Author: Harutyunian Christine

LOCAL TESTING HAS ALREADY KICKED OFF IN THE ARMENIAN-CHINESE RUBBER FACTORY WHICH IS BEING CONSTRUCTED IN CHINA

ARMENPRESS
June 16, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS: Local testing has already kicked off
in the Armenian-Chinese rubber factory which is being constructed in
China on nearly 100 hectares of territory. The construction mounting
works have already finished.

Vice Director of "Nairit-2" factory Albert Sukiasian told Armenpress
that the local testing will be followed by the general testing after
which the factory will be exploited which is intended at the end of
this year.

The entire sum of project of construction of Armenian-Chinese factory
reaches more than 140 million USD. Armenia is the shareholder of 40%
of the factory and China – 60%. Armenia’s main investment in this
project is the mental property in respect of the newest technologies
of rubber production which ensure high security of production and
few wastes. A. Sukiasian stresses the importance that during the
reproduction the Chinese rich experience will also be implemented. The
Armenian technologies of rubber production have been inputted and
implemented in Armenia yet since 1993-1994.

On the initial round the factory is intended to produce 30 000 tons of
rubber annually. According to A. Sukiasian there are also prospects for
the increase of volumes of production conditioned by the demand. The
factory product must entirely be consumed in China where, according
to him, there is a quite extended market.

HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN: "I AM AWARE OF THE SITUATION CREATED"

Panorama.am
20:27 15/06/2009

On June 15 President of the National Assembly Mr. Hovik Abrahamyan
received the members of the board of Memorial Human Rights,
Historical-Educational and Charitable Society. Chairman of the NA
Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs,
deputies Mrs. Goharik Yenokyan and Mr. Viktor Dallakyan participated
in the meeting, NA public relations department reported.

Welcoming the guests the President of the Armenian Parliament noted
that on June 14 was the 60th anniversary of sending thousands
of repressed Armenian families into exile to Altay by Stalin
regime in 1949. He noted that from 1955 the USSR had tried to
restore their rights, and in 1994 the newly independent Armenia
passed a law, by which it tried to provide some privileges to the
repressed. Mr. H. Abrahamyan told his guests that he had received their
letter and was aware of the situation created around the privileges
envisaged for the repressed.

He highlighted the legislative initiative of NA deputies Mr. Viktor
Dallakyan, Mrs. Goharik Yenokyan and Mr. Vardan Bostanjyan, which had
already been sent to the Government and NA relevant standing committee.

During free discussion the participants expressed their
viewpoints around the problems of the protection of rights of the
repressed. Mr. Abrahamyan proposed to continue the discussion of this
problem, involving authorized representatives of the government and
the repressed. He stressed that it will be possible to create a draft
law, complying with the interests of the public and the repressed
through dialogue.

ARMENIA, SCR NEED FOR POTI-SOUTH CAUCASUS FERRY: YAKUNIN

ARKA
June 15, 2009

YEREVAN, June 15. /ARKA/. Both the South Caucasus Railway (SCR) and
Armenia need for Poti-Caucasus ferry, Chairman of the SCR Directorial
Board Valdimir Yakunin was quoted as saying last week.

"We believe the ferry will enable us to optimize tariffs and implement
a through tariff rate," he added.

The Black Sea Ferries Ltd , owned 51% by the Russian Railways,
operates the Poti-Caucasus route.

Yakunin stressed that the Russian Railways became the owner of the
ferry to optimize in Russian shipment tariffs in Armenia. After the
Yerevan meeting, Yakunin intended to visit the Caucasus port to agree
with the owners on though tariffs.

He pointed out freight owners complaining about high shipment tariffs.

"They forget that railway tariffs comprise only 50% of the shipment
price," Yakunin added.

He stressed the need for a uniform shipment price for freight
owners.

ARMENIA FUND BUILDS NEW SCHOOL IN ARTSAKH’S GISHI VILLAGE

armradio.am
15.06.2009 10:52

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has begun construction of a new school
in Gishi, a village in Nagorno Karabakh’s Martuni Region. The project
is sponsored by the Vardanyan Family Foundation and the government
of Artsakh.

Designed to accommodate 300 students, the future campus will have
12 classrooms, a computer room, and laboratories for the study of
chemistry, physics, and biology. The school will also feature a
sizeable gym, a first-aid room, a library, an events hall, and a
cafeteria with a 140-person capacity.

"Of the wide range of projects implemented by the Hayastan All-Armenian
Fund, I would be hard-pressed to single out the most important ones,"
said Ara Vardanyan, the fund’s executive director. "I think all
of our projects are urgently needed. Still, it’s worth noting that
our school-building initiatives hold a special place in our hearts,
and continue to be carried out with particular care and a sense of
responsibility with respect to our present and future generations."

Gishi’s existing school, which is attended by 220 students, is in a
state of disrepair. Its two crumbling buildings were constructed in
1930 and 1968, respectively.

Commenting on the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund project, Gishi mayor
Gevorg Balayan expressed his strong belief that the new school will
0D help foster educational excellence, by improving the quality of
the pedagogical and learning processes alike.

LEVON TER-PETROSYAN: TO GAIN RESIGNATION OF PRESIDENT SARGSYAN ARMENIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS [ANC] IS READY TO COOPERATE WITH ANY POLITICAL FORCE

ArmInfo
2009-06-12 20:51:00

Arminfo. To gain resignation of President Sargsyan Armenian National
Congress [ANC] is ready to cooperate with any political force, the
first president of Armenia, leader of ANC Levon Ter-Petrosyan said
at today’s rally near the Matenadaran.

"I offer the Armenian oppositional political forces to unify around
a common political platform. In particular, we should take steps not
to admit ungrounded concessions on the Karabakh problem, as well as
to return the NKR to the negotiation table, release the political
prisoners, create an independent an international commission on
investigation of the March 1 events, hold snap parliamentary and
presidential elections, and demand resignation of Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan",- he said.

"The Armenian National Congress is ready to cooperate with any
political party. I want to mention that this is a preliminary platform
which will be changed and amended as a result of negotiations with
the forces concerned",- Ter-Petrosyan said.

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
PACE summer session: the state of human rights in Europe

Strasbourg, 12.06.2009 – A biennial debate on "the state of human rights
in Europe", focusing on the need to eradicate impunity and the progress
of the Assembly’s monitoring procedure, is a highlight of the summer
session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in
Strasbourg on 22-26 June 2009. The first ever PACE Human Rights Prize is
due to be awarded at a ceremony on this occasion.

Irish President Mary McAleese and Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor
will address the parliamentarians. Other speakers include the Chairman
of the Committee of Ministers, Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel
®bogar, and Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis.

The election of the new Secretary General of the Council of Europe is on
the draft agenda. The Assembly will adopt its agenda at the opening of
the session. There has also been a request for an urgent debate on the
process for electing the Secretary General.

The Assembly will debate a proposal that its Bureau restore Special
Guest status to the Belarus Parliament, and will discuss the latest in a
series of reports on the functioning of democratic institutions in
Armenia.

Parliamentarians will also discuss the challenges of the financial
crisis to the world economic institutions, as well as the activities of
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 2008, with a
statement by its President Thomas Mirow.

They are also due to decide on the establishment of a "partner for
democracy" status with the Assembly, aimed at the parliaments of
neighbouring countries who wish to espouse Council of Europe values.

Finally, the Assembly will consider a challenge to the credentials of
the Ukrainian delegation on substantial grounds, made by 20 members of
the Assembly.

****

The Assembly will adopt its final agenda at the opening of the session.

Draft agenda

Monday 22 June 2009 (opening at 11.30 am)

* Opening of the session and statement by the President

* Adoption of the agenda

* Progress report of the Bureau of the Assembly and the Standing
Committee

* Statement by Theo-Ben Gurirab, President of the Inter-Parliamentary
Union

* Communication from the Committee of Ministers to the Parliamentary
Assembly presented by Samuel ®bogar, Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Slovenia, Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers

* Statement by Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of
Europe

Tuesday 23 June 2009

* Election of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe

* Situation in Belarus
< 3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11939.htm>

* Address by Mary McAleese, President of Ireland

* Election of a judge to the European Court of Human Rights with
respect to San Marino
< D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11940.htm>

* The activities of the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) in 2008: reinforcing economic and democratic
stability
< ain.asp?link=3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11 938.htm> , and statement by EBRD President Thomas Mirow

* The challenges of the financial crisis to the world economic
institutions
< Main.asp?link=3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC1 1944.htm>

* Reconsideration on substantial grounds of previously ratified
credentials of the Ukrainian delegation (Rule 9 of the Assembly’s Rules
of Procedure)

Wednesday 24 June 2009

* Election of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe
(possible second round)

* The state of human rights in Europe: the need to eradicate
impunity
< n.asp?link=3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC1193 4.htm> , and statement by Antonio Cassese, President of the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon and former President of the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

* Ceremony to award the 2009 Human Rights Prize of the Parliamentary
Assembly to the NGO British Irish Rights Watch

* Election of a judge to the European Court of Human Rights with
respect to San Marino
< D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11940.htm> (possible second round)

* The state of human rights in Europe and the progress of the
Assembly’s monitoring procedure
< k=3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11941.htm> , and statements by Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty
International, and Holly Cartner, Director for Europe and Central Asia
of Human Rights Watch

* Europe’s forgotten people: protecting the human rights of
long-term displaced persons
< 3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11942.htm> , and statement by Walter Kälin, Special Representative of
the UN Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced
persons

* The functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia

Thursday 25 June 2009

* Possible urgent debate or Lobbying in a democratic society
(European Code of conduct on lobbying)
< k=3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11937.htm>

* Address by Borut Pahor, Prime Minister of Slovenia

* The funding of public service broadcasting
< link=3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11848.htm& gt;

* Renewable energies and the environment
< ink=3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11918.htm&g t;

* Nuclear energy and sustainable development
< ink=3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11914.htm&g t;

Friday 26 June 2009

* Establishment of a "Partner for democracy" status with the
Parliamentary Assembly
< =3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11913.htm>

* History teaching in conflict and post-conflict areas
< /Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11919.htm>

* The urgent need to combat so-called "honour crimes"
< link=3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11943.htm& gt;

* Draft Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local
Self-Government on the Right to Participate in the Affairs of a Local
Authority
< sp?link=3D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11935.h tm>

* Draft Protocol No. 3 to the European Outline Convention on
Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or
Authorities concerning Euroregional co-operation groupings (ECGs)
< D/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11936.htm>

Practical information

Press conferences: Lluís Maria de Puig, PACE President, will give a
press conference on Monday 22 June at 10.45 a.m., to be broadcast live
on the Assembly’s website at
Other press conferences will be announced on the spot.

Further details: see the Assembly’s website,
< t/> . Additional information may also be found on
the Council of Europe web portal,

For TV planning units: videos in broadcast quality summing up PACE
highlights can be downloaded for free at
<; no later than two hours after the event.

Contact: PACE Communication Unit: tel. +33 3 88 41 31 93;
[email protected]

For accreditation: Danielle Schreiber-Somoza, Directorate of
Communication, [email protected]
<mailto:danie [email protected]> , tel. +33 3 88 41 25 44

Press Release
Parliamentary Assembly – Communication Unit
Ref: 464a09
Tel. +33 (0)3 88 41 31 93
Fax +33 (0)3 90 21 41 34
Internet:
e-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

The Parliamentary Assembly brings together 318 members from the national
parliaments of the 47 member states.
President: Lluís Maria de Puig (Spain, SOC) – Secretary General of the
Assembly: Mateo Sorinas.
Political groups: EPP/CD (Group of the European People’s Party); SOC
(Socialist Group); EDG (European Democrat Group);
ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe); UEL (Group of the
Unified European Left).

IFC TO ISSUE US $5MLN CREDIT TO ARDSHININVESTBANK (ARMENIA)

/ARKA/
June 10, 2009
YEREVAN

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will issue a US $5mln
credit to Ardshininvestbank (Armenia).

Ardshininvestbank Board Vice-Chairman Sergey Virabyan and IFC Regional
Director for Central and Eastern Europe Snezana Stojlkovic signed a
relevant agreement in Yerevan today.

Following the signing ceremony, Virabyan pointed out that the credit
line is another of the bank’s achievements, which will allow clients
to receive new products and services.

"Amid the crisis we afford our clients an opportunity to use new
flexible financial instruments in the trade sector thereby supporting
not only businesses, but also the country’s economy," Virabyan said.

Stojlkovic pointed out the importance of the funds for the bank in the
context of ample opportunities for businessmen to survive the crisis.

She said that the credit terms are not yet being published, but the
emphasis will be placed on small-to-medium businesses, including the
energy efficiency sector.

Emphasis will be placed on projects that will enhance Armenian
companies’ competitiveness and maintain their expenses, especially
during the financial crisis, Stojlkovic said.

Vice-Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Vache Gabrielyan
pointed out the importance of attracting foreign funds to business
and economy.

He also stressed the importance of IFC programs20in Armenia, Gabrielyan
said that the cooperation will give impetus to Ardshininvestbank’s
development.

The bank is to use the credit to fund foreign trade, particularly
the foreign transactions effected by Armenian companies to promote
trade inside the country.

Thus, Ardshininvestbank has been involved in the IFC’s global program
of trade financing and can now get connected to the international
banking network rendering standard financial services to the foreign
trade sector.

The IFC credit also enables Ardshininvestbank to enlarge the range of
banking services and reduce commercial risks of Armenian businessmen
working in the international trade sector.

Ardshininvestbank joined the IFC program of promoting international
trade as an issuing bank and has been connected to the global
network of banks rendering assistance top trade and financial
organizations. Enhancing the bank’s potential for financing trade,
IFC plans to increase developing countries’ share in the global trade
and promote the turnover of goods and services between the countries.

Under the global trade financing program launched in 2005, the IFC
provides partial and full guarantees for individual transactions and
covers the risk-bearing expenses of issuing banks. The program helps
issuing banks to increase the volume of business due to competitive
prices.

Amid the global financial and economic crisis, the IFC augmented the
funding of th e trade financing program from US $.15bln to US $3bln.

The Ardshinivestbank CJSC received License #83 on February 23,
2007. The principal stockholders of the bank are the Region investment
and financial company (86.82%) and, since late 2007, the International
Finance Corporation (10%). The bank is an affiliate member of the
MasterCard/Europay system and a stockholder of the Armenian Card CJSC,
a card operation system in Armenia.

As of March 31, the bank’s capital totaled 26.6bln AMD, assets 121.1bln
AMD, liabilities 94.5bln AMD, net profit 1.3bln AMD (January-March
2009).

As of February 6, 2009, the bank had 49 branches in Armenia and six
branches in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). The bank also has
a representative office in Paris, France.

PARTICIPANTS OF GLOBAL FORUM ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION SPEAK ABOUT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

OSLO
JUNE 8, 2009
NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY

"Law and policy of genocide denial" was discussed during one of the
Global Forum on Freedom of Expression meetings taking place in the
capital city of Norway Oslo on June 1-6 with the participation of
88 organizations.

According to the Marmara daily, participant of the meeting Turkish
historian and publisher Ragip Zaracolu has classed the events of
1915 in Ottoman Turkey as a "genocide". At that moment a person, who
had presented himself as a Turkish Embassy representative in Sweden,
asked a permission for speech and said, that in 1915 the Armenians had
been displaced not for being Armenians, but for cooperating with the
enemy. He announced that each country can pass such laws to provide
its security. Turkish Embassy representative’s declaration has raised
doubtfulness among the presents and has been criticized. Zaracolu
has particularly noted that there are laws in Turkey which forbid to
speak about the 1915 genocide and he himself has been condemned for
speaking about it.

The head of Jewish Holocaust survivor and heir group Yeal Daniely
told that if the mass media do not do their duty concerning this
theme, not only the truth will not be revealed but also the press
will promote the memory to disappear.

The representative of Oslo Holocaust and Religious Minority Research
Center Anton Wais-Went has noted in his turn that he does not believe
that the Genocide denial can be prevented by the decisions of the
courts. "The expectations are so great that we can have a real
disappointment if we expect the court to recognize the Genocide and
introduce facts," he told.

MAYOR’S INAUGURATION SCHEDULED ON 11 JUNE

Panorama.am
14:37 08/06/2009

Yerevan City Council first sitting has been conducted today chaired
by the council member Astghik Gevorgyan.

Congratulating all the council members, Mrs. Gevorgyan said that it’s
a historic day. Mrs. Gevorgyan ensured that all the council members
are ready to get devoted to meet the problems that Yerevan faces and
to be by the mayor when needed. "We do not have but other interests
to make our lovely Yerevan more beautiful and prosperous.

I am sure we have all the intellectual skills to meet all the
challenges," Mrs. Gevorgyan said.

Taking into account that the Republican Party received the majority
of voices in the Yerevan City Council elections (more than 50%),
the mayor’s candidate nominated by the party Gagik Beglaryan becomes
the Mayor of Yerevan. During the sitting the council adopted two
decisions: first, mayor’s inauguration event is scheduled on 11 June,
at 11:00am by local time. And the second: Yerevan City Council first
plenary session is scheduled on 23 June.

and sites merge

Yerevan, June 6, Noyan Tapan – Armenians Today: Editorial board of the
BAGIN news center announced about its decision to unite their web-site
with the news web site of the ARMENIA Today. As it is
reported, all information materials and news covering the life of the
Armenian region Samtskhe-Javakhq-Tsalka will become available on the
ARMENIA Today’ web site: