Author: Ekmekjian Janet

Azerbaijan, Turkey said impeding TV transmission in Karabakh
Regnum, Moscow
28 Jul 05
Nagornyy Karabakh has been taking measures to improve the TV and radio
transmission. A few days ago, residents of the villages in the north
of Berdadzor subdistrict of Nagornyy Karabakh’s Susa District obtained
an opportunity to watch programmes of the first [TV] channels of
Russia and Armenia. It has become possible due to joint efforts of the
NKR [Nagornyy Karabakh Republic] government and Artsakhkap [Nagornyy
Karabakh communication] closed-type joint stock company.
The director of the Artsakhkap closed-type joint stock company, Suren
Mirzoyan, has said that these villages have been facing difficulties
with receiving TV programmes since the Soviet period. Transmitters
have been installed to solve the problem. The work is being carried
out on upgrading the NKR’s main TV station.
It has been planned to install satellite transmitters in Shaumyan
District [part of Goranboy District] as well. There are many problems
related to the geographical location of these districts. However,
Mirzoyan said that signals from Azerbaijan and Turkey mostly impede
the normal transmission.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Defence Ministry reviews troops training in 2005
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
23 Jul 05
The Armenian Defence Ministry held a regular session on 18
July. Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan opened the session.
Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces,
Maj-Gen Kamo Kochunts made a report on the results of the 2005
academic year, the combat readiness of the army and the tasks for the
second half of 2005. He noted the positive steps that have been made
in training of the operational and command personnel.
Maj-Gen Kochunts also pointed out at the shortage of military quarters
in the units and the lack of Armenian textbooks for training the
command staff.
Speaking about inspections of the units, the head of the military
training department of the Armenian Defence Ministry, Maj-Gen Murad
Sarkisyan, voiced his concern about the low level of firing exercises
in some units. He also noted that the command staff training programme
requires reforms.
Chief of the General Staff Col-Gen Mikael Arutyunyan pointed out that
the combat readiness of generals and officers is now higher than it
was in 1995 and 1996.
Summarizing the results of the session, Sarkisyan stressed that it was
important to establish strict control over the command staff training
and exercises in the units.
[Video shows the session]

Military Spending Increase Could Finance New Karabakh War
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
July 25, 2005
QUBA, AZERBAIJAN — Former Soviet Azerbaijan can reconquer the contested
Nagorno Karabakh region
at any time because of its expanded military budget, Azerbaijan’s President
Ilham Aliyev said on July 25.
“This year defense spending has grown by 76 percent, we will create a
powerful army and will be able to liberate our lands at any time,” Aliyev
said during a visit to Quba, a city in northern Azerbaijan.
Aliyev acknowledged that negotiations with Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh
chaired by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were
important, but complained that they have “not brought results.”
Azerbaijan will spend $300 million (248 million euros) on its armed forces
in 2005, Aliyev said earlier.
The oil-producing nation increased defense spending earlier this year after
a windfall in the national budget due to higher-than-expected oil prices.
Oil revenues are expected to further increase after a massive U.S.-backed
oil pipeline starts pumping later this year.
The four-billion-dollar Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline could generate as much
as $160 billion (133 billion euro) in oil revenues to Azerbaijan over the
next 30 years, according to Britain’s BP which heads the consortium running
the pipeline.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a war for control over the mainly
ethnic-Armenian Nagorno Karabakh enclave in the early 1990s.
Armenian forces took control of the region and seven others by the war’s
end
in 1994, but its status has yet to be settled and it is still
internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Some 25,000 people were killed and a further one million displaced as a
result of the Karabakh war.

ARMAN MELIKIAN: TODAY IT IS IMPORTANT TO CREATE ATMOSPHERE OF NEGOTIATIONS
YEREVAN, JULY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. “We separate the issue of the NKR
status from the issue of the conflict settlement. We should speak
about the necessity of liquidation of war consequences, and that
should be done in the context of internationally recognized norms of
securing the human rights,” Arman Melikian, the NKR Minister of
Foreign Affairs stated at the meeting which took place at the July 21
National Press Club. According to him, no great changes have taken
place in the process of negotiation on peaceful settlement of the
Karabakh conflict. Besides, Arman Melikian affirmed that the
negotiation process is significantly activized, and highly estimated
the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen’s efforts. As for the participation
of the NKR in the negotiations, the Minister mentioned that the
Karabakh party is ready to participate in the negotiations but does
not consider that participation an end in itself: “For us it is
important to make sure that those negotiations are aimed to concrete
results.” At the same time, he emphasized that the NKR gets the whole
necessary information about the process of the negotiations. He
disproved the news about the presence of disagreements between the
Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh in the issue
of the peaceful settlement of the conflict: “There is no need that we
agree with the RA authorities around every issue, but it is
unequivocal that our interests coincide, and we reach an agreement as
a result of discussions on any theme.” As for the information appeared
in the press about holding a referendum in the NKR, return of
territories, possibility of Azeri refugees’ return, Arman Melikian
stated that just the Azeri sources are the reason of such “leakages”:
“Those are usually news from unknown sources, we can not affirm them.”
According to the NKR Foreign Minister, today there is one issue that
the Co-Chairmen and the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan attempt
to solve: that is the necessity of the creation of a “negotiation
atmosphere.” “Other issues will be discussed only after that, it is
very important to reach such an atmosphere as it is impossible to lead
negotiations and reach an agreement without it. It is another case
that positions of the parties are significantly differrent,” Arman
Melikian stated. As for the distribution of peace-keepers on the
conflict zone, he mentioned that Nagorno Karabakh prefers to provide
security itself and prefers not to see foreign forces in which there
is no necessity.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BANKS – PARTICIPANTS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM TO BE
AMMOUNCED IN LATE AUTUMN
YEREVAN, JULY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. Staring late 2005, the KFW Bank
(Germany) will implement in Armenia a program on renewable energy
development to be financed by the German government. The program
envisages credits for the operating, half completed and new
hydroelectric power stations. According to the Armenian representative
of KFW Karapet Gevorgian, the program advisors will arrive in Armenia
in November to develop jointly with the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA)
the criteria for choosing banks – participants of the program and
organize the competition of banks. K. Gevorgian said that KFW Bank
will allocate a total of 7.5 mln euros for the purpose of providing
long-term credits for small hydro power stations. Out of the indicated
sum, 6 mln euros will be given as a concessional loan (carrying a
0.75% interest rate and repayable over 40 years), and 1.5 mln euros –
as a grant. With the aim of implementing the program, the
German-Armenian Fund-2 will be set up to re-credit the selected
banks-participants with these resources. K. Gevorgian assured that the
repayment terms of the loans provided within the framework of the
program will be longer and their interest rates – lower compared with
those of loans given to other spheres. The hydro power station
together with its infrastructures, as well as other property of the
owner may be put in pledge. However, in order to get a loan, the
recipient’s investment must make up at least 30% of the amount
required for restoration. According to K. Gevorgian, as it is a new
crediting sphere for Armenian banks, initially they will work with the
operating hydro power stations that have guaranteed cash flows.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website:
19 July, 2005
ACNIS Examines Armenia’s Energy Security
Yerevan — The Armenian Center for National and International
Studies (ACNIS) today convened a policy roundtable within the
framework of regional economic development and potential mutual
cooperation. The topic, problems and prospects of Armenia’s energy
safety, perspective is fairly urgent, and the meeting brought together
those in charge of the sector, experts, independent researchers,
and media representatives.
ACNIS research coordinator Stiopa Safarian greeted the capacity
audience with opening remarks. “Within the complex of national
security, the energy component has an undisputable importance
as energy policy touches not only upon important regional and
geopolitical problems but also on the vital interests of the country’s
residents. And no matter how much we rest assured that Armenia is
an electricity-exporting country, its safety still is not adequately
guaranteed because of the many yet unresolved problems in this sector,”
Stiopa Safarian stated.
Presenting Armenia’s conception of energy security and the main avenues
for its policy on the sector’s development, Armenia’s Deputy Energy
Minister Areg Galstian underscored the plans to be implemented by the
year 2025, as well as those which down the road aim to safeguard the
country’s capacity and energy safety. “At the heart of the strategic
plan for the sector’s progressive enhancement there are qualitative
indices: guarantee of energy independence; technologies which economize
energy; usage of domestic resources and alternative energy sources;
and others which have been cultivated by taking global experience into
account,” Galstian said, detailing the activities to be undertaken
in the next five years. The deputy minister also mentioned that the
Iran-Armenia gas line would be put to use within the same time span,
and projects would be brought to life which envisage the following:
raising the safety level of Armenia’s nuclear power plant; gas
supply to the entire; restoration of country; the heat-supply system;
operation of the hydro-electric plant at Meghri and the first reactor
of Yerevan’s thermo-electric plant; modernization of underground gas
storage; and the construction of small hydro-electric plants.
A policy intervention by Levon Yeghiazarian, director general of the
Scientific Research Institute of Energy, encompassed strategic issues
concerning Armenia’s energy security. Yeghiazarian deemed especially
important the necessity to advance concepts that include a database
for normative-technical documents, a development plan for the system,
price formation and tariff policy within the electricity market,
the fuel supply complex, investment programs, and the energy system’s
dependability and seismic safety. However, according to Yeghiazarian,
aside from global problems, all consumers are primarily interested
in the quality of service. “Since the field for legal relationships
between consumer and supplier is largely undeveloped, no one faces
responsibility when our household appliances break down as a result
of high voltage,” Yeghiazarian underlined.
In his address on “The Energy Legislation and European Union
Approaches,” Areg Barseghian, an expert in energy and transport
infrastructures from the Armenian-European Policy and Legal Advice
Center (AEPLAC), pointed out that according to some parameters,
when it comes down to energy safety, Armenia’s legal field does not
meet the requirements of European Union laws. European legislative
acts which regulate markets in the spheres of oil and oil products,
electricity, gas, and nuclear energy are non-existent in Armenia.
“European legislation contains norms that are not defined by Armenia’s
law on energy, because these norms do not refer to the realities in
Armenia,” the expert continued. The incompatibility of the legislation
regulating the energy sector also bears an adverse effect on attempts
to satisfy consumer demand.
Is there any other alternative to the current conception of Armenia’s
energy security? Searching for an answer to this question, economic
policy analyst Gegham Kiurumian reached the conclusion that the
major guarantee for Armenia ‘s safety is hydro-energy development,
to which much attention is not being paid. “It is time to reject an
existence on an account of imported fuel and to put our hopes on our
own resources alone,” the analyst stressed, expressing concern at
the same time regarding insufficient usage of small hydro-electric
plants, solar energy, and other important domestic sources. According
to the figures presented by Kiurumian, Armenia lags behind most when
it comes to the annual amount of electricity supply per capita.
The formal interventions were followed by contributions by Levon
Vardanian from the Ministry of Energy; Edward Aghajanov, an economist
with the Armat Center; Haik Gevorgian, Haikakan Zhamanak daily’s
columnist on economic matters; Robert Kharazian, a member of the Public
Utilities Regulatory Board; independent expert Hrant Baghdasarian;
and many others.
Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS
serves as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy
challenges facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet
world. It also aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic
thinking and a wider understanding of the new global environment. In
2005, the Center focuses primarily on civic education, conflict
resolution, and applied research on critical domestic and foreign
policy issues for the state and the nation.
For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80
or 27-48-18; fax (37410) 52-48-46; or e-mail [email protected] or
[email protected]; or visit

Hungary : false «Chechen refugees” from «Rusmartan»
Kavkaz Center, Turkey
July 18 2005
We appeal to everybody: journalists, independent legal organizations,
our fellow countrymen – respond!
We are refugees from the Chechen Republic . In April, 2002, we were
refused in granting of a refuge and we had to leave. But it is natural,
by prints of fingers, they found out, that Hungary was our first “safe
country” and sent us back. Now we are refused again, in spite of the
fact that we had handed over our passports and birth certificates.
They refused because of: 1). “The application was written too
competently”. 2). “All Chechens are separatists and gangsters”,
including my husband.
At the same time the status of refugees was granted to 6 people,
who ostensibly had arrived from the Chechen Republic . One Slav woman
continuously drank, in turns “married” all Africans, who lived in the
camp, was walking half-naked. When we asked her, why she dishonored
Chechens, she damned us and the whole Chechen Republic together with
us. Now she is in Britain , before departure, drunk, she admitted,
that she had never been in the Chechen Republic . There are also 5
more people – Armenians. All of them told us that they had never been
in the Chechen Republic . They were not asked any question concerning
the Chechen Republic at the interview.
When we were refused, many people, who had lived here for 7-10 years
came up to us and said, that for this time the status of a refugee was
received only by one Chechen woman. She struggled, wrote complaints
and achieved the positive decision. Except for her, for last 7 years
the STATUS of a REFUGEE was not received by ANY CHECHEN. But many
false “Chechens” received it. The most interesting thing is that they
know it well in the immigration service. We talked to one employee,
who admitted it. Except for it we carried out a small investigation
and this is what we have learnt. Before us Chechen Musa lived in
the camp, an invalid with one leg. Some Armenians and Georgians was
received the status of a refugee as “refugees from the Chechen Republic
“. Musa was refused of it. The person with destroyed mentality, after
a contusion, made the protest against this lawlessness as he could,
arranged scandals. He was deprived of meal; he was not let into the
dining room. Somehow he managed to leave for Austria illegally before
he starved to death.
Refugees appeal to a policeman, if they do not know the address of
the reception point in any European country. The greatest, in a day
people are sent to the places for refugees. Here in Hungary , people
are sent to prison. There they spend from 9 months up to 3, 5 years.
They are treated like animals. They are beaten: soldiers (as the prison
is in department of custom police) have beaten one African with feet
to death before the eyes of three children (3, 6 and 9 years old)
and their mother. And one Armenian family was kept in prison for
1, 5 years. According to their stories, there were many Chechens
there. One guy Aslan, as a token of protest, got a little gasoline,
poured it over on himself and set fire. Certainly, they protested
against this lawlessness, therefore they were treated in the worst
way. They said, that when the first aid was approaching the prison,
everybody knew, that soldiers again had beaten Chechens. It happened
in prison Nyrbator. But the same stories can be heard from the people,
who had been set free from other prisons as well.
But such happens not only in prisons, but also here, in the camp for
refugees. On the 20 th of June, 2005 , a refugee from Turk was beaten
by security guards with feet so, that the person became an invalid, he
has an amnesia. He was beaten because he did not understand Hungarian
(!). Next day his neighbor in the room, who had tried to help him to
take a medical document about beatings, also was beaten. People are
offended, humiliated, they can even strike a woman, push her. There is
no sense to complain to the administration. We wrote an application,
collected 38 signatures (there are a little bit more than 100 people
in the camp). All of us were called, threatened to deprive of social
money (2500 HUF = 10 EURO). After that I personally took letters to
Budapest for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the government. 2
months passed, but they have not sent even a formal reply.
I bought from one woman a copy of the police report addressed to
(ATTENTION!): “Alieva Bela” born in 1992; Chechenia; Rusmartan (?!)
(Probably, it means Urus-Martan); her father-Chechen was ostensibly
kidnapped by “Vahhabists” (?!). She was caught in the shop “Tesco”,
city Debrecen , and adventures of this speculator and self-appointed
“Chechen” is one more minus for us, Chechens. Babaev (?!) Ruslan
(his father also a ~SChechen~T) received the status of a refugee
together with them, his real name is Ruben, and he also was arrested
for several times for a theft in shops (…).
Bella for several times asked the name of my son, whether the name
MAGOMED is so rare in the Chechen Republic and if they had lived in
“Rusmartan” for 10 years, she could have heard this name though once.
Also I have copies of their real passports. According to them,
Bella’s mother did not live in Yerevan for only 5 years from her 50,
when she was in prison in Ukraine for swindles.
Everybody, who can give any information, help us with arrival of a
commission, journalists (independent), TV, newspapers, write to us
to the E – MAIL: [email protected]
–Boundary_(ID_ODDg81RbGI63mjdaqd3G0A)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Kavkaz Center, Turkey
July 18 2005
Hungary : false “Chechen refugees” from “Rusmartan”
We appeal to everybody: journalists, independent legal organizations,
our fellow countrymen – respond!
We are refugees from the Chechen Republic . In April, 2002, we were
refused in granting of a refuge and we had to leave. But it is
natural, by prints of fingers, they found out, that Hungary was our
first “safe country” and sent us back. Now we are refused again, in
spite of the fact that we had handed over our passports and birth
certificates.
They refused because of: 1). “The application was written too
competently”. 2). “All Chechens are separatists and gangsters”,
including my husband.
At the same time the status of refugees was granted to 6 people, who
ostensibly had arrived from the Chechen Republic . One Slav woman
continuously drank, in turns “married” all Africans, who lived in the
camp, was walking half-naked. When we asked her, why she dishonored
Chechens, she damned us and the whole Chechen Republic together with
us. Now she is in Britain , before departure, drunk, she admitted,
that she had never been in the Chechen Republic . There are also 5
more people – Armenians. All of them told us that they had never been
in the Chechen Republic . They were not asked any question concerning
the Chechen Republic at the interview.
When we were refused, many people, who had lived here for 7-10 years
came up to us and said, that for this time the status of a refugee
was received only by one Chechen woman. She struggled, wrote
complaints and achieved the positive decision. Except for her, for
last 7 years the STATUS of a REFUGEE was not received by ANY CHECHEN.
But many false “Chechens” received it. The most interesting thing is
that they know it well in the immigration service. We talked to one
employee, who admitted it. Except for it we carried out a small
investigation and this is what we have learnt. Before us Chechen Musa
lived in the camp, an invalid with one leg. Some Armenians and
Georgians was received the status of a refugee as “refugees from the
Chechen Republic “. Musa was refused of it. The person with destroyed
mentality, after a contusion, made the protest against this
lawlessness as he could, arranged scandals. He was deprived of meal;
he was not let into the dining room. Somehow he managed to leave for
Austria illegally before he starved to death.
Refugees appeal to a policeman, if they do not know the address of
the reception point in any European country. The greatest, in a day
people are sent to the places for refugees. Here in Hungary , people
are sent to prison. There they spend from 9 months up to 3, 5 years.
They are treated like animals. They are beaten: soldiers (as the
prison is in department of custom police) have beaten one African
with feet to death before the eyes of three children (3, 6 and 9
years old) and their mother. And one Armenian family was kept in
prison for 1, 5 years. According to their stories, there were many
Chechens there. One guy Aslan, as a token of protest, got a little
gasoline, poured it over on himself and set fire. Certainly, they
protested against this lawlessness, therefore they were treated in
the worst way. They said, that when the first aid was approaching the
prison, everybody knew, that soldiers again had beaten Chechens. It
happened in prison Nyrbator. But the same stories can be heard from
the people, who had been set free from other prisons as well.
But such happens not only in prisons, but also here, in the camp for
refugees. On the 20 th of June, 2005 , a refugee from Turk was beaten
by security guards with feet so, that the person became an invalid,
he has an amnesia. He was beaten because he did not understand
Hungarian (!). Next day his neighbor in the room, who had tried to
help him to take a medical document about beatings, also was beaten.
People are offended, humiliated, they can even strike a woman, push
her. There is no sense to complain to the administration. We wrote an
application, collected 38 signatures (there are a little bit more
than 100 people in the camp). All of us were called, threatened to
deprive of social money (2500 HUF = 10 EURO). After that I personally
took letters to Budapest for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the
government. 2 months passed, but they have not sent even a formal
reply.
I bought from one woman a copy of the police report addressed to
(ATTENTION!): “Alieva Bela” born in 1992; Chechenia; Rusmartan (?!)
(Probably, it means Urus-Martan); her father-Chechen was ostensibly
kidnapped by “Vahhabists” (?!). She was caught in the shop “Tesco”,
city Debrecen , and adventures of this speculator and self-appointed
“Chechen” is one more minus for us, Chechens. Babaev (?!) Ruslan (his
father also a “Chechen”) received the status of a refugee together
with them, his real name is Ruben, and he also was arrested for
several times for a theft in shops (…).
Bella for several times asked the name of my son, whether the name
MAGOMED is so rare in the Chechen Republic and if they had lived in
“Rusmartan” for 10 years, she could have heard this name though once.
Also I have copies of their real passports. According to them,
Bella’s mother did not live in Yerevan for only 5 years from her 50,
when she was in prison in Ukraine for swindles.
Everybody, who can give any information, help us with arrival of a
commission, journalists (independent), TV, newspapers, write to us to
the E – MAIL: [email protected]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJAN REACTS TO ALLEGED PEACE DEAL ON KARABAKH
ArmenPress
July 13 2005
BAKU, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS: Azerbaijani mass media reacted strongly
to a RFE/RL report saying that Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities
were close to hammering out a peace deal over the long-running
dispute on Karabakh. RFE/RL reported citing a diplomatic source in
Armenia that at the heart of the idea is a referendum in which the
Karabakh Armenians will decide whether they want to be independent,
become a part of Armenia or return under Azerbaijani rule in return
for immediate return of five Armenian-controlled Azerbaijani regions.
It said the referendum would be held within 10 to 15 years from the
signing of a peace agreement and would follow the return of five of the
seven occupied Azerbaijani districts around Karabakh. An Azerbaijani
daily 525 gazet quoted a number of local analysts as saying that
referendum would actually mean final loss of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The official Baku realizes well all negative consequences of a
referendum , but it is the West that wants a peace agreement as soon as
possible. If president Aliyev agrees to it, contrary to Azerbaijan’s
national interests, he will receive the West’s support ahead of
parliamentary elections in autumn,’ the daily writes concluding
that the West would close its eye to all vote rigging and human
rights abuses, as it was in 2003 presidential polls. It also quotes
a political analyst, Vafa Guluzade, as saying that Azerbaijan must
not agree to holding referendum. ‘Armenians have already conducted
referendum and there is no doubt that they will again vote in favor
of their independence from Azerbaijan,’ he says.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanArmenian News Network
July 18 2005
ARMENIAN AND AZERI FMs TO PREPARE FOR PRESIDENTS’ MEETING
18.07.2005 03:37
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers are going
to discuss the Nagorno Karabakh in Moscow August 22 and get ready
for the meeting of the Presidents August 26 in Kazan, Azeri FM Elmar
Mamedyarov stated. “After the Warsaw meeting the Presidents instructed
the FMs to coordinate some details. It is not easy but the issues we
fail to settle will be submitted to the judgement of the Presidents”,
he noted. “I gave my consent to the meeting and am awaiting the
response of the Armenian party”, he added. In Mamedyarov’s words, 9
points containing all the elements of the future agreement are being
discussed during the negotiation process. The Azerbaijani FM also
stressed that “for the involvement of Karabakh into the negotiation
process the return of the Azeri community to NK is essential.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress