Author: Nargizian David

6,1BN DRAMS TO BE ALLOTTED TO SPHERE OF CHILDBIRTH AID FROM RA STATE BUDGET IN 2009

Noyan Tapan

Au g 4, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 4, NOYAN TAPAN. In 2009 6,1bn drams (about ,03m) will
be allotted to the sphere of childbirth aid as compared with 3,9bn
drams in 2008. As in the August 1 press conference chief of the RA
Ministry of Health department of Mother and child’s health protection
Karine Saribekian noted, year by year an increase of child-delivery is
recorded. Thus, if in the first half of 2006 5718 child-deliveries were
recorded, in the same period of 2007 6035 deliveries were recorded,
then in 2008 6217 deliveries were recorded.

Summing up the results of the one month of investment of state
certificates’ system in childbirth aid sphere, she noted that during
the month of July 1604 children were born (in 2007 this record was
1509). 330 of confined mothers gave birth to children by Caesarean
section. Most of the child-deliveries were recorded in the Institute
of Perinthology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology: 299, and least of the
child deliveries were recorded in the Centre of Family Planning
and Sexual Health: 63. In the same period 422 women having regional
registration received childbirth aid in the medical institutions of
the capital. 28 women had foreign citizenship.

It was also mentioned that the most part of the calls received by the
hot line of the Ministry connected with the certificates were made
for the purpose of receiving information. The Ministry is undertaking
measures in the direction of correcting the complaints. For example,
the Minister of Health has issued instructions that if there are no
free of charge wards in the maternity hospital women in labour should
be placed in fee-paying wards for free.

THE FIRST SERIOUS SIGNALS
Vardan Grigoryan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on Aug 01, 2008
Armenia

The discussions held by the US House of Foreign Affairs Committee over
the issue of appointing Maria Jovanovich as the new US Ambassador
in Armenia and the subsequent approval of her candidacy became the
successive occasion for clarifying Washington’s political attitudes
towards the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

It is obvious that having received the approval of the Foreign
Affairs Committee of the Senate on July 29, Maria Jovanovich will be
confirmed in her new position in August, during the plenary session of
the Senate. This will put an end to the struggle for the appointment
of a new US Ambassador in the Republic of Armenia – a process that
lasted around 2 years.

Let’s bear in mind, however, that in that period a certain progress
was observed on the American political arena towards the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide. Apart from being confirmed by the relevant
committee of the Congress and receiving the approval of several
legislators from different states, the issue was consistently raised
by US Democratic candidate Barrack O’bama.

It’s not accidental that after the July 19 preliminary hearings held
by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate, Maria Jovanovich
sent a written reply to Barrack O’bama’s question concerning the
Armenian Genocide.20The letter reads as follows, "The US Government
and certainly I grieve over the mass killings, ethnic cleansings
and deportations which deprived 1.5 million Armenians of life in the
final era of the existence of the Ottoman Empire. The United States
of America considers these events as the greatest tragedy of the 20th
century – ‘Great Massacres’, as many Armenians are wont to say".

Maria Jovanovich supported the same viewpoint on July 29, during
the discussion of her candidacy by the Foreign Affairs Committee of
the Senate.

Of course, Robert Menendez and many other the Senators having a
consistent attitude towards the recognition of the Armenian Genocide
were not fully satisfied with the viewpoint, however, they estimated
it as a consequence of the political attitude of President George
Bush who is ending his term of office in a couple of months’ time. So,
their political campaign has now focused on raising the issue of the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the context of the upcoming
presidential elections.

owever, it is noteworthy that with the purpose of achieving the
approval of Maria Jovanovich’s candidacy by the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the Senate, the State Secretariat has also made certain
clarifications with regard to the issue of the Armenian Genocide. In
a letter addressed to Jo Byden, Chairman of the US House of Foreign
Affairs Committee, US Under-Secretary=2 0of State Mathew Reynolds
mentioned on behalf of the State Secretariat that Maria Jovanovich does
not question the events that happened in the Ottoman Empire in 1915."

Furthermore, M. Reynolds added that the State Secretariat also
acknowledges the fact that the government of the Ottoman Empire
carried out the mass killings, ethnic cleansings and deportations of
1.5 million Armenians.

"We really find that the officials of the Ottoman Empire are
accountable for those crimes," M. Reynolds mentioned in the concluding
part of his letter.

This means that the US Under-Secretary of State admits not only the
fact of the extermination and displacement of 1.5 million Armenians
but also the accountability of the Ottoman Empire, i.e. the Republic
of Turkey (its legal successor) for the state crime. That’s to say,
without officially characterizing the massacres of the Armenians as
"genocide", the United States already advances the issue of Turkey’s
accountability.

Formulating Turkey’s accountability for the 1915 events and introducing
it as a condition for the regulating the relations between Ankara
and Yerevan, the United States is:

1. separating the century-old Armenian-Turkish debate from the prospect
of the settlement of the Karabakh conflict,

2. proposing Turkey to give up the policy of imposing preconditions
upon Armenia,

3. introducing new and serious elements for increasing the potent
ial instability into the agenda of the debates between the moderate
Ã~Jemalists and the secular Kemalists.

We believe that after the appointment of the new Ambassador in Armenia,
the positive changes in the United States attitude towards the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide may become effective only after
the clarification of the policy of the new US administration. And
now they can be viewed as the first serious signals of the changes
expected in that policy.

–Boundary_(ID_Pd1ad/zUurRnXi6vpNmR0Q)–

FIRST ARMENIAN OLYMPIC DELEGATION OFF TO BEIJING

armradio.am
01.08.2008 14:56

On July 31 the first Armenian Olympic delegation, comprising the
judoists and rifleman and their coaches left for Beijing on July
31. The other delegations will leave for Beijing on August 1, 2, 4,
5 and 7.

The Armenian Olympic delegation is headed by the President of the
National Olympic Committee of Armenia Gagik Tsarukyan. Te chief
commissioner is the Vice-Presidnet of the Olympic Committee Derenik
Gabrielyan.

The delegation comprises RA Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs,
Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee Armen Grigoryan,
heads of different sports agencies, doctors and journalists.

Triple Olympic Champion, the best Armenian sportsman of the 20th
century Albert Azaryan will bear the Armenian flag at the opening
ceremony.

Twenty-Fife sportsmen will represent Armenia at the 29th Summer
Olympics in Beijing.

Weightlifting – Hripsime Khurshudyan (75 kg), Tigran Martirosyan
(69 kg), Gevorg Davtyan (77 kg), Ara Khachatryan (77 kg), Tigran
V. Martirosyan (85 kg) and Edgar Georgyan (85 kg).

Boxing – Hovhanes Danielyan (48 kg), Hrachik Javakhyan (60 kg),
Edward Hambartsumyan (64 kg), Andranik Hakobyan (75 kg).

Free-style wrestling – Martin Berberyan (60 kg), Suren Markosyan
(66 kg), Harutyun Yenokyan (84 kg).

Greco-Roman style wrestling – Roman Amoyan (55 kg), Karen Mnatsakanyan
(60 kg), Arman Adikyan (66 kg), Arsen Julfalakyan (74 kg), Denis Forov
(84 kg), Yuri Patrikeev (120 kg).

Judo – Hovhannes Davtyan (60 kg), Armen Nazaryan (66 kg).

Ahletics – Melik Janoyan (archer), Ani Khachikyan (runner).

Swimming – Mikhael Koloyan.

Shooting – Norayr Bakhtamyan.

GUL HASN’T YET DECIDED WHETHER TO VISIT YEREVAN OR NOT

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.07.2008 13:41 GMT+04:00

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said yesterday that "Turkey wants good
relations with its neighbors and stability in its region but sent
a veiled message to Armenia that it should respect the territorial
rights of neighboring Azerbaijan if it wants to be part of regional
integration projects," Today’s Zaman reports.

Turkey severed its ties and closed its border with Armenia in 1993
as a token of solidarity with Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

Ankara also says the normalization of ties depends on Armenia’s formal
recognition of the current borders with Turkey and changing its policy
of calling for worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide at the
hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has invited Gul to a World
Cup qualifying match between the national soccer teams of the two
countries due on September 6 and has called for dialogue to help the
normalization of ties, saying this will be mutually beneficial. Foreign
Minister Ali Babacan said last week that Turkish Foreign Ministry
officials had talks with Armenian officials in Switzerland earlier
this month. But the Foreign Ministry insisted that the talks did not
mean a change in Turkey’s policy.

Gul said yesterday he has not yet decided whether to visit Yerevan.

Gul is in Kars to attend a ceremony to inaugurate the construction
of the Turkish part of a regional railway passing through Turkey,
Georgia and Azerbaijan. The presidents of Azerbaijan and Georgia are
also attending the inauguration ceremony.

Turkey has taken steps to deepen regional cooperation on energy,
transportation and trade with Azerbaijan and Georgia. The planned
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will link the three countries and revive
the historical Silk Road by connecting Central Asia and the Far East
to Europe via Turkey.

Construction of the Georgian section of the railway, expected to
begin service in 2011, began in last November. Gul had joined Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
at the inauguration ceremony. Some 1.5 million people and 6.5 million
tons of cargo are expected to be transported via the railway in the
first year following its launch. The project is estimated to cost
$450 million.

ARMENIA’S ARMENTEL OFFERS CDMA INTERNET SERVICE TO ITS STATIONARY COMMUNICATION USERS

ARKA
July 24

ArmenTel telecommunication company (Beeline trademark) offers CDMA
(CDMA – Code Division Multiple Access) internet services to its
stationary telephone communication users.

"The new service will largely contribute to expansion and development
of Internet connection in Armenia and will help the residents of
provinces to keep pace with advanced technologies," the company’s
press release reads.

Residents of Armenian provinces will make a monthly payment to get
access to the Internet line without traffic limit. The service offers
data receiving and sending at a speed of 115.2 Kbyte/second with no
needto disconnect the telephone line.

To apply for getting a CDMA connection, users must visit any of the
Beeline offices and submit a written request.

Detailed information on the description, price and order of using
this service is available at free tel. numbers 08000109 or 109.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION SET TO STAGE "VELVET REVOLUTION"
Lusine Barseghyan

Haykakan Zhamanak
July 22 2008
Armenia

It will be a velvet revolution

[Correspondent] Mr Zurabyan, how do you intend to hold a rally on 1
August and where?

[Zurabyan] The rally is planned to be held either on Liberty Square
[in central Yervan] or near Matenadaran [a museum in central Yerevan]
and a march is planned.

[Passage omitted: Zurabyan opposes the opinion that the summer
tranquillity will influence the rally]

[Correspondent] Mr Zurabyan, many people nowadays believe that the
government can be replaced only through a revolution. Do you still
stick to your opinion that it is possible to gain power through
political means?

Armenian opposition to stage velvet revolution

[Zurabyan] But do civilized revolutions not take place? We can see
the following: if the government does not offer political solutions in
order to eliminate this deep political crisis, then we should stage a
velvet revolution in our country. In the long run what were the velvet
revolutions in Eastern Europe in 1988 and 1989 if not a very civilized
revolt of civil society against the totalitarian regime? They reached
their goal via an exclusively civilized and peaceful way. Generally,
police regimes cannot survive if they do not resort to Saddam-type
repression, that is, when thousands of people are arrested, shot and
so on. That is a totalitarian regime which either becomes a perfect
one or ceases to exist.

[Correspondent] Many believe today that one should give a chance to
[President] Serzh Sargsyan because he makes such steps. You also gave
him an opportunity, but it seems nothing positive has happened during
that period, will you continue to give opportunities or not?

[Zurabyan] We really gave Serzh Sargsyan a chance. We were really ready
to eliminate the roughness of the political struggle, if we could see
Sargsyan’s frank intention to solve the political crisis. This first
of all refers to the release of political prisoners. If he had taken
this step, I believe there would have been no round-the-clock sit-in
protest today in Yerevan, and we would not have raised so strictly
the issue of an early presidential election. In fact nothing is an
end in itself. Maybe if the current government manages to solve
issues related to democratization and activities of democratic
institutions, it could become an acceptable one – power cannot be
an end in itself. However by giving this chance we also provided an
opportunity to everyone to see for themselves that this is not the
government that can carry out these tasks. They are not using this
chance simply because they are not able to ensure democracy within
the country. Neither corruption will be eliminated nor any other issue
will be solved without democracy. Generally, only a government which
won a mandate of the people can carry out reforms. Serzh Sargsyan
did not win the mandate of the people.

[Correspondent] So, the major demand of the 1 August rally will be
Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation?

[Zurabyan] The major slogan will be Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation.

[Passage omitted: Zurabyan reiterates that Sargsyan has failed to
take positive steps]

[Correspondent] There are reports that you are sending activists
of the [Popular] Movement to training for election observers or
representatives. Does it mean that you are already preparing for an
early presidential election?

Opposition demands early presidential election

[Zurabyan] If we demand an early election, it is very logical that
we also prepare for an early election.

[Correspondent] A parliamentary or a presidential one?

[Zurabyan] Our priority demand, of course, is an early presidential
election. However, generally, we should be prepared for an election
of any level.

[Correspondent] The Russian press recently periodically mentions that
an early presidential election should be held in Armenia, particularly,
on 21 September [Armenia’s Independence Day]. Do you have grounds to
make such statements?

[Zurabyan] I believe that the grounds for such statements are quite
clear – there is no legitimate power in Armenia nowadays, and due to
this we have a crisis that does not slow down. People are not calming
down, people do not accept the current government as a legitimate
one. So, what trend there can be if people do not accept the existing
government – only an early election.

[Correspondent] Now I am asking about the 21 September? Why is this
very date being mentioned?

August rally to be crucial in opposition struggle

[Zurabyan] I believe it is just a symbolic date which will help
demonstrate the unity of the nation. It will be good if this happens
on that date. However, I do not believe that one should stick to a
date or, in general, pin hopes on some specific date. For instance,
1 August is a very important date. Many people and we pin hopes on 1
August – this day will be crucial in our struggle. This day can have
a very big political effect, but no-one can say how the events will
develop on a specific day.

[Correspondent] There are talks among the public that [former
President] Levon Ter-Petrosyan is holding secret negotiations
with Serzh Sargsyan, that their actions are coordinated and that
Ter-Petrosyan will concede sooner or later. What would you say
regarding these reports?

[Zurabyan] Absurd. I am sure that these reports are spread by
the government itself – to weaken the political pillars of the
Movement. However, our people are quite wise and will not believe
such reports. We have established a very strong movement, so strong
that even people who do not take part in this movement accept that
even if the government is trying to do something today, even if it
is trying to create an imitation of its actions, it is trying to win
people’s trust, it is doing this only because it is afraid of this
strong civil movement. This is already a serious achievement. Of
course, we will not limit ourselves to that. The movement will get
stronger; it is getting stronger every day. I am not a Nostradamus or
a fortune-teller to tell you the day of our victory, but this victory
is near and it will happen, I have no doubts regarding this.

GURGEN EGHIAZARIAN SET FREE

A1+
21 July, 2008

The restraint of Gurgen Eghazarian, ex deputy minister of the National
Security, has been reviewed by the order of Armenia’s Prosecutor
General Aghvan Hovsepian. Eghazarian was released after giving a
written undertaking not to leave the place.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office 16 people are put on pre-trial
detention.

A1+ Website, Armenia
July 18 2008

OPPOSITION JOINS RALLY OF RIGHTS NGO IN NORTHERN ARMENIA

The Armenian opposition joined a rally organized by the Helsinki
Citizens’ Assembly in northern Lori Region on 18 July.

Addressing the rally in the provincial town of Vanadzor, MP from the
Heritage Party Zaruhi Postanjyan said that the release of "political
prisoners" was the priority task. When issuing verdicts, Armenian
courts totally neglect the requirements of the latest Council of
Europe Parliamentary Assembly resolution that urged the Armenian
government to carry out democratic reforms, the website quoted the MP
as saying.

Also speaking at the rally, the chairman of the Democratic Path Party,
Vardan Grigoryan, criticized the authorities for restricting freedom
of assembly. People cannot take part in rallies since the authorities
are continuing to take pictures of the protesters in order to
persecute them, A1+ quoted Grigoryan as saying.

A member of the opposition Popular Movement, Davit Shahnazaryan, said
that the movement helped "political prisoners" by staging everyday
protests, A1+ said.

Addressing the rally, the coordinator of the Vanadzor office of the
Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, Artur Sakunts, said there still were
political prisoners in Armenia and that human rights continued to be
violated. Sakunts thanked policemen at the rally for carrying out
their duties, the website reported. "When normal orders are given to
the police, they are carrying those out," Sakunts said. "When they are
told to beat [people], they beat. So, the guilty are not the police
but those who give orders to them."

The website said that the Vanadzor rally had been videotaped by the
provincial Lori and Gala TV channels and by unknown people from the
upper floor of a nearby building. The rally was attended by MPs from
the Heritage Party, Zaruhi Postanjyan and Vardan Khachatryan, and the
head of the party’s Vanadzor branch, Garnik Sahakyan, A1+ said. People
from Spitak and Alaverdi, towns in Lori Region, and from Gyumri in
Shirak Region, as well as members of the Yerkrapah Union of Volunteers
also took part in the rally, it added.

Previously Sakunts reported pressure from the administration of Lori
Region, which he said had made attempts to prevent people from
attending the rally, the website said.

[translated from Russian]

VIVACELL HANDED OVER $3,4 MLN TO ORGANIZE CHARITABLE ‘TELETHON – 2008’

ArmInfo
2008-07-17 18:19:00

Armenian mobile operator ViVaCell has become a sponsor of the
charitable "Telethon – 2008" of the All-Armenian "Hayastan"
foundation. As Arminfo was informed from VivaCell, major part of the
sum will be given to organize the telethon, the rest – to finance the
programme of the foundation which gives aid to the children of the
disabled Karabakh war veterans and those who were killed over the war.

‘Telethon – 2008’ will be held in Los-Angeles on 27 November. The
sums from the action will be traditionally directed to development
of the village districts of Armenia and Karabakh.

FRANCE WELCOMES RESUMPTION OF KARABAKH TALKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.07.2008 17:30 GMT+04:00

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs demonstrated a constructive approach in
a search for compromise that could serve as a basis for the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict resolution, France’s Ambassador to Armenia Serge
Smessov said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"Their efforts resulted in submission of Madrid principles," he said.

"Presidential elections in Armenia and Azerbaijan block any possibility
of progress this year. But we so welcome resumption of talks, marked
with the presidential meeting on June 6," the Ambassador said