Author: Jagharian Tania

ABDOU DIOUF: ARMENIA COMPLETELY FULFILLS ITS COMMITMENTS TO OIF

PanARMENIAN.Net –
April 7, 2010 – 13:56 AMT 08:56 GMT

Francophonie Day is internationally celebrated on March 20; Armenia
devoted a month to Francophonie.

As Mr. Abdou Diouf, the Secretary General of the International
Organization Francophonie, told a news conference in Yerevan, "Armenia
completely fulfills its obligations in its capacity of Francophonie
associated member."

Mr. Diouf said he is determined to visit Armenia again, together
with his spouse. "I came to know and love Armenia in the course of
my visit," he said.

Armenia became OIF associated member in 2008.

Francophonie is an international organization of polities and
governments with French as the mother or customary language, wherein
a significant proportion of people are francophones (French speakers)
or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language
or culture.

Formally known as the Organization internationale de la Francophonie
(OIF) or the International Organization of the Francophonie, the
organization comprises 56 member states and governments, 3 associate
members, and 14 observers. The primary mission of the organization
is the promotion of the French language as an international language
and the promotion of worldwide cultural and linguistic diversity in
the era of economic globalization.

BAKU DISMISSES ARMENIAN LEADER’S REMARKS

news.az
April 5 2010
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has
criticized remarks on Karabakh made by the Armenian president in an
interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine.

‘Azerbaijan has never refused to grant the Armenians and Azerbaijanis
of Nagono-Karabakh the right to self-determination according to
international legal norms within the framework of the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan. Therefore, in this case it is important to
note that Azerbaijan has never shirked its obligations,’ Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry spokesman Elkhan Polukhov said today.

He was commenting on an interview given by Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan to Der Spiegel. Sargsyan said in the interview that the key
issue for a settlement of the Karabakh conflict was the right of the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination.

The Armenian president asked in his interview why Karabakh could
not be independent when the former Yugoslavian states had achieved
independence. Commenting on that statement, Polukhov said that
Yugoslavia, like the USSR, had collapsed due to historical events
and pointed out that Armenia had gained its independence at that time.

‘It is at the very least, therefore, politically incorrect to draw
parallels between Azerbaijan and Yugoslavia,’ Polukhov said.

Asked whether Armenia could be said to have undone progress on Karabakh
through these comments, Polukhov said that if this were the case,
Baku would expect to hear the official Armenian position from the
OSCE Minsk Group mediators.

‘Only then will it be possible to give our view on the issue,’ the
spokesman noted.

Meanwhile, the Armenian president’s spokesman, Armen Arzumanyan,
told Tert.Am today that Der Spiegel had promised to correct what he
described as inaccuracies in the weekly’s published version of Serzh
Sargsyan’s interview.

As of 10.00 GMT on Monday the interview could not be found in German
or Russian on Der Spiegel’s website.

SMBAT MARGARYAN VICE CHAMPION OF EUROPE

Aysor
April 6 2010
Armenia

In Minsk in the capital city of Byelorussia kicked off the weight
lifting championship in Europe. The Armenian representative Smbat
Margaryan who is within the 56 kg w/c recorded 109 kg result in
picking up exercise, and in pushing exercise 146 kg. Smbat took the
title of the champion of Europe with the result of 255 kg. Till the
last second the 17 years old Armenian sportsmen was the leader. At the
end, however Byelorussian Vitali Derbenyov took a privilege over our
weightlifter with one kilo and received the title of the champion. If
Smbat would succeed the picking up exercise he would surely be out
of competing. He performed brilliantly in the other pushing exercise
and received a small golden medal.

However the career of the Armenian talented weightlifter is in the
future. It is obvious that his name in the future will be connected
with many victories.

ARMENIA NOT TO EXPORT APRICOTS

FreshPlaza
April 6 2010

Apricot crops in Armenia will be low due to the recent frost.

Chairman of the Armenian agrarian union Grach Berberyan said the
apricot crops in Armenia will be low due to the recent frost,
therefore, he says there will be no export of production.

Tert.am reports that the gathered crop will hardly meet the demands
of the internal market. He predicts the average price of a kilo of
apricots to make up 500 drams.

The frost damaged almost all apricot trees of Armavir. The damage in
Ararat made up 50%. Mostly mountainous regions where apricot trees
haven’t blossomed yet have benefited.

The official export of apricot from Armenia made up 8000 tons in 2009.

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AZERBAIJAN FIRES AT NKR DEFENSE ARMY POSITIONS

news.am
April 2 2010
Armenia

On the night of April 2 and during the day, Azerbaijani troops
violated the cease-fire on the contact line between the Azerbaijani
and Nagorno-Karabakh armed forces.

The NKR Defense Ministry reported that the Azerbaijani side opened
fire at Nagorno-Karabakh army’s positions from different types of
small arms, including sniper rifles in the directions of Chakhirli
and Jraberd.

The NKR troops opened retaliatory fire, the report says.

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER: ARMENIA HAS RESTORED MACROECONOMIC STABILITY

ArmInfo
2010-04-01 14:21:00

ArmInfo. Armenia has restored macroeconomic stability and strengthened
the financial system over the year, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
told the government on Thursday.

He said Armenia can rely on the IMF loans in the amount of $150
million promised for 2010 as well as other donors. "The IMF approved
the Armenian Government’s report on cooperation, which means that our
program will receive the planned financial assistance of nearly $150
million. This also means that all our international programs have been
approved," Tigran Sargsyan said. The government and the IMF agreed
that all the macroeconomic indicators for 2010 will have a neutral
impact on inflation. In addition, the prime minister said, if the
current rates of tax collection are maintained, this will restrain
the inflation pressure. The Armenian Central Bank is toughening its
financial instruments to restrain inflation.

The prime minister said that real expenditures of the Armenian budget
for Q1 2010 totaled 167 billion drams versus the envisaged 180 billion
drams. Budget deficit totaled 8.2 billion drams for Q1 versus the
envisaged 32.8 billion drams, which will also have a positive impact on
inflation restraint. Tigran Sargsyan said that the accumulated reserves
of the Armenian Central Bank exceed 150 billion drams and these funds
alongside with the funds of the stabilization funds can be used to
settle social and economic problems in the country if necessary. "Our
macroeconomic stability has been restored over the year and the
financial system has been strengthened," the prime minister said.

LE GOUVERNEMENT DEFEND LE RECOURS A L’ARMEE LE 1ER MARS 2008
par Marion

armenews
vendredi2 avril 2010
Armenie

Le gouvernement armenien a officiellement confirme la legalite d’un
ordre secret autorisant la participation de l’armee armenienne lors
de la repression des manifestations de 2008 a Erevan.

L’ordonnance ecrite, signee le 23 fevrier 2008 par le ministre de
la Defense de l’epoque, Mikael Harutiunian, a ete publiee dans le
quotidien d’opposition Haykakan Zhamanak en decembre dernier.

En 2008, l’ordonnance a ete publiee immediatement après que le
president sortant, Robert Kotcharian a ordonne aux forces de l’ordre et
aux autorites militaires de contrer les tentatives de son predecesseur
et chef d’opposition, Levon Ter-Petrossian, " pour s’emparer du pouvoir
par des moyens illegaux ", a la suite des elections presidentielles.

Le Congrès national armenien (HAK) a denonce le document comme illegal
et anticonstitutionnel. Selon les dirigeants du HAK, cette ordonnance
represente une preuve supplementaire attestant que Kotcharian a utilise
illegalement les militaires contre les manifestants avant de declarer
l’etat d’urgence a Erevan, le 1er mars.

L’alliance de l’opposition a ecrit au Premier ministre Tigran
Sarkissian le mois dernier, demandant que la directive Harutiunian
soit declaree inconstitutionnelle. Vahe Hovsepian, l’avocat qui a
redige la requete, s’est base sur les dispositions constitutionnelles
qui interdisent aux forces armees de l’Armenie de prendre partie dans
des conflits politiques.

Dans une reponse ecrite envoyee a Hovsepian cette semaine, le
gouvernement a declare que la directive ne reclame pas " le recours aux
forces armees ". Il a souligne que l’alerte ordonnee par le ministre
de la Defense etait une action de routine concernant seulement "
la gestion de l’armee ".

Hovsepian a rejete cette explication comme etant sans fondement. "
Le fait est que les forces armees ont ete utilises lors des evenements
du 1er mars 2008 ", a-t-il declare a RFE / RL.

Le porte-parole du ministère de la Defense, Seyran Shahsvuvarian,
a egalement defendu la legalite de l’ordre. Il a affirme que les
forces armees ont seulement protege des " installations d’importance
strategique " pendant les troubles meurtriers.

Shahsuvarian a precedemment confirme qu’un ancien haut responsable du
ministère de la Defense, Armen Sargsian, avait ete arrete en decembre,
soupconne d’avoir fourni l’ordonnance au quotidien. Son procès devrait
bientôt debute. Il est accuse d’avoir revele un secret d’Etat.

PRIME MINISTERS OF ARMENIA, UKRAINE TALK ON PHONE

armradio.am
01.04.2010 12:55

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Tigran Sargsyan, had a phone
conversation with the newly appointed Prime Minister of Ukraine,
Nikolay Azarov. Tigran Sargsyan congratulated Nikolay Azarov on
appointment and wished him success in this responsible position.

PM Tigran Sargsyan noted that great perspectives existed for bilateral
cooperation. The interlocutors agreed to intensify the activity of
the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation.

AGREEMENT REACHED TO ACTIVIZE WORK OF ARMENIAN-UKRAINIAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION ON ECONOMIC COOPERATION

Noyan Tapan
Apr 1, 2010

YEREVAN, APRIL 1, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian had
a telephone conversation with new Prime Minister of Ukraine Nikolay
Azarov congratulating him on the occasion of being appointed on his
post and wishing him success in his responsible work. T. Sargsian
said that there is a non-realized potential between the two countries,
meanwhile there are wide prospects for cooperation.

According to the RA government Information and Public Relations
Department, during the talk the interlocutors reached an agreement
to activize the work of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic
Cooperation. In that connection Commission’s Co-chairs were charged
to coordinate and to make agenda and in the future to hold a sitting
of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation.

THE YOUNG EMPLOYEES OF THE MUSEUMS WILL MEET

Aysor
April 1 2010
Armenia

On April 3 at 13am at the Museum after Avetik Isahakyan will take
place the third meeting of the young employees of Armenian museums.

The event is organized and realized by the young council of the
"Museum workers and friends association" NGO.

As the "Museum workers and friends association" NGO informs the
initiation is aimed at establishing new professional ties between of
the young workers of the Armenian museums, promote the implementation
of the joint projects and events as well as to discover and to discuss
the problems of the Museums and the ways of overcoming those problems.

On the meeting will also be presented the details of the autumn
conference dedicated to the problems of the Museums.

The organizer of the latter is again the young council of the "Museum
workers and friends association" NGO.