Author: Kanayan Tamar

Armenian president wants more “efficient” work from customs
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
8 Jan 05
[Presenter] The process of delivering earnings to the state budget in
2005 will be tough and the custom administration will have to work
much harder and more efficiently, President Robert Kocharyan told a
meeting with the leadership of the State Customs Committee today.
[Correspondent over video of meeting] During his first meeting with
the leadership of the State Customs Committee this year, President
Robert Kocharyan noted that 2005 would demand more efficient and hard
work from the customs administration. Improvements in the activities
of the custom and tax administrations will be the focus of attention
this year.
[Robert Kocharyan, captioned] I am interested in the following issues,
first, how are you going to implement these tasks?
Second, what reforms will you introduce to make your work more
civilized and productive within the legal framework?
You must remember that your activities should aim at encouraging
businessmen rather than hindering them. I am confident that if all the
legal procedures are observed and standards of the civilized world are
adopted, this will have a very positive impact on businesses.
[Correspondent] The head of state highlighted the importance of the
fight against smuggling and the need for cooperation with the tax
authorities in this area. He stressed that a lack of such cooperation
makes tax evasion and violations possible.
In this context the president spoke of the importance of implementing
as soon as possible, before the end of the first three months, a
methodology for making checks more effective and for improving
internal checks of the custom checkpoints. The president also said
that the presidential oversight board was tasked with undertaking
certain steps in this direction, the results of which would show the
level of effectiveness of monitoring the customs system.
[Robert Kocharyan] The principle of inspections and monitoring should
be the following: the public should be told about the rules of the
game and asked to adhere to these rules. The quantitative index of
your inspections does not mean much by itself. It is necessary to take
one or two cases and follow them up to the end. By looking into every
aspect of the given case it would be possible to find out what is
going on and what mechanisms are being used for that.
[Passage omitted: correspondent recaps the president’s words]
I believe all of you realize there is still much to be done to ensure
that the system works efficiently. A lot depends on you. The fact that
Armenia is 42nd on a list of free market economies which is published
annually, means that a lot is yet to be done. I think we achieved a
lot last year and in the last couple of years. But it is not
enough. All of you must understand that there is still a lot to be
done. We will do it no matter what. But if there are persons who
cannot keep up with the pace of work, then we will continue without
them. There is no other way.
The tax committee and your administration can either kill the economy
or give it a normal boost. This year is going to be an important one
in terms of improving the customs and tax systems.
[Correspondent] At the end of the meeting President Kocharyan ordered
relevant officials to provide him with a precise timetable of measures
for resolving the problems raised at the meeting.
Lilit Setrakyan, Vartan Petrosyan, “Aylur”.

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
January 10, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]
ASSEMBLY EXTENDS APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly announced today that the
application deadline for the 2005 Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship
Program in Washington, DC has been extended to January 30, 2005.
The application deadline for the Assembly’s internship program in
Yerevan remains February 15.
Both programs, offered June through August, provide college students
of Armenian descent the opportunity to intern in those respective
cities while taking part in a full schedule of educational, social and
cultural activities. Students accepted to the Washington program are
typically placed in congressional offices, government agencies,
think-tanks and media outlets based on their educational backgrounds
and work experience. Interns are also given the opportunity to meet
with Members of Congress, policy makers and noted academicians through
the popular Capitol Ideas and Lecture Series programs.
Now entering its sixth year, the Assembly’s intern program in Armenia
offers students the unique opportunity to live and work in one of the
most historically and culturally rich countries in the world. Over
the course of eight-weeks, students will work in Armenian government
agencies, meet with Armenia and Karabakh officials and tour historical
sites in and around Armenia.
Partial and full housing scholarships are available to qualified
students on a competitive basis. Internship applications are
available on the Assembly’s Web site at
For more information on the internship programs or assistance with the
application process, please contact Internship Program Manager Alex
Karapetian in Washington at (202) 393-3434, ext. 245 or via email at
[email protected].

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership
organization.

###
NR#2005-002

Fresno Bee, CA
Jan 6 2005
Armenian Town plan challenged
Two local preservation groups file a lawsuit.
By Russell Clemings / The Fresno Bee
Two groups of local historic preservation advocates have gone to
court hoping to overturn Fresno’s approval of a large part of the Old
Armenian Town redevelopment project.
Heritage Fresno and Friends of Armenian Town allege that the city’s
redevelopment agency did not “properly address impacts on historic
resources and feasible alternatives” when its board – which also is
the City Council – unanimously approved the project in November.
