AN 8 MINUTE VIDEO PORTRAIT

POPULATION INCREASE OBSERVED IN ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency, Yerevan, Armenia
Sept 24 2007

During the recent three years trends of population increase have been observed in Armenia, said Head of the Department of Population Census and Demography of the Armenian National Statistical Service Karine Kyumjyan.

"Before 2003 the indices of migration exceeded the population increase, and the demographic situation did not improve, but starting from 2003 demography has become better and accounted for the natural population increase," she said.

Kyumjyan noted if in 1985-1990 in Armenia 80,000 children were born annually, in 2002 the index reduced by 32,000, but recently a comparative increase has been observed at the level of 37,000 annually. In 52.1% of these cases the child is a firstborn, and in 12.7% - third or more.

She said that Armenia gradually transfers from the model of large families to that of 1-2 children.

"In the 90s the reproductive performance index was 2.6 children. In 2006 it reached 1.35, and in this period the number of children living till the reproductive age reduced twice," she added.

She also pointed to the problem of the reduction in registered marriages.

She noted that in 2006 the number of marriages was 16,000 against 28,000 in 1990. The correlation of the number of divorces towards marriages increased. In 2006, 1,700 couples divorced against 4,000 in 1990.

Kyumjyan noted that the average duration of the first marriage increased from 25.5 years in 1990 to 28 years in 2005. At the same time she said that in this period the average index of life expectancy increased from 67.9 to 73 for men, and from 73.4 to 76.5 for women.

ARMENIA MAY RECEIVE STATUS OF COUNTRY WITH MARKET ECONOMY WITHIN YEAR

ARKA News Agency, Yerevan, Armenia
Sept 24 2007

Armenia may receive a status of a country with market economy within a year, Armenian Minister of Trade and Economic Development Nerses Yeritsian told journalists.

According to him, several economic issues are on the agenda of Armenia - EU discussions, among them establishment of a free trade regime, provision of an improved GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) regime, and recognition of Armenia as a country with a market economy.

These are long processes, Yeritsian said, but the declaring of a free trade regime and an improved regime of GSP are the most important ones for Armenia as they relate to the goods market.

"Yet, the most prospective issue that may be solved in the near future is the recognition of Armenia as a country with a market economy; in this we can achieve success in a half a year or a year if we make effective efforts," Yeritsian said.

According to him, the remaining issues, after a preliminary discussion, will be passed on to the President Robert Kocharian who is to raise them during his visit to Brussels in the first half of October.

Armenia ranked the 34th in the report of the World Bank and the International Financial Corporation "Doing Business 2007", taking the lead among the countries of the region and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Based on the classification of "Indicator of economic freedom 2006" of 161 countries published by the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation, Armenia improved its position from the 42nd in 2005 to 27th.

According to the results of the research by the Heritage Foundation, the level of freedom of Armenia's economy is at 69.4% out of 100% possible. The business freedom index is 84.5%; the other indices are as follows: trade freedoms 75.6%, fiscal freedoms 93.1%, freedom from interference of state in economy 91.6%, monetary freedoms 79.7%, investment freedoms 60%, financial freedoms 70%, property rights 30%, freedom from corruption 29%, and freedom on labor market 80.9%. The document also says that a low inflation level is recorded in Armenia and that the country's banking sector is completely privatized and well managed.

ARMENIA REFUSES EU LOAN FOR SHUTTING ONLY ATOMIC POWER PLANT

The Associated Press
September 25, 2007 Tuesday 6:09 PM GMT

Armenia will refuse a 200 million euro ($283 million) loan from the European Union to close its only atomic power plant, a government official said Tuesday, reiterating that the country currently has no other major source for electricity.

The impoverished former Soviet republic has been under persistent pressure from the EU and others to shut down the aging Soviet-built Medzamor reactor due to safety concerns.

Located about 30 kilometers (20 miles) west of the capital Yerevan, the plant was taken out of operation after a devastating 1988 earthquake, but returned to service in 1995 amid a severe energy shortage. It currently supplies nearly 40 percent of the country's power.

EU envoy Gunnar Wiegand told reporters in Yerevan that the bloc was again ready to provide loans to close Medzamor.

"We call on the Armenian authorities to quickly close the station. This atomic plant cannot function safely for very long," he said. "However, we recognize the necessity to find alternative sources of energy for the energetic development of Armenia and to preserve its rate of growth."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Karapetian said the proposal for closing Medzamor was presented as part of the country's cooperation agreement with the EU.

"We have no disagreement on the need to close the station," he said, "but we cannot today take this step without alternative sources of energy. Armenia is undertaking serious steps in this direction."

Energy Minister Armen Movsisian has said the only real alternative to shutting Medzamor would be building a new atomic plant at a cost of at least 2 billion euros ($283 billion).

President Robert Kocharian has pledged to build such a plant.

Meeting on Darfur & Denial of the Armenian Genocide in the UK Parliament

Armenia Solidarity
British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group
Nor Serount Publications

Armenian Genocide Trust
eilian@nantperis.wanadoo.co.uk
baappg.bazil@btinternet.com
norserount@btconnect.com

Meeting on Darfur and Denial of the Armenian Genocide in the UK Parliament (in the context of an ethical foreign policy)

Police Take an aggressive attitude to Armenian Lobbyists

In London yesterday, 27.06.2007, on Tony Blair's last day as Prime Minister, British-Armenian activists lobbied parliament all day in support of Early Day Motion 357. This motion, recognising the Genocide, has now been signed by 144 Members of Parliament. Police took an unwarranted intolerant attitude, tearing a large "Recognise the Genocide" banner and detaining the director of Armenia Solidarity for half an hour under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for holding the banner too close to Parliament. The distribution of leaflets was continued throughout and the banner redisplayed where it could still be noticed by those entering the Houses of Parliament.

A meeting on Darfur and Armenia was organised by Armenia Solidarity, the British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group, Nor Serount Publications & the Armenian Genocide Trust in the House of Commons, in the evening, in conjunction with, the Genocide Prevention All Party Parliamentary Group and the Aegis Trust.

In the meeting in the House of Commons, Dr James Smith of The Aegis Trust, in a major speech on Ethical Foreign Policy emphasised the parallels between Armenia and Darfur where the Turkish model of the 20th century is being successfully repeated. Ruth Barnett spoke on the psychological effects of denial and introduced the concept of reducing the present "Genocide Footprint" by addressing the issues of past genocides. The Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia, Dr Vahe Gabrielyan, emphasised the political dimensions of genocide recognition which could not be addressed by any commission of historians however eminent. The meeting was chaired by John Bercow MP of the Genocide Prevention All Party Parliamentary Group, and attended by several other parliamentarians including Lord Avebury, Lord Alton of Liverpool David Burrowes MP as well as David Drew MP, the sponsor of the meeting.

The present Armenian Genocide Recognition effort in the UK is an ever expanding coalition which is gathering momentum involving more and more Armenian and UK supporters. "Genocide recognition is a human, not merely an Armenian, issue" said Eilian Williams, a spokesman for the organisers. "We urge all Armenians to continue lobbying to obtain further parliamentary support as well as to consider joining the Aegis Trust in their Genocide Prevention Campaigns."

An Important New Book Relating to Ethnic Cleansing by Turkish Nationalists in the Years Following World War 1

British Reports on Ethnic Cleansing in Anatolia, 1919-1922: The Armenian -Greek Section, compiled By Vartkes Yeghiayan, May 2007. Published by CAR, 296 Pages, $20, ISBN #978-0-9777153-2-9

Available from http://www.centerar.org , eBay, or by calling (818) 281-9992

British Reports on Ethnic Cleansing in Anatolia, 1919-1922: The Armenian-Greek Section, is a provocative new book that clearly and vividly demonstrates that from 1919 to 1922, the Turkish Nationalists under Mustafa Kemal perpetrated an organized scheme of wholesale ethnic cleansing upon the indigenous Armenians of Asia Minor and Cilicia, and the Greeks of Pontus.

This important book, compiled by Attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan, chronicles how the Turkish forces, after invoking a "War of Independence," massacred innocent civilians and looted and appropriated Armenian and Greek cathedrals, monasteries, churches, institutions, fields, orchards, stores and factories, while the victorious Allies looked away.

WW I "ended" when the defeated Ottoman Empire signed the Mudros Armistice, which dictated categorically that the Ottomans had to renounce their empire, with the exception of Anatolia, and the Allies would have the right to occupy the Six Armenian Provinces in Asia Minor (Anatolia) in case of disturbances.

Ten days after the signing, the victorious British took charge of Constantinople and formed the Armenian-Greek Section to deal with all urgent and outstanding issues related to the Armenians and Greeks in Turkey. The victorious British also persuaded the Sultan to dissolve the Ottoman Parliament. In a Proclamation on 6 December 1918, Sultan Mohammed VI announced, "My sorrow is profound at the mistreatment of my Armenian subjects by certain political committees acting under my government."

The remnants of the Young Turk Regime, however, especially those who had gotten rich by the wholesale looting of Armenian and Greek assets, rejected such acts of contrition and sabotaged all efforts that would reverse their ill-begotten fortunes.

British Reports on Ethnic Cleansing in Anatolia, 1919-1922: Minutes of the Armenian Greek Section, is the verbatim record of 87 reports the British High Commission compiled for the use of the British Foreign Office. These reports are yet another "smoking gun" that confirm that the genocide of the Armenian people did not end with the end of the Great War. Kemalist forces systematically evaded the Armistice terms, and instead, implemented a scorched earth policy of a massive ethnic cleansing. The reports collected in this book cumulatively confirm without the shadow of any doubt, that the genocidal policy started by the Young Turks was brought to its merciless and bloody climax by the Nationalists.

The first official meeting between the A.G.S. and the American, Greek, and Armenian representatives took place on 5th March 1919, with the participation of Dr. Tavitian, and Mr. Tchakirian, representing the Armenian Patriarchate, and Dr. Theotokas representing the Greek Patriarchate.Here is a sample of the war crimes committed by Turks that are recorded in the minutes of the A.G.S.:

Dr. Tavitian stated that he had received news from Boghazlian, Yozgat and Caesarea to the affect that repatriated Armenians were now being accused of having murdered Turks and so were obliged to leave again."

At Yozgat a secret anti-Christian movement had been started, and as a result of a telegraphic order received from Mustafa Kemal Pasha, many volunteers had been enrolled.

Dr. Tavitian reported that the same state existed everywhere, at Everek (Caesarea) boycottage of Christians was being carried on, and the Mufti was preaching in the Mosque ordering his people not to sell to Christian. From Sivas and Samsoun many reports of outrages, cruelty and brigandage had been received, thus confirming the reports of Relief Officer in those districts.

Information from Sivas showed that a number of the more notorious malefactors of the time of the massacres were re-appearing; for instance, Rassim Bey, an ex-Deputy, has offered himself for election.

The Kemalists have requisitioned the Armenian Cathedral and are using it as a prison. (They have also taken over) the Armenian Church of St.Saviour; the Convent of St. Nishan; the Armenian College; the Archbishop's residence; the Armenian Protestant Church; the Greek Church; the Jesuit School and the School and Residence of the Sisters. The Authorities have also requisitioned about 2500 kilos of brass Church ornaments.

Turkish propagandists have recently intensified their efforts to distort these truths so clearly stated in these damning reports. One of the false narratives the Turks have been pushing is the lie that after the war ended, thousands of Armenians were allowed to return and reclaim their homes and properties. The reports gathered in this book prove otherwise. British Colonel Graves, who ran the Greek-Armenian Section, asserts in these reports that the locality from which these disturbances were reported was precisely that in which returned Armenians had managed to a certain extent to resettle; one would say that since November the Turks were trying to rid themselves of these few Armenians too.

In another report we read: The Kemalists blocked the Armenian quarter on the pretext that the Armenians had helped the Circassians, pillaged their houses and murdered the men. They then collected all the women, young girls and children in the Armenian church to which they set fire and burnt them alive. They finally reduced the Armenian quarter to ruins.

And finally: This report described at length and in detail the terrible sufferings which the Armenian population had undergone through the systematic endavours of the Kemalists to completely annihilate the Armenian race by requisitioning their houses, schools, churches; their land (40%), cattle, merchandise and provisions for the needs of the Kemalist Army. Crushing taxes were being imposed upon these unfortunate people. Young Armenian Orphans were being recruited into the Turkish Labour Battalions and turned on to road mending.

British Reports on Ethnic Cleansing in Anatolia, 1919-1922: Minutes of the Armenian Greek Section forms a continuum with the "Blue Book" by Viscount Bryce that chronicled the massacres and ethnic cleansing of Armenians in 1915.

When it became clear to the British that they couldn't neutralize Ataturk, they shut down the A.G.S., abandoned Constantinople, abandoned the Armenians and Greeks still stuck under the yoke of triumphant Turks, declared victory, and return to England - after having secured rights to Mosul oil.

Soon after, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk became the President of the Republic and ever since, successive Turkish governments have denied that, their "War of Independence" was nothing else but the ethnic cleansing of Greeks and Armenians from their millennia-old natural habitats.

This important book sets the record straight.

The book is part of the Genocide Remembrance series published by CAR, the Center for Armenian Remembrance.

Books may be ordered by mail, phone or online. Books also available at your local Armenian Bookseller.

Center for Armenian Remembrance (CAR)
PO BOX 250322
Glendale, CA 91205-0322

Tel: 818-281-9992 Web: http://www.centerar.org

The retail price is $20 (US) and $24 in Canada, plus $5 for s&h for up to 2 books.

Armenian Embassy Bulletin 2 (21) (February - April 2007)

Contents:

Ø Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan passes away

Ø Defence Minister Serzh Sargsyan is appointed Prime Minister of Armenia

Ø Armenian Parliament adopts Law on Dual Citizenship

Ø Ambassador Gabrielyan participates in a round-table discussion on South Caucasus in the University of St. Andrews

Ø Foreign Minister Oskanian’s official visit to Ireland

Ø The Armenian Ambassador, MPs, Lords and Armenian community meet in the House of Commons

Ø Election campaign starts in Armenia

Ø Other events

Ø Births and Anniversaries

ØAnnouncements

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Andranik Margaryan passed away on Sunday, March 25, 2007.

Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan died of apparent cardiac failure after nearly seven years of service as the Head of Armenia’s Government.

Born in 1951, Andranik Margaryan started his career as a computer engineer. He served as Prime Minister from May 2000. He was also the Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia. Andranik Margaryan had been involved in politics
since 1965. In 1968 he joined the dissident United National Party, in 1973 he was elected to the Council of the party. He was a critic of the totalitarian Soviet system. In 1974 he was jailed for two years for his ideas and activities.

From 1992 he was a member of the Republican Party of Armenia, a party that inherited the ideas of the United National Party. During 1993-1997 and 1998-2000 he was the President of the Republican Party's Council. He was the President of the Republican Party, re-elected in 2005.

On March 26 President Robert Kocharyan signed a decree, declaring March 28 a day of mourning in the Republic of Armenia. Ministries, and municipal agencies, embassies and diplomatic representations of the Republic of Armenia abroad were instructed to lower Armenia’s flag on March 28.

Messages of sympathy were received from foreign leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, US President George Bush, Russian
President Vladimir Putin, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, whose country has no diplomatic relations with Armenia also sent their condolences.

A book of Condolences was opened at the Armenian Embassy in London on March 27 and 28. Representatives of the UK government, the diplomatic corps accredited to the Court of St James’s, of the Armenian community and others came to express their sympathy.

Armenia’s Cabinet of Ministers resigned on Monday, 26 March, due to the sudden death of Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan. The Head of State requested Cabinet members to continue with their duties until a new Cabinet of Ministers was formed.

Under Armenia's Constitution, the President accepts the Government's resignation if the post of Prime Minister becomes vacant for any reason. A new Prime Minister is to be appointed within 10 days after that, and a new government is to be formed within 20 days following the Prime Minister's appointment.

Yerevan, April 4. President Robert Kocharyan signed a decree appointing Serzh Sargsyan Prime Minister of Armenia, relieving him from the office of Defence Minister and Secretary of the National Security Council.

Serzh Sargsian was born on June 30 1954 in Stepanakert, capital of Nagorno Karabakh. In 1971 he enrolled at Yerevan State University. From 1972-1974 he served in the Soviet Army. In 1979 he graduated from the YSU's department of philology.

From 1975 to 1979 he worked at the Yerevan electric-technical factory. From 1979 to 1988 he worked in the administrative structures of the NKAO (Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (Region))

From 1989 to 1993 he headed the Committee of self-defense forces of Nagorno Karabakh. He was elected member of the Armenian Parliament. From 1993 to 1995 he was Armenia's Defence Minister. From 1995 to 1996 he was the Head of the Armenian State Security Department, then Minister for National Security.

From 1996-1999 he was Minister for National Security and Home Affairs of Armenia. From 1999 to 2000 he was the President's Chief of Staff. From 1999 he was also the Secretary of the National Security Council affiliated to the Armenian President.

From 2000 he was again Defense Minister. In 2006 he became member of the Armenian Republican party. On June 22 2006 he was elected the Chairman of the Republican party's Council. Serzh Sargsian is married, has two daughters and one grandchild.

Yerevan, April 11. President Robert Kocharyan signed a decree by which Members of the Government were appointed. All ministers kept their jobs and only the post of Minister of Defence remains vacant for the time being. President’s spokesperson has declared that an appointment will follow soon.

St. Andrews, Scotland, 13 February. Ambassador Vahe Gabrielyan participated
in a round-table discussion on the foreign policy of South Caucasian Republics, organised by the Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Institute, University of St. Andrews. Ambassador of Azerbaijan, Rafael Ibrahimov also participated in the meeting. The audience comprised academics and students of the universities in UK, international NGOs, representatives of the media and other interested parties.

In his speech, Ambassador Gabrielyan reviewed the history of Armenia, with an emphasis on the adoption of Christianity as a state religion in 301 AD, on the invention of the Armenian Alphabet in 406 AD, as well as the significance of the Armenian Genocide. In his reiteration of the priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy, he presented the principle of
complementarity, the peace process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the issue of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Armenian-Turkish relations and Armenia’s integration into the European structures.
Through documentary materials, the Ambassador also briefed the audience on the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage in Nakhichevan by Azerbaijani authorities.
A debate between the Ambassadors, and later, questions and answers followed. In his speech the Azeri Ambassador referred to Yerevan as “one of the regions of historic Azerbaijan” and spoke of the importance of Azerbaijani oil.

Dublin, 28 February. Armenia’s Foreign Minister, Vartan Oskanian, was on an official visit to Ireland, the first ever high level visit of an Armenian official to Ireland. Minister Oskanian met with Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern and the two held a comprehensive discussion covering many bilateral and multilateral issues. The Ministers acknowledged that the two countries – small, with few natural resources, and with large Diasporas – have much in common and can cooperate in a variety of areas. They specifically discussed Armenia-Ireland cooperation within the European Union’s Neighbourhood Policy, citing the EU’s huge potential role as a facilitator of
bilateral goal-oriented collaboration. They discussed the geopolitics of the Caucasus region, including energy issues.

Minister Ahern spoke about Northern Ireland, and explained the progress recently made in the peace process. The Armenian Foreign Minister briefed his counterpart on Armenia’s relations with its neighbours and on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution process.

In the Irish Parliament, Minister Oskanian had a meeting with the Chair and members of the Joint Committee on European Affairs. He presented Armenia’s political and economic development and responded to questions. Members of the Committee expressed interest in exploring the possibilities of closer cooperation.

Earlier in the day, Minister Oskanian spoke at the Institute of European Affairs, on “Armenia – Foreign Relations in a Difficult Region, at a Difficult Time.”He also visited the Chester Beatty Library, to view the collection of around 130 medieval Armenian manuscripts, reportedly the largest such collection in private hands. Minister Oskanian met also with representatives of the Dublin Central Library in anticipation of a photo exhibition
to be opened in the Library in April, celebrating Armenia’s 15th anniversary of independence.

Minister Oskanian was accompanied by Armenia’s Ambassador to Ireland, HE Dr. Vahe Gabrielyan, and diplomats from Yerevan and the London Embassy.

London 05 February. Ambassador Vahe Gabrielyan hosted a meeting with members of the Armenian Students’ of Armenian students currently studying in various British universities, at a reception-talk at the Armenian Embassy in London .

In the packed hall of the Armenian House (Hai Tun) the Ambassador presented the students with a brief overview of Armenia’s recent progress in political and economic development and the foreign policy and emphasised students’ potential future role in the advancement of the country’s goals. He also answered their questions on Armenia’s position on various current international and domestic issues, as well as discussed the way how the Embassy in London on the one hand, and the students
on the other, could work together.

Informal talk and socialising followed 'til late.

Dublin, 08 February. Ambassador Vahe Gabrielyan visited Dublin, in preparation of the pending official visit by the Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian later in the month. The Ambassador met with Senators from the Joint Committee on European Affairs of the Irish Parliament. During the meeting he presented the politico-economic situation of Armenia,
summarised Armenia’s achievements and progress since gaining independence, as well as the current problems that the country faces. The Senators expressed a desire to create an Armenian-Irish Parliamentary Group to further bilateral relations.

Further aspects of the upcoming ministerial visit were discussed during Ambassador’s meeting with officials of the Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

London, 20 February. Wales-Armenia Solidarity and the British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group (BAAPPG), jointly with the Voice of Nor Serount (a bilingual Armenian community publication) organised a meeting between the Ambassador of Armenia to the UK Dr.
Vahe Gabrielyan and British Parliamentarians from both Houses. The meeting took place in the House of Commons and was devoted to the two Early Day Motions recently presented to the House: one on the Armenian Genocide, and the other on the blockade of Armenia by Turkey.

The Ambassador thanked the parliamentarians for their efforts towards the two EDMs. With regards to Turkey-
Armenia relations, he stressed that Armenia is firm in insisting that diplomatic relations should be established without any preconditions, and called upon the parliamentarians to use the close ties that the UK has with Turkey to achieve the opening of the border between Turkey and Armenia.

Within the context of the recent assassination of Hrant Dink, the editor of Agos, the influential Armenian-Turkish
bilingual newspaper in Turkey, he also reminded of oppressions of the freedom of speech in Turkey and the atmosphere of intolerance.

Others who delivered a speech at the meeting included Bob Spink MP, sponsor of the EDM on the Armenian Genocide, Nia Griffith MP, sponsor of the EDM on the blockade, Paddy Tipping MP, Baroness Cox, Chair of the BAAPPG, and Lord Avebury, Vice-Chairman of the Group. All participants stressed the importance of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and also referred to the early 20th century British accounts of the rmenian massacres in Turkey.

Yerevan, 26 February. By an overwhelming majority, the Armenian National Assembly allowed dual citizenship by making respective amendments to the Law on Citizenship.

The change was made possible after the referendum on Constitutional amendments in November 2005. Members of the Armenian Diaspora, obtaining Armenian citizenship will be allowed to vote in Armenian elections if they are in the country at that time and to run for office.

Election campaign launches in Armenia

The official campaign for Parliamentary elections, to be held on May 12, 2007, launched in Armenia on April 8. It will last till May 10. A total of 1447 candidates are running for 131 seats in the parliament. Of these, 134 candidates on majority system run for 41 mandates, and on proportional system (party lists) 24 parties and one block, which, combined, have 1313 candidates, run for 90 seats. The following parties (including one bloc) were registered by the CEC to participate in the campaign:

National Democratic Party, National Consent Party, National Unity Party, Prosperous Armenia Party, Dashink Party, Heritage Party, People’s Party of Armenia, Democratic Path Party, Impeachment bloc, Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun, Progressive Party of
Armenia, Democratic Party of Armenia, Youth Party of Armenia, People’s Party of Armenia, Communist Party of Armenia, Republican Party of Armenia, Marxist Party of Armenia, Armenian National Movement Party, Republic Party, United Labour Party, United Liberal National Party, “New Times” Party, Hnchakyan Social Democratic Party, Renaissance Christian Democratic Party, “Orinats Yerkir” Party.

London. 12th April. The already traditional Spring Remembrance Concert in Memory of Armenian Victims of 1915 was held at Wigmore Hall in London.

The concert brought together brilliant and reputable Armenian musicians, winners of numerous
prestigious prizes and international competitions. Violinist Sergey Khachatryan was the First Prize winner of the VIII International Jean Sibelius competition in Helsinki, becoming the youngest ever winner in the history of the competition. In 2005 he also claimed the First Prize at the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels. Sergey has performed with all the major UK orchestras, including the BBC Philharmonic and the Philharmonic Orchestra.

Hasmik Papian is one of the leading sopranos in the world. She has appeared at the most prestigious opera stages, including La Scala of Milan, the Met in New York, the Vienna State Opera, and Paris La Bastille, and her concert repertoire ranges from Schubert, Tchaikovsky to Rachmaninov. She has performed with many renowned conductors.

Pianist Lusine Khachartryan won First Prizes at the 1999 Jagend Musiziert Competition in Germany, and the Citta di Ostra and Citta di Marsala Competitions in Italy. She has participated in a number of international music festivals, including the Edinburgh Festival, Mozart Festival and the Nuits Musicales du Suquet Festival in Cannes.

Pianist Vardan Mamikonian is a Prize Winner of the Lefeburge Compettion of 1990, and the World Music Masters Competition in Monte Carlo, in 1992. His recordings include a wide range of classical works.

The programme of the April 12th concert included pieces by Bach (Chaconne from the Partita No. 2 in D minor), Franck (Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major), Liszt (Funerailles), Schubert (Impromptus op 90 No. 3), and songs and arias by Schubert, Verdi and Komitas.

The concert was presented by RP Musical Management, in association with the Embassy of Armenia, and is sponsored by the Benlian Trust and AGBU-London.

The audience enjoyed a splendid and inspired performance.

London, April 13. Mrs. Hasmik Gabrielyan, spouse of Ambassador of Armenia to the UK, hosted an annual Ladies’ Reception on the occasion of the Motherhood and Beauty Day, a public
holiday marked in Armenia. Among the invitees were ladies from the British Armenian community and friends.

Warm and friendly atmosphere prevailed throughout the event and ladies called for a continuation of the tradition started by Mrs. Gabrielyan in 2004.

Births and anniversaries

Odette Bazil. On March 18, 2007 Mrs. Odette Bazil celebrated her 70th anniversary. Mrs. Bazil is a longstanding supporter of Armenia and Armenian causes. She is the co-founder and Executive Secretary of British-Armenian All Party Parliamentary Group, Chair of the
“Anahit” Association and the Chiltern Armenian Society, to list a few. Her remarkable record of highly valuable undertakings in promotion of British-Armenian relations and endless devotion to Armenia are highly appreciated by the Embassy and Government of Armenia.

The Embassy congratulates Mrs. Bazil and her family and wishes her many years of joy and happiness.

Teny Israyelyan. On Mother’s day, March 18, 2007 a wonderful present was delivered into the family of Karen Israyelyan, Second Secretary of the Embassy. Anna and Karen were blessed with the birth of their first child, little Teny.
Congratulations.

Announcements

28-30 June, 2007— The Second Medical International Congress of Armenia will take place in Yerevan. Participation of Armenian Medical Doctors and nurses from all over the world is anticipated.

Participation from the UK is most welcome and encouraged. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 31st March 2007. A submission form and further information can be obtained form
http://www.2imca.am/

Submissions may be made to the following
email address:

abstract@2imca.am

9th - 14th July 2007 - The Fourth Annual Golden Apricot International Film Festival will be held in Yerevan. The theme of this year’s festival is Crossroads of Cultures and Civilizations.

The theme is anchored in the idea of a global human landscape in the process of transformation
and the challenges such transformations pose to human beings. Films on the theme are welcome.

Applications will be accepted by the "Golden Apricot" office until April 15, 2007. For eligibility, entry forms and further details, please contact the Embassy or log into the following
website: http://www.gaiff.am/

Armenian Embassy
25A Cheniston Gardens, London W8 6TG
Tel.: 0207 938 5435
Fax: 0207 938 2595
E-mail:
armemb@armenianembassyuk.com
consular@armenianembassyuk.com

'The New Tears of Araxes'

Watch The New Tears of Araxes on You Tube :

Featuring a never-seen-before satellite image of a vandalized medieval cemetery at the Iranian-Azerbaijani border, 'The New Tears of Araxes', a five-minute film, tells the tragic story of thousands of ancient Armenian headstones flattened to the ground by the Azerbaijani authorities in Djulfa (Jugha), Nakhichevan. On December 15, 2005, eyewitnesses across the River Araxes videotaped Azeri soldiers destroying Armenian burial monuments - khachkars (cross stones) -some as old as 1,500 years. Azerbaijani officials denied the vandalism, but banned European Parliament members from visiting the site in March of 2006. Only a few outside news sources tried to publicize the tragedy. 'The New Tears of Araxes' is written by Sarah Pickman, a University of Chicago student, who was the only American reporter to cover the tragedy when she interned for Archaeology Magazine. Producer and narrator Simon Maghakyan, who is among America's top 20 college students according to USA TODAY (April 24, 2006), hopes the film will break a year of ignorance and silence. When asked why others should care, Maghakyan quotes Martin Luther King Jr. as saying 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'

Music by Djivan Gasparian (Gladiator, The Passion of the Christ, Munich, Syriana); Digital sound track production by Transtar Entertainment Group; Photographs by Research on Armenian Architecture, and Argam Ayvazian; Footage of 2005 destruction by Tabriz's Armenian Church, Iran; Satellite image by Digital Globe; Map by The Times, London.

Turks and Armenians: Is Reconciliation Possible?

Below is the full text of a report by Mark Chenian (reproduced with thanks) of a round table luncheon discussion hosted by the Los Angeles World Affairs Council which took place at the California Club on 27th March 2006 in the presence of an invited audience. The guest speakers were GÜNDÜZ S. AKTAN, former Turkish Ambassador to Japan and Greece, and ÖMER ENGIN LÜTEM, former Turkish Ambassador to the Vatican and Director of the Armenian Research Institute.

Turkey’s entry into the European Union, for which talks began last October, may be eased by support from an unlikely source: Armenia, where the Turkish bid has met with a cautious welcome. In fact, over the past few years, a number of moves on both sides have indicated a melting in the long diplomatic freeze between Turkey and Armenia. Yet both countries retain echoes of the Ottoman dynasty that survived for 600 years and whose dominions extended from the Danube through the Levant to Algiers. And they share a mutual history, including Armenian claims of Genocide at the hands of the Ottomans in 1915 and continuing up through the present time, to the sealed Turkish-Armenian border and the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.
To discuss the future of Turkish-Armenian relations, we are pleased to present the views of two Turkish diplomats and scholars: Gündüz Aktan and Ömer Engin Lütem.
Gündüz Aktan, a career diplomat, served as Turkey’s ambassador to Japan and Greece, after spending his early career in Paris, Nairobi, and New York. From 1985 to 1988 he was an advisor to late Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Özal, and later assisted in the writing of Mr. Özal’s book, The Turks in Europe. He has been a member of the Turco-Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC), and has written on Armenian issues and international law.
Ambassador Ömer Engin Lütem began his diplomatic career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1957, serving in Turkish missions in France, Germany, Italy and Libya. He served as General Director of Intelligence and Research and was later appointed Turkish Ambassador to Bulgaria. He went on to serve as Turkish Ambassador to the Vatican, and as the Turkish Permanent Representative to UNESCO. He is now the Director of the Armenian Research Institute.
Please join us for a unique opportunity to hear Turkish perspectives on one of the most persistent of Europe’s dilemmas, the relationship between Turkey and Armenia.


The above luncheon was an event scheduled during a two-week tour in the United States of the two ambassadors. Quoting directly from April 8, 2006 Turkish Daily News.com (TDN.com), the purpose of the tour was described by ambassador Aktan as:
“In order to take part in a series of meetings on the Armenian question I took a two-week trip to the United States together with Ambassador Ömer Lütem, director of the Research Institute for Crimes against Humanity (İKSAREN). Our aim was to meet with small groups of Turks living in the United States who are well educated, fluent in English and interested in the Armenian question. We wanted to give them seminars on the 1915-1916 incidents, distribute CDs to them containing documented information on the issue and try to ensure that they would be able to defend their views on their own. We had already made similar trips to a number of European countries.”
“Whenever they have failed in their attempts to block these meetings, the Armenians have tried to prevent Americans and fellow Armenians from attending. When these efforts did not work they took the path of ensuring that handpicked Armenians who could argue with us would attend the lecture at the University of Chicago and take part in a luncheon meeting at the World Affairs Council.”
As the invitation reads, these luncheons are for members of Board of Directors and the International Circle (IC) and their guests, and contrary to the claim/implication of the ambassador Aktan in the same TDN.com, I was not “handpicked” by any one. I have been associated with the LAWAC for almost three decades and on this particular day, I was a guest of a non-Armenian IC member.
At the luncheon, twenty five were in attendance, including the two ambassadors as well as the Los Angeles Consul General of Turkey, A. Engin Ansay and his deputy. The luncheon was chaired by the President of the Council, Mr. Curtis Mack.

President Mack welcomed the Excellencies to the LAWAC and invited the attendees around the table to introduce themselves. Before inviting the guest speakers to make their presentation, he briefly introduced the guests and the day’s topic for discussion.

Ambassador Aktan started with his thanks and gratitude for the invitation and the opportunity to address the distinguished forum on a very important subject/issue for Turkey.

Speaking from bullet point notes, the thrust of his presentation is reflected in the following direct quote from the same TDN.com,

‘On these occasions it became clear why the Armenians avoid meeting with us, calling us “denyers”: The Armenian theses are even weaker than they are sometimes believed to be. They become greatly upset when they are confronted with documented evidence of the population figures attesting to the size of the Armenian population in 1914 and at the end of the war. Under the circumstances, they cannot insist that 1.5 million Armenians were killed. Similarly, they can hardly deny that they had been a “political group” that aimed to ethnically cleanse the Turks in a sizable part of eastern Anatolia and waged a war with the aim of setting up their own independent state there. It is no secret that “political groups” are not among the groups protected under the U.N. Convention on Genocide. They cannot object when we point out that the transfer of population in 1915 was not the only reason or the most important reason for the deaths, that there were other factors that took a far greater toll: inter-ethnic clashes, regular warfare, epidemics and the way the civilians kept fleeing from one place to another as the armies advanced in the battle zone. They find it hard to respond, especially when it is pointed out that the Armenians massacred half a million Anatolian and Azeri Turks in the insurgencies and as they retreated with the Russian army.’
‘The only thing they do is to refer to the archives of foreign countries, claiming that missionaries and people like Morgenthau cannot have lied. We asked them then why they were wary of taking their cause to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. In what seemed to be a pre-arranged way of behaving, they all acted as if they did not hear the question. This issue, which we have kept referring to in our articles in Turkey, is the Achilles heel of the Armenian cause. Those Americans who had been convinced that an Armenian genocide had occurred were appalled to see the way the Armenians were afraid of taking this issue to court.’
‘The main problem seems to be those Armenian youths who have been convinced by others that during the transfer of population the Armenians had been subjected to the kind of cruel behavior one could only “see” during fits of hallucination.’
At the table, the Ambassador concluded his remarks by saying that Genocide is a clearly defined legal term; it should be applied and handled accordingly. Governments and Parliaments are not the forums to decide Genocide. The only competent forum is the International Court of Justice (I C of J). He emphasized that Turkey is willing and ready to go to I C of J to settle the Genocide issue, but the Armenians are afraid to do so.
The meeting opened for discussion. President Mack thanked the Ambassador for his remarks and followed with the question, “What is the solution, where do we go from here?”
In his answer, ambassador Aktan repeated that the I C of J in The Hague is the proper venue to settle this issue, and that the Armenians should stop influencing governments and parliaments around the world with Genocide Resolutions.
Discussions from around the table followed. One individual (non-Armenian) challenged the interpretation of the facts by the ambassador. He stated that what transpired in 1915-1916 with the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire is Genocide and Turkey should accept that.
The Ambassador did not agree with the above.
“Your Excellencies, if this luncheon was sixty years ago, your colleagues sitting in your chairs would have denied that there ever were Armenians in Asia Minor. Now today’s presentation should be considered a major progress, where Armenian existence was not denied. But Turkey still has a long way to go” was my opening line of an exchange that followed.
“Today’s Turkey faces some major self inflicted problems. Borrowing from the Koran and the Bible, where it is stated that ‘in the beginning there was GOD’, today Turkey declares that ‘in the beginning there was ATATURK’. That places the beginning of Turkey in 1920. Generations of Turks, Mr. Ambassador, your generation and the ones that followed, over seventy million Turks are misled by their governments with the education of their own history. This arbitrary choice of ‘beginning’ has put Turkey in a dilemma; that is, how does a Turk face and explain events in his history that predates 1920, such as the Armenian Genocide that started in 1915.”
“Mr. Ambassador, today’s discussion was labeled ‘Turkish-Armenian reconciliation’. In my opinion, if there is any reconciling to be done, first and foremost, is for Turkey and seventy million Turks to reconcile with their own true and full history. I realize that this is a monumental task. And therefore, I suggest that instead of wasting your very precious and valuable time on touring with the kind of presentation that you made earlier, the Turkish government should mobilize all intellectual assets that is at her disposal and available both in and outside Turkey, to devise a strategy in how to re-educate seventy million Turks. The Armenian Genocide that started in 1915 is not the only major hole in your history. You do know them and should address all of them.”
“Last October Turkey formally applied to join the European Union and was granted a window of fifteen years to achieve that task. At the end of this process it is understood that Turkey will be joining Europe and not the other way around. I personally hope that Turkey will succeed to join EU with the required clean slate. I believe that it is within the means of Turkey to reconcile with herself and justly resolve the very sad chapters in her history, such as the Armenian Genocide and Cyprus. Beyond that, Turkey has great challenges in the economic field. That’s where her energies should be spent in that fifteen year window.”
The ambassador replied with an agreement that it is true and essential for Turkey to reconcile with her history and he added that he realizes the challenge. He repeated that he was essentially in agreement with what was said, except for the fact that the above statement did not address the I C of Justice demanded by Turkey and the avoiding of the Armenian side.
“Mr. Ambassador, as was stated earlier, Turkey has come a long way, from absolute denial that there were Armenians in Asia Minor to today’s discussion. You know very well how over the years, both on strategic and tactical basis, the Turkish arguments have evolved and changed. From no Armenians ever existed; to Armenians left by themselves for better lands; to deportation for military necessity; to disease and wartime hardship; to unauthorized random murders; to killings as wartime propaganda; to mass killings; to massacres; to population exchange of Armenians and Muslims; to the provocation and treachery thesis; to civil war; to empire-wide revolution; to Turkish Genocide perpetrated by Armenians; and the line goes on and on… All this to ‘muddy the water’ for non-expert observers and avoid the admittance of the fact that the events started in 1915 by the Ottoman Turkish government WAS GENOCIDE!”
The ambassador did not agree with the above characterization. In an attempt to conveniently dilute the asymmetry of and vastly unequal Ottoman Turkish government machinery on one hand and episodes of Armenian resistance and self defense on the other, he mentioned the uprisings in Van, Sassoun, Zeitun; the war activities on the Russian front as prime examples of ‘ongoing civil war’ that prompted the Ottomans to ‘save themselves with deporting and massacring the Armenians.’
“Mr. Ambassador, what I just heard from you reminds me of a Turkish word ‘bazaarlik’, translated as bargaining in the bazaar. Not to repeat myself, all these overloads of excuses and ever-changing arguments tantamount to a ‘bazarlik’, with the single-minded aim of Turkey to fight against the label of Genocide to the Armenian experience, where Genocide is defined as ‘… acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a nation, ethnic, racial or religious group…’, and settle with labels like massacres and atrocities with no such implications.”
“All this ‘bazaarlik’ would not have been necessary except for the fact that the UN framed Genocide in International Law with special determination to punish the crime with justice and restitution. In the Holocaust case, the crime was executed in Europe, and therefore punishment and restitution could have been in funds. In the Armenian Genocide case, it was perpetrated in occupied Armenian lands. And therefore the punishment and the restitution have to be in funds and land. This specter of some form of compensation including territorial loss is the core of Turkish denial, hence the ‘bazaarlik’.”
“Mr. Ambassador, there are two fundamental laws of nature, physics, that apply. One is the law of gravity and the other the law of irreversibility. The law of gravity will pull the Turkish side to the truth, truth in history. As was mentioned earlier, you have come a long way. Eventually, you will get to the truth. It is the law of nature. And in this process, through the second law of nature, the law of irreversibility, you are already discovering that history cannot be reversed, or re-written.”
“Until very recently the Turkish line of argument went like, ‘the so called Armenian Genocide belongs to history and it is for the historians to decide.’ Well you personally know very well that on your own initiative, a forum of neutral legal scholars examined the Armenian experience in the Ottoman Empire starting in 1915 and concluded that it was Genocide**. Now you are out on a tour, through ‘bazarlik’, trying to bargain for something less than Genocide.”
“The Armenian side understands why all this ‘bazaarlik’ is for. The 1948 UN convention clearly defines Genocide as a STATE CRIME. The author of the term and the inspiration behind the convention, the Jewish legal scholar Raphael Lemkin, used the Armenian experience starting in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey to define the State Crime of Genocide. Mr. Ambassador, how can one dissociate the term Genocide from its definition? So please give up this exercise in futility. If I were a consultant to the government of Turkey, I would advise, for the next fifteen years, to redirect all assets and energies towards meeting the requirements for European membership, that is meeting the economic standards with a ‘clean slate’. This clean slate includes recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
At this point, the Consul General of Turkey in Los Angeles, A. Engin Ansay came in the discussion. He stated that Turkey’s membership to Europe is not the standard by which Turkish policy is conducted. He added that Turkey recognizes her important role in the region and the importance of friendly relationship with her neighbors. He described Armenia as a poor country with her economy, and how friendly relationship with Turkey can improve that situation, implying that the resolution of the Genocide issue, meaning the Armenian side dropping the insistence on the word Genocide, will open the Turkish doors to Armenia and help the country’s economy.
“Mr. Consul General, what you just did was to “dangle a carrot” to the Armenian side implying economic benefits, another ‘bazaarlik’. If Turkey is genuinely interested in the welfare of Armenia, then her membership in Europe is very helpful for the region, including Armenia. Armenia herself is destined to Europe. She can achieve that through the short route, the southern shores of the Black Sea that is through Turkey, or the long route, the northern shores of the Black Sea. So Armenia has a vested interest to see Turkey join Europe. The economic prerequisites and the ‘clean slate’ mentioned earlier will accelerate the benefits to the region.”
“As you know, the European concept is based on no internal borders. In that window of fifteen years on the way to Europe, while Turkish leadership re-educate the seventy million plus population, the territorial compensation should be put in the European context. In other words, with the eventual Armenian membership into Europe, the new borders between Armenia and Turkey will become internal borders in the European Theatre.”
Ambassador Lutem stated that taking the case to I C of J is the way to accelerate the resolution and repeated that the Armenian side is afraid and avoiding The Hague.
“Mr. Ambassador, I am not aware that Turkey has officially taken the Armenian Genocide case to I C of J and I am also unaware that the Armenian side has not agreed. It is interesting to learn which official entity on the Armenian side was officially contacted by the government of Turkey on this issue?”
“You correctly claim that Genocide is a criminal law concept. I am not a lawyer, but I know that discovery phases precede trials. As I mentioned earlier, Turkey reconciling with her own history will be the most important component of that discovery phase. Through that discovery phase I am confident that with the help of the laws of nature mentioned earlier, the Turkish side will end up with the truth. And when Turkey does so, they will find out that the Armenian side, for the last ninety-one years have been ‘waiting for them on the steps of the Court’. And therefore, by definition, when both parties, on the steps of the court agree on the truth, then there will be nothing left to argue inside the chambers.”
“Parallel to criminal judicial system, where the committed crime is against society/the people and by proxy the government takes the criminal to court, Genocide is a State Crime against Humanity, and Humanity as a Whole take the Perpetrator State to court. I am not sure if it is up to the Armenian and Turkish sides to ‘settle the case’ by themselves. Humanity as a whole has a vested interest in the application of justice and the punishment that follows.”
At this point, a Turkish American stepped in the conversation. He had earlier introduced himself as a naturalized citizen and lived in the States for about twenty-five years. He claimed that he represented the Turkish Diaspora, and objected to any reconciliation between Turkey and Armenians. He went on to state that two and a half million Turks were killed, and the Turkish Diaspora had a say at the table and will not accept any deals. He reminded the table that several colleagues of the Consul General were gunned down by Armenian terrorists several years ago.
“Sir, first, I am observing a typical Diaspora behavior. Emigrants, when they leave their homeland, freeze in their minds the country the way they left. Sir, what you just describing is no more the state of affairs and thinking in Turkey today. I am sure the Ambassadors do not accept your twenty-five year old discredited characterization. Today’s Turkey has moved forward from where you left the country.”
“Second, I am not sure where you got your facts and numbers. This is the LAWAC. Where the two Ambassadors are sitting today, world leaders and history makers sat before them. That kind of irresponsible and unfounded declaration is not acceptable in the bazaar, let alone in this distinguished forum.”
“And third, you claim the two and a half million Turkish deaths. Can you elaborate when they died, where they died, how they died, who killed them and how they were killed? When you answer these questions to yourself, you will find out that, Armenians had nothing to do with that.”
“Again, you remind me of a lesson that every first year law school student learns, namely, ‘when the law is on your side, you argue the law; when the facts are on your side, you argue the facts; and when neither the law nor the facts are on your side you try to create a confusion, very much like ‘scrambled eggs’. Sir, nobody is buying your scrambled eggs.”
Soon after, President Mack thanked the Excellencies and the participants. The luncheon was adjourned.
Before departing I had a chance to have a short chat with ambassador Aktan. He asked me if I believed that the Armenian Genocide issue could ever be resolved. I replied that as a person I was an optimist and I believed in what I said at the table, that it will be resolved in the way I described. He did not believe that it will ever happen. In reply, I reminded him that just a couple of decades ago no one believed that the Soviet Union will be dissolved…
The next morning in the LAX American Airlines terminal, on my way to Detroit through Chicago, I saw in the distance the ambassadors with their entourage checking in on their way to the next conference in Chicago. I hoped that they would be on my flight. Unfortunately they must have been on a later flight.

Armenia and the Ottoman Empire in the Early 20th Century

These videos (click here to view) explore the circumstances leading to the expulsion and massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. How very pitiful is man's inhumanity to man...

UK Embassy Bulletin, January 2007

Below are the text and illustrations from the January 2007 UK Armenian Embassy Bulletin. The Bulletin as published is available here.

BULLETIN
of the
EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
London

Bulletin # 1 (20) January 2007

• Ambassador Gabrielyan on AL Jazeera’s “Frost Over the World” program
• Minister Chshmarityan signs an agreement with Bill Gates
• Date of Parliamentary elections in Armenia decided

London, 26th January. Invited by Sir David Frost, Ambassador Vahe Gabrielyan was hosted at the “Frost Over the World” program of the Al Jazeera (English) satellite TV channel. The interview-debate, focusing on the issue of the Armenian Genocide, was one of the public reactions to the assassination, on 19th January 2007, of Hrant Dink, the editor of the “Agos” Armenian-Turkish newspaper. Professor Turkaya Ataov, from the Ankara University, represented the Turkish viewpoint.

In response to Sir Frost’s opening statement, that after Hrant Dink’s assassination the issue of the Armenian Genocide has resurfaced, Ambassador Gabrielyan stressed that it has always been at the forefront and has never been off the agenda. Speaking of the veracity of the massacres, he said that he was not going to debate the fact and reiterated the Armenian position that whether the Genocide happened or not was not subject to any discussion, and it has been proven by a wealth of factual historical evidence. He pointed that for Armenians the Genocide was not a theoretical issue in the remote past in a distant country: there is hardly a family either in the Republic of Armenia or in the Armenian Diaspora that has been untouched. Refuting the Turkish professor, the Ambassador insisted that the intent of the Ottoman Turkish Government to perpetrate the elimination of Armenians was a proven fact, even by evidence from Turkish historians. He drew attention to the fact that in 1919-1920 the post-war Turkish Government set up special tribunals to bring to justice the organisers of the Genocide and that these Turkish courts sentenced many of the perpetrators and implementers either to death or to other forms of punishment; a very significant fact often overlooked today.

To the question whether the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey must be a precondition for its accession to the EU, Ambassador Gabrielyan responded that Armenia, not being a member of the European Union, is not in the capacity to set preconditions for anyone’s accession. However, he mentioned, the Copenhagen Criteria clearly require from member/candidate states to be in good relations with all their neighbours, to resolve all existing problems with them, and to improve minority rights within their countries: all these suggest the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey. In fact, several EU member countries have
already raised the issue and Armenia does indeed expect an appropriate stance by the EU in this regard. Pointing out that he did not agree with all what Dink said, the Turkish historian said he was sorry for Dink’s murder, but denied the fact of the Genocide. He said no intent was present and everything supporting this view could be found in the Turkish archives.

Edinburgh, 30th January. An official delegation from Armenia, headed by Mr. Karen Chshmarityan, Minister for Trade and Economic Development, and including Ambassador Vahe Gabrielyan, participated in the “Microsoft Government Leaders Forum”. During a meeting with Bill Gates, the President of Microsoft Corporation, an Agreement on Cooperation was signed between the Armenian Government and the Microsoft Corporation.

Minister Chshmarityan and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates sign the Agreement (left)
Bill Gates is interested in spiritual values of Armenia (right)

Among other things, the agreement stipulates the creation of a Microsoft Innovative Centre in Armenia, and the Armenian Government gains the opportunity to participate in the “IT Academy Programme”, which allows participating schools and universities to have specialist training by using the latest Microsoft technologies.

The Agreement is successfully signed

Yerevan. January 29th. President Robert Kocharyan signed a degree assigning May 12, 2007 as the day for elections of the next National Assembly of Armenia.

Armenian Embassy
25A Cheniston Gardens, London W8 6TG
Tel.: 0207 938 5435
Fax: 0207 938 2595
E-mail: armemb@armenianembassyuk.com consular@armenianembassyuk.com

What's in a Motto?

Mek Azg, Mek Mshakouyt is a transliteration of the Armenian national motto, and is usually translated into English as One Nation, One Culture. A friend of mine came across a reference in a Google search to this, purportedly listed in the Armenian search thread on You Tube (some interesting stuff here), which stated 'Armenia is becoming the fascist state of the 21st century. Armenian National motto: One Nation, One Culture'.

In a so-called multicultural world, do these words provoke political incorrectness or are they just an evocation of national identity in the same, but perhaps less informal, way that, say, Uncle Sam is for the United States?

:-) Answers on a postcard please...