Armenian News

"FOOTBALL" DIPLOMACY BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY ONCE AGAIN SLIDING INTO IMPASSE
World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
September 21, 2009

As Armenia celebrates its 18th year of independence today, large
crowds are expected to join the protestors who have been demonstrating
for the past week in front of the foreign ministry in the capital,
Yerevan--some of whom are on hunger strike. They are demanding that
the Armenian government rethinks controversial concessions made to
Turkey as part of the Armenian-Turkish preliminary protocols signed
earlier this month (seeTurkey - Armenia: 1 September 2009:). The
government insists that no concession was made and that the border with
Turkey will open soon. However, last Friday (18 September), Armenian
foreign minister Eduard Nalbandian acknowledged in a press release
that Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had effectively
retracted from the protocols by stating that Turkey would not open
its borders before the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Significance:Armenian-Turkish relations are experiencing a tentative
thaw. On 23 April, the Armenian government made significant concessions
to the Turkish government by signing a preliminary protocol,
just a day before the commemoration of the Armenian genocide (a
definition that is not universally recognised) during the First World
War. The move signified a temporary softening in Armenia's pursuit
of international recognition of the genocide. Opening borders with
Armenia is a precondition for Turkey's European Union membership,
and would also clear a major roadblock to the economic development
of Turkey's eastern regions. Erdogan's backtracking shows the
controversy of the protocols at home; the military in particular
is opposed to making any concessions in Turko-Armenian ties. His
statement effectively stalls the diplomatic process, and makes the
planned visit of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian to Turkey in
October much more unlikely. Turkey and Armenia will most probably
decide to delay their upcoming meeting and try to calm nerves at home.

ARMENIA NOT TO BE INVOLVED IN 1915-23 ARMENIAN-TURKISH COMMITTEE
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.09.2009 16:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The time has come when we, Armenians, must unite
and stand behind our Leader, must use this given opportunity to
express our own opinion, engage in positive dialogue, maybe advocate
for amendments to the Protocols but only with thoroughly researched
documents, said Odette Bazil, Secretary of Armenia-Great Britain
parliamentary group. These Protocols, according to her, are currently
under professional scrutiny by various organizations and scholars
in Armenia and the Diaspora who are studying and analyzing each of
the legal, political, financial, logistical, diplomatic and cultural
inclusions in their wording.

"But a very important issue has been overlooked which can alienate
dramatically the countries , the parliaments , the governmental and
non-governmental organisations , the scholars and the individuals
who, painstakingly lobbied by various Armenian Organisations and
Institutions , have recognised our Genocide, have challenged Turkey`s
anger and have issued Declarations and Statements affirming that
recognition: the issue of setting-up a joint-committee to study the
documents relating to the events of 1915-1923. Such step will destroy
the good faith of these organisations in our integrity and will make
them feel - very rightly - mislead and deceived ," she added


Aysor, Armenia
Sept 19 2009
Professor Sir Ara Darzi to be awarded Foreign Member of ANA
Professor Sir Ara Darzi, a world-known oncologist, will be awarded
Medal and Diploma of Foreign Member of Armenia's National Academy.

Professor Sir Ara Darzi holds the Paul Hamlyn Chair of Surgery at
Imperial College London where he is head of the Division of Surgery,
Oncology, Reproductive Biology and Anaesthetics. He is an Honorary
Consultant Surgeon at St Mary's Hospital NHS Trust and The Royal
Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. He holds an honorary chair at The
Institute of Cancer Research.

He is well-known in Armenia of his charity work in medicine. Professor
Sir Ara Darzi has actively engaged in Armenia's health care
modernization system and modern technologies introduction.

BRITISH EXPERT: I HAVE ALWAYS TREATED THE TERM OF 'WINDOWS'

IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT SKEPTICALLY
ArmInfo
2009-09-22 13:09:00

ArmInfo. "I have always treated the term of "windows" in the Karabakh
settlement skeptically", British expert, author of the "Black Garden"
book Thomas de Vaal told ArmInfo.

the expert said. However, he said, a new and influential factor in
the settlement appeared - a factor of Turkey. and diplomatic relations
between Yerevan and Ankara are recovered, the situation in the region
will essentially and positively change, however, I wonder that this
will happen without any stet forward in the Karabakh settlement,
T. de Vaal said.

According to him, the point is what step is Armenia ready for regarding
Karabakh: "Does the matter concern withdrawal of one or two regions
or anything more?".

SUKHOI SUPERJET 100 STOOD TEST IN ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.09.2009 18:22 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On September 21, 2009 Sukhoi Superjet 100 No. 95003
airline landed in "Ramenskoe" airport, Zhukovsky to continue summer
test certification program in Sukhoi Civil Aircraft complex.

Test program started in Gyumri's Shirak Airport located in a
mountainous area at an altitude of 5000 ft. (1524 m.). Built in 1961,
the airport was modernizied in 2007 and awarded ICAO's first class
certificate. Its peculiarity is that it is surrounded by mountains,
and airline departures and arrivals are possible only from Southern
part. Airline is 3220 m. long and 45 m. wide.

Test program envisaged continuous flights and balked landing procedures
with one engine.

During certification tests in Shirak airport, airline satisfied all
qualification criteria. Program aims to ensure flight safety from
airports located at altitudes below 3300 m, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft
Company's press service reports.

Certification program was implemented by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft CJSC's
crew members Alexander Yablontsev (senior test pilot) and Vadim
Shiroki (test pilot), as well as AR MAK test pilot Mikhail Torokhov,
CNews reports.

RFE/RL REports

Armenian Farmers Protest Falling Grape Prices
Armenia -- Farmers in the southern Ararat region protest against falling
grape prices on September 22, 2009.
23.09.2009
Karine Simonian

More than a hundred angry farmers in Armenia's wine-growing Ararat
region rallied late Tuesday to protest against a sharp cut in the cost
of grapes which they said is planned by wine and brandy companies.

The protesters, who own vineyards in more than a dozen local villages,
threatened to block a major highway leading to Yerevan as they
demonstrated outside the main government building in the regional
capital Artashat. The protest followed rumors that at least one of the
wine distilleries has decided to cut the purchasing price to 80 drams
(20 U.S. cents) per kilogram from last fall's level of 110-140 drams.

Agriculture Minister Gerasim Alaverdian acknowledged that the
wine-growers' concerns are not unfounded as he arrived in Artashat for
urgent talks with regional administration officials. He said President
Serzh Sarkisian will personally deal with the matter in the coming days.

One middle-aged protesters said that a representative of the
Yerevan-based Noy wine company has told him that the company will buy 15
tons of grape from him for 80 drams per kilogram despite a supply
contract that set the price at 130 drams. `If I go to court, they will
jail me, not them,' he claimed.

`I won't sell my grapes for 80 drams,' cried one of his neighbors. `I'd
rather dump it into the [river] Arax. Let the Turks take it and distill
vodka.'

`They may sell a bottle of cognac for as much as 30,000 drams,' reasoned
another wine-grower. `If they buy grapes from us for 80 drams, then why
don't they sell their cognac for 300 drams?'

Several representatives of the protesting farmers were allowed into the
administration building to discuss their grievances with Alaverdian.
They quoted the minister as saying that Sarkisian will hold a special
meeting with wine company executives this weekend and urging the farmers
to `stay patient' until then. The crowd reluctantly agreed to disperse
after that.

`We need to bring clarity to the matter,' Alaverdian told RFE/RL. `If
there was an agreement to take [grapes] for 130 drams then it should be
honored.' He said that the farmers will be able to sell their produce
and that the only unresolved question is its price.

But some local farmers claimed to be having serious trouble finding
wholesale buyers. `The grapes are already ripening but I still don't
know to whom sell them,' complained one man. `Wherever I go, they refuse
to buy it.'

According to Agriculture Ministry projections, domestic production of
grapes, a major component of Armenia's agricultural output, will rise by
over 10 percent to at least 205,000 tons this year. Deputy Agriculture
Minister Samvel Galstian told RFE/RL earlier this month that more than
two-thirds of the forecast harvest will likely be purchased by local
alcoholic drinks companies.

The largest of them, the French-owned Yerevan Brandy Company, has
already started storing grapes for 120-130 drams per kilogram. Most of
its supplies come from another southern region, Armavir.


Armenian Dram Again Weakening
Armenia -- A statue symbolizing the national currency, the dram, outside
the Central Bank building in Yerevan.
23.09.2009
Emil Danielyan

The dram has lost almost 3 percent and 6 percent of its nominal value
against the U.S. dollar and the euro respectively since September 1,
falling below a target band set by the authorities in March. Much of the
losses occurred over the past week.

The dollar bought 385.5 drams at the close of trading at Yerevan's
NASDAQ OMX stock exchange on Wednesday, up from 381.75 drams registered
during the previous trading session on Friday. The Central Bank of
Armenia (CBA) is by and large avoiding heavy intervention in the local
currency market, a radical change from its earlier exchange rate policy
strongly criticized by opposition politicians and economists critical of
the government.

The CBA spent an estimated $700 million of the country's hard currency
reserves on keeping the dram's value virtually unchanged from last
October through the end of February before allowing its nearly 20
percent devaluation on March 3. The measure was a necessary condition
for the release of a $540 million stand-by loan by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF).

Most of that loan, which the IMF increased to $823 million in June, is
to be used by the CBA for preventing further exchange rate fluctuations.
The bank forecast in March that the dram's average exchange rate will
vary from 360 to 380 per dollar this year.

CBA officials are now downplaying the significance of the Armenian
currency's renewed depreciation, saying that its average exchange rate
for the whole year will remain close to 360 per dollar. `We do not
expect serious fluctuations,' bank's deputy governor, Vache Gabrielian,
told the `Hayots Ashkhar' daily last week.

According to Gabrielian, the dram's weakening is primarily caused by
currency speculation. `There are some market players who are cashing in
on the dollar's strengthening [in Armenia,]' he said without naming
anyone.

Another newspaper, `Kapital,' quoted Gabrielian as saying that local
commercial banks have accumulated `a large amount of liquidity' that
puts the dram under growing pressure. But he insisted that the CBA will
not resort to massive dollar injections to shore up the national
currency.

Another possible factor behind the weaker dram is a continuing easing of
the authorities' monetary policy which is aimed at stimulating Armenia's
recession-hit economy. The CBA cut its refinancing rate by an additional
50 basis points to 5 percent in August and early September. The
benchmark rate stood at 7.75 percent in early March.

PEDESTRIANS TO BE FINED FOR VIOLATING TRAFFIC RULES
Sona Hakobyan
"Radiolur"
23.09.2009 18:13

The traffic police of Armenia toughen the rules for pedestrians. From
October 1st pedestrians will be fined for violating the traffic rules.

"Both drivers and pedestrians will be fined for violation of traffic
rules," Chief of the Traffic Police, Police Colonel Margar Ohanyan
told a press conference today.

Does the city of Yerevan possess all necessary conditions to implement
this?

Do the traffic lights function normally? Are there enough pedestrian
crossings? At last, are there professional inspectors at the Police?

Not denying that there is a real chaos in the streets of Yerevan,
Margar Ohanyan considers that this is a result of the unwillingness
of the drivers and pedestrians to make way for each other.

According to him the main reason of the chaos is that there are too
many cars and pedestrians in the streets of Yerevan.
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