Author: Kanayan Tamar

ALUMIAN: ARAYIK BUDAGHIAN MET POLICE CHIEF V. GASPARIAN

Friday,July 19

“When I say that the video was edited, I don’t mean that the non-edited
video shows a balcony and Suren Khachatrian standing on it,” Artak
Budaghian’s lawyer, Hayk Alulian, said at a meeting with journalists
today.

Commenting on the reports that Suren Kahachatrian was standing on the
balcony throughout the incident, Alumian noted that such reports have
some grounds. In his words, A. Budaghian has already testified twice
and each time he was in grave mental and physical condition.

He stressed that a vendetta is out of the question and that his client
and his relatives pin their hopes on the law and believe that justice
will triumph.

Asked to comment on the rumors that Suren Khachatrian plans to leave
Armenia, Alumian said: “I don’t understand what he meant by saying
that he will leave Armenia when his son’s problems are settled. Will
it happen in 15 years or will his son be released some time later?”

The lawyer also announced that Artak Budaghian’s brother -Arayik
Budaghian met with Chief of Armenian Police Vladimir Gasparian.

“There is information which is not to be made public because if the two
men agreed not to speak on an issue, such information is confidential,”
he noted.

Asked if the recent disclosures of ex-mayor of Goris Samvel Harutyunian
may help, at least indirectly, Hayk Alumian said that in connection
with the mentioned statements he had already asked Armenia’s prosecutor
general to inform him if a criminal case was opened into those crimes.

‘I think that a number of alleged crimes may be useful as circumstances
characterizing Suren Khachatrian, even if they will not throw light
on this case,” the lawyer stated.

TIGRAN KHZMALYAN PREDICTS MASS PROTEST ACTIONS IN ARMENIA
by Karina Manukyan

Friday, July 19, 17:41

Member of the Pre- Parliament Tigran Khzmalyan predicts mass protest
actions in Armenia.

“When our hard living people see their bills, they will go into the
streets, and nobody will be able to control them,” Khzmalyan said.

He doubts that the rise in the public transport fares will lead to
the recurrence of the Brazilian scenario (when thousands of people
forced the local authorities to revise their decision to raise the
public transport fares).

“It will be a different story, but our people are already showing
signs of disobedience,” Khzmalyan said.

An action of protest was held in front of Yerevan’s Municipality on
Thursday. The people were protesting against the decision to raise
the public transport fares in Yerevan. The protesters began throwing
50 AMD coins at the building (by exactly as much the authorities are
going to raise the fares).-0-

LAWYER: MILITARY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE IS CONDUCTING A BIASED INQUIRY INTO BLOODY INCIDENT NEAR HOUSE OF EX GOVERNOR OF SYUNIK

by Nana Martirosyan

Friday, July 19, 15:51

The Military Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia is conducting a biased
inquiry into the bloody incident near the house of ex governor
of Syunik region Suren Khachatryan, says Hayk Alumyan, the lawyer
of Artak Bugaghyan, the man who has been accused of attacking
Khachatryan’s house.

“It seems that the inquiry is being carried out by Khachatryan rather
than Military Prosecutor Gevorg Kostanyan. From the very first day
Kostanyan kept claiming that there was an attack on Khachatryan’s house
even though there was no such evidence. I see no ground for accusing
my client now that it is known that there was no attack and no threat
to anybody’s life. They found drugs in the blood of Khachatryan’s son,
and so, they decided to pass the buck on my client,” Alumyan said.

He said that the police appeared as late as 30 minutes after the
incident though there was no traffic jam in the city. “Khachatyran’s
relative helped them to inspect the scene, which was illegal, and,
lastly, Khachatryan handed over just seven guns, while reliable
sources say that he had much more kept in his house,” Alumyan said.

As a result of a bloody incident that took place in the house of
governor of Syunik region Surik Khachatryan on June 1, candidate to
the mayor of Goris Avetik Budaghyan was killed, while his brother
Artak was wounded. The son of Khachatryan Tigran and the bodyguard
of the governor Zarzand Nikoghosyan were arrested and charged with
homicide. On July 9 the police arrested Artak Budaghyan. They say
that he attacked Khachatryan’s house, but Budaghyan pleads not guilty.

EBRD SUPPORTS WATER SUPPLY IMPROVEMENTS IN YEREVAN ALLOCATING EURO 5.4- MILLION LOAN

YEREVAN, July 19./ARKA/. The European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) is providing a sovereign loan equivalent of [email protected]
million to the Republic of Armenia, to be used to improve the water
supply for the 1.1 million people living in Yerevan, the capital of
Armenia, the bank reported Friday.

The project will be implemented by Yerevan Djur CJSC, the operator
of the water system in Yerevan, and will support improvements
to the city’s water network by improving the water availability
and reducing the water losses. Yerevan Djur CJSC is fully owned by
Veolia Environment SA of France, the world’s largest supplier of water
services, with water operations in 66 countries and strong expertise
in water and waste water services.

The funds will be used to rehabilitate severely deteriorated sections
of the water distribution network, replacing water supply network
pipes, as well as installing new water meters for households. The
investments will reduce water losses, as well as operational costs,
while improving the reliability of 24 hour services in all the targeted
districts and water tariff collection.

In addition to EBRD financing, the European Investment Bank (EIB)
is considering a loan equivalent of [email protected] million and the European
Union (EU), through its Neighborhood Investment Facility (NIF),
will provide grant funds of [email protected] million.

The preparation of the project has been supported by a ~@200,000
pre-investment Technical Cooperation (TC) grant from the Government of
the Czech Republic. Project implementation support TC grant financing
will be provided by the EBRD Water Fund (~@200,000) and the ETC Fund
(~@200,000).

“This project is important for the city of Yerevan. Reliable water
supply is a fundamental need for households.” says Suma Chakrabarti,
EBRD President, who signed the loan agreement in Yerevan on 19
July 2013.

The EBRD has been active in Armenia since the country’s independence
and to-date has invested over ~@656 million through about
120 transactions. Investing in the rehabilitation of municipal
infrastructure is one of the EBRD’s key priorities in Armenia. In
2012, the EBRD signed 15 projects worth a total of ~@94 million
in Armenia.-0-

– See more at:

PATRIARCH YAZIGI STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF JOINT EFFORTS TO RESTORE PEACE IN SYRIA

Jul 18, 2013

Tartous, (SANA)_ Patriarch John X Yazigi of Antioch and All the East
for Greek Orthodox Church called for prayers for restoring security
and peace in Syria, stressing the importance of synchronizing efforts
to extricate Syria from the crisis.

During two religious masses at the Church of Our Lady in al-Sawda area
and St. Ignatius of Antioch Church in Dweir Taha village in Tartous,
Yazigi said that amity among Syrians is the only way for Syria to
return to be the great country of civilization and history.

In a statement to SANA during meeting popular delegations at the two
churches, Yazigi said “my message is one of love and peace to the
region’s populations, Syria and the world,” stressing that Syria is
an example of national unity.

20130718-173330.jpg

Sheikh Mohammad Mehieddion, from Zemrin village said the Patriarch
Yazigi’s visit helps enhance amity, fraternity and tolerance among
spectrums of the Syrian people who proved to be one family against
challenges.

M. Ismael

HRACHYA HARUTYUNYAN CAN BE EXTRADITED TO SERVE HIS SENTENCE IN ARMENIA

13:11 19.07.2013

Hrachya Harutyunyan

“Hrachya Harutyunyan’s extradition to Armenia is possible under the
conventions on extradition of convicts only after the relevant court
of the Russian Federation returns a verdict of guilty and after the
sentence enters into force,” the Armenian Ministry of Justice said
in a statement.

Thus, according to the Ministry, the international conventions are
not applicable to Hrachya Harutyunyan at this point.

Hrachya Harutyunyan is charged with violating traffic rules, which
resulted in the death of 18 people in Podolsk,

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
July 17 2013

Turkish minister urges international community to focus on Nagornyy Karabakh

Baku: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Azerbaijani
counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov stated on Wednesday that they were
unpleased with the OSCE Minsk Group’s studies in finding a political
solution to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh involving Armenia and
Azerbaijan.

Paying an official visit to Azerbaijan, Davutoglu held a joint press
conference with his counterpart Mammadyarov and evaluated the solution
process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and
Armenia.

Underlining that Armenian soldiers should leave Nagorno-Karabakh,
Davutoglu said “Turkey is consistently in consultation with Azerbaijan
as it has always been and from now on we will continue to support the
fair approach of Azerbaijan”.

Reminding that Nagorno-Karabakh conflict had not been solved over 20
years and Azerbaijani lands have still been under occupation,
Davutoglu said “it is time for international community to evaluate
it”.

Davutoglu said, “The Minsk Group has made an effort on this issue over
20 years and we appreciate those efforts but they have not given any
results. Everyone should question the causes of the failure and
co-chairs should play more active roles. The members of Minsk Group
should take actions, too”.

“Turkey is also a member of the group but as co-chair has carried out
the process Turkey cannot give enough contribution to it. Turkey will
support every positive step to solve the issue,” said Davutoglu.

Pointing out a new implementation between Turkish and Azerbaijani
diplomats starting on May, Davutoglu said that a specific number of
Turkish diplomats in Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan and also
Azerbaijani diplomats in Foreign Ministry of Turkey would work like
they were working in their country.

The Minsk Group spearheads the OSCE’s efforts to find a political
solution to the conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh involving
Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Fars News Agency, Iran
July 20 2013

Armenia Insists on Using Potentials to Develop Cooperation with Iran

TEHRAN (FNA)- Armenian Deputy Economy Minister Ara Petrosyan
underscored the necessity for using all the existing potentials to
further expand economic and trade cooperation with Iran.

“The Republic of Armenia attaches great importance to potentials for
economic cooperation with Iran,” Petrosyan said, addressing
Iran-Armenia Trade Forum in Yerevan on Saturday.

He underlined the necessity for utilizing these potentials to further
increase cooperation between the two countries, and said, “Iran is the
fifth largest trade partner of Armenia and the volume of trade
transactions between the two countries is worth $300mln annually.”

Petrosyan urged the two sides to boost efforts to double the volume of
the trade transactions between Iran and Armenia.

Iranian and Armenian trade officials in a meeting in Yerevan on
Wednesday signed a trade agreement.

The trade agreement was signed by the chairmen of the chambers of
commerce of Tehran and Yerevan in the Armenian capital.

Head of Tehran’s Chamber of Commerce Yahya Al-e Eshaq, heading a
ranking trade delegation, travelled to Armenia to discuss bilateral
ties with the senior Armenian officials.

At the meeting, Head of Yerevan’s Chamber of Commerce Robert
Haratounyan pointed to the current Iran-Armenia relations, and said
the Iranian delegation’s visit to Armenia provides the two sides with
a good opportunity for boosting mutual cooperation between the two
countries.

Al-e Eshaq called for the further expansion of trade ties between Iran
and Armenia, saying that the Islamic Republic can open new horizons to
its Northern neighbor.

`Iran can open the doors to Armenia for the transit of goods to 14
neighboring countries,’ Al-e Eshaq told Armen Press new agency.

Last month, Armenian Ambassador to Tehran Grigor Arakelyan urged
Tehran and Yerevan to further broaden their relations in different
areas.

Arakelyan made the call in a meeting with Chairman of the Iranian
Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Relations Commission
Alaeddin Boroujerdi in Tehran.

`I hope that during the presidency of Iranian President-elect Hassan
Rouhani, Iran and Armenia will further expand their relations in all
fields,’ the Armenian ambassador said.

In recent years, Iran and its Northern neighbor Armenia have boosted
cooperation, signed agreements on energy cooperation and agreed to
cooperate in technology and research and to enhance ties in commerce
and economy.

Public transport fare hike is due to absence of free competition –
Armenian opposition party

July 20, 2013 | 17:31

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s opposition Free Democrats Party expresses its
deep concern over the unfounded rise in the public transport fares in
the country.

The aforesaid is noted in the party statement that was released in
connection with the increase in Armenia’s public transport fares,
which came into force on Saturday.

`This phenomenon is due to an absence of free competition and with an
intention to secure superprofits for the businesses in this domain,
and it contributes to the deepening of the social crisis and the
impoverishment of the population.

`The normal and pro-citizen operations by the public transport are
within the framework of the primary obligations of the state.

`We consider it necessary to solve this problem forthwith by creating
conditions for free competition,’ the Free Democrats Party statement
also reads, in particular.

Historical Armenian building in Istanbul rented despite the ongoing trial

16:12 20.07.2013

The Directorate General of Foundations rented the historical
Sanasaryan Han in Istanbul’s Eminönü neighborhood through a tender,
despite a legal struggle by Turkey’s Armenian Patriarchate, the
Hurriyet Daily News reports.

The tender for renting the historical building, organized by the
Directorate General of Foundations on July 18, was won by Ã-zgeylani
Construction Company, despite the ongoing trial over the ownership of
the building.

Turkey’s Armenian Patriarchate claims that the han, which was donated
to the patriarchate in 1881 by a Russian-Armenian Mgrdich Sanasaryan,
belongs to them as they have the documents to prove the donation. The
Directorate General of Foundations, on the other hand, claims that the
building did not fall under the jurisdiction of a law on the return of
properties to community foundations that took effect in 2011 as it had
been owned by a person.

Å?ahin Gezer of Turkey’s Armenian Patriarchate Real Estate Commission
told the Hürriyet Daily News that they had hoped until the last minute
that the tender would be halted. Gezer said they would continue their
legal action.

The Sanasaryan Han had an autonomous status when compared to the other
Armenian foundations, Gezer said, adding that this was due to the fact
that other foundations had churches and schools, whereas the han had
been donated to the patriarchate by a natural person.

Gezer said that the rent of the han should be equally distributed
between Armenian schools and public schools without any
discrimination, while adding that this was as an offer to the
Directorate General of Foundations `as we are equal citizens.’