Author: Boshkezenian Garik

87.5% OF ARMENIA’S URBAN COMMUNITIES AND 44.7% OF RURAL COMMUNITIES PROVIDED WITH GAS-SUPPLYING INFRASTRUCTURES

Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 5 2007

YEREVAN, June 5. /ARKA/. National Statistical Service of Armenia
reports referring to ArmRosgasprom’s figures that 87.5% of the
country’s urban communities and 44.7% of rural communities are provided
with gas-supplying infrastructures.

According to the report, 438 879 apartments and houses are provided
with gas facilities. Of them, 325 127 are in urban and 113 752 in
rural communities.

According to statistical data, 1.564bln cubic meters of natural gas
conveyed to the country’s consumers in 2006. Of them, 1.385bln were
conveyed to urban and 178.9bln to rural residents. Yerevan’s residents
received 32.8% or 512.4mln.

The report says that 69.5% were sent to industrial enterprises, 25.7%
to population and 4.8% to centers providing services to the population.

ArmRosgasprom CJSC enjoys the sole right to distribute Russian natural
gas in Armenia.

The company was established in 1997. Its capital totals $398.7mln.

57.59% of the company’s stocks belong to Gasprom, 34.7% to Armenian
Energy Ministry and 7.71% to Itera oil and gas company.

RUSSIA, CIS HIGHEST NUMBER OF AIR FATALITIES IN 2006 – REPORT

RIA Novosti, Russia
June 5 2007

MOSCOW, June 5 (RIA Novosti) – Passenger plane accidents in Russia
and other CIS countries last year resulted in 412 deaths or 56%
of the total number of people killed in air crashes globally, an
aviation expert said Tuesday.

A report from the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), a civil
aviation body of the group of 11 former Soviet republics, states
that Russia’s air safety record in 2006 dramatically declined. In
May through August 2006, 409 people were killed in IAC countries,
which is about 45% of all the aviation deaths for 2000-2006.

"This is worse than Africa or the rest of the world," said Vladimir
Kofman, a leading specialist on the investigation of air accidents
at the IAC.

In 2006, nine aviation catastrophes and incidents occurred in IAC
countries, compared with 23 accidents and incidents worldwide with
a total death toll of 783, according to the report.

Kofman said human error was a leading factor in the worsening air
safety record, followed by an aging fleet, poor personnel training
standards, insufficient maintenance and servicing, the use of
substandard parts and components, the poor condition of runways,
and inadequate meteorological support.

On May 3, 2006, an Armenian Airbus crashed into the Black Sea during
a storm killing 113 people.

On July 9, an A-310 plane, owned by Siberia-based S-7 Airlines,
crashed after landing in Irkutsk leaving 124 people dead, while on
a flight from Moscow to Irkutsk, a popular tourist destination close
to Lake Baikal.

A total of 170 people died when a Tu-154, operated by Pulkovo Airlines,
crashed during poor weather August 22, near the eastern Ukrainian city
of Donetsk on a flight from the Russian Black Sea resort of Anapa to
St. Petersburg.

Panorama.am

15:39 02/06/2007

GAME OVER: SERZH SARGSYAN WILL BE THE PRESIDENT,
POLITICAL SCIENTIST SAYS

`After long discussions, the Armenian Republican Party
(HHK) and Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaksutiun) decided that Dashnaksutiun will not be
part of the coalition but will have the role of a
cooperator,’ Hmaiak Hovanisyan, political scientists,
said speaking about the negotiations between the two
political forces. In the forecasts of Hovanisyan,
Dashnaksutiun will take hold of its authority powers
to get ready for the presidential elections but will
act as an opposition during budget discussions because
it has made a promise to set 50,000 Armenian drams as
the minimum consumer basket and raise the old age
pensions up to 50,000 Armenian drams. Hovanisyan does
not exclude that Dashanaksutiun will bang the door
during budget discussions and get ready for elections
with its own candidate.

Asked if everything is predetermined for the
presidential elections, Hovanisyan said, `The game is
over. Serzh Sargsyan will become the president in 2008
because after the constitutional changes the
presidential elections were deprived of content.
Everything is decided during the parliamentary
elections.’

Source: Panorama.am

VATICAN WILL SUPPORT TURKEY FOR EU MEMBERSHIP UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.06.2007 18:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Vatican’s Secretary of State has signaled
that the Holy See will support Turkey’s bid for membership in the
European Union.

Speaking to the Italian daily La Stampa, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
said that "Turkey has come a long way" toward democracy and respect
for human rights.

The European community can accept the membership of an overwhelming
Islamic society, he said, as long as "fundamental rules of
cohabitation" are firmly in place.

Cardinal Bertone made his comments as the world’s leading Orthodox
prelate, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople,
pressed the Turkish government to recognize the autonomy of the
Orthodox Church.

Patriarch Bartholomew told a group of visiting German lawmakers that
he had asked the Turkish government to overturn an existing rule that
bars a non-Turk from being elected Patriarch of Constantinople. The
Orthodox prelate suggested that Turkey adopt the policies of Egypt
and Syria, which grant automatic citizenship to the patriarchs of
Alexandria and Antioch. The Turkish government has not yet replied
to his request, Bartholomew said.

Patriarch Bartholomew has been demanding greater respect for religious
freedom in Turkey, and critics of the Turkish bid for EU membership
have pointed to the Patriarch’s complaints that Christians do not
receive equal treatment under Turkish law.

Cardinal Bertone acknowledged that the Turkish government resists
recognition of Christianity and Judaism. Turkey, he pointed out,
is an officially secular country, in which "secularism is exalted
not as mere secularity but as a system of belief." This ideology
of militant secularism, he added, would clash with the Christian
heritage that dominates European culture. Nonetheless, the cardinal
said that honest dialogue could allow for Turkish participation in
the European community.

Prior to his election as Pope Benedict XVI, then-Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger expressed serious concerns about the prospect that an
Islamic nation would join the European Union. But during his trip to
Turkey last November the Pontiff eased his stance, and Turkish Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan told reporters that during a private meeting,
the Pontiff had said that he would support Turkey’s application for
EU membership.

Vatican officials did not confirm that report, but said that the Holy
See would "look favorably" on Turkey’s membership drive as long as
the Ankara government respected the principles of religious freedom
and equal justice under law, Catholic World News reports.

OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE TO DISCUSS PROCESS OF PEACEFUL REGULATION OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT IN SOUTH CAUCASUS

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
June 1 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend A.Gasimova / The OSCE
Chairman-in-Office, Miguel Angel Moratinos, intends to discuss the
process of peaceful regulation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the
region of the South Caucasus. The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish
Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, will visit Azerbaijan and
Yerevan on 4-5 June, Spanish Foreign Ministry’s representative for
Caucasus, Gudman Palassio, informed on 1 June.

In 2007 Spain chairs the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe. According to Palassio, as Moratinos is OSCE Chairman-in-Office,
he decided to visit Azerbaijan and Armenia and therefore, 90% of the
negotiations will take place within OSCE and 10% within bilateral
relations between Azerbaijan and Spain.

Moratinos will arrive in Baku in the evening of 4 June and held talks
with Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister, Elmar
Mammadyarov. In the morning of 5 June, Moratinos will meet with the
Head of the Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh, Nazim Bahmanov
and representatives of the political parties of Azerbaijan. After
the meetings, Moratinos will leave for Yerevan to hold meetings with
Armenia’s President, Robert Kocharyan, Prime Minister, Serj Sarksyan,
Foreign Minister, Vardan Oskanyan, as well as with the "President"
of the self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Arkady Kukasyan and
other representatives of Armenian political parties.

Moratinos will return to Madrid in the evening of 5 June.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus appeared
in 1988 due to the territorial claims of Armenia against Azerbaijan.

Armenia has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani lands including the
Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven districts of the country surrounding
it. From 1992 to the present time, these territories have been under
the occupation of the Armenian Forces. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia
signed a cease-fire agreement at which time the active hostilities
ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and USA)
are holding peaceful negotiations.

U.S. OFFICIAL CITES PROGRESS IN ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN TALKS OVER KARABAKH

ARMENPRESS
Jun 01 2007

WASHINGTON, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS: After more than a decade of efforts
by international mediators to broker a deal on the territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents are
close to solving most remaining obstacles to an agreement on basic
principles, Matthew Bryza, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state
and a cochairman in the OSCE Minsk group was quoted by news agencies
as saying.

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Armenian President Robert
Kocharian are expected to focus on the sticking points during talks
in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 9.

"If the St. Petersburg meeting is successful, then the number of
differences remaining on basic principles could be reduced to close
to zero," Bryza told The Associated Press.

"The leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan should be lauded for their
courage in trying to bring stability and prosperity to their peoples,"
he said.

In a related news an Azerbaijani parliament member said the June 9
meeting of presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan may become a crucial
one for resolution of the long-running Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Aidin Mirzazade, who is also a political analyst, said both presidents
have good chances to narrow their differences over a settlement option.

"If their approaches towards the solution go on with the same pace and
tempo, we shall see very soon a draft peace agreement and societies
in both countries will be able to discuss it," he was quoted by
Azerbaijani Trend news agency as saying.

He was also quoted as saying that the latest developments give ample
grounds for saying that the final agreement is within sight.

HEARINGS ON CLAIM OF FOUR OPPOSITIONAL PARTIES, DISPUTING RESULTS OF MAY 12 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION, HAVE STARTED IN RA CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

ArmInfo
2007-06-01 16:22:00

Hearings on the claim of four oppositional parties, the "New Times",
"Republic", "Orinats Yerkir" and "Impeachment" bloc, which dispute
the results of May 12 parliamentary election, have started in RA
Constitutional Court.

As Head of CC Gagik Haroutyunyan said, the joint claim is unprecedented
by its scale and exceeds 4,000 pages. The defendant’s party,
represented by Justice Minister David Haroutyunyan, deputy Head of
Police Ararat Makhtesyan, Head of CEC Garegin Azaryan, CEC lawyer
Nune Hovhannissyan, is also unprecedentedly representative. There
were so many people wishing to participate at the session that the
staff of CC even prepared special tickets with places indicated. In
the beginning of the session, the lawyer of CEC N. Hovhannissyan
presented a petition to dismiss the claim since representatives of
the "Impeachment" bloc, editor of the "Haikakan Zhamanak" newspaper
N. Pashinyan and a journalist of the same newspaper cannot represent
the bloc as they have no juridical education. The Head of CC responded
that they represent not themselves but a political force. However, N.
Hovhannissyan insisted on consideration of the petition, in view of
which the session was interrupted not for long. After a short break,
the CC dismissed the petition and the hearings have started.

To note, security measures have been intensified in CC building and
around it.

CEC’S RESPONSE TO HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST TO MR. VOSKANYAN, CHAIR OF CIVIC ACTION CENTER NGO
Sergey Nasibyan

chair NKR Central Electoral Commission
KarabakhOpen
01-06-2007 18:49:09

Considering the NKR presidential election as an important stage in
the establishment of the state of NKR and development of democracy,
the NKR Central Electoral Commission performs all the activities
necessary for the preparation and conduct of the presidential election
provided for by the NKR Electoral Code, providing a public process.

According to the April 11, 2007 Decision 29/102 of the NKR Central
Electoral Commission, the head of the NKR police department of the
city or region where the citizen is registered issues a reference
to the citizen named NKR president that the person has lived in
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic over the past ten years.

Since all the five citizens named president are residents of
Stepanakert, the police department of Stepanakert discussed and issued
the abovementioned reference in the appointed period of time.

As to the "description" and "conclusions" of the head of the Civic
Action Center NGO Albert Voskanyan alleging with the air of universal
truth that Bako Sahakyan has not lived in Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
over the past 10 years, and the "evaluations" of the decision on
registration of the NKR presidential candidates to be made by the NKR
CEC, we would like to advise this NGO to mind the objectives set in
its regulations, to disturb to read through the NKR legislation on
the passport system and not to interfere with the activities of the
NKR Central Electoral Commission, an independent government body,
and outline the decisions to be adopted by the CEC.

The NKR Central Electoral Commission will continue to perform its
duties and functions in accordance with the Electoral Code, will
continue to discuss and make a decision on the registration of the
presidential candidates from May 30 to June 19, 2007 and inform
the public.

ARTEM MIKOYAN WAS A PERSON OF EXCLUSIVE TALENT AND EXCLUSIVE MODESTY, MIKOYAN’S GRANDSON REMEMBERS

Noyan Tapan
Jun 01 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, NOYAN TAPAN. In the opinion of the grandson of one
of the most renowned specialists in aircraft designing in the 20th
century, Artem Mikoyan, the Armenian people has full right to be
proud of the activity of its great son. Businessman Sergei Mikoyan,
who is the son of A. Mikoyan’s daughter, resides in Moscow, but, in
his words, he strives for visiting Armenia as soon as possible. At
the June 1 meeting with journalists he said that he remembers his
childhood with love, when Russian Armenian artists, public figures
gathered at their place. A. Mikoyan, as his grandson witnessed,
was a person of exclusive talent and exclusive modesty.

In S. Mikoyan’s words, in the opinion of many modern specialists, the
aircraft designer as early as many decades ago authored such projects,
at creation of which anothers are just beginning to work. "Suffice it
to say that the first jet-propelled aircraft in the USSR was created
by Artem Mikoyan," Sergei reminded.

He added that though in the recent years, in the 1990-s, some changes
of attitude towards Armenians happened in the Russian environment,
nevertheless, people perceive him and his relatives first if all as
representatives of Mokoyan family and only then as Armenians. As
S. Mikoyan evaluated, in all times in Russia they treated Armenia
better than another Caucasian countries.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PUBLISHERS OF ARMENIA PARTICIPATES IN INTERNATIONAL FAIR-EXHIBITION OF BOOK IN SALONIKA

Noyan Tapan
May 30 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. The National Association of Publishers
of Armenia (NAP) participated on May 16-21 at the 4th International
Fair-Exhibition of Book being held in the city of Salonika, Greece. As
Vahan Khachatrian, the Chairman of the association informed the
Noyan Tapan correspondent, literary-fiction, popular scientific,
children’s and educational publishing product of about 200 titles of
50 Armenian publishing houses were presented in a separate pavilion
at the exhibition. In his words, books printed by the Edit-Print
publishing house are also presented in a separate pavilion. About
150 publishing houses from Greece as well as publishing houses of 30
European countries participated in the exhibition.

V. Khachatrian mentioned that the invitation to participate in the
exhibition was got from the Ministry of Culture of Greece and by the
Directorate of the International Fair-Exhibition of Salonika, and
representatives of the Armenian community of Greece, particularly,
Karapet and Anahit Galfayans assisted the Armenian publishers.

Armenian publishers met with representatives of the Armenian community
of Salonika and Athens, gave education books to local Armenian
seminaries and to the library built attached to the Armenian church
of Salonika. An agreement was reached with the Embassy of Armenia
to Greece that an exhibition of books published in Armenia will be
organized in Athens as well, starting from the next year.

The NAP Chairman also mentioned that Armenian publishers will this
year participate in exhibitions of book to be held in Moscow, Saint
Petersburg and Frankfurt as well. And on the initiative of the Ministry
of Culture and Youth Issues of Armenia, a seminar under the slogan
"Translation as Crossroads of Cultures" will be for the first time
organized in Yerevan in October, with participation of publishers
of the CIS countries. An exhibition of book will also be organized
within the framework of the seminar.