Author: Karabekian Emil

POLITICAL PRISONERS ARE PUT UP FOR SALE

evon-zurabyan
09/12/09

"With their utter improvidence Armenian authorities are leading the
country to a downfall," Levon Zurabyan, a senior representative of
the Armenian National Congress (HAK), said following the recent Obama-
Erdogan meeting in the USA and Erdogan’s statements.

"Earlier Armenian authorities said Erdogan wouldn’t depart for America
unless the Turkish parliament ratified the Armenian-Turkish Protocols.

Moreover, Armenian authorities thought America could exert pressure
on Turkey and ensure desirable results. Meanwhile, the Congress said
Turkey would link the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement with the Karabakh
conflict settlement and the US wouldn’t be able to press Turkey till
the end. We were right in our predictions. Armenian authorities have
proved that they are light-headed and deceitful political figures
guided by wrong calculations," said Levon Zurabyan.

"Our authorities gained nothing from the renouncement of the Armenian
Genocide in Zurich," added Zurabyan.

On the eve of Human Rights Day Levon Zurabyan reminded that last year
Armenia marked December 10 with 100 political prisoners and a ban on
opposition marches.

"Today Armenia has 15 political prisoners. Besides, the City Hall has
sanctioned the opposition’s march due on December 10. The authorities
seem to have sobered up and realized that the ban on marches mars
their image," said the HAK representative.

Levon Zurabyan couldn’t say on which criteria the authorities released
political prisoners.

"The authorities treat political prisoners as their hostages and have
put them on sale. Releasing them one after another they try to extort
concessions from public, opposition and international structures.

That’s why we do not take the authorities seriously and don’t start
a dialogue with them. They are vandals. We shall not enter a dialogue
with them unless the last political prisoner is freed.

Let me bring the example of chief editor of Haykakan Zhamanak daily
Nikol Pashinyan who is still kept in detention. The Central Election
Commission has registered Pashinyan as a parliamentary candidate but
Pashinyan’s right to inviolability is breached. Pashinyan can be kept
in custody only by a CEC decision which doesn’t exist as such. If,
in reality, the authorities are ready to compete with Pashinyan on
an equal footing they must immediately release him otherwise they
will confirm their cowardice and meanness.

Eventually, Pashinyan was registered as a candidate under the pressure
of international structures and Armenian National Congress," concludde
Levon Zurabyan.

PREMIER ABOUT CORRUPTION

Lragir.am
09/12/09

The Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan assessed the strategy of the
government in combating corruption in three main spheres. The first
sphere is the governmental members.

The premier said that first of all, we need to be strict towards
high-ranking officials the best way of which is the transparency in
their actions. According to the premier, the government must start
struggling against the evil from itself. The government introduced
a draft before the National Assembly, in accordance with which
the activities of 500 officials have to become more transparent. A
commission enjoying the trust of the society composed of honorable
people should be set up.

The second main way are institutional reforms concerning public
administrative bodies. The government is engaged in the second phase
of changes of the governmental system. It aims at activating state
officials and workers, creating motivation factors enabling to promote,
fair, smart workers, noted Tigran Sargsyan.

The Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan believes one of the main
causes of corruption is the mood of the society.

Serious transformations are needed. Society is not engaged in an
aggressive fight, but it is tolerant to corruption, the premier said.

According to Tigran Sargsyan, the study suggests that corruption is
not among the top five issues that concern the society. This is a
serious signal, because corruption is the main obstacle to building
a legal country.

THE SWAN LAKE WILL BE USED AS A SKATING RINK FROM DECEMBER 13

ARMENPRESS
Dec 7, 2009

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS: The Swan Lake will be used as a
skating rink from December 13. Head of the municipality’s Construction
and Renovation Department Frunz Basentyan told Armenpress that on
that day no official opening is expected, just those who want may
visit the lake from 10.30. He said that all the conveniences are
ensured to make the rest of the visitors more pleasant. The number
of skates has been increased.

Each year the skating ring starts operating after the air temperature
is +8 and lower.

NEW ENERGY BLOCK OF ARMENIAN NUCLEAR POWER STATION WILL CORRESPOND TO THE NORMS OF SEISMIC PROTECTION

ARKA
Dec 8, 2009

YEREVAN, December 8. /ARKA/. "New energy block of Armenian
Nuclear Power Station will fully correspond to the norms of seismic
protection", said Alvaro Antonyan, Head of National Service of Seismic
Protection of Armenia during the press-conference.

"Every two years we conduct monitoring of the territory on which
Armenian Nuclear Power Station is located and we plan to build
new energy block. We approve that this region is not seismically
dangerous", said Antonyan. Seismic potential of the given territory
corresponds to all the norms of seismic protection and Armenian
Nuclear Power Station and the new energy block will function normally.

Armenia plans to build new block of Armenian Nuclear Power Station
with the capacity of about 1000 MVt and according to the data of
the Ministry of Energy of Armenia, the given project can cost about
$5 billion. With the aim of involvement of foreign capital for
the implementation of the project in 2006, Parliament of Armenia
legislatively changed state monopoly of possession of new nuclear
blocks.

Construction works will start in 2011. Armenian Nuclear Power Station
is located near the city Metsamor (about 20-30 km to the South
from Yerevan). The station is operating since 1976 and currently
only second block of the station with the capacity of 407.5 MVt is
functioning. Financial flows of Armenian Nuclear Power Station are
under the trust management of Open JSC "INTER RAO EEC" since September
2003 up to 2013 the owner of which is Russian state corporation
"Rosatom". By the assessment of the specialists, Armenian Nuclear
Power Station can function till 2016.

GYUMRI SHOULD BECOME A DEVELOPMENT AREA

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.12.2009 13:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Gyumri should stop being a disaster area, said the
leader of People’s Party of Armenia.

"It’s has become a tradition to come here every year. But Gyumri
should stop being a disaster area and become an area of development,"
Stepan Demirchyan told reporters on Monday.

The 1988 earthquake leveled the cities of Spitak and Gyumri and left
25 000 people dead, 100 000 wounded and 500 000 homeless.

Armenia, UAE signed memorandum of cooperation
05.12.2009 17:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian FM Edward Nalbandyan and UAE Minister of
State for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Anvar Gargash have signed today a
memorandum of cooperation in anti-trafficking sphere between UAE
National Committee to Combat Trafficking and RA Anti-Trafficking
Commission.

Aysor, Armenia
Dec 5 2009

Levon Ter-Petrosyan met with Hans-Yokhen Shmidt

On December 4 the First RA President Levon Ter-Petrosyan met with
Hans-Yokhen Shmidt the German newly appointed Ambassador to Armenia.

The two have discussed the internal and external political problems of
Armenia especially democracy in Armenia.

As the ANC press office informs on the meeting where present also the
members of the central office of the ANC Davit Shahnazaryan and Avetis
Avagyan.

GEORGIA THREATENS TURKEY WITH ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
04.12.2009 14:16 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Certain processes in Georgia may lead to recognition
of the Armenian Genocide by official Tbilisi, according to RA NA
member, chairman of Javakhk union Shirak Torosyan.

"Announcing such a possibility, Georgia wants to prevent Turkey from
opening the border with Armenia," he said.

OSCE MINSK GROUP MEMBERS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT NAGORNO-KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS

Interfax
Dec 2 2009
Russia

Top-ranking diplomats from Russia, France, and the U.S., as the
countries mediating in settling the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh,
and the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers have praised current
trends in negotiations on the matter.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, French Foreign Minister
Bernard Kouchner, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg
representing the OSCE Minsk Group met with Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian and Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in
Athens, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The participants in the meeting "noted the positive dynamic in
the talks, demonstrated through six meetings this year between the
Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan," says a joint statement issued
following the meeting in Athens.

"The increasing frequency of these meetings has significantly
contributed to an enhanced dialogue between the parties and forward
movement toward finalizing the Basic Principles for the Peaceful
Settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, proposed in Madrid on
November 29, 2007," the statement says.

Lavrov, Kouchner, and Steinberg "reiterated the commitment of their
countries, as expressed in the Joint Statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict at the L’Aquila Summit of the Eight on July 10, issued
by their three Presidents, to support the leaders of Armenia and
Azerbaijan as they complete work on the Basic Principles and urged
that the parties complete this work as soon as possible," it says.

The Azeri and Armenian foreign ministers "reported on progress during
the course of this year in achieving common understandings on points
of the Basic Principles," the statement says.

"They stated the willingness of their countries to complete work on
the Basic Principles, as stipulated by the Presidents of the Co-Chair
countries at L’Aquila," it says.

US DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: USA EXPECTS ARMENIA TO RENDER ACTIVE SUPPORT IN PEACEMAKING MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN

ArmInfo
2009-12-03 13:48:00

ArmInfo. USA expects Armenia to render active support in peacemaking
mission in Afghanistan, said Celeste Wallander, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, when visiting
the peacemaking brigade of the Armenian Armed Forces on Thursday.

Celeste Wallander said her delegation got first hand view of the
functions of the peacemaking brigade and its structure, as well as met
with the manpower. The USA is well aware of the high responsibility
of their mission in Kosovo and Iraq. This is a very important mission
for everyone. President Obama is going to send one more contingent
to Afghanistan. Armenia is the US partner in this mission and the
USA expects addition support from Armenia, Celeste Wallander said.

Armenia will send a peacemaking grouping of 40 people to Afghanistan.

Brigade Commander, Colonel Artur Simonyan told media that in January
2010 the grouping will leave for Germany to undergo a two- week
training. Afterwards, it will be deployed in Afghanistan as part of
the German contingent.