Author: Antonian Lara

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
HIS HOLINESS DELIVERS A LECTURE TO 30 PROFESSORS AND
DOCTORAL CANDIDATES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA
Thirty professors and doctoral candidates from the University of Vienna
visited Bikfaya on July 3 and listened to a lecture entitled “Christianity
in the Middle East today” by His Holiness Aram I.
His Holiness highlighted the important dates and events since the existence
of Christianity in the Middle East and outlined the challenges and
difficulties that Christianity faces today.
The Catholicos also talked about the priorities that should guide
Christianity today, emphasizing the importance of Christian unity,
evangelism, social service and Christian education.
His Holiness concluded that the churches of the Middle East are part of the
ecumenical movement and stressed the importance of their cooperation with
churches in other regions.
His Holiness also asked some questions related to the Armenian Church,
Lebanon and Christian-Muslim dialogue at the end of his lecture.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Transitions Online, Czech Republic
July 4 2005
An Arms Race Looms?

by Samvel Matirosyan and Alman Mir-Ismail
4 July 2005
Armenia and Azerbaijan differ over Russia’s decision to pull out of
bases in Georgia. From EurasiaNet.
Armenia and Azerbaijan are reacting differently to the Russian
withdrawal from bases in Georgia. Politicians and pundits in
Azerbaijan view the move as a potential security threat due in large
part to Moscow’s decision to transfer to Armenia a portion of the
military hardware now in Georgia. Armenian experts, meanwhile,
downplay the significance of the transfer, contending that it does
not alter the existing strategic balance.
After years of wrangling, Russian and Georgian officials announced on
30 May that the withdrawal of Russian troops and materiel from the
Caucasus country would be completed by 2008. Russia’s pull-out from
its two remaining bases on Georgian territory – in Batumi and
Akhalkalaki – began 1 June with the dispatch of a 15-car train from
Batumi to Armenia, loaded with ammunition, various equipment and
anti-aircraft weapons. Political analysts have spent the weeks since
the announcement of the base-withdrawal deal speculating about its
geopolitical ramifications. In particular, many have wondered whether
the Russian move could influence negotiations to end the
Armenian-Azeri struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Moscow has mounted diplomatic offensive to dispel the notion that its
actions could rearrange the geopolitical order in the Caucasus. `The
withdrawal of part of Russian arms from Georgia to Armenia will not
change the balance of forces in the Transcaucasus,’ Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists on 14 June.
Russian defense officials insist that transferred arms and equipment
will be kept in storage at Russia’s 102nd base in Gyumri, in northern
Armenia, stressing that the Armenian military will not have access to
the weaponry. `We are going to closely keep the limits set up by the
[amended 1999] treaty on conventional armaments in Europe,’ Russian
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said during a 6 June news conference,
Rosbalt news agency reported. According to Ivanov, most of the
military equipment and cargo now in Georgia will be shipped back to
Russia from Black Sea port city of Batumi.
News of the withdrawal from Georgia initially was applauded in
Azerbaijan, where officials at first interpreted the move as a sign
of declining Russian influence in the Caucasus. But approval quickly
turned into doubt following the announcement that a portion of the
Russian arms and equipment would be moved to Armenia. On 23 May, the
Azeri foreign ministry sent a protest note to Moscow, demanding an
explanation for the transfer. `From the point of view of the law, the
transfer of arms from one base to the other is quite normal. It
concerns Armenia and Russia. However, the South Caucasus requires
demilitarization. Therefore, there is no need to keep in the region
tanks and other heavy military equipment. We do not consider it
necessary,’ Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists.
Speaking at a 25 June military academy graduation ceremony, President
Ilham Aliev indicated that the Russian move could help spur a
regional arms race. He said that Azeri defense spending would
increase to $300 million in 2005, up from last year’s level of $175
million. `We had to take appropriate measures,’ Aliev said, referring
to the Russian transfer of materiel to Armenia. `We did so
immediately and increased our military spending. Military spending
will continue to increase in the future.’
`Our army should be strong to solve the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
over [the breakaway region of] Nagorno-Karabakh,’ Aliev added.
Moscow’s statements concerning the transfer do not appear to have
fully reassured the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Alliance members have expressed carefully worded concern about the
pull-out’s impact on the regional balance. `We welcome the withdrawal
of troops. However this step should not affect regional stability in
the South Caucasus,’ NATO Assistant Secretary-General for Defense and
Policy Planning John Colton said in Baku on 27 June. The defense
alliance plans to raise the issue with Moscow `in the near future,’
the Regnum news service reported Colton as saying.
Many Azeri observers now believe that, in deciding to shift weaponry
from Georgia to Armenia, Russia’s primary intention was to strengthen
Moscow’s own geopolitical position in the region, and not to bolster
Yerevan’s strategic situation vis-a-vis Baku. A June 1 commentary
published by the independent daily Zerkalo complained that `Russia
demonstrates its unwillingness to significantly reduce its military
presence in the South Caucasus region, including [along] the borders
with Iran and Turkey.’ Nasib Nasibli, a political expert at the
Foundation for Azerbaijan Studies, agreed. `This act by Russia is
aimed at preserving their influence in the Caucasus.’
According to the Russian-Georgian withdrawal agreement, at least 40
units of armored equipment, including 20 tanks, are to be removed
from Georgia by 1 September. The Azerbaijan-based Turan news agency
published a report stating that up to 40 Russian tanks could be moved
to Gyumri from Akhalkalaki. The Azeri foreign ministry announced
that, if such a report proves accurate, Baku would consider
implementing `corresponding measures.’ Earlier, Azeri officials
stated that they might reconsider the country’s $7 million-per-year
lease of the Gabala radar facility to Russia.
Analysts in Yerevan argue that Baku’s concerns are misplaced. `[I]f
we look at the Russian military presence in the South Caucasus. .
..the bases in Armenia practically decide nothing, while the radar
station in Gabala, located on the territory of Àzerbaijan, appears to
be of great strategic importance,’ said Hayk Demoyan, an regional
political expert at the Caucasus Media Institute.
Rather than dwelling on the Russian equipment transfer, Armenia has
tried to concentrate international attention on its expanding ties
with NATO. On 16 June, Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan presented
Armenia’s Individual Action Partnership Plan (IPAP) to the NATO
Council. The country has since received assurances from US Ambassador
to Armenia Robert Evans that the Russian transfer of arms and
equipment will not preclude further cooperation between Yerevan and
NATO.
The press service of the defense ministry in Yerevan has denied the
existence of any agreement that would give Armenian military forces
access to the arms and equipment at Russia’s base in Gyumri. The
defense ministry also insists that no plans or intentions exist
concerning the potential transfer Russian military personnel to
Armenia from Georgia.
Despite such assurances, the debate continues in Baku over what
constitutes an appropriate response. Azeri analysts suggest the most
likely counter-move would be a strengthening of Baku’s relationship
with NATO. Some point out that on 6 June, Turkey – an Atlantic
alliance member and Baku’s closest ally – announced plans to allocate
$2.1 million to help the Azeri military adopt NATO military
standards.
In recent weeks, President Ilham Aliev’s administration has toned
down its angry rhetoric concerning the equipment-transfer issue. Some
observers suggest that Baku has come to the realization that it
cannot stop the transfer. Others say that, with potentially pivotal
parliamentary elections scheduled for November, Aliev is reluctant to
risk a full-blown dispute with Russia. Bilateral ties have been
strengthening since 2000, and Aliev clearly wants to keep them
cordial. `We are very satisfied with the standard of our
relationship, one of strategic partnership that meets the interests
of both Russia and Azerbaijan,’ Aliev said at an economic conference
in St. Petersburg on 14 June.
Samvel Martirosyan is a Yerevan-based journalist and political
analyst. Alman Mir-Ismail is a freelance political analyst from Baku.
This article first appeared on EurasiaNet.

A1plus
| 17:57:27 | 01-07-2005 | Economy |
WORLD BANK STILL FINANCING ARMENIA
Armenia has managed to `convince’ the World Bank to continue the financing
of the Informational Technologies field till the end of 2006. {BR}
The World Bank will finance the continuation of the program `Companies’
Incubator’. It started in 2002 when the Bank allotted 5 million USD to
Armenia for the program. During the creation of the program there was
financing from other organizations as well which allowed us to `economize
means’.
Today the World Bank will not allot money to Armenia, but they will continue
to use the economized means. And as the `Companies’ Incubator’ is considered
a realized structure in Armenia, in the new stage of financing the means
will be directed to the development of the structure.
The `Companies’ Incubator’ will provide business-consultation. The head of
the company Bagrat Engibaryan informed the journalists today that the
branches of the Incubator will create new companies. In the closest future
two will be created.
It should also be mentioned that in the field of informational technologies
there are about 100 companies in Armenia which have realized production and
import of about 50 million USD.

ARMENIANOW.COM
Administration Address: 26 Parpetsi St., No 9
Phone: +(374 1) 532422
Email: [email protected]
Internet:
Technical Assistance: (For technical assistance please contact to Babken Juharyan)
Email: [email protected]
ICQ#: 97152052
CASUALTIES OF ORE?: RESIDENTS OF MINING TOWN SAY THE PRICE OF PROGRESS IS THEIR HEALTH
By Arpi Harutyunyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
Three or four times a week, at around 5pm, an earthquake takes place
in the town of Kajaran.
The earth shakes as workers at the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum
Plant detonate explosions in open cast mines to extract the ore
for processing.
Kajaran is a town in Syunik marz, 346 kilometers from Yerevan, with
an official population estimated at 9,800, though many residents
insist that it is lower. The mine is some 10 kilometers outside it,
but the “earthquake” registers in the shaking of the houses and the
large cloud of dust that rises into the sky.
“We are already used to the explosions. Another question is that all
that dust covers the town later and we breathe the air. We process
waste saturated with a thousand poisonous materials, and drink
contaminated water,” says Ofik, a 62-year-old resident of Kajaran,
whose son also works at the plant and has a serious illness of
stomach. (The names of workers at the plant have been changed and
their last names are not given at their request.)
“A year ago another piece of land was allocated to the town cemetery
and it was full by the end of the year.”
Arman, 24, who left Kajaran for Yerevan with his wife and baby son,
says: “There are hardly 7,000 people in Kajaran and many leave the
town because the environment is completely destroyed. Three or four
people a day die, especially in spring, although the Municipality
may insist that this is nothing unusual.”
According to the National Statistical Service and the Municipality,
87 deaths were registered in 2004, compared to a maximum of 53 annually
in the previous four years.
Arman’s wife Ani, 22, was pregnant when they decided to leave because
of concerns about the bad air and water. She recalls: “When I was
pregnant I couldn’t stand Kajaran at all; I would always choke,
I couldn’t breathe. Even in the cold winter months, the air in the
town is heavy with sulphur gas. The snow is always yellow in Kajaran.”
Kristine, 25, from Kajaran, will give birth to her second child in a
few months. She is also concerned about her baby’s health. She says:
“I already have a 2-year-old child and we are constantly in hospital
because the boy suffers intestinal problems. There is not a single
healthy person in the town.”
Workers at the mining plant are in the incomparably worse conditions,
but are unwilling to talk about their health for one simple reason:
they are afraid of losing their jobs because that means condemning
their families to poverty. There is not a single family in Kajaran
that does not have someone working in the industry.
“Everyone is afraid of complaining because they will be fired. Where
we work in the plant there is little oxygen, it is terribly dusty and
there is high radiation. The plant has partial filtration which is why
the rest of the residents suffer along with the workers,” says Hayk,
a 24-year-old locksmith at the plant.
The head of the Industrial-Technical Department of the plant Grenik
Hambartsumyan insists that neither the workers nor the residents have
health problems.
“Don’t you see that everyone looks fresh? We provide special food,
including compulsory milk. I’ve worked here for many years, do you
see anything strange about me?” he says.
Some people at the plant recall that special conditions existed in the
past, but not now. Valeri, 50, says: “What milk are they talking about
when we don’t even respirators to protect us against the dust? Our
mouths are full only of dust and dirt.”
It is known that the molybdenum dust affects human and especially
men’s fertility. Nina, 50, whose son works in the industry, says:
“It is shameful to say, but men here become impotent after 30. The
majority of women have tumors of the uterus and while still very
young are no longer able to deliver children. The number suffering
from cancer is also high.”
Lernik Davtyan, a construction engineer, also witnesses the high
level of radiation in the locality. In the 1980s he was a member of
the Armenian National Movement Environmental Commission and studied
the environmental situation in Kajaran.
“We studied the moss that accumulates radiation most of all. There
were places where the reading went off the dial on the measuring
apparatus. We sent samples to France and the response was that there
was a ‘Chernobil cocktail’ in the moss,” says Davtyan.
Even Hambartsumyan does not deny the effects of molybdenum. He says
amicably: “I know how men’s genitals go out of use as a result of
molybdenum. The radiation is high especially in the mine and the
plant. That is why I did everything to be engaged more in office
work and I reached the position of the head of production-technical
department.”
That a significant part of the people in Kajaran are ill is
obvious. People even joke that the town is distinguished from others
by its collective cough. A significant part of residents have lung
problems.
The chief doctor in the town Vartan Avagyan, of the Kajaran Medical
Center, says: “The town is considered a hotbed of illnesses of
the thyroid, female genitals and breast. The number of pregnancy
pathologies is also high. One can say that the number of births and
deaths is close to the norm.”
The center’s urologist Virab Minasyan confirms that illnesses of the
male genitals are common. He has worked in Karajan for several months;
previously the hospital had never had an urologist.
Emil Babayan, head of the Industrial Toxicology Laboratory at the
Research Institute for General Hygiene and Professional Diseases,
explains the possible effects of the industrial processes on health.
“Waste from the plant includes elements of molybdenum, quartz, lead
and other metals. These agents first of all affect lungs, genitals,
reproduction function, the development of the embryo in the uterus,
the central neural system, intestines and liver,” says Babayan.
“Since Soviet times, cases of silicosis, breathing illnesses and blood
disorders have been most frequently seen in Kajaran. Silicosis is an
industrial illnesses linked to breathing mine dust.”
The health of the population worsened especially in 2000 after
molybdenum processing resumed at the complex. Every day for four years,
round the clock, the flues of the works belch sulphur dioxide into
the town’s air.
“The gas expelled from the works affects especially the lungs and
hemoglobin in the blood. That is why people get tired quickly, the
body weakens. The contaminated air affects the mental abilities of
children as well,” says Svetlana Hayrapetyan, a chemistry and biology
teacher at Kajaran’s School Number 2.
Vladik Martirosyan, an engineer at the Environmental Department of
the industries confirms the danger of the exhaust fumes.
“There were times when there was no pipe and the sulphur would fall
directly onto the town. Now the pipe is 300-400 meters above the town,
but sulphur and dust still affect people. We still can’t totally
neutralize the sulphur fumes and sulphur after all has a destructive
character, it is natural that it can’t be safe,” says Martirosyan.
The director of the industries, Maxim Hakobyan, believes people in
the town do not have serious health problems.
“The works can’t cause significant damage. The industry has studied
many times the influence the production may have on people’s health
and I can tell you there are no serious problems today,” he says.
Klement Hakobyan, head of the Kapan Mining Metallurgy and Enrichment
Laboratory, says he created a technology in the 1970s that almost
totally removes sulphur gas from fumes released into the atmosphere.
“The management of the plants does not want to apply this technology
to avoid extra expense. Today, nearly 35 per cent of the sulphur gas
in the atmosphere is the product of emissions. It is destroying nature
and causing a thousand breathing illnesses,” he says.
Despite everything, Mayor Vartan Gevorgyan sides with Hakobyan, the
director of the plant, in arguing that gas releases do not affect
people’s health.
“The geographical location of our town does not allow the emissions
to reach it. In Soviet times, releases were poured directly into the
river if there was an accident, but now everything is under strict
control. We take drinking water from that river, catch trout there,”
says the Mayor.
Today the Ministry of Health conducts no studies on the
possible influence of the environment on the health of the
population. Responding to ArmeniaNow’s inquiry, Norayr Davidyan,
the Minister of Health, said: “No separate financing is allotted for
the National Program on Activities in the Sphere of Environmental
Hygiene…at present the RA Ministry of Health does not conduct any
survey on the morbidity of the population in Syunik marz.”
The Ministry of Environmental Protection has never conducted monitoring
of air quality in Syunik marz. The water basin has been studied in
1988, 1989, 1990 and 2004.
“In terms of contamination Zangezur (an historical name for Syunik),
particularly Kajaran, Kapan, Agarak as industrial towns are in the
risk zone: but the Armenian Environmental Monitoring Agency does not
conduct regular observations of the air in these settlements. Nor
does the Armenian Environmental Monitoring Agency conduct regular
surveys of soil contamination,” says Rudolf Torosyan, director of
the Center for Environmental Influences at the state Ministry of
Environmental Protection.
Kajaran is first of all known for its molybdenum mines, and therefore
also for the copper and molybdenum industries through the Zangezur
Copper and Molybdenum Plant Closed Joint Stock Venture. Armenia has
7.6 per cent of the world’s molybdenum reserves, and 90 per cent of
that is exploited by the Zangezur plant. The Kajaran mine is unique
not only for its large size, but also for the high molybdenum content
of the ore.
“Owing to these industries, 60-65 per cent of the population has
well-paid jobs. In Soviet times, it had 1,600 people working there
and now there are 2,800. We consider Kajaran’s social problems
solved. There are 450-500 million drams circulating inside the town
each month, that’s 50,000 drams per capita,” says Gevorgyan, the Mayor.
The Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Plant was founded in 1951. By
1957, nearly 1 million tons of mine ore had been extracted. The peak
year was 1989, when ore extraction reached more than 9 million tons,
but by 1992-1993 the industries had ground to a halt following the
economic collapse. Regular production resumed in 1994.
The Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Plant was sold in December 2004
for $132 million. A German company, Chronimet, bought 60 per cent of
the stock, with 15 per cent going to the Yerevan Makur Yerkat plant,
12.5% to Zangezur Mining organization (whose president is the plant’s
director Maxim Hakobyan), and 12.5% to Armenian Molybdenum Production
enterprise.
According to Hakobyan, the plant entered new phase of production
this year. He says: “In 2005 the volume of production will grow by
15 per cent, the amount of molybdenum and copper extraction from the
mining ore will increase. We will double the volume of production in
coming years.”
The intensified production will bring significant environmental
problems, admits Artur Ashughyan, head of the Economics of Natural
Resource Use and Mining Industries at the Ministry of Trade and
Economic Development.
“Of course, an increase in production will lead to environmental
problems, the appearance of Kajaran will change, the mountains will
equal the town and there may be a need to move the town. But we will
become the first in the world for molybdenum production. We can say it
is inhuman but productive business can’t be done another way,” he says.
Klement Hakobyan, the head of the Kapan Mining Metallurgy and
Enrichment Laboratory, also believes the consequences may be grave
for the town.
“If the mine is exploited on a larger scale than environmental
catastrophes will be inescapable. It means that the amount of emissions
and waste will increase: the air and water will be contaminated,”
he explains.
According to data for 2004 from the Ministry of Environmental
Protection, the River Voghji, which runs through Kajaran, is
contaminated with nitrite, ammonium, copper, sulfate ions and
petroleum products.
The head of Environmental Protection at the ministry, Aram Gabrielyan,
states “no monitoring is made of the influence of the plant on the
environment”. That is to say, the ministry is content to accept the
data the plant provides.
“As a result of short term studies by the Ministry in 2004 it was
found that the activities of the plant have caused significant damage
to the environment. Consequently the Ministry obliged the plant to
reimburse the damage with 20 million drams,” says Rosa Julhakyan,
head of Accounting and Analysis Department.
Mayor Gevorgyan asserts that the environmental situation in the town
is regularly studied and no serious problems have been found. He says:
“Last year, the municipality invited the Eco-Balance organization
to study the ecological situation in the town. We were glad all the
results were positive.”
Gor Petrosyan, director of Eco-Balance, presents a different
picture. The organization was invited by the Mayor to conduct an
environmental survey in Kajaran and Kapan, but he says the mayor
intervened shortly afterwards to prohibit the continuation of the
survey.
“I was prohibited from studying the environment in Kajaran, but I
can say for certain that the situation is not just dangerous, but
terrible. This kind of ruthless exploitation of nature will have
tragic consequences,” says Petrosyan.
“The major problems are connected with the wastes poured into
gorges. Those agents are very mobile and if the waist tail storages
ever move and cause landslides, the local population will disappear. I
think the heavy metal in agricultural products will also exceed
the allowed norms and that will, of course, significantly impact on
people’s health.”
Srbuhi Harutyunyan, the President of the Social-Environmental
Association, who was also prohibited from continuing the research,
holds the same opinion.
“In 2004 the Mayor invited us to Kajaran to develop environmental
programs. We went there and got acquainted with the situation. But
when we said that we needed to focus on the influence of the copper
and molybdenum plant, they prohibited the studies.
“Both before privatization and after, there was no evaluation of
the influence of the plant on the environment. Wastes from the
industries are continuously poured into the River Voghjy without
necessary cleaning.”
Gorges near to the villages of Gharazam, Pukhrut, Voghji and Atsvanik
have served as plant waste tail storages since the 1970s. The first
three have been re-cultivated and are covered with topsoil of 50-60cm,
and today only the Artsvanik storage is operating.
“Big sums of money have been invested over the years to re-cultivate
the waste and cover it with a soil layer to avoid damaging the
environment. Trees have been planted on the territory; people cultivate
the land and rest there,” says Maxim Hakobyan.
Vladik Martirosyan worries most that attempts to use the re-cultivated
soil layer will result in landslides. He says: “In previous times,
people cultivated those lands, but now it is prohibited: those lands
can’t be irrigated, otherwise there may be landslides.”
Hakob Sanasaryan, President of the Union of Greens of Armenia, says
two key issues face Kajaran; the volume of open cast mining that is
destroying the ecosystem, and the amount of industrial waste.
“According to the data we have, nearly 90 million cubic meters of
waste are piled up there. It means that the pastures and the forests
will be useless for hundreds of years. Very aggressive agents are
moved there though pipes that frequently explode,” says Sanasaryan.
“Those agents mixed with rain and snow waters reach into the
lithosphere waters. That is both soil and water are contaminated. Since
the River Voghjy provides drinking water to the marz, people can
become carriers of dozens of illnesses.”
Sanasaryan continues: “I can vividly remember how Artsvanik was
destroyed, when industrial wastes began being poured into storage
there. Many gardens dried up, animals began dying. Many kinds of
chemicals and dangerous heavy metals have been poured into the
surroundings in an activated state and this has continued for over
30 years.”
Anahit Davtyan, a laboratory researcher at the Yerevan Center for
Hygienic and Epidemic Control, says toxic substances in irrigation
water easily affect people’s health.
“People do not drink that water, but dangerous combinations transfer
from the water into plants, from plants to animals, from animals to
people. As a result people get numerous illnesses,” she says.
The management of the plant now seem concerned about the health
of Kajaran’s inhabitants. Contracts have been signed with a number
of Yerevan hospitals to treat people working in the plant and their
families for free if needed. However, this has provoked irony rather
than happiness in the people.
“It seems like the plant makes people ill and then pays for them to
have treatment. It’s a kind of eyewash. We ordinary residents have no
alternative: either keep silent or lose the means of living. Complaints
would bring nothing: that’s for sure,” assures Seda, a 50-year-old
inhabitant of Kajaran.

PRISONS IN THE FOCUS OF GOVERNMENT ATTENTION
Armenpress
YEREVAN, JUNE 27, ARMENPRESS: Head of a justice ministry department
supervising Armenian correction facilities said the prisons and their
conditions were in the focus of constant government attention. “If
the government keeps on the rate of funding unchanged the system will
mark a tangible progress in next 7-8 years,’ the department head,
Samvel Hovhanesian, said.
He said the system’s improvement depends on several factors, such as
change of the society’s perception of prisons, higher level of legal
awareness and knowledge, the inmates’ desire to protect their rights,
but added, however, that “we are going now to another extremity when
by defending the convicts’ rights we violate the prison personnel’s
rights.”
He then said the ministry is working to secure the inmates with jobs
and to this end seeks contracts with businessmen. He also said low
wages (more than $100) keep people away from the system. “We have now
200 vacancies,” he said, adding that the job is not attractive for
people, mainly because of dilapidated facilities. Contrary to this,
he said, the renovated Vardashen prison, that almost complies with
many of western standards, has no vacancies. He also praised the work
of non-governmental organizations which seek to track down and raise
the inmates’ problems, saying it helps them to assess these problems
and seek their solution.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijan to establish border control with Armenia, official says
Interfax news agency, Moscow
23 Jun 05
BAKU
Azerbaijan intends to establish border control with Armenia, a country
it is at war with, the deputy commander of the Azerbaijani State
Border Service (SBS), Ilham Mehdiyev, has told an international
seminar on threats to border security in the South Caucasus. The
seminar opened in Baku today with support from NATO.
“Due to the military conflict with Armenia, we have been unable to
create proper border infrastructure in this direction, which is the
longest (1,007 km) section of our state border,” Mehdiyev said.
“We have already started preliminary work on creating the logistics
for establishing control over this section of the state border. I have
to say that this is an enormous project and, naturally, it will be
difficult to implement it without international support,” he said.
Mehdiyev also said that Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani
territories was adversely affecting regional development. He said a
threat was being posed to the East-West transport corridor and to the
implementation of international projects to produce and transport
Caspian hydrocarbons.
The deputy commander of the SBS also pointed to the difficult
situation on the southern border, especially in fighting illegal
migration and drug trafficking on the border with Iran.
“The situation in the north is also difficult. The tense
public-political situation in Chechnya and Dagestan affects the
security of the Azerbaijani-Russian section of the border. As is the
case with the Azerbaijani-Iranian border, smuggling and illegal
migration are still the most frequent types of violations on the
northern and northwestern sections,” he said.
[Passage omitted: importance of cooperation within the framework of
the regional alliance of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova]

Tajik leader calls for new structure within Shanghai body to fight terror
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
24 Jun 05
DUSHANBE
Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov has spoken in favour of the formation
of rapid deployment forces within the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO). Addressing a meeting of the Council of Defence
Ministers of the CIS states, which opened in Dushanbe today, he said
that the SCO needed “strong collective rapid deployment forces to
counter international terrorism and religious extremism”.
The CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] member states
(Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan) have
already formed such a military structure – collective rapid deployment
forces in the Central Asia collective security region.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization includes Russia, China,
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
President Rahmonov also said that “the most important” tasks today
were to maintain peace and stability not only within a country but
also beyond it, and to increase the combat readiness of the armed
forces of the CIS states.
International terrorism and religious extremism threaten the vital
interests of every CIS country, Rahmonov said. “The
internationalization of the activities of international terrorist and
extremist groups is particularly dangerous,” he stressed.
Representatives of the defence ministries of all CIS countries, except
for Georgia, Moldova and Turkmenistan, are attending the meeting.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia to develop relations with democratic Iraq, minister says
A1+ web site
23 Jun 05
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan attended an international
conference in Brussels on 21-22 June dedicated to the restoration of
Iraq at the invitation of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
[Passage omitted: background details]
The Armenian foreign minister said addressing the conference that “it
is very important to inform the people living in Iraq of the
consistent participation of the international community in the
restoration of the country. Even small countries like Armenia, which
participates only formally, understand very well the importance of
moral assistance.”
Speaking about Armenia’s participation in Iraq’s restoration, the
minister pointed out that “this country has natural resources. I mean
not only the wealth which is under the ground but also the numerous
ethnic groups populating Iraq.”
“The Armenian community living in Iraq is part of this wealth and they
are expected to make a contribution to the prosperity and peaceful
future of their country. In turn, Armenia wishes to develop its
relations with peaceful, unified and democratic Iraq,” the minister
said.

FACTBOX – Key facts and figures about Bulgaria
SOFIA, June 23 (Reuters) – Bulgaria holds general elections on
Saturday. Following are some facts about Bulgaria:
POPULATION: 7.8 million – 83.9 percent ethnic Bulgarians, 9.4 percent
ethnic Turks, 4.7 Roma gypsies and 2.0 percent Russian, Armenian and
other, according to a 2001 census.
RELIGION: Eastern Orthodoxy is practised by 83 percent of Bulgarians,
while 12 percent are Muslims.
LANGUAGE: The official language is Bulgarian.
AREA: 110,994 sq km (42,855 sq miles).
Bulgaria is bordered to the north by Romania, to the east by the Black
Sea, to the south by Turkey and Greece, to the west by Serbia and
Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia.
CAPITAL: Sofia. Population 1.19 million.
ARMED FORCES: Bulgaria became a NATO member in April 2004 after
carrying out defence reforms and cutting its 93,000-strong armed
forces to 45,000. It will be further reduced by 2015.
ECONOMY: The centrist government of former king Simeon Saxe-Coburg has
maintained macroeconomic stability, slashed the country’s public
foreign debt and earned it a series of credit rating upgrades since it
came into power in 2001.
Bulgaria enjoys relatively low inflation following an economic crisis
in 1996/97, when the country pegged its lev to the euro in a currency
board regime.
Despite a robust economic growth over 4.0 percent in the last four
years, monthly salaries average 150 euros ($185) and Bulgaria is the
poorest country of all EU candidates and member states except for
Turkey. GDP per capita was 2,498 euros in 2004, or 30 percent of the
EU average.
HISTORY: Established in 681, Bulgaria spent half of the last
millennium as part of the Ottoman Empire. Northern Bulgaria became a
constitutional monarchy after the 1878 Russian-Turkish war and was
united with the South in 1885.
By 1945 Bulgaria had taken part in three wars (the Balkan wars of
1912-13, World War One and World War Two, in which it sided with Nazi
Germany). In 1944, the Bulgarian Communist Party took power and ruled
as a single party until 1989.
On November 10, 1989 top communist party officials ousted
Soviet-backed dictator Todor Zhivkov. It renamed itself the Socialist
Party and won a sweeping victory in the first democratic parliamentary
election in June 1990.
But that government was ousted in a no-confidence vote after 11 months
in power to be replaced by a government of the right-of-centre Union
for Democratic Forces (UDF).
The UDF was followed by a non-party cabinet which resigned in
September 1994 amid accusations of slow reforms. Elections that
December again gave the Socialists, led by Zhan Videnov, a
parliamentary majority.
His government was no more successful at reforms and led Bulgaria into
an economic crisis marked by hyper-inflation and the collapse of a
third of the country’s banks in 1996-1997.
The Socialists were ousted in February 1997 as angry crowds stormed
parliament and was again replaced by the UDF, which achieved
macroeconomic stability and began talks to join NATO and the European
Union.
In 2001 ex-king Simeon Saxe-Coburg entered the election race three
months ahead of the vote. He stormed to power in a landslide election
victory with 120 of parliament’s 240 seats.
Europe’s first ex-monarch to be elected prime minister, Saxe-Coburg
formed a ruling coalition with the mostly ethnic-Turkish Movement for
Rights and Freedoms.
But despite securing NATO membership and signing Bulgaria’s EU entry
treaty, Saxe-Coburg’s Movement for Simeon II failed to stamp out
corruption and significantly raise living standards, and its
popularity has fallen to around 15 percent.
06/23/05 10:49 ET

Pan Armenian News
OSCE MG AMBASSADOR EVALUATES OSKANIAN-MAMEDYAROV TALKS AS POSITIVE
23.06.2005 03:14
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ «I evaluate the Paris talks between Foreign Ministers of
Azerbaijan and Armenia Elmar Mamedyarov and Vartan Oskanian June 17 as
positive. These allowed to see new, additional opportunities for working out
bases for settlement in the near future. The impetus conveyed by the Warsaw
meeting of the Presidents May 15 was very important. We hope to manage to
strengthen and develop these positive trends during our trips to Baku and
Yerevan,» Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov said,
reported APA Azeri agency. The Russian diplomat positively evaluates the
proposal of the Azeri party to resume the operation of
Aghdam-Stepanakert-Shushi-Lachin-Armenia-Nakhichevan motor road. «The
opening of communication is an important component of the settlement.
However, in my opinion it is nevertheless secondary as compared to key
issues. One cannot say when the road will open yet: before or after the
conclusion of the grand peace. Possibly some parts may be opened earlier
that the route on the whole. At their latest talks the Ministers did not
discuss the matter in detail. However, I can say the matter does concern the
opening of communications,» the Ambassador said. It should be reminded that
experts will join further talks and, in Merzlyakov’s words, it will happen
in autumn or later. «The Co-Chairs will have to coordinate the work of
experts at the initial stage. Experts represent a wide composition
delegation of the parties and the issue of involvement of experts
representing the mediators was not discussed yet,» he said. Y. Merzlyakov
also said the date of the recurrent meeting of Presidents of Azerbaijan and
Armenia will be known during the Co-Chairs’ visit to the region. He did not
rule out the opportunity for the meeting of the Presidents to be held in
Kazan.