Author: Zaminian Bedik

NEW CARDIOLOGY CENTER CONSTRUCTED IN SYUNIK

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
11.06.2009 17:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Hayastan All Armenian Fund has begun construction
of a cardiology center in Armenia’s Syunik Region. The facility,
to be built in Akner, a community adjoining the City of Goris, will
be affiliated with Yerevan’s Center of Cardiology. The new hospital
will be the only one of its kind serving southern Armenia and Artsakh.

The project, with an initial cost estimate of approximately
U.S. $820,000, is financed by the fund’s French affiliate;
the French-Armenian Doctors’ Association (Association de Sante
Franco-Armenienne), based in Marseille; and the department of
Bouches-du-Rhône, a major administrative area in the south of
France. A considerable portion of the amount was bequeathed to the
fund by French-Armenian benefactor Krikor Shahinian.

"This trilateral collaboration, forged in Bouches-du-Rhône, one of
France’s largest departments, is further proof of the great trust
enjoyed by the Hayastan All Armenian Fund in the French-Armenian
community as well as with French regional authorities," said Bedros
Terzian, chair of the fund’s French affiliate.

The construction of the two-story cardiology center started in
May and currently its foundations are being laid. When completed,
the hospital will have a main ward with 16 beds and a polyclinic
capable of accommodating 20 ambulatory patients per day. In addition,
the grounds surrounding the future hospital will undergo extensive
landscaping, including the planting of trees.

According to Spartak Minasyan, mayor of Akner, the establishment
of the cardiology center will lead to the creation of ancillary
businesses and jobs in the area, fostering economic development in
neighboring communities.

"The availability of a full-fledged cardiology center in Syunik means
that patients in the region as well as Artsakh will have access to
high-quality healthcare locally and will no longer need to travel to
Yerevan to receive treatment," said Ara Vardanyan, executive director
of the Hayastan All Armenian Fund.

HAYASTAN ALL ARMENIAN FUND CONSTRUCTS A CARDIOLOGY CENTRE IN THE REGION OF SYUNIK

LRAGIR.AM
13:21:24 – 11/06/2009

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has begun construction of a cardiology
center in the Akner community, which is situated near the city
of Goris. The hospital will be affiliated with Yerevan’s Center of
Cardiology. The new hospital will be the only one of its kind serving
southern Armenia and Artsakh.

The program (initial cost 820 000 dollars) will be financed by the
fund’s French affiliate; the French-Armenian Doctors’ Association,
situated in Marseille and the Bouches-du-Rhône region of France. A
considerable portion of the sum was bequeathed to the fund by the
Armenian benefactor from France Grigor Shahinyan.

The construction of the two-story hospital was launched in May and
currently its foundations are being laid. The cardiology hospital will
have a main ward, a polyclinic, which will accommodate 20 ambulatory
patients per day. The area surrounding the hospital will undergo
landscaping and greening; the Hayastan All Armenian Fund reports.

AN ARMENIAN FROM TEXAS PROMOTES INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN FARAWAY GYUMRI
by Taleen Babayan

/article/2009-06-10-an-armenian-from-texas-promote s-information-technology-in-faraway-gyumri&pg= 2
Wednesday June 10, 2009

Gyumri, Armenia – Life in Gyumri is a far cry from life in Texas for
Jason Paul Kazarian. But when the opportunity arose to fill the vacant
executive director position at the Gyumri Information Technologies
Center (GITC/GTech), he accepted it without hesitation.

Moving 5,000 miles away from his home country provided quite
the lifestyle change for Mr. Kazarian, both professionally and
personally. But the vision and goals he had for GITC prompted his
move and have remained his priority.

Each day for him at GITC – a competitive post-graduate IT institution
– varies. On Mondays, he teaches a class for students working on
their thesis projects and helps them with the organization of their
papers including the format, thesis, thesis chapters, and gives
overall guidance to the 20 students so they can graduate on July
14. Mr. Kazarian also makes it a point for himself to travel out
of Gyumri into Yerevan to do development work and build partnerships
between the IT industry and GITC. There he frequently visits the office
of the Fund for Armenian Relief. He also spends his time writing grant
proposals and finding sources of revenue, in addition to supervising
GITC’s employees.

Founded in August 2005, GITC promotes the IT industry, drives the
formation of an IT infrastructure and promotes employment opportunities
in this area devastated by the major earthquake in 1988. GITC has
graduated about 50 young adults. In exchange for nearly free training,
students commit to remain in the Gyumri region for two years following
graduation.

The cultural differences between Armenia and the United States are
ones Mr. Kazarian has observed while living in Gyumri. "The way women
and men engage with each other is similar to the US in the 1950s,"
said Mr. Kazarian. "The women’s lib movement hasn’t taken full effect,
although it seems it’s going to happen with the current generation
who are 25 and under. I’m seeing a modern mindset in some of them,"
he said, noting that Gyumri is a mix of eastern and western cultures.

"It’s interesting to look at our students because they have a
provincial mindset. Gyumri has a population of 150,000 people and
there’s a prevailing village mentality," said Mr. Kazarian, who has
a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in computer science.

Moving across the world naturally poses many challenges and obstacles
to complete even the simplest tasks. "There’s not an open market for
rental property," said Mr. Kazarian, who had to hunt for a place to
live when he first moved to Gyumri. "Something as simple as finding
a place to live is basically done by word of mouth."

He compared Gyumri to most European cities where it’s very
compact. Mr. Kazarian walks 20 minutes to work every day and doesn’t
need a car to get around, as it’s easy to get everywhere on foot.

Originally from California, Mr. Kazarian lived the last 14 years in
Texas. He has been in software development for about 25 years and
spent three years in industrial education in technical topics such as
telecommunications and software development. Prior to joining GITC,
he worked six years as an independent contractor for multiple customers
and owned a boutique IT company.

Mr. Kazarian’s vision for GITC is three-fold. He wants to modify
the curriculum so that there are no prerequisites to complete
before enrolling in GITC, other than earning a degree from a public
institution. He would also like to hire local Gyumri-based full time
faculty which both reduces expenses and improves the quality of student
life. "Now we have instructors who commute from Yerevan and come once
a week," said Mr. Kazarian. "There is no opportunity for students to
interact with their teachers. Having our own faculty will also make it
easier for students to get help on projects and homework assignments
during the week."

He sees GITC moving from an academic model to a vocational and
certification model of training which is more job-focused and will
be more beneficial to students who don’t want a college degree but
want to work in a technical discipline. "The vision is going towards
that direction. We are targeting people that don’t have those kind
of resources and are being ignored by the rest of the educational
community," said Kazarian.

In addition, Mr. Kazarian wants GITC to engage with more Americans,
in particular, American-Armenian companies and have GITC students
perform outsourcing and off shoring work for them. "We need to build
bridges with these companies who are moving in that [off shoring]
direction, especially with the recession we have going on in the US,"
said Mr. Kazarian.

"Armenia is an optimum market for generating wealth through
intellectual property. Salaries paid for talented technical
specialists are reasonable, even when compared with Chinese and Indian
markets. Dozens of companies are engaged in hardware and software
product development for export, including National Instruments and
Virage Logic. Some organizations, Epygi and Synopsys to name just two,
are betting the entire company’s future on Armenian based talent –
and winning. GITC is becoming a bridge to Gyumri for companies like
this and many others. I would love to see this opportunity – GITC,
explored and supported by, especially, young generation of Armenians
from the diaspora."

Mr. Kazarian is indeed enjoying his position at GITC and living in
Gyumri. Two of his favorite things in Gyumri are the weather, which
he said is comparable to Denver, and the healthier food, including
the locally grown organic fruits and vegetables.

Gyumri, located 75 miles outside of Yerevan, is the second largest
city in Armenia, and has made substantial progress since it was
hard hit with the earthquake in 1988. The calamity took the lives of
50,000 people and injured scores of others. "One of the big changes
is the amount of construction since I was here in December 2006 to
today. There are buildings popping up everywhere. I’ve seen 3 or 4
multi-story large buildings go up in spaces that were vacant in a
little over 2 years. Earthquake-wise, they’re rebuilding the original
Armenian Church, and the project is coming along. There have been a
lot of changes. It doesn’t look anything like it did, five, or even
two years ago."

There are many things Mr. Kazarian wants to accomplish as executive
director of GITC, including starting a full-time faculty, hopefully
with the participation of diaspora Armenians. "I wish I could encourage
people in the IT industry who want to become educators to come and
teach at GITC," said Mr. Kazarian. "If we had half a dozen people
who would be willing to move here for a year or two, we would have a
cutting edge educational institution. We would like to have people
from the diaspora to come here and do something different than a
typical nine-to-five job."

Mr. Kazarian’s friend from Texas, Ken Maranian, participated in FAR’s
Young Professional’s Trip to Armenia in the summer of 2006 and had an
incredible experience that he shared with Mr. Kazarian once he returned
to Texas. Mr. Kazarian was interested in Mr. Maranian’s experience
with GITC and contacted FAR to start volunteering and teaching part
time. "When I came back and told my parish about the trip and how
wonderful and promising it was, Jason got in touch with FAR and started
teaching there," said Mr. Maranian. "We’re really proud of him."

Patrick Sarkissian, one of the founders of GITC said he is proud
of having Jason as the executive director of GITC. "As a fellow
American-Armenian, I am amazed by Jason’s sacrifice and dedication. As
a colleague from the IT industry – I am impressed with his talents and
capabilities," said Mr. Sarkissian. "He is bringing Western business
ethics and culture to GITC."

While there may have been no hesitance on Mr. Kazarian’s part when
he assumed the executive director position at GITC, the staff was
concerned whether he would be able to adjust to the realities of life
and culture in Gyumri. Those concerns, however, eventually faded. "We
thank God Jason is with GITC," said Amalya Yeghoyan, deputy executive
director of GITC. "Students admire him, even though he is a tough and
very demanding teacher, and the staff owes him a lot for an incredible
learning curve we have gone through under his leadership. Jason is
an excellent example of what diaspora Armenian could do in Armenia."

"Jason is helping the young talents in an area devastated by the
earthquake to regain hope for a better future," said Mr. Sarkissian.

GOVERNMENT TO BAN CASINOS IN YEREVAN STARTING IN 2013

2009/06/11 | 18:18

Economy

RoA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan stated today that the government,
backed by President Sargsyan, has decided to outlaw casinos and gaming
parlors in all but designated areas of Armenia as of January 1, 2013.

Areas where such establishments will be allowed include Tzaghkadzor,
Sevan and Jermouk. PM Sargsyan said that this would allow the
development of quality entertainment centrs in tourist areas and
developed sites.

He also said that the government would take a serious look at projects
by investors in this sector totally $100 million or more.

HERITAGE PARTY MP – ARMENIAN MEDIA MUST USE CORRECT MAP OF THE NKR
Shushan Stepanyan

/
2009/06/10 | 19:06

Important Society

At a National Assembly question and answer period held today, Heritage
Party Deputy Stoypa Safaryan touched upon the unprecedented number
of journalists assaulted during the 2008-2009 period.

He mentioned the incidents involving Gagik Shamshyan, Lousineh
Barseghyan, Gohar Veziryan, Edik Baghdasaryan, Argishti Kiviryan and
Nver Mnatsakanyan.

We would have hoped that the government felt the responsibility to
inform us and the public as to how the criminal processes in these
cases is proceeding and if the assailants haven’t been revealed,
why haven’t they?" Mr. Safaryan asked.

Turning to the Karabakh issue, Heritage Party Deputy Larisa Alaverdyan
took up the issue of the map of the NKR used in Armenia. She said that
she had been pursuing the matter for the past four months with the
government without any official reply. Deputy Alaverdyan noted that
only the ALM TV station uses the map printed by the RoA government
that shows a united NKR and RoA.

"This has the force of a document even though the map displayed on
the presidential website is the 1989 map. When will the other mass
media in Armenia stop using maps that do not correspond to current
reality," Deputy Safaryan asked.

RoA Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan said that he would review
the matter with the State Property Registry to see all the legal
ramifications involved.

Deputy Alaverdyan was not satisfied with the deputy prime minister’s
answer. Holding up a copy of the government printed map she said,
"This map is included in the national atlas published in Armenia and
serves as a document of sorts. For the past ten years we have not
only been trampling the NKR constitution underfoot but the agreed
protocol here. A review of the matter isn’t an acceptable answer for
me. Either the rule of law works or it doesn’t."

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL DODGES BOXER QUESTION ON AZERI THREATS

epartment-official-dodges-boxer-question-on-azeri- threats/
Jun 10, 2009

Praises Azeri President for "Good Faith" Efforts

WASHINGTON-A senior State Department nominee, under questioning
from Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) as part of his Senate confirmation
process, avoided her direct question about Azerbaijan’s pattern of
military threats against Nagorno Karabakh, choosing instead to respond
by praising Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for cooperating in
"good faith" with the Karabakh peace process, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA).

"Remaining silent on Azerbaijan’s war threats – particularly when
these warnings of war are raised in such a direct, well-documented,
and public manner before the United States Senate – only emboldens
leaders in Baku to continue down the path to renewed aggression,"
said Aram Hamparian, ANCA Executive Director. "The unwillingness
of our State Department to publicly confront these open threats is
inconsistent with our role as an honest broker in the Nagorno Karabakh
peace process, and, ultimately, undermines the prospects for a durable
settlement of this conflict."

The nominee, Andrew Shapiro appeared before the panel, which was
chaired by Senator Boxer, on June 3rd, and submitted his written
responses to her questions earlier this week. Shapiro has been
nominated by President Obama to serve as Assistant Secretary of
State for Political-Military affairs at the State Department. He
currently serves as a Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton. Prior to this position, he served for eight years as the
Senior Defense and Foreign Policy Advisor for then-Senator Clinton.

Senator Boxer also asked Shapiro about the Administration’s proposal to
break the longstanding Congressional policy of maintaining military aid
parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Shapiro responded by justifying
this recommendation that the Congress enact an unprecedented tilt in
military aid toward Baku by noting that, unlike Armenia, "Azerbaijan
has a large naval and maritime security component in order to help
secure energy transit routes, and to counter proliferation and drug
trafficking on the Caspian Sea."

The full text of the Boxer-Shapiro written exchange is provided below.

Questions for the Record Submitted to Assistant Secretary – Designate
Andrew Shapiro by Senator Barbara Boxer (#1) Senate Foreign Relations
Committee June 3, 2009 Question: In October 1992, Congress enacted the
FREEDOM Support Act, which authorizes assistance to the independent
states of the former Soviet Union.

The Act included a restriction on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan until
the President determines, that "the Government of Azerbaijan is taking
demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses
of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh."

But the 2002 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act included language
giving the President the authority to waive this restriction if he
determines and certifies to Congress that U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan
will, among other things, "not undermine ongoing efforts to negotiate
a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan."

Many of my constituents are concerned that this waiver continues
to be used despite the fact that the Government of Azerbaijani has
repeatedly suggested that violence should be used to resolve the
longstanding conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

In March 2008, Azerbaijani President Aliyev said that his country was
ready to take back Nagorno-Karabakh by force if necessary and that
"we have been buying military machinery, airplanes and ammunition to
be ready to liberate the occupied territories, and we are ready to
do this."

In June 2008 at a military parade, President Aliyev stated that
"we should be ready to liberate our territories by military force at
any moment."

And in an October 2008 speech, President Aliyev pledged to "follow
a policy of a total offensive" against neighboring Armenia in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

I find these statements extremely disconcerting, particularly as
President Obama’s budget calls for an increase from $18.5 million to
$22.1 million in U.S. aid to Azerbaijan.

Do you believe President Aliyev’s comments undermine efforts to
negotiate a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan?

Are you concerned by Azerbaijan’s repeated calls to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by military means? What, if anything,
does this mean for continued U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan?

Answer:

Since November of 2008, there has been an unprecedented
diplomatic effort by the OSCE Minsk Group, of which the United
States is a co-chair, to advance a political settlement of the
conflict. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has cooperated in good
faith with all of these efforts. In November 2008, President Aliyev
joined Armenian President Serzh Sargsian and Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev in signing a declaration reaffirming their commitment to
a political settlement of the conflict – the first document signed
jointly by Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents since 1994. Since
then, President Aliyev has met personally with President Sargsian in
Switzerland on the margins of the World Economic Forum, in Prague at
the EU Eastern Partnership Summit, and in St. Petersburg.

We are committed to working with both sides on the issue of Nagorno
Karabakh to find a peaceful, just, and lasting settlement. Assistance
provided to Armenia and Azerbaijan in the interim will not undermine
ongoing efforts to negotiate a settlement between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, but will instead contribute to shared security interests
like peacekeeping operations, maritime security, and defense reform
and modernization.

Questions for the Record Submitted to Assistant Secretary – Designate
Andrew Shapiro by Senator Barbara Boxer (#2) Senate Foreign Relations
Committee June 3, 2009

Question:

In its FY 2010 budget request, the Administration requested $4 million
in Foreign Military Financing for Azerbaijan and only $3 million
for Armenia. It also requested $900,000 in International Military
Education and Training funding for Azerbaijan and $450,000 for Armenia.

This appears to break the longstanding congressional policy of
maintaining military aid parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan. What
is the justification for these aid levels?

Answer:

Military assistance levels for both Armenia and Azerbaijan are
carefully considered to ensure they do not affect the region’s
military balance or undermine efforts for a peaceful settlement in
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Our assistance to Azerbaijan has a large naval and maritime security
component in order to help secure energy transit routes, and to
counter proliferation and drug trafficking on the Caspian Sea. Military
assistance to Armenia does not have a naval component. The requested
military assistance levels for Azerbaijan recognize this fact.

ARMENIAN AND ESTONIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS SCHEDULED THEIR FIRST CONSULTATIONS IN AUTUMN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
11.06.2009 13:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia attaches major importance to development
of relations with Estonia, specifically, to bilateral collaboration
within eurostructures’ framework, RA Foreign Minster Edward Nalbandian
told at a join news conference attended by Estonian Foreign Minister
Urmas Paet.

According to Nalbandian, it’s important to develop of relations between
Yerevan and Tallinn in all spheres. RA FM thanked his colleague for
help in opening of Yerevan Diplomatic Academy.

In his turn, Estonian FM emphasized that his country intend
to establish mutually beneficial economic collaboration with
Armenia. Today’s Armenian-Estonian business forum will serve this
purpose. According to Urmas Paet, as a result of negotiations,
Armenian-Estonian political consultations are due in autumn 2009
in Yerevan.

LARISA ALAVERDIAN: STOPPING OF FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE’S ACTIVITY WILL HAVE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON ARMENIA’S PUBLIC-POLITICAL PROCESSES

NOYAN TAPAN
JUNE 10, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The dissolution of the fact-finding
committee of experts on study of the 2008 March 1-2 events will have a
deep negative impact on Armenia’s political-public processes. Larisa
Alaverdian, the Secretary of the RA National Assembly Zharangutiun
(Heritage) faction, expressed such an opinion at the June 10 press
conference. In her words, the main reason of fact-finding committee’s
establishment was that society did not trust the law enforcement
bodies, and a new, public structure was needed for disclosing the
March 1-2 events.

"If Serzh Sargsyan had proper will to create the fact-finding
committee, he should have waited for the end of committee’s work,"
L. Alaverdian said. In her words, the current authorities stopped
committee’s activity not to disclose former authorities’ acts. "The
current authorities just do not want to harm the former ones," the
deputy said.

L. Alaverdian confirmed Zharangutiun’s decision to present committee’s
negative facts to the public in case fact-finding committee’s activity
is stopped. She added that those facts should become public ownership
without fail, as the people has the right to learn them.

Speaking about Zharangutiun faction member Zaruhi Postanjian’s
estimation on Armenian National Congress that "ANC is not a
fully-fledged force," L. Alaverdian stated that it was criticism
done for the purpose of strengthening the opposition sphere.

ORANGE ARMENIA TO START PROVIDING INTERNET AND MOBILE COMMUNICATION SERVICES IN LAST QUARTER OF 2009

Noyan Tapan
June 9, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 9, NOYAN TAPAN. Orange Armenia company will start
providing Internet and mobile communication services in the last
quarter of this year, Orange company’s Vice President for Europe
Olaf Swantee said during the June 9 meeting with Armenian Minister of
Transport and Communication Gurgen Sargsyan. According to O. Swantee,
there is a great opportunity to begin successful business in Armenia,
and Orange Armenia aims to get a reputation of a leader and an
innovator in the country. In order to reach this goal, it envisages
investing 80 million euros and creating 400 jobs. O. Swantee added
that assistance of RA Ministry of Transport and Communiction is of
great importance for solution of some problems.

G. Sargsyan in his turn stated that the Ministry of Transport and
Communication does everything possible within its jurisdiction to
advance efficient operation of the company. In particular, there is
an agreement to meet with Director of Orange Armenia Bruno Dutois on
the last working day of each week to discuss the work done and the
problems arisen. "I think that this form of direct contact creates
quite favorable conditions for implementation of efficient work,"
the minister said.

U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY STARTS HIS FOREIGN VISITS FROM ARMENIA

Panorama.am
15:57 09/06/2009

The Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan received today the
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Dr. Philip Gordon, the MFA press
and information department reports.

Greeting the guest, the Foreign Minister said that Armenia, signifying
relations with America, pursues the development and improvement of
those relations with the U.S.

Dr. Philip Gordon emphasized that the U.S. signifies strengthening
cooperation with Armenia, and the evidence to it is the fact that
the Assistant Secretary started his foreign visits from Armenia.

The parties have discussed a wide rage of questions, including the
future development of the Armenian-American relations, Millennium
Challenges project activities, the reforms in Armenia towards the
democracy, as well as Artsakh issue.