ASBAREZ Online [04-28-2004]

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04/28/2004
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Kocharian, Aliyev Foresee More Frequent Meetings 2) Uruguay Parliament Marks 89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide 3) Georgia War Games near Defiant Rebel Region 4) Council of Europe Head Offers to Mediate Armenia Standoff 5) Armenian Dram Hits Three-year High against US Dollar 1) Kocharian, Aliyev Foresee More Frequent Meetings WARSAW (AFP/Armenpress)--The presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia met on Wednesday on the sidelines of a European economic summit to discuss the Mountainous Karabagh conflict. "They had a constructive discussion. They have agreed to meet again. No date was set," said a diplomat, after what was only the second meeting between Armenian President Robert Kocharian and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev. The two last met in December, while the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan have met more recently. President Kocharian told reporters that an agreement was reached for the foreign ministers of both countries to meet regularly. Armenia's foreign minister Vartan Oskanian and his Azeri counterpart Elmar Mamedyarov will meet in May. In turn, the presidents agreed to meet on the sidelines of international summits, conferences, and meetings to continue peace talks. Kocharian said he was satisfied with the basic nature of the Warsaw meeting. The entire body of the Minsk Group, a 13-nation grouping within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that has been seeking to mediate between the two sides, was present during the meeting. "The Azeri side wants to regulate this issue; a similar will is noticed from the Armenian side as well. That's why we may find a way out and progress," Aliyev said. Mamedyarov said that Azerbaijan's approach in negotiations is to propose the return of "occupied" lands and restoration of transportation routes. Asked whether Azerbaijan demands that negotiations start from scratch, and whether previous Azeri President Heidar Aliyev's approach was wrong, the foreign minister said, "We do not say that the peace talks must be started from the very beginning," and suggested that previous negotiations and headway be reassessed based on the most recent dialogue between Kocharian and Aliyev. 2) Uruguay Parliament Marks 89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide RESOLUTION ON 'DECLARING APRIL 24 AS DAY TO CONDEMN AND REJECT ALL GENOCIDES' TO BE SUBMITTED TO UNITED NATIONS MONTEVIDEO--For the fourth year running, on April 24, the Parliament of Uruguay, in cooperation with the Armenian National Committee, organized the year's main commemorative event on the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The grand hall of the Parliament, reserved for special ceremonies, was packed with members of the Uruguayan Armenian community. Present at the invitation of the Parliament's Presidency were high-level diplomats, including the ambassadors of Greece, Russia, Peru, Bolivia, and Romania. Those who addressed the solemn gathering included Members of Parliament from the four political groupings represented in Parliament: the Colorado Party, the National party, the New Sector/Space Coalition, and the Progressive Encounter/Broad Front Coalition. The left-wing Progressive Encounter's representative, Enrique Pintado, who is Chairman of the Chamber of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, announced, "Our Committee unanimously decided 'to declare April 24 as a day to condemn and reject all genocides' and will pursue with our foreign minister the submission of this decision to an upcoming session of the United Nations." On behalf of the Armenian community of Uruguay, Sarkis Kouyoumdjian addressed the commemorative gathering, expressing words of appreciation to the parliament, government, and people of Uruguay for their support of the Armenian Case. Other Armenian Genocide commemorative events taking place in Uruguay April 22-25 included a youth vigil, a showing of the movie Ararat, a service for the repose of souls, and a wreath-laying ceremony. The events were organized by the Armenian National Committee and "Armenia" youth organization. News sources: Uruguay Armenian National Committee and Diocesan Executive. 3) Georgia War Games near Defiant Rebel Region TBILISI (Reuters)--Georgia positioned more troops and armor close to Ajaria on Wednesday for a major military exercise certain to fuel further tension with its rebel Black Sea region. The three-day Dioscuria-2004 maneuvers start on Friday as a standoff continues between new Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze over control of the region that has a lucrative oil port at Batumi. Abashidze, who has been engaged in verbal dueling with Saakashvili for weeks, denounced the exercise. "Tbilisi is heating up tensions to the extreme with such unprovoked actions," he told Russia's Itar-Tass news agency. But Saakashvili, on a visit to Poland, said Ajaria was not a target of the exercise at the Kulevi training ground 30 km (20 miles) from its border. "No kind of military action can be taken anywhere in Georgia, especially in Ajaria," Saakashvili told reporters in Warsaw. "In Ajaria everything will be sorted out peacefully." Ajaria, is one of three regions that slipped out of Tbilisi's control after Georgia gained independence from the Soviet Union in late 1991. But unlike separatist Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which fought bloody wars with Tbilisi, Ajaria has never claimed formal independence from Georgia. Nearly 2,000 servicemen from ex-Soviet Georgia's armed forces and a quarter of its 120 pieces of armor--tanks and armored vehicles--will take part in the exercise. Military aircraft were expected to arrive on Wednesday. Georgia's Defense Ministry said the exercise will provide training on protecting oil pipelines from "terrorists" and on carrying out raids on illegal drug-producing laboratories. Georgia's Black Sea coast has no major pipelines, but an international pipeline is under construction to take Caspian oil to the Mediterranean through the eastern part of the country. Tbilisi and the region came close to military confrontation last month after Saakashvili was initially blocked from entering the province. He subsequently traveled to the Ajarian regional capital of Batumi where he held inconclusive crisis talks with Abashidze. Abashidze turned the region into a relatively prosperous personal fiefdom amid turmoil across Georgia in the 1990s. Ajaria, which apart from the oil port hosts a key customs point on Georgia's border with Turkey, does not contribute to the national budget and has its own military force. Saakashvili, who became president after leading a bloodless coup against former President and ex-Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze last November, has promised to restore Tbilisi's control over the whole country and has accused Abashidze of turning Ajaria into a haven for criminals. 4) Council of Europe Head Offers to Mediate Armenia Standoff URGES OPPOSITION TO RETURN TO PARLIAMENT FROM THE STREETS YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--The secretary general of the Council of Europe Walter Schwimmer, on Wednesday called on the Armenian government and the opposition to resolve their bitter dispute through negotiation and offered to mediate in such a dialogue, and urged the opposition to "return to parliament from the streets." "The Council of Europe supports the dialogue between the authorities and the opposition, and has a successful experience of sponsoring it in various countries," Schwimmer told a news conference in Strasbourg. He said his permanent representative Yerevan Natalia Voutova, is ready to assist in arranging direct contact between the two sides. The offer came just hours before the organization's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) was due to discuss the tense situation in Armenia. The issue was included on the agenda of the PACE's spring session at the last minute despite objections voiced by Armenian lawmakers. A draft PACE resolution drawn up by a committee monitoring Armenia's compliance with its membership commitments notes that the authorities have ignored Council of Europe demands to stop using the country's controversial Code of Administrative Offenses for imprisoning participants of opposition rallies. It does, however, say that the Armenian opposition "should refrain from attempts to use street demonstrations to reverse the results of last year's elections, which have been, in spite of the irregularities, validated by relevant national and international bodies." Opposition representatives and leaders of the three parties represented in Armenia's coalition government met this week to try to ease the tensions. The talks broke down on Tuesday, with the opposition accusing the government coalition of showing no signs of accepting any of its ultimatums, including one calling for a referendum of confidence in Kocharian. 5) Armenian Dram Hits Three-year High against US Dollar YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--The Armenian national currency, the dram, gained more ground against the US dollar on Wednesday, registering its highest exchange rate since October 2000, despite weeks of political turmoil in the country. The dram was trading at an average of 549 per dollar in Yerevan's currency exchange bureaus, making its value almost 3 percent higher than two months ago. Analysts found it hard to explain the phenomenon that countered recent global currency rate trends of recent weeks. The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) denies any role in the dram's strengthening, insisting that its floating rate is determined by the market factors of demand and supply. According to Tigran Jrbashian of the Sed Marsed consulting firm, demand in the dram is pushed up by payment of first-quarter profit taxes by businesses which began on April 1. "The main reason for the dram's strengthening is the collection of quite a lot of taxes in the course of this year," he said. The Armenian government reported a 30 percent jump in its profit tax revenues collected in the first three months of this year. The increase followed a toughening of penalties for the widespread evasion of the 20 percent corporate income tax. The dram's gains have been twice as stronger against another major world currency--the euro. One euro is currently worth 652 drams, down from 702 drams registered in late February. The difference seems to result from a recent rebound in the dollar's value in the international currency markets. The dram thus remains effectively pegged to the dollar despite the European Union's status as Armenia's number one trading partner. The EU's common currency drained the greenback of nearly a fifth of its value last year. The dram similarly fell by almost 14 percent against the euro during the same period. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets. From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress