Author: Chalian Meline

RUSSIA: SMALLER ARMENIAN APRICOT IMPORT

FreshPlaza, Netherlands
June 19 2007

Warsaw – Russia can remain without Armenian apricots due to the bad
harvest there. This year crop in Armenia will be reduced 2-3 times
in comparison with 2006 (harvest of apricots in Armenia in past year
was estimated at about 50 thousand MT.) These days should be the
season when green apricots are abundantly for sale on the streets of
Yerevan. This year it is not so, and a kilo of the fruits – which
usually would cost about 500 drams on the street (about $1.45) –
is selling for 3000 drams ($8.65).

According to the Garnik Petrosyan, head of the department for plant
cultivation and protection at Armenian Ministry of Agriculture the
bad harvest of apricots is caused by pouring rains during the period
of flowering. Garnik Petrosyan noted that the bad harvest of apricots
will naturally affect the prices, but it is difficult to say how much
at the moment – "prices on the internal consumer market are formed
taking into account the index of export, volumes of purchases by the
processing companies, and it is thus far difficult to say, what will
be the price of one kilogram of apricots on the market".

The representative of the Ministry of Agriculture reported also
that the processing companies buy about 5 thousand MT of apricots
yearly and next 9 thousand MT is exported. However, according to him,
the index of export is sufficiently relative, since large amount of
apricots is exported to Russia by the passenger cars or by tourists.

Russia is the basic export destination for Armenian apricots.

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RESOLUTION OF KOSOVO PROBLEM WON’T SET PRECEDENT FOR OTHER CONFLICTS BUT CAN CREATE "WINDOW" FOR THEIR SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.06.2007 15:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Any declaration adopted by the parties interested
in conflict settlement supposes its promotion in international
organizations," RA National Assembly Vice Speaker Vahan Hovhannisian
said when commenting to a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter on the Declaration
adopted yesterday in Tiraspol.

Resolution of the Kosovo problem cannot set a precedent for other
conflicts but it can create a "window" for their settlement. However,
it’s unclear why Kosovo Albanians can secede but Armenians of Nagorno
Karabakh cannot, he said.

Foreign Ministries of four unrecognized republics – Transdnistria,
Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh signed Saturday the
"Declaration on principles of peaceful and fair settlement of conflicts
on the territory of Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan."

UN BEAU CONCERT CONSACRE A L’ARMENIE

Le Telegramme, France
18 juin 2007 lundi

Depuis un recent voyage en Armenie, le Quintette a vents de Bretagne
entend bien defendre la musique et les compositeurs de ce pays.

Samedi soir, a l’auditorium, la formation et bon nombre de professeurs
du Conservatoire jouaient des musiques ramenees de la-bas.

Pour Alain Ehkirch, l’Armenie est devenue une " cause ". Afin de
sensibiliser le public aux evenements passes et presents ayant marque
ce pays, le flûtiste avait place a l’entree de l’auditorium des cartes
geographiques, plusieurs reproductions de peintures et des biographies
de musiciens au programme. " J’espère que ces documents provoqueront
quelques questions auxquelles je repondrais volontiers, confiait le
musicien a la pause ". Le public ne s’etait pas deplace en masse mais
une famille armenienne, etablie a Quimper, avait tenu a etre presente.

Musiques a decouvrir

Jean-Pierre Cuisinier, a la guitare, Alain Ehkirch, a la flûte,
interpretaient pour debuter, le charmant " Amasia " de Boutros.

L’ambiance orientale, le charme de cette musique a la fois dynamique
et reveuse, seduisaient. Helas, Alain Ehkirch, cassait ces jolies
impressions en revelant qu’il s’agissait la d’une musique pleine de
" cliches ". Une valse " rare et unique " d’Aram Khatchatourian,
très joliment interpretee a la guitare par Jean-Pierre Cuisinier,
precedait trois superbes et très classiques preludes pour le piano
de Bagdasarian. Le triptyque de Paloyan, le trio pour clarinette,
violon et piano d’Aram Khatchatourian, avaient des accents plus
audacieux et surtout plus contemporains.

Place au Quintette

Après la pause, le Quintette a vents proposait des ~uvres diverses. "
Les miniatures de Komitas ", aux accents populaires et joyeux, avaient
un charme fou, tout comme le beau et très sensible " Quintette opus 13
", de Djambazian. Un ravissant bis, d’ombre et de lumière clôturait
cette longue soiree aux couleurs orientales.

–Boundary_(ID_L+MnO7SMAZoaUx5+i7oC5w )–

KOTAIK REGIONAL GOVERNOR GETS RELIGIOUS KONDAK

Panorama.am
14:16 16/06/2007

Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin B has received Archbishop Karamian
of Kotaik diocese and Kovalenko Shahgaldian, regional governor of
Kotaik. Holy See St.

Echmiadzin press services say Garegin B granted a kondak (a religious
statement of the Apostolic Church) to Kovalenko Shahgaldian for his
contributions to church. Shahgaldian sponsored a reconstruction of
St. Mary Church of Alapars village.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER INTENDS TO PAY STATE VISIT TO BULGARIA IN AUTUMN

Noyan Tapan
Jun 16 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, NOYAN TAPAN. Issues related to bilateral relations
between Bulgaria and Armenia were discussed at the June 15 meeting
of the Armenian foreign minister Vartan Oskanian and the Bulgarian
ambassador to Armenia Stefen Dimitrov. Particularly, the sides
attached importance to deepening the political dialog, cooperation in
the spheres of culture and science, extension of trade and economic
links and implementation of joint Eurointegration-related programs.

According to the RA MFA Press and Information Department, the Armenian
foreign minister informed the ambassador about his intention to pay
an official visit to Bulgaria in the autumn.

IRAN DOES NOT CONSIDER RUSSIA’S STANCE IN GABALA RADAR STATION AS HOSTILE

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.06.2007 17:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Islamic Republic of Iran does not view Russian
President Vladimir Putin’s proposal on joint Russian-American use of
the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan as "Moscow’s hostile activity
towards Iran," Spokesman of the Iranian Majlis Gholamali Haddad-Adel
stated to journalists. "We consider it doubtful that Putin would invite
Americans to create a missile threat for Iran. Taking into account
the friendly relations between Iran and Russia, it is doubtful. We
do not view Putin’s statements as hostile activity towards Iran,"
Haddad-Adel underlined, Iran.ru reports.

YOUTH FOR GREEN GYUMRI
By Gegham Lazarian

AZG Armenian Daily
14/06/2007

At present, there are many ecological unsolved problems in many
cities of Armenia, in particular, the preservation of green zones
is one of the most important ones" Youth for Peace and Development
" NGO organized a discussion on this very issue at Asparez club. The
organization was aimed to represent it Green Gyumri project.

According to the project, in the course of the recent three years,
after the completion of the house construction program of Lincy
Foundation, a large-scale private construction was unfolded in
Gyumri. The Gyumri City Administration sells lots for construction
almost in all parts of the city. The new owners of the sold lots
often cut the trees growing there and never try to restore the green
zones they ruined after the completion of the construction. This
happens due to the fact that they have no obligations, according
to the agreement signed with the city administration. As a result,
gradually the city loses its green zones. This makes the ecological
situation of the city even worse.

Pointing out some important steps directed tot solution of the issue,
the participants of the discussion emphasized the importance of
large-scale public participation and the role of the youth in the
activities aimed to preserve the green zones of Gyumri.

HERITAGE PARTY PICK UP THEIR PARLIAMENTARY MANDATES
By Ruzanna Khachatrian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
June 12 2007

Members of parliament representing the opposition Heritage party of
ex-foreign minister Raffi Hovannisian received their parliamentary
mandates at the Central Election Commission on Tuesday.

The party’s leader had stated before the first session of Armenia’s
fourth National Assembly last Thursday that Heritage would not get
their mandates as they had not received, in a manner reflective of
the rule of law, due notice of that session or any invitation.

Besides, he said then, Heritage found it impossible to be present at
any parliament session until the Constitutional Court decided on the
validity of the parliamentary elections.

The Constitutional Court on Sunday upheld the legitimacy of the May
12 elections in which Heritage received six percent of the vote and
the right to form a seven-member faction in parliament.

"The faction will be promoting not only democratic, national
and liberal values, but also the respect for the state’s law and
constitution," Hovannisian told RFE/RL.

The faction is expected to elect its leaders and make appointments
of its members to the National Assembly’s standing committees soon.

Hovannisian’s Heritage makes up a small opposition together with
ex-parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian’s Orinats Yerkir. Both
political parties are viewed as pro-western by the public and analysts.

Hovannisian, however, says that Heritage is "a pro-Armenian" force.

"It is incumbent on the new generation of Armenia’s leaders to decide
whether Armenia joins NATO as a member or not," Hovannisian said. "It
may happen that the issue will be on the agenda in the next five or ten
years, but for the time being Armenia must become a sovereign state,
a state that respects itself, and not a banana republic. And this
implies mutual respect with strategic, traditional and new partners."

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
June 9 2007

Who should Armenians vote for?

Turkish Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan told Germany-based Der
Spiegel magazine he would vote for the Justice and Development Party
(AK Party).
His announcement sparked nationwide debate, and some circles and
columnists upset by the announcement argued that Armenians should be
aligned with the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and vote for them.
Although it is unclear whether Mesrob II will really vote for the AK
Party or was simply trying to avoid conflict with the leading party,
it’s certain that his statement conflicted with some of the settled
views in the country. According to these views, a Christian Armenian
should support and vote for the pro-laicist CHP instead of the
pro-religious AK Party. Islam is considered a rival to Christianity.
Hence Christians or any other minority group should naturally be
closer to a laicist party.

But in reality, this view does not hold true in Turkey because
laicism in our country does not allow religious freedom; especially
the CHP’s understanding of laicism, which is identical to positivism.

In Western democracies, people from different religious and ethnic
groups usually support social democrats because these parties are
less conservative and more respectful toward religious freedoms.
Minority rights and freedom of religion is fundamental to them. They
are strong advocates of freedoms, including religious freedom.

In Turkey however, social democrats favor restrictions and
limitations. They favor the republic more than democracy, but they
don’t trust the leader of the republic too much. They believe the
military can resolve all problems and perceive both minorities and
majorities as potential threats to the nation.

The CHP has embraced a Jacobin culture since they day of its
founding. It is a party that imposes and determines. After a
columnist suggested Armenians should vote for the CHP, they said
`Turkey is a laicist state, a religious man should not interfere in
politics,’ and applied to a prosecutor’s office. History has no
records of the CHP’s efforts to expand freedoms, democracy and human
rights. Westernization for the CHP means laicism, which is the only
concern of the CHP, and laicism for CHP means pushing religion out of
social life, instead of incorporating it.

The CHP is an anti-EU, anti-globalization, anti-development,
anti-social values and anti-rights social democrat party. Throughout
history conservative groups have never been disturbed by minority
groups, and as for the attacks against non-Muslims in recent years,
it is certain that the source behind them is different. A Muslim with
a religious education knows they must protect the rights, life and
possessions of different religious members living in their country.

That said, why should any minority group in Turkey vote for the CHP?

IF NECESSARY, THE PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN MAY MEET WITH OPPOSITION LEADERS: NEW AZERBAIJAN PARTY’S OFFICIAL

TREND News Agency, Azerbaijan
June 7 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend I.Alizade / If necessary, the
President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, may meet with the opposition
leaders. However it is not excluded whether such a meeting will take
place to discuss the situations surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, said Deputy Secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party
(NAP), MP Siyavush Novruzov.

He stressed that the Government has always supported a dialogue with
the opposition parties and stands ready for it.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel
Moratinos , met with the opposition leaders in Baku on the 5th of
June. He stressed that the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev,
will meet with the opposition leaders to discuss the situations
surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Touching up on the discussions over the issues in the Parliament
of Azerbaijan, Novruzov said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has
been discussed by the Parliament several times. He stressed that some
parliamentarians raise the question of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
and make speeches on this issue in the international organizations.

The conflict between the two countries of 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. Since 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) hold peaceful negotiations.