DAVID SARGSYAN APPOINTED HEAD OF PRESIDENT’S STAFF
armradio.am
23.04.2008 14:35
On April 22 RA President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on appointing
David Sargsyan Head of Staff of the Office to the President.
Before the new appointment David Sargsyan occupied the position of
the Head of the Department of the Policy and Analysis of the Financial
System of the Central Bank of Armenia.
ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET BERNARD FASSIER
Azeri Press Agency
April 22 2008
Azerbaijan
Baku. Tamara Grigoryeva-APA. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian will meet OSCE MG Co-Chair Bernard Fassier in Paris today,
Fassier told APA.
He stated that the meeting would discuss the solution to Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, next visit of co-chairs to the region, organization
of meeting of Presidents of the two countries. The co-chairs are
expected to visit the region within the next 2 weeks.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will meet Armenian
counterpart.
ELECTRIC NETWORK OF ARMENIA TO IMPLEMENT $164MLN INVESTMENT PROGRAM IN 2008-2010
ARKA
April 22, 2008
YEREVAN, April 22. /ARKA/. The electric Network of Armenia plans to
implement a 51bln AMD ($164.4mln) program in 2008-2010.
According to the draft investment program put on the official website
of the RA Public Services Regulatory Commission, 21.343bln AMD
($68.8mln) are to be invested this year, 20.478bln AMD (about $66mln)
in 2009 and 9.179bln AMD (about $29mln) in 2010.
The program gives priority to renovation, construction and purchase of
distribution networks, modernization of the energy registration system,
purchase of licenses for Microsoft operating systems and software,
equipment, repair of administrative offices and production buildings,
purchase of computers and office furniture, etc..
The investment program is aimed to improve the service quality in
conformity with new international standards. Emphasis will be laid
on the improvement of the quality service in Yerevan. Under the
program a total of 7.2bln AMD (about $23.2mln) are to be allocated
for this purpose.
The implementation of the program will allow the Electric Network
of Armenia to reduce the average annual frequency and duration of
power cuts, ensure safe operation of power distribution networks and
considerably improve the quality of services.
The INTER RAO EES Company (Russia), daughter of the RAO EES Rossii
(60%) and of Rosenergoatom (40%), is full owner of the Electric
Network of Armenia Company.
The Electric Network of Armenia Company has 12 branches, with five
of them in Yerevan, and serves about 935,000 customers.
CONCERT FOR THE LISTENERS IN STRASBURG
Arthur Hovhannisyan
Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on April 18, 2008
Armenia
These days the press belonging to Armenian Pan National Movement has
raised a great hullabaloo, regarding the alleged air-deprivation of
GALA TV Station in Gyumry. But what is going on in reality?
As we know according to April 14 decision of the Appeal Court, the
February 29, 2008, decision of the Court of General Jurisdiction of
Shirak Marz was left unchanged. According to the decision CHAP CJSC
was obliged to take the transmitter belonging to GALA TV Station from
Gyumry TV-tower, because the latter is not the property of the before
mentioned CJSC or the TV station and the company was illegally using
the tower belonging to the municipality.
By the way the press belonging to Armenian Pan National Movement
doesn’t deny the fact that the TV-tower belongs to Gyumry municipality,
but anyway…
Should we underscore that the right to property is respected and
protected all over the world? And that it is subject to court
protection, that no one has the right to violate this right, even
if this violator is the TV Company acting as "the champion of the
freedom of speech and opinion".
There are various decisions on the protection of the right to property
both in Armenian and many European courts. Should we remind you about
them? What happened? Why are these people in such panic? Or maybe
applying double standards has become very close to their hearts.
Can you imagine if one of us decides one day to install his/her
satellite on the roof of the house of the founder of GALA TV Company
Vahan Khachatryan, without asking him? Does he have the right to
remove it and throw away? Of course he has. In such circumstances
how can they speak about the pressure on the freedom of speech?
The activists of Armenian Pan National Movement are well aware of the
truth, but anyway they don’t stop distorting the facts. The goal is
quite clear. The issue of the "State of the Democratic Institutions
in Armenia" is in the process of discussion in PACE and they must do
their best to contribute to the adoption of anti-Armenian resolution,
by means of evident falsehood and fabrication.
For example GALA TV Company is acting de facto, whereas they have
announced about the alleged air-deprivation of the TV Company, it is
like the evident lie spread by L. Ter-Petrosyan saying that allegedly
there are 150 political prisoners in Armenia.
We shouldn’t forget that according to article 299 of RA Criminal Code:
1. High treason, i.e. siding with the enemy, espionage, transfer
of state secrets to a foreign state or foreign organization, or
assisting in the implementation of hostile action committed by a
citizen of the Republic of Armenia, against the self-government,
territorial inviolability or external security of the Republic of
Armenia, is punished with imprisonment for the term of 10 to 15 years,
with or without property confiscation.
The recent two years’ activity of Levon’s supporters testifies
to the before mentioned, the only thing left to do is to make the
consequences complete.
According to MEDIAMAX Armenia’s Chief Compulsory Executor refuted the
announcements saying that the day before his employees have dismantled
the transmitter belonging to Gyumry’s GALA TV Company, after which the
latter has been deprived of air. According to the executive papers the
Compulsory Executive Bodies had the right to dismantle the transmitter
but they didn’t, they were limited to forewarnings.
G. Ayvazyan also said the satellite belonging to GALA TV Company still
remains on the roof of Gyumry’s Municipality and the TV Company can
be legally broadcasted in case of terminating the court procedure.
Therefore, the concert of the champions of freedom of speech is for
the listeners in Strasburg.
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CONFERENCE IN TBILISI
Panorama.am
16:01 18/04/2008
On 19 April a conference devoted to Armenian Genocide will be held
in Tbilisi. The conference is named "Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923;
View from Tbilisi, Istanbul, Yerevan". In the frameworks of the
conference the historians and politicians from Georgia, Turkey and
Armenia will make speeches.
The representatives of Georgian Government and scientific
institutions, free experts, priests and intellectuals are invited to
the conference. The event is devoted to the 93 anniversary of Armenian
Genocide in Osman Turkey.
Remind that 20 countries recognized Armenian Genocide: Uruguay,
Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 40 states of the USA, Greece,
Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland,
and other international organizations.
SEVEN ARMENIAN SPORTSMEN TAKE PART IN FIRST FREESTYLE WRESTLING OLYMPIC RATING TOURNAMENT
Noyan Tapan
April 17, 2008
YEREVAN, APRIL 17, NOYAN TAPAN. The first International Freestyle
Rating Tournament started in the city of Martingi of Switzerland on
April 16.
Gegham Babakhanian (55 kg, Yerevan), Martin Berberian (60kg, Yerevan),
Suren Markosian (66 kg, Garni), Ruslan Kokaev (74 kg, Yerevan),
Haroutiun Yenokian (84 kg, Yerevan), Shamil Gitinov (96 kg, Yerevan)
and Ruslan Basiev (120 kg, Yerevan) from Armenia have left for the
given city.
Wrestlers, who will take the first three places, will be given the
"Beijing 2008" pass. The tournament will finish on April 20.
PRESIDENTS OF AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA MAY TAKE PLACE IN NEAR FUTURE
DEFENSE and SECURITY
April 16, 2008 Wednesday
Russia
American chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Matthew Bryza, maintains
that a meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia
may take place in the near future. The presidents will discuss
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.
"The presidents told OSCE Minsk Group chairmen at the NATO summit in
Bucharest that a meeting might take place soon," Bryza said.
TrendNews agency reported Bryza evading questions on details of the
forthcoming meeting between Ilham Aliyev and Serj Sarkisjan.
Khazar Ibragim of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said negotiations
were only possible if "Armenian occupiers released the territories they
seized and Armenia recognized territorial integrity of Azerbaijan."
The widely discussed opinion in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh these
days is that the negotiations have been making no progress and that
Karabakh itself should discuss the matter with Azerbaijan instead
of Armenia. What information is available indicates that Yerevan and
Stepanakert are working on this treaty nowadays.
Armenian then president Robert Kocharjan visited Nagorno-Karabakh on
March 31 and said Armenia had two options to choose from: it could
either recognize sovereignty of Nagorno-Karabakh or sign a collective
defense treaty with it.
TURKISH MPS’ COMMITTEE TO HEAR MURDER CASE GENDARMERIE OFFICERS
Anatolia News Agency
April 17 2008
Turkey
Ankara, 17 April: Head of a human rights committee of the Turkish
parliament said on Thursday [17 April] that the committee would soon
hear a number of gendarmerie officers over a case on the killing of
Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
"In the coming days, these gendarmerie officers will gather with the
committee and we will hear them," Zafer Uskul, chairman, said.
Dink was shot dead outside the offices of his Agos newspaper in
Istanbul in January 2007. Police arrested the gunman and a suspected
associate who was identified as Yasin Hayal.
Acting on the testimonies of two gendarmerie officers who were arrested
on the charges of "neglect of duty", a court in the Black Sea province
of Trabzon ordered a probe against 10 other gendarmerie officers,
including a colonel.
Lawyers of Dink’s family have said in a petition that the "probed
gendarmerie officers had known that Hayal and his friends had been
making plans to kill Dink as early as July 2006 but they had failed
to take necessary measures in an open neglect of duty".
PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Studies Program
Kristy Demas, Coordinator
1080 South University, Suite 3663
Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA
Tel: 734-764-1825
Fax: 734-763-9154
MAJOR INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GEORGIA PLANNED
BY ARMENIAN STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Conference to be broadcast live on the Internet
The Armenian Studies Program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
is pleased to announce the convening of a major international
conference on "Georgia: The Making of a Nation," to be held at the
International Institute of the University on May 15-18, 2008.
More than 30 scholars from Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Turkey, Japan,
Canada and the United States will take part is this unique event. The
themes to be considered by the conference include: "Christian
Georgia: Culture and Identity in the Middle Ages and Early Modern
Period," "The Emergence of Modern Georgian Nationalism," "Diversity
and Unity in the South Caucasus: Discourses of Division," "Expressing
the National, Performing the Nation," "Evolution and Revolution in
Georgian Political Development," and "Challenges of the Modern
Moment: Georgia in the Globalizing World."
Details of the program can be found on the website of the Armenian
Studies program:
The conference is part of the series "Armenia and Its Neighbors." The
conference is open to the general public. Equally important is the
fact that the conference proceedings will be broadcast live on the
Internet. Interested individuals can follow the presentation of papers
and the discussions at the following web address:
sp/asp052008.asx. (Michigan is in
the the Eastern US time zone, the same as New York.)
Professor Ronald Suny is the main convener of the
conference. "Considering the increasing importance of the South
Caucasus region to the international community and of Georgia
particularly, we think this gathering will constitute a milestone that
will not only make this important country known to our audiences but
also bring together scholars from around the world who have devoted
time and energy to understand it," stated Professor Suny. "From the
Armenian point of view," he added, "it is essential that all neighbors
be understood first in their own context."
The conference is co-sponsored by Department of History, the Rackham
Graduate School, the International Institute, the Center for Russian
and East European Studies, the Center for Middle Eastern and North
African Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and by the
American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC, based at the
University of Chicago).
GANIRA PASHAYEVA: "PACE SHOULD NOT APPLY DOUBLE STANDARDS TOWARDS ARMENIA AND IGNORE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THIS COUNTRY"
Today
tics/44255.html
April 14 2008
Azerbaijan
Day.Az interview with Ganira Pashayeva, member of the Azerbaijani
delegation in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly.
-The spring session of PACE will start soon. Which issue will be a
priority for the Azerbaijani delegation?
-Elections were held in Russia, Serbia and Armenia. Naturally, the
discussions will be held in connection with these elections. In
particular, the discussed will be the post-election situation in
Armenia and we will certainly take part in these discussions and
express our opinion.
Official structures of Armenia arranged elections in the occupied
lands of Azerbaijan, which do not comply to the international norms.
Moreover, arrangement of elections in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan
has a negative impact on the conflict settlement through negotiation
and promotes tenseness in the region.
Armenia has previously held elections in the occupied lands
of Azerbaijan and international organizations spoke about the
inadmissibility of such a step. However, Armenians, ignoring the
reaction of the world society, held elections of the President of
Armenia in the occupied lands. We will raise this issue both in
the framework of the assembly and before the Ministers Committee of
the Council of Europe. We want them to react to Armenia’s negative
behavior.
-Will the issues of elections of President in Armenia, which also
influenced Azerbaijan, be discussed? For example, intensive clashes
on the front, which occurred on March 4.
-Of course, mostly, the elections in Armenia are their domestic
affair. We will just focus on the moments, which did not bypass
Azerbaijan, resulting from this situation in Armenia, including,
the intensive violation of ceasefire in the region. After creating
tenseness in Armenia, the powers of this country decided to distract
attention of the world society from their domestic problems and started
provocations on the front line, instead of undertaking civilian steps
to improve the situation.
These were steps, which may create a stir any time. Moreover, we will
stress basic principles of the Council of Europe on observing human
rights and other issues, resulting from it. In this context it should
be noted that double standards should not be applied towards Armenia
and violations of human rights should be taken into account.
Otherwise, this will create distrust to this organization.
-Serzh Sarkissyan has made touch declarations immediately after
inauguration. The parliamentary hearings were arranged on Karabakh.
How should we respond?
-Serzh Sarkissyan’s declarations, made both during the pre-election
campaign and during the inauguration speech, should create concern.
In fact, he is a member of the old team and shows that he will continue
the actions of this team.
It is necessary to hold similar discussions in the Azerbaijani
parliament. Apart from discussing Armenia, we should criticize
position of some Russian parliamentarians, including K.Zarulin,
who said that Armenia should appeal to Russia for recognition of
independence of Nagorno Karabakh. This is Russia’s open support for
separatist republics.
-Armenia voiced official announcements of the necessity to settle
the occupied lands, so that Azerbaijan would make concessions. Why
haven’t there been a reaction to such announcements?
-PACE has adopted the due document, which criticized the
announcements. Moreover, a mission has been arranged including
representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing states. The
final document also stressed inadmissibility of the settlement of
the occupied lands. In this sense, Armenia’s failure to comply with
the resolution and decisions of the Council of Europe, thus ignoring
international law, will be discussed in PACE.