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ARUSYAK SAHAKIAN TO GIVE LECTURE ON ARMENIAN WOMAN’S IMAGE IN PASADENA

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 19, 2008

PASADENA, MAY 19, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. Ethnographer Arusyak
Sahakian will give a lecture under the title "Armenian Women as Leaders
and Political Figures Over Centuries" on June 14 in Pasadena. According
to the reports of local Armenian media, the lecture is organized by
the Armenian Woman organization of the Armenian General Benevolent
Union (AGBU).

EP FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE TO DEBATE REPORT ON TURKEY’S 2007 PROGRESS MAY 21

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.05.2008 14:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee
will debate May 21 a report on Turkey’s 2007 progress. "Transform
priorities and time-lines into reform plans," the Foreign Affairs
Committee urged Turkey, in its latest progress report.

The committee welcomes several recent legislative activities of Turkey,
while insisting that the speed of reforms must pick up. The report
"welcomes the commitment of Prime Minister Erdogan that 2008 is
going to be the year of reforms" and "urges the Turkish government
to fulfill its promises" by implementing them.

The report has been amended considerably since it was put on the
agenda on April 21.

As the European Armenian Federation said earlier, the "new preparatory
document seems to be less brief than the former one which essentially
aimed at exhibiting a gesture of goodwill towards the new elected
Turkish government. Nevertheless, it remains well short of European
expectations by continuing in minimizing the serious breaches of
Turkey."

In the "external relations" chapter, the draft report "calls on
the Turkish government to end the economic blockade and re-open its
border with Armenia" but, in accordance with the rest of the document,
abstains from condemning Turkey. The Armenian Genocide issue is dodged
by a wording which "calls on the Turkish and Armenian governments to
start a process of reconciliation, in respect of the present and the
past, allowing for a frank and open discussion of past events".

"This wording is typically dictated by Ankara: by refusing to mention
the Genocide, it is denialist; by sending away Turkey and Armenia, the
genocide is rooted out from the political scene and from the context
of International Law in order to consider it as a tool of the only
conflict between a criminal state and its victims", commented Hilda
Tchoboian, the chairperson of the European Armenian Federation.

MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE FUND CONCERNED ABOUT COMPLIANCE WITH SOME CRITERIA FORMING PROGRAM’S BASIS

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 16, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 16, NOYAN TAPAN. During a tete-a-tete talk with the
U.S. State Department’s Coordinator for Assistance to Europe and
Eurasia Tom Adams, the Armenian president Serge Sargsian attached
special importance to the strengthening of Armenia’s relations with
the United States, viewing these relations in the context of economic
success, democratization and regional stability.

The sides spoke about the postelection situation in Armenia and
the resultant problems. They discussed further activities of the
Millennium Challenge Fund. According to the RA president’s press
service, Tom Adams said that they have some concern over compliance
with the criteria forming the basis of the program.

Noting that the Fund-sponsored programs are mostly aimed at poverty
reduction and overcoming the disproportion in development of urban
and rural settlements, Serge Sargsian said that Armenia intends
to continue its cooperation with the Millennium Challenge Fund. As
for the economic and political criteria that form the Fund’s basis,
the president pointed out that there has been no regress from the
economic point of view, to which Tom Adams agreed, saying that
Armenia’s macroeconomic indices were and continue to be good.

The interlocutors exchanged ideas about the political criteria and
processes as well. The president underlined the necessity to give
a correct assessment of the situation. Tom Adams considered it
important to conduct a deep inquiry into the electoral violations
and postelection developments.

ENTRANCE TO ALL ARMENIAN MUSEUMS TO BE FREE ON MAY 18

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 16, 2008

YEREVAN, MAY 16, NOYAN TAPAN. The International Day of Museums will
be marked on May 18 in Armenia. Entrance to all museums of Yerevan
and regions will be free for visitors on that day.

As Anahit Galstian, the head of the Museums and Libraries Department
of the RA Ministry of Culture, said in her interview to Noyan
Tapan correspondent, at present 110 state and non-state museums,
house-museums, and reserve-museums function in Armenia, 60 out of
which are under state care and 30 under care of communities. The
rest museums work under the patronage of individual citizens or
organizations. Though museums have had many obstacles in the recent
years, they continued working. Some museums have been closed, but
new ones have been opened instead.

According to A. Galstian, Armenia has joined three actions on the
occasion of the International Day of Museums, the most interesting
of which is the Museum Night action announced on May 17.

The International Day of Museums has been marked in Armenia since 1978.

THE FIRST MEETING BETWEEN THE ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJAN’S PRESIDENTS,SERZH SARGSYAN AND ILHAM ALIYEV

Interfax News Agency
May 15 2008
Russia

Petersburg on June 7, Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandian said.

The parties will be discussing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the
minister said.

"The Armenian and Azeri presidents will meet on the sidelines of
the informal summit of the CIS heads of state in St. Petersburg,"
Nalbandian told journalists.

CORNET-AM LAUNCHES SERVICE ON DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION IN .AM ZONE

ARKA
May 16, 2008

YEREVAN, May 16. /ARKA/. "Cornet-AM" closed joint stock company,
a daughter company of "COMSTAR-Obyedinenniye TeleSystems" (Comstar
United Telesystems) in Armenia launched services on registration of
domain names in Armenia’s .am national zone, the Press Service of
"COMSTAR-Obyedinenniye TeleSystems" reported.

"Cornet-AM" signed a contract with AMNIC registrator (Armenia Network
Information Centre) entitling the Armenian operator to independently
register top-level country domain names in .am zone, says the press
release.

"Today most of our users are corporate clients who attach importance
to high-quality service and a set pf additional interesting services,"
the General Director of "Cornet-AM" Boris Demirkhanian said.

According to him, modern companies often need to have a webpage. "We,
being one of the biggest Internet operators in the country, can offer
this service now," Demirkhanian said.

Domain.am is the official domain of Armenia established in August 1994.

According to AMNIC, over 1,000 websites are currently registered in
the .am zone.

"COMSTAR-Obyedinenniye TeleSystems" (COMSTAR-OTS, LSE: CMST) is the
biggest operator of united telecommunication services in Russia and
the Commonwealth of Independent States.

ARARAT OUR GAS

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 17, 2008
Armenia

According to architect Narek Sargsyan: `In reality mountain Ararat is
the main pre-condition of the investments. The view of Ararat from
Armenia is the main motivation for the foreign investments. That is to
say Ararat is our gas, oil, our sea and has a big role in the tow
building.

All the investors ask whether they can view Ararat from the certain
building or the location. If they can then the main problem is solved.

Thus, at present Ararat brings lots of investors to Armenia.

RUSSIAN AIR DEFENSE CHIEF ON BASE IN ABKHAZIA

Civil Georgia
May 15 2008
Georgia

Russian military base in Abkhazia would have improved Russian border
protection, Russian news agency reported quoting Alexander Zelin,
commander of the Russian Air Forces.

"If the relevant political decision is taken [on setting up of base in
Abkhazia], it will promote the implementation of air defense tasks,"
RIA Novosti quoted Zelin as saying on May 15.

The Russian commander also noted that Russia had close cooperation with
Armenia in air defense-related issues. "We would like to have similar
relations with Georgia. Unfortunately, it is impossible," he added.

Abkhaz leader, Sergey Bagapsh, said on May 13 that Sokhumi wanted to
have Russian military presence to provide security guarantees. Russian
Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, however, said last week that the
proposal on military cooperation with Abkhazia was not discussed.

ARMENIA TO STRENGTHEN DIPLOMATIC PRESENCE IN LEBANON

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.05.2008 17:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia intends to strengthen its diplomatic presence
in Lebanon, RA Foreign Ministry official said Thursday.

"We will send one more diplomat to Lebanon next week, thus bringing
the number of diplomats to three," said Armen Melkonyan, head of the
Middle East division at the Armenian MFA.

"The decision is conditioned by the complicated internal political
situation in the country," said, adding that the post of Armenia’s
Ambassador to Lebanon is still vacant, Novosti Armenia reports.

By a President’s decree of March 26, 2008, Vahan Ter-Ghevondyan was
released from the post of Armenia’s ambassador to Lebanon he had
occupied since January 2006.

Fierce clashes escalated in Beirut a week ago between Sunni supporters
of the government and loyalists of Hezbollah, the Shiite militant
group, after Hezbollah’s leader said the government had declared war
by threatening to shut down the group’s private telephone network.

Hezbollah gunmen melted off the streets of Beirut Saturday, heeding
an army call to pull the fighters out after the Shiite militants
demonstrated their military might in a power struggle with the
U.S.-backed government.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, in his first public statement since
sectarian clashes erupted on Wednesday, said Lebanon can no longer
tolerate Hezbollah having weapons. He called on the army to restore
law and order and remove gunmen from the streets.

Despite his tough talk, Saniora made a key concession to the
Hezbollah-led opposition that would effectively shelve the two
government decisions that sparked the fighting.

Muslim West Beirut was mostly calm a day after Hezbollah and its allies
seized control of neighborhoods from Sunnis loyal to the government.

Most Hezbollah gunmen had pulled out, leaving small bands of their
Shiite Amal allies to patrol the streets.

While tensions in the capital appeared to be defusing, violence spread
and intensified in other parts of the country.

At least 12 people were killed and 20 wounded when pro- and
anti-government groups fought in a remote region of northern Lebanon,
Lebanese security and hospital officials said. It was the heaviest
toll for a single clash since fighting began.

At least 37 people have been killed in four days of clashes – the
worst sectarian violence since Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.

DIALOGUE DEEMED CRUCIAL IN LEBANON

Yerkir
15.05.2008 16:18

Yerevan (Yerkir) – "As a result of mediations by the Arab League,
the Lebanese government cancelled two earlier decisions yesterday that
had led to the opposition discontent," Shahan Gantaharian, the chief
editor of the Azdak newspaper published in Beirut, has told Yerkir.

Armed clashes have stopped in Lebanon but the civil disobedience is
partially maintained. Many important roads, including the one leading
to the airport, are blocked. Gantaharian said, however, that according
to unofficial information, the airport will open soon.

As a result of the negotiations, it has been deemed crucial to
establish a dialogue atmosphere in the country. It has been suggested
to hold a dialogue between the government and the opposition in Qatar,
but those are just talks, Gantaharian said.

Gantaharian also said that only 4-5 Armenian citizens have left
Lebanon though Syria.

"There is no a huge flow of Armenian citizens leaving Lebanon as the
number of Armenian citizens is limited here. Only some have left. It
is also unknown if the Beirut-Yerevan flights are going to resume,"
Gantaharian said.