Author: Antonian Lara

The Gazette (Montreal)
April 19, 2005 Tuesday
Final Edition
Russians, famous or otherwise feature in I Musici season: Work of
unknown Galinin kicks off season and is included on chamber
orchestra’s CD
Mother Russia and her former satellites will play a large role the
2005-2006 I Musici de Montreal season announced yesterday by Yuli
Turovsky.
The downtown series, divided between Pollack Hall and the Theatre
Maisonneuve of Place des Arts, opens on Sept. 22 with a program
featuring the Piano Concerto of German Galinin, a virtually unknown
Russian composer who ended his days in an insane asylum. Ukrainian
virtuoso Sergei Salov does the honours. This program also includes
Beethoven’s Fifth – a major continuation of Turovsky’s anticipated
cycle of that composer’s symphonies.
Next comes Shostakovich’s substantially vocal Symphony No. 14, a work
first performed in the presence of the composer by an orchestra,
including Turovsky as a cellist. Tchaikovsky is the focus on Dec. 8.
Turovsky is the soloist in the Rococo Variations and the arranger of
the String Quartet No. 1.
On Jan. 25, the young German violinist David Garrett is the soloist
in Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2. Also heard will be Otto
Joachim’s Concertante No. 1 and the Symphony for Strings and Timpani
by Edvard Mirzoyan, an Armenian student of Shostakovich. The annual
one-act opera on March 22 will be Menotti’s The Old Maid and the
Thief. The series concludes on May 11, 2006, with a night of
Stravinsky (Apollon Musagete), Shostakovich (Piano Concerto No. 1
with Simon Trpceski) and Keith Jarrett (Elegy).
Russian music is not overlooked in the Ogilvy Series, which opens on
Sept. 8 and 9 with arrangements of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an
Exhibition and Borodin’s String Quartet No. 2. A theatrical show with
eastern European folklore content, Cesar & Drana, follows on Oct. 6
and 7. Canadian music will be heard on Dec. 15 and 16 and the Italian
baroque on Feb. 23 and 24. Turovsky explores Op. 1 compositions by
Barber, Nielsen and Dvorak on March 30 and 31 and the Bach family on
April 27 and 28, 2006.
There are four West Island concerts and four children’s concerts, all
with Catherine Perrin as hostess. There are two CDs on the agenda,
one comprising Piano Concertos by Galinin and Galina Ustvolskaya as
played by Salov and Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 3.

HAMLET GASPARIAN, FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON, SKEPTICAL
ABOUT OPINION THAT RECENT STATEMENT OF OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS REACHING DESIRABLE RESULT
YEREVAN, APRIL 18. ARMINFO. The Armenian Foreign Ministry is
skeptical about the opinion that the recent statement of OSCE Minsk
Group Co-Chairs on settlement of Karabakh conflict is reaching the
desirable result. Hamlet Gasparian, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson,
commenting on this statement to Mass Media states: “Since it is only
the Azerbaijanis who make militaristic statements and warmongering
calls, it is obvious that the statement applies to them. However,
if the intended purpose of this statement is to try to put an end to
the ceasefire violations, we don’t believe that will happen unless
the violators are not being held accountable.”
He says that Armenia, in its letter to the co-chair countries foreign
ministers, and to the OSCE CiO, explained that the fundamental reason
for the recurrence of these abuses is that Azerbaijan is assured of
impunity. They know that even when such encroachments are obvious
and visible, as they are now, and Azerbaijan has clearly violated the
ceasefire and advanced, no one criticizes or condemns their actions
by name. As a result, they can breach the ceasefire again and again.
“That is what has happened here. If in the past, shots were heard and
it was not always evident who fired first, today, it is obvious that
the Azerbaijanis have advanced their positions, and have clearly,
visibly altered the status quo. That is why we are convinced that
such a universal call for abiding by the terms of the ceasefire won’t
help. Instead, we would expect that the co-chairs and others interested
in ensuring stability in this region, take a tougher stance.”
To note recently OSCE MG Co-Chairs expressed concern over the
growing tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan, pointing out that
such violations leaded to human losses and endangered the cease-fire
agreement.

