallah Sfeir, and Sunni Muslims led by the
dead billionaire’s oldest son, Bahaa Hariri, with the blessing of
the Sunni Muslim Mufti of Lebanon.

Saturday, February 19, Omar Karame, who succeeded Rafiq Hariri as
prime minister, accused this group of attempting a coup d’etat.

The belligerent Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned (or
threatened) that “popular agitation against Syria’s grip on the country
following the killing of Rafiq Hariri could plunge Lebanon into civil
war again. Backed solidly from Damascus and Tehran, he exhorted the
100,000 Shiites massed in Beirut to mark the Ashura festival not to
forget the real enemy. “Death to Israel!” they roared after him.

All three uprisings launched in the Middle East in five years were
steeped in violence. In 1991, after the first Gulf War, Iraq’s Shiites
rose up against the Saddam regime. Thousands were savagely mowed down
by his tanks. Syria’s Kurdish community challenged Assad in 2003,
only to lose thousands of dead and many more thrown into Syria’s
prisons. The Palestinian confrontation with Israel has left 5,000
Palestinian and 1,300 Israelis dead since 2000.

The sparks will fly in earnest when government and Syrians move into
aggressive mode to crush the opposition, which will become increasingly
inflamed by multiplying leads to Syria and its Lebanese minions as
Hariri’s assassins.

Our sources report that US, French and Israeli intelligence have
already gathered solid evidence that General Rostum Ghazallah of
Syrian military intelligence orchestrated the murder on orders from
Damascus with the aid of Lebanese general intelligence and its chief
General Jamil al-Sayad.

The Damascus-backed government in Beirut and its masters has no
intention of going quietly. Bashar Assad desperately needs the
political and economic benefits he extorts from Lebanon to prop up
his regime.

Monday, February 21, presidents George W. Bush and Jacques Chirac
meet in Paris. With Lebanon at the forefront of their agenda, they
will have to look hard at some tough questions. How to handle the
situation if Assad orders his Syrian troops in Lebanon to march on
Beirut in defense of his puppet government? And worse still, what
if the full weight of the Syrian army is sent across the border to
squash the uprising? Will the two Western leaders dispatch a joint
US-French force to repulse the Syrian onslaught?

If they did, it would be the most drastic event to hit the Middle
East since the March 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. The second American
invasion of an Arab land might this time be partnered or endorsed by
a European power.

To force the hands of the American and French presidents, the leaders
of the Lebanese uprising are preparing a spectacular event to coincide
with their summit. One proposal is for a hundreds of thousands of
protesters to march through Beirut’s streets and seize the parliament
building.

Other “intifada” events in the planning:

1. Giant rallies to strangle normal life in the capital.

2. A human chain from Hariri’s tomb to government headquarters on
the seam-line dividing the Hizballah-dominated southern district from
the Christian-controlled West that would aim to paralyze government
activity

Opposition leaders have notified Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri,
head of the Shiite Amal, that the only session they will allow to
be held is an open debate on the murder of the former prime minister
that produces the formation of a state inquiry commission.

3. This commission’s mandatory guideline must be to call General
Rostum Ghazallah as its first witness.

4. The mobilization of Lebanese expatriate communities in the United
States and Europe for synchronized street rallies to generate broad
international popular sympathy on the same lines as Ukraine’s Orange
Revolution.

5. Armenian Christians in Lebanon and Western countries will be asked
to join the struggle.

The campaign waged by this anti-Syrian coalition faces three major
challenges:

First, to keep a tight rein on the uprising so that it does not run out
of control and degenerate into a bloodbath and all-out civil strife.

Second, to divide the hitherto pro-Syrian Shiite community against
itself. If parliament speaker Berri can be won over to the opposition
side against the government, the Shiites will be split between Amal and
Hizballah. This will sunder the entire pro-Syrian front and seriously
shake the government.

DEBKAfile’s Lebanese sources report that most Karame cabinet ministers
have departed Beirut to avoid the sound and fury following the
assassination; the tourism minister has resigned. President Lahoud
has not so far uttered a word on the crisis, no doubt waiting for
his script to be written in Damascus.

Third, The opposition must prove it can get the masses out on the
streets for long, sustained rallies. Its failure to muster sizeable
popular backing would foredoom the intifada to failure. If the struggle
peters out, Syria will tighten its grip on Lebanon and go from strength
to strength, with adverse effect on America’s strategic position in
the region and a setback for Israel too.

With the old Levant under their jackboots, the Syrians will quickly
expand their role as main crossroads for international terrorists
moving back and forth among their targeted arenas – whether into Iraq
or over to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

La Prensa, Panamá
jueves 21 de abril de 2005

crímenes.

Perspectiva

Turquía, Armenia y la carga de la memoria

Charles Tannock

Todas las guerras acaban, tarde o temprano, pero los recuerdos de las
atrocidades nunca parecen disiparse, como nos recuerdan los
disturbios antijaponeses, alentados por el Gobierno, que se están
produciendo ahora en China. El 90º aniversario de las matanzas de
armenios en 1915, ordenadas por los Jóvenes Turcos que gobernaban el
imperio otomano y con la ayuda de los kurdos, representa otra herida
que no sanará, sino que se debe tratarla para que el avance de
Turquía hacia la adhesión a la Unión Europea prosiga sin problemas.

Se cree que el genocidio armenio inspiró a los nazis sus planes para
la exterminación de judíos. Sin embargo, en comparación con el
Holocausto, muy pocos saben lo suficiente sobre aquel negro episodio.

En realidad, a la mayoría nos resulta difícil imaginar la escala de
sufrimiento y devastación infligida al pueblo armenio y sus
ancestrales tierras natales, pero muchos miembros de la diáspora
armenia en el mundo, actualmente muy próspera, tienen antepasados
directos que perecieron y continúan una tradición histórica oral que
mantiene los recuerdos incandescentes.

Resulta particularmente irónico que muchos kurdos de las provincias
sudorientales de Turquía, tras recibir la promesa de apoderarse de
propiedades armenias y de contar con un lugar garantizado en el cielo
por matar a infieles, fueran de buen grado cómplices en el genocidio.
Después se encontraron en el bando perdedor de una larga historia de
violencia entre sus propias fuerzas separatistas y el ejército turco,
además de verse sometidos a una política permanente de discriminación
y asimilación forzosa.

Históricamente, los antiguos cristianos armenios fueron de los
pueblos más progresistas de Oriente, pero en el siglo XIX Armenia fue
dividida entre el Imperio Otomano y Rusia. El sultán Abdulhamit II
organizó las matanzas de 1895-97, pero hasta la primavera de 1915, no
encontró el gobierno nacionalista de los Jóvenes Turcos, gracias a la
tapadera de la primera guerra mundial, la voluntad política para
ejecutar un auténtico genocidio.

En un principio, se detuvo a intelectuales armenios y se los ahorcó
en público en grupos de 50 a 100. Así, los armenios comunes y
corrientes quedaron privados de sus dirigentes y poco después fueron
víctimas de matanzas, muchos de ellos quemados vivos. Unos 500,000
fueron asesinados en los siete últimos meses de 1915 y la mayoría de
los supervivientes fueron deportados a zonas desérticas de Siria,
donde murieron de hambre o de enfermedad. Se calcula que 1.5 millón
de personas perecieron,

Recientemente, la diáspora armenia ha hecho llamamientos a Turquía
para que afronte su pasado y reconozca su crimen histórico. La
posición oficial de Turquía sigue siendo la de que esa alegación se
basa en afirmaciones infundadas o exageradas y de que las muertes
habidas fueron consecuencia de los combates con armenios que
colaboraron con las fuerzas rusas invasoras durante la primera guerra
mundial o de las enfermedades y del hambre durante las deportaciones
forzosas. Además, la población turca local sufrió supuestamente bajas
similares.

De modo que Turquía sostiene que la acusación de genocidio va
encaminada a mancillar el honor de Turquía e impedir sus avances
hacia la adhesión a la UE. También hay el temor comprensible de que,
de no atenerse a la posición oficial, se desencadenaría un aluvión de
reclamaciones de indemnización, como ocurrió contra Alemania.

Para muchos políticos, en particular en los Estados Unidos, no existe
la voluntad de molestar a Turquía sin una justificación plena, en
vista de su ejecutoria como aliado leal de la OTAN y posible país
candidato a la adhesión a la UE, pero, pese a que lleva medio siglo
de miembro del Consejo de Europa -supuesto custodio de los derechos
humanos, incluida la libertad de expresión y de conciencia-, Turquía
sigue castigando como delito contra el honor nacional cualquier
indicación de que la del genocidio armenio es una verdad histórica.
Afortunadamente, el artículo del código penal de Turquía que así lo
dispone va a ser revisado y posiblemente derogado.

De hecho, en Turquía están en marcha grandes cambios. La prensa y el
gobierno, conscientes de los requisitos que impone la adhesión a la
UE, están abriendo la delicada cuestión armenia al debate. Incluso el
primer ministro Recep Tayyip Erdogan, sometido a una presión cada vez
mayor por la UE, en vista de que el inicio de las negociaciones de
adhesión está previsto para el próximo mes de octubre, ha accedido a
que historiadores académicos hagan un estudio imparcial, aunque ha
reiterado su convencimiento de que nunca hubo genocidio. En Francia,
la realidad histórica del genocidio armenio está consagrada en la
legislación y su negación recibe la misma consideración que la del
Holocausto.

El Parlamento Europeo está presionando para que haya un
reconocimiento turco del genocidio armenio. También pide que Turquía
y su estrecho aliado Azerbaiyán pongan fin a su embargo comercial
contra la República de Armenia, reabran las fronteras y lleguen a un
acuerdo de paz por territorios a fin de resolver la disputa
territorial sobre Nagorno Karabaj en Azerbaiyán y salvaguardar la
identidad armenia.

Armenia, país independiente desde 1991, sigue dependiendo de la
constante protección rusa, como ocurrió en 1920, cuando se incorporó
a la Unión Soviética para no sufrir más invasiones turcas. Esa
situación no es buena para el desarrollo de la democracia y la débil
economía de Armenia. Tampoco la constante dependencia de Armenia
respecto de Rusia es buen augurio para la cooperación regional, dado
el profundo resentimiento provocado por la injerencia rusa en sus
vecinos Georgia y Azerbaiyán.

Sólo hay una vía por la que avanzar para Turquía, Armenia y la
región. El futuro no empezará hasta que Turquía -como Alemania en el
pasado y Serbia y Croacia ahora repudie su política de negación y
afronte sus terribles crímenes de 1915. Sólo entonces el pasado podrá
ser pasado de verdad.

–Boundary_(ID_Ak86oeswdaprEbBTXrZ5og)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Aniversario de las masacres turcas

La Rioja, España
jueves 21 de abril de 2005

Armenia conmemora este fin de semana los 90 años de las masacres
perpetradas por los turcos otomanos durante la I Guerra Mundial con
ceremonias que pedirán el reconocimiento de este trágico episodio que
frena la normalización de las relaciones entre ambos países vecinos.
/ EFE

–Boundary_(ID_FdeC/v5FCgooJay091BGZg)–

Armenia: Peer Education, not Fear Education
By Onnik Krikorian / UNICEF Armenia

© UNICEF/SWZK00304/Krikorian

Future peer educators listen to useful tips from their mentor, Veronica.

Any visitor to School No. 43 in the Armenian capital might easily
mistake Veronica Seropyan for a teacher. Yet, standing in front of
thirteen pupils aged between fourteen and sixteen, there is something
different about her class. The ubiquitous red ribbons that adorn the
children~Rs t-shirts perhaps provide the best clue.

Seropyan isn~Rt a teacher but a member of the AIDS Prevention,
Education and Care (APEC) NGO that has charged itself with the task of
training 1,400 schoolchildren as peer educators by May 2005. Through
interactive teaching methods, discussion and games, the children
learn about the danger of infection from HIV / AIDS.

“We talk about the history of the disease,” says Seropyan, “and how
it is spread, what effect it has on the immune system as well as the
biological and psychological development of teenagers. Later, they will
pass on that knowledge by talking with their friends and classmates.”

Fifteen year old Ophelia says she even tells her parents and other
family members.

In fact, peer education has been found to be an effective method in
reaching a specific target group that might otherwise not listen to
someone older or from a different social background. In the summer,
120 of the most promising educators will attend a summer camp to
expand their knowledge still further.

And there is a reason why APEC has chosen to target this particular age
group. Although Armenia is considered a country with a low prevalence
of HIV / AIDS, the number of those infected is growing. Last December,
the United Nations warned that the republic faces a “potential
disaster” if nothing is done to stop its spread.

Moreover, while only 56 of 304 officially registered cases of HIV /
AIDS in Armenia were aged less than 24, surveys of young people, and
especially students, indicated that although there is a high level
of understanding regarding the importance of practicing safer sex,
behavior can be just the opposite.

© UNICEF/SWZK00305/ Krikorian Young peer educators at a training
session at Secondary School No.43 in Yerevan.

Survey reveals problems

Because of this, UNICEF supported a pilot project implemented by APEC
in Armenia~Rs southern-most Syunik region in 2001 to raise awareness
of the danger of HIV / AIDS and drug abuse. Round-table discussions
were held with school principals and representatives of the local
authorities. It was also decided to conduct a survey of youth in the
region. The results were alarming.

While respondents knew of the dangers of HIV / AIDS, very few knew
about preventive measures. Instead, most teenagers received their
information from unreliable sources such as films or from friends
who lacked a comprehensive understanding of the disease. The survey
was repeated in 2003 and APEC decided to start training peer educators.

Although the initial reason for engaging in AIDS education was to
prevent new infections from occurring, there was also the need to
reduce the stigma and discrimination that is often associated to
any mention of the disease. In many countries, talk of HIV can often
encourage resentment and hatred from those who consider themselves
to be least at risk.

“However, the reality is that HIV / AIDS affects everyone,” says
Emil Sahakyan, UNICEF~Rs Information and Communication Officer. “But,
because many people think that it will not affect them, they don~Rt
take precautions. At the same time, informing people in the wrong
way creates fear, stigma and discrimination.”

As a result, on World AIDS day in 2003, UNICEF funded APEC~Rs campaign
to raise awareness and promote tolerance through the mass media.
Approximately 80,000 leaflets, 2,500 calendars and 4,500 red ribbons
were distributed. A one-minute video clip was also shown on sixteen
television stations in the republic.

In 2004, UNICEF also funded a summer school organized by APEC to
increase the capacity and knowledge of existing peer educators. In
total, 96 students including 60 from secondary schools in the Armenian
capital were involved. Participants received up-to-date information,
booklets and leaflets and were awarded with certificates at the end
of six training sessions.

In 2005, UNICEF will also support the establishment of youth friendly
health services throughout Armenia.

Meanwhile, because APEC~Rs work has been so successful and is
constantly being expanded, the NGO has now decided to concentrate
solely on education and prevention activities among young people
and drug users. An offshoot of the NGO, Real World ” Real People,
will concern itself with people living with HIV / AIDS.

“I can~Rt say that Armenia is very open in discussing such issues,”
says Artak Mushegyan, President of the NGO, “but the situation is
changing. We need time to understand how important it is to speak
about this problem and that is why we also stress the importance of
educating parents and teachers as well.”

For more information: Emil Sahakyan, Communication Officer, UNICEF
Armenia: (+ 374 1) 523 546, [email protected]

—

–Boundary_(ID_hl6kwLXAZl8zfM6u+zbDwg)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
April 21, 2005
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:

Armenian Genocide Anniversary Commemorated on Capitol Hill

The 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide was commemorated in a
moving and dignified ceremony in the United States Congress hosted
by the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues. Members of the United
States Senate and House of Representatives and congressional staffers
were joined by representatives of Armenian-American organizations
and communities from all over the United States, as well as members
of the Armenian American community and friends of Armenia in Greater
Washington area.

Addressing the commemoration event, Armenia’s Ambassador to the United
States Tatoul Markarian noted that it was symbolic that his first
public speech coincided with the 90th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide. Reflecting on the genocides in Rwanda and the African
region of Darfur, Ambassador Markarian noted that success of efforts
to achieve international recognition of the Armenian Genocide can be
judged by the world’s ability to “to uproot the triumph of evil that
genocides represent.”

Ambassador Markarian noted that although historical justice and
moral obligation are sufficient reasons for pursuing the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, the issue also has direct bearing on
current developments and prospects for peace and stability in South
Caucasus region. Turkey’s inability to come to terms with history
affected the current Turkish foreign policy, noted the Armenian
Ambassador, citing Turkey’s refusal to normalize its relations with
and lift its blockade on Armenia, as well as its unconstructive
position on Nagorno Karabakh. Turkey should overcome the political
challenge of the past, and we would welcome it, said the Armenian
Ambassador. Since independence, Armenia has proposed and is ready to
establish diplomatic relations with Turkey without preconditions,
which, Ambassador Markarian said, could create normal environment
for discussing outstanding issues in Armenian-Turkish relations.

Ambassador Markarian noted that many EU members were making the
acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide a litmus test of Turkey’s
willingness to address its human rights record and to embrace
fundamental values. In turn, he added, U.S. recognition of the
Armenian Genocide would send a powerful message to the entire world
that genocides had no place in twenty-first century and that there
was no statute of limitations for genocidal acts.

Impexbank to acquire a 19.91% of Areximbank stocks.

Analytical Information Agency, Russia
April 21 2005

Impexbank intends to acquire a 19.91-percent block of shares of
commercial Areximbank, Impexbank reported to AK&M. The Central Bank
of Armenia has granted preliminary permit to Impexbank to enter
stockholders membership of Armenian Bank.

Armenian-Russian export-import Bank was established in 1998 to
support business undertakings and to serve finance flows between
Russia and Armenia.

Areximbank’s authorized capital amounts to US$4.8 million. As at 1st
of April, 2005, Areximbank’s assets were US$46.64 million. Bank’s
profit for the year 2004 rose to US$15.7 million from US$6.8 million.

Armenian-Americans March To Remember ‘Genocide’

TheKCRAChannel.com (Channel 3, Sacramento, CA)
April 21, 2005

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — More than 200 Armenian-Americans marched to
the state Capitol Thursday to bring attention to what they called
the 90th anniversary of Armenian genocide.

Fifteen of the marchers walked 215 miles for 20 days from Fresno
to Sacramento.

The marches said they want Turkey to acknowledge the killing of 1.5
million people between 1915 and 1923.

Sen. Jackie Speier, who is Armenian-American, joined in for the last
mile of the march. She is presenting a resolution to commemorate
April 21, 2005, as a day of remembrance.

“The Turkish government has yet to recognize the devastation it caused
on the Armenian people, and we’re all here to remember so it never
happens again,” Speier said.

California claims 300,000 Armenian-American residents, the largest
population in the United States.

;psp=news

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress