Category: News

PRESS RELEASE
December 22, 2004
Junior Achievement of Armenia
1102 North Brand Blvd. #61
Glendale, CA 91202
Contact: Beth Broussalian Tel/Fax: 858-792-4656
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
Ani Darakdjian Named US Director of JAA;
JAA Programs Now Reach 170,000 Youth Annually
Los Angeles, CA – The Board of Directors of Junior Achievement
of Armenia (JAA) has named Ani Darakdjian its US Director, a new
full-time post based in Los Angeles, California.
“The appointment of Ani Darakdjian as US Director marks a significant
development in the history of our organization,” commented Armine
Hovannisian, JAA’s Executive Director. “She is the perfect addition to
the JAA family and comes on board at a time when our growth presents
new and exciting challenges.”
Ms. Darakdjian’s responsibilities cover the entire spectrum of JAA’s
stateside operation, including financial management, collaborating
with JAA’s Armenia-based staff to coordinate and manage all programs
and activities, and actively pursuing new sources of funding for
the organization.
“The establishment of a US Director position is a testament to JAA’s
continued commitment to achieving excellence both in programming
and in organizational operations,” said Jack Berberian, President
of the JAA Board of Directors. “Our program in Armenia is one of
the largest Junior Achievement affiliates in the world, with awards
ranging from innovation to quality. As we reach for the next level, we
are ensuring that Armenia’s youth has every opportunity to receive the
best education possible, to enjoy engaging extracurricular activities,
and to participate in global activities through the programs of Junior
Achievement Worldwide.”
Ms. Darakdjian comes to JAA after an exhaustive nationwide search that
produced many impressive candidates. Her resume stood out among the
dozens received because of her exceptional professional and academic
accomplishments. Her career spans corporate consulting, business
development and international affairs, including experience both in
the US and Europe in economic development and international trade.
She holds an MBA in Finance and Management as well as a Master of
International Affairs, both from Columbia University.
“It’s a privilege to contribute to Armenia’s economic and political
development in this capacity,” said Ms. Darakdjian. “The work of this
organization – instilling in Armenia’s youth the values and principles
of democracy, social responsibility and ethical free enterprise –
is essential to building a strong foundation for the country’s future.”
The hiring of Ms. Darakdjian comes amidst the expansion of JAA’s
vital and much-lauded work in Armenia, which today reaches 170,000
annually through both its economics and civics courses.
In 2005, JAA will sustain and expand its economics courses (currently
in 500 high schools), launch the expansion of civics education and
instruction in Armenia’s Pedagogical Institutes, train future civics
instructors, and continue to offer quality extracurricular activities
that enhance both economics and civics education.
The future of the civics program is secure. JAA has successfully
rolled out its civics program to all of the country’s high schools.
With the conclusion of its current USAID grant in 2005, the Armenian
Ministry of Education and Science will assume the administrative and
financial responsibilities of the program in the 8th, 9th and 10th
grades. JAA will continue to play a critical role in civics education
by providing advanced teacher training, innovative extracurricular
programs, increased access to the Internet, international competitions,
and supplemental civics materials.
To support both economics and civics programs, JAA must actively seek
public and private funding to expand the program.
With JAA’s proven track record, the organization has recently been
selected to partner with the Academy for Educational Development
(AED), one of the world’s foremost organizations dedicated to improving
education, leadership capabilities and economic opportunities around
the world. The goal of this new collaboration is to develop young
leaders as catalysts for change.
Junior Achievement of Armenia was established in 1992 to assist
Armenia’s transition to democratic governance and a free-market
economy. JAA’s mission is to give today’s Armenian youth the necessary
skills and knowledge to compete and succeed in tomorrow’s world.
The mission is accomplished through economics and civics education.
Today, this award-winning program reaches more than 170,000 students in
all 1400 of Armenia’s high schools. By 2005, nearly 20% of the total
population will have taken a course taught by a JAA-trained teacher.
For additional information, please call (818) 753-4997 or visit JAA’s
website at
###
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Sunday, December 19, 2004
*********************************
TRANSLATION FROM ARPIAR ARPIARIAN
***********************************************
“We sent our representatives all the way to Berlin to liberate us from the yoke of Kurdish and Turkish bloodsuckers, as if our own bloodsuckers were not worse than any Kurd or Turk.”
*
There are two things on which our turn-of-the century writers agree: the detestable nature of our bourgeoisie in Istanbul and the suffocating influence of the clergy in the provinces. To which I can only add: the more things change, the more they stay the same.
