Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

DESPITE BEING YOUNG ARMENIAN ARMY ALREADY HAS MUCH TO BE
PROUD OF: US EXPERT
YEREVAN, MAY 6. ARMINFO. Despite being relatively young the Armenian
army already has much to be proud of, the head of the US military
experts for assessing the defending capacity of Armenia’s army Michael
Anderson during his today’s meeting with Armenia’s Defence Minister
Serzh Sargsyan.
Sargsyan’s Spokesman Seyran Shahsuvaryan reports Anderson as thanking
Sargsyan for the sincerity and transparency given by the Armenian
side during their monitoring. Andersen is impressed to see how
carefully soldiers and equipment are treated in the Armenian army. He
commends the manning of the army with contract officers and the active
enrollment of reserve officers during maneuvers.
From: Baghdasarian

CURRENCY “BUBBLE”
YEREVAN, MAY 5. ARMINFO. In the retail currency market of Armenia US
dollar started strengthening its positions, which has been immediately
responded by the CB. The latter made an official call to the population
to avoid losses not to obey to panic and false rumors and not to give
their savings. The Armenian CB is taking measures in the market to
maintain the natural level of dram liquidity and at exchange points
to secure legality of transactions.
Within 2004 the exchange rate decreased from 570 to 475, decreasing
to 435 AMD per 1 USD by May 3. Today, sharp fluctuation of the
currency rate was observed in the retail currency market of Armenia,
which reached its top – 490 AMD per 1 USD in daytime and decreased
back to 465 AMD per 1 USD. Currency dealers explain this by a
speculative factor, in particular, big sums were regularly directed
to the market, which shook the exchange rate and “currency speculators
took advantage of it.”
Factually, the considerable reduction in the USD exchange rate
within the year has led to changes in the intentions of the
market-participants, in particular, currency speculators are in
question, who earlier sold dollars and now try to buy them. A dealer
of one of the largest banks of Armenia says talking to ARMINFO. He
thinks that the so-called “resold market” because of intensive dram
interventions of the Armenian CB had not less important part in the
situation in the country’s currency market. The CB purchased $55.5
mln from Jan 27 to May 3 including $27 mln in April alone. He says
that the CB announcing the change in the mechanism of calculation of
the normative of compulsory reservation on attracted funds from May
27 had an important impact on the fluctuation of the currency rate.
The announcement supposed that reservation on dollar funds must
be made in terms of dollars, EUR – in terms of EUR, AMD – in terms
of AMD and on other currencies – in terms of dollars. Besides, the
lion’s share of the fund attracted by the commercial banks were in
dollars and their reservation required purchase of dollars or at
least their preservation.
On the day of debates at the Armenian Parliament around the situation
in the currency market, on May 3 the Armenian CB held a regular
dram intervention intending to purchase $5 mln from banks. However,
the exhausted opportunities of the banks (many of them had short
dollar positions) did not allow the CB to purchase dollars at the
rate close to the market rate (banks offer high rates). As a result,
the CB purchased only $3.1 mln for 444.90 AMD per 1 USD.
The bank’s dealer thinks that the sale of dollars by the currency
speculators in large lots led to the fact that the cash at exchange
points was almost sold for 465 AMD per 1 USD, that is why the rate
continued to rise reaching 490 AMD per 1 USD. The CB immediately
responded by a toughened inspection of exchange points. By this step,
the CB made the marker-participants understand that it will not
allow further sharp fluctuation of the exchange rate. As a result,
the rate decreased by 20 AMD to 470 AMD per 1 USD.
Top note, the Armenian CB has set the AMD-USD exchange rate for May 6
at 459.39/1 respectively, increasing it by 15.45 AMD as against May 5.
From: Baghdasarian

Burbank allots federal grants
By Alex Dobuzinskis, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Daily News
May 5 2005
BURBANK — Youth job training, counseling and academic programs will
receive the bulk of $271,500 in federal community development money
disbursed Tuesday by the City Council.
The council also gave final approval to disburse more than $1 million
for city building projects, including $459,900 for a new headquarters
for the Burbank Temporary Aid Center. The nonprofit also received
$37,500 to provide emergency lodging, food and other assistance to
the needy.
“All of these organizations were asking for a lot more; they were
asking for twice what we gave them,” said Mayor Jef Vander Borght.
“They all deserve every bit that we can give them, but there’s only
so much funds so you have to be as Solomonic as possible.”
The Burbank Unified School District will receive $70,000 to
administer a summer employment program for young people from low-
and moderate-income households.
Other allocations included:
$42,100 to the nonprofit Family Service Agency of Burbank for youth
counseling programs and a community day school.
$35,000 to the Boys & Girls Club for a student-enrichment program.
$18,000 to the Salvation Army to help the homeless and the needy.
Barbara Howell, executive director of the Burbank Aid Center, said
the federal money is not the nonprofit’s main source of funding,
but that it is important.
“It ensures that we’re going to have money next year to pay people’s
power bills and emergency housing, and help people replace their IDs
and that kind of thing,” Howell said.
The Armenian Relief Society also received $2,500, the first time the
council has funded the group.
“Last year the council voted not to fund them … because of the
concern that we prefer to fund organizations that are as inclusive
as possible and open to everyone,” Vander Borght said.
But the organization deserves funding because it helps Armenians with
limited English who might not get help from other groups, he said.
While the council had given initial approval to the funding breakdown
for $1 million in building projects in December, its final approval
was granted Tuesday.
BTAC’s project to rebuild its headquarters at 1304 W. Burbank Blvd.
is expected to be finished by early next year. The agency got $575,000
in Community Development Block Grant money for the project last year.
The council also allocated $505,148 for city street, alley and walkway
projects; $133,450 for code-compliance inspectors; and $78,000 to
Build Rehabilitation Industries Inc. for new training rooms, lighting
and a sprinkler system to help it train disabled individuals to enter
the work force.
From: Baghdasarian

NOVGOROD: DIVERS LOOK FOR MEDIEVAL BRIDGE REMNANTS ON RIVER BOTTOM
RIA Novosti, Russia
May 03, 2005
NOVGOROD VELIKI, May 3 (RIA Novosti, Andrei Letyagin) – Diver
archeologists are searching for the ruins of a medieval bridge on the
Volkhov river bottom in Novgorod Veliki, in the country’s northwest-one
of Russia’s longest-established cities.
As Novgorodian chronicles have it, the bridge, known as Great, was
built late in the 10th century into the turn of the 11th, to collapse
in the 17th.
The INTAS international research foundation, with headquarters in
Brussels, Belgium, is financing the search on a project roughly
estimated at 100,000 Euros. The Great Bridge endeavor also envisages
search for medieval bridges on their tentative underwater sites in
Venice, Paris and Armenia.
Novgorod Diving Club activists have for now scanned the Volkhov bottom
in the city’s historical heart-the citadel vicinity, to come across
objects that resemble bridge piers.
“We can’t yet say for sure they are really piers-there is too much
debris cluttering the river bottom along that stretch of the Volkhov.
There are logs and other large objects stocked up over the centuries,”
say experts.
Divers will go on with their job, June and July next. If their
conjecture proves correct, archeologists will saw off samples of the
wooden piers to precisely determine their age.
The bridge used to stretch across the Volkhov from the citadel to
the prince’s palace, which were just opposite each other.
The search is expected to take two years or so. Activists of the
Novgorod Amateur History Society will eventually join Diving Club
volunteers on the efforts.
The INTAS intends to hold a research conference in Novgorod, within
the month, for people involved in Project Great Bridge.
From: Baghdasarian

Ex-president, speaker to be arrested on return to Azerbaijan –
interior minister
Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
3 May 05
[Presenter in studio] The extradition of the former deputy mayor of
Baku, Faiq Mammadov, will take place by the decision of the Russian
Prosecutor-General’s Office, Azerbaijani Interior Minister Ramil
Usubov has said. Usubov added that the former mayor of Baku, Rafael
Allahverdiyev, and his son Xankisi Allahverdiyev might be brought to
book as well. The minister also said that the restraining measure
chosen against the former Azerbaijani president, Ayaz Mutallibov,
and the former parliament speaker, Rasul Quliyev, is still in force.
[Correspondent over archive footage] Ayaz Mutallibov and Rasul
Quliyev, who are still on the wanted list, will be arrested in any
case. Having said that measures have been taken in this connection
at the international level, Interior Minister Ramil Usubov noted that
if the aforesaid people returned to Azerbaijan, they would be arrested.
[Usubov shown talking to camera] Arrest has been chosen as a
restraining measure with regard to both Ayaz Mutallibov and Rasul
Quliyev. As you know, they are officially on the wanted list.
Therefore, as long as these decisions are in force, they will be
arrested as soon as they come to Azerbaijan.
[Correspondent] Pointing to work carried out in the area of fighting
corruption, Ramil Usubov said a number of people had been sacked from
interior bodies on the basis of material provided by the department
for in-house investigations.
[Usubov] I can say that as a result of work carried out on the basis
of the information provided by this department, measures have been
taken against 46 people. In other words, some of them have been sacked
from the police, while others have been demoted.
[Correspondent] Vusala Karimova, Sahin Agayev, “Son Xabar”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Politics or propaganda?
By Karine Mangasarian
Yerkir
29 April 05
On the eve of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide the Turkish
Prime Minister Rejep Tayip Erdogan extended a letter to the Armenian
president Robert Kocharian proposing to establish a joint group of
Armenian and Turkish historians and other experts that would research
the events of 1915 and would present the results of the research to
the international community.
At first sight, the Turkish prime minister’s letter could be seen as
a pretext for Turkey to start relations with Armenia had it not been
for the proposal to appeal to the historians of the two countries to
sort out the relations between Armenia and Turkey.
President Robert Kocharian’s answer to Erdogan stated, “Your
proposal to look back at the past cannot be efficient since it
does not deal with the present and the future. In order to engage
in an efficient dialog we need to establish a favorable political
environment.” Kocharian also pointed out that the responsibility
of developing relations between the two countries lies with their
governments and not the historians.
Now that we are familiar with the two letters, what conclusions can we
draw? How sincere was Erdogan’s proposal? Was it not made for merely
propaganda purposes especially that it was made on the eve of the
Genocide commemoration?
Most of the Armenian political forces believe that the Turkish prime
minister’s proposal aimed at countering the increasing international
pressure on Turkey.
“It is obvious that the Turkish prime minister’s proposal was
a political move aimed at minimizing the increasing pressure
on Turkey. I think it was a miscalculated move since it was more
propaganda than anything else, and everyone knows about this,” head
of ARF’s parliamentary faction Levon Mkrtchian said.
As to president Kocharian’s response, Mkrtchian believes his letter
emphasized the weakest points in Erdogan’s letter whereby the latter
tried to transfer the issues that should be dealt with by the state
to the historians.
“This is a groundless proposal and can stand no criticism either from
diplomatic or from academic perspectives. The president’s response is
rather well grounded and reflects the main directions of our foreign
policy,” Mkrtchian said.
Commenting on the possible developments of the incident Mkrtchian,
noted that Erdogan will either reply again or will abstain from any
further activities since the commemoration of the 90th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide is over and the Turkish political circles
no longer need to launch such propaganda activities.
Chairman of the New Communist Party of Armenia Yuri Manukian noted that
the Turkish prime minister and those Turkish officials who share his
position are first of all the enemies of their own population since
they continue the policies of Sultan Hamid. “The Turkish leadership
never tells the truth to its people. I agree with president Kocharian’s
response.
The time for playing games is over and the Armenian leadership has
to go on pursuing international denunciation of the Genocide with
its foreign policy and in cooperation with the Diaspora Armenian
organizations,” Manukian said adding that these activities should be
carried out not by historians but by politicians.
From: Baghdasarian

Georgia hopeful to solve natural gas supply problems
By M. Alkhazashvili
The Messenger, Georgia
May 3 2005
During his visit last week to Baku and negotiations with Azeri and
Turkish representatives, Georgian Minister of Energy Nika Gilauri
said the Tbilisi government hopes that after the implementation of
the Shah Deniz natural gas pipeline project, Georgia’s demand for
natural gas will be completely satisfied.
BP, the main constructor of the 690 km South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP,
also known by the name of the gas deposit in Azerbaijan, Shah Deniz),
reports that construction on the three-country project continues
successfully and already around 200 km of pipes are laid in the
ground. Over 50 percent of the mainline welding now complete in
Azerbaijan and over 60 percent complete in Georgia and the work is
going according to the timetable, the company reports. Construction
should be finished sometime in the first half of 2006 and operation
will start soon after. The company expects it will be able to ship
7.3 billion cubic meters of gas every year.
It was recently reported that the Shah Deniz pipeline would not
solve Georgia’s gas problems, however now the mood has changed. U.S.
involvement has halted motions to sell Georgia’s main natural gas
pipeline to the Russian state company Gazprom and in addition the
government has new hopes for the gas it will receive from the Shah
Deniz pipeline.
According to the existing agreement, in 2006 Georgia will receive 200
million cubic meters of natural gas, in 2007 and 2008 300 million and
after that 500 million annually. All of this supply will be received
at discount prices. In addition, Georgia annually will receive 5
percent of the transited natural gas through Georgia free of charge,
a portion that equates to an anticipated 300 million cubic meters.
The Georgian paper Rezonansi cites specialists as estimating that
the pipeline is capable of increasing its transit potential and could
eventually permit Georgia to receive 1 billion cubic meters of natural
gas annually.
Gilauri’s statement that the Shah Deniz gas could alleviate Georgia’s
gas problems is not too far fetched in the event that the these plans
are properly fulfilled. Today Georgia consumes around 1 billion cubic
meters annually. In case of a stable supply and proper consumption,
Georgia can achieve energy stability and maintain it under the current
plans for as long as the next two decades.
Until now the only supplier of gas to Georgia is Russia and once
the Shah Deniz starts functioning the country stands to benefit from
competition. In addition, Georgia is a transit country for Russia to
supply Armenia with the natural gas. Currently Armenia receives one
billion cubic meters of Russian gas annually and Yerevan demands an
increase in the supply because Iranian gas is more expensive. The paper
Akhali Taoba speculates that if Russia indeed supplies Armenia with
two billion cubic meters of gas, than Georgia will receive two million
cubic meters of gas free of charge, further aiding the gas sector.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE PRIME MINISTER LULLED THEIR VIGILANCE
A1plus
| 16:53:22 | 02-05-2005 | Social |
«In the Court everything is false, and the lawyers do not want to
speak to us», said Samvel Markosyan, soldier and invalid of the
first group during the meeting at the Government building.
The meeting was organized by the families of the dead soldiers,
participants of the World War, invalids and those having many children,
who had been allotted lands in the Kourghinyan and Sebastia areas by
Vahan Zatikyan. The lands have been taken away from 27 families and
secretly sold by auction. On April 29 there has been a Court session
but by the request of the participants of the meeting it has been
postponed till May 10.
«We have turned to the Prime Minister several times. He answered
«Yes» saying that the land will be allotted to us. We were pleased,
but even after that we are summoned to court», says Samvel Markosyan,
«Both «Yes» and «No» are answers. For almost a year we are taken
to court and we get no clear-cut answer».
At present the issue is being discussed in the municipality. If there
are no results, the struggle will go on till the end.
By the way, in the court the participant of the meeting have found out
that one of the buyers of the land is Simon Hakobyan – the brother
of the NA delegate Hakob Hakobyan. The participants of the meeting
claim hopelessly, «What can the handicapped people do against those
with Jeeps? »
–Boundary_(ID_DDKANRXUgXVa4F3/UE6quA)–
From: Baghdasarian

Armenia Must Recognize Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s National Borders to Normalize Relations
Journal of Turkish Weekly
May 3 2005
Jan SOYKOK – (JTW) Diplomatic sources argue that Armenia must recognize
neighboring Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s national borders to normalize
its relations with Turkey and other regional states. According to
the Turkish sources Armenian forces should withdraw from Azerbaijan.
Dr. Nilgun Gulcan said the US and the EU should make pressure on
Yerevan to end the Armenian occupation:
“The US makes pressures on Syria and Syrian troops have withdrawn
from Lebanon. The US imposed embargo and military operations against
Serbia. The occupier Iraq was punished. However Armenian forces
occupied Azerbaijan and the occupation has lasted for more than a
decade. The US and the EU did almost nothing. International community
did not ask the Armenians to end occupation. The US and EU politicians
question Turkey – Armenia relations but never question the Armenian
occupation. The US impose embargo against Iran, Cuba and other states,
but when Turkey-Armenia border is closed due to the Armenian aggressive
policies, the US criticizes Turkey. Both the Americans and the EU
have to see the Armenian responsibility in relations.”
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan offered a joint commission
to discuss the historical disputes, but the Armenian side rejected
the offer.
The irredentist groups in Armenia call Turkey’s eastern provinces
‘Western Armenia’ and the Armenian Constitution does not recognize
Turkey’s national borders.
From: Baghdasarian

icWales, UK
May 2 2005
Turkey pressed to continue reform
icWales
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has assured Turkey that
membership negotiations with the European Union will start as
scheduled on October 3, but has warned it must not go back on
reforms, according to an interview published in a Turkish newspaper
today.
Schroeder, who has long backed Turkey’s bid to join the bloc, was
speaking ahead of his trip to Turkey, which begins on Tuesday.
There have been concerns that a recent slowdown in the pace of
Turkish reforms might derail the talks.
“It’s important to continue on the path that has been chosen.
Reforms, especially in terms of basic freedoms and human and minority
rights, need to be implemented and it needs to be made sure there’s
no going back on the reforms. For this, as Prime Minister (Recep
Tayyip) Erdogan has said, there needs to be a change in mentality.
This won’t be possible overnight,” Schroeder was quoted as saying.
“The negotiations will start on October 3. The conditions that Turkey
must fulfil are known. The negotiations will definitely be long and
difficult. The progress that Turkey makes in the reform process will
determine to a large extent the progress it makes in the
negotiations.”
At a December European Union summit, the bloc agreed to open
membership talks with Turkey. But it must sign a customs agreement
that would mean de facto recognition of the government of Cyprus – a
step it has been hesitant to take.
Schroeder said a recent call by Erdogan to establish political
relations with Armenia while jointly researching the killings of
Armenians during the First World War is “a step in the right
direction.”
Armenia has rejected the proposal.
Armenians accuse Turkey of genocide in the killing of up to 1.5
million Armenians as part of a 1915-23 campaign to force them out of
eastern Turkey. But Turkey denies the killings were genocide and says
the death count is inflated.
From: Baghdasarian