Author: Chatinian Lara

ARMENIAN AND NKR DEFENCE MINISTRIES REFUTE INFORMATION ABOUT SKIRMISH
WITH AZERI MILITARY FORCES SUPPOSEDLY OCCURRED THE DAY BEFORE
YEREVAN, MARCH 29. ARMINFO. Armenian Defence Ministry refutes a
regular information of Azeri mass media about a skirmish supposedly
occurred the day before. Ministry’s press-secretary, colonel Seyran
Shakhsuvaryan stated ARMINFO that the information does not represents
the facts and continues a propagandistic campaign developed by the
official Baku.
NKR Defence Ministry also refuted this information. To note, TURAN
Baku agency spread today an information with accusations against
Armenian and NKR military forces in violation of armistice regime,
referring to the press-service of Azeri Defence Ministry. According to
the information, the skirmishes supposedly occurred on the contact
line of Armenian and Azeri military forces in the region of Ijevan
(RA) and Ghazakh (AR), as well as on the contact line of NKR and Azeri
military forces on the Aghdam direction. -r-

Turkish Press
March 30 2005
Hurriyet
GUL: `THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE WAS INVENTED BY THE DIASPORA’
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with his visiting Swiss
counterpart Micheline Calmy-Rey. After their talks, Gul told a joint
press conference, Gul said that the two countries enjoyed good
relations and that that visit would help to boost these ties.
Stressing that they had comprehensively discussed the Armenian
genocide allegations, Gul called the allegations groundless
accusations put forward by the Armenian diaspora to justify its
ongoing existence. `We are confident in ourselves, and so have opened
all archives to everybody for examination,’ added Gul. In the
evening, he hosted a dinner for Calmy-Rey and his accompanying
delegation. /Hurriyet/

Les Echos , France
29 mars 2005
Festival du film des droits de l’Homme
Trois salles parisiennes accueillent les quelque 40 films réunis par
le 3e Festival international du film des droits de l’Homme, depuis le
23 mars. Il met à l’affiche, sous le parrainage de Charles Berling,
qui sera présent aux soirées d’ouverture et de clôture, une sélection
de documentaires, pour la plupart inédits, produits en 2004, certains
en compétition, qui portent notamment sur le recours aux enfants
soldats dans les conflits armés, sur les lieux de pauvreté en France,
et sur le génocide arménien. La manifestation propose aussi des
oeuvres de fiction inédites, et organise, après les projections, des
débats en présence des réalisateurs et des organisations humanitaires
(jusqu’au 5 avril, à Paris à l’Action Christine Odéon,
01.43.29.11.30, et au Bastille, 01.43.07.48.60, à Saint-Denis à
l’Ecran, 01.49.33.66.77).

Upcoming votes in ex-Soviet nations gain urgency after ‘revolutions’
Agence France Presse — English
March 27, 2005 Sunday 11:46 AM GMT
MOSCOW March 27 — Georgia, Ukraine, now Kyrgyzstan — these ex-Soviet
nations all had longtime pro-Russian regimes swept out after protests
over disputed polls. Against this background, the electoral calendar in
former Soviet nations is being carefully watched in Moscow and abroad.
Herewith a list of elections (in chronological order) in the countries
that comprise the Commonwealth of Indpendent States (CIS), which
includes all former Soviet republics except for the Baltic States.
REVOLUTION DREAMING?
Most CIS countries have yet to witness the kind of massive protests
that swept through Georgia in November 2003, Ukraine late last year
and Kyrgyzstan last week.
AZERBAIJAN
Parliamentary: November 2005
Presidential: October 2008
The oil-rich nation of eight million on the western coast of the
Caspian Sea is currently ruled by Ilham Alieyv, who succeeded his
father Heidar to the presidency in October 2003.
The leadership has been heavily criticized for stiffling dissent,
both by jailing opposition members and muzzling an independent press.
The recent murder of an opposition journalist unleashed a wave of
protests in the capital.
Observers say it could be ripe for a revolution, fed in part by the
fact that half the population lives below the poverty line despite
the country’s wealth of natural resources. Demonstrations that flared
after the younger Aliyev’s election were put down by riot police and
left at least two people dead, dozens injured and nearly 200
arrested.
BELARUS
Parliamentary: fall 2008
Presidential: 2006 (exact date yet to be determined)
The small agricultural republic of 10 million sandwiched between
Russia, the Baltics, Ukraine and Poland has been ruled by Alexader
Lukashenko since 1994. His hardline policies have earned him the
moniker of being Europe’s last dictator and have seen the United
States and much of western Europe refuse him entry over his poor
human rights effort.
The nation has a lively, albeit underground opposition, including the
Zubr youth movement. Lukashenko has repeatedly warned that he would
harshly react to any attempts at revolution.
TAJIKISTAN
Parliamentary: February 2010
Presidential: November 2006
The impoverished mountainous Central Asian nation of seven million on
the northern border of Afghanistan has been headed by Emomali
Rakhmonov since 1992.
The opposition has a tiny representation in parliament and the
nation’s remaining opposition newspapers were closed down last year
for tax infractions.
Any revolutionary fervor in the nation is held in check by memories
of a brutal civil war that raged in the country between 1992 and
1997, which resulted in up to 150,000 deaths.
KAZAKHSTAN
Parliamentary: October 2009
Presidential: December 2006
The oil-rich nation of 15 million on the northeastern edge of the
Caspian Sea has been ruled by Nursultan Nazarbayev since 1991.
Nazarbayev has governed his large steppe nation with a strong hand.
Many opposition media have been closed down and opposition figures
jailed.
Although the Nazarbayev family has faced criticism over its
disproporational influence in the economy, overall the nation is
better off than Azerbaijan, a fellow oil-rich country across the
Caspian Sea, with 26 percent of the population living below the
poverty line.
UZBEKISTAN
Parliamentary: December 2009
Presidential: January 2007
The landlocked nation of 26 million on the northern border of
Afghanistan has been ruled with an iron fist by Islam Karimov since
1990.
Karimov’s relentless campaign against radical Islamists has landed
many practicing Muslims in jail, feeding discontent with his rule
along with the nation’s poverty.
The regime has been accused of massive human rights violations,
including widespread torture by police and in prisons. Karimov is
likely to move harshly against any revolutionary attempts at his
rule.
RUSSIA
Parliamentary: December 2007
Presidential: March 2008
The former superpower of 150 million people has been ruled by an
ex-KGB colonel since New Year’s Eve 1999-2000, when Russia’s first
post-Soviet leader Boris Yeltsin resigned abruptly, leaving his
relatively obscure prime minister Vladimir Putin in charge.
Putin, who was elected to his first term three months later and won
reelection to a second and final mandate in March 2004, has turned
increasingly more authoritarian during his years in power, moving
against independent television and critical political opponents.
Observers say any revolutionary attempt in Russia would be met by
fierce resistance by members of security services, both acting and
alumni, who have come to positions of power under Putin’s watch.
ARMENIA
Parliamentary: 2007 (exact date to be announced)
Presidential: 2008 (exact date to be announced)
The poor country of three million has been ruled by Robert Kocharian
since 1998.
It has traditionally enjoyed strong ties with Moscow, which it sees
as partly a security guarantee against its regional rival Azerbaijan
to the east (with which it fought a war over the contested
Nagorno-Karabakh enclave after the Soviet collapse) and Turkey to the
west.
TURKMENISTAN
Parliamentary: 2009
Presidential: —
The gas-rich nation of nearly five million on the eastern edge of the
Caspian Sea has been dominated by authoritarian Saparmurat Niyazov
since 1985, with his first election to the post of president coming
in 1990.
The flamboyant Niyazov has had himself announced president for life,
though he has voiced plans to hold a presidential election in 2007,
and refers to himself as Turkmenbashi (father of all Turkmens).
Statues to himself dot most cities and villages, the biggest cult of
personality on former Soviet soil since Josef Stalin died in 1053.
The country has no public opposition and no independent press.
POST-REVOLUTION
Elections in the countries that have undergone their revolutions will
be the first tests for the regimes who replaced the Moscow-friendly
authorities.
KYRGYZSTAN
Parliamentary: date to be determined
Presidential: June 26 2006
The small mountainous nation of five million on China’s western edge
will choose its next leader in June, after veteran president Askar
Akayev, who had ruled the nation since 1990, fled the country on
March 24 after protestors overran the main seat of government in the
capital.
Akayev was considered the most liberal of rulers in ex-Soviet Central
Asia. The former opposition chiefs who have assumed interim power
have vowed to continue his Russia-friendly policies.
UKRAINE
Parliamentary: November 2005
Presidential: October 2008
The nation of 48 million people on Russia’s eastern border swept out
a Moscow-friendly regime in favor of a pro-Western leader, Viktor
Yushchenko, during last year’s “orange revolution,” the peaceful
protests after a presidential election.
As part of a compromise that ended the tense standoff between the
then opposition and the regime, Ukraine’s constitution was changed,
transferring many presidential powers to parliament.
Thus next year’s parliamentary elections will be a crucial test for
the “orange revolution.” Yushchenko won the presidency during
subsequent elections held on December 26 with 52 percent of the vote.
GEORGIA
Parliamentary: 2008
Presidential: 2009
The poor nation of nearly five million people on the eastern coast of
the Black Sea peace swept out a Soviet-era regime of Eduard
Shevardnadze during the “rose revolution,” peaceful protests sparked
by a parliamentary poll in November 2003.
Mikhail Saakashvili was elected in a landslide with nearly 97 percent
of the vote
MOLDOVA
Parliamentary: 2009
Presidential: elected by parliament
The nation of nearly five million sandwiched between Ukraine and
Romania is considered Europe’s most impoverished country and has been
ruled by Vladimir Voronin since 2001.
In the months ahead of this year’s parliamentary elections the ruling
Communist party abandoned its Moscow-friendly platform and preached a
pro-Western course, leading to quips that the revolution in Moldova
occurred imperceptibly.

Kyrgyz unrest delays military exercises with Russia, ex-Soviet republics
Turkish Press
March 26 2005
DUSHANBE – Joint military exercises between Russia and several
ex-Soviet republics, which were due to take place in Kyrgyzstan
next week, have been postponed for a week and moved to neighboring
Tajikistan, officials said here Saturday.
The exercises were due to take place on March 29 in Kyrgyzstan
between the members of a collective security cooperation treaty
that was signed in 1992 by Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
“Because of events in Kyrgyzstan, the training will take place on April
2 in Tajikistan,” an official at Tajikistan’s defense ministry said.
The security treaty calls for a united effort by its members in the
fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime.
Kyrgyzstan’s veteran Soviet-era regime was toppled on Thursday after
thousands of opposition supporters overran the Central Asian nation’s
main seat of power.

PRESS RELEASE
March 24, 2005
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:
Farewell Reception for Ambassador Arman Kirakossian Held at the
Embassy of Armenia
Hundreds of well-wishers came to the Embassy of Armenia from as
far away as Massachusetts, Michigan, and Indiana to bid farewell
to Armenia’s Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Arman Kirakossian
at a special reception on March 18, 2005. Ambassador Kirakossian’s
more than 5-years-long tenure as Armenia’s top envoy in Washington,
DC has come to an end, and he will soon depart for Yerevan to continue
his diplomatic service at the Foreign Ministry.
Among the guests were Ambassador’s senior counterparts from U.S. State
Department and other U.S. government agencies, including Chief of
Protocol Ambassador Donald Ensenat and State Department’s Special
Coordinator for NIS Assistance, Co-Chair of U.S.-Armenia Task Force
Thomas Adams, Ambassador Kirakossian’s personal friends among the
Chiefs of Missions and other representatives of Washington-based
foreign diplomatic corps, prominent Armenian-Americans, including
Prelate Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Diocesan Legate Bishop Vicken
Aykazian, Connecticut State Representative John C. Geragosian,
Majority Caucus Chair of the Connecticut General Assembly,
representatives of the Armenian-American political, cultural, and
educational organizations, and members of the Armenian community of
Greater Washington.

Today, Azerbaijan
March 26 2005
Meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan is expected in
nearest future
25 March 2005 [17:05] – Today.Az
The Meeting of the Armenian president Robert Kocharian with the
Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev is expected in the nearest future.
The agency Trend reports, the minister of foreign affairs of Armenia
Vardan Oskanian said to journalists.
He indicated two options of meeting are possible: within frames of
non- formal summit meeting of the heads of CIS in Moscow, 9 May or
within frames of summit of the states of the Council of Europe in
Warsaw, 16 May. V.Oskanian informed, “the presidents have their own
agenda”. “The ministers of foreign affairs introduced their own
corrections on some issues, and the presidents are to try finding
solutions on other issues”, said V.Oskanian. At that the MFA of RA
added, meantime there were no specific agreements about meetings of
the ministers of foreign affairs of both states and necessity of such
meeting may be would be non-relevant.
The next round of negotiations of the MFA heads of Armenia and
Azerbaijan Vardan Oskanian and Elmar Mamedyarov, scheduled 2 March in
Prague, was postponed due to illness of V.Oskanian. The last meeting
of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan was held 15 September
2004 in Astana within frames of summit of the heads of CIS. (“ÀRKÀ”)
URL:
–Boundary_(ID_ajS5e6rXykSu+jCYUEhxEg)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Putin speaks in Yerevan on importance of multilateral contacts
RTR Russia TV, Moscow
25 Mar 05
[Presenter] We have just received footage from Yerevan, where Vladimir
Putin is on a visit. In the morning, the Russian president arrived at
the Armenian president’s official residence. He was met at the entrance
personally by Robert Kocharyan. After that, the two leaders proceeded
to the Golden Hall in the presidential palace. At this moment, the
presidents are having one-to-one talks. Opening the meeting, Kocharyan
stated that a visit by head of the Russian state had always been a
significant event in the life of Armenia. Putin noted positive trends
in the development of relations between our countries in political,
as well as economic spheres and stressed the special significance of
the launch of the Year of Russia in Armenia.
[Putin] I am pleased to note that we maintain regular contacts – not
only at the state level, but also between our experts and specialists,
as well as businessmen. The development of economic cooperation is also
progressing at a good pace. Today’s event is also extremely important,
because practice shows that the events of this kind organized with
our other partners bring very positive results as a rule. This affects
not only the humanitarian sphere, but also sets good foundations for
cooperation in the sphere of economy and creates a suitable atmosphere
for the development of political relations as well. We are counting
very much on this to happen in this case too.

VIKTOR DALLAKIAN: “FORCES SUPPORTING ROBERT KOCHARIAN SHOULD LEAVE
TOGETHER WITH HIM”
YEREVAN, MARCH 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The coalition supporting Robert
Kocharian from political point of view assumed the responsibility
for all the crimes and failures committed in Armenia after the power
shift in 1998, Viktor Dallakian, Secretary of the Ardarutiun (Justice)
faction, declared on March 22 in NA. According to him, supporting
Kocharian and being against power shift for self-interested reasons the
ruling coalition is to some extent responsible for the October 27 1999
terrorist act and 22 non-disclosed political murders, coming to power
through falsifications, robbery of population’s property in the form
of privatization, general corruption and bribery, existence of clan
economic and political system, unification of criminal authorities
and criminal world, violence in relation to the peaceful action early
in the April 13 morning, foreign political failures and international
pressure around Nagorno Karabakh. “Those assisting Robert Kocharian try
to isolate themselves from the criminal regime for different purposes
and on different occasions realizing that the moment of retribution
will come,” the speaker declared. Considering such attempts immoral
Dallakian said that “those running away from the ship, which is going
down, should realize that they will drown together with their captain.”

“FORCIBLE ATTITUDE TO AUTHORITIES APPEARED ON SEEDS SOWN BY
AUTHORITIES THEMSELVES,” ASHOT MANUCHARIAN COMMENTS ON SITUATION IN
KYRGHYZSTAN
YEREVAN, MARCH 22, NOYAN TAPAN. “I appreciate the courage of those
who realize the will of their people,” Ashot Manucharian, Political
Secretary of the Union of Socialist Forces and Intelligentsia of
Armenia, gave such an estimation to the actions of Kyrghyzian
opposition. Characterizing the complicated post-electoral situation
formed in Kyrghyzstan at present, A.Manucharian said that the level
of general culture of the people of post-Soviet countries and first
of all the educational qualification isn’t in no way retarded and
sometimes is even higher than the same level in many countries of
America and Europe. “So, the attempts to establish medieval feudal
orders by pro-governmental criminal groups in these countries are
doomed to failure. It’s senseless to try to stop the wheel of
historic development and all those trying to do this are doomed to
failure in spite of all their force, political power and control over
the economic levers.” According to him, the attempt of establishment
of a medieval system of government calls forth reciprocal actions
among the peoples of post-Soviet states. The ultimate goal of the
actions is to liquidate the inacceptable orders thrusted upon them As
for conflicts between the people who rose against the authorities and
p=. ower representatives in Kyrghyzstan, Ashot Manucharian declared:
“The cruele= r actions the authorities carry out the crueler the
reciprocal actions of pe= ople become. When we face a forcible
attitude to the authorities we shouldn’= t ask about the reason of
such actions, these are the sprouts that appeared=20= on the seeds
sown by the authorities themselves.”