Author: Andres-Papazian

CONGRESSMAN ADAM SCHIFF HIGHLIGHTS LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES IN CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY BRIEFING

Panorama
May 10 2011
Armenia

Under the auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian
and joined by the Armenian Assembly, a community briefing featuring
Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) was held at St. Gregory the Illuminator
Armenian Church in Pasadena, California last week.

Taking place at St. Gregory’s Geragos Hall, Honorary Chairman Mark
Geragos provided opening remarks. Before introducing Congressman
Schiff and reviewing his extensive record, the Assembly’s Executive
Director Bryan Ardouny thanked St. Gregory’s Parish as well as the
Assembly’s Southern California Regional Council (SCRC) Members.

In his remarks, Congressman Schiff touched on a wide-range of issues,
including affirmation of the Armenian Genocide and the continued
efforts in the House of Representatives, President Obama’s April 24th
statement, funding for Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s
continued war rhetoric, and the recent California Court decision
regarding insurance-related claims dating back to the Armenian
Genocide era.

From: A. Papazian

RAFFI HOVANNISIAN TO SPEAK AT CHATHAM HOUSE

A1Plus.am
May 10, 2011

Leader of “Heritage” Party, former Foreign Minister of Armenia’
Raffi Hovannisian will deliver a speech at the Royal Institute of
International Affairs (Chatham House) in London at 16:30 (20:30 local
time in Yerevan).

The prospectus of the roundtable on “Armenia’s Domestic and Regional
Challenges” states:

“Armenia’s politics are approaching another crossroads. A recent
reshuffle and positive statements about the need for reform have hinted
at possible political opening. In addition, parliamentary elections in
2012 and presidential elections in 2013 provide the possibility for
some change to the political system. Nevertheless, questions remain
over Armenia’s democratic credentials and the willingness of elites
to countenance economic and political reform.

Meanwhile, the external environment remains complex and there are
numerous challenges for Armenia in the foreign policy sphere.”

From: A. Papazian

NELSON SOGHOMONYAN RECEIVED A MILITARY RANK

Aysor.am
10.05.2011, 19:47

President Bako Sahakyan signed a decree on conferring military rank
of major-general to deputy commander of the Artsakh Republic Defense
Army, head of the rear, colonel Nelson Soghomonyan.

According to another Presidential decree the military rank of
major-general was conferred to commander of a certain military unit
of the Artsakh Republic Defense army, colonel Kamo Vardanyan.

From: A. Papazian

PRIME MINISTER SAYS ARMENIA READY FOR STRESS TEST OF METSAMOR OPERATIONAL SAFETY

/ARKA/
May 10, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, May 10, /ARKA/. Armenian prime minister Tigran Sarkisian
said today the authorities were ready to welcome a delegation the
Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) acting under the aegis of the
International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA), who are due in Armenia
on May 16 for a two-week review of the operational safety of the
Armenian nuclear power plant in Metsamor.

The prime minister said this as he spoke at a joint press briefing
with Wilfred Martens, the visiting chairman of the European People’s
Party. He said the OSART team includes leading nuclear safety experts
from several IAEA member countries.

The prime minister said following the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima
plant he had instructed the ministry of energy and natural resources
and all other stokeholds to make a through review of the plant’s
operational safety

Earlier head of Armenia’s Nuclear Safety Committee, Ashot Martirosian,
said the authorities planned to use the stress test developed by
European Nuclear Regulation Association (WENRA) to check the safety
of the nuclear power plants.

The test is a targeted reassessment of the safety margins of NPPs
in the light of the events which occurred in Fukushima. He said the
results of the comprehensive review of Metsamor nuclear power plant’s
operational safety will be available in late September.

According to Armenian authorities, more than 1,200 measures have been
taken to enhance the safety of the facility at the demand of the UN’s
International Atomic Energy Agency since the plant was relaunched
in 1995.

The Metsamor plant, which accounts for about 40 percent of Armenia’s
electricity, has undergone numerous safety upgrades since being
reactivated in 1995. According to government figures, Armenia has
received $130 million worth of assistance from the United States,
the European Union, Russia and other international bodies to upgrade
the plant’s safety. The plant located some 30 kilometers west of
Yerevan, was built in the 1970s but was closed following a devastating
earthquake in 1988 that killed some 25,000 people and devastated much
of northern Armenia.

One of its two VVER 440-V230 light-water reactors was reactivated in
1995. Armenian authorities said they will build a new nuclear power
plant to replace the aging Metsamor plant. The new plant is supposed
to operate at twice the capacity of the Soviet-constructed facility.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PARTY SPEAKS IN FAVOR OF NATIONALIZING MINING AND METALLURGICAL COMPANIES

/ARKA/
May 10, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, May 10, /ARKA/. A senior member of the opposition Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) party spoke today in favor of
nationalizing the country’s lucrative mining and metallurgical
companies, saying the government must set up a large state-owned
company to run the sector and work also out a strategy how to
develop it.

Speaking at the National Assembly (parliament) Vahan Hovhanesian,
ARF secretary, said the government has failed to remedy Armenia’s tax
legislation regulating the work of mining companies. According to him,
because of this the government loses billions of drams in revenues
which it needs badly to finance social programs.

He said being the most lucrative sector of Armenian economy mining
and metallurgical companies enjoy a set of privileges concerning,
particularly, export of precious metals depriving the government of
additional revenues.

Vahan Hovhanesian said Armenia’s mining and metallurgical companies,
the largest export-oriented sector of the national economy, export
mainly concentrates and the acting legislation ignores the percentage
of precious metals in them.

‘The current situation in this sector does not encourage owners to
introduce new technology and make investments because they already
make super profits,’ he said. In his opinion, only nationalization
of the sector could help improve this situation.

The latest official figures show that mining and metallurgical
companies appear to have ended 2010 with significant production gains
resulting from a rally in global prices of copper and other base
metals. The output was said to have grown by 24.3% from 2009 to 145.5
billion drams. In 2011 March the companies reported a 2.3% production
rise from a year earlier to 13.3 billion drams ($1 – 372.46 drams).

From: A. Papazian

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES INTERESTED IN DEEPENING COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA

/ARKA/
May 10, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, May 10. / ARKA /. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is interested
in deepening cooperation with the countries of the Caucasus region,
and in particular, with Armenia, UAE Minister of Economy Saeed Al
Mansoori was quoted as saying during a meeting with Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Territorial Administration of Armenia Armen
Gevorgyan, currently on a visit to UAE.

According to a press release, of the Armenian ministry, Mansouri
singled out tourism industry, as well as production of beverages and
food as mutually beneficial sectors.

The Armenian Vice Prime Minister stressed the readiness of the Armenian
side to promote mutual cooperation and expressed hope that the first
investment forum hosted now by Dubai will contribute to establishing
new relationships, as well as provide guidance for the implementation
of joint programs.

Gevorgyan invited Mansouri to visit Armenia to get acquainted with
the prospects of cooperation.

From: A. Papazian

SOUTH CAUCASUS RAILWAYS LAUNCHES LABOR PROTECTION CAMPAIGN

/ARKA/
May 10, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, May 10. /ARKA/. On Tuesday, the South Caucasus Railways CJSC
announced labor protection month to remove irregularities found this
spring, the company’s press office reports.

Everyday inspections and raids will be conducted and additional
instructions will be given as part of the campaign.

Sergey Harutyunyan, chief engineer of the company, will hold conference
calls once a week.

According to the press release received from the South Caucasus
Railways, disciplinary actions will be taken against those chiefs
of divisions who violate labor protection rules. Offenders can even
be fired.

South Caucasus Railways, a 100-percent subsidiary of Russian Railways,
runs Armenian Railway.

