Author: Tambiyan Samvel

0.9% GROWTH OF GROSS INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT REGISTERED IN ARMENIA IN TWO
MONTHS OF 2005
YEREVAN, APRIL 4, NOYAN TAPAN. In January-February, 2005, the RA
gross agricultural output made 23.3 bln drams (about 49.5 mln USD),
which exceeds by 0.9% the index of the same period of last year.
According to the RA National Statistical Service, 11.1 thousand tons
of meat and poultry was produced in the country (less by 7.1% than
the index of the same months of 2004), 38.4 thousand tons of milk
(greater by 11.1%) and 63.6 mln eggs (less by 2.9%).

`WE DID NOT RECEIVE THE MONEY’
A1+
31-03-2005
`We did not allocate the City Administration 3 million AMD for
arranging Philip Kirkorov’s concert. The City Administration had only
to render administrative assistance. If Deputy Mayor Arman Sahakyan
says that the sum was returned we would like to note that we did not
receive it’, Manukyan Ltd. secretary Termine Hayrumyan said when
announcing that Kirkorov’s concert willnot take place.
How Kirkorov reacted on knowing that his concerts have been cancelled?
The singer did not even know why he is not wanted in Yerevan,
Ms. Hayrumyan answered. `We informed Philip’s producers that his
arrival in Yerevan can be dangerous ‘, she added. Now Kirkorov will
finally make sure that Bulgaria was under the Armenian yoke for many
years.

WILL ERDOGAN BE FAR-SIGHTED ENOUGH TO OPEN BORDERS?
Azg/arm
30 March 05
David Phillips, coordinator of TARC, said in the interview to the
Liberty Radio Station, that Armenia would help the opening of the
border with Turkey if the Armenians announced that they have no
territorial claims from the Turks. He accused the Bush administration
of failing the long lasting efforts of the US directed to the
improvement of the relations between Ankara and Yerevan.
“I told the Turks when I had the opportunity that it is impossible
that Armenia will stop their activities directed to the international
recognition of the Armenian genocide,” Phillips said. He noticed
during his recent visit to Turkey that they are particularly attentive
to the Armenian Cause in that country. “They accept in Turkey that it
is necessary to turn back to the past. The talks on opening the border
with Armenia are widely spread among the Turks.I hope that Erdogan’s
government will prescience and braveness and take that step,” he said.

‘Change of power illegitimate, but ties not hit’
The Times of India, India
March 26 2005
AFP
YEREVAN, ARMENIA: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday described
the chaotic change of power in Kyrgyzstan as ‘illegitimate’, but
said emerging new leaders there were respected in Moscow and voiced
confidence the two countries would retain traditionally close ties.
“It is regrettable that in a post-Soviet country the conflict was
resolved in an illegitimate way and was accompanied by pogroms and
human victims,” Putin told a press meet in Yerevan where he met his
Armenian counterpart, Robert Kocharian.
But in his first public comments on Kyrgyzstan, the Russian leader said
the dramatic turn of events in the Central Asian state in recent days
had not come as a total surprise and laid the blame for the turmoil
at least in part on the ousted veteran leader, Askar Akayev.
“It was the result of the weakness of power and of accumulated
social-economic problems,” he said.

BOMB EXPLODES OUTSIDE CUSTOMS SERVICE BUILDING, NO CASUALTIES REPORTED
ArmenPress
March 24 2005
YEREVAN, MARCH 24, ARMENPRESS: An explosive device planted into the
trunk of a tree outside Armenia’s customs service building in central
Yerevan went off today morning at 10 am right after the chief of the
customs service, Armen Avetisian, entered the building.
According to preliminary information, no one suffered. The explosive
was planted just in front of the entrance, where Armen Avetisian’s
car is parked usually.
The explosion broke the left window glass of Avetisian’s BMW car.
Police is now examining the site. Customs service said it will issue
a statement.
The government-affiliated customs service committee was swift to
attribute the bomb explosion to its policy of crackdown on tax evasion
and toughened customs administration.
A statement issued by the service’s press office said the committee
will hence be more persistent in identifying tax evasion instances
through introduction of a range of measures to drastically improve
tax administration.
“Today’s morning incident is yet another evidence that improved tax
administration and tougher measures are effective,” the statement said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijan News Service
March 24 2005
ARMENIAN MILITARY FORCES BREACH CEASE-FIRE AGAIN
2005-03-24 09:43
Armenian military forces shelled at positions of army of Azerbaijan
located in Mireshelli village of Agdam region from Shikhlar and
Qervend villages of the region at midnight. The village faced
intensive fire as well, as Qarabaq bureau of ANS informed.

Cochairmen ascertaining the date and place of Mammadyarov-Oskanyan meeting
Today, Azerbaijan
March 24 2005
24 March 2005 [14:32] – Today.Az
“The visit of the chairs of OSCE Minsk group to the region in the
nearest time is not expected”.
This was told to APA by Russian co-chair Yuri Merzlyakov.
According to him, currently work is being held in the direction of
the meeting between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and
Armenia Elmar Mammadyarov and Vardan Oskanyan, co-chairs are engaged
in the organization of the next meeting in the frames of Prague format:
“This meeting must be realized very soon. But the place of the meeting
is not definite”. /APA/
URL:

USATF ACTION PLAN SIGNED
ArmenPress
March 23 2005
YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS: On March 23, Minister of Finance
and Economy Vartan Khachatrian and U.S. Ambassador John Evans signed
the Action Plan of the most recent meeting of the U.S.-Armenia Task
Force on Economic Cooperation (USATF). The current document
highlights areas in which the two governments are cooperating in the
fields of development assistance.
“This Action Plan is our development roadmap,” said Ambassador
Evans of the signing ceremony. “It helps us set clear goals and
ensures that we are cooperating as governments toward a bright future
for the Armenian people.”
Topics in the 30-point action plan include ways to improve fiscal
administration, strengthen the banking sector, fight corruption,
engage the business community, meet Armenia’s needs in the public
service sector and strengthen ongoing cooperation in the agricultural
and humanitarian sectors. The document also acknowledges the
Government of Armenia’s eligibility for the Millennium Challenge
Account (MCA) and the need to register progress in MCA eligibility
areas. The signing was preceded by a series of working-level meetings
on each of these items between officials of the U.S. Embassy and
USAID and various Government of Armenia ministries. USAID-Armenia
Director Robin Phillips also participated in the event.
The U.S.-Armenia Task Force on Economic Cooperation was
established in January 2000 as a way to institutionalize
government-to-government dialogue on development issues, promote
further economic cooperation and maximize the effectiveness of
assistance programs implemented by the United States Government.
Meetings are held twice a year (once in the United States and once in
Armenia). The next USATF meeting is tentatively scheduled to be held
in May 2005 in Yerevan.
The United States Government has provided over 1.5 billion dollars
of assistance to the Republic of Armenia over the past decade.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HEALTHY MOTHERS FOR HEALTHY CHILDREN
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
23 March 05
Last October the Clinic for Women was opened in Stepanakert sponsored
by the Armenian – Canadian union of doctors of Toronto. The clinic
specializing in obstetrics and gynecology operates on a charity
basis. We talked to the head of the clinic Lilia Arzumanian on the
work of the clinic. L.G. “Doctor Arzumanian, the clinic has been
operating for several months now. Did it prove to be a necessity to
the population of the republic?” Lilia Arzumanian “First of all,
I should say that with the type of service it provides the clinic
has a special place in the system of medical institutions as it deals
with the health of girls and women. What we lacked once has become a
reality. I mean the sexual education of girls in particular. Since
the opening day of the clinic about a thousand women consulted us
and were examined. Some of them came again later. They represent
different social classes: students, soldiers, housewives, etc. Our
youngest patient is 12 years old, while the oldest was born in
1919. In this period ten patients turned o us with the problem of
sterility. Five of them have been married for a long time now, two
are already pregnant. The rest are still being examined. The other
branch of services provided by the clinic is diagnosis and treatment of
sexually transmitted diseases. About 400 people infected with venereal
diseases were discovered. There were even cases of gonorrhea. Another
service provided in the clinic is ultrasound examination. Uterine
fibroid tumour (myoma) was found with ten women. We suspected cancer
with three women and sent them abroad. Women visit us not only from
the capital but also from all the regions of the republic. It means
that the work of the clinic is efficient.” L.G. “Are all the services
provided inside the clinic free?” “Generally, the clinic operates on
a charity basis. Everything including examination, ultrasound, advice
of the psychologist, is free of charge. If additional examination is
required outside the clinic, the patients have to cover the expenses
themselves. There are diseases for the treatment of which expensive
medicine is needed, such as, for example, sterility. Nevertheless,
in these cases we provided the patients with certain kinds of
medicine free of charge. Besides, we have distributed about 3000
contraceptives to our patients.” L.G. “Do you cooperate with the
diagnostic center? Does it provide free service to the patients
of the clinic? – L.A. “There is permanent cooperation with the
diagnostic center. However, everything is not in the way it had
been planned. At present we cannot afford to pay for all kinds of
examination in the diagnostic center because some of them are very
expensive. Patients have to pay for diagnostic services.” L.G.
“As far as I remember, the sponsors had promised to provide free
medicine besides free medical care.” L.A. “It is planned. At present
there is no sufficient financing. In the course of time our sponsors
will settle the problem. The sponsors are ten Armenian families from
Toronto. The director of the program is Avetik Poghossian. He is going
to visit Artsakh on May 1. Very soon we will obtain new equipment
for hormonal examination which is very important for us It is a
matter of time. I am sure that Karabakh will also have mammography
equipment after the opening of the new health care complex, which
is also a necessity.” L.G. “Do you have other sponsors?” L.A. “The
honorary president of the foundation of the clinic is the first lady
of the republic Inna Ghukassian who aids us greatly supplying us
with necessary articles. She is in constant communication with us and
visits us if necessary and at holidays. Besides Mrs. Ghukassian, the
speaker of the National Assembly also aids us; he gave a TV set to the
clinic.” L.G. “Is it necessary to make an appointment to see a doctor
in the clinic” L.A. “Examination is by appointment. Women with the
problem of sterility, however, are attended without appointment.” L.G.
“The clinic also deals with sexual education. What steps are taken in
this direction?” L.A. “We have prepared a serioes of lectu res to be
delivered at secondary schools. Our schoolgirls do not have enough
knowledge in sexual education.” L.G. “What would you wish to our
girls and women?” L.A. “I wish them to be healthy.”
LAURA GRIGORIAN. 23-03-2005

PanArmenian News
March 22 2005
KARABAKH, PRIDNESTROVIE, SOUTH OSSETIA AND ABKHAZIA LEADERS TO MEET
IN ABKHAZIA IN APRIL, SERGEY BAGAPSH STATED
22.03.2005 07:59
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The leaders of Nagorno Karabakh, Pridnestrovie,
South Ossetia and Abkhazia will meet in Abkhazia in April, Abkhazian
President Sergey Bagapsh stated. In his words, before that meeting
the Foreign Ministers of the unrecognized republics will arrange for a
respective declaration. As noted by Bagapsh, if there is aggression or
intervention against South Ossetia, the Abkhazian party reserves the
right to withdraw the negotiations and provide practical assistance
to Tskhinvali. Such statements will also be made by other participants
of the meeting, the Abkhazian President said.