BURNS SUPPER AND THE BRITISH EMBASSY HELP MOTHERS AND CHILDREN IN GEGHARKUNIK AND LORI MARZ
Armenpress
May 31 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS: The British Embassy in Armenia held a
press conference today to mark the handover of funds raised at the
2006 Burns Supper to the beneficiary, Project Nova.
This year the 8th annual Burns Supper raised AMD 9 Million ($20,000),
for the purchase of much needed medical equipment for the Martuni
Community Maternity Hospital in Gegharkunik Marz. The purchase of
the equipment will be arranged by Project NOVA, which will receive
the money on behalf of the beneficiary on the day of press conference.
Through its partner, Project NOVA, will provide an E150 Breeze
Ventilator to the Martuni Maternity hospital. There are approximately
1100 babies delivered in this hospital each year of which about 120
need intensive care.
Martuni Maternity Hospital also looks after women with complicated
pregnancies both from the Martuni and the Vardenis regions of
the marz. This donation will provide the necessary intensive care
facilities on-site so that there will no longer be a need to refer
babies and pregnant women to clinics in Yerevan.
Additionally, a small portion of this donation will be used to renovate
an ultrasound device in Alaverdi Maternity Hospital to upgrade the
diagnostic capacity of the clinic. The 2006 Burns Supper raised
funds through the sale of the tickets and through an auction on the
night. The impressive amount raised was due to the generous support
of sponsors: HSBC bank, the Marriott Armenia hotel, the Yerevan Brandy
Factory, Hovnanian International and British Airways.
The embassy said it was also very grateful to the generous prizes
offered in the auction by the following companies: London-Yerevan
insurance company, Tufenkian Rugs, Artbridge cafe, Hugo Boss, Davidoff,
First Floor arts salon, Dolmama restaurant, Phoenicia restaurant,
Arena bowling club and Litte medical center.
The Burns Supper was started by close friends of Burns a few years
after his death in 1796 as a tribute to his memory. For about 200
years on or around his birthday, January 25th, Scots both at home and
abroad remember Robert Burns enjoying a traditional Scottish meal,
the drinking of Scottish whiskey and the recitation of works by,
about, and in the spirit of Robert Burns.
This year the USAID-supported Project NOVA began its work in Kotayk
and Gegharkunik Marzes to strengthen access to maternal and child
health services among rural populations.
The project collaborates with the maternity hospitals, outpatient
women’s consultations and rural primary health care facilities to
reinforce their capacity to offer higher quality of life. Project
activities include training, equipping and upgrading rural health
posts and strengthening the overall management and supervision of care.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN STUDENTS TO FIGHT FOR ECOLOGY
Panorama.am
17:12 31/05/06
About 40 students from different regions of Armenia will participate
in the solution of nature protection challenges in the regions
of Armenia. Today Forest Armenia public organization summed up
long-term projects which were launched in December 2004. During that
time, a number of seminars were held and 4 out of 12 public ecology
organizations were selected to conduct seminars and training courses
for totally 150 students. According to Mher Sharoyan, coordinator
on relations with public organizations, at the end of the project
most active 40 students were selected who will cooperate with the
selected public organizations and local government units to raise
environmental challenges at the government through their donors.

FROM ARMENIA TO COLUMBIA IS ONE STEP IF YOU HANG THE FLAG UPSIDE DOWN
Panorama.am
17:33 31/05/06
Today NA extraordinary session discussed the draft law “On state
flag of Armenia.” The draft was submitted by the Ministry of Culture
and Youth Affairs on behalf of the Armenian government. NA decided
to give a rapid solution to the draft with all three readings to be
concluded today.
NA session started with 99 deputies but during the discussion of the
draft law only some 20 deputies were left. NA deputy Viktor Dallakyan
expressed his concern saying that he cannot understand those deputies
who have initiated this extraordinary session but are not present
during the discussion of the draft law.
V. Dallakyan was asked two compare this government-initiated draft with
the one proposed by Orinats Yerkir. “It is not within parliamentary
ethics that the draft proposed by Orinats Yerkir is not discussed
any more. It would be better to have it as an alternative,” he
said. However, he prefers the one submitted by the government though
it has its shortcomings as well. V. Dallakyan thinks that the flag of
Armenia should be stuck on the cars of the Armenian president, prime
minister and NA Chairman. He has suggested that in the parliament.
NA plans to finish the discussion of the draft and adopt it as soon
as tomorrow.

MICROPHONE WENT INTO ANDRE’S MOUTH IN SEMIFINAL
Panorama.am
16:20 31/05/06
During the semi-final of Eurovision, the microphone went into Andre’s
mouth that’s why the singer missed several lines of the song. “Many
people thought that I was so confused that I forgot the lines but it
is not so,” the singer told a press conference today. As the singer
told earlier, some among the audience heard neither the music nor the
voice. Besides, the dance partly disturbed his breathing. According
to Andre, the best voice was ensured during the performance of the
singers from Greece and Cyprus.
Andre thinks that this should not be end for hard work, as the
competition evaluated neither vocal nor voice merits but god knows
what. “The Finn came to tease the competition but as you saw they
won the contest,” Andre says.
Andre tries to get rest after the contest. In Athens as well he was
a lot in nature and did not read newspapers. Speaking about Turkish
score of 10 votes, Andre mentioned that he was not surprised. He thinks
not only the Armenian community abroad helped him to win but also
other nationals. He is discontent with the votes from Scandinavian
countries which considerably decreased his score. To the question
who he would like to see in Eurovision next year, Andre said, “Let
go the one who is the most deserving.”

ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN TO DEAL WITH HERITAGE CASE
Panorama.am
14:53 31/05/06
Yesterday evening the leader of Jarangutiun (Heritage) party Raffi
Hovhannisyan addressed a letter to Human Rights Ombudsman which ,
according to Armen Harutunyan, reported about a crime case. Such
complaints-applications are forwarded to respected bodies, Armen
Harutunyan said. However, according to R. Hovhannisyan they have
been to all concerned instances concerning the case of the closing
the party office.
On May 29 by the ruling of Kentron and Nork-Marash community first
instance court and in the presence of law-enforcement bodies, the door
of the office was opened and the keys handed to party representatives.
The court ruling was based on R. Hovhannisyan’s civil lawsuit. 24
hours after the office was opened, the law enforcement bodies again
closed it. According to Raffi Hovhannisyan, “this act is illegal,
unfair and does not comply with court decision.”
Today A. Harutunyan said he is going to forward the information to
prosecutor’s office and promised to monitor the case.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MONITORING ON YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY HELD
Panorama.am
14:27 31/05/06
Liberalization Processes Monitoring National Center (LPMNC) is engaged
in public work to promote transparency of municipal activities. The
monitoring is conducted with “Yerevan municipality public monitoring”
project which has won a tender organized by the presidential order,
costing AMD 3 mln. The monitoring specialists are surprised with open
and welcoming attitude of the municipality employees “The opinion
that municipality is a close structure does not meet the reality,”
Lusine Margaryan LPMNC head told a press conference today.
The monitoring is conducted in 4 main fields. It answers to the
following questions: how are auctions on land conducted; how does the
system of “one window” work; what is the state of state subsidies in
health care; what takes place in the educational system. The project
responsible persons have held meetings with health care and education
employees. They have discovered that school councils fail to meet
their functions at school. They have also unveiled money fraud and
corruption at schools.
More miserable situation is observed at health care policlinics. The
quality of health care has sharply gone down despite of increased
state subsidies.
The monitoring specialists have also studied “one window” system
newly introduced at the municipality.
“Until yesterday the municipality web page posted only one news. This
is a new structure and should be supported,” Lusine Margaryan says.
The monitoring responsibles failed to receive information on
auctions of land. They have been told that it is huge pile of
information.

PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW WHAT QUESTIONS TO ADDRESS TO OMBUDSMAN
Panorama.am
14:03 31/05/06
Summing up his 100 days in office, human rights ombudsman Armen
Haroutunyan said that 770 complaints were received during that time,
550 of which in written form. “There are not many complaints from the
regions, only several dozens,” he said. He is, however, sure that the
low number of complaints from the regions is connected with technical
problems. It does not mean that people in the region have nothing to
compain on human rights.
In the words of the ombudsman, 3 months are not long enough to make
statistical analyses. So, he prefered to bring statistics after
6 months. However, he said almost half of the complaints are not
related to his authority. Therefore, they are just ignored.
A. Harutunyan also said that most letters do not address a specific
public official but name the structure in which he/she works. However,
the ombudsman assured that they send official letters to the mentioned
structures to solve the issues raised.

VLADIMIR KARAPETIAN: IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS REFERENDUM REMAINS RECOGNIZED AND CIVILIZED WAY OF EXPRESSING PEOPLE’S RIGHT
Noyan Tapan
May 31 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 31, NOYAN TAPAN. “We greet the decision of Chernogoria
authori ties and people to create an independent state. We congratulate
and wish success to the people of Chernogoria in the issue of building
their statehood,” Vladimir Karapetian, Acting Spokesperson of RA
Foreign Ministry, declared commenting upon the results of the May
21 referendum held in Chernogoria at the request of mass media. RA
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson emphasized that in this peaceful
divorce Armenia especially attaches importance to the fact that the
Chernogoria people’s right of self-determination was expressed through
a referendum, “which is a proof that in the international relations
the referendum remains a recognized and civilized way of settlement
of such issues and expressing the people’s right.”

ARTUR AGHABEKIAN: TARGET SHOTS HAVE BECOME ACTIVE RECENTLY
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 31 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 31, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Armenian side has
repeatedly expressed its concern over violations of the cease-fire,
and although there have always been shots after the cease-fire, target
shots have become active recently. RA Deputy Minister of Defence
Lieutenant General Artur Aghabekian stated this during a talk with
reporters in the RA National Assembly on May 31. According to him,
as a result of such a target shot, Sergeant-Major Levon Adamian,
a serviceman for a fixed period, died on May 27 while on duty.
The deputy minister noted that the RA Ministry of Defence constanly
informs the OSCE group on contact-line monitoring about each fact of
cease-fire violation. The group conducts monitoring regularly, as
well as in case of an obvious violation of the cease-fire. He said
that there have been cases when the monitoring group has presented
facts about a violation of the cease-fire by the Armenian side.

ZHARANGUTIUN PARTY OFFICE AGAIN VACATED AND SEALED
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 31 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 31, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. In the midday of May
31 when Raffi Hovhannisian, Zharangutiun (Heritage) party Chairman,
RA former Foreign Minister, and his colleagues were working at their
offices, the party’s central office was surrounded and a group of 10
employees of RA Justice Ministry’s Service of Obligatory Execution of
Judicial Acts in uniforms entered the office. “An unprecedented turn
not subject to any regularity happened: against the April 14 court
decision prohibiting to carry out any action in the territory rented by
Hovhannisian and towards the property of the office, the executors of
the above-mentioned ministry led by Vahram Yenokian and accompanied by
“chief evictor” of Yerevan Tigran Tadevosian, forcibly made the party
employees vacate the territory and again sealed all the doors of the
Zharangutiun’s central office,” the party report read. Hovhannisian
and his staff had nothing else to do but to leave the territory they
had been renting for 12 years, where they had entered in accordance
with the court decision and execution of this decision by the same
Service of Obligatory Execution of Judicial Acts on May 29, about
3 months after its first closure. In the official report made by
Yenokian and his subordinates Raffi Hovhannisian registered: “The
Service of Obligatory Execution of Judicial Acts led by Mr Yenokian
and with the presence of Mr Tadevosian, forcibly evicts us from
the territory we had rented for 12 years in a legal and civilized
way. This action is illegal, unfair and does not proceed either from
the decision of the court or from justice in general. This regular,
though small anti-constitutional action of our country is done by
pressure and against my will.” In connection with the opening of his
office inspiring some hopes and its official closure after 24 hours
Hovhannisian strictly condemned “the policy aimed at spreading fear
all over the republic, the atmosphere of all-round lawlessness and
arbitrariness” and promised together with his fellow-citizens to
“continue to struggle for the sake of law and dignity predetermined
by the party.”