Author: Antonian Lara

3 POLITICAL FIGURES MAKE JOINT STATEMENT CONDEMNING ARMENIA’S FOREIGN
POLICY

YEREVAN, January 28 (Noyan Tapan). Armenia has no strategy (national
ideas and goals) in the sphere of foreign policy and it “plays
complementarism.” The January 28 joint statement of Vazgen Manukian,
Chairman of the National-Democratic Union, Ashot Manucharian,
Political Secretary of the Union of Socialist Forces, and Paruyr
Hayrikian, Chairman of the National Self-Determination Union, said
this. The statement was publicized by Paruyr Hayrikian at the press
conference held the same day. According to the statement, “yielding to
the provocation of one of the numerous levers of systematized foreign
policy of Turkey, representative of Turkish press (correspondent of
the Zaman newspaper: NT), Vardan Oskanian, RA Foreign Minister,
declared that the Republic of Armenia has nothing against the Kars
treaty.” According to P.Hayrikian, Turkish Prime Minister Erdoghan is
sure that no sensible Armenian should accept the Kars treaty of 1921
legalizing the Armenian Genocide but “instead of accepting and
continuing the thought of the Turkish Prime Minister our Minister
commits mistakes, which are difficult to understand.” In Hayrikian’s
opinion, today’s Armenia may be considered as Armenia of “outpost”
period, and the statesmen as “little members of Komsomol” looking
towards Moscow who only strive for preserving their power. According
to him, the pan-Armenian interests are ignored on the international
arena and everything is moved to the Karabakh (“not Artsakh”) plane,
as a result of which Artsakh itself will gain nothing. Hayrikian
declared that the Turkish diplomacy managed to lead the
Armenian-Turkish relations to Turkey’s demanding lands from
Armenia. In his estimation, today the state committing a Genocide and
seizing the historical lands of Armenia puts forward a condition to
Armenia, again to surrender the territories if not in favor of Turkey
by the example of the Moscow-Kars treaty of 1921 then in favor nof
Azerbaijan as it was done in case of Nakhichevan. According to
Hayrikian, today they also demand Artsakh and Armenia has no power
resisting this. “We only defend ourselves.” According to the
statement, “not only every pupil” but the President of Armenia and his
supporters should know that “the Genocide was summed up and fixed by
the Moscow treaty of 1921 and its copy, Kars treaty.”

Agence France Presse — English
January 26, 2005 Wednesday 3:37 AM GMT

List of officials confirmed for Auschwitz commemoration

WARSAW Jan 26

Survivors of the Auschwitz death camp and Red Army soldiers who
prised the camp from the Nazis will gather Thursday at the site in
southern Poland, along with officials from around the world, to mark
the 60th anniversary of the camp’s liberation.

There follows a list of officials the Polish presidency has confirmed
will attend the commemorative events at the camp on January 27:

Albania: Prime Minister Fatos Nano

Armenia: Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan

Austria: President Heinz Fischer

Azerbaijan: Parliamentary Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov

Belgium: King Albert II, Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt

Belarus: Council of the Republic Chairman Gennady Novitsky

Bosnia-Hercegovina: Chairman of the Presidency Borislav Paravac

Britain: Foreign Minister Jack Straw, Prince Edward

Bulgaria: President Georgy Parvanov

Canada: Governor General Adrienne Clarkson

Cyprus: President Tassos Papadopoulos

Croatia: President Stipe Mesic

Denmark: Prince Joachim

Estonia: President Arnold Ruutel

Finland: Parliamentary Speaker Paavo Lipponen

France: President Jacques Chirac, Foreign Minister Michel Barnier

Germany: President Horst Koehler

Greece: President Konstantinos Stefanopoulos

Spain: Senate President Francisco Javier Rojo Garcia

Hungary: President Ferenc Madl

Ireland: President Mary McAleese

Israel: President Moshe Katzav

Italy: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Kazakhstan: Senate Chairman Nourtay Abikayev

Lithuania: Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas

Luxemburg: Grand Duke Henri

Latvia: President Vaira Vike-Freiberga

Macedonia: Deputy Foreign Minister Fuad Hasanovic

Netherlands: Queen Beatrix, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende

Norway: Crown Prince Haakon, Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik

Portugal: Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes

Czech Republic: President Vaclav Klaus

Romania: President Traian Basescu

Russia: President Vladimir Putin

Serbia and Montenegro: President Svetozar Marovic

Slovakia: President Ivan Gasparovic

Slovenia: President Janez Drnovsek

Sweden: Crown Princess Viktoria, Parliamentary Speaker Bjorn von
Sydow

Switzerland: President Samuel Schmid

Turkey: Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul

Ukraine: President Viktor Yushchenko

United States: Vice President Dick Cheney

Vatican: Mgr Jean-Marie Lustiger

European Union: Commission President Manuel Barroso, Parliamentary
President Joseph Borell Fontelles

Macedonia to take part in NATO Crisis Management Exercise

Makfax news agency, Skopje
26 Jan 05

Macedonia will take part in the regular annual NATO Crisis Management
Exercise (CMX 2005), from 26 January to 1 February 2005.

In addition to the 26 NATO nations, nine partner nations have been
involved in the planning and execution of this NATO CMX as Troop
Contributing Nations. This has provided them with an opportunity to
familiarize themselves with crisis management procedures and will
strengthen cooperation between NATO and its partners in the
Political-Military Framework for NATO-led Partnership for Peace (PfP)
operations.

Other countries included in CMX 2005 are Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Finland, Ireland, Croatia, Sweden and Switzerland.

Participants in CMX 2005 will include civil and military staffs in
national capitals, at NATO Headquarters, and in both Strategic
Commands. Representatives from the UN, EU and OSCE will be invited as
observers.

No troops will be deployed in the exercise.

The scenario will depict an UN-mandated and NATO-led crisis response
operation deployment outside the Euro-Atlantic area in order to reduce
tension between two fictitious states. The environment includes the
risk of conventional conflict and an asymmetric dimension such as the
threat of terrorism and the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
against deployed NATO-led forces and in troop contributing nations.

CMX 2005 will last one week, involving a total of 1,250 personnel.

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Jan 25 2005

PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV MEETS WITH CHAIRMAN OF IRANIAN
STATE EXPEDIENCY COUNCIL ALI AKBAR HASHEMI RAFSANJANI
[January 25, 2005, 15:17:17]

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev staying on an
official visit in Tehran has met here today with Chairman of the
State Expediency Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Akbar
Hashemi Rafsanjani, AzerTAj correspondent report.

During the meeting, which was held in the atmosphere of sincerity,
Mr. Rafsanjani first expressed his pleasure to see President Ilham
Aliyev in Tehran. He also recalled his friendly relations with
national leader of Azerbaijan, renowned political figure, late
Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev saying `what he did for his
country and the whole region was of historical significance’.
Chairman of the Iranian State Expediency Council also expressed
satisfaction that President Ilham Aliyev is successfully following
his path.

Having thanked Mr. Rafsanjani for the kind words, President Ilham
Aliyev introduced members of the Azerbaijani delegation to him. He
described his visit to Iran as very successful, and noted that after
the visit by President Mohammad Khatami to Azerbaijan, relations
between the two countries had been strengthened. `I’ve brought a
large delegation with me, and a number of documents are planned to be
signed during this visit,’ he said.

Speaking of the processes taken place in Azerbaijan over the past
year, President Ilham Aliyev dwelt on economic growth in the country,
healthy economic environment created here and its promising future.
`Azerbaijan will be developed even more in the next five years,’ he
said.

Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
President Ilham Aliyev especially emphasized that `our greatest
problem is occupation of Azerbaijani land by Armenia and, as a
result, over million of refugees and internally displaced persons in
the country.’ Having described this conflict as a source of a great
danger to the region, he said: `Iran has always taken a fair stance
with this respect, we have always felt its support and are grateful
for that.’

President Ilham Aliyev and Chairman of the State Expediency Council
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani also exchanged views on a number of
other issues of mutual interest.

ArmenPress
Jan 24 2005

17 EMERGENCIES REPORTED IN THREE DAYS

YEREVAN, JANUARY 24, ARMENPRESS: Armenian authorities reported 17
emergencies between January 21 and 23-two bodies were discovered and
15 fires put off.
On January 23 an 80-year resident of Yerevan was discovered dead
in her apartment with various degree burns on her body, but firemen
arriving at the sport found no signs of fire in the apartment. A
criminal investigation was launched into this case.
On January 21 residents of a block of apartments in Davidashen
borough called the police to say that people living in one of the
apartments did not open the door for long time. After police opened
the door they found the body of a 51-year-old woman. Police launched
investigation to clear the circumstances.
None of the 15 registered fires has caused any substantial damage,
the emergency department said.

Armenian MP denies being charged with theft in Dubai

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
21 Jan 05

[Presenter in studio] While the members of the National Assembly were
discussing events and changes expected in political life, the member
of the People’s Deputy bloc, Akop Akopyan, called the editorial office
of Aykakan Zhamanak newspaper from a remand centre in Dubai and denied
the report about the charges against him.

[Passage omitted: Akopyan was reported to have been charged with theft
in Dubai]

United Press International/Washington Times, DC
Jan 22 2005

UPI Watch

Armenia’s first ever wind power plant

The Armenian government will soon inaugurate Armenia’s first-ever
wind power plant. The wind farm is being built in the northern Lori
district with equipment donated by Iran; the plant’s four wind
turbines will have a combined capacity of slightly over 10 megawatts,
enough to meet most of the electricity needs of the regional capital
Vanadzor and its surrounding villages. Aleksandr Kocharian, who heads
a department on renewable power at the Armenian Energy Ministry, said
that the $3 million project will be completed “in a few months.”
Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear power station currently provides nearly 40
percent of Armenia’s electricity output. Metsamor’s future is
uncertain is due to safety U.S. and EU concerns. Yerevan has been
under intense Western pressure to shut down the Soviet-era Metsamor
plant as early as possible and is seaching for alternatives.. One of
several options being considered is increased use of Armenia’s
fast-flowing mountain rivers that already account for 20 percent of
power generation through hydroelectric power. Kocharian believes that
Armenia has the potential to meet as much as 70 percent of its energy
needs with renewable sources by 2020, adding that 16 small
hydroelectric plants have recently been built. Kocharian added that
the Armenian and Iranian governments to jointly build a large
hydroelectric facility on the Arax river on the countries’ borders.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
Jan 19 2004

Russia cautiously optimistic about Karabakh settlement – FM
19.01.2005, 14.16

MOSCOW, January 19 (Itar-Tass) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said on Wednesday that Russia was cautiously optimistic about
the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement.

Speaking at a press conference, the foreign minister said `a most
wide range of issues will be discussed’ during his visit to
Azerbaijan, scheduled for February 2. Focusing on the agenda, Lavrov
emphasized that the sides will discuss `bilateral Russian-Azerbaijani
cooperation, embracing all sides of the life of our countries’.

He also said they would pave the way for a visit to Russia by
Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev, scheduled for the second half of
December. The future talks will also focus on `CIS issues and the
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’.

The Russian foreign minister said that positive trends towards the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict took shape after a meeting of
Ilkham Aliyev and Armenian President Robert Kocharyan in Astana,
where they also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He said Armenian and Azerbaijani officials maintain contacts as
concerns the settlement in the mostly Armenian populated Azerbaijani
enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenian president amends law on parties

Arminfo
17 Jan 05

YEREVAN

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan signed a decree on 15 January on
making changes to the law on political parties, the Armenian
president’s press service has told Arminfo.

The decree is aimed at stimulating the process of enlarging
parties. In particular, it says that a party should have no less than
2,000 members, including no less than 100 members in every district.

Under the law, the currently functioning parties should meet the
requirements outlined in the amendments to the law within a year after
they take effect.

Sixty-five parties have been registered with Armenia’s Ministry of
Justice so far.

GEGHAM GHARIBJANIAN APPOINTED RA DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER

ATTENTION, CORRECTED NEWS YEREVAN, January 14 (Noyan Tapan).

According to the RA President Press Office, Gegham Gharibjanian was
appointed the RA Deputy Foreign Minister by the January 13 decree of
the RA President Robert Kocharian. The RA Foreign Ministry’s Press
and Information Department provided the following biographical data on
Gegham Gharibjanian: G. Gharibjanian was born in 1951 in Yerevan. In
1971 he graduated from the Department of Oriental Sciences of Yerevan
State University. In 1994 he attended the higher courses of public
administration at the University of California. During the period of
1973-1991, he worked in the Committee on Cultural Links with Diaspora,
during 1978-1981 was dispatched to Iran as a translator. In 1991-1995
he held the position of the RA Deputy Minister of Labor and Social
Security. In 1995 G. Gharibjanian was elected deputy of the RA
National Assembly. In 1995-1997 he was Deputy Chairman of the Standing
Committee on Social, Health and Environmental Issues of the RA
National Assembly, in 1997-1999 – Chairman of the same committee,
Chairman of the Armenia-Iran deputy group of the RA NA, Deputy
Chairman of the RF Federal Assembly and the RA National Assembly
Interparliamentary Group, member of the RA NA delegation in the
Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS countries, Chairman-Founder of
the “Social State” deputy group. In 1998 G.Gharibjanian was elected
full member of the International Academy of Sciences on Nature and
Society. In January, 1999 he was appointed as Armenia’s Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Iran and pluralistically as
Ambassador to Quatar. He has a diplomatic rank of plenipotentiary
ambassador. He is fluent in Persian, English, Russian and
Turkish. G. Gharibjanian is married and has three children.