EXPERTS’ REPORT ON A-320 CRASH TO BE PROVIDED AFTER INVESTIGATIONS
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 20 2006
Yerevan, June 19. /ARKA/. An experts report on the causes of the crash
of the Armenian airplane A-320 will be provided after investigations
and analyses, reported Gayane Davtyan, Press Secretary of the RA
Civil Aviation Department.
According to her, on June 17 the Interstate Aviation Committee
completed deciphering the black box of the plane and synchronizing
the ground-based and airborne instruments.
“The airborne recorder contained information on eight flights from
April 30 to May 3, 2006. The record lasts 26 hours 20 minutes,
including the record of the last flight, 1 hour 26 minutes,”
Davtyan said.
The record showed that the plane was not destroyed in the air,
the engines were operating until the plane smashed into the water,
and the fuel was sufficient for a safe landing.
During the last minute, the flight was carried out in the “direct
crew control” regime with the autopilot operating.
The Commission started a comprehensive analysis to simulate the
flight and make a report on the real causes of the air crash and give
recommendations on flight safety, Davtyan said.

OSKANYAN TO HEAD TO GENEVA THIS TUESDAY TO ATTEND FIRST SESSION OF UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 20 2006
YEREVAN, June 19. /ARKA/. Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
is to head to Geneva this Tuesday to attend the first session of UN
Human Rights Council. Armenian Foreign Ministry pres service reports
that the minister intends to meet with representatives of Armenian
community in Switzerland.
Oskanyan is to fly back to Yerevan on Wednesday.
The UN Human Rights Council will replace UN Human Rights Commission,
which stopped functioning on June 16. The resolution on the Council’s
powers was approved by General Assembly on March 15, 2006.
The Council includes following groups: on Eastern Europe, Africa,
Asia, Latin American and Caribbean countries as well as on Western
Europe.

ARMENIAN PM HIGHLY APPRECIATES COOPERATION WITH IMF AND WB
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 19 2006
YEREVAN, June 19. /ARKA/. Armenian Premier Andranik Margaryan highly
appreciates the cooperation with international financial organizations,
including IMF and World Bank. The press service and public relations
department of the Armenian government, Margaryan stated this during
his meeting with IMF managing director Rodrigo de Rato.
“The reforms carried out with the support of these organizations in
a number of sectors resulted in serious successes and progress in
economy, restoration of economic growth, undertaking of implementation
of the Strategic program on poverty reduction, reforming of
the country’s legislative sector to the end of introducing and
strengthening of liberal economic relations, and implementation of
specific steps toward integrating into world economy.
According to him, the best result of such cooperation is Armenia’s
joining the World Trade Organization in 2003 that became a serious
incentive for intensification of foreign economic relations and
attraction of foreign investments. “As a result of the step-by-step
increase of export volumes, a considerable growth of exports compared
to previous years was recorded as early as 2005,” Margaryan said.
Besides this, as a result of the cooperation with international
financial organizations, according to the WB classification, Armenia
was recognized as a country with average incomes for the incomes
indicator per capita, and in 2005, Armenia ranked 27th among 157
countries for the level of economic freedom and was recognized mainly
as a free country.
Margaryan also pointed out the importance of the IMF’s assistance
with the policy carried out by the Central Bank, which is aimed at
slowing down inflation.
He reported that today the government implements serious works jointly
with the CBA in terms of reforms in pension provisions, social sector
during which assistance by the IMF and WB is expected.
Rodrigo de Rato visited Armenia to participate in the two-week long
representative meeting of the Dutch group.
The IMD and WB Dutch group includes Armenia, Netherlands,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Spain, Croatia, Moldova, Georgia,
Romania, Ukraine, Cyprus and Macedonia.
The next meeting will be held in Moldova.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NO NEED FOR CHANGING NK SETTLEMENT FORMAT
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 19 2006
Yerevan, June 19. /ARKA/. There is no need for changing the format
of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, Chairman of the Foreign Relations
Commission, RA Parliament, Armen Rustamyan stated at his meeting with
members of the Commission for International Relations, Defense and
Security, Senate of Czechia.
“There is no need for a new format, because the OSCE Minsk Group
has been dealing with this issue since 1992, is well acquainted with
the problem and has made three valuable proposals for the last eight
years,” Rustamyan said.
According to him, the reason for the lack of positive changes is
Azerbaijan’s constantly rejecting proposals and refuses to sign any
document contradicting its conception of solution to the problem.
According to Rustamyan, success in settlement of conflicts is only
possible through the development of regional cooperation, which is
seriously impeded by the policy of creating dividing lines in the
region being implemented by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

OSCE OFFICE TO FACILITATE SMALL, MEDIUM-BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TO BE OPENED IN GORIS
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 19 2006
Yerevan, June 19. /ARKA/. An OSCE office to facilitate small and medium
business development will be opened in Goris, Syunik region, Armenia,
Head of the OSCE office in Yerevan Vladimir Pryakhin told reporters.
“The center will be a kind of database on business potential in
the Syunik region,” Pryakhin said. According to him, the OSCE is
actively introducing developed information technologies in Armenia,
particularly in the country’s regions.
Pryakhin pointed out that the office will afford Armenia’s small and
medium business sector a unique opportunity to concentrate all the
information on this sphere in one place, for an effective start of
small and medium business in the Syunik region.
According to him, the project will be implemented by the OSCE with
the assistance of the Armenia Association of Small and Medium-Sized
Business.
Pryakhin could not cite the cost of the project (it has not yet been
completed) pointing out that the Goris Municipality has provided
premises for the office.
The presentation of the project is scheduled for the end of
June.

