Author: Khoyetsian Rose

Azeri rep says no “kamikaze” children in occupied district, criticizes
journalists

ANS TV, Baku
7 Jun 04

[Presenter] The Azerbaijani representative of the international working
group to release POWs and hostages and to trace missing persons, Avaz
Hasanov, who has visited Nagornyy Karabakh via Armenia, has already
returned to Baku and is the quest of “Xabarci” [programme]. Let us
now go to ANS’s conference hall. Good evening, Avaz muallim [form
of address].

[Avaz Hasanov, captioned] Good evening.

[Presenter] Avaz muallim, tell us about your trip to Nagornyy Karabakh?

[Hasanov] Representatives of the international working group have paid
15 visits to Karabakh. We have always visited Karabakh via Armenia
as we are involved in tracing hostages and POWs both in Armenia
and in Nagornyy Karabakh on the eve of the visit [as heard]. For
this reason, we first visited Azerbaijan, then Armenia and Nagornyy
Karabakh via Armenia.

[Presenter] What was the main goal of your visit? Did you manage to
achieve it?

[Hasanov] Our visit mainly aimed to trace Azerbaijani hostages and
missing persons. During the visit we wanted to clarify reports received
from the Azerbaijani state committee for hostages and missing persons,
international organizations, NGOs and parents. At the same time, we
were involved in clarifying several newspaper reports and information
provided by two Armenian fugitives who are now in Baku. According to
those reports, there are hostages in several Armenian districts. We
tried to identify those areas, visited the places and looked into
the reports. We failed to verify the information we had.

[Presenter] You were banned from visiting Lacin [Azerbaijani district
under occupation] and you could not visit the facilities where kamikaze
children are [reportedly] being recruited. As an Azerbaijani what
were your feelings?

[Hasanov] I was not allowed to go to Lacin. Other representatives
of our international working group, cochairmen and coordinators
from Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh visited Lacin. Before the visit
to Lacin in the morning we phoned Nagornyy Karabakh to ask for
an explanation. We were told that they were ordered to ban me from
visiting Lacin. They did not explain why. We informed the Azerbaijani,
Armenian and Russian mass media of this. Unfortunately, neither
Azerbaijani nor other media outlets carried this information. I regret
that the newspapers, which are circulating information against me,
did not publish this. The issue remains unclear for us as well. They
have published whatever they wanted to publish about me here.

[Presenter] Avaz muallim, are there any kamikazes in Lacin?

[Hasanov] I repeat that we [as heard, presumably I] did not visit
Lacin’s kindergarten and the cochairmen of the international working
group went there. There is a kindergarten in Lacin, we found out about
it from an American. Naturally, the children there were Armenians. The
information we received could not be confirmed.

[Presenter] Avaz muallim, do you really believe in the importance of
such visits?

[Hasanov] Let the people first prove that such visits are not
important. After this, I would say whether I believe in their
importance or not. Azerbaijan has about 5,000 hostages and missing
persons. We have not been in contact with Armenia over the past 10
years. The international working group has been cooperating with
state bodies, international public organizations, the International
Committee of Red Cross and the OSCE over the past four years. We are
using our opportunities to trace hostages and missing persons. At
times of war, they used to announce truce to exchange hostages and
corpses. Do you think that such visits are not important to Azerbaijan
which has 5,000 hostages.

[Presenter] Avaz muallim, were you happy with the way the Armenians
treated you?

[Hasanov] To be frank, I am dissatisfied with the Armenians’ attitude.
However, I am also not happy with Azerbaijani journalists. I am
displeased with the people who phoned my home to scare off and
reproach my mother by telling her that I had allegedly been taken
hostage and they would do their best to release me. As a result,
for three days my mother was bedridden. I am mainly unhappy with
Azerbaijani journalists who have forgotten about professionalism
and have resorted to this. For instance, the news agency Olaylar has
issued a statement [interrupted by the presenter]

[Presenter] – Avaz muallim, could you please answer our last
question. When are you planning to pay your next visit to the area
and which route will you take?

[Hasanov] We will take the same route as before and take this in
view [as received]. The Azerbaijani government, the Azerbaijani state
working group, the state committee [for hostages and missing persons],
including the foreign ministry and the presidential administration,
were well aware of the route and they read our reports. We will take
the same route to Nagornyy Karabakh. We will inform Azerbaijan of
our next visit.

[Presenter] Thanks.

MIKA handed UEFA Cup chance

UEFA.com, Europe
June 8 2004

Armenia’s FC MIKA and a Ukrainian team will compete in next season’s
UEFA Cup after gaining a place during the fair-play draw made at
half-time in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Bochum,
Germany.

Lucky sides

Clubs from Denmark, Norway, England, Germany, Republic of Ireland,
Finland, Spain, Albania, and Iceland also entered the draw to join
Sweden’s Östers IF in the 2004/05 competition.

MIKA chance

Currently second in their domestic league, which follows the calendar
year, MIKA were third in Armenia’s fair play ranking for last season.
They entered the draw as FC Banants qualified for the UEFA Cup
and second-placed FC Kotayk did not receive a UEFA licence. MIKA
entered the UEFA Cup in 2000/01 and 2001/02 – both times losing in
the qualifying round to Romanian opposition, AFC Rapid Bucuresti and
FC Brasov.

Ukrainian wait

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian side joining MIKA and Östers in the UEFA Cup
first qualifying round will not be known until 19 June, when their
domestic season ends.

Fair play rankings

The Swedish Football Association (SvFF) finished at the top of the
2003/04 UEFA Fair Play rankings with an average coefficient of 8.314,
meaning a berth for Östers. Another eleven associations finished the
season with a Fair Play coefficient of 8.0 or over, and had played
enough matches to be taken into consideration.

The other clubs nominated for the draw were:

Denmark: Esbjerg fB, winners of Denmark’s domestic fair play
competition.

Norway: SK Brann, runners-up in Norway’s fair play competition to
UEFA Champions League qualifiers Rosenborg BK.

England: Charlton Athletic FC, third in England’s fair play ranking.
First and second-placed Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC have already
qualified for the Champions League.

Germany: SC Freiburg, fifth in Gemany’s fair play ranking. First,
second and third-placed VfB Stuttgart, VfL Bochum 1848, SV Werder
Bremen and Bayer 04 Leverkusen have already qualified for the Champions
League or UEFA Cup.

Republic of Ireland: Cork City FC, runners-up in the domestic fair
play competition to UEFA Cup qualifiers Bohemian FC.

Finland: FC Lahti, winners of Finland’s domestic fair play competition.

Spain: RDC Mallorca, fourth in Spain’s fair play ranking. First,
second and third-placed Valencia CF, RC Deportivo La Coruña and FC
Barcelona have already qualified for the Champions League.

Albania: KS Teuta, fourth in Albania’s fair play ranking. First,
second and third-placed KS Tirana, KS Dinamo Tirana and FK Partizani
have already qualified for the Champions League or UEFA Cup.
Iceland: Throttur Reykjavík, winners of Iceland’s domestic fair
play competition.

Realtors Focus on Affordable Housing
By Maria Levitov

The Moscow Times
Tuesday, June 8, 2004. Page 9.

Staff Writer The National Real Estate Congress opened in Moscow on
Monday, taking as its central theme how major real estate players can
help President Vladimir Putin achieve the goal of enabling a third
of Russians purchase their own modern homes by 2010.

Organized by the Russian Guild of Realtors for the seventh consecutive
year, the congress has grown from hosting 160 delegates in 1997
to welcoming over 1,000 delegates from Russia, the United States,
Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia,
Georgia and Azerbaijan for this year’s five-day event.

But despite the international attendance, the keynote speeches of
the opening day focused on the relationship between government and
private sector players in light of new legislation that will come in
front of the State Duma this week.

Aimed at making housing more affordable, the 28-point draft law is
one of the largest one-topic legislation proposals to appear in front
of the Duma in the history of post-communist Russia.

“Currently, only a tenth of the [Russian] population owns modern
housing,” said the president of the Institute of City Economics Fund
Nadezhda Kosareva, who also heads the working group for developing
the draft legislation. “Affordability of housing is the main obstacle
standing in the way of those people who want to improve their housing
situation.”

Kosareva said five major issues hinder affordability and stand in the
way of the 60 percent of the Russian population who want to improve
their housing quality.

The proposed legislation aims to battle these obstacles, which
include the absence of long-term credit, high mortgage interest rates,
insufficient housing supply, high real estate transaction costs and
lack of legal guarantees for consumers and other real estate market
players.

“Price stabilization will follow in 2007 to 2010 if the draft
legislation is ratified,” said Kosareva, who expects development of
the mortgage system to have a positive affect on housing affordability.

The chairman of the mortgage committee of the Association of Russian
Banks, Andrei Krysin, also expressed optimism about the prospects
of consumer mortgages. He said that “because of greater competition
among banks, mortgage interest rates have already decreased from 15
percent in ruble terms to 13 percent in currency terms.”

Even though 75 percent of all consumer mortgage applicants are unable
to prove their income because it is undeclared, the amount of real
estate deals financed with mortgages has grown from 0.7 percent in
2001 to 3 percent last year, according to Russian Guild of Realtor’s
statistics.

Nevertheless, some experts attending the congress expressed concern
that the wider availability of mortgages will increase the demand
for housing, pushing prices even higher, especially in places where
construction will be unable to keep pace with demand.

Despite the 4.7 million square meters of housing that was constructed
in Moscow last year and the 5 million square meters that will be
completed by the end of 2004, the unfulfilled demand for real estate
in Moscow remains acute.

“Some of the last land reserves in Moscow are located in manufacturing
zones, which are owned by the federal government,” said Galina
Hovanskaya, member of the State Duma committee on legislation. “This
complicates access to that land.”

Increasing transparency in the land acquisition process and removing
the monopolies from the market that currently allow developers and
construction companies to make “hyper profits” was also a recurring
theme at the conference.

Vitaly Votolevsky, general director of a large developer, Skanska,
defended the need for greater transparency, but added that “companies
need to be profitable to be stable, which is in the best interest
of consumers.”

At the conclusion of the opening ceremony, delegates broke into
smaller groups to discuss practical aspects of working in the real
estate industry.

“We hope to have a greater focus on practical business issues this
year and share experience,” said Yelena Dranchenko, who has recently
been elected president of the Russian Guild of Realtors.

Drachenko said that this year the introductory part of the congress
was shortened to allow more time for roundtable discussions and visits
to exemplary real estate businesses.

Federal News Service, Inc.
FNS DAYBOOK
June 7, 2004 Monday

SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE

SUBJECT: European Affairs Subcommittee hearing on the nominations of
Charles Ries to be ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the
United States to the Hellenic Republic; Tom Korologos to be ambassador
extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the United States to Belgium;
and John Evans to be ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of
the United States to the Republic of Armenia.

LOCATION: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building — June 16, 2004

PARTICIPANTS: The nominees

CONTACT: 202-224-4651

Seminar on Imam Khomeini’s Thoughts Held in Armenia

Tehran Times
June 5 2004

MOSCOW (IRNA) — A one-day seminar entitled ‘The late Imam Khomeini’s
Thoughts and Views’ was held in Armenian capital Yerevan on Thursday
attended by Armenian scholars and politicians.

During the meet, organized by Iranology Department of Yerevan
University and Iran’s cultural advisor to Armenia, speakers highlighted
the role the late Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic revolution,
played in the regional and international developments, particularly
in social and cultural areas.

Iran’s outgoing Ambassador to Armenia Mohammad Farhad Koleini and
some Armenian outstanding scholars in their lectures expounded on
various aspects of Imam Khomeini’s personality.

Possible Hit-Man Ring No Surprise

Los Angeles Times , CA
June 1 2004

Glendale police who discovered an alleged murder-for-hire scheme
believe foreign criminals are behind worsening Armenian gang activity.

It started as an investigation into an Armenian crime ring suspected
of running credit card scams out of a Glendale pickle factory.

But thanks to a stroke of luck — the help of an informant —
authorities believe they stumbled upon a lethal page in the group’s
business plan: hiring hit men to eliminate seven members of a rival
criminal organization.

The arrests that followed constituted one of the largest
murder-for-hire cases ever uncovered by the Glendale Police Department,
which conducted the investigation with the FBI.

But neither the scope nor the viciousness of the plan surprised
authorities. The alleged scheme, they say, is part of a recent surge in
violence among the Armenian crime rings that have already transformed
Glendale into a hotbed of insurance, medical and credit card fraud.

According to court documents filed by Glendale police, the unnamed
group connected to the pickle factory was “heavily involved in credit
card fraud, medical and Medicare fraud, check fraud, drug trafficking,
[and] extortion.”

But police allege that the men also were involved in “numerous
shootings, assaults and other violent felony crimes” — an expansion
of the typical Glendale swindler’s portfolio that has authorities
increasingly concerned.

Four suspects in the murder-for-hire case, including former pickle
factory owner Edvard Gyulnazaryan, are awaiting trial on conspiracy
charges. Lawyers tried unsuccessfully last week to have the case
dismissed. The trial is expected to begin in the fall. Each defendant
faces 25 years to life in prison.

In October, two members of the group, Gagik Galoyan and Gayk
Tadevosyan, pleaded guilty to solicitation of murder for their part
in the alleged scheme, which was planned between 2001 and 2003,
according to prosecutors and court documents.

Trouble from Armenian fraud groups has been a problem for this
Southern California suburb since the late 1980s, when immigrants from
the dissolving Soviet Union began settling in the city en masse. And
although criminals constitute a tiny fraction of Glendale’s 53,000
residents of Armenian descent, they have placed a heavy burden
on police.

Sgt. Steve Davey, who heads the city’s multi-agency Eurasian Organized
Crime Group, said the criminal element has been responsible for
hundreds of millions of dollars in losses and a citywide fraud rate
that is nearly six times higher than the state average.

Police have a few ideas on what’s behind the heightened violence,
which they began noticing about four years ago.

Davey believes some of it is carried out by hardened criminals who
came to the U.S. to carry out specific crimes, then decided to settle
permanently in Glendale.

Police also believe that members of the Armenian Power street gang
may be graduating into the fraud rings and pushing them into more
violent pursuits.

Davey would not comment on possible connections between Armenian Power
and the groups involved in the murder-for-hire case. But in a separate
court case pending against one of the plan’s intended victims, Armen
Sharopetrosian, Los Angeles County prosecutors accuse him of attempted
murder “in association with a criminal street gang.”

Authorities acknowledge that discovering the murder-for-hire plot
probably helped save the lives of criminals. But Davey said the arrests
may have also prevented the kind of retaliatory, extrajudicial violence
that is increasing on the streets of Glendale.

“This is one that we got lucky and heard about,” Davey said. “But
there’s been so much extortion and kidnapping and other crimes that
have gone unreported. We’ve found cars full of bullet holes, and
there’s no report on it.”

In this case, Davey said, “When you look at who the victims are,
they probably wouldn’t have reported anything. And that’s where it
really becomes dangerous. They were going to take matters into their
own hands.”

The alleged plot first came to light when Gyulnazaryan, 40, asked the
informant — a non-Armenian — if he knew anyone who would conduct
a killing for hire, court records show. Gyulnazaryan apparently
met the informant when he hired him to stage fake auto accidents,
records show. Eventually they asked the informant to make the hit.

One of their first discussions of a hit took place Feb. 21, 2001, when
Gyulnazaryan and Tadevosyan met the informant at the pickle factory,
a small brick storefront on an industrial stretch of San Fernando Road,
according to court documents.

That day, the men drove to Pasadena, showing the informant a store
called the Washington Smoke Shop. Gyulnazaryan told the would-be
killer he would be paid $5,000 if he shot a worker at the smoke shop
twice in the head, the documents show.

More slayings were discussed in other meetings, which at various times
included Galoyan as well as two other suspects: Andranik Safaryan,
24, a surgical technician, and Edgar Hatamian, 21, who was unemployed,
documents show.

By 2003, the smoke shop worker, Emil Airapetian, was still alive. But
he was in Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles awaiting trial
on weapons charges. So was Sharopetrosian, another intended target,
who had been arrested on an attempted murder charge.

So Hatamian, Safaryan and Gyulnazaryan allegedly turned to an
imprisoned gang member, Anthony “Smurf” Armenta, and asked him to
arrange the killing of the incarcerated men.

“You take care of this, those [expletive], I take care of you all
your life, man,” Gyulnazaryan allegedly told Armenta in February 2003
in a conversation taped by authorities. “You never even have to work
one second.”

The true root of the conflict between these two groups is unclear.
Davey said there is usually little formal “competition” between fraud
rings, since such schemes as credit card fraud offer a limitless pool
of victims.

In the taped conversation, Gyulnazaryan allegedly told Armenta that
the motive was revenge, contending that the two men had killed a
7-year-old girl and were “snitches” who caused the arrest of a number
of his associates.

Authorities say the story of the 7-year-old girl is doubtful. But they
say that some of the bad blood stems from an incident in Ventura County
in late 2002, when police arrested a relative of Galoyan’s and three
other men after sheriff’s deputies saw them throw two semiautomatic
assault rifles out the window of a BMW sport utility vehicle.

According to Jeff Robinson, an investigator for the Ventura County
district attorney’s office, Gyulnazaryan’s group believed the rival
group led them into a trap that night.

Robinson said the feud may also be linked to an incident the previous
October, in which one of the occupants of the BMW, Anushavan Sargsyan,
was shot in the side by an unidentified assailant in Los Angeles
County.

Sargsyan refused to cooperate with police in the matter, Robinson said.

After his guilty plea on the solicitation-of-murder charge, Tadevosyan
was sentenced to three years in prison. Galoyan, the alleged leader
of the group, has yet to be sentenced.

The remaining suspects — including Latino gang member Anthony Armenta
— have maintained their innocence. Gyulnazaryan’s attorney, Michael
M. Levin, argued in his motion to dismiss the case that Gyulnazaryan
was heard using crude colloquialisms similar to “messing someone up”
on the tapes. But he is never heard using the word “kill.”

On San Fernando Road, the pickle factory has been empty for months.
The owner of a nearby company, himself an Armenian, said he was
surprised when he learned that Gyulnazaryan had been arrested.

Gyulnazaryan was a “big talker,” the man recalled, but generally
seemed like a nice guy.

Entrepreneur shines as jewelry maker
By Jennifer Berry

Valley Sun, CA
May 28 2004

Photo by Jennifer Berry IN HIS STUDIO – Harout Kioudjian works on a
piece of silver jewelry. He says “there’s always something to learn”
about his craft.

Whether it’s a shiny platinum bracelet for Michael Jackson, a
jewel-encrusted belly chain for Britney Spears, or a gold pendant in
the shape of a musical note for Madonna, jewelry designed and produced
by Harout Kioudjian shows up around the world.

It’s been worn by celebrities, featured in magazines and on television,
and sold in upscale jewelry stores such as Henry Duarte in Beverly
Hills.

The master silversmith’s global career began humbly, polishing jewelry
at the age of 7 in a small shop in Lebanon.

“I did a couple months of polishing. I loved it, but I was doing better
than a professional jeweler. He got jealous. He tried to get me fired
because I was doing a better job than he,” said the father of two,
who recently moved to La Cañada Flintridge from Pasadena.

Even though Kioudjian, who owns H.K. Quantum, enjoyed working
with metals and jewels, he didn’t realize at first that it was his
calling. Educated for seven years in a Catholic school in Lebanon,
he tried his hand at religion by attending an Armenian monastery for
one year.

“I felt like a prisoner,” he joked.

He was reintroduced to the jewelry business when, after his family
immigrated to the Los Angeles area, the South High School student
began helping out in his uncle’s Torrance jewelry store after school.

A member of the Armenian National Committee of America Western
Region/La Crescenta Chapter board of directors, Kioudjian, whose
grandparents escaped the Armenian genocide, said jewelry making runs
in the family.

His mother’s uncle taught his uncle, Nazareth Kioudjian. Following the
tradition, the La Cañada businessman learned valuable skills in the
back of his uncle’s shop, from polishing, repairing and cleaning gold
and silver pieces to sizing rings, setting stones and designing pieces.

“I felt good making things [and] creating designs,” he said. “The
creativity of it, it’s endless. There’s always something to learn. It
doesn’t end.”

>>From his uncle’s shop, the jeweler worked on the production lines
and design teams of several jewelry companies, including a stint
subcontracting for Cartier designer Phillip Chariol.

“After a short while I realized it was time to move on,” he said. He
opened Monte Christo Trade Corp. in 1992, in which he made his own
designs, casting and producing marquis chains and tennis bracelets.

Eight years later, he left Monte Christo to try his hand at selling
motor oil and clothes.

“I wanted to change my career,” he said. “Whatever I tried, it wasn’t
my thing. It didn’t work out.”

Now he crafts his masterpieces in a nondescript factory in North
Hollywood, branding his own designs with the logo H.K. Quantum.

“In this jungle, it’s kind of difficult to get somewhere until the
brand is popular,” he said.

Helping spread the word of the H.K. Quantum brand is musician Daniel
“Danny Boy” O’Connor. A member of the former musical group House of
Pain, O’Connor said he began commissioning Kioudjian to design and
produce one-of-a-kind jewelry for him because the jeweler’s good
reputation preceded him.

“At the end of the day, I could afford any jewelry I want,” said
O’Connor, who considers himself a silver connoisseur. “He’s a
perfectionist.”

The next project O’Connor has planned for Kioudjian is to re-create
a gold ring with a skull design, given to him by Mickey Rourke.

The New York native also recently pointed fellow musician Mike “Mr.
Kaves” McLeer to the manufacturing plant on Lankershim Boulevard.
After sharing a traditional Armenian meal together, the silversmith
finished a silver Armenian cross, which McLeer will wear while his
group, Lordz of Brooklyn, tours on the Vans Warped Tour.

“I’m an artist, so I recognize his craftsmanship,” McLeer said. “The
art in his jewelry, you can see it. He gets his hands dirty. In an
age of mass production, this is old-world craftsmanship.”

While Kioudjian’s designs are available to jewelry companies and to
individuals wanting custom jewelry, his wares will be on display at
the Fourth of July festival at Crescenta Valley High School.

The La Cañada man, whose son attends Chamalian Armenian School and
daughter attends Rosemont Middle School, is a member of the Crescenta
Valley Town Council Community Outreach Committee. He has donated
to the group a silver identification bracelet of his own design and
two rings-one an exact replica of a size 13 1/2 silver ring worn by
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on the Aug. 18, 2003, cover of “Newsweek”
magazine and a smaller reproduction of the ring, which has an intricate
eagle design.

The master silversmith said he runs his business by treating his
customers as friends.

“To me, a person is more important than a business,” he said.

MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND YOUTH TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO YOUTH IN REGIONS

ArmenPress
May 24 2004

YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS: On May 21-23 a festival “Young creative
workers” was held in Ijevan. The aim was to discover the young talents
in the region and give them a change of serf-identification.

The first day of the festival was opened with an exhibition of
paintings, graphics, handicraft and decorative works. On the second
day a round table was held titled ‘The challenges of youth in frontier
regions and the ways to solve them’. On the third day of the festival
a delegation of culture and youth ministry, headed by deputy minister
Lilit Asatrian, participated in the festival. A decision was made to
create a youth council, affiliated with Tavush governor’s office. The
council will be made of community youth, youth NGOs, student councils
and public and private agencies, which can support the council in
its activities.

The festival was concluded with a concert of young performers.

According to Lilit Asatrian, the youth in the regions does not get
sufficient attention. The ministry will hold more such events and
visits to the regions. The deputy minister informed that the ministry
is going to hold events in Vayots Dzor, Gegharkunik and Shirak regions
by June and in other regions of Armenia by the end of the year.

FRENCH PRESIDENT HAILS AZERI LEADER’S DECREE PARDONING PRISONERS

ANS TV, Baku
22 May 04

French President Jacques Chirac has sent a letter to his Azerbaijan
counterpart Ilham Aliyev, welcoming the pardoning decree signed on
10 May and praising Azerbaijan’s integration into Europe. Praising
Ilham Aliyev’s move, the French president said that France is always
ready to assist the country in continuing this policy and developing
a plural society. (Indistinct sentence)

You are paying great attention to integration into the European
Union. I witnessed this once again during your visit to Brussels,
end quote.

The letter also says that this integration will further strengthen as
a result of progress on settling the Nagornyy Karabakh problem. The
resumption of the dialogue between you and the Armenian president
under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as between the two
countries’ foreign ministers is a hopeful sign, the French president
said in his letter. This report was disseminated by Azartac news
agency.

ARKA News Agency
May 19 2004

CBA Council approves change of address of Ardshininvestbank branches

CBA Council approves change of address of Armsavingsbank branch

CBA Council registers two new branches of Armeconombank

Robert Kocharian and Karen Chshmaritian discuss programs in the
sphere of industry

RA PM receives EBRD President

EBRD President points out to progress in Armenian economic

RA President and the President of EBRD discuss the possibilities of
the bank’s participation in the economy of Armenia

First regional conference redam to be held in town of Artashat
(Armenia)

School mathematic Olympiad organized in Yerevan by initiative of
Embassy of I.R. Iran

*********************************************************************

CBA COUNCIL APPROVES CHANGE OF ADDRESS OF ARDSHININVESTBANK BRANCHES

YEREVAN, May, 19. /ARKA/. CBA Council approved change of address of
Ardshininvestbank branches, CBA told ARKA. The new address of Sisian
and Kajaran branches is Sisian City, Sisakan-21 St. and Kajaran City,
Lernagortsneri-4 St.
Ardshininvestbank CJSC was set up May 25 2003 and received its
license (#83) Feb 27 2003. Ardshininvestbank On Nov 6 2003,
Armagrobank and Ardshininvestbank signed an agreement on purchase of
a part of the assets and commitments of Armagrobank by
Ardshininvestbank. Today, a network of 61 branches is functioning.
The founder of Ardshininvestbank is International Business Centre
Russian financial industrial group owning 100% of the bank’s shares.
Total capital of the bank as of March 31, 2004 made more than 3.9
billion AMD, authorized capital – 3 billion AMD. Assets – 23.2
billion, profit in result of Q1, 2004 – 275 million, balance profit –
975.6 million. ($1 – 555.37 AMD). L.D. –0–

*********************************************************************

CBA COUNCIL APPROVES CHANGE OF ADDRESS OF ARMSAVINGSBANK BRANCH

YEREVAN, May, 19. /ARKA/. CBA Council approved change of address of
Armsavingsbank branch, CBA told ARKA. The new address of the banks is
Nor-Achn City, Charents-18 St.
Armsavingsbank was founded in 1923. Before the split of USSR in 1993
the bank was a part of State Savingsbank of USSR and then became a
specialized bank of RA. Registration date by CBA is 05.25.94. On Oct.
31, 1996 the bank received general license of CBA N64. On September
8, 2001 the government of Armenia passed a decree on privatization of
Armsavingsbank via its direct sale to ARCH Limited consortium
(Bahaman island) and MIKA Armenia Trading. In early 2003 the whole
shareholdings was transferred to MIKA Armenia Trading.
As of December 31, 2003 Armsavingsbank’s assets amount to AMD 20.3
bln, individuals’ time deposits – 5.7 bln. AMD, In the beginning 2003
the whole package of shares of the bank was transferred to MIKA
Armenia Trading owned by entrepreneur Mikhail Bagdasarov. ($1 –
555.37 AMD). L.D. -0–

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CBA COUNCIL REGISTERS TWO NEW BRANCHES OF ARMECONOMBANK

YEREVAN, May, 19. /ARKA/. CBA Council registered two new branches of
Armeconombank, CBA told ARKA. The Council made a decision to register
branches Kentron and Erebuni-1 on the following addresses – Yerevan,
Aram-3 St. and Yerevan Titogradian 14 St.
Armeconombank was registered August 26, 1991. The bank’s major
shareholders (30.73% shares) are the Sukiasians. At the moment the
bank has 24 branches. As of March 31, 2004, the profit of the bank
amounted to AMD 1327.7 million AMD, total capital made AMD 3286,8
million AMD. Total assets of the bank made AMD 18099 million AMD. ($1
– 555.37 AMD). L.D. –0

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ROBERT KOCHARIAN AND KAREN CHSHMARITIAN DISCUSS PROGRAMS IN THE
SPHERE OF INDUSTRY

YEREVAN, May, 19. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian and RA
Minister of Trade and Economic Development Karen Chshmaritian
discussed programs in the sphere of industry, process of
privatization and current activity of the Ministry. L.D. –0–

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RA PM RECEIVES EBRD PRESIDENT

YEREVAN, May 19. /ARKA/. Today RA PM Andranik Margarian received Jean
Lemierre, President of European Bank of Reconstruction and
Development. As RA Government Public relations and Press Department
told ARKA, during the meeting, the Head of RA Government mentioned
that Armenia remaining faithful to the selected way leading to
integration into European family and European values is ready to
close cooperation with EBRD for “solving of the problems on this way
step by step”. The Minister also expressed a hope that the
cooperation between Armenian and EBRD will be developing further.
In his turn, EBRD Head pointing out to tangible achievement of
Armenia in economic and other spheres, expressed a readiness to
support the country aimed at improving of the banking system,
building of market economy and democratization process. He attached
significance to setting up priorities of the joint work on the
current stage offering to concentrate attraction on the issues of
improving the business climate, development of the private sector and
directing banking loans to the real sector of economy.
As it is mentioned in the press release, the parties mentioned
importance of hypothec market development that to considerable extent
promotes solution of a number of social problems. Also, RA PM and
EBRD Head touched upon infrastructures , including increasing of
export volumes of medium sized enterprises, improving the situation
in eth sphere of communication and telecommunication, securing
alternative sources of energy. T.M. -0–

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EBRD PRESIDENT POINTS OUT TO PROGRESS IN ARMENIAN ECONOMIC

YEREVAN, May 19. /ARKA/. “The progress in Armenia is discernible”, as
Jean Lemierre, President of European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) stated on his press conference in Yerevan. “I was
in Armenia three years ago and today I see improving of macroeconomic
indicators of the country, progress in situation with the state debts
and fiscal policy.”, said Lemierre. He also mentioned that the
country also faces the problems. Particularly, in his words, the
development temps are not enough high, the are very many poor in the
country. He also stressed that for attraction of investments legal
regulation of business relations is very important. As the EBRD
President mentioned during his visit he had “very positive”
discussions with RA President, PM, CBA Head and private
entrepreneurs.
Jon May 18 Jean Lemierre, President of European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) arrived in Armenia in the
frames of his regional his visit The regional visit comes on the back
of a new EBRD initiative to support some of its poorest countries of
operations – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – where more than 50 per cent of the
population live in poverty. T.M. -0–

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RA PRESIDENT AND THE PRESIDENT OF EBRD DISCUSS THE POSSIBILITIES OF
THE BANK’S PARTICIPATION IN THE ECONOMY OF ARMENIA

YEREVAN, May, 19. /ARKA/. The RA President Kocharian and Jean
Lemierre, the President of European Bank of Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) discussed the possibilities of the bank’s
participation in the economic processes of Armenia. According to the
RA President’s Press Service Department, in the course of the meeting
Kocharian noted that the volume of co-operation of Armenia with the
bank is not big and appealed to Lemierre to activate the bank’s
participation in the development of the Armenian economy. Kocharian
especially emphasized the importance of co-operation with private
sector and stimulation of export. Lemierre in his turn noted that
when developing further programs on support, the focus will be on the
development of small and average entrepreneurship.
Also the issues connected with the banking system of the country were
discussed by Kocharian and Lemierre. They attached high importance to
the development of the system of hypothec crediting. A.H –0–

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FIRST REGIONAL CONFERENCE REDAM TO BE HELD IN TOWN OF ARTASHAT
(ARMENIA)

YEREVAN, May 19. /ARKA/. The first regional conference European
Project for Regional Development of Armenia (REDAM) will be held in
town of Artashat (Armenia). As Armenian Representation of EU-TACIS
Technical Support Program the program, the first stage of which will
be completed in November 2005 is aimed at strengthening of social and
economic development of marzes. As it is mentioned in the press
release during the first stage Ararat marz will be supported in
development programs, its main priorities will be discussed and
solved. After the program development the second stage will start and
will be aimed at financing of the measures included in the project.
As it mentioned in the press release, beginning of the planning of
REDAm in Ararat marz, as well as role and responsibility of local
authorities in the process will be discussed.
European Project for Regional Development of Armenia (REDAM) is
financed by EU-TACIS Technical Support Program. The Program includes
Ararat and Vayots Dzor marzes of Armenia. T.M. -0–

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SCHOOL MATHEMATIC OLYMPIAD ORGANIZED IN YEREVAN BY INITIATIVE OF
EMBASSY OF I.R. IRAN

YEREVAn, May 19. /ARKA/. School mathematic Olympiad was held in
Yerevan by initiative of Embassy of Islamic Republic of Iran. As
Iran’s Embassy told ARKA, 42 schoolchildren from 7 schools
participated in the Olympiad. 6 participants that won the first six
places were awarded prizes in the presence of Iran’s Ambassador.
As it is mentioned in the press release, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Iran in Armenia H.E. Mohammad Farhad Koleyni
attached importance to the activity aimed at deepening of the
friendship level and cooperation between “new generations ” of two
countries. Speaking about Iran’s potential, international
achievements of Iran in various spheres of science and Iran’s
contribution into mathematics foundations, Iran’s Ambassador
mentioned that Iran’s and Armenia’s new generation may shape the
“face of the future”, cooperating in mathematics, physics and other
sciences. T.M. -0–

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