Author: Emil Lazarian

ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO USA AND USAID CHAIRMAN DISCUSS ECONOMIC REFORMS IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 13. ARMINFO. Armenian Ambassador to the USA Tatul
Margaryan and USAID Chairman Andrew S. Natsios discussed economic
reforms in Armenia in Washington.

Press and Information Department of the Armenian Foreign Ministry
informs ARMINFO that the sides noted the high economic indicators
in Armenia due to economic reforms. Ambassador Margaryan thanked
Andrew Natsios for constant support of USAID to Armenia. He noted
the importance of the projects implemented in Armenia, in particular,
in the sphere of poverty reduction, economic development, creation of
new jobs and raising the social level of the population. Ambassador
Margaryan emphasized the importance of the USAID- implemented program
in the disaster zone. In his turn, Andrew S. Natsios highly appreciated
the effective cooperation of USAID and the Armenian Government. Taking
into account the interests of Andrew Natsios, Tatul Margaryan invited
him to Armenia to get first hand view of the results of USAID projects
in Armenia.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I GOES TO GENEVA

His Holiness Aram I left for Geneva on September 12. In the next few days he
will head the meetings of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) secretariat,
executive committee and several specialized committees as chairman of WCC.

##

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

RUSSIA LAYS NO CLAIMS TO MONOPOLY IN DIALOGUE WITH EU

ARKA News Agency
Sept 12 2005

YEREVAN, September 12. /ARKA-RIA “Novosty”/. Russia does not lay
claims to monopoly in the CIS in the dialogue with the European Union,
Russian Permanent Representative to EU Vladimir Chizhov said.

“Russia’s official position is: we do not lay claims to monopoly of
the post-Soviet state. We are ready to develop a dialogue with the
EU, the more so that a number of the CIS countries aim at integration
into the EU,” Chizhov said in his interview to Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

“We are also ready to discuss prospects of cooperation with the CIS
structures, first of economic cooperation. This is Common European
Space and EurAsEc,” Chizhov said.

He pointed out that when the European Economic Space was formed “there
were natural question about how it was connected with our work with
the EU, and we provided comprehensive answers to those questions.”

As regards the Nagorno-Karabakh, Transdniestrian and other conflicts,
he said that the EU is interested in both discussing and assisting
in settling them. “We are ready to consider various political and
material proposals,” he said.

Chizhov said that each of the conflicts has its own format of
negotiations. In the case of Nagorny Karabakh it is the OSCE Minsk
Group. “These formats may not be perfect, but they are optimal and
acceptable for all the conflicting parties. If the EU wants and
can contribute to progress, we only welcome this. This position
is incorporated in a joint statement of the RF and EU adopted at
the Rome Summit in 2003,” Chizhov said. Speaking of the domestic
political situation in the CIS he stated that “each side is free to
state its opinion.”

“Any joint actions of Russia and EU to influence the political
situation in a country are out of the question. This concerns both
Belarus and other countries. As regards our assessments of colored
revolutions, we can make them as part of the RF-EU dialogue and on
other international platforms,” Chizhov said. P.T. -0–

ASBAREZ ONLINE
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09/12/2005
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1) Major Conference at European Parliament Targets Turkey’s Record
2) Thousands Rally in Baku against President
3) Group Threatens to Kill Lebanese Armenian Hostage in Iraq
4) Trial of Novelist ‘Shows Turkey Not Ready for EU’

1) Major Conference at European Parliament Targets Turkey’s Record

BRUSSELS–A large-scale public conference scheduled for September 22 will
address Turkey’s violations of basic rights as it prepares to begin accession
talks with the European Union (EU) on October 3.
Organized by the European Armenian Federation, the conference, “December
2004–October 2005: Has Turkey Changed?” is supported by the largest political
group in the European Parliament, the EPP-ED–the Group of the European
People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats in the European
Parliament. Specifically, Dr. Ingo Friedrich, vice-president of the
Parliament,
has conveyed his commitment to fully reviewing Turkey’s position prior to the
start of accession talks.
The conference will feature lectures by executive members of several Human
Rights NGOs, as well as leadership of various European political parties. They
will review Turkey’s violation of human rights and political norms in the
country, as they relate to freedom of expression, minority rights, the role of
army, the Cyprus issue, its policy of denial of the Armenian genocide, and
freedom of worship.
Beside Friedrich, scheduled speakers include: Jacques Toubon,
vice-chairman of
the EU-Turkey parliamentary delegation; Panagiotis Beglitis, member of the
EU-Turkey parliamentary delegation; Francesco Enrico Speroni, Member of the
European Parliament; Pierre Mirel, European Commission, Director for the
Candidate Countries in the DG Enlargement; Philippe Kalfayan, General
Secretary
of the International Federation of Human Rights; Dogan Özgüden, President of
Info-Türk foundation; Hilda Tchoboian, President of the European Armenian
Federation; Irnerio Seminatore, President of the European Institute for
International Relations; Oliver Money-Kyrle, Director of Projects Division,
International Federation of Journalists; Franck Biancheri, President of
Newropeans.
A Consultative Meeting of European Armenians scheduled for September 23, just
one year after their first ever convention, will allow members of Armenian
associations and organizations from more than twenty EU countries to respond
towards Turkey’s new neighborhood policy toward Armenia, the role of Armenian
culture and remembrance in Europe, and current affairs such as Time Magazine
and AXA issues.
“A few days before October 3, this conference will provide a unique
opportunity for European civil society to take action on the political fate of
the Union,” said Laurent Leylekian, Executive Director of the European
Armenian
Federation.
Information and registration for the two public events are available on the
European Armenian Federation’s website:
<;
p3?lang=en

2) Thousands Rally in Baku against President

BAKU (AP)–More than 2,000 orange-clad opposition members rallied in the
Azerbaijani capital Saturday, demanding that President Ilhan Aliyev resign and
that authorities ensure that parliamentary elections in November are free and
fair.
Mounting pressure on authorities has led some observers to predict the
oil-rich Caspian nation could see a popular uprising similar to those that
have
taken place in the former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan.
Yelling “Resign!” and carrying orange flags and banners in Russian and
English, the government opponents railed against Aliyev.
“We have shown our strength and this is only the beginning,” said Sardar
Jalaloglu, a top leader with the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, which is one
of three parties making up the opposition Azadlig bloc alliance.
The crowds responded, yelling “Tents on the Square” a reference to the tent
camp that sprang up in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev during the mass
demonstrations last year that came to be known as the Orange Revolution.
Azadlig has borrowed its campaign color from Ukraine.
Azerbaijan formally launched the election campaign Wednesday after
authorities
registered more than 2,000 candidates running for 125 parliament seats in the
November 6 vote. Of 2,059 candidates registered, 432 belong to the ruling Yeni
Azerbaijan party that controls parliament. Azadlig and the Yeni Siyaset party
are seen as the leading challengers.
Opposition parties have rallied almost weekly amid fears that Aliyev’s
government could try to rig the vote. The October 2003 presidential vote, in
which Aliyev succeeded his late father, Heydar Aliyev, was widely alleged to
have been fraudulent, triggering clashes between police and demonstrators.

3) Group Threatens to Kill Lebanese Armenian Hostage in Iraq

DUBAI (AFP)–A previously unheard of group in Iraq threatened to kill a
Lebanese
hostage it accused of working with a liquor distribution firm that “deals with
the occupiers,” according to a video posted on the Internet.
“The Group for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” said it had
“captured an importer of food and liquor in Baghdad who works for a company
that deals directly with the crusader occupiers of Iraq.”
It demanded the company’s “withdrawal from Iraq as soon as possible in order
to free the Lebanese hostageotherwise woe on him and you.”
The hostage, who, speaking in Arabic, gave the Armenian name of Garabet Jean
Chekerjian, said he held dual Lebanese and Cypriot nationality. He was
shown in
the footage sitting on the floor with his hands and feet tied.
A hooded gunman pointed an automatic weapon at his head.
The captive exhorted Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and the Lebanese embassy
in Baghdad to put pressure on his employers to pull out of Iraq.
“I hold dual Lebanese and Cypriot nationality and I work with the branches of
the ‘Jetco Trading’ (phonetic) company in Lebanon, Cyprus and Iraq. The
company
supplies foodstuffs and alcoholic beverages to the occupation forces and the
Iraqi army,” he said.
“I urge the company to leave Iraq and I ask the Lebanese embassy to put
pressure on the company and its owner to sever links with the occupation
forces
and the Iraqi army.”
Addressing unspecified people he named as “Gebran, Avo and Rita,” as well as
Lahoud, the captive called on all Lebanese companies to quit Iraq, which he
said was occupied “as Lebanon had been 15 years ago.”
Dozens of foreigners have been kidnapped by anti-US insurgents in Iraq and
some have been executed by their captors.
About 30 Lebanese working for private companies in Iraq have been kidnapped
and later freed, most of them in exchange for a ransom. But in September 2004,
one Lebanese national was killed by his captors and three others died
during an
attempted kidnap.

4) Trial of Novelist ‘Shows Turkey Not Ready for EU’

By Amberin Zaman in Ankara and Tony Paterson in Berlin

An internationally acclaimed Turkish novelist who faces prosecution for
speaking out about the mass slaughter of Armenians during the 20th Century,
has
said the case against him shows his country may not be ready to join the
European Union.
Orhan Pamuk, who faces up to three years in jail if convicted of “denigrating
Turkey,” said reforms promised by the Turkish government in return for a
guarantee of talks on EU membership had not materialized. His trial is
scheduled for December 2005.

Orhan Pamuk: ‘Not much tolerance’

Prosecutors provoked a furor across Europe last month by announcing the
action
against him under the country’s recently adopted penal code, which is supposed
to bring Turkish criminal law more closely in line with that of EU countries.
In his first interview since the prosecution was announced, Pamuk declared:
“Unfortunately I do not believe that Turkey has come very far in this respect.
Nothing has happened over the past year. Turkey has sat on the promises that
Europe has given and taken it easy.”
Although forbidden to comment directly on his own case, the best-selling
author added: “Turkey has not changed so much. Laws have been changed, but the
thought processes, our culture and our way of seeing things… that has not
changed much.
“There have been legal and political changes in the hope of EU membership.
But
the trial opened against me shows… that the state prosecutors have not
changed very much. It shows that there is not much tolerance in society.”
Pamuk’s comments, in an interview with a German newspaper, come as several
countries, including France, have stepped up their effort to block Turkey’s
entry to the EU after public opposition to the inclusion of such a large,
predominantly Muslim, country. The EU has long cited Turkey’s checkered record
on human rights as an obstacle to membership, and its government–led by Recep
Erdogan, Turkey’s mildly Islamist prime minister – has enacted a series of new
laws in an attempt to overcome the objection. Talks on membership are due to
start next month.
Critics maintain that Turkey’s new penal code falls short of EU standards by
proscribing free debate of the Armenian tragedy and criticism of Turkey’s 1974
invasion of Cyprus.
Last week Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, singled out the Pamuk
prosecution
for criticism in a speech in which he nonetheless argued for Turkish
membership
of the EU. “There is still some way to go with implementation, as the recent
charges against the distinguished Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk show, in the
context of freedom of speech,” he said.
Pamuk drew nationalist fury in Turkey and received anonymous death threats
after telling a Swiss newspaper in February that “30,000 Kurds and 1 million
Armenians were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares to talk about
it”.
One Turkish official in the western town of Sutluce ordered citizens to
destroy
all of his books.
Several of Pamuk’s novels, including the acclaimed My Name is Red, have been
translated into English. His most recent bestseller, Snow, explores tensions
between Turkey’s secular elite and religious conservatives.
Turkey has long denied that more than one million members of its once
thriving
Armenian community were the victims of systematic annihilation between 1915
and
1923. Armenians and many others label the campaign genocide–a description of
the events which is proscribed in Turkish law.
Prosecutors are still deciding whether to bring further charges against Pamuk
for referring to the more recent killing of Kurds–whose sometimes violent
separatist movements in the east of the country have been brutally suppressed
by successive Turkish governments.

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A1+

| 17:37:07 | 09-09-2005 | Official |

LESSONS STARTED IN THE SEMINARY

Today the opening ceremony of the 2005-2006 educational year took place in
the Gevorgyan Theological seminary of Echmiadzin.

After the Lord’s Prayer the Inspector of the seminary rendered an opening
speech. He mentioned gladly that this year the seminary will celebrate the
60th anniversary of its re-opening, and that there are no more of the
difficulties which existed in 1945.

After the entrance examinations 43 applicants have entered the seminary, and
there are on the whole 240 students in the seminary.

A1+

| 17:14:15 | 09-09-2005 | Official |

THE U.S EMBASSY EXPRESSES ITS GRATITUDE

The U.S. Embassy, on behalf of the American people and the U.S. Government,
would like to express its heart-felt gratitude for Armenia’s generous
donation of $200,000 to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

The American people are touched and deeply grateful for the generous offers
of help we have received from the Armenian Government, and from governments,
individuals, and private organizations around the world.

Poland Must Strive to Make Sure Eastern Europe’s Role Is Appreciated by Nato and EU Strategists

Polish News Bulletin
Sep 07, 2005

The following is a summary of an article, featured in Rzeczpospolita,
by Stanislaw Koziej, retired general and expert on military matters.

Poland’s security has recently come to be perceived, writes Koziej,
almost solely in the context of the fight against terrorism and the
proliferation of the weapons of mass destruction. It would, however,
be a mistake to focus only on this dimension. The events in Ukraine
and Belarus and Russia’s policy towards Poland have made that clear.
We need to keep monitoring the situation in the East.

The area between the Nato and the EU, on the one hand, and Russia,
on the other, is a strategic region of key significance for global
security. In terms of global opportunities and threats, it is the
second most important, after the Middle East, strategic area in the
world. Here lie the possibilities of building a security system
encompassing Europe and North America. But here too the greatest
threats may arise, including the threat of a nuclear war.

That is because of the presence of the third, besides the Nato and
the EU, actor of European security, ie Russia. Analysts have been
labouring to find an answer to the question about the direction in
which events will likely go in Russia. Will it be a constructive and
active strategic partner in the building of a common security system,
or will it focus chiefly on its transformation from an empire into
a free-market democracy? Will those processes be gradual and quiet,
or should we be expecting dramatic, or even bleak scenarios? – Risk
of Chaos

The lack of immediate answers to such questions defines the nature of
the Nato’s and the EU’s strategic needs in this area. The fundamental
question is whether Russia will be a partner or an adversary. Will
it be possible to build common security with it, or will it remain a
source of instability? The Nato and the EU are declaring they want
to have Russia as a partner. That has fundamental significance for
Poland from the point of view of its security interests. But it takes
two to create a partnership.

Yet Russia has continued perceiving the West, and especially the
Nato, as a suspect partner or a potential opponent. Perhaps it
is only tactics; in practice, Russia has participated, on a scale
consistent with its capacities, in peacekeeping missions. Still,
there is no guarantee that Russia’s strategic political course will
not radicalise itself. The Kremlin’s recent moves in domestic policy
and in policy towards Poland offer little cause for optimism.

The second strategic factor in this area is Ukraine. The existence of
a democratic Ukraine, a favourable development of its partnership with
the West, including the prospect of Nato accession, ensure strategic
equilibrium in Eastern Europe and are consistent with Poland’s
strategic interests. Poland should be supporting the development of
that partnership, as well as supporting Ukraine in its path towards
democracy and prosperity.

Another aspect of the strategic situation in Eastern Europe is
Belarus. In itself, it does not represent any significant strategic
problem for either the Nato or the EU, but it may become a serious
problem for Poland. Its natural gravitation towards Russia may
pass through various phases, but that is a matter of the Belarussian
people’s and state’s sovereign decisions. A potential full integration
with Russia would change little in the strategic sense compared with
the present.

The situation could change if Belarus embarked, like Ukraine, on a
course towards full sovereignty. In such a case, the reaction from
Russia would likely be even more vigorous than with Ukraine. But
that prospect seems rather distant today. Strategically, Russia and
Belarus can be treated as one. – Asian Challenge

A separate challenge for the Nato and the EU is posed by the situation
in the Northern Caucasus post-Soviet states bound with the Nato by
the Partnership for Peace: Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, where
ethnic conflicts have continued to smoulder in Abkhasia, Southern
Osetya, and Karabakh. The same may become true for the Central Asian
republics. The peacekeeping missions carried out there by Russia
under the auspices of the CIS have been ineffective.

The CIS has no future. It lacks strength, dynamism, and, above all,
its members’ political will to work effectively together. The countries
stricken by conflicts will not be able to solve those conflicts by
themselves, so pressure will be growing on international organisations,
especially the Nato, to participate actively in solving them. It
will be hard for the Nato to evade this challenge, and this aspect
should be taken into consideration in the debate on the organisation’s
new strategy.

The Eastern European strategic area represents a whole range of
opportunities, challenges, and threats. Those are opportunities and
challenges related to cooperation in expanding the area of common
security, as well as to the need for becoming involved in the solving
of local conflicts. Poland has to strive actively for those issues
to be taken into account on a permanent basis in the Nato’s and the
EU’s strategic concepts and current security policies.

Two EBRD-funded Consulting Opportunities in Armenia and Georgia

BISNIS Consulting Update
7 September 2005

Contents
1. New on the BISNIS web site
2. Two EBRD-funded Consulting Opportunities in Armenia and Georgia

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Now Available on the BISNIS website:

EBRD Project Pipeline Update, September 2005

++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1.) EBRD – Armenia Microlending Programme (AMP): MSME Lending Advisors

2.) EBRD – Georgia – Public Administration – Consultancy Services –
Technical Assistance to Ministry of Environment

********* Forwarded by: *********************
Ellen S. House, BISNIS Trade Specialist for Consulting
U.S. Department of Commerce
Tel: 202/482-4655
Fax: 202/482-2293

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Billionaire Kerkorian raising stake in GM to 9.5%

After completing stock purchases, his Tracinda Corp. will control 53.8
million shares of the automaker

The Detroit News
Friday, September 2, 2005

By Jeff Green / Bloomberg News

Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian will spend about $463 million to
raise his stake in General Motors Corp. to 9.53 percent in a bet that GM
can end losses that totaled $1.4 billion so far this year.

Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp., GM’s third-largest shareholder, said in a
regulatory filing that it will increase its stake in the world’s biggest
automaker from about 7.2 percent with the purchase of 13.1 million
shares in three private transactions. After the purchases, he will
control 53.8 million of the shares.

Kerkorian, who sparked the biggest one-day jump in GM shares in 40 years
when he first disclosed his ownership in May, is stepping up purchases
after he failed to get as many shares as he hoped in a tender offer in
June. He’s buying the stock just as the sales gains sparked by GM’s
offer of employee discounts to all buyers are starting to wane.

“There’s so many problems there, he’s got to think that he’s got an
answer and that he can influence the company or that they’ll just pay
him to go away,” said Brian Bruce, who helps manage $18 billion in
equity, including GM shares, at PanAgora Asset Management in Boston.
“You’re not buying this because you think management has a good handle
on what they’re doing.”

Los Angeles-based Tracinda purchased 5 million shares on Aug. 26 for
$175 million and is scheduled to complete a purchase of 5.14 million
shares today for $183 million, according to the Securities and Exchange
Commission filing. He will buy another 3 million shares Tuesday for $105
million. Tracinda also entered into a $400 million credit facility with
Bank of America Corp.

Kerkorian paid from $35 to $35.71 per share in private transactions,
Tracinda said. Kerkorian, who controlled 22 million GM shares in early
May, originally offered $31 per share to buy an additional 28 million.
That tender offer expired June 7 with only about 40.7 million shares
purchased.

Kerkorian disclosed the new purchases the same day GM said its August
U.S. sales fell 13 percent, ending two straight months of gains driven
by its employee-discount offer.

The investment comes after GM lost $3 billion building cars and trucks
in the first half of this year as it cut production and paid higher
incentive and marketing costs to clear out unsold inventory. Chief
Executive Rick Wagoner this week said the outlook for 2006 is improving
as new models are expected to increase U.S. sales and material and
health-care costs may fall.

Kerkorian a decade ago launched a failed takeover bid for the former
Chrysler Corp. — now part of DaimlerChrysler AG — and won concessions
that included a representative on the Chrysler board. When he disclosed
that he was buying shares in Detroit-based GM, the news pushed up the
automaker’s stock 18 percent.

Kerkorian has said his investment in GM is “passive,” and on that basis,
GM’s board took a neutral stance on his original purchase. GM
spokeswoman Toni Simonetti said that GM does not comment on the actions
of individual shareholders.

Kerkorian will invest $276 million of his own money and borrow about
$187 million from Bank of America. The loans are unsecured. If the loan
balance exceeds $200 million, Kerkorian will be required to pledge the
GM shares as collateral, according to the filing.

The loan’s terms prevent Tracinda from making hostile transactions or
buying in excess of 10 percent of a company without permission of Bank
of America.

Kerkorian remains the third-largest GM shareholder after State Street
Corp. and Capital Research and Management, according to Bloomberg data.
GM’s large investors, including Capital, Brandes Investment Partners LP
and Southeastern Asset Management Inc., increased their holdings in the
first quarter by a combined 64 million shares as the stock hit a 13-year
low.

GM shares fell $1.22 to $32.07 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Through Wednesday, GM shares had risen 23 percent from the day before
Kerkorian first announced plans to acquire GM stock.

TURKEY TO BE OFFERED TO SOLVE PROBLEM OF NORMALIZING ITS
RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBORS DURING FORTHCOMING NEGOTIATIONS ON ITS
ACCESSION TO EU: OSCE ACTING CHAIRMAN

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6. ARMINFO. Turkey will be offered to solve the
problem of establishing relations with neighbors, including with
Armenia, during the forthcoming negotiations on its accession to
the European Union. It will make real Armenia’s cooperation with
Azerbaijan, stated the OSCE acting chairman, Slovenia’s Foreign
Minister Dimitrij Rupel during today’s negotiations with Armenia’s
Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan.

As ARMINFO was informed in the governmental press-service, Rupel
supported a viewpoint (based on international experience) according
to which both the establishment of trade and economic relations
with conflict’s parties and the formation of confidence atmosphere
considerably contribute to strengthening of political relations. In
his opinion, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement has become more
realizable within the framework of his present visit’s meetings in
Baku and Yerevan, despite the fact that there are some difficulties
in connection with the forthcoming parliamentary elections in
Azerbaijan. Rupel noted that he is informed with the process of
democratic reforms in Armenia. He estimated positively the process
of constitutional reforms meaning that Armenia tries to make its
legislative structures more corresponding to European standards.