Author: Frangulian Shushan

"UNION OF IT ENTERPRISES" TO TAKE PART IN CONFERENCE ENTITLED "WORLD PUBLIC POLICY"

ARMENPRESS
Feb 10, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, ARMENPRESS: Armenian "Union of IT enterprises"
will take part in conference entitled "World Public Policy", which
will take place November 1-3 in Bermuda islands.

Executive director of the union Karen Vardanian told Armenpress that
organizations from 70 countries of the world will take part in the
conference.

It is organized by "The world association of IT services". During the
conference issues of internet policy and making the IT more widely
used in everyday life and business will be discussed.

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Wall Street Journal
February 10, 2009

Plouffe to Donate Speaking Fee to Pro-Democracy Groups

By GLENN R. SIMPSON

President Barack Obama’s former campaign manager intends to give away
the fee he received from a paid private speech he made Monday in the
oil-rich but authoritarian nation of Azerbaijan.

The speech was arranged by lobbyists working with a group that has
ties to the Azerbaijan government, according to people familiar with
the matter. But a close associate of David Plouffe said he only
learned of their involvement after he had already embarked for the
Caspian Sea nation.

Mr. Plouffe now intends to donate his speaking fee, which the
associate said is in the range of $50,000, to groups that advocate
democratization in the turbulent post-Soviet states of the region
around the Caspian and Caucasus mountain range. Mr. Plouffe also plans
to share the contents of the speech with opposition groups.

U.S. officials said Mr. Plouffe coordinated his talks with American
officials in the region and that his message about the uses of the
Internet for democratic organizing advances longstanding U.S. policy.
But they added that the Azerbaijan government has long sought to
legitimize itself by hosting prominent Americans, often with the help
of Washington lobbyists.

The country, in the Caucasus region, is in the midst of a campaign
over a referendum set for next month that would amend the constitution
to lift term limits on President Ilham Aliyev. Mr. Aliyev assumed the
post after the 2003 death of his father Haydar Aliyev, the country’s
first president after gaining independence.

Azerbaijan is a key U.S. ally but the State Department has also
criticized the country for its poor record on human rights and free
elections.

Mr. Plouffe holds no U.S. government positions but controls the
remnants of Mr. Obama’s 2008 campaign organization, which he built and
oversaw. His speech at a local university was sponsored by a local
nongovernmental organization with ties to the Azerbaijan government.

"I’m here as a private citizen, so all I’m doing is talking about
elections, and the Internet and democracy, and to talk about our
election," Mr. Plouffe told a reporter from Radio Free Europe who
wasn’t admitted to the speech.

Mr. Plouffe’s appearance in Azerbaijan was arranged by a
Washington-based lobbying firm called Bob Lawrence & Associates,
according to records and interviews. The company lists Azerbaijan
among its clients on its Web site. People with knowledge of the speech
said the appearance was arranged by the Lawrence firm through Mr.
Plouffe’s agent, the Washington Speakers Bureau. A person answering
the phone at the Lawrence firm said no one was available for comment.
A spokesman for the Washington Speakers Bureau couldn’t be reached.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Mr. Plouffe’s visit was
entirely private. "He’s not there at the behest of, and not delivering
a message on behalf of, the president of the United States," he said.
"If the president had a message for Azerbaijan, he’d pick up the
phone."

Mr. Plouffe began offering himself as a public speaker recently
through the Washington Speakers Bureau, which on its Web site says the
consultants’ "fees vary based on event location." The Azerbaijan
speech by Mr. Plouffe, according to one person who attended, dealt
with using the Internet in elections and he didn’t address the
country’s domestic political issues.

WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF FIGHTING, BUT WE DO NOT WANT WAR, ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT DECLARED
Karen Ghazaryan

"Radiolur"
09.02.2009 11:09

The last-day discussion at the 45th Munich Conference focused on
the control of instability in the South Caucasus and the Balkans. The
Caucasus region was again in the center of discussions of international
organizations, analysts and leading mass media. Armenia’s approaches
were presented by President Serzh Sargsyan.

"Any incautious word, any ill-considered step in the region is
pregnant with unpredictable consequences, and the arms race, the
drastic increase of the military budget and belligerent statements
ignite the atmosphere, which inevitably results in actions and
situations, which, as it usually happens, can get out of control,"
Serzh Sargsyan declared.

Some emphasizes of the Armenian President’s speech upset Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. The latter expressed his
dissatisfaction, trying to dispute the issue of the territories
controlled by Armenian forces. The matter is that Mammadyarov ascribed
some of the assessments in Serzh Sargsyan’s speech to his country and
attempted to raise the question of the lands under Armenian control.

In response to the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister’s comments, President
Sargsyan first reminded that he did not us the name of any country
in his speech except for Armenia and added: "If the Foreign Minister
of Azerbaijan ascribes the militant rhetoric, the arms race, the
destructive approaches I referred to in my speech to his country,
he is, probably, right. Hi is mistaken in another issue, i.e. when
he constantly tries to dictate conditions to Armenia on behalf
of his country. I think it’s not fair to speak about aggression,
taking into consideration that Azerbaijan launched aggression against
newly-independent Nagorno Karabakh Republic, and the people of Karabakh
had to defend themselves in order not to be annihilated and, naturally,
occupied hundreds of lands from bombs were being dropped every day. Are
people guilty that they managed to survive?"

President Sargsyan asked, adding that now the Armenian side is ready
for negotiations.

"Indeed, let’s sit at the bargaining table, let’s negotiate on
the basis of all internationally accepted standards and achieve a
peaceful solution. And, in general, I think that some politicians
are on a wrong way, thinking that certain means can serve as a ground
to frighten other states, that they can impose something on another
country with a war. I have declared many times and I repeat that we
are not afraid of fighting, but we do not want war."

How did Europe react to President Sargsyan’s speech? Ex-Foreign
Minister of Germany Markus Merkel keeps to the opinion that the
resolution of the Karabakh issue is not very close: "Much has to be
done to come c loser to the resolution of the issue. I think that
not only Azerbaijan’s approach should be changed. The question exits
in Armenia, as well. There should be more public discussions on the
issue, and this opportunity should be provided by mass media," he said.

As for the Armenian-Turkish relations, the German diplomat sees
considerable progress. He said the move inspires great hopes and he
has the same impression from the Munich conference. "Both Armenian
and Turkish leaders are ready to achieve positive results," Markus
Merkel stated.

EU High Commissioner for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier
Solana said: "Armenia is a very important country. I do hope that
the relations with neighbors will improve. I expect that concrete
results in the relations between Armenia and Turkey will be obvious
within months."

The Foreign Minister of Sweden, Karel Bildt shares the opinion,
saying that the positive emphasizes in President Serzh Sargsyan’s
speech inspire optimism. "There are positive steps especially in
the direction of improvement of the Armenian-Turkish relations. We
know that there are small difficulties on the way of normalization of
relations; however, judging from the positive dynamics, we expect that
there will be concrete results. As for the relations with Azerbaijan,
there is no considerable progress here," the Foreign Minister of
Sweden concluded.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Baba can also said talks to normalize
relations with Armenia had advanced during a meeting with Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan in Munich over the weekend.

"We have a platform where we discuss our bilateral problems," Babacan
said at a press conference in Germany.

"We made progress in talks on how to normalize relations," he said.

GORAN LENNMARKER IN INTERVIEW: ‘GOOD POSSIBILITY’ FOR SOLUTION ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH

ArmInfo
2009-02-06 13:15:00

ArmInfo. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative
on Nagorno-Karabakh and Special Envoy to Georgia, Goran Lennmarker,
said that there is a "good possibility" for the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict to be solved this year, but "time is scarce" and it is now
"critically important to seize the opportunity."

