Month: May 2008

ARF DASHNAKTSUTYUN IS PREPARING FOR THE MEETING (ARMENIA)

KarabakhOpen
20-05-2008 13:07:01

On May 21 the official opening of the 30th General Meeting of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun will take place at
the conference hall of the Armenian government. The press service of
the party told Regnum the representative of the Bureau of the party
Hrant Margaryan will address the meeting, after which the meeting
will continue in Tsaghkadzor behind closed doors.

The delegations of parliamentarians and people in charge of the cells
of the party in 30 countries will participate in the meeting. The
meeting will elect the supreme executive body of the party, the Bureau,
which will lead the party till the next general meeting. The members
of the Bureau the office of which is in Yerevan are elected from
representatives to different countries. Since the independence of
Armenia general meetings were held in Armenia twice, in 2000 and 2004.

ARF Dashnaktsutyun is part of the coalition government of Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE IN STEPANAKERT

KarabakhOpen
20-05-2008 13:08:24

On May 24 and 25 the scientific conference "Karabakh Movement:
Reality and Prospects" will be held in Stepanakert, announced the
state commission of organization and coordination of celebrations of
the 20th anniversary of the Karabakh movement.

We have learned that political scientists and experts from Russia,
France, the United States and other countries have been invited to
the conference.

MAUD DE BOER-BUQUICCHIO: AUTHORITIES AND OPPOSITION OF ARMENIA ABLE TO ARRIVE AT AGREEMENT TO SET UP SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE 1 MARCH INCIDENTS

arminfo
2008-05-20 14:21:00

ArmInfo. The authorities and the opposition of Armenia are able to
arrive at an agreement to set up a special committee to investigate
1 March incidents, Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Maud
de Boer-Buquicchio told ArmInfo when commenting on her meeting with
the first president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan on May 19 in
the evening.

She said that the role of the opposition is naturally to oppose
the actions by the government. Nevertheless, the opposition should
try to launch a constructive dialogue and make it possible to
engage to something which eventually leads to reconciliation. , she
said. Moreover, she stressed that they discussed the necessity of very
clear restoration of all the facts of 1 March incidents, the importance
of a special committee equally represented by both the government and
the opposition, as well as the possible contribution by international
community to this initiative through involvement of experts and civil
society. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio said she discussed this question also
with the power representatives and thinks a relevant agreement may be
achieved. She mentioned that establishment of the committee is among
the recommendations by PACE and its fulfillment is to be discussed
during June Session of PACE. That is why, she thinks, the authorities
must seriously think over the fulfillment of the given initiative.

To recall, debates on the recommendations by PACE Resolution 1609
on Democratic Institutions in Armenia are expected during the Summer
Session of PACE to be held 23-27 June. In particular, the resolution
says that negative assessment will lead to reduction of mandates and
deprivation of votes of Armenian delegates to PACE for a year.

ROBERT NAZARYAN: ‘ARMENTEL’ CJSC DOES NOT AMNESTY DEBTS BUT CORRECTS ITS MISTAKES

arminfo
2008-05-20 14:28:00

ArmInfo. The new e-billing system of "ArmenTel" CJSC has been
implemented in Armenia using the best European experience, however,
it revealed technical deficiencies at the initial stage, Chairman of
the Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia Robert Nazaryan
told journalists today.

He said that some problems related to the payment of accounts appeared
in the system because of technical failures. "The Company claimed
that it amnesties the debts appeared in view of this, however, I
must say that this is not an amnesty but correction of its mistakes",
R. Nazaryan said.

At the recent press-conference, acting Executive Director of "ArmenTel"
CJSC Gennadiy Kalgashkin also said about the amnesty of debts from
the fixed to cellular network.

THE KARABAKH MOVEMENT: REALITIES AND PERSPECTIVES

armradio.am
20.05.2008 12:38

"The Karabakh Movement: Realities and Perspectives" forum will take
place at the National Assembly of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic
on May 23-24, Mediamax was told from the Press Service of the NKR
national Assembly.

On this occasion the working group, which carries out the preparation
woks, convened its final sitting on Monday chaired by NKR Parliament
Speaker Ashot Ghulyan.

Issues related to the programs and participants of the forum,
the topics of the reports and speeches, other organizational and
procedural questions were discussed during the sitting.

ANCA AND AFRICA ACTION CALL ON U.S. TO TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO END DARFUR GENOCIDE

armradio.am
20.05.2008 11:28

With the U.S. set to take over the presidency of the United Nations
Security Council this June, the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) and Africa Action have teamed up Africa Services Committee,
American Jewish World Service, the Damanga Coalition for Freedom
and Democracy, Genocide Intervention Network, NY City Coalition for
Darfur, New York Vigilers, STAND, Rock for Darfur, Darfur Metro, Darfur
Rehabilitation Project, and other human rights organizations in calling
for the deployment of well- equipped peacekeepers in Darfur. The
groups will hold a rally on May 22, 2008 at the U.S. Mission to the
United Nations.

"The recent rebel attacks on Khartoum by Darfuri rebel group the
Justice and Equality Movement and subsequent government reprisals
against civilians may worsen the humanitarian situation in Sudan
that has already grown direr over the course of 2008," said Gerald
LeMelle, Executive Director of Africa Action, who has taken the lead
in organizing the rally. "The U.S. presidency of the UN Security
Council in June offers an opportunity for the Bush administration to
deliver bold diplomatic action, not mere rhetoric, to address this
crisis. U.S. leadership at this critical moment is vital to upholding
the international community’s responsibility to protect the people
of Darfur and promote peace for Sudan."

The U.N Security Council has primary responsibility to maintain
international peace and security. The Presidency of the Council rotates
monthly, according to the English alphabetical listing of its member
States, and on June 1, 2008, the United States will take over the
presidency. Over 450,000 people have lost their lives and millions
have been displaced in the ongoing genocide in Darfur. Although the
U.S. government has acknowledged this genocide, it has failed to take
the necessary action to protect the people of Darfur. Africa Action,
the ANCA and rally supporters are calling on President Bush to assert
U.S. leadership in support of a multinational intervention to stop
the ongoing genocide in Darfur.

"The Armenian American community knows all too well the repercussions
of inaction in the face of genocide," noted ANCA Eastern Region
Executive Director Karine Birazian. "We commend Africa Action in taking
the lead on this initiative and look forward to working with all rally
organizers to once and for all put an end to the cycle of genocide."

TWO ARMENIAN MPS TO OBSERVE THE ELECTIONS IN GEORGIA

armradio.am
20.05.2008 13:27

Members of the Republican Party faction of RA National Assembly Volodya
Badalyan and Armen Purtoyan will observe the parliamentary elections
in Georgia on May 21, NA Speaker Tigran Torosyan said in response to
"Noyyan Tapan" question.

The Armenian MPs will not be included in any international observation
mission, although there have been such invitations. According to
Tigran Torosyan, the National Assembly preferred to respond to the
invitation of the Georgian Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze.

PARLIAMENT OF ARMENIA PASSES AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW ‘ON THE PROCEDURE OF ASSEMBLIES, AND DEMONSTRATIONS’ IN FIRST READING

arminfo
2008-05-20 13:06:00

ArmInfo. Parliament of Armenia passed the amendments to the Law ‘On
the order of assemblies and demonstrations’ in the first reading by
92 votes ‘for’, 6 votes ‘against’ and one ‘abstention’ Tuesday.

In his speech, the author of the bill, Speaker of the Armenian
Parliament Tigran Torosyan said the bill was drafted on the basis
of notifications and recommendation of CE Venice Commission. In
particular, it provides for the procedure of presenting reliable data
on prepared events. The organizers of assemblies, demonstrations
and processions are to inform local authorities at least 5 days
beforehand. Basing on the recommendations of the responsible agencies
regarding the danger of the planned events, the authorities have a
right to reject the application. In their turn, the organizers have
a right to appeal against the rejection. The court is to study the
appeal within 24 hours.

The bill contains a new provision on the voluntary conduct of
mass rallies, demonstrations and processions. The speaker said the
public has a right to express opinion on vital issues. Nevertheless,
voluntary assemblies with participation of over 100 people must not
be termless. For this purpose, the term of such actions is limited –
6 hours. The speaker said the bill meets international standards and
aims to boost democracy in Armenia.

PM TIGRAN SARGSYAN CONDOLES WITH EDWARD AGHAANOV’S FAMILY AND FRIENDS

armradio.am
20.05.2008 14:46

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan issued a message of condolence
connected with the death of Edward Aghajanov. The message states:

"With great pain I learnt about the sudden death of famous economist
and political scientist, Dean of the Chair of Economy at the Slavonic
University Edward Aghajanov.

Edward Aghajanov was always notable for active work, unique economic
analyses, and was not indifferent toward the developments in our
country and had his clear views and approaches.

I extend my deep condolences to Edward Aghajanov’s family, relatives
and friends."

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE DEDICATED TO ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS IS HELD IN YEREVAN

arminfo
2008-05-20 13:15:00

ArmInfo. An international conference, dedicated to the problem of the
Armenian-Turkish relations "Global Challenges and Threats: Whether
Joint Efforts of Armenia and Turkey are Possible" is held in Yerevan
in the "Congress" hotel. The conference has been organized by USAID,
the "Eurasia" Partnership Fund and the "Global" International public
organization.

Armenian and Turkish experts, representatives of foreign diplomatic
missions, accredited in Armenia, political scientists, economists
and lawyers take part in the conference. The conference is aimed at
clarifying whether the European aspirations of Armenia and Turkey
are really able to mitigate the available historical and political
discrepancies. The importance of the Armenian and Turkish expert
Centers in the afore- mentioned process is discussed among other issues
at the conference. For this purpose, employee of the Analytical Center
of Globalization and Regional Cooperation Diba Nigar Goksel, being
also an editor of the "Turkish Policy Quarterly" periodic edition,
takes part in the conference.

In his opening speech, US Charge dAffaires to Armenia Joseph
Pennington emphasized the significance of public organizations able
to establish even a diplomatic dialogue under absence of any official
relations. Such conferences promote improvement of relations, cerate
conditions for joint business, strengthen the regional cooperation,
which is also assisted by the USA, officer of the USA Embassy in
Armenia Steve Banks said introducing J. Pennington’s opening speech,
who failed to be personally present at the conference because of
illness.

Head of the Armenian branch of the Analytical Center of Globalization
and Regional Cooperation, a political expert Stepan Grigoryan, RA
parliamentarian, member of the Republican party faction Ashot Ashotyan
and Head of the Caucasian Institute of Mass Media, a political expert
Alexander Iskandaryan also made a speech at the conference.