NOR ZHAMANAKNER PARTY REPRESENTATIVE REFUTES STATEMENT ABOUT PARTY’S COLLAPSE AND QUALIFIES ITS AUTHOR AS “AGENT”
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. No one has left either the youth wing
or the women’s board of the Nor Zhamanakner (New Times) Party. Party
Vice-Chairman Alexan Minasian made such a statement at the May
15 press conference refuting the statement by head of party’s
Malatia-Sebastia branch Arsen Amirkhanian who has left the party
recently and declared that the Nor Zhamanakner Party is breaking
down. According to A.Minasian, besides the above-mentioned person,
there are more than 10 “agents in their party and they gradually
get rid of these agents”. According to him, by introducing agents
the authorities try to intimidate the party that was the first
one to speak about carrying out a revolution. Alexan Minasian also
informed that the Nor Zhamanakner Party is going to organize a rally
dedicated to the problems of the Armenians of Javakhk on May 30 in
Aznavour Square. According to his information, it is possible that
the Armenians can leave Javakhk as 10 thousand Meskhetians are to be
settled there. According to A.Minasian, the Nor Zhamanakner Party is
not going to conclude an alliance with any party at the forthcoming
elections. As for the possible cooperation with the Orinats Yerkir
(Country of Law) Party, according to him, the time will show whether
this will take place or not.

BLACK BOX RECOVERY OPERATION STARTS AT BLACK SEA CRASH SITE
RIA Novosti, Russia
May 16 2006
SOCHI, May 16 (RIA Novosti) – Rescuers at the site where an Armenian
airliner crashed into the Black Sea early May 3 started an operation
to recover the plane’s flight recorders Tuesday.
The black boxes are seen as the key to discovering why the Airbus
crashed 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) off the Russian coast with the loss
of all 113 people on board.
A remote-controlled deep-sea robot with special grippers will be used
to lift the recording devices to the surface, rescue officials said.
Transportation Minister Igor Levitin, who is overseeing the recovery
effort, said earlier that recovery efforts could take two or three
days, depending on the weather.
The latest data shows the black boxes are at a depth of 496 meters
(1,627 feet) and are 5 meters (16 feet) apart from each other.
The Airbus A-320 operated by Armenia’s Armavia was flying from the
Armenian capital, Yerevan, to Adler airport, which services the
popular Russian resort of Sochi, when it came down in stormy weather.

AFTER ORINATS YERKIR’S LEAVING COALITION NUMBER OF PARTY MEMBERS IN SYUNIK INCREASES
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
KAPAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. No one has put in application on
leaving the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) Party at the Syunik
“Kapan” main regional structure of the party. The structure has 980
members. As Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed from the structure,
33 persons have applied for joining the Orinats Yerkir Party since
the party’s leaving the ruling coalition up to this day. According
to some information, Lernik Petrosian, Head of Syunik “Dzork”
regional structure, has an intention to leave OYP. L.Petrosian is the
former Head of the Education, Culture and Sport Department of Syunik
Administration and he was dismissed in April as, according to him, he
had been made to become a member of the Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA). In his telephone talk to Noyan Tapan correspondent on May 15
Lernik Petrosian said that he was non-partisan until May 6, whereas
they informed from OYP that he has been a member of OYP since 2006
February. Heads of some village communities and employees of other
structures who are members of OYP remain on theis posts. To recap,
Chairman of Syunik district electoral commission N 37 is also a member
of OYP.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN BANKS PROVIDE CREDITS OF ABOUT 260 BLN DRAMS AS OF LATE MARCH 2006
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. As of March 31, 2006, the Armenian
commercial banks provided credits of the total amount of 206 bln
944 mln drams (about 460 mln USD), 97.83% of which were credit
investments, 1.70% – deferred credits of the banks, and 0.47% –
overdue credits. According to the RA National Statistical Service,
the balance of the population’s deposits with the banks increased by
30% on the same day of last year and made 103 bln 418 mln drams. In
January-March 2006, the expenditures related to the sale and purchase
of foreign currency in the RA banking system exceeded the revenues
by 29 bln 733.8 mln drams and made 69 bln 150 mln drams and 39 bln
416.2 mln drams respectively.

CONSTRUCTION OF INCOMPLETED APARTMENT BUILDINGS RESUMES IN TALIN
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
TALIN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. This year 12 families will move to new
apartments in the city of Talin of Aragatsotn marz. Arzuman Arzumanian,
the head of Karashintrans LLC, a company doing the construction
work, told NT correspondent about it. He said that in 2005, the last
remaining apartments were provided to 6 families. According to Talin
Mayor’s Office, there will be no incompleted apartment buildings
in Talin in the next 5 years – construction of such buildings will
be finished by that time. The construction of incompleted apartment
buildings in Talin has been resumed under the program on development
of Aragatsotn marz.

PROGRAM ON PROCESSING OF 872 TONS OF MELANGE LAUNCHED IN ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The melange processing program in Armenia
is a good example of successful cooperation between the OSCE Office
and a participating state and may serve as a model in the whole OSCE
region. The OSCE Secretary General Marc Parrin de Brichambaut stated
this during the May 12 visit to the rocket fuel neutralization site in
the village of Ghaltakhchi of Lori marz. He welcomed the start of the
program on processing of 872 tons of melange. “With the assistance of
the OSCE, it has become possible to implement this initiative, which
will be conducive to the environmetal protection and therefore to the
security of the Armenian population,” the RA Defence Minister Serge
Sargsian said, when opening officially the melange processing facility.
Melange is a very poisonous evaporating substance that has remained
as a rocket fuel component in Armenia since the Soviet time. In
compliance with a request of the RA defence minister, the OSCE Yerevan
Office launched a program, as a result of which the whole stock of
melange will be processed into ecologically safe fertilizer in a
7-month period. NT was informed from the OSCE Yerevan Office that the
current processing stage was preceded by the technical and ecological
assessment work done by Armenian and international experts. The
program is being financed by Canada, Finland, Germany and the US.

GYUMRI INHABITANTS PROUDLY SEE OFF THEIR SONS TO NATIONAL ARMY
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
GYUMRI, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The spring call-up has started in Gyumri:
30 conscripts have been already called up for service in the national
army.
According to the Noyan Tapan Gyumri correspondent, the parents had
high spirits and were proud to see off the conscripts gathered in
the yard of the Military Registration and Enlistment Office. “I say
proudly and I do not afraid as I know that the ministers are also
parents, they have sons and see off their sons in the same way,”
many of the parents said. And some of them mentioned: “If neither
our sons nor I and others leave for the military service, who should
serve for our homeland?” As Aram Grigorian, Head of the Call-up
Department of Gyumri Military Registration and Enlistment Office,
informed, various diseases have been revealed as a result of medical
examinations of young men of call-up age this year. At the same time
it was mentioned that the number of young men suffering from diseases
is almost the same as compared with the previous call-ups. According
to A.Grigorian, the number of those evading the call-up and applying
for the alternative military service has considerably decreased this
year compared with the previous years.

MHER SHAHGELDIAN: EACH STEP AGAINST ORINATS YERKIR WILL RECEIVE ADEQUATE ANSWER
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. “During this period a number of
politicians, persons, in their opinion, tried to make use of the
situation, there were and I think there will be those who will
cast political stones at the Orinats Yerkir” Mher Shahgeldian,
Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) Party Vice-Chairman, Chairman of
RA NA Standing Committee on Defence, National Security and Internal
Affairs, expressed such an opinion about the recent home political
developments. Meanwhile, he reminded that “there is time to cast
stones and there is time to gather stones”. According to him,
attempts to apply “dirty technologies” are being already made at
present but each step against the party will receive an adequate
answer. OYP coalition partners, the Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA) and the ARF Dashnaktsutiun, are rather reserved in their their
comments. The ARF considers OYP’s leaving the coalition as a “normal
civilized fenomenon” and thinks that “there is no need to look for any
tragedy here”. In particular, according to Hrayr Karapetian, Secretary
of NA ARF Dashnaktsutiun faction, it is up to each political force
to decide its future policy and actions plan. RPA also considers
the recent home political developments to be “natural”. According
to Galust Sahakian, Head of the party’s parliamentary faction, the
above-mentioned developments are also conditioned by the circumstance
that 2006 is a preelection year. The above-mentioned two coalition
forces reaffirm that they will continue to act within the framework
of the memorandum signed on June 11 2003 being ready for cooperation
with other political forces.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FERMENTATIONS IN ORINATS YERKIR STILL CONTINUE
Noyan Tapan
May 15 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. It became clear on May 15 that one
more MP, Mekhak Mkhitarian (Armavir electoral district N 29) has
put in application on leaving the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law)
Party and the parliamentary faction of the same name. He is already
the 10th MP leaving the faction according to his own application
since May 5 (the faction had 20 members). But it is difficult to
prognosticate today, how many devotees will remain in the faction
finally. One thing is clear, that after officially resigning from
the post of RA NA Speaker, OYP Chairman Artur Baghdasarian will head
the faction. The party has already made a decision about this. The
further actions of OYP members who have assumed state posts within the
framework of coalition agreements are difficult to prognosticate. It
is obvious that part of them, including Vice-Chairman of the party,
Minister of Education and Science Sergo Yeritsian, Minister of Urban
Development Aram Haroutiunian will prefer to retain their posts or
to expect any other state post leaving their own party. The Governor
of Vayots Dzor and according to some non-checked information, the
Governor of Gegharkunik, have already acted this way. In difference
to the above-mentioned persons, Chairman of NA Standing Committee on
Defence, National Security and Internal Affairs, OYP Vice-Chairman Mher
Shahgeldian showed resolution to preserve loyalty to the party and to
the principles of the latter. He will resign from the above-mentioned
post in the future. The position of another OYP member, Chairman of NA
Standing Committee on Social, Healtcare and Nature Protection Issues
Gagik Mkheyan is not clear yet.

RUSAL GETS 7-YEAR $23 MLN LOAN TO MODERNIZE ARMENIAN FOIL PLANT – 1
RIA Novosti, Russia
May 16 2006
(Adds details in and after lead)
MOSCOW, May 16 (RIA Novosti) – RUSal said Tuesday it had taken out
a 7-year $23-million loan from the Black Sea Trade and Development
Bank to finance final modernization of Armenia’s Armenal foil plant.
Modernization will implement a full production cycle and broaden the
range of products the plant produces, said the leading international
aluminum and alloy producer, which also acted as guarantor on the loan.
The first stage of the $70-million modernization program began in
2004 and was completed in December 2005. Armenal, a joint venture
of RUSal and the Armenian government, is slated to come into full
operation in June 2006.
Founded in March 2000 after a merger of major aluminum plants in
the former Soviet Union, RUSal exports aluminum to 50 countries,
and operates in nine Russian regions and 13 countries. The company
holds 75% of the Russian market and 10% of the international market,
and bought Armenal in January 2003.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress