PUTIN AWARDS ORDER OF FRIENDSHIP TO ARMENIAN CATHOLICOS GAREGIN II
Interfax, Russia
Aug. 8, 2006
Moscow, August 8, Interfax – Russian President Vladimir Putin has
awarded an Order of Friendship to Supreme Patriarch-Catholicos Karekin
II of All Armenians.
The Order of Friendship was conferred on Karekin II “in recognition
of his great contribution to the development and strengthening of
Russian-Armenian friendly relations,” the Kremlin press service told
Interfax on Tuesday.
Karekin II is the 132nd Supreme Patriarch-Catholicos of All
Armenians. He is an honorary member of the Armenian Academy of Sciences
and holder of national awards of the USSR, Jordan, Rumania, Ukraine
and France.

YEREVAN ANNOUNCES CONTINUED ECONOMIC GROWTH, BUT TAX REVENUE STILL LAGS
Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Aug. 8, 2006
By Emil Danielyan
Armenia’s economy is on track to expand at a double-digit rate for
a sixth consecutive year, earning the government in Yerevan more
praise from Western lending institutions. The Armenian authorities
say that growth may slow down in the coming years but will still be
strong enough to bring about a further drop in poverty and a sizable
increase in the still modest public spending.
Official macroeconomic data for the first half of this year show the
country’s gross domestic product increasing by almost 12% despite a
slight decrease in industrial output. Trade and Economic Development
Minister Karen Chshmaritian blamed the drop on July 26 on a continuing
downturn in the local diamond-cutting industry, which produces one of
Armenia’s key export items. He assured reporters that the impending
reactivation of two large industrial enterprises in Yerevan will
significantly boost the manufacturing sector in the second half.
The continuing robust growth has created additional inflationary
pressures on the economy, leading the Armenian Central Bank (CBA) to
twice raise its refinancing rate in recent months. The benchmark rate
is currently set at 4.25%, up from last January’s level of 3.5%. The
bank hopes that the new rate will help to keep inflation within a 3%
limit in 2006. The Armenian authorities say this growth is one of
the reasons for a renewed appreciation of the national currency, the
dram. It has gained more than 10% in value against the U.S. dollar
since January and is now worth 30% more, in dollar terms, than it
was in late 2004.
Western donors, notably the International Monetary Fund, have been
quick to heap more praise on Armenia. “Armenia’s economic performance
has been impressive in recent years: double-digit growth since 2001 in
an environment of low inflation; a strengthening external position;
a reduction in poverty; and, more recently, a notable improvement
in tax performance,” the IMF’s managing director, Rodrigo de Rato,
said during a late June visit to Yerevan. “The authorities have done a
commendable job in maintaining sound macroeconomic policies,” he added,
promising to reward them with $34 million in additional IMF loans.
“Even China is not achieving that sort of growth,” observed Jeroen
Kremers, another senior IMF official. The macroeconomic performance
also earned Armenia this summer its first-ever credit ratings by two of
the world’s leading risk-assessment companies. The BA2 and BB- grades
assigned to it by Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch, respectively,
indicate a medium-level of creditworthiness and a relatively high risk
of doing business. Armenian Finance Minister Vartan Khachatrian and
Tigran Sarkisian, chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, insisted
at a July 25 news conference that the ratings are quite high for an
ex-Soviet state and will facilitate foreign investment.
The Armenian economy shrank by half in 1992 and 1993 following
the Soviet collapse and the outbreak of the wars in Karabakh and
elsewhere in the South Caucasus. Its slow recovery began in 1994
and accelerated several years later, despite Azerbaijan and Turkey’s
continuing economic blockades of Armenia resulting from the unresolved
Karabakh conflict. Armenian growth has averaged nearly 12% since 2001,
according to official statistics endorsed by the IMF and the World
Bank. The real impact on living standards on the country has been a
matter of contention, however.
The Armenian government says the proportion of Armenians living below
the official poverty line fell from 56% to 34.6% between 1999 and
2005. But the picture is rather mixed on closer inspection. While
increased prosperity is visible in Yerevan (e.g., skyrocketing real
estate prices, proliferating cars, shops, and other small businesses),
many regions outside the Armenian capital have seen little development
over the past decade. The economic upswing has clearly not been
accompanied by the creation of a sufficient number of new jobs, with
some independent studies suggesting that unemployment may still be as
high as 30%. The uneven distribution of the benefits of growth also
manifests itself through massive tax evasion by Armenia’s wealthiest
citizens, many of them having close ties with the government.
Although the Armenian government’s tax revenues have been growingly
steadily and considerably, they still made up only 14.5% of GDP last
year, one of the lowest ratios in the former Soviet Union. President
Robert Kocharian’s top economic adviser, Vahram Nercissiantz, admitted
recently that the Armenian state budget, projected at just over $1
billion in 2006, should have been much bigger given the real volume
of economic activity in the country.
The Kocharian administration claims to be tackling the problem in
earnest. It has promised in particular to raise by 40% the salaries
of civil servants and schoolteachers as well as pensions in the
next three years. The pledge is part of the Armenian government’s
short-term economic outlook that predicts a GDP growth of at least 6%
a year from 2007 through 2009. Officials say Armenia’s GDP per capita
will rise from the current $1,600 to $2,300 as a result.
Fitch also offered a “stable outlook” for the Armenian economy in
a report released last June. But the Western credit rating firm
cautioned that the economy remains “vulnerable to shocks” due to a
low level of monetization and underdeveloped financial services. It
also said the authorities in Yerevan should do more to “strengthen
governance and the still relatively immature political system, as
well as reduce the high level of corruption.”
(Noyan Tapan, August 1; Azg, July 26-27; RFE/RL Armenia Report,
June 28, June 8; Hayots Ashkhar, June 20)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Lawmakers hit stack of state bills
Los Angeles Daily News
Aug. 8, 2006
Progress over politics emphasized
BY HARRISON SHEPPARD, Sacramento Bureau
SACRAMENTO – On their first day back in session after summer break,
state lawmakers swept Monday through hundreds of bills dealing with
everything from the Armenian Genocide to colored contact lenses,
trying to clear their desks before bills expire Aug. 31.
Lawmakers said despite the gubernatorial election looming in November,
they believe they can set aside partisan differences and collaborate
on important legislation, as they did earlier this year on the state
budget and the infrastructure bond package.
“For sure, Democrats want to get that top (governor’s) job back,”
said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, D-Los Angeles. “We all want that
top job back, but at the same time we realize how important it is to
get things done for Californians.
“The way one can characterize where we are is that political ideology
comes second to progress. That’s going to be the focus over the next
three weeks.”
One of the bills approved Monday was AB 1524, by Sen. Jackie Speier,
D-San Mateo, which allows heirs of victims of the Armenian Genocide
who live in California to file legal claims against banks in an effort
to recover assets looted by the Turkish government in the early 1900s.
“Over 900,000 Armenian-Americans reside in California,” said
Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles. “Many of their families
were killed in the Armenian Genocide from 1915 to 1923 and their
assets were abruptly seized by the Turks and placed in German banks.
No effort has been made by these banks to return their assets to
their rightful owners.”
The bill, which has already passed the Senate, went through the
Assembly on a 65-2 vote.
A similar bill was approved Monday for victims of the Mexican
repatriation in California during the 1930s, in which legal U.S.
citizens of Mexican descent were forcibly and illegally deported to
Mexico. Some experts estimate that more than 400,000 legal citizens
were deported from California during a wave of anti-immigrant hysteria
and the loss of jobs during the Great Depression.
The bill, SB 1765, allows victims to file claims for loss of property
or injury due to the forced repatriations.
Another bill that passed prohibits the sale of colored contact lenses
without a prescription. The bill’s author, Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi,
R-Lodi, said the lenses, which change the color of a person’s eyes
without enhancing vision, can often be misused without a proper fitting
and care instructions, leading to infections and possibly blindness.
“These colored contact lenses are used indiscriminately by people,”
said Nakanishi, who is also an ophthalmologist. “In fact, if it’s not
looked after, it can cause infection and cornea ulcers. The ulcers
are bad – you can turn blind from it.”
Some of the problems are caused when users, particularly teenagers,
share the lenses, which can lead to contamination and infection. They
may wear the lenses for too long without taking them out and cleaning
them.
Among other topics the Legislature is expected to tackle in the waning
days of the session are cable competition, minimum wage, greenhouse
gases and redistricting.
–Boundary_(ID_QKEBP1Ouvi1RWnEwYWj tmA)–

OSCE supports public monitoring of pre-trial detention centres in Armenia
Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)

Aug. 8, 2006
YEREVAN, 7 August 2006 – Human rights non-governmental organizations
today began monitoring the conditions in pre-trial detention centres
as part of a project supported by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
The project will initially run for three months. It aims to gather
information about human rights standards in the detention centres
so that suggestions on how to improve the situation and increase
government accountability can be made. A monitoring report will
be presented to the Armenian police that is in charge of pre-trial
detention centres.
“The establishment of a monitoring mechanism for pre-trial detention
facilities in Armenia is a remarkable step forward to establish full
public monitoring for all places of detention in the country,” said
Lars Gerold, an ODIHR Rule of Law expert.
In recent years the OSCE Office and the ODIHR have supported the
creation and work of the Armenian Prison Monitoring Board, which
observes the conditions within Armenian pre-trial detention centres.
The ODIHR provided funding for the institutional set up of the board
for at least three months and assisted with training for the members
of the board.
The OSCE has invited Kassimir Khanev, Chairman of the Helsinki
Committee of Bulgaria, to provide advice and share experiences with
the Armenian monitors.
“Public oversight over detention centres provides an opportunity to
make sure that the rights of detainees are adequately protected,”
he said.
Mr. Khanev will participate in several monitoring visits together
with his Armenian colleagues. Earlier this year, the OSCE provided
special training for the monitors.

PRESIDENT DESCRIBES BELARUS AS MAIN DRIVING FORCE OF EURASIAN INTEGRATION
Belarusian television, Minsk
8 Aug 06
[Presenter] Belarus is the most consistent and active driving force of
Eurasian integration, [President] Alyaksandr Lukashenka said today at a conference
with newly appointed representative of Belarus to interstate bodies.
Priority tasks include the activation of our country’s role in integration processes
in the post-Soviet space.
[Correspondent] The most important directions of Belarus’s foreign policy
have been defined already at a recent conference with the diplomatic corps.
Integration processes in the post-Soviet space were described as a priority. The
discussion of the integration issue continued today on the practical and
specific level. The president met those who are expected to promote and defend
Belarus’s interests in interstate bodies. These are bodies of the
[Russian-Belarusian] union state, the EAEC [the Eurasian Economic Community of Russia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan] and the CSTO [the
Collective Security Treaty Organization of Belarus, Russia, Armenia,
Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan]. Belarus is the most consistent and active
driving force of Eurasian integration, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said and the results
of recent summits testify to this. But the integration effect should be even
bigger.
[Lukashenka] I would like you to remember all the time that you are
representative of Belarus to interstate bodies, above all. I would not like you to
become international officials, as they say, and forget that you represent the
country. And the most important thing is that you should deal with the most
specific issues, any issues that would facilitate the prosperity and revival of
our country’s economy and the improvement of people’s life.
[Correspondent] The newly appointed ambassador to Russia, Vasil Dalhalyow,
has been tasked with coordinating the activities by Belarus’s representative to
interstate bodies. The main priority has been and remains the creation of a
full-fledged union state, the president pointed out. It is necessary to press
for the timely and proper implementation of the decisions and agreements
needed here. The creation of a full-scale customs union is the main direction of
activities within the EAEC framework, the head of state stressed. Active
work aimed at increasing the efficiency of foreign political coordination should
be carried out within the CSTO framework. The main thing is to see our
country and its interests behind each line and letter, the president is convinced.
[At 1021 gmt today, the Belarusian news agency Belapan quoted Lukashenka as
saying that the EAEC member states’ economic, energy and human potential can
turn the EAEC into a major player in the international economic and political
arena and that it would be impossible without the establishment of a
full-scale customs union within the organization.]

SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE ON UTILIZATION OF WATER RESOURCES HELD IN YEREVAN
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Aug. 8, 2006
YEREVAN, August 8. /ARKA/. “Problems of Utilization of Water Resources
and Ecology of Rivers Kura and Araks” scientific conference has been
held in Yerevan today.
The RA National Academy of Science reported that during the event
participants discussed timely problems connected with efficient and
purposeful utilization of water resources.
Reports of specialists from the USAID, RA Consulting Group company,
RA Ministry of Ecology, Eurasia Foundation, “Regional Ecology Centers –
Caucasus” organization were presented during the conference.
Eurasia Foundation is the organizer of the event. S.P.–0–

Middle East War Favorable to Turkey
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.08.2006 18:53 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish economic empire center of Istanbul will
only gain from Beirut stopping its existence as a financial center,
writes the Frankfurter Rundschau German newspaper. In the opinion
of the author of Oil dollars seek asylum in Bosporus article of Herd
Haler, though Lebanon has become a favorite place for Arab investors,
they now prefer investing capitals in markets, which are more stable.
These include first of all Turkey. “It is still hard to assess the
volume of those transfers. A proof of inflow of that capital into
Turkish economy can be the Turkish lira rate increasing 6% since
mid-July.
Meanwhile, secrecy atmosphere is sustained not to form an impression
that Arab investors leave Lebanon to the mercy of fate. Turkey
will only profit from the Middle East crisis. In 2005 Turk Telekom
bought 55% of Oger Saudi Arabian company at $6.6 billion. The firm
is controlled by the family of Lebanese PM Rafik al-Hariri, killed
in 2005,” the article says.
Heler underscored that Turkey attracts investors by growth rate of its
economy, developed financial markets and relative stability. “Arab
investors feel comfortable in Turkey, as the state is headed by
pro-Islamic government. Since the beginning of its tenure in 2002
economic exchange between Turkey and Arab countries increased from 7$
to $17 billion.
Turkish PM Erdogan, an Islamic fundamentalist, stands up for
investments in his country. Observers assess his expressed anti-Israeli
posture and critical rhetoric regarding the US during the latest
Middle East conflict as part of the common strategy. Erdogan will
try to make use of the visit of Saudi King to Turkey to demonstrate
solidarity with the Arab world.
King Abdullah lately pledged assistance of $1.5 billion to Lebanon. A
third part of those means should be spent to restore the country. Part
of those means can flow into the Turkish economy: Turkish construction
companies, who have already concluded building contracts in the Middle
East for $30 billion, hope to take part in rehabilitation of Lebanon,”
Frankfurter Rundschau considers.

MULTIPLE CHAMPION OF ARMENIA “PYUNIK” CONTINUES HEADING TOURNAMENT TABLE
YEREVAN, AUGUST 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Meetings of the 15 round of the
football highest group championship of Armenia took place on August 5
and 6. The following results were fixed: “Pyunik” – “Gandzasar” 5-1,
“Shirak” – “Mika” 0-0, “Ararat” – “Banants” 3-0 and “Ulis” – “Cilicia”
2-3. Multiple champion of Armenia “Pyunik” heads the tournament table
with 43 points. Meetings of the 16th rounds are appointed on August
12 and 13.

SYRIA WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH WAR BETWEEN ISRAEL AND LEBANON
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.08.2006 17:57 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Syria will not interfere with war between Israel
and Lebanon, political scientist, specialist in Turkic philology Ruben
Safrastyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. “No one will support Syria
in that issue, and first of all Russia, from which Syria depends,”
he noted.
In his turn political scientist Stepan Grigoryan also underscored that
neither Syria, nor Iran will dare to launch a war against Israel. “In
this case they will have to deal with the US and Russia in direct
sense,” he said.
Syria FM Walid Moallem stated in Beirut that Syria is ready to a
regional war and will respond to any aggression by Israel.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RIVER ARAX CONTAMINATED BY BOTH ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
Panorama.am
14:45 08/08/06
“River Arax is contaminated in Armenia as much as in Azerbaijan,”
Rafael Hovhannisyan, head of Nature Protection Union, told a scientific
meeting today at the National Academy of Sciences.
Azerbaijan has officially blamed Armenia for contaminating the river
on purpose. Hovhannisyan assures that both countries have to take
the blame for the river contamination. He says it is not polluted on
purpose. Simply, the river runs in densely populated areas and the
sewage goes into the river.
Hovhannisyan suggests elaborating a standard for river contamination
and investing that both in Armenia and Azerbaijan. /Panorama.am/