Once again Bush has avoided using the G-word in his speech to commemorate the Armenian genocide. He came close, but not close enough.

“The 20th century was marred by unimaginable brutality, mass murder and
genocide. History records that the Armenians were the first people in the
last century to have endured these cruelties. Armenians were subjected to a
genocidal campaign that defies comprehension… If elected President, I
would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the
Armenian people.”

AAAC has the following press release:
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Armenian airline Armavia has announced routes, including Yerevan to Novosibirsk, and Gyumri to southern Russian towns. (Via ArmenPress)

I will be travelling down to Tatev over the next few days to deal with my Zangezur Ashkhar project, and therefore there will be few posts here.

I’m hoping there won’t be much to report on while I am away!

Kocharian has left Yerevan a day after the Genocide memorials for a visit to France, reports Itar-Tass. One wonders about the timing.

ArmeniaNow.com has some pictures of the events to remember the genocide at Tsitsernakaberd.

Canada’s parliament has passed a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide.

The Globe and Mail has a story on it, and the apparent opposition of the government, which tried to get all its MPs to vote against.

Tension in the chamber was palpable; people were edgy. But the motion passed, 153 to 68.

In another article on ArmeniaNow.com, they give a good recount of the events of the past two weeks in Yerevan. From the skirmishes on April 12th to the international criticism, and the governments rebuttals of these criticisms.

ArmeniaNow.com has this article about the difficulties of getting into Yerevan and how it has been good for taxi drivers.

“This week I’ve earned good money,” says one Echmiadsin taxi driver who, like many in these tense days, doesn’t want to be identified. “People usually don’t need to go to Yerevan by taxi. I don’t care what they do, the upper strata makes heaps of money so why can’t we use our chance?”

Kocharian has called the protests in Yerevan “temporary” in an interview.

“Our opposition, under the impression of Georgia’s events, has decided to stage a similar situation in Armenia,” he said. “But our reality cannot be compared with Georgia’s.”

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This via Groong on how the police are blocking highways into Yerevan in anticipation of rallies today.
The police are trying to persuade people not to take part in rallies before they even get to Yerevan.

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Chloe Arnold, British freelance reporter based in Baku, has this interesting article in The Moscow Times, on the latest round of streets demonstrations in the Caucasus.

“Opposition groups say they will continue their protests until Kocharyan resigns, but I can’t help feeling the wind is out of their sails.”

My favourite line is this: “Armenia is so small, you could practically do the job just by shouting.” She is referring to the lack of opposition TV stations in Armenia. Now I wonder of Ms. Arnold has ever taken the bus to Meghri?

ITAR-TASS has this report about the The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) planning more investment in the “the seven poorest CIS nations”, including Armenia.

more tan 50 percent of people in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan live in poverty. The economy of these countries is less consistent with market standards than the economy of other countries. A large state debt complicates foreign borrowing for economic development and social needs. Other obstacles to borrowing are underdeveloped markets, the closed borders, lack of banking and other services, insufficient infrastructures in these countries.

Read the full article.

Europe joins the fray. German ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Armenia Hans-Wolf Bartels gave an interview to Noyan-Tapan, urging cooperation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Apparently Germany is the second biggest investor in Armenia after the US.
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ArmenPress reports that Armenia will join an international anti-smoking convention. They give these incredible figures:

According to official statistics, 67 percent of men and 3.1 percent of women smoke in Armenia. Specialists say cigarettes cause 30 percent of cancer and 20 percent of heart diseases.

The BBC has an in-depth look into the issue of global migration.
They look at migrant labour, refugees, and the money that migrants send back home. There is a page about Armenia’s refugees from Azerbaijan.

The brain drain is of course not just a problem in Armenia, but across many countries that are struggling economically. It’s a vicious circle as the people with the skills needed to get the country back on its feet leave.

Armenian Communication and Transport Minister Andranik Manukyan has said that “reconstruction” is being carried out on the Kars-Gyumri line. (via A1 Plus)

Now if Turkey does the same on the other side of the border, and lifts the blockade… I wonder what the consensus is on the potential of opening the train line. I know that many Armenians don’t want the border opened, fearing a sudden buy-up of property by Turkish companies, but what good (or bad) could be done by the opening of the railway line?

Apparently TARC (the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission) is being wound up. Asbarez has a page of information about TARC.

“We feel that advances in civil society contacts are now permanent and will only grow in time. We also feel that beyond our recommendations, official relations can now best be continued and advanced independent of the TARC structure.”

If you’re like me, and want to know exactly what TARC was set up for and has been doing, there is a FAQ at Asbarez. Not very positive reading.

“The Turkish government is already trying to use this commission to divide the Armenian people and derail the Armenian community’s increasingly effective efforts to end Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide.”

Azerbaijan News has this detailed report on the news.
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I’m heading for New York so no posts for a short while. Going to the Armenian Film Festival on Sunday. Will post something about the films and the buzz.

According to ITAR-TASS, Russian President spoke with Kocharian by phone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed confidence that “the leadership of friendly Armenia will succeed in utilizing the country’s substantial potential for democratic reform to maintain stability and legality”.

I wonder what else he said…