Author: Badalian Vardan

MOBILISATION ON ACCESS TO DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION
European Report
March 22, 2005
The EU must cease encouraging privatisation of water services in
developing countries and campaign instead for the integration of
water in the context of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This was
the message sent by 65 non-governmental organisations to Development
Commissioner Louis Michel on the occasion of World Water Day on March
22. They recall comments by Mr Michel to the European Parliament
in autumn 2004 that all resources need not necessarily be saleable,
and that public services are essential in responding to basic needs
in developing countries, with some so-called “essential services”
needing to be exempt from market pressures. The organisations
emphasise that translating these principles into reality and their
application in the water sector will represent a real test for the
enlarged EU’s development policy, in line with the Millennium Goals.
The EU is urged to alter its approach and provide substantial aid to
projects aiming to develop effective and viable public services in
these countries, rather than imposing privatisation.
A call, targeted more specifically on European countries, has been
launched by the World Health Organisation. The WHO reports that of the
roughly 877 million people in the European region, almost 140 million
(16%) do not have a household connection to a drinking-water supply,
85 million (10%) do not have improved sanitation and over 41 million
(5%) do not have access to a safe drinking-water supply. The WHO
Regional Office for Europe has therefore launched the “International
Decade for Action 2005-2015 Water for Life” initiative which aims to
cut deaths due to water-related diseases. In the European Region,
13 500 deaths a year of children under 14 years of age are due to
poor water conditions.
The largest contribution to this burden, with over 11 000 deaths, comes
from a group of countries in the EUR-B sub-region (Albania, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan,
Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Tajikistan, the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and
Uzbekistan), where the water supply and sanitation coverage is the
most problematic. The WHO points out that it has supported European
countries through the Protocol on Water and Health, signed in 1999
by 36 countries in the region and ratified by 15. The Protocol aims
to protect human health and well-being by improving water management
and preventing, controlling and reducing water-related diseases.

POWER IS DEARER THAN KARABAKH FOR SOME FORCES IN ARMENIA, ARDARUTIUN REPRESENTATIVE ASSURES
YEREVAN MARCH 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian President and Foreign
Minister should participate in the parliamentary hearings on Nagorno
Karabakh scheduled for late March and comment on the policy carried on
in this issue. Stepan Zakarian, a member of RA NA Ardarutiun (Justice)
faction, made such a statement on March 22 in NA. Mentioning that the
members of Ardarutiun faction are among the initiators of the hearings
the MP declared that they don’t share Robert Kocharian’s and Vardan
Oskanian’s optimism and don’t agree that Armenia carries on a right
policy in this issue. Zakarian assured that Armenia is inferior to
Azerbaijan in the sphere of propaganda around Karabakh issue. Learning
about the hearings some political figures and forces declared that
this is the order of the authorities, the MP mentioned. “Will it
be bad if the authorities take right steps in Karabakh issue with
our assistance?” he emphasized and concluded that “there are some
political forces and figures both within the power of Armenia an out
of it for whom the power is dearer than Karabakh.”

ARGENTINEAN SENATE CHAIR TO VISIT ARMENIA APRIL 21-22
PanArmenian News
March 22 2005
22.03.2005 04:30
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Argentinean Vice-President, Senate Chairman Daniel
Scioli will arrive in Armenia April 21-22, Scioli stated in
conversation with Armenian Ambassador to Argentina Ara Ayvazian, the
Press Service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported. In the
course of the meeting the interlocutors discussed prospects of
development of the Armenian-Argentinean relations.

Bahrain calls for global IT links
By SOMAN BABY
Gulf Daily News
Vol XXVIII NO. 2 Tuesday 22 March 2005
MANAMA
BAHRAIN yesterday urged policy-makers thoughout Asia to forge closer
links with the global information technology industry. The call
came from Transportation Minister Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa,
at the opening of the third Asia IT Ministers’ Summit.
Delegations from more than 35 countries, including 20 ministers, are
attending the two-day event at the Bahrain International Exhibition
Centre. The landmark summit is a continuation of the dialogue between
Asian ministers on how to develop the IT infrastructure in their
respective countries and how to benefit from the latest developments
of the global information and communication technology.
The dialogue started at the first summit, which was held in 2003 in
Seoul, Korea and continued in January, 2004 in Hyderabad, India.
“At the last summit in Hyderabad, Bahrain was awarded the privilege
to hold the third summit and this is an excellent opportunity for
the Arab world to align their own IT development strategies with
the fast-growing Asian economies, which share many similarities in
economic development and infrastructure,” said Shaikh Ali.
The Bahrain summit will review the progress made since Hyderabad and
evaluate new IT solutions and technologies.
“The summit is of strategic importance not only for the participating
countries but also for the continued prosperity of humankind,” said
Shaikh Ali.
“Therefore, the global IT industry has also been invited to take
a serious look at this event, because the interaction between
the policy-makers from Asia and the top leaders from the global IT
industry will provide first-hand information on future market trends
and industry requirements.”
Issues under discussion include the language barrier, the Internet
culture shock, security and privacy protection in Asia and the Middle
East, the Asian and Middle East dilemma and future telecommunication
infrastructure.
“Bahrain is the ideal platform for this event in the Middle East
because of its advanced business infrastructure, the high level
of IT penetration in business, academia and personal use and
because of Bahrain’s pioneering efforts in the liberalisation of
the telecommunications markets, the advances in e-government and
its leading role as a banking and financial centre in the region,”
said Shaikh Ali.
“The summit will also provide a unique opportunity for the IT and
telecommunication industry leaders to meet policymakers from the
world’s largest and fastest growing markets.”
Kuwait’s Transportation, Planning and Adminstrational Development
Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Ahmed Al Sabah gave the keynote
address.
International Telecommuni-cations Union (ITU) regional representative
to the Arab states Ebrahim Al Haddad, Egypt’s Telecommunications and
IT Minister Dr Tareq Kamal, Tunisian Telecom-munication Technology
Minister Dr Mumtasser Ouaili and Pakistani Minister for IT and
Telecommunication, Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari also spoke at the opening
session.
Countries represented at the summit are: Afghanistan, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran,
South Korea, Kuwait, People’s Democratic Republic of Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey,
UAE, Vietnam and Yemen.
An industry forum will be held today, in which leaders from the
industry will provide an insight into the trends and advances in the
information age.
The summit will conclude this evening with a Bahrain Declaration.

PanArmenian News
March 21 2005
ROBERT KOCHARIAN: YEAR OF RUSSIA IN ARMENIA TO REPLENISH
ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN AGENDA WITH NEW IDES AND PROJECTS
21.03.2005 04:43
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia people are fond of Russian art are
impatiently awaiting meetings with the Russian cultural workers,
the message of Armenian President Robert Kocharian addressed to
Vladimir Putin on occasion of the opening of the Year of Russia in
Armenia says. The document highlights the communication between the
representatives of science and education, business associations of
Armenia and Russia as well as contacts at the regional level. “It is
symbolic that that the Year of Russia in Armenia coincides with the
celebrations of the 60-th anniversary of the victory over Fascism.
This heroic page of our common history tied the fate of our peoples”,
Robert Kocharian noted. “I would like to express assurance that
the conduction of the year of Russia in Armenia will replenish the
Armenian-Russian agenda with new ides and projects”, the message runs.

Robbery sparks protests in Tsalka
The Messenger
Monday, March 21, 2005, #050 (0824)
News in brief:
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced it will deploy extra
police to the ethnically diverse Tsalka region after a armed home
robbery late on Thursday led to public protests on Friday.
Thursday evening, the home of an ethnic Greek family in the village
Avranlo was robbed allegedly by a group of armed Georgians who
had been resettled to the region from Adjara in the 1990s; ethic
Armenians and Greeks have held protests demanding the punishment of
those responsible.
On Saturday, Minister of Internal Affairs Vano Merabishvili said that
the “police control the situation” and that the protesters wrongfully
demand “to lynch a person.” Arguing that the police investigate every
case of crime in the region, the minister said, “We do not allow the
lynching of a person and the handing over of suspects to the citizens
for that.”
He said his office will deploy extra units including both ethnic
Greeks and Armenians. “There may start seasonal cattle stealing as
spring comes but on the other hand, district inspectors will start
working there. Luckily, citizens of Georgia of Greek and Armenian
nationality will work there [in the group of inspectors] and we hope,
that this will increase effectiveness,” he said.

Car bomb rocks Beirut Christian area complicates efforts to form new Lebanon
government
AP Worldstream
Mar 19, 2005
JOSEPH PANOSSIAN

Investigators searched for clues Saturday amid the rubble of a car
bombed building in a largely Christian neighborhood in Beirut, an
attack that sparked fears of renewed bloodshed in Lebanon and
complicated already troubled negotiations between rival political
groups over the formation of a new government.
The attack wounded nine people and came amid the withdrawal of Syrian
troops to eastern Lebanon and Syria after a 29-year presence in this
former civil war-ravaged country. The redeployments followed intense
international and local opposition to Syria’s role in Lebanon since
the Feb. 14 assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri in a massive
bombing that killed 17 others.
The motive behind the attack wasn’t immediately clear, but it
devastated an eight-story residential building in Beirut’s New Jdeideh
neighborhood shortly after midnight and sent panicked residents
wearing pajamas and night gowns into the street to inspect the damage.
It also played to concerns among some Lebanese that pro-Syrian
elements might resort to violence to show, in their view, the need for
a continued presence by Damascus forces. Hundreds of thousands of
Lebanese have been participating in demonstrations for and against
Syria since Hariri was killed. Anti-Syrian opposition demonstrations
have included large numbers of Maronite Christians.
“This has been the message to the Lebanese people for a while _ to sow
fear and terror among Lebanese citizens,” Christian opposition member
Pierre Gemayel told Al-Jazeera satellite television. The message is
“if there is a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, look what Lebanon will
face.”
Police closed all entrances leading to the blast site and blocked
onlookers from nearing the devastated building. After sunrise,
residents began clearing debris and inspecting their damaged shops and
homes, sweeping broken glass and throwing out twisted metal and rubble
thrown by the explosion.
Security officials said on condition of anonymity the blast was caused
by a time-bomb placed underneath a car belonging to a
Lebanese-Armenian resident of the damaged building. It was unclear
where the car owner was nor why the bomb was placed under his vehicle.
Earlier, witnesses said the car attempted to stop in front of a bingo
hall, but security guards asked its driver to move along. The driver
then parked the car a short way down the road. Minutes later it
exploded.
In a statement, Lebanon’s pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, made no
mention of the attack, saying only that Lebanon was experiencing
“exceptional circumstances” that required “immediate and direct
dialogue” between opposition and pro-government groups.
Lahoud said Lebanon’s various political factions must “shoulder their
historic responsibilities in protecting the higher interests of
Lebanon at this critical stage.”
“The doors of the presidential palace will be open at any time to host
such a meeting starting today,” he said.
Opposition legislator Fares Soeid dismissed the president’s
invitation. “It’s too late. This subject is closed,” he said in a
televised interview.
Political demands from factions for and against Syria have bogged down
efforts to form a new government, raising concerns the deadlock could
threaten upcoming elections and even Syria’s final withdrawal.
Pro-Damascus premier-designate Omar Karami has insisted on a “national
unity” government, but the anti-Syrian opposition is refusing to join
before its demands are met. The opposition wants a neutral Cabinet to
arrange for elections, the resignation of security chiefs and an
international investigation into Hariri’s death.
Some opposition members accuse Karami of stalling to kill chances of
holding an election they believe the pro-Syrian camp will lose.
Walid Jumblatt, an opposition leader, said parliamentary polls should
be held as planned for April and May.
“Why postpone the parliamentary elections? Let them hold the elections
according to the electoral law they deem suitable, but we will not
participate in the government,” he told Future Television.
Saturday’s explosion blew off the fronts of some structures, left a
seven-foot-deep crater, damaged parked cars and shops and shattered
windows for several blocks.
“We were sleeping when it happened,” said a white-haired man, wearing
blue pajamas, who declined to be identified. “We don’t know what and
why. No one important lives here.”
The intensity of the political battle over Syria’s troops has raised
fears of a return to the sectarian violence of the 1975-90 civil
war. So far, however, the political camps do not conform to religious
boundaries, with Christians and Muslims on both sides of the debate.
On Thursday, Syria completed the first phase of its withdrawal in
Lebanon, redeploying all its remaining soldiers and military
intelligence officers to the eastern Bekaa Valley. Of the 14,000
troops that were in Lebanon last month, at least 4,000 soldiers have
returned to Syria.
At the United Nations, Maronite Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir said that
Syria had given assurances it would withdraw its troops before the
country’s elections, as U.N. and American officials want.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 18, 2005
Gazexport ups Russian gas exports by over 6% over two months
MOSCOW
A subsidiary of the Russian Gazprom gas giant, Gazexport, increased
gas exports from Russia by 6.12 percent to 30.34 billion cubic metres
from January 1 to February 28, 2005, compared with the same period of
2004, Prime-Tass economic news agency said, quoting the Gazexport
report.
Gas exports to the non-CIS countries grew 3.14 percent to 28.53
billion cubic metres over this period. Specifically, the company’s
exports to Western Europe increased by 4.54 percent to 20.49 billion
cubic metres, while the exports to Eastern Europe decreased by 0.25
percent to 8.04 billion cubic metres.
Gas exports to Austria in January-February were 1.12 billion cubic
metres, Germany – 7.13 billion cubic metres, Italy – 4.25 billion
cubic metres, France – 2.46 billion cubic metres, Switzerland – 0.06
billion cubic metres, the Netherlands – 0.35 billion cubic metres,
Finland – 0.96 billion cubic metres, Turkey – 3.63 billion cubic
metres, Greece – 0.43 billion cubic metres and Belgium – 0.11 billion
cubic metres.
The exports to the Czech Republic over the two months stood at 1.38
billion cubic metres, Slovakia – 1.52 billion cubic metres, Poland –
1.19 billion cubic metres, Bulgaria – 0.59 billion cubic metres,
Hungary – 1.57 billion cubic metres, Romania – 0.84 billion cubic
metres, Serbia and Montenegro – 0.54 billion cubic metres, Bosnia –
0.08 billion cubic metres, Croatia – 0.20 billion cubic metres,
Slovenia – 0.11 billion cubic metres and Macedonia – 0.02 billion
cubic metres.
The company increased exports to the CIS and Baltic states from 0.93
billion cubic metres in January-February 2004 to 1.81 billion cubic
metres this year. Exports to Estonia stood at 0.04 billion cubic
metres, Moldova – 0.28 billion cubic metres, Armenia – 0.38 billion
cubic metres, Georgia – 0.31 billion cubic metres, and Azerbaijan –
0.81 billion cubic metres.

Mail&Guardian Online
Thursday, March 17, 2005 12:56 PM
SA officials liaise on US arms arrest
Jenni Evans | Johannesburg, South Africa
17 March 2005 11:42
South Africa’s police and Department of Foreign Affairs officials are
liaising on the reported arrest of a South African in New York on
weapons-smuggling charges, police said on Thursday.
National police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said they are waiting
for further information, and the Department of Foreign Affairs is expected
to release a statement on the matter later.
The United States embassy is also still gathering information on the
arrests, said its spokesperson, Judy Moon.
According to reports, Christiaan Dewet Spies was arrested with at least 17
other people in an FBI undercover operation at a hotel in Manhattan, New
York, earlier this week.
The reports said Spies (33) and an Armenian, Artur Solomonyan, as well as a
number of others allegedly conspired to transport weapons of war.
The informant was reportedly a South African living in Texas and was
arrested when he was delivering green cards to enable the team to travel to
fetch the weapons.
The investigation included about 15 000 wire taps.
Spies reportedly entered the US on a tourist visa in 1999 and was appealing
a deportation order that came after his arrest on a drug-possession charge.
Weapons involved
Although it is not clear exactly which weapons were involved, reports
referred to rocket-propelled grenades and surface-to-air missiles, as well
as links with Russia.
A researcher at the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) said these weapons
are designed to bring down low-flying aircraft.
“They could be surplus weapons from Eastern Europe and Russia,” said Sarah
Meek, head of the ISS arms-management programme.
Although these regions have signed commitments not to sell weapons
stockpiled in old armouries, they could have been obtained from a corrupt
official “selling through the back door”.
There did not immediately appear to be an African weapons connection apart
from Spies’s origin, she said.
“It looks like a motley crew of Armenian and Eastern Europeans.”
Regional weapons mopping-up programmes, such as Mozambique and South
Africa’s Operation Rachel, and the Angolan disarmament programme following
the resolution of years of civil war, appear to be successful.
There are still arms caches in Angola but there does not seem to be any
large-scale trafficking.
“There are individuals who will try to get around legislation … but
security agencies seem to be pretty much on top of it,” Meek said.
Referring to the recent arrests of South Africans relating to international
arms investigations, Meek said South Africa should not be singled out.
“You will always have someone doing it for money. It is a global network. If
you are there and you have the right contacts, you can get into it, it’s not
just South Africa.”
She added that if it wants to, the South African government can invoke the
National Convention on Arms Control Act, which prohibits illegal arms
brokering. The Act has extra-territorial powers and enables authorities to
arrest South Africans internationally.
Armscor, Denel check records
Arms-procurement agency Armscor said it ran a human-resources check on Spies
in response to media enquiries and found no record of him.
“We pulled all the records and we don’t know such a person,” Armscor
spokesperson Billy Nell said.
Denel spokesperson Sam Basch said Denel is currently going through the human
resource and pension records at all its subsidiaries for mention of the man
who carries the name of a Boer war general.
Spies reportedly remains in US custody.
Recently, two Randburg engineering-company directors were arrested on
charges of possessing components for weapons of mass destruction, allegedly
linked to Libya’s now-abandoned nuclear-weapons programme.
In another unrelated matter, a group of South Africans is waiting to be
released from a Zimbabwe jail after being sentenced to 12 months for
breaching Zimbabwe’s aviation, immigration, firearm and security laws.
This related to an alleged coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea and also saw
Mark Thatcher, son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, pay a
R3-million fine in South Africa for his part in arranging the aircraft for
the mission. — Sapa

Published March 15, 2005
Design ideas for memorial pile up
*Armenian Genocide Monument Council has 42 designs for
tribute. Deadline for ideas is today.
By Rima Shah,
Glendale News-Press
Artists worldwide have submitted design ideas for an Armenian genocide
monument that will be constructed on the Civic Auditorium grounds.
The Armenian Genocide Monument Council has received 42 design concepts
for the project, but the details have been kept under wraps, said
Peter Darakjian, one of the founding members of the six-member
monument council. A jury, created by the council, will soon begin a
detailed review of the work, submitted by architects and designers
from Japan, Germany, England and Canada, Darakjian said. The winner of
the design contest will be awarded $10,000.
Today is the deadline to submit design ideas, then the judging will
begin. Designs must be postmarked by today, said Artin Manoukian, a
founding member of the council.
The monument will be an important reminder to not repeat the mistakes
of 1915, when 1.5-million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman
Empire, Darakjian said. Turkish officials deny that the deaths were
part of a genocide.
“Construction of the monument is important for Armenians as well as
for humanity at large so that what happened in 1915 is not repeated,”
he said. “The monument is also in memory of those who have perished,
as a reminder to not forget the past. This was the first genocide of
the 20th century. Had the world stopped them then there would not have
been any repetition of similar events.”
The 11-member jury will select the winners by April 15. An official
announcement is tentatively scheduled for April 22, Manoukian said,
two days before the Armenian Genocide is commemorated.
The City Council approved the monument in August 2001. The monument
council is raising funds for the project, which they expect to cost
about $500,000, Darakjian said. The City Council approved the Civic
Auditorium as a home for the monument in April 2003.
The Civic Auditorium was the ideal location because the grounds are
large enough to hold the population during events such as Armenian
Genocide Commemorative Day, Darakjian said.
The location also provided visibility to the monument, especially to
nearby Glendale Community College students as a reminder about the
past, Darakjian said.
Although there is no set deadline for completing the project, the
council hopes to have it done in a couple of years.
* RIMA SHAH covers business and politics. She may be reached at (818)
637-3238 or by e-mail at [email protected]