Author: Chavushian

ELECTIONS OF RECTOR STARTED AT YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY

ArmRadio.am
15.05.2006 15:25

Elections of Rector started at Yerevan State University. The process
of elections is observed by the Head of the University Council,
Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan.

Candidacies have been suggested by Dean of the Law Department Gagik
Ghazinyan and acting Rector, Pro-Rector Aram Simonyan.

To remind, none of the four candidates received the necessary number
of votes at March 22 elections. During previous elections Ghazinyan
had received 36 votes, 20 ballots were cast for Aram Simonyan.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

THE PARTICIPATION OF THE CATHOLICOSATE OF CILICIA IN THE MEETING OF THE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE “ARMENIA” ALL-ARMENIAN FUND

The 15th session of the “Armenian” All-Armenian Fund’s Board of Trustees was
convened in the government building of the Republic of Armenia in Yerevan on
May 5. The president of the republic, H.E. Robert Kotcharian presided over
the meeting.

Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian, Primate of the Diocese of Tehran, represented
the Catholicosate of Cilicia in the meeting.

President Kotcharian opened the meeting asking the participants to stand up
in a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the Armavia plane crash
in Sochi on May 3. The Catholicos of All Armenians then said prayers for the
souls of the victims. Archbishop Sarkissian expressed the condolences of His
Holiness Aram I to president Kotcharian on this sad event.

The attendants listened to the report of the fund’s executive committee on
the works carried out in 2005 as well as the financial report of the
overseeing committee. They discussed the agenda of the upcoming
Armenian-Diaspora conference in September.

During lunch break, Archbishop Sarkissian conveyed the greetings of His
Holiness Aram I to president Kotcharian and expressed the Pontiff’s support
of the fund’s efforts. He wished the president good luck in his mission.

A requiem service was held for the victims of the plane crash in the St.
Gregory the Illuminator Church in Yerevan on May 6. President Kotcharian,
the speaker of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister and ministers,
foreign diplomats and a large number of people attended the service.
Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II presided over the service. Archbishop
Sarkissian participated in the service along with the Catholicos on behalf
of His Holiness Aram I.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Armenian Parliament Speaker Goes into Opposition

12.05.2006 15:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Chairman of the Armenian National
Assembly, head of Orinats Yerkir party Artur
Baghdassaryan is going into opposition. `We become
opposition but with our own approaches. We have our
own ways of struggle,’ he said at a press conference
May 12 when commenting on the recent developments. To
note, May 11 evening the political council of Orinats
Yerkir party headed by Artur Baghdassaryan came to a
decision to come off the ruling coalition. The
coalition was formed June 11, 2003 soon after the
parliamentary election held on May 25, 2003. An
appropriate memorandum was signed by Armenian
President Robert Kocharian, the Republican Party of
Armenia (headed by Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan),
Orinats Yerkir party and the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation Dashnaktsutyun. Orinats Yerkir party holds
three ministerial portfolios in the Armenian
government, reported IA Regnum.

FORMING A SOCIETY LONGING FOR PARTY FAVORS
Hakob Badalyan

Lragir.am
12 May 06

The accession of members to the Republican Party on May 1 was
considered a rather significant and prospective step in the political
sphere of Armenia. It was a touching scene watch how Andranik Margaryan
and Tigran Torosyan could hardly manage to distribute membership cards
and congratulate 120 school teachers. This event would receive greater
response if there were not for the crash of the Armenian plane. The
crash took all the attention of the society, and on those days it
was not only impertinent but also improper to discuss any other topic.

However, now that the society has partly recovered from the shock of
the plane crash, it would not be impertinent to recall events which
did not get due attention, whereas they may be rather significant in
terms of home political developments, and subsequently the fate of the
country. On May 1 while the Republicans were admitting new members,
a rather important accession was underway at Karen Demirchyan Center
of Sport and Culture. Businessman Hrant Vardanyan, who consistently
and tenaciously explains to public that our production is better
and sweeter, celebrates May Day at Demirchyan Center every year. He
celebrates it with Grand Holding he leads.

However, May Day 2006 was curiously different from previous May
Day celebrations. On that day Hrant Vardanyan had invited President
Robert Kocharyan, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan and Foreign Minister
Vardan Oskanyan. It is difficult to explain why Hrant Vardanyan had
chosen especially Serge Sargsyan and Vardan Oskanyan to accompany
Robert Kocharyan. Robert Kocharyan is Hrant Vardanyan’s friend, as
the businessman likes to announce during meetings in a narrow circle
of his employees, and the invitation can be understood.

But the fact of inviting Serge Sargsyan, for instance, is surprising.

The point is that during the parliamentary campaign in 2003 Hrant
Vardanyan allied with Dashnaktsutiun, and in a rally of Dashnaktsutiun
in the hall of Grand Sun Factory he announced that Serge Sargsyan
is the source of all the troubles of Armenia, and it is impossible
to eradicate corruption in the country unless Serge Sargsyan is in
office. This statement, made in a narrow circle, appeared in press, and
Serge Sargsyan and his aides could have read the newspapers. Naturally,
he disagreed with Hrant Vardanyan, and disagreement between Hrant
Vardanyan and Serge Sargsyan occurred due to contrasting visions of
the role of Serge Sargsyan in the country’s future.

Most probably, Hrant Vardanyan has changed his mind over these years,
and has discovered another cause of corruption, and if on May Day
he invited Serge Sargsyan and Vardan Oskanyan, it means he does not
consider them corrupt. He even had a long interview with the Golos
Armenia several days ahead and criticized the economic policy in the
country. It is interesting to know who Hrant Vardanyan blames for
this policy. After all, the persons he invited have a key role in the
economic policy of Armenia. Robert Kocharyan guarantees environment
for investments, Serge Sargsyan sells off infrastructures and plants
that we do not need any more, and Vardan Oskanyan considers the key
objective of foreign policy to attract investments. Was it accidental
that Hrant Vardanyan did not invite the prime minister? Of course,
it is not worthwhile to ascribe such a key role to Hrant Vardanyan
in home political developments in Armenia. And this is not what I am
trying to do. Simply, it is obvious that a home political episode
involving Hrant Vardanyan took place, which may help to outline
preferences inside the government.

In this sense, it is possible that Hrant Vardanyan did not invited
Serge Sargsyan and Vardan Oskanyan; Robert Kocharyan may have taken
them along. The host would hardly have turned away the guests who had
come with his friend. In this sense it is rather interesting to know
on what principle Robert Kocharyan had chosen his company.

“My house is you house,” showed the Soviet television. Well, if
blood is one, and the house is one, why shouldn’t the holiday be
one? Especially the good and old Soviet holiday which is revived on
a top governmental level. It is also possible that we deal with a
state policy, which is successfully applied in Russia as well. It is
a policy of nourishing people’s nostalgias, sustaining their vague
tie with something which will never be there, for them not to claim
what must be there. They will be happy with party favors on May Day,
moreover, not for all the workers but the best ones whom the owner
will choose. Tractors, cars, home appliances, and other gifts will
be given. And those who will get them will not think what the cost of
these gifts is. They will not realize that it would be better not to
get any gifts at all but receive a normal salary. For the owner not
to give out party favors publicly and with the president watching,
instead of the salaries that they did not get.

The government encourages the formation of a society longing for
party gifts. And this makes them dependent on the giver who may be
a proprietor, a mayor, a minister, or the head of state. After all,
the gift is not perceived as a reward, it is perceived as a favor
that the boss does. And by inviting the head of state on May Day this
phenomenon is, actually, enhanced to the level of a state policy.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO BE PROVIDED TO COMPANIES – MEMBERS OF RA UNION OF BLIND

Noyan Tapan
May 11 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. At the May 11 sitting, the Armenian
government made a decision to provide financial assistance to the
companies – members of the NGO “Union of the Blind of Armenia”. NT
was informed about it from the RA Government Information and PR
Department. The decision envisages compensating the companies –
members of the union (in case at least 50% of their employees are
disabled persons) the payments made or to be made for value added tax
(VAT) and compulsory social insurance that formed as a result of 2005
activities but were not compensated from the state budget or will
form as a result of 2006 activities. For this purpose, no more than
62 mln 772 thousand drams was allocated from the account of the 2006
RA government’s reserve fund to the RA Ministry of Labor and Social
Issues, of which 1 mln 800 thousand drams – for compensation of the
sums paid in 2006 based on the results of 2005 activities for VAT
(without sums separated at the tax accounts of suppliers and/or paid
to tax bodies), and no more than 22 mln 160 thousand drams (about 49
thousand USD) – for compensation of sums to be paid in 2006 based on
the results of 2006 activities. 3 mln 232 thousand drams was allocated
for compensation of the sums paid for compulsory social insurance
in 2006 based on the results of 2005 activities, and no more than
35 mln 580 thousand drams – for compensation of such payments to
be made in 2006 based on the results of 2006 activities. According
to the decision, the sums to be allocated from the 2006 RA state
budget through the treasury account of the RA Ministry of Labor and
Social Issues will be provided to companies in compliance with the
requirements of the legal acts establshing the procedures of budgets’
execution – based on payment substantiating documents submitted by the
RA Ministry of Labor and Social Issues to the RA Ministry of Finance
and Economy. It was decided that the VAT payments actually paid to
the state budget shall be compensated by 100%, while the compulsory
social insurance payments actually made by employers to the budget of
the RA State Social Insurance Fund – by 81.5%. Under the decision,
the sums paid by companies to the respective budgets in excess of
the amounts calculated based on the quarterly (monthly, annual) VAT
and compulsory social insurance payment statements by the results of
2006 activities are not subject to compensation.

RPA IS NOT INCLINED TO DEMAND NA SPEAKER’S RESIGNATION, RPA FACTION HEAD ASSURES

Noyan Tapan
May 10 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The processes connected with some MPs’
leaving the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) Party and the parliamentary
faction according to their own applications in the recent days no doubt
will have an impact on the political field, but the parliament will
not choose the way of political tensions. Galust Sahakian, Head of the
RPA faction, the Orinats Yerkir Party’s coalition partner, expressed
such an opinion on May 10, meanwhile excluding possible formation of
a new parliamentary majority. According to him, primordially there
is already no political majority at the National Assembly.

“I think the Republican Party will cope with the parliamentary
functions as it has an experience, knows the ways for it, as well as
has been able to assume rather a serious burden in this way in the
recent 5-6 years,” the faction head mentioned. He also did not exclude
the possibility of some tension during the coming autumn session, which
will be conditioned by purely preelection processes. In response to
Noyan Tapan correspondent’s question, G.Sahakian said that he would not
like the developments in the OYP to result in the party Chairman Artur
Baghdasarian’s resignation from the position of the NA Speaker or to
expressing distrust to him. “I do not think that such a way is right,
in any case, political fenomenon is so that possible developments can
be always prognosticated. If there is an issue of resignation, it will
not be the Republican Party that will demand this, I think the party
will not choose such a way,” the RPA faction head said. According
to him, nevertheless, if the issue of resignation is set, RPA will
“treat it with respect” and will try “not to permit a failure of this
party”. Sahakian called false the romours that the current processes
in the OYP are guided by the power wing and personally by him in this
wing. The MP also did not exclude the possibility that the businessmen
MPs who left the OYP can join the RPA faction mentioning that the MPs
who are not included in the party’s preelection proportional list
cannot join the faction “but in general, as a man, a personality,
with their positions, everybody are included”. Another coalition
partner of OYP, ARF Dashaktsutiun, refused to give any commentaries.

US READY TO HELP KAZAKHSTAN BUILD A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

ArmRadio.am
11.05.2006 13:25

“The US is ready to assist Kazakhstan, in case the latter decides
to build a nuclear power plant,” said John Ordway, US Ambassador
to Kazakhstan.

“We are not against Kazakhstan’s building a nuclear power plant and
we are ready to provide assistance in case the leadership of the
country takes a corresponding decision,” Ambassador Ordway declared.

To remind, before being appointed Ambassador to Kazakhstan, John
Ordway worked as Ambassador to Armenia.

REQUIEM FOR PLANE CRASH VICTIMS HELD IN CHURCHES OF VIRAHAYOTS DIOCESE

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 09 2006

TBILISI, MAY 9, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A requiem to the
memory of the Yerevan-Sochi plane crash victims was held on May 6 in
the Tbilisi Surb Gevorg and Surb Etchmiadzin, Batumi Surb Prkich,
Akhalkalak Surb Khach, Akhaltsikhe Surb Grigor Lousavorich (Saint
Gregory the Illuminator), Ninotsminda Surb Sargis churches of the
Virahayots Diocese. Representatives of the authorities, community
and public organizations were present. Before the mourning ceremony,
Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanian visited the Embassy of the Republic of
Armenia to Georgia, writing his message of condolence in the Mourning
Book. The requiem was presided at the Tbilisi Surb Gevorg primacy
church by the primate. Those present prayed for memory and peace
of the victims’ souls. At the end of the ceremony, His Holiness
Vazgen expressed his condolence to the victims’ families, Karekin
II Catholicos of All Armenians, heading bodies of the Republic of
Armenian, all Armenians. His Holiness spo! ke with gratitude about
the Georgian Orthodox church, other sister shurches of Georgia, the
authorities of Georgia, employees of the Georgian Ombudsman’s Office
having sympathy for the Georgian Armenians during these days. He
expressed his gratitude to Ghazi Akhound Ali Aliyev, the authorized
representative of Muslims of Caucasus who personally visited the
primacy and expressed his sympathy to the Armenian people. During
the mourning ceremony, RA Ambassador to Georgia Hrach Silvanian with
his wife, Embassy Consul Artur Sargsian were in the church. Armenian
deputies of the Georgian Parliament, members of the Armenian community
administration, Leila Jejelava, the Coordinator of the Religious
Council attached to the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church,
Beka Mindiashvili, the Director of the Tolerance Center attached to the
Georgian Ombudsman’s Office, Sergo Vardosanidze, the Pro-Rector of the
Tbilisi Pedagogical University and others were in the church. President
of Georgia M! ikheil Saakashvili visisted the RA Embassy on May 5. In
his message of condolence left in the mourning book the President of
the country wrote: “I got to know about the tragedy in Sochi with
deep pain. Our thoughts and prayings are with the Armenian people
and families of the victims.” Prime Minister of Georgia Zourab
Noghaideli, State Minister Giorgi Khaindrava, Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Georgia Meran Antadze, representatives of foreign
embassies accredited in Georgia, of Georgian intellectuals as well
left their messages of condolence in the mourning book. According
to the information submitted to Noyan Tapan by the Press Services
of the Virahayots Diocese, 1 citizen of Georgia and 6 citizens from
Javakhk by origin were among the 113 victims died in consequence
of the air tragedy. Two of them were from the village of Ghulalis,
the region of Ninotsminda. On this occasion, 113 trees were planted
in the village on the initiative of region head Mels Bdoyan.

MOURNING REGISTER OPENED IN ISTANBUL, AT PERMANENT REPRESENTATION OF
ARMENIA TO BSEC

ISTANBUL, MAY 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A mourning register
was opened in Istanbul, at the Representation of Armenia to the Black
Sea Economy Cooperation. All those wished left in it on May 5-6 their
messages of condolence on the occasion of the plane crash. Karen
Mirzoyan, the Permanent Representative of Armenia to the BSEC informed
the Istanbul “Marmara” daily about it.

AZG Armenian Daily #084, 07/05/2006

Crash

MANY VISITORS EXPRESS THEIR CONDOLENCES TO FAMILIES OF
VICTIMS IN MAY 3 PLANE CRASH IN THE MOURNING BOOKS OF
RF EMBASSY TO ARMENIA AND RA FOREIGN MINISTRY

On May 5, since early morning, many visitors,
representatives of foreign embassies to Armenia,
statesmen, officials, students, schoolchildren were
visiting RF Embassy to Armenia to express condolences
in the mourning books to families of the victims in
the May 3 crash of A320 airbus. The visitors may leave
condolence messages in the mourning books of the
embassy till 4.00 pm RF Embassy informed that about
200 visitors, including the representatives of
embassies of Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Ukraine,
Belarus, Iran to Armenia, as well as UN Permanent
representative to Armenia Mrs. Consuelo Vidal.

On the same day, RA Foreign Ministry opened the
mourning books as well. The visitors may leave
messages of condolence there also today.

By Gohar Gevorgian