Baku. A large group of civil society activists, politicians, former political prisoners have appealed to the head of PACE, Jean-Claude Mignon, with a call to extend the mandate of the rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

Armenia should gain maximum profit from all the integration projects offered by the global force centers, be it Russia or the European Union, Arman Navasardyan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, head of diplomat.am project, said at today's public debates on the topic "The European Union vs. the Eurasian Union:  Armenia's choice" held at the Caucasus Institute.

He said that when independence was being established, the Armenian diplomacy failed to cope with a number of vital problems: it was ousted from numerous regional projects, and the situation aggravated even more by the transport and economic blockade imposed on Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan. "For further development our country should participate in all possible projects. And in this context, both European integration and participation in the projects initiated by
Russia are a good opportunity for Armenia to solve its vital problems", he said.    

He added that Armenian diplomacy can and must compare the both foreign political vectors in its own interests and should conduct a flexible policy. 

Hayk Babukhanyan, MP, Head of the Constitutional Law Party and member of the parliament faction of the Republican Party of Armenia, said that though he shares the opinion that Armenia should combine the specified two foreign political lines, nevertheless, Russia is the strategic partner of Armenia in terms of system of values, geographic proximity, military and political security, as well as diplomatic support.

To note, the debates were organized by the Caucasus Institute with support from and in cooperation with the South Caucasus Regional Bureau of the Heinrich Boll Foundation.

On March 27 the RA National Assembly Vice President Eduard Sharmazanov met with the students of the Faculty of International Relations of Yerevan State University and answered a series of questions relating to Armenia's inner and foreign policy, the press service of the Armenian Parliament reports.

At the students' request he touched upon the possibility of the opposition's unity in the elections of Yerevan Elders. To his assessment, the Republican Party is for competitive fighting and will fight for victory, welfare of Yerevan, and for the perspective of its development. And the possibility of the opposition's unity, in his opinion, is rather foggy, as the opposition is multi-layer, and the struggle among them continues for being the first.

Referring to the possible dialogue between the RA President Serzh Sargsyan and Raffi Hovannisian, who occupied the second place as a result of presidential elections, the NA Vice President has said that he is for solving the political problems through political way, but not intensifying the political atmosphere through personal offenses and extreme announcements. In this issue he highly appreciated the readiness of the President of the Republicto listen to the one sitting opposite him and the capability of making objective and constructive decisions, which are aimed at more effectively solving the existing problems with the help of united society and in conditions of mutual understanding by law. According to Eduard Sharmazanov, the power should not be guided by thinking of smothering
the existing shortcomings, and the opposition should choose the path of not seeing what was done and indicating only the shortcomings.

At the students' request Eduard Sharmazanov also touched upon the policy of human resources, the role of social networks in the development of civil society, the problems of the country's security and the multi- vector and balanced foreign policy of Armenia.

If the Republican Party of Armenia loses the May 5 elections into Yerevan's Elders Council, it will give a ground for serious doubts that the Feb 18 presidential election was a fraud, Director of Sociometer Center Aharon Adibekyan told journalists on Wednesday.

He said that incumbent Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan has no serious rivals: Vartan Oskanian from Prosperous Armenia is not regarded as Mayor, Armen Martirosyan from Heritage has done nothing to prove that he can be one, Vahan Khachatryan from the Armenian National Congress is no longer remembered even though he was Mayor in the past. 

Adibekyan thinks that things would be different if those parties nominated their leaders.

"Margaryan is an attractive man, and most of our voters are women. On the other hand, the program of Prosperous Armenia is more socially oriented," the expert said.

 Experts still think that the level of natural reproduction of trout (ishkhan) in Lake Sevan is still unsatisfactory.

Vladimir Movsisyan, Head of the Commission on Issues of Lake Sevan, said at today's press conference that over the past 10 years a total of 1.8 mln juvenile fish have been released into the Sevan. "But we cannot permanently maintain the ishkhan population artificially. Now there is almost no natural reproduction of ishkhan, as the rivers flowing into the lake are polluted or small hydropower plants are working on those rivers", he said. He added that at the moment there
are 8 HPPs on the rivers flowing into the Sevan. "We suggest either banning the operation of the given small HPPs during the spawning period, i.e. from April till June, or oblige them to launch fish-paths", said Movsisyan.

For his part, Bardukh Gabrielyan, Director of the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, told ArmInfo that there is one more problem hindering the growth of the ishkhan population - the fish poaching. He said that the ishkhans of the breeding age are simply caught on their way to the spawn.  

He said that the large spawning streams are in a poor condition: some of them dry out during the summertime and this breaks the whole ecosystem, the others flow through the turbines of small HPPs. In addition, part of the river water flows to the ponds where rainbow trout are bred, which are obligate predators, and the experts advocate banning the rainbow trout breeding in the Sevan basin. 

"The state annually allocates funds to increase the ishkhan population. On the one hand, one can welcome this, but on the other hand, these steps are ineffective, because the allocated funds eventually go to the pockets of the poachers who do not allow the fish to spawn", said Gabrielyan.

 In the last few weeks the Easter foodstuffs have grown in price by 10%, President of the Armenian Consumer Association Armen Poghosyan told journalists on Wednesday.

Poghosyan said that the egg price have grown from 55-60 AMD to 76 AMD ($0.19). The fish and vegetable prices have also grown.

He urged the State Income Committee to prevent such peculations by imposing taxes on speculative gains. "One more way to prevent speculation on the agricultural market is to stimulate wholesale trade and procurements and to neutralize middlemen," Poghosyan said.

He complained that the State Commission on Protection of Economic Competition is doing nothing to prevent the pre-Easter rise in prices.  On Mar 13 Chairman of the Commission Artak Shaboyan said that they had inspected the egg market and had warned five trade chains against groundless rise in prices.  Spokesperson of the Commission Gayane Sahakyan says that in the last 20 days the egg prices in the chains have not been raised.

This year Easter in Armenia will be on Mar 31.

Press-secretary of the Armenian president, Armen Arzumanyan, responded to Raffi Hovannisian's letter addressed to Serzh Sargsyan yesterday.

Arzumanyan said, in particular, that President Serzh Sargsyan is known to be very patient and constructive in his moves. The President's proposals made in the March 25 letter remain in force, although the ultimatums voiced at the Liberty Square have been gradually reducing their relevance with every hour.

Finally, the statement said that President's meetings are organized beforehand, according to the planned scheduled, and take place only in the president's residence.

 The illegal constructions at the coastal area of Sevan will be demounted irrespective of who they belong to, the head of the Commission for Key Problems of Sevan, Vladimir Movsisyan, promised at today's press-conference.

He said that 4717 constructions are at the level lower than 1905 m above sea level, and only 27% of them were made of stone. He also added that 451 constructions have been already demounted and another 177 will be demounted over the current year. Besides the constructions, 4 thsd ha of wood and bushes will  also find themselves under the water and the Sevan water level will reach 1905 m.

The Sevan water level raising programme kicked off in 2002. The water level will be raised by 6 m till 2030. Over the passed 11 years they managed to raise the water level in Sevan by 3.78 m.

The draft statement of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) on consolidation of the civil consensus atmosphere, public confidence and joint settlement of the existing problems is more than realistic and timely, Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov told ArmInfo when talking of the RPA's draft statement that should be considered in case the parliamentary majority initiates an extraordinary session suggesting the way out of the post-electoral situation in the country.    

He pointed out that the draft statement offered by the Armenian National Congress (ANC) resembles a speech for a rally rather than a draft statement of the National Assembly.  Sharmazanov reiterated that the RPA is ready for a dialogue on the way out of the current post- electoral situation, but this dialogue should be substantial, and should not resemble a show. The Vice Speaker expressed confidence that the dialogue between the authorities and the opposition will be
established, as the power is open for that dialogue. However, he added that given the non-constructive stance of the oppositional parliamentary forces, the ruling party sees no need to hold an extraordinary session, at least by the end of the current week.

Sharmazanov pointed out that the RPA's draft statement, in particular, says that being concerned with the post-electoral developments in Armenia and realizing that civil solidarity, public and political confidence will contribute to the country's development, the Parliament of Armenia calls on all parliamentary and
extraparliamentary forces, civil society representatives to exert efforts to launch a dialogue in the atmosphere of mutual tolerance. The National Assembly also thinks it necessary initiating constructive debates on constitutional reforms and improvement of the electoral system. The Parliament of Armenia urges all the political forces and citizens of the country to abstain from actions running counter to the Constitution and laws of Armenia, and choose the path of the dialogue, trying to solve the existing problems by joint efforts. 

To note, the Parliament's opposition forces have already expressed their disagreement with this text. In particular, Heritage Party and Armenian National Congress have presented alternative drafts statements, which suggest holding snap elections in the republic and switching to the 100% proportional electoral system.
 
Naira Zohrabyan, Secretary of the Prosperous Armenia Party Faction, told ArmInfo that the RPA's draft statement is nothing but good wishes and declarative formulations. She thinks that the document contains no specific steps on the way out of the current situation. Though the PAP does not accept the text of this statement, it will attend the extraordinary session if it takes place.  To note, the PAP also supports its oppositional colleagues' stance saying that the republic should switch to the 100% proportional electoral system.

The big volume water releases from Sevan in 2012 have become the reason of the negative regime of the lake, the head of the Commission for Sevan Problems, Vladimir Movsisyan, said at today's press-conference.

He said that as of 1 January 2013, the water level of the lake was by 3 sm less versus 1 January 2012. At present Sevan level is 1900m 18 sm. He recalled that last year a decision was made to increase water releases from the lake from 170 mln sq/m up to 313 mln sq/m. The Commission recommended to make water releases in a volume 280 mln sq/m, he said.

He also added that the hard situation in Ararat valley was the reason of the big volume water releases. Here the restored storage of the underground waters amounted to 1.226 bln sq/m, but Nature Protection Ministry allowed fish farms to use water in an amount 1.496 bln sq/m. This was a result of irresponsibility, he said and added that, as a result, 122 out of 638 artesian wells of the Ararat valley dried and 6200 ha were left with practically no water.

The expert said that the Commission has come forward with an offer to ban using of the underground waters or to introduce a semi-closed water using cycle at the fishing farms, as a result of which they will use maximum 450 mln sq/m of water every year, that is to say, several times less than now.

 ArmInfo News Agency announces a new product - "Technologies" Bulletin covering developments and possibilities of investments in the promising sectors of Armenia: industry, practical scientific achievements, energy, information and communications technologies, as well as the state policy in the given sectors.

Samvel Sargsyan, executive editor of the bulletin, analytical expert of ArmInfo, says the major goal of the project is to revel the problems on the way towards restoration or activation of promising Armenian enterprises in the applied science sector. The bulletin focuses on development of innovative technologies, products and their application in Armenia.

"The necessity of transferring to the knowledge-based economy, using the huge intellectual potential of technocrats and scientists in Armenia and Diaspora is gradually being realized in Armenia. We hope that the new information product of ArmInfo will certainly speed up this process, boosting a dialogue of developers, regulators and donors," the analytical expert says.

Technologies bulletin will be so far issued once in two months in Russian and English.

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, the company's 167,000 people are united by shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. The company makes a difference by helping its employees, its clients and wider communities achieve their potential. Ernst & Young expands its services and resources in accordance with clients’ needs throughout the CIS. 4,000 professionals work at 19 offices in the post-Soviet space.

 Today, the maximum buying rates at commercial banks of Yerevan were 418 drams for 1 dollar, 536,5drams for 1 EUR and 13,5 drams for 1 Russian ruble. The minimum selling rates stood at 419,8 drams for 1 dollar, 540 drams for 1 EUR and 13,6 drams for 1 Russian ruble.

The leader of the Heritage party Raffi Hovannisian does not fear endless and exhausting talks which the Armenian authorities will start with the opposition, and
weaken the protesting movement in such a way, Hovannisian said at today's open press-conference at the Liberty Square when replying to ArmInfo correspondent's question.

"I am not scared, as after the presidential election on 18 February the people have already felt the test of the victory, and they cannot take the wrong turning. In their fight the people are ready to go to the mat, till the final fixing of their victory", - he said. 

He also added that it is quite natural that parallel to the protesting movement, the opposition has been negotiating with the authorities trying to choose the effective ways for fulfillment of tasks. "The fight at the square and the talks with the authorities are two complementary machineries. The people should not become a victim of the combinations of the authorities, but have to impose their agenda", - Hovannisian said.

"The conditions I submitted to the Armenian authorities to manage the political crisis are indivisible," Raffi Hovannisian, Leader of Heritage Party, said in a press conference in the Liberty Square, Wednesday.

Hovannisian said that his demands are the minimum conditions to recognition of President Serzh Sargayan's legitimacy. If in the course of possible negotiations the president decides to withdraw a single point from his demands, he will have to add another point adequate to the previous one.  Hovannisian thinks that people who blame Heritage for a deal with the authorities have themselves resorted to such deal. In addition, Hovannisian said, his demands are not a request for a post in the government, but a method to divide the real power in the country between the people and the formal leadership of the country.

"I will be glad if Serzh Sargsyan meets with me in the Liberty Square. I will not leave the Square until our fight comes to a logical end. My principles and my consciousness do not allow me to make deals with the authorities. Everything will be open and transparent," Hovannisian said. To recall, he is on hunger strike for the 17th day already.  On March 22 Hovannisian said that he is ready to admit the presidency of Serzh Sargsyan if snap parliamentary elections are held in 2013, preceded by constitutional reforms implying the republic's transition to a fully proportional system of parliamentary elections. In addition, Hovannisian requested the portfolios of the heads of Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Education and Science, Audit Chamber, as well as the portfolios of the Prosecutor General, Heads of the State Revenue Committee, National Security Service, Justice Ministry and Anti-Corruption Commission.

In his response, Sargsyan says that Hovannisian's demands contradict the Constitutional norms and do not meet the realities of state power formation. Nevertheless, they create a basis for further effective dialogue.  Further in the letter, Sargsyan urges Hovannisian to stop hunger strike. "Rest for a couple of days and then we will take a pen and a paper and launch a serious and calm work without organizing a show, even on the basis of your yet 'half-baked' offers," the president said.

Tbilisi. Swiss ambassador to Georgia Guenther Baechler said in his "personal letter" to Georgian PM Bidzina Ivanishvili that "unprecedented and partisan" statements and allegations by some "misguided" members of the European Parliament against Georgia's new authorities "do not reflect the political reality in Georgia at all.", civil.ge portal reports.

Tbilisi. Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, is ready to engage in consideration of the bill on the Common Law Courts, which has been already passed its second reading in Georgian Parliament.

Baku. The investigative group ProPublica in New York published a report entitled: "Accomplices in Syrian conflict." It talks about the actions of third parties in Syrian events.

Baku. Azerbaijan confidently holds its position in the list of authoritarian states, according to the research company, The Economist Intelligence Unit (UK Economist analysis unit), "Democracy Index 2012 of the world> (Democracy Index 2012).

 During our last meeting with the secretary of the presidential Security Council we discussed the possibility of installing an infrared telescope at our observatory,
Director of the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory Hayk Harutyunyan told journalists on Tuesday.

He said that the observatory is going to offer Russia to carry out this project jointly under an inter-governmental agreement.

"In the Soviet times the Russians had such telescopes in Central Asia but today they can no longer keep them there for political reasons. So, they may consider placing one in Armenia. They have both desire and money for such a project. This will help us to develop our cooperation in studying the Sun and discovering new space objects," Harutyunyan said.