Author: Tamamian Anna

Panorama.am
20:09 07/05/2008

188 RECEIVED DUAL CITIZENSHIP

By the decree of the president of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan, 188 citizens in Armenia received dual
citizenship, after the correspondent laws have been
revised and changes made. According to Alvina
Zakaryan, the head of passport and visa department of
the police station of the RA dual citizenship does not
mean to have citizenship in two countries. `Dual
citizenship means to have several citizenship right in
several countries, but the citizen of the Republic of
Armenia is recognized as a citizen of the RA only,’
she said.

She said that there were registered some cases when a
citizen acquired citizenship in another country
without renouncing the citizenship of the RA. She said
that unless the president of the RA signed the
renouncement of their citizenship, they remain as full
citizens of Armenia. `Nobody was renounced his/her
citizenship,’ she said.

Source: Panorama.am

Conversebank team wins Armenian amateur mini-football tournament

YEREVAN, May 5. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Conversebank won the first prize in
the 4th amateur mini-football tournament held among the employees of
Armenian banks and credit institutions.

Conversebank beat the team of Armenian Development Bank by a score of
7:4 in the semi-finals to later win a final with Areximbank with the
score standing 4 to 2. The Finca Credit Institution was the third.

The winner received a special prize from GLOBAL SPC, the partner of the
tournament, in the "Dream bank – Dream team" nomination. The captain of
the winner was named as `The best defender’ of the tournament.

The sporting event, which was organized by the Banker.am portal and
`Menk Mer Masin’ (`We about Ourselves’) magazine, finished on May 3.

Twelve teams were participating in the tournament: Conversebank,
Areximbank, Ardshininvestbank, Armbusinessbank, Armenian Development
Bank, BTA Investbank, Cascade Bank, HSBC Bank Armenia, VTB Bank,
ProCreditBank, and two credit institutions- Finca and Aregak. N.H. -0-

METTHEW KARANIAN TO BE GUEST OF 106.7 RADIO PROGRAM OF MINNESOTA

MINNEAPOLIS, MAY 6, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN.
Writer Matthew Karanian will talk about tourism in Armenia and his
award-winning guidebook "The Stone Garden Guide: Armenia and Karabagh"
on May 8, during a 30-minute radio broadcast on 106.7 FM in Minneapolis.

"The Stone Garden Guide: Armenia and Karabagh" has won three national
book awards.

RA DM: Purpose of militaristic statements of Azerbaijani authorities is
specific preparation of own people and solution of internal political
problems

2008-05-04 12:25:00

ArmInfo. The purpose of the militaristic statements of the Azerbaijani
authorities is a specific preparation of its own people and solution of
the internal political problems, RA Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan
told journalists yesterday. He said that the Armenian party does not
overestimates such statements, however, it does not underestimates the
work being carried out in the Azerbaijani Army. "On the contrary, we
make conclusions and take additional measures to enhance the military
efficiency of our Army", the minister said and added that the balance
under direct contact of forces in the present conditions of neither war
nor peace is preserved. "All of us should understand that we are in
such a geopolitical region and such a situation when we have to always
be ready to oppose the threats", the minister emphasized.

GOVERNEMNT PROJECT CONFIRMED

Panorama.am
20:20 30/04/2008

Today the National Assembly affirmed the Government project by 87 for
and 4 against votes. The members of Heritage party voted against the
project. Note that in a press conference held on today the head of
the party said that they disliked some parts of the project.

According to the Government project 2008-2012 it planned to register
8-10% GDP in four years. The project covers the problem of creating
jobs, decreasing poverty to 11.2% and decrease of social disruption.

ADRIAN SEVERIN: "SELF-DETERMINATION PRINCIPLE COVERS PEOPLES, BUT NOT ETHNIC MINORITIES"

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 30 2008

Baku. Lachin Sultanova -APA. Foreign minister of Azerbaijan Elmar
Mammadyarov met with Romanian member of the European Parliament Adrian
Severin on Wednesday.

Press-service of the foreign ministry told APA, the guest said
Azerbaijan was not only oil and gas producer, it was an important
country for the European Union for its geopolitical location,
dynamic economic development and as a possible contributor for
the EU-Central Asian cooperation. Mammadyarov has agreed with that
and said first report on Azerbaijan fulfilling the Action Plan for
European Neighborhood Policy has been already prepared and integration
process into Europe caused positive progress in a number of fields in
the country. He urged to research opportunities for the establishing
of GUAM friendship group in the European parliament. Then the sides
exchanged opinions on the Nagorno Karabakh problem and condemned
occupation of Azerbaijani lands and said that veiling of Armenian
ethnic cleansing policy with the principle of self-determination was
unacceptable. Romanian parliamentarian said that self-determination
principle covered the peoples, but not the ethnic minorities and
Armenian people are self-determined within Armenia. It was emphasized
at the meeting to increase knowledge of members of the European
Parliament about Azerbaijan, to organize their visits to Azerbaijan
and to provide Lobbyist activity.

SMYRNA, 1922: END OF AN ERA

Economist
May 1 2008
UK

WHEN Smyrna–modern Izmir–fell to the Turkish army in 1922, and
much of it was destroyed by fire, the city’s role as a bastion of
Greek and Christian culture, going back nearly 2,000 years, came to
an abrupt end. Before that, the port had been home to a diverse and
cosmopolitan population; by the standards of the region, it was a
beacon of tolerance and prosperity.

In addition to the Greeks, Armenians, Jews and Turks, there were also
Americans and Britons and what Giles Milton calls the "Levantines",
rich families of European descent, who spoke half a dozen languages and
occupied vast villas. Their dynasties dominated the trade and industry
of the region. Some (like the Whittalls) retained British nationality
over generations of Ottoman life, and it is their English-language
diaries, letters and documents that provide Mr Milton with his best
material. Although this slant is unrepresentatively British and
privileged–lots of parties and picnics–it allows the author to be
fair towards the Greeks and the Turks, who still blame one another
entirely for the disaster.

The city’s destruction–still known in Greece as "the catastrophe"–had
its roots in the first world war and the effort by the great powers
to grab pieces of the disintegrating Ottoman empire.

Britain, America and France backed Greece’s charismatic leader,
Eleftherios Venizelos, in his pursuit of the megali idea ("great
idea"), the dream of creating a greater Greece by occupying Smyrna
and swathes of Anatolia. Having licensed a war by proxy, the allies
in varying degrees turned cool on it. They looked on passively as
Mustafa Kemal (later Ataturk, republican Turkey’s founder) and his
troops routed the Greeks from Anatolia and reoccupied Smyrna, bent
on revenge for Greek atrocities in the city and further east.

The port was ransacked and looted for days. Women were raped and
mutilated, children were beheaded and more than 100,000 people
killed. Meanwhile, 21 allied warships sat in the harbour. Hundreds
of thousands of refugees were trapped on the city’s quayside, yet
officers on the ships still dressed for dinner and ordered louder
music to drown out the screams. "Paradise Lost" is a timely reminder
of the appalling cost of expansionist political ambitions; it tells
a fascinating story with clarity and insight.

MINISTER NALBANDIAN RECEIVING CONGRATULATIONS

armradio.am
29.04.2008 12:23

RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian continues receiving
congratulations on his appointment.

"On behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly I warmly congratulate you
on the occasion of your appointment to the post of Prime minister of
the Republic of Armenia. Considering your rich experience of working
in the international field, I’m confident you will spare no effort
to consolidate the basic human rights principles of the Council of
Europe, democracy and rule of law," reads the congratulatory message
of Luís Maria de Puig, Presidnet of the Parlaimentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner stressed the importance of
Edward Nalbandian’s powerful experience as Armenia’s Ambassador in
France and noted his contribution to the development of Armenian-French
relations.

"I wish our close cooperation both in the bilateral format and within
international organizations to further expand and deepen. The success
of the "Armenie, mon amie" project to which you greatly contributed is
a bright expression of the friendly ties uniting the two peoples." The
Foreign Minister of France assured that his country will continue the
efforts to find a solution to the Karabakh issue in the framework of
the OSCE Minsk Group.

The Foreign Minister of India Pranab Mukherjee noted in his
congratulatory letter: "I’m ready to work with you to deepen and
reinforce the cooperation between India and Armenia in all directions."

The Minister of Foreign Relations of Brazil Celso Amorim expressed
willingness to work with the newly appointed Foreign Minister of
Armenia to intensify and deepen the ties between the two countries
and peoples.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema noted in the congratulatory
message to Edward Nalbandian: "I offer my congratulations and
good wishes on the occasion of entrusting you the high mandate of
the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia. I wish that our
countries work together for the sake of reinforcement and deepening
of our brilliant bilateral relations."

The Foreign Minister of Argentine Jorge Taiana attached importance
to the traditional relations between the two countries and expressed
hope that the friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries
will deepen during Edward Nalbandian’s tenure in office.

The president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Pierre Lellouche
expressed confidence that Edward Nalbandian will work for the benefit
of rapprochement of Armenia and Europe and will contribute to the
consolidation of stability and peace in the Caucasus.

Chairman of the Credit Agricole Bank of France René Carron wrote
in the congratulatory message: "It was a great pleasure for me to
hear about your appointment to the post of Foreign Minister of the
Republic of Armenia.

On behalf of the Credit Agricole Bank, let me convey my sincere
congratulations." Highly appreciating Edward Nalbandian’s personal
contribution to the development of Armenian-French trade-economic
relations, René Carron expressed hope to meet Minister Nalbandian
in Yerevanin the near future.

–Boundary_(ID_SYS0hsafDZLtnaHG+uu0/g)–

SAMVEL FARMANYAN TO BE APPOINTED RA PRESIDENT’S SPOKESMAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.04.2008 16:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Samvel Farmanyan, who was recently appointed as
Serzh Sargsyan’s reviewer, will take the office of RA President’s
Spokesman, an informed source told PanARMENIAN.Net. Farmanyan is the
Sec.Gen. of United Liberal National Party.

TIGRAN TOROSYAN: ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS SHOULD BE INTRODUCED TO LAW ‘ON RALLIES, DEMONSTRATIONS AND PROCESSIONS’ FOR LATTER’S COMPLETE COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

arminfo
2008-04-28 15:25:00

ArmInfo. The amendments to the Law "On rallies, demonstrations and
processions" were adopted in a hurry because of the lack of time,
taking into account the post-election events in Armenia, Speaker of the
Armenian National Assembly Tigran Torosyan said at a press-conference,
Monday.

"There was no time for meetings and discussions with experts. The
experts themselves realized this fact perfectly, therefore they made no
proposal to immediately discuss the amendments introduced to the law",
Torosyan said. He added that after the situation had been normalized
to some extent, the Venice Commission’s experts visited Armenia and
held discussions on this issue. "I am sure that additional amendments
should be introduced to the law for the latter’s compliance with
international standards", the Speaker said.

He pointed out that the expected amendments concern the 6th item of
the law and spontaneous rallies.