The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear frends! Arminfo news agency inform Intrigue of the day 2008-06-04 14:10:00 Resolution on Genocide of Armenians passed by US congressional committee among key topics in Minister Babacan's talks in Washington ArmInfo. Resolution on Genocide of Armenians passed by the US congressional committee will be among key topics to be covered in Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan's talks with top officials in Washington. Turkish newspaper Zaman reports that Foreign Minister Ali Babacan is on a visit to the United States. He is expected to meet with a number of senior US officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Besides the painful topic of Armenian Genocide, the minister intends to discuss the ongoing cooperation between Ankara and Washington against activities of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. Politics 2008-06-04 19:52:00 Leader of Working Group of Armenian State Commission: Azerbaijan is searching for a goal to put an end to possible ways of Armenian-Azerbaijani cooperation ArmInfo. Leader of the Working Group of Armenian State Commission on Captives, Hostages and Missing, Armen Kaprielyan, called idiotism the statement of the head of Azerbaijani Defence Ministry's press-service Eldar Sabirogli about the intention of the Azerbaijani party to try a case against four captives, Armenian citizens. 'As it was reiterated many times earlier, all the four Armenians being in Azerbaijani captivity at present are civilians that have nothing in common with the army and having found themselves at the Azerbaijani side accidentally. The hidden purpose is clear - to present the four Armenians to the world community as raiders. I declare with responsibility that they have nothing in common with the army or the spy activity. I reiterated many times that sometimes various Azerbaijani functionaries reach top absurd in their statements. But such falsification of facts has no precedent and probably has a goal to put an end to possible ways of the Armenian-Azerbaijani cooperation>, - A.Kaprielyan said. He also added that statement of the press-secretary of Azerbaijani Defence Ministry causes bewilderment. 'This is the fact of the political order of the given statement, and we have nothing to do than to express regret because the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan start political adventures instead of resolving of humanitarian problems as usual. I officially declare on behalf of the Armenian State Commission that the four Armenian citizens, which the Azerbaijani party is trying to present as spies, have nothing in common with the army activity and are civilians. They live in Gegarkunik region of Armenia and found themselves at the Azerbaijani party accidentally. As for the Azerbaijani party which says about capture of the "spy group" of Armenian Armed Forces, as a representative of one of the force departments of Armenia, I have better view about efficiency of our unconventional units', - Kaprielyan said. 2008-06-04 16:00:00 Turkey needs a plan B in the likelihood the U.S. Congress passes a resolution endorsing Armenians claims of genocide ArmInfo. Turkey needs a plan B in the likelihood the U.S. Congress passes a resolution endorsing Armenians claims of genocide under a new administration, said campaign advisers for the presidential candidates of both American political parties As Turkish Daily News reports, Richard Burt, campaign advisor to Republican nominee John McCain, and Philip Gordon, campaign advisor to likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama, discussed the implications of a Republican or Democratic victory for Turkish-American relations at a panel organized by the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association and the Brookings Institute. The source recalls, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic Party's top presidential candidate, has pledged to recognize the World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as "genocide" if elected president. 2008-06-04 15:29:00 Toronto District School Board Reaffirms the Teaching of the Armenian Genocide ArmInfo. At a special meeting on June 2 the Program and School Services Committee (PSSC) of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) unanimously approved the recommendation of its Review Committee (RC) and its Director to include the Armenian Genocide in its Grade 11 genocide curriculum. Armenian National Committee of America reports that Turkish groups have, in the past six months, lobbied against the inclusion of the Armenian Genocide in the Grade 11 curriculum. The PSSC recommendation now goes to the board's June 25th meeting for final adoption. At the beginning of the meeting, the committee provided 20 minutes each for the Turkish and Ukrainian community representatives to make an oral deputation in regard to their concerns about the curriculum. The Council of Turkish Canadians (CTC) objected to the inclusion of the Armenian Genocide in the curriculum and called for its removal. Furthermore, CTC threatened to take legal measures to halt the introduction of the curriculum if the board did not consent to the CTC demand. A representative of the Muslim Canadian Congress, Farzana Hassan, turned the curriculum teaching issue to a religious crusade. She accused the board and the Western world of religious bias. She made similar accusations against Canadian media, specially the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star newspapers. Two Turkish parents also made presentations. Ukrainian community representatives commended the board for introducing the "worthy program", but they objected to the omission of the Ukrainian famine/genocide from the curriculum. They urged the PSSC to reconsider the exclusion of the Ukrainian case. In responding to a question from trustee Gerri Gershon, David Rowan, associate director of TDSB, reassured the Ukrainian community that the Ukrainian famine /genocide, even though it is not in the curriculum as a separate unit on its own, it will be discussed and taught in many forms during the curriculum teaching. After the presentations, the committee unanimously voted to adopt the recommendations without any changes. Based on yesterday's meeting and the approval of the recommendations, the Armenian Genocide will be part of the Grade 11 genocide curriculum and it will be taught as one of the three case studies along with the Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide and as a separate unit. In regard to Barbara Coloroso's book, Extraordinary Evil: A Brief History of Genocide, even though it will not be required reading, it will be included in the curriculum as resource material. 2008-06-04 14:56:00 Debates for approval of Marie Yovanovitch's candidacy for post of US Ambassador to RA will be held at US Senate in the near future ArmInfo. Debates for approval of Marie Yovanovitch's candidacy for the post of US Ambassador to RA will be held at US Senate in the near future, the US Embassy in Armenia told ArmInfo. The White House proposed the candidacy of the incumbent US Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Marie Yovanovitch. He added that the relevant official information was received from the White House in Friday evening. To note, before appointment as Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan in 2005, Marie Yovanovitch worked as a chief adviser of deputy US Secretary of State on political affairs. Moreover, from 2001 to 2004, she worked as deputy US ambassador to Ukraine, and from 1998 to 2000 - as US State Department's deputy director for Russia. Marie Yovanovitch graduated from Princeton University , where she performed researches on the history of Russia. She also studied in Pushkin Institute and received a degree in the National Military School. The Ambassador Yovanoitch knows Russian and French. To note, the vacancy of US ambassador to Armenia is available since September, 2006, after pre-term completion of the diplomatic mission of Ambassador John Evans. 2008-06-04 14:53:00 Armenian Foreign Minister on desecration of Armenian monuments in Nakhijevan ArmInfo. To organize a mission of UNESCO to Old Julfa (Nakhijevan) the consent of the Azerbaijani party is necessary, Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan said at a press conference Wednesday in response to the question about the terms of the mission to the area where Armenian cultural monuments are desecrated. The minister said he had recently discussed the issue with UNSECO Director General. Earlier, relevant correspondence was made and meetings were held. 'UNESCO approaches the issue with understanding and the replied letters are evidence of it. However, Azerbaijan every time makes some obstacles to the visit', the minister said. As regards Azerbaijan's demands for UNESCO visit to Armenia and Karabakh, Minister Nalbandyan said the Armenian party is not against since 'we have nothing to conceal'. 'The point is that it is crime against our cultural heritage. Monuments of our culture have been ruined in broad day-light in the eyes of the world community>, the minister said. Armenia has raised the issue at various international organizations, he said. At the same time, Edward Nalbandyan mentioned that UNESCO is a cultural not political organization, which explains the careful statements by UNESCO Director General on the issues that may be of political nature. 2008-06-04 14:51:00 Leader of Sargis Tkhruni youth organization says legal proceedings on fact of attack on him in autumn of 2007 stopped ArmInfo. , Leader of Sargis Tkhruni youth organization of the Social- Dmocratic Prty Hnchakyan Narek Galstyan told ArmInfo Wednesday. To recall, on 15 November 2007 the 20-year-old Narek Glastyan was viciously beaten up by unknown people and was threatened with murder 'for giving interviews to the press'. A day before he saw one of the criminals at Zvartnots airport when welcoming Chairwoman of SDP Hnchakyan Ludmila Sargsyan. The Police of Center community initiated legal proceedings on the fact. Today on June 4 Narek Galstyan told ArmInfo that he was recently informed that the proceedings were stopped for lack of witnesses or evidences. 'I am not surprised. The crimes in Armenia wherein the aggrieved party is opposition representative are usually left unexposed and legal proceedings are stopped', Narek Galstyan said. 2008-06-04 14:32:00 RA FM: We hope for upcoming meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents to give positive results ArmInfo. The Armenian party hopes for a positive result of the upcoming meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said at today's press-conference. To recall, the meeting has been scheduled for June 6 in Saint Petersburg. 'We hope that the upcoming presidential meeting will give positive results. It is not just a hope it should be so. Otherwise, both the co-chairs and the international structures should draw a certain conclusion. The situation is such that one party claims of its adherence to peace and continuation of negotiations, and the other party says 'yes, but:'. During the negotiations, we have entered the stage which requires an extreme carefulness', the minister emphasized and added that no steps, hindering the negotiations, are admissible. E. Nalbandyan said that it especially concerns the As E. Nalbandyan said, a result, under which it is claimed about continuation of the negotiation process, would be positive. "If the negotiations go on, it means that they continue based on the proposals available on the negotiating table", the minister recalled. He added that it would be incorrect to expect more from the first meeting of Sargsyan- Aliyev. "This will be a familiarization meeting, and not only in a personal aspect but also as regards familiarization with the approaches and philosophy of the parties", E. Nalbandyan said. 2008-06-04 14:21:00 Leader of Armenian Youth Party: Armenian authorities set free people arrested depending on situation ArmInfo. Although the local opposition calls any step by the authorities 'cosmetic' or 'imitation', the authorities keep on the policy of democratic reforms and demonstrate 'good will' by setting free the people who were arrested depending on the situation, Leader of the Armenian Youth Party Vahan Babayan said at Mirror Debate Club Wednesday. He blamed the authorities for splitting the country into two camps and called them for dialogue. Babayan underlined that the Youth Party is ready to become a peculiar bridge linking the authorities and the opposition. For his part Leader of Hnchakyan Social-Democratic Party Youth Wing 'Sargis Tkhruni' Narek Galstyan said the authorities are most of all responsible for the domestic political crisis in the country. He said that a new social outbreak like the unrest on 1 March is inevitable if the authorities take no immediate measures to manage the crisis i.e. set free all the 'political prisoners'. 'At the same time I do not think that the Youth Party is a serious factor able to contribute to the opposition and authorities conducting a dialogue', Narek Galstyan said. The discussion was hot enough and the parties couldn't help insulting each other and the media. 2008-06-04 14:08:00 Armenian FM: It is impossible to settle conflict in conditions of militarist propaganda ArmInfo. 'It is impossible to settle the conflict in conditions of propaganda especially if it is of militarist nature', Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan said at a press conference Wednesday when commenting on the statement made by Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev during his meeting with OSCE MG CO-chair Matthew Bryza. Azerbaijani Media report that Abiyev stated 'if Armenia does not release the occupied territories of Azerbaijan within the nearest future, the situation may come out of control'. Minister Nalbandyan called the statement strange and underlined that it contains elements of blackmail. 'Such statements may lead the situation out of control. I think that even responding to such statements would mean to aggravate the situation, especially before such an important meeting as the meeting of the presidents>, E. Nalbandyan said. He said that Armenia goes to this meeting with a real intention to continue the negotiations since it is sure that protraction of the conflict is not in favor of either Armenia or Azerbaijan. 'Conflict resolution is within the interests of both the peoples. As regards militarist statements, they are extremely dangerous. Generally, when settling any conflict, the parties must refrain themselves from propaganda>, he said. The Armenian minister believes Azerbaijan's approach to the issue of propaganda quite strange. 'Let's remember the year 2001 when we were so close to the settlement. However, the Azerbaijani party stated then that it was not ready since 'the public opinion was not formed'. But public opinion must be formed not after the negotiations but long before. Unfortunately, the public opinion in Azerbaijan is surprising: 29% of respondents are for forced settlement of the conflict! And Azerbaijani experts are surprised at their 'peace-loving' citizens', the minister said. All this is the result of the propaganda made there, the minister stressed. Another result of the propaganda in Azerbaijan is that 80% of respondents are dissatisfied with the activity of OSCE MG, Edward Nalbandyan outlined. 2008-06-04 14:07:00 RA FM confirms readiness of official Yerevan to go on negotiating of Karabakh conflict settlement based on OSCE MG co-chairs' proposals ArmInfo. The proposals of OSCE Minsk Group are the basis for continuation of negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said today at his first press-conference as a foreign minister. Explaining, by ArmInfo correspondent's request, the situation under which the Armenian party and OSCE MG cochair-countries indicate availability of "Madrid proposals" and the Azerbaijani party emphasizes absence of a document on the negotiating table, the minister said that "there are proposals reflected in the document, which are offered to the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in the presence of co-chairs and two FMs of Russia and France, Sergey Lavrov and Bernard Kouchner, as well as the representative of US Secretary of State". At a recent joint press-conference with RF FM Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, the latter said that such document exists, it has been represented to the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers and registered in OSCE. The proposals have been first registered as a document, it is really so. Of course, the document is not yet an agreement, it has not been agreed on all the provisions and not signed, however, whatever we call it - either a document or proposals, I confirm Armenia's readiness to continue the negotiation process based on these proposals", RA FM emphasized. He recalled that the proposals have become a result of a continued work of both the co- chairs and the negotiating parties. "Today, it is not a point of making new proposals. The proposals exist and they are a basis for negotiations. We are ready to continue them. Now, the matter depends on Azerbaijan's readiness to keep on negotiating based on these proposals", E. Nalbandyan concluded. 2008-06-04 14:06:00 RA FM: One should refrain from any steps which may harm negotiation process on Karabakh conflict settlement ArmInfo. One should refrain from any steps which may harm the negotiation process on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said at today's press-conference, commenting on, by ArmInfo correspondent's request, the failure of the scheduled yesterday's OSCE monitoring by Azerbaijani party. The minister recalled that the first meeting of RA President Serzh Sargsyan with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has been scheduled for June 6 in Saint-Petersburg. "We hope that the presidents will charge the FMs to continue the negotiations, upon the results of the meeting", E. Nalbandyan said. Along with it, he said that the Azerbaijani party still threatens to "solve the issue by force", in parallel with the statements on the intention to keep on negotiating. In view of this, RA FM cited his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov who claimed of inadmissibility of a military solution. "I think that Mister Lavrov expressed the opinion of OSCE MG three co-chairs saying that Nagorno Karabakh conflict should be settled through peaceful negotiations, having no alternative, and the military way of the Karabakh and any other conflict settlement is inadmissible", RA FM recalled. Finance and banks 2008-06-04 19:49:00 Armenian prime minister: World Bank's report on choice of variants of development policy in Armenia for 2008-2012 contains very interesting proposals which may be useful ArmInfo. The World Bank's report on the choice of variants of development policy in Armenia for 2008-2012 contains very interesting proposals which may be useful and give a fresh impetus to the Armenian government's program, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said during a meeting with World Bank's Country Director for the South Caucasus Ms. Donna Dowsett-Coirolo, Wednesday. As the information and PR department of the RA government told ArmInfo, Ms. Donna Dowsett- Coirolo confirmed the World Bank's interest in cooperation with Armenia. She stressed that she is impressed by the Armenian president's political statements and noted that the priority directions, which may become a basis for Armenia-WB cooperation, should be discussed with the head of RA government. From the viewpoint of efficiency of cooperation, the RA prime minister pointed out the significance of formation of a single team to carry out the second stage of reforms and in this matter T.Sargsyan expects the WB's support. Sargsyan stressed that the priorities are already fixed in the government's program and pointed out the importance of increasing the efficiency of the management system, reformation of the retirement insurance system, improvement of the tax and customs administration system, implementation of programs in IT sphere, introduction of e- management system and formation of information society. Armenia counts on the WB's support in implementation of these projects. The meeting also covered the process of implementation of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility Program and emphasized that some of the program's provisions should be changed, including the name of the program, which could have been a development program. 2008-06-04 14:59:00 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 307 drams for 1 dollar, 476 drams for 1 EUR and 13,4 drams for 1 Russian ruble. Social 2008-06-04 15:44:00 ArmenTel mobile communication subscribers to use communication at all the stations of Yerevan metro ArmInfo. ArmenTel mobile communication subscribers will be able to use communication at all the stations of Yerevan metro, ArmenTel public relations department told ArmInfo. To recall, the program of "metro coverage" was implemented stage by stage, station by station. The program firstly covered the most frequently attended stations. The subscribers can make use of the company's standard services, including GPRS-internet. No information from Site can be used without prior permission of ARMINFO http://www.arminfo.am -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=media.arminfo&email=e@mail http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com