ARMENIAN VILLAGE OPERATION (AVO) AND MDF-KAMURJ IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DIASPORA DONATION MICRO FINANCED 25 FARMERS IN LORI REGION
AZG Armenian Daily
09/06/2006
Armenia Village Operation (AVO) is a non-governmental organization,
founded by Hilda Grigorian, a Diaspora residence of Glendale,
California. AVO’s mission is to contribute to the livelihood of civil
society in the most vulnerable areas in Armenia, the overall vision
is to put an end to extreme poverty in Armenia.
Ever since it’s establishment, AVO in partnership with UNDP and
other private donors has successfully completed numerous community
development projects in rural areas of Armenia. AVO has recently
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Eurasia Foundation to
implement youth and women development projects in the country.
Microfinance Development Fund Kamurj (MDF-Kamurj) is a mature and
internationally well recognized Armenian microfinance organization
(), founded by Save the Children and CRS and financed
by a number of international donors. The organization has been in micro
finance industry since 2000, currently is serving 9,300 economically
active vulnerable families in urban and rural Armenia with over 3.8
million Dollars of microfinance loans outstanding.
A coalition was established between AVO, MDF-Kamurj and an Armenian
Diaspora, Mr. Johnny Sahagian, to implement a microfinance project
in the Gargar village of Lori Region. With generous contribution of Mr.
Sahagian, disbursement of micro loans was made to 25 farmers to
purchase seed, farming materials and tools to expand their farming
operation and generate income and employment in Gargar village.
Mr. Johnny Sahagian is a business entrepreneur with an ambition
to contribute funds to this particular village where his great
grandparents were born and raised. Mr. Sahagian traveled to Armenia
and expressed his deep concern of the poor condition of the villages,
his son Khoren spent months in Armenia working on humanitarian
projects. Mr. Sahagian said “it’s important for our community to
understand the importance of employment and income generation in the
rural areas, to contribute to community development of our villages
and avoid high migration, let’s teach people how to fish so they can
feed themselves for life”.
For more information about Armenia Village Operation, please visit
Pic 1. Hilda Grigorian, MDF Kamurj staff and Gargar Community Leaders.
Pic 2. MDF Kamurj staff disbursing funds to community.

“THE CONTENT WAS TOO VULNERABLE”
A1+
[03:59 pm] 09 June, 2006
NA deputy Hrant Khachatryan, the head of the Constitutional Right
Union, is ready to give up his mandate if he is elected President
of the Central Electoral Committee. Mr. Khachatryan considers the
reduction of his authorities a concession but thinks that he will be
able to control the next elections.
The parliamentary and extraparliamentary powers discussed in the
National Press Club the inner political situation in the country. The
main topic of conversation was the resignation of the OYP from the
coalition. The OYP was invited to the discussions too but none of
its representatives had come to the Club.
“As a form the coalition was welcomed, but its content was
too vulnerable”, says Khosrov Haroutyunyan, the head of the
Christian-Democratic Union. According to him, the political unrest
in the country is accounted for by the fact that “the concept of the
National Assembly is not well comprehended by the society” and for
the people the standard of living is connected with the President:
“Good President – good life, bad President – bad life”. “The next
elections can be crucial”, says Khosrov Haroutyunyan predicting that
no party will take up the responsibility of governing the country
alone as no party has enough specialists for that purpose.
“The businessmen joined the OYP because Serge Sargsyan told them to do
so, and left the party for the same reason”, said Grigor Haroutyunyan,
secretary of the People’s Party, indignant at the fact that Serge
Sargsyan interferes with the affairs of other parties.
Grigor Haroutyunyan is especially angry with the people who blame
the opposition for anything, for example the high level of corruption.
Shavarsh Kocharyan was the most optimistic of all.
Despite the falsified constitutional reforms, he voiced hope that
the power which will win the parliamentary elections of 2007 will
be more influential. According to his colleagues, Shavarsh Kocharyan
has a European outlook on the situation inside the country.

WE SUPPORT AZERBAIJAN’S JUST ASPIRATION TO LIBERATE ITS TERRITORY – OIC SEC-GEN
Author: R.Agayev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
June 8 2006
“We support Azerbaijan in its fair aspiration to liberate its
lands which are under [Armenian] occupation,” Ekmaleddin Ihsanoglu,
the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Organization
(OIC), as stating to a news conference in Moscow on 7 June in reply
to question to Trend special correspondent.
“We support any peace talks between the sides. We support Azerbaijan
and call on Armenia to cooperation in international arena with all
who endeavor to the resolution of the conflict, no matter whether
within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, European Union, UN and
other international organizations,” he underlined.
Besides, Ihsanoglu spoke about the chairmanship of Azerbaijan at OIC.
“As to role of Azerbaijan as a chairing country, that it will take
at the next summit of the OIC in Baku at the level of the Foreign
Ministers, we are glad to see Azerbaijan in this position. I expect the
Baku meeting to yield positive results. It will come as the first of
OIC held in the former Soviet country CIS, where the communist regime
reigned. It leads to two major conclusion that Islam is striving
to refusal from extremist manifestations and on the other hand all
Muslim countries will feel that none of them is forgotten and lost. I
think all allies worldwide support this position, which have gained
independence recently and joined the OIC. No matter where they meetings
are held the conclusion will mirror that Islam is keen on moderation,
calmness and peaceable co-existence with all religions,” he said.
Touching upon the disorders staged by Azerbaijanis in Iran, the OIC
Secretary General noted that he did not have relevant information.
“However, I should say that in respect to these issues we came out from
the aspect of respect to the territorial integrity of the country,
urge all countries to respect the human rights and achieve peaceable
solution to all similar problems.”
Ihsanoglu also informed about the results of talks with Russian
present Vladimir Putin on the situation with Russian diplomats in
Iraq. The meeting also focused on the Palestinian issues.
In his turn Aslambek Aslakhanov, the adviser to the Russian
President, stated that soon there will be set up the construction of
shopping-hotel center business center in the Center of Moscow, which
will serve as a representation of the OIC member-countries. An area
with the square of 5h has been selected in this respect and accorded
with the Moscow’s Mayoral Office.

COMMUNITY BUDGETS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED WITH UNDP SUPPORT
ArmRadio.am
08.06.2006 15:22
Today, five cost-sharing agreements were signed with five
municipalities and Memorandum of Understanding with the US Agency for
International Development (USAID) for projects in the scope of UNDP
Armenia Performance Budgeting project. In addition, United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) presented the Performance Budgeting
Manual.
The ceremony, held in UN House in Yerevan, was attended by
municipality teams, experts of the project, USAID representatives,
as well as representatives of the US Treasury Department, Armenia
Social Investment Fund, Government and the media. Ms. Consuelo Vidal,
UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative made a welcoming
speech.
Since its inception in 2005, the Performance Budgeting Project
has generated much interest among local self-governance bodies
in Armenia. The goals of the project are to support further
decentralization in Armenia, strengthen the capacities of local
self-governance bodies, and facilitate accountable and measurable
public expenditure management. It assists in the implementation of
performance budgeting during community planning, monitoring, and
evaluation processes ensuring citizens’ participation in the whole
process. This is new to not only Armenia, but also to the region.
The “Performance Budgeting in Local Government” training manual also
presented today is a product of a comprehensive and in-depth work
in the framework of the Performance Budgeting initiative supported
by UNDP. The manual presents experiences gained during training
courses, advisory meetings, and joint seminars and actual budgeting
processes conducted in the five pilot towns of Armenia (Ijevan, Masis,
Abovyan, Vedi and Dilijan). It provides a detailed description of local
performance budgeting principles, framework, budgeting process phases,
and budget planning, execution, and oversight. It is designed to become
a step-by-step guide for other communities in Armenia and abroad.

CHAIRMAN CAUCASUS FOUR PLAN ANOTHER MEETING
Prime News Agency, Georgia
June 8 2006
Tbilisi. June 08 (Prime-News) – Nino Burdjanadze, Chairwoman of the
Parliament of Georgia and Sergey Mironov, her Russian counterpart
agreed to initiate another meeting of the chairpersons of the
Caucasus Four.
During the Wednesday telephone conversation Sergey Mironov told Nino
Burdjanadze that meeting of the chairpersons of Georgia, Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Russia has not been held for one and a half year for
objective reasons, Prime-News was told by representatives of the
Parliament of Georgia.
Nino Burdjanadze added that Georgia and Russia have a good chance to
start resolution of accumulated problems.
Sergey Mironov also welcomed the initiation by Mikheil Saakashvili,
President of Georgia on start of negotiations with Russia.

SERJ SARKISYAN: AZERBAIJAN MISSES THE OPPORTUNITY TO SOLVE GARABAGH CONFLICT PEACEFULLY
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 8 2006
“Azerbaijan is missing the opportunity to solve the Nagorno Garabagh
conflict peacefully,” said Armenia’s Defense Minister Serj Sarkisyan
(APA).
Stating that he has not got detailed information on the recent
meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents in Bucharest, Sarkisyan
explained it by his failing to directly participate in the talks.
“I have not attended the meeting. So, I cannot say detailed information
on the talks. Armenian President informed me about certain details. I
reiterate that Azerbaijan is going to miss the opportunity of peaceful
solution of the conflict,” Sarkisyan said.
Commenting on the issue that the referendum on state status in
Montenegro can be a precedent for the solution of the Nagorno
Garabagh conflict, Armenian Defense Minister said, “Nagorno Garabagh
is already a precedent. There exists an independent republic with
its own attributes through holding of a referendum.”

OSKANYAN: ADOPTION OF ARMENIA-EU PROGRAM DELAYED BECAUSE OF PROBLEMS OF “OUR NEIGHBORS WITH EUROPE”
Regnum, Russia
June 8 2006
Talks between Armenia and the European Union concerning adoption of
the action plan have not been completed yet, but there are no unsolved
questions in terms of its content, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan is quoted as saying to the press.
As a REGNUM correspondent reports, according to Oskanyan, there
is no necessity in carrying out another round of talks. “However,
the process of adoption is delayed, which is mostly connected with
some difficulties that our neighbors have with the European Union,”
notes the minister.
On March 5, the third stage of talks between EU and Armenia’s officials
was held in Brussels to elaborate the action plan, the main political
document in accordance with which Armenian-EU relations are to develop
in the next few years. The plan envisages reform in politics, economy,
justice, promotion of market relations, development of production,
power engineering, and transport. In case the talks are a success,
the action plan will be presented to the EU Council for ratification.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ANOTHER BATCH OF RF MIL HARDWARE REACHES GEORGIA-ARMENIA BORDER
Author: À.Mammadov
TREND, Azerbaijan
June 8 2006
(Itar-Tass) – A convoy of 15 wheeled military vehicles and six guns
withdrawn from the Russian military base in Georgia’ s Akhalkalaki
reached the Georgian-Armenian border on Thursday. The convoy will
keep on its way to the Russian military base in Gyumri after passing
the corresponding border and customs procedures, a source in the
headquarters of the Akhalkalaki base told Itar-Tass.
A train that is carrying 40 vehicles and some property from the Russian
military base in Batumi, western Georgia, left the city, a source in
the headquarters of the Russian Troops in the Transcaucasia said. The
train will pass 470 kilometers in Georgia and is expected to cross
the Georgian-Armenian border on Thursday afternoon, reports Trend.
Under the Georgian-Russian agreements the withdrawal of the Russian
military base from Batumi should be completed by the end of 2008. The
Russian base in Akhalkalaki should be closed by the end of 2007. Most
military hardware and weapons will be supplied to Russia; the remaining
part will be transferred to the Russian base in Armenia.
–Boundary_(ID_EWhou/LwlbRIH9D35Nc3Sw)–

AYNUR SOFIYEVA: “FIDE RECOGNIZES TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF AZERBAIJAN”
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 8 2006
In the next congress of FIDE held in Turin city of Italy, there was
a dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia Chess Federation leadership.
In the meeting, Armenians proposed accepting of tournament by FIDE,
which was held in occupied Nagorno Garabagh. Instead they confronted
the severe reply of Aynur Sofiyeva: “Making a speech I asked to
put an end to this talk. I stated that Armenian have nothing to do
with Nagorno Garabagh as well as with Khankendi. How can they hold
tournament in the occupied territory of Azerbaijan?” According to
Aynur Soviyeva after that speech, FIDE president Kirsan Ilumjinov
supported Azerbaijan Chess Federation: “He said in his speech
that holding of tournament of Armenia in the occupied territory is
illegal. FIDE leader said that Azerbaijan Chess Federation should give
permission for holding tournament in Azerbaijani territories occupied
by Armenia.” According to Aynur Sofiyeva, three sided meeting – FIDE,
Azerbaijan and Armenia delegation participation, was to be held with
regard to this matter.

AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS TO MEET SOON
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 8 2006
“The Armenian party is not going to make assessment of the past talks
in Bucharest,” Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan told a news
conference in Yerevan.
In his words, he may soon meet with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar
Mammadyarov. As of the outcomes of the two Presidents meeting in
Bucharest, Oskanian reminded Kocharian”s words before that meeting
that he has “modest expectations from the talks.”
“This was the case. As of further talks, Armenian and Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministers will meet soon. I should note that it seems after
any talks that dialogue opportunities are exhausted. This is not so.
I should again underscore there is no military solution to the Nagorno
Garabagh conflict,” the Armenian FM said.
At that he said that the talks have their own logic, “It lies in
every party thinking each time that it is worth meeting and some
agreement can be reached in a way. It does not turn out each time as
the parties want. However, this does not mean talks should be stopped,”
Oskanyan underscored.