Author: Frangulian Shushan

GAS, WATER AND POWER TARIFFS TO RISE IN ARMENIA FROM APRIL 1ST

Noyan Tapan

M arch 2, 2009

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, NOYAN TAPAN. At the February 27 sitting, the RA
Public Services Regulatory Commission made a decision to establish the
following tariffs of natural gas sold to comsumers by ArmRusgazprom
CJSC (starting from April 1st): the tariff of gas sold to consumers of
up to 10 thousand cubic meters of natural gas will make 96 thousand
drams, the tariff of gas sold to consumers of 10 thousand and more
cubic meters of natural gas will make a sum equivalent to 215 USD.

By another decision of the Commission, the tariff of one kilowatt of
electric power sold to consumers by Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC
was established at 30 drams. A tariff of 179.78 drams was established
for one cubic meter of drinking water supplied to consumers by
ArmWaterCanal CJSC.

ON FEBRUARY 27, 2009, RA PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN LEFT FOR MOSCOW ON A ONE-DAY WORKING VISIT TO DISCUSS AN ARMENIA-RUSSIA ECONOMIC COOPERATION-RELATED AGENDA

Monda y, 2 March 2009

On February 27, 2009, RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan left for Moscow
on a one-day working visit to discuss an Armenia-Russia economic
cooperation-related agenda. First, the Prime Minister met with RF
Central Bank Chairman Sergey Ignatyev. The parties looked at the
steps taken by the Central Bank of Russia towards the maintenance of
financial stability and exchanged views on those actions underway in
both countries to mitigate the negative impact of the global financial
crisis. A key item on the meeting agenda was the crediting of Armenian
real sector enterprises on the part of the Interstate Bank.

During a private meeting, co-chairmen of the intergovernmental
commission on economic cooperation Tigran Sargsyan and Igor Levitin
spoke about the traditional spheres of bilateral cooperation. In
particular, they addressed the steps underway in the energy and
transport sectors along with their timings and related problems.

At the Armenian Embassy in Moscow, the Prime Minister met with the
representatives of business circles. Tigran Sargsyan delivered a
keynote speech entitled "Armenia: the strategy of the future." Both
the theses and ideas reflected in the speech were given a favorable
consideration on the part of those present. Russian scientist Vorontsov
who had closely cooperated with Armenian engineers on road building
projects in Yerevan, noted: "While I am Russian, but I am a citizen of
the Armenian world." The businessmen proved to be interested in a broad
range of questions concerning different spheres of economy – energy
sector reforms, infrastructure development, small and medium-size
enterprise support, incentives for the real sector and development of
tourism in the Armenian world. Tigran Sargsyan suggested cooperating
closely with the Business Support Council of Armenia, The Project
Implementation Agency, the Operative Headquarters and the Armenian
Development Agency.

During the meeting with the head of RF Government, the parties said
to be pleased with the current dynamics of bilateral trade and
discussed questions of mutual interest. Vladimir Putin said that
despite the negative impact of the global financial and economic
crisis, commodity circulation between two countries has grown by
10 % to USD 900 million. He further advised that during a recent
meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in Davos, he had
the opportunity of presenting his government’s economic assistance
programs for Armenia. Said assistance will shortly be translated into
a stabilization credit to the amount of USD 500 million available
to Armenia.

Tigran Sargsyan invited his Russian counterpart to visit Armenia
at his convenience. In accepting 0Athe invitation, Vladimir Putin
informed that the two vice-premiers of Russia, inclusive of Minister
of Regional Development Dmitry Kozak, will soon come to Armenia to
discuss transition to a new stage of economic cooperation.

Turkish Press
Feb 28 2009

Relations With Turkey Better After Cooperation Against Terrorist
Group, Senior U.S. Diplomat Says

Published: 2/28/2009

WASHINGTON – A senior U.S. diplomat said Friday relations between
Turkey and the United States had taken a turn for the better after the
two countries started to cooperate actively against the terrorist
organization PKK.
"Relations are better after Turkey and the U.S. launched in November
2007 an active cooperation against PKK terrorism. The new
administration is going to build relations up on this actual
agenda. Luckily, an era of tensions about Iraq have passed," said Dan
Fried, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs.
Speaking at a press briefing on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton’s prospective foreign visits in March to a number of countries
including Turkey, Fried said Turkey was an important actor in its
region.
"Turkey is an important player who has relations with all the sides in
the Middle East and in the Southern Caucasus. Turkey is a great friend
for the U.S. in issues such as Georgia, Azerbaijan-Armenia relations
and the Upper Karabakh," Fried said.
(ÝMB-SOL)

GAREN YEGPARIAN ADVANCES TO THE RUN-OFF IN HIS RACE FOR BURBANK CITY COUNCIL

armradio.am
26.02.2009 11:41

On April 14, Garen Yegparian hopes to finish in the top 3 out of 6
candidates vying for three seats on the Burbank City Council. On
February 24, with nearly 2,000 votes, Yegparian finished in the
top half of a crowded and competitive field, clearing the way for a
spirited campaign over the next 6 weeks.

"This is the best any Armenian-American council candidate has ever
done in Burbank," Yegparian said to a celebratory crowd of 117 people
at Armenian-owned Fantasia Bar & Billiards Hall in Beautiful Downtown
Burbank.

"My donors, supporters, volunteers and strategists made this possible,"
Yegparian said. "Now we must not miss a beat and forge full-speed-ahead
toward April 14," he added.

Yegparian has been an active force in Burbank over the past 15
years, serving on more appointed boards and commissions than any
other candidate.

The Ivy-league educated Los Angeles City employee is currently the
Chairman of the Burbank Park & Recreation Committee.

Additionally, Yegparian received endorsements from Assemblyman
Paul Krekorian, Burbank School Board President Larry Applebaum,
former Burbank Mayor Todd Campbell, the Sierra Club, the National
Organization for Women and the Armenian National Committee Political
Action Committee (ANC-PAC).

THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND GEORGIA THAT CANNOT BE SOLVED THROUGH A DIALOGUE

Noyan Tapan

F eb 25, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, NOYAN TAPAN. RA President Serzh Sargsyan and
Georgian parliament Speaker David Bakradze, who is in Yerevan on
an official visit, during the February 25 meeting emphasized the
current high level of interstate relations between the two countries,
Armenian and Georgian peoples’ close historic contacts and strong
friendship. Attaching importance to intensive contacts at various
levels, S. Sargsyan mentioned interparliamentary cooperation’s
exclusive significance and said that such visits greatly contribute
to further deepening of friendship.

The interlocutors touched upon the fulfillment process of the
agreements reached within the framework of S. Sargsyan’s visit to
Georgia. The sides emphasized that programs of transport communication,
facilitation of crossing the interstate frontier, those in customs
and other directions will contribute to further development of
Armenian-Georgian economic partnership.

Emphasizing that there are no problems between Armenia and Georgia
that cannot be solved through joint discussions and dialogue, the
interlocutors stressed the necessity of keeping mutual reserve and
balanced approach on issues of vital importance for the two peoples.

According to the report of the RA President’s Press Office, S. Sargsyan
and D. Bakradze also exchanged thoughts about the possible ways
of cooperation within the framework of the EU Eastern Partnership
initiative, anti-crisis events undertaken by the two countries in
conditions of the global financial-economic crisis.

TURKISH SCHOLAR DENIES REMARK ON ARMENIANS

Hurriyet
Feb 25 2009
Turkey

WASHINGTON – A leading Turkish historian has said that a controversial
remark by Adolf Hitler about the Armenians’ claims of "genocide",
which Armenians say inspired the Nazi dictator to launch the Holocaust,
simply did not exist.

Armenians often quote Hitler as having told his aides in 1939, "after
all, who remembers the Armenians" on the eve of Poland’s invasion
and one of the worst points of the Holocaust. But Turkkaya Ataov,
a professor emeritus at Ankara University, told a lecture here late
Monday that this remark did not exist in original Nazi documents.

The Nuremberg court, which punished Nazi leaders in the wake of World
War II, did not accept this remark as true during the trials in 1946,
Ataov told the lecture organized by U.S. Turkish groups at George
Washington University.

He said the quote in this form first appeared in two separate
reports in The New York Times and the London Times on the same day,
on Nov. 24, 1945.

He said the articles had not carried a reporter’s name and only had
the byline, "by our special correspondent."

"There is no indication that Hitler, who was ignorant and an idiot
who led his nation to a disaster, had any comprehensive knowledge
about Turkish-Armenian relations," said Ataov.

Armenians and their supporters claim that nearly 1.5 million Armenians
were killed between 1915 and 1923 by the Ottoman empire, modern
Turkey’s predecessor, qualifying the deaths as "genocide."

MINISTER NALBANDIAN INVITES HIS EGYPTIAN COUNTERPART TO ARMENIA

armradio.am
24.02.2009 13:06

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Egypt, Edward Nalbandian
and Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit discussed a broad range of issues related
to the development of bilateral relations in different spheres,
cooperation within international organizations. The parties noted
that the political dialogue between the two countries is on a high
level and there is a serious potential for expanding the economic
and cultural cooperation.

Edward Nalbandian underlined that Armenia intends to continue the
steps in the direction of deepening comprehensive relations with the
Arab Republic of Egypt.

The Armenian Foreign Minister said that being geographically close to
the Middle East, Armenia is greatly interested in the establishment of
peace and stability in the region. In this context Edward Nalbandian
highly appreciated the role of Egypt in the process of peaceful
resolution of problems existing in the Middle East region.

Ministers Nalbandian and Al-Gheit exchanged views on ensuring and
reinforcing security in the South Caucasus and the Middle East.

Edward Nalabndian invited Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit to pay an official visit
to Armenia.

INFORMAL FORUM OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LEADERS IN ARMENIAN TOWN OF AGHVERAN

ArmInfo
2009-02-23 11:55:00

ArmInfo. Informal Forum of Information Technology Leaders was held in
the Armenian town of Aghveran. The event organizer was the Union of
Information Technology Enterprises (UITE). Deputy Ministers of Economy
and Diaspora, representatives of the National Security Service as well
as Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF), USAID/CAPS, IBM and other
enterprises of the sector participated in the forum. Such forums are
held in Armenia every quarter. The previous forum was in December
2008 in the town of Dilijan. It was dedicated to the taxation and
customs policies of the country.

This time the forum discussed the state of IT-sector in Armenia. UITE
Director Karen Vardanyan said a series of programs are planned
for 2009 including extension of ArmRobotics program and launch
of new programs within the frames of Gyumri technopark. courses>,
K. Vardanyan said. In addition, he said, a number of meetings with
sectors will be held in during the forum of information technologies
DigiTec. ‘This year we would like to gather engineers engaged in
IT-sector and held discussions with them’, K. Vardanyan said. UITE
is one of the organizers of Digitec annual exhibition of information
technologies and Forum DigiTec Business dedicated to integration of
information technologies and business.

As regards the organizational activity of UITE, Karen Vardanyan said
the number of UITE member- enterprises will be increased to 40 (as
against present 28). A three-year strategy developed by UITE in 2007
is to be revised as well.

PROPERTY AND CASH ASSETS OF HAYQ DAILY DISTRAINED

A1+
[02:25 pm] 23 February, 2009

On February 19, 2009, the Judicial Acts Compulsory Enforcement Service
of the Ministry of Justice distrained the property and cash assets
of Hayq daily.

The decision was based on the action filed by Gind printing house
where the daily was printed. The printing house demanded to distress
the property and financial assets of the opposition newspaper at the
rate of about 2 million 677 thousands drams. According to the same
decision the publication of Hayq daily has been stopped.

Daily Star, Lebanon
Feb 21 2009

Vatican, Catholic bishops and Hizbullah allied in condemnation of
Israeli TV show

By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Saturday, February 21, 2009

Catholic bishops in the Holy Land expressed outrage on Friday over
what they called "repulsive attacks" on Jesus Christ and the Virgin
Mary after an Israeli TV program spoofed them. Hizbullah issued a
statement on Thursday condemning the show. "We, the members of the
Assembly of the Catholic Bishops in the Holy Land deplore and condemn
with utter dismay the repulsive attacks on our lord Jesus Christ and
on his mother, the blessed Virgin Mary, carried out on Channel 10 of
the Israeli television," a statement by the bishops said.

Hizbullah said it was "deeply concerned with the insults against the
blessed Virgin Mary and one of our great prophets Jesus Christ."

"Hizbullah puts this heinous offense in the hands of all defenders of
human rights and freedom of belief," it said. "Zionists should put an
end to their racism and their ridicule of religious symbols."

Earlier this week, the private channel broadcast a series of skits,
one of which suggested the Virgin Mary "was impregnated at the age of
15 by a school friend." Another said Jesus died at a young age
"because he was fat" and that his excess weight would have made it
impossible for him to walk on water.

In the program, Israeli comedian Yair Shlein joked that since
Christians "deny the Holocaust, then I want to deny Christianity."
Following protests, he later apologized to Arab Israeli Christian
dignitaries.

The bishops said they viewed "this recent incident in the larger
context of continuous attacks against Christians throughout Israel
over the years" and called for an official investigation.

"It is unconceivable that such incidents have to occur in Israel which
hosts some of the holiest shrines of Christianity," said the
statement, signed by the Latin patriarch of Occupied Jerusalem as well
as Armenian, Chaldean, Greek, Maronite and Syrian Catholic bishops.

The pontiff is scheduled to visit Israel in May. But the Vatican said
Friday it has formally complained to the Israeli government over what
it called an "offensive act of intolerance."

A statement from the Vatican press office said its representative in
Israel complained to the government about the show, which was
broadcast recently on private Channel 10, one of Israel’s three main
TV stations.

The statement said the government quickly assured the Holy See that it
would intervene to interrupt the transmission and get the broadcaster
to publicly apologize. – AFP, with The Daily Star