ANOTHER GROUP OF ORINATS YERKIR MEMBERS DISMISSED
Panorama.am
18:05 18/05/06
According to government press services, a number of Orinats
Yerkir members were dismissed from their posts by RA prime minister
Andranik Margaryan’s decision, among them RA Regional Administration
Deputy Minister Gagik Aslanyan, RA Energy Deputy Minister Hrachia
Musaelyan. Also prime minister dismissed Artak Sahradyan, Deputy
Education minister who is not a member of Orinats Yerkir party.
With other decisions of the prime Vahe Vardapetyan was dismissed from
the position of RA Tavush regional governor, Hrachik Khachatryan RA
Aragatsotn deputy regional governor.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ADVOCATES CARRY HEAVY BURDEN ON THEIR SHOULDERS
Panorama.am
18:49 18/05/06
382 people have applied to the Chamber of Advocates to become
advocates. The chamber will study the application in the coming two
months, Yenok Azaryan, CA Qualification Committee Chairman told
a press conference today, “In case we find incorrect information
among the documents submitted, the applicant will be disregarded,”
he said. Examinations will start when the submitted applications will
be reviewed. Journalists are invited to the examination to make the
process more transparent.

SPLIT OF RULING COALITION – CATASTROPHE FOR ARMENIA’S POLITICAL FIELD
Yerevan, May 17. ArmInfo. The split of the ruling coalition may
bring the whole political field of Armenia to a catastrophe, says
independent MP Hamayak Hovhanissyan.
He says that the political and business elites are showing tendency
to merge. This has already resulted in forces like United Labor Party
and People’s Deputy group. But if earlier the economic elite accepted
the services of the political one, now it wants to serve itself. So
the parliamentary elections 2007 will be anti-political – everything
will be decided by oligarchs and this will kill the political field.
Commenting on the split of the Orinats Yerkir party and its leader
Artur Bagdassaryan from the ruling coalition, Hovhannissyan said that
after the elections 2003 Bagdassaryan began posing as “successor
of the presidential seat” – something the coalition and President
Kocharyan could not stand. So, they simply threw Bagdassaryan and
his party off the government. And now it will take him a long time
to prove to the people that he has no more links with Kocharyan.
One should not compare Bagdassaryan with Yuschenko or Saakashvili
because Kocharyan is not Kuchma or Shevardnadze, he is more like
authoritarian Yeltsin, who crushed all of his potential opponents.
Concerning the presidential election 2008, Hovhannissyan says that
everything will become clear already during the parliamentary elections
2007. The hyper-strong political force Republic party will push its
candidate for prime minister who will later become president. “Show
me just one person who doubts that this will be Defence Minister
Serzh Sargsyan,” says Hovhannissyan.
Hovhannissyan says that the vacant post of parliament speaker will
become a bone of content inside the government. This will give a
good chance for the opposition to get together and to nominate its
candidate for the post, for example, the leader of the National Unity
party Artashes Gegamyan.

KOSOVO IS REMARKABLE WITH THAT IT WAS THE FIRST AUTONOMY TO BE SEPARATED FROM A REPUBLIC
Yerevan, ArmInfo. Former Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Vladimir
Kazimirov called groundless statements by Western diplomats that the
issue of Kosovo is unique and cannot be taken for example in settling
conflicts on the post-Soviet area.
Kazimirov said that in order to prevent escalation of conflicts
it is necessary to take into account the unique circumstances of
each conflict, formed through long years. He admitted that people’s
right for self- determination should be preferred to the principle of
territorial integrity in case the will of the people is obvious and
especially in case blood is spilt to prove that will. In this sense
Kosovo is remarkable only with that it was the first autonomy to be
separated from a republic (unlike numerous republics that separated
from federations).
Natural demographical shifts cannot be avoided but they are
unacceptable if caused by administrative persuasion or military force,
said the former Co-Chair of the Minsk Group. ‘One cannot neglect
that Kosovars became majority in Kosovo, and it is obvious that they
cannot be deported so that the Serbs become majority again, as it
was centuries ago. The same situation is in Nakhijevan and Karabakh
in case of Armenians and Azeris,’ noted Kazimirov.

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT ON KOSOVO WAS KIND OF PROMPT FOR ARMENIAN DIPLOMACY AND KARABAKH
Yerevan, May 18. ArmInfo. President Putin’s statement on the Kosovo
problem was a kind of prompt for the Armenian diplomacy and Karabakh.
If Kosovo is given independence despite Serbia’s position, this
will certainly be a precedent for the resolution of many conflicts,
including the Karabakh conflict, says Russian MP, the director of
the CIS Institute Konstantin Zatulin.
Those concerned will have just few months for using this precedent,
and Armenia should discuss this problem with Russia, who is obviously
interested in applying this solution in Abkhazia and South Ossetia too,
says Zatulin.

ARMENIA DEPRIVED OF INTERNET CONNECTION SINCE EARLY MORNING
Yerevan, May 18. ArmInfo. Two fiber-optic cables of ArmenTel company
providing Internet connection throughout the territory of Armenia have
been damaged since early morning today, on May 18. Hasmik Choutilyan,
Head of the ArmenTel Communications and Public Relations Office, told
ArmInfo that the cable near the town of Charentsavan was damaged early
in the morning because of a certain unsanctioned construction. As a
pure coincidence, the reserve cable near the town of Ashtarak proved
damaged in the same period of time.
H. Choutilyan said ArmenTel has applied to the Police for investigation
of the incident circumstances. The company promised restoring the
Internet connection today by 2:00pm.

ARMAVIA AIRLINE LEASES ANOTHER AIRBUS A-319
Yerevan, May 18. ArmInfo. The air fleet of the national airline of
Armenia – Armavia company – has been replenished with another Airbus
A-319 today, Armavia press service told ArmInfo.
A-319 produced in 2004 has been leased from Toulouse. It underwent
servicing in Mexico and had been exploited for only 1 year up to
December 2005 by an American airline. It is a 134-seat airbus – 8
business-class and 126 economy-class. According to Armavia’s data,
it has two A-319 Airbuses, one A-320 Airbus and two Yak-42.
Earlier Armavia Director General Norayr Beluyan told ArmInfo that the
existing air fleet satisfies the time-table. However, the airline
is negotiating to lease a not large 70-75-seat American plane CRG
for middle-distance flights. In addition, Armavia plans to open
Yerevan-Milan and Yerevan-New York-Los Angeles flights. For this
purpose, the airline intends to lease Airbus A-330 and Boeing- 767.
To recap, one of Armavia’s A-320 Airbuses has recently crashed near
Sochi another A-320 burnt at the “Sabina Technics” aircraft repair
base in Brussels.
From: Baghdasarian

VEDANTA RESOURCES IS READY TO INVEST $80 MLN IN GOLD MINING IN ARMENIA
Yerevan, 17.05.06 ArmInfo. According to the information distributed
by an Indian News Paper Economic Times Vedanta Resources is planning
to enter the precious metal business in Armenia.
The Economic Times also informs that the intention of Vedanta –
India’s major player in non-ferrous metals, in investing in gold
mining industry is based on an all-time high current prices of gold.
The Vedanta Resources listed in London Stock Exchange may make an
investment in Sterlite Gold, controlled by Agarwal family through
Volcan Investments. For expansion of their gold mining project Sterlite
needs $70-80 mln. Vedanta is likely to step in by investing the money
and thereby picking up a stake in the company.
The Armenian operations are controlled through Ararat Gold Recovery
Company (AGRC) owned by Sterlite Gold Ltd. As per the information
provided by Economic Times Vedanta is yet to decide on the move and
the rout to be followed, – ” A decision on whether to bring in funds
through Vedanta or through thee holding company is being debated.”
The company currently has a negligible presence in gold but is a
major player in copper, zinc and aluminium.
AGRC presently is doing mining at Sotk and Meghradzor gold deposits and
operates processing plant at Ararat. AGRC plans to expand capacities
in exploration, confirmatory drilling, mining and increasing gold
processing plant capacity to 1 mt per annum. The mine life, based upon
proven reserves and proposed capacity will be at least 10 years. AGRC
plans to upgrade some of the facilities of Ararat plant and to build
a brand new processing plant with POX technology. AGRC already has
invited expression of interest from companies, which can provide the
latest technologies, engineering, design, supply of equipment and
training of manpower for implementation of new project.
As per the available information, Vedanta is listed in London stock
exchange since December 2003 and is controlled by Agarwal family,
which also has full control over Sterlite Gold Ltd – the owner of
AGRC. Vedanta is the 3rd largest supplier of aluminium in India,
with a market share of 20%. In 2005 a new 300,000 tpa copper smelter
was commissioned. Another 250,000 tpa of copper is produced at their
property in Zambia. The company produces 210,000 tones of zinc planing
to increase production up to 400,000 tpa. Vedanta’s annual sales are
of $1.9 bln. Company properties are located in India, Australia and
Zambia. Vedanta is investing over $2 billion in growth projects over
the next three years.
The publication in Economic Times looks to contradict the information
circulated within trans -governmental circle in Armenia, which
particularly states that the Indian company has an intention to
terminate mining at Sotk.
We remember that AGRC’s suggestion to put up a new processing plant
at Sotk mine was rejected by Armenian Government because of certain
environmental concerns. The Government at that time did not display
any interest in that project and refused to further discuss this
matter. As per rumors, circulated at that time AGRC was to terminate
its activities in Armenia if approval for new plant in Sotk was not
granted. We have requested AGRC management to comment on this. As
we were tald by AGRC management – “AGRC does not have any intention
to terminate its activities irrespective of any circumstances. The
proposal for putting up a new processing plant at Sotk mine site was
just one of our several options, conditioned by certain technical
problems. We are ready to discuss and accept any other reasonable
suggestion by RA Government and immediately start investing of $70-80
mln. Unfortunately our numerous written requests to the Government
on this matter remain unanswered till now.”
In fact the publication in the Indian news paper gives a clear message
to Armenian government, that Indian company is ready to invest in
Armenian economy tens of millions of dollars, irrespective of where
the new processing plant will be located. Meanwhile the Investors are
still waiting for answers… If the matter is associated only with
environmental issues it is really difficult to apprehend why Armenian
Government does not make any suggestion to the company on location for
new processing plant, which is safe from environmental point of view,
thereby giving “green light” to inflow of millions of dollars.

ARARAT DIOCESE OF ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH STARTS DISCUSSION OF DA VINCI CODE BOOK AND MOVIE
Yerevan, May 18. ArmInfo. May 19 the Ararat Diocese of the Armenian
Apostolic Church will start the discussion of the Da Vinci Code book
and movie, reports the press service of the diocese.
Attending the discussion will be Armenian clergymen, artists,
psychologists, students.
To remind, the movie has received negative response from both film
critics and Catholic, Orthodox and Islamic religious leaders. The
Holy See of Echmiadzin is also going to protest against the movie, but
among ordinary people and especially video pirates it is super popular.

GENOCIDE ARMENIEN: L’ASSEMBLEE NATIONALE ENTERRE LA PROPOSITION DE LOI
Agence France Presse
18 mai 2006 jeudi
L’Assemblee nationale a enterre jeudi une proposition de loi socialiste
reprimant la negation du genocide armenien de 1915, après des incidents
et une bataille procedurière autour de ce texte sensible.
L’examen du texte, qui avait commence dans la confusion, a ete
interrompu sans etre acheve et son vote reporte sine die sous les cris
de colère de plusieurs dizaines de partisans de la cause armenienne
masses dans les tribunes du public. Certains, dont le realisateur de
Marius et Jeanette, Robert Guedigian, ont meme eclate en sanglots.
La proposition de loi vise a completer par un volet penal la loi
du 29 janvier 2001 par laquelle la France reconnaît le genocide
armenien. Elle fait de la negation du genocide un delit punissable
d’un an d’emprisonnement et de 45.000 euros d’amende.
Elle divise les partis au dela du clivage droite/gauche, est
contestee par des historiens et provoque la colère d’Ankara qui
nie tout genocide. Le Premier ministre turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
a menace la France de sanctions commerciales.
L’Elysee avait fait savoir avant le debat que cette question devait
etre examinee dans un “esprit de responsabilite”.
Les deputes UMP et le gouvernement ont tout fait pour retarder les
debats multipliant et allongeant les interventions lors de l’examen
d’un autre texte socialiste, qui precedait celui sur l’Armenie. Il
ont rendu ainsi impossible le vote de la proposition inscrite dans
une “niche” (seance d’initiative parlementaire) limitee a 5 heures
maximum de debat.
Une incertitude planait sur ce vote. Des deputes UMP sont favorables
au texte et certains comme Eric Raoult avaient meme depose deux
propositions de loi identiques.
Mais les socialistes ne sont pas non plus unanimes. Le chef de file
du groupe, Jean-Marc Ayrault, a fait part de ses “extremes reserves”,
de meme que Jack Lang.
Le president du groupe UMP, Bernard Accoyer, en a profite pour
rejeter sur le PS la responsabilite du non achèvement des debats. Il
a denonce leur “double langage” leur reprochant d’avoir inscrit trois
propositions de loi pour une seule niche.
La communaute d’origine armenienne, estimee a 500.000 personnes
(80.000 dans la region de Lyon et autant dans la region de Marseille),
represente un electorat non negligeable.
Lors du debat, Philippe Douste-Blazy (Affaires etrangères) a qualifie,
sous les invectives de deputes de tous bords dont Patrick Devedjian
(UMP), le texte de “geste inamical” pour la Turquie.
“La Turquie est un partenaire economique et commercial de premier
plan”, a-t-il rappele tout en assurant que “la cause armenienne
etait juste”.
“Ce n’est pas nous qui ecrivons l’histoire, elle est le fait des
hommes. Les historiens l’analysent, les professeurs l’enseignent,
nous ne faisons que la constater”, a argumente Didier Migaud (PS),
qui s’est defendu de “considerer l’actuelle Turquie comme responsable
de ce genocide.
Estimant que “le devoir de memoire imposait des règles ecrites”,
Francois Rochebloine (UDF) a juge que “le negationnisme sous toutes
ses formes devait etre sanctionne”.
“Aujourd’hui, le peuple armenien a recouvre une part de lui-meme,
perdue il y a 90 ans”, a lance Frederic Dutoit (PCF).
Les Armeniens estiment que jusqu’a 1,5 million des leurs ont peri
dans un genocide orchestre par l’Empire ottoman entre 1915 et 1917.
Ankara affirme que des massacres ont ete commis de part et d’autre
et recuse les accusations de genocide.
–Boundary_(ID_4Mdsno5ilymxvc51/Lgodg)- –
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress