Author: Boshkezenian Garik

NATO DEPUTY CHIEF URGES NEGOTIATED GARABAGH SETTLEMENT
AssA-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 4, 2006 Tuesday
NATO calls on both Azerbaijan and Armenia to seek a negotiated
settlement to the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict, its Assistant
Secretary General Jean Fournet has said. The dispute can be resolved
only in peace and all other means questioning this option should be
given up, he told a news conference in Baku on Tuesday.
We are interested in the continuation of talks. But we have no
intention to act as a part of the OSCE Minsk Group dealing with the
conflict. Asked of the alliances possible role in case the parties
strike an agreement, Fournet said this question could be answered
only after the actual peace accord is reached. The enforcement of
decisions passed by influential international organizations has been
in public domain of late. Particularly alarming is the fact that the
UN Security Councils four resolutions on the unconditional withdrawal
of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan
have not been implemented yet. Fournet said the issue should not be
addressed by NATO proper. He said all decisions in the alliance are
made based on a consensus and are definitely enforced. Fournet said
he is not inclined to talk of other organizations in this respect but
added that all of their decisions should be properly executed. The
NATO official avoided commenting on the fact that 20% of Azerbaijans
territories are under occupation. Although he repeatedly stated
that the alliance is committed to fighting terror, he failed to put
forth a firm stance concerning Armenias committing an act of terror
against its neighbor. Fournet hinted, however, that NATO has no plans
to eliminate the aftermath of the Armenian terror, adding that the
organization intends only to jointly struggle against emerging threats.

MICHEL PLATINI TOO IMPRESSED BY ARMENIANS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS FOOTBALL
YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Being a member of the FIFA and UEFA
Executive Committee, occupying a number of repsonsible posts in
programs of those structures, Michel Platini has a great contribution
in the world, including in Armenia, in the affair of development
of football. RA Prime Minister Andranik Margarian stated about it
on July 3, receiving Michel Platini, the Deputy President of the
Football Federation of France, a member of the FIFA and UEFA Executive
Committee. He mentioned that Michel Platini greatly contributed to
implementation of all usefull initiatives for the Armenian football. As
Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Government’s Information and Public
Relations Department, the RA Prime Minister attached importance
to the delegation’s visit especially in this period of time when
Armenia is with great lustre preparing for the Days of Armenia in
France. Touching upon implementation of programs on development of
football and investments, A.Margarian especially mentioned the FIFA
“Goal” program, UEFA “Hat Trick,” also the “Small Fields” programs,
implementation of which is being carried out by the Football Federation
of Armenia at a great speed and has arosen considerable enthusiasm and
interest in all marzes and communities of Armenia. Those, according
to A.Margarian, are important as much as they are the first voluminous
works after worsening of the state of sporting infrastructures during
the last years: more than 15 similar fields have already been opened,
and thier number will reach 40. The RA Prime Minister considered
welcoming making of such decisions by the FIFA and UEFA which help the
progress of football just in developing countries as football states
has no such problems any longer. M.Platini mentioned that being in
Armenia for the first time, he is too impressed by the Armenians’
attitude towards football. “Yesterday we saw when opening the small
fields how much energy and love exist in children towards football,
and with what diligence they go in for that sport. It is promising,”
M.Platini said, mentioning in his speech a number of football players
of the Armenian origin as well, having had their contribution in
development of the French football. At the end of the meeting,
at which Jean-Louis Valentin, the Deputy Director General of the
Football Federation of France, and FFA President Ruben Hayrapetian
participated as well, a readiness was bilaterally expressed, within
borders of possibility, to assist development of the Armenian football
from now on as well.

Prime Minister Margarian meet Platini
ArmRadio.am
03.08.2006 14:03
Legendary football player Michel Platini, Vice-President of the French
Football Federation, member of the FIFA and UEFA Executive Committees,
is in Yerevan on an official visits. Today Armenian Prime Minister
Andranik Margarian received the guest.
The visit is takeing place by the invitation of Ruben Hayrapetian,
President of the Football Federation of Armenia. In the frameworks
of the visit Platitni yesterday took part in a number of festive
opening ceremonies of two football fields in Avan and Kanaker-Zeytun
communities of Yerevan. To be reminded Armenia is taking part
in a UEFA development program and is to receive 1 million Swiss
franks. A condition for receiving the grant is opening as minimum
40 minor football fields with artificial grass. Michel Platini is
also supposed to meet with representatives of state institutions and
social organizations of Armenia, Arminfo reported.

LILIT MKRTCHIAN TAKES FOURTH PLACE IN KRASNOTURINSK INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT
KRASNOTURINSK, AUGUST 2, NOYAN TAPAN. The Ladies Chess International
Big Tournament finished in the city of Krasnoturinsk of the Sverdlovsk
region of the Russian Federation. At the last 9th stage representative
of Armenia Lilit Mkrtchian was defeated by Nadezhda Kozintseva (RF)
and took the 5th place gaining 5 points from 9 possible ones.
And 16 years old Yekaterina Lahno (Ukraine) was recognized the
tournament winner, having 7 points.

THE STOCK EXCHANGE DOLLAR RATE MADE UP 410,55 AMD/$1
Yerevan. July 31. ArmInfo. During tender at the Armenian Stock
Exchange ArmEx 21 board lots were sold at the amount of AMD 572,7
million ($1,4 million). The dollar rate made up AMD 410,55/$1, 0,94%
less than on July 28.
Demand volume equaled $660 thousand and the supply volume – $400
thousand. The best demand price was marked on the level of AMD 410,3/$1
(average – AMD 409,27/$1), and the best supply price – AMD 414,00/$1
(average – AMD 414,48/$1). EUR 100 thousand supply was also registered.
The opening price was fixed at the level of AMD 417,01/$1, closing
price – AMD 417,00/$1, minimal price – AMD 417,00/$1 and maximal
price – AMD 417,01/$1.
Totally, in January 4 – July 31, $87,047 million was sold at ArmEx;
the average rate decreased from AMD 453,1 to 410,25/$1, AMD. The
maximal deal volume was detected on July 11 – 38 board lots at
the amount of $3,050 million and at the rate of AMD 417,83/$1, the
minimal volume – July 12 – 1 board lot at the amount of $50 thousand
(AMD 20,893 million) at the rate of AMD 417,85/$1. Since January 4
only 2 EURO exchange deals were driven – on April 6 (EUR 5 thousand,
AMD 554/EUR1) and on June 22 (EUR 1 thousand, AMD 532/EUR 1).

Armenian paper says regional railway project to fail without US funding

Hayots Ashkarh, Yerevan
28 Jul 06

Text of report by Vardan Grigoryan in Armenian newspaper Hayots
Ashkarh on 28 July headlined “The USA is freezing Kars-Akhalkalak”

A decision by the US Congress not to finance the construction of the
Kars-Akhalkalak [Akhalkalaki]-Tbilisi[-Baku] railway at the expense of
US tax-payers reflects new geopolitical goals and priorities of the
USA in the South Caucasus region. In the pivot of these goals and
priorities there is a task to direct the South Caucasus economically
and politically towards the West via the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline and
other energy projects, and at the same time to form new regional
counter balances. It is not at all accidental that the decision of the
US Congress on 26 July was adopted in condition of the complex
situation in the US-Turkish relations.
After Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, when in its turn Turkey demanded
that the USA gave carte blanche for an invasion to northern Iraq, the
Americans made clear to Turkey that the invasion of Iraq meant
Turkey’s good-bye to prospects of joining the European Union. The
abovementioned decision of the US Congress is another important
warning to Turkey which is forming energy and transport corridors
simultaneously in several directions.
The stronger the US positions are in the Middle East and the South
Caucasus, the clearer is the fact that the USA may consider Israel its
only “governor” [in the region] which has no an alternative. Turkey,
in turn, because of its convenient geographic position has not only
alternatives but is looking for them everywhere: in Russia, in the
Muslim world, in the Caucasus-Middle East region which is rich with
energy resources.
Thus, strict political will expressed by the US Congress on 26 July is
evidence of the fact that this is not a victory of the Armenian lobby
over Turkey and Azerbaijan as many people think today. It would be
also naive to think that all this is simply a victory of justice about
which representatives of the Armenian Assembly of America declare.
Does it mean that the problem of the Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi railway
construction which contradicts US interests may be considered closed?
Given recent statements of Azerbaijani and Turkish officials, they are
ready to finance the project without US funding. But there is also
Georgia for which it would be very difficult to oppose strict
political will of the US Congress expressed on 26 July.
This resolution by the House of Representatives may lead to a delay in
the Georgian-Turkish-Azerbaijani talks on the construction of the
Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi railway and to deepening of disagreements
between the parties. As for the construction itself, it will remain
unsettled and will be forgotten later. Or on the contrary, it will be
revived depending on changes in US policy in the South Caucasus.

Panorama.am
15:46 28/07/06
CRIME RATE RISES BY 10 PERCENT
Mnatsakan Sargsyan, deputy chief prosecutor, told an enlarged
prosecutor’s office session today that crime rate has gone up in the
first quarter of 2006 against the equivalent period of last year.
He said 4823 crime cases were reported in January-June, this year,
against 4389 in the equivalent period last year. Serious crimes have
doubled in the reporting time whereas embezzlement of public ownership
has gone down.
Fewer cases were disclosed in the first quarter of the year, reducing
from 87,6 percent to 83,8 percent against last year. 1220 cases of
serious crime were disclosed among the committed 1533. Eleven cases of
bribery were reported this year against 5 cases last year. All 16
cases were disclosed./Panorama.am/

HIGHEST PROFITS IN THE FIRST HALF GAINED BY ‘HSBC BANK ARMENIA’,
ARDSHININVESTBANK AND CONVERSE BANK
Yerevan, July 28. ArmInfo. In the bank system of Armenia, for the fist
half of 2006, the highest profits were gained by ‘HSBC Bank –
Armenia'(AMD 1,5 billion or $3,5 million), Ardshininvestbank (AMD 1,1
billion or $2,5 million) and Converse Bank (AMD 955 million or $2,3
million). According to the bank ranking by ArmInfo, the fourth place
by profits belongs to ACBA Bank – AMD 702,4 million or $1,7 million,
fifth – Unibank – AMD 619,3 million or $1,5 million. The
profitability of assets (profits in assets ratio – ROA) is highest at
the Armenian Development Bank (ADB) – 4,34%, then come Converse Bank –
2,94%, Incecobank – 2,30%, Unibank – 2,28% and Cascade Bank –
2,16%. By the ROE indicator is leading HSBC Armenia Bank – 20,30%,
then come Unibank – 16,11%, Artsakhbank – 16,07%, ADB – 11,33%,
Ardshininvestbank – 10,54% The total surplus earnings of the Armenian
banking system in the first half of 2006 made up AMD 8,2 billion or
$19,6 million, having grown by 59,1% compared with the corresponding
period of 2005. 20 of 21 commercial banks of Armenia worked with
profit in the period under review. Their total surplus earnings made
up AMD 8,2 billion or $19,6 million. The only bank to work with loss
was ITB bank – AMD 18,4 million or $43,9 thousand.
The total capital of the Armenian banking system grew by 8,1% in the
considerable period and by 33,3%in yearly respect, making up AMD 102,2
billion ($243,9 million). This growth is resulted from increase of the
incomes and of the authorized capital stock – 29,4% in yearly respect
and 8,5% in the considered period, which equaled AMD 65,4 billion
($156,3 million) by the end of June 2006. Authorized capital stock
increase was highest at BTA Invest Bank – 207,7%, then come
Ardshininvestbank – 150,1%, ‘VTB- Armenia’ (formerly Armsavingsbank) –
149,5% and Cascade Bank – 62,9%. In general, the authorized capital
stock was increased by 9 banks. In annual respect capital stock
decreased only at one bank – ITB, by 2,1%, and in the second quarter
of 2006 – at 5 banks.
Considerable yearly growth of capital was registered at BTA IncestBank
(252,6%) and ‘VTB-Armenia’ (124,3%).

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
July 28, 2006
In 2 years Azerbaijan not to need int’l humanitarian assistance to
refugees – UNWFP Exective Director

Source: Trend
Author: S.Agayeva

28.07.2006

In two years the Azerbaijani government will not need international
humanitarian assistance rendered to refugees and infernally displaced
people, James Morris, the UN World Food Program (UNWFP), told a news
conference in Baku on 28 July.
Morris said that the leadership of WFP is satisfied with the
cooperation with the Azerbaijani government. `We appreciate the fact
that the government has undertaken a commitment to remove the refugee
camps by the end of next year,’ he stressed.
Since 1994 humanization assistance has been rendered to over 500,000
refugees and internally displaced people from Azerbaijan and it was
decided to prolong the program for 2 years more. `In this period we
will render food assistance to 33,000 people of this category. It is
a long-term activities of the organization,’ he noted.
So far, the Azerbaijani government has received around $120m in
humanitarian assistance. However, the number of natural disasters
rose and the military conflict and therefore the WFP should attach
more attention to the humanitarian assistance namely in hot-points of
the Earth.
The UNWFP Executive Director expressed his hope that the cooperation
with the Azerbaijani government will bear fruits and social problems
of refugees and internally replaced people will be partially
resolved.
Addressing the news conference the Vice Premier, also the chairman of
the State Committee on Refugees and internally Displaced People, Ali
Hasanov, thanked the organization for the assistance in the
resolution of the problem, the UNWFP is the organization which has
been involved in rendering assistance to this category. He also
hailed the decision by the organization the extension of the term of
program, noting that for the time being the government was in no
condition to resolve the problem of refugees and internally displaced
people by itself.
`Until full resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict the refugees and
internally displaced people will not return to their native lands, he
underlined.

Turkish court acquits author Perihan Magden
Guardian Unlimited; Jul 28, 2006

Turkish writer and journalist Perihan Magden has been acquitted of
charges under Article 301 of the Turkish consitution.

Istanbul’s second criminal court of first instance ruled yesterday
that an article defending the rights of a conscientious objector
amounted to “heavy criticism conveyed within the scope of freedom of
expression” and did not constitute a crime.

In her column, published in the weekly Yeni Aktuel magazine last
December, Magden defended conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan who was
sentenced to a record four-year term in a military prison for
disobedience after refusing to wear his military uniform. She argued
that Turkey needed to establish a civilian service as an alternative
to compulsory military conscription.

Conscription in Turkey is obligatory for men over 20, and the country
does not recognise the right to conscientious objection. Objectors
have also been prosecuted on charges of turning people against the
military. Magden faced up to three years in prison had she been
convicted.

Despite pressure from the EU – which Turkey hopes to join – to improve
freedoms, the Turkish government has no plans to change such laws,
saying where appropriate the charges are eventually dropped and
defendants are acquitted. EU officials argue that even if charges are
dropped, the threat of prosecution remains as a deterrent, and stress
that freedom of speech is a “key principle” in determining a state’s
eligibility to join the EU.

Magden is one of a string of writers and journalists to stand trial
for expressing opinions. Earlier this month the case against the
bestselling author Elif Shafak, charged under Article 301 for
“insulting Turkishness” in her latest novel, was reopened.

The novelist Orhan Pamuk faced similar charges for commenting on the
mass killings of Armenians by Turks around the time of the first world
war. The charges against Pamuk were dropped for technical reasons late
last year amid intense international pressure.