Author: Hambardsumian Paul

Recording Artist Daniel Decker to Sing at Genocide Memorial
Emediawire (press release), WA
April 20 2006
International Recording Artist, Daniel Decker, to sing in Times
Square, Sunday April 23, 2006, 2-4 p.m. In commemoration of the 91st
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Daniel is the lyricist for the
song ADANA.
Syracuse, NY (PRWEB) April 25, 2006 — Adolf Hitler is quoted as
saying, eight days before invading Poland in 1939, “Who today, after
all, speaks of the annihilation of the Armenians?” He was speaking
of being inspired by the 1915 genocide of 1.5 million Armenians
by the Ottoman Empire as he began his own systematic campaign of
destruction. Today, the Armenian genocide remains fresh and relevant
in the minds of Armenians around the world. American composer and
singer, DANIEL DECKER, seeks to help remind the world in an effort
to heal a nation, as well as build a bridge spanning time, history
and geography. His epic song “ADANA”, a collaboration with noted
Armenian composer Ara Gevorgian, recounts the tragic story of the
Armenian genocide, pairing Decker’s critically acclaimed lyrics with
Gevorgian’s rich musical landscape.
Decker will make a special appearance in Times Square, New York
City, April 23, 2006, 2 p.m. at the 21st Annual Armenian Genocide
Commemorative Program. Immediately following the performance, he will
leave for Sydney, Australia to perform in a special concert on April
29, 2006 with Ara Gevorgian and his 100 piece orchestra. “ADANA”
was first presented on April 23, 2005 in Yerevan, Armenia at the
official invitation of the Armenian Government to commemorate the
90th anniversary of the genocide at the Armenian genocide memorial
and was covered by news organizations around the world.
Said Decker, “I stand with the Armenian people are around the world on
this day to remember those whose lives were taken during the genocide
in the hopes that by telling the story, there will never be another
genocide.”

Armenian president wants “clearer” cooperation with EU
Mediamax news agency
20 Apr 06
Yerevan, 20 April: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan received a
delegation of the EU troika led by Austrian Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs Hans Winkler in Yerevan today.
Kocharyan gave a positive assessment to the EU’s growing interest
in the South Caucasus and spoke about the importance of the final
adoption of Armenia’s Action Plan within the framework of the European
Neighbourhood Policy, the presidential press service told Mediamax
today.
The president said that this document will make future cooperation
between Armenia and the EU “clearer and more understandable”.
“We consider the Action Plan to be a clear reference point in our
relations, which will make it possible to implement more coordinated
and purposeful reforms,” Kocharyan said.
The Armenian president briefed the delegation of the EU troika on the
latest developments in the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict settlement and
Yerevan’s approaches to the development of regional cooperation and
energy security.

DELEGATION OF EU TROYKA TO ARRIVE IN YEREVAN ON APRIL 20
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 19 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 19, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On April 20, the
delegation of the European Union Troyka led by State Secretary of
Austrian Foreign Ministry Hans Winkler will arrive in Yerevan within
the framework of the regional visit. As Noyan Tapan was informed from
RA Foreign Ministry Press and Information Department, Ambassadors of
Austria and Finland to Armenia, EU Special Representative to the South
Caucasus, representatives of the European Commission and EU Council
are included in the delegation as its members. During the stay in
Armenia the EU Troyka will meet with RA President, National Assembly
Speaker and Chairman of the Constitutional Court. The delegation’s
meeting with RA Foreign Minister V.Oskanian will take place in the
morning of April 20. Immediately after the meeting the joint press
conference of RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and State Secretary
of Austrian Foreign Ministry Hans Winkler will be held at RA Foreign
Ministry press hall.

HIGH-RANKING RUSSIAN OFFICIAL VISITS ARMENIA
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 19 2006
Baku, April 18, AssA-Irada
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigori Karasin started his unexpected
visit to Yerevan on Tuesday. He is to hold talks with Armenian
officials as well as meet with the Russian ambassadors to Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Armenia and Turkey, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The gist of the discussions is not elaborated, but the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh will
undoubtedly be in spotlight.
The French co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group mediating settlement to
the long-standing dispute, Bernard Fassier, who has recently completed
his visit to the region, informed Karasin in Moscow of the outcome
of his talks in Baku and Yerevan.

EMBASSY OF ARGENTINA TO BE OPENED IN YEREVAN
A1+
[01:29 pm] 19 April, 2006
Vladimir Karmirshalyan, the Armenian Ambassador extraordinary and
plenipotentiary to Argentina has handed the copies of his credentials
to Jorge Tayano, the Minister of Foreign Relations, International
Trade and Religion of Argentina, and officially taken up his duties.
After the official ceremony the private conversation of the Minister
and the Ambassador took place.
The Minister congratulated the Ambassador on the appointment and
wished him success in his mission.
During the conversation the sides underlined the importance of
enhancing the relations between the countries. A reference was made
to a number of international and regional issues of mutual interest.
At the Minister’s request the Ambassador represented the relations
between Armenia and the countries of the region, and the process of
democratic reforms in the country.
During the meeting the sides also discussed issues about the opening
of the Embassy of Argentina in Yerevan.

HIGH COURT DECLARES YEREVAN HOUSE DEMOLITIONS ILLEGAL
By Ruzanna Stepanian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep
April 18 2006
Armenia’s highest court on Tuesday declared unconstitutional the
government-sanctioned demolition of hundreds of old houses in downtown
Yerevan but stopped short of obligating municipal authorities to give
the properties back to their forcibly evicted owners.
The Constitutional Court ruled that a 2002 government decision that
paved the way for the ongoing massive redevelopment in the city center
violated several articles of Armenia’s constitution.
One of those articles stipulates that private property can be
confiscated by the state “only in exceptional cases involving
overriding public interests, in a manner defined by law, and with a
prior commensurate compensation.” The extremely controversial process,
marred allegations of high-level corruption, has only been regulated
by the government directive, however.
Government officials say it is based on provisions of Armenia’s civil
and land codes that give the state greater freedom to confiscate
land against the will of its owners. The Constitutional Court said
that those provisions are also unconstitutional and must be amended
accordingly.
The verdict deals a serious blow to the credibility of the Armenian
government which has insisted all along that large-scale construction
which is rapidly changing central Yerevan is legal and fair.
Hundreds of local residents have been forced to vacate their mostly
decrepit houses over the past two years. Many of them are unhappy
with the amount of compensation paid to them by the state, saying
that it was set well below the market value of their properties as a
result of government corruption. Some have resisted eviction orders
with hunger strikes and other extreme methods of struggle.
Their demands have been backed by human rights activities, opposition
politicians and prominent public figures. Armenia’s former human rights
ombudsperson, Larisa Alaverdian, was also vocal in her support for
their cause, filing an appeal to the Constitutional Court shortly
before her resignation last January. Alaverdian’s pro-government
successor, Armen Harutiunian, unexpectedly decided to stand by the
appeal in February.
The court decision seems to be a largely moral victory for the
disgruntled evicted residents as it is unlikely to entail any practical
consequences. The court only ordered the Armenian government and
parliament to bring the relevant legislation into conformity with
the constitution and said nothing about property restitution or
compensation.
The ruling was read out by Constitutional Court Chairman Gagik
Harutiunian after five hours of deliberations by the panel of nine
judges appointed by President Robert Kocharian and the National
Assembly. It followed the final court hearing which saw Armen
Harutiunian and Justice Minister David Harutiunian (no relation),
who fought the government’s corner, make their concluding remarks.
The justice minister, whose close relatives are reportedly involved in
the redevelopment project, claimed that forcible house demolitions are
a normal practice around the world. “How do cities and towns around
the world develop?” he said. “In accordance with architectural master
plans which can serve as the basis for alienating property.”
The human rights ombudsman, for his part, reiterated his view that
the government has no legal right to single-handedly deprive Armenian
citizens of their property. “Such matters are regulated by law,”
he said. “Therefore they are the prerogative of the parliament,
not the government.”
(Photolur photo: Gagik Harutiunian speaking during the final court
hearing.)

ARDSHININVESTBANK’S NET PROFIT GROWS BY 56.9% IN 2005
Noyan Tapan
Apr 18 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 18, NOYAN TAPAN. In 2005, Ardshininvestbank showed an
unprecedented growth in all its indices, taking first and second
places by these indices in the RA banking system. Chairman of
Ardshininvestbank Board Aram Andreasian said during the April 18
press conference that in the year under review, the bank’s assets
grew by 42% on 2004 and amounted to 54.3 bln drams, which made up
12.04% of the overall assets of the RA banking system. The overall
capital of Ardshininvestbank grew by 63.3% to 88.8 bln drams,
while its liabilities – by 38.5% to about 45.4 bln drams. The net
profit of the bank increased by 56.9% to 2.3 bln drams. The credit
investments of Ardshininvestbank made 25.2 bln drams in 2005,
which exceeds the respective index of the previous year by about
35%. A. Andreasian pointed out a considerable growth in the amount of
consumer credits. Only in Ardshininvestbank, these credits grew by 23%
in the year under review and made 9.4 bln drams. According to him,
it shows that the financial position of 30-35% of the population has
improved. It was noted that the bank ranks first by the amount of time
deposits attracted from natural persons and legal entities, which,
in the words of A. Andreasian, is indicative of the population’s trust
in the bank. Addressing the problem of high interest rates of credits,
A. Andreasian said that the prices of financial resources has risen on
international markets. At the same time, he assured that despite it,
the interest rates of credits continue to decline in Armenia.
By the results of 2005, Ardshininvestbank was the biggest tax payer
– bank.
The bank paid taxes of a total of about 1 bln drams (about 2.22 mln
USD) to the state budget. Ardshininvestbank has 49 branches (two in
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic) and an office in Paris.

TV BEST BETS: THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
NorthJersey, NJ
The Record, The Herald, NJ
April 17 2006
THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE — During World War I, more than 1 million
Armenians were slain by the Ottoman Turks. This new special recalls
the Armenian slaughter with historical footage and interviews with
historians and ordinary citizens who recount the stories they were
told by their parents and grandparents. Julianna Margulies narrates.
(10 p.m., WNET/Channel 13)
jczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNzYmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5MTc zMDkmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 15 2006
KLO: We should not commit Ramil Safarov’s fate to Hungarian courts

Source: Trend
Author: E. Javadova

15.04.2006

After all that happened we should not leave Ramil Safarov’s fate to
the mercy of Hungarian courts, Trend reports with reference words
said by Akif Nagi, head of Committee for protection of R.Safarov’s
rights, at the conference held April 15.
He said Budapest court had issued a very unjust and severe sentence
on Azeri officer Ramil Safarov. This witnesses the lack of justice in
Hungary. «Alongside the shame on Hungarian authorities and courts,
this case has demonstrated their dependence on Armenian lobby. It
doesn’t make sense to appeal to the higher legal instances of this
country», – Mr Nagi said.
He said also the first injustice was trying R.Safarov’s case not in
military tribunal but in a civil court. «Taking all this in
consideration we think Azerbaijan’s government should do its best to
return R.Safarov home. Each day of his stay in hungry is a threat to
his life. Moreover, here is no necessity to try his case in other
legal instances of Hungary as it should be done in NATO’s military
tribunal or somewhere in neutral European country. We do not trust
Hungarian courts», – Mr Nagi outlined..

Turkish engineers criticize proposed nuclear plant
Anatolia news agency
14 Apr 06

Ankara, 14 April: The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects
(TMMOB) Ankara Branch has criticized the government’s decision to build a
nuclear power plant in Black Sea city of Sinop.
In a statement made public today, TMMOB indicated that it is impossible to
present the dirtiest source of energy (which is nuclear energy) as the “most
clean” energy.
TMMOB decided to organize a protest meeting in Sinop on 29 April, the day of
the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster.