MHER SHAHGELDIAN: EACH STEP AGAINST ORINATS YERKIR WILL RECEIVE ADEQUATE ANSWER
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. “During this period a number of
politicians, persons, in their opinion, tried to make use of the
situation, there were and I think there will be those who will
cast political stones at the Orinats Yerkir” Mher Shahgeldian,
Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) Party Vice-Chairman, Chairman of
RA NA Standing Committee on Defence, National Security and Internal
Affairs, expressed such an opinion about the recent home political
developments. Meanwhile, he reminded that “there is time to cast
stones and there is time to gather stones”. According to him,
attempts to apply “dirty technologies” are being already made at
present but each step against the party will receive an adequate
answer. OYP coalition partners, the Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA) and the ARF Dashnaktsutiun, are rather reserved in their their
comments. The ARF considers OYP’s leaving the coalition as a “normal
civilized fenomenon” and thinks that “there is no need to look for any
tragedy here”. In particular, according to Hrayr Karapetian, Secretary
of NA ARF Dashnaktsutiun faction, it is up to each political force
to decide its future policy and actions plan. RPA also considers
the recent home political developments to be “natural”. According
to Galust Sahakian, Head of the party’s parliamentary faction, the
above-mentioned developments are also conditioned by the circumstance
that 2006 is a preelection year. The above-mentioned two coalition
forces reaffirm that they will continue to act within the framework
of the memorandum signed on June 11 2003 being ready for cooperation
with other political forces.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FERMENTATIONS IN ORINATS YERKIR STILL CONTINUE
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. It became clear on May 15 that one
more MP, Mekhak Mkhitarian (Armavir electoral district N 29) has
put in application on leaving the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law)
Party and the parliamentary faction of the same name. He is already
the 10th MP leaving the faction according to his own application
since May 5 (the faction had 20 members). But it is difficult to
prognosticate today, how many devotees will remain in the faction
finally. One thing is clear, that after officially resigning from
the post of RA NA Speaker, OYP Chairman Artur Baghdasarian will head
the faction. The party has already made a decision about this. The
further actions of OYP members who have assumed state posts within the
framework of coalition agreements are difficult to prognosticate. It
is obvious that part of them, including Vice-Chairman of the party,
Minister of Education and Science Sergo Yeritsian, Minister of Urban
Development Aram Haroutiunian will prefer to retain their posts or
to expect any other state post leaving their own party. The Governor
of Vayots Dzor and according to some non-checked information, the
Governor of Gegharkunik, have already acted this way. In difference
to the above-mentioned persons, Chairman of NA Standing Committee on
Defence, National Security and Internal Affairs, OYP Vice-Chairman Mher
Shahgeldian showed resolution to preserve loyalty to the party and to
the principles of the latter. He will resign from the above-mentioned
post in the future. The position of another OYP member, Chairman of NA
Standing Committee on Social, Healtcare and Nature Protection Issues
Gagik Mkheyan is not clear yet.

RUSAL GETS 7-YEAR $23 MLN LOAN TO MODERNIZE ARMENIAN FOIL PLANT – 1
RIA Novosti, Russia
May 16 2006
(Adds details in and after lead)
MOSCOW, May 16 (RIA Novosti) – RUSal said Tuesday it had taken out
a 7-year $23-million loan from the Black Sea Trade and Development
Bank to finance final modernization of Armenia’s Armenal foil plant.
Modernization will implement a full production cycle and broaden the
range of products the plant produces, said the leading international
aluminum and alloy producer, which also acted as guarantor on the loan.
The first stage of the $70-million modernization program began in
2004 and was completed in December 2005. Armenal, a joint venture
of RUSal and the Armenian government, is slated to come into full
operation in June 2006.
Founded in March 2000 after a merger of major aluminum plants in
the former Soviet Union, RUSal exports aluminum to 50 countries,
and operates in nine Russian regions and 13 countries. The company
holds 75% of the Russian market and 10% of the international market,
and bought Armenal in January 2003.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SERGO YERITSIAN DOES NOT IMAGINE HIS FURTHER POLITICAL ACTIVITY IN OPPOSITION FIELD
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. “I do not imagine my further political
activity in the opposition field,” founder-member and Vice-Chairman
of the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) Party Sergo Yeritsian gave
such a commentary upon his leaving the Orinats Yerkir Party. In
response to Noyan Tapan correspondent’s question, whether he will
receive a new post in the future, Yeritsian said: “We will live
and we will see”. To recap, according to the information in press,
S.Yeritsian will receive the post of Adviser to RA President. Sergo
Yeritsian took the office of RA Minister of Education and Science
in the coalition government. At the end of the last week the Orinats
Yerkir Party officially declared about its leaving the coalition and
the party Chairman Artur Baghdasarian informed that he is going to
submit his resignation from the post of RA NA Speaker at the NA 4-day
session to start on May 22 and state officials representing OYP will
also resign. He declared that henceforth the Orinats Yerkir becomes
an opposition.

ROBOTIC DEVICE DEPLOYED TO FIND BLACK BOXES
The Moscow Times, Russia
May 17 2006
The federal government launched an operation Tuesday to recover the
flight recorders from an Armenian passenger plane that crashed in
the Black Sea, sending a robotic device with a hydraulic arm to the
sea floor in an attempt to bring up the “black boxes.”
Authorities hope the recorders will help determine the cause of the
May 3 crash of the Armavia Airbus A320, which plunged into the sea
in heavy rain and poor visibility as it approached the airport on
a flight from the Armenian capital, Yerevan, to the resort city of
Sochi, killing all 113 people on board.
An official involved in the operation said the recovery device was
lowered from a ship and reached the sea floor, where the recorders
were believed to be lying about 5 meters apart at a depth of just
under 500 meters, Itar-Tass reported.
The RT-1000 apparatus has been used by geologists to lift natural
objects weighing up to 40 kilograms from the sea floor, but has
not been used at such depths, Itar-Tass quoted a Transport Ministry
official, Alexander Davydenko, as saying. He said authorities believed
the device could lift fragments weighing up to 12 kilograms and the
flight recorders, which weigh 7 kilograms, the report said.
The operation to retrieve the boxes could take three days, officials
said.
Prosecutors dismissed the possibility of terrorism, and officials
pointed to the rough weather or pilot error as the likely cause. But
Armavia officials suggest air traffic controllers should at least
share the blame.(AP)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RUSSIAN AIR FORCE COMMANDER BLAMES A-320 CRASH ON BAD WEATHER
ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 16 2006
LYUBERTSY, Moscow Region, May 16 (Itar-Tass) — The A-320 liner of
the Armenian air carrier Armavia crashed near Sochi’s Adler airport
due to bad weather, the commander of Russia’s Air Force, General of
the Army Vladimir Mikhailov has said.
“The weather is to blame for what happened. When we get the voice and
data recorders, this version will be confirmed,” Mikhailov said. In
his opinion the pilot made the correct decision, when he steered the
plane back after the first unsuccessful attempt to land the plane.
“He should have returned (the plane to the airport of departure). He
should not have changed his mind. This often leads to grave
consequences,” Mikhailov said, adding that specialists at the research
and development institute No. 13 of the Defense Ministry were ready
to provide assistance in decoding and interpreting data yet to be
retrieved from the “back boxes.”
The crash of the A-320 plane of the Armavia airlines in the small
hours of May 3 near Sochi claimed the lives of all 113 passengers
and crew on board. The liner crashed into the Black Sea and fell apart.
Its fragments sank 6-7 kilometers away from the coastline.

NAVIGATOR SHIP WITH ROBOT BEGINS A-320 PLANE BLACK BOXES LIFTING
ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 16 2006
KRASNODAR, May 16 (Itar-Tass) – The Navigator special ship with a
robot on board put out to the Black Sea early on Tuesday in order to
launch the operation to lift from the seabed the flight data recorders
of the crashed A-320 airliner of Armenia’s Armavia company.
The vessel was in the designated area at 06:20, Moscow time and the
crew began the operation, Itar-Tass was told by telephone from the
Navigator.
The robot was installed on the ship on Monday. It was brought to
Sochi by the Kapitan Beklemishev scientific-research ship from
Novorossiisk. Last week specialists tested the robot in the area of
the Tonky cape just opposite Gelendzhik. According to the head of the
special ship’s crew, specialist of the Yuzhmorgeologiya federal state
institution Igor Lagoida, the apparatus was designed for lifting
geological specimens form the seabed and examining underwater oil
and natural gas pipelines. It is for the first time to fulfil the
task of lifting a plane’s black boxes.
The robot consists of three parts, the largest is a container with
control equipment. The next segment with photo and television equipment
will go to the bottom of the sea and examine it. The third device is
a hydraulic elevating manipulator working in all directions. It will
lift on board containers and possibly pieces of the wrecked plane if
they have a weight less than 12 kilogrammes.
According to captain of the Navigator Ivan Bezborodov, “The vessel has
a system of dynamic positioning that allows it to stay in a circle 10
metres in radius, which will make it possible for the robotic device
to work normally in deep sea.
The operation is expected to take three days.
Accoridng to available information, the plane’s flight data recorders
are at a depth of 496 metres, the distance between the recorders is
some five metres.
The airbus A-320 of the Armavia company fell into the Black Sea on
the night of May 3 during landing approach at the Sochi airport. The
catastrophe claimed the lives of 113 people.

ARMENIA TO ASSIST WITH DEVELOPMENT OF CREDITING SYSTEM IN NKR
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
STEPANAKERT, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. Under conditions that the Karabakh
conflict has not yet been settled, the competition between the sides
has moved to the economic sphere, and while operating here, one should
take into account not only economic results but also the political
sonority and psychological impact of development processes. This
idea was expressed during the May 13 meeting of the President of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic Arkady Ghukasian with the delegations of
the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Board and the Union of Armenian
Banks (UAB). A conversation took place with the participation of the
delegations headed by the CBA Chairman Tigran Sargsian and the UAB
Chairman Stepan Gishian, the NKR Prime Minister Anushavan Danielian,
the NKR Minister of Finance and Economy Startak Tevosian and the
Chairman of Artsakhbank Board Kamo Nersisian. The conversation mainly
focused on the tactics of developing the crediting system in the NKR
and prospects of promoting the cooperation between the Armenian and
foreign partners in this sector. A. Ghukasian welcomed the initiative
of the Armenian banking circles to familiarize themselves with the
economy of Artsakh and to study the opportunities of cooperation. He
expressed the NKR authorities’ willingness to assist with this process.

PROFIT TAX REVENUES OF RA STATE BUDGET INCREASE BY 73% IN JANUARY-MARCH 2006 ON SAME MONTHS OF LAST YEAR
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. In the first quarter of 2006, the profit
tax revenues of the RA state budget increased by 73% on the same
months of last year and made about 11 bln 525.1 mln drams (about 25.6
mln USD). According to the RA National Statistical Service, in the
period under review the value added tax (VAT) revenues of the state
budget grew by 1.7% to about 31 bln 827.1 mln drams, while the excise
tax revenues – by 13.7% to 9 bln 44 mln drams. In January-March 2006,
the income tax revenues of the state budget increased by 46.4% and made
7 bln 589.7 mln drams, the fixed payments to the state budget – by 11%
to 3 bln 289.7 mln drams, and customs duties – by 4.7% to 3 bln 636.3
mln drams. The simplified tax revenues declined by 2.9% and made about
1 bln 753.1 mln drams. Other tax revenues of the RA state budget grew
by 36.4% in the period under review and amounted to 1,056 mln drams.

GOVERNMENT OF GEORGIA READY TO BUY HOUSES IN JAVAKHK FOR ITS CITIZENS SUFFERED FROM NATURAL CALAMITIES
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 15 2006
AKHALKALAK, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. According to Zaza
Imedashvili, the head of the Emigration, Resettlement and Refugees
Department of the Refugees and Resettlement Ministry of Georgia, this
year the Government of Georgia allocated 1 mln 227 thousand lari (about
700 thousand U.S. dollars) to citizens of Georgia suffered from natural
calamities for buying flats. The Government considers mainly Western
Georgia and Ajaria as regions suffered from natural calamities. As the
“A-Info” agency informs quoting official data, it is envisaged to buy
about 220 houses in the regions of Tsalka, Akhalkalak, Ninotsminda
during the current year. Z.Imedashvili explains resettlement of
Georgians in the regions of Javakhk populated by Armenians with the
issue that houses are cheap there. In the opinion of representatives
of the Armenian Public Organizations Council of Samtskhe-Javakhk,
the main goal of this program of the Georgian Parliament is to change
the demographic picture of Javakhk to the detriment of Armenians.