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Parties to the Protocol on PRTRs Focus on Assistance to Countries and on
Global Promotion of the Protocol

The second meeting of the Working Group of the Parties to the Protocol on
Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers to the Convention on Access to
Information, Public

Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental
Matters (Aarhus Convention) was held at the United Nations in Geneva from 20
to 21 November 2012. The meeting, attended by around 60 delegates from
Governments, non-governmental and international organizations, focused,
among others, on global promotion of the Protocol and strengthening
countries’ capacities in establishing pollutant release and transfer
register (PRTR) systems.

At the meeting, an expert from the Ministry of Environmental Protection of
China expressed interest in collaborating with Parties to the Protocol on
establishing a PRTR

system for the country, and Parties mandated the secretariat and the Bureau
to follow up on possible advisory support to China. Delegates applauded
significant progress achieved by Chile and its PRTR system, used by over
10,000 facilities, which was presented by a representative of the Ministry
of Environment of the country. Participants also welcomed the positive
experience of other countries in Latin America and Central America in
establishing PRTR systems and thanked Spain and the United Nations Institute
on Training and Research for promoting the Protocol in that region.

Furthermore, the Working Group expressed its appreciation to the Republic of
Moldova for the political leadership it had provided to the promotion of the
PRTR Protocol at the side events during the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio+20 Conference). To further the Protocol’s
global promotion, the Working Group agreed on a format for a joint global
round table on PRTRs to take place in Geneva on 19 November 2013 under the
auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
and UNECE.

Another highlight of the meeting was “PRTR speed dating”, an informal
thematic bilateral session specifically designed to match countries’ needs
with available technical assistance from countries with developed PRTR
systems. The positive outcomes from the session included the provision of
free open-source PRTR database software, assistance with setting up a PRTR
and advice on release measurement and estimation methodologies for countries
that are in the process of establishing PRTR registers, in particular in
Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia and in South-East Europe.
Thematic surveys carried out by the secretariat were used to help in
matching, as they provide significant data and useful background information
for assistance and show the specific technical needs and remaining problems
related to pollutant monitoring and releases in countries.

Delegates also debated a proposal on promoting the Protocol in countries in
Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia put forward by Belarus, and
mandated Belarus and Armenia to hold further consultations with national
focal points from those countries and to report to the Working Group at its
next meeting in 2013.

In addition, the Working Group started preparations for the second session
of the Protocol’s Meeting of the Parties, to take place in 2014 in the
Netherlands at the invitation of the Dutch Government. Parties agreed on the
procedures with regard to preparing a work programme for 2014-2017 and a
strategic plan for 2015-2020, but failed to reach consensus on future
financial arrangements under the Protocol and specifically whether the
scheme of contributions to support the work programme should remain
voluntary for the next intersessional period.

Transport and mobility are critical to economic activity and our daily life.
If we consider all its ramifications, transport-related activity can account
for up to 20% of gross domestic product.

But transport also affects our health and our environment through
congestion, air pollution, greenhouse gas and noise emissions and road
accidents. And most of these are exacerbated in urban agglomerations.
Countries therefore need to find innovative policy responses to minimize the
negative impact of transport.

On 14 November, policymakers and technical experts from the transport,
environment and health sectors examined these issues in depth at THE PEP
2012 Symposium

During the Symposium, panelists explored the many challenges arising in
today’s urban centres, with a view towards the city of the future, one that
supports green growth, low emissions and encourages healthy lifestyles
through, e.g. eco-driving, e-mobility and active (non-motorized) transport
such as walking and cycling.

Moving into its second decade The Symposium preceded the 10th anniversary
session of Steering Committee of the Transport, Health and Environment
Pan-European Programme (THE PEP). The discussions “Green and Health-friendly
Mobility for Sustainable Urban Life”.

For further information, please visit:

or contact Ella Behlyarova at: [email protected]

JOURNALIST GETS PRISON SENTENCE FOR PRAISING DINK MURDER

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 10 2012

A journalist in Samsun was sentenced to a one year and 11-month prison
term for praising a crime and inciting hatred in a newspaper article
where he supported the murder of Hrant Dink.

Hrant Dink, the Armenian-Turkish journalist, was shot dead outside the
Agos newspaper office in Å~^iÅ~_li on Jan. 19, 2007. In the ensuing
investigation the police arrested the gunman, Ogun Samast, and his
accomplice, Yasin Hayal. Samast was ultimately sentenced to 22 years
and ten months imprisonment on charges of “premeditated murder” and
“unlicensed possession of weapons,” and Hayal was found guilty of
soliciting Dink’s murder — giving Samast the idea and supplying him
with a weapon and money — and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Journalist Okan BaÅ~_ praised Samast and Dink’s killing in a column he
wrote for Statuko, a bimonthly magazine in Samsun. BaÅ~_ was sentenced
to one year and three months in prison for inciting hatred under
Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). In his column titled
“Gentlemen, what harm have the nationalists done to you?” BaÅ~_,
managing editor of the magazine, wrote: “You know, a young man like
Ogun Samast has been condemned to serve a heavy penalty for shooting
Hrant, who said that ‘A Turk’s blood is filthy’. He did a good thing,
didn’t he?”

BaÅ~_ continued in his column: “If the state does not do what it
needs to do, and tolerates the foreigner who says “Turkish blood is
filthy,” if the state runs over the principles of nationalism trying
to ingratiate itself with the Armenians, then people will rise up
and do something about it. It doesn’t mean a thing to put this man
on a trial.”

The “Say Stop to Racism and Nationalism!” group filed a lawsuit against
BaÅ~_, and a criminal complaint was issued for offenses including
praising the crime and the criminal, provoking hatred and enmity,
and incitement to commit a crime, as well as insulting the memory of
a deceased person.

The trial concluded in October, and Samsun Second Criminal Court Judge
Murat Sarıyıldız recently announced the sentence of one year and 11
months in total; 15 months according to the Article 215 of the TCK for
“praising the crime and the criminal,” and eight months according to
Article 216 for “provoking hatred.” The punishment has been postponed
for five years.

Hakan Bakırcıoglu, an attorney for the Dink family, commented that
the verdict was fair and added, “All the things that were written
against Dink created an atmosphere of a lynch mob that led to his
eventual murder. Punishing such behavior will prevent other similar
incidents.”

Attorney Bakırcıoglu added that this particular case was one of
the few in which Article 216 was properly applied.

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTERS SIGN BILATERAL COOPERATION PROGRAMS FOR 2013 IN MOSCOW

Mediamax News Agency
Dec 11 2012
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. Defense ministers of Armenia and Russia, Seyran
Ohanyan and Sergey Shoigu, discussed issues of strategic and
military-technical cooperation in Moscow on December 11.

The sides also summarized the results of defense ministries’ activity
in 2012 and signed bilateral cooperation programs for 2013.

On the same day, Seyran Ohanyan met with his Belarusian counterpart
Yuri Zhadobin in Moscow.

Armenian Defense Minster also took part in the regular session of
CIS Council of Defense Ministers. A number of issues related to
multilateral cooperation between defense ministries of CIS member
states have been discussed at the session and a decision was made to
boost further cooperation.

PARLIAMENT APPROVES ARMENIAN 2013 BUDGET DRAFT

Global Insight
December 10, 2012

The Armenian National Assembly has passed the 2013 state budget for
2013, with 71 votes for the draft and 37 against it, ARIMINFO reports.

The budget deficit is targeted at 119.7 billion Armenian drams (USD294
million), just marginally below the reported original plan. Meanwhile,
it leaves the deficit/GDP ratio at 2.6% as in the draft put forward by
the government (seeArmenia: 6 November 2012:). As reported earlier,
the budget is based on an economic growth rate of 6.2%, while the
central inflation target is kept at 4%.

Significance:The new budget comes as Armenia approaches a presidential
election in February. The government is pledging to improve its tax
collection by making the system more transparent and fair – an issue
that, notwithstanding some noted progress, also continues to top the
agenda of Armenia’s IMF-supported transition programme. In addition to
improvement in budget administration, the budget specified enhancement
of competitiveness and development of human capital as key areas of
focus. The planned deficit implies narrowing of the fiscal imbalance
compared to the 2012 target, while the attention to structural reforms
is also a positive feature in the budget plan. However, the fiscal
plans come with risks, given that the growth assumption used as a basis
for it seems to be too optimistic to IHS Global Insight. Then again,
the current macroeconomic policy framework and goals are promising,
and the government seems to be aware of the importance of securing
macroeconomic stability, especially in the current challenging external
environment, where remittance and investment inflows are subject to
major uncertainty. In any case, the budget plans should be responsible
to secure unproblematic continuation of Armenia’s IMF programs.

EU FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL APPROVES PARTNERSHIP PROTOCOL WITH ARMENIA

December 11, 2012 – 17:27 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – EU Foreign Affairs Council adopted a decision on
the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of a protocol to the
Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the Republic of Armenia,
which will allow the participation of Armenia in EU programs. It
forwarded the draft decision on conclusion of the protocol to the
European Parliament for its consent.

The protocol stipulates for the European Commission and Armenia to
sign memorandums of understanding for every program, determining the
extent of the country’s involvement and financial participation.

The list of programs includes cooperation the following sectors:
tax and customs, financial control, consumers’ rights, justice,
countering terrorism and organized crime, healthcare and others.

POLICE CALL ON ACTIVISTS, PUBLIC, TO HELP PROTECT “SYMPHONY OF STONES”

16:09, December 11, 2012

Responding to a letter sent by the Trchkan Civic Initiative regarding
the ongoing defilement of the Symphony of Stones natural site in
the Garni Gorge, the Police Department says their investigation is
continuing and they have launched road patrols to monitor traffic to
the area.

The police state they are even contemplating the feasibility of
erecting barricades around the site.

Nevertheless, the police confess that a permanent solution requires
that the Symphony of Stones site be granted legal landmark status.

The police also call on environmental activists and the public in
general to remain vigilant and to immediately report any future
attempts to exploit the site for commercial or personal use.

ARMENIA OFFERS GOOD ODDS ON DOOMSDAY BETS

MOSCOW, December 11 (RIA Novosti) – So you think the world as we know
it has only 10 days left and counting? If you act now, you can win
888 drams per 1 dram with a bet in Armenia.

The 888-to-1 odds on doomsday happening on Dec. 21 were offered on
Tuesday by Armenian bookmaker Vivaro, the latest bookie to join the
end-of-the-world craze.

Several other online bookmakers are currently taking the same bet,
though their odds hover around 500-to-1, which makes the Armenian
offer more attractive.

Aptly titled bookmaker Quirkybet.com had offered the million-to-one
odds for the 2012 doomsday, but the bet was removed from the
bookmaker’s website as of Tuesday evening. It remained unclear whether
the bookmaker had any insider information.

Past ends of the world have been known to have attracted a
1,000,000-to-1 bet on at least one occasion in 2008, when the Large
Hadron Collider was launched to expectations that it would create a
black hole that would swallow the Earth. The bookmaker William Hill
earned 119 British pounds ($190) at the time.

Australian bookmaker Sportsbet also offers the opportunity to bet on
the exact method of how the Apocalypse will be delivered next week.

“Spread of a new incurable killer virus” leads with odds of 21-to-1,
while “eaten alive by zombies” is the least likely option with the
potential payout of $1,001 per $1 bet. Options on offer also include
“another Big Bang,” “engulfed in lava” and “alien invasion.”

None of the bookmakers explained how any winnings are to be collected
in a post-apocalyptic world, though Sportsbet admitted it may be
problematic.

BRAZILIAN GUITAR PLAYER JOAO KOUYOUMDJIAN TO PERFORM IN YEREVAN

ARMINFO
Tuesday, December 11, 17:30

The Embassy of Brazil in Yerevan together with the Armenian
Philharmonic Orchestra is organizing a concert in commemoration of the
20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between
the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Republic of Armenia. The
concert will take place in Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall on December
14, 2012, at 19:00, with the participation of Joao Kouyoumdjian,
a Brazilian guitar player of Armenian descent, and the Armenian
Philharmonic Orchestra. The musical pieces of Brazilian and Armenian
renowned composers such as Villa- Lobos, Antonio Carlos Gomes, Aram
Satian, Prokofyev, Bernstaine will be performed during the concert.

GRIGORY AYVAZYAN MAY COMPETE WITH ILHAM ALIYEV IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Artak Barseghyan

“Radiolur”
18:26 11.12.2012

Azerbaijan disrupted the process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict
by pardoning and glorifying murderer Ramil Safarov, President of
the Assembly of Azerbaijani Armenian Grigory Ayvazyan told a press
conference today.

Despite the anti-Armenian disposition of Azerbaijan, Grigory Ayvazyan,
born and raised in Baku, is ready to his native town.

In 2010 Grigory Ayvazyan was trying to become a member of parliament
of Azerbaijan, next year he may compete with Ilham Aliyev in the
presidential elections.

Touching upon the process of settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, Ayvazyan said Azerbaijan disrupted it by pardoning and
glorifying Ramil Safarov, who had axe-murdered sleeping Armenian
Officer Gurgen Margaryan.

According to Ayvazyan, today Azerbaijan poses a threat to regional
security and stability. He added that the key to the pro-Armenian
solution of the Karabakh conflict is in our hands, and must try to
use it correctly. “Azerbaijan lost Karabakh long ago,” he added.

TURKEY CONCERNED OVER ASSAD FALL

tert.am
10.12.12

Syrian rebel fighters are at last allowing themselves to believe what
seemed unthinkable just a few weeks ago, The Guardian reports.

After a bloody three-week siege of Damascus, they are so confident
that they may be on the brink of seizing the capital that they are
allowing themselves to consider what would happen in the chaotic
aftermath of a victory.

And it is not just in Syria that anxiety is growing about what might
follow the fall of the beleaguered Syrian regime. Fear is growing
among its neighbours, too, about what might then ensue.

The security establishment and presidential palace, so far unbending
pillars of state control, are now well within reach, rebel fighters
on the outskirts of Damascus say. But to hold on to the city once it
falls, they believe, means turning their minds to what comes next.

“This time, unlike July [the last co-ordinated assault on Damascus],
the regime are not fighting like they were,” a rebel leader from
Darrya, near the capital, said. “They are shelling us from the
mountain and bombing us with jets. But they seem cautious. We are
dictating terms.”

The southern outskirts of the city are now firmly guerrilla territory.

Rebel groups are openly trying to disrupt flights to the nearby
international airport. “It is a strategic target and we need to
control it,” the rebel leader said. “We must use big ideas these days.”