Month: November 2009

SWITZERLAND HOPES FOR SOON RATIFICATION OF THE ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS

armradio.am
19.11.2009 15:35

There is no formal relation between resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and Turkey-Armenia rapprochement, Committee of Ministers of
the Council of Europe Chairman and Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline
Calmy-Rey told Trend News today

Calmy-Rey also said the two countries should ratify the Turkish and
Armenian protocols in the rapprochement process.

"We hope both Turkey and Armenia will ratify the protocols soon," the
minister said, noting that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution
and Turkey-Armenia rapprochement have no formal relation.

According to the official, the processes are connected, yet independent
at the same time.

"The OSCE Minsk Group is engaged in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The
other process deals with the normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations
with Swiss mediation," she said.

The minister expressed hope in the prompt ratification of the
protocols.

"We hope the ratification process will be held soon. The processes
are not connected. Of course, progress on one issue will positively
impact the second affair," the minister added.

LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DUE IN ARMENIA

armradio.am
19.11.2009 15:47

The Foreign Minister of Lithuania, Vygaudas Usackas, will visit Armenia
November 20-21 at the invitation of the Foreign Minister of Armenia,
Edward Nalbandian, Press and Information Department of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs reported.

Within the framework of the visit the Lithuanian Foreign Minister is
expected to have meetings with the National Security Secretary of the
Armenia, Arthur Baghdasaryan, the Speaker of the National Assembly,
Hovik Abrahamyan, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Economy
Minister Nerses Yeritsyan.

HANDBOOK FOR EMPLOYERS PRESENTED IN YEREVAN
Lilit Muradyan

"Radiolur"
19.11.2009 13:51

A Handbook for Employees was presented in Yerevan today. The book
has been published by joint efforts of the International Labor
Organization and the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia within
the framework of the Program of fighting trafficking in Armenia,
Georgia and Azerbaijan.

According to the report on forced labor, 12.3 million people in the
world have been subjected to trafficking, among which 9.8 million
have been exploited by private employers.

According to the President of the Union of Employers, Arsen Ghazaryan,
the handbook aims to help prevent trafficking.

"The objective of the manual is to present the problem to the employers
and the public, as well as prevent the outflow of labor force from
Armenia, which endangers the national gene pool and results in the
loss of professional jobs," he said.

According to Philip Hunter, the author of the handbook, "This is a
guidance material and very practical tool addressed specifically to
business actors and to employers of organizations to identify what
forced labor is, what trafficking is, to clarify these issue on the
basis of ILO and other international standards."

KIRO MANOYAN SEES REGRESS IN THE ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS
Anna Nazaryan

"Radiolur"
19.11.2009 16:10

"The process of normalization of the Armenian Turkish relations may
stretch out for years," Head of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF) Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office Kiro Manoyan told
a press conference today.

Taking into consideration that the documents are neither put on the
agenda of the Turkish Parliament, nor considered by the Armenian
Constitutional Court, Kiro Manoyan concluded that the process could
protract. "There was a greater progress before the signing, while
there was even some regress following the signing. The most important
for Turkey is to show that the process goes on," he said.

Kiro Manoyan does not expect any breakthrough before February-March.

"In March the issue will be put on the agenda of the Turkish
Parliament for the Turkish authorities to be able to demonstrate to
the international community on April 24 that the process continues."

As to the Karabakh issue, the Head of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office
considers that there will be certain pressures in the near future.

However, there are no grounds to believe that Armenia will yield to
those pressures.

CONSTRUCTION OF IRAN-ARMENIA OIL PRODUCTS PIPELINE WITH ANNUAL CAPACITY OF 1.5 MILLION TONS TO BE LAUNCHED IN 2010

ArmInfo
2009-11-19 14:36:00

ArmInfo. Construction of Tabriz (Iran) – Yerashkh (south of Armenia)
oil products pipeline with annual capacity of 1.5 million tons
is to be launched in 2010, Armen Movsisyan, Minister of Energy and
Natural Resources of Armenia told media on Thursday. He said internal
consumption of oil products in Armenia is less than 1.5 million tons,
but the project is designed considering the expected growth of internal
demand for the coming 10-15 years and export opportunities.

(Earlier the minister said that Armenia consumes 450-500,000 tons of
fuel yearly). Project design and preparations have been completed.

Armenia, Russia and Iran have announced their participation in the
project. Iran will be the key financier of the project. Gazprom may
invest 10%, he said. The minister highlighted that transportation
of oil products via the pipeline is up to 8 times cheaper than by
railway. In addition, Tbilisi-Yerevan railway is in poor state
and needs serious reconstruction, A. Movsisyan said. A storage
terminal for oil products is to be built in the town of Yerashkh
in future. Construction will take 2 years. The project will cost
nearly $250-$260 million inclusive of construction of the oil products
pipeline and terminal, the minister said. He mentioned that the 250mm
pipeline will extend 300km from Tabrzi to Yersakh.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DIRECTOR OF THE KHOSROV FOREST STATE RESERVE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION SHOT DEAD

armradio.am
19.11.2009 15:04

On November 19, at about 23:50 Director of the "Khosrov Forest
State Reserve" non-profit organization Samvel Shaboyan, born 1958,
was killed at Myasnikyan Avenue of Yerevan.

The Police found traces of 30 shots on the back right door of the
"Toyota Prado" belonging to Samvel Shaboyan.

The Police are taking investigation and search operations identify
and find the criminals.

A criminal case has been launched; investigation is under way.

ARMENIA FM RECEIVED OSCE ODIHR DIRECTOR

armradio.am
19.11.2009 16:44

The Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, received Ambassador
Janez Lenarcic, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights (OSCE ODIHR).

Issues related to the cooperation between Armenia and OSCE ODIHR were
discussed. Highly appreciating the role of the ODIHR in promoting
human rights and democracy, Edward Nalbandian said Yerevan attaches
great importance to the cooperation with the Office.

Janez Lenarcic approved the cooperation with the Armenian authorities
and expressed gratitude to Edward Nalbandian for visiting the OSCE
ODIHR Office in Washington.

During the conversation the parties attached importance to the ODIHR
assistance to the improvement of electoral processes in Armenia.

Minister Nalbandian and Ambassador Lenarcic discussed the process of
democratic reforms in Armenia and the steps taken in that field.

Minister Nalbandian drew the attention of the ODIHR Director to the
anti-Armenian propaganda of Azerbaijan, stressing that it is a cruel
violation of OSCE standards.

HERITAGE MP: ARMENIA’S VULNERABILITY TO NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF THE GROWING PRICES FOR GAS IS EXPLAINED BY ONE-WAYNESS OF ITS SUPPLIES

ArmInfo
2009-11-19 11:19:00

ArmInfo. Armenia’s vulnerability to the negative consequences of the
growing prices for gas is explained by the fact that the country could
not diversify its supplies in due time, parliamentarian from Heritage
oppositional party Armen Martirosyan told ArmInfo when commenting on
the expected growth of gas prices started April 1, 2010.

To recall, the gas price should increase from $154 to $184 per 1
thsd cub m started April 1, instead of the earlier supposed $200
per 1 thsd cub m. ‘Diversification of supplies was hindered by the
country’s economic policy, being continuation of the state policy. We
have lost the time during which we could create a profitable position
for us’, Martirosyan said. Growth of the gas price to $184 instead of
$200 may have a positive effect, however, even in a "cutdown" form,
it will entail new growth of prices for all the consumer goods,
the pricing of which is connected with gas. ‘It is also important
to remember of the population solvency, as the state budget for 2010
does not envisage growth of wages. Moreover, the prices continuously
grow despite the crisis’, A. Martirosyan said.

According to him, the state agencies will not take measures to
restrain the prices. ‘The market regulatory commissions, being
formally independent, actually function under the government and
cannot follow a policy other than that indicated by the executive
power, while this policy, as known, aims at turning the economy into
a monopoly and oligarchic one’, the parliamentarian said.

BEST RESELLERS IN VIVACELL-MTS’ DEALERS NETWORK ARE AWARDED CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION AND MARTPHONES FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS IN SALES OF AIRTIME VIA TOP-UP

ArmInfo
2009-11-19 13:47:00

ArmInfo. Best resellers in VivaCell-MTS’ dealers network are awarded
certificates of recognition and smartphones for their outstanding
achievements in sales of airtime via Top-Up, press-service of
VivaCell-MTS reports.

Top-up is an innovative, fast, simple and convenient method for
recharging prepaid account. Through this system, VivaCell-MTS prepaid
subscribers, who have run out of airtime, are able to recharge their
account directly from an authorized point of sale with the amount
they wish, starting from 50 AMD to 90,000 AMD.

The deployment of Top-Up service enabled VivaCell-MTS to provide its
resellers with the ability to recharge the account of the subscriber
with airtime mobile handsets, eliminating the need for physical top-up
cards. The reseller/dealer receives the airtime from the operator
and is able to transfer this airtime to the subscriber through a
mobile-to- mobile transaction. The Top-Up prepaid recharge system
was launched this year on the 21st of May, and by the end of Q3,
the system has reached significant share (over 20%) of total market
sales for the prepaid recharge. VivaCell-MTS has over 3,000 points
of sales for recharge airtime via Top-Up across Armenia. During a
special event organized at VivaCell-MTS’ Headquarters the best 3
top resellers from each marz and from the Company’s biggest Top-Up
dealer Press Stand network were awarded certificates of recognition
for their outstanding achievements and tireless efforts in Top-Up
Sales and received valuable phones from VivaCell-MTS.

Besides, the number one Top-Up salesman of Armenia, Lusik Sarikyan, was
also awarded a valuable smart phone and a certificate of recognition
for exceptional work done and outstanding achievements.

Armenia’s number one Top-Up salesman has reached AMD 12,785,000 of
sales volume, which is the top figure in Armenia for Q3 2009.

AN EVENT ON INCREASING THE AWARENESS OF THE NKR IN THE USA

ArmInfo
2009-11-19 13:40:00

Arminfo. The organization Americans for Artsakh held, at the Armenian
Embassy in Washington, an event on increasing the awareness of the
events in Armenia and Artsakh.

NKR Permanent Representative to the USA Robert Avetisian introduced
the history of the Karabakh conflict and the current situation in
the Republic.

It was noted at the event that the Caucasus occupies a significant
place in the international political life and it is extremely important
to thoroughly inform the public about Artsakh in order to help it
maintain its power and identity.

Executive Director of the Americans for Artsakh Sara Ludwig
informed the attendants about the organization’s projects, noting,
in particular, that corresponding training courses were planned in
the NKR for governmental structures’ employees, young leaders, and
other groups.