Month: May 2008

CONTEST FOR THE TITLE "THE PEAK OF IDIOCY"
Vardan Barseghyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 22, 2008
Armenia

In the recent times the anti-American moods have significantly grown
among our society, linked with the strict assessments and demands
heard from the USA regarding the post-election processes. No matter
who makes those demands – Council of Europe, Venice Committee, or
Ago Group? It is the position of the West, which is traditionally
associated with America in the people’s consciousness.

The fact that the USA likes to teach others is not a secret. No one
will be shocked by hearing this. That no one likes America is also
not a secret. The anti-American demonstrations all over the world are
often showed on TV. Even those countries which we consider full of
love towards America also hate the latter. Anti-American moods flourish
even in those countries that successfully staged colored revolutions,
such as Georgia and Ukraine. In Tbilisy for example only lazy people
don’t laugh at the street named after George Bush.

Now, let’s touch upon Europe. For around half a century, the Europeans
treated American values with regard, in the times when there was a
fear towards the Soviet Empire. After the collapse of the latter this
respect immediately vanished. Today the leadership of the Council
of Europe directly announces that America doesn’t have the right
to speak about the Human Rights. The Western Europeans manifest an
emphasized cold attitude towards any initiative taken by the USA:
be it the war in Iraq or Turkey’s membership to the European Union.

In short it seems the world is ready for a united anti-American
outburst.

Washington’s behavior tells on everyone’s nerves. Our compatriot,
political scientist Sergey Kurghinyan recently compared Americans
with a bug. Why is American economy the most progressive in the
world? Because they suck others’ blood.

Though everything is not that much unequivocal, as regards
anti-American moods. The relations between the USA and Europe
or the USA or for example France and Germany can have different
manifestations. But we shouldn’t be under illusion; it is a dispute
between friends, inside a single civilization, a civilization that has
reached unimaginable triumph, in the history of the humanity. Market
economy, democracy, social state – these are the achievements of the
western civilization that has ensured the best quality of life for
their citizens. Life without wars and world without borders.

However what we really think is that anti-American moods will be
very harmful for our country. Yes we do have a strategic partner, in
the person of the Russian Federation. But who said that we shouldn’t
be friends with America as well. It will be an idiotism to spit on
the opposite direction of the wind. In the contest for the title
"The Greatest Idiotism" anti-American attitude would have a very
honorable place.

For a small country like ours, America is really a complicated
partner. But to spread anti-American moods among the society – this
can be done only towards a hostile enemy.

UNIFICATION OF EFFORTS REQUIRED

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 22, 2008
Armenia

"Today our country is facing serious challenges, and we must unite our
efforts to overcome them. We must modernize the political domain and
economy, restore social solidarity and the international reputation
of the Republic of Armenia, develop Motherland-Diaspora relations,
and achieve the peaceful settlement of Artsakh conflict.

The solution of the before mentioned issues require consistent and
joint work. Our main political powers must attach importance to
our national interests. I strongly believe that together with our
trustworthy partner Armenian Revolutionary Dashnaktsutyun Party we
will manage to build a more democratic, defended and strong state,"
President Serge Sargsyan underscored in his message addressed to ARFD
General Meeting.

WE ARE NOT AN ANTI-POWER AND WILL NEVER BE

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 22, 2008
Armenia

"We are not an anti-power and will never be. We are not an
anti-American or anti-Russian, or anti-English political power,
but we still think highly of our country, our sovereignty, and our
dignity. The same is about Armenia.

It is not an Anti-State. But unlike others we attach great importance
to the issue of the perpetuity of Artsakh liberation and the security
of our state.

Why are the international organizations, various NGO-s, funds, and
so called institutions so much interested in spending money in such
a small country, trying to make the authorities weaker or stage a
coup d’état?"

representative of ARFD bureau Hrant Margaryan appeared with this
statement yesterday.

–Boundary_(ID_7SA8aboE3R+S5+smoDDCzA) —

DRAFT CONCEPT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR DEVELOPMEMT TO BE DISCUSSED AT ITDSC SITTING

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 23, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. After a year’s interruption, on May
26, a sitting of the IT Development Support Council (ITDSC) chaired
by the Armenian prime minister will be held in order to discuss the
draft concept of development of the Armenian IT sector. The director
of the E-Content Association of Armenia (ECA) and chairman of the
IT Foundation Garegin Chugaszian announced this at the May 23 press
conference held jointly with the chairman of Bi Line company Hayk
Khanjian and the director of Center of Information Technologies (CIT)
company Gagik Karapetian.

In the words of G. Chugaszian, last week a consultation to discuss the
concept was held with the participation of the minister of economy
Nerses Yeritsian, and the disagreement and criticism voiced at the
consultation was not covered by the press. He said that the process
of developing the concept was not a transparent one: the names of the
members of the working group to have prepared the draft concept were
not published, while the draft was submitted to the government without
being discussed by the ITDSC, the RA National Academy of Sciences
and authoritive respresentatives of the sector, whereas during a
consultation conducted by the former president of Armenia Robert
Kocharian in April 2004, the president instructed that the draft shall
be discussed by the ITDSC before being submitted to the government.

These questions remained unanswered at the consultation with the
participation of N. Yeritsian in charge of the concept’s development.

Besides, G. Chugaszian expressed concern about the fact that
N. Yeritsian has proposed submitting comments on the draft concept
within 6 days, while a new consultation will be held in 10 days, and
"the issue will be closed".

"It is incorrect to take not serious approach to the busy people who
have waited for a year so that the concept will be discussed by the
working groups of the ITDSC," G. Chugaszian noted.

H. Khanjian said that the draft concept does not address properly the
problems of Armenian e-content development, whereas the society uses
ITs to make e-content accessible. According to G. Karapetian, the draft
concept did not take into account the necessity to ensure continuity
of projects and work done in Armenia’s IT sector in the past.

GROSS AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT OF ARMENIA GROWS BY 0.5% IN JANUARY-MARCH 2008 ON SAME PERIOD OF 2007

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 23, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The gross agricultural output of
Armenia made 44.8 bln drams (about 120 mln USD) in current prices
in January-March 2008, exceeding the respective index of last year
by 0.5%.

The gross output of plant growing made 5,533.4 mln drams in the
indicated period, growing by 4.9% on the same period of 2007, while the
gross output of cattle breeding made 39,266.4 mln drams (0.1% decline).

According to the RA National Statistical Service, fishing amounted
to 524.7 mln drams in January-March 2008, declining by 20.2% on the
same period of last year.

DRINKING WATER TARIFF TO REMAIN UNCHANGED IN YEREVAN UNTIL JUNE 2009

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 23, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The drinking water tariff will remain
unchanged in Yerevan until June 2009, the RA Public Services Regulatory
Commission decided at the May 23 sitting. At the same time, based on
the commission’s decision, the tariff of 1 cubic meter of water has
been raised by 8.4 drams on condition that its use starts in 2010-2011,
with the raise of 3.6 drams out of the 8.4 drams to be used in 2010,
while the remaining raise of 4.8 drams will be used in 2011. To
recap, in February 2008 Yerevan Water company submitted a bid for
specifying the drinking water tariff to the commission. Based on it,
the company proposed increasing the current tariff of 172.8 drams
(for a cubic meter) by 13.1 drams, fixing it at 185.9 drams. The
company substantiated an increase of the tariff by the decline in
the water consumption by retail users. However, the commission’s
monitoring revealed that 56.7 million c.m. was used in 2006-2007,
which is more by 3,4 million c.m. than the data presented by Yerevan
Water. Fot this reason the commission did not sustain the company’s
bid to the full extent.

The director of Yerevan Water Serge Popoff said that the decline in
consumption is related to the users who did not have water meters,
that is, the total amount of water consumption declined by 3 million
c.m. after the installation of water meters. According to S. Popoff,
although considerable work has been done in two years: 42 illegal
connections have been disconnected and a 18% growth in the water
consumption by users – legal entities has been ensured, he is not
satisfied with the activity of the company over the past two years.

He said that the drinking water network of Yerevan should be divided
into 70 independent networks, which will allow to ensure 22-hour
water supply a day.

This work started two months ago, with 11 such networks to be cretaed
in the city this year. The whole process will finish in 2012.
From: Baghdasarian

ACCORDING TO EXPERT, HIGH INFLATION TO CONTINUE IN AZERBAIJAN FOR NEXT FEW YEARS

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 23, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The level of inflation is the highest
in Azerbaijan among the CIS countries, Rauf Rajabov, editor-in-chief
of the information and analytical agency "3rd View" (Baku) stated
at "The Caucasus 2007" international conferecne organized by the
Caucasus Media Institute in Yerevan on May 22. According to him, in
2007 inflation made 16.7% against the programmed 9% in Azerbaijan. This
tendency will continue for the next 2-3 years.

The expert said that one of the causes of high inflation is the policy
of "shock therapy" conducted by the government: after remaining at
the same level for several years, the prices sharply went up in early
2007. In particular, power prices grew by 300%, fixed phone tariffs
by 320%, fuel prices by 50% for the population. The expert informed
those present that in 2007 Azerbaijan’s imports exceeded exports by
420 million manats (1 manat is equal to about .1), which means that
Azerbaijan’s dependence on external markets is increasing. "Today the
country imports half the necessary foodstuffs. Unfortunately, we do not
notice wasting our oil revenues," R. Rajabov said. He stated that oil
dollars do not affect inflation as they mainly remain in foreign banks.

