Author: Kanayan Tamar

Officials Inaugurate Azerbaijan Pipeline
AP Online
May 25, 2005
AIDA SULTANOVA

Officials on Wednesday inaugurated the first section of an 1,100-mile
U.S.-backed pipeline bringing Caspian Sea oil to Western markets.
The presidents from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Turkey were on
hand for the ceremony at the Sangachal oil terminal, about 25 miles
south of the Azeri capital, Baku, to open the taps for the first drops
of oil to enter the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
The pipeline from the Azeri capital to the Turkish Mediterranean port
of Ceyhan is seen as a significant move toward reducing the West’s
dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Most Caspian oil exports previously
have moved through Russian pipelines.
The $3.2 billion project, with a capacity of 1 million barrels a day,
is the first direct oil link between the landlocked Caspian, which is
thought to contain the world’s third largest oil and gas reserves, and
the Mediterranean. The pipeline, built by a consortium led by the BP
oil company, passes through Georgia en route to Turkey.
All three countries look to earn substantial revenue from the pipeline
through transit fees and royalties.
“This pipeline first of all will help solve economic and social
problems, but the role of the pipeline in strengthening peace and
security in the region also is not small,” Azerbaijan’s President
Ilham Aliev said at the opening ceremony.
Azerbaijan is banking on the pipeline to raise its profile in the
world and swing international support behind Baku in its dispute with
Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, which ethnic Armenian
separatists took control of more than a decade ago. The conflict
continues to simmer, undermining the region’s security.
Pipeline officials said it would take up to a month and a half to fill
the Azerbaijani section of the pipeline. The Georgian part will be
ready after that, and then the Turkish stretch, which Turkish
authorities have said should be filled by Aug. 15.
It will take approximately 10 million barrels of crude to fill the
entire pipeline.

A1plus
| 20:00:53 | 24-05-2005 | Politics |
VENICE COMMISSION POSITIVELY ASSESSED ANTICONSTITUTIONAL CLAUSE
«The Venice Commission welcomes an anticonstitutional clause», member of
Cooperation for Open Society initiative group Hrayr Tovmasyan stated. The
group is concerned over the adoption of the RA law «On inserting amendments
to the Election Code and the positive assessment of the OSCE Bureau on
Democratic Institutes and Human Rights. During a press conference Vardan
Poghosyan and Hrayr Tovmasyan not denying the progressive nature of some
clauses of the law stated that the law on the whole cannot be acknowledged
as a real reform.
«One of the main precondition of the election reforms is the formation of
balanced election committee. The order of the committee formation provided
by the law does not secure balance and impartiality of the election
committee while the clause on order of committee formation conflicts with
the Article 98 of the Armenian Constitution, which says, “Judge and members
of the Constitutional Court cannot occupy another state post”. The
involvement of the juridical power, which is dependent on the executive
power cannot be assessed as a positive step towards the high level of
political pluralism», Vardan Poghosyan stated.
In the opinion of Hrayr Tovmasyan, many clauses of the law «On amendments to
the Election Code» impede constitutional reforms. He promised to furnish a
detailed information during a press conference to be held May 26 in Congress
Hotel. The initiative group called upon the Armenian leadership to
re-consider the law and bring it to the international standards. The group
also called the Venice Commission to pay attention to the above mentioned
issues and present an appropriate assessment in their conclusion.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY RATIFIES ARMENIA-CYPRUS AGREEMENT ON
COOPERATION IN HEALTHCARE AND MEDICINE AREA
YEREVAN, May 24. /ARKA/. Armenian National Assembly ratified Tuesday
Armenia-Cyprus agreement on cooperation in healthcare and medicine
area. According to Armenian Deputy Healthcare Minister Hayk Darbinyan,
the agreement was signed on July 5, 2004, for a five-year term with
possible prolongation. The Deputy Minister noted that after
ratification a group will be set up for work coordination. The group
will include three representatives from each side, Darbinyan said. In
his words, the agreement envisages cooperation in cardiology,
ophthalmology, artificial insemination, mental health, gynecology and
pharmaceutics areas as well as mutual participation in international
conferences, symposiums and seminars. M.V. -0–

Georgia, Russia resume talks on withdrawing Russian bases
AP Worldstream
May 23, 2005
MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI

Georgia and Russia resumed negotiations Monday on withdrawing
Soviet-era Russian bases from the Caucasus Mountains country, as
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would not tolerate being
pressured in the talks.
The two countries have been unable to agree on a timetable for the
withdrawal of the bases _ a source of growing tension as Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili and his Western-oriented government seek
to shake off Russian influence.
As a Russian delegation arrived in Tbilisi, Putin warned Georgian
officials against putting pressure on Moscow in the talks, saying in
televised remarks from Moscow that “there is nothing that would
require an instantaneous withdrawal of the troops.”
Georgia last week imposed sanctions against the bases in a bid to have
Moscow speed up the withdrawal, limiting visas to Russian soldiers and
placing additional controls on the shipment of equipment and cargo to
and from the bases.
“Such a pressured way of conducting negotiations seems ungrounded to
me,” Putin said in Moscow.
Putin hinted that Russia had its own means for pressuring its former
satellite states, by urging Russian energy companies to charge world
market prices for supplies instead of the discounted rates offered to
former Soviet republics.
“We need to build relations with foreign partners in the sphere of
energy supplies on market conditions,” Putin said, but added that
“economic sanctions do not always prove effective in achieving
political goals.”
Georgia has insisted the bases be out by January 2008, but Russia
wants more time to prepare infrastructure to house the returning
troops and equipment.
Georgian officials appeared ready for a compromise,
however. Parliament speaker Nino Burdzhanadze told Kviris Palitra
newspaper that Georgia may accept having the bases withdrawn in the
course of 2008, as Moscow has suggested.
“It is not crucial whether the bases will leave before Jan. 1, 2008,
or in May of that year,” she was quoted as saying in Monday’s edition.
Russia’s special envoy leading the delegation, Igor Savolsky, denied
speculation that the two sides would be discussing the issue of
compensation for the bases’ withdrawal. Moscow previously insisted on
several hundred million dollars (euros) in payment.
“There has not been and there will be no talk on compensation,”
Savolsky told reporters upon arriving at the Tbilisi airport. “The
sides have agreed that they will seek additional external financial
resources.”
Savolsky also said that some of the troops would be relocated to
Armenia, an ex-Soviet republic that is a close regional ally to Russia
and where Moscow has a military presence. Most of the troops in
Georgia, however, will be moved to Russia, he said.
Separately on Monday, Saakashvili opened a new customs checkpoint on
the Georgia-Azerbaijani border. The checkpoint was built under a
U.S.-financed program, which envisages building several
others. Saakashvili voiced hope that similar checkpoints would soon
operate on the borders with Abkhazia and South-Ossetia, two breakaway
provinces that Tbilisi hopes to bring into the fold.

EU Observer
May 23 2005
French No camp rallies ahead of final countdown
23.05.2005 – 09:58 CET | By Lucia Kubosova and Elitsa Vucheva
EUOBSERVER / PARIS – On the last weekend before France’s crucial
referendum, both the right and left wings of the no camp organised
mass gatherings in Paris to express their opposition to the EU
constitution.
Drawing their supporters to different parts of the city on the same
day, the anti-constitution campaigners presented their arguments
against the current government and president Jacques Chirac, as well
as what they see as the neo-liberal character of the new EU treaty.
At a rally of around 5,000 on Saturday (21 May), Philippe de
Villiers, the leader of the Movement for France, criticised the
document for its potential damage to the sovereignty of the country
via a transfer of powers to Brussels.
His campaign also centered around the opposition to Turkey’s
membership of the EU, calling the treaty the “Turkish constitution”.
Vive l’Europe des Nations
The multimedia show in Paris was attended by French citizens of
different ages and from various parts of the country.
“I am not yet totally convinced by any side, but I think the whole EU
is not very democratic, and the constitution is not going to change
it. We should build new and better insitutions, under a different
document – not so complicated that no one understands it,” said
Antoine, a student of 22.
Several eurosceptic MEPs from different countries at the rally also
rejected the document.
They called on the French to “save Europe from the constitution” –
especially for citizens of countries where there is to be no
referendum.
“European bureaucrats are trying to bully us in the Czech republic,
Holland, Poland, suggesting we would be alone to say no. But they
could hardly threaten the greatest of the nations”, declared Czech
MEP Vladimir Zelezny, followed by great applause, despite giving his
speech in English.
Nigel Farage, the British co-leader of the eurosceptic group in the
European Parliament, which financially supported Mr de Villiers’
campaign, said he might have different reasons for opposing the
treaty, but that the “French non would be the first step towards a
Europe of nations, which all of us want to achieve.”
No to France becoming a “bundesland”
Philippe de Villiers, given a star’s welcome by his supporters,
accused the government of not telling the truth about the
constitution and of “yes-hammering”.
“The yes camp has 65 per cent of air-time, whereas we have 35 per
cent. The no has to be really strong to resist”, he said.
Mr de Villiers’ key argument was that the constitution would make
Turkish membership of the EU possible.
The no leader claimed that Turkey and the constitution were “the same
thing”, as Turkey has put its signature under the final version of
the document.
Referring to the Turkish refusal to recognise the Armenian genocide,
Philippe de Villiers addressed French Armenians, saying that a French
no “will also be a no of honour. We will never accept that Turkey
joins Europe because of you”.
He also said that Europe “does not protect us anymore, and costs us
too much”, while the constitution would be a danger for French
sovereignty, for transforming the country into a “Bundesland or a
region”.
Echoing Mr de Villiers’ words, Françoise, a pensioner for a couple of
years, told EUobserver “I do not support a federal Europe. I say no
to the dilution of France, no to Turkey, and no to Chirac”.
The final countdown
Mr de Villiers entered the room to the sound of “Final countdown” – a
song by the 1980s band Europe – and ended the meeting with the French
national anthem, rejecting the yes camp’s claims that a French no
would be dramatic and would lead both Europe and France into a
crisis.
“If there was no a plan b, Chirac would not have chosen to have a
referendum”, Mr de Villiers told his public.
“France is a European power, it is not possible to envisage Europe
without France. Our no will save a European Europe”, rather than
“create a Euro-Asian Europe”, he added.

PROBLEM OF REMUNERATION OF LAWYERS NOT SETTLED
A1plus
| 13:14:43 | 21-05-2005 | Politics |
The new and old laws on advocacy have not settled the problem of the
remuneration of lawyers. The problem is not solved by other legal acts.
In Armenia, the people who need a lawyers appeal not to a highly
skilled but to a familiar lawyer. As for the remuneration of the
lawyer, here the principle of approximate calculation functions. Some
lawyers offer the client a bargain and share the profit to be received.
The new law on advocacy provides for punishment for the lawyers, who
take money from the client and play a double game with the opposite
side. Such activity is called disciplinary violations. Article 40
provides for rebuke, strict rebuke or penalty for a lawyer, who was
found guilty in disciplinary violation.
One of the leading specialists in the juridical field, chairman
of the Economic Court Hovhannes Manukyan did not deny that there
are unprincipled lawyers. Moreover he expressed concern over the
low level of the Armenian lawyers and incomprehensive order of
remuneration. Pointing out to the international experience he said
that the price should be conditioned by the level complexity.
The remuneration of a lawyer’s service is regulated by vague clauses.
Article 6 says, “A lawyers has the right to receive fee for his
services. The amount and order of the payment are determined by
the written agreement concluded between the lawyers and the client
according to the Civic Code of the Republic of Armenia.”
To note, the legislation also provides for cases when juridical
assistance is rendered for free. The new law on advocacy entrusts the
public defender with the mission. According to Paragraph 4 of Article 6
of the new law, free juridical assistance can be also provided on the
lawyer’s initiative. This item offers the Armenian lawyers a maximal
possibility to avoid tax payments. Real “competition” of generosity
and philanthropy emerges among the lawyers.
Our interlocutor does not see any threat of losing competition in
case of uniting two chambers. “With any number of the chambers if
there is not an established juridical system there can’t be healthy
and fair competition”, Hovhannes Manukyan resumed.
Sevak Grigoryan

Baku Today
May 19 2005
Azeri official appeals to Bush seeking fair policy
Baku Today 19/05/2005 01:56
An Azerbaijani parliament member, from pro-government Ana Vatan
(Homeland) party Zahid Oruj has appealed to the US President George
Bush over the US policy on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and policies
on democratic processes in the region.
“The US-Azerbaijan relations have been developing on a
mutually-beneficial basis since 1993. But the fact that Section 907
has been kept in force for a long time has hampered a more rapid
development of ties”, the appeal reads, according to Assa Irada.
The Section of 907 to the Freedom Support Act, passed by the
US Congress, bans direct assistance of the United States to the
Azerbaijani government.
The appeal further says that the Azerbaijani public has lately grown
concerns over the US approach to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorno Karabakh.
“The conflict have turned into a tool of ruling the region. The
strengthening of the United States’ position in the South Caucasus
region is aside from ensuring the territorial integrity of states
and truly assisting in implementing the fundamental rights of nations.”
The appeal further said that if the US wants to set an example for
the entire Islamic world, it should not compromise the integrity of
Azeri land for its goals and assist the entire society for the sake
of freedom and independence.
“The future of democracy will depend on whether justice will prevail,”
it said.
MP Oruj further called on other parliament members to join the appeal.

THE TERMS OF PRESENTING APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTING THE REFUGEES DEPORTED FROM AZERBAIJAN PROPERTY RIGHT FOR THE APARTEMENTS OCCUPIED BY THEM WILL BE PROLONGED
YEREVAN, MAY 17,NOYAN TAPAN. In the special session of May 17 the RA
National Assembly discissed in the first reading the bill presented
by the government, which envisaged making a change in the RA law
“About giving the property right to the refugees deported from the
Azarbaijani Republic from 1988-1992 for the apartments built for the
refugees”. Under the above-mentioned change it is proposed to prolong
the term of presenting the refugees’ applications for giving them the
property right for the occupied apartments. According to the Head of
the migration and refugees’ department attached to the RA government
Gagik Yeganyan, this is conditionded by the fact that in the terms
defined by the law valid from December 18, 2002, part of the refugees
which have got a residence, about 500 families, have not been able to
present an application and get the property right for those apartments
(by different reasons, including the absence from the republic). Only
3653 families of the refugees have enjoyed that right by now. The
government also suggests regulating the legal relations connected
with managing the apartments which failed to be privatized in the
due terms. Such apartments will be considered as part of the state
housing fund and will be managed by the authorized governmental
body responsible for the problems of refugees. The later change is
conditioned by the necessity of providing the vacant apartments to
numerous homless refugees’ families present in the republic, and by
the necessity of realizing proper control over this process.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

YEKATIRENBURG AND ARMENIA TO DEVELOP RELATIONS IN VARIOUS FIELDS
Pan Armenian News
18.05.2005 05:27
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Mayor of Yekatirenburg Arkady Chernetsky
received Armenian Ambassador To Russia Armen Smbatian, Ural media
reported. The Armenian delegation was composed of diplomats,
businessmen and bankers. The purpose of the visit was to establish
ties between the enterprises in Armenia and Yekatirenburg and
create conditions for their efficient interaction. The interlocutors
noted that presently the commodity turnover between the Sverdlovsk
region and Armenia is rather low however there is a possibility to
improve the situation taking into account the presence of several
Armenian enterprises conveyed to Russia due to Property for Debt
agreement. During the meeting the parties also agreed on exchange
cultural and business delegations to be held approximately this
September. The Armenian Ambassador thanked the Yekatirenburg leader for
proving territory for the construction of Armenian Church in the town.

MOSCOW WELCOMES CONTINUATION OF DIALOGUE BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
Pan Armenian News
17.05.2005 06:51
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated Moscow
«welcomes the continuation of the dialogue between the Armenian and
Azeri Presidents,» reported the Yerkir newspaper. The Russian FM noted
the Presidents meet periodically and discuss ways of settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. «Getting to know that Ilham Aliyev and
Robert Kocharian take part in the Council of Europe Summit, Russia,
France and the US as Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group proposed that
they hold a bilateral meeting,» Lavrov said. At the same time the
Russian Minister refused to report the details of the content of
the conversation.
–Boundary_(ID_mfqFA7nAwwWKobYMGxCw3w)–