Author: Chaltikian Arsine

PARLIAMENTARY FACTIONS REFER TO THE CONSULTATION ON THE PRESENT ROUND OF REGULATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS INVITED ON THE INITIATIVE OF ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSIAN

ARMENPRESS
SEPTEMBER 18, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS: During today’s parliamentary
briefings the NA factions referred to the consultation on the present
round of regulation of Armenian-Turkish relations which has been
invited on the initiative of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

Member of "Orinats Yerkir" faction Hovhannes Margarian noted that
the Party has always been for the regulation of Armenian-Turkish
relations and opening of the borders without any preconditions.

"We welcome the initiative of the President to invite the third in
turn thematic consultation round the most important national issues
to get informed about the opinion of all the parties," he said.

Heads of more than 5 dozen parties took part in the consultation and
the discussions will still continue. The Party supports the issue to
be discussed in different levels.

According to the Head of Armenian Revolutionary Federation faction
Vahan Hovhannisian during the consultation the Head of the State has
not excluded the opportunity of changes and the political power will
continue the fight towards it.

The ARF will take part in the parliamentary hearings. Referring
to the proposal of "Heritage" faction Larisa Alaverdian to adopt a
parliamentary statement, V. Hovhannisian said that in such decisive
moments everything can be useful; the factions will discuss the
proposal of their partner.

According to the secretary of Prosperous Armenia fraction Aram Safarian
they also gave their approval on the conduction of parliamentary
hearings and their participation in them. A. Safarian noted that
the Prosperous Armenia Party is for regulation of the relations with
Turkey without preconditions and within commonsense period of time.

According to the member of the Parliament the only obstacle in the
regulation of Armenian-Turkish relations remains the position existing
in the Turkish zation of bilateral relations must be conditioned by
the regulation of the Karabakh conflict.

"Even if the protocols are not ratified the process of opening of
the borders will continue as we have adopted European standards
according to which there must be no close borders," Head of the
Armenian Republican Party fraction Galust Sahakian said. He noted
that he is principally for the expression of opposite opinions by
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

Head of the "Heritage" party board Armen Martirosian, who did not
take part in the consultation invited by the President noted that the
discussions must be launched in the state institutions including the
National Assembly, and that in October 1 Parliamentary hearings the
fraction will present its position.

REPO-RATE TO GROW IN ARMENIA BY THE END 2009 – BEGINNING 2010, HEAD OF THINKS

ArmInfo
2009-09-15 19:23:00

ArmInfo. The REPO-rate will grow in Armenia by the end 2009 – beginning
2010, Chief Executive Officer of Tim Slater told journalists today.

He thinks that growth of the REPO-rate will be conditioned by
possible inflation pressure. At the same time dollar deposits rates
will decrease.

And if the dram deposit rates will not change and the foreign currency
deposits decrease, in that case depositors will convert their dollar
deposits into the dram ones, he said and added that decrease of the
REPO-rates by Central Bank does not directly affect the economy of
Armenia very much as the level of dollarization is very high here
and the main part of deposits is expressed in foreign currency.

According to the data of Armenian Central Bank, on 8 september 2009
the REPO-rate was reduced from 5,25% to 5%. Before that, on 7 July 2009
it was reduced from 6% to 5,5%, on 9 June 2009 – from 6,25% to 6%, 22
My 2009 -from 7,25% to 6,25%, 12 May – from 7,50% to 7,25%, 7 April
– from 7,75% to 7,50%, 3 March – increased from 6,75% up to 7,75%,
10 February – reduced from 7% to 6,75%, 13 January – from 7,25% to 7%.

HSBC BANK ARMENIA INTENDS TO INCREASE NUMBER OF INTERNET-BANKING CLIENTS TO 5,000 TILL LATE 2009

ArmInfo
2009-09-15 19:21:00

ArmInfo. HSBC Bank Armenia intends to increase the number of
internet-banking clients to 5,000 till late 2009, Tim Slater,
HSBC Bank Armenia CEO, said at a press conference devoted to
presentation of internet-banking on Tuesday. HSBC Bank Armenia
introduced internet-banking on July 1 2009 having invested in this
project $2 million.

T. Slater said that over 900 clients of the bank have already used
internet-banking: non-cash transactions, account checking, account
opening on-line. He said that the website of the bank:
is visited 15,000 times in a month thanks to introduction of
internet-banking service. The service is available to individuals
having Internet connection or an HSBC Bank Armenia plastic
card. Introduction of Internet-banking in Armenia is part of HSBC
Bank Armenia’s strategy of direct contact with clients, T.

Slater explained. He highlighted that the first sage of the given
strategy was installation of ATMs in Armenia. The bank currently serves
46 ATMs. The second stage was introduction of telephone banking and
the third stage is Internet-banking. Introduction of new services for
maximum comfort of clients testifies that HSBC Bank Armenia continues
developing investment projects in Armenia to upgrade the quality of
services, T. Slater said.

To protect the Internet banking operations of its clients, the bank
is using a reliable up-to-date technology of passwords and special
codes for transactions.

HSBC Bank Armenia was the first international bank to be registered
in Armenia in 1996. HSBC Bank plc holds 70% stake in HSBC Bank
Armenia. The bank serves 8 branches( in Yerevan).

EIFFEL TOWER TO LIGHT UP FOR FRANCE’S ‘TURKEY SEASON’

Hurriyet Daily News
Sept 15 2009
Turkey

The Paris Municipality has decided to make a gesture to President
Gul and light up the tower with the colors of the Turkish flag (red
and white) from Oct. 5 to 11.

The Eiffel Tower, which has become a global icon of France, will be
lit up with the colors of the Turkish flag as part of the ongoing
"Turkey Season" activities in France.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul will pay a state visit to France on
Oct. 6 to attend the opening of the exhibition "Istanbul through the
Ages" at the Grand Palais.

The Paris Municipality decided to make a gesture to President Gul and
light up the tower with the colors of the Turkish flag (red and white)
from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11.

A new lighting system will be used.

"Turkey Season" activities began with a performance by the Anatolian
Fire dance group in front of the Eiffel tower in July. Among other
related events there will be exhibitions and performances.

The newly opened Paris Bosphorus Institute aims to promote Turkish
culture in the French capital even after the season ends, as well as
to create an independent and objective dialogue platform.

"Our primary aim is to eliminate the prejudices between the two
nations," Chairman of the Board of Directors of AXA and member of
the institute Henri de Castries said.

The institute will become active with a conference to be held in
Istanbul on Oct. 22-23.

Prominent Turkish and French politicians, businessmen, economists
and opinion leaders will meet in a "science council" formed within
the body of the institute.

SERZH SARGSYAN: DOING NOTHING IS THE EASIEST THING

armradio.am
14.09.2009 15:50

Armenia has entered a hard but necessary process, where it is guided
by the principle of properly weighing its steps. "Doing nothing is
the easiest thing. The hard thing is to initiative the solution of
a hard issue and to succeed," President Serzh Sargsyan said at a
meeting with young Republicans in Tsakhkadzor.

President’s Press Office reports that Serzh Sargsyan attended the
three-day gathering titled "The future with your hands," featuring
150 representatives of regional organizations of the Republican
Party of Armenia. President Sargsyan participated in the discussion
of implementation of the part’s youth programs and cooperation with
regional organizations.

Discussions also focused on the Armenian-Turkish relations, the
Karabakh issue, the state-public dialogue, information security,
education and science, the government’s youth policy and the ties
with Diaspora.

President Sargsyan said such meetings provided a good opportunity
to compare different opinions and approaches and arrive at balanced
conclusions.

Armenia is pleased with UN

-moon
12:56 pm | September 11, 2009 | Official

Armenia’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations Organisation
(UNO), Ambassador Karen Nazarian presented his credentials to UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The parties talked about Armenia’s engagement in the UN, as well as
the cooperation between the Armenian Government and the UN Office in
Yerevan.

Ambassador Nazarian expressed appreciation for the process of
programmes implemented in Armenia by different UN agencies and
attached importance to the participation of Armenian state agencies
and non-governmental organisations in the development of the United
Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2010-2015.

UN Secretary General noted, in turn, that when planning its activity,
the UN Office in Armenia will be guided by the Millennium development
goals and Armenia’s priorities.

The interlocutors dwelt on the negotiations on the Karabakh conflict
settlement and the process of normalisation of the Armenian-Turkish
relations.

ARMENIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY REFUTES THE INFORMATION ON VIOLATION OF THE
CONTACT LINE BY AZERBAIJANI HELICOPTERS ON SEPTEMBER 11

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS: Today one of the Armenian
newspapers, referring to "its sources at the NKR Defence Army",
published, that on the 11th of September, 2009 8-9 Azerbaijani
helicopters have crossed the contact line.
"Regarding this information the Press Secretary of the NKR Defence
Army Lieutenant-Colonel Senor Hasratyan informs that the previous day
the air-defence sub-units of the NKR Defence Army have detected a
flight of helicopters in the Azerbaijani side 6-7km away from the
contact line. However, this was in the Azerbaijani territory and the
Armenian side did not take any actions.
At the same time we would like to inform, that the NKR air borders
are constantly being guarded by the NKR air-defence sub-units, and any
attempt of border violation will resolutely be halted," the message
spread by the Press Secretary of the RA Defence Ministry, Colonel
S. Shahsuvarian says.

ACCORDING TO TIGRAN DAVTIAN, 2010 STATE BUDGET TO BE "QUITE TENSE AND MODEST"

NOYAN TAPAN
SEPTEMBER 11, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The discussions of the 2010 state
budget will start at the Armenian government on September 11. At
the September 10 sitting of the government, RA Minister of Finance
Tigran Davtian said that next year’s budget will be "quite tense
and modest". "I ask my colleagues to display understanding because
next year we must continue to work in a resource-saving mode and try
to build our economy. In fact, the 2010 budget will be a budget of
stabilization which presupposes a reduction in some expenditures,"
the minister pointed out.

He said that the preliminary version of the 2010 state budget
envisages 1.3% GDP, 2% deflator, and 5.5% deficit. It is planned to
find domestic and foreign sources of financing the budget deficit
in the coming years, that is, an attempt will be made to gradually
reduce the deficit to the level of the previous years.

II INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON "UKRAINIAN ARMENIANS: PRESENT, PAST AND FUTURE" FINISHED IN CRIMEA

PanARMENIAN.NET
09.09.2009 16:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ II International Conference on "Ukrainian Armenians:
Present, Past and Future" finished in Crimea. The event was dedicated
to the history of Armenian people, one of conference organizers David
Davtyan, expert at Analitika.at.ua, told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"After several years of restoration work, the monastery today
revives its one time glory of a religious and scientific centre,"
said conference organization committee member, Doctor of Philosophy
Oleg Gabrielyan, addressing scholars and other guests from
different parts of Ukraine, as well as Armenia, Russia, Belarus and
Poland. Participants heard reports of 30 people.

Conference closed yesterday at 6:00 p.m. During the festive dinner,
participants exchanged views on reports delivered. Scholars expressed
great desire to visit Sourb Khach Armenian monastery once again and
share views on their new works and ideas," Davtyan said.

ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE PROTESTS DEPORTATION OF SEMINARIANS

Palestine News Network
Sept 9 2009

Jerusalem / Special from Arthur Hagopian – The Armenian Patriarchate
of Jerusalem has lodged a strong protest against a decision by the
Israeli Ministry of Interior to deport two seminarians involved in
a fight with a Jewish youth who had spat on a religious procession
they were participating in.

Patriarchate spokesperson Father Pakrad Bourjekian noted that this
was not the first time such an unprovoked aggression against Armenian
or Christian clergymen in Jerusalem had occurred.

He said not only were the clergy singled out for this kind of
treatment, but lay members of the Armenian community who wore or
displayed crosses bore the brunt of such attacks.

The latest provocation occurred on Sunday evening as Armenian
seminarians were returning to the Convent of St James after holding
their weekly procession in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

As they neared the convent, a young Jew wearing a kipa spat on them.

One of the seminarians accosted the youth who responded with another
blob of spit, leading to a brawl which police stopped by arresting
two of the Armenian seminarians and holding them for 24 hours.

That same evening, the police informed the Armenian Patriarchate that
the matter would be dealt with at court the next morning.

But when the Armenians presented themselves at court, they were
summarily informed that the police had referred the matter to the
Israeli Ministry of the Interior which had decided on the deportation
of the two seminarians, Bourjekian said.

It complained that the Ministry has ignored protests and
remonstrations, adding spitting against Christians by Jews is not
a new issue, but has been practised for several years, without the
police taking any measures to stop it.

Bourjekian also noted that in addition to this "harassment by
civilians", the Interior Ministry intentionally delays renewing
visas of Armenian monks and priests who have been born in Lebanon,
Syria and Jordan, "causing them undue distress."

He voiced concern "this kind of persecution" against the Armenians
might escalate to include not only seminarians but priests, bishops
and archbishops as well.