Author: Tadevosian Garnik

Yerevan policemen start ‘fighting’ bribery

2009-03-11 11:54:00

ArmInfo. Today Yerevan policemen started actively ‘fighting’ bribery.
The reason of this fight were photos of dozen of teachers of local
universities stuck at the bus stops, university walls and at other
crowded places in the morning.

The photos were accompanies with negative characteristics and the
information about activity of these teachers which educate new
generation of Armenian students.

The photos cause unusual stir especially among students. The police
have already closed off the bus stop and underground near the
Yeritasardakan metro station and is actively fighting ‘bribery’ but in
somewhat strange way – tearing off the photos of the teachers.

The leadership of Yerevan Pedagogical University has already charged
removing the photos of the professors that aroused high interest of
students. It is not known if the authority of the given educational
establishment and its certain professors will be restored as soon as
the walls of the university were cleaned off their photos. Earlier,
only Karen Matinyan, Professor of Foreign Literature Department of
Yerevan State University was detained for bribe taking by the National
Security Service officers.

RA Prime Minister receives Ambassador of Georgia completing his
diplomatic mission in RA

YE REVAN, MARCH 11, NOYAN TAPAN. On March 11, RA Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsian receiving Revaz Gachechiladze, the Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to RA completing his diplomatic mission,
thanked him for the good-neighborly, friendly relations between the two
countries in the past four years, for his active work in the direction
of strengthening cooperation in various spheres.

R. Gachechiladze, in his turn, said that in the period of his
diplomatic activity he had an occasion to follow the processes taking
place in the past years in Armenia, as well as from that point of view
to observe the developments proceeding in Georgia, which, according to
him, helped him to accumulate some experience over both strengthening
cooperation between the two countries and settling regional problems.

Minister of health Harutyun Kushkian to lead electoral list of
Prosperous Armenia Party at elections of Yerevan Council of Aldermen

52

YEREVAN, MARCH 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA minister of health, member of
the political board of "Prosperous Armenia" Party (PAP) Harutyun
Kushkian will lead the electorl list of their party at the May 31
elections of Yerevan Council of Aldermen, NT correspondent was informed
by Naira Zohrabian, member of the National Assembly "Prosperous
Armenia" faction, deputy chairperson of the NA Standing Committee on
Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Issues. According to her,
the whole electoral list of the party will be approved and made public
at the sitting of the PAP’s political board to be held within the next
two days.

By our unofficial information, Mkhitar Mnatsakanian – a non-party man
elected a deputy of the National Assembly on the proportional list of
the PAP, chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Human Rights
Protection and Public Issues, chairman of Armenian Red Cross company –
will be in second place on the party’s list.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Baku-Kars railroad construction to resume after March 15
07.03.2009 16:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The construction on Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway
project will restart in Georgia after March 15, Azerbaijan State
Railway told APA. Azerbaijan State Railway said the construction in
Georgia was suspended because of unfavorable weather in
January. Design engineering and small-scale work was done during this
period. Ukraine’s KyivHiproTrans Research and Development Institute
prepared the working drafts for reconstruction of Marabda-Tetriskaro
section (29.2km) and Akhalkalak Station as part of its undertakings in
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Project. The sides agreed on both projects.

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey signed the final document on the
construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars on February 8, 2007. The
construction of the new railway in Georgia started on November 21,
2007. As per the agreement, Azerbaijan undertook to extend a $200mln
loan to Georgia’s Marabda-Kartsakhi Railroad LLC for 25 years at 1%
interest rate annually. The loan will be spent on construction of a
29km long railroad in Georgia, a ST-2 wheel base in Turkish-Georgian
border and rehabilitation of old railway.

The project costs more than $600 million. Azerbaijan’s
Azerinshaatservis Company constructs Georgian part of the
railway. Construction of railroads is slated for operation in late
2011.

A 76km long railway will be laid in Turkey as part of
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Rail Link

Muba riz Ahmedoghlu: "Europe should realize that Armenia poses a threat
to regional security"

05 March 2009 [17:18] – Today.Az

European states and international organizations should realize that
today Armenia poses a serious threat to regional security, said head
of the Center of Political Innovations and Technologies Mubariz
Ahmedoghlu at a press conference Thursday.

"Europe should realize that it is impossible today to accuse Russia of
being the only country posing a threat to security in the Caucasus",
noted he.

According to the political scientist, Armenia has recently attempted
to use the "Christianity" card.

"Armenia is a weak state and therefore under the influence of external
powers might launch war against other states, including Georgia and
Russia. Yerecan has already received West’s support", said Ahmedoghlu.

"Armenia attempts to use the resistance in the Christian world for its
own interests. I mean catholicism and Orthodoxical world. Armenia
wants to show that it is the only Christian (Catholic) state in the
South Caucasus, for as is known Georgia has an Orthodox church.
Moreover, Armenians try to prove to Italy that they practiced
Cristianity before Rome, that they outstripped Italians by 13 years in
this direction, starting to practice Christianity in 201 when Italy
started in 314", noted the political scientist.

"Azerbaijan needs a calm region to develop further, while Armenia is a
poor state which needs to create a conflict situation. Armenia asks
everybody for financial support", said Ahmedoghlu.

He said that Yerevan is going to apply the weapon of a total of
$800,000,000 supplied by Russia not against Azerbaijan but against
Georgia.

ARAM I INVITED TO CONFERENCE ON GAZA IN IRAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.03.2009 22:12 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Catholicos of Cilicia, His Holiness Aram I and Head
of the AAC Iranian Diocese, Archbishop Sepuh Sargsyan will attend a
2-day conference on Gaza Strip due in Tehran.

The conference will bring together leaders from a number of states,
reported the press office of Catholicosate in Antelias.

ARMENIA INTERESTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIFACETED RELATIONS WITH UAE

armradio.am
06.03.2009 13:44

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the delegation headed by the
Minister of Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates, Mrs. Sheikha
Lubna Khalid al Qasimi.

The President emphasized Armenia’s willingness to expand the
multifaceted cooperation with the United Arab Emirates and expressed
hope that the Minister’s visit will serve as an additional impetus.

According Sheikha al Qasimi, Armenian businessmen suggested a serious
package of joint programs, which will be discussed in the near future
with broad business circles of the United Arab Emirates. The Minister
appreciated the fact that like the UAE, Armenia pays great attention
to education and human resources, in general.

The parties pointed to high technologies, energy, agriculture and
tourism as the most promising spheres of cooperation.

President Sargsyan said the progress and achievements of the United
Arab Emirates are impressive and added that the experience could be
useful to Armenia.

Serzh Sargsyan expressed gratitude for the assistance the Abu Dhabi
Development Fund provided to the water economy of Armenia and the
donation of the Governor of Sharzha for the reconstruction of the
infrastructures of "Haghartsin" church complex.

Azerbaijan launches foreign TV service

Move is part of bid to increase global profile

Variety.com
March 4, 2009

By NICK HOLDSWORTH

MOSCOW — Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic that borders the Caspian
sea in the Caucasus, is to launch a foreign language TV service as part
of a bid to increase its profile internationally.

Broadcasting in English, Russian, Azeri, Armenian, Turkish and Farsi the
channel will widen access to news and information about the oil-rich
country.

Nushiravan Maharramli, head of Azerbaijan’s national radio and
television council, said that an open competitive tender would be
launched this month for companies interested in operating the service.

He told local news agency APA that discussions were "already underway"
with interested companies.

The structure and frequencies of the international channel would be
decided later, Maharramli said, adding that spare capacity was available
for the service.

Maharramli said the decision to set up an international channel under
Azerbaijan control was prompted by the cessation of Russian language and
other foreign language radio and TV broadcasts following last year’s
spat between the two countries over reciprocal transmission rights.

In January 2008 the television and radio broadcasting council suspended
transmission of Russian pubcaster RTR-Planeta because it lacked a
broadcast license. That dispute followed an earlier one in which
Russia’s top broadcaster, the First Channel, was denied broadcast rights
in Azerbaijan.

8000813.html?categoryid=19&cs=1

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION SLAMS CENTRAL BANK’S NEW CURRENCY POLICY

Mediamax
March 4 2009
Armenia

Yerevan, 4 March: The opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC)
has described as "state crime" the decision of CB [Central Bank]
to return to the policy of floating exchange rate and imposed the
entire responsibility for taking the people to "a social catastrophe"
on "the criminal and illegal authorities".

Mediamax reports that ANC statement stresses that the opposition had
been urging the authorities in the course of the recent few months
to renounce the policy of fixed exchange rate, however the latter was
realizing "criminal and short-sighted policy of serving the interests
of oligarch importers".

The statement reads that in the course of the recent four to five
months, the authorities used 800m dollars from external currency
reserves of Armenia to support the exchange rate, and those means
"have fully entered the pockets of a couple of dozens of oligarchs
and officials".

ANC made a number of proposals on coming out of the present
situation. The statement reads that in conditions of the crisis,
one should first of all cut down tariffs for utility services (gas
and electricity), increase transparency of activity by governmental
bodies on regulating public services and strengthen control over
gaining super-profits.

ANC also proposes to increase the standard of deposit guarantee from
2m to 5m drams [between about 5,000 – 13,500 dollars] to prevent
deposit outflow from the banking system".

OSCE MG COCHAIRMEN BACK TO BAKU

ArmInfo
2009-03-03 11:11:00

ArmInfo. OSCE MG cochairmen return to Baku from Yerevan. They left
for Azerbaijan just after a press-conference held in the Embassy of
France in Armenia.

Estimating the results of the visit to the region, OSCE MG French
Cochairman Bernard Fassier said that the current meetings were held
under special conditions – they were preceded by the meeting of the
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in Zurich characterized by both S.

Sargsyan and I. Aliyev as positive. According B. Fassier, this is a
positive factor, however, there is also a negative factor available,
namely, distribution of some documents of "critical nature with regard
to Armenia" by the Azerbaijani delegation to UN. The diplomat also
said that meetings with the Azerbaijani president and foreign minister,
the NKR president and his team, the non-governmental sector of the NKR,
as well as the Armenian president and foreign minister were held within
the frames of the present visit to Baku, Stepanakert and Yerevan.

The mediators will return to Baku from Yerevan to meet the Azerbaijani
foreign minister. B. Fassier said all the meetings were constructive,
saturated and topical. According to the French cochairman, the
negotiations are underway, and they hope for a new meeting of the
Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents. B. Fassier added they return
to Baku with a positive feeling, while the Russian cochairman Yuri
Merzliakov said he leaves for Baku with a working mood. According to
him, the work is going on, that is already positive.