Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Armenia to import Turkmen energy

tert.am
11:41 – 22.08.12

A Turkmen delegation is to arrive in Yerevan Sept. 5 to participate in
the 4th meeting of the Armenian-Turkmen intergovernmental economic
cooperation commission.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow signed a relevant decree.

At a government meeting, the Turkmen leader noted Turkmenistan
attaches high importance to expanding cooperation with the world,
including Armenia. He pointed out the intergovernmental commission’s
importance role.

Armenia is interested in purchasing Turkmen energy. During Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan’s official visit to Turkmenistan, in November
2010, the two nations signed economic and humanitarian agreements.

Dilijan considerably increases flow of tourists due to reforms

arminfo
Tuesday, August 21, 18:34

This year the resort town of Dilijan has fixed considerable growth
in the incoming flow of tourists, Armen Santrosyan, Mayor of Dilijan,
said at today’s press conference.

He said that throughout 2011 the number of tourists in Dilijan was
15,000, and this index has already been exceeded since early 2012.
Santrosyan added that 70% of the tourists in Dilijan are residents of
Yerevan, and the other 30% are foreigners or representatives of the
Armenian Diaspora. “Many tourists have come from Europe, the United
States, even Japan and China”, he said.

Santrosyan said that the price policy of Dilijan’s tour operators
allows receiving the representatives of any social groups and to meet
the demands of any type of tourists. “For instance, the price of
cottage accommodation without food starts from 3 thsd or 5 thsd AMD
per day, and the price that includes food is different. There are even
cottages that cost 150 thsd AMD per day”, he said.

The mayor stressed that the flow of tourists to Dilijan has increased
thanks to the reforms, including the rehabilitation of the highway to
Dilijan. The private sector has also made big investments in the
construction of new rest houses, hotels, cottages, restaurants, cafes,
and other facilities for leisure and entertainment. For its part, the
community finances the rehabilitation of the intraurban roads and
water supply systems and also improves the architectural appearance of
the town. The construction of the Central Bank’s branch will be
completed in 2013.

Due to the CB’s support, the renovated and reequipped library of
Dilijan will be opened in two months. The State Revenue Committee of
Armenia finances construction of a large health and education center.
The mayor also said that the major problem of the town was the
landslides, however, this problem is practically solved today, as a
landslide resistance project has been underway since February 2012. In
addition, the drainage systems are being renovated and reconstructed.

Pre-investigation continues to find the other participants in Harsnakar case

`31
14:05 . 21/08

The bill of indictment on the 6 defendants involved in the case of the
June 17 act of violence in the territory of Harsnakar Restaurant
Complex has already been drawn up and sent to the RA General
Procuracy.

After the bill of indictment is endorsed at the General Procuracy the
case will be sent to the court.

As Pastinfo agency was told at the public relations and information
department of the Police, the investigation group has dismissed part
of the motions of victim Vahe Avetyan’s legal successor and the
representatives of the others who suffered in the incident. The other
part of the motions is related to a part separated from the case,
therefore they will be realized during the examination of the
separated part.

To recall, the pre-investigation in the separated part of the case
continues to find other possible participants in the act of violence.

IBNLive.com, India
Aug 21 2012

Stones that speak

Janane Venkatraman|ENS

Gravestones speak of lives lived, pathways traced and choices made.
They give us the stories behind a person and his life as seen by his
loved ones. Chennai is full of abundant history – stories of men and
women who built this city, which are now etched onto the crumbling
ruins of Chennai’s old cemeteries.

There are numerous cemeteries where one can spend an entire evening
and not even realise the time passing. The St Mary’s Church, tucked
away in a corner of Fort St George has, according to the caretaker,
not only the distinction of being the oldest Anglican church on the
east of the Suez, but is also the resting place of the oldest British
tombstone, dating way back to 1652.

Elizabeth Baker, the wife of the first president of the Madras
Presidency, Aaron Baker, died when she was on her way to meet her
husband. Her tombstone, lying near the entrance, weathered and
cracked, is a testimony to the upheaval they were all put through. The
104 tombstones were used as shields by the invading French forces in
1758. They were originally buried in the `Guava garden,’ on top of
which the law college currently stands.

Once the law college came up, the cemetery was shifted near the
Metropolitan Transport Corporation on Pallavan Salai, where it
currently stands. An article by historian S Muthiah talks about an old
description mentioning boundary hedges filled with jasmine, shady
trees, patches of lawn and beds of bright flowers. But it is a sense
of desolation that coats the cemetery today. Plants have run wild,
resembling a scene out of a jungle, while patches of lawn are more
patches of debris than green grass.

The graves themselves are undecipherable, some having crumbled due to
natural elements, others covered by weeds and creepers that have run
amok. Still, if one has the patience and a certain disregard for
snakes, perusing the names on the tombs and gravestones would pass for
a very pleasant pastime.

In stark contrast, the two corners of the cemetery wear a fresh look.
Lined with neatly-pruned hedges and padlocked, one contains the graves
of the Commonwealth soldiers who died during Second World War, while
the other constituttes the Roman Catholic part of the cemetery.

Speaking of stark contrasts, the unassuming Armenian Church in
Georgetown with its fresh white paint, neatly cut grass and a serene
atmosphere, is quite a sight. Turning 300 this year, it has about 350
Armenian tombstones in its floors, some even dating back to 1740. A
majority of them have inscriptions in Armenian with a smattering of
English and Latin.

The most ornate one is the grave of Rev Haruthiun Shmavonian, founder
of the first Armenian journal who died in 1824. The journal, Azdarar,
came out in 1794, while Shmavonian was the priest in-charge of the
church.

Similar to the tombstones in the Armenian Church, the St Thomas Mount
Church too hosts Armenian tombstones. According to `Madras, Chennai: A
400-year Record of the First City of Modern India’, some of them are
as old as 1707.

The Luz Church in Mylapore also bears tombstones of early Portuguese
settlers. The church, the oldest in the city, has tombstones as early
as 1600 lining the entrance and the walls. In addition, the Quibble
Island Cemetery has a small number of old tombstones, dating back to
the latter half of the 1800’s. An evening stroll through the shady,
green-leafed contours of the cemetery might prove to be just the
stress breaker. one’s looking for.

Stockhouse
Aug 21 2012

Lydian intersects new gold in step-out drilling in Armenia

8/21/2012 12:12:10 PM | Stockhouse Editorial

The company intends to complete a resource estimate on the
newly-dsicovered area next year.

Lydian International Ltd. (TSX: T.LYD, Stock Forum) said mostly
step-out and exploration drilling at its Amulsar gold project in
Armenia has shown promise for resource potential.

Amulsar is a high-sulfidation style gold project, located in central
Armenia, which currently hosts a CIM compliant resource of 68.2
million tonnes at 1.0 grams per tonne gold, 2.1 million ounces, in
indicated and 36.1 million tonnes at 0.9 grams per tonne gold, 1.1
million ounces, in inferred.

According to the press release, results have been received from an
initial 18 drill holes at Amulsar comprising primarily step-out and
exploration drilling from the Erato, Arshak and Orontes areas

Notable intersections included 0.9 grams per tonne gold at 33 metres,
1.0 grams per tonne gold at 53 metres and 1.5 grams per tonne gold at
13 metres

These results confirm the company’s view that further resource
potential exists beyond the current resource shell towards the
southeast at Arshak.

The company intends to complete a resource estimate on the area next year.

Lydian is a gold-focused mineral exploration and development company
with expertise employing “first mover” strategies in emerging
exploration environments.

On Monday, Lydian’s stock was up 5.11% and was trading at 2.47 a
share. The company has a market cap of $306 million, based on 123.9
million shares outstanding. The 52-weeh high and low was $3.21 and
$1.89 respectively.

The Japan Times
Aug 22 2012

Cultural exchanges a top priority for new Armenian ambassador

Staff report

Grant Pogosyan, who was appointed Armenia’s ambassador to Japan in
July, said his mission here is to promote further bilateral cultural
exchanges.

In a courtesy call Tuesday to The Japan Times, Pogosyan, who in the
last 21 years taught computer science and math at Tokyo’s
International Christian University, stressed the importance of
cultural and educational exchanges, especially among young people.

Pogosyan said that although Armenia is drawing more Japanese tourists
in recent years, the landlocked mountainous country in the South
Caucasus region of Eurasia is “still not widely known in Japan.”

Noting that The Armenian Little Singers choir toured Japan for the
first time in July and sang Armenian folk songs from the fifth century
and religious music – while also singing modern music and jazz –
Pogosyan said Armenia and Japan share a commonality in that “both
countries try to protect its unique traditional culture while building
a modern society.”

Armenia was under Soviet rule until its 1991 independence.

Foreign Policy: Armenia’s input to Afghanistan’s security maintenance important

August 21, 2012 – 18:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – In his report published in Foreign Policy magazine,
Commanding General of the U.S. Army Europe, Lieutenant General Mark P.
Hertling stressed Armenia’s role in maintenance of security in
Afghanistan.

`The fact that Armenia created brigade-sized peacekeeping and
NATO-compatible units is an extremely positive development. These
units, which are specifically non-aligned with operations in Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, are largely manned by professional soldiers, not
conscripts, and are led by English-speaking, western-trained officers.
At a glance during my visit, they also appear better trained than line
forces occupying positions along the Karabakh line-of-contact.

With America’s continued support, the Caucuses will remain a source of
stable, reliable, interoperable partners who are the foundation of
future regional and global security,’ the report reads.

Armenia’s central bank obligates all banks and financial institutions
to scrutinize their transactions – CBA statement

news.am
August 21, 2012 | 17:39

YEREVAN.- The Central Bank of Armenia issued a statement on Tuesday in
response to an article titled `Iran looks to Armenia to skirt bank
sanctions’ published by Reuters agency. The statement reads as
follows:

`The banks in the Republic of Armenia, operating under the supervision
of the Central Bank of Armenia, are subject to the laws of the
Republic of Armenia, the regulations of the Central Bank of Armenia,
and the banks’ internal rules. One of the supervisory tiers of the
Central Bank of Armenia is the provision of the adequate
implementation of financial sanctions imposed on certain countries
under relevant decisions of international organizations, such as the
UN Security Council Resolutions.

The decisions and relevant financial sanctions, imposed by the
European Union and the United States of America in relation to nuclear
proliferation programs of certain countries, are also under the
attention of the Central Bank of Armenia, in order to avoid any
possible involvement in or assistance to such programs by any bank in
the Republic of Armenia. The Central Bank of Armenia obligates all
banks and financial institutions in the Republic of Armenia to
scrutinize their transactions, in order to avoid any possible
involvement in transactions considered unacceptable by the
international community. Moreover, pursuant to the policy adopted by
the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia, individuals and companies
from higher-risk countries are neither allowed to establish a
financial institution in the Republic of Armenia nor to acquire any
participation in the equity of acting financial institutions.

`Mellat Bank’ CJSC has been operating in the Republic of Armenia since
1996; its clientele is primarily composed of small and medium
enterprises involved in the foreign trade between the Islamic Republic
of Iran and the Republic of Armenia, as well as of tourists and
students. The bank’s activities and assets have dramatically decreased
during the past 3-4 years; in the period from December 31, 2010 to
July 1, 2012, the banks’ assets have decreased by more than 50%,
dropping from 88 million US dollars to only 40 million US dollars.
`Mellat Bank’ CJSC holds no correspondent accounts either in the
European Union and the United States of America or in the Republic of
Armenia.

The banks in the Republic of Armenia, including `ACBA-Credit Agricole
Bank’ CJSC, hold no correspondent accounts with banks and financial
institutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The banks in the
Republic of Armenia are strictly bound to customer due diligence
rules, in order to avoid any direct or indirect financing of
individuals and companies related to nuclear proliferation programs.

The Central Bank of Armenia will follow its supervision over the
behavior and transactions of all financial institutions and their
customers in the Republic of Armenia, in order to safeguard its
financial system from any destabilizing effects.’

Syrian Armenians driving license to be exchanged with no qualifying exams

12:57, 21 August, 2012

YEREVAN, AUGUST 21, ARMENPRESS: Syrian Armenians driving licenses
which do not correspond to 1968 `’ road traffic” Convention
requirements will be interchanged without taking the exams. As
Armenpress reports citing Armenian Government official web site, the
draft is included in Executive Body’s August 23 agenda. The draft is
aimed at regulating the exchange of Syrian Armenians driver’s licenses
otherwise they will encounter employment issue. It is written in the
statement the driving licenses of our Armenian citizens arrived
Homeland from Syria recently , do not correspond to `’ Exams on
driving licenses and procedure of acquiring them. Syrian Armenians
must submit passport or other identification document and in case of
the absence of information about the registration in the Republic of
Armenia they should present reference on their registration as well
as state fee payment receipt stipulated by the law.

The draft was elaborated by the Ministry of Diaspora and road police
service of the Republic of Armenia.

U.S. Army Command develops Caucasus-linked military scenarios

August 21, 2012 – 16:29 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – `The Caucasus, that historical causeway of conflict
between Europe and the Middle East, remains a complicated tangle of
security concerns. Ethnic tensions still affect long standing
territorial disputes, internally displaced indigenous people align
with or oppose powerful diasporas, and an increasing nouveau riche, an
oil-fueled minority upper class, is growing in an area once known only
for desperate poverty.

While the Minsk Group spearheads the OSCE’s efforts to find a
political solution to the conflict in and around Nagorno Karabakh,
Armenia and Azerbaijan both remain frustrated with the lack of
political resolve… The recent Georgian experience with Russia has
left significant cross-border scars that will likely not heal anytime
soon, especially as Georgia desperately seeks NATO membership and
European acceptance,’ the report reads.

According to the author, the spider-web relations between Iran and
Israel with many of those in this region confuses even the experts;
and the border between Turkey and many of her neighbors, especially
Armenia, are subject to political resolution of multi-generational
disputes between those two countries.

`All of these factors exist in a crucible surrounded on three sides by
Turkey, Iran, and Russia. The potential for conflict is considered so
plausible and the issues related to the interaction so confusing that
a few years ago the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command
developed scenarios linked to the Caucasus to help prepare Majors for
military contingencies. The U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff
College at Fort Leavenworth uses the “GAAT”
(Georgia-Armenia-Azerbaijan-Turkey) exercise as a thread of continuity
throughout the course. Understandably there is no right or wrong
answers to any of the questions posed to young field grade officers in
the course, but the underlying conflict scenarios meet the requirement
to analyze and exercise an extremely complex Joint, Interagency,
Intergovernmental and Multinational resolution.

European Command’s strategy of Theater Security Cooperation – and
USAREUR’s contribution as part of that strategy in training and
exercising with the militaries and engaging with military and
political leaders – is bearing significant results. The four nations
that make up “the GAAT” are integrating forces in NATO out of theater
and peacekeeping operations in places like Afghanistan and Kosovo, and
the potential for peaceful management of the region’s substantial
security challenges is improving,’ the report reads.