Author: Nalbandian Eduard

MIKA YEREVAN TO COMPETE WITH ARTMEDIA SLOVAKIA IN SECOND STAGE OF UEFA’S CUP TOURNAMENT

Noyan Tapan
Aug 08 2007

NEON, AUGUST 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The drawing of lots of the second stage of
the UEFA’s Cup Tournament took place in the headquarter appartment of
UEFA, which is situated in the city of Neon in Switzerland, on August
3. According to this drawing of lots, Mika Yerevan will compete with
Artmedia Petrzelka of Slovakia. The first match will take place in
Yerevan on August 16, and the second leg in Bratislava on August 30.

NIZAMI BAHMANOV: I WILL GO TO NAGORNO KARABAKH THROUGH AGHDAM-KHANKENDI-SHUSHA ONLY

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Aug 7 2007

"I do not believe US co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza
has voiced such remarks in an interview to Russian Vremya Novosti
newspaper. This needs to be clarified first of all. If he really
thinks so he has made a blunder and exceeded his powers," said Nizami
Bahmanov, head of Azerbaijani community of Nagorno Karabakh to APA.

He stressed that such political maneuvers were previously observed
on the negotiations for the resolution of the conflict and they met
serious reaction of Azerbaijan every time.

Reminding that Azerbaijan’s independence is recognized by all world
states the community head stressed the necessity of clarifying whether
or not US official representative did not rule out the possibility
of Nagorno Karabakh’s becoming independent.

"Armenians have already achieved their self-determination which
resulted in their building a state in historical Azerbaijani
territories and we will never allow them to build a second Armenian
state in Nagorno Karabakh," he stressed.

Commenting on deputy foreign minister Araz Azimov’s statement
"Azerbaijan wants arrangement of Nizami Bahmanov’s visit to the
occupied territories," Mr.Bahmanov did not rule out its possibility.

"This issue has been on the agenda for many years. Armenian and
Azerbaijani communities have met in foreign countries. These meetings
can be assessed positively. We can continue such meetings. As
holding these meetings in Khankendi or in Shusha, we will not go
to Nagorno Karabakh from other direction. The only way for us is
Aghdam-Khankendi-Shusha. But the matter is we are not going to have
talks under their emblem and with so called president of the current
regime in Nagorno Karabakh," he stressed.

Lifesite, NY –
Aug 3 2007

Kevorkian Plan to Speak in Florida May be Too Soon for Parole Board

By Peter J. Smith

LANSING, Michigan, August 3, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Dr. Jack
Kevorkian may have plans to speak at the University of Florida about
his life’s work of "mercy killing", but the Michigan Parole Board has
not yet agreed to the euthanasia movement’s poster-boy’s request to
leave the state.

Russ Marlan, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections
told LifeSiteNews.com that the Parole Board has not yet approved
Kevorkian’s request to leave Michigan and first "wanted to give time
and see how he does."

"He can’t leave the state without written permission and the request
is still pending," Marlan said. "[The Parole Board] didn’t say when
exactly they would let him go, but they told him to take [the
engagement] under the advisement that the approval is pending."

Marlin added that Kevorkian is allowed to lobby for assisted suicide,
but violates his parole if he gives specific details about assisted
suicide, such as how he killed people, how to carry-out assisted
suicide, and how to construct the machine he used.

"The analogy that his officer used was that he could advocate nuclear
war, but he couldn’t tell people how to make a bomb," Marlin said.

However the Michigan-based Flint Right to Life has urged pro-lifers
to generate thousands of calls and spread the word that UF is
allowing Kevorkian, a convicted murderer, to join its speaker’s
roster for the handsome sum of $50,000.

Judy Climer, president of Flint Right to Life, spoke with
LifeSiteNews.com saying that what began as a local campaign in her
area has gained broader attention across the nation. Climer has urged
pro-life advocates to contact the University of Florida president
James Machen to protest Kevorkian’s appearance and express concerns
that UF state and federal funds may be paying for "Dr. Death’s" talk.

Mid-July, LifeSiteNews.com reported that ACCENT, the UF student
government speaker’s bureau, had invited Kevorkian to speak to
students on October 11.
( .html)

LifeSiteNews.com contacted the ACCENT Speech Bureau today and learned
that Kevorkian has just signed the contract. While Kevorkian’s topic
has not been finalized, LifeSiteNews.com was told that Kevorkian is
expected to speak at length about the topic of assisted suicide,
including his past ten years and time in prison.

In July ACCENT chairman Steven Blank told LifeSiteNews.com that
ACCENT is "non-partisan" and chose Kevorkian to add positive
"diversity" to the roster of speakers. When pressed about whether
ACCENT would give a racist the same speaking opportunity as a
convicted murderer like Kevorkian for the sake of "diversity", Blank
demurred, saying, "Each speaker is taken on a case by case basis."

"Why on earth would they put a convicted murderer, a felon, in front
of the student body?" Climer protested. "I’m a former board of
education member myself. I served 15 years and I would never approve
my students bringing in a convicted murder to my student body."

Climer said she was told by UF officials that they couldn’t find
anyone else to debate Kevorkian, but Climer finds that assertion
unsupportable. Climer said she could easily find a speaker happy to
debate Kevorkian, either through her own contacts or by working with
Bobby Schindler of the Terri Schiavo-Schindler Foundation.

Bobby Schindler, brother of Terri Schindler-Schiavo – the brain
injured woman who perished in March 2005 after a court order removed
her feeding tube at the behest of her husband – is circulating a "Say
No to Dr. Death" petition for UF administrators.

Kevorkian’s plans for travel and future speaking engagements seem to
point to a surprising health recovery. Keorkian’s lawyer had told the
Michigan Parole Board in December that he expected Kevorkian had less
than a year to live. Kevorkian was paroled after serving 8 years of a
10 to 25 year sentence for the second degree murder of Thomas Youk.
Youk’s assisted suicide was broadcast on "60 Minutes", which led to
Kevorkian’s arrest and the end to a "mercy-killing" career that left
130 dead.

To sign the Schiavo Foundation’s petition "Say No to Dr. Death":
=1068&…

To contact the University of Florida:

J. Bernard Machen
President of University of Florida
Telephone: 352-392-1311
E-mail: [email protected]

ACCENT Speech Bureau
300-1 JWRU, Room 306
P.O. Box 118505
Gainesville, FL 32611-8505
Tel: 352-392-1665 ext. 306
Fax: 352-392-8072
Website:
Email: [email protected]
Press/Upcoming Show Information: 352-392-1665 ext. 411

Related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:

Doctor "Death" Kevorkian to Speak at Florida University for $50,000
Speaking Fee
html

Kevorkian Vows to Push for Assisted Suicide Laws After Upcoming
Prison Release
301.html

tml

EXCHANGE RATE OF ARMENIAN DRAM DROPS BY 7.2% AGAINST US DOLLAR IN JULY 2007 ON DECEMBER 2006

Noyan Tapan
Aug 3, 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, NOYAN TAPAN. In parallel with a 0.6% growth of
consumer prices in Armenia, a 7.2% fall in the settlement exchange
rate of the Armenian dram against the US dollar was regsitered in
July 2007 on Decemer 2006.

According to the RA National Statistical Service, the average
settlement exchange rate of the Armenian dram against the US dollar
made 338.44 drams in July 2007, which is less by 18.9% than the index
of the same month of 2006 (417.4 drams).

3.2% and 1.9% fall was recorded in consumer prices and the settlement
exchange rate of the dram against the dollar respectively in July on
June 2007.

COMMODITY TURNOVER BETWEEN ARMENIA AND GERMANY MAKES 174.5 MILLION DOLLARS IN FIRST HALF OF 2007

Noyan Tapan
Aug 2, 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 2, NOYAN TAPAN. Germany is in second place among
Armenia’s partner states in terms of its commodity turnover. The
commodity turnover between the two countries made 174.5 mln USD in
the first half of 2007.

During the August 2 meeting with the delegation of the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Germany and Cronimet company, the
chairman of the RA CCI Martin Sargsian stressed the necessity of
holding joint business forums, exhibitions, presentations which will
make the opportunities of the two sides more visible.

The CCI director Gagik Vardanian pointed out IT ad mining
industry as the most favorable sectors for mutually beneficial
cooperation. According to him, optical sapphire crystals widely used
in economy and health care are grown in Armenia. 8 kg of such crystals
have already been grown in the country and it is envisaged increasing
this volume to 30 kg in the near future.

At the meeting, Cronimet’s founding chairman Gunther Pilarski, who
owns 70% of shares of the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Enterprise
company, was presented with a Mercury award for his great contribution
to development of the Armenian-German cooperation.

GRANTING KOSOVO INDEPENDENCE CANNOT BE PRECEDENT FOR SEPARATIST REGIMES WORLDWIDE: JAVIER SOLANA

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Aug 2 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend A.Gasimova / High Representative for
the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, Dr.

Javier Solana, believes that granting Kosovo independence cannot be
a precedent for separatist regimes in different countries, including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

"The Kosovo issue is a special case that cannot be compared to any
other region," Solana said in an interview for Trend. According
to him, there is the historical context of Yugoslavia’s violent and
non-consensual break-up, as well as the massive violence and repression
that took place in Kosovo in the period up to and including 1999. There
is also the unique situation of the extended period of international
administration under the UN resolution 1244, where Kosovo has basically
been run by UNMIK since 1999. These specifics have been acknowledged
by the Contact Group, which also includes Russia.

Solana said that it is regrettable that an agreement could not be
reached within the United Nations Security Council. "I think that the
best way forward now is to give negotiations another chance. This is
also what the EU ministers agreed at their meeting on 23 July. But
I want to be clear on the fact that these negotiations should not be
open-ended. There should be a time limit of more or less 120 days,"
the Commissar emphasized.

"I would therefore appeal to Belgrade and Pristina to engage actively
and constructively in this final round of negotiations. The EU wants
to move this process forward and find a lasting solution to the
Kosovo status. We are determined to remain united on this issue in
support of European interests, notably the stability and prosperity
and European future of the Balkans," Solana stated.

ARMENIAN "CONNOISSEURS" ARE NOT INFERIOR TO THEIR WELL-KNOWN COLLEAGUES OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Noyan Tapan
Jul 31, 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 31, NOYAN TAPAN. Yerevan’s Perezagruzka team shared the
first place with Tbilisi’s Galakhad team at the 9th South Caucasian
championship of intellectual games held on July 20-22 in Georgia. As it
was mentioned at the July 30 press conference, in total, 5 Armenian,
15 Georgian, and 8 Azeri teams participated in the championship. The
championship was held by four main tournaments, What, Where, When,
Brain Ring, Own Game, and Erudit Sextet.

Arayik Avetisian, a member of the Perezagruzka team, said that last
year the Azeri national team managed to gain a victory in all that
four tournaments.

"This year we have performed excellently: Armenian connoisseurs gained
victories in three out of four games," he said.

According to the team’s head, Tigran Kocharian, in difference to
Armenia, Azerbaijan invests much funds in the sphere of intellectual
games. While, as he affirmed, compared with other means forming a
country’s image abroad, intellectual games do not require large sums.

In T. Kocharian’s words, cases of intellectual games’ financing in
Armenia are very few: for instance, Perezagruzka has taken part in
the regional championship exclusively with its own resources. While
periodic sponsorship, according to him, will enable Armenian
connoisseurs to take a more active part in intellectual games’
competitions organized abroad and to represent Armenia. "However,
there are "connoisseurs" in Armenia, who with their potential
are not inferior to well-known connoisseurs Alexander Druz, Maxim
Potashov. However, they just have no funds to export their intellect
and to present it in Moscow," Perezagruzka team’s head said.

Al Jazeera: Armenia open to talks with Turkey
July 31, 2007

Armenia’s prime minister says he is ready to negotiate with Turkey’s new
government after more then 90 years of severed ties.

Serzh Sargsyan told Al Jazeera on Tuesday: "We can’t stay in a situation
without having communication and talks with our neighbour because the
easiest way of resolving this issue is dialogue and negotiations."
A row over the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during the
first world war is at the heart of the issue.

Turkey says they were casualties of war, but the people of Armenia want what
happened to be recognised as genocide.
The continuing closure of the border has isolated Armenia, which is a
landlocked country, hitting the economy hard.

*Isolation*

In Armenia’s border villages, people are isolated for most of the winter,
and are forced to live off the land.

The village leader told Al Jazeera there was nothing there: no jobs, all the
young people have left the village to go to find work, and they are
completely dependent on the harvest.

He said people had adapted to life behind a fence: "The border has always
been closed there has never been any communication. I think it would be very
nice if there was communication and interaction between us and the people
across the border."

Local farmers can cross the Armenia-Turkey border but they need special
permission in order to give water to their cattle.

In the village, no one can remember a time when the border was ever open.

*Change*

Armenia has only two out of four borders open.

It has stopped the economy from moving forward hundreds of millions of
dollars of trade are lost every year. It is no surprise that Sargsyan wants
change.

He had this message for Turkey’s newly elected government: "We didn’t choose
the location of where we live and whatever happens we will have to be
neighbours for a very long time. I think it would be better if Armenians and
Turks come to an understanding."

Sargsyan may be willing to talk but the country still has a long way to go
if wants to return to the days of the great Silk Road, when Armenia
connected east with west.

25C1AD-28E5-4B50-86D3-2AD885C17EAA.htm

SARKISIAN PROMISES REPRIEVE FOR PROTESTING CAB DRIVERS
By Hovannes Shoghikian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
July 30 2007

Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian promised on Monday that his government
will postpone the enforcement of stricter licensing requirements that
could force hundreds of Armenian taxi drivers out of business.

Meeting several dozen drivers who again gathered outside his office,
Sarkisian said the rules, effective from August 1, were approved by
the Armenian government last March too hastily.

"The decision affects the livelihood of thousands of people and we
must give them more time [to comply with it,]" he told the protesters
surrounding him.

Under the new rules, taxi companies and independent cab drivers to
pay an annual state duty of 200,000 drams ($590) for each of their
cars. More importantly, they would be banned from using vehicles
manufactured more than 10 years ago. Virtually all of the drivers
that twice demonstrated outside the government headquarters in Yerevan
last week are self-employed and have older vehicles.

Sarkisian told them that he will make sure the government measure
takes effect on April 1. The government will make a relevant decision
at its next meeting on Thursday, he said.

The promised reprieve will end right after Armenia’s next presidential
election in which Sarkisian is expected to be a top contender.

The Armenian premier made it clear at the same time that there will
be no major changes in the new rules themselves. In particular, he
was adamant in defending the 10-year limit on the age of cabs. "Is
it right to transport people in a 10-year-old Lada?" he asked the
protesting drivers.

"Yes, if a driver properly looks after his personal car," said one
of them.

"Fine, so let him drive his family in his personal car," responded
Sarkisian. "I could have done trickery," he continued. "I could have
set the limit at five years and all of you would have gathered here
and I would have said, ‘OK guys, I raise it to ten years.’ But I
didn’t do trickery. I set the maximum possible limit."

Government officials say the measure will improve passenger safety
and complicate tax evasion. But critics say it will primarily benefit
large carriers that are owned by wealthy business and can afford
buying new cars.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO GENERAL MANVEL’S SON

Lragir, Armenia
July 25 2007

The office of the district attorney of Malatia-Sebastia community is
preparing materials concerning a recent violent incident involving
the son of General Manvel Grigoryan, deputy minister of defense. The
media reported a few days ago that General Manvel’s son and his
friend beat Carlen Armen Galstyan, 33, inspector of the State Rescue
Service of Armenia, at the VIP lounge of Zvartnots Airport because
they disliked the way how Carlen Galstyan glanced at General Manvel’s
daughter-in-law, Karen Grigoryan’s wife.

"C. Galstyan’s explanations and excuses were pointless. Perhaps he
did not know who he dealt with. Karen Grigoryan and his friends first
shouted abuse, then they started beating him until he fainted. In
addition, along with the "educational lynching" the brigade of beaters
took C. Galstyan’s watch, wallet and the keys of his car. We have
learned that the police were afraid of interfering and preventing this
incident, although it lasted rather long. We have learned that after
the incident General Manvel’s son and his friends drove away in the
Mercedes car of their victim," the Aravot Daily reported on July 24.

The reporters asked about the actions of the office of prosecutor
general regarding this incident in a briefing of the prosecutor general
and his deputies on July 25. "The prosecutor general instructed the
prosecutor of Malatia community for oversight of revelation of all
the circumstances of the case. The investigation has lasted for two
or three days, and if you make additional requests, we will respond
through our press secretary," said Mnatsakan Sargsyan, Assistant
Prosecutor General.