Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

UNITED STATES SCRUTINIZES INVESTIGATION INTO WRONGDOINGS

Lragir.am
11-06-2007 13:49:27

On June 11 the office of the Millennium Challenge Account Armenia state
non-commercial organization was dedicated, which is located near the
government building, across the office of the Republican Party, hardly
10 or 15 meters away. John Danilovich, CEO MCC, participated in the
ceremony, who has twice visited Armenia and has also written a few
letters to the president of Armenia on the necessity for fair
governance as an important benchmark of the Millennium Challenge
program.

The reporters did not have an opportunity to find out the opinion of
John Danilovich on the program, the continuity and performance to
benchmarks because Danilovich declined to answer their questions, and
the officers of the Millennium Challenge Armenia said there will be no
questions, for it is their style of work. According to the style of
work, the symbolic tape was cut, speeches were made by John Danilovich,
the minister of finance and economy, member of the board of the
Millennium Challenge Account Armenia Vardan Khachatryan, and the
resident country director of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Alex
Russin. Danilovich and Khachatryan cut the tape, then walked about the
office which had been set up earlier but was dedicated on June 11.
After visiting a couple of rooms the reporters and cameramen were asked
out.

As to the thoughts of John Danilovich, an advocate of fair governance,
on fair governance in Armenia, the implementation of the program and
the performance on the benchmarks, the reporters learned from his
speech which was fortunately open for reporters, as well as the press
release of the U.S. Embassy which had informed beforehand what John
Danilovich would be saying. By the way, his address to the ceremony did
not differ from the speech that had been handed over to reporters on
paper. At least, the satisfaction of Danilovich with the implementation
of the Armenian program of the MCC, the efforts of the Armenian
government, Millennium Challenge Account Armenia was expressed in both
the text and his speech. During the address John Danilovich said the
government is fully responsible for the program implemented in its
country. The CEO endorsed the willingness of the Armenian government to
assume responsibility. By the way, the prime minister of Armenia Serge
Sargsyan had been said to take part in the ceremony of opening of the
office with Danilovich but he did not turn up. The minister of finance
and economy Vardan Khachatryan said Serge Sargsyan was absent because
he was busy introducing the new ministers, and he has to visit all the
ministries within a few hours.

The only but perhaps the core difference between the text of the speech
by John Danilovich and the real speech was that the statement on the
full responsibility of the government was absent in the text.
Meanwhile, the statement that made the core idea of the text was not
uttered during the speech. The text held that they welcomed the
Armenian parliamentary elections and congratulate the Armenian people
on a more successful election over the previous elections. These
elections appeared to be progress towards international standards, but
they continue to scrutinize the investigation into reported wrongdoing.
According to the text, the MCC board will make a decision on
eligibility of Armenia as well as all the other countries participating
in the MCC in December.

7 OUT OF 17 MINISTERS IN RA GOVERNMENT ARE NEWLY APPOINTED

YEREVAN, JUNE 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The number of newly appointed Ministers
in RA government is 7, the rest retained their Minister portfolios. At
that, 6 out of 17 Ministers were put forward by RPA, 3 by ARFD, 2 by
Bargavach Hayastan and 6 are non-partisan.

The Ministers offered by RPA are:

Aram Haroutiunian – RA Minister of Nature Protection. He had been
working as RA Minister of Urban Development since 2004 June. He was
born on July 20, 1967 in the village of Yeghvard, Nairi region.

Armen Movsisian – RA Minister of Energy. He has been RA Minister of
Energy since 2001. He is a member of RPA Board. He was born on January
13, 1962 in Ghapan.

Manuk Topuzian – Minister-Chief of RA Government Staff. He has been
taking the post of Minister-Chief of RA Government Staff since 2000
November. He is a member of RPA Board. He was born on March 5, 1949 in
Yerevan.

Hovik Abrahamian – RA Minister of Territorial Administration. He has
been RA Minister of Territorial Administration since 2000. He is a RPA
member. He was born on January 24, 1958 in the village of Mkhchian,
Ararat region.

Andranik Manukian – RA Minister of Transport and Communication. He has
been RA Minister of Transport and Communication since July 2001. He is
a RPA member. He was born in 1954 in the village of Aghavnadzor,
Hrazdan region.

Vardan Khachatrian – RA Minister of Finance and Economy. He has been RA
Minister of Finance and Economy since November 2000 up to present. He
is a RPA member. He was born on April 6, 1959 in the town of Jermuk.

ARFD retained three Minister’s portfolios: the following Ministers were
reappointed from ARFD:

Aghvan Vardanian – RA Minister of Labor and Social Issues. He has been
taking this post since 2003. He is a member of ARFD Supreme Body. He
was born in 1958 in the village of Gemur, Nakhichevan.

David Lokian – RA Minister of Agriculture. He has been taking this post
since June 2003. He was born on January 20, 1958 in the Republic of
Georgia.

Levon Mkrtchian – RA Minister of Education and Science. He has been
taking this post since 2006 May. He is a member of ARFD. He was born on
March 18, 1965 in Yerevan.

The following Ministers were appointed from Bargavach Hayastan Party:

Haroutiun Khushkian – RA Minister of Health. Before taking the post he
was Director General of Erebuni Medical Center CJSC and Nairi Medical
Center CJSC. He was born on April 14, 1956 in Yerevan.

Vardan Vardanian – RA Minister of Urban Development. He was RA Minister
of Transport and Communication in 2004-2007.

The following Ministers are non-partisan:

Mikhail Haroutiunian – RA Defence Minister. In 1994 he was appointed
Head of General Headquarters of RA Armed Forces – First Deputy Defence
Minister and in April 2007 RA Defence Minister. He was born on February
10, 1946 in the village of Sagiyan, Shemakhi region of Azerbaijan.

Nerses Yeritsian – RA Minister of Trade and Economic Development. Since
2003 he had been Adviser to CBA Chairman and since 2005 Acting Head of
Financial Observations Center, too. He was born on February 23, 1971 in
Yerevan.

Gevorg Danielian – RA Justice Minister. He had been RA Deputy
Prosecutor General since 2004. He was born on May 5, 1958 in Yerevan.

Armen Grigorian – RA Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs. He was
Vice-Chairman of Physical Culture and Sport State Committee attached to
RA government in 2003-2007. He was born on February 1, 1961 in Yerevan.

Vartan Oskanian – RA Foreign Minister. He has been RA Foreign Minister
since April 1998. He was born on February 7, 1955 in Aleppo (Syria).

Hasmik Poghosian – RA Minister of Culture. She has been RA Minister of
Culture and Youth Affairs since May 2006. She was born on May 22, 1960
in Yerevan.

JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO 2.5-YEAR IMPRISONMENT

A1+
[04:24 pm] 06 June, 2007

June 6 – Court of First Instance of Erebuni and Nubarashen communities
sentenced Gagik Shamshyan, a press photographer of "Aravot" (Morning)
and "Chorord Ishkhanutyun" (Forth Power) newspapers, to 2.5-year
imprisonment.

Gagik Shamshyan will note be imprisoned. He will be on two-year
probation. Gagik Shamshyan has been fined 200 000 AMD. The money will
be given to Zohrab Ghazaryan, the injured party.

The judge Alexander Azaryan found the accusation submitted by Zohrab
Ghazaryan warranted. To remind, Shamshyan was accused of money
embezzlement (250 thousand AMD).

Gagik Shamshyan can appeal the verdict at the Appellate Court on
criminal issues within 15 days.

Gagik Shamshyan doesn’t admit his guilt. Nevertheless, he is not
going to quash the verdict.

"I am not afraid that the Appellate Court might change the restraint
-preventive punishment. I am content with court employees’ attitude. I
have participated in many trials and observed judges’ unbiased attitude
towards defendants and witnesses," the press photographer said.

According to Shamshyan, the support of mass media representatives
helped him a lot. "I think both the Prosecutor’s Office and the
Police came to realise that they cannot silence journalists through
intimidation and threats. I shall continue my activities without any
sense of fear," said Shamshyan.

OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE: ONE SHOULD NOT EXPECT MUCH FROM MEETING OF PRESIDENTS AS NOT TO BE DISAPPOINTED THEN

ArmInfo
2007-06-05 13:18:00

The main subject of negotiations of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office
Miguel Angel Morainos with Azerbaijani officials was settlement of
the Karabakh conflict, OSCE Chairman-in- Office told journalists
the day before in Baku, the Day.az reports. He said that after Baku,
he will hold negotiations with Armenia’s officials. Following that,
he will meet the presidents in St. Petersburg and will talk about
specific steps.

"I think the favourable moment has come as the parties have never
been so close to the conflict settlement. For myself, I noted the
desire of the Azerbaijani party to make a step forward, but taking
into account the national interests", Moratinos said. He expressed
hope that in Yerevan he will also find understanding and desire
to meet half-way. He also said that the international community is
expecting for good news. "The OSCE countries should try to achieve
peace between these states", Moratinos said. OSCE Chairman-in-Office
did not agree with the opinion that his visit is the last chance for
the conflict settlement. "There is no term "last chance" when resolving
such conflicts". If there is a gold chance, we have to use it.

However, one should not expect much from the meeting of presidents
as not to be disappointed then", M. Moratinos said.

ONE OF NOVELS OF TURKISH WRITER ELIF SHAFAK TO BE TRANSLATED INTO
ARMENIAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 4, NOYAN TAPAN. At the international exhibition-fair of
books held in Salonika Armenian publishers reached an agreement with
their Turkish colleagues to translate one of the novels of Turkish
writer Elif Shafak, which presents the history of an Armenian family
having experienced the Armenian Genocide. As Noyan Tapan correspondent
was informed by Vahan Khachatrian, Chairman of National Association of
Armenian Publishers, it has not been decided yet who will translate the
Turkish writer’s work into Armenian.

V. Khachatrian said that in the recent years countries participating in
international exhibitions provide funds to publishers of another
countries for spreading their literature in various languages. In
particular, at this exhibition Turks offered 2-12 thousand dollars to
publishers of various countries for translation of each of their books.

European countries also implement similar programs in Armenia.
Particularly, over the past 15 years nearly 150 books were published by
Frenchmen. "It is time that the Armenian authorities also provide funds
for this purpose, in order to spread works of Armenian writers in
various languages all over the world," V. Khachatrian said.

Levon Zurabyan: One of the purposes of the report is to understand the
current reality

02-06-2007 13:36:08 – KarabakhOpen

We have learned from the media that the International Crisis Group is
preparing a new report on Karabakh. The KarabakhOpen asked Levon
Zurabyan, Armenian analyst for ICG, to comment.

KO: Mr.Zurabyan, the media reported that the ICG is preparing a new
report on Karabakh. Do you know whether there will be new proposals
and what principles will underlie them?

About a year and a half has passed since the first two reports of the
ICG on Nagorno-Karabakh. Necessity occurred to analyze the political
developments regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh problem over the past
period. The new report is intended to study the Prague process, as
well as the new tendencies of the dynamics of the settlement of the
conflict. As usual, the ICG will put forward proposals intended to
promote the peace process and prevent undesirable tendencies which
may lead to aggravation.

KO: What is the methodology of the reports of the ICG and what role do
experts have?

The ICG reports are collaborations. A number of ICG experts are
involved in drafting reports, including those who constantly track the
developments at places, analyze the conflicts in the context of global
political processes. The ICG analysts working on the report study
significant media reports, meet with state, political and civil
society activists, representatives of NGOs of both the conflict
parties and the international community, experts. The ICG experts
draft the report relying on this work. The ICG leadership also works
on it, and the final draft of the report, which is the product of
teamwork, is released as an official document of the ICG.

KO: The chair of the NKR parliament’s Committee on External Relations
Vahram Atanesyan says the Karabakh experts did not make observations
regarding the draft reports of the ICG. Is it true?

No, collaboration with experts representing the conflict sides is an
important part of the activities of the ICG, because it allows getting
acquainted with the arguments and stances of the sides. For this
purpose a working meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani experts was held
in Tbilisi in 2005. Experts from Nagorno-Karabakh participated as
well. The experts from Nagorno-Karabakh were not only active during
the meeting but also after the meeting, sending comments to the ICG by
email, I would say a record amount of comments on the draft project
which dwelled on the stances and arguments of the Karabakh side. It
is a correct approach for all the participants of the discussions,
providing the objectivity of reports of the ICG.

KO: One more question. Many related the principles underlying the ICG
reports to Sabine Freiser and the reality then. Now the director of
the ICG’s Caucasian program has been replaced. Has the approach
towards the Karabakh problem changed connected with the change in the
political conjuncture?

I already said the ICG’s reports are collaborative, based on thorough
discussions, editing and verification of information. Therefore, the
ICG’s reports need not be personified. As to the change of the
political reality, it is by all means reflected in the approach of the
international community towards the resolution of one conflict or
another. One of the purposes of the report is to understand the
current reality regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

By the way, after the release of the ICG reports the NKR foreign
ministry released comments expressing its standpoint regarding the
proposals offered by the ICG.

RUSSIA JURY ACQUITS KILLER OF ARMENIAN YOUTH

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
June 1, 2007 Friday

MOSCOW, June 1 (ITAR-TASS) – A jury in the Moscow regional court has
passed an acquitting verdict in a criminal case on the murder of an
Armenian, Artur Sardaryan.

"The jurors by a majority vote found that the guilt of the defendant
was not proved, and passed an acquitting verdict," a court spokesman
told ITAR-TASS on Friday.

Two young men attacked Sardaryan, 19, in a commuter train bound from
Moscow to Sofrino from ethnic hate.

One of them stabbed Sardaryan with a knife in the neck five times,
from which the youth died on the spot.

The identity of the other attacker was not established.

IF THE ST. PETERSBURG MEETING IS SUCCESSFUL, DIFFERENCES ON BASIC PRINCIPLES COULD BE REDUCED TO CLOSE TO ZERO, M. BRYZA SAYS

ArmInfo
2007-06-01 16:36:00

Armenia and Azerbaijan have made substantial progress toward a
settlement on control of a disputed territory, the chief U.S. mediator
in the talks told the Associated Press.

After more than a decade of efforts by international mediators to
broker a deal on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani
and Armenian presidents are close to solving most remaining obstacles
to an agreement on basic principles, according to Matthew Bryza,
U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state.

President Ilham Aliev of Azerbaijan and Armenian President Robert
Kocharian are expected to focus on the sticking points during
talks in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 9. "If the St. Petersburg
meeting is successful, then the number of differences remaining
on basic principles could be reduced to close to zero," Bryza told
The Associated Press. Diplomats from the so-called Minsk group of
mediators from Russia, France and the United States have in the past
expressed optimism toward breakthroughs on the difficult dispute only
to see negotiations turn backward.

Despite signs of progress in the talks, tensions in the region
remain high.

Azerbaijan has been building up its military as its economy has
boomed from oil revenues at one of the fastest clips of any in the
world. It controls portions of the Caspian Sea, on its eastern
fringe, which has some of the largest oil and gas fields in the
former Soviet Union. Bryza would not identify the unresolved issues,
but he outlined some of the basic principles already reached for
a potential resolution. The two sides have agreed on the return of
districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh that are also under ethnic
Armenian control.

Bryza would not say whether there is an agreement on the return of
refugees to the region or on any compensation for those who fled
the territory.

Negotiators have agreed that a settlement would stipulate that a vote
would be held in the future on the territory’s status, but they have
not yet agreed on the timing of the poll or the details of who would
be entitled to vote.

An international peacekeeping force would be present during the interim
period before the vote, and a land corridor would be established
from the territory to Armenia, open to ethnic Armenians living in
Nagorno-Karabakh. Bryza praised the two sides for making progress on
an issue that stirs passions within both countries.

"The leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan should be lauded for their
courage in trying to bring stability and prosperity to their peoples,"
he said.

ARMENIAN COALITION GOVERNMENT TO CONTINUE ECONOMIC REFORMS – PRESIDENT

Arminfo
30 May 07

Yerevan, 30 May: The results of the [12 May] parliamentary election in
Armenia bring forth certainty that the policy of reforms will continue
in the republic. Armenian President Kocharyan said this today at the
sitting of the Nuclear Power Security Council.

The president believes that the ruling coalition in the country has
again proved its mandate of trust. Kocharyan presented new Prime
Minister Serzh Sargsyan to the participants and reminded that he
[Sargsyan] has long been in the government. He has worked in the
field of security, defence and interior since 1993.

"Serzh Sargsyan is familiar with all economic reforms, and there
is certainty in this context that the reforms will continue," the
president said. He added that after the constitutional reforms, the
Armenian government has greatly distanced from the president and is
mainly a subject that implements the economic policy in the country.

IMF: ARMENIA IS LEADING IN THE REGION WITH MACROECONOMIC INDICES

ArmRadio.am
30.05.2007 15:38

The average economic growth in the countries of the South Caucasus and
Central Asia has exceeded 10% during the past four years, David Owen,
Senior Adviser of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Department
on Middle East and Central Asia, declared in Yerevan today.

In his words, with the economic development index Armenia is one of
the leaders among the countries that do not produce oil. "Armenia’s
macroeconomic growth has been 13% on the average during the past four
years," said David Owen.

He noted that due to the growth of export, flow of foreign capital
and direct investments in the first quarter of 2007 Armenia’s economic
growth has exceeded the 10% envisaged by the budget.

The IMF representative said the majority of the countries have
constrained the nominal appreciation of the national currency rate
against USD, and Armenia is the leader in this regard (25%). In David
Owens’s words, this fact had a considerable and important impact on
the macroeconomic indices of the country.

During the past two years real appreciation of national currency
has occurred in almost all the countries of the region. "Due to
the flexible policy of the Central Bank, the index reached 16.9%
in Armenia," Mr. Owen said.

According to the IMF representative, further constructive reforms
of the Armenian Government will enhance the competitiveness of the
country and will promote the growth of export rates.