Author: Dabaghian Diana

EU PREPARES TO LAUNCH A LOW-FLYING EASTERN PARTNERSHIP

FT
February 17, 2009 11:03am

Apart from all their summits on the recession and financial crisis,
European Union leaders are planning to get together in Prague on
May 7 to launch something called the "Eastern Partnership". This is
an initiative designed to draw six post-Soviet states – Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – closer to the
EU, without holding out an explicit promise of membership at some
future date.

Let’s hope that fate treats the Eastern Partnership more kindly than
it has done the EU’s Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), a similar
initiative for the bloc’s southern neighbours. This project, the
brainchild of French President NIcolas Sarkozy, was launched in Paris
to great fanfare in July. Then it nose-dived in January when the Gaza
war broke out.

Libya, never an enthusiastic supporter of the UfM in the first place,
said scathingly that the project was "a motionless corpse" and "the
time-wasting, play-acting and ridiculous spectacles must end". Of
course, Libya doesn’t speak for everyone in north Africa and the
Middle East. But there can be no doubt that the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict is a curse on the UfM.

As for the Eastern Partnership, it seems another example of how the
EU often has its heart in the right place, while lacking the power,
conceptua l vision and unity of purpose to do what it aspires to
do. If the partnership had been in place a year ago, it wouldn’t
have done much to affect the course of last August’s Russian-Georgian
war, or January’s Russian-Ukrainian gas crisis, or Ukraine’s present
economic meltdown.

All six states covered by the Eastern Partnership exist in the shadow
of Russia, some more comfortably than others. The EU’s offer of free
trade deals, visa facilitation arrangements and seminars to improve
understanding of EU laws simply does not match the military, political
and economic influence that Russia can wield in the region. After
all, one of the favoured six – Georgia – was in effect partitioned by
Russia a mere six months ago, in spite of all the EU’s protests, after
Moscow’s recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

That doesn’t mean the EU should remain inactive. But the Eastern
Partnership’s credibility isn’t helped by the open secret that Poland
and Sweden proposed the initiative last year largely to counter-balance
Sarkozy’s UfM.

However, perhaps the most glaring weakness of the UfM and the
Eastern Partnership is that the EU, at the insistence of its
budget-conscious governments, is committing only limited funds to
both projects. This hasn’t gone unnoticed in the places where it
matters. "They have one common problem – they don0t have dedicated
finances and support. Whatever isn’t supported by a line in the budget
usually doesn’t fly very high," one interested observer said serenely
last week.

Who was he? Vladimir Chizhov, Russia’s ambassador to the EU in
Brussels.

WPS Agency, Russia
What the Papers Say (Russia)
February 12, 2009 Thursday

ASSISTANCE FEE

by Yuri Simonjan

MOSCOW MAY ASK ARMENIA TO JOIN THE RUBLE ZONE IN RETURN FOR A LOAN;
Yerevan and Moscow signed a preliminary agreement on a loan to
Armenia. The $500 million are supposed to aid survival of Armenian
economy in the crisis.

Vardan Aivazjan, Chairman of the Commission for Economic Affairs of
the National Assembly (parliament), said Armenia might join the ruble
zone by way of paying the loan back. "If Russia insists, the National
Assembly will decide the matter," he said. "It is actually the
Armenian people that will have to decide."

Armenia is somewhat disappointed because it had asked for $1 billion
and counted on getting the money. After all, Moscow had loaned $2
billion to Kyrgyzstan and Belarus each. Much to Yerevan’s chagrin, the
Kremlin agreed to loan it only half the sum. Armenia will appeal to
China and international financial establishments for the remaining
half a billion.

Commenting on the situation, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Nikolai
Pavlov admitted existence of the idea to extend the ruble zone to all
CIS countries. "Considering the crisis under way, the issue is off the
agenda at this point," the diplomat said.

"Russia and Belarus have been working on the Union state for… how
long? Even they cannot agree on principles of a common monetary
unit. And what does Armenia have to do with it?" political scientist
Andranik Tevanjan said.

Official Yerevan in the meantime desperately needs finances to quell
protests and the opposition. Armenian National Congress Coordinator
Levon Zurabjan said mass protests were scheduled for March 1,
anniversary of brutal dispersal of a peaceful manifestation where 10
protesters were killed. "We informed the city administration,"
Zurabjan said. "Political and social issues will be raised at the
rally."

Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, No 28, February 12, 2009, p. 2

Mediamax, Armenia
Feb 13 2009

Armenian opposition confirms plans to hold rally on 1 March

Yerevan, 13 February: The opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC)
has "a firm intention" to hold a rally in central Yerevan on 1 March,
Arman Musinyan, the press secretary of the ANC leader, former Armenian
President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, said in Yerevan today.

Musinyan said that the decision of the municipality to change the
venue of the rally and forbid a march has not been given to the
organizers of the rally in the form and deadline provided by law. "All
the further steps of the Armenian opposition will be presented at the
rally, and their content depends on the events and circumstances
preceding the rally, Musinyan said. "Being a union of political
parties, ANC does not claim to take up the role of a separate
political force but will actively participate in all internal
political processes, including in the election of the Yerevan Council
of Elders slated for this year," he said. Musinyan said there is a
growth of "domestic public activity, conditioned by both the efforts
of the ANC and the meaningless political steps by the authorities". He
added that the recent speeches by the Armenian president [Serzh
Sargsyan] at the Munich Security Conference and at the congress of the
Prosperous Armenia party "virtually made no sense".

IN GEVORG DANIELIAN’S AFFIRMATION, THERE IS NO BRIBERY AND ABUSES IN LEGAL ACTS OBLIGATORY EXECUTION SPHERE

Noyan Tapan

Feb 10, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. There is no bribery, abuses in
the sphere of the legal acts obligatory execution, RA Minister of
Justice Gevorg Danielian stated in his exclusive interview to Noyan
Tapan correspondent.

The Minister said that a positive shift can be recorded even without
amending the law, through changing the order, the demands. According
to the Minister, the change of specialists also improved the situation:
heads of three sibdivisions were changed, the changes still continue.

The evidence of a noticeable improval in the structure is also the fact
that the sum collected in the sphere in 2008 is three-fold more than
the index of the previous year. The number of application-complaints
has also decreased.

Among issues subject to improval the Minister mentioned issues of
property search, assessment, the Minister, in particular, does not
consider realistic putting property to auction at a price 75% lower
than the real cost.

According to him, the expediency of privatizing some spheres is also
discussed at the Ministry.

ONE COMMON CURRENCY?

A1+
[08:19 pm] 10 February, 2009

"The RA Prime Minister’s announcements made on "Mir" interstate
television introducing the common currency in the CIS refer to
trading in rubles with CIS countries and not the ruble zone. They
are different concepts and must not be misinterpreted," told "A1+"
RA Prime Minister’s press speaker Diana Mnatsakanyan touching upon
the issue of whether the Prime Minister’s statements are not directly
tied to the rumors that Armenia is moving to the ruble zone.

The Armenian PM also mentioned that "Armenia has a package of proposals
and the Central Bank made proposals for the common currency three
years ago" and added: "If the central banks of all CIS countries start
relying on that currency and consider it their reserve currency,
this will be the first step towards trading in rubles in those
countries. This means that the Central Bank of Armenia must consider
the ruble as its reserve currency and we must do everything we can
to make that happen."

The PM’s statements come after the preliminary agreement made by
Armenian and Russian governments to grant Armenia a 500 million dollar
loan to mitigate the negative effects of the global financial downturn
on Armenia’s economy.

Although the RA Ministry of Finances reports that the "preliminary
deal does not presuppose any financial obligations on the part of
Armenia", there are rumors in the presses that the loan to be granted
is in exchange for entering the ruble zone.

AMENDMENTS TO THE CRIMINAL CODE CAN HELP ESTABLISH DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE AUTHORITIES AND THE OPPOSITION
Gita Elibekyan

"Radiolur"
10.02.2009 17:58

Amendments to Articles 225 and 300 of the Criminal Code of Armenia can
serve as a ground for establishment of dialogue between the authorities
and the opposition, member of the Republican Party faction of the
National Assembly Gagik Melikyan told a press conference, noting that
the dialogue will lead to the improvement of the situation.

Speaking about the economic crisis, Gagik Melikyan noted that the
authorities take measures to exclude the crisis and the social
outburst: this year’s budget is socially targeted, since social
allocations total 47%. "The authorities take steps to create jobs,
attract foreign investments, and raise the pensions and other social
payments. I don’t think this is enough, but I do hope it will reduce
the possibility of social outburst," the MP noted.

Turning to the 45th Security Conference in Munich, Gagik Melikyan
attached importance to the fact that for the first time the Armenian
President gave clear evaluations to the processes underway in the
region from such a high platform and voiced a call to the political
forces interested in the region.

He specially emphasized the words that any careless word, each
uncalculated step is pregnant with unpredictable consequences.

Converse Bank increases the number of plastic cards by 40%

2009-02-06 20:49:00

ArmInfo. In 2008 Converse Bank increased the number of issued cards by
40% to 27166.

According to the data given to ArmInfo by Converse Bank, as of January
1, 2009, the share of local ArCa cards was 3,8% of the total number of
plastic cards issued by Converse Bank, the rest 96,2% were
international Visa cards. As compared with the same period of the
previous year, the number of local cards issued by the bank grew by
49,1% to 1042, and Visa – by 39,2% to 26124. As of 1 January 2009,
Converse Bank had 68 bancomats (as against 27 in 2008). Furthermore, as
of January 1, 2009, the bank had 419 POS-terminals, while as of January
1, 2008, there were 97 bancomats.

The shareholders of Converse Bank, which has been operating since 1993,
are Advanced Global Investments controlled by Argentine businessman
Eduardo Eurnekian (95%) and the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin (5%).

CSTO’s rapid-reaction force to equal NATO’s – Medvedev

20:49 | 04/ 02/ 2009

MOSCOW, February 4 (RIA Novosti) – The collective rapid-reaction force
to be created by a post-Soviet regional security bloc will be just as
good as comparable NATO forces, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said
on Wednesday.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) agreed on Wednesday
at a summit in Moscow to set up the new force, to be based in Russia.

Medvedev said the force, to be comprised of a "sufficient" number of
units, would be "well trained and well equipped."

"Russia is ready to contribute a division and a brigade," he said.
"This gives you an idea of the scale."

The Russian president also said the CSTO was open for cooperation with
the United States in the fight against terrorism in Central Asia.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is a security
grouping comprising the former Soviet republics of Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The rapid-reaction force agreement was signed by the leaders of all
CSTO member states in the Kremlin, although Uzbekistan recorded "a
special opinion."

"Uzbekistan cannot accept the provision whereby all special services,
including emergency services, are to be part of the collective force,"
CSTO press secretary Vitaly Strugovets said.

The force will be used to repulse military aggression, conduct
anti-terrorist operations, fight transnational crime and drug
trafficking, and neutralize the effects of natural disasters.

The force will be permanently based in Russia and placed under a single
command, with CSTO member countries contributing special military
units.

A source in the Russian delegation said Uzbekistan would not
participate in the collective force on a permanent basis but would
"delegate" its detachments to take part in operations on an ad hoc
basis.

EURASEC AGREES ON ANTI-CRISIS FUND ESTABLISHMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.02.2009 18:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Upon completion of the CSTO council summit,
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan participated in a meeting of EurAsEC
intergovernmental council, the RA leader’s press office reports.

The heads of state agreed on establishment of an anti-crisis fund
and a high technology international center.

Armenia has the status of observer in the Organization.

HERITAGE HOUSE TO SHOWCASE EMPIRE BUILDER

Times of India
eritage_house_to_showcase_empire_builder/articlesh ow/4077783.cms
Feb 5 2009
India

CHENNAI: A once ill-maintained corner in a colonial structure in
Charles Street inside Fort St George will open its windows on Thursday
to showcase to the public the fascinating life of Robert Clive, who,
it can be said with some justification, laid the foundations of the
British empire in India.

Called Clive’s House, for it was where Rober Clive lived for a
while (the only other place where Clive lived in the south was
the Collector’s House in Old Cuddalore), the 300-year-old imposing
brick-and-mortar structure, complete with wooden floors and staircases,
high ceilings, and a roof supported by British steel girders, was
originally called Admiralty House because the courts of Admiralty
established in 1687 as a court of appeal sat in this building.

Clive is said to have rented this house from an Armenian merchant. It
even served as the governor’s town house for some time. Today, of
course, it is the southern regional headquarters of the Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI).

"We have created a Clive’s Corner, chronicling his life, his battles,
correspondence and excerpts from his speeches," says Sathyabama
Badrinath, superintending archaeologist, ASI, Chennai Circle.

Son of a Shropshire squire, Clive arrived in Madras in 1743. Aged 18,
he was a writer or clerk for the East India Company. Clive is, of
course, well known for having successfully captured Arcot, capital
of the Carnatic then, to provide the momentum for the British to
expand, at the expense of the French, as well as for his defeat of
Siraj-ud-Daulah with the help of Mir Jafar in the famous Battle of
Plassey. In both instances, Clive showed supreme resilience, battling
with far fewer troops than his adverseries.

The first marriage register of the St Mary’s Church in the Fort records
the marriage of Robert Clive with Margaret Maskelyne. Their marriage
was registered and solemnised at the church, which, consecrated in
1680, is the oldest Protestant church this side of the Suez.

The opening of Clive’s Corner, a permanent exhibition, is a welcome
effort by ASI to highlight the life and times of a man, an empire
builder, who also learnt his craft in Madras that is Chennai.