Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN DEPUTY FMS DISCUSSED BILATERAL RELATIONS
PanARMENIAN.Net
30.06.2006 14:06 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin
held consultations with RA Deputy FM Gegham Gharibjanian. The parties
discussed bilateral relations, Russia-Armenia cooperation within
the CIS and some regional problems. They stressed the importance of
coordinated efforts for the development of integration processes in
the post soviet space, the CIS reformation and CSTO strengthening. On
behalf of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Gegham Gharibjanian expressed
condolences on the tragic death of the Russian diplomats in Iraq.

THIRD ROUND OF TALKS ON PREPARATION OF NATIONAL ACTION PLAN WITHIN EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY MAY BE HELD IN JULY
Author: I.Khalilova
TREND, Azerbaijan
June 29 2006
European Union (EU) submitted to Azeri Foreign Ministry the project
of National action plan within the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP),
Mahmud Mammadguliyev, Azeri deputy foreign minister, Told Trend.
According to him, at the moment discussions are being held and the
date of conducting the third round of talks on preparation of action
plan within ENP will be defined in the near future.
According to the Ministry of Economic Development and Coordination
Bureau of the technical assistance program to Azerbaijan of EU
(Tacis), the date of conducting the meeting has been scheduled
for the first half of July. The third round had to be held on May
15, but it was annulled due to disagreement upon several aspects
of the document. The document didn’t include the issue that the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be regulated on base of territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan. EU took out this point from the document,
but Azerbaijan was dissatisfied with this. The position of Azerbaijan
was that if this point isn’t included in the document, Azerbaijan
will not continue that talks. Although this point remains open in
the submitted document, there is an agreement with EC and the text
will be formed at the next meeting.
80-90 percent of the economical part of the document has been agreed
and there isn’t special divergence of opinion. But there are several
technical aspects, as long as the issue of Azerbaijan’s entrance to
European Charter on small entrepreneurship and System for business
registration remains open. The proposals of Azeri side in this
direction were not accepted by EU.
It is intended that the third round will be the final. After an
agreement is reached on the document, indicator programs will be
prepared, for 2-3 years. The finance of EU will start from 2007 and
it will be conducted within the two programs – Tacis and MEDA. The
budget of ENP for 2007-2013 is intended in amount of 15 billion euros.

KAREKIN II: “WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT EXTREMIST NATIONALISTIC FORCES WILL SUCCEED IN SOWING HATRED AND ENMITY TOWARD ARMENIANS LIVING IN TURKEY.”
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 28 2006
ETCHMIADZIN, JUNE 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. His Holiness
Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians,
having completed his first Pontifical Visit to Istanbul, returned
to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in the early morning hours of
June 28. The seven-day visit included a two day fraternal visit to
the Ecumenical Patriarch, followed by five days with the Armenian
community of Istanbul and the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Although His Holiness’ flight arrived in Yerevan in the middle of the
night, waiting for him in the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin
at 4:00 AM, were hundreds of faithful who had come to welcome him
home. His Holiness’ procession was escorted into the Mother Cathedral
under the singing of the “Hrashapar” hymn. Standing before the Holy
Altar of Descent, the Catholicos of All Armenians offered prayers of
thanks to heaven and thereafter conveyed the unforgettable and warm
impressions from his pontifical visit to all those present.
His Holiness Karekin II joyfully reflected on the enthusiastic
reception he received from the Armenian community of Istanbul, as
expression of their love and devotion to the Holy Armenian Apostolic
Church and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
His Holiness stated, “Glory and thanksgiving to God. We return from
our pontifical visit to our sons and daughters in Constantinople
with a content heart. Our soul was filled with joy to personally see
and meet our faithful children, their enthusiastic devoted faith,
and their patriotic spirit. We communed with 600 years of history
and treasures of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople.”
According to the press-release of the Information Services of the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Pontiff of All Armenians stated
with contentment that the Armenian community of Istanbul, a community
that lives, breathes and speaks Armenian, is active today with a
vibrant national life. The community has 39 churches, 17 Armenian
schools and many institutions, the largest of which is the Holy
All-Savior National Hospital. His Holiness also fondly recalled his
meetings with Armenian intellectuals and youth of Istanbul.
As the visit of His Holiness was widely covered by the Armenian and
Turkish press and media in Turkey, His Holiness spoke of the press
conference convened in Istanbul on Sunday, June 25, following the
Pontifical Divine Liturgy, during which the Armenian Genocide was
discussed. (The full text of the press conference will be available
tomorrow on the website of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin,
). In reply to the concerns about the prospect
that His Holiness’ statements on the Armenian Genocide could negatively
affect the attitude of the Turkish authorities towards the Armenians of
Turkey, the Catholicos stated, “We do not believe that our thoughts
and words can affect the attitude of the authorities towards our
Armenians in Istanbul, because we never expressed hatred or enmity,
we simply stated the reality and the truth. Taking into account the
process of democratization, which the Turkish authorities desire
to achieve in their country, we also do not believe that extremist
nationalistic forces will succeed in sowing hatred and enmity toward
the Armenians or other minorities living in Turkey.”
His Holiness continued, stating that as many countries have recognized
the Genocide of the Armenians, so too must Turkey recognize the
Genocide, for which there exists no need for deliberations.
Regarding the protests that had been organized in Istanbul during
his visit, noting that the Turkish authorities characterized them as
the “actions of extremist groups”, His Holiness emphasized that in
no way did they diminish his impressions from the trip. Due to the
unprecedented security measures which were implemented, they did not
obstruct the activities of the Pontifical Visit and generally remained
unnoticed by the delegation.
Just before daybreak in Holy Etchmiadzin, as His Holiness concluded
his remarks, he once again expressed his appreciation to the Armenian
Patriarch of Constantinople and the faithful people of Istanbul for
the warm reception, and offered his prayers for the stability and
vibrancy of the Armenian Patriarchate. The Pontiff of All Armenians
also warmly expressed his thanks to all those present who had waited
all night long to greet him upon his return to Armenia.

S. CAUCASUS ECONOMIC FORUM SHARES BEST PRACTICES
By Haroutiun Khachatrian for Eurasianet
EurasiaNet, NY
June 25 2006
An economic conference in Tbilisi highlights the serious financial
issues that Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia face, including corruption
and tax evasion.
A recent economic conference held in the Georgian capital Tbilisi
sought to lay the groundwork for closer regional cooperation among
the three South Caucasus states of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Regional economic integration was not formally on the agenda of the
1-2 June conference, titled the International Monetary Fund and the
South Caucasus in the 21st Century. Participants officially explored
best practices as each state attempts to modernize its respective
economy. However, the underlying hope was that sharing experience would
provide an impulse for officials to explore integration opportunities
down the road, provided that existing political obstacles, including
the lack of a settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh, are eventually
removed.
The regional IMF representatives from all three states – James McHugh
in Armenia, Basil Zavoico in Azerbaijan and Robert Christiansen in
Georgia – were featured participants, and all faced a diplomatically
delicate task of outlining economic problems without appearing
to overly criticize government policies and responses. While each
Caucasus country features specific development conditions, conference
attendees generally agreed that corruption and tax evasion were among
the most serious problems prevalent in all three states.
“A large shadow economy should be brought into the formal economy
through an efficient tax [system] and improved corporate governance,”
said McHugh, referring to the situation in Armenia.
Georgian Minister of Finance Aleksi Aleksishvili said Tbilisi had
managed to improve its revenue collection capabilities, while stressing
that the government has stopped a practice common during the first
months following the 2003 Rose Revolution, in which entrepreneurs
were arrested, only to be released after making substantial payments
to the state treasury.
The conference scrutinized the unique economic situation in Azerbaijan,
where oil and gas development is causing revenues to spike. Several
participants focused on the potential threat of “Dutch disease,”
in which a rapid rise of income from the energy sector renders other
economic sectors of a given state uncompetitive in the global market.
Given that only about 1 percent of Azerbaijan’s population is directly
involved in the oil sector, the energy windfall stands to be enjoyed
by relatively few Azerbaijanis. Professor Sabit Bagirov, president of
the Azerbaijan Entrepreneurship Foundation, warned that social tension
could grow worse in the country. “In several years, we may face a
situation that, with huge oil revenues, still a great number of poor
people are in the country, and the unresolved Karabakh conflict will
make their situation even worse. This may [make] millions of people
unhappy,” Bagirov said.
Most participants avoided making direct comparisons about the successes
and failures of economic development in the Caucasus.
Tigran Sargsian, chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, was
perhaps the only participant who sought to place developments
in each individual state within a regional context. “Today, the
countries of the South Caucasus live similarly badly and differently
well,” he said. Sargsian highlighted differences among the three
Caucasus countries. For example, according to Sargsian, Armenia was
recognized as a leader in terms of market reforms, while possessing
a bad record on poverty reduction. Georgia, meanwhile, was labelled
as more competitive than Armenia. Yet at the same time, Tbilisi must
struggle with a deficit of power producing capacity.
Given the underlying political differences, it did not come as a
surprise to participants when Sargsian’s analysis was characterized
by Azer Alasgarov, an Azerbaijani National Bank official, as
“politicized.”
“I agree with your critical notions, but I would like the Azerbaijani
National Bank to have presented its own vision of the situation,”
was Sargsian’s answer. The conference was organized by the Caucasus
Research Resource Centers, the IMF and the National Bank of Georgia.
EurasiaNet () provides information and analysis
about political, economic, environmental, and social developments in
the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia,
the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. The website presents a variety
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Open Society Institute.

“BANK TURANALEM” MAKES REAL THE DREAM OF THE ‘GREAT TURAN’
Yerevan, June 26. ArmInfo. ‘Bank TuranAlem’ subsidiary ‘TuranAlem
Securities’ (Kazakhstan) signed an agreemnt with the Turkish Sekerbank
T.A.S. about purchasing 33,98% shares of the latter.
The press center of the bank reports that the property will be
transferred by October 31, 2006. the amount of the deal is $256
million. As for December 31, 2005 the assets of Sekerbank T.A.S.
equaled $2,3 billion, joint stock capital – $261 million. The bank
is the 17-th biggest of 47 banks of Turkey.
Member of the ‘Bank TuranAlem’ Board Erkin Tatishev says that the deal
will promote private investments of Turkish citizens, will extend
the services of the bank provided to the people of turkey and the
CIS. The press release says that BTA considers Turkey as a powerful and
perspective state. The commodity turnover between Kazakhstan and Turkey
reached $557 million last year, and the Turkish investments into the
economy of Kazakhstan made up $900 million over the recent 12 years.
The purchase of the shares of a Turkish bank will extend the geography
of TuranAlem to 9 countries, including Russia and China.
The partners of TuranAlem are: Slavinvestbank, Omsk-Bank,
Agroincombank, BTA-Kazan (Russia), Astana-Eximbank (Belarus), Silk
Road Bank (Georgia), BTA Investbank (Armenia). BTA intends to become
the biggest bank in the CIS. The bank has representations in Russia,
Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Armenia, Tajikistan, Georgia and China.
BTA-Bank assets are $9,2 billion, aggregate shareholders’ capital –
$1,6 billion. The Armenian branch of the bank is rather weak and
is on the one but last position in the rating list of the Armenian
banking system.

UNION OF THEATRICAL ACTORS OF ARMENIA SPLIT UP
Panorama.am
18:59 26/06/06
Armenian Theatrical Community will be established in Armenia. The
first session of the community was held today at the State Puppet
Theater after H. Tumanyan today. A number of theater figures have
joined the new institute, among them Ruben Babayan, Armen Mazmanyan,
Rafael Jrbashyan, Ara Yernjakyan who do not agree with the opinions
of the present day Union of Theatrical Actors.
“The new union will first of all take care of the needs of the young
generation which were often overlooked by the old Union,” Ruben
Babayan said. In his words, the old union could not say anything new
and create anything new for the young people. Babayan promised that
the new community will help the young actors in implementation of
their projects.

Istanbul Incident during Visit of Catholicos of All Armenians is Barbarism
PanARMENIAN.Net
23.06.2006 18:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The protest action against the visit of Catholicos
of All Armenians Garegin II is barbarism, Armenian writer Razmik
Davoyan stated in Yerevan when commenting on the incident connected
with the visit of Catholicos of Armenians to Istanbul.
“It’s impossible to speak of democracy, Eurointegration and adherence
to national values in the atmosphere of hatred to the Armenian
nation. The Turkish authorities should think over the upbringing of
the new generation. In Armenia such incidents are excluded, since our
upbringing and historical values are quite different,’ he underscored.
According to Davoyan, Catholicos’s visit was a brave move, since the
Patriarch knew “what was waiting for him there”. “For us the most
important thing is that our spiritual leader holds meetings with
the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople and it’s possible that some
important agreements will be achieved,” he added.
Razmik Davoyan emphasized that Armenia and Turkey should find
ways for normalizing relations. “There are no diplomatic contacts
between our states but there is a possibility to normalize personal
relations. For this the Turkish authorities should take into account
some circumstances including the Armenian Genocide recognition
and prevention of incidents of the kind, he remarked, reported
Novosti-Armenia.

YOUTH THEATRE FESTIVAL TO START IN YEREVAN
ArmRadio.am
22.06.2006 11:00
Youth Theatre Festival will start today in Yerevan. Almost all theatres
of the Republic, as well as Armenian Dramatic Theatres after Vahram
Papazyan and Petros Adamyan in Artsak and Tbilisi correspondingly
will take part in the event. 22 performances have been included in
the program.

SERGEY PARAJANOV’S FILM AT THE KOREAN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
AZG Armenian Daily
22/06/200
A special program – “Divergency and Resistance: Films Prohibited in
the USSR” – was held at the International Film Festival in Jeonju,
South Korea from April 27 to May 5. Sergey Parajanov’s “The Ukrainian
Rhapsody” (1961) was shown among other films. A leaflet especially
published for this program included article “Maestro Sargis” of film
critic Artsvi Bakhchinian.
British-Armenian filmmaker Von (Vahan) Pilikian’s “Hummer and Flame”
documentary, award-winner of Golden Apricot film festival 2005,
was also shown in Jeonju.
Von Pelikian was in Armenia in May and showed his feature and animated
films as well as documentaries at the Narekatsi Center.

DOCUMENTS ON THE PLANE CRASH
Lragir.am
20 June 06
Member of Parliament Tatul Manaseryan told the news reporter of
Lragir.am June 20 that after the their initiative to set up an
ad hoc committee to investigate the causes of the crash of A320
had been rejected they set up a non-governmental task force on
aviation. Tatul Manaseryan asserted that he has a lot of information
but will not publish it for the time being. “It is a very sensitive
question, and every careless phrase can wound and produce grave
consequences.” The government of the parliamentary majority, which
refused their initiative on an ad hoc committee, will hardly provide
the information they possess to the task force. In answer to this
remark Tatul Manaseryan announced, “From time to time documents appear
in my hands, which pass to a restricted number of people.”