Author: Nahapetian Samvel

Bank ‘ACBA-Credit Agricole’ increased its general capital by 8,2% up to
$58 mln over the first quarter of 2007

arminfo
2007-07-06 17:55:00

Bank increased its general capital by 8,2% up to $58 mln over the first
quarter of 2007, and by 2,5 times as compared with the same period of
2006, ensuring this indicator by 1 July at the level of 19.781 bln
drams or $58 mln. As Arminfo was informed from bank, assets of the bank
grew by 52,4% over a year, and by 11,4% over the current halfyear,
reaching to 58.728 bln drams or $172.2 mln by July 1.

The source also says obligations of the bank increased by 14,9% over
the first six months of the current year, and by 30,3% reaching 39,6
bln drams or $116,3 mln as compared to the same period of 2006.

According to the data of Ranking of commerce banks of Armenia, prepared
by ARMINFO, assets of bank amounted to $157.6 mln (third place in the
bank system of the country) by April 1, 2007, obligations – $105.6 ¬« –
(4th place), general capital – $52 mln (1st place).

19 percent of respondents disbelieve the election will be free and fair

07-07-2007 14:56:16 – KarabakhOpen

The results of the poll conducted by the Independent Center for
Humanitarian and Political Studies last week suggest that 41 percent of
respondents get information on the public and political life from the
Public Television of Artsakh, 22 from independent sources, including 43
from the Demo Newspaper, 14 from the official print media and 10.5 from
the Internet.

Over 32 percent of respondents trust the Public Television of Artsakh,
7.3 percent trust independent media, 5 percent trust the official print
media, 8.1 percent trust the Internet.

28 percent declined to answer the question on the media, found it
difficult to answer and said they do not trust any media. It shows the
low level of interest of respondents in the public life and elections,
as well as the low level of trust in the media. It is largely due to
the pro-government politicians and journalists, as well as different
agencies, which instill in public that the outcome of the election is
predetermined, and the government’s candidate and leaderships of
parliament parties have agreement on ministerial posts.

In answer to the question `Are you aware of the right to vote set down
in the NKR Constitution?’ 37 respondents said yes, 40 percent said `not
so well’, 5 percent are unaware, 13 percent did not answer this
question. Over 86 percent of respondents said they will vote, 13 will
not vote or have not made a decision yet. (In addition, most
respondents who think the outcome is predetermined and decided not to
vote declined to take part in the poll.)

It is notable that 19 percent of respondents do not believe the
election will be free and fair, 16 percent said their participation
will not change anything, 4 percent will have gone away. 42 percent
explained their decision to vote by their civil duty, 41 percent want
to change life, 10 percent want to support the candidate whose ideas
their share.

MAN NEAR OBAMA WAS NOVELTY-SELLER
By Abby Simons – register staff writer

DesMoinesRegister.com, IA
July 6 2007

The owner of a Cincinnati novelty product company said Thursday the
man arrested outside Barack Obama’s hotel in Ottumwa on Wednesday
morning was simply looking for the next rally to sell playing cards
bearing the candidate’s image.

Davit Zakaryan, 24, remained in the Wapello County Jail on Thursday
on $6,825 cash bond.

But Ottumwa police do not intend to question Zakaryan further and did
not consider him dangerous, Lt. Mike McDonough of the Ottumwa Police
Department said. "I don’t think he was ever considered a threat,"
McDonough said.

David Krikorian of Parody Productions said Zakaryan was no threat
to anyone when he was arrested for not having a driver’s license and
possessing a knife with a blade over 8 inches long.

The knife had been purchased at a souvenir shop, Krikorian said.

Police said the ornamental knife was found in Zakaryan’s car.

"He went out, like hundreds of other people do, to go to these rallies
and sell political items. That’s all he did," Krikorian said.

"His crimes have nothing to do with the Obama campaign whatsoever,
even if he’s committed crimes."

Zakaryan was arrested about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday when he was spotted
loitering in the parking lot of the Fairfield Inn in Ottumwa.

He was questioned by U.S. Secret Service agents and later arrested
by Ottumwa police for not having a driver’s license. He had furnished
to police only a foreign identification card.

His arrest made national news because Obama, a Democratic presidential
candidate, was staying at the hotel.

Krikorian said he first met Zakaryan, an Armenian who came to the
United States to study physics, last week when Zakaryan came into his
office, by way of a mutual friend, looking for work. Zakaryan bought
Obama- and Hillary Clinton-themed playing cards from Krikorian and
traveled through Iowa on Independence Day to sell them.

Krikorian said his "jaw hit the desk" when he first heard of the
story Thursday morning.

Zakaryan’s roommate contacted him after the Secret Service searched
their Cincinnati home.

Krikorian has since contacted the Obama campaign, the Secret Service
and reporters to try to clear up the situation. He has also spoken
with Zakaryan’s mother in Armenia, who was "on the phone sobbing."

Records show Zakaryan was convicted in Cincinnati in 2005 of stealing
a $16.99 brown wallet from a T.J. Maxx store.

"It sounds to me like everybody thinks this was a huge
misunderstanding," Krikorian said. "But again, the kid still sits
in jail."

Obama has been provided 24-hour security by the Secret Service since
May. Unspecified threats have been made toward the U.S. senator,
although spokesman Tommy Vietor said the incident involving Zakaryan
was the first arrest of its kind.

Krikorian said Zakaryan speaks and understands English, although his
accent is thick.

"The thing is, he looks foreign and speaks with a foreign accent, and
with terror alerts being high and other things going on, obviously
the Secret Service and police have a job to do and they did their
job in checking this person out."

Krikorian, who is Armenian-American, frequently hires and helps young
Armenian immigrants who arrive in the United States in various stages
of citizenship.

While several peddle campaign wares such as the playing cards, few
have a grasp of the American political process.

"When I talk to these gentlemen about the political situation,
they’re not very knowledgeable – they don’t know Obama from Rudy
(Giuliani). All he was doing was hustling his business as an
entrepreneur," he said.

STATE DEPARTMENT TO BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANY LEGISLATION THAT WILL LIMIT BROADCASTING POSSIBILITES OF RADIO LIBERTY

Noyan Tapan
Jul 03 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. "The United States of America supports
freedom of expression and media and evaluates negatively any attempt
of limiting media freedom in Armenia or in any other country," the
statement spread by the U.S. State Department on July 2 read.

Presenting the position of the U.S. State Department about the
bills being discussed at the RA National Assembly, the authors of the
statement said: "We do not understand how the proposed legislation can
promote the wish announced by the RA government, related to permanent
democratization, especially after the parliamentary elections held
in May, which registered a step forward, meanwhile reflecting the
necessity of further improvement in the direction of democratic
standards." "In particular, we will be deeply anxious about any
legislation, which will limit the possibilities of Radio Liberty’s
broadcasting in Armenia," the State Department’s statement read.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT MUST NOT SILENCE RFE/RL

armradio.am
2007-07-02 16:42:00

The Armenian parliament should not adopt two draft laws that would
effectively ban future broadcasts of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL), a key source of independent information in that country,
Human Rights Watch said today.

The first, an amendment to the law "On Television and Radio" prohibits
retransmission of foreign broadcasts on Armenian Public Television
and Radio frequencies. The second, an amendment to the aw "On State
Taxes" establishes heavy fees for private companies that air foreign
broadcasts.

Both draft laws passed a first reading on Friday in the National
Assembly of Armenia, but must undergo a second reading, expected on
Monday or Tuesday, before they become law. "These new laws clearly
restrict access to a crucial independent news source for many Armenians
and deal a serious blow to RFE/RL and to freedom of the media in
general," said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at
Human Rights Watch. "The parliament should under no circumstances
pass this bill in the second reading."

The parliament’s actions appear to specifically target RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service, the only foreign broadcaster that relies on Armenian
National Radio, the country’s public radio station, to reach the
majority of its audience. RFE/RL is one of the only independent
broadcast media outlets remaining in Armenia. Although there is a
vibrant print media, the government maintains close control over the
much more accessible broadcast media, and recently closed the last
independent television station, A1+, in 2002.

RFE/RL is also occasionally broadcast via some private radio stations
in the country’s capital, Yerevan, and surrounding regions, but under
the under the proposed laws, private Armenian broadcasters would
pay more than US$200 in taxes each time they retransmit a program
produced by a foreign media organization. This fee is 70 times more
than broadcasters must pay for a locally made program.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE)
representative on freedom of the media, Miklos Haraszti, criticized the
bills, saying that they infringed Armenia’s commitments to safeguard
media pluralism and access to information, and called on the Armenian
authorities to drop them. Opposition politicians in Armenia lamented
the parliament’s decision to pass the bills and charged the government
with trying to control the media.

The two bills are incompatible with Armenia’s obligations under
the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Article 10 of the
ECHR guarantees the right "to receive and impart information and
ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of
frontiers." This right can only be restricted for limited and specific
reasons such as national security or public safety. The restrictions
placed on the rights of expression and imparting of information
by the bills do not meet these requirements. The importance of the
rights protected by Article 10 has been repeatedly emphasized by the
European Court of Human Rights. The court maintains that freedom of
expression is one of the essential foundations of a democratic society
and that the media plays a pre- eminent role in a state governed by
the rule of law. The court insists that any efforts by a government
to restrict freedom of expression be strictly scrutinized and the
reason convincingly established.

"By passing these laws, Armenia risks violating its international
commitments to freedom of expression and the media," said Cartner. "As
Armenia prepares for presidential elections in 2008, the world will
certainly be watching to see if the government respects freedom of
the media and other freedoms necessary for a free and fair vote."

The move is not the first effort by the Armenian government to limit
independent media. The independent television station A1+ lost its
broadcasting license in 2002, after regularly airing criticism of the
government, and lost 12 subsequent tenders for television and radio
frequencies. In June 2006, A1+, which produced a weekly newspaper and
maintains a website, was forced to vacate its offices, after losing
a court case in 2005 challenging a notice of eviction.

Human rights groups have reported violence against journalists in
retaliation for their work, and in September a court sentenced Arman
Babajanian, editor of the opposition newspaper Zhamanak Yerevan, to
four years in prison for failing to serve the compulsory two years of
military service. Although Babajanian admitted to forging documents
in 2002 in order to evade military service, the harsh sentence is
suspected to be retribution for the journalist’s persistent criticism
of government policies (draft evaders are usually sentenced to between
two and three years in prison).

AZERI CITIZEN DETAINED AFTER CROSSING KARABAKH BORDER

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.07.2007 13:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ June 30, the NKR Defense army officers detained
an Azeri citizen in the Aghdam direction of the contact line of
the Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces. The NKR state
commission on missing and POWs said the detained man did not have
any identity documents.

The Azeri said his name is Samandar Namaz ogly, 35. He was born in
Shushi and lives in Uch settlement of Aghdam region.

The appropriate NKR bodies are clarifying the motives of the
trespasser. The state commission on missing and POWs informed the
OSCE Office and the ICRC of the incident, the NKR MFA reported.

ACCORDING TO PCR NGO’S CHAIRMAN, SHORT WEIGHT GIVING SCALES USED IN
STREET TRADE

YEREVAN, JUNE 30, NOYAN TAPAN. "Electronic scales that weigh up to 300
grams less in a kilogram are used now in street trade," the chairman of
Protection of Consumer Rights (PCR) NGO Abgar Yeghoyan said at the June
29 press conference.

According to him, scales of registered economic entities only are
subject to testing by "Chapaget" Institute, which is the state licensed
body ensuring the uniformity of measurements in Armenia. Scales of
street vendors are not tested at all, while the use of household scales
in trade is forbidden.

A. Yeghoyan informed those present that PCR conducts monitorings of the
food market every month, according to which there are a lot of old,
uncertified foodstuffs in the market. They contain various pollutants
or thier marking does not correspond with requirements of the law.
There are frequent cases of violation of temperature and
sanitary-hygiene conditions of food storage.

PCR chairman said that their NGO proposed that the Armenian government
should set up an interdepartmental working group from members of
organizations on consumer rights’ protection for the purpose of working
out legislative proposals for dealing with the situation in the food
market.

In his opinion, this proposal is of anticorruption character because
law-quality foodstuffs from abroad do not pass customs control and are
not certified, therefore, they are not taxed and are sold without
control of the appropriate bodies. Besides, the same foodstuffs sold at
various points of trade (kiosk, shop, fair) are taxed in various ways,
while food sold in the streets is not taxed at all.

A. Yeghoyan noted that although the whole production of domestic food
producers is certified, they also commit violations of food marking
rules, particularly, those on production and expiry date.

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
June 26 2007

Chairman of Armenian CB believes that the banking system of the
country should demonstrate at least 40% annual growth

Yerevan, June 26 /Mediamax/. Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia
Tigran Sarkisian believes that to solve the urgent economic tasks,
the banking system of the country should demonstrate at least 40%
annual growth, instead of the present 20-30%.

Mediamax reports that, speaking on June 25 annual session of the
Union of Banks of Armenia (UBA), Tigran Sarkisian pointed out the
necessity of increasing the level of competition in the banking
sphere of Armenia.

The CB Chairman believes that the highest in the world spread of the
attracted and placed means – 10-13% – is the index of low level of
competition. Tigran Sarkisian noted that the CB proposed a number of
steps for the solution of the given problem, among which the increase
of requirements for the capital of the banks up to 5bln drams,
attracting leading foreign banks into the banking system, etc. As a
result, there are already 5 applications received from `Postbank’,
`Gazprombank’, `Byblos Bank’, `Raiffeisenbank’, `Procreditbank’,
which want to start functioning on the Armenian market.

Tigran Sarkisian also singled out the formation of mortgage market as
another important aspect.

`According to our forecasts, in the course of the nearest five years,
the volume of mortgage market in Armenia will reach 350bln drams
instead of the present 30bln drams’, the Chairman of the Central Bank
of Armenia stated.

ACCORDING TO EUROPEAN COURT, RA CITIZEN IMPRISONED FOR 10 YEARS IS
DEPRIVED OF RIGHT OF FAIR TRIAL: CASE NOT RECONSIDERED AFTER FACT OF
TORTURE CERTIFIED

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The seven judges, with M. Zupanchich at
the head, of the European Court of Human Rights delivered a judgement
on June 28, according to which, Misha Haroutiunian, an RA citizen, who
was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment on the charge of killing his
fellow serviceman, has been deprived of the right of a fair trial. A
decision was also made concerning moral damage compensation within the
limits of four thousand euros.

Hayk Alumian, the lawyer of M. Haroutiunian, informed a Noyan Tapan
correspondent that the above-mentioned decision of the European Court
gives an opportunity to submit an application to the RA Court of Appeal
on criminal cases and claim a "not guilty" verdict on the basis of this
new circumstance. The lawyer can make use of this right during three
months.

It should also be mentioned that M. Haroutiunian was condemned to ten
years of imprisonment on the charge of killing his fellow serviceman on
December 4, 1998 by the verdict passed by the Court of First Instance
of the Syunik region on June 19, 2002. After serving 2/3 of his
sentence, M. Haroutiunian was set free. In parallel with the trial of
this case, the court also heard the criminal case filed against
collaborators of the Military Police. According to this case, M.
Haroutiunian and the two fellow servicemen who gave evidence against
him were submitted to torture by the collaborators of the police.
However, the assertion of the fact concerning torture did not become a
basis for the RA Court of Appeal on criminal and military cases to
reconsider the criminal case filed against M. Haroutiunian.

PARLIAMENT PAVES WAY FOR CURBS ON RFE/RL
By Ruzanna Khachatrian, Karine Kalantarian and Ruzanna Stepanian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
June 29 2007

The Armenian government pushed through parliament Friday a
controversial bill that could lead to severely restrict RFE/RL’s
broadcasts in Armenia and is seen by local opposition and civic groups
as a serious blow to press freedom.

The National Assembly voted by 79 to 16, with one abstention, to
pass in the first of two readings the bill taking the form of two
legal amendments. One of them would ban the state-controlled Armenian
Public Television and Radio (HHHR) from retransmitting programs of
foreign broadcasters.

RFE/RL’s Armenian Service primarily relies on the HHHR’s radio
frequencies to air its daily news programs across Armenia. Some of
those programs are also aired by private radio stations mainly covering
Yerevan and surrounding regions. Under another legal amendment tabled
by the government, those stations would have to pay the hefty fees
to the state for such retransmission.

They will now have to pay more than $200 in taxes each time they
retransmit a program produced by a foreign media organization. That
is 70 times more than broadcasters must pay for a locally made program.

The deputies who approved the bill are mainly affiliated with Prime
Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) and its junior
coalition partners, the Prosperous Armenia Party and the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). They are expected to pass
it in the second, final reading early next week.

Voting against were deputies representing the opposition Zharangutyun,
Orinats Yerkir and Dashink parties as well as two independent
lawmakers. The Zharangutyun and Orinats Yerkir factions condemned
the bill during Thursday’s heated parliament debates, saying that
it is aimed at muzzling what they call the only Armenian-language
broadcaster not controlled by the government.

Leaders of the pro-government majority insisted that the proposed
legislation is not directed against RFE/RL. But they admitted that
the multinational broadcasted funded by the U.S. Congress should
not be able to use HHHR’s broadcasting frequency anymore. Justice
Minister Gevorg Danielian also made this clear as he presented the
bill to lawmakers on Thursday.

"The Public Television and Radio must provide the state and citizen
with information reflecting public interests and must not engage
in this kind of entrepreneurial activity," Danielian said. "Namely,
ceding its radio frequency to any foreign TV or radio company."

Still, parliament speaker Tigran Torosian insisted on Friday that the
changes do not apply to RFE/RL because it does not have a broadcasting
license and can therefore not be deemed a "broadcaster."

He repeated his arguments at a meeting with Anthony Godfrey, the U.S.

charge d’affaires in Yerevan who expressed serious concern at the
possible end of RFE/RL broadcasts in Armenia.

"I told the speaker that the United States is very proud of the
work that Radio Liberty has done over its long history and that
if such a law was directed against Radio Liberty, we would not
understand how such a law would be in support of Armenia’s own
goals of democratization," Godfrey told reporters. He said Torosian
"suggested that we study more closely the draft legislation."

Godfrey refused to be drawn on what the U.S. might do if the state-run
and private radio stations refuse to retransmit RFE/RL Armenian service
programs. I don’t take hypothetical questions," he said. "But I did
express our concern to the speaker and he was very open to hearing
our concerns."

Meanwhile, leading Armenian media associations and other civic groups
continued to voice alarm at the future of RFE/RL activities in the
country. More than a dozen of them issued a joint statement shortly
before the passage of the amendments.

"The analysis of the bills submitted to the National Assembly
demonstrates that they are primarily directed against Radio Liberty’s
Armenian service, the only broadcast media outlet not controlled by
the Armenian authorities, because their passage would effectively end
re-broadcasts of that service’s programs on Armenian radio channels,"
the statement said. It warned that the recently elected legislature
risks turning itself into an "enemy of democracy and media freedom."

Among signatories of the statement were the Yerevan Press Club (YPC),
the Armenian Helsinki Committee as well as the Armenian branches of
international organizations like Transparency International and the
Open Society Institute.

"These are politically motivated bills sent from 26 Baghramian
avenue," YPC expert Mesrop Harutiunian charged, referring to the
Yerevan address of President Robert Kocharian’s office.

Condemnations also continued to pour in from opposition parties not
represented in the parliament. Several of them plan to hold a joint
rally in Yerevan next week to demand continued RFE/RL broadcasts.

"This is a disgraceful development and we must fight against it," said
Aram Sarkisian of the radical Hanrapetutyun party. "The public must
take to the street to fight for its right to receive information, which
is what we will try to organize along with our opposition partners."

The People’s Party of Armenia (HZhK) backed the initiative. "This
affair must concern not only political forces," HZhK leader Stepan
Demirchian told RFE/RL. "The entire society must rise up to defend
Radio Liberty."

The issue was also the main theme of a weekly rally held in the city’s
Freedom Square on Friday by another opposition group, Aylentrank. Its
outspoken leader, Nikol Pashinian, urged about 200 people attending
it to gather in the same place on Saturday and Sunday evenings
for a public listening of RFE/RL’s main Armenian-language news
program. Pashinian said Aylentrank plans to stage more such protests
in the course of next week.

According to independent research, from 15 to 18 percent of
the Armenian population over 15 years of age listens to RFE/RL’s
Armenian service every week. Respondents rate the radio the first-
or second-most popular station along with Armenian public radio.