Armenia: Internet providers protest at government’s decision
Yerkir web site
12 Nov 04
November
Yerevan, 11 November: About 100 Internet providers went on a token
strike at 1700 [1300 gmt] today.
The Internet providers took this decision following the Armenian
government’s resolution adopted at an extraordinary cabinet meeting on
3 November. In line with the resolution, the exclusive rights of the
Internet providers will belong to the ArmenTel joint-stock company
from now on.

Ex-Soviet republics back U.S. move to stop weapons proliferation
AP Worldstream
Nov 12, 2004
Russia and five other ex-Soviet members of a regional security pact
voiced support Friday for a U.S.-led effort to stem the spread of
weapons of mass destruction.
Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan hailed
U.S. President George W. Bush’s Proliferation Security Initiative as
“a key part of global efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of
mass destruction.”
The six nations, which belong to the Collective Security Treaty,
said they were ready to cooperate with Bush’s program. It envisages
international efforts to intercept components of weapons of mass
destruction on planes, ships and on land.
“The Collective Security Treaty member states are located at the
crossroads of possible routes of illegal transit of weapons of
mass destruction … and are ready to cooperate … in taking the
necessary steps to counter the spread of WMD,” the six nations said
in a statement.
Bush’s initiative was launched in Krakow in May 2003. Russia joined
it earlier this year.
Foreign ministers and other top officials from the security pact’s
member states also discussed ways to bolster cooperation in fighting
terrorism and strengthening regional security.

Estonia’s UN envoy to become new Defense Minister
AP Worldstream
Nov 12, 2004
Estonia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Jaak Joeruut, is set to
become the country’s defense minister, the Reform Party said Friday.
Joeruut, 56, a career diplomat, will take over from Margus Hanson
pending approval of his nomination by President Arnold Ruutel who
will return to the country next week from a state visit to Armenia.
Party spokesmen said the approval was a formality because under a
deal between the coalition government parties, the Defense Ministry
portfolio belongs to the Reform Party.
Hanson said he would resign earlier this week after Estonian security
police began an investigation into theft of his briefcase from his
home while he slept.
The content of the stolen documents wasn’t revealed, but Estonia
recently joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and has 45
troops in Iraq. As a basic principle, the most classified defense
ministry papers can only be taken out of the ministry under the
protection of an armed guard.
Under Estonian law, the punishment for unintentional negligence in
handling state secrets ranges from minor charges to a year in prison
in more severe cases. The intentional negligence of state secrets
could result in a sentence of five years in prison.

Foreign ministers of CIS security organization start meeting in Moscow
ITAR-TASS news agency
12 Nov 04
Moscow. 12 November: Countering international terrorism will be the
central issue at the meeting of foreign ministers of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization [CSTO], which began in Moscow today. The
organization comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan.
According to Aleksandr Yakovenko, official spokesman of the Russian
Foreign Minister, “this issue, along with fight against extremism,
the illegal circulation of narcotics, illegal migration and organized
crime is becoming increasingly prominent in the CSTO.”
“The organization is open to cooperation and interaction with the UN
and other international organizations, including NATO,” the diplomat
noted. “Proposals for building dialogue and cooperation are being
considered by the leadership of the alliance.” Yakovenko thinks that a
no less important direction of work is “creating a single information
field, which should facilitate the effective functioning of the system
of collective security”. “The first step,” he noted, “was the holding
of the International Antiterrorist Media Forum in April”.
“The unanimous approval of a draft resolution on giving the
organization the status of an observer at the UN General Assembly,”
the diplomat stressed, “attests to the growing prestige of the CSTO”.

