Author: Chmshkian Vicken

PROSECUTOR GENERALS OF ARMENIA, RUSSIA SIGN A MEMORANDUM OF COOPERATION
Gita Elibekyan

"Radiolur"
13.02.2009 10:59

Xenophobia and radicalism against Armenians really exist in Russia,
Russia’s Prosecutor General Yuri Chayka declared in Yerevan. In his
words, the number of such crimes is gradually increasing.

"Xenophobia and radicalism really exist. We see it and we are aware
of it. Two years ago we opened a special department at the Prosecutor
General’s Office, and the issue is in the focus of the President’s
attention. We are doing a great work in that direction," Chayka said.

As for the murder of the Armenian family in Moscow yesterday, Chayka
was not aware of the fact.

The Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation is in Armenia for
a working visit. Today the Prosecutor Generals of Armenia and Russia
Aghvan Hovsepyan and Yuri Chayka signed a Memorandum of Cooperation
for 2009-2011.

PANEL ON GENOCIDE DRAMA AT CUNY GRADUATE CENTER ARTS CONFERENCE IN NYC, FEB. 13-14

AZG Armenian Daily
14/02/2009

Culture

Taking place at the CUNY Graduate Center (365 fifth ave. NYC) on Friday
February 13 and Saturday February 14, this two-day conference is the
third incarnation of a live forum for the exchange of work and dreams
among the far-flung members of a virtual network between theatres
and the academy – a band of playwrights, directors, actors, producers
and musicians from across the United States called No Passport.

The conference curators are Caridad Svich (founder), Randy Gener,
Patricia Ybarra (Brown University) and Frank Hentschker, with the
support of The Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance, The Internationalists,
Theatre Without Borders and Frank Hentschker. To RSVP, call
212.817.8215 or send an email to [email protected].

The conference will focus on a wide range of contemporary works
for theatre and performance, viewing historical memory, legacy and
r/evolutionary art from a variety of formal perspective. Topics that
will be addressed in panels and works-in-progress include: US Latino/a
and African-American theatre history and cross-generational paradigms
for artistic production, conflicts and mis-readings of aesthetic
diversity vis-a-vis identity politics and post-racial sensibilities,
migration and exile as they affect content and form; genocide drama
and the representation of sacrifice on stage; the ecologies of theatre
criticism in the US; queer dis-identifications in Latino/a theatre;
new media, dramaturgy and hybrid performances, and the unfixing of
international theatre. There will also be a book launch for four new
volumes from NoPassport Press.

The "Genocide Drama" panel which will be led by president of the
Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance, playwright Bianca Bagatourian, will
take place on Saturday, Feb. 14th from 2:30-3:30 pm in the Martin
Segal Theater and is open to the public. The panelists include Marcy
Arlin, Artistic Director of Immigrants’ Theatre Project in NYC; Stacie
Chaiken, writer-performer and instructor at the USC school of theater;
Alexander Dinelaris, playwright and author of the play Red Dog Howls;
Catherine Filloux, award-winning author of the play Lemkin’s House;
J.T. Rogers, whose last play The Overwhelming was seen at the NFT and
the Roundabout theater; and Kelly Stuart, playwright and faculty member
at Columbia University. Various angles on the topic of "Genocide"
and how it is portrayed in drama today will be discussed as well as
the relevance of theater as an art form that reflects the current
dialogue of today.

NoPassport, founded by Caridad Svich as a Pan-American theatre
alliance & press devoted to action, advocacy, and change toward the
fostering of cross-cultural diversity and difference in the arts with
an emphasis on the embrace of the hemispheric spirit in US Latino/a
and Latin-American theatre-making.

The Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance strives to fulfill its mission
of projecting the Armenian voice on a world stage through theater
and film by offering contests for new writing, play readings and
various educational programs. For more information, please see

CYPRUS GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES 153 000 EURO

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.02.2009 13:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Reconstruction of the Armenian cemetery in Nicosia
will be accomplished in April-May 2009, the Secretariat of the Armenian
Church of Cyprus told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The Government of the Republic of Cyprus has generously assigned 153
000 euro for the project with total cost of 300 000 euro.

Restoration of the chapel, outer walls, preservation of existing
tombstones is already in progress. The cemetery will also be supplied
with electricity and water. A monument will also be erected on the
site in memory of those buried.

It is planned to celebrate holy mass followed by a memorial service
in the chapel of the cemetery on the Sunday after Easter every year.

The Secretariat also called for donations essential to complete
the works.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: TURKEY DOES NOT ACT AS A MEDIATOR IN NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

Regnum
tml
Feb 11 2009
Russia

"The negotiations over Nagorno Karabakh conflict are not conducted
through mediation of Turkey," announced Tigran Balayan, the spokesman
of Armenian Foreign Ministry commenting on the information of Turkish
"Hurriyet" that by the support of Turkey agreements had been achieved
over Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The spokesman added , that Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan has announced many times that the
negotiations on the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict are held
in the framework of the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs based on Madrid
principles.

Earlier "Hurrieyt" published an article that Armenia and Azerbaijan
have agreed upon four points of draft resolution aiming to settle the
conflict. According to draft Armenia should return back some cities,
being under control of Nagorno Karabakh, Karabakh itself will be ruled
by intermediate authorities, Kelbadjar region will be returned back
to Azerbaijan, when the Nagorno Karabakh status is defined. Railroad
communication connecting Armenia and Azerbaijan will be opened and
near the border between Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh will be allocated
peacekeeping forces.

8MLN VENTURE FUND ESTABLISHED IN ARMENIA

ARKA
Feb 10, 2009

YEREVAN, February 10. /ARKA/. A $8mln venture fund for agricultural
crediting has been established in Armenia under the sponsorship of
the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The venture fund is one of the two components of the program Market
Opportunities for Farmers, which is IFAD’s 5th investment program
in Armenia, Alexander Kalantaryan, Foreign Relations Executive,
Office for Analysis and Management of the Rural Development Program,
RA Ministry of Agriculture, told ARKA.

He said that 4-year program was launched last May.

"The total cost of the program is $37mln, with IFAD loan and grant
reaching 17mln and the share of the OPEC International Development
Fund $14mln. The rest is to be provided by the Armenian Government,"
Kalantaryan said.

He pointed out that the venture fund will allocate $7.3mln to
agricultural enterprises.

Kalantaryan reported that the program is aimed to assist agricultural
enterprises.

"If any enterprise wants to introduce modern technologies for further
development, it may apply to the venture fund. The fund will acquire
25 to 40 per cent of the enterprises’ shares for a particular period
and under particular programs. After the programs have been completed,
enterprises will redeem their shares," Kalantaryan said.

As programs are implemented, the venture fund will be involved in
managing the en terprises and elaborating their strategies.

An IFAD delegation is to pay a visit to Armenia this March to discuss
further investment programs, Kalantaryan said.

He also stressed that the Fund for Rural Economic Development in
Armenia (FREDA) has been established under the RA Government’s
resolution and will launch activities in a few months.

IFAD has sponsored a number of agricultural projects in Armenia worth
a total of $64.2mln. The first program was launch as far back as 1996
and aimed at the renovation of irrigation networks.

RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS BY USE OF FORCE DANGEROUS AND HAS NO PERSPECTIVE

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.02.2009 19:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met Tuesday with
OSCE PA Special Representative on Nagorno Karabakh Goran Lennmarker
to discuss the ways of the conflict resolution, normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations and the Eastern Partnership initiative.

The Armenian President stressed the importance of the OSCE Minsk
Group activities and inadmissibility of resolution of conflicts by
use of force.

For his part, Mr. Lennmarker assessed positively the negotiation
process and also welcomed Armenia’s efforts for normalization of the
Armenian -Turkish relations, the RA leader’s press office reports.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Sahakyan, Kasprzyk duscuss Karabakh settlement process
07.02.2009 13:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ NKR President Bako Sahakyan met Friday with Personal
Representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office, Ambassador Andrzej
Kasprzyk to discuss recent regional developments and
Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement process, Central Information
Department of the Office of the NKR President told PanARMENIAN.Net.

Panorama.am
13:11 07/02/2009

VIVACELL-MTS TO PROVIDE NEW SERVICE

VivaCell-MTS Company announces that since 6 February their subscribers
roaming in Russia can recharge their accounts or settle invoices
through Intercoopbank’s network of 451 electronic payment terminals
and ATMs located in Moscow and surrounding territories, reports the
press service of the Company.

Payments are accepted in cash ranging from RUB 10 to 5,000, and the
maximum amount of one transaction is RUB 30,000. The commission fee
per single transaction is 5%.

In the future the net will be expanded and CIS countries will be also
included in the list of service.

Source: Panorama.am

PROCREDIT BANK TOTAL CUSTOMER FUNDS GREW BY USD 9.3 MILLION

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.02.2009 17:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ ProCredit Bank is celebrating its first anniversary
in Armenia together with clients On February 5, 2009.

The first year was a successful one for ProCredit Bank in
Armenia. During 2008 five new branches opened their doors to customers,
four in Yerevan and one in Vanadzor city. Today, the ProCredit team
in Armenia comprises more than 200 young and talented individuals
who dedicate their efforts to delivering best service to our clients.

The bank’s gross loan portfolio grew to USD 24 million. 90% of
loans in the business loan portfolio were for amounts less than
USD 10,000. This figure demonstrates the bank’s clear commitment to
serving small entrepreneurs as its core target group.

During the last twelve months the bank’s total customer funds grew
by USD 9.3 million and the total number of customer accounts reached
6,700. The majority of the customer funds are placed on savings and
term deposit accounts, 80% of which are for amounts less than USD
1,000. Such a large number of small savings demonstrate the bank’s
focus on becoming the bank for "ordinary people" who will have access
to fair and transparent banking services.

In the future, ProCredit Bank in Armenia will remain focused on lending
to very small, small, and medium sized businesses, as the bank is
convinced that these businesses create the largest number of jobs and
make a sizeable contribution to the economy of Armenia. ProCredit Bank
will also continue encouraging a savings culture in Armenia, as the
bank believes that savings add stability to households in the long
term. To serve as many clients as possible, in 2009 up to seven new
branches will be opened throughout Armenia which will allow ProCredit
Bank to increase its outreach in Yerevan and in the country’s regions.

"ProCredit Banks around the world have become one of the leading
banks in terms of financing very small, small, and medium enterprises
as well as reliable partners for private individuals, and ProCredit
Bank in Armenia has also set course on reaching this goal. We will
continue offering our clients simple, easy-to-understand products,
complimented by our high quality service," said Bertolt Hertzfeldt,
executive director of ProCredit Bank.

T. SARGSIAN SAYS "ORANGE ARMENIA" TO BRING A NEW BUSINESS CULTURE IN ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
Feb 3, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsian received today the chief director of "France Telecom (Orange
Armenia)" company Bruno Dyutua. Ambassador of France to Armenia
Serge Smessow and director-shareholder of "Grand Thornton Amio"
company Arman Pinarbasi also took part in the meeting.

Press service of the Armenian government told Armenpress that greeting
the entrance of France Telecom to Armenia the prime minister noted
that for a long time there has been a necessity of activity of another
serious company in the Armenian telecommunication sphere.

Mr. Bruno Dyutua thanked the Armenian prime minister and the
government for holding a tender of international standards as well
as for providing of favorable conditions for business activity.

Presenting the activity of one of the world’s leading operators in
the telecommunication sphere "France Telecom", Mr. Dyutua noted that
"Orange Armenia" is still in the stage of formation and intends to
finish the preparatory works by the end of the year and start the
activity within these periods.

He informed that during 2009 the company intends to make additional
investments of another 70 million USD, aiming to conduct activity
not only in the capital but also in the provinces of the republic
involving as wide circles of population as possible.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian signified the entrance of "France
Telecom" to Armenian market from different viewpoints. First the
competition in the telecommunication sphere increases as a result
of which consumers win, it also means new investments and new job
places. According to the prime minister, this circumstance is most
important in the present conditions of world financial crisis. Tigran
Sargsian expressed confidence that "Orange Armenia" will bring a new
business culture to Armenia with it.

The prime minister said that as a result of all these the activity
of the company will also contribute to the further development of
Armenian-French friendly relations.

At the end of the meeting the Armenian prime minister wished success
to "France Telecom (Orange Armenia)" company in its activity in
our country.