Author: Chakrian Hovsep

2.8% GROWTH OF GROSS AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT REGISTERED IN ARMENIA IN
FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF 2005 ON SAME PERIOD OF LAST YEAR
YEREVAN, JULY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA gross agricultural output in
January-May, 2005, made 76.7 bln drams (about 170 mln USD), which
exceeded by 2.8% the index of the same period of 2004. According to
the RA National Statistical Service, during the same period, the
plant-growing production made 15 bln 969.3 mln drams (greater by 5.7%
than the index of the first 5 months of 2004), the livestock farming
production – 60 bln 761.3 mln drams (more by 2.1%). 29.8 thousand tons
of meat and poultry was produced in the country (more by 1% than the
index of the first 5 months of 2004), 211.5 thousand tons of milk
(more by 9.5%) and 313.5 mln eggs (less by 8.8%).

ic Coventry, UK
July 5 2005
City welcomes Children’s Games team

Coventry’s first citizen will be on hand today to welcome the first
team to arrive in the city for the International Children’s Games.
The Lord Mayor of Coventry, Ram Lakha, will greet a 12-strong
delegation from Artashat in Armenia at the city’s railway station.
Also on hand to meet them will be the Chairman of the ICG organising
committee, John Mutton.
Cllr Mutton said: “When the first team arrives, it definitely means
that all those months of planning to bring the games to Coventry have
been worthwhile.
“The games are nearly ready to begin and we want to give a special
welcome to our first visitors.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #119, 29/06/2005
Society
LESSON FOR CHILDREN
Power of Kindness
The fairy tales telling of the struggle between the Good and the
Evil accompanied us during our childhood. Hasmik, who is only 10,
is sure that the bread blessed by mother will always help the son,
to find a way out and to take victory over the evil. She saw “The
Blessed Bread” performance for children at Orran NGO.
Tekeyan Theatre at the Tekeyan Culture Association is going to give
performances for children at the orphanages of Armenia during the
summer. The first performance of that cultural initiative was held
yesterday. Artashes Hovhanissian, art director of the theatre, is
glad that thanks to such arrangements the children will stop watching
vulgar musical clips, cartoons and films. The theatre was founded 17
years ago. It was called Norq before. Today, Artashes Hovhanissian
hopes that soon Tekeyan will become a real theatre and they will
stage plays not only for children but also for adults.
Heriqnaz Harutyunian, head of Orran NGO, was very glad that such
arrangements are held at their center. “These fairy tales give good
lessons of living good lives to these young children. Not a single
pedagogic manual can teach them these lessons,” she said. “Nothing
can change in one day. These children are still too young, they
see many things in their lives. Most of these children live in the
streets trying to beg for their living. It really a great lesson
for them to learn how to remain kind in the world of hardship,”
Mrs. Harutyunian said.
By Tamar Minasian

ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN DEPUTY FMs DISCUSSED PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT OF COOPERATION
Pan Armenian News
28.06.2005 07:26
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Gegham
Gharibjanyan met with his Syrian counterpart Ahmad Arnous, reported the
Press Service of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The
joint delegation of the MFA and the Ministry of Finance of Syria
is in Armenia for recurrent political consultations June 28-30, as
well as to sign an agreement between the Governments on avoiding
double taxation. In the course of the meeting in interlocutors
discussed positions of the two countries over matters of mutual
interest, as well as prospects of development of cooperation within
international organizations and problems of the Near East and the South
Caucasus. Special attention was paid to prospects of expansion of the
legal framework and development of commercial and economic cooperation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RA FOREIGN MINISTER ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO MEMBERSHIP OF ARMENIA IN
INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION
ARKA News Agency
June 28 2005
YEREVAN, June 28. /ARKA/. RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian attaches
importance to membership of Armenia in International Labor Organization
(ILO). As the Information and Press Department of RA Foreign Ministry
told ARKA News Agency, Oskanian stated that during his meeting with
Friedrich Buttler, Director of the ILO Regional Office for Europe and
Central Asia. Oskanian noted that the integration into ILO would help
not only to solve the social issues in the country, but would have a
considerable impact on the economic development and increase of the
international rating of the country.
The Minister also welcomed the decision of the organization to create
the post of “national correspondent” in Armenia in order to regulate
the relations with ILO more efficiently.
At the same time, Buttler presented the activities of ILO in Armenia
and mentioned the directions of activities – investments in poverty
reduction program, assistance for creation of new job vacancies,
improvements in legislation of the sphere, assistance for integration
of Armenia in global processes. L.V.–0–

UN Discussions on Karabakh
Baku Today, Azerbaijan
June 28 2005
Azerbaijan is still to ascertain whether or not the a draft resolution
on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh will be put
on discussion at the UN General Assembly in August, Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov has said.
Mammadyarov said the discussions will depend on the process of
peace talks.
“If we achieve progress in talks, the situation will certainly
change. In this case, we will re-work the document,” he said.
Azerbaijan achieved putting the issue of illegal settlement of
Armenians in the occupied regions of Azerbaijan on the UN General
Assembly agenda in 2004. The discussions were followed by a visit of
the OSCE fact-finding mission to Nagorno Karabakh.

OSKANIAN MAMEDYAROV MEETING
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
28 June  05
The meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan V.
Oskanian and E. Mamedyarov took place; however, according to the
representative of the Armenian party, they did not come to a conclusion
over the issue under consideration. Nevertheless, they found a common
approach to certain issues. The minister of foreign affairs of Armenia
Vardan Oskanian summed up the results of his official visits lasting
from June 8 to 17. The meetings related to the Nagorno Karabakh
issue in the framework of the official visits of the minister were
in the centre of attention. According to the minister, two important
meetings on this issue took place. On June 8 Minister Vardan Oskanian
met with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in Vienna. They discussed a
series of issues related to the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, which emanate from the approaches of the Warsaw meeting
of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as certain
details on the upcoming meeting in Paris were clarified. However,
the second meeting of Oskanian and Mamedyarov in Paris was of more
public importance. In this reference V. Oskanian only said that during
the talks they dwelled upon the findings of the Warsaw meeting of the
presidents. Evaluating the talks as effective, the minister mentioned
that this time no definite arrangements were achieved either, but
they agreed to continue the negotiations. .There are the directives
of the presidents, the principles are clear-cut, but when one goes
into details, each wants to make these more acceptable and favourable
for themselves. Therefore we continue to argue; we did not come to a
final conclusion in Paris but we were able to find a common approach
to certain issues. If they make a small concession and we make a small
concession, it will be possible to come to a conclusion,. said the
minister. However, according to the diplomats, this will happen only
in the future negotiations. Avoiding comments on the details of the
meeting, the minister mentioned once again that they had managed to
come to a common approach to if not all at least some issues but he
did not want to say which issues exactly. He only said that all the
elements of the portfolio, such as the status of NK and the refugees,
security issues, are discussed in the talks. However, for Armenia
the priority is the political status of Nagorno Karabakh. .Unless
we get a clear answer to this question, I consider it pointless to
speak about or discuss any other issue,. said the minister of foreign
affairs of Armenia.
AA.
28-06-2005
–Boundary_(ID_77ojsuMsPbL1CbV9uLd81w)–

ENVIRONMENTAL ADMINISTRATION UNAWARE
A1plus
| 13:38:30 | 27-06-2005 | Social |
The Yerevan municipality Environmental administration and the RA
Ministry of Environment processed the new penalties for illegal
tree-cutting. “For cutting a tree 30 sm in diameter a fine of 22
500 drams is envisaged; and in Yerevan – ten times more”, informed
Environmental administration head Romik Kosemyan during the press
conference in the municipality.
We tried to make inquiries if we could cut half the trees in Yerevan,
pay the fines and sleep in peace. “There is a limit after which a
criminal case is aroused”, said Mr. Kosemyan. He could not recall a
criminal case aroused till today. “It is not my business”, he added.
We also asked how many trees have been cut illegally for the last
5 years. “The calculation is not our business”, informed the
Environmental administration head. Mr. Kosemyan also said that this
year there have been 10 alarms of illegal tree-cutting. Then he
consoled us, “There are law violations, but they have reduced”.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
June 25 2005
EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY DISCUSSED IN BAKU
[June 25, 2005, 12:43:24]
Conference on a theme `European Neighborhood Policy’ was held on June
24 at the Hyatt-Regency-Nakhchivan hotel, reported AzerTAj. The
conference organizers have discussed the New Neighborhood Policy of
the European Union and Azerbaijan’s participation in the policy.
The purposes of the event are to raise public awareness of the ENP
challenges and opportunities. The Azerbaijani society should be fully
informed on the European neighborhood policy within the prepared
Action Plan, told speakers at the event. Deputy economic development
minister Mikail Jabbarov and British Ambassador to Azerbaijan Laurie
Bristow have emphasized the necessity of the Action Plan on the
EU-Azerbaijan relationship enhance. It is expected that EU-Azerbaijan
rapprochement will have a positive influence on settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, strengthening of
economic development and democratic institutions, as well as
successful implementation of the poverty reduction problem. Alongside
with these strengthening of relations with EU allows to restore a
stabile situation in the region.
It is noted particularly that Azerbaijan’s government is interested
in development of relationship with the European Union. Therefore, on
June 1 President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has issued Decree on the
State Commission for integration with the European Union. Moreover,
on April 25 on the European Union recommendation March 2,2005 was
decided to formulate an action plan, preparation of that is underway.

Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR] issues final results of parliamentary
elections
Arminfo, Yerevan
24 Jun 05
STEPANAKERT
The Central Electoral Commission of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic
[NKR] issued the final results of the parliamentary elections and
handed mandates to deputies of the fourth parliament of the NKR on 24
June.
Thirty-three deputies – 11 under the proportional system and 22 under
the first-past-the-post system – have been elected to the NKR
parliament, our Arminfo correspondent reports from Stepanakert.
Five candidates have been elected from the Democratic Party of
Artsakh, three from the Free Motherland Party and three from the bloc
of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun [ARFD] and
Movement-88.
Under the first-past-the-post system, the following candidates have
been elected to the NKR parliament:
Constituency No 1 – Armen Abgaryan,
No 2 – Zhanna Galstyan,
No 3 – Valeriy Arutyunyan,
No 4 – Araik Arutyunyan,
No 5 – Maksim Mirzoyan,
No 6 – Ararat Danielyan,
No 7 – Sergey Seyranyan,
No 8 – Gagik Petrosyan,
No 9 – Samvel Akopyan,
No 10 – Benik Bakhshiyan,
No 11 – Ivan Avanesyan,
No 12 – Armen Oganyan,
No 13 – Rudik Yusunts,
No 14 – Rudik Martirosyan,
No 15 – Sergey Oganyan,
No 16 – Grigoriy Gasparyan,
No 17 – Garnik Mirzabekyan,
No 18 – Artur Tovmasyan,
No 19 – Oleg Grigoryan,
No 20 – Vagram Atanesyan,
No 21 – Artsvik Sarkisyan,
No 22 – Karen Grigoryan.
[Passage omitted: other details]