The <strong>Armenia</strong>n Reporter | April 11, 2009
Number 109 April 11, 2009 the armenian reporter The ten classes of <strong>Armenia</strong>n <strong>Armenia</strong> The ancient capitals of Yerv<strong>and</strong>ashat <strong>and</strong> Bagaran The residents of Bagaran wake up every morning to the voices of the muezzin from the neighboring village of Halimjan. The call for prayers at the crack of dawn has been part of the lives of the residents of Bagaran for decades. The two villages are on two sides of the Akhuryan river, which separates <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Turkey. <strong>Community</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>Community</strong> The two ancient cities of Yerv<strong>and</strong>ashat <strong>and</strong> Bagaran, closed off for centuries because of their strategic position, are now open to visitors who can see ancient archaeological sites dispersed throughout the region, Tatul Hakobyan reports. See story on page 16m Stem Cell Harvesting Center in Yerevan completed At the annual fund-raising event of Sipan <strong>Armenia</strong>n School, Louisa Janbazian, president of the school board, announced that the school received an Honorary Award from Spartak Seyranyan, the minister of science <strong>and</strong> education of <strong>Armenia</strong>, <strong>Armenia</strong> In five years, <strong>Armenia</strong>, Iran to be connected by rail <strong>Community</strong> High ranking officials from <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Iran are giving assurances that in five years’ time there will be a railroad linking the two countries. According to preliminary calculations, the railroad will stretch for approximately 470 kilometers, with 410 of those on <strong>Armenia</strong>n territory. The total cost of this undertaking is expected to run about $1.2 billion. An agreement will be signed by <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Iran sometime this month when President Serge Sargsian is expected to be in Tehran for an official visit. See story on page 17m On the evening of April 2, the <strong>Armenia</strong>n Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) held a cocktail reception in Glendale, California, to celebrate the upcoming opening of its Stem Cell Harvesting Center in Yerevan. The event served as an opportunity to announce formally the much-anticipated launch of the Stem Cell Harvesting Center, inform guests of current <strong>and</strong> future ABMDR projects, <strong>and</strong> thank supporters for helping save lives through the registry. See story on page 5m Sustainable-forestry training program prepared <strong>Armenia</strong> Tree Project (ATP) recently completed a two-year project to develop sustainable forestry training models for <strong>Armenia</strong>. Through a collaborative effort with Yale University’s Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry, ATP worked with Chadwick Oliver <strong>and</strong> Zachary Parisa to conduct an analysis of the forests around the village of Margahovit. See story on page 4m Not everyone is delighted to be there, <strong>and</strong> there are some you cannot keep away, Gregory Lima writes of the St. Gregory <strong>Armenia</strong>n School in White Plains, N.Y. As they grow older some can rebel against their parents’ insistence they attend class. Asking one such very young lady what she would rather do, she answered, “Sleep,” which she seemed to manage exactly where she was. Until it was time to dance. Then the sleepy girl turned into a dynamo. There was also the boy who had finished all the grades <strong>and</strong> still came back. He was drawn by the pleasure of speaking <strong>Armenia</strong>n, the cultural activities, <strong>and</strong> the friends he had made. See story on page 10m Sipan <strong>Armenia</strong>n School honored by <strong>Armenia</strong>’s Ministry of Education for its legacy of educating <strong>and</strong> nurturing the young <strong>Armenia</strong>n generation with the <strong>Armenia</strong>n spirit, <strong>and</strong> for the 30th anniversary of its founding. See story on page 6m President Obama, in Turkey, raises <strong>Armenia</strong>n issues Avoids the word genocide Asks Turkey to open <strong>Armenia</strong> border by Emil Sanamyan WASHINGTON – In a first for a U.S. president, Barack Obama used his visit to Ankara to publicly speak of the need for Turkey to address its past <strong>and</strong> improve its present relations with <strong>Armenia</strong>. But citing reports of an impending breakthrough in talks between <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Turkey, Mr. Obama effectively sidestepped his pre-election promise to clearly recognize the destruction of Ottoman <strong>Armenia</strong>ns as genocide. Mr. Obama also encouraged Turkish <strong>and</strong> <strong>Armenia</strong>n officials “to complete an agreement” in an expeditious manner. <strong>Armenia</strong>n agenda without the G word In his April 6 speech at Turkey’s Gr<strong>and</strong> <strong>National</strong> Assembly <strong>and</strong> in a joint press conference with Turkish president Abdullah Gül earlier the same day, Mr. Obama became the first U.S. president to publicly air some <strong>Armenia</strong>n-American concerns on a visit to Turkey. (See transcripts below.) Addressing the parliament, Mr. Obama recalled America’s own treatment of Native Americans <strong>and</strong> Serge Sargsian hopes to go to Turkey in October through open borders by Tatul Hakobyan YEREVAN – <strong>Armenia</strong>’s President Serge Sargsian stated on April 11 that in terms of <strong>Armenia</strong>-Turkey relations, the ball is now in Turkey’s court. He is also hopeful that Turkey will open the border with <strong>Armenia</strong> by October. On the occasion of the first anniversary of his presidency, Mr. Sargsian held a press conference on April 11. Asked by the <strong>Armenia</strong>n Reporter about the “red lines” the <strong>Armenia</strong>n side would not cross in Turkish-<strong>Armenia</strong>n relations, Mr. Sargsian said that Yerevan considers unacceptable the imposition, by Turkey, of preconditions for the establishment of relations. “We have said, <strong>and</strong> I repeat, we are ready to establish relations without preconditions. Now, in my opinion, the ball is in Turkey’s court,” the president said. “If we are talking about soccer diplomacy,” the president continued, “then we must state that the ball cannot constantly be on one side of the field, <strong>and</strong> each soccer match has a predetermined time frame.” The current round of talks with Turkey are spoken of as soccer diplomacy because Mr. Sargsian invited his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gül, President Obama meets with, from left, <strong>Armenia</strong>n foreign minister Edward Nalb<strong>and</strong>ian, Swiss foreign minister (<strong>and</strong> mediator) Micheline Calmy-Rey, Turkish undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry Ertugul Apakan <strong>and</strong> Foreign Minister Ali Babacan at a reception in Istanbul on April 6. The president met with the foreign ministers to commend them on “recent progress” toward the normalization of <strong>Armenia</strong>-Turkey relations <strong>and</strong> urged them to complete a bilateral agreement. White House photo: Pete Souza. Blacks, <strong>and</strong> urged Turks to address the “terrible events of 1915” in a way that is “honest, open, <strong>and</strong> constructive.” Extolling the benefits of opening the border with <strong>Armenia</strong> – which was closed <strong>and</strong> is kept closed by Turkey – he said the United States “strongly supports normalization of relations between Turkey <strong>and</strong> <strong>Armenia</strong>.” He also invited Turkey to play a “constructive role” in the Karabakh peace process. At the press conference, the subject was formally prompted by Chicago Tribune <strong>and</strong> Los Angeles Times correspondent Christi Parsons, who referred to Mr. Obama’s comments on the <strong>Armenia</strong>n Genocide as a senator <strong>and</strong> his pre-election pledges to recognize the Genocide as president. Ms. Parsons asked whether the president still held the same views <strong>and</strong> whether he asked Mr. Gül to recognize the Genocide. Mr. Obama responded that he had not changed his views, which are “on the record.” But he then turned to the subject of talks between <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Turkey that could “bear fruit very quickly very soon” <strong>and</strong> which, he said, he did not want to “tilt” in favor of either side, presumably by speaking more c<strong>and</strong>idly. Continued on page m President Serge Sargsian. Photo: Photolure. to Yerevan to watch the September 2008 <strong>Armenia</strong>-Turkey World Cup qualifying soccer match. “Is it possible that we have perhaps miscalculated <strong>and</strong> the Turks have now adopted another position <strong>and</strong> are attempting to place a precondition on the table Of course, this is possible,” he said. “But I believe, even in that case, we will come out of the process much stronger. Through this process we were able to once again demonstrate, as was witnessed by the international community, that we are really prepared to establish relations without preconditions.” The next <strong>Armenia</strong>-Turkey World Cup qualifying match will be held in October in Kayseri, Mr. Gül’s birthplace. Mr. Sargsian has accepted an invitation from Mr. Gül to attend. “During the negotiation process, the question of Nagorno-Karabakh or the Genocide has never been brought up,” the president said, referring to two pre-conditions long set by Turkey for the normalization of relations. He predicted that at the next soccer match, “I will either cross through open borders or we will be at that threshold.” f
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