Author: Andres-Papazian

PRODUCER OF OSCAR-WINNER THE COVE URGES EVERYONE TO BOYCOTT DOLPHINARIUM IN YEREVAN

arminfo
Wednesday, October 19, 17:36

Adrienne Hall, Producer of the Oscar-winner film The Cove urges
everyone to boycott dolphinarium in Yerevan.

She alarms that animals in dolphinarium are on the verge of madness
and the best way out of such terrible situation is to close them down,
Hall said in an interview with ArmInfo.

She said that thanks to “The Cove” more people in the world began to
fight for preservation of dolphins. The idea of the film originated in
2006 and it seemed obviously unrealizable then. But killing dolphins
is a terrible problem that cannot be neglected, she said.

The Cove closed Arevordi International Environmental Festival in
Yerevan, Tuesday. The film is a real sensation unveiling the secrets
of Taiji Cove in Japan when fishers kill thousands of dolphins every
year. They fish dolphins for oceanariums and for sale. The meat of
dolphins containing high level of poisonous mercury content is often
sold in supermarkets as whale meat. In 2010 The Cove won the Academy
Award as the Best Full Documentary.

Demonstration of the film in Yerevan started with a video address
of the film director Luis Psihoyos to Arevordi Festival, wherein he
urged everyone to fight for closing down dolphinariums.

From: A. Papazian

RAOUL WALLENBERG FOUNDATION RELEASES BOOK ON GENOCIDES

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 19, 2011 – 18:40 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation
released a book by professor of psychology at the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst, Ervin Staub, featuring a comparative analysis
of Armenian Genocide, Holocaust and genocide in Cambodia.

“The genocide of the Armenians is the first modern genocide. Turkey
and the Turks have never admitted that it happened. The say it was
self-defense, the deportation of an internal enemy in time of war. For
this reason alone, the Armenian genocide deserves attention. There are
other important differences between the Holocaust and this genocide.

The Holocaust made use of bureaucratic management and advanced
technology in the framework of a totalitarian system,” the book says.

“The genocide of the Armenians was less planned, with limited
bureaucratic organization and very little advanced technology in its
execution. Paradoxically, in this highly technological age, we are
horrified by the non-technological brutality,” the professor notes.

From: A. Papazian

LAND AND PROPERTY TAXES IN YEREVAN CAN BE PAID ELECTRONICALLY

/ARKA/
October 19, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, October 19. / ARKA /. From now on property and land taxes in
Yerevan can be paid electronically, Ara Yaghjian, head of the “Center
for Technology Management of the City Hall’, told journalists today.

In the period of 2001-2009 property and land taxes in Yerevan were
calculated by condominiums and later by district administrations that
caused difficulties for property or real estate owners, registered
in various administrative districts of the city. At the same time,
property owners in Yerevan, living abroad, were not able to pay taxes
and were penalized.

“We are launching an additional opportunity for paying these taxes
by using the official website of the municipality,” said Yaghjian.

He said the bulk of the capital’s budget is generated by property tax,
which prompted the creation of a unified single electronic system that
would allow payment of the bills by plastic cards and terminals, or
payment-settlement systems. According to him, the new system enables
payment of taxes even from a mobile phone or any other electronic
device connected to Internet.

The trilingual electronic tax payment system was developed in
conjunction with I-Dram payment system and provides for the payment
of taxes by all kinds of plastic cards, money transfer systems,
terminals, as well as banks and payment and settlement organizations.

A special single interface was designed for banks and payment and
settlement systems to allow their customers to receive and pay bills
directly from their bank.

To be able to use the electronic payment system, Yerevan residents
must first register on the website of the City Hall, get a special
access code, undergo identification, then the system will automatically
show on the screen all their movable and immovable property, subject
to taxation, a list of their debts, if any, the amount of current
tax payable, and general amount to be paid. The introduction of the
online payment system of taxes on property and land is part of the
program called Electronic City.

From: A. Papazian

ARTISTS FOR PEACE ANNOUNCE COUNTDOWN TO “NEVER AGAIN” CONCERT

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 19, 2011 – 17:23 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Artists for Peace (AFP) announced the countdown to
the largest peace event of the year set to take place on November
1, 2011 at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk, LA, the
event co-sponsor, Center for Armenian Remembrance (C.A.R.), said in
a press release.

The “Never Again” Peace Concert this year will be honoring the
legendary Stevie Wonder for his continuous efforts as the United
Nations Messenger of Peace.

The ‘Never Again” Peace Concert is an annual even that brings together
some of the hottest artists from around the world for an evening
celebrating life and survival. Performances by American artists
Chaka Khan, Eric Benet, Pras, Malina Moye will be accompanied by
world music performances by Flora Martirosian, Arto Tuncboyaciyan,
and Alexia Vassiliou to name a few. The artists will perform hits of
their own as well as a special selected tribute song for this honoree.

The “Never Again” Peace concert serves to increase awareness and create
better understanding of the injustices of discrimination. In the words
of founder Flora Martirosian “We must do everything we can so that,
in this day and age and beyond, we make sure we educate our youth to be
more understanding and harmonious.” Martirosian goes further on to say
“It is with great respect and pleasure that we are able to give the
United Nations Messenger of Peace, the legendary Stevie Wonder the
AFP Angel Award for his ongoing work to help others through change.”

Proceeds from the concert event goes to benefit several key charities.

These organizations include Children with Leukemia in Armenia, The
Chaka Khan Foundation, We Are You Foundation, Genocide Memorial Museum,
as well as Artists for Peace to name a few.

The concert’s founding organization, Artists for Peace began in
2008 by founder Flora Martirosian whose mission is to unite artists
from around the world for genocide awareness. Through the universal
language of music and art, artists can help influence global change
as well as educate and prevent further crimes against humanity.

From: A. Papazian

UK BUSINESSMAN OFFERS £250,000 PRIZE FOR EURO ZONE EXIT PLAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 19, 2011 – 14:02 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – A leading British businessman is offering a 250,000
pound reward for economists who can come up with the best plan for
countries to quit the European single currency zone, Reuters reported.

The one-off prize is sponsored by Simon Wolfson, chief executive of
British high street clothing chain Next, and a prominent supporter
of Britain’s ruling Conservative party who sits in the upper house
of parliament.

“The future of the world economy will, in large part, be governed by
what happens over the next few years in Europe,” said Wolfson.

“I, along with most European businessmen, hope that the euro zone
will stabilize, but in the event it does not Europe must not sleepwalk
into a policy vacuum,” added Wolfson.

“This prize aims to incentivize the world’s brightest economic minds
to help fill that policy void: their endeavors may well prevent Europe
from descending into a financial chaos that would destroy savings,
jobs, and social cohesion.”

Economists have until January 31 to submit proposals for the one-off
prize, the biggest available to academic economists after the
Nobel Prize. Entrants will be judged by a panel of leading academic
economists. The award process is being managed by Policy Exchange,
an influential centre-right think tank.

Britain is a member of the European Union, although not part of the
17-nation euro zone. Its economic prospects are closely tied to the
fate of the single currency.

From: A. Papazian

SARKISIAN VOWS CLOSER TIES WITH U.S.

Armenialiberty.org
Oct 19 2011

Armenia – President Serzh Sarkisian (R) meets with U.S. Deputy
Secretary of State William Burns, 19Oct2011.19.10.2011

President Serzh Sarkisian reaffirmed his stated desire to bolster
Armenia’s ties with the United States as he met with the visiting U.S.

Deputy Secretary of State William Burns late on Wednesday.

Burns arrived in Yerevan on the second leg of his tour of the three
South Caucasus states. He held talks with Sarkisian and Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian.

A statement by Sarkisian’s press office said the Armenian leader told
Burns that “Armenia has always been ready to strengthen relations
with the United States.” He said those relations are a “guarantee”
of the success of political and economic reforms in Armenia as well
as regional stability.

Sarkisian also praised the U.S. role in international efforts to end
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, one of the main issues on the agenda
of Burns’s talks in Baku and Yerevan.

According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the U.S. official told
Nalbandian that the Karabakh dispute can only be resolved peacefully.

Speaking after talks with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on
Tuesday, Burns likewise said that Washington believes that there can
be no “military solution” to the conflict. But he also stressed that
the Karabakh status quo cannot last much longer.

The Foreign Ministry said normalization of Armenia’s relations with
Turkey was also on the agenda of Nalbandian’s meeting with Burns. “The
U.S. deputy secretary of state said that the United States will
continue to support that process,” it added without elaborating.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA : EBRD ARRANGES LOAN TO ARARATBANK TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES IN ARMENIA

Tendersinfo News
October 17, 2011 Monday 6:30 AM EST

A loan has been arranged by the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) to Araratbank for on-lending to increase
assistance to small businesses in Armenia. The bank has also secured
the participation of three international commercial banks.

A total of US$ 3 million will be contributed by the EBRD to the total
US$ 12 million financing package. The remaining will be syndicated to
Russia s OJSC Promsvyazbank, VDK Spaarbank nv of Belgium and Lebanon
s Byblos Bank S.A.L.

The deal indicates Promsvyazbank s first ever loan to an Armenian
bank and the first to Araratbank by VDK Spaarbank and Byblos Bank.

EBRD s loan facility to Araratbank comes under EBRD s Armenian
Multi-Bank Framework Facility. This initiative backs the sustainable
development of the country s banking sector. Equity and debt financing
are also provided by the program to major financial institutions,
focused on supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Mike Taylor, the EBRD’s Director for Financial Institutions, Central
Asia, Caucasus and Mongolia, said, With this new loan, Araratbank will
be able to continue to meet the demand for finance from local micro,
small and medium-sized enterprises. Such businesses have traditionally
found commercial financing difficult to obtain and will benefit from
this new facility.

Ashot Osipyan, Chairman of the Executive Board of Araratbank,
added, This new project with the EBRD allows Araratbank to access
loan funds directly from commercial banks and a diverse group of
financial institutions.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA WON’T UNDERGO ANY MAJOR SHOCK IN CASE OF THE POSSIBLE SECOND WAVE OF THE CRISIS, WB REPRESENTATIVES THINKS

Mediamax
Oct 18 2011
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. “Armenia- Review of State Expenditures:
Tax-Budgetary Consolidation and Resumption”, report of the World Bank
(WB), was presented in Yerevan today.

WB representative Yvonne Tsikata stated in Yerevan today that
Armenia’s positions during the global economic crisis were rather
stable, Mediamax reports. According to her, it enabled the Armenian
government to import a fiscal package which allowed moderating the
impact that the crisis exerted on the country.

Yvonne Tsikata also said that “in case of the second possible wave
of the crisis Armenia will not undergo a major shock”.

“In case of Armenia, metal mining production is mainly exported
to Russia and foreign investments come mainly from France and these
countries don’t have any bad state budget indices. We may consequently
assume that Armenia won’t have any serious problems in the trade
sector”, she said.

From: A. Papazian

POLAND READY TO EDUCATE ARMENIAN OFFICERS IN WARSAW

Mediamax
Oct 18 2011
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Armenia and Poland have a big potential to develop
the cooperation in military-economic and military-industrial spheres,
Secretary of Armenian National Security Council Artur Baghdasaryan
said today.

Head of the National Security Bureau of Poland, Stanislaw Kozey,
described the military cooperation with Armenia as “most active
and fruitful.”

“There are two important spheres- military education and arms,”
Stanislaw Kozey said in reply to Mediamax’s question. He noted
that Poland is ready to organize the education of Armenian officers
in Warsaw.

From: A. Papazian

BRIEFING ON KARABAKH’S RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION HELD IN US

news.am
Oct 18 2011
Armenia

On the occasion of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s twentieth
anniversary of independence, the Armenian Assembly’s Northern
California Regional Council (NCRC) held a briefing featuring Robert
Avetisyan, NKR Representative to the United States, reported the
Armenian Assembly of America (AAA).

The Bay Area audience also heard remarks from Andrew Lyons, Vice
President of HALO Trust USA, and AAA Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.

Mr. Avetisyan provided a historical overview of Karabakh as well as
current-day issues and challenges explaining how “during almost the
seven decades of Nagorno-Karabakh’s existence within Soviet Azerbaijan
– a part of the Soviet Union – the authorities in Baku regularly
violated the rights of Karabakh Armenians, hampered the region’s
economic development, and implemented a policy of deportation of
Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, thus transforming the demographic
composition of the region in favor of its Azerbaijani minority.”

“Today, Artsakh is an independent state capable of defending its
citizenry and the process of depopulating our homeland by the Azeri
authorities has ended. Nor do we intend that they should have the
opportunity to resume such policies and violations of basic human
rights,” Avetisyan added.

Introduced by Armenian Assembly ARAMAC Northern California State
Chair and NCRC Member, Valina Agbabian, Ardouny focused his remarks
on the current environment in Washington, DC and urged those present
to stay actively involved to ensure that Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia
receive the attention they merit as well as ongoing U.S. assistance
to develop their economies.

From: A. Papazian