Author: Jagharian Tania

YEREVAN WATER COMPANY MAY REDUCE WATER PRICE

Armenpress
Dec 14 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS: French executives of the Yerevan
Water company said today they were likely to ask every June 1 the
Public Services Regulatory Commission to review the price of drinking
water they charge from households in the Armenian capital city.

Serge Popoff, the chief executive manger of the company, run by
the French General Des Aux, explained it by the continued growth of
Armenia’s national currency-dram-over the U.S. Dollar. He said the
company is paying less now to buy new equipment and therefore it may
reduce the tariffs.

Popoff also said the company has committed to secure 24-hour water
supply to 80 percent of homes in the capital city and will install
extra 65 water pressure meters which will allow to register water
pressure every 30 minute and have a clear picture of water consumption.

SEFILYAN IS TREATED AS A FUTURE OFFICIAL

Lragir, Armenia
Dec 13 2006

Information leaks from different places, including the National
Security Service that Jirair Sefilyan, who was arrested on December
9, will be deported. Armen Aghayan, a member of the Civic Action for
Defense of Liberated Territories, stated December 13 at the Friday Club
that deportation is possible but they are making efforts to prevent it.

"In other words, I want to say that this fuss is not needed, whatever
was necessary to prevent Jirair Sefilyan’s deportation, we made every
effort, and I suppose that this was one of the reasons why he was not
deported, but it is possible that they had planned this from the very
beginning," Armen Aghayan says. He says Sefilyan does not have problems
in Lebanon despite the information in some media. Simply his Lebanese
passport has expired, and he does not have an Armenian passport,
and he may have trouble going to Lebanon via other countries. Armen
Aghayan also announces that Sefilyan’s lawyer tried to use the
circumstance that Jirair Sefilyan’s wife is the assistant of the
Lebanese ambassador, and Sefilyan is a member of a diplomat’s family
and is protected by the convention on diplomatic immunity.

According to Armen Aghayan, this was an extreme step, and the lawyer
resorte to it to prevent deportation. In reality, Sefilyan is not
related to all this, he says, adding that Jirair Sefilyan was a citizen
of Armenia even when everyone in Armenia was citizen of the USSR.

"Jirair Sefilyan has lived in Armenia for 16 years, and for most of the
time he was an officer of the Armenian army. When we were citizens of
the USSR, he was a citizen of Armenia in Beirut, because as a young
man he solved the problem of security of the Armenian quarter of
Beirut. Therefore, it is funny that he is not a citizen of Armenia,"
says Armen Aghayan. He says he does not know if the scenario of
deportation of Vahagn Chakhalyan will be applied to Jirair Sefilyan.

"It is possible that they are drafting a similar scenario, fully
or partly similar. Naturally we must be watchful and prevent this
scenario and have Jirair Sefilyan released as soon as possible,"
Armen Aghayan says. As to the present state of Jirair Sefilyan and
the treatment at the isolation ward of the National Security Service,
Armen Aghayan says they get information through the lawyer. The
information they have got so far are not worrying.

"They treat Jirair Sefilyan as a future high-ranking official of
Armenia. They are very correct, as they know it is quite possible
that tomorrow Jirair Sefilyan may have a higher position than all
the officers of the National Security Service together," Armen
Aghayan says. He says, however, that they tried to humiliate Jirair
Sefilyan at the time of the arrest when he was having dinner with
his schoolmate, the director of Vivacell Ralf Yeirikyan. They put
handcuffs to Yeirikyan but he was released in a few minutes.

"There is much of a show in this process. You know that there were
interrogations and searching. Our apartment was also searched, and
I assure you that the National Security was not looking for anything
particular in our apartment. They came to have a good time," says Armen
Aghayan. According to him, the government was trying to show that they
had exposed a very important case, and wanted to use it for propaganda.

ATTACK HELICOPTER BID POSTPONED ONCE AGAIN
By Cihan News Agency

Zaman, Turkey
Dec 13 2006

Turkey could not make a decision at the helicopter bid held on Tuesday
and postponed the announcement of the results to a later date upon
the General Staff’s request to test the helicopters again.

The Defense Industry Executive Committee convened on Tuesday, chaired
by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The committee was to
decide on either Italian Westland’s Mangusta or South African Denel’s
Rooivalk proposal for the attack helicopter deal, which is worth at
least $2 billion.

Minister of National Defense Vecdi Gonul told reporters following
the meeting that the bid was postponed once more for further tests
required by the General Staff on the helicopters. The decision on
the type of the helicopter will be made in the following days.

