Young Armenians to gather in Upper Garabagh
Assa Irada
26 Oct 2004
The Pro-Armenian Foundation of International Youth Center plans to
hold a conference entitled “The activity of young people in conflict
arena: human rights, democracy and participation” in Upper Garabagh
on November 15-19.
Representatives of NGOs from Poland, Ukraine, France, the Netherlands,
Russia and Bulgaria have been invited to the event, a reliable source
told AssA-Irada.
Armenian youngsters make up most of the invitees. The Armenian
government and diaspora, by inviting young people from various world
countries, are trying to present the conference as an international
event.*

Wales recognizes ‘Armenian genocide’
Assa Irada
26 Oct 2004
Members of the city council of Cardiff, Wales have stated recognition
of the fabricated ‘Armenian genocide’ last week, a member of the
council and the Armenia-Wales friendship society Rodny Berman said. A
monument to the ‘genocide’ victims will be erected in Cardiff in 2005,
he noted.
According to Berman, recognition of the ‘Armenian genocide’ has been
a priority in the activity of the Armenia-Wales friendship society
over the last three years. The society members regard this step as
the first stage in recognizing the ‘genocide’ by the United Kingdom.*

British organization implementing mine clearance project in Upper Garabagh
Assa Irada
26 Oct 2004
Baku, October 26, AssA-Irada — British “The HALO Trust” organization
is implementing a landmine clearance project in Upper Garabagh. The
Khankandi-based organization spent $800,000 in 2002 and $1.4 million
in 2004 as part of the project. 75% of the funds were directed to
clearance of areas from landmines in Upper Garabagh and the remainder
– to purchase equipment, a spokesman for the organization said.
The project is mainly being implemented in settlements, schools and
nursery schools, and the areas with communications lines. 89 out of 482
sites have been cleared from landmines so far, the spokesman said.
With regard to the issue of mine clearance operations in Upper
Garabagh, an independent military expert said that landmines in
Upper Garabagh were buried by Armenian separatists from 1988 till
1993 in an effort to strengthen the borders of the self-proclaimed
Upper Garabagh Republic and annex the Azerbaijani region to Armenia.*
–Boundary_(ID_3rUc/UtGUMAQuNyHEVaqsQ)–

Opposition party intends to hold sanctioned protest actions
Assa Irada
27 Oct 2004
The opposition Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (WAPFP) has
postponed the picket it originally intended to hold outside the
Turkish embassy on Tuesday.
The picket comes as a protest against the Armenian parliamentarians’
planned participation in the 58th “Rose Roth” seminar of the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly due in Baku in November.
Commenting on the matter, the WAPFP press spokesman told AssA-Irada
that the party intends to continue sanctioned protest actions.
WAPFP has organized more than 10 unsanctioned actions in protest
against the planned visits by Armenian officers and parliament members
to Baku so far.
The WAPFP Managerial Board in its recent meeting decided to sue the
Mayor’s Office of Baku for violating the party members’ rights for
free gatherings.*

Syria and Armenia/ Agriculture Agreement
Syrian Arab News Agency
27 Oct 2004
Damascus, Oct. 27 (SANA)
Assistant Minister of Agriculture Dr. Nabi Rashid Mohammad and Armenian
Charge de-affairs in Damascus Youri Papa Qanyan on Tuesday discussed
cooperation between the two countries and means of boosting it.
Qanyan stressed the importance of the Syrian agriculture products
which have high quality and free from chemicals, pointing out to
his country’s desire for importing those products, particularly the
olive oil.
Mohammad underlined the two countries’ desire for developing relations
between them to meet the needs of both sides, pointing out that Syria
has surplus agriculture products that need new markets.
Batoul/ Idelbi

PRIME MINISTER SAYS SOME DOUBTS STILL REMAIN
ArmenPress
27 Oct 2004
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS: Armenian prime minister Andranik
Margarian said today fighting against terrorism is “the sacred duty”
of all governments, adding also that Armenia has voiced its readiness
to join international efforts. Speaking to reporters after visiting
Yerablour cemetery in a Yerevan outskirts, where some of eight top
government officials, shot down by terrorists in 1999 October 27
parliament shooting rest, the prime minister said the 1999 attack
threw Armenia back for several years.
Speaking also about the five-year-old attack the prime minister said
its perpetrators were arrested and sentenced, but added that there
remain still some doubts about whether they were the sole masterminds
of the attack. He said many people still believe there were other
people, or third forces, either in Armenia or outside it, who might
have been involved in the plot. The prime minister went on saying
that the trial gave answers to some of the questions only.
Foreign minister Vartan Oskanian who also was at the cemetery said
Armenia should reinforce its borders to prevent the country from
becoming a transit route for terrorists.

BRITISH MP SAYS VISIT TO KARABAGH WAS FACT-FINDING
ArmenPress
27 Oct 2004
BAKU, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS: Members of a British parliamentary
delegation that visited Nagorno Karabagh last week did not discuss
there a possible recognition of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic because
the British government’s position on this issue remains unchanged,
Gordon Marsden, a member of the British House of Commons, who headed
the delegation of the British interparliamentary cooperation group,
was quoted by Azeri Space TV as saying in Baku.
Marsden said he regretted Azerbaijan’s negative reaction to the
delegation’s visit to Nagorno Karabagh. He said that the British
government and the British embassy in Baku had put it clearly that
this was solely a fact-finding visit. If Azerbaijanis wanted to voice
their position, we would have been happy to listen to them, he said.
As for the fact that they went to Karabagh via Armenia, the British
MP said that Azerbaijan was unable to organize visits to Nagorno
Karabagh via its territory.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, however, that British MPs have
never appealed to Azerbaijan for assistance to visit Nagorno Karabagh
and this is what caused Baku’s discontent.
Another Azeri mass media outlet, the daily Ekho quoted also a senior
member of the British embassy in Azerbaijan, as saying that the visit
was a private initiative by Baroness Caroline Cox, who is the deputy
speaker of the British House of Lords. The official, Sean Melbourne,
who is an embassy’s secretary for political issues, said during a
meeting with members of the Karabagh Liberation Organization (KLO)
that the British Foreign Office had stated prior to the visit that
such trips ran counter to the British government’s interests and that
the government did not encourage them.
He said the government of British respects Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity, however, KLO members accused the UK of adopting double
standards in what is related to the Karabagh conflict.

PARLIAMENT PASSES BILL ON MAKING CHANGES TO LAW ON ALTERNATIVE MILITARY SERVICE
ArmenPress
26 Oct 2004
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian parliament approved
October 25 in the first reading a bill on making changes to the Law
on Alternative Military Service. The bill, designed by a group of
lawmakers, specifies, as deputy parliament chairman Vahan Hovhanesian
said, “the concept of alternative military service.” Under the bill
Armenians males who refuse serving in the regular armed forces have
to choose between alternative military service and alternative labor
service. Those who choose the first will perform it in the military
units and the second in hospitals, old people homes and alike.
The bill also specifies those bodies that are authorized to make
relevant decisions. Applications for alternative military service
are first considered by regional commissions and then by the national
commission.
The bill also defines exactly alternative servicemen’s duties,
responsibilities and the way their social security is ensured.

TRIAL OF ARMENIAN PILOTS IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA TO RESUME NOVEMBER 16
ArmenPress
26 Oct 2004
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS: The trial of a group of alleged
mercenaries, that includes also six Armenian pilots, who are charged
with trying to overthrow the president of Equatorial Guinea, will
resume on November 16. A spokesman for Armenian foreign affairs
ministry, Hamlet Gasparian, told Armenpress that the trial was set
to resume late in October, but was again postponed due to technical
reasons. He said a former Armenian ambassador to Egypt Sergey
Manaserian and another government official are in Malabo now, the
capital of Equatorial Guinea, seeking a meeting with Armenian pilots
and the officials of the country.
Armenian pilots denied their involvement in the alleged plot.

KOCHARIAN VISITS TWO PLANTS
ArmenPress
26 Oct 2004
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS: President Robert Kocharian visited
today two plants, Neo Lita, specializing in processing of stones and
Armenian Molybdenum Production. Later speaking to reporters he said
both plants were an evidence of rather extensive investments in these
sectors. The president said he had met personally with the investor
in the stone processing factory, that can boasts of modern equipment
and high manufacturing culture. He said “we shall do everything to
create favorable conditions for establishing new industries.”
Speaking about the success of the molybdenum plant the president said
“we are in the process that can be described as revival of molybdenum
industry.” He said he had discussed with the plant’s managers its
future operation in connection with the pending privatization of the
biggest Zangezur molybdenum plant in south Armenia. The molybdenum
plant together with another one, Makur Yerkat, are included in the
Zangezur privatization package.
Armenian molybdenum plants are supposed to stop exporting molybdenum
concentrate from next year, instead they will sell the finished
product-fero-molybdenum, part of which will be in the form of pure
molybdenum.