Author: Felekian Ara

ECONOMIST RECOMMENDS TO CUT REVENUES AND EXPENSES OF BUDGET

Panorama.am
18:32 04/03/2009

It is highly recommended to cut the revenues and the expenses of the
state budget by 20%, said the President of "PolitEconomy" organization
economist Andranik Tevanyan.

According to the economist first the small and average size business
should get privileges dismissing them from ATM and defining fixed
fees for them.

Regarding the crisis, Tevanyan said that the current situation in
Armenia depends on the world crisis by 10-20% only. He says that we
deal with the results of inaccurate policy.

"The roots of the crisis have been put in 2007, when the economic
strategy has been profoundly changed by the republicans," he said.

CONSUMER PRICES RISE BY 1% IN ARMENIA IN PAST YEAR

Noyan Tapan

M arch 2, 2009

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, NOYAN TAPAN. The comsumer price index made 101%
in Armenia in February 2009 on February 2008, including index of
food commodities (including alcoholic drinks and cigarettes) – 98.1%,
of nonfood commodities – 97%, of service tariffs – 108.7%. The same
indices in January-February 2009 on January-February 2008 made 102.5,
99.9%, 97.7% and 110.1% respectively.

According to the RA National Statistical Service, 1.2% inflation
in Armenian consumer market in January 2009 was followed by 1.8%
deflation in February.

The prices of food commodities (including alcoholic drinks and
cigarettes) fell by 2.9%, of nonfood commodities – by 0.9%, while
tariffs of services fell by 0.2%.

The consumer price index in February 2009 on December 2008 made 99.3%,
including that of food commodities (including alcoholic drinks and
cigarettes) – 99.4%, of nonfood commodities – 97.8%. The overall
level of tariffs in the sector of services remained unchanged in the
indicated period.

94TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE HELD AT TIMES SQUARE

MSNBC
/
March 1 2009

NEW YORK, March 3, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — For the 24th year,
thousands of American-Armenians and their supporters will gather in
Times Square (Broadway between 43rd and 44th Streets) to commemorate
the first genocide of the 20th Century — the Armenian Genocide. To
be held on Sunday, April 26, 2009 from 2-4 PM, this historic event
will pay tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians who were extinguished
by the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire. The Commemoration
will also celebrate the survival of the Armenian people, their rich
heritage and their contributions. Speakers will include Armenian and
non-Armenian political and civic leaders and students. This event is
free and open to the public.

Media are invited to meet and interview Armenian Genocide Survivors
(ages 94-100) and Armenian Genocide Experts, Dr. Dennis R. Papazian
and Sam Azadian on Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 2 PM at the New York
Armenian Home, 13731 45th Avenue, Flushing, NY. For background
information and to arrange interviews contact: Linda Millman Guller,
email: [email protected], phone: 203-454-9800.

The 94th Commemoration is organized by the Mid-Atlantic chapters
of Knights and Daughters of Vartan , a
U.S. fraternal organization of Armenian-Americans, and co-sponsored
by Armenian General Benevolent Union , Armenian National
Committee of America , Armenian Assembly of America
, Armenian Democratic Liberal Party and Social Democratic
Hunchagian Party.

The Knights of Vartan logo is available at
d=3420

Issues to Explore with Experts Dr. Dennis R. Papazian and Sam Azadian

* Do you think that the Obama Administration will recognize the
Armenian Genocide?

* What major world historical events have taken place in the 20th and
21st centuries because of the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the
Turkish Government and other nations?

* Why do Armenians and supporters commemorate the Armenian Genocide?

* What is the historical evidence to support the Armenian Genocide?

The Experts

Dr. Dennis R. Papazian, is the founding Director of the Armenian
Research Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where from
1971-2006, he held the position of Professor of History. He also served
four years as Executive Director of the Armenian Assembly of America in
Washington, D.C. In addition, Dr. Papazian is on the Board of Trustees
of the American Diocese of the Armenian Church (Eastern), Secretary of
the Board of Trustees of the St. Nersess Armenian Theological Seminary,
President of the Society for Armenian Studies and is a member of the
Editorial Board of the Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies. He
is listed in Who’s Who in America and resides in N.J.

Sam Azadian, who founded the Armenian Genocide Commemoration 24
years ago, is a N.J. resident who held several positions over a
23-year span in New York City Government. Serving four Mayors,
his positions included Deputy Commissioner for the Department of
Highways and Assistant Vice President of the New York City Health
and Hospitals Corporation. He lost four of his own older siblings in
the Genocide during the death marches to the deserts of Der Zor (the
killing fields). Highly knowledgeable about the history of Armenia
and its people, he also understands the political issues that prevail
today, and the reasons why annual commemorations like this serve an
important purpose for the entire world.

Participating Organizations:

Diocese of the Armenian Church, Prelacy of the Armenian Church,
Armenian Missionary Association of America, Armenian Presbyterian
Church, Armenian Evangelical Church, Armenian Catholic Eparchy for
U.S. and Canada, and Armenian Youth Organizations.

ARF KNOW-HOW: LESS REVENUE SPELLS LESS EXPENDITURE

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.03.2009 16:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Tax reduction for economical entities will help
increase state budget expenditure," ARF -Dashnaktsutyun representative,
the MP Ara Nranyan told a press conference today.

"The party submitted budget revision propositions to Armenian
government. We don’t have to reduce the expenditure, but rather,
lower revenues by reducing tax rates for economical entities."

According to him, the low deficit rate in Armenian budget, and
the financial assistance Armenia will receive from its partners to
overcome the financial crisis could be conductive to expenditure
reduction. "If we renounce the expenditures, the financial crisis
will have a most negative impact on Armenia. This is accounted for
by Armenian government investing in capital construction and social
program financing."

Yet, the researches of the Chamber of Control of Armenia on
effectiveness of budget expenditure program implementation has
serious flaws.

The Chamber of Control accession found a response in the Armenian
Government. Specifically, the prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan did
not preclude the possibility of expenditure reduction where it was
implemented ineffectively.

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS FINED TURKEY 105,000 EUROS

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.03.2009 01:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Court of Human Rights Tuesday ruled
Turkey had violated the property rights of a Greek Orthodox foundation
by seizing its land and ordered the government to pay damages,
Reuters reports.

Judges said Turkey had breached the European Convention on Human Rights
by barring the foundation from registering its title to a church and
surrounding lands on the Aegean island of Bozcaada, a statement from
the court said.

It is the latest ruling by the Strasbourg-based court against Turkey
for violating the property rights of its ethnic Greek minority. The
European Union, which Turkey seeks to join, has called on the
government to return seized properties to minorities and expand their
religious and cultural freedoms. The European Court of Human Rights
fined Turkey 105,000 euros ($131,880) for damages and expenses after
it ruled authorities had illegally prevented the rightful owner of the
Kimisis Teodoku Greek Orthodox Church from registering its property,
the statement said.

In September, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in a separate
case that Turkey had violated the property rights of the patriarchate
by seizing a 100-year-old orphanage on an island off of Istanbul
and ordered its return. It has also ruled that Turkey illegally took
control of other properties in Istanbul owned by Greek foundations.

About 25 mostly elderly ethnic Greeks live on Bozcaada, part
of a community of 2,500 Greeks in Turkey, which is 99 percent
Muslim. Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, is also home to about 15,000
Jews and 60,000 Armenians.

BSEC REPRESENTATIVES TO GATHER IN YEREVAN TO DISCUSS WAYS OF CULTURAL COOPERATION

armradio.am
03.03.2009 13:58

Roundtable discussions dedicated to the founding of the "Cultural
news of the Black Sea region" periodical will take place in Yerevan
on March 4 and 5 within the framework of Armenia’s Presidency of the
Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC).

Discussions will focus on "Cooperation in the field of maintenance
and reconstruction of historical-cultural monuments in the Black Sea
Region" and will feature representatives from BSEC member states.

Parallel to the discussion the "Cultural collage" exposition will
display items brought from BSEC member countries. The exhibition of
children’s pictures titled "Sunny sky to the Black Sea" will present
works by young artists from Georgia and Bulgaria.

PREMIER: RUSSIAN STABILIZATION LOAN TO BE SPENT ONLY ON ANTI-CRISIS MEASURES

ARKA
March 2, 2009

YEREVAN, March 2. /ARKA/. The stabilization loan extended by Russia
will be spent exclusively on anti-crisis measures to ensure economic
growth in Armenia, the country’s Premier Tigran Sargsyan said.

On February 9, 2009, Russia and Armenia signed a preliminary agreement
about extending a $500mln worth stabilization loan to Armenia for
neutralizing effects of the global crisis on the country’s economy.

The loan allocation issue is included in the package of amendments
of the Russian budget sent for Russian State Duma’s approval.

"This is of primary importance to us in terms of implementation
of effective anti-crisis measures, and I expressed my gratitude to
Vladimir Putin for Russian Government’s approval of the agreement
reached with Armenia, Sargsyan told journalists while summarizing
the outcome of his visit to Moscow.

During his meeting with Armenian Premier in Novo-Ogarevo, Russian
Premier Putin said that the elaboration of the issue was almost
finished and expressed hope that the budget would be approved by
Duma soon.

After State Duma approves the budget amendments, finance ministers of
the countries will sign an agreement and the funds will be transferred
to Armenia, Premier Sargsyan said.

"This is a state loan, and it is financial liabilities of our
government toward the Russian government. No ot her loan conditions
exist. We have the right to independently make decisions on how we are
going to spend these funds and we bear only financial responsibility
on this loan," Sargsyan said.

He pointed out that the loan funds will be used on programs that
envisage opening of new jobs.

These programs, as well as the loan agreement details, including terms
and interest rates, will be reported to the public, Sargsyan said
adding that the Russian loan is extended under soft terms – for 14
years with a 4-year grace period and at a Libor+3% interest rate.

The Standard, Kenya
Feb 28 2009

â??Arturs were international conmenâ??

By Isaac Ongiri

The two Armenian brothers had a criminal record cutting across the
continents.

A joint parliamentary departmental committees investigation found the
pair had attempted their tricks in the United Arabs Emirates where
they sneaked in as Russians.

They used the names Arthur Gevorkiyan (Passport No 7610149) and Arthur
Argasyan alias Andrei Driluskiy (Passport No 7610126).

"It was further stated that they did not establish any business in
Dubai and were basically conmen," the report states.

The brothers arrived in Kenya in November 2005, at the invitation of a
city-based businessman Raju Sanghani.

Margaryan, according to the report, was the first to arrive on
November 10, 2005, on an Armenian passport and left five days later
for London. He came back 28 days later accompanied by his "fake"
brother Artur Sargasyan, who also travelled on an Armenian passport.

Registered Companies

The airport authorities, however, failed to trace entry declarations
forms filled by the two. Sargasyan never left the county until he was
deported.

Margaryan and Sargasyan registered two companies, Brother Link
International in which, together with Mr Mohammed Zakir Oomer, they
were directors.

The other company, Kensignton Holdings Ltd, which they illegally
registered twice, had Julius Maina Mwangi, Winfred Wangui Mwai and
Aloise Atieno Omita as directors.

The two sneaked two containers out of the port, which later
disappeared while being transported to M/S Rapid Kate Services Ltd
bonded warehouse in Nairobi.

Three blank passports stolen from Immigration Ministry offices in
Nairobi, under serial numbers A1031194, A1031195 and A1031196, were
found at the Artursâ?? house when police raided their
residence.

ePage.php?id=1144007807&cid=159

Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi, Georgia
Feb 24 2009

Armenia won’t recognize Georgia’s breakaway regions – premier

[Presenter] Georgian-Armenian relations, the neighbourhood policy and
the resolution of existing problems were discussed today at the
Georgian parliament speaker’s meetings with Armenian officials in
Yerevan. Davit Bakradze has already spoken to the country’s prime
minister [Tigran Sargsyan] and parliament speaker [Hovik Abrahamyan].

Tigran Sargsyan said that Armenia will stake out a neutral position
when regarding the recognition of [Georgia’s] separatist regions. The
construction of the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway and customs
issues were also discussed.

After meeting the prime minister and parliament speaker, Davit
Bakradze spoke to [Patriarch] Garegin II [head of the Armenian
Apostolic Church]. He also attended an exhibition of works by [Sergey]
Parajanov [Georgia-born ethnic Armenian director and
artist]. Tomorrow, Bakradze will meet the Armenian president [Serzh
Sargsyan].

[Bakradze, addressing the Armenian parliament in Georgian] There is no
hiding the fact that to this day there exist issues between our
countries that have not been fully resolved – and this is a normal
phenomenon in relations between two neighbouring countries. I am
convinced that, despite attempts by certain forces to take advantage
of these complications in order to promote a lack of understanding
between us, through constructive dialogue and by applying a consistent
approach, we will easily resolve all problematic issues. The
historical ties between our two countries and our common values and
interests will bring us to a common vision for the resolution of these
issues that will further strengthen and shore up the existing
cooperation and friendly relations between our countries.

[Tigran Sargsyan, interviewed, in Russian with Georgian translation
superimposed] Armenia’s official position regarding South Ossetia and
Abkhazia is absolutely open and clear: we are maintaining neutrality,
just as Georgia has declared a neutral position in regard to Nagornyy
Karabakh.

"THE OPPOSITION IS WAITING FOR ITS MOSES"
By Hasmik Haroutiunian

AZG DAILY
28-02-2009

Professional sociologists usually don’t conduct surveys in winter
months – it is forbidden. The reason is that the opinions of the
people are changeable because of cold weather.

At present, the members of "Sociometre" led by Aharon Adibekian
are having a rest and waiting for the spring to carry out new
surveys. Probably, the sociologists will have plenty of work to do
this year as well. Though there is an economic crisis in the world
and jobs of thousands are endangered, the future of the sociologists
is guaranteed as long as the opposition goes out to a demonstration.

Meanwhile, on February 25, Aharon Adibekian was the guest of "De facto"
press club. He touched upon the completion of the first year of March
1 incidents and made predictions about the Sunday mass meeting.

According to Adibekian, 10 percent of the Republic’s population lives
in extremely poor conditions. He assessed the life and being of the 30
percent as hard, and the rest of the population – as middle and good.

Today, according to Adibekian, the "protesting" electorate is 40
percent. He is confident that the opposition figures in reality
don’t defend the interests of the protesting society, as they are
the inseparable part of the present and past authorities.

"The opposition is waiting for its Moses", Adibekian added.

People often speak of democratic principles in Armenia, but the
difficulties are not yet overcome, the sociologist mentioned.

According to him, today it is not possible to come to power with the
help of opposition wave. "If you want to come to power, you should
be a part of the authority, for example the only opposition force in
the Parliament – Zharangutyun (Heritage) Party", Adibekian said.

The sociologist mentioned that today the society is divided into
two parts; one part wants rapid changes, the other one doesn’t need
any changes. Adibekian said that a civil war didn’t start as all
the members of the society were concerned over one issue – how to
overcome poverty.

According to the sociologist, March 1 mass meeting may become a
beginning of a new stage, if new programs, ideas, projects are
presented, and the authorities express willingness to implement them.

"The two sides should sit at a negotiation table and solve the issues
through discussions. There are no preconditions for a dialogue, as
the representatives of the two sides think that making concessions
equals defeat. They should understand that national interests are
higher than their personal ones", Aharon Adibekian added.