Author: Andres-Papazian

David Hakobyan to run for parliament through party list
29.11.2010 16:35

Hasmik Dilanyan
`Radiolur’

Marxist David Hakobyan has declared today that he is going to
participate in the forthcoming parliamentary elections through party
list proportional representation system.

The leader of the Marxist Party expressed his concern regarding the
proposed changes in the Electoral Code and presented his own concrete
proposals, which envisages establishment of a differentiated electoral
system and changes in the election procedure.

David Hakobyan suggests adopting a harsh policy towards the passive
electorate. `Those citizens, who do not participate in the elections,
should be fined or deprived of their citizenship until the next
elections as it is the case in Italy,’ David Hakonbyan said.

`In case of presidential elections, the state official should leave
his post a year before the elections,’ he added.

From: A. Papazian

Former chief of police sentenced to 8 years in prison

16:31 – 29.11.10

The General Jurisdiction Court of Kotayk marz (province) has sentenced
Ashot Harutyunyan, former Head of Charenstavan town’s Police
Department, to 8 years in prison.

Harutyunyan was accused of pushing Vahan Khalafyan to suicide.

On April 13, 2010, Khalafyan was taken to Chrenstavan police
department on suspicion of robbery.

Official sources say he committed suicide on the same day after being
tortured by the police. However, Khalafyan’s relatives and human
rights defenders insist on his being murdered by police officers.

Four policemen were accused of torturing Khalafyan, but only one of
them – Ashot Harutyunyan – has been detained. Member of police task
force Moris Hayrapeyan was sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment, the
other two culprits have been acquitted.

It came after Harutyunyan’s recent speech in court, in which the
former chief of police accused Hayrapetyan of committing the murder.
Khalafyan’s legal successor – Artak Zeynalyan – finds the verdict unfair.

“We have always insisted on Vahan’s being murdered,” he told Tert.am,
not ruling out the possibility of the case being appealed.

Tert.am

From: A. Papazian

Technology Business Journal
December 7, 2010

CRYSTALLOGRAPHY;
Data on crystallography published by researchers at Yerevan State University

“A new way of implementing the diffraction of a highly divergent
characteristic X-ray beam has been developed. This method is based on
the formation of a diffraction image by the X rays exiting particular
(active) points on the crystal surface which lie on hyperbolas,”
scientists in Yerevan, Armenia report.

“There is a correspondence between the points on the crystal surface
and the points in the diffraction image. Local distortions of the
crystal structure lead to local deviations of the diffraction lines
from proper hyperbolas,” wrote K.T. Avetyan and colleagues, Yerevan
State University.

The researchers concluded: “This method makes it possible to reveal
the block structure of crystals, separate blocks, and estimate the
degree of misorientation.”

Avetyan and colleagues published their study in Crystallography
Reports (New aspect of diffraction of a highly divergent
characteristic X-ray beam. Crystallography Reports,
2010;55(5):737-742).

For more information, contact K.T. Avetyan, Yerevan State University,
Yerevan 0025, Armenia.

Publisher contact information for the journal Crystallography Reports
is: Maik Nauka, Interperiodica, Springer, 233 Spring St., New York, NY
10013-1578, USA.

From: A. Papazian

Physics Week
December 7, 2010

PHYSICS;
Research from V.G. Gurzadyan and co-authors reveals new findings on physics

According to a study from Yerevan, Armenia, “The Kolmogorov
stochasticity parameter is shown to act as a tool to detect point
sources in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation temperature
maps.”

“Kolmogorov CMB map constructed for the WMAP’s 7-year datasets reveals
tiny structures which in part coincide with point radio and Fermi/LAT
gamma-ray sources. In the first application of this method, we
identified several sources not present in the then available 0FGL
Fermi catalog,” wrote V.G. Gurzadyan and colleagues.

The researchers concluded: “Subsequently they were confirmed in the
more recent and more complete 1FGL catalog, thus strengthening the
evidence for the power of this methodology.”

Gurzadyan and colleagues published their study in Epl (Kolmogorov
analysis detecting radio and Fermi gamma-ray sources in cosmic
microwave background maps. Epl, 2010;91(1):19001).

For more information, contact V.G. Gurzadyan, Alikhanian National
Laboratory, Yerevan, Armenia.

Publisher contact information for the journal Epl is: Epl Association,
European Physical Society, 6 Rue Des Freres Lumiere, Mulhouse, 68200,
France.

From: A. Papazian

Sacramento Bee, CA
Dec 5 2010

New lawmakers descend on the Capitol

By Torey Van Oot

New faces will fill the Capitol halls Monday, as legislators elected
Nov. 2 officially assume office. Twenty-eight new members will be
sworn in to the 80-member Assembly, including one former senator. The
40-member Senate’s freshman class of 10 includes just two members who
have never served in the state Legislature. Here is a sampling of some
of the newbies – their backgrounds, priorities and outlooks – as they
prepare to tackle new roles and a $25.4 billion budget deficit.

K.H. “Katcho” Achadjian, R-San Luis Obispo, Assembly District 33, Age 59

Achadjian replaces: Newly elected Sen. Sam Blakeslee

Most recent job: San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors.

How he got here: Achadjian defeated a tea party activist who had run
for the seat before and a conservative backed by Rep. Tom McClintock,
R-Elk Grove, in the June primary. Achadjian sailed to victory over his
Democratic opponent, winning by 20 points.

Issues: Achadjian, whose business interests include several gas and
service stations, real estate properties and a community bank, said he
wants to make issues affecting small businesses his top priority.

Hidden talent: Achadjian, who was born in Lebanon to Armenian parents,
speaks five languages: Armenian, Lebanese, French, Turkish and
English. Learning English after emigrating in his teens to attend
college in San Luis Obispo was by far the most difficult. “I spent as
much time reading the dictionary as the books,” he said of his years
as an undergrad.

Michael Allen, D-Santa Rosa, Assembly District 7, Age 63

Allen replaces: Assemblywoman Noreen Evans

Last job: Santa Rosa Planning Commission member

How he got here: Allen won a three-way Democratic primary in June,
leading by roughly 500 votes on primary election night. He handily won
the safe Democratic seat Nov. 2.

Experience: The Santa Rosa resident’s résumé includes stints as a
psychiatric nurse while he was attending law school in the 1970s, a
member of the Sierra Club legal defense team, leader of multiple labor
groups, district director for former Democratic Sen. Pat Wiggins and
founder of a community coalition advocating the use of alternative
energy sources.

The gig most like his new job: Allen said the jobs that involved
conflict resolution best prepared him for his new post. “When things
become most difficult, it’s also that time of opportunity to do things
differently because what used to work no longer works.”

Outlook: “I’m optimistic, but I’m old enough to know how difficult things are.”

Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, Senate District 12, Age 41

Cannella replaces: Sen. Jeff Denham

Last job: Mayor of Ceres and president of Northstar Engineering Group.

How he got here: The race was one of the most expensive state
legislative battles this election. Independent groups spent millions
in the race, which pitted Cannella against Democratic Assemblywoman
and former Salinas Mayor Anna Caballero. While labor groups put their
cash behind Caballero, heavy spending by business-backed groups helped
propel him to victory in the district, where Democrats have a 20-point
registration advantage.

All in the family: Cannella is the son of former Assemblyman Sal
Cannella, a Democrat who served in the lower house for about seven
years in the 1990s. Cannella, who joined the Republican Party in 2000,
said coming from a family of Democrats gives him a valuable
perspective. He also noted that he is a member of Operating Engineers
Local 3.

Linda Halderman, R-Fresno, Assembly District 29, Age 42

Halderman replaces: Assemblyman Mike Villines

Most recent job: Surgeon, specializing in breast cancer treatments; a
senior policy aide in the office of GOP Sen. Sam Aanestad.

How she got here: Halderman did rescue work after the devastating
tsunami in American Samoa. She said her experience in the “American
Third World” prompted her to run for her office. “The poverty, the
incredible lack of resources in a place that should be so vibrant … it
made me realize that California could go down that path if we don’t
change the direction California is going.”

Issues: Medical background will likely make her a top voice on health care.

Fleeced: She raises alpacas and welcomed a new addition a week before
Election Day. Her name? “First Tuesday.”

Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, Assembly District 47, Age 46

Mitchell replaces: Former Assembly Speaker Karen Bass.

Last job: President of Crystal Stairs, a nonprofit child development center

Budget cuts hit home: Crystal Stairs, which connects families with
child care assistance programs and providers, has the state’s highest
caseload of a child care subsidies program set to be eliminated by
line-item veto cuts. Mitchell said 6,600 children would have lost
child care if the cuts, which have been delayed by courts, had taken
effect Nov. 1.

Full circle: As a senior consultant for the Senate Health and Human
Services Committee, Mitchell helped create some of those child care
subsidies programs. She said she wants to bring that experience to
tackle the budget and other issues.

Henry T. Perea, D-Fresno, Assembly District 31, Age 33

Perea replaces: Independent Juan Arambula

Most recent job: Fresno City Council

How he got here: Perea was elected to the council at 25, the youngest
person ever elected to the post. He got his start in state politics as
a district representative for former Democratic Rep. Cal Dooley. Perea
will be the youngest member of the state Assembly.

Issues: Perea said he has already been meeting with Valley lawmakers
across the aisle to make the Central Valley delegation a driving
force. “We’re not going to agree on everything obviously but at least
we can come to a consensus when it comes to Valley issues so we can
speak with one voice,” he said.

Added duties: Perea got another new job recently – father to his
5-month-old daughter. How does he feel about juggling all-night budget
sessions with late-night diaper changes? “Having a family is a lot of
work, but it’s a lot of fun too.”

From: A. Papazian

Moscow Times, Russia
Dec 5 2010

OSCE Fails to Gain Powers as Old Conflicts Smolder

05 December 2010
Reuters
ASTANA, Kazakhstan – Unresolved conflicts across the former Soviet
Union thwarted attempts by Europe’s main security watchdog to adopt
new powers Friday, sending world leaders home empty-handed from the
first OSCE summit in more than a decade.

The 56-member state Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe could not agree on a new “action plan” to tackle conflicts
after two days of talks that dragged into the early hours of Friday in
Kazakhstan’s windswept capital.

Instead, they signed the Astana Commemorative Declaration, which
renewed their previous commitment to principles of a free and
democratic security community from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

Thirty-eight heads of state traveled to Kazakhstan, the first former
Soviet country to chair the OSCE. Many had already left by the time
marathon talks wrapped up, leaving delegates to deliver some stinging
messages about a lack of progress.

The United States said the adoption of a more meaningful declaration
had snagged on old conflicts including Moldova’s rebel Transdnestr
region, Georgia’s breakaway regions and the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“We could not accept an action plan at the first OSCE summit in 11
years that failed to adequately address the most serious and enduring
threats to our security,” a U.S. delegation representative said in
closing remarks.

Failure to empower the OSCE underlined doubts among many that the
uneasy mix grouping Western democracies with former Soviet republics
has the teeth or the will to prevent conflicts and ensure adherence to
even basic human rights.

“If we’re going to have a text, let’s have a text with real substance
in it, which doesn’t simply try and brush every awkward issue under
the carpet,” British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said.

The Czech delegation, summing up its position, said in a statement:
“The action plan should have defined a practical way to continue to
restore trust and confidence among OSCE participating states.

“This opportunity was lost. So was the relevance of the OSCE.”

Sharp Rhetoric
A Russian delegation representative said “compromise became impossible
due to the dogmatized approach by some participants to the negotiating
process.” He did not elaborate.

Russia came under pressure during the summit from both Georgia and
Moldova for not withdrawing its troops from both countries’ pro-Moscow
rebel regions – a commitment made by the Kremlin during the last OSCE
summit in Istanbul in 1999.

And far from its stated aim of narrowing the gap between Azerbaijan
and Armenia on the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the summit
drew sharp rhetoric from both sides after the worst year of skirmishes
since a 1994 cease-fire.

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan threatened to recognize the
Armenian-backed mountain enclave as independent if Azerbaijan acted on
its threat to use force to take the territory back.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has used the summit to
promote his oil-rich nation and its futuristic capital, saved face
with the signing of the Astana declaration and told reporters that the
“historic” summit was a success.

“It demolished the decrepit wall between Europe and Asia and enriched
the Helsinki spirit with the Astana spirit,” he said.

The OSCE held its first summit in the Finnish capital during the Cold
War in 1975.

Nazarbayev, a 70-year-old former steelworker who has run Kazakhstan
for more than two decades, had earlier given the floor to Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in an attempt to garner support for a
declaration.

“By holding this OSCE summit, Kazakhstan is today becoming a hero in
the world arena, acquiring a widely deserved authority and prestige,”
Berlusconi said.

From: A. Papazian

Behind the scenes in private museums

By Lucinda Bredin

Published: November 26 2010 22:03 | Last updated: November 26 2010 22:03

`Guilty’, the yacht of Greek-Cypriot industrialist Dakis Joannou that
houses his art museum, the cladding of which is painted by Jeff Koons

In the mid-1990s, I was given an assignment by Vogue to write about
going shopping with a well-groomed Turinese woman, Patrizia Re
Rebaudengo. But instead of Bond Street, the black cab wove around east
London – Hoxton, Shoreditch, Deptford and some netherland now probably
underneath the Olympic stadium. Re Rebaudengo was not buying clothes,
but she was bang on trend: she was acquiring art. And once she started
buying works – some of which were the price of a small house – she
didn’t stop. The big question was: where she would put it all? The
answer arrived five years later in the form of a long 1,500 sq metre
building in an industrial suburb of her home town, designed by Claudio
Silvestrin. This was the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.

Re Rebaudengo was part of the zeitgeist. In the past 15 years, there
has been a proliferation of private museums and galleries that house
the collections of the rich. Just a few notable examples are the
Ronald Lauder’s Neue Galerie, in a townhouse in Upper East Side,
Manhattan; the Rubell Family Collection in a former customs house in
Miami; and François Pinault’s showcases in Venice – the Palazzo Grassi
on the Grand Canal and the Punte della Dogana – unveiled at the 2009
Biennale. Dakis Joannou, the Greek-Cypriot industrialist, has gone
further, fusing symbols of extreme wealth: his art museum is housed on
a yacht (named `Guilty’), which is arguably a work of art in itself,
as the cladding is painted by Jeff Koons.

The recession and talk of swingeing cuts has hardly made a dent in the
schedule of new openings. In August, US west coast-based billionaire
Eli Broad announced that Diller Scofidio + Renfro are designing a
$100m building in Los Angeles, across the road from the Museum of
Contemporary Art, to house the Broad Collection. This was trumped in
September by the Mexican telecom king, Carlos Slim (the richest man in
the world), when he unveiled his plans to build a 150ft-high aluminium
structure in Mexico City designed by his son-in-law, Fernando Romero.
It will have five storeys of exhibition space to show a small
proportion of his 66,000-strong collection.

Of course, showing off your collection is nothing new. What is
generally considered to be one of the world’s first museums opened
circa 1628 in Kennington, London, where John Tradescant would take
visitors around his collection of curiosities gathered from his
travels. Tradescant charged sixpence, but since then the motives for
opening private museums have not tended to revolve around money but
rather to establish one’s intellectual and aesthetic discrimination.
In the 1560s, Albrecht V of Bavaria created his celebrated Kunstkammer
to flaunt his collection and lord it over other European princes.
Buoyed by new world riches, the Whitneys, Fricks, the Guggenheims and
the Rockefellers cemented their position as America’s cultural
dynasties by funding museums. Indeed, state-funded institutions were
the late arrivals at the party – and many of those were based on
private initiatives. The founding collection of London’s National
Gallery, for instance, belonged to the banker John Julius Angerstein.

But although the private museum model has been well-established, it
doesn’t account for the sheer number of museums that have opened in
the past 15 years. In Germany, for example, it is estimated that more
than a dozen museums have opened since 1995. Understandably, directors
of major state institutions have mixed feelings about this trend. Rich
collectors were once content to channel their patronage into galleries
and museums in return for their name writ large: Robert Lehman, for
example, bequeathed his collection to the Metropolitan in 1969 and in
return, the museum built a private wing for it. But Lehman had enough
clout to ensure that his collection would be displayed together and
constantly on public view. Since then, few other collectors have been
able to dictate these terms.

The collector and philanthropist Eli Broad

Even fabled collections have slipped through the public sector’s
fingertips. As long ago as the 1940s the Armenian oil magnate,
Calouste Gulbenkian, tried to donate his ensemble of Old Masters and
antiquities to the National Gallery. However he found only suspicion
when he suggested a private annexe, and negotiations collapsed.
Gallery papers released a few years ago show there was a prevailing
distaste for Gulbenkian – regarded as a `slippery benefactor’ who was
undoubtedly trying to leverage an advantageous tax deal – and his
collection, which was snobbishly regarded as lacking in
connoisseurship. Eventually Gulbenkian’s son, Nubar, custom-built a
museum for it in Lisbon.

Today, many private museums are built to make sure the works remain on
display. Anna Somers Cocks, the founder editor of The Art Newspaper,
traces the rise to the 1990s contemporary art market boom. `During the
ascending, speculative market, people put their money into art and
began to buy more than they could house. They could, of course, leave
it in storage, but then they wouldn’t have the fun. There is a big
club of rich collectors with foundations who go to each other’s
events, meet at the fairs and feel they are doing a bit of good.’
Displaying works could also enhance their value. `It isn’t necessarily
that people want to advertise their collection in order to sell the
works later,’ says Somers Cocks, `but that can’t be a million miles
away from people’s consideration.’

It’s unlikely that Eli Broad or any of the other collectors I talked
to would agree with the idea. Many have a policy of never selling
work. However, when I asked Broad why he was building a separate
museum for his collection when Lacma (the Los Angeles County Museum of
Art) had already built a wing designed by Renzo Piano, no less, he
said that while the correct storage of the archive was a
consideration: `The space in Santa Monica was woefully inadequate and
we wanted everything together.’ If he had given his collection to a
prestigious institution such as the MoMa in New York, `95 per cent
would be in the basement. I want the work to be seen.’

This is the mantra of all collectors with private museums and
`spaces’. Anita Zabludowicz and her Finnish husband Poju opened 176 to
show their collection in a converted chapel in north London three
years ago because of `storage issues’ – and, because, as Anita says,
once you’ve bought the art, `it’s not fair to young artists to have
their work hidden away.’ Zabludowicz does admit that at first
attendances were disappointing, `but three years on, we now have quite
a following. I think we have found a niche.’ To tie in with Frieze,
176 has a show by Toby Ziegler, steel shapes based on existing
sculptures that have been abstracted by a computer programme and then
rendered in three dimensions. By the admission of the collection’s
curator, Elizabeth Neilson, it `is not easy work. Anita saw his pieces
five years ago and bought it as a message of support, which is in
keeping with the philanthrophic outlook to the collection.’ The works
are also large. The somewhat drastic solution to keep them on show is
to build a special `art barn’ for them on the island that the
Zabludowiczs own in Finland.

Like the Zabludowiczs, many owners of private museums/spaces see
themselves as in a position to fill a gap in arts provision. Dasha
Zhukova, for example, says that she opened The Garage in Moscow
because `there was really no space in Moscow where you could see the
best modern and contemporary art from around the world alongside work
by leading Russian artists’. Her vision was to import the idea of
looking at art as a lifestyle choice. `I saw the building [the former
Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage, designed in 1926 by Konstantin Melnikov] and
I fell in love with it. I wanted to make it into a place where people
would come to look at art, buy books in the bookshop, see a film or
attend an event and just hang out.’

Patrizia Re Rebaudengo also feels she is filling a gap. When I caught
up with her 15 years later, she said she had moved on from showing her
collection at the Foundation. These days, she says, other museums ask
to show it. She was channelling her efforts into outreach projects.
This, she says, is especially needed as the Italian government has
historically paid little attention to contemporary art.

Not surprisingly, museum directors are reticent about commenting on
private institutions. Who wants to fall out with potential
benefactors? Some collectors such as Frank Cohen, the Mancunian DIY
king, who has a private space, Initial Access, in Wolverhampton,
actively want to collaborate with museums. `Let’s face it,’ he says,
`I’ve got the funds and the art – and they’ve got the audience. When I
loaned my collection to Manchester Art gallery, 77,000 visitors saw
it. It was great.’ Off the record, though, some museum and gallery
heads have voiced their concerns about what will happen to private
museums after the founding collector has died. Charles Saatchi tried
to pre-empt the problem by offering parts of his collection to the
nation in advance but after an enthusiastic welcome, the details of
the bequest are yet to be hammered out. Because it is not just a hefty
endowment that is needed, it is energy, commitment and passion. Both
Zabludowicz and Re Rebaudengo said it was a full-time job.
`Ultimately,’ said Anna Somers Cocks, `I don’t know whether this
phenomenon is going to last.’

Lucinda Bredin is arts editor of The Week and editor of Bonhams Magazine

From: A. Papazian

Office of the Prime Minister, Armenia
gov.am
Dec 5 2010

The prime minister attends an exhibition dedicated to Tigran the
Great`s 2150th anniversary

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan attended today the inauguration of an
exhibition in the National Picture Gallery of Armenia, entitled `One
work’ and dedicated to the 2150th anniversary of Tigran the Great.

Actions on the Armenian monarch’s 2150th anniversary are held under
the Premier’s high patronage. Today’s event was attended by Minister
of Defense Seiran Ohanyan, Primate of Ararat Patriarchal Diocese
Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan.

The head of government toured the stands getting acquainted with the
works of 84 authors: both picturesque and sculptural works, as well as
excavation findings brought in from Tigranakert of Artsakh. The best
exhibit will be awarded Vardges Surenyants-150 silver medal.

Following the ceremony of opening, Tigran Sargsyan told the
journalists: `Marking today the 2150th anniversary of Tigran the
Great, we seek to reassess the importance of his legacy for our people
and its history. Speaking about Tigran the Great, we mean the commonly
shared dream of the Armenian people, the idea of a mighty and powerful
homeland which is forever associated with the name of Tigran the
Great.’

Tigran Sargsyan went on to emphasize that the example set by Tigran
the Great used to inspire Armenians in their fight for reinstatement
of statehood. “It is such a great potential as has always inspired the
people of Armenia to regain sovereignty, and finally succeeded. In
general, while looking into Tigran the Great’s history, we can see
hosts of episodes which seem to be actual today.’

The Prime Minister emphasized the fact that the site of Artsakh’s
Tigranakert is excavated by Armenian experts.

From: A. Papazian

Office of the Prime Minister, Armenia
gov.am
Dec 5 2010

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan’s introductory remarks at cabinet sitting

Dear colleagues,

We have to begin today’s session with several assignments. You may
know that after visiting Brussels we stepped up joint efforts with the
European Union, the World Trade Organization and those countries with
which we have free trade arrangements. The point is that we must
comply with our international commitments, and today strict orders
have to be formulated for the State Revenue Committee concerning the
ways of ensuring compliance with the WTO regulations as of January 1,
as well as with those arrangements reached under bilateral free trade
arrangements which prevail over the Armenian laws as stipulated by
Armenia’s legislative.

To avoid any broad interpretation of the matter, the State Revenue
Committee should be directed to apply such fixed payment rates for
tobacco products as would not exceed the mark of 15 percent of their
customs value which is a rule of the World Trade Organization, and we
are obliged to observe it from January 1, because there are cases when
the rate of taxation is 17, 18 percent and so on..

Our studies have shown that we are in a position to comply with this
requirement as of January 1..

The second assignment bears on the bilateral free trade agreements
concerning the alcoholic drinks. Here too, we are in duty to provide
compliance with the obligations assumed before our partners regarding
the import of alcoholic drinks: the State Revenue Committee is
accordingly directed to give preference to free trade arrangements.

By honoring our international commitments, we simultaneously meet the
obligations assumed before the European Union which means that those
agreements concluded with the European Union, including the ones on
loan and grant assistance will come into force and, as a State, we
will have to ensure that these regimes are applied in the Republic of
Armenia as of January1.

The second assignment concerns all the ministries and agencies. We
have draft laws submitted to the National Assembly and we are in for
the next four-day debates at which either the State budget law is to
be discussed. Nonetheless, some thirty bills are deemed to be of top
priority by our cabinet ministers and the heads of government
agencies.

You are hereby told to finalize them with your colleagues from the
National Assembly and report back the outcome to the Prime Minister so
that we could ask for an extraordinary sitting of Parliament in order
to have them passed by yearend as they affect the reform process. You
have a week at your disposal to that effect.

And the third key problem to discuss is the introduction of the
institute of interconnectivity and coherence. I have already stated it
while referring to the functions carried out by the State Revenue
Committee, namely that the larger business manages to shatter the
functions on small parts in order to avoid the payment of taxes during
customs clearing. Therefore, the State Revenue Committee will have to
apply the institute of interconnectivity to expose the linkages
between the separate components so declared.

We must acknowledge the bill of top urgency and ask for extraordinary
debates: it had to be submitted along with the State budget bill as we
had a political decision and the directive of the President of the
Republic of Armenia.

From: A. Papazian

Office of the Prime Minister, Armenia
Dec 5 2010

The Prime Minister and the newly appointed French ambassador discuss
furtherance of economic cooperation

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received newly appointed Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to the
Republic of Armenia Henri Renaud.

Complimenting the Ambassador on appointment, the Prime Minister wished
him every success all the way through his tenure of office in our
country. Highly appreciative of the traditional bonds of friendship,
Prime Minister Sargsyan expressed conviction that Mr. Renaud would
promote effective interaction between the two countries.

Looking at ways of expanding economic cooperation, the parties
discussed the possibility of making joint efforts in postal services,
insurance, energy, information technologies, agriculture, wine
industry, pharmaceuticals and perfumery.

Ambassador Renaud said to be highly honored by his appointment as the
French Ambassador to Armenia which is quite meaningful considering
that Armenians are held in special respect by the French people.
Reminding that France is the largest European investor in Armenia as
evidenced by the progress achieved in all spheres of interaction, the
Ambassador assured of his willingness to build on the existing ties of
friendship.

At the request of his guest, the head of government outlined the model
and the priorities of Armenia’s economic development.

From: A. Papazian