PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT ON KARABAKH SETTLEMENT TO BE PRESENTED AT DARTMOUTH CONFERENCE
ArmRadio.am
08.12.2006 11:56
Two-day meeting of the Dartmouth Conference participants, featuring
the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs is starting in Snegiri settlement
near Moscow. The provisions of the concise agreement on the Karabakh
conflict settlement elaborated earlier by the Conference will be
presented to the Co-Chairs.
ARMENIA-NATO RELATIONS ARE A COMPONENT OF THE BALANCED SECURITY SYSTEM
ArmRadio.am
08.12.2006 14:33
Armenia-NATO relations are one of the pillars of the enlarged
cooperation policy with European structures and have turned into one
of the pivotal foreign policy directions, RA Deputy Defense Minister
Arman Kirakosyan declared todat at the "Armenia-NATO: New agenda of
cooperation" forum. In his words, the full cooperation with NATO is
a component of our multi-layer and balanced security system.
"We are often asked why Armenia has chosen the European standards. The
answer is very simple: Contemporary Europe is a successful model of
state building, public relations and economic development. Therefore,
judging from its political history, the Republic of Armenia is
more interested in adhere to the values, ob the basis of which the
well-being and security of peoples is built," the Deputy Minister said.
In the result of two enlargement phases and becoming the
strategic-political alliance of 26 Euro-Atlantic states, NATO has a
pivotal position in the world security system.
WINNERS OF THE LITERARY CONTEST OF ANTI-CORRUPTION WORKS KNOWN
ArmRadio.am
08.12.2006 15:19
Five authors have been named the winners of the literary contest of
anti-corruption works. 46 compositions were presented in the contest
initiated by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and RA Writers’ Union.
IN the prose genre the winner was Amrikyan, while the author of the
best poem was Manvel Mikoyan of Vanadzor.
Dramatist Samvel Kosyan was named the winner in the theatric
genre. Hrachya Matevosyan and Margo Ghukasyan were the best in the
genre of publicism.
Nikita Zarubyan was awarded a special prize for periodically
highlighting corruption phenomena.
During the awarding ceremony today Head of the OSCE Office in
Yerevan Vladimir Pryakhin said that this contest comprises part of
the anti-corruption program of the Office. According to him, this
widely spread phenomenon hinders the economic development in Armenia
and a number of other post-Soviet states.
Therefore, the struggle against it should be carried out not only by
the government, but also the society. Vladimir Pryakhin noted also that
the increase of tax revenues of the state budget evidences that the
fight against corruption in the country is yielding certain results.
CBA TO PUT INTO CIRCULATION SILVER COINS WITH THE NOMINAL VALUE OF 100 DRAMS
ArmRadio.am
08.12.2006 15:39
Starting December 11 the Central Bank of Armenia will put into
circulation a silver coin with the nominal value of 100 drams.
The Central Bank informs that cat of arms of the Republic of Armenia
will be depicted on the face of the coin. Below the coat of arms will
be mentioned the nominal value of the coin in Armenian and English,
and the year of issue will be mentioned at the top.
The reverse side of the coin will depict Fridtjof Nansen’s portrait. On
the right of the portrait is written "INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR."
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I LECTURES AT AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
ArmRadio.am
08.12.2006 16:28
His Holiness Aram I delivered the keynote address at an international
conference organized jointly by the Notre Dame and Indiana State
Universities in the United States. The conference entitled "Faith
and Health" brought together renowned medical doctors, academics,
psychologists and sociologists, the Communication and Information
Department of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia informs.
The president of the university commended the Armenian Pontiff by
highlighting his role in the Christian church and particularly his
outstanding contribution to the ecumenical movement. He presented His
Holiness Aram I as an international figure with an important place
in academic circles through his several theological publications on
theological issues.
During his speech "An Ecclesiological and Missiological Approach to
Healing" , the Catholicos approached the theme of the conference from
a theological viewpoint, analyzing many important and contemporary
questions in the field.
The lecture was followed by a question and answer period. The
attendants expressed great satisfaction at the spiritual leader’s
arguments and explanations.
The Prelates of Eastern and Western prelacies, Archbishop Oshagan
Choloyan and Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian also attended the
conference in addition to the chairman of the Executive Council of
the Eastern Prelacy and faithful Armenians from nearby cities.
The president of Notre Dame University had visited His Holiness Aram I
for a private meeting before the conference. Notre Dame is one of the
most important universities in the United States with 20,000 students.
The administration of Indiana State University also had a meeting
with the Catholicos.
KARABAKH CONFLICT AN OBSTACLE ON THE WAY OF DEVELOPMENT OF AZERBAIJAN’S RELATIONS WITH THE US AND NATO
ArmRadio.am
08.12.2006 16:36
Azeri Defense Minister Safar Abiev has declared that for more intensive
development of Azerbaijan’s relations with the US and NATO it is
necessary to resolve the Karabakh conflict. "The unresolved Karabakh
conflict is a big obstacle on the way of intensive development of
relations with the US and NATO," Abiev said during the meeting with
the US Assistant Defense Secretary Jim MacDugal.
Press Service of the Azeri MFA informs that Abiev expressed the wish
that the US, as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair country, intensifies its
activity, noting that it can promote the settlement of the conflict.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
CLEAR WATER PROVISION ENSURED IN METS PARNI VILLAGE
ArmRadio.am
08.12.2006 16:42
On December 8, 2006 the official opening ceremony of the drinking
water distribution reservoir of Mets Parni village took place. The
reservoir was reconstructed through the US Embassy and USAID-funded
Community Self-Help Fund (CSHF) program, which is implemented by
Save the Children. Representatives of the US Embassy, USAID, Save
the Children, Lori Marzpetaran, Mets Parni local government and the
community will participate in the event.
Mets Parni village greatly suffered due to the devastating earthquake
in 1988. Many residential buildings and social infrastructures were
ruined. The entire water system became out of work too. The village was
reconstructed in a new location, due to which it became consisted of
two parts – new and old with 4km distance between them. 100 houses
were constructed in the new village. A water pipeline with 19km
length was constructed to ensure water provision of the village,
but this work was not finished. A water reservoir necessary for daily
water regulation was not constructed, and the pipeline was directly
connected to the internal water network of the village. As a result,
the water pressure was not regulated, which periodically caused damage
to pipelines and absence of drinking water for weeks. Moreover, due
to 30-40% of water loss several districts of the village did not get
water at all, and people had to carry water from 1km distance. Water
was not chlorinated, and no sanitary norms were maintained, which
might cause epidemic outbreaks.
Given the acute necessity of reconstructing the water reservoir,
the Village Mayor’s Office applied to Save the Children for a CSHF
program grant.
Through the program the water provision system was renovated. A water
reservoir with 300 cub m capacity and a water drainage pipeline were
constructed, the surrounding area was improved, and the water provision
and chlorination were regulated. 1870 residents (460 households)
of the village benefited from the program. 8 people were provided
with temporary jobs.
ILYICHEVSK-POTI FERRY HEADED FOR ARMENIA
ArmRadio.am
08.12.2006 17:05
Ilyichevsk-Poti ferry headed for Armenia. It will reach the republic
in 7-8 days, Head of the Public Relations Department of RA Ministry of
Transport and Communication Tamara Ghalechyan told "Armenpress." The
ferry is loaded with 108 carriages.
In total there were 240 carriages of cargo in Ilyichovsk. The rest
will be carried to Armenia by the end of the year.
NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA: EU OUTBIDS CIS COUNTRIES FROM RUSSIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.12.2006 15:49 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "What needs to be done to destroy the CIS, which is
in its last days? Practically the European Commission just the other
day answered this question, declaring about granting 12 billion euros
in the framework of Neighborhood Policy program for the development
of some states," Nezvisimaya Gazeta writes. In the list of kindly
treated countries by Brussels also appeared Russia’s partners in the
CIS – Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova combined in regional
organization of GUAM, as well as Armenia.
Besides money the European Commission promised them wide integration
in trade and economy, built on free transportation of products,
as well as simplified ways of visa delivery, systematic involvement
of those countries in joint programs and closer co-operation in the
energy and transport sectors. "This is just the same thing which is
being declared in CIS during the past 15 years but is not fulfilled
anyway. And the last CIS summit in Minsk showed that the dream of
post-soviet nations for free movement and trade in the territory of
former Soviet Union will not come true.
But promising projects like EurAsEC (Eurasian Economic Community)
and UES (United Economic Space) after close examination remind us
of Potyomkin’s villages, which generally arises a question: do the
presidents of CIS member states, and first of all of Russia, really
want to make something concrete from that neighborly relations,
the publication reports.
"If we examine our relations with CIS countries during the past
15 years, we will notice that principle of relation building
has changed. More than 15 years we held them in our sphere
of influence by providing the former sister nations with cheap,
sometimes free-of-charge gas. But this year we decided to use the same
pipeline factor as a tool in disputable political issues with neighbors
declaring that Russia will pass to a new, to European system of price
making. For the grater part of CIS countries, which used to pay $80
for 1000 cubic meters the new price of $230 became a tragedy. They
began to look for new partners and found them in Europe. Unlike
Moscow, which finances conflict zones in post-soviet territories-
South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Trandnistria (totally 1 million people),
which declared about their wish to join Russia, Brussels staked on
juridical centers and as a whole pays for Georgia, Moldavia and now
Armenia’s reorientation to the West,"Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports.
ORHAN PAMUK SAYS ‘NO COMMENT’ TO ARMENIAN QUESTION
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.12.2006 15:25 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Speaking to the press on the Nobel Prize in Sweden,
Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk avoided commenting on the Armenian
issue. Pamuk made a press statement at Norstedts Publishing, which
published Pamuk’s books in Sweden. When asked about his views on the
Armenian Genocide, Pamuk was reluctant to discuss politics and simply
said, "no comment," Zaman reports.