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Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Aug 10 2004

MEETING AT MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
[August 10, 2004, 13:59:47]

Meeting at Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar
Mammadyarov received a Pakistani delegation led by Chief of the
Committee of the General Staff Commanders of the Islamic Republic of
Pakistan, General Mohammad Aziz Khan.

During the meeting, Minister Elmar Mammadyarov note in particular
that the Azerbaijan-Pakistan relationship developing towards
strategic partnership, and expressed confidence that the present
visit of the Pakistani delegation would promote expanding military
cooperation between the two countries.

He informed the guest in detail on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
over Nagorno-Karabakh, peace process, as well as non-fulfillment of
the UN SC four resolutions by Armenia and related activity of the
OSCE Minsk group. Reminding of the 32 terror acts committed in
Azerbaijan, the Minister told of the part the country has been
playing in fighting terrorism, and participation of Azerbaijani
soldiers in ante-terror operations of the international coalition.

General Mohammad Aziz Khan expressed satisfaction with the level of
existing relationship between Azerbaijan and Pakistan and stated that
the recent official visit by President Pervez Musharraf to Azerbaijan
would contribute to further strengthening of the two countries’
cooperation in political, diplomatic and military spheres. He
stressed Pakistan would continue its assistance in training
Azerbaijani officers.

General Mohammad Aziz further advised the Minister of the political
and military situation in Pakistan, his county’s activity in fighting
international terrorism, and expressed hope for urgent peaceful
resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agence France Presse
Aug 10 2004

Armenian-claimed enclave conducts military exercises

AGDAM, Azerbaijan (AFP) Aug 10, 2004

The armed forces of the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh
Tuesday ended a military exercise on the borders of Azerbaijan that
Armenian Defense Minister Serj Sarkissian said was aimed at keeping
the peace.
Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave in the heart of
Azerbaijan, was the scene of a civil war in the 1990s that ended with
a ceasefire in 1994 that left the enclave in Armenian hands. The war
displaced a million civilians and left some 35,000 people dead.

Azerbaijan still claims the territory.

Sarkissian, who watched the maneuvers, said “these exercises are
aimed at keeping the peace.” He added it was important to keep a
regional power balance.

“The armed forces of Armenia are the guarantors of the security of
Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said. “It is nobody’s secret that the army of
Nagorno-Karabakh cannot assure the defense of the territory on its
own.”

The Nagorno-Karabakh armed forces mustered some 2,000 men and a few
helicopters and artillery pieces for the week-long exercise.

“The threat of war exists as long as the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
is not resolved,” said Armenian army chief of staff Mikael
Arutiunian.

The exercises followed a statement by President Ilham Aliyev of
Azerbaijan that his country would make no compromises with Armenia
over the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

The statement appeared to mark a hardening of Azerbaijan’s stance
over the conflict.

“We cannot react positively to calls on us to make compromises. On
questions of our territorial integrity we will never make any
compromises,” Aliyev said last month.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RIA Novosti, Russia
Aug 10 2004

CSTO WILL NOT JOIN PEACEKEEPING OPERATION IN SOUTH OSSETIA

MOSCOW, August 10 (RIA Novosti) – The Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO: Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan) adopted a concept for peacekeeping activities, CSTO
Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha told a press conference in
Moscow.

“We have adopted a concept for the CSTO’s peacekeeping activities,”
he said, “which stipulates the formation of peacekeeping potential by
common consent of CSTO member states.”

He said that the concept permitted peacekeeping contingents to be
trained according to a single system and for roles to be distributed.
“We plan to use this peacekeeping potential under the UN aegis in
CSTO territory and worldwide at the UN request,” he noted.

He stressed that the organization must not join the peacekeeping
operation in South Ossetia now. “Previous decisions must be
implemented to settle the conflict,” he added.

Mr. Bordyuzha said that the Georgian president’s statements were
“very contradictory.” “It is impossible to put them together to see
his [the Georgian president’s] position,” he said and added that
today, nobody wanted a repetition of when the Caucasus was hit by
Georgian-Abkhaz, Georgian-Ossetian, and Armenian-Azeri interethnic
conflicts ten years ago. “New politicians lack our experience but
they should understand that if a conflict is unleashed there is no
way back,” he emphasized.

Summing up the results of the recent exercises of the CSTO’s joint
rapid deployment forces in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the secretary
general said that his organization was concerned about the
developments in Afghanistan. “Presidential elections will be held in
Afghanistan on October 9 and,” he noted, “therefore, the remaining
Talibs and Al Qaeda terrorists have become active.”

“As for the situation in Central Asia, I am not concerned about it,”
he added.

Mr. Bordyuzha said that the strength of the joint rapid deployment
forces met the present-day tasks and that the forces were ready for
an operative response to regional developments.

According to him, the 11 battalions are perfectly trained and can
fulfill all tasks set by the CSTO leadership.

Presently, the CSTO command is ready to give a proper and rapid
response to the possible aggravation of the situation, Mr. Bordyuzha
said.

“We need 1.5-2 hours to make a decision on the use of force in case
of local aggravations,” he said. “Servicemen can be deployed in this
area in several hours.”

In his words, a plan of the joint rapid deployment forces’
development until 2010 has been worked out and stipulates common
equipment and armament for the armed forces and their transfer to the
contractual basis, the secretary general reported.

“In my opinion, the best way is to form a single brigade of rapid
deployment forces under single command. We hope to accomplish this
goal in the future,” he concluded.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ArmenPress
Aug 10 2004

FM PRESS SECRETARY SAYS AZERBAIJAN SHOULD ALSO BE INTERESTED IN PEACE

YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS: Armenian foreign ministry press
secretary Hamlet Gasparian commented on Mamediaor’v recent statement
saying that Azerbaiajan will consider its determination to be
involved in negotiation process unless OSCE Minks Group comes up with
a statement condemning Armenian actions (in relation to August 8
municipality elections and military exercises in Nagorno Karabakh).
Gasparian said Azerbaijan is trying to make a trick out of its
involvement in negotiation process and uses it as a means to make
pressures on international community, particularly OSCE Minsk Group.
This does not speak about Azerbaijan’s seriousness in its efforts to
reach peace.
Imagine that Armenia also rises issues as a precondition for its
continued involvement in negotiation process, for example, demanding
that the mediators greet the elections in Nagorno Karabakh, Gasparian
continued. After all, not only Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh but
Azerbaijan should also be interested in peace. Otherwise, fruitless
are negotiations with a partner who serves them as a means for
blackmail and manipulations, Gasparian said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ArmenPress
Aug 10 2004

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ARMENIAN EDUCATION HELD

ANTELIAS, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS: Initiated by His Holiness
Catholicos Aram I and organized by the Armenian Catholicosate of
Cilicia an International Conference on Armenian education was held in
the Armenian Theological Seminary, in Bikfaya, Lebanon from 5-7
August 2004. The theme of the Conference was “The Armenian Education
in the Diaspora”. About one hundred people from different parts of
the world, from communities living in different political, cultural
and religious contexts came together to focus their attention on
issues pertaining to the Armenian-Christian formation today in a new
world setting.
In his opening address His Holiness Aram I identified the concerns
and challenges facing the Armenian Christian education in the context
of pluralistic societies. He addressed a number of critical issues,
and then posed two questions. What does it mean to be Armenian
Christian? How should we form the Armenian Christian for tomorrow?
His Holiness underscored the crucial importance of re-evaluating and
renewing our educational methodologies, strategies and programs by
making them more relevant and reliable. At the end of his address His
Holiness proposed that Armenia and Diaspora together engage in a
process of developing a Pan-Armenian educational policy with
particular emphasis on the worldwide Armenian Diaspora.
The agenda of the conference included the following topics: The
actual state of education in different continents where Armenian
communities live; the implications of globalization to education; the
role of the church in Armenian Christian formation; the family as an
important educational instrument; the impact of pluralistic societies
on Armenian Education; the use and misuse of technology in education;
the role of the textbooks and the extra curricula activities; human
resources: formation and training; the contribution of the Saturday
schools, Sunday schools and children’s camps to education; the
importance of new community schools for the Armenian communities
established in the West.
The conference addressed these and a number of related matters
through papers, panel discussions and hearings. The active
participation of young educators and women provided new perspectives
and dynamism to the discussion. They challenged the traditional views
and approaches and constantly reminded that in a new world context a
renewed perception and vision of education are imperative. They
echoed the challenge of His Holiness that in the present world of
globalization and communication and in a context of new societies,
our education must become more responsive and attractive.
His Holiness personally attended all the sessions and at the end
of each session he highlighted the emerging concerns and views.
The conference, which was an unprecedented event in the
contemporary Armenian history, summarized its findings in a
declaration where a particular emphasis was laid on the importance of
translating the Conference’s reflection into action.
In his closing remarks His Holiness Aram I identified three words
which should occupy a central place in our educational work:
“relevance, coherence and integrity”. He said “We are living in
different contexts. We must, therefore, develop different educational
procedures and strategies. We are citizens of different countries,
yet we are Armenians and part of the globalized world. We have our
own convictions, values and norms, but we are living in a new
environment. Hence, it is vitally important that we develop the kind
of educational policy that provides integrity, relevance and
coherence to our educational work, at the same time preserving our
distinct Armenian Christian identity. This is a great challenge
before us and we must take it seriously and responsibly”, said His
Holiness.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Mediamax news agency, Yerevan, in Russian
10 Aug 04

ARMENIA, USA DISCUSS MILITARY COOPERATION

YEREVAN

Armenia and the USA held the third round of bilateral consultations on
cooperation in defence on 2-7 August in Kansas.

The consultations considered the present condition and prospects for
further development of military and military-political cooperation
between Armenia and the USA, Mediamax news agency has learnt.

The Armenian delegation at the consultations was headed by the deputy
minister of defence, Lt-Gen Artur Agabekyan, the American delegation
by the US deputy assistant secretary of defence, James MacDougall.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Assa-Irada, Baku, in Azeri
9 Aug 04

US PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL KERRY “PRO-ARMENIAN”, AZERI OPPOSITION LEADER SAYS

Baku, 9 August: The chairman of the reformist wing of the People’s
Front of Azerbaijan Party, Ali Karimli, has met ex-US President Bill
Clinton, former US Secretary of State Madlen Albright and some
leading figures from the Bush administration during the forum of
international leaders in Boston which he attended between 24 and 29
July. Karimli held a press conference today to impart information in
this regard.

During the meetings, Karimli mainly discussed ensuring freedom of
assembly for Azerbaijani citizens, the Nagornyy Karabakh problem, and
the forthcoming municipal and parliamentary elections.

Karimli also talked about the upcoming presidential election in the
USA. He said that the Democratic hopeful, John Kerry, was
pro-Armenian because he was a senator from the state of Massachusetts
where many Armenians live.

The objective of the forum was the unveiling of the foreign policy
concept of the Democratic contender in the US elections.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Hindu
August 9, 2004

RUGBY REVIVAL IN THE SOUTH

IT WAS good to see a 15-a-side rugby match in Chennai again after
decades. And it was nice to see a Tamil Nadu team, from the Armed
Police, emerge champions in the qualifiers for the Nationals, beating
the multinational Bangalore Rugby Football Club. With the Sports
Development Authority of Tamil Nadu encouraging the efforts of the
Tamil Nadu Rugby Football Union, the game is fast spreading in the
city and promises to spread in the mofussil too with the SDAT’s
backing.

Responsible for bringing rugby back to Madras – and helping it
establish itself in Bangalore, Pondicherry and, soon, Hyderabad – is
Patrick Davenport, a fast-talking, hard-selling American businessman
who has settled in Madras. Yes, American, and one who says it is a
game quite popular now in American universities that produce a
national team that must rate amongst the top 15 in the world.
Davenport himself played for the University of Detroit and has been
passionate about the game since. Today, he’s got about half a dozen
teams regularly playing rugby in Madras and has got about 25 schools,
including 15 corporation schools, to take to the game. Teaming with
Davenport in spreading the game in the city is the president of the
TRFU, Mohan Krishna, and technical director Emil Vartazarian, a
Calcutta Armenian who is probably the best player in the country.

The pity of this passion is that the institution that gave South
India rugby is showing no interest at all in the game. The Madras
Gymkhana Rugby Football Challenge Cup was instituted in 1900 and was
once competed for every October during what was known as the Madras
Rugger Week, teams coming down from the Anamalais, the High Range,
Nilgiris, Wynaad and Bangalore to play and frolic. The Gymkhana also
used to host the All India every few years till, if I remember right,
1954, fielding a team every year in the tournament. By the 1960s,
however, the Gymkhana Club began to take a new view of itself, and
rugby vanished from the Madras scene, leaving it to Calcutta and
Bombay to manfully struggle to keep the game alive in the country.
That struggle has begun to pay off – and the game is enjoying an
all-India revival with a dozen States taking to it.

Remembering Arbuthnot

Though the Gymkhana Club was responsible for keeping Rugby alive in
South India for over 50 years, the beginnings of the game were less
formal. Those beginnings were on The Island where Alexander
Arbuthnot, just out of Rugby School and Haileybury, introduced soon
after his arrival in 1842 the game his old school had invented. He
had introduced the game in Haileybury too the institution which
turned out cricket-playing Civilians for Indian service. Alick’
Arbuthnot was another one of those cricketers and made an even bigger
contribution to South India when he founded the Madras Cricket Club
in 1846. But Alick Arbuthnot’s greatest contribution to the
Presidency was an institution which serendipitously finds mention
elsewhere in today’s column; as Director of Public Instruction he
played a major role in establishing the University of Madras.

In 1858, Arbuthnot delivered the first Convocation Address of the
University and Thamotharampillai and Visuvanathapillai would have
received their sheepskins from him. In 1871, he became the
Vice-Chancellor of the University whose details he had helped to work
out. In 1878, he became the Vice Chancellor of the University of
Calcutta, after, in the years in-between, having served as the Chief
Secretary and, for a few months, Acting Governor of Madras. It’s
quite a contribution he made to Madras between 1842 and 1872, but
none of it nor the man is remembered.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Thai Press Reports, Thailand
August 9, 2004

K-TECH TARGETS INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

Section: Corporate News – K-Tech Construction Plc (K-Tech), one of
the country’s leading private sector contractors, said over the
weekend that it was now looking to bid for several government
infrastructure projects estimated to be worth two trillion baht.

Owned by Armenian born Bob Kevorkian, pictured right, K-Tech said the
company’s experience in building high quality offices and malls would
give it the credibility to take on its larger peers in infrastructure
building. Among them are Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD), Ch
Karnchang Plc (CK) and Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Plc
(STECON).

“We are confident about our chances since our staff is skilled. I
think this will make us competitive with regards to securing
government infrastructure projects,” the company’s chairman and
managing director told Business Day.

The government recently revealed details on several infrastructure
projects planned for next year. These include an extension of the
271-km subway project, which will require a budget of 500 billion
baht. The bidding process is expected to be concluded by the end of
the year and construction should begin in early 2005, with completion
scheduled in 2010.

Although K-Tech said it will participate in the bidding, it did not
give a projection of what its share will be.

“We will try our best to win part of the project,” he said.

Other local bidders will include ITD, CK and STECON.

Other infrastructure projects that K-Tech is aiming for are those
involving power plants and water treatment facilities.

K-Tech, whose major achievements include the building of Central Rama
II and the ongoing Central World Plaza office complex, said it was
also involved in the construction of malls.

Kevorkian said that he still sees a potential for high-rise office
buildings in Bangkok, since economic expansion has helped boost
demand for office space.

“No new office building has been built in the past six years, so I
think there is demand from both local and international firms,” he
added.

He noted that most of the construction focuses on high-rise
residential buildings.

Thailand’s condominium market has reached a saturation point as
companies such as Sansiri Plc and LPN Development Plc have been
building several of these in the last few years.

K-Tech, he said, will also continue to maintain its market share in
the single-detached houses segment where demand is still strong.

K-Tech’s clients include Carrefour, Central Pattana Plc, Quality
House Plc, Tesco Lotus and Royal Phuket Marina. Close to 60 percent
of its projects involve previous clients.

The company expects to achieve total revenues of 4.5 billion baht
this year, almost double from 2.6 billion baht last year, with gross
margins forecast at 7-8 percent.

It currently has 20 projects on hand, of which 60 percent of revenues
will come from those located in Bangkok.

Some of these large-scale projects include the two-billion baht
Phuket Marina Hotel, Crown Plaza Hotel and Majestic Hotel on
Sukhumvit road.

K-Tech’s backlog this year stands at around 7.8 billion baht.

The company was founded in 1997 during the start of the economic
crisis.

Kevorkian said that it was the 1.2 billion baht project awarded by
SafeSkin in Had Yai, and other projects such as Garden Hotel on Rama
IX Road and two Carrefour stores, that helped the company survive the
crisis.

Today, K-Tech has a registered capital of 185 million baht. After the
sale of IPO shares on August 23-24, it will rise to 239 million baht.
Of this amount, 50 million baht will come from the IPO share sale. It
also recently raised four million baht from the sale of four million
units of warrant sales with a maturity period of two years.

The company has about 500 managers and engineers and another 10,000
construction workers.

At the end of June 2004, K-Tech had assets of 1.6 billion baht and a
debt to equity (D/E) ratio of 3.12 times, which will fall to 1.5
times after the IPO share sale.

K-Tech has appointed Ploenchit Advisory as its financial adviser,
while lead underwriters for the sale will be Ayudhya Securities and
SCIB Securities, and eight other securities firms.

IPO shares will be priced at six to eight baht each with a par value
of one baht. Proceeds from the sale will be used as working capital
and for debt payments.

Total funds raised from the issuance are expected to reach 300-400
million baht.

The Kevorkian family holds a 44.55 percent stake in K-Tech. Other
major shareholders include Suprangporn Thumsujrit (18.92 percent),
Thailand Equity Fund (18.92 percent), Adul Amatavivadhan (5.14
percent) and Payap Shinawatra (2.16 percent).

After the IPO share sale, the Kevorkian family’ stake will be diluted
to 35 percent.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IN AUGUST COMMERCIAL BANKS OF ARMENIA WILL BE ABLE TO ALLOCATE 650
CREDITS UNDER SMALL AND MIDDLE-SIZED BUSINESS MICROCREDITING PROGRAM

YEREVAN, AUGUST 9. ARMINFO. German-Armenian Fund forecasts that in
August of the current year commercial banks of Armenia will be able to
issue 650 credits worth a total of 3.0 mln euro. Senior Banking
Advisor to GAF and the German “Internationale Projekt Consult GmbH”
(IPC) firm Garik Khachatrian told ARMINFO. According to him, during
its activities in Armenia, the GAF has allocated 13,000 credits worth
a total of 80.8 mln euro, out of which 4,500 credits worth a total of
20.4 mln were placed in Jan-July of the current year. 507 credits
worth a total of 3.3 mln euro were issued to borrowers in July of this
year.

By Aug 1, 2004 GAF’s current credit portfolio had included 6,000
credits worth a total of 24.1 mln euro. Credits are distributed as
follows: trade 52.4%, production 26.2%, service sector 12.2%,
agriculture 9% and construction – 0.2%. As regards the number of
credits allocated to individual sectors, the situation is as follows:
trade sector 45.8%, the agriculture 31.7%, industrial sector – 13%,
service sector – 9.4% and construction – 0.1%.

One borrower can receive up to 33 mln drams for a period of up to
three years. Credits are repaid by monthly instalments. The annual
interest rates are 24% and 19% for the trade and production sectors
respectively. However, if a borrower has a good credit history and
applies for re-crediting, the annual interest rates can be reduced to
19% and 15% respectively. At the end of 2003 GAF has given the
partner-banks an opportunity for providing the borrowers with
microcredits by express-credits. At the end of 2003 GAF gave an
opportunity to partner-banks for giving microcredits to borrowers by
express-credits.

The GAF was founded by the Armenian and German Government in 1998
under an agreement on financial cooperation in supporting small and
middle-sized businesses in Armenia. The GAF launched the program in
September 1999. Among the GAF’s partners in the program are the
“Anelik Bank,” Armeconombank, ACBA, “Converse Bank” and
INECOBANK. Also, the GAF has its divisions in Lori region (town of
Vanadzor), Kotayk region (town of Abovian), Ararat (Artashat), Armavir
(Echmiadzin), Aragatsotn (Ashtarak), Vayots Dzor
(Yeghegnadzor). Credits are also allocated in Tavush and Shirak
regions.

According to the data of GAF, 144 credits worth a total of 1.4 mln
euro were allocated in Sept-Dec, 1999 under the program, in 2000 – 868
credits worth 4.1 mln euro, in 2001 – 1,238 credits worth 8.4 mln euro
and in 2002 – 2,470 credits worth 20 mln euro and 3,796 credits worth
a total of 26.4 mln euro were issued in 2003.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress