Author: Tadevosian Garnik

news.am, Armenia
March 27 2010

ADB to allot U.S. $300m loan to Armenia

11:53 / 03/27/2010 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to allocate a
U.S. $300m loan to Armenia for implementation of several projects in
Yerevan. In the end of June Yerevan City hall will submit the loan
program to the ADB Board for approval.

The Yerevan City Hall press service reported that by a prior
arrangement, the loan is to be allotted in several tranches. From the
first tranche, U.S. $85m, funds will be provided for the renovation of
the Yeritasardakan (Youth) subway station in Yerevan.

In addition, the funds will go for the purchase of new buses and minibuses.

Presently, ADB and Yerevan City Hall representatives are specifying
the loan program.

T.P.

WHY IS THE DRAM RISING BACK?

16:20:16 – 25/03/2010
hos17296.html

Why after a sharp devaluation did the Armenian Dram start rising? The
former Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan told reporters today that AMD
does not devaluate as a result of speculation, as the government
explains it. The real cause is that major business-owners, the
oligarchs, are sending their capital outside Armenia, and the balance
of trade is negative.

As to the prompt revaluation following a sharp devaluation, Hrant
Bagratyan says the government has suspended transfer of major sums
abroad, by both physical and legal persons. According to Hrant
Bagratyan, the government’s next step which brought about the
revaluation of the dram is that the Central Bank decreased the 5th
normative for commercial banks, which is called `currency position’.
There is a short position, and there is a long one. The indices were
lowered to enable the banks to sell the currency. If a commercial bank
accepts deposits in dollars, the reservation must also be done in
dollars. These reservations are reduced by several percentage points,
forcing banks to sell the currency. This is done to control the
exchange rate low. I think these steps are dangerous for the banking
system’, says Hrant Bagratyan.

He means the damage to the banks.

As to the exchange rate of the dram, Hrant Bagratyan thinks the
government may increase the external debts and to keep the rate for
some time but it will tend to drop over the year.

President of Armenia thanks Czech Republic for unbiased position on Karabakh

26.03.2010 19:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan received vice
prime minister and minister of defense of the Czech Republic Martin
Bartak. During the meeting the Armenian president noted that Armenia
is interested in developing relations with the Czech Republic, both in
bilateral and plurilateral formats.

The two sides agreed that Armenia and the Czech Republic have great
potential for cooperation in the European and Euro-Atlantic
structures.

Armenian president stressed the importance of cooperation with the
Czech Republic in the sphere of defense. Czech Vice Prime Minister
also said a group of Czech businessmen arrived to Armenia with his
delegation. The officials expressed hope that Armenian-Czech business
contacts will help to realize the great potential in the trade and
economy spheres.
Srezh Sargsyan thanked the Czech Republic for unbiased position on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, stressing that the separation of the Czech
Republic and Slovakia is a good example of civilized
self-determination, press office of RA President reported.

OVERTHROWING THE PRIME MINISTER IS AN OLD ARMENIAN CUSTOM IT SEEMS

Tert.am
16:08 ~U 24.03.10

The practice of overthrowing prime ministers has become an old Armenian
custom, said Republican Party of Armenia MP Gagik Minasyan at a press
conference today, while commenting on recent reports that RA Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan may be removed from his position.

Earlier, the prime minister was criticized by the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun, ARF-D), the Prosperous
Armenia Party from the parliamentary coalition and Armenia’s second
president, Robert Kocharian.

Minasyan mentioned that as far as he remembered such attempts to
overthrow the prime minister have always been made toward all prime
ministers.

"Mr. Sargsyan is working and is doing his job well," said Minasyan.

In relation to the economic policy implemented in Armenia, Minasyan
said that the bail-out program really justified itself.

"Last year, under rather hard conditions, we didn’t cut back any
social programs," said Minasyan, adding that last year the average
salary in Armenia rose by 12%.

Former Foreign Minister of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Arman
Melikyan, in turn, said that in these circumstances, devaluation and
inflation should be taken into account.

"Our governing system is not an efficient one, it is corrupted,"
said he.

While speaking about Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Melikyan said
that the domestic tension in Armenia is becoming more acute also
within the ranks of government officials.

ARMENIAN TASHORON CHURCH IN MALATYA WILL BE RESTORED

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.03.2010 19:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An old Armenian church, located in the neighbourhood
where slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was born, will
be restored.

A mosque foundation carrying out activities in Carmuzu-Kaynarca
district of the eastern province of Malatya has recently applied to
the Turkish Ministry of Culture & Tourism for the restoration of the
"Armenian Tashoron Church" constructed in the province’s CavuÅ~_oglu
neighbourhood nearly 300 years ago.

CavuÅ~_oglu neighbourhood is also the birthplace of journalist Hrant
Dink, the editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly
Agos, who was shot dead outside his newspaper’s offices in Istanbul
in 2007.

During a visit to his hometown in 2002, Dink had also expressed his
desire for the restoration of the church.

Speaking to the Anatolia news agency on the project, the mosque
foundation’s president Latif Yıldırım said Tuesday that Tashoron
Church was constructed in the 18th century, during the reign of the
Ottoman Empire.

Yıldırım said his foundation, together with several NGOs and the
non-Muslim population living in Malatya, had been displaying efforts
for the restoration of the old building since the beginning of 2009.

Expressing the importance of freedom of faith, Yıldırım said
religions should act with tolerance towards each other and seek
for dialogue.

"The historical Armenian church in CavuÅ~_oglu neighbourhood is
about to collapse. It was constructed during the Ottoman period and
this shows us how a tolerant and libertarian culture we are coming
from. People lived all together and practised their religious beliefs
freely at those times. This happens and should happen today as well,"
he said.

Yıldırım also said the restoration process of the historical
temple would be carried out with the support of Malatya municipality,
Today’s Zaman reported.

PRECIUOS METAL PRICE INCREASED

hos17250.html
17:12:13 – 22/03/2010

The Agency of State Treasury of precious metals and stones of the RA
Ministry of Finance has set the following prices for precious metals
for the period 03.2010-28.03.2010:

Gold, the purchase price of ` 13361.98 (+383.69), selling ` 14523.89
(+417.05), silver, the purchase 207.20 (+7.45), selling – 225.22
(+8.1), platinum, procurement – 19429.19 (+866.59), selling 21118.68
(+941.94), palladium, procurement – 5628.25 (+235.58), selling –
6117.66 (+255.84).

LEBANESE FOREIGN MINISTER TO TRAVEL TO BAKU

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
22.03.2010 12:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During a meeting with Azerbaijani Ambassador to
Lebanon and Syria Maher Aliyev, Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami
accepted an invitation to visit Baku.

The details are not known yet, Shahan Kandaharian, editor-in-chief
of Aztag Beirut-based newspaper told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said recently that official Beirut
supports territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Minister
al-Shami told Armenian Ambassador in Beirut, Ashot Kocharian, that
Lebanon’s position on Karabakh conflict has not changed.

Women’s Challenge Trophy: Armenia’s Handball Team Lost to Cyprus

11:19 – 20.03.10

The 2010 IHF/EHF (International Handball Federation/European Handball
Federation) Women’s Challenge Trophy, which took place in Israel this
year, kicked off yesterday. The team from Armenia was up against
Cyprus in the first round, and, unfortunately, lost (27-28).

The Armenian team, comprised of Armenian women from France, was
winning 13-11 after the first half, but lost to the Cypriots in the
second half.

Armenia will play against Israel, today, on March 20, and against
Malta on March 21, reports Armsport.am.

Tert.am

IF AZERBAIJAN SIGNS A PEACE DEAL WITH ITSELF …

Tert.am
17:26 ~U 19.03.10

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov presented to
Azerbaijani journalists the results he might have if he were to
conduct negotiations with himself and if Azerbaijan alone developed
and signed the new peace agreement with itself, said Armenia’s Deputy
Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan, referring to a statement on the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement made by Mammadyarov yesterday.

"It’s obvious that the Azerbaijani foreign minister’s recent statement
is the next unsuccessful attempt at justifying, through Azerbaijan’s
Constitution, the aggression carried out against a self-determined
Nagorno-Karabakh in a complete disregard for UN regulations. That
Constitution was adopted after the peace deal with Nagorno-Karabakh was
signed and in no way is it related to the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh
which has its own Constitution," said Kocharyan.

In his words, by declining to negotiate with Nagorno-Karabakh,
Azerbaijan slows down progress in the talks and, all the same,
it cannot avoid responsibility for the consequences of the war it
unleashed itself.

ARMENIAN EX-PRIME MINISTER: TURKEY FEARS ARMENIA’S IMPACT ON UNDERDEVELOPED EASTERN PROVINCES OF COUNTRY

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.03.2010 16:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Opening of the Armenia-Turkey border will have a
positive impact on Armenia’s economy, former Prime Minister of Armenia
Hrant Bagratyan said. "If the border opens the trade between Armenia
and Turkey will grow from USD 150 million to USD 1 billion," he said.

Mr. Bagratyan expressed doubts that in the near future the border
will open."In any case Turkey will link this process to the Karabakh
conflict," he said.

Besides, according to Mr. Bagratyan, Turkey fears Armenia’s intensified
impact on underdeveloped eastern provinces of the country.