Author: Chilingarian Babken

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES URGES TO INCREASE BUDGET FINANCING OF SCIENCE IN 2008

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Nov 2 2007

YEREVAN, November 2. /ARKA/. The President of Armenia’s National
Academy of Sciences Radik Martirosian considers it necessary to
increase the budget financing of the sphere of science in Armenia
in 2008.

"The budget expenditures on the development of science are to total
6.8bln Drams in 2008, which is only 1bln Drams more than this year
and is only 0.7-0.8% of the overall budget against 1% in 2007,"
the President of the Academy told journalists.

He reminded that according to the surveys conducted by the European
Union on the strategy of scientific development in underdeveloped
countries, a state allocating less than 1% of its budget for science
cannot count on effective influence of science on the economic
development.

If the provided financing is distributed, the share of each employee
of Armenia’s scientific sphere will be 1mln Drams (about $3,000),
whereas in Germany, for example, it is $120,000-130,000 with salary
being 88% of that amount.

"This means that only 12% of the budget appropriations is the actual
share directed to the development of science, the remaining amount
is directed to the salaries of scientific workers," Martirosian said.

According to the President of the Academy, the science should be
financed not only by the government, but also by economic entities.

He pointed out that today private investors provide only 10% of the
overall financing of science.

Martirosian also pointed out certain difficulties in paying the
expenditures on patenting scientific discoveries abroad. "Such a
patent costs about $20,000-30,000, maintaining it cost additional
$2,000-3,000 every year," he said.

BULGARIA TO BACK ARMENIA’S EUROPEAN, EURO-ATLANTIC AMBITIONS

Bulgarian news agency BTA
Oct 29 2007

["Armenian Foreign Minister Oskanian Received by Bulgarian President
Purvanov, Confers with Counterpart Kalfin" – BTA headline]

Sofia, October 29 (BTA) – Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov Monday
[ 29 October] received Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian,
who is paying an official visit to Sofia, 28-30 October, at the
invitation of his Bulgarian counterpart Ivaylo Kalfin.

The sides discussed the progress of bilateral relations and commended
highly the state and prospects of political dialogue between the two
countries, Purvanov’s Press Secretariat said.

An emphasis was laid on the need of more vigorous promotion of economic
contacts. Bulgaria expressed its readiness to actively support Armenia
along the road of its full-fledged integration into the European and
Euro-Atlantic structures. [Passage omitted]

The upcoming visit by Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev to Yerevan in
two weeks’ time will be the first of its kind after the establishment
of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Armenia. In the sides’
shared opinion the visit will offer an excellent opportunity to promote
cooperation in all spheres and the economic ties in particular. Four
documents, including a readmission agreement and an agreement on
the avoidance of double taxation, are to be added to the bilateral
legal framework.

ARMENIAN PEOPLE’S PARTY: GORBACHEV’S POLITICS CAUSED KAREN DEMIRJYAN’S DEPARTURE FROM POLITICAL SCENE

Panorama.am
20:02 01/11/2007

Today journalists asked People’s Party press secretary Ruzan
Khachatryan the reason Stepan Demirjyan stands with Levon Ter
Petrosyan, when Ter Petrosyan’s party is responsible for removing
Demirjyan’s father from the government. To this question, Khachatryan
said, "Each and every person with a memory knows that Demirjyan left
the government in May of 1988 due to the fact he didn’t approve of
Gorbachev’s politics.

For years there were bad relations between Gorbachev and Demirjyan,
since the latter didn’t approve of the steps Gorbachev was taking. This
is the entire issue."

Concerning the time of major movements in Armenia, the secretary said
that talk at the time had it that it would be better if Demirjyan
led this movement, but that Demirjyan thought it would be better
if those who had started the movement led it. "Karen Demirjyan did
nothing to get in the way of change, and, basically, left with honor,"
she stressed.

Returning to the subject of Ter Petrosyan’s ten years of silence, and
then using the happening of October 27, Khachatryan said, "Government
figures don’t hold to any moral norm in their speeches. If they say
that Stepan Demirjyan and Aram Sargsyan are using the October 27
events, and are using them time and again, what are we talking about
here? It is clear to everyone that these events brought certain people
to power. With this, everything is said."

AGENCY REORGANIZED INTO A FUND

KarabakhOpen
01-11-2007 13:33:57

We have learned from the department of information and public relations
of the NKR government that Prime Minister Ara Harutiunyan signed a
decree on the reorganization of Artsakh Development Agency into Artsakh
Investment Fund. The prime minister heads the board of trustees.

Karen Oleg Yesayan is the interim director of the Fund.

ARMENIAN MINISTER OF ENERGY: AT THIS MOMENT THERE IS NO NEED TO IMPORT IRANIAN GAS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 31, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 31, NOYAN TAPAN. The technical task on geological
survey of uranium mines in the south of Armenia will be prepared by
late 2007. The RA minister of energy Armen Movsisian told reporters
on October 31 that the studies on the potential of uranium mines will
be completed. According to him, these survey will be done by Armenian
and Russian companies.

The minister said that the drilling work for oil and gas prospecting
in Armavir marz is being continued by a Canadian company.

In his words, work is underway to increase the carrying capacity
of the operating Kajaran-Yerevan gas pipeline: earth and assembly
work on a 65-km section out of the total of 120 km has already been
completed, while the gas pipeline will be ready by the end of 2008. 350
million cubic meters of gas can currently be transported through the
gas pipeline, and this amount will reach 2.3 billion cubic meters
after increasing its capacity. The construction work is being done
by ArmRusgazprom.

A. Movsisian said that in case of necessity the Armenian side can
import gas from Iran, however, in his words, "there is no such problem
at the moment".

20TH SITTING OF CIS COUNCIL FOR EDUCATIONAL COOPERATION SUCCESS

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 29 2007

YEREVAN, October 29. /ARKA/. National Water cadastre will be formed
in Armenia, said Head of Water Resources Management Department of the
Ecology Ministry Svetlana Vardanyan during the regional conference
on the water issues and sanitary.

She said that 90% of formation of water cadastre is completed. The
main task of the cadastre is to accumulate information on water
resources and relations in this sphere.

"Today we have rather discrete information about the water resources,
however this structure will allow forming a united information field,"
Vardanyan said.

According to the data of the Ministry, there are 9480 small and middle
rivers in the territory of Armenia the length of which is 23,000km.

The annual flow of these rivers totals 7.2bln cubic meters, 3bln cubic
meters of which are underground waters, and 30-40ln cubic meters fall
to the rivers Araks and Akhuryan.

The regional conference on the issues of water supply and sanitary
"Cooperation for implementing millennium challenges in Armenia"
was held in Yerevan on October 27.

The conference was dedicated to the issues of rural economy and
implementation of the aims for millennium developments that deal
with the issues of stable development, in particular, issues of water
supply and improvement of hygienic conditions.

The conference was organized by the NGO "Armenian women for health and
healthy environment" and supported by the international organization
"Women in Europe for a common future" (Holland).

WORLD CONFERENCE ON DIALOGUE BETWEEN RELIGIONS AND CIVILIZATIONS HELD IN MACEDONIA

Noyan Tapan
Oct 29 2007

OHRID, OCTOBER 29, NOYAN TAPAN. A world conference on the dialogue
between religions and civilizations titled "Benefit of religion and
culture to peace, mutual respect and co-existence" was held in the
city of Ohrid in Macedonia between October 26 and 28.

The conference was organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic
of Macedonia with the cooperation of the Commission for Relations
with the Religious Communities. The conference was assisted by the
government of the Republic of Macedonia, UNESCO, the World Islamic
League, as well as the "Religions for Peace" world organization.

Archbishop Mikayel Ajapahian, the primate of the diocese of Shirak,
took part in the conference for the Armenian Apostolic Church with
the blessing of His Holiness Karekin II, the Patriarch and Catholicos
of All Armenians.

According to the information provided to Noyan Tapan by the
Information Services of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the
aim of the conference was to show that through dialogues and active
activities the world can become a place, where people can exchange
cultural information, make use of the creative force of differences
and cooperate, due to which it will be possible to overcome religious,
racial and public discriminations, as well as stress the importance
of the national and religious co-existence.

JOINT VISIT OF JOURNALISTS TO JAVAKHK

Panorama.am
13:03 27/10/2007

"War and peace elucidation institute" organized a visit of journalists
from Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani mass media to Samtskhe –
Javakhk region.

A-INFO agency reports that the joint visit was participated by
representatives of ‘Kviris Palitra’, "Panorama’, ‘Resonance’ and
‘Kuris Moambe’ newspapers (Tbilisi) ‘Batumelebi’ paper from Batumi,
‘Spektri’ (Gurjan), ‘Kutaisuri Versia’ (Kutaisi), ‘Southern Gate’
(Akhaltsikhe) papers, ‘Today’ paper from Azerbaijan’s Sumgait, Baku’s
‘First news’agency, from Armenia: ‘Civil initiative’ paper (Vanadzor)
and from the RA Public Radio. A journalist from Spepanakert’s ‘Nagorno
Karabakh’ paper also participated in the visit to Javakhk.

On October 24 in Akhalkalak the journalists met with the
representatives of Samtskhe-Javakhk’s Armenian NGO’s. The source
relates that the visiting journalists were most of all interested
in the status of the Armenian language in the region. Mels Torosyan,
President of ‘Akunk’ Union, and David Rstakyan, Co-President of ‘Virk’
Party, presented their insights on the significance of the Armenian
language in the region. A discussion was held also on the need for
increasing the role of the local governance bodies.

Later on the journalists visited Vachian village that is located in
Akhalkalaki region and got information about the socioeconomic state
of people.

On October 25 the group visited Ninotsminda region.

NEW DOCUMENTS AND PHOTOS ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE REVEALED

armradio.am
26.10.2007 13:07

In the result of the consistent work during last years new photos
and documents on the Armenian Genocide were revealed from different
countries’ state archives and private collections by various
researchers dealing with the issues of the Armenian Genocide, Director
of the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute (AGMI) Hayk Demoyan said
in an interview with Armenpress.

Photos made by Austrian military man Victor Pitchman are of great
interest.

Victor Pitchman was born in Vienna in 1881. He was in Turkey from
1914 till the end of the World War First. First he served in Turkish
then in Austrian and German armies. He built Turkish mountain firing
in Erzerum and drew war map of the South Western Asia for the German
main headquarter. Being in Erzerum he witnessed Armenian slaughters
carried out by the Ottoman government. There are deportation views
of the Armenians in photos made by Pitchman near Erzerum. Artem
Ohandjanyan, doctor of historical sciences, a resident of Austria
provided these photos with the photo collection of the AGMI.

New photos were revealed also in the state achieves of the Deutsche
bank and they were contributed to the AGMI. Meanwhile the museum
collection was enriched with dozens of unprinted memoirs recorded by
the survivors of the genocide.

Reminiscence "War and Peace memories" by Eric af Wirsen, military
attaché of the Swedish Embassy to the Ottoman Empire, contains
exclusive facts on the Armenian Genocide. One of its chapters is
titled as "Slaughter of one nation" where the author describes one
of the greatest crimes of the 20th century. The author witnessed the
mass graves of the Armenians in the vicinity of Euphrates as well
as he had direct contacts with foreign diplomats, who witnessed the
massacre. Mr. Wirsen writes, "Slaughters were carried out in such
ways that humanity has never seen since the middle ages."

Wirsen was informed by different consuls that the Turkish gendarmes
entered houses of foreign diplomats, and without any words they shot
their servants of Armenian origin. Eric af Wirsen notices that it
is difficult to release the Germans from the responsibility as they
did nothing to prevent the bloodshed. Mr. Wirsen also states that
some German officers gave back the medals and rewards granted by
the Ottoman government with the following reason they cannot accept
any honors from a government carrying out such cruelties. "I join
to the words of general fon Lossov who tête-a-tête told me that
slaughters of the Armenians were the most terrible brutalities in
the world history", wrote E. Wirsen.

As a primary source this work is important and valuable as first it was
written by a representative of Sweden, a neutral state during the war,
where Ambassador Morgenthau’s evidences are affirmed for many times.

–Boundary_(ID_lOkNNFTfc52DWPJFQapsEg)–

GRISHA HAIRAPETYAN WAS SET FREE

KarabakhOpen
26-10-2007 10:38:30

On October 24 the former representative of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun
Central Committee of Arsakh Grisha Hairapetyan, who was charged
with misuse in the Mill of Stepanakert, was released after the NKR
member of parliament Armen Sargsyan, ARF Dashnaktsutyun, and Vitaly
Balasanyan, adviser to NKR president, vouched for him. By the way,
a few days ago General Manvel Grigoryan and General Samvel Karapetyan
visited Grisha Hairapetyan at the remand prison.