Author: Hovhannisian John

APAO GIVES ANIMATED PRESENTATION OF THREE POPULAR CHILDREN’S BOOKS

US State News
June 23, 2009 Tuesday 5:47 PM EST

YEREVAN, Armenia, March 6 — The U.S. Embassy issued the following
press release:

On March 6, APAO Susan Bridenstine read children’s stories to an
audience of over 30 young students at the Armenian National Children’s
Library. The Officer gave an animated presentation of three popular
children’s books. The interaction between the speaker and the audience
was very strong, the children, their teachers and parents enjoyed
themselves as the storytelling became a game with illustrations and
drawings which attracted the children’s attention. Monthly storytelling
programs will help schoolchildren become familiar with the correct
pronunciation of words and encourage them to borrow American literature
from the library.

PARLIAMENT URGED TO BACK CAMPAIGN TO CLEAR SEAFARER
by Tim Pauling

Aberdeen Press and Journal
June 23, 2009 Tuesday
Scotland

The Scottish Parliament has been asked to back a campaign to clear
the name of a legendary Scottish seafarer hanged for piracy more than
three centuries ago.

Captain William Kidd, who was born in Dundee or Greenock around 1645,
was executed in 1701 and his body left to rot in chains. Although
condemned as a pirate, history would suggest he was a privateer,
acting for the Crown.

Captain Kidd was appointed by the Crown to hunt French vessels and
take their cargoes.

He got into trouble after taking the Armenia ship Quedagh Merchant,
which was captained by an Englishman who had bought passes from the
French East India Company promising him protection.

After realising he had taken the ship of an Englishman, Kidd tried
to give it back, but his crew refused.

In order to keep control, Kidd relented. When word reached England
it cemented his reputation as a pirate and he was hunted down.

Two American researchers claim he was framed by King William III who
wanted to appear tough on pirates and stood to benefit from the bounty.

The Fraternity of Masters and Seamen of Dundee, which paid a pension
to Kidd’s mother in the late 1600s, is considering having Kidd’s case
reheard by the Court of Appeal in London.

SNP MSP Bill Kidd, who is not related to the captain, has lodged a
motion in the Scottish Parliament, welcoming the bid to clear his name.

Mr Kidd said there was no timescale for justice and governments should
not be allowed to get away with punishing people wrongly.

"I don’t expect that there’s going to be a mass campaign for something
that happened 300 years ago but I do expect people are going to be
worried about the fact that someone can be used in that way by the
state, whatever time in history," he said.

"If someone is accused and hung for something he didn’t do, when he
was operating for the government and he was doing the job properly,
that comes down to a criminal act on the part of the government,
not on him."

American expert: Turkey and Armenia should improve their bilateral
relations without waiting for Nagorno Karabakh settlement

2009-06-21 10:07:00

ArmInfo. Turkey and Armenia can and should improve their bilateral
relations without waiting for an Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement,
Senior Associate of the American Foreign Policy Council Wayne Merry
told ArmInfo. ‘After all, Greece and Turkey have greatly improved their
ties without waiting for a Cyprus settlement. However, the political
reality in Turkey will strictly limit how far this process can go’, W.
Merry said.

Agence France Presse, France
June 19 2009

Armenia approves amnesty for opposition activists

YEREVAN, June 19 2009

Armenia’s parliament on Friday approved a general amnesty for dozens
of opposition supporters involved in post-election unrest last year
that left 10 dead.

The ex-Soviet republic’s National Assembly voted 98-1 to approve the
amnesty proposed by President Serzh Sarkisian, which officials said
would affect 90 percent of the about 100 people arrested following the
unrest or still wanted by police.

More than 50 people have been convicted and jailed in connection with
the unrest.

"This amnesty will resolve many important questions, will further
reduce tension in the country and create the conditions for
cooperation," the chair of parliament’s legal affairs commission,
David Harutunian, told lawmakers.

Sarkisian’s government has been under international pressure to
release jailed opposition supporters, including from rights watchdog
the Council of Europe, which has repeatedly raised concerns about what
it calls "artificial or politically motivated charges" against
opposition activists.

Officials said that those sentenced to fewer than five years in prison
would be released, while those facing longer sentences would see jail
terms reduced.

Overall, nearly 2,000 people would be affected by the general amnesty,
officials said, including about 500 who will be released from jail.

It was unclear how the amnesty would affect seven top opposition
activists, including several ex-lawmakers and former foreign minister
Alexander Arzumanian, who remain on trial for organising the protests.

The charges stem from street battles that broke out when riot police
moved in to disperse thousands of supporters of former Armenian
president Levon Ter-Petrosian rallying to denounce Sarkisian’s victory
in a February 2008 election.

Two police officers and eight civilians were killed in the clashes and
dozens more were injured, many from gunshot wounds. Ter-Petrosian had
finished second in the vote and his supporters denounced the result as
rigged.

Armenia — a mountainous country of about three million people wedged
between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Turkey — has seen repeated
political violence and post-election protests since gaining
independence with the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991.

IT SPHERE HAS REGISTERED AN INCREASE BY 20% COMPARED WITH LAST YEAR

ARMENPRESS
June 19, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
participated today in annual informational, telecommunication and
high technology "DigiTec Business" forum.

Technological solutions to banking and financial sectors, small and
medium-sized enterprises, tourism, trade and storing, construction
and transportation, public sector, cargo transportation, medical and
drug spheres are presented at the forum.

Governmental press service told Armenpress that Armenian Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan attached great importance to the forum saying that
it enables IT representative companies to show their new production
and services, as well as the progress and achievements registered in
a year, and customers are given the opportunity of choosing valuable
products and services for their business.

Armenian prime minister expressed his satisfaction that IT sphere even
in the conditions of the world crisis has registered an increase by 20%
compared with the last year. "Productivity increase is one of the best
ways of overcoming the crisis, and IT is one of the exclusive spheres
that presents proposals on increasing productivity and competitiveness
to economy branches",-said the head of Armenian government stressing
that the government is too a customer in this forum and is to serve
an example for businessmen with its choice.

The prime minister said that the government is inclined to apply modern
IT in all the links of the state system, as it faces the problem of
increasing the productivity as well. 25 companies and 1500 businessmen
took part in the forum.

ARAZAP VILLAGE HEADMAN ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT AND BATTERY OF A POLICEMAN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.06.2009 21:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Criminal case is instigated against RA Armavir
Region’s Arazap village headman, Manvel Harutyunyan on a charge of
assault and battery of RA Police officer, RA Police Press Service
Department told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Manvel Harutyunyan interfered with the work of police during
investigation of traffic accident which earlier took place in Arzap
village. According to RA Armavir Police Department Lieutenant Grigor
Mkoyan, while studying occurrence location, he was approached by Arzap
village headman Manvel Harutyunyan. The headman, who was drunk at
the moment, started threatening him and finally beat up road patrol
service inspector. Manvel Harytyunyan was taken into custody.

TURKEY-ARMENIA RAPPROCHEMENT SHOULD CATALYZE ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI RELATIONS, U.S. SAYS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
18.06.2009 11:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Rapprochement of Turkey and Armenia should be the
catalyst in the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, said Congressman
Robert Wexler (D-FL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe and a
senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

"The United States attaches great importance to both processes, but
all parties, particularly Azerbaijan and Armenia must demonstrate
their courage in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem,"
the Congressman said.

"If the region is stable, then the role of the South Caucasus will
grow in the international security issue," he added, TrendNews reported

TWO MEMBERS OF ELECTORAL COMMISSION OF POLLING STATION N 8/5 SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT

Noyan Tapan
June 16, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, NOYAN TAPAN. Yerevan Malatia-Sebastia communities’
general jurisdiction court examining the case by the speeded-up
order pronounced a judgement, by which Norik Yeghiazarian and Armen
Ohanian were found guilty of committing a crime envisaged by Article
150, RA Criminal Code and were sentenced to imprisonment of 3 years
for each. Noyan Tapan was informed about it by RA Cassation Court
Spokesperson Alina Yengoyan.

According to the bill of indictment, N. Yeghiazarian and A. Ohanian
were accused that being members of electoral commission of polling
station N 5 of electoral district N 8, on May 31, taking the
opportunity that the voters did not personally throw ballot papers into
ballot boxes, they voted for RPA through copying the ballot papers.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES AHMADINEZHAD ON RE-ELECTION

Mediamax
June 15 2009
Armenia

Yerevan, 15 June: Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan congratulated
Mahmud Ahmadinezhad on re-election for the position of Iran’s
president.

As Mediamax was informed in the press service of the president, in the
congratulating letter, Serzh Sargsyan expressed confidence that the
sides will continue efforts on deepening Armenian-Iranian relations.

"The traditional mutual respect of our peoples dictates us to do this,"
the Armenian president’s letter reads

NEW TIMES PARTY LEADER GIVES DEFINITION TO OPPOSITION FORCES

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
15.06.2009 19:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ New Times party leader Aram Karapetyan said
he attends all opposition rallies, whether they are organized by
the Armenian National Congress or nonradical opposition. At that,
he doubts formation of Dashnaktsutyun-Heritage-ANC alliance, since
"artificial unions are not viable due to various goals the forces
have." Karapetyan divided the Armenian opposition into three types:
first, radical opposition; second, opposition which collaborates with
various forces dependently on circumstances and third, opposition
forces which are ‘doing business’.

Explaining this classification, he labeled Orinats Yerkir and ARF
Dashnaktsutyun as situational opposition. Marxist party leader
David Hakobyan and National Unity chairman Artashes Geghamyan are
representatives of ‘business opposition’, according to him.