Legal Framework Not Yet Developed To Pass To Toll Roads In Armenia

LEGAL FRAMEWORK NOT YET DEVELOPED TO PASS TO TOLL ROADS IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.11.2009 18:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A legal framework has not yet developed to pass
to toll roads in Armenia and there is no relevant experience in this
sphere, RA Transport and Communications Minister Gurgen Sargsyan told
a press conference in Yerevan today.

According to transport minister, this issue has been repeatedly
discussed in the government and parliament of Armenia. He recalled
that the Armenian prime minister instructed the Ministry of Economy
to develop a draft law, and only after a thorough discussion of the
issue the issue of passage to toll roads can be decided. There is no
experience with toll roads in the entire region, except the single
tunnel in Georgia charging a symbolic fee, he added.

Azerbaijan, Iran Strike Gas Deal

AZERBAIJAN, IRAN STRIKE GAS DEAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.11.2009 10:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR)
and Iranian national gas company signed the memorandum on mutual
understanding on Azerbaijani gas supplies to Iran beginning from 2010,
SOCAR head Rovnag Abdullayev said, Trend News reported.

The memorandum envisages supply of no less than 500 million cubic
meters of gas annually with an opportunity to increase the amount. The
volumes of supplied gas will depend on the state of gas infrastructure
connecting countries at the initial stage.

The contract on purchase-sale of gas is expected to be signed by late
2009, Abdullayev said.

Azerbaijan and Iran are connected with the Kazi-Magomed-Astara
pipelinegas pipeline. Its length is 1474.5 kilometers, including
the territory of Azerbaijan – 296.5 kilometers. Its capacity is 10
billion cubic meters per year. This route is a branch of the pipeline
Gazakh-Astara-Iran, put into operation in 1971. Three compressor
stations in Kazi-Magomed, Agdash and Gazakh have been built. The gas
transportation system is 55 atmospheres. Pipe diameter is 1,200 mm.

Armenian President And Five Ministers To Pay State Visit To Hungary

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT AND FIVE MINISTERS TO PAY STATE VISIT TO HUNGARY

Noyan Tapan
Nov 9, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan will go on a state visit to Hungary on November 8. The
delegation headed by the president is composed of five ministers of
the RA: Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Diaspora Ms.

Hranush Hakobian, Minister of Justice Gevorg Danelian, Minister
of Culture Ms. Hasmik Poghosian, Minister of Agriculture Gerasim
Alaverdian, as well as Head of the Armenian-Hungarian Friendship Group
of the RA National Assembly Gagik Melikian, and other high-ranking
officials.

According to a report of the RA presidential press service, the
Armenian delegation is expected to arrive in Budapest late November 8.

On November 9, an official welcoming ceremony of the Armenian
president will take place in the Hungarian president’s residence to
be followed by a tete-a-tete talk of Serzh Sargsyan and Laslo Solyom,
after which an enlarged meeting of the delegations will be held with
the participation of the two presidents. A number of agreements are
expected to be signed between the governments of the two countries.

Then the presidents of Armenia and Hungary will make a statement for
the press. On the same day President Sargsyan will also meet with
Speaker of the Hungarian parliament Bela Katona.

S. Sargsyan will visit Heroes’ Square in Budapest to lay a wreath at
the memorial complex. He will also lay a wreath at the khachkar in
memory of the Armenian Genocide victims in Petefi Square.

Later on the same day an official dinner in honor of Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan will be given on behalf of Hungarian President Laslo
Solyom. On November 10, Serzh Sargsyan is scheduled to meet with Peter
Cardinal Erdo and Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai, then with
the participants of the Armenia-Hungary business forum. S. Sargsyan
will go and see the sights of Budapest. He together with L. Solyom will
also visit the Military History Museum in Budapest. In the second part
of the day, President Sarsgyan will leave Budapest and pay a short
working visit to Kaliningrad, Russia, at the invitation of Governor
of Kaliningrad Region Georgy Boos. In Kaliningrad, S. Sargsyan will
meet with the governor, then with members of the local Armenian
community. He will also attend the opening ceremony of an Armenian
cultural center and lay flowers at the Armenian khachkar.

The Armenian president will return to Yerevan on November 11.

Rizhkov: Armenian Railways Have Great Room For Development

RIZHKOV: ARMENIAN RAILWAYS HAVE GREAT ROOM FOR DEVELOPMENT

ARKA
Nov 10, 2009

YEREVAN, November 10. /ARKA/. Nikolay Rizhkov, a member of Russian
Federation Council (upper chamber) and co-chair of Armenian-Russian
inter-parliamentary commission, thinks Armenian railways have great
room for development.

"Plenty has been done for railway development in Armenia since my
last year’s visit to this country. I am glad that railway transport
got a new impetus in Armenia. I hope for its further development,"
he said Monday at his meeting with South-Caucasian Railways’ workers.

Rizhkov pointed out the personal contribution of South-Caucasian
Director General Shevket Shaydullin to development of railways
in Armenia.

In his opinion, railway transport is vigorously developing in
Armenia now.

He said dilapidated and dysfunctional railways in Armenia have been
revived and have already started operating.

South-Caucasian Railway, fully owned by the Russian Railways Company,

is the concession manager of the Armenian Railway Company.

Armenian Railway has been handed over to the South-Caucasian Railways
CJSC for 30 years with a right for one-decade prolongation.

Semneby Says It Is Ubnormal To Have Closed Borders

SEMNEBY SAYS IT IS UBNORMAL TO HAVE CLOSED BORDERS

Yerkir
10.11.2009 12:26

Yerevan (Yerkir) – EU Special Representative for South Caucasus Peter
Semneby, in an inteview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant, has
said that it is a good development that Armenian-Turkish negotiations
are in progress.

"Armenia-Turkish border’s opening can become a first step to overcome
the abnormal situation when three longest borders of the region are
closed. These borders are those between Turkey and Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Armenia, and between Georgia and Russia. These developments hinder
growth," Semneby said. "Current Armenian-Turkish relations may now
bring breakthrough although ratification, surely, will be complicated.

But these developments are in Armenia’s and Turkey’s interests. And
I believe the same for Azerbaijan as it is interested in open borders
in region."

The war in Georgia showed that South Caucasus states are vulnerable.

This can be overcome if we solve these matters, he went on saying.

"Sure, it is a problem and an unacceptable stuff that Russia has
recognized South Osetia and Abkhazia. We will have talks on this issue
involving Russia in discussions. Anyway we have common priorities
in other areas, so our disagreement with Russia cannot hinder our
cooperation aimed at overcoming other conflicts," he said.

He added: "I am confident, Armenian leadership holds with me and the
present status-quo of Nagorno-Karabakh is not in Armenia’s interests,
that cannot last forever."

ANKARA: General Convicted For Defamation Of Assassinated Hrant Dink

GENERAL CONVICTED FOR DEFAMATION OF ASSASSINATED HRANT DINK

BIAnet
Nov 9 2009
Turkey

Brigadier General Karaduman was sentenced to pay 2,000 Turkish Lira
in compensation for hate speeches against assassinated Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink.

Erol ONDEROÄ~^LU [email protected] Istanbul – BÄ°A News Center09
November 2009, Monday The Bakırköy 4th Court of First Instance in
Istanbul adjudged Brigadier General Dursun Ali Karaduman from the
Giresun Gendarmerie Regional Command on the eastern Black Sea Coast
to pay 2,000 Turkish Lira (approximately â~B¬ 900) in compensation
for damages for mental anguish. Karaduman had targeted assassinated
editor-in-chief of the Armenian Agos newspaper Hrant Dink in a poem
he read out at a soldier’s funeral. Furthermore, he was quoted as
saying at another soldier’s funeral, "They even condemn it and raise
their voices when a traitor is killed".

The Dink family symbolically set the amount of the compensation to
1 TL. Yet, in order to be able to hear the case the court raised it
of 6,000 TL

"Dink family plans to donate compensation to Nezin Foundation" Lawyer
of the Dink family Deniz Tuna told bianet that the family partially
accepted the amount claimed by the court and said that the family
plans to donate the 2,000 TL decided by the court on 6 November to
Nesin Foundation to support victims of the flood that hit parts of
Istanbul in September this year.

Karaduman allegedly defamed Dink twice after the journalist had been
assassinated on 19 January 2007. The first time he targeted Dink in
a speech Karaduman made at a soldier’s funeral on 9 April 2007. The
second time he mentioned Dink’s name to his disfavour in a poem he
read out at another soldier’s funeral on 20 June 2007.

The court found Karaduman guilty of attacking Dink’s moral integrity
on the grounds of his speech and his poem.

Hate speeches on 2 funerals In his speech in April 2007 Karaduman said,
"…the ones who panned this games and who was nominated for it must
have been informed very well that the country and the nation of the
Turkish Republic is an indivisible whole. Our fight will continue until
there is not a single terrorist left. Today the American Senate, the
French Parliament, the English House of Lords and the EU Parliament
in Brussels have condemned the ones who killed you. They even condemn
it and raise their voices when a traitor is killed. The immortal
heroes who shed holy blood, who made this geography our homeland
and who entrusted it with us; I condemn all the traitors and their
supporters for you here today".

In June Karaduman implemented elements of hate into a poem he read
at the funeral of soldier Kadir Aydın. He complained about the
"world’s indifference" and compared the situation of Aydın, who
"carried a thoroughly original Turkish name" as Karaduman put it,
with journalist Hrant Dink.

A total number of 20 defendants are tried before the 14th High
Criminal Court in the context of the Dink murder., 8 gendarmerie
officials of the Trabzon Gendarmerie Command are prosecuted under
charges of "neglect of duty" because they did not prevent the murder
despite referring information of the Intelligence Office prior to
the assassination.

Bako Sahakyan: Karabakh Telecom Is One Of Key Factors Promoting Econ

BAKO SAHAKYAN: KARABAKH TELECOM IS ONE OF KEY FACTORS PROMOTING ECONOMIC GROWTH

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.11.2009 15:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On November 7, NKR President Bako Sahakyan met
with Karabakh Telecom CJSC’s General Director Ralph Yirikyan. Parties
discussed issues concerning 2010 mobile communication public programs
for Artsakh.

As noted by Mr. Sahakyan, Karabakh Telecom is one of key factors
promoting economic the country’s economic growth. The meeting was
attended by NKR Prime Minister Ara Harutyunyan, NKR President’s press
service reports.

BAKU: Aliyev discusses NK conflict settlement with OSCE MG co-chairs

news.az, Azerbaijan
Nov 7 2009

President of Azerbaijan discusses Karabakh conflict settlement with
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
Sat 07 November 2009 | 05:24 GMT

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received Friday the OSCE’s Minsk
Group co-chairs mediating the Karabakh conflict settlement. At the
meeting the sides exchanged views on the current state of the
negotiation process and its prospects

The meeting was also attended by personal representative of the OSCE’s
chairman-in-office Anzhey Kaspshik. This is the second meeting of the
co-chairs with I.Aliyev after their current visit to the region and
this time their meeting was held justafter their return from Yerevan.

Leyla
News.Az

Balkans: US-Style Wahhabism

BALKANS: US-STYLE WAHHABISM
Vladislav Gulevich (Ukraine)

en.fondsk.ru
04.11.2009

Over a year ago the US and its European vassals had recognized
the independence of Kosovo. What will not be forgotten are the
fortitude of Serb patriots and the disgusting Hague trials during
which unbelievably unfair sentences were handed out to them. Yet, the
story is far from over. These days hundreds of NGOs based in the US,
Europe, and Arab countries are "promoting democracy" in Kosovo. It
should be realized to what extent their activities mesh with those
of the Albanian criminal underworld.

In Kosovo a dense network of mostly Islamic non-government foundations
and organizations are establishing numerous schools, ostensibly
to study Koran but practically to pursue an agenda not limited to
the dissemination of religious knowledge. In particular, the system
includes a number of Saudi organizations such as Al-Haramain Islamic
Foundation, Joint Committee for Rescuing Kosovo and Chechnya, and The
Saudi Joint Committee for the Relief of Kosovo, as well as Muslim
NGOs from other countries – Al Vakh Al Islami, The World Assembly
for Muslim Youth, The International Islamic Relief Organization,
The Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage, and Kaliri il Merilis.

All the Saudi foundations are operated by the Saudi Relief Committee
headquartered in Riyadh. Its Kosovo office is located on the Bill
Clinton Boulevard in Pristina. The Kosovo branch is headed by
Jael Hamza Dzalaidan, an individual linked to Osama Bin Laden. The
mission of the Committee is to coordinate the efforts of all Saudi
NGOs in the former Yugoslavia aimed at spreading the Wahhabi brand
of Islam, with which the population of the geographic region was not
even familiar prior to the NATO occupation. The Committee provides
financial support to a range of Albanian organizations espousing
extremist views such as the Islamic Student Front, Prizren Youth,
and Albanian Youth of Kosovo and is also known to have sponsored the
terrorist Albanian National Army.

When Arab charities in Kosovo offer aid to villages and towns,
the consent of their residents to the construction of new mosques
is set as the prerequisite. Agents of Saudi intelligence services
establish contacts with the imams of the new religious centers, and
the believers attending them are subsequently regarded as candidates
for recruitment. Routinely the mosques are visited by Arab preachers
– typically individuals with combat experience from Lebanon, Iran,
Iraq, and Pakistan – who also act as military instructors. Along with
religious indoctrination they teach the younger generation of Kosovars
combat in urban settings and sabotage. Liaison officers of the Islamic
Jihad terrorist group based in Egypt were spotted in Kosovo. There
is a community of Albanian students at the Cairo University, a school
notorious for serially bringing up Muslim terrorists.

Muslim terrorists are especially active in the Prizren and Pec
regions. Communities of followers of the most aggressive Islamic
movements reside in Pec, and, unfortunately, support for them at
the Balkans is broadening. It is generally believed that there exist
three main centers of Islamic extremism at the Balkans – in Skopje
(Macedonia), Tirana (Albania), and Kosovo.

US security expert and OSCE Kosovo mission officer Thomas Gimble
asserts that Kosovo has grown into a heaven for Islamic terrorist
organizations and that Al Qaeda is massively pouring money into
the region. The Saudi Arabia, Iran, Bahrain, and Qatar as well as
the Hezbollah terrorist group are jointly forming a whole army of
jihadists potentially numbering up to 75,000 people.

The process underway in Kosovo is not an Islamic renaissance but the
advent of Wahhabism which is the most aggressive and irreconcilable
aberration of Islam. It is driven not only by the Saudi Arabia
but also by its "big brother" – the US. The latter may claim to
be uprooting Wahhabism in Afghanistan but, strange as it may seem,
the US has no problem coexisting with it in Kosovo. Manipulations
perpetrated by the US are meant to create a source of permanent
tension and destabilization in Europe. It is not surprising, therefore,
that Western humanitarian missions – Charles Stuart Mott Foundation,
East-West Management Institute, Foundation for Democratic Initiatives,
The Balkan Trust for Democracy, The German Marshall Fund, Rockefeller
Brothers Fund – are working side by side with Wahhabi preachers.

It is stated proudly at the site of the Charles Stuart Mott Foundation
that currently NGOs are mushrooming in Kosovo. According to Kosovo
branch head Bakshim Rahmani, the number of NGOs registered in the
province has reached 5,000!

Implementing its political projects in the region, the US cooperates
tightly with the leaders of the Albanian mafia. Curiously, "the
world’s foremost democracy" and the Albanian criminal groups seem
to have common objectives. The most influential leaders of Albanian
criminal underworld are Rami Mustafi, leader of the Rami-Guys group
controlling the east of Kosovo (Kacanik-Gnilana-Vitina), Albanian
politician Hashim Thaci, Recep Salemi, and Agim Cheku. The merger of
the Albanian politics and organized crime brought to life a monster
which poses a threat to the entire Central and South Europe. Backed
by Tirana and Washington, the Albanian organized crime is forging
political parties to infiltrate the Kosovo administration. For example,
Thaci, Salemi, and Cheku established the Kosovo Democratic Party. Their
allies are notorious individuals like Havit Haliti, Suleyman Semimi,
Agim Shyla, and Samid Lushtaku. Lushtaku and Semimi are the founders
of the Kosovo Liberation Army and former field commanders of the
Defense Corps Kosovo. All of these people have individual sectors
of responsibility in the politics and organized crime spheres while
acting under the control of the Democratic Party of Kosovo. So,
Thaci is the party leader, and Haliti is the director of secret
service and financial operations.

Currently the top criminal positions in Kosovo are shared by the
Rami-guys and several other groups having links with US and Albanian
intelligence services. Some of them are characterized below.

The Brakai group is led by brothers Albert, Ilin, and Fatmir Brakai.

They maintain close ties with former Albanian Prime Minister and
present-day parliamentarian Fatos Nano. Information about the
connections between Nano and the Albanian mafia in Italy surfaces
regularly in the Italian media. The Brakai group controls Pristina
and the territories along the Drenica Valley.

The dominion of former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj’s
group spans Pec-Decani-Dakovica. It is sponsored by major Albanian
businessman and arms smuggler Ekrem Luka. The arms deliveries are
controlled by Luka’s trustee Ali Haski who is linked to Albania’s
SHIK security service. Luka is an ally of Thaci’s clan connected to
it via Haliti.

Several other groups are also dominant in the formerly Serbian Kosovo.

Florim Maloku controls the smuggling of cigarettes, cars, and alcohol
into Kosovo (he is known to have donated $300 to the Kosovo Liberation
Army in the past). Ismet Aslani, an individual linked to Thaci and to
Kosovo’s number one smuggler Nuredin Ibishi, controls the deliveries
of marijuana, heroin, and fuel to the region. Salli Nimani, whose
donations to the cause of the Kosovo Liberation Army totaled $3 mln,
supplies firearms from Albania, occasionally transiting them by cars
with diplomatic license plates. He also helps former Kosovo Liberation
Army guerrillas find jobs in Presevo, Medveda and Bujanovac, thus
broadening the niche of his criminal activity. As a result, currently
Nimani is also smuggling firearms into the above regions. Shukri Buya,
a smuggler and a confidant of SHIK and the Albanian mafia, sponsors
the Black Eagle paramilitary formation.

As it follows from all of the above, the Islamization of the formerly
Serbian territories is paralleled by their criminalization. The
Albanian mafia patronized by Washington is penetrating the Kosovo
administration and propelling its agents to significant political and
government positions. Given the current disposition, the abandoned
Serbian minority in the region has practically no chances to survive.

"My beloved Serbia, I am ready to sacrifice my life in your name. I
am aware what I give away and for what". This was the vow of Serbian
volunteers preparing to fight the enemies of their country. Hopefully,
Serbs will find the strength not to give in at the face of new
hardships.

President Of National Academy Of Science Of Armenia Concerned Over ‘

PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE OF ARMENIA CONCERNED OVER ‘FINANCIAL’ FUTURE OF ARMENIAN SCIENCE

ArmInfo
2009-11-04 16:28:00

ArmInfo. Science Development Strategy in Armenia for 2020 will be
discussed at the National Academy of Science (NAS) on December 4.

NAS President Radik Martirosyan said in a press conference at
the National Press Club on Wednesday that the Strategy suggests
increasing the share of science in GDP to 2% instead of the present
0.2%. The share of science in the budgetary expenditure is less than
1%, NAS president said. He highlighted that financing of science in
Armenia is far behind not only developed states (France and Sweden
where share of science in GDP is 4%) but also neighboring Georgia and
Azerbaijan where this figure is 0.5% of GDP. In Europe the government
provides over 100,000 euros per every scientist whereas in Armenia
this financing makes up just 3,000. Whether the country will reach
the indicators set forth in the Science Development Strategy in 11
is not clear even for the NAS President. "Such documents are often
declarative," he admitted. Despite little financing, science keeps on
stability developing in the country, R. Martirosyan said. The most
significant results have been registered in physics, astrophysics
and biology. R. Martirosyan highlighted that scientists are actively
establishing contacts with their foreign colleagues. For instance, an
agreement has been recently achieved with France for provision of 10
grants and establishment of 3 joint labs for research in the sphere of
physics, geology and ethnography. A total of 52 international programs
were implemented in Armenia in 2008 and a total of $5 million grants
were provided for 2005-2008.

The state budget allocated 8.3 billion drams (over $27 million)
for science in Armenia in 2009.