Month: December 2008

GETTING EXPENSIVE

A1+
[12:12 pm] 09 December, 2008

Starting January 1, 2009, residents of Vanadzor will pay 150 drams
for garbage disposal service instead of the previous 100 drams.

According to chief expert of the Communal Economy and Development
department Pavlik Gevorgyan, the decision was made taking into
account the increase in garbage disposal in the community and
the rise in prices for services. The average citizen of Vanadzor
expects a rise in quality and productivity in exchange for the price
increase. The garbage disposal service must dispose the garbage cans
in the city every day and three times a day near the multi-story
buildings. According to Pavlik Gevorgyan, garbage disposal trucks will
dispose all garbage in a week. Proceeds from the garbage disposal
service will help not only increase the number of times the trucks
go around, but also purchase new containers.

ARMENIA RETURNS TO FIGURE SKATING

A1+
[12:33 pm] 09 December, 2008

After a five-year interval, Armenian figure skaters will compete in
the European figure skating championship to be held in January 2009
in the Finnish capital of Helsinki.

The men’s team of figure skaters includes Gegham Vardanyan, 20, while
Ani Vardanyan, 18, will represent Armenia in the women’s team. The
last time Armenia participated in the championship was in 2004.

Gegham and Ani Vardanyan will soon leave for the Latvian capital of
Riga to participate in the sport/instructional meeting.

Nearly 30 countries have been granted the right to participate in
the 2009 European figure skating championship. The leading figure
skaters in 2008 were from France, Russia, Sweden, Italy and Finland.

The European championship will kick off on January 20, while the men
will begin competition on January 21. One of the favorite skaters
from the men’s team is French Brian Zhuber.

In the past couple of years, Anastasia Grebionkina and Vazgen
Azroyan represented Armenia, but these athletes no longer take part
in professional competitions because they currently participate in
different shows taking place in Russia.

WHO WILL BUY "BJNI"?

A1+
[12:59 pm] 09 December, 2008

On December 19 the assets and rights to assets of the "Bjni" mineral
water factory CJSC belonging to the Sukiasyan family will be put up for
auction. According to the press release of the Compulsory Completion
of Judicial Acts National Agency, the factory is for sale according to
RA laws on "Compulsory Completion of Judicial Acts" and "Public Deals".

RA PRESIDENT DEPARTING FOR BULGARIA DECEMBER 10

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.12.2008 12:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian leader Serzh Sargsyan will depart for
Bulgaria on a formal visit on December 10.

A private meeting with Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov will be
followed by expanded talks and conclusion of a joint Statement.

The leaders are also expected to sign an agreement on conduction
of Days of Bulgarian Culture in Armenia in 2009 and Days of Armenian
Culture in Bulgaria in 2010, a protocol on exclusion of double taxation
and a number of other documents.

Mr. Sargsyan and Mr. Parvanov will take part in the opening ceremony
of an Armenian-Bulgarian business forum.

The Armenian President will also have a working dinner with Bulgarian
Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, will meet with chairman of the
National Assembly Georgi Pirinski and will attend the Armenian Embassy
in Sofia and an exhibit of Sergei Parajanov’s collages.

OPEN LETTER TO GUL: TURKISH PEOPLE NEED RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.12.2008 13:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian intellectuals sent an open letter to
Turkish President Abdullah Gul. The letter says in part,

"Dear Mr. President,

Your recent meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan proved
that normalization of neighbor relations demand bold and realistic
action. It specifically refers to the Armenian Genocide issue, which
has divided the two nations since 1915.

Mr. President, it is an outrageous crime against the humanity which has
no time limitation. Its recognition is not a demand of the Armenian
people but a just expectation of the international community. The
Armenian Genocide is a crime against the values of modern civilization,
a crime that can’t be questioned.

We all should accept that the Ottoman Empire is guilty of the massacre
of the Armenian people. Present-day Turkish diplomacy and propaganda
machine can’t cover this dark page of history.

The historic memory of our nations is deep and restless. Recognition
of the indisputable fact of the Armenian Genocide is first of all
essential for the Turkish people. Relieving this burden of history,
they can turn this dark page and launch a sincere dialogue for true
reconciliation.

Your visit to Armenia inspires hope for a new and realistic political
course in Turkey. However, these efforts can fail of your state
doesn’t take action to put an end to the current policy of the Armenian
Genocide denial."

ARMENIA THANKS FRANCE FOR 1988 EARTHQUAKE RELIEF EFFORTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.12.2008 15:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met Monday
with members of the National Assembly of France, Chairman of the
France-Armenia Friendship Group Francois Rochebloine and Vice-Chairman
Rene Rouquet, who have arrived in Armenia to attend commemoration
events dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the 1988 earthquake,
the RA leader’s press office told PanARMENIAN.Net.

Thanking France for the earthquake relief efforts, President Sargsyan
hailed the activities of the French parliamentarians and informed that
he has signed a decree to award Francois Rochebloine and Rene Rouquet
with the Order of Honor for the aid they rendered to Armenia after
the devastating earthquake of 1988 and for their continued efforts
for strengthening friendly relations between the peoples of Armenia
and France.

Receiving the award Mr. Rochebloine said it encourages him for greater
efforts while Mr. Rouquet described the award as acknowledgment of
his twenty-year long activities.

The parties also referred to the prospects of bilateral economic and
political relations and cooperation within international organizations.

ARMENIA PM TIGRAN SARGSYAN OFF TO GEORGIA

armradio.am
09.12.2008 10:45

The government delegation headed by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
left for the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi on December 9 for a one-day
working visit.

The delegation comprises the Minister of Finance of Armenia Tigran
Davtyan, Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan, Minister of Energy
and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan, Minister of Diaspora Hranush
Hakobyan, the Head of Government’s Staff David Sargsyan, President of
the State Incomes Committee adjunct to RA Government Gagik Khachatryan,
First Deputy Minister of Transport and Communication Hrant Beglaryan,
Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan, Deputy Minister of
Agriculture Levon Rukhkyan, Deputy Minister of Culture Gagik Gyurjyan,
Armenian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Georgia Hrach
Silvanyan, Member of Parliament Vladimir Badalyan, other officials.

Within the framework of the visit the delegation will participate
in the seventh sitting of the Armenian-Georgian Intergovernmental
Commission on Economic Cooperation. The Prime Minister of Armenia
will have meetings with the President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili
and Prime Minister Grigol Mgalobashvili. Tigran Sargsyan will visit
the Armenian Embassy in Georgia and the Armenian St. Nshan Church.

US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE HOLDS CONFERENCE ON "SUCCESSFUL TECHNIQUES FOR THE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF CORRUPTION"

armradio.am
09.12.2008 11:12

The United States Department of Justice held a conference on
"Successful Techniques for the Investigation and Prosecution
of Corruption" in Yerevan, Armenia, on December 8-9, 2008. Three
U.S. prosecutors and three high-ranking U.S. police chiefs participated
– Prosecutor Steven Kessler (US Embassy, Yerevan), Prosecutor Kevin
Richardson (Brooklyn, New York), Prosecutor Karen Bennett (Nassau
County, New York), Police Chief Charles Campisi (New York City Police
Department); Chief Charles Ribando (Nassau County, New York), and
Deputy Chief Rick Armstrong (Kansas City, Kansas).

They were joined by thirty Armenian prosecutors, ten investigators from
the special investigative service, ten police investigators, two NSS
officials, two officials of the tax service, two customs officials,
the Armenian representative to GRECO, and the presidential aide on
corruption issues.

The American and Armenian law enforcement officials discussed
their countries’ respective approaches to fighting all forms of
corruption, including misconduct by police, judges, and other
high officials. Numerous investigation techniques were discussed
at the conference, including: the use of confidential informants,
undercover police officers, drug screening, financial investigations,
electronic surveillance, debriefing of police prisoners, and random
integrity tests.

The December conference was just one of many sessions held by the US
Department of Justice in Yerevan to support Armenian law enforcement
and the judiciary. In 2008, the USDOJ held conferences for Armenian
judges, prosecutors, police and defense attorneys on the European
Convention on Human Rights, financial crime investigations, the rules
of evidence in adversarial proceedings, and the development of Armenian
jurisprudence and case law.

INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY MARKED IN ARMENIA

armradio.am
09.12.2008 11:59

The International Anti-Corruption Day, celebrated worldwide on December
9, was marked in Armenia by the Anti-Corruption Forum, organized
by USAID Mobilizing Action Against Corruption (MAAC) Activity in
cooperation with the UNDP Anti-Corruption Project. Over 75 participants
from civil society organizations, state agencies, international
organizations, private sector and the media participated in the
Forum and discussed the findings of the Armenia National Household
Corruption Survey, UN Convention Against Corruption Gap Analysis,
draft of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy Paper for 2008-2012,
and the introduction of Advocacy and Assistance Centers in Armenia.

The Forum was opened by Cynthia Pruett, USAID/Armenia Acting Mission
Director and Dirk Boberg, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative. Heghine
Manasyan, Country Director of the Caucasus Research Resource Center,
presented the findings of the MAAC 2008 National Household Corruption
Survey, after which UNDP Anti-Corruption Project expert Mane Beglaryan
presented the gaps that subsist between the UN Convention Against
Corruption and Armenia’s legal and institutional framework. Armen
Khudaverdyan, Coordinator of the Anti-Corruption Strategy Monitoring
Commission’s Expert Group, then delivered a presentation on key
approaches of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan
currently being developed.

Presentations also cover ed the new mechanism that allows citizens to
voice corruption-related complaints (Advocacy and Assistance Centers),
delivered by Sona Ayvazyan, Executive Director of the Transparency
International Anti-Corruption Center NGO, Karen Zadoyan, President
of the Armenian Young Lawyers Association NGO, and Tigran Stepanyan,
President of the Syunik Center for Civil Society Development NGO.

USAID MAAC Chief of Party Francois Vézina closed the forum, noting
that "the acknowledgement of the International Anti-Corruption Day
is another opportunity to remind people that there are actions they
can immediately undertake and opportunities they can make use of to
effectively combat corruption".

December 9th was designated as the International Anti-Corruption Day
by the UN General Assembly resolution 58/4 of 31 October 2003 in order
to raise people’s awareness of corruption and of the role of the United
Nations Convention Against Corruption in combating and preventing it.

The Forum today was the third in a series of anti-corruption forums
organized by the USAID MAAC Activity since July 2008.

–Boundary_(ID_pD7QbEbQAgnMdkIsgY2sQw)–

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA TO PAY A TWO-DAY OFFICIAL VISIT TO BULGARIA

armradio.am
09.12.2008 12:17

At the invitation of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, the
President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, will leave for
Sofia on December 10 for a two-day official visit, President’s Press
Office reported.

The same day the Armenian President will meet his Bulgarian counterpart
Georgy Prvanov. The meeting will be followed by Armenian-Bulgarian
consultations in an extended format, after which the two Presidents
will sign documents and give a joint press conference.

Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Georgy Prvanov will adopt a joint
Communiqué on the results of the visit. They are expected to sign
a protocol of organizing and conducting Days of Bulgarian Culture
in Armenia in 2009 and Days of Armenian Culture in Bulgaria in 2010,
the working plan on the cooperation in the field of state governance
between 2009 and 2014, an agreement on cooperation in the sphere
of archiving, as well as a protocol on excluding double taxation of
income and property.

The Presidents of the two countries are expected to attend the opening
ceremony of the Armenian-Bulgarian Business Forum.

During the two-day official visit the Armenian President will have a
working dinner with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Sergey Stanishev,
will meet with the President of the National Assembly of Bulgaria,
Georgy Pirinsky and will lay a wreath to the memorial to the Unknown
Soldier.

At the National Gallery for Foreign Art Presidents Serzh Sargsyan
and Georgy Prvanov will be present at the opening of the exhibition
of Sergey Parajanov’s collages.

Mr. Sargsyan will also visit the Armenian Embassy in Bulgaria.

–Boundary_(ID_UsogE5QhwO4M5b7iNpgFIg)- –