Month: November 2009

RALPH YIRIKIAN GIVES LECTURE FOR FLEX PROGRAM GRADUATES

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.11.2009 13:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ VivaCell-MTS, subsidiary of "Mobile TeleSystems"
OJSC, announces that Thursday the Company’s General Manager Ralph
Yirikian delivered a lecture on the culture of management during the
meeting with the graduates of the Flex program.

Flex is an educational program implemented in Armenia under the
sponsorship of US government, which gives young Armenians an
opportunity to live and to get their high school education in the US.

The graduate students of the program, who return to Armenia, are
particularly interested in the experience of management culture at
successful companies.

VivaCell-MTS denies the approach of criticizing without offering
something instead. Everyone at the Company knows that productive team
work presupposes that employees are provided with proper working
conditions and guarantees for safety. Nobody should be neglected,
and the motivation system should be put in place.

A manager should lead by example and the respect, law and requirements
should be practiced from top to bottom. Any company that wants to
succeed should be guided by this model," mentioned VivaCell-MTS
General Manager Ralph Yirikian.

VivaCell-MTS General Manager encouraged the US high school graduates
not to succumb to excessive bureaucracy and not to diminish the
importance of employer-employee relations. Among the principles of
good management are the long-term strategies, the values of respect
and hard-work, readiness for cooperation and responsibility, the
vision for future and innovations, as well the particular attention to
activities that are based on the concept of corporate responsibility.

After the lecture, the gathered got a chance to receive answers to
the questions about the activities of Armenia’s leading mobile

MANOYAN: ARMENIA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS WON’T BE RATIFIED WITHIN COMING SEVERAL MONTHS

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.11.2009 13:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia-Turkey protocols won’t be ratified within
coming several months, according to Kiro Manoyan, ARFD Hay Dat and
Political Affairs Office Director.

"Turkey will not ratify protocols unless progress in Karabakh talks
is fixed," he told a news conference on Thursday.

He did not rule out that ratification will be protracted for several
years.

CONCEPTUAL SOLUTIONS FOR HOTEL COMPLEX TO BE BUILT INSTEAD OF FORMER YOUTH CHAMBER SUMMED UP

ARMENPRESS
Nov 19, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Union of Architects is
summing up the conceptual solutions intended for the hotel complex
instead of Yerevan’s former Youth Chamber.

An official from the Yerevan municipality told Armenpress that the
issue on reconstruction of its nearby road its expansion, ensuring
of transport entrance from new Saralanj highway are purposeful to
be discussed in the pre-context of the discussion of construction
project documents, while working out the area’s construction and
renovation plan-scheme.

By now the works on preparing the territory for the construction have
been carried out and have already been completed.

The construction works of the complex will start after the end of
the tender process, reaching agreement over the project documents
and giving permission to the construction company.

RESEARCH OF ETHNOGRAPHIC SITUATION IN ARMENIA CONDUCTED

ARMENPRESS
Nov 19, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS: The national institute of labor
and social researches of the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry is
conducting a research of ethnographic situation in Armenia. The
director of the institute Gyulnara Hovhannissyan told Armenpress
that during the research they refer to a number of issues – causes
of reduction of birth rate, migration, family incomes.

The research involves 1200 families of all the Armenian provinces
having 3 and more children.

"Clarifying the ethnographic situation we also want to find out
the circumstances according to which families have third and more
children and understand whether they lack in other families. There
are many families which are satisfied with one or two children,
aren’t they?" G. Hovhannissyan said.

The final results of the research will be published in December.

HALF OF ARMENIA LIVES IN POVERTY, SAYS ARF DEPUTY

Asbarez
Nov 18th, 2009

ARF Member of Parliament Artsvik Minasyan

YEREVAN (News.am)-Half of Armenia’s population lives in abject poverty,
despite a recent report from the World Bank detailing a much lower
figure, according to Artsvik Minasyan, a member of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation’s faction in parliament.

Earlier this week the World Bank released a report partly based on
government statistics that estimated the proportion of Armenians
living below the official poverty line had increased for the first
time in over a decade as a result of the ongoing economic recession.

The report, which detailed a nearly 7 percent increase from last year,
put the figure at 28.4 percent in the second quarter of this year.

In an interview with News.am published Wednesday, Minasyan disputed the
figure, saying "the number of poor people is much higher" in Armenia.

The parliament deputy explained that if the minimum social security
allowance provided by the government were not considered, the poverty
level in the country would be 50 percent.

Minasyan pointed to the possibility of worsening social tensions and
a spike in homelessness as reasons for the government to revamp its
anti-crisis program and increase social spending to help the poor.

"Social tension will grow, and more homeless people and beggars will
appear in the streets," Minasyan said, warning of the consequences
if nothing is done by the government to address the crisis.

According to Minasyan, the segment of society living below the poverty
line includes migrants who failed to find jobs, as well as small
businessmen, who came under administrative pressure and went bankrupt,
as well as employees, whose wages are insufficient for their families.

"I think that most of the 100,000 citizens below the poverty line
are women, as their employment problem has not been resolved,"
Minasyan said.

The Armenian Government earlier this year announced what Minasyan
described as a "defective" anti-crisis program to address the
consequences of the financial meltdown in Armenia.

The government, however, failed to properly implement the program,
he noted, explaining that the government’s supported of entrenched
oligarchic interests over consumers contributed to its inability to
ensure micro and macro economic stability.

DASHNAKTSUTYUN: ARMENIAN-TURKISH NORMALIZATION IN WAIT-AND-SEE PHASE
By Georg Khachaturyan

ticle&AID=4273&CID=4024&IID=1260&l ng=eng
19 November, 2009

The process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations has entered
a wait-and-see phase and one should hardly expect any "shifts" in
this issue in the coming months, according to a senior member of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun).

Manoyan reminds that the protocols should first be submitted to the
Constitutional Court for consideration.

Giro Manoyan, director of the International Secretariat of the
Dashnaktsutyun Bureau in Yerevan, says that the process of the
ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols on establishing
diplomatic ties and developing bilateral relations (signed in
Zurich on October 10) has stalled at the stage of discussions at the
parliamentary foreign relations commission. As for the Armenian side,
Manoyan reminded that the protocols should first be submitted to
the Constitutional Court for consideration (on the subject of their
constitutionality), which is not happening yet.

Dashnaktsutyun, a key critic of President Serzh Sargsyan’s policy on
Turkey, soon is going to initiate another collection of signatures
urging members of the Armenian parliament not to ratify the Zurich
protocols that the party views as detrimental to Armenia’s national
interests.

"One should hardly expect any changes in the process of the
ratification of the Zurich protocols, and in spring, on the threshold
of [Genocide Commemoration Day] April 24, Turkey will undertake certain
steps that will be of a demonstrative nature in order to show to the
international community its readiness to normalize relations with
Armenia," said Manoyan.

The Dashnaktsutyun representative also stressed that this will happen
only to prevent a possible adoption of the 1915 Armenian Genocide
Resolution by the US Congress.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DIRECTOR OF GNGO ‘KHOSROV FOREST STATE RESERVE’ MURDERED IN YEREVAN

ArmInfo
2009-11-19 13:37:00

ArmInfo. Director of GNGO "Khosrov Forest State Reserve" Samvel
Shaboyan (born 1958) was murdered approximately at 11:50pm local time
on November 18 in Myasnikyan Str. In Yerevan, the Police press-service
reported. S. Shaboyan’s body with gunshot wounds was delivered to
Artsashat hospital approximately at 01:00am on November 19. The
unknown fired at Shaboyan’s official car Totoya Prado (number plate
007 LL 71) when he was inside and escaped (30 bullet holes in car). A
criminal case has been initiated on the fact of murder. Investigation
is underway.

COUNCIL OF EUROPE IS READY TO HELP ARMENIA AND TURKEY IN PROCESS OF RAPPROCHEMENT

ArmInfo
2009-11-19 11:18:00

ArmInfo. The Council of Europe (COE) hopes Armenian-Turkish
rapprochement will help settling the Karabakh conflict, said Thorbjorn
Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, in a press
conference on Wednesday after the Switzerland took over the Chair of
the Committee of Ministers from Slovenia, Trend reported.

Following the agreement between Armenia and Turkey, Thorbjorn
Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, made the
following statement: "I congratulate the Governments of Armenia and
Turkey on the agreement to restore diplomatic relations and re-open
the frontier between the two countries. This is a historic step,
which should bring about a lasting reconciliation between the two
countries and reinforce the stability of the South Caucasus region
as a whole. I would like to pay tribute to the Swiss government –
as well as the European Union, Russia, France and the United States –
for their crucial role in negotiations that led to this event. No-one
doubts that the full implementation of the yesterday’s agreements
will require time and sustained commitment from both parties. The
Council of Europe is ready to help in this process, within its fields
of expertise, and in full co-operation with the governments of Armenia
and Turkey," the COE website reports.

SAMUEL ZBOGAR: EU INTERESTED IN SOONEST SOLUTION OF THE KARABAKH ISSUE

armradio.am
19.11.2009 11:16

"All frozen conflicts, including Nagorno Karabakh conflict, should be
solved soon," Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar said at the
press conference after Switzerland took over from Slovenia as Chair
of the Committee of Ministers.

"All, as well as the European Union are interested in the soonest
solution to the frozen conflicts. We saw it in Georgia-Russia war
last year. A frozen conflict may turn into a hot conflict. Therefore,
we should find way of solution to these conflicts, including Nagorno
Karabakh. The European Union does not participate in the process of
negotiations. OSCE Minsk Group is dealing with this issue. Moreover,
first of all it is up to Armenia and Azerbaijan to find ways of
solution," he said.

Samuel Zbogar said the European Union should support the process
carried out by Minsk Group. "The European Union can do much to
accelerate establishment of confidence between the two countries
and contribute to promoting interregional cooperation in the South
Caucasus. For this purpose, Eastern Partnership program was established
between the European Union and South Caucasus countries and others. The
Eastern Partnership aims to establish closer cooperation between these
countries and the European Union. We expect reforms and development
from the above-mentioned countries. We want to facilitate these
reforms, development in these countries. These valuable means may
also indirectly help solve Nagorno Karabakh conflict," he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TIGRAN SARGSYAN TO ATTEND THE MEETING OF CIS PRIME MINISTERS

armradio.am
19.11.2009 15:18

On November 20 the Prime Minister of Armenia, Tigran Sargsyan, will
leave for Yalta on a working visit to participate in the recurrent
sitting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent
States.

The delegation headed by PM Tigran Sargsyan comprises the Head of
Staff of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, David Sargsyan,
Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan, Armenian Ambassador to
Belarus Oleg Yesayan, Armenian Ambassador to Ukraine Armen Khachatryan,
other officials.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress