ARMENIA REMEMBERS VICTIMS OF 1988 EARTHQUAKE

The Associated Press
December 7, 2008

GYUMRI, Armenia: Armenians marked the anniversary Sunday of a
devastating 1988 earthquake that left 25,000 people dead — even as
some of the survivors, 20 years later, remain homeless.

President Serge Sarkisian and the head of Armenia’s Orthodox Church,
Karekin II, unveiled a monument to the victims in the northern town
of Gyumri, which was nearly leveled by the magnitude 7.0 quake.

People throughout Armenia, a small Caucasus nation, observed a moment
of silence 11:41 a.m. (0741 GMT)_ the time the quake struck the
then-Soviet republic, leaving tens of thousands injured and homeless.

Critics attribute the high death toll to the poor quality of apartment
buildings and the inefficient response of emergency officials.

The Soviet government had promised to restore the area and
accommodate the homeless within a few years, but in 1991 Armenia
gained independence.

Restoration efforts were also stalled by Armenia’s war with neighboring
Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Sarkisian promised Sunday to provide housing for 6,000 families who
still live in makeshift huts built shortly after the quake.