MUNICIPALITY DOES NOT AUTHORIZE THE OPPOSITION RALLY
A1+
12 June, 2008
Today the Municipality rejected the request of the opposition to
authorize the rally due on June 20. As the Municipality promises the
causes for rejection will be announced later.
However, tomorrow the opposition is planning to apply once more and
appeal today’s decision in the court.
Later on the Municipality informed "A1+" that the rally is allowed
to be held near the sports ground "Hrazdan" on the same day.
CITIZENS GET THEIR DEPOSITS
Panorama.am
21:11 11/06/2008
Till May 23 this year 13 thousands 363 people from 60 thousands
received their deposits said Armen Margaryan the head of methodological
aid center of the Ministry of Works and Social Affairs of Armenia. He
said that 1 billion 300 million drams were disposed from the state
budget to repay back the deposits.
According to Armen Margaryan, in the nearest future they will have
already repaid back the deposits of pensioners over 70 living near
border and disaster territory, and only after that they will start
repaying the rest pensioners. Armen Margaryan did not say exactly
how many people will get their deposits this year; he said that as
much as it is disposed.
Note that in 2006-2007 10 thousands 472 people get deposits. Previous
year 1 billion drams were disposed from the state budget.
NEW SHADES APPEARED IN KARABAKH PROCESS, BAKU SAYS
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.06.2008 15:42 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ New shades appeared in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement process, according to the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister.
"Presently, we work at those provisions of the Madrid proposals which
have not been coordinated yet," Elmar Mammadyarov said. "These are
principal for us and we offered the OSCE Minsk Group intermediaries
to negotiate them with Armenian side."
As to the recent presidential meeting in St Petersburg, Mammadyarov
said that the meeting was of evaluation character. "We presented our
positions to each other and decided to provide time for the Minsk
Group Co-chairs to find new ways to advance them," the Minister said,
Trend Azeri news agency reports.
PRESIDENT SERZH SARKISIAN TAKES PART IN INAUGURATION OF RECONSTRUCTED SECONDARY SCHOOL IN ASHTARAK
ARMENPRESS
June 10, 2008
ASHTARAK, JUNE 10, ARMENPRESS: President Serzh Sarkisian was today
in the town of Ashtarak, the administrative center of the central
Aragatsotn province, to take part in the inauguration ceremony of a
reconstructed secondary school building. He was accompanied by vice
prime minister Armen Gevorkian, education minister Spartak Seyranian
and other officials.
That was Serzh Sarkisian’s first visit to the region in his new
capacity. The president said he was happy that the occasion was the
opening of a new school building.
"This is because I emphasize greatly the activity of the Lincy
Foundation and its school building component. I think that there must
not be rundown school buildings in Armenia because if we want to have a
well-educated generation we have to create appropriate conditions. In
my election program I used to highlight the proportional development
of the regions. My conviction is that one should not live in the
capital city to receive good education. Our regional schools should
be as good as schools in Yerevan’ he said.
President Sarkisian said also if Armenia wants to become a competitive
nation, "if we want that the new generation be able to withstand the
challenges of the 21-st century we have to invest in education." He
said the school in Ashtarak was an illustration of it.
Hrayr Sarkisian, head of the office for implementation of Lincy-funded
school building program, said the school built in 1971 was last
repaired in 1984 and in terms of seismic resistance it did not meet
today’s requirements.
He said three wings of the old building were reconstructed and a new
wing was built, along with a boiler house, a gym and the area around
the school was fenced. New furniture and equipment were bought. The
project’s cost was 900 million Drams, part of which was provided by
the government while the bulk of funds came from the Lincy Foundation.
ITAR-TASS, Russia
June 7 2008
Medvedev, Sargsyan agree to coordinate energy supply terms by end of June
06.06.2008, 22.11
YEREVAN, June 6 (Itar-Tass) — Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Serzh
Sargsyan confirmed their wish for Russian-Armenian allied relations at
the Friday meeting before the CIS informal summit in St. Petersburg,
the Armenian presidential press office said.
‘The sides lauded the high level of the bilateral political dialog and
economic interaction between Russia and Armenia. They discussed a
broad range of bilateral issues, including energy and transport
cooperation,’ the press office said.
The presidents said that Russian and Armenian agencies must coordinate
terms of the delivery of Russian energy resources to Armenia by the
end of June.
They also discussed regional and international problems, including the
Karabakh settlement.
Medvedev invited Sargsyan to pay an official visit to Russia.
`I invite you to pay an official visit to the Russian Federation
within the next few months, whenever you think it convenient,’
Medvedev told the Armenian president on Friday. Sargsyan said he was
ready to do that next month.
Medvedev said that was his second meeting with Sargsyan over the
recent past. `I once again congratulate you on your new position,’
Medvedev said.
He noted that bilateral cooperation was successful and trade had been
growing.
`We have very good relations with Russia based on the interests of our
peoples,’ Sargsyan said. `We want to strengthen our cooperation. Thank
you for the invitation. That would be a good chance to discuss the
current situation and assess prospects.’
Interfax News Agency, Russia
June 6 2008
BAKU, YEREVAN SATISFIED WITH AZERI-ARMENIAN SUMMIT
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
discussed Nagorno-Karabakh with participation of the OSCE Minsk Group
co- chairmen in St. Petersburg on Friday, the Azeri president’s
administration told Interfax.
Following the summit, Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and
Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian gave a press conference
and described the talks as positive and constructive.
The OSCE Minsk Group said it wished to continue mediation, Mammadyarov
said. Currently the terms of the next OSCE Minsk Group co- chairmen’s
visit are being negotiated with account of the working schedules of
the Azeri and Armenian foreign ministers, he said. This visit is
expected to take place in late July.
"Following a mutual explanation of our attitudes, we should continue
the work on closing up our positions," Mammadyarov said.
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairman Matthew Bryza also said the meeting
between Sargsyan and Aliyev was successful.
ArmRosgasprom States Progress in Internal Installation Maintenance
YEREVAN, June 4. /ARKA/. Senior Engineer of the ArmRosgasprom Company
Ashot Hovsepyan pointed out progress in internal installation
maintenance in Armenia.
According to him, the AEG Service Company, which was founded a year
ago, had a task to organize internal installation maintenance.
Tremendous work has been done since then. A number of problems,
including the personnel problem, have been identified. Monitoring
conducted by the RA Public Services Regulatory Commission recorded
progress in the sector, Hovsepyan stated at a round-table discussion.
He pointed out the necessity for better supervision over the company’s
activities by ArmRosgasprom.
A total of 530,000 gas users are currently registered in Armenia. -0–
ARMENIAN DELEGATION TAKES PART IN ANNUAL MEETING OF DUTCH GROUP OF WB, IMF MEMBER-STATES
ARKA
June 5, 2008
YEREVAN, June 5. /ARKA/. An Armenian delegation headed by RA Minister
of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan is taking part in a 4-day annual meeting of
the Dutch group of the members of the World Bank (WB) and International
Monetary Fund (IMF).
The press service of the RA Ministry of Economy reports that the
Armenian delegation includes RA Chief Presidential Economic Advisor
Vahram Nersisyan, RA Deputy Minister of Finance Suren Karayan, CBA
Board member Vache Gabrielyan, Chief of the Financial Department,
Central Bank of Armenia (CBA), Artur Nakhshikyan, and Vice-Chief
of the Macroeconomic Forecast Department, RA Ministry of Finance,
Tigran Kostanyan.
The Armenian delegation is to hold meetings with IMF Director
General Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF Deputy Director General Carlo
Cottarelli, Dutch Minister of Finance Nout Welling, as well as with
IMF representatives and other officials.
The Dutch Group of the IMF and WB includes Armenia, Holland, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Spain, Croatia, Moldova, Georgia, Romania,
Ukraine, Cyprus and Macedonia.
M. PETROSYAN: I WOULD OFFER HIM TO WORK FOR THE SAKE OF THE COUNTRY AND THE NATION
KarabakhOpen
03-06-2008 12:11:24
Passively but Karabakh discusses the letter of Jirair Sefilyan,
the ex-commander of the separate battalion of Shushi, born Beirut,
now serving sentence in Armenia for carrying illegal weapon. Jirair
Sefilyan has turned to the president of NKR for citizenship of
Karabakh.
Murad Petrosyan, the editor of the official newspaper Azat Artsakh,
underlined that "over the past 6 or 7 seven years Jirair Sefilyan
displays a radical stance, makes radical appeals to the society and
people, without any constraint on pronouncements." Murad Petrosyan
reminded that according to the statement of the Service of National
Security of Armenia on December 12, 2006 the Union of Armenian
Volunteers organization set up by Jirair Sefilyan and his supporters
planned to "push the opposition for clashes and pressure on the
political opposition to take illegal action against the government
of Armenia".
"Jirair Sefilyan is another case. His contribution to the homeland is
indisputable. His friends love him, his enemies respect him. And there
are lots of genuine patriots in the Union for Protection of Liberated
Territories. Any normal person would be honored to call those people
friends. However, to be a patriot does not mean to be faultless,
and does not free from responsibility before the law and the state,"
Murad Petrosyan said.
"If I were president, I would talk to him, on the condition of not
politicizing the army, I would offer him to work in Karabakh for the
sake of the country and the nation as a commander of a battalion or
a regiment. Or whatever else he would like to do, benefitting the
country," Murad Petrosyan said.
NEW FOREIGN MINISTER PUT THE ISSUE
Lragir.am
KarabakhOpen
04-06-2008 13:59:31
The new foreign minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan held
his first news conference on June 4 at the press hall of the
foreign ministry. Before answering the questions of reports,
Nalbandyan, like Raffi Hovannisian, first shook hands with about
forty reporters. Considering that the upcoming important foreign
political event for Armenia is the Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting on June
6 at Saint Petersburg, the main topic of the news conference was the
Karabakh conflict.
The reporters asked Edward Nalbandyan to finally confirm if there is
a negotiated document which was presented to the sides at the OSCE
summit in Madrid or is there no such document, since Azerbaijan claims
that if there is no agreement, there is no document either. Edward
Nalbandyan answered that there is a document which is also registered
with the OSCE. The foreign minister of Armenia said Armenia stated
ready to continue the talks on that document, and that document is
the result of lasting efforts of the sides.
"In other words, the matter is not that Azerbaijan should offer
new proposals or Armenia should offer new proposals, or the Minsk
Group co-chairs should offer new proposals. There are proposals now
and these proposals are the basis of the talks, and we are ready to
continue them, the Azerbaijani side should also be ready to continue
the talks on the basis of that document," Edward Nalbandyan says.
As to the upcoming meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Edward Nalbandyan expects positive
results, saying that it is positive if it becomes clear after
the meeting that the talks continue and the presidents will have
instructions for the foreign ministers for the future talks.
At the same time, however, Edward Nalbandyan thinks it is strange
that the president of Azerbaijan states ready to continue the talks,
whereas other officials, such as the deputy foreign minister or the
minister of defense Abiyev speak about a military settlement. Edward
Nalbandyan does not avoid the expression of war settlement, saying
that it is uttered by Azerbaijan, not Armenia. However, the foreign
minister of Armenia reminds that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair
countries have stated, for instance the Russian foreign minister
Lavrov in Moscow, that there is no alternative to a peace settlement
of the Karabakh issue. And it is the opinion of all the co-chairs,
Edward Nalbandyan reminds.
"Certainly responding to every statement which sounds in the
militaristic spirit of Azerbaijan is something like kindling," says
Edward Nalbandyan, adding that the continuation of the conflict
does not stem from the interests of Armenia and Azerbaijan. "Today
militaristic statements are dangerous. Generally, it is very
important in settlement of a conflict, to suspend propaganda during
elections. It is important to settle a conflict when propaganda,
especially militaristic propaganda, continues," says the foreign
minister of Armenia.
According to him, the mediators should draw conclusions from
militaristic statements, as well as the international organizations
which make statements on the Karabakh conflict from time to time,
sometimes unaware of the details of the conflict. "Because now we are
in a phase of the talks when it is necessary to be highly careful,"
Edward Nalbandyan says.
By the way, after the news conference he left for Nagorno-Karabakh
but before leaving, at the end of the news conference, the reporters
asked him to convey his approach toward the mission of the Armenian
diplomacy. He said the statements that diplomacy should be more
proactive are good but words are not enough. To state that from now
on we are going to be proactive will not change anything, Edward
Nalbandyan says. According to him, it is necessary to judge by the
results, and generally the goal of diplomacy, according to the chief
diplomat of the country, is to increase the number of friends of
Armenia, and thereby favor the solution of our problems.