Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

CENTRAL BANK TO OPEN BRANCH IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH
Armenpress
Nov 02 2006
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS: Central bank governor Tigran Sarkisian
said it has got down to building a branch in the town of Shushi in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
He said as Armenian national currency-Dram- is used by Nagorno-Karabakh
as its sole legal and official means of payment the Armenian government
and the Central bank have decided to build an independent structure
in Karabakh to store part of reserves to reduce on one hand collection
expenses and to ensure security on the other hand.
According to a Central bank study, every person arriving in Armenia
brings with himself or herself on average $8,700. If applied to 450,000
people who arrive in Armenia annually it will appear that about $3.5
billion in cash are brought to this country in 12 months.
Central bank governor Tigran Sarkisian cited these figures as one
of the reasons behind a dramatic decline of US Dollar value over
Armenian Dram. He said based on some other studies in the financial
market the balance between export and import of US Dollars is $400
million positive.
However, Sarkisian admitted that the studies of the Central bank
were insufficient to offer a complete picture of how things stand on
the local financial market, particularly, of the exact amount of US
Dollars brought in and taken out in cash since the law does not set
a limit to the amount of cash Dollars a person can bring in or take
out of Armenia.
He said this liberal legislation must be reviewed towards bringing
it in conformity with international standards. He suggested that a
limit of $10,000 be established for free export and import of cash
US Dollars.

NAZARYAN’S OPINION ON GAS PRICE INCREASE
A1+
[01:54 pm] 02 November, 2006
Robert Nazaryan, head of the Committee Regulating Public Services,
didn’t want to comment on the announcement of Karen Karapetyan
(executive director of “ArmRusGasArd”) on the increase of gas price.
Reminder: Karen Karapetyan announced that he was going to issue an
application to increase gas price of the industrial consumers.
Asked the question whether it is not an abuse of monopoly and violation
of preliminary arrangement, as it was formerly announced that the
gas price would not go up in Armenia for at least three years,
Robert Nazaryan answered, “I don’t want to comment on Karapetyan’s
announcement right now as the information I get on this score is from
the press and TV. But being a licensed company they have the right
to issue an application to the Committee Regulating Public Services
to review the gas tariffs every six months.
As for the arrangement, I assume it refers to the gas price brought
on the borderline and not to the tariffs of the company’s services.”
Does it give us a ground to assume that the gas price of
resident-consumers will go up in the same way?
Robert Nazaryan advised us to get the answer to this question by
Karen Karapetyan himself.
The head of the committee claims that unless they get the application,
analyze it and get acquainted with the prices, they won’t be able to
answer the journalists’ questions.

GEORGIA ACCUSED OF OVERCHARGING ARMENIA FOR NATURAL GAS
By M. Alkhazashvili
Translated by Diana Dundua
The Messenger, Georgia
Nov 3 2006
There is an additional reason to make Georgian-Russian relations
tenser. Russian giant Gazprom accuses Georgia of using the natural
gas considered for Armenia. Though Georgia categorically denies this
fact and states that recently Armenia has not expressed any problems
with Georgian side in transporting the natural gas. (The newspaper
Rezonansi.)
According to the General Director of Armrosgazprom Karen Karapetyan,
Armenia paid for Russian natural gas based on the metre on the
Georgian-Armenian border and not based on the metre in Armenia. “The
counter on the Georgian-Armenian border registered a higher amount of
gas use compared to the amount on the metre in Armenian territory,”
Karapetyan stated at a news conference on October 31.
According to her, in order to investigate the difference on the two
meters they suspended gas delivery for two days into Armenia. “The
counter on Georgian territory registered more gas than was sent to
Armenia but in order to avoid a cut-off we paid the whole amount,”
Karapetyan noted, adding that this registered gas couldn’t just
“disappear” between the two metres. Karapetyan said the metre on the
Georgia border was out-dated while the metre in Armenia is more modern.
Russia used the incident to call Georgia an untrustworthy transit
country. Russian owned Gazprom is in talks to get a stake in the
Iran-Armenia natural gas pipeline. It is stated in Gazprom that
after finishing the construction of the natural gas pipeline there
would not be any problems in transporting natural gas to Armenia. The
Iran-Armenia natural gas pipeline will supply 36 billion cubic metres
(bcm) of natural gas to Armenia for the next 20 years.
Georgian Ministry of Energy refuses to comment on the Russian
accusations. Head of the Natural Gas Transportation Company Rezo
Urushadze states that all accusations are wrong but if there has been
a mistake, Georgia will provide Armenia with an additional amount of
natural gas to make up the difference.

NKR FOREIGN MINISTER MET WITH THE ADVISER OF THE “CONSORTIUM INITIATIVE”
ArmRadio.am
03.11.2006 12:35
November 2 in the NKR Permanent Representation NKR Foreign Minister
Georgy Petrosyan had a meeting with independent adviser, adviser
on strategic issues of the “Consortium Initiative” organization
Catherine Barns.
NKR MFA Press Service reports that Foreign Minister Georgi Petrosyan
positively assessed the activity of the “Consortium Initiative” in
Nagorno Karabakh, underlining that the success of the organization’s
programs depends also on the constructive position of Azerbaijan. The
meeting was attended by NKR Permanent Representative to the Republic
of Armenia Karlen Avetisyan and the ” Consortium Initiative” European
Programs manager Desislava Rusanova.

GEORGIAN GOVERNOR SEES LESS ANTI-GOVERNMENT FEELING IN ETHNIC ARMENIAN AREA
Radio Imedi, Georgia
Oct 30 2006
The governor of Samtskhe-Javakheti in southern Georgia, Giorgi
Khachidze, has said that popular discontent in the town of Akhalkalaki
and the province’s other predominantly ethnic Armenian areas is on
the wane.
In a live interview on Imedi Radio on 30 October, he said that the
central government’s steps to rebuild Samtskhe-Javakheti’s run-down
infrastructure and deal with other local problems had led to radical
groups losing support in the province.
“Two years ago, soon after I was appointed to this post in
Samtskhe-Javakheti, a 5,000-6,000-strong rally was staged. There
were some genuine problems, such as the problem of passports. They
also raised some personnel issues. These problems have been resolved
and now you can see that they [protest organizers] can muster just
200 people at best. I think that this is a clear sign that people
in Javakheti and the region in general can see quite well what the
situation is like, how we are developing, in which direction we are
heading and what the current government wants,” Khachidze said.
It is now “practically impossible” to destabilize the province,
he said, adding, however, that there were still attempts to stage
“provocative demonstrations aimed at creating instability”.
Discussing recent disturbances in Akhalkalaki over alleged
irregularities in the 5 October local elections, he said: “This was a
clear provocation. I do not want to speak about a specific country. I
am not ruling out the possibility that this comes from more than one
country. There could be some other interested parties involved.”

ARMENIANS HAD EXCLUSIVE ROLE IN COLLAPSE OF SOVIET UNION, NATIONAL SELF-DETERMINATION UNION CHAIRMAN CONSIDERS
Noyan Tapan
Oct 30 2006
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenians had an exclusive
role in the issue of collapse of the Soviet Union. As National
Self-Determination Union Chairman Paruyr Hayrikian said on October 30,
political prisoners of different nations joining the United National
Party in the 60-s jointly struggled against the USSR. In his words,
in the 70-s of the previous century political prisoners marked October
30 as a day of political prisoners and their protection, with this
registering at the international level the fact of existence of
political prisoners in the USSR. The political prisoners marked this
day by one-day hunger-strike and appeals. As P.Hayrikian informed
journalists, 100 mln political prisoners died in the USSR, in the
country with the greatest number of political prisoners in the
mankind’s history.

Armenian National Committee of Quebec Presents Quebec Capital with Komitas
Statue
27.10.2006 13:44
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The Armenian National Committee of Quebec (ANCQ)
presented Quebec City with a bust of the famous Armenian composer
Komitas during a special ceremony on the afternoon of October 24, 2006
at the City Council’s Chamber.
Mrs. Andrée Bouchard, Quebec City Mayor, said `Quebec City is
very honoured to receive from the Armenian community the bust of a
musician and poet who has left his mark on Armenian culture. This
symbol will not only introduce Armenian culture to others but will
also help spread the artistic and historic contributions Komitas had
on the evolution of his people, On behalf of the citizens of Quebec, I
express my deepest gratitude to the representatives of the Armenian
community who, with this generous donation, show their support for
multiculturalism.’
Poet, composer and musicologist, Komitas was an apolitical person with
many talents who represented a spirit of openness and unification. His
music is still omnipresent with Armenians on an international scale
and his tragic faith is the symbol of the Armenian Diaspora.
The sculpture, which was donated by the Armenian Community members,
was given to Quebec City as a reflection of the synergy created in
Quebec due to its cultural integration and harmonisation policy. The
ANCQ and Quebec City are planning the permanent display of the
sculpture for 2007.

Le Monde, France
27 octobre 2006 vendredi
Une illustration des problèmes posés par la proposition de loi
pénalisant le déni du génocide arménien;
Pierre Loti hors la loi ?
L’Assemblée nationale a adopté en première lecture, le 12 octobre, la
proposition de loi socialiste sanctionnant la négation du génocide
arménien des mêmes peines que celles prévues en 1990 par la loi
Gayssot pour la négation du génocide juif pendant la seconde guerre
mondiale : un an de prison et 45 000 euros d’amende. Si cette loi est
définitivement adoptée par le Parlement, pourrions-nous, comme nous
venons de le faire, rééditer, du moins dans son intégralité, Suprêmes
visions d’Orient, le dernier livre de Pierre Loti, publié en
septembre 1921, deux ans avant sa mort ? Composé pour l’essentiel
d’extraits du journal qu’il a tenu lors de ses ultimes voyages à
Constantinople et jusqu’à Andrinople, en 1910 et 1913, le livre
comporte aussi des articles polémiques que Loti a publiés avant et
après la première guerre mondiale dans la presse française. Dans deux
d’entre eux, il exprime pour le moins des doutes sur la réalité du
génocide arménien.
Ainsi, dans une ” Lettre ouverte à M. le ministre des affaires
étrangères “, datée de décembre 1920 et publiée dans L’ uvre du 23
janvier 1921, Loti écrit : ” Sur les “massacres d’Arménie” – les
guillemets figurent bien dans le texte originel – je crois avoir dit,
avec force témoignages et preuves à l’appui, à peu près tout ce qu’il
y avait à dire : la réciprocité dans la tuerie, la folle exagération
dans les plaintes de ces Arméniens qui, depuis des siècles, grugent
si vilainement leurs voisins les Turcs, et qui, inlassables
calomniateurs, ne cessent de jouer de leur titre de chrétiens pour
ameuter contre la Turquie le fanatisme occidental. ” Et, dans un
article intitulé ” La Sophie ” (il s’agit de la reine Sophie, soeur
de Guillaume II, épouse du roi de Grèce, Constantin Ier) daté lui
aussi de décembre 1920 et publié dans L’ uvre du 19 décembre 1920,
Loti s’en prend principalement aux Grecs, mais parle aussi des ”
mille mensonges des Arméniens “.
Certes, le biographe de Loti, Alain Quella-Villéger, prend soin, dans
la présentation qu’il fait du livre, de préciser que ” republier ses
diatribes (…) ne revient évidemment pas à les cautionner. Mais
l’étude historique et l’esprit critique n’autorisent ni le silence ni
la censure posthumes : il n’eût naturellement pas été concevable
d’amputer le présent volume de ces textes peu amènes. Au lecteur de
juger Loti dans ses amitiés comme dans ses inimitiés : à l’égard des
Grecs et des Bulgares mais aussi des Arméniens, son hostilité est
apparue tard dans sa vie “. Certes, pour notre part, nous indiquons,
dans le texte de la quatrième page de couverture, que la turcophilie
de Loti le conduit ici ” à s’égarer quand il s’en prend aux
Arméniens, aux Bulgares, à “la grécaille” “.
Il n’empêche que nous aurions risqué d’encourir les foudres de cette
loi si elle avait été définitivement adoptée avant la réédition de
l’ouvrage et si l’amendement, repoussé par l’Assemblée nationale le
12 octobre dernier et visant à introduire une dérogation en faveur
des enseignants et des chercheurs afin de les protéger contre le
risque de poursuites pénales, avait été de nouveau écarté. Voilà qui
nous aurait fait hésiter à republier ce texte. Lequel, soit dit en
passant, l’a déjà été, avec les autres récits de voyage de Loti, dans
le volume Voyages que lui a consacré la collection ” Bouquins “, en
1991. Toujours disponible, cet ouvrage et le nôtre devront-ils être
retirés de la vente si, demain, la loi entre en vigueur et leur est
opposée ?
Cette loi entraverait les recherches et les débats sur le génocide
arménien de 1915, cela a été dit, y compris par certains socialistes
français, notamment Jack Lang, ainsi que par des intellectuels turcs
qui, ces dernières années, ont ouvert, en s’exposant à de sévères
poursuites judiciaires, un nécessaire travail de mémoire et
d’histoire. Elle entraverait aussi la publication de textes pouvant,
par leur analyse et leur confrontation, contribuer à approfondir la
question du génocide arménien. Laquelle ne porte pas sur la réalité
des massacres massifs d’Arméniens, dont le caractère génocidaire est
reconnu par la majorité des historiens, mais sur le contexte de ce
génocide, qui n’a pas surgi de nulle part.
Ainsi sommes-nous fiers de publier prochainement en français l’un des
textes clés de l’oeuvre de Raffi, Le Fou, où cet auteur majeur de la
littérature arménienne de la fin du XIXe siècle décrit sans
ménagement ni nuances – euphémisme – les atrocités commises par les
Turcs et les Kurdes à l’encontre des Arméniens dans le cadre de la
guerre russo-turque de 1877-1878.
De même que nous sommes fiers d’avoir procédé à la réédition de
Suprêmes visions d’Orient, de Pierre Loti. Cet ouvrage, qui comporte
des pages poignantes sur l’Empire ottoman finissant, éclaire en
négatif, oui, mais aussi en positif les débats actuels sur l’arrimage
de la Turquie à l’Europe, sur les relations franco-turques et sur
notre rapport au monde musulman. Car Pierre Loti s’égare-t-il quand,
” devant la menace d’un soulèvement général de l’Islam “, il
préconise de ” renoncer à une folle gloutonnerie de conquêtes ” et de
” tendre la main à l’Islam, qui nous a fourni tant de milliers de
braves combattants ” ? Il écrit aussi ces lignes, que cite Alain
Quella-Villéger dans sa présentation : ” Partout nous broyons à coups
de mitraille les civilisations différentes de la nôtre, que nous
dédaignons a priori sans rien y comprendre, parce qu’elles sont moins
pratiques, moins utilitaires et moins armées. Et, à notre suite,
quand nous avons fini de tuer, toujours nous apportons l’exploitation
sans frein… ”
Patrice Rötig
Patrice Rötig est le responsabledes éditions Bleu autour

A1+
IRANIAN GAS TO BE GIVEN TO `ARMRUSGASARD’
[08:21 pm] 26 October, 2006
Karen Karapetyan, executive director of `ArmRusGasArd’ made an
announcement on the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline.
Let us remind you that according to the Russian sources, the Iranian
gas will also be sold to Russia.
`Iran-Armenia gas pipeline covers only 40 kilometers. It is to
connect the Iranian gas-transportation system to the `ArmRusGazArd’
gas system. I think there is no intention to give it to the Russian
side. The main question is as follows; will the Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline be a separate company or will it be given to `ArmRusGasArd’?
I assume it will be logical to give the pipeline to `ArmRusGasArd,’
maintains Karen Karapetyan.

OLD GEGHANUSH TAILING PIT BEING RESTORED

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The company Dino Gold Mining is
restoring the old Geghanush tailing pit to dump its waste there. Vahe
Vardanian, head of the company’s nature protection unit, told this to
reporters during a media tour organized under the project “Promotion
of Ecological Journalism in Armenian Regions for Monitoring of
Environmental Protection Problems of the Corridor of the Eastern
Caucasus Minor.” The project is being implemented by the Ecolur NGO
with the financial support of the Caucasian Program of the Critical
Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the World Wildlife Fund (CEPF/WWF).
V. Vardanian underlined that the tailing pit is being constructed
with the use of modern technologies, and will have a closed cycle. The
new construction will occupy not only the area of the old tailing pit
but will also raise its level to the height of 50 meters. It means the
nearby mountain slopes and land plots of inhabitants of the village of
Geghanush will be covered by liquid waste of the enterprise.
According to V. Vardanian, it is envisaged to pay compensation to
these people.
However, the head of the village community Grigor Safarian said that
the opinions of village inhabitants were not taken into account during
the ecological expert examination. While the new tailing pit is under
construction, the waste is dumpted into the old one. Levon Petrosian,
head of the territorial state nature protection inspection, explained
to reporters that although the tailing pit is a temporary one, it
performs its functions. Yet, according to local journalists, the waste
is poured into the Vokhchi River without being treated.