Author: Emil Lazarian

French Parliament Socialist Faction to Introduce Bill against Denial of Armenian Genocide
PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2006 21:46 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Socialist faction of the French Parliament took
a decision on March 29 to introduce a bill in the Parliament against
the denial of the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian Revolutionary
Federation’s Western Europe Central Committee has issued a statement
welcoming the decision that is the result of many petitions sent by
the ARF to the Socialist Party leader Francois Holland. “This is the
second time that the Socialist faction is using the Parliament for
the benefit of Armenians,” the statement says. “After May 29, 1998,
which was dedicated to the Armenian Genocide law, the Socialist Party
could use May 18, 2006 to pass a law that would outlaw the denial of
the Armenian Genocide.” If passed, the law will make it a crime to deny
the Armenian Genocide and the deniers would be automatically convicted.

KOCHARIAN NOMINATED FOR UNITY OF ORTHODOX PEOPLES PRIZE IN 2006
Yerkir
30.03.2006 17:15
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Armenian President Robert Kocharian is nominated
for the prize of the International Fund of Unity of Orthodox Peoples
in 2006. “The Armenian Church is concerned with Orthodox Russians be
spiritually fed.
In this respect the support by the Armenian President and city
administration is available,” Moscow and All Russia Patriarch Alexy
II stated at the annual meeting of founders of the Fund in Moscow.
He also remarked that today Russia has the largest Armenian community,
which numbers over 2.5 million. Gazprom Public Corporation is also
nominated for “restoration of many ruinous sacred objects,” the
religious leader said.
Archbishop Sawa, Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland, will also
be awarded the prize. “The Orthodox Church of Poland is not large,
however it is active. The political leadership was changed. I believe
the life conditions of Orthodox people in Poland will not be very
easy,” Alexy II remarked.
A special international commission of the Fund headed by the Patriarch
annually considers the candidacies. Specifically, in 2005 the prize
was awarded to Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania Anastasios in
the nomination of Head of Local Orthodox Church, Cyprus President
Tassos Papadopoulos in the nomination of State Leader. Moscow Mayor
Yuri Luzhkov was also awarded the prize for Outstanding Activities
to Strengthen Unity of Orthodox Peoples, Interfax reports.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NEW ORGANIZATION OF PEOPLE WHO CANNOT HEAR
Lragir.am
30 March 06
The split within the Society of People with Hearing Problems in Armenia
is going on. Moreover, new interesting processes are outlining, which
may also have a home political context. On March 30 Parthev Muradyan,
member of the civic action group of the Society of People with Hearing
Problems, the leader of the so-called opposition of the Society, told
news reporters about this processes at the Pastark Club. He is not a
member of the society any more, he was dismissed several months ago,
but leads the movement of the society members against the present
leadership of the Society of People with Hearing Problems, namely,
President Jora Varagyan and his supporters.
Parthev Muradyan and the oppositionists of the Society complain that
Jora Varagyan has dissipated the property and money of the Society,
and is still doing. “Instead of operating the enterprises belonging to
people with hearing problems Jora Varagyan sold them, thus depriving
them of the possibility to work,” says Parthev Muradyan. His supporters
say soon they will have to beg. It is not only a social problem but
also a criminal one. Parthev Muradyan says there is enough evidence
on illegal sale of the property of the society and appropriation of
the money by Jora Varagyan.
A criminal action was suited, however, Parthev Muradyan and his
supporters are dissatisfied with the investigation. Parthev Muradyan
says Gharakhanyan, who investigates the case, concludes that there is
no criminal element in the activity of the president of the Society
Varagyan. On March 30 he and his supporters sent a letter to the
Head Public Prosecutor of Armenia, expressing concern about the
investigation, the possibility that Varagyan will not be punished,
and calling for the Head Public Prosecutor’s personal assistance in
the investigation and punishment of the guilty. A similar letter will
be addressed to the president of Armenia.
Parthev Muradyan does not dare say if the standpoint of the Office
of Public Prosecutor is biased. But Muradyan hints that one of the
reasons of the dissatisfaction of the oppositionist people with hearing
problems can be suspicions about partiality. The oppositionist movement
led by Parthev Muradyan assures that they will not give up even under
threat. By the way, in fact, there are threats. Parthev Muradyan
announced that the present president of the Society of People with
Hearing Problems threatens the oppositionist members of the society
with assault, even murder.
“We are well aware of these threats. But I announce that if anyone of
us suffered, they would get a due counterblow from where they would
have never expected,” Parthev Muradyan defends himself, announcing,
however, that they rely on themselves only.
Parthev Muradyan does not mention either who Jora Varagyan and his
supporters rely on, but he directly points to the direction where the
answer to the question could be found. “I did not tell anything before,
now I say that in the parliamentary election in 2003 Jora Varagyan
supported the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Think on the rest
yourselves,” says Parthev Muradyan. He said he had a video of Jora
Avagyan, asking one of the leaders of ARF in Los Angeles to donate 200
thousand dollars to the Society. “Then he was told that if he wanted
the money for the Society he should ask for 1 million 200 thousand
instead of 200 thousand. And he was refused,” said Parthev Muradyan.
Parthev Muradyan decided that the way out is to open a new organization
of people with hearing problems. They are going to establish a new
society of people with hearing problems, temporarily referred to as
“the Armenian Alliance of People with Hearing Problems.” The logo of
the alliance is the well-known gesture, meaning OK. Parthev Muradyan
says the Americans have derived this gestures from people who cannot
hear.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WB BOARD CONFIRMED PROGRAM OF DEVELOPMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN ARMENIA
Lragir.am
30 March 06
The board of directors of the World Bank confirmed in Washington the
program of development of renewable energy in Armenia, which costs 8
million dollars. According to the news agency ARKA, this was stated by
Roger Robinson, the director of the WB office in Yerevan, during the
news conference on March 30. Roger Robinson said the program will be
funded by a 3 million dollar grant of the Global Energy Foundation
and an IDA loan of 5 million dollars for 40 years, on 0.75 per
cent interest and a grace period of 10 years. Roger Robinson said
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will provide
7 million dollars, and the Gafeschyan Foundation will allocate 3
million dollars for the program of renewable energy in Armenia. The
WB representative in Armenia said the program must be confirmed by
the government and ratified by the National Assembly of Armenia.
It is estimated to create an additional 80 megawatt capacity of
renewable energy in Armenia within the upcoming 5 years.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“GOLDEN GUITAR-2006” REPUBLICAN FESTIVAL OF AUTHOR SONG TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN
Noyan Tapan
Mar 30 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 30, NOYAN TAPAN. The “Ovation” producer center in
association with the Charity Fund of Cultural Development and RA
Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs is organizing a “Golden Guitar”
(“Voske Kitar”) republican festival of author song. Those creating
and performing in the author genre to the accompaniment of guitar
can take part in the festival. Samvel Mesropian, Director of the
“Ovation” producer center, informed about it at the March 30 press
conference. According to him, the goal of the festival of author
song is to summarize the developments of this genre of recent
years, to reveal new authors performing their own songs giving
them an opportunity to perform from on the stage for the first
time. S.Mesropian said that such a festival was last organized
in Armenia in 1999. And before it the “Yeghegnadzor” festival
of author song was traditionally organized. According to Edvard
Zorikian, a member of the festival’s steering committee, a well-known
author-singer, this festival is just an opportunity to touch upon this
genre of art of singing. “This is the kind of art which is very subtle
but is very stable and of principle with its criteria. The lyrics is
dominating here and the guitar is the accompaniment of this lyrics,”
E.Zorikian is convinced. Well-known guitarist Martin Aharonian
emphasized that this genre is very individual and author-singers’
songs mainly contain also autobiographical elements. He mentioned
that at present this is an unknown genre for a wide circle of young
people. The bids for participation in the festival will be accepted
till April 20, after which the pre-selection tour will be held. The
best performers will take part in the contest of the first tour to be
held on May 10-15, then the winners together with well-known authors
performing their own songs will take part in the second tour’s concerts
to be held on June 6-10.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GAVAR THEATER WILL NOT BE REPAIRED THIS YEAR, EITHER
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 30 2006
GAVAR, MARCH 30, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On the occasion
of the International Day of Theater, Gegharkunik Governor Stepan
Barseghian congratulated the actors of Gavar Levon Kalantar State
Dramatic theater two days later, meeting with the theater’s creative
collective on March 29. The Governor gave diplomas to 8 actors for
their contribution to the theater development and 7 actors were given
letters of thanks. As the actors mentioned, they are pleased to be
remembered even if once a year but they would like the theater not to
be left without attention. The hope that the theater will be repaired
with the funds of 2006 state budget won’t be fulfilled: the projecting
works implemented by the Ministry of Urban Development that lasted
for about 3 months remained on paper. Whereas, the theater badly needs
repairs. There are more than 0.5 meters of water only under the stage,
the building walls are cracked. In fact, the non-attractive looks of
the theater building won’t change in 2006, either.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESENTATION OF VIGEN BABAYAN’S “AKSORANVAG” BOOK TAKES PLACE IN YEREVAN
Noyan Tapan
Mar 30 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 30, NOYAN TAPAN. Poet Vigen Babayan is a person
gifted with exclusive talent, and the literary heritage he left is of
great value. David Sargsian, the Director of the National Library of
Armenia mentioned about this at the March 29 presentation of the poet’s
“Aksoranvag” (play of exile) book. According to him, a poem was first
of all life, everyday for V.Babayan, and only then a word and line
written on a paper. He wrote what he thought, felt and lived. All the
works included in “Aksoranvag” were created in the U.S., since 1981,
when the writer appeared in that country irrespective of his will.
“For V.Babayan that country was a place of exile, and all the works
of those years he gathered under the “Aksoranvag” general title,”
D.Sargsian mentioned. In the U.S., V.Babayan worked at the Armenian
editorial of the Voice of America radio in parallel to his literary
activity. He did many translations as well, including works of Victor
Hugo, Byron, Lomonosov and other great figures.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PAVEL NERSESIANTS ELECTED VICE-SPEAKER OF KISLOVODSK MUNICIPALITY COUNCIL
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 30 2006
KISLOVODSK, MARCH 30, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The first sitting
of the newly elected Municipality Council was held in Kislovodsk,
at which the heads of the representative body were elected. Director
of Kislovodsk Medical College N.Chaplygin was elected as Chairman,
and Director of Lyceum N 8 M.Goguyev, manager of the Medinvestbank
OJSC Kislodovsk branch V.Malkhozov and head of the “Uyut” foootwear
enterprise Pavel Nersesiants were elected as Vice-Chairmen. Informing
about it, the “Yerkramas” (Territory) newspaper of Armenians of
Russia, reminds that at the previous elections of the Minicipality
Council 6 representatives of the Armenian Diaspora of Kislovodsk,
including P.Nersesiants, became winners in their electoral districts.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WORLD BANK ALLOCATES 8 MLN DOLLARS FOR ARMENIAN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAM
Noyan Tapan
Mar 30 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 30, NOYAN TAPAN. The World Bank (WB) has allocated 8
mln dollars for the implementation of the renewable energy program
in Armenia.
Director of the World Bank Yerevan Office Roger Robinson stated during
the March 30 press conference that 5 mln of the indicates sum will
be provided as a credit, while the remaining sum – as a grant from
the Global Ecological Fund.
According to R. Robinson, the program will assist the RA government
to increase the electricity generation capacities, which represent
a private property and are operated by the private sector, by using
the renewable energy-bearing substances. R. Robinson noted that as
a result of the program’s implementation, Armenia will have an extra
capacity of 80 mw, while carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by
nearly 130 thousand tons a year. The program will also be refunded
by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) that
will provide a 7 mln dollar loan, while the Cafesjian Foundation will
participate with own capital of 3 mln dollars. In the words of the WB
Yerevan Office Director, Armenia has quite a considerable potential for
development of small hydropower plants and wind energy. He said that
there are many investors in Armenia who intend to make investments in
these sectors. It was noted that the above mentioned credit is given to
Armenia at a 0.75% interest rate and is repayable over 40 years with
a 10-year grace period. The sum will be provided to the RA government
– to the Renewable Energy and Energy Saving Fund, which in its turn
will extend the loan to commercial banks at a 4.5-5% interest rate,
while the banks will provide credits to private investors at mortgage
market rates. To recap, since 1992 the WB has implemented 42 programs
worth a total of 921 mln USD in Armenia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ACCORDING TO WB REPRESENTATIVE, INCREASE IN GRANULATED SUGAR AND FLOUR PRICES HAS NO RELATION TO GAS TARIFF GROWTH
Noyan Tapan
Mar 30 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 30, NOYAN TAPAN. The World Bank (WB) will continue
studying the consequences of the gas tariff increase in Armenia for
1-2 weeks. Director of the World Bank Yerevan Office Roger Robinson
stated this at the March 30 press conference, adding the bank has no
more information than the reporters about what may happen as a result
of the gas tariff rise, as the RA government has not completed the
negotiations yet. As regards the tariff set by the RA Public Services
Regulatory Commission, R. Robinson said that they still have to see
whether the established prices are the real ones. Nevertheless,
he agreed that a rise in the gas tariif will affect some sectors
of the economy. He noted that the recent growth in the prices of
granulated sugar and flour has no relation to the gas tariif increase,
since these foodstuffs are imported into Armenia: granulated sugar –
by 100%, flour – partly.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress