Author: Hovhannisian John

RA PRESIDENT WELCOMES HE PROGRAMS THE OSCE IMPLEMENTS IN ARMENIA

armradio.am
17.06.2008 10:10

President Serzh Sargsyan received the Head of the OSCE Yerevan Office,
Sergey Kapinos.

The President of Armenia welcomed the programs realized by the OSCE in
our country and noted that the tradition of efficient cooperation has
already been established. "We have a number of successfully implemented
projects and have told on many occasions that we are looking forward
to deepening cooperation," President Sargsyan said, stressing at the
same time the importance of taking in new areas and issues.

Noting that projects directed at the enhancement of reforms in
different areas would continue, Sergey Kapinos briefed the President
of Armenia on the programs and projects implement by the OSCE in
political, military, economic, environmental and humanitarian areas.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: ARMENIAN PUBLIC COUNCIL MUST REFLECT INTELLECTUALS’ VIEWS

ARKA
June 13, 2008

YEREVAN, June 13. /ARKA/. Armenian Public Council must reflect
intellectuals’ views, Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Hrayr
Karapetyan said at a press conference on Friday.

"There are no mechanisms in Armenia for presenting the community
opinion. The new mechanism is likely to put things right. I thing
intellectuals should use this structure for voicing their views",
he said.

Karapetyan said that is necessary to create some institution enabling
the community to express opinion and influence the authorities’
activity.

On Friday, President Serge Sargsyan signed a decree establishing
Public Council to spur political dialogue in the country.

SWEDISH PARLIAMENT REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.06.2008

The Swedish parliament, with a vote 245 to 37 (1 abstain, 66 absent),
rejected a call for recognition of the 1915 genocide in the Ottoman
Empire. On June 11, a long debate took place in the Swedish Parliament
in regard to the Foreign Committee report on Human Rights, including
five motions calling upon the Swedish Government and Parliament to
officially recognize the 1915 Armenian Genocide, head of the Armenian
Associations of Sweden Vahagn Avedian told PanARMENIAN.Net.

In its answer (2007/2008:UU9), a majority consisting of the ruling
alliance parties together with the Social Democrats (opposition party)
proposed rejecting the motions, whereby the Green (Miljopartiet)
and the Left (Vansterpartiet) parties announced their reservations,
forcing the Parliament to have a debate in the main chamber before
the proposal was voted on.

The argumentation for why recognition should be rejected was based
on four main assumptions: "no particular consideration regarding the
Armenian situation has ever been in form of an UN Resolution, either
in 1985 or any other occasion; the Committee understands that what
engulfed the Armenians, Assyrian/Syrians and Chaldeans during the reign
of the Ottoman Empire would, according to the 1948 Convention, probably
be regarded as genocide, if it had been in power at the time; there is
still a disagreement among the experts regarding the different course
of events of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The same applies
to the underlying causes and how the assaults shall be classified;
[in regard to the development in Turkey] in the time being, it would
be venturesome to disturb an initiate and delicate national process."

ARTHUR BAGHDASARYAN RECEIVED AMBASSADOR OF BELARUS
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Panorama.am
19:51 12/06/2008

Today the secretary of National Security Council of Armenia Arthur
Baghdasaryan received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of Belarus Marina Dolgopolova, reported the press service of the
president’s administration.

During the meeting the sides signified the strengthening of cooperation
in the frameworks of Collective Security Contract and the development
of Armenian-Belarus relations.

The Ambassador said that the secretary of Security Council of Belarus
Viktor Shaiman is willing to develop the bilateral cooperation. The
sides made some arrangements on the improvement of Armenian-Belarus
relationship.

REPORT OF US DEPARTMENT OF STATE: ARMENIA IS A PRIMARILY A SOURCE COUNTRY FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS TRAFFICKED TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AND TURKEY

arminfo
2008-06-10 12:17:00

ArmInfo. Armenia is a primarily a source country for women and girls
trafficked to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and Turkey, for the
purpose of commercial sexual exploitation, the annual 2008 Trafficking
in Persons Report of US Department of State says.

As the report says, Armenian men and women are trafficked to Turkey
and Russia for the purpose of forced labor. Victims trafficked to the
U.A.E. usually fly to Dubai from Yerevan or via Moscow; the trafficking
route to Turkey is generally via bus through Georgia. Armenian
law enforcement reports indicate that destination countries now
also include Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait; however, no official cases
involving these countries as destinations have surfaced. According to
the OSCE, there has been one documented case of Ukrainian and Russian
women trafficked to Armenia for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

PETITION CALLING NOT TO IMPEDE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION INTRODUCED IN SWEDISH PARLIAMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.06.2008 15:16 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On an initiative of Vahagn Avedian, Chairman of the
Board of Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden, a petition issued in
10 languages, was submitted to the members of the Swedish Parliament
in order to influence on a decision of the Foreign Affairs Commission
to disallow the proposals for recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
independent French journalist Jean Eckian told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The text signed by 60 leading experts in Holocaust and Genocide
studies reads in part, "Today, Sweden is internationally regarded as
a champion of human rights. The incumbent Swedish authorities should
live up to this reputation and reject any compromise with negationism
and denial. The Swedish government should attempt to assist Turkey to
become a better democracy by facing its history and acknowledging the
truth, not by continuing to stagger in the darkness of self-deception
and pretense. Today, the data and information about the Genocide of
Armenians, Assyrians and Pontian Greeks are so extensive that no
serious politician can honestly cite insufficient or inconclusive
research as an excuse to avoid recognition. Refusal to recognize an
established fact based on qualitative and quantitative research may
be regarded as being tantamount to denial. The signatories have no
doubt that the massacres of Christians and other minorities in the
Ottoman Empire during the World War I constituted genocide."

The Swedish Parliament meets tomorrow, June 11, to rule on this issue.

COURT TO BRING VERDICT IN FOUR DAYS

A1+
[07:53 pm] 09 June, 2008

Today the trial on the case of Petros Makeyan, Ashot Zakarian and
Shota Saghatelian was held behind closed doors.

They are accused of intervening in the activities of the territorial
election commission.

The plaintiff demanded to sentence Leader of the "Democratic Homeland"
Party Petros Makeyan to four years, Zakarian to three years, and
Saghatelian to 2.5 years of imprisonment.

The verdict will be publicized at 11 on June 13.

AS ARFD FACTION ESTIMATES, OMBUDSMAN’S REPORT "TO SOME EXTENT SHAKED POLITICAL MIRE"

Noyan Tapan

Ju ne 6, 2008

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, NOYAN TAPAN. The parliamentary hearings dedicated to
the RA Ombudsman’s current year’s special public report on the February
19 presidential elections and post-electoral developments lasted
more than seven hours. At the end of stormy discussions RA Ombudsman
A. Haroutiunian said: "I think no one pretends on telling absolute
truths in his activity, everyone just tries to do his business. Be
sure that if there is a need of another report, I will write better,
but God grant that we not need another report."

RA Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian and Justice Minister Gevord
Danielian presented their objections on the report. G. Danielian,
in particular, said that the whole sense of objections is not "that
we have found a mistake in Ombudsman’s judgements, but that it is
impossible to discuss the report in this form by legal procedures." He
also said that neither the Prosecutor General nor the Justice Minister
can prohibit the Ombudsman to make a political analysis, but the whole
problem is that Ombudsman’s report is a state document printed with
state funds.

Aram Safarian, the Secretary of the Bargavach Hayastan (Prosperous
Armenia) faction, stated that the discussions showed that Ombudsman’s
institution is fully-fledged in Armenia, which is very good. "Our
questions regarding the analysis in Ombudsman’s special public report
did not pursue a goal to be opposed to the Ombudsman, but should
be considered as an invitation to compare the current professional
abilities and intellectual potential to have a more positive analytical
document serving its proper purpose," A. Safarian said.

Rafik Petrosian, a member of the RPA faction, said that the faction
partially agrees to the objections of the RA Prosecutor General and
Justice Minister.

Artashes Avoyan said on behalf of the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law)
faction that the style of Ombudsman’s report, its rather categoric
evaluations are inadmissible, and it distinguishes itself with
"non-professional sensual analysis."

Ara Nranian stated on behalf of the ARFD faction that they do not agree
that the report is exaggerated and strict meanwhile saying that it has
some shortcomings. He also mentioned that the faction highly evaluates
Ombudsman’s report, which "to some extent shaked the political mire."

The members of the Zharangutiun (Heritage) faction, in particular, said
that the Ombudsman stood high and no matter how much the authorities
criticize the report, it is the result of their bad work.

Independent deputy Viktor Dallakian said that second RA President
Robert Kocharian dismissed first RA Ombudsperson Larisa Alaverdian
for the very first criticism she voiced and if the same is done with
A. Haroutiunian, the deputy can record that "Robert Kocharian’s ghost
travels about RA." He also evaluated Ombudsman’s report as disputable
and report’s political side as calling forth many questions."

SUPERVISION AND CORPORATE MANAGEMENT OF ARMENIAN BANKING SYSTEM BEST IN REGION

ARKA
June 9, 2008

YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. Armenian banking system, as far as
the supervision and corporate management level is concerned,
is considerably ahead of the other countries of the region, Board
Chairman of Armenian Armeconombank David Sukiassyan told reporters.

"Armenian banks, though with smaller assets, have the best financial
showings, the highest level of supervision and corporate management
in the region," Sukiasyan said.

Sukiasyan hailed the idea of creating a regional financial centre in
Armenia. He said creating a regional centre in any sphere – health,
social, financial or banking sectors – is a good idea, since it will
attract various financial structures to the country and raise the
interest in Armenia.

Twenty-two commercial banks are currently operating in Armenia with
the total assets, according to the March 31, 2008 data, calculated at
818.9bln drams, and the total credit portfolio (including the funds
lent out to customers) estimated at 485.2bln drams.

Interfax News Agency, Russia
June 5 2008

Azerbaijan may buy drones form Israel

BAKU June 5

Azerbaijan plans to buy unmanned reconnaissance aircraft from Israel,
the GPSearch.Org Internet edition reports.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry may buy ten Hermes-450 drones from
the Israeli company Silver Arrow, the edition said. The drones will
monitor Azerbaijani land occupied by Armenia. Baku puts special
emphasis on the drones’ ability to detect enemy anti-aircraft missile
systems.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu did
not confirm the news to Interfax. He said he had no information to
that effect.