INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS AND PARLIAMENT ARMENIAN OFFICE OPENS
YEREVAN, JUNE 8, NOYAN TAPAN. “I hope that the educational program of
the International Association of Business and Parliament will become
an exemplary model for other programs being implemented within the
framework of the EU European Neighborhood Policy,” Europarliament’s
Vice Chairman Edward McMillan Scott stated during the opening ceremony
of the Armenian Office of the International Association of Business
and Parliament (IABP).
Head of the OSCE Armenia Office Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin attached
special importance to the IABP program in terms of promoting small and
medium enterprises, noting that they represent a basis of
democracy. He pointed out that the OSCE Armenia Office is actively
assisting the programs aimed at developing the cooperation between
Armenian parliamentarians and businessmen.
The IABP Armenian coordinator – Vice Speaker of the RA National
Assembly Vahan Hovhannisian underlined the importance of the program’s
mission, which consists in “building bridges” between business and
parliamentarians. The program aims to assist the Armenian
parliamentarians with extending the Armenian economic system as a
single complex and organizing their law-making activities.
IABP Secretary-General Frederick Hyde-Chambers expressed a hope that
the IABP Armenian Office will contribute to the establishment of
efficient and transparent relations between the RA National Assembly
deputies and business and become one of the factors of Armenia’s
prosperity.
The scheme of organizing regular meetings of businessmen and
parliamentarians and establishing their cooperation through joint
educational programs was first used in Great Britain in 1977. Later it
was applied in the Europarliament and 10 IABP member states. Armenia
intends to become a full member of the association.
IABP offices will open in Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia, which have
also applied for IABP membership, during Edward Mcmillan Scott’s
visits to these countries.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR DEDICATED THE YOUTH PROBLEMS WITH “3+3” FORMAT
BALTIC AND CAUCASIAN STATES STARTS ITS WORKS IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, NOYAN TAPAN. An international seminar entitled “3+3:
Baltic-Caucasus: Cooperation in Sphere of Youth Policy” opened on June
8 at the “Lusakert” resting house of Armenia. As the event organizers
informed, about 30 young leaders from Baltic and Caucasian 5 countries
presented applications for participation in the
seminar. Representative of one of the three states of South Caucasus,
Azerbaijan, did not arrive yet: Azeri participant presented
application for participation was to arrive in Armenia from the
territory of Georgia.
Boyana Urumova, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of
the Council of Europe expressed a hope that the change in the format
of the 5-day event is not final, she welcame holding of the event as a
display of regional cooperation. And one of the Armenian delegates
noticed that the “3+3” format has already been secured:
Armenia-Karabakh-Georgia and three Baltic states.
In the interview to the Noyan Tapan correspondent, Artur Poghosian,
the RA Deputy Minister of Culture and Youth Issues mentioned that the
mentioned initiative has no direct connection with big policy, but a
good idea became a basis for the mentioned event. To recap, President
of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus stated within the framework of the visit
paid to Armenia in April that “the time came to speak about one common
future of states of the South Caucasian and Baltic regions” and
expressed confidence that the format called “3+3” will become a
reality.
The goal of the youth event aimed to encouragement of regional
cooperation is, particularly, to study the experience of Baltic
countries’ European integration, two regions’ youth policy, to work
out jointly solutions of challenges and problems arisen in front of
youth, to create ties among youth organizations of the two regions,
etc.

TIGRAN PETROSIAN’S BUST UNVEILED IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A bronze bust of
talented Armenian chess-player, world chess champion Tigran Petrosian
was unveiled on June 7 in Tigran Petrosian street at Davitashen
community of Yerevan. The bust’s author is sculptor Norayr
Karganian. The sculpture was made with the sponsorship of RA Defence
Ministry and Yerevan Mayor’s Office.
As the sculptor mentioned, the monument is still incomplete. By the
Defence Minister’s consent, figures of “thinking youths” will be added
at the bottom of the monument, who will be “watched” by the “chess
king” from above. The sculptor also emphasized that “an outstanding
person should get experience in the course of time and should not have
any blemish in his biography. Tigran Petrosian was just like this and
one needed courage for making a monument to him.”
RA Defence Minister, Chairman of the Armenian Chess Federation Serge
Sargsian, Yerevan Mayor Yervand Zakharian, Head of the community of
Davitashen Surik Ghukasian, the members of the Armenian chess national
team who have become winners and others took part in the unveiling
ceremony.
As Yerevan Mayor mentioned, the success Armenia has had in the recent
decade in the sphere of chess is connected with the work done by
Tigran Petrosian. According to him, today’s Turin success is also the
continuation of Tigran Petrosian’s success.
As Serge Sargsian characterized, Levon Aronian also has all
possibilities for becoming the world chess champion in the near
future.
To recap, Norayr Karganian is also the author of the monument to
Marshal Baghramian erected in Yerevan.

GOVERNMENT GIVES 7.5 MLN DRAMS TO EACH OF CHESS-PLAYERS THAT WON AT OLYMPIAD
YEREVAN, JUNE 8, NOYAN TAPAN. On June 8, RA government made a
decision, in accordance with the order set in 2001, to give monetary
prizes to the members of the Armenian national team and trainers who
took part in the 37th World Chess Olympiad, in the amount of 2.5 mln
drams (5950 thousand USD) to each of them. Besides, the government
added 5 mln drams to each of them from its reserve fund.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ISSUES OF DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL COMMUNITIES TO BE AMONG CENTRAL ONES AT
THIRD ALL ARMENIAN FORUM

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. One of the central
issue to be discussed at the Armenia-Diaspora third All Armenian Forum
will be the issue of development of Armenian agricultural regions, in
this respect a special attention is given to the development of 150
border villages. RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian informed about
it at the June 8 press conference.
He reminded that the forum will be held on September 18-20 in
Yerevan. As he estimated, much has been done for development of
relations between Armenia and the Diaspora over the past 15 years. At
the same time, new methods are necessary, as new problems have
emerged, the potential of Armenia itself has increased.
The Minister mentioned that the third forum will differ from the first
two forums as great attention will be paid to issues of economy and,
in particular, to complex development of rural communities.
Proceeding from this, the Armenian government, the entrepreneurial
circles and the Armenian Diaspora are faced with issues of development
and restoration of the infrastructure of rural communities, creation
of all necessary conditions for vital activity.
Vartan Oskanian declared that for implementation of this program
Armenia pins great hopes on the sponsors from the Diaspora.

RA GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES 117 U.S. DRAMS FOR HOLDING “ONE NATION, ONE
CULTURE” SECOND ALL ARMENIAN CULTURAL FESTIVAL

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The “One Nation, One
Culture” (“Mek Azg, Mek Mshakuyt”) second all-Armenian cultural
festival will be held in Armenia on June 23-30 for strengthening and
deepening the Armenia-Diaspora cultural ties as well as for presenting
the Armenia culture jointly. More than 2000 artists from Armenia,
Artsakh, France, Austria, Great Britain, Switzerland, U.S., Syria,
Lebanon, Iran, Russia, Georgia and Kazakhstan will participate in the
festival.
As Vigen Sargsian, the RA President’s Assistant informed at the June 7
press-conference, the festival held in 2004 for the first time became
a national celebration and strengthened “consciousness and sense of
being one nation.” According to V.Sargsian, if mainly amateurish
collectives were presented at the previous festival from Diaspora,
professionals are involved in the festival this year.
Tamar Poghosian, the Executive Director of the “One Nation, One
Culture” fund informed that the RA Government allocated 117 mln drams
(about 275 thousand U.S. dollars) for holding the
festival. T.Poghosian mentioned that the Government also undertook the
issue of providing conditions for Javakhk and Artsakh representatives.
The solemn opening ceremony of the festival will take place on June 23
at the Karen Demirchian Sports and Concert Complex. On the next day,
June 24, participants of the festival will visit Tsitsernakabert, then
will meet with Armenian cinematographers, and in the eventing, at
19:30, they will participate in the theatrical event to take place at
the Gabriel Sundukian National Academic Theater. June 25 will be
dedicated to literature: the participants will visit the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin, then an exhibition-fair of book will open on the
Charles Aznavour square. Events dedicated to fine arts will be
organized on the same day. Concerts dedicated to people’s, classic and
estrada music as well as a dancing march festival will be held in
concert halls of Yerevan on June 27-28.
Concerts will be organized within the framework of the festival not
only in Yerevan, but in different marzes of Armenia and in Nagorno
Karabakh as well.
The solemn opening ceremony of the festival will take place on June
30.
To recap, “Nare and Narek”, the symbol of the “One Nation, One
Culture” festival has been kept.

ARMENIA PASSES AZERBAIJAN HAMMER – SYMBOL OF CHAIRMANSHIP IN BSEC PA

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The 27th session of the Parliamentary
Assembly (PA) of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) ended on June 8
in Yerevan.
Armenia that had been presiding at PA BSEC over the past 6 months,
passed chairmanship to Azerbaijan. RA NA Speaker Tigran Torosian gave
the hammer – symbol of chairmanship in the organization, to head of
Azerbaijani delegation Asaf Hajiev for the latter to pass it to
Chairman of Milli Majlis Oktay Asadov. “I am sure that our
organization headed by the new Chairman, Mr Oktay Asadov, will
continue to follow its good traditions and will achieve greater
success in its activity,” Torosian mentioned.
Hajiev read the greeting of the new BSEC PA Chairman, which, in
particular, mentioned that all participants of the Yerevan forum are
invited to the Assembly’s next sitting to be held on November 22-23 in
the city of Baku.
In his speech Tigran Torosian mentioned the active participation of
all Assembly members in the session. “Unfortunately, there are
conflicts in the region that can be solved only thanks to a joint
purposeful work in the future. I want to express confidence that BSEC
PA’s activity will continue to be aimed at not only establishment of
firm economic, but also friendly contacts among our peoples,” the
Armenian Parliament Speaker emphasized.

VAHAN HOVHANNISIAN: CHAUVINISTIC MOVEMENT RAGING IN RUSSIA IS RESULT
OF RUSSIAN SOCIETY’S BEING ILL

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. “The Russian society
is ill, has inferiority complex because of suffered defeats, and
similar movements, of course, develop quickly in such societies,” RA
NA Deputy Speaker, ARF Bureau member, candidate of history sciences
Vahan Hovhannisian expressed such an opinion on June 7, responding
journalists’ question concerning chauvinism being raged in
Russia. According to his interpretation, Russia had a serious loss in
the “cold war” in the ideological sense as it was proved that
communism is bankrupt, in the political sense as the USSR failed and
huge territories separated and a part of separated units aslo became
hostilely intended towards Russia, Russia lost in the economic sense
as the whole USSR economy failed, and “Russia’s standing on feet today
is provided by huge natural resources but not by development of
producing component of economy.”
The NA Deputy Speaker is more than sure that the basis of chauvinism
in Russia is not a bit ideological, and it’s unequivocal that the
Russian state’s struggle against chauvinism is not enough.
V.Hovhannisian also mentioned that Fascism also appeared and developed
in the 20th century in Germany as a consequence of a serious loss in
the world war. “But Russia’s peculiarity is that Russian Fascists,
skinheads, who speak about cleanness of blood, has no serious idea
about the Fascism, as if, for example, founders and main ideologists
of Fascism Benito Mussolini or Franco of Spain or Salazar of Portugal
appeared in Russian underground or any electric train, skinheads may
hit them as they do not differ from Armenians by ethnic and racial
peculiarities, and Benito Mussolini was much blacker than any Armenian
is,” the NA Deputy Speaker mentioned.

VAHAN HOVHANNISIAN: AZERBAIJAN WANTS TO RECOGNIZE RESULTS NEITHER OF
ALREADY HELD REFERENDUM NOR OF ONE TO BE HELD IN FUTURE

YEREVAN, JUNE8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Nagorno Karabakh
was the first in the post-Soviet territory that used the right of
one-side self-determination by a held referendum, thus, within the
international norms. But then the public opinion of the world was yet
not ready to accept such a mechanism completely. Vahan Hovhannisian,
the RA NA Deputy Speaker, ARF Bureau member stated about it,
responding journalists’ questions on June 7. According to him, the
time showed that that mechanism functions, becomes usable and enters
international political practice. He mentioned as examples factual
independence of Eastern Timor, Eritrea, already of Chernogoria at
present, maybe the possible one of Kosovo in future. According to
V.Hovhannisian it is incomprehensible why that mechanism must not
function in Nagorno Karabakh. The NA Deputy Speaker noticed that if in
the case of self-determination of Chernogoria, Serbia, however,
recognized results of the referendum of separating from it, Azerbaijan
fostered a coarse position and does not want to recognize results of
not only already held referendum but also of one to be held in future.

AZERI DEPUTY DOES NOT CONSIDER POSSIBLE ECONOMIC COOPERATION OF
ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN TILL SOLUTION OF KARABAKH PROBLEM

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia and Azerbaijan are in war state
that’s why one may not speak about economic cooperation. Asaf Hajiyev,
the head of the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation participating in
the BSEC PA plenary session, an independent deputy stated about it in
the interview to Armenian journalists in Yerevan.
According to him, Armenia remains out of the drafts relating to fuels
which are implemented in the region, and they must seriously think in
Yerevan about stopping the war and starting cooperation with
Azerbaijan. “We are neighbors and one can not choose neighbors,” the
Azeri politician stated.
According to Hajiyev, the Armenian people did not create the Karabakh
conflict but the Armenian politicians did. According to him, the main
is the principle of territorial integrity of a state, when the
Armenian side continuously speaks about the principle of
self-determination. According to him, 300 thousand Armenians live in
Los Angeles: “What will happen if they want to constitute themseilves
as well?”
In response to a question about Azerbaijani’s attitude towards
Chernogoria’s separation from Serbia, Hajiyev noticed that if
Chernogoria and Serbia thought that they need separation, his country
respects that decision: “But if Armenia considers that Nagorno
Karabakh is territory of Armenia, it does not mean that it is in that
way.”
According to the deputy, 30 thousand Armenians live in Azerbaijan
today, when there is no Azeri in Armenia. In response to the question
about source of this information Hajiyev answered that it is an
official datum, “and if Armenians even live with not their names, we
know that they are.”
Hajiyev considered it a false information that Ramil Safarov who had
killed the Armenian officer was announced national hero in
Azerbaijan. “I myself do not protect that murder,” he stated. The
Azeri politician called on “not to take separate facts and make them
basis” but to concentrate on global processes.
“I would fix my attention to the negotiations that the Presidents
lead,” Hajiyev mentioned. At the same time, he stated that he had no
information about the negotiations taken place in Romania. The
politician supposed that during the long-lasting private conversation
the Presidents had discussed a number of questions which are important
both for Azerbaijan and for Armenia. He was not able to answer the
question for what compormises Azerbaijan is ready in the Karabakh
issue, stating that it is exclusive right of his country’s President.
According to Hajiyev, it’s necessary to make all efforts for the
Karabakh issue finds its solution in any way. He expressed a
confidence that the solution will be phasal as the problem is so
serious that it is impossible to solve it in a day. “There was a very
good proposal by the EU when they proposed that Armenian military
units leave six regions along the border and all the communications
are raised the blockade. Your country first accepted that proposal,
and then refused,” Hajiyev stated. As for security guarantees of the
Armenian inhabitation, then, according to the Azeri deputy, “if the
issue is solved within those circles that Azerbaijan guarantees
security of the Karabakh inhabitation, of course, the Azerbaijani side
will keep its promise.”