Author: Basmajian Ani

In Memory of Dr. George Petrossian

September 30, 1920 – February 24, 2009

Of Armenian birth, Dr. George Petrossian served in the U.S. army (stationed in
Italy) from 1945-1947. Following the war, he received his B.A., M.A., and PhD.
from the University of Michigan, in 1950, 1952, and 1974, respectively. He
joined Illinois State in 1963, and he taught at the University until his
retirement in 1991. During his long career, he served in the College Council
and the Academic Senate. He was also Director of the Illinois State Summer
Program in French at Grenoble, France, from 1970 until 1999. He also served as
the host of the popular Cercle Français (now in its 45th year). Even after
"retirement" George hosted the French Coffee Hour every week, arriving early to
prepare the coffee and cookies. Dr. Petrossian was inducted as Chevalier dans
l’Ordre des Palmes Academiques in 1993. This award, founded by Napoleon in
1808, is conferred by the French Ministry of National Education upon those
foreign citizens who have contributed to the diffusion of the French language
and Culture.

PRESS RELEASE
UN Department of Public Information, Yerevan Office
14 Petros Adamyan str., First Floor
Yerevan 375010, Armenia
Contact: Armine Halajyan, UN DPI Information Assistant
Tel.: (374 1) 560 212
Fax/Tel.: (374 1) 561 406

United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS) project to be
implemented in Armenia

20 March 2009

With the support of the Government of Japan and the United Nations Trust
Fund for Human Security in New York, assistance totalling USD 2,484,900.00
has been extended to the United Nations Agencies in Armenia i.e. United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – the lead co-ordination
agency of the project, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
and
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) for the
realization of `Sustainable Livelihood for Socially Vulnerable Refugees,
Internally Displaced and Local Families’ project in Armenia.

The objective of the above project, which was initiated and submitted to
UNTFHS for funding by UNHCR, is to assist, through a UN system wide effort,
vulnerable families in the identified communities in Gegharkunik and Kotayk
marzes in reducing poverty by providing social housing, increasing their
self-sustainability through income generation by supporting farming
activities and start-up businesses and access to energy services. The UNTFHS
project will contribute to the enhancing of living conditions, accessibility
of quality health care services, improving educational opportunities as well
as building the capacity of direct beneficiaries and self-government bodies.

As the financial agreements of the project have already been signed with all
UNTFHS project participating Agencies, the implementation of this project
will start on 1 April 2009 to be completed in two years to secure the
livelihoods and dignity in the lives of vulnerable communities in Armenia
–
crucial, particularly in the current financial crisis.

RUSSIAN RAILWAYS COMPANY DISMISSES ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES’ CRITICISM

Mediamax
March 19 2009
Armenia

Yerevan, 19 March: General Director of "South Caucasus Railroad"
CJSC (SCR) Shevket Shaydullin stated that the statements of Armenian
Minister of Transport concerning the SCR "may undermine the image of
a large-scale project, which is realized at the level of two friendly
countries – Armenia and Russia".

As Mediamax was told in the press service of SCR today, Shevket
Shaydullin’s open letter to the Minister of Transport and Communication
of Armenia Gurgen Sargsyan reads this.

"Today we are establishing the necessary perquisites to secure
long-term efficiency and financial stability of Armenia’s railroad
transport. Our goal is improvement of the quality of consumer services,
increase of transport production scales and deep integration into
Eurasian transport-logistics system. However, to realize the mentioned
strategy, we need the understanding and correct attitude from the
part of corresponding state structures", Head of SCR stated.

Shevket Shaidullin expressed discontent by the statements of the
Minister, made on 17 March, according to which in 2008 the investment
program of SCR was fulfilled only for 28 per cent of the planned
volume, and the leadership of the company had not implemented certain
items of the concession agreement.

"The volume of SCR investments in 2008 made R2.5bn (by movement of
funds), of which about R1bn was used (introduction of assets). The
remaining part of the means is being transferred to the investment
program for the year of 2009. Within the framework of Concession
agreement implementation, assets at the sum of R612m are introduced,
which makes 61 per cent of the Concessionaire’s commitments in
2008. Early this year, SCR and the Ministry of Transport and
Communication of Armenia set up a joint commission to monitor
the concession agreement implementation. Within the framework of
our cooperation, 3 meetings have already been held. During those
meetings a common vision of the problems and the ways to solve them
were elaborated. However, the form of the dialogue you have adopted
does not provide for constructiveness and effectiveness. The problems
the railroad transport of Armenia faces are so complex as to require
constant attention and consideration", the open letter of SCR Head
reads.

NO CONGRESSIONAL VOTE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION SOON

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.03.2009 15:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, when asked if it is a
good time to bring up the Armenian resolution, reiterated her view
that Genocide occurred.

Whether Obama travels to the region or not "does not deny the fact
that there was an Armenian Genocide, and there are those of us
in Congress who will continue to make that point," the California
lawmaker told Reuters.

Pelosi’s spokesman, Brendan Daly, said he does not know whether the
sponsors of the latest resolution have enough support for it to pass
in the House but "no one’s talking about a vote any time soon."

Similar resolutions have been introduced in Congress for years and
Pelosi has been a longtime supporter of having Congress declare the
killings a genocide.

But as speaker, she did not bring the legislation to the floor for a
vote in 2007 after pressure by the Bush administration, amid concerns
over the sensitivities of Turkey.

Obama has not said whether he will support the resolution. He must
also decide whether to mark an Armenian remembrance day on April 24
with a statement using the term Genocide.

2 BILLION DRAMS TO BE ALLOCATED FROM ARMENIAN STATE BUDGET FOR CONSTRUCTION WORK IN EARTHQUAKE ZONE

Noyan Tapan
March 19, 2009

YEREVAN, MARCH 19, NOYAN TAPAN. 2 billion drams will be allocated
from Armenia’s state budget for construction work in the earthquake
zone. The minister of finance Tigran Davtian said at the March 19
sitting of the government that the construction work to be done in the
erthquake zone will help solve a number of problems: job creation,
environmental and social problems, which will promote economic
development and have a positive impact on GDP growth.

The prime minister Tigran Sargsyan pointed out that this is an
anticrisis measure. He announced that an agreement was reached with
Vanadzor-Khimprom chemical enterprise, under which part of building
materials needed for construction work in the earthquake zone will
be received from this enterprise. T. Sargsyan said that the chemical
enterprise can produce cheap building materials, thanks to which
the expenditures will decline. Besides, the enterprise will have an
opportunity to increase production volumes.

PROCREDIT BANK PLANS TO OPEN 5 NEW BRANCHES IN ARMENIA IN 2009

ArmInfo
2009-03-17 13:25:00

ArmInfo. ProCredit Bank plans to open 5 new branches in Armenia
in 2009.

Senior Specialist of the ProCredit Bank for Public Relations and
Marketing Mariam Hambartsoumyan told ArmInfo the bank will open three
branches in Yerevan and by one branch in Gyumri and Artashat.

ProCredit Bank serves 5 branches in Armenia including four in Yerevan
and one in Vanadzor. ProCredit Bank shareholders are ProCredit Holding
AG (67.49%), German bank KfW (15.84%), and EBRD (16.67%). The bank
entered the local market on Feb 5 2008.

TURKEY-ARMENIA TIES IMPROVING: TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER

Trend
March 16 2009
Azerbaijan

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said at a press conference that
Turkey-Armenia ties are improving, Turkey’s Zaman newspaper reported.

"Turkey-Armenia ties are improving. Azerbaijan-Armenia problems
are more serious than Armenia-Turkey problems. Twenty percent of
Azerbaijan’s lands have been occupied," Babacan said.

He noted that Azerbaijan and Armenia are holding talks within the
OSCE Minsk Group to address problems.

Babacan said whether he will leave for Armenia to participate in the
Black Sea Economic Cooperation Forum on April 16-17 is not known yet.

"I face no obstacle to participate in the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation Forum in Armenia. At that time I will be attending a
meeting in Pakistan," Babacan said.

Rector of Yerevan State University: Bribery appeared when forefathers
of the man descended from the trees

2009-03-13 12:08:00

ArmInfo. Rector of Yerevan State University [YSU], Aram Simonyan, has
categorically come forward against the action within the frames of
which photos of university teachers with a slogan ‘bribetakers’ were
stuck at the streets of Yerevan.

‘I am absolutely sure, it is senseless to fight corruption in such a
way’, – he said at today’s press-conference. First of all, he grew hot
because one cannot prove that teachers are corrupted. ‘If there is no
evidence, no movement can take obligation to unmask the bribetakers.
This is the task of the law-enforcement agencies’, – Simonyan said and
added emotional distress was caused to the teachers
whose photos were stuck in all over the city. ‘It turns out that any
moment each of us may become the victim of false accusation and nobody
will protect us. My life and yours cost less than a cent’, – the rector
said. He said he does not insist there is no bribery in the society, as
bribery appeared when our forefathers descended from the trees. At the
same time Simonyan said that a teacher is also a man and can be also
depraved. ‘What can a teacher feel when he sees that his students
attend classes arriving at expensive motors? But salary of a professor
is 160thsd drams ($400) since the beginning of the current year. Before
blaming teachers for bribery, look what a contingent of students we
have. Some of them cannot even correctly write their name’, – Simonyan
said and added that more than 100 students are dismissed every semester
though their number could be about 4,000. But taking into account small
budget of the University (4 bln drams) the rector cannot dismiss such a
big number of students as each of them pay 250,000 drams per year for
their education. Simonyan wonders why when fighting corruption the
government raises salary of judges but not teachers.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Alexander Kalyagin: Armenian audience missed Russian speech
12.03.2009 15:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ From March 9-11 the Armenian audience had a chance
to enjoy the play Faces, staged by the Russian Et Cetera Theater,
under the direction of the People’s Artist of Russia Alexander
Kalyagin. Having performed in Yerevan, Kalyagin came to the conclusion
that the Armenian audience has missed the Russian speech, stage
direction, dramaturgy.

The play `Faces’ is based on 5 humoristic plays of Anton Chekhov `In
the foreign land’, `Psychopaths’, `Foot-dragging’, `The culprit’,
`Diplomat’ featuring characters, painfully familiar to Russian culture
connoisseurs.

The play `Faces’ features a brilliant duet of Alexander Kalyagin and
Vladimir Simonov (Eugene Vakhtangov Theater actors).

s/eav031309b.shtml

Friday, March 13, 2009
NEWS BRIEFS

AZERBAIJAN: CRITICS NOT SANE, RULING PARTY LEADER SAYS
3/13/09

A global survey of civil liberties conducted by the US human rights
group Freedom House is "total delirium" to ruling Yeni Azerbaijan
Party Deputy Executive Secretary Mubariz Gurbanly, the Turan news
agency reported on March 12.

Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World report categorized
Azerbaijan as a "not free" country, while neighboring Armenia and
Georgia were described as "partly free." The report noted, however,
that freedom has declined in all three South Caucasus countries.

"Azerbaijan declined due to the increasing monopolization of power by
President Ilham Aliyev and the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party" the
report reads. The report rated the quality of freedom in breakaway
Nagorno-Karabakh as being higher than that in Azerbaijan, sparking
additional anger from Azerbaijani MPs, the Russian-language Zerkalo
news site reported.