Author: Chmshkian Vicken

DELEGATION HEADED BY ARMENIAN PM TO LEAVE FOR KARABAKH

ARMENPRESS
June 19, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
is leaving June 20-21 on a working visit for Nagorno Karabakh to
participate in the "Bridge Artsakh" economic conference in Stepanakert.

Within the framework of the visit the delegation of the Armenian prime
minister will meet with the members of the government of Karabakh.

Governmental press service told Armenpress that the delegation headed
by the prime minister consists of head of government’s staff David
Sargsyan, Finance Minister Tigran Davtyan, Economy Minister Nerses
Yeritsyan, Agricukture Minister Gerasim Alaverdyan, Urban Minister
Vardan Vardanyan, Transport and Communication Minister Gurgen Sargsyan
and other officials.

FARHAD BADALBAYLI: THE NEXT MEETING OF AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN COMMUNITIES OF NAGORNO KARABAKH WILL BE LIKELY HELD IN JULY

APA
June 17 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Ulkar Gasimova – APA. "We want the next meeting with Armenian
community of Nagorno Karabakh to be held in the neutral area.

This is very important for us and talks are being held now," rector of
Baku Music Academy, people’s artist Farhad Badalbayli told APA. He said
that the meeting is scheduled for July. Badalbayli said the principles
of coexistence will be discussed after the problem is solved.

"We should know how our people will live there, who will ensure their
security, which peacekeepers will be deployed in the region. Our
people will return there without weapons. This is very important. Of
course this is not a one-day work. Discussions will be held on the
restoration of the houses knocked down in Karabakh. There are many
problems, they should be discussed," he said.

Badalbayli said it is not exactly known who will represent Azerbaijan
at the meeting.

"Polad Bulbuloglu, or Kamal Abdullah may represent Azerbaijan, I
may also be invited. Of course, heads of executive powers of Shusha,
Aghdere should attend the meeting from Azerbaijani side," he said.

Farhad Badalbayli said talks with the ordinary people living in that
territory are also important for the solution of the problem.

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN FMs DISCUSS ISSUES ON BILATERAL RELATIONS

ARMENPRESS
JUNE 15, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandyan who is in Moscow to participate in the CSTO session met
June 14 with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Media relations department of the Armenian Foreign Ministry told
Armenpress that during the meeting the sides discussed a number
of issues on boosting Armenian-Russian relations. Armenian and
Russian foreign ministers also referred to a number of regional and
international issues.

NATURAL GAS SUPPLY OF ARMENIA TO BE SUSPENDED ON JUNE 16-21

Noyan Tapan
June 15, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The gas and transport company of
Georgia officially informed ArmRusgazprom CJSC that the natural gas
supply of Armenia will be suspended on June 16-21. During this period
the Georgian company intends to carry out work on pipe connection in
the newly-built Ghazakh-Saguramo section (1,000 mm in diameter amd
3.6 km long), which will increase the reliability of Armenia’s gas
supply. In the indicated period the gas supply of the country will be
ensured from the Abovian underground gas storage without restrictions.

Press TV, Iran
June 13 2009

Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in Iran
Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:41:16 GMT

Iran is scheduled to host the Armenian orchestra which will present
the Russian composer Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at Vahdat Hall
in Tehran.

Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 will be presented July 1-3, Fars
news agency reported on Saturday.

This is the first time Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 will be
presented in Iran.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was a Russian composer of the
Romantic era. He wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical
music in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan
Lake and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto,
several symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin.

The Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 was composed by
Tchaikovsky between November 1874 and February 1875. It was revised in
the summer of 1879 and again in December 1888. It is considered one of
the most popular of Tchaikovsky’s works and among the best known of
all piano concerti.

HRF/JG

RA HAS SPENT EURO 225 000 TO PROMOTE TOURISM IN ARMENIA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
12.06.2009 16:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Tourism development is one of the main tasks of
RA Government. Beside winter tourism in Armenia, we’re also planning
to promote health improving tourism in Jermouk. We’ve already got in
touch with organizations in charge, to help improve health improving
tourism in Armenia and present it on international level, Head of
Tourism Department at RA Economy Ministry Mekhak Apresyan told a
news conference in Yerevan, adding that besides winter tourism,
adding that adventure tourism and eco-tourism, new strategies of
service presentation will be developed.

When questioned by PanARMENIAN.Net reporter as to the ways Armenia
plans to develop tourism, Apresyan spoke about Tskakhadzor advertising
conducted via CNN and Euronews TV channels.

According to Apresyan, this year, Euro 225 000 were spent on creation
of 52-minute documentary on tourist attractions in Armenia. The
movie was created with the assistance of Spanish "Transglobe" and
"Bus business" companies.

"Many TV companies are interested in purchasing the documentary,
including "TVE" Spanish TV channel with an audience of 450 million
people, and "Scandinavien", which will be advertising Armenian tourism
in Scandinavian countries," Apresyan noted.

He also added that RA Government has financed reconstruction of
village houses, where tourists could familiarize themselves with
local population’s customs and way of living.

IFC ALLOCATES $5 MILLION CREDIT LINE TO ARDSHININVESTBANK AS PART OF GLOBAL TRADE FINANCE PROGRAMME

Arminfo
2009-06-10 18:36:00

ArmInfo. The International Financial Corporation (IFC) is going to
allocate a $5 million credit line to Ardshininvestbank as part of
the Global Trade Finance Programme (GTFP). A relevant contract was
officially signed at Ardshininvestbank Head Office on Wednesday by
Sergey Virabyan, the Vice Chairman of Ardshininvestbank Board and
Snezhana Stoilkovich, the Director of the Central and Eastern Europe
Department of the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

S.Virabyan said that in the background of the global financial and
economic crisis the IFC credit line will provide an opportunity
to Ardshininvestbank and local businessmen to carry out export
and import operations through more flexible and accessible credit
instruments (letters of credit, guarantees, bills of exchange, banks
acceptance). This will reduce trade risks of the Armenian businessmen
engaged in the international trade. ‘The credit line is not only
assistance to Ardshininvestbank, but also investment in the economy
of Armenia’, Sergey Virabyan said.

For his part, Vice Chairman of the Armenian Central Bank Vache
Gabrielyan highlighted the importance of cooperation with international
structures and said that the external financing can be used to expand
the activity of Ardshininvestbank and develop economy of Armenia in
conditions of the global crisis. He is sure the trade finance for
local companies will play an important role in formation of favorable
business environment. As regards deepening of cooperation with the IFC
and the plans to open a new credit line, S. Virabyan said negotiations
are currently underway with the IFC for another SME support credit
of $10 million. He said the bank will on-lend the credit provided as
part of IFC credit programs to its clients on maximum acceptable terms.

Ardshininvestbank is among the top five leader-banks by credits as
of April 1 2009 (almost 75 billion dram of 62% of total assets). The
share of the bank’s credits to economy in the credit portfolio is
nearly 60%. By this indicator the bank has occurred among top three of
leaders. The bank is the leader by credits to the industrial sector –
18.1 billion drams or almost 25% of the credit portfolio.

The IFC is one of the majority shareholders of Ardshininvestbank with
a 10pct stake.

ARMENIAN PREMIER FORECASTS 2% ECONOMIC UPTURN IN ARMENIA IN 2010

ARKA
June 9, 2009

YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. Armenia is likely to post a 2% economic growth
in 2010, RA Prime Minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday. "We have
been too cautious when making 2010 forecasts.

We will draw a budget with an economic upturn of around 2% and up to 6%
deficit," RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan was quoted saying during
the EurAsEc meeting in Moscow.

According to the premier, Armenia has not yet felt the strong impact
of the global economic downturn.

"The Central Bank and Government have expanded their policy. We have
increased sharply this year’s budget deficit that is forecast to
reach 7%, with inflation remaining low," Sargsyan said, ruling out
inflationary pressure in 2009. "We will end this year with around 5%
inflation," the premier added.

The premier stressed that the RA Government’s anti-crisis measures are
similar to those undertaken in other member-states of EurAsEc. "Though
these measures help alleviate the impact of the global financial and
economic crisis, they cannot totally eliminate it," the prime minister
said, adding the Armenian government would make further efforts to
boost the country’s economy.

Armenia posted a 9.7% year-on-year economic downturn between January
and April 2009, with GDP totaling 638,939.3mln drams.

PRESIDENT RECEIVED U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY

Panorama.am
17:59 09/06/2009

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received today the U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State Dr. Philip Gordon, the President’s Cabinet reports.

The President congratulated the Assistant Secretary for assuming his
position and said that his visit is a good opportunity to discuss the
on-going status of the Armenian-American relations and the perspectives
of their development. Armenia, President Sargsyan emphasized, signifies
strengthening relations with the United States.

He has also mentioned that the U.S. efforts to contribute to developed
economic, powerful democracy and stability in the region are highly
appreciated.

The Assistant Secretary said that it’s the second week he has assumed
his position and has started his foreign visits from Armenia. According
to him the American party also signifies strengthening cooperation
with Armenia, and much attention is paid on the regional developments.

The parties have discussed a wide range of questions, including
the activities of the Millennium Challenges project and the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

UC SANTA BARBARA STUDENTS CONFRONT ADL’S GENOCIDE DENIAL
By Armine Amy Kaladzhyan

anta-barbara-students-confront-adls-genocide-denia l/
Jun 5, 2009

Almost two years ago, a group of outraged students at UC Santa Barbara
banded together. They united, just as citizens in the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts had done before them, to get campus and community
entities to disassociate themselves with the Anti-Defamation League
(ADL) and its No Place For Hate (NPFH) program.

The students came together in response to the immoral and callous
decision by the ADL to issue a statement that they were against the
passage of a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and were
actively lobbying against it in the halls of Congress. Armenian
Americans and humans rights advocates alike believed then and now
that the ADL forfeited any moral authority to sponsor NPFH once it
took a stance so inconsistent with such a profound human rights issue.

The road to get campus and community groups to disassociate themselves
from the ADL’s NPFH program has encountered many obstacles and
bureaucratic hurdles. Berj Parseghian, now a UCSB alumnae, and
Garo Manjikian, former community organizer in Santa Barbara and
current ANCA Legislative Affairs Director, began the campaign with
an intense letter writing campaign aimed at encouraging a handful
of campus organizations, which the ADL listed as participants of the
NPFH program, to disassociate. Their hard work resulted in two major
organizations, the University Religious Center and Empowerment Works,
immediately cutting ties with the ADL.

The leadership of the campaign grew to include Amy Kaladzhyan and
Shant Karnikian. These two students presented the issue at the
Sacramento Issues Awareness Caucus of 2008 and gained the support
of legislators such as Assemblymember Pedro Nava and Assemblymember
Anthony Portantino, Chair of the Higher Education Committee. Back
in Santa Barbara, Parseghian and Manjikian brought the issue to the
attention of Chancellor Henry Yang of UCSB, who in turn urged them
to continue the campaign and raise awareness of the issue among
students because he "expects every community member to adhere to a
set of values that include mutual respect, tolerance and civility."

Fueled by the thoughtful words of encouragement from the Chancellor,
a meeting was arranged between the leadership of the campaign and
the Dean of Students, Assistant Dean, and the Director of Judicial
Affairs, which lists ADL as a resource for students. The students
took the opportunity to educate the UCSB administration about various
issues surrounding the Armenian Genocide, as well as the importance
of disassociating the university from an organization which, because
of its opposition to the recognition of a crime against humanity,
has no place on a college campus. The Armenian Student Association
(ASA) organized a panel discussion to raise campus awareness about
this issue and allow the ADL to present its side of the story. The
panel was comprised of Shant Karnikian on behalf of the ASA, Antranig
Kzirian from the Armenian National Committee-Western Region, and
Chris Villavicencio on behalf of STAND: An Anti-Genocide Coalition.

The ADL turned down the invitation to be a part of the panel. Oddly
enough, the event was hosted at the Multi- Cultural Center, a campus
organization that was formerly associated with the NPFH program. The
deliberate and well-planned efforts of the students at UCSB have been
effective. Presently there are no campus entities that are seeking
certification from NPFH.

While the UCSB community has expressed grave concern with the ADL’s
hypocritical stance on the Armenian Genocide, with many departments no
longer seeking to renew their membership with the NPFH program, the
issue has become one that is no longer focused on just the Armenian
Genocide. In early March, Abraham Foxman, the national director of
the Anti-Defamation League, invited a number of school officials
and faculty members to a meeting to urge university officials
to investigate charges of anti-Semitism against Professor William
Robinson, a sociology professor who drew comparisons between Israeli
soldiers in Gaza and the Nazi siege of Warsaw, Poland. The ADL was
quick to respond to this incident in an attempt to limit academic
freedom and yet they were nowhere in sight when the Muslim Student
Association was victim to a print attack in the school newspaper,
The Daily Nexus, by David Horowitz accusing them of being a part of
the Muslim Brotherhood.

It is important now, more than ever, to fight against the ADL’s
involvement in academic or even community affairs, especially in the
Santa Barbara area. The students of UC Santa Barbara will continue to
work to keep the genocide deniers at the ADL off their campus. These
students, who are dedicated to human rights, are determined to set
an example for other student groups, Armenian Americans and other
minorities alike, to take action when they are marginalized by a more
powerful entity.

Clearly, no one benefits when the sponsor of a community program
diminishes a crime against humanity and denies the historical
truth of any genocide. The ADL’s position as deniers of genocide is
untenable. In southern California, the ADL has learned, the hard way,
that they will enjoy no safe haven to practice genocide denial on
the campus of UC Santa Barbara.