Month: April 2007

INVESTMENTS IN URANIUN MINING IN ARMENIA TO TOTAL HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

Arka News Agency, Armenia
April 23 2007

YEREVAN, April 23. /ARKA/. Investments in the mining of uranium in
Armenia may total dozens or hundreds of millions of dollars, Head of
the RF Federal Atomic Energy Agency Sergey Kiriyenko told reporters.

"Investments in the mining of uranium in the Syunik region alone may
total dozens up to hundreds of millions of dollars," Kiriyenko said.

According to him, uranium does not normally prove to be the only
mineral, and essential economic improvement can be expected if an
Armenian-Russian JV extracts not only uranium, but also associated
minerals.

"We have verified the geological information of the Soviet times and
understand that the reserves of natural uranium in Armenia amount to
30ths tons. This is rather interesting," Kiriyenko said.

According to him, although the reserves are not so large, the deposits
are not thoroughly prospected, and thorough prospecting shows larger
reserves in each deposit.

"So we hope that detailed geological prospecting will show reserves
half as much again, or twice as much as forecast. Correspondingly,
in our protocol we have determined the companies and approved the
plan of priority actions. The meaning of the plan is that by the end
of 2007 we must complete the work," Kiriyenko said.

According to him, geological groups are to arrive in Armenia during
the next few weeks to start supplementary exploration of the deposit
in cooperation with specialists of the "Geoeconomy" CJSC.

He added that it will underlie the feasibility report, and the forma
of cooperation will be chosen.

"The tentative hypothesis is the establishment of an equally shared
JV. We believe that such a JV must be established by the end of the
year, licensed and launch its activities," Kiriyenko said.

Speaking of the uranium reserves, he stressed that Armenia can satisfy
its needs for natural uranium with the forecast reserves, and can even
export it. Kiriyenko also said that Armenia expressed its interest in
joining the international center for uranium enrichment being founded
in Angarsk.

"The organizational work has been completed, and we hope that a
final intergovernmental agreement will be signed in May, and the draft
documents on Armenia’s accession to it are ready. In this case, Armenia
will get access to the technological chain, including extraction,
enrichment and use of nuclear fuel at the NPP," he said.

"Thus, Armenia becomes another country having access to the
technological chain of peaceful development of atomic energy. This
will raise Armenia’s level in the world and of our cooperation," he
said. Kiriyenko added that Armenian-Russian cooperation has recently
been actively developed. He also pointed out that Russia guarantees
the supply of fuel to the Armenian HPP as long as it operates.

"Armenia and Russia are starting comprehensive cooperation in nuclear
energy development," he said.

In his turn, RA Minister of Ecology Vardan Aivazyan stressed that joint
extraction of uranium will certainly contribute to the construction
of a new NPP in Armenia.

According to him, the presence of uranium deposits will allow Armenia
to be a self-sufficient country in the energy aspect, especially now
that gas and oil reserves have become a political factor.

"Uranium as raw material of the 21st century can also become a serious
factor, and we will not have any problems with constantly exploding
gas mains, rise in oil and gas price," he said.

He also added that no uranium will be extracted in the territory
adjacent to Lake Sevan.

During the visit of the Russian delegation headed by Sergey Kirityenko,
a protocol on geological prospecting, extraction and processing
of uranium ore was signed between the Rosatom and the RA Ministry
of Ecology.

Also, the sides signed a contact for preparation and substantiation
of the expert opinion on the uranium reserves in Armenia between the
Russian Research Institute Chemical Technologies and the Geoeconomics
CJSC (Armenia).

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BLOOD DRIVE TO HELP REMEMBER GENOCIDE
By Ani Amirkhanian

Glendale News Press, CA
April 23 2007

Armenian National Committee partners with the American Red Cross for
week of remembrance.

Glendale Unified School District Board Member Joylene Wagner lay on a
cot gripping a red ball in her hand as a phlebotomist dripped iodine
on her arm in preparation to draw blood.

On Sunday, Wagner donated blood during the Armenian National
Committee’s annual blood drive at St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church.

The committee organized the event with the American Red Cross in
conjunction with the city’s week of remembrance.

"I give blood periodically," Wagner said. "It’s the Armenian National
Committee’s efforts for the whole community."

Donors give one pint of blood, Elen Asatryan, executive director of
the Glendale chapter of the Armenian National Committee, said.

The blood will be distributed to local hospitals that have patients
who require blood transfusions, she said.

"We wanted to give back to the community," Asatryan said.

It was the first time that Los Angeles resident Moon Kyin signed up
to give blood.

Kyin waited for his turn with his parents, who came to show their
support. His father, Feek, decided he would also donate his blood.

"We want to donate blood to save people’s lives," Kyin said. "Maybe
someday, we will need other people’s help."

As he lay waiting, Raffi Hamparian, chairman of the western region
of the Armenian National Committee, kept his right arm still as the
phlebotomist prepared to draw blood.

"This is the second time I’ve given at the Glendale Armenian National
Committee blood drive," Hamparian said. "Both times I’ve come knowing
this is the right thing to do."

Hamparian began squeezing the red ball with his right hand.

"It is a tribute to the martyrs of 1915," he said, of the blood
drive. "It’s part of the broader effort to mark the genocide."

SUSPECTS TAKEN TO SCENE OF MURDER OF CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY

Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Germany
April 22, 2007 Sunday 9:56 AM EST

DPA POLITICS Turkey Crime Media Suspects taken to scene of murder of
Christians in Turkey Ankara

Four people arrested on suspicion of the murders of three Protestants
at a Christian publishing house last week were taken by police on a
tour of the crime scene Sunday to explain to prosecutors how they
entered the building and what occurred, the Anadolu news agency
reported.

Under heavy police security in the early hours of Sunday morning the
four toured the offices of Zirve Publishing House.

Five attackers raided the third floor office on Wednesday afternoon,
binding the three victims, a German and two Turks, by hand and foot
and slashing their throats. Two of the victims were declared dead at
the scene, the third died in hospital.

The alleged leader of the attack, Emre Gunaydin, is undergoing
treatment in hospital having jumped out of a window in order to avoid
arrest and has yet to be questioned by police.

Anadolu reported that he is no longer in a critical condition and
could soon be interviewed.

The three dead were named as Necati Aydin, 35, Ugur Yuksel, 32,
and German national Tilmann Geske, 43.

A doctor from the Turgut Ozal Medical Centre was reported by Hurriyet
newspaper on Friday as saying Yuksel had been tortured before his
throat was slashed.

"There were so many stab wounds that we couldn’t count them," Hurriyet
quoted Dr. Murat Ugrus as saying. "It was clearly torture."

According to Turkish media, the attackers had religious and nationalist
motives.

"We didn’t do this for ourselves, but for our fatherland and for our
faith," the attackers were quoted as saying by Hurriyet newspaper
last week. "That should teach the enemies of our faith a lesson."

Newspapers on Saturday reported that the attack was three months in
the making.

In Ankara, police on Saturday started an investigation into threats
made to Christian media outlets in the city, the NTV private television
station reported on Saturday.

The threats were made to three printing press centres, a publishing
house and a radio station, NTV reported. All five workplaces have
been assigned police protection.

The murders in Malatya are the latest in a string of attacks
on Christians in Turkey. In February 2006 a teenager shot dead an
Italian priest in the Black Sea city of Trabzon and earlier this year
a Turkish nationalist killed Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KHANKENDI PROMISES TO "DOWN TRESPASSERS"
Translated by Pavel Pushkin

Source: Echo (Baku), April 18, 2007, p. EV
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
April 23, 2007 Monday

What is the new surge of belligerent rhetoric connected?

Defense Ministry Of Nagorno-Karabakh Is Prepared To Stop Any Breach
Of The Airspace Of The Self-Proclaimed Republic;

In case of breaching the airspace of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, the air defense forces of the republic can destroy any
trespasser. Lieutenant Colonel Senor Asratyan, director of the PR
service of the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed republic,
released this belligerent statement.

Asratyan stated that the combat readiness of the air defense forces
of Nagorno-Karabakh is on a high level. He emphasized: "Now, as during
the years of war, when we have destroyed about 25 Azerbaijani military
airplanes and helicopters, we are prepared for parrying any attack
of the Azerbaijani air force."

In case of breaching the airspace of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,
the air defense forces of the republic can destroy any trespasser.

Lieutenant Colonel Senor Asratyan, director of the PR service of
the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed republic, released this
belligerent statement. Asratyan stated that the combat readiness of
the air defense forces of Nagorno-Karabakh is on a high level. He
emphasized: "Now, as during the years of war, when we have destroyed
about 25 Azerbaijani military airplanes and helicopters, we are
prepared for parrying any attack of the Azerbaijani air force."

Asratyan adds that Azerbaijani airplanes perform training flights at a
distance of 30-35 kilometers from the border of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic and this is registered by the air defense forces of the
republic.

According to the majority of experts, these loud statements of
Asratyan represent a response to demonstrations of new MiGs purchased
by Azerbaijan in the Ukraine and statements of the Azerbaijani Defense
Ministry that at 3.30 pm on April 13, airplanes of the Azerbaijani
air force performed flights above the frontline in the Agdam area
and conducted exercises above the territory controlled by Armenians,
which was observed by residents of the villages near the frontline.

Another thing is clear too. Back in the middle of the 1990s,
Nagorno-Karabakh established an air defense system with the active
assistance of Russia. It is based on the Shilka systems, missile
systems Kub, Krug and more powerful Osa. There were also Igla and
Strela portable air defense missile systems that were later dubbed
an "ideal weapon for terrorists." Air defense missile systems S-125
were added to them later. Besides, Armenia operates much more modern
systems and is waiting for supplies of Russian S-300. Since spring
of 2006, the Internet mass media started publishing the opinions of
Armenian specialists saying that in case of a war, the "efficiency
of using Azerbaijani combat aviation will be reduced dramatically
by the presence of a layered air defense system in Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh including long-range and medium-range air defense
missile systems (S-125, S-75, Kub), close-range air defense artillery
systems and portable air defense missile systems (Osa, SZU-23-4,
Igla, Strela). The supply of new missile systems to Armenian air
defense forces is also expected."

Against this background, the report of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry
about training flights above the occupied territories contradicts
the former rhetoric in the style of "our sky is locked."

This circumstance raises quite understandable feelings in residents
of Nagorno-Karabakh for whom this is not a matter of prestige but
security. Besides, the self-proclaimed republic is also preparing for
the election of a new president and the boiling of political passions
there has already reached its apogee. Along with this, incumbent
leaders of separatists in Khankendi understand that security is a
political product for which there is always a demand.

One way or another, the statements of Asratyan are evidently not the
best way to calm the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is possible
that after the belligerent rhetoric fails, Nagorno-Karabakh may turn
from words to deeds. This is already a step towards a war, which has
always been a method of solving internal political problems for such
military occupational regimes.

REMEMBER THE SPIRITUAL FACTOR
by Oleg Gorupai

Source: Krasnaya Zvezda, April 19, 2007, p. 3
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
April 23, 2007 Monday

Meeting Of The Committee Of Personnel Departments Of Defense Ministries
Of The Cis Countries Was Held In Moscow;

A new meeting of the committee of personnel departments of defense
ministries of the CIS countries was held in Moscow in the secretariat
of the council of defense ministers of the CIS member states,
which was under the supervision of Colonel General Nikolai Reznik,
director of the main ideological department of the Russian Armed
Forces. Among participants of the meeting were representatives of
the defense ministries of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, the Ukraine and representatives of
the secretariat of the council of defense ministers of the CIS member
states and main ideological department of the Russian Armed Forces.

A new meeting of the committee of personnel departments of defense
ministries of the CIS countries was held in Moscow in the secretariat
of the council of defense ministers of the CIS member states,
which was under the supervision of Colonel General Nikolai Reznik,
director of the main ideological department of the Russian Armed
Forces. Among participants of the meeting were representatives of
the defense ministries of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, the Ukraine and representatives of
the secretariat of the council of defense ministers of the CIS member
states and main ideological department of the Russian Armed Forces.

Officers of the main ideological department of the Russian Armed
Forces readily summarized reports to the audience dedicated to the
experience of social legal work and social guarantees of servicemen
and members of their families accumulated in the Russian army, as
well as experience accumulated in the interaction of army structures
with religious organizations.

For example, 83-83% of servicemen in the Russian army identify
themselves as Orthodox Christians, while only 6% consider themselves
to be Muslims and 1% consider themselves Jews. In the Armenian
armed forces, almost 98% of personnel are followers of the Armenian
apostolic church. The organization of interaction with the church
became a subject of discussion at the meeting of the committee.

Having listened to opinions of representatives of the parties,
participants of the meeting approved the plan of the committee’s
work for 2007, analyzed the course of implementation of the model
concept of social aid and rehabilitation of servicemen and members
of their families in CIS member states. Participants of the meeting
also discussed the model concept for interaction of the military
command bodies of the armed forces of the CIS countries with religious
organizations in the interests of spiritual and ideological upbringing
of servicemen and members of their families.

RUSSIA, ARMENIA SIGN PROTOCOL ON URANIUM MINING IN ARMENIA

Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire
April 23, 2007 Monday 5:24 PM EET

YEREVAN, April 23 (Prime-Tass) – Russia and Armenia have signed
a protocol of intent to jointly explore uranium deposits and mine
uranium in Armenia, ITAR-TASS reported Monday.

The document was signed Monday by Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia’s
Federal Atomic Energy Agency, and Vardan Aivazyan, Armenia’s minister
of environmental protection.

At the same time Armenian state company Geoeconomic and the Russian
Research Institute for Chemical Technologies signed a contract to
appraise Armenia’s uranium reserves, ITAR-TASS said.

"We must finish the appraisal of Armenia’s uranium reserves and
establish a joint venture before the end of 2007," Kiriyenko said.

Russia may invest up to several hundred million dollars exploring
and developing uranium deposits in Armenia, Kiriyenko said.

Also, Armenia has expressed interest in joining the international
uranium enrichment center in Russia’s Angarsk, Kiriyenko said.

The international uranium enrichment center in Angarsk started
operating this year. The first joint venture in the center has been
established between Kazakh state-owned nuclear company Kazatomprom
and Russian state-owned nuclear fuel exporter Tekhsnabexport.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH PROSECUTOR WANTS 11 JAILED OVER CHRISTIAN MURDERS

Agence France Presse — English
April 22, 2007 Sunday

A Turkish prosecutor called on Sunday for 11 suspects to be jailed
pending trial over the gruesome murder of three Christians in eastern
Turkey, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The prosecutor made the demand after questioning the suspects —
10 young men and a woman — for about eight hours in Malatya city,
where a German and two Turkish converts to Christianity had their
throats slit Wednesday.

A judge was due to make a ruling later on Sunday.

A 12th suspect, allegedly the leader, remains in hospital with a
serious head injury after jumping from the third-floor office of the
Christian publishing house in Malatya where the victims were killed,
to escape arrest.

Doctors say the condition of the suspect — named in the press as
Emre Gunaydin, 19 — is improving and he may be fit for questioning
within several days.

The murders were the latest attack on minorities in Turkey following
the killings of a Roman Catholic priest last year and an ethnic
Armenian journalist in January.

The media have speculated that the assailants belong to a nationalist
Islamist cell similar to one in the northern city of Trabzon blamed
for the murder of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

Police brought the suspects to the courthouse in armoured vehicles
and stepped up security in the area, Anatolia said.

One of the suspects allegedly filmed the murders on his mobile
telephone.

He told the police he was asked to record the grisly scenes by
Gunaydin, the mass-selling Sabah daily said.

The three victims, who belonged to the tiny Protestant community
in Malatya, were tied to chairs and tortured for three hours before
being killed as their assailants interrogated them on their missionary
activities.

The Zirve publishing house distributed bibles and published Christian
literature.

Four suspects were captured at the crime scene when police raided the
publishing house, alerted by a local Protestant who grew suspicious
when he found the office door locked.

Gunaydin had reportedly visited the publishing house several times
and even attended an Easter dinner hosted by the community in Malatya
this month.

The sole woman suspect, detained Saturday, has been identified as
his girlfriend.

Officials have not revealed the details of the remaining six men,
who were detained Thursday and Friday, saying only that all suspects
are aged 19 and 20.

Newspapers said one of them was the son of the mayor of a nearby town
from the ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party.

The police are looking for seven other people, including a bearded
man believed to have fled the publishing house shortly before police
arrived, newspapers said.

Germany, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union
that Turkey is seeking to join, has urged Ankara to take measures to
ensure the protection of religious freedom.

The German victim, Tilmann Geske, was buried in Malatya, where he
had lived since 2003.

His wife Suzanna told the Vatan daily Sunday that she and her three
children would continue to live there "until Jesus gives me a sign
to go."

RUSSIA MAY INJECT HEAVY FUNDS IN ARMENIA’S URANIUM PROJECT

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
April 23, 2007 Monday 07:50 AM EST

Russian federal atomic energy agency chief Sergei Kiriyenko does
not rule out that Russia may inject several hundreds of millions of
dollars in Armenia’s uranium project.

"I believe that Russia may inject from several dozens up to several
hundreds of millions of dollars in Armenia’s uranium exploration and
development via a joiÎt venture," he said.

–Boundary_(ID_P6H8z+uEPyld4QunzEFn+A)–

RUSSIA, ARMENIA TO COOPERATE IN URANIUM PRODUCTION

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
April 23, 2007 Monday

Russia and Armenia have signed a Protocol of Intent on Monday on
prospecting for and development of uranium.

The document titled "The Protocol of Intent between Rosatom (Russia’s
Nuclear Power Agency) and the Armenian Environment Ministry for
geological prospecting and processing of uranium, as well as a Plan of
Activities for 2007 have been signed by Rosatom Chief Sergei Kiriyenko
and Armenian Minister of Environment Vartan Aivazian.

ARMENIA SEEKS JOINING INTL URANIUM ENRICHMENT CENTRE IN ANGARSK

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
April 23, 2007 Monday

Armenia has expressed interest in joining the international uranium
enrichment centre in Angarsk, Russia’s Irkutsk region, Russian federal
atomic energy agency chief Sergei Kiriyenko told a news conference
on Monday.

"Documents are now being studied. Thus, Armenia gets the whole chain
and becomes another country that has full nuclear cycle," he said.

He pointed out that several working groups were set up to develop
Armenia’s energy system and nuclear power plants.

"We are entering strategic and comprehensive cooperation in nuclear
power development," Kiriyenko said.