Author: Chalian Meline

THE OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS MET WITH THE NKR PRESIDENT IN STEPANAKERT

A1+
14-07-2005

On July 13, President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Arkady
Ghoukassian met with Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno
Karabakh Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Steven Mann (USA) and Bernar Fasie
(France), who had arrived in Stepanakert the same day.

According to the information of the NKR President’s press-service, the
Co-Chairs informed the NKR President of the details of the meetings
betweenthe Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries, presented the
approaches of the countries-mediators regarding the prospects of
achieving tangible progress in the peaceful settlement process. They
re-affirmed their opinion that a new possibility in the process of the
Nagorno Karabakh problem settlement had appeared, noting that it was
not any new proposals presented to the parties of the conflict.

In his turn, President Arkady Ghoukassian noted that in spite of the
fact that it was still soon to speak of any considerable mutual
understanding between the parties to the conflict on the issues
included in the agenda of the settlement process, the expectation of
progress was, however, great. He expressed hope that the current visit
of the Co-Chairs to the region would be productive and would make the
peaceful and comprehensive settlement of the Karabakh conflict
closer. The Co-Chairs expressed their gratitude to the NKR President
for the constructive talk and the readiness of the Karabakh party to
continue the search of a mutually acceptable model of settlement.

NKR Minister of Foreign Affairs Arman Melikian took part in the
meeting.

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
July 14 2005

WTO admission ‘may boost economic reforms’

Admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) may give an incentive
to economic reforms in Azerbaijan.

This will lead to passing new laws, amending a number of existing
ones and other activities, said Mahmud Mammadguliyev, Deputy Foreign
Minister and head of the taskforce on Azerbaijan’s admission to WTO.
He told journalists on Thursday that unlike other organizations, the
entry to WTO is very complex, as the latter puts forth numerous
requirements.
The admission mainly depends on the bilateral and multi-lateral
talks, said Mammadguliyev.
Economic Development Minister Farhad Aliyev said earlier that
Azerbaijan will become a full-fledged member of WTO in several years.
The country will benefit greatly from its membership, as it will
improve its investment climate and draw more investments, he said.
Mammadguliyev continued that Armenia, which is a WTO member, will not
be able to impede Azerbaijan’s admission in any way. Upon becoming a
WTO state, Armenia pledged not to veto Azerbaijan’s admission, he
said.
Commenting on Armenia’s admission, the Deputy Foreign Minister said
this country succeeded in this because it started talks on the issue
in 1993, 4 years prior to Azerbaijan. In considering bids, WTO
focuses more not on economic indicators but the commitments made by
countries, he said.
Mammadguliyev noted that WTO member states Armenia, Georgia, Moldova
and Kyrgyzstan have failed to meet a number of WTO requirements.
These countries have appealed to WTO to get numerous concessions and
the issue will be discussed soon, the Deputy Foreign Minister said.
WTO is expected to present its questions to Azerbaijan on the
activities underway in the country’s economic and social fields by
August 1, the Deputy Foreign Minister said.
“Besides answers to these questions, we should, on our end, try to
achieve granting Azerbaijan the status of a ‘developing country’.”
The next round of admission talks is due in Geneva or Brussels in
March 2006.

Armenian spokesman denies secret meeting with Turkish diplomats

Noyan Tapan news agency
13 Jul 05

YEREVAN

There have always been contacts between the foreign ministries of
Armenia and Turkey, the press secretary of the Armenian Foreign
Ministry, Gamlet Gasparyan, has said commenting on a Turkish media
report about a secret Armenian-Turkish meeting in a European country.

As for reports on a similar meeting scheduled in the future, Gasparyan
said that he did not want to comment on information circulated by the
Turkish media. [Passage omitted: reference to Turkish CNN-Turk TV and
media reports]

CINEMATOGRAPHERS FROM 45 COUNTRIES ARRIVE IN YEREVAN TO PARTICIPATE IN
“GOLDEN APRICOT” FILM FESTIVAL

YEREVAN, JULY 12. ARMINFO. Well-known cinematographers from 45
countries arrived in Yerevan to participate in the “Golden Apricot”
Second International Film Festival, under the “Crossroads of Cultures
and Civilizations” motto. The opening ceremony of the festival will
take place today in the evening at the National Opera Theatre. Film
directors, critics, actors and producers will present 140 films at
competitive, out-of-competition and special views. Three contests – of
fiction, documentary and animation films will be organized to elect
the best works.

A Canadian film director Atom Egoyan is the jury chairman. A
well-known Canadian actor of Armenian origin Jan Pier Nshanyan,
cinematologist Garegin Zakoyan, film directors Peter Vinotik (Canada),
Joss Stelling (Netherlands), actor Rafael Kotanjyan and other known
film art representatives are the jury’s members. Winners will be given
“Golden apricot” prize made by the glass. Besides, “Ani and Nation”
Foundation (Los-Angeles) will allotted “Mark-Sarkis” nominal money
prize for the best film within the framework of the “Armenian
panorama” contest.

The out-of-competition program of the festival consisted of works by
Iranian, Malaysian, Portuguese, Dutch and Canadian film directors will
be demonstrated at “Moscow” and “Nairi” movie theatres, as well as in
the cinema hall of the National Picture Gallery.

Everyday masterclasses, jazz-concerts and exhibitions of film-artists’
works will be organized within the festival framework. The festival
closing will take place at “Armenia-Marriott” hotel on July 17.

Manucharyan makes instant impact

UEFA.com
Monday, 11 July 2005

By Khachik Chakhoyan

Armenia will make their debut in an international finals at the UEFA
European Under-19 Championship, and much of their hopes will rest
squarely on the shoulders of Edgar Manucharyan, whose eight goals in
qualification played a huge part in helping his team to Northern Ireland.

Precocious talent

The 18-year-old has long been considered a prodigy, having been involved
in qualifying for the UEFA European U17 Championship as long ago as 2002
and having also played in the U21 side by the end of that season. He
left Armenian Premier League club FC Pyunik on 1 July after agreeing to
join AFC Ajax.

Rapid rise

Manucharyan took his first professional steps under coach Mikael
Zakaryan, and almost immediately made rapid strides. He moved swiftly
through Pyunik’s youth teams, and in 2002 top-scored for the club’s
reserves, earning promotion to the senior squad the following year.

Making his mark

Manucharyan soon found his feet at the higher level, managing 12
top-flight strikes in 2003, and also scoring four times in Armenia’s
European U17 Championship qualifier against Belarus, before really
making his mark the following year. Twenty-one league goals helped
Pyunik to a fourth successive league championship, and made Manucharyan
the Armenian Premier League’s joint-top scorer.

Media interest

At the start of 2004/05 Manucharyan made his bow in the UEFA Champions
League, finding the net twice at FK Pobeda of F.Y.R. Macedonia in the
first qualifying round first leg. His exploits did not go unnoticed by
the media, with Suren Bagdasaryan, chief editor of weekly newspaper
Football Plus, saying: “Edgar is an event in Armenian football. Players
of his talent are not born often. He has everything a striker needs.”

Four-goal flourish

Manucharyan then made a crucial contribution to the national cause in
the European U19 Championship, scoring in each of Armenia’s qualifying
round games. Although he was initially quiet in the next stage, he more
than made up for it in the final round of fixtures in Elite round Group
4, scoring four times in a 5-1 win against Hungary to help clinch a
finals berth.

‘Unparalleled achievement’

“The Armenian U19 team achieved an unparalleled result in our history,”
said an article in Football Plus following the unexpected success. “Our
country will be represented at European Championship, while Manucharyan
has proved once more that he is talented and that Armenia can put faith
in him.”

‘No effort spared’

“I am very glad for our team, which no one expected to win the [Elite
round] group,” Manucharyan responded. “But this is not the end. We have
to give our best to do well in Northern Ireland. I will spare no effort
to help Armenia achieve good results.”

Huge potential

Manucharyan is already a regular in the U21 side and recently made the
jump up to the senior team, scoring his first goal in a FIFA World Cup
qualifier against F.Y.R. Macedonia on 4 June. Meanwhile, after a broken
bone in his foot brought a premature end to his trial with Ajax last
December, he signed a three-year contract with the Dutch club in April.
“He can mature into a top-class player if he keeps his professional
attitude,” said Bagdasaryan. “Leaving Pyunik for Ajax should help, as he
will be playing with much better footballers.”

‘First steps’

In spite of his rise, however, the Armenian forward is keeping his feet
firmly on the ground. “I am taking my first steps in senior football,”
he said. “And I am thankful to all those who have helped me or are
helping me on my way.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Armenia striker Edgar Manucharyan has a bright future
(©Hakber)

Berliner Morgenpost, Deutschland
Samstag Juli 9 2005

Völkermord an Armeniern wieder im Brandenburger Rahmenlehrplan

Potsdam – Der türkische Völkermord an den Armeniern steht wieder im
Rahmenlehrplan für Brandenburgs Schulen. Eine entsprechende
Handreichung werde derzeit an die Schulen verschickt, sagte
Bildungsstaatssekretär Martin Gorholt gestern. In den Unterlagen
seien neben der allgemeinen Behandlung des Themas Völkermord auch
ausführliche Materialien zu den Völkermorden an den Armeniern, an den
Herero in Südwest-Afrika und den Tutsi in Ruanda enthalten. Anfang
des Jahres hatte Brandenburg den Völkermord an den Armeniern als
Beispiel für das Thema Genozid aus dem im Internet stehenden Lehrplan
für den Geschichtsunterricht genommen. Das hatte über die märkischen
Landesgrenzen hinaus für Aufregung gesorgt. Nur ein einziges Beispiel
im Lehrplan zu nennen, werde dem wichtigen Thema “Völkermorde” nicht
gerecht, hatte Ministerpräsident Matthias Platzeck (SPD) damals als
Begründung für die Streichung gesagt.

AZG Armenian Daily #125, 08/07/2005

Home

DISCONTENT OF THE WORKS OF POLICE AND SOCIAL SECURITY MINISTRY PREVAIL

Armenian citizens most often complain of the works of police (110
complaints), letters to RA ombudswoman, Larisa Alaverdian reveal. Second
comes the Ministry of Labor and Social Security with 103 complaints. Courts
come third with 95 complaints. Yerevan Municipality received 73, local
governing bodies – 65, Public Prosecutor’s Office – 55, Justice Ministry –
Defense Ministry – 44 complaints.

The overall number of complaints that the ombudswoman received for the last
6 months is 1450, 849 of which in written form.

By Ruzan Poghosian

Lawsuits expected over TV Slingbox
Jul. 6, 2005 at 1:20PM

Lawsuits over TV piracy are widely expected following explosive demand
for place-shifting devices such as a Slingbox, the Hollywood Reporter
says. The $250 device is a brick-sized box that enables viewers to
route the live television signal coming into their homes to a portable
device anywhere on the globe via a broadband Internet connection.

The legalities come in because two Slingbox owners could send each
other programming unavailable in their respective areas. An East
Coast viewer could stream “Survivor” to the west coast three hours
early, while the West Coast viewer could provide access to a premium
channel the East Coast viewer doesn’t pay to receive.

Sling Media CEO Blake Krikorian in San Mateo, Calif., prefers to be
optimistic.

“The Internet has changed the meaning of what proximity and geography
is,” Krikorian said. “If it’s disrupting existing business relations,
we need to figure out how the next business models evolve that make it
a win-win for the consumer and the industry.”

United Press International

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
July 7 2005

Armenia concerned over Azerbaijan’s military spending

Armenia will respond to Azerbaijan’s raising its military spending, a
high-ranking Armenian military official has said.

“Yerevan is concerned over Baku’s steps at increasing its military
power. We will respond adequately”, Armenian armed forces
headquarters chief Mikhael Harutyunian said commenting on President
Ilham Aliyev’s statement that Azerbaijan will raise its military
expenses to $300 million.
The Milli Majlis (parliament) has approved a supplement to the state
budget on increasing military expenses by 23% compared to 2004. The
funds will be mainly used to purchase machinery and aircraft.
Harutyunian said that ‘this is an internal matter of Azerbaijan’ but
said the move will lead to tensions.
“Armenia cannot allow Azerbaijan to sharply increase its military
potential. We are truly concerned over calls for settling the
Garabagh conflict by force sounding in this country.”
The Azerbaijani government has explained the increase in its military
spending by the recent transfer of Russian arms from Georgia to
Armenia.
The Armenian official stated that this weaponry will remain under
Russia’s control.
“We do not have and are not expecting an agreement on handing arms
over to Armenia. We are providing our armed forces with the needed
machinery and arms on our own within the permitted quotas.”
Harutyunian also claimed that Azerbaijan, which possesses more arms
than Armenia, is allegedly violating the Treaty on Conventional Arms
in Europe but accuses Armenia of breaching it.

Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR] elects new speaker

Mediamax news agency
30 Jun 05

Yerevan, 30 June: The chairman of the Artsakh Democratic Party,
Ashot Gulyan, 39, was today elected chairman of the Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic [NKR] National Assembly, a Mediamax special correspondent
reported from Stepanakert.

Thirty out of the 33 deputies voted for Ashot Gulyan.

[Passage omitted: Ashor Gulyan was the foreign minister of the NKR
from October 2002 to December 2004, other biographical data]

MP Rudik Usnunts, from the Free Motherland Party was elected deputy
speaker of the National Assembly.