Author: Andranik Taslakhchian

The New York Post
December 8, 2004 Wednesday
U.N. SLICKSTER EYED IN LAUNDER SCHEME
by NILES LATHEM Post Correspondent
WASHINGTON – Congressional investigators are examining whether the
former head of the U.N. oil-for-food program laundered profits from
shady oil deals with Saddam Hussein through family businesses in
Cyprus to make it look as if his newfound wealth was coming from an
“inheritance.”
A spokesman for the House International Relations Committee told The
Post yesterday the panel is investigating new information that
ex-oil-for-food chief Benon Sevan concocted an elaborate scheme to
hide profits he received from sweetheart oil deals by diverting money
to family members in his native Cyprus.
“The information we received is that he diverted the money [from the
deals] to family members in Cyprus,” the spokesman said.
“We have been informed that it was set up so that if he were to be
put in a room and asked where his money came from, he would say it
came from inheritance from his grandmother or an aunt.”
The committee is now searching for a money trail through banks in
several countries, the spokesman said. Sevan hasn’t been questioned
by the congressional probers.
Sevan, an Armenian Cypriot, is a career U.N. bureaucrat at the center
of the burgeoning oil-for-food scandal, which has thrown the world
body into a crisis and threatens to topple Secretary-General Kofi
Annan.
Sevan, who owns homes in Manhattan and the Hamptons, is alleged to
have made millions in profits through a scheme in which Saddam
granted vouchers that allowed recipients to buy Iraqi oil at
below-market prices and resell it on the open market at profits of up
to 50 cents a barrel.
In one series of trades, revealed in Iraqi Oil Ministry documents
earlier this year, Sevan earned $1.2 million through nine oil
allocations from 1998 to 2003 through Africa Middle East Petroleum, a
mysterious Panamanian-based company headed by a nephew of former U.N.
Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
A report by CIA weapons inspector Charles Duelfer in October said
Sevan received allocations from several other companies, including
one based in Cyprus.
Duelfer also reported that an Egyptian middleman associated with
Africa Middle East Petroleum would travel to Baghdad and sign
documents on Sevan’s behalf and pick up the oil vouchers.
Former Iraqi Vice President Taha Ramadan personally oversaw the deals
involving Sevan, Duelfer reported.
Sevan eventually was cut off from the oil gravy train because Saddam
was not satisfied he was doing enough for him and was angered that
Sevan’s companies were not paying kickbacks to his regime,
investigators said.
Sevan has repeatedly denied he took oil bribes from Saddam.
He remains at the United Nations under a $1-a-year arrangement so he
can cooperate with the independent commission headed by former
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker.
Sources said Sevan’s oil dealings with Saddam are an early priority
for Volcker, along with the relationship between Annan’s son, Kojo,
and a Swiss company that won a lucrative oil-for-food contract.
Volcker is expected to issue a preliminary report on his probe to
Annan and congressional committees next month.
Sevan is considered a close associate of Annan and Boutros-Ghali, who
was ousted from the United Nations in 1996 under pressure from the
Clinton administration.
Well-oiled plan
How Benon Sevan allegedly cashed in:
* Sevan, a close associate of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was
appointed in 1996 to run the oil-for-food program.
* Iraqi documents reveal that he started getting oil vouchers from
Saddam Hussein in 1998.
* Sevan received nine oil allocations totaling 13.3 million barrels
from 1998-2003, the documents show.
* Iraqi files reveal that Sevan directed vouchers to go through the
Africa Middle East Petroleum Corp.
* Congress is probing information that profits from Africa Middle
East Petroleum were diverted to bank accounts and businesses
controlled by Sevan’s family in Cyprus.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Constitutional Court approves memorandum on sending troops to Iraq
Mediamax news agency
8 Dec 04
Yerevan, 8 December: Armenia’s Constitutional Court said today
that the memorandum “On sending a multinational division as part of
stabilizing forces to Iraq and on solving other issues of this kind”
is in line with the republic’s basic law [constitution].
This means that the memorandum will be submitted to parliament for
ratification in the near future, Mediamax reports. After the memorandum
is ratified, Armenia plans to send to Iraq up to 50 military doctors,
drivers and sappers who will be handpicked among military contractors.
Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan said that Armenian troops
will be used exclusively for humanitarian purposes in Iraq.
“This position is dictated by the interests of Iraq’s Armenian
community and their scientific, cultural and historical centres,”
Sarkisyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Separatist Karabakh premier regrets Azeri absence from youth forum
Arminfo, Yerevan
19 Nov 04

STEPANAKERT
The fact that the republic has not been recognized makes it impossible
to cooperate with international financial organizations, foreign banks
and developed countries, the prime minister of the Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic, Anushavan Daniyelyan, told a visiting delegation of
representatives of youth organizations from Sweden, Italy, Bulgaria,
Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro, Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Georgia and
Armenia yesterday.
He said that half of Nagornyy Karabakh was destroyed as a result of
hostilities. The process of restoring and reforming the destroyed
Nagornyy Karabakh economy is progressing in very difficult
conditions. However, it has been possible to create a liberal economy
in Nagornyy Karabakh, the process of reforms has covered all spheres
and many of them are experiencing a quantitative and qualitative
change for the better, Daniyelyan said.
He expressed his regret over the absence of Azerbaijani youth from
Stepanakert.
“We need to solve our problems with Azerbaijan at all levels,
including the assistance of people’s diplomacy, and the attraction of
youth is necessary,” he said.
Speaking about the socioeconomic situation in Nagornyy Karabakh, the
prime minister said a programme of economic reforms aimed at free
market relations and based on the equality of all ownership types and
economic liberalization priorities had been under way since 2000,
which has helped boost the economy and ensure a significant growth in
the population’s income. Macroeconomic indices suggest that the
economic reforms of the last few years have been effective and have
produced the anticipated results. In 1999, the government introduced a
new tax policy. The income tax stake was lowered from 25 to 15 per
cent, to 10 per cent in 2000, and to 5 per cent in 2001, which is
still in effect. In 2003, industrial growth in the republic exceeded
40 per cent. Foreign investment commands almost two thirds of the
industrial growth. The amount of foreign investment over the last few
years is approaching 50m dollars. Among major investors are the USA,
Russia, Lebanon, Belgium, Switzerland, Iran, France, Australia,
etc. Not a single foreign enterprise has suffered a failure in
Nagornyy Karabakh so far, Anushavan Daniyelyan said.
[Passage omitted: other industrial and agricultural statistics]
Anushavan Daniyelyan added that the USA is the only country providing
assistance to Nagornyy Karabakh at the state level. Most of US
humanitarian assistance is spent on restoring the residential
settlements and other important sites of the republic destroyed during
the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
November 18, 2004
American University of Armenia Corporation
300 Lakeside Drive, 4th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576
Contact: Gohar Momjian
E-mail: [email protected]
AUA CONTINUES DIALOGUE ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Yerevan -André Andonian, Senior Partner of McKinsey & Co, Germany, visited
the American University of Armenia (AUA) on Nov. 7 and spoke on the
Comparative Productivity and Development Potential of the Armenian
Information Technology Sector. `Armenia shows good productivity
performance given quite a young and fragmented sector,’ said Andonian, as he
highlighted the strategy for software and information technology services.
Andonian emphasized the need for Armenia to build on its advantages, adapt
to foreign markets, be open for global alliances, pursue export strategies
and aspire for leadership to achieve growth. His advice was that Armenia’s
global export focus should be on customized application development and
embedded software. ‘In the high growth scenario, Armenia can become
comparable with current dominant countries.’
Andonian is a Senior Partner in McKinsey’s Munich office with more than 12
years experience in the field of high technologies. `Armenia’s specialists
not only possess in-depth knowledge of information technology but are also
well educated to solve more complex problems linked to high-tech
engineering,’ said Andonian.
The American University of Armenia continues to encourage active dialogue on
developing Armenia’s high tech industry by hosting lectures and seminars
from experts in the field, such as Andre Andonian. This is in line with
its mission to prepare leaders for the computing industry. AUA’s Computer
and Information Sciences program established just three years ago, has seen
great success in placing graduates in Armenia’s fastest growing high tech
companies.
********************
The American University of Armenia is registered as a non-profit educational
organization in both Armenia and the United States and is affiliated with
the Regents of the University of California. Receiving major support from
the AGBU, AUA offers instruction leading to the Masters Degree in eight
graduate programs. For more information about AUA, visit
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Reuters AlertNet, UK
Nov 11 2004
Language shows EU-Russia gulf on rights, actions
11 Nov 2004 16:33:07 GMT
Source: Reuters
BRUSSELS, Nov 11 (Reuters) – A gulf between Russia and the European
Union over any EU role in Moscow’s backyard is likely to dominate
summit talks between Moscow and the bloc following its expansion to
Russian frontiers.
Wrangling over the wording of an EU document setting out a “joint
EU-Russia road map” for external security shows from the first
sentence the gap between them over human rights and conflicts in
ex-Soviet states such as Georgia and Azerbaijan.
The summit was originally scheduled for this week but Moscow asked at
the last minute for a postponement, saying it wanted to wait for the
EU’s new executive Commission to take office. It was rescheduled on
Thursday for Nov. 25.
Russia denies suggestions of a fundamental problem over ties with the
25-nation bloc, its largest trading partner.
But exchanges over a draft of the EU document, obtained by Reuters,
suggest otherwise.
One passage of the EU proposal sent to Moscow read:
“The EU and Russia share responsibility for an international order
based on effective multilateralism, notably the upholding and
developing of international law and the respect for democratic
principles and human rights.”
Russia sent an amended version back, deleting all references to
democracy or rights.
“The EU and Russia share common values and responsibility for an
international order based on effective multilateralism and
international law,” said the reply.
The two sides are seeking to build a new relationship based on four
“common spaces” — on the economy; justice and human rights;
education, science and culture; and external security.
EX-SOVIET FLASHPOINTS
The language on external security is causing the most problems, since
it refers to conflicts in ex-Soviet states like Moldova, Azerbaijan
and Georgia with which the EU wants to step up ties but which Moscow
sees as firmly in its backyard.
An EU line calling for “specific and result orientated cooperation to
resolve existing conflicts in Moldova and the Southern Caucasus” was
ruled out by Russia and changed to “working together to address
crisis situations with the aim of achieving concrete results.”
The EU language would, diplomats say, imply Russian recognition the
bloc had a role to play in ending the “frozen conflict” in Moldova,
where pro-Moscow rebels set up a ministate in the Dnestr region,
known to Russia as Pridnestrovie, in 1990.
It would also give the EU a role in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute
between Azerbaijan and Armenia, over an area populated by ethnic
Armenians but wholly within Azerbaijan. The area broke with Baku’s
rule as the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1980s.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev called on the EU in May to be more
active in demanding the withdrawal of Armenian forces.
Russia is already alarmed by Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili,
who overthrew veteran leader Eduard Shevardnadze in a bloodless coup
last year and is moving fast to develop closer ties with the West and
trying to close Russian military bases.
Moscow supports two breakaway enclaves in Georgia, Abkhazia and South
Ossetia, which have been de facto independent of Tbilisi since civil
war following the Soviet collapse, and has no desire to see the EU
helping Saakashvili to win them back.
When the EU, in the EU-Russia road map, said one priority was
“promotion of security, stability, democracy and human rights in the
common neighbourhood,” the amended version came back: “promotion of
security and stability in the world.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Gazette (Montreal)
October 30, 2004 Saturday
Final Edition
Taking a clue from Agatha Christie: Writer inspires andrew Eames to
take a trip on Orient Express
by PAUL CARBRAY, The Gazette
The 8:55 to Baghdad
Andrew Eames, Bantam Press, 401 pages, $37.95
In 1928, Agatha Christie, recovering from a failed marriage and already
a well-known mystery writer, decided to take a holiday.
Not for her the usual English vacation in Blackpool, Torquay or the
south of France. Instead, Christie travelled on the Orient Express to
Istanbul, then on to Baghdad, where she set out on a tour of Iraq.
Certainly not the vacation spot that the usual traveller in 2004 would
choose. Even in comparatively benign 1928, when Iraq was under a
British mandate, it was hardly a hot destination.
Nonetheless, Christie, a 30something single mother, travelled there,
and her journey had a happy ending. It was in Iraq that Christie met
archeologist Max Mallowan on a dig at the ancient site of Ur. The two
married and lived, from all accounts, happily ever after.
Andrew Eames, an English journalist, was unaware of Christie’s journey
until he travelled to Aleppo, Syria, where he wanted to visit the souk,
the city’s ancient covered market.
“I’d heard that the longest roofed market in the world was still a
scene out of Aladdin or Indiana Jones, and I wanted to see it for
myself,” he says.
In Aleppo, Eames stayed at a well-known hotel run by an Armenian, Armen
Masloumian. While chatting, Masloumian tells Eames about the famous
people who have stayed in the hotel, including Lawrence of Arabia,
Theodore Roosevelt, Kemal Ataturk (the founder of modern Turkey) and,
of course, Agatha Christie.
Later, at dinner with the owner and his mother, Sally, “a cool
septuagenarian with an unwavering gaze,” Eames returns to the subject
of the hotel’s famous guests, and Christie is mentioned.
Probably researching her mystery novel Murder on the Orient Express,
Eames suggests.
“Mrs. Masloumian quickly set me right. ‘No,’ she said, ‘she used to
come here to do her shopping. And to get her hair done. From Nineveh.
With Max.’ ”
Nineveh? Max? Eames, unaware of Christie’s story, is intrigued and
begins to investigate. Soon, he is hooked by the idea of the author of
the quintessentially English drawing-room mystery travelling to the
exotic Middle East, and decides to trace the path of Christie’s
journey.
It’s late 2002 when Eames sets out on his trip, and war clouds are
gathering over Iraq. Nonetheless, he boards a train from the London
suburb of Sunningdale, “not because I knew for sure that Agatha had
travelled on it back in 1928, but because it got me to Victoria (train
station in London) in plenty of time for a train I knew for sure she
had.”
That train is the reconstituted – and considerably less glamorous –
Orient Express.
Eames soon learns that in 2002, “there are few journeys which are far
more complex and difficult than they were 75 years ago, but to travel
from London to Baghdad, by train, is one of them.”
But part of the romance of travel is not in arriving, but in getting
there, and that’s true of Eames’s book.
For much of the journey, through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and
on to Turkey, Eames meets some fascinating locals and delves lightly
into their history.
Wisely, Eames doesn’t overdo the Christie quest while on his travels,
but concentrates on the cities and countries along the way and the
people he meets.
It is only on arrival in Aleppo, where he revisits the steely-eyed Mrs.
Masloumian, that he picks up the Christie story again.
Then it’s on to Iraq, where he arrives at the border at the same time
as the United Nations weapons inspectors. He travels with a disparate
group on a bus tour, who provide comic fodder and speculations about
what would prompt seemingly ordinary people, many of them pensioners,
to travel to a country on the brink of war.
Surprisingly, Eames is welcomed by Iraqis and brings his Christie tale
to a close by visiting the archeological sites she and Mallowan visited
for several decades.

54 countries at Short Film Event
Monday, November 01, 2004 – 2004 IranMania.com
LONDON, Nov 1 (IranMania) -The Ninth International Festival of Short Films
due to be held on November 17-22 will host 54 countries, secretariat of the
festival said in a press release.
Armenia, Egypt, Kuwait and Burkina Faso will take part in the festival in
addition to 50 countries which had taken part in the international short
film festival.
Meanwhile, a producer of animation films Vahid Nassirian said that public
screening of short films concurrently with features films in the cinema
should become a convention.
He said that public screening of short films does not generate income for
the producer, but it boosts the spirit of the filmmaker.
Nassirian noted that in other countries, screen short films are usually
screened before a feature film and hoped that the Iranian cinemas would
follow suit.
He said that the producers of short films have established themselves in the
cinema sector.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Fund for Armenian Relief
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Edina N. Bobelian
Tel: (212) 889-5150; Fax: (212) 889-4849
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
October 20, 2004
____________________
FAR AWARDS 12 NEW MATHEVOSIAN SCHOLARSHIPS
University Students Look to the Future With Hope and Promise
On September 10, 2004, in joy and in disbelief, 12 university students
arrived at the FAR offices in Yerevan to be awarded Mathevosian
Scholarships. Selected out of 49 applicants from Yerevan and the
provinces of Shirak, Ararat, Armavir, Gegharkunik, Kotayk Tavush, Vayots
Dzor and Syunik, they signed their contracts and hugged each other when
they realized their 10-day ordeal had been resolved!
For two weeks, these 12 youngsters from low-income families in Yerevan,
Gyumri and the village of Chambarak stressed over whether they would be
able to matriculate and attend classes in the university program to
which they had been admitted. In Armenia, students must pass an
entrance exam to be admitted to university. Those with the highest
entrance exam scores qualify to attend for free. All others must pay
tuition fees (approximately $2000 annually). In a country where the
average monthly income is about $75, university tuition for many
families is prohibitive.
These 12 Mathevosian Scholars earned high grades in school and on their
university entrance exams, but just missed the cut for tuition-free
education. Ani Antonyan, 17, from Yerevan said, “when I learned I was
admitted to the economics department at Yerevan State University but
that I scored 57 instead of 58 [the target score to waive tuition fees],
I was extremely disappointed. My mother cannot afford to pay for my
studies.” Barely six months old when her father deserted their family
and disappeared, Ani was raised by her mother who is currently
unemployed. “I saw hope when I read the FAR announcement about the
Mathevosian Scholarship Program posted on the university bulletin board.
I applied immediately, passed the competition, and I feel happy now.”
This 2004-2005 academic year, the Mathevosian Scholarship Program will
provide financial aid for 57 students from different provinces of
Armenia to pursue their higher studies. The 12 newest Mathevosian
Scholars will be studying economics, linguistics, international
relations, journalism, and computer programming at Yerevan State
University, Yerevan State Institute of Economics and Yerevan State
Engineering University. Computer programming is the latest addition to
the list of qualifying majors for a Mathevosian Scholarship.
“I believe in miracles now,” said Armen Avetisyan, 17. The Gyumri
native, who studied at Lansing High School in Michigan last year thanks
to a scholarship from the American Councils FLEX Program, had hoped to
score high enough on the entrance exam be admitted to university
tuition-free. “When I failed, I lost all hope and was preparing to
return to Gyumri. I planned on retaking the entrance exams again next
year. Then I heard about FAR’s decision to include computer programming
in the Mathevosian Scholarship Program on TV. It sounded like a
miracle, and I have now started to believe in them! With the
Mathevosian Scholarship, I am ready to do my best to meet everyone’s
expectations.”
Established in 1997 by New York philanthropist Anoosh Mathevosian, FAR’s
Mathevosian Scholarship Program covers tuition costs for outstanding
students who are admitted to university but cannot afford to attend.
The need-based financial aid program has a rigorous three-phase
selection process: (1) an essay application, (2) an at-home assessment
of the family’s financial situation, and (3) an interview. Provided
they maintain their academic excellence throughout the five-year
university curriculum and remain in financial need, scholarship
recipients can focus purely on their studies. The aid program is
designed to eliminate worries about the next tuition bill and requires
students to work in Armenia for at least five years after graduation.
Of the 49 applications submitted this year for FAR’s university
scholarships, 22 stood out. The Mathevosian Scholarship Program
committee, comprised of five FAR staff members, faced the difficult task
of paring down from 22 hopefuls to 12 scholars. They read every essay
application and traveled to each applicant’s house to assess the
applicant’s family and socio-economic conditions. Applicants were also
interviewed about their socio-economic condition, hobbies and the
specialization they had chosen.
“I am so very grateful for this opportunity,” said Yerevan-born Artyom
Levonyan, 17, who will study journalism at Yerevan State University
thanks to the Mathevosian Scholarship Program. Artyom’s parents are
divorced and he lives with his mother, a concert master at the Yerevan
State Conservatory. A long-time poet, Artyom has published his works in
Armenian newspapers. Currently, he is writing articles and would like
to shift their topics to patriotism.
FAR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in New York,
with offices in Yerevan, Gyumri, and Stepanakert. For 15 years, FAR has
implemented various relief, development, social, educational, and
cultural projects valued at more than $250 million.
For more information or to send donations, contact the Fund for Armenian
Relief at 630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016; telephone (212)
889-5150, fax (212) 889-4849; , [email protected].
— 10/20/04
E-mail photos available upon request.
CAPTION1: FAR’s Mathevosian Scholarship Program allows these first-year
university students with outstanding grades who cannot afford tuition,
pictured here with FAR’s Simon Balian (fourth from left) and Krikor
Tatoulian, Country Director (fifth from left), to pursue a career in
their field of study in Armenia.
CAPTION2: Armen Avetisyan, 17, will study computer programming at the
Yerevan State Engineering University thanks to the Mathevosian
Scholarship Program.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkey’s EU bid haunted by Armenian ghosts
Daily Editorial
The Tufts Daily, MA
Oct 12 2004
Turkey’s desire to join the EU was boosted last week, when the European
Commission recommended opening membership talks with the country. EU
membership promises increased foreign investment and expanded trade
within Europe for Turkey.
The EU must hold Turkey to strict human rights standards, as Dr.
Glendale-Hilmar Kaiser’s speech on the Armenian genocide reminded
students. The Turkish government continues to refuse to recognize
that there was a state-sponsored genocide against the Armenians at
the beginning of the 20th century.
Additionally, Turkey has not won praises for the treatment of its
Kurdish minority. It has recently been easing its restrictions on the
group – it is no longer illegal to broadcast the Kurdish language on
television, and some Kurdish leaders are able to call for more rights
without being thrown in jail. But there is still a way to go.
Fears have recently risen that Turkey may move in the wrong
direction. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted to re-criminalize
adultery, which drew enough European criticism to drop the efforts
in the 23rd hour. The country has been condemned for a poor record
on religious freedom and women’s rights. Turkey will have to meet
stiff economic and legal criteria to gain admission to the EU.
The prospect of joining the EU will be an impetus for Turkey to
modernize both its economy and legal system. Entrance into Europe’s
elite club is a popular goal with the Turkish population, if the
press is anything to go by, and politicians can find support to pass
the necessary measures.
Adding Turkey would reflect well on the EU, if only because it
will show that the EU is not a Christian organization. Millions of
Muslims already live within the EU, but Turkey would be the first
majority-Muslim nation to join the Union. It is quite a secular nation,
but it would be a step towards proving that liberal democracy and
Islamic cultures can mix.
Critics of Turkey’s admission cite fears that large numbers of poor
Turks will flood into Western Europe. The free movement of people,
however, is a necessary tenant of the EU to allow for complete
economic integration. However, there were similar fears concerning
the 10 Eastern European countries that joined this past May. Western
Europe was not swamped with economic migrants from Eastern Europe,
nor were they inundated with those from Turkey.
Others fear the economic ramifications of inviting in a poor
country like Turkey, where nearly a third of the population works in
agriculture. The point of the EU is to benefit all of the countries
that join, not just rich ones like France and Germany. Membership
turned Ireland and Spain into strong economies, and will hopefully
do the same to new member countries. Turkey’s large population and
resources show that there is potential for growth.
The biggest obstacle that could block Turkey’s EU bid is its human
rights record. It needs to continue easing up on the Kurds and
expanding women’s rights. It also needs to admit its involvement
with the Armenian genocide once and for all. If Turkey is to spend
its future in the EU, it needs to come clean about its past.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PROBLEMS ON THE AGENDA
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
06 Oct 04
The questions discussed at the meeting of the regional council of
Hadrout mainly referred to the preparation works for winter
tillage. The chairman of the meeting was the head of the regional
administration V. Gevorgian. In 2003 the harvest was good in the
region, allowing to increase the area under crop next year from 4902
to 8495 hectares. However, the estimates of the farmers for 2004 did
not come true because of unfavourable weather and pests. The average
yield per hectare totaled 1.4 tons, the overall yield was 11 262 tons
decreasing by 2000 tons against the previous year. These rates were
presented by the head of the department of agriculture of the regional
administration L. Abrahamian, who added that this year they expect to
do 7000-8000 hectares of winter tillage. By September 30 only 5600
hectares has been tilled which means that less area will be used for
arable crops this year. During the meeting the department of
agriculture, the heads of the communities were charged with taking
corresponding measures for completing the tillage, holding a
laboratory test of the seeds, providing the use of chemicals. The
members of the regional council made the decision of addressing the
NKR government with the request of providing aid to the farmers whose
fields were damaged by natural disasters. At the same time it was
mentioned that it would be convenient to provide the aid in the form
of loans. Also the question was raised to implement the sales of
chemicals through a specialized company and forbid the activities of
individuals in this sphere. One of the questions discussed was the
activities and the future plans of the official newspaper `Dizak’ on
which the editor-in-chief Y. Madounts made a report. Evaluating the
work of the newspaper staff as satisfactory, the heads of the
departments of the regional administration and the communities were
tasked to deal with subscription to the newspaper, and the attention
of the staff was drawn to the improvement of the quality and urgency
of the materials, as well as cooperation with freelance
reporters. Then the head of the territorial agency of social service
S. Hakobian reported on the activitiesof the agency directed by
him. The activities of the mentioned organization are various: family
allowances, aid to the families of the disabled of the war and the
killed soldiers, providing sums for the tombstones of the killed
azatamartiks, opening of bank accounts for each third and more child
in thefamily, social cards, unemployment benefits. In the past 9
months the amount of family allowances totaled 31 million 316 AM
drams. 1 million 469 thousand drams of insurance benefit was paid to
the disabled of the Artsakh war. According tothe NKR government
decision N 146, the construction of houses for 4 of the 6 families of
the region having 6 and more children under 18 has already begun.
E. DAVTIAN.
06-10-2004
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress