Author: Dabaghian Diana

WINNERS OF YEREVAN PRESS CLUB 2006 AWARD DETERMINED
YEREVAN, JULY 19, NOYAN TAPAN. Senik Kara-Poghosian, author and
announcer of the “Proffootball” program of the Shoghakat TV company,
“Yerevan” literary journal, Nver Mnatsakanian, author and anchor of
the “Herankar” program of the Shant TV company, Hovhannes Yeranian,
cultural commentator of the Yerkir newspaper, author of the Gzrotsner
(“Drawers”) program of the Public TV company of Armenia and Ashot
Gazazian, Armenian correspondent of the Deutsche Welle radio station,
for his book “Under the Shadow of the Sun”, were awarded prizes of
the Yerevan Press Club 2006.
As Boris Navasardian, President of the Yerevan Press Club mentioned
during the July 18 award giving ceremony, the results of the annual
competition show that the professional level of the journalists
raised during the last 15 years. At the same time he mentioned that
the split of the juornalist field, adherence of the journalists to
different political camps and the implementation of orders are among
the serious problems of journalism.
Touching upon the facts of violences and pursuits towards the
journalists, B.Navasardian said that they decreased during the last
years as, in his words, “the journalists themselves did not provide
occasions to pursuit them.” However, the President of the Yerevan
Press Club did not exclude that such facts would be registered during
the coming elections.

Only 2-3 per cent of Azerbaijanis Read Newspapers Regularly
Baku Today, Azerbaijan
July 18 2006
Turan 18/07/2006 21:43
“Puls” center conducted poll of people in 12 cities and 15 regions
among various social groups. It was revealed that only 2.8% respondents
regularly read newspapers, 70.8% do not read them or read them very
seldom; 29% say that newspapers are not interesting; 21% do not have
money to buy newspapers, 9.2% complain of the absence news- stalls,
and 7% do not show an interest in newspapers.
This information was released today during a press-conference led by
the editor-in-chief of “Gun Sahar” newspaper Arif Aliyev.
In Baku 60% do not read newspaper, and in regions – 90%; 13.4%
respondent state they read several newspapers, and 70-80% do not read
newspapers at all. Most respondents read newspapers in news-stalls,
and only 3.5% subscribe to newspapers. Most of readers are interested
in analytical and critical materials. Materials on Karabakh are on the
first place on their rating (53%), international and other subjects
are on the second place. According to 30% respondents, if newspapers
are interesting they will be readable. 66% say that people do not
read newspapers due to the population’s low solvency.
The poll was conducted at the order of the “Newspaper Consortium,”
which was created at the end of last year and includes “Gun
Sahar,” “Echo,” “Ayna-Zerkalo,” “525-Gazet,” “Azadlig,” and “Yeni
Musavat”.-05C04-

G-8 calls to prevent acts of nuclear terrorism
ITAR-TASS News Agency
July 17, 2006 Monday 11:27 AM EST
ST.PETERSBURG, July 17 — Leaders of the Group of Eight have called
on the states to join the International Convention on prevention of
nuclear terrorism and the amended Convention on the Physical Protection
of nuclear material, said a report circulated by the Group for nuclear
and physical security at the G-8 summit on Monday.
The document contains an appeal to the world community to create a
global regime of nuclear and physical security aimed at prevention
of acts of nuclear terrorism.
The problem of security of the Chernobyl nuclear power station was
specified in a particular clause. The Group of Eight has confirmed
its intention to render assistance to Ukraine in the realization
of projects aimed at improving security standards of the Chernobyl
nuclear power station and creating a new confinement zone.
The document expressed confidence in the EBRD (European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development) for managing the Chernobyl Shelter Fund
and funds of the nuclear security Account. The Ukrainian government and
EBRD should take all the necessary measures for promoting timely and
effective fulfillment of these programs in the coordinated framework,
the document said.
The Group of Eight will continue work for enhancing international
control over sources of radiation, including imports and exports.
The document also contains an appeal to Armenia to allocate funds and
make the necessary modernization to ensure safe use of the Armenian
nuclear power station until it stopped operating.

DEVELOPMENT AID CAN BE GEARED TOWARD CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN ABKHAZIA
Monday, July 17, 2006
By Vladimir Socor
Georgia is preparing to exercise its sovereign right to demand the
termination of Russian “peacekeeping” operations on its territory and
their replacement with genuine international peacekeeping missions.
Concurrently, Tbilisi is redoubling efforts to unfreeze not the
conflicts as such (these are not and never were “frozen”) but rather
to unfreeze the frozen negotiations toward political settlements
in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Within this context, the role of
international donor agencies and the functions of development aid in
the secessionist enclaves requires some overall political rethinking
and adjustment of goals on the ground.
Until now, those agencies and aid programs have basically aimed
to bring at least minimal improvements to living conditions in
the conflict-torn enclaves. Rarely, if ever, was Western-funded
development assistance conceived as a tool for advancing political
resolution of the conflicts, let alone resolution on terms consistent
with Western interests. This approach should and can now begin to
change by correlating development aid programs more directly with
the goals of conflict resolution. Free from Russian influence on
their decisions, donor agencies are potentially valuable vehicles
for promoting those goals.
A new approach along these lines can now be tested in Abkhazia. For
example, international development aid can contribute significantly
to the rebuilding and resumption of operations of the railroad
section between the Psou and Inguri Rivers. A linchpin in the pre-1991
Trans-Caucasus railroad, that section was destroyed in the 1992-93 war
and awaits reconstruction in a package deal that would also provide
for the Georgian refugees’ safe and orderly return to the Gali
district. Russia’s state railways company lays claim to operating
that section once it is restored.
To ensure politically neutral operation of that section, donor
agencies could facilitate the formation of a Georgian-Abkhaz joint
technical group. Georgian managers and personnel who ran that railroad
prior to 1992 were turned into refugees as a result of the conflict,
and the relevant technical documentation is in Tbilisi since those
events. Having the railroad operated by a joint Georgian-Abkhaz
group is clearly preferable to a Russian takeover that would advance
Abkhazia’s de facto incorporation into Russia. Moreover, Russian
operation of that railroad would probably involve deployment of
railway troops — a specifically Russian institution that handles
many aspects of civilian transport — to Abkhazia on the excuse of
protecting that railroad. Meanwhile, an example of Georgian-Abkhaz
technical cooperation exists at the Inguri hydroelectric power plant,
jointly and continuously operated since 1994.
Donor agencies’ strategy to promote small-scale private-sector
projects particularly in farming can also be adjusted to advance the
resolution of this conflict. In the Ochamchire district, for example,
such assistance can be channeled to joint farming projects that would
be undertaken by local Abkhaz residents and Georgian refugees who
would be returning to their homes in that district. Such projects
can promote the goal of reversing the ethnic cleansing of Georgians
— a goal that can be achieved gradually and with proper economic
incentives to both sides and is central to a political resolution
of the conflict. Also in the Ochamchire district there is need for
an inventory of Georgian-owned houses, preparatory to their eventual
rebuilding to accommodate any returning refugees.
In the Gali district, Georgian refugees have returned in fairly
large numbers to their homes in an unorganized movement that the
Abkhaz authorities could not stop. However, Abkhaz authorities
are subjecting those Georgians to various forms of discrimination
and intimidation. Those problems — as well as organized crime
in the Gali and Ochamchire districts — can best be handled by
an international police force of several hundred, not by military
peacekeeping troops, let alone by Russian Army “peacekeepers.” For
their part, donor agencies are well placed to support the provision
of Georgian-language education in Gali for the returnees’ children,
whom the Abkhaz authorities currently deprive of that right. It
is also clearly necessary at this stage to support the creation of
community representation of refugees who returned to Gali.
Ongoing demographic trends in Abkhazia would also seem to warrant an
adjustment in the aid focus and a more direct correlation of assistance
programs to conflict-resolution goals. According to broadly convergent
estimates by all sides involved, the number of resident ethnic Abkhaz
has dropped to between 50,000 and 60,000 (from an estimated 90,000
a decade ago) through social hardships and emigration; the number of
resident Armenians has slowly but steadily increased to some 55,000
and may rise further, mainly through immigration from Russia’s nearby
Krasnodar krai, where the authorities condone harassment of Armenians;
and the number of returning Georgians in Abkhazia has reached some
55,000, most of them in the Gali district.
These numbers and these proportions suggest that the political as
well as the aid dimensions of conflict resolution and post-conflict
reconstruction are eminently manageable at the local level. By
the same token they underscore the need to face up to the Russian
challenge at the international level, first and foremost by pressing
for withdrawal of Russian troops to clear the way for local processes
toward political settlement.

Next Echelon with Russian Materiel Sent to Armenia from Georgia
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.07.2006 16:35 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The next rail echelon with Russian military equipment
is sent to Armenia from Georgia. The echelon of 9 cars with property
of the 12th Russian military base in Batumi is heading for Gyumri,
Armenia. The Georgian Defense Ministry reported that heavy machinery
is still at the Batumi base and it will be withdrawn gradually. The
withdrawal of the military equipment and property is held in line
with the agreement between the Georgian and Russian Defense Ministries
signed in Sochi March 31, 2006.

Int’l Freedom of Expression eXpress – IFEX, Canada
Committee to Protect Journalists – CPJ Press Freedom Online, NY
July 12 2006
Appeals court upholds suspended prison sentence against Hrant Dink
Francais: La Cour de cassation confirme la condamnation de Hrant Dink
a la prison avec sursis
Country/Topic: Turkey
Date: 12 July 2006
Source: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Person(s): Hrant Dink
Target(s): editor(s)
Type(s) of violation(s): sentenced
Urgency: Flash
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders said it was baffled by an
appeals court decision to uphold a six-month suspended prison
sentence against Hrant Dink, managing editor of the weekly “Agos”,
for referring to the 1915 genocide against the Armenians.
On 12 July 2006, Dink was sentenced on appeal in connection with a 13
February 2004 column in “Agos”, for which he was found guilty of
“insulting Turkish identity” under Article 301 of the Criminal Code.
The ethnic Armenian had called on Armenians to “now turn their
attention to the new life offered by an independent Armenia”.
“We are surprised by this conviction which is particularly shocking
for the entire profession,” said the press freedom organisation.
“This ruling will strengthen the climate of self-censorship on
subjects which are seen as sensitive by the Turkish state.”
“Turkey’s criminal law is among Europe’s most repressive towards
freedom of expression. It is unacceptable that criticism of
institutions or offences of opinion should be liable to prison
sentences. The Criminal Code, particularly Articles 301 and 125,
should be urgently amended to conform to European standards,” it
added. “Turkey has been condemned at least five times by the European
Court of Human Rights since the start of 2006, for its failure to
respect free expression.”
One of the journalist’s lawyers, Fethiye Cetin, told Reporters
Without Borders that she was waiting to formally receive the court’s
decision so that she could appeal to the European Court of Human
Rights.
Dink is facing up to three years in prison in connection with another
trial in which he is accused of “trying to influence the course of
justice”.

EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT CLOSED
Panorama.am
13:41 07/07/06
The extraordinary session of the National Assembly closed today. The
parliament adopted 17 draft laws, including on judicial system. It
also adopted the law “On alienation of ownership for public and state
needs” which arose discontent of the opposition. Despite of that,
75 parliamentarians voted for the law and only 2 were against. Law
on Insurance was adopted by a unanimous vote.
NA ratified 3 international treaties, including on fight against bird
flue. The treaty envisages funding of $6.593 mln with $4.8 running
to the ministry of agriculture and the rest to ministry of health.
Besides, Armenia will get Japanese grant of $850 thousand for the
same cause. /Panorama.am/

PATRIARCH OF ARMENIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN STEPANAKERT
Lragir.am
08 July 06
The delegation of the Armenian Catholic Church led by Patriarch Nerses
Peter XIX is in Stepanakert.
On July 8 the members of the Catholic Church will found the Shushi
Museum of Cultural Research and Reconstruction after Jacques
Poghosyan. Before that, a scientific conference and an exposition
devoted to the findings of the research of the historical and cultural
heritage of Shushi were held at Artsakh State University.

TREND, Azerbaijan
July 8 2007
Cooperation of Azerbaijan with NATO was highly assessed
Source: Trend
Author: R.Abdullayev
08.07.2006
On July 7, the two-day international seminar of NATO “Implementation
of Partner Action Plan against terrorism (PAP-T): participation
and contribution of partner-countries to operations of NATO against
terrorism” was completed in Baku. The meeting brought together 50
representatives from 32 countries around the world, Trend reports
with reference to the public relations center of the National Security
Ministry of Azerbaijan.
The minister of national security of Azerbaijan lieutenant-general
Eldar Mahmudov delivered a speech at the conference, noting that the
effective cooperation between NATO and Azerbaijan has been continuing
for more than 12 years. Besides, he pointed out that the appearance
of Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev at the final session of NATO
Parliamentary Assembly is the indicator of the strengthening and
expansion of the cooperation of sides.
Mahmudov highly assessed the Individual Cooperation Action Plan of
Azerbaijan and NATO, which was confirmed according to the order of
Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev dated August 3, 2005. Irrespective
of the continuation of the aggression by Armenian side against
Azerbaijan, social-economic development allows to strengthen the
role of official Baku in the regional and international arena. All
these permitted to strengthen the position of Baku in the settlement
of Armenian-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenia should
understand the real situation, told Mahmudov.
The deputy prime minister of Azerbaijan Ali Hasanov greeted the
participants of the seminar on behalf of the Cabinet of Ministers of
Azerbaijan Republic.
The representatives of NATO highly assessed the efforts of Azerbaijan
in organizing the seminar. It was stated that Azerbaijan is an
active participant of the antiterrorism coalition, and the position
of official Baku in this process was highly assessed.
On the second day of the seminar, a video-conference with Headquarter
of the North-Atlantic Alliance was held. During the video-conference,
the NATO secretary general assistant on defense planning John
Chalstone expressed his gratitude to Azerbaijan for highly conducting
the seminar.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT OFFICIALLY WELCOMED BY IRANIAN PRESIDENT
Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
July 5 2006
Visiting Armenian President Robert Kocharyan was officially welcomed
by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Presidential Office
here on Wednesday.
In the welcoming ceremony, the national anthems of the two countries
were played and the two presidents reviewed a guard of honor.
The ceremony will be followed by a private session between the two
presidents.
The first round of official talks of the two countries’ delegations
will be held this afternoon. The talks will be presided by the two
presidents.
President Kocharyan arrived here at the head of a high-ranking
politico-economic delegation for a two-day official visit this morning.
On hand to welcome the Armenian president and his entourage upon
their arrival at Mehrabad International Airport here was Iranian
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, Minister of Energy Armen
Movsisyan and Deputy Foreign Minister Armen Kirakosian are accompanying
the president in this visit.
The Armenian president, during his two-day stay here, is scheduled
to hold separate meetings with senior Iranian officials including
Foreign Minister Mottaki.