Author: Kajoyan Gevork

AZG Armenian Daily #128, 11/07/2006

Meeting

FAIR ELECTIONS ARE OF INVALUABLE IMPORTANCE FOR
ARMENIA

Tigran Torosian, Speaker of RA National Assembly, received Vladimir
Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Yerevan Office, today.

Congratulating Mr. Torosian with his new post, Mr.

Pryakhin expressed readiness to assist reformation of RA Electoral Code
and added that transparent elections will be of invaluable importance
for Armenia. The Press Service of RA Parliament informed that Mr.

Torosian stated that in mid July the Armenian parliamentarians will
clarify their approaches to the suggestions received from the Venice
Committee and OSCE on the above-mentioned issue, while in October the
relevant draft law will be adopted. Torosian stated that not only the
legislative reforms but also the improvement of the relations between
the authorities and the opposition may secure democratic elections
in Armenia. He stated the importance of the OSCE assistance and its
role as an unprejudiced observer in the region.

The meetings of RA and Azeri presidents can’t be fruitful unless the
mechanisms that allow find out which of the sides evades to carry out
the undertaken commitments are elaborated. Tigran Torosian, Speaker
of RA Parliament, said this at today’s meeting with Vladimir Pryakhin,
head of the Yerevan Office of OSCE.

PRESIDENT KOCHARYAN VISITED US EMBASSY IN ARMENIA

ArmRadio.am
07.07.2006 13:14

Today President Robert Kocharyan and Mrs. Bela Kocharyan visited the
US Embassy in Armenia. They congratulated Ambassador John Evans and
the Staff of the Embassy on the national holiday of the United States
of America – Independence Day.

Expressing appreciation for the current level of Armenian-American
relations and the pace of development, the President expressed
confidence that the established close ties will continue developing
successfully.

ARMENIAN NEEDS SMOOTH TRANSITION FROM PRESCHOOL TO SCHOOL EDUCATION

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
July 6 2006

YEREVAN, July 4. /ARKA/. Smooth transition from preschool to school
education should be ensured in Armenia without mere observance of
international standards, RA Deputy Minister of Science and Education
Bagrat Yesayan stated in Yerevan.

"Since only 20% of Armenian children attend kindergartens now, this
transition is often very difficult," he said.

In this context, Yesayan pointed out that 6-year-old children will
get accustomed to the school regime in the first form in playing
conditions, after which they will start learning the school syllabus.

"This mechanism of phased education will allow us to ensure a smooth
transition to the school syllabus for all children," he said.

According to Yesayan, the children that went to school before 2000
will learn ten years, and those that were admitted in 2001-2005 will
learn 11 years.

Children who will be six in 2006 will go to school in 2006. Children
born before June 30, 2000 will go to the first form to learn 11
years. Children born from July 1, 2000, will go to lower school
to learn 12 years, Yesayan said. Thus, two first forms will be in
Armenia’s school in 2006.

IGOR LEVITIN TO MEET WITH MANAGERS OF "AIRBUS" BEFORE FINAL REVEALING OF CAUSES FOR A-320 CRASH

AZG Armenian Daily
06/07/2006

Igor Levitin, RF Transport minister, will meet with the managers of
"Airbus" company in france. He will also meet with the French experts
and rescuers who worked at the place of the A-320 crash. It’s worth
mentioning that on July 3, the French experts carried out the modeling
of the last flight of A-320 airbus.

Gagik Galstian, an Armenian expert, was also present at the modeling
works. The decoded records of the plane’s black boxes helped to
restore the duration of the plane’s last flight.

INTERNICHE HUMANE EDUCATION AWARD INVESTS IN NEW ALTERNATIVES WORLDWIDE

Proefdiervrij, Netherlands
July 3 2006

Eight exciting projects submitted to the InterNICHE Humane Education
Award have now been chosen for their positive pedagogical and ethical
impact on life science education.

The Award is an international grant program to support initiatives
that can enhance veterinary, medical and biological science education
by replacing harmful animal use with progressive alternative methods.

Sponsored by Dutch anti-vivisection organisation Proefdiervrij, 20,000
Euro will now be shared between the following successful applicants
to support their innovative projects:

* Dr. Fawzy Elnady from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Cairo
University in Egypt, who will create the world’s first camel anatomy
software to enhance veterinary teaching and replace the killing of
camels in north African, Middle Eastern and central Asian countries.

In keeping with the InterNICHE Policy (1), the software will be created
using the cadaver of a camel that has died naturally or been euthanised
secondary to serious non-recoverable injury or terminal illness. 1000
copies of the Arabic/English software will be distributed. The new
learning tool will also be freeware, thereby optimising the potential
for widespread replacement.

* Dr Dmitriy Slyusarenko from the Zooveterinary Institute in Kharkiv,
Ukraine, whose project will directly replace surgery labs on live
animals with an innovative cadaver-based alternative. Instead of
catching and practicing on healthy stray dogs and cats which are
then either killed or released with injuries, ethically sourced
animal cadavers and Aboud’s Method (2) of perfusing cadavers for
‘live’ surgery practice will be implemented. Students will be offered
fully ethical learning opportunities that provide a greater degree
of freedom to achieve genuine mastery in surgical training through
repeated and highly realistic practice. Syrian neurosurgeon Dr Emad
Aboud will advise on the establishment of the model.

* Dr Armen Vardapetyan from Yerevan State University in Armenia,
who will implement software alternatives and new hardware to achieve
replacement in zoology practical classes and establish a multimedia
learning environment. The project will begin with frog anatomy
alternatives but it is envisaged that the curricular transformation
will lead to full replacement of all vertebrate use. This modernisation
of the curriculum and teaching process locally will be complemented
by promotion of alternatives and sharing of experience at other
universities and ethics committees nationally.

* Dr Lili Duda from the University of Pennsylvania in the USA,
who will expand the existing but small-scale body donation program
(Educational Memorial Program) for ethically sourced cadavers at the
School of Veterinary Medicine. The expanded program will provide an
alternative track in surgery practical classes for conscientiously
objecting students. An investigation into better preservation and
storage techniques, and distribution of informational brochures
to educate clients of the teaching hospital and the wider faculty,
will also be undertaken.

* Dr. Julia Maria Matera from the College of Veterinary Medicine at
the University of São Paulo in Brazil, who will investigate techniques
for improving the preservation of cadavers used for surgery practice,
with a special focus on tropical climates and chemical preservation
of abdominal organs. The animal cadavers used in the project will
be ethically sourced, as defined by the InterNICHE Policy (1),
using a body donation program already established in the teaching
hospital. Replacement of live animal use already achieved has been well
received by students and has provided a better learning environment
for surgical skills acquisition.

* Dr Gabriel Cotor from the Veterinary Faculty in Bucuresti, Romania,
who will introduce student self-experimentation using the advanced
Biopac Student Lab. Following widespread replacement with software
and a multimedia lab in recent years, the new apparatus will replace
the majority of remaining invasive experiments within physiology
teaching. A wide range of practicals are possible with the computer-
linked apparatus, which has strong advantages over the animal labs
for illustrating physiological principles.

* Dr Marta Saloña-Bordas from Department of Zoology & Animal
Cell Biology at the University of the Basque Country, who will
develop a free-access on-line invertebrate anatomy resource in
Spanish for replacement of zoology practical classes that use killed
invertebrates. The project will dovetail with existing efforts for e-
learning and for reduction of harmful animal use. The sourcing of the
invertebrates will also be in keeping with the InterNICHE Policy,
and will provide a humane alternative for students and teachers
concerned about wild collection of invertebrates and maintaining the
ecological balance.

* Dr Aleksander Ivanc from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and
Mathematics at the University of Sarajevo in Bosnia & Herzegovina, who
will introduce a range of physiology video and software alternatives
to provide new tools for practical classes. Translation on paper
will facilitate effective implementation of the alternatives, and
appropriate testing and assessment of student performance with the new
methods will also be undertaken. The project will replace the annual
use of over 500 frogs, rats and snails, a significant reduction of
harmful animal use.

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"RUSSIA STARTED ACTIVE FLIRTING WITH GEORGIA": YURI DZITSOITY INTERVIEW

Regnum, Russia
July 3 2006

REGNUM introduces interview with South Ossetian vice Speaker, head of
the Committee on Foreign Policy, Defense, and Security Yuri Dzitsoity.

REGNUM: Mr. Dzitsoity, Georgia has repeatedly claimed that the
Georgian-Ossetian conflict can be solved not between Georgian and
South Ossetia but between Tbilisi and Moscow. How would you today
describe both countries’ positions on the issue? Could any changes
in the process of South Ossetian issue settlement be expected,
taking into account results of the Putin-Saakashvili meeting in
St. Petersburg?

First of all, I would like to say that the very fact of the meeting
is interesting. Reportedly, Putin and Saakashvili had not intended
to meet, and the initiative of holding a session of the Russian and
Georgian presidents belonged to the U.S. I believe that Russia had
been pressed upon in this regard. In fact, they are trying to solve our
issue through Moscow and Washington, i.e., behind our back. It is hard
to say how far Russia allowed Georgia to advance in solving its task,
since we do not know what Putin and Saakashvili talked about vis-a-vis.

However, judging by statements made by Kamynin and Kosachev, people
who have enough power to know what is going on in Kremlin lobbies,
one could tell that Russia today started to actively flirt with
Georgia. Kosachev, for example, said that Russia is not going to
and never was going to consider appeals of South Ossetia and Georgia
on recognizing their independence and entering Russia. On the other
hand, the same Kosachev says that Russia has always been standing on
the territorial integrity of Georgia, she simply does not accept the
means suggested by Georgia, i.e., when she suggests a forced, not a
negotiation solution… Whereas the goal is defined, the rest is of no
importance. This is why I think that today Russia is actively flirting
with Georgia, counting on Georgia’s proposed change of attitude towards
Russia, counting on Georgia’s loyalty, which envisions, first of all,
Georgia’s giving up accessing NATO structures.

REGNUM: On July 5, the South Ossetian and Abkhaz issues will be
among the subjects discussed at a Washington meeting of Bush and
Saakashvili. What could be expected from the meeting?

We should not forget that the meeting will be held on the verge
of the G8 summit, that is why they will again attempt to exercise
pressure on Moscow. The Bush-Saakashvili meeting is another step in
this direction. The task has been defined already: settling separatist
conflicts in the framework of united Georgia. That is, the final goal
has been already defined, and nothing meaningful remains to discuss.

REGNUM: Do you suppose that an unfavorable situation is being
formed for the unrecognized states? After all, they have the Kosovo
precedent handy as a trump, not to mention the right of nations for
self-determination…

The thing is that the Kosovo precedent has not been created yet.

President Kastunica declared a few days ago that Kosovo will be part of
Serbia. I think that the West is scared with the Kosovo precedent and
is very likely to stop advancing in the direction. It can be projected
that the western countries and, first of all, the U.S., will attempt to
first "settle" conflicts in the post-Soviet space, roughly speaking,
to push South Ossetia and Abkhazia into Georgia, Transdnestr into
Moldavia, to take care of Nagorno Karabakh, and then come back to
solving the Kosovo issue, when nobody already needs the precedent.

REGNUM: And Russia?

By accepting Georgia’s ultimate goal, Russia loses. Georgia indulges
in doing whatever she chooses.

REGNUM: Could this be Kremlin’s diplomatic move?

It could be a diplomatic move, but Georgia is very successfully
using statements of Russian politicians on united Georgia. Of
course, Russia simultaneously speaks of the right of nations for
self-determination. But there is a room for arguing here that a nation
can determine herself within a unified state.

REGNUM: Could it be true that Georgia’s access to NATO is such a
big problem for Russia that it uses all the diplomatic game means,
up to the denial of South Ossetia and Abkhazia?

NATO at Russia’s south boundaries is the main problem, a key issue.

If Georgia becomes part of Russia, all the doctrine changes: defense,
external; the power layout in the North Caucasus changes. Here we
will be able of definitely speaking of not only Chechen separatism,
but also of separatist tendencies in the North Caucasus in general.

REGNUM: But is not seeing Georgia part of NATO projected for the
not-so-foreseeable future?

We thought exactly so when Georgia was accessing the European Union.

Don’t you see that more developed countries like Turkey are being
given conditions, including political ones? For example, Turkey has
the issue of North Cyprus and the Kurdish issue. As for Georgia, it
was admitted so hastily that one could only wonder. One could say for
sure that Georgia was given a very different role by the West. And the
role is no less important than that of Ukraine. Georgia and Ukraine
are the two regions that the U.S. got a stranglehold on.

USA COMPANIES PRESENT NEW POWER GENERATING TECHNOLOGY

Armenpress
Jun 29 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS: US-based STC Engineering LLC from
New Mexico and ISI Integrated Solutions, Inc. from Phoenix, Arizona
presented today in Yerevan the most advanced technology for production
of renewable power.

Jirayr Shamirian, the president of the American Gold Pair Inc. told a
seminar here that was convened specially to present this technology
that it is based on the widely applied use of solar energy. But he
said the combined technology allows also to generate power from biogas
received from waste recycling and wind.

He said the issue of combined power production is in the focus of
Armenian president’s attention. He added there are plans to build
in Armenia a workshop for manufacturing of appropriate equipment and
praised Armenian researches saying they can elaborate the technology
further as there are all conditions here for development of combined
power production.

Shamirian said this would also create new jobs and settle the power
problem faced by residents of frontier regions. He said Armenia could
then export the technology and equipment.

OSCE MG DOESN’T SEE POINT IN INITIATING FURTHER PRESIDENTIAL MEETINGS

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.06.2006 14:22 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "We see no point right now in continuing the
intensive shuttle diplomacy we have engaged in over the past several
months. We also see no point in initiating further presidential
meetings until the sides demonstrate enough political will to overcome
their remaining differences. Of course, the Co-Chairs will remain
available to both parties to serve faithfully and impartially as
mediators," says the statement made by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs
and submitted to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna June 22. "Acting
in complete unity among the mediators, we have delivered a product
reflecting our best efforts, and we strongly believe that it is now
time for the two Presidents to take the initiative for achieving a
breakthrough in the settlement process. It is the only way to secure
the positive results already achieved through the last two years of
negotiations, in order not to restart them later from scratch. We
will remain vigilant. We will continue our analysis and close
consultations among ourselves in our unified and effective framework,
in our continuing capacity as Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group, supported
by Ambassador Kasprzyk and his team. We will be ready to reengage if
indeed the parties decide to pursue the talks with the political will
that has thus far been lacking.

In conclusion, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to
the Chairman in Office, Minister de Gucht, whose close interest and
constant attention to the issues of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement,
including his introductory remarks before the last meeting of two
Presidents in Bucharest, have contributed greatly to our work in the
first half of 2006," the statement says.

AZERI PEOPLE SHOULD BE ATTENTIVE IN PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF AZERI ARMY OFFICER
Author: J.Shahverdiyev

TREND, Azerbaijan
June 28 2006

Extensive measures are taken for the protection of rights of officer
of Azeri army Ramil Safarov accused of killing Armenian officer in
Hungary, PM Azay Guliyev, the member of the Coordination Council
created for the protection of rights of Ramil Safarov, told, Trend
reports.

He noted that in order not to allow several groups to use the fact for
their own purposes, they have come to a conclusion not to exaggerate
the activity on the protection of Safarov’s rights. "Some persons
present Safarov as a person of year and other hero of year and the
third party – the honour of Azeri army. All these didn’t serve the
protection of Safarovs’s rights," told Guliyev.

"The Appeal Court will consider his sentence due to which he has been
sentenced to 10-15 years. If we want to make contribution to him,
we should be attentive in this issue. Therefore, the Coordination
Council reveals its activity in a centralized form," Guliyev added.

SHIRAK MARZ IS DEPRIVED OF CROP

A1+
[12:37 pm] 29 June, 2006

The sowing areas of Shirak marz have greatly suffered because of the
recent hail and aridity. On the whole, about 23 communities suffered
because of the hail falling last week.

About 1250 hectares arable lands suffered by 30%, 150 lands – by 50%
and 70 lands – by 70% and so on. There is no hope for recovery. In
some cases the representatives of the marzpetaran (regional council)
advised to use unripe crop as fodder.

The observation of the Shirak marz corresponding committee is still
under way. According to the specialists’ calculations the total harm
of the region is about 300 million AMD by now. Romik Manoukyan,
Shirak marzpet claims that the aridity was preferable to the hail
as the harm would have been partial in that case and they could have
saved part of the harvest.

According to the marzpetaran the government is already aware of
the situation. He maintains that their foremost task is to provide
the peasants with seeds without any discrimination, that’s to say
rendering equal assistance.

The current situation signals to the necessity of having anti-hail
system. Romik Manoukyan noted on this score that the testing of the
systems has been under way since last year and Shirak marz will be
one of the first regions where anti-hail systems will be located in
case they give positive results.

TV Company "Tsayg," Gyumri