Author: Nalbandian Eduard

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT HAS NO NEW EXPECTATIONS FROM NEW TURKISH PRESIDENT

Lragir.am
14-09-2007 13:57:19

Does the president of Armenia expect a breakthrough in the Armenian
and Turkish relations from the new president of Turkey, the Armenian
reporters asked the speaker of the Armenian president on September 14.

The speaker of the Armenian president said Abdullah Gyul used to
be the foreign minister of Turkey for many years before becoming
president. "If they were likely to make any moves, I think they would
have done when Gyul was foreign minister. So, no, Armenia does not
expect a breakthrough in the Armenian and Turkish relations after
Gyul became president," said the speaker of the Armenian president.

ARMENIAN PREMIER UNRUFFLED BY AZERBAIJAN’S GROWING MILITARY SPENDING

EurasiaNet, NY

Text of report by Armenian news agency Arminfo
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from BBC Monitoring
Friday, September 14, 2007

EURASIA INSIGHT

Yerevan, 12 September: The co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group will
arrive in the region by the end of this week to meet the presidents
of Armenia and the Nagornyy Karabakh republic, Armenian Prime Minister
Serzh Sargsyan said in parliament while answering MPs’ questions.

Sargsyan expressed confidence that today there is no serious threat
to Nagornyy Karabakh’s security, even if we take account of the
development of Azerbaijan’s economy which has been growing at the
expense of oil resources. "If we are more careful and try to analyze
statements by the Azerbaijani leadership, we will see that they have
not achieved their goal," the prime minister noted.

Sargsyan recalled that [Azerbaijani president] Ilham Aliyev had
pledged that the 2007 military budget of the Azerbaijani Republic
would equal the entire budget of Armenia.

"They failed to do this. Armenia’s budget in 2008 will total 2.5bn
dollars and Armenia’s military expenditure will equal the entire
budget of Armenia in 1998. I have information that Azerbaijan’s
budget in 2008 will total 6-6.5bn dollars from which 1bn will be
military expenditure. The Armenian leadership, and in particular,
the president are doing everything possible to ensure a balance of
forces in the region," Sargsyan said.

CHAMPIONSHIP IN BAKU IS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE

A1+
[06:56 pm] 13 September, 2007

The Armenian national team faces serious problems in regard with the
World Wrestling Championship launching in Baku on 16 September. Gagik
Tsarukyan, Head of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia
prioritizes this tournament more than the Olympic Games.

"This is not a common tournament. Each athlete should realize the
importance of representing Armenia. They should know that the whole
Armenian nation supports them. Only the best athletes should compete
in the tournament. I do not want any athlete to be defeated on that
land. That will be considered not only your failure but the failure of
the whole nation", said Mr Tsarukyan to the athletes, adding that our
wrestlers would receive valuable prizes if they returned with triumph.

Armenian representatives have not participated in any championship
in Azerbaijan for 20 years. Now the situation has altered, since
the Azerbaijani President has guaranteed the security of our
wrestlers. Besides many representative of international structures
will be present during the tournament and thousands of mass media
representatives will elucidate the championship.

Hrant Yenokyan, the chief coach of the Armenian national team in
freestyle wrestling said: "It is impossible to win in all categories,
but the boys are ready to fight till the end".

Levon Julfakyan, the chief coach of Greek-Roman style noticed that all
the best athletes would compete during the Championship. "The athletes
who achieved success in a number of international tournaments during
the last 2-3 years are involved in the national team".

The Armenian delegation will leave for Baku on 15 September headed
by Razmik Stepanyan. "31 people are in our delegation, 14 of them
are the athletes. Since the Greek-Roman style will compete first in
the Championship, then the free-style, our delegation will leave in
two groups", said Stepanyan.

RESTORING AND PROTECTING THE BLACK SEA: COOPERATION IS VITAL
By Colleen Graffy

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
ml
14.09.2007

Something amazing happened on Wednesday and Thursday of this week
that might not have caught everyone’s attention.

Twelve countries- Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia,
Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine -came
together to explore how they can restore and protect the Black Sea
and to discuss how environmental protection could boost economic
development and broader cooperation in this critical region that
350 million people call home. The meeting, held in Istanbul and
organized by the Organization for Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(BSEC) and the United States, brought together government, business,
and civil society leaders for the first symposium of its kind for BSEC.

The importance of this gathering should not be
underestimated. Environmental damage knows no borders and cooperation
with neighboring countries is vital to environmental protection. The
United States has observer status to BSEC, but as U.S. Ambassador
to Turkey Ross Wilson pointed out, "The U.S. is only an observer,
but not a disinterested one." In my opening remarks I tried to
explain why. People feel passionately about the environment in the
United States. We want to share that passion, because we know the
difference that it can make in people’s lives. In my own hometown of
Santa Barbara, California, there is nothing that will bring people
together quicker than a perceived threat to the environment. I gave
examples where man-made environmental degradation in the U.S.

had turned lakes, rivers and oceans from areas of enjoyment, tourism
and commerce into polluted problem areas.

In each of the examples, the problems were resolved by
community-spirited individuals, talented professionals and dedicated
members of the government who cared enough about the environment to
help overcome differences, lack of knowledge, and fiscal challenges
in order to work together to make a difference.

This conference has allowed government officials as well as private
sector and NGO representatives from the BSEC member states along
with U.S. representatives from the Department of State and the
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to join
with representatives from the European Union, the UN Development
Programme and the Black Sea Commission to share best practices. It
is clear to all that governments play a vital role in enacting
and implementing sound environmental legislation. But it is also
clear that environmental protection is not just a government
function. Businesses and corporations share the responsibility and
their involvement is essential, as is that of community based and
non-governmental organizations. Education and teaching young people
and our communities about the environment was also identified as a key
to changing behavior and making a difference in the Black Sea region.

What we have learned in the United States over the past 30-plus years
is that protecting the environment isn’t just good for families
and good for tourism, it is also good for the economy, it is good
for jobs, and it makes good sense. The same is true for the BSEC
region. For Turkey the income from tourism and other Black Sea-related
industries such as fishing, shipping and the energy sector accounts for
a significant percent of the economy. But it cannot be done without
bringing communities, regions, countries and different sectors of
society together. The countries of the greater Black Sea region share
riverine and littoral ecosystems that can only be protected through
cooperative, complementary efforts.

I hope that this will be the first of many symposiums in which we
can all work collaboratively, not only in the field of environmental
protection but also on other topics of mutual interest as well.

* Colleen P. Graffy is the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
for European and Eurasian Affairs.

NISHAN AGHAJANIAN, 92, TAILOR TO HOLLYWOOD STARS

The Morning Journal, OH
09/12/2007

OBERLIN — Nishan M. Aghajanian, 92, of Oberlin, died Saturday,
Sept. 8, 2007, at Community Allen Medical Center in Oberlin, after
a brief hospitalization.

He was born Dec. 18, 1914, in Arabkir, Turkey.

Six months later he lost his father, Musegh Aghajanian, and two uncles
in the Armenian Genocide of 1915. He, his mother, Mary Aghajanian,
and his grandmother moved throughout Turkey and Aghajanian left
school. Aghajanian went to work in 1927 as an apprentice tailor in
Istanbul, making mostly hand-sewn custom garments and at age 16 he
and a partner opened their own tailor shop. It soon became one of
the busiest in the city.

Aghajanian and his family moved to San Francisco in 1936 and then
to Los Angeles, where he worked for Irene, a designer for Hollywood
stars, at Bullock’s Wilshire. He, his mother and grandmother relocated
to Oberlin in 1938 and he opened a shop in the former Martin’s Inn
building which later was in the Oberlin Inn Block for many years
and drew customers from as far away as New York, Pittsburgh, Detroit
and California.

He enjoyed classical music, the arts, history, nature and
bird-watching, and ballroom dancing and entertaining at his home. He
had been a member of the Suburban Club, an Oberlin dinner-dance club,
and Wildcat, an investment club of local businessmen.

In retirement Aghajanian continued making custom suits, skirts and
coats for his family.

Survivors include his wife of 61 years, A. Alice; sons Edmond,
of Westlake, and Nishan, of Chevy Chase, Md.; daughters Lisa of
Lexington, Mass., and Paula of Oberlin; sister, Anahid, of Beachwood;
and six grandchildren and a nephew and a niece.

Friends may call Thursday, 6 to 8 p.m., at Cowling Funeral Home, 228
S. Main St., Oberlin. Services will be Friday at 11 a.m. in Christ
Episcopal Church, 162 S. Main St., Oberlin. The Rev. Brian K. Wilbert,
rector, will officiate. Burial will be in Westwood Cemetery, Oberlin.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Gregory of Narek Armenian
Church, 678 Richmond Road, Richmond Heights, OH 44143, or to the
Armenian General Benevolent Union in care of St. Gregory’s Church.

Armenia not invited to meetings of scientific-technical commission for metrology and working group of CIS Inter-state Council for standardization, metrology and certification

ArmInfo
2007-09-12 13:03:00

The Armenian party has not been invited to the 26th session of the
scientific-technical commission for metrology and to the 4th session
of the working group of CIS Interstate Council for standardization,
metrology and certification to be held in Baku. Armenian Ministry
of Trade and Economic Development department for standardization,
metrology and certification told ArmInfo.

cannot participate in the session,> the source reports.

To recall, the session will start on September 19 in Baku. Railway
system inspection methods, gaseous fuel type measurement provision
and other issues are no agenda. The session will over on September 21.

BSEC CONFERENCE IN GELENJIK

armradio.am
11.09.2007 13:58

The international conference of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
Organization (BSEC) participating countries on the "Development of
Resort and Tourism Infrastructures and the Black Sea Region" will be
held in Gelenjik September 13-15, Russian Novosti news agency reports.

BSEC has 12 member states: Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria,
Greece, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

The main program of the conference includes plenary sessions and
three roundtables.

TIGRAN TOROSYAN: CONVERSATIONS ABOUT TER-PETROSYAN’S PARTICIPATION OR NON-PARTICIPATION IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ARE IRRELEVANT UNTIL HIS OFFICIAL NOMINATION

ArmInfo
2007-09-11

The Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Tigran Torosyan doesn’t intend
to discuss the prospect of participation of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the
first President of Armenia, in the forthcoming presidential election
in Armenia in 2008.

During the Sep 10 press-conference, T.Torosyan noted that he considers
conversations about that irrelevant and incorrect until Ter-Petrosyan
officially advances his nominee. "It is amazing that everybody, except
Ter-Petrosyan himself, speaks of his participation in the election,"
the Speaker pointed out.

BANKS TO PROVIDE MORE CREDITS DUE TO NEW POLICY OF SUPERVISION
By Ara Martirosian, Translated by L.H.

AZG Armenian Daily #164
11/09/2007

Economy

"The new policy of the Central Bank of Armenia is directed to make
softer the supervision of banks, which will contribute to the increase
of the bank credits and spread of bank services in the provinces and
villages of Armenia", announced the Head of the Central Bank Department
of the Financial System Supervision Policy and Analyses Davit Sargsian
at a press conference on September 6. He also mentioned that the
banking system of Armenia passes to its third period of development:
the first period finished in 1995-1996, when trade banks started
their activities in Armenia (at that time 70 banks acted in Armenia),
the international standards were implemented in the system during the
second period, and the aim of the third period is to increase rapidly
the financial mediation: growth of the credit values and availability
of the financial services.

"In the beginning of this year the Central Bank made softer its
policy of realization normatives of banks; due to that policy the
banks increased their credit values by 27 billion AMD", mentioned
Davit Sargsian.

Another package of normative changes will spur on the financial
services in the provinces of Armenia with the help of the itinerant
activity; it means that the representatives of the banks will travel
by the villages and give credits.

The above-mentioned changes will contribute to the growth of the
credit values by 60 per cent.

It is foreseen to record a big growth in the market of mortgage
crediting: an increase of 30-35 percent in the sphere of agricultural
and industrial crediting.

The credit interest will fall down according to the Head of the
Department of the Financial System Supervision Policy and Analyses. It
has a decrease of 0,5 percent in the eight months of this year. The
business credit interests decreased to 14-14,5 percent, and the
consumer credits from 21 percent to 19 percent

DUAL CITIZENSHIP INSTITUTION IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR ARMENIA AND THREATENS ITS STATEHOOD: ANM REPRESENTATIVE

ArmInfo
2007-09-10 12:35:00

"The dual citizenship institution is very dangerous for Armenia and
threatens its statehood," David Shahnazaryan, a member of the Armenian
National Movement and the former Minister of National Security,
told journalists at the Azdak club, Saturday.

According to him, it remains to hope that removing the ban on dual
citizenship from the Constitution won’t manage to inflict a serious
damage on the country, as dual citizenship creates the danger that
Armenian Parliament will be elected in Russia or any other country.

The situation, which admits the right to receive dual citizenship and,
instead, polling stations are open only in Armenia, contradicts the
Constitution, he noted. "I am sure, dual citizenship should be banned,
and polling stations should be open in all countries where we have
diplomatic representative offices," D.Shahnazaryan said. He stressed
that implementation of the dual citizenship institution will lead to
further outflow of population from Nagorno-Karabakh.