The South African helicopters use French engines, which may be an
obstacle due to the discord on the so-called Armenian genocide between
Turkey and France.

The contract is for the purchase of 50 helicopters and then
co-production of 20 helicopters with an option for 21 more.

The committee also decided to buy 130 F-35s from the United States
which will cost Turkey about $2 billion, Gonul added.

The Undersecretariat of the Defense Industry was also authorized
for the purchase of another 30 F-16 fighters for approximately $1.6
billion.

NEWS DIGEST: NEW YORK LIFE PAYS UP

Life Insurance International
December 11, 2006

It was a long wait, but descendants and heirs of some of the 1.5
million Armenians killed during the Ottoman Turkish rule of Armenia
in 1915 are to share in a $7.95 million settlement agreed to by New
York Life (NYL). The agreement follows a class action brought against
NYL for unpaid life insurance benefits. In addition, NYL has already
distributed $3 million to various Armenian charitable organisations.

NYL said it had reviewed thousands of claims and found that 2,515
claims could be traced to Armenians who had purchased life insurance
policies from NYL prior to 1915. In all, Armenians in 26 countries
will receive compensation. Armenians in Armenia will receive the most
($3.4 million) followed by those in the US ($2.6 million) and in France
($656,413).

The pay-out by NYL follows a similar settlement reached between
aggrieved Armenians and French insurer Axa in October 2005. This
resulted in Axa paying out $17 million in restitution.

ARMENIA DETAINS TWO FOR "PLANS TO ILLEGALLY INTERFERE IN POLITICAL PROCESSES"

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
Dec 11 2006

Yerevan, 11 December: The press service of the Armenian National
Security Service reported today that a Lebanese citizen Zhirayr
Sefilyan and a number of his supporters, who were arrested on 10
December, "had planned illegal and forceful interference in the
forthcoming political processes in Armenia".

The press service of the Armenian National Security Service said that
"as a result of operative-investigative activities, irrefutable proofs
were received that the United Armenian Volunteers organization,
which has no state registration, set up by the Lebanese citizen,
Zhirayr Sefilyan, and a number of his supporters aimed at illegal
and forceful interference in the forthcoming political processes in
Armenia, in particular, planned to resort to radical actions in the
run up to the 2007 parliamentary elections", Mediamax reported.

The statement said that speaking at the 2 December closed meeting,
several leaders of the organization made public speeches on the need
to overthrow the incumbent authorities by means of armed struggle.

"Action plans in this direction were also presented," the press
service of the Armenian National Security Service said.

The statement said that the leaders of the United Armenian Volunteers
organization planned to provoke the Armenian opposition to civil
disobedience and clashes, "at the same time, they planned to put
pressure on the opposition structures to compel them to initiate
illegal actions against the authorities".

The press service of the National Security Service said that criminal
proceedings had been instituted and the leaders of the organization,
Vardan Malkhasyan and Zhirayr Sefilyan, were detained. An illegal
weapon was taken from Sefilyan.

JIRAIR SEFILYAN ARRESTED

ArmRadio.am
11.12.2006 11:00

Leader of the "Defense of Liberated Territories" civil initiative and
the " Union of Armenian Volunteers" organization Jirair Sefilyan was
arrested yesterday. Press Service of the National Security informs
that in the result of operative measures, proofs have been found for
the fact that Jirair Sefilyan and his supporters pursued the aim of
undertaking illegal measures in the forthcoming political processes
of Armenia, particularly to carry out radical actions during 2007
parliamentary elections.

The Pres Office of RA National Security Service informs that on
December 2, 2006 during a conference in Yerevan some leaders of the
organization called to seize state authority through violence and
force. They declared that the authorities in power should be dethroned
only via armed struggle and rebellion.

Action plans were elaborated in this direction.

Leaders of the "Union of Armenian volunteers" organization planned
to induce the opposition to political disobedience and clashes.

A criminal case has been launched on the fact in the Investigation
Department of RA National Security Service in compliance with Article
301 of the Armenian Criminal Code. Leaders of the organization Vardan
Malkhasyan and Jirair Sevilyan were arrested, Press Office of the
National Security Service informs.

