Author: Nahapetian Lilit

NEW PHASE OF COOPERATION BETWEEN RA AND NKR SERVICES OF LEGAL ACTS FORCED EXECUTION

NKR Government Information and
Public Relations Department
March 26, 2010

On March 26, in Stepanakert, a memorandum of understanding was signed
on cooperation between the services securing forced execution of RA
and NKR Justice Ministries’ legal acts. The signatories agreed to
develop and confirm a programme of cooperation for 2010-2011 aimed at
mutual contacts consolidation, systematization and implementation of
joint activities within a two-month period after signing the document.

The list of arrangements constituting the programme will be specified
during mutual visits and panel discussions. The parties are bound
to create the necessary prerequisites for long-term cooperation,
to outline the development ways and pursue their implementation.

PETER BALAKIAN, EXPERT ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, LEADS GENOCIDE AWARENESS WEEK SCHEDULE

States News Service
March 29, 2010 Monday

The following information was released by Syracuse University:

The Syracuse University School of Education’s Regional Holocaust
and Genocide Education Initiative has teamed up with STAND, the
SU student-led division of the Genocide Intervention Network, to
facilitate a series of events in recognition of Genocide Awareness
Week, April 12-16. All events will be held on the SU Campus and
are free and open to the public. The lectures, film screenings and
discussions during the week are designed to heighten awareness and
promote recognition of genocides that have taken place worldwide
throughout the 20th century and continuing today.

A lecture by Peter Balakian will kick off the week’s events. He
will present The Armenian Genocide and Modernity, on Monday, April
12, at 4 p.m. in the Winnick Hillel Center. Balakian is the Donald
M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor of the Humanities in the English
department and director of creative writing at Colgate University. His
book The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response
(HarperCollins, 2003) was winner of the Raphael Lemkin Prize, a New
York Times Notable Book and a New York Times and national best seller.

Continuing the series of events to evoke the message of genocide
awareness are:

a screening of the film Shake Hands with the Devil, about the 1994
genocide in Rwanda, April 12 at 6 p.m. in Room 207 of the Hall of
Languages;

a screening of Invisible Children, The Legacy Tour, April 13 at 8 p.m.

in Grant Auditorium);

a presentation from motivational speaker/poet/rapper Omekongo Dibinga,
who will speak about the situation in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, April 14 at 5 p.m. in the Life Sciences Auditorium; and

an awareness reception hosted by STAND, the African Student Union
(ASU), Student African American Society (SAS), Syracuse Real College
Radio and UNICEF, April 16 at 3 p.m. in the Jabberwocky Caf in the
Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center.

While we will pause on April 11 (Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance
Day) to remember the Holocaust, says Professor Emeritus Alan Goldberg,
director of the Regional Holocaust and Genocide Education Initiative,
we must also remember that the genocides in Armenia, Bosnia, Rwanda,
Cambodia and Darfur also have their days of remembrance in Aprila
tragic testament to our inexcusable failure to stop genocide and
mass atrocities. Our hope is that the events during this week create
awareness within our community of the ongoing atrocities and the ways
we as a community can become active in standing against them.

ARMENIANS MOURN WITH MOSCOW: RUSSIAN EMBASSY TO ARMENIA CROWDED

Panorama.am
15:45 30/03/2010

Society

Since early morning Russian Embassy to Armenia is crowded as people
want to send their condolences to the relatives of all the victims
of Russian subway terror act. A mourning diary is available in the
Embassy for people to express their mourning and thoughts.

Yevgenia Chechelyan, Embassy’s press speaker told that people come
to the Embassy, bring flowers and that the Embassy building is crowded.

Armenianauthoritieshaven’tyetvisitedtheE mbassy. Chechelyan explained
that since the mourning is declared only in Moscow, it isn’t declared
in the country.

It’s worth reminding that Armenia’s President, PM and Parliament
Speaker have sent their condolences to their Russian counterparts
over the Moscow terror act.

The representatives of "Armenian eagles" movement have also come to
express their condolences. In a talk with the reporters Chairman of the
organization Khachik Asryan condemned the brutal act stating that fight
against terrorism has no borders and that Armenian people deeply mourn.

Panorama.am journalist reports just from the Embassy that about 500
representatives of "Miasin" movement arrived at the Embassy building,
brought flowers and candles. Youth representatives carry posters
that read: "Armenia mourns with you!", "No terrorism", "We condemn
any act of violence."

CANDIDATES COMPETE TO FILL ASSEMBLY SEAT VACATED BY PAUL KREKORIAN

Los Angeles Times
March 30 2010

In a contentious race, three Democrats and one Republican will be
on a special election ballot April 13 for the district representing
Burbank, Glendale and parts of Los Angeles.

CALIFORNIA ELECTIONSMarch 29, 2010|By Jean MerlIn Burbank, Glendale
and parts of Los Angeles, four candidates want the state Assembly
seat vacated after Paul Krekorian was elected to the Los Angeles
City Council.

Three Democrats and one Republican are on the April 13 special
election ballot for the unexpired term that will last only a few
months. Candidates hoping to also win a full two-year term in November
must run in two elections at once.

Democratic candidates are Mike Gatto, a lawyer and part-time night
school teacher who once worked for an area congressman; Chahe
Keuroghelian, a small-business owner and former spokesman for the
Glendale Police Department; and Nayiri Nahabedian, a board member of
the Glendale Unified School District. The Republican is small-business
owner Sunder Ramani.

In the special primary, voters will choose among all the candidates,
regardless of party affiliation. If, as expected, no one wins a
majority April 13, the Democrat with the most votes will face Ramani
in a June 8 runoff. That is the same date as the statewide primary
election, and all four candidates will be on their party’s ballot then,
regardless of the April outcome.

The race has been contentious in the 43rd Assembly District. Teachers
aligned with Nahabedian, for example, publicized a letter they sent
to Gatto objecting to his description of himself on the ballot as an
"educator" (along with "attorney") because his teaching is limited.

His primary occupation is as a lawyer.

Someone else filed a complaint with the state Fair Political Practices
Commission contending Gatto violated election laws by allegedly mixing
campaign accounts. The Gatto campaign called the filing "a total red
herring" and said it has done nothing wrong. The commission does not
comment on possible investigations.

During a candidates forum in which contenders were allowed to question
each other, Gatto asked Keuroghelian whether anyone had asked him to
get out of the race. In the exchange, posted on YouTube, Keuroghelian
said officials including Krekorian and representatives of the Armenian
National Committee had met with him and urged him to drop out so
he wouldn’t harm Nahabedian’s chances by diluting the district’s
substantial Armenian vote.

A spokesman for Krekorian, who has endorsed Nahabedian, vehemently
denied Keuroghelian’s account, saying the councilman had met with
Keuroghelian "a couple of times" at the candidate’s request.

ADL’s Foxman Calls Genocide Bill `Counterproductive Diversion’

%99s-foxman-calls-genocide-bill-%e2%80%98counterpr oductive-diversion%e2%80%99/
By Asbarez Staff on Mar 25th, 2010

WASHINGTON – Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham Foxman
said in an interview with the Azeri APA news agency that the Armenian
Genocide resolution, adopted this month by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, is `a counterproductive diversion.’

APA’s Isabel Levine asked the Jewish leader his thought on the
resolution, to which he responded: `Congressional resolution on such
matters is a counterproductive diversion and will not foster
reconciliation between Turks and Armenians and may put at risk the
important multilateral relationship between Turkey and the United
States.’

`Turkey and the U.S. have many common and vital interests that require
close cooperation and mutual trust. Passage of the resolution will not
change our shared strategic interests, but could impact the political
will in Turkey to pursue them as effectively as possible. We have
urged Turkey and Armenia to work towards reconciliation for a long
time. The resolution will hinder that process, and we oppose it.
However, opposing the resolution must not be confused with denying
history,’ added Foxman.

`Azerbaijan has a long history of tolerance and respect for the Jewish
people, and since independence has been a reliable friend and partner
for the U.S. and Israel. We appreciate the vital importance of a
satisfactory resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue for Azerbaijan.
If Turkish-Armenian normalization will advance the Nagorno-Karabakh
process, we would certainly welcome that additional benefit,’ said
Foxman.

