Author: Chaltikian Arsine

CATHOLICOS PLEASED WITH FRENCH GOVERNEMNT AND PEOPLE

Panorama.am
23:28 08/04/2008

Today the Supreme Catholicos of all Armenians Garegin II received
the members of the French organization "International Realities and
Relationship" and the chairman of the organization Jan Michel Fove.

According to the Holy Etchmiadzin public relations service, the
supreme patriarch presented the guests the mission of the Armenian
Apostolic Church in the lives of the Armenians. The patriarch also
expressed his gratitude for the relationship established between the
two nations and especially thanked to the French Government and people
for their contribution and support providing to Armenia.

RELIGIOUS FLOWS RAPIDLY SPREADING IN AZERBAIJANI REGIONS: MP

Trend News Agency
April 9 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 9 April /corr. TrendNews I.Alizade / Vahabism and
other non-traditional religious flows rapidly spread in the regions
of Azerbaijan and it presents serious concerns for the State. "If no
serious measures are taken now, in the future it will be impossible
to prevent them," said the Director of the History Institute of
Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, MP Yagub Mahmudov.

Some 430 religion communities have been registered in the State
Committee for Work with Religious Structures of Azerbaijan. Most of
them are Muslim communities.

According to Mahmudov, it is impossible to bring back the people who
join the religions flows.

"Azerbaijan is not against the religions such as Islam and
Christianity. However, non-traditional religious flows, including
vahabism, should be prevented in the Country," Mahmudov said.

According to MP, over the recent period, the Armenian lobby allocated
huge money to spread religious flows in Azerbaijan. "Christian names
are being given to the newborns in Azerbaijani regions, especially
in Ganja city. The parents say that they have promised to someone to
give Christian names to their children. It is all the result of the
religious flows," Mahmudov said.

According to him, changes should be made in the Law on Freedom of
Conscience.

PARLIAMENT PASSES BILL ON STATE DEBT

ARMENPRESS
April 8, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 8, ARMENPRESS: The parliament passed today in the second
reading a bill on State Debt which sets procedures for formation,
management, payment and servicing of the state debt.

Armenia did not have such a law and all related issues were regulated
by two other laws on Budget System and Treasury System.

Under the bill, the state debt are liabilities assumed by the
government and Central Bank. It also says that by the end of the year
the overall debt must not exceed the 60 percent of previous year’s
GDP, and if it exceeds 50 percent of the GDP the next year’s state
budget deficit must not exceed 3 percent of the average GDP of the
previous three years.

Any transaction that fails short of meeting this requirement will be
deemed annulled.

KILLED WITH BAGHDASAROV’S WEAPON?

A1+
08 April, 2008

"For 5 years I have been uselessly knocking at hundreds of doors. No
one is concerned about my daughter’s murder", Norvard Mouradian
told A1+.

Lilit Avetissian, Ms. Mouradian’s 23 year-old daughter was killed on
November 30, 2003. She was shot at her doorstep in 28 Bldg., District
16, while coming back from the exhibition "Armenian National Costume
in Modern Colours". "I found my daughter’s corpse at my doorstep with
a flower bouquet in one hand and an embroidered bag in the other",
recounts Norvard Mouradian. The Procurator’s Office of Achapnyak and
Davitashen Districts instituted case proceeding against the murder and
illegal use of weapon on December 1, 2003. Investigation proved the
weapon was not registered in Armenia’s arms storage and the proceeding
was suspended with the following excuse: "Defendant is unknown."

Though the weapon is not registered Ms. Mouradian is in no doubt
about its owner. "Everybody in the Ministry of Justice knows the owner
and they want to cover up the tracks of my daughter’s murder." Today
Ms. Mouradian was at the Prosecutor’s Office with a demand to resume
her daughter’s case.

Norvard Mouradian noted that political figures, especially the OYP,
had made use of her daughter’s murder in pre-election period. "Mher
Shahgeldian is well-aware of this case but their party only made use
of it in pre-election period trying to get votes." Ms.

Mouradian didn’t specify how OYP had made use of her grief and only
noticed they had promised to resume her daughter’s case. She has
been trying to uncover her daughter’s murder herself and has somewhat
succeeded, she considers. "My daughter’s assassination was ordered by
a Raya Margarian and the weapon owner is Mika Baghdasarov who gave it
to Raya Margarian’s friend as a gift. Raya Margarian is a relative of
some political figure and my request to the present authorities is
to find out who Raya Margarian is. At the Prosecutor’s Office they
impudently tell me there are 400 unrevealed cases at present and my
daughter’s case will be one of them."

Norvard Mouradian declares she is responsible for all her words and
if the law-enforcement bodies are willing to listen to her she could
give even further details. "They say Gurgen Margarian was killed
by a Turk. And who killed my daughter? I am sure the weapon belongs
to Baghdasarov and it is the job of law-enforcement bodies to find
out how it came to Raya Margarian". As a help to the law-enforcement
bodies Ms. Mouradian assumes: "The daughter of Doctor Hunan, a doctor
in Ashotavan village, Sisian is on familiar terms with Baghdasarov’s
family and my daughter was killed with Baghdasarov’s weapon given
to Doctor Hunan’s daughter as a gift. The latter has passed the
weapon to Raya Margarian. I am ready to give further details to the
law-enforcement bodies, in case they are interested."

Panorama.am

16:43 05/04/2008

CHAMPION IN MKRTCHYAN-KRUSH DEFINED

The champion in Lilit Lazarian and Irina Krush
confrontation is defined in the last round. Armenian
four-fold champion and GM Lilit Lazarian lost her
game in the fourth round with the USA two-fold
champion Irina Krush. The confrontation in the first
three rounds was equal, whereas in the last round
defined 1.5:2.5 against Armenian champion.

Note that Lazarian-Krush competition was organized by
the chairman of the Northern America Chess Federation
Association Armenian Sevak Muradyan. The competition
was held in Chicago in 31March – 4April.

Source: Panorama.am

7TH MEETING OF THE EC-ARMENIA SUB-COMMITTEE

armradio.am
03.04.2008 10:56

On April 2, 2008 the 7th regular of the EC-Armenia Sub-Committee on
Trade, Economic and Related Legal Issues was held in Yerevan.

The co-chairman from the Armenian side was Deputy Minister of Trade
and Economic Development Mr. Vahe Danielyan, and the European side was
represented by Mr. Andres-Maldonado, Head of Unit, Southern Caucasus
and Central Asia Unit (RELEX).

Representatives from Armenian ministries, H.E. Raul de Luzenberger,
Ambassador, Head of the EC Delegation to Armenia, other members
of the Delegation and representatives from the European Commission
participated in the meeting.

During the meeting the following topics were discussed – implementation
of Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed between RA and EU
and issues related to the implementation of the ENP Action Plan,
including Armenia’s economic development since the previous meeting,
and improvement of the investment and business climate.

The parties also discussed possible options for further strengthening
bilateral trade relations, including the state of play of the EU
feasibility study on the possible creation of a Free Trade Area between
the RA and the EU, the possible granting of Market Economy Status by
the EU to Armenia, and possibilities for Armenia to benefit more from
the EU’s Generalized System of Preferences and to perhaps gain access
to the EU’s enhanced Generalised System of Preferences known as GSP+..

INVESTIGATORS FIND EVIDENCE TO SUE ELECTION COMMISSION CHAIRMAN

ARMENPRESS
April 2, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 2, ARMENPRESS: Prosecutors from the special
investigative service of the Office of the Prosecutor-General said
they ended inquiry into a criminal case involving the chairman of
a polling station in Yerevan who is facing charges of rigging the
results of last month’s presidential election.

Sona Truzian, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Prosecutor-General,
said to Armenpress that investigators found ample evidence proving
that Seyran Mkrtumian, chairman of a precinct commission in Yerevan’s
Erebuni district, stole the envelope with 146 ballots cast in favor
of ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian after a recount procedure.

The incident occurred on February 23. The recount was watched by
proxies of candidates, journalists and international observers.

She said the recount showed that 151 ballots cast in favor of Levon
Ter-Petrosian were put into the envelope that contained ballots cast
in favor of Serzh Sarkisian. She said the man also falsified the
protocol to cover the crime.

She said Mkrtumian pleaded guilty. The case was sent to a court
for trial.

RA MFA: AZERBAIJAN’ POLICY MAY BE DESCRIBED AS EXTREMELY NERVOUS

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2008 14:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The policy of Azerbaijani leaders may be described
as extremely nervous. They frustrated prospective presidential meeting
in Bucharest. They constantly violate the ceasefire. However, Baku
will gain nothing. The document on the table exactly mentions of the
right of Karabakhi people to self-determination," Armenia’s Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian said a joint news conference with head of
AGO group, Swedish Ambassador to the CoE Per Sjogren.

The Minister also emphasized that the advertised ballyhoo about an
‘Azeri genocide’ has nothing to do with the truth. "It’s immoral to
use the term Genocide to suit own ends and mislead the international
community. The 1918 events Azerbaijan is shouting about have nothing
in common with the Nagorno Karabakh conflict," he underscored.

For his part, Mr Sjogren noted that AGO group supports endeavors of
the OSCE MG for a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict. "We
believe that the problem can be settled via dialogue at the highest
level," he said.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 29 2008

Polish citizens advised to avoid Nagorno Karabakh

[ 29 Mar 2008 12:04 ]

Baku. Tamara Grigoryeva-APA. Polish Foreign Ministry has called its
citizens to avoid visiting Armenia, APA reports quoting Polish
Foreign Ministry.

Official Warsaw called its citizens to avoid visiting Armenia,
because of tense situation in Armenia on March 6. Moreover, Polish
Foreign Ministry has advised its citizens to avoid visiting Nagorno
Karabakh. The Ministry stated that this recommendation was a
character of information and could not be a base for any criticism.

XVIII AGBU WORLD GAMES TO BE HELD IN URUGUAY IN JULY

Noyan Tapan
March 28, 2008

The XVIII Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) World Games will be
held in Montevideo, Uruguay in July. Armenian athletes from all over
the globe will gather in Montevideo, Uruguay for the XVIII AGBU World
Games. For the first time the event was hosted by Beirut in 1955. Past
host cities have included Buenos Aires, Sydney, Paris and Los Angeles.