Author: Harutyunian Christine

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS GEORGIA

The Messenger, Georgia
June 27 2007

On June 27 the Armenian Foreign Minister, Vardan Oskanyan, will pay
an official visit to Georgia, the news agency Black Sea Press reports.

As ArmInfo was told with reference to the press-service of the Foreign
Ministry of Armenia, during the visit meetings with President of
Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, Foreign Affairs Minister Gela Bezhuashvili
and Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze are planned.

The delegation headed by Oskanyan will return to Yerevan on June 28.

GLOBAL GOLD MINING TO INVEST $10 MILLION IN ARMENIA

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS: The US-based Global Gold Mining
company has invested around $65. million in the last several years
in prospecting Armenian mines. The chief manager of its Armenian
subsidiary, Ashot Poghosian, said the volume of investments will rise
to $9.6 million before the end of 2006.

In 2004 the company was granted a license to prospect mines in Armenian
Tukhmanuk, Hankavan and Getik areas and in Marjan. Poghosian told a
news conference today that prospecting in Tukhmanuk was nearly over. He
said some 75,000 tons of gold ore are supposed to be extracted this
year. Experts estimate that every one thousand ton of ore there
contains 6 grams of gold and 12 grams of silver.

He said the company was not planning to prospect uranium ore deposits,
for which a special permission of the government is needed. But he
said if deposits of uranium are found during general prospecting the
company would ask the government to allow it to extract uranium.

A MURDER IN SEBASTIA STREET

A1+
[06:38 pm] 22 June, 2006

Today at 2:47 p.m. an unknown citizen phoned the Yerevan board police
station and informed that shots were heard opposite 29 building in
Sebastia street. An operative group sent to the scene immediately
after the call found Sedrak Zatikyan’s dead body on the scene.

A casual passer-by was also killed during the shooting. According
to the data of the police station the dead woman was Karine Sargsyan
born in 1969. An action was brought against the crime.

An operative group of prosecuracy and police workers was set up
immediately. The details are still being revealed.

To note, Sedrak Zatikyan is Vahan Zatikyan’s son, the ex deputy of
Malatia-Sebastia community.

CHERMOZ INHABITANTS TO SEE "DREAMS ABOUT ARMEIA"

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 21 2006

PERM, JUNE 21, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The inhabitants of
the town of Chermoz, Ilyinski region, Perm territory, will see an
exhibition "Dreams about Armenia" that will open on June 24 at the
Chermoz museum of history and regional geography. According to the
Yerkramas (Territory) newspaper of Armenians of Russia, this gift
was made to the inhabitants of Chermoz by the Armenian community of
Perm for the Day of the Town. The Armenian community gratuitously
organized delivery of the pictures to the town.

The exposition dedicated to Year of Armenia in Russia for the
first time opened in February in Yekaterinburg Gallery of Modern
Art. Photos by professional TV cameraman Artur Poghosian, paintings
and drawings by Natalia Petrenko (Nizhni Tagil), as well as landscapes
by painter-mountain-climber Artur Karapetian from Bereznikovsk were
presented at the exhibition.

The history of Chermoz gets mixed up with the history of the Armenian
Diaspora of Russia. In 1778 Ivan Lazarev from Persia and Armenian
by his origin bought from the Stroganovs the Chermoz plant and the
lands adjoining it and at the end of the 19th century Chermoz became
the administrative center of the estate of the Lazarevs.

AMERICAN ARMENIAN POETESS ASYA ASATRIAN ASSISTS INHABITANTS OF GYUMRI OLD PEOPLE’S HOME

Noyan Tapan
Jun 20 2006

GYUMRI, JUNE 20, NOYAN TAPAN. American Armenian poetess Asya Asatrian
visited recently the Gyumri invalids’ and old people’s home, taking
small presents.

As the poetess mentioned in the interview to the Noyan Tapan
correspondent, when visiting Armenia, she considered weigh upon
her sole to meet with inhabitants of the Gyumri old people’s home,
to organize a party to make their everyday life interesting.

It is already the second time that Asya Asatrian visits the Gyumri
old people’s home and assists the local inhabitants. Attaching
importance to similar meetings, the poetess noticed that every
Diasporan Armenian’s obligation is to visit such an institution
when visiting the Fatherland, as, according to her, even a short
meeting and conversation is very important for inhabitants of the
old people’s home.

THE TIES THAT DIVIDE: TURKEY AND ARMENIA

The Economist
June 17, 2006
U.S. Edition

Trying to improve a troubled relationship

Locals dream of reopening the frontier between Turkey and Armenia

NAIF ALIBEYOGLU, mayor of Kars, a town bordering Armenia, has a
dream. He pictures a party of Turkish officials embracing their
Armenian counterparts in the middle of an ancient bridge over the
river that divides their countries. Reduced by war and neglect to
a pair of greyish stone stumps on opposite banks of the river, its
condition is an apt symbol for relations between the two countries.

The bridge, part of the historic site of Ani (see box), would in theory
be easy to reconstruct. Fixing the broader relationship between Turkey
and Armenia promises to be a great deal harder.

Turkey was among the first countries to recognise Armenia when it
emerged from the Soviet Union’s wreckage in 1991. But bitter arguments
over the fate of the Ottoman Armenians-did the mass killings of 1915
constitute genocide?-together with lingering border disputes have
stood in the way of formal ties. The estrangement deepened in 1993
when Turkey sealed its land frontier with Armenia (while still allowing
direct air travel). The Turks acted after Armenian forces had occupied
a chunk of Azerbaijan in a war over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Years of secret talks between Turkish and Armenian diplomats-the
latest of which were held in Vienna in March- have failed to ease
tensions. And this is despite vigorous backing for renewed ties from
both America and the European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join.

Mr Alibeyoglu, who is from Turkey’s ruling AK party, says the
people of Kars are paying the price. With average annual incomes of
only $823, Kars is among the country’s poorest and most neglected
provinces. Yet before the cold war Kars was among the young republic’s
most progressive places. It is vividly evoked in "Snow", a novel by
Turkey’s most famous writer, Orhan Pamuk. Locals would attend the
theatre and ballet and dine on caviar and champagne. Such tastes were
inherited from former Russian occupiers, whose traces can still be
detected in the grandeur of its Tsarist-era architecture.

Mr Alibeyoglu, whose penchant for wine and naughty sculptures would
have gone unnoticed in those days, now sees a chance to reverse
his city’s decline, but only if Turkey unconditionally reopens its
borders. By doing this, Turkey would regain some moral high ground,
as well as securing access to strategic markets in Central Asia
and beyond. Kars could even become a regional hub in the Caucasus,
especially if a rail link to Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, were
restored. Trade volumes between the two countries, now averaging
a measly $100m a year, almost all of it conducted via Georgia,
should soar.

There is more. As many as 200,000 members of the Armenian diaspora
return to their homeland every year. Many would like to cross the
border into Turkey in order to visit Armenian archaeological sites.

The tourist trade could be worth millions of dollars. "They would also
meet Turks and realise they aren’t quite as evil as they imagined,"
adds Kaan Soyak, co-chairman of the Turkish-Armenian Business
Development Council.

But how to break the diplomatic deadlock? Mr Alibeyoglu’s answer is to
take matters into his own hands. In 2000 he drove to the Armenian town
of Gyumri, where he appeared on television with his fellow mayor and
appealed for peace. This autumn, Mr Alibeyoglu will host a festival
that features, for a second time, performers from Armenia, Georgia
and Azerbaijan. The Armenians will have to make a tortuous journey via
the Turkish cities of Trabzon and Istanbul. But the mayor hopes that,
one day soon, their journey will be much quicker.

Karabakh Issue to Be Discussed at Rose-Roth NATO PA Seminar

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.06.2006 16:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The 63rd Rose-Roth seminar of the NATO Parliamentary
Assembly will be held in Sochi, Russia June 22-24. The participants
will exchange views on the topics "Security issues in the South
Caucasus", "Frozen conflicts in the South Caucasus: the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict" and some others.

TURCHIA: ASSOLTO GIORNALISTA PER QUESTIONE MASSACRO ARMENI

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
8/6/2006

Aveva Criticato Magistratura Per No A Convegno In Materia

(ANSA-AFP) – ISTANBUL, 8 GIU – Un tribunale turco ha assolto oggi,
invocando la liberta’ di espressione, un noto giornalista in una
vicenda legata alla questione storica del massacro degli armeni
all’epoca dell’Impero ottomano. Lo ha reso noto l’agenzia Anadolu.

Il tribunale ha stabilito che Murat Belge, cronista del quotidiano
‘Radikal’, non ha vilipeso l’istituzione giudiziaria criticando la
decisione di una corte che, nel settembre scorso, aveva impedito
una conferenza, molto attesa, sulla questione armena. L’argomento e’
tradizionalmente tabu’ in Turchia, dove se ne e’ appena cominciato a
parlare, soprattutto in virtu delle sollecitazioni dell’Unione europea,
cui Ankara vuole aderire.

Il giudice ha inoltre lasciato cadere, adducendo la prescrizione,
un’imputazione simile contro Belge per un secondo articolo sullo
stesso soggetto.

Se riconosciuto colpevole, il giornalista rischiava fino a dieci anni
di reclusione.

Nell’aprile scorso la magistratura aveva deciso il non luogo a
procedere, sempre per motivi di prescrizione, contro altri quattro
giornalisti incriminati assieme a Belge nell’ambito della stessa
vicenda.

La conferenza sulla questione armena si era poi tenuta, in un luogo
diverso da quello originariamente previsto. Il suo divieto era stato
chiesto da ultranazionalisti turchi che si rifiutano di riconoscere
il genocidio armeno.

KHACHATUR ATANESIAN:ARMENIAN ICE CREAM MARKET IS FULLY OCCUPIED BY LOCAL PRODUCERS

Yerevan, June 14.ArmInfo. "At present, the Armenian ice cream market is
fully occupied by the local producers," Khachatur Atanesian, Executive
Director of "Ashtarak Kat" company, said in the interview to ArmInfo.

He said that at present over 10 large producers of ice cream work in
the Armenian ice cream market. And each of these companies uses not
less than 50% of its production capacities. Atanesian said that this
fact is first of all conditioned by the natural limitations of the
country, secondly, by the small market of Armenia, thirdly, by the
short expire terms for diary products’ preservation. Atanesian added
that at present the company issued three new brands of ice cream,
particularly, "Truffles," "Havana," and ice cream with the taste
of condensed milk. He stated that there are over 80 various types
of ice cream produced by "Ashtakak Kat." To note, "Ashtarak Kat,"
was founded in 1995 on the basis of the cheese dairy plant in the
village of Agarak, Aragatsotn region. The company cooperates with
1,200 farms in 52 villages in Armenia and employs 350 people.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
06/15/2006
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1) Committee Adopts Amendment to Block US Subsidy for Armenia Railroad Bypass
2) Matthew Bryza Appointed US Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group
3) Luxembourg PM Proposes Freezing EU Talks with Turkey
4) Kocharian to Visit Iran

1) Committee Adopts Amendment to Block US Subsidy for Armenia Railroad Bypass

WASHINGTON, DC–The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) welcomed
Wednesday the vote by a powerful Congressional panel to block US taxpayer
funding for an unnecessary and costly proposed railroad between Turkey and
Georgia that would, if built, circumvent Armenia and, in the process,
undermine
the economic viability of the existing Caucasus railroad route through
Armenia.
With a unanimous voice vote Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee
adopted the amendment offered by panel member Joe Crowley (D-NY). The measure
prohibits the Export-Import Bank from providing any assistance ~Sto develop or
promote any rail connections or railway-related connections that traverse or
connect Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Kars, Turkey, and that
specifically exclude cities in Armenia.~T
Representative Crowley serves as the Chief Deputy Minority Whip. His
amendment to the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2006 was
co-authored
by Representatives Ed Royce (R-CA) and Brad Sherman (D-CA).
~SWe thank Congressman Crowley, his colleagues Ed Royce and Brad Sherman, and
all the members of the Financial Services Committee for protecting American
taxpayers from subsidizing an ill-advised and over-priced railroad project
that–at the insistence of Turkey and Azerbaijan–has been proposed solely to
exclude Armenia,~T said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.
~SWith this amendment, we are sending a message to the governments of Turkey
and Azerbaijan that continually excluding Armenia in regional projects fosters
instability,~T said Congressman Crowley. ~SBypassing Armenia is just another
attempt to further suffocate this republic, which has made great strides in
democratic and economic reforms notwithstanding its neighbors~R hostility. If
the Caucasus region is to move forward, we must ensure that all countries move
forward together at the same time.~T
He added that, ~SThe American taxpayer should not be required to finance a
project that goes against the interests of the US government in the South
Caucasus. I thank my colleagues for recognizing the importance of this
legislation.~T
A 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.
The Crowley Amendment is similar to the South Caucasus Integration and Open
Railroads Act of 2006. This measure was introduced in both the House (HR
3361), by Representative Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), and in the Senate (S 2461) by
Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA). The House version has 85 cosponsors; the Senate
version has been cosponsored by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Paul Sarbanes
(D-MD). Both measures stress that US policy should oppose the ~SThe exclusion
of Armenia from regional economic and commercial undertakings in the South
Caucasus,~T noting that such actions ~Sundermine the United States policy
goal of
promoting a stable and cooperative environment in the region.~T
Thousands of activists throughout the United States have sent ANCA
WebFaxes to
members of Congress in support of this legislation at
anca.org/action_alerts/actionalerts.php?aaid=93 .
In October of last year, the European Commission voiced official
opposition to
the proposed Caucasus railroad bypass of Armenia. A formal statement by the
Commission~Rs 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.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is the official
export credit agency of the United States. Ex-Im Bank~Rs mission is to assist
in financing the export of US goods and services to international markets.

2) Matthew Bryza Appointed US Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group

YEREVAN (Yerkir)–Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and
Eurasian
Affairs Matthew J. Bryza was appointed the American co-chair of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group, Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said.
~SThe US informed us that Mr. Bryza will replace Steven Mann at the post of
co-chair. After confirmation in Vienna he will fully engage into the
process of
the Nagorno Karabagh conflict settlement.~T
Bryza is expected to pay a visit to the region to get familiarized with the
situation and the peace process.
When news of the replacement was first announced Azeri Foreign Affairs
Minister Elmar Mamedyarov said that changing the American co-chairman will not
have a negative impact on negotiations.
He said that what is important is that the US remains in the regulation
process. He added that Mann~Rs replacement will be fully involved in the
process
within one or two months.

3) Luxembourg PM Proposes Freezing EU Talks with Turkey

PARIS (Reuters)–The European Union should freeze membership talks with Turkey
if Ankara does not open its ports and airports to traffic from Cyprus this
year, said Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker Thursday.
It was the clearest signal so far that some leaders will seek a complete halt
to the negotiations if Turkey does not fulfill its obligation to extend its EU
customs union to all new member states, including Cyprus, which it does not
recognize.
Juncker was asked by the French daily La Croix whether the EU had shown
weakness by agreeing to conclude the first detailed accession negotiations on
science and research this week without a move by Turkey on Cyprus.
"No. European ministers firmly reiterated to the Turks that this condition
should be applied in 2006," he said.
"If Turkey were not to implement this condition this year, my view is that
the
negotiations will have [to] be postponed."
Turkey has said it would open air and sea access to Cypriot planes and ships
if the EU made good on a promise to end the economic isolation of Turkish
Cypriot northern Cyprus. The EU has rejected any linkage between Ankara’s
treaty obligation and its own political pledge, which Nicosia has so far
impeded.
Officially, the EU has not threatened a complete suspension of talks if, as
expected, Turkey does not meet the condition.
Foreign Ministers said this week "Failure to implement its obligations in
full
will affect the overall progress in the negotiations" without specifying how.
The executive European Commission is due to review Turkey’s performance in a
report in late October or early November and Enlargement Commissioner Olli
Rehn
has warned of a potential "train crash."
Juncker, a veteran center-right politician close to Germany’s governing
Christian Democrats, suggested the EU would have to reconsider further
expansion in the light of the defeat of the EU constitution in France and the
Netherlands.
"Anyhow, Croatia aside, I think that it will probably not be possible to
continue the enlargement process without limits and precautions if we do not
manage to restore order to European institutions," he told La Croix.
"A large-scale enlargement does not seem feasible to me on the sole basis of
the current treaties."

4) Kocharian to Visit Iran

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–President Robert Kocharian will travel to Iran next month
for
his first face-to-face talks with the Islamic Republic~Rs President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, his spokesman said on Thursday.
Victor Soghomonian, the presidential press secretary, said that the official
visit is tentatively scheduled to take place ~Sin the middle of this summer.~T
Energy Minister Armen Movsisian was in Tehran late last month and discussed
with senior Iranian officials details of Kocharian~Rs planned trip, suggesting
that it will focus on Iranian-Armenian energy projects. According to the
Iranian Foreign Ministry, Movsisian told his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr
Mottaki, that it could ~Sopen a new chapter~T in the close ties between the two
neighboring states.
Mottaki, for his part, was quoted as praising ~Scommon interests~T shared by
Armenia and Iran and calling for a further deepening of their ~Sprofound
relations.~T The remarks are in line with Ahmadinejad~Rs pledges to continue his
predecessors~R policy on Armenia, which he made following his election as
president a year ago.
Kocharian had already visited Tehran in 2003 to meet with Iran~Rs Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and then President Mohammad Khatami.

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