Author: Kalashian Nyrie

ROLLING STOCK OF ARMENIAN RAILWAYS ON BALANCE ACCOUNT OF SOUTH CAUCASIAN RAILWAY

ARKA
June 2, 2008

YEREVAN, June 2. /ARKA/. The South Caucasian Railway made a decision
on June 1 to include the rolling stock of the Armenian Railway CJSC
into its balance account under the concession signed on February
13, 2008 on transferring the Armenian railway system to the South
Caucasian Railway.

The company has recruited its staff and has launched economic and
industrial activities on carriage by rail, cargo transportation,
as well as commercial and organizational activities of the Armenian
Railway.

At present, the Caucasian Railway is studying the infrastructure and
is making feasibility analysis on the Armenian company.

The objective of the South Caucasian Railway is to ensure uninterrupted
operation of the Armenian railway system. To achieve this goal,
the company must improve the local railway system.

The purpose of the South Caucasian Railway is to reconstruct Armenia’s
railroad way, improve the rolling stock both of cargo and passenger
railway transport, as well as to speed up railway transport, improve
services and train the staff.

The company also plans to develop Yerevan-Batumi and Yerevan-Poti
railway communication.

Included in the group of the Russian Railways, the South Caucasian
Railway is to manage the Armenian Railway CJSC.

The Armenian Railway manages 805km long railway lines and 1,125 km
long railways in Armenia. The company has been bringing fixed income
since 2001.

The Armenian Railway transported 3mln tons of goods last year against
2.7mln tons in 2006.

On January 16, 2008, the Russian Railway won the bids on the Armenian
Railway and now runs the company. The Russian Railway stated last
year it plans to invest $570mln with $230mln being allotted in the
coming five years.

TOO EARLY TO SPEAK ABOUT OVERCOMING THE CRISIS
LILIT POGHOSYAN

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 29, 2008
Armenia

We continue presenting to the reader political scientist ALEXANDER
ISKANDARYAN’S viewpoints on Armenia’s internal political `status-quo’

`If the pro-Ter-Petrosyan forces hold a `big demonstration’ on June 20,
the day of the opening of the PACE summer session, will this be another
argument testifying to the fact that the authorities have made a
progress towards the implementation of Resolution 1609?’

`Certainly it will. But it doesn’t mean that the restrictions are
hereafter ruled out or they didn’t exist in the past. It only means
that there is some progress, a positive development. This is just what
the Europeans want to see. They do not require us to ensure full
democracy in the country.

Everybody realizes that it wouldn’t be realistic at present. All they
need is to see Armenia make steps in that direction, and the
authorities do really try to do so. And the Europeans, as a rule,
appreciate `the kind intentions’ and welcome the people for making
efforts towards relaxing the post-electoral tension.’

`Is Armenia facing a political crisis as such?’

`I believe that the crisis has not been overcome yet. And the absence
of relations between the authorities and the opposition is one of the
components of such crisis. The opposition won’t recognize the
legitimacy of the authorities, and the authorities won’t recognize the
candidate who, according to official data, received votes from each 5th
citizen.

What is it if not a crisis? Besides, I see problems both inside the
pro-Government party and the opposition. It also testifies to the fact
that it’s still early to speak about the normalization of the
situation.’

`Why do you think the Masonic circles demonstrated such a strong
interest in our country? Perhaps we are really dealing with some
`well-organized force’ which is implementing scenarios of colored
revolutions with the help of its agents?’

`What is happening in Armenia is a phenomenon characteristic to this
particular country. Let’s assume, for a moment, that such Masons exist
and they are distributing money in bags for staging a colored
revolution or coup d’état in this or that country. Do you think they
will be able to repeat the scenario of the March 1 events in a country
like Switzerland?

There too, the people would go to the streets and again 10 people would
die as a result of clashes. I believe the answer is obvious. They
wouldn’t be able to do that.’

`Why should the Masons set such a task for achieving the same in
Switzerland. They might try to solve certain political issues by way of
overthrowing the present-day government, for instance?’

`Do you mean they will manage to do that if they want? I don’t think
so. The problem, in my opinion does not consist in Levon Ter-Petrosyan
or Arkadi Vardanyan. A large part of society is, for different reasons,
dissatisfied with the authorities. There was the social background, and
the outburst of the mass dissatisfaction resulted in the tragic events
of March 1.

And factors such as poverty, the social conditions, as well as the fact
that Armenia has still much to do for developing as a democratic
country, strengthening the statehood and accomplishing the political
system had their role in this process.’

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
May 29 2008

`RAPHAEL LEMKIN’S DOSSIER ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE’ PUBLISHED

YEREVAN, 29.05.08. DE FACTO. The Center for Armenian Remembrance (CAR)
published `Raphael Lemkin’s Dossier on the Armenian Genocide’, which
constitutes an important contribution for scholars, human rights
activists and others seeking to know what the originator of the term
genocide and the `father’ of the Genocide Convention had to say about
the Armenian Genocide.
According to PanARMENIAN.Net, the book is the perfect antidote to the
denialist campaign that has lately intensified by the banning of a
book in Toronto and its replacement by books by denialist historians
Bernard Lewis and Guenther Levy.
`Raphael Lemkin’s Dossier on the Armenian Genocide’ is the fifth book
in the `The Armenian Genocide and the Armenian Case’ series put out by
CAR Publishing.

Panorama.am

18:42 30/05/2008

SEYRAN OHANYAN RECEIVED PETER ROZENBLAT

Yesterday the Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan
received Peter Rozenblat, representative of Jewish
Community of America, Ross Vartyan, executive director
of American-Armenian social committee and Madlen
Minasyan, the director of -Hope for Armenia-
foundation, reported the press secretary of the
ministry, General Seyran Shahsuvaryan.

In the beginning of the meeting the minister greeted
the guests and said that the strengthening of
American-Armenian bilateral relations is very
important for Armenia, in particular, in the
improvement of economic, democratic and regional peace
establishment.

The Ambassador mentioned that the committee which he
presents is the biggest one in the Jewish Union and it
is mostly involved in international relations. He said
that started from 1990 they follow the developments in
the South Caucasus. He said that last time he arrived
in Armenia in 1999. According to the Ambassador the
interest of the committee towards Armenia is closely
connected with the relationship of Jewish Committee
with the Armenian Committee in America.

Source: Panorama.am

PROPAGANDA WAR

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 27, 2008
Armenia

According to GAGIK MINASYAN, "Financial resources in large amounts are
needed for achieving success in the sphere of propaganda. The sphere
also requires scientific potential and human resources. For this
purpose, Azerbaijan uses the Turkish institutions which, through the
channels of NATO, communicate with the most up-to-date technologies
of the United States. Azerbaijan also invests large sums of money in
the propaganda.

We are facing serious challenges here, and in order to be able to
resist them, we must be able to make our propaganda more effective. We
also have the potentials of the Diaspora. However, the activities of
the state are on a completely different qualitative level."

AMERICA INTENDS TO AWARD THE ARMENIAN PEACEKEEPERS

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 27, 2008
Armenia

The United States of America is going to award the Armenian
peacekeepers, Joseph Pennington, US Charge d’Affaire in Armenia said
yesterday in a meeting with Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan.

Let’s remind you that Armenia currently has peacekeeping forces in
Kosovo and Iraq.

NATO TO CONTINUE ASSISTING REFORM PROCESS IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.05.2008 18:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On May 28, Armenia~Rs Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian and Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan attended a session of
the North Atlantic Council in 26+1 format to discuss the process of
Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), the RA MFA
press office reported.

Addressing the Council, Minister Nalbandian said Armenia attaches
importance to IPAP as a format promoting cooperation with NATO. He
briefed on Armenia~Rs cooperation with European structures and also
referred to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, confirming
Armenia~Rs willingness to resolve the problem peacefully.

Touching on the Armenian-Turkish relations, the Minister said that
Armenia is ready to establish relations without preconditions, in
concord with the IPAP provisions.

For his part, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan represented the
legislative improvements and reforms carried out in the defense sector
and military security.

NATO Ambassadors noted that Armenia has fulfilled its commitments by
the time fixed. Further steps will be taken on the basis of assessment
of the IPAP implementation process.

CONSTRUCTION FUNDED BY ARMENIA FOUNDATION HAS DROPPED

KarabakhOpen
27-05-2008 11:46:56

In the first three months of 2008 the value of construction was 2386.7
million drams which is down by 34 percent from last year.

According to the head if the National Statistics Service Manushak
Minasyan, the number of buildings built by Armenia Foundation and
the state budget (49.9 percent) has dropped by 89 percent.

On the whole, construction in Karabakh began later than usual. In
this connection, President Bako Sahakyan voiced dissatisfaction.

CATHOLICOS ARAM I MEETS WITH MINISTER OF CULTURE TAREK MITRI

Noyan Tapan

Ma y 26, 2008

ANTELIAS, MAY 26, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. Tarek Mitri, the
Minister of Culture of Lebanon, visited Aram I, the Catholicos of the
Great Cilician House, on May 23. The meeting between His Holiness
and the Minister, which was held in the office of the Catholicos,
was of intimate character. It is mentioned that they are close friends
and have worked together for many years within the frameworks of the
interchurch movement of the World Council of Churches.

Minister Mitri toroughly introduced the situation hindering the Qatar
meeting of the political forces of Lebanon, and the issues on the
inner folds of the consultations during the conference.

His Holiness expressed his content with the victory the whole Lebanon
has registered, "where there are no losers, there is only one winner:
the whole Lebanon with all its communities and parts, with its people
and authority."

THEY DIDN’T LIKE SIRUSHO’S DEBUT

A1+
[01:18 pm] 26 May, 2008

Russia’s representative Dima Bilan won the International Song Contest
Eurovision 2008. Armenia’s representative Sirusho took the 4th place
with 203 points. Nine countries, Poland, Czech Republic, Netherlands,
Belgium, Israel, France, Georgia and Russia gave Armenia the highest
score -12. Turkey, Spain, Cyprus gave us 10 points and San Marino,
Bulgaria- 8 points.

Our citizens have been discussing the song contest for a few days. Most
people didn’t like Sirusho’s debut.

"I am glad Armenia could move up from the eighth place but I hoped
we would take at least the third place," says 34-year-old Gayane.

"The song was a good one. Armenia would have taken the second place
provided the performance matched the song," says 20-year-old Aram.

Reminder: the show was staged by Russia’s best dancing-master Sergey
Sandrikin and the dancers were invited from the famous Street Jazz
group.

"To tell the truth, I think Sirusho’s presentation failed. Thanks God,
we took the forth place as Sirusho sang badly," noted 18-year-old
Hamlet.

"Sirusho could have performed better but for her excitement
characteristic of our nation. Our singers won’t be that tense unless
they attach a great importance to such contests," says 18-year-old Ani.

Sirusho didn’t sing badly. And yet, in comparison with Ukrainian
and Greek representatives we understand that she is far from being
a professional singer," says 48-year-old Gaspar.

Many citizens say it is no use criticizing our singers.

"Sirusho looked splendid on the stage. Besides, the forth place is
not that bad," says 24-year-old Vardan.