Mr. Lennmarker, President Emeritus of the OSCE PA, will visit all three
countries in the South Caucasus next week. He made the statement in
an interview for the OSCE PA web site () published today.

Goran Lennmarker said the purpose of the visit is to meet with the
leadership of the three countries of the Southern Caucasus – the
Parliaments, the Governments, the Presidents, as well as with NGOs,
and to discuss the situation in general in the three countries in the
Southern Caucasus, and particularly the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with
the Armenians and Azerbaijanis, and the conflicts in South Ossetia
and Abkhazia with the Georgians. ‘I hope the result will be positive
signals that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is on its way to a peaceful
resolution, where the two countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan, are
prepared to agree on a solution that is mutually beneficial for both
of them, particularly for the peoples of the two countries, especially
the refugees and the internally displaced persons (IDPs)’, he said.

Asked if Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be solved in 2009,
G. Lennmarker said: ‘ I think there is a good possibility for
that. It is very much up to the leadership of the two countries to
take responsibility for resolving it.

We from the outside can support and help and also give support
after a solution. But it’s the responsibility of the two countries,
particularly the leadership and also the two parliaments to actually
reach a peaceful solution.

But I would like to add something about time. Time is a scarce
commodity. I think it’s important that solutions are reached early-on
because dragging on and on, the situation on the ground deteriorates
and people have less and less hope. There is a feeling that you
negotiate and you negotiate and nothing happens – a lot of talk,
delegations come, but nothing is delivered. And this reflects not
only on us from the international side, but also on the national
leadership at the political level. And I think that is critically
important now to seize the opportunity. Time is not unlimited’.

As regards the future development of Armenia and Azerbaijan in case the
conflict is resolved, Goran Lennmarker said: ‘I think that would give
an enormous impetus to the two countries in all aspects of societal
life. First of all, things that actually reflect on the conflict itself
– refugees, IDPs, not least the number of young men who now spend
months and months in the trenches who could be relieved and do other
things – studies, useful work, and the economy that is afflicted by the
conflict. But also in the broader sense, the societies at large, not
to have politics in both countries fixated on the conflict, but could
use their political energy to develop their nations, their democracy,
their economy, and their co-operation with the outside world, and
particularly with themselves. That would give an enormous boost.

That is, of course, our European experience, going from a situation
with conflict to a situation of co-operation, even between countries
which sometimes have hundreds of years of conflict behind them. We
know from our European experience that it is extremely important’.

IS THIS THE YEAR OF VANES MARTIROSYAN?
Igor Frank

411mania.com
/boxing/96114/Is-this-the-Year-of-Vanes-Martirosya n?.htm
Feb 5 2009
TX

A close look at development of Vanes Martirosyan.

Boxing needs new stars. Even though Oscar De la Hoya has not officially
retired, his career is all but over. No matter how spectacular Bernard
Hopkins looked giving young Kelly Pavlik a boxing lesson last year or
how incredible Sugar Shane Mosley looked last week destroying Antonio
Margarito, there is one fight that these legends can not win and that
is a fight with time.

Bob Arum of Top Rank is an expert at developing new stars. His record
speaks for itself; Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are
prime examples of what Bob can do. Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik
are the stars on the rise who were both developed by Bob from the
beginning. Even though Mr. Arum did not promote all of Manny Pacquiao
fights from the start, he obviously turned him into a superstar that
he is today. There is a very fine line between creating challenges and
exposure for a rising prospect and putting him in over his head. One
wrong move could ruin a career or derail it for a considerable
amount of time. Couple of examples comes to mind: Miguel Cotto ended
a career of a very tough Russian, Olympic gold medalist, Mohamed
Abdulaev, who was never the same after a beating he took from Cotto
in 2005. Kid Diamond was one of the hottest prospects in 2005, when
he got manhandled by Nate Campbell, he has been fighting in obscurity
ever since. Bob seems to have a knack for knowing that balance and
being able to bring the best out of his proteges. So, who is next?

One of those prospects is 2004 U. S. Olympian Vanes Martirosyan, who
was signed by Top Rank and started his professional craft in 2005. He
is a good looking kid with a genuine smile and polite manners. He is
fast with a good set of boxing skills and he packs a punch. In a way
he reminds me of young Oscar De La Hoya. A little over a year ago
Vanes left Glendale, California, a place he called home, and moved
to Houston, Texas to get away from distractions. He employed the
services of a much respected trainer, Ronnie Shields, who is also
training Juan Diaz and Rocky Juarez at Savanough Boxing Club. The
22 year old Martirosyan is putting in the work that is necessary to
get to the top. In last couple of fights he has developed a stiff and
consistent jab that has become a weapon all by itself. Actually, his
last fight only lasted 80 seconds in which he scored a spectacular
knock out over Charles Howe, last November at the Mandalay Bay on
the undercard of Chavez Jr. If you ask Vanes, Chavez Jr should be
fighting on his undercard. I would have to agree with Vanes. He is a
decorated amateur, who represented our country in 2004 Olympics and
he would box circles around slower Chavez Jr, but that fight would
not take place any time soon.

So why the development of the future star is so slow. Nothing good
comes easy. It is like making lavash (Armenian bread): most local
bakeries in Glendale will bake it in one hour, but if you want the
real thing you have to go to Armenia where folks make a fire in the
four feet deep hole, wait for fire to burn off and than bake the
bread on coals over night.

"This is my year," exclaimed Martirosyan (22-0, 14 KO’S) over the
phone; "I feel great."

He has been working really hard for the past two month, sparring with
light heavyweights and concentrating on sitting down on his punches,
which he is going to need to do if he wants finish early against his
next opponent Billy Lyell, who is known as very tough guy.

Martirosyan versus Lyell is scheduled to take place this Saturday at
the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on the undercard of Darchinyan
vs. Arce and kid Diamond and DeMarco along with featuring a few more
rising stars. Be there, if you are a boxing fan, tickets are priced
reasonably and are still available.

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA HOLDS CONFERENCE CONCERNING MURDER OF DEPUTY CHIEF OF POLICE

ArmInfo
2009-02-05 17:29:00

ArmInfo. Today President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan held a conference
concerning the murder of deputy chief of police Gevork Mheryan.

The press service of the President of Armenia quotes him as saying
that the crime was aimed not against one person or one official but
against a whole system. "During the last months Mheryan actively
fought corruption and we must realize this and adequately respond to
this crime," Sargsyan said.

The chief of police Alik Sargsyan, the director of the National
Security Service Gorik Hakopyan and the head of the investigation
group Gektor Sardaryan told the President about the investigation.

To remind, Mheryan was killed Feb 3 evening.

POLITICAL ALARM TO INFLUENCE ON COUNTRY’S RATE

Panorama.am
16:14 03/02/2009

The political dialogues and debates in the country should be
more professional and their analysis – more neutral, said Richard
Girakosyan, political expert and analyst, the new appointed director
of Armenian Center of Strategic and National Studies talking about
the inner political life of Armenia.

According to him the "alarming situation" in the country hurts the
rate of it. He said that it is a historic period for Armenia and the
uneasy political conditions in the country should be regulated.

"I guess, that during this historic period serious steps should be
done. And if we could help the official we are willing to present
our analysis and studies," he said.

DEVALUATION THREAT TO ROUBLE: RUSSIA PROPS UP BANKS WITH $40 BILLION
Carl Mortished

The Times
February 5, 2009

Russia’s Government yesterday threw a $40 billion (£27.6 billion)
lifeline to its banks as the rouble suffered another pounding,
prompting further speculation that the country would be forced into
a formal devaluation.

In London, Alexei Kudrin, Russia’s Finance Minister, hinted at budget
cuts as his country grapples with high inflation, a depreciating
currency and the collapse in value of oil and gas, Russia’s main
exports.

The dollar value of the Russian currency fell to within a few kopecks
of 41 roubles, the floor at which the central bank is committed to
defend the currency by selling dollars. The rouble has plunged by
almost 40 per cent in six months, despite the expense of hundreds of
billions of dollars in foreign currency in its defence.

Mr Kudrin, who yesterday had talks with Alistair Darling, the
Chancellor, said that Moscow was making available $40 billion to invest
in the capital of banks. "We are preparing one more banking package to
the tune of around $40 billion in Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital support,"
he said, adding: "We are preparing the banking package, but with the
condition that the funds will be passed on to the real economy."

Confidence in Russia’s economy suffered a new blow when Fitch, the
ratings agency, said it was cutting its sovereign credit rating for
Russia by a notch to BBB, because of continuing capital outflows of
dollars from the country. The new rating is two notches above "junk"
status and Fitch said that it was at risk of further downgrades.

Mr Kudrin said that the Government had no plans to raise funds on
capital markets, noting its reserves of almost $400 billion. "The
budget deficit is covered by reserves," he said. "For the next two
to three years, we are fully committed to fulfil the Government’s
obligations to pay wages, pensions."

However, the Finance Minister hinted that spending would be shaved.

Referring to infrastructure programmes, he said there would be
"certain adjustments, cutbacks of between 15 and 20 per cent".

Mr Kudrin said that Russia was also supporting its neighbours with
loans. In response to requests that had been made for assistance,
he said that Russia would lend $2 billion to Belarus, $500 million
to Armenia and $2 billion to Kyrgyzstan.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) yesterday
expressed doubt about whether Russia could continue to finance itself
from currency reserves.

Thomas Mirow, the president of the EBRD, said: "It depends on how
long the crisis prevails. If it lasts longer than 2009 and 2010,
then the reserves could be exhausted."

Russia0s foreign exchange reserves have dwindled from $600 billion at
the start of the financial crisis, last summer, to $386 billion. Last
week, its central bank spent $10 billion defending the rouble as
dollars fled the country.

Mr Kudrin said that Russia’s dependence on oil was its main challenge.

However, addressing a business conference in London, he also
blamed his country’s plight on an expansion of credit and a lack of
strong financial institutions. "We had a low level of competition,
a high level of state intervention and poorly developed financial
institutions," he said.

Russia’s Government seems to have shifted its focus from rescuing big
industrial groups to the plight of its fragile financial system and a
wish to shelter ordinary people from financial turmoil. Igor Shuvalov,
the First Deputy Prime Minister, said that a $50 billion fund set up
to help private companies to repay foreign debts had been suspended.

–Boundary_(ID_tin5/dx6wJ0WBjt7hRk/4Q) —

CSTO FOREIGN MINISTERIAL COUNCIL LAUNCHED IN MOSCOW

Panorama.am
16:10 04/02/2009

Foreign, Defense and National Security Ministerial council session
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization took place today in
Moscow. The Defense Minister of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan, the Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandyan and the Secretary General of National
Security Council Arthur Baghdasaryan took part in the session,
reports the press and information service of the Foreign Ministry.

According to the source, the on-going President of CSTO Foreign
Ministers’ Council Edward Nalbandyan chaired the session. The highlight
of the session was the discussion of the agreement made during the
previous non-official presidential summit of the organization in
Kazakhstan.

DEAD BODY OF SERVICEMAN FOUND NEAR RA POLICE DEPUTY CHIEF MURDER PLACE

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.02.2009 20:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Dead body of a Russian serviceman was found under
the Kievsky bridge in Yerevan in February 3 evening, the RA Police
press office reported.

15 minutes after the assassination of Gevorg Mheryan, the Mashtots
police station received an alert on a dead body under the Kievsky
bridge.

The operative group identified the dead man as Artur Matevosyan, 27,
member of the RF border security forces.

RA Police Deputy Chief Gevorg Mheryan was shot dead at the door of
his department on February 3 evening.