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SITUATION AT LISBON SUMMIT IN 1996, WHEN A DEFEATIST DOCUMENT ON
SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONFLICT WAS FORCED UPON ARMENIA, MAY REPEAT
AT CE SUMMIT IN WARSAW: LEADER OF NDP
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 17. ARMINFO. If the international community
further considers Karabakh conflict as a territorial dispute between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, the situation at Lisbon Summit in 1996,
when a defeatist document on settlement of Karabakh conflict was
forced upon Armenia, may repeat at CE Summit in Warsaw fixed for May
2005. Leader of the opposition National Democratic Party Shavarsh
Kocharyan made this statement at a press conference at the Armenian
Parliament, Thursday.
He says that the present authorities of Armenia, who ousted Karabakh
from negotiation process, are responsible for transformation of
the Karabakh conflict into a territorial dispute between Armenia and
Azerbaijan in the eyes of the international community. If in 1991 after
the referendum of independence in Nagorny Karabakh Armenia recognized
the independence of NKR and demanded the international community to
do the same, now a considerable progress would have been reached in
this issue and there would be countries recognizing the sovereignty
of Nagorny Karabakh. He says that in 1991 several Latin-American
countries were ready to recognize the independence of Nagony Karabakh,
however the former ruling regime in Armenia “in the person of” the
Armenian National Movement categorically refused from such policy.
Unfortunately, the present authorities of Armenia did not do it either,
Savarsh Kocharyan says. In this connection, Shavarsh Kocharyan states
that Armenia must recognize the independence of Nagorny Karabakh only
after democratic elections are held in the country and a legitimate
power is formed.
Meanwhile, he says that the positions of the Armenian party in the
Karabakh problem are invulnerable from the legal point of view, and
the Karabakh conflict differs from the remaining regional conflicts
just with this. He notes that yet in 1991 Nagorny Karabakh held a
referendum of independence in conformity with international legal norms
and the USSR Law on the order of withdrawal of the Soviet Republics
from the USSR. As a result, two sovereign states, Nagorny Karabakh
Republic and Azerbaijani Republic, were formed in the territory of
the former Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic. Shavarsh Kocharyan
says that if the Armenian party constantly attracted the attention
of international structures to the legal aspect of Karabakh conflict,
the Azerbaijani propaganda based on falsified facts, would fail. After
all when Azerbaijan says that allegedly armed groupings exists in
the territory of NKR, the Armenian party can bring real facts that
representatives of Taliban movement and other terrorist groupings
fought on the part Azerbaijan in the course of the liberation fight
for Nagorny Karabakh, Kocharyan says.

Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
Feb 17 2005
Talk about Turkish-Armenian reconciliation
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Perhaps no entity in recent years has occasioned so much comment in
the Armenian community as TARC, the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation
Commission. It is difficult to find anyone without strong opinions on
the subject – yet the actual participants have kept a low profile and
the exact nature of their discussions is largely unknown to most of
the public.
David L. Phillips, who served as chairman of the commission,
will discuss his experiences in a lecture entitled “Turkish-Armenian
Reconciliation: Lessons Learned from TARC,” on Tuesday, Feb. 22 at 8
p.m. at the Center and Headquarters of the National Association for
Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), 395 Concord Ave., Belmont.
Phillips is the first member of the commission to write
extensively about the experience of shaping and participating in the
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process in the newly published
“Unsilencing the Past: Track Two Diplomacy and Turkish-Armenian
Reconciliation.” The book will be on sale and available for signing
by the author on the evening of the lecture.
In his first lecture to the Boston-area Armenian community,
Phillips will offer a unique insider’s account of the ups and downs
of establishing a dialogue between Armenians and Turks: the
obstacles, accomplishments, and prospects for the future. A
question-and-answer period and refreshments will follow the lecture.
Phillips is senior fellow and deputy director of the Center for
Preventive Action at the Council of Foreign Relations and Director of
the Peacebuilding Program at American University, as well as a
visiting scholar at Harvard University and an analyst for NBC News.
Previously, he was a senior advisor to the U.S. State Department and
the United Nations.
Admission to the event is free (donations appreciated). The
NAASR Bookstore will open at 7:30 p.m. The lecture will begin
promptly at 8 p.m. and interested parties are strongly encouraged to
arrive early as space is limited and a large turnout is anticipated.
For more information call 617-489-1610, e-mail [email protected], or
write to NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478.

The Messenger, Georgia
Feb 16 2005
President to students: build the private sector
Presenting cabinet at university, Saakashvili praises new Georgian
version of Windows, defends criticism of opponents
By Nino Kopaleishvili
The political ball is in the students’ playing field, stated President
Mikheil Saakashvili as he presented the new cabinet of ministers at
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University on Tuesday.
The government members, who are set to be approved by Parliament on
February 17, met with the university students to answer any questions.
The students were emboldened with the president’s words that in
case the ministers failed to gain the young people’s trust, he would
seriously reconsider the candidates.
“I want you to ask all the questions you have,” he told the university
audience on February 15, “Now all the power goes to you, to the
Georgian students and youth. Here is the ball, and here is the
playing field.”
In his speech Saakashvili called on the students to create an active
society and to become engaged in the private sector to support a
thriving economy in the country.
“Now is the time that those who are shrewd and smart to step forward,”
said the president, stressing that the new government and a new tax
code supports enterprises.
“All students should think about entering the private sector.
Certainly the best should come to the state offices but the best
should go to the private sector as well. This is very important
because private sector creates the economy,” he said.
Talking at the university the president also referred to the reforms
that are under way in the education sector. According to him the
government is ready to invest money to improve the level of education
in the country.
“The reform of education is mainly putting investments in the education
sphere. We will work on this as a fundament because without money
there is no high-quality education,” he said.
“In four years all Georgian schools should be computerized and
given access to the internet,” the president said, highlighting the
announcement on Tuesday that Microsoft is working with the Tbilisi
IT-company United Global Technology (UGT) to create an official
Georgian language version of the operating system.
“Today Microsoft made a presentation of the first Georgian language
[Microsoft software] and we should do everything toward this
direction,” said Saakashvili. As he stated, the project would cost
the government USD 40 million “We will allot this money by all means,”
he promised.
On Tuesday Saakashvili once more stressed his will to create an active
multi-ethnic society in Georgia that is ready to work hard for a better
future and does not demand too much care from the government. As he
explained, Georgian society remains occupied with an obsolete mentality
and considers that it is the government who should initiate activities.
“We [the people] should lay the groundwork to an active society,”
he said. “The population can take the reins of their fate into their
own hands.”
In his didactic speech at the university Saakashvili also talked about
the ethnic tolerance, and the multi-ethnic society that is struggling
for a better future in Georgia.
“We have Azeris who are proud of Georgia. We have Armenians who are
proud of Georgia, and I am sure we will have many more Abkhaz who
will be proud of the fact that they are in Georgia and they are a
part of the country,” said the president.
Saakashvili also commented on his harsh statement that last week in
Parliament that New Rights Opposition leader MP David Gamkrelidze was
“jerking around.” The president’s statement was severely criticized
in media, and Saakashvili defended himself saying that there is a
place for harsh expressions in a democratic state.
“I am sorry but democracy is not when only one person can speak and a
poor government tolerates it and never responds. We already had such
a government,” stated the president.
“Democracy is something where everyone can express his opinion, among
them the most radical opinions, but finally people will decide who
is right and who is not,” he added.
As for the question and answer portion, Georgian media covered little
of the interaction except for State Minister Kakha Bendukidze telling
one student that he expected a “more intelligent” question.

Glendale News-Press
Published February14, 2005
Ambassador to visit Glendale
John Evans, United States ambassador to Armenia, will stay two days, visit
with city officials.
By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press and Leader
GLENDALE — When police officers in Yerevan, Armenia, wanted to learn better
fingerprinting techniques, they turned to their counterparts in Glendale. So
a team of Glendale police officers flew to Armenia with high-tech
fingerprinting equipment and trained the Armenians.
As the relationship between the Yerevan and Glendale police departments grew
tighter, the cities have relied on help from the U.S. Embassy to Armenia to
facilitate travel and the flow of information.
When U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans spends two days in Glendale this
week, city officials will show their appreciation.
“The United States Embassy has been very, very helpful in making sure we can
get some of these things done,” Mayor Bob Yousefian said. “We’re going to
welcome him, talk to him, see what other challenges face him, and see what
we can do here to help relations between law enforcement here and law
enforcement in Armenia.”
Evans, who replaced John Ordway as ambassador in June 2004, is making his
first trip to Glendale on Tuesday. Because nearly 30% of Glendale’s
population is of Armenian descent, Armenian officials often visit the city.
Ordway came to Glendale several times, most recently in June 2003.
Evans will meet with Yousefian and other City Council members at City Hall
before Tuesday’s council meeting, and he will receive a mayor’s commendation
during the 6 p.m. meeting.
He will also meet with officials from the Armenian churches and the Glendale
Unified School District as well as members of community organizations.
Although the city’s interaction with Evans will focus on law enforcement,
other organizations have other priorities.
“We’re going to have a luncheon with him, exchange some ideas and see what
kinds of linkage we can develop,” Glendale Unified Supt. Michael Escalante
said.
“Maybe it’s as simple as exchanging letters or e-mails or sending support.
But having a contact with him as a conduit to do some of these things will
be a pretty neat thing.”
Evans will be accompanied by officials from the U.S. Agency for
International Development, the organization that dispenses money that
Congress gives to Armenia, said Armen Carapetian, acting executive director
of the Armenian National Committee Western Region.
Carapetian is trying to arrange a breakfast meeting with Evans and his
entourage.
“It’s important for us who work on communicating concerns and initiating
such [federal funding] that we listen to what they’re facing on the ground,”
Carapetian said.
* JOSH KLEINBAUM covers City Hall. He may be reached at (818) 637-3235 or by
e-mail at josh.kleinbaum @latimes.com.

Eurasianet Organization
Feb 14 2005
DIAMOND INDUSTRY SLUMP SLOWS ARMENIAN GROWTH
Emil Danielyan 2/14/05
After a decade of rapid expansion, Armenia’s diamond cutting industry,
which manufactures the country’s number one export item, suffered
a major slump in 2004. The almost 20 percent decline in production,
measured in the Armenian currency, the dram, calls into question the
success of an ambitious government plan to promote the sector’s growth.
According to government officials, the drop in production is
largely due to the plunge of the US dollar in international currency
markets. Publicly, authorities say they are not concerned about the
diamond-cutting sector’s health, and predict that production should
rebound this year.
“Rumors about the industry’s death are exaggerated,” Gagik Mkrtchian,
head of the department on precious stones and jewelry at the Armenian
Ministry of Trade and Economic Development, said earlier this month.
Gem diamonds have long accounted for the biggest share of Armenian
exports, making the tiny ex-Soviet republic one of the world’s major
suppliers of the highly expensive stones. Though there are now more
than 50 diamond cutting firms in Armenia, the sector is dominated by
a handful of foreign investors. One of the largest gem-cutting firms
is owned Israeli tycoon Lev Leviev, an internationally prominent
diamond dealer.
The share of gem diamonds in Armenian exports has decreased in recent
years, but it still stood at a commanding 39 percent in 2004. The
production decline in cut diamonds was enough to bring export growth,
along with Armenia’s overall industrial output, to a virtual halt.
Even though the economy as a whole expanded at a robust rate of
10 percent last year, economists believe that Armenia’s long-term
development should depend heavily on exports, given the small size
of the domestic market.
In late 2003, the government approved a three-year plan that aimed
to nearly double annual cut-diamond production to $500 million and
create roughly 10,000 new jobs. However, the sector’s trouble in 2004
would appear to put those targets out of reach.
According to government estimates, diamond production only slightly
shrunk from the 2003 level in dollar terms, totaling about $280
million last year. But officials admit that dollar-based statistics
are misleading, given the US currency’s more than 20 percent drop in
value against the Armenian dram since beginning of 2004. In general,
the greenback has lost considerable ground against major world
currencies, especially the euro.
The weaker dollar made the diamonds more expensive in the United
States, which accounts for more than 50 percent of global sales.
Mkrtchian explained; “2004 was a year of retreat for the global
diamond industry. … The main reason for that was a decline in the
dollar’s value.”
A shortfall in anticipated deliveries of rough diamonds from
Russia has added to Armenia’s problems, officials indicate. A 2001
Russian-Armenian agreement enabled Armenian firms to process up to
400,000 carats of Russian rough diamonds annually from 2002 through
2004. The quota was subsequently raised to 450,000 carats for 2005
and 2006.
Only a fraction of that has actually been delivered to date. Armenia,
for example, imported about 970,000 carats of uncut diamonds in 2004.
Yet, only 16 percent of them were of Russian origin. The bulk of the
rough supplies came mainly from Israel and Belgium, explaining why
the two countries are among Armenia’s leading trading partners.
Mkrtchian blamed the shortfall on “unjustified” Russian price hikes,
but expressed confidence that Yerevan will negotiate better terms
with Russia’s Alrosa diamond monopoly this year. That, he said,
should help to ensure the sector’s growth by at least 30 percent.
But some analysts believe that even if the industry soon turns the
corner, the benefits for Armenian government coffers will remain
marginal. Eduard Aghajanov, a former head of the National Statistical
Service, has long argued that gems exported from Armenia are not
quite Armenian because their owners are mainly foreigners.
“Given that those products are exempt from the excise and value-added
taxes, Armenia’s state budget is not getting anything from that
industry except employee income taxes,” Aghajanov. “Big profits made
as a result are taxed abroad because those products do not belong
to Armenia.”
Payroll and social security taxes collected from Armenia’s 12 biggest
diamond plants totaled a meager $2 million in 2004, while the average
monthly salary of their approximately 4,000 workers was only $150,
according to official figures. In addition, the government calculated
that diamond-related business activity injected only $37.7 million
in the Armenian economy in 2003.
“Making the sector a strategic priority is therefore wrong,” argues
Aghajanov. “Nobody is against its existence as it provides quite
a few jobs. But Armenia’s future lies in high-tech industries and
especially information technology.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NATO finalizing Azerbaijan partnership plan
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Feb 10 2005
NATO Secretary General’s special envoy on South Caucasus and Central
Asia, Robert Simons, says he is pleased with the status of
NATO-Azerbaijan relations.
“I am very satisfied with the current level of ties between the
alliance and Azerbaijan”, he told a news briefing at the Foreign
Ministry on the results of his visit to Baku.
Simons said that NATO and Azerbaijan are co-operating extensively in
numerous fields. He added that work on the Individual Partnership
Plan has been completed, and its implementation will begin following
its approval by NATO.
Simons continued that he had met with Azeri officials dealing with
the document and discussed with them all matters relating to its
efficient realization. A NATO working group is due to visit Baku in
mid-February to clarify certain details of the mentioned Plan.
Simons added that while in Azerbaijan, he also met with his
colleagues to discuss the Upper Garabagh conflict. He said that he
had collected enough data on the matter and would submit a relevant
report to the NATO Secretary General.
NATO admission
Azerbaijan is not currently seeking membership to NATO, Deputy
Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said.
“Azerbaijan has not raised the issue of NATO membership yet. Baku
believes that bi-lateral co-operation is essential at this point.”
Azimov said Azerbaijan intends to continue its collaboration with the
alliance on the level of political dialogue.
Simons said that Azerbaijan’s admission to NATO depends on the
country itself. He noted, however, that Baku is currently not seeking
to become a NATO member state but is exploring opportunities for
deepening its partnership with the alliance.

Washington Post
Feb 12 2005
Editor’s Query
Tell us about a disastrous or funny experience you had involving
food.
Sunday, February 13, 2005; Page W08
In late summer 2001, the State Department sent my husband to Armenia.
During our tour, some friends threw a party in our honor. Like
many Armenians, they were quite poor, but they were determined to
demonstrate their hospitality by creating a feast to remember.
Iza cooked for days. On the appointed evening, she led me out to the
patio to show me two giant tables crowded with food. There were plates
of hummus and tabbouleh, fresh figs and persimmons, roasted peppers
and tomatoes. There were pitchers brimming with apricot juice and
rose hip juice. The homemade baklava was dripping with fresh honey —
even Iza’s phyllo dough was made from scratch!
It took me a moment to locate the main course, but then I had to stifle
a gasp. Smack in the middle of the table, the giant head of a cow
glared at me, its tongue poking out. It’s your fault, the cow seemed
to be saying, that they are throwing this party and roasted my head.
But Iza’s husband, Vova, was so proud of this Armenian delicacy,
for which he’d driven three hours just that morning. He regaled us
over dinner with tales of the journey — the car bouncing over rutted
roads, the head wrapped carefully and sitting on the passenger seat
beside him.
Beaming with pride, he urged us all to taste it.
“The cheeks,” he declared, “are especially delicious.”

Frankfurter Allgemeine, Germany
Feb 11 2005
Reference to genocide to be added
State retracts decision to eliminate notation
11. Februar 2005 F.A.Z. Weekly. The eastern state of Brandenburg has
withdrawn its decision to remove a passage in a history lesson that
refers to the killings of more than 1 million Armenians by the Turks
in the early 20th century.
The state’s premier, Matthias Platzeck, made the announcement on
Tuesday after he met with Armenian representatives in the state
capital of Potsdam. Beginning next school year, the history lesson
for the ninth and 10th grade will once again include a reference to
the killings, but it will also contain other examples of genocide.
Previously, the killings of the Armenians were listed as the only
example.
In explaining the latest decision, Platzeck said it would be wrong to
list just one example of genocide. The view was shared by the state’s
education minister, Holger Rupprecht. In a newspaper last week,
Rupprecht defended the decision. “The reference was removed because I
and the premier consider it to be a mistake to list Armenia as the
sole example of such a controversial subject.”
The issue is an extremely sensitive one between Armenians and Turks.
Armenians say 1.5 million people were killed between 1915 and 1923 as
part of the Ottoman Empire’s campaign to push them from eastern
Turkey. Turkey maintains the Armenians were killed as the empire
fought civil unrest.
As a result, the Social Democrat Platzeck faced pressure from both
the Armenian and the Turkish representatives. The first change was
announced in late January two weeks after Turkish General Counsel
Aydin Durusay raised the issue.
The decision set off a wave of criticism from parties in the state,
including at least one member of the Social Democrats, who demanded
that Platzeck reverse the decision. Sven Petke, the general secretary
of the Christian Democrats in Brandenburg, said the removal of the
passage had hurt the state’s reputation. “It was not the reference to
the genocide on the Armenians that communicated a wrong image. It was
the unjustified removal,” Petke said.
Armenians joined the criticism as well. This protest resulted in
Tuesday’s meeting, which was attended by the Armenian Ambassador
Karine Kazinian. Kazinian expressed her satisfaction with the change.
“The key issue is that that genocide and everything associated with
the things that happened then will be discussed clearly,” she said.
Platzeck denied previous reports that he had bowed to Turkish
pressure and noted that discussions with the Education Ministry had
been conducted months ago.
Brandenburg is the first of Germany’s 16 states to use a textbook
that discusses the subject of genocide in the 20th century.

IPR Strategic Business Information Database
February 10, 2005
KING, ARMENIAN DELEGATION REVIEW TIES
According to “Bahrain Tribune”, the King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa,
received the visiting Armenian parliamentary delegation, led by
the Speaker, Artur Baghdassarian. Baghdassarian presented the
King with a letter from the Armenian President, Robert Kocharian,
on relations and cooperation between the two countries. The King
hailed the advanced relations at all levels, affirming the importance
of the exchange of visits and parliamentary experience. King Hamad
highlighted the status achieved by Bahrain as a democratic country.
The King expressed satisfaction with the signing of the agreement
of cooperation between the parliaments of Bahrain and Armenia which,
he said, would reinforce joint work. Baghdassarian lauded Bahrain’ds
achievements and democratic steps in its political experience,
wishing the Kingdom constant success under its leadership.

UK GOVERNMENT DE FACTO ACKNOWLEDGES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7. ARMINFO. For the first time the UK government
has de facto acknowledged the Armenian Genocide.
According to the official site of the UK Government, political
leaders in Wales and religious representatives will mark Holocaust
Memorial Day in an event also reflecting on the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide
This is for the first time ever, an UK government web-site has referred
to the “Armenian Genocide” and “Armenian Holocaust”
Meanwhile UK Ambassador to Armenia Thorda Abbot-Watt told ARMINFO
that she knows that in Armenia there are many archive records of
the events of 1915-1917. She said that the UK has not changed its
position on the issue. She preferred not to touch on this delicate
and painful subject for the Armenian nation.