ANOTHER “OUR MOTHERLAND”
A1+
[09:09 pm] 30 May, 2006
The talks on introducing changes into the RA hymn were followed by
practical steps. Composer Robert Amirkhanyan presented his version
of the hymn in the Yerevan State University.
The composer claims that the music is the outcome of his assiduous and
year-long work and it has constantly been worked out. The author of
the words is again Amirkhanyan. By his step of presenting his version
of the hymn he shows his love for the country, maintaining that only
in this way one can prove that he is not indifferent to his homeland.
“Today I share my feelings with people who are concerned whether we do
anything or not. I had a few tasks. I strove to find the spirit and
inspiration of revival. It is rather difficult to create a symbol
within a moment and a half which is likely to remain for ever,”
says the composer.
While speaking of the music of the hymn of the Soviet Armenia the
composer stated that it is the symbol of the second republic. “The
third republic must have its symbol and improve it in the future,”
claims Amirkhanyan.
Robert Amirkhanyan is going to present his work in the competition
and claims that the public must listen to all the versions before
the final decision of the Committee is made.
Conductor and head of the Chamber orchestra Robert Mlkeyan supported
Robert Amirkhanyan’s opinion on this score. “We had an excellent hymn
written by Khachatryan but it is no longer the hymn of Armenia.
The present hymn is inadmissible, humiliating and improper. As a
citizen of RA I want it to be changed,” noted Robert Mlkeyan.

GOVERNMENT COMMISSION ENDORSES COMPANY BID TO RAISE DRINKING WATER PRICE
Armenpress
May 30 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS: From July 1 residents of Yerevan and
33 communities lying in close vicinity will pay 172,8 drams per
one cubic meter of drinking water instead of current 125 drams. The
decision was made today by the Armenian government Public Services
Regulatory Commission which has actually endorsed an application by
Yerevan Water company seeking a hike in the price of drinking water
and waste water removal.
This price was originally suggested by the French General des Aux
company that won an international tender to run the Yerevan Water
Supply and Removal company for ten years. It was renamed later the
Yerevan Water.
Under the agreement signed by the Armenian government and General des
Aux, the tariff will be reduced gradually to 90 drams by 2016. However,
the exchange rate of the Armenian national currency-Dram-against Euro
and some other factors may prompt the company to revise these tariffs.
Serge Popoff, the chief manager of Yerevan Water, said the company
will work to improve the quality of drinking water and meet consumers’
demands. He said by the end of the contract term 95 percent of Yerevan
population will have 24-hour water supply against 78 percent now.
The company has pledged to invest $22 million of the World Bank credit
into improvement of the system together with 16.7 million euros from
the company’s future profits and 9.1 million euros will be invested
by General des Aux.

ANOTHER ARMENIAN YOUTH MURDERED IN RUSSIA
Armenpress
May 30 2006
MOSCOW, MAY 30, ARMENPRESS: A 19 year-old Armenian boy, Arthur
Sardarian, was killed on May 25 in a train bound from Moscow to
the town of Pushkin, where his family of Armenian refugees from
Azerbaijan lived.
This was the second killing of an Armenian youth in one month. In
late April a 17-year-old Armenian native Vigen Abramyants, a Moscow
university student, was attacked and stabbed to death by a group of
skinheads on a Metro platform. He died on the spot.
Abramyants’ murder prompted sharp criticism from the Union of Russian
Armenians, whose chairman Ara Abrahamian, slammed Russian authorities
for avoiding to classify these killings as racially motivated.
The second victim, Arthur Sardarian, was reportedly killed by a gang of
skinheads. The police said he was stabbed to death receiving several
knife strikes in his back and the heart and died immediately. Russian
police have opened a criminal case into the murder classifying it as
a hate crime. According to an eye-witness, the attackers, who chased
the Armenian boy in the carriage before reaching him shouted’ Long Live
Russia.” An eye-witness said the people in the car did not interfere.
The international human rights watchdog-Amnesty International, said
in its latest report that racist killings in Russia were “out of
control.” The Amnesty report, entitled “Russian Federation: Violent
racism out of control”, includes examples of police and prosecutors
routinely classifying murders and serious assaults by skinhead
extremists as the lesser crime of “hooliganism”.

EU TO OPEN 1ST ROUND OF TALKS WITH TURKEY ON JUNE 12
PanARMENIAN.Net
30.05.2006 15:13 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During their meeting in Vienna over the weekend,
European Union foreign ministers agreed to open the first round of
negotiations with Turkey on June 12 during the ministers’ meeting
in Luxembourg.
Diplomatic sources stated that the EU plans to open talks on the
science and research chapter during the Turkey-EU Partnership Council
meeting the same day in Luxembourg. Sources also underlined that the
decision taken by the 25-nation bloc’s foreign ministers is aimed at
strengthening reforms in Turkey, which will give a positive message
to those who object to Turkey’s EU bid. They underlined that although
Austria, which will hold the rotating EU term presidency until the
end of June, is unwilling to open talks with Turkey, it might welcome
the opening of talks on one chapter during its presidency to shake
the impression that Vienna is biased against Turkey, reports the New
Anatolian Agency.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

YEREVAN-TBILISI-BATUMI RAIL COMMUNICATION TO RESUME IN JUNE
PanARMENIAN.Net
30.05.2006 15:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yerevan-Tbilisi-Batumi express communication
will resume this June. According to the Armenian Railways CJSC,
the train will be composed of 12 cars, departures will take place on
even number days. The company did not announce the costs of tickets
yet. A Yerevan-Tbilisi ticket in case of a roomette costs 6 thousand
Armenian drams ($15).
Official departments forecast that opening passenger rail communication
between Armenia and Ajaria will promote increase the number of
Armenians, spending their holidays in Ajaria, reports IA Regnum.

OSKANIAN TO PAY TWO-DAY OFFICIAL VISIT TO KAZAKHSTAN MAY 31
PanARMENIAN.Net
30.05.2006 15:37 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian will pay a two-day
official visit to Kazakhstan May 31, reports the Press Service of
the Armenian MFA. The Minister is scheduled to meet with Kazakh
President Nursultan Nazarbayev and FM Kasimvomarat Tokayev in
Astana. June 1 Oskanian will address students of the Diplomatic
Academy of Kazakhstan. Later he will leave for Almaty, where he will
meet with local Armenian community members. Oskanian will return to
Armenia June 2.

ARMENIAN TEAM WON AGAIN
Lragir.am
31 May 06
The men’s team of Armenia won in the ninth round of the Chess Olympiad
in Torino. In the ninth round our team defeated the team of Ukraine
which was the third in the chart after the eighth round. The Armenian
team got 26.5 points and tops the tournament chart with still four
rounds to go before the end of the tournament. The Chinese chess
players with 25.5 points rose to the second place, defeating the
Georgian team 1.5:2.5. The Russian team lost to the French team,
descending from the second to the fourth place. After this victory
the French team is the third on the chart with 24 points. The Russians
are the fourth with 23.5 points.

HERITAGE HEADQUARTERS FORCIBLY VACATED, SEALED: WHAT ARE THEY AFRAID OF?
Lragir.am
31 May 06
Yerevan, 30.05.06, ACNIS. Today at noon, as Raffi Hovannisian and
his colleagues were at work, the Heritage Party’s main office was
surrounded and entered by a group of 10 uniformed bailiffs from
the Service for Mandatory Execution of Judicial Acts (SMEJA) of the
Ministry of Justice.
In an unprecedented and incredible reversal of their execution
yesterday of the Court’s April 14 injunction against the defendant
theater’s restriction of access to Hovannisian’s premises and property,
and without further court order, the ministry officials, led by Vahram
Yenokian and joined by Yerevan’s commando-clad “chief evicter” Tigran
Tadevosian, forcibly vacated the premises, evicting Hovannisian and
his staff from the headquarters which has been theirs for 12 years
and which they had succeeded in reentering just yesterday, nearly
three months after its initial closure. All office doors, external
and internal, were then sealed.
As part of the official report prepared by Yenokian and his underlings,
Raffi Hovannisian recorded that “the instant operation by the SMEJA
bailiffs, who are supposed to be servants of the law, is illegal,
a travesty of civil rights and justice, and a sad reflection of the
subservience of the judiciary to the whims, caprices, and personal
interests of the executive branch of power, in particular the incumbent
presidency. I am being compelled to leave under the threat of force
and against my will.”
Upon the formal closing of his office within 24 hours of its hopeful
reopening, Hovannisian condemned the petty, parochial fear that drives
such acts of lawless retribution across the Republic, and vowed to
continue his quest, together with his fellow citizens, to achieve a
nation of laws, rights, and dignity.

BANKNOTES WITH THE NOMINAL VALUE OF 10 000 TO BE PUT INTO CIRCULATION
ArmRadio.am
31.05.2006 12:31
According to the decision of the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia,
starting today RA banknotes with the nominal value of 10 000 will be
put into circulation. The banknotes with the nominal value of 10 000
issued in 2006 are legal means of payment and are due to be accepted in
exchange for any goods or services without restrictions. The banknotes
with the nominal value of 10 000 issued in 2003 remain in circulation
without any restrictions.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN MEN’S CHESS TEAM CONTINUES LEADING IN WORLD CHESS OLYMPIC GAMES
ArmRadio.am
31.05.2006 13:43
Armenian men’s chess team scored 2.5:1.5 against the team of
Ukraine. After the 9th round of the World Chess Olympic Games held
in Turin, our team continues leading with 26.5 points.
Grand Master Gabriel Sargsyan celebrated his next victor over Alexander
Moisenko, Levon Aronyan, played a draw with Vasili Ivanchuk. Vladimir
Hakobyan-Sergey Karyakin and Karen Asryan-Pavel Elyanov games also
ended a draw.
Chess player of China unexpectedly scored 4:0 against the Georgian
team and after the 9th round the Chinese team is the second with 25.5
points. The Russian team has 23.5 points.
Armenian women’s team also succeeded. Defeating the German team with
the score of 2.5:0.5 they gained 18 point and are currently in the
6th place.