Author: Chavushian

ARF CANDIDATE COMMUNICATES WITH CITIZENS BY AGREEMENT

Panorama.am
20:03 24/12/2007

Armenian Revolutionary Federation presents innovation.

According to it, Vahan Hovhannisyan offered the citizens to sign an
agreement with him, and he promises to secure fair elections, social
justice, peace, and fair system of free citizens.

Signing the agreement every citizen becomes one part of
ARF. V. Hovhannisyan said that this is a pilot program, and they
should test it.

"We’ve prepared 400 thousands agreement tests to communicate with
our followers. This is an individual task, this is not a collective
program," he said.

Vahan Hovhannisyan said that they prefer civil election campaign,
but if somebody slanders them, then they will act the same way,
as they will just protect themselves.

As for the announcement of Levon Ter-Petrosyan about not being
placeman, Hovhannisyan said that those are not just kind words,
if the former president said that then he should have reason to say so.

ICG: AZERI LEADERSHIP SHOULD STOP CONVINCING PUBLICS IN POSSIBILITY TO WIN THE WAR

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.12.2007 15:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There is a possibility of resumption of hostilities
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, said Sabine Freizer, the International
Crisis Group Director of the Europe Program.

The oil incomes inspired confidence in Azerbaijan and offered a chance
to modernize the army, according to her.

"Azerbaijan seems to drag out a peaceful resolution unless the military
balance is in its favor. Official Yerevan, which has achieved real
economic progress, is also inflexible and keeps on building up defense
expenses," she said.

"Armenian leaders also think that time works for them and de facto
independence of Nagorno Karabakh will become a reality that can’t be
neglected. However, the wait-and-see policy represents a menace. The
year of 2012, when Azerbaijan’s oil income can reduce and the military
adventure can seem a tempting way to distract popular attention from
the economic crisis, promises to become the most dangerous year. Vital
oil and gas pipeline stretching nearby Karabakh will be the first
victims of the new war. This is a scenario Europe and the United
States want to prevent," Ms. Freizer underscored.

"The Azeri leadership should stop convincing the public in the
possibility to win the war with a Blitzkrieg," she said, Day.az
reports.

FINANCIAL TIMES LISTS ITS TOP TEN WEB SITE STORIES FOR 2007
by Peter Olszewski

Media Blab News Bites
December 21, 2007 Friday

The most-read Financial Times story of the year on its web site,
FT.com, was headlined, ‘Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned.’

The Top Ten FT.com stories for 2007 were:

1. Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned

2. Chinese military hacked into Pentagon

3. Iran on course for nuclear bomb, EU told

4. Google’s goal: to organise your daily life

5. Pelosi backtracks on Armenia ‘genocide’ bill

6. Industry caught in carbon ‘smokescreen’

7. Vista marks end of an era for Microsoft

8. Memo to Obama: win Iowa or lose the race

9. Gates warns on US immigration curbs

10. Globalisation backlash in rich nations

PACE CALLS ON PUBLICS TO RESOLVE ‘FROZEN CONFLICTS’

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.12.2007 12:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ December 18, the PACE Monitoring Committee
recommended the states involved in frozen conflicts (Nagorno Karabakh,
Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria) to draw the publics in
discussion of the problem.

The Monitoring Committee also discussed formation of a standing
subcommittee on ‘frozen conflicts’, Trend reports.

AZERI FM URGES REPRESENTATIVES OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO VISIT KARABAKH ONLY VIA AZERBAIJAN

armradio.am
19.12.2007 14:07

The representatives of international organizations should visit
Nagorno-Karabakh exclusively via the Azerbaijani territory,
Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on 18 December,
when commenting on O’Hara’s possible visit to Nagorno-Karabakh via
Armenia, " Trend reports.

All the international organizations recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as
a part of the Azerbaijan, therefore any visit must be paid to the
region only via Azerbaijan," he said.

According to the Minister, Azerbaijan raised the issue to the Co-Chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group. The representatives of any international
organizations should visit Nagorno-Karabakh via Azerbaijan, except
of that of the Co-Chairs.

TER-PETROSIAN AGAIN MEETS HOVANNISIAN
By Emil Danielyan

Radio LIberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 17 2007

Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian met on Sunday with another top
opposition leader, Raffi Hovannisian, in an apparent fresh attempt
to secure the latter’s endorsement of his candidature in Armenia’s
upcoming presidential election.

In a short statement issued on Monday, Ter-Petrosian’s campaign
office said the two men met in Ter-Petrosian’s Yerevan mansion to
discuss the political situation in the country and, in particular,
"issues related to the forthcoming presidential elections." "They
agreed to continue those discussions," the statement said.

Neither Hovannisian, nor his Zharangutyun (Heritage) party issued
any statements on the meeting. Aides to the U.S.-born former foreign
minister said they are unaware of its details.

The two opposition figures already held election-related talks last
month. Hovannisian, who had served as independent Armenia’s first
foreign minister in the Ter-Petrosian administration, is among a dozen
opposition leaders whom the ex-president has publicly urged to back
his presidential bid.

Hovannisian is arguably the most popular of those leaders, making
his endorsement particularly significant for Ter-Petrosian. The
Zharangutyun leader is also being courted by the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, a governing party which will contest the election with
its own candidate.

Hovannisian himself is not eligible to run for president because of not
having been an Armenian citizen for the past ten years. He has so far
declined to throw his weight any of the candidates who will challenge
Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian in the vote scheduled for February
19. Zharangutyun, which is one of two opposition parties represented
in parliament, said earlier this month that its leadership will
decide whom to support after holding negotiations with presidential
candidates and ascertaining their "vision for Armenia."

CHILDREN OF KILLED SOLDIERS WILL STUDY FREE

KarabakhOpen
14-12-2007 12:11:22

>From next year the government will provide financial assistance to
children of killed soldiers, disabled of war and parentless children
who study at state and private universities and special secondary
schools of Artsakh and the state universities of Armenia. So far the
government has financed only the students of state universities.

Karabakh-Open.com learned from the Ministry of Education and Culture
that the financial assistance will be provided from the second term,
which starts January 2008. On the whole, next year 327 students will
get scholarship.

PACHAJYAN DREAMS OF FOREIGN FIELDS
by Khachik Chakhoyan from Yerevan

UEFA
Dec 13 2007
Switzerland

Named Armenia’s Player of the Year for the first time in 2007,
midfielder Levon Pachajyan tells uefa.com he is still dreaming of
making his name abroad.

Pressures of success One of the stars of FC Pyunik’s seventh successive
title triumph in Armenia, Pachajyan has been thrilled to see his
efforts recognised by the leading player award, but he says: "With
this recognition come vast obligations and pressure. People respect me
and I have to do everything to justify their expectations. I have to
do well for my club and doubly well for the national team. Then this
award might open doors for me to other countries and foreign clubs."

Overseas dream Indeed, the 24-year-old, who has now won five Armenian
championships, feels the time may be approaching for him to further
his career abroad. "Every Armenian player dreams of representing one
of the leading European clubs and playing in a major league," said
Pachajyan. "It is exactly the same for me. It is massive honour to
play for a major European club, but it is hard to earn a move to one.

First you have to establish yourself in one of the more modest
leagues."

International experience If domestic football offers Pachajyan a
limited opportunity to impress foreign scouts, his performances
for the national side have given him plenty of chance to get out
and about. With Armenia recording decent results in UEFA EURO 2008~Y
qualifying prior to the death of coach Ian Porterfield, the experience
has doubtless served the player well. However, he still has a way to
go to emulate his hero: Brazilian left-back Roberto Carlos.

Studies resumed Nonetheless, he has time on his side, and with
international team-mate Edgar Manucharyan beginning to make progress
at AFC Ajax, other clubs are sure to be keeping a close watch on
Armenian talent.

Pachajyan, meanwhile, hopes to have qualifications to fall back
on if his footballing dream does not work out. "I quit university
to concentrate on football," he said. "However, I have started a
correspondence course at a university in Moscow to make up for that."

REAL CAMPAIGN TO START AFTER JANUARY HOLIDAYS
Naira Khachatryan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
Dec 11 2007
Armenia

At this pre-election stage according to political scientist Alexadr
Iskandaryan it is too early to make any predictions.

According to the guest of "Tesaket" club, on the eve of the holidays
the internal political life will become quiet and the real pre-election
campaign will start only after the second half of January.

Anyway by separating Serge Sargsyan and Levon Ter-Petrosyan from
the nominated candidates, he called them real candidates campaigning
for the position of the president. "Only these two candidates have
desire to stage a serious campaign for this position. It is another
question that pre-election campaign usually pursues other goals as
well – confirmation of personal position in politics, acquirement
of levers in the future government or a simple Olympic principle –
the most important thing is participation. But those candidates whose
goal is to win the presidential post are two in Armenia. But their
chances to win is a different issue." A. Iskandaryan believes.

The activity of those two candidates, according to the speaker is
on different planes. Ter-Petrosyan is a public figure and has great
experience to work with the crowd. " He can manipulate the crowd,
he can speak, he is well aware of his advantages and uses them. He
usually works in this field.

Serge Sargsyan political figure is striking in terms of his practical
qualities: " He is a governing, organizing personality.

Which means he is a political figure that acts in quite different
domain. Thus, it turns out, in case of these two candidates we deal
with two realities that have noting to do with each other.

The political scientist described Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s return to
politics as a phenomenon that removes the campaign from the domain
being established by the parliamentary elections in May. "Without him
the campaign will take place in one domain, the same that happened
during the parliamentary elections. It is the domain of management
and organization, the sphere of those who have organizing abilities."

According to Iskandaryan it is evident that the pre-election strategy
of the ex-President is based on representing his personality as an
anti-governmental figure by means of contradictions. "That is to say
to come out against the government and to accuse them of whatever
they do. What he says, is that all the achievements the government
has, are either seeming or soon they will vanish. The path of the
countries development is wrong. That we are standing on the edge of the
canyon." This is how the speaker described Ter-Petrosyan’s ideology.

Whereas the ex-President doesn’t propose any ways out. "In essence
the strategy that L.Ter-Petrosyan is trying to realize is the same
he used in 1988, in terms of the form, tools and ideology."

The speaker didn’t; exclude the possibility of foreign influence upon
our internal processes. But they will never make open announcements
about endorsing this or that candidate. "In the level of direct
touches, in my view there will be backing – by the way for all
sides. Serge Sargsyan, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, and Dashnaktsutyun will
definitely have meetings with certain leaders out of Armenia.

They will make personal comments on those meetings. Nothing is
unequivocal."

The other seven candidates of the pre-election campaign, as well
as certain political figures such as Raffi Hovhannisyan will play
essential but "service’ roles. "I don’t see anything bad in it. What
do they struggle for? Some of them struggle for benefiting from the
situation I can’t prove it but in my opinion at the moment some
parties are even discussing the issue of making unions, to back
one of the before mentioned two candidates. Maybe I’m wrong, but as
I noticed there were more people during the second demonstration,
as compared to the first one. But there were less people during the
last demonstration. From the point of view of political dynamics it
is a negative phenomenon.

But on the other hand what happens at the moment is only and only
a preparation. But if they don’t introduce changes in their format
beginning from the New Year, Levon Ter- Petrosyan’s activity will be
considered a false start." A. Iskandaryan believes.

VTB TO FORM LEASING SUBSIDIARY IN ARMENIA

Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
December 10, 2007 Monday 4:02 PM MSK

Russia’s VTB (RTS: VTBR) group will soon create a leasing company in
Armenia, Andrei Kostin, the VTB chairman, told reporters in Yerevan
on Saturday.

The Armenia-based leasing firm will be a 100% subsidiary of VTB
Leasing, which already operates in Russia and Ukraine, said Valery
Ovsyannikov, the director of VTB Armenia.

"We expect [the new leasing] company to start operating at the end
of this year or early next year," Ovsyannikov said.

Ovsyannikov said the new leasing firm’s plans might include acquiring
SSG-100 planes from Sukhoi Civilian Aircraft: VTB is already making
$55 million-$60 million available to supply the Armavia airline with
two SSG-100 on leasing terms in 2008.

The leasing company might also provide equipment for mining and
metallurgical company Armenian Copper Programme (ACP) to build a
$300-million mining and concentrating plant at the Tekhut copper-
molybdenum field.

VTB Leasing’s leasing portfolio had risen to $2.4 billion at the end
of the first half of 2007, from $1.24 billion at the end of 2006.

The company signed a deal to lease rolling stock with Ukraine’s state
railway in 2007.