Month: October 2006

YEREVAN BRANDY COMPANY INCREASES GRAPES PURCHASE BY 21.7% IN 2006

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 23 2006

Yerevan Brandy Company (YBC) has increased grapes purchase volume
by 21.7% in 2006 to 28,000 tons as against 23,000 tons in 2005,
YBC Director General Herve Caroff says in an interview with ArmInfo.

He says, in addition, YBC purchased materials equivalent to 2,000
tons of grapes in Nagorny Karabakh Republic. This year, the purchases
in Ararat region were by 500 tons less than envisaged. The harvest
ripened earlier than usually and the company was late for 2-3 days to
open its purchase point in the region, the director general explains.

However, this shortage was successfully compensated in Tavush region,
where about 3,000 tons of grapes were gathered. In the north of Armenia
another sort of grapes with low sugar and high acidity content are
grown. Due to this, another quality of spirit is made, which is notable
for its special taste. We’ll think over increasing the reserves of
these spirits, he says. If the sugar content in grapes grown in Ararat
is some 20%, in Tavush this figure ranges between 16-17%. Herve Caroff
says grapes purchases in 2006 amounted to $10 million as against last
year’s $8.5 million. At the same time, the purchase prices for Armenian
farmers were left at last year’s level – 130 AMD per kg in Ararat, 123
AMD per kg in Tavush. In addition, the farmers the company has dealt
with for long years received bonuses (additional 15 AMD per kg for
last year’s purchases). The director general thinks it is a good price
given the appreciation of the Armenian dram within the year. However,
the company has suffered losses as its incomes and expenses are in
terms of U.S. dollar. H. Caroff says the company is ready to further
suffer losses without reducing the payments to farmers.

In addition, the company invested about 1 million EUR in the technical
modernization of the purchase points in Aygevan and partially in
Armavir. Due to these investments, the company purchased by 4.5
thousand tons of grapes more than in 2005. The novelty are electronic
scales that weight grapes more precisely, which is, undoubtedly,
within the interest of farmers. The company also took other measures
that allowed it to purchase up to 1,000 ton of grapes in one purchase
point instead of the 300-500 tons two years ago. Due to it, there
were no lines in front of the purchase points.

Herve Caroff says the purchases were increased to secure further growth
of brandy sales volumes in the long-term outlook in such traditional
markets as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Baltic states. The
company tries to boost sales in the USA, England, to enter the Asian
market, particularly, China. He assures that the spirit reserves of
YBC are replenished. The situation was difficult only in 2002-2004
when there was grapes deficit due to the poor harvest. However,
the situation has radically changed during the recent years and the
company controls over the sales volumes comparing them with spirit
reserves. The brandy to be made of the grapes we purchase now will
be sold only 5 and even 20 years ago, Herve Caroff says.

YEREVAN BRANDY COMPANY CONSIDERS POSSIBILITY OF RESUMING PRODUCTION OF
"OLD YEREVAN" WINE

Yerevan Brandy Company (YBC) is considering a possibility of resuming
the production of "Old Yerevan" wine.

In an interview with ArmInfo, YBC Director General Herve Caroff
says talks are underway with the YBC shareholder, French Pernod
Ricard, for this purpose. The idea of resuming the production of
"Old Yerevan" wine belongs to Armenian President Robert Kocharyan who
visited the company two weeks ago together with Romanian President
Traian Basescu. H. Caroff says the president stressed the importance
of YBC’s work with Armenian winegrowers, which enhances the given
economy branch. He says Armenian wines are highly in demand in the
Russian market now due to ousting of Georgian wines from the Russian
market. However, the problem rests upon the high quality grapes
necessary for production of red wine. He believes it necessary
adopting the standards of the Armenian wine like it was done in
the case of brandy in 1999 on the initiative of YBC. A wine can be
called Armenian if it is produced from the grapes grown in Armenian,
while many wineries in the country import wine materials from other
states and pass the wines made of these materials for Armenian,
H. Caroff says.

YEREVAN BRANDY COMPANY TO CELEBRATE ITS 120TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2007

In 2007 Yerevan Brandy Company will officially celebrate its 120th
anniversary, says Herve Caroff, YBC Director General, in an interview
with ArmInfo.

He says that next year the company intends to issue a book telling
about the history of the Armenian brandy production launched in 1887.

Throughout the year 2007, YBC intends to make surprises for
consumers. The production of 50% strong 10 year-old ultra premium
brandy "Dvin" will be timed to the 120th anniversary of the company.

It is a good chance to show the old product in a new packaging, he
says. The packaging is currently prepared. It will be an exclusive
and very expensive brandy, Herve Caroff says.

AZERI PRESIDENT AGAIN RELIES ON MILITARY BUDGET IN SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONFLICT

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 23 2006

Next year the military budget of Azerbaijan will exceed 1 billion
dollars, said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at a meeting of the
Cabinet of Ministers, Azertag reports.

He said he was informed beforehand that the economic development of
Azerbaijan "will allow making the military budget of Azerbaijan equal
to the whole state budget of Armenia and even exceeding it." "I am
very glad that we have achieved this within such a short term, in two
and a half year. Of course, it will have an important part in the just
resolution of the Armeniabn-Azerbaijani Nagorny Karabakh conflict,"
the president said.

KAPAN DEPOSITS OF "DINO GOLD MINING" STILL POLLUTE ENVIRONMENT OF REGION

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 23 2006

"Dino Gold Mining" company engaged in exploitation of Kapan
copper-and-sulfur deposit and Shahumyan gold-and-polymetallic
deposit in Armenia plans to raise the capacities of ore processing
to 1 million tons annually instead of the present 300,000 tons, Vahe
Vartanyan, Head of "Dino Gold Mining" Nature Protection Department,
told journalists, the participants of a media-tour organized by
"Ecolur" public organization.

He said to raise the capacities causing minimal pollution to the
environment, the company has started construction and restoration of
Geghanush tailing dump. The works are to be completed by the beginning
of 2007. Under the tailing dump exploitation project prepared by
the National Research Institute of Mining Metallurgy, the wastes
of flotation plants of the company will be subjected to mechanical
cleaning. Only after this, the purified water will be poured into the
River of Geghanush. Earlier, the company leadership was repeatedly
brought to administrative responsibility for illegal throw of chemical
wastes into the nearby small rivers. Thus, the company had to pay a
10 million AMD fine to the state budget and another 1 million AMD to
the budget of the village of Syunik for environment pollution. "Dino
Gold Mining" was allowed to use Arvanik tailing dump in the territory
of Syunik. However, the company failed to fulfill its financial
commitments to the "owner" of the tailing dump, Zangezour cooper-and-
molybdenum plant. Thus, it was no longer allowed to use the tailing
dump. Afterwards, an ecological examination in the Syunik region showed
that chemical wastes were thrown by the plants of "Dino Gold Mining."

In addition, the company recompensed the privates cultivating the lands
around the drained tailing dump Geghanush, as in case of reactivation,
the tailing dump will rise by 50 meters leaving the agricultural lands
under poisonous slush. Despite the fact that the company recompensed
the farmers for the damage and pledged to carry out re-cultivation
works in future, Grigor Safaryan, Head of the rural community
of Gomaran and Geghanush, told journalists that the villagers were
against the reactivation of the tailing dump. "We do not need these
300-400,000 drams if we are deprived of our pastures and agricultural
lands," Safaryan said. He added that the villagers still feel the
negative impact of the Soviet mining metallurgy on their health.

To recap, a Canadian company Dundee Precious Metals acquired the 80
pct stake of "Dino Gold Mining" for $22 million early in 2006. The
investment program of the new shareholder provides for observation
of ecological norms and rules out development of open-pits by banned
methods, V. Vardanyan said.

The media-tour was organized with support of the WWF and the Critical
Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).

PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR DEFENSE OF HUMAN DIGNITY AND SECURITY IS SURE THAT
IN THE QUESTION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE "ALL SHOULD BE HONEST AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE PAST"

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 23 2006

In the question of Armenian Genocide of Ottoman Empire in 1915
"all should be honest and acknowledge the Past", General Valentin
Varennikov, President of the International League for the Defense of
Human Dignity and Security, told ArmInfo, and this is the position
of International League

He pointed out that the League has a status of international League.

Being a Non-Governmental organization it helps much in different
tickling questions and Armenian Genocide is one of them.

Dr. Takasi Gaeno, President of National League of Japan, also
participated in the today’s press conference. He said that in March
2006 a prominent Japanese newspaper ‘Asakhi’ organized a discussion
of Armenian Genocide and even made Genocide the lead of the day.

In his turn, R. G. Melik-Ogadjanyan, President of Armenian League,
said that his colleagues were in Japan, met with leading officials
and are working to attain the acknowledgement of Armenian Genocide
by the Japanese Parliament.

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT RATIFIES UN CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 23 2006

Today the Armenian Parliament ratified the UN Convention Against
Corruption.

Armenian Justice Minister David Haroutyunyan says that the convention
was adopted in New York Oct 31 2003. 140 countries have already joined
the document.

The convention provides for effective measures against corruption,
such as criminal prosecution, freezing of bank accounts, declaration of
incomes and property by officials, transparency of state purchases,
prevention of money laundering, embezzlement, bribery and other
financial misdeeds.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SHOULD BE SETTLED WITH DUE REGARD FOR INTERESTS OF PEOPLE LIVING IN CONFLICT ZONE: RUSSIAN GENERAL

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 23 2006

Today, General Valentin Varennikov, Chairman of the International
League for the Defense of Human Dignity and Security, told an ArmInfo
correspondent that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be settled with
due regard for the interests of people living in the conflict zone.

