COPPER, DIAMONDS AND ALCOHOL DRINKS COMPRISE 242 MILLION OUT OF 235 MILLION GROWTH
Lragir.am
19 May 06
“Who is ruling, and why are they ruling so that our national producers
suffer, have they done harm to the president of the Central Bank, and
why are they ruling so that our importers receive tremendous profits,
have they done something good for the president of the Central
Bank?” On May 19 one of the main opponents of the president of the
Central Bank Tigran Sargsyan, economist Edward Aghajanov asked these
questions to Sargsyan remotely. However, Tigran Sargsyan will hardly
answer these questions because these had been asked before and were
not answered by the person who is in charge of the monetary policy of
Armenia. Edward Aghajanov is mostly dissatisfied with the monetary
policy of the Central Bank, which results in the revaluation of the
dram. The economist believes that this is extremely bad for the local
producers, and turns production and export of goods inconvenient in
Armenia. Due to the revaluation of the dram, says Aghajanov, Armenian
producers are paying extra taxes, whereas importers have appeared in a
privileged situation. We need a policy of a low exchange rate of the
national money to develop export, says Edward Aghajanov, because in
a country with a small market such as Armenia export does not have
alternatives. He says that because of the revaluation of the drum
the indices of industry and exports have gone in free fall. Edward
is dissatisfied with the growth of exports in 2005 too. According
to the economist, 39 percent of exports, about 235 million dollars,
do not make quality.
“Copper and molybdenum comprise 175 million out of 235 million.
In addition, it is due to the growth of prices on the international
market rather than the growth of their physical volume. Diamonds
brought a growth of 37 million dollars, 27.5 million is food and
drinks. Hence, 242 million out of a 235 million growth is these three
products,” says the economist. According to him, these indices are
set down in government statements on the input of technologies in
the economy, innovation and a focus on information technologies.
“Well, does anyone offer these figures to the prime minister, the
president? Small Armenia has two ministries of economy. Great America,
which holds one third of the world GDP, does not have a ministry
of economy, whereas Armenia has two. One is called “the Ministry of
Finance and Economy” and the other is called “the Ministry of Economic
Development and Trade” but there is nobody to tell the prime minister
or the president that guys, see what a situation the country is in,
we are in a recession, the deficit keeps growing, we go in free fall,
our production is not competitive,” says Edward Aghajanov.

ONLY SERGE SARGSYAN AND HMAYAK BELIEVE
Lragir.am
19 May 06
The leader of the Nor Zhamanakner Party (New Times) Aram Karapetyan
assures that he has the report of one of the ambassadors to Armenia,
where Armenia is characterized as a tertiary country. According to
Aram Karapetyan, the ambassador informed his leadership that what is
accepted in many countries of the world is not accepted in Armenia.
To work in Armenia you have to take money from others instead of
paying yourself, to assure them that you are their friend.
Armenia is also unique because at difficult moments there always
appears someone who starts dictating scenarios. This is a situation of
controlled crisis, defines Aram Karapetyan and says, “This is a very
unserious thing because no justifications of the offered scenarios are
given. In Armenia, for instance, Serge is the only person who believes
that Serge Sargsyan may win a free and fair election. Only someone
who has a vivid imagination or is carrying out someone’s order may
suggest this.” In this context, Aram Karapetyan suggests appointing
Hmayak to all the offices to settle the question of scenarios.
Aram Karapetyan thinks this time the Armenian elections will be held
in accordance with the scenarios of the leadership, because there
are geopolitical developments, factors, there are force-majeure: the
issues of Iran and Karabakh, home political developments in Georgia.
“The Armenian government was not lucky. The question of Iran
emerged. In the geopolitical sphere Armenia does not have a position.
The head of state has to refuse to go somewhere not to have to make
arrangements.”
Currently any activity may cause a strong revolutionary surge,
predicts the leader of the Nor Zhamanakner Party. However,
for a victory the opposition also needs geopolitical support,
believes Aram Karapetyan. Besides, the opposition needs to establish
conditions to guarantee free and fair elections; freedom of campaign,
elimination of participation of the first public channel, criminals
and law enforcement agencies, which live on “the taxes that we all
pay.” Without the support of the geopolitical sphere a campaign
is possible but a victory is not. “We had such an opportunity in
2003, but the leaders were not resolved enough.” Nevertheless, Aram
Karapetyan thinks that the political processes will be unpredictable.

ARMENIAN POLITICIAN CALL FOR REVOLUTION NOT EVOLUTION AFTER SPEAKER’S RESIGNATION
Aravot, Yerevan
18 May 06
Opposition politician Aram Sarkisyan has said that the only way
to solve problems in Armenia is by means of “a revolution”. In an
interview to the Armenian newspaper Aravot, he commented on Speaker
Artur Bagdasaryan’s resignation and said that Armenia may be forced to
hold an extraordinary presidential election soon because of President
Robert Kocharyan’s failure to establish control over the situation
in the country. The following is the text of Margarita Yesayan’s
report by Armenian newspaper Aravot on 18 May headlined “There is no
evolutionary way” and subheaded “The chairman of the Republic Party,
Aram Sarkisyan, drew this conclusion after the recent events”:
[Aravot correspondent] How do you assess what happened to the
Law-Governed Country Party [LGCP]? Such stories happen to almost all
political forces of Armenia from time to time and this is becoming
a bad tradition.
[Sarkisyan] The incumbent authorities have privatized almost all
spheres of the Armenian economy, as a result of which a monopolist
economy has taken shape. They are running the economy. Now they are
doing the same thing in the political field, trying to privatize it.
But this is a way that certainly leads to a catastrophe. We live in
the 21st century, but unfortunately, they are guided by the logic of
the 19th century.
[Correspondent] Do you think it is normal for a political force within
the government to always criticize the government and then defect to
the opposition for some reason?
[Sarkisyan] Every political force has its programme, goals and ideology
to pursue. Unfortunately, there are many adventurers parties of the
pro-government camp. Believe me if a similar process starts against
the Republican Party of Armenia [RPA], very few people will remain
with [Prime Minister] Andranik Markaryan than with [Speaker] Artur
Bagdasaryan. If a similar process starts against [Armenian President]
Robert Kocharyan or [Defence Minister] Serzh Sarkisyan, nobody will
remain with them. Those who left the LGCP had joined the party not
because of its ideology, but because they wanted to have a “roof”
[protection racket] for their business, evade taxes and acquire
property. Now that this “roof” does not exist any more and they can’t
get their slice of the government pie, those people went where they
could get such a slice.
[Correspondent] Can Robert Kocharyan use the current situation in his
own interests by telling international organizations that since there
is such a situation in the country, he cannot settle any problem and
give clear answers to the Karabakh issue?
[Sarkisyan] I agree with this view. Excuses like I broke my leg while
skiing, a foundation has to hold a meeting in the country and the
purely childish explanation that his watch is broken, do not work
any more. There is only one excuse: it is impossible to control the
domestic political situation. In turn, this might lead to more serious
threats. I think Robert Kocharyan’s failure to participate in a NATO
summit can be viewed in this context. The international community is
putting forward demands to him. He has put himself a situation and
I can’t help but feel sorry for him.
[Correspondent] Some people think that as a result of what happened
to Artur Bagdasaryan, Serzh Sarkisyan has found himself in a more
favourable position in the forthcoming presidential election. The
government had two likely presidential candidates and they are trying
to knock one of them out.
[Sarkisyan] I do not think Serzh Sarkisyan has gained anything. This
will not give him public support. What he lacks is public support
and real votes. Sarkisyan has administrative and financial resources
anyway. But I am sure that Armenia will end up in a force-majeur
situation and an extraordinary presidential election will be held
before the parliamentary election.
[Correspondent] If Artur Bagdasaryan defects to the opposition, do
you think he will unseat other opposition leaders, among whom there
are too many presidential contenders anyway?
[Sarkisyan] That is not right. There is too much room in the
opposition and any party that joins the opposition above all proves
that not everything is in order in the government and there is a
crisis. The more forces defect to the opposition, the easier it
becomes to overcome this crisis. But in our country everything is
the other way round. The opposition and authorities are determined
in elections, and in our country the opposition has always won the
election. Why do you think I don’t go to parliament? Because I think
it is illegitimate. If someone thinks that the previous election was
accompanied by violations and that future elections must be fair,
I regard this as a positive thing. The Republic Party has clearly
said that in this country, the only way to solve the problem is a
revolution. Artur Bagdasaryan tried to prove that there is also an
evolutionary way to solve problems. And here is the result. I think
he saw for himself that there is no evolutionary way. The only way
is a revolution.

ARMENIAN CLERGY CRITICAL OF US MOVIE ON JESUS CHRIST
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
19 May 06
[Presenter] The “Da Vinci Code” move directed by Ron Howard today
started its triumphal march in Russia, Armenia and a number of Asian
countries despite discussions, criticism and protests.
Before the premiere of the movie, the Vatican called on religious
people of the world to boycott it, because it offends the holy book.
The movie was made on the basis of the book “The Da Vinci Code” by
American novelist Dan Brown. The central plot of the movie is that
Jesus Christ allegedly married Mary Magdalene and they had a child.
Meanwhile, an opinion poll carried out in the UK testifies that 60
per cent of respondents agree with this allegation.
The “Da Vinci Code” is also being demonstrated in Yerevan and Dan
Brown’s book has already been on sale in Yerevan shops for several
months.
The Armenian Apostolic Church has harshly criticized Dan Brown’s
book. The Apostolic Church regards Dan Brown’s ideas as entirely
unacceptable and considers his scandalous book to be an insult against
the Christian religion.
[Yegishe Sarksyan, senior priest of the Gevorkyan seminary] Of course,
it has nothing to do with Christianity. This is only a way to insult
Christianity. It is clear that sensible people will never adopt these
inhuman ideas.

STRUGGLE FOR VACANT OFFICES
Lragir.am
19 May 06
Deputy Speaker Vahan Hovanisyan, Dashnaktsutiun, stated May 19 that
Dashnaktsutiun will get the education and culture portfolio only.
“However, the executive is not merely ministers; it is a wider and more
complicated structure. I think the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
will get other positions in the government and is ready to assume
more responsibilities.”
Vahan Hovanisyan probably means the vacant position of the governor
of Gegharkunik. The Republican is also seeking for this position,
the main candidate is the former “master” of this office, presently
the director of the Underground of Yerevan Vahagn Hakobyan.
The Republicans are said to be resolved in preventing the expansion of
Dashnaktsutiun in the executive. For his part, Vahagn Hakobyan does
everything possible. It should be noted that sanctions are imposed
on the Underground of Yerevan for delaying payments for water and
electricity.

ROBERT KOCHARYAN AND VARDAN OSKANYAN YIELDED TO PRESSURE FROM DASHNAKTSUTIUN
Lragir.am
19 May 06
On May 19 in Yerevan the Russian political scientist Andranik
Mihranyan recalled rather interesting things about the Turkish-Armenian
conciliation committee. Mihranyan was one of the four Armenian members
and, he says, he was amazed by the critical attitude in Armenia.
“There was an impression that certain people were confusing the
society,” says Andranik Mihranyan. His next words revealed that
these people were affiliated with Dashnaktsutiun who pushed President
Kocharyan and Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan. Mihranyan says he can
understand why Robert Kocharyan and Vardan Oskanyan were indifferent
towards the conciliation committee.
“The coalition includes the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutiun), which categorically rejects such contacts, and I
think the executive stood aloof from the activities of the committee
due to this pressure. Even Hrayr Hovnanyan, who was one of the key
encouragers, stepped back. Van Grigoryan was even dismissed from the
Armenian Assembly of America,” says Andranik Mihranyan. He says he
respects the activities of Dashnaktsutiun for Hay Dat, but this does
not mean that a national problem can be someone’s monopoly.

U.S. EXPLAINED EXPEDIENCY OF KARS-GYUMRI RAILROAD TO TURKEY
Lragir.am
19 May 06
Armenia should attempt to have the U.S. State Department push Turkey
to open the Kars-Gyumri railroad and prevent the construction of
Kars-Akhalkalaki not to allow weakening of the geopolitical position
of Armenia, said the Russian political scientist Andranik Mihranyan
May 19 at the Hayeli Club. He said there was a similar effort by the
Turkish-Armenian conciliation committee.
“At least when the Turkish-Armenian conciliation committee existed,
I know that the U.S. State Department pushed Turkey, offering the
argument that it would be a shorter route to supply ammunition to
the American forces deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, this question is presently deadlocked, and generally
the Turkish-Armenian question is deadlocked,” said Andranik Mihranyan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

51ST EUROVISION SONG CONTEST SEMI-FINALS HELD IN ATHENS
Athens News Agency, Greece
May 19 2006
First-time contestant Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Finland, FYROM,
Ireland, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, and Ukraine are the 10
countries that qualified in the early hours of Friday for the 51st
Eurovision song contest Final on Saturday night, following viewer
voting late Thursday among the 23 contestants at the spectacular
semi-final held in the indoor basketball venue at Athens’ OAKA main
Olympic complex.
The 23 countries taking part in Thursday night’s semi-final were:
Armenia (which is taking part for the first time in the history of the
competition), Bulgaria, Slovenia, Andora, Belarus, Albania, Belgium,
Ireland, Cyprus, Monaco, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Poland, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland, The Netherlands, Lithuania,
Portugal, Sweden, Estonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland.
The ten best semi-finalists elected late Thursday night will now
compete in Saturday’s final with the 14 top songs of last year’s
Eurovision song contest: Switzerland, Moldova, Israel, Latvia, Norway,
Malta, Denmark, Romania, Croatia (which was the first runner up and
took the slot following the withdrawal of Serbia-Montenegro), the four
major countries which traditionally participate in the competition
— Spain, Germany, France and the United Kingdom — and 2006 host
country Greece, which won the Eurovision song contest in 2005 with
“My Number One” performed by Elena Paparizou.
Thursday night’s qualifiers were Armenia, with “Without your Love”
performed by Andre; Bosnia-Herzegovina, with “Lejla” performed by
Hari Mata Hari and his band; Finland, with “Hard Rock Hallelujah”
performed by the heavy metal band Lordi; FYROM, with “Ninanajna”
performed by Elena Rusteska; Ireland, with the ballad “Every song
is a cry for love” performed by Brian Kennedy; Lithuania, with “We
are the Winners (of Eurovision)” performed by LT United; Russia,
with “Never let you go” performed by Dima; Sweden, with “Invicible”
performed by Carola; Turkey, with “Superstar” performed by Sibel Tuzun;
and Ukraine, with “Show me your Love” performed by Tina Karol.
The event was hosted by Greece’s Eurovision 2004 third-place winner
and pop heartthrob Sakis Rouvas (“Shake It”) and Greek-American model,
reporter and actress Maria Menounos, who will also host the Final on
Saturday night.

HISTORY, HERESY, CONSPIRACY
by Ashok Malik
Daily Pioneer, India
May 19 2006
In 1804, two centuries before Dan Brown found his way to bestseller
lists, the mystic and poet William Blake scripted his literary tour
de force, Jerusalem. To this day, Blake’s epic anthem moves, inspires
and reduces to tears those who read, repeat or chant it. Its opening
stanzas are among the most memorable in the English language:
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?
And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic mills?
A deep, philosophical man, Blake was making multiple allusions. At
one level, he was disturbed by the creeping Industrial Age and the
changes smoke-filled chimneys were inflicting upon his pristine
English countryside (“… these dark Satanic mills”).
Yet the principal character being addressed was Christ. Had the “feet”
of the “Lamb of God” walked “upon England’s mountains green”?
Blake, like many contemporaries, cherished the belief that Jesus
had visited England, embracing one of competing legends prevalent at
the time.
One tradition held that Christ had come to England in his early youth
-when he was “training” for his calling -and had been taught by ancient
druids. Another view was that he had somehow escaped the Crucifixion.
Such sentiments and such stories are not unique to William Blake and
England. In the late 19th century a Russian writer, Nicolas Notovitch,
wrote a book apparently based on old Buddhist texts, arguing Jesus
had spent part of the period between age 14 and 30 – when he was away
from home – in India, as an apprentice under not Celtic druids but
Buddhist monks. Others have added to the theory, pointing to evidence
that insists Jesus the boy visited Puri and Varanasi.
The most famous India-centric Jesus story has him surviving the
Crucifixion and moving to Kashmir, where the Takht-e-Sulaiman – Seat
of Solomon, now the Shankaracharya Hill – is said to derive its name
from his presence.
A tomb in Srinagar’s Rozabad has long been held to be the final
resting place of a religious figure, one Yuz Asaf; was he Jesus?
Another grave in Murree – in Pakistani Punjab – is supposed to be that
of Mary, the mother of Christ. Murree, the idea goes, is a corruption
of her name. The choice of Kashmir as a refuge is itself explained
by the tradition that it was settled by the Kush (Kassite) people,
one of the “lost tribes” of Israel.
How much of all this is true? Perhaps very little; obviously, Christ
couldn’t have been both in England and India at the same time! Yet
as the silly controversy over The Da Vinci Code thankfully ends,
it would be sensible to accept that alternative histories of Christ
have been around for centuries.
Beyond fascinating trivia and conspiracy theories, there is a larger
point. Dan Brown’s book is, of course, fiction – but what if it
weren’t? Would protests by church groups then have been justified? Is
religion – and this is not true of merely Christianity – to be
sequestered from history, never have its historicity put to scrutiny?
Does that in any way take away from the importance of faith or of
The Faith?
These are important issues to ponder because India is a profoundly
religious country with an extremely shallow intellectual approach to
the study of religion. “Religious studies” is not merely a course on
rites and rituals and how they came about. It involves philosophy,
archaeology, history, sociology, perhaps even anthropology. In
the narrow and antiseptic confines of “secularism” – as India’s
state-directed intelligentsia defines it – this is often not
appreciated. This does not become enlightened societies.
Return to The Da Vinci Code. The charge against the book and the film
is that it contradicts the “received history” of Christianity. As the
deputy secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India put it,
“It (The Da Vinci Code) must begin and end with a bold and lingering
disclaimer stating that it’s a work of fiction and does not reflect
historical views and facts.”
Compelling questions flow from this. What are “historical views”?
Whose historical views? Who wrote Christianity’s history – or for
that matter Islam’s or Hinduism’s? If Christ survived the Crucifixion
and was, as many believe, not the Son of God but a great mortal,
does that detract from his life, his teachings, the wonder of the
religious movement he founded?
The more devout Christians are not alone in treating history as
heresy. An honest appraisal of the Prophet and his life and times,
one that treats him as human, is not going to go unchallenged either.
It never has.
One of the most famous cases of blasphemy in India was that of Sarmad
Shaheed (Sarmad the Martyr), an Armenian Jew who converted to Islam,
was drawn to mysticism and befriended Dara Shikoh. Asked to recite
the kalmah – “There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is his Prophet”,
Sarmad stopped at, “There is no God.” Aurangzeb executed him.
Of the major faiths, only Judaism and Hinduism approach history with
a relative open-mindedness. For the Jews, religion and history are a
continuum. Abraham and David are ancestors of Christ and near-divinity,
but they are also historical characters, as real, as flesh and blood
as David Ben-Gurion and Ariel Sharon. The Old Testament is a people’s
old history.
Hindus face a unique problem: The history in their faith is challenged
not by believers but by their “progressive” critics. As an example,
consider the average Hindu’s attitude to the Puranas. Yes, there is
apocryphal legend and exaggeration; nevertheless, there is a determined
acceptance that below this is a kernel of history.
Ram and Krishna are gods to be worshipped but – with the breathtaking
capacity to reconcile dualism – Hindus simultaneously accept them as
human, with human wants, human desires, and even human frailties.
Indeed, born of a singular self-assurance, Hinduism would welcome a
scientific or rigorous scholarly investigation into its past, almost
as much as organised Islam would repel it. As for Christianity, as
the Dan Brown episode reveals, the danger is from the new Pharisees
– those who think they “own” Jesus and have an exclusive, perhaps
jealous copyright on his biography.

DAY OF EUROVISION DRESS REHEARSALS
By Toni Sant in Athens
Maltamedia Daily News, Malta
May 19 2006
Three dress rehearsals are scheduled for the Eurovision Song Contest
before the final show on Saturday evening. The first dress rehearsal
took place on Friday afternoon. A second dress rehearsal for Friday
starts at 2000 CET.
Following Friday’s first dress rehearsal, Fabrizio Faniello’s costume
for the final, a wedding suit without jacket and tie, was greeted with
comments of disapproval and disbelief. Eurovision fan club OGAE-Malta
president Deo Grech told MaltaMedia.com, “it’s simply not Fabrizio’s
style!” Non-Maltese websites, like esctoday.com and doteurovision.com,
have also published lukewarm comments about Fabrizio Faniello’s look
following the dress rehearsals.
Several members of the Maltese delegation and members of the press
told MaltaMedia.com what they think about the potential top 10 songs
to emerge from Saturday’s final, in no particular order.
Greece “I believe this will be one of the top two songs. Anna Vissi
has an aura of respect around her and this balad with a beat appeals to
Eurovision song lovers.” – John Demanuele, Assistant Head of Delegation
“A soppy song. I don’t like it! I personally prefer singers like
Pink, Shania Twain or Alanis Morissette.” – Nadette Bugeja, Maltese
Delegation: Head of Press.
Sweden “Carola can do no wrong. As expected this is a great song with
a fantastic show!” – Deo Grech, OGAE-Malta, Eurovision fan club.
“Typically Swedish. Not my number 1 favourite but it’s exactly what
Eurovision fans want.” – Claudette Pace, former Eurovision contestant.
Romania “It’s a great song! Mihai Traistariu has a great voice…but
no stage presence. My gay friends tell me they love it. I’m sure
many Italians will like it too…even though they don’t follow the
Eurovision.” – J.P. Attard, Producer, Where’s Everybody?
Ukraine “As impressive as Ruslana. Tina Karol has a nice real
smile. She’s not fake. A great song and a great voice. This year
Ukraine has everything Armenia doesn’t have” – Eileen Montesin,
official PBS Eurovision commentator.
Russia “This song has the ideal show. Quite unexpected. And it helps
that the singer is good looking, even if this poses some competition
for Malta’s entry.” – Frederick Zammit, Head of Programmes: Net TV.
Bosnia & Herzogovina “What an excellent song, to the taste of
Eurovision fans. It contrasts really well with most other entries,
which is why I’m convinced they did so well in the semi-final
voting.” – Cyrus Engerer, ESCMalta News Manager.
Spain “Spanish is such a sexy language! I expect it to be a hit all
over Europe this summer, whatever happens on Saturday night. It’s
a typical Las Ketchup song.” – Pablo Micallef, Producer, Where’s
Everybody?
“I don’t like the group but it’s not a bad song and the show is
excellent. Still, I don’t think it’s a winner, by any means.” –
Krista Caruana, Super One News journalist.
Turkey “It’s not the winning song…but then again I may be wrong. I
never expected Lithuania to get to the final, nor for Belgium to
be left behind. So maybe we’ll be in Turkey this time next year.” –
Pierre Cachia, Super One TV producer.
Finland Comments about Lordi’s Hard Rock Hallelujah are on everyone’s
lips.
Reactions are spread across the spectrum. From “good for a laugh” to
“if I wasn’t supporting Malta I’d support them instead, even though
I’m not a rock fan.”
Finland’s Eurovision entry is getting under more people’s skin with
every rehearsal. If it wins it will indeed change the face of the
Eurovision Song Contest. The EBU may even be forced to reconsider
leaving the voting completely up to the general public.
Speaking to MaltaMedia.com on Thursday afternoon, Bogdan Kopec,
managing director of Drakkar Entertainment, Lordi’s German record
label, said that many rock clubs in Germany are organizing special
parties for rockers to vote for Lordi during the 10-minute voting
period on Thursday and Saturday evening. If more rock clubs adopt
similar strategies for the final night, Lordi may very well be the
winners of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest.
Saturday’s final dress rehearsal is at 1300 CET. The final show will
be broadcast live at 2100 CET on TVM and most other EBU affiliated
stations.
For more detailed information about Malta’s participation in the
Eurovision Song Contest see EurovisionMalta.com.