Vanno Tadeo’s Concerts Commemorating Armenian Genocide

VANNO TADEO’S CONCERTS COMMEMORATING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Panorama.am
16:52 31/03/2009

Armenian famous soloist, tenor Vanno Tadeo, Vahram Tadevosyan, is
currently in Armenia with special performances commemorating Armenian
Genocide. The concerts will take place in Yerevan, Vanadzor, Syuniq,
Artsakh, said the singer in a press conference.

The singer told that his performances in Armenia differ in their
styles: the first part of the concert has more tragic orientation,
and the second part is aimed to shorten those tragic elements with
Neapolitan songs.

Due to his perfect musical education with Komitas orientation Vanno
Tadeo is a singer who presents Armenian classical music with its
pure elements.

ANKARA: Danish Premier to come to Istanbul

Hürriyet, Turkey
March 28 2009

Danish Premier to come to Istanbul

ANKARA – Danish prime minister Rasmussen will participate in the
meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations summit in Istanbul. Turkey
objects to Rasmussen’s candidacy for next secretary-general of NATO
due to his role in the cartoon crisis of 2006, sparking anger in the
Muslim world.

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Greek Cyprus will participate in
the UN-sponsored Alliance of Civilizations summit in Istanbul on April
6 and 7, while a speech by visiting U.S. President Barack Obama is off
the table.

Foreign ministers from 30 countries, four presidents and
representatives from international organizations will be present at
the Second Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations aimed at
promoting inter-faith dialogue. The event will be at the historic
Ã?ıraÄ?an Palace.

Obama is expected to participate in some parts of the panel, but he
will not deliver a speech at the forum. The United States is not a
member of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations, a
project that was launched by the Turkish and Spanish prime ministers
in 2005 and later backed by the United Nations. It has been learned
that the U.S. policy to become a part of the group under the new Obama
administration is under review. Iran, a member of the Group of
Friends, has been invited for the summit but no response has been
given yet.

Among the participating leaders are Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, whose candidacy for
next secretary-general of NATO is still being evaluated by Turkey. It
has not been yet clarified if Afghan President Hamid Kharzai, who will
be in Ankara for another round of trilateral talks with Pakistan next
week, will attend the summit. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan
could meet with his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, on the
sidelines of the summit.

The forum will start with working breakfasts on April 6. Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, his Spanish counterpart Jose
Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and high
representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, former Portuguese
President Jorge Sampaio, will make opening remarks.

After the opening session, a photograph of the participating leaders
will be taken, and the forum will continue with he two sessions,
"Shaping the Global Agenda in Times of Crisis Ä? Why Does Good
Governance of Cultural Diversity Matter?" and "Enhancing Dialogue and
Strengthening Cooperation: Connecting Innovative Policies and
Initiatives."

In the afternoon, there will be a high-level brainstorming meeting of
the Group of Friends to be followed by simultaneous working sessions,
including the Dialogue CafÂ? Project, aimed at bringing together
ordinary people at the digital world and help them exchange
views. President Abdullah Gül will give an official dinner at
the Dolmabahçe Palace and later there will be a fashion show
"Caftans of Sultans" by designer Faruk Saraç.

On the second day of the forum, after working sessions Ä?
including one on the "Cost of Conflict in the Middle East Ä?
Babacan, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and Sampaio
will deliver closing remarks at a news conference. Before the opening
of the forum, Babacan will inaugurate an exhibition "They had faith in
Turkey" on April 5.

ANKARA: Turkish-Armenian Relations Should Be Boosted, Turkish Prime

TURKISH-AMERICAN RELATIONS SHOULD BE BOOSTED, TURKISH PRIME MINISTER

Anadolu Agency
March 27 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL (A.A) – 27.03.2009 – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said late Thursday Turkish-American relations should be
boosted.

Appearing on a TV program on private TV channel Show, Erdogan said
that several matters including Turkey’s position in the Middle East,
withdrawal of U.S. soldiers from Iraq and the role of Turkey in
Afghanistan would be discussed during U.S. President Barack Obama’s
visit to Turkey.

The incidents of 1915, Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform,
problems between Russia and Georgia as well as Azerbaijan and Armenia
would also be discussed during Obama’s visit to Turkey, he said. The
United States could play a leading role in putting an end to these
problems, Erdogan said.

"I consider that the relations between Turkey and the United States
should be enhanced," he said.

Obama’s visit to Turkey will constitute a significant foundation for
the future of relations, Erdogan said.

Replying to a question, Erdogan said Turkey was ready to do all it
could for restoring of peace in the Middle East.

"Following The Sun" Children’s Fairytale Book Is Published

"FOLLOWING THE SUN" CHILDREN’S FAIRYTALE BOOK IS PUBLISHED

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.03.2009 20:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Following the Sun" children’s fairytale book
presentation was held on Mar. 27 in Khnko Aper Children’s Library. The
book features 11 fairytales and pictures created by children. Nature
is portrayed in every fairytale and every little reader can become
a fairytale author by thinking up an end to the story.

Audio versions of the book will be donated to weak-eyed children.

"Following the Sun" children’s fairytale book is published in
Russian and German languages with the assistance of Foundation for
the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets in Armenia (FPWC)
and VivacellMTS.

"The book will acquaint German children with the works of their
Armenian friends and help Armenian children learn German," German
Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin related.

Says VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian: "Problems of our
life make adults indifferent to nature. Let us learn from children
who are still close to nature. Let us support our children’s love of
nature and help them live in a better world."

Presentation also hosted a performance drawing on 3 wild nature
fairytales from the book presented.

Adviser On Technical Study Of Armenia-Georgia Highway Construction P

ADVISER ON TECHNICAL STUDY OF ARMENIA-GEORGIA HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT TO START WORKING IN APR

ARKA
March 27, 2009

YEREVAN, March 27. /ARKA/. The advisor on a technical study of the
construction of a North-South corridor between Armenia and Georgia
is to start working this April.

RA Minister of Transport and Communication Gurgen Sargsyan reported
that the North-South project is a most important one and is viewed
as a regional transport project.

"A feasibility study is in progress now, and the work is to get
under way after the company that wins a contest announced by the
Asian Development Bank becomes known. That will be the first step in
constructing the highway," the Minister said.

G. Sargsyan also reported that the issue of construction will be
considered by the Ministers of Transport of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation Organization (BSEC) at their meeting in Yerevan today.

The technical study of the North-South project is incorporated in
the programs of the Asian Development Bank for 2009, and the bank
has stated its intention of issue a $1mln grant.

As regards the funding of the highway construction,
the bank offers step-by-step financing. The
Yerevan-Gyumri-Ninotsminda-Akhaltskha-Batumi highway is part of the
North-South transport corridor.

Georgian Court Gallery Hosts Holocaust Exhibit

GEORGIAN COURT GALLERY HOSTS HOLOCAUST EXHIBIT

Howell Tri Town News
t_page/029.html
March 26 3009
Georgia

LAKEWOOD — Georgian Court University will present a multimedia
"Holocaust Memorial Exhibit" from April 6- 24 in the university’s
M. Christina Geis Art Gallery.

The exhibit, timed to correspond with Holocaust Remembrance Day
on April 21, will include children’s books, historic and modern
photographs, maps, posters, and text panels.

"This important exhibit will take the viewer along a journey of one of
humanity’s darkest times," said Kathleen Settles, gallery director,
and one of the exhibit organizers. "The purpose of the exhibit is to
promote awareness, teach tolerance, inspire compassion and hopefully
enlist the viewer to an allegiance of goodwill toward all of humanity."

According to Lisa A. Festa, an assistant professor of art history
who also helped to organize the display, the exhibit will feature a
history of anti-Semitism throughout the ages, a timeline of the rise
of Hitler and the Nazi party, and focus on the implementation of laws
against Jews as well as the Nazis’ censorship of art and culture.

The exhibition will continue with a spotlight on the ghettos of Warsaw,
Poland, and Terezín, Czechoslovakia, as well as the concentration
camps of Dachau, Germany, and Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland. Itwill also
feature the liberation of the camps near the end of the war. The
exhibition will further pay tribute to several rescuers and the
"righteous among nations," and will end with a display about genocides
in other lands after World War II.

"It is hoped that viewers will leave the exhibition with a sense of
compassion and enlightenment, as well as a motivation and personal
drive to help change current events in order to ensure that genocide
never happens again," Festa said.

The exhibit coincides with Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance
Day, a day set aside to commemorate the lives and heroism of the
six million Jewish people who died in the Holocaust between 1933
and 1945. The exhibit closes on the anniversary of the onset of the
"Great Catastrophe," the Armenian genocide of 1.5 million people that
began in 1915.

In addition to Settles and Festa, the exhibit was organized and
compiled with the assistance of José Gonzalez, lecturer in art.

The gallery is on the second floor of the Arts and Science Center on
Georgian Court’s Lakewood campus. Gallery hours are Monday through
Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The
exhibit is free and open to the public.

http://tritown.gmnews.com/news/2009/0326/fron

Delegation Headed By The NA Speaker To Take Part In 32nd Plenary Ses

DELEGATION HEADED BY THE NA SPEAKER TO TAKE PART IN 32ND PLENARY SESSION OF CIS INTER-PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

ARMENPRESS
March 25, 2009
Yerevan

Speaker of Armenian parliament Hovik Abrahamian received today the
secretary general of CIS Inter-parliamentary assembly Mikhail Krotovin.

Public relations department of Armenian parliament told Armenpress
that Mr. Krotov conveyed the kind wishes of the heads of CIS and
CSTO Inter-parliamentary assemblies Sergey Mironov and Boris Grizlov
to the NA speaker as well as the invitation of participation in the
32nd plenary session of CIS Inter-parliamentary assembly which will
take place May 14-15 in St. Petersburg.

During the meeting the sides referred to the issues of the agenda of
the St. Petersburg 32nd plenary session of CIS Inter-parliamentary
assembly and discussed the planned events and issues connected with
the further cooperation and bilateral interests.

NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamian confirmed the participation of NA
delegation headed by him in the works of the session.

Armenian Lawmaker Expresses "Complete Support" For U.S. Measure Agai

ARMENIAN LAWMAKER EXPRESSES "COMPLETE SUPPORT" FOR U.S. MEASURE AGAINST TURKISH COMMITTED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PR-Inside.com
March 23 2009

In a letter sent soon after legistlation recognizing the Armenian
Genocide was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, the
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the Armenian
parliament expresses complete support for the measure and writes: "
I am confident that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the
United Stated not only would not hamper, but on the contrary will
contribute to the prospects of a thorough dialogue between Turkey
and Armenia."

March 19, 2009

The Honorable Howard Berman Chairman Committee on Foreign Affairs
U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Berman:

I have the pleasure to write to you upon the introduction of
legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide, and to share with you
and your colleagues our complete support for the adoption of this
measure affirming the commitment of the United States to the cause of
genocide-prevention. Armenia aspires for the universal recognition
and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, and sees it both as a
restoration of an historical justice and as a way to improve the
overall situation in the region, while also preventing similar crimes
in the future.

The Armenian people in our homeland, in the United States and
around the world, remain grateful for the hard work that you and
your colleagues, including, of course Congressmen Adam Schiff and
George Radanovich, have devoted over the course of many years to
secure U.S. recognition and official commemoration of this crime. I
am confident that the proponents of this process are also rightly
convinced that the lack of official recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by the United States has thus far in fact served to make
Turkey’s position in the issue of resolving the Armenian-Turkish
relations more uncompromising. We value these efforts and are, this
year, particularly encouraged by the clear statements of President
Barack Obama and senior members of his Administration in this regard
during the elections.

Please know that I remain available to share with your Congressional
colleagues, either in writing or in person, the principled stand of
the Republic of Armenia in support of universal recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. I am confident that the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by the United Stated not only would not hamper, but on the
contrary will contribute to the prospects of a thorough dialogue
between Turkey and Armenia. A clear and principled stance by the
U.S. can only assist in developing awareness that the recognition of
the Genocide is not at all a demonstration of anti-Turkish sentiments,
but a necessity emanating from the need to condemn this crime against
humanity. Furthermore, any durable improvement of Armenia-Turkey
relations must rest upon a foundation of shared respect for truth
and justice.

Thank you for your friendship with the people and government of the
Republic of Armenia and for all your support and assistance over
the years.

Sincerely, Armen Rustamyan Chairman Standing Committee on Foreign
Relations National Assembly of Armenia

No Official Proposal To Discuss Turkey’s Involvement In NPP Construc

NO OFFICIAL PROPOSAL TO DISCUSS TURKEY’S INVOLVEMENT IN NPP CONSTRUCTION RECEIVED IN ARMENIA

ARKA
March 20, 2009

YEREVAN, March 20. /ARKA/. Armenia has not received any official
proposal to discuss Turkey’s possible involvement in the construction
project for a new nuclear-power plant (NPP) in Armenia, said RA
Minister of Energy Armen Movsisyan.

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan stated earlier that some percentage
of shares of the new NPP would probably be offered for public
subscription. He did not rule out that all those interested in the
project would be able to purchase shares. The Premier also expressed
the confidence that great interest in the project is shown in Turkey
and Greece.

"The construction of the new NPP will be started after a transparent
international contest, and any country, including Turkey, can be
involved," he told reporters.

He pointed out that the issue of transparency of the contest for
various countries and individuals was discussed.

"A decision was made which allowed all the interested parties to
take part in the construction of the new NPP in Armenia," Movsisyan
said. He pointed out that this idea implies the interested parties’
sharing in the NPP.

Armenia plans the construction of a 1,000 MW NPP. The RA Ministry
of Energy estimates the project at $5bln. In 2006, the RA Parliament
abolished government monopoly of nuclear power plants for the attra
ction of foreign investment in the project.

Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations. The Armenian-Turkish
border was closed in 1993 on official Ankara’s initiative. Turkey sets
a number of preconditions for the establishment of bilateral relations
– Armenia’s abandoning the policy of getting the Armenian Genocide
internationally recognized and recognizing Turkey’s present-day
borders.

Armenian Leader, US Top Official Discuss Ties, Karabakh Settlement

ARMENIAN LEADER, US TOP OFFICIAL DISCUSS TIES, KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

Mediamax
March 18 2009
Armenia

Yerevan, 18 March: Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan held a phone
conversation with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today.

The issues of Armenian-US relations, implementation of the US
Millennium Challenge Foundation’s projects in Armenia, the settlement
of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and the Armenian-Turkish political
dialogue were discussed during the conversation, the Mediamax news
agency quoted the official website of the Armenian president as saying.