“ORINATS YERKIR” AND “DASHINK” PARTIES CONDEMN ACT OF VIOLENCE COMMITTED TOWARDS “IRAVUNK” NEWSPAPER EDITOR
Noyan Tapan
Sept 08 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The “Dashink” (Alliance) party
political council made a statement in which it condemned the act of
violence committed on September 6 against “Iravunk” newspaper editor
Hovhannes Galajian, qualifying it as a hopeless step taken by weak
people. In the statement authors’ words, the happened was addressed
against free speech. The “Dashink” party political council called
on public, political unions and healthy forces of the society to
unite for establishing a democratic state in the RA and improvement
of free press. The “Orinats Yerkir” (Country of Law) party expressed
deep anxiety on the occasion of the act of violence committed towards
H.Galajian.
“Acts of violence committed against journalists show that there are
forces in Armenia for which the free press speech and independent way
of action are inadmissible and they do not limit themselves in choosing
criminal means to limit that speech,” is said in the statement made
by the OYP press service. The party is also deeply concerned in the
sense of murders of public sonority taking place in Armenia during the
last period which are not revealed. According to the statement, “the
mentioned is becoming a part of our public life what is too dangerous
for future of the Republic of Armenia.” Expecting implementation of
decisive actions by legal bodies, the OYP mentions that “if real-legal
estimations of the “Tsetsi krug” (shooting accident in the outskirts
of Yerevan in early this year) and other noisy murders were given in
time, we would not have such developments today.”

ARMENIAN UNION OF WRITERS TO HOLD A NUMBER OF EVENTS JOINTLY WITH IRANIAN CULTURAL CENTER BY END OF 2006
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 08 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Armenian
Union of Writers will hold a number of events jointly with the Iranian
Cultural Center by the end of the year. Chairman of the Armenian
Union of Writers Levon Ananian reported this at the September 8 event
dedicated to the 40th anniversary of Persian poet and translator Ahmad
Nurizade’s literary activity. He said that, in particular, Iran-Armenia
friendship festivity will be organized in late October on Meghri bridge
and in the first half of November Armenian writers will visit Tehran
and Ispahan. “All planned events will make closer friendly relations
between the two countries,” Levon Ananian is convinced.

ARMENIA HAS SUFFICIENT QUANTITY OF FOOD
Noyan Tapan
Sept 08 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the national food
balance, in 2005, the daily supply of 14 commodity groups per capita
made 2,755.7 kilocalories in Armenia against 2,590 kilocalories
in 2004. Based on the Food Security and Poverty Report prepared by
the RA National Statistical Service, the growth of this index shows
that the country has a sufficient quantity of food, and in terms of
assessing the food security, special importance is attached to the
problem of food availability, including uneven distribution of food.
According to the report, the results of household surveys also
indicate this.
In 2005, food consumption per capita made 2,062 kilocalories, while in
the groups with the lowest and highest consumption the indices were
1,404 amd 3,296 kilocalories respectively. Self-sufficiency in goods
which account for the largest share in the structure of food is also
important from the viewpoint of assessing the state of food security
in the country. For example, in 2005, the wheat self-sufficiency
grew by 2.1% on the previous year and made 43.7%, which was due to
a considerable decline in wheat imports. The opposite tendency was
registered in the commodity group of chicken meat: although there was
a production growth in 2005, the self-sufficiency in chicken meat
declined by 5.6% to 18.7% at the expense of increased imports. The
self-sufficiency in the vegetable oil and sugar commodity groups
continues to be low: 1.5% and 1.8% respectively. The self-sufficiency
in other food commodity groups is high: pork – 57.3%, groats -58.7%,
beef -76.8%, fruit – 95.7%, grapes – 98.2%, milk – 99.8%, potato –
99.9%, mutton – 100%, vegetables – 101.7% and eggs -101.8%.

ARMENTEL DEPRIVES OVER 100 COMPANIES – INTERNET PHONE CONNECTION PROVIDERS OF DATA TRANSMISSION CONNECTION
Noyan Tapan
Sept 08 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Yesterday the company
ArmenTel deprived, without any warning, 100 companies –
Internet phone connection providers of their data transmission
connection. Representatives of these companies stated this at the
September 8 press conference. According to Artyom Khachatrian,
director of the company Dashink Kadrayin Kentron, all the companies
have appropriate licences, and based on the conclusion of the RA
Ministry of Transport and Communication, their operation does not
contradict ArmenTel’s licence. It was noted during the press conference
that the companies – Internet phone connection providers requested
ArmenTel to provide explanations, but there was no answer.

“ZHAMANAK YEREVAN” NEWSPAPER’S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SENTENCED TO 4 YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT
Noyan Tapan
Sept 08 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The first instance court of
Kentron and Nork-Marash Yerevan communities presided over by judge
Mnatsakan Martirosian, by the September 8 verdict sentenced “Zhamanak
Yerevan” newspaper’s editor-in-chief Arman Babajanian to 4 years’
imprisonment. The court considered completely proved the accusation
brought to him, evasion of military service through forging documents
and considered him innocent on the accusation of misappropriation
of documents. To recap, the defendant pleaded guilty only on the
first accusation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SOLOISTS OF DEKHTSANIK TRIO TO CONTINUE THEIR CAREER IN MOSCOW
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 08 2006
SOCHI, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. 6th Moscow
International Youth Competition-Festival “The Sun is Shining to
Eeverybody” is being held in Sochi. The festival participants
compete for the title of the best ones in choreography, singing,
instrumental performance and in the genre of circus art. Young actors
and dancers from 67 cities of Russia have come to take part in the
festival. According to the Yerkramas (Krai) newspaper of Armenians
of Russia, evident pretender to victory is the Dekhtsanik (Canary)
vocal trio from Adler performing songs in Armenian. If even the young
soloists of the ensemble do not receive Grand Prix at the festival,
it is already known that they will continue their career in Moscow,
from where they have already received the respective invitation.

ARAM SARGSIAN CLAIMS THAT BRANDY SOLD BY YEREVAN BRANDY COMPANY EXCEEDS AMOUNT OF GRAPES PURCHASED
Noyan Tapan
Sept 08 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. In his open letter published
recently in a number of Armenian newspapers, Herve Caroff, director
of the Yerevan Brandy Company (YBC), neither denied nor confirmed the
facts which indicate an illegal and unsparing use of reserve spirits
by the company. Aram Sargsian, chairman of the Democratic Party of
Armenia, deputy of the RA National Assembly, said that during a talk
with NT correspondent on September 8. According to him, the fact of
spirit embezzlement at the YBC was confirmed by the RA Prosecutor
General during a meeting with him. Commenting on this letter addressed
to him, A. Sargsian noted that only his allegation about the company’s
sale is refuted without any arguments. He said that the examination
of the data presented by the YBC management on how much grapes was
purchased in these years, how much brandy spirit can be obtained from
this amount of grapes, and how much brandy was sold allows to conclude
that the YBC has produced at least twice as much brandy as it would
be possible in case of the given amount of grape purchase. “According
to the agreement they signed at the time of the company’s purchase, the
initial amount of the basic spirit must have been kept,” A. Sargsian
noted. At the same time, he said that his questions were addressed
not to the YBC’s director but to the management of Pernod Ricard. “I
applied to our authorities, which conducted a transaction with the
company’s management and are obliged to protect state interests,”
he stated.

PARLIAMENT OF ARGENTINIAN PROVINCE OF CORBODA RECOGNIZES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 08 2006
BUENOS AIRES, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The
legislative body of the Argentinian province of Corboda on September 6
unanimously adopted the bill No. 9315, in accordance with which April
24 will be commemorated each year as remembrance day of the genocide
committed by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian people. According
to the RA MFA Press and Information Department, the bill prepared
by Alejandra Vigo, member of the faction Unification for Corboda,
also intends to run courses on the Armenian Genocide at schools of the
province. In particular, it is noted in the bill that “the atrocities
committed against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire and the
Turkish government prior to, during and after World War I are called
the Armenian Genocide.” The law will take effect within 10 days after
being approved by the governor of the Corboda province. A similar
law was adopted by the parliament of the province of Buenos Aires
on May 17, 2006, and took effect on June 2 after being ratified by
the governor. It is expected that the bill on commemoration of the
Armenian Genocide, which was unanimously adopted by the legislative
body of the Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires on August 17, 2006,
will also come into force in the near future.

ARMENIAN FOODSTUFFS TO BE PRESENTED FOR FIRST TIME AT TORONTO’S ETHNIC FOOD EXHIBITION
Noyan Tapan
Sept 08 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Some Armenian foodstuffs will be
presented for the first time at the Ethnic Food 2006 Exhibition to be
held in the Canadian city of Toronto at the Armenia pavilion organized
by the Artisan Food Inc. and the Center for Agribusiness and Rural
Development (CARD). More than 50 products manufactured in Armenia –
tinned goods, juices, teas from Armenian plants and wines will be on
display at the exhibition. NT was informed about it from the Armenian
company Artisan Food Inc. According to the company, the number of
wholesale enterprises-purchasers on the Canadian food market exceeds
22 thousand, with their annual turnover amounting to 19 bln USD.

SECOND ITALIAN CLIMBER DIES ON MOUNT ARARAT
Anatolian Times, Turkey
Sept 8 2006
ANKARA – Rescue workers on Friday found the body of a second Italian
mountainer at the summit of Mount Ararat, eastern Turkey, his travel
agent said.
The second climber to die was named as Franco Pacifico, 65, a member of
an 11-member Italian team that reached the 5,136-metre (16,850-foot)
summit on Tuesday but got caught in a heavy blizzard, Mustafa Kaya
told AFP.
Officials said on Thursday that another member of the group, Caterina
Fruttero, had also lost her life.
Both are believed to have died of hypothermia.
Kaya said the remaining nine mountaineers had descended safely.
Mount Ararat (Agri in Turkish) is located in easternmost Turkey, where
the borders of Iran, Armenia and the Azeri enclave of Nakhchivan meet.
Most of it is a closed military zone and mountaineers need special
permission from the Turkish authorities for expeditions on the
mountain.
From: Baghdasarian