Armenian News

EARTHQUAKE AT THE ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER
armradio.am
11.06.2008 12:47

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was registered at the Armenian Turkish
border, 15 km to the West of Ararat city at 05.23 today.

The Armenian National Survey for Seismic Protection informed Armenpress
that the earthquake measured 3 on the Richter scale at the epicenter.

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Armenia Doubles Peacekeeping Force In Kosovo
By Emil Danielyan

Seventy soldiers were flown from Yerevan to Kosovo on Thursday as
Armenia doubled the number of its troops deployed in the former Yugoslav
province as part of a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force.

The dispatch of extra troops was announced by the Armenian government in
January and unanimously approved by parliament late last month. It
reflects Yerevan's growing security ties with the West and its resulting
commitment to expanding Armenian participation in international
peacekeeping missions.

The deployment was timed to coincide with a regular rotation of 34
Armenian peacekeepers that have been stationed in Kosovo since early
2004. The platoon returned to Yerevan Wednesday after a six-month tour
of duty.

The bigger unit that replaced it is also part of a special peacekeeping
battalion of Armenia's Armed Forces that had been formed in 2001 with
the financial and technical assistance of the United States, Greece and
other NATO member states. Armenia undertook to gradually expand the
battalion into an army brigade by 2015 in line with its Individual
Partnership Action Plan with NATO.

The beefing up of the Armenian peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo also
coincided with a meeting in Brussels of defense ministers of NATO member
state which focused on continued international security presence in the
newly-independent country. The ministers were expected to reaffirm
pledges to maintain 16,500 peacekeepers there as long as needed.

Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian also attended the meeting along
with his counterparts from other non-NATO states that have troops on the
ground. Ohanian was scheduled to hold separate talks with senior
alliance officials.

Although Armenia has not yet recognized Kosovo's independence, some
officials in Yerevan say the increased troop presence will underscore
Armenian support for the application of the principle of peoples'
self-determination in the resolution of ethnic disputes. They hope that
would facilitate international recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh's
secession from Azerbaijan.

Exposing their fears of the precedent set by Kosovo's secession from
Serbia, neighboring Azerbaijan and Georgia recently withdrew their
troops from the breakaway region.

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Armenia To Set Up Diaspora Ministry
By Emil Danielyan

The government moved on Thursday to set up a new ministry that will be
in charge of Armenia's relations with its worldwide Diaspora.

Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian and his cabinet members made the
decision during a meeting in the country's second city of Gyumri, the
first-ever government session held outside Yerevan. It took the form of
a draft law on the structure of Armenia's government that will be
submitted to parliament this month.

The bill stipulates that the government will consist of 18 ministries,
including the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. A statement issued by
Sarkisian's office gave no details of the new agency's mission, saying
only that the government plans to form it by next October.

According to government estimates, there are some 5.7 million ethnic
Armenians, or almost twice the South Caucasus country's population,
living all over the world. The largest Armenian communities are in
Russia (2 million), the United States (1.4 million), Georgia (460,000)
and France (450,000). Many of the Diaspora Armenians members are
descendants of the survivors of the 1915 Armenian genocide in Ottoman
Turkey.

Armenia's relations with the Diaspora have until now been coordinated by
a special department existing within the Foreign Ministry in Yerevan.
Talk of its transformation into a larger and more powerful government
ministry emerged after Serzh Sarkisian's victory in last February's
disputed presidential election.

Some observers expected Sarkisian to set up the new ministry immediately
after his April 9 inauguration. Among the individuals linked with the
post of Diaspora minister is Arkady Ghukasian, the former president of
Nagorno-Karabakh.

In another measure aimed at strengthening ties with the Diaspora, the
administration of Sarkisian's predecessor, Robert Kocharian, abolished
in late 2005 a constitutional ban on dual citizenship. According to
police data, hundreds of foreign nationals of Armenian descent have
obtained Armenian passports since then.

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Opposition Defiant After `Rally Ban'
By Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenia's opposition led by former president Levon Ter-Petrosian struck
a defiant note on Friday after authorities refused to authorize their
widely anticipated rally planned in one of Yerevan's central squares on
June 20.

Ter-Petrosian and his opposition allies formally notified the Yerevan
municipality on Tuesday about their intention to rally supporters in
Liberty Square for the first time since the bloody dispersal of
post-election street protests on March 1.

In a statement issued late on Thursday, Yerevan's authorities announced
their decision to reject the opposition bid for the rally and a
subsequent march through central streets of Yerevan at the same time
offering another venue, a small square adjacent to Hrazdan Stadium, on
the same day and at the same hour as stated in the notification paper.

The opposition leader's top aid Levon Zurabian told RFE/RL that they
would be filing another application for a rally in Liberty Square or
otherwise in the area adjacent to the nearby Ancient Manuscripts Museum,
Matenadaran, and would appeal the municipality's decision in court if
rejected again.

Kamo Movsisian, a municipality official in charge of culture and youth
affairs, told RFE/RL on Friday that the municipality is going to hold a
children's event in Liberty Square on that day. The municipality claims
the series of `Little Yerevanian' events have been in progress in
Liberty Square since June 9 following an earlier instruction by Mayor
Yervand Zakharian. The event on June 20, according to the municipality,
is expected to start at 11 am and last till 9 pm.

Movsisian gave assurances that the event had been scheduled in advance
as part of the `children's protection month'.

`This is one of the arrangements planned in advance. Thus, this year we
also plan arrangements dedicated to the celebrations of the 2790th
anniversary of the city of Yerevan and have a number of programs
including not only `Little Yerevanian', but also a book festival, a
dance festival, and there is a decision of the mayor in connection with
the `Little Yerevanian' event,' Movsisian said.

He also added that kids in the square will be offered a chance of
attractions and entertainments at very affordable prices that day.

The municipality also explained that its decision to ban the opposition
march through Yerevan's central thoroughfares was based on a police
conclusion that the route chosen by the opposition lies through major
public transportation sections and that if staged the march would result
in major traffic congestions along the roads where traffic is hampered
by large-scale construction work as it is. Police also said that such a
march `would pose a threat to the lives and health of the participants
themselves, disturb public order and result in restrictions of the
constitutional rights of other members of the public.'

Armenia's opposition had stated on numerous occasions about its plans to
hold a rally in Liberty Square that day regardless of the municipality's
decision.

Zurabian called the offer of the city authorities to stage a rally near
Hrazdan Stadium `a mockery'.

`We immediately took it as a mockery. They might as well have offered us
to rally near the Sovetashen dump outside the city or at another similar
place. It is an obvious attempt to deride us, naturally it is
unacceptable to us,' Zurabian said.

Zurabian said they had decided to give another chance to the authorities
to show respect for people's right to assembly, but said they would go
ahead with their planned rally even if the matter is not resolved by
June 20.

Armenian lawmakers earlier this week eased some of the restrictions on
freedom of assembly under pressure from the Council of Europe's
Parliamentary Assembly and other international bodies. However, the
restrictions imposed by them in conditions of the state of emergency in
the wake of the suppression of post-election opposition protests still
remain effective until the new amendments are signed into law by
President Serzh Sarkisian.

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HAILSTORMS ADD TO KARABAKH'S WOES
By Ashot Beglarian
June 12 2008
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK

String of natural calamities poses major challenge for cash-strapped
government.

Devastating hailstorms are the latest in a series of acts of nature
that have tested the ability of Nagorny Karabakh's government to
provide an adequate response.

The heavy hail which fell for a week throughout the region caused
serious damage, especially in the Shaumian region. Melons and other
fruit were destroyed, and livestock and poultry suffered badly. Seventy
per cent of roofs were damaged, windows were broken, and roads became
impassable.

"Some of the hailstones were the size of billiard balls," said a
resident of the village of Artem. "I've never seen anything like
it. All our work has gone to waste. I don't know what to do."

The authorities immediately set about dealing with the situation, in
particular repairing the roads. Villagers were promised construction
materials to fix their roofs and other damaged property. But many
realised that the government's resources were limited and it would
be left largely up to them to sort out their problems.

This was only the latest in a series of disasters that have hit Nagorny
Karabakh and drained the resources of the current government, formed
last autumn.

An outbreak of African swine fever late last year resulted in the
death of most pigs in Nagorny Karabakh. The Martakert and Askeran
regions in the east were especially badly affected.

The incoming prime minister, Ara Harutiunian, launched an emergency
scheme under which sick animals were slaughtered and buried to prevent
the epidemic spreading.

The swine fever was eventually contained, although some new cases
are still being recorded, especially in the southern Hadrut district.

The farming sector suffered significant losses, and most Karabakhi
families celebrated New Year without the traditional pork dinner.

Farmers received compensation for slaughtered livestock, and
the government imposed controls over the production of meat from
uninfected pigs.

"We shouldn't leave villagers to face these problems alone," said
Harutiunian, promising that his government would buy up healthy pigs
for 800 drams (around 2.50 US dollars) per kilogram.

One legacy of the outbreak is the unlikely sight of Australian pork
chops on sale in the local capital Stepanakert.

"They look more attractive and they're probably easier and quicker
to cook. but they don't taste the same," said Hrach, a local
butcher. "People are afraid to buy local pork, even though the meat
that we receive has been guaranteed as safe."

It is not just a matter of health - the retail price of
Karabakh-produced pork has doubled to 3,000 drams (just over 10
dollars) a kilo, making it 1,000 drams more expensive than the
imported meat.

The damage caused by another crisis, the heavy winter frosts, continues
to be felt. Temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees, villages lost
their electricity supply, roads were blocked and apartment blocks in
Stepanakert were deprived of water.

The power cuts and road blockages were overcome fairly quickly, but
the low temperatures paralysed a water system that had been barely
repaired since Soviet times.

Several areas of Stepanakert had no running water throughout the
winter, and some housing blocks were supplied with water from fire
engines. The government promised to construct an all-new water system
for the city and invited experts from the Armenian capital Yerevan
to help plan it.

Nagorny Karabakh had barely recovered from the winter crisis when a
severe storm caused yet more damage on March 22. Roofs were blown off,
and trees, electricity lines and even gravestones were blown over. In
some villages, whole houses were destroyed. No one was killed, but
12 people were injured.

Once again, Prime Minister Harutiunian found himself in charge of the
clear-up operation. The damage was estimated at around 250 million
drams, or 850,000 dollars.

"The damage is immense," said Harutiunian. "It's the first time we
have encountered a situation like this since the war ended [in 1994]
and we were basically unequipped to deal with it."

Armenia stepped in with help, sending 80 builders to help with the
reconstruction work. Construction materials were also sent, although
some Karabakhis were unhappy with the way it was handed out.

"Unfortunately, the materials were distributed in such a way as not
to offend anyone," said Samvel Narimanian, who lives in the town of
Martuni. "Everyone got something, but there wasn't enough to do full
reconstruction and repairs. So a lot of people had to buy the material
that was missing."

Some government officials agreed, saying certain people claimed funds
when their houses were not badly damaged.

One positive outcome of the storm is that many apartment blocks in
Stepanakert have acquired solid new roofs.

In their different ways, these serial catastrophes have not only
damaged infrastructure which was only just recovering from the 1991-94
war, but have deflected the government from pursuing its ambitious
plans to revive the economy.

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UNICEF: RATE OF MORTALITY AMONG CHILDREN UNDER FIVE 30 PRO MIL IN ARMENIA
ARKA
June 4, 2008

YEREVAN, June 4. /ARKA/. The rate of mortality among children under
5 is 30 pro mil in Armenia, the Representative of UNICEF in Armenia
Sheldon Yett said.

Mortality among children under 1 is 26 pro mil with mortality among
new-born children (under 28 days) constituting 65% of it, which is
quite high, Yett told journalists.

According to him, the main reasons for high mortality rate among
new-born children are asphyxia, congenital infections, as well as
lack of equipment in hospitals and maternity homes.

The problem can be solved without heavy expenses through teaching
mothers to undergo the required medical examinations during pregnancy,
to inform them how to take care of newly born children, to improve
equipment in maternity homes and to raise the qualification level of
medical staff, Yett said.

He pointed out that today Armenia is among the countries that are able
to achieve the UNO-set fourth development objective of the millennium
- reduce the children's mortality rate by two thirds by 2010.

Despite the problems in this sphere in Armenia, the general situation
is good and quite a progress has been recorded in reducing mortality
among children, Yett said.

In January-March 131 cases of stillbirth were recorded in Armenia
against 134 similar cases in the same period of last year. A 13.8%
reduction was recorded in the number of cases of mortality among
children under 1 in the period against January-March 2007. Infant
mortality ratio per 1,000 live-born children was 9.9% against 11.7%
in the same period of last year.

In 61.7% of cases the reasons for mortality among children under 1
were death from specific states in perinatal life and congenital
anomalies, deformations and chromosomal disorders against 75.2%
in the same period of last year.

In January-March, 112 cases of death of children aged 0-4 were recorded
with cases of death of children under 1 constituting 83.9%. The rate
of mortality among children under 5 (per 1,000 live-born children)
was 11.8% (12.9% among boys, 10.6% among 10.6%).

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