Author: Tambiyan Samvel

FIRST LADIES OF ARMENIA AND GREECE VISITED "ZATIK" CHILDREN’S HOME

ArmRadio.am
27.06.2007 17:36

The First Ladies of Armenia and Greece visited "Zatik" children’s
home today. 101 children aged 6-18 live in the children’s home.

One of the children presented a marine to the First Lady of Greece. "I
shall post in my office and will often remember you," May Papoulia
said.

"I’m very impressed with the atmosphere. Armenian and Greek children
are very alike, they simply speak different languages," May Papoulia
said. She gifted musical instruments to the children’s home.

About 10 children from "Zatik" children’s home received houses under
the "State support for children’s homes" program. "The children’s
home has a very kind name. Many girls have married from here.

Seven families have already been formed and I have many grandchildren,"
said Ashot Mnatsakanyan, the Director of the children’s home.

50th ANNIVERSARY OF TEHRAN’S ARMENIAN SCHOOL "ARARAT" CELEBRATED

Noyan Tapan
Jun 27, 2007

TEHRAN, JUNE 27, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The 50th anniversary
of foundation of the "Ararat" Armenian school in Tehran was celebrated
on June 25. The event held at the Vachik Gharabegian Hall of the school
was attended by the head of Tehran’s Armenian diocese Archbishop Sepuh
Sargsian, members of the Diocesan Council, national bodies and unions,
and numerous guests. A photo exhibition presenting the 50-year history
of the school was organized at the hall entrance.

The "Ararat" school was founded in 1956. Initially it had only 80
pupils and was called "Shirvanzade", while in the following year it was
renamed "Ararat". The land plot of the school was bought by a group
of benefactors and a Persian Armenian benefactor, and the school’s
foundation was laid with efforts of the trustees, while its building
was constructed with financial and moral support of Armenians of the
Zeytun (Majidie) district.

"Aliq" newspaper reported that the event had a rich artistic program,
after which the head of Tehran’s Armenian diocese delivered a speech
of blessing.

Congratulating the school on its 50th anniversary, Archbishop Sepuh
Sargsian said: "Ararat" school does not belong only to the parental
council, teachers, inspection and national authorities. The national
school is the home of all of us and it is our moral duty to take care
of the Armenian school." Then Archbishop Sepuh Sargsian presented
letters of thanks to all those who have at least a 5-year contribution
to the 50-year history of "Ararat" school.

ARMENIA MIGHT TERMINATE RADIO LIBERTY REBROADCASTS

Arminfo
27 Jun 07

Yerevan, 27 June: Representatives of a number of opposition parties
have harshly criticized the possible termination of rebroadcasts of
the Armenian Service of Radio Liberty on Armenian Public Radio.

"The Armenian government is taking another anti-democratic step,
which is prompted, and it is not difficult to suppose, by the upcoming
presidential election in the country. They probably want to eliminate
the free zone which is not controlled by them and which is used
by opposition politicians to freely express their positions," the
secretary of the parliamentary faction of the [opposition] Heritage
Party, Stepan Safaryan, said.

The opposition parties not represented in parliament also tend to
view a bill submitted by the government to parliament "on changes to
the law of the Republic of Armenia ‘on TV and radio’" as the desire
of the authorities to deprive the Armenian Service of Radio Liberty
of its airtime for political reasons.

"The case should not be viewed as a legal or judicial matter. This is
a political step ahead of the presidential election in February next
year. The bill proposed by the government is aimed at depriving the
people of the opportunity to receive objective information through
the only electronic medium not controlled by the authorities,"
the secretary of the People’s Party of Armenia, Grigor Harutyunyan,
stressed, expressing the official position of the party.

Representative of the Armenian Pan-National Movement Aram Manukyan
believes that the authorities have never liked the media that show
their weak points in governing the republic, and the forthcoming
presidential election only served as a reason to embark on new and
specific steps to suppress freedom of speech. "Radio Liberty has not
bowed to the authorities, and they want to deprive a wide audience
of the opportunity to receive objective information about the events
in the republic," Manukyan said.

The head of the Alternative public and political movement and
editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper, Nikol Pashinyan, was
even more categorical. He described the initiative of the government
as another step directed at establishing an army of unrestrained
dictatorship in Armenia. "When they speak of the necessity not to
provide foreign TV and radio stations with local frequencies, they
should first vacate the two local VHF frequencies used for broadcasting
Russian government TV channels.

The Armenian Service of Radio Liberty, unlike them [the Russian
channels], is broadcast in Armenian. Mostly Armenians work there,
who report on events in our country," Pashinyan said.

During an emergency session today, the National Assembly will discuss
the bill proposed by the government "on changes to the law of the
Republic of Armenia ‘on TV and radio’". It says the reason is that
"the status of the Public TV and Radio Company and its tasks are,
in fact, incompatible with the right to give consent to provide
frequencies to other broadcasters".

LARGE-SCALE CONSTRUCTION TO BE LAUNCHED AT TEKHUT DEPOSIT AT THE END OF THIS YEAR

ArmInfo
2007-06-26 16:31:00

The construction of a mining and processing factory will be launched at
Tekhut copper-molybdenum deposit in the next 6-7 months, the president
of Vallex Group Valery Mejlumyan says in an interview to ArmInfo.

He says that presently the company is working to change the
status of the land and to obtain the permission of the ecological
inspection. This work will be finished within the next few months. By
that time the company will have completed its negotiations with
Russian Vneshtorgbank for receiving a loan and involving the bank in
the project. Mejlumyan says that the bank will lend more than Vallex
Group will invest. It is quite possible that after the launch of the
project the group’s Alaverdi Copper Factory will be stopped. "If we
find a way to employ the factory’s workers at Tekhut, we will stop
the wasteful production of blister copper and will start exporting
concentrate," Mejlumyan says.

Commenting on the possibility of Vallex Group’s purchasing Sotq
gold field, Mejlumyan says: "We are not considering this possibility
yet. This is quite an interesting project: Sotq is situated between
our deposits in Drmbon and Lori; but I have yet no information that
Vedanta is going to sell that deposit." To remind, Vallex Group is
planning to borrow $200mln from Vneshtorgbank to be able to annually
mine and process 7,000,000 tons of ore at Tekhut. One of the group’s
company, Armenian Copper Programme, has got a 25-year license for
Tekhut. The approved reserves of the deposit total 1,600,000 tons of
copper and 99,000 tons of molybdenum.

Meanwhile, the Tekhut project has received an extremely negative
response from ecological organizations. It was for the same reason
that EBRD refused to take part in the project. As regards Sotq, the
Armenian Government is dissatisfied with the work of its operator,
AGRC, a company belonging to Vedanta Group (India), and is forcing
them to leave Armenia. The gold reserves of Sotq are estimated at 80
tons (2,600,000 ounces), of Meghradzor – less than 1 ton.

PRESS RELEASE
The Heritage Party
31 Moscovian Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 53.69.13
Fax: (+374 – 10) 53.26.97
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website:

June 25, 2007

Heritage Demands Delegate to Council of Europe

Yerevan–Today Heritage Party parliamentary leader Raffi K. Hovannisian sent
a letter to National Assembly Chairman Tigran Torosyan asking and expecting
him immediately to dispatch a Heritage representative to Strasbourg for the
current session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Torosyan told the press on June 22 that he was sending two pro-government
MPs from the previous National Assembly on the justification that the
parliament’s new delegation has not been fully and finally constituted.
"This rationale neither diminishes nor discharges the commitment of the
Republic of Armenia to ensure opposition participation at all deliberations
of the Council of Europe," Hovannisian said.

Founded in 2002, Heritage has regional divisions throughout the land. Its
central office is located at 31 Moscovian Street, Yerevan 0002, Armenia,
with telephone contact at (374-10) 536.913, fax at (374-10) 532.697, email
at [email protected] or [email protected], and website at

RUSSIA: ANGARSK ENRICHMENT CAPACITY TO BE BOOSTED

EnerPub, TX
by World Nuclear News
June 25 2007

The capacity of the Angarsk uranium enrichment plant in Russia could
be quadrupled by 2015

The capacity of the Angarsk uranium enrichment plant in Russia could
be quadrupled by 2015, according to Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the
Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom). He also reported that Russia
would no longer import depleted uranium for storage and processing.

He said that three projects were currently underway that would expand
production at the Angarsk Electrolysis and Chemical Combine (AECC).

Firstly, capacity at the existing plant would be uprated from
the current 2.6 million separative work units (SWU) up to some 4.2
million SWU. Secondly, the establishment of the International Centre
for Uranium Enrichment at the site, while using existing facilities,
would also raise its capacity. In addition, setting up a joint venture
uranium enrichment plant with Kazakhstan will provide a further
production capacity of some 5 million SWU. The proposed joint venture
plant would enrich uranium mined in Kazakhstan by a joint venture
set up with Russia. This would be in addition to the International
Centre for Uranium Enrichment, in which Kazakhstan already holds a
10% stake. Kiriyenko said that production capacity at Angarsk could
therefore reach some 10 million SWU by 2015.

Kiriyenko was speaking at the Angarsk plant on 22 June following
the signing of an agreement on cooperation between Rosatom and the
Irkutsk region, in which the plant is located. The agreement was
signed by Kiriyenko and Alexander Tishanin, governor of the Irkutsk
region. Kiriyenko said that Angarsk will become a priority site for
Russia’s international programs. "We are going to invest over $2.5
billion in the city and create 2000 additional jobs," he said.

Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on 10 May on creating the
International Centre for Uranium Enrichment. Kiriyenko said that the
first investments into the joint venture for uranium enrichment in
Angarsk will make up "at least $2.5 billion just for centrifuges." He
noted that Ukraine "could approach the stage of formalizing documents
for its participation" in the project by the end of 2007. Armenian
president Robert Kocharian said in late May that Armenia was ready to
join the project. Kiriyenko added that a number of other countries
had expressed interest in participating. He said, "Russia has a 90%
stake in the project, while Kazakhstan has 10%. Russia does not need
such a large stake, and it may transfer some of the stock to other
countries." Kiriyenko said, "Each country may acquire a stake in the
centre, receive uranium enrichment services and certain revenues." He
added: "The only thing they won’t get will be the Russian uranium
enrichment technology."

Kiriyenko also announced that Russia will no longer import depleted
uranium from Europe for enrichment. Western enrichers have been
sending materials from the uranium enrichment process to Russia,
including uranium hexafluoride (UF6) and uranium tailings, since
the 1990s. "France and Germany have less advanced technology for
enriching uranium, and we ‘squeeze out’ [additional uranium] from
their uranium hexafluoride." However, Kiriyenko said, "We decided
over a year ago that we would not sign new contracts or extend old
ones, but we cannot tear up agreements that we already have – they
expire in 2009-2010." He added, "We are now looking for technology
to defluorinate uranium tailings. And if we fail to find a solution,
I will ban tailings imports into Russia."

Russia produces over 3200 tonnes per year of uranium oxide
concentrate (U3O8), according to Kiriyenko. He told Reuters, "Our
confirmed reserves and resources are about 850,000 tonnes within
Russia." He added, "Our reserves are more than one million tonnes
if we include our joint ventures abroad, including our joint venture
in Kazakhstan." Kiriyenko said Russia has enough uranium deposits to
ensure steady supply of raw materials for its enrichment plants for
the next 30-50 years. "I am sure that we have enough natural uranium
for decades ahead," he said.

* SWU, or Separative Work Unit, is the unit used to measure the energy
required to separate uranium-235 from uranium-238.

GUAM POISED TO EXTEND FORMAT, GEOGRAPHY
Nino Edilashvili

Daily Georgian Times, Georgia
June 25 2007

The participation in peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the
UN and OSCE and the formation of a energy and transport corridor –
these were the major issues, which Georgian Foreign Minister Gela
Bezhuashvili raised during the GUAM summit ( Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan and Moldova) held in Baku, Azerbaijan on June 18-19.

The summit brought together presidents from other regional countries
of former socialist orientation – Ilham Aliyev, Mikhail Saakashvili,
Victor Yushchenko, Lech Kaczynsky, Trian Basescu, Valdas Adamkus,
Bulgarian Vice-President Angel Marin, Moldovan Prime Minister Vasili
Tarlev as well as delegations from the US, Estonia and other countries.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev addressing the summit hailed the
strong showing of the organization during the one-year chairmanship
of Ukraine. Touching on the already operating Baku-Supsa,
Baku-Novorossiysk and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipelines,
Aliyev refreshed participants’ memory on the large debate on
Odessa-Brody-Gdansk oil pipeline at a recent summit in Krakow and said
political support was demonstrated for the project at the previous
summit. "Moreover, European market is taking a keen interest in
Azerbaijani gas, including the Shah Deniz gas pipeline.

Azerbaijan’s operational gas fields contain 1.5 trillion cubic
meters of gas. Moreover, there exists the most advanced transport
infrastructure: Baku-Tbilisi-Arzurum gas pipeline. which will transport
this gas to European markets," he added.

GUAM, which is a regional organization comprised of four ex-Soviet
and now CIS member countries (Commonwealth of Independent States),
was established in 1997 as a political, economic, and strategic
alliance to counter Russian presence and influence in the area and
to seek deeper ties with Euro-Atlantic and European structures.

Initially an informal grouping, GUAM morphed into the more structured
Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (ODED), with
headquarters in Kiev, last year. For most observers, and even
participants, however, the organization still goes by the old name.

Valeri Chechelashvili, former Georgian First Deputy Foreign Minister
is the current secretary general.

As he was speaking of the implementation of the Odessa-Brody oil
pipeline, Ukrainian President Yushchenko said that the pipeline is
planned to reach Poland. "We aim to ensure complete operation of
free trade zones. The free trade zones will conform to the demands
of the World Trade Organization. There are Abkhazian, South Ossetian,
Transdnestrian and Nagorno Karabakh conflicts in our countries. These
problems need to be debated. The solution to these problems will
establish security, stability in the region. GUAM is committed to be
a guarantee of stability and security in the region," he stated.

Describing how trade turnover between GUAM member states has increased,
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili informed of the railway
projects, presenting Azerbaijan as the initiator of a geopolitical
revolution carrying out the Baku-Tbiisi-Kars project.

"We face the question of territorial conflicts. We should act in
solidarity regarding such issues," Saakashvili said.

Polish President Lech Kaczyñski said that GUAM transformed from an
economic organization into a political alliance. "A part of these
debates are connected with energy. Odessa-Brody oil pipeline is of
great importance. On the other hand GUAM member states are considering
prospects of cooperation with NATO. We have enough practice in this
field. We can offer assistance to GUAM states," he said. Kaczyñski
also stressed that GUAM member states are of great importance for the
European Union. "GUAM states have large energy resources. Cultural
relations among these countries is a very significant issue. We
are interested in political cooperation with GUAM states. There are
interesting initiatives in GUAM which are observed for the first time,"
he noted.

At a meeting of foreign ministers from the GUAM member states, Georgian
Foreign Mnister Gela Bezhuashvili well underlined the need to establish
tighter economic ties among GUAM member states. The creation of a
competitive energy and transport corridor and the harmonization of
border and customs procedures, he said, should become an important
part of economic cooperation, which eventually should help diversify
transit routes to allow Caspian and Central Asian crude oil and other
hydrocarbon based energy products to easily make there way through
GUAM member states towards Europe.

Azerbaijani President also drew attention to the protracted conflicts
within GUAM member state’s territory. "These conflicts are called
frozen conflicts. In fact they are not frozen. This peace is very
fragile and can be violated any time." He underlined that the world
community will never recognize criminal regimes in Abkhazia, South
Ossetia, Transnistria and Nagorno Karabakh."

However, most vital at the Baku summit for Georgia was the issue
of establishing joint peacekeeping units since Tbilisi has long
been striving to replace Russian-dominated peacekeeping units in
its conflict zones of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Minister Gela
Bezhuashvili called for increased military-political cooperation among
GUAM member states, and in particular, for the formation of a joint
peace forces. "Participation in peacekeeping operations under the
auspices of the UN and OSCE would further boost the organization’s
international status," Bezhuashvili said.

The issue was earlier discussed at a meeting in Tbilisi a year ago.

On August 17, 2006, the closed-door meeting in the Georgian capital of
Tbilisi, which brought together representatives of defence ministries
and general staffs of the Armed Forces of Georgia, Ukraine and
Azerbaijan, addressed further development of military cooperation in
the framework of GUAM. Creation of a joint peacekeeping battalion
reportedly topped the agenda of the discussion. This battalion,
according to the Georgian Ministry of Defence, will be comprised of
contingents from each member-state and could potentially be engaged
in the humanitarian and peacekeeping operations led by the UN, OSCE,
NATO and the EU.

Russian-backed separatist conflicts within GUAM, namely in Abkhazia,
South Ossetia, Transdnestria and Nagorno-Karabakh, give good reason
for GUAM member countries to unite in search of a lasting solution to
their conflicts. All GUAM members, having challenged CIS membership,
either officially or unofficially, regard military cooperation within
GUAM as a prerequisite for entry into NATO, which is seen in the long
run as a guarantor of eventual stabilisation in the conflict zones,
and most importantly, as guarantor of diminished Russian influence
in the Caspian-Black Sea region.

Within the framework of the summit, Baku also hosted a GUAM-U.S. format
meeting as well as a GUAM-Japan format meeting, which was another
interesting point of the event since Japan has only recently
demonstrated interest in the organization. Last November, Japanese
Foreign Minister Taro Aso called for greater ties with GUAM member
states as part of Tokyo’s "arc of freedom and prosperity" initiative.

Unlike Japan, the United States has been a staunch supporter of GUAM
since its inception in 1997.