Azeri pressure group warns rights activists against “serving” Armenians
Azadliq, Baku
12 Nov 04
Text of unattributed report by Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq on
12 November headlined “The KLO blames human rights activists for
serving Armenians”
The Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) has started fighting
numerous human rights organizations. KLO chairman Akif Nagi has
accused some human rights organizations, including the head of the
[Azerbaijani] National Committee of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly,
Arzu Abdullayeva, of serving the Armenians and has issued a final
warning to them.
“Abdullayeva, who is carrying out Armenians’ political task in
Azerbaijan, should leave the country. From now on, she is responsible
for any unpleasant incident that happens to her. There are people
who assist her in this issue. Arzu Abdullayeva, Zardust Alizada,
Eldar Zeynalov and Avaz Hasanov are dealing a blow to the country’s
interests in order to get grants.”
Nagi said that they had sent letters to these human rights activists,
demanding that they stop their activities.
“The KLO will take more radical steps if they do not satisfy our
demand. We will make their life and work unbearable.”
Arzu Abdullayeva said that she will not fulfil the KLO’s demands. As
far as her departure from the country is concerned, she said that
she had done nothing wrong to be expelled from the country by Nagi.
[In Tbilisi, Azerbaijani, Georgian and Armenian human rights activists
reached an agreement to set up a consortium of NGOs aimed at restoring
peace in the South Caucasus; Abdullayeva is a member of the group
of South Caucasus human rights activists who plan to organize peace
classes for Karabakh war victims.]

MP says US military presence could facilitate solution to Azerbaijan’s
problems
Zerkalo, Baku
11 Nov 04
An Azerbaijani MP has blamed Russia for instability in the South
Caucasus and said it was time to ask other countries for help
in bringing back peace to the region. In his comments to Zerkalo
newspaper, Alimammad Nuriyev said he was “genuinely” interested in the
stationing of US military bases in Azerbaijan which, he said, could
facilitate a solution to some of Azerbaijan’s domestic problems. The
following is an excerpt from report by C. Sumarinli and C. Bayramova
in the Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo on 11 November headlined
“NATO forces could be stationed in Fuzuli District” and sub-headed
“Russian media claim that the USA pushes Azerbaijan into an abysm of
chaos”. Subheadings have been inserted editorially.
Russia’s concerns
In an effort to thwart Russia’s initiative of building the strategic
Moscow-Yerevan-Tehran vector, the USA and Turkey are cherishing some
kind of a plan. Namely, as [Russian] Gazeta SNG reports, the two
countries, without the unnecessary hue and cry, intend to launch a
programme of assistance to the Azerbaijani Armed Forces similar to
the Train and Equip programme apparently finishing in Georgia.
“Back in July 2002, the information came in that soon after the arrival
of several hundred US commandos in Georgia, about 40 US servicemen
came to Azerbaijan, apparently for training purposes as well. It is
hard to say how many US servicemen there are in Azerbaijan now,” says
the author of the article and adds that these countries have chosen
the zone of the Karabakh conflict (Fuzuli District) to implement
their training programmes.
The author says that it is not at all necessary to be in an immediate
vicinity of the contact line to provide training – there are also
firing ranges in the rear which have been generously scattered on the
entire territory of Azerbaijan ever since the Soviet times. However,
the article contains a pointed hint that the USA is interested in
destabilizing the situation in the region. “The lessons the US military
taught to Georgian servicemen are manifesting themselves. The central
role in instability in Abkhazia and South Ossetia is played by the
very Georgian commandos trained by the Americans. If the USA manages
to break the `Russian chain’ in the Caucasus and, following Abkhazia
and South Ossetia, destabilize the zone of the Karabakh conflict, a
`US-controlled chaos’ will be in store for the region.”
“Azerbaijan’s priority – integration into Euro-Atlantic area”
The head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry,
Ramiz Malikov, says he has no information about the training of our
servicemen by that of the USA. He described the reports as being wide
of the mark.
Contrary to this, a member of the standing parliamentary commission
on defence and security, Alimammad Nuriyev, says: “It sounds quite
realistic that US servicemen may train ours. And I can’t rule out
that this may be so in the near future. The concern of the Russian
side over the possible stationing of the US forces in Azerbaijan is
understandable. However, we shouldn’t forget that cooperation between
the USA and Azerbaijan, which are allies, may develop in different
spheres. While up until now this cooperation mainly centred on the
political and economic fields, now these relations may expand in the
military sphere as well,” Nuriyev said.
In principle, Azerbaijan should treat quite normally the possible
stationing of US mobile forces and the establishment of training
centres on its territory, at least because our country is part of the
antiterror coalition. At the same time, the MP said that Azerbaijan’s
priority is integration into the Euro-Atlantic security system. This
implies that the process of army building in Azerbaijan must be in
line with the NATO standards. And this necessitates the opening of
such training centres.
The MP added that “it wasn’t by chance that during his recent visit
to Baku NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer assigned the
`homework’ of ensuring the involvement of US top brass in the training
of Azerbaijani servicemen”.
Time to ask for help in restoring stability in South Caucasus
At the same time, Nuriyev said that the opening of the US training
centres on the territory of Azerbaijan can to some degree facilitate
the solution to the country’s problems. “This first of all holds true
for the Karabakh problem. Our commandos trained by the US servicemen
may play a major role in liberating our occupied territories,”
he said. The MP welcomed the idea of a US military presence in
Azerbaijan. “While I do not have credible information about the
presence of US military bases here, I would genuinely like that to
happen. Why don’t we use the NATO security systems for our integration
into the Euro-Atlantic area when the Qabala radar station being used
by Russia can easily operate in our country?”
At the same time, the MP does not believe that the American presence
in the region can destabilize the situation. “Instability has been
an inherent part of this region since 1990 and this is `thanks’ to
an active involvement of the Russian armed forces and their support
for the Armenian side. It is common knowledge that Russia could have
turned the South Caucasus into a stable region. But it chose not
to. Therefore, to stabilize the situation it is necessary to resort
to the assistance of other countries,” the MP said.
[Passage omitted: opinion of an independent expert]

NKR PRESIDENT LEFT FOR USA
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
12 Nov 04
On November 11 the president of the Republic of Nagorni Karabakh left
for the United States of America. He will participate in the November
25 telethon to be held in the USA to raise money for the construction
of the road “North – South” which has a strategic role for NKR. Within
the framework of the preparation works for the telethon the president
will meet with the representatives of the business, political, public
and religious circles of the Armenian community of the USA.
AA. 12-11-2004

NIKOLAY BAGHDASSARIAN
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
12 Nov 04
In the past several years the Armenians of Artsakh had considerable
progress in the economy of the country, in particular development
of certain infrastructures, creation of jobs, certain growth of the
quality of life of the population. On November 9 the 14 km section
of the road connecting the villages of Saroushen and Karmir Shuka
was opened. At the ceremony of opening were present NKR president
Arkady Ghukassian, president of the Republic of Armenia Robert
Kocharian, prime minister Anoushavan Danielian, defence minister of
Armenia Serge Sarghissian, members of parliament of NKR, members of
the NKR government, representatives of the pan-Armenian foundation
“Hayastan”. The total cost of building works implemented by the chief
contractor of the construction of the section Saroushen – Karmir Shuka
“Karavan” Ltd. was 849 million drams. The head of the company Hakob
Hakobian said the specialists of the pan-Armenian foundation “Hayastan”
and the institute of engineering tested the road for quality.
AA.
12-11-2004

Russia’s Gazprom Plans to Switch Attention From Iran to Armenia, Georgia
MOSNEWS, Russia
Nov 12 2004
MosNews
Russia’s natural gas monopoly has cancelled plans to take part in a
tender to construct facilities at the Iranian South Pars field, the
Itar-Tass news agency reports. The agency quoted Sergey Kuznets, an
official from Gazprom’s legal department, as saying that the company
“held preliminary talks and looked at the project’s economics and
decided not to send a binding application to take part in the tender”.
However, Kuznets said that Gazprom was interested in Armenian energy
projects. Gazprom is looking at the possibility of taking part in
the construction of a gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia and in the
privatization of Georgian pipelines linking Russia and Armenia.
Kuznets said that if privatization conditions in Georgia suit Gazprom,
the company will consider participation in the privatization of a
main gas pipeline and gas distribution organization as promising. For
Gazprom “this is important as these gas pipelines link Russia to
Armenia”.

Armenian Speaker to attend Arafat’s funeral
Mediamax news agency
12 Nov 04
Yerevan, 12 November: The Armenian delegation headed by Armenian
Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan will leave for Cairo today to bid farewell
to the leader of the Palestinian Autonomy, Yasir Arafat.
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Ruben Shugaryan will also be included
in the delegation, Mediamax reports.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress