Author: Badalian Vardan

BY REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN’S DECISION, MRS JEMMA BAGHDASARYAN WAS APPOINTED RA DEPUTY MINISTER OF LABOR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

Wedn esday, 4 November 2009

By Republic of Armenia Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan’s decision,
Mrs Jemma Baghdasaryan was appointed RA Deputy Minister of Labor and
Social Affairs.

In accordance with other decisions signed by the Prime Minister,
Mr. Hovannes Hovannisyan was relieved from and Mr. Karen Davtyan
appointed to the office of RA Deputy Head of State Committee on
Immovable Property Cadastre by the Government.

STEPAN SAFARYAN KNOWS ARMENIA’S AND TURKEY’S MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM AIMS

Tert
Nov 4 2009
Armenia

Leader of Heritage Party parliamentary faction Stepan Safaryan
referred to Armenia’s and Turkey’s minimum and maximum aims that,
according to the MP, the two countries are pursuing today.

Thus, according to Safaryan, today Armenia, at the very least,
aims for Turkey to ratify the Protocols soon, by April 24, so that
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia-Turkey processes are separated as soon
as possible. At most, again according to the MP, Armenia’s purpose
is for the U.S. to threaten Turkey if the latter doesn’t ratify
the Protocols; that is, the U.S. Congress passes the resolution on
recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Turkey, on the other hand, Safaryan is convinced, at the very least,
aims for ratification of the Protocols in case there is at least
positive dynamics in the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh issue, which will
please Azerbaijan. And at most, Turkey wishes to ratify the Protocols
late, so that it manages to settle some issues during that period,
beginning from Nagorno-Karabakh to significant participation in the
Caucasus politics.

JEMMA BAGHDASARYAN APPOINTED DEPUTY LABOR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS MINISTER

ARMENPRESS
Nov 4, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan appointed Jemma Baghdasaryan deputy labor and social affairs
minister. Governmental press service told Armenpress that with other
decrees Hovhannes Hovhannissyan has been dismissed from the office
of deputy head of the State Cadastre Committee of Real Estate and
Karen Davtyan has been appointed in the same office.

RUSSIAN INVESTMENTS JUSTIFIED ONLY IF ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER OPENS, SAYS SEMNEBY

Tert
Nov 2 2009
Armenia

Russian began taking steps a long time ago that show it expects changes
in the situation in the Caucasus, EU Special Representative for the
South Caucasus Peter Semneby stated in his interview to Russian daily
Vremya Novostey.

In Semneby’s words, Russian investments in Armenia, such as railway
construction, will be justified for Russia only if the Armenian-Turkish
border opens.

"Russia has big interests in Armenia, including enormous economic
interests. If Russia invested funds in Armenia, has bought the energy
infrastructure and so on, then it takes an interest in the development
of Armenia’s economy. As for steady development, it is necessary to
create indispensable conditions, for which the most imporant factor
is opening the border with Turkey. The diversification of Armenia’s
economy and giving it room to develop is also in Russia’s interests,"
explained the EU Special Representative.

HERITAGE PLANS TO CONSIDER DOMESTIC POLICY ISSUES IN ITS UPCOMING SESSION

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.11.2009 16:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Heritage party’s regular session due at the
beginning of 2010 may provide the best answers to our society’s
questions concerning the removal of some party members," Heritge
faction MP Anahit Bakhshyan told a news conference in Yerevan.

That may become the best way out, Bakhshyan finds.

In this regard MP also said that Heritage leader Raffi Hovhannisyan did
not quite agree to the decision and the issue was going to be discussed
during the meeting. "Since in that period I was Head of the party’s
managing board, I was responsible for the decision," she stressed.

TBILISI’S POLICY MAY URGE ARMENIANS TO DEMAND SECESSION FROM GEORGIA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.11.2009 18:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgian authorities’ policy may urge
Samtskhe-Javakheti Armenians to demand secession from Georgia, Head of
Yerkir Union Sevak Artsruni announced in Yerevan. "Official Tbilisi
does not realize that radical policy in relation to Armenians is
against their interests. That may lead to extreme solutions of the
problem," Artsruni said, not ruling out possibility of secession in
constitutional manner.

With regard to possible influence of border opening on
Samtskhe-Javakheti Armenians, Artsruni said it would significantly
weaken Georgia’s policy as a transit state. "But we do not have much
positive expectations of border opening," he added.

ARMENIA IS READY TO JOIN EURASEC

Gazeta.KZ
Oct 29 2009
Kazakhstan

Armenia will ratify the agreement on the establishment of the
Anti-Crisis Fund of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC). The
Minister of Finance of Armenia, Tigran Davtyan, informed, Kazakhstan
Today agency reports citing Caucasus Bulletin.

According to T. Davtyan, Armenia will be one of the first member
countries of this fund that will finish the interstate procedures.

"The projects have been prepared and four best of them have been
chosen to be presented for consideration of the fund in the long
term," he said. In this connection, the Minister of Finance said
that the work on ratification and preparation of the projects have
been carried out simultaneously. The developed projects are in the
energy, mining metallurgy, and transport spheres and are intended
for participation of large joint enterprises.

"The agreement on the establishment of the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund
was signed at the session of the EurAsEC Inter-State Council in June
in Moscow.

WORLD BANK: POVERTY RATE TO GROW IN ARMENIA THIS YEAR

ARKA
Oct 28, 2009

YEREVAN, October 28. /ARKA/. Poverty rate is to grow in Armenia this
year, compared with 2008, Aristomene Varoudakis, the head of the
World Bank’s Yerevan office, said on Wednesday at the presentation
of the report on social situation and poverty in Armenia.

The WB experts haven’t completed studying impacts of the global
recession on social and economic situation in Armenia yet, but they
think poverty will grow here in 2009, Varoudakis said.

In his words, the matter needs more detailed study, which is under
way now.

The study, he said, will help the country authorities take effective
steps to resist the crisis and ward of its impacts on poor people.

Varoudakis gave a high mark to the results of statistical studies
on households.

He thinks these studies make it possible to estimate things.

According to the report, poverty rate was 23.5% in 2008 (more than
760,000 people).

WHY ARA ABRAHAMYAN WAS ABSENT FROM THE FUND RAISING DINNER?

Aysor
Oct 28 2009
Armenia

World Congress of Armenians Chairman, Ara Abrahamyan, was absent from
the fund raising dinner attended by Armenia’s President and more than
80 Armenian businessmen in Moscow. When asked about this developing,
the leader of Armenian Democratic Party, Aram Sarkisyan, told
journalists that Ara Abrahamyan hadn’t been in Russia on those days.

"Ara Abrahamyan attended the session of the General Conference of
the UNESCO in Paris, and as the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador he had to
participate in that session,"

When asked what sum Ara Abrahamyan donates for development programs
of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Deputy Chairman of World
Congress of Armenians said that there was enough time till November
26 Ara Abrahamyan along with other individuals to decide what sum to
donate to development programs of Shushi.

NIKOL PASHINYAN’S PROPONENTS AGAIN SUBJECTED TO POLICE VIOLENCE

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.10.2009 21:22 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During an October 26 hearing in Shengavit General
Jurisdiction Court, policemen used force against the crowd of
demonstrators. They beat people, forcing them out of court territory,
ANC press service reports. Two young people were taken to police
station and released after a short while. One of women activists was
moved to hospital with bodily damage.