Author: Emil Lazarian

ARREST IS CHOSEN AS PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES TOWARDS ZHIRAYR SEFILIAN AND VARDAN MALKHASIAN

Noyan Tapan
Dec 13 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The Court of First Instance
of the communities of Kentron and Nork Marash of Yerevan, under
the chairmanship of judges Gayane Karakhanian and Edik Avetisian,
satisfied on December 12 the mediations of the RA National Security
Service, correspondingly, to choose 2 month arrest as the precautionary
measures towards Zhirayr Sefilian and Vardan Malkhasian. The Noyan
Tapan correspondent was informed about it from the judges’ office. To
recap, Zhirayr Sefilian, the coordinator of the "Defence of Liberated
Territories" public initiative, "Shoushi" battalion commander, and
Vardan Malkhasian, a member of the "Hayrenik u Pativ" (Fatheland
and Honour) party political council, were arrested on December 10 by
the National Security Service employees. They are accused of blowing
public calls addressed to violently changing the RA constitutional
order (Article 301 of the RA Criminal Code).

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NK ISSUE TO BE DISACUSSED AT EU-AZERBAIJAN INTERPARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION COMMITTEE SITTING

ArmRadio.am
13.12.2006 14:40

The Nagorno Karabakh issue will become one of the main topics discussed
at the two-day sitting of the EU-Azerbaijan Interparliamentary
Cooperation Committee, which is starting in Strasbourg today. Press
Service of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis informs that reference will be
made also to issues of Azerbaijan-EU cooperation in economic, social,
agricultural and environmental spheres, the political situation in
the country, the state of human rights, freedom of speech and press.

LEGISLATION BLOCKING US FUNDING FOR ARMENIA RAILROAD BYPASS GOES TO THE PRESIDENT FOR HIS SIGNATURE

ArmRadio.am
13.12.2006 10:54

Legislation containing a provision enforcing a long-sought ban on US
financing of a proposed railroad that would bypass Armenia, having
been approved in its final form by both the House and Senate, was
sent to the President yesterday for his signature into law, reported
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

"Armenian Americans look forward to the President’s signing into
law the principled stand of the United States against Turkey and
Azerbaijan’s efforts to institutionalize their illegal blockades
of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh," said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian.

The Senate voted by unanimous consent on December 6th in favor of
a reconciled version of the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Bill
(S.3938). The House had approved this version on December 1st. Both
the House and Senate measures were based on the South Caucasus
Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2006 (S. 2461 / H.R. 3361),
introduced in the Senate by Rick Santorum (R-PA) and in the House by
Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), the Co-Chairman of the Armenian Caucus.

The proposed new Caucasus rail line – at the urging of Turkey and
Azerbaijan – would circumvent Armenia. Promoters of the project
have sought, even at the planning stages, to secure US financing
for this undertaking, prompting Congressional friends of Armenia to
preemptively block such attempts. In October of 2005, the European
Commission voiced official opposition to the proposed Caucasus railroad
bypass of Armenia. A formal statement by the Commission’s Directorate
General for Transport and Energy noted that its construction was
both unnecessary and inefficient in light of the existing railroad
connecting Kars, Gyumri, and Tbilisi.

On March 8th of this year, responding to a question on the railroad
bypass from Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA) during a hearing of the
International Relations Committee, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel
Fried asserted that, "The proposed railway would bypass Armenia and
thus not be beneficial to regional integration. We have no plans
to support such a railway financially. The Administration has not
allocated or expended any federal agency funds or otherwise provided
financial support for the intended project."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

"MAIN ASPECTS OF CYBER SECURITY IN ARMENIA" PUBLICATION TO BE PRESENTED 14 DECEMBER

ArmRadio.am
13.12.2006 11:35

The presentation of the publication "Main Aspects of Cyber Security
in Armenia" followed by the discussion will be held 14 December, 2006.

The event is organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan in co-operation
with Cyber Security Task Force.

Representatives from the National Assembly, President’s Office,
Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Justice, Police, National
Security Service, Constitutional Court, General Prosecutor’s Office,
NGOs and international community will discuss international standards
and draft legislation of Armenia on information security.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CIS PA MEMBER VLADIMIR CHUROV: NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT CAN ONLY BE REGULATED IN THE FRAME OF CIS

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Dec 12 2006

Minsk Summit of CIS heads of the states was an important step in the
cooperation in the field of migration, transport, finance, political,
drug turnover and fighting criminal," CIS PA member Vladimir Churov
said in the meeting of PACE Political Committee held in Baku,
APA reports.

He said that the migration problem became aggravated and that is why
this issue was in the focus of the summit. Churov called the meeting
of Azerbaijan and Armenia presidents held within the summit the most
important step for the regulation of the conflict.

"I consider that this conflict can only be regulated in the frame of
CIS," he said.

CAMP DARFUR AT CSULB
By Kevin Butler, Staff writer

Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA
Dec 12 2006

Inside mock refugee tents, people learn about conflict in Sudan.

LONG BEACH – Cal State Long Beach student Tammy Dao was not aware of
the humanitarian catastrophe occurring in the war-ravaged region of
Sudan called Darfur.

While watching a television documentary being shown at a campus event
Monday, she heard African children – refugees from the three-year-old
conflict – tell of their parents being killed and their villages
being burned and bombed.

"I didn’t know this was happening," Dao said. "It’s really sad to
see all the suffering."

The event, called Camp Darfur, featured several mock refugee tents
erected on campus by the group CSULB Darfur Action League. Inside the
tents were pictures, videos and articles designed to raise awareness
of the brutal conflict in the African nation.

The tents also featured information about incidents of genocide in
world history, including the Holocaust, the Armenian genocide and
the massacres in Cambodia, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

The Darfur conflict has pitted ethnic African rebels against Sudan’s
Arab-dominated government and pro-government Arab militias.

The violence has claimed more than 200,000 lives, according to research
published in the journal Science.

Human-rights groups and the U.S. government have said the atrocities
constitute genocide, although the United Nations has stopped short
of using that term.

The event, which ends today, aims to make students "realize that
genocide is a theme that is recurring throughout history," said Peter
Sablove, president of the CSULB Darfur Action League. "And the earlier
we catch it, the earlier we can stop it."

Sablove and his organization also were asking fellow students to
support efforts to get assurances from the CSULB Foundation that it
has not invested in companies doing business with Sudan’s government.

The foundation has no direct investments in any companies doing
business in Darfur, said Joseph Latter, CSULB associate vice president
for financial management and the foundation’s assistant treasurer.

"Most of our investments are in mutual funds, and we have no control
over what companies the funds invest in," Latter said in a statement.

"We also are sensitive to human-rights concerns as stated in our
investment policy, and we will continue to monitor these issues as
they change throughout the world."

Sablove said he wants to see the university investigate further to
ensure the foundation has not invested in companies doing business
with Sudan’s government.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WHERE ARE THE EUROPEANS PUSHING KARABAKH?
Naira Hayrumyan

Lragir, Armenia
Dec 12 2006

The international community stated through the leaders of the
European organizations that it does not recognize the outcome of
the constitutional referendum in NKR. Even Latvia or Lithuania
has announced that they do not recognize. The parade of rejection
is fabulously covered in the Azerbaijani press. In addition, the
statements by the Eurofunctionaries are cited in accordance with the
Azerbaijani law – with the word referendum in inverted commas.

However, even a superficial study shows that in these statements the
negotiations are said to be the only way of resolving the problem of
status of Karabakh, and there is no emphasis on a particular status.

It is only mentioned that until the resolution of the Karabakh conflict
the international community recognizes the borders of Azerbaijan
accepted internationally.

However, even in this case it is difficult to understand what the
same Eurofunctionaries are offering to Karabakh. Whose power if not
the power of people? Maybe the power of the military junta?

For instance, Lord Russell Jonston, chair of the PACE Commission
on Karabakh, stated in Baku that the referendum in Karabakh will be
possible if the proportional pattern of the population is restored.

It is not clear what the British member of the European parliament
means, the population before 1988 or other. Who decides this proportion
and who is going to guarantee this proportion?

It is possible to forgive Russell Jonston because he has not visited
Karabakh and he knows what the Azerbaijani propaganda machine
presents. How about Terry Davis? He has visited Karabakh, in Shushi
he has met with the Armenian refugees displaced from Azerbaijan. And
the refugees have told Terry Davis they are reluctant to return to
Baku, because they know how coexistence with Azerbaijanis under the
Azerbaijani government is like.

Where are the Europeans pushing Karabakh? Maybe towards a new war?

NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan finds that it is not worthwhile to
take the reaction of the international community seriously because
he said most of them may have to behave coquettely under Azerbaijani
pressure. And there is no need to treat them seriously, the president
says, because the untimate goal of the international community is
peace in the region. And we may only hope that this peace will not be
achieved through the notorious theory, when a nation will exterminate
the other.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NAGORNO-KARABAKH VOTERS BACK INDEPENDENCE

Morning Star
December 12, 2006 Tuesday

Voters in Nagorno-Karabakh overwhelmingly supported a draft
constitution that describes the disputed territory, which is claimed
by Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenians, as a "sovereign,
democratic" state, officials said on Monday.

Preliminary results indicated that more than 98 per cent of voters
had backed the proposed constitution.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a region in Azerbaijan that has been controlled
by Armenian and ethnic-Armenian forces since a 1994 ceasefire.

A six-year separatist conflict killed about 30,000 people and displaced
about one million.

Azerbaijan, the European Union and the Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe all rejected the referendum as invalid.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EU REFUSES TO RECOGNISE NAGORNY KARABAKH VOTE

Agence France Presse — English
December 11, 2006 Monday 1:54 PM GMT

The European Union on Monday said it did not recognise a constitutional
referendum held in the breakaway region of Nagorny Karabakh in the
former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.

In a statement released by the Finnish presidency of the bloc, the
EU said it "recognises neither the "referendum" nor its outcome."

The EU also repeated its position that it did not recognise the
independence of the Nagorny Karabakh enclave.

The region of Azerbaijan is populated by 140,000 people, a majority
of whom are Armenian.

"The EU considers that conducting such a "referendum", thus
pre-empting the outcome of the ongoing negotiations, did not
contribute to constructive efforts at peaceful conflict resolution,"
the statement said.

"It calls on all parties to the conflict to intensify their efforts
to find a negotiated solution to the conflict," the EU added.

Some 98.6 percent of votes cast in Sunday’s poll approved a
constitution declaring Nagorny Karabakh an independent state.

The enclave first declared itself independent in 1991. Its break from
Azerbaijan precipitated a full-blown war between fellow former Soviet
republics Armenia and Azerbaijan, claiming some 25,000 lives before
ending with a ceasefire in 1994.

Years of negotiations have failed to resolve the dispute between
Azerbaijan and the Nagorny Karabakh separatists, who are closely
backed by Armenia.

Efforts to reach a permanent resolution to the conflict are currently
headed by the Minsk Group under the auspices of the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EBRD INTENDS TO DOUBLE CREDIT PORTFOLIO IN ARMENIA TILL 2008

Yerevan, December 12. ArmInfo. The European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) intends to double its credit portfolio till 2008
to 120 mln EURO, the Head of EBRD Yerevan Office, Michael Weinstein,
said at today’s press- conference.

According to him, the Bank intends to increase the credit portfolio
mainly at the expense of a small and medium business crediting. In
2007-2008, the EBRD also intends to implement social projects in
energy, mainly in a renewable energy, in agriculture, realty, tourism
and health, he said. According to M. Weinstein, the credit portfolio
of the Bank, as of today, makes up 60 mln EURO.

To note, Armenia has been cooperating with EBRD since 1992. As of
the end, 2006, the total amount of credits, granted to the Republic,
makes up 102 mln EURO without taking in to account the credit for
reconstruction of the "Zvartnots" airport ($20 mln). Credits to the
sum of 117 mln EURO have been signed.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress