Author: Kalantarian Kevo

AMERIABANK OF ARMENIA EXPECTS 30% INCREASE IN ALL INDICATORS BY END OF 2009

/ARKA/
April 20, 2009
YEREVAN

Ameriabank of Armenia expects a 30% increase in all indicators by
the end of 2009, General Director of Ameriabank closed joint stock
company Artak Anesyan reported.

Back in September, the bank prepared a development scenario for crisis
conditions with basic scenario envisaging from minus 5% to plus 5%
GDP growth, inflation of 8-10% by the end of the year, foreign exchange
rate at 350-370Drams for $1 and up to 1.5% non-standard assets.

Under most pessimistic scenario, non-standard assets were expected
at 5%-20%, he said.

Yet, the bank not only remained within the planned levels, but even
improved some indicators. In particular, non-standards assets were
about 1.3% of all assets, which is quite a high indicator, Anesyan
said.

As a result, the bank overfulfilled the asset growth and profitability
indicators and is ahead of the planned growth rates.

The General Director also said that the bank is planning increasing the
capital at the expense of its profit and raising the credit portfolio.

"I believe that, if we act correctly, we will maintain all indicators,
even if general economic environment gets 5% worse in the country,"
Anesyan said.

Ameriabank closed joint stock company is an investment bank offering
corporate, investments and limited retail services. Ruben Vardanyan
is the Chairman of the bank’s Board of Directors and Artak Anesyan
is the Chairman of Directorate and the General Director.

Troyka Dialog, one of the biggest Russian investment-banking companies,
is a strategic partner of Ameriabank.

The bank’s assets grew by 65.1% up to 80.9bln Drams in the first
quarter of 2009, which is a 3.8-time increase as compared with the
same period of last year.

The bank’s liabilities were 60.4bln Drams in the first quarter of 2009
and total capital was 20.51bln Drams. Authorized stock totaled 18.2bln
Drams by the end of the first quarter. The bank’s credit investments
were 32.8bln Drams in the period with liabilities to clients totaling
53.8bln Drams.

The bank’s net profit after taxes totaled 113.6mln Drams – an increase
of 110.2% or 54mln Drams. ($1=372.84Drams).

RICHARD HOVHANNISYAN URGES CAUTIOUS APPROACH WITH TURKEY

diaspora politics
hetq.am/en/politics/8006/
2009/04/20 | 15:02

At a press conference held earlier today Professor Richard
Hovhannisyan, an American-Armenian historian and father of Heritage
Party leader Raffi Hovannisyan, urged the Armenian government to take
a cautious approach in its dealings with Turkey.

"I hope our authorities clearly know what they are going to demand
from Turkey against the normalization of relations," Professor of the
California University Richard Hovhannisyan said during a scientific
conference in Yerevan dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Adana
Massacres. In his opinion, the more access Armenia has to the outer
world, the better.

"We know that the Turkish side is very experienced, very adroit and
flexible. We should always be cautious and I do hope that our state
has a clear program, which sets our demands," Richard Hovhannisyan
stated. The most important is to have a clear and planned approach,
he added.

"We know that Turks are very flexible and will use the policy of
‘we are in dialogue, don’t disturb the process,’ which we should be
cautious of," Professor Hovhannisyan noted.

HERITAGE PARTY YOUTH TO PICKET U.S. EMBASSY DEMANDING GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

important society
hetq.am/en/society/jarangutyun-12/
2009/04/20 | 13:36

On Tuesday, April 21, at 2:00 pm, young activists and supporters
of the Heritage Party will march from the Martiros Saryan statue in
downtown Yerevan to the U.S. Embassy compound.

There they will present their demand that U.S. President Barack
Obama honor his pledge to recognize the mass killings of 1915-1923
and eviction of Armenians from their historic homeland as the first
genocide of the 20th century.

Concerned members of the public are also invited to participate and
make their voices heard.

Iran’s army main cause of regional stability: Armenian official

Moscow, April 18, IRNA ` Deputy Armenian Defense Minister Ara Nazarian
said on Saturday that the Iranian Army is the main cause of regional
peace and stability.

He made the remark while addressing a ceremony to commemorate the
Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army Day in the Armenian capital city of
Yerevan.

Nazarian added that the Iranian Army guarantees security of its borders
with neighboring states.

Also addressing the ceremony, Colonel Ahmad-Reza Allahdadi, Iran’s
military attaché to Armenia praised combat readiness and high
capability of the Iranian Army in various fields.

Iranian scientists and experts have made significant scientific
achievements in different areas despite economic sanctions imposed on
the Islamic Republic by several western states.

The ceremony to commemorate Iran’s Army Day was attended by a number of
senior Armenian military officials, ranking government authorities,
several Members of Parliament and ambassadors of foreign countries to
Armenia

IN ENERGY TALKS WITH ALIYEV, MEDVEDEV PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR KARABAKH PEACE

2_4/18/2009_1
Friday, April 17, 2009

MOSCOW (Combined Sources)–Russia is Azerbaijan’s friend, neighbor
and strategic partner and we will be developing our relations on
this basis," Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said Friday during talks
with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in Moscow that began with
a focus on energy relations and ended with a pledge by Russian to
"fulfill its mandate" as the region’s arbiter of peace.

Aliyev met with Medvedev in the Kremlin Friday to discuss a deal on
natural gas sales which could undermine the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline,
reported AFP.

The meeting came after Russia and Azerbaijan’s state-run energy
companies last month signed a preliminary deal on natural gas sales
from 2010, which could remove a potential source of gas for Nabucco.

"In my opinion we have a very high chance of entering a full-blown
agreement," Medvedev told reporters after meeting Aliyev at the
Russian leader’s residence outside Moscow.

"For us… diversification of deliveries and the opportunity to enter
new markets is of significant interest… because today Azerbaijani
gas is transported in the Western direction," Aliyev said.

He said Russia was a natural partner for Azerbaijan because the
countries were neighbors and gas export infrastructure was already in
place. "There are no transit countries between our countries. There
is no need for additional investment to build a gas pipeline,"
Aliyev said.

In discussing their plans for expanding energy ties between the two
countries, the two leaders also touted progress in internationally
mediated talks on the longstanding Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In a joint press conference with his Azeri counterpart, Medvedev
said Russia supports the ongoing peace talks between Yerevan and Baku
and is eager to register "maximum progress" in a resolution based on
"the interests of both nations," ArmRadio reported.

Moscow in recent months has stepped up its efforts to reconcile Armenia
and Azerbaijan in what analysts say is a bid to increase its influence
in the Caucasus region.

Medvedev, whose country co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group mediating the
conflict, said he thought the regular meetings between the presidents
of Armenia and Azerbaijan were "very important."

"It is this progress that keeps alive our hope that the conflict will
be settled rather soon," Aliyev was quoted by the AFP as saying.

"The positions of the sides recently became closer to a certain
degree. Some questions that previously seemed hard to solve have
been agreed," Aliyev said, though he added that the lack of results
so far was "disappointing."

Medvedev, for his part, agreed with Aliyev, noting that there have
been some prospects in the peace talks and that he thought "new ideas"
to propel the negotiations forward may soon appear.

"Russia is ready to fulfill its mandate," Medvedev said. "We have
always tried to contribute to the process. I’m sure that the problem
can be solved on the basis of interests of both nations and new
proposals if such contacts continue."

Last November, Russia hosted rare peace talks between the Armenian
and Azeri Presidents. The Russian Kommersant daily reported Friday
that Russia had convinced Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian to take
part in another summit with Azerbaijan’s Aliyev mediated by Medvedev
in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg in June.

The newspaper, not citing any sources, said that Russia was offering
hefty financial support to Armenia and weapons sales to Azerbaijan
as rewards for taking part in the Russian-led peace talks.

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was in Yerevan on
Thursday where he met with President Serzh Sarkisian after attending
a meeting of foreign ministers of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
Organization.

During their talks, Sarkisian and Lavrov discussed Armenia’s relations
with Russia, as well as the Armenian President’s alleged upcoming
visit to Russia.

CHURCH THROWS SUPPORT BEHIND COUPLE FACING DEPORTATION
By Veronica Nett

The Charleston Gazette

Apr il 15 2009
WV

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Victims of war and target of ethnic cleansing,
Ivan and Violetta Petrosyan fled their native country of Azerbaijan
in the 1980s.

For nearly two decades, ethnic prejudice and violence continued to
follow the family until a South Charleston mission group led them to
settle in West Virginia in 2006.

"We couldn’t find a country [where] we belong," Violetta Petrosyan
said Tuesday. " We were harassed and treated wrongly. We had hoped
that in America that proclaims freedom and human rights, we might
get the chance to have a country where we belong."

The couple found what they had been seeking in Charleston, and soon
after arriving on a tourist visa in December 2006 they applied for
political asylum.

Today, an immigration judge in Washington, D.C., will decide whether
the couple can stay in the country that has become their home.

The couple will not face the judge alone. Sixty-nine members of the
First Church of the Nazarene in South Charleston will accompany them
to Washington and if selected will testify on behalf of the Petrosyans.

"The group that is going ranges from 8 years old to 82," said Jenny
Miller, executive assistant of the First Church of Nazarene.

"We have parents who are taking their children out of school that
just feel this experience is something they need to be a part of —
be a part of something that is so much greater themselves."

Ivan, 59, and Violetta, 50, are of Armenian decent. The couple and
their two daughters were born in Azerbaijan, the country bordering
Armenia. Ivan worked as an engineer and Violetta as a teacher.

They were born the "wrong race" in the "wrong country," Miller said.

Even in Azerbaijan, where they made their home, they endured
discrimination because of their race. They remained in the country
until racial tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan escalated in
1988 and the Nagorno-Karabakh War broke out.

Thousands of people were murdered because of their race and about
300,000 Armenians fled the country.

The couple and their daughters, ages 4 and 7, lived in hiding for 13
months before fleeing the country in 1989.

"We waited another year because we loved the country… We just enjoyed
our life even though we were always second-rate people," Petrosyan
said. "[Despite] all of that, it was still our home country. We
couldn’t even imagine leaving. We waited and waited hoping the war
would stop."

It didn’t and the family was forced to flee with just the clothes on
their backs and what little they could fit in backpacks.

After the family fled, a mob ransacked their home and burned their
books and furniture.

"When you’re running, you’re running," Petrosyan said. "We only
left with backpacks. Everything we gained in our happy life there we
left there."

The family fled to Russia, then Ukraine, and even to their home country
of Armenia, but were not welcomed and continued to face discrimination
and racial prejudice.

"We tried to go to Armenia, because it’s our native country," Petrosyan
said. "The Armenians did not believe that we were Armenian anymore. We
had lived in Azerbaijan too long. [They said] we had lived with the
Turkish too long.

"We stayed eight days, and that was enough for us," she said. "We
realized we would never be accepted."

Eventually, the family settled in Volgograd, Russia, and remained
there for 16 years, despite continued racial prejudice.

"The same problems started again. No proper lodging, no jobs, no
money and the people being very hostile because we were ‘black,’"
Petrosyan said.

While living in Volgograd, the family met a group of missionaries from
the First Church of the Nazarene in South Charleston in 1999. The group
helped to build the family’s home and established a relationship that
would span nearly a decade.

The family remained in Russia until 2006 when they again became the
subject of racial oppression.

"Every year the situation would get worse and worse," she said.

In 2006, the Russian government seized their property and once again
their lives were in jeopardy.

They had the opportunity to travel, legally, to the U.S. in December
2006 to visit their daughter, who was living in South Charleston on
a student visa.

"We are just amazed of all the places in the whole world they could
be, they’ve ended up here," Miller said. "We’re very grateful that
God lead them here."

The couple’s daughters are now married and live in Denmark.

Since settling in South Charleston three years ago, they have been
working at the University of Charleston in food service.

Today, the immigration judge will decide whether to grant the couple
full political asylum, which will allow them to apply for a green
card and eventually citizenship. The judge also can rule to not
grant asylum and allow the couple to remain in the country, but they
could not apply for citizenship or leave the country without facing
permanent deportation.

"The third and final option, which be the worst case scenario would
be deportation," Miller said.

The chance that the judge will grant them political asylum is about
one in 100, Miller said.

"We have tremendous faith.’" she said.

Today’s hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. The group will depart from
the South Charleston church at 2 a.m. to make the trip to Washington.

If their request for political asylum is rejected, Petrosyan said
they will begin to prepare to move to Denmark with their daughters
and begin the process again to apply for political asylum.

"They have not been able to find freedom everywhere else," Miller
said. "They have been willing to risk everything for a chance to
enjoy the freedom that Americans have."

