Author: Andres-Papazian

VAHAN HOVHANNISYAN: ‘AZERBAIJAN IS THE VICTIM OF THE DEMOCRACY IT FORMED’

ARMENPRESS
SEPTEMBER 28,2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS: Today, Azerbaijan is the victim
of the democracy it formed, according to Vahan Hovhannisyan, head
of the NA Armenian Revolutionary Federation faction. He said at
today’s meeting with journalists that the Azerbaijani authorities
and opposition tend to compete with each other ‘by performing as more
aggressive and uncompromising’ about the Nagorno Karabakh issue. ‘It
brought to the point that not only Azerbaijan, but also the whole
region fell into Azerbaijan’s trap.

If today’s Azerbaijan is really wise and demands settlement of the
issue via mutual concessions, the Azerbaijani society can ‘remove’
the authorities. Therefore, before the elections Azerbaijan’s
aggressiveness in the contact line and in rhetoric may flame up,’
Vahan Hovhannisyan said. He says there must not be any dispute at the
National Assembly before putting the issue of the NK recognition to
vote for that the bill is passed by 131 votes. If there is any dispute
about the issue, it should not be put to vote, Vahan Hovhannisyan said.

As to the prolonging of the agreement on location of Russian military
bases in Armenia, the speaker said he refers to it normally. It
is accepted in the international practice, when powerful states
become warrants of security and independence of small states, Vahan
Hovhannisyan noted. He added that US is the warrant of security of
a number of Eastern European states.

From: A. Papazian

” RECOGNIZED AS BEST WEBSITE

ARMENPRESS
SEPTEMBER 28,2010
YEREVAN

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan partook today in the 8th annual
Award of Freedom of Information, held since 2003 – after the adoption
of ‘RA Law on Freedom of Information’ -every September 28 – World
Day of Information Freedom. An official from the information and PR
office of RA Governmental told Armenpress that Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan congratulated the attendees and underscored the importance
of freedom of information.

He spoke on the current issues of the sphere. ‘First of all we
emphasize the open and transparent operation of state administration
bodies. We exert quite serious efforts in this direction for that all
the decisions, adopted by state bodies, be available for the society
and presented to them for initial discussion. This gives an opportunity
to state bodies to take the public opinion into account,’ the Prime
Minister said. He touched upon the establishment of cooperation between
NGO’s and state bodies and mentioned that by this dialogue between
the society and state bodies in getting information should be ensured.

The Prime Minister stressed that it was the first time all the
decisions of the Government were presented to the society via the
internet. During the award, organized by Freedom of Information Center
of Armenia, the Governmental website was recognized as
the best website for provision of information of 2010. Davit Sargsyan,
chief of RA Prime Minister’s staff, expressed gratitude for the award
and mentioned that the work was undertaken upon Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan’s assignment.

‘The first piece of information we placed on the Government’s website
before the creation of , was the gap of financing of
state non-commercial organizations from the state budget,’ Davit
Sargsyan said.

From: A. Papazian

YEREVAN HOSTS DISCUSSION ON MONITORING OF APARTMENTS DISTRIBUTION IN DISASTER AREA

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 28, 2010 – 19:48 AMT 14:48 GMT

On September 28, Yerevan hosted a discussion of a report on Monitoring
of Apartments Distribution in Disaster Area.

The discussion, organized by the Open Society Institute (OSI),
was attended by the Armenian Minister of Urban Development Vardan
Vardanyan and representatives of public sector.

1056 apartments were provided to the homeless in disaster area in 2010,
with the official number of those left homeless reaching 3000.

6000 were left homeless in accordance with unofficial data.

The discussion focused on drawbacks in the quality of construction
and provision of certificates of ownership to families who still
occupy temporary lodgings.

From: A. Papazian

ARMEN HOVHANNESYAN: WE SUPPORT CREATION OF MODERN STANDARDS FOR ARMENIAN SCHOOLS

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 28, 2010 – 19:03 AMT 14:03 GMT

We’re opposed to the opening of foreign language schools, regardless
of the law it’s stipulated by, Armen Hovhannesyan, a member of the
initiative group We Are Opposed to Repeated Opening of Foreign-language
Schools in Armenia stated.

“In accordance with preliminary plan, 11 foreign and foreign language
schools are to be operating in Armenia, which means every 10th school
in Armenia will be a foreign language one,” Hovhannesyan told September
28 news conference.

“We support creation of modern standards for Armenian schools
envisaging implementation of new projects and technologies into
Armenian-language education program,” Hovhannesyan stressed.

From: A. Papazian

MEMORIAL TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS TO BE SET UP IN BOSTON

NEWS.am
September 28, 2010 | 19:05

After participating in the 65th session of the U.N. General Assembly,
RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian arrived in Boston, MA. He visited
the Armenian Heritage Park. Next year, a memorial to Armenian Genocide
victims is to be completed there. The action group members told the
Armenian FM about the project.

The press service of the Armenian foreign office informed NEWS.am
that Minister Edward Nalbandian delivered a report at the Fletcher
School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University, on September 27.

He pointed out that for 11 years the Tavitian Foundation has sponsored
the education of 150 diplomats, officials and NGO representatives at
the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy.

Minister Nalbandian dwelt on Armenia’s foreign policy problems
and steps to resolve them, the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and
Armenian-Turkish relations.

Thereafter, Minister Nalbandian held a meeting with Dean of the
Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy Stephen W. Bosworth. The two
discussed issues of further development.

Minister Nalbandian also participation in a reception organized in
his honor by the Armenian community in Boston. He delivered a speech
on Armenia’s foreign policy and answered a number of questions.

The RA Foreign Minister is to return to Yerevan after his visit.

From: A. Papazian

EDWARD NALBANDIAN: AZERBAIJAN TURNS DEAF EAR TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY’S POSITION

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 28, 2010 – 20:59 AMT 15:59 GMT

In the statement delivered at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy,
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian dwelled on Karabakh
conflict settlement issue and Armenia-Turkey relations.

The Foreign Minister spoke of Lenin-Ataturk and Stalin – Caucasian
Bureau agreements triggering multiple problems in South Caucasus,
ministerial press service reported.

Dwelling on Karabakh issue, Nalbandian referred to Madrid principles
which became a basis for a number of suggestions on conflict
settlement. “The last version of Madrid suggestions was submitted at
St. Petersburg negotiations, with Armenian side agreeing to accept
the document as a basis for further talks. Azerbaijan, however,
would accept neither the first not the last of documents, turning a
deaf ear to the international community and OSCE MG recommendations,”
Nalbandian stressed.

From: A. Papazian

THE USAID HUMAN AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MARKS CLOSE-OUT

Noyan Tapan
23.09.2010

Yerevan – On September 23, 2010, the five-year USAID-funded Human
and Institutional Capacity Development (HICD) Project held its
closeout event at Armenia Marriott Hotel in Yerevan. The Academy
of Educational Development (AED), which implemented the program,
presented an overview of the project in the context of 16 years of
USAID-funded capacity development programs in Armenia. Stakeholders
from the Armenian government and international institutions, as well
as beneficiary organizations shared the outcomes and achievements
of HICD activities in the country. The event was accompanied with
an exhibition where a number of project beneficiaries displayed the
successes of their organizations as a result of HICD interventions.

Launched in 2005, HICD has spanned a variety of organizations in
public, private and non-profit sectors and has focused on a variety
of fields. The project has effectively cooperated with partner
organizations to address the performance gaps of key institutions that
have an important role for USAID’s strategic priorities. In the past
few years, USAID has closely worked with and provided support to the
Armenian Government, including the Ministries of Economy, Health, Labor
and Social Affairs, the Central Bank of Armenia, the Public Services
Regulatory Commission, as well as the National Assembly of RA. It
has also worked with a number of companies in the private sector,
particularly with small and medium enterprises in tourism and IT,
as well as with active players in civil society, including advocacy
NGOs, watchdogs and think tanks.

The project’s approach to capacity development goes beyond traditional
training. The HICD team in Armenia provided a comprehensive package
of human and institutional capacity development services, including
conducting needs, impact and performance assessments; identifying
performance gaps, developing targeted training and non-training
interventions; monitoring and evaluating capacity development process;
and designing and implementing follow-on activities.

During sixteen years of USAID-funded capacity development projects,
including HICD, USAID has organized more than 1,300 training
and capacity building activities. Over 24,000 Armenian leaders,
policymakers and professionals, and over 5,000 Armenian organizations
benefited from capacity development assistance.

The HICD Project was implemented and administered by AED. AED is a
nonprofit organization, founded in 1961 in the USA that operates in
more than 150 countries worldwide.

From: A. Papazian

NA/NE ANNUAL MEDIA AWARD

Noyan Tapan
23.09.2010

British Council, British Embassy Yerevan, the OSCE Office in Yerevan
and the UNFPA announce the Na/Ne annual media competition.

Journalists representing printed, online media, TV and radio companies
of Armenia as well as independent journalists are eligible to submit
their publications to take part in the competition. The published
and broadcast publications and their authors may also be nominated
by NGOs and individuals.

Materials must have been published or broadcast within the period from
January to December 2010 and covered the activities and achievements,
problems and challenges of women in political, economic and social
spheres from the gender equality perspective. Publications may be
presented in any of the journalistic genres.

Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:

1. TV programme 2. Printed article 3. Radio programme 4. Online or blog
article 5. Photo or photo story 6. Social or commercial advertisement
raising issues of a woman or gender equality.

Applications must be submitted until December 31, 2010. The results of
the competition will be finalised by the end of January and presented
during ~SNa/Ne~T award ceremony, for detailed information please
visit our website

Please, submit the applications in hard copy to the British Council
office: Hripsime Manukyan, 24 Baghramyan Avenue, or send via email
to [email protected]. Please note that in case of electronic
submissions scanned versions of the publications are required.

For more information on gender equality and reporting gender in media
you may consult the following resource:

From: A. Papazian

TATUL MANASERYAN: THE COUNTRY’S AGRICULTURE IS VULNERABLE
Hasmik Dilanyan

“Radiolur”
23.09.2010 18:10

The present and the future of Aremnian economy. Economist continue
analyzing the country’s economic policy and giving assessments.

Chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Economic
Issues Vardan Ayvazyan says the government’s anti-crisis program
yields real results. Economist Tatul Manaseryan considers that “the
country’s agriculture is vulnerable, so as food security.”

“Of course, one can blame the unfavorable weather conditions, which
is true. But it does not justify the policy designed for agricultural
sector. To be frank, I think there is no policy at all,’ he said.

National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and
Budgetary Affairs Gagik Minasyan says serious progress has been
registered as a result of the anti-crisis measures taken. However,
according to him, the high economic indices were somewhat undermined
because of the fall registered in the field of agriculture.

The economists are concerned about inflation rate in the republic.

“Inflation reached 7.7% last month, which considerably exceeds the
level fixed by the Law on State Budget,” Gagik Minasyan said.

“The government is doing its best to softe the inflation,” Vardan
Ayvazyan said, adding, however, that sometimes surprises happen.

“There is an opportunity to keep the inflation rate down artificially,
but it’s not known what this could result in, because no research has
been carried out in Armenia in that direction,” Tatul Manaseryan said.

According to the data of the National Statistical Service, in the
first eight months of 2010 Armenia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
expanded by 3.1% from a year before, the GDP grew, in terms of money,
to 2.042.8 trillion AMD. The GDP growth, projected by 2010 budget is
1.2 percent.

From: A. Papazian

SERGE SMESSOW COMPLETES MISSION, HIS APPOINTMENT AS OSCE MG CO-CHAIR STILL UNCLEAR

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 23, 2010 – 16:22 AMT 11:22 GMT

The Ambassador of France to Armenia Serge Smessow has completed his
mission in Armenia. Smessow plans to leave the country on October 10,
the press service of French Embassy in Armenia told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter.

In accordance with earlier media reports, Smessow was supposed to
replace OSCE MG French co-chair Bernard Fassier who is soon to retire.

The Embassy did not confirm the fact, pointing out that the information
will be provided in due time.

From: A. Papazian