*
FOR OR AGAINST
**************************
Others may speak of their silent majority; we can speak only of an indifferent one.
*
Agreement and disagreement in our context might as well be meaningless. For everyone who agrees with you, there may be 2 or even 22 who may disagree, and 222 who will not give a damn one way or the other.
*
But when two schmucks agree, they assume they have achieved national consensus.
*
IMAGINARY INTERVIEW
*******************************
-Your greatest mistake?
-Being born an Armenian.
-Your second greatest mistake?
-Writing for Armenians.
-Why is that a mistake?
-It’s like writing for an army of Napoleons?
-Why Napoleons?
-Make it, lunatics who think they are Napoleons.
#
Monday, December 20, 2004
************************************
The central concern of all intellectual labor is human nature. “Scientific experience,” writes Spengler, “is spiritual self-knowledge.”
*
By devising extensions of the human body, technology reveals the secret direction of our desires.
*
To say that psychology, historiography, mythology, philosophy, sociology and the writing of fiction share in common an interest in human nature is to say the obvious.
*
Consider the following thought by Freud as a case in point: “It is not our hatred of our enemies that harms us: it is our hatred for the people we really love that destroys us.” What better key to our own history or status as perennial losers and victims!
*
The following passage by a historian (Toynbee), that explains many aspects of universal history, including – and especially – our own, could have been written by Jung or Freud: “The egocentric illusion…this most fantastic of all freaks of Maya… has always beset every living organism in which an ego has ever asserted itself.”
*
When our own turn-of-the-century novelists like Arpiarian, Gamsaragan, Nar-Dos, and Zohrab wrote about the repulsive nature of our bourgeoisie in Istanbul, they might as well have been echoing Spengler’s sentiments in the following passage from THE DECLINE OF THE WEST: “The parasitical city dweller, traditionless, utterly matter-of-fact, religionless, clever, unfruitful, deeply contemptuous of the countryman….”
*
And speaking of religion:
All social movements are conceived by underdogs and confiscated by top dogs. Which amounts to saying, eventually, Marx will be followed by Stalin, and Christ by anti-Christ (Renaissance popes and American televangelists).
#
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
***************************************
A history of late 19th- and early 20th-century Armenian literature reads today like a work of science fiction of another nation, from a different planet, in a distant galaxy.
*
Whenever I read biographies of Abovian, Raffi, Baronian, Arpiarian, Gamsaragan, Voskanian, and many, many others, I marvel at their fearless dedication and stubborn refusal to compromise or to cushion their blows. And the question I keep asking myself is: What the hell happened to our literature? The only answer I can come up with is also the most obvious: our bosses, bishops, benefactors and their parasitical panchoonies finished the job begun by Talaat and Stalin.
*
Unlike Odian’s Panchoonie, today’s Panchoonie is as smooth, well fed, and soft-spoken as any American Chief Executive Officer. He sports a blue suit, red tie, a laptop and a salary of over a hundred thousand dollars (according to an insider in New York, whose word I have no reason to doubt).
*
If a writer like Baronian or Odian were to appear among us today, he would be silenced and starved before anyone can say Jack S. Avanakian.
*
I don’t write to change things – my megalomania has its limits. I write to remind our midgets and their dupes that once upon a time, giants walked among us – giants whose shadow would be enough to pulverize their bones.
*
What will a history of 21st Century Armenian literature written a hundred years hence read like? Imagine, if you can, the description by a blind man of a non-existent black hat in a dark room.
#
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
***************************************
IMAGINARY INTERVIEW (II)
*********************************
-What’s your racket?
-I am in the business of being misunderstood.
-Any money in that?
-Only insults.
-What kind of insults?
-Being called all kinds of names.
-Such as?
-Son of a whore, disgrace to the nation.
-What nation?
-Armenian.
-Romanian?
-No, Armenian.
-Aramaean?
-No, no. Armenian.
-What’s the difference?
-Aramaeans are extinct.
-And Armenians aren’t?
-Only the real ones.
-You mean, the phonies aren’t?
-Right.
-So, why write for them?
-To defend the honor of the real ones who can no longer defend themselves.
-But since they are dead and buried, they are in no position to express their appreciation: am I summing up the situation correctly?
-I couldn’t have said it better myself.
-In that case, your situation is shituation.
-You took the words right out of my mouth.
-As a matter of fact I did: I read some of your things on the Internet.
-So, tell me. What do you think?
-About what?
-My things.
-You really want to know?
-I do.
-You are wasting your time.
-I agree.
-So, why go on?
-I was hoping you would tell me.
-Sorry, friend. I can’t help you there. Unless, of course, you believe in an afterlife.
-I don’t.
-Then I ask you again: if the living insult you and the dead will not thank you, why go on?
-How about, to balance the score.
-But who will know – if the living don’t give a damn and the dead can’t speak?
-I will…and now, you will too.
-Is that enough?
-No, but it may be a step in the right direction.
#

PRESS RELEASE/NEWS REVIEW
MELKONIAN ALUMNI CYPRUS
Contact: Masis der Parthogh
P.O. Box 16077, CY 2085
Nicosia, Cyprus.
Tel. +357 22 678666
Fax. +357 22 678664
Email: [email protected]
____________________________
Melkonian students excel in exams, defying closure threat
Financial Mirror – Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Two Melkonian students were among the 135 recipients of the High
Achiever awards given out to students who gained top international
marks and top marks in Cyprus in A level, O level and GCSE exams at
an award ceremony in Nicosia last week.
Together with their schoolmates, they overcame the troubles caused
by the New York based administrators’ announcement on March 16 to
shut down the school and continued with their external examinations.
Hovhannes Atabekyan, a 2004 graduate of the school, was one of only
ten students in Cyprus to gain straight As in five Advanced Level
subjects, while only three other Cypriots gained six As.
Elizabeth Torossian notched up the highest Ordinary Level international
subject mark in Armenian, an award achieved in only ten other subjects
worldwide.
“These outstanding results cast a shadow over the true intentions
of the school’s administrators to shut down the Melkonian and sell
off the land,” the Melkonian Alumni Association of Cyprus said in
an announcement.
Jane Holliday, regional representative of the UK awarding body
Edexcel said an impressive record this year saw students in Cyprus
being awarded the top marks in the world in nine A level subjects
and 11 O level subjects.
“For so many students to have done so well is a tribute to all those
involved. As for the students, well, they are truly wonderful,”
she said.
The figures include entries from over 100 countries but exclude the
UK. Most subjects attract hundreds of entries worldwide, and many
have entries in the thousands.

ARMENIAN FM: STATEMENT BY AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT CONCERNING “OUTPOST” EVIDENCE
OF POOR EXPERIENCE
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21. ARMINFO. The statement by Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev that Armenia is allegedly an “outpost” of Russia
is an evidence of poor political experience of the Azerbaijani
administration, said Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan in
his interview with Armenia TV channel, Tuesday.
In his words, Armenia is a sovereign independent state having fraternal
and partner ties with other states. The minister notes that no one
can dictate anything to Armenia either today or in future. Armenia
is practically the only state in the region to wage an independent
policy, as it wages a complementary policy, and speculations on this
issue “hint me at the approach to this issue in Azerbaijan,” Vardan
Oskanyan states.
It should be noted that earlier, commenting on the statement by
RF Speaker Boris Gryzlkov in Yerevan that Armenia was an outpost
of Russia, Azerbaijani President stated that he though “Armenia an
independent state, while it proved to be an outpost.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RECEPTION ORGANIZED AT ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY ON OCCASION OF ARMENIA
RECEIVING STATUS OF OBSERVER AT INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF FRANCOPHONY
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21. ARMINFO. A solemn reception was held at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia (MFA) devoted to granting a
status of an observer at the International Organization of Francophony
to Armenia.
The MFA press-service informs ARMINFO that attending the reception
were parliamentary and governmental representatives, ambassadors,
representatives of international organizations accredited in
Armenia, representatives of priesthood, art workers and scientists,
businessmen, professors of the French University of Armenia and
other high educational establishments with a French bias. “I am sure
that membership of our country at the International Organization of
Francophony will contribute to even more devotion of Armenia to the
principles and values acknowledged by Francophony, as well as to even
more involvement of Armenia into international processes. It also
reflects the traditional friendship and exclusive relations between
Armenia and France, and it will, undoubtedly, allow the country to
more deepen the especial dialogue between our states and peoples,” said
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan in his speech at the event.
In his turn, French Ambassador to Armenia Henry Cuny pointed out in
his speech Armenia’s efforts to participate in the organization, as
well as gave a high assessment of the purposefulness and possibilities
of Armenia to act in the new space.

ARMAVIA STARTS FLIGHTS IN FIX NEW DIRECTIONS IN JANUARY, 2005
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21. ARMINFO. The national air carrier of Armenia,
Armavia company, will start flights in six new directions in January,
2005, the company’s press-service informs ARMINFO.
According to the source, these are the flights U8-303/304
Yerevan-Dubai-Yerevan on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 00:30,
U8-305/306 Yerevan-Beirut-Yerevan on Wednesday at 22:50, U8-
101/107 Yerevan-Paris-Yerevan on Mondays and Thursdays at 05:00,
U8-105/106 Yerevan-Athens-Yerevan on Saturdays at 06:35, U8-888/889
Yerevan-St.Petersburg-Yerevan on Saturdays at 16:35 and U8-855-856
Yerevan-Kiev-Yerevan ¬ on Thursdays at 7:00.
The first flight Yerevan-Paris-Yerevan is fixed on January
3. Armavia Press Secretary Garik Siroyan states that Armavia will
carry out non-stop flights from Yerevan to Beirut, Dubai, Paris,
Athens. Meanwhile, as to the flights to Saint Petersburg and Kiev,
Armavia has rivals, “Pulkovo” air carrier (one flights weekly) and
“Donbassaero” air carrier (one flight to Kiev weekly). The flights
to all the six directions will be carried out by Airbus A320.
It should be noted that flights in these directions are currently
carried out by the “Armenian International Airlines.” The license of
this company exhausts on Dec 31, 2004. It should be noted that within
9 months of 2004, Armavia transported over 316,000 passengers and 1.1
thousand tons of post and cargoes. The company’s passenger-turnover
totaled 557.7 mln p/km, with cargo turnover being 2.3 mln t/km. The
share of Armavia in the total passenger turnover in Armenia in 9 months
of 204 grew as compared to the same period of 2003 by 17% and totaled
43%. The company serves 20 routes and has interline-agreement with
over 40 air carrier in the world. The company was founded in 2001. Its
strategic partners the second large Russian air line Siberia.-
–Boundary_(ID_52wpPzxFrh0JoT3z7shGJg)–

Armenians concerned about Karabakh peace process – opinion poll
Arminfo
21 Dec 04
Yerevan, 21 December: According to an opinion poll conducted by the
Armenian centre for the strategic and national studies, 49 per cent
of experts and 41 per cent of ordinary participants have expressed
their concern about the current stage of the peaceful settlement of
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. Hundred independent domestic experts
and 2,002 residents of Yerevan and all regions of the republic were
the respondents in the opinion poll.
None of the participants in the opinion poll expressed their
satisfaction with the current stage of the peaceful settlement of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, the centre’s expert, Stepan Safaryan,
said today. He added that 24 per cent of the experts thought that
the inclusion of the term “the occupied territories” in the UN
agenda will lead to sanctions pertaining to Armenia and Nagornyy
Karabakh. Eighteen per cent of the ordinary participants in the
opinion poll were convinced that this will draw the attention of the
international community to the demands of the Armenian side.
As for the prospects for sending the Armenian peace-keepers to Iraq,
67 per cent of the experts and 70 per cent of the ordinary citizens
were against this initiative. Thirty one per cent of the experts
believe that this poses threat to the lives of the Armenians living
in Iraq, while 32 per cent of the remaining part of the participants
think that this action will turn Armenia into a target for the Islamic
terrorists, Safaryan said.

Armenian president seeks to push through social security reform
Arminfo
21 Dec 04
Yerevan, 21 December: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan today held
a working meeting on the reform of the social security sphere.
The Armenian prime minister, the labour and social security minister,
the head of the State Social Security Fund and Central Bank and
representatives of other state bodies participated in the meeting,
the Armenian presidential press service told Arminfo.
The president drew the attention of the participants in the meeting to
the fact that although individual stages of the reform of the social
security system have been debated and definite steps have already
been taken by different departments, for the time being there is no
single and comprehensive programme.
“There is no document, which could in terms of its timetable and
responsibility show what needs to be done and what needs to be asked of
the relevant ministries and departments, but reforms demand coordinated
and consecutive work,” the president said.
Kocharyan said that reforms of the social security system are the
most difficult and drawn-out, but using the work already done it is
possible to elaborate a coordinated programme and from next year to
begin to implement it. “These reforms entail regulated work which
is not the job only of the Labour and Social Security Ministry. It
is necessary to involve in this a range of bodies as well. It is
necessary to understand what stage we are at and what we must do so
that next year is decisive,” Kocharyan said
The president instructed participants in the meeting to form an expert
working group, which, on the basis of the work done, will draw up a
general outline of the reforms within a month.

JAN 10 ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN-GEORGIA MEETING TO DISCUSS KAVKAZ-POTI TRAIN FERRY ISSUES
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21. ARMINFO. An Armenian-Russian-Georgian meeting
will be held Jan 10 2005 to discuss the details of the contract to
exploit the Kavkaz-Poti train ferry which will directly connect the
Russian and Georgian railroads, says the spokesperson of Armenia’s
Transport and Communication Ministry Tamara Galechyan.
The sides will specify the schedule and scheme of the ferry
exploitation. The formerly announced date of the ferry operation,
Jan 5, is not true, says Galechyan.
Now the railroad operations Armenia-Georgia-Russia are carried out via
Ukraine who charges 40% of the transportation costs. The Port Kavkaz
train ferry was launched in May 2004 and can carry 500,000 tons of
cargo a year. But it has one serious problem – it can receive only
small ships because of its shallow coast.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CENN — DECEMBER 16, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
Table of Contents:
1. Elaboration of Program “Safety of Gas Supply to Armenia Within The
Framework of Conservation of The Armenian Atomic Power Plant” To Be
Completed on December 15
2. Armrosgasprom To Start Negotiations With Foreign Banks For 27 Mln USD
Credit For Modernization of Abovyan Underground Gas Holder
3. Saur French Company Starts Managing Armenia’s Water Systems
4. Prizes For Highlighting Environmental Problems
5. EU Aids Armenian Gas Network In Metsamor Closure Hope
6. Project to Restore Abovyan Underground Gas Depository is as Important
as Iran-Armenian Gas Pipeline Construction
7. Gazprom to take part in Iran-Armenia pipeline construction tender
8. Zangezour Copper Molybdenum Group To Sold For $132 Mln
9. Armenian Medicine: in the Infirmary
10. II International Seminar on Mountain Tourism
1. ELABORATION OF PROGRAM “SAFETY OF GAS SUPPLY TO ARMENIA WITHIN THE
FRAMEWORK OF CONSERVATION OF THE ARMENIAN ATOMIC POWER PLANT” TO BE
COMPLETED ON DECEMBER 15
Source: Arminfo, December 10, 2004
The work on elaboration of a program “Safety of gas supply to Armenia
within the framework of conservation of the Armenian atomic power plant”
is to be completed on December 15, 2004. Head of the project office,
Fransua Kolinion (name as given) representing the French consulting
company “SOFRECO” made this statement at a presentation of the program’s
results, Friday.
In his words, the total cost of the project, which has been implemented
since July 2002, under the program of technical assistance INOGATE TACIS
financed by the EU, is 3 mln EUR. The basic goal of the program is
establishment of a modern system of production control and elaboration
of a business-plan on attraction of investments in modernization of
Abovyan underground gasholder. In 2003, the EU-announced international
open tender resulted in signing of 2 contracts with equipment suppliers,
the Russian company “Kalugaglavsnab” and German Siemens Company. The
contract with the first company costs 1.207 mln EUR, that with the
second one – 792,000 EUR. Due to active participation of the Russian
company, three powerful pump for brine liquidation were established in
the gas holder, Earth Physics research was carried out, a mobile Earth
Physics laboratory was established etc.
Under the project, a forecast of gas sale by 2020 is drafted; a
business-plan was elaborated on reconstruction of Abovyan underground
gasholder. Siemens established SCADA system at production control center
of CJSC ArmRosgasprom. This system consists of 8 satellite stations
along the gas main able to transfer information to the chief dispatcher,
which will upgrade the safety of the gasholder. However, it is not
enough for its full modernization, which requires $27 mln.
2. ARMROSGASPROM TO START NEGOTIATIONS WITH FOREIGN BANKS FOR 27 MLN USD
CREDIT FOR MODERNIZATION OF ABOVYAN UNDERGROUND GAS HOLDER
Source: Arminfo, December 10, 2004
ArmRosgasprom intends to start negotiations with a number of foreign
banks in the nearest future for a 27 mln USD credit necessary for
modernization of Abovyan underground gas holder (UGH), Director General
of the company Karen Karapetyan tells journalists, Friday.
He says that the negotiations are in process with Armsavingsbank, Black
Sea Reconstruction and Development Bank, the International Financial
Corporation and a number of Iranian banks. Karapetyan says that
reconstruction of UGH is planned for two stages within four years. The
volumes of pumping of gas into the UGH are planned to be reached to 250
mln cubic meters as against the current 100 mln cubic meters. At
present, 1,3 bln cubic meters of gas is used in Armenia, these volumes
are to be increased to another 300 mln cubic meters in the nearest
future. In this case, the Director General says, 250 mln cubic meters of
stored gas will be enough for safe gas supply and solution to
force-majeure situations. With completion of Iran-Armenian gas
pipeline’s construction, the problem of energy safety in Armenia will be
fully solved, Karapetyan says.
It should be noted that in conformity with the project of UGH’s
reconstruction, at the first stage, the outdated compressors need
replacement with new ones, which requires $8 mln. At present some $1 mln
is spent annually to keep the compressors in order. Another $20 mln is
required for modernization of underground wells and other works. To
note, Abovyan UGH was constructed in 1968. It is unique with its gas
wells on a salt layer in 1000 m depth. There are nine 1,500 HP
compressors which work in three degrees. The first degree allows
increasing the pressure to 20 atm., the second to 50 atm. and the third
to 125 atm. The European Commission recognizes the UGH as one of the
strategic instruments ensuring safe gas supply to Armenia.
3. SAUR FRENCH COMPANY STARTS MANAGING ARMENIA’S WATER SYSTEMS
Source: Arminfo, December 10, 2004
The Saur Company (France) has already started managing the ArmWaterCanal
CJSC to fully undertake the company’s administration in 2005, says the
chairman of the State Water Economy Committee of Armenia Andranik
Andreassyan.
He is sure that Saur is capable of solving the sphere’s problems this
particularly concerning the 80% commercial and technical losses in
Yerevan’s drinking water system. In 2005 the committee is going to
introduce a leasing model in the sphere to minimize the role of state
structures in making economic decisions and to ensure maximum conditions
for the new operator to fulfill its commitments. 7 foreign companies
have applied for implementing the second credit program. The high
interest in the project speaks to its high attractiveness, says
Andreassyan.
Water tariffs will be revised in Armavir, Lori and Shirak where credit
programs will be launched. YerWaterCanal and ArmWaterCanal may also
apply for a tariff raise staring from Apr 1 2005. As for water quality
Andreassyan says: “We get water from high quality sources but give it to
consumers in a much worse condition for technical reasons.”
Concerning the effective use of crediting in the sphere Andreassyan says
that he does not agree with the findings of the relevant parliamentary
commission. “I accept them from the political point of view but not
technically. The Parliament’s motives are not always economic,” he says.
To remind, the management contract of A-Utility (Italy) expires in May
2005. The commission for the effective use of water economy crediting
says that the company has failed to fulfill its contractual commitments.
The company’s work is unsatisfactory – the results are not adequate to
the investments.
4. PRIZES FOR HIGHLIGHTING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
Source: A1 Plus, December 10, 2004
Authors of the best environmental articles were awarded prizes on
Friday, December 10, 2004 at the contest announced by OSCE Yerevan
office and Aarhus center. 40 TV and printed profiles were presented.
Concrete Civilization Edik Baghdasryan’s film and Professionalism Cut in
Forest Susanna Shahnazaryan’s article were found the best. A special
prize was given to Hrachya Papinyan for his film highlighting problems
related to water and forests pollution.
The majority of contenders are from Armenia’s regions.
5. EU AIDS ARMENIAN GAS NETWORK IN METSAMOR CLOSURE HOPE
Source: RFE/RL Armenia Report, December 10, 2004
Armenia’s natural gas operator officially completed on Friday the
reconstruction of some of its key facilities that has been financed by
the European Union in the hope of speeding up the closure of the
Metsamor nuclear plant.
Top executives from the Armrosgazprom Company, joined by government
officials and European diplomats, inaugurated three underground gas
storage facilities just north of Yerevan. They were refurbished with 2
million euros ($2.7 million) provided by the EU’s executive Commission
in 2002. The purpose of the program was to help to render Armenia’s gas
network more modern and reliable.
Natural gas is used for generating more than a third of Armenia’s
electricity. EU officials hope that increased use of the fuel would
create an additional incentive for Yerevan to decommission Metsamor
which satisfies over 40% of the resource poor’s country’s energy needs.
`In essence, the European Union is helping us to create the
prerequisites for the closure of the nuclear plant,’ Deputy Energy
Minister Areg Galstian told RFE/RL. One of those prerequisites is
`reliable supplies of energy resources,’ he said.
The EU believes that Metsamor’s Soviet-built reactor fails to meet
modern safety standards and should be shut down as soon as possible. The
bloc had hoped that this will happen in 2004. However, Armenian
officials insist that the plant is secure enough to operate for at least
ten more years.
Galstian reiterated the government’s position that Metsamor will not be
closed without an alternative source of power created in its place. `We
must have a new facility of the same capacity,’ he said, adding that it
could be a new thermal power station.
`In my view this [EU project] has in no way affected the closure of the
nuclear plant,’ said the Armrosgazprom director, Karen Karapetian. `We
had to carry out this modernization anyway.’
Karapetian said the Russian-Armenian joint venture needs an additional
$27 million for the network’s modernization and has already approached
potential investors.
6. PROJECT TO RESTORE ABOVYAN UNDERGROUND GAS DEPOSITORY IS AS IMPORTANT
AS IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION
Source: Arminfo, December 11, 2004
The project to restore the Abovyan underground gas depository is as
important as the construction of a gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia,
says the director general of the ArmRosgazprom Company Karen Karapetyan.
Armenia’s energy and strategic security is based on this depository. “I
hope that necessary money will be found for the project next year which
is a serious problem though considering the present volume of gas market
in Armenia,” says Karapetyan noting that some $30 mln is needed to
restore the depository. But the project can well be carried out in
stages – some $7 mln for the beginning. It is also necessary to solve
the problem of brine. “Unless the Nairit chemical plant is restarted we
will have to build a special reservoir for brine production,” says
Karapetyan.
The project is to increase the amount of stored gas from 100 mln c m to
200 mln c m. The Russian Gazprom may take part in it. “We hope that
Gazprom will invest money in Armenia including in the Iran-Armenian gas
pipeline project but Armenia should take certain obligations.” The same
is for the cooperation with the EU who has provided 3 mln EUR for
drafting the project feasibility report, says Karapetyan noting that
experts of the Podzemgazstroy (Underground Gas Construction) company
from Russia are also examining the project.
7. GAZPROM TO TAKE PART IN IRAN-ARMENIA PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION TENDER
Source: ITAR-TASS News Agency, December 13, 2004
The Russian Gazprom company will take part in a tender for the
construction of a gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia, which the gas giant
expects to win, the executive director of the ArmRosgazprom joint
venture told Itar-Tass.
The executive director of the Russian-Armenian joint venture, Karen
Karapetyan, said the date of the tender would be announced shortly. The
Armenian government and Gazprom have 45 percent of ArmRosgazprom shares
each, while the remaining ten percent belong to the ITERA company.
Karapetyan dismissed allegations that the gas pipeline from Iran to
Armenia is intended for the transit of Iranian gas to Europe. The
pipeline of a bigger diameter is needed for the transit, and that would
involve bigger investments, he said. Besides, a free sales market in
third countries is necessary for the transit of gas, and there is no
such market, he stressed.
Iran extends a credit of 30 million dollars for the construction of the
40-kilometer-long Armenian section, the press service of the Armenian
government told Itar-Tass. An agreement on that was signed when Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami paid an official visit to Yerevan last
September.
The construction of the pipeline will be launched simultaneously on both
sides. A total of 100 kilometers of the pipeline will run across Iran.
The construction is expected to be finished in January 2007, after which
the gas systems of the two countries will be united.
Armenia expects to pay for the supplies of Iranian gas with electricity.
The Armenian leadership is confident that the gas pipeline from Iran
will strengthen the republic’s energy security.
8. ZANGEZOUR COPPER-MOLYBDENUM GROUP TO BE SOLD FOR $132 MLN
Source: Arminfo, December 14, 2004
A contract to sell for $132 mln 100% shares of Zangezour
Copper-Molybdenum Group was signed in Yerevan today.
Armenia’s Trade and Economic Development Minister Karen Tchshmarityan
says that 60% stake has been given to Cronimet Mining (Germany), 15%
Pure Iron Plant (Yerevan), 12.5% to Armenian Molybdenum Production and
12.5% to Zangezour Mining. The shareholders will set up a joint managing
company. The first $45 mln payment will be made by Jan 1 2005, the rest
till Dec 31 2005. The contract is financed by Deutsche Bank and
Creditten Stadt Bank.
$250-350 mln is to be invested in the group by 2012 under preliminary
agreement with the final amount to be specified by feasibility report in
2005.
The project is expected to pay off in 6-7 years, says Tchshmarityan. Jan
1 2005 Armenia is stopping to export molybdenum concentrate to process
it fully at home. In 2005-2008 the group will deepen its molybdenum
processing activities to receive a maximally finished product. In
2008-2012 it will launch a rolled copper. The investments will allow the
group to redouble its ore production, says Tchshmarityan.
Cronimet Mining President Hunter Pilarsky says that his company is an
international trade group covering 4 continents. It owns 51% of Pure
Iron Plant, an enterprise processing 50% of Zangezour molybdenum
concentrate. Pilarsky says that international molybdenum prices are high
today which is normal even considering high transportation costs from
Armenia. The company exports its production to Europe via Iran and
Georgia.
In 2003 Zangezour Copper Molybdenum Group registered a $20 mln balance
sheet profit. In Jan-June 2004 its output totalled 24.8 bln AMD – 2.1%
less than in Jan-June 2003. In 2003 the group mined and processed 8.1
mln tons of ore producing 6,300 tons of molybdenum concentrate and
11,000 tons of copper in copper concentrate. Zangezour has the biggest
molybdenum reserves in the whole former USSR.
9. ARMENIAN MEDICINE: IN THE INFIRMARY
By Shant Korkigian
You can contact him at [email protected]
You do not have to spend a very long time in an Armenian hospital to
realize that it is a vastly different world than its American, French or
German counterparts. In fact the whole of medicine in Armenia-from
treatment methods to the healthcare system itself-is very different from
the West.
As a young medical student from the US I did not know exactly what to
expect when I first walked into Yerevan’s Clinical Hospital No. 1. I had
taken an observational position in the department of Plastic,
Reconstructive and Microsurgery for three months and had the pleasure to
work with some of the best physicians in all of Armenia. The surgeons I
worked with are graduates of Yerevan State University’s Medical
University during the Soviet era, had further training in the West, are
fluent in English (among other languages).
The full story is available on the following address:
Medicine.doc
10. II INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON MOUNTAIN TOURISM
Mountain Huts – Challenges For Tourists and Nature?
Source: Mountain Forum, December 14, 2004
First Announcement and Call for Papers
Organized by: International Friends of Nature, Institute of Tourism and
Recreation of Cracow Academy of Physical Education
Polish Tourist Country Lovers’ Society (PTTK) – Cracow Academic Section
to be held in Szklarska Poreba (Poland)
14 – 17 April 2005
Mountain huts play a pivotal role in access to the World’s high places.
They allow climbers to commence their ascents early in the morning,
backpackers can create adventurous high-level treks, but they should not
be viewed simply as facilities; properly managed mountain huts evoke a
powerful atmosphere of fellowship, helpfulness and responsibility which
has an educational impact, especially on younger tourists. Some mountain
huts are very old, possessing rich historical and architectural values,
and should be protected as cultural monuments in their own right. On the
other hand mountain huts are a form of enterprise, which have to be
economically viable. Finally, mountain huts are invariably sited within
a very fragile natural environment, intruding upon the landscape and
impacting upon local biodiversity. Technical and economic developments
together with the growing and increasingly sophisticated demands of
people are changing the nature and extent of mountain tourism. Mountain
huts are not immune to these pressures. Larger, more accessible, and
increasingly comfortable huts inevitably results in increased impacts on
local resources.
This is why the organizers have decided to invite people involved in the
various aspects of this complex issue to jointly discuss the present and
the future of mountain huts. The objectives of the Seminar are to
exchange information, experience and ideas on topics which include:
o mountain huts as historical monuments and witnesses to the past;
o huts in the mountain landscape (disfigurement or additional value?);
o environmental impact of mountain huts and how to limit it;
o mountain huts as a place of interpretation and education;
o creating the right social atmosphere in mountain huts;
o nature – friendly mountain huts;
o mountain huts and protected areas – conflict or cooperation?
In addition the Seminar will provide participants with an opportunity to
visit the Giant (Karkonosze) Mountains National Park – an area of
exceptional bio-cultural diversity and with more than two hundred years
history of mountain tourism. Visits to other national parks in the
Sudety Mountains will be possible during the post-seminar excursions.
Participants/Audience:
The organisers invite participation from all people with an involvement
or interest in mountain tourism – natural as well as cultural –
including managers of mountain huts, mountain guides, tour leaders,
interpreters, rangers, park managers responsible for environmental
education, scientists, writers and journalists interested in mountain
issues from all over the world.
Call for papers:
Participants are kindly invited to submit papers, posters or any other
kind of presentation related to the theme of the Seminar. Papers,
accepted by the Editorial Committee, will be published in the
post-conference issue of Folia Turistica – the scientific journal edited
by the Institute of Tourism and Recreation in Cracow.
All colleagues wishing to participate or to be informed about further
details are requested to send an e-mail or fax to:
Michael Prochazka – [email protected]
Fax: ++43 1 8129789
Or Piotr Dabrowski – [email protected]
Fax: ++48 12 4231697
Indicating: name, surname, e-mail address and represented
Institution/society/protected area/company/media organization. The
organizers will forward full details and a registration form.
We look forward to seeing you in Szklarska Poreba!
Michael Prochazka – Secretary General IFN
Piotr Dabrowski – Chairman of the Cracow Academic Section of PTTK
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: