Author: Hovhannisian John

AZG Armenian Daily #044, 11/03/2006

Interview
THE LUXURY AND HOLLOWNESS OF AZERI OIL
Mayis Gyulaliev: Oil shipment is not in Azerbaijan’s interests
Beginning in previous issue
– But Aliyev talks of military solution.
– Armenia and Azerbaijan are too small to settle this
issue on their own, and the West currently pursues the
following goals: stability, therefore it needs now
neither war nor regulation and also it needs secure
balanced development of three national economies. This
means that even if Azerbaijan produces 50 million
tones of oil annually its economy will never surpass
those of Armenia and Georgia because the necessary
balance will be upset in that case. It is not playing
into the West’s hands. It strives to keep the Karabakh
issue unresolved in order to keep the republics under
its control. In my opinion, the aim of Aliyev’s
statements is to upset the balance between Azerbaijan
and other states, including Russia, Kazakhstan,
Georgia, Iran and even the USA and the West as a
whole.
– Do others agree with this opinion of yours?
– Regrettably, no. Only 2-3 non-parliamentary parties
do but no NGO. In general there are two approaches to
this issue in the society: governmental – peaceful
settlement and radically oppositional – military
settlement, which I think will bring no solution and
is just a means to keep the people in fear. Those two
approaches oppose the interests of the Azerbaijani
people and the Caucasus as a whole because it has only
one way of development – integration of three South
Caucasus states.
– Is that possible that the West’s stance as you
portrayed it will change at some point in time?
– Only when Azerbaijan will run out of oil.
– But Azerbaijan has a purely economic interest; now
is it better to go on with or without the pipeline?
– When I speak of damaging influence of oil agreements
on politics I mean the economic aspect; we did not
need to expand oil production and we should direct the
oil money to other spheres especially educational and
expect revenue in 10 or 15 years. But today only the
oil production is developing and other branches do not
and will not develop. All structures are serving oil
production.
– What has changed after Rambouillet? Why have accents
shifted?
– Before the Rambouillet I said and wrote that the
Karabakh issue will not be settled before 2025. More
precisely, before Azerbaijan runs out of oil as the
threat of war first of all endangers Western projects.
There is also a threat that Armenia and Azerbaijan may
make friends and settle the issue on their own –
something that goes against Western plans.
– How you personally see the regulation? (answering
this question the civilized Azeri displayed his true
Azeri nature)
– If we begin with useless historic questions such as
to whom this land belongs, then let us begin with
Darwin’s theory… There are two options: Karabakh
remains within Azerbaijan and solves all its problems,
Karabakh gets out of Azerbaijan’s structure and unites
with Armenia. If Azerbaijan does not give up the first
option and Armenia the second one trying jointly to
find the third option then our states cannot develop.
– Which is the third one?
– I do not have the recipe either. But I believe that
the Armenian and Azeri societies can recuperate. We
need to get rid of historic hostility toward each
other.
By Marietta Khachatrian

ABOVYAN CELEBRATED A WIN IN GREECE
12:54 pm 10 March, 2006
The dance troupe `Kotayq’ of the town Abovyan celebrated a win in
Greece where it participated in the dance festival `Trakia’.
In the Greek city Qasnti the dance troupe `Kotayq’ represented the
Armenian dance for ten days and was recognized the best among the
participants from 23 countries.
`Although the dance troupe from Spain was a serious competitor for
`Kotayq’, the Jury liked our performance more’, the head of the troupe
Armen Kostandyan says.
This award gave the dancers the possibility to participate in the 9th
world festival `Trakia’ which will take place in Brazil in summer,
with the participation of dance troupes from 173 countries.
`Abovyan’ TV Company of Abovyan

Daily Nation , Kenya
March 12 2006
More questions over alleged squad of mercenaries
Story by SUNDAY NATION INVESTIGATIONS TEAM
Publication Date: 03/12/2006

Police detailed to investigate the alleged presence of Russian
mercenaries in the country have not questioned any of the suspects –
despite circulation of copies of Armenian passports of two of the
men.
“We only saw some documents displayed on a news report on television
on Friday evening but police have not received any document,” a
senior CID officer said.
The Sunday Nation can reveal today that the men Langata MP Raila
Odinga claims are mercenaries working for the Government are two
Armenian “businessmen.”
Travel documents indicate the two men – aged 33 and 36 – arrived in
the country early this year from Dubai, but have also visited Kenya
in the past on missions that remain a mystery.
Investigations have established that the suspects have changed their
residence four times since they arrived in Kenya separately on
January 23 and January 24.
On arrival, they booked in at a five-star city hotel before they
moved to the upmarket Runda Estate in early February.
A leading city hotel confirmed yesterday that one of the men had been
a guest there on different occasions since 2003.
They allegedly moved to Lenana Road after Mr Odinga gave details of
the Runda house to police.
Runda residents in the vicinity of the single-storey mansion
confirmed to Sunday Nation that a truck pulling a 40-ft container
entered the estate at around 9.15 pm on Thursday night and moved all
the household goods.
The relocation from Runda capped a week of dramatic happenings in the
palatial residence and its vicinity, including an assault on an
alleged police officer in circumstances that remain unclear.
Not interviewed yet
Police have not interviewed the two men despite the furore and have
dismissed Mr Odinga’s claims even after inviting him to record a
statement on Wednesday.
On arrival in January, the two men were granted a two-year category H
permit, which is for professionals or foreigners investing in the
country.
They paid Sh60,000 each and posted a bond of a similar amount for the
permits.
A Mombasa politician and businessman yesterday denied being among
those who had been seen in the company of the alleged mercenaries.
Following the March 2 raid by hooded police officers on the Standard
Group offices, there have been claims of involvement of foreigners.
Mr Odinga displayed faded photocopies of the passports of the two
foreigners on Friday, saying they were Armenians and not Russians as
earlier claimed.
But police say they have not received such documents and do not,
therefore, know who the alleged mercenaries are.

“We have not received any documents or fresh information regarding
the presence of mercenaries. We only saw some documents displayed on
a news report on television on Friday evening but police have not
received any document,” a senior CID officer said.
It would be easy for police, through the Immigration Department, to
find out who the people are, how they entered the country and who
posted bond for them when they entered the country. The category ‘H’
visa issued to them would also identify the kind of business they
intend to engage in and the name of the company, if any.
On Friday, police officers led by the Deputy Nairobi Provincial
Criminal Investigations Officer, Mr Isaiah Osugo, began
investigations into the alleged existence of mercenaries as ordered
by the Commissioner of Police, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali.
But even as the investigations were going on, the CID boss Joseph
Kamau were dismissing the story of the alleged mercenaries as a lie.
CID boss Joseph Kamau, whose team is supposed to investigate Mr
Odinga’s allegations, on Wednesday dismissed the mercenary claims as
“untrue” and urged Kenyans not to take them seriously.
Mr Kamau said this as Mr Odinga made a formal complaint to the
Commissioner of Police, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali.
Mr Kamau said the MP was spreading propaganda, which should not be
taken seriously.
In a statement signed on his behalf by Senior Superintendent Gideon
Kibunja, Mr Kamau dismissed the MP’s dossier as “baseless, wild,
unsubstantiated.”

WASHINGTON – BAKU RELATIONS
By Semih Idiz
Turkish Press
March 13 2006
MILLIYET- Possible US plans to invade Iran have raised Azerbaijan’s
strategic importance for Washington. This situation is infuriating
Yerevan and the Armenian lobby, because their hopes for turning
the anti-Turkish wind – raised over such factors as Hamas’ visit
to Ankara and the anti-American film ‘Valley of the Wolves Iraq’ –
into an advantage in the US Congress are now fading. The Azerbaijani
people reject the so-called Armenian claims as much as Turks do. In
short, the Bush administration knows that an Armenian “genocide”
resolution would make not only Turks, but also Azerbaijanis angry.
Therefore, the possibility that April 24 will be declared ‘Armenian
genocide commemoration day’ in the US seems to be weak this year
as well. This time the tide is working against the Armenians due
to Iran. Meanwhile, the US administration is taking certain steps
pleasing Azerbaijanis and Ankara even at the cost of making Armenians
angry. I can give two examples:
1. Washington is preparing to bring home its Ambassador to Yerevan John
Marshall Evans before his term of office ends, because, speaking to
US Armenians last year in California, Evans said that he would call
the incidents of 1915 a genocide, no matter what other people call
them. This incident made the Azerbaijanis very angry. Meanwhile,
this made the US angry, too, because it contradicts its current
policy. Firstly, it forced Evans to say that these words were
only his personal opinion and then prevented the American Foreign
Service Association (AFSA) from giving him an order of merit. Now
it’s preparing to send US Ambassador to Tajikistan Richart Hoagland
to replace him.
2. The US administration is moving to water down a law which was
passed by Congress under the pressure of the Armenian lobby. This
law envisages a balance in US military aid extended to Armenia and
Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s strategic importance, which rose after Sept.
11, has actually caused this balance to spoil.
The administration wants Congress’ approval so more military aid is
sent to Azerbaijan than Armenia. In addition, Washington started to
make its importance felt more for a solution of the Montenegro issue.
It sent Deputy Secretary of State Matt Bryza to the region last
week and it will send Assistant Secretary of State for European and
Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried this week. This liveliness of course
increases Armenians’ suspicions. Meanwhile, Scott Ritter, former
weapons inspector of the United Nations, explained Azerbaijan’s
importance for the US in terms of the Iran issue in an article
on aljazeera.net. According to Ritter, Washington is preparing
Azerbaijan for a possible military operation against the regime in
Tehran. Meanwhile, it’s also watching the population of northern Iran,
which consists mostly of ethnic Azerbaijanis. We can’t know if Ritter
is right on this issue. However, it’s true that military relations
between the US and Azerbaijan have developed rapidly. This situation
provides Turkey with an important ‘strengthening’ element against
the Armenian lobby in the US.

DOLLS AS PRE-ELECTION WEAPON?
A1+
| 21:06:41 | 17-10-2005 | Economy |
In 2006 the budget of the Armenian National TV-Radio Company will be
3.1 billion AMD which is 70 million more than last year. It is the
lowest among all the CIS countries.
By the way, the commercial income will grow by 30% next year. One
of the most interesting programs is the program “Dolls” which is
the Armenian variant of the Russian “Kukly”. This will be a very
interesting weapon in the hands of the Armenian National TV-Radio
Company in the pre-election period which will not be long in coming.

National Public Radio (NPR)
SHOW: Morning Edition 11:00 AM EST NPR
October 13, 2005 Thursday
Rumblings of controversary at the Swedish Academy [DP]
ANCHORS: STEVE INSKEEP
REPORTERS: NEDA ULABY
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Moving now from one untold story to another, the winner of this
year’s Nobel Prize for literature will be announced this morning. The
announcement usually comes with all the other Nobel winners, and that
would have been last week, and when it was delayed rumors circulated
there was a split among the judges. Earlier this week, a member of
the Swedish Academy resigned over a seemingly unrelated matter.
Seemingly. NPR’s Neda Ulaby reports.
NEDA ULABY reporting:
When Austrian author Elfriede Jelinek won last year’s Nobel Prize for
literature, it took Katherine Arens by surprise.
Ms. KATHERINE ARENS (University of Texas): Completely.
ULABY: Arens teaches German at the University of Texas. She co-edited
a book about Jelinek.
Ms. ARENS: Completely from the point of view of eminent Austrian
authors, not surprised if one takes the last 20 years of the Nobel
Prizes being responses to certain kinds of political correctness.
ULABY: Arens believes Jelinek was chosen because the Swedish Academy
had decided to reward a postmodern European feminist.
Ms. ARENS: So she fit a lot of the bills.
ULABY: But such pigeonholing was not the complaint of Nut Onland(ph).
He’s an older, inactive member of the Swedish Academy. He quit
Tuesday over Jelinek’s selection. It’s not clear why he waited a full
year to do it, but Onland attacked Jelinek’s work in a Swedish
newspaper. He called it, quote, “a mass of text that appears shoveled
together without trace of artistic structure.”
Ms. ARENS: There is a point there.
ULABY: Katherine Arens.
Ms. ARENS: Even if you accept postmodern literature pastiche as a
kind of deconstruction of an untenable political viewpoint.
ULABY: Snap. And there’s a heated debate this year, according to
international newspapers, over whether to honor Turkish author Orhan
Pamuk. Erdag Goknar is an assistant professor at Duke University who
translated one of Pamuk’s novels into English.
Professor ERDAG GOKNAR (Duke University): He’s young to get the
Nobel. I mean, he’s 53 years old. That would be young.
ULABY: Pamuk has written just seven novels. And Goknar concedes that
most Nobel literature laureates are rewarded for a lifetime of
achievements.
Prof. GOKNAR: But he’s at a point in his career where he is both a
cultural figure inside and outside of Turkey and he’s now a very
political figure inside and outside of Turkey.
ULABY: Pamuk is scheduled to stand trial in his homeland this
December for publicly commenting on Turkey’s role in the massacre of
thousands of Armenians during World War I. Palmuk’s selection would
be additionally freighted because the European Union is deciding
whether to include Turkey as a member.
But there’s also speculation that delay came, not from international
politics, but aesthetics; specifically, whether to choose a
nonfiction writer as this year’s Nobel literature laureate. Neda
Ulaby, NPR News, Washington.
INSKEEP: You can find details about this year’s Nobel winners, from
peace to physics, at npr.org.
This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. With Renee Montagne, I’m Steve Inskeep.

AZG Armenian Daily #186, 15/10/2005
Visit
ASSISTANT OF US SECRETARY OF STATE TO ARRIVE IN YEREVAN
Daniel Freed, assistant US secretary of state, will arrive in Yerevan on
October 18, Madiamax informs referring to its sources at the US embassy.
Freed will meet Armenian President Robert Kocharian during his visit. Freed
used to be director for European and Eurasian Affairs at the National
Security Council before appointment as assistant state secretary.
Daniel Freed is the first high-ranking US official of that caliber who will
visit Armenia since George Bush’s election in 2004. In March of 2004 US
deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage visited Armenia. In August of
2001 Elizabeth Jones, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian
affairs, arrived in Yerevan and deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott
from Clinton’s administration was in Armenia in 1999.
Only once a US secretary of state landed in Armenia. It was James Baker in
1992.

AXA VERSERA 17 MILLIONS DE DOLLARS A DES DESCENDANTS D’ARMENIENS
Liberation, France
jeudi 13 octobre 2005
LOS ANGELES – Le groupe d’assurance francais AXA s’est engage a
verser 17 millions de dollars aux descendants de victimes du genocide
armenien qui avaient souscrit des polices d’assurance-vie avant 1915,
annoncent des avocats.
L’accord doit recevoir en novembre l’approbation du tribunal de
district de Californie, qui abrite le plus grand nombre d’Armeniens
au monde hors d’Armenie.
Il est le fruit d’une action collective engagee depuis plusieurs
annees. Un accord similaire a ete conclu en fevrier entre des
descendants de victimes et l’assureur americain New York Life, pour
un montant de 20 millions de dollars.
Aux termes du pacte, AXA, dont le siège est en France et qui opère
aux Etats-Unis via des filiales, versera plusieurs millions de dollars
a des organisations caritatives armeniennes basees dans l’Hexagone.
Elle versera par ailleurs 11 millions de dollars a un fonds mis en
place pour dedommager les descendants de victimes qui avaient souscrit
avant 1915 des polices d’assurance avec des compagnies aujourd’hui
integrees dans le groupe AXA.
Dans le chaos, de nombreux souscripteurs n’avaient jamais pu recuperer
leur argent.
La mort d’un million et demi d’Armeniens massacres par les forces
ottomanes en 1915 est reconnue comme un genocide par l’Onu, la France
ou encore le Conseil de l’Europe.
La Turquie nie pour sa part l’existence d’une campagne systematique
d’elimination, meme si elle admet qu’il y a eu des massacres. Les
Etats-Unis ne reconnaissent pas non plus officiellement la thèse
du genocide.
“Les règlements d’AXA et de New York Life sont d’importantes etapes
non seulement d’un point de vue financier mais vers notre but ultime,
qui est la reconnaissance officielle du genocide par la Turquie et
les Etats-Unis”, a declare Mark Geragos, avocat et Armenien de souche.
–Boundary_(ID_HnwPG+cRWBgNvbWFHJydxw)–

MODERN HARDSHIPS CATCH UP WITH KARABAKH OLD-TIMERS
By Ashot Beglarian in Stepanakert
Institute of War and Peace Reporting
Oct 14 2005
Mountain air and good food used to keep people living well past a
hundred, but the stresses of war and poverty are now hitting home.
Elizaveta Pogosian celebrated her 100th birthday last week in
grand style – inviting more than a hundred relatives including her
great-grandchildren to a lavish feast in Stepanakert, the capital of
Nagorny Karabakh.
Time has not slowed Elizaveta down. At the party, paid for by her
grandson Ashot, a Moscow businessman, she was still sprightly enough
to perform a traditional Armenian dance and her family says she can
thread a needle without glasses.
Nor has she lost her sense of humour. She likes to tell people that
she is “under 90”.
Elizaveta says she has led a happy life, and when asked if she plans
to go on for another 50 years, she exclaimed, “Have pity on me! There
is a time for everything!”
Born in the village of Nngi in 1905, Elizaveta has lived through
three wars and two revolutions, and seen the end of two empires.
In Karabakh, centenarians are no rarity, and Elizaveta was not the
only one celebrating a birthday last week: a woman called Zara from
the Martuni district turned 105.
This mountainous region boasted one of the world’s highest rates
of longevity during the Soviet era. But it was just one of several
areas in the Caucasus famed for its “dolgozhiteli” or “long-livers”
as they are known in Russian. There are also disproportionately high
numbers of nonagenarians and centenarians in Ajaria, Abkhazia and
Lenkoran in the south of Azerbaijan.
In Karabakh, war and hard times now seem to be taking their toll on
the oldest generation. Precise figures are hard to come by, but the
number of people aged 90 or over is probably around 160, compared
with well over 200 when the last census was recorded in 1989.
Population movements over a turbulent decade-and-a-half may have
affected the figures.
What is certain is the life here has become a great deal more
difficult, for older people in particular. Changes in diet, health
problems, war, meagre pensions, and stress caused by uncertainty
about the future have had an effect on what was once a remote mountain
community.
David Karabekian, a sociology professor, says that in the last 15 years
alone, the elderly have experienced a lifetime’s-worth of troubles.
“The break-up of the Soviet Union, the [Karabakh] war, the continuing
animosity with Azerbaijan, economic hardship, adaptation to new
lifestyle, a change in mentality – all this has had a disastrous
effect on people’s health and life expectancy,” said Karabekian.
“Many old people lost their life savings overnight during the Soviet
monetary reform of 1991, and many of them never recovered from the
blow. Now they can barely afford food on their miserly pensions,
let alone medicines.”
The secret of longevity in Karabakh – as in any place with a
higher-than-average number of very old people – is a mystery, although
many experts attribute it to the mountain climate, mineral-rich water
and healthy, fresh produce.
“Our examinations have shown that Karabakh residents have a healthy
cardiovascular system, as well as solid peripheral and central nervous
systems,” said David Babayan, a local environmental expert.
“Their motor system is in excellent condition, and they have no
serious digestive tract problems.”
Diet is believed by many to be the main contributory factor to a long
and healthy life.
According to Babayan, residents tend to avoid spicy foods, and instead
eat natural dairy products, vegetables, fruit, wild berries and herbs,
all of local origin.
The region’s favourite dishes include soups made from beans, berries
or yoghurt; “hashil” – boiled wheat with butter; “kchakhash” – boiled
wheat, beans and peas; and rice pilaf. Perhaps the most popular item is
“tanav”, the local sour-milk yoghurt.
Many Karabakhis avoid eating fat, believing that it accelerates
ageing. Instead, they consume green grapes, and drink wine as well
as grape juice. They also go through large amounts of mulberries,
from which they make a sugar-free syrup. Some scientists believe
mulberries can prevent or cure heart, stomach and liver illnesses.
Aida Saakian, a nonagenarian who was in charge of Karabakh’s medical
system in the Soviet period, believes that it is specifically a decline
in food quality that has had a negative impact on public health.
“The environment as well as food quality was much better before –
everything was natural and pure,” she said. “Now people for the most
part buy low-quality products, there’s no quality control, and all
these concentrates are bad for people’s health.”
Karabakh families tended to cook more often during the Soviet era,
when few ready-to-eat meals or canned foods were available.
Nonna Musaelian, who chairs a medical panel at Karabakh’s
social-security ministry, says that post-war syndrome, stress,
economic hardship and inferior quality foods have lowered average life
expectancy. Moreover, she says diseases such as cancer, diabetes and
heart complaints are now more common than before.
Diabetes, which Musaelian says is often associated with poor diet,
is now particularly widespread in Karabakh, with 700 people registered
as diabetics, most of them pensioners who cannot afford the medication.
Tsovinar Javadian agrees that life has got harder in many respects.
The 90-year-old Stepanakert native, who has lived on her own since her
son was killed in the 1992-94 Karabakh war and her husband’s death a
few years later, thinks that as a result, there are fewer people of
her age around than there used to be.
“Back then [in the Soviet period], there was much that was good,
although people worked hard on the collective farms and aged quite
fast – but they lived for a long time nonetheless,” she said. “We
were taken care of, everyone had money, and no one was in need. That
was best for older people.
“Now we’re more free, but you can’t enjoy life unless you have money.”
Tsovinar watches every penny of her pension, which is just over 30
US dollars a month. She spends about a third of it on housing and
utilities, one-third on bread, and the remainder on noodles and
vegetable oil. Occasionally she treats herself to some biscuits
or sweets.
“Now there’s plenty of everything, but you can’t be sure about the
quality. You never know what you’re buying,” she said.
“I don’t feel old. I could live to 100, but illnesses, worries and
bad memories do take their toll.”
Ashot Beglarian is an IWPR contributor in Stepanakert.

USA GRANTS 2M DOLLARS TO ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT REFORMS
Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
Oct 13 2005
Yerevan, 13 October: Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Artur
Bagdasaryan and the head of the Yerevan office of the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), Robin Philips, today
signed a memorandum on cooperation programme totalling 2 m dollars.
Artur Bagdasaryan said that the programme is aimed at carrying out
effective reforms in the Armenian parliament, increasing contacts
between people and parliament and strengthening democratic institutes.
Robin Philips noted that cooperation between the National Assembly
and USAID, which started in 2004, will continue. He expressed the
hope that the programme will help strengthen the role of parliament
in Armenia’s political life.