Author: Emil Lazarian

Azerbaijan says soldier killed on Armenian border

Agence France Presse — English
March 30, 2006 Thursday 1:28 PM GMT

BAKU, March 30 2006 — Azerbaijan accused Armenia Thursday of breaking
a ceasefire and responsibility for the death of one of its soldiers
on their common border.

“An Azeri soldier was killed during the habitual violations of the
ceasefire by the Armenian side,” the defence ministry said in Baku.

“Azerbaijan’s positions in the Tovuz region were targeted by Armenian
military units from the Berd area,” it said.

The two neighbours, which fought a war in the early 1990s over
Azerbaijan’s Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, regularly
charge each other with ceasefire violations.

Azerbaijan accused Armenia on March 7 of causing the death of an
Azeri soldier in the Karabakh region. Armenia quickly denied the
charge and responded with counter-accusations that Azeri troops had
killed an Armenian soldier the previous week.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Russia,Georgia to sign temporary agt on Russian military facilities
by Eka Mekhuzla

ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 30, 2006 Thursday 08:15 PM EST

Russia and Georgia on Friday will sign an agreement in Sochi on the
terms and rules of temporary operation of Russian troops in Georgian
territory, including the military bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki
and other facilities, the Georgian Defense Ministry has told Itar-Tass.

Defense Minister Mamuka Kudava will sign the agreement for Georgia.

Another document to be signed in Sochi will concern the transit of
Russian military cargoes and personnel through Georgia.

Under the agreement Georgian and Russian foreign ministers achieved
on May 30, 2005 the Russian military bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki
are to be withdrawn over a period of 3.5 years (by the end of 2008).

Last summer saw the first phase of the withdrawal of heavy equipment
and armaments and motor transport. Most of the hardware was taken to
Russia (by land or by sea), and some pieces of equipment redeployed
to the Russian military base in Gyumri in neighboring Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Drug barons seek to turn Armenia into transhipment point -police
by Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 29, 2006 Wednesday 11:42 AM EST

Armenian police chief Gaik Arutyunyan said his country is in “the
centre of drug barons’ attention and interests”.

“There have been attempts to use Armenia as a transit country for the
shipment of drugs, mainly to Europe,” Arutyunyan said on Wednesday
after a meeting of the Anti-Drug Coordinating Council of the Collective
Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).

Last year and this year Armenian police detained persons who
tried to carry narcotics through the country. Each year the number
of drug-related crimes is growing, and although there has been no
increase in drug addiction, “complex problems will arise tomorrow if
we do not take proper measures today,” Arutyunyan said.

The head of Russia’s Federal Service for Drug and Psychotropic
Substance Control, Viktor Cherkesov, who chaired the session, said the
United States and Mongolia had decided to join in the CSTO anti-drug
operation Kanal (Channel).

In his words, the operations against drug trafficking from Afghanistan
involve CSTO countries, Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan,
and Ukraine.

Cherkesov said the situation on the Iranian-Afghan border is “very
complex and tense”, but “Iran’s law enforcement agencies act very
firmly and decisively to protect the Iranian border from drug
contraband.”

“A whole system against contraband” has been built on the
Iranian-Afghan border, he said.

However Cherkesov stressed that the fight against drug trafficking,
the use and sale of narcotics is impossible without the struggle
against their contraband.

“Our efforts to fight the use and sale of narcotics are impossible
without the struggle against their contraband, especially from
Afghanistan,” he said.

“Measures taken by the government of Afghanistan and the international
community to solve this problem have not yielded any result,” the
official said. “According to international experts, the drug situation
in the region aggravated after the withdrawal of Russian border guards
from the Tajik-Afghan border.”

“Insufficient measures to ensure security on the borders of states
affected by drug trafficking prevent the international community from
setting up barriers to drug contraband,” Cherkesov said.

He said the analysis of the drug situation in Russia proves that
illicit drug trafficking is fully controlled by different criminal
groups, which have transnational ties.

“This problem remains topical. The routes of drug transportation change
permanently. International organised criminal groups and communities
penetrate Russia’s drug market,” the official said.

“Russia is fighting drug-related crime in the context of an extensive
criminal network, which embraces most regions of Russia,” he said. In
his words, “this network is rather organised and has vast international
criminal ties.”

Cherkesov said, “The major purpose of the Russian drug control
service is to take urgent measures to stabilise the drug situation,
create conditions for curbing the growth of drug use and trafficking,
and preventing nacrotisation of the population.”

Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Migranyan said illicit drug
trafficking became a global phenomenon. Illicit drug trafficking as
a dangerous social phenomenon “became global and transnational and
turned into the most acute problem of mankind.”

Drug trafficking “wrecks political, social and economic stability of
states,” the prime minister stressed.

In his view, internationalisation of crime and “the growth of
international elements, which commit crimes in the territory of two
or more states, evoke the need to improve and develop international
and interstate cooperation between law enforcement agencies.”

Migranyan said the CSTO Anti-Drug Coordinating Council plays a
big role and is of great significance in the fight against drug
trafficking. “This will help work out and realise the common strategy
and new mechanisms to counteract illicit drug trafficking,” he said.

The prime minister proposed “to think together how we can use our
accumulated experience better and more efficiently in order to deliver
a sensitive blow against drug trafficking.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agence France Presse
30 mars 2006 jeudi 12:54 PM GMT

L’Azerbaïdjan accuse l’Armenie de violation du cessez-le-feu

BAKOU 30 mars 2006

L’Azerbaïdjan a accuse jeudi l’Armenie d’avoir viole le cessez-le-feu
entre les deux pays et d’avoir provoque la mort d’un soldat
azerbaïdjanais a la frontière entre ces pays du Caucase du Sud.

“Un soldat azerbaïdjanais a ete tue dans la cadre des violations
habituelles du cessez-le-feu de la partie armenienne”, a declare le
ministère azerbaïdjanais de la Defense.

“Les positions azerbaïdjanaises dans la region de Tovuz ont ete
visees par des formations armees armeniennes depuis la region de
Berd”, frontalière de l’Azerbaïdjan, a ajoute le ministère.

Erevan et Bakou se reprochent mutuellement des ruptures du
cessez-le-feu. L’Armenie avait accuse l’armee azerbaïdjanaise d’avoir
tue un soldat armenien le 3 mars. Et le 7 mars, l’Azerbaïdjan a
affirme que l’Armenie avait cause a son tour la mort d’un soldat
azerbaïdjanais.

L’Armenie et l’Azerbaïdjan se disputent la region du Nagorny
Karabakh, une enclave habitee en majorite par des Armeniens et qui a
fait secession de l’Azerbaïdjan après un conflit meurtrier a la fin
des annees 1980 et au debut de la decennie suivante.

–Boundary_(ID_YfaRwCwDfPCLgTeUsBjltQ)- –

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Streets
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x109
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, March 31, 2006

AGBU SPONSORS HARVARD ARMENIAN SOCIETY SUMMIT ON THE FUTURE OF ARMENIA

The Harvard Armenian Society welcomed over 85 university students
and young professionals to the Harvard Graduate School of Education
in Cambridge, MA on February 18, 2006 to participate in its first
Intercollegiate Summit on International Development. Funded by AGBU,
the daylong program challenged participants to examine the role of
the Diaspora in the development of Armenia, and propose concrete
project ideas to build a stronger, more prosperous homeland.

Student delegates from the Armenian Student Associations of the
following schools were present: Bentley, Boston College, Boston
University, Brown, Columbia, Duke, MIT, Northeastern, St. Joseph’s
College, Stanford, Tufts and University of Pennsylvania. “The
conference made everyone involved realize how much potential, talent
and experience there is out there,” said Nina Kouyoumdjian, Harvard
sophomore. “The first step is always generating ideas and building
a network of people who are committed to those ideas, and I truly
believe the Summit did just that.”

Representing various facets of Armenian state of affairs, such as
philanthropy, the economy, the environment, politics and culture,
the conference featured a diverse panel of guest speakers: Carol
Aslanian, AGBU Central Board Member and Director of Education; Noubar
Afeyan, Armenia 2020 Founder and CEO; Jason Sohigian, Armenian Tree
Project Representative; Bryan Ardouny, Armenian Assembly of America
Executive Director; and Tom Samuelian, American University of Armenia
Law Department Dean and Arlex International Ltd. Founder.

“I was privileged to share with this group of eager and talented
students how AGBU has devoted its time, energy and resources to
the current and future needs of Armenia and the Diaspora,” said
Ms. Aslanian. “The major outcome for me was the renewed hope I have
for future generations to play a significant role in the development
of Armenia. Volunteerism is an essential part of the lives of young
Armenians, and AGBU is prepared to help channel their unique skills
and capabilities to meet to the needs of our nation.”

Among the many Harvard Armenian Society members responsible for the
event were Co-Presidents Arie Zakaryan and Christine Megerdichian,
Vice-President Nina Kouyoumdjian, Secretary Tamar Ayrikyan, Activities
Chairman Armen Yerevanian and Treasurer Shant Hagopian.

For a copy of the proposals, please email Nina Kouyoumdjian at
[email protected]. For more information on the Harvard Armenian
Society, please visit

Established in 1906, the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) is
the world’s largest Armenian non-profit organization. Headquartered
in New York City with an annual budget of $34 million, AGBU preserves
and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through educational,
cultural and humanitarian programs, annually serving some 400,000
Armenians in 35 countries.

For more information on AGBU and its programs, please visit

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RA STATE COMMISSION ON PROTECTION OF ECONOMIC COMPETITION DISMISSES ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT OF ARMENTEL

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. At the March 31 sitting, the RA
State Commission on Protection of Economic Competition discussed and
dismissed ArmenTel’s administrative complaint about the commission’s
decision to fine the company for using discriminatory conditions (abuse
of its dominating position). To recap, ArmenTel launched a campaign,
during which those persons, who were its mobile contract communication
(SIM) subscribers for a year, were given the opportunity to connect
to each other at a per-minute tariff of 2 drams. The same discount
was also offered for connection to fixed-line phones, whereas a sum
several times as much as this one was required for connection to the
same network under the commutation agreement of another operator –
K-Telecom company: 9.94 drams per minute for connection to the Yerevan
network, and 19.93 drams (busy hours) and 14.04 drams (not busy hours)
for connection to the regional networks. The commission had intiated
the proceedings based on ArmeTel’s application. In its administrative
complaint, ArmenTel informed the commission that the proceedings
should be suspended since another state body, the RA Public Services
Regulatory Commission, has made a decision on the same issue.

However, the RA State Commission on Protection of Economic
Competition stipulated that the law is definite, and in case of
a violation or distortion of economic competition, the power to
give an opinion is reserved for the Commission on Protection of
Economic Competition. Moreover, the Law on Protection of Economic
Competition does not restrict the commission’s powers with respect to
any market. In other words, the competence of economic competition
protection applies to all spheres of economic activities without
exception. At the same time it was noted that these administrative
proceedings have another subject. ArmenTel also indicated in the
administrative compalint that the commission’s opinion that the rival
may be forced out of the market as a result of the above mentioned
behavior of ArmenTel is not substantiated. The company presented some
indices to show that the rival has not been forced out of the market,
and since “it was not actually forced out”, according to ArmenTel,
the commission’s position is not well-founded. However, according
to a press release submitted to NT by the commission, in reality,
based on the necessity to secure equal competitive conditions, the
legislation on economic competition stipulates that the company’s
behavior should be considered, and not the results of its behavior,
which was actually done. Moreover, the commission takes a view that
being forced out of a market does not mean to stop operating on
this market, or to “disappear” completely, also when the reasonable
opportunity to attract new subscribers is restricted. In the third
point of the administrative compalint, ArmenTel asked that the fine
be imposed not in the amount of 1% of its revenues from the mobile
communication market but also in the amount of 1% of the overall
revenues received from the calls made from the mobile to the fixed-line
phone network. Yet in this case the law fixes the amounts of fines and
does not allow the commisison to use its own discretion. So, the RA
State Commission on Protection of Economic Competition dismissed the
administrative complaint of ArmenTel on the above mentioned grounds.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Georgian Defense Minister Satisfied With Agreement On Bases Withdrawal

