Government’s tourism de- Justice Has Yet to velopment-oriented efforts Prevail for Sum- take effect Page 2 gait PAGE 5 HIGHLIGHTS

Weekly Digest of the Government of Armenia

March 1-14, 2011 THEMA

“Quote of the week”

“The chief objec- tive behind this successful launch is to promote tour- ism in the Republic of Armenia which is a priority to the Government“

The Presidents of Armenia, and Tigran Sargsyan held a trilateral meeting in Prime Minister of RA Sochi

n March 5 the President of the RA Russian Federation, the Presidents of Armenia, OSerzh Sargsyan, the President of RF Russia and Azerbaijan met on March 5, 2011 in Dmitry Medvedev and the President of Sochi and discussed in detail the process and Upcoming Events Azerbaijan held a trilateral the prospects of the NK conflict resolution. meeting in Sochi (Russian Federation). At After the discussions on the practical imple- the regular round of negotiations on the mentation of the trilateral Declaration adopted resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh con- on October 27, 2010 in Astrakhan, in addition MARCH 15-17: PM Tigran Sarg- flict, which were held at the invitation of the to the steps specified in the above mentioned syan to visit Brusells, Belgium President of the Russian Federation, the par- Declaration, the Presidents agreed to take ties exchanged views on the process of im- the following confidence building measures: MARCH 17: OSCE CiO Audron- plementation of the provisions of the Joint 1. To conclude in the shortest possible period ius Azubalis to arrive in Armenia Declaration adopted last year in Astrakhan. of time the exchange of the prisoners of war, After the trilateral meeting, the Presi- 2. To strive to solve all contentious issues September 15: International dents continued negotiations during through peaceful means and to conduct Hrant Dink Award to be granted the working dinner. Later, the Presi- along the cease-fire line an investigation dents visited one of the Sochi ski resorts. with the participation of the parties under At the conclusion of the trilateral meet- the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co- ing, the Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Chairs and with the assistance of the Spe- USEFUL LINKS Azerbaijan adopted a Joint Declaration. cial Representative of the OSCE Chairman- • www.president.am ***** in-Office regarding probable incidents. • www.gov.am Joint Declaration of the Presidents of the The Presidents stressed the importance of • www.parliament.am Republic of Armenia, the Russian Fed- their regular meetings on the resolution of the • www.mfa.am eration and Azerbaijan on the resolu- Nagorno Karabakh conflict and agreed to con- • www.armenpress.am tion of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict tinue them in the present format and further • www.panarmenian.net Upon the invitation of the President of the to the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group. • www..am March 5, 2011 www.president.am ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS CHRONICA Headlines of In Riga President met with the Speak- er of the Parliament of Latvia Mrs. Solvita Aboltina the week tures of the two states and noted with satis- • March 3: Armenia, Iran faction that friendship groups formed in the to cooperate in agriculture two parliaments cooperate successfully and • AH taking into consideration the existing po- • March 4: Armenia won 6 tential are ready to further their interaction. medals at Swiss Karate Open President Sargsyan also noted that Ar- • menia could learn from the Latvian • March 5: AH Baku continues vio- experience of collaboration with the lating ceasefire: over 240 in- European Union and reconciliation of the na- stances reported over week n March 9, after a meeting with tional legislation with the European standards. • Othe President of Lativa Valdis In view of the fact that UNESCO named Yer- • March 6: ArmenianAH government Zatler, President Serzh Sargsyan laid a evan the World Book Capital of 2012, while bombast inflation through social pro- wreath at the Monument of Freedom. Riga was declared Europe’s Cultural Capital grams and unchangeable gas prices Later, the President of Armenia arrived to of 2014, President Sargsyan and the Speaker • the Parliament of Latvia. At the meeting with of the Latvian Parliament Mrs. Aboltina as- • March 7 AH Armenian MFA: the Speaker of the Parliament Mrs. Solvita sessed it as a new and excellent opportunity apparently, for Baku con- Aboltina, President Serzh Sargsyan spoke to enhance contacts and to develop cultural structiveness is saber-rattling about the Armenian-Latvian interparliamen- cooperation between Latvia and Armenia • AH tary cooperation. The parties underscored March 9, 2011 www.hhpress.am • MARCH 9: Zvartnots airport unaware the advanced relations between the legisla- of Turkish Airlines flights to Yerevan • AH Government’s tourism development-oriented efforts take • MarCH 11: airport to effect be ready for operation in May 2011 rime Minister Tigran Sargsyan Staff which seeks to support de- Pattended today the presentation velopment projects in Armenia. To AH of www.armhotels.am , Armenia’s this end, the company was provid- first-ever online hotel booking system ed AMD 25mn in loan resources. Presented by “RUMEA” Tempt- Addressing the event with congrat- Minister Nalbandian ing Trips Club, the ulatory remarks, meets EU Ambassadors business program Prime Minister on the launch of Tigran Sargsyan www.armhotels. stated as follows: am online book- “The chief objec- ing system was tive behind this approved in Sep- successful launch tember, 2009 by is to promote tour- the Prime Minister- ism in the Republic headed Operative of Armenia which is a priority to the Government. This will boost the country’s service ex- port potential and capacity. Government’s tourism development-orient- rmenian Foreign Minister Ed- ed efforts are taking effect as evidenced by economic indices: despite the Award Nalbandian received Am- unprecedented fall of 2009, we stated a 4% rise in tourism amid globally bassadors of EU member states ac- registered downward trends. The success was built on in 2010 with about credited in Armenia and the Head 17% increase. We are hopeful that this tendency will be upheld in 2011. of the EU Delegation to Armenia. Tourism should be diversified in Armenia as we have the needed capac- The Armenian Foreign Minister and ity. We can develop religious, healthcare, sportive and recreational tour- the EU Ambassadors exchanged views ism. The www.armhotels.am online booking system is the best example on the development of Armenia-EU re- of investment in this field. This state-of-the-art system opens up vast op- lations, outlined the future programs. portunities for advertising Armenia worldwide by means of online serv- Reference was made to the negotiation ices. It has been discussed and approved by the Operative Staff. After on the Association Agreement, facili- which the Government offered guarantees to Arm-Swiss Bank reaffirm- tation of the visa regime and the crea- ing the State’s trust in and focus on developing tourism in Armenia.” tion of a comprehensive free trade zone. The head of government tested the operational capacity of the online book- At the request of the EU Ambassa- ing system in person. Developed by TBS CJSC, the booking system covers dors, Minister Nalbandian presented some 106 hotels at this point of time. In its capacity of a unique such system the latest developments in the proc- in the region and the CIS countries, www.armhotels.am seeks to expand the ess of settlement of the Karabakh is- scope of proposed services toward both the home and international markets. sue. The interlocutors discussed a wide Thanks to the system, any tourist will get access to a broad range of services. range of issues on international agenda. March 11, 2011 www.armradio.am March 4, 2011 www.gov.am

2 AH ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS RES PUBLICA Armenian MFA: Protocols Armenian Economy Minister forecasts significant in- ratification only way to crease in export volume in 2011 resume rapprochement with “I congratulate our mothers, wives, sis- ters and daughters on Women’s Day. The role of women in our families, so- ciety has always been unique. The first Republic of Armenia was one of the first states in the world, which provided wom- en with the right to elect and be elected. We are glad that women have a special role in all fields of the public life also today,” reads the President’s statement. “Once again congratulating on March he normalisation of Armenia-Turkey rela- 8 International Women’s Day, I wish Ttions could have been beneficial not only you all the best. Let love and har- for Turkey and Armenia, but for the whole mony prevail in your families and region, Armenian Foreign Minister stated. rmenian President Serzh Sargsyan hearts,” the presidential press serv- As Edward Nalbandian noted in an inter- Acongratulated Armenian women on ice quoted Sargsyan as saying. view with Der Standard Austrian newspa- March 8 International Women’s Day. March 8, 2011 www.panarmenian.net per, all countries in the world supported this process, with the exception of Azerbaijan. Armenian Finance Minis- Government to intro- When asked if the Turkish government try issues 60 loans for duce stable economic pulled back from rapprochement process for car customs clearance development program in electoral reasons, he noted that Armenia has near future much more reason to talk about preconditions. uring the March 10 sitting of the Ar- Dwelling on the possibility to resume Dmenian government, Minister of Fi- he problem of poverty reduction is the process with Turkey, Nalbandian nance Vache Gabrielyan said that the min- Tamong first priorities on Armenian named the ratification of Protocols with- istry has already allocated 60 loans at the government’s agenda, according to Arme- out preconditions, according to pacta sunt total amount of AMD 70mln to facilitate nian Economy Minister. servanda principle, to be the only way. customs clearance of imported cars. As Tigran Davtyan stated at parliamen- “If you look for a reason to post- Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan noted for tary hearing, in near future, the gov- pone the ratification you can always his part that already 1,800 applications ernment will introduce a program on find one,” the Foreign Minister said.. have been submitted for obtaining a lax stable economic development, also in- March 1 2011, www.panarmenian.net credit. He added that their number will cluding stipulations on poverty reduction. continue growing. “AMD 44 billion will be allocated from Russian translation of The lax loans are provided to citizens for a 2011 budget to resolve social issues. How- a book about Soghomon six-month term. The loans can be obtained ever, resolution of social issues depends Tehlirian to be presented by persons importing up to 10 passenger on the economic growth, which is the rea- in Yerevan vehicles produced before 2005, with cus- son the issue is in the focus of the gov- toms value up to AMD 5mln. ernment’s attention,” the Minister stated. n March 15, Armenian National Library March 10, 2011 www.panarmenian.net March 2, 2011 www.panarmenian.net Owill host a presentation of a Russian translation of Vahan Minakhortyan’s book, Baku.am website on Baku’s Armenian community Soghomon Tehlirian: Memoirs, Talat’s Ter- ror. The book features Soghomon Tehlirian’s history presented in Yerevan memoirs of 1915 Genocide, time span before Special attention was paid the assassination of Talat Pasha, a trial in 1921. to the building an industrial The preface to the book was contributed by school in the town of Shushi. Armenian Writer Silva Kaputikyan. The book President Sahakyan thanked the was published in 1953 in Cairo and repub- French office of the Hayastan All-Ar- lished in Yerevan in 1993. Russian transla- menian Fund for long-term assistance tion is authored by Egor Sergiev. Soghomon to Artsakh and underlined the impor- Tehlirian (1897-1960) was a native of Yerzka, tance of the school from the viewpoint and Armenian Genocide survivor. He assas- of preparing qualified specialists both sinated the former Grand Vizir Talat Pasha On March 10, President of the Art- for Shushi and the whole republic. in the Charlottenburg District of Berlin, Ger- sakh Republic Bako Sahakyan met Artsakh Republic permanent repre- many in broad daylight and in the presence of in Paris with the director of the sentative to the France Hovhannes many witnesses on March 15, 1921 as an act Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s Gevorgyan also attended the meet- of vengeance for his role in orchestrating the French affiliate Bedros Terzian ing, reported the Central Informa- Armenian Genocide. Tehlirian was tried for and Fund member Robert Hayda- tion Department of the Office of murder, but was eventually acquitted by the dirian to discuss the programs im- the Artsakh Republic President. German court. plemented by the Funs in Artsakh. February 23, 2011 www.panarmenian.net March 12, 2011 www.panarmenian.net 3 AH ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS PRO PATRIA Still just about frozen Turkey ‘coup plot’: seven jailed in Ergenekon inquiry OULD Azerbaijan and Armenia be ten described as “frozen”, the Nagorno- Con the verge of renewed war over Karabakh conflict has been warming up. Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian-popu- A recent report from the International lated enclave inside Azerbaijan conquered Crisis Group says that ceasefire viola- and occupied by Armenia in 1994? On the tions rose by 53% last year. At least 25 face of it, no. On Saturday the presidents soldiers were killed in skirmishes. Hours of the two countries met to discuss the before the Sochi talks began, reports issue in the southern Russian resort town emerged of the death of an Armenian of Sochi, with Russia’s president, Dmit- soldier from Azerbaijani sniper bullets. ry Medvedev, acting as honest broker. In total, 3,000 people have been killed They made some pleasant noises. Both in skirmishes along the boundary line parties committed to resolve their dif- since the May 1994 ceasefire took effect. ferences peacefully, and to implement Both countries have stepped up their fully an agreement on the exchange of bellicose rhetoric. Ilham Aliev, Azerbai- Turkish court has sent to jail a writer and six prisoners of war made in October. They jan’s president, warned of war in at least Ajournalists in the past two days over their roles also agreed to investigate ceasefire vio- nine separate speeches in 2010, and has in an alleged plot to overthrow the government. lations, under the aegis of the OSCE. shown no sign of letting up this year. Prosecutors say a hardline national- Such measures could restore some con- March 7, 2011 www.economist.com ist group tried to bring down PM Recep fidence. But they will do little more. Of- Tayyip Erdogan’s government in 2003. Four hundred suspects are already on Martin Marootian, plaintiff in suit over Armeni- trial in the so-called Ergenekon case. Two leading investigative journalists were put in jail an genocide, dies at 95 on Sunday. On Monday, government critic Yalcin saw the battle with New York Life as an oppor- Kucuk and four more journalists were imprisoned. tunity to win official acknowledgment of the All seven were picked up in raids on their homes last suffering of genocide victims and their heirs. week which have raised alarm among the EU and Mr. Marootian “was not interested in . . media rights groups and prompted demonstrations . money but in the restitution of Arme- by thousands of people in Ankara and Istanbul. nian history,” said Vartkes Yeghiayan, the The Turkish Journalists’ Associa- Glendale, Calif., lawyer who spearheaded tion spoke of a “climate of fear” caused the lawsuit. “He was one of my heroes.” by the arrest of dissident journalists. Born in New York on Oct. 19, 1915, Mr. And critics have complained that the Ergenekon Marootian grew up in Connecticut and investigation has focused on opponents of Mr Er- Rhode Island. He worked as a bartender dogan’s Islamist-rooted AK Party government. artin Marootian, a retired pharma- to pay his way through pharmacy school But prosecutors insist the journalists have not Mcist who stood up for Armenian in Connecticut and graduated in 1939. been detained because of their reporting and the genocide victims as the lead plaintiff in a During World War II, he served with an government has distanced itself from the arrests. lawsuit that resulted in a $20 million set- Army medical unit in the South Pacific. “It is unjust to accuse the government tlement from New York Life Insurance After the war, he married Seda Garape- of limiting the press because of a judi- Co. for failing to honor claims on policies dian. In 1955, they settled in Pasadena, cial procedure,” Turkish Interior Minis- sold to thousands of Armenians slain dur- Calif. Over the next several decades, he ter Besir Atalay told Anatolia news agency. ing the last years of the Ottoman Empire, worked at pharmacies in Pasadena and The two investigative journalists, Nedim Sener died Feb. 25 at his home in San Diego. Glendale. He and his wife lived near down- and Ahmet Sik, are both well known in Turkey. He was 95. The cause of death was not reported. town Los Angeles for more than 35 years. Mr Sener wrote a book that blamed security forces In 1999, Mr. Marootian joined a legal bat- His wife died in 2007. Survivors include for the 2007 murder of ethnic Armenian journalist tle to force New York Life to honor poli- two daughters; two sisters; and a grandson. Hrant Dink. Ahmet Sik, who was one of the first cies purchased by more than 2,000 Ar- Mr. Marootian was a student of Armenian journalists to report the existence of a plot, is already menians, most of whom perished in history who took part in annual commemora- facing trial for a book about the Ergenekon group. what some historians have described as tions of genocide victims. He treasured a 1905 Their colleagues waited outside the court on Sun- the first genocide of the 20th century. family portrait of 11 relatives, including his day until the men were sent to jail. According to From 1915 to 1923, an estimated 1.5 mil- uncle, Setrak Cheytanian, who in 1910 pur- prosecutors, the plot involved plans for a series of lion Armenians died at the hands of the chased a policy with New York Life. Of the 11, bombings and assassinations aimed at destabilising Turks, who ruled the Ottoman Empire un- the only two who survived the massacre were the government and laying the ground for a coup. til its dissolution after World War I. Many his mother, Yegsa, and his older sister, Alice. The four journalists jailed by the court on of the Armenians were executed, and oth- His mother died in 1982. Part of her leg- Monday work for anti-government news ers died on forced marches into the desert. acy was an old shoe box containing the website Oda TV, the owner of which was ar- The cause of their deaths has long been dis- original copy of her brother Setrak’s New rested along with two colleagues last month. puted by the Turkish government, which York Life policy, all the premium pay- Parliamentary elections are due to take place has maintained that the Armenians were ment stubs and correspondence with the in June, which the AK Party is expected to win. casualties of war, not targets of persecution. insurance company that documented her March 7, 2010 www.bbc.co.uk Some Armenians, including Mr. Marootian, repeated attempts to collect on the policy. March 14 2011, www.washingtonpost.com 4 AH ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS DIASPORA

NKR President Meets Representatives of Armenian Justice Has Yet to Pre- Organizations of France vail for Sumgait

developments in the Artsakh Republic. The President highly assessed active participa- tion of the French Armenian organizations in assisting both the development of Artsakh and solving issues of Pan-Armenian importance. He stressed the republic is interested in con- tinuous deepening and widening relations with the Armenian organizations of France. Primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Ar- resident of Nagorno-Karabakh Re- menian Apostolic Church Archbishop Par- Ppublic Bako Sahakian met in Paris gev Martirosian, Armenian Ambassador to he images coming out of Sumgait with members of the coordinating board France Vigen Chitechian, NKR minister of T23 years ago were jarring, to say of the Armenian organizations of France. culture and youth affairs Narine Aghabalian the least. The eyewitness accounts The sides discussed strengthening of the and other officials participated in the meeting. of the pogroms committed by Azeri Artsakh-Diaspora relations, the Azerbai- February 24 2011, www.massispost.com OMON forces against Armenians jani-Karabakh conflict settlement, as well living in Sumgait, Azerbaijan, how- ever, had a familiar tone. It was as if Armenians in Japan Discuss Earthquake, Aftermath I was listening to the countless sto- ries that were seared into my memory arditer Harutyunyan was on the iting Japan on business, was also in throughout my life as recounted by Vthird floor of a building in south- shock. “At first I did not understand survivors of the Armenian Genocide. ern Tokyo, while Nayiri Arzoumanian what was going on, and I stormed out It was unimaginable that in the latter and her parents, Hrair and Arpi, were of the building. I was surprised to see days of the 20th century our people on their way to the subway in northern the high buildings moving, but not be- were experiencing the same savage at- Tokyo, in Asakusa, when the 8.9-mag- ing damaged at all.” Surprised, because tacks against them as my grandparents nitude earthquake hit the country’s she couldn’t help but remember the had witnessed in the early days of the northeastern coast on Fri., March 11. 6.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Ar- same century. It was a sobering les- japan 300x164 Armenians in Ja- menia in 1988, destroying thousands of son of the proverbial “the more things pan Discuss Earthquake, Aftermath poorly built apartments and houses and change, the more they stay the same.” A scene from the devastation burying thousands under the rubble. 23 years ago today, Armenians living caused by the tsunami following the Both talked about the calm, resilience, in the industrial town of Sumgait were 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan. and preparedness of the people in the im- awakened by special Azeri forces, “It takes a while to register, first that mediate aftermath of the earthquake— known as OMON, who were carrying something is off and you’re not imag- one of the strongest in recorded history. out a systematic campaign of murder, ining it, and then that everything—the “They stood and waited for it to end. No rape and deportation of Armenians, ground, the air, the buildings—is mov- one panicked,” Harutyunian noted. “I un- which in the end resulted in almost ing and that it must be an earthquake,” derstand that they were prepared for such all Armenians fleeing Azerbaijan. said Nayiri Arzoumanian, an Armenian situations. Some were wearing helmets.” These attacks came as a response American who works for a research insti- “And then it was over,” Arzouma- to the people of Karabakh’s right tute in Boston and Tokyo, and also serves nian said. “We looked around, trying to self-determination. Days earlier as copy-editor of the Armenian Weekly. to gauge how bad this really was from demonstrations, which at the time Arzoumanian and her parents hung the reaction of the locals, who are sup- were sanctioned by Soviet President on to a nearby tree at a safe distance posed to be used to this. You could tell ’s policies of from the buildings. “And then we just from their faces that what had just taken Glasnost and Perestroika, saw Ar- waited, swaying, unstable. Everyone place wasn’t common. But there was menians gather in the hundreds of had stopped in their tracks. An inter- no panic. No fallen buildings, no bro- thousands in the streets of Yerevan nal sort of panic sets in when you real- ken glasses, no fallen signage. It’s as if and Stepanakert to demand the reuni- ize you have no control over anything everything’s the same, except that the fication of Karabakh with Armenia. anymore. You start thinking: Is it safer people have changed. And those people The sparks of the Karabakh Libera- inside? Farther away from the build- can do nothing but continue walking, tion movement were met with bar- ings? Are these signs on the build- going where they were headed before. baric attacks in Sumgait and later in ing going to fall on us? When is this And so we took our cues from them, and Kirovabad, Baku and Shahumian. going be over? God, I hope we’re went to the train station to go home.” February 25, 2011 www.asbarez.com okay,” she remembered. The earth- March 14, 2011 quake would last for over two minutes. full story www.armeniaweekly.com Harutyunyan, an Armenian citizen vis- "Armenia Highlights" is compiled in association with DISCLAIMER: Views expressed in "Armenia Highlights" do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government of Armenia.

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