Their Fresno County Superior Court complaint says that the city and
developers Richard Gunner and George Andros made no mention of their
plans for the facade of Armenian Evangelical Church, in storage since
being torn down in November 2003.
It also says the agency did not get enough public comment before
deciding where to move five other historic buildings that would be
displaced by the project. The agency plans to put the structures on
vacant lots along L Street between San Benito and Monterey streets;
preservation advocates have proposed an alternative site at M and
Ventura streets, closer to their original locations.
“These people just don’t think a good enough job has been done in
protecting historic resources,” said their attorney, John C.
Gabrielli, of Davis. “They’re not interested in stopping the project
at all. They’re interested in sitting down and hashing things out.”
Neither Marlene Murphey, interim director of the redevelopment
agency, nor Lowell Carruth, attorney for Gunner and Andros, responded
to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
The Old Armenian Town project includes a new home for the state’s 5th
District Court of Appeal, plus three office buildings, a parking
garage, and some retail space. An Armenian Cultural Center also is
planned. The site is bounded by O, Ventura and M streets and Freeway
41.
George Bursik, a spokesman for the preservation groups, lives in one
of the few remaining homes in the project area and says he objects
mainly to the city’s plans for his and other houses.
“I don’t believe the city has a legal right to confiscate a person’s
home,” he said. “I mean, I understand that they have the legal right,
but … just because some developer comes along and wants to take it
doesn’t make it in the public interest.”

Le Figaro, France
Jan 4 2005
UNION EUROPÉENNE La controverse sur la candidature de la Turquie
Constantinople, capitale de l’Europe !
Par GILLES MARTIN-CHAUFFIER *
[04 janvier 2005]
Le tsar Alexandre II connaissait bien l’Empire ottoman dont il
adorait grignoter les contours. Il a souvent dit : «En Turquie, il y
a deux provinces : Istanbul et le reste du pays.» Peuvent-elles
toutes les deux entrer aujourd’hui en Europe ? Pour la seconde, mille
arguments politiques et économiques se présentent, les uns
favorables, les autres hostiles, la plupart pertinents. Pour la
première, en revanche, l’histoire et la culture sont formelles :
notre destin et notre civilisation ont été sauvés sur les rives du
Bosphore. Btir l’Europe sans Constantinople et Istanbul serait un
non-sens. Et une falsification. Comme si l’Urss avait choisi
d’oublier Saint-Pétersbourg parce que la ville lui rappelait les
Romanov. On ne choisit pas son passé, on en hérite.
On se rappelle aujourd’hui que Constantinople fut une fête. Alors que
l’Occident mérovingien grelottait de froid et traînait ses sabots
dans la boue, une ville des Mille et Une Nuits dansait au clair de
lune. En l’an 1000, Byzance faisait rêver le monde. Ses parfums et
ses palais, ses courtisanes et ses bourreaux, ses patriarches et ses
princes, ses hippodromes et ses chapelles aux mosaïques scintillant à
la lumière des cierges… Perchés sur les collines ou se reflétant sur
la Corne d’Or, des dômes majestueux enflammaient les espoirs du Moyen
Âge comme les étoiles éclairent la nuit. Pourtant, si la capitale des
basileus faisait de la frivolité un art, elle servait d’abord d’écrin
ultime à notre culture.
De l’an 300 à 1453, on a enseigné Platon et Sénèque, Aristote et
saint Augustin, Horace et Homère… De génération en génération,
princes, empereurs, ministres et riches marchands ont créé des écoles
et fondé des universités. L’esprit grec, la pensée romaine et l’me
chrétienne s’y sont mariés et ont inventé notre civilisation. Sans
les murailles de Théodose, il ne serait resté des savoirs antiques
que des blocs de marbre éparpillés dans l’herbe. Là, pour la première
fois, les pensées occidentales ont appris qu’elles n’étaient pas
forcément mortelles. Les Celtes, les Numides, les Parthes, les
Phéniciens avaient disparu. Les pères de notre science et de nos
arts, eux, ont survécu. On l’oublie car on retient de l’Empire
byzantin un invraisemblable soap-opéra médiéval plein d’impératrices
nymphomanes, d’eunuques gélatineux, de prosternations protocolaires,
de mains tranchées et d’yeux crevés. Pourtant, l’Europe ne se limite
pas à Paris, Madrid et Rome. D’Athènes à Sofia et de Belgrade à
Moscou, tout l’univers orthodoxe est né à Constantinople. Et c’est
parce qu’on lui devait tant qu’on l’a tellement haïe au point de
l’anéantir en 1204, lors de la quatrième Croisade.
Deux siècles plus tard, les Ottomans n’ont fait que cueillir le fruit
que nous avions nous-mêmes arraché de l’arbre. Contrairement à l’idée
reçue, ils ne sont pas apparus un beau matin, surgissant de nulle
part et ravageant tout sur leur passage, tels des Mongols dévalant la
steppe. Voisins depuis plus d’un siècle des basileus, ils vivaient en
bons termes avec eux. Une fille de la famille impériale des
Cantacuzène avait épousé le fils d’Osman, fondateur de la dynastie
ottomane. Des cousins avaient épousé des princesses serbes et
bulgares. Les troupes du sultan étaient pleines de contingents
européens. Les Ottomans faisaient partie de la famille balkanique.
Depuis des siècles, les chrétiens d’Orient fréquentaient le monde
musulman. Et s’en portaient bien. Ils s’estimaient souvent beaucoup
plus proches de Bagdad que de Rome et de l’intégrisme catholique. La
frontière de l’Europe est, depuis l’an 1000, à la lisière de l’Irak.
De l’Atlantique à l’Oural, notre continent rassemble tous les débris
de l’Empire romain au nord de la Méditerranée. Et ses peuples, les
paysans misérables, ne s’y trompaient pas. Aucun serf croate,
hongrois ou macédonien ne tremblait en voyant arriver les contingents
ottomans : au contraire, ils savaient qu’ils allaient échapper à une
odieuse féodalité. L’occupation ottomane ne tenait pas la bride
serrée. Nul n’était contraint d’apprendre le turc, on ne forçait pas
les conversions, il suffisait que le minaret soit la construction la
plus élevée de chaque village. On ne se révoltait pas. Quand
Constantinople tombe en 1453, les Ottomans attaquent depuis l’Ouest.
Leur capitale est en Grèce, à Andrinople. Leurs troupes ont été
levées dans les Balkans. Personne ne les prend pour des brutes
surgies du néant.
Installés à Constantinople, les sultans ottomans se révèlent-ils de
féroces tyrans orientaux ? Loin de là. Nul ne s’échappe de chez eux
mais, au contraire, des milliers de juifs fuient nos pays pour se
réfugier sous leur protection. Salonique est la première ville juive
du monde. Grecs, Arméniens, Arabes, Albanais vivent en parfaite
harmonie dans la capitale. L’écrasante majorité des grands vizirs est
européenne de naissance. Des dizaines de confréries musulmanes
cohabitent en bonne intelligence. On n’est pas à La Mecque. Toutes
les nuances de l’islam s’expriment. Quand elles débattent, c’est lors
de concours de poésie. L’ordre règne à Istanbul, débonnaire. Sous
Ahmed III, le contemporain de Louis XV, au sommet de la puissance
ottomane, la douceur de vivre sur les bords du Bosphore est devenue
un art. Dans les manuels, on parlera du temps des tulipes et des
zibelines. On vit autour du palais de Topkapi comme dans le reste du
continent. Et quand l’empire va se désintégrer peu à peu, aucun de
ses féroces ennemis ne l’appellera autrement que comme l’«Homme
malade de l’Europe».
Aujourd’hui, Constantinople demande à réintégrer son giron.
Moralement, les Arméniens peuvent être indignés. Politiquement, la
droite xénophobe et la gauche souverainiste peuvent émettre des
réserves. Economiquement, Bruxelles peut mettre en garde. Mais
historiquement et culturellement, le débat est clos : cette ville a
toujours fait partie intégrante de notre destin. Et, entre l’an 330
et l’an 800, elle l’a incarné à elle seule. Lui fermer aujourd’hui la
porte serait un parricide.
* Journaliste, publie cette semaine Le Roman de Constantinople,
éditions du Rocher.

p2pnet.net, Canada
Jan 3 2005
That time again!
p2pnet.net Opinion:- That time again!
Once again the year rolls over, and a whole raft of old works fall
into the public domain as their copyrights expire. Our collective
past intellectual output moves from being “property” to being
history, culture, and heritage.
Last year on this day, millions of pages of archival documents, whose
authors had died before 1949, became public domain in Canada. This
was the result of long-overdue amendments to the Copyright Act in
1998, which ended the perpetual copyright in unpublished `works.’
Unfortunately, there will not be another archival Public Domain Day
for archivists, historians, genealogists, and others, to celebrate in
Canada until January 1, 2049. This is because the 1998 amendments
also provided that the `works’, including historical documents, by
`authors’ who died between 1949 and 1998 inclusive, would have a
copyright term fixed neither to the life of the author nor the
creation of the work, but to the coming-into-force of the amendment.
Those unpublished literary works – the raw material of history –
whose authors died between 1949 and 1998, will not be public domain
for nearly another half-century. This, even though the published
material by those same people will continue to become public domain.
For example, the unpublished letters of William Lyon Mackenzie King
(d. 1950) will be `protected’ by copyright until 2049. However, his
published works became public domain four years ago today.
Similarly, a pamphlet by Agnes MacPhail (d. 1954), Convict or
citizen? : the urgent need for prison reform, is in the public domain
as of today. But her letters on this, or any subject, are not, and
won’t be for 45 years.
Isaac Pedlow’s One hundred years of Presbyterianism in Renfrew
County, published in 1930, is, as of this morning, in the public
domain. His letters to Prime Minister Meighen, on the subject of
railways, from the early 1920s, are not, and won’t be for 45 years.
Herbert Brown Ames’ The city below the hill: a sociological study of
a portion of the city of Montreal, published in 1897, is, since you
kissed your sweetie at midnight, in the public domain. But his 1902
letter to Sir Wilfrid Laurier, concerning a proposed subway for the
city of Montreal, is not, and won’t be for 45 years.
You get the picture.
But on to better news! There is, after all, still a Public Domain Day
to celebrate in respect of published works. Are you wearing your
party hats? (New Years Eve paraphernalia may be recycled.)
In the life+50 copyright universe, which comprises most of the
world’s countries, and the majority of the world’s people, including
Canada, we will see the entry into the public domain of the published
works of Soviet historian Robert Vipper; Swiss Jungian psychologist
Ernst Aeppli; British Columbia author and educator Alice Ravenhill;
historian Ferdinand Schevill; Dutch composer Henri Zagwijn; French
musician and composer Léonce de Saint-Martin; Danish novellist Martin
Andersen Nexø; American botanist Albert Francis Blakeslee; German
ethnologist, philologist and historian Wilhelm Schmidt; Canadian
economist Édouard Montpetit; American novellist and poet Elsa Barker;
Danish poet and writer Martin Anderson Nex; American evangelist Frank
Grenville Beardsley; Uruguayan poet Julio J. Casal; Bishop of Oxford
Kenneth Escott Kirk; “western” writer William MacLeod Raine; American
anthropologist Earnest Albert Hooton; Mexican artist Frida Kahlo;
German historian Otto Scheel; American poet Walter Arensberg; Flemish
artist Edgar Tytgat; British mathematician Alan Turing; physicist
Enrico Fermi; French composer Jean Roger-Ducasse; American author
(“Bobbsey Twins”) Lilian Garis; Finnish writer and diplomat Hjalmar
Johan Fredrik Procopé; Serbian philosopher Branislav Petronijevic;
French historian and philosopher Henri Berr; American literary
scholar Raymond Dexter Havens; German composer Hermann W S
Waltershausen; “crank economist” E.C. Riegel; Canadian essayist and
editor of Saturday Night B. K. Sandwell; Swedist novelist and
playwright Stig Dagerman; American writer and social reformer Vida
Dutton Scudder; Spanish poet and dramatist Jacinto Benavente;
Canadian poet, novelist and historian William Douw Lighthall; German
composer Walter Braunfels; French historian Edouard Dolléans;
American artist and alpinist Belmore Browne; Scottish-American
journalist and founder of Forbes magazine B. C. Forbes; English
novelist and poet Francis Brett Young; Austrian composer Oskar
Straus; American politician and writer Joseph P. Tumulty; American
comic artist George McManus; poet Hans Lodeizen; Canadian novellist
and historian Mabel Burkholder; English liturgical scholar and
historian Francis C. Eeles; Argentinian composer, journalist, and
director Manuel Romero; Montreal philanthropist and captain of
industry Herbert Brown Ames; American musician and writer Ernest F.
Wagner; Indian author Kalki ; Tin Pan Alley composer Arthur Brown;
Brazilian poet and playwright Oswald de Andrade; Canadian composer C.
F. Thiele; English philosopher and scholar Clement Charles Julian
Webb; Canadian politician and Premier of Prince Edward Island J.
Walter Jones; German scholar and theologian Werner Elert; American
botanist David Fairchild; British politician John Allsebrook Simon;
German historian Friedrich Meinecke; American zoologist and
entomologist Herbert Osborn; British theologian Ernest Findlay Scott;
American mathematician Julian Lowell Coolidge; American mathematician
Leonard Eugene Dickson; Swedish novelist, essayist and poet Frans
Gunnar Bengtsson; Russian writer Michail M Prishvin; British
sociologist Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree; American ornithologist Arthur
Cleveland Bent; American author Onoto Watanna; English literary
critic and Shakespearean scholar Sir Edmund Kerchever Chambers;
American urbanologist Frank Backus Williams; British legal scholar
Thomas Baty; composer Peter Van Anrooy; Italian composer and pianist
Franco Alfano; American composer Charles Ives; Soviet-era Russian
author Boris Leontevich Gorbatov; French novelist Colette ; Armenian
poet Arshag Tchobanian; Canadian composer Alfred Lamoureux; French
art historian Émile Mle; Russian ethnographer and linguist Dmitrii
Konstantinovich Zelenin; Flemish historian Floris H.L. Prims; French
photographer Claude Cahun; English clergyman and social critic
William Ralph Inge; American feminist and politician Emmeline
Pethick-Lawrence; Canadian composer Jean-Robert Talbot; American
botanist and horticulturalist Liberty Hyde Bailey; American novelist
and travel writer Alpheus Hyatt Verrill; American novelist Joseph
Hergesheimer; American songwriter J. Rosamond Johnson; art historian
John Kalf; British linguist and lexicographer Ernest Weekley; French
artist Henri Matisse; Czech musician and composer D.C. Vackar;
Australian novelist Miles Franklin; German writer, social scientist,
and women’s rights advocate Gertrud Bäumer; French scientist and
mathematician Théophile Moreux; Swedish writer Gunnar Rudberg;
American theologist Henry Sloane Coffin; German writer and editor
Franz Pfemfert; Swedish oceanographer Walfrid Ekman; British
philatelist Stanley Phillips; American author and editor Bliss Perry;
American sociologist and educator Howard Washington Odum; American
poet and critic Shaemas O’Sheel; Spanish essayist and novelist
Eugenio d’ Ors; Belgian sculptor Victor Rousseau; and Bulgarian
author Nikolai Rainov.
Just to name a few. Phew.
Of interest to Canadians, in the life+70 copyright universe the works
of J.E. Preston-Muddock will enter the public domain. (Except that,
of course, post-1922 Preston-Muddock work will still be under
copyright in the cultural lockdown that persists in the United
States.)
Whothatnow?
The novelist who sometimes wrote under the pseudonym `Dick Donovan’.
Huh?
He also wrote `The Sunless City’, first published exactly a century
ago in 1905.
The hero of which was Flintabattey Flonatin. Whence the name of Flin
Flon, Manitoba.
The dead hand of dead-letter copyright is lifted on the works of
these, and many others, and society can recreate and build on the
legacy they left us.
Short live copyright, and long live the public domain!
Happy Public Domain Day, 2005!
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CENN – DECEMBER 23, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
Table of Contents:
1. Monsanto introduces triple trait tech
2. Harvest of Hope?
3. Yerevan Airport Operator Expands Into Agribusiness
4. Eduardo Ernekian Invests in Armenia’s Agricultural Sphere
5. Regional Civil Society Meetings towards the 6th Global Civil Society
Forum (19-20 February 2005, Nairobi, Kenya)
1. MONSANTO INTRODUCES TRIPLE TRAIT TECH
Source: CropBiotech Update, December 22, 2004 (Via Agnet)
Monsanto Company will make available the first triple trait offering,
YieldGard Plus with Roundup Ready Corn 2 technology, for 2005 season
planting in the United States. The new product will offer corn growers
in-seed protection against harmful corn insects and the flexibility of
herbicide tolerance in one seed.
The latest technology provides corn growers both above and below the
ground protection against Western and Northern corn rootworm larvae and
the European corn borer, and weed control. Monsanto adds that corn
growers have benefited from the flexibility and convenience of Roundup
Ready and YieldGard and will now get more profits from its latest
product.
More on this new technology from
2. HARVEST OF HOPE?
Agriculture is a colossal environmental problem; genetic science could
be part of the solution
MENDEL IN THE KITCHEN
A Scientist’s View of Genetically Modified Foods
By Nina Fedoroff and Nancy Marie Brown
Joseph Henry Press, 370 pp., $24.95
Reviewed by Richard Manning
A young postdoctoral student in a molecular biology lab once told me the
problem with her line of work is that she can’t explain to her mother
what she does. This is more than a personal problem. If the rest of us
benighted laypeople could get some sort of idea of what is being done in
those labs, we would better understand the depth of the world’s
environmental problems and the character of life itself. Indeed, those
scientists who tinker with DNA have drifted into isolation from the rest
of us, simply because they see something we cannot.
One of the things we need to see is that the controversy about
genetically engineered foods is misguided. The problem is not
genetically engineered crops; it is crops. The world is in terrible
trouble because of the fundamental design of agriculture. Genetic
science is finally developing some tools that may at least help with a
redesign that is sustainable.
Still, when the world in general thinks about gene science, it thinks
about genetic engineering. I wish we could get beyond this, and we will,
but not because of any sudden outbreak of rationality. We will get
beyond it because gene science has moved on to something far bigger and
more profound than genetic engineering.
For the Full Text Please See:
3. YEREVAN AIRPORT OPERATOR EXPANDS INTO AGRIBUSINESS
Source: RFE/RL Armenia Report, December 21, 2004
The ethnic Armenian owner of an Argentine company that runs Armenia’s
main international airport unveiled on Tuesday, December 20, 2004 plans
to invest millions of dollars in the country’s agribusiness sector as he
set up a joint venture with a local firm.
Senior executives from Tierras de Armenia, a Yerevan-based company
belonging to billionaire Eduardo Eurnekian, and Max Group said they are
joining forces to develop 6,000 hectares of arid land in the southern
Armavir region into fruit orchards. They pledged to invest up to $25
million in the venture in the next few years.
`In the next five or six years we will also set up a fairly big fruit
processing plant in the area,’ said Mher Bagratian, a major Max Group
shareholder.
`We believe that this is going to be a long-term business project that
could assist in the country’s further development,’ said Marcelo Vende,
the chief executive of Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport who represents
Eurnekian.
Max Group’s activities are quite diverse, ranging from fuel imports to
agribusiness. One of its two other owners is Harutiun Pambukian, a
wealthy parliamentarian close to President Robert Kocharian.
Senior government officials present at the signing of the deal welcomed
Eurnekian’s decision to expand his business presence in Armenia into
agriculture. `Agriculture is gradually becoming a profitable area for
doing business,’ Agriculture Minister David Lokian told RFE/RL.
Eurnekian is primarily known as the main owner of a consortium operating
33 airports across Argentina and elsewhere in South America. He also
owns 200,000 hectares of land and food processing factories in northern
Argentina.
Eurnekian’s Corporacion America runs Zvartnots in accordance with a
30-year management contract that it signed with the Armenian government
three years ago. The company launched last June the construction of a
new terminal that is supposed to bring the airport into conformity with
international standards. It estimated the total cost of the project at
more than $40 million.
4. EDUARDO ERNEKIAN INVESTS IN ARMENIA’S AGRICULTURAL SPHERE
Source: Noyan Tapan, December 21, 2004
On December 21, 2004 at Zvartnots Airport Director of the Tiera de
Armeni company Anna-Christina Shirinian and shareholder of Max Group
Khachik Manukian signed an agreement on joint activities. According to
the agreement, at least 1,600-1,700 hectares of apricot orchards,
200-300 hectares of peach and plum orchards and 500 hectares of
grapevines are to be planted in the area of 6 thousand hectares (3
thousand ha was sold to Tiera de Armeni) located near the settlement of
Baghramian (Armavir marz) and belonging to Max Group. According to
Khachik Manukian, it is envisaged to start the construction of a fruit
processing plant with a processing capacity of 40 thousand tons of fruit
per year at the end of 2005. The harvest is expected in 5 years;
meanwhile 20-25 million dollars will be invested. Eduardo Ernekian owns
Tiera de Armeni, which was recently registered in Armenia. The American
International Airports Company also belonging to the multimillionaire
from Argentina implements the management of Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport.
Max Group, one of Armenia’s big multiprofile companies, has 15 thousand
200 hectares of land in the country’s various marzes. Its shareholders
are Khachik Manukian, Harutyun Pambukian (both deputies of the NA) and
Mher Bagratian. Kh. Manukian also stated the two sides will make equal
in amount investments, the Argentinian side will implement the
management of the business and the Armenian side will carry out the
agricultural work. The Airport lawyer Armen Ter-Tachatian announced that
profit made by Tiera de Armeni would not have a commercial significance,
it will go to a special fund established by Ernekian and used to develop
the agriculture.
5. REGIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY MEETINGS TOWARDS THE 6TH GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY
FORUM (19-20 FEBRUARY 2005, NAIROBI, KENYA)
In November -December 2004, each regional office of UNEP hosted a civil
society meeting (six in total) in preparation of the 6th Global Civil
Society Forum (GCSF). Gathering around 40 civil society representatives,
each forum had a special focus on international environment governance
(IEG), the UNEP work programme 2006-07 and UNEP capacity building
cooperation with civil society. On December 3, 2004, two civil society
organizations from each region gathered in Nairobi to elaborate a global
civil society statement based on the regional outcomes.
I also attended civil society meeting in Geneva and actively
participated in adoption of regional statement. I had informed
attendants about activities in the sphere of information dissemination,
activities of working groups on GMO, European Plan on Environment and
Health and Ecostrategy.
First of all I had driven attention of attendance to water, sanitation
and human settlement issues and I am happy to say that everybody
supported to include this important (mainly for the South Caucasus
region) issue into the statement which describes the importance of UNEP
participation in realization of EU Water Initiative(See page 5 of the
attached statement of UNEP ROE)
On February 19-20, 2004 more than 100 civil society representatives from
all over the world are expected to attend the 6th GCSF. The event,
organized back to back with the GC-23/GMEF, February 21-25, 2005 is the
main venue for civil society to participate in UNEP decision-making
process.
The regional and the global statements will be distributed to
governments in in view of the twenty-third session of UNEP Governing
Council/ Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC-23/GMEF) and are also
available online().
By decision of UNEP ROE I will be among those who will present mentioned
statement to the 6th Global Civil Society Forum (February 2005, Nairobi,
Kenya).
Best regards
Rafig Verdiyev, ECORES, UNEP NC, Azerbaijan
—
*******************************************
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:
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Iranian, Azerbaijani defense ministers survey
IRNA, Iran
December 22, 2004 Wednesday 8:47 PM EST
Tehran, December 22 — Defense ministers of Iran and Azerbaijan
met and conferred here on Wednesday evening about regional armies`
cooperation to boost joint security in Caucasus region.
Islamic Republic of Iran`s Defense Minister Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani
referred to the two nations` shared historical, religious and cultural
backgrounds during the meeting, considering them the “huge capital
that can serve to boost bilateral ties.”
He referred to the deep bilateral understanding and mutual trust,
as well as comprehensive defense and security consultations, as main
prerequisites for establishment of a comprehensive bilateral defense
cooperation.
Shamkhani added, “Joint efforts aimed at boosting regional peace
and stability is the main axis for Iran-Azerbaijan comprehensive
cooperation.”
The Iranian defense minister said, “Presently terrorism, narcotic
drugs and arms smuggling, organized crime, and vast presence of foreign
forces are biggest threats against regional security and such threats
cannot be eliminated, except through effective regional cooperation
and constant consultative interactions.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, stressing that the Islamic Republic of
Iran considers the Caspian Sea the “sea of peace and friendship”,
Shamkhani added, “This region`s security is in need of collective
cooperation and mutual trust.”
Elaborating on Iran`s stand about Karabakh conflict, Rear Admiral
Shamkhani said, “Iran favors peaceful resolution of the Karabakh
conflict and is ready to continue its mediation efforts in that
regard.”
He referred to President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami`s state visit of
Azerbaijan and President Elham Aliev`s upcoming state visit to Tehran
as beset signs of both countries` officials` strong determination to
take advantage of all opportunities at service of boosting ties.”
The Azeri Defense Minister Safar Abiev, too, appreciated his country`s
ever-improving ties and cooperation with Iran and considered the
Iranian defense minister`s visit of Baku “a very effective move in
further strengthening bilateral ties.”
He emphasized, “Late Azeri President Geidar Aliev`s 2002 state visit of
Iran opened a new chapter in Tehran-Baku relations, agreeing with his
Iranian counterpart on the point that shared historical and cultural
backgrounds of the two nations serve as an excellent foundation for
boosting comprehensive ties.”
Abiev added, “The Islamic Republic of Iran was among the first
countries in the world to recognize the independence of Azerbaijan
Republic and the Azeri nation will never forget that.”
The Azerbaijan Republic is situated in eastern Transcaucasia, on the
western coast of the Caspian Sea.
To the South it borders Iran, to the West Armenia, to the North-West
Georgia, and to the North the Republic of Dagestan, in Russia.
The Nakhichevan autonomous Republic is a part of Azerbaijan, although
it is separated form the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenian territory.
Azerbaijan also includes the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast,
which is largely populated by the Armenians, but does not legally
constitute a part of Armenia.

Armenians in US threaten Bush
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 24 2004
“If George Bush does not admit to ‘Massacre of Armenians’ in April
2005, on the eve of the 90th anniversary of the ‘massacre’, Armenians
in the United States will resort to severe protest actions against
him, said an article by Harut Sasunian, editor-in-chief of Courier
newspaper published in California, US.
The publication said that non-recognition of the so-called ‘massacre’
may turn out costly for the Bush administration and that this is
explained by the double standard approach to the issue in the world.
It says that the US representative in the United Nations John
Denford allegedly sent a letter to the UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan demanding that the ‘Massacre of Armenians’ be recognized at
the January 24, 2005 UN General Assembly session.
Chairman of the “Organization for recognition of March 31 Massacre
of Azerbaijanis” (1918) has dismissed the statement as groundless. He
said that in reality, the ongoing occupation of Azerbaijani territories
and the Khojaly massacre perpetrated by Armenia against Azeris show
that a double standard is being applied against Azerbaijan.
“With the international community being aware of the truth, the lack
of pressure on Armenia proves that certain countries are turning a
blind eye to all of Armenia’s illegal actions.*

Armenian defence minister, OSCE envoy discuss cooperation
Noyan Tapan news agency
21 Dec 04
Yerevan, 20 December: The head of the OSCE mission in Yerevan,
Vladimir Pryakhin, told Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan
on 20 December about the successful completion of the first stage of
work under the agreement signed on 11 June [2004] between the OSCE’s
Yerevan office and the Armenian Defence Ministry (on monitoring the
situation in the army and on effective cooperation between the OSCE
and the Armenian Defence Ministry).
“We are satisfied with the results of the first stage and the
assistance provided by the Armenian Defence Ministry’s appropriate
bodies,” Pryakhin said.
The sides also touched on the issue of adopting the law “On alternative
ministry service” and the call-up of the first group (20 conscripts
will have alternative labour service and one will have alternative
military service). [as published]
The Armenian Defence Ministry’s press secretary told Noyan Tapan news
agency that Pryakhin had also submitted the results of an opinion
poll on the military service conducted in an army unit jointly with
the public organization Mother of Soldier. He said that work done
yielded had produced the desired results and the organization could
now freely talk to servicemen, elucidate their problems and bring
them to the notice of the Armenian defence minister.
In turn, Sarkisyan said that not only this organization, but also
about nine public organizations which are cooperating with the
Defence Ministry and specific problems might be resolved thanks to
their active mediation effort.
[Passage omitted: cultural organizations also cooperating with the
ministry]
Touching on the Karabakh problem, ambassador Pryakhin said that he
still cannot find any significant textbooks on the history of Nagornyy
Karabakh in the recent period and would love to find one. The defence
minister said that such books are necessary for the military and
patriotic upbringing of the younger generation and Armenian writers
have an obligation in that sense.
[Passage omitted: sides discussing development programme in Armenia’s
Syunik District and hope for more cooperation]

Palestinian-Israeli election arrangements detailed by Minister Urayqat
Al-Jazeera TV, Doha
20 Dec 04
Text of telephone interview with Palestinian Negotiations Affairs
Minister Sa’ib Urayqat, in Jericho, by presenter Lina Zahr-al-Din;
broadcast live by Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 20 December
[Zahr-al-Din] I have with me from Jericho Dr Sa’ib Urayqat, Palestinian
minister of negotiation affairs. Dr Sa’ib, could you please give
us further details on the proceedings of this [Palestinian-Israeli]
meeting? Did you discuss security issues?
[Urayqat] The meeting centred on adopting the same arrangements made
for the 1996 elections. The main emphasis was on the city of Jerusalem
and the sons of our Palestinian people in East Jerusalem. There was
also discussion of the election campaign, the candidates’ election
campaign centres, the polling stations in the city of Jerusalem –
the Armenian neighbourhood, Salah Al-Din Street, Shu’fat, Bayt Hanina,
Al-Tur – and the role of international observers in these campaigns.
We also stressed to them that the arrangements preceding the elections
are not only for the polling day. The arrangements include the
registration of voters [and] the candidates; the election programmes
and campaigns; and the movement of the candidates, their agents and
party members in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the areas in between,
including Jerusalem.
Therefore, we asked that the situation be restored to what it
was before 28 September 2000. This means guaranteeing a halt to
assassinations, incursions and arrests; the removal of roadblocks;
and the lifting of the closure. We want international observers to
have a greater role in this respect.
We agreed in principle that the arrangements should be the same as
those made for the 1996 elections. There is, however, a need for an
expanded meeting to be attended by security men and professionals in
such fields as statistics. We agreed to hold this meeting within the
next two days.
[Zahr-al-Din] So we can say that you received guarantees that the
residents of East Jerusalem would vote without Israeli conditions.
[Urayqat] Yes, we asked the Israeli side to announce in a clear,
official statement that the status of the Palestinian citizens
in East Jerusalem who would participate in the elections would
not be harmed. This is because there are [Israeli] threats to use
the identity cards and privileges [of East Jerusalem residents to
blackmail them]. We hope that the Israeli government will announce
this as soon as possible.
[Zahr-al-Din] Thank you very much.