Author: Karabekian Emil

IRAN-U.S. POSSIBLE WAR TO HAVE BAD CONSEQUENCE FOR ARMENIA, DIRECTOR OF "NORAVANK" SCIENTIFIC-EDUCATION FUND CONSIDERS

Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The Iran-U.S. possible war will
have bad consequences for Armenia, starting from destruction of
communication ways to beginning of ecological disaster," Executive
Director of the "Noravank" scientific-educational fund Gagik
Haroutiunian considers. G. Haroutiunian expressed a confidence at the
April 11 press conference entitled "Regional Developments and Armenia"
that in the case of straining of the Iran-U.S. conflict, Armenia
must not make sharp statements as "Armenia has no political weight
to make sharp statements or decisions." In the speaker’s words, the
best variant for Armenia in this sense is to support mutual agreement
of the problem, its solution in a peaceful way. At the same time he
did not exclude possibility of military actions.

In words of the Director of the "Noravank" scientific-educational fund,
the Iran-U.S. war has started still since 1979, after the Islamic
revolution of Iran. The war between the two countries without military
actions proceeds in three, civilization (ideological), geoeconomic
and geopolitical, fields.

In the case of the first the struggle proceeds between the liberal
and Mohammedan ideologies, the reason of the second, geoeconomic
struggle is the wish to define control upon huge oil and gas reserves
of Iran, and the reason of the geopolitical war is the U.S. wish
to have a dominant role in Eurasia, particularly in the region,"
G. Haroutiunian emphasized.

USDA AND CARD PROVIDE COMPUTER EQUIPMENT TO ARMAVIR CITY VETERINARY INSPECTION AND LABORATORY OFFICE

ARMENPRESS
April 12 2007

Today the U.S. Embassy’s Department of Agriculture (USDA), in
collaboration with NGO CARD, held a demonstration of a new computer,
printer, and ‘AUGIUS’ software package with internet connection in
Armavir Marz, Armavir City Veterinary Inspection and Laboratory Office.

The computer packages are part of USDA’s long term National Animal
Health Project (NAHP) in close collaboration with the Armenian Ministry
of Agriculture. Each of the ten Marz veterinary offices will receive
a computer/software package with internet. Two computers have already
been placed in the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Yerevan.

U.S. Charge d’Affaires Anthony F. Godfrey, Deputy Minister of
Agriculture Levon Rukhkyan and Chief Veterinary Officer and Food
Safety Head Grisha Baghyan attended the demonstration.

During the event, Charge d’Affaires Affairs Anthony F. Godfrey noted
that these computers will improve the collection of animal disease
data and the transfer of this data to the central veterinary lab via
the internet. He said that the collection and distribution of this
vital information is an important step in the containment of endemic
animal diseases in Armenia.

4th CONFERENCE ON PROBLEMS OF ARMENIAN TOURISM’S COMPETITIVENESS TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN ON APRIL 11-12

Noyan Tapan
Apr 10 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The 4th conference on problems of
Armenian tourism’s competitiveness will be held in Yerevan on April
11-12. It is organized on the initiative of the RA Ministry of Trade
and Economic Development, the Armenian Tourism Development Agency,
and the USAID Competitive Armenian Private Sector (CAPS) Program.

NT correspondent was informed from the USAID/CAPS Office that over
250 representatives of state and private structures of the Armenian
tourism sector will participate in the event. They will discuss the
strategical program on tourism development in Armenia, as well as key
factors of the sector’s competitiveness. Business unions of tourism
will present their services at the conference, as well as the annual
list of events envisaged in the sector will be made public.

TOURISM IS NOT FULLY DEVELOPED IN ARMENIA

A1+
[02:13 pm] 11 April, 2007

The number of tourists arriving in Armenia will exceed 400 thousand
by the turn of 2007, Ara Petrosyan, Deputy Minister of Trade and
Economic Development, told a press conference today.

"Tourism has a specific role all over the world. It has its
direct impact on numerous systems, among them poverty curtail,
provision of youth and women with job opportunities, maintenance of
historical-cultural values, etc," the deputy minister says. "Surely,
we still have much to do but we are already on the right way."

In Ara Petrosyan’s words, over 270 million AMD were earmarked to
tourism in 2006. 139 million of the sum was spent to advertise Armenia
via CNN.

250 million AMD will be allotted this year to promote the development
of tourism in the country.

Ara Petrosyan considers that the quality of services has considerably
improved in Armenia, which also enhances tourism.

According to the 2006 statistic data, the main visitors to Armenia
were from Georgia, Russia and the USA. By average calculations,
$52 was spent daily in Armenia.

Nina Hovnanian, Executive Director, Armenian Tourist Development Agency
(ATDA), finds the datum very important for Armenia. "Tourism brings
money to certain strata of the public; flower sellers, restaurants
and taxi drivers earn money via tourism.

It is noteworthy that in Nina Hovnanian claims that Armenian tourism
is not that developed yet but in five years’ time we shall better
the picture.

In reply to A1+’s question which factors the high prices of the hotels
are determined by, the deputy minister answered, "The employment in the
RA hotels annually increases by 20-25 %. Under the given conditions,
no hotel will cut the prices to keep abreast with the times; in case
the employment increases the high prices are justified."

Nina Hovnanyan disagreed with the deputy minister saying, "Provided
more tourists arrive in Armenia, the competition between the hotels
will become tense and the prices will logically decrease."

HETQonline
An Apple of Discord Beneath Hankavan
April 9, 2007

We have reported recently that the Minister of Nature Protection has given
several deposits with total mineral resource content of about 3 billion tons
to members of his own family and is now trying to sell them off (See Vardan
Ayvazyan’s Business Project). To compare, the approved mineral reserves of
the Kajaran mine, which is the largest Armenian deposit, make up 450 million
tons. The Kajaran mine was sold through an international tender at a price
of $US 120 million.
Minister of Nature Protection Vardan Ayvazyan has a special fondness for
Armenia’s gold deposits. This attitude was especially clear on December 19,
2005, when he issued seven geological exploration licenses simultaneously to
Interior Ltd established by his assistant, Tigran Krmoyan. Krmoyan was the
minister’s aid until October 6, 2006. Currently he manages the Ayvazyan’s
mineral and non-mineral resources, including his real estate business.
Interior Ltd is unique among companies granted license for geological
investigation. The licenses for all seven sites were granted to Interior Ltd
on the same day; i.e. there was no desire at all to issue licenses on
different dates. The license agreements were signed the next day, December
20, 2005.
All seven licenses for geological exploration were granted to Interior Ltd
until September 30, 2008
Organization Location, Type and term of the license Registration
addressFounders and their addresses
Interior Ltd. Kotayk Marz, License for exploring the Hankavan Ore Field,
Batsat Lich site, December 19, 2005-September 30, 2008Yerevan,
54 Komitas Street Ibraruri Atenesyan, Armen Bunatyan, Tigran Krmoyan
(assistant to the minister of Nature Protection).
Interior Ltd. Kotayk Marz, License for exploring the Hankavan Ore Field,
Sarnakhbyour site.¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨
Interior Ltd. Kotayk Marz, License for exploring the Hankavan Ore Field,
Tsits Kar site.¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨
Interior Ltd. Kotayk Marz, License for exploring the Hankavan Ore Field, Aya
Pavle site.¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨
Nagin, Ltd. Kotayk Marz, License for exploring the Megradzor Ore Field, Zar
site.¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨
Interior Ltd. Kotayk Marz, License for exploring the Megradzor Ore Field,
Arjasar site.¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨
Interior Ltd. Kotayk Marz, License for exploring the Megradzor Ore Field,
Nor site. ¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨

It is interesting to note that SHA Ltd had already been granted the right to
geological exploration of the areas adjoining the village of Hankavan in the
Kotayk Marz on December 19, 2005 when Interior Ltd was granted the seven
licenses for geological exploration of the same area, although the law
prohibits issuance of double licenses for the same area. SHA Ltd was bought
by the American Global Gold Corporation, which means that the international
treaty on mutual protection of investments signed between Armenia and the US
is applicable in respect to SHA Ltd.
This American company has made investments and conducted exploration at
those sites since 2004. i.e. for three years. Meanwhile Interior Ltd, which
actually belongs to the Minister, neither conducts nor is going to conduct
any works at those sites, as it hasn’t incurred any required mobilization
expenses based on the data of tax authorities.
Minister Ayvazyan has declared many times that Global Gold Corporation
hasn’t conducted any work and therefore he has terminated that company’s
license. However, Global Gold Mining has made substantial investments in the
exploration of those sites according to the data of the same tax
authorities, bringing in competent foreign companies to assist in the work.
The minister made no reference to the lack of work by companies that he
owns, including Interior Ltd.
One of our sources in the Ministry of Nature Protection informed us that
Ayvazyan is currently negotiating with one of the foreign companies
operating in Georgia to sell the mines granted to Interior Ltd. The price
set by the minister is in the tens of millions this time.
It’s difficult to say whether making these facts public will change anything
in this sector. But it is well known that Global Gold Corporation has
brought an action against the Government of the Republic of Armenia in the
World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, for
granting its licenses to other companies and on other grounds, as provided
for by the international treaty signed between the two countries. It is
clear that the Republic of Armenia is in a difficult position, but Vardan
Ayvazyan will not be the loser.
To be continued.
Edik Baghdasaryan

RUSSIAN PRIZE LITERARY CONTEST WINNERS NAMED IN MOSCOW

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
April 9, 2007 Monday 07:43 AM EST

The winners of the "Russian Prize" literary contest will be awarded
prizes at the "Hermitage" theatre here on Monday. They are being
annually adjudged to writers of the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS) and the Baltic countries, who write their books in Russian.

The main purpose of the contest is to help safeguard the Russian
language as a unique cultural heritage of the republics of the former
Soviet Union.

Nine authors had qualified for the finals: prose writer Turusbek
Madylbayev and Talip Ibraimov of Kyrgyzstan, Vilen Malvelian of
Armenia, Vladimir Lorchenkov of Moldova, Oleg Slepynin and Marat
Nemeshev of Ukraine, and also poets Shamshad Abdullayev of Uzbekistan,
Anastasia Afanasieva and Dmitry Lazutkin of Ukraine.

The prizes are awarded in the "Big Prose", "Minor Prose" and "Poetry"
nominations. Each winner will get eighty thousand roubles.

Approximately four hundred authors from sixteen post-Soviet countries,
including South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and the self-proclaimed Dniester
Republic took part in the contest.

The jury of the contest, chaired by writer Chingiz Aitmatov, was
made up of eminent writers, poets and literary critics of Russia
and the CIS. They included Alexander Voznesensky, Boris Kuzminsky,
and Yevgeny Abdullayev.

The non-commercial "Institute of Eurasian Studies" and the "Caucasian
Institute of Democracy" had initiated the "Russian Prize" contest in
2006. Itar-Tass is its general information partner.

Armenia to give growth in economy priority over rights
By Andrew Bounds in Brussels

FT
April 9 2007 03:00

Armenia will put economic development ahead of human rights
improvements, its new prime minister said in an interview with the
Financial Times.

Serge Sargysan, the defence minister who was promoted on Wednesday
after the death of Andranik Margaryan from a heart attack last month,
said jobs were more important than rights. Despite double-digit
economic growth in the past few years, a third of the 3m-strong
population of the landlocked Caucasian republic lives below the
poverty line.

"It is hard to talk about democratic and human rights when you need to
solve the social and economic needs of the population," the prime
minister said during a trip to Brussels. "We would not like to be a
state stuck in our transition."

He said the huge Armenian diaspora – estimated at up to three times
the native population – should get more involved in the country. Only
1 per cent of investment came from them, he said, and he was looking
at ways they could be encouraged.

However, Mr Sargysan said the government in Yerevan would keep pledges
made to international bodies after criticism of its rights record and
he was hopeful that the May 12 parlia-mentary elections would be the
first to be pronounced free and fair by the Organisation for Security
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the European security watchdog.

"We have made commitments to different programmes and we think
compliance is in our interest. We want to become part of the European
family."

Mr Sargysan, who helped organise militias that seized the enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan in a three-year war following
independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, said his top priority was
to conclude a peace treaty with its Muslim neighbour.

The oil-rich state has been rearming recently but Mr Sargysan said
that was sabre-rattling. Turkey closed its border with Armenia during
the war and the premier said he would strive to restore relations and
sign a peace deal. Armenia could grow far faster if rapprochement was
reached with its bigger neighbours, he said.

Yet Armenia remains in control of Nagorno-Karabakh and hundreds of
thousands of people are still displaced. Turkey – which has been
offered talks without conditions – has shown no willingness to
compromise.

Mr Sargysan said that, despite ties to influential exiles in the US,
Yerevan would remain friendly to Moscow and would not support a US
base in the volatile Caucusus. In a swipe at neighbouring Georgia,
whose "rose revolution" against Russian domination has endeared it to
the west, he said he did not see it as a model to emulate.

"One can either exploit their differences between superpowers or work
with them. We prefer to work with them. There are many conflicts in
our region."

Mr Sargysan said Armenia would one day like to join the European Union
but had no desire to join the Nato defence alliance, although it was
working closely with it.

San Gabriel Valley Tribune (California)
April 1, 2007 Sunday

Stop genocide in Darfur

What are we waiting for?

As the richest country in the world, we have to stop the genocide in
Darfur, Sudan!

According to the U.N., 400,000 men, women and children have been
killed in Darfur. Millions of people have been forced from their
homes and face starvation, rape and the constant threat of violence.

I have been a world history teacher for the past eight years.

Each year, when I teach about the genocides of the 20th century, like
the Armenian Genocide of 1914, the Holocaust of World War II, the
Rape of Nanking of 1937 and Rwanda in 1994, students are always
baffled as to why didn’t anyone do anything to stop these atrocities.

I try my best in explaining that some people did try but not those in
power.

So today, in 2007, what are those in power waiting for?

The U.N. has already declared the genocide in Darfur to be the worst
humanitarian crisis in the world today.

Right now, candidates for public office are traveling the campaign
trail describing their visions for the future.

As Election Day approaches, stopping the genocide in Darfur must be
on the agenda.

I, for one, will not vote for any candidate who doesn’t use his or
her position of power to stop these inhumane massacres.

Araceli Castillo-Parrales
Baldwin Park

SECOND ANNUAL "HIS HOLINESS KAREKIN II WORK PROJECT" KICKS OFF ON APRIL 10

ArmRadio.am
06.04.2007 16:06

The second annual "His Holiness Karekin II Work Project" kicks off
in Armenia April 10. Volunteers from around the globe will descend
upon Armenia, to build homes side by side with homeowner families,
local sponsors, volunteers, dignitaries, and monks from the Armenian
Apostolic Church.

"The Armenian Apostolic Church is delighted to launch this event once
again with Habitat for Humanity. It’s not only a celebration of people
coming together to help families in need, but it’s also an important
step toward removing the blight of poverty housing in Armenia,"
says Archbishop Vicken Aykazian of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

During building events around the country from April through October,
37 homes for families in need will be completed in Armenia, symbolizing
36 worldwide Dioceses, plus the Holy See of Mother Etcmiadzin. His
Holiness, Karekin II, Catholicos of all Armenians, is expected to
bless the event’s official opening at the Etchmiadzin Gevorgyan
seminary on April 10.

The Armenian Church signed a historic partnership with Habitat for
Humanity in April 2006, aimed to combat poverty housing in Armenia,
and worldwide. The first "His Holiness Karekin II Work Project"
was held in Gavar, Armenia, where a building was renovated for 24
families, with an additional 13 homes being built around the country.

"YOUTH FOR ACHIEVEMENT" NGO IMPLEMENTS TEACHING PROGRAM ADDRESSED TO DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCRACY IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Apr 06 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 6, NOYAN TAPAN. The "Youth for Achievement"
educational public organization has implemented since early this
year the "Interactive Elections" program in Yerevan, Gyumri and
Vanadzor. According to the information submitted to Noyan Tapan by the
organization office, the goal of the program is to assist development
of democracy in Armenia, increase of young voters’ awareness
concerning democracy as well as to encourage their participation in
the elections. Seminars have already been held within the framework
of the program. More than 250 students participate in them.

One of the important components of the six-month program is students’
interactive teaching what, particularly, will be implemented with the
help of "organization of parliament elections" games. "Game parties"
will be created as a result of coordination meetings being held in
Yerevan on April 5-6. They will organize a pre-electoral campaign and
participate in the "game elections" on April 30. A "game parliament"
will be formed as a result of those elections.