Author: Ekmekjian Janet

EACH YEAR ARMENIANS SUFFER TRAGEDY AND HUMILIATION: CALGARY HERALD

news.am, Armenia
April 7 2010

"April is the cruelest month for the people of Armenia, who every year
at this season suffer a continuing tragedy and a humiliation," reads
the article by Christopher Hitchens on Calgary Herald website. The
author recalls that Turkish authorities deny that mass killings
of Armenians occurred in Ottoman Empire in the beginning of last
century. Hitchens says that first time the word "genocide" was used
in 1943, though he prefers the wording "race extermination," that
was applied by the former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Henry Morgenthau.

Speaking about present Turkey’s policy and deportation threats voiced
by Turkish Premier Erdogan, the author notes that illegal Turkish
workers can be found throughout EU. "How would the world respond if a
European prime minister called for the mass deportation of Turks? Yet,
Erdogan’s xenophobic demagoguery attracted no condemnation from
Washington or Brussels," he deems.

"It is not just a disaster for Turkey that its prime minister
suffers from morbid personality disorders. The dead of Armenia will
never cease to cry out. Nor, on their behalf, should we cease to
do so. Let Turkey’s unstable leader foam when other parliaments and
congresses discuss Armenia and seek the truth about it. The grotesque
fact remains that the Turkish parliament is forbidden by its own law
to do so. While this remains the case, we shall do it for them, and
without any apology, until they produce the one that is forthcoming
from them," the article reads.

SHIRIN EBADI NUANCE LA SITUATION DES DROITS DE L’HOMME EN ARMENIE
par Marion

armenews
mercredi7 avril 2010
Armenie

La situation des droits de l’homme en Armenie n’est pas aussi mauvaise
qu’on pourrait le croire, a affirme mardi Shirin Ebadi, l’une des
dissidentes du regime iranien et laureate du Prix Nobel de la paix,
lors d’une conference internationale a Erevan.

Ebadi fait partie des quelque 300 militants assistant a la conference
annuelle de la Federation internationale des droits de l’homme (FIDH).

S’exprimant lors d’une conference de presse conjointes avec les
dirigeants de la FIDH, elle a rejete les allegations selon lesquelles
le colloque enverrai un message negatif sur le bilan des autorites
armeniennes sur la question des droits de l’homme.

" Nous savons qu’il existe des violations des droits de l’homme dans
ce pays. Toutefois, lorsque nous l’avons compare avec d’autres pays
de la region, nous avons estime que la situation n’etait pas aussi
mauvaise que dans d’autres pays. "

" Nous allons tous travailler ensemble pour la rendre meilleure ",
a-t-elle ajoute.

Avocate et ancienne juge, Ebadi a remporte le Nobel de la Paix en
2003 pour ses efforts dans la promotion de la democratie et des
droits de l’homme, en particulier pour les femmes et les enfants
iraniens. Elle est devenue la première iranienne et première femme
musulmane a recevoir le prix.

Cette reconnaissance internationale n’a pas ameliore ses rapports avec
le pouvoir iranien. Les autorites iraniennes ont notamment interdit,
en 2008, l’organisation non gouvernementale de premier plan qu’elle
avait fondee en 2001.

" Il existe de nombreux journalistes qui sont emprisonnes en Iran,
en ce moment, a ajoute Ebadi. Nous ne pouvons pas tenir des reunions
de ce genre dans mon pays. Meme moi, je n’ai pas le pouvoir d’etre
active en Iran. "

Cependant, le 37ème congrès de la FIDH, par la voix de sa presidente,
Souhayr Belhassen, avait appele le jour meme a la liberation immediate
des prisonniers politiques en Armenie. La FIDH a egalement reitere sa
demande d’une enquete independante et credible sur les evènements de
mars 2008 et sur l’usage disproportionne de la force par les services
de securite. Enfin, la FIDH a exprime ses preoccupations sur les
conditions d’organisation et de tenue des scrutins electoraux et sur
les obstacles a la liberte de l’information.

