Month: April 2007

ABOUT ONE BILLION DOLLARS NEEDED FOR CONSTRUCTION OF IRAN-ARMENIA RAILWAY

Noyan Tapan
Apr 04 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 4, NOYAN TAPAN. An investment of about one billion
dollars needs to be made for construction of the Iran-Armenia
railway. The RA Minister of Transport and Communication Andranik
Manukian told reporters that they are seeking investors for the
program’s implementation. According to the minister, thanks to this
program Armenia will have a direct link with Iran and countries of the
Middle East, thus becoming a transit country. Basides, the new railway
will be an alternative to the Kars-Akhalkalak railway to be built.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CBA CHAIRMAN ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO QUALITY RATHER THAN QUANTITY OF CREDITS

Noyan Tapan
Apr 04 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 4, NOYAN TAPAN. Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia
(CBA) Tigran Sargsian is not worried by the fact that acoording
to a report of Fitch Rating company, Armenia is in the last place
in the world by the ratio of crediting to GDP. Responding to NT
correspondent’s question, he said that "the quality rather than
quantity of credits is important."

In his words, the quality of credits provided in the Armenian banking
system is much higher than, for example, "in neighboring countries
because our approach to classification of credits is much stricter."

In the opinion of T. Sargsian, "if our rules of crediting are
introduced in neighboring countries, the amount of their credit
investments will sharply decline." And vice versa, "if we change our
methods of credit investment calculation and use methods of neighboring
countries, the amount of our credits will increase. But we consciously
do not follow this path."

To recap, in 2006 the crediting/GDP ratio made 9.2% in Armenia, 12.4%
in Azerbaijan, and 20.6% in Georgia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJANI SOLDIER SAMIR MAMEDOV CONTINUES REFUSING TO RETURN TO AZERBAIJAN

Arminfo
2007-04-04 17:40:00

Azerbaijan soldier Samir Mamedov continues refusing to return
to Azerbaijan, the leader of the working group of Armenian state
Commission on captives, hostages and lost people’s problems, Armen
Kasprielyan told ArmInfo correspondent.

Â"Samir Mamedov’s position still remains the same – he does not want
return" , Kaprielyan said adding that Samir Mamedov’s state is normal:
"It would not be in another way".

To recall, Samir Mamedov willingly came to the Armenian side on 24
December of the last year. At present he is in one of the prisons of
Justice ministry of Armenia. As Azerbaijani mass media inform today,
Mamedov’s relatives applied to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev with
a request to assist in Samir Mamedov’s returning. Let’s also recall
that according to the attitude towards the former captives practiced
in Azerbaijan, Samir Mamedov may find himself in the prison for many
years when returning to its native land.

–Boundary_(ID_jSFkek+6HWROQKrfbAQJog)–

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT VISITS WOUNDED MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR OF GYUMRI

Arminfo
2007-04-04 17:34:00

Today Armenian President Robert Kocharyan visited the wounded mayor
and vice mayor of Gyumri Vardan Ghoukassyan and Gagik Manukyan.

The doctors say that Ghoukassyan and Manukyan will recover. Tomorrow,
Manukyan will be transferred from the reanimation department to an
ordinary ward.

Ghoukassyan will undergo one more surgery in some 2-3 months.

To remind, Ghoukassyan, Manukyan and their men were attacked on Apr
2 while going from Yerevan to Gyumri. Three bodyguards and one driver
were killed.

The attackers were in a gray Jeep without numbers. Investigation
is underway.

VICE SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT: FORMER DEPUTY DM ARTUR AGABEKYAN IS REAL CANDIDATE FOR DEFENSE MINISTER

Arminfo
2007-04-04 17:28:00

The former deputy defense minister Artur Agabekyan is a real candidate
for Defense Minister of Armenia, the vice speaker of the Armenian
parliament, ARFD member Vahan Hovhannissyan said in an interview
to ArmInfo.

There are lots of rumors about possible candidate for Defense Minister.

People always rumor but there are real candidates. The post should
be given to a person who knows the army well, to a reformer. Artur
Agabekyan was one of the authors of the reforms carried out in the
army in the last years, Hovhannissyan said.

To remind, Artur Agabekyan resigned from the office before joining
ARFD.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HE IS MY SWEETHEART: WANGUI SPEAKS OF HER LOVE FOR ARTUR MARGARYAN, PLANNED FAIRY TALE WEDDING AND DECLARES…
By Mwangi Maina

Kenya Times, Kenya
April 5 2007

THE daughter of renowned Narc activist, Mary Wambui yesterday broke
her long silence over her association with the two deported Armenian
brothers and disclosed that she would soon be wedding one of them.

Winnie Wangui, who also said she was a business associate of the two
Armenian brothers, Artur Sargasyan and Artur Margaryan now wants the
government to clear the duo of any wrong-doing in order to enable
her marry her sweetheart, Artur Margaryan.

And Winnie, who has maintained a lengthy silence over the controversial
Armenians, once described by Lang’ata MP Raila Odinga as mercenaries,
believes her wedding with Margaryan would be the biggest ever in
the country.

"It is going to be a grand wedding that would set a precedent.

Everything is in top gear," said Winnie, who has long been associated
with a prominent political family in the country.

During her heydays as a senior Under Secretary in the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Winnie was one of the officers described as
untouchable and whose word would influence proceedings in the corridors
of power.

Speaking on a local radio talk-show, Wangui said she has been in close
contact with Margaryan since his deportation, adding that they have
been meeting in undisclosed locations.

She defended the alleged Armenian brothers against accusations of
involvement in criminal activities in the country, saying they were
honest businessmen with whom she had business contacts through her
Kensington company, and who were wrongfully hounded out of the country.

Asked about her relationship with President Mwai Kibaki and whether
he would attend the intended wedding, Wangui declined to comment
but instead sought to absolve the brothers from any wrong doing and
maintained that Margaryan was her boyfriend and that she knew him as
an honest and kind hearted man since meeting him in Dubai in early
2005 after being introduced to him and his brother by a family friend.

Winnie, speaking with nostalgia about her romantic escapades with
Margaryan whom she has been frequently meeting , implored on the
government to "accept the truth and reality that the Armenian duo
were not criminals and allow them back in the country."

She, however, refused to name the and place and dates of her meetings
with her lover and instead replied; "What I can tell you is that I
will have my name changed to Winnie Margaryan after the wedding."

But denied that she was expecting Margaryan’s baby, but added that
she was looking forward to the wedding and eventually spending her
life with him here in Kenya.

"There have been speculations that I am expectant. Those are pure
lies. The truth is that I have always desired to have children with
Margaryan. Not only is he a handsome and generous man, but is so caring
and romantic. I believe he will make a wonderful husband," said Winnie.

Wangui, who was under probe by the Kiruki Commission appointed by
the President last year to look into the Armenian brothers’s saga
said her efforts to have them represented by lawyer Oscar Avedi were
thwarted when the commission turned him away.

She described the period of the probe as one of the most trying moment
in her life her as friends deserted her and some even called her names
because of her association with the duo said to have been behind the
Standard Group raid and other high profile crimes during their stay
into he country.

‘But I have never known them to be criminals. These were honest and
shrewd business people. That is why I even attempted to stop their
deportation through a lawyer," Winnie said

The two burst into the national limelight in March last year after
Lang’ata MP Raila Odinga accused them of being "mercenaries" used by
the government to provide muscle for a raid on the Standard Group
offices within the City centre, an act widely condemned around
the world.

Margaryan and Sargasyan, whose real names are yet to be established,
are believed to have been members of an elite unit within the Czech
Army unit before being discharged disgracefully.

The brothers denied the claims, saying they were respectable
businessmen wanting to invest in Kenya but they became virtual
celebrities in following months, being seldom out of cartoons and
gossip columns, and leading a swaggering life-style that included
parties, luxury cars, flashy jewellery and trademark sunglasses.

The saga took a fresh twist with their dramatic deportation in early
June last year after a scuffle at the Jomo Kenyatta International
airport where they were said to have brandished guns at custom
officials.

The fracas and their subsequent deportation led to the suspension of
then CID director Joseph Kamau, Winnie Wangui, Edward Kiptoo Mutai
(Security official, KAA), Paul Latoya , (Protocol officer, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs), James Gitonga (Immigration Officer 1), and Police
officers – Stephen Kipruto Tumbo, Josephat Gikonyo, Daniel Maithya,
Evelyn Owon and James Kimihu – Kenya Airports Police Unit (KAPU).

Police, who raided their posh Runda estate on the same day the brothers
were deported recovered a stash of 500,000 US dollars (approximately
Sh36 million) in their Runda residence.

Consequently, unfolding evidence presented at the Kiruki Commission
proceedings also indicated that the Artur brothers, operating under
Kensington International Company, could have defrauded the government
of Sh116 million in unpaid duty for several containers packed with
electronic goods they had imported through the port of Mombasa.

Emerging details further indicated that the Armenian brothers were
carrying a paltry 100 US dollars in their pockets at the time of their
deportation though the subsequent search of their residence by police
revealed they had 500,000 US dollars stashed away.

Evidence collected by police further pointed to the possible
involvement of the Armenian duo in the KTN/ Standard raid, with
balacavas, jackets of the elite Quick Response Team (QRT). A map of
the I&M building which houses the raided media house was also found
in their palatial house.

In constituting the Kiruki commission, President Kibaki categorically
denied any involvement of the first family in the saga or relations
with Wangui or her mother.

He said: "No member of my family has had any dealings with the
said foreigners…I am, therefore, demanding that the newspaper
should apologize to me and my family for the blatant lies." Two
lesser-known brothers were also deported. "The matter of their stay
and transactions in Kenya is the subject of investigations," Kibaki
added. Fuelling concern at what they were doing, police said guns,
machetes and bulletproof vests were recovered at the Armenians’ home.

To date, the government has remained mum on the recommendations by
the Kiruki Commission.

Winnie’s latest revelations is likely to create a new dimension to
the Artur brothers saga whose presence in the country caused anxiety,
tension and dismissal of some high ranking government personalities.

It was due to their activities in the country that led to the alleged
sour relations between Police Commissioner Major General Hussein
Ali and immediate director of the Criminal Investigations Department
(CID) Joseph Kamau.

Soon after their deportation, it was reported in some quarters that
intelligence sources had warned the government about the Arturs’
activities in the third week of March 2006, a whole three months
before they infamously drew pistols on police and Customs officers
at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, as they made nonsense of
security requirement that entails declaration of, and inspection of
luggage being brought into the country, setting the stage for their
deportation on 11th May 2006.

Intelligence sources quoted by the reports had described Brothers Artur
as "dangerous individuals ready to kill for the sake of money,"… and
continues: "In view of the foregoing, Margaryan and Sargasyan are
international criminals who have excelled in organized criminal
activities. They are knowledgeable in mercenary acts, gun-running
and drug trafficking."

Equally puzzling were revelations that the Armenian duo, knew former
drug baron, the late Ibrahim Akasha and that during their stay in
the country, they frequented certain security quarters where the Sh
6.4 billlion cocaine had been stored before the haul was destroyed.

Our investigations sometimes last year established that the Arturs,
may have been international criminals who had succeeded in infiltrating
influential families, prominent government personalities and senior
security officers.

It was also established that Margaryan was introduced to Narc activist
Mary Wambui in 2005 by "a long time friend of the Armenians" and high
flying city tycoon who reportedly together with Ms Wambui took care
of the Arturs during their stay in the country.

story/topstry.html

CHRISTIANS IN HOLY LAND PREPARE FOR WHAT THEY EXPECT WILL BE CROWDED EASTER

International Herald Tribune, France
April 4 2007

JERUSALEM: Thousands of pilgrims snatched up souvenir crosses, awed at
Jerusalem’s historic churches and retraced Jesus’ last footsteps as
they celebrated Easter week Wednesday at the biblical site of Jesus’
crucifixion and rebirth.

A decrease in Palestinian-Israeli violence and the overlap of Christian
calendars brought a rare wave of Christian visitors to the Old City.

"This is the high point" of our trip, said Herlind Vermeulen of
Belgium, who timed her wedding to her new husband Wim for the early
spring so they could spend Easter week honeymooning in Jerusalem.

Tourists had virtually disappeared from Jerusalem when Palestinian
suicide bombers began targeting the city after fighting between Israel
and the Palestinians broke out in September of 2000. In recent years,
however, their has been a marked drop in attacks here, and tourists
have slowly returned to the Old City, which holds most of the city’s
holy sites.

Thousands of pilgrims kicked off Easter week celebrations with a
Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives to the Old City,
retracing Jesus’ triumphant return to the city. On Friday, they will
mark Jesus’ procession to the crucifixion and on Sunday, they will
celebrate Easter, marking Jesus’ rebirth.

The crowds were also larger than usual as five different Christian
sects – with their different calendars – celebrated the Easter week
festivities on the same days for the first time in four years.

Taking a rest in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where some
sects believe Jesus was buried, Parisians Giullame and Anne-Marie
Blaise said the Old City seemed more crowded than on any of their
five visits since 1963.

Due to the influx, officials established a strict schedules for each
denomination to conduct religious ceremonies inside the Old City,
said Athanasius Macora, a Franciscan Priest based in Jerusalem. The
different sects have occasionally come to blows during disagreements
over access to holy sites in the city.

Among the beneficiaries of the calendar was Said Samakiyan, 49,
of Jerusalem, whose family typically cannot celebrate Easter on
the same day. He and his mother are members of the Assyrian Church,
while his father is an Armenian Catholic, his wife is Greek Orthodox
and his children are Roman Catholics, he said.

Thousands of Palestinian Christians from nearly Bethlehem also come
to Jerusalem during Easter week.

Inaam Qumseyh, visiting with her daughter-in-law, said she was
lucky to receive one of the visitor permits the Israeli government
distributed to Bethlehem churches. Two of her sons, aged 30 and 32,
were not so fortunate, she said.

Meanwhile, shopkeepers – known as a pessimistic lot – insisted they
had the fewest customers in years and said only a turn in political
fortunes would bring the crowds back.

"When there is peace the tourists will come," shopkeeper John Attieh
said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ONE FOOTSTEP FOR EVERY FIVE DEAD

Imprint, Canada
University of Waterloo
April 4 2007

UW Genocide Action Group (GAG) held its third annual "Footsteps of
Death" walk for Darfur on Wednesday, March 28 from 2:00p.m.-7:30p.m.

With each foot walked representing about five people killed in Sudan,
students repeatedly lapped around Ring Road, totalling 23 km.

Christopher Tuckwood, president of UWGAG, started the event in 2005
after hearing discusstion about the situation in Darfur, which inspired
him to create "Footsteps of Death."

After doing some simple math, Tuckwood decided to walk nine laps of
Ring Road to raise awareness – one foot for every death in Darfur by
2005, an amount which has multiplied by over five times since then.

In response to criticisms regarding the timing of the event, he
maintains that it is better at the busy end of term than during the
bitter cold of winter.

Tuckwood ran the fledgling event on his own for the first year as UWGAG
had yet to be formed, and the walk functioned solely as an awareness
raiser. Last year Tuckwood realized the potential to fundraise with
the event, with this year’s walk raising a total of $2,500.

All funds raised through the event will go to Oxfam’s Canadian Students
for Darfur Appeal. Tuckwood and UWGAG chose this organization due to
Oxfam’s reputability and the fact that the organization guarantees
100 per cent of the proceeds, minus minimal banking fees, will go
directly to humanitarian aid in Darfur.

Tuckwood advocates donating money as "hunger is as much a weapon
being used against the people of Darfur as weapons or bombs."

Since the inception of UWGAG, its membership – as well as surport
for the walk – has been increasing.

In the fall UWGAG held a conference for Darfur which received 140
attendees. Earlier this month, they hosted a benefit concert with an
attendance of over 200 people. UWGAG are also selling black T-shirts
with "DARFUR" written across the chest in bold green letters for $10
to increase publicity and raise funds.

According to Tuckwood, UWGAG’s aim is to "take history and relate it to
today." They’ve attempted to do so through screenings of movies like
The Pianist and Hotel Rwanda, which feature premises that closely
relate to the situation in Darfur. Although the group is intended
to spread awareness about genocide, its focus is on Darfur because
"that’s what’s happening now."

When asked about what he believes to be the major hindrance to
international involvement in Darfur, Tuckwood emphasized China’s
influence as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and its
interests in Darfur, which he concedes "get harped on a lot." Sudan
gets a percentage of its national income from China’s purchases
of their oil; in turn, 70 per cent of this goes into the Sudanese
military which helps perpetrate the current genocide.

Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir has continually resisted the
deployment of UN peacekeeping troops to Darfur with the argument that
they must be more pre-dominantly African. However, there are already
African Union forces in Darfur which are not achieving much success as
they are "undermanned, underequipped, underfunded, and undertrained,"
to use Tuckwood’s words for a seemingly general consensus.

Tuckwood advocates that there is need for more western involvement in
Darfur; otherwise the same problems of improperly trained forces will
persist. He believes that the "world community must act together"
and has a "moral responsibility" to intervene. He also propounds
that military intervention is "absolutely the only thing that ends
genocide" because it is impossible to reason with people committed
to killing others, citing the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, and
the Cambodian genocide as historical examples where violence was the
only action capable of ending the conflict.

Media coverage of the Darfur genocide has been limited, so Tuckwood
urges students to contact the media and inform them that they want
more news on Darfur. UWGAG checked the KW Record’s archives and
discovered that while 7,000 articles have been written on Iraq in the
past year and 3,000 on the Israel/Palestine conflict, they have only
printed 301 on Darfur. Meanwhile, 317 articles have been published
on Britney Spears. The Record declined to comment on this discovery
but did print UWGAG’s letter to the editor regarding this information.

Those who wish to be notified about future UWGAG events can e-mail
them at [email protected].

dex.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13 29&Itemid=55&issuedate=2007-03-30

NEW ARMENIA’S PRIME MINISTER NAMED

Pravda, Russia
April 4 2007

After Andranik Margarian died, Serzh Sarkisian was named Armenia’s
prime minister.

Sarkisian, 52, will serve as head of the Armenian government only
until the May 12 parliamentary elections, which his Republican Party
is widely expected to win.

Serzh Sarkisian was named Armenia’s prime minister

Margarian, 55, who died of heart failure on March 25, had served as
prime minister since the politically tense period that followed an
October 1999 armed attack on parliament that killed eight politicians,
including Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian, who is not related to the
defense minister.

Under the Armenian political system, the prime minister has mostly
executive powers and is a much less powerful figure than the president.

SARKISYAN APPOINTED NEW ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 4 2007

YEREVAN, April 4 (Itar-Tass) — Armenian Defence Minister Serzh
Sarkisyan has been appointed the new prime minister, according to a
presidential decree released on Wednesday.

The post has been vacant since March 25 when Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan, the head of the Republican Party, died from heart failure.

He had held office since May 12, 2000.

On March 26, the president accepted the resignation of the government
and instructed its ministers to continue to carry on until a new
government is formed.

Sarkisyan, 53, was appointed defence minister in May 2000. Prior to
that, since November 1999, he was National Security Council secretary.

He has been the chairman of the Republican Party Board since July 2006.

Under the Constitution, the government has to be formed within 20
days of the appointment of the prime minister.