The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear frends! Arminfo news agency inform Politics 2008-02-21 16:44:00 Turkey's president congratulated Serzh Sarkisyan for the victory at the presidential election ArmInfo. Turkey's President Abdullah Gul congratulated Serzh Sarkisyan for the victory at the presidential election in Armenia. As Turkish Zaman newspaper says, in his message the Turkish president in particular expressed hope that at the post of the Armenian president S.Sarkisyan "will make the needed efforts to create an atmosphere for normalizing of the turkish-Armenian relations, which will lead to co-existence in peace and consent over centuries'. 2008-02-21 16:33:00 President of Armenia visited the RPA office to congratulate Serzh Sarkisyan personally ArmInfo. Yesterday President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan visited the RPA office and personally congratulated Serzh Sarkisyan for gaining a victory at the presidential election. The president was met by Serzh Sarkisyan, speaker of the parliament Tigran Torosyan and vice-speaker Hovik Abrahamyan. To recall, Serzh Sarkisyan gained a victory at the presidential election held on 19 February gathering 863 544 (52,86%) of votes. 2008-02-21 16:30:00 US Embassy in Armenia urges American citizens to avoid demonstrations and exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations ArmInfo. The U.S. Embassy in Armenia urges American citizens to avoid demonstrations and exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations, the statement at the U.S. Embassy's official web-site says. "The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan anticipates that post-election political demonstrations in central Yerevan may continue, possibly for the next few days. Demonstrations and marches through central avenues have been peaceful so far. We wish to remind American citizens that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. American citizens are therefore urged to avoid demonstrations, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations", the statement says. 2008-02-21 16:30:00 Javier Solana hopes for progress in Armenia's foreign policy after presidential election ArmInfo. EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana thinks that the election of the new Armenian president will become a good opportunity to improve Armenia's relations with the neighbor countries and intensify the efforts to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. According to Solana's statement, EU welcomes the presidential election in Armenia, which was held chiefly in compliance with the OSCE standards, and the preliminary assessments of the election prove this. He also pointed out the high turnout at the election. The European Union adheres to further consolidation of cooperation with Armenia on the basis of the European Neighborhood Policy, Solana's statement says. In addition, the Armenian governmental press-service told ArmInfo that Solana congratulated Armenian people on holding the presidential election with a high public turnout. 2008-02-21 15:53:00 Heritage Party representative at CEC: Levon Ter-Petrosyan gained victory in first round of presidential election ArmInfo. Heritage opposition party representative at the Central Electoral Commission Zoya Tadevosyan declared at a several thousand strong rally in Yerevan Freedom Square on February 21 that Levon Ter-Petrosyan gained victory in the first round of the presidential election. 'Mass election rigging of February 19 is a real crime to democracy. Our representatives at district election commissions had to leave the sessions because the commissions satisfy the demands of the presidential candidates Artashes Geghamyan and Aram Haroutunyan to recount votes. They do that to avoid the real recount of votes', she said. 2008-02-21 15:40:00 Head of Artur Baghdasaryan's campaign headquarters appeals to people to fight against electoral fraud in Armenia up to the end ArmInfo. At the multi-thousand rally of presidential candidate Levon Ter- Petrosyan's supporters, Thursday, Heghine Bisharyan, the head of the campaign headquarters of Leader of the Law-Governed Country Party (LGCP) Artur Baghdasaryan, appealed to people to fight against the presidential electoral fraud in Armenia up to the end. She read off the LGCP's statement, which stresses that the presidential election and tabulation of votes passed in the atmosphere of pressure on the members of electoral commissions and oppositionists' election agents. The LGCP, whose candidate held the third position according to the data of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), demands recounting of votes at hundreds of polling stations. The party also urges the authorities not to disturb the vote recount. "We have already been informed that as a result of the vote recount at the polling stations in the center of Yerevan, the results of our candidates are abruptly increasing. We should wait till the end of this process and fight against the electoral fraud together", Bisharyan stressed. 2008-02-21 15:09:00 Serzh Sargsyan: Armenian people have chosen peaceful and economically strong future for their country ArmInfo. Armenian people have chosen peaceful and economically strong future for their country, Armenian Prime Minister, Leader of the Republican Party of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said. Sargsyan's statement disseminated by the RPA says: "Armenian people have chosen the way of continuation of democratic and socio-economic progress. Serzh Sargsyan has been elected by the majority of voices - 52.86%. The election in Armenia was held freely and fairly, in compliance with international standards. Numerous observers from the OSCE, PACE and Council of Europe took part in the election and they have already given their assessment". Sargsyan stressed that he is "proud of the fact that he received the citizens' credence to promote the country along the path of economic and social development". "I am grateful to everybody who voted in my favor. As I stated before the election, I am going to become the president of all citizens of Armenia. All of us can confidently celebrate the victory of democracy. We'll start a new work tomorrow which guarantees progress for each citizen, and everybody can say proudly: Forward, Armenia!", Sargsyan said. "I am glad that for the second time this year I am getting people's support and credence, which will help me confidently conduct the country's foreign policy in conditions of existing foreign challenges", the prime minister said, adding that after preliminary publishing of the election returns some oppositional forces are trying to express their concern by provocation and violence. "Everybody has the right of freedom of speech in Armenia, however, there should be no distress and violence in the democratic republic", Sargsyan said. According to him, the law-enforcers will interfere only in case the law and order should be restored. 2008-02-21 15:09:00 Armenian president to take part in unofficial summit of CIS countries ArmInfo. Armenian President Robert Kocharyan will leave for Moscow on 22 February to take part in informal summit of CIS countries. As ArmInfo was informed from press-service of the president, Robert Kocharyan will meet his Russian and Georgian counterparts within the frames of the summit. 2008-02-21 15:07:00 Protest action of Levon Ter-Petrosyan's supporters started in Liberty Square in Yerevan ArmInfo. Termless protest action of Levon Ter-Petrosyan's supporters started in Liberty Square in Yerevan at 3:15 PM, with participation of a dozen of people. Member of L. Ter-Petrosyan's Central campaign headquarters Nikol Pashinyan said that, from now on, the Liberty Square of Yerevan turns into a central headquarters of rally, from where the opposition leaders will govern multidimensional street actions in different corners of the capital. 'We have a precise plan of actions and a scenario of every situation - how to act, if necessary', Pashinyan said. Presidential contender Levon Ter-Petrosyan welcomed his supporters and said that today's "nice sunny weather has been ordered by us". The Police employees tried to notify the meeting participants by a megaphone about the illegal nature of the event. In response, N. Pashinyan said that not a mass public action but a spontaneous event is held in Liberty Square. "We have gathered here at the people's pleasure, having received its confidence mandate". 2008-02-21 15:05:00 NKR CEC refutes information on voting from NKR on February 19 presidential election in Armenia ArmInfo. NKR Central Electoral Committee calls absurd the information on Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's application to OSCE, PACE and European Parliament against 'allegedly opened precincts in NKR for voting at presidential election of Armenia'. NKR CEC told ArmInfo that no precincts were opened in NKR. 2008-02-21 15:05:00 Council of Europe to further monitor Armenia's commitments to help improving election conducting mechanisms ArmInfo. Council of Europe will further monitor Armenia's commitments to help improving the mechanisms of election conduct, John Prescott, the Head of the PACE delegation, told ArmInfo. He said the situation in the country is rather interesting since the political forces in Armenia demand international observers to express definite attitude to the parties. Thus, the opposition demands the observers to say that the voting was not good, whereas the government indicates at the opposite. He believes the situation is complicate and the observers should stick to what they feel and what they think. He also added that monitoring of Armenia's commitments to the Council of Europe proves favorable to the democratization process, John Prescott said. 2008-02-21 15:04:00 All European missions to observe presidential election in Armenia to report on their activity to relevant structures ArmInfo. All the European missions to observe the presidential election in Armenia are to report on their activity to relevant structures, John Prescott, the Head of the PACE delegation, told ArmInfo. He said there will be further reflect within fortnight time after the result of the counting will be ratified. Then the obsderver intends to submit his report to the CE Monitoring Committee. The other observers from the European Parliament and OSCE PA are to do the same. John Prescott said that they should reflect their political sense of the election process absolutely more frankly than they do in Armenia. The parliamentarian also added that the report will become the substance for a debate. 2008-02-21 15:02:00 'Bertelsmann' Fund (Germany): Political system of Armenia remains closed and fuddy ArmInfo. The "Bertelsmann" Fund (Germany) promulgated a report for 2008 on the situation in Armenia's political system. As Radio Liberty informs, according to the report, despite the democratic and election reforms carried out in Armenia over the latest years, the country's political system remains fuddy and closed, that is caused by corruption and political sponsorship. The authors of the report think that this is a serious obstacle in implementation of democratic reforms in Armenia. The Fund carried out a survey on the development of democracy, market economy and level of the political system in 125 developing countries over the last 2 years. On a 10- score scale of democracy development, Armenia takes the 65th place with 6 scores. According to the report, during the election in Armenia, the international observers fix, as a rule, the facts of horrification of voters and the problems during calculation of votes. Indifference of voters is a result of mistrust in the political system. In this context, it is difficult to stimulate the public support, necessary for implementation of reforms, the document reads. Armenia's system of civil services was characterized by the Fund as "bureaucratized". As for the judicial system, the German experts think that there are numerous cases when the judicial process depends on the political and financial interference. As for the Mass Media, the report indicates that they are governed by the state. "Although the freedom is guaranteed in the country, the state has an apparent monopoly with respect to the electron Mass Media. Economic pressure and control of issuance of state licenses is used as a main strategy", the document reads, Radio Liberty reports. 2008-02-21 15:00:00 Possibility of meeting of OSCE chair-in-office with Karabakh party representatives during his forthcoming visit to Armenia is presently discussed ArmInfo. "Possibility of meeting of OSCE chair-in-office with Karabakh party representatives during his forthcoming visit to Armenia is presently discussed", ArmInfo was told in the permanent representation of Nagorno Karabakh republic in Yerevan. To recall, OSCE Chair-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Ikka Kanerva will visit Armenia on February 25-26. He will meet RA authorities within the frames of the visit. To note, Ikka Kanerva will visit Armenia within the frames of a regional visit. OSCE chair-in-office will visit Azerbaijan on February 28. 2008-02-21 14:56:00 US: 'Concerned' About Report Of Problems In Armenia Vote ArmInfo. The U.S. said Wednesday it was "concerned" over reports of problems in the vote count in Armenia's presidential election, won by Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian with 53% of the ballots, international news agencies report. "We are still in the process of weighing the various reports we have received concerning the conduct of this election," said U.S. State Department spokesman Edgar Vazquez. He said that the report by election observers led by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, called the elections "mostly in line with international standards." But, he said, "We are concerned by some elements of the report, including a description of the vote-count as 'bad' or 'very bad' in 15% of the polling stations observed" by the OSCE team. Vazquez meanwhile called on both demonstrators and officials to maintain the peaceful character of a protest of 20,000 people over the results of the election. "We understand that a sizable opposition protest demonstration is currently underway. "We commend both the authorities and the demonstrators for insuring that these gatherings have thus far proceeded calmly and peacefully, in the best tradition of freedom of assembly. "We call upon all sides to maintain this peaceful situation and to refrain from any acts of illegality or violence," he said. 2008-02-21 14:55:00 Police demands bringing observer to administrative responsibility ArmInfo. Malatia Police Office applied to the Administrative Court Wednesday for bringing Vardan Samsonyan, an observer of Liberal and Democratic Organization, to administrative responsibility in conformity with Article 183 of the RA Code of Administrative Violations. Press Secretary of the Court of Cassation of Armenia Alina Yengoyan reports that a dispute originated at the precinct 7/19 on the Election Day. As a result, Vardan Samsonyan began to cry and disturb public order and disobeyed the order of the police to keep the peace. 2008-02-21 10:12:00 NKR president congratulated Serzh Sargsyan with victory at presidential election ArmInfo. NKR President Bako Sahakyan congratulated Serzh Sargsyan with victory at the presidential election in Armenia. According to the NKR president's felicitation, received by ArmInfo from the Armenian governmental press service, "Serzh Sargsyan's victory symbolizes victory of the developing stable economic system and democracy in Armenia". Bako Sahakyan expressed confidence that Serzh Sargsyan's experience, knowledge and allegiance to the national and state interests will serve to strengthening and prosperity of Armenia. To note, Head of the Supreme House of Cilician, Patriarch of Cilician Catholicos Aram the First also congratulated S. Sargsyan with victory at the presidential election. 2008-02-21 10:10:00 RF President Vladimir Putin congratulated Serzh Sargsyan with victory at presidential election ArmInfo. RF Preisdent Vladimir Putin congratulated Serzh Sargsyan with victory at the presidential election in Armenia, the Armenian governmental press service told ArmInfo with reference to RF president's spokesman Aleksey Gromov. 2008-02-20 20:17:00 Charles Aznavour congratulates Serzh Sargsyan on victory at presidential election ArmInfo. Charles Aznavour, the famous French singer, Armenian by nationality, congratulated Serzh Sargsyan on his victory at the presidential election, the Armenian governmental press-service told ArmInfo. 2008-02-20 20:03:00 Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II congratulated Serzh Sargsyan with victory at presidential election ArmInfo. Catholicos of all Armenians Garegin the Second congratulated Serzh Sargsyan with victory at the presidential election. As the press-service of the Holy See of Mother Echmiadzin's administrative office told ArmInfo, Garegin II said, in particular: 'By blessing of Lord God, our people today builds a new and free life in peace and hopes to see the welfare and prosperity of Armenia. Along with the worthy sons of our people, you have done your best in the struggle for the statehood development, independence of Armenia and Karabakh liberation movement. We believe that a multi-year work experience at the top public posts will contribute to your responsible mission more. God bless you work for the sake of Armenia's happy life'. 2008-02-20 20:02:00 Mikheil Saakashvili congratulates Serzh Sargsyan on victory at presidential election ArmInfo. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili congratulated Serzh Sargsyan on his victory at the presidential election, the Armenian governmental press-service told ArmInfo. 2008-02-20 19:56:00 Levon Ter-Petrosyan: I have gained victory at the election and will assert my victory ArmInfo. "I have gained victory at the election and will assert my victory. I'll have the resoluteness to do this even if nobody remains beside me", Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the first president of Armenia, a presidential candidate, said at a multi-thousand rally of his supporters at Liberty Square in Yerevan, Wednesday. According to Ter-Petrosyan, he was informed by ambassadors of several foreign countries today that Armenian President Robert Kocharyan told them about his negotiations with the Armenian ex-president. "I am making an official statement that Robert Kocharyan made no proposals to me on holding negotiations, and I leave the comments to you", he said. Ter-Petrosyan said that the Feb 20 conclusion of international observers is extremely favorable for him and his supporters. "All of you will see a pleasant surprise at 3:00 pm, Thursday. Believe me, I am informed better than you", he said. Editor-in-Chief of Haykakan Zhamanak daily Nikol Pashinyan, the conductor of the rally, said that the next rally of Ter-Petrosyan's supporters will take place at Liberty Square at 3:00 pm, Thursday. "The victory doesn't like to hurry, we have already delivered a crushing blow on the regime of Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan. Come at 3:00 pm tomorrow, wear warm clothes and watch no news on Armenian TV channels, get information from Liberty Square", Pashinyan said. To note, the center of Yerevan was literally "stuffed" with special subdivisions of internal troops and police cars all day long, there were numerous law-enforcers near the places where Ter-Petrosyan's activities took place. No incidents were registered. 2008-02-20 19:54:00 OSCE/ODIHR to publish third interim report on monitoring of presidential election ArmInfo. The OSCE/ODIHR may work out the third interim report on monitoring of the presidential election in Armenia, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Observation Mission, Ambassador Dr Geert-Hinrich Ahrens said at a press-conference in Yerevan. He recalled that two interim reports were published earlier. The ambassador said that they considered thousands of reports received from short-term observers and will present the relevant notes later. He added that the long-term observers of OSCE/ODIHR will stay in Armenia to analyze the end of the electoral process and the results of lawsuits by means of existing mechanisms. 2008-02-20 19:06:00 Special investigative service of Armenia institutes 8 criminal cases on violations during Feb 19 presidential election ArmInfo. The special investigative service of Armenia has instituted 8 criminal cases on violations during the Feb 19 presidential election. Press-secretary of the Prosecutor General of Armenia Sona Truzyan says that the service received 11 messages and statements. A total of 8 criminal cases have been instituted on the basis of the prepared materials, the rest are being discussed. 2008-02-20 19:04:00 Media disseminate wrong information on kidnapping of LevonTer-Petrosyan's campaign agent ArmInfo. Prosecutor General's Office of Arnenia refutes the information by Media on kidnapping of two campaign agents of the candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan Arsen Khanamiryan and Gagik Ghazaryan. To recall, media reported that both the agents were taken to the Complex Harsnakar where they were beaten up and kept for an hour. Press Secretary of the Prosecutor General Sona Truzyan says that Levon Ter-Petrosyan's campaign headqurters reports they provided different information to Media. Moreover, the headquarters reports that Ter-Petrosyan has no agent Gagik Ghazaryan. Circumstances are verified. 2008-02-20 19:02:00 European structures actively cooperating with Armenian authorities to boost democratic and election processes ArmInfo. European structures are actively cooperation with the authorities of Armenia to boost democratic and election processes, Marie Anne Isler Beguin, Head of the European Parliament delegation said at a briefing in Yerevan on the preloiminary conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission deployed to monitor the 19 February presidential election in Armenia. She said the European Union intends to further contribute Armenia developing democracy in the country, particularly, implementing the New Neighborhood Policy. Democracy must be build. EU has displayed its will to help Armenia developing democracy. There is no democracy without active opposition. Armenia is close to the EU. Armenia must be able to meet the challenges it faces. Moreover, EU intends to further support Armenia to settle the problem of closed borders with Turkey and the conflict with Azerbaijan, she said. 2008-02-20 18:30:00 European observers do not rule out possibility of recalculation of votes ArmInfo. European observers do not rule out possibility of recount of votes over the presidential election in Armenia, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President Anne-Marie Lizine, leading OSCE PA Monitoring Mission, said at the press-conference in Yerevan today. 'Recount of votes is possible if needed. Some our colleagues were witnesses of several negative cases at ballot stations, but they are just observers, but those who are responsible for the process may initiate recount of votes', -Anne-Marie Lizine said and added that they could apply for recount of votes till 14:00 PM local time, on 20 February. She also said that observers do not comment on the voting result but observe and comment on the election process itself. 'We are not competent to comment on the election results, we appeal only to the facts we have', - she emphasized. 2008-02-20 18:22:00 Official Baku is bitter about Teheran ArmInfo-Turan. Azerbajani Defence Minister Safar Abiyev negotiated with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Najjar over his visit to Iran on 18-19 February. Iranian minister said he is for extension and fortifying of cooperation of the two states in military sphere. Azerbaijani defence minister blamed official Teheran for the fact that some countries calling themselves friends of Azerbaijan, in fact are cooperating with Armenia in economic, political and military sphere. As Turan was informed from press-service of Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, the prospects of the bilateral military cooperation development was the main topic of the talks. 2008-02-20 18:11:00 ODIHR Director: conduct of count was organized by 85% good ArmInfo. OSCE ODIHR Director, Ambassador Christian Strohal told ArmInfo that the organization has laways tried to make genuine efforts to ensure successful activity of observation mission. He said that a good team of long-term and short-term observers has gathered in Armenia. We expressed the situation well and strictly expressed our assessment in preliminary conclusions, he said. Christian Strohal also added that in some cases the evaluation of the counting process was misled by about 15-16%. However, about 85% of the count was evaluated as good, he said. He also added that the danger is in the individual experiences of ordinary citizens. Several hundres of short-term observers worked on the data to publish a statisically viable result, ODIHR Director said. 2008-02-20 18:04:00 French president congratulated Serzh Sarkisyan for election at the post of Armenian president ArmInfo. French President Nicolas Sarcozy congratulated the RPA leader Serzh Sarkisyan for gaining a victory at the presidential election in Armenia. As press-service of the Armenian government reports Sarkozy greeted the choice of the Armenian people which proved the will of the reforms implemented by the government and of joining Europe. for searching of mutually acceptable ways in Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. I would like to say I specially emphasize importance of development and deepening of bilateral cooperation with your country. I personally wish good luck to you, Armenia and the people of Armenia on behalf of the people of France>, - Nicolas Sarkozy's message says. 2008-02-20 17:53:00 President of Armenia comes out with a statement on Feb 19 presidential election ArmInfo. Armenian President Robert Kocharyan came out with a statement on the Feb 19 presidential election in Armenia, Wednesday. According to the statement sent to ArmInfo by the Armenian presidential press-service , the presidential election was held freely and fairly, in compliance with the Armenian legislation and international commitments assumed by the country. The president thanked all members of election commissions, election agents, observers, but first and foremost the voters themselves for holding the election at a worthy level. Election is always a boiling point of political resistance and may cause intensification of tension and split in the society, Kocharyan says. However, the ability to lose worthily in politics is also an important component of democratic culture, he added. During the post-electoral period each citizen should realize that the president of the republic cannot divide the society into "friends" and "foreigners". "I am sure that newly-elected president Serzh Sargsyan will be able to consolidate the society and form an atmosphere of mutual understanding and tolerance. Despite serious achievements, Armenia faces a lot of serious problems. People still have an unused potential. The Republic of Armenia should become one of the most competitive and rapidly developing countries of the world, and this needs consolidation and consistency", Kocharyan says. 2008-02-20 17:48:00 Presidential election in Armenia administered mostly in the line with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards ArmInfo. Presidential election in Armenia administered mostly in the line with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards, Vice Chairmwoman of OSCE PA Ann-Marie Lizin said at a briefing in Yerevan, Wednesday when presenting the preliminary conclusions on the voting results. She said that the high-State authorities made genuine efforts to address shortcomings noted in previous presidential elections, inclduing the legal framework, and repeteadly stated their intention to conduct democratic elections. However, further improvements and commesurate political willare required to address remaining challenges challenges such as: the absence of a clear separation between State and party functions, the lack of public confidence in the electoral process and ensuring equal treatment of election contestants. Ann-Marie Lizin said that the conduct of the count did not contribute to reducing an exsiting suspicion amongst election stakeholders. The CEC ensured a high level of transparency, except the consideration of complains that were for the most part dealt with in informal sessions. Although consistent with the election code, this process did not allow the presence of candidates proxies, observers and media, thus undermining trust. The filed of nine candidates offered voters a geniuine choice. Many candidates campained actively and were able to discuss their programmes with voters. The authorities made efforts to provide a permissive campaign environment. The freedom of assembly, association and expression were generally respected but on several occasions citizens were obstructed in exercizing their right to attend campaign events. The Prime Minbister retained his office while campaigning for president, which awarded him campaign advantages. 2008-02-20 17:46:00 Levon Ter-Petrosyan's supporters gather at Liberty Square of Yerevan ArmInfo. Participants in the rally of the candidate for president Levon Ter-Petrosyan's supporters have started gathering at Liberty Square of Yerevan, where the second rally of oppositionists will start soon. As ArmInfo correspondent reports, organizers of several thousand strong march first called the street where Armenian Central Electoral Commission is located as its final point. But later they adopted a decision to gather at Liberty Square. Their further actions will be presented at the rally. 2008-02-20 17:40:00 Levon Ter-Petrosyan damaged festive concert dedicated to Serzh Sarkisyan's victory ArmInfo. Levon Ter-Petrosyan's rally has become the reason of a festive concert calling off, dedicated to the victory of Serzh Sarkisyan at the presidential election. 2008-02-20 17:37:00 Levon Ter-Petrosyan's supporters gathering in front of Central Electoral Commission's building ArmInfo. By 6 pm the front part of the column of demonstrators, the supporters of presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan, reached the building of the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia. Law-enforcers are standing in front of the CEC building. The oppositionists are crying out anti-governmental slogans and demand holding new presidential election. The representatives of the CEC administration and some members of the CEC are observing the ongoing procession from the windows. An improvised rally is expected to start shortly. 2008-02-20 17:27:00 Representative of Bureau of ARF Dashnaksutyun Hrant Margaryan: One thing is clear - we lost the election ArmInfo. "One thing is clear - we lost the game", Hrant Margaryan, a representative of the Bureau of ARF Dashnaksutyun Party, said to journalists, commenting upon the Feb 19 presidential election in Armenia. To recall, Vahan Hovhannisyan, a member of the ARFD Bureau ran for president, obtained 6% of votes, and held the 4th position after Serzh Sargsyan, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Artur Baghdasaryan, as the preliminary data of the Central Electoral Commission say. According to Hrant Margaryan, ARFD is thoroughly analyzing the past election and is not going to make a statement yet. He added that their organization is also thoroughly studying the reasons of the defeat and the question why during the presidential election the ARFD candidate obtained twice as few votes as during the parliamentary one. To recall, ARFD obtained 13% of votes at the parliamentary election. "We still try to find answers to these and other questions", Margaryan said. 2008-02-20 16:38:00 Levon Ter-Petrosyan's supporters reached Republic Square ArmInfo. Several thousand strong march of the candidate for president Levon Ter-Petrosyan's supporters reached Republic Square. The march is headed by the first president of Armenia and leaders of the political forces supporting him. The file of oppositionists stopped in front of Government House and barracked it shouting 'Levon! Victory!', 'Serzhik go away!'. In general the match is taking place without any incident. Traffic is absolutely paralyzed at central streets of Yerevan. 2008-02-20 16:22:00 Levon Ter-Petrosyan: We have got specific programme of actions thanks to which power of law will be finally established ArmInfo. , - candidate for president Levon Ter-Petrosyan said today at several thousand strong rally of his supporters. He also added nothing special happened but "normal shameful election" were held. , - Ter-Petrosyan said. The first Armenian president is sure that no force can hamper establishing of legality in the country. He said that international organizations are responsible for rigging the results of the presidential election in Armenia, since they did not listen to the opposition's warning about the fraud that will be done. In particular, they did not agree to affect Armenian authorities in the matter of the ballot papers printing in abroad and to introduce in the Electoral Code a point about obligatory finger marking of voters, Ter-Petrosyan said. 2008-02-20 15:56:00 Several thousand strong procession of Levon Ter-Petrosyan's supporters underway ArmInfo. Several thousand strong procession of Levon Ter-Petrosyan's supporters along the city central streets and avenues is underway. Demonstrators who number about 70-80,000 people intend to start the procession from Mashtots avenue, then via Amiryan Street they will reach the Republic Square and then return to the Central Electoral Commission via Nalbandyan and Koryun streets. The organizers stress the peaceful nature of the procession and urge their supporters to be calm and alert. At the same time, they intend to demand CEC . 2008-02-20 15:39:00 No Alfa-Ga legal body registered at Armenian Justice Ministry ArmInfo. Armenian Justice Ministry informed ArmInfo news agency that there is no Alfa-Ga legal body registered in the state register of the Ministry. 2008-02-20 15:23:00 Presidential election in Armenia met CE and OSCE norms, in general ArmInfo. The presidential election in Armenia met the CE and OSCE norms, in general, Vice Chairwoman of OSCE PA Ann-Marie Lizin said at a press conference on the preliminary resolution of the International Election Observation Mission to monitor the presidential election in Armenia comprising the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) - as well as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Parliament. 2008-02-20 15:17:00 'We shall leave only as winners', head of Armenian Pan-National Movement party Ararat Zurabyan said at the rally of Ter-Petrosyan's supporters ArmInfo. 'We shall leave only as winners',- the head of Armenian Pan-National Movement party Ararat Zurabyan said at the rally of Ter-Petrosyan's supporters in front of Matenadaran. He congratulated participants in the rally for the fact that "several thousand free people" gathered at the territory near Matenadaran "which is a victory in itself". "And those who were illegally promoting reproduction of the illegal authorities are slaves in fact", - Ararat Zurabyan said. He emphasized that the political forces that gathered around Levon Ter-Petrosyan and the Armenian people that consolidated with him are protecting and will always protect their ideas. He is sure that the number of participants in the rally will grow all the time 'despite the fact that Mashtots street has been shut off for several hours'. 2008-02-20 14:54:00 Levon Ter-Petrosyan's campaign headquarters denies official preliminary data of presidential election and demands new voting ArmInfo. The statement by the Central Campaign Headquarters of presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan was made public at the several thousands strong rally in Yerevan. The statement says that the presidential election was accompanied by mass rigging that reached its top at the vote counting. Central Campaign Headquarters of presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan did not recognize the results of the voting and demands new election. A member of the Central Campaign Headquarters Nikol Pashinyan hosts the rally. He stated that seeing the rally the authorities are thinking about possible announcement of a second round of presidential election. However, oppositionists categorically disagree with such perspective. The number of demonstrators is constantly growing, ArmInfo correspondent on the spot reports. 2008-02-20 14:20:00 Several thousand strong meeting of opposition started in Yerevan ArmInfo. A several thousand strong meeting of the opposition started in Yerevan, in front of the Matenadaran building. The meeting has been organized by supporters of the first President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who claim that the victory at the election was taken off their candidate. Thousands of people participate in the meeting, they have already shut off one of the main avenues of Yerevan, Mesrop Mashtots Avenue. The number of the meeting participants keeps on growing. The Police does not yet hinder holding of the meeting. 2008-02-20 13:54:00 CIS observers do not think high turnout in Armenia unexpected ArmInfo. CIS observers do not think the high turnout at the presidential election in Armenia was unexpected. 'We visited a great number of precincts and noticed that opposition observers counted all the voters entering and leaving the precincts. A great attention was paid to that>, Vice Chairman of RF Federal Assembly Council of Federation, a member of CIS Observation Mission to the presidential election in Armenia, Alexander Troshin said at a press conference in Yerevan, Wednesday. He called the political process in Armenia 'solid', which attracted attention of observers as well. 'There was no case of long thinking in booths. Electors were well aware who to vote for'. 'The next think I'd like to mention is that a great number of young people executed their right to vote. Many young people and families with children attended the voting precincts. It was evident that the Armenian people are well aware of the importance of elections. That is why we believe the high turnout was not unexpected. It was the result of active work by campaign headquarters and candidates. We cannot but welcome this', Troshin said. He also added that 'one should be an adventurer to try to stuff ballots in the presence of so many observers', he said. 2008-02-20 13:53:00 Candidate for president Artur Bagdasaryan's election headquarters insists on revising the voting results ArmInfo. Candidate for president, leader of Orinats Yerkir party Artur Bagdasaryan's election headquarters insists on revising the results of the presidential election in Armenia. The statement of Bagdasaryan's headquarters says that the election was held with mass violations of Electoral Code. They were accompanied with intimidating of campaign agents and members of electoral commissions, blackmail, beating up and mass ballot stuffing. All above mentioned cast doubt on freedom, legality and fairness of the election. 'We declare about starting the process of recalculation of the voting results in more than 200 election precincts, as a result of which the votes for Artur Bagdasaryan will grow much', - the statement says. Authors of the statement apply to the authorities to take measures and not to hinder the process. 2008-02-20 13:49:00 CIS observers: Violations fixed during voting at presidential election in Armenia are typical for large-scale election ArmInfo. The violations, fixed during the voting at the presidential election in Armenia, are typical for large-scale election, deputy Chairman of RF Federal Assembly's Federation Council, member of CIS monitoring mission Alexander Troshin said at today's press-conference in Yerevan. He recalled that all the observers' conclusions are based on the information they are aware of directly: "We cannot analyze the data received at third hand". A. Troshin said that the violations, fixed by the observers at yesterday's election, are typical for large- scale election and are mainly of technical nature - the cases when there are more than one persons in the poling booth, over 15 persons in the room, queues at the election precinct and other remarks typical for such election. For his part, deputy of RF State Duma Konstantin Zatulin made several examples, marked by RF State Duma's deputies. "I have been in one of the polling stations in Yerevan where one of the presidential contender's campaign agent paid attention to the fact that not the 32nd but the next page in the passport is stamped. The Election Commission convinced him that it does not conflict with the law and the only reason is in occupancy of the 32nd page with visas, while he insisted that the cover sheet is not part of RA citizen's passport", A. Zatulin said. He also said that an observer in Gyumri noted that a teacher was working in one of the classes in the school, which served an election precinct, though he had not to be there. "Perhaps, the reason of taking additional measures in Armenia is concerned with the fact that the issue of transparency of the election, fairness of summing-up is treated here so scrupulously", K. Zatulin said. 2008-02-20 13:06:00 On February 19, RA Police received 30 alarms about violations during election ArmInfo. On February 19, RA Police received 30 alarms about violations during the election, deputy Head of RA Police Ararat Makhtesyan said in the Central Election Commission. He said that 200 signals about violations were received by RA Police during the past parliamentary election. "There is a lot of clamours around the issue of falsifications with the form 9. I can say that it is almost ruled out as the passport data are fixed in the form 9, moreover, there is a photo with a seal", Makhtesyan said. He also emphasized that the Police provided 264 citizens with a relevant reference for voting. "The Police could fulfill his duties within the frames of the Law", Makhtesyan said. For his part, Head of the Public Relations and Information Department of RA Police Sayat Shirinyan said that 1330 citizens received the form 9 and 49 citizens recovered their right of voting judicially. During the past parliamentary election, 1809 citizens received the form 9 and 85 citizens recovered their right of voting judicially", S. Shirinyan said. 2008-02-20 13:04:00 Any destabilization in Armenia will hurt not only Armenia but also all the Armenians worldwide: Russian politician ArmInfo. 'As a friend of Armenia and a person who has been visiting Armenia and following the developments in this country for many years, I am very disappointed that Levon Ter- Petrosyan has led himself to such deadlock', RF State Duma Observer Konstantin Zatoulin said when making public the results of the election monitoring, Wednesday. He said that speaking of opposition one should remember that it implies more than Levon Ter-Petrosyan and his supporters. 'I cannot understand for objective reasons on what relied the candidate who managed to conflict with all the key candidates just before the election. After long years of political silence, Levon Ter-Petrosyan should demonstrate responsibility and a wider approach in his speech instead of anger he displayed,' Zatoulin said. Anger is a bad advisor in politics, he stressed. 'I have repeatedly stated at various conferences before the election that I am surprised how could such responsible person as the first president of Armenia call for destabilization. I hope it is not late for those who make such calls to think about Armenia since any destabilization in Armenia will hurt no only the country but also all the Armenians worldwide>, K. Zatoulin said. He also added that millions of Armenians live in Russia and it is not desirable for the Diaspora to be divided. 'We'd like these election to become a progress in the way to further democratic development. We'd like all the disputes to be settled in legal way>, the politician said. He hopes these chances have not been lost yet. As regards the behavior of some campaign agents and supporters, K. Zatoulin said it makes one to think that 'people just ask for conflict of the authorities and this part of the Armenian public>. 'Who will gain on this? Armenia or Armenians? Although no being Armenian, I am concerned about it and I hope Levon Ter-Petrosyan will begin to think about it. I have always respected the first president of Armenia and I am very disappointed that I have to doubt in his actions>, K. Zatoulin said for conclusion. 2008-02-20 13:00:00 CIS monitoring mission are concerned over the fact that some presidential contenders of Armenia claim of non-recognition of election results in advance if they are not announced winners ArmInfo. CIS monitoring mission in Armenia pays attention to the fact that some presidential contenders claimed in advance of non-recognition of the election results if they are not announced winners, representative of CIS monitoring mission, deputy of RF State Duma Konstantin Zatulin said at a briefing during promulgation of conclusions upon the monitoring results. He said that the situation when a man is sure beforehand that he will be a winner always and everywhere, indicates the difference from common democratic norms. "The most dangerous thing is to think that everyone loves you and everyone will vote for you. Till the moment of summing-up, every candidate thinks that he will win for sure, come hell or high water, however, a ready politician should be responsible for his actions and never corner himself for later not to put the country and the population at risk. The problems should be solved in a legal field. This can be and should be done if there are grounds, however, all this should be done legally. That is what we would like to pay attention to in the context of the current events in Armenia", K. Zatulin said. 2008-02-20 12:22:00 Armenian Prosecutor General's Office received 26 application at the election day ArmInfo. 'Armenian Prosecutor General's Office received 52 applications over the election campaign regarding 12 of which criminal cases were initiated', - Deputy Prosecutor General Aram Tamazyan said at Central Electoral Commission. He also added that 7 out of those 12 cases - hooliganism, 4 - purposeful damaging of property and 1 - fighting. 7out of the 12 cases were registered in Yerevan, 2 - in Vanadzor and one in Martuni, Talin and Artashat. 'Prosecutor General's Office received 26 applications about violations at the day of election, 19 of which were directed to Armenian Police and criminal cases were initiated regarding 7 of them by section 149 of Armenian Criminal Code', - Tamazyan said. 'Chairman and members of regional electoral commission of election precinct 28/6 of Abovyan town made a protocol according to which Levon Ter-Petrosyan's campaign agent Ruzanna Movsisyan willingly left the election precinct. after that a group of Ter-Petrosyan's agents enter the election precinct and hindered its work. A criminal case was initiated because of the fact, Tamazyan said and added that at election precinct 36/34 of the town of Maralik of Shirak region Levon Ter-Petrosyan's campaign agent Harutyun Urutyan beat up Serzh Sarkisyan's campaign agent Suren Avetisyan. He also said that Prosecutor General's Office received numerous false applications over the election campaign. 2008-02-20 12:12:00 Robert Kocharyan: Artsakh war fortified the will of our people and proved the lack of alternative to independence ArmInfo. President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan congratulated the people of Armenia and Nagorny Karabakh Republic on the 20th anniversary of Karabakh Movement. The presidential press-service reports, the president, particularly, says that twenty years ago Karabakh Movement was launched. It was fight for self-determination and awakening of Artsakhi people. The president mentions that Karabakh Movement is display of a peaceful and legal demand. However, persecutions and large-scale military actions followed it. 'It was forced to grow into national liberation fight. Artsakhi war brought us many heroes and took many lives. However, the war fortified the will of our people and proved the lack of an alternative to independence,' Robert Kocharyan says in his congratulation message. Moreover, he also mentions that NKR independence is not only a method to keep nation awake but also the only real guarantor of peaceful development on the own soil. Robert Kocharyan says that serious achievements are seen in NKR statehood building. , the president says. He also thanks the people who do their best to develop Artsakh. In his message, the president also wishes peace, prosperity and new achievements in the NKR state building. 2008-02-20 11:59:00 Armenian president congratulated Sezrh Sarkisyan for gaining a victory at the presidential election ArmInfo. Armenian President Robert Kocharyan congratulated Sezrh Sarkisyan for gaining a victory at the presidential election held on 19 February 2008, press-release of the Armenian president says. "I congratulate you with all my heart for the clear-cut victory at the presidential election 2008", - the president said and added that the vote of confidence got by Sarkisyan over free and fair election symbolize continuation of the democratic reforms and fast-moving development of Armenia. The president said that preserving of the rates of economic development, poverty alleviation and new life quality ensuring as well as deepening of the process of Armenia's involvement in international programmes and final and fair settlement of the Karabakh conflict should become the main tasks of the new president. "I am sure that the next years of your presidency will lead to fortifying stability of the state and tolerance in the society", - R.Kocharyan said. To recall, according to preliminary results of the election Serzh Sarkisyan got 51,7% of votes. 2008-02-20 11:43:00 CIS observers recognize presidential election in Armenia free and transparent ArmInfo. CIS observers have recognized the presidential election in Armenia free and transparent. CIS observer, Vice Chairman of RF Federal Assembly Council of Federation Aleksander Troshin said that the election met the RA legislation. 'The election were open, free and they are an important factor of Armenia's further democratization', he said. CIS observation mission started monitoring the presidential campaign on January 22. The mission comprised 193 representatives of CIS. All the necessary conditions were created for monitoring, A. Trushin said. CIS observers visited 1,232 polling precincts (64% of total), including 1,052 precincts on the Election Day. Observers say violations and omissions were mainly of technical nature, which had no impact on the voting result. At the same time, observers believe further improvement of the Election Code of Armenia expedient. 2008-02-20 11:39:00 Forces of law-enforcement agencies continue gathering to Central Electoral Commission ArmInfo. Forces of law-enforcement agencies continue gathering to the building of Armenian Central Electoral Commission [CEC]. At present 20 police motors including 9 of "Gazel" type have parked near the CEC building. Moreover, the CEC street has been shut off. In all probability the authorities are expecting for big disorders in Yerevan. To note, rally of Levon Ter-Petrosyan's supporters is scheduled to be held in front of Matenadaran and people are gathering their beginning from 11:00 AM. 2008-02-20 10:11:00 'Armenia, ahead!' slogan brought success to Serzh Sargsyan at presidential election ArmInfo. The slogan 'Armenia, ahead!' brought success to leader of the Republican party of Armenia, RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan at the presidential election. As Chairman of RA Central Election Commission Garegin Azaryan said, 859 481 electors voted for Serzh Sargsyan, as of 8:00 PM by local time after processing of the data received from 1891 election precincts. The first President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, in favour of whom 349 774 people voted, lags behind more than twice. "Orinats Yerkir" party leader Artur Baghdasaryan, who gathered 271 688 votes, is in the third place. Further, the poll stands as follows: Artashes Geghamyan - 7458 votes, Tigran Karapetyan - 9747, Aram Harutyunyan - 3092, Vahan Hovhannisyan - 100515, Vazgen Manukyan - 20930, Arman Melikyan - 4354. Moreover, the number of inaccuracies of ballot papers at this date made up 6212. Total of 1.663.946 people took part in the voting. Economy 2008-02-20 12:58:00 9.9% GDP growth recorded in Armenia for Jan 2008 ArmInfo. GDP in Armenia grew by 9.9% in Jan 2008 as compared with the same period of 2007, the preliminary data of the RA National Statistical Service say. In Jan 2008 as compared to Dec 2007 GDP fell by 76.3% to 101.2 bln AMD or $330 mln in late January. GDP index deflator grew by 6.9%. The AMD/USD exchange rate for the period under review averaged 306.83 AMD/$1 USD. GDP grew due to a considerable 79.7% annual increase in the sphere of construction, which fell by 93.1% in January as against December to 7,036 million drams ($23 million). Moreover, retail turnover grew by 10.7% (a 67.1% decline in January), totaling 57.8 bln AMD ($188.5 mln). Electricity generation was up 7.8% and 15.2% in January to 663.5 mln kWh. The annual growth of services (trading exclusive) made up 7.4% (a 35.2% fall in January) to 37.1 bln AMD ($121 mln). Industrial produce was down 0.1% as against Jan 2007 and 24% for January 2008 to 51.7 bln AMD or $169 mln (51% of GDP - ArmInfo). Foreign turnover grew by 29.4% and fell by 33.5% in January, making up 103.3 bln AMD or $336.9 mln. In the structure of foreign turnover, exports fell by 36.5% in January and grew by 2.4% as against Jan 2007. Imports fell by 32.8% in January and grew by 37.4% as against Jan 2007. 2008-02-13 15:32:00 Agreement on transfer of Armenian Railway CJSC to concession of Russian Railways OJSC signed ArmInfo. Minister of Transport and Communication of Armenia Andranik Manukyan and President of Russian Railways OJSC Vladimir Yakunin signed the agreement of transfer of the Armenian Railway state CJSC to concession of South-Caucasian Railway CJSC belonging to the Russian Railways OJSC Wednesday. Minister Transport and Communication of Armenia Andranik Manukyan said relevant working group had worked on the agreement for 6 months. The signing of the agreement initiated the rehabilitation of the Armenian railway that is in rather poor state. CJSC Armenian Railroad is transferred to concession for 30 years with a 20-year renewable period. The investment plan says the Russian Railways pledge to invest in development of the infrastructure $570 million within 30 years, including $230 million within the first 5 years in the modernization of the railroad, repair and acquisition of equipment, on the whole. In addition, the investor will come out as a guarantor of the investments. The concessionaire is to make a $5 million initial contribution. Annual payments to the state budget will total 2% of incomes (except proceeds from passenger ransportation). The minister said some procedural issues connected with transfer of property still need solution. The concessionaire will launch its activity in the second half of 2008. For his part, Vladimir Yakunin said at a press conference that the Board of Director of South-Caucasian Railway CJSC will meet shortly to draw a detailed investment business-plan for every year and management system. He mentioned that the concessionaire plans to acquire 3-4 electric locomotives to boost suburban transportation. He also added that the infrastructure development will allow increasing the cargo traffic through Kavkaz-Poti port. V. Yakunin said the concessionaire is well aware of the great responsibility for fulfillment of the agreement and guarantees investments. Moreover, it pledges to keep the existing 4,300 jobs at the company within the first 3 years. Government of Armenia approved the draft agreement on February 7 2008. Rusisan Raiwlays OJSC was declared the winner of the tender for concession of the Armenian Railway on January 16 2008. Finance and banks 2008-02-21 15:56:00 Exchange rate of dram against US dollar and EUR ArmInfo Today, the maximum buying rates at commercial banks of Yerevan were 309,5 drams for 1 dollar, 454 drams for 1 EUR and 12,36 drams for 1 Russian ruble. The minimum selling rates stood at 311 drams for 1 dollar, 457,5 drams for 1 EUR and 12,6 drams for 1 Russian ruble. 2008-02-21 15:20:00 Non-cash transactions in inter-bank market for February 20 ArmInfo. The non-cash transactions in the inter- bank foreign exchange market for February 20 made up $3 million (929.790 million drams at the average exchange rate of 309.93 AMD/$1 USD). General transactions were up 1.5 times as against the previous trading day (February 18 - 620 million drams). According to the data of commercial banks, the average exchange rate of USD fell by 0.02 percentage points. The data of the Armenian stock exchange (ArmEx) say the foreign exchange transactions on the floor made up $550,000(170.437 million drams), which is almost 5.5 times lower than the similar indicator of the inter-bank market. The average exchange rate of US dollar at the exchange market totaled 309.93 AMD/$1 USD. 2008-02-21 15:18:00 Armimpexbank intends to increase assets in 2008 up to $80 mln and credit portfolio - up to $50 mln ArmInfo. Armimpexbank intends to increase the credit portfolio in 2008 up to $50 mln. As Chairman of Board of Armimpexbank Artak Anesyan told ArmInfo, $42 mln are envisaged for commercial credits and $8 mln - for consumer credits. He said that the lion's share in the "consumer" portfolio will fall on the hypothec credits, which will be extended at the rate of 10-13% per annum with repayment term to 20 years, on the terms of prepayment of 15% minimum of the housing cost. The remaining part will fall on autocredits and consumer credits (purchase of household appliances and furniture). "Armimpexbank is peculiar by the fact that the retail products will be extended restrictedly, i.e. to the persons who are employees of our corporate clients or the persons who open accounts in our bank by specific parameters (depending on the client's annual revenue or the volume of his transactions made through our bank). Thus, we schedule to control our risks", A. Anesyan said. He added that by the end of 2008, the bank intends to provide a portfolio for about $2 mln on commercial operations. The bank's credit portfolio will be diversified on all the sectors with emphasizing industry (including the food industry) and construction. Taking into account the economy development rates, the bank intends to carry out a full-scale trade financing, in particular, allocate letters of credit, credit guarantees, open escro-accounts. Moreover, in the second half of the year, the bank schedules to start leasing operations and, further, as the "leasing product" develops, to increase the volumes. Creation of separate leasing companies is not ruled out either. A. Anesyan also said that by the end, 2008, the portfolio of state bonds will make up about $11 mln. The bank also envisages share participation in the project financing for $1 mln, and this digit will grow every year - $2 mln in 2009. Possibilities of share financing and their terms are considered at present. One such a project ahs already been submitted to the bank regarding organization of production of high-technology enterprise of food industry. "In general, we are interested in the project, however, the further analysis will show if we shall participate in it", he emphasized and added that the bank also schedules to develop debt financing. A Anesyan thinks that if it succeed to fulfill everything scheduled, including assurance of the afore-mentioned indicators, the assets will grow to $80 mln. To note, the "Troika Dialogue" Russian Investment Company has become Armimpexbank's 96,15% stock holder in September, 2007. 2008-02-20 19:31:00 European observers: Procedure of considering complaints by CEC during presidential election in Armenia was not organized properly ArmInfo. The procedure of consideration of complaints by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) was not organized properly, Head of PACE Observation Mission John Prescott said at a press-conference when presenting the preliminary conclusion of the observation missions of OSCE/ODIHR, PACE and the European Parliament. According to him, assessment should be independent in the constitutional democratic system. John Prescott noted that the procedure of consideration of complaints was not so proper as it should be. He expressed concern over the fact that 56 complaints received by the CEC were not chiefly discussed, and no decisions on them were taken in the open working order. Moreover, 26 complaints were rejected without any serious discussions and participation of all applicants. A question arises whether legal protection was ensured or the legal process was efficient, the parliamentarian said. For his part, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Observation Mission, Ambassador Dr Geert- Hinrich Ahrens said that they will continue observing the post-electoral process and the consideration of complaints by law-enforcers and the Prosecutor-General's Office. 2008-02-20 14:03:00 Results of Currency Transactions in Interbank Market for February 18 ArmInfo. The transactions in the Interbank currency market for February 18 made up $2 mln (620 mln drams) by average weighted rate 310 AMD/$1, which is by 2,3 times lower of the February 15 trading day indicator (1, 475 bln drams). According to the data of the commercial banks, the average exchange rate of USD fell by 0.1 points. The data of the Armenian stock exchange say the currency transactions on the floor made up $3,550 mln (1,100 bln drams), which exceeds the similar indicator of the Interbank market by 1,8 times. The average weighted rate at the exchange made up 309,95 AMD/$1 and 455 AMD/1 EUR. Hi-Tech 2008-02-21 15:22:00 BI LINE to launch serious projects to create IT infrastructure in Armenia ArmInfo. BI LINE company intends to start implementing serious projects in Armenia in 2008 to create IT infrastructure comprising the whole complex of services. BI LINE Vice President Sargis Karapetyan told ArmInfo the company is currently negotiating with Russian providers for this purpose. We have chosen Russian companies since they are not only located closer but also our problems are common and settled by similar methods. Moreover, Russian companies have rather big experience and the tariffs of their services are affordable for Armenia, he said. The given project is among the projects BI LINE elaborated last year and started implementing in 2008. S. Karapetyan said that BI LINE was in the list of 1000 large taxpayers of Armenia in 2007. It is the only local company to sell and serve hardware. Being in the top 300 taxpayers, the company paid 201.4 million drams to the sate budget. 'It is very pleasant that we completed the year 2007 under the flag of the banking sector, the engine of the country's economy. It is not accidental since we have a great experience of work with banks. In particular, we have been cooperating with some of banks since founded in 1996', he said. S. Karapetyan stressed that the company is currently cooperating with 16 of the operating 21 commercial banks in Armenia. BI LINE cooperates with such a big client as the cellular operator VivaCell. He mentioned that demand for powerful servers, data store devices, and sources of uninterrupted power exceeding 30kW has sharply grown since 2007. As regards price policy of the company, it is fair given the quality of the offered equipment and services. BI LINE is vendor of world leading companies. Moreover, our specialists, engineers regularly participate in qualification courses of producers', S. Karapetyan said. He also stressed that the clients having long- term contracts with the company are served for considerably lower tariffs. S. Karapetyan said that BI LINE has already completed localization of Microsoft VISTA and Office 2007. The testing of Microsoft 2007 will be completed till the end of the year. He stressed that the Armenian version of Office 2007 is the most optimal way for the people with not so good knowledge of English and Russian to use all the possibilities of software. 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