The Baku summit of GUAM ended with concluding four documents: Baku
declaration, GUAM’s development strategy on spheres, 2007-2008 program
on rotation of chairmanship to Azerbaijan and communique of the second
summit. Baku declaration states that the mutual cooperation of GUAM
member states will contribute to finding a fair solution to regional
conflicts. The declaration calls on GUAM member states to strengthen
relations with partnership countries and ratify GUAM’s regulations
with the parliaments of the member states.

–Boundary_(ID_X5Vvqc6Z69SvrUDxxn8S0g)–

Scientific Conference Opened in Shoushi

23-06-2007 10:56:26 – KarabakhOpen

On June 21, a scientific conference on the subject of `Shoushi – a
Cradle of Armenian Civilization’, dedicated to the 15th anniversary of
the town’s liberation, was opened in Shoushi. Well-known scientists
from Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh attend it.

The participants were welcomed by the NKR President Arkady Ghoukassian.

`This forum of the representatives of the Armenian science is,
undoubtedly, a significant event as a part of various measures on
Armenian studies and similar undertakings, held in Nagorno Karabakh
Republic during 15 years of its independence’, the message in
particular says.

The Head of the Republic underlined that the event differed by its
historical, cultural, legal and political importance, since it had been
dedicated to Shoushi – an ancient administrative, educational,
spiritual and cultural centre of Artsakh, and one of the cradles of the
Armenian civilization. He expressed confidence that the issues
discussed at the conference with their thematic and deep coverage will
have a significant role in the historical-scientific confirmation of
the region’s being a part of the national historical Armenian ethnicity.

`Today it is becoming more than actual in the context of speculations
and distortions, which our opponents bring into the process of the
Karabakh conflict settlement’, Arkady Ghoukassian emphasized.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: STEPHEN HARPER CONDEMNED INTERFERENCE OF FOREIGN COUNTRIES INTO INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF CANADA

Yerkir
20.06.2007 13:50

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – During a roundtable discussion with the National
Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) Prime Minister of
Canada Stephen Harper reaffirmed that the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by Canada is a government policy and not "the position of the
elected guys" as some insubordinate civil servants tried to represent.

Stephen Harper also said that he finds it unacceptable the interference
in Canadian internal affairs of representatives of foreign governments
and pressuring or coercion of Canadians and Canadian organizations
to follow certain policies.

The Prime Minister condemned such practices, the Armenian National
Committee of Canada (ANCC) reported. "As the head of the Government
of Canada I can not tell you what to write in your newspaper and
foreign governments can not tell what to write," Prime Minister of
Canada stated.

On April 24 in his annual address in connection with the 92nd
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide Stephen Harper made a statement,
for which he was "roughly criticized" by the Turkish MFA. A week
prior to April 24 Turkey had "warned" S. Harper against delivering
a speech on April 24, where events of 1915 are called genocide.

Canadian Prime Minister was warned through diplomatic channels
that "repeating these claims annually will not help in normalizing
Turkey-Armenia relations and will harm Turkish-Canadian bilateral
relations as well. However, Stephen Harper did not cave in Turkey’s
blackmail. He stood firm to his principled stand vis-a-vis the Armenian
Genocide issue.

TWO ARMENIAN OFFICERS TO TAKE PART IN NATO MANOEUVRES "AMBER ARROW-2007" AS OBSERVERS

ArmInfo
2007-06-20 10:52:00

The eighth manoeuvres of NATO "Amber Arrow-2007" started on June 18
in Klaipeda, Lithuania.

As RA DM’s spokesman Seiran Shahsouvaryan told ArmInfo today, NATO
member-countries and 11 states, included in the "Partnership for
Peace" Programme, participate in the manoeuvres. Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Great Britain, USA, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland,
Finland, Germany, Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine take part in
the manoeuvres as observers. The manoeuvres are purposed to develop
participation of representatives of the Armed Forces of different
states in crisis situations for NATO and their cooperation. The
manoeuvres are distinguished by the fact that all the kinds of troops:
the infantry, aviation and navy will cooperate during them for the
first time. Participants in the manoeuvres (over 1800 people) will be
divided into 3 multinational battalions to be headed by representatives
of Lithuania, Finland and Great Britain. The manoeuvres will last
a fortnight and be held in two stages: the actions aimed at peace
maintenance (locality reconnaissance, base stations, neutralization
of the armed groups, etc. ) will be worked over at the first stage,
and the knowledge and skills, gained during the manoeuvres, will be
demonstrated at the second stage on June 25-29.

Participation of Lithuania (1200 people), Finland (about 300 people),
Great Britain (165 people), Latvia (120 people) and Poland (60
people) is the most representative in the present manoeuvres. The
Armed Forced of Armenia are represented by Major Mkrtich Minasyan
and Captain Rouben Papyan.