Author: Ekmekjian Janet

NDP HAS FORMED AN ALLIANCE ON POLITICAL CONCORD

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[07:11 pm] 26 February, 2007

The proportional list of the NDP will involve 72-members; the decision
was made in the party’s sitting. The list is headed by Loreta Adamyan.

To note, 20 members of the list are female representatives.

Shavarsh Kocharyan, head of the party’s board, is in the 71st place in
the list. "The list has an alphabetical order. The board is entitled
to introduce changes in the list, alter the order and make a list of
majority candidates", says Shavarsh Kocharyan.

He assures that there are female and young candidates in their list
as it is a must. "Time is pressing. We shall participate in the
elections alone. This isn’t the full list of the party. I can call
it an "alliance on political concord". The list involves the names of
well-known people, representatives of "Loyalty" Political Initiative".

Mr. Kocharyan assumes that political alliances must be based on common
shared features and goals.

During the sitting the NDP dwelt on the following issues;
complex program enhancing decentralization of political, economic,
educational and cultural spheres, new job opportunities in rural
areas, availability of higher education for the poor, integration of
the Armenian refugees displaced form Azerbaijan, housing problems,
maintenance of cultural heritage, etc.

It is upon the NDP board to decide whether Shavarsh Kocharyan will
be nominated by proportional or majority system.

National Assembly of RA, Armenia
Feb 22 2007

Five Dozen Issues on the Agenda of the Special Session

On February 20 on the initiative of the Government of the Republic of
Armenia, the National Assembly convened a special session, the agenda
of which comprised more than five dozen issues.

The parliament by voting adopted four legislative packages,
discussed during the first four-day sittings of the spring session,
as well as the draft law of amendments and addenda to the law on the
RA Citizenship.

After that the agenda issues introduced by the government were
discussed.

Making amendments and addenda to the law on Local Self-Government,
the executive power transferred the provision of the road traffic
security to the local self-government bodies, increasing the latter’s
authorities.

Mr. Suren Gharayan, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy informed
that the government intends to invest criteria for the extension of
the terms for the goods to be drawn down on customs temporary
regimes. In the opinion of Mr. Gagik Minasyan, Chairman of the
Standing Committee on Financial-Credit, Budgetary and Economic
Affairs, in the result of this event equal conditions will be
created for the economic entities. In his words this is the next step
directed to improve customs legislation. The Committee has endorsed
the draft law. The Deputy Minister introduced to the MPs the
suggestion of making amendments to the law on the Control Chamber.

Highlighting the Chamber’s activities publicity, Mr. Gagik Minasyan,
Chairman of the committee finds that during a year problems often
rise and cause necessity of operative action. As to him, the
publicity can be provided by parliamentary debates, as well as by the
help of mass media.

The government proposes the parliament to make amendments to the law
on the Protection of Economic Competition and the laws on Organizing
and Holding Check-ups in the Republic of Armenia. If the draft law is
adopted, the talks about not having the chance to prevent levers and
abuse sounded on the committee of the protection of economic
competition will stop.

The government’s proposal to make amendments and addenda to the law
on Judicial Service concerns the mechanisms of conferring higher
degrees in this structure of state services and determining necessary
conditions for some specialists. Mr. David Harutyunyan, Justice
Minister introduced the issue. Making amendments to the law on Funds,
the government clarifies the classification of fund expenditures, the
duties and rights of the council of trusties, as well the order of
introducing accounts of the fund.

According Mr. Gevorg Malkhasyan, Deputy Justice Minister, the
necessity of making amendments and addenda to the laws on Television
and Radio and on the Regulations of the National Committee on
Television and Radio stems from constitutional amendments.

By the legislative package on Licensing the Government reduces the
list of kinds of activities subject to licensing, removing a number
of fields.

Mr. Aghvan Vardanyan, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs introduced
the legislative package of the amendments to the law on Social
Security Cards.

For the adoption in the second reading the MPs were introduced the
draft laws on Coming into Force of the Judicial Code of the Republic
of Armenia, on Prosecutor’s Office (55th article in the first
reading), on Aviation, On Establishment of Tax Privileges Towards the
Construction Works of Meghri-Kajaran pipeline and the draft laws on
the amendments and addenda to the laws on RA International Treaties,
on Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, On Road Trafficking
Security, On Body Regulating the Public Services, aswell as the draft
laws on making amendments and addenda to the RA Criminal Procedure
Code, RA Civil Code and the RA Judicial Code to adopt in the third
reading.

The special session will continue on February 21.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
February 22, 2007 Thursday 2:12 PM EST

Hungarian court turns down Azerbaijani axe murderer appeal

Budapest

DPA x Hungary Justice Hungarian court turns down Azerbaijani axe
murderer appeal Budapest
A Budapest court Thursday rejected an Azerbaijani
soldier’s appeal against a life sentence for the 2004 axe murder of
an Armenian soldier at a NATO Partnership for Peace training course
in Budapest.

The appeal court ruled that the decision brought last April by
Budapest District Court against 30-year-old Lieutenant Ramil Safarov,
should stand.

Safarov was convicted of killing Armenian Lieutenant Gurgen
Markarian, 26 at the time of the murder, with an axe and a knife.

At the first trial, Budapest District Court Judge Andras Vaskuti
ruled that Safarov killed his victim in a "premeditated, malicious
and cruel" manner.

Safarov hacked Markarian to death with a knife and an axe in the
early hours of the morning while he slept in the same room as another
soldier.

Safarov, whose attempt to murder a second Armenian officer was
foiled when he bumped into another classmate in the corridor after
the first killing, said he regretted his act.

"I didn’t go to his room to kill him. I don’t know how it
happened. I regret what I did," news website index.hu quoted Safarov
as saying after Thursday’s judgement.

Safarov’s lawyer claimed that his client was not in full
possession of his faculties at the time of the murder.

Relations between the two former Soviet Republics have been tense
since Armenian-backed forces drove Azerbaijan’s army out of the
ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s.
Feb 2207 1412 GMT

Office of the Mayor
City of Los Angeles
200 N. Spring St. Room 303
Los Angeles, CA 90012

ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA

PRESS RELEASE
February 23, 2007

Contact: Areen Ibranossian
213-922-9781

MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA ANNOUNCES YEREVAN, ARMENIA AS LOS ANGELES’ NEWEST
SISTER CITY

(Los Angeles)-Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa and Mayor Yervand
Zakharyan were joined by members of the Los Angeles City Council as
Mayor Villaraigosa signed the agreement making the City of Yerevan,
Armenia the newest sister city of Los Angeles.

`I know I am speaking on behalf of L.A. residents when I express my
deep admiration for the Armenian people, here and abroad, who have a
strong sense of national identity and have contributed greatly to the
economy and cultural fabric of this City,’ said Mayor Villaraigosa.
`I look forward to working with the Mayor of Yerevan to explore
opportunities that will promise social, economic, and cultural
benefits for both cities.’

Los Angeles is home to the largest Armenian population outside of
Armenia.

Over the years, Villaraigosa has demonstrated his support for the
Armenian people and their efforts to gain official recognition of the
Armenian Genocide. As Speaker of the California Assembly, he
supported resolutions putting the State of California on record
officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide. As Mayor, he recently
sent a letter to the U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi expressing
his support for the Congressional resolution that would ensure that
U.S. foreign policy reflect appropriate recognition, understanding,
and sensitivity of the Armenian Genocide and asking her to bring it to
a vote on the House floor. Over the past 10 years, he has
consistently attended and spoken at the annual Armenian Genocide
commemoration event that takes place on April 24.

The Sister City agreement signing ceremony took place in Council
Chambers after the mayors held a private meeting to discuss ways that
the two cities can work together.

Information on Yerevan, Armenia

Yerevan is the capital and largest city in Armenia. It is the
administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country.
Manufactures include chemicals, primary metals, machinery, rubber
products, plastics, textiles, and processed food. Yerevan is the
headquarters of major Armenian and international companies. Yerevan
is also the country’s financial hub, home to the Armenian National
Bank, the Armenian Stock Exchange, as well as some of the country’s
largest commercial banks. As the center for Armenian culture, Yerevan
is the site of Yerevan State University, the Armenian Academy of
Sciences, a historical museum, an opera house, a music conservatory
and several technical institutes. Its major tourist attractions are
the ruins of an Urartu and a Roman fortress.

The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC.

###

Areen Ibranossian
Policy Analyst
Office of Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa

[email protected]
(213) 922-9781

ARMENIAN COALITION DIVIDED OVER DUAL CITIZENSHIP
By Astghik Bedevian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 22 2007

Armenia’s governing coalition remained divided on Thursday over key
provisions of draft legislation allowing foreign nationals of Armenian
descent to become Armenian citizens.

A package of bills endorsed by the government and championed by the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) regulates practical
modalities of dual citizenship, which was effectively introduced in
Armenia in November 2005 as part of a controversial constitutional
reform.

The National Assembly passed them in the first reading earlier this
week amid serious misgivings voiced by lawmakers representing virtually
all other parliamentary parties, including Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian’s Republican Party (HHK). They are particularly unhappy with
a provision that gives dual citizens living outside Armenia voting
rights. Some of them have also accused Dashnaktsutyun, which has many
supporters in the worldwide Armenian Diaspora, of seeking additional
votes ahead of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.

But leaders of the nationalist party have denied any ulterior motives
behind their strong support for dual citizenship. They say it will
boost Armenia’s small population and strengthen its security. "By
failing to introduce dual citizenship we lost a major source of our
security," one of them, Armen Rustamian told reporters.

Still, parliament speaker Tigran Torosian and other HHK lawmakers
insisted Thursday on their draft amendments to the legislative package
that would enable dual citizens from the Diaspora to vote in Armenian
elections if they have resided and paid taxes in Armenia during at
least one of the pervious five years. "People whose fate hinges on
developments in other countries must not decide the fate of people
living in Armenia," Torosian said at the end of heated parliament
debates on the issue.

Opposition deputies made similar arguments. "People living abroad must
not have the right to predetermine the fate of the people living in
Armenia," said Grigor Harutiunian of the Artarutyun alliance.

For its part, the pro-government United Labor Party (MAK) said its
five parliamentarians continue to oppose the bills because they
stipulate that members of Armenia’s government can be dual citizens.

The latter would only be barred from running for president and
parliament. "That would mean a partial loss of Armenia’s sovereignty,"
said MAK leader Gurgen Arsenian.

Justice Harutiunian David Harutiunian, who presented the bill on behalf
of the government, rejected the amendments proposed by both the HHK and
the MAK. Harutiunian pointed to a constitutional clause which gives
equal rights to all Armenian citizens. "Besides, we can’t check who
has or has not lived in our country for more than 183 days," he said.

While voicing strong objections, HHK leaders did not say whether
they their faction, the largest in the National Assembly, will vote
for the draft laws in the second reading. The vote is scheduled
for Monday. Markarian and other HHK ministers have not yet publicly
commented on the debate.

ACCORDIMG TO SCC, IMPROPER FULFILMENT OF THEIR TASKS BY SOME LEADING EMPLOYEES OF ZVARTNOTS CUSTOM-HOUSE WAS REASON FOR THEIR DISMISSAL

Noyan Tapan
Feb 21 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the press service
of the RA State Customs Committee (SCC), improper fulfilment of
their tasks by a number of leading employees of Zvartnots Airport’s
custom-house was the reason for t heir dismissal. However, according
to NT’s information, smuggling of some goods was the reason why the
director and the staff of the airport’s customs point were dismissed
from their jobs.

NT was informed from the SCC press service that this year customs
revenues of the RA state budget are programmed to make 180.1 bln drams
(about 500 mln USD) and "with the aim of achieving such high indices,
special importance is attached to improvement of the administration
and efficiency of work of all regional customs bodies."

GAZPROM EYES BIGGER SHARE IN ARMENIAN GAS NETWORK
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 21 2007

Russia’s state-run natural gas monopoly, Gazprom, revealed on Wednesday
plans to raise its controlling stake in Armenia’s gas distribution
network to 80 percent in the next two years.

The company’s press service told the Russian Regnum news agency
that this will be in line with a controversial and complex agreement
reached by Gazprom and the Armenian government in March 2006.

The deal enabled Armenia to avoid a surge in the price of imported
Russia gas until January 2009 in exchange for ceding more energy assets
to Gazprom, including an incomplete but modern thermal power plant
located in the central town of Hrazdan. The two sides officially
confirmed last November that the Russian giant has also seen its
share in the ArmRosGazprom (ARG) distributor rise from 45 to almost
58 percent. Consequently, the Armenian government’s ARG stake was
diluted to just over 30 percent.

According to Regnum, Gazprom plans to own 80 percent of ARG as a result
of buying additional shares in the Armenian gas operator that are due
to be issued by 2009. ARG spokeswoman Shushan Sardarian effectively
confirmed the information. "We plan to further expand our network
and have other investment projects," Sardarian told RFE/RL.

"We will need to attract more capital in order to implement them."

Officials at the Armenian Energy Ministry could not be reached for
comment.

The Gazprom-controlled company is also widely expected to be granted
ownership of a gas pipeline from neighboring Iran. The pipeline’s
first Armenian section is due to be inaugurated this spring.

The 2006 deal gave the Russians near total control over Armenia’s
energy sector, raising more concerns about the country’s economic
independence and energy security in particular. Armenian officials
have repeatedly dismissed such concerns. President Robert Kocharian
pledged last month to help boost Russian presence in other sectors
of the Armenian economy.

FT REPORT – FT FUND MANAGEMENT: ONE SHARE, ONE VOTE DOES NOT MEAN DEMOCRACY
By Arman Khachaturyan

Financial Times
Published: Feb 19, 2007

Establishing shareholder democracy and enforcing a mandatory
one-share-one vote rule in the European Union have drawn
controversy. In the pursuit of popular appeal for the proposal,
European Commission policymakers have tried to tie equiproportional
representation to corporate egalitarian sentiments underscoring
justice, fairness and ethics.

However, an economic justification of the move as a way of enhancing
value through corporate governance and fostering efficiency and
competitiveness across the EU has been stunningly absent from the
Commission’s agenda.

Proponents of shareholder democracy in the EU have erroneously
associated the conceptual doctrine of political democracy with a
corporate voting rule and, consequently, argued such a rule is needed
to promote more fairness, accountability, liquidity and more active
takeover markets. Such a perspective is flawed.

First, shareholder democracy, as it emerged and evolved in the US,
is generally associated with shareholder empowerment and managerial
accountability not with the one-share-one vote rule. In the US, where
a board’s response is disproportionate to a threat posed and defensive
measures create a preclusive or coercive effect on shareholders in a
takeover, the shareholders can discharge the board from effectively
continuing its fiduciary duties.

Moreover, after being in place in the US for 60 years, the
one-share-one-vote mandatory rule was abolished because of the growing
recognition that it encouraged neither high standards of corporate
democracy nor individual standards of corporate responsibility,
integrity or accountability.

Second, academic literature is at best inconclusive on whether
differentiated voting rights lead to lower performance, managerial
entrenchment or impaired value. There is no clear evidence on whether
one-share- one-vote companies outperform those with multiple voting
rights.

Third, the mandatory one- share-one-vote rule can exacerbate
the dark side of institutional shareholder activism –
short-termism. Institutional shareholders have supported the rule
but for their own interests rather than for minorities.

With derivative techniques – stock lending, equity swaps, direct
and indirect hedges – hedge funds in particular can retain formally
more voting control compared with cash flow rights. This, in effect,
allows them to vote more shares compared with cash flow ownership and
compromises long-term profitability for the sake of short-term payoffs.

Fourth, the one-share-one- vote rule combined with these derivative
techniques will allow hedge funds to destroy shareholder value through
proxy fights for corporate control if the hedge fund’s net holding
position of shares is negative.

This destruction can take two forms. The hedge fund with a net negative
position can block value-enhancing takeovers since any value-enhancing
takeover will result in a net negative cash flow and hence losses
from short positions.

Alternatively, the hedge fund can vote for suboptimal tender offers
to maximise payoffs associated with net short positions. In both,
the more stock prices slide and shareholder value is destroyed,
the more profits are made from short positions.

Generally, there is nothing undemocratic or unfair about differentiated
voting rights. It is no more "unfair" to protect shareholders through
differentiated voting rights structures than to invite destruction of
shareholder value by activist hedge funds. The one-share- one-vote
rule is simply one corporate decision-making rule among many, and
not necessarily the best one.

If EC policymakers opt for a one-share-one-vote rule across the board,
it will entail significant regulatory costs, foster inefficiency
and impair competition. Paradoxically it can also demote shareholder
rights and disenfranchise minorities.

One alternative is to minimise legal intervention constraining
investors’ and issuers’ choice with respect to voting and
decision-making rules. As soon as companies make their corporate
governance arrangements publicly available during the IPO and the
post-IPO stages, there is no reason to believe investors are unable
to make informed decisions and legal intervention is justified.

It remains to be seen whether an economic rationale will prevail over
political rhetoric and delusory traps on the way to making corporate
Europe more dynamic and efficient.

Arman Khachaturyan is a re-engineering director at the Armenia
Telecom Company and an associate research fellow at the Centre for
European Policy Studies. His paper, One-Share-One-Vote Controversy
in the EU (2006), is at _
( /abstract=908215)

TURKISH PM TO THE U.S CONGRESS: "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL WOULD SHADOW RELATIONS"

Sabah, Turkey
Feb 19 2007

Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdoðan has sent messages to the House
of Representatives in the U.S Congress about the pending Armenian
Genocide bill: "We are not expecting any negative decisions. However,
I have concerns that if you approve the bill, this would shadow the
strategic partnership of Turkey and the US government. For all of
our history, we have never lived and shall not live with such stain."

"Armenian genocide bill would shadow our strategic partnership"

Turkey’s PM has warned the House of Representatives about the bill
which would shadow the strategic partnership of Turkey and America,
if approved.

Prime Minister Erdoðan participated in a gala dinner held for the
American Firms Union in Ankara on Saturday night where he emphasized
the importance of Turkey’s services to the United States within the
framework of NATO.

Stating that both the Minister of Foreign Affairs Gul and the Chief
of General Staff Yaþar Buyukanýt have held meetings with American
authorities about the pending Armenian genocide bill in the U.S Senate,
the PM said: "We do not expect such a decision from the House of
Representatives. I am sure they will not approve such bill.

However, I have worries that such a surprise would shadow our strategic
partnership with the U.S. We, as Turks are exhausted by the lobbies
made by the Armenian Diaspora. But it is obvious that they will never
give up. They seem to be taking great pleasure form doing this. What
we are saying is that it is a historian’s job to decide whether
there was a genocide or not. No one has the right to defame Turkey
via political lobbies. We have never lived with a stain throughout
our history and we shall not live with such stain."

–Boundary_(ID_W4TG1bw0+jkvTI9S4eyFL g)–

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DYCK IS INTERESTED IN RA ECONOMIC GROWTH
[06:35 pm] 16 February, 2007

Paul B. Dyck, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe at
the U.S. Department of Commerce, visited Armenia
February 14-16. During his trip, Mr. Dyck met with
government officials including Minister of Trade and
Economic Development Karen Chshmaritian, Senior
Economic Advisor to the President Vahram Nercissiantz,
and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arman
Kirakosian. He also met with representatives of the
American Chamber of Commerce, U.S. investors in
Armenia, local business, and alumni of U.S.
government-funded exchange programs.

Mr. Dyck focused on issues related to Armenia’s
economic growth, commercial developments, the
investment climate, and business opportunities for
foreign companies. He also discussed customs
administration issues, as well as legal measures and
enforcement mechanisms related to the protection of
Intellectual Property Rights.

Paul B. Dyck was appointed to serve as Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Europe at the U.S. Department
of Commerce in June, 2006. Mr. Dyck is responsible for
directing the Department’s efforts to open markets and
ensure fair treatment for American exporters in 50
countries, including all of Europe, Russia, and
Eurasia. He is also responsible for developing
strategies and programs to enhance the United States’
commercial position in the region, as well as engaging
with foreign government officials to resolve
commercial disputes. Before joining the Department of
Commerce, Mr. Dyck served at the U.S. Department of
State as senior advisor to Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice. In this position, Mr. Dyck helped
coordinate the Secretary’s strategic planning efforts
and transformational diplomacy agenda.