Author: Chavushian

ADC ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF A PROMOTION ON CONNECTING COMPANIES TO BROADBAND HIGH-SPEED FIBER-OPTIC INTERNET FREE OF CHARGE

Panorama.am
19:30 04/04/2008

"Armenian Datacom Company" CJSC (ADC) announced the launch of a
promotion on connecting companies to broadband high-speed fiber-optic
Internet free of charge. The promotion will last from April 5 to May
5 of 2008 and is designed for all companies, which will conclude a
contract in the given period of time. The promotion is planned for
providing a free connection only to Internet services.

The Broadband Era

Broadband term refers to a data transfer technology in a network with
modulated radio frequency signals.

Broadband access provides not only high speed of data transfer,
but an "always online" Internet connection with no need to dial to
the provider. One more quality advantage of a broadband connection
is the fact that the connection outages are very rare in comparison
to switched connections.

Different media can be used to provide broadband connections to the
Internet and data communication.

The list includes optical fiber, copper cable, DSL, satellite,
terrestrial wireless connections and other.

Fiber-optic network

One of the most powerful technologies of delivering broadband is the
fiber optic network with end-to-end connections. The optical fiber has
an enormous throughput capacity to transmit data, voice, and video in
long distances. Instead of standard copper lines, the optical fiber
is comprised of quartz fibers, very much like glass. Instead of usual
radio waves, light beam is used, which allows reaching colossal bit
rates of data transfer. Nowadays the technology is very popular in
developed countries.

Today, many institutions and commercial organizations in Yerevan
already have broadband Internet connections.

At the moment, Armenian market is in the stage of active development
of Internet technologies.

Many multimedia technologies, which have only recently been developed,
were impossible to use because of low speeds, whereas now broadband
Internet enables not only large companies but regular users as well
to have access to the multimedia world. Today the subscribers of
ADC actively use Broadband Internet for high quality voice and video
transmission (Video-over-IP, Voice-over-IP)

About ADC

"Armenian Datacom Company" CJSC – an Armenian-Norwegian joint
company was established in 2006 and now has become one of the leading
telecommunications companies in Armenia.

ADC provides Broadband Internet and Data Communication services based
on high quality and fast optical fiber network. ADC has constructed its
independent, reliable network base on the latest IP/MPLS technology.

The company is focused on fully satisfying the telecommunication needs
of its customers for Internet and Data Communication services. For that
purpose constant research is being implemented to reveal the customers’
needs and satisfaction levels. ADC takes different measures on further
enhancing the quality of current services, also develops new products
for the market.

The plans of the company for the nearest future include provision
of services to households, as well as develop into the leading
telecommunications services provider in the whole territory of Armenia.

MOMENT OF TRUTH IN THE TALKS

KarabakhOpen
03-04-2008 16:36:34

Judging by the recent Armenian and Azerbaijan diplomatic discourse,
the "moment of truth" has come in the talks for the settlement of
the Karabakh issue. The Azerbaijani diplomacy had the UN pass a
resolution which includes all the proposals offered by the mediators
but the status of Karabakh. Moreover, official Baku denies having
ever discussed the issue of status with the Armenian side.

The Armenian side claims the opposite. The main issue of the talks
was the status. The rest derive from it, the Armenian politicians say.

The stance of the Minsk Group co-chairs which insisted on including the
issue of status in the UN resolution is evidence to this. Logically,
too, if the status of Karabakh was concerned, the Armenian diplomacy
would have nothing to talk about with their colleagues.

"The policy of the government of Azerbaijan could be described as
nervous. They thwarted the meeting of the presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan in Bucharest, violated the cease-fire on the line
of contact.

However, these actions will not lead Baku anywhere. There is a document
on the table of talks in which the self-determination of the people
of Nagorno-Karabakh is clearly set down," said the foreign minister
of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan.

Azerbaijan says mediation should not be carried out by the Minsk
Group any more, or at least the staff of the co-chairs should be
reconsidered. Baku thinks the United States, France and Russia have
a pro-Armenian stance.

Apparently, the pro-Armenian stance makes them insist on the return
of the Armenian territories, return of only the Azerbaijani refugees
to Karabakh, the deployment of peacekeepers and withdrawal of the
"Armenian force".

The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan are now in Bucharest for the
NATO summit. They will hardly meet during the summit. Before leaving
for Bucharest Armenia and Azerbaijan exchanged a series of demarches
and accusations. In particular, official Azerbaijan stated that Armenia
"did not motivate the meeting of the presidents", and Armenia retorted
that Armenia did not need that meeting to motivate it. In other words,
they left for Bucharest not for reconciliation.

The summit in Bucharest will be the first after the declaration of the
independence of Kosovo and its recognition by world powers. In fact,
it takes place after the talks of Condoleezza Rice in Moscow, George
Bush statement that he will lobby the entry of Georgia and Ukraine
to NATO, mass disorders in Tibet, resignation of Fidel Castro, Cuba’s
new line toward liberalization. A lot has changed since the previous
NATO summit. In fact, the global politics will change in Bucharest.

EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY – ARMENIA

Edubourse.com (Communiques de presse)
April 3 2008
France

The EU-Armenia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) entered
into force in 1999, with the goal of promoting respect for democracy,
rule of law and human rights, as well as market economy reforms,
trade liberalisation and cooperation in a wide number of sectors.

The ENP Action Plan was adopted in November 2006 and its implementation
will be monitored and guided through the PCA Sub-Committees.

Major developments in 2007 and overall assessment

In general, Armenia has demonstrated a strong commitment towards
the implementation of the ENP Action Plan, despite some initial
delays caused by Parliamentary elections in May 2007 and internal
coordination issues.

Good progress was achieved in particular in the areas of
judiciary reform, the administration of elections and the Ombudsman
institution. Of key importance for 2008 will be proper implementation
of recently adopted legislation.

International observers have concluded that the conduct of the February
2008 Presidential elections was mostly in line with international
standards. There are however concerns with regard to the declaration of
the state of emergency in the aftermath of the elections and related
to clashes between police and opposition protesters. The situation
has shown that – despite progress achieved in 2007 regarding respect
for human rights and rule of law – there is a necessity for further
improvement.

In order to improve integrated border management at the national and
regional level, a project on regional border management in South
Caucasus (2008-2009) was launched in October 2007. Participating
countries agreed to implement measures on a bilateral basis
(,Armenia-Georgia, Azerbaijan-Georgia).

Armenia has managed well on the macro-economic side with a strong
growth in 2007 at a rate of 13.7% (double-digit for the sixth
consecutive year).

The bilateral trade with the EU grew by 17.4% compared to 2006 and
amounted to nearly ~@1 billion. The EU is Armenia’s main trading
partner (nearly 40% share in Armenia’s overall external trade).

The business climate has been further improved, although at slower
pace than in earlier years. More efforts are needed to improve the
customs administration.

Further progress was made in 2007 in reducing poverty – the proportion
of the population living under the poverty line has continued to
decline steadily to 29% in 2007 and the share of extreme poverty is
now down to 6.5% of the population.

The recent upgrading of the European Commission delegation in Yerevan
is a tangible sign of the Commission’s commitment to the future
development of the country.

Some examples of how the EU supports reforms in Armenia

The EU is providing policy advice supporting economic, political and
social reform and development through the Armenian European Policy
and Legal Advice Centre (AEPLAC).

A very successful food security programme (~@100 million over 10 years)
is currently ongoing to support the government’s poverty reduction
efforts by providing budgetary support and technical assistance for
key land and agricultural reform, public finance management and social
sector reform.

Regional development projects (together with the Council of Europe)
and EIDHR projects are supporting democratic reform.

Work is under way to support nuclear safety measures in order to keep
up sufficient safety standards for the country’s outdated nuclear
power plant (Medzamor). Over a number of years the EU supported
the development of a comprehensive energy strategy for Armenia to
strengthen its energy security and develop alternative energy supplies.

A number of projects are focusing on education, especially in the
field of vocational training which is one of the priority areas in
the country’s Poverty Reduction Strategy.

On higher education, reform continued in line with Bologna Process
principles with the support of the Tempus programme, which has been
the main driving force behind the modernisation of curricula and
improvements to the administrative and organisational structures of
universities. Student mobility to the EU increased (by 60% in 2007)
through participation in Erasmus Mundus.

In the area of youth, Armenia registered an increase (over 20%)
in participation rates in the relevant actions of the Youth in
Action programme as compared to 2006. Armenian young people and
youth workers were involved, for instance, in a large-scale project
on conflict management involving other partners from the Southern
Caucasus countries as well as from EU Member States.

Assistance to Armenia

In 2007, ~@21 million in Community assistance has been allocated
for Armenia.

An indicative amount of [email protected] million has been allocated for the
period 2007-10, under the European Neighbourhood Policy Instrument.

The Communication from the Commission to the Parliament and the
Council Implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy in 2007
(3 April 2008) and a country report on Armenia are available at

More on Armenia and ENP

a/index_en.htm

x_en.htm

By Commission Europeenne (europa.eu.int)

actualites.php?actu=39219

PRESS RELEASE
Clark University
Angela M. Bazydlo
Associate Director of Media Relations
University Communications
ph: 508-793-7635
cell: 508-365-8736

April 3, 2008

Preeminent expert on the Armenian Genocide to lecture at Clark University

WORCESTER, MA-Clark University’s Strassler Family Center for Holocaust
and Genocide Studies will present "Must We Still Remember? The
Armenian Genocide as Prototype," a lecture by Richard Hovannisian,
Professor Emeritus of Armenian and Near Eastern History, University of
California, Los Angeles, at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22, in Tilton
Hall, 2nd floor of the Higgins University Center, 950 Main Street,
Worcester.

This free, public lecture will be followed by a reception.

The Armenian Genocide of 1915 was the most calamitous event in the
long and turbulent history of the Armenian people. In many ways it
also became the prototype of modern cases of forced population
transfer and mass murder. Professor Hovannisian will analyze the
murderous violence against the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in
relation to subsequent genocides in the 20th and now in the 21st
centuries.
A member of the UCLA faculty since 1962, Professor Hovannisian
has organized the undergraduate and graduate programs in Armenian and
Caucasian history and served as the associate director of the G.E. von
Grunebaum Center for Near Eastern Studies from 1978 to 1995. He was
the first to hold the post of Armenian Education Foundation Endowed
Chair in Armenian History at UCLA.
Professor Hovannisian received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees
from the University of California, Berkley. He received his
Ph.D. from UCLA. He is the author of "Armenia on the Road to
Independence"; "The Republic of Armenia," Volumes I-IV; and "The
Armenian Holocaust"; and has edited and contributed to many scholarly
journals dedicated to Armenian history, politics and genocide. He
serves on the board of directors of nine scholarly and civic
organizations and has made numerous television and radio appearances.
Professor Hovannisian will serve as the Robert Aram and Marianne
Kaloosdian and Stephen and Marian Mugar Distinguished Visiting Scholar
at Clark the week of April 14. He will deliver lectures in classes,
as well as meet with doctoral students and faculty.
The mission of the Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and
Genocide Studies is to educate undergraduate and graduate students
about genocide and the Holocaust; to host a lecture series, free of
charge and open to the public; to use scholarship to address current
problems stemming from the murderous past; and to participate in the
public discussion about a host of issues ranging from the significance
of state-sponsored denial of the Armenian genocide and well-funded
denial of the Holocaust to intervention in and prevention of genocidal
situations today.
Clark University is a private, co-educational liberal-arts research
university with 2,200 undergraduate and 800 graduate students. Since
it’s founding in 1887 as the first all-graduate school in the United
States, Clark has challenged convention with innovative programs such
as the International Studies Stream, the University Park Partnership,
and the accelerated BA/MA programs with the fifth year tuition-free
for eligible students. The University is featured in Loren Pope’s
book, "Colleges That Change Lives."
–

ALEXANDER ISKANDARIAN EXCLUDES DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN AUTHORITIES AND LEVON TER-PETROSIAN OVER A POST

Noyan Tapan
April 2, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 2, NOYAN TAPAN. First Armenian President Levon
Ter-Petrosian, in difference to other participants of the presidential
race, did not seek to gain political dividends or to "to show off"
himself: his only goal was the president’s post. Making such a
statement at the April 2 press conference, political scientist
Alexander Iskandarian said that therefore it is impossible to imagine
a dialogue between the authorities and L. Ter-Petrosian.

According to A. Iskandarian, Prime Minister Serge Sargsian,
naturally, will not wish to let the latter have the president’s post,
and L. Ter-Petrosian, in his turn, will not agree to assume a post
of, for instance, a regional governor. Therefore, according to the
political scientist, in case of a dialogue a discussion on the subject
of the post will be inefficient and senseless, but instead it is
possible to negotiate over granting amnesty to arrested politicians
or the amendments made to the law On Mass Events, Rallies, Meetings,
Processions, Demonstrations.

As A. Iskandarian mentioned, political predictions will be more real
after the April 9 inauguration ceremony of S. Sargsian, when the
second stage of the political process will start. He said that if
the struggle continues, the authorities’ step in response is clear,
while L. Ter-Petrosian’s further steps are obscure.

‘BEFORE TODAY IS OVER, HOW MANY WILL DIE?’: DARFUR GENOCIDE BROUGHT HOME TO CHARTER-SCHOOL STUDENTS
by Rita Savard

The Sun
April 1, 2008 Tuesday
Lowell, Massachusetts

Apr. 1–HELMSFORD — The girl had a name.

No older than 7. Black hair in ponytails. Her large brown eyes burn
a hole through you.

She used to go to school, used to laugh and play. She used to know the
touch of her mother’s hands. They were hardworking hands, but gentle.

Then the men came. They burned homes and forced people into the
streets. Carrying machetes and guns, their hands were rough and
stained with blood.

Now the girl’s family is gone. Instead of a name, she bears a number.

In Darfur, Sudan, the death count has reached 400,000. About 1.8
million displaced. Thousands more missing.

The numbers continue to climb.

"Right now as you listen to me, people are dying," said Evan Hirmer,
a student at Innovation Academy Charter School. "People just like
you and me, being killed by the hands of other human beings."

Hirmer and his classmates look over the faces of the dead. Mothers
and fathers. Grandparents. Teenagers just like them.

They hear the message. But they want adults to hear, too, and take
action to stop genocide.

"What will you think about when you go home today?" Hirmer asks his
classmates and their parents.

In the basement of St. John the Evangelist Church yesterday, tents
were pitched. The event was called Camp Darfur. And behind five canvas
doors, students retraced history by remembering the dead in pictures
and words.

A circle of tragedy and tears with numbers too large for hearts to
bear — the

Armenian Genocide of 1915, 1.5 million killed; the Holocaust in 1938,
11 million systematically murdered; Cambodia 1975, 2 million massacred;
Rwanda 1994, 800,000 slaughtered.

Everything leading to this moment. To mass killings happening halfway
around the world in a place called Darfur.

"Nothing is being done to stop it," said English teacher Emily
Richardson. "We wanted to not just teach students about what is
happening in the world, but to empower them to change things. They’re
using their voices to make a difference."

But the pictures flashing on computer screens and hanging on tents at
Camp Darfur are the same pictures being broadcast into living rooms
around the world via satellite from TV news stations.

Guest speaker Max Levi believed no one stopped Hitler sooner because
they had no way of knowing what was happening.

Levi was fortunate enough to escape Germany before Hitler began
forcing Jews out of their homes and on transports to ghettos and
concentration camps. Levi was 16 when he arrived in New York in 1937.

Two years later, he joined the Army.

Levi told a hushed audience how shocked he was when the camps were
discovered. Millions of Jews exterminated by Nazis. The ones that
managed to survive were walking skeletons.

"So many dead, and still no one can answer why," said Levi, now 86.

"In the old days, we thought it’s because no one talked about it."

But today, news of the violence in Darfur can be seen on TV and read
in newspapers.

"I have no answer to why genocide is still happening now," Levi said.

Hirmer believes it’s politics.

"That area of the Sudan is rich in oil," said the 14-year-old.

Chinese oil companies have played a role in backing the Sudanese
government with weapons, he said. The Sudanese government, which
has publicly denied stoking the civil war, has provided money and
assistance to the Janjaweed, a militia that began mass killing in
Darfur in 2003.

China, said Hirmer, stands to benefit from receiving oil at a cheap
price. China is also the Unites States’ biggest trade partner, he said.

Violence against civilians in Darfur has surged in the past three
months. The Sudanese government’s February offensive in West Darfur
saw displacement and killing of civilians on a scale not seen since
the darkest days of the crisis in 2004.

Hundreds of children are unaccounted for, following militia attacks
on villages in Sudan’s West Darfur region. Thousands more remain in
refugee camps. Waiting and hoping.

Still, help doesn’t come.

"I’m angry at the government for not doing anything," said
15-year-old Caitlyn Leedberg of Billerica. "As human beings, we have
a responsibility to stop mass murder."

Students report that the United Nation’s top humanitarian official
has said the conflict is "going from real bad to catastrophic."

The U.N. has yet to call the killing in Darfur a genocide.

When Marie Okabe, deputy spokeswoman for U.N. Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon, was called to answer the question of how many deaths
constitute genocide, she did not return the phone call.

"Before today is over, how many will die?" wonders Hirmer.

Hitler. Gandhi. Martin Luther King Jr.

Students said every single event in history, good or bad, has had
one person at the base of a movement. All it takes is one person to
change history forever.

Collecting signatures to stop genocide now, Innovation Academy hopes
to send a message to President Bush and the world.

What will you think about when you put down your newspaper?

"Kids are taking a stand," said Leedberg. "Will you?"

AGO MONITORING GROUP CALLS ON LEADERSHIP AND OPPOSITION TO POLITICAL DIALOGUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2008 14:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ago monitoring group of the Committee of Ministers of
the Council of Europe has sent six proposals to the Armenian government
for stabilization of the domestic situation, Ago group head, Swedish
Ambassador to the Council of Europe Per Sjogren said at a joint news
conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian.

"The document calls on Armenia to return to democracy track. We
propose to release all political prisoners.

The Justice Ministry and Prosecutor General’s office have assured us
that all cases will be considered within shortest terms," he said.

"We believe that the Council of Europe should be informed about 102
arrested. AGO group calls for an impartial and fair investigation
into the March 1 events, at that the Armenian government could offer
international organizations a possibility to join the investigation."

Mr Sjogren said the amendments to the law on rallies and marches are
undemocratic. "These amendments were adopted without consultations
with the Venice Commission, which has already issued remarks. We call
on the leadership and opposition to political dialogue," he said.

For his part, Minister Oskanian said proposals are meant to stabilize
the internal political situation in Armenia. "We think the initiative
positive. As to dismissal of several MFA employees, it was done in
compliance with the Armenian legislation," he said.

Turkish Press
March 30 2008

Asimed Urges Wikipedia To Remove "semi-protection" Over Article On
Armenian Allegations

Published: 3/30/2008

ERZURUM – The Turkish Association for Fight Against Unfounded
Genocide Allegations (ASIMED) launched an e-mail campaign against
Wikipedia urging it to remove the "Semi-Protection" lock over the
article on Armenian allegations concerning the incidents of 1915.
Chairman of Asimed, Assistant Professor Savas Egilmez, said the best
thing about Wikipedia was its feature allowing users to edit (make
corrections, deletions and additions) in articles published on the
website.

"When you browse the English version of Wikipedia which publishes its
content in various languages, one notices an issue in complete
contrast with the Wikipedia principles. In the english website while
the article on Armenian allegations concerning the incidents of 1915
contain all the thesis of the Armenian diaspora, the Turkish thesis
are excluded," said Egilmez.

"The web site allows users to make editions in all subjects, but it
does not allow edition of the article on Armenian allegations. The
site only provides the theses of the Armenian diaspora. This is a
great injustice against the Turkish Nation."

Egilmez said they started an e-mail campaign to stop this injustice
and asked Turkish nationals to support it by sending e-mails to the
web site`s administrators ([email protected]) .

Wikipedia has a "Protection policy" allowing administrators to
protect a page to restrict editing or moving of that page, and remove
such protection.

"Editing or moving of a page can be restricted by administrators. As
Wikipedia is built around the principle that anyone can edit it, this
should only be done in certain situations," says the policy.

Under the policy there are four types of protection.

-Full protection,

-Semi-protection ,

-Creation protection,

-Move protection.

Though the policy says "Semi-protection in particular, should not be
used to settle content disputes" currently there is a
"Semi-protection" lock over the article on Armenian theses concerning
the incidents of 1915.

V. DALLAKYAN EVALUATED POSITIVELY COALITION ESTABLISHMENT

Panorama.am
22:02 25/03/2008

Free deputy of the National Assembly Viktor Dallakyan positively
evaluated the proposal of Prime Minister to establish a political
coalition. Today a conference was hold and he wished success to the
coalition and mentioned that the coalition does not have the 70%
resource which is announced or talked so much about.

"Ter-Petrosyan, Vahan Hovhannisyan and Arthur Baghdasaryan they all
were voted their oppositional image only. But possibly it does not mean
that those who joint the coalition absolutely agree with the strategies
their," he said. Evaluating the ongoing inner political life created
after the presidential elections in Armenia, he said "After the March
1 events Armenians are profoundly injured, as well as our country,
its international image, opposition and state officials." Dallakyan
notified two possible ways of getting out of the created situation:
the repressive way of salving the problems and its salvation through
political direction.

ARMENIAN STATE OF EMERGENCY LIFTED
by Dragana IgnjatoviÄ

Global Insight
March 24, 2008

On Thursday (20 March) the Armenian government lifted the state of
emergency imposed on 1 March following post-election clashes between
police and opposition supporters alleging fraud in the 19 February
presidential elections, which left eight people dead. Around 1,000
opposition supporters attended a protest in the capital, Yerevan,
on 21 March following the lifting of the state of emergency, which
also banned public gatherings.

Significance:Although the post-election violence has since calmed down
and the ruling elite has regained its grip on power, serious challenges
remain for the Armenian government. The deep division between the
opposition and government could create serious deadlock in Armenia’s
next parliament, halting vital socioeconomic reforms. A step in the
right direction would be the release of the 106 opposition protestors
arrested and detained following the 1 March violence. However,
this is unlikely to happen since the government is reluctant to
take steps which would allow the dispersed and defeated opposition
to regroup. Furthermore, the authorities would do well launch an
investigation into the use of force which left eight people dead in
the protests in order to re-assure the West of their commitment to
democratic values. The situation in Armenia is likely to remain stable
due to a new law passed last week, which gives authorities the right
to ban demonstrations posing a threat to public order (see Armenia:
18 March 2008:). However, the challenges facing the coalition of
President-elect Serzh Sargsyan will only continue to mount after his
9 April inauguration unless a genuine move is made to engage with the
country’s opposition, in order to assure the international community
of Armenia’s determination to embrace democratic values.

–Boundary_(ID_6ZsuKJF9SDIk3a9sVOVfwQ)–