IN U.S. CONGRESSMAN’S WORDS, TURKEY DOES NOT IMPLEMENT YET REGIONAL AND POLITICAL REFORMS TO JOIN EU

Noyan Tapan
Dec 11 2006

WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. "Turkey must first of all
accept its mistakes, stimulate cooperation in South Caucasus and
respect neighboring Armenia before becoming a European Union member,"
is said in the statement made public at the House of Representatives
by Joe Knollenberg, the Co-Chairman of the U.S. Congress Caucus on
Armenian Issues. The Congressman reminds that the time given to Turkey
by the European Union expired on December 6 of this year, when the
latter was to display will of making amendments. "We call on Turkey
to respect the obligations undertaken by it and to implement economic,
regional and political reforms to join the European Union," is said in
the statement. Addressing to members of the House of Representatives,
Joe Knollenberg emphasized that Armenia has friendly relations with
the U.S. and other countries of the world, and Turkey ignores the
important role of Armenia in the South Caucasian region. "The goal of
the European Union is to establish cooperation among countries having
similar interests, and Turkey, which, having history of terrorizing
other countries, does not correspond to those principles until it does
not change its way of actions, U.S. Congressman Joe Knollenberg stated.

From: CRRC-Armenia <[email protected]>
Subject: CRRC-Armenia/AIPRG Round table discussion on`Armenian-Turkish Relns

PRESS RELEASE
CRRC Armenia
Contact: Heghine Manasyan, CRRC-Armenia Director
Email: [email protected]
Tel: (+374 10) 58-13-30

Vahram Ghushchyan, AIPRG Yerevan office Research Director;
[email protected] (+374 10) 52-87-23

December 9, 2006

CRRC-Armenia and AIPRG Round table discussion on`Armenian-Turkish
Relations: Challenges and Perspectives’

On Saturday, December 9, 2006, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers –
Armenia (CRRC-Armenia), in cooperation with the Yerevan office of the
Armenian International Policy Research Group (AIPRG), organized a roundtable
discussion on `Armenian-Turkish Relations: Challenges and Perspectives’,
which was moderated by political analyst Richard Giragosian. The round table
was initiated by an independent Turkish think-tank TESEV (Turkish Economic
and Social Studies Foundation) that is implementing a project entitled, `The
Normalization of Turkish-Armenian Relations’. This TESEV project seeks to
address the problems between the two countries and to come up with policy
proposals for decision makers on both sides, with an overall objective of
proving that the normalization of relations constitutes a win-win situation.

The event was held at CRRC-Armenia premises and attended by a number of
participants (27), including representatives from leading Armenian academic,
scientific and public institutions, NGOs, and some journalists. Opening the
meeting, Heghine Manasyan, CRRC-Armenia director and AIPRG fellow, presented
a brief overview of the CRRC and AIPRG, explaining their activities and
upcoming events. In particular, she cited the CRRC Data Initiative and
Training programs and the AIPRG’s ongoing research on the possible
consequences of the Armenian-Turkish border opening, including a subsequent
AIPRG conference on the issue to be held in Yerevan in January 2007.

Following the opening of the meeting, Mr. Mensur Akgun, TESEV Foreign Policy
Program Director, and Mr. Richard Giragosian, international analyst and
AIPRG Fellow, introduced the framework of issues of Armenian-Turkish
relations that were to be discussed during the meeting. The meeting focused
on three specific areas of Armenian-Turkish relations, beginning with the
key question of what should be understood from `the normalization of
relations’?

Second, the meeting then addressed several `problem areas’ in
Turkish-Armenian relations, including the border, and its recognition, the
economic consequences of its closure, and the possible outcomes of reopening
the border for both sides; the effects of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on
bilateral and multilateral relations; the current situation in the region;
the latest developments in negotiations over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict;
and the effects of the Armenian genocide issue on Armenian-Turkish
relations, looking at both mutual perceptions and the Diaspora factor.

The third issue addressed in the meeting was an analysis of Armenia’s
Euro-Atlantic integration process and its possible effects on bilateral
relations and regional stability (Armenian policy regarding NATO, Armenia’s
place in ENP). Much of the focus on these broader issues also included an
interesting look at the scale of change within Turkey as well.

The discussion was held in a friendly and professional atmosphere and raised
substantial interest among the participants and sparked a number of
questions, observations and suggestions, including the fact that Turkish
policy toward Armenia had largely become `hostage’ to Azerbaijan, with
Turkish foreign policy options for its possible `normalized’ relationship
with Armenia having become subject to considerations of Turkey’s relations
with Azerbaijan in general, and over the Nagorno-Karabakh issue in
particular. The discussion also emphasized the importance of dialogue and
exchange between independent experts from both Armenia and Turkey and the
need for future collaboration, and studies on possible scenarios for the
future course of Armenia-Turkey relations within a broader perspective of
the next 15-20 years.

The Turkish participants noted that the economic and commercial
opportunities may present the most feasible start to a `normalization’ of
relations, with the economic incentives serving as dynamic catalysts for
beginning a fresh approach to the complexities of Armenian-Turkish
relations.

While the meeting was an important step forward in terms of a deepening of
dialogue and exchange, the participants agreed that it was merely a first
step toward an effort to break down misperceptions and misunderstandings on
both sides of the issue. And perhaps most notably, while the Turkish
participants never questioned the historical legitimacy of the Armenian
genocide issue, there was a stress on the need to focus on educating and
engaging Turkish society on the issue, rather than continuing with an
international diplomatic recognition effort alone.

The meeting, one of several scheduled during the Turkish group’s visit to
Yerevan, offers a sense of hopeful enthusiasm that the level of engagement
can continue, to both overcome the intransigence of some Turkish officials
and to exploit the Armenian government’s positive offer of establishing
relations with no preconditions.

———————————- —————————————–

CRRC are a network of resource and training centers established in 2003, in
the capital cities of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia with the goal of
strengthening social science research and public policy analysis in the
South Caucasus. A partnership between the Carnegie Corporation of New York,
the Eurasia Foundation and local universities, the CRRC network offers
scholars and practitioners stable opportunities for integrated research,
training and collaboration in the region. For more information on CRRC
activities, and a complete list of our independent advisory committee
members, please contact:

CRRC Armenia: 52 Abovyan Street, 3rd Floor, Yerevan, Armenia 375025;
Tel/Fax: +374 (10) 58-13-30, 58-14-50; [email protected];
To find out more about our activities in Georgia and Azerbaijan, please go
to

The Armenian International Policy Research Group (AIPRG) is a nonpartisan,
nonpolitical association that researches and encourages the discussion of
public policy issues in Armenia and the Diaspora. AIPRG aims to consolidate
the existing Armenia-related expertise by bringing together accomplished
researchers and practitioners who specialize in economics, political
science, law, and government affairs.

AIPRG: 50 Nalbandyan Str, Suite 16, Yerevan 0010, Armenia, Phone/Fax: (+374
10) 528 723; [email protected]
To find out more about AIPRG, please go to

WORKING VISIT OF FIRST LADY OF AZERBAIJAN TO USA ENDS

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Dec 9 2006

In the frame of her visit to the United States, First Lady of
Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has met Mr. Karen Hughes, the Under
Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy. Mehriban Khanum updated
on the projects being realized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation she
leads, in the humanitarian sphere, emphasizing that by the coming
of oil profits, the country develops the fields of education, health
and culture. Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, she noted that the Foundation she supervises persistently
takes care of the children deprived of parents as a result of this
conflict.

Mr. Karen Hughes, highly estimating the work done by the Heydar Aliyev
Foundation, underlined that this work is of vast importance for future
of Azerbaijan. The USA Undersecretary of State said Azerbaijan is
an example country from the point of view of respect for religious
minorities. She took interest in the conference on the subject of the
"Role of mass media in propaganda of tolerance" to be organized by
the Organization of Islamic Conference in Baku in 2007.

Noting the importance of this Conference for the country, Mrs. Mehriban
Aliyeva invited Karen Hughes to take part at this event.

Mehriban Aliyeva also met the Under Secretary of State for Global
Affairs Paul Dobrianski. In meeting, discussed were the issues of
cooperation between two countries, aimed at counter-action against
common threats, in particular, prevention of "bird flu". Paul
Dobrianski expressed readiness of his country to render to Azerbaijan
all-round assistance in this cause. Noting that there are joint
US-Azerbaijan working groups on economic issues and the question of
security, Paul Dobrianski stressed necessity of conducting discussions
also on the questions of democracy and human rights. At his words,
Azerbaijan as a modern secular state could play the role of bridge
between the West and Islamic world.

Noting existence of full religious and ethnic tolerance in Azerbaijan,
Mehriban Aliyeva said that she, as a UNESCO and ISESCO Goodwill
Ambassador, is open to all suggestions in this field.

In meeting, the First Lady of Azerbaijan spoke of the processes ongoing
for further improvement of democratic institutions in the country.

Mehriban Aliyeva’s visit to the United States ended.

ASHOT ABOVIAN RELIEVED OF POST OF RA DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE

Noyan Tapan
Dec 07 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, NOYAN TAPAN. By RA Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian’s decision, Ashot Abovian was relieved of the post of
RA Deputy Minister of Justice. As Noyan Tapan was informed from
RA government Information and Public Relations Department, he was
appointed as Deputy Head of RA Judicial Department.