ARMENIA-MACROECONOMY-STATISTICS-HALF YEAR-GDP
GDP IN ARMENIA INCREASED BY 11.9% PER YEAR AND MADE UP $1823.8 MLN
FOR JANUARY-JUNE, 2006
Yerevan, August 1. ArmInfo. The GDP in Armenia increased by 11.9%
in the first half, 2006, as compared to the same period , 2005, and
made up 809.5 bln drams ($1823.8 mln) in market prices. As ArmInfo
was told in RA National Statistical Service, this indicator in June
increased by 40.9% as compared to May (by current prices).
In general prices, the GDP volume in January-June, 2006, made up
717.. bln drams ($1615.6 mln). GDP growth is mainly conditioned on
considerable increase of construction volumes by 31.8% per year (the
volume made up 165.6 bln drams or $373.1 mln, having increased by 25.6%
for June), of the agriculture gross output volume by 7.2% per year
(118.9 bln drams or $267.9 mln, having increased by 68.4% for June. The
population incomes increased by 17.5% per year (in January-June, 2006)
and by 6.4% for July to 685.2 bln drams or $1543.7 mln. The volume
of retail turnover increased by 12.1% per year and by 2.1% for June
to 320.7 bln drams or $722.6 mln. The population incomes increased
by 19.3% per year to 686.1 bln drams or $1545.7 mln which is higher
than the May indicator by 1.3%. The average monthly nominal salary
increased by 21.6% per year and by 0.1% in June to 59618 drams or $134.
The volume of electric power production reduced by 13.3% in June,
and by 7% in January-June to 3117.3 mln kW/h, as compared to the same
period, 2005, the volume of industrial products reduced by 1% per
year and increased by 2.5% for June to 300.7 bln drams or $677.4 mln.
By the volume of cargo turnover, an annual fall by 3.7% is fixed and
the June fall by 0.1% to 1070.5 mln tons-km.
The volume of foreign trade increased by 12.6% per year and by 4.9%
in June to 614.9 mln drams or $1388.9 mln. In its structure, the
volume of export for June increased by 16% and in January-June,
as compared to the same period, 2005, reduced by 0.6% to 193.3 bln
drams or $437.7 mln. The volume of export, without consideration of
the diamonds account, increased by 23.1% per year to $1159.1 mln. The
volume of import increased by 19.9% per year and by 0.3% for June to
421.6 bln drams or $951.2 mln. Without consideration of the diamonds
account, this indicator increased by 30.5% per year to $834.3 mln.
The average settlement rate of RA Central Bank for January-June,
2006, made up 443,87 AMD/$1 USD.

ARMENIAN DRAM STRENGTHENS AGAINST DOLLAR
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
July 31, 2006
YEREVAN, July 31. /ARKA/. Armenian dram climbed 0.79 point against
U.S. dollar to AMD 415.32, compared with Friday. The exchange rate is
set by Central Bank of Armenia.
31.07.06 28.07.06
ÀMD against USD 415.32 416.11
ÀMD against euro 525.96 530
ÀMD against Russian rouble 15.46 15.50
–Boundary_(ID_/t7R+fiU2y6AMXEwo4Z/rA)–

ARYANS WILL RUN FOR PARLIAMENT
Lragir.am
01 Aug 06
The head of the Aryan-Armenian Order Armen Avetisyan announced August
1 at the Pastark Club that their organization will run for parliament
in 2007. According to him, the order is presently negotiating in an
effort to find an ally political force, which will uphold “a consistent
nationalist standpoint”.
“There are difficulties but we are hopeful that these will be overcome
in September and October,” said Armen Avetisyan. According to him,
they will unite with small political forces and will run for the
parliament in an alliance.

PRESS RELEASE
The Heritage Party
Yerevan 0033, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 58.08.77, 52.22.38
Fax: (+374 – 10) 54.38.97
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website:
August 1, 2006
HERITAGE HOLDS FOURTH PARTY CONGRESS:
VARDAN KHACHATRIAN ELECTED BOARD CHAIRMAN
Yerevan–The Heritage Party convened today its fourth annual congress at the
auditorium of the Writers’ Union of Armenia. The conference was called to
discuss the party’s accomplishments–despite countless roadblocks placed by
the sitting authorities against normal party operations–to draw attention
to its shortfalls, and to outline future courses of action.
Heritage’s political secretary Vardan Khachatrian welcomed the capacity
audience with opening remarks. He mentioned that 600 delegates from Yerevan
and across Armenia were expected to take part in the congress, but that the
space limitations of the hall had allowed for only 213. “Despite a series of
formal requests sent to the government, the latter refused to provide us
access to any of the rooms at its disposal and routinely made available for
such meetings,” Khachatrian asserted. “Fear seems to have become a political
category in Armenia.”
The congress opened with the singing of Armenia’s national anthem, “Mer
Hairenik.” The delegates then approved the day’s agenda, and the convention’
s Secretariat and its Credentials and Editorial Commissions were elected.
The first speaker was Heritage board member Anahit Bakhshian, who presented
an accounting of the board’s activities since last the party convened.
Bakhshian maintained that against the backdrop of domestic multi-party
politics, numerous impediments and incidences of repression, and an
imperfect atmosphere surrounding the political opposition in Armenia, the
Heritage Party was able to find its rightful place, keep its ethical
character untainted, and remain faithful to its agenda and values. In short
time, the number of party members has doubled to five thousand, new regional
divisions have opened, and more than five scores of public meetings have
been organized. That the party exceeded the fifty percent success mark in
last year’s local elections, said Bakhshian, can be attributed to its direct
contact with the people–both in principle and in fact.
“Opportunists and informants have no place among us. Our goal is to turn
Heritage into an arena for decent citizens, a community which will assume
the mission of forming a civilized, democratic, and highly developed
society,” Bakhshian said. She also noted that the party must prepare for the
2007 parliamentary elections and will support fair and transparent elections
as the only legitimate path to progress.
Following the approval of the board’s report, Raffi K. Hovannisian, chairman
of the Heritage Party, was invited to take the floor. In a powerful keynote
address, he specified the benchmarks of the party’s future, discussed the
state of Armenia within and beyond its borders, and set down forthcoming
measures and priorities that would keep real and relevant the party’s goals
through meeting new challenges.
In Hovannisian’s view, the Heritage Party convenes its fourth congress
having attained a stage of distinct organizational know-how. It has been
enriched with the experience of hard work and the bitter yet enlightening
lessons from our daily lives. “The party’s human potential has grown not
artificially, nor by the use of financial and administrative levers, nor on
the account of transparent political benevolence, but rather through inner
conviction, conscience, and a noble drive,” Hovannisian stated, underscoring
that our national well-being will not be served to us on a silver platter,
but that it must be labored for and earned by all Armenians in our quest to
strengthen the foundations of statehood.
“The ruling administration, which only operates for self-interest, must be
met with common rationality, high consciousness, and readiness to sacrifice
for the cause.” This, according to Heritage’s chairman, is the key for the
transformation of state and society. The road chosen and traveled by, in
Hovannisian’s belief, is laden with thorns, but the party cannot and will
not resign its mission. In his words, the harmony between the individual and
the collective, the alliance of the private and the national, the desire for
freedom coupled with and actualized by an unyielding determination to fight
for right will help us forge Armenia’s tomorrow, tend to its shared legacy,
and fulfill its sacred national purpose.
After the keynote remarks, Hovsep Khurshudian, chairman of Heritage’s
Constitutional Commission, presented its report and offered motions to amend
the party’s Charter. Approved by open ballot, these changes did away with
the elected post of party chairman, replacing it with a chairperson elected
by the board from among its members.
At the end of the first session, the delegates made nominations for new
membership in the party’s executive board. Through secret ballot, the
congress elected as board members teacher and Artsakh war veteran Davit
Badalian; high school principal Anahit Bakhshian; sociologist Dolores
Davtian; theology professor Vardan Khachatrian; electrical engineer Gevorg
Kalenchian; physics professor Rafik Hakobian; Armenia’s first Minister of
Foreign Affairs Raffi Hovannisian; teacher and judo trainer Armen
Martirosian; and pharmacist Garnik Sahakian.
In the convention’s second session, the 2005-2006 report by the Audit
Commission was approved, and new Constitutional and Audit Commissions were
elected. The Constitutional Commission comprises Hovsep Khurshudian, Arthur
Harutiunian, Sargis Manukian, Armen Martirosian, and Gayane Poghosian. The
Audit Commission includes Arthur Galstian, Karapet Kalenchian, Asia
Hambardzumian, Mamikon Sargsian, and Armine Vardanian.
The Heritage Party congress also adopted a resolution expressing concern
about unjust and undemocratic elections, which continue to reproduce the
ruling clan. “As a consequence of the unreliability of the electoral system,
the formation of power in Armenia is dependent on external forces and, being
answerable solely to them, the incumbent authorities are reticent to conduct
policies and make decisions that are in the country’s national and sovereign
interests,” the resolution states. The party asserts that the accrued
adverse phenomena pose an enormous threat to Armenia’s sovereignty,
democratization, national security, and stable development. Hence, the
regional situation today compels each of us to become “not a subject but a
citizen, not a government discard who is demeaned psychologically and
crushed by poverty and privation, but a proud, dignified, and spiritual
human being” for whom liberty is the value supreme.
Following the congress, the newly elected executive board of the Heritage
Party convened its first meeting wherein Vardan Khachatrian was elected
chairman of the board upon the motion of Raffi Hovannisian.
Founded in 2002, Heritage has regional divisions throughout the land. Its
central headquarters are located at 7 Vazgen Sargsian Street, Yerevan 0010,
Armenia, with telephone contact at (374-10) 580.877, fax at (374-10)
543.897, email at [email protected], and website at

Azeri leader says format of Karabakh talks Baku’s “diplomatic success”
Azerbaijani TV Channel One, Baku
31 Jul 06
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that the present format
of peace talks with Armenia on Nagornyy Karabakh is Azerbaijan’s big
diplomatic success, the Azerbaijani state TV channel AzTV reported
in a special coverage on 31 July.
“The talks and the Prague process are a positive approach as a whole
and I believe that it is the success of Azerbaijani diplomacy that
the talks are held within the framework of the Prague process,”
Aliyev told a Cabinet meeting to discuss the socioeconomic results
of the first six months of 2006.
The Prague process entails a stage-by-stage solution to the decade-long
Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Aliyev also said that Azerbaijan would never agree to the secession
of Nagornyy Karabakh from Azerbaijan. The president added that the
country’s military spending had reached 700m dollars and would continue
to rise, the state-owned broadcaster said.

Syria stands to gain from Lebanon’s pain
Brian Whitaker in Damascus
Monday July 31, 2006
The Guardian
Hizbullah’s stock is rising among the Arab public, and the Syrian
regime is making the most of it, reports Brian Whitaker from Damascus
The Bakdash ice-cream parlour is one of the great institutions of old
Damascus, established in 1895 and renowned throughout the city. Among
the more distinguished visitors to have sampled its produce is the
king of Jordan, whose photo hangs prominently on the wall.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizbullah, may be too busy just
now to drop in for a pistachio-sprinkled cornet but his photo has
recently joined that of the king. Interspersed between the elegant
chandeliers hanging from Bakdash’s ceiling, meanwhile, are images of
a fist clasping a rifle: the yellow-and-green flags of the Lebanese
Shia movement.
In a street around the corner, the owner of a jewellery shop also sings
the praises of Hizbullah. He’s an Armenian Christian, but that makes
little difference. “It’s the first time that Arabs hit Haifa,” he says.
Reaching for a scrap of paper, he draws a rough map of the
Syrian-Lebanese-Israeli border and points to the Shebaa Farms, the
tiny patch of land claimed by Lebanon but still occupied by Israel.
“Five km, 10km – what does it matter? Give it back, sign an
agreement. Finished!”
Less than three weeks into the war in Lebanon, Hizbullah’s standing is
rising dramatically among the Arab public. The reasoning in Damascus
is that, short of annihilating Lebanon’s Shia population, Hizbullah
cannot be destroyed. At some point, the argument goes, Israel will
have to back off and Hizbullah will claim victory for having survived
the onslaught.
In anticipation of this, the Syrian regime, while trying to stay out
of the conflict itself, is seeking to bask in Hizbullah’s glory.
Posters on sale in the streets, and displayed in the back of car
windows, depict President Bashar al-Assad shoulder to shoulder with
Hassan Nasrallah.
“Syria doesn’t have to do very much to be potentially in a position
to gain,” said one western diplomat in Damascus.
After years of international isolation, the regime is acquiring
leverage again through its ties with Hizbullah, though political
analyst Sami Moubayed doubts Syria can impose its will on the Lebanese
Shia if acting on its own.
“Only with Syrian-Iranian support can this war come to an end,”
he said. “Bringing Syria alone into talks will not end it.”
Damascus would also expect rewards for its help, he added. “The Syrians
need carrots – big carrots.” Among these would be a resumption of
talks about the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the lifting of
US-imposed sanctions.
Internally, meanwhile, after a sticky period following the
assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and the
reluctant withdrawal of its troops from Lebanon, the Syrian regime
looks far more secure. People have rallied round in support of a
popular cause and reformists are once again in the wilderness.
“The Syrian opposition will be silenced by growing dislike of the
United States,” Damascus-based commentator Joshua Landis wrote in his
blog. “Syrians are less likely to trust the proposals for democratic
or pro-western change being put forward by the opposition. A month
ago there was considerable attention being paid to Assad’s crackdown
on the opposition. Not today.”
Another result of the war is that despite international efforts last
year to end Syrian hegemony over Lebanon, Israeli bombing is driving
the two countries together again.
“Lebanon needs Syria more than ever,” Mr Landis wrote. “It needs
Syria to be kind to the many refugees who have found protection and
safety in Syria. The Lebanese economy will be increasingly vulnerable
to Syrian pressure.”
In the eyes of many Syrians, this simply proves that President Assad
was right all along when he predicted the Lebanese would regret
casting off the protection of their larger neighbour. His prophecy
that without Syrian troops Lebanon would once again descend into
civil war has not yet been fulfilled, though some Lebanese fear it
may if Israeli attacks continue.
Ultimately, the Damascus regime may emerge as the war’s real winner,
but the stakes are high and so are the risks, especially the risk of
being drawn into direct conflict with Israel. In the last few days,
Israeli warplanes have been probing Syrian airspace and Syrian
forces responded – as they always do in such a situation – with
anti-aircraft fire.
A week ago Syria quietly raised its military alert to the highest level
and cancelled all leave. All units are at full strength, contingency
plans are in place, and troops and equipment have been dispersed in
what one diplomat called a defensive posture.
“They are being very careful not to be provocative,” the diplomat said,
though he thought there was still a 20% to 30% chance that unforeseen
events might drag Syria into the war.

Official tolerance to visits to Karabakh aimed at defeatist peace – Azeri daily
Yeni Musavat, Baku
31 Jul 06
The Azerbaijani authorities’ recent tolerance to some visits from
Azerbaijan to Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh is part of their policy
to prepare the people for defeatist peace, the opposition daily Yeni
Musavat has said.
“Some NGO representatives, human rights activists and journalists have
recently increased their visits to Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh. The
authorities, which previously organized propaganda against such
cases, have started to show tolerance to such visits. For instance,
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has recently said that such visits
are necessary as it is high time to put an end to mutual hatred. It
seems that a rise in the number of visits to Armenia and Nagornyy
Karabakh is part of the authorities’ policy to prepare the people for
defeatist peace,” the daily said, commenting on the recent visit of
the chairperson of the Azerbaijani National Committee of the Helsinki
Citizens’ Assembly, Arzu Abdullayeva, to Karabakh.
However, the paper also added that Abdullayeva’s position on Karabakh’s
direct participation in the peace talks was against Azerbaijan’s
official stance. The paper quoted Regnum news agency as reporting
that Abdullayeva said this at the meeting with the separatist leader
of Karabakh, Arkadiy Gukasyan, on 30 July.

US mediator, separatist leader discuss Karabakh conflict
Regnum, Moscow
30 Jul 06
[No dateline, as received] “Undoubtedly, one of the main topics of our
discussion was participation of Nagornyy Karabakh in the peace talks
and I think (US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Matthew Bryza) Mr
Bryza understands that the conflict cannot be settled without Nagornyy
Karabakh. It is not only him, but all the mediators realize this. Of
course, we discussed a number of other issues, but participation of
the NKR (Nagornyy Karabakh republic) in the talks topped the agenda,”
Arkadiy Gukasyan, president of Nagornyy Karabakh told journalists
after his meeting with the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group,
Matthew Bryza, on 29 July, a Regnum correspondent in Stepanakert
[Xankandi] reports.
Gukasyan said that he had talked about the NKR’s official position
and various aspects of the problem. “I think that it was interesting
for Mr Bryza to listen to us. I would not say that he expressed
serious objections, since our approach was quite logical. Of course,
I cannot reveal all the details of the negotiations because of the
confidentiality of the talks. And it is clear that to certain extent,
our position is different from the mediators’ approach, but I am
saying it again that I have not heard any serious objections,” the
head of the Karabakh state said.
Asked about the importance of the US co-chair’s visit to Stepanakert
in terms of quite a long break in visits by the Karabakh mediators,
the president noted that without visiting the NKR and learning the
situation there, it would be hardly possible for the newly-appointed
co-chair to have a full understanding of what is going on in the
region. I did not expect anything from this visit because I knew that
he was not coming with new suggestions but he was coming to listen
to us. And from this point of view, our expectations were right as
we were able to present our positions in full.
[Passage omitted: Gukasyan said he had been invited to talks held in
Yerevan more than once]
“The atmosphere at the meeting was very constructive and creative. We
exchanged our views and looked for a joint approach in order to make
progress,” Bryza told journalists in Stepanakert after meeting Arkadiy
Gukasyan last evening.
It should be noted that this was his first visit to Nagornyy Karabakh,
both as an OSCE co-chair and in general. He said that he had come to
listen to the opinion of the local leadership. However, he did not
reveal the details of his meeting with the Karabakh president.
“One should not expect any new elements from me now. I have just
arrived to listen to you. This visit was not paid to make any precise
proposal. I will go to Paris to discuss all suggestions and ideas
with other co-chairs. One should not expect a major step now, but it
might be taken in the future,” Bryza said.
The US co-chair declined to answer the question “if it was right to
settle the Karabakh conflict without an involvement of Karabakh?”
But he noted that “the most important thing is to listen to Karabakh’s
representatives. As for the composition of those participating at
the negotiations, both Armenia and Azerbaijan must agree to that,”
Brysza said.
He left Nagornyy Karabakh on 30 July.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

In Wake of Hate Murder, Students Speak Out About Racism
St Petersburg Times, Russia,
Aug 1, 2006
By Ben Judah
Special to St. Petersburg Times
Jacques, is a 19-year old medical student from Senagal who studies
at St. Petersburg State University. He is not somebody who makes
enemies easily. Friendly and easy talk to, Jacques, who like other
foreign students interviewed in the wake of the acquital last week
of suspects in the race-hate murder of a Congolese student, asked
for his full name to not to be published.
Jacques will never forget his first few days in St. Petersburg.
Traveling home late on the metro, a group of skinheads began shouting
racial slurs as he mounted the escalator. Then they physically
assaulted him. Jacques ran for his life. He says this is not the only
time this has happened to him.
Amnesty International has described racism in Russia “as out of
control.” Nineteen people have been killed in racially motivated
attacks this year, according to the Sova Center, a group that
monitors extremist activity, and another 166 people have suffered
serious injuries.
The news that a St. Petersburg jury last week cleared four suspects
of the murder of Congolese student Roland Epassak, the second time in
four months that a court has acquitted suspects of hate crimes, came as
no surprise to Jacques or many other foreign students from Africa and
Asia contacted to this article. For him, “the verdict just shows what
we experience every day. That this is an inherently racist country.”
“Back in [the Senegalese capital] Dakar,” he recalls, “I was thrilled
when I knew I was coming to St. Petersburg. Russia had been a great
friend to Africa in the past and the chance to study in a European
university seemed fantastic. I had no idea that racist feeling was
so strong here.”
Now he wishes he’d never come.
“No black man should come to this country,” he said. “They’d have
to be crazy. I am scared to walk the streets alone, especially after
the recent murders.”
African students at the university dormitory on Korableistratelny
Ulitsa said that they had experienced violent aggression in St.
Petersburg more than once.
Samba, 20, who studies environmental management and is from also from
Senegal puts it bluntly: “Russians look at me like dirt. They talk
to me like a child. The police treat me as if I’m a drug dealer. And
everyone will stab you in the back if you’re black.”
Chatting to Samba in the dormitory lift, it immediately became clear
that discrimination is a a daily occurance for balck people in St.
Petersburg. As the doors opened on the fourth floor, and a group of
young Russian women refused to get in, with one saying loudly “I’m
not getting in a lift with a nigger!”
On the sixth floor two, visibly drunk young men, got in. Turning to
Samba, they spat on the floor before walking straight out again. “You
see? Racism is a fact of life for us,” Samba said.
It is not only black Africans who relate such experiences of life
in St. Petersburg. Jee Rao, 21, a South Korean exchange student and
fluent Russian speaker, has had similar experiences.
“They treat people who look like us differently,” he said. “I have
found it very hard to make Russian friends, though many are very
kind. Still even some young people, look at me with disdain as
an Asian.”
According to Hu Lee from Beijing racist feelings lurk only just below
the surface here.
“Russians do not like people from China. They may be polite, but they
do not treat us with the respect and friendliness they would give us
if we were white,” he said.
Even some Jewish and Armenian students here for a semester from North
America have reported difficulties. Yitzhak, 20, from San Francisco
feels nervous.
“I don’t tell people I’m Jewish. I just don’t feel comfortable. The
atmosphere here is one of intolerance and open xenophobia,” Yitzhak
said.
Pointing at the anti-Semitic graffiti that abounds around
Petrogradskaya metro station, Yitzhak just shrugs.
Talking about the issue with Russian students, reveals a great deal
of antipathy to the issues raised by xenophobia – and denial. Katya,
18, said “racism does not exist here.”
As attacks have becoming increasingly vicious in character according
to the Sova Center, foreign students from Asia and Africa in St.
Petersburg are living on edge.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress