Author: Frangulian Shushan

YEREVAN BIDDING LAST FAREWELL TO PRIME MINISTER MARGARYAN

ITAR-TASS, Russia
March 28 2007

YEREVAN, March 28 (Itar-Tass) – Armenia is bidding its last farewell
to Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan, who suddenly died last Sunday.

The president has declared a day of mourning – the black-rimmed
national flags are hoisted half-mast, all the cultural and recreation
functions, as well as the radio and TV entertainment programs are
cancelled.

The coffin with Margaryan’s body was taken on Wednesday from his
apartment to the lobby of the Spendiarov National Academic Opera and
Ballet Theatre, where it will lay in state.

The mourning procession halted en route at the Headquarters of the
Republican Party of Armenia, which Margaryan headed for ten years,
and also at Government House, since he was at the head of the Armenian
cabinet, beginning from May 2000.

In spite of drizzling rain, numerous representatives of the
Armenian public circles and political parties came to bid farewell
to Andranik Margaryan. They told Itar-Tass that the tenth premier
of the independent Armenia was unquestionably a key figure on the
country’s political scene.

He had agreed to assume this responsible post in 2000, at the time
when the country’s domestic political situation was quite difficult
and had thereby played a most important stabilising role, they added.

Whereas Armenia had nine prime ministers during the preceding nine
years, i.e. on the average one every year, Margaryan had headed the
cabinet for seven long years.

Precisely due to this fact, political experts had dubbed him "the
Armenian stability premier". It was during his premiership that
Armenia became a member of the World Trade Organisation and was able
to annually record amazing economic growth rates.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed profound condolences
to President Robert Kocharyan, to all the leaders of Armenia, to the
relatives and near ones of the deceased in connection with the sudden
death of the country’s prime minister.

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and High
Representatives for the Common Foreign and Security Police Javier
Solana have addressed telegrams of condolences to the Armenian
leadership.

Russian Minister of Transport Igor Levitin heads the Russian delegation
to the funeral of Andranik Margaryan.

Haterk needs a bridge

NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
27-03-2007 15:50:13 – KarabakhOpen

The village of Haterk is known for its history and people who are
always ready to defend themselves.

Haterk is situated at 1000 km above sea and 45 km to the west of the
town of Martakert, on the bank of the Tartar River. Mount Mrav is
behind the village. Those who visit Haterk are lucky. There are
villages in Karabakh which have a magnificent scenery. The village of
Haterk looks to the province of Khachen. Therefore, people in this
village have a free thinking and let nobody control their wishes and
thoughts.

It is two hours from Stepanakert to Haterk by car. Not because the
village is high on the mountain side, and it seems that the car cannot
overcome the rocks. But because it is necessary to cross the river
which becomes wild in spring. The way along the bridge is long. The
short way crosses the river in a shallow place, which is impossible
for small cars.

The people of Haterk propose building a bridge in the place of this
crossing. They have invited specialists, sponsors. No one has attended
to this yet. The people of Haterk say the road would become shorter
by 20 km if a bridge were built. And it would be easier to take their
products to the market. Otherwise, the famous cornelian cherry vodka
remains in the cellars. In 1990 a squad of volunteers was set up in
Haterk with a population of 3200. On August 16, 1991 the soldiers of
the squad and the women of the village took hostages 43 servicemen of
the force of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs and demanded to
release the young men from Haterk and Chapar who were imprisoned by
the force of the MIA and transferred to the Azerbaijani force. On
August 18 the members of the Krunk Committee arrived in the village
and mediated the exchange of hostages.

>From June 1992 Haterk and the adjacent villages were shelled from the
emplacements at the villages of Agdaban, Charektar and Nareshtar,
Kelbajar region. On June 5 the foe occupied the village, the houses
were set to fire, about two hundred peaceful people underwent
violence. The artilleries of the Defense Force and the volunteers
managed to stop the advance of the foe in other directions and to
evacuate the population.

On July 20 the squad of Haterk launched an offensive against the foe
concentrated in the village, then retreated and were positioned in the
direction of the villages of Vaghuhas and Cheldran. On February 20,
1993 the Defense Force liberated the village. 44 freedom fighters were
killed.

Now the population of the village is 1600. The school and the nursery
school have been repaired. This year there are three first grades at
school.

Haterk is not one of those villages which could not get round after
occupation and displacement. People here live the way they fight,
creating conditions for their life and leisure. And nobody can do them
harm, especially with Mount Mrav in their back.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 26 2007

YEREVAN, MOSCOW MAYORS DISCUSS IMPLEMENTATION OF BILATERAL
COOPERATION PROGRAM

YEREVAN, March 26. /ARKA/. Yerevan Mayor Yervand Zakharyan and Moscow
Mayor Yuri Luzhkov discussed the implementation of a program of
cooperation between the two capitals for 2003-2007.
The Public Relations Department, RA Municipality, reports that the
Yerevan Mayor pointed out that all the agreements reached until now
have been implemented, and the partnership is expanding not only
between the two countries, but also between their capitals.
Mayor Zakharyan expressed gratitude to his Moscow counterpart for
high-level organization of the Days of Yerevan as part of the Year of
Armenia in Russia.
He pointed out that Yerevan’s Avan community and Moscow’s Northern
administrative district, as well as Yerevan’s Center community and
Moscow’s Central administrative region, reached cooperation
agreements last year. Also, a number of urban development,
educational and cultural programs have been implemented. Under the
agreements, a Russian church was constructed in Yerevan, and an
Armenian one in Moscow.
"We are following the principles of strategic partnership, and
preconditions for expanding it are available," Zakharyan said.
In his turn, Mayor Luzhkov expressed his satisfaction with the work
carried out over the last four years. He pointed out that
Armenian-Russian trade and economic relations are expanding, evidence
thereof being the short-term construction of the Moscow Palace in
Yerevan and of the Yerevan Palace in Moscow.
"This will allow the two countries’ companies and individual
businessmen to discuss the prospects of importing new goods and
looking for new markets, as well as implement mutually advantageous
programs," Luzhkov said.
He stressed that the construction of a wholesale market of Armenian
goods is shortly to get under way in Moscow. "Armenian goods are
competitive in the Russian market, and, in case of a flexible price
policy, they can be of interest for businessmen residing in the
Moscow regions," Luzhkov said. P.T. -0–

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 26 2007

ARMENIA’S PRIME-MINISTER POST TO REMAIN WITH RPA

YEREVAN, March 26. /ARKA – Novosti-Armenia/. Armenia’s Prime-Minister
post will remain with the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Chief of
the RPA’s Press Service Eduard Sharmazanov reported referring to the
new political agreement reached between Armenia’s president Robert
Kocharian and the coalition forces.
"In the next few days RPA will convoke a sitting of the executive
body or the party council where it will nominate the party’s
candidature to the post of Prime-Minister," Sharmazanov said.
Armenia’s Prime-Minister, Chairman of the Republican Party died from
heart attack at the age of 56 Sunday. He has led the government since
2000. N.V. -0–

AZG Armenian Daily #055, 26/03/2007

National Interest

MUTAFIAN PATRIARCH PROTESTS AGAINST REFERRING SURB KHACH AS "THE
CHURCH OF AKHTAMAR" AND TURNING IT INTO A MUSEUM

In a recent interview to "Anatolu" agency, published in "Miliet" on
March 23, Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafian said that the Reolution on the
Armenian Genopcide, pending at the US Congress, will do no good either
to Armenia or Turkey. Armenian media made a short conclusion that the
Patriarch is against adoption of the bill. Such conclusion is
reasonable indeed, but it also must be taken into consideration that
the initiative of the interview belonged to the Turkish side. The
Turkish press, being eager to get negative comments, was asking
prevocational questions about the resolution. It is obvious that after
the murder of Hrant Dink the Patriarch of Constantinople is becoming
the target of the attacks of Turkish nationalists, even if his
position on the Resolution is just neutral.

In short, demanding the Patriarch to defend the Resolution, means
putting the Armenian community of Turkey under the threat of the
violent Turkish nationalists. Especially when the nationalists are
eager to take revenge for the "We are all Armenians, All Hrant Dink"
slogan.

In the same interview the Patriarch also mentioned the opening of the
Surb Khach church of Akhtamar. "Everybody speaks of `the Church of
Akhtamar’. There is no such church in this world. Akhtamar is the name
of the isle, an the name of the churc is `Surb Khach’ (Holy
Cross). Moreover, the church is to be opened as a museum. I have
addressed the venerable Prime Minister and Minister of Culture with a
letter, demanding to permit celebration of a divine service at the
curch, each year on the holyday of Surb Khach, but received no reply,"
Said Mesrob II.

By H. Chaqrian

The Times (London)
March 27, 2007, Tuesday

Andranik Margarian

Andranik Margarian, Prime Minister of Armenia since 2000, was born on
June 12, 1951. He died of a heart attack on March 25, 2007, aged 55

Prime Minister of Armenia who was appointed to bring a degree of
stability to the country after a turbulent period

An electronics engineer by profession, Andranik Margarian was
appointed Prime Minister of Armenia in May 2000 at a tense period in
the country’s recent history as an independent state.

In October 1999 Armenia’s Prime Minister, Vazgen Sargsyan had been
among a number of politicians, including the Speaker, who were killed
when armed gunmen burst into the parliament building and opened fire
on members in protest against what they regarded as the corrupt
political leadership of the country.

In the aftermath of the gunmen’s surrender (they were later tried and
sentenced to life imprisonment) President Robert Kocharyan appointed
Vazgen’s brother, Aram, Prime Minister.

But amid a rising tide of dissatisfaction with the country’s economic
performance, Kocharyan replaced him with Margarian the following May.
Since then Margarian had been the leader of the Republican Party, the
largest grouping in the Armenian Parliament.

Although in Armenia the president is the head of the administration,
and the prime minister is, rather, an executant of policy, Margarian
was regarded as having played a stabilising role in Armenia in
difficult years. He had latterly been involved in developing economic
relations with Romania, to whose position as an EU member Armenia
attached particular importance for her own development.

Born in 1951, and educated at the Yerevan Politechnic Institute,
where he qualified as a computer engineer, Margarian had been active
in separatist politics from an early age under the Soviet regime. In
1968 he joined the illegal National United Party, which agitated
against Soviet domination of Armenia.

In 1974 he was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison for
disseminating anti-Soviet ideas. When Armenia declared its
independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 he became a member of the
new Republican Party, and became a deputy of the national assembly in
1995. He subsequently served as the party’s chairman.

President of Russia Expressed Deep Condolences in View of Death of
Andranik Margaryan

Arminfo
2007-03-25 19:05:00

In view of a sudden death of Armenia’s Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan, Vladimir Putin expressed his deep condolences to RA
President Robert Kocharyan, to the country’s authorities and the
relatives of the died, the press-service of Kremlin reports.

Malvern Gazette, UK
March 23 2007

Renowned academic dies, 82

By Lindsay Holder

A RENOWNED writer and academic who travelled the world before
settling in Malvern has died aged 82.

Retired university professor Jack Sislian died at Worcestershire
Royal hospital on Thursday, March 8.

Prof Sislian enjoyed an illustrious career, teaching in far-flung
locations, including America, Nepal, Botswana and the Middle East. A
specialist in comparative education, he wrote several papers on 20th
Century education pioneer Sir Michael Sadler.

Think African, his study of African beliefs, values and traditions,
was published in 2000.

Born in Cairo of Armenian parents, he was educated at the English
Missionary College, then the American University of Cairo. He came to
Malvern in the 1950s, where he taught at the former Malvern Link
School, near the railway station. Despite his worldwide travels, he
decided to return to Malvern Link to retire.

His neighbour of 12 years, Ruth Griffin, said he was a well-known
face around the town many people would be saddened by his death.

TURKS, AZERIS AND GEORGIANS CEMENTING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 21 2007

Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya has reported that the Turkish,
Azerbaijani and Georgian relationship has transformed into "a strategic
partnership of perspective" and noted that Armenia has been left out
of this axis due to issues with the region of Nagorno-Karabakh —
hotly disputed between Azerbaijan and Armenia — and unfavorable
diplomatic relations.

In an opinion column published yesterday it was reported that despite
pessimistic forecasts "new integration initiatives" are becoming
effective, referring to the business alliance of Turkey, Azerbaijan
and Georgia, adding, "This integration has started to advance since
the mid-1990s because of the incredible petroleum and natural gas
reserves in the region of the Caspian Sea."

The article went on to say that Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku is a
"new and determined player" in the field of energy and that Russia,
along with many other countries, viewed the Baku-Supsa petroleum line,
which transports Azeri petroleum to the Black Sea, as a political
project rather than a financial initiative. "Despite all eyes being
on Azerbaijan, the oil pipeline was established and big companies
decided on the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Cehyan (BTC) oil
pipeline, as well as a Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline,"
the columnist wrote.

Turkey took advantage of resources Russia ignored. Following
the realization of the BTC project, the joint decision of
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to construct a Baku-Tbilisi-Javakheti
(Ahýlkelek)-Kars railway is indicative of a regional axis, according
to the article in the Russian newspaper. The article goes on to
say that Russia has chosen to remain outside of the axis due to a
difference political opinions and maintains that a BTC project will
not be lucrative while exerting efforts to prevent the realization
of this project.

The article notes that "Turkey, like any county that has economic
strength, took advantage of the opportunity [to partake in such
a project]." The article praised Turkey for being helpful in
resolving a problem between Azerbaijan and Georgia in the early 1990s
surrounding food items, adding: "Of our course Turkey benefited from
its involvement as well. Unfortunately, Armenia, the third country
of the Southern Caucus region, is becoming exceedingly excluded from
the strengthening axis of integration between these nations because
of its lack of diplomatic relations with Turkey and the lack of a
resolution in the matter of [Nagorno-] Karabakh.

However, if Armenia’s relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan were to
improve, the integration could gain speed. Moreover, Armenia’s Minister
of Foreign Affairs Vardan Oskanyan has stated that Yerevan — Armenia’s
capital — must work towards involvement in such projects. Armenia,
which is under blockade by Azerbaijan and Turkey and can only establish
relations with the rest of the world through Georgia, must know that
it is important for it to become involved in regional integration
initiatives, the article noted.

–Boundary_(ID_Tj7AZMIO712zH7n8oOoTWw)–

AZERBAIJANI, ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS MAY MEET IN JUNE

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 21 2007

Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister, Araz Azimov, was in Brussels
today looking for EU support on Baku’s stance on the conflict of the
Nagorno Karabakh.

Azimov spent much of his address to the European Parliament’s South
Caucasus delegation explaining why Kosovo should not be a precedent
for Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

RadioLiberty quoted the deputy minister saying "Kosovo issue is
different from the Azerbaijani issue, the Azerbaijani-Armenian
conflict. In this conflict, we have an open territorial claim by
Armenia. We have an open war erupted in 1992; even earlier we had
these military hostilities," Azimov stated, APA reports.

The EU has made clear it will not use a Kosovo resolution as a
blueprint for any of the so-called frozen conflicts in the former
Soviet Union while it was allegedly feared that the solution to the
Kosovo conflict could be set a precedent to the Nagorno Karabakh issue,
an Azeri enclave occupied by Armenia. Brussels says Kosovo is a unique
case because it alone is administered by the United Nations.

Azimov also argued that territorial solutions should reflect the
views of all sides in a conflict. To do otherwise, he said, would
undermine international law.

Hannes Swoboda, a senior Socialist European deputy, helped draft
a parliament declaration on Kosovo. He told Azimov he accepts the
Azerbaijani argument that the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh is quite
different from that of Kosovo.

But, he added, both cases are similar in the sense that it may be
"too late" to return to pre-conflict conditions. It’s a fact, he
suggested, that all the governments involved should accept.

"I think Kosovo never will be part of Serbia again," Swoboda said.

"[That] time is over. And at the same time, there may be some parallel
here for Nagorno-Karabakh. The question is not ‘What is the legal point
of view? Who is right?’ The legal point is clear — it’s an occupied
territory. But the question is what the key is to the future that is
good for Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the people in Nagorno-Karabakh?"

The Azerbaijani deputy foreign minister also said Baku prefers a
negotiated peaceful solution to the problem. Azimov said Aliyev and
his Armenian counterpart, Robert Kocharian, are planning to meet for
negotiations on the issue soon after the May 12 parliamentary elections
in Armenia. The presidents are expected to meet in early June. /APA/