From Armenia in brief: From Armenia, in brief

Published: Saturday August 23, 2008

 The exercises taking place in Armenia are the third and fourth phases of the Rubezh 2008 military exercises. The exercises will take place in different regions of the country including the Marshal Baghramyan Training Center. CSTO heads of military departments followed the troop exercises. Armenia's Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian explained that the objective of the third and fourth stages of the exercises was to learn how to rebuff aggression by a potential enemy and to plan and conduct a defense operation.

Acting director of Radio Liberty Yerevan attacked and beaten

The acting director of Radio Liberty Yerevan, Hrach Melkumyan was attacked and beaten on the evening of August 18 in downtown Yerevan. Mr. Melkumyan has said that he was attacked because of his capacity as acting director of Radio Liberty. According to Arminfo, Jeffrey Gedmin, the director of Radio Liberty believes that the incident was not random or accidental and hopes that Armenian authorities will investigate this crime in detail.

According to Armenian police, Mr. Melkumyan has applied to law-enforcement agencies and an investigation has been launched.

Controversial district leader Mher Sedrakian will not seek re-election

Local elections in several districts of Yerevan will be taking place on September 7. A member of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and the highly controversial leader of the district of Erebuni, Mher Sedrakian has dropped out of the race.

According to the Central Electoral Commission, Mr. Sedrakian gave no reasons for his decision to drop out of the district leader race.

According to RFE/RL, Mr. Sedrakian was recently accused of having a hand in the August 10 assault on a journalist for the opposition newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak, Lusine Barseghian. Ms. Barseghian was attacked by several unknown assailants after she published a series of articles that highlighted the allegedly illicit activities of the Erebuni district leader and other influential individuals with close connections to the government.

In an interview with Aravot, another Armenian daily, Mr. Sedrakian admitted to be unnerved by the articles written by Ms. Barseghian. However he denied any involvement in the assault. According to the newspaper, Mr. Sedrakian said,  "I don't beat women or dead persons. I would just shave that girl's hair and that would be it."

Waters of Lake Sevan continues to rise, however concerns remain about usage

Armenia's Nature Protection Minister Aram Harutyunyan said that Lake Sevan has risen by 43 centimeters this year alone. In 2007 the waters of Lake Sevan rose a total of 56 cm. According to the minister, 150 million sq m of water was drained into Lake Sevan this year via the Arpa-Sevan tunnel and 130 million sq m in 2007. Since 2001, the water level in Lake Sevan has risen by a total of 2.8 meters and it presently stands at 1899.5 meters above sea level.

Although there have been concerns raised regarding the ecological impact of overuse of the rising waters, Mr. Harutyunyan said that the ecosystem of the lake will not be damaged. He said so at special hearings in the National Assembly on August 19, which will make changes and amendments to the existing law on Lake Sevan. The minister said that the current use of the waters of the lake is conditioned by a great demand for irrigation of agricultural lands because of the current drought. Additional water is being stored at the water storage facilities in Azat and Aparan.

One Nation, One Culture festival kicks off in Yerevan

The pan-Armenian cultural festival One Nation, One Culture kicked off in Yerevan on August 17. Over 940 representatives from 16 countries are participating in this third annual festival. Armenians from Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Serbia, Bulgaria, Syria, and the United States are participating this year.

Tamara Poghosyan, the director of the festival, at a press conference in Yerevan said that this year, for the first time, several events of the festival are going to take place in the different regions of Armenia. She said that the request came from participants in previous festivals who said they wanted to see and experience more than just Yerevan. Therefore only the opening and closing ceremonies, including an event called Devotion will take place in Yerevan.

According to the Deputy Minister of Education Davir Muradyan, the mission of the festival is to fill the gap between Armenia youth from the diaspora and Armenia.

Armenia's population more than 3.2 million

According to the National Statistical Center of Armenia, the population of the country stands at 3,231,900 people. This figure was compiled after the final reports of a census. The number of people living in urban communities is 2,070,200 and 1,161,700 live in rural communities.

So far this year, Armenia's population has increased by 1.8 thousand people and compared with last year at the same time by 8.2 thousand people. According to the Statistical Center the increase in the country's population rate can be attributed to higher birthrates and immigration.

Armenia to host second ArmTech Congress

According to Armenpress, Yerevan will be hosting the second annual ArmTech Congress on October 4-5. The conference-exhibition, dedicated to the advancement of technology will be held under the auspices of Armenia's prime minister, Tigran Sarkisian. The theme of the congress will be To Learn from the Past, to Reveal the Future.

The goal of the conference will be to bring together specialists in the technology field and enhance the development of this fast-growing sector in Armenia.

The activities of the Armenian government in this sphere, including IT companies operating in Armenia will be highlighted. The latest global achievements and challenges in technology will also be presented.
The first ArmTech Congress was held in San Francisco in 2007.