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Armenia Highlights

Armenia Highlights

Armenian citizens to feel Scientists discover the impact of reforms ‘oldest’ winery in Page 2 Armenian cave PAGE 4 HIGHLIGHTS

Weekly Digest of the

January 10-17 2011 THEMA Newly appointed minister “Quote of introduced by Prime the week” Minister “ has been pursuing the same policy it did before 2008, before signing the documents in ques- tion. International community expects Turkey to ratify docu- ments without precon- ditions and observe agreements, which is essential to make progress.“

Edward Nalbandyan rime Minister Tigran Sarg- the newly appointed minister is well Foreign minister of RA Psyan called at the Ministry of known and well versed in the field of Agriculture to introduce to the agriculture. “We used to work with him staff newly appointed Minister year after year, especially regarding of Agriculture . the procurements. He headed one of Upcoming Events To begin with, the head of govern- largest food processing enterprises of ment offered his Season’s congratu- Armenia which was the first to upgrade January 13-17: Tsaghkadzor lations wishing every success to the its production technologies. We all un- resort will host the Armenian ski Ministry of Agriculture, in particular. derstand that the success of an enter- championship “The 2010 indices failed to meet prise is mostly conditioned by the man- our expectations affecting the mac- agement’s capacity and experience.” January 22-23: President Saa- roeconomic performance in general. The Prime Minister expressed hope that kashvili will pay visit to Armenia Last year’s’ unprecedented fall in the new minister will be quick to come agriculture caused a number of ad- into full working activity so as to im- JANUARY 24: RF, Armenia, Az- verse consequences: greater fluctua- plement the proposed reforms. Tigran erbaijan FMs to meet in Moscow tion of prices of farm products and Sargsyan thanked ex-minister Gerasim higher inflation, as a whole. This Alaverdyan for his past efforts. January 28: Armenia celebrates had a serious impact on our farm- Thanking the President and the the National Day of Army ers’ living standards. At the same Prime Minister of Armenia for con- time, the ministry has much to do fidence, Sergo Karapetyan assured USEFUL LINKS in terms of reforms and institu- that he will do his best to reach the • www.president.am tional transformations. For this very expected results by coping with • www.gov.am reason, I do believe that the farm- the problems and tasks specified • www.parliament.am ing sector most of all needs success in the program of the government. • www.mfa.am in 2011,” noted. December 10, 2011 • www.armenpress.am The Prime Minister further said that www.gov.am • www.panarmenian.net • www.matenadaran.am ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS CHRONICA President left on a Headlines of state visit to the Republic of Cyprus the week which will be followed by the meeting • January 10: Agricul- of the delegations in the extended for- ture production dropped 14,4% mat. The parties will sign a number of January-November 2010 documents aimed at strengthening and • AH development of the bilateral relations. • JANUARY 11: Military train- In the afternoon, at the Chamber of ing to be among Armenian Defense Commerce President Serzh Sargsyan Ministry’s top priorities in 2011 will attend the opening of the Armeni- • AH an-Cypriot business forum with the par- • January 12: Easter to co- ticipation of the representatives of the incide with Armenian Geno- business communities of the two states. cide Remembrance Day in 2011 pon the invitation of the Presi- The will meet • AH Udent of Cyprus Demetris Christo- also with Archbishop Chrisosto- • JANUARY 13: Bako Sahaky- fias, President Serzh Sargsyan and mos II, the President of the House an emphasizes importance of left on a of Representatives Marios Ga- providing apartments to fami- state visit to the Republic of Cyprus. royian, and representatives of the lies of perished freedom fighters Today, Presidents Sargsyan and Armenian community of Cyprus. • AH Christofias will hold a private talk January 17, 2010 www.president.am • JANUARY 14: Shakhtar fans be- lieve Henrik Mkhitaryan will score club’s first goal in 2011 Armenian citizens to feel the impact of reforms • AH his year’s first cabinet sit- ture Sergo Karapetyan and expressed hope • JANUARY 15: Public Television of Tting was held today, chaired by that those challenges facing the sector will Armenia to start film adaptation of Perch Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan. be coped with successfully during the year. Proshyan’s Bread Issue novel in 2011 Extending Season’s Minister of Energy • AH congratulations to the and Natural Resources • JANUARY 16: Judoist Arsen Gal- members of govern- styan beats ’s Ilgar Myush- ment, the Prime Min- was offered birth- kiyev in Baku-hosted championship ister wished them ef- day congratulations. ficacious and fruitful The meeting ap- work ahead. Tigran proved the govern- Inflation will return to Sargsyan congratu- ment’s program of the targeting gap lated newly appointed action and its priori- ccording to the Armenian Central Bank’s Minister of Agricul- ties, as well as the un- Aforecast, 4-5% of economic growth is derlying principles for the year 2011. Highlighting the adoption of the program, the Prime projected for the first three quarters of 2011. Minister gave a broad description of the priorities (Tigran Sargsyan’s introductory re- 5-7% actual economic growth is ex- marks and the summary description of 2011 activities are posted separately on the website). pected in the first nine months The government approved the 2011 program of State support for small and medium-size enter- of 2011 in the sphere of industry. prises, which emphasizes the role of SMEs in ensuring growth and higher living standards for 2.5-4% growth is expected for the same the population, generating new jobs and so on. Tigran Sargsyan deemed it necessary to harmo- period of 2011 in the sphere of services. nize the set of SME-related programs, especially as 5-6% increase is envisaged for this sphere Rather higher risks in the fields of construc- in 2011. In this regard, we are in for an exceptional year. Lending interest rates have been reduced tion, as well as in the sector of services are by 2-3% in the banks while resources available to this end have increased. Now the bankers are connected with rapidity of implementa- interested in having as many borrowers as possible since they have sufficient spare liquidity. tion of large-scale investment programs. To ensure reliability and due control over eventual frauds in the system of man- According to forecasts, inflation will gradu- datory vehicle insurance, the meeting endorsed the procedures applicable to ally reduce and return to the targeting the exchange of information between the MVI system and the database of the gap in the second half of the year reach- road police service as well as the inventory of information eligible for sharing. ing 3.7% in the third quarter of 2011. Head of Police Alik Sargsyan was told to personally monitor this highly impor- Central Bank’s monetary-credit policy will tant measure considering that the MVI campaign will soon yield the expected result. be of conservative character. Under the in- The Executive backed the 2011 program of tourism expansion, aimed at keep- fluence of de-dollarization measures growth ing on turning Armenia into a tourism-friendly country for travelers worldwide. of monetary mass will take place at a brisk The meeting backed the proposal on signing an arrangement between the governments rate. Correspondingly 15.4% and 17.2% of Armenia and Russia on cooperation in the field of military courier and postal services. growth of money and monetary mass will The government amended a previous decision to order the use of all-resistant self-past- be registered. Further decrease of dollariza- ed stamps in the service of cash-registers. Owing to this amendment, domestic taxpay- tion of economy is expected, and in regard ers will no longer need to turn to tax authorities for replacement of cash-register seals. towards it the volume of credits in foreign The meeting considered a legislative initiative proposed by a group of MPs con- currency will appreciably reduce in the banks cerning the celebration of November 10 as Local Self-Government Day in Arme- as compared to the volume of AMD credits nia. The Executive appeared to have no objections against the proposal in principle. making correspondingly 23.6% and 13.1% January 13, 2011, www.gov.am January 11 2011, www.hhpress.am 2 AH ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS RES PUBLICA : title of Karabakh war Nalbandyan at the Annual veteran imposes certain obligations Press Conference, Summa- rizing the Foreign Policy Commenting on the recent incident in the army, which resulted in the death of a young man, Ohanyan noted that the title of the Karabakh war veteran imposes certain obligations. Natu- rally, the public expects officers, who participated in the war, to display exemplary behavior, said Ohanyan. He added that the Ministry will con- tinue being intolerant towards any violation of the law to ensure de- velopment of the successes gained at the expense of soldiers’ life. rmenian Defense Minister Armenian Deputy Minister of De- ASeyran Ohanyan presided over a fense, Major General Vladimir Dear journalists, meeting of the law enforcement bod- Gasparyan and newly appointed Ladies and gentlemen, ies on the results of 2010 that was Military Prosecutor Gevorg Ko- First of all I would like to congratulate you held in the RA Defense Ministry. stanyan also delivered speeches. for the Christmas and wish you Happy New January 15, 2011 www.panarmenian.net Year. I wish the 