BATTLE INFLATION THROUGH DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY
KarabakhOpen
17-05-2008 12:46:22
Prime Minister Ara Harutiunyan met with the members of the Hayrenik
faction which he used to head before appointment to the post of
premier. During the meeting the prime minister noted that the only
way to slow down the growing prices of food is the development of
local production.
For this purpose, according to Ara Harutiunyan, the government makes
effort to develop production of wheat.
RUSSIA READY TO ASSIST NAGORNO-KARABAKH TALKS – GRYZLOV
Interfax News Agency
May 14 2008
Russia
Russia is ready to assist the Nagorno- Karabakh settlement talks,
State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov said.
"We can guarantee reached agreements. There should be no imposition
from outside: the parties should agree with each other," Gryzlov told
a briefing in Baku.
Russia could provide a ground for Azeri-Armenian talks, in particular
for a St. Petersburg meeting between Azeri President Ilkham Aliyev
and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, the speaker said.
"We, as co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group [for the Nagorno- Karabakh
settlement], will guarantee the decisions that the parties will reach,"
Gryzlov said.
GENOCIDE BELIEF SEEN AS ‘INSULT’ BY TURKEY
Jennifer Campbell, [email protected]
The Ottawa Citizen
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The fact that the Canadian government has recognized Armenian claims
of genocide by the Turks in 1915 still casts a shadow over relations
between Canada and Turkey, the incoming ambassador says.
Rafet Akgunay noted in an interview yesterday that Canada is one of the
only governments in the world to recognize Armenian claims and said
his government finds it particularly strange coming from a country
that is known internationally as a peace-loving and peace-making
nation. (In 2004, Canada’s Parliament reversed the country’s previous
policy when it voted for a private member’s bill that recognized as
genocide the killing of Armenians during the First World War.)
"It’s taken as an insult in Turkey and it’s an insult from a country
which is known around the world as a country that loves peace and
security and stability. This is just the other way around because
you recognize something which is not established as fact.
"Writing history is not the task of parliamentarians or officials of
government," he said.
Given that, Turkey has asked foreign governments to encourage both
sides to study the archives and decide exactly what happened. Turkey
has proposed a joint committee of historians from Turkey and Armenia,
with the possibility of third-party historians joining in to come up
with a decisive analysis of the history.
That said, Mr. Akgunay said the Armenian issue is not the only one on
his agenda — indeed, it’s just one facet of the political side. He’s
also going to work toward air agreements where Turkish Airlines could
fly into Canada. "One of the first things I did in Canada was to
attend a meeting of the Turkey-Canada Business Council and all the
business people asked me to try my best to start flights from Turkey.
Turkish Airlines is ready but there are still agreements to be made
in Canada."
He plans to develop the trade relationship. Two-way trade between
Canada and Turkey now stands at $1.3 billion, which is "peanuts"
for both countries.
By comparison, Turkey’s two-way trade with Russia is $25 billion.
He will also work with Turkish-Canadians, who number about 50,000,
many of whom contribute greatly to the economy, he said.
Canadians Honoured
Canadian biochemist Joseph H. Hulse was honoured by the Indian
government with the Padma Shri Award at a ceremony at Rashtrapati
Bhawan, the president’s palace, last Monday.
Mr. Hulse is a world expert in biotechnology, a former vice-president
of Canada’s International Development Research Centre and a one-time
scientific adviser to the United Nations secretary general. The
announcement said he’s "devoted his life to research on food, nutrition
and food security".
The scientist first visited India in 1962 to represent Canada in
the establishment of the International Food Technology Training and
Research Centre. For the following 40 years, he travelled to India
some 60 times to help with various food-related projects, specifically
on efforts to alleviate chronic malnutrition among poor children in
rural areas.
Mr. Hulse is now a visiting professor at the Central Food Technological
Research Institute in Mysore, India, and at the M.S.
Swaminathan Research Foundation in Tamil Nadu. He’s also the honorary
fellow of the University of Manchester’s Institute of Science and
Technology and the Australian, British and New Zealand Institutes of
Food Science Technology.
A few days before Mr. Hulse received his award from India, a Canadian
veteran received an award from Russia. Canadian Second World War
veteran Jack Hendrie was one of the first Allied soldiers to cross
the Elb River at Wismar to link up with Soviet forces in May 1945.
A stretcher-bearer with the 224 Para Field Ambulance, Mr. Hendrie
helped many injured Soviets in the field. For his work, all those
years ago, he recently received a commemorative medal from the
Russian government.
MP Peter Stoffer delivered the medal to Mr. Hendrie, who lives near
Maxville, Ont. Mr. Stoffer, who is the NDP’s Veterans Affairs critic,
got involved because one of his constituents in Nova Scotia worked
for more than 20 years to get his friend the medal and Mr. Stoffer
joined the effort.
The MP conveyed a letter of congratulations from Russian Ambassador
Georgiy Mamedov, who called Mr. Hendrie’s sacrifice "priceless and
unquestionable."
EU Awards
At Europe Day celebrations last night, EU Ambassador Dorian Prince
recognized the winners of the 2008 Children’s EU Drawing Competition
where school children drew EU-themed pictures.
The winners of the drawing contest are Queenswood Public School
students Niana Lavallee, 10, Jack Vandermeer, 11, and Heather Barr,
10; Lakeview Public School students Claire Fortin, 10, Samantha Adeli,
10, Erica Jessen, 11, Nicole Kern, 10, Caitlin Cassidy Roe, 10, Gen
Klein, 10, and Patrick Stone, 10; and Thomas D’Arcy McGee Catholic
School students Sonya Bellefeuille, 12, and Shaima Gbeke, 10.
Today, Mr. Prince is to award the EU-Canada Young Journalist Award
for 2008. The winning journalists, who will travel to Brussels for
a one-week study tour, are Gaetan Pouliot (Universite de Montreal),
and Anna Olejarczyk and Trevor D’Arcy (University of British Columbia).
PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN AND HIS NEW ARMENIAN COUNTERPART CAN HAVE A MEETING IN ST. PETERSBURG EARLIER THIS JUNE
Azerbaijan Business Center
May 14 2008
Azerbaijan
Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev is to take part
in St. Petersburg Economic Forum on June 6-7.
Foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan said that options of
a meeting between President Aliyev and his new Armenian counterpart
Serj Sarkisyan are under study.
"One of the options is holding of such a meeting within the framework
of St. Petersburg Economic Forum. We expect that in the meeting
the sides will continue consultations about settlement of Nagorno
Garabagh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the spirit of
Prague Process," Mammadyarov said.
Ceasefire regime has been applying between the two countries since 1994
within the conflict that has led to occupation of 20% of Azerbaijani
territory by Armenia and existence of almost 1 million refugees and
IDPs. Since then conditions for convocation of the conflict settlement
conference in Minsk, Belarus, under the aegis of OSCE have not been
created. Armenia declines to release the seized Nagorno Garabagh
and seven adjoining regions. And Azerbaijan, in no circumstances,
will agree on recognition of independence of self-proclaimed
Nagorno Garabagh Republic. Garabagh conflict is the oldest display
of separatism on the former USSR area. Georgian-Abkhazian and
Georgian-Osetian conflicts followed on the same scenario, but
Azerbaijan managed not to allow bringing of CIS peacemaking troops
in the country.
ARMENIA 16TH IN THE UEFA FAIR PLAY RANKING
armradio.am
14.05.2008 13:04
The Union of European Football Association (UEFA) announced the final
results of the UEFA Fair Play competition for the 2007/08 season,
which began on 1 May 2007 and finished on 30 April 2008.
Armenia Ranks 16th with 7,938 points. England tops the list with 8,143
points followed by Norway (8,141 points) and Denmark (8,103 points).
The Fair Play competition is based on the Fair Play assessments made
by official UEFA delegates at all UEFA competition matches (club and
national teams). The coefficient is based on criteria such as positive
play, respect of the opponent, respect of the referee, behaviour of the
crowd and of the team officials, as well as cautions and dismissals.
MAY 9 CELEBRATED IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH
DeFacto Agency
May 12 2008
Armenia
YEREVAN, 12.05.08. DE FACTO. May 9 the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
and the Republic of Armenia celebrated a triple holiday – the Day
of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, Shoushi’s Liberation Day and
the Day of the NKR Defense Army. Solemn measures were held on the
occasion in both states.
In the morning of March 9 the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic leadership
headed by the NKR President Bako Sahakian, the delegation of the
Republic of Armenia headed by the RA President Serge Sargsian visited
the Stepanakert Memorial Complex and honored the memory of warriors
fallen in the Great Patriotic and Karabakh wars.
The representatives of commanding officers of the NKR Defense Army,
Archbishop Pargev Martirosian, the leader of the Artsakh Eparchy
of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the NKR second President Arkady
Ghoukassian, the representatives of NGOs and the Republic’s ordinary
citizens also came to pay homage to the memory of the fallen warriors.
"May 9 is a very important, crucial page in our history. We bend
our heads before those who did not spare their lives for our dream
to come true. A strong and independent state is the best evidence
of maintaining their memory", the NKR President Bako Sahakian
stated. "Shoushi is the cradle of Armenian nation’s spiritual
nourishment, and we must do our best for the revival of Shoushi,
for restoration of its glory", the state’s President underscored.
Associated Press of Pakistan, Pakistan
May 10 2008
Gas pipeline to bring in economic development, people’s empowerment
ISLAMABAD, May 10 (APP): Speakers at a seminar were unanimous that the
gas pipeline from Central Asian states to Pakistan, India and China
would not only resolve the energy crisis confronting the region but
also would bring in economic development and empowerment of the
peoples of the entire region.
The moot titled `Hayder Aliyev as an architect of Azerbaijan
Statehood’, was held to pay homage to the services of Founding
President of Azerbaijan for making his country economically sound and
empowerment of his people.
Addressing the audience, PML-Q Secretary General Mushahid Hussain
Sayed, who is also Chairman of Senate Standing Committee on Foreign
Relations, said the peoples of Azerbaijan and Pakistan were tied in
traditional, historical, religious, brotherly ties and this bond was
holding them together.
`Azerbaijan has a special regard for Pakistani people who adore
Azerbaijan as the land of Caucus (Koh Qaf). Since our childhood, we
are cherished the tales of faeries of the Caucus’, he said.
Mushahid was of the view that a leader must have some inbuilt
exclusive qualities and the most important of those was `courage’.
`Courage is the most essential quality which makes a leader exclusivel
distinctive. Hayder Aliyev had this majestic quality as he dared to
disagree with former Russian President Gorbachev. Though Aliyev was
deseated from the slot of Deputy Prime Minister of Russian Federation,
yet he fought his way back and got his country freed from Russian
Federation’, he said.
Mushahid reminded the audience that there were only two occasions for
Pakistani people to rejoice during the past two decades i.e. Pakistan
going nuclear in 1998 and the independence of Central Asian States. He
said Pakistan stood firmly with Azerbaijan over the issue of foreign
occupation of Azeri territory.
Mushahid said that Azerbaijan claimed independence in October 1991
while Pakistan was the second state to acknowledged it in December
1991.
He was of the view that nations get their decades-old issues resolved
by standing committed with their principled stance.
`Besides, Pakistan was the first nation to open its embassy in
Azerbaijan while we are the only state who has not acknowledged
Armenia, who has captured 20 percent of Azerbiajan territory,’ he
said.
Since then, he added, Azerbaijan-Pakistan ties are getting
strengthened with the every day passing.
Former Ambassador Khalid Mehmood said Hayder Aliyev contributed a lot
for making his nation modern, tolerant and developed nation.
`Azerbaijan, with a GDP of 45 percent, is on the move towards new
horizons of development. Being a tolerant society, people belonging to
Islam, Christianity, Judaism etc are enjoying full freedom,’ he said.
Engin Soysal, the Ambassador of Turkey; Sergy Peskove, the Ambassador
of Russia; Dr. Eynulla Madatali, the ambassador of Azerbaijan and
Zahid Malik also spoke over the occasion.
AZG Armenian Daily #087, 08/05/2008
Armenian Genocide
CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS URGES ALL THE COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD TO
RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Catholicos of All-Armenians Garegin II yesterday in Vatican called all
the countries of the world to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
According to Associated Press, His Holiness delivered a speech during
a meeting of Pop Benedict the 16th with the believers.
His Holiness Garegin II urged all nations and countries to condemn
jointly all the genocides of human history.
"Denial of those crimes is as unjust as committing of them. Many
countries of the world recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide
committed in the Ottoman Empire", mentioned the Catholicos of
All-Armenians.
During the meeting, Pop Benedict the 16th spoke of the severe
temptations of the Christian Armenians "especially during the last
century".
West news agencies recall that Pop John Paul II visited Armenia in
2001 and laid a wreath at the memorial of the Armenians that became
victims of what happened in the Ottoman Empire.
Translated by L.H
Reduction of prices for Internet-communication should be clearly
motivated and not differentiated
Arminfo
2008-05-05 15:47:00
Since October 1, 2007, ArmenTel Company has been officially deprived of
the monopoly for Internet-communication networks in Armenia. However,
it did not affect the alignment in the branch, as the Company preserved
the telephone network ownership, therefore, an opportunity of rendering
DSL-communication. Naturally, it made the Internet-providers operating
in the country dependent, as ArmenTel, which preserved the monopoly in
fact, did not loose the freedom of optional management of prices for
traffic being realized by providers. On April 18, ArmenTel, appearing
now under the Beeline trademark, announced of the reduction of prices
for Internet-traffic ` from 400,000 drams to 30 per 1 megabit. However
it does not concern the providers, which will be supplied Internet at
the previous price. At ArmInfo’s request, Director General of one of
the Armenian leading providers, `Arminco’ Company, Grigory Sagyan
commented on the situation.
– Mr. Sagyan, how do you treat reduction of prices for
Internet-communication?
– A cut in prices for Internet is a positive phenomenon. I think that a
budget Internet promotes the population integration into the world
information network and, thus, contributes to increasing of the general
educational and cultural level. However, any fall in prices should be
clearly motivated and not differentiated. The present price fall per
Megabit/sec from 1.2 mln drams to 30 thsd drams bypassed the providers,
that may make it possible to draw some conclusions regarding the plans
of the Internet-communication market management in the country.
Noteworthy, ArmenTel does not render services at 30,000 drams to
another operators but forces them to buy the service at 1.2 mln drams.
The matter here concerns not falling in prices but the tariff policy,
as a result of fulfillment of which the competitive operators
(providers) of ArmenTel are fully withdrawn from the market.
– How did the situation originate under which one company was permitted
to control the price mechanisms in the telecommunications market of the
whole country?
– The point is that ArmenTel has got a confidence that if it is not a
monopolist, it is enabled to conduct an autonomous price policy.
However, a term `dominating position in the market’ is used today
instead of the term «monopoly», as ArmenTel owns a network of
communication, which is led to every apartment ` it is about 250,000
telephone lines in Yerevan. This dominating position envisages
regulation of the cost of services being rendered by network. The
regulation today is carried out by two organizations, al least ` Public
Services Regulatory Commission and Economic Competition Protection
Commission.
– Thus, the monopoly, either legal or factual, does not contribute to
development of the telecommunications branch, does it?
– This is testified by the examples of the past. ArmenTel preserved the
monopoly for cellular communication till 2005, and the users had to pay
$200 for telephone cards in the black market to get communication, the
quality of which entirely depended on the operator’s will. Elimination
of the monopoly and appearance of a competitive company increased both
the quantity and the quality of mobile communication. Let everyone
decide how much the parallels with the present situation may be drawn
here. Perhaps, it will succeed to withdraw all the competitors from the
market within several months due to the price differentiation,.
However, just after that we shall face an absolute «lawlessness», as it
was before the market demonopolization.
– Will the appeal to the relevant governmental bodies on market
regulation be of help under these conditions?
– Under the developed conditions, this is the only possible solution.
Thus, we are going to apply to RA Public Services Regulatory Commission
the next few days, to consider the created 00situation and make an
adequate decision for the healthy market atmosphere.
Thank you for the interview
Ministers Nalbandian and Mammadyarov agree to continue the talks
armradio.am
07.05.2008 10:32
RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with his Azerbaijani
counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov at Permanent Representation of France at
the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The meeting later continued in an
enlarged format, featuring the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Bernard
Fassier (France), Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia) and Matthew Bryza (USA) and
the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej
Kasprzyk.
Following the meeting Edward Nalbandian told reporters that the meeting
of the Ministers of familiarization nature. The interlocutors exchanged
views on the Karabakh process, presented the approached of their
countries and agreed to continue the negotiations. The Ministers will
present the results of the discussions to the Presidents and the
Presidents will decide on the future action.
Before that Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office. Issues connected with continuing the talks on the
basis of the proposals presented by the Co-Chairs. Highly appreciating
the activity and efforts of the Co-Chairs, Edward Nalbandian expressed
the willingness of the Armenian side to continue the negotiations to
find solutions.