Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

MORE THAN 350 MEETINGS WITH POLITICAL, PUBLIC FIGURES ORGANIZED AT NPC DURING 10 YEARS

Noyan Tapan
May 22 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. "The National Press Club (NPC) founded in
1997 was created "a year after the questionable presidential elections,
when the public, political life had become drowsy and showed no signs
of awakening."

Summing up NPC’s 10-year activity at the May 22 press conference,
Club Chairwoman Narine Mkrtchian said that by founding the club they
tried to show that they believe in viability of country’s democracy and
national values. In N. Mkrtchian’s words, during 10 years, in total,
more than 350 meetings have been organized in NPC with political,
public and cultural figures.

Touching upon NPC’s 10-year activity, Noyan Tapan’s Director, member of
NPC Board Tigran Haroutiunian said that NPC failed to implement some
planned programs due to a number of objective reasons. Nevertheless,
in his words, even if NPC did nothing, only meetings organized with
officials were a step forward, as to receive information from some
politicians was rather a great problem in that period. "We broke
that silence and formed an atmosphere when an official could come
and answer journalists’ questions," T. Haroutiunian said.

TWO WOUNDED IN GYUMRI SHOOTOUT
By Satenik Vantsian in Gyumri

Radio Liberty, Czech rep.
May 21 2007

At least two people were wounded in a weekend gunfight in Armenia’s
second largest city of Gyumri that allegedly involved a son of its
controversial Mayor Vartan Ghukasian.

Law-enforcement authorities promptly launched a criminal investigation
into the shootout that broke out on a street intersection in the city
center on Sunday evening. Prosecutors said two groups of "unknown
individuals" exchanged fire in still uncertain circumstances. "All
necessary measures are being taken to clarify circumstances of
the incident and identify individuals who committed the crime,"
the spokeswoman for the Prosecutor-General’s Office, Sona Truzian,
told RFE/RL on Monday.

According to unconfirmed reports, they were led by Ghukasian’s son
Spartak and Rustam Sargsian, the son of a local businessman and a
local leader of the pro-presidential Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK).

Later on Sunday, police found an expensive SUV which is known to have
been used by Spartak Ghukasian and was apparently involved in the
high-profile incident. The black Hummer was riddled with bullet holes.

Truzian said the car is formally owned by a certain Artyom Ghukasian
but would not specify whether the man is related to the mayor. She
also said that an innocent passerby as well as a 28-year-old man were
wounded in the shootout.

The man, identified as Norayr Aloyan, underwent surgery in a local
hospital and remained in intensive care there on Monday. Members
of the Ghukasian clan could be seen waiting outside the hospital on
Sunday night, suggesting that he might be connected to them.

There were rumors that Sargsian was also injured in the gunfight.

However, the hospital administration insisted that he was not treated
there.

The two families have business interests in Gyumri but have no history
of commercial disputes. Spartak Ghukasian, whose father heads the
regional branch of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party
(HHK), is said to have quarreled with Sargsian in a Gyumri restaurant
earlier this week, allegedly blasting the latter for his family’s
ties with the rival BHK.

Ghukasian is no stranger to controversy, having been repeatedly
implicated in violent incidents periodically reported from Gyumri. A
newspaper last year accused him of bullying and beating a well-known
critic of his equally controversial father. The latter has earned
notoriety for his flamboyant behavior that has occasionally turned
violent.

Less than two months ago Mayor Ghukasian survived an apparent attempt
on his life when unknown gunmen opened fire on his motorcade, killing
three of his bodyguards. Ghukasian is still recovering from a serious
wound sustained in the attack. Nobody has been arrested in connection
with the brazen shooting so far.

The latest incident only added to a widespread sense of insecurity
among residents of Gyumri. One middle-aged woman was at the scene
of the gunfight when it broke out but was too scared to divulge any
details to RFE/RL. "I have a son and don’t want to get him in trouble,"
she explained.

"Law is not enforced here," said another, male resident. "I’m now
scared of going out."

"If they earned a living like ordinary people do, there would never
be such shootings. They’ve got everything and, unlike us, have time
to shoot each other," he added with sarcasm.

Boston Herald, MA
May 20 2007

Death spurs donor registry plea

By Jessica Fargen
Boston Herald Health & Medical Reporter
Sunday, May 20, 2007 – Updated: 12:39 PM EST

Vera Tutunjian was a hardy 84-year-old grandma who survived Armenia’s
20th century horrors only to die from a reaction to a simple blood
transfusion that, although rare, is preventable and remains a silent
threat to the nation’s blood supply.

Her three children are hoping a plan to create a state registry
to track blood donors could save lives.

`We are still in shock over it, that such a thing can even happen
in this day and age of blood transfusions,’ said Allan Tutunjian,
whose mom died in March 2004, hours after a transfusion at Mount
Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. `I’m utterly disgusted and shocked.’

Tutunjian said the hospital told him his mother fell victim to
Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury, or TRALI, the leading cause of
death related to blood transfusions in the nation. It kills 35 to 400
people a year, according to federal figures and experts’ estimates.

Dr. Richard Benjamin, chief medical officer at the national Red
Cross, said TRALI is more of a risk to transfusion recipients than
HIV, which has been virtually eliminated from the blood supply.

`This is the one I’m most scared of,’ he said.

He said TRALI is triggered in about one in 5,000 blood
transfusions, although it rarely kills. It could be prevented with
better screening and a national registry, he said.

Rep. Peter Koutoujian (D-Newton) hopes the creation of a state
registry is a first step. He has filed a bill that would be known as
the Vera Tutunjian Act and would require hospitals to report cases of
TRALI to a Department of Public Health registry. To his knowledge, he
said, no other state has such a registry.

About 20 percent of women who have ever had children carry
antibodies in their blood that, when introduced into certain
recipients’ bodies, can prompt white blood cells to attack their
lungs. There is currently no screening for the antibodies that
trigger TRALI.

Dr. Ella Griffiths, medical director of the blood donor center at
Mount Auburn Hospital, said little is known about TRALI, which was
first described as a condition in the mid-1980s. `You cannot predict
who will get TRALI because there is no good test for TRALI,’ said
Griffiths, who could not comment on Tutunjian’s death because of
patient privacy laws. `It’s difficult to predict who will get it.’

In rare TRALI cases, a patient’s lungs fill with fluid and they
die within hours of the transfusion.

That’s what happened to Vera Tutunjian, who was originally
hospitalized for flulike symptoms, said her daughter, Robin Tutunjian
Hines of Lexington. What makes her death so hard to bear is that it
was a miracle that she was even born, she said. She was born on a
train in Moscow in 1919, as her Armenian parents fled the Turkish
genocide.

`She had a very hard life to start and then to end it so
tragically was just more painful for us to bear,’ she said, adding
that she hopes the registry could one day save some other family from
similar grief. `I’m pleased we can help others.’

Jessica Fargen is the Herald’s health and medical writer. Read her
blog at bostonherald.com or contact her at [email protected].

APPOINTMENTS OF FOREIGN AND DEFENSE MINISTERS ARE PRESIDENT’S PREROGATIVE

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.05.2007 15:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Appointments of foreign and defense ministers are
the prerogative of the RA President, RA NA Speaker, Deputy Chairman
of the Republican Party of Armenia Tigran Torosyan stated to a press
conference in Yerevan. He said, in this case party identification
of ministers is not important. At the same time the Speaker does
not exclude possibility of forming government of national consent,
where representatives of parliamentarian parties will be included.

"Negotiations with parliamentarian groups will launch next week,
and I cannot speak about anything concrete till that moment. RPA is
in favor of cooperation but it is not necessarily in the coalition
format," Torosyan underscored, adding that more parties participate
in cooperation more productive will be the work in the parliament.

Just the other day an ARF Dashnaktsutyun Bureau member answering
the question about possibility to form a coalition on the example
of 2003 stated about creating a government of national consent. RPA
parliamentarian faction head Galoust Sahakyan spoke about the same
idea during his May 17 press conference.

MP DENIES PLANS TO QUIT PARLIAMENT OVER ‘ETHNIC SLUR’

Civil Georgia, Georgia
May 17 2007

Lawmaker from the ruling National Movement party Beso Jugeli denied
speculation on May 17 that he planned to quit the legislative body
after being rebuked by President Saakashvili for his disparaging
comments on ethnic minorities.

Controversy has surrounded Jugeli since he allegedly made remarks in
an interview with Tbilisi-based radio Ucnobi (Unknown) and in another
interview with Imedi TV in April.

The Georgian daily, 24 Saati (24 Hours), ran an op-ed last month
slamming Jugeli for allegedly saying while defending a new tax
scheme for residents of Tbilisi’s Old Town that the proposal "is not
directed against Georgians" because "mainly Armenians, Azerbaijanis,
Kurds and other nationalities live in these historic districts."

In other remarks made to Imedi TV, Jugeli said: "There is no necessity
for Mikirtich [an Armenian name] to always live in Sololaki [a district
in the old part of Tbilisi]."

Jugeli apologized for the latter remarks by saying in an interview
with the Georgian weekly, Kviris Palitra, on April 30 that it was
"a mistake" to say so. "I am a politician and I should not have even
misspoken such a thing. A politician should be careful; but every
one can make a mistake," Jugeli said.

On May 17, Jugeli said that President Saakashvili also told him that
"I made a mistake."

But Jugeli strongly denied making the remarks attributed to him by
24 Saati, which he allegedly voiced in the interview with the radio
station, Ucnobi. A taped interview is not available.

"I have never said anything like this [remarks reported by 24 Saati]…

Why should I quit Parliament?" Jugeli said on May 17.

"I was going to sue the journalist, Eka Kvesitadze, [the author of
the op-ed in 24 Saati]; but I have changed my mind," he added.

"Let him sue; why doesn’t he sue me if he thinks that he is right?"

Eka Kvesitadze told Rustavi 2 TV on May 17.

Key lawmakers from the ruling party also denied the speculations
that Jugeli was pressured by his party colleagues to quit Parliament
because of his remarks.

"I have not heard anything about [Jugeli’s plans to quit Parliament],"
Giga Bokeria, an influential lawmaker from the ruling party, told
Rustavi 2 TV on May 17.

"The major priority of this government has always been the principle
that Georgia belongs to all of its citizen regardless of their ethnic
background. I am sure that Mr. Jugeli also thinks the same way,"
he added.

ON INITIATIVE OF GREENPEACE MODEL OF NOAH’S ARK TO BE PLACED ON BIBLICAL MOUNT ARARAT

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.05.2007 14:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Greenpeace activists have started construction on a
replica of Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat. According to the information
posted on the web-site of Greenpeace, the model of Noah’s Ark will
be constructed 2 500 meters above sea level (Mount Ararat is 5137
in height). It is designed to be a symbol of hope and dramatic plea
to world leaders to take far-reaching and urgent action to avoid
catastrophic global warming. The 10m x 4m x 4m wooden ship, being
constructed by Greenpeace volunteers, will send a strong message to
leaders of all nations that we must act now to tackle global warming
and the impending climate change crisis. A caravan of 40 horses have
hauled the prefabricated wooden sections up Mount Ararat, where work
has now begun on constructing supports as well as the keel and ribs
of the boat. Over the next 2 weeks, a team of 20 German and Turkish
carpenters will complete the construction of the boat, which will be
turned over to the public in an official ceremony on May 31, 2007.

A day before the ceremony, activists will climb the top of Mount Ararat
and call on the leaders of all nations to make climate protection
a reality.

According to the Bible Noah’s ark landed namely on the Mount Ararat
after the Flood.

ARMENIA’S MINISTER OF EDUCATION PARTICIPATES IN CONFERENCE ON BOLOGNA PROCESS

Arka News Agency, Armenia
May 16 2007

YEREVANA, May 16. /ARKA/. RA Minister of Education and Science Levon
Mkrtichyan is to take part in a conference on the Bologna process to
be held in London, May 17-18, 2007.

Press Secretary of the RA Ministry of Education Lilit Galstyan
reported that at the conference Minister Mkrtichyan is to present
the implementation of the Bologna Convention in Armenia, and the
country’s achievements.

"In his report, the Minister will also outline the priority tasks,"
she said.

Galstyan pointed out that a preliminary report on the reforms of
Armenia’s system of higher education was presented in London this
January.

"This document received a rather high appraisal on the part of the
other participants in the Bologna process. Progress has been recorded
in Armenia in some directions," she said.

Over 45 participants in the Bologna process will take part in the
London conference.

The Bologna Convention was signed on September 18, 2002.

Armenia acceded to the convention in 2005.

On November 2, 2006, the Armenian Government approved the schedule of
implementing the realizing the principles of the Bologna convention
in the higher education system.

Armenia is elaborating a national certification system and is working
at a new list of specializations in the higher education system.

AVERAGE SALARY INCREASED IN KARABAGH

DeFacto News Agency, Armenia
May 14 2007

In the first quarter of 2007, 37112 paid employees were registered
in the NKR, which is 2059 (5, 9%) more than the level of the same
period last year.

The number of people engaged in construction increased by 19%, in the
sphere of industry – 10, 6% (476), housing and living service – 10,7%
(128), trade – 5,2% (167), health care – 5% (109), education – 4,3%
(313). About 5 000 people are working at industrial enterprises,
which is 10, 6% more than the last year’s index.

Average salary was 64663, which is 13, 5% more as compared with the
index of the same period last year, National Statistic Service reports.

PanARMENIAN.Net

CSTO open for all: Nikolay Bordyuzha
14.05.2007 16:12 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Any state, including the United States and Iran, may
bid for membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO), Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha said. `We partner with
Iran on drug traffic issues. CSTO is an open organization and if Iran
issues a bid, we will consider it,’ he said, RIA Novosti reports.

Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan are members of the CSTO.

Stratfor
May 13 2007

Armenia: Election Results
May 13, 2007 14 20 GMT

Armenia’s Central Election Commission said May 13 that five parties
have been elected to parliament. According to election results, the
Republican Party of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan received 33.8
percent of the vote, Prosperous Armenia gained 15.1 percent and
Dashnaktsutyun received 13.1 percent; opposition parties Orinats
Yerkir and Heritage got 7 percent and 6 percent, respectively. More
than 2 million voters cast their ballots in the May 12 legislative
polls, in which 21 parties and one coalition were competing for 131
seats.