ARKA News Agency
April 12 2005
Regular conference of Council of Europe member-states’ Justice
Ministers to be held in autumn 2005 in Yerevan
New telephone codes to be put into operation on May 1, 2005
Photo exhibition entitled `Cultural Genocide’ opens today in Yerevan
CTS-2005 tourist exhibition to be held in Yerevan April 28-30
Photo exhibition `People Who Won the War’ dedicated to 60th
anniversary of Victory, opens today in Yerevan
7th annual meeting of the Board of BSTDB Governors to be held in
Yerevan on June 5-6
46.3% of Armenia citizens view NKR as independent state
Most Armenia citizens consider Russia’s role important in Karabakh
settlement
Central Bank of Armenia: 8-% economic growth in Armenia likely in
2005
*********************************************************************
REGULAR CONFERENCE OF COUNCIL OF EUROPE MEMBER-STATES’ JUSTICE
MINISTERS TO BE HELD IN AUTUMN 2005 IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, April 12. /ARKA/. Regular conference of CE member-states’
Justice Ministers will be held in autumn 2005 in Yerevan, as the RA
Ministry of Justice told ARKA News Agency, the corresponding decision
was made at the meeting of CE Justice Ministers in Helsinki.
Note, RA Justice Minister David Harutunyan also participated in
Helsinki meeting of April 7-8 as Vice-Chairman of the conference.
L.V.-0–
*********************************************************************
NEW TELEPHONE CODES TO BE PUT INTO OPERATION ON MAY 1, 2005
YEREVAN, April 13. /ARKA/. New telephone codes are to be put into
operation on May 1, 2005, as AtmenTel telecommunication company told
ARKA. In particular, Yerevan’s international code will be 10 instead
of 1 formerly. It means 0+374+10+ the number of customer should be
dialed to make phone call to Yerevan. 0+374+91 number is set for
mobile communication. Mobile communication code of the K-Telecom, the
second operator, will be 0+374+93 (or 94).
Phone codes of Gyumri and Vanadzor, the other largest cities of
Armenia, will be 0+312 instead of 0+41 in Gyumri and 0+322 instead of
former 0+51 in Vanadzor.
Besides, 2 is added to the present codes of Armenian regions of
Kortayk, Armavir, Ararat, Aragatsotn, Shirak, Gegharkunik,
Vayots-Dzor, Tavush, Sunik and Spitak, Alaverdi, Tashir and
Stepanavan cities (0+2+ present code). In Lori region, 51 is replaced
with 322.
4 is added to Nagorno-Karabakh current codes (0+4+current codes of
the cities). Nagorno-Karabakh codes of mobile communication will be
changed as well – 097 instead of 07 in case of a call from Armenia
and 0374+97+ the number of customer in case of offshore calls.
As a result, to call a customer in Yerevan from the republic’s
regions, Karabakh and by ArmenTel and K-Telecom mobile networks, one
should dial 0+10+ a customer’s number. For entering calls, 0+a region
code+ the number of a customer should be dialed. For ArmenTel mobile
communication from Yerevan, regions and Nagorno Karabakh 0+91+the
number should be dialed and to contact with a K-Telecom customer 0+93
(or34) + a number should be dialed. Along with that, six-figure
dialing numbers in ArmenTel mobile communication from mobile phone to
mobile phone stops functioning. M.V. -0–
*********************************************************************
PHOTO EXHIBITION ENTITLED `CULTURAL GENOCIDE’ OPENS TODAY IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, April 12. /ARKA/. Photo exhibition entitled `Cultural
Genocide’ dedicated to 90th anniversary of Armenian Genocide opened
today in Yerevan. As Vahe Sargsyan, the head of the Students Council
of Yerevan State University Faculty of History, it is vital to
preserve the cultural heritage of various peoples given the active
communication and dialogue of different cultures and civilizations.
`For this purpose, measures should be undertaken on international
level to prevent the barbarity and encroachments like the cultural
genocide carried out by the Ottoman Turkey in Western Armenia’, he
noted. The exhibition which presents about 36 pairs of photos in old
and new variants will last 2 days.
The organizers of the exhibition are `Nicol Aghbalyan’ Students Union
of Armenian Revolutionary Federation `Dashnaktsutyun’ and the
Students Council of Yerevan State University Faculty of History. L.V.
-0–
*********************************************************************
CTS-2005 TOURIST EXHIBITION TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN APRIL 28-30
YEREVAN, April 12. /ARKA/. The 5th international tourist exhibition
CTS-2005 is to be held in Yerevan on April 28-30, Yeghishe Tanashyan,
Director of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) told ARKA.
According to him, both local and foreign firms are to take part in
the exhibition. Among them are the First Insurance Company,
Association of Tourist Operators of Armenia, `Belavia’ air carrier,
Czech Airlines, and five hotels. Tanashyan said that workshops will
also be held to discuss the role of international and regional
tourist cooperation and ongoing processes.
The CTS-2005 exhibition has been organized by the ASTA and the RA
ministry of Trade and Economic Development, with the sponsorship of
the Yerevan Brandy Company, `Congress’ and `Golden Tulip Yerevan’
hotels, Czech Airlines, and the Visa Concord company, which is
General Agent of Czech Airlines in Armenia. The information support
is being provided by the `TourInfo’ magazine, Spyur information
service, Ardzagank radio and the National Tourist Development Agency.
P.T. -0–
*********************************************************************
PHOTO EXHIBITION `PEOPLE WHO WON THE WAR’ DEDICATED TO 60TH
ANNIVERSARY OF VICTORY, OPENS TODAY IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, April 12. /ARKA/. Photo exhibition `People, Who Won the War’
opened today in Yerevan dedicated to 60th anniversary of Victory in
Great patriotic War. As Marine Kalacheva, Attache on Cultural Issues
of RF Embassy in Armenia stated at the opening ceremony of the
exhibition, the exhibited documentary photos fully convey the
atmosphere of the military years. `These pictures provided by the RIA
Novosti, give us the opportunity to perceive the horrors and deep
tragedy of this war ‘, she noted.
According to Armen Darbinyan, the rector of Russian-Armenian
(Slavonic) University, this victory is the result of feats of not the
commanders or marshals, not the coalitional government, but the feats
of the people.
The exposition which includes 30 pictures will last for 8 days, from
April 12 to 20. The exhibition was organized by RF Embassy in Armenia
and Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University.
RIA Novosti has presented more than 150 unique black-and-white
photographs of 1941-1945 from the archives of Sovinformbureau, the
assignee of which is RIA Novosti. The first show of the mobile photo
exhibition took place in September 2004 in the headquarters of Polish
Printing Agency in Warsaw. L.V.–0–
*********************************************************************
7TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF BSTDB GOVERNORS TO BE HELD IN
YEREVAN ON JUNE 5-6
YEREVAN, April 12. /ARKA/. 7th annual meeting of the Board of
Governors of Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) and Black
Sea Business day will be held in Yerevan on June 5-6, 2005. As the RA
Ministry of Finance and Economy told ARKA News Agency, members of
BSTDB Board of directors and Board of Governors will take part in the
meeting. Top officials from other countries of the Black Sea region,
international financial institutions (EU, EBRD, IMF, WB,
International Financial Corporation), private investors and business
leaders active in the region will be invited to Black Sea Business
Day.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international
financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and
Ukraine. With an authorized capital of SDR 1 billion (approx. 1,4
billion US dollars), the Bank supports economic development and
regional cooperation by providing trade and project financing,
guarantees, and equity for development projects supporting both
public and private enterprises in its member countries. L.V. – 0–
*********************************************************************
46.3% OF ARMENIA CITIZENS VIEW NKR AS INDEPENDENT STATE
YEREVAN, April 12. /ARKA/. 46.3% of Armenian citizens view
Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent and sovereign state, Research
Coordinator Stepan Safaryan stated tt a seminar organized by the
Armenian Center of Strategic and National Research. Presenting the
results of an interview `Artsakh Problem: ten-year-long unfinished
story’, which was conducted by the Center and involved 1,900 Armenian
citizens and 60 experts, he reported that 30% of the experts and 38%
of the respondents believe that Nagorno Karabakh will eventually
become part of Armenia.Safaryan pointed out that 2.6% of the
respondents and 3.4% of the experts do not rule out the possibility
of Nagorno Karabakh’s remaining part of of Azerbaijan as an autonomy,
and 6.7% of the experts and 0.7% of the respondents consider possible
the formation of a common state between Azerbaijan and Nagorno
Karabakh.
According to Safaryan, 73.3% of the experts and 50% of the
respondents consider possible concessions to Azerbaijan at the
expense of the Nagorno-Karabakh security zone (Lachin, Kelbajar,
Aghdam, Fizuli, Zangelan, Kubatly, Jebrail). 66.7% of the experts and
50.4% of the respondents consider concessions possible in exchange
for Nagorno Karabakh’s independence or for its joining Armenia.P.T.
-0–
*********************************************************************
MOST ARMENIA CITIZENS CONSIDER RUSSIA’S ROLE IMPORTANT IN KARABAKH
SETTLEMENT
YEREVAN, April 12. /ARKA/. Most Armenian citizens consider Russia’s
role most important in the Nagorno-`Karabakh settlement, Research
Coordinator Stepan Safaryan, Armenian Center of Strategic and
National Research (ACSNR), stated at a seminar organized by the
Center. He said that an interview `Artsakh problem: ten-year-long
story, which was conducted by the Center and involved 1,900 Armenian
citizens, showed that 60% of the respondents and 73.3% of the experts
consider Russia’s role in the Karabakh settlement process a key one.
According to 60% of citizens and 60.2% of the experts the USA plays
the second important role in this process. On 1.7% of the experts and
7.1% of the respondents consider France as a key country in the
settlement process. 19.1% of the experts and 13.4% of the respondents
pointed out the EU’s important role. Also, 38.4% of the experts and
18.8% of the respondents assigned an important role to the OSCE. P.T.
-0–
*********************************************************************
CENTRAL BANK OF ARMENIA: 8-% ECONOMIC GROWTH IN ARMENIA LIKELY IN
2005
YEREVAN, April 12. /ARKA/. The Central Bank of Armenia expects 8-%
economic growth in Armenia in 2005, was said at the Bank’s Board
regular quarter meeting with the republic’s commercial banks, as the
CBA Press Service reports.
In this year Jan-Feb the economic growth made 7% comparing to the
same period of last year while planned growth for the first quarter
was 7,3%. The growth was mostly ensured by industry sector (excluding
diamond processing) and construction that grew by 9,3% and 22,2%. The
growth in agriculture sector was due to season factors. This sector’s
growth pace is expected to speed up considerably in 2 and 3 quarter.
The bankers gathered at the meeting pointed out significant increase
in commodity turnover volumes for the first two months of 2005
comparing to the previous year. In particular, the export (without
taking into account precious metals and jewelry) rose by 36% while
the import by 26%. As a result, trade balance deficit deepened by 21%
with its weight share in GDP reduced four points to 34%.
According to the CBA press release, it was said at the meeting that
significant deflection was visible in tax-budget sector at the first
quarter of 2005. The expenditures program is underfulfiled by AMD
15bn, despite the fact that the program of taxes was overfulfilled by
AMD 5bn. Comparing to the same period of previous year, expenses rose
by 10,6% and taxes by 19,3%. M.V. -0 –

The Newton Tab
Newton, MA
Koutoujian eyes DA job
By Bernie Smith/ Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, whose district covers portions of
West Newton and Nonantum, said he is considering running for Middlesex
district attorney next year, if current officeholder Martha Coakley runs for
state attorney general, as expected.
“It’s something my wife and I are talking about right now,” Koutoujian
said when reached by phone this week. “If I feel I can do this and still be
a good husband and a good father, then it’s something I’d very much like to
do.”
The five-term representative, who currently chairs the House’s
Committee on Healthcare, joins a growing list of high-profile officials who
are considering running for the seat.
Last week, state Sen. Jarrett Barrios, D-Cambridge, said through a
spokesman that he is considering whether to “continue public service by
seeking another office,” which many consider to be Coakley’s seat.
Gerard Leone, a former Middlesex prosecutor who recently left the
Justice Department as an assistant U.S. attorney, is also considering
running for the office. A Boston Globe article last weekend said Leone has
already begun soliciting support from noted fund-raisers for the race.
Koutoujian said the crowded field will not be a factor in whether he
runs.
“No one has entered the field that would, in any way, give me pause
about my thoughts on the race,” Koutoujian said.
Coakley said she plans to run for Attorney General Tom Reilly’s seat if
Reilly runs for governor in 2006, as expected.
In recent years, the Middlesex DA’s seat has been a springboard for
higher office. Scott Harshbarger, who served as Middlesex DA from 1983 to
1991, became attorney general in 1991 and unsuccessfully ran for governor
against Paul Cellucci in 1998. Reilly succeeded Harshbarger as Middlesex DA
in 1991 and later as attorney general.
Koutoujian spent about $119,000 last year to run for re-election, even
though he ran unopposed. He aired television commercials that were broadcast
in Newton and Waltham, as well as in other out-of-district communities,
including Somerville, a city that falls within the Middlesex DA’s
jurisdiction. In January, he had a campaign chest of $207,000, the seventh
most of all Beacon Hill lawmakers..
Koutoujian said he has not committed to running for the seat, and said
he is happy serving Waltham and Newton as their state representative.
“I love what I do right now. I don’t have to run for anything [other
office]. I love the position, I love the job I’m in right now,” Koutoujian
said.

The Warsaw Voice
April 13, 2005
CAPTURED TIME
A new photo exhibition is on display at the Center for Contemporary
Art (CSW). It presents the work of Mexican photographer Flor Garduno,
born in 1957. Garduno studied art at the San Carlos Academy in
Mexico. For two years she was an assistant to photographer Manuel
Alvarez Bravo. Garduno has worked as an independent photographer
since 1980, displaying her work in numerous galleries and museums in
Mexico, the United States and Europe (exhibitions in Paris, London
and Zurich).
The CSW presents one of her most beautiful projects, the series
Testigos del tiempo (Witnesses of Time). This is a documentary of
human life outside large urban centers, a record of local people and
their ceremonies. The pictures were taken in the years 1983-1991. In
terms of subject matter, the exhibition resembles the brilliant film
Seasons by Armenian director Artavazd Peleshian, recently shown at
the CSW.
Garduno’s photographs are very rich in form, while Peleshian is
slightly more economical with respect to expression. “Garduno
photographs life, religious ceremonies and social events from a
distance, with great care for composition and balance in the picture,
irrespective of whether she shows the real world of the poor or
whether her photos depict landscape, architecture or nature. She
achieves this through very sophisticated but-just like
Peleshian-economical means, in which light and composition play the
most important role,” said the curator of the exhibition.
Mexican photography is highly praised internationally, in large part
thanks to the late Manuel Alvarez Bravo, its most eminent
representative and Garduno’s mentor. Many other outstanding Mexican
photographers have made names for themselves in the past 50
years-including Garduno. Her art focuses on South American
countries-her native Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador,
Bolivia-regions with which she feels the strongest emotional and
cultural affinity.
The exhibition Testigos del tiempo enjoys enormous popularity
worldwide and has already been presented in 35 museums, including the
Art Institute of Chicago, the Center of Creative Photography in
Tuscon, fine art museums in Mexico, Chile and Argentina, the Musee de
l’Elysee in Lausanne and Salamanca University, Spain. In Warsaw, the
exhibition will be shown through the end of May.
Center for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, 6 Ujazdowskie Ave.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia & New Zealand
10 Macquarie Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
AUSTRALIA
Contact: Laura Artinian
Tel: (02) 9419-8056
Fax: (02) 9904-8446
Email: [email protected]
13 April 2005
FIRST LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN AUSTRALIA TO RECOGNISE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Sydney, Australia – On Tuesday, 12 April, 2005 history was made in Australia
with the first municipal or local government, namely Ryde City Council,
unanimously passing the motion of Councillor Sarkis Yedelian recognising the
Armenian Genocide of 1915. (See text of motion below)
The Council meeting was opened with the Lord’s Prayer and the Prayer of
Divine Wisdom written in the 12th century by Catholicos Nerses Shnorhali,
delivered by His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate of the Diocese
of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand. The prayers were
warmly received by Mayor Terry Perram and Councillors. A large number of
Armenian residents of the city of Ryde attended the meeting lending their
support. Also present were members of the Church Council of Sydney.
The Council meeting was addressed by six members from the Armenian Community
including the Primate who appealed to the conscience of the Councillors to
play their part in healing a nation’s deep wound and denouncing violation of
human rights through their public affirmation of the proposed motion. In
doing so, Ryde City Council would become the first local government in
Australia to officially recognise the Armenian genocide and would join the
ranks of 76 municipal/local governments worldwide.
The Councillors favourably received the motion of Cr Sarkis Yedelian and the
united voice of the speakers calling for justice to be done. With
Councillor Ivan Petch seconding the motion, all were in favour and the
motion was carried forward unanimously.
This is a triumphant result for Armenians in Australia and the international
movement for genocide recognition. It is the second official recognition by
an Australian government. On 17 April 1997, the NSW State Parliament passed
a bipartisan resolution condemning the genocide of the Armenians and in 1998
a memorial to the Armenian Martyrs was dedicated on the rooftop gardens of
Parliament House.
MOTION OF CR YEDELIAN:
“That Council
(1) acknowledge this year as marking the occasion of the 90th anniversary
commemoration of the Genocide of the Armenians perpetrated by the then
Ottoman Government between the years 1915-1922;
(2) joins the Armenian community of Ryde in honouring the memory of 1.5
million men, women and children who died in the first genocide of the
twentieth century;
(3) recognises April 24 every year as a day of remembrance of the Armenian
Genocide;
(4) condemns the genocide of the Armenians and all other acts of genocide
committed as the ultimate act of racial, religious and cultural intolerance;
(5) calls on the Commonwealth government to officially condemn:
(i) the genocide of the Armenians
(ii) any attempt to deny such crimes against humanity.”

Russian paper analyses Putin’s meeting with separatist leaders
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow
7 Apr 05

The clandestine meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and
the leaders of the two unrecognized republic’s of South Ossetia and
Abkhazia last week was an unprecedented event and will have
interesting consequences for relations with Georgia, the Russian
newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. According to an Abkhaz official,
the leaders discussed the peaceful settlement of the conflicts between
the two separatist republics and Georgia, of which they are legally
part. Tbilisi said news of the meeting came as no great surprise and
was symptomatic of Moscow’s ambivalent attitude towards its southern
neighbour. The following is the text of the report by the Russian
newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta on 7 April. Subheadings have been added
editorially:
Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin received the president of
Abkhazia, Sergey Bagapsh, and president of South Ossetia, Eduard
Kokoiti, at his Bocharov Ruchey residence in Sochi last Tuesday [5
April]. It was an entirely closed, effectively secret meeting: Its
participants declined to confirm or deny the very fact of the
tripartite talks.
Hushed-up talks
As Nezavisimaya Gazeta managed to ascertain, the meeting with the
unrecognized republics’ leaders was held in the second half of the day
virtually immediately after the completion of the Russian president’s
conversation with [EU High Representative for Common Foreign and
Security Policy] Javier Solana. However, there were no official
reports on the issue: Even employees of the leading news agencies were
asked to leave the residence. The duration of the meeting, let alone
the agenda of the talks, remained a mystery. No mention of the evening
event could be seen on the Kremlin’s official website the following
day. Nor did we manage to obtain any comments on the issue from the
presidential press service.
The presidents of the unrecognized republics themselves avoided making
any comments. The telephones of Bagapsh and Kokoiti suddenly “went out
of service” and remained out of service for a long time. Having said
that, some details of the Sochi meeting did surface yesterday,
although, as the Abkhaz president’s press secretary Kristian Bzhania
told Nezavisimaya Gazeta on the phone, “the very fact of Vladimir
Putin’s talks with Sergey Bagapsh and Eduard Kokoiti, indeed, was not
initially published”.
“It had been agreed that it would be an entirely closed meeting – no
comments and no coverage. Unfortunately, the information was somehow
leaked. Basically, we have to justify our actions now; we had to
disseminate a short official commentary on Wednesday [6 April],”
Bagapsh’s press secretary told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. According to him,
the meeting with Putin “was not planned in advance”. Negotiations
between the Abkhaz and South Ossetian presidents took place in Sochi
on Tuesday [5 April]. Bagapsh and Kokoiti were unexpectedly invited to
Bocharov Ruchey in the second half of the day,” Kristian Bzhania
said. He also read out the text of the official commentary released by
the Abkhaz president’s press service, according to which “prospects
for the peaceful settlement of the Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-South
Ossetian conflicts and issues of socioeconomic support for Russian
Federation citizens residing in Abkhazia were discussed during the
meeting”. The commentary also stated that “republic of Abkhazia leader
Sergey Bagapsh highly values the results of the meeting”. Bagapsh’s
spokesman attributed the brevity of the commentary to the fact that
Abkhazia “does not want to expose the Russian side” and hinted that “a
relevant request” had been received from Russia.
As regards South Ossetia, it did not comment in any way on the Sochi
meeting and has not even confirmed that the meeting took place.
Unprecedented event
It was an unprecedented event in Moscow’s relations with the
unrecognized republics. Admittedly, Putin met absolutely publicly with
the then Abkhaz president, Raul Khadzhimba, in Sochi last autumn. Back
then, however, everything happened sort-of spontaneously: Abkhaz World
War II veterans invited the Russian president to their meeting, and
Khadzhimba happened to be there “by chance”.
There were no “chances” this time around. Statements that Putin’s
meeting with the leaders of the unrecognized republics, which legally
are part of Georgia, was “unplanned” do not fully correspond to
reality. It was prepared in advance. Abkhazia’s foreign minister,
Sergey Shamba, made a chance remark to this effect in his interview
with Nezavisimaya Gazeta. Speaking about a hypothetical meeting
between incumbent Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh and Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili, Shamba stated: “This kind of meeting, in addition
attended by South Ossetia’s president, Eduard Kokoiti, could have been
held in Sochi the other day, mediated by Russian Federation President
Vladimir Putin. Unfortunately, Tbilisi did not express any interest
in this opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Tbilisi showed heightened interest in the 5 April
negotiations between the Russian president and the leaders of Abkhaz
and South Ossetian separatists in Tbilisi. As Nezavisimaya Gazeta was
told at the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “the country’s
foreign policy department will present Moscow with an extremely sharp
protest note as early as Wednesday night [6 April].” Georgian
Minister of State for Conflict Settlement Giorgi Khaindrava also
expressed official Tbilisi’s standpoint on the meeting before his
departure to Geneva to attend a Georgian-Abkhaz meeting under the
auspices of the Group of Friends of the UN Secretary-General for
Georgia. “The very fact of the Russian president’s meeting with the
separatist leaders is nothing sensational for us,” he stated. “We have
repeatedly seen that Russia, on the one hand, sort of supports
Georgia’s territorial integrity and even pledges its friendship to
Georgia, but, on the other hand, supports separatist movements in
every possible way. The only new thing is that this is now done at
the highest, presidential level.”
Interesting consequences
All the indications are that the Sochi meeting will have interesting
consequences. Having said that, these consequences can already be
seen: On Tuesday evening, the Georgian authorities banned the flight
of a Russian A-50 radar surveillance military plane through the
country’s airspace. The plane was heading for Armenia to take part in
a major exercise held by the Russian air force. The Russian military
interpreted Tbilisi’s actions as unfriendly. However, President
Saakashvili immediately stated harshly that he “does not quite
understand” the Russian side’s complaints. “Georgia is a country of
the law. Everything is regulated within legal boundaries and,
naturally, we cannot allow foreign aircraft to fly over our country
whenever they want,” he said when commenting on the incident over the
Russian military plane. He then linked it to the problem of Russian
military bases in Georgia. According to Saakashvili, these kinds of
situations will recur in Russian-Georgian relations until a specific
decision to withdraw the bases has been made. “Negotiations are
currently under way between Georgia and Russia on the dates and terms
for the withdrawal of the Russian military bases still stationed on
Georgian territory. The Russian military have stayed in Georgia for
around 200 years without any legal grounds. It is probably more than
enough. It is now time to move on to a more civilized form of
relations. We are discussing with Russia how to achieve a civilized
solution to the military bases problem. We suggested its
stage-by-stage withdrawal and offered it various transit rights, but
everything has to be done in a package. The first round of
negotiations took place on 3 April; the second round will take place
from 7 to 8 April, and I hope that we will soon get some clarity on
the issue.” The Georgian leader implied that the exact dates for the
liquidation of the Batumi and Akhalkalaki bases would soon be
announced. Nobody in Tbilisi doubts that the bases will be withdrawn.

Armenian leader “forced” to take constructive stance on Karabakh – Azeri pundit
Trend news agency
6 Apr 05
Baku, 6 April, Trend correspondent S. Ilhamqizi: [Armenian President]
Robert Kocharyan is forced to take a constructive stance on the talks
because the current situation requires that, political analyst Aydin
Mirzazada has said in an interview with Trend news agency.
In Mirzazada’s view, the Armenian leadership is avoiding the
negotiations under various pretexts and this shows that Azerbaijan has
an advantage in the sphere of diplomacy. Kocharyan’s regime will lose
everything if he does not take a constructive stance. Hence, he has no
choice but to take decisions that go against his will, Mirzazada said.
Armenia’s aggressive policy has put it in a difficult situation,
the population is emigrating in great numbers and there is a threat
of a revolution. What’s more, the situation in diplomacy has changed
in favour of Azerbaijan. There is no-one left in Karabakh except for
the Armenian troops, Mirzazada said.
The April meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign
ministers is expected to bring about positive changes. If concrete
results are achieved during the talks, a meeting between the presidents
will be scheduled, Mirzazada said.

ARMENIA AND GERMANY SIGNED TWO MAJOR PROGRAMS
Pan Armenian News
08.04.2005 03:12
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ April 7 the Armenian government in the person of
Minister of Finance and Economy Vardan Khachatrian and Germany in
the person of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Heike
Renate Peitsch within the frames of the Armenian-German financial
cooperation signed two agreements – “The program of conservancy- South
Caucasus-Armenia” and “The program of contribution to use of sources
of recreative energy”, IA Regnum reports. Within the first program 22
million euro will be allocated to the Armenian government. According
to Vardan Khachatrian it is based on the strategy of development and
preservation of fauna and flora and is one of the possible fields
of cooperation between Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The second
program calls for a 6 million euro credit for the reconstruction,
expansion and perfection of small hydroelectric stations as well as
processing of solar and wind energy and a 1.5 million euro grant. In
the Minister’s words, an Armenian-German Foundation of Recreative
Energy will be formed and headed by President of RA Central Bank Tigran
Sargsian and government members. An inter-departmental commission
(with the participation of German KfW Bank), which will decide on the
partner-banks and small hydroelectric stations, determine the general
strategy as well as keep control over the program implementation. Both
programs will be launched this autumn and last for three years. Vardan
Khachatrian also informed that the Foundation will receive 15 million
euro for the development of small and middle business. April 17-21 the
Armenian delegation will depart for Germany to outline the financial
cooperation for the next 2-3 years. It should be noted that Armenia
occupied the 8-th position in her consistency in fulfilling the
commitments among Germany’s 80 states- financial partners.

RA SECURITIES COMMISSION BECOMES IOSCO FULL MEMBER
YEREVAN, APRIL 6, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the decision made at the
April 5 sitting of the Committee of Chairmen of IOSCO (International
Organization of Securities Commissions) in Sri Lanka, the RA Securities
Commission has become a full member of this organization. NT was
informed from the RA Securities Commission that this will enable
Armenia to establish international cooperation in the securities and
financial markets and exchange the respective information. It was
noted that the Armenian commission submitted to IOSCO the official
application for membership as far back as 2003. For this purpose,
certain amendments and additions were made to the RA Law on Securities
Market Regulation last year.