Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

ISSUE OF ARMENIA NOT INCLUDED IN INITIAL VARIANT OF PACE APRIL 27-30 SESSION AGENDA

NOYAN TAPAN
APRIL 21, 2009
YEREVAN

The issue on the process of fulfillment of the resolutions adopted
by PACE on activity of democratic institutions in Armenia is not
included in the initial variant of agenda of the PACE spring session
to be convened between April 27-30 in Strasbourg. It was decided at
the PACE Monitoring Committee March 30 meeting that depending on the
results to be recorded during further use of amended articles of the
RA Criminal Code, before the PACE session the Committee will again
touch upon the issue of Armenia’s fulfilling the commitments.

As NT correspondent was informed by the Armenian delegation in PACE,
the discussion of the issue at the Monitoring Committee is envisaged
on April 27.

According to the report of the Council of Europe Press Service, it was
proposed discussing two issues in the urgent order at the session. The
first was introduced bu the Group of Socialists and regards democratic
institutions’ activity in Moldova and the second by the Committee
of Ministers and it is expected to receive an opinion on the 14th
protocol of European Convention of Human Rights aimed at simplification
of internal procedures of European Court of Human Rights.

The humanitarian consequences of the Russian-Georgian war and
fulfillment of requirements of Resolution N 1647 by the two countries,
as well as the annual report of 2008 activity of Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg are also among the
issues on the agenda.

It should be also mentioned that a ceremony dedicated to the Council of
Europe’s 60th anniversary is also envisaged on the session’s first day.

PHONE CONVERSATION BETWEEN ARMENIAN PRESIDENT AND US VICE PRESIDENT TAKES PLACE

ArmenPress
April 20 2009
Armenia

On the initiative of the American side a phone conversation between
the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and US Vice President Joseph
Baden took place today.

Presidential press service told Armenpress that during the phone
conversation the sides discussed issues on the establishment of
political dialogue between Armenia and Turkey.

ARMENIA TO RECEIVE $400 MILLION LOAN TO BUILD RAILWAY TO IRAN

RIA Novosti
April 20, 2009
YEREVAN

Armenia has reached an agreement with Iran on a $400 million loan for
the construction of a railway between the two countries, the Armenian
transport minister, Gurgen Sargsyan, said on Monday.

An agreement on the construction of the strategic route was signed
by Armenia’s Sargsyan and his Iranian counterpart, Hamed Behbahani,
on April 14 in Tehran. A working group will take about three months
to carry out a feasibility study.

"In addition, Armenia is in negotiations with the Asian Development
Bank, the World Bank and other concerned parties," Sargsyan told
journalists.

The construction of the 500-kilometer (310-mile) railway, with 60
kilometers (37 miles) in Iranian territory, is expected to take at
least five years and cost $1.5-$1.8 billion.

The railway, with the Armenian section connecting the northern city
of Sevan to the southern city of Meghri on the border with Iran,
will ensure the transportation of energy supplies and other goods,
and increase trade between the countries.

Landlocked Armenia, currently under economic blockade by Turkey
and Azerbaijan, has rail links with other countries only through
the territory of Georgia, which is complicated by Tbilisi’s often
fractious relations with Moscow.

Russia and Ukraine have expressed interest in financing the project.

RA PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN RECEIVED HEAD OF THE WORLD BANK ARMENIA OFFICE ARISTOMENE VARUDAKIS AND COUNTRY SUPPORT STRATEGY MISSION COORDINATOR SAMIA MITRA.

Frida y, 17 April 2009

Pleased with the current level of World Bank-Armenia cooperation,
the Prime Minister pointed out that the program on the use of USD 50
million out of the World Bank-allocated USD 85 million-worth of loan
for supporting medium-size enterprise is gathering momentum. Tigran
Sargsyan said to be confident that other joint programs, too, will
be carried out successfully.

Aristomene Varudakis noted in turn that the 4-year bilateral
cooperation program has started quite successfully. He outlined
the draft strategy of country support program for Armenia which
as agreed will be submitted to the World Bank Board of Directors
for approval. Aristomene Varudakis advised that under this promptly
drafted paper, which has been agreed with the RA Ministry of Finance,
USD 20 million will be allocated to Armenia in addition to the already
agreed 525 million dollars. The head of the World Bank Armenia Office
made a point of harmonizing the country support strategy-specified
activities with the GoA-formulated programs with a special focus
placed on the social sector and the creation of new jobs in particular.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan noted that the Armenian ministers
of finance and economy have already endorsed the draft support
strategy. What matters most now is to have the strategy approved
by the Bank so as to proceed to the practicalities as soon as
possible. According to the Prime Minister, this will second the
Government in its anti-crisis efforts.

Aristomene Varudakis and Samia Mitra expressed readiness to cooperate
with such donor countries and international organizations as are
prepared to provide Armenia with support lending.

TWO RALLIES ON MAY 1

LRAGIR.AM
13:53:44 – 20/04/2009

The Yerevan City Hall accepted the applications of the
Social-Democratic Hnchakyan party and the Communist party of Armenia
on holding a rally on May 1, but it did not authorize them to hold
a march too.

The Social-Democratic Hnchakyan party is a member of the Armenian
National Congress which applied to hold a rally and a march on May
1 near Matenadaran.

The head of the central committee of the Communist party Ruben
Tovmasyan applied for holding a mass public event which will start
on May 1, at 11:00, and would be followed by a march.

PanArmenian, Armenia
April 18 2009

`Park of Literature’ opened in Hakhnidzor village to Commemorate Hrant
Matevosyan

18.04.2009 17:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Park of Literature’ opened in Hakhnidzor village to
Commemorate Hrant Matevosyan.

The project was initiated by RA Ministry of Culture and `Hrant
Matevosyan’ Cultural Foundation. By their invitation, Russian writer
Andrey Bitov visited the park and planted there the first two Lebanon
cedars in commemoration of his long friendship with the great Armenian
writer.

`My mother’s surname is Kedrova, that’s why Hrant’s son and I decided
to plant cedars in the park. May they have a long life and symbolize
the memory of our mothers, Olga Kedrova and Mrs. Arousyak. No wonder
we’re so close with Hrant’s children. Nothing in the word happens by
mere accident. It’s a sign from Heaven,’ Andrey Bitov said while
planting the tree with Zaven Karyan, Hrant Matevosyan’s childhood
friend.

The colleagues of the great writer ` Rouben Hovsepyuan, Hrachya
Saroukhyan, Felix Meloyan. Levon Khechoyan, Zorayr Khalapyan and
Vahaghn Grigoryan also planted trees in the yard of Hrant’s native
home.

Andrey Bitov was born in Leningrad. He started writing in 1956. In
1957, he entered the Institute of Mines in Leningrad, where he
participated in the activities of the literary union where he wrote
poems. Imitating Victor Golyakin, he started writing short absurdist
stories which were first published in 1990. In interviews, he often
called himself a non-professional writer. From 1960 till 1978, he
published 10 fiction books. Andrey Bitov has been a member of the
Writers’ Union since 1965. In 1978, his novel `Pushkin’s Home’ was
published in the US. In 1979, Bitov was one of the authors of the
`Metropol’ uncensored almanac. His works haven’t been published since
1986.

`Perestroyka’ created new opportunities for the writer: trips abroad,
symposiums and public activities. In 1988, he was one of the founders
of the Pen Club and in 1991 became its President. Bitov was also one
of the founders of `Bagage’ Informal Association.

ARMENIA FM MEETS US DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE

armradio.am
18.04.2009 12:49

The Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, received US
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza and US Ambassador
to Armenia Mariw Yovanovitch, Press and Information Departgment of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

Issues relating to the development of Armenian-American relations were
discussed at the meeting. Reference was made to the negotiations on
the Karabakh conflict settlement, the opportunities of normalization
of Armenian-Turkish relations and a number of regional questions.

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER PROCLAIMS APRIL 19-26, 2009 AS "DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE"

AZG Armenian Daily
April 17 2009
Armenia

On April 16, 2009, the Armenian National Committee – Western Region
welcomed a proclamation from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
declaring the week of April 19-26, 2009 as "Days of Remembrance of
the Armenian Genocide."

"The Armenian American community offers its deep gratitude for
Gov. Schwarzenegger’s declaration and commitment to recognizing the
past so that genocides will not occur in the future," said Armenian
National Committee – Western Region (ANC-WR) Executive Director Andrew
Kzirian. "An important part of our educational efforts to end the
cycle of genocide and raise awareness of the Armenian Genocide and the
genocide taking place in Darfur is to ensure that the horrific crimes
of the past are not repeated," remarked Kzirian. "The Governor’s
proclamation is quite timely as it comes days before the eagerly
anticipated Armenian Genocide statement by President Obama. With
President Obama’s home state of Hawaii officially recognizing the
Armenian Genocide just days ago while the President visited Turkey,
the community is confident that the President will be clear in his
message on April 24," he added.

The proclamation reads in part, "Four years ago I signed a bill
that permanently recognized the Days of Remembrance of the Armenian
Genocide. This week, we honor that commitment as we stand with
our Armenian friends and neighbors here and across the world in
remembering and acknowledging the genocide, the families it destroyed
and the history it changed. We do not like to recall such sorrows,
but we must, so that we can learn from history and renew our efforts
to make sure nothing like this ever happens again."

This is the twelfth proclamation issued by the Office of the
Governor of California in the past thirteen years, and supplements
the seventeen proclamations by the California Assembly and Senate
dating back to 1991.

‘NO DEAL YET’ IN ARMENIA-TURKEY BORDER TALKS: YEREVAN

Agence France Presse
April 16 2009
France

Talks between Armenia and Turkey on establishing diplomatic ties and
opening their border are making progress but no deal has been reached,
Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said Thursday.

"There is no intention today for us to sign an agreement with
the Turkish side. Negotiations continue," Nalbandian told a news
conference.

"There is progress and we think that we really may be very close to
resolving this question in the near future," he said during a meeting
of Black Sea region countries seeking closer economic cooperation.

Media reports had speculated that the two feuding countries may sign
an agreement during Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan’s visit to
Armenia Thursday for the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) meeting.

Babacan did not take part in the press conference and was not available
for comment.

His trip coincides with stepped-up efforts between Turkey and Armenia
to resolve disputes stemming from a bloody history.

Reconciliation talks between the countries, held away from public
eye, gathered steam in September when President Abdullah Gul paid a
landmark visit to Armenia, the first by a Turkish leader, to watch
a football match.

But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week ruled out a
deal with Armenia unless Yerevan resolved its conflict with Azerbaijan
over the breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region.

Azerbaijan has expressed concern that Turkey may be setting aside
the Karabakh question in its talks with Armenia.

Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia because
of Yerevan’s international campaign to have the mass killings of
Armenians under the Ottoman Empire recognised as genocide.

In 1993, Turkey also shut its border with Armenia in a show of
solidarity with close ally Azerbaijan over the Karabakh conflict,
dealing a serious economic blow to the impoverished Caucasian nation.

During a visit to Turkey this month, US President Barack Obama urged
both countries to "move forward" in their talks and signalled that
he would not interfere in their dispute over Armenia’s genocide claims.

NEGOTIATIONS – TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE NEW FACTORS IN THE REGION
Aghavni Haroutiunian

AZG Armenian Daily
April 16 2009
Armenia

"The negotiations on Karabakh conflict are conducted taking into
account the new factors in the region", similar statement was made
by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov after a meeting
with the OSCE Minsk Group US Co-chair, US State Secretary’s Adviser
on South Caucasus and Central Asia Matthew Bryza, Day.az reports.

Underlining that they discussed the conflict settlement with Bryza
(the latter seems to be domiciled in the South Caucasus – A.H.),
Mammadyaorv mentioned that they discussed also the new factors and
positions in the region.

Matthew Bryza, according to Trend News, in his turn announced that
Azerbaijan and Armenia would concentrate on the conflict settlement
main principles’ final definition proposed by the Minsk Group.