Author: Basmajian Ani

Artur Bagdassaryan: The coalition agreement signed yesterday was a new
political art in our present reality

2008-03-22 21:52:00

ArmInfo. The coalition agreement signed by four political forces
yesterday was a new political art in our present reality, the leader of
Orinats Yerkir party Artur Bagdassaryan said during the 6th forum of
the Women’s Council of OY today.

The agreement has several peculiarities. The Republican
Party,Prosperous Armenia, Orinats Yerkir and ARFD have a big resource
of public confidence and the past parliamentary and presidential
elections have proved that. We are going to carry out large-scale
social-economic reforms and to fight corruption. In the near future
Armenian society will see the results of our programs.

20 NEW TROLLEYBUSES TO BE BROUGHT TO YEREVAN DURING THIS YEAR

Noyan Tapan
March 21, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 21, NOYAN TAPAN. 4 trolleybuses out of 6, which
were damaged during the events that happened in Yerevan on March 1,
have already been repaired and the repairs of the other trolleybuses
will finish in the coming days. As Yerevan Mayor Yervand Zakharian
said during his March 21 working review in building sites, nearly 3
million drams (more than 9.7 thousand U.S. dollars) were allocated
for repair of the damaged trolleybuses.

The Mayor also said that 20 new trolleybuses will be brought to Yerevan
during this year. Besides, there will also be additional financial
allocations for repair of 15-20 trolleybuses. It was also mentioned
that at present totally there are 92 trolleybuses in the trolleybus
park, 40-50 trolleybuses out of which operate in their routes daily.

THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE OSCE MINSK GROUP: "WE SUPPORT THE TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF AZERBAIJAN AND THEREFORE DO NOT RECOGNIZE THE INDEPENDENCE OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH"

Today
news/politics/43836.html
March 20 2008
Azerbaijan

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Yuri Merzlyakov for
Russia, and Bernard Fassier for France, as well as Mike Carpenter,
Advisor to U.S. Co-Chair Matt Bryza) met with the Armenian Minister
of Foreign Affairs Vardan Oskanian in Vienna on the 14th of March and
with the Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov
in Paris on the 15th of March.

After these meetings the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs recall that,
as reiterated before the vote on the "Resolution on the Situation in
the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan" at the UN General Assembly,
France, the Russian Federation and the United States support the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and therefore do not recognize the
independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, while holding that the future status
of Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter of negotiations between the parties.

The Co-Chairs remain convinced that any peaceful and equitable
settlement of the conflict will require unavoidable compromises among
the parties. They underline the urgent need to resume the negotiations
after the pause due to the presidential election in Armenia. In that
respect, they note with satisfaction the affirmation of both Foreign
Ministers of the need to continue the discussions between the sides.

The Co-Chairs proposed to the Foreign Ministers to organize the first
meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as soon as
possible. The Co-Chairs express their sincere hope that this meeting,
accepted in principle by the two sides, will take place and lead
to the resumption of negotiations for the peaceful settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of the Document on the
Basic principles for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, presented to the sides on November 29, 2007 in Madrid before
the opening of the OSCE Ministerial Council.

Finally, at a time when serious clashes resulting in the loss of life
have occurred along the Line of Contact, the Co-Chairs urge both sides
to refrain from unilateral and maximalist actions on the ground, at the
negotiating table, as well as in their public rhetoric, and to fully
and strictly comply with their obligations relating to the cease-fire.

ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES NOT PLANNING TO EXTEND STATE OF EMERGENCY

Interfax News Agency
March 17 2008
Russia

Armenian President Robert Kocharian is not going to extend the state
of emergency in Yerevan, Viktor Sogomonian, the press secretary of
the Armenian president, told a news conference on Monday.

Kocharian introduced a 20-day state of emergency in Yerevan on March
1 after the opposition staged riots throughout the city in protest
of the outcome of the February 19 presidential election.

"Several days are left, but it is possible that the president will
say his word," the spokesman said.

No violations of the state of emergency have so far been registered in
Yerevan, Sogomonian said. "We hail the fact that the public understands
the imposition of the state of emergency, which has become obvious,"
he said.

Kocharian signed on March 10 a new decree lifting restrictions on
the activity of political parties and public organizations, as well
as the expulsion of people who violate the state of emergency. The
president also lifted a number of restrictions on media organizations
on March 13.

The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute
Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex
RA, Armenia Yerevan 0028
Contact: Arevik Avetisyan
Tel.: (+374 10) 39 09 81
Fax: (+374 10) 39 10 41
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

21 MILLION DRAMS ALLOCATED FOR TRANSFORMATION OF ECOLOGICAL AREAS OF THE
TSITSERNAKABERD.
18.03.08

Yerevan, Armenia–On March 13th, 2008, Armenian Government decided to
provide the Ministry of Agriculture with 21 million drams from its
reserve fund, intended to rebuild and develop the forests of the
country, particularly in Yerevan area. This plan also encapsulates the
realization of restoring the vegetation surrounding the 98 hectares of
land of the Tsistsernakaberd Memorial Complex.
Armenian Prime Minister, Serge Sargsyan stated, "this State money is
provided in accordance with the laws directly applicable to the Republic
of Armenia’s (RA) Budget System". Last year, on September 8th, the Prime
Minister visited the Armenian Genocide Museum & Institute (AGMI),
Tsitsernakaberd Park. Prime Minister Sargsyan was reacquainted with the
main issues in and around the vicinity of the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial
Complex. At the time, he allocated specific directives for the
protection and development of the Tsitsernakaberd Park. During this
visit he also made an arrangement to preserve and transform the Park,
which is the most expansive forested and grassy areas, as well as the
most important ecologically dense section, in the capital city.
The AGMI is currently developing a program for its topographic goals and
activities intended to be presented to the Armenian Government.
Currently on the agenda is the reconstruction of dilapidated irrigation
system that also needs to be thoroughly reequipped, as well as the
re-establishment of the leafy-green areas, intended to increase the
number of highly desirable indigenous trees while decreasing the less
desirable bushes and shrubberies. The realization of all these intended
plans will be completed by the centennial anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide in 2015.

Precocious Pyunik schooled for success
Tuesday 18 March 2008by Khachik Chakhoyan from Yerevan

The Armenian league season will not kick-off until
April.FC Pyunik are sure their academy graduates can
come up trumps again as the new Armenian season starts
this week with the first cup fixtures of 2008.

Cup taster
While the league campaign will not kick-off until
April, the eight top-division teams start their
seasons on Friday and Saturday with the opening
matches of their two-leg first round games, and while
they have lost a substantial proportion of their best
players since lifting their seventh successive league
title in 2007, Yerevan titans Pyunik are limbering up
for more success. The club have continued their policy
of blooding youngsters by introducing a new generation
to the first team. Coach Armen Gyulbudagyants said:
"It’s a big chance for our youngsters. The majority of
our guys represent the Armenian national team at
different levels. They have experience of playing in
very important games so we will battle for a top place
in the league."

Petrosyan plan
Former Pyunik coach Samvel Petrosyan, meanwhile, is
focused solely on the cup at the moment, having led FC
Gandzasar to an encouraging fifth-placed finish last
term. Four more signings have raised their Georgian
contingent to six while they will continue to rely on
Brazilian Leandro Santos up front and Romanians Virgil
Marºavela and Constantin Paunescu may also stay in
Kapan. "We haven’t announced our goals for the
season," said the former Armenia Under-17 coach. "We
are only thinking about the cup at the moment. We are
formidible at home, so we will battle for a place in
the UEFA Cup as there is always a chance in two-leg
cup ties. The club board has made major investments in
the team and it is payback time for us."

MIKA ambition
Five-time cup winners FC MIKA are also ambitious, with
coach Arkadiy Andreasyan hungry for a first league
title and perhaps another cup for the Ashtarak side.
"MIKA always have high goals," said Andreasyan. "The
coming season is no exception. We are ready to fight
for the title and want to play in the cup final. We
are creating a new team here but our goals remain the
same." Having re-appointed Varuzhan Sukiasyan as their
coach just two weeks ago, FC Ararat Yerevan will be
lucky to create a workable team in time to compete for
silverware. "It’s going to be extremely difficult to
compete against leading clubs, but we won’t give up,"
sighed Sukiasyan. "We have lost experienced players
and haven’t signed any replacements."

©uefa.com 1998-2008. All rights reserved.

Edmonton Sun, Canada
March 15 2008

System of a Down frontman confronts the end of civilization

By KEVIN MAIMANN, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA

Listening to Serj Tankian’s solo debut Elect the Dead and reading
numerous interviews conducted with the System of a Down frontman,
it’s clear that he is plagued by thoughts of the world’s ills.

But speaking in a calm and almost sedated tone, this Beirut-born,
Armenian-American rocker is far from the fiery cynic you might
expect.

SPIRIT CONNECTION

"I think we all need a certain amount of time in our day to kind of
connect with reality, per se – our own reality, our physical reality
around us. Take a nice walk and get a little exercise and get a
little time for our minds to just be still and connect with the
spirit world and whatnot and just be chill," Tankian says, explaining
how he starts his day.

Tankian and his backing band The Flying C–ts of Chaos (FCC) are
hitting the Shaw Conference Centre stage tomorrow night with
prog-rockers Fair to Midland, who are signed to Tankian’s own label,
Serjical Strike Records – run with a little help from his seemingly
unfitting marketing and business degree from California State
University.

Tankian says The FCC has a unique, vaudevillian kind of act that’s
"part comedic and part heart-attack serious," which suits his
personal style to a T.

Apt with Tankian’s very public political leanings, he has enlisted
non-profit environmental group Reverb to help him minimize his
environmental footprint on the trek. But he unexpectedly admits that
he feels this initiative is rather insignificant.

"There’s many artists that have done a lot greater work ecologically
on tour than I have. We’re just kind of getting into this and
learning what we can do to minimize our footprint on tour, ’cause it
is a very, very polluting industry, to be honest," he says. "I run my
life as green as I can because that’s my karma. But in the general
effect of things, I believe that civilization’s over and we need to
completely retool and recharge the way that we deal with many, many
things in our lives."

His theory that civilization is over pops up repeatedly in his
discourse and has almost become his catch phrase.

"I have a feeling that it’s unavoidable and it won’t be a voluntary
choice for us," he says.

NO REST FOR THE WICKED

As chilled out as he seems about it all, Elect the Dead is an
impressive display of Tankian’s laudable work ethic. He performs
nearly every instrument on every track, plus he had independent
videos shot for each song before the album was out and still managed
to have the disc on shelves before anything from the other three
members of SOAD.

For the record, SOAD guitarist Daron Malakian and drummer John
Dolmayan are currently taking their time with a project called Scars
on Broadway, which will join Tankian at the Coachella music festival
in April, and bassist Shavo Odadjian has a work in progress called
Achozen with Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA.

"Music is a great way of getting the word out on your thoughts and
feelings, which should really be kind of plugged into the universal
thoughts and feelings of our times – kind of like a truthful
narration, a representation of our times," Tankian says on the value
of his musical call-to-arms. "But direct action is irreplaceable in
terms of making change."

On the direct action front, Tankian has a non-profit organization
with Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello called Axis of
Justice, for which the two will soon be teaming up on the Justice
Tour with their respective solo projects in light of the upcoming
presidential election.

"I think we need to be activists and get together and change the
world we live in. And if our opinion is so strong and focused and our
vision pure, then any presidential candidate from any party will be
forced to reckon with us as a citizenry, through democracy," he says.

Tankian has also spread his political influence by lobbying U.S.
congress to recognize the 1915 Armenian genocide and with a book of
poetry called Cool Gardens, amongst many other endeavours.

008/03/15/5014241-sun.html

THREE ARMENIAN BRANDIES FIT STATE STANDARD

ARKA
March 14, 2008

YEREVAN, March 14. /ARKA/. Three taps of Armenian brandy made by the
Yerevan Brandy Company, the Ararat Distillery and the Stepanakert
Brandy Company were recognized fitting the State Standard. The Alcohol
Quality Control Commission made the decision at its March 14 meeting.

The samples of twelve taps of brandy made in the three abovementioned
companies were presented to the commission members in three groups.

The first group included one 40%-strong three-year-old brandy from each
company and the second group included 40%-42%-strong four-year-old
and five-year-old brandies from each. The third group included
40%-42%-strong five-to-ten-year-old brandies – two from the Stepanakert
factory, three from the Yerevan Brandy Company and one from Ararat.

All the tasted brandies proved to be meeting the technical demands,
fitting the criteria provided on label and deserving to be exported.

State Quality Inspection Chief Ashot Ghazaryan said the commission has
been regularly holding such tasting events for the past three years.

"Tasting helps identify Armenian brandies and supervise the quality
of the products. Brandies are then issued a quality certificate,"
Ghazaryan said. Brandies undergo tasting at the request of the
producing companies.

DEDOLLARIZATION OF ARMENIAN ECONOMY SLOWS DOWN IN EARLY 2008

ARKA
March 14, 2008

YEREVAN, March 14. /ARKA/. Dedollarization of Armenia’s economy slowed
down in early 2008, according to the CBA (Central Bank of Armenia)
Report on Refinancing Rate for March 2008. The Armenian Dram (AMD)
supply remained 64% on February 15, 2008.

AMD deposits increased to 67.8% in 2007 against 80% in 2006. Cash
increase this year totaled 61.3% – 7.1pct increase compared with 2007.

Money supply grew more rapidly this year than in 2007. The reason for
this was the rapid pastes of foreign currency deposits, their annual
increase being 11.7% in January 2008 against 8.6% in December 2007.

According to CBA, economy crediting rate increased at a brisk pace
(82.2% in January against 78% in December).

As regards the financial market development, the interest rate on
national-currency loans was almost the same ion February 17 as in
January 2008.

The interest rate on 181-365-day credits was 19.53% in mid-February
(19.52% in January). The annual interest rate on five-year loans was
13.96% in mid-February (13.85% in January). The annual interest rate
on 181-365-day deposits was 8.23% on February 17 (0.86pct decrease
compared with January).

In February, CBA raised by 0.25pct the refinancing rate in REPO
market. The interest rates went up by 0.32pct in February, the market
average interest rate in REPO market being 6.39%.

During the March 4 meeting, CBA raised the annual refinancing rate
by 0.25pct to 6.25%. The interest rates of attracted deposits and
collateral loans were set 3.25% and 9.25% respectively.

ARMENIA CONTINUES INVESTIGATION INTO UNREST: MINISTER

Agence France Presse — English
March 11, 2008 Tuesday 4:47 PM GMT

Armenia continued Tuesday to investigate violence that rocked
the capital this month but there will be no decision on whether to
charge ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian until the probe is concluded,
Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian said.

"There may, in theory, be a basis for bringing criminal charges
against Levon Ter-Petrosian," Danielian told AFP.

"If they do decide to bring charges against him they will be determined
on the basis of the investigation after it has been concluded,"
he said.

Armenia’s special investigation service is currently conducting the
probe into the unrest.

The Armenian capital Yerevan is under a state of emergency until
March 20 following clashes between riot police and anti-government
protesters on March 1 that left seven civilians and one police officer
dead. Dozens more were injured, many from gunshot wounds.

The unrest was sparked by police efforts to disperse thousands
of protesters who had rallied for 11 days against the results of
a February 19 presidential election won by Prime Minister Serzh
Sarkisian, outgoing President Robert Kocharian’s handpicked successor.

The opposition claims the election was rigged to secure victory for
Sarkisian over Ter-Petrosian, who came a distant second. Foreign
observers, however, said the vote had by and large met international
standards.