Author: Chakrian Hovsep

YEREVAN MAYOR’S OFFICE GIVES 500 USD TO EACH FAMILY OF VICTIMS OF A-320 CRASHED PLANE
Noyan Tapan
May 22 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. Yerevan Mayor’s Office gave 500
USD to each family of the passengers who died in the accident of
Yerevan-Sochi plane. As Armen Soghoyan, Head of Healthcare and Social
Security Department of Yerevan Mayor’s Office, informed at the May 22
press conference, the Mayor’s Office also gave financial assistance
to the Association of Psychologists and Psychiatrists for their
specialists to visit these families for several months and provide
them psychological assistance.

ARMRUSGAZPROM EXPORTS ELECTRICITY OF 4.66 MLN USD TO GEORGIA IN 2005
Noyan Tapan
May 22 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. Last year, the ArmRusagazprom company
exported electricity of 172 mln kwh worth a total of 4 mln 660 thousand
USD to Georgia. The company’s director general Karen Karapetian said
at a round table on May 22 that in 2002-2004, the company’s exports
to Georgia amounted to 410.7 mln kwh (10.27 mln USD). According
to K. Karapetian, ArmRusgazprom will complete the ground work of a
22.5-km section of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline by August.

TURKEY EXPECTS BILL NOT TO BE BROUGHT TO FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY NEXT LEGISLATION TERM
Anatolian Times, Turkey
May 22 2006
ANKARA – Turkey expects that French draft law which proposes that “any
denial of Armenian genocide shall be considered a crime” will not be
brought again to French National Assembly during next legislation term
and hopes that its proposal on establishment of a joint commission
to investigate the incidents in 1915 will be supported.
Turkish Foreign Ministry released on Thursday a statement after French
National Assembly ended its session on the mentioned draft law without
bringing it to voting today.
The statement recalled that draft law caused several discussions
in France, noting that prominent French historians reacted to the
draft law in principle, so did French Foreign Minister (Philippe
Douste-Blazy) during discussions over the bill at French National
Assembly.
“Turkey expects that the international community including France will
support the proposal it made to Armenia last year regarding creation
of a joint commission comprised of Turkish and Armenian historians
to investigate historical facts regarding 1915 incidents in detail
and disclosure of the results of this research to the world public
opinion,” it added.

PanARMENIAN.Net
Armenia Signed Protocol on Liquidation of Death Penalty under Any
Circumstances
20.05.2006 14:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During his stay in Strasbourg Armenian FM Vartan
Oskanian yesterday signed the 13th Protocol of the Human Rights
Convention on liquidation of death penalty under any circumstances,
the Press Service of the Armenian MFA told PanARMENIAN.Net. Within
the framework of his visit to Strasbourg the Armenian FM met with EU
Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg.

ARDARUTIUN AND NATIONAL UNITY FACTIONS NOT TO TAKE PART IN ELECTION OF NEW NA SPEAKER
Noyan Tapan
May 18 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 18, NOYAN TAPAN. After Artur Baghdasarian’s resignation
from the post of RA NA Speaker is accepted the Ardarutiun faction will
not take part in nomination of candidatures and voting for the vacant
post. The faction made this decision at the May 18 sitting. According
to Ruzan Khachatrian, Ardarutiun (Justice) bloc’s Spokesperson,
like in the first sitting of NA of current convocation in 2003
that was dedicated to the election to NA ruling posts, the reason
of non-participation is the same: the faction considers that the
parliamentary elections of 2003 were held with violations and the
official results do not correspond to the real picture of people’s
election, so Ardarutiun is not going to take part in “intra-power
games”. Nevertheless, it is not excluded that unlike 2003 when the
faction did not take part in the sitting at all this time the faction
will take part in the discussion of the issue and will express its
point of view. The only MP among faction members taking part in the
sitting who was against the above-mentioned decision was Arshak
Sadoyan, Chairman of the Union of National Democrats. As the MP
explained, nomination of an alternative candidate by the opposition is
too important as “the National Assembly is not a punching machine for
them to decide in the presidential residence who should be NA Speaker
and to go to this process with one candidate”. In response to Noyan
Tapan correspondent’s question, the MP said that he has never spoken
about nominating his own candidature: “I have said that candidatures
should ne nominated and if there is such a question, I am ready to
nominate my own candidature”. In this connection Ruzan Khachatrian once
more confirmed that the faction’s non-participation in the nomination
of candidatures and in voting is “a question of principle and is
not connected with any person”. Faction Secretary Viktor Dallakian
in his turn did not exclude that there can be unexpected things
during the election of the new NA Speaker but “not on the part of the
faction”. Another opposition party, the National Unity, is not going
to take part in the nomination of candidatures and in voting, either,
but it considers impossible its participation in the discussions.
This faction did not take part in the first NA sitting of 2003 and
considers that the forthcoming elections are, in fact, the continuation
of the first sitting. “We have neither willingness nor goal to take
part in the games and intrigues of the coalition,” faction member
Aghasi Arshakian declared.

