Author: Felekian Ara

ARDSHININVESTBANK INTENDS TO INCREASE TURNOVER OF PRIVATE TRANSFERS TO 180 MLN USD BY THE END OF 2009

ArmInfo
2009-07-14 16:54:00

ArmInfo. Ardshininvestbank ensures the dynamics of the turnover
of private money transfers planned for the current year by means
of various payment systems, Head of the Department of Private
Transfers Management of Ardshininvestbank Tigran Shahinyan told
ArmInfo correspondent.

According to him, though the volume of private transfers via the
bank decreased by 9,5% to $61.5 mln in the first half year of 2009,
nevertheless the number of money transfers grew by 16%. At the same
time, Shahinyan stressed that Ardshininvestbank is going to ensure $180
mln private transfers turnover as against $200 mln in 2008. "Usually
in the second half year the turnover of money transfers is twice
as much as the index of the first half year, therefore we hope that
we’ll manage to ensure the planned turnover by the end of the year",-
he said.

He added that at the moment Ardshininvestbank and Money Gram
money transfer system are holding a joint action till the late
August. Within the frames of the action, in September the 3 most active
clients having received a transfer via MoneyGram will make a trip to
Europe. Furthermore, the bank and Contact system will shortly launch
an action on decreasing commission fees when carrying out transfers
from Armenia from 3% to 2%.

Ardshininvestbank carries out money transfers via various international
payment systems, particularly, Contact, MoneyGram, Migom, Bystraya
Pochta, IntelExpress and Russian Promsvyzbank, Sotsgorbank, Forabank,
Sberbank. At present 80% of the total turnover of money transfers of
Ardshininvestbank falls on CIS, the rest – on the USA and Europe.

NKR PRESIDENT BAKO SAHAKYAN MET MEMBERS OF THE UNION OF ARMENIAN BANKS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
13.07.2009 11:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On 11 July, NKR President Bako Sahakyan met members
of the Union of Armenian Banks who arrived in Artsakh to hold a
meeting of the organization.

A wide range of issues related to the banking sector of the republic
were discussed at the meeting.

Bako Sahakyan emphasized the necessity of expanding activities of
Armenian banks in Artsakh and raising cooperation to a new level.

NKR premier Ara Haroutyunyan, president of the Central Bank of Armenia
Arthur Javadyan partook at the meeting, Central Information Department
of NKR President’s Office reported.

REPRESENTATIVES OF ARF DASHNAKTIUTYUN ABOUT THE STATEMENT OF PRESIDENTS OF RUSSIA, THE USA AND FRANCE ON KARABAKH

ArmInfo
2009-07-13 13:39:00

The representatives of the ARF Dashnaktiutyun board, Hrant Markaryan,
thinks that the statement of the presidents of Russia, the USA and
France on Karabakh made over the G8 summit means ‘compressing of the
pressure circle’.

As ArmInfo correspondent reported from Stepanakert, Hrant Markaryan
said it in Stepanakert where the All-Armenian forum, organized by
ARF Dashnaktiutyun, was held on 10-11 July.

He also added that the Nagornyy Karabakh people’s right on
self-determination should be on the basis of the talks. As
representative of the Artsakh board of Dashnaktiutyun, David
Ishkhanyan, said that resolute actions and harsh position of the NKR
authorities and representatives of the political and public field
should be a response to this statement.

Yeni Musavat, Baku
July 9 2009

Azerbaijan’s ex-foreign ministers comment on Nagornyy Karabakh

Azerbaijan’s former foreign ministers have commented on the current
status of the Nagornyy Karabakh negotiations, opposition daily Yeni
Musavat said on 9 July.

"I do believe and I am 100 per cent sure that Azerbaijan’s interests
are being considered," Hasan Hasanov, ambassador to Hungary and
ex-foreign minister between 1993-98, told Yeni Musavat. "The essence
of the negotiations is visible from the issued statements. If the
negotiations focus on the principle of Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity then it should satisfy us."

Azerbaijan’s foreign minister in 1999-2004 and currently ambassador to
Poland, Vilayat Quliyev, said that Azerbaijan unlike in previous years
should toughen its stance on the Nagornyy Karabakh issue: "Azerbaijan
has a strong army now. International support to Azerbaijan has
increased. In view of all these, Azerbaijan should put forward
decisive demands."

Formerly a leading specialist on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and
Azerbaijan’s foreign minister between 1998-1999, Tofiq Zulfuqarov,
sees hope in the current negotiation: "There can be some opportunities
[for the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict]. But both sides
should try to achieve some results. Unfortunately, even though such
chances emerged before, but Armenia changed its position at the last
moment which brought zero results."

ARMENIAN AND GREEK CYPRIOT PRESIDENTS BACK TURKEY’S EU BID
Grace Annan

World Market Research Centre
Global Insight
July 8, 2009

On Tuesday (6 July), Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan ended his
two-day official visit to Greek Cyprus. At the joint press conference
with the Greek Cypriot president Demetris Christofias, Christofias
stated that he shared many of the positions Sargsyan had, notably
with regards to relations with the Turkish government. According to
theCyprus Mail, Christofias stressed that his administration supported
the accession of a "modernised" Turkey with "European behaviour"
to the European Union (EU); however, Greek Cyprus would oppose any
motivations by fellow EU member states to let Turkey in just because
of the size of its market. Christofias described Turkish Cypriots
as "brothers and children of the same country" (Cyprus Mail), but
warned the Turkish government against capitalising on this to distort
relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Sargsyan echoed these
comments. The two presidents further agreed to increase the scope for
business meetings between Greek Cypriot and Armenian operators soon.

Significance:The comments of the conference will certainly alert the
Turkish government. The Armenian and Turkish governments have had a
careful rapprochement since September 2008, as Turkey tries to increase
its diplomatic clout in the Caucasus region. Yet many obstacles remain
in the way of normalising ties with each other, some of which were
highlighted by Christofias and Sargsyan yesterday. Both presidents
are grappling with ethnic unrest, Sargsyan with Nagorno Karabakh,
which raises tensions with the Turkey-friendly Azeri government,
and Christofias with Turkish Cyprus and finding a solution on the
future of the divided island with the help of the UN. Backing each
other may increase their chances of getting concessions from the
Turkish government somewhat, notably by using EU membership as an
incentive. However, the Turkish government is unlikely to either
soften its stance on the genocide of Armenians in the First World
War, side with Sargsyan on Nagorno Karabakh, or open its airports
and harbours fully to Greek Cypriot operators in the near future.

TIGRAN DAVTYAN: CERTAIN STABILIZATION TENDENCIES APPARENT IN THE ARMENIAN ECONOMY

AZG Armenian Daily
11/07/2009

The financial means from international organizations will suffice for
execution of budget 2009, Minister of Finance Tigran Davtyan told
a press conference today. According to him, Armenia will receive
an additional USD 1 billion from the International Monetary Fund,
the Asian Development Bank and the Russian Federation.

Minister of Finance stated that the government has clearly estimated
how it will maintain the state debt till year 2025, noting that the
correlation of the external debt to Armenia’s GDP in the nearest
10-11 years will be at the level of 37-38%, which is lower than the
allowed maximum level of 50%.

"Significant part of the attracted loan resources will be used to
credit economy, thus, the private sector will also represent a source
to maintain the given loans", Tigran Davtyan stated.

Upon conclusion of the first six months, 2009, certain stabilization
tendencies are apparent in the Armenian economy, Tigran Davtyan stated.

Growth of tax proceeds is registered also in the first days of
July, Tigran Davtyan stated, adding that this is conditioned by
both improvement of tax administration and tendencies for economy
stabilization.

According to the Minister of Finance, the government forecasts that
slow economy revival will start in the second half of next year.

NKR ARMY PUSHES AZERBAIJAN TO PEACE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
09.07.2009 19:12 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan’s claims are not restricted to
separate lands; it wants to occupy the entire NKR territory, without
understanding that Stepanakert has no intention to return anything,
NKR Defense Minister announced in Askeran region, as reported by a
PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent from Karabakh. "Today, NKR Defense
Army ensures peace and stability in the region. Over the recent
10-15 years, we prevented Azeri advances on first contact line,"
Movses Hakobyan stressed. NKR Army, according to him, is capable of
ensuring NKR people’s security.

TWO INDIANS IN SEMIFINALS OF RUSSIAN BOXING EVENT

Thaindian.com
July 9th, 2009

New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) Indian boxers Amandeep Singh and Manpreet
Singh outpunched their Russian rivals to move into the semi-finals
of the Magomed Salam Umakhanov Memorial boxing Championships at
Makhachkala, Russia.

In the 48 kg category, Amandeep defeated Russian V. Ginnachmaev 11-2
in the quarter finals and entered the medal round Wednesday.

Manpreet (91 kg) knocked out Abdullaev Rustam to make it to the
last four.

In other events, Jasveer Singh (81 kg) defeated Iskanderov Khatiz of
Azerbaijan 8-2 to advance to the second round.

Jai Singh Patil (69 kg) and Kuldeep Singh (75 kg), however, lost
their first round bouts.

Patil lost to Ambartzumyn Edurd of Armenia 2-8 while Kuldeep went
down to Russian Yron Nikolia 9-12 in a close fight.

CALVARIAS AND SKELETONS DISCOVERED DURING EXCAVATIONS IN VAN

Noyan Tapan
July 6, 2009

VAN, JULY 6, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Marmara daily, citing
the local newspapers, reported that a great number of calvarias and
skeletons were discovered during the excavations in the vicinity
of the Shabanie district of Van. According to the newspaper, some
children who were gathering iron scraps among the ruined buildings’
wastes noticed the bones. They informed the police and the searches
started. About 10 calvarias and skeletons were discovered.

Palluxo

Serbia and Serb Nazism in Yugoslavia

By: Eric Margolis, Toronto

Saturday, 04 July 2009 17:48

Serb slav nazism began around 1900 and flourished in the 1920’s after
the creation of unstable, multi-ethnic Yugoslavia. Numerous
influential Serb writers and academics, notably Vaso Cubrilovic and
Radivoje Pesic, proclaimed Serbs racial supermen, and Serbia the true
cradle of western civilization. .
Serb nazis urged ethnic cleansing of all `racially inferior’
Hungarians, Croats, Jews, Albanians, Catholics and Muslims from a
purified Greater Serbia, stretching from Italy to the Aegean. Some
elements of the Serb Orthodox Church eagerly cooperated – and still do
– with these ideas.
Mother Theresa, an Albanian from southern Yugoslavia, ended up in
Calcutta because her family was driven from its home by Serb nazis in
the 192O’s during a campaign of ethnic cleansing. Back then, as now,
Serb nazis warned of the fertility of non-Serb women, and called for
the mass expulsion, extermination or sterilization of `racial
inferiors.’
The Serb slavo-nazi, Cubrilovic, wrote, `If Germany could deport tens
of thousands of Jews, the expulsion of a few hundreds of thousands of
Albanians would not lead to a world war.’ Interestingly, his remark
mirrors Hitler’s observation that since the world ignored the genocide
of Armenians during World War I, it would react similarly to his
planned extermination of Jews.
Milosevic rekindled Serb nazism after Tito had suppressed it for two
decades. Serb paramilitary gangsters, like Arkan and Seselj, who
spearheaded ethnic cleansing and mass murder, are direct descendants
of Hitler’s brownshirt thugs. The Serb army – shades of the SS- was
ordered to ethnically cleanse Bosnia of `Muslim filth’ on a `sacred
historic mission for the Motherland.’
Serb nazis now denounce Milosevic for failing to accomplish this
goal. A significant part of the opposition is made up of nazis, or
rightwing extremists. Unless ripped out by the roots, nazism may
continue its grip on Serbia.
Nazism and fascism were thoroughly excised from Germany, Italy and
Japan. It’s time to do the same in Serbia to the last nest of nazis in
Europe. Hopefully, democratic Serbs – -Serbia’s forgotten majority –
will accomplish this long-overdue task. They will need a great deal of
active support from Europe -particularly when Britain and Greece
finally halt their shameful support of Serb extremists.
Canada’s demands this week that capture and prosecution of Bosnian
Serb war criminals be vigorously pursued – by force, if necessary –
are overdue and welcome. Canada is right to show zero tolerance to
nazis like Karadzic and Mladic. You don’t fight nazism by trying 85
year-old men, You do it by arresting and prosecuting today’s
reincarnated nazis in the Balkans.
[Eric Margolis is a syndicated foreign affairs columnist and
broadcaster based in Toronto, Canada.]