Month: November 2006

YOUTH HAVE BAD HABIT OF LEARNING FROM ADULTS
Haik Aramyan
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 7 2006
Ararat Mahtesyan, a high-ranking police official stated November 3 that
all of us, the whole society is to blame as the system of values of
the youth is becoming increasingly inclined to the “criminal world,
criminal approaches”. The deputy chief of the Police was right,
it is the fault of everyone. The youth, which is not only our
present but also our future, has a “bad habit” – they learn from
grown-ups around them. They finish school, try to enter a university
or college, and afterwards they want to have a job, live a good and
full life. And what does a young man standing at the threshold of life
learn as an adult? For instance, he can see what is going on at the
universities. Then he witnesses the situation in the period of the
call-up. Then he learns about the ways how one can set up a business
or get a placement. He can see, for instance, how the law enforcement
agencies, the representatives of government agencies work, who often
deal with the representatives of the “criminal world”, accompany them
or guarantee their security. He can see that there are privileged and
“second grade” citizens, there are people who do not obey the law, and
people who are cheated and robbed in the direct and indirect senses
of the word every day, placing the responsibilty for the life of the
country on their shoulders. What does a young man who is not a member
of the privileged class do after witnessing and understanding all these
things? (Especially that all this starts as early as at school.) He has
to go away or get used to this situation. The other right way is, of
course, that he must fight for his rights and welfare. In this sense,
however, there is still a long way to go. But presently the government
and the political forces of Armenia have established a system which
resembles that of the “criminal world”, as Mr. Mahtesyan put it. The
mechanisms of black budget, extortion and blackmail function perfectly
within this system. The criminalization of the political and civil
life is underway, and efforts are made to introduce these mechanisms
everywhere, especially among young people. Baze Gatherings, youth wings
of political parties and other bureaucratic mechanisms are designed to
“spoil” the youth, pointing to the “right way” for them.
What does a young man, whose sensitive and pure soul craves for
justice, have to do in this situation? According to the adults,
justice is an abstract notion, however, it should be there. In the
meantime, the widely preached values of the mysterious, romantic
“criminal world” start attracting the young man. Everything is simple
and clear in this world, which is wrapped in the veil of mystery.
Everyone is equal there, there is “justice”, scoundrels are punished:
this is their perception. And where else can a young man turn his
face? It should be noted that the system established in Armenia
presently is attempting at attracting young people into this system
of values by their everyday activities and propaganda. This is an
easier way to sustain their privileged status.

SALARY OF ARMENIAN TEACHERS AND SCIENTISTS TO RISE IN 2007
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 7 2006
The draft budget for 2007 envisages 9.6 billion AMD for the education
sphere, i.e. by 12.5% more than in the previous year, Pavel Safaryan,
Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy, said at hearings on the draft
budget, Tuesday.
He said 1.7 billion AMD are allocated to the sphere of general
education. Salary of teachers will rise from 58,000 to 76,000 AMD in
2007. 152 million drams will be spent on retraining of teachers of
secondary education schools, 500 million AMD for purchase of school
furniture, 14.5 million – for capital repair of schools. 813 million
AMD will be directed to the special education sphere, 400 million
to the secondary special education. Another 324 million AMD will
be spent on post-graduate education. The deputy minister said 365
secondary special education schools currently operate in Armenia,
and the number of students will rise to 45,000 in 2007.
Five billion drams will be allocated to the sphere of science, which
is by 10% more than in 2006. The basic salary of scientists will rise
to 50,000 AMD, that of the operating personnel to 25,000 AMD. 1.3
billion AMD will be allocated for topical financing of science and
73 billion AMD for target program financing. These funds will be used
to develop scientific programs in the defense sphere.

THE DAYS OF NKR TO BE HELD IN RA
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Nov 8 2006
The days of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s culture will be held in
RA in November.
The opening ceremony of the Days of the NKR culture in Armenia will
be held November 13 at the Sundukian National Academic Theatre in
Yerevan. The measures will also take place in the towns of Abovian,
Artashat and Echmiadzin. The public will enjoy Artsakh’s best state
ensembles and orchestras. The Karabakh painters’ works will also be
exhibited within the frames of the Days of the NKR culture in RA.

COOPERATION OF NKR MFA AND CONSORTIUM INITIATIVE DISCUSSED IN STEPANAKERT
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Nov 8 2006
The issues referring to the interrelations between the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic MFA and Consortium Initiative organization were discussed at
a meeting of the NKR MFA Political Department Head Irina Beglarian
and an independent consultant, Consortium Initiative Consultant for
Strategic Issues Catherine Barns.
In the course of the meeting the parties considered the organization’s
current projects and long-term programs. The interlocutors also
touched on the civil society’s role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
settlement, the NKR MFA Press Centre reports.

AZERBAIJAN INTERESTED IN DEVELOPMENT OF BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH POLAND
Author: S. Aghayeva
TREND, Azerbaijan
Nov 8 2006
“Azerbaijan is interested in the development of bilateral relations
with Poland”, Ogtay Assadov, Speaker of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijan’s
Parliament), said during the today’s meeting with Bogdan Borusevich,
Speaker of Poland’s Senate, Trend reports.
He expressed his confidence that his present visit to Azerbaijan
would give an impetus to the further development in bilateral
relations between the two countries. According to the Azerbaijani
Speaker, these relations began as far back as the beginning of the
last century. Mr. Assadov expressed his gratitude to the Polish
guest for the Polish support to Azerbaijan’s fair position in the
Azerbaijani-Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Poland and Azerbaijan
are friendly nations, and the present visit must serve developing both
parliamentary and bilateral relations in al spheres of cooperation
between the two countries.

AZERBAIJAN BETWEEN EAST AND WEST
RIA Novosti, Russia
Nov 8 2006
MOSCOW. (Dzheikhun Nadzhafov for RIA Novosti) – Before coming to
Moscow on November 8, Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev visited the
opposite geopolitical pole, Brussels. He is carrying on his father’s
policy of balancing and maneuvering.
The Azerbaijani president wants to maintain and develop constructive
relations with Moscow, although the country is also trying to strike
a geopolitical balance between East and West. Aliyev has to tread
very carefully so as not to irritate either side. However, it looks
as if relations with the Kremlin are reaching a new level.
Moscow’s influence in Azerbaijan is focused on political factors.
Azerbaijan does not receive Russian state investment, loans or grants,
and Russian capital does not play a major role in the Azerbaijani
economy.
A year ago, Baku signed a framework agreement with Russian aluminum
giant RusAl on the construction in Azerbaijan of an aluminum plant
worth $1 billion, but ground has still not been broken on the project.
In early December, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov will
visit Baku, becoming the first Russian premier to visit Azerbaijan
since Soviet times. His visit should add zest to bilateral economic
relations.
The Kremlin has a strong political standing in Azerbaijan, notably in
settling the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO’s
Secretary General, said during his visit to Moscow that Russia played
a major role in resolving South Caucasian conflicts. He said Russia
was an irreplaceable factor in the efforts to restore peace in areas
of ethnic tension in the former Soviet states.
Some Azerbaijani politicians think NATO might join forces with Russia
to settle the Karabakh problem.
Now that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which bypasses
Russia, has been inaugurated, the West intends to ensure the safe
and uninterrupted flow of oil along it. This calls for settling the
Karabakh problem, which is impossible without Russia.
The pipeline can be described as an American political and economic
project in a region that is in the sphere of Russian interests. The
parties may decide to follow up the oil pipeline with a gas pipeline
from Baku through Tbilisi to Erzurum.
President Aliyev recently made an interesting comment, with Moscow
and Tehran in mind. He said in an interview with the Qatar-based
television channel Al Jazeera: “The [Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan] pipeline
is not spearheaded against anyone. On the contrary, we hope that
it will also benefit our neighbors after we expand it and build a
parallel pipeline.”
He did not specify what kind of “parallel pipeline” might be built
and how Azerbaijan’s neighbors would use it, but he had an important
reason for disclosing the possibility.
In principle, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline will have
sufficient capacity for delivering oil from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan,
which means that Aliyev has offered a purely political project (the
parallel pipeline) to the neighboring oil producers, Russia and Iran.
Russia will be able to use the BTC pipeline to transport its oil
only after 2015-2020, when Azerbaijan’s Azeri, Chyrag and Gyuheshli
oilfields become depleted.
However, the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan will discuss not
only oil projects in Moscow, but also Azerbaijan’s relations with
NATO. Political analysts in Azerbaijan say uncertainty surrounding
Azerbaijan’s admission to NATO is creating problems in the
Baku-Moscow-Brussels triangle.
When Geidar Aliyev, the father of the current president, came to
power in Azerbaijan, he made certain promises to NATO in a bid to
strengthen his own and the country’s position. After the dissolution
of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan intuitively moved toward the West.
But when Russia got back on its feet, Baku halted its incorporation
into NATO.
The current balancing act between Moscow and NATO suits the Azerbaijani
elite, because it offers them a chance to obtain support from both
sides. Moreover, a vague foreign policy allows the government to avoid
“cumbersome commitments.”
So, where will Azerbaijan move? Ilkham Aliyev may have to answer this
question on his trip to Moscow.
Dzheikhun Nadzhafov is deputy editor-in-chief of the Azerbaijani
weekly Obozrevatel.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and
may not necessarily represent the opinions of the editorial board.

RUSSIA NOT TO RAISE GAS PRICES FOR ARMENIA
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Nov 8 2006
YEREVAN, November 7. /ARKA/. RA Minister of Finance of Economy Vardan
Khachatryan believes that Russia will not raise the prices for gas
supplied to Armenia. However, he does not rule out transit problems.
“This process is unclear, and it is the people involved in it that
must be asked about it,” the Minister said.
On April 6, 2006, the Armenian Government and the “Gasprom” OJSC
signed an agreement on strategic cooperation for 25 years.
Under the agreement, the ArmRosgasprom CJSC is to purchase the 5th
power unit of the Hrazdan TPP from Armenia for $248.8mln. A total of
$188.8mln will be directed to the compensation for the population’s
expenses as a result of rise in gas prices during the next three years,
and $60mln will be paid to the RA state budget.
“Gasprom” pledged to complete the construction of the 5th power unit as
well as construct a gas-turbine plant with a capacity of 140 megawatts
within two years.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA CONCENTRATES ON BALANCING ACT BETWEEN RUSSIA AND GEORGIA
Haroutiun Khachatrian
EurasiaNet, NY
Nov 8 2006
Worsening relations between Georgia and Russia continue to pose a
difficult problem for Armenia, as it tries to maintain some form of
balance in its relations with the two sides.
The effect of these tensions for the Armenian economy remains a
paramount concern. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive.]
Armenian President Robert Kocharian’s October 30-November 1 state
visit to Russia, which included meetings with Russian President
Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, was a case in
point. In remarks to reporters, Kocharian noted that while Russia’s
transportation blockade with Georgia could pose difficulties for
bilateral trade between Russia and Armenia, “serious [Russian]
investment projects” would help compensate Yerevan for any economic
damage done by the Georgian embargo, the ITAR-TASS quoted Kocharian as
saying. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive.]
Those investments appear to be growing. Russian energy giant Gazprom’s
acquisition of a controlling stake in the country’s gas distribution
network and, through this, potential control over an Armenian
section of an Iranian gas pipeline, its recent takeover of the fifth
unit of the Hrazdan electricity plant, and Russian company Rusal’s
modernization of aluminum manufacturer Armenal are among the most
prominent of these “serious” investment projects. Unlike neighboring
Georgia, Armenia will see its current $110 per 1,000 cubic meters
price for Gazprom gas frozen until 2009 in return for transferring
ownership of the Hrazdan unit to the Russian company, the government
has announced. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive.]
On November 3, announcement was also made that the Russian firm
VimpelCom has purchased a 90 percent stake in ArmenTel, the country’s
main mobile telecommunications carrier. The government will retain
the remaining 10 percent stake in the company.
Despite these signs of robust business ties, concerns about Russia’s
position toward Armenia have been growing since mid-October, when
nationalist Russian parliamentarian Konstantin Zatulin, a member
of the pro-Kremlin party United Russia, protested at an October
17 meeting of the Russian-Armenian inter-parliamentary commission
in Yerevan that Armenia “does not support its strategic partner
[Russia]” in its conflict with Georgia. Zatulin, who has previously
cast himself as pro-Armenian on the issue of the disputed territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh, called on Yerevan to choose between “normal
relations” with Russia or Georgia, the daily newspaper Haykakan
Zhamanak reported.
Zatunin’s statements met with almost unanimous protest by the Armenian
political elite, although some, like Armen Ashotian, a member of the
governing Republican Party, have stressed that the remark is the view
of one politician, not the official position of the Russian Federation.
Nonetheless, Armenian officials have continued to address the
Russian-Georgian dispute cautiously. “Current Russian-Georgian
relations are these countries’ internal problem,” Prime Minister
Andranik Margarian said at a joint press conference on October 24
with Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorski. “Armenia… should
not interfere with the resolution of this problem.”
Margarian, however, has stated that Armenia is ready to “help with
the… solution” for the impasse between President Putin and Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili if asked by Russia or Georgia.
So far, neither Moscow nor Tbilisi has shown interest in mediation.
At a November 1 meeting on the sidelines of a Moscow gathering
of the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Armenian
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian and Georgian Foreign Minister Gela
Bezhuashvili met, but details on the conversation were scarce. In a
succinct statement, the Armenian Foreign Ministry stated that the
two men discussed “issues of bilateral relations, the influence
of Russian-Georgian relations on the region and possibilities for
softening the current tension,” the news service Mediamax reported.
Before the talks, Georgian Ambassador to Armenia Revaz Gachechiladze,
in an October 30 meeting with National Assembly Chairman Tigran
Torosian, thanked Armenia for its “balanced approach.”
Greater speculation about Armenia’s relations with Georgia and Russia
has surfaced in media coverage of the October 10 arrest of Vahagn
Chakhalian, one of the leaders of the Miasnakan Javakhk, or United
Javakhk, non-governmental organization in Georgia’s predominantly
ethnic Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. Chakhalian was jailed
for two months pending trial for having allegedly “illegally” crossed
Georgia’s border with Armenia. On October 30, he was released. Some
local publications have argued that the release was at Russia’s
request.
Chakhalian’s arrest surprised most Armenians since no visa regime
exists between the two states; the arrest of an ethnic Armenian
for entering Armenia struck many as strange. Some members of the
opposition, including the Dashink Party of former Nagorno-Karabakh
warlord Samvel Babayan, said the arrest had been made at the request
of Tbilisi officials who wanted to curtail United Javakhk’s support
for ethnic Armenians in Samtskhe-Javakheti. (The leader of a rival
non-governmental organization to Miasnakan Javakhk has gone even
further, charging that Chakhalian was working with Georgian special
services to destabilize the region and push ethnic Armenians out
of the area.) The movement’s opposition to the construction of the
Kars-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki railroad, which will connect the region with
Turkey, was seen as the reason for such action.
Both pro-government and opposition publications share strong opposition
to this project. Yerevan fears the line would further isolate Armenia,
currently hemmed in by blockades on its borders with Turkey and
Azerbaijan. On October 19, the pro-government daily newspaper Hayots
Ashkharh published an analysis that argued that the railroad would
damage ties between Armenia and Georgia, and urged the Saakashvili
government not to harm its relations with Armenia for “a $200 million
bribe by Turks and Azeris.”
The opposition newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak, a pro-Western publication
close to former President Levon Ter-Petrossian’s Armenian National
Movement, has taken a different approach. In its October 19 issue, the
paper argued that Russia could use Miasnakan Javakhk to put pressure
on Georgia. The newspaper Iravunk followed that line on November 3,
saying that Miasnakan Javakhk’s “strongly pro-Russian” position and
activities are “certain to worry Armenian Prime Minister… Margarian
and [Defense Minister] Serzh Sarkisian” as they pursue dialogue with
the West.
The government, to date, has not responded to the allegations.
Editor’s Note: Haroutiun Khachatrian is a Yerevan-based writer
specializing in economic and political affairs.

GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS SELLING ITS STAKE IN ARMENTEL TO FUTURE BUYER
By Astghik Bedevian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Nov 8 2006
The Armenian government is likely to sell its 10 percent stake in
the Armenian Telephone Company (ArmenTel) to its future buyer if the
latter vows to end its monopoly on Armenia’s telecom market.
Armenia’s Minister of Transport and Communication Andranik Manukian,
who was entrusted last week to manage the state-held share in the
company, announced Wednesday that the government will not object to
Vimpel-Communications buying the remaining 10 percent share if the
Russian mobile operator rejects all types of monopolies currently
enjoyed by ArmenTel.
“We kept our shares to be able to influence somehow the company’s
decisions during the meetings of its shareholders,” Manukian said,
adding that if the monopoly provisions are reconsidered ‘prices
will result from competition and there will be no question of tariff
policy regulation.’
“It seems to me that the government’s participation with its 10
percent stake will not give anything. For us it is important that the
monopoly provisions be removed,” the minister said, giving assurances
that the government will not give up its stake otherwise.
Vimpel-Communications agreed last week to buy a 90 percent stake in
ArmenTel Greece’s Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA for
341.9 million euros ($436.3 million) plus about 40 million euros
(US$51 million) in debt.
ArmenTel has about 600,000 fixed-line and 400,000 mobile subscribers.
Vimpel-Communications operates phone services in Russia and Kazakhstan
and recently acquired cellular operators in Ukraine, Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan and Georgia. The Group’s cellular license portfolio covers
a territory with a population of about 237 million.

KAZAKHSTAN’S AMBASSADOR: KAZAKHSTAN’S POSITION TOWARD AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY REMAINS UNCHANGED
Author: A. Ismayilova
TREND, Azerbaijan
Nov 8 2006
“Kazakhstan acknowledges the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan”,
Andar Shukputov, Kazakhstan Ambassador to Azerbaijan, has told
journalists today, commenting the information spread by some media
sources concerning Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s alleged
statements concerning his highly appreciation of Armenia’s policy
and his alleged support to Kazakhstan’s entrepreneurs’ involvement to
precious metal mining on the occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh
during the official visit of Armenian President Robert Kocharyan,
Trend reports.
According to the Kazakhstan Ambassador, the information was
misrepresented by those media sources who handed over it.
“That concerned the work of Kazakhstan’s entrepreneurs on the territory
of Armenia. Kazakhstan’s position toward the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan remains unchanged”, stated the Kazakhstan diplomat.