Author: Khoyetsian Rose

PSRC TO CONSIDER RECOGNITION OF FRANCE TELECOM’S VICTORY IN RECENT TENDER FOR THIRD MOBILE OPERATOR LICENSE IN ARMENIA

ARKA
Oct 16, 2008

YEREVAN, October 16. /ARKA/. At its Friday’s meeting, Public
Services Regulatory Commission is to consider the recognition of
France Telecom’s victory in the recent tender for the third mobile
operator license in Armenia.

The tender commission announced Orange (France Telecom’s main brand)
the winner.

Orange offered the largest bid for obtaining GSM license. The company
bade EUR 51.5 million.

Under the rules, after undergoing necessary procedures before December
15 the company will receive the final license.

According to the draft decision placed on the Commission’s website, FTA
Telecom CJSC, which has been founded by France Telecom and registered
in Justice Ministry’s state register, applied to the Commission for
preliminary license for exploitation of network of public electronic
communications, radio frequencies and permission to use phone numbers
all over Armenia’s territory.

The Commission will consider the matter and set requirements to FTA
Telecom and a schedule of fee payment for radio frequencies.

ARMENIAN PUBLIC TV NEEDS TO STRENGTHEN PUBLIC SERVICE ETHOS AND PROVIDE IMPARTIAL NEWS

A1+
[03:41 pm] 17 October, 2008

Defining clear editorial lines, improving mechanisms to
measure audience needs, ceasing aggressive commercial policies
and strengthening current affairs programming are some of the
recommendations for Armenian public television in a report by the
BBC World Service Trust presented today in Yerevan.

The report, which was commissioned by the OSCE Office in Yerevan
with the aim of supporting further development of Armenia’s public
service broadcaster (PTV), is the result of a five-day needs assessment
conducted by the BBC World Service Trust in July.

"Public television should raise its ambitions in providing programming
of a broadly educational nature that would serve to the interests
of different groups of the community. It should end the practice
of airing programmes made by the government," said Michael Randall,
Projects Manager for Europe and CIS at the BBC World Service Trust.

"We believe there is vast potential for making PTV a leader in
its field and establish a blueprint for public service broadcasting
which could be replicated in countries across the region. However, we
also acknowledge that PTV’s ability to strengthen its public service
ethos relies heavily on political will and change in attitude at the
government level."

The report recommended a long-term consultancy programme, whereby
consultants will work with producers to support the development
of new programmes and with senior managers to reorganize working
methods. The BBC experts also emphasized the importance of identifying
clear objectives and measurable outcomes, with local civil society
organizations monitoring the impact of the training programme, based
upon agreed performance indicators

ASKS FOR TIME

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
14 Oct 2008
Armenia

ARTASHES SHAHBAZYAN, member of the NA Interim Committee investigating
the March 1-2 incidents, yesterday said that the Committee was not
going to submit its conclusion before the scheduled time-limit,
i.e. October the 25th. "We have already applied to the National
Assembly with a legislative initiative, proposing it to extend the
time-limit of the Committee’s work for 2 months.

We decided that extending the time-limit would be logical because
the fact-finding group which is going to be set up will have time
for working as well as providing us with information."

SEND OFFICIAL REQUEST TO

Panorama.am
19:33 14/10/2008

>From time to time "Yerevan Water" CSJC or as people use to say
"water seller" makes different communities in Yerevan to remember of
him. "Yerevan water warns, warns and warns…".

A few days before it was revealed out that the quality of water in
Silikian and Lukashin regions does not correspond to the general
standards. The company warns people not to use water.

Currently Panorama.am has been informed that people of those regions
still are warned to use the water. Panorama.am reporter called
to the company to find out how they are planning to regulate the
situation. Murad Sargsyan, who said that he is a press officer in
the company, assured that the quality of the water has been fixed a
few days before.

To the question that people still have some warnings and they don’t
use water, and they have to buy it, the representative of the company
said that it is in vain. To another question whether the company plans
to compensate people for those inconveniences, Mr. Sargsyan said that
"It would be better to write an official request to our director".

ANCA SLAMS BRYZA FOR RETREAT FROM PRINCIPLE IN U.S. POLICY TOWARD KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.10.2008 14:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
Chairman Ken Hachikian, in remarks delivered yesterday before more
than 900 elected officials and community leaders at the annual Western
Region banquet, publicly and forcefully challenged recent statements by
senior State Department official Matt Bryza that, as a precondition for
peace, Armenia must agree that Nagorno Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan,
ANCA Communications Director Elizabeth Chouldjian told PanARMENIAN.Net.

Speaking before a capacity crowd at the Ronald Reagan Presidential
Library, Hachikian sharply condemned the "retreat from principle"
in U.S. policy toward the people and republic of Nagorno Karabakh –
who have strived, at the brutal cost of a generation of its best
sons and daughters – to live up to the fundamentally American ideal
that all people deserve to live free of foreign tyranny, under a
government of their own choosing." He added that, "just this past
week, we saw a senior State Department official, Matt Bryza, moving
farther from even the pretense of supporting democracy, by saying
that Armenia must accept the false proposition that Nagorno Karabakh
is part of Azerbaijan. He’s absolutely wrong. And we all know it –
and so does Baku and Ankara."

In an October 9th interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation
Russian language service, Bryza, who serves as Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State and also the State Department’s representative
to the OSCE Minsk Group talks, stated that Armenia must agree that
Nagorno Karabakh is legally part of Azerbaijan.

His comments follow a series of statements, over the past several
weeks, in which Bryza has demonstrated a pro-Azerbaijani bias by
prioritizing the misapplication of the principle of territorial
integrity to the Nagorno Karabakh issue over the basic right of all
peoples to self-determination.

CENTRAL BANK OF ARMENIA IS TOUGHENING MONETARY-CREDIT POLICY BECAUSE OF SLOWDOWN IN ECONOMIC DRAMIZATION RATE

ArmInfo
2008-10-13 19:25:00

ArmInfo. The Central Bank of Armenia continues toughening
monetary-credit policy because of slowdown in economic dramization
rate due to growing inflation in Jan-June 2008.

In July-Sept 2008 almost all monetary-credit indices dropped as
against 2007. AMD supply grew by just 35.1% against 63.9% in 2007. AMD
deposits grew by 44%, circulating AMD cash by 28.7%, monetary base
by 31.6%. Currency deposits in USD equivalent grew by 25.9% while
deposits in AMD equivalent by 13.8%.

By the end of this year the annual growth in money and AMD supply
is expected to make up 21%-24%, monetary base – 9%-11%, AMD deposits
and AMD cash in circulation – 32%-34% and 12%-14%, respectively. The
growth in USD deposits will make up 23%-25% against 8.6% in 2007.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Hulusi Kilic: Turkey will always advocate Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity
11.10.2008 14:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A new round of trilateral talks between Turkey,
Armenia and Azerbaijan will take place after the Azeri presidential
election, said Hulusi Kilic, Turkey’s Ambassador to Baku.

`Isolated Armenia will most benefit from normalization of relations
and I am hopeful that we will resolve all problems
jointly. Nevertheless, Turkey will always advocate Azerbaijan’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity,’ he said, Novosti Azerbaijan
reports.

CLUB DAY
Sasha Santacruz

Valley Star
10/8/08
CA

Valley College had its first club day of the fall semester on
Wednesday. The area was tranquil except for some students walking
around with a clipboard asking, "Are you registered to vote?"

On the small piece of Monarch Square that isn’t under construction,
students set up their tables for others to learn about their
organization.

The Child Development department set the scene with a banner, flyers,
doughnuts and orange juice. The club is an advocate for parents and
children and also promotes early childhood education.

"We are not only representing our club," said Annalace Hillinger. "We
also are giving out flyers for the Family Resource Center."

The Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning Club gives students
the opportunity to come together and speak about current issues or
to simply meet others like themselves.

"We had a late start last year, but it’s getting better" said James
Hart, president of the club. "We got about three new people just
within this last hour."

Some clubs had food and refreshments for sale, giving students a great
opportunity to get an on-the-go breakfast or simply get hydrated on
what was a scorching day.

A student, sitting on a bench, watched the event while eating her
food. When finished, she walked over to the child development club
to purchase a cup of orange juice and then walked away.

The Armenian Student Association, which quickly had students showing
interest, put an emphasis on collecting donations for foster children
in Armenia.

The Movmiento Estudiantil Chicano/a de Aztlan (M.E.Ch.A) set up their
table a little late, but made sure they had salsa and chips out for
students. The club is working on a fundraiser to hold a state-wide
conference so they can touch basis on particular topics.

"A lot of people ask what it [M.E.Ch.A] stands for," said Dulce
Medina. "It’s a window shopping experience for people."

A day for clubs to promote themselves changed quite a bit this
year. With the election only a month away, many clubs were focused
on the task of getting students registered to vote. Within the first
hour, an Associated Student Union member reported having more than
fifty new voters.

"It’s been awesome collecting a lot of registrations," said student
Fernando Alvarez. "It feels great being active in voting."

At the end of the affair, the organizations came together and helped
one another get more registrations. If interested in a particular
club or would like more information, students may go to the ASU office
located in the Campus Center.

IQBAL AGHAZADE: "AZERBAIJAN MUST TAKE A PRINCIPAL POSITION IN THE RESOLUTION OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT"

Today.Az
09 October 2008 [14:38]
Azerbaijan

"The effectiveness of the activity of the Minsk Group depends on
Azerbaijan’s position", said presidential candidate and chairman of
Umid Party Iqbal Aghazade.

He noted that Azerbaijan must take a principal position in the
resolution of the Karabakh conflict for the OSCE Minsk group to take
real steps.

"This organization will not take negotiations, discussions or any other
concessions in the resolution of the Karabakh conflict in ordinary
situation. Azerbaijan must take its position for the OSCE Minsk Group
to follow it. Even if the co-chairs are replaced in the Minsk Group,
it will have no effect.

Azerbaijan must take definite steps for the progress in the conflict
resolution", noted he,

Aghazade said that such an attitude to the Minsk Group is reflected
in his election platform.

HEAD OF OSCE YEREVAN OFFICE: ARMENIA RANKS THE 150TH IN THE WORLD BY INDEX OF PAYING TAXES

Arminfo
2008-10-07 19:08:00

ArmInfo. Armenia ranks the 150th in the world by the index of paying
taxes, say the data of Doing Business-2009 ranking, Head of OSCE
Yerevan Office, Ambassador Sergey Kapinos told media Tuesday. As
regards tax reforms approved by the Government of Armenia, Ambassador
Kapinos said that unawareness of the small and medium-scale enterprises
in Armenia of tax legislation of Armenia makes the country vulnerable
against corruption risks. Just for this purpose, he said, OSCE Yerevan
Office jointly with the National Center for SME Development in Armenia
issued a guidebook on tax reforms for businessmen (20,000 copies). The
more businessmen will know the less space will remain for corruption
risks, the Ambassador said.

As regards Doing Business rating, S. Kapinos said the index of paying
taxes must be in the focus of attention since Armenia seriously yields
to other states. In general Armenia ranks the 44th but the low index of
paying taxes make seriously thinking over the necessity of improving
the tax administration. One of the key efficiency factors of the
latter is awareness of business-sectors of reforms, S. Kapinos said.