Month: October 2006

RA PRIME MINISTER WELCOMES ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL LEAGUE OF HUMAN DIGNITY AND SECURITY PROTECTION IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Oct 23 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Prime Minister Andranik Margarian
receiving RF State Duma Deputy, Chairman of the International League
of Human Dignity and Security Protection, army General Valentin
Varennikov and the delegation led by him on October 23, welcomed
establishment of National League of Human Dignity and Security
in Armenia. A.Margarian said that there are some problems that, in
addition to state structures, require wide involvement of NGOs in the
issue of their solution. He assured that RA government will support
the newly founded National League as far as possible. V.Varennikov
also greeted creation of such national organizations mentioning that
they are realized by the dictate of time and have a great role to
play in the issue of protection if dignity and security in their
countries. He emphasized that in the modern world full of dangers
and challenges threatening to all countries, consolidation of forces
and efforts is needed for fighting them efficiently. In his words,
NGOs should create a firm basis for making efficient decisions by
state structures. As NT was informed from RA government Information
and Public Relations Department, V.Varennikov informed A.Margarian
that within the framework of the delegation’s visit, an agreement on
Armenian newly created National League’s joining the International
League of Human Dignity and Security Protection will be signed.

FAMOUS BRITISH JOURNALIST NAMES THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE "THE FIRST HOLOCAUST"

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Oct 23 2006

LONDON, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On October 14th
renowned British journalist Robert Fisk talked at the Maria Assumpta
hall in London Kensington on the issue of what he refers to as the
Armenian ‘Holocaust.’ Robert Fisk is the Middle East correspondent
for the British newspaper The Independent. Organised and hosted by the
Campaign for the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide (CRAG) a British
based lobby group, Mr Fisk, whose most recent book The Great War For
Civilisation, includes a chapter entitled ‘The First Holocaust’ was
invited to present his experiences and thoughts concerning Armenian
Genocide recognition, and its wider implications. Mr Fisk presented
his long-years activity on the issue, including his discovery of an
Armenian mass grave in Syria, his deportation from Turkey in the
early nineties and his numerous trips to collect testimonies from
the Armenians of Beirut. He spoke passionately about the need for
recognition and of said recognition’s importance as a prerequisite
for Turkish entry into the EU. Talking in the wider Middle Eastern
context, Mr Fisk highlighted the Armenian Genocide as another case
of the failure of western governments in pursuing justice in a
region so bereft of it. The veteran reporter criticised the British
and American governments for denying the existence of something he
believes requires no proof. The Armenian Genocide is self-evident and
Fisk remains exceptionally critical of the immoral and hypocritical
policy towards the issue. Fisk’s latest book, The Great War for
Civilisation, is soon to be published in Turkey, where the publishing
house has forewarned him that charges might be brought against him
under the infamous article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. Mr Fisk
told the primarily Armenian audience at Maria Assumpta that he would
consider it an honour to stand in the Turkish dock and defend his
writings. He said he was keen to point out that he does this, not out
of any pro-Armenian sentiment, his motives were a want to defend and
uncover the historical truth.

BELARUS INTERESTED IN ARMENIA’S MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE PROGRAM

Noyan Tapan
Oct 23 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. A tete-a-tete talk took place
between the Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian and his
Belarusian counterpart Sergei Sidorski at the Armenian government
on October 23, after which the negotiations continued in an extended
staff. Expressing his satisfaction with the current level of mutual
trust and relations between the two countries, A. Margarian said that
both the practical and warm personal relations between the Armenian
and Belarusian presidents have greatly contributed to it. In his
words, a stable legal and contractual basis has been created for
the Armenian-Belarusian cooperation, with nearly 40 agreements and
treaties being signed. During the talk, the two prime ministers
discussed in detail the current state and development prospects of
the bilateral economic cooperation. They noted with satisfaction
that the commodity turnover has grown 6.4fold in the 5-year period
between the two visits of the Armenian prime minister to Belarus. This
was promoted by the efficient activities of the Armenian-Belarusian
intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation. At
the same time, A. Margarian and S. Sidorski underlined that despite
the high growth rates of the commodity turnover, its current volume
does not correspond to the existing potential and opportunities of
the two countries. The prime ministers expressed confidence that the
economic cooperation can be considerably promoted through cooperation
at the level of local self-government bodies of Armenian and Belarusian
regions through the establishment of direct links. They also spoke in
favor of signing bilateral documents with this aim. A. Margarian and
S. Sidorski pointed out that today several regions and cities from
both sides have been involved in this process: in 2004, a cooperation
agreement was signed between the Armenian marz (province) of Syunik
and the Minsk region (Belarus), while within the framework of this
visit, an agreement will be signed between the city of Kajaran (Syunik
marz) and the city of Zhodino (Minsk region). The sides indicated the
establishment of joint ventures as an important factor for promoting
the economic cooperation between the two countries. Noting that 18
Armenian-Belarusian joint ventures are currently registered in Armenia,
A. Margarian spoke about considerable opportunities of cooperation in
this respect. The two prime ministers expressed their satisfaction
over efficient cooperation in military, military-technical and
cultural spheres, and the cooperation between the RA Police and the
Ministry of Interior Affairs of Belarus. They attached importance
to development of cooperation in IT, pharmaceutical, agricultural,
energy, jewelry making and some other sectors, for which purpose
businessmen from the above mentioned sectors, who are interested
in establishing partrnership relations, are included in official
delegations during mutual visits. During the meeting in an extended
staff, the sides discussed the opportunities to increase the export
of some Armenian goods in the bilateral trade, including the opening
of an Armenian firm shop in Minsk for this purpose, as well as
opportunities of organizing an exhibition of Armenian products in
Belarus and creating a center on assembly and servicing of agricultural
machines in Armenia. S. Sidorski said that his country takes interest
in Armenia’s Millennium Challenge Program aimed at rural poverty
reduction and intends to participate in international competitions
to be announced for implementation of this program, thus trying to
be useful for Armenia by its capacities and experience related to
development of agriculture and infrastructures. According to the RA
Government Information and PR Department, the ceremony of signing
joint documents took place on the same day.

MEMORANDUM SIGNED ON ARMENIAN-BELARUSIAN COOPERATION IN HIGH AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES SECTORS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 23 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. A memorandum on the
Armenian-Belarusian cooperation in the high and information
technologies sectors was signed on October 23 during the visit of the
delegation headed by the Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorski to
Armenia. Aram Vardanian, Director of the company Viasphere Technopark,
said during a talk with reporters that formerly Armenia cooperated
with several Russian high-tech and IT companies and with Intergral
(Minsk). In his words, there are many directions in the sector that can
be developed jointly, by using the existing potential. Particularly,
the matter concerns the organization of a big joint production with the
use of singe-crystal silicon technologies, especially as this product
is in great demand on the international market. Valeri Tsepkalo,
Director of Belarus’ High Technologies Park, noted the existence of a
peculiar tax regime for creation of technoparks in Belarus. Besides,
there are many young specialists in the country: 26 thousand students
specialize in this field annually. By the way, there is one technopark
in Belarus, whereas in Armenia their number makes about 20.

AMBASSADOR OF RF TO ARMENIA IS IN SYUNIK ON WORKING VISIT

Noyan Tapan
Oct 23 2006

KAPAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Ambassador of RF to Armenia, Nikolay
Pavlov with a number of Embassy employees is in the Syunik region on a
three-day working visit. On October 23, they had a meeting with Syunik
Governor Surik Khachatrian. During their meeting with the Ambassador,
the representatives of the Rossiyane NGO operating in Kapan said that
no discrimination is shown to them and they rely on the regional
and local authorities, media in any issue, who, in their turn, do
everything possible to support the organization. At the meeting,
it was proposed contributing to reopening of Russian schools when
possible, though Kapan has some schools with classes of profound study
of Russian. N.Pavlov said that the main goal of his visit to Syunik
region is to get acquainted with the representatives of the regional
and local authorities, to observe the region’s potential and industrial
abilities on the spot. The Ambassador and the persons accompanying
him visited the Baghaburj Memorial Complex, laid wreathes to the
Memorial to the Earthquake Victims. Then they visited the Memorial
Complex of Perished Freedom-Fighters, laid flowers to the graves of
those who perished for the homeland, as well as to the Memorial to
those who perished in the Great Patriotic War. They will visit Meghri
on October 24.

DELEGATION HEADED BY V. OSKANIAN PARTICIPATES IN ALL-AMERICAN EVENT DEDICATED TO 15th ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIA’S INDEPENDENCE

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Oct 23 2006

WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The delegation
headed by the Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian on October
21 participated in the All-American festivity dedicated to the 15th
anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia. According
to a press release submitted to NT by the RA MFA Press and Information
Department, nearly 400 guests, including the heads of the Armenian
Church dioceses in the US, heads of the leading American Armenian
political, religious, cultural and charity organizations took part in
the soiree organized by the Armenian embassy in the US. The event was
attended by representatives of the organizations that have made their
contribution to the strengthening of Armenia’s independent statehood
such as the Armenian National Committee of America, the Armenian
General Benevolent Union, the Armenian Assembly of America, the
Armenian Evangelical Union of America, the Fund for Armenian Relief,
the Cafesjian Foundation. These organizations’ representatives
made warm welcomimg addresses. High-ranking officials from the
US administration, State Department and the Millennium Challenge
Agency were also present at the event. The Armenian Ambassador
to the US Tatul Margarian made am opening address. He spoke about
Armenia’s achievements in building statehood after the independence,
implementing political and economic reforms and unifying the Diaspora
around the state. Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
for European and Eurasian Affairs, US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group,
made a speech on behalf of the US administration. He touched upon the
prospects of the Armenian-US relations and registered the friendly
links between the two states and their close cooperation 0n issues of
mutual interest. Then the principal speaker, the RA Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian delivered a speech. Addressing the milestone events in
the history of the Armenian people’s creating its statehood, the tragic
history of the First Republic of Armenia, the creation of independent
Armenia after the Soviet period and the path it has passed since then,
Minister Oskanian underlined the responsibility of all the Armenians
for building Armenia as an independent, democratic and prosperous
state. He appreciated the close cooperation and unity of Armenia and
the Diaspora for solution of problems facing the independent statehood,
which is the best guarantee of the establishment and strengthening
of the Armenian statehood. While in Washington, V. Oskanian met with
leaders of some American Armenian organizations. On October 22 Minister
Oskanian left for Paris, where a meeting with the Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mamedyarov and the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
is scheduled for October 24.

RA NATIONAL ASSEMNBLY PASSES 11 PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED DRAFT LAWS AND RATIFIES 6 INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 23 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly on October
23 passed in first reading 11 draft laws and legislative packages,
which were discussed during the previous 4-day session. Among these are
the draft law on pension of a deputy and social protection of his/her
family members, the draft law on suspension of activity of users of
cash registers and the legislative package on military police. Voting
on the previously discussed legislative package on activity of security
guards was postponed at the suggestion of its authors. According to the
co-author, MA Vice Speaker Vahan Hovhannisian, the negotiations with
the authorized government body which presented a negative conclusion
about this legislative package have not finished yet. The parliament
also ratified 6 international agreements discussed during the previous
4-day session. Among these are the Convention on Corruption signed in
New York on October 31, 2003, and the Action Plan of the 2005-2009
Cooperation Program between the Armenian Government and the UNDP
signed in Yerevan on February 24, 2005. Under this action plan, the
UNDP will allocate about 25 million USD for the implementation of
the Cooperation Program Action PLan, with the Armenian government’s
participation amounting to 10% of this amount.

RA NA TAKES UP DISCUSSION OF AMENDMENTS TO ELECTORAL CODE IN FIRST READING

Noyan Tapan
Oct 24 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN. At the October 23 last plenary
sitting, the RA NA took up in the first reading discussion of
the package of amendments to the Electoral Code. It involves EC
amendments and additions consisting of 100 articles as well as
drafts envisaging additions to the RA Criminal Code and the law "On
Parties." Particularly, the amendments proposed for the Criminal Code
envisages to make stricter punishments for electoral falsifications
and breaks. The variant of the legislative package presented for
discussion was signed by representatives of all the factions and the
group, excluding the "Ardaroutiun" (Justice) and "Azgayin Miabanutiun"
(National Unity) factions.

"Ardaroutiun" recalled its signature still in late August and
stopped its participation in works of the working group formed from
representatives of all the NA factions and the group being engaged
in working out of the draft. The faction conditioned this decision
with refusal of its proposal considered primary one for itself to
form the parliament by 100% proportional electoral system. As the
Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed by Samvel Nikoyan, a member of
the RPA faction, main reporter of the draft at the NA, after giving
the draft complete appearance, the "Azgayin Miabanutiun" party also
refused to sign it 2 days ago, with the same reasoning. S.Nikoyan
presented only some amendments because of having little time fixed
for the report at the sitting. He, particularly, attached importance
to widening of confidants’ rights, clerifying the order of appeal
of votion results. Some innovations, including votion with envelops,
orders of counting votes, using movable ballot-boxes for ill people
were also touched upon. The deputy mentioned at the same time that the
authors expect that as a result of discussions at plenary sittings,
it will be possible to find mechanisms of making clear the difficult
process of votion as well as to reach agreement on some of those
principles on which it was not managed to form a joint viewpoint in
the working group. It especially relates to the political force’s
right to recall the member proposed by it in the electoral commission
as well as the possibility of video-recording at the polling station.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THEATRICAL FIGURES MARK TIGRAN LEVONIAN’S 70th BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY

Noyan Tapan
Oct 24 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN. The jubilee memorial event held
on October 23 at the Union of Theatrical Figures of Armenia was
dedicated to the 70th birthday anniversary of Tigran Levonian, a RA
People’s Artist, leading soloist and producer of the opera theater,
professor. In theatrical critic Haykaz Yeranosian’s words, the famous
artist was first on the stage with the part of Cavaradossi (Puccini
"Floria Tosca") and charmed extremely pedantic Armenian spectators
and his partners. Then Levonian’s art became crystallized role by
role, became clear and joined famous singers’ voice. Having been
the leading tenor for many years, he personified with great success
the best parts of the national and world repertoire: Saro, Tirith,
Herman, Edgar, Don Carlos, Othello, etc. "The prominent singer was
gifted also with an actor’s exclusive talent: emotional inner world,
pleasant appearance, clear speech articulation and, added to all these,
astonishing diligence," the speaker of the day emphasized. With all
these, however, a keen producer lived in T.Levonian’s deep essence what
is proved by about a dozen and a half of performances which he staged
at the Al.Spendiarian National Opera and Ballet State Academic Theater.

"Basis of Levonian’s producer work is music. Starting point of
the stage actions created by him and interpretation of characters
is music," H.Yeranosian emphasized. Performances of Donizetti’s
"Poliuto" and Tigranian’s "Anush" operas were among the greatest
creative achievements of the artist.

FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF RA CONSULATE’S ACTIVITY MARKED IN INDIA

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Oct 24 2006

MUMBAI, OCTOBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A number of events
dedicated to the first anniversary of the RA Consulate’s activity
took place on October 18 and 19 in the city of Mumbai, India. Noyan
Tapan was informed about it by the RA Foreign Ministry’s Press and
Information Department. During the main event held in the hall of the
"Taj President" hotel, Armen Bayburdian, the RA Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs, and Ashot Kocharian, the RA Ambassador to India,
expressed their high estimation on the occasion of the activity of
Harshad Mehta, the RA Honourary Consul in Mumbai, after what the
present level of the Armenian-Indian relations, mutual visits of
delegations of high-ranking officials and businessmen, possibilities
of implementation of envisaged programs and initiatives were touched
upon. Importance of works done during the year in the affair of
future promotion and widening of commercial-economic relations
was emphasized. Heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Mumbai,
diplomates, state officials, businessmen and entreprenuers participated
in the events. RA Deputy Foreign Minister A.Bayburdian and Ambassador
A.Kocharian had separate meetings with representatives of financial
and business circles of the state of Maharashtra. Details of possible
programs to be implemented with Armenia were discussed during the
meetings.