YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. President Serzh Sargsyan awarded the President’s 2016 Awards of the Republic of Armenia to distinguished figures of various spheres, reports Armenpress.

The spheres are different: Armenian Genocide recognition, IT and technical sciences, literature, art, classical music.

President Serzh Sargsyan and Diaspora-Armenian philanthropist Jean Poghosyan (Robert Poghosyan & Sons Foundation) presented the awards.

Below is the list of the recipients of the Presidential Awards.

For significant contribution to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide – Bagrat Estukian (Turkey) – for constantly referring to the topic in Agos daily, Hans-Lukas Kieser – for input in exploring the history of the Armenian Genocide.

IT and technical sciences –Gevorg Baghdasaryan and Marine Mikilyan

Literature – Ghukas Sirunyan

YOUTH AWARDS

Arts – Rima Nanyan, Levon Poghosyan

Literature –Armen Sargsyan, Aram Mamikonyan

CLASSICAL MUSIC

Vocals – Sargis Bajbeuk-Melikyan and Marianna Martirosyan

Instrumental – Roman Namalyan (piano) and Arsen Zakaryan (clarinet)

President Sargsyan congratulated the Laureates and wished new achievements in their endeavors.

“I am very happy that today we meet and communicate on such a pleasure occasion, by properly assessing your value.

This work for already many years has been supported by respectful members of Poghoyan family. By using this chance, I want to once again express gratitude on behalf of all of us to them for jointly implementing this important work.

Creative work requires careful and consistent targeting of years. The combination of information, science, skills and experience can never be without consequences. Those are the firm grounds that bring creative flight.

I am confident that everyone who received this award has a unique history of his/her long-term efforts, search for truth, detecting mistakes and improving them.

Let this award firstly be the first page of success history for youth so that new awards and international recognition are not late", the President said.

Swiss historian Hans-Lukas Kieser said he is very excited since working alone for years he receives the Armenian President’s Award.

“Although in the 1980s I had a reference to Armenia, but I never visited here. Now I am in a country which greatly affected on my heart. My interest towards Armenia started from 1980s. My scientific research became as a contribution to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. My work is not political, I did it as a historian. There is no study of any genocide, without a reference to the Armenian Genocide”, the Swiss historian said, adding that he sees small prospect for normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations in future.

Bagrat Estukian, editor of Armenian section of Agos daily, said there are more facilities for Armenians to work in Turkey, rather than in US or France.

“People congratulate and say we work in difficult conditions, it is a heroism, and at that moment I thought whether our conditions are very difficult than that of the American-Armenians and French-Armenians. We are not working in difficult conditions, just there are anti-Armenian governments around us for over 100 years, and that anti-Armenian policy is aimed at poisoning the people, and of course, it has an impact on some part of people. Don’t worry, we are in our country, we are in Western Armenia”, Bagrat Estukian told reporters.