Author: Kalashian Nyrie

LEVON TER-PETROSYAN: ARMENIA CANNOT BECOME ECONOMICALLY POWERFUL WITHOUT THE RESOLUTION OF THE NK CONFLICT
Jan Soykok
Journal of Turkish weekly
Aug. 21, 2006
Jan SOYKOK (JTW)- “Armenia cannot become economically powerful
without the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh (Garabagh) conflict,”
said former Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, news agencies
report. Former President Ter-Petrosyan voiced this statement in a
closed meeting with the Cabinet before resigning from his post in
1998. The record of this closed meeting has recently been published
in the Armenian pro-opposition media outlets.
Commenting on the reasons why he resigned from the president post in
1998, Ter-Petrosyan said Azerbaijan and Turkey are the most natural
and suitable economic partners for Armenia.
“Regrettably, due to the known reasons, it is impossible to use the
potential of economic cooperation between Armenia and Turkey. On the
other hand, Armenia remained uninvolved in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
main export oil pipeline due to the conflict. No matter who rules
Armenia, he will fail to ensure normal economic development of the
country as long as the Nagorno Karabakh conflict remains unresolved.
It will be impossible to solve the existing public and economic
problems without solving the conflict. The closed borders with
Azerbaijan and Turkey, no railway access to the environment leads to
increasing transport expenses, reduces Armenian’s export opportunities
and looses interest in foreign investors to invest capital in our
country” the ex-president underlined.
Similarly Dr. Nilgun Gulcan told the JTW that Armenia is the only
country who cannot benefit from the regional integrations: “Turkey,
Georgia and Azerbaijan all are in close economic co-operation.
Azerbaijain’s economy has growth dramatically. Georgia has enjoyed
the integrated economies. The BTC pipeline and other coming projects
nourishes all three economies. Turkey is a big economy with 75 million
population. It is the 17th biggest economy in the world and Armenia
has no access to this great economy while Georgians and Azerbaijanis
export and import to the Turkish economy. Both countries have not
benefited from Turkish economy’s size till now. But now they have more
financial sources and tools. The trade between these three countries
will increase radically in coming years. Armenia is an exceptional
country in the region and Armenia should not accuse other countries
for its poor economic performance. If you have problems with all of
your neighbors, it means that something is wrong with your policies”.
Former President Ter-Petrosyan voiced this statement in a closed
meeting with the Cabinet before resigning from his post in 1998. The
record of this closed meeting has recently been published in the
Armenian pro-opposition media outlets.
Ter-Petrosyan also said during the active military operations,
the volume of Armenia’s economy decreased twice, and if the Nagorno
Karabagh conflict is not resolved, the economic development tempo
might fall even stop once and for all.
In the emergency meeting, the ex-president also stressed that Armenians
won the battle not the war, and the international community will not
tolerate the long-term status quo in Nagorno Karabagh.

YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM OF ARMENIA DEFEATS “PYUNIK-3” WITH A SCORE OF 5-0
Noyan Tapan
Aug 23 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Group tournament of the Europe
Championship elimination stage of football players until 17 will
be held in Yerevan from September 30 to October 5. The national
team of Armenia is included in 10 sub-groups. Our football players
will compete with the football players of the same age of Scotland
on September 30, of Hungary on October 2 and with the Bulgarian
football players on October 5. Those who will take the first and
the second places will continue the struggle in the next tour. On
August 22, within the framework of preparation for the tournament,
the national team of Armenia held an unofficial match with “Pyunik-3”
in the Republican stadium. The national team won with a score of 5-0
(coach Arsen Chilingarian).

SCOTLANDIZATION OF THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL
James Hakobyan
Lragir.am
21 Aug 06
I am extremely proud of the national football team of Armenia.
Although our team is always failing to score more or less significant
draws, the national team nevertheless succeeds in preserving its
identity from “encroachments” of every foreign coach.
Changing the Armenian national team has become a “matter of honor”
for foreign coaches, which they have been unable to settle so far. And
they were four: Lopez from Argentina, Stoikica from Romania, Casoni
from France and Visman from Holland. The fifth was thought to be
either German or African. You may ask why. Because the question of
getting on with the leadership of the Armenian football would solve
easier in case the coach were German, and an African might manage
to do what the European and Latin American coaches failed. However,
the president of the Armenian Football Federation Ruben Hairapetyan
decided to swim in the same river for the fourth time and invited a
coach of the Armenian national team from Europe.
This time, however, Ruben Hairapetyan made a slight change. The fifth
foreigner and the fourth European is not from the continent this time,
he is from the isles, Great Britain. The new coach of the Armenian
national team is Scottish.
The choice was not made at random. After all, the biographies of
Armenians and Scotsmen have much in common. Both peoples fought for
their national identity, freedom and statehood for centuries. In this
context, the Armenians are more successful but apparently statehood is
nothing if there is no talent and ability to handle it. Therefore,
the national team of independent Armenia will be trained by a
representative of half-independent Scotland. Therefore, I do not
have objections. I dot suffer from national vanity, national fever,
I have never been infected with xenophobia. I simply state where our
coach comes from, realizing that it is more important who he is than
where he is from. In other words, what kind of coach the new coach,
the Scotsman, is, who is going to lead our national team from which
the Armenian football fans who have come of a conscious age do not
have expectations.
The new coach is not well known in the football sets. He trained two
African teams, naturally he was not successful. He also trained several
clubs, including the Scottish Aberdin and the English Chelsea. Although
success is a highly relative thing, and even a single goal can be
considered such. In this sense, however, the Armenian national team
might as well achieve success without a coach.
Consequently, it is supposed that the “delegate” of Scotland will
succeed doing what the coaches of countries which are closer to
Armenia in terms of the football school failed to do. In this sense,
it is difficult to imagine what the cold-blooded Scotsman is going to
teach the hot-blooded Armenians. It is simply useless to talk about
the difference of styles of play because presently football styles
have been somehow “leveled”, and physical form is important of all,
although it would be wrong to assert that the styles have fully got
mixed. Consequently, either the coach has to change himself or he
must change the Armenian footballers, otherwise it will appear that
either the coach was not faithful to himself or the footballers were
not faithful to themselves. I remembered the joke about the Armenian
boy, who learned English from a black man, whose father decides to
check several months later if his son learned to speak English. The
father rings the bell of the door, the teacher opens the door and
calls the boy in Armenian, come on, your father is here.
It is highly probable that the 11 Armenian footballers will teach
Armenian football to the Scottish coach earlier than he will teach
his style to the Armenian footballers. It is possible, of course,
that the coach prefers Armenian football. In this case, however,
the question occurs why he agrees to train the Armenian national team.
After all, the presence of a coach is not obligatory in Armenian
football. And if he is needed, only for blaming him for defeats
and changing him. In this case, the Scottish coach should show up
in Armenia in the middle of the next summer when it will be clear
that the Armenian national team will take the last place in the
qualification games. The Scottish coach may visit Armenia on one of
those days to explain why it happened so and resign. Of course, we
are convinced that he will not manage to resign because the president
of the Armenian Football Federation will enter the hall and announce
loudly that he changes the coach of the national team.
After all, five is not much different from six. The coach cannot
be allowed to take his time to achieve success. As soon as there is
success, they demand promotion. Where can we get so much money?
Especially when the parliamentary election is coming up, and the
president of the football federation is not only a public figure but
also a member of the council of the ruling political party. Whereas
this also confuses foreign coaches of the national team, who come
and demand a salary. They do not realize that they are not alone, and
there are a number of people standing in a queue before him. If they
had money, they would not invite one coach for the national team,
the two Pyuniks, adults and juvenile, the juvenile and children’s
national teams. And the coaches work. Then they see that soon they
will be made to wash the clothes of footballers. And at that moment
someone “advises” that Ruben Hairapetyan’s financial abilities are
more than he pays to the coaches. After all, besides the Council of
the Republican Party there are others who give advice.
The coaches listen to this advice and demand money. Afterwards they
are given the sack, the air ticket and good memories of Armenia:
and you say coach, we might as well lose without a coach.

NEW CHIEF COACH OF ARMENIA’S NATIONAL FOOTBAL TEAM FAMILIARIZES
HIMSELF WITH INFRASTRUCTURES OF CLUBS
YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, NOYAN TAPAN. The newly appointed chief coach of
Armenia’s national football team Yan Porterfield on August 17 visited
the leading clubs of the country in order to familiarize himself with
theit infrastructures.
NT was infomed about it from the press servoce of the Football
Federation of Armenia. At the sport base of Pyunik Club, Y. Porterfiled
watched the young football players’ training and discussed with
their coaches the problem of fitness of Pyunik players who are
candidates to Armenia’s national team, as well as the opportunity
for using the sport base and fields of Pyunik Club for traning the
national team. Then Y. Porterfield became acquainted with Banants
Club’s infrastructures, its fileds, in particular the one with an
artificial grass cover, as it is quite likely that the preparation
for Finland-Armenia match will take place on this field, because it
is envisaged to hold this match on a field with a similar cover. After
visiting Mika Club, he conveyed his satisfaction at the opportunities
created for the football players and expressed a hope that it will
allow to organize effective training of the national team and bring the
level of Armenian players’ preparedness in line with standards during
international matches. Y. Porterfield considered it important that the
national team’s training process be held in various fields on covers
of different quality so that the sportsmen will not get used to one
field and will be able to show their technical and tactical skills
in any conditions. He also attached importance to close cooperation
of the club heads and coaches and the coaches of Armenia’s national
team. On the same day, Y. Porterfiled went to the Republican Stadium
after Vazgen Sargsian to examine the state of infrastructures there.

A TRIP TO KHARABAKH (GASEIRNEBA KHARABAKHSHI)
By Ken Eisner
Variety
July 17, 2006 – July 23, 2006
(GEORGIA)
A Studio Remka production. (International sales: Studio Remka, Tbilisi,
Georgia.) Produced by Levan Korinteli, Giorgy Kharabadze.
Directed by Levan Tutberidze. Screenplay, Aka Morchiladze, Irakli
Solomonashvili, based on a novel by Morchiladze. Camera (color),
Goran Pavicevic; editor, Niko Tarielashvili, Boris Machytka; music,
Nukri Abashidze; production designers, Gogi Tatishvili, Kote Japaridze;
sound (Dolby SRD), Michael Houdek. Reviewed at Seattle Film Festival
(Contemporary Cinema), June 18, 2006. Running time: 107 MIN.
With: Levan Doborjnidze, Misha Meskhi, Nutsa Kichianidze, Nino
Kasradze, Gogi Kharabdze, Dato Iashvili, Daria Drozdovskaya, Avetik
Sanosian, Gagik Melkumov, Artavazd Paloian, Levon Chidilian.
(Georgian, Russian, Armenian dialogue.)
“A Trip to Kharabakh” gets off to a fascinating start, commenting wryly
on the tumultuous state of affairs in Georgia and its strife-wracked
neighbors. But a shift toward mock heroics and an increasingly vague
p.o.v. cause a terminal fuel shortage as it approaches the finish
line. This “Trip” requires a good grasp of regional politics to sort
out the players and find the humor.
However, even those in the know will find the story gets unnecessarily
muddled, which will limit the journey to specialized fests and limited
DVD play.
Veteran helmer Levan Tutberidze sets his initially “Mean Streets”-like
tale during overlapping civil wars of the early 1990s, but there’s
little to distinguish what’s happening then with what’s happening
today.
Gio (Levan Doborjnidze) is a handsome, notably unmotivated lynchpin
among restless young men in their early 20s. When a relative asks him
to travel to a peasant region disputed by Azerbaijan and Armenia,
to complete a seemingly simple drug deal, he and goofy pal Gogliko
(Misha Meskhi, playing Richard Edson to the protag’s Heath Ledger)
agree to go.
They take a wrong turn, however, and end up behind Azeri lines.
Eventually Gio busts loose and ends up with friendlier Armenians.
(Both sides say how much they like Georgians — it’s just the other
group that’s no good.) Gio can’t tell if he’s a guest or prisoner, but
— as we learn in challengingly structured flashbacks — it actually
makes for a handy break from pressures at home, where his big-enchilada
dad (Gogi Kharabdze) has come down hard on him for hooking up with
a sad-eyed hooker (“The Good Thief’s” Nutsa Kichianidze).
And the old man doesn’t realize yet that Gio is also having it off
with dad’s pretty, if cynical, young wife (Nino Kasradze).
Once ensconced with the Armenians, Gio is offered yet another love
interest, a Russian photojournalist (Daria Drozdovskaya) who denies
being part of her country’s imperialist past since she’s Jewish.
Script and Doborjnidze’s opaque perf make it hard to grasp why he’s
so diffident toward the woman, or anyone else, and helmer moves into
macho posturing as grittily shot tale goes on, with Rambo-like antics
— albeit possibly satirical — obscuring the character development
and the subtext about relationships between various ethnic groups.
Electro jazzy score helps lift the mood and fits loosely with Gogliko’s
funny Miles Davis fixation, but it also adds extra cheese factor to
“Trip” that already smells a bit overripe toward the end.

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Aug. 11, 2006
SURVEY ON EVALUATION OF MONEY TRANSFERS TO ARMENIA TO LAUNCH IN
LOS-ANGELES
YEREVAN, August 11 /ARKA/. The Central Bank of Armenia plans to
conduct a survey in Los-Angeles in September-November 2006 for
evaluation of money transfers to Armenia.
Karine Karapetyan, head of the department of external statistics at
the statistical administration of the Central Bank of Armenia
reported that Los-Angeles ranks second after Moscow for the amount of
transfers to Armenia in 2005.
“The results of this survey will give an opportunity to sum up the
general tendency of money transfers to Armenia, and their frequency
throughout a year,” she said.
Karapetyan said that the survey is aimed at evaluating the transfer
of gratuitous funds to Armenia, particularly the transfer of
non-residents’ funds to the real estate market of the country, and
cash foreign currency for other purposes that increase the supply of
foreign currency in Armenia’s economy.
Karapetyan pointed out that the survey will be conducted under the
support of the USAID.
The amount of private transfers, received by households in 2005,
totaled about $940mln. The banking system operated transfers for
$750mln, or 78% of the total amount of all money transfers.
The biggest amount of private transfers and factoring operations to
Armenia were made from Russia – 72%, and from USA – 14%. R.O. -0–

ARMENIAN HOUSEHOLDS RECEVIE MONEY TRANSFERS FOR $940 MLN IN 2005
ArmRadio.am
10.08.2006 11:14
Armenian households received money transfers for about $940mln,
Karine Karapetyan, head of the department for external statistics, the
statistical administration of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA), told
journalists according to the results of a survey, organized by the CBA.
She said that $750mln of the transfers from the abovementioned amount
entered Armenia by means of the banking system. “It amounts to 78%
of the total amount of all money transfers,” she said.
In general, Karapetyan reportd that over the last three years
(203-2005) the annual increment of transfers to Armenia amounts to 37%
on average. “Their share in GDP amounts to about 15%,” she added.
In the survey organized under the support of the World Bank in
February-April 2006, 2000 Armenian households, and receiving transfers
from abroad, 2000 respondents in Moscow, making transfers, and also
a few Armenian organizations that operate reception and allocation
of transfers were involved.
The methodology of the survey was worked out by the CBA, and its
conduction was implemented by Alphaplus Consulting Company, ARKA
Armenian News Agency reported.

4,378 NEW RUSSIAN CARS SOLD IN ARMENIA IN 2005
Yerevan, August 7. ArmInfo. 4,378 new Russian cars were sold in
Armenia in 2005.
The press secretary of the State Commission on Economic Rivalry
Protection Armine Udumyan says that 11 companies sold Russian cas in
Armenia last year – the biggest ones are Armenia Lada and Karkomavto,
in fact, one legal entity who sold 95% of Russian cars in Armenia.

PRESS RELEASE
Cafesjian Family Foundation
15 South 5th Street, 900
Minneapolis, MN 55402
USA Contact: Mr. John Waters
612-359-8991
[email protected]
Armenia Contact: Ms. Madlene Minassian
[email protected]
Minneapolis, MN
August 8, 2006
Hope For The City Sends Three Large Containers of Medical Aid to Armenia
“Arabkir” United Children’s Charity Foundation Is the Recipient of
Hope ForThe City’s Aid Shipment
Minneapolis, MN and Yerevan, Armenia – Hope For The City, working in
close collaboration with the United Armenian Fund and the Cafesjian
Family Foundation, delivered three, forty-foot containers of medical
equipment and supplies valued at $468,000 USD to the “Arabkir” United
Children’s Charity Foundation in Yerevan, Armenia. The shipment
arrived on August 2, 2006. Transportation expenses were covered by the
United Armenian Fund.
The shipment of medical equipment and supplies, including examination
tables, wheelchairs and rehabilitation equipment, will be distributed
to childrenhospitals in both Yerevan and the regions of Armenia, where
the need for such items is very acute. The founders of Hope For The
City first met with Dr.Ara Babloyan, Executive Director of “Arabkir”
United Children’s Charity Foundation in April of 2005. Dr. Babloyan
did a needs assessment and compiled alist of much needed medical
items. Hope For The City then quickly collectedand shipped much of the
needed medical equipment and supplies, thus fulfilling a vital need of
Armenia’s major children’s hospitals.
“Considering the dire need of our hospitals, this aid will certainly
play abig role in the improvement of provided services in the health
care sector;the received rehabilitation equipment is of vital
importance as well,” stated Dr. Babloyan. “We are very grateful to
Hope For The City for this generous donation. We thank the United
Armenian Fund and The Cafesjian Family Foundation for their support.”
Dennis and Megan Doyle, founders of Hope For the City and Board
Members of the Cafesjian Family Foundation, first visited Armenia in
April of 2005. Since this initial visit, Hope For The City has shipped
over one million dollars of aid from the United States to
Armenia. Hope For The City, working closely with the Cafesjian Family
Foundation, provides supplies and other medical-technical assistance
to selected organizations in Armenia.
Hope for the City is a privately funded, 501(c) 3 relief organization
that was established by Dennis and Megan Doyle in 2000 to fight
poverty, hunger and disease by utilizing corporate surplus. The
US/Minnesota-based, non-profit organization collects overstock
products from top retailers, medical companies, and food distributors
nationwide and donates the items to people in need locally, across the
country and around the world. Since its inception, Hope for the City
has donated approximately $300 million USD in wholesale value of
goods.
The United Armenian Fund is a collective effort of the Armenian
Assembly ofAmerica, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the
Armenian Relief Society, the Diocese of the Armenian Church of
America, the Prelacy of the ArmenianApostolic Church of America, and
the Lincy Foundation. Since its inception in 1989, the United Armenian
Fund has sent over $421 million USD of humanitarian assistance to
Armenia on board 136 airlifts and 1,255 sea containers.
The Cafesjian Family Foundation, Inc., was established in 1996 by
Gerard L.Cafesjian. The US based, non-profit organization supports a
variety of Armenian causes in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and the United
States. A primary focus of the Cafesjian Family Foundation is the
security of independent Armenia and the further development of a free,
democratic society through economicdevelopment and the strengthening
of the US/Armenia relationship.

Azerbaijan: Armenian Monuments:
Debate in the House of Lords: Question on destructions in Nakhichevan
11.20 am
Baroness Cox asked Her Majesty’s Government:
Whether they will make representations to the Government of Azerbaijan
about the reported destruction of ancient Armenian monuments of cultural
importance by Azeri troops in Nakhichevan.
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My Lords, Her Majesty’s Government are aware
of and concerned by Armenian reports of the destruction and desecration of
certain monuments and artefacts in Azerbaijan. We are also aware of and
concerned by reports of the destruction of Azerbaijani cultural artefacts in
territories under Armenian control.
We deplore such actions, no matter where or by whom they are committed.
But the primary concern at this stage should be not the apportionment of
blame but effective action to ensure the preservation of cultural and
historical monuments on both sides of the current dispute. We consider this
an issue for UNESCO to resolve and we are supporting its efforts to find a
solution. We look to the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the
active engagement of UNESCO, to comply with their international commitments
with regard to the safeguarding of cultural heritage.
Baroness Cox: My Lords, I thank the Minister for her reply. I assure her
that, if there were comparable evidence of widespread systematic destruction
of Azeri cultural heritage by Armenians, I should be the first to join her
in condemning that, but, to my knowledge, there is no such evidence. Is the
noble Baroness aware that I was in Nakhichevan when Azerbaijan was using
tanks to shell Armenian villages, forcing Armenians to flee their homeland
and their precious cultural
20 July 2006 : Column 1406
heritage of thousands of ancient, exquisite stone crosses and dozens of
churches, which have now been destroyed? Will the Government urge Azerbaijan
to allow uninhibited access by international organisations to assess the
extent of that destruction?
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My Lords, first, I pay tribute to the noble
Baroness’s long-standing close interest in Armenia. We would urge both the
Azerbaijani and Armenian authorities to co-operate with UNESCO and the
Council of Europe in their investigations into allegations of destruction of
cultural sites in Nakhichevan and/or Nagorno-Karabakh. That includes
allowing uninhibited access to missions from those organisations.
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, does my noble friend agree that the
destruction of the monuments is not merely a heartless act of spite against
the Armenian community but that it diminishes the world’s cultural heritage
and is the legitimate concern of the international community? Do the
Government support the call by the Council of Europe to permit a delegation
of scientists, working with the International Councilon Monuments and Sites,
to visit the area and report on its findings?
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My Lords, I entirely agree that it is not
merely an act of spite-it is much more important-and that it is an issue for
international organisations, which is precisely why we support the actions
of UNESCO. The Government support the call by the Council of Europe.
Lord Avebury: My Lords, has there been any response from the Government of
Azerbaijan to the proposal by the European Parliament of 16 February
concerning the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian
cultural heritage in Nakhichevan? What is the Government’s view of the
proposals, which are being discussed in the European neighbourhood policy
context, that the European Commission and Council should facilitate the
return of the people who were ethnically cleansed from the area of
Nakhichevan from 1991 onwards and that they should incorporate in the action
plan a clause protecting the few remaining sites from destruction?
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My Lords, I am aware of the resolution of the
European Parliament of 16 February. We actively support the growing
relationship that Azerbaijan has with the European Union through the
European neighbourhood policy. The EU and Azerbaijan are currently
negotiating the content of an action plan. Whether or not the clause to
which the noble Lord referred is being actively discussed, I do not know,
but I shall certainly find out. I undertake to inform the noble Lord.
Baroness Knight of Collingtree: My Lords, the Minister said that the
Government support the actions of UNESCO. What are the actions of UNESCO?
20 July 2006 : Column 1407
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My Lords, UNESCO is working with both sides
to try to ensure that damage is not inflicted on this wonderful cultural
heritage. UNESCO is trying to ensure that a mission goes into Azerbaijan to
discuss these things. It is working at an international level, trying to
bring people together and trying to stop the destruction of the monuments.
Lord Clarke of Hampstead: My Lords, my noble friend has obviously given
some comfort to the House by saying that the Government are aware of what
has been happening with regard to the destruction of these very valuable and
unique pieces of art. Whether talks take place with UNESCO or anyone else,
will my noble friend find out what has happened to the thousands of stone
crosses that are missing or have been destroyed since the takeover of that
area? Will she please go further and ask the Government of Azerbaijan to
allow Armenians to return to Nakhichevan to rebuild their cultural monuments
and restore their cultural heritage?
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My Lords, I shall certainly make the point to
the appropriate people and try to find out what has happened to the
thousands of stone crosses mentioned by my noble friend. Cultural heritage
is being destroyed in both Azerbaijan and Armenia. We call on both those
countries to take appropriate action and stop inflicting damage on these
things. We call on both sides to act.
Lord Howell of Guildford: My Lords, there seems little doubt that Azeri
troops have inflicted deliberate-and apparently officially
sanctioned-cultural damage on these grave sites, concreting them over and
deliberately setting out to destroy them. Not only is that bad in every
cultural sense, but it obviously does not help to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
Might we not go a little further than looking to the Azeris to halt their
actions or hoping that UNESCO will do something? Could we not use very much
stronger words to the Azeri Government and say that this is not helping the
peace we all want to see in that part of the word and that it is putting an
ugly stain on the reputation of Azerbaijan?
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My Lords, I entirely agree that this is not
helping in either Azerbaijan or Armenia. The noble Lord is absolutely right
to say that this has a direct impact on the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. It is
important that discussions are taking place to try to resolve that conflict.
We are working to do so with people like the Minsk group. In doing that, we
must take account of the damage inflicted on the cultural sites, because it
is part of a much wider problem.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: My Lords, may I ask my noble friend about the
state of the memorial in Baku to the British and Commonwealth soldiers of
Dunster Force, who died towards the end of the First World War while
attempting to cut off the supply of oil to the central powers? Is she aware
that the memorial was due to be opening by His Royal Highness the Duke of
Kent in September 2003, but
20 July 2006 : Column 1408
the ceremony was abandoned at the last moment and the site is now terribly
neglected and vandalised? I declare an interest as chairman of the All-Party
Group on War Graves and Battlefield Heritage.
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My Lords, I am aware of the site and that His
Royal Highness was invited to open it but was unable to do so because it was
vandalised. We have been assured by the Azerbaijanis that they will give it
the protection it deserves, and we are not aware of any further damage since
2003.