Author: Chmshkian Vicken

Diaspora’s Aid to Armenia Should Be Address
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.07.2006 15:18 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Diaspora’s aid to Armenia should be address,
Rutgers University student Raffi Harutyunian, who is in Armenia on an
AAA student project, told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his words,
the investments in Armenia should be made in the sectors that need
them. “Diaspora’s psychology should be changed. It’s not a hard job
just to give money. We should know how the funds are spent and why
we assign them. I think Armenia should follow Israel’s example on
the matter,” Harutyunian remarked. At the same time he stressed that
some Disaporan Armenians consider that they perform their duty to the
homeland by establishing a hotel or a museum in Armenia. “We should
know exactly what Armenia needs and what fields need investments
and development. But sometimes we face discrepancies. We offer to
improve the whole infrastructure while the Armenian government says
to develop one village and then the other,” said Raffi Harutyunian
mastering in political sciences.
To note, 14 students from U.S. universities have arrived in Armenia
to work in the Armenian ministries and NGOs as well as various
international organizations. The purpose of the AAA program launched
in 1999 is familiarization with Armenia and clarification of AAA
priority projects.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS BEING PREPARED TO THE ELECTIONS 2007-2008
Yerevan, July 22. ArmInfo. Although on the latest, 10-th meeting of
the Republican Party the issues of the elections in 2007-2008 were
not directly considered, the party is actively getting prepared to
them, said the leader of the party Andranik Margarian. He did not
prognosticate the party’s success in the parliamentary elections,
but said that the party will try hard to achieve and even to improve
the results of the 2003 elections. Andranik Margarian also found
difficult to point out a certain rival party of the Republican.

DEFENSE MINISTER IS FREE TO CHOOSE
Lragir.am
21 July 06
Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan stated in an interview with Radio
Liberty that the minister of defense Serge Sargsyan is free to
chose what party he wants to be a member. He also said that Serge
Sargsyan has always sympathized with the Republican Party and shared
its ideas. At the same time he mentioned that the membership of the
defense minister to the Republican Party is not unconstitutional.

NEWS UPDATE
The Heritage Party
Yerevan 0033, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 58.08.77, 52.22.38
Fax: (+374 – 10) 54.38.97
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website:
July 19, 2006
STATEMENT OF THE HERITAGE PARTY
Yerevan — The illegal actions of the management of the Paronian
Theater deprived Mr. Raffi K. Hovannisian, on March 4, 2006, of the
right of access to his lawfully leased offices at 7 Vazgen Sargsian
Street.
On April 11, Mr. Hovannisian filed with the Court of First Instance
of Yerevan’s Central and Nork-Marash communities an official claim
against the theater’s management, demanding that his right to use
the property for its intended purposes be restored. Hovannisian
simultaneously submitted a petition to enjoin the defendant theater
from blocking his right of access to his belongings.
On April 14, the Court issued an injunction prohibiting the defendant
theater from taking any restrictive action against the office in
question and the usage of the property located in it, and forwarded its
ruling to the Service for Mandatory Execution of Judicial Acts (SMEJA).
The Court’s April 14 injunction, which was to be enforced immediately,
was for moot reasons implemented only a full month and a half later,
on May 29, as the marshals of SMEJA reopened the office doors. That
same day, the theater’s director issued a written statement confirming
that the rights of occupancy would not be violated and consequently
allowing the resumption of normal office operations.
On the very next day, May 30, however, the very same agents of SMEJA,
accompanied by the commando-clad “chief evicter” of Yerevan, carried
out an extra-legal “directive from above” to vacate the premises by
force, evicting Hovannisian and his staff from the Heritage Party’s
headquarters. All office doors were again sealed. Ironically, the
only formal instruction given to SMEJA required, in clear language,
the protection of Hovannisian’s property from the theater’s management,
which the marshals had carried out properly the day before.
Article 5 of the Armenian Constitution stipulates that state authority
shall be exercised in accordance with the Constitution and laws based
on the principle of the separation of its legislative, executive,
and judicial branches. National and local bodies and public officials
may execute only such acts as are authorized by the Constitution and
relevant legislation.
This means the SMEJA marshals in fact took measures for which they
had no authority whatsoever. Thus, the second illegal action against
Raffi Hovannisian was committed by SMEJA itself.
With respect to the unlawful actions of the theater’s management,
Judge Edward Avetisian ruled on June 26 that the forcible closure of
the Heritage office was illegal, and thus the SMEJA seals placed on the
doors of the office had effectively expired. While the Court instructed
the plaintiff to pay certain installments on the contract, it held
the defendant and its negligent conduct to be solely responsible on
this score, thus constructively validating the five-year real-estate
lease that had been signed between Hovannisian and the government’s
agent in September 2002.
Today, there have entered into force binding judicial documents that
find the actions of the Paronian Theater’s management and subsequently
of the SMEJA officers to be illegal.
These rulings notwithstanding, when the Heritage Party reenters the
premises rented by Mr. Raffi Hovannisian, it is uncertain whether
the state officials will discontinue their mode of operations that
have no basis in law.

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev to Present a Program of CIS Reforming
ArmRadio.am
19.07.2006 16:53
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev, who will be presiding
over the non-official summit of CIS states to be held July 21-22 in
Moscow, will present the program of CIS reforming, Foreign Minister
of Kazakhstan Kassymzhomart Tokaev told “Interfax” Agency.
“President Nursultan Nazarbaev has prepared a document on CIS reforming
to be presented at the summit,” said Tokaev in Riga, where he arrived
with the Kazakh delegation.

Discussions of the Electoral Code held in the National Assembly
ArmRadio.am
18.07.2006 16:25
During the consultations called by Chairman of the National Assembly
Tigran Torosyan representatives of the Parliamentary groups and
factions continued the preliminary discussions of the amendments to
RA Electoral Code. In the result, principles of solution regarding
a number of Venice Commission suggestions were formulated.
PR Office of the National Assembly informs that he next discussion
of the Electoral Code is scheduled July 21.

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
July 14 2006
Armenian FM: Disclosure of some details of conversation process
‘enables open healthy discussion in society’
Source: Trend
Author: A.Mammadov
14.07.2006
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said today in Yerevan
‘disclosure of some details of conversation process on Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict settlement was not the surprise for Armenia’.
Mediamax agency reports, Oskanyan told journalists ‘disclosure of some
details of conversation process enables open healthy discussion in
the society’. Alongside, he underlined, full disclosure of proposal
“bears the threat of one of another party rejecting the principles
of such settlement”.
Oskanyan says the time hasn’t come for Armenian government to start
persuading Armenian society in necessity of accepting announced
principles as ‘Azerbaijan disagreed with some issues of this document’.
Speaking of the possibility of arranging the meeting between Azeri
and Armenian presidents, Oskanyan said there is no such question on
the agenda. “However, we do not rule out anything. Probably, something
will become clearer upon Mr Bryza’s visit to the region”, he added.

G8 leaders to discuss CIS trouble spots – Putin-1
RIA Novosti, Russia
July 16 2006
STRELNA (near St. Petersburg), July 16 (RIA Novosti)-Leaders of the
Group of Eight industrialized nations will discuss the situation
in the former Soviet Union, particularly troubled areas, Russian
President Vladimir Putin said Sunday.
“I am certain that we will talk about the entire post-Soviet space,
particularly those problem areas that are not yet quiet,” Putin told
a briefing in the early hours of Sunday morning.
He told journalists that he and U.S. President George Bush had talked
about conflicts in territories neighboring Russia earlier in the day.
“We mostly talked about Georgia,” he said.
Talking about the breakaway region of South Ossetia in Georgia, which
has been the source of tension between Moscow and Tbilisi this year,
Putin said it was a concern.
“The situation is tense and is not being defused,” he said.
He called on Georgia to find ways to cooperate with South Ossetia.
Putin also said the G8 leaders would touch upon the problem of
Nagorny-Karabakh, a territory disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The president said the U.S. and French leaders were particularly
involved in the problem, but added Russia and its partners were ready
to become guarantors of any agreements on the issue.
“We will not foist a decision on either the Azerbaijani nor Armenian
side,” he said.

Azeri FM received Japanese deputy FM
Source: Trend
15.07.2006
Author: P.Kasamanski
On July 14, the foreign minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov
received the Japanese deputy foreign minister Akiko Yamanaka.
The guest noted that the visit of Azerbaijani president to Japan in
February of the current year played an important role in strengthening
the relations between the two countries, and the cooperation on base
of signed agreements covers several spheres.
Besides, she noted that Japan highly assesses the efforts of Azerbaijan
in developing the democracy and market economy.
Yamanaka expressed that Japan is ready to cooperate with Azerbaijan
in other spheres, particularly in pharmaceutics, production of
air-conditioners and development of small and medium business. She
noted that the strengthening of peace, stability and prosperity in
Azerbaijan affects the stability in South Caucasus. Besides, she
pointed out that Tokyo has always supported the peaceful settlement
of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Mentioning the importance of joint Azerbaijani-Japanese statement
“On wide development of friendship and partnership of between Japan
and Azerbaijan” made during the visit of Azerbaijani president Ilham
Aliyev to Japan, Mammadyarov highly assessed the cooperation of the
two countries within UNO.
He presented to the attention of the guest that the aggression of
Armenia against Azerbaijan prevents the stability in South Caucasus
region.
Noting that the regulation of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a
stage-by-stage process, Mammadyarov mentioned the importance of
returning the occupied lands, placing the internally displaced persons
there, ensuring their security and prosperity and then appointing
the status of Nagorno-Karabakh within the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan.

CLOSING VERIN LARS WAS INTENDED
Lragir.am
14 July 06
The decision of Russia to close the checkpoint of Verin Lars at the
Russian-Armenian border was intended to keep the dependence of the
Armenian government on the Russian leadership, says the leader of
the Liberal Progressive Party of Armenia.
The leader of the Liberal Progressive Party Hovanes Hovanisyan reminds
that Georgia has routes by sea and by land, and Georgia does not use
the checkpoint of Verin Lars often, “it is not a road of life. Verin
Lars is the only road connecting Armenia and Russia.” Look what is
happening, “two friendly countries, strategic partner, it is elementary
ethic. If they are going to close Verin Lars, they can make a call
and warn that they are going to close Verin Lars in 3 or 10 days for a
certain priod of time. Our Russian partners or friends do not respect
our country and do not even warn that they are going to repair.”