Month: November 2009

TIGRAN SARGSIAN RECEIVES KONSUELO VIDAL COMPLETING HER DIPLOMATIC MISSION IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Nov 11, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian,
on November 11, receiving UN Permanent Coordinator Konsuelo Vidal
completing her diplomatic mission in Armenia specially emphasized
the importance of the work K. Vidal did in Armenia during the four
years of her mission. The Prime Minister considered pivotal not only
the work done by all UN agencies but also Permanent Coordinator’s
personal contribution and expressed gratitude for it.

In response, K. Vidal assured that she will stay Armenia’s friend. She
gave assurance that the next Permanent Coordinator will continue the
good traditions of cooperation and will raise the contacts between
the RA government and UN to a new level.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT VISITS KALININGRAD REGION OF RUSSIA

Noyan Tapan
Nov 11, 2009

KALININGRAD, NOVEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. During his working visit
to Kaliningrad region (Russia), Armenian President Serzh Sagrsyan
accompanied by Kaliningrad Governor Georgy Boos went to the newly-built
Yantarny sport and cultural complex constructed by Armenian builders.

Then a meeting of the Armenian president and the governor of
Kaliningrad region took place, during which they discussed issues
related to the further extension of cooperation between Armenia and
Kaliningrad region and the projects to be implemented. S. Sargsyan
said that inter-regional cooperation is of great importance for
developing the Armenian-Russian strategic partnership.

The interlocutors expressed a hope that the agreements reached during
the visit of S. Sargsyan will produce visible results in the economic
life in the coming months.

S. Sargsyan was handed an Order of Honor – the highest award of
Kaliningrad region, the RA presidential press service reported.

S. Sargsyan and G. Boos attended the opening ceremony of the Armenian
cultural center built by efforts of the local Armenian community. A
lot of members of the Armenian community were present at the ceremony.

S. Sargsyan stated that the establishment of such a center in
Kaliningrad is a manifestation of the strong, centuries-old friendship
between Armenia and Russia. S. Sargsyan awarded a Movses Khorenatsi
medal to Armenia’s Honorary Consul in Kaliningrad region Yuri Kajoyan
for his significant contribution to the center’s construction, the
preservation of Armenian identity in Kaliningrad region, and the
development of Armenia-Diaspora links.

S. Sargsyan toured the newly-opened center and presented textbooks
and Armenian-language literature to it. He thanked the Kaliningrad
governor for his constant support and attentive attitude to the
Armenian community and for his assistance to the construction of
the cultural center. In the words of G. Boos, the Armenians have
a good reputation in the region and their daily work makes a great
contribution to the development of Kaliningrad region.

The Armenian delegation headed by S. Sargsyan and composed of
Secretary of the National Security Council Arthur Baghdasarian,
Minister of Diaspora Ms. Hranush Hakobian, Minister of Agriculture
Gerasim Alaverdian, and Mayor of Yerevan Gagik Beglarian will return
to Yerevan late November 11.

MCCAIN RECOGNIZES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

armradio.am
12.11.2009 11:10

The Republican Party’s 2008 Presidential nominee, Arizona Senator John
McCain, has publicly and properly recognized the Armenian Genocide,
breaking with his longstanding silence on this human rights issue
and, in the process, dramatically underscoring the post-election
retreat by his campaign opponent, President Barack Obama, from his
high-profile pledge to properly condemn and commemorate this crime,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

"I believe that genocide was committed against the Armenian people,
and I think there is ample documentation of that," Sen. McCain told
the Voice of America Georgian language service in an interview focusing
on the Caucasus as well as Armenia-Turkey relations.

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Sen. McCain issued two
statements to the Armenian American community, both falling short of
properly characterizing as genocide the Ottoman Turkish Government’s
deportation and annihilation of its Armenian community. "It is fair to
say that one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century, the brutal
murder of as many as one and a half million Armenians under the rule
of the Ottoman Empire, has also been one of the most neglected. The
suffering endured by the Armenian people during that period represented
the prologue to what has come to be known as humanity’s bloodiest
century," stated Sen. McCain in a September 29, 2008, statement.

Senator McCain has, throughout his tenure in the Congress, largely
opposed or remained indifferent to an array of Armenian American
issues. As recently as the last session of Congress, Senator McCain
publicly opposed Congressional recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

In 1999, he voted against restricting U.S. aid to Azerbaijan over
its blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia
and Nagorno Karabagh. He voted against Senator Bob Dole’s Armenian
Genocide Resolution in 1990.

Sen. McCain also supports the Turkey-Armenia Protocols process.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PEACEBUILDING DIRECTORY PRESENTED AT THE UN ARMENIA OFFICE

armradio.am
12.11.2009 14:02

Today a peacebuilding portal and a book "The Directory of Peacebuilding
Organizations in the Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth
of Independent States" were officially launched at the UN Office
in Armenia with participation of Mr. Dirk Boberg, UNDP Deputy
Resident Representative (UNDP DRR) in Armenia, H.E. Hans-Jochen
Schmidt, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Armenia,
and Ms. Dziunik Aghajanian, head of Department of International
Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic
of Armenia.

The peacebuilding portal and the publication of the book is a joint
activity of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
and UNDP, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Germany.

The peacebuilding portal aims to promote collaboration and consultation
among organizations and individuals working in conflict prevention and
peacebuilding. It assists those in civil society, local and national
governments, and the international community with information on a
specific country or conflict theme, such as peacebuilding, conflict
management, gender issues, disarmament, environment, development,
and human rights, in a results based, real time way.

The publication aims to provide newly collected information in English
and in Russian about civil society and national organizations in
the CIS and in CEE working in the field of conflict prevention and
peacebuilding.

Welcoming the participants, Mr. Dirk Boberg, UNDP DRR outlined the
role of the UN system in the field of conflict prevention in general
and highlighted in particular UNDP’s approach to conflict sensitive
development. "UNDP has reaffirmed that crisis prevention should be
integral part of sustainable human development strategies. For UNDP
"peacebuilding" means the integration of conflict prevention into
development programmes, building and accompanying national processes
and institutions for conflict management, and building consensus
through dialogue" Mr. Boberg said.

The UNDP DRR stated that a successful preventive strategy depends on
the cooperation of many actors beyond the UN system and its different
organs, funds and programs. It includes member states, international,
regional, and sub-regional organizations, the private sector,
non-governmental organizations, and other civil society groups who have
an important role to play. In this context the Peacebuilding Portal
will play a pivotal role to facilitate information dissemination,
information exchange, and networking among national and international
stakeholders.

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN MEETS OUTGOING UN RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE IN ARMENIA

armradio.am
12.11.2009 14:41

President Serzh Sargsyan today received Consuelo Vidal, UN Resident
Coordinator and UNDP Permanent Representative in Armenia, who is
completing her mission in our country.

President Sargsyan expressed gratitude to Mrs. Vidal for the work done
during the four years of her tenure in office and for contribution
to the implementation of development programs in Armenia.

For her part, Consuelo Vidal expressed gratitude for the excellent
cooperation between the UNDP and Armenia. She said she was leaving
Armenia with wonderful memories, and noted that she would always be
a friend of Armenia.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the balanced development of
Armenian regions, as well as the organization of a census in Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

6TH SWINE FLU CASE REGISTERED IN ARMENIA

armradio.am
12.11.2009 15:22

The sixth swine flu case has been registered in Armenia. The infected
person was again detected at the airport. A Turkish citizen arrived
in Armenia from Istanbul last afternoon.

The citizen was immediately taken to the Infection Clinic of Nork
to undergo necessary medical examination. The examination proved the
existence of H1N1 virus.

The specialists assess the patient’s condition as satisfactory. He
is also treated with Tamiflu.

20 INTERNATIONALLY WANTED CRIMINALS DETECTED IN ARMENIA LAST YEAR
Lusine Vasilyan

"Radiolur"
12.11.2009 16:20

Al in all, 256 Armenians are wanted by Interpol. Information about 12
of them has been posted on an open website, Interpol National Central
Bureau Chief Vardan Yeghiazaryan told a press conference today. He
spoke about the policy and priorities of the structure.

"Fortunately, we have no world known criminals today. For our
organization there is no difference whether the criminal is a famous
terrorist Carlson or some Yeghiazaryan. The investigation has the
same power and the same capacities," he said.

The main goal is to help the law-enforcement bodies to find the
criminals and missing persons. In 2008 Interpol helped to detect 95
wanted persons. 54 of them were arrested, another 20 were extradited.

Twenty internationally wanted criminals were found In Armenia last
year. Most of them were citizens of Armenia wanted by the Russian
Federation, Germany and Poland.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WHAT WILL ARMENIA GAIN OR LOSE AS A RESULT OF OPENING OF THE TURKEY BORDER?
Anna Nazaryan

"Radiolur"
12.11.2009 16:50

The issue never came out of the emotional field during the two months
following the pre-signing of the Armenian-Turkish protocols, said
Vahagn Khacharyan, ex-Mayor of Yerevan, Representative of the Armenian
National Congress. According to him, no calculations were made of
what we would gain or lose as a result of opening of the Turkey border.

"I’d not like Armenia to appear before Turkey as a country in a poor
economic condition. I’d not like us to repeatedly state how good it
is to open the border with an economically powerful country," he said.

"It’s clear that we’ll benefit from the economic perspective. But what
will be the political implications? The commodity turnover between
Armenia and Turkey increased from $50 million to $250 million by
September. By the end of the year the commodity turnover is going to
reach $400 million. In case the border is opened, it will reach $600
million. However, it’s not clear who’s going to benefit from this –
the common citizens or the oligarchs?" Vahagn Khacharyan said.

According to the representative of the Armenian National Congress,
Turkey will also benefit from the opening of the border. The open
border will be a transport link for that country.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER TO VISIT BULGARIA

armradio.am
12.11.2009 17:35

On November 12 President of the National Assembly, Hovik Abrahamyan
received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bulgaria to
Armenia, Todor Staykov.

During the meeting the Ambassador of Bulgaria conveyed the letter of
the President of the National Assembly of his country, Mrs. Tsetska
Tsacheva, including an invitation to her Armenian counterpart to make
an official visit to Sofia. "I take this opportunity to express my
satisfaction on the occasion of the friendly and partnership relations
established between Bulgaria and Armenia and ensure my willingness
for developing the inter-parliamentary cooperation in the future,"
Ambassador Staykov quoted Mrs. Tsacheva as saying.

Mr. Abrahamyan accepted that invitation with gratitude. The
interlocutors agreed that the terms of the upcoming visit of the
Armenian Parliament Speaker to Bulgaria would be specified through
diplomatic channels.

The Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly and the Ambassador of
Bulgaria discussed a wide range of issues concerning the development
of bilateral relations. They highlighted in particular the work of
the inter-governmental commission and paid special attention to the
deepening of trade-economic relations. In that context the sides agreed
to organize an Armenian-Bulgarian business-forum in the near future.

During the meeting the interlocutors touched upon the issues of the
influence of the global financial-economic crisis and normalization
of Armenian-Turkish relations without preconditions.

IMF PREDICTS A 15.5% GDP DECLINE IN ARMENIA BY YEAREND
Shakeh Avoyan

"Radiolur"
12.11.2009 17:48

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts a 15.5% GDP decline in
Armenia following the results of 2009, Head of the IMF Representative
Office in Armenia Ninke Omes said this at a press conference in
Yerevan today.

According to her, in January-September, 2009, the GDP decline made
18.3%. "This is a very negative index. However, the GDP index increased
1.7%"in September as compared to August," Ninke Omes stated.

According to her, this evidences the gradual rehabilitation of the
Armenian economy.

Speaking about long-term forecasts, Ninke Omes informed that, according
to IMF assessments, in 2010, the growth of Armenian GDP will make
1.2%, and in 2011 – 3%. The following years, GDP will increase by 0.5%
each year until 2014.

Touching upon the policy of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA),
Ninke Omes noted that IMF recommends the Central Bank to carry out
the policy of "manageable floating exchange rate."

"CBA should not interfere with objective trends of the exchange rate.

However, from time to time it can pour currency into the market to
avoid strong shocks," she stated.