Author: Karapetian Hovik

New French OSCE Minsk Group co-chair appointed

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 22 2004

Bernard Fassier has been appointed as the new French co-chair of the
OSCE Minsk Group. He is due to visit the region on January 25.

During the visit, a special mission of the OSCE, jointly with the
MG co-chairs, is expected to visit Upper Garabagh and other occupied
regions of Azerbaijan to look into the illegal settlement of Armenians
there.

Fassier worked as ambassador of France in Georgia in 1990s. Before
his new appointment, he acted as Deputy High Representative of the
European Union mission in Sarajevo.

Fassier attended the recent meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
foreign ministers in Sofia, along with the OSCE MG co-chairs.
The previous French co-chair Henry Jacolin was expected to give up
the position this summer, but his term was later extended.*

And on the Farm He Had Caviar (E-I-E-I-O)
By FLORENCE FABRICANT

New York Times
Dec 22 2004

Published: December 22, 2004

IT is time to add new players to the usual caviar vocabulary of beluga,
osetra and sevruga: transmontanus and baerii.

Farm-raised caviar is becoming a better option than the shrinking and
restricted wild harvest, and the sturgeons of choice are Acipenser
transmontanus and Acipenser baerii. These terms are showing up on
caviar tins.

The quality of farm-raised caviar has improved dramatically, and the
amount that is available keeps increasing. It is being produced in
California, France, Italy and Uruguay, and experiments are also under
way in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Armenia.

Cultivated caviar is a response to decreasing supplies of Caspian
Sea caviar. The quotas for the 2004 catch have been sharply reduced
to protect the fish. That and the weak American dollar are driving
the already exorbitant price of wild caviar even higher, starting at
about $60 an ounce compared with $30 and up for farm-raised.

Armen Petrossian, the chairman of the caviar company that bears his
name, said: “Today about 25 tons of caviar are farm-raised, compared
with about 180 tons of wild. In five years I would estimate we’ll
see 150 tons of farm-raised on the world market.”

Petrossian now sells transmontanus caviar, which is also called
white sturgeon, from Stolt Sea Farm in California. It is $40 to
$45 an ounce in two grades: royal, which I found to have an earthy,
osetralike flavor, and imperial, which has a delicacy like beluga.
Stolt Sea Farm’s caviar is also marketed under the brand name Sterling
and is available at Zabar’s for $65 for two ounces.

Browne Trading in Portland, Me., is selling transmontanus from Italy
at about $50 an ounce. The texture of the dark grains is impeccable,
with a flavor that has sweetness and hints of black truffle. This
caviar is also available at Balducci’s stores.

(Exact price comparisons are difficult to make because some places
sell caviar by the gram and others sell it by the ounce. The price
usually drops for larger amounts.)

Tsar Nicoulai, another California company, is producing good, buttery
transmontanus, which it sells for $53 to $63 an ounce, depending on
the grade. Williams-Sonoma has it, too, for $65 an ounce (in two-ounce
tins) for select, the higher grade.

A type of Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii, is being cultivated
in Uruguay. At Eli’s Manhattan, it is $37 an ounce. This baerii has
a smallish, sevrugalike grain and darkness, but is exceptionally
clean tasting, with delightful nutty overtones. Paramount Caviar in
Long Island City, Queens, also carries the Uruguayan caviar at $45
an ounce, but is now sold out and awaiting a shipment.

Acipenser baerii has been cultivated in the Bordeaux region of
France for about five years. D’Artagnan’s house brand is from Caviar
d’Aquitaine, owned by Pierre Bergé, a former partner in Yves Saint
Laurent. It is just under $60 an ounce. This caviar is dark gray
with a clean, fresh salinity. Petrossian sells French baerii from a
different company for around $60 an ounce; it has a small grain and
a softer texture than the company’s cheaper transmontanus. The flavor
is not quite as bright.

At prices like these for cultivated caviar, you might consider wild
Caspian Sea caviar after all, unless political or environmental issues
are factors. But it is best to buy only from Iran or Azerbaijan.

Earlier this year it seemed doubtful that any Caspian Sea caviar from
the 2004 catch would be approved for sale. In October wild caviar was
finally given the green light by the international organization that
regulates the trade, and by the federal Fish and Wildlife Service.

Fine Azerbaijan osetra from the 2004 catch is around $60 an ounce.
Delicious, classic Iranian osetra, which meets extremely high
standards, starts at around $75 an ounce most places, more for caviar
labeled golden or imperial.

As for beluga, which once dominated American caviar sales, little
is available, because of restrictions placed on the catch. Also, no
fresh caviar is coming in from Russia. This season the best beluga
is from Romania, on the Black Sea, for at least $85 an ounce.

“Prices are now as high as I have ever seen them,” Mr. Petrossian
said. “They may come down a bit after the holidays. But we are trying
to get our customers to experiment with different caviars. You can’t
just sell beluga anymore.”

Whether caviar is purchased from shops, mail-order catalogs or online,
the jar or tin should be labeled as to type of caviar and country of
origin. Those that say only “Caspian Sea” are best avoided because
they could be from an older harvest.

And if you want to indulge in caviar in a restaurant but shudder to
think of the price, there is a bring-your-own policy until Jan. 1
at Le Périgord, 405 East 52nd Street. The accouterments are on the
house. Georges Briguet, the owner, is also serving Iranian osetra at
cost, $130 for two ounces, for what may be the only caviar bargain
around.

–Boundary_(ID_ZnS3ahAlzGpwONCVc2D3YA)–

SERIOUS CHANGES EXPECTED IN SPHERE OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE

STEPANAKERT, December 21 (Noyan Tapan). According to NKR Minister of
Education, Culture and Sport Armen Sargsian, serious changes which may
be considered as strategic are expected in the sphere of education and
culture by the 2005 budget. In particular, the salary of teachers will
increase and make 50,000 drams, the salary of employees of the sphere
of culture and sport will increase by 18-24%. The work directed at the
establishment of pre-school groups will continue. Another 15 groups
will be replenished to already opened 24 groups this year. Boarding
departments will be opened at some schools. It is expected that the
methodical manuals of 2.5 mln drams will be published for the first
time (the pedagogues of the republic were deprived of them during
ten years). The reforms will also be carried out in the sphere of
culture: the sum foreseen for the restoration, protection and study
of monuments will reach 100 mln drams as against 5-7 mln drams in the
previous years. According to the 2005 budget, the sums foreseen for the
holding of cultural and youth arrangements also increased. According
to the Minister, the participation of gifted children in different
cultural arrangements abroad will also become possible. According to
Armen Sargsian, this policies will be continuous.

Armenia should take “temporary control of Nagorno Karabakh,” head of
NATO PA and former Spanish FM think

Mediamax News Agency
21.12.04

Yerevan, December 21. /Mediamax/. Former Spanish Foreign Minister
Ana Palacio and head of NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly (PA) Pierre
Lellouche think that Armenia should take “temporary control of Nagorno
Karabakh”, further status of which will be determined at a referendum –
in the course of 5 or 10 years.

This is stated in a joint article by Ana Palacio and Pierre Lellouche
entitled “Putin and empire phantoms” published in French Le Figaro
newspaper today, Mediamax reports.

The authors of the article state that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
differs from the conflicts in South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Transnistria,
the “governments” of which are linked with different Russian mafia
structures and criminal organizations”.

“The conflict, which led to a clash between Armenia and Azerbaijan in
Nagorno Karabakh, is more complex, it is of some other character. But
even here Russia’s military and political influence on small Armenia is
huge. This conflict only seems “frozen”, it rendered Armenia lifeless
(half of the country’s population preferred to live in exile after
the declaration of independence),” Palacio and Lellouche write.

“The Europeans, Americans and Russians have to jointly reach a
compromise, according to which Armenia would take a temporary control
of Nagorno Karabakh, further status of which would be determined
at a referendum – in the course of 5 or 10 years. The OSCE Minsk
Group, working under the chairmanship of the United States, Russia
and France, could guarantee the reaching of a compromise and assist
to the implementation of economic assistance policy. As to Turkey,
it would be given an opportunity to exert good will and show that the
country wants to make part of the European family and may be useful:
for this it should open the border with Armenia, which has been in
ruthless blockade for already 15 years after the proclamation of
independence, thus making the life of this republic-enclave much
easier. And finally, in exchange for cooperation with Azerbaijan in
this conflict the West should establish close partnership with this
country,” former Spanish Foreign Minister and head of NATO PA suggest.

Mediamax recalls that Ana Palacio and Pierre Lellouche visited Nagorno
Karabakh and Armenia on October 26-28, 2004, as part of a joint
mission of The German Marshall Fund of the U.S. (GMF) and Project on
Transitional Democracies (PTD). During the visit, Pierre Lellouche, as
well as other members of delegation, spoke for the direct participation
of the Nagorno Karabakh’s authorities in the negotiating process.

France will put all issues to Turkey, including ‘Armenian genocide’: FM

Agence France Presse — English
December 20, 2004 Monday 9:00 AM GMT

PARIS Dec 20 — France will put all issues to Turkey during
negotiations over it joining the European Union, “including that of the
Armenian genocide,” French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Monday.

“What has to be done now is start membership negotiations which are
going to be very long, very difficult, during which we will put all
issues on the table, including that of the Armenian genocide, with
the hope of obtaining a response from Turkey before membership,”
he told French radio station RTL.

The 1915-1917 massacre of Armenians during the end of the Ottoman
Empire has been a sensitive subject for Turkey, which has railed
against other countries accepting the Armenians’ account of the
bloodshed as a “genocide”.

Although the French parliament passed a 2001 law applying the word
“genocide” to the killings, the French government avoided using
the term until December 14 — just three days before Turkey and the
European Union agreed to start membership talks. Barnier talked of the
“Armenian genocide” in parliament.

French President Jacques Chirac supports Turkey joining the European
Union, but he faces deep opposition from his own ruling party and
the majority of voters.

To add the Armenian issue to a list of others — most notably Ankara’s
recognition of the Greek Cypriot government — is seen as a bargaining
chip in the membership negotiations that are to begin in October next
year, and a way of showing the French public that Turkey is being
made to heed Paris’s voice.

Barnier said that Chirac, in supporting Turkey, “is expressing a
vision, expressing where the interest of our country, our continent,
lies for him.”

The French president has promised that the final decision on whether
Turkey gets to join the European Union or not, as far as French
voters are concerned, will come in a referendum at the end of the
negotiations.

VIRUS CAUSES ANXIETY

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
17 Dec 04

The virus spread in the republic recently causes anxiety among
people. Part of schoolchildren misses their classes. For this question
we turned to the Center of Hygiene and Epidemic Control, the head of
the department of epidemics Karineh Balayan. She told us that this
year the number of cases of inflammation of upper respiratory tract
has increased. If during the eleven months of 2003 11 104 cases
were recorded, this year the number reached 12 888. In November
2004 1442 cases were recorded in the republic, of which 463 in the
capital. According to Karineh Balayan, the rate of disease grew in
the regions as well, except Martuni where this year 112 cases were
recorded against the 180 cases in the previous year. By December 13
of the 7288 schoolchildren of Stepanakert 2434 have missed classes at
school. The Center visited schools of the capital and found out that
that the temperature in classrooms was 15 â~@~S 17 degrees instead
of 18 degrees. The type of the virus spread in the republic cannot
be detected because there is no corresponding laboratory neither
in Karabakh, nor in Armenia. Karineh Balayan thinks that there is
no need to worry as the situation is under control, and in case of
necessity the specialists will take special measures.

ANAHIT DANIELIAN. 17-12-2004

–Boundary_(ID_dUtR7jJPBFJeiQWp7MhCDg)–

“I HAVE FULLY LIVED ALL YEARS,” GOHAR GASPARIAN SAYS

YEREVAN, December 15 (Noyan Tapan). On December 15, the glorification
evening of famous opera singer Gohar Gasparian, USSR People’s Artist,
laureate of state prizes, will be organized in the Yerevan Chamber
Music House after Komitas.

According to RA NA Public Relations Department, the previous
day, the singer’s birthday, Hranush Hakobian, Chairwoman of RA NA
Standing Commission on Science, Education, Culture and Youth Affairs,
Heghine Bisharian and Ararat Malkhasian, members of the commission,
visited the singer and congratulated her on the occasion of her
80th anniversary. They said warm words in the memory of her husband,
Tigran Levonian, as well. By the way, Tigran Levonian’s birthday is
also on December 14.

According to the great singer, she has fully lived all years, doesn’t
want to bring back anything from her past, she misses her late husband
and needs him very much.

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 1) 517 163
Fax: (374 1) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
December 16, 2004

His Holiness Karekin II Receives President of Russian Parliament

On December 15, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of
All Armenians received Mr. Boris Grislov, President of the State Duma
(Parliament) of the Russian Federation.

His Holiness welcomed the honored guest to the Mother See of Holy
Etchmiadzin and reflected on the increasing cooperation between Armenia and
Russia in economic and cultural spheres. Thanking His Holiness for the
audience, Mr. Grislov informed the Catholicos of the details of his recent
visit to Armenia and the agreements which were made between the two
governments.

His Holiness and Mr. Grislov also spoke of the close ties that exist between
the Armenian Apostolic and Russian Orthodox Churches. Offering his best
wishes to the President of the Duma, the Catholicos of All Armenians
extended his appreciation to the Russian authorities for their care and
attention to the Armenian community in Russia.

Present for the meeting were His Grace Bishop Yeznik Petrossian, Director of
Inter-Church Relations for the Mother See; Mher Shahnazarian, president of
the standing committee for defense, national security and internal affairs
for the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia; and Anatoly Dryukov,
Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Armenia.

##

Obstacle Before EU: Racism
By NEVVAL SEVINDI

Zaman, Turkey
Dec 16 2004

[Francois] Bayrou of France had said: “Turkey has shown time and
again that it is not European.” Indeed, the French have also shown
time and again how cruel they are to all their colonies.

Besides, they could even boast of killing so many people when they
bombed the Ivory Coast recently.

Wolfgang Schussel, on the other side, got stuck with money: “Turkey
will cost the EU 25-30 billion euros annually, moreover, there are
human rights violations.” I wonder whether or not he can still
remember today what Spain and Greece cost the EU? Or the money spent
on new member, the Czech Republic? It has turned retired civil
servants into civil police officers and has made them sentries
guarding metros. Their job is to hunt tourists and then rob them.
When I complained to the police, they told me, “the state is always
right.” I heard similar remarks last week from a German train station
officer wearing an earring. When I said, “It is not written on this
train that it is going to Neumunster, but you say it is,” his answer
was: “I am a civil servant of the German state. What I say is right,
okay?” Of course, Edmund Stoiber’s statement is meaningful in the
light of these words: “We will do whatever we can to prevent Turkey’s
membership. We shall accomplish this when we come to power in 2006.”
There are Nazis, who are now carrying out the signature campaign
initiated by Angela Merkel. With the other big reaction against EU
enlargement coming from Austria, it is evident that the
insurmountable obstacle facing Turkey and the EU is German racism.
The obstacle within Europe itself is the intolerant Hitler spirit,
sauced up with this superiority complex! The person who committed
murder in the Netherlands is a Moroccan, but since the only subject
on television channels is the situation of Turks, degraded Muslim
Turks, the hatred in the German society’s subconscious has now
appeared on the surface. There are many humiliating acts against
Turks in the books of Martin Luther, who is being marketed as the
“greatest humanist.” Frankly speaking, his books have nothing to do
with humanism.

Racism is the most talked about and most topical subject on the
German agenda. Enmity against foreigners and Muslims is dangerously
on the rise This monster that previously resided only among
low-income groups, is now dancing in high society saloons. The result
of a three-year research has been published by Bielefeld University.
Research Director Wilhelm Heitmeyer says that xenophobia is on the
rise in 2004, so is intolerance towards homosexual. It is assumed
that foreigners ruin the German cultural identity. 58 percent do not
want to live in the same neighborhood with Muslims. It is really
striking that hostility against women, Islam and foreigners go hand
in hand! This is male-dominant hostility.

While Germany, which for 40 years has not admitted that it is a
country of immigrants, cannot find any fault in itself, it views the
Turks as completely at fault. Beware! Isn’t this the phenomenon
called projection mirror? Are Turks the mirror in which they reflect
their vulgar instincts? Films depicting the torture of millions of
people or those killed, bringing before us the so-called Armenian
genocide or the Cyprus issue, have not still ended, even though they
have been made over and over again for 50 years. A law on foreigners
for the first time will come into force in January 2005.

Germans advocating the mother tongue right for Kurds have not even
found a place in their curricula for Turkish mother tongue courses.
It is not ways to develop the mother tongue, but ways to make it
forgotten that are always being sought. Another example of egregious
double standards: Besides its failure in not solving any problems,
the German Teachers’ Union (GEW) does not even have any project
whatsoever on this issue. Moreover, the union also approved low
incomes for Turkish teachers! Turkish mother tongue teachers have
been turned into social advisers or translators. Their main job is to
solve the problems of German managers and teachers and to teach their
mother tongue in the remaining time left. Look at what a German
teacher said to a Turkish teacher: “What will you do with our
children after educating all the workers’ children? If you had the
chance, you would make all Turkish children have higher education.
Then what will become of our children?”

This teacher, who defends not the bright students, but the German
children, while encouraging class superiority, is also sowing the
seeds of racism. What do you think he/she teaches these students? The
racism tree growing right in front of Germany overshadows the ideals
of Europe. Are the Europeans sleeping?

December 14, 2004

Armenian premier upbeat on country’s economic growth

Golos Armenii
14 Dec 04

Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan has said that in 2005 the
country will reach the economic level at which Armenia was in 1989. In
his interview with Golos Armenii newspaper, the prime minister noted
that international financial institutions treat Armenia as a country
with a developing economy. However, this creates certain difficulties
in getting credits on light conditions and the country will not be
able to give up credits in the next few years, he said. Andranik
Markaryan added that he will take an active part in the next
presidential, parliamentary and local government elections. He also
denied that the dispatch of an Armenian military contingent to Iran
poses a threat to the country’s security. The following is an excerpt
from Marina Lazarian report by Armenian newspaper Golos Armenii on 14
December headlined “They treat us as a country where the economy is
developing” and subheaded “says the Armenian prime minister and leader
of the Republican Party of Armenia, Andranik Markaryan”. Subheadings
as published:

Interview with the Armenian prime minister and leader of the
Republican Party of Armenia, Andranik Markaryan.

Certain people used the difficult situation

[Correspondent] Given the latest events, doesn’t the government think
it expedient to intervene in the currency policy of the Central Bank?
The population is suffering from the fall in the exchange rate of the
dollar and the explanations of the Central Bank do not convince people
any more.

[Markaryan] First, the rate of the dram for the dollar is stabilizing
in our country.

[Passage omitted: about processes in the world economy]

[Correspondent] Doesn’t the tendency of economic growth to stabilize
prompt the need and a possibility to refuse credits of the World Bank
and the IMF? Isn’t it time to stop living in debt?

[Markaryan] The aforesaid institutions monitor every year whether we
fulfil our obligations and meet certain criteria. On the basis of the
results of the monitoring, foreign investors decide whether it is
expedient to invest in our economy. Cooperation with our country is
based on the degree of IMF and World Bank assessments. Even Russia,
with its great natural reserves, stakes on credits. As for us, Armenia
is among the countries that are not given credits on light conditions,
we get only commercial credits. On the one hand, it is good as we are
treated as a country whose economy is developing. On the other hand,
it creates difficulties in getting credits on light conditions. We
will not be able to give up credits in the next few years.

In 2005 we will reach the level of Soviet Armenia of 1989

[Correspondent] There are reports which suggest that if the Armenian
economy cannot take an economic leap at the moment, in 2020 it will
find itself at the level of the Lithuanian economy in 2003. In other
words, can our country take a big leap, just the same way as they did
it in Holland or Singapore?

[Markaryan] We are developing leap by leap, and it is of no benefit to
us to have an 11, 12 or 13-per-cent growth in GDP every year. The
moment will come when we shall aspire to an 8-per-cent growth. We
still have resources (credits, incomes) and if they are used
correctly, we can go ahead, but tomorrow when the economy reaches a
certain level, a 12 or 13-per-cent growth will not be quite
normal. Developed European countries have a 3 or 4-per-cent growth
annually. In 2005, we shall reach the economic level of Soviet Armenia
of 1989. This is not bad. There are few countries among the
post-Soviet states that can boast the pace we predict for the next two
or three years.

[Passage omitted: Other details; A factory in Zangezur will start
operating soon]

There is a risk, but if we want to play by the generally accepted
rules… [ellipsis as given]

[Correspondent] What is the position of the Republican Party of
Armenia [RPA] on the issue of sending an Armenian military contingent
to Iraq? Will this mission not turn into a threat to our country?

[Markaryan] We think that we should interfere in the business of
superpowers as less as possible. But since we are a state and have
certain obligations, and what’s more, the point is about fighting
international terrorism and our state has always declared that it
supports this fight, the position of the state should not boil down
only to statements, it also suggests specific actions, i.e. we intend
to send only 50 doctors, drivers and sappers to Iraq. As for the
threat, there is always a threat. If you mean the interests of Iraq’s
Armenian community that might become a target for terrorists if an
Armenian military contingent goes to Iraq, that could have happened
when our country supported the American action in Iraq. Before this
support was declared and before we intended to send a contingent to
Iraq, Armenians also died in Iraq, Armenian houses and churches were
blown up. There is a risk, but if we want to play by the generally
accepted rules, we should take the risk. One should not forget that
the countries which have sent troops to Iraq, such as Poland, Spain
and others, and which are thinking of pulling them out now, had
fundamentally different tasks in Iraq. Their contingents took part in
the hostilities and suffered great casualties, which is why public
opinion in those countries is appropriate. In our country, this
problem has no such harsh nature.

[Passage omitted: Political parties are not that strong to affect the
economy]

The RPA will actively participate in the elections

[Correspondent] Are you going to run in the presidential elections?
And what will the RPA’s mission be in those elections?

[Markaryan] The RPA will take an active part in the local government,
parliamentary, as well as in the presidential elections. Certainly,
the level of participation in the presidential elections will depend
on the results gained by the party in the parliamentary
elections. Even if the RPA does not nominate its candidate, it will
nevertheless take an active part in the presidential elections, and
who is elected president will greatly depend on that.

[Passage omitted: Other details]

Personnel changes may always happen

[Correspondent] They are talking a lot about the personnel changes in
the government. How well-founded is this talk especially against the
background of ministers’ reports?

[Markaryan] Personnel changes may always happen, but I would not link
them to ministers’ reports. There is no programme on personnel changes
yet, but it may occur at any moment in connection with individuals
ministers. In this case, party affiliation plays no role. The recent
media rumours that I am allegedly firing my advisers under pressure
are not true. In this connection, I would like to recall that the
institute of the prime minister’s advisers does not depend on the
coalition, president or parliament. The prime minister chooses his
advisers independently. I have nine advisers, eight of them are
working and one of them, Vladimir Movsisyan, has changed his job. As
for the remaining advisers, they are all still working, but something
might change in January.