Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

TURKISH HACKERS "TAKE VENGEANCE" ON BULGARIAN CHURCH FOR CONDOLENCES IT SENT TO ARMENIA OVER GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.10.2008 17:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A group of Turkish hackers cracked the website
of Bulgarian Orthodox Church and posted an offending message on the
front page.

Presently, the website is unavailable. The administrators promise to
recover it within several days.

It is supposed that the attack was undertaken because of the
condolences the Bulgarian Orthodox Church extended to Catholicos
of All Armenians over an anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
NEWSru.com reports.

RA PRESIDENT RECEIVES MEMBERS OF SWITZERLAND-ARMENIA PARLIAMENTARY GROUP OF SWISS FEDERAL ASSEMBLY

Noyan Tapan

Oc t 8, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. RA President Serzh Sargsyan receiving
the members of the Swiss Federal Assembly’s Switzerland-Armenia
parliamentary group headed by Christine Egerszegi-Obrist on October
8, attached importance to development of many-sided contacts
with Switzerland. He was satisfied that an interesting agenda of
bilateral partnership has been formed in the recent years. According
to him, foundation of a diplomatic representation of Switzerland
in Armenia will be a significant step for further strengthening of
cooperation. S. Sargsyan attached a special importance to parliamentary
relations in Armenian-Swiss cooperation. The RA President expressed
gratitude for recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the National
Council of Switzerland in 2003.

S. Sargsyan welcomed Switzerland’s balanced approach to the problems in
the region and in Armenia. Touching upon Armenian-Turkish relations,
he reiterated Armenian side’s readiness to establish relations with
Turkey without any preconditions, and only then to discuss many
problems as neighbors.

According to the report provided to Noyan Tapan by the RA President’s
Press Office, Armenian-Swiss programs implemented in various spheres
were spoken about at the meeting.

OBAMA: U.S. MUST ACT TO STOP GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.10.2008 14:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Sen. Barack Obama, who emerged the clear victor
in Tuesday’s second Presidential Debate, reiterated his principled
stance on Genocide prevention around the world in response to a
question from moderator Tom Brokaw, the ANCA told PanRMENIAN.Net.

Tom Brokaw asked the candidates what their "doctrine" would be "in
situations where there’s a humanitarian crisis, but it does not affect
our national security," such as "the Congo, where 4.5 million people
have died since 1998," or Rwanda or Somalia.

Obama responded by saying that in such cases, "we have moral issues at
stake," adding that of course the U.S. must act to stop genocide. "When
genocide is happening, when ethnic cleansing is happening … and
we stand idly by, that diminishes us," said Obama adding that
U.S. intervention must be coordinated with allies around regions.

With Sen. Obama expanding his lead in national and battleground state
polls, as well as electoral map projections, the conventional wisdom
has been that Senator McCain needed a game-changing performance in
the second Presidential Debate of 2008 to save his campaign.

The second Presidential debate was conducted in a town-hall format
which is generally seen as Senator McCain’s strength. Once again,
Senator Obama was able to overcome an inherent disadvantage and
demonstrate to the American people his ability to lead this nation.

"Armenian-American voters, along with voters across the country,
witnessed a stunning performance by Senator Obama tonight," stated
Jeff Marootian, Political Director of Armenians for Obama. "For the
past 3 days, Senator McCain’s campaign has engaged in some of the
most vile and underhanded character attacks in American political
history. In the face of that storm, Senator Obama maintained his
composure and refused to engage in smear tactics, instead focusing
on the issues and explaining to America what his plans are for the
economy and healthcare," continued Marootian.

Questions during the debate ranged from the economy, healthcare,
foreign policy, energy policy, and taxes. The debate also offered
voters the opportunity to ask the questions themselves, rather than
the moderator, Tom Brokaw of NBC News.

Areen Ibranossian, Chairman of Armenians for Obama, commented on the
debate as well. "What’s interesting to me about these debates is the
style, temperament, and worldviews of the candidates. Senator John
McCain continues to demonstrate he is more comfortable attacking and
demeaning Senator Obama then he is in explaining what his plans for
America are," commented Ibranossian.

ARMSWISSBANK BECOMES MARKET MAKER FOR NEWLY LISTED "VALETTA" LLC BONDS

ARKA
Oct 8, 2008

YEREVAN, October 8. /ARKA/. ArmSwissBank becomes a market maker for
newly listed "VALETTA" LLC bonds.

Starting from October 7, ArmSwissBank is to officially provide buy and
sell prices for the third tranche of nominal coupon bonds of "VALLETTA"
LLC (Armex: VALTB3), Marketing and Communication Department of NASDAQ
OMX Armenia reported. In its status of a market maker ArmSwissBank is
to ensure that investors are always able to buy and sell the bonds
of the company on Armex to promote liquidity of the securities on
the secondary market.

The third tranche consists of 10,000 bonds with nominal value of AMD
50,000, maturity 36 months, and coupon yield of 11% per annum. The
bonds have been listed on the Armenian Stock Exchange (Armex) since
September 25, 2008.

ArmSwissBank that has been a member of the stock exchange since
September 2007, is currently also the market maker for the bonds
of previous issues by Valletta (VALTB1, VALTB2), as well as the
bonds of ArmRosGasProm (HRGAB2), Armenian Copper Programme (ARCPB1),
and Express Credit Universal Credit Organization (XPKUB1). All the
mentioned bonds all listed on Armex.

Valletta LLC has been operating in Armenia since 1990. Its main fields
of activities are trade (export-import, wholesale-retail sale), fast
food (SFC), tea and coffee production and promotion of enterpr ises
to an independent status. The company has processing enterprises,
restaurants, shop networks, house appliance importing firms.

In January 2008, Swedish exchange operator OMX Group acquired 100%
of shares of the Armenian Stock Exchange (Armex) and the Central
Depository of Armenia (CDA). After the combination of NASDAQ and OMX
in March 2008, Armex and CDA have become fully owned by the NASDAQ
OMX Group, Inc. ($1=304.05Drams).

FRANCE’S ORANGE WINS ARMENIA CELLULAR TENDER

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.10.2008 12:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Oragne, a world-famous subsidiary of France Telecom
has been chosen to become Armenia’s third cellular operator after
submitting the highest bid for a relevant government license, said
Susanna Tonoyan, a spokesperson for the Armenian Ministry of Transport
and Communications.

Orange offered 51.5 million euros ($72 million) for the license, well
above the government’s minimum asking price of 10 million euros. The
two other bidders, Tele2 AB of Sweden and the British-Irish group
CEO Blackrock Communications, offered 45.6 million and 31.7 million
euros respectively.

Orange will operate with +374 (0) 55 and +374 (0) 95 codes. If by
the end of the first operation year the operator fails to distribute
more than 60 per cent of the numbers, the Public Services Regulatory
Commission of the Republic of Armenia is entitled to appropriate the
unused ones.

The new operator will be provided with GSM frequencies and possibility
of 3G services.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND IRON AGE MAUSOLEUM IN ARMENIA

Thaindian.com
October 4th, 2008 – 4:29
Thailand

Washington, Oct 4 (ANI): Archeologists at work in the Gogaran village
of the Lori province in northern Armenia have recently discovered an
Iron Age mausoleum unlike others that appeared in the country.

The discovery announced in September is a novelty for the group of
specialists of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia as it
differs from other earlier known mausoleums in style and material
it revealed.

Unlike those in other finds, the mausoleum is made of hewn stone,
instead of clay bricks.

The structure is 14 meters in diameter, and is believed to have
been prepared for a local prince from during the Iron Age (9th-7th
century BC).

The mausoleum is surrounded with half-processed and semi-concaved
large stones, rimmed with smaller ones.

Excavators attention has also been drawn by the flagstone shield
of the mausoleum and the small grave pit rimmed with a small circle
comprising articles typical of funeral rites.

Hrachik Marukyan, researcher at the Lori provincial service for
historic environment conservation of Armenia, said that the age of
the mausoleum is determined by the materials found there.

The family of the ruler buried him in a special funeral rite, burying
also his dagger, small and large ceramic vessels, a ceramic plate, and
a necklace believed to be onyx, and also cattle and still unexamined
species of animals.

Proof of its age is found in the blade of the dagger, said Marukyan.

Marukyan points to the unique architectural structure of the mausoleum,
the variety of geometric drawings on one of the large stones of the
circle with a row of triangles, and the equal-winged cross inside
the circle.

The cross indicates the four sides of the world and is the symbol of
the Sun taken into the circle. It becomes a swastika, when turned,
symbolizing the eternity of power over the world, Marukyan said.

Despite the decay of the remnants with only part of the little finger
and several teeth remaining, there are no doubts the ruler belonged to
Armenians, Marukyan insists, saying that despite the remains have not
been exposed to genetic identification yet, the ancient monuments so
far discovered on the territory of Lori belong to the Armenian culture.

Specialists said that the territory of the discovered monument can
be referred to pre-Christian settlements and has been a residence of
the princes of those times. (ANI)

PEACE IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH A CONDITION FOR ARMENIA’S PARTICIPATION IN NABUCCO PIPELINE

AsiaNews.it
10/02/2008 12:39
Italy

AZERBAIJAN – TURKEY – ARMENIA

If Armenia is more "flexible", and reaches an agreement with
Azerbaijan, it could be involved in the pipeline that Europe wants
to lay from the Caspian Sea to Austria. Turkey is highly active,
interested in increasing trade in the southern Caucasus.

Baku (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Hopes are rising for an agreement by 2008
on the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, after the meeting of delegates from
Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia in New York on September 26. Although
there have been no immediate results, there is growing speculation that
Ankara and Baku are offering Armenia the possibility of participating
in the Nabucco oil pipeline, if the conflict can be stopped.

Until now, Armenia has insisted on the independence of the region,
most of the inhabitants of which are Armenian. But in November of
2007, mediators between the two countries proposed ending the conflict
immediately and delaying a decision on the status of the area until
a future referendum.

Elhan Shahinoglu, director of the Atlas political research center,
tells the news agency Eurasianet that Azerbaijan can accept Armenian
participation in Nabucco if the country is "fairly flexible" about
Karabakh. This view is shared by the Turkish analyst Sinan Ogan, who
on September 19 told the radio network Voice of America, immediately
after U.S. vice president Dick Cheney’s visit to Baku, that there
is "serious conjecture about involving Armenia in the project":
although Turkey and Azerbaijan "were against this at the beginning,
the participation of Armenia now seems possible".

Turkish president Abdullah Gul, while repeating that Armenia must
liberate as soon possible the Azerbaijani territory occupied after
the war that ended in 1994, said on September 10 that this "would
encourage very efficient economic cooperation in the region. Pipelines
and transport communications would cover the entire Caucasus region".

The European Union is sponsoring the Nabucco oil pipeline project,
from Baku on the Caspian Sea through Georgia and Turkey, continuing to
Austria, to transport energy from central Asia while bypassing Russia.

The situation has become more complicated following the war in Georgia,
and the cooling of relations between the United States and Russia,
both of which are highly interested in the future status of the
southern Caucasus. Experts maintain that Moscow is not in favor of
a rapid solution of the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, which would
favor the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia, and
could involve Yerevan in the Nabucco project. But the experience of
Georgia is prompting the sides to seek a rapid solution. This could
emerge immediately after the presidential election in Azerbaijan on
October 15, which all believe that current president Ilham Aliyev
will win.

AZERI NON-DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS AGAINST NATIVE PEOPLE

Panorama.am
16:05 30/09/2008

"It is more than obvious for everybody in Azerbaijan and abroad that
the forthcoming elections there can not be fair and transparent,
as the presidential candidates have unequal platform to hold their
electoral campaigns. In a country where the is transferred from the
father to the son, it is normal," says Sergey Nasibyan, the President
of Central Electoral Committee of Nagorno Karabakh.

According to him those elections won’t be transparent as there is no
independent civil society exercising their rights and laws.

To the question how Mr. Nasibyan could comment that special active
campaigns are not being organized by the opposition, he said, "There
is nothing strange, as everything is defined."

Remind that a few oppositional parties have signed an ensemble
memorandum by which they announced the forthcoming elections illegal,
as they dot have access to express their opinions via media and
online publications.

PM TIGRAN SARGSYAN AWARDS BENEFACTOR JULIAN HOVSEPYAN WITH A MEMORIAL MEDAL

armradio.am
29.09.2008 12:06

According to RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan’s decision, benefactor
Julian Hovsepyan was awarded RA Prime Minister’s Memorial Medal for
his outstanding pro-Armenian activity and his contribution to the
sphere of charity. The Prime Minister handed him the award during
today’s meeting.

Tigran Sargsyan expressed gratitude for Julian Hovsepyan’s efforts to
continue the best traditions of Armenian benefactors to foster the
development of culture, especially for his valuable donation to the
Armenian National Art Gallery. The Prime Minister underlined that his
attitude towards culture speaks about the features of the Armenian
nation, as well.

Benefactor Julian Hovsepyan expressed gratitude for the award and
the words of appreciations, noting that he is going to gift more
valuable paintings from his rich collection to the Armenian National
Art Gallery in the future.

HOVNANIAN INTERNATIONAL COMPANY BUILDS DETACHED HOUSES OF NEW TYPE – TOWNHOUSES IN VAHAKNI RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY

Noyan Tapan
Sep 24, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN. "Townhouses" of a new type are
being constructed in the Vahakni residential community on the outskirts
of Yerevan. As Lilit Martirosian – the CEO of Hovnanian International
company implementing this project – stated at the opening ceremony of
a detached house, there are six models of townhouses with different
areas: the smallest house has an area of 122 square meters, while
the largest one occupies 172 square meters.

Bishop Ter-Anushavan Zhamkochian blessed the newly-built houses and
wished success to the familiy of Vahak Hovnanian – the founder of
Hovnanian International, famous U.S. businessman of Armenian origin.

The head of Yerevan’s Ajapniak district Ruben Hovsepian thanked the
company for building such a beatiful residential community in their
district and for assisting with solution of a number of problems,
including the problem of greenery planting.

"Let your work rather than you speak," Vahak Hovnanian stated in his
short speech.

After the end of the official part of the ceremony, those present had
an opportunity to become acquainted with several townhouse models. It
was announced that the company will continue building such houses.

The event included various attractions and entertainments.

Hovnanian International was founded in 1998 by Vahak Hovnanian with
the aim of housing and industrial real estate property development in
Armenia. It is planned to have 700 detached houses and 2,300 apartments
based on unique architectural solutions along with special city
amenities and infrastructures in the Vahakni residential community,
which was designed and built by the company and is located 11.6 km
from downtown Yerevan. It is envisaged constructing a modern trade
center in the community in the near future where local and foreign
companies will have the opportunity to open their shops and offices.