Author: Emil Lazarian

ARMENIAN COMMERCIAL BANKS ATTRACT OVER 1 YEAR DEPOSITS AT HIGHESAT INTEREST RATE IN EARLY OCTOBER
Noyan Tapan News Agency
Oct 10 2005
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 10, NOYAN TAPAN. In the period of September 29 –
October 6, the RA commercial banks attracted over 1 year deposits
at the highest interest rate of 8% and 90-day deposits at the lowest
interest rate of 4%. According to the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA)
data, in the same period, the banks extended 30-day and 90-day loans
at the highest interest rate of 20% and 360-day loans at the lowest
interest rate of 17%.
The dynamics of interest rates of deposits attracted by the commercial
bank was as follows:
29.09.05 06.10.05
30 days 7% 6%
60 days 4% 5%
90 days 2% 4%
180 days 7% 6%
360 days 7% 6%
over 1 year 8% 8%
The dynamics of interest rates of the loans extended by the commercial
banks was as follows:
29.09.05 06.10.05
30 days 14% 20%
60 days 20% 19%
90 days 21% 20%
180 days 21% 18%
360 days 16% 17%
over 1 year 19% 18%
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WON THE WILL
Panorama
12:07 10/10/05
According to the counting committee, the elections of the president of
Armenian Bar had the following results; 227 participants voted ‘for’
Ruben Sahakyan, and 136 ‘for’ Enoq Azaryan. So the next 4 years Ruben
Sahakyan will chair AB.
“Won the will’, this is how the minister of justice Davit Harutiunyan
qualified the elections. His participation in the organization of
the AB assembly the minister commented in such way, “I haven’t had
any interference in the elections, I was here only to implement fair
and organized election”.
The new president of AB Ruben Sahakyan didn’t accept his election with
a great pleasure, and as he noticed, “I must continue to work with
my colleague Enoq Azaryan. It will be really difficult for both of us”.
According to participnats’ opinion AP elections were top level, as
there was no invalid bulletins. Even Ruben Sahakyan was astonished
with the level of organization. “I must take the video record of this
assembly to copy the experience for my future activity. We will try
to pass the next assemblies just this way”, promised the president.
The concept “opposite team” doesn’t exist for R. Sahakyan, “We are
all colleagues”, he stated and added that he took the obligation to
accept the all written suggestions of the attorneys. By the way, the
defeated candidate Enoq Azaryan was not present during the publication
of the results.

IN ARMENIA L’ULTIMA FRONTIERA PER GLI IMPRENDITORI ITALIANI: CAUCASO – OPPORTUNITA DI INVESTIMENTO
Dal Nostro Inviato
Il Sole-24 Ore, Italia
6 Ott 2005
Dopo Ucraina e Moldavia l’azione si sposta verso l’Asia centrale
EREVAN – Dopo Ucraina e Moldavia la nuova frontiera per i “pionieri”
del made in Italy si sposta verso il Caucaso, in Georgia e Armenia.
Paesi nati dalla disgregazione dell’ex impero russo che, nonostante i
numerosi problemi di natura politica, offrono interessanti opportunita
di investimento.
Il compito di accompagnare lo sbarco di un primo drappello di quaranta
imprenditori italiani in Armenia se l’e assunto il viceministro delle
Attivita produttive, Adolfo Urso, giunto ieri a Erevan per inaugurare
le “Giornate dell’amicizia italo-armena”, una manifestazione che
durante tutto il mese di ottobre illustrera il meglio della musica,
del cinema e della gastronomia italiani.
Un’iniziativa incentrata sulla mostra dei tesori dell’isola veneziana
di San Lazzaro (la cosiddetta Isola degli Armeni) e affiancata dal
Business forum tra imprese italiane e armene, che si pone l’obiettivo
di far conoscere l’Italia ai rappresentanti delle istituzioni locali.
Negli incontri che il viceministro Urso ha avuto ieri con il ministro
degli Esteri armeno, Vartan Oskanian, e con quello dello Sviluppo
economico, Karen Tchshmarityan, e stata resa esplicita la volonta
del sistema imprenditoriale italiano di rafforzare la cooperazione
economica con il Paese in coincidenza con la maggiore stabilizzazione
politica che si attende dal referendum istituzionale previsto a
novembre per riportare maggiori poteri al Parlamento, e in vista di
un compromesso con Baku per avviare a soluzione il vecchio conflitto
“congelato” con il Nagorno-Karabakh. Una volonta che Urso manifestera
anche oggi nel colloquio previsto con il presidente Robert Kocharian.
‘I rapporti culturali e istituzionali tra Roma e Jerevan – ha precisato
Urso – sono straordinari da molto tempo, non si puo dire lo stesso
per i rapporti commerciali. L’Italia e in effetti l’ottavo partner
dell’Armenia e il decimo investitore. Le cifre registrano segnali
di interesse ma c’e ancora molto da fare per migliorare scambi e
investimenti diretti’.
In realta nel Paese gia da tempo sono presenti ditte come la Renco
di Pesaro, attiva nelle costruzioni, e la Lovable (intimo) ha un
suo stabilimento, ma nel settore del credito e dell’energia nessuna
azienda italiana ha preso parte al processo di privatizzazione avviato
da tempo.
Le banche sono state quasi tutte privatizzate da russi o da gruppi
legati alla cosiddetta “diaspora” armena, e solo di recente Banca
Intesa ha manifestato interesse per aprire sportelli nel Paese.
Per quanto riguarda le prospettive di collaborazione economica
futura, i settori di interesse restano quello dell’edilizia,
dell’agroalimentare (tra le imprese presenti al Business forum anche
il produttore umbro di olio Rapanelli), delle macchine utensili,
del tessile e del turismo. ‘Ma le autorita del Paese – ha spiegato il
viceministro Urso – guardano a noi anche come punto di riferimento per
rendere piu efficiente il loro sistema amministrativo. A questo scopo
hanno chiesto un progetto di formazione per le Camere di commercio’.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJAN SAYS SOLDIER KILLED IN ATTACK BY ETHNIC ARMENIAN FORCES
Associated Press Worldstream
October 10, 2005 Monday 2:07 PM Eastern Time
BAKU, Azerbaijan
An Azerbaijani soldier was killed during a firefight with ethnic
Armenian forces near the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh,
Azerbaijan’s military said Monday.
The 19-year-old conscript was killed Sunday in the gunfire exchange
on the cease-fire line that separates Azerbaijani and Armenian-backed
troops, Defense Ministry spokesman Ilgar Verdiev said.
Verdiev said the Armenian forces started the shooting, and Azerbaijani
forces responded. Armenian officials could not be immediately be
reached for comment.
Nagorno-Karabakh and swaths of surrounding territory inside Azerbaijan
have been under control of ethnic Armenians since a six-year war
against Azerbaijan ended with a 1994 cease-fire. The enclave’s status
remains unresolved, and tensions remain high along the cease-fire
line with both sides regularly exchanging fire.

ARMENIAN JOURNALIST GETS SUSPENDED SENTENCE, FACES FURTHER DEFAMATION CASE
NTV Online website, Turkey
Oct 7 2005
Hrant Dink, the chief editor of the Armenian daily Agos, has been
sentenced to six months in prison. The sentence has been suspended
due to Dink’s good behaviour during the trial.
Dink was on trial for defaming Turks in an article he wrote. At
the trial which was held at the Sisli Second Criminal Court, Kemal
Kerincsiz, a member of the Jurists Union who is known for having
asked for the injunction on the Armenian conference and who attended
Dink’s trial as a complaining party, called for the punishment of
the suspect. The defence lawyers said there was no crime involved
and asked for Dink’s acquittal.
The judge ruled that in his column in Agos on 13 February 2004, Dink
insulted and vilified Turks. The judge sentenced him to six months
in prison. The judge then suspended the sentence on the grounds of
Dink’s good behaviour during the trial and because the judge believed
Dink would not commit another crime.
Dink faces another trial for a speech he delivered at the Global
Security, Terrorism and Human Rights panel meeting held in February
2002. He will stand trial for defamation. The trial is to be held at
the Urfa Third Criminal court on 9 February 2006.
Author Orhan Pamuk, too, will stand trial for defamation at the Sisli
Ninth Criminal Court on 16 December 2005.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

STRASBOURG CALLS TO ADOPT THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
A1+
| 15:47:27 | 10-10-2005 | Official |
Today in Strasbourg Diogo Freitas do Amaral, Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Portugal and Chairman of the Council of Europe Committee
of Ministers, made the following statement:
“After several months of intense debate, Armenia’s National Assembly
has just adopted a number of constitutional amendments, in line
with the country’s commitment undertaken when joining the Council of
Europe. The referendum to be held on 27 November on this reform will
be vital for Armenia. By turning out to vote during the referendum,
the people of Armenia will indeed be deciding on changes of fundamental
importance for their future.
The expertise of the constitutional amendments by the Council of
Europe’s Venice Commission has shown that the reform will allow the
alignment of the Constitution with European standards by enhancing the
independence of the judiciary, providing a more balanced distribution
of power between the executive and the legislative branches, as well
as promoting local democracy and freedom of the media.
I appeal to the sense of responsibility and concern for the common
good of Armenia’s political parties, beyond their differences, in
order to support this reform, which is essential to the country’s
future as a democracy. By participating in the referendum and showing
their attachment to the values of freedom and democracy, the people
of Armenia will show their desire to see Armenia fully assume its
part in the European construction.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NOBEL COMMITTEE SPLIT BECAUSE OF PAMUK
Turkish Press
Oct 10 2005
HURRIYET- It has been claimed that the Nobel committee was divided
into two because of Orhan Pamuk and couldn’t give the Nobel Literature
Prize.
The British Observer newspaper claimed that the committee which awards
the Nobel Prize for literature has delayed their decision for at
least a week amid reports of a split over honoring the controversial
Orhan Pamuk.
For the first time in at least 10 years, the literature prize was
announced neither in the run-up to, nor in the same week as the four
other main Nobel awards – medicine, physics, chemistry and peace. The
literature award is now due to be announced on Oct, 13, Thursday.
The newspaper claimed that as Pamuk has been a political figure
recently, the prize that can be given in literature to Pamuk could
be overshadowed by political debate.
GUL: PAMUK WILL WIN THE LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST HIM
ZAMAN – Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that author Orhan
Pamuk will win the lawsuit which was filed against him due to his
statements regarding so-called Armenian genocide.
Gul said that earlier, similar lawsuits were opened in Turkey,
but courts decided that everybody has the right to express his/her
opinion. Gul noted that he did not have any doubt that the court’s
decision will be in favor of Pamuk.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSKANYAN IN AUSTRALIA
A1+
| 12:32:24 | 10-10-2005 | Official |
The delegation of the RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has been
in Australia since October 9.
On October 10 in Canberra Mr. Oskanyan met the Australian Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Commerce Alexander Dauner. During the conversation
the sides referred to the perspectives of the development of
the Armenian-Australian relations, and exchanged ideas about the
international situation and the recent developments in the region.
In the margins f the visit the RA Foreign Minister also had meetings
with the other representatives of the Australian Government, as well
as with the representatives of the Armenian community.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Caucaz.com, Georgia
Oct 10 2005
X-Sender: Asbed Bedrossian
X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 — ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
Will America set up a military base in Azerbaijan?
Article published in 09/10/2005 Issue
By Célia CHAUFFOUR in Paris
Translated by Sophie LANCASTER and Simone KOSHIMIZU
The United States have denied any official military involvement in
Azerbaijan. Rumours continue to abound, however. Ariel Cohen, a
Russian and Eurasian specialist for American institute `The Heritage
Foundation’, responds to questions posed by the editorial team on
American military strategy in South Caucasus.
The press has recently been speculating over the possible opening of
a permanent American military base in Azerbaijan. The Ambassador for
the United States in Baku and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham
Aliyev, have both firmly rejected this idea. But whilst the Pentagon
prepares to withdraw its troops from Uzbekistan on the request of the
Uzbek government, local and foreign observers have wondered about the
possibility of moving these American forces to the other side of the
Caspian Sea, to Azerbaijan. What is really going on?
This important question also raises others: what should be America’s
strategy in Eurasia? This is a issue which has been made more
delicate by recent events. Firstly, as the United States were
effectively `asked’ to leave Uzbekistan, but also because Washington
is at present paying particular attention to Iran and the EU3
(Germany, France and Great Britain), the European allies of Tehran.
Today, the priority for Washington is to determine if the US needs to
carry out an active policy in Eurasia or if, on the other hand, they
should limit their presence to the absolute minimum in order to focus
on the Middle East, in particular Iraq, before worrying about Central
Asia and Caucasus.
This debate is ongoing in Washington. Many experts have been
discussing the subject and have recommended different approaches.
However, for as long as this debate remains open and unresolved, I
think that the probability of establishing an American military base
in Azerbaijan is slim.
Do you think that America has an actual strategy for the South
Caucasus, similar to that put into place in Central Asia?
The overseas policy carried out in the South Caucasus primarily aims
to maintain relations and cohesion between Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Keeping this equilibrium is vital in order to guarantee the security
of energy supplies which pass through these territories. The main
issue here is oil.
But the links between Georgia and Azerbaijan are fairly open, free
from all foreign interference, and this is being maintained, at
present, without any American military bases. What’s more, when
Georgia negotiated with Russia for the removal of its troops, they
guaranteed Moscow that a permanent American base would not be set up
in Georgia. Also, if Washington does not set up any base in Georgia,
why would it establish one in Azerbaijan?
A permanent American infrastructure in Azerbaijan would only be
possible for two reasons. The first centres around any possible
serious risk to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline. The
second depends on Iran: if the United States sees the possibility for
an attack on Iran, they could do so from Azeri territory. But for the
time being, neither of these two events are applicable or really
probable.
At the end of July, the first Russian military convoy left Batumi.
The definite withdrawal of the 12th and 62nd Russian military bases
is planned only for the end of 2008. In August however, some members
of the Russian parliament started to reproach the agreement signed in
Moscow. The withdrawal process will probably not be affected. But
will the Kremlin be able to come to terms with the departure of their
troops from their `close neighbour’?
Russia has assured the United States that they will definitely
withdraw their military bases from Georgia. Moscow accepts to
withdraw their troops on condition that Georgia keeps a balanced and
moderate conduct towards Russia. However, the agreement on the
closing of these two Russian military bases does not change in the
least the policies imposed by the Kremlin in Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. The Kremlin does not intend to give up its influence on
these two secessionist territories. It granted Russian citizenship to
thousands of Abkhazians and South Ossetians and now claims that most
of these separatist populations are Russians.
This means a de facto annexation of these two separatist republics,
which would directly threaten the integrity of the Georgian
territory. But this situation is not linked to the withdrawal of the
military bases in Georgia. Be that as it may, the representatives in
Duma will never exercise any actual authority over the subject if
they strive to rail against the departure of the Russian troops in
Georgia.
The Kremlin and the Ministry of Defence, the two major political
actors with the power to make decisions, concluded that the closing
of the two military bases – which are independent one from each
other, difficult to defend and supply and too expensive to be
maintained – did not mean the end of Russian influence over Georgia,
a fortiori over Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Moscow also has the Georgian labour force in Russia to its advantage.
Therefore, if Moscow closes its frontiers and forbids the Georgians
to either work in Russia or to repatriate their income, that would
result in a serious setback to Tbilisi. This fact highly increases
the power that Moscow has to put pressure on Tbilisi.
You have mentioned what certain issues such as the stability and the
security of Georgia and Azerbaijan represent to the United States. Is
Armenia being relegated to the background of Washington’s strategic
plans concerning the South Caucasus?
Armenia is not located in the Caspian-Black Sea corridor. Besides
that, Yerevan is a member of the CSTO (the Collective Security Treaty
Organisation, created on 30 April 2003 during the Dushanbe summit and
which is largely dominated by Moscow) and they maintain historical
and privileged relations with Russia as well as with Iran. All these
factors put Armenia aside and out of the enclosed circle of America’s
favourite allies in the region.
In addition, Armenia is not only under the influence of South
Caucasian geo-political realities, but also under that of a very
powerful pro-Armenia lobby group in the US. Therefore, the relations
between Washington and Yerevan are more bilateral than integrated and
interdependent of American strategies in the region.
When it comes to this subject, the Nagorno-Karabakh project is of
major importance. American diplomats are optimistic and have been
working hard to put an end to the Yerevan-Baku conflict. This process
might end sooner or later and only then will it be possible to
integrate Armenia into the strategy concerning the region.
But so far among the American priorities, the main objective in
Washington has been to settle the process created under the aegis of
the Minsk group, and to develop bilateral relations with Yerevan in
order to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and support
non-governmental relations between Azeris and Armenians. Examples of
these efforts of popular democracy for the resolution of conflicts
can sometimes be observed in Georgia. From now on, they should work
on that direction to re-establish relations between Armenians and
Azeris.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMINFO News Agency
October 8, 2005
TURKEY’S INTOLERANCE AND HOSTILITY TO ARMENIA HINDER STABILITY AND
CONSTRUCTIVE DIALOGUE IN SOUTH CAUCASUS
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8. ARMINFO. Turkey’s intolerance and hostility to
Armenia and denial of the Armenian Genocide hinder stability and
constructive dialogue in the South Caucasus, Vice Speaker of the
Armenian Parliament, ARFD member Vahan Hovhannissyan said during the
NATO Rose Roth seminar in Yerevan today.
On the other hand recognition of the genocide would give guarantees
of regional security. Meanwhile Turkey is trying to drive Armenia out
of the regional processes by initiating the construction of
Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline and Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi rail road and
by preventing the operation of Kars-Gyumri-Akhalkalaki rail road.
Concerning Turkey’s charges that Armenia violates the Kars Agreement
Hovhannissyan says that Turkey breaks the agreement itself by
blockading Armenia and refusing to establish diplomatic relations
with the country. As to the charge that Armenia has occupied 20% of
Azeri territory Hovhannissyan says that having occupied Northern
Cyprus itself Turkey has no right to talk about it.
Hovhannissyan says that Turkey’s admission into the EU may lead to
the opening of the border and the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. The whole policy on united Europe is based on tolerance and
repentance – the notions alien to Turkey.