Author: Emil Lazarian

RA MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND YOUTH ISSUES BUYS FAMOUS WORKS OF 11 ARMENIAN COMPOSERS AT 3 MLN DRAMS

Noyan Tapan
Dec 06 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA Ministry of Culture and
Youth Issues bought from the Union of Composers and Musis Experts
works of 11 modern composers at 3 mln drams to propagandize them in
the republic and out of its borders. Robert Amirkhanian, the Chairman
of the Union of Composers and Music Experts stated about it at the
December 5 meeting. He stated that works of Martin Israyelian, Anna
Azizian, Geghuni Chtchian, Melik Mavisakalian, Zohrab Pahremuzian
and others were sold. In R.Amirkhanian’s words, works presented for
sale were chosen by the especially formed commission. It was mentioned
that the Union has cooperated in this sphere with the Ministry already
for 3 years.

R.Amirkhanian stated that during those 3 years works of about 30
authors were already performed by the RA State Chamber Orchestra,
Komitas quartet, ensemble of the "Narekatsi" cultural union and other
music groups. "Though the presented works have a much higher price in
the world practice than the money proposed today, but in the union
chairman’s words, strengthening of the tie among the ministry and
cultural unions and showing proper attitude towards modern good works
are of greater role," Robert Amirkhanian emphasized.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

VALIDITY TERM OF LAW ON RECONSTRUCTION OF CITY OF GYUMRI PROLONGED TILL DECEMBER 31, 2014

Noyan Tapan
Dec 06 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, NOYAN TAPAN. On December 6, the eve of the
18th anniversary of the Spitak earthquake, the RA National Assembly
adopted in the 2nd reading and completely the amendment to the acting
law "On Reconstruction of the City of Gyumri." According to it, the
validity term of the law, the deadline of which is January 1, 2007,
is prolonged till December 31, 2014.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SERGE SARGSIAN CONSIDERS ARMENIA’S INVOLVEMENT IN EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY AS TURNING FOR RA-EU RELATIONS

Noyan Tapan
Dec 06 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Defence Minister, Secretary of the
National Security Council under RA President, Serge Sargsian received
newly appointed Head of the European Commission’s delegation in Armenia
and Georgia, Per Eklund on December 6. Congratulating the guest on the
occasion of assuming his post, the Minister expressed hope for further
close and efficient cooperation. Considering Armenia’s involvement in
the European Neighborhood Policy as turning for Armenia-EU relations,
the Minister attached importance to adoption of EU-Armenia Actions Plan
on November 14 and acquainted with the functions of the newly created
commission on coordination of activities with European structures
headed by RA President. As Noyan Tapan was informed from RA Defence
Ministry’s Press Service, at the guest’s request the Minister touched
upon reforms being implemented in the armed forces in Armenia, as
well as within the framework of the Individual Partnership Actions
Plan. Speaking about Armenia-NATO relations, Serge Sargsian said that
deepening of cooperation is a necessity and is aimed at resisting the
challenges and these relations are an important element for Armenia’s
national security. Touching upon the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Per
Eklund said that the European Union has always stressed the necessity
of problem’s peaceful settlement.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NUMBER OF NEW BOOKS GOT BY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ARMENIA THIS YEAR TO MAKE ABOUT 40 THOUSAND

Noyan Tapan
Dec 06 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, NOYAN TAPAN. 28 mln 62 thousand drams (about 66
thousand USD) was allocated by 2006 state budget for replenishment of
funds of the National Library of Armenia. This exceeds the financing
of 2005 by 6.2%. As David Sargsian, library Director, reported at
the December 6 press conference, the number of new books got by the
library this year will make about 40 thousand. In D.Sargsian’s words,
after the adoption of the law "On Compulsory Sample and Documents" more
than 1625 new titles of books were given to the library by Armenian
publishing-houses only in January-November. It was mentioned that in
the same period the library received 1207 books from abroad and the
number of donations made 6311. The donations were mainly received from
U.S., England, Italy, Hungary, Egypt and Iran. A donation by Armenian
journalist Hamo Petrosian residing in Germany, 12-volume encyclopedia
"Die Grossen" has been given to the library lately. As the library
Director said, the encyclopedia was brought to Armenia by President
Robert Kocharian after his visit to Germany. In D.Sargsian’s words,
the library’s goal is to get books published in Armenian in different
countries, in particular, of old publication. It was mentioned that
the National Library of Armenia purchased 82 titles of such books
in 2000-2006 abroad. There are both original and photocopy variants
among them.

COMMUNIQUE ON NEW SKYSCRAPER NEAR BUCHAREST CATHEDRAL

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 2006 (VIS) – At midday today, the Holy See Press
Office released the following communique:

"Concerning the matter of the construction of a skyscraper near the
historic Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Joseph in Bucharest, Romania,
the Holy See Press Office wishes to specify the following:

"At the end of April this year, the archdiocese of Bucharest informed
the Secretariat of State about the construction of a building – of
19 floors above ground level and four below – at a distance of less
than 10 meters from the northeast wall of the Cathedral of St. Joseph
which, as a consequence, risks being irreparably damaged. Concerns
are aggravated by the precedent of the Armenian church, which suffered
grave damage for similar reasons. On various occasions, the archbishop
and the auxiliary bishop of Bucharest have come to the Secretariat
of State to provide updated information concerning this case, with
which the apostolic nunciature to Romania is also concerning itself,
and about which the Holy See has received appeals from other parties.

"Following this, the Secretariat of State has not failed to take
the appropriate steps with the Romanian authorities, both directly
and through their embassy to the Holy See, to ask for the immediate
suspension of work and the withdrawal of the relative authorizations,
also in view of the provisions of the 1993 European Union Treaty
concerning Legal Conditions and Measures for Preserving Cultural
Heritage, to which Romania adhered, and the State Commission Report
for Monitoring Building.

"The Holy See is aware of the resolution with which the Romanian Senate
approved the report of the commission of inquiry, which requests the
immediate suspension of work. This should be followed by a decision
on the part of the appropriate authorities.

"The Secretariat of State continues to follow the situation closely,
in the hope that a speedy and satisfactory conclusion to this delicate
question may be found, in the above-mentioned terms, for the protection
of the cathedral of Bucharest, of the historical heritage it represents
and of the values of faith it embodies, not only for the Catholic
community but for all the Romanian people."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia Tree Project
65 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472 USA
Tel: (617) 926-TREE (8733)
Email: [email protected]
Web:

Press Release
December 5, 2006

Armenia Tree Project Pledge Contributes to UNEP Billion Tree Campaign

YEREVAN, Armenia and WATERTOWN, Massachusetts–Armenia Tree Project (ATP)
has joined the worldwide tree planting campaign launched by the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

As part of the ~SPlant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign~T
[], ATP pledged to plant at least 500,000
trees in 2007. This will be part of Armenia~Rs contribution to the UNEP goal
to plant at least one billion trees worldwide during 2007.

ATP was founded in 1994 in to further Armenia~Rs economic and social
development by assisting the Armenian people to use trees to improve their
environment and standard of living. Guided by the need to promote
self-sufficiency, aid those with the fewest resources, and conserve the
indigenous ecosystem, ATP mobilizes resources to fund reforestation and the
preservation of remaining ecosystems.

Through interrelated programs including urban and rural tree planting,
environmental education, and advocacy, ATP stands at the forefront of
addressing Armenia~Rs environmental challenges.

Over the past 12 years, ATP~Rs Community Tree Planting program has
facilitated the planting and restoration of more than 800,000 trees at over
600 sites in Armenia. Fifty thousand trees are grown each year to supply
this program at nurseries located in the refugee villages of Karin and
Khachpar.

At these two nurseries, ATP conducts research on tree propagation
techniques, produces 53 varieties of indigenous tree species, and provides
environmental education programs for students, professionals, and visitors.
In addition to improving the environmental landscape, the program creates
jobs and a living wage for hundreds of people in a country where half the
population lives below the poverty line.

Beginning in 2003, ATP began a micro-enterprise reforestation program in the
rural refugee village of Aygut. The Backyard Nursery Program was designed to
simultaneously regenerate the local forests and reduce poverty by providing
jobs. The program has expanded from a pilot program of 17 families to over
300 families, who produced nearly 300,000 trees this year. And, ATP
established the Mirak Family Reforestation Nursery in Margahovit village in
2005, which will have the capacity to produce over one million trees each
year.

~SArmenia Tree Project is honored to be a part of the UNEP Billion Tree
Campaign,~T stated Executive Director Jeff Masarjian. ~SAs we begin organizing
our 2007 programs, we are expecting to plant 60,000 fruit and decorative
trees from our Karin and Khachpar nurseries, 230,000 tree seedlings from our
backyard nursery program, and 210,000 pine and other reforestation seedlings
from our nursery in Margahovit.~T

~SWe were inspired by the UNEP Billion Tree Campaign announcement by Nobel
laureate Wangari Maathai at the UN meeting on climate change in Nairobi last
month, and we were the first organization to join the campaign with a pledge
from the Republic of Armenia,~T added Masarjian. ~SWe are proud to join this
international effort to plant trees to fight climate change, which is
worsened by rampant deforestation around the world.~T

About Armenia Tree Project

Armenia Tree Project (ATP), a grassroots-supported non-profit organization
based in Watertown and Yerevan, conducts vitally important environmental
projects in Armenia’s impoverished and deforested zones and seeks support in
advancing its reforestation mission.

Since 1994, ATP has made enormous strides in combating desertification in
the biologically diverse but threatened Caucasus region. Nearly 1.5 million
trees have been planted and restored, and hundreds of jobs have been created
for Armenians in seasonal tree-regeneration programs. For more information,
visit

Photo caption:

(Karapetyan Family.jpg) The Karapetyan Family with their thriving backyard
micro-enterprise nursery in the village of Aygut; this is one of the
hundreds of families that Armenia Tree Project (ATP) has employed in the
Getik River Valley through its Backyard Nursery Program

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Actor was driving in fatal crash

Inquiry begins into why a Beverly Hills High student,
who died, and 2 girls were in the SUV.

Los Angeles Times
December 5, 2006

By Erika Hayasaki, Richard Winton and Jessica Garrison
Times Staff Writers

Police and school officials Monday were investigating
why three teenagers were riding with a TV actor when
his Land Rover struck a tree Saturday, killing a
17-year-old Beverly Hills High School student and
critically injuring the two others.

Lane Garrison, 26, a co-star of the Fox television
drama "Prison Break," showed signs of "alcohol
intoxication" when he was questioned by police, said
Lt. Mitch McCann of the Beverly Hills Police
Department. Alcohol containers were found inside the
SUV, he said.

Garrison has not been arrested, and law enforcement
sources said detectives are awaiting the results of
the actor’s blood test.

His lawyer, Harland Braun, said the actor "doesn’t
remember anything about the accident~E. He thinks he
was driving but he can’t swear to it."

Police, however, put Garrison behind the wheel when he
lost control of his SUV and crashed into a tree in the
300 block of South Beverly Drive.

The crash killed 17-year-old Vahagn Setian. Two
15-year-old girls who also were in the vehicle were
taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. One has been
released from the hospital and the other is in serious
condition, officials said.

The girls do not attend Beverly Hills High, and
authorities did not release information about them.

According to Braun, Garrison met the teens, who were
fans, at a grocery store and accompanied them to a
party, where he had one drink. About an hour later,
the actor left the party to meet a female friend and
the teens asked if they could go with him, Braun said.
Garrison said yes.

The next thing Garrison recalled was waking up at
Century City Doctors Hospital ~W where he was treated
for minor injuries ~W with a taxicab voucher in his
lap, Braun said.

"There is always the possibility that someone put
something in the drink," Braun said, adding that the
blood test would show that.

"We’re still trying to figure out what happened," said
the lawyer, adding that Garrison was having trouble
with his vehicle’s brakes and the SUV pulled to the
right. He said police would examine the vehicle.

Garrison, who lives in Beverly Hills, was
"despondent" and "overwhelmed" by the incident, Braun
said.

Police said "the investigation into Mr. Garrison’s
impairment is ongoing."

"Mr. Garrison is not related to any one of the people
in the car," McCann said.

Beverly Hills police brought in crash-scene
investigators to try to reconstruct the accident.
McCann said in such cases it usually takes six to
eight weeks for some action on the incident.

On Monday, students arrived at Beverly Hills High
wearing green, Setian’s favorite color. The guitar
player and former drama student was known for sporting
a green Rastafarian-style beret.

With grief counselors on hand, school officials
dismissed students early for a memorial at the crash
site.

News about the crash spread quickly among students via
text messages, e-mail and cellphones. By 3 p.m.
Sunday, more than 100 students had locked hands around
a candlelight memorial in Roxbury Park near the
campus, where students placed flowers and cartons of
Dunhills, Setian’s favorite brand of cigarettes.

Juilan Wan, 16, said Setian was one of his best
friends. The two boys had breakfast together on the
day of the accident. Wan said that Setian knew he was
leaving for Japan at the end of the month and gave him
a rosary.

Wan recalled that Setian told him: "When we can’t be
together, this is how I want you to remember me."

"It felt like this was coming," Wan said. "Nothing was
left unsaid. He knew he was one of my best friends."

Friends nicknamed Setian "Va Häagen-Dazs," like the
ice cream. Wan said he did not know why Setian got
into the car with Garrison on Saturday, but his
half-Greek, half-Armenian friend always "lived for the
moment."

Beverly Hills High student Katie Havard, 16,
remembered when Setian had a crush on her a few years
ago, and used to carry her picture in his wallet.

"He was friends with every group at our school," she
said. "From the smart kids to the jocks to the stoners
~E this has really brought us together. There wasn’t a
student at our school who was more universally loved."

Havard’s mother, Melissa, said the tragedy reminds
students that "your life is not infallible." She said
she hopes this will lead to student discussions at
school about drinking and driving.

"People are human and they make mistakes, especially
teens," she said, adding that now is not the time to
wag a finger at them. "Right now it’s a time to give
them love."

Student body president Josh Tucker, 17, said the
campus was in shock and that teachers had a hard time
conducting classes.

Setian was "one of those kids that everybody knows in
the school," Tucker said. "Everyone has the same
story" on the impact he had on their lives.

The school was reeling from the accident, said Myra
Lurie, president of the Beverly Hills Unified School
District Board of Education.

"We’re all very sad," she said, adding that the
community was baffled as to what Setian was doing in
the SUV with the actor.

"Nobody knows. It’s just very odd," she said. "We have
no idea how it all transpired."

Garrison plays one of the escaped convicts on "Prison
Break." In an interview with People magazine in May,
Garrison said he once was a troubled teenager who
turned his life around.

At 15, after a botched attempt to steal a jug of wine
from a stranger’s garage, he ran home, where, he said,
"my mother just slapped the crap out of me. She drove
me to the police station. The cops handcuffed me and
put me in a cell to scare me."

Garrison was sentenced to community service and spent
a lot of time mowing lawns.

He told People that when he was 17, he moved in with
his family’s minister, Joe Simpson, the father of pop
singer and actress Jessica Simpson.

"I’m very grateful to him," he told the magazine,
adding, "Jessica and I grew up together."

[email protected]
richa [email protected]
[email protected]

Times staff writer Jean Guccione contributed to this
report.

-me-bevhills5dec05,0,3251536.story?page=2&trac k=tothtml

–Boundary_(ID_Ov7Sqa3KXRsQ5kSC2Wylew)- –

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email [email protected]
Internet

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 6, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA WELCOMES HOUSE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION TO
BLOCK U.S. SUBSIDY FOR ARMENIA RAILROAD BYPASS

— Rep. Crowley Leads Efforts to Secure
Final Adoption before Congress Adjourns

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives, as part of its
efforts to resolve outstanding legislation during an end-of-year
"lame duck" session, today adopted legislation that includes a
provision protecting U.S. taxpayers from funding an unnecessary and
costly proposed railroad between Turkey and Georgia that would, if
built, circumvent Armenia, reported the Armenian National Committee
of America (ANCA).

"Armenian Americans welcome today’s action by the U.S. House of
Representatives and look forward to the Senate’s final approval of
the measure and, of course, its signature into law by the
President," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We
appreciate this principled stand by Congress against Turkey and
Azerbaijan’s efforts to institutionalize their illegal blockades of
Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh."

On March 8th of this year, responding to a question on the railroad
bypass from Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA) during a hearing of the
International Relations Committee, Assistant Secretary of State
Daniel Fried asserted that, "The proposed railway would bypass
Armenia and thus not be beneficial to regional integration. We have
no plans to support such a railway financially. The Administration
has not allocated or expended any federal agency funds or otherwise
provided financial support for the intended project."

The House action brings the measure – the Export-Import Bank
Reauthorization Bill – in line with the Senate’s version, adopted
earlier this year, and sets the stage for its final adoption this
week. Once finalized by both houses of Congress, the law will go
to the President’s desk for his signature.

Commenting on today’s action, Congressman Joe Crowley (D-NY), who
navigated the measure through the legislative process, noted that,
working in cooperation with Representatives Ed Royce (R-CA) and
Brad Sherman (D-CA), he was pleased to have been able to "assist in
promoting stability in the Caucasus region, help in ending long
standing conflicts, and save U.S. taxpayers the responsibility of
funding a project that goes against U.S. interests."

The Senate, during its final day in session before the November 7th
mid-term elections, passed the measure by unanimous consent as part
of its reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. On September
21st the Senate Banking Committee, during its consideration of the
Export-Import bill, had agreed to add the railway language, offered
initially as an amendment by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), to the
larger measure. The Menendez Amendment was ultimately accepted as a
"manager’s amendment" by Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL)
and Ranking Democrat Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and unanimously approved
by the panel.

The U.S. House, this July, adopted the railway language as part of
its version of the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Bill,
following a successful effort within the Financial Services
Committee, spearheaded by Representatives Joseph Crowley (D-NY),
Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Ed Royce (R-CA), to amend this text to the
EXIM measure. Both versions are based on the South Caucasus
Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2006 (S. 2461 / H.R. 3361),
introduced in the Senate by Rick Santorum (R-PA) and in the House
by Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), the Co-Chairman of the Armenian
Caucus.

The proposed new Caucasus rail line – at the urging of Turkey and
Azerbaijan – would circumvent Armenia. Promoters of the project
have sought, even at the planning stages, to secure U.S. financing
for this undertaking, prompting Congressional friends of Armenia to
preemptively block such attempts. In October of 2005, the European
Commission voiced official opposition to the proposed Caucasus
railroad bypass of Armenia. A formal statement by the Commission’s
Directorate General for Transport and Energy noted that its
construction was both unnecessary and inefficient in light of the
existing railroad connecting Kars, Gyumri, and Tbilisi.

The bill text concerning the Armenia railroad bypass reads as
follows:

SEC. 11. PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE TO DEVELOP OR PROMOTE CERTAIN
RAILWAY CONNECTIONS AND RAILWAY-RELATED CONNECTIONS.

Section 2(b) of the Export-Import Act of 1945 (12 U.S.C. 635(b)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

(13) Prohibition on Assistance To Develop or Promote Certain
Railway Connections and Railway-Related Connections.–The Bank
shall not guarantee, insure, or extend (or participate in the
extension of) credit in connection with the export of any good or
service relating to the development or promotion of any railway
connection or railway-related connection that does not traverse or
connect with Armenia and does traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan,
Tbilisi, Georgia, and Kars, Turkey.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is the
official export credit agency of the United States. Ex-Im Bank’s
mission is to assist in financing the export of U.S. goods and
services to international markets.

The full text of Congressman Crowley’s remarks are provided below:

#####

Congressman Crowley Statement
Export Import Bank Reauthorization
December 6, 2006

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Export-Import Bank
Reauthorization

This bill will strengthen the Export-Import Bank’s abilities to
allow American companies to compete in the global market as we try
to increase our exports, increase our global competitiveness and
create more and better paying jobs in the USA

This is a bill about exporting products not jobs

Additionally, I am happy to say that both the Senate and the House
versions of this bill include language that I co-authored
pertaining to the nation of Armenia, a great U.S. ally.

My language, done with Congressmen Ed Royce and Brad Sherman,
prohibits the Export-Import Bank from funding any railway projects
from Azerbaijan, through Georgia and Turkey, which specifically
bypasses Armenia. I am very pleased that this language was
included in the final version of this legislation.

This language will assist in promoting stability in the Caucasus
region, help in ending long standing conflicts, and save U.S.
taxpayers the responsibility of funding a project that goes against
U.S. interests.

For over 10 years, Armenia has fought a blockade, imposed on them
by the countries of Turkey and Azerbaijan. These two countries
continually exclude Armenia from regional development.

Exclusion of one country in regional projects only fosters
instability

Besides possibly creating a regional crisis, this project, if
funded by the Export-Import Bank could cost taxpayers millions. I
do not believe that U.S. taxpayers should be funding a project that
goes against U.S. interests.

I am pleased this good language was added to an already good bill.

Therefore, I urge my colleagues to support the Export-Import
Reauthorization.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGIES OPTIMIZE IT-SECTOR OF ARMENIA

Lilit Aslanyan, ArmInfo, December 5.12.06.

Official opening of the Office of Armenian representation of the
world-known MICROSOFT Corporation was held in May, 2006. Though
not so much time has passed ever since, however, the Corporation has
definitely succeeded in Armenia within this half a year. In particular,
it has completed the works for localization of Windows XP, carried
out by Bi Line Company, enlarged the circle of partners, enabled the
country’s IHE to enrich the information bases, developed a number of
programs. ArmInfo correspondent asked its Chief, Grigor Barseghyan,
to give particulars of activity of the Armenian Office.

It is known that the educational programs are one of the priority areas
of the Microsoft activity in Armenia. What are works the Corporation
had already carried out in this area?

Within the last 10 years, the Microsoft Corporation has been working
with the educational community, explaining the important role of IT in
education and assisting in getting an access to IT and the knowledge
for their use. The corporation demonstrates a readiness to cooperate
with the Governments, the state and non-state organizations, the
learners and teachers as to provide conditions for the use of huge
opportunities, laid in IT.

We also invite all the specialized chairs and faculties of the
Armenian IHE to subscribe to the MSDN Academic Alliance Program,
which is a part of the Microsoft initiative in education. Two IHE
in Armenia, the American University of Armenia and the Mehrabyan’s
Medical University, already use this program.

The advantage of this Program is that it gives an access to the
teachers and students to the modern development software, to servers
and platforms of the Microsoft Corporation. One of the peculiarities
of the Program is that it enables the teachers and students to install
the licensed products of Microsoft in their PCs as well, with the
aim of study and use for scientific researches and developments. The
Microsoft Academic Open License, an efficient and flexible program,
is also accessible in Armenia today. It enables to get permanent
licenses for Microsoft software at prices lower than those for the
commercial software. The state and private Institutions of Higher
Education, the secondary and specialized secondary educational
institutions, the refresher courses and the institutes of advanced
training, the training centers, which have licenses for educational
activities, the administrative education management agencies, the state
scientific-research institutions, the hospitals and teaching hospitals,
the public libraries, the museums and charitable organizations can
make use of its advantages.

At present, we prepare proposals to the RA Government for cooperation
in education for the purpose of implementing more scaled joint
projects.

What about the partner environment of Microsoft?

More progress is observed in this sphere. Thus, if the Corporation,
at the first stage of its activity, had only one certified partner
in Armenia in the person of one of the biggest Internet-providers
of Armenia, Arminco, the number of our partners now is much
greater. Dom-Daniel, Unicomp, LANS, X-Art, MTD-Group, Smart Systems,
Armenian Software Companies now cooperate with Microsoft. The Bi Line
Company comes out as an official distributor of the Corporation in
Armenia. The support of partners is carried out by special partner
programs, trainings, seminars and conferences.

We have recently signed a contract on a three-year cooperation with
the Armenian cell operator, the VivaCell Company, negotiations with
several other big Armenian companies are underway. We bring all our
technologies, software products, complex solutions to our clients
through the partners.

The first IT-month in Armenia with participation of Microsoft has been
recently summed up. In your opinion, what has this project given to
the country’s IT-sphere and how much important it is to Armenia?

In fact, we have participated in this project, its seminars,
conferences, presentations. The Vice President of the Corporation in
the Central and Eastern Europe, Mr. Vahe Torossyan, also took part in
the event. The Microsoft displayed a special activity in the Digitec
exhibition, in the framework of which the Corporation has presented
its own stand. As for the role of IT-month in Armenia, it has been
held with a great success, however, besides serious achievements,
it enabled to reveal some deficiencies of the sphere and to outline
the ways of its improvement. In my opinion, we have not to confine
ourselves to only one month per year. The events, devoted to IT,
should have a continuous character, since one can achieve more
noticeable results only in case of persistent laborious work. Both
the authorities, businessmen and a wide public in whole are to be
involved in this process.

Weather the IT influence on the country’s economic development will
become more noticeable in this case?

Unambiguously, but first of all, due to the own resources available,
rational investments and very literate policy of authorities
and business representatives, based on a successful international
experience. The IT industry enables the country’ s economy to use all
the existing resources more efficiently by vast productivity increase
that is more than urgent for Armenia. The purpose of the Microsoft
initiative is for the Corporation technologies and its partners’
solutions to enable, first of all, the citizens to receive different
services, have an access to the information by Internet, to learn
during the whole life and participate in a state administration and,
secondly, the private companies to increase the productivity and
competitiveness of enterprises, have an access to the state Internet
services, more efficiently cooperate with partners and consumers for
their business development. Third, the purpose of Microsoft is for
the technologies of the Corporation and the solutions of its partners
to enable the state bodies and elective persons to increase their
efficiency, rebuild the relations with the population and involve
all the citizens in political and other discussions, having attracted
their attention to strategic directions.

However, the strict observance of the intellectual property rights is
the necessary condition for IT development in the country. Otherwise,
we’ll not be able to stop the "brain drain" and create a favorable
investment climate for the foreign big IT Corporations.

It is known that the Bi Line Company localizes the Windows XP in the
Armenian language, by the Microsoft order. What is the next step of
the Corporation in Armenia?

Yes, during the Corporation financing, the Bi Line had already
completed the translation of the operating system Windows XP to be
shortly submitted to the consumers’ judgment. In my opinion, this is
a very important project since it enables the wide sections of the
population, especially in the distant and border regions of Armenia,
to join to IT achievements. The Bi Line Company has also started to
localize the most modern operating system, Microsoft Windows Vista,
and we intend to offer it to the Armenian users in the second half,
2007. Taking the opportunity, I invite all the persons interested to
take part in the project and make their contribution, having visited
a specially created website:

The issue of the Armenian version of Microsoft Office 2007 is also
not far off.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EDVARD ARISTAKESIAN’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL MEMORY TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
Dec 05 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. An international boxing tournament
will be held in the Dinamo training ground of Yerevan on December
7-11. It is dedicated to the memory of Edvard Aristakesian, the
USSR multiple champion and prize winner, World Universiade gold
medal winner, USSR sport honorary master and honorary trainer,
personal trainer of only Armenian Olympic champion of boxing Vladimir
Yengibarian. Besides local sporstmen, boxing masters of Russia,
Georgia and Czech Republic will take part in the international memory
tournament.