Prime News Agency, Georgia
March 31 2006

Tbilisi. March 31 (Prime-News) – The agreement on deadlines for
withdrawal of the Russian military bases from Georgia, signed in
Sochi on Friday is of historic importance, Irakli Okruashvili,
Georgian Defense Minister says.

“We have made certain concessions with regard to the time table;
we know that so much time is not necessary for the bases withdrawal
but we agreed with certain arguments by the Russian party”, Irakli
Okruashvili said at the briefing in Tbilisi on Friday.

According to him, the Georgian party committed itself to let military
cargoes for the Russian military bases in Armenia pass through Georgia.

“It may be considered as a compromise as well, but those cargoes
must not be dangerous for the region even in the slightest way”,
Irakli Okruashvili said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RA Year in France to Start and Finish on Independence Day

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.04.2006 00:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The third sitting of the committee on the Year
of Armenia in France took place in Paris March 29, reported the RA
MFA press office. The Armenian and French delegations discussed the
preparation process and the agenda. RA Ambassador to France Edward
Nalbandian and Director General for international cooperation and
development Philippe Etienne signed working documents confirming
the agreements achieved. The sitting participants also ratified the
logo and discussed the program of the year of Armenia in France that
includes some 200 events to be held in 40 cities of the state. The Year
of Armenia in France will start September 21, 2006, on the Independence
Day of Armenia and finish July 14, 2007, on the Independence Day
of France.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MORE THAN 200 INTELLECTUALS OF ARMENIA AND LEBANON ADDRESS TO RA
AUTHORITIES, WITH REQUEST TO ANNOUNCE AMNESTY TO ARSEN ARTSRUNI

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. More than 200 cultural, educational
and public figures of Armenia and Lebanon addressed an open letter to
the RA President, National Assembly Speaker and Prime Minister, asking
to announce amnesty to Lebanese Armenian Arsen Artsruni, sentenced
to death on so called “Dro’s” case in 1994. According to the authors
of the letter, “imprisonement of 11 years impaired family father,
modest husband, patricotic intellectual Arsen Artsruni’s health
state, threatening his gradually dicreasing hopes for tomorrow’s
day and living it fully.” It is mentioned that the issue, starting
from 1994, made anxious numerous representatives of intellectuals of
Armenia and Diaspora: the Catholicos of All Armenians, late Garegin I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I, late Prime Minister
of Lebanon Rafic Hariri, French Armenian historian Claude Mutafian,
etc. have addressed to the RA authorities with the same request
since 1994. People having different political orientation signed
the letter: poet Silva Kaputikian, actors Sos Sargsian and Vladimir
Abajian, director Vahe Shahverdian, film producer Vigen Chaldranian,
painter Robert Elibekian, writer-publicist Zori Balayan, academician
Rafayel Ghazarian and Lenser Aghalovian, Archbishop Varuzhan Herkelian,
Bishop Narik Aliemezian, Bishop Tirayr Panosian.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FIRST ISSUE OF “TESANKYUN” PERIODICAL PUBLISHED IN TAVUSH

IJEVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. The number of mass media of the Tavush
marz was added by one more. The first issue of the “Tesankyun”
(Viewpoint) periodical to be published once in a fortnight was
printed. The newspaper editor is Voskan Sargsian, the Tavush marz
correspondent of the Noyan Tapan Information-Analytical Agency. The
independent periodical of the information character is published
in Yerevan, at the Noyan Tapan publishing house. The newspaper of
2 quire volume is published with 300 copies, but it is envisaged to
add the print run up to 1000.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress