Author: Emil Lazarian

Panorama.am

15:04 24/11/06

ECONOMIC COURT TO HEAR A CASE AGAINST ARARAT GOLD

The Economic Court will continue the hearing of
`Ararat Gold’ enterprise vs. Armenian Nature
Protection State Inspection on December 1. This is not
the first lawsuit between the parties. The last court
hearing ended up with reconciliation.
The Nature Protection State Inspection has unveiled
that the company has misreported on the volume of
gold. The inspection has drawn up a statement. The
company did not agree with the statement and issued a
case at the Economic Court. A special committee was
set up by the court to investigate the case. The
committee supported the statement saying 500 kg gold
was misreported. The inspection has also found out
non-compliances in the reports of the chief accountant
and the geologist.

Figures were misleading small in quarterly reports.
The statement also says the company experts have not
made a re-assessment of mines. The inspection believes
it is profitable to extract gold even in small
quantities at the present reality taken the case of
the gold prices in the world market. They say the
company relies on the assessment of gold made in 80s.

The management of Ararat Gold complained that the gold
processing factory is in Ararat whereas the mines are
in Sevan. The management suggested building a gold
processing factory in Sevan which raised a discontent
by environmentalists, NGOs and mass media. The
government, in its turn, said, `All conditions were
known when they took hold of the mines.’ Experts are
not sure the poisonous water will not run into the
lake. Further, building such a factory in Sevan is
prohibited by law.

Followed this debate, the volumes of gold started to
diminish. Some say the logic is the following: `We
suffer losses, why you shouldn’t?’
Arthur Hambarzumyan, legal department head at the
nature protection ministry said, `Negotiations are
conducted with the company beyond the statement.
Global changes are expected in the relations of the
company and the state. It is not clear yet if the
company and the inspection will find a compromise.’

P.S. The company has not insured its employees despite
of the fact that the insurance money is not a big sum.
The insurance of employees in gold industry is a
priority and that is the policy of all big companies.
Moreover, some say the management does not treat well
the Armenian nationals in the company. /`My Right’
newspaper/

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Panorama.am

15:24 24/11/06

HIGHER EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT TRY BOLOGNA CONCEPTS

Levon Lazarian, minister of education and science,
will leave for Strasburg soon to report on the process
our higher educational establishments have in
implementing the provision of Bologna Declaration.
Armenia has for the first time included in the
monitoring network of declaration member states. The
minister told a press conference today that rectors
and prorectors have set up boards, working groups and
representative bodies comprising members of their
establishments.

The groups discuss issues on qualification system,
credit accumulation, financial management, quality
education, introduction of three level system. Three
level system supposes PHD program which is not yet
developed here, Lazarian said. /Panorama.am/

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Panorama.am

19:22 24/11/06

ARMENIA NEEDS MORE FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN JEWELRY

For the first 10 months of 2006, the volume of
production in jewelry and gold in Armenia made up 74.4
billion Armenian drams and the volume of sale made up
75 billion Armenian drams. These indicators diminished
by 19.7% and 17.6% as compared with the reporting
period in 2005. Also, 300 less people are employed in
the sector, Gagik Lazarian, head of jewelry
department at the ministry of trade and economic
development, told a press conference today. In his
words, the decline is conditioned, first of all, with
the crises in the international jewelry market which
continues for 2 years. It is also connected with
devaluations of the American dollar.

Lazarian believes jewelry company need better
management and higher technologies. `New foreign
companies must be attracted to the field,’ he said.
/Panorama.am/

A1+

WINTER WILL BE WARM
[01:40 pm] 24 November, 2006

Head of the Russian Hydro meteorological service Roman
Vilfand predicts a warm winter this year. According to
him, the frosts of last year were an exception from
the tendency of warming, as during the last three
years the average temperature in winter has been
rising for 0.9-3 degrees per year. Vilfand mentioned
that this winter the temperature will be higher than
the average, `Gazeta GTZ.ru’ reports.

So, the Russian specialist refutes the investigations
of British and Russian scientists that in a few
decades the climate in Europe will become colder
conditioned by the change of the direction of the
Atlantic ocean streams. The supporters of this view
have revealed that the warm streams of Golfstream are
getting weaker; thus `we should prepare for reduction
in temperature and not warming’. By the way, the
scientists have investigated the Atlantic ocean for 50
years in order to process the theory.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanARMENIAN.Net

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: OSCE MG Puts Strong Pressure on
Armenian and Azeri Presidents
23.11.2006 16:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Many analysts believe that if
mediators (the OSCE MG) manage to make Armenian and
Azeri Presidents sit down at the bargaining table, it
will signal that a certain common mode of conflict
settlement was already found by two FMs,’ the
Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. `A ready and specific
document is on the bargaining table now, the newspaper
writes. According to a source in diplomatic circles,
the basic items of the framework agreement provide for
the following steps: Armenia withdraws troops from
Azeri territories under its control, refugees return
to the places of their permanent residence, diplomatic
and economic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan
normalize, peacekeeping forces are stations in the
conflict region, international economic assistance is
provided to Nagorno Karabakh and a referendum is held
over the NK status,’ says the article. `The Armenian
party is expected to withdraw troops from 7 occupied
regions of Azerbaijan. In exchange Baku will provide a
40-km corridor, joining NK with Armenia that will be
controlled by the peacekeeping forces. The Presidents,
upon whom the OSCE MG co-chairs put strong pressure,
will answer whether this option suits Yerevan and
Baku,’ writes the NG.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanARMENIAN.Net
ANCA Condemns Awarding National Medal to Armenian
Genocide Denier
23.11.2006 16:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Genocide denier and
controversial Middle East historian Bernard Lewis was
amongst those honored by President Bush this month
with the prestigious National Humanities Medal,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA.) President Bush, joined by First Lady Laura
Bush, bestowed the medal at a November 9th ceremony
held in the White House Oval Office. Bernard Lewis,
Professor Emeritus at Princeton University in the
department of Near Eastern Studies, began his career
as a historian with an honest assessment of the
Armenian Genocide as a “terrible holocaust.” He soon
reversed his position, serving as leading spokesman
for the Turkish government’s denial campaign. Lewis’
genocide denial became international news on June 21,
1995, when a French court condemned him for statements
he made during a 1993 interview with French newspaper
“Le Monde.” The case, which argued that Lewis’
statements caused harm to Armenian Genocide survivors,
was filed by the International League Against Racism
and Anti-Semitism and the Forum of Armenian
Associations, representing a number of French Armenian
organizations, including the ANC of France. The Court
found Lewis “at fault,” stating that, “his remarks,
which could unfairly revive the pain of the Armenian
community, are tortuous and justify compensation.”
Lewis was symbolically fined one franc and “Le Monde”
was ordered to reprint portions of the French court
judgment, which appeared two days later.
“The President’s decision to honor the work of a known
genocide denier – an academic mercenary whose
politically motivated efforts to cover up the truth
run counter to the very principles this award was
established to honor – represents a true betrayal of
the public trust,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 23 2006
ANOTHER CITIZEN OF ARMENIA KILLED IN THE CAPITAL OF RUSSIA

Itar-Tass, a Russian news agency reported that on November 23 at
about 2 o’clock the policemen tried to stop an Opel car on Dmitrov
highway. The car tried to escape and crashed into another car. The
driver of the second car died, in the Opel the policemen found the
body of Ashot Isakhanyan, citizen of Armenia born in 1977, who had
been stabbed to death. It became known that the Opel belonged to
Ashot Isakhanyan. The driver escaped.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 23 2006
Andranik Margaryan: Armenia is ready to participate in CIS
reformation
23.11.2006 17:25
Armenia is ready to actively participate in the reformation of the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Armenian Prime Minister
Andranik Margaryan said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
In his words, the past 15 years showed that despite all the
difficulties, the CIS is performing its important function of
restoring the economic and humanitarian ties between the newly
independent states and developing and accomplishing joint activates
in the spheres of security and new world challenges. Nevertheless,
the Prime Minister considers that CIS definitely needs to be reformed
to best correspond to contemporary requirements. “I do believe that
implementation of reforms will raise the relations between the member
states to a new quality level and will endorse the improvement of the
international rating of the Commonwealth as an influential regional
organization,” Andranik Margaryan noted, adding that the priority
directions of the CIS reforms are economic integration, security and
stability, as well as development of humanitarian cooperation.
The issue of CIS reformation will be discussed in more detail on
November 24 in Minsk during the sitting of the CIS Council of Heads
of Governments, the Prime Minister concluded.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Cyprus News Agency
Nov 23 2006
ARMENIA CYPRUS
The government of Armenia wants a speedy solution to the Cyprus
problem, according to the wishes of the people of Cyprus and its
leadership, said here Thursday President of Armenia Robert Kocharian,
who is on a state visit to the island.
He was speaking after official talks with Cyprus President Tassos
Papadopoulos at the Presidential Palace, with the participation of
delegations from the two countries.
In his statements, Kocharian pointed out that Turkeys EU course could
affect Armenias relations with Turkey, stressing that his country is
very much interested in Turkeys EU accession course.
On his part, President Papadopoulos said Turkey should implement its
European obligations, stressing that veto belongs to those who do not
want sanctions to be taken against Turkey.
Before the two presidents statements, an agreement between the
Government of the Republic of Cyprus and the Government of the
Republic of Armenia on co-operation in combating organized and other
forms of crime was signed by Cyprus` Minister of Justice and Public
Order Sophocles Sophocleous and Minister of Justice of Armenia Davit
Harutyunyan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 23 2006
ROBERT KOCHARYAN: ARMENIA SUPPORTS THE CYPRIOTES’ SOLUTION OF THE
CYPRIAN PROBLEM
The negotiations of the Armenian and Cyprian Presidents, as well as
the enlarged Armenian-Cyprian negotiations passed in the atmosphere
of absolute mutual understanding. This was stated by Presidents of
the two countries Robert Kocharyan and Tasos Papadopulos at a joint
press-conference in Nicosia, Thursday.
The Cyprian President welcomed the first state visit of the Armenian
President and highly appreciated the role of the Armenian community
of Cyprus. Robert Kocharyan pointed out the warm relations between
the two countries and the dialogue which, however, should be
activated. Answering the question about Armenia’s position in the
Cyprian problem, R.Kocharyan noted that one can judge about his
country’s position by the voting in the UN and other international
organizations. He emphasized that Armenia supports the Cypriotes’
solution of the Cyprian problem. Asked how Cyprus can help Armenia in
European integration, Cyprian President T.Papadopulos said that
Cyprus is willing to assist Armenia using its experience. At the end
of the press-conference, Robert Kocharyan invited his Cyprian
colleague to visit Armenia next year.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress