Month: April 2007

U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN JAN SCHAKOWSKY JOINS THE ARMENIAN CAUCUS

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
April 12 2007

Caucus continues to grow rapidly, Schakowsky joins over 140 of her
fellow colleagues, who are a part of this bipartisan committee.

Congresswoman Schakowsky’s district contains the greatest number of
Armenians living in Illinois. Recently, the members of the ANC of
Illinois met with Congresswoman Schakowsky to discuss several issues
of importance of the Armenian American community, including H. Res.

106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution. Ari Killian, Chairman of the ANC
of Illinois stated, "We welcome the Congresswoman’s decision to sign on
to the Armenian Caucus. With the growing number of Armenians living in
her district, we look forward to continuing to build our relationship."

"I am honored to join the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues. Over the last twelve years, the Armenian Caucus has been
instrumental in raising political awareness in this country about the
issues that affect the Armenian people," said U.S. Representative
Jan Schakowsky. "As a new member of the Caucus, I look forward to
working with my colleagues to address the issues and concerns of the
Armenian-American community in my district."

Congresswoman Schakowsky began her political career in the Illinois
Assembly and is currently serving her fifth term in the United States
Congress. She has served as a voice for those who have been affected
by domestic violence. She is the Democratic Chief Deputy Whip and
serves on many committees including Energy and Commerce and was one
of the founding members of the Out-of-Iraq Caucus.

To note, founded in 1995, the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues is a bipartisan forum for the discussion of policies to
foster increased cooperation between the United States and Armenian
governments and to strengthen the enduring bonds between the American
and Armenian peoples. It was founded by Congressmen Frank Pallone
(D-NJ) and John Porter (R-IL) and is currently co-chaired by Rep.

Pallone and Michigan Republican Joe Knollenberg. The bipartisan group
has over 145 members of Congress, including 11 out of the 19 Illinois
representatives.

The Armenian National Committee of Illinois is a part of the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political
organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices,
chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated
organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns
of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

RA NEW GOVERNMENT FORMED

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
April 12 2007

April 11 RA President Robert Kocharian signed an ordinance on
appointment of RA government’s members.

According to the information DE FACTO received at the RA President’s
Press Office, by the ordinance the following persons had been appointed
as RA government’s members: Aghvan Vardanian – Minister of Labor and
Social Issues Norajr Davidian – Minister of Health Karen Tchshmaritian
– Minister of Trade and Economic Development David Harutyunian –
Minister of Justice Vardan Oskanian – Foreign Minister Vardan Ajvazian
– Minster of Nature Protection David Lokian – Minister of Agriculture
Armen Movsisian – Minister of Power Engineering Manouk Topuzian –
Minister and Head of the Government Machinery Levon Mkrtchian –
Minister of Education and Science Hasmik Poghosian – Minister of
Culture and Youth Issues Hovik Abramian – Minister for Territorial
Governance Andranik Manukian – Minister of Transport and Communications
Aram Harutyunian – Minister of City Construction Vardan Khachatrian –
Minister of Finance and Economy.

The newly appointed Ministers held the same posts under former RA
PM Andranik Margarian. To remind, the government went out because of
Andranik Margarian’s sudden death.

April 4 Armenia’s President signed an ordinance on appointment of RA
new PM – Serge Sargsian, releasing him from the duties of RA Defense
Minister. At present Chief of General Staff of RA Armed Forces Mikael
Harutyunyan exercises the functions of RA Defense Minister.

NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS CALL ON TURKEY TO ABOLISH CONTROVERSIAL LAW

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
April 12 2007

The open letter also called on Turkey to establish diplomatic
relations with Armenia.

ANKARA – Fifty-three Nobel prize winners have signed a letter calling
on Turkey to abolish article 301 from the Turkish Penal Code and to
open diplomatic ties with neighbouring Armenia.

Haberin devamý

The letter, released on Tuesday, also said that Turkey should halt
what it described as discrimination against religious and ethnic
minorities and acknowledge that the Ottoman Empire committed an act
of genocide against its Armenian citizens during the First World War.

The letter said that article 301 of the Penal Code, which covers
the crime of insulting Turkish identity, has been used to suppress
free speech.

The letter was drafted by David Phillips, an official with the US
based Elie Wiesel Foundation. Phillips said that it was important for
Nobel laureates to join their voices in support of Turkish-Armenian
reconciliation.

"Armenia also should reverse its own authoritarian course, allow free
and fair elections, and respect human rights," the letter said.

"An open border would greatly improve the economic conditions for
communities on both sides of the border and enable human interaction,
which is essential for mutual understanding."

–Boundary_(ID_KkZ8RIVSKf+IQ B3Ftv3pNQ)–

DAVOUDI FELICITATES NEW ARMENIAN PREMIER

Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
April 12 2007

Iran-Armenia-Felicitations

First Vice-President Parviz Davoudi on Thursday felicitated new
Armenian Premier Serzh Sarkissian on taking the office.

He also extended felicitations to the Armenian government and Armenian
nation on the new appointment.

Davoudi said that it is expected that through collective cooperation
of Iran and Armenia, the current level of cooperation would further
broaden in all grounds.

Former Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, leader of the
ruling Republican party died of a heart attack last month.

GEORGIA SHOWS INTEREST IN IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE
Marianna Grigoryan

EurasiaNet, NY
April 12 2007

The Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, officially opened on March 19 by
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Armenian President Robert
Kocharian, has quickly emerged as a source of speculation about
regional energy alliances. A trip to Armenia by Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili two days after the pipeline’s opening provided
plenty of fuel for conjecture.

According to Armenian presidential spokesperson Viktor Soghomonian,
Saakashvili’s March 21-24 "private" trip was "only for skiing." The
Georgian president stayed in the ski resort town of Tsaghkadzor,
about 55 kilometers from Yerevan, where he met with Armenian President
Robert Kocharian. Later, the Georgian and Armenian foreign ministers,
Gela Bezhuashvili and Vardan Oskanian, joined the discussions.

Neither Georgian nor Armenian officials issued a statement on
the nature of the talks. Even so, Armenian political analysts and
opposition members reject the notion that the trip was for relaxation
only. Rather, they link Saakashvili’s visit – at least indirectly —
to the opening of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline.

"True, the presidential office did not explain why Saakashvili came
to Armenia. However, it is clear that there was a serious topic for
discussion, and the most urgent of such topics in the region is the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline," said parliamentarian Shavarsh Kocharian,
head of the National Democratic Party. "If the two countries’ leaders
met, it is impossible that such a serious issue as the gas pipeline
should not have been touched upon."

The 140-kilometer-long pipeline is projected to supply Armenia with
up to 1.1 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year until 2019,
when that supply target is expected to rise to 2.3 bcm annually.

Economist Eduard Aghajanov notes that Georgia’s desire to reduce its
dependence on Russia for gas supplies could have prompted Saakashvili
to explore import possibilities with Armenian officials, as he has
done already with the leadership of Armenia’s neighbor, Azerbaijan.

[For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The $235 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas price that Georgia pays to
Russian energy giant Gazprom is the highest rate among members of
the Commonwealth of Independent States. [For details, see the Eurasia
Insight archive.]

"[I]f there is a possibility to receive gas from a third source, then
a reasonable politician would not miss that opportunity by any means,
not to remain hanging on Russian gas," Aghajanov said.

Currently, Georgia receives some 2.3 million cubic meters per day
come from Azerbaijan, including some 1 million cubic meters from the
recently opened Shah-Deniz gas pipeline, Energy Minister Nika Gilauri
told reporters in March. Russia supplies roughly 3.3 million cubic
meters per day, whether via purchases from Gazprom or as transit fees
for the export of Russian gas to Armenia via Georgia.

Some doubt persists in Tbilisi about whether tapping into the
Iran-Armenia pipeline would reduce the country’s energy dependency on
Russia. In June 2006, Gazprom signaled its clear intention to acquire
Armenia’s stake in the pipeline, and posted a press release on its
website stating that it had already made the purchase. Armenian
authorities neither denied nor confirmed report of the sale, saying
that such discussions were premature. [For additional information
see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Beyond geopolitical considerations, technical obstacles appear to
diminish the chances that the Iran-Armenia pipeline could immediately
benefit Georgia. The pipeline’s current capacity stands at only about
300-400 million cubic meters of gas, the Russian news agency Regnum
reported. Its diameter of 770 millimeters – half of its original
size – is not seen as sufficient for exporting gas to Georgia or
other markets.

"No doubt, the Georgian government knows that at the present
moment Armenia has no possibility to export Iranian gas," commented
independent political analyst Sevak Sarukhanian. But that capacity
could change, he added. "[I]f Armenia cannot perform the function of
a transit country at the moment exporting Iranian gas to Georgia,
then in the future it is quite possible. And Georgia would like to
use that opportunity in every possible way."

The notion of Georgia importing Iranian gas via the Iran-Armenia
pipeline is not a new one. Former foreign minister Salome Zourabichvili
raised the issue during an official visit to Yerevan in 2004; talks
on the topic have also reportedly been held between Georgian and
Armenian government officials, including the late Prime Minister
Andranik Markarian.

Georgian officials have previously stated that Georgia will not need
to import Iranian gas if supplies from the Baku-based Shah-Deniz
pipeline, which crosses into Turkey via Georgia, remain adequate. The
Islamic Republic provided emergency supplies during Georgia’s January
2006 gas crisis. At the time, the United States reacted warily to the
prospect of having its closest Caucasus ally, Georgia, forge any kind
of enduring energy relationship with Iran.

Editor’s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the ArmeniaNow
Online weekly in Yerevan

UEFA IGNORES DOCUMENTS ON ARMENIAN OCCUPATION OF 20% AZERI TERRITORY

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 12 2007

The UEFA representatives have ignored the documents approved by
US Department of State on Armenian occupation of 20% Azerbaijani
territory and in result of which over 1mln people have become refugees,
APA-Sport reports.

The document was presented to the members of UEFA commission on the
venue of Azerbaijan – Armenia matches.

Trilateral meeting with the participation of Azerbaijan and Armenian
football federation leaderships as well as commission members was
held yesterday in UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Former
UEFA secretary general Lars Christer-Olsson had also received such
document a year ago.

APPEAL TO BE FILED AGAINST HUNGARIAN COURT DECISION ON AZERBAIJANI ARMY OFFICER

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 12 2007

An appeal will be field against the decision of Budapest Appeals
Court upholding life sentence on Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov
soon, lawyer Ikram Shirinov, representative of the officer’s family
and Defense Ministry told the APA. He said that he got the court’s
decision several days ago and is now analyzing it.

"After analyzing the document we will make a decision on filing an
appeal against it," he said.

Though there is no time limit in filing the appeal in Hungary,
Shirinov considers that the appeal should be fled as soon as possible.

"We will file the appeal by June. We will make a decision with regard
to it after analyzing the document," he said.

Ramil Safarov, was accused of murdering Armenian officer Gurgen
Markaryan and sentenced to life in jail by Budapest Court on April 13,
2006.

ARTUR BROTHERS NOT IN THE COUNTRY, SAYS MUTUA.

Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Kenya
April 12 2007

Caption: Lang’ata MP Raila Odinga claimed that the Artur brothers
had re-entered the country.

The government has dismissed media reports alleging that the Artur
brothers are back in the country.

Addressing the media during his weekly briefing, Government Spokesman,
Dr. Alfred Mutua termed the reports as cheap propaganda aimed at
misleading and confusing Kenyans.

Mutua cautioned leaders against inciting the public.

Meanwhile, the saga of the two Armenian brothers Artur Margayan and
Sargasyan resurfaced in parliament on Thursday as the government
revealed it will not make public the Kiruki led inquiry report amidst
demands from MPs that it does so.

Internal security assistant minister Peter Munya told parliament, that
the report borders on the country’s national security and releasing
it will jeopardize the country’s security apparatus.

The internal security assistant minister was responding to Ndhiwa
member Orwa Ojode who had raised the matter.

Ojode accused the government of concealing information from the public
yet the matter caused panic as 8 police officers and senior government
officials were sacked in connection with the incident.

Ojode argued that taxpayers money was spent in instituting the Kiruki
led commission of inquiry thereby owing the public an explanation
into the two Armenians presence in the country.

Bumula MP Bifwoli Wakoli claimed the two brothers were brought into
the country for an assassination mission, alleging that there was an
attempt to conceal the Armenians true identity and their mission by
sacking some police officers.

However Munya was adamant that the report touches on immigration
clearance and releasing its details will expose the country’s security
system.

Munya said the government has studied the recommendations and concluded
that making public their contents is not in the interest of Kenyans.

Langata member Raila Odinga described the Armenian incident as
a scandal. He claimed that since their deportation they have been
spotted in the country twice, saying once in Mombasa and at a separate
time at the Nakuru state lodge.

Munya however said he will not engage in speculation but added that
the records reveal that there was a security breach at the airport
and the government is working on seeing how to improve it.

RADICAL OPPOSITIONISTS STICK TO ‘REVOLUTION’ THEME
By Astghik Bedevian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
April 12 2007

Armenia’s most radical opposition party rallied more than a thousand
supporters in Yerevan on Thursday, telling them to be ready for
a "democratic revolution" which it said could follow the May 12
parliamentary elections.

Launching their election campaign in the city’s southern Shengavit
district, the leaders of the Hanrapetutyun (Republic) party indicated
their intention to stage a popular revolt in the wake of what they
expected to be another fraudulent vote.

"This is our country, people. We are its masters, people,"
Hanrapetutyun’s outspoken leader, Aram Sarkisian, told the enthusiastic
crowd that braved heavy rain to gather in the main local square.

Sarkisian said the choice of the starting point of his party’s
campaign was not accidental, reminding the demonstrators that the
Armenian opposition’s most recent attempt at regime change began with
a Hanrapetutyun rally held in the same venue in January 2004.

That campaign eventually ended in failure due to poor attendance
of opposition rallies and an unprecedented government crackdown on
the opposition. Incidentally, the Shengavit rally coincided with the
third anniversary of the key opposition protest staged near President
Robert Kocharian’s official residence at the time. Its heavy-handed
dispersal by security forces predetermined the failure of the regime
change drive.

Hanrapetutyun leaders seem to be undaunted by that fiasco, saying that
they would not content themselves with a handful of seats in the next
parliament. "There can be no evolutionary change in Armenia," one
of them, Gegham Harutiunian, said in his speech. "Only a democratic
revolution can change things in Armenia."

Harutiunian warned that those opposition forces that would refuse to
attend Hanrapetutyun’s post-election rallies would be publicly branded
as government agents. The warning appeared to be primarily addressed to
the country’s three largest opposition parties whose leaders — Artur
Baghdasarian, Artashes Geghamian, and Stepan Demirchian — have refused
to form electoral alliances with Hanrapetutyun and other parties.

The three men held separate gatherings with voters on Thursday.

Baghdasarian addressed about 200 disabled people in the headquarters of
his Orinats Yerkir Party, while Geghamian toured villages close to the
central town of Abovian. The area is the stronghold of Gagik Tsarukian,
a Kocharian-connected businessman whose populist Prosperous Armenia
Party is expected to do well in the elections at the opposition’s
expense.

Without mentioning Tsarukian by name, Hanrapetutyun’s Sarkisian
denounced the tycoon as an uneducated "anti-hero" who embodies the
values espoused by the country’s leadership. "When you tell a kid
to study well [in school,] he asks, ‘Did this country’s richest man,
who is now prospering, study well?’" he said.

TSARUKIAN PARTY OFFICES DAMAGED BY BLASTS
By Ruzanna Khachatrian, Karine Kalantarian, and Satenik Vantsian in Gyumri

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
April 12 2007

Two Yerevan offices of the pro-presidential Prosperous Armenia Party
(BHK) were rocked by explosions early Thursday in what President Robert
Kocharian promptly condemned as an attempt to destabilize the political
situation in the country ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections.

The blasts occurred in the space of two hours early in the morning,
blowing out the doors and windows of the BHK offices in the city’s
northern Kanaker-Zeytun and Avan districts but not injuring anyone.

Police said they were caused by explosive devices planted at the
entrance to the premises.

The Avan office, which occupies a single room on the ground floor of an
apartment building, was particularly damaged by the blast. BHK workers
were already repairing it early in the afternoon. Several apartments
in the 16-story building also had their windows shattered by the blast.

"We are not scared of anything," said Levon Asatrian, head of the
BHK’s Avan chapter.

Police quickly examined the sites of the bombings and launched a
criminal investigation under an article of Armenia’s Criminal Code
that deals with substantial material damage deliberately inflicted
on private property.

According to Kocharian’s press secretary, Victor Soghomonian, the
president of the republic, who is widely believed to support the BHK,
instructed law-enforcement authorities to "take all necessary measures
to solve the crime as soon as possible."

"Strongly condemning these crimes, we evaluate them an attempt to
destabilize the situation and create an atmosphere of intolerance in
the run-up to the elections," Soghomonian told RFE/RL.

"Manifestations of extremism can not undermine Armenia’s resolve to
hold democratic elections."

The BHK echoed that evaluation at an emergency meeting of its governing
council headed by Gagik Tsarukian, a millionaire businessman close
to Kocharian. But it avoided blaming anyone for the blasts.

"We believe that that crime is directed not only against the BHK
but the entire republic," the BHK spokesman, Baghdasar Mherian,
told RFE/RL. "We are grateful to the president of the republic for
his swift reaction and highly appreciate his statement," he said.

The governing Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), one of the BHK’s
main election rivals, promptly condemned the blasts, in what looked
like a denial of any responsibility for them. "Such actions are taken
by those who are incapable of waging an honest and just political
struggle and are ready to destabilize the situation in the country,"
the party said in a statement.

The HHK, which is led by Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, and the
BHK are widely seen as the two frontrunners in the Armenian election
campaign. There are fears that the obviously uneasy rapport between
their leaders could flare up into a bitter confrontation on election
day.

Those fears grew after the May 25 local election in the southern town
of Armavir. Its incumbent Republican mayor controversially defeated
his main challenger representing the BHK. The latter refused to
concede defeat, alleging massive electoral fraud.

Meanwhile, the BHK itself was implicated in election-related violence
on Thursday when a resident of Artik, a small town in northwestern
Armenia, claimed to have been badly beaten up by local activists of
Tsarukian’s party. The man, Smbat Poghosian, was hospitalized with
severe injuries the previous night.

Speaking to RFE/RL from his hospital bed, Poghosian said he was
attacked by a group of men after "accidentally" tearing up a campaign
poster of the local BHK candidate, Mushegh Pepoyan. Police in Artik
opened a criminal case in connection with the incident.

Pepoyan admitted that his supporters attacked Poghosian. But he said
they did so only after he deliberately destroyed several BHK posters
and assaulted other Tsarukian party activists on Tuesday.

Pepoyan’s main election rival, Mikael Varagian, is not officially
affiliated with the HHK but is thought to be backed by Artik’s
Republican mayor.