Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

REQUESTS TO STUDY ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

Panorama.am
18:00 21/06/2008

In the beginning of 2005 the Central Bank of Armenia has taken an
initiative to examine the economic conditions and make some assessment
of the field using the method of requests. This method would give
them chance to define certain measures to meet the conditions and
calculate and publish extra economic indexes, reported the public
relations department of the CB.

According to the source, in the previous three months 494 industrial,
constructive and service providing organizations have been requested,
as well as 1839 certain house economies in Yerevan and RA provinces.

According to the official data the economic indexes have been increased
compared with the last year but still the initiative should be taken
to improve the field.
From: Baghdasarian

Agence France Presse
June 20, 2008 Friday 7:40 PM GMT

Several thousand opposition supporters rally in Armenia

YEREVAN, June 20 2008

Several thousand opposition supporters rallied Friday in the Armenian
capital for the first major anti-government protest since 10 people
died in violent post-election unrest in March.

Watched closely by dozens of riot police, about 8,000 opposition
supporters were seen in the centre of Yerevan by an AFP
reporter. Organisers said 80,000 had participated.

Protesters called for the results of a February presidential election
won by former prime minister Serzh Sarkisian to be annulled, alleging
the vote was rigged.

"The size of our protest shows everyone that our people do not
recognise the legitimacy of the election or Serzh Sarkisian as
president," opposition leader and former president Levon Ter-Petrosian
told the crowd.

He said new presidential and parliamentary elections were needed to
restore political stability, as he called for another rally on July 4.

Police had earlier warned protesters to stay out of the city centre,
saying they only had permission to rally on the outskirts of
Yerevan. The demonstration proceeded peacefully, however, and police
kept their distance.

Armenia earlier this month eased restrictions on public demonstrations
imposed after the March clashes, meeting a demand from the Council of
Europe. It also created a parliamentary commission to investigate the
violence.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has also called
for the release of political opponents arrested after the violence and
increased dialogue between the government and opposition. It is due to
hold a debate next week on Armenia’s compliance with its demands.

The violence in March broke out after police moved in to clear
thousands of protesters who had rallied for 11 days to protest
Sarkisian’s victory over Ter-Petrosian in the February 19 presidential
election.

A mountainous country of about three million people, Armenia has
experienced repeated political violence since gaining its independence
with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
From: Baghdasarian

US: RUSSIA PUTTING DANGEROUS PRESSURE ON GEORGIA

Reuters
June 18 2008

Russia is putting dangerous pressure on Georgia that threatens to
ignite a wider conflict in the Caucasus, a senior U.S. official told
Congress on Wednesday.

Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried recounted a list of recent
Russian actions he said put economic, political and military pressure
on Georgia, a former Soviet republic that aspires to join the western
NATO alliance.

"Georgia has been subjected to unremitting and dangerous pressure
from Russia, including over the separatist regions of Abkhazia and
to a lesser degree, South Ossetia," Fried told the House Foreign
Affairs Committee.

"We are very concerned about these actions, which challenge Georgia’s
territorial integrity and have increased tensions in the separatist
regions. They risk igniting a wider conflict," Fried said.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia threw off Tbilisi’s control in the early
1990s. Georgia wants to bring them back under its influence and resents
the support Russia has offered them for years. Recently the Abkhazia
dispute has flared as Moscow sent more troops to the region.

Fried said Russia had sent combat troops to Abkhazia as part of a
peacekeeping force and sent construction troops there to repair a
railroad link. He noted a United Nations report that said a Russian
fighter shot down a Georgian drone in April. Moscow has denied
involvement in that incident.

Fried expressed concern that Russian investors were buying property
in Abkhazia "in disregard of Georgian law."

"Some of these properties may have belonged to displaced persons,
making their eventual return even more difficult," he said.

Speaking of other tensions in the Caucasus, Fried said he did not
think Azerbaijan was preparing for war with neighboring Armenia
despite what he called "bellicose" rhetoric by some Azeri officials.

Fried was responding to a query from lawmakers who referred to recent
comments by Azeri leaders about the "occupation" of Azeri lands by
Armenia, at a time when Azerbaijan is also accelerating its military
spending.

"I do not believe, and it is the assessment of the United States that
Azerbaijan is not, despite this unwelcome rhetoric you referred to,
preparing for war," Fried said,.

"I share your views that the bellicose rhetoric is not helpful," he
said, adding that the United States was keeping the situation under
constant review.

Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics, went to war in
the early 1990s over the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh, killing
thousands and forcing thousands more to flee. Azerbaijan says Armenia
has illegally occupied the region.

Azerbaijan, which announced a 53 percent rise in military spending in
April, says it is committed to stalled peace talks but has refused
to rule out using force to restore its control over the disputed
area. (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by David Storey and
David Wiessler)
From: Baghdasarian

ACCORDING TO FORMER SPOKESPERSON OF MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, ARMENIAN DELEGATION HAS RATIFIED HUMILIATING MARKS GIVEN IN PACE RESOLUTION WITH THEIR SIGNATURES

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NOYAN TAPAN
JUNE 19

The defeatist posture adopted by the authorities of Armenia with regard
to the Karabakh issue, as well as the new tactics of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of not responding to the senseless statements of
negotiators and the Azeri instigating propaganda attacks are strictly
condemnable. This conviction was expressed by Vladimir Karapetian,
the former spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the
round table held on June 18. "I do not know whether there is another
country in the world, which will not respond in case another country
permits itself to strictly criticise its domestic processes," he said.

According to Vladimir Karapetian, the Armenian diplomacy also keeps
silent when the negotiator of the PACE Minsk Group declares during the
interview with Regnum agency that "Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan in
legal sense" and speaks about the return of all the territories under
the control of Nagorno Karabakh. "Today, the National Movement instead
of the authorities declares that such statements of a negotiator are
inaddmissible for Armenia," he mentioned.

According to Vladimir Karapetian, Armenia has not only failed to
respond to the humiliating marks given in the PACE Resolution 1609,
but the members of the Armenian delegation have ratified them by
signing under the resolution.

The authorities of Armenia are responsible for ten victims, hundreds of
injured, as well as the decrease in the prestige of the country. This
situation has brought forth the isolation of Armenia and the violation
of the interests of the country.
From: Baghdasarian

TWO AZERIES ARRESTED IN RUSSIA OVER MURDER OF AN ARMENIAN

AZG ARMENIAN DAILY
18/06/2008

Armenians in Russia

One man was killed and one wounded as result of a fight between two
Armenians and two Azeris in Voyage cafe in Volgograd region of Russia,
according to PanArmenian.net. One Armenian died of knife wounds;
the other is in grave condition.A criminal case was initiated. Both
suspects were arrested. They have neither Azerbaijani nor Russian
citizenship but have lived in the region for some 15 years, IA Vysota
102 reports.
From: Baghdasarian

RA PRESIDENT VISITS EMBASSY OF GREAT BRITAIN ON OCCASION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH’S BIRTHDAY

Noyan Tapan

Ju ne 17, 2008

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, NOYAN TAPAN. On the occasion of the National Holiday
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, official
birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, RA President Serge Sargsian,
on June 17, visited the Embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland in Armenia and congratulated Embassy’s personnel.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA President’s Press Office,
issues related to development of Armenian-British bilateral relations,
encouragement of British investments in Armenia were discussed during
the conversation.
From: Baghdasarian

NINETEEN ACCUSED IN ARMENIAN RIOT GO ON HUNGER STRIKE

Interfax News Agency
June 16 2008
Russia

Defendants in the case of the March 1 riots in Armenia’s Yerevan
launched a hunger strike on Monday.

According to Justice Ministry spokesman Arsen Babayan, 19 defendants
have launched a hunger strike in protest against the indictment.

The co-reporters of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe’s Monitoring Committee, George Colombier and John Prescott,
are expected to meet with relatives of the defendants in Yerevan
on Tuesday.

After the February 19 presidential elections, the opposition, led by
ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, rejected official voting results
and launched large-scale protests that ended in clashes with police
on March 1. As a result, ten people were killed and more than 250
sustained injuries.

A total of 115 people were arrested in connection with the riots,
Armenia’s Prosecutor General Agvan Ovsepyan said on Monday.

"At present, 17 defendants are in custody and 78 criminal cases
against 88 persons are in courts. As of June 16, 35 people have been
convicted, of whom 15 got prison terms of up to 5 years, 35 were placed
on probation, 3 were acquitted, and 64 pleaded guilty and testified,"
Ovsepyan said.
From: Baghdasarian

"WHERE ARE YOU, DOCTORS?"

A1+
[02:40 pm] 16 June, 2008

The Youth Union of the Pan-Armenian National Movement (HHSh) and
the "Sargis Tkhruni" Youth Union of the Social Democrat Hunchakian
Party (SDHK) staged a protest action in front of the RoA Ministry
of Health on June 16. They were holding Armenia’s flag and posters
with the inscriptions, "Stay loyal to the Hypocrates Oath," "Where
are you, doctors?" "We will not surrender," "Do pay attention to
hunger-strikers," etc. < p> "We call doctors’ attention to the
hunger-strikers throughout the country. Both the Red Cross and the
Health Ministry seem to have forgotten about them. They must stay
loyal to the Hypocrates oath and render aid to them regardless
of a hunger-striker’s political dissent. All human beings need
attention. Who is to care for them?" said Gevorg Beglarian, member
of the HHSh Youth Union.

"Doctors should examine the hunger-strikers every day lest something
happens to them," said the protesters.

They handed a letter to Minister of Health Harutiun Kushikian urging
him to be loyal to the Oath and to demonstrate a reverent attitude
to the hunger-strikers.

Afterwards the protesters directed to Northern Avenue to meet people
hunger-striking in the area.
From: Baghdasarian

PROBLEMS OF HOT SPOTS OF EUROPE DISCUSSED IN INTERNATIONAL PRESS INSTITUTE WORLD CONGRESS: ARMENIAN-AZERI CONFLICT ISSUE AS WELL TOUCHED UPON

Noyan Tapan

Ju ne 16, 2008

BELGRAD, JUNE 16, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. The problems of
the peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, as
well as the regional conflicts of Georgia and Russia were touched
upon within the frameworks of the proceedings of the International
Press Institute World Congress, which is being held in Belgrad,
the capital of Serbia, with the participation of the heads of the
greatest information centers of the world.

Those problems were raised by the representatives of the "Freedom
of expression network" organization of the Central Asia and South
Caucasus of Azerbaijan, which is taking part in the Congress. Armenia
is represented in the Congress by Ashot Grigorian, the Chairman of the
Forum of Armenian Associations of Europe, and the Head of the European
center of the Noyan Tapan Information-Analytical Center. According
to him, the discussions of the first day of the Congress: June 15,
were dedicated to the conflicts proceeding in the hot spots of the
regions of Europe and to the problem of Kosovo, in particular. The
problems concerning the development of the modern media, expansion of
the right for free speech and development of mechanisms of mutual aid
of journalists in certain regions, financing of private information
agencies, facing competition, as well as other problems are being
discussed.

The concrete problems of cooperation and future plans between the
information centers of the South-Eastern Europe will be discussed on
the following days of the proceedings of the Congress, the choice of
the place for holding the Congress in 2010 after the Helsinki Congress
(2009) will be made and the vision of the next: 58th Congress will
be discussed.

In parallel with the proceedings of the Congress the regional meeting
of the South East Europa Medial Organisation took place.

Boris Tadich, the President of Serbia, took part in the opening of
the Congress. It is envisaged that the participants of the Congress
will be received by the royal family of Serbia in the face of crown
prince Alexander the Second and princess Katarina.
From: Baghdasarian

Armenian Public TV , Armenia
May 23 2008

Armenian, Georgian premiers discuss high transit tariffs, church dispute

[Presenter] A session of the council of CIS country leaders has been
held in Minsk. An Armenian delegation headed by Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan attended the session. Before the start of the session our
prime minister met his Georgian counterpart. Besides discussing
cooperation programmes, Tigran Sargsyan expressed Armenia’s concern
about the high tariffs imposed on Armenian goods transported through
Georgian territory. He said it was important to inform the Armenian
side of how these [tariffs] are fixed.

The Armenian prime minister also drew his counterpart’s attention to
the Armenian Church’s legal status in Georgia as well as to the
periodic endeavours and provocations made by the church and civil
radicals in Georgia against Armenian churches. This adds to tension in
society, Sargsyan said.

He particularly noted the recent illegal fencing of the Surb Norashen
[Saint Norashen] church in Tbilisi, and the far-reaching intentions of
this condemnable action, of which people who have committed this
illegal action speak in public.

[Georgian] Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze condemned the radical
approaches and provocations and promised to mediate after
investigating the problem in more detail. [Video shows the meeting]
From: Baghdasarian