MINISTRY OF ENERGY BECOMES OBSOLETE
Lragir.am
13 april 06
The Ministry of Energy of Armenia has already become obsolete and
can be dissolved, stated Edward Aghajanov, economist, April 12. The
reason is, according to him, the sale of the fifth generating unit
of the Thermal Power Plant to Russia, as well as the transfer of the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline to Russia, ensuring Russian monopoly in
the energy sector of Armenia.
The problem, according to him, is not the price at which the fifth
generating unit was sold. The problem is that a country’s energy
capacity cannot be entirely sold to another country. “The danger is
that Russia, in fact, controls not only energy generation but also the
network of distribution. Thus, Russia can form a rigid structure that
will shatter the energy security of Armenia,” announced the economist.
He says there was a better way of operating the fifth generating
unit. Iran had offered a loan of 150 million dollars to Armenia to
be repaid by energy, produced at the fifth generating unit within
20-25 years. And Armenia could have kept the fifth generating unit.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GASPROM TO OWN 82 PER CENT OF SHARES OF ARMRUSGASARD
Lragir.am
13 april 06
Even if the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline becomes a transit pipeline in
the nearest future, Armenia will have nothing to do with it, said
economist Edward Aghajanov April 12. He is convinced that though
the government of Armenia is trying to keep it secret, the Armenian
section of the gas pipeline has already been transferred to Gasprom.
Aghajanov refers to the official website of Gasprom and the
authoritative Russian newspapers.
Edward Aghajanov says as a result of the contract Armenia loses not
only the Iran-Armenia pipeline but also the company Armrusgasard. The
Vedomosti Newspaper opened the brackets: Gasprom will own 82 per
cent of shares of Armrusgasard in the result of Russian-Armenian gas
negotiations. It should be noted that before 45 per cent of shares
of Armrusgasard was owned by Armrusgasard, 45 per cent by Gasprom
and 10 per cent by Itera, a daughter company of Gasprom.

ELECTIONS IN 2007 AND 2008 MAY CUT THE MILLENNIUM MONEY
Lragir.am
13 april 06
The group of U.S. Congress representatives and John Danilovich,
Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, who
arrived in Yerevan with the group, are pleased with their meetings
in Armenia. Jim Golby mentioned that the main purpose of their visit
was to study conditions for launching the Millennium Challenge program.
The U.S. government will grant 235 million dollars to Armenia
within 5 years. The money will be spent on the development of rural
infrastructures.
Jim Golby says the Millennium Challenge program is a dynamic program
of U.S. assistance to countries which are committed to fair governance
and a transparent society, and they believe that Armenia proceeds
along this path.
The director of the MCC John Danilovich stated that their visit to
the region established their commitment to implementation of the
agreement signed March 27 in Washington.
John Danilovich said during their meetings with the speaker, foreign
minister and president of Armenia they became convinced that the
government of Armenia is eager to implement the program successfully.
The corporation will assist the government of Armenia in a successful
implementation of the program. Besides, Danilovich said the MCC will
control the implementation of the program to prevent corruption. For
this purpose the American side lays emphasis on the engagement of
civil institutions in the implementation of the program. During their
visit that lasted for almost three days John Danilovich and the U.S.
Congress representatives met with non-governmental organizations. He
said hopefully the non-governmental organizations will get widely
engaged in the MCC program.
He assured that the program will help to cut poverty, promote
democracy and judiciary reforms and development of other spheres of a
transparent and open society. With regard to the level of democracy
in Armenia John Danilovich said democracy is a continuous process,
and Congressman Golby said the basic principle of democracy is fair
elections, and the MCC would not launch the program if the government
and the society of Armenia did not seek for fair elections. Jim Golby
said fair election is not just voting; it is electoral registers,
campaign, fundraising. He stated that the elections in 2007 and
2008 may call a halt to the program of the MCC if they do not comply
with the standards of democracy. The Congress representative stated,
nevertheless, that the United States is hopeful the elections will
be fair.
The delegation of the U.S. Congress representatives, which had arrived
in Yerevan from Georgia, left for Azerbaijan full of hopes.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PARLIAMENT MAY INTERFERE WITH ELECTION TO PRESIDENT OF ACADEMY
Lragir.am
13 april 06
The National Assembly may actively influence the outcome of election
of the new president of the NAS. An indirect interference is meant,
which may have a significant role, however.
The point is that the parliament decided to empower the directors of
institutes to vote to the election of president of the Academy. This is
regulated by law, and the academicians will turn to the parliament. No
doubt expanding the range of eligible members of the academy may
essentially modify the scenario of the election if there is such. Ten
voters is not the same as twenty voters. Moreover, the categories
of voters vary. In other words, the members of the presidium of
the NAS have a motivation, differing from that of the directors of
institutes. Hence, the decision of the parliament may have a deciding
role in the election of the president of the academy.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RAMIL SAFAROV’S VERDICT TO BE CAST TODAY IN BUDAPEST
ArmRadio.am
13.04.2006 10:36
Today the City Court of Budapest will cast Ramil Safarov’s verdict. The
Prosecutor has demanded life imprisonment for the Azeri, who killed
Armenian Officer Gurgen Margaryan during NATO trainings in Hungary.

REPORT ON REFUGEES IN ARMENIA, GEORGIA AND AZERBAIJAN TO BE DISCUSSED AT PACE SITTING
ArmRadio.am
13.04.2006 11:27
The report on “Refugees and displaced persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia” will be discussed during today’s sitting of the PACE
spring session.
Head of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Armen Rustamyan
said in his interview to MEDIAMAX Agency that the report presented
by Boris Tsilevich is rather neutral and first of all refers to the
resolution of humanitarian issues.

CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ARMENIA TO BE HELD AT UCLA
ArmRadio.am
13.04.2006 11:15
“Armenia: Challenges of Sustainable Development” is the theme of an
international conference to be held at the University of California,
Los Angeles (UCLA), on Saturday, May 6. The conference featuring
specialists in economics, finance, and governance is dedicated to UCLA
Professor Emeritus of Economics, Armen A. Alchian, a world-renowned
economist and teacher who was born in Fresno in 1914 and has been a
member of the UCLA faculty since 1946.
The conference is organized by the Armenian Educational Foundation
Chair in Modern Armenian History at UCLA and the Armenian International
Policy Research Group (AIPRG), with support from the UCLA Von Grunebaum
Center for Near Eastern Studies and the Department of Economics. AEF
Chair Holder Richard Hovannisian will open the morning session with
introductory comments on “The Economic Factor,” followed by the
presentation of Professor Alchian and his contributions to economic
theory by a similarly distinguished Professor of Economics, Harold
Demsetz.

MEMORANDUM TO BE SIGNED BETWEEN RA COURT OF APPEAL AND THE SUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA
ArmRadio.am
13.04.2006 12:00
On April 14 Head of the RA Court of Appeal Hovhannes Manukyan will meet
the President of the Supreme Court of Georgia Konstantin Kublashvili,
who is in Armenia on a working visit.
Press Service of the Armenian Court of Appeal informs that a memorandum
on ” Mutual cooperation and exchange of legal information” will be
signed between RA Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Georgia.
In the framework of the visit Konstantin Kublashvili will have meetings
with RA Minister of Justice David Harutyunyan and President of the
Constitutional Court Gagik Harutyunyan.

TAMAR KOREKYAN FORCED TO RETURN HER WINNER’S CROWN
ArmRadio.am
13.04.2006 12:10
Winner of the beauty contest in Iraq, Armenian Tamar Korekyan wore
her crown for four day only. According to the Turkish “Hurriet,”
accused of being a ” disbeliever queen,” Korekyan returned her crown,
which was not accepted by those who took the second ad third places,
either. In the result the crown was given to another Armenian Silva
Sahakyan, 23, who will represent Iraq in the ” Miss World” beauty
contest to be held July 23 in Los Angeles.

RSF WELCOMES DROPPING OF CHARGES AGAINST JOURNALISTS
TDN
Thursday, April 13, 2006
ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
A Paris-based media watchdog has hailed a recently issued ruling
by an Istanbul court that dropped charges against four prominent
journalists accused of insulting Turkey’s courts.
With Tuesday’s decision, the court, however, decided to press ahead
with the trial of a fifth journalist.
While welcoming the decision on İsmet Berkan, Erol Katırcıoglu and
Haluk Å~^ahin of daily Radikal and Hasan Cemal of Milliyet, Reporters
Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) deplored the court’s
decision to proceed with the trial of Radikal columnist Murat Belge,
who faces a sentence of between six months and 10 years in prison on
the same charge.
“We are relieved to learn that the charges have been dismissed against
four journalists who faced the possibility of imprisonment for what
they had written,” the press freedom organization said.
“We issued a statement on Feb. 8 calling for the withdrawal of the
charges, and we reiterate this appeal now on behalf of the Radikal
columnist, who could still get a long jail term.”
“We hope the authorities will in the future resist these growing
prosecutions against journalists and freedom of expression activists.”
The five journalists were indicted in December for criticizing a court
decision that briefly blocked a landmark conference in Istanbul on
the Armenian issue. The prosecution charged them under articles that
penalize insults of the judiciary and attempts to influence justice,
carrying up to 10 years in prison.
The discussion of what happened to Armenians between 1915 and 1923
is an extremely sensitive topic in Turkey, which categorically denies
Armenian allegations that Armenians were subject to a genocide campaign
at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
The trial is seen as a test of Turkey’s readiness for membership in the
European Union. Turkey, which embarked on membership talks in October,
is under heavy pressure from the EU and human rights organizations
to address infringements on freedom of expression.
Turkey last year advanced 15 places in the 2005 World Press Freedom
Index of the RSF but is still ranked 98th in the 167-country list,
after Zambia, Togo, Jordan and Madagascar.
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