Author: Nalbandian Eduard

CONVERSEBANK OPENS NEW BRANCH IN YEREVAN, ARMENIA

ARKA
Aug 8, 2008

YEREVAN, August 8. /ARKA/. The Conversebank (Armenia) has opened its
24th branch. The new branch, Sayat Nova, is located in the center
of Yerevan.

Conversebank is among the most actively operating banks in Armenia
and ranks among the ten leader banks in the country, Vice-President
of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Vache Gabrielyan told reporters
at the opening ceremony.

He welcomed the bank’s measures to expand its activities in both
enlarging its branch network and introducing new banking products.

Ararat Ghukasyan, CEO, Conversebank, said that, in remaining committed
to its policy of rendering comprehensive and affordable services to
all the sections of Armenia’s population, the bank continues enlarging
its branch network.

"This is the first branch in the center of Armenia’s capital.

Another branch is shortly to be opened near the Kilikia fair. Thus
the bank will have seven branches in Yerevan," Ghukasyan said.

He pointed out that, under its strategic plan, the bank plans to
bring the number of its branches up to 100 during the next three years.

Ghukasyan said that Conversebank pays special attention to rendering
services using modern technologies, particularly Internet banking. The
bank plans to introduce a new instrument to facilitate distant control
over accounts.

"The clients of the newly opened Sayat Nova branch will allow the
clients to deposits on preferential terms. We aim at attracting
as many clients as possible, and if the branch proves a success,
we will apply this mechanism throughout Armenia," he said.

The Conversebank CJSC was incorporated on December 20, 1993. By June
30, 2008, the bank’s assets had amounted to 62.3bln AMD, total capital
12.3bln AMD, liabilities 49.9bln AMD. In the 1st half of 2008 bank’s
net profit totaled 1.3bln AMD.

In the 1st half of 2008, the bank recorded the sixth largest assets
among Armenia’s commercial banks – 7% of the total assets of the
country’s banking system.

LONG LIVE SWITZERLAND! LONG LIVE ARMENIA! – NATIONAL HOLIDAY OF SWISS CONFEDERATION CELEBRATED IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan

Au g 7, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 7, NOYAN TAPAN. The Swiss were one of the first to
give a helping hand to the Armenian people immediately after the
Spitak earthquake, during the rescue work. Then they helped restore
the regions hit by the earthquake and supported the local residents by
implementing humanitarian programs. However, the history of helping the
Armenian people in its hard years began from an earlier period. In the
1870s, a wave of friendship with the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire
swept Switzerland. Jacob Canzler was the most famous one among numerous
volunteers who wished to help on the spot. In 1920-1921 he lived in
Edesia (Urfa) where he built a hospital and managed to save hundreds
of Armenians from violence. His book entitled "In the Country of Blood
and Tears" was published in Basel in 1921. This is a quotation from
the Swiss Ambassador to Armenia Dr. Lorenzo Amberg’s welcome speech
delivered during a festive event held in Yerevan to celebrate the Swiss
National holiday on August 1st. Although it was for the first time
that the National holiday of Switzerland was celebrated in Armenia,
the event was attended by a lot of guests, including representatives
of state government bodies of Armenia, officials of foreign diplomatic
missions in our country, deputies of the RA National Assembly, and
representatives of Swisterland’s international cooperation structures.

The 717th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation was marked in
Yerevan. In 1291, representatives of the Swiss cantons of Uri,
Schwyz and Unterwalden united in order to, as the ambassador put it,
"protect their freedom and independence". Over centuries Switzerland
unified new areas around itself and created institutions protecting
the language, religion and rights of each citizen. "This is the
reason why our compatriots both in the country and throughout the
world remember with gratitude the wisdom of our ancestors who left
to us such a special "clockwork" as Switzerland."

Armenia established diplomatic relations with this "clockwork" in 1991.

"After the 1988 earthquake our friendship got a new lease of life. The
Swiss population and government have provided tens of millions of
francs for restoration of the destroyed cities. Switzrland keeps its
presence in Armenia through technical assistance and its office of
humanitarian aid. Its current priorities are development of rural
communities and strengthening the structures of protection from
natural disasters," L. Amberg stated, attaching great importance to
"cooperation of the two old and at the same modern, independent
nations – members of the UN, OSCE and the Council of Europe".

The cooperation is promoted by the diplomatic relations that have
become more active in recent years. The speaker of the Swiss parliament
paid a visit to Armenia in November 2007, Switzerland’s State Secretary
of Foreign Affairs Michael Ambuhl visited our country twice. The Swiss
Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Ray arrived in Armenia on June 27,
stating an intention to open the Swiss embassy in Armenia. According
to the L. Amberg, this symbolizes a wish to strengthen Switzerland’s
links with Armenia. He concluded his speech with the words: "Long
Live Switzerland! Long Live Armenia!" (in Armenian).

In the words of the Armenian Foreign Minister Gegham Gharibjanian,
since 1291, while being located at the crossroads of various cultures
and religions, Switzerland has succeeded in uniting and integrating
these cultures into intself. Since that time Switzerland’s impartiality
and democratic foundations formed a basis of global politics. According
to him, Switzerland also plays a great role in the provision of
humanitarian aid in the world.

"Switzerland has been one of the most dedicated supporters and friends
of Armenia. Since the very first day of the independence of Armenia,
Switzerland has been on Armenia’s side, providing technical and
financial assistance for development needs of our country. These
relations have strengthened in recent years. The most obvious proof
of it is the development of our relations, within the bilateral and
multilateral political framework."

G. Gharibjanian underlined that the visit of Micheline Calmy-Rey
will contribute to further consolidation of the relations of the
two countries.

SETTLEMENT EXCHANGE RATE OF ARMENIAN DRAM AGAINST DOLLAR DECLINES BY 10.6% IN ONE YEAR

Noyan Tapan

Au g 5, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, NOYAN TAPAN. 4.5% growth of consumer prices in
Armenia in July 2008 as compared with December 2007 was accompanied
by a 0.5% fall in the settlement exchange rate of the Armenian dram
aganst the U.S. dollar. A similar tendency was registered in the same
period of last year: a 7.2% fall in the settlement exchange rate of the
dram was registered in parallel with a 0.6% growth of consumer prices.

According to the RA National Statsitical Service, there was a 2.2%
fall of prices and 0.9% fall in the settlement exchange rate of the
Armenian dram in July on June 2008.

The average settlement exchange rate of the Armenian dram against
the US dollar made 302.47 drams in July 2008, which is by 10.6%
lower than the index of July 2007 (338.38 drams).

HEAD OF RA SPECIAL INVESTIGATION SERVICE OFFERS TO MAKE ALTERATIONS TO LAW ‘ON BANK SECRET’

arminfo
2008-08-04 09:51:00

ArmInfo. Head of RA Special Investigation Service Andranik Mirzoyan
offers to make alterations to the Law "On Bank Secret". He made such
a proposal at the session of the law machinery representatives held
in Yeghegnadzor yesterday.

According to A. Mirzoyan’s proposal, it would be correct to make a
change to the law which would allow the law machinery to receive the
data about the account holder and the transaction before filing an
accusation. At the same time, it is offered to relieve the banks of the
duty to inform its clients about the presented legal requests. To note,
according to Article 10 of the Law ‘On Bank Secret’, it is prohibited
to deliver information about the account holder or a transaction
without the court decision which can be made after institution of a
criminal case and filing accusation. The Article 19 of the same Law
obliges the banks to inform its clients about legal requests.

NEW US AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA APPROVED

Today’s Zaman
Aug 4 2008
Turkey

The US Senate last week confirmed the George W. Bush administration’s
nominee for ambassador to Armenia after a delay by lawmakers who
were unhappy with Marie Yovonovitch’s refusal to accept so-called
"genocide" claims.

Armenian-American groups have been seeking to force the Bush
administration to change its policy on the 1915 incidents,
but Yovanovitch clearly adhered at her confirmation hearing in
the Senate to the US policy of refusing to label the incidents as
"genocide." Last year, the White House withdrew its nomination of
career diplomat Richard Hoagland after one lawmaker blocked it in
an objection to that policy. The post had remained vacant for two
years. Armenia, with the backing of its diaspora, claims that up to
1.5 million of its kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in
1915. Turkey rejects the claims, saying that 300,000 Armenians along
with at least as many Turks died in civil strife that emerged when
the Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.

Washington has had no full-time ambassador in Yerevan since May 2006
and attaches great importance to sending Yovanovitch there at a time
of increasing Russian influence in the region and a worsening conflict
over the development of nuclear arms with Iran, officials have said.

In May 2006 Bush removed John Evans, the last ambassador to Armenia,
who had openly described the Armenian killings as genocide, in
violation of Washington’s official policy. He then nominated career
diplomat Hoagland for the post, but Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat
from New Jersey, blocked the nomination for failing to qualify the
Armenian killings as genocide. Bush then proposed Yovanovitch, who
also has declined to use the word "genocide."

ARMENIA KEEN ON BUILDING RAILWAY LINK TO IRAN – MINISTER

ArmInfo News Agency (in Russian)
Aug 1 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 1 August: The Iran-Armenia railway will be constructed
irrespective of whether the Abkhaz section of the Georgian railway
is open or not, Armenian Minister of Transport and Communications
Gurgen Sargsyan said at a news conference today.

"We will not wait for anyone and will start the construction,"
the minister said. He said that currently three projects on the
construction of the railway with Iran are being considered and that
"there are no problems except for funding".

The cost of the construction depends on the length of the
route. According to preliminary estimates, the most preferred and
the shortest route of 397 kilometres is from the Gagarin station
[in Armenia Gegharkunik Region] to the Gavar-Martuni-Jermuk station
[towns in Armenia’s Gegharkunik and Vayots Dzor Regions].

"This is the shortest route, and that’s why it is the most profitable
one from the economic point of view," the minister said. He added
that this route would connect [Armenia] with the north of Georgia
through Vanadzor [a town in the north of Armenia] and with Meghri
[a town close to the Iranian border] via the station in Kapan [a town
in the south of Armenia].

Another 80-kilometre section will run through Iranian territory to the
Iranian station of Marand [a town in Iran’s East Azarbayjan Province],
he said.

The other two routes are 443 and 449-km long. They start from the
stations of Eraskh [a village close to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border]
and Vardenis [a town in Armenia’s Gegharkunik Region], the minister
said. He said that in any case it is planned to construct a totally
new railway line.

Previously Gurgen Sargsyan said that the preliminary cost of the
construction of the Iran-Armenia railway would range from 1.5bn to
2bn dollars. Armenia, Iran and Russia have expressed interest in
this project.

WORLD HERITAGE

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on July 31, 2008
Armenia

President Serge Sargsyan and President Victor Yushchenko proposed to
assign a task to the Foreign Ministries of the both countries to take
joint actions to include Saint Cross in UNESCO’s world heritage.

During the meeting with the representatives of Armenian Community in
Ukraine he reminded them of the already existing successful examples
in this direction. Quite recently three Armenian monuments in Iran
were included in this list.

FIVE-DAY TRAINING FOR YOUNG LEADERS OF ARMENIA’S NATIONAL MINORITIES STARTS IN LUSAKERT

Noyan Tapan

Ju ly 30, 2008

YEREVAN, JULY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. The five-day retraining course that
started on July 29 in Lusakert is aimed at enlarging and developing
abilities of young leaders of Armenia’s national minorities. 25 young
people from 11 national minorities registered in Armenia (Assyrians,
Belarusians, Georgians, Germans, Greeks, Jews, Kurds, Poles, Russians,
Ukrainians, and Yezidis) take part in the retraining. It has been
organized by the World Independent Youth Union with the support of
the OSCE Yerevan Office.

"Protection of minorities’ rights, in particular, rights of people
representing national minorities, has always been in the focus of
attention of our office. It includes three directions of activity,
legislative sphere, cultural programs, and education," Marc Bojanich,
the Deputy Head of OSCE Yerevan Office, said.

According to the report of OSCE Yerevan Office, experts of the World
Independent Youth Union, Council of Europe, Department on Issues of
National Minorities and Religion attached to the RA government will
acquaint training participants with the basic principles of human
rights, issues regarding citizenship, and role of non-governmental
organizations in development of a community.

According to Tatevik Margarian, the Chairwoman of the World Independent
Youth Union NGO, program’s main goal is to develop leaders skills
among national minorities’ youth and to create conditions for their
participation in discussions regarding their rights.

"NORAVANK" FOUNDATION’S ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE"

"Noravank" Foundation’s "21st Century."
24 July 2008

On July 11 of the current year in "Noravank" foundation was held a
scientific conference titled "the role of "Noravank" Foundation in
the development process of political science." The conference was
convened on the occasion of the 20th jubilee issue of the journal
"21st Century."

At the conference-presentation were discussed the present condition
and problems of the political field in Armenia. The problem was
touched upon by the executive director of "Noravank" Foundation
G. Harutyunyan. He mentioned that the society and the bodies applying
Armenia’s military-political strategy need to be provided adequate
information on the international situation. Realizing the state order,
the "Noravank" experts analyze geopolitical processes in the framework
of political, information, communication and energy security, and work
out theses which make a basis to make well-grounded forecasts about
global and regional possible developments. It is noteworthy the speech
of the conference participant A. Ashotyan, in which the accentuated
the role and significance of "Noravank" Foundation for the Republic of
Armenia in the context of present geopolitical processes. According to
him "Noravank" Foundation’s "21st Century," as the only thr ee-language
(Armenian, Russian, English) political-scientific journal, may present
the analyses of problems and challenges necessary for the RA state and
social work. At the conference also spoke S. Sarukhanyan, M. Marutyan,
R. Melkonyan and the representatives of other think tanks.

Le Monde, France
26 juillet 2008 samedi

Visite historique du président turc près de la frontière avec
l’Arménie, fermée depuis 1993

par Guillaume Perrier

Les deux pays, qui ont rompu leurs relations il y a quinze ans,
amorcent un rapprochement qui pourrait se concrétiser, en septembre, à
l’occasion d’un match de football en Arménie

C’est donc là l’Arménie ? Si près ? " Surpris, le président de la
République turque, Abdullah Gül, s’est arrêté un instant en surplomb
du canyon au fond duquel coule la rivière Araxe, la ligne naturelle
qui sépare la Turquie de l’Arménie. Un regard de l’autre côté, d’où
émergent quelques baraquements et des miradors occupés par les soldats
russes et arméniens qui gardent cette frontière.

De passage dans la région de Kars, mercredi 23 et jeudi 24 juillet,
aux confins orientaux de la Turquie, M. Gül a marché une petite heure
dans le site majestueux d’Ani : l’ancienne " cité aux 1 001 églises "
est le vestige le plus important de la présence arménienne en
Anatolie. Des églises, il n’en reste que cinq ou six, en ruine,
disséminées dans les herbes folles. Les visiteurs peuvent venir les
admirer depuis 2004. Auparavant, la zone, sous contrôle militaire,
était totalement bouclée.

Ani, à la limite du territoire turc, fut la capitale du royaume
bagratide d’Arménie, au Xe siècle. Le symbole de cette visite n’est
donc pas passé inaperçu, ni d’un côté ni de l’autre de la frontière,
fermée depuis 1993 : Abdullah Gül est le premier président turc à s’y
rendre.

L’Arménie et la Turquie ont rompu leurs relations il y a quinze ans,
quand la guerre a éclaté au Nagorny Karabakh, une province
d’Azerbaïdjan, peuplée en majorité d’Arméniens, toujours occupée par
Erevan. Dans ce conflit, la Turquie a pris fait et cause pour
l’Azerbaïdjan, un pays de souche turque. Mais depuis quelques
semaines, de part et d’autre, les petits gestes d’ouverture se sont
multipliés.

Début juillet, le président arménien, Serge Sarkissian, a invité son
homologue turc à assister au match de football entre l’Arménie et la
Turquie qui doit avoir lieu à Erevan, le 6 septembre, évoquant " une
nouvelle phase de dialogue avec le gouvernement et le peuple de
Turquie ". M. Gül réserve sa réponse, suspendue aux troubles
politiques qui agitent Ankara. Quelques jours plus tard, on apprenait
que des négociations bilatérales " secrètes " avaient eu lieu, le 8
juillet à Berne, en Suisse. D’autres rencontres sont prévues en août
et septembre et, cette semaine, le ministre des Affaires étrangères,
Ali Babacan, a participé à une réunion, aux Nations unies, en présence
d’un ambassadeur arménien.

DIPLOMATIE DU FROMAGE

Les Etats-Unis mais aussi l’Iran, partenaire stratégique d’Erevan,
soutiennent ardemment ce dialogue. Enfin, dernier geste en date, le
gouvernement turc a démis de ses fonctions, mercredi, le directeur de
l’institut turc d’histoire, Yusuf Halaçoglu, connu pour sa rhétorique
anti-arménienne et antigénocide. A Kars, la capitale de la province
turque frontalière de l’Arménie, cela fait bien longtemps que l’on
veut rétablir des relations avec le voisin honni. Coincée au fond d’un
cul-de-sac, Kars est la première à souffrir de la situation. Ses rues
défoncées et ses maisons russes du XIXe siècle décrépies trahissent
une situation économique difficile.

Le maire (Parti de la justice et du développement, AKP) de la ville,
Naif Alibeyoglu, avait rassemblé, en 2000, plus de 50 000 signatures
pour la réouverture de la frontière et se démène pour organiser des
rencontres culturelles ou des foires commerciales qui réunissent des
ressortissants de tous les pays du Caucase. " Nous cherchons depuis
des années à ramener la paix dans la région ", dit-il. Ces positions
lui attirent régulièrement les foudres des nationalistes turcs et
azéris. Une députée du parti au pouvoir à Bakou l’a traité, mercredi,
de " provocateur " et " d’ami des Arméniens ".

Mais en 2007, un salon des entrepreneurs, à Kars, a fait naître un
projet transfrontalier. Des producteurs turcs, géorgiens et arméniens,
ont lancé leur fromage " caucasien ", fabriqué depuis février. " Nous
voulons sauvegarder notre culture commune qui est caucasienne,
explique Ilhan Koçulu, le promoteur du projet. La terre ne fait pas de
discrimination. Je suis très peiné de voir ces conflits dans notre
région. Nous envoyons un message aux politiciens et aux populations
locales : nous sommes tous des enfants de la terre du Caucase. " La
diplomatie du fromage montrera peut-être la voie à suivre.