Author: Boshkezenian Garik

CONSUMERS DON’T HAVE TO KNOW LEGISLATION, THEY SHOULD KNOW WHERE TO APPLY WHEN SUFFERING DAMAGES

arminfo
2008-05-14 09:08:00

ArmInfo. Consumers don’t have to know the legislation, they should know
where to apply when suffering damages, Chairman of the Association
of Consumers of Armenia Armen Poghosyan said at public hearings
dedicated to the situation in the Armenian telecommunication market,
Tuesday. "Like any other sphere, telecommunication needs accurate
legislation. But a consumer doesn’t have to know the legislation,
he/she should know where to apply when suffering damages", he
stressed. According to Poghosyan, insufficient elaboration of the
legislative field and the citizens’ low awareness of the legislation
have caused serious financial losses. He recalled that in 2005-2006 as
a result of wrong phone accounting which included non-existent phone
conversations, consumers suffered losses worth 140 mln AMD. "Our task
is to prevent similar things in the future, but there is a serious
danger of it now", he noted. Speaking of the legislation in this
sphere, Poghosyan said that the legislation needs to be seriously
reviewed as it has not been renewed for 10 years.

According to Poghosyan, one of the key problems is ArmenTel’s
qualitative billing, i.e. receiving of information about the current
account by consumers. "The legislation should have a provision
allowing a consumer to demand disconnection of his telephone right
after exhaustion of the account’s amount, not 12 hours later as now",
Poghosyan said. He thinks that the billing system introduced in August
2007 doesn’t prove its worth. "Over the past month the Association
received a new wave of complaints about untimely billing and phone
conversations ascribed to consumers", he said.

LAW ON STATE RESERVE WAS PASSED IN 2005 BUT THERE IS NO RESERVE YET

KarabakhOpen
12-05-2008 17:22:47

The prices of various products, including foodstuffs, grow day
by day. Is it possible to regulate this and what efforts does the
government make to relieve the heavy load of ordinary citizens? The
chair of the NKR National Assembly Committee of Finance and Budget
Benik Bakshiyan answered the questions of Karabakh-Open.com.

The world is on the verge of economic crisis, therefore the growth
of prices of all kinds of foodstuffs is inevitable. The member of
parliament thinks the only way to slow down inflation is to produce
and sell competitive production.

Benik Bakshiyan thinks Karabakh has all the preconditions for becoming
an industrial country. The government must organize production. "It
is necessary to expand production of foodstuffs, not only for
local consumption but also for export," said Benik Bakshiyan. He
underlined that since the "government finally faces to villages",
there is certain activity regarding investments.

"I think investments would be justified if they were aimed at the
creation of major farms. It is necessary to consolidate minor farms. It
is an axiom, land should be consolidated. It will necessitate creation
of infrastructures – processing factories, warehouses, outlets,
roads, etc.

It must be the first move toward slowing down inflation," the member
of parliament said.

In answer to our question whether the government has a state reserve
in case the inflation leads to shortage of products, the member of
parliament said.

"The law on the state reserve was passed in April 2005, but nothing
has been done so far to bring it into being. According to the law,
a reserve of foodstuffs should be created. Thanks to this it will be
possible to soften the "impression" from inflation. The reserve fund
is created for such purposes."

THE "MUSEUM NIGHT" WILL START ON MAY 17

armradio.am
12.05.2008 11:45

This year the traditional annual "Museum night" will start in the
republic on May 17. Armenpress was informed from the Public Relations
Department of RA Ministry of Culture that within the framework of
the event all participant museums will host the art-loving public
free of charge until 1 a.m.

In 2005 about 1 200 museums of Europe united and organized the first
"Museum night" event, wishing to present their exclusive collections
in a new manner.

Armenian museums have also been participating in the initiative ever
since 2005 together with more than 2 000 art, folk, history museums
of 40 countries.

ELMAR MAMMADYAROV: ARMENIAN, AZERI PRESIDENTS MAY MEET IN JUNE

armradio.am
12.05.2008 15:27

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told reporters in Baku
that the meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan Serzh
Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev may take place in June of the current year.

"We decided that the negotiations should continue. Most probably,
a meeting on the level of Presidents will take place in June,"
Mammadyarov said.

To remind, on May 6 the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan
met in Strasbourg.

"A new President has been elected in Armenia. It is very important for
Azerbaijani side to meet with new government of Armenia. We should know
whether they are ready for peace negotiations, or not," Mammadyarov
added, noting that during the meeting with Edward Nalbandian he once
again declared about the position of Azerbaijan, according to which
the Karabakh conflict should be solved in the framework of Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity."

Zenit News Agency, Italy
May 8 2008

Pope Asks Prayer for Armenian Patriarch Visit

Expresses Certainty That "Spirit of Friendship" Will Deepen

VATICAN CITY, MAY 7, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI beseeched the
faithful to pray for the visit to Rome of the patriarch of the
Armenian Apostolic Church.

Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, attended the Pope’s general
audience today, and both leaders exchanged formal greetings.

The Holy Father told the patriarch, "Your Holiness, I pray that the
light of the Holy Spirit will illumine your pilgrimage to the tombs of
the Apostles Peter and Paul, the important meetings you will have
here, and particularly our personal conversations. I ask all who are
present today to pray for God’s blessing upon this visit."

The Pontiff noted Karekin II’s personal commitment to "the growing
friendship between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic
Church."

He mentioned: "In 2000, soon after your election, you came to Rome to
meet Pope John Paul II, and a year later, you graciously received him
in Holy Etchmiadzin. You came once again to Rome together with many
Church leaders from East and West, for the funeral liturgy of Pope
John Paul II.

"I am sure that this spirit of friendship will be further deepened
during the coming days."

The Armenian Apostolic Church separated from Rome after the Council of
Chalcedon in 451.

More than 90% of Armenian Christians are under the Armenian Apostolic
Patriarchate. The Pope’s secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio
Bertone, visited Armenia last March and was received by Karekin II.

Martyrs

In Benedict XVI’s greeting, he also mentioned the suffering of the
Armenian people: "In an external niche of St. Peter’s Basilica, there
is a fine statue of St. Gregory the Illuminator, founder of the
Armenian Church. It serves to remind us of the severe persecutions
suffered by Armenian Christians, especially during the last
century. Armenia’s many martyrs are a sign of the power of the Holy
Spirit working in times of darkness, and a pledge of hope for
Christians everywhere.

"Your Holiness, dear bishops and dear friends, together with you I
implore Almighty God, through the intercession of St. Gregory the
Illuminator, to help us grow in unity, in one holy bond of Christian
faith, hope and love."

The two Churches have moved closer to unity, notably thanks to a 1996
declaration signed by John Paul II and Patriarch Karekin I on the
nature of Jesus.

Brotherhood

For his part, Karekin II affirmed — leading up to Sunday’s feast of
Pentecost — that it is the Holy Spirit who is "the fountainhead of
unity and transforms our steps on the paths of brotherhood with grace
— steps which are for the glory of God and are born from the love of
Christ, for the sake of establishing peace in the world and a blessed
life for mankind."

"Intolerance and confrontation must not be allowed within the
brotherhood and love of Christ," the patriarch said. "Mankind has
suffered much as a result. Today as well, the creation of God — the
world that surrounds us — is imperiled through interfaith
disagreements, through wars and terrorism, through the effects of
poverty and neglect.

"Our brothers and sisters are in distress in the Middle East and many
other regions of the world; where women and children, the elderly and
disabled are endangered by the blows of disagreement and division,
unjust competition and enmity. This is not the will of God. This is
not our calling."

Karekin II mentioned as well the struggle in Armenia to gain
international recognition of their suffering at the hands of the
Ottoman Empire. Both religious and civil leaders in Armenia want the
massacre to be recognized as a genocide. In 1915 and the following
years, perhaps as many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed within the
empire as it broke apart. Turkey and other states oppose the use of
the word genocide to describe the event.

"Today, many countries of the world recognize and condemn the genocide
committed against the Armenian people by Ottoman Turkey, as did the
Holy See, by His Holiness Pope John Paul Il of blessed memory during
our fraternal visit to Rome in 2000," the patriarch said.

He added: "Offering prayers to his luminous memory, we as Pontiff of
the Armenians, appeal to all nations and lands to universally condemn
all genocides that have occurred throughout history and those that
continue through the present day, so that those who yield power and
authority realize their responsibilities and results of those crimes
which have been and continue to be committed against the creation of
God, and that the denial of these crimes is an injustice that equals
the commission of the same."

Recognitions

This afternoon, the Catholicos received an honorary doctorate in the
theology of pastoral care of youth from the Pontifical Salesian
University. He was accompanied during the ceremony by Cardinal Bertone
and Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity.

Cardinal Bertone recalled his March visit to Armenia. He said he
experienced "an exquisite and warm welcome" and was able to "submerge
[him]self in the history of the Church."

"Armenia," he explained, "has its roots sunk in the preaching of the
holy Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus. The entire Armenian people
converted to Christ more than 17 centuries ago, at the dawn of the
fourth century, in the year 301. Baptism makes of the Armenians the
first people to be officially Christian, much before Christianity was
recognized as the official religion of the Roman empire."

Cardinal Kasper pronounced the "laudatio," recognizing Karekin II’s
extensive work in the pastoral ministry of youth.

"Immediately after the fall of communism, he arranged for the former
Communist Pioneer Palaces to be converted into church-sponsored youth
centers," the cardinal said. Shortly thereafter, in 1990, "he created
a Christian Education Center […] where young people receive a
catechetical and Christian formation, together with a program in
traditional Armenian art and culture."

"His Holiness Karekin II has continued to follow with care the
preparation and post-ordination training of his clergy," cardinal
Kasper added, noting how the patriarch has sent many students for
further studies abroad, often to Catholic universities or faculties of
theology.

l=english

PanARMENIAN.Net

Sargsyan, Semneby discuss Karabakh process and
Armenia-Turkey relations
08.05.2008 15:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
received a delegation headed by EU Special
Representative in South Caucasus Peter Semneby. The
delegation included Ms. Silvie Bavelar who is in
charge of political questions within the EC Delegation
in Armenia, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to the Republic
of Armenia Serge Smessov, as well as policy advisers
to the EU Special Representative in South Caucasus.

The Prime Minister briefed the guests on the current
tasks and the challenges ahead of Armenia and its
newly formed government and described the steps to
take for their solution. Among priority actions, he
named the efforts towards mitigating the impact of
increased commodity prices, improving and reforming
tax and customs administrations, achieving higher
efficiency in the fight against corruption, getting
the opposition involved in the execution of the
government program, as well as providing for possibly
greater transparency and publicity in all these
processes. The parties have also referred to
Armenia-Turkey relations and the settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The development of
EU-Armenia cooperation under the European Neighborhood
Policy and the continuation of efforts towards the
implementation of the ENP Action Plan have been
emphasized on either side.

The Prime Minister advised that the price problem is
being discussed with the World Bank and the IMF
currently in order to take remedial action as soon as
possible.

With reference to the dialog between the authorities
and the opposition, Tigran Sargsyan reiterated his
previously stated viewpoint consisting in that first
of all we should have a government of responsibility,
if we wish to have a constructive and responsible
opposition. "We must start from ourselves by taking
steps forward in order to win the trust of our people.
I am convinced that our proposals are better than any
other solutions possibly available in Armenia. We have
reached out a hand of cooperation to Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters. We cannot wait for long as
the problems are numerous and the time is short,
especially as we have already proceeded to action,"
-the Prime Minister said.

Concerning the March 1 events and the subsequent
developments, Tigran Sargsyan evoked the clearly
stated position of the RA President and stressed that
the authorities are interested in an unbiased and
comprehensive investigation thereof.

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
May 5 2008

Armenian foreign minister departed for France on a formal visit
05.05.08 15:28

On invitation of French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Armenian FM
Edward Nalbandian departed for France on a formal visit reported
PanARMENIAN.

Meeting with Mr Kouchner and Senate President Christian Poncelet are
scheduled.

On May 6, Minister Nalbandian will head for Strasbourg to attend the
118th session of the CoE Foreign Ministers. On the same day, he will
meet with OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs and Azerbaijani FM Elmar
Mammadyarov.

The Armenian Minister is also scheduled to meet with OSCE Secretary
General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, CoE Secretary General Terry Davis,
PACE President Lluis Maria de Puig, President of the European Court of
Human Rights Jean-Paul Costa, CoE Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas
Hammarberg, representatives of AGO Group and Foreign Ministers of some
European countries, the RA MFA press office reported.

US AMBASSADOR TO AZERBAIJAN: "APPLICATION OF DOUBLE STANDARDS IS UNACCEPTABLE IN SUCH ISSUES AS DEMOCRATIC AND HUMAN RIGHTS OBSERVANCE"

Today.Az, Azerbaijan
.html
May 1 2008

"Application of double standards is unacceptable in such issues as
democracy and human rights observance. The only standard, set by
different human rights conventions, can be applied in such cases".

The due announcement was made by US ambassador to Azerbaijan Anne
Derse, commenting on the recent announcement of US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice regarding democratic development of our country.

"The US Department of State and US Embassy to Azerbaijan had voiced
their position and anxiety over the events in Armenia and Georgia:
anti-democratic processes, disorder and called on restoration of
democratic vales", said Derse.

FOUR ARMENIANS ATTEMPT PROVOCATION: AZERBAIJANI DEFENSE MINISTRY

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
April 29 2008

Azerbaijan, Baku, 29 April / corr Trend News E.Huseynli / The
Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that four Armenian citizens.were
detained in the Azerbaijani state border in the territory of the
Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic for attempting to cause provocation
in the Azerbaijani territory.

Last week the Azerbaijani military detained the Armenian citizens,
namely Vanik Zmboyan, Artem Zograbian, Karen Torosian and Agasi
Enokian.

Eldar Sabiroglu, the spokesman for the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry,
said that the detained were serving in the special formation of the
Armenian Armed Forces.

An investigation has been launched into the case.

The Armenian Defense Ministry refuted the reports on the arrest of
the Armenian diversification group by the Azerbaijani armed forces.

"The Armenian citizens traveled to the military town located in Khachik
village to meet their military friends, but lost their the way back and
to all appearance passed the territory of Nakhchivan, Colonel Seyran
Shahsuvarian, the spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry, said.

He said that these people were detained by the special service
organizations of Azerbaijan and their health condition is quite normal,
as per Armenia’s data.

Shahsuvarian said that Armenia had appealed to the office of the
International Red Cross Committee with a request to organize, jointly
with the Baku office, the extradition of the Armenian citizens,
Novosti Armenia reported.

Huge Funds Insufficient For Science Reputation, President States

ARKA
April 28, 2008

YEREVAN, April 28. /ARKA/. Armenia will not be able to restore the
reputation of science by only increasing funding, RA President Serge
Sargsyan stated at the annual general meeting of the Armenian National
Academy of Sciences (ANAS) last Friday.

He pointed out that, to make progress, Armenia’s scientific sector
must be accepted and understood by foreign scientific communities.

"If the authorities try to bind scientists to themselves, they will
never have future. The Academy itself must seek the authorities
as the authorities must be concerned with scientific development,"
Sargsyan said.

The RA President pointed out that the Government will increase the
funding of science year by year.

"However, we must be sure that the funds will be effectively used
and that we do not play the role of a ministry of social security at
scientific establishments," Sargsyan said.

The president pointed out that the budgetary financing of Armenia’s
scientific sector has increased by nearly 18% this year.

The funding of the scientific sector has not decreased even by a cent
this year. On the contrary, continuous increase in funding is expected
simultaneously with reforms of the scientific sector, Sargsyan said.

The RA president pointed out that the Government managed to double
the bonuses for academic degrees and increase the average allocations
from the projecting financing fund by 50%.

"I assure you that we will constantly increase the funding of science.

However, to enable the Government to resolve the problems of science
and technology in the future, the Academy must modernize its system,"
Sargsyan said.

The President pointed out the necessity for supervision of scientific
programs to dispel pessimistic forecasts that increased funding will
not produce essential results.

A total of 6.8bln AMD has been budgeted for Armenia’s scientific
sector this year against 5.9bln AMD last year, which is attributed
to the increase in salaries and in funding of scientific projects.