Author: Vardapetian Ophelia

TREND News Agency, Azerbaijan
May 11 2007

Azerbaijani Injured by Armenian Discharged from Hospital

Russia, Moscow / Trend corr R. Aghayev / Siyavush Mammadov, Chairman
of the Co-ordinating Council of Azerbaijani Youth reported on 11 May
that Aghali Alishev, who had been injured during a fight between
Azerbaijani and Armenian youth several days ago, had been discharged
from the Moscow Clinical Hospital 64.

A mass scuffle between the Azerbaijanis and Armenians took place on 1
May within the Friendship of Nations Russian University. The event
`South-West Planet’ was held in the University that day, which was
attended by students and foreign guests. The scuffle broke out after
the Armenians had raised flags of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani
territory, occupied by Armenian Armed Forces. Around 100 people took
part in the scuffle and as a result 4 Azerbaijanis were injured, with
Alishev injured in abdomen. Afterwards he was taken to a hospital and
operated on.

Mammadov reported that Alishev felt well but was walking with a limp
and as a result will have to suspend his professional sports
trainings for 3-4 months.

Moscow law enforcement bodies have instituted criminal proceedings in
compliance with Article 213, one of the Criminal Code’s of the
Russian Federation (hooligan attack with appliance of weapons).

ARMENIAN NATIONAL TEAM TO LEAVE FOR BEIJING ON MAY 14 TO TAKE PART IN TAEKWONDO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Noyan Tapan
May 11 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenian sportsmen will also take
part in the Taekwondo World Championship to be held in China. The
Armenian team, which will leave for Beijing on May 14, includes Suren
Sarkisov (54 kg), Artur Rubinian (72 kg), Arman Yeremian (78 kg),
Aram Sahakian (84 kg, all of them from Yerevan), Andrey Aghasarian
(62 kg, Stepanakert) and Levon Pashabezian (67 kg, Gyumri).

The national team will return to Armenia on May 24.

COMBINED ENDEAVOUR-2007 EXERCISES FINISH IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
May 10 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. Combined Endeavour-2007 exercises held
within the framework of Partnership for Peace NATO program finished
on May 10 in Yerevan.

In the words of Major-General Armen Baburian, Head of
Intercommunication Troops of General Headquarters of RA Armed Forces,
Intercommunication and Automatic Management Systems Department,
the regular multi-national exercises passed successfully achieving
the tasks set before it. "Observing the process of exercises we can
exactly say that thanks to joint work of all of us the exercises passed
at high professional and organization level," he said. A. Baburian
thanked U.S. European Command for assistance provided in the issue
of holding the exercises.

In the words of military attache of U.S. Embassy, Colonel Russell
Grimley, the exercises proved the success of Combined Endeavour-2007
initiative. He said that within a fortnight the participants of
exercises held testing of intercommunication means, raised the level
of cooperation with one another. R. Grimley thanked RA Defence Ministry
for cooperation.

At the end of the ceremony dedicated to the end of exercises Acting
Head of General Headquarters of RA Armed Forces Enrico Apriamov gave
souvenirs to heads of delegations of country-participants.

To recap, Armenia has been taking part in the annual exercises for
the past five years. It has been held in the German city of Baumholder
for 13 years.

Combined Endeavour for the first time was held jointly in two countries
and Armenia was chosen as a country where the main part of exercises
was held. Over 130 representatives from Croatia, France, Russia,
Georgia, U.S. and Armenia take part in the exercises here.

BANANTS AND ARARAT TO MEET AT FINAL STAGE OF FOOTBALL CUP TOURNAMENT OF ARMENIA ON MAY 9

Noyan Tapan
May 08 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The final meeting of the 2007 football
cup tournament of Armenia will take place on May 9 at the Republic
sports ground. The rival teams, Banants and Ararat, will compete with
one other for the honourary prize for the first time.

Ararat entered the final stage for the 6th time, and Banants for the
4th time. Banants is the 1st cup winner of Armenia (1992). Banants
was defeated by Mika with a score of 0:1 at the final stage in 2003,
and by Pyunik (with 11-meter penalty kichs) in 2004. Ararat won in
4 of 5 finals (in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997). The team was defeated
by Mika in 2001, with a number of 11-meter kicks.

ALIEV REFUSES TO COOPERATE WITH "REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS" ORGANIZATION
By Aghavni Haroutiunian

AZG Armenian Daily
09/05/2007

As we have informed before, "Reporters without Borders" media rights
group has included Azeri President Ilham Aliev in the list of its
Press Freedom Predators leaders that treat the journalists with
extreme hostility. The Azeri mass media informed that Ilham Aliev’s
Administartion stated that it would no longer cooperate with the
Paris-based media rights group "Reporters without Borders." According
to Ali Hasanov, head of the political section in Azeri President’s
Office, the organization is coming up with reports that are based
on subjective opinion in the Nagorno Karabakh issue. In particular,
"Reporters without Borders" stated that the freedom of speech is
under threat in Azerbaijan. Besides, they stated that the reporters
are regularly jailed and beaten there.

It’s worth mentioning that the group listed Azerbaijan 135th in its
2006 Press Freedom Index.

BUDGETARY TRANSFERS GROW BY 11.8% IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2007 ON SAME PERIOD OF LAST YEAR

Noyan Tapan
May 09 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. In the first quarter of 2007, current
transfers accounted for 28.3% or 21.8 bln drams (about 60.6 mln USD)
of current expnditures of the RA state budget: the quarterly program
was fulfilled by 94.6%.

According to data of the RA Ministry of Finance and Economy, 6.4 bln
drams of transfer allocations was spent on benefits, 4.5 bln drams –
on pensions, 4.4 bln drams – on subsidies provided by the principle
of equalization of commuities. The total amount of transfers grew by
11.8% on the same period of 2006, the growth of subsidies, pensions
and benefits made 20.6%, 9.2% and 6.1% respectively.

41.3 bln drams was allocated from the state budget for purchase of
goods and services, which made up 44.3% of current expenditures of the
RA state budget. The quarterly program of expenditures on purchase of
goods and services was fulfilled by 85.1%. Expenditures on purchase of
goods and services grew by 9.6% or 3.6 bln drams on the first quarter
of 2006, which was mainly conditioned by an increase in expenditures
on educational and health care services.

In the first quarter of 2007, more than 11.7 bln drams was allocated
from the state budget for financing the capital expenditures, whose
amount increased by 94.1% or about 5.7 bln drams on the same period
of last year. This growth was mainly conditioned by an increase of
capital expenditures on roads, water industry, defence, education
and social security.

In the period under review, crediting from the RA state budget amounted
to 4.3 bln drams (about 12 mln USD), with this sum being provided to
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. Out of previously provided credits,
109.2 bln drams was paid back to the state budget in the indicated
period. As a result, net crediting made 4.2 bln drams. The amount of
net crediting from the state budget increased by 24.1% on the first
quarter of 2006 – conditioned by an increase of the interstate loan
provided to the NKR.

ORINATS YERKIR ALLEGES GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE
By Ruzanna Stepanian

Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
May 9 2007

A close associate of Artur Baghdasarian accused the authorities on
Wednesday of wire-tapping the telephones of the embattled former
parliament speaker and other leaders of his opposition Orinats
Yerkir Party.

Baghdasarian has been on the defensive since the disclosure by a
pro-government newspaper late last month of embarrassing details
of his recent secretly recorded conversation with a senior British
diplomat which focused on the May 12 parliamentary elections.

President Robert Kocharian has said his reported calls for the European
Union to already criticize the Armenian government’s handling of the
vote amounted to high treason. Baghdasarian has rejected the charges,
saying that his dinner meeting with the diplomat was eavesdropped
on by security services as part of a government "smear campaign"
against Orinats Yerkir.

Heghine Bisharian, the number two figure in the party hierarchy,
claimed that the phones of the top Orinats Yerkir figures are also
being illegally wire-tapped by the National Security Service. "I
know that my phone is wire-tapped," she said. "Aren’t they ashamed
of doing that?"

Bisharian could no offer any proof of the allegation and dismissed
suggestions that Orinats Yerkir lodge a complaint with the
authorities. "Who should we complain to?" she asked at a news
conference. "What should we say [to the government?] Punish yourself?"

She went on to allege that the scandal has left the ambitious
ex-speaker’s life "in danger." Orinats Yerkir fears that he might be
the target of an assassination attempt, she added without elaborating.

Baghdasarian has implicitly made similar allegations in some of
his campaign speeches. But in a weekend interview with RFE/RL, he
was reluctant to dwell on them. "I don’t want any of my compatriots
to experience what we have," he said. "I don’t want to talk about
specific examples now."

Orinats Yerkir, which claims to have more than 100,000 members, is one
of the main opposition contenders of the polls not least because of
its young leader’s populist appeal and its well-organized grassroots
structures. Tens of thousands of people have attended campaign rallies
held by the party across the country.

In Bisharian’s words, Orinats Yerkir is now more popular than it
was during the last parliamentary elections when it won 22 percent
of the vote. She said its leaders have received "reports" that the
authorities have instructed election officials to steal votes cast
for their party. "If we establish that that is true, we will publicize
the names of those officials," she said.

Bisharian alleged that the Kocharian administration is also planning
to resort to other vote irregularities, notably vote buying. She was
asked in that regard to comment on reports that Samvel Balasanian,
another Orinats Yerkir leader who owns a brewery in Gyumri, offered
local residents beer free of charge on Tuesday.

Bisharian confirmed the beer treat but insisted that it does not
constitute a vote bribe. "Samvel Balasanian opened a plant yesterday
and treated people to beer in connection with the opening," she said.

"That person does charitable work 12 months a year."

Turkish representatives of OSCE/ODIHR monitoring mission on
parliamentary election in Armenia obtained no permit for entry into
republic

Arminfo Agency
2007-05-07 14:37:00

The Turkish representatives of OSCE monitoring mission on
parliamentary election in Armenia obtained no permit for entry into
the republic, media-analyst of OSCE/ODIHR monitoring mission Ivan
Godarsky told ArmInfo.

According to him, the reason for prohibition of entry of the Turkish
observers from OSCE into the country is presently under clarification.

To note, there are 42 OSCE observers in Armenia within the frames of a
long-term monitoring mission. Total of 300 OSCE observes should arrive
in Armenia to carry out a short-term monitoring mission on the
forthcoming parliamentary election.

Stars and Stripes, DC
May 5 2007

Troops from 42 nations network at exercise

By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, May 5, 2007

BAUMHOLDER, Germany – They speak in an obscure language about things
like frequency management and interoperability. Wires are everywhere
around them, running in a tangled web beneath towering antennas and
satellite dishes aimed at the sky.

More than 1,000 communications experts from around the world are busy
in Baumholder, where they’re engaged in a two-week program with a
simple objective.

`It’s all about communication,’ said Navy Lt. Nancy Harrity. `This is
so commanders can talk with their troops in the field. You’ve got so
many different nations here. They come together and learn so much
from each other.’

U.S. European Command is sponsoring the 13th annual Combined
Endeavor, a communications and information systems exercise at Lager
Aulenbach in Baumholder. The exercise includes a forward operating
site at the Air Institute in Yerevan, Armenia. The purpose is to
ensure that systems are ready to operate during deployment,
minimizing the potential for a breakdown in the heat of battle.

For Marines out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., the exercise is that first
opportunity to test a new piece of equipment: the Remote Subscriber
Access Module. The switching device is easy to carry and allows for
multiple telephone functions in the field.

`It’s brand-new. This is our first international exercise and it’s
going well,’ said Marine Sgt. Elisandro Patino, a switch technician
with the 8th Communications Battalion.

The telephone switching machine was introduced in January, Patino
said.

Around the training area in Baumholder, one communication tent backs
up to another. Country flags, as numerous as the languages being
spoken inside the mini-communication compounds, are posted outside
the tents. Some 1,200 personnel from 42 nations are participating in
the exercise. NATO and Partnership for Peace also are taking part.

In one tent, Croatian technicians were sending messages to their
Finnish counterparts in a point-to-point communication test.

`We’re conducting a lot of tests and learning what other nations do,’
said Ivan Puhalo, a second lieutenant in the Croatian army.

It’s not all business, though.

The Croats, in particular, are using the international exercise as an
opportunity to promote tourism back home. Travel brochures are
stacked in their tent and rest near a bottle of wine – a gift from
the French.

`It’s a beautiful country,’ said Puhalo, making his pitch for
Croatia.

Each year, new pieces of technology are incorporated into the
exercise. A decade ago, hand-cranked phones were commonplace in the
field, Harrity noted. But not anymore.

`It’s amazing how quickly the technology has moved forward,’ Harrity
said. `These are the people who make that happen.’

ion=104&article=45640

NEW INITIATIVE GROUPS NOMINATED MASIS MAILIAN AND ARMEN ABGARIAN FOR NKR PRESIDENCY

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
May 4 2007

Today two more initiative groups presented their decisions to nominate
candidates for the NKR Presidency to the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic
Central Electoral Commission. To note, the NKR Presidential elections
will be held in NKR July 19.

The NKR Deputy FM Masis Mailian and a deputy of the Republic National
Assembly Armen Abgarian have been nominated for the NKR Presidency,
the NKR CEC Chair Sergey Nasibian told DE FACTO.

The documents on nominating the Director of the NKR National Security
Service Bako Sahakian, a lecturer of the Artsakh State University
Vanik Avanesian and the NKR Communist Party leader Hrant Melkoumian
were previously presented to the CEC.

The last term for nomination of candidates is May 5, after which the
initiative groups must be registered during three days.

Sergey Nasibian stated the Presidential nominees would be registered
from May 30 to June 19.

All the candidates have been nominated by civil initiative with the
exception of a communist Hrant Melkoumian.