GOLD RESERVES ARE NOT FAVORABLE FOR ARMENIA, SAID PRESIDENT OF CENTRAL BANK
Lragir.am
13 June 06
The president of the Central Bank of Armenia announced June 13 that
it is not favorable for Armenia to have gold reserves in the upcoming
years. According to the president of the Central Bank, having gold
reserves is favorable when the foreign assets exceed the foreign debt,
reports the news agency ARKA. The gold reserve of Armenia was sold in
2003 when Tigran Sargsyan was the president of the Central Bank. Tigran
Sargsyan assures that the sale of the gold reserve was determined by
the necessity to transfer 3 billion dollars to the state budget of
Armenia. At that time the gold reserve totaled 15 million dollars,
while the foreign assets reached 770 million dollars.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PASSED LAW ON ARMENIAN FLAG
Lragir.am
13 June 06
On June 13 the National Assembly passed the law on the flag of
the Republic of Armenia. In accordance with the law, the state
flag of Armenia is flied on the residences of the president and the
government, the home of the parliament, as well as the courts of law,
other government agencies and the legacies of the Republic of Armenia
outside the borders of Armenia. The law does not forbid citizens of
Armenia to fly the flag on their houses. However, the law requires
flying the flag at least 2.5 meters high above ground. The flag must
be clean, the colors cannot be faded.

ORPHANAGES WILL BE LICENSED
Lragir.am
13 June 06
After the adoption of amendments to the law on licensing on June 13
licensing of orphanages is obligatory in Armenia. Aghvan Vardanyan,
the minister of work and social security, said there are 8 state and
6 private orphanages.
The ministry is entitled to control on maintaining the required
conditions in orphanages and record of homeless children. According
to the minister, the number of private orphanages is growing, and
the changes made to the law will enable more effective control on
orphanages as well as on the procedure of adopting.

PARTISANSHIP DESTROYS EDUCATION
Lragir.am
13 June 06
In his first news conference Levon Mkrtichyan, the minister of
education and culture, proposed and called for changing the attitude
towards the sphere of education.
Minister Levon Mkrtichyan proposes several steps. First, “stop
approaching our ministry and sphere as a mere system intended for
organizing different examinations because the problems we are facing
are much more important and serious and are related to much more
vital interests than the entrance or graduation exams of our children.”
Levon Mkrtichyan suggests using the term “upgrading” instead of
“educational reform.” Especially that the education of Soviet Armenia
complied with the standards of the time. “The quality of our education
was very high,” he said. Simply in today’s changing world education
has also changed, and the problem of upgrading has emerged “to comply
with the international standards in this sphere.” We have to upgrade
to comply with the European education, states Levon Mkrtichyan, adding
that the quality of education in Armenia has declined. If formerly we
were on the same level with the European educational system, at least
with the countries of Eastern Europe, currently we are compared with
Turkey, Costa Rica and Central Asia.
Knowing that there are members of different political parties in the
ministry, Levon Mkrtichyan, ARF, reminds that this sphere “will operate
as an integrated professional system.” The minister would not like his
children or everyone else’s children to attend a Republican, ARF or
Orinats Yerkir school. “It would ruin us,” said Levon Mkrtichyan. Levon
Mkrtichyan’s call was addressed to all the workers of education,
“if the directors of schools support some ideas but they do not want
to affiliate with the party, let them not to in order not to appear
in such a stupid situation.” However, quite recently the Republican
Party has launched a campaign of involving teachers in the party,
and only three days ago the Bargavach Hayastan Party used the Last
Bell ceremony at schools for political advertisement. In answer to
this remark Levon Mkrtichyan added that his call against partisanship
in education is addressed to statesmen and political parties as well.

FOREIGN EXPERTS RECOGNIZE TRANSDNIESTRIA INDEPENDENCE
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.06.2006 14:51 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A scholarly paper on the state sovereignty of the
Transdniestrian Moldavian Republic (TMR) within the framework of
the international law has been presented in Washington. The authors
are Stefan Talmon, Christofer Goebel, Nancy Furman, Paul Williams,
Stephen Krasner, Andrew Lorenz, Michael Scharf, and William Wood,
the international scholars from Oxford, Stanford, Harvard, and
Cambridge universities who contributed to the elaboration of the
Dayton agreements on the division of former Yugoslavia. The experts
conclude that historically, Transdniestria has never been part of
Moldova. While Transdniestria originated from the collapse of the USSR,
its people and territory have roots that go far into the history. The
foundation and the existence of the modern Republic of Moldova are
based on a unilateral declaration of independence that enunciated the
forced unification on Moldova and Transdniestria performed by Stalin
at the outset of the World War II.
It lacked any ‘actual legal base,’ i. e. was instituted
illegally. Legal and factual analysis reveal that during the collapse
of the USSR, the Moldavian SSR broke up into two successor states:
Moldova and Transdniestria, whose today’s border fully corresponds to
the traditional historical border that divided them since the early
Middle Ages. At the moment of Moldova’s secession from the USSR,
Transdniestria had already exited it and governed its territory.
The report says that many years of international practice
accumulated in charters allow listing the criteria used to define
state sovereignty. These are steady population, defined territory,
government capable of establishing relations with other nations.
Transdnestr today meets all the criteria. It has its own democratically
elected President and a legislative body currently controlled by an
opposition party. Its government controls armed forces and enters
discussions with foreign states. In the case of the TMR, the viability
of the state is proved, as well as the legitimacy of the process of
the state building, the scholars affirm. More than a half million
people residing in Transdniestria that occupies territory of 4,
163 km2, successfully meet all the criteria of state sovereignty in
accord with the international law. Transdniestria has an effectively
functioning government that has its own agencies, the Constitution,
currency, tax system, legal system, and population exceeding in its
numbers that of many UN member states.

BRITISH-TURKISH DIALOGUE GROUP URGE BELGIUM TO RECOGNIZE CONGO GENOCIDE
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.06.2006 16:35 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The British-Turkish Committee for Dialogue (BTCD),
a London-based non-governmental organization, has said that it
supports the Early Day Motion tabled by British Labor Party deputy
Andrew Dismore calling on the Belgian government to recognize the
genocide it perpetuated in what is today the Democratic Republic
of Congo. Dismore, a deputy from Hendon and chairman of the Joint
Committee on Human Rights in the British Parliament, argues that
the tragic incidents of 1884 and 1907 that resulted in the deaths
of millions of ethnic Congolese under the rule of King Leopold II of
Belgium constituted genocide.
The Early Day Motion calls on Belgium to recognize the Congolese
genocide. The Congo incidents were brought to Dismore’s attention
by the BTCD at a public meeting in London in April. At the meeting
Dismore said that Belgium had to officially recognize the events as
genocide. After having had confirmation from the British Parliament’s
library that Belgium so far has not apologized for the incidents,
Dismore tabled the motion at parliament.
In a press statement, BTCD said it thanks Dismore for the compassion
he has shown for the victims of this tragedy. The Belgian parliament
has passed resolutions calling on other nations, including Turkey,
to reconsider their history and recognize that they had perpetuated
genocide. Therefore, we call upon the Belgian parliament to face the
dark pages of its history in the same way that it has suggested to
other nations, by recognizing the tragedy Belgium caused during this
period as genocide, the BTCD said.
Dismore’s motion was also signed by 12 other British deputies: 10
Labor, two Liberal Democrat and one Conservative, reported Turkish
Daily News.

ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI FMS MEETING IN PARIS
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.06.2006 17:19 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The recurrent round of talks between Armenian Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian and Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov started
in Paris June 13, Azeri Deputy FM, President’s Special Representative
for the Nagorno Karabakh settlement Araz Azimov said. The meeting
started with business lunch. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs are also
taking part in the talks. Azimov said it’s premature to make any
comments on the ongoing negotiations, reported Trend news agency.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

INTERNATIONAL GROUP FOR SEARCH OF MISSING ARRIVING IN NKR
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.06.2006 18:19 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ June 18-20, 2006 the International Working Group for
Search of Missing, Captives and Release of POWs is expected to arrive
in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict region. The purpose of the visit is
to activate the search of the missing and burial places. The group
will also work at the inquiries by the NKR, Armenian and Azerbaijan
state committees, reported Novosti-Armenia.

GEORGIA RANKS FIRST IN ARMAMENT RACE
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.06.2006 17:54 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgia is the world leader in military expenditures,
says the annual report of the Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute (SPRI) engaged in the investigation of the armament
market. Tbilisi’s expenditures for armament increased 2.5 times during
a year and made $146 million.
Compared with the United States, China, Russia, European states and
Near East the amount is not much but Georgia left behind its neighbors
– Azerbaijan (with 51% growth) and Armenia (23% growth). The SPRI
specialists condition the sharp growth of expenditures with Georgia’s
wish to join the NATO. However they also mention Georgia’s aspiration
to re-subordinate Abkhazia and South Ossetia, reported the BBC News.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN INTELLIGENTSIA ADDRESSED PUTIN OVER KILLINGS OF ARMENIANS IN RUSSIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.06.2006 18:44 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The Armenian Foreign Ministry should expressed
concern over the killings of Armenians in Russia and urge an official
explanation from the Russian Ambassador to Armenia,” says the statement
adopted in Yerevan by the representatives of creative unions and
intelligentsia of Armenia.
The creative intelligentsia also urges the RA MFA to call
the Armenian Ambassador to Russia to Yerevan for conduction
of essential consultations. “He should be reminded that the
diplomatic representatives are called to provide security for their
citizens… The Armenian intelligentsia is concerned over the increase
of assaults and murders of ethnic Armenians,” the statement says.
“It’s characteristic that such incidents take place during the
year of Armenia of Russia, which actually is the year of “hunting”
of Armenians. The Russian law enforcers should find out whether
these crimes are a part of deliberate campaign that aims to stir up
hatred between the peoples and states,” the document says, reported
Novosti-Armenia.
It should be also noted that RA President’s Advisor Seyran Avagyan
will convey the statement by the Armenian intelligentsia to Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress