Author: Khondkarian Raffi

`We prefer being more concrete when the question of candidates becomes clear’

Anahit Danielyan
02-04-2007 13:26:12 – KarabakhOpen

The pre-election period in Karabakh is unprecedented ` with only six
weeks to go before the nomination of candidates nobody has said to be
likely to ballot for this post. What is the reason? We asked for the
opinion of civil society activists. We talked to Albert Voskanyan,
director of the Center for Civil Initiatives.

Mr. Voskanyan, what is your opinion of the pre-election situation? Are
you aware of the possible candidates?

Albert Voskanyan: I think it is early to analyze the pre-election
situation since the candidates and their programs are not known
yet. Of course, it is possible to analyze and make forecasts and try
in parallel to `prompt’ one’s own vision to the society and `support’
the preferable candidates. However, forecasts are not rewarding. We
prefer being more concrete when the question of candidates becomes
clear.

In your opinion, do we need public debates? Are public debates on the
Karabakh settlement and other issues necessary? And is it realistic
that these debates will affect the government policy?

Albert Voskanyan: Certainly, public debates on different issues are
not only useful but also necessary, for dispute generates truth. This
postulation is applicable to the settlement of the conflict over
Nagorno Karabakh as well, the most urgent issue that worries the
Armenian society. I am sure that these debates would have certain
influence on the government policy.

Where and how do you get information on life in Karabakh? Do you feel
you are informed?

Unfortunately, most of the information and especially analysis comes
from foreign sources, which appear to keep the finger on the pulse of
life in Karabakh with more responsibility and consistency. The
Internet helps feel informed, at least about the main events.

Karabakh authorities provide privileges to resettlers

Arminfo
29 Mar 07

Yerevan, 29 March: Under the 15 April 2003 decision passed by the NKR
[Nagornyy Karabakh republic] on providing privileges to families
resettled in the NKR, a number of privileges have been outlined.

In particular, a resettling family will be given a home or a flat, and
will receive a one-off monetary allowance – the head of the family
will get an amount equal to 20 minimum wages, others will get amounts
equal to five minimum wages. In addition, resettling families are
entitled to compensation for their expenses on moving family members
and property: 5,000 drams [about 14 dollars] for each member of
family, and 15,000 drams [about 42 dollars] to haul the property. To
satisfy their social needs, resettlers will be given long-term (10
years) loans with a 0.5-per-cent APR. Resettlers will not pay utility
bills (home maintenance payment, payments for water and sewerage) for
a period of five years. Conscripts will have their military service
delayed for two years. A number of other privileges also exist.

NKR Prime Minister Anushavan Danielyan said that appropriate
conditions are created for resettlers and "this strategic goal is of
special significance in government programmes."

In 2006, 241 families (872 people, including 395 children) moved to
the NKR for permanent residence.

TSARUKIAN ALLY DISPUTES LOCAL ELECTION DEFEAT
By Astghik Bedevian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 30 2007

A political ally of businessman Gagik Tsarukian has asked an Armenian
court to annul the official results of a weekend mayoral election
in the southern town of Armavir that was controversially won by a
candidate of the governing Republican Party (HHK).

Arayik Aghababian, a regional leader of Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia
Party (BHK), was narrowly defeated by Armavir’s incumbent Mayor Ruben
Khlghatian in a first-ever election face-off between Armenia’s two
largest establishment parties.

His defeat came as a serious setback for the BHK and its top leader,
who has spent heavily on Aghababian’s election campaign. It could
also have implications for the party’s performance in the May 12
parliamentary elections.

Aghababian refused to concede defeat, alleging widespread vote
irregularities. However, he failed to lodge any formal complaints to
the local election commission and took legal action instead. "I wasn’t
sure the commission would meet my demands," he explained on Friday.

Aghababian refused to detail the alleged irregularities which he
claims robbed him of victory in the town 30 kilometers southwest
of Yerevan. "We will publicize everything during court hearings,"
he told RFE/RL. "I don’t want to reveal secrets to you right now."

According to the official results, Khlghatian garnered almost 53
percent of the vote, against Aghababian’s 43 percent. The mayor,
who is affiliated with the HHK, insists that he won fair and square.

The HHK and the BHK are seen as the top frontrunners in the unfolding
Armenian parliamentary race. The latter is looking to capitalize on its
wealthy leader’s vast financial resources, while the Republicans, led
by Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, are expected to make the most of
their control of most local governments. The BHK is increasingly viewed
by commentators as the new power base of President Robert Kocharian.

WAR WITH IRAN MAY START APRIL 6?

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2007 14:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian intelligence has information that the
U.S. Armed Forces have nearly completed preparations for a possible
military operation against Iran, and will be ready to strike April 6,
a security official said. The attack may be explained by the capture
of 15 British sailors.

The source said the U.S. had already compiled a list of possible
targets on Iranian territory and practiced the operation during recent
exercises in the Persian Gulf.

"Russian intelligence has obtained information that the U.S. Armed
Forces stationed in the Persian Gulf have nearly completed preparations
for a missile strike against Iranian territory," the source said.

American commanders will be ready to carry out the attack in early
April, but it will be up to the country’s political leadership to
decide if and when to attack, the source said.

Official data says America’s military presence in the region has
reached the level of March 2003 when the U.S. invaded Iraq.

The U.S. has not excluded the military option in negotiations on
Iran over its refusal to abandon its nuclear program. The UN Security
Council passed a new resolution on Iran Saturday toughening economic
sanctions against the country and accepting the possibility of a
military solution to the crisis.

The source said the Pentagon could decide to conduct ground operations
as well after assessing the damage done to the Iranian forces by its
possible missile strikes and analyzing the political situation in
the country following the attacks.

A senior Russian security official cited military intelligence earlier
as saying U.S. Armed Forces had recently intensified training for
air and ground operations against Iran.

"The Pentagon has drafted a highly effective plan that will allow
the Americans to bring Iran to its knees at minimal cost," the
official said.

The attack is slated to last for 12 hours, from 4 am until 4 pm local
time. Friday is the sabbath in Iran.

In the course of the attack, code named Operation Bite, about 20
targets are marked for bombing; the list includes uranium enrichment
facilities, research centers, and laboratories.

Russian Col.-Gen. Leonid Ivashov, vice president of the Academy of
Geopolitical Sciences, said last week the Pentagon was planning to
deliver a massive air strike on Iran’s military infrastructure in
the near future.

"I have no doubt there will be an operation, or rather an aggressive
action against Iran," Ivashov said, commenting on media reports about
U.S. planned operation against Iran, codenamed Operation Bite.

A new U.S. carrier battle group has been dispatched to the Gulf. The
USS John C. Stennis, with a crew of 3,200 and around 80 fixed-wing
aircraft, including F/A-18 Hornet and Superhornet fighter-bombers,
eight support ships and four nuclear submarines are heading for the
Gulf, where a similar group led by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has
been deployed since December 2006. The U.S. is also sending Patriot
anti-missile systems to the region.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, however, was rather optimistic
about the situation and said he ruled out a military resolution of
the Iranian nuclear problem.

"We are constantly working on how to resolve the situation around
the Iranian nuclear program and other conflicts peacefully," Lavrov
said. "This policy is unchanged and we will pursue it in the future."

Russia and the U.S. are two of the six negotiators on Iran’s nuclear
program, which Tehran says is aimed at generating energy, RIA Novosti
reports.

TURKEY CALLS ON US TO BE A PART OF A JOINT COMMISSION WITH ARMENIA

ArmRadio.am
29.03.2007 18:00

Turkey yesterday called on Armenia to accept its joint historian
commission with the inclusion of third parties, including the United
States. "I hereby extend an invitation to any third country, including
the United States, to contribute to this commission by appointing
scholars who will earnestly work to shed light on this tragedy and
open ways for us to come together," said Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul in his editorial for The Washington Times yesterday titled
"Politicizing the Armenian tragedy," the Turkish Daily News reports.

Turkey’s 2005-dated proposals were rejected by Armenia saying that the
priority should be given to establish political ties where sensitive
issues like genocide claims could also be taken. Criticizing the
Armenian lobby for politicizing the past and imposing their view of
history, Gul said it is "truly regrettable that there is no mention
of Turkish or Muslim lives lost during the same period."

Gul stressed that the only way to find out what happened in 1915 is to
ask scholars who have the ability to evaluate the period objectively,
working with the full range of available primary sources. "Turkey
has no difficulties in facing its past. We eagerly await a positive
response from Armenia, agreeing to establish this joint commission
and declaring its readiness to accept its conclusion," he said. Gul
underlined that the establishment of such a commission will also help
shape an atmosphere conducive to the normalization of Turkish-Armenian
relations.

PM EXTENDS CONDOLENCES OVER ARMENIAN PM’S DEATH

The Vietnam News Agency
March 29, 2007 Thursday

Ha Noi, March 28 (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Mar. 28
sent a message of condolences to Armenian Acting PM Serz Sarkisian
over the sudden death of PM Andranik Markarian.

TRANSFORMATION OF AKHTAMAR CHURCH INTO MUSEUM SHOWS TURKEYS REAL INTENTIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
29.03.2007 18:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The inauguration of the Holy Cross Church on
Akhtamar island as a "monument-museum" shows real intentions of the
Turkish government, "Hay Dat" Office head Giro Manoyan stated to the
PanARMENIAN.Net journalist. "They turned the church into a museum,
where it is forbidden to pray and deliver services.

Such an example in Turkey already exists – the Saint-Sophia Cathedral,
which has been turned into a museum. Being Ankara’s hostage the
Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul asked the authorities to give him one
day annually for praying in the church and this is an evidence for
desecration of the temple," Manoyan underlined. Thus, Giro Manoyan
thinks that official Ankara from the one hand tried to show that
he makes a positive step towards Armenian, and from the other hand
Armenians are forbidden to pray there.

