Author: Chmshkian Vicken

ARMENIAN DELEGATION TO ATTEND THE EUROPE-TURKEY FORUM

armradio.am
04.12.2008 12:55

Europe-Turkey Forum will take place in Sopot, Poland from December
5 to 6.

Armenian MP, member of the ARF Bureau Vahan Hovhannisyan, Head of the
Representation of Armenian Organizations of European and the Armenian
community of Slovakia Ashot Grigoryan and a representative of the
Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been invited to attend
the forum.

During the forum reference will be made to issues related to
Turkey’s accession to the European Union, the cooperation of Black
Sea countries, cooperation of the South Caucasus countries, etc.

The participation of Vahan Hovhannisyan and Ashot Grigoryan is
expected within the framework of the cooperation of the countries of
the South Caucasus, where issues of expansion of Turkey’s influence
in the region and its mediating activity will be presented.

An equal number of people from Turkey and EU countries have been
invited to attend the Forum. The total number of participants is
150. The Armenian participants of the Forum have serious expectations
from the results of discussion of Armenian issues.

PARLIAMENTARY HEARINGS TO BE HELD FOR DISCUSSION OF SEVERAL BILLS RELATED TO ECONOMIC SPHERE

Noyan Tapan

Dec 3, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Parliamentary hearings will be
held on December 12 on the initiative of the RA National Assembly
Standing Committee of Economic Issues. The committee chairman Vardan
Aivazian said at the December 2 sitting of the National Assembly that
at the moment the committee examines several bills of importance for
the country’s economic development, which should become a subject
of wide public discussion. Among these bills are the bill on making
amendments and additions to the Law on Fixed Payments and the bill
on honorary payments.

According to V. Aivazian, the indicated bills are aimed at developing
small and medium entrepreneurship in Armenia. He invited all interested
persons to participate in the hearings.

MINASYAN GIVEN CREDIT FOR PYUNIK SUCCESS
by Khachik Chakhoyan

UEFA.com
Dec 2 2008
Switzerland

FC Pyunik president Karen Arutyunyan said coach Vardan Minasyan was
"not only a great teacher, but a great psychologist as well" after
he led the club to an eighth successive title with a play-off victory
against FC Ararat Yerevan.

Title decider Hired to replace Armen Gyulbudagyants after a shaky
start to the campaign, Minasyan’s side were beaten 3-0 on aggregate
by Anorthosis Famagusta FC in UEFA Champions League qualifying before
dragging themselves back into the title race. Pyunik drew level on
points with Ararat after the final scheduled game of the season,
and then beat them 2-1 in added time in a specially-arranged title
decider. "Ararat were not only league leaders, but they also played
the best football in the country and won the Armenian Cup," said
Minasyan, 34. Ararat looked to be in a class of their own at times,
although FC Gandzasar Kapan, FC MIKA and FC Banants all harboured
title hopes at various times.

Motivational skills "In the middle of the season everybody dropped
points," added Minsayan, who returned to club football following a
spell with the national team. "We were able to reduce the deficit,
although I was still pretty sure Ararat would win the title." The
fact that Pyunik denied them stands as testament to Minsyan’s skills
as a coach and a motivator. After the final whistle in the golden
game on 19 November, club president Arutyunyan said of the former
Pyunik midfielder: "I was right about this group of players and
about Minasyan as a head coach. He was not only a great teacher,
but a great psychologist as well. He is a true professional who has
reached the heights in his own very special way."

International experience Pyunik’s success was founded upon an
indomitable spirit and a successful youth policy. Aside from Sargis
Hovsepyan and Karen Dokhoyan, all of their players were aged between 18
and 20. "Many of our players were in the national youth and U21 teams,"
said Minasyan. "We even had four players selected for the senior
team. This experience helped them to grow." Right-back Hovsepyan,
meanwhile, underlined the culture of endeavour that prevailed among
his team-mates. "Every club has it’s own footballing philosophy,"
the 36-year-old said. "We value the relationships between people. We
always stayed united and believed in ourselves. Our fighting spirit
helped us to win games where our opponents outplayed us."

SWITZERLAND WILL JOIN SCHENGEN AGREEMENT DEC 12 2008

ArmInfo
2008-12-01 21:08:00

ArmInfo. Switzerland will join Schengen Agreement on Dec 12 2008,
reports the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia.

Starting from Dec 12 all foreigners, including Armenian citizens,
having Schengen visas will be allowed to enter the territory of
Switzerland.

Dec 15 the embassies of Switzerland abroad will start issuing Schengen
visas. The closest Swiss embassy to Armenia is the embassy in Tbilisi.

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA: ABOUT US $90 MILLION WERE DIRECTED FOR SAFETY ENHANCEMENT OF ARMENIAN NPP SINCE ITS RESTART

ArmInfo
2008-12-02 16:19:00

ArmInfo. About US $90 mln were directed for safety enhancement of
the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant [ANPP] since restart of its second
power unit in early 1995, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said
at today’s 10th session of the Nuclear Power Security Council.

Armenian president expressed gratitude to all the countries which
assisted in enhancement of safety of the Armenian NPP’s operating
unit since its recommissioning. ‘Armenia is satisfied by the fact that
ANNP’s safety level meets all the international standards’, S. Sargsyan
said. According to him, the work of the nuclear power pecialists is
an example of purposeful application of deep professional knowledge
and of impersonal serving to their professional duty. ‘The work you
do in the area of safety and operation of the Armenian NPP assures
maintenance of the country’s security at a high level’, S. Sargsyan
said and recalled that the Council was set in 1996. Many eminent
foreign specialists were attracted to its operation over this time.

‘In general, the sphere of energy security and nuclear safety,
in particular, has always been one of the priorities both for the
country’s president and the government’, S. Sargsyan said. He
added that some changes took place in the Council’s staff over
this period. In particular, deputy Director of the State Nuclear
Energy Corporation Alexander Lapshin was included in its staff. The
Nuclear Energy Security Council plays an important part in the area of
Armenia’s energy security. The remarks, proposals and recommendations,
developed by the Council, have always been a subject of thorough
analysis. Many of them were implemented. In particular, the Nuclear
Regulatory Authority was reorganized into a State Nuclear Safety
Regulatory Committee under the Armenian government. A package of
proposals on revision of the list of technical measures for enhancement
of safety of ANPP’s second unit based on the safety analysis report
played an essential part. ‘We highly appreciate the activity of IAEA on
coordination of the different international technical assistance. In
particular, it aims at implementation of the points of the list of
technical measures on enhancement of safety of the Armenian NPP’s
second power unit’, S. Sargsyan said. He recalled that the third
working session on this topic was held jointly with IAEA and the
Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Armenia in September,
2008, in Yerevan.

German Ambassador: EU ready to assist Armenia in implementing reforms

YEREVAN, November 28. /ARKA/. The European Union (EU) is ready to
assist Armenia in implementing reforms, German Ambassador to Armenia
Andrea Victorin said at a two-day international conference on
partnership between the EU and South Caucasus.

Armenia is taking active measures to implement the European partnership
action plan, but it should take up further programs to build a
democratic country, accomplished human rights institution and supremacy
of the law, Victorin said.

According to Victorin, strengthening of the judiciary and the police
should come next in the list of the country’s goals.

Victorin said that the regional cooperation becomes more important in
terms of the direct neighborhood with the EU. According to the
diplomat, strengthening of the regional cooperation will allow the
countries not only getting economic advantage, but also relieving the
tension and settling the situation.

The EU plays an important role in the region in the context of
expansion of the European area of security and stability in the South
Caucasus.

The EU expert group sent to Armenia as per the agreement between the
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and the EU Commissioner for Trade
Peter Mendelssohn demonstrates EU’s commitment to deepen its relations
with Armenia, Victorin said.`0–

Armenian Parliament passed the law on the state budget for 2009

YEREVAN, November 27. /ARKA/. Armenian Parliament passed the law on the
state budget for 2009.

According to the state budget, total incomes are to amount to 905bln
Drams, expenditures 945bln Drams and deficit 40bln Drams. The tax and
due receipts are to total 727.5bln Drams.

Armenian Minister of Finance Tigran Davtyan said that `low deficit is a
good buffer for resisting the possible effects of the world crisis’.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is planned to be 4trln 169bln Drams in
Armenia with real GDP growth at 9.2%, deflator at 4% and inflation at
4±1.5%.

Under the state budget for 2009, Dram exchange rate is 303.69Drams for
$1 (the rate recorded on November 3).`0–

USD 35,009,156 raised during Armenia Fund’s Telethon 2008

armradio.am
28.11.2008 12:16

The Annual Hayastan All Armenian Fund’s International Fundraising
Telethon beat the record this year. USD 35,009,156 was raised during
the 12-hour telethon aired live on Armenian Public TV. This is more
than twice as much as last year’s figure. 250 thousand families
participated in Telethon 2007 last year, and the funds raised totaled
$15,275,436.
The whole sum will be allocated to the `Rural Development Program.’

A1+

COMMISSION VIOLATED THE RIGHT TO IMMUNITY
[08:01 pm] 28 November, 2008

Today the NA ad hoc Commission looking into the events of March 1-2
watched a film on the tragic occurrences. The film divulged the
deciphered telephone talks of several opposition representatives. The
main idea of the film was that the opposition directed the
demonstrators to the French Embassy instead of sending them home
although feeling the explicit threat hanging on them.

In other shot Suren Sirunyan informs the head of Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
pre-election office, Alexandre Arzumanyan, that the demonstrators `had
already `taken’ several streets, among them Grigor Lusavorich,
Paronyan, and set fire to some police cars. Satisfied with the answer
Arzumanyan said, `Excellent, excellent.’

The Chairman of the Commission, Samvel Nikoyan, said the film proves
that the demonstrators robbed the neighbouring shops. The robbery was
not committed by the authorities as the opposition used to
claim. During his telephone talk with Alexandre Arzumanyan, Levon
Ter-Petrosyan asks, `Are you in high spirits?’ and adds, `This is what
I expected.’

The film didn’t give answer to a most vital question: when exactly
Levon Ter-Petrosyan had a telephone talk with Arzumanyan – before or
after March 2? In the main the film focused on human relations among
Armenian oppositionists and laid a special emphasis to Arzumanyan’s
disregard and offensive words towards his fellow colleagues. During
the sitting the Leader of the United Labour Party, Gurgen Arsenyan,
and member of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Naira Zohrabyan, announced
that the film might be submitted with the commission to divert their
attention and suggested not to hurry with conclusions. ARF
Dashnaktsutyun member Artsvik Minasyan reminded the presentees about
the commission’s mission and National Unity representative Sargis
Muradkhanyan thanked the authors of the film. The Leader of the
National Concord Aram Harutyunyan posed a rhetoric question to the
Commission: `And where did the film owners get the deciphered talk?’ A
voice said off screen, `If you were sure of your victory why didn’t
you appeal to court? If you didn’t instill confidence in our courts
why didn’t you appeal to the European Court of Human Rights?’

Note that the Constitutional Court hadn’t heard Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
suit on March 1.

Let’s remind the words of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human
Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, `The opposition’s telephone talks shouldn’t
be deciphered. Decoding of such talks by the National Security Service
is inadmissible for me in a country of law. It infringes the right to
immunity to private life.’

DEVELOPMENT ARMENIAN AGENCY TO HOLD A SESSION

Panorama.am
20:58 25/11/2008

Today the "Development Armenian Agency" held a session in the
Government of Armenia, which was chaired by the Prime Minister and the
President of the Council Tigran Sargsyan. During the meeting it was
discussed the improvement of local investment market and 2009 plans
of the agency, the schedule to organize "ArmTech" high technologies
annual summit, participation plans of "Shanhai 2010" international
exhibition, etc.

The Prime Minister signified the cooperation of the agency with those
investors who are willing to do investments in Armenia, reported the
public relations department of the Government.