2011 to be a year of prosper- ity for you, your families and our country. : all programs between city Today, traditionally, our press-conference is dedi- administration and EBRD should be implemented consec- cated to the summarizing of the 2010 foreign policy. utively Probably you are acquainted with my inter- ayor of Yerevan Karen Karape- view given to the Public Television at the end Mtyan met January 11 with EBRD of the last year where in some sense the past Director for Caucasus, Moldova and year’s foreign policy is summarized. You can Belarus, Mr. Paul-Henri Forestier to find the transcript of the mentioned interview on discuss the programs implemented by the web-site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. the Bank in the Armenian capital. In my address I will concentrate on the most im- Welcoming the guest, Mayor Karape- portant events, and you can further find more tyan praised the bank’s activity and detailed information in the Annual Report issued said that all projects should be realized by the Ministry which will be distributed to you. in consecutive order. ments. The two men also referred to Based on the guidelines given by the President For his part, Mr. Forestier presented parking policy and Nubarashen dump of the Republic, the activities of the Ministry of a program on safety, problems. Foreign Affairs in 2010 were aimed at ensuring which envisages modernization invest- January 12, 2011 www.panarmenian.net favourable external conditions for the develop- ment of the state, strengthen its image, raise the efficiency of the protection of Armenian and its Event in Solidarity with Victims of All Genocides to citizens’ interests abroad, present Armenian ap- be held in London proaches in the international arena, deepening the involvement in international organizations and n event in Solidarity with the Vic- tion of Indigenous Peoples, Unrepresent- processes, further strengthening cooperation with Atims of All Genocides and in com- ed and/or Occupied Nations, Minorities partner and friendly states as well as settle relations memoration of slain editor of Istanbul- and ‘Others’ (in Turkey, Pakistan, South with countries, with which some problems exist. based newspaper Akos, Hrant Dink, America and Iraq) will be held on January Thanks to the Armenian diplomacy’s efforts, in will take place on January 19, 2011 18 in the House of Lords, Westminster. the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the Turkish Embassy in London. The speakers will be Eilian Williams settlement, it became obvious that the Arme- Prior to the event, a Hrant Dink Com- (Tribute to Hrant Dink and his world- nian approaches are in line with the approaches memorative Conference on The Persecu- wide significance), Haci Ozdemir (Per- of the international community, which was reaf- spectives on “Disappearances” world- firmed in the five-sided joint statement during the wide), genocide scholar Desmond OSCE Summit in Astana on December 1, in the Fernandes (The targeting of Kurds and Muskoka Statement by the heads of the OSCE ‘Others’ in Turkey) and Kasim Agpak, Minsk Group Co-Chair countries in the sidelines member of the Kurdish Federation in of the G8 Summit on June 26, in the Astrakhan the UK and a representative from the Declaration adopted by the Presidents of Armenia, International Platform Against Isolation. Russia and Azerbaijan on 27th of October, in the The Conference is sponsored by Baron- statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk ess Finlay of Llandaff and Baroness Cox. Group during the Almaty meeting of the OSCE January 17, 2011, www.panarmenian.net Ministers of Foreign Affairs on 17th of July. January, 14 2011 full story www.mfa.am 3 AH ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS PRO PATRIA , Armenia to boost energy co-op Scientists discover ‘old- fficials of Iran and Armenia re- By 2014, a 365 kilometer, 8 inch pipe- est’ winery in Armenian Oviewed exports of oil products line will transfer oil products from cave from the Islamic Republic to that coun- Tabriz to Yeravan. try. In the meeting they also reviewed mat- The swapping of natural gas and elec- ters regarding the 400kW electricity tricity, as well as building a pipeline line which was recently inaugurated by to transfer gasoline and diesel oil from prominent figures of the two neighbor- Iran to Armenia, were top on the agen- ing states. da in the officials’ meeting. Iran and Armenia’s cooperation cov- Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Alireza ers a vast range of fields, including a Zeighami, who is leading a delegation natural gas pipeline, oil pipeline, rail- to Armenia, met the Armenian Energy way tracks, Aras hydro-electric power Minister Armen Movsesian. plant, high voltage power line and oth- orget France. It turns out, Zeighami said that in their three-day er significant projects Fthe real birthplace of wine meetings the two sides discussed de- January 16, 2011 www.tehrantimes.com may be in a cave in Armenia. tails of the gas deal which will last for An international research team 25 years. says it has found the world’s old- est winery in a paper published Yerevan accuses Baku of foiling OSCE peace efforts on Tuesday in the peer-reviewed Jour- Karabakh nal of Archaeological Science. Azerbaijan’s Defense Minis- “It’s the oldest proven case of docu- try dismissed Armenia’s cease- mented and dedicated wine produc- fire violation assertions as “false.” tion, stretching back the horizons Armenia said on Thursday it would boy- of this important development by cott renewed discussions on the Ka- thousands of years,” said Gregory rabakh conflict at the Council of Eu- Areshian, co-director of the excava- rope’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE). tion and assistant director of the Uni- The talks have been promoted by PACE versity of California Los Angeles’s President Mevlut Cavusoglu, who seeks Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. to resurrect a PACE subcommittee to Areshian says that clay pots and zerbaijan is working to thwart efforts facilitate a peaceful resolution of the vats discovered at a sprawling cave Aby the OSCE Minsk Group to resolve Karabakh conflict during the assem- system in southern Armenia near the Nagorny Karabakh issue, an Armenian bly’s winter session later this month. the border with Iran shows signs government spokesman said on Monday. Armenia has been involved in a bitter dis- of an organized effort to press “The continuous violations of the cease- pute with neighboring Azerbaijan over and distill grapes during the Cop- fire by the Azerbaijani side and the two Nagorny Karabakh since 1988, when the eth- per Age, about 6,000 years ago. Armenian servicemen injured in the nic Armenian region broke away from Az- The roof of the cave had collapsed long past few days indicate that Azerbaijan erbaijan and sought support from Armenia. ago, sealing in the rudimentary win- is attempting to disrupt the efforts by the The OSCE Minsk Group is co-chaired ery and preserving the remnants un- OSCE Minsk Group to secure a peace- by Russia, France and the . der an airtight layer of rock and other ful settlement to the Karabakh conflict,” Other countries besides Armenia and debris, leading to the remarkable find. said David Karapetyan, press secre- Azerbaijan in the group include Fin- The team, led by Hans Barnard from tary for the Armenian defense minister. land, Turkey, Sweden, Portugal, Italy, UCLA, found a simple wine press, vats the Netherlands, Germany and Belarus. with residue, remnants of grape vines January 17, 2011 www.en.rian.ru and seeds, and a small cup that might have been used to sample the goods. First Sukhoi Superjet 100 production aircraft named The press and wide shallow vat are after Gagarin similar to foot-stomping type equip- ment used by people throughout the he first Sukhoi Superject 100 cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin,” the report region even up into the 19th century. Tproduction aircraft, that has been said. The wine might have tasted simi- named after Yuri Gagarin, will con- “We have a tradition to give names to lar to modern vintages as well. nect Moscow with the capital of all planes,” the deputy director gener- Botanists examining the find say Armenia – Yerevan, said a report al of the airline, Aram Yegoyan, said. it was the species Vitis vinif- posted on the website of Russia’s “We plan to begin operating Superjet era, the same one used to produce Roskosmos federal space agency. early in February. Before that it must the vast majority of wine today. “The Sukhoi Superjet 100 which is get all necessary certification docu- Areshian says the wine would the seventh produced and the first ments, while our pilots must undergo be comparable to a modern un- production aircraft, was bought by training,” he added. filtered red wine, and may have Armenia’s Armavia Airline. The January 17, 2011 www.itar-tass.com had a similar taste to a merlot. customers named Superjet after first January 12, 2011 full story www.cnn.com 4 AH ARMENIA HIGHLIGHTS DIASPORA

21st Anniversary of ’ Massacre in Baku Woodrow Wilson’s Commemorated Arbitral Award Final, he 21st anniversary of Armenians’ In the aftermath of January massacres Tmassacre in Baku is marked today. of 1990, the economic rights of Armeni- Binding and Still Val- On 13-19 January, 1990, Armenians in ans were violated, they were robbed and id, Scholars Say Baku were brutally massacred and the deprived of their homes. Armenians left exact number of people murdered there their properties that cost hundred mil- n November 16, the Armenian National is still unknown. According to some lion dollars and are still left without any OCommittee of America (ANCA) hosted unverified data, about 300 Armenians compensations. an event on the occasion of the 90th anniversa- were assassinated in a week and another Russian “dpni.org” web site writes that ry of the Woodrow Wilson Arbitral Award, at 30 thousand displaced. after January 19, the criminal groups the Woodrow Wilson House in Washington. According to “Radio Liberty” aired in- of Neymat Panakhov (Panakhli) were The event featured two speakers. Ara Papian, formation on 13 January of 1990, rivers walking in the streets of Baku. All the the head of the Modus Vivendi Research of blood were flowing in the Lenin Street international information sources re- Center, who has served as ambassador of of Baku. Russians living in Azerbai- ported about ethnic massacre but the Armenia to Canada and as spokesperson jan’s capital were shocked to see those crime was done. for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, and bloody scenes of revenge against Ar- The massacre stopped only after the oc- Dikran Kaligian, who has taught history menians. They witnessed thousands of cupation of the Baku by Soviet troops, at Clark University, and Regis, Westfield Armenians being murdered and thrown which, if considered the fierce resist- State, and Wheaton colleges, and is the from balconies, many were burnt alive. ance they faced, could not but be ac- managing editor of the Armenian Review. The eye-witnesses say men and women, companied with numerous victims on Following a cocktail hour, accompanied by young and old were attacked because both sides. Arpa Vartanian on the piano, the executive they were Armenians. January 14, 2011 www.massispost.com director of the ANCA, Aram Hamparian, introduced the guests. Among them were The Armenian Side of Cher representatives of the Embassy of Armenia, former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John zine and demand an investigation. Marshal Evans, as well as Virginia State Her role as the club owner and den Senator Patsy Ticer, Donald Wilson Bush, a mother to a host of showgirls is truly member of the Wilson family and founder of impeccable. I marveled at her Acad- the Woodrow Wilson Legacy Foundation, as emy Award-winning performance in well as representatives from the community “Moonstruck.” And I found her just and various offices and organizations, in- as remarkable in such other films as cluding the Armenian Revolutionary Federa- “Mask,” “Witches of Eastwick,” “Tea tion, Armenian Relief Society, and Hamaz- with Mussolini,” and “Silkwood,” kayin and the Armenian Youth Federation. which earned her an Oscar nomination. His Eminence, Archbishop Oshagan Here’s what one critic has to say Choloyan, Prelate of the Armenian Apos- about this present campy musical. “It tolic Church of the Eastern United States, of- ay what you want about Kim takes a legend to make a star. Without fered his prayers. “President Wilson holds a SKardashian and the other sisters. Cher, ‘Burlesque’ wouldn’t work.” special place in the history of the Armenian But for my money, Cher continues The musical side is just as im- people… He was our voice when we were to be my dream girl. Always was. pressive, going back to the TV unable to speak. And now we are proud to be Always will be. Not that I have a days of Sonny Bono. She’s sold his voice in promoting his ideals of freedom, love affair with the woman. An in- more than 100 million records. justice, peace, and democracy. We are espe- fatuation for beauty and talent mixed Her concert tours are still sold- cially mindful and thankful for the unprec- is more like it. And durability. To out. In truth, Cher knows no hiatus. edented American assistance that rescued continue going this strong in Holly- Though I’m a tad older than Cher, she the survivors of the , wood and Las Vegas at the ripe age was always the one I would show- many of whom were later welcomed in the of 64 probably takes a lot of makeup case whenever outsiders asked me to United States of America,” said Choloyan. but more passion for the entertain- identify any prominent Armenians. About 90 years ago, on Nov. 22, 1920, at the ment world. She’s still a class act, “Well, you know Cher,” I would request of the Supreme Council of the Allied a true Armenian American icon. respond, calling to mind her giv- Powers, President Wilson issued an Arbitral That is why I shall be in her corner en name, Cherilyn Sarkisian. Award, under the Presidential Seal, to estab- come Academy Awards time. If she “No kidding, Cher’s Armenian?” lish a Turkey-Armenia boundary pursuant doesn’t get an Oscar nomination for they would reply. “I had no idea.” to the Treaty of Sevres. Through this legal her role in the current production The year was 1985, pre- document, Armenia was granted the prov- of “Burlesque,” I shall cancel my cisely 25 years ago. inces of Van, Bitlis, Erzurum, and Trabzon. subscription to Hollywood Maga- January 12, 2011 January 14, 2011 www.asbarez.com full story www.armeniaweekly.com "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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