Author: Dabaghian Diana

PanARMENIAN.Net

Turkish intellectuals’ online apology not EU-ordered campaign
17.01.2009 15:06 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Information that the Turkish intellectuals’ online
apology to Armenians is an EU-ordered campaign was spread by Azeri
media only. This fact that speaks for itself, an Armenian expert said.

"If the information were true, as Baku insists, we would have come
across it in Turkish press," Artak Shakaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter.

The Azeri Press Agency reported that "the European Union paid a lot of
money to the initiators of the campaign."

Meanwhile, over 27 thousand Turkish intellectuals, authors,
journalists, scientists and musicians have already signed the petition
which reads, "My conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed
to and the denial of the Great Calamity that befell the Ottoman
Armenians in 1915. I reject this injustice and for my share, I
empathize with the feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers. I
apologize to them."

ARMENIA EXPECTS PACE TO DEMONSTRATE A MORE BALANCED POSITION

Trend News Agency
Jan 16 2009
Azerbaijan

The Secretary of the National Security Council of Armenia, Arthur
Baghdasaryan, received the co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe John Prescott
and Georges Colombier, and Secretary of the Committee Bad Clain,
Press Office of RA National Security Council reports.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to the process of
accomplishment of PACE Resolutions 1609 and 1620, reported Public
Radio.

Arthur Baghdasaryan noted that considerable progress has been
registered with regard to Resolutions 1609 and 1620. Armenia has
chosen the path of reforms. The Armenian authorities aim at deepening
those reforms.

The Secretary of the National Security Council noted that application
of sanctions against Armenia at PACE winter session may divert our
country from the path of reforms. Therefore, PACE is expected to
demonstrate a more balanced position. In particular, it is necessary
to formulate distinct suggestion of reforms, determining concrete
terms for their implementation.

ARMENIA TO SPEND $118,000 OF DONATIONS FROM DIFFERENT STATES ON ARMENIZATION OF SHUSHA IN 2009

Today.Az
0132.html
Jan 15 2009
Azerbaijan

Armenian government will spend $118,000 of the donations made by
Russia, US, Iran, France and other states in 2009 on Armenization
of the town of Shusha. Organization for Protection of Historical and
Cultural Monuments in the Occupied Azerbaijani Territories told APA
that the aim was to make the town of Shusha a religious, cultural
capital of Armenians.

Therefore, Armenian government will spend a part of the funds allocated
by the financial organizations of Russia, Iran, US and France on
Shushi Fund. The fund launched campaign to introduce over 220 houses
of social, cultural, historical and scientific importance, over 500
historical, cultural and architectural monuments dating back to the
17-19th centuries in the occupied town of Shusha as the monuments
belonging to Armenians.

The money will be spent to publish construction plans, photos, maps
of architectural monuments and buildings of cultural, historical
importance, book "Shusha and Artsakh in the 12-19th centuries", study
the history of Shusha and Karabakh in Armenia’s State Archives, caves
around Shusha, publish the first volume of the book of selected works
by Armenians about "Struggle for Karabakh", establish Cultural Center
for studying "Culture of Shusha", get materials about Shusha from the
state archives of St. Petersburg and prepare plan of cultural events
for next year.

PROFIT TAX REVENUES MAKE UP 14.3% OF TAX REVENUES OF ARMENIAN STATE BUDGET IN JANUARY-NOVEMBER 2008

Noyan Tapan

Jan 14, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Profit tax revenues of 79.1 bln
drams (about 258.7 mln USD) made up 14.3% of the tax revenues of the
RA state budget in January-November 2008. Profit tax revenues grew
by 20.4% or 13.4 bln drams on the same period of 2007, which was
mainly conditioned by a growth of profit tax paid by financial and
credit organizations, as well as of the payments in the amount of 1%
of the minimum profit tax made by nonstate organizations.

According to the press service of the RA ministry of finance, income
tax revenues of the RA state budget amounted to 47.3 bln drams, making
up 8.6% of the tax revenues and exceeding by 17.3% or about 7 billion
drams the index of the same period of the previous year. The income
tax from salaries and other payments equated with them was the main
source of this growth.

The greatest growth was recorded in customs duty revenues. They made
34.3 bln drams, exceeding by 56.2% or 12.4 bln drams the index of
the same period of 2007 and making up 6.2% of the state budget’s tax
revenues in the indicated period of 2008.

Fixed payments amounted to 18.4 bln drams in the first eleven months
of 2008, exceeding by 13% or 2.1 bln drams the index of the same
period of 2007. This growth was mainly due to a growth of revenues
from gas filling stations, trade points and commercial activity,
operation of casinos, and playing machines.

Simplified taxes of 6.1 bln drams were transferred to the state budget
in January-November 2008. This index declined by 32% or 2.9 bln drams
as compared with the same period of 2007, which was conditioned by
the amendments in the RA Law on Simplified Tax, by which on January 1,
2008, the number of activities, from which simplified tax is charged,
was reduced, as well as some restrictions for organizations and
persons engaged in commercial activities are envisaged.

REPUBLICAN PRESS SECRETARY SAYS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT ARMENIAN PREMIER’S ACTIVITES

ARKA
Jan 12, 2009
YEREVAN

Press Secretary of the ruling Republic Party of Armenia (RPA) Eduard
Sharmazanov said he approves of RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan’s
activities.

"Tigran Sargsyan copes with his task well," the republican said,
urging both public and political parties to help the premier to
perform his duties.

Sargsyan is the person who is able to implement necessary reforms,
Sharmazanov concluded.

Monetary base decreases by 3.5%, broad money by 4.4% in Armenia in
November 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The monetary base amounted to 422 bln
14 mln drams (more than 1 bln 380 mln USD) in Armenia as of November
30, 2008, decreasing by 15 bln 435 mln drams or 3.5% as compared with
the previous month.

According to preliminary data transferred by the Central Bank of
Armenia to the RA National Statistical Service, broad money made 721
bln 330 mln drams as of November 30, 2008, decreasing by 33 bln 423 mln
drams or 4.4% as compared with the previous month.

The balance of the population’s deposits with Armenian banks amounted
to 202 bln 397 mln drams as of November 30, 2008, declining by 4 bln
355 mln drams or 2.1% on the previous month and by 39 bln 871 mln drams
or 24.5% as compared with the respective period of 2007.

Presentation of film "The Knights of the Ring" held

YEREVAN, JANUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. A film "The Knights of the Ring" was
made within the framework of "Heritage" program under the patronage of
the International Olympic Committee and on the initiative of the
National Olympic Committee of Armenia. The film shot by cameraman Edvin
Grigorian presents the way passed by Armenian boxing, starting from the
first Olympic champion Varazdat Arshakuni until today. The episodes
with matches of Vladimir Yengibarian, a champion of the Melbourne
Olympic Games, are especially memorable.

The presentation of the film took place at a New Year’s festive event
organized by the Boxing Federation of Armenia at Karen Demirchian
Sports and Concert Complex.

ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN REJECTS OPPOSITION CRITICISM

Trend News Agency
Jan 9 2009
Azerbaijan

Armenia’s state human rights defender, Armen Harutiunian, dismissed
opposition criticism of his recent activities as a manifestation of
"neo-Bolshevik" thinking which he believes is shared by the government,
reported Armenialiberty.

Harutiunian has come under opposition fire over his reaction to
allegations that at least three of the opposition members arrested
following last February’s presidential election were beaten up in
Yerevan’s Nubarashen prison on December 23. Harutiunian expressed
serious concern about the allegations, leading President Serzh
Sarkisian to order a special inquiry at Nubarashen.

The ombudsman agreed to take part in it, a move that prompted criticism
from former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress
(HAK). In a statement on Wednesday, the opposition alliance dismissed
the probe as a smokescreen for a government cover-up of the alleged
torture. It said the authorities should instead launch criminal
proceedings against the prison administration.

A separate statement issued by 42 arrested oppositionists went further,
branding Harutiunian as an advocate of the "kleptocratic regime"
and demanding his resignation. "His main goal today is to cover
up blatant human rights violations and the existence of political
prisoners in Armenia and thereby spare the regime sanctions [by the
Council of Europe,]" they charged.

The pro-Ter-Petrosian daily "Haykakan Zhamanak" claimed that
Harutiunian has been offered the post of justice minister or
prosecutor-general in return for helping the Armenian authorities
avoid the sanctions.

Harutiunian brushed aside the allegations. "I just don’t know how
I can influence the Council of Europe to avoid imposing sanctions,"
he told RFE/RL. "May be they [the opposition] know."

Harutiunian said that both the opposition and the authorities have
put pressure on him since the March 1 deadly clashes in Yerevan. The
ombudsman strongly questioned the official version of those
events at the time, incurring the ire of outgoing President Robert
Kocharian. Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General and Justice
Ministry subsequently issued lengthy reports designed to challenge his
judgment and justify the use of force against opposition protesters.

Harutiunian has also been critical of the arrests and controversial
trials of dozens of Ter-Petrosian loyalists, while declining to
refer to them as political prisoners. "In an atmosphere of political
intolerance and mutual hatred among various political camps, it
is normal that the prosecutor’s office says that the human rights
defender must be prosecuted and then some time later the Armenian
National Congress demands that he resign," he said. "I am used to
this to neo-Bolshevik notion that if your opinion doesn’t correspond
to ours then you are a bad guy," he added.

The HAK clarified later on Thursday that unlike most of the jailed
oppositionists, it did not demand Harutiunian’s resignation. A leading
member of the opposition alliance, Levon Zurabian, also told RFE/RL
that he has received a letter from another detainee, Vardges Gaspari,
claiming that the latter too was ill-treated by security officers on
December 23.

"This is related to the fact that the authorities are putting pressure
on political prisoners to send pardon requests to the presidential
administration," said Zurabian, "This practice is unacceptable."

The authorities did not immediately react to the claims. A spokesman
for the Justice Ministry department managing Armenia’s prisons said
only that the official inquiry into the alleged Nubarashen beatings
is still in progress.

Windsor Star, Canada
Jan 3 2009

Sister to pick up search in China

By Donald McArthurJanuary 3, 2009

Ani Ashekian decided to go on a trip to Asia. She had planned on
travelling to China/India/Vietnam and Cambodia. She only had time to
secure a visa to enter China and she decided she would get the other
necessary visas while she was abroad. Ani left for Beijing China on
October 24, 2008. According to her passport she entered Honk Kong on
November 9th. She was communicating with family and friends every week
or so until November 10th. Her original flight itinerary had her
flying home from Beijing on November 30. While abroad, Ani changed her
flight Itinerary so that she was scheduled to fly home from Delhi,
India on December 15th.Photograph by: HandoutSossy Ashekian will leave
Windsor for Hong Kong Monday to assist in the search for her sister
Ani, who vanished in the city of seven million people nearly two
months ago.

She will join a growing team of volunteers circulating pictures of Ani
on the bustling streets of Hong Kong, where a $8,000 reward ($50,000
in Hong Kong currency) is being offered for information on Ani’s
mysterious disappearance.

`She’s going to go out and look for her sister,’ said Rosie Kampstra,
the eldest of the three Ashekian sisters. `Hopefully, Sossy can make a
difference.’

Ani Ashekian was raised in Windsor, where her sisters and family still
live, and is a graduate of the University of Windsor and St. Joseph’s
high school. She had been working as a paralegal in Toronto.

She left for Beijing Oct. 24 and was supposed to return home from
Delhi, India, Dec. 15. She went missing in Hong Kong in mid-November
and hasn’t been heard from since. There is no record of her leaving
the country. Her last contact with her family was a Nov. 10 text
message sending birthday greetings to Kampstra’s two-year-old
daughter.

The last time Ani’s credit card was used was also on that date ‘ a
disconcerting sign ‘ but her family is refusing to give up hope,
noting there have been a dozen sightings in Hong Kong of someone
fitting Ani’s description.

`I just know she’s still out there. I just have that feeling inside
that she’s still around. I don’t have that eerie feeling that
something bad has happened to her,’ said Kampstra. `I know we’re going
to bring her home.’

Kampstra described her sister as `free-spirited’ and a `strong person’
who planned on moving to Buenos Aires, Argentina, after returning from
Asia.

Ani’s boyfriend, Wenddell Walsh, returned home from Hong Kong earlier
this week after several fruitless days spent searching and
distributing flyers. The number of volunteers helping him grew each
day thanks to coverage the story received in the Hong Kong media.

In an interview with Global News, Walsh said police had surveillance
tape footage of Ani withdrawing $1,000 from an ATM on Nov. 10.

`She had looked over her shoulder a couple of times,’ Wendell said in
the interview. `We don’t know if she was alone but we do know it was
her.’

Wendell and Kampstra both praised the work of Hong Kong investigators,
who contact Kampstra almost daily with updates or seeking information
about Ani. Kampstra also credited the Department of Foreign Affairs
for its work on the case.

Kampstra expressed her heartfelt thanks to the old friends and
acquaintances who turned out for a fundraiser last Sunday at the
Armenian Centre.

The family is holding off on hiring a private investigator because
they do not want to impede the police investigation. They have posted
a reward of $50,000 in Hong Kong currency, roughly the equivalent of
$8,000 in Canada.

`You have to stay positive. That’s the only way we’re ever going to
bring her home,’ said Kampstra. `I keep telling my mom, `Tears aren’t
going to bring her home, mom; you’ve got to stay positive.”

Anyone with any information can write [email protected] or check out
the Facebook group entitled `Missing: Ani Ashekian.’

Photo caption: Ani Ashekian decided to go on a trip to Asia. She had
planned on travelling to China/India/Vietnam and Cambodia. She only
had time to secure a visa to enter China and she decided she would get
the other necessary visas while she was abroad. Ani left for Beijing
China on October 24, 2008. According to her passport she entered Honk
Kong on November 9th. She was communicating with family and friends
every week or so until November 10th. Her original flight itinerary
had her flying home from Beijing on November 30. While abroad, Ani
changed her flight Itinerary so that she was scheduled to fly home
from Delhi, India on December 15th.

ch+China/1138593/story.html

ARMENIA’S GDP GROWS BY 7.2% IN JANUARY-NOVEMBER 2008 ON SAME PERIOD OF 2007

Noyan Tapan

Dec 26, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia’s GDP grew by 7.2% in
January-November 2008 on the same period of 2007 and made 3 trillion
290 billion 972.1 million drams (over 10 bln 761.8 mln USD). The GDP
index-deflator made 110.8%.

According to the RA National Statistical Service, industrial production
grew by 2.9% to 693 bln 389.9 mln drams in Armenia in January-November
2008 on the same months of 2007.

Gross agricultural output increased by 0.1% to 585 bln 573.2 mln drams,
construction – by 1.6% to 757 bln 806 mln drams, retail trade – by
6.2% to 883 bln 628.7 mln drams, and services grew by 13.3% to 656
bln 714.9 mln drams.

Foreign trade of Armenia grew by 27.6% in January-November 2008 and
amounted to 4 bln 992.6 mln USD, with exports growing by 4.5% to 1
bln 7.6 mln USD and imports growing by 39.5% to 3 bln 985 mln USD.

Consumer prices rose by 9.3%, industrial production prices – by 3.5%
as compared with January-November 2007.

The number of officially registered unemployed declined by 0.3% in
the country in late November 2008 on the same month of last year and
made 74.3 thousand.

The average monthly nominal salary made 89,029 drams in the first
eleven months of 2008 (18.8% growth on the same period of 2007),
including the salary of the budgetary system’s employees – 63,197 drams
(19.1% growth) and that of employees of the nonbudgetary system –
110,991 drams (18.3% growth).

The average exchange rate of a US dollar made 305.8 drams in
January-November 2008 (in 2007 this index made 342.08 drams).