Author: Kalantarian Kevo

IRAN’S AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS FROM NORTHERN PORT UP 670% IN Q1

Asia Pulse; Jun 29, 2005

BANDAR ANZALI, June 29 Asia Pulse – Agricultural exports from the
Caspian Sea port city of Bandar Anzali grew 670 per cent in terms of
value during the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year
(started March 21, 2005) compared to its corresponding period last
year, a local official said here Tuesday.

Deputy head of Agricultural Jihad Office of Bandar Anzali, Changiz
Shabrang, told IRNA that during the said period 5.824 million tons of
various agricultural products, worth 37 billion rials, were exported
to Asia and Africa through Bandar Anzali, about 40 km north of the
provincial capital Rasht.

Raisins, dates, pistachio, tea, potato, tobacco and henna were among
major items exported to Russia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and
Kenya, the official said.

Shabrang noted that 56,279 square meters of wood had also been
imported via Bandar Anzali over the said period, indicating a 14 per
cent decrease compared to the previous year.

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| 18:56:11 | 24-06-2005 | Politics |

HMAYAK HOVHANNISYAN ABOUT THE SOUTH CAUCASIAN «APPENDIX»

Today the Political Debate Club organized a seminar in hotel Congress about
the isolation of Armenia from regional programs.

The first reporter was NA deputy Hmayak Hovhannisyan, and the second was to
be a representative of the government or the coalition, but the club had not
managed to come to an agreement with a reporter from the coalition. Hmayak
Hovhannisyan represented his opinion alone. He repeated that our country is
completely left out of regional developments and has turned into an
«appendix».

Deputy Hovhannisyan quoted an American theoretic who has considered Ukraine,
Southern Korea, Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan political-geographical centers.
And the political-geographical centers, according to Hovhannisyan, are the
countries which are of particular interest for China, Japan, India, USA,
France, and Germany. The quotation was made with the aim of proving that
Armenia is not of any interest for any country, and the opposition must not
wait for an impetus from abroad to start revolution.

He said, «USA does not mean to drive Russia out of the region, they simply
do not allow Russia or Turkey to become super powers in the region, and
Russia has already put up with the situation».

As for the countries which are not considered political-geographical centers
but are undertaking democratic changes (Georgia, Moldova, Iraq, and
Kyrgyzstan), Hmayak Hovhannisyan said, `Moldova is the country where the
West realized changes without investing resources, Iraq had oil, Georgia is
an interim country which helps to realize regional programs, and the events
of Kyrgyzstan were to created background to realize the same changes in
Uzbekistan’.

Hmayak Hovhannisyan gave special importance to Uzbekistan among the CIS
countries, by which the interest of the world towards the country is
conditioned.

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| 22:09:53 | 23-06-2005 | Politics | PACE SUMMER SESSION |

PACE SECRET SITTING

Today the sitting of the PACE Committee on Karabakh started in Strasbourg.
The sitting is secret and journalists will be furnished with information
from official sources later.

To note, today the discussion of organizational and technical issues was
planned.

We will furnish more detailed information on the work of the commission
tomorrow.

The Tmes/UK
June 23, 2005

On This Day – June 23, 1905
In the intercommunal unrest that characterised the last years of the
Ottoman empire, Armenians again found themselves under attack

HARROWING details have been received of massacres in Transcaucasia.
Indiscriminate slaughter is proceeding in which Armenians, Tartars,
Persians and Kurds are all engaged. There are said to be 30,000
combatants. There appears to be no means of unravelling the butchery
except that it is the result of the long period of misrule. It was
this which led to the sanguinary outbreak at Stavropol between members
of the Orthodox and the Old Faith.

Thirty-seven thousand insurgents in the district of Sharukhan, in the
province of Erivan, sacked and burned four Armenian villages and
surrounded Owlianorashan, the inhabitants of which repulsed the
attack, killing 100 men.

A body of infantry and Cossacks who were besieged in the village of
Khulundian also beat off the insurgents, taking 870 prisoners and
capturing a quantity of arms and a black standard.

Mussulman proclamations were found exhorting the Sunnites and Shiites
to combine for a common struggle. The agitation is spreading to other
districts of the province of Erivan.

At Hadjivar the altar in a church was overturned and a priest was
killed. At Yarimdja the holy relics were stolen, and at Badamlu 800
Christians and a priest were converted by force to Islamism, eleven
young boys were mutilated and the church was transformed into a
mosque. At Djagrakh women are stated to have been outraged before the
eyes of their husbands and sons, while 37 men were beheaded in the
presence of their wives and children.

Putin welcomes Armenia’s Kocharyan to Eurasian summit

ITAR-TASS news agency
22 Jun 05

Moscow, 22 June: Russian President Putin considers Armenia’s observer
status in the Eurasian Economic Community to be useful.

“The fact that you, in your capacity as a head of state, already take
part in the work of the Eurasian Economic Community on a regular
basis, is a very good influence, a positive signal,” Putin said today
at a meeting with the Armenian President Robert Kocharyan. “Although
Armenia is present in this organization in the capacity of observer, I
am sure that this benefits cooperation between all of our countries,”
he said.

Putin is also satisfied that Moscow and Yerevan maintain permanent
dialogue. “I want to express my satisfaction that we have had such
close contacts in recent times,” the Russian leader said.

The Armenian president thinks that today’s meeting with Putin is
useful as a means to discuss bilateral relations “and in particular to
continue the conversation which took place in Yerevan”. Kocharyan
said: “I would like to discuss the energy sector, very specific
investment projects.”

“The orders which were given have been fulfilled, things are going
quite dynamically,” Kocharyan said. However, the Armenian leader said
“there are a few issues in bilateral relations which must be corrected
“.

ARMENIAN FM TO TAKE PART IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN IRAQ IN
BRUSSELS

YEREVAN, June 21. /ARKA/. At the invitation of US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, RA
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan is to take part in an international
conference in Iraq, which is to be held in Brussels on June 21-22. The
Foreign Ministers of 80 countries, US Secretary General Kofi Anan and
heads of other international organizations are to take part in the
conference. The conference is to focus on issues of systematizing
international efforts toward rehabilitation and economic progress in
Iraq, as well as toward assistance to the country’s newly elected
authorities. P.T. -0–

The Messenger, Georgia
June 21 2005

Negotiations open on renewal of Abkhaz railway

The Georgian government has suggested recently that it supports the
reopening of the Tbilisi-Sochi railway through Abkhazia, though it is
unclear on what terms Tbilisi would be prepared to agree to the rail
link.

The decision was made at Georgian-Abkhaz talks in Moscow last week
that representatives of Georgia, Russia and Abkhazia will discuss the
issue on July 1. The meeting will be held in Gali, in the office of
the UN special representative.

Speaking before the 46th CIS Railways Council last week, Prime
Minister Zurab Noghaideli stated that although “for a long period of
time the Georgian government had a negative attitude towards
reopening the railway via Abkhazia, recently this position has
changed.” The PM added, however, that the restoration of the railway
was connected with several factors, including, first and foremost,
the safe return of Georgian IDPs to Gali.

Although Noghaideli points to a change of attitude regarding the
railway, his connecting its renewal with the return of refugees is
nothing new: according to the 2003 Sochi agreement signed by Vladimir
Putin and Eduard Shevardnadze, restoration of the railway and the
return of refugees should happen in parallel. Nevertheless, the
government’s language is undoubtedly more constructive, and it looks
increasingly likely that an agreement will be reached. Chairman of
Georgian Railways Davit Onoprishvili acknowledged as much last week
when he stated that the rail link would be reopened “sooner or
later.”

This is good news for Russia and Abkhazia, as well as for Armenia,
which is largely dependent on imports from Russia. Although there are
many in Georgia who argue that the railway should not be reopened, as
it will help improve the Abkhaz economy and thus strengthen the
separatist regime, for a country whose greatest asset is arguably its
strategic location, the railway is also good news for Georgia, at
least in economic terms.

Of course, the railway is an important bargaining chip for Tbilisi,
and it should not pass up the opportunity of negotiations on the
issue to press for the opening of a UN Human rights Bureau in Gali
and greater guarantees for Georgian refugees returning to the region.

On the other hand, however, the railway offers a chance for Georgians
and Abkhaz to work together on a project of mutual economic benefit.
If Georgia is to finally restore its territorial integrity, and
Abkhazia is to return to the Georgian fold, it will be because the
two sides have learnt to trust each other; and the railway provides
an opportunity for the development of such trust.

There is a widespread belief in Georgia that the government should
not do anything, such as agree to the restoration of the railway,
that will improve the lot of Abkhaz separatists. The argument for
this is twofold. Firstly, it is believed that for the government to
pursue such policies while so many refugees live in poverty is to
snub those Georgians who lost their homes, and family members, in the
Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. Secondly, the argument runs that a rich,
happy Abkhazia will have no need to reintegrate into Georgia.

Although there is perhaps some logic to the second argument, it
should be noted that the Georgian economy should also benefit from
the reconstruction of the railway, as well as the Abkhaz. As for the
first, such an argument is based on the belief that the Abkhaz are to
blame for the 1990s conflict, and that no Georgian government should
take a “soft” line on an Abkhaz regime responsible for the suffering
of so many Georgians. While such feelings are understandable, such an
attitude is never going to lead to the reintegration of Abkhazia into
Georgia, and if the government’s primary aim is to restore
territorial identity, it must be prepared to be constructive and make
compromises in order to develop better relations with Sokhumi.

There are a number of technical issues that need to be addressed
before an agreement can be reached on the restoration of the railway,
including where Georgian and Russian customs offices are to be
located, who will pay the cost of restoration, who will be
responsible for the railway’s security, and so on. The government
should press ahead in addressing these issues, however, as the
renewal of rail communications is a good thing for everyone: the
Georgian administration’s apparent change of heart on the issue is
encouraging.

IN PLAN OF ORGANIZATION OF ELECTIONS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAS TO LEARN
SOMETHING FROM KARABAKH, BRITISH OBSERVER SAYS

STEPANAKERT, JUNE 20. ARMINFO. In the plan of organization of
elections great Britain has to learn something from Nagorny
Karabakh. Marc Almond, observer from the Helsinki group on defence of
human rights of Great Britain, stated during the news conference on
the results of the parliamentary elections in NKR.

“I became a witness of a full democratic electoral process, and I
think many recognized states should follow the example of Nagorny
Karabakh. Much was organized better here than in Great Britain”, he
said. Speaking of the course of the parliamentary elections in NKR,
the observe said that the British observation mission did not register
any gross violation either by electoral commissions or electors.

OBJECTIVE AND OVERALL INFORMATION

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
20 June 05

The Central Election Committee does not have a permanent press centre.
The head of the newly established press centre of the Central Election
Committee Mikael Hajyan said the newly-established press centre will
serve as a basis for later establishing the press centre of the
Central Election Committee. The press centre is for the journalists,
as well as the observers. M. Hajyan informed that the centre has 12
computers, ten for the journalists, one for coordinating the work of
the centre and one is placed in the hall for providing information.

The computers are connected to the Internet. The software includes
information about Nagorno Karabakh, the election system, all the
elections on different levels held in Karabakh, including the June
19th election to the parliament. The centre is provided with foreign
telephone communication. On the monitor placed in the hall the centre
provides the latest information. In the hall the centre will hold
briefings and press conferences. Besides, through the media kit which
includes information on the whole process in Armenian, English and
Russian the centre will be able to provide objective and compact
information. Besides, the centre will provide information about the
services available in the city of Stepanakert, telephone numbers and
transport. The centre will work till evening of June 20th. The
telephone number of the centre is 7 18 55.

NVARD OHANJANIAN.
20-06-2005

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| 12:12:22 | 20-06-2005 | Regions |

HOUSING PROBLEM NOT SOLVED YET

The distribution of the house-buying certificates by the Government has not
started yet ion the Shirak region. Although the costs of the certificates
are already known, taking into account the costs of houses in the market it
is not hard to guess what the lingering of the program may cause.

Artashes Sargsyan, head of the municipality urban development
administration, says that if the 1 billion dram allotted by the program is
not realized till the end of the year, that will be a serious problem.
According to him, before starting the program the list of the shelterless
people should have been checked a second time. Besides, some decisions of
the Government should have been reconsidered.

Artashes Sargsyan claims that the program has not failed yet. But as «Tsayg»
TV company reports, from the 1600 families only 129 have applied to
participate in the program. 300 have refused, and the others have not made
up their mind yet.