Author: Karagyozian Lena

A GROUP OF FIVE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT

Panorama.am
17:14 20/12/2007

"As of today there are four or five candidates that have real chances
of winning at the presidential elections," Gerasim Barseghyan, a
political scientist, told a meeting with reporters today. In his words,
Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan has serious chances of winning. "The
electorate of the Republican Party is mainly in the marzes where
people do not have high political ambitions and want to be sure that
their irrigation water and bread will be tomorrow, although we cannot
say that Yerevan will not be decisive," Barseghyan said.

Among candidates with realistic chances of winning he mentioned the
name of Arthur Baghdasaryan.

"Baghdasaryan has the skills of populism and political
technologies. Besides, he may take up very unpredictable actions but he
has taken time out at this point," he said. Among serious candidates,
Barseghyan mentioned Vahan Manukyan as charismatic and prestigious
party representative. Barseghyan said Levon Ter-Petrosyan is among the
five with chances to win. Ter-Petrosyan has some skills of political
technologies and guides the discontent masses, the political scientist
said. Lastly, he mentioned the names of Artashes Geghamyan and Vazgen
Manukyan who share the last 5th position. "Geghamyan may give away
his positions as he entered into the cycle of black PR as a result
of being criticized by the press. Vazgen Manukyan turned out to be
more cold-hearted," he said.

NUMBER OF APPLICANTS FOR RECEIVING U.S. NON-IMMIGRANT VISA BECOMES STABLE FOR PAST TWO YEARS IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Dec 19 2007

YEREVAN,DECEMBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. As of December 18, 10 400 people have
applied to the U.S. Embassy in Armenia for receiving U.S. non-immigrant
visa. This index is almost the same in comparison with that of the
previous year. This statement was made by Robin Busse, the Consul
of the U.S. Embassy in Armenia. According to him, the number of
applicants has decreased since 1999, and has become stable for the
past two years. Robin Busse also mentioned that approximately 60% of
the applications for receiving non-immigrant visa has been rejected
for the past ten years.

According to him, by the U.S. Law on Immigration, any person applying
for visa is considered a potential immigrant. In his words, the aim
of conducting interviews is to find out the stable relations and
circumstances of the applicant, that is personal, financial-economic,
real estate property, to name but a few, which will make him/her
return. However, in the words of Robin Busse, "they take into
consideration the consciousness of the person." That is to say,
the applicant may have a profitable job but not be able to present
the aim of his journey in a convincing way. The Consul admits that
sometimes they also make mistakes, however, he is sure that they
mainly make right decisions.

Robin Busse also mentioned that the number of the RA citizens, who
break the terms of the visa and stay in the United States of America
longer or do not return at all, is not small.

POLICE CLEARS UP CIRCUMSTANCES OF EXPLOSION NEAR ENTRANCE DOOR OF CHORRORD ISHKHANUTIUN NEWSPAPER

Noyan Tapan
Dec 13, 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The extent of damage and the
circumstances of the explosion near the entrance door of editorial
office of the Chorrord Ishkhanutiun newspaper committed early in
the morning of December 13 are being cleared up, the examination
is being carried out by the Kentron Investigation Department of the
Police. According to the official sources of the Police, the windows
of the entrance door were broken as a result of the explosion.

ARMENIA’S GOVERNMENT APPROVES TECHNICAL REGULATION OF DEMANDS TO JUICE AND PRESERVATIVES

ARKA News Agency , Armenia
Dec 13 2007

YEREVAN, December 13. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Government during its Thursday
session approved the technical regulation on juice and preservative
requirements.

During the governmental briefing, Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic
Development Garnik Badalyan said that the regulation is to intensify
food safety in the country.

"The regulation is elaborated and approved in accordance with the
norms of the Armenian legislation, taking into account the necessity
of providing safety of the population’s life and health," he said and
added that the regulation is elaborated on the basis of international
safety standards.

He informed that the regulation will come into force in eight months
after its official publication, besides the schedule of holding
analysis of critical risks will also be approved.

Badalyan pointed out that the regulation requirements will cover all
juices, including the imported ones, as well as food supplements.

Deputy Head of Standardization and Technical Safety Department
Lili Maksudyan said that the technical regulation clearly specifies
definitions of tomato paste, fruit and fruit-vegetable juices, fruit
drinks and nectars, requirements to their production, transportation,
realization and labeling.

According to Maksudyan, the regulation also sets clear requirements
to children’s juice and food, in particular, it bans usage of dietary
salt in their production, and defines the requirement of mentioned
children’s age group for who the food and juices are intended.

4,298.5ths liters of juice were produced in Armenia in January-October
2007, which exceeds the index of 2006 by 13.1% (3,799.2the liters of
juice).

ARMENIAN KURDS TO VOTE FOR SERZH SARKISIAN

ARMENPRESS
Dec 12 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS: Prominent members of Armenian
Kurdish community have called today on fellows to vote for prime
minister Serzh Sarkisian when they will go to the polls on February
19 to elect a president.

"We, the Kurds, as full citizens of Armenia, shall cast out ballots in
favor of Serzh Sarkisian, who was spearheading for years virtually all
force agencies of the country and is very well aware of its domestic
and external challenges. The problems of national minorities have
always been in his limelight,’ Knyaz Hasanov, chairman of the Armenian
Kurdish National Council, told at a news conference today.

Hasanov and another senior member of the Council said they hope that
the February 19 election will be fair and transparent.

Robert Kotikian from the Aragatsotn province, which has the largest
Kurdish population in Armenia, said his fellows have decided to vote
for Sarkisian because he shows respect to Kurds and Kurds respect him.

Earlier representatives of the Yezidi and Jewish communities also
said their fellows would vote for Serzh Sarkisian.

Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Armenia.

In Soviet times there was an 80,000-strong Kurdish community in
Armenia, but it began to dwindle as the Soviet Union began to
collapse. Now there are over 40,000 Kurds in Armenia.

The Kurdish people here are represented by two ethnic groups: the
Muslim Kurds and the Yezidis, who has preserved their old religion. Up
to the end of the 1980s the Yezidis were identified with the Kurds,
but then Yezidis began to identify themselves as a different people.

VAHAN HOVANISYAN WILL STRUGGLE FOR CHANGES

Lragir
Dec 13 2007
Armenia

The ARF Dashnaktsutyun presidential candidate Vahan Hovanisyan
thinks despite the doubts of the political scientists and politicians
about the third pole, the third pole has already been created. Vahan
Hovanisyan stated this December 13 at the National Press Club.

"The question is that usually there cannot be three poles, it is a
simple geographic postulate which confuses people. Unfortunately,
Armenia is entering the political election with two adversarial
poles. If it is a center of three forces, it is already another
issue. There the real force will be revealed," Vahan Hovanisyan says.

In this connection he thinks that the chance of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun
to win the election is not only real but "very soon you will see
that it is more than real," Vahan Hovanisyan says, adding that he is
not going to fight against an opponent but for changes. In answer
to the question whom he considers the favorite of the election,
the presidential candidate said me.

GERMAN CULTURAL DAYS IN YEREVAN

Panorama.am
21:24 11/12/2007

German cultural days are announced from December 11 to 18 in
Yerevan. According to the German Embassy in Armenia, the organizer
of the ceremonies is by German Federation Republic. It is planned to
carry out some exhibitions, reports, and German films with Armenian
and Russian subtitles will be shown in National Gallery.

Soon Christmas holidays will start and German – Armenian Christmas
party will be organized and special competitions for the pupils. On
the last day of the ceremony German and South Caucasus classical music
evening will take place in Chamber Music House named after Komitas.

The mission of the German days is to raise interest of the public
towards German culture.

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS TO CONDUCT MONITORING MISSION AT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS OF GEORGIA

Noyan Tapan
Dec 12 2007

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 12, NOYAN TAPAN. At the invitation of the Speaker of
the Parliament of Georgia the representatives of the National Assembly
of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the parliamentarians of other
countries will conduct a monitoring mission in the presidential
elections of Georgia to be held on January 5, 2008.

According to the information provided to a Noyan Tapan correspondent by
the RA Central Electoral Commission, as of December 12 the Commission
has received no invitation for conducting a monitoring mission in
Georgia as yet. However, Georgi Tsaganelidze, the Charge d"Affaires
of Georgia to the Republic of Armenia, has officially addressed the
Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Armenia, inviting
two representatives of the Commission as observers in the electoral
station to open in the embassy on the day of the ballot.

REPLACING RUSSIA’S PRESIDENT MEANS LITTLE FOR GEORGIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS
By M. Alkhazashvili (Translated by Diana Dundua)

The Messenger, Georgia
Dec 12 2007

Though several months are left until Russians cast their votes for
their next president, the election was all but decided when Vladimir
Putin endorsed Dmitry Medvedev as his successor on Monday.

Putin is constitutionally barred from taking another consecutive term
in office; Medvedev has said he will "ask" Putin to take the post of
prime minister.

Medvedev, Gazprom’s chairman, is both close to and politically
dependent on Putin, ensuring that there will be little change in who
wears the trousers in Moscow.

There was, however, immediate speculation on whether a Medvedev
presidency could nonetheless bring changes to Russian foreign policy.

Commentators and politicians from all three South Caucasus states
think not, as far as their countries are concerned.

Azeri analyst Shakhin Rzaev, speaking to Regnum, said he was confident
that Putin’s continuing control would leave little room for unexpected
decisions in Russian relations with Azerbaijan. Adhering to the same
path, he added, would satisfy Baku.

Armenian analyst Amaiak Ovanessian concurred, enthusiastically
predicting that Russian-Armenian cooperation will only deepen in the
years to come.

Armenian ruling party MP Samvel Nikoian was similarly sunny, quoted
by Regnum as saying relations between the two countries will develop
nicely regardless of who holds the presidency.

In Georgia, meanwhile, analysts and politicians agree that a new
face for Russian president won’t lead to any significant changes in
Russian politics. That, of course, is less positive for Georgia’s
fortunes. Barring a change here, the countries will remain unhappy
adversaries.

"This will be the same Russia," said the chair of the Committee for
European Integration, Nino Nakashidze. And if this will be the same
Georgia after January, one can expect Tbilisi and Moscow to continue
to battle.

"ONCE YOU HAVE MONEY YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE PROTECTED"

A1+
[06:30 pm] 10 December, 2007

Human rights are violated in the Republic of Armenia.

They are infringed at each step every day, Alexander Ghazarian said in
reply to A1+’s question whether human rights are protected in Armenia.

December 10 is the International Day of Human Rights.

Today A1+ held a poll among Yerevan civilians with regard to human
rights protection in the country.

Most of the respondents say that human rights are mostly violated in
the prosecutor’s office and police.

People are forced to bear false testimony.

They are locked in cells and subjected to pressure.

Finally you are to surrender and obey their instructions to survive,"
David Hakobian says.

Applicants from well-off families are admitted to higher educational
institutions as they can afford tuition bill. This is merely an
infringement of students’ rights, student Naira Vardanian said.

Human rights are violated in public transportation, streets, working
places and military units, Arthur Demirchian says.

Our civilians are confident that the Ombudsman will hardly help them to
restore their violated rights as "he is dependent of the authorities."

None of the respondents thinks human rights are protected in Armenia.