" Nous avons exprime ces preoccupations a plusieurs reprises ces
derniers mois aux autorites armeniennes au plus haut niveau – et ce
matin encore au President de la Republique, comme nous l’avons promis
hier aux familles des victimes et des prisonniers politiques ", a
declare Souhayr Belhassen. " L’ensemble de ces points preoccupent
le congrès de la FIDH tout entier qui aujourd’hui, par ma voix,
lance un appel aux autorites : nous esperons des reponses concrètes
a ces preoccupations. Nous persisterons jusqu’a les obtenir ",
a-t-elle ajoute.

"Liberer tous les prisonniers politiques et poursuivre en justice les
responsables de la mort de dix personnes lors des evenements du 1er
mars, sont deux des conditions essentielles pour une justice efficace
en Armenie", a conclu Artak Kirakosyan, representant du Civil Society
Institute, organisation membre de la FIDH en Armenie.

MOTHERS OF BEST RA DEFENSE MINISTRY SERVICEMEN AWARDED WITH MEDALS AND HONORARY DIPLOMAS

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 5, 2010 – 14:41 AMT 09:41 GMT

On April 6, RA Ministry of Defense hosted an event in celebration of
Motherhood and Beauty Day.

Mothers of best servicemen, as well as Defense Ministry servicewomen
will be awarded with medals and honorary diplomas, ministerial press
service reported.

Exhibition of ancient Armenian manuscripts of Matenadaran opened in Lebanon

2010-04-03 10:12:00

ArmInfo. A solemn ceremony of Matenadaran manuscripts opening was held
in UNESCO hall, Beirut, in the frames of closing events "Beirut as the
world book capital 2009", Armenian Foreign Ministry informed ArmInfo.

Armenian Ambassador to Lebanon Ashot Kocharyan delivered a welcoming
speech, emphasizing Armenian-Lebanese cultural cooperation and
presenting information about Matenadaran. He also expressed gratitude
to Lebanese Ministry of Culture for the assistance. A representative
from Lebanese Ministry of Culture, chief coordinator of "Beirut as the
world book capital 2009" project Leila Barakat welcomed participation
of Armenia in the event, signifying the role of Armenian community of
the country’s life. Lebanese politicians, priests, ministers and
parliamentarians of Armenian origin, figures
of culture and journalists were also present at the exhibition.

World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
April 2, 2010

Rate of Armenian Price Surge Eases in March

BYLINE: Venla Sipila

The latest inflation data from the Armenian National Statistical
Service testify to still high but somewhat easing price pressures.
Indeed, March saw consumer prices soar by 8.8% year-on-year (y/y),
after annual gains of 9.4% and 7.0% had been posted in February and
January, respectively. In particular, food prices gained 6.9% y/y,
while prices of non-food items soared by 14.3% y/y, and the cost of
services rose by 10.6% y/y. Compared to February, Armenian consumer
prices in March increased by 0.8%, with pressures from all the three
key categories relatively similar. Over 2009 as a whole, Armenian
consumer prices rose by an average rate of 3.4%, with inflation
pressures strengthening towards the end of the year (seeArmenia: 5
January 2010:).

Significance:Armenian inflation is still running far above the upper
limit of the government’s target range of 4% +/- 1.5 percentage
points. The recent intensification of inflation to a large extent is
the result of dram depreciation, which has a direct impact on import
costs. Then again, looking forward, the rising import prices will
suppress imports, and this is exactly why a flexible exchange rate is
needed at present in Armenia, which still has a wide external
financing gap. In addition, a flexible exchange rate will also help in
inflation control, when, eventually, foreign currency inflows are
likely to recover. The persistently high inflation may prompt the
Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) to lift interest rates further, even if
the importance of the policy interest rate as an effective polity tool
in Armenia remains limited. Armenian inflation may reaccelerate again
in the next months. This is mainly because the price of natural gas
for Armenian consumers will be lifted by 37.5% from 1 April, taking
the retail cost to 132 dram per cubic metre (cm) from 96 cm.
ArmRosgazprom, which imports and distributes Russian gas in Armenia,
is increasing the retail price due to an increase to US$180/1,000 cm
from US$154/1,000 cm in the Russian gas import price.

ARMENIA’S FOREIGN TRADE IN JAN.-FEB. 2010 GROWS BY 22.5% TO $625.2 MILLION

ARKA
Apr 1, 2010

YEREVAN, April 1, /ARKA/. Armenia’s foreign trade in Jan.-Feb. 2010
grew by 22.5% year-on-year to some 235.5 billion Drams in current
prices or $625.2 million, the National Statistical Service reported.

It said exports rose by 53.5% or 46 billion Drams ($121.4 million),
while imports grew by 16.8% to 189,7 billion Drams ($503.8 million).

The negative trade balance totaled 143.7 billion Drams ($382.4
million).

According to the official figures, export of non-precious metals and
items rose by 53% year-on-year to

$46.3 million, export of mining industry goods rose by 4.3 times to
$33.2 million, export of precious and semi-precious stones, metals
and items fell by 9.2% to $15 million and export of finished foods
grew by 25% to $14.7 million.

Import of machines, equipment and devices grew by 87.4% year-on-year
to $100.1 million, import of mining equipment grew by 27.4% to $97.4
million, import of overland, aerial and water vehicles rose by 11.5%
to $57.2 million, import of finished foods fell by 0.3% to $42.3
million and import of non-precious metals and items fell by 14.4%
to $31.3 million. In 2009 Jan.-Feb. Armenia’s foreign trade totaled
$510.2 million.

TIGRAN SARGSYAN: ARMENIA ENTERS HIGH INFLATION PERIOD

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.04.2010 14:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said that
the RA government is concerned over inflation, however, it is a result
of expanded monetary-credit and tax-budgetary policy implemented by
the RA government and Central Bank.

"We have entered a high inflation period. 0.8% inflation was recorded
in Armenia in March as compared with February, and this is not a bad
index," Mr. Sargsyan told a government session on April 1. He added
that the annual inflation index reached 8.8%. According to forecasts
for 2010, inflation will make 7%.

With respect to this, the PM voiced confidence that the Armenian
government and Central Bank will manage to restrain the inflation
pressures and the figure will decrease by the yearend.

According to Mr. Sargsyan, Armenia and the International Monetary
Fund have agreed with respect to the inflation suppression that the
macroeconomic indexes will have an insignificant impact on inflation
in 2010. "Moreover, if we manage to preserve the same level of tax
collection as recorded in the first quarter, it will allow suppressing
inflation in the country," he said.

MARANCI TO TALK ON ‘EXCAVATION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF ZVARTNOTS’

29/maranci-to-talk-on-%e2%80%98excavation-and-reco nstruction-of-zvartnots%e2%80%99/
Mon, Mar 29 2010

On April 14, Maranci will present "Rock, Paper, Scissors: The
Excavation and Reconstruction of Zvartnots."

WATERTOWN, Mass.-Zvartnots, perhaps more than any other medieval
church, has become an icon of Armenian identity, the subject of
countless representations in miniature, and the inspiration and
namesake of the airport terminal of Yerevan. Yet what is really known
about this church?

On April 14, the Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) will
feature a presentation by ALMA Research Fellow Dr. Christina Maranci,
the director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Yerevan. Her
talk, titled "Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Excavation and Reconstruction
of Zvartnots," will consider the initial excavations at the site, the
participation of T’oros T’oramanian, and the scholarly controversies
surrounding its original appearance.

Maranci is the Dadian Oztemel Chair of Armenian Art at Tufts
University. She received her Ph.D. from Princeton University in the
department of art and archaeology in 1998. Her 2001 book, Medieval
Armenian Architecture: Constructions of Race and Nation, explores
the role of Josef Strzygowski in the field of medieval Armenian
architecture.

This free public program will take place at 7 p.m. in the museum’s
Contemporary Art Gallery (3rd floor), on 65 Main St. in Watertown. A
reception will follow.

ARMENIANS ARE NOT AS POOR AS TO DEPEND ON US

Hurriyet Daily News
March 31 2010
Turkey

There is an urban legend existing for some time.

According to that, Armenia is so poor that it wants the borders to
Turkey to open as soon as possible. This way either they can leave
for Turkey easily or improve their quality of life with an increase
in trade.

This legend may have been true to some extent in the 1990s.

I went to Yerevan a few times in the 90s and I indeed encountered
a very poor Armenia. The only place to stay was the Yerevan Hotel
where mice ran in the corridor. The streets and buildings were in a
bad shape and the quality of life really bad.

With independence in 1992 it slowly started to change and today the
improvement in Yerevan has really stunned me.

In place of the ruinous Yerevan Hotel there is now a Marriott and
the number of hotels in the city has increased to 10.

Streets have been repaved. Cobblestone pavement or trolley rails
cutting into tires have been replaced with streets looking new
and clean.

Shopping alleys with their glamorous lights and foreign brands reflect
people’s purchasing power. The abundance of restaurants, casinos and
nightclubs has stunned me. Previously the number of movie theaters
not exceeding two or three in this capitol of 1.5 million now has a
very colorful nightlife.

Don’t get me wrong.

Based on what I wrote in the beginning please don’t think that Armenia
has become rich and people are living a gorgeous life now. What I
am trying to say is that there is no poverty anymore. To describe
Armenia’s general situation it would be more correct to say "they
are living a moderate lifestyle."

I wanted to draw your attention to what I hear quite often here. In
case the borders are kept closed, Armenians will continue living the
way they used to live for the past 17 years and they are not willing
to do anything to provide for the opening of the borders.

In return if the borders are opened Armenia will get rid of an embargo
and life will become easier. The country will not become rich over
night, but life will be easier in many ways. If there won’t be any
consent and borders remain closed, then Armenia still won’t die of
poverty. Let’s not forget that the opening of borders and lifting of
an embargo will support the Armenians morally in negotiations with
Azerbaijan. Turkey would seem to support Armenia, even if not as much
as Azerbaijan, which is not something to be ignored.

That is why the dispute over borders creates excitement as well as an
"It’s not the end of the world" attitude.

Opening borders will also benefit Turkey

To tell the truth, no one knows how much the opening of borders
will contribute to Armenia’s economy. Some research shows that the
contribution will be moderate to high level, based on investments
and trade traffic. But we should not forget that not only Armenia
will benefit from this contingency, but also Turkey.

– Armenia, through Turkey, will be able to open up to Middle Eastern
and European markets. It will be able to increase the export of goods
and import goods cheaper compared to present conditions.

– With the opening of borders tourism from Europe and the Armenian
community in Turkey will increase.

– Armenia will be able to sell electricity to Turkey.

– It will also be able to use Turkey’s Black Sea and Mediterranean
ports to spread trade.

– Armenia will become a country through which energy lines will run.

– Turkey will also encounter important benefits from the opening
of the borders. Regions like Van and Kars will revive in trade and
tourism. Goods of Turkish origin will be cheaper in the Armenian
market due to short cuts in transportation currently transportation
is via Iran and Georgia which makes import quite expensive.

– More importantly Turkey will reach Middle Eastern markets easier.

Currently transportation takes too long.

Nobody imagines a life without genocide or the aftermath

The Armenians are so focused on and linked their hopes to Turkey
accepting the genocide so much so that they turned it into their
lifestyle and when one day Turkey finally accepts it you’d think the
world stopped spinning.

When talking to students I asked: "What would you do if Turkey accepted
genocide? Would they then ask for territory or compensation?"

They were stunned and didn’t know how to respond.

Genocide has become part of their life so much so that they can’t
think of a world in which genocide is an issue any more.

When asking the same question to academics and formal authorities I
realized that the aftermath of genocide has never been considered.

It’s interesting but a belief exists in the lines of "Other countries
may accept, but it’s hard to make the Turks accept it." When digging
deeper you’ll find two factors. One is that behind these genocide
allegations there is no territorial claim but beneficiaries who
lost their homes and still hold on to the title deed could sue for
compensation. However this issue also seems to far-fetched. Another
factor is that even if the protocols were approved in parliament the
realization of the historians’ commission in respect to genocide
issues would encounter such deep resistance that it would make it
almost impossible.

It’s not going to be easy.

It seems very difficult for the Armenian society to ignore a possible
suspicion brought about by historians who will pick a subject to
pieces which the Armenians are sure the world has already accepted.

n=armenians-are-not-as-poor-as-to-depend-on-us-201 0-03-31

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN APPOINTS NEW AMBASADORS TO ROMANIA, KUWAIT

2 010/03/30 | 15:36

society

On March 29, RoA President Serzh Sargsyan appointed Hamlet Gasbaryan
as Armenia’s new Ambassador to Romania, replacing Yeghishe Sargsyan.

The same day, President Sargsyan appointed Fadei Charchoghlyan to
replace Vahagn Melikyan as Armenia’s Ambassador to Kuwait.