Author: Chalian Meline

AZERIS OF SWEDEN PROTEST AGAINST OPENING ARMENIAN CONSULATE IN TABRIZ

Pan Armenian News
17.06.2005 04:27

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azeris residing in Sweden will organize a protest
action in front of the Iranian Embassy in that country. The picket
will be held as protest against Iran’s decision to open Consulate of
Armenia in Tabriz, reported APA Azeri agency. The action will support
the one the Congress of World Azerbaijanis (CWA) is to hold in front
of the Iranian Embassy in Azerbaijan on the same occasion. A message
notifying about the action, in which some 30 persons will take part,
is already sent to the Stockholm Administration. It should be noted
that a few days ago head of the Baku Office CWA Siyavush Mustavayev
said that a picket will be organized in front of the Iranian Embassy
in Azerbaijan as protest against the permission of the Government of
Iran to open Armenia’s Consulate in Tabriz.

Turkey’s priority is so-called genocide: Gul

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
June 16 2005

Combating allegations that the Ottoman Empire committed acts of
genocide against its Armenian citizens during the First World War
was one of Ankara’s main priorities, Gul said Thursday.

Guncelleme: 10:19 ET 16 Haziran 2005 PerºembeBRUSSELS – The Foreign
Minister said that Ankara had strongly warned countries against
putting the so-called Armenian genocide issue onto their agendas.

In an interview that appeared in the Brussels based magazine Anadolu,
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said the Justice and Development
government had managed to refute the Armenian claims using a well
prepared, coherent and active strategy.

The proposal by Ankara to set up joint committee with Armenia to
study the claims had been internationally welcomed, Gul said.

He added that the reason that diplomatic relations with Armenia had
not been formalised was due to problems posed by Yerivan. Armenia’s
efforts to make use of Ankara’s EU bid had had a negative impact on
the EU process, the Foreign Minister said.

–Boundary_(ID_cXdqSLKaW1swZNU0zolFeQ)–

Azeri military doctrine to be ready by autumn – official

Trend news agency
16 Jun 05

Baku, 16 June, Trend correspondent S. Logmanoglu: Azerbaijan is
currently drawing up its military doctrine. I believe that the
document will be discussed and adopted in the autumn session of the
Milli Majlis [parliament], Azerbaijani Deputy Speaker Ziyafat Asgarov
has told Trend.

He said that the members of a working group, which was set up on
the president’s instruction in early 2005, are quite experienced
specialists and that there was no need to involve additional foreign
experts.

“During their work, the group’s members are learning foreign
countries’ experience in this sphere. However, this does not mean
that Azerbaijan’s military doctrine will duplicate that of other
countries. On the contrary, our purpose is to draw up a perfect
document. Undoubtedly, the interests of the Azerbaijani statehood
will come first in the document,” Asgarov said.

The deputy speaker did not name the country whose experience the
specialists used while drawing up the country’s military doctrine.

ARF Youth organization to participate in Istanbul meeting of IUSY

16.06.2005 13:46

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Member organizations from Georgia, Azerbaijan,
Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Armenia and other countries have been
invited to take part in the Black Sea Area cooperation meeting of the
International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) to be held on 16-19 June,
in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Armenian Youth Federation delegation consists of four members –
Karen Mnatsakanyan and Zinavor Meghryan (Armenia), Talline Tachdjian
(France) and Khatchik Mouradian (Lebanon).

The slogan of the meeting is “We are all minorities”. During three-day
sittings, further topics will be discussed: “Minorities in Europe”,
“International agreements on minorities”, “Minority policies in the
past”, “Minority policies in Europe,” etc.

The International Union of Socialist Youth is a fraternal organization
of the Socialist International. Its members are 143 socialist,
social-democratic, labor youth and student unions from 100 countries.

The Armenian Youth Federation (The Youth Organization of
ARF-Dashnaktsutyun) is a full member of the IUSY.

NKR FM ON POSSIBLE EUROINTEGRATION: OPTIMISTIC FORECASTS PREMATURE

Pan Armenian News
15.06.2005 05:43

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Karabakh has the system of cultural values alike
that of Europe, NKR Foreign Minister Arman Melikian stated in his
interview with H2 Armenian TV Channel. “But we should understand that
the European Union is not a charitable organization. Different talks
about the eurointegration do not mean that within next 10-15 years
the South Caucasian states will become members of the EU. Presently
the admission of Turkey’s is being questioned. The fact that the
EU Constitution was not adopted in France and Netherlands means
that Europe itself has problems with Eurointegration process. “I
suppose presently it would be more reasonable to create conditions
for integration into the European structures”, Arman Melikian said.

AZG Armenian Daily #109, 15/06/2005

Economy

ARMENIA WILL JOIN COUNTRIES WITH AVERAGE INCOME IN 1-2 YEARS

^_Representative of WB Assures

At the press conference at World Bank’s Yerevan office yesterday Shigeo
Kazu, vice-president of WB European and Central Asian region, said
that Armenia will join countries with average income in 1-2 years. But
before this, he said that his last visit to Armenia was 3 years ago
and that he has noticed obvious progress since then. In particular
he pointed out the increase of Armenia’s gross domestic product. The
WB representatives said that Armenia was in the list of states that
had the best cooperation with the WB in the period of 1993-2002.

Shigeo Kazu highlighted the elaboration of long-term projects with
the Armenian government that will enable to bring new investments
including ones directed at development of infrastructures. As to the
external debt, our country does not have serious problems in contrast
to the situation a few years back when the external debt of Armenia
equaled to the 50 percent of GDP. Now it amounts only to 35 percent
of GDP. Armenia reached the indices of 1989-1990 with its per capita
distribution of the gross domestic product. Kazu noted that Armenia is
more prepared to compete in the world market today than it was in 1989.

The WB representative thinks that reforms in neighboring Georgia
have launched only lately, after the rose revolution. Now Georgia
is trying to catch up with Armenia and may well do that using its
capacity for transits.

Azerbaijan has just entered a period that will last 12-15 years and
during whish the country will mobilize its oil resources.

Roger Robinson, head of the WB Yerevan office, dwelled on the projects
of the WB implemented in Armenia. He informed that the WB carried
out 4 projects during the last 4 years with an overall cost of $70
million. In the coming financial year the World Bank will carry out
4 more projects on $60 million. For the project in the forthcoming 4
years the Bank will spend $220 million. As Robinson put, Armenia now
gets those resources as it maintain good cooperation with the WB. He
also noted that the Bank is involved in all spheres and there is no
need to direct finances only for one specific sphere.

Asked about the economic importance of open Armenia-Turkish border,
the WB regional vice-president said that it is very difficult to
separate economy from politics. That issue, he thinks, is more to
the politicians to solve than to the World Bank.

By Ara Martirosian

Turkish legislator calls for cultural exchanges with Armenia

AP Worldstream; Jun 14, 2005

A legislator from Turkey’s governing party called Tuesday for
increased cultural exchanges with Armenia after visiting the landlocked
country with which Turkey has no diplomatic relations.

Turhan Comez met with the head of the country’s parliament and students
at Yerevan University during his three-day visit.

Relations between the two countries are tense and visits by legislators
are unusual.

Comez called for more exchanges of legislators, journalists and
students, saying that Turks and Armenians could start repairing
relations by laying common ground.

“The base of this work is dialogue,” Comez said in an interview with
CNN-Turk television. “We’re trying to take positive steps toward
resolving the problems.”

Several informal earlier attempts at dialogue faltered amid disputes
between Turks and Armenians over the massacre of Armenians at the
time of World War I. Armenians say that Ottoman Turks slaughtered
1.5 million Armenians in a planned genocide and have demanded that
Turkey recognize the killings as genocide.

Turkey says the death toll is wildly inflated. Many Turks also fear
that Armenia is pressing for recognition of the killings as genocide
as a step toward making territorial claims against Turkey.

Turkey is under pressure from the European Union to address the
genocide issue as its bid for membership in the EU progresses.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 during Christian
Armenia’s six-year war with Muslim Azerbaijan. Armenia says the border
closing is devastating its economy.

In a meeting with an Armenian legislator in Yerevan, Comez said that
he would make a speech in the Turkish parliament to open the border
but only if the legislator addressed his parliament and said that
the events of World War I were not genocide.

Last week, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said that
universal acceptance that the massacres were genocide remains on
Armenia’s foreign policy agenda but that Turkey would not have to
yield on that question before relations could be restored.

AT ONCE 4 SNAKES FOUND IN ONE OF PARKS IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JUNE 13. ARMINFO. Those walking in a park located at the
beginning of Gay Street near the Monument for Freedom Fighters
saw snakes on June 11 late in the evening. The Municipality and the
Directorship of the Zoo were immediately informed of it. The following
day at 14:30 a relevant specialist arrived at the park to find the
snakes, but useless. The same day, a snake bit a 45-year resident
of Shirak region Nushik Ghazaryan, who were taken to hospital. Her
condition is serious, the Emergency Situations Department reports.

Armenian pro-government parties join centre-left alliance

Arminfo
8 Jun 05

YEREVAN

The Armenian Progressive Party and the Justice Party have joined a
political alliance of centre-left forces, the leaders of the
aforementioned parties, Tigran Urikhanyan and Artur Baloyan, said
today at a joint press conference.

The Armenian Renewed Communist Party and the Women’s Party of Armenia
joined the alliance of the centre-left forces earlier.

A declaration published today on the occasion of the unification of
the two parties said that socialist forces are joining the
alliance. The alliance’s main tasks are to achieve social justice,
find a settlement to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict that will be
favourable for Armenia, return hundreds of thousands of emigrants who
left Armenia and achieve international recognition of the 1915
Armenian genocide. The aims of the alliance are also to establish
stability and peace in the country, ensure progressive development,
carry out constructive reforms, take justified and lawful joint
actions, the declaration said.

Another two or three centre-left forces are expected to join the
alliance in a few weeks, the leader of the Progressive Party, Tigran
Urikhanyan, told the press conference. Furthermore, talks will start
with right-wing forces of which at least 10 parties and organizations
will join the alliance.

At the end, the alliance will turn into a mighty political union that
will take part in the next parliamentary elections. “We are for
dialogue and unification of all the forces that share our views. We
are not on the same path with the supporters of revolutions who are
calling for the change of the government, which will inevitably lead
to destruction and public disturbances,” Urikhanyan said.

He also confirmed that the Armenian Progressive Party intends to back
Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan’s candidacy in the next
presidential elections “if he expresses the wish to run for the
presidency, if not, we shall make a decision before the elections”.

Justice Party leader Artur Baloyan asked in his speech at the press
conference not to confuse his party with the opposition Justice bloc
led by Stepan Demirchyan. “Our party was established in 1999 when
Stepan Demirchyan’s bloc did not even exist. According to official
figures, we polled 0.6 per cent of the vote in the 2003 parliamentary
elections and consider ourselves to be a serious and independent
political force,” Baloyan said.

Karabakh election campaign democratic, Armenian presidential aide says

Hayots Ashkarh, Yerevan
8 Jun 05

Excerpt from Vaan Vardanyan’s report by Armenian newspaper Hayots
Ashkarh on 8 June headlined “Clashes and enmity are ruled out”

An interview with the Armenian president’s advisor on national
security issues, Garnik Isagulyan. He comments on the upcoming
parliamentary elections in the NKR [Nagornyy Karabakh Republic].

[Hayots Ashkarh correspondent] Mr Isagulyan, you have recently
returned from Karabakh, what is your impression of the election
campaign that has started there?

[Garnik Isagulyan] First of all, I should note that the NKR
parliamentary elections are of great importance from the regional
point of view, as well as from the point of view of the NKR’s
international image as an independent state. For this reason,
developing a civilized election process is very important.

On the whole, the election race is taking place within a civilized
framework, in line with all democratic norms. NKR state television has
provided equal airtime for election propaganda. There is also paid
airtime and there is no obstacle to using that. I would like to say
that for the first time 11 mandates of the NKR parliament will be
given to deputies elected under the proportional representation
system. For this reason, more parties will take part in this election
campaign than previously.

[Passage omitted: Isagulyan mentions the parties that will take part
in the elections]

[Correspondent] Will [NKR leader] Arkadiy Gukasyan support anybody?

[Isagulyan] At a meeting with the NKR president, he assured me that he
does not intend to meddle in the election campaign. He said that free
and fair elections are much more important since their international
and political price is much higher than local, narrow party or group
interests.

[Correspondent] Anyway, who is coming forward as a pro-government
party and who is in the opposition? How much of administrative
resources do they have?

[Isagulyan] On the whole, the National Democratic Party [NDP] appears
to be the pro-government party. On the contrary, the bloc of the
Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun [RFD] and Sharzhum [Movement]
88 represents the radical opposition. The Free Motherland Party may be
considered as a centrist party. As for the administrative resources, I
think the authorities support no-one. On the other hand, the NDP and
the opposition have such resources. While the former has strong
positions in the state administration, the leader of the Sharzhum-88
is the Stepanakert [Xankandi] mayor, several village governors are RFD
members, and it is clear that each will try to use their potential as
much as possible.

[Correspondent] Has a party of oligarchs been established in Karabakh?

[Isagulyan] Opponents try to define the Free Motherland Party in this
way. I do not agree because I had contacts with members of this
party. One or two of them are economists, but there are no
representatives of large businesses among them. Karabakh is different
from Armenia in this sense. First, the potential of the local plants
is very modest. Second, they have not made a habit of driving
foreign-made cars or having bodyguards, acquiring a special status and
emphasizing it, as some rich people do in Armenia.

[Correspondent] What forces will win?

[Isagulyan] Although in fact seven political forces are taking part in
the elections, the bloc of the RFD and Sharzhum-88 and the Free
Motherland Party are the obvious front-runners. To win one of the 11
seats under the proportional representation system, a party is to
overcome a 10-per-cent threshold, compared to 5 per cent in
Armenia. The remaining 22 mandates will be contested under the
first-past-the-post system.

[Passage omitted: minor comments]