Month: November 2009

RA AMBASSADOR UN REFUTES AZERI DISINFORMATION ABOUT KHOJALU

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.11.2009 13:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Addressing the participants, Azerbaijani Ambassador
to the UN Agshin Mehdiyev addressed the so-called "Khojalu massacre".

For his part, Armenia’s Ambassador Karen Nazaryan emphasized that
his speech is conditioned by the necessity to denounce the ethnic
cleansings perpetrated by Azerbaijan before and during the Karabakh
conflict.

He also reminded that ex-president of Azerbaijan Ayaz Mutalibov
accused the Azeri opposition of organizing the killings in Khojalu
with a purpose to put the blame on the authorities. "Baku provoked
the war in Karabakh and thanks to Armenia’s interference, the people
of Nagorno Karabakh survived," he said.
From: Baghdasarian

SHEVKET SHAJDULLIN: THE STATUS OF NATIONAL COMPANY STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT FOR SCR

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.11.2009 13:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "South Caucasus Railways" has proposed the government
of Armenia to give the company the national status, press service of
South Caucasus Railways reports.

"The status of a national transportation company will enable the
enterprise to enter global transportation and logistics organizations,
provide an opportunity for more equitable cooperation with other
railway companies of neighboring countries. This will promote the
interests of Armenia and will help to become more interesting for
investment," General Director of "SCR" Shevket Shajdullin said.

Rapid developments in the South Caucasus, particularly the opening
of borders, the discussed construction of the Iran-Armenia railway
can drastically change the external and internal environment of
the Armenia’s economy, and the role of the railway in economic and
political life.

"With such developments Armenian railway should be considered as a
transit link in the international transport corridors between Europe
and Asia and North-South. It seems realistic that the railroad would
help to bring other spheres of economy to international markets, " Mr.

Shajdullin said.

The question of obtaining the status of a national company was raised
at the meeting of the Inter-parliamentary Commission on Cooperation
between RF Federal Assembly and RA National Assembly on November 9.

Proposal of SCR’s head was verbally approved by parliamentarians.

WILLIAM HALE: ZERO-PROBLEM POLICY AS CHALLENGING AS RIDING TWO HORSES

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.11.2009 13:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey’s current policy of zero problems with
neighbors is better than its highly defensive and securitized foreign
policy of the past, but this new policy puts Ankara in the position
of a circus rider who is riding two horses at the same time, a Turkish
expert said.

"I think it is extremely difficult for Turkey at the moment to have
good relations with Syria, Israel and Palestine," said Professor
William Hale from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS),
University of London.

He recalled that there were times in the past, too, when
Turkish-Israeli relations were not good – even worse than today. "For
example, in the 1970s, there were sharp reactions from the Turkish
government to the annexation of East Jerusalem by Israel. At one
point, Turkey even broke off diplomatic relations with Israel, but
now there is no intention of breaking relations. Relations with Israel
are too developed to allow such a thing to happen. You have Hamas and
a divided Palestine on the one side, and the rightist government in
Israel on the other. That makes, for the time being, two horses going
in opposite directions," he said, Today’s Zaman reported.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BUDGET ALLOCATES UP TO 1 BILLION AMD FOR ANTI-HAIL STATIONS IN 2010

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.11.2009 14:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Anti-hail stations are important for Armenia,
state budget allocates up to 1 billion AMD for anti-hail stations in
2010, RA prime minister Tigran Sargsyan told a government meeting on
November 12.

The Armenian government approved measures to develop the system of
anti-hail stations on the territory of Armenia in 2010-2011.

Minister of Emergency Situations Mher Shahgeldyan informed that
this program is also aimed to prevent and combat the influence of
atmospheric effects on the environment. In addition, the development
of anti-hail stations will help to introduce new technologies, as
well to stations abroad.

ARMEN PETROSYAN: UNLIKE CAUCASIAN EPICS, HEROES IN ARMENIAN EPICS ARE REAL PEOPLE

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.11.2009 14:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The third international conference on "Armenian
National Epic and World Epic Heritage " has brought together scholars
from Armenia, Abkhazia, United States and Germany. Discussion is
devoted to various aspects of Armenian epic.

Participants will introduce reports on the following themes: "Results
and prospects of studying Armenian epic" (Samvel Harutyunyan),
"Comparison of Armenian and Caucasian epics" (Armen Petrosyan),
"Records of XVI century Portuguese travelers on the narrative retelling
of ‘Daredevils of Sasun’ " (Peter Kaui), "Combat between David and
Mher in the context of Indo-European heroic poetry" (Karl Richell),
"Abkhazia’s Abskir and Armenia’s Mher" (Zurab Japua) etc.

"19th century Russian and French scholars dwelled on the common
features of Armenian and Caucasian epic. They also stressed that
cultural development came from the East. Evidently, common features
are reflected through images and bear a structural and schematic
character. Both Armenian and Caucasian epics have twin heroes –
the founders of the country or capital towns, as well as key and
resurrected heroes," Armenian Petrosyan said, summing up his speech.

He also stressed that unlike Caucasian epics, Armenian epics have
historical heroes representing Artashesyan royal house.

In his report on the "History of Written Epic", Director of RA NAS
Institute of Literature Azat Yeghuzaryan said, "It should be noted that
epics live longer than the peoples who created them. A fair example is
"Gilgamesh" which to day is a source of study for literary critics and
historians and contributes to the development of those disciplines."

"Armenian epic David of Sasun survived to the present day thanks
to Garegin Srvandztyan who compiled records into a book in 1865,"
Azat Yeghiazaryan stressed.

To prolong the life of epics and achieve their international
recognition it is necessary to record the pieces of folk art, he added.

Conference objective is to analyze recent studies in epic literature
and compare Armenian epic with those of other nations, pointing out
similarities and differences.

Conference organizer is RA NAS Institute of Archaeology and
Scientific-Research Centre of Armenian-Russian (Slavonic) University.

This is the third conference on Armenian epic, which will last till
November 14. Previous conferences devoted to the theme were organized
in 2004 and 2006.

OSCE PA NEVER DISCUSSED TURKEY’S CO-CHAIRMANSHIP ISSUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.11.2009 14:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has never discussed
Turkey’s co-chairmanship issue, MP Aram Safaryan, Head of Armenian
delegation in OSCE PA, told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, commenting
upon statement made by Head of Turkish delegation to the OSCE PA
Alaattin Buyukkaya.

"Since 1993, Turkey has been seeking to strengthen its efforts in OSCE
MG. Armenian authorities announced several times that only neutral
countries can act as intermediaries in the process. Ankara has never
held a neutral stance. On the contrary, it continues imposing embargos
on Armenia, hampering its development," he said.

In a recent interview to Day.az, Head of Turkish Delegation to OSCE
PA Alaattin Buyukkayaa said mediators saw no obstacles in Turkey’s
becoming a co-chairing state. "If OSCE starts discussions over
the issues, Armenia will have no objection to Turkey’s membership,"
Turkish official said, adding that Armenia allegedly gave non-official
consent to liberating territories of Karabakh.

Safaryan denied existence of such issues in negotiation agenda.

"Parties, as we know, are currently conducting talks over Nagorno
Karabakh status. And Armenia has many a time insisted on admissibility
of any status inferior to the existing one. There’s no alternative
here," Head of Armenian delegation said, characterizing such statements
as Turkish side’s attempts to exert psychological pressure on Armenia.

In addition, Armenian MP said that OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is
"positively disposed to the issue."

CONCEPT OF TRANSITION TO DIGITAL TELEVISION AND RADIO ELABORATED IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.11.2009 15:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The government of Armenia approved the concept of
transition to digital television and radio at November 12 meeting. The
minister of economy Nerses Yeritsyan reported that within a month
the concept will be presented for public debate, until late 2009 the
ministry will prepare a its implementation plan and develop a package
of legislative changes to start implementation from the early 2010,
which will be completed by 2015.

In this regard, the minister noted that transition to digital
broadcasting is timely and will lay the basis of information society
in the country.

According to Nerses Yeritsyan, this project will be funded through
public-private participation, and according to preliminary estimates
investment can reach USD 200 million.

A social package, including installment of an appropriate device,
will be provided to socially vulnerable population. According to
official figures about 99 per cent of TVs purchased over the past
five or six years are adapted to digital broadcasting.

BOXERS COMPETED IN TWILIGHT AT VACHIK MKRTCHYAN MEMORIAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.11.2009 15:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ 4th traditional Memorial, dedicated to the memory of
the international boxing sports master, the warrior-liberator Vachik
Lazarian started November 12 in Yerevan. Participants and organizers
of the Memorial before the start of the fighting visited Yerablur in
the morning, where the warrior-liberator was buried.

The fighting began at 13:00. The first day boxers came out in 7 weight
categories. The first day during one of the battles the lights went
out in the hall, but the organizers, despite dissatisfaction of
arbitrators decided to continue the tournament.

"The tournament is important, because it helps to form the youth team
of Armenia, which will take part in the championship of Armenia and
the European Championship to be held in France," chief arbiter of
the tournament Artak Maloumyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. 122
fighters aged 17-18 from all regions of Armenia take part in the
Memorial.

SHOOTING CHAMPIONSHIP STARTS NOVEMBER 13 IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.11.2009 16:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Open shooting championship starts on November 13
in Armenia. Competitions will be held November 14-15 in the Junior
shooting school in Yerevan

"The championship will be attended by 50 boys and girls under 20 from
Yerevan, Gyumri and Vanadzor," president of the Armenia’s Shooting
Federation Grachya Petikyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

IMF ALLOCATES REGULAR TRANCHE TO ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.11.2009 16:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On October 30, IMF Executive Board confirmed the
amount of regular tranche to be allocated to Armenia. The sum making
up $60 million has already been transferred to RA Central Bank, IMF
permanent representative in Armenia Ninke Omes announced in Yerevan.

At that he noted that Central Bank is expected to spend allocations on
making up state reserves. The sum envisaged for Armenia totales $820
million, of which $480 million has already been paid. "The rest of
the sum will be paid during the upcoming year and in the first half
of 2011, on condition RA Government complies with IMF requirements,"
Ninke Omes stressed.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress