Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

"2008 WILL BE RICH IN MARKETING INITIATIVES"

Mediamax
January 2008

– In the fall of 2007, MTS acquired 80% of VivaCell shares and
concluded an option agreement for the purchase of the remaining 20%
share. What have you learnt about your Armenian acquisition in the
course of these few months?

– First of all, I would like to use this opportunity to congratulate
the residents of Armenia on the New Year and Christmas, wish them
health, happiness and well-being. We are glad that in 2007 VivaCell
became a part of MTS Group. In the course of the recent few months,
we made certain that the Company has well-debugged business-processes
and executive discipline. There is a very competent management in
VivaCell, which knows the market and is fully ready for competition.

– According to you, what is the "strength" of VivaCell and what,
on the contrary, needs to be improved?

– The strength of the Company, as I have already mentioned, is its
management. We will be improving the technical infrastructure of the
operator, including the billing systems. We also plan to extend the
line of tariff plans, since today it is quite modest. For example,
there are no accumulating tariffs, which provide for the decrease
of cost of conversations after a certain volume of conversation
minutes. In 2008, we will first of all implement such tariff plans.

We believe that it is also necessary to define the marketing strategy
of VivaCell, which would answer the question, where the Company is
moving in 2008 and where it sees itself in the course of the following
few years. In the nearest future, the management of VivaCell and
the specialists from the corporative center of MTS will conclude the
elaboration of such a long-term marketing strategy of VivaCell.

– Does this mean that VivaCell will continue managing using the
local personnel and you will not be sending specialists from Moscow
to Yerevan?

– We are not planning to make any fundamental changes in the leadership
of the Company. For now, we are only planning to strengthen the
marketing team of VivaCell, including a professional team of MTS. In
our group, programs of experience exchange between subdivisions and
countries are arranged well. We are planning to attract technical
specialists from Moscow for the work on individual projects in
VivaCell. In their turn, their Armenian colleagues will regularly
visit the Moscow educational centers to increase their qualification.

– During a news conference in Yerevan you noted that by the end of the
year VivaCell will be working, basing on the existing marketing plans
and the corrections will be initiated starting from 2008. Should we
expect any "revolutionary" changes in the marketing policy of VivaCell?

– The year of 2008 will be rich in marketing initiatives. As expected
from the leader of the market, we will actively introduce new tariff
plans and additional services to the market. I believe that we are
going to have an interesting and rich year in marketing actions.

– Within the framework of agreements, the signature of which was
announced in September, the sides agreed that MTS would provide
VivaCell with a loan at the sum of 140mln euro for repaying the
existing debts and funding the investment program. What are the
priority directions for investments in Armenia?

– As we made it clear while announcing the acquisition, a part of
the provided loan will be directed to repay the existing debts of
VivaCell. This year, the investments in Armenia will make tens of
millions of dollars. In the first place, the investments will be
directed to the development of infrastructure, modernization of
billing, improvement of the connection quality and development of
Internet access services, basing on GPRS/EDGE.

Besides, investments are planned in the construction of the 3G network
and the own fiber-optic transport network.

– If possible, can you tell us about the plans of provision of
broadband Internet access services in detail?

– In October, we gained a frequency range for 3G network, and now we
are elaborating in detail a business plan for the launch of the third
generation network. We examine where the most demand in the services
of high-speed Internet access is. This will condition where exactly
we will be first of all developing the services, based on 3G – in
the capital or in other regions. Besides, we examine what services
exactly will be in demand – transmission of voice, video-calls or
data transmission. The preliminary term for putting 3G networks into
operation is the fall of 2008. However, the final decision on the
format of services will be made very soon.

– In September, you said that MTS would study the issue of carrying
out a re-branding of VivaCell. Have you already realized a research
on the given issue? When can we expect the final decision?

– VivaCell has a very strong brand, one of the best national brands,
which requires that we make very careful and weighted decisions. We
should clearly realize that MTS brand will become a push for business
growth in Armenia, as it happened, for example, in Uzbekistan,
Ukraine or in Belarus. On the other hand, we want to be sure that
the re-branding, if it is necessary, will not be just a change of a
signboard or a logotype, but will also create additional opportunities
for our subscribers, for example, privileged international calls for
MTS subscribers in all the countries of presence, privileged roaming
in the MTS network, etc. At present, we are realizing a research on
the expediency of re-branding of VivaCell, and by mid 2008, we will
voice our plans.

– The owner of "ArmenTel" is the Russian "VimpelCom" operator, which
is considered the "number one" rival of MTS in Russia. Does this fact
add certain acuteness in your competition with "ArmenTel" in Armenia?

– "VimpelCom" is present in many markets, where we work: in Russia,
Ukraine and in Uzbekistan. In all the markets, we are successfully
competing.

– Despite the fact that the number of subscribers of VivaCell is twice
more than the number of "ArmenTel" subscribers, the ARPU index of
"ArmenTel" is higher than the one of VivaCell. What is the reason?

– I cannot comment on these numbers, since the methods of ARPU
estimation may be different. Nevertheless, the monthly income per one
subscriber in "ArmenTel" is not much higher. For example, following
the results of the third quarter, in VivaCell the given index made
$15,7, and in "ArmenTel" – $17,6. This is first of all conditioned
by historical reasons: since "ArmenTel" entered the market of mobile
communication almost 10 years ago, and VivaCell worked in Armenia a
little longer than two years, this is reflected in the structure of
the subscriber base. We are elaborating such product offers, which
would attract the subscribers, stimulate new connections and promote
the increase of the service use by the existing customers.

– About a year ago, "Comstar" company, which is included in AFK
"Sistema", purchased the Armenian "Cornet" internet provider, which
announces its intentions to develop WiMAX technology in Armenia. Is
a certain convergence of VivaCell and "Cornet" services possible?

– Realization of convergent projects is possible, we are ready to
consider proposals on realization of such services and assess their
expediency, including the possible joint projects with "Comstar-OTS".

– VivaCell traditionally allocates large financial means for
charity, supporting not only particularly social projects, but also,
for example, participates in reestablishment of social-economic
infrastructures in the regions of Armenia. What is the attitude of
MTS for such activity of Vivacell?

– Due to volume national projects, VivaCell became one of the leaders
in the sphere of corporate social responsibility. In medium-term
prospect, we will be supporting the projects, which are already
initiated and are in the process of realization. At that, we would like
the activities of VivaCell in this direction correspond to the single
platform of MTS in the sphere of corporate social responsibility. And
we will be studying with pleasure and using the experience of our
Armenian colleagues, jointly elaborating new directions and projects
in the sphere of CSR.

– What main tasks do you set for VivaCell for 2008?

– VivaCell faces the tasks of further consolidation of the business
– growth of the number of subscribers, preservation of the share in
the market and the increase of consumable services.

– What is your assessment of the potential of the Armenian
market? Following the results of the third quarter of 2007, it was
announced that the number of VivaCell subscribers in Armenia already
reached 1,1mln – does this mean that the satiation of the market is
within sight?

– Despite the fact that the penetration in Armenia has already
exceeded 50%, the potential of growth of mobile connection market is
not sufficiently high yet. Firstly, the use of services yet remains
at a low level. If in Uzbekistan the subscribers on average talk 565
minutes on the cell phone per month, in Belarus – 430 minutes, in
Turkmenistan – 299 minutes, in Armenia – it is less than 200 minutes.

Secondly, there are great opportunities in Armenia for the development
of value added services. Today the offer of the given services is
limited, and we work to enlarge the line of such products. For example,
we plan in the nearest future to implement the services GOOD’OK,
when the person calling hears music instead of the hooter. Therefore,
even after reaching high level of penetration of mobile connection,
additional services may become a locomotive for growth. But there
is a long way, by the highest standards, before the satiation of the
market in Armenia takes place. For example, in Russia, the penetration
of mobile connection exceeded 100% long time ago, but the market
continues growing, including the growth at the expense of increase
of service use.

ARMENIANS FELICITATES ANNIVERSARY OF ISLAMIC REVOLUTION

Islamic Republic News Agency
Feb 11 2008
Iran

Armenians residing in Arak, capital of Markazi Province, by issuing
a statement, felicitated the 29th anniversary of Islamic revolution
victory to the supreme leader, president, officials and the nation.

The statement, a copy of which was sent to the IRNA Bureau in Arak,
said, "Conspiracies, plots and sanctions of the USA and usurper
Israeli regime against Iran will never stop Iranians’ firm intention
and determination on their final goal, which is to remove cruelty
from the world."

The Armenians also condemned siege of the Gaza Strip by the Zionist
military forces and their atrocities against defenseless people
of Palestine.

In conclusion, the statement said, "Armenians in Arak, like other
Armenians of Iran in different parts of the country, will continue
their struggle to establish peace and tranquility in the world and
to exalt Iran."

PRIME MINISTER SAYS PROBLEMS STEM FROM IMPERFECT ADMINISTRATION

ARMENPRESS
Feb 11, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, ARMENPRESS; Campaigning on Sunday in the
central province of Kotayk prime minister Serzh Sarkisian compared
the country with a child that is recovering from a painful illness
saying he and his government bear the responsibility for the child’s
complete convalescence.

According to the prime minister, this disease is called ‘transitional’
period, diagnosed with such ailments as ‘corruption, protectionism,
nepotism and willful actions." Serzh Sarkisian went on to say that
the bulk of the problems stem from imperfect governance system and
poor administration.

He said these problems get more serious when they are handled by
people with no knowledge and experience of management. "These people
can not even manage a group of people but have been assigned to run
government agencies," Sarkisian told a crowd in Yeghvard.

Sarkisian said the future of this country are well-to-do families
which have three and more children. He said the government should do
everything so that each family has opportunities to have a decent life.

On Sunday the prime minister was also in Nor Hajn, Hrazdan and
Charentsavan towns and in several rural communities of the province.

The Armenian Weekly On-Line
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown MA 02472 USA
(617) 926-3974
[email protected]

http://www.a rmenianweekly.com

The Armenian Weekly; Volume 74, No. 5; Feb. 9, 2008

Commentary and Analysis:

1. Are Genocide Deniers Mental Cases?
By Israel W. Charny

2. Putting Tiles in Place
By Garen Yegparian

***

1. Are Genocide Deniers Mental Cases?
The Question of a Possible Relationship between Mental Disturbance and
Denials of Known Genocides such as the Holocaust and Armenian Genocide
By Israel W. Charny

Perhaps it is because I am also a practicing clinical psychologist, but I
suspect others will also identify with the observation that at some point,
another question crosses one’s mind as to whether there is any possibility
that some deniers of the Holocaust or other genocides are, in fact, quite
crazy, or in more polite scientific parlance, mentally ill. For on the
surface of it, the basic claim that a major historical event of genocide,
which the whole world knows took place, never took place, is madness; let
alone that many of the particularly sloppy kinds of denials and revisions of
history, for example the claim that the gas chambers in Auschwitz were built
only after the war in order to vilify the hapless Nazis, are manifestly the
ravings of mad men.

In one case where a denier of the Holocaust was involved in court
proceedings which had been initiated by him, a reporter for a major American
newspaper (The Atlantic Constitution) described the structure of the denier’s
thought processes in the courtroom as "rambling," and in another instance
characterized the structure of the denier’s argumentation as "bizarre." In
textbooks of abnormal psychology, these are both characteristic of the
thinking of a paranoid.

Is there not room to pause to think about the fact that classical psychiatry
describes various paranoid conditions as characterized by tortured
accusativeness of someone(s); litigiousness or a need to go to legal or
other kinds of overt conflict with said other(s); a concealing framework of
ostensible and at times even intricate and impressive logic but in which are
embedded bizarre denials of and breaks with reality, including delusory
fantasies and wild constructions of a non-existent reality. Thus, in the
earlier days of the 20th century, many self-respecting paranoid patients
would understandably seize on themes of radio waves speaking to them,
penetrating them, or what have you as civilization grappled with the mystery
of the new-found radio. In subsequent years, chemical and germ warfare
devices became a heady basis for paranoid ideation, and there is absolutely
no reason to think that denials that masses of human beings were taken in
freight cars to gas chambers and then incinerated in ovens would not be a
delicious invitation for mayhem in the mind of a paranoid in our times.

But even if there is a possible relationship between mental illness and
denials of genocide, there are enormous problems in working with the mental
health aspects of denials. For one thing, on a clinical level it is
characteristic that much of the argumentation, including even persecutory
contents, of a well-organized paranoiac is well reasoned and presented in
coherent and logical forms; and insofar as this would be true of a denier
who is also mad, we as a community are still required to address the
coherent aspects of presentations of denials and not simply dismiss them as
the ravings of a lunatic, so that there can be no suggestion of our having
walked away from confronting the issues raised.

Moreover, as we have learned, so many denials are inherently political
strategies in the service of bigotry and hatred, e.g., anti-Semitism, and
celebrations of and calls to collective violence; and so many other denials
are also political statements espousing policies such as realpolitik, even a
decently motivated search for reconciliation and cessation of conflict, and
these and other not-crazy assertions of deniers cannot be dismissed as the
doings of mad people, but have to be confronted for their intrinsic
immorality, nastiness and self-serving political agendas at the expense of
the integrity of historical memory and the heartbreak and protests of decent
people against mass murder.

Finally, what is possibly the really deeply challenging truth with respect
to the relationship between mental illness and denials of the Holocaust, the
Armenian Genocide, or other genocides is that looking in depth at the
thinking of deniers brings us in touch not simply with the madness of a
given individual, but with a close-to-madness aspect of the normal human
mind which we have all been issued from the original factory, as well as a
‘larger than life’ grand madness of our human readiness to destroy so much
of life. By the former or close-to-madness aspect of the normal human mind,
I refer to so many evidences that the human mind inherently is given to
stereotyped thinking, magical thinking, totalistic thinking, massive
projections of one’s weaknesses onto others, deep difficulties in discerning
the difference between legitimate self-defense and unduly suspicious
paranoid attributions of dangers to others, undue needs for power, and other
attributes which in effect are found in the minds of all people, and which
good mental health requires us to work at overcoming (see Greenwald, 1980 on
characteristics of the mind as initially and naturally "totalitarian"-his
word).

By the latter, or larger than life grand madness of destructiveness, I refer
to the readiness of perfectly sane human beings, as far as the psychiatric
establishment is concerned, to round up masses of others, torture them
cruelly, and destroy them unconscionably. Albert Camus (1980, initially
1946) said following World War II that he discerned that all human beings
have to choose whether they are available to be executioners, for in the
psychological language I am presently using this is at least a default
option waiting in the natural machinery we have, and Camus said of himself
that he had chosen neither to be a victim nor an executioner:

.The years.have killed something in us. And that something is simply the old
confidence man had in himself which led him to believe that he could always
elicit human reactions from another man if he spoke to him in the language
of a common humanity. We have seen men lie, degrade, kill, deport, torture –
and each time it was not possible to persuade them not to do these things
because they were sure of themselves.

Before anything can be done, two questions must be put: "Do you or do you
not, directly or indirectly, want to kill or assault?".

. For my part, I am fairly sure that I have made the choice. And, having
chosen, I think that I must speak out, that I must state that I will never
again be one of those, whoever they be, who compromise with murder. (Camus,
1946, p.5)

So whether or not a denier is also mad-and for the fun of it I may want to
publicly tell him to his face that he is meshugah, I prefer to fight the
denier by discrediting his ideas and argumentation as dangerous to human
life, rather than taking him out on the grounds that he specifically is
psychiatrically incompetent. On the individual level, there may very well be
in a given denier a bona fide psychiatric paranoid personality disorder or
even a worse psychotic paranoid condition, but first there is a diagnostic
problem that the mad person is riding the tail (or broomstick) of an as if
accepted madness of our human society to first committing mass murder and
then in denying the facts, and diagnosis can be difficult. The really
disturbed organism is man the species, and our human society, and it would
set us back to focus on the individual instead of do battle with denials as
an aspect and reflection of the madness of our human readiness to commit
genocide let alone then to deny it. Nonetheless, it is interesting to
consider the possibility that some deniers are also mental cases.

Israel Charny is the editor in chief of the Encyclopedia of Genocide, past
president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars and
executive director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide. He is the
author of Fascism and Democracy in the Human Mind, which has been hailed as
one of the outstanding works of the decade. The book was published by the
University of Nebraska Press in 2006, and will be republished in the spring
of 2008 as a paperback.
————————————— ————————————————-

2. Putting Tiles in Place
By Garen Yegparian

Saturday, Jan. 26, marked the second Mosaic presented to the greater L.A.
Armenian community. I missed it last year, but enjoyed it this year, enough
to want to comment on it.

The program consisted of five musical groups, interspersed with comedy,
quite humorous. It was well structured and presented an eclectic mix of
musical styles. The overall program was a bit lengthy; perhaps each of the
acts should play a shorter set. I liked the lighting theme-it looked like
fragments, presumably resembling the tiles composing a mosaic. The order in
which the acts performed should also have been different. It seemed to me
that the groupies (generally younger) of the first two bands left after
hearing their favorites, perceptibly impacting the fullness of Glendale’s
Alex Theatre.

The first half of the program consisted of two rock bands. This is where
things get really interesting. Some were offended that this was "passed off"
as Armenian culture. The lyrics were in English, mostly indistinguishable to
me. The music didn’t have an Armenian sound to it, except the rendition of
one verse of "Giligia." All but one of the baker’s dozen musicians involved
in these two bands was Armenian. So, does this qualify? As Armenian, that
is.

I’m reminded of the analogous question that Vahe Oshagan had posed in a
class I took from him in college. "Do Armenians who write in foreign
languages fall into the realm of Armenian literature?"

If nothing else, for selfish and national preservation reasons, the answers
to both those questions must be "yes" resoundingly. No matter what other
factors affect the music or literature produced, Armenians are producing it.
These human beings, to at least some degree, bear an Armenian imprint on
their being. This will permeate the art produced. Otherwise, our churches,
sharagans and illuminated bibles would also have to be deemed non-Armenian
since they manifest a foreign, borrowed, non-native religion. Which brings
us to the notion that as we borrow art forms-in this case musical-developed
elsewhere, we (and other nations for that matter) eventually put our own
stamp on it, modifying and Armenianizing it. No one complained during the
second half of the evening when jazz was performed or another performer sang
Armenian-themed songs but with music that sounded non-Armenian, was produced
on non-Armenian instruments, and had English lyrics.

I also came to a conclusion on an issue that’s been troubling me since 2007’s
genocide commemorations. If you’ll recall, I had described a plethora of
bands playing at the various events I attended. The open question was over
the propriety of those acts playing their
not-necessarily-thematically-related music at those gatherings. I was torn.
On the one hand, we must provide fora for our developing talent. On the
other, genocide commemorative activities can become trivialized through
their presence. The solution to this dilemma is for these types of groups to
play at gatherings like Mosaic, not at genocide-related gatherings in April.
More should be organized, perhaps all-day festivals where band after band
plays. The Homenetmen’s Navasartian games could provide another great forum
for such performances.

The post-intermission program was less controversial. The trio performing
old Armenian songs was the most interesting part for me. Their telling the
story of each song (in English) then performing it in our now largely
vanished dialects was a very illuminating presentation. For me this was the
most interesting part of the program.

I look forward to more of these events. Don’t miss them.

AGREEMENT ON GIVING MEGHRI HAS BEEN REVEALED

KarabakhOpen
10-02-2008 19:37:51

The Armenian presidential candidate, the first president of Armenia
Levon Ter-Petrosyan revealed information during the rally on February
9 which was kept secret from the society for about ten years. It
is the agreement on exchanging the Armenian region of Meghri with
the independence of Karabakh, a copy of which Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
team has acquired and revealed in the Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper on
February 9. Levon Ter-Petrosyan shared their information with several
tens of thousands of participants of the rally.

Levon Ter-Petrosyan presented the point of the agreement on exchanging
Meghri according to which the region of Meghri was to be given to
Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan was to give Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous
Region, as well as the regions of Shushi and Lachin to Armenia. Within
60 days after signing the agreement under international observation the
Armenian population of Meghri was to be moved to other territories of
Armenia, and Meghri was to be populated by the Azerbaijanis who became
refugees during the Karabakh conflict. The agreement also included
returning the regions of Aghdam, Fizuli, Zangelan, Jebrail, Kubatlu,
the liberated territories around Karabakh. Levon Ter-Petrosyan says
this agreement was offered to the Armenian government ten years ago,
and Robert Kocharyan, Vardan Oskanyan, and Serge Sargsyan, who was
minister of national security then, approved it.

Levon Ter-Petrosyan stated that this agreement was not brought into
being thanks to Karen Demirchyan and Vazgen Sargsyan, who sacrificed
their lives for that. The first president says he is responsible for
his words.

According to him, if the agreement on giving Meghri had been released,
the investigation of October 27 would have viewed it among the motives
of assassination.

Levon Ter-Petrosyan tried to explain the danger of the agreement. At
first sight, by this agreement the territory of Armenia which is 30
thousand sq km would become 35 thousand sq km, the border of Armenia
would become longer, from 1200 to 1700 km, however we would lose
our border with Iran, which is vital to Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan
says, who wonders how Kocharyan, Oskanyan and Serge Sargsyan who were
one of the parties of the agreement did not realize, meanwhile they
should know the importance of the border with Iran during the war
for sustaining Armenia and winning victory. Levon Ter-Petrosyan says
in accordance with the agreement on Meghri most of the length of the
Armenian border would be with Turkey and Azerbaijan, enclosing Armenia
in a blockade, considering that most of the length of the border with
Georgia runs across areas populated with Azerbaijanis, which means
that Armenia would have a 40 km window with Javakheti. By revealing
this information Levon Ter-Petrosyan says it is up to the society to
decide how to describe the plan to give Meghri – treason or plot.

The first president says Heidar Aliyev was a wise political leader if
he wanted to sigh such agreement with Armenia, to exchange Karabakh
with Meghri, because he realized what destructive state Armenia would
appear in.

The people in Azerbaijan who opposed to this move of Aliyev were fools,
Levon Ter-Petrosyan says.

However, even though it has not been brought into being, the agreement
on the exchange of Meghri which Levon Ter-Petrosyan revealed still
poses threat to Armenia. Ter-Petrosyan focused on the circumstance that
this agreement separates the region of Shushi from NKAR, meanwhile
Shushi was an indivisible part of NKAR. Levon Ter-Petrosyan says the
Azerbaijanis have always tried to have them separated, but during
his office they failed, whereas under the present government the
Azerbaijanis have in fact reached their goal. According to Levon
Ter-Petrosyan, it will take Armenia great effort to eliminate this
circumstance for the separation of Shushi and NKAR has been practiced
internationally.

Levon Ter-Petrosyan also stated that the agreement poses other threat
to Armenia, however; he prefers to silence it not to prompt ideas
to Azerbaijan.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Feb 8 2008

Gross agricultural output increase 9.6% in Armenia in 2007

YEREVAN, February 8. /ARKA/. Gross agricultural output increased by
9.6% in Armenia in 2007 compared with 2006, the CIS Statistical
Committee reports.

The average increase of gross agricultural output in the CIS totaled
2% in 2007.

8.4% gross agricultural output increase was recorded in Kazakhstan in
the reporting period. In Tajikistan the index totaled 6.5%, in
Belarus 4.1%, in Azerbaijan 4%, in Russia 3.3% and in Kyrgyzstan the
gross agricultural output increased by 1.6%. IN Moldova and Ukraine
the gross agricultural output rates decreased by 23.1% and 5.6%
respectively.
Uzbekistan cut the gross agricultural output by 3.5% in
January-September. No data are available on Georgia and Turkmenistan.
Z. Sh. -0–

PanARMENIAN.Net

NATO to form Kosovo army
09.02.2008 15:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ NATO intents to from a Kosovo army
after the breakaway province proclaims independence.
"Formation of the future Kosovo army numbering a 2500
personnel can become one of NATO’s functions in the
Albanian-populated territory," La Libre Belgique
newspaper reports. The mission will be officially
requested after Kosovo announces independence.

"Another side effect of Kosovo’s independence will be
Macedonia’s bid for NATO," the edition says.

Meanwhile, British SkyNews reports that Kosovo will
proclaim independence February 17. "Some 100 states
are ready to recognize Kosovo’s independence," Prime
Minister Hashim Thaci said in Pristina.

The government of Kosovo has assigned 1 million euro
for festivities dedicated to proclamation of
independence, NEWSRU.com.

Belgrade and Moscow oppose the move describing it as
grave violation of UN resolution 1244, UN regulations
and Helsonki Final Act

Panorama.am

13:11 08/02/2008

ARMENIA TAKES PART IN MINSK BOOK FAIR

On 6 February the fifteenth international exhibition
fair opened in Minsk, Belarus. According to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Armenia also takes part in
the exhibition.

Israel is the honorable exhibition of the exhibition.
Totally 20 countries take part in this exhibition and
Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan
are from the CIS countries. The state officials of the
Belarus government and other authorities carrying out
diplomatic missions took part in the opening ceremony
of the exhibition fair.

According to the source, the Belarus state officials
visited Armenian boutique and expressed their
appreciation to the Armenian Ambassador in Belarus for
being so well prepared.

More than 150 different books are presented in the
exhibition and after they will be handed to the
Armenian embassy in Belarus.

Source: Panorama.am

EU WON’T FINANCE NEW ANPP CONSTRUCTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.02.2008 16:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The European Union doesn’t finance projects
implemented by two states. Armenia intends to build a new NPP jointly
with Russia. That is why the EU will not finance the construction,"
European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood
Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner told a news conference in Yerevan.

"The Metsamor NPP is outdated and needs to be closed.

We have allocated 30 million euro to ensure the plant’s security. But
it must be closed," she said.

BRITISH EXPERT: KOSOVO MODEL MAY BE APPLIED TO KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.02.2008 16:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Anatol Lieven, British policy analyst and chairman
of International Relations and Terrorism Studies at King’s College
London, doubts that Kosovo’s independence will not be precedent for
other conflicts.

"Kosovo and Nagorno Karabakh are different conflicts, but what happens
in one region will have a certain effect on what happens in the other",
Anatol Lieven,

Lieven believes that the Kosovo model can be applied to the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. "Why not? It is easy to say that things are
specific, but it depends who is doing the talking. Everybody tries
to make up different rules, different cases. But in fact, it does
set a precedent", said the British analyst.

"I don’t believe that Russia will back Karabakhi Armenians. But they
will undoubtedly be encouraged by Kosovo’s independence", he said.

Commenting on Russia’s hindering the determination of the final status
of Kosovo and supporting regimes in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Mr
Lieven said there were two main reasons for it. "Firstly, Abkhazians
and Ossetians are Northern Caucasian nations to whom the Russians are
tied very closely. And certainly they do not want any more trouble
in the North Caucasus.

Secondly, Russians have come to absolutely detest the Georgians and
are not going to do anything for them, whereas Russia, of course,
has been trying to build good relations with Azerbaijan. That is
the explanation", he said. Analyzing the difficulties western powers
face in balancing people’s aspiration for independence with a wish
to maintain the territorial integrity of existing states and preserve
regional stability, Mr Lieven said it would partly depend on further
developments.

"If Kosovo secedes successfully and more or less peacefully, then,
no doubt, the U.S. policy will score a victory. If the independence
of Kosovo leads to more serious fighting with Serbia and a possible
overspill of Albanian separatism into Serbia itself and then towards
Macedonia, then of course, the entire U.S.

policy towards the region, and ever since 1999 and the Kosovo war,
will be seen as a disaster. But we do not yet know what will happen",
the expert said, Trend reports.

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