5% Growth in Tourism Expected in Armenia

15:09 – 27.03.10

Armenia is expected to see a 5% growth in tourism this year, Head of
the Department of Tourism and Regional Economic Development at the RA
Ministry of Economy Mekhak Apresyan said at a press conference today.

`A 5% growth forecast is realistic. It is based on steps that have
been taken so far and are being taken now with an aim to secure visits
to Armenia, and on analysis of developments in world tourism,’ said
Apresyan.

He also mentioned that this forecast is fixed as an objective in RA
programs on tourism for 2010.

Tert.am

Former prime minister of Armenia forecasts further devaluation of Armenian dram

25.03.2010

ArmInfo. Devaluation of the Armenian dram (AMD) will continue over the
current year, said former prime minister of Armenia Hrant Bagratyan at
today’s press conference.

According to him, the reason of the decline in the AMD exchange rate
is the unfavorable balance of trade of the Armenian economy. It is
possible to maintain the national currency exchange rate at a certain
level only in case new credit funds are attracted. In general, the
ex-premier thinks that the currency can be "saved" by one effective
method – stimulation of export. "The country should learn to earn
currency by means of improving production and export. The current
situation in the Armenian economy may endanger the country’s
independence in the future. We should also get rid of monopolies which
hinder Armenia’s development",- said Bagratyan.

Turkish Politician Denies in Turkey What He Said in Armenia

12:16 – 26.03.10

Turkish Liberal Democratic Party Leader Cem Toker has denied media
reports that he visited the Genocide Memorial Tsitsernakaberd during
his recent visit to Yerevan and placed flowers in remembrance of
Armenian Genocide victims.

While talking to local Turkish daily Hurriyet, Toker said that not the
Armenian, but the Russian media sources are to blame for disseminating
those reports.

`I have paid several visits to Armenia with an aim to support the
normalization process of Armenian-Turkish relations. I have not spoken
about the issue of Genocide and I have tried to substantiate the
necessity of engaging in a dialogue. I have informed President
Abdullah Gül about the details of my visits. I have not made any
comments which could contradict the official policy pursued by our
country. I have not ackowledged the accusations over the Genocide
during my visits, nor have I placed a wreath on the Genocide memorial.
If it were a reality, first of all Armenian media would have reported
it before Russian media. But the sources of such news are not Armenian
media outlets, but Russian ones,’ said Toker.

Earlier, at a March 23 press conference, Toker had stated that he had
visited the Genocide Memorial, though he did not mention that he had
place a wreath there.

`Horrible atrocities took place; however, I don’t know whether they
should be called genocide or not. I don’t like history and for that
reason, I haven’t really delved [into the issue],’ Toker had said
earlier, when asked whether he accepts that a genocide took place in
1915.

Tert.am

Armenian, Turkish diplomats did not discuss Genocide issue

26.03.2010 13:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Genocide issue was not discussed during the
meetings between Armenian and Turkish diplomats, an Armenian senior
diplomat stated.

`I personally took part in the meetings which preceded the dialogue
between the two countries,’ Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakossian
said.

He also emphasized that both the Armenian President and Foreign
Minister numerously stated that Armenia never questioned the fact of
Genocide and its international recognition. `Speculations on the issue
are inadmissible,’ Mr. Kirakossian said.

Earlier, ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Ali Babacan said
that the Armenian Genocide issue was discussed during diplomatic
meetings under Swiss mediation.

Main challenge of Armenian government curb inflation, HSBC

YEREVAN, March 26, /ARKA/. The main challenge and the goal of the
Armenian government is to curb inflation, HSBC Bank Armenia CEO,
Astrid Clifford, said today. She said the current inflation rate is
higher of the government projected figure.

`The government is taking steps to regulate inflation, but it is very
complicated because of high level dollarization of Armenian economy,’
she explained.

The first two months of 2010 saw a further increase in consumer price
inflation. A year-on-year inflation rate of 8.2 percent recorded by
the NSS is almost twice higher than the maximum inflation target set
by the government and the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) for 2010. -0-