International Herald Tribune
NATO: Why not really make Russia a partner?
Ian Bremmer and Nikolas Gvosdev IHT Tuesday, June 22, 2004
WASHINGTON ‘You’re not our enemies anymore,” Secretary of State
Colin Powell told the Russians last month. Yet two years after the
NATO-Russia Council was unveiled as a new “bridge of security across
Europe,” 47 percent of Russians still consider the North Atlantic
alliance a threat to their national security.
As long as the NATO-Russia partnership remains solely a matter of
declarations and consultations, the opportunity to fundamentally
reshape the security not only of the Euro-Atlantic community but the
entire Eurasian land mass is being missed. Diplomats are squabbling
over four Belgian aircraft flying patrol over the Baltic states,
while real threats percolate along the soft underbelly of Eurasia –
terrorism, organized crime (especially smuggling and the drug trade)
and unstable states.
NATO’s primary purpose is to provide security. The alliance is there to
prevent any country – including Russia – from using force to dominate
its neighbors. But it is not NATO’s job to make Russia “disappear”
as an economic power in the region. If the United States wants to
extend a zone of peace and security across Eurasia, NATO cannot be
seen as a lever to keep Russia on the sidelines.
The “Great Game” geopolitical rivalry between Russia and the West
for influence across the Eurasian steppe is over. Russia failed in
its attempt to monopolize the region’s transportation links, and the
construction of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline is one signal victory. But
Central Asia’s gas reserves are controlled by Gazprom and, as in Soviet
times, will continue to pass through Russian-controlled routes. There
is nothing further to be gained by continuing to compete with Russia.
This is the reality: Moscow has sufficient economic and strategic
leverage to frustrate further Western plans for the region if Russian
interests are not taken into consideration. Russia will continue to
play a critical role in the Caucasus and Central Asia irrespective
of American intent. Cooperation with Russia is the only way forward.
Russia continues to have the most effective network of contacts
in Eurasia. First steps have already been taken in coordinating
intelligence collection, marrying Russia’s human intelligence
capabilities with American technological capacity. Why not build upon
this foundation and create a new security organization, grounded in
the NATO-Russia Council, that would develop joint institutions for
our joint security challenges?
Recent events in Georgia demonstrate how the lack of coordination
between Washington and Moscow can cause serious misunderstandings
and frustrate effective cooperation. When Americans hint that
the real purpose of U.S. forces in Georgia is to combat Russian
influence rather than root out terrorist cells, Moscow responds
with suspicion. Russia has a shared interest with the United States
in promoting a Georgian administration that can effectively crack
down on organized crime and radicals, and it demonstrated this by
helping to end the stand-off between President Mikheil Saakashvili
of Georgia and the defiant leader of Adzharia, Aslan Abashidze.
But cooperation will be limited if Russia believes America’s true
intent is to leverage Russia out of the region altogether.
Too often, security initiatives in Eurasia have had an “us or them”
approach. In the Kyrgyz Republic, both the United States and Russia
maintain military bases, although both ostensibly serve the same
purpose – to prevent the spillover of Islamist terrorism into Central
Asia. Indeed, Russia opened its base at Kant in autumn 2003, its
first post-cold war deployment, in response to the arrival of the
U.S. military. These forces have no mechanism for joint action –
not even the ability to communicate by cellphone.
Creating a joint U.S.-Russia base under the aegis of a NATO-Russia
partnership, a proposal the Kyrgyz president, Askar Akaev, endorses,
could lay the basis for practical cooperation that could then
be extended, both to the countries where Russia has prevailing
influence (such as Armenia) and those seeking greater integration
into Euro-Atlantic structures (such as Georgia, Uzbekistan or even
Azerbaijan). It would send a clear message to all countries in the
region that cooperation with Russia does not jeopardize their progress
to full membership in the Euro-Atlantic community.
It could also pave the way for greater regional stability. Take the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict – if it can be resolved, a major source
of instability and a threat to the export of hydrocarbons from the
Caspian basin would be removed. Given the lack of trust on both sides,
the only effective peacekeeping force would be a joint Russia-NATO
operation – one that could give assurances to both the Armenians
and Azeris. The peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Kosovo – the
first time that Russian and NATO forces collaborated in that manner –
provide a foundation for extending such cooperation.
The American ambassador to Russia, Alexander Vershbow, has declared
that “NATO sees Russia as a partner.” If that is the case, then it
is time to institutionalize cooperation between Russia and the West
to deal with common threats.
Ian Bremmer is president of the Eurasia Group and a senior fellow at
the World Policy Institute. Nikolas Gvosdev is executive editor of
The National Interest. NATO looks east

Utut stuns Alekseev in Tripoli
Jakarta Post
June 22, 2004
Musthofid, Jakarta — Grand Master (GM) Utut Adianto of Indonesia
defeated GM Evgeny Alekseev of Russia to advance to the second round
of the World Chess Championship in Tripoli, Libya, on Sunday.
Utut, who has an elo-rating of 2591 against Alekseev’s 2616 went
through on 1.5-0.5 points in two games in the knock-out tournament,
which featured 128 players from around the world.
“We were involved in a tense and dramatic battle before I could
stop him for a place in the second round,” Utut reported to Jakarta
by e-mail.
After his attacking tactical ploy ended in a draw in the first game
on Saturda, Utut started the second game more aggressively in an
all-out bid for a win.
The 38-year-old Indonesian employed remarkable restraint during the
game. He won a pawn in the 41st move and took another in a later move
before forcing the 19-year-old Russian into submission in 61 moves
in four-and-a-half hours.
Utut’s opponent in the second round is GM Vladimir Akopian of Armenia.
Akopian (2689), who was a finalist in the 1999 championship, defeated
Jose Gonzalez Garcia of Mexico on Sunday.
It is Utut’s fourth appearance in the world championship. He reached
the second rounds in 1997 and 2000 while he exited in the first round
in 1999.
The top seeds had little difficulty in getting past their lower-rated
opponents, with GM Vaselin Topalov, GM Michael Adams, GM Vassily
Ivanchuk and GM Nigel Short each registering 2-0 victories.
The Tripoli chess meet is going ahead in the absence of reigning
champion, GM Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine, who has opted to skip the
tournament in protest at the tournament format.

Internet crimes in Armenia
By: Ludmila Goroshko
Computer Crime Research Center, Ukraine
June 22 2004
Most of computer crimes in the banking sphere of Armenia are committed
through the Internet, Olga Safaryan, legal expert of “Internews”
told during seminar “Legal Field of Information Technologies and
Their Correspondence to European Standards”.
She said that these crimes are not solved in Armenia, like anywhere
in the world, because banks try to avoid announcing such information;
they fear to incur reputation damage. Olga Safaryan informed that
these crimes haven’t been prosecuted yet hence they have no special
organization to fight computer crimes in Armenia.
“In my report I suggest, on the analogy of other CIS countries,
to create a department to control computer crimes. At the moment,
it is still not clear who will investigate these crimes if they
occur, and therefore there are no statistics,” she said. Besides,
Safaryan noted that August 1, 2003 a new Criminal Code of Republic of
Armenia came into force, where chapter 24 that consists of 7 articles
is fully devoted to computer crimes. The worst crime is the one
committed through negligence, causing of harm to health or other grave
consequences. It is provided for by article 254, part 4, to establish
6 through 12 years jail for illegal access to computer information.
“However, this article does not define grave consequences that may
lead to problems applying it”, she said.

Azeri, Armenian foreign ministers see Prague talks on Karabakh as “positive”
MPA news agency
22 Jun 04
Baku, 22 June: Different aspects of and prospects for resolving
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict have been discussed in Prague by the
Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers.
Elmar Mammadyarov and Vardan Oskanyan expressed concern about the
recent cease-fire violations on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border,
MPA reports. The sides pointed out that the situation was being dealt
with in an atmosphere of mutual understanding.
The ministers said that the meeting was useful and positive. It was
attended also by the cochairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group from the USA,
Russia and France, and the special representative of the OSCE chairman,
Andrzej Kasprzyk.

Armenia, Iran boost energy cooperation
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
21 Jun 04
[Presenter] The Araks river is in the focus of the Armenian-Iran
cooperation. Armenia and Iran agreed to jointly use the river’s hydro
[electrical generating] potential nine years ago. A joint commission
was set up on in 2000 and after three years a scheme to use the river
has been confirmed. The project includes the construction of two
power stations, one on Armenian and one on Iranian territory. The
Armenian Energy Ministry discussed the preparation of the joint
Armenian-Iran programmes and the issues of the construction of the
Megri hydro-electric power station during the meeting held in Syunik
District.
[Correspondent over video of power grids] The preparation works on the
construction power stations on the Araks river are being completed. The
construction site has already been confirmed. The sides will sign an
agreement in two months and the station’s ground stone will be laid in
summer 2005. The power station will be constructed by Iranian financial
means, estimated at about 40m dollars. This amount we [Armenia] shall
return in the form of energy produced in the new power station. This
is the third Armenian-Iran joint project. The first one was the
Armenian-Iran high-voltage power station which was commissioned last
year. The second line’s construction followed the first one which is
under construction and will be completed in the autumn.
There are seven Armenian-Iran joint programmes in the energy
industry. The construction of the Armenian-Iran gas pipeline’ will
also start soon. The agreement has already been signed, the financial
sources are being confirmed and the preparation works are being
completed. The construction of oil processing and chemical plants
are possible plans.
[Armenian Energy Minister, Armen Movsesyan, captioned] These seven
programmes which we have with Iran in the energy industry are quite
large, serious programmes. I think that all these programmes will
be implemented.
[Correspondent] Apart from the security issues in the field of energy,
these programmes will also promote the development of other districts
and the resolution of social problems, in particular, employment
issues.
Tereza Kasyan, “Aylur”.

INCREASING SALARIES AND PENSIONS
Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
June 18, 2004
throughout the republic. She stressed that the background radiation
around the factory will by all means be checked and the findings of
the survey will be published. 99 FLATS WERE BUILT FOR RESETTLERS IN
2003. In the report of the state department of migration, refugees and
resettlement it is mentioned that in 2003 155 families resettled in
NKR and 99 flats were built for resettlers. The head of the department
Serge Amirkhanian mentioned that it is necessary to increase the
budget subsidies at least by one fourth of the budget confirmed in
2004 because after the adoption of the law “On Refugees” at the end of
the past year the department also has to solve the housing problems
of the refugees. In answer to our question whether the program
of resettlement can include also the dying villages of NKR Serge
Amirkhanian mentioned that there are such villages in the program:
Dahrav, Nakhijevanik, Aranzamin, Sarnaghbyur in Askeran region and
the village Garnakar in Martakert region. “Already three families have
been resettled in Dahrav, although there are about 68 abandoned houses
there,” mentioned S. Amirkhanian. He emphasized that the list of the
resettled villages is regularly reconsidered, therefore if the heads
of the regional administrations have suggestions in this reference
they may present them. THE LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IS
UNSATISFACTORY. The ministry of education and culture held tests in
the republic schools and the results were published in the newspaper
“Lusarar”. According to this information, the knowledge of the pupils
was graded zero. In this reference minister Armen Sarghissian announced
that the results of the tests will be compared to the results of
the final school examinations. According to the minister, similar
tests allow to reduce the amount of false marks to the minimum. Armen
Sarghissian mentioned the importance of objective grading of knowledge
of pupils because in two years it is planned to pass to the system of
admittance to higher educational institutions without examinations.
According to the minister, 7 directors of schools were dismissed
from their positions and two received warning in written form in the
result of the recent checking. According to the minister, the aim of
the checking is not punishing but rendering methodological help. A.
Sarghissian also emphasized that in the result of discussions during
the visit of the RA minister of education S. Yeritsian to Karabakh
teachers of Karabakh made 365 suggestions referring to the 12-year
secondary education system, of which many were accepted.
NAIRA HAYRUMIAN

NO INDEPENDENT MASS MEDIA
Azat Artsakh – Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
June 21 2004
The training with the topic “Monitoring of the mass media during
elections” organized by the Stepanakert Press Club with the financial
assistance of the international organization “Article 19” ended. The
topic of the third day was the activity of the non-governmental
organizations before elections as well as the cooperation of the mass
media and non-governmental organizations in conducting monitoring.
Representatives of non-governmental organizations took part in
the training on the third day: chairman of the public organization
“Institute of People’s Diplomacy”, coordinator of the international
organization “Caucasian Forum” on Karabakh Irina Grigorian, chairman
of the Association for Protection of Rights of NKR Citizens Georgy
Safarian, chairman of the public organization “Tradition” Valery
Balayan. The conductors of the monitoring asked them to tell about
their experience of election monitoring. According to G. Safarian,
five Karabakh public organizations took part in the monitoring for
transparency of the NKR presidential elections in 2002. There was
only one complaint at the Association for Protection of Rights of the
Karabakh Citizens, from candidate Albert Ghazarian whom the association
assisted to send the claim to the head public prosecutor’s office
(the town public prosecutor did not accept the claim). And on the
election day no violations of the law in effect were observed. Irina
Grigorian confessed that the monitoring started late therefore the
results were not complete. However, the first and small experience
will later become important basis by all means. Mrs. Grigorian also
informed that a club of non-governmental organizations operates
in Stepanakert, which involves about 10 public organizations. The
chairman of the public organization “Tradition” Valery Balayan
mentioned that if the experience of the observer is small, the
experience of the participant in elections is rather big. The first
election to the Supreme Soviet of the newly founded NKR in 1991 was
most fair and transparent. The question of propaganda of legislative
acts in the mass media and by non-governmental organizations was
also discussed. In this connection Alexey Koshel who conducted the
training mentioned that propaganda is a rather difficult problem
which requires long-lasting and determined work. According to him,
in Ukraine the school of political analysis is established which is
called for education of a new generation of analysts. He set forth
for discussion the problems of mutual understanding of journalists
and the mass media implementing monitoring. In this reference the
organization of coalitions (temporary associations of non-governmental
organizations and the mass media), press centers whose work will
become an important source of information for the mass media. The
peculiarities of coverage of the “black PR” during the elections were
also discussed. According to Mr. Koshel, extending truth to the reader
can be the only way to fight this phenomenon rather spread both in
the West and the entire post-soviet territory. Summing up the findings
of the three-day training, Alexey Koshel said, “In fact there are no
independent mass media.” Although he thinks that the tendency of the
mass media to become independent becomes apparent day by day. And in
this process the alternative mass media play a big role. The way-out
is self-organization and financial self-sufficiency by which the mass
media may certainly achieve at least relative independence. 
SUSANNA BALAYAN

PRESS RELEASE
The Adjutant General’s Department
Kansas Army National Guard
Kansas Air National Guard
Division of Emergency Management
CONTACT: Joy D. Moser
Director, Public Affairs Office
Work: (785) 274-1192
Home: (785) 232-4518
FOR RELEASE ON June 17, 2004
No. 04-071
June 18 Ceremony Marks Kansas-Armenia Partnership Day
A ceremony at the State Defense Building, 2800 SW Topeka Blvd., Topeka,
will mark “Kansas-Armenia Partnership Day” on Friday, June 18. The
ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. in Room 11 and will feature remarks
by Maj. Gen. (KS) Tod Bunting, the adjutant general; Col. Joe Wheeler,
Plans, Operations and Training Officer, Kansas Army National Guard;
and Command Sgt. Maj. Dale Putnam. They will share information about
their recent visit to Armenia, the National Guard State Partnership
Program and plans for an upcoming visit by an Armenian delegation.
Since 2003, Kansas has been partnered with Armenia through the
State Partnership Program. This program pairs developing nations
in Europe, South America and Asia with the National Guard in states
and territories to foster mutual interests and establish long-term
relationships. In April, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed a proclamation
declaring June 18, 2004, as “Kansas-Armenia Partnership Day” in Kansas.
“Kansas troops are deployed around the globe helping to protect the
cause of freedom through force of arms and it is through programs like
the State Partnership Program that peace will be strengthened,” said
Bunting. “By modeling military-to-military, military-to-civilian and
civilian-to-civilian relationships, our Citizen-Soldiers are showing
the world how we, as Soldiers and Airmen, are servants of the people
instead of the other way around. Our Constitution starts ‘We, the
People of the United States…” Through this program, it is “We the
People” of Kansas who are reaching out in a spirit of cooperation to
the people of Armenia to show them who we are and how we live and to
learn from them who they are and how they live.”
In addition to Bunting, other dignitaries attending the ceremony
include Alex A. Kotoyantz, a retiree from the Kansas Department
of Transportation in Junction City and an active member of the
Armenian community in Kansas. Kotoyantz was a key advocate for the
“Kansas-Armenia Day” proclamation.
-30-

Selling Armenians on Armenia
Condos lure expatriates back home
By Naush Boghossian, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Daily News, CA
June 20 2004
GLENDALE — Forget Hawaii, Aspen or the Caribbean. How about buying
a time share in … Armenia?
It may sound like a tough sell — mainstream attractions are few
in this arid, agricultural country of 3 million. But builders of
Western-style town homes just outside the capital Yerevan believe
they have ready buyers among the more than 8 million Armenians living
outside the country.
“Come Home to Armenia” beckons the marketing campaign of East
Coast-based Hovnanian International Inc., which has just begun to
market the time shares in Glendale, home to the largest population
of Armenians outside Armenia.
“To local Armenians, I say, It’s your land, it’s your responsibility,
to go back and see how magnificent it is,” said Hovnanian
representative Hilda Grigorian, who staged the first time share meeting
this month in Glendale, drawing more than 100 prospective buyers.
Armenian-Americans have flocked to visit Armenia since its independence
13 years ago from the former Soviet Union. There they encounter a
land of great natural and historic beauty — and Third World living
conditions.
Running water in the capital city is sometimes limited to a few hours
in the morning and evening, phone service and electricity are erratic
— elevators break down in high-rise buildings. No building codes or
inspections exist despite the pattern of earthquakes — a reality in
a place where the average monthly income is about $24.
But for those willing to plunk down $4,500 to $6,000 for a 20-year
lease on one of Hovnanian’s fully furnished 1,500- to 1,800-square-foot
town homes, the one-week-a-year time shares provide an old-world
setting without its nitty-gritty inconvenience.
In fact, Hovnanian’s enclave, which at build-out will have 500
single-family homes, looks much like homes in planned communities in
Irvine or Santa Clarita — only with Mount Ararat as a backdrop.
“Our goal is to get the Armenian diaspora to return and to return
frequently — if not every year, but every other year,” said Arthur
Havighorst, vice president for Vahakni (Hovnanian) Homes and Timeshare
Resort.
The pull of family and culture is similar to the concept behind time
shares in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the United Arab Emirates
— not necessarily considered the top vacation destinations for the
average traveler.
La Crescenta resident Leonig Shekherdimian already visits Armenia
once a year to see family and take in scenes from her homeland. She
typically rents a Yerevan apartment, with its trials of broken plumbing
and sweltering accommodations with no air-conditioning.
A time share would mean that “I don’t have to worry about no water
or no heating or no air conditioning.”
La Crescenta resident Gagik Alagozian visited Armenia for the first
time two years ago, and that was enough for him to decide to invest
in the country.
“I opened up a small business there — I have cattle — and I want
to expand,” said the aerospace engineer who moved to America from
Iran 27 years ago.
He also plans to invest in a home.
“We go to Big Bear to see nature, but in Armenia, there are places
absolutely untouched that you can explore.”
There is also an effort to market the time shares to retirees and
tourists.
More than 41,000 visitors come to the country each year, and tourism
is now the second largest part of the country’s GDP.
“Armenia is a beautiful country. It has a strong, ancient history,
and it was the first Christian nation,” Shekherdimian said. “Just to
visit the churches there says a lot about our country and culture.”

Sudan’s Final Solution
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: June 19, 2004
The New York Times
LONG THE SUDAN-CHAD BORDER — In my last column, I wrote about
Magboula Muhammad Khattar, a 24-year-old woman whose world began to
collapse in March, when the Janjaweed Arab militia burned her village
and slaughtered her parents.
Similar atrocities were happening all over Darfur, in western Sudan,
leaving 1.2 million people homeless. Refugees tell consistent tales of
murder, pillage and rape against the Zaghawa, Fur and Masalit tribes
by the Arabs driving them away.
As this genocide unfolded, the West largely ignored it. That was not
an option for Ms. Khattar and her husband, Ali Daoud.
The night after the village massacre, survivors slipped out of the
forest to salvage any belongings and bury their dead. They found the
bodies of Ms. Khattar’s mother and father; her father’s corpse had
been thrown in a well to poison the water supply. Ms. Khattar was now
responsible for her 3-year-old sister as well as her own two children.
Then, as they prepared the bodies, one moved. Hussein Bashir Abakr, 19,
had been shot in the neck and mouth and left for dead, but he was still
alive. His parents had both been killed, along with all his siblings
except for one brother, who had been shot in the foot but escaped.
That brother, Nuradin, gave up his duty to bury their parents,
choosing instead to carry Hussein into the forest and to try to
nurse him with traditional medicines. Nuradin’s bullet wound made
every step agonizing, but he was determined to save the only member
of his family left. Over the next 46 nights, Nuradin dragged himself
and his brother toward Chad.
Finally, they staggered over the dry riverbed marking the border,
where I found them. Hussein has lost part of his tongue and many of
his teeth and cannot eat solid food. He is sick and inconsolable;
his wife and baby were carried off by the Janjaweed and haven’t been
seen since. As I interviewed him, he bent over to retch every couple
of minutes, Nuradin still cradling him tenderly.
Ms. Khattar and most of the other villagers decided they could not
make the long trek to Chad. So they inched forward at night to find
refuge on a nearby mountain.
Every other night, she crept down the mountain to fetch water, risking
kidnapping by the Janjaweed. “It was so hard in the mountains,”
Ms. Khattar recalled. “There were snakes and scorpions, and a
constant fear of the Janjaweed.” Six-foot cobras have killed some
of the refugees. To feed her children, Ms. Khattar boiled leaves and
plants normally eaten only by camels. Even so, her mother-in-law died.
Officially, Sudan had agreed to a cease-fire in Darfur. But at the
end of May, a Sudanese military plane spotted the villagers’ hideout,
and soon after, the Janjaweed attacked.
“Ali had told me: `If the Janjaweed attack, don’t try to save me. You
can’t help. Don’t get angry. Just keep the children and run away to
Bahai [in Chad]. Don’t shout or say anything,’ ” Ms. Khattar said. So
she hid in a hollow with the children, peeking out occasionally. She
saw the Janjaweed round up all the villagers, including her husband
and his three young brothers: Moussa, 8, Mochtar, 6, and Muhammad,
4. “Even the boys,” she remembers. “They tied their hands like this”
— she motioned with her arms in front of her — “and then forced
them to lie on the ground.” Then, she says, the males were all shot
to death, while women were taken away to be raped.
There were 45 corpses, all killed because of the color of their skin,
part of an officially sanctioned drive by Sudan’s Arab government to
purge the western Sudanese countryside of black-skinned non-Arabs.
The Sudanese authorities, much like the Turks in 1915 and the Nazis in
the 1930’s, apparently calculated that genocide offered considerable
domestic benefits — like the long-term stability to be achieved by
a “final solution” of conflicts between Arabs and non-Arabs — and
that the world would not really care very much. It looks as if the
Sudanese bet correctly.
Perhaps Americans truly don’t care about the hundreds of thousands of
lives at stake — we have other problems, and Darfur is far away. But
my hunch is that if we could just meet the victims, we would not be
willing to acquiesce in genocide.
After two Janjaweed attacks, Ms. Khattar was left a widow, responsible
for three small, starving children in a land where showing her face
would mean rape or death. I’ll continue her saga in Wednesday’s
column.  
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress