Author: Jalatian Sonya

ARMSWISSBANK SUBMITS BOND EMISSION PROSPECTUS OF EXPRESS CREDIT UCO

ARKA
July 7

ArmSwissbank submitted Monday papers for registration bond emission
prospectus of Express Credit, universal credit organization.

Press office of ArmSwissbank says the bonds will be placed through
open subscription.

The agreement on the universal credit organization’s bonds was signed
in May. Under the agreement, bonds worth AMD 150 million (6,000 bonds
of AMD 25,000 nominal cost) will be placed under redemption term of
18 months.

Details will be unveiled after the registration of the prospectus.

Express-Credit Universal Credit Organization was established in
December 1997 as Pinar CJSC.

In 2002, the company was renamed into Express-Credit.

The Central Bank of Armenia registered the organizations on February
11, 2003.

The organization’s assets totaled AMD 1.3 billion, liabilities,
729 million and capital 555.5 million at the first quarter of 2008.

The company’s net profit amounted to AMD 99.5 million by late
May.

MEDVEDEV MAKES SPLASH IN BAKU
Shahin Abbasov

ISN, Switzerland
Monday, 07 July 2008

The Russian president pulls out all the stops in Azerbaijan, but is
it more style than substance?

Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev concluded 3 July talks with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev by pronouncing Baku to be Moscow’s "strategic
partner." Meanwhile, the head of the Kremlin-controlled conglomerate
Gazprom, Alexei Miller, announced that talks would soon begin on
the Russian firm’s purchase of Azerbaijani gas. But experts remain
unconvinced that the upbeat rhetoric surrounding Medvedev’s visit
will lead to any change in the existing bilateral relationship.

During their meeting in Baku, Medvedev and Aliyev issued a declaration
of friendship and presided over the signing of four intergovernmental
agreements covering such areas as customs and privatization. The
friendship declaration was vaguely worded and short on specifics,
although Russia did seem to endorse Baku’s position that any political
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should not undermine
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, according to a report distributed
by the APA news agency. At the same time, Medvedev was non-committal
in his public comments, saying that Russia favors resolution of the
Karabakh conflict through direct talks between the Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents.

The two sides expressed a desire for better coordination in
the security sphere, and announced an intention to complete the
delimitation of their shared border. In another section of the
friendship declaration, Baku and Moscow pledged to promote a "central
role in international affairs" for the United Nations.

Miller, the Gazprom CEO, made perhaps the biggest news of the visit,
telling journalists that Russia and Azerbaijan had agreed to start
talks covering the purchases of Azerbaijani gas. "Azerbaijan will
become another country where Gazprom can buy gas while just few years
ago, our [Russian] gas was purchased by Azerbaijan," Miller said. He
declined to speculate on how much gas Gazprom was hoping to buy from
Azerbaijan, saying only that the company was prepared pay market
prices to obtain "maximum volume."

While on its surface the Kremlin’s ability to cajole Azerbaijan
into talking about gas sales may seem like a diplomatic coup. But
Azerbaijani experts are skeptical that Medvedev’s visit alone will
prompt Baku to make a geopolitical shift in Moscow’s direction.

Elhan Shahinoglu, head of the Baku-based Atlas non-governmental
think-tank, suggested that Aliyev, not wanting to antagonize Russia,
was stringing Medvedev and Gazprom along, essentially playing for
time. "Baku will try to delay the issue [of gas sales] for as long
as possible," Shahinoglu said to EurasiaNet.

According to Shahinoglu, Baku would prefer not to see Russia become a
middleman for Azerbaijani gas exports to Europe. Instead, Azerbaijani
officials are more interested in pursuing the US- and EU-supported
Nabucco project, which would evade Russia and link Caspian Basin
natural gas directly to European markets. The dilemma for Baku is
that Nabucco has not yet received the final go-ahead, and remains
stuck in the feasibility-study stage.

Another question mark for Azerbaijani export plans is the fact that
Turkmenistan has yet to make a firm commitment to shipping gas
via a trans-Caspian pipeline that would connect into the Nabucco
network. Such uncertainty reinforces Baku’s inclination to "not rush
with answer to Russia’s offer," Shahinoglu said.

Baku-based energy expert Ilham Shaban believes that, at present,
the maximum amount of gas that Azerbaijan is willing to sell
Russia annually is 1 billion cubic meters. In addition, Azerbaijani
officials are disinclined to accede to Gazprom’s desire to purchase
large volumes from the Shah Deniz field. "Baku is unlikely to agree
to sell gas from Shah Deniz to Russia," Shaban told EurasiaNet.

Other experts, such as political scientist Hikmet Hajizade, say
that while Russia currently seems keen on energy cooperation with
Azerbaijan, that stance would change quickly if Nabucco became a
reality. Azerbaijani participation in Nabucco would automatically
transform Baku and Moscow into bitter competitors. In this event,
Hajizade added, Moscow would likely institute economic and diplomatic
policies designed to coerce Baku.

Shahinoglu, the think-tank expert, predicted that if Baku pursues
an export strategy that is not to Moscow’s liking, then the Kremlin
would retaliate in other areas. "It is likely that Russia will use
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to pressure Baku," he said.

Shahinoglu and other experts are also wary of Russia’s tendency to
use corporate investment as a cudgel to compel former Soviet states
to follow the Kremlin’s line. Many Russian firms, especially energy
companies, are awash in capital and are always on the outlook to
obtain stakes in neighboring countries’ infrastructures, such as
energy distribution networks. During his visit to Baku, Medvedev was
accompanied by large group of Russia’s business leaders, including
Gazprom’s Miller, LukOil President Vagit Alekperov, and VTB Bank
chairman Andrei Kostin.

While Shahinoglu characterized the current state of Azerbaijani-Russian
relations as "normal," he and other experts pointed to a trouble
spot on the immediate horizon. The dilemma concerns a border spat
involving two Azerbaijani villages – Xraxoba and Uryanoba, located
in the Khachmaz Region along the border with the Russian autonomous
republic of Dagestan.

The two villages were transferred to Russia for a period of 20 years
during Soviet times, and although the transfer agreement expired in
2004, Russia has shown no signs of returning the settlements.

Indeed, the fate of the villages is perhaps the largest impediment
to the completion of border delimitation, as the residents of those
villages have received Russian citizenship and have been thoroughly
integrated in Russia’s political and economic system.

3rd Annual Armenian Microelectronics Olympiad to Be Held in September

YEREVAN, July 4. /ARKA/. The third annual Armenian Microelectronics
Olympiad is to be held in Yerevan in September as part of the Week of
Synopsys in Armenia, press office of Synopsys Armenia Company reported
on Friday.

Last year about 130 students and young specialists took part in
Olympiad.

Vazgen Melikyan, president of Program Committee of Olympiad and
director of Synopsys Armenia Educational Department said everyone who
has sufficient knowledge not only in the sphere of microelectronics and
electronic design but also in programming, mathematic methods and
algorithms are invited to participate in this Olympiad.

`The Olympiad is a good opportunity to present your knowledge and
skills, evaluate them and determine the right way to develop them’, he
said.

The aim of the program is to stimulate further development of
microelectronics in Armenia, discover young, talented specialists,
raise interest in microelectronics among young specialists, understand
young specialists’ knowledge of microelectronics and adjust educational
programs as necessary in the future.

Competitors may be no older than 30.

The first prize is a notebook, second ` AMD 300,000 (two prizes) and
third AMD 150, 000 (three prizes).
Other, special prizes are also anticipated.

Synopsys, Inc entered Armenian market in October 2004 after signing an
agreement on merging Leda Design and Monetary Arset into Synopsys
Armenia Company. ($1= AMD 303.75). 0–

ARMENIAN CENTRAL BANK CHAIRMAN TO DISCUSS BANKING PROSPECTS IN KARABAKH

ARKA
July 4

Armenian Central Bank Chairman Artur Javadyan will leave for
Nagorno-Karabakh to take part in the visiting board session of the
Union of Banks of Armenia.

The Central Bank Press Service said the Board meeting discussion will
focus on expanding the spectrum of banking services.

‘ERGENEKON’ AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEACE BETWEEN STATE AND PEOPLE
Mustafa Acar*

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jule 4, 2008

Everyone has a stance based on their ideological tendencies and
political perspectives. These discussions are pretty important in
the process by which Turkey is evolving toward democratic, civilian
and pluralist rule.

Because the Ergenekon indictment — based on a case that has led to
the detainment of 23 people, including three former army commanders,
a journalist and the leader of a business group, as part of an
investigation into a powerful and illegal organization suspected of
plotting to overthrow the Justice and Development Party (AK Party)
government — has not been publicized at the time of this article’s
writing, it is possible to make the following assessment without
making improper statements regarding certain people, based on the
disclosed information and documents.

Ergenekon is a clandestine organization that has affiliations within
the state, the military and civilian bureaucracy, the armed forces,
judiciary, media and universities. It became evident that this
organization, which relied on illegal means including the creation of
a terror network, sponsorship of murders and attempted military coups,
has played important roles in a number of unresolved incidents that
sparked public reaction and protest. Elimination of this organization,
which may be described as the Turkish branch of Gladio — designed
as a semi-military organization in the NATO member countries during
the Cold War era by the US to take action whenever a communist
threat became imminent in those countries — is an issue vital to
Turkey’s survival. Turkey should get rid of this clandestine entity
for lasting peace, conciliation between the state and the people and
its worldwide image.

There are three vital reasons that make getting rid of the Ergenekon
gang important:

First, Turkey has to deal with Ergenekon effectively if it seeks to
get rid of the dire impacts of the Progress and Union Party (Ä°VT),
which remained effective in the country for more than a century. The
harm inflicted by the Ä°VT, which revolted against Abdulhamid II with
the promise of bringing liberties but resorted to repressive policies
after it took the office, is simply indescribable. The country
had to deal with enormous problems during the Ä°VT’s term between
1908 and 1918; every attempt by the Ä°VT during this period brought
nothing but disaster and destruction. The Balkan Wars, World War I,
the SarıkamıÅ~_ failure, the Armenian incidents, loss of the Balkans,
northern Africa and the Hijaz, the invasion of Anatolia and the path to
the Sevres Treaty are all products of the Ä°VT rule. The harm inflicted
by the Ä°VT on this country is not limited to the acceleration of
the Ottoman state’s collapse and the incorrect policies that caused
the subsequent tragic events, which still impacts current politics.

Maybe the Ottoman state would have collapsed anyway, just like the big
empires of the time, including the German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian
empires, collapsed at the end of World War I. The actual harm done by
the Ä°VT was in the mindset of the party; the Ä°VT mindset, based on
excessive nationalism — some may even call it racism — centralist
ideas, repression, alienation from the people and protection against
external actors left indelible imprints in Turkey’s last century. Ever
since then, the ongoing disagreement between the state and the public,
the clashes between the elected and the appointed, the perception that
freedoms will lead to turmoil and the perception that the recognition
of diverse identities will partition the country have all, to a great
extent, carried the marks of the Ä°VT. Removing the greatest barriers
before Turkey is directly dependent on getting rid of the Ä°VT mindset
and its imprints in the bureaucratic mechanisms.

Second, Turkey should effectively deal with the Ergenekon organization
if it seeks to become a country that is able to generate its own
policies based on its national interests. It is no secret that Turkey
has, since the end of World War II, remained a country that pursues a
foreign policy strongly attached to the actions of the US and Western
orientations and which has been strongly condemned and warned when
it sought to abandon its NATO alignment and orientation. Viewing the
military coups in Turkey as a reflection of domestic power deals
and struggles is actually a failure to see half the picture. It
is true that the coups were staged to consolidate the place of the
military within the political system, to preserve the privileges of
the white Turks and to keep the periphery away from the benefits of
government office. However, the coups also include some external
dimensions. Currently we are aware, from the proper analyses made
and the publicized documents, that every coup promoted and staged in
Turkey is somehow related to the Gladio-counter-guerilla-Ergenekon
organization and the attempt to preserve Turkey in Western
orientation. To this end, it is essential to follow the path of
Italy, Spain, Belgium and other NATO members following the end of
Cold War and eliminate the Ergenekon gang. Unfortunately this gang,
which extensively relied on a nationalist discourse, had done nothing
but implemented plans devised by NATO actors.

Third, Turkey needs to get rid of the Ergenekon gang if it seeks
to become a stable, pluralist and democratic country that has good
relations with its own people and the world and is able to sustain a
high growth rate. In the current world democracy, civilianization,
pluralism, human rights and rule of law are the most popular
notions. The Ergenekon gang does not favor these noble notions. Quite
to the contrary, it is focused on prohibitions, restrictions,
taboos, impositions and all other negative connotations. The point
to which this mindset will take Turkey is a place of a Third World
country suffering from constant turmoil, domestic problems and
instability. However, the new winds of globalization make calls
that imply Turkey should put emphasis on its European Union bid,
social transformation and ending the clash between the state and the
people. Those who seek to reverse this process are destined to lose and
become anachronistic. Eliminating the Ergenekon gang will contribute
to Turkey’s march toward wealth and welfare. We owe appreciation and
thanks to the prosecutors who initiated the investigation process
and the political actors that stood firmly behind the prosecutorial
actions. Further action should be taken decisively for effective
combat against this illegal entity, with the prayers and support of
the people in mind.

–Boundary_(ID_N4+YPYLyjQhIBwXCXj7ggg)–

Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Caucasus Reporting Service

Armenia Escapes Europe Ban
Council of Europe resolution postpones day of reckoning for Yerevan
government.

By Rita Karapetian in Yerevan (CRS No. 450, 03-Jul-08)

The Armenian opposition has criticised a decision by the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe, PACE, to give the government more time to
meet a series of tough benchmarks for democracy.

The assembly decided to give Armenia until January next year to meet a
number of criteria set following the political crisis created by a disputed
presidential election in February and the bloodshed that followed it on
March 1-2.

It will still face the risk of losing its voting rights in PACE if it is
deemed to have failed to comply with these demands.

Armenian president Serzh Sarkisian said his country had already begun to
move ahead.

`We don’t need short-term solutions and formal proposals,’ he said. `What is
important is the foundations that are being laid down, and the decisions
taken, are focused on the future.’

But former president and opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian was scathing
about the PACE decision, saying the assembly had shirked its duty.

He described the PACE rapporteurs on Armenia, Georges Colombier and John
Prescott as `defence lawyers’ for the Armenian government.

`The Council of Europe has demonstrated its inability to force the
authorities of Armenia to fulfil the demands of Resolution 1609 within the
set time, and that is a result of the indecisiveness and lack of principles
of the Council of Europe,’ said Ter-Petrosian.

Resolution 1609, passed on April 17, requires Armenia `to release all
persons detained on seemingly artificial and politically motivated charges’,
to make changes to the law on public assembly, and to hold an independent
investigation into the bloodshed. It also calls for dialogue between the
authorities and the opposition.

In a new resolution, numbered 1620 and passed on June 25, the assembly said,
`While regretting the delay in implementing the concrete measures to comply
with its demands, the Assembly acknowledges that the time given to the
Armenian authorities was short.’

It resolved to send the council’s human rights commissioner, Thomas
Hammarberg, to Armenia to report back in September on the questions of the
investigation demanded by PACE and the release of detainees.

Colombier, one of the two rapporteurs, told Radio Liberty, `Armenia is
waiting for us to help it and not just condemn it. The authorities in
Armenia ought to prove that Armenia is climbing out of the pit which it fell
into accidentally after March 1.’

Raffi Hovannissian, leader of the Heritage Party and one of the few
opposition members included in the delegation to Strasbourg, walked out of
the session in protest, saying he was suspending his own cooperation with
PACE, `until Armenia meets both its own and European standards.’

`Armenia has failed its democracy test,’ he said. `There are still dozens of
political prisoners here and they should be freed now, not next January.’

Stepan Safarian, a member of parliament from the Heritage Party, called the
resolution `another plausible lie’, which he said gave the impression that
the Armenian government was instituting reforms when it was not actually
doing so. What was needed, he said, was deep institutional reform, which the
government was currently avoiding.

Alexander Iskandarian, director of the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan, said
the decision to postpone a decision was not unexpected.

`PACE has no interest in subjecting Armenia to tough sanctions, as was the
case previously with Belarus,’ he said. `PACE is interested in getting rid
of the tension and crisis in the country, and it prefers to do that sitting
at the negotiation table, not in a tough confrontation.’

The authorities and pro-government parliamentarians say that they have made
real progress in meeting PACE’s demands. They point, for example, to a
commission of enquiry formed to investigate the events of March 1-2.

Naira Zohrabian, a member of parliament with the pro-government Prosperous
Armenia party said it was `unprecedented’ that this commission included
representatives from outside parliament.

Ter-Petrosian has refused to take part in the commission. Hovannissian,
meanwhile, proposed that two members of parliament arrested after the March
1-2 trouble, Myasnik Malkhasian and Sasun Mikaelian, should be invited onto
the commission – a suggestion that was turned down.

At a recent rally in Yerevan, Ter-Petrosian said his only demand for the
moment was for the release of political prisoners. If that happened, he
said, he was ready to enter into a dialogue with the authorities.

The prosecutor’s office insists there are no political prisoners in Armenia,
but Ter-Petrosian says that any members of his opposition movement now in
detention were arrested on political charges.

According to chief prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepian, 46 out of the 115 people
detained have been released.

The new PACE resolution is being seen as a provisional victory for President
Sarkisian. The confrontation between opposition and government is likely to
continue for the remainder of the year.

Harutiun Khachatrian, an analyst with Noyan Tapan news agency, said the
decision would allow the president to buy more time to consolidate his
power.

Levon Zurabian, a leading member of Ter-Petrosian’s Popular Movement, noted
that at least the resolution kept the Armenian government under PACE’s
supervision. with the threat of sanctions still hanging over it.

Opposition groups did have occasion to celebrate another decision coming out
of Strasbourg. The European Court of Human Rights ruled on June 17 that the
Armenian government had acted illegally by revoking the broadcasting license
of pro-opposition television station A1+ in 2002. The government was ordered
to pay a 20,000 euro fine.

Terry Davis, secretary general of the Council of Europe, welcomed the ruling
as a victory for freedom of speech.

However, it is not clear if and when the station will be allowed to start
broadcasting again.

One point in the PACE resolution, calling for A1+’s license to be restored,
was taken out after pro-government deputies argued it was up to the national
broadcasting commission to hold an open tender process for licenses.

The director of A1+, Mesrop Movsisian, told IWPR that a new range of
frequencies would become available this autumn, and his company would be
among the bidders.

Rita Karapetian is a journalist with the Noyan Tapan news agency in Yerevan.

UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT URGES BETTER CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN GUAM

RosBusinessConsulting
02.07.20089
Russia

Ukraine firmly believes that a correct format should be sought in order
to hold constructive talks to resolve disputes in frozen conflict zones
within GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova), said Ukrainian
President Viktor Yushchenko during a plenary meeting of GUAM’s third
summit. Yushchenko noted that, for some of the conflicts, there was
no effective format for talks. Specifically, the parties can find
ways of settling conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South
Ossetia if an effective dialog is established, Yushchenko stressed. He
added that there had been great progress towards the resolution of
the Transnistrian conflict, as both Moldova and Transnistria approved
of the plan to settle the matter which was proposed by Ukraine.

MONETARY BASE REDUCES BY 2.5% AND BROAD MONEY GROWS BY 0.7 IN ARMENIA IN MAY

NOYAN TAPAN

JU NE 3

As of May 31, 2008, monetary base amounted to 394bn 556m drams
(nearly 1bn 285m USD) in Armenia reducing by 10bn 5m drams or 2.5%
compared with the previous month.

According to preliminary data transferred by the Central Bank of
Armenia (CBA) to the RA National Statistical Service, as of May 31,
broad money made 697bn 152m drams growing by 4bn 752m drams or 0.7%
compared with the previous month.

The balance of population’s deposits with banks amounted to 195bn
743m drams as of the same day, growing by 3bn 443m drams or 1.8%
compared with the previous month and by 62bn 532m drams or 46.9%
on the same period of the previous year.

As of May 31 2008, the the number of banks (having a privilege to
carry out banking activity) functioning in the RA territory made 22
and the total number of bank branches 356.

AUTHORITIES CARRY OUT SERIOUS REFORMS AFTER MARCH 1 EVENTS, EDUARD SHARMAZANOV ASSURES

NOYAN TAPAN
July 1

The Republican Party of Armenia has not officially discussed the issue
of the National Assembly Speaker’s change either at the sitting of the
Executive Body or the Board. Eduard Sharmazanov, the RPA Spokesperson,
said at the July 1 press conference.

According to him, only the issue of nomination of candidature of
Hovik Abrahamian, the Head of the RA President’s Administration,
at electoral district N 17 was discussed.

E. Sharmazanov said that according to RPA, democracy should have no
alternative in Armenia, therefore, the adoption of PACE Resolution
N 1620 is appreciated. It contains positive responses on reforms
carried out in RA in the last months.

"The opposition should realize that the struggle should proceed
on the ideological field. Changes of personalities is not a
democratic approach. A sound criticism is needed," E. Sharmazanov
said. According to him, the opposition should present its approaches
over issues of foreign policy, economic development, Nagorno Karabakh
problem. "Levon Ter-Petrosian’s expression that he does not seek
power is unintelligible. Why does he wish to destabilize the situation
then?," E. Sharmazanov asked with bewilderment.

According to him, the authorities carry out serious reforms after
the March 1 events. As for those in custody, according to him, those
committing a crime should be punished and "those arrested groundlessly
should be released."

ARMENIA DOES NOT PLAN TO JOIN NATO – PRESIDENT

Interfax News Agency
June 27 2008
Russia

Armenia does not plan to join NATO, Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan said."We have always said and are saying now that Armenia’s
foreign political agenda does not envision accession to NATO,"
Sargsyan said in an interview published in Kommersant on Friday.

"Armenia finds it beneficial to be a member of the CSTO [the Collective
Security Treaty Organization]," Sargsyan said. "We have built our
armed forces on the basis of the Soviet doctrine, and they are armed
with Soviet military hardware. Almost all the weapons we have today
are either Soviet or Russian," Sargsyan said. "All this needs to be
maintained, modernized, and replenished. The CSTO provides for such
a chance. We have privileged conditions for military-technological
cooperation there and are content with this," he said.

Talking about the settlement of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh,
Sargsyan said, "The Azeri leadership is saying that the conflict could
be resolved in a military way. I believe that at least two people –
the supreme commander-in-chief and the defense minister – should
therefore presume that military actions could start even tomorrow."

"However, I do not consider this a proper way to resolve the
problem. We can settle everything in a peaceful way," he said.