Month: October 2008

PRESS RELEASE
Office of Assemblymember Paul Krekorian
Adrin Nazarian, Chief of Staff
620 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 403
Glendale, CA 91203
(818) 240-6330
(818) 240-4632 fax
[email protected]
October 23, 2008

KREKORIAN ENDS FIRST TERM AS MOST EFFECTIVE
FRESHMAN MEMBER OF THE ASSEMBLY

Glendale, CA – Assemblymember Paul Krekorian completed his first term in
the Legislature with the most bills signed into law of any freshman
member of the State Assembly. With 16 bills signed by the Governor in
the two-year term, Krekorian is the most effective legislator among the
37 first-term members of the Assembly.

"I’ve worked hard to achieve important public policy goals in a
bipartisan way," said Krekorian. "I’m really pleased that I’ve had a
lot of legislative success by working with my colleagues and the
Governor to find common sense solutions to real problems."

Assemblymember Krekorian’s legislative accomplishments include a wide
range of policies that will make a positive difference for the people of
California. Some of the significant achievements among the Krekorian
bills signed by the Governor this year are:

AB 2098, which protects Californians from the health risks associated
with tainted meat and encourages more humane treatment of farm animals;

AB 1163, which improves adult education by allowing local school
districts greater flexibility to use technology and apply innovative
approaches;

AB 2758, which gives the Secretary of State stronger tools to ensure the
accuracy and integrity of elections;

AB 1461, which increases access to drug and alcohol abuse screening and
treatment;

AB 1894, which protects public health by making HIV screening more
readily available;

AB 1394 and AB 2750, which strengthen California’s protection of
intellectual property against counterfeiters who endanger public safety
and cost jobs.

In addition to his strong record of legislative achievement, Krekorian
has taken important leadership roles in the long-term development of
several policy areas that are critical to California’s future. He is
the Chair of the Select Committee on the Preservation of California’s
Entertainment Industry, which is advancing a number of proposals to keep
film and television production jobs here in California. He is also
chairing the Assembly’s bipartisan task force that is developing
California’s renewable energy strategies and goals for the next decade.

Assemblymember Paul Krekorian (D-Burbank) represents the cities of
Burbank and Glendale, and the Los Angeles communities of Atwater
Village, Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley
Glen, Valley Village and Van Nuys.

# # #

BAGHDASARYAN, SIMMONS DISCUSS ARMENIA-NATO COOPERATION

armradio.am
21.10.2008 16:11

Secretary of the National Security Council Arthur Baghdasaryan received
the delegation headed by Robert Simmons, the Special Representative
of the NATO Secretary General for the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Issues of Armenia-NATO cooperation were discussed during the
meeting. At the request of the guest, Arthur Baghdasaryan presented the
process and the main directions of activity of the interdepartmental
commission established to coordinate the work with European and
Euro-Atlantic structures.

The parties discussed the process of accomplishment of the Armenia-NATO
Individual Partnership Action Plan and referred to questions of
cooperation in 2009 and 2010.

ARMENIA READY TO CONTINUE THE TALKS ON THE BASIS OF MADRID PRINCIPLES

armradio.am
21.10.2008 16:35

Armenia is ready to continue the negotiations on the basis of the
Madrid Principles, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan declared during
today’s joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Dmitry
Medvedev. Mr. Sargsyan said Armenia is assured that the issue can be
solved on the basis of mutual concessions and through negotiations.

According to Serzh Sargsyan, anyone can find the "Madrid" documents in
the internet, since the Minsk Group Co-Chairs have registered it in
the deposits of the corresponding organization. "There is no secret
here: those are the bases that allow to recognize the principle of
the right of the people of Nagorno Karabakh to self-determination and
several other principled questions for us. The most important is that
we are confident that the issue can be solved on the basis of mutual
concessions and via negotiations," the President of Armenia stated.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev noted that the August events showed
that any complex issue should be solved deriving from principles
and one the basis of negotiations. Nothing else can lead to positive
results. According to him, this is the main lesson from the Caucasus
crisis.

"As for my assessment of the agreements reached at the current stage of
negotiations, it’s a hard thing. We are in a progressi ve stage. All
the parties are ready to search for solutions. We discussed the issue
in detail with the President of Armenia. I will not comment on the
nuances, since those are the nuances of the talks. The Presidents
of the three countries will meet in the near future to continue the
discussions on the topic, and I hope the meeting will take place in
Russia," Dmitry Medvedev concluded.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

COMSTAR UTS LAUNCHES A WIRELESS BROADBAND NETWORK IN ARMENIA

armradio.am
21.10.2008 17:17

The Presidents of Armenia and Russia Serzh Sargsyan and Dmitry Medvedev
today launched a wireless broadband network based on 802.16e WiMAX
technology in Armenia.

>From today on the "COMSTAR – United TeleSystems" JSC, the largest
integrated telecommunications provider in Russia and the CIS and
the "Cornet-AM" CJSC – the affiliate company of "COMSTAR – United
TeleSystems" – will start operating in Armenia, applying the wireless
broadband technologies in Armenia.

Comstar’s WiMAX network in Armenia is used to provide a broad range of
telecommunications services, including digital telephony, broadband
internet access, data transmission, conferencing and virtual private
networks (VPN) for corporate subscribers. The activity of the company
was presented to the Presidents of Armenia and Russia today.

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VISITS MEMORIAL TO THE VICTIMS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AND ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM-INSTITUTE

ARMENPRESS
Oct 21, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, ARMENPRESS: President of the Russian Federation
Dmitri Medvedev visited today memorial to the victims of the Armenian
genocide and put a wreath, paying tribute to the memory of the victims.

Afterwards the Russian president was in the Armenian Genocide
Museum-Institute the director of which Hayk Demoyan presented the
history of the Armenian genocide, cultural and ethnic losses of the
Armenian people. After traveling through the museum D. Medvedev put
down his impressions in the book of memory.

"Armenian Genocide Museum and memorial are witnesses of terrible
tragedy of the 20th century and at the same time is a reminder that
life is the main value which must be preserved by civilized people,"
he wrote.

H. Demoyan handed to Medvedev the "Gold Medal" of the Genocide
Museum-Institute.

President of Russia also planted a tree in the memory ally of
Tsitsernakaberd.

D. Medvedev was accompanied by the Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian, first Yerevan deputy mayor Kamo Areyan, Russian ambassador
to Armenia Nikolay Pavlov, Armenian ambassador to Russia Armen Smbatian
and members of his delegation.

THEY FORGOT ABOUT SAGHATELIAN’S GIUMRI DIALECT

A1+
[07:52 pm] 21 October, 2008

"I will always stay true to the fact that if somebody hasn’t done
anything, then he has to be acquitted," told "A1+" Seda Safarian,
who is the attorney of former head of the Prison Administration
department, representative of Levon Ter-Petrosian’s headquarters
Mushegh Saghatelian. Saghatelian’s case took place in the criminal
court of Yerevan today during which Seda Safarian made an official
speech, while Mushegh Saghatelian had the last word.

Let us recall that Saghatelian is charged with the points stated in
the 1st and 2nd parts of the 316th article of the RA Criminal Code for
applying force against an authority figure and committing a dangerous
crime that endangers the health, as well as with the 4th part of the
235th article for keeping sharp weapons like knives, scissors, etc.

Prosecutor Hovsep Sargsian had ordered 7 years in jail without any
extenuating circumstances.

Safarian denied the evidence of the indicted and discussed
the contradictions. For example, the two injured noted in their
testimonies that Saghatelian had insulted them; however, they don’t
give a description of his physical appearance.

"I believe that Saghatelian’s greatest distinction is that he still
talks with a Giumri dialect. If police were sure of the fact that
it was Saghatelian, then one of the distinctions would be enough,"
underlined Safarian.

As far as the charge pressed by the prosecutor is concerned, Safarian
noted that the various essential proofs were brought up with violations
of the criminal court code, which refer to the conclusions of the
experts.

The attorney demanded the verdict of acquittal. In his last word,
Mushegh Saghatelian stated that he is going to fight for freedom and
justice and even if they sentence him to 10 years, he will still go
out and fight.

The verdict will be ready on October 23 at 2:30 p.m.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

POLITICAL DIALOGUE ON THE RISE?

A1+
[07:14 pm] 21 October, 2008

Yerevan had seriously prepared for the arrival of the high-ranking
Russian delegation. The Armenian and Russian flags waved to and fro
on the major streets of Yerevan leading to the airport. Parking was
prohibited on streets near the presidential residency and although
there was an NA session in progress, it was hard to say where the
deputies had hidden their big and expensive cars.

After the talks, the presidents held a joint press conference along
with the Russian delegation, including Defense Minister Anatoli
Serdiukov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Journalists from each
side had the right to ask two questions. But until then, the presidents
recapped the results of the talks.

"The political dialogue between both countries is on the rise and an
agreement has been made to coordinate foreign policies in the future,"
said Serzh Sargsian and added that the RA and RF Foreign Ministers
have already signed under the consultation plan for 2009-2010.

During the talks, the sides touched upon economic issues and recapped
the results of the 10th intergovernmental commission for economic
cooperation. Serzh Sargsian noted that it is necessary to deepen ties
with the CIS, the CSTO and other similar institutions.

Dmitri Medvedev liked the open-air hall for conferences in the
presidential residency and called it "fantastic". As far as the talks
are concerned, the Russian President was fully content. He informed
that Russia is surely the leader among its foreign economic partners
and during the past eight months, the country’s circulation of products
has grown and there is hope that the country will end the year with
high turnout. The Russian President highly valued the activities of
the intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation. At the end,
Medvedev expressed gratitude for the cordial reception and expressed
the hope that the next step for the talks will be at the federal
level with the aim to reinforce strategic ties.

"That’s exactly the way it is," concluded Serzh Sargsian.

MEDVEDEV VISITS YEREVAN BRANDY COMPANY

armradio.am
21.10.2008 17:00

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accompanied by the President of
Armenia Serzh Sargsyan visited the Yerevan Brandy Company.

The leaders of Armenia and Russia walked about the company, and
familiarized with the history and the process of production of the
most favorite Armenian brandies.

Being the President of a Minsk Group Co-Chair country, Dmitry
Medvedev stopped at the "Peace barrel," which contains brandy spirits
symbolizing the ceasefire of 1994. It is called a "Peace barrel,"
since it will be opened the day the Karabakh conflict is finally
solved. The President of Russia left his signature in the book of
memories of the Brandy Company.

According to tradition, the Yerevan Brandy Company gifted a barrel
of personalized cognac to Dmitry Medvedev.

MEDVEDEV RECEIVED NOMINAL TUN

Panorama.am
20:18 21/10/2008

In the evening of October 20 the Presidents of Armenia and Russian
Serzh Sargsyan and Dmitry Medvedev visited Yerevan Cognac Factory,
reported the press service of the President’s Administration. The
Presidents walked through the factory, got acquainted with the history
and producing process of the oldest Armenian brandy.

Dmitry Medvedev is the leader of the country which is a co-chairing
OSCE Minsk Group; he was accompanied to "Peace Tun" where 1994 cognac
spirit symbolizing the year of armistice is being aged. The tun is
called "peace tun" because it will be opened in the day when the
conflict of Nagorno Karabakh is finally regulated. Yerevan Cognac
Factory gifted the President of Russia a nominal tun.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EXTENSION OF ADC SPECIAL OFFER TERMS

Panorama.am
16:54 21/10/2008

It was reported by marketing department of Armenian Datacom Company
(ADC) to the reporter of Panorama.am that due to great interest in
its promotion program, ADC has decided to extend the terms of the
special offer until the 1st of November. The special offer is carried
out within the "Autumn Surprise" project and includes free of charge
connection to ADC Broadband Internet services.

>From October 3 to October 15, 2008 ADC offered free of charge
fiber-optic connection for any new subscriber to ADC’s Broadband
Internet Services.

ADC’s announcement of its "Autumn Surprise" project involves
interesting offers and features designed to benefit its users. Examples
are reduced service prices, new and attractive offers, short-term
special offers and other interesting events.

"Armenian Datacom Company" CJSC (ADC) is an Armenian-Norwegian joint
venture that provides to customers advanced corporate network solutions
and high-speed fiber-optic broadband Internet services.

ADC is the first company in Armenia to provide an independent and
redundant fiber-optic cable network with the use of modern IP/MPLS
technologies. The topology of the network is an interconnection of
ring-type backbones. ADC network completely corresponds to requirements
of 21st century requirements.