ARKA News Agency
May 11 2005

Robert Kocharyan: Armenia has sound bank system, but extremely small
for the country economy

`Night Lights’ museum event to be organized in Armenia on May 14-15

Russia denies its special services alleged part in the terrorist act
committed in Armenian Parliament on October 27, 1999

Armenian CB must give up policy of floating exchange rate: Martin
Sargsyan

Armenian Businesswoman 2005 exhibition to be held on May 27, 28 in
Armenia

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s President Arkady Ghukasyan receives Chief
Military Inspector of Armenia

Conference on modern approaches to education management to be held in
Armenia

Robert Kocharyan: Trade-Industrial Chamber of Armenia plays the key
part in cooperation between the government and businessmen

RA Parliament assumes the variant of ruling coalition as a basis for
constitutional reforms draft

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ROBERT KOCHARYAN: ARMENIA HAS SOUND BANK SYSTEM, BUT EXTREMELY SMALL
FOR THE COUNTRY ECONOMY

YEREVAN, May 11. /ARKA/. Armenia has a sound bank system, but
extremely small for the country economy, Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan said Wednesday in his meeting with Armenian bankers. He
said `it is necessary to find the right way to develop our banking
system keeping existing sound environment intact’. Kocharyan also
paid attention to USD fluctuating exchange rate and Armenian dram
revaluation. He finds it necessary to analyze the issue to see causes
of volatile situation in currency market. `Many of you have already
expressed their opinions about that, but I would like to hear
directly from you how this process can be run without affecting the
country’s economy and without people’s unnecessary negative
expectations triggering panic in market’, the President said. M.V.
-0–

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`NIGHT LIGHTS’ MUSEUM EVENT TO BE ORGANIZED IN ARMENIA ON MAY 14-15

YEREVAN, May 11. /ARKA/. A `Night Lights’ museum event is to be
organized in Armenia on May 14-15. The press service of the RA
Ministry of Culture reports that 48 Armenian museums are to take part
in the arrangement. May 14 to 1:00 a.m. on May 15, excursions and
surprise programs will be organized for visitors. Admission to the
museums will be free.
It is the fourth year since the Museum Spring, which is the
initiative of French museums, has been marked in Armenia. On May 14,
2005, 4,000 European museums, united under the motto Museum Night,
will receive thousands of visitors until late at night. P.T. -0–

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RUSSIA DENIES ITS SPECIAL SERVICES ALLEGED PART IN THE TERRORIST ACT
COMMITTED IN ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT ON OCTOBER 27, 1999

YEREVAN, May 11. /ARKA/. Russia denies its alleged part in the
terrorist act committed in Armenian Parliament on October 27, 1999,
Russian Embassy in Armenia says. In connection with the allegations
that recently appeared in media outlets such as Real Azerbaijan
internet newspaper about Russian special services complicity in
tragic events happened Oct 27, 1999, in Armenian National Assembly,
Russian Federation Embassy in Armenia stated following: `Such a sort
of inventions having nothing in common with reality are intensively
being spread by persons known for their hatred toward the democratic
reforms being implemented in Russia who pursue provocative goal of
creating negative image of a new Russia in the eyes of the
international community’, the Embassy’s press release said.
It is also said in the press-release that `in spite of the well-known
decision of Armenian court on the group of terrorists headed by Nairi
Hunanyan, a destined-to-failure attempt is seen to undermine
centuries-long friendly relationship between Armenian and Russian
nations’. `Following the instructions given by his `master’,
Litvienko, a former officer of Russian Federal Security Service, who
is charged by Russian Federation Prosecutor General Office with
funneling a state secret and now harbored by the well-known tycoon in
the Great Britain, released another absurd statement. Any case,
Litvienko and Litvienko-like persons will fail in their apparent
attempts to undermine fraternal relations between Armenia and Russia
and the two countries’ peoples’, the statement says.
It is known that no evidence of complicity of any outside forces in
the 1999 terrorist act in Armenian National Assembly was found
throughout the trial ended in delivering verdicts to Hunanyan and his
group on Dec 2, 2003. Isolated case on possible masterminds was
closed in November 2004, because all possible means for finding
evidence were exhausted.
Five perpetrators of the assassination of Karen Demirchyan, the then
Speaker of Armenian National Assembly, Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan
and other six officials were sentenced to life imprisonment in Dec
2003. M.V. -0–

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ARMENIAN CB MUST GIVE UP POLICY OF FLOATING EXCHANGE RATE: MARTIN
SARGSYAN

YEREVAN, May 11. /ARKA/. The RA Central Bank must give up the policy
of floating exchange rate, Chairman of the RA Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (CCI) Martin Sargsyan told reporters. According to him, the
exchange rate fluctuations and USD devaluation in Armenia seriously
affect the rare businessmen engaged in exporting Armenian products.
The RA Central Bank must make this step to meeting the domestic
consumers’ interests, Sargsyan said. P.T.–0–

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ARMENIAN BUSINESSWOMAN 2005 EXHIBITION TO BE HELD ON MAY 27, 28 IN
ARMENIA

YEREVAN, May 11. /ARKA/. Armenian Businesswoman 2005 exhibition is to
be held on May 27, 28 in Armenia. According to Anahit Bobikyan,
Coordinator at a businesswomen-supporting project of the Program for
Small and Medium Businesses Markets Development in Armenia, the main
aim of the exhibition is to get familiar with Armneian businesswomen
and their activity. `Besides, we intend to attract attention of
tourists and offshore businessmen to products manufactured by women
entrepreneurs’, she said. In her words, only Armenian companies
representing various sectors of economy such as dairy, cakes, dried
fruits as well as carpets, textile commodities design and souvenirs
industries will take part in the event. Among key participants of the
exhibition are Wordy Armen (dairy production), Mariam Grigoryan
(carpet production), Tamar Tatik (dried fruits) and Aragrina
(souvenirs). Logos Expo Center, USAID and ASME program organized the
exhibition in association with DAI. M.V. -0 –

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NAGORNO-KARABAKH REPUBLIC’S PRESIDENT ARKADY GHUKASYAN RECEIVES CHIEF
MILITARY INSPECTOR OF ARMENIA

YEREVAN, May 11. /ARKA/. Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s President Arkady
Ghukasyan received Chief Military Inspector of Armenia
colonel-general Gurgen Dalibaltayan. According to NKR Presidential
Press Service issues related to military construction in Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh as well as prospects of cooperation between two
Armenian republics’ armies were discussed at the meeting, where the
NKR Defence Minister lieutenant-general Seyran Ohanyan was present.
M.V. -0–

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CONFERENCE ON MODERN APPROACHES TO EDUCATION MANAGEMENT TO BE HELD IN
ARMENIA

YEREVAN, May 11. /ARKA/. A scientific conference `Modern Approaches
to Management and Control of Education’ is to be held in Yerevan on
May 14-15. The US International Research Exchange (IREX) organization
reports the conference will be held under a program of retraining of
school headmasters and administrative staff for 2002-2005. The
conference participants are to discuss issues of practical
application of curricula, as well as new types of supervision over
school activities. The conference is to be attended by
representatives of the RA Ministry of Science and Education, National
Institute of Education, Education Department of the Yerevan
Municipality, US Advisor for Scientific Affairs, headmasters and
teachers of Armenia’s schools. P.T. -0–

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ROBERT KOCHARYAN: TRADE-INDUSTRIAL CHAMBER OF ARMENIA PLAYS THE KEY
PART IN COOPERATION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESSMEN

YEREVAN, May 11. /ARKA/. Trade-Industrial Chamber of Armenia plays
the key part in cooperation between the government and businessmen,
as said in the message addressed by Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan to participants of the Chamber’s conference. The President
said in his message that Armenia had managed to carry out
considerable work also by taking active part in the process of the
country’s tax and customs legislation improvement. `We welcome your
initiatives and steps focused on establishing mutually beneficial
ties between Armenia’s and other countries’ businessmen. The
government has great expectations for establishing cooperation with
business area. The role of chambers as structures representing common
interests of entrepreneurship is important either in this connection
or as key pivot’, Kocharyan said in his message. In his words,
political and legislative environment favorable for entrepreneurship
development and investments is now created in Armenia that paves way
for more effective activity. The President wished the conference
participants fruitful work and said he waited from them proposals
that will `make actual contribution to widening
government-entrepreneurship ties and improving business atmosphere in
the countr’. M.V. -0–

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RA PARLIAMENT ASSUMES THE VARIANT OF RULING COALITION AS A BASIS FOR
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS DRAFT

YEREVAN, May 11. /ARKA/. RA Parliament has assumes the variant of
ruling coalition as a basis for constitutional reforms draft. The
document was supported by 77 parliamentarians, instead of 66 needed.
8 MPs voted against the draft. At the same time, the other two
drafts, submitted by the United Labor Parties and deputy Arshak
Sadoyan, were advocated by 19 and 13 deputies. The draft submitted by
the coalition contains 25 new and 97 amended articles. In addition,
article 78 was withdrawn the draft, which supposed the right of the
republic’s government to take decisions having the validity of the
law. The first chapter of the Constitution now includes a new
provision which fixes the basic rights and freedoms of a person as an
inherent and supreme value. In addition, the new edition of the Basic
Law recognizes the priority of rights and domination of law, as well
as ideological pluralism. The Constitution includes a new article, in
accordance with which, the Republic of Armenia recognizes the
Armenian Apostolic Church as the national church, which has an
exceptional significance in spiritual life of the Armenian people.
Another important provision of the new edition, submitted by the
coalition, is the withdrawal of the article banning double
citizenship. The amendments also ban capital punishment.
In accordance with the amendments, the term of Parliament activities
is also extended from 4 to 5 and the term of local self-government
bodies is extended from 3 up to 4 years. At that, the RA President
can appoint the Premier of the country after consultations with
fractions represented in the Parliament.
According to Ra NA Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan, the coalition has
adopted 100% of Venice Commission and OSCE suggestions on human
rights and freedoms upon the working out the constitutional reforms
draft.
In his turn, Vice- Speaker Tigrsn Sargsyan, the head of Ad-hoc
Committee on Matters of Integration in European Structures noted that
the provisions concerning the principles of power division, creation
of restrictions and counterbalances , local self-government bodies
and judicial system are to be improved till the second reading.
L.V.-0–