Republic Of Armenia President Appreciates Cooperation Between Armeni

RA PRESIDENT APPRECIATES COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL OFFICES

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.02.2009 16:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met Friday with
visiting Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chayka, the RA leader’s
press office told PanARMENIAN.Net.

Appreciating highly the cooperation between the Armenian and Russian
Prosecutor General Offices, the two stressed the importance of the
memorandum on cooperation in 2009-2011, which will help improve
activities, crime detection and human rights protection.

Cyprus May Block EU Accession Talks

CYPRUS MAY BLOCK EU ACCESSION TALKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.02.2009 12:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said last
week that Turkey will not be accessed to the European Union as long
as it continues keeping its troops in northern Cyprus.

"Turkey can’t become a member of the union unless it stops the
occupation of Cyprus," he told foreign media reporters in Nicosia.

Earlier last month Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou said Cyprus might
block more chapters in Turkey’s accession negotiations with the EU
in light of an oil exploration dispute between the two countries.

"As long as there are threats regarding the exercise of our sovereign
right to exploit the natural resources within our exclusive economic
zone [in the Mediterranean Sea], it is very difficult for us to start
discussions on the relevant chapter of the negotiations," Kyprianou
said, Gibrahayer e-magazine reports.

Group Preparing General Meeting Of Union Of Writers Of Armenia Consi

GROUP PREPARING GENERAL MEETING OF UNION OF WRITERS OF ARMENIA CONSIDERS IT NECESSARY TO CONVENE GENERAL MEETING AND ADOPT REGULATIONS TO SAVE UWA FROM DISSOLUTION

Noyan Tapan

Feb 10, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. "It is necessary to convene
immediately a general meeting of the Union of Writers of Armenia and
adopt draft regulations of the Union in order to save the Union from
dissolution," is said in the February 10 statement of the group
preparing a general meeting of the Union of Writers of Armenia
(UWA). The group has developed draft regulations of UWA.

According to the group, the regulations of UWA lost validity in 2001,
and the authorities of the Union expired in May 2003 as the requirement
of the Law on Nongovernmental Organizations in the Republic of Armenia
to convene a general meeting of the organization every second year was
not fulfilled: the regular meeting of UWA was not held in 2003. The
group says that the deals concluded by the Union’s chairman Levon
Ananian "on conditions beneficial to him" are illegal. It asks the
prosecutor general of Armenia "not to open a criminal case against
L. Ananian and to be content with this statement".

http://www.nt.am?shownews=1012035

BAKU: NATO PA May Discuss Azerbaijan’s Territorial Integrity

NATO PA MAY DISCUSS AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY

Trend News Agency
Feb 10 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 10 /Trend News E.Rustamov/ Azerbaijani
Parliament’s Vice-Speaker Ziyafat Asgarov expressed hope that country’s
territorial integrity would be discussed at the spring session of
the Nato Parliamentary Assembly.

"Everything is up on agenda. I hope Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity
will be discussed at the spring session of the Nato Parliamentary
Assembly," Asgarov told journalists on Feb. 10.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7
districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed
a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia,
France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.

NKR President Meets Representative Of The Armenian Missionary Associ

NKR PRESIDENT MEETS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ARMENIAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

armradio.am
06.02.2009 16:32

On 6 February NKR President Bako Sahakyan met representative of the
Armenian Missionary Association of America in Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh Rene Levonyan and coordinator of the organization in NKR
Arsen Manasyan, Central Information Department of the Office of the
NKR President reported.

Issues related to the participation of the association in some projects
to be carried out in Artsakh, especially in the town of Shoushi were
discussed at the meeting.

Matthew Bryza: CSTO Has No Impact On Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Settl

MATTHEW BRYZA: CSTO HAS NO IMPACT ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

ArmInfo
2009-02-06 13:36:00

ArmInfo. The Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) joint
military forces will have no impact on Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations,
which occur under the auspices of the OSCE’s Minsk Group, OSCE Minsk
Group’s U.S. Co-chairman Matthew Bryza said in his interview with
Trend News on Feb. 6.

"We do not know any details beyond initial reports of the possible
plan to create a rapid reaction force under the CSTO," Bryza said.

The CSTO countries agreed to create joint forces to combat terrorism
and other threats on Feb. 4. The member-countries noted that NATO
has not responded to the call to cooperate.

The CSTO comprises Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Armenia, Belarus and Uzbekistan which decided to join the regional
military police bloc only in special cases. Bryza said that the U.S.,
Russian, and French Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group are working well with
each other and with the parties to the conflict. "It was reflected in
the positive momentum generated by Presidents Aliyev and Sarkisyan,
most recently, on Jan. 28 in Zurich," Bryza added.

Today The Cabinet Continued Discussing The 2008 Performance Reports

TODAY THE CABINET CONTINUED DISCUSSING THE 2008 PERFORMANCE REPORTS OF THE RA MINISTRIES AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Wed nesday, 4 February 2009

In the first half of the day, reports were submitted by the Ministry
of Territorial Administration, the Ministry of Economy and the State
Revenue Committee by the Government.

In connection with the report of the RA Ministry of Territorial
Administration, not only did the Prime Minister touch upon territorial
development-related problems, but he also spoke about such actions
as will have to be carried out over the next 3-4 years under the
medium-term expenditure program. "We are going to commence the
drafting of the 2010 State budget law, therefore today there is a
need of discussing such redistribution proportions as are necessary
to ensure that the pace of regional development is higher than that
of the capital city," the Prime Minister stressed and underscored
the need for increased allocations to marzes.

Concerning the problems raised in the report of the Minister of
Economy, the Prime Minister noted that a possibly efficient use of time
should be made in order to address the multitude of problems faced:
"Developing individual branches of economy should be central in the
anti-crisis action plan," the head of government said. He stressed the
need for making a more realistic evaluation of Ministry’s resources,
i nitiating serious study work and using the results of intellectual
activities to build up capacity in close cooperation with the Civil
Service Council.

With reference to the report of the head of the State Revenue Committee
and speaking about the tasks set for FY 2009, the Prime Minister said
in particular: "2009 is expected to be the most difficult period for us
because the global crisis is generating numerous problems in the area
of revenue collection which can slow down the reforms. Nevertheless,
we must meet the planned targets and, in this respect, I think that
all ministries and government agencies should back the State Revenue
Committee with this important task." Tigran Sargsyan appreciated that
the leadership of the Committee are well aware of those challenges
facing the agency. According to the head of government, all agency
heads must realize that the State Revenue Committee cannot address
the problems on its own. The Prime Minister indicated that a special
focus should be placed on social dialog and public awareness raising
measures, because the lack of information accounts for most of
popular complaints. "We get support each time we meet with small
and medium-size business representatives, market administrators,
individuals and explain the objectives and the tools behind the
reforms. This means that in 2009 we should allocate more resources to
information and public relation services for reform-oriented awa reness
raising programs. Any amendment or reform should be anticipated by
sufficient notice given to those concerned. If we see that the public
is not yet prepared to accept a measure, we ought to postpone it for
some time," the Prime Minister said. In the second half of the day,
reports were submitted by the National Security Service and the Police.

In connection with the report of the RA Police, the head of government
mentioned that there is still much to in terms of bringing in
skilled professionals, raising wages and augmenting the level of
budget allocations.

He stressed that due to the global crisis criminality is growing
worldwide.

Increased funding is supposed to enhance preventive enforcement
capacity in 2009.

On behalf of the Government and on his own behalf, Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan expressed deep condolences to the family and close
relatives of late Deputy Head of Police Gevorg Mheryan who was killed
yesterday at the entrance of his home. After hearing the performance
report submitted by the Police, the meeting was provided information
on the operative-intelligence actions carried out so far which was
later on made public by the Police.

http://www.gov.am/en/news/item/4443/

New Appointment To The Diocese of Australia

PRESS RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia & New Zealand
10 Macquarie Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
AUSTRALIA
Contact: Laura Artinian
Tel: (02) 9419-8056
Fax: (02) 9904-8446
Email: [email protected]

6 February 2009

NEW APPOINTMENT TO THE DIOCESE OF AUSTRALIA

Sydney, Australia – With the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Aghan
Baliozian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia and
New Zealand and the endorsement of the Diocesan Council, Mrs Ida Soghomonian
has been appointed to the position of Diocesan Communication Liaison
Executive.

Mrs Soghomonian’s role is to engage as liaison between the parish councils
and Diocesan Council to enhance overall communication, to facilitate
capacity building and opportunities for collective professional development.

"We are very fortunate to have someone of Ida’s calibre and qualifications
to fill this executive position" said Archbishop Aghan Baliozian. "Ida not
only holds a Master of Psychology from the University of Sydney with more
than 17 years of counselling and psychotherapy experience but has recently
undertaken MBA courses at Macquarie Graduate School of Management and
currently runs her own organisational development practice."

Mrs Soghomonian has been involved with the Diocese’s Armenian Community
Welfare Centre since 2005 having been commissioned to undertake a
comprehensive youth research project and has subsequently made her
professional skills available to counsel youth.

$5 Million Pledged For Hay Dat Activities

$5 MILLION PLEDGED FOR HAY DAT ACTIVITIES

Yerkir
03.02.2009 13:08

Yerevan (Yerkir) – A fundraising dinner held in Dubai has received
pledges for $5 million to support the activites of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation’s Hay Dat office in Europe (including Russia
and CIS), and Middle East. This is twice the total amount raised in
two previous events in Geneva in 2001 and in Paris in 2005.

The dinner, presided over by Cilicia Catholicos Aram I, was held at
Dubai’s International Hotel-Festival City on January 31. Many ARF
members as well as businessmen and supporters from Armenia, Middle
East, Europe, Russia and other places joined the event. The total
number of the donors was 250.

>From the Republic of Armenia, ARF member ministers Arsen Hambardzumian,
Aramayis Grigorian and Spartak Seyranyan were present. They were
joined by ARF lawmakers from Armenia and other countries as well as
ranking ARF members from around the globe.

The opening remarks were made by Shahe Parsumian, one of the keynote
speakers, who thanked all those present for their great support. He
was followed by Hrayr Soghomoian, who read out the list of the donors.

Armenian Minister of Science and Education Spartak Seyranian read
Armenian President Serzh Sargsian’s address. He then was followed by
ARF bureau member and the leader of the ARF parliamentary faction,
Vahan Hovhannisian, and ARF Bureau representative Hrant Margarian.

Catholicos Aram I delivered his speech at the end of the event,
praised the Armenian authorities’ efforts in pursuing the Hay Dat.

BAKU: Azerbaijan To Report To International Organizations Arms Suppl

AZERBAIJAN TO REPORT TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ARMS SUPPLIES TO ARMENIA

Azerbaijani TV channel Lider
Feb 3 2009

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has sent a report to the Organization
of the Islamic Conference member countries about the [alleged]
Russian arms delivery to Armenia.

The report will be circulated to all Islamic countries through Saudi
Arabia. The head of the ministry press service, Xazar Ibrahim, said
that this was a normal procedure.

Through its embassies abroad, Azerbaijan will in the near future
inform all international organizations in which it is a member that
Armenia is being armed.

[1news.az website, Baku, in Russian 0555 gmt 3 Feb 09 reported that
"in its statement, the Foreign Ministry expresses its categorical
protest against the fact that one of the parties to the Karabakh
conflict is being armed by an OSCE Minsk Group co-chair country."]