Author: Khondkarian Raffi

‘CONVERSE BANK’ TO COMPLETE YEAR 2008 WITH PROFIT OF 2.5 BLN DRAMS

ArmInfo
2008-12-26 14:59:00

ArmInfo. ‘Converse Bank’ schedules to assure the balance sheet
profit of 2.5 bln drams upon the results of 2008, with almost 40%
excess of the last-year indicator, Director General of ‘Convesre Bank’
Ararat Ghukasyan said today when replying to ArmInfo question during
a press-conference timed to summing-up of the year results.

He said the bank increased the credit portfolio in 2008 by 36% up to 42
bln drams as of late November. Moreover, the consumer credit portfolio
of the bank grew by 17% to 7.4 bln drams, mortgage portfolio – by 80%
to 5 bln drams. As A. Ghukasyan said, the current year turned out to be
critical as regards increase of the agriculture crediting volumes. So,
the agricultural credit portfolio of the bank has grown by 130% since
the beginning of the year having exceeded 1 bln drams. ‘We managed
to generate the relevant package of tools for financing of small
private economic subjects. In general, 900 mln drams out of the total
agricultural credit volume were granted due to the bank participation
in the international programmes, while credits to 100 mln drams were
extended at the cost of the bank’s own funds’, A. Ghukasyan emphasized.

Moreover, he said, the bank has become more active this year in
crediting of small and medium-sized business (SME) and assured 17%
portfolio growth. ‘We are going to increase the specific weight of SME
credits in the bank’s total crediting portfolio as both at the cost
of participation in international programmes and at the cost of own
resources and the funds of the recently issued bonds’, he said and
added that the bank’s credit portfolio on SME makes up about 5.5 bln
drams. At late December, 2008, ‘Converse Bank’ joined the programme
of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development valued at $10
mln to be directed to SME financing in the Armenian villages as well.

According to A. Ghukasyan, The European Bank will provide financing
by two equal tranches ($5 mln each), the first of which will be
expectedly received in early, 2009. As the banker said, increase of the
credit portfolio given to SME will allow, first, to more diversify the
crediting spheres that, in its turn, will reduce the risks. Second, it
will lead to increasing of the workplaces and formation of more stable
basis for the economic development of the country. ‘However, we are
not going to tighten the conditions of crediting of small business,
however, SME crediting terms will be more attractive’, A. Ghukasyan
emphasized. He added that changing of the interest rates on credits
and deposits towards increasing by 1-1,5 % was observed during the
year both in the Banking market in general and in the "Converse Bank".

According to the data of ‘Conversee Bank’, the total bank capital
as of November 30 made up 13 bln drams , assets – 64.7 bln drams ,
liabilities – 51.7 bln drams. Converse Bank shareholders are Advanced
Global Investments controlled by Eduard Eurnekyan (95%) and Armenian
Apostolic Church Cathedral (5%), The bank has been operating since
1993.

ETHNIC MINORITIES SATISFIED WITH ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES

Panorama.am
16:27 26/12/2008

"National Minorities are well treated in Armenia and we are satisfied
with the Government and authorities. If we don’t manage to solve our
problems we ask the local authorities and they help us," says Romania
Yavir, the head of Ukrainians’ Federation to Armenia.

The President of Assyrian Federation Irina Gasparyan said that the
major problem for them is the educational one. Though Mrs. Gasparyan
mentioned that one step forwarded has been fixed this year – a project
of Assyrian language is being drafted.

Vardan Ascatryan, the Head of the Department for Ethnic Minorities
and Religious Affairs of the Government said the Prime Minister has
received 40 representatives of ethnic minorities to discuss their
problems.

OFID TO PROVIDE 14 MILLION DOLLAR CREDIT TO ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT

NOYAN TAPAN

Dec 25, 2008
YEREVAN

The Armenian ambassador to Austria Ashot Hovakimian and the
Director-General of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID)
Suleiman J. Al-Herbish on December 23 signed an agreement on allocation
of a 14 million dollar credit by the OFID to the Armenian government.

As NT was informed by the RA MFA Press and Information Department, the
credit is provided for implementation of the "Marketing Opportunity to
Farmers" program which envisages promotion of the economy of Armenian
rural areas through credits and investments.

EASTERN PARTNERSHIP OFFERS NEW MECHANISMS FOR ARMENIA-EU COOPERATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.12.2008 14:53 GMT+04:00

European Movement Armenia became fill-fledged member of European
Movement International on December 13.

"On December 12 and 13, the European Movement Armenia delegation
along with delegations from 30 other countries attended a session of
the European Movement International," Victor Yengibaryan, President
of the European Movement Armenia, told a news conference today.

"Henceforth, our delegation will have the vote in discussions and
decision making," he said, adding that the organization is planning
to establish branches throughout the republic.

"Europe is interested in cooperation with the South Caucasus
counties. The new Eastern Partnership initiative is open and efficient,
since it offers new mechanisms for the Armenia-EU cooperation,"
he said.

CHP DEPUTY DEMANDS DNA TESTS FOR PRESIDENT GUL

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.12.2008 18:04 GMT+04:00

The dispute between a main opposition deputy and President Abdullah
Gul over the latter’s ethnic origin took on another dimension with
the request of a DNA test from Gul to prove his ethnic background,
Hurriyet reports.

Canan Aritman, the Izmir deputy of the Republican People’s Party,
or CHP, said Gul had Armenian roots, which is why he has not
openly rejected the apology campaign carried out by a group of
intellectuals. In a counter-statement Gul said his family was 100
percent Muslim and Turk and filed a lawsuit against Aritman.

President Gul announced that his mother’s side, the Satoglu family
from Kayseri, and his father’s side, the Gul family also from Kayseri,
are Muslim and Turkish, according to centuries of written genealogy
records.

"I respect the ethnic background, different beliefs and family ties of
all my citizens and see this as a reality and also the wealth of our
country with its imperial history. I also would like to emphasize
that all my citizens are equal to one another regardless of any
differences. No one has any superiority whatsoever over another
one. Everybody has the equal and same rights under the guarantee of
our Constitution," Gul said. "I am proud of our country, which has
reached this level of understanding."

"Today, ethnic origin does not gain legal and scientific validity
through family trees, but through DNA tests," Aritman said in her
written statement late Monday. "Birth records during the Ottomans were
based on declarations and while recording non-Muslims, the state used
to write a Muslim name as the father’s name. Thus, nobody can prove
their ethic identity through a family tree."

Aritman said it was Gul’s prerogative to file a suit against her
and that she was not after anyone’s DNA results, but in the event
of a judicial process, she would have to produce documents and
witnesses. She also said she expected the president to say the Turkish
nation had not committed any crime of genocide. Many nations owe an
apology to our nation, but we do not owe an apology to anybody. "I do
not think I have requested a difficult thing. This is the president’s
constitutional duty. If he does not perform this task, he commits a
crime against the Constitution and he should resign," she said.

HOVSEPYAN SET A NEW RECORD

A1+
[09:32 pm] 23 December, 2008

Sargis Hovsepyan, 36, became the best senior soccer player of the
Armenian state soccer team and the "Pyunik" team in the history
of Armenian soccer. Based on results of a vote taken by the press
secretariat of the Armenian Football Federation, the experienced
player was recognized as the best player of 2008 today during the
2008 awards ceremony, which took place in the home/headquarters of
the Armenian Football Federation.

Sargis Hovsepyan also received a car and the keys were handed by
president of the Armenian Football Federation Ruben Hayrapetyan.

Hayrapetyan said that he is giving Sargis a car for setting the record
by playing 100 games as a national team player.

During the awards ceremony the medal-winners of the Armenian
championship received awards. The "Pyunik" team went home with gold
medals for the eighth time. "Ararat" received silver medals and
the "Gandzasar" team of Kapan won bronze medals for the first time
ever. The Brazilian legendary player Marcos won the best bombardier
ranking for the second year in a row, while Ararat Tchagharyan was
once again declared best referee.

There was a list of other prizes as well. The Armenian Development
Bank awarded Henrich Mkhitaryan as the player with the best progress.

At the end of the ceremony, president of the AFF Ruben Hayrapetyan
called on members of the football society to be united and wished
the soccer clubs success in the next European championship play-offs.

Here are the results of the vote for best soccer players:

1. Sargis Hovsepyan (Pyunik)-162 2. Henrich Mkhitaryan (Pyunik)-161
3. Vahagn Minasyan (Ararat)-112 4. Marcos (Ararat)-71 5. Artur
Edigaryan (Pyunik)-47 6. Hrair Mkoyan (Ararat)-19 7. Renato (Ararat)-11
8. Alexander Petrosyan (Gandzasar)-7 9. Gevorg Ghazaryan (Pyunik)-6
10. Arsen Balabekyan (Banants)-4 11. Jefferson (Ararat)-3 12. Karen
Dokhoyan (Pyunik)-3 13. Gevorg Kasparov (Ulis)-2 14. Benjamin
Manucharyan (Gandzasar)-1 15. Albert Tadevosyan (Pyunik)-1
16. Constantin Birsan (Gandzasar)-1 17. Grigor Meliksetyan (Pyunik)

DOUBLE STANDARDS

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
19 Dec 2008
Armenia

According to GAGIK MINASYAN, "A lot of member states of the Council of
Europe, including our neighboring countries, do not even dispute the
fact of the existence of political prisoners. However, no international
structure, including the Council of Europe, made the issue a subject
of discussions.

Azerbaijan doesn’t have the level of democracy which exists in
Armenia; besides, its judicial system and the electoral institute do
not function.

Not only leaders of political parties but also journalists are arrested
for their political views.

In such circumstances, it is obvious that the international structures
apply double standards and are guided by political interests and
considerations."

GENOCIDE PREVENTION PROJECT LAUNCHED

armradio.am
23.12.2008 10:39

The Armenian National Committee of America, Eastern Region (ANCA-ER)
welcomes the launching of Genocide Prevention Project (GPP), a newly
created organization working to expand the outreach and mobilization
of advocacy action during times of mass atrocity and genocide.

"The ANCA is very enthusiastic about the launch of Genocide Prevention
Project as an invaluable tool to help end the cycle of genocide,"
said ANCA ER Executive Director Karine Birazian. "We look forward to
working with their New York headquarters to expand the anti-genocide
constituency in the United States, as part of the effort to end the
Darfur genocide and prevent future crimes against humanity."

Originally launched in 2007 under the banner "Dream for Darfur," GPP
activists called on 2008 Olympics host country, China, to encourage
Sudan to end atrocities committed against the people of Darfur. The
effort drew international attention, spotlighting the ongoing genocide
in the region, which has already cost some 400,000 lives. Following
the Olympics closing ceremonies, GPP expanded its efforts and began
work with survivors and the anti-genocide constituency on a wide rang
of genocide prevention efforts.

"The best way to stop genocide is to prevent it from happening," said
Jill Savitt, Executive Director of the Genocide Prevention Project. "We
are organizing survivors of past genocides, and their descendants=2
0and friends, to call on the global community to adopt a prevention
framework – pro-active diplomatic activity at the earliest stages of
conflict. We will use Genocide Prevention Month next April to educate
and motivate a civic response calling for an end to genocide and mass
atrocity crimes."

GPP’s website, includes information
on past genocides from Armenia to Rwanda, information on the genocide
in Darfur as well as the special feature – "30 Days of Action in
April," which provides ways for the international community to join
the movement and show their support for genocide prevention. The
organization also released a letter from genocide survivors marking the
60th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide, which called for the international community
to prevent genocide, mass atrocities and protect civilians under
attack. Amongst the signatories were Armenian Genocide survivors
Adriyan Bagciyan, Arsalos Dadir, Onorik Eminian, Hingeni Evernsel,
Perouz Kalousdian, Charlotte Kechejian and Alice Shnorhokian.

ITEM ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT TO BE INCLUDED INTO FINAL DOCUMENT OF MEETING OF COORDINATION COUNCIL OF WORLD AZERBAIJANIS: STATE COMMITTEE

Trend News Agency
Dec 18 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 18 /TrendNews, J.Babayeva/ A statement will
adopted at the end of Baku meeting of the Coordination Council of World
Azerbaijanis and it will comprise realities of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

"An item on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be included in a final
document of the meeting to draw attention of the world community to
this conflict," Valeh Hajiyev, the first deputy chairman of the State
Committee for Diaspora, told journalists on Dec. 18.

The Baku meeting targets to united diaspora organizations for the
benefit of the Azerbaijani nation, he said.

On Dec. 18, Baku is hosting a meeting of the Coordination Council of
Azerbaijanis on the topic of Azerbaijan – Gate of East. The meeting
has been timed to the Solidarity Day of World Azerbaijanis, marked
annually on Dec. 31.

The Coordination Council was established at the first Congress of
World Azerbaijanis on Nov. 9 and 10 in 2001 and comprises 109 people,
as well as 45 of them live abroad.

Results of activity for period since the second congress of World
Azerbaijanis will be summed up, as well as targets and tasks for
future will be determined during the meeting.

TURKISH OPPOSITION MPS CONDEMN ARMENIAN APOLOGY CAMPAIGN

Dec 18 2008
Turkey

MPs from Turkey’s Main Opposition party, CHP, condemned Wednesday
the campaign launched to apologize from Armenians for the incidents
of 1915.

Parliamentarians of Republican’s People’s Party (CHP) who hold seats
at the foreign relations committee of the Turkish Parliament, released
a communique saying that Turkey had nothing to apologize for regarding
1915 incidents.

The Internet campaign coincides with a diplomatic rapprochement
between Turkey and Armenia to end almost 100 years of hostility.

"The claim that Turkey committed a crime in those years, requiring
an apology has no legal or historical foundation. If there is someone
who needs to apologize, it is the Armenian side, who attacked Turkish
soldiers and killed hundreds of thousands of Turkish citizens while
siding with and supporting a foreign country on an attempt to invade
Ottoman territory," said the communique.

Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed during the waning
years of the Ottoman state, but strongly denies Armenian claims it
was genocide, saying that Armenians also killed Muslim Turks.

The apology describes the events as a great catastrophe.

The Parliamentarians also said the Armenians also needed to apologize
for massacring thousands of Azerbaijani citizens, invading Azerbaijani
territory and forcing one million of its citizens to exile.

They also said Armenians needed to apologize for not prosecuting and
punishing ASALA terrorists who assassinated Turkish diplomats.

"While these facts remain, the attempt to apologize from Armenians
has been rather an act violating the homage we owe to our history
and ancestors, and one that hurts the honour of the Turkish Nation,"
said the communique.

Organisers said the initiative, posted on the Internet along with a
non-binding petition to gather signatures, was meant to allow Turks
to offer a personal apology and to end an official silence.

President Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish leader to visit
Armenia in September as Turkey has sought to improve ties. Several
meetings between Turkish and Armenian officials have followed and
the two countries have expressed hopes of restoring full diplomatic
relations soon.