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10% OF ARMENIANS USE COMPUTERS

Panorama.am
20:16 09/07/2008

Only 10% of Armenians use computers and those using internet are even
less, said Bagrat Engibaryan, the director of Enterprises Incubator
Foundation in a meeting with the journalists today.

According to him the representatives of Information Technologies
have been too busy with the problems of the field in recent years
that they have forgotten to work on forming information society. He
has stated that the development of that society is the main problem
of the field. Armenia does not use the 100 percent potential of its,
and the IT is mainly used in accounting in our country.

According to B. Engibaryan the development of IT field has been
figured out only 30.

TURKEY ANNOUNCES START DATE FOR BAKU-TBILISI-KARS RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION
M. Alkhazashvili

The Messenger
July 9 2008
Georgia

The inauguration ceremony of construction on the Turkish section of
the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will be held on July 24.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul invited both his Georgian and
Azerbaijani counterparts, Mikheil Saakashvili and Ilham Aliyev,
to the ceremony when they met in Astana last week., the news agency
Regnum reports.

The Turkish section, which will be around 70 kilometers in length,
will connect Kars in northeastern Turkey to the Georgian border.

The project was hailed by Saakashvili as a "geopolitical
revolution" last year at the inauguration ceremony of the Georgian
section. However, it is not backed by the US and EU who are concerned
at the project’s exclusion of Armenia.

NSS REQUESTS FACTS

A1+
09 July, 2008

Armenia’s Human Rights Ombudsman Armen Harutiunian had requested
the National Security Service to guarantee the security of the RoA
Ombudsman and his family in accordance with Article 21 of the RoA Law
on "Human Rights Ombudsman." The NSS requests the ombudsman to submit
facts or suppositions based on concrete occurrences which determined
his request," runs the press center of the National Security Service.

The news release of the NSS holds that the action to be taken by the
NSS should be proportionate to the credulousness of the facts.

CENTRAL BANK OF ARMENIA AWARDS CERTIFICATES TO THREE FINANCIAL MARKET PARTICIPANTS FOR BEST HANDBOOKS FOR CONSUMERS

ArmInfo
2008-07-08 15:28:00

The HSBC Bank Armenia, "ACBA Leasing" Universal Credit Organization
(UCO), and "London-Yerevan Co" insurance company have been awarded
certificates by the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) for the best booklets
and handbooks for consumers.

As CBA Deputy Chairman Vache Gabrielyan said during the award ceremony,
the CBA regularly holds surveys at the head offices and branch networks
of the Armenian financial market participants to reveal the level of
availability of information about provided services, particularly,
special attention is paid to booklets and handbooks. "To stimulate
this activity, we decided to award certificates to these 3 companies
which published the best handbooks", he stressed. At the same time,
he noted that the survey was held in May 2008 by a special commission
of 7 experts representing different departments of the CBA.

The experts assessed the design of handbooks, presentation of
information, content of information and its compliance with
legislative acts, as well as the handbook’s availability in
banks. Special attention was paid to the number of copies of the
handbooks. Gabrielyan also recalled that a special department for
protection of interests of consumers of financial services has been
operating in the CBA since 2007.

According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, as of May
1, 2008, a total of 987872 natural and legal persons made use of
banking services in the republic, the monthly growth being 1.7%. 95%
fell on natural persons. As of May 31, 2008, the balance of accounts
of deposits attracted from the country’s population made up 195.7
bln AMD, the monthly growth being 1.8%.

SERZH SARGSIAN:"WE ARE READY TO TALK TO TURKEY"

ARMENPRESS
JULY 9, 2008

The famous "The Wall Street Journal" published today the
article of the Armenian President Serzh Sargsian which we present
below.

"The problems of newly independent nations attempting to build
a novel, democratic way of life did not end with the break-up of the
Soviet Union. Armenia, a small country strategically located between
Turkey, Russia, Iran and the energy-rich Caspian region, is a case in
point. Postindependence Armenia’s potential for peaceful development
has not been realized as best it could.

During the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Turkey closed its border
with Armenia as an expression of ethnic solidarity with Turkic
Azerbaijan. The regrettable result is that for almost 15 years, the
geopolitically vital border between Armenia and Turkey has become
a barrier to diplomatic and economic cooperation. It is closed not
only to Armenians and Turks who might want to visit their neighboring
countries, but to trade, transport and energy flows from East to West.

Strategic projects such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and
the projected Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad bypass Armenia, while the
existing railway between Turkey and Armenia remains shut. And the
Armenian people are not the only ones who have suffered from these
restrictions and detours. All countries in the region, and the broader
community of European nations, pay a high cost for these unnatural
barriers to commerce, progress and international cooperation.

The time has come for a fresh effort to break this deadlock, a
situation that helps no one and hurts many. As president of Armenia,
I take this opportunity to propose a fresh start – a new phase
of dialogue with the government and people of Turkey, with the goal
of normalizing relations and opening our common border.

After my election in February, my Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul,
was one of the first heads of state to congratulate me. Turkey’s Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that the doors are open to
new dialogue in this new period.

There is no real alternative to the establishment of normal relations
between our countries. It is my hope that both of our governments
can pass through the threshold of this new open door. Establishing
normal political relations would enable us to create a commission to
comprehensively discuss all of the complex issues affecting Armenia
and Turkey. We cannot expect tangible progress without such structured
relations. Only through them can we create an effective dialogue
touching upon even the most contentious historical issues.

Already, on a more personal scale, many Armenians and Turks have
found ways to get around the closed border. They take advantage of
regular charter flights from Yerevan to Istanbul and Antalya. There are
numerous bus and taxi routes through Georgia, and container trucks even
make the long detour, enabling some trade between our two countries.

And just as the people of China and the United States shared enthusiasm
for ping pong before their governments fully normalized relations,
the people of Armenia and Turkey are united in their love for football
– which prompts me to extend the following invitation.

On Sept. 6 a World Cup qualifier match between the Armenian and Turkish
national football teams will take place in Yerevan. I hereby invite
President G?l to visit Armenia to enjoy the match together with me
in the stadium. Thus we will announce a new symbolic start in our
relations. Whatever our differences, there are certain cultural,
humanitarian and sports links that our peoples share, even with a
closed border. This is why I sincerely believe that the ordinary
people of Armenia and Turkey will welcome such a gesture and will
cheer the day that our borders open.

There may be possible political obstacles on both sides along the
way. However, we must have the courage and the foresight to act
now. Armenia and Turkey need not and should not be permanent rivals. A
more prosperous, mutually beneficial future for Armenia and Turkey,
and the opening up of a historic East-West corridor for Europe, the
Caspian region and the rest of the world, are goals that we can and
must achieve."

SERZH SARKISSIAN IGNORES SIT-DOWN STRIKERS

A1+
09 July, 2008

Today while people continued their sit-down strike at Northern Avenue
and demanded Serzh Sarkissian to resign office, the latter took a
stroll along Liberty Square escorted by high-rank officials.

Serzh Sarkissian walked around the Opera and Ballet House with Yerevan
Mayor Erwand Zakharian, District Head of Kentron community Gagik
Beglarian, Chief of Police Nerses Nazarian and many others. Then the
group got into a car and departed paying no attention to the strikers.

The president’s visit aroused a hustle and bustle in the area. The
strikers began chanting, "Struggle to the end!" "Levon, President!" "Go
away, Serzh,!"

By the way, they had felt something strange before Serzh Sarkissian
appeared at the square. Some policemen had walked up and demanded
collecting the RoA flags and posters of political prisoners.

"We urge the president to resign and release the political prisoners
so that our children and grandchildren can lead a dignified life,"
said a woman-striker.

Another striker, Lola Hovhannissian, demanded to reveal the wrongdoers
of the March 1 tragic events and call them to justice.

"Policemen came and instructed us to take away the posters and flags
but we disobeyed them. What a disgrace!"

Note, some strikers were talking and others reading a newspaper under
a blazing sun.

PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF ARMENIA TO OSCE HANDED IN LETTER OF RA FM TO OSCE SECRETARY GENERAL

ArmInfo
2008-07-08 11:41:00

OSCE Secretariat is ready to assist in development of a mutually
beneficial cooperation within the frames of OSCE, OSCE Secretary
General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut said during the meeting with RA
Ambassador to Austria, a newly appointed representative of Armenia to
OSCE Ashot Hovakimyan, Information and Press Department of RA Foreign
Ministry told ArmInfo.

According to the message, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut received the
message of RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan from the Armenian
diplomat about appointment of Hovakimyan as permanent representative
of Armenia to OSCE.

For his part, A. Hovakimyan said that OSCE plays in indispensable
role for Armenia from the viewpoint of security in the region and
cooperation development, as well as assurance and strengthening
of stability. In view of this, he said, Armenia welcomes the works
performed by he organization’s secretary general. During the meeting,
the parties also discussed the issues of mutual interest.

OSCE SECRETARIAT TO ASSIST ARMENIA IN DEVELOPING COOPERATION WITHIN ORGANIZATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.07.2008 14:21 GMT+04:00

Armenia’s Ambassador to Austria Ashot Hovakimian handed the OSCE
Secretary General, Mr Marc Perrin de Brichambaut a letter from
Armenia’s Foreign Minsiter Edward Nalbandian on appointment of
Ambassador Hovakimian as RA representative to the OSCE.

During the meeting, the OSCE Sec. Gen. said that the OSCE Secretariat
is ready to assist Armenia in developing cooperation within the
organization.

For his part, Ambassador Hovakimian praised the OSCE as an
indispensable structure for ensuring cooperation and security
throughout Europe, the RA MFA press office reported.

PRESENCE OF FRENCH CO-CHAIR OF OSCE MG AT MILITARY PARADE IN BAKU IS AN OUTRAGEOUS FACT AND IS WORTH CONDEMNING BY ARMENIA, AN EXPERT THINKS

ArmInfo
2008-07-08 17:43:00

The presence of French Co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group
Bernard Fassier at the military parade in Baku is an outrageous
fact and diplomatic ignorance, Armenian political expert Levon
Melik-Shahnazaryan said at a press-conference at Urbat club, Tuesday.

According to him, the military parade at the main square of Baku was
an unsuccessful attempt to demonstrate strength and pressure on both
mediators and the countries interested in maintenance of peace in
the region.

"Azerbaijan didn’t even conceal this despite the fact that the
demonstrated strength was only seeming", the expert stressed. He
expressed confidence that the foreign ministries of Armenia
and Karabakh should have publicly responded to this and demanded
explanations from Fassier personally what he wanted to see or learn
at the parade and how his presence contributed to the success of
his intermediary activity. "Unfortunately, this wasn’t done for
inexplicable reasons". To recall, the military parade timed to the
90th anniversary of the Azeri Armed Forces took place in Baku on
June 26. During the parade, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev again made
militarist statements with respect to Armenia.

KATHRYN COOK WINS INGE MORATH AWARD
Daryl Lang

Photo District News
July 7 2008
NY

The 2008 Inge Morath has been awarded to Kathryn Cook for her project
"Memory Denied: Turkey and the Armenian Genocide."

The award is given annually to a female documentary photographer under
the age of 30 in memory of longtime Magnum photographer Inge Morath,
who died in 2002.

Cook will receive $5,000 in support of her project on the lingering
impact in Turkey from the Armenian massacres of the early 20th
century. In December, Cook won a $25,000 grant from the Aftermath
Foundation to support the same project.

Cook, an American photographer based in Istanbul, has worked for the
Associated Press and for publications including Time and The New York
Times. She was named one of PDN’s 30 last year.

The two finalists for this year’s Inge Morath Award are Leonie Purchas
of the U.K. and Alice Smeets of Belgium.

Last year’s Inge Morath Award winner, Olivia Arthur, was just elected
as a nominee to Magnum Photos.