Author: Antonian Lara

"MONEY TRANSFERS. RETAIL BANKING SERVICES" INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE TO LAUNCH IN YEREVAN ON OCTOBER 10

Mediamax Agency
Oct 8 2007
Armenia

Yerevan, October 8 /Mediamax/. The 4th international interbank
conference "Money Transfers. Retail Banking Services" will launch in
Yerevan on October 10.

Mediamax reports that the "Money Transfers. Retail Banking Services"
conference will launch on October 10 at 10:00 in "Tigran Mets" Hall of
"Armenia Marriott" Hotel.

The conference will be attended by the Chairman of the Central Bank
of Armenia Tigran Sarkisian, Chairman of the Association of Russian
Banks Garegin Tosunian, President of the Moscow International
Currency Association Aleksey Mamontov, representatives of money
transfers systems and banks from Israel, Estonia, Russia, Armenia,
Ukraine and Georgia.

During the "Money Transfers. Retail Banking Services" conference,
issues, concerning the improvement of technical platforms, the currency
integration innovational systems, extension and improvement of the
quality of services spectrum for the users of money transfer systems,
issues, related to the struggle against money laundering and others
will be discussed.

CQ Transcriptions
Oct 5 2007

ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FRIED HOLDS A STATE DEPARTMENT
NEWS BRIEFING ON SECRETARY RICE’S UPCOMING TRIP TO MOSCOW

OCTOBER 5, 2007

SPEAKER: ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EUROPEAN AND
EURASIAN AFFAIRS DANIEL FRIED

[parts omitted]

QUESTION: They said both plans, as you know, for next week in the
Congress on the Armenian genocide resolution. All indications are
that that will make it through committee. What will the U.S. be —
what will the administration be saying to Turkey in the aftermath?

FRIED: The administration opposes House Resolution 106. And we think
it would do grave harm both to U.S. Turkish relations and to U.S.
interests including damage to — it would hurt our forces deployed in
Iraq which rely on passage through Turkey. It would do far greater
harm than good. It would do nothing to advance Turkish- Armenian
reconciliation.

But more to the point, it is not simply this administration which
opposes this bill, but all former living secretaries of state have
written to Speaker Pelosi in opposition, including Madeleine
Albright, Warren Christopher, Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, James
Baker, Alexander Haig, George Schultz, Larry Eagleburger. They have
all expressed the view that this resolution could, and I quote,
"endanger our national security interests in the region including the
safety of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Now, no one, neither the former secretaries nor the administration,
denies that a terrible and inexcusable tragedy of mass killings and
forced exile befell innocent Armenians in the late — in the last
years of the Ottoman Empire, in 1915 and after. Those are historical
facts. Up to a million and a half people were killed or forced into
exile. The United States has recognized this. President Bush, like
President Clinton before him, has formally recognized it in annual
statements on Armenian Remembrance Day on April 24th.

So the administration does not deny anything. We do not deny
anything.

But we do not believe that this bill would advance either the cause
of historical truth or Turkish-Armenian reconciliation or the
interests of the United States. And we oppose it.

QUESTION: That statement seems to presume that Turkey will retaliate
by restricting some sort of access to Iraq by saying that this would
harm U.S. troops.

Do you presume that?

FRIED: I don’t want to discuss a possible Turkish reaction to a bill
that I hope doesn’t pass.

But it is true that the Turkish reaction would be extremely strong.
It has been strong when such resolutions have passed before. And we
have to be mindful of how much we depend and how much our troops and
the Iraqi economy depends on shipments from and to Turkey.

Pharma Investments, Ventures & Law Weekly
October 14, 2007

CHEMOTHERAPY;
Studies from T.K. Davtyan and colleagues reveal new findings on
chemotherapy

Pg. 821

"The systemic therapeutic application of iodophores has not yet been
accepted due to limited availability of safe and effective ionized
iodine preparations (see also Chemotherapy). Here we evaluated the
antibacterial activity of iodine-lithium-ei-dextrin (lL alpha D) both
in vitro and in vivo," researchers in Yerevan, Armenia report.

"The MIC values of IL alpha D against 189 bacterial isolates in
various growth media and in vivo toxicity and protective efficacy of
IL alpha D in preventing mortality of rats infected with
Staphylococcus aureus were determined. The intracellular killing of
S. aureus by neutrophils in the presence of IL alpha D and
myeloperoxidase (MPO)-catalysed oxidation of iodide was also
determined. The MIC values of IL alpha D against 189 Gram-positive
cocci and Gram-negative bacilli ranged between 124-512 mg/L in growth
media and 6.2-12.5 mg/L in buffer solution, and were highly variable
in the presence of amino -acids. We observed protection of S.
aureus-infected rats from death with significant reduction of
bacterial growth in organs upon intravenous administration of IL
alpha D at doses that are 4-12 times lower than maximal in vivo
tolerability dose. Intracellular killing of S. aureus by neutrophils
increased in the presence of IL alpha D probably due to MPO-catalysed
oxidation of iodide into hypoiodous acid. The pattern of IL alpha D
reaction with amino acids at different pH or halide ion content
determined both the generation of long-lived secondary oxidants and
antibacterial activity. Systemic application of IL alpha D proved to
be successful in the rat infection model by promoting host defence,"
wrote T.K. Davtyan and colleagues.

The researchers concluded: "Probable mechanisms are increased
intracellular killing of bacteria by production of hypoiodous acid
and iodamines as well as anti-inflammatory activity."

Davtyan and colleagues published their study in the Journal of
Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (Evaluation of amino acids as mediators
for the antibacterial activity of iodine-lithium-alpha-dextrin in
vitro and in vivo. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy,
2007;59(6):1114-1122).

For additional information, contact T.K. Davtyan, Armenicum Research
Center, Laboratory Immunology & Virology, Yerevan, Armenia.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of Antimicrobial
Chemotherapy is: Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon St., Oxford
OX2 6DP, England.

Keywords: Armenia, Yerevan, Amino Acids, Antibacterial Activity,
Antibiotics, Antimicrobials, Chemotherapy, Drug Therapy, Drugs,
Enzyme Research, Lithium, Myeloperoxidase, Pharmaceuticals, Therapy,
Treatment.

This article was prepared by Pharma Investments, Ventures & Law Week
editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Pharma
Investments, Ventures & Law Week via Chemotherapy.

HAND IN HAND AGAINST ARMENIA
Armen Tsatouryan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily, Armenia
Oct 5 2007

Recently the Azerbaijani propaganda has, by a wave of some "magic
wand", changed the preferences it had on the Armenian political
arena for around 10 years. Now the Azerbaijani Web sites, especially
"Day-Az", unanimously insist that instead of the victory of their
former idol, they favor the victory of Serge Sargsyan, their sworn
enemy.

Why have the outstanding representatives of the Azerbaijani
propaganda, i.e. Akper Hasanov, Ledani Guliev and the others have
within a few days diametrically changed their belief according to
which Levon-Ter-Petrosyan is the only person among the Armenian
politicians who is capable of making serious concessions with regard
to the Karabakh issue.

To answer this question, it is first of all necessary to pay attention
to the following fact.

Mr. Ter-Petrosyan’s September 21 speech for a moment aroused an
obvious euphoria in Azerbaijan. But those singing praises to our
ex-President from Baku quickly realized that their words were first
of all addressed to the rivals.

It was quite natural and logical that after Ter-Petrosyan’s return
to active politics, the Azerbaijani propaganda, which had sung his
praises for around 10 years, would change its targets and direct its
blows towards the rival’s side. Because, if the former approach had
been preserved, Mr. Ter-Petrosyan’s rivals would have made sure once
again that this person is trying to return to the post of President in
order to realize his well-known defeatist program adopted in 1997-1998
with regard to the Karabakh Issue.

It is quite conceivable that the "propaganda-based solutions" deriving
from the interests of one’s own country currently demand that people
like Eldanizguliev present Ter-Petrosyan as a clever and a much more
dangerous activist for Azerbaijan than Serge Sargsyan whom they hate
so much.

The following question comes up: what does our country’s national
interest demand in that case? The answer is clear and obvious: to find
out the causes of such a sudden transformation of the Azeri people’s
views and not to be misled by the change of their preferences.

Whereas the majority of the media supporting the Armenian pan-National
Movement are currently engaged in disseminating this kind of primitive
provocation elaborated by the Azerbaijani propaganda, and they are
trying to convince their readers that Azerbaijan is anxious rather
than happy by the prospect of Mr. Ter-Petrosyan’s return.

What makes those media engage themselves in disseminating Azerbaijan’s
"propaganda-based provocations"? Is it the lack of elementary knowledge
or the coincidence of interests with the Turks?

If this kind of approach results from ignorance or naivety, let them
at least remember the well-known proverb saying "Never confide in an
ass". And if they consciously commit themselves to disseminating the
Azerbaijani "target change" operation in Armenia, there is already
a certain role-casting between the Azerbaijani "Day-Az" and some of
our newspapers.

That is, on the one hand the Azerbaijani media are currently
presenting Levon Ter-Petrosyan as a dangerous and cruel rival, a real
"Armenian extremist" under whose rule the Armenians occupied Shushi and
performed the military operations of Khodjalu, and on the other hand,
by presenting to the reader the publications of "Day Az" and other
Web sites, the media supporting the Armenian pan-National Movement
are trying to convince us that it is by all means necessary to ensure
Mr. Petrosyan’s victory in the upcoming presidential elections in
order to give Azerbaijan a good lesson.

When the Armenian media engage themselves in disseminating Azerbaijan’s
primitive sabotage, it only remains to draw a conclusion that the
obvious role-castings between the "parties" are simply a manifestation
of a propaganda war against the "common rival"; they rather present
dangerous political provocations.

MAMMADYAROV: RESTORATION OF AZERBAIJAN’S SOVEREIGNTY IS AN ISSUE OF TIME

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.10.2007 13:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ When addressing the UN General Assembly October 3,
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, said the issue of
Nagorno Karabakh "poses the most serious challenge to the region’s
security."

The negotiations being held in the framework of the OSCE "have not
yielded any results so far," he said.

He said the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict "should base
on the principles of international law and four resolutions of the
UN Security Council which provide for restoration of sovereignty and
territorial integrity of his country."

"I am confident that Azerbaijan will restore its sovereignty and
territorial integrity. It’s an issue of time," Elmar Mammadyarov said.

NGOS TAKE UP INITIATIVE

Lragir, Armenia
Oct 3 2007

The international community considered the year 2006 and even the
year 2007 as a window for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

However, judging by the pronouncements of politicians, eventually the
window did not open. Presidential elections will be held in Armenia,
Azerbaijan, as well as Russia and the United States in the upcoming
year and a half. It means that the talks will come to a halt. What
will the mediators be doing in this period? Apparently, they will
be analyzing the current situation, the details of the proposals,
as well as the preparation of the publics for complicated decisions
and coexistence.

Recently a conference was held in London entitled "Nagorno-Karabakh
Conflict: Prospects for Peace" by the International Institute
of Strategic Studies. Political and civil society activists from
Great Britain, Netherlands, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Karabakh
participated in the conference. Reports were made by Andrzej Kasprzyk,
special representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the EU’s Special
Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby, the director of
the Caucasus programs of the International Crisis Group Magdalena
Fricheva. From Karabakh, the president of Stepanakert Press Club
Gegham Baghdasaryan and the director of the Institute of People’s
Diplomacy Irina Grigoryan made reports.

According to Tabib Husseinov, the representative of the Azerbaijani
International Republic Institute, people’s diplomacy may fill in the
gap in political contacts till 2009. He thinks it is necessary to
raise awareness of regional processes, "ensure the participation of
communities in the dialogue, promote the adoption of European values."

It should be noted that over the past few years Azerbaijan has
consistently been denying contacts with Karabakh, even on the
level of NGOs. Moreover, an anti-Armenian hysteria and militaristic
moods were kindled. According to the head of the Hayat Azerbaijani
NGO Vussal Radjabli, recently the situation in Azerbaijan has been
changing, and "the government is ready to involve NGOs in the peace
process." Perhaps the only cooperation between the Azerbaijani and
Karabakh NGOs and journalists is in the framework of the project of
the Consortium Initiative set up four years ago and supported by the
British government. It includes LINKS, Conciliation Resources and
International Alert. On these days a peculiar account of Consortium’s
work was held in London.

The coordinator of Consortium Initiative for Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Resolution Jonathan Cohen said in an interview with Karabakh-Open.com
at first Consortium lacked clear-cut objectives because they understood
it would not be the project which would immediately settle and resolve
the conflict. He says the leadership must display political will to
make decisions and resolve the conflict but now it appears to have no
political will and the public is not ready. Political actors are not
ready to sell ideas to the societies and the societies are not ready
to buy those ideas, therefore for many years the government mobilized
them against the idea of peace, he says. According to him, their idea
is the importance of involvement of different layers of the society,
politicians, the civil society. LINKS, for instance, attempted to
work with parliamentarians for them to be able to make bold decisions.

For the civil society, Jonathan Cohen says they have no illusions
that the civil society may solve the conflict. For him, it is highly
important to work with both sides of the conflict, for even if a
political agreement is signed, those decisions may not be fulfilled
without a civil foundation, the construction of which should be the
first move. Unfortunately, he says, the foundation is fragile, and a
couple of pronouncements by the presidents may affect the readiness of
people to work across the border. Nevertheless, according to Cohen,
there are people who are ready to discuss different options and
possibilities, analyze and discuss them with people on the other
side. He referred to the projects of Conciliation Resources for
both young and experienced journalists, the Accord Magazine, the
involvement of civil society activists by the International Alert
who set up discussion clubs, trips.

In answer to the question what the societies should be preparing for,
peace, settlement or another kind of settlement, Jonathan Cohen says
there is no armed conflict today but the deeper-lying causes were
not settled. According to him, the conflict has been more or less
regulated, although skirmishes and casualties still are the case.

Jonathan Cohen says it is not a long-term perspective, and there is
always possibility of resumption of military actions. He says it is
important to maintain this state of things because it could be worse,
but for him the transformation of the conflict and a lasting solution
is more important. For instance, he says, Azerbaijan rejects the
independence of Karabakh, and Karabakh does not want to be part of
Azerbaijan, therefore, it is necessary to reach a mutually acceptable
resolution and space where all the participants respect each other’s
desires. He says there is a long way to go, for politicians often
say the resolution is close, but even if it is so, the publics do
not appear to be ready for the resolution that will be reached. If
the politicians are close to a resolution, it means there will be
compromises, however, people in Azerbaijan and Karabakh are not ready
for a compromise, therefore it is important to expand discussions
inside the publics. He says the process of peace building should not
be monopolized, and all the levels should participate, for it will be
highly dangerous to let the society mobilize against the idea of peace.

For the future of Consortium, Jonathan Cohen says it exists as
an idea, a commonwealth of different organizations which believe
that partnership should continue. The British government will
continue funding till the end of 2008 through the Global Conflict
Prevention Pool. He says they think Consortium should not be a
closed organization, and it will become a platform for propagating
the possibilities for peace building.

By the way, on the next day of the conference a round-table meeting
was held at the foreign ministry of the UK on the Karabakh problem.

The moderator was Brian Fall, Britain’s special representative for
the South Caucasus. A number of issues were discussed in this meeting,
and it became known that the funding for the Consortium project will
continue next year.

ARMENIA TO EMBARK ON $100-THOUSAND EDUCATION PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION SOON

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 2 2007

YEREVAN, October 2. /ARKA/. A pilot program worth $100,000 is to be
launched in the country provinces of Lori and Ararat, Vache Terteryan,
deputy regional development minister, said on Tuesday.

He said that this educational program focused on pre-school educational
centers development is worked out by Armenian Education and Science
Ministry and sent to the government for approval.

He said the program’s aim is to find new effective ways for pre-school
education system development.

Levon Lazarian, education minister, said this pilot program worked
out in cooperation with World Bank will find out pre-school education
problems.

The program is intended as a model for other provinces, he said.

Lazarian stressed that the country’s remote and mountainous areas
are badly in need of kindergartens.

Armenian Finance and Economy Ministry says AMD 86.8 billion is planned
to be targeted in 2007 for Armenian education sector’s needs.

($1 – AMD 334.47).

AZERBAIJAN’S STATEMENTS CONDEMNED IN STEPANAKERT

ArmRadio – Public Radio, Armenia
Oct 2 2007

The Chairman of the NKR National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign
Relations Vahram Atanesyan told a news conference in Stepanakert
today that "Azerbaijan does not conceal its intention to resolve the
Karabakh issue in a military way."

The press conference was dedicated to the statements of Azeri officials
on holding "anti-terrorist actions" in Nagorno Karabakh.

The parliamentarian noted that the so-called "anti-terrorism action"
is part of the Military Doctrine worked out by Azerbaijan, which has
an obviously aggressive nature and is directed against Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh.

In Atanesyan’s words, coming forward with the initiative to hold
an "anti-terrorist action," Azerbaijan is trying to confuse the
international community and present Nagorno Karabakh as a terrorist
formation.

"The international community must pay attention to these facts and
undertake necessary measures to prevent the tragic development of
events," the Deputy noted.

"There have not been and there are no terrorists in Nagorno Karabakh.

The security of the country is ensured by the Defense Army effectively
controlled by civil authorities," Vahram Atanesyan underlined.

DEBATE ON GAINS AND LOSSES OF TEGHUT MINE OPERATION

Panorama.am
13:12 02/10/2007

"Mining works on the territory of Teghut will open new job places,
transfers will be made from the state budget, schools and kindergartens
will open," Gagik Haroyan, natural resources division head of
geological agency affiliated to the nature protection ministry,
told a news conference today.

Hakob Sanasaryan, chairman of "Greens Union" also present at the debate
said: "Soome 1300 or more job places will open there. The area is a
strong agricultural complex. After 25-30 years of mining, the area
will become a dead zone. It won’t be possible to collect berries,
fruit, mushroom, which is unacceptable. By creating fake employment
places, we will lose eternal, stable employment places."

Note: "Valex Group" is planning to receive $200 million in credit
from Vneshtogbank to operate the mines.

EU’S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE SOUTH CAUCASUS REFUSED TO VISIT NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Karabakh Open, Armenia
Oct 1 2007

Authoritarian countries are often able to settle conflicts more quickly
than democratic countries, but in that case the "sustainability"
of this decision is questioned, said the EU’s special representative
for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby in commenting on the prospects of
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, considering that Freedom
Houses lists Azerbaijan among authoritarian regimes, Regnum reported.

The Regnum news agency reported that in commenting on the settlement
of the conflict the special representative said the elections in
Armenia and Azerbaijan may cause the talks to slow down, however, it
is important to maintain the agreement reached in the talks mediated
by the OSCE Minsk Group for many years.

With regard to the effort of GUAM to report the issue of "frozen
conflicts" to the UN, Semneby said the EU acknowledges the OSCE Minsk
Group as the main organization seeking for the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Therefore, according to the EU’s special
representative, he will not be going to Karabakh during his next visit
to the region. The EU supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group,
and they have to do their best to prevent any negative impact of
their actions on the settlement of the conflict, he said. In addition,
the diplomat declined to go into detail regarding the discussions of
this issue by the EU and the OSCE.

In commenting on the militaristic statements by Azerbaijan,
Semneby said the EU rules out resumption of military actions as a
way of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Semneby added that
the militaristic rhetoric is non-constructive in this case, since,
according to him, it is not helpful to the settlement of the conflict,
undermines hope and confidence, Regnum reported.