Author: Vanyan Gary

Russian Transport Ministry proposes cutting import duties on foreign planes
AP Worldstream; Sep 01, 2006
ALEX NICHOLSON

Russia’s Transport Ministry will propose cutting or scrapping import
duties on foreign aircraft, a spokeswoman said Friday, a day after the
prime minister called for overhauling flight safety standards for
Russia’s aging civilian air fleet and airports.

A proposal to change the unpopular 20 percent duty on imported foreign
aircraft would be submitted to the government later Friday, a ministry
spokeswoman said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the
proposals had not yet been submitted.

The ministry is hoping to have the tax eliminated altogether, she
said.

Aviation experts have said the import duty has put planes such as
Boeing and Airbus out of the reach for cash-strapped airlines, forcing
them to buy aging foreign planes or domestic aircraft. In the past,
only national flag carrier Aeroflot and private carrier Transaero have
been given state breaks to purchase new foreign jets.

The proposal also calls for building additional runways at 12 Russian
airports, including Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo and
St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airports, the ministry spokeswoman said.

More than 400 people have died in the past year in a series of airline
crashes involving the airline industry in Russia and other ex-Soviet
republics, prompting government officials to call for better safety
standards.

Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov on Thursday told a Cabinet meeting on
flight security that Russia should not rely solely on new foreign
planes, but needed to quickly reform its struggling aviation sector
and accelerate homegrown production.

Despite a substantial production capacity, Russian factories produced
just a handful of civilian aircraft last year, while Russian airlines
imported 20 used foreign jets. In total, 200 foreign aircraft are used
by Russian airlines, the Vedomosti business daily reported Friday.

Russia also lacks an affordable leasing system that would allow
companies to acquire new Russian planes, meaning companies typically
chose instead to buy older foreign or domestic jets.

In a bid to boost domestic production, the government is pushing ahead
with the creation of a national aircraft holding company to unite
Russia’s civilian and military producers under one corporate roof. The
United Aviation Corp. has been promised hefty state funding and will
be 75 percent controlled by the state.

Last week, a Tu-154 jet belonging to Russia’s Pulkovo Airlines crashed
in Ukraine after encountering a storm, killing all 170 people
aboard. In July, an Airbus A310 belonging to Russian airline S7
skidded off a runway and burst into flames in the Siberian city of
Irkutsk, killing 124 people.

In May, an A320 belonging to the Armenian airline Armavia crashed into
the Black Sea in rough weather while trying to land in the Russian
resort city of Sochi, killing all 113 people aboard.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN ARMENIA GROWS 28% IN H1
Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
August 31, 2006 Thursday 7:06 PM MSK
Foreign investment in Armenia grew 27.9% year-on-year in the first
half of 2006 to $178.5 million, the National Statistics Service
told Interfax.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) grew 9.2% to $86.3 million. The
communications sector received 33.1% of the FDI, the mining industry
14.3%, air transport 9.4% and food industry 9.2%.
Lebanon was the biggest investor with $49.6 million (up 110% year-
on-year), including $652,700 of direct investment. Greece was second
with $37.9 million, down 35%, followed by Argentina – $17.2 million
and Germany, which boosted investment 63.1-fold to $12.1 million.
Armenia received $19.2 million from Russia, up 41.9%, including $1.5
million in direct investment, down 2.3%.

FACTS ARE IMMORTAL, THEY LIVE FOREVER
Hakob Badalyan
Lragir.am
31 Aug 06
The first tendencies of struggle against the criminal are outlining
in the government of Armenia. And strange though it may seem, these
tendencies are displayed by the minister of environmental protection
Vardan Aivazyan. In the evening of August 30 he spoke on TV about
activities, containing criminal directly and requiring the attendance
of the procuracy.
For instance, the minister announces that over 90 percent of building
in Armenia does not correspond to the environmental standards but they
have found a loophole. According to the minister, only construction
on 1000 square meters is liable to an environmental test, whereas
the land is allocated under the mechanism 990×990.
Hence, the building occupies much larger space but on documents the
space is divided and not liable to an environmental test.
Vardan Aivazyan did not specify the names of people who are responsible
for this reality. However, the minister of environmental protection may
realize that giving names means assume that people are unknowledgeable
for the simple reason that one needs to explain everything in detail
to an unknowledgeable person. It is enough to find out who allocates
land. Of course, the City Hall of Yerevan, or the municipality of the
community of Center because 90 percent of construction, maybe more
is carried out in the center. Consequently, the mayor of Yerevan or
the municipality of the Center, who are members of the council of
the Republican Party, are accountable for the tricks with documents,
of course, if they rule their offices. The degree of accountability
is not something that Vardan Aivazyan or we should decide.
This is the business of the Office of the Attorney General because
these facts are usually investigated by them. If the procuracy
works, it must invite the minister of environmental protection for
a talk because his statements obviously speak about serious cases of
corruption. Besides the procuracy, the president should also invite
Vardan Aivazyan for a talk since he did not believe on August 30
through his speaker that the government adheres to the criminal and
demanded facts on the criminal, and the minister of environmental
protection may have a number of facts. Otherwise, he was speaking about
something he was unaware. And it means that Vardan Aivazyan is merely
making allegations. Consequently, it will appear that he is merely
trying to move his guilt at some other direction after the sphere he
heads underwent the torrent of petitions from the procuracy. Hence,
Vardan Aivazyan’s talk with both the president and the attorney general
would supply them with facts, simply the problem is on whom the facts
will be. And this is not very important because they must start with
someone, of course if there is wish to start at all.

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH TOURNAMENT OF TENNIS HELD UNDER PATRONAGE OF EUROPEAN UNION STARTS IN YEREVAN
Noyan Tapan
Aug 29 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, NOYAN TAPAN. The international youth tournament of
tennis started on August 28 in tennis courts of the Hrazdan sports
complex of Yerevan. 45 sportsmen from Armenia, Russia, Georgia,
Estonia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Nigeria are involved
in 2 age groups (14 and 16). The Yerevan tournament under the aegis
of EU finishes on September 2.

NON-WISE AND NON-BRAVE PRESIDENTS
Lragir.am
30 Aug 06
The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan need to be wise and brave
for the settlement of the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, said the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Karel de Gucht in an interview with the Noviye
Izvestia newspaper.
He said this year a window for settlement opened but the meetings
of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Paris and Bucharest
were not successful. Karel de Gucht says the major hindrances remain,
and the two presidents need wisdom and braveness to overcome them.
It appears that if the problem cannot be solved, the presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan are neither wise nor brave. At least for the
time being, as long as the issue has not been settled.

LAW ON 14 COMPANIES WITH BEAUTIFUL NAME WHICH DOES NOT WORK
Aram Zakaryan
Lragir.am
28 Aug 06
The National Assembly of Armenia passed a law on May 15, Georgia and
Azerbaijan do not have similar laws. Over this period the law has
been changed twice, it has only 5 articles, and it does not work. It
is true that in terms of form we are ahead of our neighbors, but in
terms of content we are on the same level.
The name of the law is pleasing, “End use of environmental payments by
companies”. And though the companies operating in Armenia and paying
environmental payments count hundreds, the law refers to 14 companies
only; Armenian Copper Program, Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Factory,
Dino Gold Mining Company, Akhtala Metallurgic Factory, Ararat Cement,
Mika Cement, Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant, Yerevan Thermal Power Plant,
Gadjagorts, Gadj, Makur Yerkat, ASKE Group, Dzulakentron. The authors
of the law decided that if the activities and income of these companies
cause different environmental problems, air, water and other types of
pollution, part of the environmental payments should be transferred
to the community budget where the company is based to implement
environmental projects. Nice, isn’t it? Even very very nice. But.
First, why should the law concern these 14 companies only? Why
should part of the environmental payments of Ararat Cement be spent
on environmental projects, whereas part of the payments by Ararat
Gold Recovery Company will not be spent.
The amount to be allocated to the local governments for environmental
projects from the sum paid by the company to the state budget is
set down in a complicated wording. It is possible to get the meaning
after reading it for several times, however, if the aim is honest,
we could use more simple wording, say x percent is allocated from
the environmental payments of the company. And that’s all. However,
complicated wording is not the only reason why the law does not work.
In accordance with the document, the money is allocated to the
local governments. And the whole charm about it is that the local
governments do not have environmental departments or at least a
relevant specialist, and the money is paid only after the environmental
project is confirmed. These are first confirmed by the board of
supervisors, then by the ministries of environment and health. And the
projects can be confirmed or on the contrary. Now imagine our village
mayors and council members working on a project on a sphere which is
not familiar to them. And it is evident from the reality of Armenia,
which is gradually turning a desert, that environmental protection
is not familiar to our officials.
Experts think if the auhtors of the law did not go in for form and
intended to find real remedies for the wounds of nature in Armenia,
they are apparently following the wrong path and it is clear that they
did not consult specialists. And specialists say it would be easier
if instead of working out complicated and non-practical mechanisms in
the law they made the same companies direct the x amount that they
must pay to the state budget at environmental activities. And if
there is a problem of government control, it can be provided for by
the same law. Moreover, the same law could provide for implementation
of projects by these companies through the NGOs which deal with the
problems of state and environmental protection.
This would be another step to a civil society and public involvement.
By the way, different NGOs and boards of supervisors have implemented
and implement environmental projects in different regions of Armenia
on grants without waiting for the law on end use of environmental
payments by companies. Therefore, it is not always necessary to write a
law to do something good. For everyone knows what hinders a bad dancer.

EUROPEAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEES PRESIDENT PATRICK HICKEY TO VISIT ARMENIA ON SEPTEMBER 7-9
Noyan Tapan
Aug 23 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 23, NOYAN TAPAN. By the invitation of Gagik
Tsarukian, the Chairman of the Armenianm National Olympic Committee,
the delegation of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) headed by
Patrick Hickey from Ireland, the newly elected President of that
organization will visit Armenia on September 7-9. The guests will
get acquainted with sports structures of Armenia and problems of
the Olympic movement in the republic. Meetings with the ANOC heads,
members of the executive committee and heads of sporting federations
are envisaged. The delegation will visit the Olympic sports complex
of Tsaghkadzor, Etchmiadzin and Matenadaran (Armenian repository of
ancient manuscrips).

NA CHAIRMAN TIGRAN TOROSYAN RECEIVED UN PERMANENT COORDINATOR CONSUELO VIDA
ArmRadio.am
24.08.2006 16:00
August 24 NA Chairman Tigran Torosyan received UN Permanent
Coordinator, UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia Consuelo Vidal.
Issues related to cooperation, development of mechanisms and rise
of efficiency were discussed during the meting, NA Public Relations
Office informs.
Mrs. Vidal presented the preliminary programs of cooperation.
Reference was made also to the opportunity of making analysis of the
existing legislation with UN support to reveal the contradictions in
different laws and agreements.
An agreement was reached on arranging discussions on the improvement
of the Parliament’s website.
The interlocutors dwelt on issues related to the law on fighting
trafficking and a number of questions of mutual importance.

UNHCR High Commissioner to Arrive on August 20
ArmRadio.am
18.08.2006 19:14
UNHCR High Commissioner Antonio Guterres will pay a working visit to
Armenia on August 20. Armenian Foreign Ministry press service said
that during his two-day visit the high commissioner will meet with
the President of Armenia Robert Kocharian, Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian, His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II. He is also expected to
visit Armenian province of Lori and UN Armenian Office.

AZERBAIJAN ELABORATED A PROGRAM OF INFORMATION WAR
Yerevan, August 17. ArmInfo. A meeting of Azeri reporters, working
aborad, will take place in Baku, informed Trend news agency Nazim
Ibrahimov.
According to N. Ibrahimov the official Baku considers that in a number
of states, particularly France and the USA, Azerbaijan is losing
the information war with Armenia. By the order of the Azerbaijani
president Ilham Aliev lobbyist and propagandist organizations will be
established in certain countries. The National Television of Armenia
in connection with this statement noted that the Europeans’ sympathy
towards Armenia are based upon the will to protect the justice and
the historical truth. It was said that Azerbaijan’s new project of
information war will seemingly have the same results as the military
campaign against Karabakh.