Author: Hambardsumian Paul

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Aug 6 2009

Armenian economy drops by almost 16 percent

Thursday, August 6, 2009
YEREVAN ` Daily News with wires

Despite tens of millions of dollars in foreign aid received earlier
this year, the Armenian economy dropped 15.7 percent from January
through May compared to the same period last year, according to the
National Statistics Service of Armenia.

Armenia’s National Bank had predicted that the economy would dip at a
12 to 15 percent annual rate, the Tert news service reported
Aug. 4. The National Bank adjusted its forecasts several times
throughout the year as the country’s recession deepened.

Slow sales in construction and services are driving the downward
trend, reported eurasianet.org on its Web site. Armenia’s GDP now
stands at 839 billion drams ($2.27 billion), a 15.7 percent drop from
the same period in 2008.

NUMBER OF CRIMES GROWS CONSIDERABLY IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Aug 7, 2009

YEREVAN, AUGUST 7, NOYAN TAPAN. By data on the first half of 2009,
there was a considerable growth – by 71.3% or 2,851 cases in the number
of crimes in Armenia. Specifically, there was a growth in the number
of grave crimes (from 1,681 to 2,743) and particularly grave crimes
(87-129).

It was stated at the August 5 sitting of the RA Police Collegium
that this unprecedented growth was conditioned by the registration
of cases quashed under Article 183 of the RA Criminal Procedure Code
due to the absence of a complaint by aggrived persons and by the
registration of rejected cases, also by the fact that 2,091 crimes
committed in the previous years were disclosed and registered by the
police in the first half of 2009 (995 crimes in 6 months of 2008).

In the reporting period the number of crimes per 100 thousand residents
made 213 cases. The number of crimes was especially large in Yerevan
(316), Lori Marz (Province) (229), Shirak Marz (133) and Aragatsotn
Marz (134).

In the first half of 2009, 239 cases of illegal turnover of arms and
ammunition were recorded, which exceeded twofold the index of the
first half of 2008 – 122 cases. During the indicated period policemen
seized 274 fire-arms illegaly kept by citizens (136 in the 6 months of
2008), and 529 fire-arms were handed over thanks to explanatory work
(196 in the 6 months of 2008).

90 out of the persons who committed crimes were foreign citizens
(30 foreign citizens in the first half of 2008). Among aggrieved
persons there were 49 foreign citizens.

535 cases of illegal drug circulation were revealed in the first
half of 2009, which exceeded 2.4fold the index of the same period of
last year (226), while the number of drug traffic cases grew more
than twofold – 107 cases in the first 6 months of 2008, 228 in the
same period of 2009. 21 kg 693 grams of drugs were seized in the
reporting period.

8 cases of women’s involvement in prostitution and human trafficking
were revealed (5 cases in the first half of 2008). 358 crimes against
economic activity and 229 corruption crimes were revealed.

830 persons wanted by the police were detained in the first half of
2009 (810 in the 6 months of 2008).

The number of road accidents declined in the first half of 2009 –
for the first time in the past six years. 867 road accidents were
recorded in Armenia in the first 6 months of 2009 (909 accidents in
the first half of 2008), as a result of which 150 people died (174 in
6 months of 2008) and 1,218 were injured (1,337 in 6 months of 2008).

In the first half of 2009, 35 policemen were subjected to disciplinary
liability for bad conduct, 6 policemen were subjected to criminal
responsibility for committing various crimes. Disciplinary punishment
was imposed on 456 police employees, 20 of whom were dismissed.

RF GENERAL STAFF: GEORGIAN REPORT ON AUGUST WAR IS A PETTY FORGERY

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
07.08.2009 18:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Declassified material", Georgia’s report on last
year’s South Ossetian war is based on, is a "petty forgery," Deputy
Head of RF General Staff Anatoliy Nogovitsin stated, commenting on a
"Report on Russia’s full-scale aggression against Georgia" presented
a day before in Tbilisi. In his opinion, the documents contains no
unknown facts.

"No photos, showing our armored units on the night of August 7,
were presented. They’re just non-existent," says the General.

As Georgia asserts, August 8’s Tskhinvali shelling was a response to
Russian armored troops’ entrance in South Ossetia a day before. Russia
denies the fact, stating the entrance took place upon Georgia’s launch
of military offensive.

According to Nogovitsin, the report was prepared with Western PR
agencies’ assistance and report presentation held in the morning to
gain more audience in US and Europe.

On August 6, Georgian Government presented a 190-page report on
"Russia’s full-scale aggression against Georgia", which includes
declassified material published in Georgian and English.

According to Tbilisi, the documents are meant to testify to Georgia’s
intentions to avoid war, yet "was unable to stick to its plans because
of Russia’s intervention".

RUSSIAN-TURKISH DYNAMIC RELATIONS NOT TO AFFECT ARMENIA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
07.08.2009 12:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The meeting between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan proved very
efficient for Moscow, an Armenian expert said.

"Russia succeeded in engaging Turkey into South Stream. This move
will whip up the U.S. and Europe to launch new projects," Sevak
Sarukhanyan, deputy director of Noravank research center, told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

He also said that Russian-Turkish dynamic relations will not affect
Armenia.

"Russia will always be interested in Armenia. Armenian-Russian
relations are not linked to Russian-Turkish terms," he said

NIKOLAY BORDYUZHA: NO ALTERNATIVE TO PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONFLICT

ArmInfo
2009-08-06 14:11:00

ArmInfo. There is no alternative to peaceful settlement of the Karabakh
conflict, Nikolay Bordyuzha, CSTO Secretary General declared during
the TV Bridge Moscow-Yerevan on the topic "Results of CSTO Informal
Summit in Kyrghyzstan" on Thursday.

"Recently, especially with Serzh Sargsyan’s taking the post of the
Armenian President, the contacts between the Armenian and Azerbaijani
leaderships, the contacts aimed at peaceful resolution of the conflict
have been significantly activated. In addition, the meetings of the
Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers have also become more
frequent," he said.

N. Bordyuzha hopes that the peace process and all these meetings will
bring specific results. "There is no alternative to peaceful settlement
of the Karabakh conflict. The developments in the Caucasus a year
ago once more proved that use of force does not lead to settlement of
any discrepancies between the states. In this context, only peaceful
solutions will ensure peace in the Caucasus," N. Bordyuzha said
hinting at the August incidents in Georgia.

AZERBAIJAN AWAITING "GOOD NEWS" FROM OBAMA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
05.08.2009 18:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ US Azeri and Turkish Diaspora addressed a letter
to US President Barack Obama. "Last year’s war between Georgia and
Russia punctuated the continuous threat to peace and security in
the South Caucasus arising from unresolved territorial conflicts
that have spanned more than two decades since the fall of the Soviet
Union. Recently several Iranian officials openly threatened Azerbaijan
for hosting Israeli President Shimon Peres in Baku. Similarly,
four UN Security Council resolutions demanding that Armenian forces
withdraw and cease the occupation of Azerbaijan lands since 1993 have
achieved little for the displaced one million refugees and IDPs. All
of this adds to the urgency of reaching a sustainable peace based on
the fundamentals of international law and human rights, or, as you
have stated earlier, "a lasting and durable settlement of Nagorno
Karabakh conflict."

"The South Caucasus holds great promise for regional and global
peace and prosperity. Yet the region’s potential has been disrupted
and disabled by two decades of conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan. Armenia’s own development has been paralyzed as a result
of self-imposed isolation from major regional projects." "Should
the Armenian leadership demonstrate productive pragmatism, it can
help integrate the nation with the economic and democratic future
of the region securing a peace and prosperity for its people. Such a
future would include open communications and borders, including the
Turkish -Armenian border. A lasting and durable peace would advance
US interests as it provides for lasting stability in a strategically
important region where the United States requires solid friends."

"Therefore, on behalf of the Azerbaijani-American and Turkish-American
communities, we support and encourage your Good Office to intensify US
efforts towards reaching a just peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan
based on UN Security Council resolutions and the Helsinki Final Act
of 1975, and to seize this historic opportunity. While we recognize
the significant pressures that bear from special interests opposed to
peace for a variety of reasons, including nationalist and religious
ones, we hope that America’s vision for South Caucasus is informed by
its national interests and its relationship with strategic partners
in the region."

Letter copy was sent to US Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton, 1news.az reported.

ARMENIAN POLITICAL EXPERT: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO RESOLVE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT WITHOUT NKR’S PARTICIPATION

ArmInfo
2009-08-05 17:19:00

ArmInfo. It is impossible to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
without NKR’s participation, political expert, professor of Yerevan
State University Alexander Manassyan said during a press-conference
today.

In the last few years the negotiations have been held exclusively
in the format of presidential meetings and sooner or later
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic must be involved in the process. Manassyan
quoted US co-chair of OSCE MG Matthew Bryza as also saying that no
settlement is possible without NKR’s involvement.

Manassyan said that Azerbaijan’s plan for return of refugees to
Nagorno-Karabakh and controlled territories was just a propaganda
campaign.

RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN UNIVERSITY AND "SOUTH CAUCASUS RAILWAYS" FOUND MANAGEMENT SCHOOL

Panorama.am
18:03 04/08/2009

The general director of "South Caucasus railways" Shevket Shaidulin
and the chancellor of Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) university Armen
Darbinyan signed a memorandum on founding "Management school".

The mission of the school is to prepare specialists for the "South
Caucasus railways". It is said that in 2009-2010 20 top-managers and
20 specialists should be educated in the school.

The educational schedule has been drafted by the professors of
Russian-Armenian University.

RA NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS FUND (NCF) BOARD OF TRUSTEES MET ON AUGUST 1 AND 2, PRESIDED AT BY BOARD CHAIRMAN, RA PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN

Mon day, 3 August 2009

The meeting reviewed the new program package, defined activity areas,
discussed educational initiatives etc.

Four activity areas have been identified: tourism, health care,
education and attending sub-areas. A package of program proposals
was identified for each area.

The Fund will concentrate on 4 geographic itineraries in the field
of tourism. A 3-year program for the revival and reconstruction
of Tatev monastic complex has been underway since early this year,
which seeks to promote southbound tourism in Armenia.

In the sphere of health care, the Fund will make efforts to promote
treatment of tumors and cardiology in Armenia. A center of nuclear
therapy will be set up to this end.

The Fund will seek to develop higher education, teacher training and
the system of high schools in Armenia.

Developing information networks in Armenia and fostering communication
skills among Armenians has been determined to be a separate activity
area.

Underway is the World Bank-supported Advanced Communication Network for
Armenia program which seeks to expand telecommunications countrywide.

A special discussion was dedicated to educational problems. Keynote
statements were delivered by RA Minister of Science and Education Armen
Ashotyan, Head of the World Bank Armenia Office Aristomene Varudakis,
Director of Luys Foundation Jacqueline Kara-Aslanyan and Partner of
McKinsey&Co. Avetik Chalabyan.

The meeting heard and approved the concept of creating a complex of
development efforts for research and education in Armenia, presented
by NCF Executive Director Bekor Papazyan. It has been decided to
work out a comprehensive program package for discussion at the next
meeting of Board of Trustees.

THE GOVERNMENT IS AGAINST

A1+
08:31 pm | July 30, 2009

Official

The RA government did not give its consent to the RA bill on "Making
changes and additions in the RA electoral code" presented by MP Armen
Martirosyan by the order of legislative initiative and explained
its conclusion.

During the session, the RA government was against MP Victor Dallakyan’s
package of bills on making changes and additions in the RA law on "Mass
information" and "Making changes in the RA criminal code", as well as
the bills on making changes in the laws on "Operative-investigative
activities", "National security bodies", "RA Budgetary system" and
explained its conclusions.

The government didn’t make any principled objection to the RA bill
on making changes in the RA law on "Civil Service" presented by the
same parliamentarian and simply proposed to modify it.

The mentioned bills will be presented to the RA National Assembly by
constituted order.