NEW 10,000-DRAM BANKNOTES PUT IN CIRCULATION
Noyan Tapan
May 30 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. In accordance with the decision of the
Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Board, starting May 31, ten thousand
dram banknotes of the Republic of Armenia of 2006 issue will be put
in circulation. According to the CBA press service, these banknotes
are a legal means of payment in the territory of Armenia and shall
be accepted at their nominal value in payment for all goods and
liabilities expressed in money, without any time restriction. The
banknotes of the nominal value of 10,000 drams issued in 2003 remain
in circulation without restrictions and a change of circulation
conditions.
The CBA also provided the description of a 10,000-dram banknote. Like a
banknote of 2003 issue, it also bears a portrait of the writer Avetik
Isahakian and has a violet shade.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM IN ARMENIA IRREVERSIBLE
Noyan Tapan
May 30 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. Over the last seven years, sustainable
growth has been registered in the Armenian tourism sector: in 2000,
only 40 thousand tourists visited Armenia, in 2005 their number
reached 318 thousand, and 370 thousand are forecast to visit Armenia
this year. Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic Development Ara
Petrosian stated this on May 25. In his words, the further development
of tourism in Armenia is irreversible, which in its turn will promote
development of the whole economy. The deputy minister said that each
tourist who stays 4-5 days on average in Armenia spends 800-1,000 USD,
including the price of a plane ticket. In 2006 alone, five 400-room
hotels were built in Armenia, there are currently about 50 hotels
in line with international standards and a great number of tourist
facilities with a total of 4,000 rooms. He underlined that 5-6 years
ago tourist services were much more expensive in Armenia than now,
which is the result of an increase in delivery of tourist services
under conditions of introduction of market mechanisms.
According to him, those visiting Armenia by plane will find themselves
in more comfortable surroundings when a new arrival hall of Zvartnots
Airport is put into operation in late 2006. A. Petrosian considered
decentralization of service delivery from Yerevan to Armenian marzes
as a priority for tourism development in the next 6-7 years.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TOURISM DEVELOPS IN NKR
Noyan Tapan
May 30 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. There are 10 hotels with a total
of 400 beds in the cities of Stepanakert and Shushi, head of the
tourism unit of the company Asbar (NKR) David Ishkhanian told
NT correspondent. According to him, another 4 hotels will be put
into operation in Mardakert, Gandzasar, Hadrut and Martuni within
a year. He said that over the last 2-3 years, the annual number of
tourists to the NKR has made 7-8 thousand, whereas 3 thousand tourists
visited the republic in 2000. 85-90% of those visiting Karabakh
are ethnic Armenians. 10% of tourists to Armenia visit Karabakh as
well. D. Ishkhanian noted that the NKR is presented as a country of
tourism abroad both through participation of tourist companies in
various exhibitions and activities of NKR’s representative offices
in Russia, Australia, France, the US and Lebanon.
According to him, Asbar and NKR’s Tourism Development Agency on May
11-14 took part in an international tourism exhibition in Moscow
where they had their own pavilion “Nagorno Karabakh Republic”. The
Azerbaijani embassy in Russia sent a note of protest to the Russian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanding that the pavilion’s name be
changed but to no avail. It is for the third time that the Armenian
embassy in Lebanon has assisted the NKR with participation in an
international exhibition of the Arab world tourism in Beirut. The
NKR tourism sector was presented at the pavilion ” Nagorno Karabakh
Republic” there too.

DECODATION OF A-320 PLANE’S SOUND AND PARAMETER INFORMATION CARRIERS STARTS
Noyan Tapan
May 30 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. Decodation of the flight recorders
of A-320 plane has started on May 29 at the Interstate Aviation
Committee. As Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed by Gayane
Davtian, Spokeswoman of the Head of the General Department of RA Civil
Aviation, the containers of plane’s flight recorders were opened,
the information carriers were taken out. They are ready for procession
in correspondence with technological and procedure norms.
Aviation authorities of Armenia and Russia follow the process of
decodation. The technical base necessary for decodation was given by
the Research and Analytical Bureau of France. The carriers of sound
and parameter information are in a satisfactory state and are fit
for decodation.

FIRST SECTION OF NORTHERN AVENUE OPENS
Noyan Tapan
May 30 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. “After completion of Northern Avenue
we’ll have the most modern district of Yerevan,” Mayor of Yerevan
Ervand Zakharian stated during the opening ceremony of Northern
Avenue’s first section on May 29.
In his words, Northern Avenue designed for pedestrain traffic combines
the best ideas that the great architect Alezander Tamanian had 50
years ago and the requirements of modern urban development. Northern
Avenue that occupies a 8-ha area and is 450 meters in length links
Freedom Square (designed by A.
Tamanian) with its Opera House with Republic Square where the
Governmental buildings are located. Parking lots for a thousand cars
will be built in the underground section of Northern Avenue. There
will be 25-27 building complexes of residential-business type on
Northern Avenue. Former chief architect of Yerevan Narek Sargsian
is the chief architect of the project on construction of Northern
Avenue. Mayor of Yerevan attached importance to the participation
of the Armenian-Russian joint venture North Island in construction
of Northern Avenue. The Russian shareholder of the company is the
Makarius Group. According to Director General of Makarius Group
Gitas Anilionis, many apartments and offices of Northern Avenue’s
first section have already been sold. E. Zakharian said that an area
of about 13 thousand sq.m. in two completed buildings of Northern
Avenue has been delivered for operation. Construction of the other
two sections will finish by late 2007. Investments of 200-250 mln
USD will be made in construction of Northern Avenue.

ARMEN NAZARIAN EUROPE VICE-CHAMPION
Noyan Tapan
May 30 2006
TAMPERE, MAY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. Three representatives of Armenia took
part in the Europe Championship of judo held in the Finnish city of
Tampere. Only Armen Nazarian (weight category of 60 kg) was able to
gain a medal. He reached the final and only in the final was defeated
by world champion Greg Falo (England). Nazarian took the second place
and was given a silver medal. Another two judoists from Armenia,
Hovhannes Davtian and Ghazaros Grigorian did not gain any medals.

ARMENIANS PROTEST AGAINST WITHDRAWAL OF RUSSIAN TROOPS FROM GEORGIA
Channel One TV, Moscow
30 May 06
[Presenter] Many believe that Russia’s presence in the Caucasus is the
best guarantee against interethnic conflicts. Several hundred people
in Yerevan today staged an action of protest against the withdrawal
of Russian troops from the Akhalkalaki base in the Georgian region
of Samtskhe-Javakheti, where quite a few Armenians live. According
to those taking part in the rally, experience shows that as soon as
Russians leave a place, Armenians leave it too.
Instances of clashes between Armenians and Meskhetian Turks
who are arriving in the region have become more frequent in
Samtskhe-Javakheti. Under an agreement reached between Moscow and
Tbilisi, the Russian servicemen will be withdrawn from the Akhalkalaki
base by the end of next year.
[Aram Karapetyan, leader of the Armenian New Times party] I think
our aim now is just to raise the issue and make it clear that serious
changes may take place in Javakheti after the Russian base moves out.
Very serious destabilizing factors may appear there because it will
be very difficult to talk about any stabilization after the base is
pulled out.

TURKISH PREMIER, US CONGRESSMEN VIEW CYPRUS, IRAN, IRAQ, ARMENIAN ISSUE, HAMAS
Anatolia news agency
30 May 06
Ankara, 30 May: “It is a must to lift unfair isolations and embargoes
imposed on [self-declared] Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC),” said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan when he met
the members of a US House of Representatives delegation in Ankara on
Tuesday [30 May].
Erdogan and delegation members focused on Cyprus, Iran, relations
between Israel and Palestine, Iraq and allegations regarding the
so-called Armenian genocide, during the meeting.
Erdogan said: “The TRNC is for peace and it should not be punished.
Also Greek Cypriot administration – which voted against [UN
Secretary-General Kofi] Annan plan – should not be rewarded. We expect
the United States to take new steps on this issue”.
Regarding Hamas, Erdogan said: “To assure the security is the first
thing to do to settle the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, and then,
road map should be re-activated. We support a solution based on
a two-state formula. Palestinian people should not be punished by
cutting humanitarian aid.”
Iran
“Turkey is for a fair solution,” said Erdogan regarding Iran issue.
As regards developments in Iraq, he indicated, “Kirkuk’s [northern
Iraq] status should be preserved. Deployment of joint efforts against
terrorist organization [PKK – Kurdistan Workers’ Party] is important.”
Erdogan also explained to his interlocutors Turkey’s position about
allegations regarding so-called Armenian genocide.
On the other hand, US Congressmen Roy Blunt and Steny Hoyer supported
Turkey’s suggestion to establish a commission of historians to study
the allegations (of the Armenians).
Hoyer noted that Turkey and the United States attach utmost importance
to security and stability in the Middle East and the world, adding
that elimination of terrorism is a priority for both countries.
Regarding Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Hoyer said that the United
States welcomes the message sent by Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul (to Hamas) asking it to give up terrorism and supporting two-state
solution.
Noting that statements of Hamas to destroy Israel by means of
terrorism caused uneasiness in the United States, Hoyer said that
they will not recognize Hamas as a legitimate interlocutor until it
gives up terrorism.

AZERI PRESIDENT RULES OUT CONCESSIONS TO ARMENIA
ANS TV, Baku
30 May 06
[Presenter] Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has delivered a speech
at the session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Paris. Prior to
that, the head of state had a meeting with his French counterpart,
Jacques Chirac. Now over to Paris for more detailed information.
Joining us is ANS TV’s special correspondent Zamina Aliyeva. Zamina,
good evening. Could you tells us about the main points of the
president’s speech?
[Correspondent Zamina Aliyeva by telephone] Good evening, Natavan.
The Nagornyy Karabakh problem was the main point of the president’s
speech at the spring session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. He
proved that Azerbaijan’s position on this issue was fair. The speech,
which was based on facts and arguments, was not only welcomed, it
also showed that Armenia has gone beyond the principles of NATO and
the international community. Ilham Aliyev said that the occupation of
20 per cent of Azerbaijan’s territory by Armenia and the existence
of more than 1m refugees were a big problem for the country and a
serious threat to the region.
He pointed out that Azerbaijan wants to solve the problem by means
of peace talks based on international law. He said that Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity has been recognized by all states, except for
Armenia, and that the conflict must be settled only on the basis
of this principle. Saying that Azerbaijan is demanding that Armenia
withdraw its occupying troops from Karabakh, the president brought
to the attention of participants in the session that the report of
the OSCE fact-finding mission reflects the destruction of houses,
historical monuments and graves in the occupied territories. He said
that it was a humanitarian tragedy.
The president firmly said that Azerbaijan will never accept the
occupation of its territory and will not allow a second Armenian state
to be established on its territory. The settlement of the Nagornyy
Karabakh problem is important not only to Azerbaijan but also to the
region, end quote.
I should point out that in response to a question from the Armenian
delegation that it is not only the issue of Nagornyy Karabakh, but
Azerbaijan is also violating human rights, [changing tack] while
asking this question, a member of the Armenian delegation heard
a remark from Pierre Lelouche, chairman of the NATO Parliamentary
Assembly. Pierre Lelouche said that although [Armenian President]
Robert Kocharyan had been invited to the session, unfortunately he did
not attend it to participate in the dialogue. As for Ilham Aliyev,
he firmly told the Armenian representative that our position on the
Nagornyy Karabakh problem is not based on wishes and dreams.
The president said that we have no concessions to make to Armenia
because we have not occupied anyone’s territory and our problem is
not related to the population living in Karabakh, but to separatists.
The president said that today Karabakh has turned into a hangout for
drug trafficking and terrorism.
The Turkish delegation asked a question that supported Azerbaijan.
Asked whether he was pleased with the support of international
organizations on the Karabakh issue, the president answered that
although the Council of Europe resolution that describes Armenia as
an aggressor and the four UN resolution that demand an unconditional
withdrawal of occupiers from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories were
positive, several days ago Armenians celebrated the liberation
of Susa. There is a question – who was Susa liberated from? From
Azerbaijan? Unfortunately, international organizations have not
reacted to this issue.
[Passage omitted: Ilham Aliyev also spoke about Azerbaijan’s economic
development and the process of democratization in the country]
Another question was put to the president. This question stressed
that there were human rights abuses and political prisoners in
Azerbaijan. The president said that there were no political prisoners
in Azerbaijan and all reports about this were not true.
[Passage omitted: Ilham Aliyev’s speech was welcomed at the session]

INDIAN MEN PREVAIL OVER BULGARIA, WOMEN LOSE TO ARMENIA
PTI
Daily News & Analysis, India
May 30 2006
TURIN: The Indians had a mixed outing in the eighth round of the
37th Chess Olympiad here with the men scoring a 2.5-1.5 victory over
Bulgaria and the women suffering defeat at the hands of Armenia.
While Viswanathan Anand played out his fifth draw on the trot –
settling for peace with former world junior champion Kiril Georgiev
of Bulgaria, national champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly went down against
Alexander Delchev.
It was only thanks to a late onslaught by Krishnan Sasikiran and
Sandipan Chanda against Ivan Cheparinov and Vasily Spassov respectively
that the Indian men were able to get past unscathed.
Meanwhile, in the women’s section, Indian mainstay Koneru Humpy fumbled
against Lilit Mkrtchian and suffered her first defeat in the event as
the Indian women lost to Armenia 1-2. D Harika also went down while
the lone saving grace was Swati Ghate who won an engrossing battle
on the third board to thwart a whitewash.
At the top of the tables, the Armenian men yet again proved that
they are the frontrunners this time with a comprehensive 3-1 victory
over Cuba.
The Russian men could only manage a 2-2 draw with Czech Republic which
meant that Armenia took a two point lead over their nearest rivals. In
the women’s section, Russia drew with Czech Republic raising Ukraine’s
title hopes. The result narrowed Czechs’ lead to half a point. The
Ukrainians cruised to an easy 2-1 victory over Hungary.