Month: March 2007

Armenian MPs to visit the Federal Council of Russia

ArmRadio.am
24.03.2007 12:30

The sitting of the Interparliamentary Commission between the Federal
Council of the Russian Federation and the National Assembly of Armenia
will he led on March 26 in Moscow.

RA NA Vice-Speaker, Co-Chair of the Interparliamentary Assembly Vahan
Hovhannisyan and Chairman of the Federal council Committee on Natural
Monopolies, Co-Chair of the Interparliamentary Commission Nikolay
Rizhkov will participate in the sitting, REGIONS.RU reports. The
sitting will be followed by the joint press conference of the
Co-Chairs of the Commission.

Ruben Safrastyan: Armenian diplomacy should exert every effort to reveal the
recurrent Turkish deceit

24.03.2007 13:13
Marlena Hovsepyan
"Radiolur"

Of course, we welcome that Turkey has decided to reconstruct one of
the Armenian historical-cultural monuments situated within its today’s
borders, Director of the Oriental Studies Institute of RA National
academy of Sciences Ruben Safrastyan said in an interview with
`Radiolur’ correspondent. However, there are several circumstances,
which do not let us believe in the sincerity of the Turkish
authorities. `An evidence of this is the unwillingness to put a cross
on the church, therefore the fact that Holy Cross will not operate as
a church. These facts make us conclude that what Turkey is doing is
propaganda,’ he says.

The choice of time for this propaganda is also important. Let’s not
forget teat the Turks intended to reopen the reconstructed church on
April 24. It was a means to consign to oblivion the Armenian Genocide
and to show that they are making an attempt to reconcile with the
Armenian people. But this suggestion, according to Ruben Safrastyan,
included a great cynicism, and it’s not accidental that the Armenian
Patriarch of Istanbul refused to participate in it.

It’s worth mentioning that this very fact made the Turkish authorities
reschedule the opening ceremony. One should bear in mind that the
resolution condemning the negation of the Armenian Genocide is on the
agenda of the US House of Representatives, and Turks are applying
every means to create the vision that the recognize the historic
truth. This is one of the attempts to hinder the process of the
Armenian Genocide recognition.

‘If Turks really intend to improve the Armenian-Turkish relations
through opening the church as they try to present it to the world,
they should first open the Armenian-Turkish border at least for two
days for the Armenian delegation to reach Van without obstacles,’ says
Ruben Safrastyan. According to him, it means that the Turkish
Government actually upholds the policy of pressure on Armenians,
keeping the border closed and refusing to establish diplomatic
relations.

Could official Yerevan mediate and demand to put the cross and
reconstruct the Holy Cross as church and not as a historical-cultural
monument? `It’s not the problem of only our country, but also all
Armenians,’ the Director of the Oriental Studies Institute says.

Nevertheless, the speaker does not think Armenia could exert real
pressure on the Turkish Government. But on the other hand, it would be
better to have a stiffer policy on forming a correct public
opinion. That means that all the lapses of the Turkish side had to be
displayed to the world.

The other day Eddie O’Hara Rapporteur on the Cultural Heritage in the
South Caucasus for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) welcomed the reopening of the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross
on Akhtamar Island. The official expressed the hope that
representatives of the Armenian Government would have the opportunity
to attend the opening ceremony. `This also proves that Turkey has hit
its target,’ says Ruben Safrastyan.

In his words, our diplomacy should exert every effort to reveal the
recurrent Turkish deceit.

Panorama.am

20:01 23/03/2007

NEW PRISON BUILT IN VANADZOR

A new prison facility will be functional in Vanadzor. The
construction started in 2005 with a total cost of 1. 254. 505. 300
Armenian drams. Ashot Martirosyan, prison department head at the
ministry of justice, said `prison conditions are compatible with the
European standards.’ He said this is the best prison in Armenia.

Each prisoner will occupy a space of 4 and more sq/meters. All the
cells are furnished. Utility facilities are separated from the living
space. The prison will have a shop, laundry house, medical clinic,
centralized heating system and a comfortable sports yard.

Today Davit Harutunyan, Armenian justice minister, visited Vanadzor
prison. Speaking to reporters, the minister underscored improvement of
prison conditions.

Source: Panorama.am

Armenian nuclear power plant to stop for refuelling in October

Arminfo
24 Mar 07

Yerevan, 23 March: The Armenian nuclear power plant will be stopped
for annual maintenance and refuelling for 45 days on 1 October 2007,
the plant’s director, Gagik Markosyan, has said.

He said that a number of measures to increase the safety of the plant
would be carried out during the maintenance period. IAEA
[International Atomic Energy Agency] specialists monitor the plant’s
radiation safety every quarter, Markosyan said. He said that the term
of the plant’s financial management by the [Russian] Inter RAO UES
would end in September 2008. "I don’t think the plant will have
financial problems if the Russians refuse the further financial
management of the plant. The plant is capable of acquiring nuclear
fuel for refuelling," Markosyan said. The plan has been buying nuclear
fuel at its own expense for the past two years and has not received
loans for this purpose, he added.

Every year, the Armenian nuclear power plant processes 90-100 fuel
cassettes and buys the same amount.

[Passage omitted: The financial management of the Armenian nuclear
plant was handed to the Inter RAO UES, an affiliate of the Unified
Energy Systems of Russia, in September 2003]

Armenian poll to test quality of ties with Europe – EU official

Arminfo
23 Mar 07

Yerevan, 23 March: The EU envoy to the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby,
cons iders that the forthcoming parliamentary election in Armenia ar
every important. Semneby said this at a meeting with journalists
following his meeting with Nagornyy Karabakh president Arkadi
Ghukasyan.

Recalling that that this election will be the first after Armenia’s
inclusion in Europe’s new neighbourhood policy and the beginning of
the implementation of the action plan, Semneby said: "This election
will be a test of the quality of our relations and of how Armenia will
treat mutual obligations in future." He added that numerous observers
from European organizations would attend the election. In Semneby’s
view, the presence of a large number of observers from Europe is also
a signal for Armenia, proving the importance of this election for
Europe.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Storyville: Screamers 10.30pm BBC4

PCo, The Independent – United Kingdom
Published: Mar 24, 2007

An unusual film by Carla Garapedian, exploring the denial of genocide in the
last century through the eyes of the Armenian heavy-metal band System of a
Down. Theirs is a more informed view of politics than most metal bands, as
three of their members are descended from genocide survivors.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

0328a.html

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION

Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Time: 11:45 AM
Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Biden

The Committee will consider and vote on the
following agenda items and nominees:

Nominees:
1. Ms. Katherine J. Almquist
To be Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Agency for
International Development for Africa
2. Mr. Paul J. Bonicelli
To be Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Agency for
International Development for Latin America and
the Caribbean
3. Mr. Curtis S. Chin
To be U.S. Director of the Asian Development Bank
with the rank of Ambassador
4. Mr. Eli Whitney Debevoise, II,
To be U.S. Executive Director of the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development
5. Mr. Sam Fox
To be Ambassador to Belgium
6. The Honorable Zalmay Khalilzad
To be Representative to the United Nations, with the
rank and status of Ambassador, and the representative
in the Security Council of the United Nations, and to
be Representative to the Sessions of the General
Assembly of the United Nations during his tenure of
service as Representative to the United Nations
7. The Honorable Margrethe Lundsager
To be U.S. Executive Director of the International
Monetary Fund
8. The Honorable Edward Douglas Menarchik
To be Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Agency for
International Development for Europe and Eurasia
Legislation
9. S. 193, A bill to increase cooperation on energy issues
between the United States Government and foreign
governments and entities in order to secure the
strategic and economic interests of the United States,
and for other purposes.
10. S. 613, To enhance the overseas stabilization and
reconstruction capabilities of the United States
Government, and for other purposes.
11. H.R. 1003, To amend the Foreign Affairs Reform
and Restructuring Act of 1998 to reauthorize the
United States Advisory Commission on Public
Diplomacy.
12. S. Res. 30, A resolution expressing the sense of the
Senate regarding the need for the United States to
address global climate change through the negotiation
of fair and effective international commitments.
13. S. Res. 65, Condemning the murder of Turkish-
Armenian journalist and human rights advocate Hrant
Dink and urging the people of Turkey to honor his
legacy of tolerance, with an amendment in the nature
of a substitute, and with a amendment to the preamble.
14. S. Res. 76, A resolution calling on the United States
Government and the international community to
promptly develop, fund, and implement a
comprehensive regional strategy in Africa to protect
civilians, facilitate humanitarian operations, contain
and reduce violence, and contribute to conditions for
sustainable peace in eastern Chad, the Central African
Republic, and Darfur, Sudan.
+Additional Items May Be Added…

Pre-election public debates started

24-03-2007 12:48:46 – KarabakhOpen

Public debates have started in Karabakh as the presidential election
is drawing nearer. Meanwhile, the political forces have not named
candidates, and discussion goes on in the media mainly, by separate
people. KarabakhOpen became the main forum where these debates go
on. Over the past few days, our newspaper has published the opinions
of a number of people on various aspects of the election.

The main topics of the discussion are the possible candidates, the
usefulness of an alternative, opposition opinion, as well as the
relation of the presidential election in Karabakh to the outcome of
the Armenian parliamentary election. Interesting opinions are heard
during the debates. The impression is that Karabakh is trying to
revaluate the past 15 years from the point of view of democracy and
real independence. It is mentioned frequently that Armenia cannot
interfere with the election in Karabakh. Both the pro-government and
opposition figures talk about it. It is true that the nuances are
different. However, everyone says it is time to stop turning to
Yerevan for every issue and to solve our problems ourselves. Although
almost everyone admits that the opinion of Kocharyan is important.

The second topic is the alternative opinion. The previous presidential
elections in Karabakh were highly predictable. It would not be true to
say that the elections were falsified, but the voters did not have a
choice because there was always a favorite among the candidates. Now
the situation is different. There is no favorite but there is an
alternative opinion. And it is difficult for people to orient in this
situation which is new to them, Discussions go on.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Government provides loans to hotel businesses

24-03-2007 12:36:36 – KarabakhOpen

This year a few businesses have applied for hotel business loans, said
Armen Avagyan, the director of Artsakh Agency for Development, in an
interview with KarabakhOpen. The agency approved the applications,
which will be financed by Artsakhbank.

Armen Avagyan says last year the government allocated 106 million
drams for loaning businesses providing services, including 50 million
for hotel business and 6 million for business support.

Tourism is a priority, said the director of the Agency. `Last year we
financed 5 business projects on development of hotels,’ said Armen
Avagyan.

According to the National Statistics Service, 3294 tourists from over
50 countries visited Karabakh in 2006. The number of tourists dropped
by 426 or 11.5 percent compared with 2005. 1118 tourists, or 33.9
percent arrived from the United States, 463 or 14.1 percent arrived
from France, 267 or 8.1 percent from Canada.

In 2006, there were 8 hotels admitting 219 people in the country. 6
hotels admitting 175 people were in Stepanakert.

Ghukasyan met Semneby again

24-03-2007 12:34:09 – KarabakhOpen

On March 23 NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan met with Peter Semneby, the
EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, we learned from the
Permanent Representation of NKR to Armenia. During the meeting the
current stage of settlement of the Karabakh conflict was discussed.

Arkady Ghukasyan reasserted the stance of NKR that it is impossible to
reach a lasting settlement without involvement of NKR in the talks and
creation of an atmosphere of confidence between the sides.

Peter Semneby expressed readiness on behalf of the EU to make more
efforts to help the sides reach a solution based on a compromise, as
well as overcome the consequences of the conflict.

The sides underlined the importance of direct contact between the EU
and Karabakh. Peter Semneby touched upon the projects that will
possibly be implemented by the EU in Karabakh. Agreement was reached
to study the projects thoroughly during the upcoming visit of Peter
Semneby to Artsakh.