Month: May 2008

Panorama.am

16:51 02/05/2008

SHAKARYANC OFFERS, MAKE NKR A PART OF NEGOTIATIONS

`I see no threat of war,’ said politician Sergey
Shakaryanc in a meeting with the journalists.
According to him it is not realistic even if
Azerbaijan keeps talking about increasing its military
budget. The politician said that Azerbaijan should not
forget many elements such as Iran. `Besides many
countries just won’t let Azerbaijan start any military
activities in the region,’ he said.

According to the politician any military activity in
the region will have worse impacts on the Middle East
and Northern Caucasus.

`We should activate our diplomatic policy as it would
but support to the regulations,’ he said and added
that the recent document accepted by the NA is even
weak one.

According to the politician measures should be taken
which would be distinct to the ear of all world.
According to Shakaryanc the NKR should become a part
of the negotiations and Armenia could act as the
security guarantee of it.

Source: Panorama.am

Panorama.am

16:04 03/05/2008

TIME OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH…

Today the international day of freedom of speech is
being celebrated. The day was celebrated in the Union
of Journalists in Armenia also. `Time of Freedom of
Speech’ prize was prepared for the journalists.

The prize was awarded to Levon Barseghyan the
president of `Asparez’ club board for protecting the
rights of the journalists during the year. `We should
always fight for the freedom of speech. Freedom of
speech is a real value for me,’ said L. Barseghyan.
According to him the prize is valuable for him but he
also mentioned that for 20 years long he is protecting
the freedom of speech.

`Today the 42% of the world population lives in a
country which does not have freedom of speech, Armenia
is in the range of those countries. Hence, it is
important for us,’ said Boris Navasardyan, the
president of the Yerevan Press Club. According to him
both people and authorities have understood that.

Note that `Time of Freedom of Speech’ prize is awarded
by Yerevan Press Club, Journalists Union of Armenia,
`Internews’ NGO and Freedom of Speech Protection
Committee in 2006. Previous years Aram Abrahamyan and
Tigran Paskevishyan were awarded by the prize.

Source: Panorama.am

Panorama.am

16:37 02/05/2008

ARMENIAN APSOTOLIC CHURCH CELEBRATES SECOND PALM
SUNDAY

On May 4 after the Ascension Day Armenian Apostolic
Church celebrates second Palm Sunday. According to the
official website of the Armenian Apostolic Church the
name of the holiday deprived from the first Palm Day
following the Easter.

The symbol of the second Palm Sunday is Jesus’ enter
to Jerusalem when people met his with glorious words
and happiness.

Source: Panorama.am

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Panorama.am

15:53 02/05/2008

A. DJAVADYAN: `SERIOUS REFROMS IN INSURANCE ASPECT’

`The laws on conducting reforms in insurance field,
provided by the Central Bank are quite serious ones
and they are also being implemented,’ said Arthur
Djavadyan, the vice president of the CB, today in
`Finance, Loan and Audit’ EXPO 2008.

According to him CB has tried to carry out the reforms
in insurance field in Armenia which it has done in
banking system. `First we cleaned up the market from
the small pocket insurance companies. Prior to these
20 insurance companies were running business but
currently only 8 do,’ said Djavadyan.

As for the consumers’ rights protection, he answered
that they have sent a document to the NA and will
start discussions in this regard.

Source: Panorama.am

Panorama.am

16:36 02/05/2008

CB VICE PRESIDENT: `THIS EXHIBITION TENDS TO IMPROVE
FINANCE SYSTEM IN RA’

Today an international specialized exhibition opened
in Moscow House on `Finance, Loan, Insurance and Audit
EXPO 2008′ subject. The exhibition will last till May
4. The vice president of the Central Bank Arthur
Djavadyan, Government Staff chairman David Sargsyan,
the president of Industry and businessman union Arsen
Ghazaryan and the president of Banks Union Henrik
Soghomonyan and other officials were present at the
exhibition.

`This is the first time such exhibition takes place in
Yerevan and it is intended to inform people about the
finance system in Armenia;’ said the vice president
and added that a subdivision is created in CB covering
the problems of the consumers’ rights.

A. Ghazaryan said: `In the project of the government
it is stated that Armenia should become a financing
center in the region and I hope that we can carry that
idea out within few years.’

Source: Panorama.am

Panorama.am

16:37 02/05/2008

SERGEY MOVSISYAN LEADER

Armenian GM Sergey Movsisyan who presents Slovakia in
Europe Chess Single Championship is the leader of the
tournament. Armenian GM had a meeting with Russian
Segey Volkov and the game ended in a draw. Hence,
Movsisyan occupies 1-4 horizontals with his 7.5
scores. Israeli Emil Sutovski, Russian Pavel Tregubov
and S. Volkov have the same amount of scores.

Armenian GM Vladimir Hakobyan follows the leaders. He
has 7 scores and occupies 18 horizontal. Gabriel
Sargsyan follows Hakobyan having 6.5 scores. Note that
351 male chess players take part in the tournament.

In the female part of the Championship Armenian GM
Elina Danielyan has 7 scores and occupies 12th
horizontal and Lilit Lazarian – 8th horizontal.
Russian Katerina Lahno is the single leader of the
tournamne t having 8 scores. Totally 159 female chess
players take part in the championship.

Source: Panorama.am

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Ramiz Mehtiyev: "Condoleezza Rice’s statement addressed to Azerbaijan
is extremely unfounded"

03 May 2008 [14:12] – Today.Az

Condoleezza Rice’s statement addressed to Azerbaijan is extremely
unfounded.

According to it, the socio-political situation and other matters are
alright in Armenia and Georgia, and Azerbaijan is the only backward
state of the region," said Ramiz Mehtiyev, Head of Azerbaijan’s
Presidential Executive Office.

He dismissed Rice’s remarks as illogical.

"It can be deduced from Rice’s statement that March events in Armenia
should be repeated in Azerbaijan so that she say good things about us.
I view her words as an unfounded statement," he added.

TER-PETROSIAN DECLARES THAT ORGANIZED SLAUGHTER WAS COMMITTED AGAINST
PEOPLE ON MARCH 1

YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. "The March 1 events were not clashes
between people and police, as Kocharian-Sargsian propoganda wants to
present, but the organized slaughter of the people," the leader of the
opposition, first Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosian declared at
the 2nd congress of the National Movements on May 2.

In his words, in Armenia Robert Kocharian was the only person capable
of ordering to open fire on peaceful demonstrators. As for Serge
Sargsian, Ter-Petrosian said that S. Sargsian formally had no relation
to that order but he as president elect was obliged not to allow
Kocharian to take such a step.

L. Ter-Petrosian said that Serge Sargsian can prove his innocence by
ensuring an independent and transparent inquiry into the March 1
events, "otherwise the blame for those bloody events will lie on S.
Sargsian for a hundred years".

The first Armenian president spoke about the press conferences that R.
Kocharian held on March 1st, 5th and 20th, during which there were
obvious contradictions in statements of R. Kocharian. Thus, before
imposing a state of emergency, R. Kocharian announced that troops were
not armed with fire-arms, but in this case how did it happen that 7
citizens died after receiving gunshot wounds and several policemen were
wounded before the state of emergency. Another question that
Ter-Petrosian put to R. Kocharian is that there has never been a case
in any country when 3,000-4,000-strong police went to make a search.
According to him, the main goal of Kocharian-Sargsian propaganda is to
avoid responsibility for March 1 bloody events and to do everything in
order to put the blame for this crime on the opposition.

Ter-Petrssian added that over a thousand people were taken to police
but none was charged with using fire-arms. "The citizens who fired from
guns were never found," he said.

TER-PETROSIAN EXPRESSES HIS DISAPPOINTEMENT WITH EUROPEAN STRUCTURES

YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. The European structures did not manifest
fidelity to principle, which they were expected to do, and failed to
control the actions of Armenia’s authorities and defend the security of
the Armenian people – by the way, not only Armenia has obligations to
the Council of Europe but the Council of Europe has some obligations to
the Armenian people. The first Armenian president, leader of the
opposition Levon Ter-Petrosian stated this at the second congress of
the National Movement on May 2.

In his words, the indifference of Europeans was the greatest surprise.
"They – except for Scandinavian and Eastern European countries where
idealism still exists – are guided by consumer values, cynicism, and in
response to the question about what they would do if such elections
were held in their country, they take offence and say that this is
racism," L. Ter-Petrosian said.

Ter-Petrosian said that the strict but actually empty statements of
European structures are worth little. He reminded the sentence included
in the first PACE report, according to which the election in Armenia
was mostly in line with Armenia’s commitments to the OSCE and the
Council of Europe. He underlined that this sentence is repeated in all
documents, and in fact by this sentence the European structures
legitimized the shameful February 19 election and inspired the Armenian
authorities to further violence. "But for this sentence, the bloody
March 1 events would not have taken place," Ter-Petrosian said.

According to him, the European structures tolerated the shameful
election in Armenia and accepted the March 1 events not as an organized
slaughter of the people but as clashes between police and people. He
pointed out that if European structures allow the Armenian authorities
to conduct an investigation into March 1 event and if this
investigation is not independent and transparent, then the Armenian
people will declare these structures persona non grata. In his words,
partial restoration of the European structures’ authority depends on
how consistent they will be in the issue of implementation of the PACE
resolution by Armenia. He expressed regret that the West (he stressed
that he means Europe) uses double standards, and it either aims to
ensure stability or prefers weak Armenian authorities – for solution of
the Karabakh problem.

"We must solve out problems themselves and not pin hopes on them,"
Levon Ter-Petrosian stated.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE WEST IS SERIOUS ABOUT AZERBAIJAN
VARDAN GRIGORYAN

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 03, 2008
Armenia

On May 1 touching upon the forthcoming, October 15 presidential
elections in our neighbor country, the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ann
Darcy, proposed merely unsolvable issues to Azerbaijani authorities.

In her view their future cooperation with Azerbaijani government and
the civil society will be directed to `holding the first free and fair
elections in the history of that country’. It is quite comprehensible
that the United States is trying to solve quite different issues, by
placing similar inaccessible plank in front of Azerbaijanis
authorities.

To have the preliminary picture of the goals of the United States,
let’s familiarize ourselves with the list of the organizations, which
are going to get 3 million dollars from the US government, for
assisting the process of the elections in Azerbaijan ` examining the
complaints, conducting parallel counting of the votes, organizing
pre-election debates, training the law enforcers, etc. They are ` the
US National Democratic Institute, the Republicans’ International
Institute, International Fund of the Electoral System, the American
Lawyers’ Association, the International Council of Investigation, and
Exchange, which includes the whole `assortment’ of the American
structures skilled in `colored revolutions’.

Meanwhile the Committee dealing with small grants under the US State
Department will start the funding of Azerbaijani non-governmental
organizations and social groups.

Before the publication of the names of this rather outstanding
organizations, the not less famous `Ago’ group was dealing with
Azerbaijan, which in its April 22 report attached great importance to
making amendments in Azerbaijan’s Electoral Code and emphasized the
significance of the adoption of the amended version of the law on `the
Freedom of Rallies’ with the participation of Venice Committee. The
task of ensuring the independence of the national council of the TV and
Radio has also been advanced.

So, it turns out that all the American and European structures that
used to deal with Georgia and Armenia in winter are sending their
`landing forces’ to Azerbaijan.

It’s worth mentioning that Azerbaijan’s governing elite is seriously
concerned about the steps taken by western structures before the
presidential elections in Azerbaijan on October 15, trying to confront
their proposals, reports, and suggestions regarding the organization of
democratic elections. Meanwhile they are trying to create an impression
that allegedly there are no objective or subjective preconditions for
the repetition of the events that took place in Georgia and Armenia.

But it is evident that despite the impression of the stability and
economic development of Azerbaijan created by Ilham Aliev and his
administration, the problems existing in this country are far more
complicated than the ones in Georgia and Armenia. Particularly the
stressed difference in the development of the capital city Baku and the
suburbs, or the dissimilarity of the income of different layers of
society, is greater than in any other country in South Caucasus
deprived of oil and gas resources.

Unlike Armenia there is also an emphasized dissatisfaction towards the
policy of the past years, regarding Karabakh issue, which the
pro-oppositional radical powers will definitely speculate during the
pre-election campaign.

However the profound motives of the US and European organizations are
still not clear. But one thing is evident, that they will over again
pursue their double standard policy here, the USA will try to `liven
up’ the pro-oppositional powers, by giving hopes of victory, on the one
hand, and will `work’ with Ilham Aliev, trying to extort concessions of
geopolitical nature from him, one the other hand.

In our opinion by October 15 the Unites State and all the international
structures acting under its patronage, as well as the EU countries will
do their best to apply the formula `weak authorities ` strong foreign
players’ in Azerbaijan, the same way as they did in Georgia and
Armenia. The thing is, whether or not Azerbaijani pro-oppositional
powers will succeed in using all this in strengthening their positions.

In any case the electoral hullabaloo, in store for Azerbaijan, promises
to turn into a short but indispensable period for the re-establishment
of the internal unity for our people and making Armenia’s foreign
policy more active.’