Armenian Railways was handed over to the South Caucasus Railways on
February 13, 2008 for 30-year concession management with a right to
prolong the management term for other 10 years.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA’S ANTITRUST AGENCY LEAVES UNFAIR ENTREPRENEURS WITH NO ROOM FOR MANEUVERING

/ARKA/
May 10, 2011
YEREVAN

Armenian State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition has
come up with legislative initiatives in an effort to force economic
entities to do business above board, Artak Shaboyan, head of the
commission, said Tuesday at the first meeting of the commission
affiliated public council.

He said that sanctions for illegalities would be tightened, and
offenders would be punished. Punishment will depend on gravity of
offences.

Shaboyan said that now AMD 500,000 fine is intended for businessmen
involved in unfair competition. That is why entrepreneurs prefer to
pay such a small fine instead of doing fair business.

“During discussions in the Parliament, we proposed an important change
referring to abuse of domination and anticompetitive collusions,”
Shaboyan said. Under the amended law, wrongdoers will not only be
fined, but will also be left without the surplus profits they gain
from raising prices without proper justification.

The head of the commission also said that new instruments would be
applied for strengthening the evidence base necessary for probable
disputes over the commission’s decisions in court.

Shaboyan said that the commission will take into account not only
quantitative, but also qualitative criteria.

“Very often, large economic entities, knowing about quantitative
criteria, engage in an activity under two or three names to avoid
responsibility.”

He said that dominance of an economic entity occupying one third of
the market would be undisputable.

Besides, if an administrative procedure is launched against an economic
entity, it can’t be dissolved without the commission’s permission.

From: A. Papazian

4 DOCTORS FIRED FOR OPERATING ON WRONG PERSON

Tert.am
10.05.11

Four physicians have been fired at a hospital in Yerevan and three,
including the director, severely reprimanded for an operation on a
wrong person.

A probe upon the instructions of the Yerevan Municipality at the Sourb
Astvatsamayr Clinic revealed that due to the medical personnel’s
negligence of their professional duties in 2008 Narek Danielyan
underwent a lung surgery instead of Gevorg Movsisyan, a resident of
Etchmiadzin town.

Narek Danielyan, born in 2006, is a resident of Akhuryan settlement
and had been brought to the hospital for a medical examination.

According to the Yerevan Municipality’s website, A. Karapetyan,
the head of children’s surgery department at the Sourb Astvatsamayr
Clinic, and A. Harutyunyan, a senior nurse at the same department,
were severely reprimanded.

The Director of the clinic, N. Dallakyan, has also been severely
reprimanded with hisher professional duties pending reviewing.

From: A. Papazian

KARABAKH, ABKHAZIAN CONFLICTS WOULD HAVE BEEN RESOLVED, IF …

Tert.am
10.05.11

The South Caucasus would live in peace, if Armenia, Azerbaijan and
Georgia were ruled by Karen Demirchyan, Heydar Aliyev and Eduard
Shevardnadze respectively, Georgia’s former president has said.

In an interview with the Azerbaijani news website Vesti.az, Eduard
Shevardnadze said that the Karabakhi and the Abkhazian conflicts
would have been solved, if the former presidents were in office.

“… You know, there were three serious leaders – Aliyev, Demirchyan
and Shevardnadze – who would manage to control the situation in the
countries,” said he.

“We were in close cooperation with each other. There would not be any
conflict, if we three were the leaders of those countries,” he added.

“But Demirchyan was assassinated by terrorists at Armenia’s
parliament. I am very sorry about it.”

“If Demirchyan were alive, and Heydar Aliyev was with us, the conflicts
of Karabakh and Abkhazia would have been resolved far long ago,”
he was quoted as saying.

Further, he said that Georgia needs to normalize relations with Russia
to ensure stability.

“We have such a strong neighbor as Russia. Relations with it are
gradually being normalized,” said Shevardnadze. “There have already
been a couple of meetings between Armenia and Azerbaijan. That is an
important condition for the Karabakh conflict.”

“If we live in good-neighborly relations with Russia, the Abkhazian
issue will be settled. I do believe in it,” said Eduard Shevardnadze.

From: A. Papazian