Author: Hakobian Adrine

TURKISH AMBASSADOR TO AZERBAIJAN: "THE STATEMENTS OF SOME MASS MEDIAS THAT TURKEY WILL TURN ITS BACK TO AZERBAIJAN IN THE ISSUE OF NAGORNO KARABAKH SHOULD NOT BE TRUSTED"

Today.Az
olitics/49828.html
Dec 27 2008
Azerbaijan

The process of the Karabakh conflict resolution has lasted for 15 years
and Turkey does not want it to last for another 15 tears, said Turkish
ambassador to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilic at a press conference yesterday.

He noted that regular meetings and talks between the sides are
necessary for the conflict resolution.

"The Foreign Ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia met in
New York and this was followed by a meeting of presidents. We are
planning to hold another meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Turkey,
Azerbaijan and Armenia in February", said he.

At the same time, the ambassador noted that in the issue of Nagorno
Karabakh Turkey has always been by Azerbaijan’s side.

"The statements of some mass medias that Turkey will turn its back to
Azerbaijan in the issue of Nagorno Karabakh should not be trusted",
said he.

FAMOUS FIGURE SKATERS TO GIVE PERFORMANCE IN YEREVAN

Panorama.am
19:37 24/12/2008

On December 27-28 "Golden Ice of Stradivarius" by Yevgeni Plushenko and
Edvin Marton will be performed in sport-concert complex skating-rink
named after Kren Demirchyan, said the commercial director of the
complex Karen Matosyan to Panorama.am. He said that the show program
has been performed for 40 times in different countries.

K. Matosyan mentioned that together with Plushenko other famous figure
skaters will make their performances. The music of the show program is
from "Stradivarius" album by famous Hungarian composer Edvin Martoni.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT ORDERS INVESTIGATION INTO VIOLENCE IN DETENTION CENTRES

Mediamax
Dec 24 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 24 December: Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan held a working
meeting with Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan today.

The Armenian president tasked the minister of justice and the
presidential aide on legal issues with carrying out a line-of-duty
investigation in connection with the increased number of complaints
of violence on the part of law-enforcers in detention facilities,
the presidential press service told Mediamax news agency.

Harutyunyan agreed to take part in the line-of-duty investigation.

QUALITY INSPECTION IN ARMENIAN PRIVATE HIGHER SCHOOLS TO BE SUMMED UP IN JANUARY

ARKA
Dec 23, 2008

YEREVAN, December 23. /ARKA/. The results of complex quality
inspections of education and fulfillment of conditions specified by
licenses of Armenia’s non-state higher schools will be summed up in
mid-January 2009, said RA Minister of Education and Science Spartak
Seyranyan.

"I do not think it is wrong if in the result of inspections some
higher schools will have to return state licenses for implementation
of educational programs," he told reporters on Tuesday.

Seyranyan noted the Ministry’s main aim is to ensure high-quality
education.

"That is why we have to solve all the problems that interfere with
ensuring quality fast and by means of radical reforms," underlined
Seyranyan.

According to the RA Ministry of Education and Science, 73 private
higher schools operate in Armenia.

EVERYTHING MIXED

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
20 Dec 2008
Armenia

Head of the organization "August 23. National Union" Pushkin Serobyan
says: "In our reality everything is mixed, politics is taken for
adventurousness. Sasun Michaelyan turned into a political figure and a
political prisoner. I don’t have anything against him. He was a freedom
fighter a very cheerful guy. But if once he danced "kochary" with L.

Ter-Petrosyan on the platform, it doesn’t mean that he is a political
figure, does it?

Is everyone who dances kochary with Levon Ter-Petrosyan a political
figure?"

NKR PRESIDENT PARTOOK AT A SOLEMN EVENT DEDICATED TO THE DAY…

Azat Artsakh Daily
22 Dec 08
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]

On 20 December NKR President Bako Sahakyan partook at a solemn event
dedicated to the Day of the serviceman of the National Security
Service. The Head of the State delivered a congratulatory address
to the staff of the service. In his speech the President said the
following: "Dear servicemen of the National Security Service, I
cordially congratulate you on your professional holiday.

I am personally aware of the difficulties your work deals with. The
honorable mission of providing security to the country and its
people, maintaining the constitutional defending state interests in
a comprehensive manner is vested in you as servicemen of the National
Security Service.

This ultimately responsible work demands high professionalism,
adherence to principles of high morale and human qualities, the
sense of civic duty. Every day and every hour you must be implicitly
guided by the letter of the law, by the principles of justice and
impartiality, fully realize out functions assigned to you by the law,
carry out your duties with absolute devotion, honestly and fairly. This
is the only way to live up to the high reputation of this structure,
enjoy public respect and trust. To further advance the efficienc y of
the structure’s activity it is necessary establish close cooperation
with other organs and structures, carry out continuous efforts in
deepening and strengthening corresponding interconnections.

I am confident the staff of the National Security Service possesses
corresponding potential to solve assigned tasks with dignity. The
State in its turn will keep in the spotlight the issues of logistical
support, amelioration of social and working conditions and as
well as raising the levels of professional qualification of the
servicemen. Special attention will be paid to solving problems the
families of your colleagues perished for the freedom of the Motherland
face. Dear participants, I congratulate you once again and wish you
peace, good health and success for the sake of further strengthening
security and independent statehood of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic".

The Los Angeles Times
Hollywood shooting leaves 1 man dead, 1 injured

No motive is known for the shooting in Little Armenia, police say. The
incident comes just days after a double slaying nearby, also of
unknown motive.

By Ruben Vives
December 18, 2008

One man was killed and another was injured Wednesday night in a shooting in
Hollywood, authorities said.

The incident occurred about 9 p.m. in the 900 block of Hobart Boulevard near
the Little Armenia neighborhood, said Officer Jason Lee of the Los Angeles
Police Department.

One man was pronounced dead at the scene, Lee said, and the wounded man was
taken by paramedics to a nearby hospital. No other injuries were reported.

The motive for the shooting was unknown.

The shooting comes just days after a double murder in the same area. Last
week, a 15-year-old Armenian girl returning home from school discovered the
bodies of her 43-year-old father and 8-year-old sister. Investigators in that
incident have not determined a motive either.

Budapest Business Journal, Hungary
Dec 19 2008

Moody’s issues annual report on Armenia
Friday 8:35, December 19th, 2008

Armenia’s Ba2 government bond ratings and stable outlook are supported
by its manageable debt levels, says Moody’s Investors Service in its
annual report on the country.
The ratings are constrained by the low level of economic and
institutional development of the country, along with its concentrated
economic base and volatile neighborhood.

`Armenia has not been directly affected by the global credit crunch
although second-round effects are now being felt from the compression
of world demand and the difficult conditions in Russia, its primary
trading partner and the source of large diaspora remittances,’ said
Moody’s Associate Vice President Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, Moody’s
sovereign analyst for Armenia.

She said growth is likely to decelerate sharply in the next few years
even as the government moves forward with large public sector
investment projects financed by multilateral funds. The spending on
such projects should help sustain the growth momentum even as the
fiscal deficits are set to shrink.

`The country’s low government debt and minimal refinancing risks are
allowing its rating to maintain a stable outlook in the current
environment,’ said Feldbaum-Vidra. `A weak revenue base is the main
fiscal risk, although it is ameliorated by the very comfortable debt
service profile, its good relations with its official creditors, and
the liquidity provided by the expatriate Armenian community.’

Moody’s reports that Armenia’s economic prospects continue to be
hampered by strained relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan, and that
the border between Turkey and Armenia is closed, increasing the cost
of both exports and imports.

`Armenia’s low institutional strength is another constraint on its
ratings,’ said Feldbaum-Vidra. `The authorities are very keen to
address this, recognizing that high levels of corruption and a
suboptimal business climate need to be corrected in order to achieve
long-term sustainable growth and to attract investment.’

Moody’s first-ever ratings for Armenia were assigned in 2006 and
include a Baa3 ceiling to foreign currency bonds and notes and a Ba3
ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits, all with stable
outlooks. (press release)

;id=459 21

MEETING WITH LEVON TER-PETROSYAN

A1+
[06:59 pm] 16 December, 2008

RA First President Levon Ter-Petrosyan met with the delegation headed
by OSCE Secretary General Mark Perrin de Brichambaut.

In the beginning of the meeting, the OSCE Secretary General informed
that the OSCE is following-up on the issues facing the region and
developments in Armenia.

During the meeting, issues relating to the NKR conflict settlement
and Turkish-Armenian ties were discussed.

The sides also touched upon the inter-political situation, issues
facing political prisoners and the trial to be held on December
19. Both sides mentioned the need for deepening of democracy in
Armenia.

>From the Armenian side were Levon Zurabyan, David Shahnazaryan and
Vladimir Karapetyan, according to the information of the central
office of the Armenian National Congress.

PACE MONITORING COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS RESOLUTIONS 1609 AND 1620 ON ARMENIA

armradio.am
16.12.2008 12:36

On December 17 the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe will discuss the report and draft resolution
on the process of accomplishment of Resolutions 1609 and 1620 on the
functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia.

The resolutions will be presented for the discussion and confirmation
of the Parliamentary Assembly during its winter session in Strasbourg
from January 26 to 30.

During tomorrow’s sitting in Paris the question will be discussed
in light of the conclusions made as a result of the visit of the
Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, to Armenia in
November.

The issue will be presented at the Commission by co-rapporteurs on
Armenia Georges Colombier and John Prescott.