VEDANTA SIGHTS GOLD, OPENS PURSE STRINGS
Suresh Nair
Economic Times, India
May 18 2006
Times News Network[ Thursday, May 18, 2006 02:00:58 Am]
MUMBAI: Vedanta Resources plans to enter the precious metals business
by investing in gold as the sky-rocketing prices of the commodity
tempt India’s leading non-ferrous metal producer.
The London-listed Vedanta may invest in Sterlite Gold, which is
now controlled by the Anil Agarwal family holding company – Volcan
Investments – and is out of the Vedanta fold. Sterlite Gold’s
Armenian operation currently require $70-80 m for expanding its
operation. Vedanta is likely to step in by investing the money and
thereby picking up a stake in the company.
The Armenian operations are controlled through Ararat Gold Recovery
Company (AGRC), a gold mining and processing company in Armenia,
and is fully owned by Sterlite Gold. Sources said the group is yet
to decide on the move and the route to be followed. “A decision on
whether to bring in funds through Vedanta or through the holding
company is being debated,” the source said.
Vedanta currently has a negligible presence in gold but is a major
player in copper, zinc and aluminium. The only downside of investing
in the gold , is that current prices of the metal are at an all-time
high. Entry into gold production will, however give it better
valuations as the future outlook for gold is very positive.
AGRC has two gold mines at Meghradzor and Zod and a processing plant
at Ararat in Armenia. It has plans of shifting and upgradation of
some facilities of t h e Ararat plant and to build a brand new plant
at Zod, which can treat gold ore.
The mine life, based upon proven reserves and proposed capacity
expansion, will be more than 10 years.The plans envisage shifting and
upgradation of some facilities of t h e Ararat plant and to build a
brand new plant at Zod, which can treat gold ores.AGRC is also trying
its luck with possible diamond deposits at Zod.

DILIJAN TO BECOME TOURISM CENTER
Noyan Tapan
May 17 2006
DILIJAN, MAY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. A tourism association was founded with
the aim of developing tourism in Dilijan. The association is headed
by the city mayor Armen Santrosian. Besides, a tourism department
at the mayor’s office has functioned since early 2006. According to
A. Santrosian, about 20% of Dilijan rest houses and 80% of resort
houses will be available to tourists this summer. The city council of
aldermen has already approved the program on repair and asphalt laying
of Dilijan’s main streets with resources of the community budget. It
is envisaged to implement the program after rains stop. The drinking
water pipes and reservoirs will be repaired as well. $1.16 mln was
allocated from the World Bank credit resources for this purpose. The
program on water pipes repair will start this year and finish in 2008.

HAGVERDIYEV: “EVERY FOREIGN COMPANY NOT FULFILLING ITS INVESTMENT DUTIES WILL BE ELIMINATED CONTRACTS WITH GOVERNMENT”
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 17 2006
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is in negotiations
with Open Joint Stock Company (OJSC) Azerbaijan Investment Company
to take part in its projects.
Ogtay Hagverdiyev, Chief of Financial Credit Policy Department in
The Cabinet of Ministers, told APA that the government is willing
to cooperate with every financial institute who want to take part in
Investment Company projects.
The Department Chief has also stated that foreign financial
institutions’ means share 11% in GDP now.
“Azerbaijan ranks at high places in CIS for little foreign debts.
Foreign debts get threatening when they approximate to 40% in GDP.
Our enemy Armenia has about 52% foreign debts in GDP,” he said.
Mr. Hagverdiyev has also told that the government currently considers
problem with companies not fulfilling their investment duties.
“Some companies do not follow their contract duties. For instance,
Fondel Metal Company went against the obligation to invest $1 billion
in Azeraluminum. There is the same situation with Barmek too,”
Hagverdiyev added.
On his words, investigation over Barmek’s activity show that Barmek
has not only followed its investment duties, but has also failed in
accumulation and there are some unsolved problems such as technical
losses. The chief warned foreign companies in Azerbaijan on this case.
“Every foreign company not fulfilling its investment duties will be
eliminated contracts with government”.

SCUFFLES MAR TRIAL OF TURKISH-ARMENIAN JOURNALIST
Agence France Presse — English
May 16, 2006 Tuesday 2:12 PM GMT
Scuffles and protests by nationalist extremists forced the immediate
adjournment of the trial that began here Tuesday of a prominent
Turkish-Armenian journalist.
Lawyers for Hrant Dink, editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian
weekly Agos, accused a group of far-right lawyers called the Jurists’
Union of disrupting the proceedings.
The organization, led by attorney Kemal Kerincsiz, filed the criminal
complaint that led to the trial of Dink and three colleagues on charges
of attempting to influence the judiciary in columns that appeared in
Agos in October.
Dink, his son and assistant Arat Dink, publisher Serkis Seropyan and
columnist Aydin Engin risk up to four and a half years in jail if
found guilty.
A group led by Kerincsiz demanded to participate in the trial as the
intervening party for having filed the original criminal complaint.
“Kerincsiz came with a crowded team and they harassed us physically
and verbally,” Dink’s attorney Fethiye Cetin told AFP, adding that
she, the defendants and other defense lawyers left the courthouse
under police protection.
Dink said: “When I entered the court room, they came at me shouting,
‘Get out of this country’, and spat at me.”
He said he left the building from a back door under police escort.
The judge adjourned the trial to July 4.
Outside the courthouse, several dozen far-right protestors shouted
“traitors” as the defendants arrived and argued with police for not
being allowed in.
They exchanged punches with a group demonstrating in favor of Dink
with the chant, “They are our intellectuals, our brothers,” an AFP
photographer said.
The incriminated Agos articles criticized Dink’s conviction in
another freedom-of-speech case, in which he received a six-month
suspended sentence for “denigrating the Turkish national identity”
in an article on the Armenian massacres of World War I.
The Jurists’ Union has been behind a series of criminal complaints
against Turkish intellectuals who contest the official version of the
killings, the resulting lawsuits casting a pall on Turkey’s democracy
record at a time when it is seeking to join the European Union.
A public debate on the World War I killings, one of the most
controversial episodes in Turkish history, has only recently begun
in Turkey, often sending nationalist sentiment into a frenzy.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered between
1915 and 1917 in what they, and many Western countries, consider
a genocide.
Turkey categorically rejects the claim and the label, saying 300,000
Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when the
Armenians sided with Russian troops invading Ottoman soil.

MPs TRANSFER SUMS TO ACCOUNT OPENED FOR PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO RELATIVES OF ACCIDENT VICTIMS
Noyan Tapan
May 17 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. A consultation of the working group
created for the purpose of providing assistance to the relatives of
the May 3 plane accident victims took place on May 17 at RA NA Speaker
Artur Baghdasarian’s office. During the consultation representatives
of NA factions and groups informed that a fund-raising was held and
sums were transferred to accounts opened for this purpose. Noyan
Tapan was informed about it from NA Public Relations Department.