Varennikov said that he had visited the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
zone for many times and knows the problem from within. He said
that the conflict should be settled exclusively in a political way,
and a military solution of the problem is not acceptable. He also
noted that several months ago, the Ambassador at large of the Azeri
President applied to him with the request of establishing an Azeri
National League and asked him to do his best to return the relations
between the Armenian and Azeri nations to the Soviet level.

Varennikov feels flattered for such confidence and is willing to do
all he can.

To note, born in 1923, Valentin Varennikov, a famous Soviet general,
leads the Association of Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia. He has
become famous not only for his feats of arms, but also for the fact
that being arrested for participation in the Government Committee of
Emergency State in 1991, he was the only one to reject the amnesty
in 1994. He demanded a trial and was acquitted.

ROBERT GUEDIGUIAN’S "ARMENIA" WINS AWARD AT ROME’S FIRST FILM FESTIVAL

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 23 2006

Robert Guediguian’s "Armenia" has got an award at Rome’s First Film
Festival, reports AP.

Guediguian’s wife Ariane Ascaride of France won the best actress
award for playing Anna in "Armenia," a movie documenting a young
woman’s journey of self-discovery as she searches for her father in
her native country.

Playing the Victim," a Russian dark comedy that is a modern-day
adaptation of Shakespeare’s "Hamlet," won the best film award.

The movie, directed by Kirill Serebrennikov, who is also an acclaimed
theater director, was judged the best of 16 candidates by the jury at
the Italian capital’s inaugural international festival, which began
on Oct. 13.

"Playing the Victim" won out over films including Davide Ferrario’s
"Primo Levi’s Journey," a reconstruction of the Jewish author’s
10-month journey home following his release from Auschwitz in 1945,
and "Nightmare Detective," a Japanese film by director Tsukamoto
Shinya about an investigation into two mysterious suicides.

The festival’s special jury prize was awarded to "This is England,"
Shane Meadows’ movie about a young boy who joins a gang of skinheads
led by a racist, convicted criminal.

Colangeli won the best actor award for his interpretation in Alessandro
Angelini’s "L’aria salata" of a convict seeking to rebuild his
relationship with his estranged son.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 9, No. 39, 23 October 2006

A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL’s Newsline Team

******************************************** ****************
HEADLINES:
* EXECUTIVE BRANCH SEEKS TO EXTEND CONTROL AS LOCAL ELECTIONS NEAR
* EARLY DISQUALIFICATIONS FROM ASSEMBLY OF EXPERTS RACE
* CANDIDATES REGISTER FOR PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTIONS
* TEHRAN GETS NEW POLICE CHIEF
* LEGISLATURE CONSIDERS CLOTHING
* HEALTH MINISTER SAYS TENS OF THOUSANDS MIGHT BE HIV-INFECTED
* NEW REFORMIST DAILY PUBLISHED…
* …AND SUSPENDED AFTER GOVERNMENT WARNING
* STUDENTS PROTEST RESTRICTIONS
* RUNAWAY GIRLS A GROWING PROBLEM
* IRAN TOPS AGENDA AT ISRAEL-RUSSIA SUMMIT
* TEHRAN PREDICTS IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS
* ‘JERUSALEM DAY’ COMMEMORATED IN IRAN
* IRAN INVESTS HEAVILY IN LEBANESE RECONSTRUCTION
* BAKU POLICE DISPERSE ANTI-IRANIAN DEMONSTRATION
* NORWEGIAN COMPANY AGREES TO PAY FINE FOR BRIBING IRANIAN
****************************************** ******************

EXECUTIVE BRANCH SEEKS TO EXTEND CONTROL AS LOCAL ELECTIONS NEAR.
Iranian voters were enthusiastic about the country’s first
local-council elections almost eight years ago, but lower voter
turnout in 2003 suggested waning interest. Disappointment arguably
has stemmed from unmet expectations as limited powers and access to
resources hampered the councils’ work.
Recent steps by Iran’s executive branch to control who
runs for the councils — combined with previous efforts to further
curb their powers — suggest that voter participation might continue
to fall despite their political significance.
Registration for prospective candidates for December’s
third round of council elections began on October 16 and will
continue until October 22.
The races are not expected to attract the prominent names
associated with national races — such as the legislature or the
Assembly of Experts. Nevertheless, some of those who have registered
have achieved a modicum of recognition, including Mujtaba Alai,
deputy head of the presidential protocol office, and Tehran police
chief Morteza Talai, reported by Baztab on October 17 and the Iranian
Students News Agency (ISNA) on October 9.
The Interior Ministry conducts all the country’s
elections and, in most cases, it is the 12-member Guardians Council
that vets prospective candidates and has supervisory powers. But it
is the legislature that has supervisory and vetting powers in the
municipal-council elections. This has previously given candidates who
might be rejected on factional grounds a much better chance of
qualifying.
It became increasingly clear by late September, when the
Central Committee for Monitoring Council Elections began its
activities, that this firewall was crumbling. The central committee
comprised five fundamentalist legislators: Tehran’s Hussein
Fadai, Islamabad-i Gharb’s Heshmatollah Falahat-Pisheh,
Malekan’s Salman Khodadadi, Karaj’s Rashid Jalali-Jafari, and
Kerman’s Mohammad Ali Movahedi. It selected 90 people from 27
provinces to monitor the elections, and nearly all of them were
fundamentalists.
The committee claimed that it consulted with parliamentarians
about their constituencies. But reformists said the choices were made
when the legislature was in recess, and they were ignored. One
lawmaker, Mohammad Reza Tabesh of Yazd Province, said he is the only
legislator from his province who is not on the provincial monitoring
committee, "Etemad-i Melli" reported on September 24.
Only three of the 90 were from the pro-reform faction. They
withdrew from the provincial monitoring committee a few days later,
objecting to what they feared would be a biased screening of
prospective candidates, "Etemad-i Melli" reported on September 26.

Limiting Local Autonomy

The municipal councils already have limited powers and
responsibilities. They deal with issues like construction permits,
garbage collection, and roadwork. The central government is
responsible for everything else — such as education, electricity,
and the provision of water.
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s administration tried to
reduce the powers even more through a new law on city and village
councils. Under the amended law, the councils would be subordinate to
the Interior Ministry and would require its approval before
performing many of their functions.
Councils also currently select mayors. But under the proposed
law, the Interior Ministry would essentially perform that function.
A member of the Tehran council, Hassan Bayadi, warned that
the objective of the new law is to eliminate the councils completely,
"Etemad" reported on May 23. Another legislator, Kazem Jalali, said
the provisions of the law would run counter to the constitution,
"Hambastegi" reported on June 1.
With roughly two months to go before the elections, it
appears that the law has been allowed to fade into the background.

Co-opting Provincial Institutions

President Ahmadinejad is doing other things that could weaken
existing provincial government institutions and create new ones that
are more closely connected to the executive branch. It is the
presidential administration — through the Interior Ministry — that
appoints provincial governors-general. On October 17, Ahmadinejad
issued a directive that linked every provincial office of the
Management and Planning Organization with the provincial
governor-general. The head of the Management and Planning
Organization, Farhad Rahbar, has objected to this development, and
the legislature declared its intention to review the plan for any
illegalities. If this measure is implemented, it will strengthen the
Interior Ministry’s hold over provincial affairs.
Ahmadinejad’s frequent trips to the provinces also serve
to undermine municipal councils and other local institutions. As his
staff collects citizens’ written complaints and he deals with
their problems on a case-by-case basis, the president shows that he
can provide immediate relief and is a man of action. Already weakened
through legislation and without the financial resources of the
executive branch, the councils are stuck with the difficult task of
developing macro-policies that help entire communities, not just one
citizen.
A spokesman for the Executives of Construction Party, Hussein
Marashi, asked whether "the problems of our country [will] be solved
by turning the national government into a mobile provincial planning
council." He called that the administration’s biggest
achievement. But Marashi added that Iran must be the only place in
the world where the central government takes on responsibilities that
normally fall under the purview of the provinces, "Etemad-i Melli"
reported on September 16.

Whence And Whither?

The concept of councils at the local level was enshrined in
the Iranian Constitution of 1979. But the first council elections did
not take place until 20 years later. Then-President Mohammad
Khatami’s administration sought to decentralize the state
apparatus and increase public participation in political affairs and,
in general, it emphasized the significance of the councils.
Scholar Kian Tajbakhsh asserted at the August 2006 Conference
on Iranian Studies in London that the reformists viewed the councils
as civil-society organizations. But he noted that reformists did not
clarify their agenda, address legal ambiguities, distinguish
councils’ responsibilities, or even place local institutions in
the broader context of an authoritarian state. Tajbakhsh said
"energy" for the local councils was closely connected with the wider,
national reform movement. When that movement faded, he argued, so did
local councils’ momentum.
Public disillusionment with the councils appears to have led
to a sharp fall in voter turnout in 2003. The decline was most acute
in major cities like Isfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz, and Tehran — where
turnout was between 12 percent and 20 percent. At the same time,
reformists fared poorly in the big cities, although turnout in other
parts of the country was around 50 percent.
It would be reasonable to expect a continuing decline in
official turnout figures if people reacted unfavorably to
government-imposed restrictions. But three factors suggest it is too
early to make such a prediction. First, the government controls the
election process entirely, so outside observers will find it
difficult to detect fraud. Indeed, a number of prominent Iranians
remarked on the prevalence of fraud in the 2005 presidential
election.
Second, the holding of simultaneous elections — for the
councils, the Assembly of Experts, and four parliamentary seats — is
likely to increase overall turnout.
Finally, the government is basing its population estimates on
a 1996 census. The general manager of the Interior Ministry’s
elections office, Ali Asqar Karandish, said that population changes
in big cities are far from clear, "Farhang-i Ashti" reported on
September 21.
Regardless of the final outcome, the Ahmadinejad
administration is likely to continue its effort to extend and
strengthen its control throughout the country. It has met some
resistance from the legislature — even from conservative
parliamentarians — but it has up to seven more years to keep trying.
(Bill Samii)

EARLY DISQUALIFICATIONS FROM ASSEMBLY OF EXPERTS RACE. Guardians
Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodai announced on October 14 that
three people signed up twice as candidates for the Assembly of
Experts elections in mid-December, so the actual number of
prospective candidates is 492, state television reported. An initial
examination of credentials suggests that 60 people are in no way
educationally or professionally qualified to be candidates, Kadkhodai
added.
Individuals whose religious learning is questioned will have
the opportunity to take a written exam on October 27, and those who
pass the test will be invited for interviews, he said. Kadkhodai
explained that one need not be a cleric to stand in the election, as
long as the candidate attains the desired level of ijtihad (the
ability to interpret Islamic law).
Turning to the race itself, Kadkhodai said that campaigning
can begin once the names of candidates are published, and candidates
who are Friday prayer leaders cannot lead official congregations in
the two weeks immediately prior to the election date of December 15.
(Bill Samii)

CANDIDATES REGISTER FOR PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTIONS. When registration
closed on October 13, 246 people had signed up as candidates in four
parliamentary by-elections in Iran slated for December 15, the
Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported on October 15. The
by-elections will be held for two seats in Tehran, one in the
southwestern city of Ahvaz, and one in the southeastern city of Bam.
(Bill Samii)

TEHRAN GETS NEW POLICE CHIEF. Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Radan has
been selected as the new police chief in Tehran, the Islamic Republic
News Agency (IRNA) reported on October 19, citing the daily "Seda-yi
Edalat." Radan served previously as a police chief in Khorasan Razavi
Province.
Radan succeeds Morteza Talai, who resigned recently. There
are conflicting reports about the resignation — either he did so to
run as a candidate for upcoming local council elections or to protest
the violent arrest of a Tehran cleric and his supporters,
RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reported on October 16 (see "RFE/RL Iran
Report," October 16, 2006).
Fars news agency reported on October 9 that Talai resigned,
as required by the law, to become a candidate for municipal elections
in December. However, a letter cited by Radio Farda from a deputy
head of the Intelligence Ministry to the head of clerical affairs at
the office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that was
reportedly published on October 15, states that Talai had threatened
to resign if the state acted against Ayatollah Hussein
Kazemeyni-Borujerdi, who differs with the regime over religious
affairs.
Separately, one of Kazemeyni-Borujerdi’s followers, who
was arrested and then released on October 10, told Radio Farda on
October 16 that "we have no accurate reports of Mr. Borujerdi’s
situation," though authorities have interrogated his supporters and
told them to shun the cleric. Muhaddaseh Saberi told Radio Farda that
"in the interrogations they presented Mr. Borujerdi as a corrupt
individual." (Bill Samii, Vahid Sepehri)

LEGISLATURE CONSIDERS CLOTHING. The Iranian legislature has begun
serious debate over a number of issues related to clothing, "Etemad"
reported on October 12. The topics range from a national dress code
to mandatory uniforms in the workplace to the protection of the
domestic clothing industry. "The parliament’s view is that
fashion and clothing graduates and manufacturers and the private
sector should embark on the design and production of varied clothes
themselves with support from the government in the form of
subsidies," legislator Fatemeh Alia told "Etemad. This should be
based on the country’s Islamic and ethnic identity, she added.
Alia said the presence of ethnic groups will contribute to diversity
and people can choose for themselves. Laleh Eftekhari, a
representative from Tehran, also stressed that homogeneity is not
being considered.
The legislature passed two articles of a bill relating to
fashion and clothing on October 10, "Jomhuri-yi Islami" reported the
next day. One article is aimed at discouraging people from adopting
foreign fashions that are incompatible with Iran’s national and
Islamic culture and encouraging them to buy locally produced clothes
that are based on domestic patterns. Various ministries, state radio
and television, and designers and manufacturers’ guilds will form
a committee to consider ways to accomplish that task. (Bill Samii)

HEALTH MINISTER SAYS TENS OF THOUSANDS MIGHT BE HIV-INFECTED. Kamran
Baqeri-Lankarani said in Tehran on October 15 that his ministry has
identified more than 13,000 Iranians as infected with HIV, the virus
that causes AIDS, but that the real figure for infections is likely
between 60,000-70,000 "in the worst-case scenario," IRNA reported. He
said AIDS is still a disease restricted to specific groups in the
country, but "if we do not act against it with care, it could become
a generalized disease." He said that even the highest estimate for
infections "is not so [high] compared to many neighboring countries."
He added that more state money is needed for HIV and flu-related
treatments in the country, amid the rising price of some
pharmaceutical products. (Vahid Sepehri)

NEW REFORMIST DAILY PUBLISHED… A new daily, "Ruzegar" (Times), was
published on October 16 and is seen as an unofficial successor to the
banned reformist daily "Sharq," which was closed on September 11,
Reuters and AFP reported. The daily’s managing editor is Farzaneh
Kharqani, and members of the former "Sharq" staff are working on the
new daily, although they are "none of the well-known faces," Reuters
reported, citing Mohammad Atrianfar, a former member of the "Sharq"
policymaking board.
Separately, ILNA reported on October 16 that three
journalists were arrested "last week" at the offices of their
Kurdish-language weekly, "Rujheh Halat." It reported that agents with
a court order arrested Farhad Aminpur, Reza Alipur, and Saman
Suleimani, without specifying why they were arrested or where the
publication is based.
On October 17, Justice Minister Jamal Karimi-Rad assured ISNA
that the government is not trying to curb "critical" media but wants
them to observe the government’s "conduct" and "generosity" and
"return to their true position and mission." He said unnamed domestic
media have been "unkind" to the Ahmadinejad government, and "some of
the opinions of government critics are baseless." (Vahid Sepehri)

….AND SUSPENDED AFTER GOVERNMENT WARNING. A new daily newspaper in
Iran has suspended its publication just three days into its print run
after the Islamic Culture and Guidance Ministry told it that it could
not cover political news. Many of the "Ruzgar" (Times) employees were
former contributors to a leading reformist daily, "Sharq," that
authorities shut down in September.
Officials’ quick intervention has fueled suspicion that
they simply won’t tolerate a moderate voice on Iranian
newsstands.
The ministry’s warning came in a letter that said the
"Ruzgar" license does not include political coverage and thus
prohibits it from publishing political news.
In the face of that threat, its managers decided to suspend
publication after just three issues.
Iran’s ILNA news agency excerpted the ministry’s
letter on October 18 and reported that "Ruzgar" would begin appearing
without political coverage. But ILNA soon removed the story from its
website and said it should not be used.
A "Ruzgar" editor, Abdolreza Tajik, told AFP that the
decision to suspend publication was made after warnings to avoid
politics and to change the newspaper’s format.
"Ruzgar" politics staffer Mohammad Atrianfar accused the
Culture Ministry of "tightening the noose [on] reformists." He said
that at least two other conservative papers with similar licenses,
"Hamshahri" and "Jam-i Jam," cover political events.Atrianfar headed
the policymaking committee of the now-defunct reformist daily
"Sharq," and he noted that authorities still have not announced legal
reasons for that newspaper’s closure.

Beleaguered Existence

The "Ruzgar" launch had been characterized as the entry of a
moderate daily to a market that has witnessed many closures. More
than 100 reformist and moderate publications have been shut down by
Iranian authorities in recent years.
Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, a prominent journalist and former
editor of four banned dailies, is also a spokesman for the Society to
Defend Press Freedom. He tells RFE/RL that the targeting of "Ruzgar"
demonstrates that powerful conservatives will not tolerate criticism
or dissent.
"Our friends should have come to the conclusion by now that
[conservatives] are opposed to the intellectual current of
‘Sharq’ and ‘Ruzgar’ and not to their mastheads.
Conservatives are only satisfied with a single-voice media that is
led by the establishment, so they will fight any effort to bring
different voices to the media. One example is the fact that they
couldn’t even tolerate the very moderate publications
‘Sharq’ and ‘Ruzgar.’"
"Ruzgar" was launched as a 24-page color daily.
Representatives had insisted it was not meant to be a substitute for
"Sharq." But just weeks before its launch, a conservative daily
reported that "Sharq" was returning to publication under the new
title "Ruzgar."

Selective Enforcement

A moderate news website, roozna.ir, has cast doubt on the
ministry’s claim, saying Iran’s press law allows newspapers
with cultural and social content to publish two pages of political
news. Roozna.ir adds that "Ruzgar" appears to have been deprived of
that right.
Reza Moini is an Iran specialist with French media watchdog
Reporters Without Borders (RSF). He describes the Culture
Ministry’s order against "Ruzgar" as an excuse to prevent
journalists from doing their work, and says it comes amid increasing
pressure on reporters.
"[On October 18] we said in a statement about three other
publications whose journalists have been harassed that the Islamic
republic uses all the possibilities and tools at its disposal to
prevent publications and journalists from expressing themselves
freely," Moini says. "[The "Ruzgar"] case is the same. The excuse
that the publication should not have political pages is really
laughable."
RSF notes that six journalists have been arrested in Iran in
recent weeks. It accuses Iranian authorities of shutting down media
that "do not defend the government’s vision of the Islamic
revolution" and arresting journalists "without warrants and without
reason."

Chilling Stories

Moini tells RFE/RL that state pressure on journalists is
resulting in harassment and self-censorship.
"When they arrest a journalist and then put him under
interrogation and then free him on a heavy bail — but he can be sent
back to prison at any time — how can he work?" Moini asks. "There
isn’t only self-censorship — this is imposed censorship."
Iran’s government denies that it censors the media and
says it welcomes criticism.
Officials have not yet reacted to the suspension of the
"Ruzgar" print run, and the daily’s managers have not said
whether it will return.
The European Union roundly criticized Tehran as recently as
October 5 for closing newspapers and harassing journalists. (Golnaz
Esfandiari)

STUDENTS PROTEST RESTRICTIONS. Students from Tehran’s Amir Kabir
University, formerly known as the Polytechnic, protested perceived
pressure on students and dissidents in Iran and the three-week
detention of Kayvan Ansari, a former member of the university’s
Islamic Students Association, RFE/RL’s Radio Farda and ISNA
reported on October 16 and 17. Protesters called for the release of
political and student prisoners, and the suspension of the Basij
association in the university, Radio Farda reported. Basijis are
members of a militia affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
Corps.
A student identified only as Qaragozlu told ISNA on October
16 that "they may have damaged the buildings of the Islamic
association" of students, referring to unspecified agents, "and as
they say the…association has no headquarters; but if they want to
continue like this, we shall gather in the university and stop them.
This is the Polytechnic, and we will not let them do [whatever] they
like."
Former student Ahmad Batebi has returned to prison after a
short leave, his father told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda on October 17,
adding that his son is unwell and "wasting away" in prison. Batebi
was jailed for participating in 1999 student demonstrations in
Tehran. His father said rights groups have done nothing to win his
release, and the judiciary has told the family that Batebi must
remain in prison for 15 years. "Our lives have been destroyed and my
son is wasting away…we are stuck in a place where nobody…is
accountable," he said.
Separately, a court in Zanjan, northwestern Iran, sentenced
former student Reza Abbasi to a year’s imprisonment for allegedly
insulting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Radio Farda reported
on October 17. Activist Abdullah Momeni told the broadcaster that
Abbasi has been detained since late June on a temporary arrest
warrant for taking part in demonstrations by Iranian Azeri-speakers
(see "RFE/RL Iran Report," May 29, 2006). A
Tehran court has also fined former Yazd University student
Mohammad Reza Rahimi for insulting state officials and ordered that
he be given 30 lashes for insulting a Yazd University security guard
when he was a student there, ISNA reported on October 17.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on October 19 called on the Iranian
government to immediately cease restricting student activists’
attendance at universities, hrw.org reported. In a report titled
"Denying the Right to Education," HRW noted that the government has
barred 12 students, and that another 54 were allowed to resume going
to school only after pledging not to engage in political activities.
HRW asserted that the Ministry of Intelligence and Security is behind
the campaign, and in the last year the judiciary has given more than
20 students prison sentences. Another 32 students have been suspended
by their universities, and 10 student associations have been banned
or suspended.
As the repression of student activists continues, Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with top-grade students in Tehran
on October 17. He told them that while restlessness is a part of
student life, "politicization" is "not approved" among student
formations, ISNA reported. "Politicization and political games are
not approved, but an inclination for politics and to win the power of
political understanding and analysis is a…necessity among students
and universities," he said. He urged student formations "relying on
Islam and Islamic teachings" not to "weaken" each other.
Clearly, he said, "the enemy is investing on some student
currents, and America and Israel’s espionage services are even
ready to help student formations affiliated with the masses and
left-wing currents, whose presence is now meaningless with the
collapse" of communist states. Western enemies, he said, are trying
"by all possible means and under various names like royalists and
others" to harm "genuine student currents," ISNA reported. (Vahid
Sepehri, Bill Samii)

RUNAWAY GIRLS A GROWING PROBLEM. Iranian newspapers have carried an
increasing number of reports about runaway girls over the last few
years, Radio Farda reported on October 19, and female police officers
are tasked with dealing with these girls in the environs of the
shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad. Many of the girls sleep in the open,
Radio Farda reported, and some have taken to prostitution. It was
reported that some girls as young as 9 years old have been found as
runaways. (Bill Samii)

IRAN TOPS AGENDA AT ISRAEL-RUSSIA SUMMIT. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Iran and a
variety of issues related to the Middle East on October 18,
international media reported. Olmert said that heading the agenda was
"everything connected to the Iranian problem, which bothers
everyone." He hailed Putin and recalled the promise Putin made last
year that Russia’s relations in the Middle East will no longer be
one-sided. For his part, Putin said the relations between the two
countries are based on mutual trust. He added that "in recent years,
relations between the Russian Federation and Israel have acquired an
entirely new quality…. We have fundamentally changed our attitude
to our compatriots — we think of them as our compatriots — who
moved to Israel for permanent residence from Russia and the former
republics of the Soviet Union."
Olmert’s hosts also included Defense Minister Sergei
Ivanov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said that Iran poses
no immediate threat. Israel is pushing for sanctions against Iran
over Tehran’s nuclear programs while Russia opposes the move.
Olmert argued that "if the leader of such a country as Iran openly
states that he wants to destroy our country, we have no choice but to
prepare for a response." For his part, Putin said that "the situation
requires all parties to show responsibility and restraint. Only a
just and comprehensive settlement accepted by all peoples in the
region can be reliable and long-lasting."
Foreign Minister Lavrov said in Moscow on October 18 that "it
is necessary [for the international community] to act on Iran, but
that action should be in direct proportion to what is really
happening," RIA-Novosti reported. He added that "what is really
happening is what the IAEA reports to us. And the IAEA is not
reporting to us about the presence there of a threat to peace and
security."
Elsewhere, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak told
Interfax that Russia’s position in the UN Security Council on
Iran will not be influenced by the U.S. sanctions against
Russia’s main arms exporter, Rosoboroneksport, and the aircraft
manufacturer Sukhoi. He said that "these are two separate, serious
issues. We will tackle them separately." His remarks appeared to
contradict somewhat recent statements by Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly
Churkin linking the two issues. (Patrick Moore)

TEHRAN PREDICTS IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS. Expediency Council Secretary
Mohsen Rezai said in Tehran on October 16 that he considers the
imposition of "mild" sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program
"not unlikely" in the coming weeks, ISNA reported. But he added that
China, Russia, and "even Western states" might not enforce them. He
said the permanent members of the Security Council and Germany are
agreed on "some form of mild sanctions…like those approved for
North Korea, which does not include an oil embargo or foreign
exchange revenues." Sanctions, he said, would be "symbolic" and aimed
at maintaining U.S. prestige, since Iran has effectively pushed the
United States to a "dead-end" with its resistance. "I think
[sanctions] will not be successful," Rezai said, adding that they
would likely last but a few months. "A hesitant resolution will be
issued imposing sanctions…on the one hand, and insisting on the
continuation of talks on the other," ISNA reported. He said Iran has
withstood worse sanctions and would change its trading partners.
Kamal Daneshyar, the head of the parliament’s Energy
Committee, said in the southwestern Ahvaz on October 16 that "oil
sanctions against Iran are like oil sanctions on consumer countries,"
ISNA reported. Iran would suffer, he admitted, but the sanctioning
countries "that are mostly consumer countries" would suffer "10 times
as much." He said if Iran’s 2.5 million barrels of oil per day
are taken out of the global market, "it is true that Iran no longer
has oil revenues, but the price of oil will rise to $150 a barrel."
Iran, he said, could meet its own needs "through domestic production"
and would "guide society toward self-sufficiency."
EU foreign ministers met in Luxembourg on October 17 and were
reportedly ready to back the imposition of sanctions, described by
news agencies as mild and incremental, on Iran in response to its
refusal to end sensitive nuclear-fuel-making activities, Reuters
reported. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner
was quoted as saying that Iran must see that there is a united
international response to its contested program, although a Spanish
official said sanctions will be "gradual," as Iran remains an EU oil
supplier, Reuters reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on October 16
in Washington that the UN Security Council will "begin to work this
week on an Iran sanctions resolution," AFP reported. Rice said Iran
and North Korea are two countries "that violate their pledges to
respect the [Nuclear] Nonproliferation Treaty."
EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy
Javier Solana said in Luxembourg before the October 17 meeting that
the doors to talks with Iran remain open and there is "always hope"
that negotiations might resume, AFP reported.
EU foreign ministers stated in Luxemburg on October 17 that
they feel obliged to support incremental UN sanctions on Iran for its
refusal to curb its nuclear activities in line with Western demands,
agencies reported on October 17 and 18. Iran and the EU have been
talking for months as the EU has sought to persuade Iran to abandon
nuclear fuel-making activities — which can also be used to make
nuclear bombs — in return for economic incentives. In rejecting this
deal, Iran "leaves us no choice but to take the Security Council
route," Reuters quoted French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy
as saying. He proposed "gradual, reversible measures proportionate to
Iranian actions." EU officials have said they are not ruling out the
resumption of talks.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, immediately
reacted to the move and said the EU would lose, not Iran. Larijani
said in Tehran on October 18 that a UN Security Council resolution
against Iran would radicalize the situation and jeopardize Iranian
cooperation, Reuters reported. He said the "carrot-and-stick policy
is a failed policy." He told Mehr "if they want flexibility, real and
effective flexibility will never come out of talks under pressure."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Husseini said
in Tehran on October 18 that the EU foreign ministers’ statement
announcing Europe’s decision to back sanctions is unrealistic,
and any move to undermine the "effectiveness" of "responsible bodies"
like the IAEA would hamper the resolution of the dispute, IRNA
reported. He said Iran will defend its rights using "legal and
political channels," and has no doubt it is on the "right path" and
has an "evident right to utilize nuclear energy for peaceful
purposes."
Separately, the head of the parliament’s National
Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Alaedin Borujerdi, told ISNA
on October 18 that the EU statement and Iran’s comparison with
"other countries" is "unacceptable and unjust," and shows Europe is
"submitting" to "political pressure" by the United States. He said
Iran is presently ready for more talks on its dossier, but if this is
"taken toward sanctions," inspections of Iranian installations by
IAEA inspectors "will no longer be a possibility," ISNA reported.
(Vahid Sepehri)

‘JERUSALEM DAY’ COMMEMORATED IN IRAN. People across Iran
participated in Qods (Jerusalem) Day rallies on October 20, news
agencies reported. The previous day, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad
said in the Tehran Province town of Islamshahr that "the existence of
the Quds-occupying regime" is the biggest problem facing mankind,
state television reported. "It is a bogus regime…. It is the root
of discrimination, oppression, and bullying in the world." He added
"We have said repeatedly and our nation has said repeatedly that this
regime is illegitimate in its very foundation; it is forged, it has
been imposed on nations of the region and it cannot survive." After
ranting in this vein and then flinging accusations at the United
States for its support of Israel, Ahmadinejad turned to the nuclear
issue and said Iran will not forsake its perceived rights. (Bill
Samii)

IRAN INVESTS HEAVILY IN LEBANESE RECONSTRUCTION. Hesam Khoshnevis,
who heads an Iranian delegation to Lebanon, announced in Beirut on
October 13 that Iran will build 60 schools in the southern suburbs of
Beirut and another 40 in the Bekaa Valley, IRNA reported. Those are
two areas predominantly inhabited by Shi’ite Muslims and
controlled by Hizballah. Khoshnevis added that Iran will equip the
schools. Khoshnevis went on to say that five hospitals in southern
Beirut, four in the Bekaa, and 10 more in the south are being built
by Iran. Iran is rebuilding mosques, Husseiniehs (Shi’ite
religious centers), and other religious structures in Beirut, the
Bekaa, and the south, as well as roads and bridges. The total cost,
Khoshnevis said, will be $35 million-$50 million.
In Tehran on October 13, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei discussed Lebanese affairs in his Friday Prayers sermon,
state radio reported. He said the United States suffered a defeat in
the July-August conflict between Israel and Hizballah. Khamenei said
the conflict teaches a lesson: "Nations have once again seen and
experienced that the path of victory and liberation is only in
resistance against the bullies, the aggressors and the despots."
Retaliation for the alleged defeat in this conflict will include the
creation of ethnic strife, Khamenei warned. (Bill Samii)

BAKU POLICE DISPERSE ANTI-IRANIAN DEMONSTRATION. Azerbaijani police
forcibly dispersed on October 13 some 30 demonstrators near the
Iranian Embassy in Baku, Turan reported. The demonstration was
organized to protest Iran’s "suppression of the cultural and
national rights" of ethnic Azeris and to campaign for Azeri-language
education for the Azeri minority in Iran. Police detained around 10
participants in the protest. Baku police broke up a similar
demonstration late last month in front of the Iranian embassy.
(Richard Giragosian)

NORWEGIAN COMPANY AGREES TO PAY FINE FOR BRIBING IRANIAN. The
Norwegian oil company Statoil announced on October 13 that it will
pay a $21 million fine for violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act after it bribed an Iranian official and failed to
properly account for the payment in its bookkeeping, Radio Farda
reported. The statement acknowledged payment of bribes to an Iranian
official in 2002 and 2003 so he would help the company win contracts
for the development of three phases of the South Pars gas field.
Statoil will pay fines of $10.5 million to the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission and $10.5 million to the U.S. Justice Department,
but $3 million in fines paid to the Norwegian government will be
subtracted from the total.
The case relates to Statoil’s $15.2 million deal with
Horton Investments, a London-based consulting company associated with
Mehdi Hashemi, the managing director of the Organization for
Optimization of Energy Consumption, which is a subsidiary of the
National Iranian Oil Company. Hashemi is the son of former Iranian
President Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani (see "RFE/RL Iran Report,"
September 22 and 29, October 6, 13, and 27, and November 10, 2003,
and 5 July 2004). (Bill Samii)

****************************************** ***************
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.

The "RFE/RL Iran Report" is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
Newsline, and other news services. It is distributed every Monday.

Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
For information on reprints, see:
p
Back issues are online at

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ __________________
RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 10, No. 195, Part I, 23 October 2006

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Headlines, Part I

* PUTIN YIELDS NOTHING AT RUSSIA-EU SUMMIT

* HUNDREDS OF FOREIGN NGOS LEFT STRANDED

* ABKHAZ LEADER REAFFIRMS INDEPENDENCE BID

END NOTE: WILL MOSCOW FACE A COLD, DARK WINTER?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER SAYS FORMER PRESIDENT TO SEEK RETURN
TO PRESIDENCY. Ararat Zurabian, the leader of the former ruling
Armenian Pan-National Movement (HHSh), announced on October 20 that
former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosian "will definitely
participate" in the country’s 2008 presidential election, according
to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. Zurabian added that Ter-Petrosian’s
return to active politics will "completely change the existing
situation in Armenia," but noted that he was merely "expressing his
personal view" and admitted that he has not discussed the issue with
the reclusive former president. Although Zurabian made the same
announcement before the 2003 presidential election, Ter-Petrosian
failed to enter that race as predicted and has showed no signs of
returning to politics. The opposition leader further explained that
even without Ter-Petrosian, the opposition party still plans on
putting forth a presidential candidate "in any case," and hinted at a
possible tactical alliance with other ideologically similar
opposition parties prior to the May 2007 parliamentary elections.
Despite a recent attempt at regaining its lost political standing in
Armenia, the party remains hindered by an internal split between
rival actions divided among a group loyal to fugitive former Interior
Minister Vano Siradeghian and a rival faction aligned with the former
president. RG

ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI DEFENSE MINISTERS MEET. In a statement
released in Yerevan, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Seyran
Shahsuvarian confirmed on October 20 that Armenian Defense Minister
Serzh Sarkisian met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Safar Abiyev at
the westernmost section of the heavily militarized frontier along the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported. The
ministers, meeting at the initiative of the OSCE officials empowered
to monitor the so-called "line of contact" separating both sides,
discussed "issues of mutual concern" related to a recent series of
cease-fire violations along the border and near Nagorno-Karabakh. RG

GEORGIAN SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICIAL RELEASED FROM CUSTODY. A Tbilisi
municipal court ruled late on October 20 to release Zaza Sopromadze,
the director-general of Georgia’s United Fund for Social Security,
from detention after he agreed to post some 50,000 lari ($28,500) in
bail, ITAR-TASS reported. Arrested on October 19 with six other
colleagues, Sopromadze faces criminal charges of "abuse of office,"
fraud, and embezzlement estimated at roughly 570,000 lari ($325,000).
The six other senior officials of the Social Security Fund, including
the deputy head of the fund and several departmental heads, were
sentenced on October 21 to two months pre-trial detention. RG

ABKHAZ LEADER REAFFIRMS INDEPENDENCE BID… EU Special Representative
for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby on October 21 met in Sukhum
(Sukhumi) with Sergei Bagapsh and Sergei Shamba, who are president
and foreign minister respectively of the unrecognized Republic of
Abkhazia, according to apsny.ru and ITAR-TASS. Bagapsh informed the
EU envoy that the Abkhaz "position remains unchanged" and reaffirmed
the Abkhaz drive for independence. He added that "we do not consider
Georgia a reliable partner in the negotiating process" and argued
that "Georgia is not ready to solve the problem by peaceful means,"
further warning that "Georgia is actively preparing for a war with
Abkhazia and South Ossetia." Both Abkhaz leaders stressed that
Abkhazia is prepared to resume talks with Georgia as soon as that
country complies with the October 13 UN Security Council resolution
demanding that it withdraw from the Kodori Gorge the troops it
deployed there in late July, and also the so-called Abkhaz government
in exile, in order to "make it possible to resume the dialogue" (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," October 16, 2006). Accompanied by the German and
Finnish ambassadors to Georgia, Patricia Flor and Tery Hakala,
respectively, Semneby said that the European Union continues to "show
keen interest" in a peaceful settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz
conflict. He further argued that an "orientation to Europe will
create conditions for the economic development" of Abkhazia as "close
relations with the EU will give guarantees, which are necessary for
investors" interested in the region. LF/RG

…AND SOUTH OSSETIAN LEADER RULES OUT REJOINING GEORGIA. South
Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity reiterated on October 21 his
opposition to any reunification with Georgia, according to Interfax
and ITAR-TASS. President Kokoity characterized the South Ossetian
history as a part of Georgia as one of "our people being threatened
with genocide," Interfax reported. The South Ossetia leader echoed
the resolve of Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh, who similarly
contended that Abkhazia "can never live with Georgia" as a unitary
state and reaffirmed the Abkhaz drive for independence (see above).
Abkhazia also recently appealed to the Russian parliament for formal
recognition as an independent state (see "RFE/RL Newsline," October
17 and 19, 2006). RG

GEORGIA REJECTS ANY ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS BY FORCE… Georgian
Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili pledged on October 21 that Tbilisi
will not use force to resolve its conflicts with Abkhazia or South
Ossetia, ITAR-TASS reported. The foreign minister added that the
Georgian government has in fact "prepared a statement that sets forth
the position of the Georgian authorities on a peaceful solution to
these conflicts," and affirmed that Tbilisi pursues "a clear line
towards peaceful settlement of these conflicts on the basis of plans
drafted by the country’s leadership and approved by the OSCE and
other international organizations." Bezhuashvili’s remarks follow
recent statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a news
conference after an informal EU-Russia summit in which he blamed the
Georgian leadership for worsening relations between Moscow and
Tbilisi, and accusing Tbilisi of seeking "a favorable climate" for
"solving the problems with South Ossetia and Abkhazia by force
through bloodshed." RG

…AFTER U.S. RULES OUT SUPPORT FOR ANY MILITARY MOVE BY GEORGIA.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried warned on October 20
that the United States would not support military action by Georgia
to regain control of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, stating that there
is "no military solution to any of these conflicts," ITAR-TASS
reported. RG

OPPOSITION SLAMS GEORGIAN PRESIDENT’S CALL FOR EARLY ELECTIONS.
Opposition parties and political figures expressed outrage on October
20 at President Mikheil Saakashvili’s announcement the previous day
that he plans to submit to parliament a bill on bringing forward by
eight months the date of the presidential election due in January
2009, Caucasus Press reported. Saakashvili reasoned that it would
save "time and energy" to hold the presidential ballot concurrently
with the parliamentary election. Pikria Chikhradze of the New
Conservatives (aka New Rightists) suggested that Saakashvili is
concerned at the dwindling popularity of his United National
Movement, while Zviad Dzidziguri commented that Saakashvili wants to
eradicate the Georgian opposition, Caucasus Press reported. Davit
Usupashvili of the opposition Republican Party suggested
Saakashvili’s proposal was a response to both domestic disillusion
and criticism by the EU and U.S. of his policy. Former Foreign
Minister Salome Zourabichvili accused Saakashvili of seeking to
prevent a redistribution of forces within parliament and to establish
totalitarian rule, Caucasus Press reported on October 21. LF

CLASH ERUPTS BETWEEN HUNDREDS OF KAZAKH, TURKISH WORKERS. A regional
prosecutor in the Kazakh Caspian Sea port of Atyrau, Rakhimbek
Mamyrbaev, reported on October 20 that a mass brawl between Kazakh
and Turkish construction workers left nearly 140 people injured,
Interfax reported. The clash, involving as many as 300 Kazakh and 100
Turkish workers, left 115 seriously wounded and requiring medical
attention. The laborers, contracted for the Tengizchevroil joint
venture, are working on the construction of a plant near the Tengiz
oil field, according to "Kazakhstan Today." RG

KAZAKH PRESIDENT’S DAUGHTER CRITICIZES INDIAN OWNER FOR TRAGIC MINING
ACCIDENT… The daughter of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev on
October 20 accused the Indian-born steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal of
responsibility for the deaths of more than 80 Kazakh coal miners in
the past three years, RFE/RL reported, citing the weekly "Karavan"
newspaper’s website. In a "Karavan" interview, Nazarbaeva criticized
the Arcelor Mittal group and its executives for failing to ensure
adequate safety conditions at several of the coal mines that they
operate in Kazakhstan. Nazarbaeva, who holds a seat in the
parliament, added that Kazakhstan must improve its labor laws and
called for greater legislative oversight over foreign investors.
After protests over a gas explosion in September that killed 41
Kazakh miners, the Arcelor Mittal group raised the monthly salaries
of its employees to the equivalent of at least $700 and pledged to
address safety concerns in the mines. RG

…AFTER KAZAKH PROSECUTORS ANNOUNCE ANOTHER ARREST. Prosecutors in
the central Kazakh region of Qaraghandy announced on October 19 the
arrest of a fifth coal-mine employee over the gas explosion that
claimed 41 lives in September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 21,
2006), according to "Kazakhstan Today." The latest arrest, which
reportedly took place on October 14, follows the arrest of four other
mine officials on charges of criminal negligence. RG

PLANNED MEETING BETWEEN KYRGYZ AUTHORITIES AND OPPOSITION CANCELED. A
planned meeting between Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev and leaders
of the opposition was canceled on October 21 after some opposition
leaders objected to the size of the presidential delegation, RFE/RL’s
Kyrgyz Service reported. The meeting was intended to ease tensions
between the opposition and the Kyrgyz president before a planned
opposition rally set for November 2 in Bishkek. Galina Kulikova, the
leader of the Menin Olkom (My Country) party, said that opposition
For Reforms movement leader Temir Sariev was responsible for calling
off the meeting, although "the presidential administration was
prepared" to meet "all the conditions presented" by the opposition
for the talks. Tursunbek Akun, the head of the presidential Human
Rights Commission, blamed both sides and urged them to engage in a
constructive dialogue. RG

KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARIAN SAYS PRESIDENT OFFERED SENIOR POSTS TO
OPPOSITION DEPUTIES. Kyrgyz opposition lawmaker Azimbek Beknazarov
announced on October 20 that he and two other opposition leaders
declined an offer of state jobs by President Kurmanbek Bakiev,
AKIpress and the 24.kg website reported. Speaking to reporters in
Bishkek, Beknazarov said that he was offered the position of Supreme
Court chairman, while former Trade Minister Almazbek Atambaev was
promised the prime ministerial post and Omurbek Tekebaev was offered
his former position as parliamentary speaker. A second opposition
parliamentarian, Melis Eshimkanov, also reported to the parliament
that he was given assurances from an unnamed senior presidential
official that Bakiev would meet with opposition leaders. RG

PLAY BY TURKMEN PRESIDENT OPENS IN ASHGABAT THEATERS. A play
purportedly written by Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov opened in
five theaters in the capital, Ashgabat, on October 21, according to
Interfax. An unnamed Culture Ministry official explained that the
theaters chose to offer stage productions based on Niyazov’s
"immortal works." In a televised address the same day, Niyazov
appealed to the Turkmen public to not praise him so often, saying
that "it is hard for me to listen to applause meant only for me." RG

TURKMEN PRESIDENT ADMITS HEART CONDITION. President Niyazov admitted
on October 20 for the first time that he suffers from a heart
condition, the ferghana.ru website reported. In a speech to a "world
congress of ethnic Turkmen," President Niyazov explained that he is
unable to fast during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan because he has
to take medication for an unspecified "heart ailment." Niyazov’s
health has long been the object of speculation, exacerbated by
reports in the state-controlled media that has undergone medical
checkups twice this year. RG

RUSSIA

PUTIN YIELDS NOTHING AT RUSSIA-EU SUMMIT… Meeting with EU leaders
on October 20 in Lahti, Finland, for what Britain’s "Financial Times"
described as a "tense" summit dinner, President Vladimir Putin did
not agree to guarantee Russia’s international contracts, open up its
energy market, or ratify in its present form the Energy Charter,
which Moscow signed with the EU in 1994 and which would require it to
open up access to its pipelines, international media reported (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," October 20, 2006). EU leaders by and large went to
great pains to present a united front and stressed the importance of
transparency and observing legal norms in developing mutually
beneficial energy ties. But the "Financial Times" added that "the
meeting with…Putin served as an embarrassing reminder to European
leaders that their attempt to build a more equal energy partnership
with Russia has yielded few positive results." The summit came
against a backdrop of recent Russian moves against Georgia and
Georgians living in Russia, the unresolved murder of critical
journalist Anna Politkovskaya, questionable Kremlin behavior over the
Sakhalin-2 gas production-sharing agreement (PSA) and other PSAs, and
remarks by Putin that appeared to make light of serial rape. French
President Jacques Chirac, who favors strong ties with Russia as a
"counterweight" to the United States, said that "moral issues [and]
economic interests…should not be connected." In response, Estonian
Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said that "we have to take a very strong
position…[and] find a good balance between [human rights] values
and economic interests. It is totally wrong to pay attention only to
[economic] interests." PM

…BUT OFFERS SOME QUIPS OF HIS OWN… Georgia and human rights
played only a "marginal role" at the October 20 EU-Russia summit at
Lahti, Finland, Germany’s "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" wrote on
October 23. But President Putin stressed that Georgia is to blame for
the current tensions, saying that Russia’s aim is to "avoid
bloodshed." An unnamed "furious diplomat" told the "Financial Times"
of October 23 that French President Chirac "hung Georgia out to dry"
by refusing to let that issue get in the way of energy discussions.
Putin, whom the London daily described as an "implacable dinner
guest," sought once again to divide some of the older EU members from
the newer ones by "taking pleasure in appearing to confuse Latvia and
Lithuania." In a manner reminiscent of Soviet rebuttals of U.S.
criticism of Soviet human rights practices by referring to U.S.
racial inequalities, Putin responded to negative comments about
Russian democracy by noting the extent of corruption in Spanish
municipalities, London’s "The Guardian" reported on October 23. He
left Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi "without words" by pointing
out that "mafia" is an Italian word. Putin nonetheless appeared to
win at least some approval around the table by remarking that the
EU’s most important challenge is to "safeguard Christianity in
Europe." PM

…WHILE TRYING TO BE UPBEAT. President Putin left the October 20
Lahti EU-Russia summit by saying that he is that even the "most
controversial" differences with the EU can be resolved, RFE/RL
reported. The two sides will hold a full summit meeting in Helsinki
on November 24. The EU hopes to use that session to launch talks on a
new comprehensive cooperation agreement to replace the current
Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which runs out in 2007. Putin
said in Lahti that he would like the new accord to be called a
Strategic Partnership Treaty, but also suggested energy issues might
need to be tackled outside of it. The German Foreign Ministry, which
is controlled by the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has drawn up a
position paper independent of Chancellor Merkel and her Christian
Democratic Union (CDU-CSU), in which the ministry aims to develop the
EU’s relations with Russia on the basis of an expanding network of
interrelationships (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 5 and October 19
and 20, 2006). In January 2007, Germany will take the rotating chairs
of the EU and the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized
countries. PM

EADS WELCOMES RUSSIA AS ‘STRATEGIC’ PARTNER. Thomas Enders, who is
the German co-chief executive of the European aerospace firm EADS,
which is primarily a Franco-German enterprise, has welcomed the
Russian state’s acquisition of a stake in the company, diewelt.de
reported on October 23. Enders says cooperation with the Russian
aerospace industry is of "strategic importance" for EADS. Russia’s
state-owned Vneshtorgbank recently confirmed it holds a stake of just
over 5 percent in EADS, the parent company of Airbus. But German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and the management of EADS, which seeks
lucrative U.S. defense contracts, have blocked Russian plans to
acquire blocking rights and a seat on the board (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," September 20, and October 10, 11, and 13, 2006). He added
that Russia is valuable to EADS not only as a market but as a source
of "multifaceted experience in the development and construction of
aircraft." Russia’s new United Aircraft Company (OAK) seeks a strong
foreign partnership to modernize Russia’s moribund aerospace
industry, which London’s "The Times" recently described as a
"glorious junkyard." PM

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE DISCUSSES IRAN, NORTH KOREA IN MOSCOW… U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sought support from top Russian
officials in Moscow on October 21 regarding the nuclear programs of
North Korea and Iran, news agencies reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
October 18 and 19, 2006). But even before she arrived, Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated his opposition to tough
sanctions against Iran. He told the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA that
"any measures of influence should encourage creating conditions for
talks." Lavrov added that "we won’t be able to support and will
oppose any attempts to use the Security Council to punish Iran or to
use Iran’s [nuclear] program [as an excuse] to promote the idea of
regime change there." In addition to discussing North Korea, Rice
appealed to Russia and Georgia to reduce the tension between their
countries. PM

…AND MEETS WITH SLAIN JOURNALIST’S FAMILY. During her one-day
Moscow visit on October 21, Secretary of State Rice gave an interview
to "Novaya gazeta," the newspaper for which critical journalist
Politkovskaya wrote before her recent murder, news agencies reported
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," October 10, 11, 12, and 16, 2006). She also
met with Politkovskaya’s son. An unnamed senior U.S. State Department
official told "The Moscow News" of October 23 that "we planned this
not as a poke in the eye [of the Putin regime], but [as] an
absolutely necessary and human step." The official also described the
meeting with Politkovskaya’s family as very emotional for Rice. She
told reporters that "the fate of journalists in Russia is a major
[U.S.] concern. Anna Politkovskaya was a particularly well-known and
well-respected journalist, so I think it’s important to note that."
In a commentary on the case, London’s "The Economist" wrote on
October 14 that "whoever killed [Politkovskaya], Putin shares the
blame for having made independent journalism both rare and
perilous…. It is not there yet, but Russia sometimes seems to be
heading towards fascism." PM

HUNDREDS OF FOREIGN NGOS LEFT STRANDED. U.S. Secretary of State Rice
also sought information in Moscow on October 21 about the fate of
several hundred foreign NGOs, which are being forced under new
legislation to reregister under highly complex and somewhat arbitrary
rules in what is widely seen as an attempt to close many of the NGOs,
news agencies reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 21 and
October 17 and 20, 2006). She said that "in some cases [the
legislation] is being implemented in ways that is making it difficult
for NGOs to operate, and so I think we have to go over that." U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried met with federal human
rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin to discuss the law and said later
there had been progress. The "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"
reported on October 21 that about 400 out of some 500 foreign NGOs
have at least temporarily suspended their operations in Russia
pending word from the authorities as to whether they have been
reregistered. Many smaller NGOs have left Russia altogether, saying
that the complex and drawn-out procedure exhausted their meager
resources. Among the NGOs awaiting word of their fate are Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the institutes
linked to the two major U.S. political parties, namely the National
Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute
(IRI). The Kremlin has linked those two institutes to the 2004 Orange
Revolution in Ukraine and the 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia. The
German daily added that Foreign Minister Walter Steinmeier has
contacted his colleague Lavrov to ensure that German NGOs are not
subjected to arbitrary bureaucratic obstacles. PM

EXTREMISTS WRECK GALLERY WITH ‘COSMOPOLITAN’ ART. Numerous
ultranationalist young men ransacked Moscow’s Gelman Gallery on
October 21, "The Moscow News" reported on October 23. They beat owner
Marat Gelman and destroyed paintings by the Georgian-born artist
Aleksandr Dzhikia, as well as computers. Gelman later described the
attack as "monstrous." The attackers divided into groups to perform
specific tasks, the daily "Kommersant" noted. One day earlier, the
artworks were en route to an exhibition in London when police took
them off a plane at Sheremetyevo Airport. One collage showed a
scantily clad President Putin frolicking in bed with a similarly
dressed U.S. President George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden. An
investigation into the attack is reportedly under way.
Ultranationalists and other far-right extremists see the Gelman
Gallery as "a hotbed of cosmopolitanism and anti-Russian values,"
Vladimir Pribylovsky, president of the Panorama think tank, told the
daily. "Cosmopolitanism" is a Stalin-era anti-Semitic term. Matthew
Bown was transporting the 11 pieces of art from the gallery to his
own gallery London when he was ordered off his plane and questioned
by police. Officials confiscated the artwork, telling Bown he had
been detained because several of the pieces "contain representations
of heads of state." "Kommersant" described the incident with the
headline: "Art Critics In Black Shirts." PM

LAWSUIT BEING READIED OVER THEATER HOSTAGE INCIDENT. With Moscow set
to mark the fourth anniversary on October 23 of the Dubrovka theater
hostage taking by Chechen militants, relatives of those who died say
they plan to sue officials for negligence, news agencies reported. At
least 129 hostages and 42 militants died during a bungled rescue bid
at the theater, where the musical "Nord-Ost" was playing. Tatyana
Karpova, co-chairwoman of a group of former hostages and victims’
relatives, said the authorities did not provide proper medical care
to freed captives, among other alleged errors. The militants took
about 800 people hostage, demanding Russia end the Chechen war. Three
days later, special forces pumped a narcotic gas into the theater to
knock out the hostage takers. Nearly all the victims died as a result
of the effects of the gas. PM

MAYORAL ELECTION IN FAR EAST CANCELLED. Electoral authorities in
Dalnegorsk in Primorsky Krai decided on October 21 to drop plans to
hold a mayoral run-off election the following day after the remaining
candidates withdrew, Russian news agencies reported. The withdrawals
came in response to popular anger following the murder of former
mayor and prominent candidate Dmitry Fotyanov, (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," October 19 and 20, 2006). He was one of at least two
first-round candidates belonging to the pro-Kremlin Unified Russia
party. In other news, in the central city of Samara on October 23,
election officials announced that Viktor Tarkhov of the Party of Life
defeated incumbent Mayor Georgy Limansky of Unified Russia in the
mayoral race there the previous weekend, Russian news agencies
reported. The Party of Life is one of three leftist parties that are
joining together to form a Kremlin-sponsored "loyal opposition" for
the 2007 parliamentary elections (see "RFE/RL Newsline," October 12,
2006). PM

NALCHIK RAID SUSPECT’S PRETRIAL DETENTION EXTENDED. Rasul Kudayev,
who was detained on October 18 2005 on suspicion of having commanded
one of the detachments of young militants who attacked police and
security facilities in Nalchik five days earlier, is to remain in
pretrial detention for a further six months, until April 17, 2007,
according to kavkaz,memo.ru as reposted on October 20 by
kavkazweb.net. The rationale cited for that decision was the need for
further investigation in light of the "complicated" nature of his
case. Kudayev was captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001 and
held for three years as Guantanamo Bay in Cuba before being released
for lack of evidence. His relatives claim he is a semi-invalid and
was not physically capable of participating in last year’s attacks
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," October 24, 2005). LF

OSSETIAN YOUTH GROUP WARNS AGAINST ABUSE OF INTERNET. In an October
22 statement posted on the independent website ingushetiya.ru, the
Patriotic Union of Youth of North Ossetia expressed concern that the
Internet is being abused in both North Ossetia and Ingushetia as a
weapon in the dispute over rival territorial claims to North
Ossetia’s Prigorodny Raion. The statement appeals to unnamed "forces
that are trying to destroy the fragile peace in the North Caucasus"
to eschew "manifestations of nationalism, xenophobia, and hate
speech." The union advocates transferring Prigorodny Raion to
Ingushetia in order to end the dispute (see "RFE/RL Newsline," August
16 and October 2, 2006). On October 20, ingushetiya.ru reported that
Ingushetia’s two largest Internet providers are blocking access to
its site to users within that republic. LF

END NOTE

WILL MOSCOW FACE A COLD, DARK WINTER?

By Roman Kupchinsky

Last winter, the Ukrainians were left shivering after Russia
cut off gas supplies. This year, there’s a chance it could be the
Russians feeling the freeze.
There are concerns that domestically Russia’s
state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom will be unable to supply
electricity-generating companies with enough gas. If that happens, it
could mean brownouts and blackouts this winter.
Such a scenario nearly occurred last year. Mosenergo, the
majority shareholder in Russia’s Unified Energy Systems (EES)
electricity monopoly, supplies electricity to the Moscow region.
In the winter of 2005-2006, it was faced with a severe lack
of gas to power its generating plants. Gazprom was forced to briefly
limit supplies to Europe in order to keep the lights on in Moscow.
EES head Anatoliy Chubais is concerned. He has placed the
blame for the potential gas deficit squarely on Gazprom, which
controls 25 percent of the world’s gas reserves and 94 percent of
Russia’s natural gas. Chubais has said that Gazprom is unable or
unwilling to supply generating companies in Russia with enough gas
and this has forced them to buy more expensive diesel fuel to power
their plants.
In 2006 alone, the cost of diesel has risen by over 85
percent, while the price consumers are charged for electricity has
remained low.
Gas shortages began during the winter of 2005-2006 and EES
instructed its thermal-generation plants to switch to other fuels —
diesel and coal. In the first eight months of 2006 the use of diesel
increased by 35 percent and coal by 9 percent.
According to Chubais, the gas shortage makes the present cost
of diesel fuel equivalent to a price of $185 per 1,000 cubic meters
of gas. EES buys gas from Gazprom at $46 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Chubais told the "Vedomosti" business daily on September 28
that when he met with Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller to discuss this
problem, Miller told him to switch to other fuels.
EES is also buying electricity from abroad. In October, EES
entered into negotiations with the Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Ministry
to buy excess electricity. According to the October 2 issue of the
"Kommersant" daily, EES has agreed to purchase from Ukraine some 6
billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) to make up for expected shortfalls in
the European part of Russia.
Most experts agree that Russia’s domestic gas shortage is due
to Gazprom’s paltry investments and the company’s desire to expand in
too many directions at once.
With Gazprom’s main gas fields running low, industry analysts
say the company has not done enough to invest in exploration and
development of new fields in the Yamal Peninsula. Instead, the
company, which is $38 billion in debt, has concentrated on noncore
activities such as buying into European energy companies. In
September 2005, Gazprom spent $13 billion to buy oil giant Sibneft in
order to transform itself into an integrated energy company.
It looks like the Putin-Miller team might have overextended
itself. Many analysts believe that Putin’s promise in March to supply
China with 30-35 billion cubic meters of gas by 2025 is unrealistic
as is Gazprom’s decision to develop the giant Shtokman gas field
without the help of foreign partners.
One possible solution to the gas deficit could be the
liberalization of Russia’s gas market — something the European Union
is pushing for.
Chubais believes that the gas market should be liberalized
along European lines and that Gazprom’s pipelines be opened to
independent gas producers. He says that the extra income generated by
these reforms could be used to construct new underground gas storage
facilities.
In September, Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said
that a liberalized gas market in Russia is possible and that it could
encompass over 100 billion cubic meters of domestic gas sales.
However, a liberalized gas market could cause consumer electricity
prices to rise as it would spell the end of Gazprom’s subsidized
pricing system.
The new Russian strategy to expand nuclear power generation
could well be a feasible long-term solution to declining gas
supplies, but in the meantime, residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg
should brace themselves for a frosty winter.

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All rights reserved.
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE STAFF
* Donald Jensen, Director of Communications, [email protected]
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Editor, [email protected]
* Liz Fuller, Editor in Chief, [email protected]
* Patrick Moore, Russia, [email protected]
* Daniel Kimmage, Central Asia, [email protected]
* Jan Maksymiuk, Belarus/Ukraine/Moldova, [email protected]
* Kathleen Ridolfo, Iraq, [email protected]
* Bill Samii, Iran, [email protected]
* Amin Tarzi, Afghanistan, [email protected]
* Victor Yasmann, Russia, [email protected]
* Luke Allnutt, Editor, [email protected]
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* Andrew Heil, Editor, [email protected]
* Mike Scollon, Editor, [email protected]
* Dan Wisniewski, Editor, [email protected]

FREELANCE AND OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS
* Laura Belin, Jonas Bernstein, Richard Giragosian, Roman Kupchinsky,
Aleksander Maksymiuk, Mark Rich, Vahid Sepehri, Brian Whitmore

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PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Contact: Information Desk
Tel: 374.10.523531
Email: [email protected]
web:

Minister Oskanian Speaks on 15th Anniversary of Independence in Washington
DC at Embassy Sponsored Gala Banquet

Speech by
H. E. Vartan Oskanian
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of Armenia
At the 15th Anniversary Celebration
Of Armenia’s Independence
Washington DC
October 21, 2006

I am pleased, honored, and still a little awed by the fact that I can
stand before you, as foreign minister, at the official celebration of 15
years of Armenia’s independence. The fact that we are celebrating in this
important capital, with the representatives of a strong, active,
prosperous, proud and engaged Diaspora, in the presence of several of
Armenia’s ambassadors, is still the stuff of dreams.

It has been 15 years since our independence. This came at the end of a
difficult century and an even more difficult millennium. Armenians take
great pride in their millennia of history. The leitmotifs that run through
our recollections of our past are fraught with a search for silver
linings.

We have outlived the empires of the Babylonians and Assyrians, the
Hittites and Medes, the Byzantines, the Mongols and the Ottomans. We
shared the gods of the Greeks and the Romans, until St. Gregory
illuminated the path to Christianity. We translated the Bible not just
into Armenian, but also into Chinese. We recorded the history of Armenians
and of Western civilization in beautifully illuminated manuscripts. We
welcomed the Crusaders to our Kingdom in Cilicia, and accompanied European
traders to the exotic East. Instead of fortifications, we built
monasteries and centers of learning which have withstood invaders and
earthquakes.

In the 18th century, when first the American colonies, and later the
people of France were upholding liberty, equality and fraternity, our
students and merchants in Europe, were watching and learning. They knew
that they had rights and liberties as subjects of three different empires,
and used the formulations and vocabulary of the leaders of the Western
enlightenment to articulate them. It wasn’t that they wanted to overthrow
those governments which abused or usurped their rights, but to reform
them. It didn’t work.

The Sublime Porte, which ruled over the majority of Armenians, made its
Armenian minority the scapegoat for its own inability to govern. The
Genocide followed. The remnants of the Armenian people who emerged
following the Genocide had independence hoisted upon them in 1918. A
population of refugees, insufficient resources with which to govern and
protect, an elite that did not live in Armenia, and an army composed of
well-meaning patriots – that was Armenia’s first modern attempt at
independence. It was a valiant effort to first wrestle with the social and
existential dangers from within, and later to fight against the direct
physical threats from without. The First Republic of Armenia survived
independently long enough that, when it fell, it fell as a legitimate,
independent, political entity. That entity was subsumed into the Soviet
Union as the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic.

That was the journey that brought us to today and to the improbability of
our independence – the improbability that this surviving nation would
witness the fall of yet another empire – this time Lenin’s. And that the
homeland would be born again, free and independent.

In Armenia, and in the Diaspora, too, where you are still overwhelmed at
the improbability of Armenia’s independence, you sometimes suffer from the
reverse: because we’ve never really had independence, we sometimes believe
that we don’t deserve to have it or that it will necessarily be taken away
again. I want to tell you that Armenians are not only worthy of
independence, we are also capable of independence, aware of the demands of
independence, responsive to the expectations of independence and accepting
of the burdens of independence.

But we were ready. Armenia’s Democratic Movement, the Environmental
Movement, the Karabagh Movement were not just the product of a changed
Soviet Union, but they also accelerated the transformation of the USSR.

Independence is borne of high ideals. We believed that freedom is the
secret to a prosperous nation, a healthy nation, a fair and just nation,
and a stable future. We believed that freedom isn’t just the right to do
what you want, it’s the opportunity to do what you want, it’s the
opportunity to make choices, the right choices.

We made the basic choice – we chose the way of a liberal society – open
markets and democratic institutions. That was the first choice.

And today, as we celebrate independence, we are celebrating that choice.
We are celebrating in Washington, the capital of the country that proved
that a liberal economy in a democratic republic is a winning combination.
Americans are the people who set out to design a political system that is
built around the individual, his liberties and capacities.

In other words, the American Declaration of Independence is about rights.
It is a testament to the rights of individuals, of peoples, of society.
But no man was ever endowed with a right without being at the same time
saddled with a responsibility.

We are privileged to be the generation that is consolidating independence.
We do have wide and generous opportunities to turn a dream into a country,
a stable country with a promising future.

And to that end, I want to propose a declaration of responsibilities. Our
responsibilities. This generation’s responsibilities. The responsibilities
of Armenia and Diaspora, of all those who call themselves Armenian.

— We have a responsibility to empower our people to confidently
participate in building their democracy.

— We have a responsibility to create an even playing field for every
Armenian citizen.

— We have the responsibility to continue on the diffcult but necessary
path of political and economic reforms.

— We have a responsibility not to take Armenia for granted, but to work
to create an Armenia that makes real the promises of democracy and
freedom.

–We have a responsibility to remember our past, without being bound by
it, because the future is ours.

— We have a responsibility to reach a just and lasting resolution of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict based on mutual compromise.

— We have a responsibility to make the Diaspora an extension of the
homeland – not a permanent dislocation, not a destructive dispersion.

— We have a responsibility to welcome and embrace every Diasporan who
calls himself or herself an Armenian.

— We have a responsibility to rally every bit of our resources –
individual and collective, private and public.

— We have a responsibility to stand united, to work united, to go forward
united in the face of new challenges, we can win together, and not lose
separately.

These responsibilities come with independence, with freedom, with liberty.
Demanding freedom means recognizing the responsibility to ourselves, for
ourselves. Freedom is also the right to make mistakes, to learn from those
mistakes. It remains for those who have greater experience in freedom to
be patient as we sort out the options and freely choose the one that is
right for us.

We believed that independence may be bestowed, but freedom must be
achieved. Independence meant rights. Liberty means responsibility.

Thank you.