DOLLAR’S EXCHANGE RATE FALLS BELOW 400 DRAMS
YEREVAN, AUGUST 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The appreciation of the Armenian dram
gathered a new speed recently. On August 8, the dollar’s exchange rate
fell below 400 drams: a US dollar can be bought for 398 drams. The
exchange rates of the Russian ruble and the euro are also declining:
up to 14.8 and 527 drams respectively. The current dram/dollar exhange
rate is an unprecedented one for the past 12 months. The price of a
US dollar made about 400 drams in November 1994 and October 1995. It
was the first relatively stable exchange rate of the Armenian currency
following the dram’s rapid decline about six months after its being put
in circulation. At the moment of its putting in circulation (November
1993), the dram’s exchange rate was set at 14 drams against one dollar,
which was excessively high as was later revealed. From mid 1994, the
Armenian dram depreciated against the US dollar (with some deviations
from this tendency). The tendency changed in the first months of 2004
when the dram started strengthening slowly. The highest price of the
dollar (about 590 drams) was registered in February-March 2004.

DRMBON- MARTAKERT ROAD CONSTRUCTION LAUNCHED
ArmRadio.am
08.08.2006 15:02
“Hayastan” Pan-Armenian Foundation has announced competitions
for the implementation of a number of programs in Armenia and
Artsakh. Particularly, the reconstruction of the Sysian town hospital
will be carried out by “Surham” organization, Armenpress reported.
The reconstruction works are expected to be finished at the beginning
of the 2007. The program which is financed by the foundation’s French
local body will give an opportunity to ensure relevant conditions
for providing good medical services to the population of the town of
Sysian as well as to the people of the nearby villages.
In the coming days the results of the competition announced for the
reconstruction of Artik hospital will be summed up. The program is
financed by the foundation’s Great Britain’s local body.
Public relations service of the foundation told Armenpress that as
part of Martakert regional development program, the construction
works in Artsakh have already launched. In the town of Martakert the
construction of water pipe line as well as the “North-South” highway’s
Drmbon-Martakert road’s 4,865 km-long sector has already launched.
In August the foundation is going to announce a competition for
carrying out programs on connecting Chldran and Arajadzor villages of
the Martakert region to the gas network. Soon a competition will be
conducted for the construction of North-South highway’s Kichan-Drmbon
sector’s bridge.

EMERGENCIES WENT UP THIS YEAR
Lragir.am
08 Aug 06
On August 7 the guest of briefings in the City Hall of Yerevan was
Vrej Gabrielyan, the assistant director of the Rescue Service of
Armenia. He presented the report on the first half of 2006 and dwelled
on the problems. The cases of fire increased compared with the same
period in 2005. 591 fires were reported in the city, including 17 on
lawns. Vrej Gabrielyan says these were not arsons, the citizens were
careless to throw burning cigarettes into the dry grass. The damage
caused by fires grew as well.
The cases of suicides increased, and the survey shows that these are
mainly people aged above 30.
The survey shows that the rate of car accidents grew in the first
half of 2006. Vrej Gabrielyan explains this fact by the increasing
number of cars in the city. In the first half of the current year 13
cases of assault were reported, fortunately, there were no victims.
There were no casualties in 3 cases of explosion either.
The special task force of the City Hall and community councils reported
86 wrecking buildings, mostly in Ajapniak. The assistant head of the
Rescue Service says this year it is planned to reinforce 11 wrecking
buildings, 2 were reinforced, 9 remain.
27 pedestrian subways will be repaired. The cleaning of Lake Yerevanian
started. Vrej Gabrielyan assures that within two years Lake Yerevanian
will be improved so that the citizens may prefer it to Lake Sevan or
the Black Sea.

FATHER YEGHIA KILAGHPIAN RE-ELECTED ABBOT OF VENICE MECHITARIST CONGREGATION
VENICE, AUGUST 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Yeghia Kilaghpian was
re-elected the abbot of the Mechitarist Congregation of Venice. He will
for other six years head the Mechitarist Congregation, the beneficial
activity of the congregation, helping keeping and improvement of the
Armenian literature and culture. According to the “Marmara” daily,
21 Mechitarist deputies participated in the regular elections in the
Surb Ghazar Cathedral. To recap, elections are held once in six years.

WE BOTH INCREASE AND DECREASE
Lragir.am
08 Aug 06
According to the information of the Statistics Service of the
Commonwealth of Independent States, in the first half of 2006
production in Armenia decreased by 1 percent compared with the
first half of 2005, which is the eighth rate in the CIS. An overall
1 percent growth of production was reported in the CIS. The highest
rates were reported in Azerbaijan 141.1 percent, Belarus 112.6 percent,
Turkmenistan 122.4 percent.
The same source reports that the growth of the GDP in Armenia totaled
11.9 percent, which is the second rate in the CIS. Azerbaijan also has
a leading position with 36.3 percent. The average rate of economic
growth in the CIS is 6.5 percent. In the first half of 2006 the GDP
in Georgia grew by 8.4 percent.

PREMIER MARGARIAN GOES ON 2 WEEKS’ LEAVE
ArmRadio.am
08.08.2006 11:31
The Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian went on a two weeks’
leave from August 7 to August 21. According to the RA Government
Information and PR Department, Margarian will spend his holiday outside
Armenia. The RA Minister of Territorial Administration Hovik Abrahamian
will temporarily perform the duties of the prime minister, NT reported.

HEADING FOR AFRICAN INTEGRATION
Lragir.am
08 Aug 06
It is not news that our government officials are fond of history-making
statements, and we can often see and hear the manifestations. For
instance, our officials doubted the construction and operation of
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. The pipeline was built and is
already operating. Now the same officials are doubting the gas pipeline
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum. Another official developed the theory of quiet
and peaceful development of the Armenian economy without roads. Now
it is the turn of Artashes Ziroyan, the head of the department of
protection of natural resources of the Ministry of Environmental
Protection. Artashes Ziroyan has decided to sell Sevan. Not the town
and not a restaurant or hotel called Sevan. Artashes Ziroyan wants
to sell Lake Sevan. Not all once. Part by part. Barrel by barrel.
This official stated in an interview with the reporter of the Time
Yerevan that since Lake Sevan is drinking water, we can sell it to
“African countries, like Azerbaijan sells its oil. We will have the
tap, and we will say, bro, you have to consider our opinion.”
In making such an initiative, Ziroyan must have considered the
actuality. If the fishermen and poachers sell the fish and crabs of
the lake, the authorities and power robbers sell the shores of the
lake, why shouldn’t Artashes Ziroyan sell the water of the lake?
Especially that unlike the shores of Sevan, the water of Sevan is a
renewable resource, especially now, when the level of water is rising.
Unfortunately, Artashes Ziroyan declines to say what will happen
to the ecosystem of the lake in particular and Armenia in general,
if the water in Lake Sevan is sold unsparingly as the fish and crabs.
Ziroyan is supposed to know the essential damage of uncontrolled
fishing in the lake, however, for he is the official in charge of
protection of the country’s natural resources.
Or if we are going to sell our water to the African countries and
say “bro, etc” and these African countries are not actors in the
geopolitical developments that are important for us, and we have chosen
the path of European integration rather than African integration,
is it worthwhile to eat, sorry to drink Sevan for a meaningless
“bro”? It would be something else if Ziroyan proposed to sell Lake
Sevan to the members of the European Union. But good old Europe does
not know what to do with its own water. Our strategic partner does
not have a shortage of drinking water either.
No, Mr. Ziroyan, this won’t do. Lake Sevan is not a remedy for our
problems. Besides, who said that the best way of protection of natural
resources is their destruction?
ARAM ZAKARYAN

IT’S NOT THE POWER OF THE LOBBY, BUT RIGHTEOUSNESS OF ITS CAUSE
ArmRadio.am
08.08.2006 16:47
In recent years, as Armenian Americans have been getting better
organized in carrying ut their political objectives, there has
been repeated talk about “the powerful Armenian lobby.” The most
recent example is Julie Corwin’s report on Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty on August 2, titled: “Confirmation Row Shows Power of Diaspora
Lobbies.” The analyst for RFE/RL expresses her surprise that a large
number of Senators, Republicans and Democrats, challenged the Bush
administration’s refusal to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, during
the confirmation hearing of Ambassador-Designate Richard Hoagland.
The current U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, is being dismissed
for speaking publicly and truthfully about the Armenian Genocide. On
August 1, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee postponed, for
the second time, Amb. Hoagland’s confirmation. Corwin wrote: “The
prominence of the issue is due in large part to the efforts of two
powerful lobbying groups “the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA), and the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA). There are lobbying
groups representing the concerns of nearly every diaspora community in
the United States. The Armenian lobby is one of the most successful.”
Another interesting article about the Armenian lobby, written by
Heather S.Gregg, a doctoral candidate in the MIT Political Science
Department, has been published a number of times in different
versions and lengths (from 6 to 30 pages) over the past five
years. The article is titled: “Divided They Conquer: The Success of
Armenian Ethnic Lobbies in the U.S.” Various Turkish publications
and websites have featured this article to explain why the Armenian
lobby is “so powerful.” Gregg writes: “Within the last decade,
Armenian lobby groups in the United States have achieved considerable
success in gaining political and material support from Congress, the
White House and other federal bodies.” She explains this success by
“the intense lobbying efforts of Armenian-Americans in the United
States. The lobbying success of this small ethnic minority is largely
the result of two factors. First, an inter-community rivalry within
the Armenian-American population represented by two lobby groups
in Washington,the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
and the Armenian Assembly of America (the Assembly), has led to
hyper-mobilization of this ethnic group’s resources.
Second, the Armenians have formed key alliances in Washington
including members of Congress, other lobby groups and organizations,
and the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues in the
House of Representatives, which have rallied behind Armenian policy
objectives. Together, hyper-mobilization and alliance building have
allowed the Armenians considerable success in achieving specific
policy objectives.”
Why is there such a fascination, to the point of obsession, with the
Armenian lobby? Why Turkish and Azeri publications and officials
make frequent references to the “powerful Armenian lobby?” There
are three possible reasons as to why Turkish and Azeri officials,
political organizations and media outlets are interested in presenting
the Armenian lobby as being all too powerful:
1) To help rally domestic and international support to their side; 2)
To create sympathy among their supporters for having to face such a
“powerful enemy;” 3) To cover up their errors and incompetence after
losing a particular political battle.
One must not exclude the possibility that all those who are lobbying on
behalf of Turkey and Azerbaijan, be they U.S. lobbying firms, Jewish
organizations or Israeli government officials, are intentionally
exaggerating the power of the Armenian-American community in order
to exact a higher price from Ankara and Baku for their artificially
inflated services.
It is simply amazing that a powerful country like Turkey and oil
rich Azerbaijan, with their political clout, financial resources,
lobbying firmsin Washington, D.C., and the support of the highest
officials of the Bush administration, are complaining about the
political activities of the tiny Armenian-American community. Turkish
and Azeri officials along with their U.S. cohorts, on a regular basis,
pressure, censure and threaten, anyone around the world who dares to
support an Armenian issue. And yet, they are the ones crying “wolf!”
While it is true that the Armenian American community has become
politically more active and effective in recent years, the fact remains
that no matter how many millions do the Turks and Azeris spend, they
cannot whitewash their lies and present them as the truth. They are
simply wrong on the issues. What empowers the Armenian lobby is the
righteousness of its cause!

NKR PRESIDENT ARKADY GHUKASSIAN IS THE GUEST OF THE AZAT ARSTAKH
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
08 Aug 2006
Dear readers of the Azat Artsakh, On the 15th anniversary of
proclamation of NKR, NKR President Arkady Ghukassian will be the
guest of the Azat Artsakh website on August 31. This is an exceptional
chance to ask your questions to the NKR President. E-mail your question
to [email protected].
AA. 08-08-2006

SOUTH CAUCASIAN COUNTRIES ENCOUNTER SAME
PROBLEMS RELATED TO MAN-CAUSED RIVER POLLUTION
YEREVAN, AUGUST 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Rafael Hovhannisian, Chairman of
the Union of Armenian Ecologists NGO, subscribes to the opinion of
Azerbaijani ecologists that the pollution level is high in the Armenian
part of the rivers flowing from Armenia to Azerbaijan. According
to him, in particular, the Arax River is equally polluted in the
territory of Armenia and Azerbaijan. He explained the high degree
of the river’s pollution in Armenia by the fact that Arax’s valley
is densely populated, while measures aimed at isolating the dumps,
solid waste and waste waters have not been taken. At the same
time, he noted that the Arax River’s pollution in Armenia has not
increased since the Soviet time. In the words of Volodya Narimanian,
deputy head of the the Water Resource Management Agency of the RA
Ministry of Nature Protection, the degree of man-caused pollution,
especially with municipal and household waste waters, is high in
Azerbaijan and Georgia as well. The main reason is that the waste
waters of settlements in these countries are not cleaned due to lack
of financial resources. V. Narimanian said that the level of natural
background pollution is high in Arax and many other rivers of Armenia,
particularly with copper and molybdenum combinations, since these
rivers are rapidly flowing ones and their beds pass through rocks with
a high content of these metals. In his opinion, Azerbaijani ecologists’
claims that the rivers flowing from Armenia are very polluted have no
grounds, especially as these rivers are rapidly flowing, thanks to
which they have a greater capacity of self-cleaning from biological
pollutants. Besides, Armenia has repeatedly proposed that the
situation related to the regional rivers’ pollution be assessed with
joint efforts of the South Caucasian countries, waste water treatment
capacities be launched with the assistance of donor organizations,
and only after that one of the three South Caucasian countries should
raise the problems related to additional pollution of these rivers.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress