Author: Babajanian Karo

BEIRUT-YEREVAN DIRECT FLIGHTS TO COMMENCE IN MATTER OF DAYS

July 03, 2013 | 13:32

YEREVAN. – Direct flights between Beirut and Yerevan will start
on Saturday.

On this occasion, a delegation comprising Lebanon’s official and
business circles will arrive in Armenia.

On the same day, the delegation will be hosted at the Armenian Chamber
of Commerce and Industry, the latter’s press service informs.

Heads of the chambers of commerce and industry of Armenia and Lebanon
will sign an agreement on cooperation, and a news conference will
follow this ceremony.

The visit is extremely important and it will have a tremendous impact
on the development of Armenian-Lebanese economic ties.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

HEATED DEBATES BETWEEN YOUNG PARTY LEADERS FROM SOUTH CAUCASUS

July 02, 2013 | 12:55

Members of youth branch of ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
on June 29-30 participated in South Caucasus Young Politicians Forum
held in Kutaisi.

The forum organized by the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty
Democracy brought together youth activists from Armenia, Georgia
and Azerbaijan.

The participants touched upon the European Neighborhood Policy,
global security challenges and views on the South Caucasus, as well
as economic cooperation between the Union and the South Caucasus.

RPA representative Suren Petrosyan opened the forum, presenting
Armenia’s integration into Europe, democracy development in the
country.

The forum was accompanied by heated discussions. One of the topics
was Karabakh issue. The Armenian side proposed a document containing
certain points on cooperation between young people in a civilized
manner and without preconditions.

The proposal was approved by the organizers, representatives of EU and
was included in a communique which indicated necessity of strengthening
peace talks and effective cooperation between the regional states.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ZHAMANAK: BUDAGHIANS HAVE NO INTENTION OF MEETING S. KHACHATRIAN

Wednesday,
July 03

‘Zhamanak’ writes that on July 10 it will be 40 days since Avetik
Budaghian was killed. There were press reports that the former governor
of Syunik Province Suren Khachatrian – with the mediation of lawyers
– is trying to meet with members of the Budaghian family in order to
make his apology.

Relatives of the Budaghians told the daily that the information does
not correspond to reality. They said: “Blood is shed, blood is not
sold,” adding that the Budaghians will never agree to such a meeting.

“They have so far bought people so that they didn’t complain, but
this time they will fail to do it,” was the answer.

TODAY, 13:14

Aysor.am

ECHR PRESIDENT CALLS FOR RESPECTING EUROPEAN RULE OF LAW VALUES

13:00 ~U 03.07.13

The president of the European Court of Human Rights has called for
the Armenian authorities increased efforts towards respecting the
Council of Europe’s rule of law criteria.

In a speech at a Yerevan-hosted pan-European conference devoted to the
European standards of rule of law and the boundaries of authorities’
discretion in the Council’s member states, Dean Spielmann stressed
the importance of respecting the rights and liberties set forth in
the European Convention of Human Rights.

He said that the conference in Armenia is very important in the
light of the country’s first presidency of the Council of Europe’s
Committee of Ministers. He noted that Armenia’s first achievement
over the period was the signing of the 15th Protocol to the Convention.

The European official said that the finalization of the next protocol
will be the next step for the country, raising the importance of
human rights courts on the national level.

Mr. Spielmann added that it is necessary to pass a certain path to
make all those plans real.

President of the Venice Commission Giani Bukikio, who spoke next,
noted for his part that such a practice has become a good tradition
for their structure.

He praised the idea of organizing the meeting in Armenia in a period
when the country is in charge of the Committee of Ministers. He
stressed the need of making decisions based on real social
circumstances, without forcing courts to blindly follow laws that
cannot be enforced to a full extent.

Bukikio said that it is necessary for a modern state to be flexible
enough to react to all the existing challenges. According to him,
the respect for human rights requires maintenance of balance by the
authorities and a maximum transparency.

Armenian News – Tert.am

VAHE AVETYAN CIVIL INITIATIVE DEMANDS INVESTIGATION

July 03, 2013 | 12:13

YEREVAN. – The Vahe Avetyan civil initiative has issued an official
statement after a memorial plaque was stolen.

In their statement, members of the initiative demanded that police
must launch an investigation and find those who stole the plaque. They
will appeal to the Yerevan municipality for a permission to install
memorial stone to Vahe Avetyan.

The memorial plaque disappeared on June 29. It was installed near
Harsnaqar restaurant on the anniversary of Vahe’s death.

As informed earlier, an incident had occurred at Armenian capital
city Yerevan’s Harsnaqar Restaurant Complex on June 17, 2012. Several
military doctors, including Edgar Mikoyan, Arkadi Aghajanyan, Garik
Soghomonyan, Artak Bayadyan and Vahe Avetyan, were brutally beaten
by Harsnaqar security personnel, and Avetyan, 35, died in hospital
on June 29.

Subsequently, a criminal lawsuit was filed into this incident, and
six people stand trial.

The Restaurant’s owner is ruling Republican Party former MP, Football
Federation of Armenia President, and businessman Ruben Hayrapetyan,
who formally gave up his parliamentary seat in connection with this
incident. But as per Avetyan’s relatives and the active civil society,
Hayrapetyan himself should be brought to account for the killing of
the military officer.

DOCTORS: PATENTS KEEP HIV DRUGS TOO PRICY TO USE

The Associated Press
July 2, 2013 Tuesday 08:18 AM GMT

Doctors Without Borders warned Tuesday that rising intellectual
property rights are blocking the generic production of newer drugs to
treat HIV and are keeping them out of reach for developing countries.

The medical aid group said at an international AIDS meeting here
that prices of older drugs long used to treat patients have fallen
sharply as India and other countries make generics. But newer drugs
that are more effective against the AIDS virus are too expensive,
costing up to 15 times more.

“It’s good news that the price of key HIV drugs continues to fall
as more generic companies compete for the market, but the newer
medicines are still priced far too high,” said Jennifer Cohn, medical
director for Doctors Without Borders’ access campaign. “We need the
newer treatments for people that have exhausted all other options,
but patents keep them priced beyond reach.”

Patients can be treated with a combination of three or four older
drugs, but those who develop resistance to them need the expensive
newer medicines.

According to Doctors Without Borders, the governments of Thailand and
Jamaica pay $4,760 and $6,570, respectively, a year per patient for
the new drug darunavir alone. Paraguay pays $7,782 for etravirine,
while Armenia pays $13,213 for raltegravir. In comparison, a cocktail
of older generic drugs costs as little as $139 per person a year.

Doctors Without Borders urged the United States and 11 other countries
negotiating a Trans-Pacific Partnership not to sign the free-trade
pact. It warned that the pact will increase intellectual property
rights across Asia and the Americas, expanding monopoly protection
for medicines and threatening cheap access to drugs.

It said the World Health Organization’s new guidelines, which
recommend earlier treatment for adults, means that an additional
9 million people in developing countries will now be eligible for
treatment. At the moment, only about 60 percent of those who need
the drugs are getting them.

“Scaling up HIV treatment and sustaining people on treatment for
life will depend on bringing the price of newer drugs down,” said
Arax Bozadijan, an HIV pharmacist for Doctors Without Borders.

The Trans-Pacific pact countries account for nearly 40 percent of
global GDP and about a third of world trade, and any agreement could
significantly impact prices. President Barack Obama’s administration
has said it hopes to wrap up talks by the end of the year.

AZERBAIJANI AUTHORITIES WERE LATE TO UNDERSTAND THAT SAFAROV’S DEAL WAS A MISTAKE, THOMAS DE WAAL THINKS

Mediamax, Armenia
July 2 2013

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Senior associate at Russia and Eurasia Program
at Carnegie Endowment, author of “Black Garden” book Thomas de Waal
thinks that the Azerbaijani authorities were late to understand that
the deal on extradition and pardon of Ramil Safarov who killed an
Armenian officer was a mistake.

During a press conference in Yerevan today, the British expert said
that he is a hero for many people in Azerbaijan but there are also
people who “were horrified by what happened”, Mediamax reports.

Touching upon the public moods in Azerbaijan, Thomas de Waal said
that the Karabakh thematic is usually “not the first and the second
and even not the fifth topic for talks”.

“I wouldn’t say that the Azerbaijani society is boiling and bubbling
over Karabakh. At the same time, however, the young generation is
more aggressive to the issue than their fathers and grandfathers”,
noted Thomas de Waal.

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ARAM KHACHATURIAN YEAR KICKS OFF IN LOS ANGELES

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013

Performers gather after the concert

LOS ANGELES-A gala concert at the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles
marked the start of the Aram Khachaturian year. A number of events
dedicated to the great composer will be organized in famous halls in
Los Angeles by the end of the year.

The concert organized at the initiative of the Armenian Consulate
General in Los Angeles featured soloists of the Philharmonic and
Chamber Orchestras of Los Angeles, the Dilijan Chamber Orchestra,
representatives of the music-loving society of the US West Coast and
the Armenian community.

Well-known works by the great composer were performed at the concert
and archive materials about his activity were presented. A video of
Aram Khachaturian’s visit to Los Angeles in 1974 was and screened
and those who had organized the composer’s visit were invited to
participate in the event.

Plans to establish a group of friends of the Philharmonic Orchestra
of Armenia were revealed at the event. The group will help present
Armenian classical music to the world.

The next event, dedicated to Aram Khachaturian’s 110th birthday, will
take place in Hollywood’s famous Egyptian Theatre, where Khachaturian,
the film, will be screened.

In the near future Aram Khachaturian’s “Violin Concerto” will be
performed in one of the concert halls in Los Angeles.

TEN CITIZENS INJURED BY TERRORIST ATTACK IN DAMASCUS, ARMY ADVANCES IN SEVERAL AREAS

Jul 02, 2013

Provinces, (SANA) – Ten citizens were injured, among them 3 children,
by terrorists’ mortar attack on a residential area in al-Tadamun in
Damascus on Tuesday.

A source in the police command told SANA reporter that the injured
persons were admitted to hospitals, adding that four of them were in
critical situation.

The source said that a 1-year-old child and two 5-year-old girls were
injured by the attack.

The shell also caused material damage to the houses and properties
in the area.

Terrorists target service institutions in Homs

In the framework of targeting infrastructure and service institutions,
the armed terrorist groups targeted with mortar shells a 7-storey
building that includes several service offices in Homs on Monday.

SANA reporter was informed by an official source that the terrorist
attack caused huge damage to the offices of the general establishment
for social insurance and the general establishment for sugar in
addition to other service offices affiliated to the city council.

Army advances in Bab Hood, Homs

The armed forces continued pursuing the armed terrorist groups in
Bab Hood neighborhood in Homs city, achieving significant advance in
the neighborhood.

An official source told SANA that scores of terrorists were killed
and injured in the area and took control of scores of building that
were used by terrorists as hideouts to store weapons and launch
terrorist attacks.

The source added that the army also destroyed a hideout for terrorists’
leaders in al-Husn town in Talkalakh countryside and killed scores
of terrorists, among them were Abdul-Baset Haddad and Mahmoud Abdo
al-Talli.

Army units eliminate terrorists in Aleppo

Units of the army continued operations against Jabhat al-Nusra
terrorist groups in Aleppo neighborhoods and towns and confronted
their attempts to attack the central prison.

An official source told SANA reporter that dens of terrorists have
been destroyed near the Beer Factory as the terrorists were trying to
attack al-Kindi Hospital, while another unit confronted a terrorist
attempt to attack the central prison and eliminated the majority of
the terrorists.

The source added that units of the army carried out a number of
operations against terrorist gatherings in Mayer and Hritain towns
in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

Other army units clashed with Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist groups in
the surrounding of Khan al-Assal and killed and injured scores of
terrorists.

Moreover, the army destroyed two 130 mm mortars in Oram town and
killed several terrorists.

In Aleppo city, units of the army clashed with terrorists in Aghior
and Kaser al-Adel neighborhoods and eliminated many terrorists and
destroyed their weapons.

Army units eliminate snipers, destroy arms caches in eastern Ghouta

Units of the Syrian Arab Army eliminated scores of terrorists,
including snipers and mercenaries from Libya, in a series of operations
targeting their dens in eastern Ghouta and the northern countryside
of Damascus.

an official source told SANA reporter that a unit of the army continued
pursuing terrorists in Barzeh neighborhood ad eliminated scores of
them and destroyed their weapons and equipment.

The source added that a heavy machinegun was destroyed in a qualitative
operation in Adra al-Balad.

Another army unit destroyed an arms cache and ammunition to the east
of al-Jarra roundabout in Duma city and killed a leader of an armed
terrorist group and a number of his group members.

In the southern countryside of Damascus, units of the army carried
out a series of operations in Hijira and al-Ziabia towns and destroyed
a den full of weapons and ammunition.

Meanwhile, units of the army clashed with armed terrorist groups
in several areas in Daraya city. The clashes resulted in killing a
number of terrorists and destroying their weapons.

Terrorists fight over loots in Tal Rifaat in Aleppo

Heavy clashes erupted between two armed terrorist groups on
disagreement on their shares of the loots and weapons and ammunition
coming from Turkey in Tal-Rifaat in Aleppo countryside.

An official source told SANA reporter that the clashes resulted
in the death and injury of the majority of the terrorist groups’
members in addition to large explosions in the place

English Bulletin

EURASIAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY CAN NOT BECOME COUNTERBALANCE ON ARMENIA’S ROAD TO EU

YEREVAN, July 3. / ARKA /. Gagik Makaryan, the head of the National
Union of Employers, said today Armenia’s membership in the Customs
Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, which is supposed to be used
as the backbone for creating the Eurasian Economic Community, will
not provide Armenia, which has observer status in this still-on-paper
organization, with opportunities that may be offered by the European
Union, therefore, the Eurasian Economic Community can not be a
counterbalance on Armenia’s way towards signing Association Agreement
with the EU and its key element, the Deep and Comprehensive Free
Trade Agreement (DCFTA).

“Armenia has free trade agreements with almost all the member states
of the Eurasian Economic Community and CIS, which have been concluded
since the early 90s to 2008. Therefore, a membership will not result
in major changes for Armenia,” Makaryan said at a press conference
on Wednesday.

The agreement on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community
was signed on 10 October 2000 in Kazakhstan and entered into force
on 30 May 2001 after its ratification by all member states – Russia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In 2002, Ukraine and
Moldova were granted observer status. In January 2003 Armenia was
also granted observer status.

According to Makaryan, the Eurasian Economic Community would benefit
the interests of Russia and the countries that have monopolized
economies, including Kazakhstan and Belarus.-0-

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