ARMENIA MUST BE READY FOR LOWER ECONOMIC GROWTH
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 19 2006
YEREVAN, June 19. /AKA/. Armenia must be ready for lower economic
growth indicators, Dutch Minister of Finance Gerrit Zalm told reporters
in Yerevan.
40% economic growth is typical of countries in process of economic
rehabilitation, he said.
However, Zalm said that high economic growth rates are possible to
ensure in Armenia because the country still has necessary potential.
Speaking of the tax collection situation in Armenia, Zalm stated
that it can be ensured through the improvement of administration and
tax discipline.

DOUBLE CITIZENSHIP TO GIVE ARMENIANS WORLDWIDE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESERVE THEIR NATIONAL IDENTITY
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 19 2006
YEREVAN, June 19. /ARKA/. Double citizenship will give Armenians
worldwide an opportunity to preserve their national identity,
political analyst Andranik Mihranyan, who is a member of Russian
Federation Public Chamber, told journalists on Monday in Yerevan.
In his opinion dual-citizenship institution will enable Armenians
living overseas to make their ties with their relatives closer and
even to return to their historical homeland.
What for expected difficulties connected with dual citizenship,
particularly with compulsory national service, the political analyst
said those enjoying double citizenship will fulfill their military
services at the countries where they live or registered.
“Many Russian citizens of Armenian descent want to have Armenian
citizenship though understand that initially this will be a symbolic
move because of lack of formal agreement between the two countries”,
Mihranyan said.

DOCUMENTS ON THE PLANE CRASH
Lragir.am
20 June 06
Member of Parliament Tatul Manaseryan told the news reporter of
Lragir.am June 20 that after the their initiative to set up an
ad hoc committee to investigate the causes of the crash of A320
had been rejected they set up a non-governmental task force on
aviation. Tatul Manaseryan asserted that he has a lot of information
but will not publish it for the time being. “It is a very sensitive
question, and every careless phrase can wound and produce grave
consequences.” The government of the parliamentary majority, which
refused their initiative on an ad hoc committee, will hardly provide
the information they possess to the task force. In answer to this
remark Tatul Manaseryan announced, “From time to time documents appear
in my hands, which pass to a restricted number of people.”

RA FOREIGN MINISTER EMPHASIZES THAT THERE IS UNUSED POTENTIAL IN ARMENIAN-CZECH RELATIONS
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 20 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 20, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Arman Kirakosian,
the RA Deputy Foreign Minister received on June 19 the delegation
of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Defence and Security
Issues of the Republic of Czechia. The delegation is in Armenia by
the RA National Assembly’s invitation.
The RA Deputy Foreign Minister attached importance to development of
the Armenian-Czech relations, at the same time expressing anxiety with
the not satisfactory level of the bilateral relations. He mentioned
the circumstance of the unused potential, especially stressing
the necessity of completing the legal-contractual field, what will
greatly stimulate activization of relations in the commercial-economic
sphere. It was also mentioned that the RA Ambassador’s pluralistical
accreditation in Czechia will give new breath to the Armenian-Czech
relations.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign Ministry’s Press
and Information Department, Arman Kirakosian presented briefly the
economic state of Armenia, later development of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement, Armenian-Turkish relations. He mentioned with
satisfaction the cooperation among the Armenian community in Czechia
and the authorities, particularly emphasizing the conference in which
he made a report. The conference was dedicated to the Armenian Genocide
and was organized in April of the current year by the joint efforts
of the Czechia-Armenia Friendship Club and Senator Jaromir Stetina
who was present at the meeting.
The Czech side touched upon in his turn the parliamentary elections
taken place in Czechia, emphasizing that the Government of Czechia
are still at the stage of formation. The guests touched upon the
issue of Turkey’s possible membership to the EU and were informed
about Armenia’s position.

ENLARGED DISCUSSIONS ON BILL “ON YEREVAN” TO BE ORGANIZED
Noyan Tapan
Jun 20 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The current works and reforms in
the sphere of territorial government were discussed at the June 20
working meeting of RA President Robert Kocharian and RA Minister of
Territorial Government Hovik Abrahamian.
First of all they spoke about the necessity to give quick solutions
to problems connected with potable and irrigation water that emerged
in consequence of rise of air temperature. The President charged to
organize a duty and to strengthen control over the irrigation system
for villagers to get water in time an in a sufficient amount. They
also touched upon the changes made in the Yerevan Water Canal and
Armwatercanal.
H.Abrahamian presented the positions of the government and NGOs about
the bill “On Yerevan” and was instructed by R.Kocharian to organize
an enlarged discussion with participation of political forces, NGOs
and the government.
The issue of transferring social services to the jurisdiction of town
communities and the possibilities of implementing pilot programs in
some towns in the future was discussed. They also spoke about the
proposal of the State Committee of Cadastre to raise the cadastre
value of the land and decided that the respective departments should
present their motivations in connection with this issue.