GLOBAL GOLD MINING HAS MINE EXPLORATION LICENCE, DIRECTOR OF COMPANY’S
ARMENIAN SUBSIDIARY CLAIMS
YEREVAN, JUNE 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Global Gold Mining (GGM), a company
engaged in mineral resource mining in Armenia, operates based on
the licences granted by the RA ministry of nature protection and
the RA ministry of trade and economic development. Ashot Poghosian,
director of the company’s Armenian subsidiary, stated this during a
round table at the Club of Economic Reporters on June 23. Thus, he
actually refuted the statement of the RA Minister of Nature Protection
Vardan Aivazian that GGM has no licence. A. Poghsian said that GGM has
already invested 6.5 mln USD and intends to increase this figure to
9.6 mln USD by late 2006. According to his agruments, since 2003, GGM
has been a shareholder of the SHA company that conducts exploration of
mines in Hankavan and Marjan. SHA’s licence, which was granted by the
RA ministry of nature protection in 2002, is valid until 2017. However,
according to the amendments to the legislation, old licences have
to be replaced by new ones valid for the same period. SHA applied
to the ministry of nature protection with a request to receive a new
licence for the same period, but the ministry granted a licence for
exploring about 120 mln tons of Hanakavan mine’s reserves for only a
year. Although the company has submitted a 1.2 mln-dollar investment
program, after which the ministry reassured that it will grant a new
licence, no licence has been granted so far. Under the current law,
if the authorized body does not make a decision on a new licence
within a month, the old licence is not considered as having lost its
effect and the company continues operating. A.
Poghosian said that a company’s operating licence may be cancelled
only under a court decision. If a company has committed a violation,
before applying to court, the ministry of nature protection must warn
the company in writing and allow it to eliminate this violation within
at least 90 days. A. Poghosian noted that GGM has not received such
a warning.

GOLD ORE TO BE EXTRACTED GROM TUKHMANUK MINE THIS YEAR
YEREVAN, JUNE 23, NOYAN TAPAN. This year the company Global Gold
Mining (GGM) intends to extract the first 75 thousand tons of ore from
Tukhmanuk mine (Aragatsotn marz). Director of the company’s Armenian
subsidiary Ashot Poghosian told reporters on June 23 that GGM received
this right last year after becoming the main shareholder of Mego Gold,
a company that operated the mine previously. According to him, 200
jobs will be created thanks to the mine’s opeartion. It was noted
that the confirmed reserves of Tukhmanuk mine’s ore currently make
1.5 mln tons. It is envisaged to obtain 6 grams of gold from a ton
of ore. A.Poghosian said that GGM is now operating at a loss, since
only exploration work is being done. Only after its completion it
will be possible to make a profit.

GLOBAL GOLD MINING TO INVEST $10 MILLION IN ARMENIA
Armenpress
YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS: The US-based Global Gold Mining
company has invested around $65. million in the last several years
in prospecting Armenian mines. The chief manager of its Armenian
subsidiary, Ashot Poghosian, said the volume of investments will rise
to $9.6 million before the end of 2006.
In 2004 the company was granted a license to prospect mines in Armenian
Tukhmanuk, Hankavan and Getik areas and in Marjan. Poghosian told a
news conference today that prospecting in Tukhmanuk was nearly over. He
said some 75,000 tons of gold ore are supposed to be extracted this
year. Experts estimate that every one thousand ton of ore there
contains 6 grams of gold and 12 grams of silver.
He said the company was not planning to prospect uranium ore deposits,
for which a special permission of the government is needed. But he
said if deposits of uranium are found during general prospecting the
company would ask the government to allow it to extract uranium.

GLOBAL GOLD MINING INTENDS TO EXPLORE URANIUM RESERVES IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, JUNE 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The company Global Gold Mining
(GGM) intends to explore uranium reserves in Armenia. GGM Armenian
subsidiary director Ashot Poghosian told reporters on June 23 that
the acquisition of Getik area’s shares pursued this goal as well. To
recap, by purchasing last year shares of the company Atelia Investment
(also engaged in exploration of this area), GGM became the shareholder
of 80% of Getik Mining Company. In the words of A.
Poghosian, it uranium reserves are discovered in this area within
the next three years, GGM will apply to the Armenian government for
permission to explore the amount of these reserves. As regards the
RA Nature Protection Minister’s statement that GGM has no right to
conduct such exploration in Armenia, A.
Poghosian noted that in case of discoveing any mineral, including
uranium, the operating company must inform the government
about existence of this mineral in the given mine within 14
days. A. Poghosian said that it is desirable that relations of mining
companies and state structures took the form of cooperation.

GLOBAL GOLD MINING TO INVEST $9.6 MLN IN ARMENIA BY THE END OF YEAR
Panorama.am
14:50 23/06/06
By the end of 2006, Global Gold Mining will make a total investment of
$9.6 mln in Armenia in conducting geological-investigation services,
Ashot Poghosyan, director of the Armenian branch told a press
conference today.
In his words, the company has invested up to $6.5 mln. The company
has got the license for investigation works in Tukhmanuk, Tenik,
Hankavan and Mardjan in 2004. A. Poghosyan informed that investigation
services in Tukhmanuk started in September last year and are almost
done. This year the company plans to start extraction of ore and has
got the necessary equipment for that from USA a week ago.
The Armenian company works on losses this far, Ashot Poghosyan says,
adding that investigation requires a lot of expenditure. Moreover, to
reach American standards, the company has to increase its expenditures
by 1.5 times.
The company was not been warned by the Minister of Nature Protection
that it must submit a permission for conduction investigation services
in three-month time. According to Ashot Poghosyan he learned about
it from local mass media.
Several days ago the minister of nature protection Vardan
Aivazyan stated that company Global Gold is not included in the
list of organizations conducting geological investigations in
Armenia. /Panorama.am/

from the June 23, 2006 edition
-woeu.html
< p07s02-woeu.html>
Moscow cops stop mostly minorities
Racial profiling study on Metro shows minorities are 22 times more
likely to be singled out than whites.
By Fred Weir | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
MOSCOW
Levon, who declines to give his last name, says his visit to Moscow has
been a nonstop nightmare of police harassment and extortion, especially
whenever he enters Moscow’s underground transit system, the Metro.
“The police always check me, and often they detain me claiming my
papers are false,” says the swarthy, middle-aged Armenian sports
trainer. He’s spent the past three months in Moscow caring for an
ailing family member. “The police only let me go when I pay a bribe,
usually about 500 rubles ($18). It happens at least twice a week. Every
time I go outside, I feel like I’m heading for some unpleasantness.”
Stories like Levon’s abound in Moscow, where anecdotal evidence – and
a new study – show police routinely single out dark-skinned migrants
from former Soviet republics as well as citizens from Russia’s own
southern regions for document checks that often lead to detention,
harassment, and paying of bribes.
Still experts say they are shocked by the results of a new study
showing the scope of racial profiling by police in the Moscow Metro. It
found that non-Slavs – are almost 22 times more likely to be stopped
than those who look like fair-skinned ethnic Russians.
By comparison, a similar survey in the US found that blacks traveling
on a New Jersey highway were almost five times more frequently targeted
by state police than whites.
“In effect, any non-Slav can expect to be treated like an illegal
alien by Moscow police,” says Galina Kozhevnikova, deputy director
of the Sova Center, a nonprofit group that works on civil rights
issues. “The growing xenophobia in society is bad enough, but it’s
clearly much worse in the police. Something urgently needs to be done.”
Experts say the study results are particularly disturbing
at a time when hate crimes by skinhead and neo-Nazi groups are
rising. Ms. Kozhevnikova, whose organization tracks ultra-nationalist
activities, says that 18 people have been killed and 147 injured in
racist attacks in Russian cities so far this year.
The United Nations special rapporteur on racism, Doudou Diene, told
a Moscow press conference last week that Russia is suffering from a
post-Communist “ideological vacuum” which aids the proliferation of
xenophobic and racist ideas. During his visit to Russia, he met with
resident Africans, Roma, and other minorities who told him they are
regular targets of violence.
The study, in which monitors observed more than 1,500 police document
checks at 15 Metro stations over a five-month period in 2005, concluded
that Moscow police are engaged in “massive ethnic profiling.” The
practice is unlawful discrimination, a violation of the equal rights of
citizens under the Russian Constitution and the country’s international
commitments. For example, the United Nations Race Convention prohibits
racial discrimination with respect to “freedom of movement,” and
guarantees the “right to equal treatment” by judicial officials.
Anita Soboleva, executive director of Jurix, the lawyers’ group
that conducted the survey with funds from George Soros’ Open Society
Institute, says “Police ethnic profiling reflects social attitudes
against people who look ‘different.’ This racist approach appears to
be deeply ingrained in police procedures.”
While many of the estimated 3 million “migrant” workers in Moscow come
from former Soviet republics in the Caucasus and Asia – and even as
far afield as China and Vietnam – many others are members of Russia’s
own 20 million-strong Muslim community. The study suggests that Moscow
police treat all non-Slavs alike, whether Russian citizens or not. “The
danger here is that non-Slavs are made to feel themselves second-class
citizens in the capital of their own country,” says Olga Schedrina,
a researcher at the government’s Institute of Sociology in Moscow.
At one downtown Moscow Metro stop covered in the study, non-Slavs were
85 times more likely to be stopped than fair-skinned people. “We’re
very concerned that police conduct toward non-Slavs… will reinforce
social prejudices. People think, ‘if the police do it, that must be
right,’ ” Ms. Soboleva says.
Police and state officials have been given copies of the study,
released this month, but have yet to comment on it. The authors say
that identification-checking sweeps through Metro stations not only
raise social tensions, they appear to be a misuse of resources in
the battle against crime and terrorism: Only 3 percent of the 1,500
checks witnessed by survey monitors found any kind of infraction,
in most cases very minor ones.
“We hope to dialogue with the police about this, because it
seems certain that their energies could be better spent,” says
Soboleva. “Defenders of police practices usually say this approach
is because of the high rate of ethnic crime, but no statistics back
this up. Nor is there any evidence that these document checks of
the population have ever slowed down any terrorist actions. It’s not
clear they have any good purpose at all.”
Russian police have the right to check anyone’s ID, and hold him
or her for up to three hours while documents are verified. Even the
slightest problem, such as lack of Moscow residential registration,
can lead to detention of up to 48 hours.
<; | Copyright © 2006 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved. --Boundary_(ID_OJUzvaFmdhcY5kIFTBaiEw)- -

PRESS RELEASE
Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) – Yerevan Office
53-55 Pavstos Byuzand Street, 375010
Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Inessa Grigoryan
Tel: (+374 10) 522076; 562068
Fax: (+374 10) 522076
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
Children of Armenia Fund – New York Office
630 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2100,
New York, NY 10111, USA
Contact: Mariam Dilakian
Tel: 212 – 994 – 8201
Fax: 212 – 994 – 8299
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
For immediate release
COAF Celebrates the Grand Opening of the Model Cluster Press Club
& Three Other Cluster Initiatives
Armavir District, Republic of Armenia, June 21, 2006 ¾ Today, the
Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) celebrated the grand opening of the
Cluster Press Club in the Model Cluster village of Lernagog. The
event also marked the launch of a number of inter-village projects
in the Model Cluster, including the Waste Management system and the
Inter-Village Transportation system.
Additionally, not far from Lernagog, COAF established today the Center
for Psycho-Social Services in Dalarik. The Center will serve all six
villages of the Model Cluster ¾ namely Argina, Dalarik, Karakert,
Lernagog, Myasnikyan, and Shenik.
Speaking at the event were Dr. Garo H. Armen, COAF Founder and
Chairman, Mr. Vache Terteryan, Deputy Minister of Territorial
Administration, Dr. Artsvik Minasyan, Deputy Minister of Labor and
Social Issues and Dr. Larisa Muradyan, Vice Governor of Armavir. In
their brief addresses at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the speakers
emphasized the utmost importance of strengthening inter-village
relationships, improving communication and ensuring cooperation among
cluster villages. The guests also hailed the initiatives launched
today by COAF.
The projects launched today by COAF in the Model Cluster communities of
Armavir District are integral to its Comprehensive Rural Development
Program, which comprises a) economic development; b) infrastructure
rehabilitation, and c) community development, including health care,
social and educational projects. In each of these program components,
COAF’s efforts focus on resolving the most critical problems that
have the potential for the highest positive impact on the young
generation. The uniqueness of COAF’s clustering approach lies in
the design and implementation of such projects, which ensure lower
costs while benefiting the highest number of villagers. As such, each
cluster project is intended to cover the needs of all six villages
of the Model Cluster and also develop inter-village relationships
and shared services.
The Cluster Press Club based in the Lernagog Municipality aims at
training 13 local youth in journalism for a period of seven months.
The participants will be trained in mass media principles and
legislation, the different genres of journalism, newspaper production,
freedom of speech and responsibility, and computer literacy.
The project will result in the establishment of a self-sustaining
small business that will publish the Cluster Monthly.
The Waste Management System is considered to be an innovative approach
to the collection and disposal of garbage. The systematic management
of waste will eliminate existing sanitary and hygienic issues in
the Model Cluster, thus further improving the lives of the 16,600
cluster residents. The children of these villages will live and play
in a garbage-free healthy environment. Hay Mshak, a Lernagog NGO,
recently established a limited company that aims to serve as the
revenue-generating arm of the NGO for ensuring the sustainability of
public operations, including the long-term maintenance and renovation
of public buildings.
The third Model Cluster project that COAF launched today is the
inter-village transportation system. The thirteen-seat van will
operate in the Model Cluster facilitating the movement of local
residents from one cluster village to another, whether to attend an
inter-village community event, utilize a service available elsewhere,
for personal business reasons, or for leisure. The transportation
timetable is set in a graphic that allows residents to connect with
other operating public transportation systems that connect to major
hubs, Armavir and Yerevan.
The Cluster Psycho-Social Services Center, launched today in Dalarik,
is dedicated to defending the rights of children to give them the
opportunity to live and grow in a safe and supportive environment.
Specifically, it aims at raising public awareness of child’s rights
in the community, with emphasis on training parents and educators
on the rights of socially-disadvantaged or disabled children. By
making psycho-social services available to the cluster communities,
COAF intends to secure the integration of disadvantaged and disabled
children and their families in the larger society. This project is
co-funded by UNICEF.
—————————–
Hay Mshak NGO is a Lernagog-based non-profit organization, which
aims at ensuring a healthy and safe environment for the youth and
at contributing toward the balanced development of children and
adolescents. Recent achievements of Hay Mshak NGO include organization
of various cultural events both in Lernagog and through the Armavir
District of Armenia.
–Boundary_(ID_PwFfMxb53wGcSAwGwV0ynA)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSCE U.S. CO-CHAIR READS OUT CONTENT OF KOCHARYAN-ALIYEV NEGOTIATIONS
Yerevan, June 23. ArmInfo. Matthew Bryza, U.S. Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State, U.S. Co-chairman of OSCE Minsk Group, read out
the content of the negotiations of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
for the first time in the history of the conflict’s settlement.
In an interview to RFE/RL, M. Bryza said a framework agreement has
been prepared. The agreement calls Armenia for withdrawal of troops
from “the territories of Azerbaijan under the control of Armenia.” On
the other hand, the document provides for normalization of diplomatic
and economic relations of Armenia and Azerbaijan, M. Bryza said. The
agreement contains also other provisions providing for dislocation
of peacemakers in the conflict zone and international economic
assistance to the region of Nagorny Karabakh, as well as for a
referendum for Nagorny Karabakh’s status at a certain stage. Thus,
a finished specific document is currently on the negotiating table of
Armenia and Azerbaijan, which, however, the parties refuse to adopt
so far, M. Bryza said. He did not mention what provisions exactly
do not meet the interests of the parties. The U.S. Co-chair urged
the presidents to adopt the framework agreement and added that it
requires a political will.

QUAKE IN ARMENIA
Yerevan, June 23. ArmInfo. A 2.5 Magnitude earthquake was registered
20 km south-east from the town of Martuni, Gegharkunik region,
Armenia, at 1:45am local time on June 23. The shake in the epicenter
totaled 3-4 on 12-scale bar. The shake was followed by a 1.8
Magnitude aftershock measuring 2-3. The National Seismic Protection
Service of Armenia told ArmInfo.
Earlier yesterday at 9:36pm local tome, a 3.5 Magnitude earthquake
was recorded 55 km west from the Iranian town of Khoy, on the border
of Turkey and Iran. The shake in the epicenter measured 4-5 on
12-scale bar, the source reports.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GERMAN TV REPORTERS IN NAGORNY KARABAKH TO SHOT TWO SHORTS ABOUT
EVERYDAY LIFE OF KARABAKH PEOPLE
Stepanakert, June 23. ArmInfo. German TV reporters are currently in
Nagorny Karabakh to shot two shorts about the live and the people of
the region.
ArmInfo’s special correspondent to Stepanakert reports the first film
will tell about women-fighters of Karabakh war, the second about
the post-war restoration in Nagorny Karabakh. In an interview to
Artsakh Public Radio, TV reporter Thomas Iberg said the films will be
demonstrated on 2 popular Germany TV channels. German audience want
to know about the everyday life in Nagorny Karabakh and the post-war
restoration, T. Iberg said. The TV reporters met with local officials,
the participants of Karabakh war, youth, as well as visited the
Museum of Military Glory and the Missing. Documentary records made
by Karabakh journalists in the course of the military actions will
be used in the films.