Intrigue of the day

2008-05-29 15:33:00 Former Vice Speaker of RA parliament: Ministers from ARF Dashnaksutyun Party withdrew from their portfolios voluntarily

ArmInfo. "The ministers from the ARF Dashnaksutyun Party withdrew their portfolios voluntarily, nobody forced them to do this", Chairman of the ARFD faction, member of the ARFD Bureau Vahan Hovhannisyan said at a press-conference at the international press-center "New Armenia", Thursday.

According to him, Armenian Minister of Agriculture David Lokyan, Armenian Minister of Education and Science Levon Mkrtchyan and Armenian Minister of Labour and Social Issues Aghvan Vardanyan laid
down their duties as the work in government didn't allow them to develop their political activity. "The ministers couldn't be responsible for the party and the government simultaneously. They worked within the frames of the executive body, which didn't allow them to expand their activity in the political field", Hovhannisyan stressed. He added that their posts will be held by "young and smart personnel". "Discussions concerning the new ministers are currently being held. This issue will be settled at the end
of the current week", he said. The MP didn't rule out that people, which are not ARFD members, may be appointed ministers. "However, first and foremost, we are considering the nominees of our party members", Hovhannisyan said.







Politics

2008-05-30 14:45:00 CE Secretary General: I concern when I hear that peaceful means for solution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict have ended

ArmInfo. Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis concerns when he hears that peaceful means for solution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict have ended. As APA reports, he answered the questions of participants of the plenary meeting of the CE Congress of Local Regional Authorities on May 28. Mr. Davis said that he had visited Azerbaijan and Armenia for the several times and learned the conflicts in the South Caucasus. "I was shocked when I saw living conditions in the refugee camps in Azerbaijan. I
expressed my ideas at the official meetings with the leaders of both countries and I think it gave its results. Certain work has been done for improvement of living conditions of refugees since than. The root of this problem is between Azerbaijan and Armenia and relates to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. There was war between these countries and both sides suffered from it. In that time Europe had no information about the details of this conflict. It was not discussed there
because Europe was at work upon former Yugoslavia and crimes committed there though same events were happening in the South Caucasus too. Now the situation is so that we try to protect human rights in both Azerbaijan and Armenia and intends for soonest solution of the conflict. While entering the Council of Europe, both
countries took obligations for peaceful solution of the conflict and I very concern when I hear that peaceful means have ended and one of the sides is going to take military measures. In such cases I would put forward the initiative for the CE Committee of Ministers to take necessary measure, because it would be violation of obligations taken before the Council of Europe". Terry Davis advised to the conflict parties, as a friend of both Azerbaijan and Armenia, to look forward for future not forgetting the past.
"I don't say that you must forget the past, but you need to look forward for finding solution to the
conflict".


2008-05-30 14:43:00 Resignation of three ministers from ARF Dashnaktsutyun means nothing extraordinary: Adviser to President of Armenia

ArmInfo. Resignation of Minister of Education and Science Levon Mkrttchyan, Minister of Agriculture David Lokuyan and Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Aghvan Vardanyan means nothing
extraordinary, Adviser to President of Armenia Garnik Isagoulyan said when commenting at the request of ArmInfo on the decision of the three ministers from ARF Dashnaktsutyun to design at Tesaket Debate
Club Friday.

He said ARFD neither withdraws from the ruling coalition nor refuses from its ministerial portfolios. 'Lokyan, Mkrtchyan and Vardanyan are elected to ARFD Bureau and they believe it difficult to combine
the above jobs. As a result, they decided to resign. Other members of ARFD will replace them and nothing terrible has happened', Garnik Isagoulyan said.


2008-05-30 14:41:00 Head of Helsinki Association Armenia has no intention to participate in TV Debates vs. Leader of Progressive Party

ArmInfo. Head of Helsinki Association Armenia, human right defender Mikael Danielyan informed ArmInfo Friday that he has no intention to participate in TV Debates vs. Leader of Progressive Party Tigran Urikhanyan.

To recall, on May 21 Urikhanyan and Danielyan squabbled in the crossroad of Isahakyan and Teryan streets wherein Danielyan got bodily injuries. Danielyan insists that Urikhanyan fired at him from blank firing gun, whereas Urikhanyan stated that he fired in the air and Danielyan was drunken and attacked him the first. Police initiated a criminal case on the fact. Later Urikhanyan called Danielyan for TV debates and declared that 'a refusal would mean concealing something'.

For his part, M. Danielyan told ArmInfo Friday that he refused from TV debates since it would be PR for Urikhanyan. As regards the incident, Danielyan said 'the criminal case is in embryo so far'. 'I
have not been called for interrogation any more and I still unaware of my status i,e,. witness, suspected or else. I just know that Urikhanyan stopped accusing me of teasing girls (earlier PP Leader declared that just this fact made him conflict with Danielyan) and keeps insisting that I insulted him and quarreled', Danielyan said.


2008-05-30 14:38:00 Turkish native applies to court for restoration of his real Armenian second name

ArmInfo. A local musician in the eastern province of Malatya applied to court Wednesday to get a name change, declaring that he was really an Armenian, Turkish Daily News reports.

Kazm Aknc, who lives with his mother and makes a living selling his albums, said his family hid the fact that they were Armenian Christians, but had decided to stop hiding his true identity after Turkish journalist of Armenian decent Hrant Dink was killed early last year.

He applied to a Malatya court to change his name to Serkis Nerseyan and went to the local population registry to change the religion section of his identity card from Muslim to Christian.

Speaking to the Doan news agency, he said, "I live in Malatya and neither I nor the society has any problem with me being an Armenian. However, my family hid this fact for years due to a baseless fear."

He said his sadness over Dink' murder had made him decide to declare his identity. "I make a living by selling my albums. I am well liked by those around me. They like me not because I am 'Kazm' or
'Serkis.' I am liked because of my personality. There is no reason for fear or hiding."

Dink was shot and killed in front of the office of the weekly Armenian newspaper Agos in January 2007 by an ultra-nationalist teenager. Dink was also found guilty of insulting Turkishness by a court.

Malatya made the headlines in April last year when five ultra-nationalists raided the offices of a publishing house, murdering two Turkish Christian converts and a German national, all of whom were working as Christian missionaries.



2008-05-30 11:45:00 AR FM: If Armenia does not change its position there will be no base for talks

ArmInfo-TURAN. It should be revealed if Armenia has changed its attitude to the unsolved "main question" on the settlement of the conflict, Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov told journalists commenting on the coming meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in St. Petersburg on June 6. He said the matter will be clarified at the coming top level meeting. "If the positions are quite different there will be no ground for talks, " Azimov said. He considers that Armenia should refuse from radical
positions, separation of Nagorno Karabakh from Azerbaijan. Armenia's position is unacceptable, and no country supports it. Yerevan must understand it, Azimov said.



2008-05-30 11:31:00 Several public organizations of Armenia condemn attacking Arsen Kharatyan

ArmInfo. Several public organizations of Armenia made a statement condemning May 28 attack at member of "Sksela" (Started) oppositional organization Arsen Kharatyan.

The statement, received by ArmInfo today, emphasizes that violence carried out with respect to the activist of a youth organization, does not testify of the authorities-declared policy of overcoming the
split between the power and the society. On the contrary, such facts prove that the authorities have no such a desire, that aggravates the society's distrust to the authorities. "We condemn such behaviour
of the authorities and claim that each action, aimed at formation of an atmosphere of fear, more intensifies the public's indignation. We demand impartial investigation of the incident and punishment of its clients and executers", the statement says.

The statement has been signed by the "Transparency International" Anticorruption Center, "Hyus" public organization, the Armenian Helsinki Committee, Helsinki Association of Armenia and a number of other organizations.


Finance and banks

2008-05-30 11:47:00 Exchange rate of dram against US dollar and EUR

ArmInfo Today, the maximum buying rates at commercial banks of Yerevan were 305 drams for 1 dollar, 474drams for 1 EUR and 12,7 drams for 1 Russian ruble. The minimum selling rates stood at 306 drams for 1 dollar, 477 drams for 1 EUR and 13,4 drams for 1 Russian ruble.