Month: July 2007

FAMILY RECORD BECOMES CHRONICLE OF GENOCIDE
By Steve Arney

BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO
July 30 2007

BLOOMINGTON, ILL. – To record his father’s life, George Churukian
led a family effort to fill a volume with pictures and accomplishments.

But he couldn’t leave it there. Churukian, a retired Illinois Wesleyan
professor, felt it necessary to delve into the human tragedy witnessed
by his father, his mother and their people, the Armenians.

A weathered red notebook contains the scribbling of Giragos Churukian,
a physician known as Doc throughout the east-central Illinois town
of Paris, where he practiced medicine for more than five decades.

Now typed, edited and self-published, the contents tell of hardship
that defined Doc Churukian’s early life. Advertisement In doctor’s
scribble, Giragos wrote: "We begged them to let us rest, drink water,
and eat something – of no use. Old and weak ones could not tolerate
the trip and they were left behind. My grandmother, Martha, was left
behind and we never saw or heard of her anymore. She just died or
was killed and perhaps buried next to the road."

They were in what is today part of Syria. In those days, it was
Anatolia, within the Turkish-ruled Ottoman Empire, and the Armenian
population was being cleansed. The Turkish government acknowledges
trouble in those parts in the 1910s; it denies genocide occurred.

But Armenians were targeted, placed on death marches through the
desert and often massacred in groups, according to historians. The
word "genocide" isn’t avoided among academics, and the U.S. government
estimates 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered and forcefully exiled.

A recount of horrors is an awkward introduction for a life story of
a man who became a prominent citizen in a small Illinois town.

Said his son, George: "The major value, I think, is so that future
generations know what happened, where we came from, what his life
was like and partially what my mother’s life was like."

George’s mother, Helen Churukian, also was an Armenian immigrant. She
died in 1987. Giragos lived until 1994, to the age of 97.

Starting in 1989 at age 93, Giragos provided the first pages of his
story. The early chapters explore two waves of repression.

The genocide of the Armenians generally is dated to the early days
of World War I, until the end of the war. The Churukian family dates
the start to 1909.

Giragos’ family and most of those in the city of Kessab fled an attack
by Turkish soldiers, Giragos recorded. With the overthrow of the
Sultan the same year, the people returned to their pillaged village.

A removal under soldier escort occurred in late 1914. The family,
nearing starvation, was given work mining salt in a city called
Djaboul, according to Giragos’ pages. The family befriended Arabs who
warned them of a rebel attack in autumn 1918, enabling them to escape.

TWO AZERI SERVICEMEN DIES, ONE INJURED

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
July 30 2007

Fatal road accident occurred in the village of Lanbaran, Barda region
yesterday, APA’s Karabakh bureau reports.

VAZ 2107 with three servicemen fell into the channel. Two Azerbaijani
servicemen, cadet of Baku High United Military Command School Gurban
Hashimov and officer, graduate of High Military School Rizvan Ismayilov
died. The other serviceman Ruslan Dashdamirov was seriously injured. He
was taken to Barda central hospital and later to military hospital.

Defense Ministry confirmed the fact. The ministry’s press secretary
Eldar Sabiroglu told APA that the injured serveceman feels normal.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RAMIL SAFAROV’S LAWYER TO BE SUBSTITUTED

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
July 30 2007

"Though I can not engage in Ramil Safarov’s case de jure, I will do
my best as a citizen," former lawyer for Ramil Safarov’s family Ikram
Shirinov told APA.

Ikram Shirinov said he consults with Ramil Safarov’s father concerning
protection of his rights.

"Ramil will phone me and I will speak to him about necessary points.

We are carrying out activities regarding Ramil Safarov that can not
be publicized," he said.

Ramil Safarov’s father Sahib Safarov told APA that Ikram Shirinov
told him his mission expired.

"The Bar appointed two lawyers on this case for three-year term. They
were Ikram Shirnov and Elmar Karimov. Elmar Karimov will possibly
continue to deal with the case," he said.

Defense Ministry’s press service officer Ilgar Verdiyev told APA that
the ministry pays to Ramil Safarov’s lawyer and Ramil Safarov’s family
determines the lawyer.

Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov, accused of killing Armenian officer
Gurgen Markaryan in Hungary was sentenced to life imprisonment.

His lawyer Ikram Shirinov has recently been appointed judge of Nasimi
district court. He will take up his post soon.

THE KURDISH QUESTION
By Lydia Wilson/Armavir

TIME
, 28804,1642444_1642441_1648069,00.html
July 30 2007

It’s 4 a.m. and the groom is tucking into what looks like raw trout,
stopping every now and then for a shot of vodka. He’s 25 and a
fledgling entrepreneur, flush with Russian money. The bride is 16
and a village girl. Earlier in the day, she arrived at the wedding
to a traditional Kurdish welcome – which in this part of Armenia
consists of being showered with red apples and sweets, hurled down
from a rooftop by her new husband’s drunken cohorts. But she has long
since left the party, and retired to the conjugal bed.

As we wait for our homeward taxi to arrive, we wonder, pityingly,
why her husband hasn’t joined her. Custom demands that the marriage be
consummated on the wedding night (and a red apple be presented to her
family on the morrow if the bride is found to be a virgin). "She’s
probably exhausted and just lying there waiting for him," whispers
my scandalized companion Nahro. But here’s the groom, heedlessly
drinking vodka with his friends, and with us – for we, too, are
pouring more shots.

In Armenia, there are rural, mountain-dwelling, poverty-stricken Kurds
and there are urbanized, lowland-living, comparatively wealthier
Kurds. We are sitting among the latter in the village of Argavand,
located in the province of Armavir on the Turkish border – and when
it comes to which group makes the better first impression, there’s no
contest. The lowland Kurds of Armavir mostly migrated to this region
during World War II and live as a tiny minority among the Armenians,
with whom relations are often strained. Racism and harassment are a
fact of daily life. Violence is common. Their religion, Yezidism,
has strong similarities to the Abrahamic religions of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam, yet is branded heretical by all three. All of
this means that the lowland Kurds can be a bit circumspect in the way
they carry themselves, and sometimes reticent about their ethnicity.

There’s none of that in the mountains. In fact, there’s not much
of anything in the mountains except snow and the cheery, forthright
welcome of a people who have hardly anything else to offer. The Alagyaz
district – a cluster of 11 Kurdish Yezidi villages – is just 50 km
from the Armenian capital Yerevan, but in terms of development it
might as well be a universe away, for the people there live a spartan
if not subsistence-level life. They moved to these mountains nearly
200 years ago – fleeing persecution in Turkey – and very little has
changed since. There is no running water; people and livestock live
under the same ramshackle roof; the schools are unheated and woefully
underequipped; and the only health care for miles around is provided
by a single nurse and clinic – funded not by the state but by private
donations, and responsible for everything from delivering babies to
pulling teeth. The state, in fact, is glaringly absent in many facets
of life. Perhaps this is the price the district pays for its open
sympathy for the militant separatist guerillas, the Partiya Karkeren
Kurdistan, or Kurdistan Workers’ Party – a sympathy that the Kurds
in Armavir would almost certainly not express if they shared it.

These political realities mirror the apparent social differences
between the lowland Kurds and their highland relations. Encounters
with the lowlanders are self-conscious and awkward, leaving me feeling
as if I’m on display; meetings with the highlanders are marked by
spontaneous warmth and the ready inclusion of the traveler in their
midst. The contrast strikes me hard as we sit in Argavand, waiting
for a taxi that seems like it will never arrive, and wondering for how
much longer the young groom will sit up drinking when he ought to be
in bed with his new wife. I recall an evening in the mountains, when
we were invited to the local schoolmaster’s for dinner, and I got out
my violin to learn some of the simple, beautiful Kurdish tunes. Before
long others joined in, and after a few more vodkas dancing started. It
all seems so remote from the morose gathering we now find ourselves in.

But the taxi does finally pull up outside. As we putter home, Nahro,
who understands the Kurmanci form of Kurdish, talks with the driver
about the groom’s reluctance to go to his bride on their wedding
night. The driver says something in reply and Nahro blanches. "What?

What is it?" I ask. Nahro translates: as well as consummation on the
wedding night, local custom equally stipulates that the groom not
leave the party until the last guest departs. So if anyone had been
forcing the bride to stare at the ceiling, waiting for her husband
during tonight’s lonely, agonizing hours, it was us. Suddenly, I’m
mortified by my own presumption. In fact, I want the night to swallow
me up – but dawn is already breaking.

YASHAR BAKISH: WE WILL NOT CHANGE OUR POSITION ON ARMENIA AND CYPRUS

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
July 30 2007

Former Foreign Minister of Turkey, parliamentarian Yashar Yakish
interviewed by APA’s Turkey bureau

– Your party Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the elections.

What can you say about the prospects of EU-Turkey relations as an
experienced diplomat, former Foreign Minister and chairman of the
previous parliament’s European Union Commission?

– The government’s winning strong support will be very useful for
Turkey-European Union relations from two aspects. Firstly, like
in other spheres the government’s policy regarding European Union
was approved by the people. Secondly the government winning great
support will demonstrate stronger position in the future debates. Our
government will be able to pass courageous decisions. We drew a road
map on the basis of our potential but not EU expectations in April.

We know what activities we will carry out by April, 2013. After that
we will carry out all necessary reforms in the framework of Copenhagen
criteria ignoring Sarcozy and Merkel’s statements. Since the issues
like Armenia and Cyprus are not included in Copenhagen criteria we
will not be able to change our position.

– AKP’s winning the elections strengthened Turkey’s role in the
region. Is it possible that Turkey’s position regarding Armenia
will tighten?

– Turkey will be stronger. Our government’s policy on both internal
and regional issues is obvious. We will continue pursuing this policy.

– We observe that Turkey suffers from PKK terror by North Iraqi
origin. They say Turkey will tighten its policy concerning this
issue. What can you say about it?

– We are concerned about the ongoing processes in the north of Iraq.

But we negotiate with Baghdad, not with northern Iraq. Prime Minister
of Iraq Maliki will visit Turkey next week. We want peaceful solution
to all our problems with Iraq. Military solution to the problem is
the last step for us. We are strengthening our battle readiness. We
have a number of building companies in the north of Iraq. Karkuk is
quite another problem. We want the referendum there to be postponed.

PKK terror is one of the main problems there. If Iraqi government can
not solve this problem, everybody knows that we will use all means
to ensure our security.

THE OSCE MINSK GROUP AS A TOOL TO PROMOTE U.S. INTERESTS IN THE CAUCASUS
by Andrei Areshev

Center for Research on Globalization, Canada
&aid=6429
Strategic Culture Foundation, 2007-04-11
Global Research
July 30 2007

The OSCE Minsk Group as a Tool to Promote U.S. Interests in the
Caucasus The refusal by U.S. State Department to issue an entry visa
to Abkahzia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba caused severe criticism
of its American colleagues from the Russian Foreign Ministry. The
comment of the Ministry’s Information and Press Department had it that
by acting this way "U.S. State Department has actually blocked the
holding of an unofficial meeting between the Abkhazian representative
and members of the U.N. Security Council on the eve of negotiations
aimed at getting an agreement on the text of a new resolution relating
to the settlement of the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict."

Other excerpts of the text of the official statement of the RF
Foreign Ministry are no less noteworthy:"This stance of the American
diplomacy causes misunderstanding, raising serious question here in
Moscow… The Abkhazian side as one of the officially acknowledged
parties to the conflict has every right, along with Georgia, to get
its message across to the international participants of the settlement
process to express its views of the essence of the provisions of the
resolution that have to do with it." (emphasised by me, A.A.)

The controversy between Russia and the United States over the entire
complex of issues related to the unsettled conflicts is snowballing.

A recent session of the UN Security Council was devoted to "the
Ahtisaari Plan", according to which the region is to be granted actual
independence. A clear threat of a Russian veto made the West accelerate
the re-grouping of its diplomatic combat units concerning the Kosovo
issue. Former U.S. UN representative Richard Halbrook, one of the top
figures behind the bloodshed in the Balkans and the follow-up Bosnian
"peace-making", has warned that "a delay and emasculation of the plan,
or a veto on granting independence to Kosovo under the guidance of
an EU mission would result in a bloodshed, for which Russia would be
held responsible. Moscow’s response to this blackmail complete with
its threat of unleashing a new battle in the Balkans was extremely
negative, while the scandal around the aborted visit to New York of
the Abkhazian delegation only increased mutual distrust and suspicions.

>From time to time one can hear that there still is one conflict,
approaching which Russia, the United States and Europe identify
with one another as in no other case. What is meant is the Karabakh
conflict where different brokers are going out of their ways to observe
politesse and to demonstrate their unity of approach. Another proof of
this stance comes from Yerevan, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov paid a visit several days ago. According to him, the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, to a greater degree than any other conflict, has to
be given the status of a unique case, and not because principles other
than those of the international law are applicable to it. The case
rather is that "from the practical point of view this must probably
be the only conflict where the interests of Russia, the United States
and the EU are never contradictory at the same time not contradicting
the interests of the conflicting sides."

Such a statement can really bewilder. From what Sergei Lavrov said
it is not quite clear why Karabakh was destined to be "so lucky". It
makes one think that the Russian minister was assigned to demonstrate
at least one example of Moscow’s successful interaction with Washington
in an attempt to settle at least one "frozen" conflict.

But it did not work out that way!

Regardless of the fact that both Moscow and Washington never stop
declaring that there is no alternative to the OSCE Minsk Group, its
intermediary’s activities of many years have been stalled. It would
be hard to expect something different, given that right from the
start the Minsk Group was a product of a political consensus of the
world’s leading players (the U.S., Russia and the EU) without a clearly
formulated mandate, and consequently, without clear-cut authority.

Over the period starting from the conclusion in 1994 – thanks to
Russia’s efforts -of a truce in Karabakh, the United States have been
taking most drastic measures aimed to ensure its forced military and
political and economic penetration into the Transcaucasus.

The role to be played by the Minsk Group has been transformed
accordingly. It has now virtually become a tool of realisation
of U.S. interests in this region. Matthew Braiza, the group’s
U.S. co-chair, has for a long time promoted U.S. energy projects on the
post-Soviet space, and he is still at it. Neither is he indifferent to
the "Iranian problem". Speaking at a press conference in Tbilisi on
March 30th, Braiza said: "under urgent conditions the United States
would count on using an Azeri aerodrome for military purposes." Many
commentators viewed that as another proof of Washington’s intention
to solve "the Iranian problem" by force. And in such an eventuality
the consequences can be most unfavourable to Armenia, the Republic of
Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan. Russian co-chairman of the Minsk Group
Y. Merzliakov is of the opinion that the intensification of tension
around Iran would put off the solution of the Karabakh problem thus
possibly leading to its new "freezing."

However, Merzliakov’s U.S. colleague thinks that the peaceful solution
of the Karabakh issue based on a compromise is not an end in itself, as
it is absolutely secondary to the solution of more important "global"
issues that are in no small degree connected with the complete ousting
of Russia from Transcaucasia.

To speak of any coincidence of Russia’s and the U.S. interests in the
solution of the Karabakh problem – as well as the problems of Kosovo,
Abkhazia and South Ossetia – is out of the question. Try as they might,
diplomats would fail to reassure the world public that the situation
is reverse. Their assurances look as some sort of self-mesmerising,
dangerous in its distortion of reality.

To those unwilling to go on milling over the settlement of the Karabakh
problem, the only constructive way is to consider the issue of whether
Russia should continue its membership in the OSCE Minsk Group as well
as that of a return to the negotiations format worked out by the 1994
OSCE Budapest summit and the follow-up resolutions.

As is prescribed by that format there are three parties at the Karabakh
negotiations, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
(NKR), whose status as an internationally acknowledged party to the
conflict is identical to that of Abkhazia or South Ossetia.

The NKR, as well as other de-facto post-Soviet states, is entitled to
have "the complete right to bring across to the international parties
to the process of settlement its views", demanding that its right be
respected. It expects this right to be acknowledged.

PROSECUTORS DEMAND JAIL TERMS FOR ‘COUP PLOTTERS’
By Karine Kalantarian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
July 30 2007

A state prosecutor demanded on Monday prison sentences of up to
three years for two arrested opposition activists and one of their
supporters accused of plotting to topple Armenia’s government.

The demand came at the latest court hearing in the politically charged
trial of Zhirayr Sefilian and Vartan Malkhasian, the two leaders of a
hard-line pressure group opposed to Armenian territorial concessions
to Azerbaijan.

The two men, both of them veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh war,
set up the group called the Union of Armenian Volunteers (HKH) last
December to also campaign for regime change in the country. They were
arrested just days after holding its founding congress in Yerevan.

In his concluding remarks, the trial prosecutor, Artur Mkrtchian, said
Sefilian and Malkhasian must be sentenced to three and two-and-a-half
years’ imprisonment respectively for publicly calling for a "violent
overthrow of the government." He insisted that their speeches at
the HKH gathering violated a corresponding article of Armenia’s
Criminal Code.

In particular, Mkrtchian cited Malkhasian as telling hundreds
of supporters that any means of struggle against the country’s
leadership is legitimate. The prosecutor said although Sefilian made
no such explicit statements, his speech was a "logical continuation"
of Malkhasian’s.

The demanded punishment for Sefilian, a Lebanese citizen of Armenian
descent, also includes an accusation of illegal possession of a
pistol found by officers of the National Security Service (NSS)
in his Yerevan apartment. Sefilian maintains that he received it in
1998 as an official gift from Samvel Babayan, the then commander of
Nagorno-Karabakh’s army. However, the prosecutors have shown during
the trial a statement by the current Karabakh army command saying
that there are no official documents certifying this fact.

Sefilian rejects the statement as a fraud. He and Malkhasian also
strongly deny the coup charges, saying that they never plotted an
armed uprising against the government. Leaders of Armenia’s mainstream
opposition have joined them in condemning the case as a government
attempt to stifle dissent ahead of last May’s parliamentary elections
and the presidential vote due early next year.

Prosecutor Mkrtchian also demanded a three-year jail term for Vahan
Aroyan, the third defendant. The rank-and-file war veteran was detained
later in December after NSS investigators claimed to have found an
arms cache hidden in his village house in southern Armenia.

Although Aroyan was arrested as part of the same criminal case, the
prosecutors have still not clearly explained how his alleged arsenal
could have been connected to the HKH and its two leaders.

INTRODUCES PASSENGER CONTROL SYSTEM USING FINGERPRINTS

Boarding.no, Norway

Jul y 30 2007

The New Airport in Yerevan, Armenia’s Capital, is Among Those
Pioneering the use of This Technology Worldwide. – Our goal is to
make Zvartnots a reference point among European airports. This is
why we’re committed to this biometric method of passenger control,
says General Manager Marcelo Wende.

As international flight regulations grow increasingly more strict,
airports have been forced to adopt various measures to ensure the
security of flights and passengers. But the new Zvartnots international
airport in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, has gone a step further. The
facility has introduced a novel method for identifying travelers
that places this airport among those pioneering the use of this
technology worldwide.

More specifically, the technology involves a control mechanism based on
a biometric system. All passengers are required to identify themselves
via a fingerprint when checking in. At the gate, the fingerprint is
verified via an automated fingerprint-registration device. This means
that travelers undergo two fingerprint verifications before boarding,
ensuring that the individual boarding the plane is the same as the
one who checked in. The automated system is currently only being used
for departing flights, but Armenia International Airport, the company
in charge of the facility, also plans to adopt its use for arrivals
in the near future.

According to Marcelo Wende, General Manager for Armenia International
Airport:

– Our goal is to make Zvartnots a reference point among European
airports. This is why we’re committed to this biometric method of
passenger control – an innovative and wholly reliable system that
ensures security both for the facility and for the planes themselves.

We anticipate an exponential increase in the facility’s passenger
traffic in the coming years and for this reason we have committed
ourselves to improving security."

The Zvartnot Airports route map (zvartnots.am)

Since its inauguration in May, the airport has been operating more
than 60 routes with destinations as attractive as Paris, London,
Munich, Athens, Moscow, Vienna and Dubai, among many others. Some
of the most well-known airlines operate in the facility, such as
Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, and Austrian Airlines. The
airport is expected to handle over 2 million passengers in 2007.

KARABAKH TELECOM GAVE CHILDREN OF STEPANAKERT ANOTHER THREE PLAYGROUNDS

Lragir, Armenia

July 30 2007

On Saturday another three playgrounds were opened in Stepanakert,
which were built on the donation of Karabakh Telecom. Ralf Yirikian,
CEO Karabakh Telecom, the mayor of Stepanakert Edward Aghabekyan and
a lot of children from the neighborhood participated in the ceremony
of opening.

The chair of Stepanakert Foundation Naira Poghosyan, said Karabakh
Telecom was the first company which responded to the project Happy
Children proposed by the foundation, which involves construction
of children’s playgrounds. Over 7 million drams was spent on these
three playgrounds.

According to Ralf Yirikian, the construction of playgrounds for
children will continue in both the capital and the regions of the
country. The company sponsored playgrounds in Berdzor Shushi, Askeran,
Martakert and three playgrounds in Stepanakert. Another two playgrounds
are being built in Stepanakert and one in Martuni and Hadrut each. Moms
and grannies of children thanked for the initiative. They said now they
do not worry for their children, for now they have a place to play.

The idea of playgrounds was offered by Stepanakert Foundation. In
2006 5 million drams was allocated from the city’s budget for this
purpose. For the Happy Children Project Artsakh Energy donated 50
thousand drams, Artsakh Bank 100 thousand drams, Petrol Service 200
thousand drams, SBS 100 thousand drams, Artsakhkap 100 thousand drams,
Tamara 100 thousand drams, the ministry of economy and finance 44
thousand drams, Artsakh Gas 25 thousand drams, the National Security
Service 187 thousand drams, the ministry of territorial governance
and development of infrastructures 68 thousand drams, etc.

Base Metals spent 9.5 million drams on a playground at 6 and 8
Saroyan Street. The City Hall built playgrounds at 8 Lusavorich
(1.2 million drams), 13 Manoogian (1.4 million drams), 28 Knunyants
(1.9 million drams), 9 Hekimyan (2.8 million drams) and 3 Hekimyan
(1.6 million drams). The playground at 8 Lusavorich was built by
Stepanakert Foundation and the businessman Armen Abgaryan.

The mayor of Stepanakert said the city got 11 playgrounds on the
donations raised by the foundation.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

I NEEDED TO SEE JAVAKHETI MYSELF, ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAID DURING HIS VISIT TO JAVAKHETI

Lragir, Armenia
July 30 2007

"The Armenian government focuses on Javakheti, and we collaborate the
Georgian government to improve the social and economic state of the
Armenians of Javakheti. It was important for me to see and to meet
with the Armenian community, at least for a short period, because I
had never been to Javakheti," the Armenian foreign minister Oskanyan
told reporters in the yard of St. Cross Church of Akhalkalaki.

The visit of the minister was scheduled in the morning but Vardan
Oskanyan arrived in Akhalkalaki at about 4 pm on July 28. The minister
visited St. Cross Church of Akhalkalaki and the seat of the primate
of Samtskhe-Javakheti, Javakhk Info reported.

The people of Javakheti and representatives of different NGOs gathered
in the churchyard and wanted to discuss their problems with the
minister and ask him questions, but the minister and Primate Babken
Salbiyan were in a hurry, and a lot of questions were not answered.

Only at the seat of the primate could people come up to the minister
and ask him questions. When the foreign minister asked them if
everything is fine, they unanimously said no.

The minister promised to hand over the proposal on adopting Armenian as
an official language in the region and try to find a solution. As to
the problem of obligatory study of Georgian, which has been worrying
the people of Javakheti for a long time now, Vardan Oskanyan proposed
to demand that the Georgian government give them time, 10-15 years,
for instance, until the new generation learns the language and studies
the Georgian culture.

The minister declined to comment on the project of establishment of
an Armenian-Georgian university and deployment of a Georgian military
unit instead of the former Russian military base.

The minister described the construction of Kars-Akhalkalaki railroad as
an incorrect move. "In political terms, it is not the right decision,
we think. We have stated this for a number of times because it is
a meaningless investment. The same goal could be reached with must
lesser money, by operating the Armenian railroad. We think politically
it is not a far-sighted decision."

The minister said it is necessary to make efforts to improve the
social and economic state of Javakheti. "I think there must be more
targeted investments in this region and both countries focus on this
problem. There is progress, and I believe that the Georgian government
will make more efforts."

Since there was little time, the Armenian foreign minister Vardan
Oskanyan promised to return and to talk to the people of Javakheti
about their problems.