ARKA News Agency – 12/13/2004

ARKA News Agency
Dec 13 2004

68% of Yerevan citizens do not approve general trends of Armenian
development

Two people died, seven wounded in result of traffic accident at
Charentsavan-Yerevan highway

Two convicted for life imprisonment escaped from Goris prison

Street trade in Yerevan to be allowed in connection with New Year’s
celebrations

Independent and impartial judicial power is one of the key tasks of
constitutional reforms in Armenia

Presentation of the book `From Economy of War to Economy of Peace in
South Caucasus’held in Stepanakert

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68% OF YEREVAN CITIZENS DO NOT APPROVE GENERAL TRENDS OF ARMENIAN
DEVELOPMENT

YEREVAN, December 13. /ARKA/. 68% of Yerevan citizens do not approve
general trends of Armenian development. The data was announced by
Caucasus Research Resources Center in result of analysis conducted in
three South Caucasus republics. 1500 citizens of Yerevan, Tbilisi and
Baku were questioned in the frames of research. The research showed
that 23% of Tbilisi citizens are not satisfied with direction of
development of their country and 47% citizens of Baku.
CRRC is the program of Eurasia Foundation financed by Carnegie
Corporation of New York. L.D. -0–

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TWO PEOPLE DIED, SEVEN WOUNDED IN RESULT OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENT AT
CHARENTSAVAN-YEREVAN HIGHWAY

YEREVAN, December 13. /ARKA/. Two people died, seven wounded in
result of traffic accident at Charentsavan-Yerevan highway, when
student bus `LAZ’ hit the truck `ZIL’, Emergency Department of RA
Government told ARKA. Among perished are the driver of the truck
Viktor Balasanian, who was repairing his car during the accident and
21-year old passenger of the bus, student Tigran Sargsian. The
details of the case are not announced yet. L.D. –0–

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TWO CONVICTED FOR LIFE IMPRISONMENT ESCAPED FROM GORIS PRISON

YEREVAN, December 13. /ARKA/. Two convicted for life imprisonment
escaped from Goris prison, RA Police press service told ARKA.
Law-enforcement bodies conduct search of escaped criminals – Mher
Yenokian (born in 1975) and Sohomon Kocharian (born in 1966). All
republican roads are under control, all cars are stopped and
searched. If someone has any information on criminals,
law-enforcement bodies ask citizens to call on: 561-232, 564-821,
553-161, secrecy of information and money reward is guaranteed. L.D.
–0–

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STREET TRADE IN YEREVAN TO BE ALLOWED IN CONNECTION WITH NEW YEAR’S
CELEBRATIONS

YEREVAN, December 13. /ARKA/. Street trade in Yerevan to be allowed
in connection with New Year’s celebrations, as stated Arman Sahakyan,
the deputy Mayor of Yerevan. According to Sahakyan, the Mayor of
Yerevan had already approved the list of streets where the trade
would be allowed. Sahakyan said that the trade of food would be under
special control. The street trade in Yerevan will be allowed till
January 14, 2005. L.V.-0–

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INDEPENDENT AND IMPARTIAL JUDICIAL POWER IS ONE OF THE KEY TASKS OF
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, December 13. /ARKA/. Independent and impartial judicial
power is one of the key tasks of constitutional reforms in Armenia.
According to Vardan Poghosyan, the head of Democracy NGO during the
discussions organized by Partnership for Open Society organization,
this is stated in the intermediate assessments of the Venice
Commission concerning the submitted drafts of constitutional reforms
in Armenia. According to him, the Venice Commission welcomes the
constitutional amendment which states that 9 of 12 members of the
Council of Justice of the republic should be elected by the judges
themselves. At that, the rest should be elected by the Parliament,
not the President. Also, in accordance with the intermediate
conclusion of the Commission, the role of the President as the Head
of the Council of Justice should be purely formal. At that, the
Council of Justice should be the end instance in the professional
work of the judges, in particular, concerning the election,
appointment, career growth, training, resignation, etc. in this
connection, the appointment of all Chairmen of courts by the
President without the participation of Council of Justice may cause
certain difficulties. The assessment report also points out the need
for constitutional guarantee for independence of prosecutors from the
executive power. L.V. – 0 –

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PRESENTATION OF THE BOOK `FROM ECONOMY OF WAR TO ECONOMY OF PEACE IN
SOUTH CAUCASUS’HELD IN STEPANAKERT

STEPANAKERT, December 13. /ARKA/. The presentation of the book `From
Economy of War to Economy of Peace in South Caucasus’ was held in
Stepanakert. According to the own reporter of ARKA agency in
Stepanakert, the book covers the articles of authors from all the
republics of the South Caucasus, both recognized and not judicially
recognized. The Nagorno Karabakh Republic is represented by the
article of Valery Badalyan, the Head of Tradition NGO entitled `The
role of international organizations in development of small and
middle-scale business in the peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict’. `We will try to shift to practical steps from research
actions and to establish joint business in the region. Unfortunately,
Azerbaijan categorically opposes any cooperation’, he said during the
presentation of the book. He also said that offices will be
functioning in all countries of South Caucasus in the framework of
Business and Conflict program. Their mission will be to assist the
establishment of joint business in the region and support the
peaceful settlement of conflicts.
The book `From Economy of War to Economy of Peace in South Caucasus’
was published in the framework of Business and Conflict program of
International Alert British organization. The objective of the
program is to seek for settlement of prolonged conflicts and their
prevention in crisis regions. L.V.–0–