Author: Jidarian Alex

TEN YEARS FOR FORMATION OF ARMENIA’S SECURITIES MARKET

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
July 27 2007

YEREVAN, July 27. /ARKA/. Ten years are required for complete formation
of Armenia’s securities market, said Chairman of the Central Bank
of Armenia (CBA) Tigran Sargsyan. According to him, the rates of
development of Armenia’s securities market are conditions by the rate
of implementation of programs of the OMX operator, which intends to
purchase the Armenian Stock Exchange (ArmEx) and the depositary.

"The terms of development of Armenia’s securities market are acceptable
for Armenia, and the principal program is the OMX’s entry to Armenia’s
market," Sargsyan said.

According to him, the CBA is rendering assistance to the development
of Armenia’s securities market by affording enterprises ampler
opportunities to enter Armenia’s financial market, offering new
instruments to them.

‘We are making our first steps in the development of securities
market, and it is natural that the companies that will be the first
to issue their bonds on the market will be able to make use of the
CBA’s assistance," Sargsyan said.

He pointed out that the bonds of the CBA-rated companies will be
equaled to government bonds as to their reliability and liquidity
during REPO transactions between the CBA and commercial banks.

He pointed out that all the companies have equal rights to be rated
by the CBA. Sargsyan added that the CBA has no intention to limit
the terms of this instrument.

"Specifically, the Valleta Company with its initial public offering is
supposed to set an example to all the organizations seeking alternative
sources of financing and play an essential role in the reduction of
shadow economy," Sargsyan said.

In September 2005, the CBA published the first rating of Armenia’s
enterprises. The CBA was monitoring 30 enterprises in 2005, with 15
of them getting the first-calls ratings. If enterprises get higher
ratings, the CBA publishes their names with their consent.

The CBA is ready to accept bonds of the companies with high ratings
(A, B, C) as a security during REPO transactions banks. A privileged
scale of credit risks during the allocation of bank credits is intended
for the highly rated companies.

The CBA-published rating includes 29 enterprises.

WEAK DEMAND FROM U.S. FURTHER ERODES ARMENIA POLISHED DIAMOND SECTOR
By Avi Krawitz

Diamonds.net, NY
July 26 2007

RAPAPORT… The Republic of Armenia’s polished diamond output fell
35 percent to AMD 25 billion (about $74 million) in the first six
months of 2007, continuing what has become a four year long decline
in the industry.

Gagik Mkrtchian, head of the precious stones and jewelry department
at the Armenian Ministry of Trade and Economic Development, explained
the decrease is lead by weak demand for diamond jewelry from consumers
in the United States.

Other factors affecting Armenia’s diamond decline, Mkrtchian explained,
included the appreciation of the country’s currency, Armenian Drams,
against the dollar, and a shortfall in anticipated deliveries of
rough diamonds from Russia.

Armenia signed an agreement with Russia in 2001 whereby local companies
would process up to 400,000 carats of Russian rough annually. The
quota was subsequently raised to 450,000 carats for 2005 and 2006,
but only a fraction of that actually was delivered in 2005 while no
rough arrived in 2006, Armtown reported.

Armtown noted that Armenia’s polished diamond output, once a priority
industry for the country, had declined from AMD 117 billion ($345
million) in 2004 to AMD 93 billion ($273 million) in 2006.

Mkrtchian said the bulk of the Armenia’s current rough supply was
coming from Israel and Belgium.

Separately, Armenia’s National Statistical Service reported the
country’s economy grew 11.2 percent in the first half of 2007.

"PYUNIK" GOES TO THE SECOND ROUND

armradio.am
26.07.2007 15:33

In the response game of the first round of the UEFA Champions League,
on July 25 in Yerevan "Pyunik" of Yerevan defeated the Irish Derry City
2:0. the goals were scored by Arsen Avetisyan and Gevorg Ghazaryan.

Let us remind that the fisrt game in Ireland ended 0:0. as a result
of the two matches "Pyunik" went to the second round, where it
will compete with "Shakhtyor" of Donetsk (Ukraine). The matches are
scheduled for July 31 (Yerevan) and August 7 (Donetsk).

5 OUT OF 8 MEMBERS OF NEWLY FORMED CEC ARE FROM ITS CURRENT STAFF

Noyan Tapan
Jul 26, 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. Five out of eight members of the newly
formed RA Central Electoral Commission assuming its powers from August
6 are from its current staff. In particular, ARFD will be represented
by the current CEC Secretary, Hamlet Abrahamian, RPA by its current
Vice-Chairman Abram Bakhchagulian, the Orinats Yerkir Party and the
RA Council of Court Chairmen by current CEC members Sona Sargsian
and Ashot Abovian. In all probability, the current CEC Chairman,
Garegin Azarian will be again appointed in the new staff of CEC.

Karen Poladian, the Head of the Department for Generalization of
Judicial Practice of Judicial Board, is the representative to be
appointed from the staff of judicial servants by the RA Council of
Court Chairmen. The Zharangutiun (Heritage) party having received the
power to appoint a CEC member for the first time, as a result of the
May 12 elections, will be represented by a senior lecturer at the
Armenian State Economic University, Zoya Tadevosian, and Bargavach
Hayastan by the Director of the Gagik Tsarukian charity fund,
Haroutiun Shahbazian.

At the first sitting to be convened on August 6, CEC will elect
a chairman, a vice-chairman, and a secretary from its current
staff. According to the Electoral Code, all 41 district electoral
commissions will be formed and will start working 15 days after CEC’s
assuming its powers.

USA: NOT ONLY WEAPONS, BUT ALSO DIPLOMACY SHOULD ALSO BE USED BY TURKEY TO TACKLE PKK PROBLEM

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.07.2007 18:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A military option alone is not enough to resolve
the Kurdish issue, diplomatic efforts should also be exerted to tackle
the PKK problem, US Brigadier General Robert Holmes, deputy director
of operations at US Central Command stated.

"Turkey must make use of diplomacy to resolve the terrorist issue of
the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

As to possible supplies of weapons to PKK by the United States, I must
see the reports on such an argument before answering this question,"
Holmes said.

Ankara is going to launch a cross-border operation into northern
Iraq against PKK fighters. According to media, currently Turkey has
concentrate a 135 000 contingent near the Iraqi border. The Turkish
Prime Minister and Chief of General Staff have repeatedly stated on
the possibility to launch military operations against Kurds.

TURKISH PRIME MINISTER BANS CALLING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE "ALLEGED"
By Harut Sassounian, Publisher, The California Courier

AZG Armenian Daily #139
25/07/2007

Genocide Issue

The Prime Minister of Turkey Receb Tayyip Erdogan has reportedly
issued a confidential decree (No. 2007-18) on July 3 banning the
use of the term "sozde" (alleged or so-called) when referring to the
Armenian Genocide.

The news of this "secret" directive was made public on July 19 by
Turkish "Ulusal Kanal" TV and its website and reposted on several
other news sites since then.

Turkish denialists reacted angrily to this decree, accusing the
Prime Minister of undermining their efforts against the Congressional
resolution on the Armenian Genocide.

Turkish officials and reporters never fail to refer to the Armenian
Genocide as the "so-called" or "alleged" genocide, thus casting
doubt on the mass killings of Armenians by the Turkish government,
1915 to 1923.

According to Erdogan’s decree, henceforth the Armenian Genocide should
be described in official statements and public discourse as the "events
of 1915" or "Armenian allegations regarding the events of 1915."

The Prime Minister’s office has reportedly sent this decree to all
state institutions, including all ministries, governors, mayors,
universities, courts, and the General Chief of Staff.

Erdogan is said to have stated in his decree that he was taking this
action on the basis of a resolution adopted by the Council of Europe
in February 2005.

This probably is a reference to a recommendation by several Turkish
non-governmental organizations in February 2005 to cleanse Turkish
textbooks of "xenophobia, machismo and ultra-nationalism." The
proposal was the result of a three-year study funded by the European
Commission. Ulusal Kanal explained that the Council of Europe had
called on Turkey to refrain from using certain disparaging words and
phrases in referring to Armenians and Greeks in Turkish textbooks.

The European Parliament has adopted a number of resolutions since 1987
urging the government of Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide,
if it wished to join the European Union. However, the EU has not made
such recognition a requirement for Turkish membership.

Erdogan has reportedly ordered that his decree remain confidential,
while mandating its implementation by all officials and society at
large. In the coming days, it remains to be seen whether Turkish
government officials and the media will indeed stop referring to the
Armenian Genocide as "alleged" or "so-called," especially Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul, who makes frequent denialist statements on
the Armenian Genocide.

If the news of this decree proves to be accurate, it would be widely
criticized by Turkish denialists, while being hailed by Europeans
as a sign of progress by Turkey on the taboo subject of the Armenian
Genocide.

It is noteworthy that when Prime Minister Erdogan first came to
power, he made cautious statements when asked about the Armenian
Genocide. Notably, he did not deny the fact of the Armenian Genocide,
but simply stated that "these events" must be researched or looked
into to find out what really happened.

Immediately, the Turkish military establishment and ultra-nationalists
began accusing him of being too pliant in accepting "imposed terms"
for joining the European Union, and not reacting strongly against
Kurdish and Armenian demands. In response, Erdogan started taking
tougher positions against EU membership requirements, the Armenian
Genocide, claims for Kurdish autonomy, the Cyprus conflict, and
Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinians. The Prime Minister wanted to
show his hawkish opponents at home that he was just as good a Turk as
his critics and that they were wrong in accusing him of compromising
Turkey’s national interests.

On the Armenian Genocide issue, he went from saying that he did
not know what really had happened in 1915, to denying outright that
genocide had taken place, claiming that the Turkish nation could not
have committed such a heinous crime. Ironically, while repeatedly
denying the facts of the Armenian Genocide, he was, at the same time,
suggesting that a commission of historians be formed to study whether
such a crime had been committed.

It remains to be seen whether Prime Minister Erdogan, following his
party’s major victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, would
be much less sensitive to the accusations of his opponents. His
newly-revealed decree on banning the term "alleged" Armenian Genocide
could be an early sign that the Prime Minister now feels politically
strong enough to take more liberal and daring positions on a number
of thorny domestic and foreign policy issues, including the Armenian
Genocide.

ARMENIAN ARCHERS RECEIVE NO PERMITS TO TAKE PART IN BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Noyan Tapan
Jul 23, 2007

LEIPZIG, JULY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The World Archery Championship finished
on July 21 in the German city of Leipzig. Those taking the 1-30th
places were given permits to take part in the Beijing-2008 Olympic
Games. In the competition among 173 sportsmen of 78 countries (exercise
M-1) representatives of Armenia, Hovhannes Petrosian and Andranik
Shahnazarian got over the preliminary stage and were included in
the first final (with 128 participants). Hovhannes Petrosian in the
competition with world record-holder Rahiv Vanerjey (India) gained
1254 points and took the 102th place. His rival was the 14th with 1330
points. Andranik Shahnazarian competed with David Barnes (Australia),
who took the 27th place with 1317 points. A. Shahnazarian gained 1243
points and took the 115th place. The Armenian archers’ last hope to
gain the permit for Beijing-2008 is the Europe Championship to be
held in June 2008.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY WELCOMES KARABAKH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Mediamax news agency
23 Jul 07

Yerevan, 23 July: The Armenian Foreign Ministry issued a statement
today in connection with the presidential election held in Nagornyy
Karabakh republic [NKR] on 19 July.

"Holding elections is one of the pledges to ensure democracy and the
rule of the law in Nagornyy Karabakh. The legally-elected government
successfully ensures security and stability in this region even
in the absence of a final settlement. It is clearly mentioned in
the documents of the OSCE and in other international documents that
Nagornyy Karabakh should be a party to the settlement talks, and the
elected authorities should represent the people of Nagornyy Karabakh,"
the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s statement reads.

"Ignoring this election is unfair and is against modern political
values," the statement says.

"In contrast to other conflicts, the population of Nagornyy Karabakh
has always had to ensure its security without the help of the
international community. They achieved similar success in ensuring
democracy and domestic stability," the statement further reads.

Work on Armenian church winding down

Pasadena Star-News (Pasadena, CA)
07/22/2007

By Emanuel Parker, Staff Writer

PASADENA – A flurry of activity and noise surrounds St. Gregory the
Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church as dozens of workers scramble to
meet a September deadline to complete a massive renovation project.

Construction crews unloaded trucks stacked with marble floor tiles
Friday, while other workers hauled sacks of cement, fused metal parts
with torches and noisily hammered steel pieces into place.

Scheduled to be completed two years ago, the sanctuary is now on track
to be consecrated Sept. 8 and 9. On Oct. 1, His Holiness Karekin II,
Catholicos of All Armenians and head of the worldwide Armenian Church,
will visit St. Gregory, 2215 E. Colorado Blvd., to consecrate the main
altar.

The Rev. Baret Yeretzian, who was recently appointed to head the church,
is charged with making sure the sanctuary is finished on time.

"Well, management, of course, and the financial situation – things like
this have been the main reason for the delay," he said. "It should
have been finished almost two years ago. But it wasn’t, so I’m the new
pastor. I’m working very, very hard to make sure we (meet) the new
deadline."

Construction began in 2005 and was scheduled to be completed by year’s
end. The original budget was $2.2 million, but Yeretzian said the final
cost will be nearly $5 million.

But, he said, for Pasadena’s Armenian population of between 25,000 and
30,000 residents, it is worth it.

"The Armenian church is the fortress of our faith," he said. "Without
the Armenian church, the Armenian people would not survive. It’s linked,
intermingled together – the church and our people."

Designed by John Byram of Pasadena, St. Gregory’s will be the largest
Armenian church in Southern California once the renovation is completed.
Its dome will stand 94 feet high, second only in height to the one atop
City Hall. It will be crowned with a 7-foot-tall cross.

Original plans called for a 16,000-square-foot building, but Yeretzian
said the finished structure will be slightly smaller than that.

The church has been in Pasadena since 1948, first on Michigan Avenue and
then at the Colorado Boulevard location on the corner of Craig Avenue.

St. Gregory has a core membership of several hundred worshipers, but
annual celebrations attract visitors from as far away as San Bernardino
and Fresno, swelling attendance to between 1,500 and 2,000 people.

Contact the author of this article:
Email: [email protected]
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4475

Article web link –

MAIN PAGE PHOTO CAPTION: "HOUSE THAT FAITH BUILT" — PLACE OF WORSHIP:
The Rev. Baret Yeretzian stands inside Saint Gregory the Illuminator
Armenian Apostolic Church, which is nearing completion, at 2215 East
Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena on Thursday. The church will be
consecrated September 8-9, 2007. On October 1, His Holiness Karekin II,
Catholicos of All Armenians will visit the church and consecrate the
main altar. (SGVN/Photo by Walt Mancini/SXCity)
Photo web link –

A slide show of 11 photographs featuring the newly constructed St.
Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church can be viewed at this web link:
lder.asp?event=304408

Album Name: St. Gregory the Illuminator
DATE: 7/20/2007
PHOTOGRAPHER: Walt Mancini
EVENT ID: 304408
St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church in Pasadena is
nearing completion after two to three years of construction.

RESULTS OF ARMENIAN-IRANIAN GOOD-NEIGHBORLY PARTNERSHIP OF 15 YEARS
ALREADY VISIBLE

YEREVAN, JULY 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The results of Armenian-Iranian good
neighborly partnership of 15 years are already visible. This was
mentioned at the July 20 meeting between the RA and Iranian Foreign
Ministers, Vardan Oskanian and Manouchehr Mottaki. The latter heads
the IRI delegation of Armenian-Iranian Intergovernmental Commission’s
7th sitting being held in Yerevan.

M. Mottaki briefly presented the activities of the Commission of
bilateral economic cooperation saying that it distinguished itself
with deep discussion of a number of important economic programs. It
was emphasized that today there are all preconditions for doubling
the current commodity circulation.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign Ministry Press and
Information Department, then they exchanged thoughts about regional
problems, relations with Armenia’s and Iran’s neighbors. V. Oskanian
presented the democratic processes in Nagorno Karabakh, the Armenian
side’s evaluations to the latest developments.

At the request of his Armenian counterpart, M. Mottaki presented the
process of negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program. He assured
that Iran tries to smooth over the current disagreements exclusively
through negotiations and to settle the problem within the framework
of the International Atomic Energy Agency.