ARMAN SAHAKIAN RELEIVED OF POST OF YEREVAN DEPUTY
MAYOR AND INTENDS TO RUN FOR HEAD OF AJAPNIAK COMMUNITY
YEREVAN, AUGUST 2, NOYAN TAPAN. By the decision of the Armenian Prime
Minister Andranik Margarian, Arman Sahakian was releived of his post of
deputy mayor of Yerevan according to his application, NT was informed
from the RA Gover nment Information and PR Department. A. Sahakian
told Radio Liberty that his resignation was due to his intention to
run for the post of head of Ajapniak comunity in October. During
the last elections, he lost to the current community head Artsrun
Khachatrian. “I do not think that I was defeated that time when rigging
was committed. This time I want to test my strength again and I think
that I’ll win without fail,” A. Sahakian said. A. Sahakian is the son
of Galust Sahakian, leader of the RA National Assembly’s Republican
Party faction.

INTERBANK MARKET IS TEMPORARILY PARALYZED
Yerevan, August 2. ArmInfo. There was no transaction in the Interbank
market of Armenia the day before. The currency exchange market was also
inactive. Thus, according to the data of the Armenian stock exchange,
the volume of currency transactions the day before made up $50,000,
the average weighted rate increased by 0,05 point to 410,75 AMD/$1 USD.
The experts explained such inactivity of the currency market by the
fact that there was a transaction in the Interbank market July 31,
after completion of the exchange trade session, on the rate which
exceeded the fixed exchange rate of USD by 2 points. According to the
experts’ estimations, this fact somewhat paralyzed the market since
“the market participants decided to wait through, not wishing to buy
dollars by an increased rate or to sell by a decreased rate”.

Senator Biden Delays Vote on Hoagland Nomination
ArmRadio.am
02.08.2006 10:41
Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), the Ranking Democrat on the Foreign
Relations Committee, was joined today by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) in
forcing a month-long delay in the Committee’s vote on the controversial
nomination of Richard Hoagland to replace the current U.S. Ambassador
to Armenia John Evans, reported the Armenian National Committee
of America.
The controversy within the Foreign Relations Committee over the
Hoagland nomination began with Senator Biden’s June 23rd letter asking
Secretary of State Rice Condoleezza Rice to respond to a series of
questions, including specific inquiries about reports that the current
Ambassador had been recalled due to his having “accurately described
the Armenian Genocide as genocide.” The debate over the merits of the
nomination heated up during the June 28th confirmation hearing due
to the nominee’s evasive and unresponsive answers to straightforward
questions posed by panel members about U.S. policy on the Armenian
Genocide. Following the hearing, Ambassador-designate Hoagland, in a
sharp departure from established Administration practice, responded
to a written Senate inquiry by questioning the genocidal intent of
the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide, a denial tactic frequently
used by the Turkish government.
As a result of the intervention of Senators Biden and Kerry,
Ambassador-designate Hoagland’s nomination will not be considered by
the Committee until the Committee’s next business meeting in September.
“The ANCA welcomes the leadership of Senators Biden and Kerry in
ensuring that the Foreign Relations Committee has the time to more
carefully consider the implications – for both our foreign policy and
our values as a nation – of confirming a U.S. Ambassador to Armenia
who is on record denying the Armenian Genocide,” said ANCA Chairman Ken
Hachikian. “We appreciate, as well, the principled efforts of Senators
Allen, Boxer, Chafee, Coleman, Dodd, Feingold, Kennedy, Reed, Sarbanes,
and others to seek an honest explanation of the firing of Ambassador
Evans, to explore the role of the Turkish government in his recall,
and to insist that the Administration clearly articulate its stand
on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.”
The panel’s decision comes in the wake of a nationwide campaign by
the ANCA – in Washington, DC and in grassroots communities across
the country – to demand answers concerning the recall of Amb. Evans
and to educate Senators about the adverse impact of sending an envoy
to Armenia that has called into question the genocidal character of
Ottoman Turkey’s systematic destruction of its Armenian population. The
ANCA has mobilized thousands of activists to share their views with
their Senators and Representatives about the need for an honest
explanation of Ambassador Evans’ recall and, more broadly, the exact
outlines of the State Department’s policy on the Armenian Genocide.
As early as this February, Members of Congress, at the urging of
the ANCA, began pressing the State Department for a full, open, and
official explanation of the firing of the current U.S. Ambassador
to Armenia, over his truthful comment last year on the Armenian
Genocide. Despite a series of Congressional letters and questions posed
during Congressional testimony by Secretary of State Rice and other
senior officials, the Administration failed to provide a meaningful
explanation of its decision to recall Ambassador Evans.
In the shadow of this controversy, Ambassador-designate Hoagland
came before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 28th
for a confirmation hearing, alongside the President’s nominees to
represent the U.S. in Ireland and Switzerland. During this hearing,
Senators George Allen (R-VA) and Norm Coleman (R-MN) pressed
Ambassador-designate Hoagland for answers about U.S. policy on the
Armenian Genocide. Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) expressed serious
reservations concerning the circumstances of the nomination and the
Administration’s policy on the Armenian Genocide.
Ambassador-designate Hoagland’s responses during the hearing, and
later to written questions submitted by panel members, were largely
evasive, characterized by repeated – often strained – efforts to
avoid using the term genocide, even while refusing to acknowledge
that he had been instructed not to use this term. The following day,
on June 29th, the panel, and then the full Senate, voted to confirm
nominees for the ambassadors to Ireland and Switzerland, but chose
to not take any action on Hoagland’s nomination.
In the days that followed his confirmation hearing, Ambassador-
designate Hoagland responded to several dozen written questions
concerning U.S. policy on the Armenian Genocide, the recall of
Ambassador Evans, and the instructions he had received regarding
how to address this matter if confirmed by the Senate. Among his
written responses to a series of questions posed by Senator Barbara
Boxer (D-CA), was a deeply troubling, morally objectionable and
historically inaccurate indication that the Armenian Genocide did
not meet the U.S. definition of genocide because of the absence
of a “specific intent” on the part of the perpetrator. This denial
of the Armenian Genocide – which went far beyond the bounds of the
Administration’s traditional policy – prompted the ANCA to announce
its formal opposition to Richard Hoagland’s nomination on July 18th.
Soon after, the ANCA determined that, according to Department of
Justice records, the State Department had misled the U.S. Senate
about its communications with the Turkish government concerning the
February 2005 public affirmation of the Armenian Genocide by Ambassador
Evans. In a letter, dated June 28th, written on behalf of Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice to Senator Biden, the State Department denied
that the Turkish government had even approached the Administration on
this issue. However, official Foreign Agent Registration Act filings
by the Turkish government’s registered foreign agent, the Livingston
Group, document that, in the days following Ambassador Evans’ February
19, 2005 remarks, one of Turkey’s agents communicated on at least
four different occasions with State Department officials concerning
the envoy’s statement and his subsequent retraction.
To date, half of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including
Senators George Allen (R-VA), Joseph Biden (D-DE), Barbara Boxer
(D-CA), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Christopher Dodd
(D-CT), Russell Feingold (D-WI), John Kerry (D-MA) and Paul Sarbanes
(D-MD), have contacted Secretary Rice or questioned Ambassador
Designate Hoagland directly regarding the Armenian Genocide. Senators
Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Jack Reed (D-RI), along with over sixty
members of the House have also expressed serious concerns to the
State Department on this matter.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

1500 Monuments in Liberated territories of NK
ArmRadio.am
02.08.2006 11:01
At present around 1,500 archeological, architectural and historic
monuments are registered in the liberated territories of Nagorno
Karabakh.Hakob Simonian, the director of the scientific-research
center of historic-cultural heritage at the Armenian Culture and
Youth Affairs Ministry, told Armenpress that during the war the
center organized expeditions during which the members took photos
of the monuments, formed their certificates and made excavations.
Simonian noted that during the first expedition in 1990 surveys were
conducted in Getashen and Martunashen, in 1992 in Kashatagh, Aghdam,
Fizuli, Jabrayil, Zangelan, Kelbajar and Kubatlu.
According to Simonian, the surveys were conducted mainly during war
time as at that time the Armenians were to prove that the territories
belong to them. Simonian said thanks to the conducted survey “at
present we have a ‘tool’ and in case it is used in the diplomatic
way we can prove that these territories belong to Armenians.
>From 1997 to 2001 excavations were conducted in Tsitsernavank,
during which 6 monuments were studied. Simonian also underscored the
excavations of Kerin tomb-field which started in 2003 and continue
up to now.

“Art without Borders”
ArmRadio.am
02.08.2006 11:06
Works by 25 Armenian, Iranian, Turkish and Georgian artists will be
presented at the exhibition entitled “Art without Borders” which will
kick off August 4 at the Center of Innovative Experimental Art.
The head of the project Eduard Palasanian told Armenpress that 6 of the
artists are from Armenia, five from Georgia, seven from Iran and seven
from Turkey. According to him, the exhibition is a unique phenomenon
of contemporary art and it proves that political controversies do
not influence the cultural life.
Palasanian also noted with regret that their three-year efforts
towards involving Azerbaijani artists in the exhibition failed. At
the exhibition paintings, photos and different equipment will be
presented.The exhibition will last until August 25.

662 violations of ecological legislation
ArmRadio.am
02.08.2006 11:10
In the first half of 2006, RA State Territorial Inspection of RA Nature
Protection Ministry checked 957 objects and revealed 662 violations
of ecological legislation of Armenia, Arminfo news agency reported.
Besdies, not a single violation was removed in the deadline set
by the law. The majority of the damages was made to the flora(228
cases), then come the damages to the water sources (167 cases), to
the air basin(134), to the mines and land resources (38 cases each)
and to fauna (57 cases). 449 people were imposed with administrative
penalties amounting to AMD 31 million 515 thousand. The damage to
the ecology of Armenia is evaluated to AMD 220 million 325 thousand.

Armenia’s Banking System Serves 745 thousand clients
ArmRadio.am
02.08.2006 11:15
In May 2006, the number of clients served by Armenia’s banking system
increased by 9,955 and reached 745,075. The RA Statistical Service
reports that legal entities numbered 37,884 and individuals707,191,
ARKA news agency reports.
By May 31, 2006, 919,292 accounts had been registered at Armenia’s
commercial banks, 865,056 of them individual accounts. The combined
accounts of the Armsavingsbank involve 3,469.5ths people.
By June 30, 2006, the balance of deposits attracted from the population
had amounted to AMD 102,748 – an AMD 860 or 0.8% increase. It increased
by AMD 25,243mln or by 32.6% compared to the corresponding period of
last year.

Minsk Group Co-Chairs to Discuss Peace Process in Paris
ArmRadio.am
02.08.2006 11:19
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will assess the recent visit by US
Co-chairman Matthew Bryza to the region during a two-day meeting,
which was scheduled to begin today in Paris, reported Armenpress.
Bryza is going to present the results of his regional visit to
his French and Russian counterparts, Trend news agency reported.
Meanwhile, President Ilham Aliyev again rejected any resolution to
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that would not put Karabakh under Azeri
control ahead of talks with a visiting top US negotiator on Tuesday,
reported Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
“Azerbaijan will never- neither today, nor tomorrow and under no
circumstances – agree to Nagorno-Karabakh’s secession from Azerbaijan,”
Aliyev told his cabinet in remarks reported by Azeri newspapers on
Tuesday. “The issue of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity can not be
a subject of negotiations.”
Aliyev and his Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov were meeting
later in the day with Bryza. “I do not have much to tell you at the
moment,” the Azeri ANS television quoted Bryza as telling reporters in
Baku. “Actually, there is nothing [new] to speak about.” Aliyev has
repeatedly demanded restoration of Azeri control over Karabakh in
recent months amid fading hopes for an Armenian-Azeri agreement which
international mediators hoped will be signed this year.
However, a framework peace accord proposed by a team of American,
French and Russian mediators seems to allow for the possibility of
Karabakh’s independence or reunification with Armenia. The three
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group favor a gradual resolution of the
dispute that would culminate in a referendum of self-determination in
Karabakh.Bryza confirmed over the weekend that under the terms of the
proposed deal, the disputed region’s status would be decided by the
“people of Karabakh.” He indicated that this includes the region’s
former Azeri residents that were forced to flee their homes during
the 1991-1994 war.
Bryza spoke with RFE/RL in Yerevan after holding talks with President
Robert Kocharian and before proceeding to Stepanakert where he met
with the leadership of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic president Arkady Ghoukassian told reporters after the meeting
that he briefed Bryza on the Stepanakert government’s position on
the conflict which he said is “somewhat different from the approaches
favored by the co-chairs.” “I think Mr. Bryza understands that it is
impossible to settle the conflict without Karabakh’s participation,”
he said. “Not only he but all the co-chairs realize that.” However,
Bryza made it clear in his RFE/RL interview that it is the presidents
of Armenia and Azerbaijan that must have the final say in the peace
process. He downplayed in that regard the fact that he is apparently
the most high-ranking US government official to ever visit Karabakh.
“There is no statement of any sort that should be read from my visit
to Stepanakert other than that I am going there in my sole capacity
as a co-chair so I can understand better what the situation and what
the views are of the people that are living in Karabakh,” Bryza said.

Armenia’s 1,000 largest tax-payers paid a total 136.7bln drams
ArmRadio.am
02.08.2006 11:19
In the 1st half of 2006, Armenia’s 1,000 largest tax-payers paid a total of
AMD 136.7bln to the state budget, ARKA news agency reported.
The RA Taxation Service reports that ten large Armenian enterprises top the
list: Zangezur Molybdenum Plant (AMD 13.4bln), ArmenTel (AMD 8.4bln),
ArmRosgasprom (AMD 5.6bln), “Flash” company (AMD 4bln), Electric Networks of Armenia
(AMD 3.4bln), Kakhpetrolservice ((3.4bln), Parem Armenia (AMD 3.2bln),
K-Telecom (AMD 3.1bln), Grand Tobacco (AMD 2.1bln), International Masis Tabak (AMD
2bln).
In the 1st half of 2006, tax receipts totaled AMD 158.5bln.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijan’s Military Expenditures to Total $700 in 2006
ArmRadio.am
02.08.2006 13:22
In 2006 Azerbaijan’s military budget will total $700 million,
President Ilham Aliyev said at a session of the Cabinet of Ministers,
Baku Today reported.
Aliyev said this is $100 million more than was previously allocated in
the state budget. The president said that the government is committed
to peacefully resolving the Karabakh conflict, but at the same time
stressed the need to strengthen the country’s defense potential.