NEWS ON ARMENIATV

2007-10-03 Yerevan and Sochi - Sister Towns

Zakharian said that according to the agreement it is expected to establish cooperation in construction, cultural, health and economic spheres. The mayor also did not excluded Armenia’s participation in the preparatory works of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014. Sochi deputy mayor Irina Badalian said that apart from providing materials for the construction of the Sochi Olympic complex, Armenia will also help Sochi by sending specialists-architects and doctors. According to her the two towns have strong bases for cooperation and the meeting is the beginning of a serious and long-lasting dialogue between the two towns. The prime ministers of Armenia and Russia recently agreed that Armenia would delivery building materials, including polished up natural stones and reinforced concrete structures for the construction of the Olympic complex.

2007-10-03 Yerevan State Puppet Theater at the Blood Center

The children greatly enjoyed the performances by Vardan Aygektsi. Chairman of the Yerevan State Puppet Theater - Rouben Babayan assured that the theatre will frequently visit the center. According to the organizers, the initiative will be traditional.

2007-10-03 Artashes Geghamian Speaks about the Predidetial Contenders

Artashes Geghamian also urged the ex and current presidents and all major opposition leaders to gather and come up with a unified position on one of the major challenges; the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Geghamian refused to say whether or not he will join the presidential race. According to him, if he decides not to, he will defend a candidate who will agree to accept his plan of actions to overcome the crisis. Chairman of the National Unity party said that Armenian authorities, which led Armenia to the present critical situation, cannot independently resolve all accumulated problems. For this reason Artashes Geghamian advised Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sarkisyan, Vazgen Manukyan, Aram Karapetyan, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and all other political leaders to sit down and think of a way to bring the country out of the current situation.

2007-10-03 All Opposition Groups Around a Single Presidental Candidate

Avoian assured that Orinats Yerkir chairman, former National Assembly speaker Arthur Baghdasarian will join the presidential race. He also said that the party will hold a congress in mid November to formally nominate Baghdasarian as its presidential candidate. Asked whom will the party support in case a second round is necessary to reveal the Election winner, Artashes Avoyan said that his party will definitely support an oppositional candidate, as supporting a pro-government candidate is ruled out.

2007-10-03 “Education Reforms and Pre-school Priorities” in Armenia

The roundtable on ‘Education Reforms and Pre-school Priorities’, organized by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with UNICEF, served as a forum to discuss early childhood education and development and mechanisms to increase investments in pre-school education. UNICEF Representative in Armenia Sheldon Yett said that decades of research have proven the importance of early childhood learning and shown that investments in improving the pre-school system will pay tremendous dividends down the road. In Armenia, as in many countries of the region, the care and education for young children does not receive the budgetary resources required. Pre-school attendance levels have dropped with the dismantling of earlier centralized institutions and structures, accompanied by cutbacks in social spending, without complementary efforts to build local capacity and to ensure resources at the local level are identified. The percentage of children enrolled in pre-school dropped from 47% in 1989 to just over 21% in 2006. UNICEF Representative in Armenia said “This means that today, most children start school at a significant and progressive disadvantage. Most children, who are new entrants to primary school, arrive unprepared for formal education. According to Yett the result is a shaky foundation, as students risk being unable to meet their full potential, which reduces their eventual contributions to their communities.

2007-10-03 The Renovated Kickboxing-training Center

At present around 30 Armenian and yezdi children are training at the center. AS part of the opening ceremony of the new center, Garnig Hayrabedian granted the winners of international competitions gold medals.

2007-10-03 Hike in Prices

After studying the Armenian market, the Armenian government commission for protection of economic competition has ruled to register two local companies, Salex Group and Manana Grain, as companies with dominating position in local grain market. According to commission chairman Ashot Shahnazarian, together the companies hold almost 80 percent of the grain market. Shahnazarian said that the rise of wheat product prices in Armenia is connected with the rise of wheat price on global markets, which in its turn is caused by dry weather in many wheat-growing countries. According to him grain price may continue rising in further. The commission also ruled to penalize 5 companies dealing with the import and sale of cars and electrical household equipment in the amount of 500,000 Drams ($1.500) each. Commission chairman Ashot Shahnazarian assured that the decision to penalize the companies came in response to their failure to provide required information about their operations. The commission has also revealed that no company dominates in Armenia’s market of vodka production and sale. Shahnazarian said that last year 18 million liters of vodka were sold in Armenia.

2007-10-03 The Armenian Genocide Resolution

The Armenian Genocide Resolution introduced in January 2007 by Congressman Adam Schiff, along with his colleagues, garnered over 150 supporters on introduction day. Currently 226 congressmen from 39 states cosponsor the resolution. The house resolution 106 also enjoys the support of millions of Americans, the evidence of which is the broad-based support of more than 50 human rights, religious, civic, and ethnic organizations. According to American Armenian Assembly executive Director Brian Arduni the passage of the bipartisan human rights legislation will send a powerful message to those who continue, despite the incontestable truth, to deny the Armenian Genocide. Arduni also noted that now is the time to ensure a resounding victory and by doing so put an end to the denial and vicious cycle of genocide. According to president of Turkish businessmen’s union in the US Abduall Akyuz, the approval of the resolution will hinder establishing friendly relations between Armenia and Turkey. According to him such issues will be discussed in Turkey more freely, if Turkey joins the EU, deepens democracy and remains pressure free. Akyuz noted that the approval of the Armenian Genocide Resolution will have a negative effect. Turkish American lobbyist organizations continue pressuring present and former US officials. Recently eight former Secretaries of State sent a letter to House speaker Nancy Pelosi, in opposition to the Armenian genocide resolution. Armenian Foreign Affairs Minister Vardan Oskanian responded to the letter by squarely addressing the false statements. The Armenian minister stated that Armenia has always been ready for normal Turkey-Armenia relations, yet, every initiative leading towards normalization of relations has been rejected by Turkey. Condemning the Secretaries’ letter, Brian Arduni announced that the Armenian Assembly will continue pushing for a concluding affirmative vote on Resolution 106 and urging the community to call upon their Members of Congress to support the resolution. "We must not allow Turkish deniers and their supporters succeed in their attempt to derail the recognition of the Armenian Genocide," continued Ardouny.