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SAYS HE HOPES TO RE-OPEN BORDER WITH TURKEY BY OCTOBER

Southeast European Times
en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2009/04/13/nb- 06
April 14 2009

YEREVAN, Armenia — President Serzh Sargsyan said on Friday (April
10th) he expects his country’s border with Turkey to re-open by
October. "I think I will cross an open border to attend the next
football match [between the two countries’ national teams on October
14th]," he told a press conference in Yerevan. Turkey and Armenia
have had no diplomatic relations for more than a decade. Turkey closed
its border with Armenia in 1993 to support Azerbaijan’s stance in the
Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. Another open issue
is the killings of 1.5 million Armenian civilians by Ottoman Turks
in 1915-1917, which Yerevan insists was genocide. The two neighbours
launched a normalisation process and stepped up official contacts
last year.

On Sunday, however, Turkey reiterated the border cannot open without
a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. "There is an impression
that Turkey will open the border although the Karabakh row is not
resolved. Such an impression is not correct," Yasar Yakis, head of
parliament’s Committee on EU Adjustment, told reporters. (Anadolu
news agency, TRT – 12/04/09; Hurriyet, Reuters, Ansa – 10/04/09)

THIS YEAR’S ELECTION TAUGHT SOME VITAL LESSONS
By Patrick Derohanian

Glendale News Press
April 13 2009
CA

As an Armenian American who has participated in every local, statewide
and national election since I was 18, I truly believe we learned
more from this loss than any other ("Yousefian out, Friedman in,"
Wednesday). As a community, we have begun an important cleansing
process that will eventually help us in coming to terms with our
mistakes.

With this election, many Armenians like myself realized that
the Armenian National Committee has proven to be a lap dog for
special interest groups, not Armenian Americans, and in doing so,
has created an opportunity for us all to realize our mistakes and
correct them. Many of us believe it is crucial to have Armenian
American representation, but it is just as important to have competent
representatives. Hopefully, these results will create some much-needed
change in committee leadership as well as a change in the thought
processes of many voters.

Racism is a huge issue in our city. I have seen it and I have lived
it, both in our schools and in the public realm in general. But it
is also apparent that thoughtful non-Armenian Americans will vote for
Armenian candidates — as long as they reach out to the whole community
and execute their decisions in a professional manner. That is what
we saw last week with the election of Greg Krikorian, Ara Najarian,
Armine Hacopian and Ardy Kassakhian, who won with large numbers of
votes that included both Armenian and non-Armenian support. Krikorian
was a shining example.

Winning with 11,700 votes, a truly collective number of Armenian and
non-Armenian votes, Krikorian’s victory was a clear indicator of the
"common sense" movement I have been discussing. Kassakhian also proved
to be a shining star. Despite no one running against him, he garnered
12,406 votes, a clear collective indication of his outstanding job
performance. Well done.

Despite recent victories, there continue to be Armenian American
candidates who believe they have a lot to offer the city, when, in
reality, all they have to offer is either fear-mongering or political
tactics — candidates such as Naira Khachatrian, Hasmig Aslanian,
Vartan Gharpetian, etc. I think it’s about time that these individuals
come to terms with the obvious fact that they are splitting votes
and just making fools out of themselves.

Some of these individuals have lost time and time again, and others
thought they had a good chance with their petty schemes to lure votes
via council member paycheck donations. For these candidates, I have
two words: bon voyage. As voters, we disregarded these foolish antics,
and we are ready to continue fighting the next round.

Most importantly, however, I believe that the agents of incompetence
will not be as safe as they thought they were, something Councilman
Dave Weaver should be wary about.

Armenians like myself and others are demanding more substance
and accountability from their representatives. We made a statement
yesterday when we did not reelect Councilman Bob Yousefian. We will no
longer support anyone and everyone who has an -ian or -yan at the end
of their last name, and that is a fact we committed to and expressed
vividly in last week’s elections.

And whether the Armenian National Committee decides to shove
incompetence down our throats or not, we will get accustomed to our
newly found independence, and this move will prove to be a positive
step forward for our community and our city as a whole.

TURKEY’S CULTURE MINISTER CALLS FOR COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA

Hurriyet
April 13 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – Turkey’s culture minister calls on Armenia to cooperate
in restoring the Ani ruins on the Turkish side of the border, but
says that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue must be resolved first.

Turkey and Armenia should cooperate to restore the ancient town of Ani,
said Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay, adding that any such effort would
require a resolution of the problems between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The ministry’s plans for cooperation between the two countries are
not limited to restoration work, Gunay told the Hurriyet Daily News &
Economic Review. He said he hoped to undertake many joint cultural
projects with both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The ancient town of Ani was the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia
between 961 and 1045. Its ruins are situated in the Arpacay region of
the northeastern province of Kars, on the Turkish side of the border
between the two countries.

According to Gunay, cultural efforts to establish peace in the
Caucasus region cannot be maintained if they ignore Azerbaijan. "We
cannot treat the people of Azerbaijan as if they don’t exist while
trying to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia," he said. "We
should never forget that the province of Nagorno-Karabakh is still
under Armenian occupation."

Gunay said world-renowned Turkish piano virtuoso Idil Biret would
hold a concert in Armenia in the next few months as part of her
Caucasus tour. "We have certain sensitivities, but we also are aware
that cultural activities can play a key role in resolving political
issues," he said. "This [the concert] is a first step."

A stone quarry on the Armenian side of the border across from Ani has
caused conflict in recent years, with Turkey blaming the explosions
at the quarry for accelerating the destruction of the ancient
town. Turkey’s complaint at the International Council on Monuments and
Sites, or ICOMOC, a sub-department of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, resulted in Armenia
halting blasting activities.

The Turkish government’s practice of calling the town "Anı," rather
than Ani, in order to give it a more Turkish character has also been
a source of controversy. When asked about the matter, Gunay implied
that it would soon be resolved. "I find changing the original names
of historical sites meaningless," he said. "Such names harm no one."

The culture minister said the current restoration efforts in Ani
would soon turn their focus to the town’s cathedral and that Armenian
experts had recently attended a meeting on the project. The World
Monuments Fund would support the restoration of the cathedral, he said.

‘Ready to help’ with Diyarbakir church Gunay added that the ministry
was also ready to contribute to the Turkish-Armenian community in
Istanbul’s efforts to find the funds to restore the 500-year-old Surp
Giragos Church in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir.

But the community fears any application for help would result in the
church being restored as a museum rather than a place of worship that
would serve the community, as happened with the Surp Church on the
island of Akdamar in the eastern province of Van.

Gunay said if the community filed a request, his ministry would be
glad to be of assistance, adding, "We have the utmost respect for
all beliefs."

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE 20BLN GUARANTEES FOR CONSTRUTION DEVELOPMENT

/ARKA/
April 13
YEREVAN

The task group formed at the Armenian Government decided to provide
government guarantees to the developers that carried out 20bln AMD
construction at the first stage.

"This new initiative by the task group is aimed to promote construction
in Armenia," stated RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan. He said that the
construction sector is one of the most important engines of economic
development in Armenia. The domestic developers were the first to
feel the impacts of the global crisis because a sharp decrease in
foreign investments in the construction sector affected the GDP.

"The construction sector produces the most serious multiplicative
effect on the GDP structure, and the decrease in investments is of
essential importance for the entire economic system," he said.

The Premier pointed out that the government guarantees will enable
developers to attract bank credits.

"Banks have extremely sound liquidity and accumulated funds now. Risks
are the only factor keeping them from increasing crediting,"
T. Sargsyan said. He added that the Government cannot but interfere
and assume some of the risks to stimulate economy.

To take part in the contest for government guarantees on April 13,
all the developers can apply to the task group. The information on
the necessary documents is available on the=2 0RA Government’s website.

"We have held preliminary discussions with the developers, and the
Central Bank has held discussions with commercial banks. Our terms
are acceptable for both sides," T. Sargsyan said.

The Premier said that the Government gives priority to the construction
projects implemented 75%.

"We are doing it for new flats to be finished and put up for sale as
soon as possible," he said. T. Sargsyan pointed out that unencumbered
real estate is to be pledged as security for the repayment of the
government loans.

The Armenian Premier stressed that if the Government fails to implement
the 20bln AMD measures and assess the risks," we do not rule out that
the Government will add 20bln AMD more."

"So we hope that developer will promptly respond to our statement, and
we will be able to ensure large-scale crediting, which, in turn, will
improve the economic growth indicators," the Premier said.