Author: Taslakhchian Andranik

INTERNATIONAL BANK CONFERENCE ON FOREIGN TRADE FINANCING HELD IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MARCH 28. ARMINFO. A big international bank conference
on foreign trade financing has set off in Yerevan today, reports
ARMINFO correspondent. The initiators of the conference are EBRD,
EU and ArmEconomBank.

President of Armenian Central Bank Tigran Sargsyan read out Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan’s welcoming address to the conferees.

Kocharyan notes the importance of such events for the development
of Armenia foreign trade. He wishes the conferees fruitful work and
strong ties.

Deputy Trade and Economic Development Minister Tigran Davtyan read out
the welcoming address of Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan,
who notes the importance of enlarging joint trade projects, increasing
the export of Armenian products, raising their competitiveness in
the world, improving the business climate in Armenia.

CB President Tigran Sargsyan noted the importance of new international
trade financing instruments but regrets that few of them are applied
in Armenia. Most Armenian banks just give elementary bills of credit
and short-term credits to exporters and importers, which strongly
limits the capacities of Armenian producers and importers. The
application of internationally accepted instruments will allow to
enlarge partnership, to reduce risks in foreign trade and to give
stimulus to the economy development.

Sargsyan noted the big role of EBRD’s trade financing programs, which
allow Armenian banks to finance trade with foreign partners. He said
that Armenian banks need international ratings for establishing strong
direct contacts with authoritative international banking structures.

EBRD Director for South Caucasus, Belarus and Moldova Michael Davey
said that the trade financing sector is dynamically developing in
Armenia and urged the international conferees to establish tighter
cooperation with Armenian banks. He said that last year alone EBRD
allocated 20 mln EUR for financing trade, pharmaceutics, energy
and insurance in Armenia. He noted that there are certain political
risks in Armenia but they play no big role in the cooperation with
Armenian partners.

ArmEconomBank President Ashot Osipyan said that due to its involvement
in EBRD programs Armeconom has established own ties with foreign
partners and is actively working in trade financing.

Attending the conference are representatives of such big international
banking structures as American Express Bank, Reiffeisen Bank, Deutsche
Bank, CommerzBank, Dresden Bank, City Bank, International Financial
Corporation as well as of UAE, Russian, Syrian and Ukrainian banks.

GAS ODYSSEY IS COMING TO AN END

Lragir.am
27 March 06

Our sources state that the odyssey of the price of Russian gas
will have an unexpected end in the upcoming month. First we should
not forget that the rumors about the increase of the price of gas
began in December 2005. Victor Soghomonyan, the press secretary of
President Robert Kocharyan, said: “One thing is for sure, gas will
no longer cost 59 dollars.” Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan first
said that the government would try to relieve the consequences of
the new price for the population. And on March 22 the prime minister
did not know how high the price of gas would go up. On the same day
the minister of defense of Armenia Serge Sargsyan, starting from his
correspondence with Russian Gasprom, announced that there might be
an insignificant growth of the price of gas.

Of course, in the meantime, the Public Utilities Commission set a
record, discussing and accepting the bid of Armrusgasard in ten days,
and reconsidered the tariff of gas, bringing it up to the suggested
110 dollars per 1000 cubic meter.

Our sources say the price of gas may not go up at all. In this case,
however, Robert Nazaryan would appear in a curious situation. For he
cannot admit that the independent commission adopted a hasty decision
on an instruction from above. In accordance with the law, the tariffs
set by the Public Utilities Commission will work for six months. And
if our sources are right, Armrusgasard will look at Robert Nazaryan
with a kind eye for acquiring the legal right to get extremely high
profits for at least six months.

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
March 25 2006

Nizami Bahramov: Necessity to continue peaceful negotiations will be
known at the Eve of co-chairmen ` s visit to the region

Source: Trend
Author: S. Ilhamgizi

25.03.2006

Necessity to continue peaceful negotiations will be known on the Eve
of OSCE Minsk group co-chairmen ` s visit to the region, head of the
Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh told Trend.

A meeting between the OSCE Minsk group co-chairmen was held in
Istanbul on March 20.

Bahramov said that during the OSCE meetings in Washington and
Istanbul sides agreed on necessity to continue peaceful negotiations.
Co-chairmen may soon visit the region as well, he said. `Co-chairmen
might soon organize the meeting between foreign ministers of
Azerbaijan and Armenia,’ Bahmanov said.

OSCE Minsk group, American co-chairman, Stephen Mann has earlier
announced that the committee will do everything possible to achieve
the positive results this year. `All meetings are held behind the
closed doors and Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministries do not
comment the talks. However, position of the Azerbaijani president,
Ilham Aliyev is to continue the peaceful process. On the other hand
the president has been always saying that if the talks will not yield
positive results Azerbaijan will change its policy. As for now, fate
of the talks will be decided on the Eve of the co-chairmen `s visit
to the region, `he said.

Armenpress

SUBSISTENCE LEVEL IN ARMENIA IS $65

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, ARMENPRESS: An ordinary Armenian
citizen has to spend 30,000 drams ($65) a month, not
counting gas bills which are expected to rise soon ,
as a subsistence wage, a senior member of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) told a parliament
briefing.
Hrayr Karapetian, the secretary of the ARF faction
in the parliament, said the faction was drafting a new
bill on subsistence level. He then described a
yesterday statement by Central Bank governor, Tigran
Sarkisian that the gas price hike will lead to a one
percent price rise in other goods as ‘strange.’ He
said the faction will have to look deeper into Central
Bank’s calculations to voice its opinion.
Galust Sahakian form the Republican party
reiterated that the gas price rise will affect the
entire economy, saying also that Armenia should
exercise active efforts to seek energy independence.

SERGE SARGSIAN ASSURES THAT GAS PRICE WILL INCREASE LESS THAN
ENVISAGED

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The management of
Gasprom is ready to sign the appropriate agreements until late March,
which will allow the Armenian population and manufacturers to pay much
lower prices for gas than was envisaged previously. Serge Sargsian,
Secretary of the National Security Council under the RA President,
Co-Chairman of the Armenian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on
Economic Cooperation, stated this during a talk with reporters on
March 22. In order to substantiate it, he referred to the answer that
he received on March 17 in response to his letter to Gasprom’s head
Alexei Miller. Not announcing the expected gas tariff, S. Sargsian
assured that “it will not be a price to affect the budgets of the
population and manufacturers.” Asked if the RA Public Services
Regulatory Commission’s decision about an increase in the gas price
was not a hasty one, Serge Sargsian replied that the decision was made
within the law.

Panorama.am

17:36 22/03/06

KOCHARYAN IS NOT A `GOVERNOR’, ARMENIA IS NOT A `GOVERNMENT’

Touching upon the present Armenian-Russian relations and their further
developing the head of Progressive Liberal Party Hovhannes
Hovhannisyan mentions that it is no longer news for him that there are
no interstate relations between Armenia and Russia.

As the politician says the relation is like the relation between elder
and younger brothers or a great state and outpost.

The head of PLP also finds it inadmissible that there were only 6
Russian representatives present at the inauguration of RA President
Robert Kocharyan. Judging by that there is the impression that Armenia
is all in all one of `Russian provinces’ and Russia, and the
representatives of the centre had come to congratulate the `governor’
with the appointment. /Panorama.am/

THE POLICE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY TO RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS

A1+
07:02 pm 21 March, 2006

“The law foresees punishment for the police in cases of torture
and violation of human rights as well as for the cruel attitude
and the insulting cases of human dignity,” this is a quotation from
the bill concerning the changes and additions on the RA “Law on the
Police.” The secretary of the “Justice” fraction Victor Dallakyan
liked this quotation and reminded the “barbarous events” which took
place on the night of April 13 on Baghramyan Avenue, he also gave the
names of the journalists who were tortured by the police and informed
that nobody was punished for that “ferocity”.

The police general Ararat Mahtesyan answered that remark and said
that the police acted in the “realm of the law.” He claimed that
they had warned the protestants twice to open the way and not to hold
the traffic. “Yes, at 2 a.m. they wanted to open the streets for the
schoolchildren,” said Victor Dallakyan.

In the bill concerning the changes of the “Law on the Police” the
actions of the police are firmly stated.

There are many interesting formations in the bill which may sound
exotic to us, for instance, “While realizing their duties the police
must be guided by the necessity to protect human and citizens’
rights stated in the RA Constitution, by the principle of egality,
by the regular realization of liabilities. It may also pursuit other
purposes stated by the law.”

The deputy of the “Justice” fraction Tatul Manaseryan mentioned that
the necessity of equality is firmly stated in the law but there
is nothing mentioned about the means of punishment. For example,
let’s take Demirtjan Street where the dwellers can’t rest the whole
day because of the noise made by the cars of the president’s guard
especially the signaling after the midnight. “The president of the
country, whoever it may be, must obey the law,” reminded Tatul
Manaseryan and added that the foreign citizens are also equally
responsible in front of the law who seem to be privileged in our
society. The deputy brought the example of the Embassy cars mentioning
that the inspectors turn pale seeing them. “Today our inspectors learn
how to behave while stopping diplomatic cars in the presence of the
Ambassadors or other officials.” By the way, in Article 5 of the “Law
on the Police” it is written ,”The police must give a chance to people
under custody to use their right of lawyer’s service and must inform
their relatives about their arrest within 3 hours from the moment of
taking them to the police station.” Victor Dallakyan was a little
concerned by the idea of keeping the citizen in the police station
for 3 hours. As for Mahtesyan he thought that they can’t inform the
relatives in 3 hours as they may face the “problem of the telephone.”

Let’s mention that during the discussion of such a vital matter there
were only 8 deputies present in the hall.

ARMENIAN TAX BODIES REVEAL CASES OF ILLEGAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Noyan Tapan
Mar 20 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. Employees of the Operative
Investigation Department of the State Tax Service (STS) adjunct to the
Armenian government revealed some cases of illegal entrepreneurship. NT
correspondent was informed at the STS press service that a pavilion
used for illegal trade in gold jewelry was discovered at the address:
Yerevan, 110/7 Sebastia St. 130 items of jewelry worth a total of 11
thousand 411 USD were on display in the shop window at the moment of
discovery. Administrative fines prescribed by law were imposed in
connection with this case. An illegal workshop of wooden doors was
discovered as a result of anothet investigative measure at 134 Sebastia
St. 256 doors of the total value of 5 mln 160 thousand drams (about 11
thousand USD) were found in the workshop. An illegal spare part shop
that provided services for most of minibus passenger transportation and
taxi services was found as well. Besides, an unregistered storehouse
with spare parts of 7 mln drams without the purchase documents was
discovered by STS employees.

WHAT’S A CIVILIAN, DEMOCRATIC SOLUTION?
By Hasan Celal Guzel
Published: 3/18/2006

Turkish Press
March 19 2006

RADIKAL- Following the Armenian conference financed by the Soros
Foundation, a conference on ‘Turkey’s Kurdish Issue – Civilian and
Democratic Searches for Solution’ was organized by the Helsinki
Citizens’ Assembly and Empathy Group at Bilgi University last
weekend. The supporters of Kurds with known strategies and tactics
were well intentioned, but unrealistic intellectuals, some of whom
only accepted the Western thesis, revealed their thoughts without
any pressure. Then they ended the meeting without finding a civilian,
democratic solution. Certain mistaken policies have been followed since
the early years of the republic on the Kurdish issue. The realistic
policies followed by Ataturk during the years of national struggle
couldn’t be continued, the meaning of Turkish citizenship and Turkish
identity – the upper identity – weren’t explained well, sub-ethnic
identity wasn’t accepted under the policy of ‘homogeneity,’ and until
recently prohibitions dominated the issue of mother tongues. However,
everybody who has reason, mind and conscience should see that Kurds
have never been treated like second-class citizens or minorities
but have always enjoyed all the rights and possibilities of Turkish
citizens. The poverty and underdevelopment which has nothing to do
with ethnic differences isn’t seen only in southeastern Anatolia. It
should be stressed that the mistakes which were made in the past
aren’t continuing anymore.

The mistakes of certain intellectuals, malevolent separatists and
the West derive from the fact that they consider Turkey a country
where conditions from a quarter-century ago still exist. It’s easy
to talk about a civilian, democratic solution and it sounds nice. Who
would want armed conflicts and war? So we should ask how a civilian,
democratic solution would work. Those who claim to seek this kind of
solution have never made a concrete suggestion which wouldn’t harm
Turkey’s integrity and unity. The aims of the Kurdish separatist
movement, supported by the terrorist PKK, are known:

1. Firstly, paint the separatist Kurdish movement in Turkey as a
‘peaceful’ movement seeking a civilian, democratic solution

2. Pressure the political rulers by accelerating the PKK’s terrorist
activities

3. Ensue an amnesty for the end of terrorist activities

4. Try to establish an ‘autonomous administration’ in the political
field

5. Establish a ‘federative administration’

6. Finally, establish Kurdistan with the regional Kurdish
administration in northern Iraq

Those who make these calculations depend on the PKK’s terrorist
actions, the appeasement of populist politicians, the support of
intellectual dreamers, the protection of European Union circles and the
expectation that US forces in Iraq will act in their favor. These are
all mistaken calculations. The public knows the actual wishes of the
people. The government and state cannot make any more concessions over
Kurdish separatism, which has turned into terrorism. Our nation would
never let someone make concessions from sovereignty or territory –
not even under the threat of being excluded from the EU or the Western
world completely. If a civilian, democratic solution is expected on
the Kurdish issue, firstly, the terrorist PKK should disband, and such
political movements as the Democratic Society Movement (DTH) should be
cleansed of terrorist elements and put on the political platform. It’s
a must for the PKK to be disarmed towards this end. Only then we can
talk about such formulas as amnesty and political representation.

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I RECEIVES THE REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE DIOCESE OF LEBANON

His Holiness Aram I received Primate Bishop Kegham Khacherian and the
representatives of the Religious and Political councils of the Diocese
of Lebanon on Tuesday 14 March 2006. The two sides discussed issues
related to the ordainment of the newly built St. Vartanants Church in
May and His Holiness’ Pontifical visit. They agreed that His Holiness
should have meetings with representatives of the community structures,
as well as teachers, students and the youth.

His Holiness stressed the importance of reviving the internal
liveliness of the Armenian community of Lebanon in various
fields. He particularly spoke about the great importance of national
schools. Given that His Holiness has announced 2006 to be “The Year of
the Armenian School”, both sides considered it was suitable to organize
special events that would bring the spotlight on the importance of
Armenian schools in the education of the new generations.

His Holiness also stressed the imperative of strengthening the internal
unity of the Lebanese-Armenian community. In this context he welcomed
the representation of the Armenian community at the ongoing dialogue
in the parliament with a united delegation from the three Armenian
parties.

His Holiness Aram I also received a delegation from the Armenian
National Authorities of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The two
sides discussed various issues related to the Diocese.

##

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates
of the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the
dioceses of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web
page of the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.