Month: June 2005

ARMENIAN-IRANIAN AGREEMENT ON THE PRINCIPLES AND BASES OF COOPERATION
CORRESPOND TO THE CONSTITUTION OF ARMENIA
YEREVAN, JUNE 7. ARMINFO. The provisions of the Armenian-Iranian
Agreement on the principles and bases of cooperation correspond to the
Constitution of Armenia. The Constitutional Court of Armenia made such
a decision today.
The Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Gegham Gharibjanyan presenting
the interests of the Armenian President in the court hall stated that
the document was signed on September 8 2004 in Yerevan. On the
Armenian party the document was signed by President Robert Kocharyan.
The agreement is to provide mutual understanding in cooperation with
political, economic, cultural, trade and scientific-and-technical
spheres, the deputy foreign minister said.

SWEDEN WELCOMES ARMENIA’s ASPIRATION FOR INTEGRATION TO EUROPEAN
STRUCTURES: SWEDEN AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA
YEREVAN, JUNE 7. ARMINFO. Sweden intends to raise attention to the
countries of the Southern Caucasian region and notes in this context
the importance of developing relations with Armenia, stated the
newly-appointed Ambassador of Sweden Kingdom to Armenia (residence in
Moscow) Ukhan Mulander at today’s presentation of credentials to
Armenia’s president Robert Kocharyan.
As ARMINFO was informed in the presidential press-service, Mulander
noted that Sweden welcomes Armenia’s aspiration for integration to
European structures and is ready to serious cooperation. Kocharyan
noted that both the exchange of information between the countries and
the activation of business relations are necessary for widening
Armenian-Swedish relations. -r-

AZERBAIJANI FM SEES NO PROBLEMS IN WITHDRAWAL OF RUSSIAN BASES FROM
GEORGIA TO ARMENIA FROM POINT OF VIEW OF LEGALITY
YEREVAN, JUNE 7. ARMINFO. There are no problems in withdrawal of the
Russian bases from Georgia to Armenia from the point of view of
legality. Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mamedyarov told
journalists today, RIA “Novosti” reports.
The bases are not dislocated to Armenia, but on the Russian bases in
Armenia. This process is carried out by Russia and Armenia and there
are no problems with legality, he thinks. At the same time, he said
that the Azerbaijani party is for demilitarization of the region, on
the whole. He also said that negotiations between Georgia and Russia
for withdrawal of the Russian bases are in process. he said.

SPECIAL DEBATE ON CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS IN ARMENIA MAY BE INITIATED
IN PACE ONCE AGAIN
YEREVAN, JUNE 7. ARMINFO. Special debate on constitutional amendments
in Armenia may be initiated once again at the PACE summer session to
be held Jun 20-24, informed a worker of the CE press department
Estelle Steiner in an interview to ARMINFO. Besides, a special meeting
of the Venice Commission members with the Armenian delegation to PACE
(Jun 23) will be dedicated to issues of constitutional amendments.
To remind, in a recent talk to ARMINFO’s reporter the Venice
Commission expert Gianni Buquicchio noted that the Commission has
worked with Armenia in this direction since 2000 and “a time has come
to present a well elaborated democratic Constitution corresponding to
international and European standards”. He reminded that it is
necessary to balance powers of a parliament and a president, to widen
powers of local self-government bodies, to do the post of Yerevan
mayor electoral, and provide the independence of juridical system to
have a democratic Constitution. Besides, the expert, refuting
accusations of some Armenian political figures, stressed that the
expert estimation made by the Venice Commission is independent and
objective, and includes no political aim or order. -r-

US EMBASSY EXTENDING MOBILITY AND HOPE TO ARMENIA’S DISABLED
YEREVAN, JUNE 7. ARMINFO. On June 07, John Evans, US Ambassador to
Armenia, participated in a wheelchair distribution event held in one
of Yerevan’s amusement parks, reports the press service of US Embassy
in Armenia.
The event was organized by Counterpart International, one of the major
U.S. Government-funded humanitarian assistance program implementers in
Armenia and is the first in a series of similar distributions to be
conducted throughout Armenia’s marzes, as a result of which as many as
500 disabled persons will receive much needed wheelchairs which are
unaffordable for most of them.
The wheelchairs are a donation from the Latter-Days Charities in
cooperation with the Wheelchair Foundation of America and have
presented as a gift to Armenia’s disabled whose access has been
complicated due to a general shortage of wheelchairs available to
them. Today 50 of Yerevan’s disabled citizens received brand new,
state-of-the-art wheelchairs.
In the course of its activity aimed at providing assistance to the
disabled in Armenia, Counterpart International closely cooperated with
local NGOs who helped compiling and verifying the lists of eligible
persons most of whom have a first-category physical disability. The
NGOs have also been providing significant logistical support in
organizing this event.
The activities of Latter-Day Saints Charities in Armenia, which began
in January 1988, have been focused on three main areas of social
sector: education, promotion of good health practices, as well as
strengthening of family values and emotional well being of
individuals, families, communities and institutions in Armenia.

Azerbaijan News Service
June 7 2005
GEORGIAN PATRIARCH SECOND ILYA VISITING BAKU
2005-06-06 10:11
All Georgian patriarch second Ilya is visiting Azerbaijan on the
invitation of All Caucasus sheikh Haji Allahshukur Pashazadeh.
Georgian patriarch urged to continue efforts to develop bilateral
relations between Azerbaijan and Georgian nations. As to accusations
by Armenian side that Georgian side appropriated the Armenian church
in Tbilisi second Ilya was short to say `everybody has his own
opinion’. Within his visit to Baku Georgian patriarch will meet
President Ilham Aliyev and chairman of Milli Majlis (Parliament) as
well as pay visit to Russian cathedral. In the end of the visit
second Ilya and Haji Allahshukur Pashazadeh will sign joint
declaration.

Russian forgers prefer roubles to dollars, officials say
Channel One TV, Moscow
7 Jun 05
[Presenter] The number of crimes related to production of counterfeit
money has doubled in Russia. These data were made public by Interior
Ministry officials today. Interestingly, lately criminals have been
forging mostly roubles rather than dollars. Vyacheslav Guz has further
details.
[Correspondent] This police footage shows officers from the Stavropol
Territory directorate for combating economic crime detaining a citizen
of Azerbaijan who was trying to sell 10 counterfeit 100-dollar
banknotes.
Another operation was carried out in Samara. The local police were
approached by dozens of people who had replied to ads in newspapers
offering to buy mobile phones. They were paid in counterfeit
dollars. The police managed to find the printing press: it was traced
to Dagestan. Five residents of the republic had printed 400,000
dollars on a printing press made in South Korea. In addition to money,
arms and explosives were seized from them.
[Yuriy Samofalov, acting deputy head of the Russian Interior
Ministry’s economic security department] Several of the detained
individuals were previously on police record in connection with
investigation into various acts of terrorism. A criminal investigation
has begun. The forgers have been arrested.
[Correspondent] The Interior Ministry says that over the last five
years the number of crimes linked to banknote forgery has doubled. If
previously forgers concentrated largely on dollars, today the larger
part of counterfeit money is roubles. The most popular notes are the
R100, R500 and R1,000 ones.
[Sergey Skvortsov, head of section in the Russian Interior Ministry’s
economic security department] Citizens of Armenia specialize in
Russian roubles. Such is the statistics. I am not trying to say that
all of them make [Russian roubles], but statistics show that citizens
of Armenia are very [changes tack] Maybe they feel a special fondness
to this topic: R500 and R1,000 banknotes.
[Correspondent] A young man of 18 to 20 years of age; mainly a school,
polytechnic or even a university student – this is what an average
forger looks like, as statistics suggest.
The quality of counterfeit money has significantly improved in recent
years. That is why in order not to be fooled, one has to pay attention
to everything in a banknote: the paper, colour reproduction,
watermarks, embedded fibres. In a US dollar a lot can be drawn from
the president’s face.
[Vladimir Kuznetsov, deputy head of section in the Russian Interior
Ministry’s expert and criminology centre] Here, an individual’s
controls work on an almost physiological level. People are used to,
say, seeing the same face with the same expression on it. It is like
when you come home from work and looking at your family’s faces you
can immediately tell if anything happened to then, who got a bad mark
at school and so on.
[Correspondent] Some R20m, 5m dollars and 700,000 euros were removed
from circulation by officers of the economic security department last
year alone. Experts say that given the size of our country, these
figures are not too bad.
There is only one piece of advice for those who don’t want to be
fooled: be attentive. Incidentally, the larger part of counterfeit
money is detected without the use of any special equipment or
expensive devices but simply by touch – by members of the general
public.
[Video shows the officials speaking at a news conference; police
footage of seized counterfeit money, still pictures of a seized
printing press, arms; c/r 0901-1105]

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
06/07/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) ARF Sponsors Talks on Benefits and Disadvantages of Dual Citizenship 2) Armenia at NATO Gintarine Viltis 2005 3) Oskanian Visit with Minsk Co-chair, Travels to Washington 4) Karekin II Blesses Mother Cathedral Foundation Stone 5) System Of A Down US Tour 1) ARF Sponsors Talks on Benefits and Disadvantages of Dual Citizenship YEREVAN (Armenpress)--The chairman of Armenia's parliament committee on legal issues, Rafik Petrosian, endorsed on Monday a proposed constitutional amendment that would rid the ban on dual citizenship. That amendment will be put to a nationwide referendum later this year. Speaking at a roundtable organized by the Revolutionary Federation (ARF), to review the benefits and disadvantages of the amendment, Petrosian pointed to the Armenian diaspora's economic potential, and its capacity to advance Armenia's economy. Supporters of dual citizenship argue its introduction would enable the Armenian diaspora to render assistance more effectively, increase foreign investment in the country, and bring expatriate Armenians psychologically closer to their historical homeland. According to Petrosian, the law on dual citizenship should not allow diaspora Armenians to either vote in elections or be able to run for office in Armenia. ARF's Armen Rustamian argued against that proposal. Opponents of the amendment say it is fraught with unforeseen consequences and could surrender sovereignty to people in other countries. They also fear that the Armenian government could be influenced by outside forces if dual citizens are granted the right to vote and are allowed to run for office. Dual citizenship is only possible when bilateral agreements are struck other countries allowing their citizens to be dual nationals. Ruben Kirakosian, a political analyst from Moscow, nevertheless, urged Armenians to review the political benefits before considering the amendment. 2) Armenia at NATO Gintarine Viltis 2005 (PanArmenian.net)--Armenian servicemen are among the over 2,000 servicemen from 12 NATO countries who have gathered in Lithuania to participate in the NATO Gintarine Viltis 2005 exercises. The goal of the exercises is to develop cooperation between NATO countries and servicemen taking part in the Partnership for Peace program. The program seeks to also enhance the overall command of multinational forces during NATO peacekeeping operations. Servicemen from Azerbaijan, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and UK are represented at the exercises that will last until June 18. Armenia and Russia are participating as observers. From June 19-30, an Armenian peacekeeping battalion and four officers will be participating in the Cooperative Best Effort 2005 NATO exercise in Lviv, Ukraine. 3) Oskanian Visit with Minsk Co-chair, Travels to Washington YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian is scheduled to leave for Vienna Wednesday morning to meet with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs who are seeking to negotiate a settlement on Mountainous Karabagh conflict. Little information is available on the planned visit, except that Oskanian, after meeting with the co-chairmen in Vienna, will be in Washington, DC until June 10. Although Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will be in the US at the same time, it is not known whether Oskanian will meet with either. 4) Karekin II Blesses Mother Cathedral Foundation Stone BURBANK--On June 4, His Holiness Karekin II led a procession of high-ranking clergy, benefactors, godfathers, Diocesan clergy and deacons, in a groundbreaking ceremony blessing the foundation stones of the new Mother Cathedral in Burbank, California. The Catholicos congratulated Primate His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian and the faithful on the construction of the Mother Cathedral. On behalf of the Western Diocese, the Primate conveyed gratitude to the benefactors and godfathers for their generosity that made the construction of the Mother Cathedral a reality. The Primate invited the Catholicos to address the crowd, at which time doves were released as a symbol of peace. 5) System Of A Down US Tour (Ultimate-Guitar.Com)--Described by the media as `the most wonderfully bombastic band in modern rock,' `the most wholly unique band making music today,' and `capable of single-handedly carrying rock into a new era,' System Of A Down will kick off its first major North American tour in three years on August 4, headlining the Long Beach Arena just outside of Los Angeles. The tour, which features The Mars Volta as special guests and Bad Acid Trip as the tour's first leg openers, will see System Of A Down headlining arenas in some forty cities over a ten-week period. Tickets for the first five cities on the tour--Long Beach, San Diego, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas--will go on sale this weekend and will be priced from $32.50 to $45.00. System Of A Down's site will host a ticket presale beginning this Wednesday, June 8 at 10:00AM PDT running through 10:00PM PDT on Thursday, June 9. Log onto the site the special password and complete details. General ticket on-sales will begin this weekend for these initial five dates at the band's website, at all Ticketmaster outlets including ticketmaster.com, and at the venues' box office. The tour is in support of System Of A Down's brand-new album, `Mezmerize,' which was released May 17 and debuted in the number one slot on the Billboard/SoundScan charts. `Mezmerize' also experienced worldwide first-week success having soared to the top of album charts in more than a dozen countries--worldwide sales for `Mezmerize' in its first week topped 800,000 copies. `Mezmerize' is the first disc in a two-disc set, with disc two, `Hypnotize,' set for a late fall release. `Mezmerize/Hypnotize' was produced by Rick Rubin and System's main songwriter/guitarist Daron Malakian. Since its self-titled debut in 1998, System Of A Down--Daron Malakian (guitars, vocals), Serj Tankian (vocals), Shavo Odadjian (bass), John Dolmayan (drums)--has sold more than 10-million records world wide, and risen to the level of an arena headliner while maintaining its musical integrity, its core fan base, and its position as one of the most unique bands in rock. With the unexpected commercial radio success of `Chop Suey!,' `Toxicity,' and the Number One `Aerials,' the three Top 10 radio tracks from 2001's multi-platinum album `Toxicity,' System blew the definition of mainstream rock wide open. System Of A Down's music is impossible to pigeonhole, as it runs the gamut from Metallica to Frank Zappa to Gilbert and Sullivan to Armenian folk tunes. Lyrically, System is highly opinionated about numerous topics including war, religion, politics, Hollywood, love, genocide, drugs, sex, injustice, and just having a good time. System Of A Down is currently on a 23-date tour of Europe comprised of appearances at major rock festivals as well as handful of headlining dates including a three-night stand at London's Brixton Academy. This past April, the band took to the road on a nine-city `guerrilla tour,' headlining small venues in major US markets with the shows being announced only a day or two ahead of time. Of the Washington, DC show, the Washington Post wrote that System `delivered a performance as pummeling and cathartic as rock gets.' Initial confirmed dates for System of a Down's North American tour are as follows: 08/04--Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA, On-sale is 12 noon, Saturday, June 11 08/06--TBA, San Diego, CA, On-sale is 3:00 PM, Friday, June 10 08/11--American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX, On-sale is 12 noon Saturday, June 11 08/12--SBC Arena, San Antonio, TX, On-sale is 10:00 AM, Saturday, June 11 08/13--Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX, On-sale is 10:00 AM, Saturday, June 11 More dates to be announced shortly. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

RUSSIA TO REMOVE SOME 2,500 UNITS OF MILITARY HARDWARE FROM SOUTH
CAUCASUS IN 2005-2008
YEREVAN, JUNE 7. ARMINFO. Russia will remove some 2,500 units of
military hardware (tanks, armoured troop carriers, guns) from the
South Caucasus in 2005-2008, Russian DM Sergey Ivanov said during the
Monday opening of the St.Petersburg World Congress of Military
Medicine.
The equipment together with 80,000 tons of ammunition and other
materiel will be carried by sea from Batumi (Georgia). Some 2,500
Russian soldiers, officers and their relatives will leave the region
during the period.
Ivanov noted that the redeployment of Russian military equipment to
Armenia complies with the CAFE Treaty especially as it will be taken
to a Russian base rather than given to Armenia.

ARMENIA’S HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTOR NEEDS PROTECTION HERSELF: NEW TIMES
PARTY
YEREVAN, JUNE 7. ARMINFO. The New Times party condemns any
encroachments on the ombudsman institution – a visit card of any
democratic state.
The party expresses its solidarity with Armenia’s Ombudsman Larisa
Alaverdyan who has been consistently executing her duties in the last
year. However in Armenia any independent initiative is presently
persecuted in by the government and Alaverdyan and her initiatives are
no exception. The authorities are presently trying to legislatively
restrict Alaverdyan in her already restricted powers. It is
ridiculous but Armenia’s human rights protector appears to need
protection herself, says the party.