Author: nina hovnanian

MINISTERE DES AFFAIRES ETRANGERES : ENVIRON 8000 TOURISTES ONT VISITE LE KARABAKH EN 2010
Stephane

armenews.com
samedi 23 juillet 2011

Selon les donnees du Service du Consulat du Ministère des Affaires
etrangères de la Republique du Nagorno-Karabakh environ 8000 touristes
ont visite le Karabakh en 2010.

Les touristes provenaient des pays de la CEI, de l’Union Europeenne,
de l’Amerique, de l’Asie et de l’Afrique. Ces deux dernières annees
le flux des touristes en provenance de l’Iran a augmente.

Malgre la resistance active de Bakou, l’interet envers l’Artsakh
augmente d’annee en annee dans le monde.

DISPARITION DU COMPOSITEUR GAREN KHATCHATRIAN
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 23 juillet 2011

Le compositeur Garen Khatchatrian etait moins connu que son celèbre
oncle Aram Khatchatrian. Garen Khatchatrian vient de disparaître a
Moscou a l’âge de 91 ans. Ne le 19 decembre 1920, Artiste populaire
d’URSS (en 1981) G. Khatchatrian avait recu un nombre important
de recompenses et de medailles comme celle de l’Honneur (2000) et
l’Amitie (1995). Il etait l’auteur du ballet ” Tchipolino “. Garen
Khatchatrian est aussi l’auteur de l’hymne national de deux pays
Africains, la Somalie et le Zanzibar.

LE SALAIRE MOYEN DES SCIENTIFIQUES DE BIURAKAN EST DE 36 000 DRAMS
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 23 juillet 2011

Actuellement 86 personnes, scientifiques et personnel, travaillent a
l’observatoire armenien ” Victor Hampartsoumian ” de Biurakan. Ils
representent a peine près de 5% de l’effectif de Biurakan lors
de la periode sovietique. Haïg Haroutiounian, le responsable de
l’observatoire a declare qu’il gagnait 58 000 drams et que le salaire
moyen etait de 36 000 drams. Presque une misère…alors meme que le
gouvernement armenien declare qu’il desire relancer le secteur des
sciences et de la recherche… Slone H. Haroutiounian, l’âge moyen
du personnel de Biurakan est de 50 ans. Des chercheurs de près de
80 ans font egalement partie de l’equipe. Une douzaine de chercheurs
ont neanmoins moins de 33 ans. ” La fuite des scientifiques eut lieu
specialement dans les annees 1990 ” dit H. Haroutiounian qui precise
que l’effectif est aujourd’hui relativement stable. Biurakan est
relie a d’autres observatoires etrangers dans des missions d’etudes
internationales.

NUNE YESSAYAN ET PATRICK FIORI AU PALAIS DU PHARO A MARSEILLE LE 19 SEPTEMBRE
Krikor Amirzayan

armenews.com
samedi 23 juillet 2011

A l’occasion des 20 ans de l’independance de la Republique d’Armenie,
la CCIFA et l’association Marseille-Armenie organiseront le lundi 19
Septembre au Palais du Pharo de Marseille un Dîner de Gala exceptionnel
au profit du Fonds armenien de France en presence de Son Excellence
Viguen Tchitetchian, ambassadeur d’Armenie en France.

Les invites d’honneurs lors de cette soiree sont le chanteur Patrick
Fiori, les humoristes Pascal Legitimus et Mathieu Madenian, le
compositeur et musicien Andre Manoukian et Sophie Audouin Mamikonian
auteure de nombreux ouvrage de la serie ” Tara Dunkan “. La soiree qui
sera suivie d’un concert a l’auditorium du Palais du Pharo de Marseille
dont les benefices seront reverses au Fonds Armenien de France.

Patrick Fiori, Andre Manoukian et Pascal Legitimus recevront au cours
de cette soiree le trophee ” Toros ” -~uvres du sculpteur drômois
Toros- de la Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie Franco-Armenienne.

Participeront egalement au Grand Concert des 20 ans de la Republique
d’Armenie a l’auditorium du Pharo : Nune Yessayan, Le Groupe Massis,
Mino Sindicate, La Chorale Sahag Mesrop, Philippe & Morgan, Andreas.

Lundi 19 Septembre 2011 – Palais du Pharo – Marseille 18 h 30 :
Aperitif suivi du Dîner de Gala de la CCIFA et de l’association
Marseille-Armenie au Salon Eugenie : 100 ~@ 21 h 30 : Grand Concert
des 20 ans de l’Independance de la Republique d’Armenie ( Auditorium
du Pharo ) au profit du Fonds Armenien de France : 35 ~@ Dîner de
Gala + Places ” Carre d’Or ” au Concert de l’Auditorium du Pharo :
150 ~@Renseignements & inscriptions auprès de : Frank Ohanessian tel :
06 16 16 05 76 [email protected] ou au secretariat de la CCIFA
: Sylvie Seropian tel : 06 16 17 89 16 [email protected]
Billets pour le concert en vente egalement dans les magasins :
Fnac, Carrefour, Auchan, etc. Contact Presse : Richard Findykian
(vice-president de la CCIFA) [email protected]

RUSSIA SEEKING NOT TO SETTLE BUT TO MANAGE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT – AZERI OPPOSITION POLITICIAN

Interfax
July 21 2011
Russia

Russia is not interested in having the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
settled because it does not want to lose its clout with the South
Caucasus, said Isa Gambar, the leader of the opposition Azeri party
Musavat.

“I do not believe that Russia is interested in solving the conflict at
the present stage. Because the settlement of the conflict would limit
Moscow’s ability to influence the situation in the South Caucasus and
Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s policy and decisions,” Gambar said on Echo
Moskvy radio on Thursday.

“Moscow would be interested in having the conflict settled in such
a way as to retain all levers of influence on the situation in the
South Caucasus, but this is unlikely to meet either Azerbaijan’s or
Armenia’s interests,” Gambar said.

“Therefore, I think Russia, as well as the Western countries, is
interested more in managing the conflict than in solving it. And
therefore, I do not pin special hopes on all of these negotiations
that have been held over the past year,” Gambar said.

All political groups in Azerbaijan share the view that Nagorno-Karabakh
should be reincorporated into Azerbaijan, he said.

ARMENIA LOSES ECONOMIC BATTLE, DOOMED TO LOSE POLITICAL ONE

Today’s Zaman

July 22 2011
Turkey

Armenia as number two in the ranking of “The World’s Worst Economies”
in US business magazine Forbes should ring alarm bells for this
landlocked country in the Southern Caucasus.

It made one thing crystal clear: The continuation of the illegal
occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands despite four UN Security
Council resolutions is no longer a sustainable policy for Armenia as
it has started to take a heavy toll on the country’s economy.

The lifeline provided to its economy by regional powers Russia and
Iran, as well as money flowing from the diaspora, is not enough to
halt the deterioration of the Armenian economy. Armenia desperately
needs a sustainable long-term economic plan for its people.

The goodwill or shaky strategic assistance secured temporarily from
regional powers alone will not help Armenia stay afloat at a time
when the world is bracing itself for another economic crisis, likely
to originate from a deepening crisis in the eurozone.

You may question the methodology used in Forbes magazine’s
calculations, but in the end the analysis used the data provided to
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by Armenia itself, compiled over
the last three years and in which the prospects of next year have been
factored in. It looked at several factors, like high inflation, lower
growth, the income per capita and a negative trade balance. Armenian
Finance Minister Vache Gabrielyan may try to put the blame on the
2008-2009 world economic crises as an explanation for his country’s
poor development. But the problem is not just limited to whether or
not the country’s economy was impacted by external shocks. The country
has structural problems and needs to trade more, which looks unlikely
given the military occupation of Azerbaijani lands.

At the expense of preserving the current status quo and hopefully
gaining independence for Nagorno-Karabakh in negotiations with
Azerbaijan, Armenia is losing its vital assets, most importantly its
human capital. The number of people who emigrated from Armenia remains
unclear. Official figures indicate that nearly 80,000 people left
the country for good in the past three years while nongovernmental
organizations estimate the actual number during that same period may
have reached several hundred thousand. It was claimed that 45,000
people fled the country in just the past four months.

No matter how you interpret the different numbers, the important
thing is that there is a clear and identifiable trend pointing to a
mass exodus in the two decades since the conflict started. People are
looking for better opportunities in terms of employment and escaping
from their poor living conditions in Armenia. Most importantly, the
majority of people who left Armenia were highly qualified people,
the crème de la crème, so to speak. This loss of human capital,
which is considered to be part of the national wealth, is not the
only source of concern for Armenia. It is faced with the outflow of
financial capital as well, which, as is to be expected, is transferred
to safe and secure places for investment.

Because of the occupation of neighboring Azerbaijani territories,
Armenia cannot trade with the two economic powerhouses in the region
— Turkey and Azerbaijan, both of whom have booming economies despite
the economic crisis brewing in Europe. Turkey, with record economic
growth in the last quarter, even outpacing China, closed its border
with Armenia in April 1993 in protest of Armenian aggression. It tied
the reopening of the border to a solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict out of solidarity with Azerbaijan, resisting Western pressure
to open the borders.

To be cut off from lucrative trade with Turkey was not the only price
Armenia had to pay. The Armenian government in Yerevan was also left
out of important regional projects like the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC)
pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. The access to Western
markets via Turkey is a huge loss for the Armenian economy as well.

We all remember when Haydar Aliyev, the father of Ilham Aliyev,
proposed constructing the BTC pipeline through Armenia in exchange
for a return of occupied lands. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan had the
BTC run through Georgia instead, meaning a significant loss for the
Armenian economy.

The same thing happened with the railway. Just to give an example,
Azerbaijan extended a $200 million loan to Georgia as part of the first
stage in the construction of this railway with an additional loan
of $575 million to be allocated for the next stage. This investment
may have easily gone to Armenia had it ended the occupation and
established good relations with Azerbaijan. The project is expected
to be completed by the end of next year and will make both Georgia and
Azerbaijan transportation hubs in the region. The construction of the
biggest Caspian trade seaport in Alat will extend the reach of this
railway to Central Asia, connecting both eastern and western trade
routes. Armenia stands to lose even more in both strategic terms as
well as commercially from other energy and transportation projects
currently being considered in the region.

Because of the conflict, Armenia has lost contact with the most
important economic power in the South Caucasus as well. Azerbaijan
constitutes 75 percent of the South Caucasus economy and gross
product as well as 90 percent of export potential, thanks mainly to
the oil-extracting business. The economy has grown threefold in the
past seven years, while gross domestic product (GDP) has increased 300
percent. As personal income levels have risen dramatically, poverty was
reduced fivefold, according to government statistics. Just last year,
the country received $16 billion in investments. In the first half
of 2011, investments worth $5.7 billion were made in Azerbaijan’s
economy, with more than 70 percent of these funds being directed
to the agricultural sector’s development as part of diversification
policies, which gives priority to the development of sectors of the
economy other than the oil business.

Given the economic dynamics, time is not on Armenia’s side. They have
vested strategic interest in keeping the process of negotiation alive
to find a solution for this long-running conflict with Azerbaijan. It
is a shame that the Kazan talks, held last month between Azerbaijan
and Armenia under Russian stewardship, did not produce any result, but
I do not agree with the premise that the status quo benefits Armenia.

I think having no breakthrough in talks would hurt Armenia more than
ever as it loses out on huge economic opportunities during a time of
crisis in the world economy.

EU SEEKS ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT IN KARABAKH CONFLICT RESOLUTION-EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER

news.am
July 22 2011
Armenia

The EU wants to be actively involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and
is ready to provide the necessary funds to help resolve the conflict
and restore the region, European Commissioner for Enlargement and
European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule stated in an interview
with RFE/RL.

“Now we allocate more funds for confidence-building measures between
the sides in Transnistria or Karabakh. But this is only the first
step,” he noted.

According Fule, the EU has already taken an active role in the
resolution of Transnistria conflict and is willing to take steps in
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

The diplomat emphasized changing the current format of the OSCE
Minsk Group is not discussed. “I do not think we are dealing with
replacement of a member of the Minsk Group. The parties to the conflict
and the OSCE Minsk Group should create conditions for the EU’s active
participation at this stage.

According to the official, the European Union may prepare a package
of assistance for the parties when they come to a final agreement
along with confidence-building measures.

“This package will include activities that will contribute to social
and economic development. If necessary, the EU can also restore
the infrastructure to link certain areas to other countries,” Fule
emphasized.

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

JULY 15-21, 2011

HIGHLIGHTS:

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB MARKED ITS 16TH ANNIVERSARY

“E-CLUB” CYCLE: INTERNET AND CHURCH

“YERKRAGUND” ON CIVIL INITIATIVES FOR ARMENIAN-TURKISH RAPPROCHEMENT

THE BROADCAST LICENSING PROCESS WAS NOT OBJECTIVE, BELIEVE THE
EXPERTS

MONITORING OF DEMOCRATIC REFORMS IN ARMENIA 2009-2010

“GALA” IS FORCED TO DISSEMBLE THE EQUIPMENT FROM THE CITY TV TOWER

“A1+” TV COMPANY GOT A NEW OPPORTUNITY TO CONTEST THE 2004 RULINGS OF THE
COURT OF CASSATION

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB MARKED ITS 16TH ANNIVERSARY

On July 18 Yerevan Press Club marked the 16th anniversary since its
foundation. On the same day the YPC Annual Award Ceremony was held in
Yerevan. The Award was established in 1998 and is conferred to best
journalists and media organizations of Armenia (see in
“Awards” section).

The 2010-2011 YPC annual awardees are:

Anna ISRAELIAN, observer of “Aravot” daily – for the article cycle “These
Are the Proposals of the Winners (…)”, regarding the 2010 broadcast
licensing competitions (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, February 11-17, 2011).
The prize was handed by Elina Poghosbekian, Editor of YPC Weekly Newsletter.
Anna Israelian was also granted a memorial gift from Ashot Gazazian,
Armenian Correspondent of “Deutsche Welle” radio station

Margarit YESAYAN, observer of “Aravot” daily – for the journalistic
investigation that returned to the readers the literary works of Rafael
Bazikian (author, poet and dissident, who has been missing since the 60s of
the 20th century). The prize was conferred to Margarit Yesayan by Astghik
Gevorgian, Chairwoman of Journalists Union of Armenia.

“THIRD CENTURY” program cycle of “Shoghakat” TV company – for fostering the
discussion culture. The prize to cycle author and host Anna Sargsian and
Director Ara Shirinian was awarded by Nouneh Sarkissian, Executive Director
of Internews Media Support NGO.

Artur PAPIAN, blogger and Editor of Radio “Free Europe”/Radio “Liberty”
Armenian Service – for enhancing alternative media. The award was given by
Avet Demurian, Armenian Correspondent of “Associated Press” news agency, YPC
Vice President.

“E-CLUB” CYCLE: INTERNET AND CHURCH

On July 19 another program from “E-Club” weekly cycle went on the online
broadcast of “A1+” TV company (). The “E-Club” is produced by
Yerevan Press Club in cooperation with “A1+” TV company under “Alternative
Resources in Media” project, supported by USAID.

The information and education blocs, particularly, told about the website of
Yerevan Mayor, with the Internet resources enabling to follow the World Team
Chess Championship in China, and with the Wi-Fi map of Yerevan. One of the
plots dealt with the YouTube video that generated vivid discussion on the
Web last week: the talk between the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II
and Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II that took place during the
2011 June visit of the Armenian Catholicos to Georgia. The theme of complex
inter-church relations was further considered by the guests of the
discussion part of “E-Club” – Vahagn Tevosian, Deputy Chief Editor of
“Hraparak” daily, founder of Topnews.am, and David Alaverdian, Chief Editor
of “Mediamax” news agency.

The last “E-Club” of the season will be aired on “A1+” on July 26. The cycle
will be resumed in September.

“YERKRAGUND” ON CIVIL INITIATIVES FOR ARMENIAN-TURKISH RAPPROCHEMENT

On July 19 the thirteenth and the season’s final show of “Yerkragund”
(“Globe”) cycle went on the evening air of “Yerkir Media” TV company. The
current show was produced by Yerevan Press Club under a joint YPC and
Internews Network project, “Dialogue Building Between Armenia and Turkey”,
supported by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of US
Department of State.

The guests of the program host, YPC President Boris Navasardian, were Gevorg
Ter-Gabrielian, Country Director of Eurasia Partnership Foundation, Gegham
Manukian, Director of the News and Current Affairs Programs of “Yerkir
Media” TV company, Vahram Ter-Matevosian, turcologist, Senior Research
Assistant at the Oriental Studies Institute of RA National Academy of
Sciences, Gayaneh Abrahamian, correspondent of ArmeniaNow online
publication. The discussion focused on the civil initiatives in the
Armenian-Turkish rapprochement process.

“Yerkragund” will be on air again in September.

THE BROADCAST LICENSING PROCESS WAS NOT OBJECTIVE, BELIEVE THE
EXPERTS

On July 20 in “Congress” hotel of Yerevan the book, “Expert Analysis of the
Broadcast Licensing Competition Results of December 2010”, was presented.
The study was carried out by Yerevan Press Club under the homonymous
project, supported by Friedrich Ebert Foundation. In March-June, 2011 the
expert group, established by YPC, has analyzed the organization, holding and
summing up of the 25 digital broadcast licensing competitions, the
competition bids and the results. The YPC working group included experts
from different fields: Media Expert Mesrop Harutiunian, Anna Israelian,
Observer of “Aravot” daily, Suren Saghatelian, procurement specialist and
Board Member of Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center, Isabella
Sargsian, specialist in finances and Project Coordinator of Eurasia
Partnership Foundation, Konstantin Geodakian, Technical Director of
Internews Media Support NGO, Mikayel Hovhannisian, Project Coordinator of
Eurasia Partnership Foundation, and Edik Baghdasarian, Head of
“Investigative Journalists” NGO. The experts sought to identify how the
broadcast legislation and licensing competitions held in 2010 did enhance
the TV market, pluralism and diversity of the Armenian TV air, as well as to
determine the level of impartiality and objectivity of the regulatory body,
National Commission on Television and Radio, while determining the winners.

The experts, in particular, came to the following conclusions:

– Amendments made to the RA Law “On Television and Radio” on June 10, 2010
did not ensure the development of the TV market, the holding of open, fair
and transparent competitions, the pluralism and diversity of TV air.

– The Law articles related to licensing and the competitions held by the
NCTR based on those articles, did not rule out the possibility of subjective
decision-making. This was particularly clear during the summarization of
competition No.11, when the bid of the founder of “A1+” TV company was given
a score of only 2.

– While summarizing the results of the competitions, NCTR has not shown a
uniform approach in forming justifications. For the four competitions which
had two participants, NCTR has provided justifications regarding the
decisions on determining the winner. Whereas, in cases when the competition
had one participant, all 21 NCTR decisions on determining the winners have
the same standard formulation: “(…) after reviewing the submitted bid and
attached documents it has become clear that they meet the requirements
established by RA legislation.” According to the expert group, this does not
meet the justification standards required by Part 3 of Article 49 of the RA
Law “On Television and Radio”.

– To 27 out of the 29 competition bids, members of NCTR gave similar scores.
Thus, similar scores were given to television companies with long-term
experience that have much less technical, human resource, or financial
issues, and newly established companies that have nothing but good
intentions.

– NCTR had not specified the mandatory and optional lists of financial
documentation to be presented in the bids. As a result, the applications
were composed in “freestyle”; financial documents, agreements, etc. were not
subject to any standardization. This made them almost impossible to compare.
In addition, financial documents were often developed carelessly, and
contained arithmetical and factual errors.

– The Procedure for Conducting Licensing Competitions, approved by NCTR,
only provides that the bid should contain information on the technical means
and equipment to be used. This document does not contain clear criteria for
technical assessment of the bid. As a result, NCTR members have assessed the
bids’ sections on technical means as they wish.

Pursuant to the abovementioned, the expert group made the following
recommendations:

– Amending the RA Law “On Television and Radio” so that the ratings-based
voting is guided by separate criteria provided by legislation, instead of
giving one score to the entire bid.

– Providing in the Law that “professional background of the staff” criterion
is assessed taking into consideration the professionalism of the management
staff and clarity of organizational structure. This is necessary to avoid
repetition of facts recorded during the last competition process, when
Russian show business stars, actors of different theatres, and people living
abroad were presented in the bids as employees of Armenian television
companies.

– Removing “capacity to promote pluralism” from the assessment criteria
provided by the Law, and replacing it with “conformity of program policy
with orientation of the competition”.

– Adding a new criterion in the Law, according to which, while assessing the
bid of a currently active television company, NCTR will be obligated to take
into consideration the extent to which the bidder has kept promises made in
past license terms and has implemented license requirements.

– Establishing one format for presenting in the bids the volume of domestic
and own programming.

– Setting forth a provision in the Law that will oblige NCTR to post
competition bids with all attached documents on its website immediately
after opening the documents for the conduction of public discussions.

– Establishing a list of mandatory and optional financial documents that
bidders are to provide within the NCTR Procedure for Conducting Licensing
Competitions, as well as clear criteria for assessment of the technical
component of the bid.

The expert analysis is attended by the Comment of “Article 19” international
organization.

The full text of the “Expert Analysis of the Broadcast Licensing Competition
Results of December 2010” (in Armenian and English) will soon be placed on
, in “Studies” section.

MONITORING OF DEMOCRATIC REFORMS IN ARMENIA 2009-2010

In the end of July in “Congress” hotel of Yerevan the presentation of the
report “Monitoring of Democratic Reforms in Armenia 2009-2010” will be held.
The study was administered by Yerevan Press Club in cooperation with an
expert group, in the frames of YPC project “Monitoring Democracy Indicators
to Gauge Armenia’s Reform Progress”, supported by the Human Rights and Good
Governance Program of the Open Society Institute. The research presents the
democratic reform process in Armenia in 2009-2010 in the context of EU
Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum’s recommendations.

The report “Monitoring of Democratic Reforms in Armenia 2009-2010” (in
Armenian and English) is stored on in “Studies” section.

“GALA” IS FORCED TO DISSEMBLE THE EQUIPMENT FROM THE CITY TV TOWER

On July 15 the Municipality of Gyumri addressed the RA Service of Compulsory
Execution of Judicial Acts demanding to oblige the founder of “GALA” TV
company, “CHAP” LLC, to dissemble the equipment from the city TV tower. The
ground for this became the July 1, 2011 decision of RA Court of Cassation,
which had revoked the complaint of “CHAP” LLC and upheld the decision of the
second jurisdiction on the dispute between Gyumri Municipality and “GALA”
founder, regarding the right to use the city tower. As it has been reported,
in its turn, on April 26, 2011 RA Civil Court of Appeal upheld the February
17, 2011 decision of the court of primary jurisdiction, according to which
“GALA” founder was to stop using the city TV tower and to dissemble the
equipment installed on it within a month (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, April
22-28, 2011). The court litigation has been lasting since November 2007. The
tax inspection of the “GALA” founder started right after a week, when on
October 22, 2007 the owner of “CHAP” LLC Vahan Khachatrian made a statement
with regard to the attempts of various power agencies to exert pressure on
the TV company (see details in 2007-2009 Yerevan Press Club reports “On
Freedom of Speech in Armenia” on in “Media Reports” section).

On July 18 Yerevan Press Club, Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression,
Internews Media Support NGO, Media Diversity Institute-Armenia released a
statement in which the ruling of the Court of Cassation is considered as a
logical continuation of the campaign versus “GALA”, initiated by various
power agencies in 2007 and, in fact, directed against freedom of speech. It
takes note that this ruling was rendered after the Resolution of the CoE
Committee of Ministers of June 8, 2011 on execution of the June 17, 2008
judgment of the European Court of Human Rights on the case of “Meltex” LLC,
“A1+” TV founder, versus Republic of Armenia. The decision of the
international institution on closure of the examination of the “A1+” case,
“actually, freed the hands of the Armenian authorities in order to shut the
mouths of the other unwanted media, like ‘GALA'”, the statement stressed.
The journalistic organizations announced that they will continue to support
the Gyumri TV company and called the authorities “to refrain from
infringements upon freedom of speech and pluralism, specifically in the eve
of the upcoming national elections when establishing a favorable environment
in the media field is of extreme importance”.

“A1+” TV COMPANY GOT A NEW OPPORTUNITY TO CONTEST THE 2004 RULINGS OF THE
COURT OF CASSATION

On July 15 RA Court of Cassation rendered a decision on the complaint of
“Meltex” LLC, founder of “A1+” TV company, regarding the constitutionality
of Article 204.38 of the RA Civil Procedure Code (“The terms of
reconsidering judicial acts under reopened or new circumstances”). The
application was submitted to consideration on March 2, 2011 and was further
consolidated in one case – with other suits contesting this and other
similar legislative provisions.

The application of “Meltex” LLC, in particular, noted that during the
reconsideration of cases under new circumstances the law enables the court
to uphold the previous judgments. In other words, the implementation of the
rulings of RA Constitutional Court or European Court of Human Rights is
rendered impossible.

At the session of July 15 RA Constitutional Court recognized the respective
provision of Article 204.38 of the Civil Procedure Code unconstitutional.
This will enable “A1+” founder to address the Court of Cassation once again,
demanding to reconsider the rulings of 2004 on the suits of “Meltex” LLC
versus National Commission on Television and Radio – under a new
circumstance, i.e., the June 17, 2008 ECHR judgment, recognizing the
refusals to grant “A1+” founder a broadcast license to be a violation of the
Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms, i.e., of the right of the applicant to freely impart
information and ideas.

As it has been reported, on February 23, 2010, on the complaint of “Meltex”,
RA Constitutional Court had already recognized unconstitutional and invalid
the then in-effect Point 1 of Article 204’28 of the RA Civil Procedure Code
(“The competences of the court in case of revision”). Namely this provision
made a basis for the RA Court of Cassation to decline on February 19, 2009
the demand of “A1+” founder to reconsider the two rulings of the Court of
Cassation (February 27 and April 23, 2004) on suits of “Meltex” LLC versus
NCTR – under new circumstances in the case (see YPC Weekly Newsletter,
February 19-25, 2010). In May 2010 the civil procedure legislation was
amended, consequently the “A1+” founder once again addressed the Court of
Cassation for reconsideration of the 2004 rulings. However, in August 2010
Court of Cassation revoked the application of “Meltex” again, grounding its
denial with the abovementioned May 2010 amendments. In fact, on July 15 RA
Constitutional Court acknowledged the May 2010 amendments to RA Civil
Procedure Code non-compliant to the Main Law.

N.B. Dear readers, please note that YPC Weekly Newsletter will next be
issued in early September, 2011.

When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
Press Club is required.

You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter to:
[email protected]

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this mailing list, please send a message to: [email protected]

Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
____________________________________________
Yerevan Press Club
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“NADER AND SIMIN” PICKS GOLDEN APRICOT AT ARMENIAN FESTIVAL

Mehr News Agency (MNA)
July 19, 2011 Tuesday

TEHRAN, July 19 (MNA) — Asghar Farhadi’s “Nader and Simin, a
Separation” still led the field in international competitions. The
film won the major award of the Golden Apricot Yerevan International
Film Festival. The film won the Golden Apricot as the Best Feature
Film at the festival, which was held from July 10 to 17. A portrayal
of the break-up of a marriage, “Nader and Simin” won a Golden Bear for
best film at the Berlin film festival and its cast ensemble received
best actor and actress Silver Bears at the event. “Nader and Simin:
A Separation” was also recently awarded the Grand Prix of the St.

Petersburg International Film Festival Kinoforum that ran from July
10 to 15. The Iranian short film “Mandoo” by Ebrhaim Saeidi won the
FIPRESCI Jury Prize of the festival and “Magnificent Nothing” by Ahmad
Seyyed-Keshmiri won the Special Mention Award at the International
Documentary Film Competition. The weeklong event, featuring about 150
films with 67 of them competing for prizes in four sections, stood
out from previous editions by its multifaceted nature and expanded
geographic participation. SB/YAW END MNA

ARMENIA INTERESTED IN SIGNING NEW AGREEMENT ON TRADE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION WITH CHINA

news.am
July 20 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN. – Ministry of Economy of Armenia submitted an agreement
on trade and economic cooperation between Armenia and China to the
government’s approval. The previous agreement was signed in 1992 and
did not conform to new requirements.

China is Armenia’s important trade partner, 9-10% of Armenia’s foreign
trade turnover falls to China.

The agreement envisages expansion of trade and economic mutually
beneficial cooperation and diversification in all spheres of common
interest, as well as creation of Armenia-China inter-governmental
commission.