In his words, Baku has become the most expensive city in the CIS,
with monopolies and rife corruption. Despite the a 35% growth of
the population’s incomes last year, 20% of citizens live below the
poverty line.

The expert said that GDP per capita grew fivefold – from 714.3 to
3,474 USD in Azerbaijan in 2007 as compared with 2001. However, even
officials admit that the GDP structure does not correspond to the GDP
structure of the developed countries’ economies, and the oil and gas
sector has a leading position in the national economy. According to
R. Rajabov, this year oil production will reach its highest level
followed by a downward tendency. As a result, foreign investments
will decline in parallel with a growth of state investments.

DELEGATION OF ARMENIAN WRITERS TO TAKE PART IN A NUMBER OF EVENTS ON MAY 24-30 IN TBILISI

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 23, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. On May 24-30, a delegation of Armenian
writers will leave for Georgia to take part in the events dedicated
to the 110th anniversary of Vernatun founded by Hovhannes Tumanian
in Tbilisi, in the annual Vardaton (rose holiday) dedicated to
Sayat-Nova’s memory to be held in the Saint Gevorg Armenian church,
as well as in the Festival of Armenian Poetry. As Levon Ananian,
the Chairman of the Union of Writers of Armenia, said at the May 23
press conference, not only Armenian, but also Georgian intellectuals
will take part in the events. The events will be held jointly with
the RA Ministry of Culture and the Union of Writers of Armenia.

According to L. Ananian, like every year, this year also it is
envisaged to solemnly organize the annual Vardaton dedicated to
Sayat-Nova’s memory. The holiday originated in 1913, when Sayat-Nova’s
200th birth anniversary was marked on Hovhannes Tumanian’s initiative
in Tbilisi. Since that day, every year on the last Sunday of May,
a festivity, Vardaton, is organized in the yard of the Saint Gevorg
church, during which lovers of Sayat-Nova’s songs lay red roses to
the great goosan’s (Armenian national poet) grave. The Chairman of
the Union of Writers of Armenia expressed the hope that Vardaton,
which has been also marked in Yerevan since 2006, will be also marked
in Azerbaijan in the future.

Touching upon the Festival of Armenian Poetry to be held in Tbilisi,
L. Ananian said that though the two peoples’ literary ties were broken
off in the 1990-s, it is two years that literary bridge has been
restored. In particular, steps are undertaken in the two countries
to translate creations of Armenian and Georgian writers into Armenian
and Georgian, as well as various events are organized. L. Ananian also
said that a launching of Modern Armenian Poetry’s Anthology willtake
place within the framework of the festival.

FOUR ARMENIAN GRECO-ROMAN STYLE WRESTLERS TO TAKE PART IN LAST OLYMPIC RATING TOURNAMENT

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 23, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The last Greco-Roman Wrestling Rating
Tournament will start in the city of Novi Sad of Serbia on May
23. Karen Mnatsakanian (60kg), Arsen Julfalakian (74kg), Denis Forov
(84 kg) and Arman Geghamian (96 kg) from Armenia will struggle for
the Beijing Olympic passes.

Those, who take the first three places in the tournament will be
awarded with participation passes for the Beijing-2008.

BY RA GOVERNMENT’S DECISION, 90th ANNIVERSARIES OF APARAN, SARDARAPAT, AND GHARAKILISA HEROIC FIGHTS TO BE SOLEMNLY MARKED THIS YEAR

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 23, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. By the RA government’s decision, the
90th anniversary of Aparan heroic fight will be officially marked on
May 25, the 90th anniversary of Gharakilisa heroic fight on May 27,
and the 90th anniversary of Sardarapat heroic fight on May 27-28. As
Gagik Manasian, the Director of the State Philharmony of Armenia,
said at the May 22 press conference, a governmental commission
has been created for organization of events dedicated to the May
heroic fights. According to him, all year long, in total, more than
100 regional and republican events dedicated to the heroic fights’
anniversaries will be organized, but the main events will be held on
May 25-28.

According to G. Manasian, "among May heroic fights, Avarayr battle was
the only one in the Armenian people’s history when we did not have a
danger of losing our homeland, while Sardarapat battle was the only
one, with the deafeat of which we would be deprived of our homeland,
our land, our native country for ever." "May is a month of victories,
and with May heroic fights we showed that Armenians win when force
and spirit are joined. The idea of unity of Armenian people’s force
and spirit is also the basis of the events," G. Manasian said.

Tigran Petrosiants, a member of the Board of the Nig Aparan
compatriotic union, said that a number of events will be organized
on the union’s initiative, as well. The monuments of distinguished
participants of Aparan heroic fight are envisaged to be placed in
Aparan central square. Monuments to Sedrak Jalalian and Drastamat
Kanayan are ready at present. Their opening will take place on May 25.