"Archbishop Mutafyan during inauguration underlined that the church has
not functioned over 90 years but always has been and is a temple. We
shouldn’t view the reconstruction of the church positively. Turkey
officially invited Armenian in the inauguration ceremony purely for
propaganda purposes. It should have met the Armenian delegation on
the border and not to make them reach Van via Georgia. The stance
of Armenian Patriarch, as well as Catholicoses of Echmiadzin and
Great House of Kilikia made Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister
add that it was a church and not only a "historical monument". I
think following this propaganda move aimed at the world community
we must take actions in order to prove that it is forbidden to pray
there. Renovation of the Holy Cross Church as a "monument" must not
serve Turkey’s intentions for abolishing the fact that Armenians were
the native population of Western Armenia," Giro Manoyan stressed.

CAPTURED AZERBAIJANI SOLDIER RECEIVES NEXT LETTER FROM HIS FAMILY

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 28 2007

On March 21, the representatives of the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) visited Azerbaijani soldier Samir Mammadov,
who was captured by Armenian Armed Forces on December 24, 2006,
the ICRC office in Azerbaijan told the APA.

ICRC representatives in Armenia delivered the letter of Samir
Mammadov’s family to the soldier. The representatives also monitored
detention conditions and situation of the soldier.

ICRC representatives have visited Azerbaijani captured soldier Samir
Mammadov for 12 times.

LEVITIN LEADS DELEGATION TO ATTEND FUNERAL OF ARMENIAN PREMIER

ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 28, 2007 Wednesday 03:10 AM EST

Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin leads the delegation to
attend the funeral of Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian,
who died of cardiac arrest on March 25.

"According to the instruction by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail
Fradkov, the Russian delegation is led by the transport minister,
Igor Levitin, chairman of the intergovernmental commission for
economic cooperation with Armenia," the government’s press service
told Itar-Tass.

The Messenger, Georgia
March 26 2007

A gas powered ski trip

President Saakashvili went skiing recently, not in his beloved
Gudauri, but in the Armenian resort of Tsakhkadzor. His partner on
the slopes was his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian. There is
nothing especially unusual in this, the president is a keen skier,
and what better place to maintain the generally excellent bilateral
relations Georgia and Armenia enjoy than on the piste. But a few
things about this visit were a mite unusual, firstly it was
relatively impromptu. There was none of the normal, weeks in advance,
‘the sides will discuss’ flurry of press releases that usually
precede such visits, rather, it was a "brief, private, friendly
visit", said the Foreign Ministry.

While it went largely unreported in Georgia, the Armenian press felt
there might be reasons deeper than an afternoon’s skiing, and
concluded that the real purpose of the visit was to talk about gas.

A gas pipeline connecting Armenia-which has no reserves of its
own-and Iran has just been inaugurated. The pipeline, built and owned
by Russia’s state owned gas monopoly Gazprom, will see Armenia having
two sources of gas for the first time in the small nation’s history.
But that in itself could prove a threat to Georgia, whose well
publicised gas woes could get worse.

The pipeline itself is a little on the thin side-its diameter is
significantly less than originally planned. Why? At its current
diameter its capacity will not be enough to transit gas to third
countries (namely Georgia), and thus the gas in it will not compete
with the Gazprom gas that Russia sells Georgia.

But why worry? According to Georgian Energy Minister Nika Gilauri
Georgia is no longer dependent on Russian gas. Well, not as dependent
as it used to be for sure, but more than half of the country’s gas is
still Russian, and though the blossom is out the nights are still
cold. Georgia needs that Russian gas. Before the Iran-Armenia
pipeline was built, Armenia depended on Russian gas that crossed
Georgia, so Russia couldn’t simply turn the tap off without hurting
its strategic, long suffering ally Armenia (mysterious explosions not
withstanding). But with the new pipeline, Russia can happily stop
deliveries to Georgia without leaving Armenia out in the cold.

This has not gone unnoticed in the Armenian press, which speculates
that the real purpose of Saakashvili’s "brief, private, friendly"
visit was to strike a deal so that Armenia will delay the launch of
gas deliveries until well into the spring.

But some experts wonder whether Gazprom would bother building a small
diameter pipeline way down in Iran just to be able to put the squeeze
on Georgia. Might there not be some grander strategy, they wonder.
Gazprom has long perfected the art of buying cheap, non Russian gas
to sell to its domestic consumers, and then sell its own, more
expensive Russian gas to its customers in Europe. Iran, where gas is
plentiful but export something of a problem, could well fit into this
master plan. After all, pipelines can be expanded. Taking this into
account, and given that Gazprom already owns all of Armenia’s
pipelines, the only missing piece in the puzzle is the pipeline
running from the Armenian border across Georgia to Russia. No wonder
the Russians were so hopping mad when Georgia wouldn’t sell it to
them…