Author: Chatinian Lara

RESIDENTS OF KOZERN ARE STILL PATIENT

A1+
[04:54 pm] 12 February, 2007

The residents of Kozern district who have received the certificates
of property of their lands and houses were gathered opposite the RA
President’s residence in order to support their neighbors who weren’t
given certificates without any apparent reason.

"We will be united, the way we used to be", said the residents of the
district. About 70 residents have already received certificates. All of
them had come to participate in the protest action, ready to renounce
the certificates for the sake of their neighbors.

Today’s action was a peaceful one: its participants had come without
posters, and left without noise. The reason was that 15 days ago they
demanded a meeting with the President. Today they arrived to learn
the day and time of the meeting. Head of the letter department of
the RA President Aida Asatryan told that that the meeting will take
place on February 14.

(ALMOST) ALL ABOARD
by Rovshan Ismayilov

Transitions Online, Czech Republic
Feb 12 2007

Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey ink a deal for a regional railroad
that bypasses Armenia. From EurasiaNet.

First, it was energy; now, transportation. The
Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway project, run by Azerbaijan,
Georgia, and Turkey, is strengthening a sense of regional cooperation
in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan met in Tbilisi on 7 February with Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili to sign a framework agreement on the project,
which will link Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia via a 258-kilometer-
(160-mile-) long railway. The agreement must then be submitted to
the Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Georgian parliaments for ratification.

The railroad, 14 years in the making, has been touted as the shortest
route for commercial traffic between Asia and Europe. Some observers
have forecast that, if completed, it could become a competitor to the
Trans-Siberian Railway. Construction is scheduled to begin in June
2007, with a tentative completion date by the end of 2008, Azerbaijani
Transportation Minister Ziya Mammadov told the Azerbaijani independent
television station ANS on 18 January. A 16 January statement from
the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry predicted that the railroad "will
create conditions for the revival of the historical Silk Road and
will develop the Europe-Caucasus-Asia transport corridor," thereby
advancing "the region’s integration with Europe."

In many ways, the project is a case study in regional self-reliance.

The United States, an influential backer of such regional projects
as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the South Caucasus gas
pipeline, has declined to support the rail link because it excludes
Armenia. The European Union has expressed similar reluctance.

Instead, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have looked to themselves
to cover the $600 million in estimated costs. "The U.S. can issue any
decisions it wants, but there will be no problems with financing the
project," commented Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili on
10 January, the Azerbaijani news agency Trend reported. "There are
other sources."

One of those sources is Azerbaijan. At a 13 January meeting in Tbilisi,
the three sides agreed that Azerbaijan will loan Georgia $200 million
for the construction of a 29-kilometer stretch of the railroad through
Georgian territory and for the reconstruction of existing sections
of Georgian railways that the new line will use.

Georgia will pay an annual interest rate of just 1 percent on the
25-year loan, according to Georgian Economic Development Minister
Giorgi Arveladze. The Georgian government has already approved
the proposed terms for the loan and expects a final agreement with
Azerbaijan to be signed soon, Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli has said.

The agreement comes on the heels of a gas deal between Georgia and
Azerbaijan that the government in Tbilisi hopes will allow it to
replace higher-priced Russian gas with gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah
Deniz field.

Turkey also plays a key role in this assistance scheme. At a 7 February
joint press conference in Tbilisi with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would try by July
to funnel 800 million cubic meters from its share of Shah Deniz gas
to Georgia. Saakashvili, however, told reporters that Georgia would
receive Turkey’s gas "as soon as Shah Deniz is put into operation,"
adding that Azerbaijani gas supplies are expected to steadily increase.

The agreements underline Azerbaijan’s growing importance for Georgia.

To highlight that significance, part of the embankment of the Mtkvari
River in central Tbilisi was renamed during the summit to commemorate
the late President Heydar Aliyev, father of the current Azerbaijani
leader.

Some opposition members in Georgia have questioned this relationship.

Analysts in Baku say that the railway deal’s long-term advantages for
Azerbaijan justify the cost of footing the bill for construction of
Georgia’s section of the railway.

"The project has significant importance for Azerbaijan. It will
be the final link for providing Azerbaijan with a transportation
corridor to Europe," said Inglab Akhmadov, an economics expert
and the director of the Public Finance Monitoring Center. "The oil
and gas routes already exist, and construction of the railroad to
Europe, bypassing Armenia and Russia, will complete the process for
Azerbaijan." (The Public Finance Monitoring Center is funded by the
Open Society Institute. EurasiaNet.org operates under the auspices
of the Open Society Institute in New York.)

The profitability of Baku’s Caspian Sea port and the Azerbaijani State
Railroad will also increase, noted independent political analyst
Rasim Musabekov, who argued that the project is more important for
Azerbaijan than for Georgia.

"The length of the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railroad on
Azerbaijan’s territory is much longer than on Georgian territory,
so Azerbaijan’s railroad will make a greater profit on tariffs," he
said. Plus, a key strategic benefit also exists: "For the first time,
Azerbaijan will get direct railroad access to its most important
ally, Turkey."

GETTING FUNDING ON TRACK

Although Azerbaijan’s booming energy sector has so far allowed
it to play benefactor to its poorer neighbor, Georgia, Baku has
kept a sharp eye on potential sources of outside financing for the
project, as well. China, which has a growing interest in Central
Asian energy sources, has featured among these sources. An official
in Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry told EurasiaNet that Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov tried to convince China to support
the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway project during a visit to Beijing in
the spring of 2005. "However, while China’s leadership stated its
interest in an alternative route for railway traffic to Europe,
they politely refused to finance the project," said the source,
who asked not to be named.

Meanwhile, other sources of financing remain trapped in a tightly
intertwined circle of conditions. While the United States does
not exclude the possibility of its active support for the project
in the future, it insists on Armenia’s inclusion. With the Bush
administration’s support, the U.S. Congress in 2006 banned any
government funding for the railway for this reason.

"We’d love to get to that point when the railroad from Turkey to
Baku could transit Armenia," commented U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza in a 9 January
interview with the Azerbaijani state-run news agency, AzerTag. While
the United States does not oppose the project, he continued, "We hope
there’ll be [a] time soon when the transit scheme will embrace all
of the countries."

After long expressing opposition to the project, Armenia itself,
however, has announced that it is ready to sign on. But only on
one key condition – the opening of Turkey’s border with the South
Caucasus state. (The border was closed in 1993, following Armenia’s
support for the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh.)
The Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Armenian Deputy Foreign
Minister Gegam Garibjanian as saying on 18 January that his country
could join the project by reopening a section of railway that runs
from the Turkish town of Kars to Akhalkalaki in Georgia via Armenia
"the day after the border between Armenia and Turkey is opened." Such
a section could significantly reduce transportation costs.

But Azerbaijan has its conditions, too. Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev has stated that Armenia’s participation in the project
"is not possible" until the country ends its support for the ethnic
Armenian leadership of the self-declared Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh,
a breakaway region of Azerbaijan.

"Until Armenia liberates the occupied Azerbaijani territories
[Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjoining regions] all transportation
projects will bypass this country," Aliyev said at a 22 January
government meeting in Baku. "The countries and organizations that
support Armenia and speak out against the project will fail," he added.

Ongoing negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh give no indication that that condition may soon be
met or softened. However, other project partners have softened or
otherwise changed participation conditions over time.

Georgia for years hesitated to join the railway project, first
demanding compensation for any economic losses related to the new
railway that its two Black Sea ports, Batumi and Poti, would sustain.

Both Turkey and Azerbaijan refused such a pay-out. But, after the
imposition of a transportation blockade by Russia in 2006, Georgia
reconsidered.

"We have to support this project amidst the economic blockade
of Georgia from the North," Economic Development Minister Giorgi
Arveladze said on 17 January, in an oblique reference to Russia. "It
[the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku project] will be a very important
transportation corridor for us."

That corridor could prove particularly significant for the Caspian
Sea region’s oil industry, noted Akif Mustafayev, the Azerbaijani
representative to TRASECA, a regional transportation program backed
by the European Union. Already, oil and oil-related products are
projected to make up most of the railway’s freight, noted Mustafayev,
who predicted that freight could equal at least 20 million tons in
the first year of operation.

Train-ferry connections already exist between Baku and fellow energy
giants Kazakhstan (from Aktau) and Turkmenistan (from Turkmenbashi).

With the completion of a railway link under the Bosporus by 2008,
transportation times to Europe could be reduced still further.

"It may encourage foreign investors to construct new oil refineries in
the region and to export to the European markets not just crude oil,
but more expensive oil products," Mustafayev said.

Turkey first proposed the project in 1993 as it looked for ways to
increase its influence in the South Caucasus after the collapse of the
Soviet Union. However, a protocol on the project was signed by Turkey,
Georgia, and Azerbaijan only in 2004. Feasibility studies began that
year. In May 2005, the presidents of the three countries reaffirmed
their support for the railway with a formal declaration in Baku.

Rovshan Ismayilov is a freelance journalist based in Baku. This is
a partner post from EurasiaNet.

Official optimistic about Armenia-Iran railway project

Arminfo
9 Feb 07

Yerevan, 9 February: The construction of the Iran-Armenia railway
would create new possibilities for the development of economic
relations between the two countries, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister
Arman Kirakosyan told a news conference at the national press club
today.

Asked about the possibility of the construction of this railway,
Kirakosyan said that there are real grounds for this and that the
issue is being discussed. "There is no clear programme. But there is
a desire of both sides," Kirakosyan noted. He said that the issue of
the railway construction had been discussed during Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan’s visit to Tehran in 2006.

Responding a question about the USA’s possible attack against Iran and
Armenia’s position in this regard, Kirakosyan voiced his hope that
events would not develop this way. "We hope that the situation will be
resolved through diplomatic efforts," Kirakosyan noted.

It must be noted that a representative of the White House stated
yesterday that the USA does not intend to attack Iran.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT APPROVES NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY

Mediamax news agency
8 Feb 07

Yerevan, 8 February: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan signed
a decree endorsing the country’s strategy of national security on
7 February.

The national security strategy was approved at a sitting of the
National Security Council under the Armenian president on 26 January
2007, the presidential press service has told Mediamax.

The basic values of the national security of the Republic of Armenia
were mentioned in the document. These values are independence,
the security of the state and the people, peace and international
cooperation and well-being.

The document also specifies the main factors guaranteeing the
implementation of the country’s national security strategy: the
effectiveness of the state management system, the supremacy of
law, the strengthening of democratic values, the impartiality and
independence of the judiciary, the fighting efficiency of the armed
forces, the effectiveness of the security and law-enforcement bodies,
foreign policy that ensures effective international cooperation,
and social justice.

The national security strategy may be amended depending on the domestic
and international situation and the change of threats and challenges.

JEWS READ 40 DAYS OF MOUNT MUSA

Panorama.am
17:31 08/02/2007

"The Jewish lobby is strong. It is considered the strongest in
America. They never supported us openly," Arpy Vardanyan, regional
office head of the Armenian Assembly of American (AAA), told reporters
today. In her words, despite of meeting with Jewish community leaders,
Jewish lobby does not support the Armenians in the discussion on
the Armenian Cause. Moreover, Vardanyan believes Jews support Turkey
and Azerbaijan.

She said Jews recognize the fact of the Armenian genocide but refuse
to officially recognize it because the issue is politicized. Vardanyan
said she has personally learned during her visit to Israel that a
reading from "40 days of mount Musa" is part of school curriculum in
that country.

RA DEFENSE MINISTRY SHOULD BECOME MORE CIVILIAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.02.2007 17:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The seminar titled "Military reform in Armenia:
providing of Defense Ministry with civil personnel and introduction
of amendments in the law On Defense" has been successfully completed,
RA Deputy Defense Minister, lieutenant general Artur Aghabekyan said
in Yerevan today. In his words, an action plan on the armed forces
reform was elaborated. "We concluded that the RA Defense Ministry
should become more civilian. To do this it’s necessary to divide the
functions of the Ministry itself and the General Staff, which is a
military structure presently.

Reformation of the law On Defense is a priority task for
Armenia. Proceeding from the discussions held we can issue a new
law that would answer the demands of the state that has chosen a
democratic path of development," the he said.

The general lieutenant also noted that this year Armenia will take
part in more than 100 NATO-initiated events. Another seminar with
participation of experts of the George C. Marshall Fund will be held
in late 2007.

MATTHEW BRYZA: "NO DEEP DISCREPANCY EXISTS BETWEEN THE PARTIES"

Today, Azerbaijan
Feb 7 2007

Co-chairs of the OSCE Minks Group Matthew Bryza (US) and Bernard
Fassier (France), mediators in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, will meet in the framework
of International Energy conference in Paris next week.

Commenting on the Minsk Group’s activity, the US co-chair approved
the mediating activity, APA reports.

"The settlement of the conflict needs political will. The situation is
not complicated but, the schedule is intensive because of the upcoming
elections in Armenia this year. It is welcoming that democracy is
developing and elections are held in both countries. I feel that the
problem will be solved but I can not say when. I feel very optimistic
regarding the settlement of the conflict, but I can not solve it
alone. We expect the Presidents to prepare their communities for this
process. Our duty is to help the parties to hold negotiations through
stages," Mr.Bryza said.

The US co-chair also said Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers
will meet in several weeks, but the co-chairs are not going to visit
the region soon.

Commenting on applying Kosovo variant to the settlement of Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, the co-chair said each conflict has its specific
features, so any settlement can not be applied as a model.

"There exist some elements for the solution of the discrepancy
concerning the core principles. I think, we have achieved progress to
some extent, no deep discrepancy exists between the parties," he said.

URL:

BILL "ON FORMATION AND RESIGNATION OF GOVERNMENT" HAS MANY SHORTCOMINGS, RA NA SPEAKER CONSIDERS MEANWHILE PROPOSING ADOPTING IT IN FIRST READING

Noyan Tapan
Feb 06 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, NOYAN TAPAN. At the February 6 sitting RA
National Assembly in first reading discussed the bill "On Formation
and Resignation of Government." The adoption of the latter proceeds
from 2005 constitutional amendments.

As RA NA Speaker Tigran Torosian said in his speech, the bill presented
by the government contains only some parts from Constitution’s
provisions relating to the matter, while it should have contained the
constitutional approach rendering more concrete the mechanisms. In his
words, it is unacceptable that the principles and order of government’s
formation are not stipulated by the draft, but in consideration of
lack of time in connection with the May 12 parliamentary elections,
he proposed adopting in first reading "this draft having many
shortcomings" and revising it fundamentally until second reading.

According to the draft law, in case of government’s resignation the
government is formed by the President within 20 days’ term after
appointing a Prime Minister. While by the constitutional amendments
the President on the basis of distribution of deputy seats at NA
and consultations with deputy factions appoints as a Prime Minister
a person enjoying confidence among majority of MPs and if this is
impossible, a person having received simple majority of deputies’
votes.

According to another requirement of the Constitution, the Prime
Minister and Ministers should be RA citizens. But the main reporter of
the draft, RA Deputy Minister of Justice Gevorg Malkhasian stated that
the government proposed voting the draft without the above mentioned
provision until the law "On Citizenship" is adopted.

This proposal of government especially made indignant ULP faction
head Gurgen Arsenian who considered the above mentioned approach of
government to be strange, "containing undercurrent" and inadmissible
for him. In his words, exclusion of above mentioned provision from
the draft will become a subject of legal litigation in the future. He
threatened that he will vote against the bill if it is put to voting
in the above mentioned form.

Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2007
CONTACT: Karoon Panosyan
E-mail: [email protected]

ADMINISTRATION BUDGET CALLS FOR $35 MILLION FOR ARMENIA
RENEWS MILITARY IMBALANCE WITH AZERBAIJAN

Assembly calls proposal fundamentally flawed

wASHington, DC – The Armenian Assembly today called the
Administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 budget request fundamentally
flawed with respect to funding levels for Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh. It also protested the Administration’s renewed call for
military aid disparity between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which only
serves to undermine stability in the South Caucasus.

"The request for asymmetrical military assistance to Armenia and
Azerbaijan not only runs counter to what Congress has appropriated
in previous years, but also sends the wrong message to Armenia, an
important U.S. ally," said Bryan Ardouny, Executive Director of the
Armenian Assembly

Ardouny further stated that the Armenian Assembly will seek to
reverse this proposal and ensure parity. In its FY 2008 Budget,
the Administration proposed boosting Azerbaijan’s military financing
over Armenia’s by $2 million. In previous years, through the combined
efforts of the Armenian-American community and the Assembly, Congress
ultimately ensured security aid parity.

The Administration’s 2008 funding proposal for Foreign Military
Financing (FMF) calls for $4.3 million for Azerbaijan and only $3
million for Armenia. The proposed budget also suggests $1 million
for Azerbaijan versus $300,000 for Armenia in International Military
Education and Training (IMET) assistance.

The FY 2008 budget also recommended $35 million for Armenia in Freedom
Support Act (FSA) funding to "help implement economic and democratic
reform and fight corruption. FSA assistance will complement major
MCC resources for agricultural development."

"The House of Representatives last week approved FY 07 funding for
Armenia at the 06 level – nearly $75 million. This budget request
therefore represents more than a 50 percent reduction in assistance.
This is simply unacceptable," said Ardouny. "Further, despite
ongoing funding by Congress, the Administration fails to recommend
any assistance to Nagorno Karabakh. We will work with Congress to
correct the glaring deficiencies in the Administration’s request,"
Ardouny continued.

Today’s announcement is the first step in a lengthy process. The
next step is for the House and Senate to review the Administration’s
request through committee hearings, the first of which will take
place later this week when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Armenian Assembly is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

####

NR#2007-025

IN 2007 NON-OFFICIAL TRANSFERS WILL INCREASE BY 15-20%, CBA CHAIRMAN FORECASTS

Noyan Tapan
Feb 05 2007

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the Central Bank of
Armenia (CBA), in 2006, the total amount of non-official transfers
(remittances by natural persons) from abroad to Armenia made 960 mln
USD, exceeding by 28% the 2005 index. The amount of such transfers
made through the banking system made 750 mln USD.

The CBA Chairman Tigran Sargsian said at the February 5 press
conference that it is forecast that the total amount of remittances
will increase by 15-20% in 2007 on 2006. These forecasts are based on
estamates about Russia’s high economic growth rate in 2007, as well
as on results of surveys in the US and Russia, according to which
Armenians working in these countries will increase their financial
transfers to relatives in Armenia.

In the opinion of T. Sargsian, the fact that the laws on migrant
workers were made stricter in Russia will not have an impact on the
amounts of remittances sent from this country to Armenia. He did not
rule out an inflow of remittances from Iran, Lebanon and Syria. He
mentioned that natural persons from these countries made non-regular
monetary transfers in 2005-2006 in connection with certain political
events.

According to T. Sargsian, the CBA will continue removing dollars from
the currency market in order to neutralize the effect of such an amount
of remittances (mainly of dollars) on inflation. The CBA will use the
dollars attracted to issue and place its own additional bonds. In his
words, in 2006, the price of removing excessive liquidity in this way
was 5% of the bonds’ value. "We pay this price for ensuring financial
stability," T. Sargsian said.