Author: Emil Lazarian

REPRESRESENTATIVE OF ARMENIAN CHURCH PARTICIPATES IN MEETING OF CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF EUROPE CHURCHES’ CONFERENCE
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
June 05 2006
ETCHMIADZIN, JUNE 5, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Bishop Natan
Hovhannisian, the Primate of the English Diocese of the Armenian
Apostolic Church participated on May 23-31 in the annual meeting
of the Central Committee of the Europe Churches’ Conference taken
place in the city of Derry, North Ireland. 40 members of the Central
Committee presided by Jean Arnold de Clermont (ECC Chairman) from the
Reformed Church of France and vice-presided by Archbishop Anastasios
from the Orthodix Church of Tirana and All Albania participated in the
meeting. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the Interchurch Relations’
Department of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, issues on the
ECC agenda which relate to configuration of the ecumenic movement,
relations of the World Churches Council and the Commission of Refugees’
Issues in Europe, Council of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences Council
and Europe Protestant Churches’ community with the ECC and the third
European Ecumenic Assembly were discussed.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MORE THAN 3 MLN USD ALLOCATED FROM STATE BUDGET FOR MAJOR REPAIRS OF YEREVAN SCHOOLS
Noyan Tapan
June 05 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, NOYAN TAPAN. 10 bln drams (23 mln 256 thousand USD)
has been allocated to the sphere of education by 2006 RA state budget,
1 bln 350 mln drams out of which is envisaged for major repairs of 15
schools within the jurisdiction of Yerevan Mayor’s Office. As Onik
Vatian, Head of the Education Department of Yerevan Mayor’s Office,
informed at the June 5 press conference, this year repairs will be
implemented at Yerevan schools with the resources of the Foundation
of Social Investments, as well as the Lincy Foundation. The latter has
planned to fundamentally repair 6 comprehensive schools. O.Vatian said
that the repairs of some schools will finish not at the beginning but
at the end of the schoolyear. According to the head of the Education
Department, 132 thousand pupils attended Yerevan schools last year,
while their number was 130707 in 2005-2006 schoolyear. According to
O.Vatian, the number of 10-form pupils is more by 154 as compared
with the previous year.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

70% OF ARMENIAN FORESTS DECOMPOSED AND OLD
Noyan Tapan
June 05 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, NOYAN TAPAN. 334 thousand ha or 11.2% of Armenia’s
territory is covered by forests, which makes only 0.1 ha per
capita. According to the 2003-2005 Ministerial Report of the RA
Ministry of Nature Protection, about 70% of the country’s natural
forests are decomposed and old. 36% of timber resources are mature
and overmature forests, which are located in areas difficult of
access. According to the report, the inefficient forest management over
the last ten years has brouhgt the forests anf forest ecosystems to
a critical state. Incorrect forest menangement has resulted in aging
and overmaturity of forets in some areas, and to their degradation
and destruction – in others. The energy and economic crises brought
about large-scale deforestation in about 40,000 ha of forests and
green zones. Most of illegal tree cutting has been done by residents
of 230 communities located 5 km from forests – for heating.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WORLD BANK ALLOCATES 6.25 MLN DOLLARS FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA PREPAREDNESS PROJECT IN ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan
June 05 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The World Bank (WB) will provide
a credit of 6.25 mln USD for the Avian Influenza Preparedness
Project in Armenia. The WB Board of Directors made a decision on this
recently. The WB Yerevan Office Director Roger Robinson said during a
press conefernce on June 5 that the project will also be supported by
a $803,900 co-financing Policy and Human Resource Developemnt (PHRD)
Grant from the Japanese Government. According to R. Robinson, the
project will help the Armenian government to minimize the threat of
an avian influenza pandemic in Armenia, as well as to be prepared
for emergencies as a result of avian influenza and other infectious
diseases among humans. Under the project, three laboratories will
be fitted with equipment. In the human health sector, the project
will reduce the impact of a pandemic influenza through year-round
surveillance, effective and accurate methods of diagnosis, social
distance interventions and strengthened medical services. Under this
project, no vaccine is envisaged for birds. R.Robinson noted that
in case of a pandemic, small and medium poultry farms with up to
200 birds will receive a compensation in the amount of 75% of loss
incurred. Prior to it, these farms have to pay some symbolic sum to
the Foundation of Compensation. Large poultry farms are not elegible
for compensation under the project. It was noted that a project of
almost the same cost is also being implemented in Georgia, and one
of the projects under implementation in Azerbaijan will also serve
this purpose.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BLACK SEA STATES AGREE ON TIES
>From correspondents in Bucharest
Sunday Times.au, Australia
Advertiser Adelaide, Australia
Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia
Courier Mail, Australia
The Australian, Australia
June 6 2006
LEADERS of states around the Black Sea committed today to work
together on regional problems such as organised crime, security,
energy supplies and economic development.
The nine states also called on the European Union to get more involved
in the region, where many countries are struggling to forge closer
ties with the West as they move away from Russia’s orbit.
“The Black Sea region now has a chance to become an attractive
partner for the main centres of economic power if it is capable
of transforming itself from a source of problems into a source of
solutions for Europe,” Romanian president Traian Basescu told the
leaders’ summit in Bucharest.
But they made little progress in outlining an end to several
territorial disputes which stem from the messy dissolution of the
Soviet Union and cloud the prospects for stability in the region,
also known to be a major illegal trafficking area.
“We announce the launch of the Black Sea Forum for Dialogue and
Partnership, a process that will serve as a regional platform … to
define a common vision of democratic and sustainable development,”
the countries said in a declaration, which was not signed by Russia.
“The forum will provide a framework for generating new ideas …
encouraging regional cooperation in crisis management,” said the
nine states including EU candidates Romania and Bulgaria, as well as
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine.
The EU, which is looking for alternative routes for energy supplies
throughout Asia, welcomed the agreement, urging regional leaders to
take action on organised crime and territorial conflicts.
“Our aim is to see a stable, democratic region here … to help
fight human trafficking, (the) transit of drugs, to prevent weapon
smuggling,” said Peter Semneby, EU special representative for Caucasus
and central Asia.
But the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, locked in a dispute
over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory, appeared to be no closer to
resolving the conflict.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan
but under the de facto control of ethnic Armenian separatists and
has been a scene of conflict in which about 35,000 people were killed.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA SWITCHING TO 12-YEAR SCHOOLING
By Hovannes Shoghikian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep
June 5 2006
Armenia is gradually extending the length of study in its public
schools to 12 years, in line with an ongoing reform of its system of
primary and secondary education supported by Western donors.
Officials confirmed on Monday that Armenian children who were born
after June 2000 will study longer than the current students who need
10 or 11 years to finish school. The transition to 12-year school
education, the norm around the world, will get underway with the
start of the next academic year on September 1, they said.
Armenians have for decades gone to school at the age of seven and
needed ten years to complete their secondary education. The Armenian
government reformed this Soviet-era system in 2001 when it lowered
the age of first-graders to six years and prolonged the duration
of school instruction by one year. The government made it clear at
the time this is only the first step towards brining the country’s
education system into greater conformity with Western standards.
Officials at the Ministry of Education say lengthier instruction
will ease pressure on students and allow for the introduction of new,
non-traditional subjects that were not taught in Soviet times.
“Naturally, the school curriculum for 12-year first-graders will be
much lighter and easier,” said Onik Vatian, head of the education
department at the Yerevan municipality.
The structural reform enjoys the strong backing of the World Bank
which disbursed a $19 million loan to support it two years ago. The
bank is expected to provide tens of millions of dollars in additional
funding in the coming years.
However, the reform has also raised concerns among many parents and
schoolteachers who believe that children below the age of seven
are too young to be taught reading, writing and other skills. “I
am against 11-year and 12-year instruction,” said one teacher. “The
previous system was much better.”
Parents of small boys also fear that their sons will be drafted to
the army when they finish school at the age of 18 before being able
to try to enroll in a university. But Narine Hovannisian, head of an
Education Ministry department on secondary education, sought to dispel
their fears. “I think every graduate will be given a chance to try
to enter a university [before doing compulsory military service],”
she told RFE/RL.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ROOTS OF TERRORISM: SYMPOSIUM ON ROOTS OF TERRORISM IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
>From Narain Kataria
Organiser, India
June 5 2006
Hindus suffered maximum brunt
A Symposium on “Roots of terrorism” was organised by America’s Truth
Forum in Washington, D.C. last month. It was attended by prominent
and highly-placed scholars and experts on Islamic Studies. Most
of them were celebrities and frequent guests on national TV and
Radio Stations. Dr. Babu Suseelan, a Psychologist and Director of
Addiction Research Institute, PA and Board Member of Indian American
Intellectuals Forum (IAIF) presented his viewpoint in a forceful
manner.
The symposium was well attended by about 400 intellectuals and US
opinion makers; majority of whom were Jewish and Christian Americans.
IAIF members too were present in a sizable number. This was a rare
occasion for IAIF members to interact with American mainstream
personalities and exchange the Indian viewpoint openly on the menace
of terrorism. It was, probably, for the first time that the presence
and scholarship of Hindu Americans was recognised and appreciated
by renowned global experts on counter-terrorism. Surprisingly, many
of these well recognised experts on counter-terrorism did not know
enough about the terrible atrocities perpetrated on peaceful Hindus
by the Islamic invaders and rulers.
Dr. Babu Suseelan explained that it was absolutely essential for the
world to understand the deadly ideology that successfully transforms
the simple human beings into deadly suicide bombers and terrorists.
He said that we cannot deal with the problem of terrorism until and
unless we completely comprehend the ideology which extols the virtues
of killing and preaches hate, incites violence and enjoins on its
followers to instill terror in the hearts of those who do not believe.
Many of the Islamic injunctions make the co-existence of Muslims
with any other people almost impossible. That is the reason why
Muslims have been in a state of perpetual war wherever they live,
be it Afghanistan or Iraq, Chechnya or Sudan, Kashmir or Thailand,
Indonesia or Bangladesh, Philippine or Spain, USA, UK, or India.
It is vital to understand that Islamic menace exists because of
liberal’s habitual tolerance of intolerance. Their tolerance of
intolerance is not tolerance. This type of pathological tolerance,
sobering sympathy for Jihadists and stony indifference to victims is
immoral and barbaric.
Tracing the history of India, Dr. Suseelan pointed out that the
Afghanistan was once Hindu and a part of the original India of that
time. In 1947, Pakistan too was forcibly carved out of the Indian
Territory by Islamists. Now, feverish efforts are on by all Islamic
nations to wrest the Indian Kashmir from the Hindu India. Threats
of violence, loot, murder and rape of Hindus-all familiar tools of
terrorism-have become a routine thing in Kashmir today.
Some of us mistakenly believe that terrorism in the world began from
9/11/2001. This assumption is based on ignorance, lack of historical
background and devoid of factual data. For example, India has been
experiencing terrorism for hundreds of years. Even the so-called
Moghul King ‘Akbar-the-Great’ had killed 30,000 to 40,000 innocent
Hindus in one day.
It is common knowledge in India that 14,000 young Hindu girls had to
burn themselves in fire in a city named Chittor in a western sate of
Rajasthan in India when Hindu soldiers were not able to defend the
honor of their womenfolk against the barbarian Islamic forces.
Timur-the-Terrible ordered his soldiers to kill 100,000 Hindu prisoners
in one day. Tuzk-i-Timuri, the book written by his historian records
‘In a short span of time all the people in the fort were put to sword,
and in the course of one hour the heads of 10,000 infidels were cut
off. The sword of Islam was washed in the blood of the infidels.’
Almost entire world knows that six million Jewish people were murdered
by Nazis. It is also known that 1.2 million Armenians were butchered
by Turkish Muslims.
Will Durant, the celebrated author of ‘The Story of Civilization’
has said that “The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest
story in history.” Anwar Shaikh, a Pakistani Muslim scholar of repute
settled in UK, in his book ‘This is Jihad’ says that “The Muslims
must fight non-Muslims. Mr. Koenraad Elst, the Belgian scholar and
Indologist says that there is a place in Afghanistan called The Hindu
Kush, which means the slaughter of Hindu.
At present, Hindus are under siege in India. Muslim population there
is rising with leaps and bounds. There are 162 million Muslims living
in Pakistan. There are approximately 150 to 160 million Muslims in
India; Bangladesh has another 147 million Muslims. Roughly one-third
of the world’s Muslim population lives in the Indian sub-continent.
This is a very frightening scenario for India.
Enlightened audience in the high-profile Symposium was horrified and
shocked at the information provided and profusely applauded Dr.
Suseelan time and again. Later, many groups invited him to speak on
television, radio, and in their meetings.
These were some of the luminaries who participated in the Symposium:
R. James Woolsey, former Director of CIA, Dr. Paul Williams, former
Consultant to FBI, Dr. Bruce Tefft, a founding member of the CIA’s
Counter Terrorism Center, Dr. Andrew Bostom, Editor of “The Legacy of
Jihad”, Joe Kaufman, Investigative Journalist for Frontpage Magazine,
Robert Spencer, Director of Jihad Watch, David Horowitz, President of
the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, Walid Shobat, a former
PLO functionary, Brigitte Gabriel, a former anchor for world news in
the Middle East and a prominent Arab-American journalist, Dr. Harvey
Kushner, a noted author, lecturer, professor and internationally
recognized authority on terrorism, Kenneth Timmerman, a nominee for
the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
(The writer is President, Indian American Intellectuals Forum,
New York.)
hp?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=134&pa ge=25
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MTS TO BE GOING TO PURCHASE 90% STAKE IN LARGEST ARMENIAN GSM-OPERATOR
RIA OREANDA
Economic News
June 5, 2006 Monday
Moscow. OREANDA. The largest Russian cellular company in the CIS –
Mobile Telesystems (MTS) made an application on purchase of 90 %
stake in the largest Armenian GSM-operator ArmenTel from Greek
telecommunication group OTE.
OTE has got 90 percent of shares of ArmenTel at the international
competition in the end of 1997, having received also a monopoly on
granting telecommunication services within 15 years.
According to ACM-Consulting by the beginning of 2006 ArmenTel has been
serving more than 321,000 subscribers. The second cellular operator
of Armenia – VivaCell – serves approximately 300,000.

ARMENIANS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST MOSCOW KILLINGS
Agence France Presse — English
June 5, 2006 Monday 2:22 PM GMT
Around 100 people demonstrated outside the Russian embassy to Armenia
on Monday demanding an end to a string of racist killings in Moscow
of people of Armenian origin.
Activists at the demonstration led by the Armenian Helsinki Committee
waved placards marked “Stop fascism” and handed over a message for
the Russian ambassador saying that racist groups were acting “under
the protection of Russian state structures”.
Six people of Armenian origin have been killed in racially motivated
attacks in Moscow this year, the activists said.
“There is an ideological vacuum in Russia at the moment due to the
failure of democratic principles and values,” said the Helsinki
Committee’s chairman, Avetik Ishkhanian. “Several forces are trying
to fill this vacuum with nationalist ideology and they need to be
stopped”.
This Caucasus country has had close ties with Russia since the Soviet
Union’s 1991 collapse but they have been strained in recent months,
partly due to attacks on Armenians in Russia.
In the latest such attack a 19-year-old was stabbed to death on a train
on May 25 by a group of young people who shouted “Glory to Russia”,
a lawyer representing members of the Armenian community said.
Another activist, Arsen Kharatian, said it was time to re-evalute
the commonly held belief that Russians could do no wrong.
“It’s necessary to free ourselves of the stereotype of the Russian
who one can’t speak out against … Both Russia and Armenia should
fight at state level against racism,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FITCH ASSIGNS ARMENIA FOREIGN, LOCAL CURRENCY RATINGS OF ‘BB-‘
Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
June 5, 2006 Monday 6:38 PM MSK
Fitch assigned the Republic of Armenia foreign and local currency
Issuer Default ratings (“IDR”) of ‘BB-‘ (BB minus) with a Stable
Outlook, the agency said in a press release.
At the same time Fitch has assigned a Short-term rating of ‘B’ and
a Country Ceiling of ‘BB-‘ (BB minus), the release says.
“Armenia’s sovereign credit ratings are supported by prudent
macroeconomic policies and a declining public and external debt
burden that compares favorably with rated peers,” said David Riley,
Managing Director of Fitch’s Sovereigns Group.
Impressive economic performance has been underpinned by a robust and
coherent macroeconomic policy framework and wide-ranging structural
reforms that have enhanced the capacity of the economy to absorb
adverse shocks.
Armenia’s public finances are a rating strength. Fiscal deficits have
been contained at below 3% of GDP since 2002 and are forecast to remain
so, aiding a continued reduction in the general government debt burden,
which at 21% of GDP in 2005 already compares well with its rated peers.
The Central Bank of Armenia (“CBA”) has a demonstrated commitment
to low inflation – which has averaged 3.3% per year since 2000 –
and a flexible exchange rate regime, helping to insulate the economy
from adverse external price shocks. Moderate fiscal and external
financing needs are comfortably met with concessional loans from
the international financial institutions (“IFIs”), and external debt
servicing costs are correspondingly low and below those of peers.
Nonetheless, the importance of maintaining prudent fiscal and
monetary policies and building confidence in the CBA’s new inflation
targeting regime and economic stability are underscored by low levels
of monetization and financial intermediation that, combined with high
dollarization, continue to render the economy vulnerable to shocks.
With income per capita rising rapidly, official financing flows will
become less concessional and the government will need to broaden its
financing sources, including by developing the domestic government bond
market. Substantial inflows of remittances – estimated at around $750
million (15% of GDP) – help narrow the domestic savings-investment
gap and are an important source of external finance, but they are
also potentially susceptible to exogenous shocks.
And while the scorecard in terms of economic reform and liberalization
since independence is impressive, further measures to strengthen
governance and the still relatively immature political system, as
well as reduce the high level of corruption, would enhance long-term
investment and growth prospects.
Despite strong economic growth, Armenia’s ratings are constrained
by its low per capita income, which stood at just $1,500 in 2005
compared to the ‘BB’ group median of $2,500. Armenia subsequently
has a lower debt tolerance than wealthier economies. The government
also faces the challenge of increasing its tax take as social and
infrastructure spending needs rise over the short-to medium-term. At
just 14% of GDP, the government’s tax base is among the lowest of all
sovereigns rated by Fitch and constrains overall revenue generation,
in turn limiting fiscal flexibility.
A further important rating consideration is the country’s challenging
geopolitical situation, notably with respect to the absence of a
permanent resolution on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and the
normalization of relations with Turkey. Fitch judges the risk
of renewed violent conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over
Nagorno-Karabakh to be low over the near to medium term. Nonetheless,
the absence of a permanent political resolution continues to pose a
threat to regional stability over the long term.
In Fitch’s judgment substantive changes in economic policies are
unlikely, despite national assembly and presidential elections in
2007 and 2008, respectively. Improving the business environment and
raising domestic savings and investment, including the development
of local capital markets that would enhance the government’s domestic
financing capability, would be positive for Armenia’s ratings.
Negative economic or political shocks, including increased tensions
over Nagorno-Karabakh or the results of forthcoming elections, would
bring negative pressure to bear on the ratings.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress