Author: Tavakalian Edgar

INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS PERSONALLY WITNESSED

A1+
[01:54 pm] 30 September, 2008

The local and regional authorities of the Council of Europe Congress
observing the local government elections that took place yesterday are
concerned that the lack of transparency and the tension in a series
of polls are casting a shadow on the on-going democratic development
of Armenia.

"The low level of voter turnout in areas where senior council elections
were being held underlines the low level of voter interest in issues
concerning local government," stated the observers who visited nearly
100 polls.

On the other hand, "in areas where there was high political interest,
violations, tensions and in some cases the disproportionate amount
of voter participation, we got the impression that the political
democratic culture needs further strengthening in Armenia." The
observers noted that they have witnessed the lack of transparency in
votes and in the counting of votes. All of the conclusions will be
presented during the fall session of the Congress. The CE delegation
was headed by Mrs. Veronik Moreira from France and the observatory
mission included 10 observers.

SARALADJ HIGHWAY EXPLOITED

Panorama.am
19:20 29/09/2008

Today in the morning Saralandj highway and the tunnel
Abovian-Miasnikian have been exploited. The President of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan has been present at the event. He has highly evaluated the
efforts of the working team and expresses his appreciation towards
"Lins" foundation for supporting the programme. He has also expressed
his hope that the foundation will continue conducting various projects
in Armenia.

S. Sargsyan said that the road construction in Yerevan has always
been under the attention of the officials. "The very first steps
of any construction are being negatively met by the citizens, but,
I am sure, that after they are fulfilled everybody is content,"
says the President.

The former president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, who took the
initiative to organize the construction of the highway, said that
they are thinking over naming the highway after Kirk Krkoryan.

FOURTH ARMAGROFORUM-FRUITFUL TO KICK OFF IN YEREVAN ON SEP 30

ARKA
Sep 29, 2008

YEREVAN, September 29. /ARKA/. The fourth annual agricultural workshop
Armagroforum-Fruitful will be launched in Yerevan on September 30.

The three-day forum is an attempt to study the latest agricultural
achievements of advanced countries and implement them in Armenia,
said RA Ministry of Agriculture Aramais Grigoryan.

The minister stressed the importance of studying hail protection and
drip irrigation mechanisms in developed countries.

The forum will focus on Armenia’s natural resources, agro cultural
business, agricultural financing and the world trends and challenges
in the sector, said Ana Kristina Shiranyan, director of the Tieras
de Armenia CJSC.

International specialists and agricultural experts from France,
Argentine and Italy will participate in the forum. As part of the
workshop, famous Argentinean composer Alisa Terzyan will perform in
Yerevan. Popular Armenian tennis player David Nalbandyan will give
master classes.

The organizer of the event, the Fruitful Armenia non-commercial
project, was established in 2005. Its mission is to boost Armenian
agriculture.

Fruitful Armenia holds annual workshops with participation of foreign
and local agricultural specialists. The events are sponsored by
Armenian-Argentinean businessman Eduardo Erekian.

MEETING OF OPPOSITION STARTS IN NORTHERN AVENUE

Noyan Tapan

Se p 26, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The meeting organized by the
Armenian National Congress (ANC) on September 26 started with people’s
chanting "Freedom", "Levon is President", "Struggle, Struggle Till
the End". The main subjects of the meeting are the election of head
of Yerevan’s Kentron community to be held on September 28, and the
analysis of the internal political situation in the country.

Member of the Armenian National Movement party Aram Manukian stated
that the opposition has done considerable work on the eve of the
election of the Kentron community head, with about 700 activists of
the opposition being involved in this work. He said that there is a
panic among the members of the team of the current head of the Kentron
community Gagik Beglarian – the rival of the ANC’s candidate Ararat
Zurabian, as the rivals of A. Zurabian are aware of the difference in
votes to be received – not in their facor. At the same time A. Manukian
underlined that the opposition has a problem with keeping its votes. He
added that today there are all the opportunities for the oppositin
to be able to keep the votes it will receive.

The chairwoman of the Social Democrat Hunchak Party Lyudmila Sargsyan
called on all residents of Kentron community to vote at the election
and to defend their votes. In her words, A. Zurabian’s victory will
be everybody’s victory because for months on end the people has been
struggling for protection of its rights. L. Sargsian spoke about
the rumors spread by the authorities to the effect that the popular
movement is allegedly weakening. Addressing the meeting participants
(many thousands of those present), she declared that although Armenia
is small, the opposition will always find a place for holding its
meetings.

It was announced at the meeting that the representatives of the ANC
have met with international observers who are currently in Armenia
and informed them about the existing problems.

CASH REGISTERS IN ARMENIA’S TRADE FAIRS CAN HELP PUT IN ORDER BIG BUSINESS: PREMIER

ARKA
Sep 26, 2008

YEREVAN, September 26. /ARKA/. Implementing cash registers in Armenia’s
trade fairs will help sort out difficulties in big business, said RA
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said.

"This procedure will help us put in order big business, as whenever
we try to find out the real turnover of large enterprises, it turns
out that they conduct wholesale trade," the premier told the Public
Television of Armenia.

According to him, the entities that do not use cash registers ensure
80% of local trade.

Armenian fairs sell usually sell expensive household appliances and
other goods that can never be found in the fairs of other countries.

"We should have a political will to take actions and obey laws and
government decisions," Sargsyan said.

SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY WILL BE ELECTED DURING UPCOMING FOUR-DAY SESSION TO START ON 29 SEPTEMBER

ArmInfo
2008-09-26 13:10:00

ArmInfo. Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly will be elected
during the upcoming four-day session that will start on 29 September.

The NA press-service report that on 26 September Speaker Tigran
Sargsyan sent in resignation by a second application in 5 working
days after the first application in compliance with Article 20 of
NA Regulations. Article 19 point 2 of NA Regulations stipulates that
Vice Speaker Hrayr Karapetyan will fulfill the duties of the Speaker.

SESSION OF DEFENSE AND SECURITY AFFAIRS COMMISSION OF CSTO PA KICKS OFF

ARMENPRESS
Sep 24, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS: The session of the defense and
security affairs permanent commission of the CSTO Parliamentary
Assembly kicked off today in the Armenian National Assembly.

The NA deputy speaker Hrayr Karapetian greeted the guests and expressed
hope that the works of the session will pass effectively.

The commission chaired by Vladimir Vassilyev discussed the issues
on electing the chairman of the commission. With the suggestion of
responsible secretary of the organization Pyotr Ryabukhin, Vladimir
Vassilyev has been unanimously re-elected in the office.

Referring to the military-political situation in the Caucasian region,
V. Vassilyev said that the issue will be discussed on the next day
after the meeting with the Armenian defense minister and visiting
defense-military establishments.

First deputy chief of the police Armen Yeritsian presented a report
over the work of Armenian law enforcement bodies, crimes registered
in the country.

Active discussions have been conducted over the ethnic and religious
crimes. The member countries expressed concern that in a number of
Russian towns that phenomenon gets racist manifestations which must
not only be condemned but also be prevented by legislative solutions.

The commission also discussed the issue on creation of legal basis
for information security of the CSTO member countries.

The session will continue its work on September 25. At the end of the
today’s session the members of the commission visited Tsitsernakaberd
and paid tribute to the memory of the victims of the Armenian genocide.

ARMENIAN PM RECEIVES DUTCH AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
Sep 24, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan received today Dutch ambassador to Armenia Onno Elderenboss
(residence in Tbilisi).

Governmental press service told Armenpress that during the meeting
the ambassador first congratulated the head of the government and
Armenian people on the 17th anniversary of Armenia’s independence.

The prime minister and the ambassador spoke of bilateral relations
between the two countries, referred to the issues on cooperation within
the circles of the "Dutch Group" of the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund and in this pre-context issues connected with the coming
visit of Tigran Sargsyan to Washington for the participation in the
annual conference of the World Bank and IMF.

The head of the Armenian government underscored the opening of
the diplomatic representation of Netherlands in Yerevan for the
development of bilateral relations, noting that starting from February
2008 Armenian consular representation is functioning in Hague.

Armenian prime minister highly underscored the official assistance
of Netherlands to Armenia which he said is very useful for Armenia’s
economy, saying that it is necessary to continue the support which
is necessary to direct the private sector more effectively.

The ambassador said that by ending its direct support to Armenia’s
state budget, Netherlands will continue it by 2010 through World Bank.

The prime minister and the ambassador also referred to the activity of
the Dutch "Hayposttrust" company which has assumed the management of
"Haypost" from 2007.

Speaking about the cooperation within the frameworks of European
Neighborhood Policy, Tigran Sargsyan said that it opens new
opportunities for Armenia.

ARMENIAN, TURKISH, AZERBAIJANI FMS TRILATERAL MEETING EXPECTED SEPT. 26

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.09.2008 13:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan met Sunday his
Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov in New York. The trilateral
meeting between Turkish, Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers
is expected to be held on Friday.

Babacan is expected to first meet Nalbandian, the Anatolian Agency
reported. The trilateral meeting is expected to begin after the
Babacan-Nalbandian meeting, it added.

Turkey aims to bring Armenian and Azerbaijani top diplomats together
at the same table with the hope of taking a step towards finding a
solution to the conflicts.

The Ministers are expected to discuss the settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict.

WORLD BANK COUNTERS STATEMENTS BY CHAMBER OF CONTROL OF ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2008-09-22 16:30:00

ArmInfo. Recently the Chamber of Control (COC) issued statements
regarding the findings of the COC review for the World Bank financed
Urban Heating Project. The World Bank is considering very seriously
the concerns expressed by the COC regarding possible anomalies in the
implementation of the Urban Heating project, as the implementation of
projects supported by the Bank is closely monitored and the supervision
reports are shared on a timely basis with all Government counterparts.

The World Bank reports that it has not yet received the report of
the COC.

‘However, based on the information at our disposal we would like
to make the following clarifications with respect to the two key
issues/irregularities mentioned by the COC: (i) transfer of US$
500,000 to an offshore supplier in Panama; and (ii) slow progress
of implementation of "capital grants to the poor" component of the
project.

(i) US$460,000 has been indeed transferred to a supplier in
Panama. This amount has been transferred by ArdshinInvest Bank,
one of the three participating banks under the on-lending component
of the project. The amount is part of US$500,000 sub-loan that
ArdshinInvest has approved to a private company, Yerfrez OJSC, for
the supply of heat, hot water and power to four buildings. Yerfrez
has instructed ArdshinInvest to transfer US$460,000 of the pr oceeds
of the approved sub-loan for the procurement of 4 combined heat and
power micro turbines to the supplier in Panama.

According to the latest known communication between Yerfrez and
Panama supplier, the latter is supposed to supply the micro turbines
in December 2008.

None of the legal documents governing project implementation has been
breached. The loan is used for the targeted purpose, i.e. provision
of decentralized gas-based heat and hot water supply. The procurement
under the on-lending component of the project is based on commercial
practices, which for a US$500,000 sub-loan, requires that the sub-
borrower obtain price quotation from 3 suppliers, which Yerfrez has
secured and selected the supplier quoting the lowest price.

Regarding financial management issues, according to the design of
the on-lending component ArdshinInvest carries 100% of the risks
for the sub-loans it provides. The implementing agency (R2E2 fund)
has automatically transferred money to ArdshinInvest once the latter
has approved the loan to Yerfrez and registered the collateral.

(ii) The implementation pace of the capital grants to the poor
component is indeed slow, and this has been documented by project
supervision regularly conducted by the World Bank while the Government
has been alerted. The implementation has accelerated lately and as
of September 2008, the heater installation and gas connection works
were completed for over 4,000 urban poor ho useholds’.