Author: Khondkarian Raffi

ATTEMPT UPON LIFE IN ARMAVIR
Noyan Tapan
Apr 03 2006
ARMAVIR, APRIL 3, NOYAN TAPAN. At about 3:30 pm, April 1, an unknown
person in a white car “Vaz-2174” with licence plate 280C785 shot
with an automatic arms of 5.45 calibre at 35-year-old resident of
the village of Janfida Rafik Gasparian who was driving a black Hummer
car with licence plate 020C444 and ran away. According to the report
of Armavir region’s Prosecutor’s Office, R.Gasparian did not die and
was only injured. On April 1, 2006, a criminal case was instituted
at Armavir region’s Prosecutor’s Office on the signs of the 6th
clause of 2nd part of Article 34-104 and 1st part of Article 235 of
RA Criminal Code.

ARONYAN IS THE THIRD IN THE WORLD
A1+
[06:46 pm] 03 April, 2006
FIDE made public the list of the best chess players of the
world. The list is topped by the world champion Veselin Topalov from
Bulgaria. After winning the Linares tournament Levon Aronyan improved
his rating and moved on to the third place.
The top ten is the following:
1. Topalov – 2804
2. Anand – 2803
3. Aronyan – 2756
4. Svidler – 2743
5. Leko – 2738
6. Ponomaryov – 2738
7. Morosevich – 2730
8. Karmic – 2729
9. Gelfand – 2727
10.Ivanhoe – 2723
As for the other Armenian chess players, Vladimir Hakobyan is in the
16th place, Karen Asryan – in the 61st and Smbat Lputyan – in the 94th.

WHICH POLITICAL FORCE WILL SUPPORT MIKHAIL BAGHDASAROV?
Lragir.am
03 April 06
Heading for the election 2007, more than the forces called political,
the big representatives of the economic sector are preparing for it.
Some of them already have set up political parties, others are just
setting up, yet there are others, who are likely to give financial
support to some political parties. The actions of these businessmen
are determined, not necessarily openly, by the concern to protect
their businesses and property.
In this connection, there is a fourth type of businessmen who do not
publicly do something that would allow accrediting them to the first
three types of oligarchs. Probably, the most vivid representative of
this fourth conventional type of oligarchs is Mikhail Baghdasarov.
According to the famous Western magazine Forbes, the turnover of
his companies totals 200 million dollars, but he not only confirms
figure offered by the Forbes, but also mentions that the turnover
may be over 200 million dollars.
But the owner of this turnover does not take part in the “great
movement” of oligarchs for the protection of their property. And
since he is one of the biggest businessmen of Armenia, the society
may wonder why he does not display a political compulsion to protect
himself. “There are several ways of protection, with a gun or by
supporting one political force or another, which is close to your
heart. It is not necessary to set up a political party,” says Mikhail
Baghdasarov. However, he does not say which party he is going to
support if he is not going to set up his own political party. He
explains this silence by the young age of our political parties,
which, except the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, are hardly
10 years old, and have not even made up their mind what to want or
what to choose. “We are now studying the conditions. Yesterday we
liked one party, today we like another party, tomorrow we may choose
yet another one. The political party that will develop the economy,
with actions and not words,” says Mikhail Baghdasaryan. He says when
something is done in Armenia, it is not spoken about.
“Therefore, many people think that here it is worse than elsewhere. But
it better to act and keep silent than to speak and not do anything. In
other words, when we have something, we do not keep it, we appreciate
it when we lose it,” says Mikhail Baghdasarov.
“Today so many political parties are set up, parties of sportsmen,
businessmen, law enforcement bodies, and one can hardly make head or
tail of it, but we will support those who want to develop economy,
science, sports,” says the president of Mika Limited. Gagik Tsarukyan
perfectly complies with these criteria; he set up the Prosperous
Armenia Party, owns big companies and the president of the National
Olympic Committee. Not denying Tsarukyan’s contribution to economy
and sport, Mikhail Baghdasarov, however, reminds that Tsarukyan is
not alone to support sport.

NKR FM POSITIVELY ASSESSED DARTMOUTH GROUP EFFORT FOR KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.04.2006 23:02 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Nagorno Karabakh Foreign Minister Georgy Petrosian
received the delegation of the American-Russian working group of the
Dartmouth Conference on regional conflicts lead by Harold Saunders
and Vitaly Naumkin, who arrived to the NKR within the regional visit
framework. The meeting participants discussed the draft framework
peaceful agreement compiled upon the outcomes of 9 rounds of the
dialogue between the societies of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh by the Dartmouth Conference initiative. During the meeting
the parties presented the principal ideas and principles that lay
in the basis of the document. In their opinion, the draft framework
does not offer decisions. It is targeted at the establishment of a
settled dialogue between the conflicting parties.
For his part, the NKR FM positively assessed the effort of the
working group for the conflict settlement. He specifically noted the
participation of Karabakh in the negotiation process. Georgy Petrosian
underscored that the mediators and the international organizations
concerned should realize the moral responsibility for the maintenance
of armistice in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict region.

Representatives of Armenian and Turkish Armed Forces Meet out of NATO Events First
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.04.2006 03:24 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The symposium on international cooperation in
fighting terror, lately held in Ankara, was well-organized on the
whole, Advisor of Armenian Defense Minister, major general Hayk
Kotanjyan said, reports Spokesperson of the Armenian MOD Head, colonel
Seyran Shahsuvaryan. In Kotanjyan’s words, “along with prominent
analysts, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, general Peter Pace,
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and others made reports. Representatives
of European, Asian, North African, American countries participated
in the forum,” the major general remarked.
Hayk Kotanjyan underscored that before this case representatives of
the Armenian and Turkish Armed Forces had an opportunity to meet only
within the NATO Partnership for Peace Program. “Foreign specialists,
including Armenia’s representative, participated in this event on
the invitation of Turkish General Staff Chief. Under the conditions
of absence of inter-state relations between Armenia and Turkey, the
symposium was an opportunity for direct field observation of the
neighbor’s activities in one of the most sensible and complicated
fields of international cooperation,” Kotanjyan said.

ABOUT 1100 USD ALLOCATED TO CEC FOR HOLDING LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS IN 4 COMMUNITIES OF 3 REGIONS
Noyan Tapan
Mar 30 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 30, NOYAN TAPAN. At the March 30 sitting RA government
charged RA Minister of Finance and Economy to allocate 506 thousand
620 drams (about 1100 USD) from the government’s 2006 reserve fund
to the CEC united fund for the purpose of financing the expenditures
on organization and holding of elections of village head to be held
on April 16, 2006, in the rural communities of Khachik and Saravan,
Vayots Dzor, elections of village head to be held on April 23, 2006,
in the rural communities of Hatsavan, Kotayk region, and Pokrashen,
Shirak region. Noyan Tapan was informed about it from RA Government
Information and Public Relations Department.

STATE’S FRIED DISCUSSES ARMENIA DEMOCRATIZATION, NAGORNO-KARABAKH
By Jeffrey Thomas
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington File, DC
March 30 2006
United States expects upcoming elections to meet international
standards.
Washington – The United States expects Armenia’s parliamentary
and presidential elections in 2007 and 2008 to meet international
standards for free and fair elections, the State Department’s Daniel
Fried said March 27 in a speech that also touched on such regional
issues as the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, energy security and
the war against terrorism.
Fried, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian
affairs, said the Bush administration is “taking at face value”
assurances from the Armenian government that the elections will be
free and fair. The elections are “key tests” of whether Armenia is
meeting its commitments under the terms of the Millennium Challenge
Compact it signed March 27, he said.
“We must achieve this goal [elections that meet international
standards] to sustain our relations,” Fried told the Armenian Assembly
of America National Conference in Washington.
Armenia signed a Millennium Challenge Compact — or bilateral aid
agreement – worth $235 million over five years at a ceremony March
27 at the State Department. The money will be targeted at improving
the country’s rural roads and an irrigation-and-drainage project that
will increase water supply to rural areas. (See related article.)
Millennium Challenge money is granted to countries judged to be
encouraging economic freedom, ruling justly and investing in their
people. Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian acknowledged in
his remarks at the signing ceremony that “much remains to be done”
to make Armenia’s democratic and economic reforms “comprehensive.”
“We know that corruption must not be tolerated and that law must rule,
that the principles of democracy must be transformed to traditions
of democracy in our country,” Oskanian said.
Fried referred to the compact as “a testament to Armenia’s progress
and its commitment to do more on good governance, economic freedom,
and investment in its people.”
Armenia, he said, “has the potential to be a leader in the region
by showing progress on democratic reforms to keep pace with its
economic expansion.”
AZERBAIJAN
Turning to Nagorno-Karabakh, Fried said finding a solution to
the conflict over the predominantly ethnic Armenian region within
Azerbaijan remains a “key focus” of U.S. foreign policy. He said
the United States was “disappointed” at the lack of progress when
the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met at Rambouillet, France,
in February. But on recent meetings with Armenian President Robert
Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, he believes “there
is a possibility for progress in 2006.” (See related article.)
Fried said the United States does not intend to impose a settlement
on either Armenia or Azerbaijan. “But it is our intention to support
a solution if both governments arrive at it,” he added.
When questioned, Fried declined to reveal details of any possible
settlement under discussion except to say that “the will of the people
of Nagorno-Karabakh has to be respected” and that “there are issues
of territorial integrity.”
A solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, which dates to the last
years of the former Soviet Union, should result in an open border with
Turkey, Fried said. After his visit to Armenia, he went to Turkey,
he said, and pressed the Turkish government to open its border with
Armenia as soon as possible.
Turkey closed its land border with Armenia during the 1990-94 armed
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh to show solidarity with Azerbaijan
and has not reopened it.
Fried also said the United States hopes to see the Caucasus region
integrate economically even before a solution to the dispute over
Nagorno-Karabakh. “It’s good not only for Armenia; it would be good
for Turkey and Azerbaijan as well,” he said.
SECURITY CONCERNS
Regarding U.S. security cooperation with Azerbaijan, Fried said U.S.
assistance was meant to help Azerbaijan handle such security threats
as Iran, not to be used against Armenia.
“Our assistance to Azerbaijan does not undermine our support for
Armenian security, and it is not designed and will not be used for
offensive purposes against Armenia,” he said.
Fried expressed concern about increased energy ties to Iran, saying
the United States is looking at ways in which it can support energy
security for all the countries of the south Caucasus.
He concluded by addressing the tragic events of 1915, when more than
1.5 million ethnic Armenians were killed while Armenia was still part
of the Ottoman Empire.
“The U.S. position on events of 1915 has not changed,” Fried said.
“We want to foster reconciliation and peace based on an understanding
of history, not a denial of it. We believe that the tragedy of 1915,
the killings, is of enormous human significance and its historical
assessment should be determined not on the basis of politics, but
introspection among civic leaders and scholars. This process has
begun in Turkey where it needs to take place.”
Turkey, Fried said, “will have to go through what many other countries
such as the United States have had to go through in our own history,
which is looking back at the darker spots in our past.”
A transcript of Fried’s speech is available on the State Department
Web site.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
)

ATOM EGOYAN’S ARARAT TO BE SCREENED IN TURKEY
Armenpress
Mar 30 2006
ANKARA, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS: Turkish CanalTurk will screen a film
by Canadian Armenian director Atom Egoyan-Ararat- which is about the
1915 Armenian genocide. Before making this decision the company had
conducted a survey among 21,000 Turks. Some 18,000 said they would
like to see the film.
The Turkish daily Milliyet writes that a Turkish company that wanted
to screen the film in Turkey a couple of years ago had to revise its
decision after receiving threats from a youth extremist organization.
The CanalTurk, however, has cut off some scenes depicting massacres
of Armenians by Turkish soldiers.

UNIFICATION FOR ARMENIA PARTY TO RUN FOR PARLIAMENT IN 2007
Lragir.am
29 March 06
“We are taking a step at reviving political parties that are not
operating. We derived the name of the political party Unification for
Armenia,” thus Vahram Baghdasaryan, the secretary of the People’s
Deputy Group, explains his and his supporters’ decision to run for
parliament in 2007.
Vahram Baghdasaryan thinks that the number of political parties
should be reduced, especially that “the programs and bylaws of the
political parties of this country hardly differ from one another. Our
aim was not to join active political parties for we have not joined
any political party for so many years.”
Presently, Vahram Baghdasaryan and his supporters are engaged in
changing the bylaws and programs of the political party, meetings
in the regions. “There will be meetings in all the regions.” Vahram
Baghdasaryan, a native of the region of Lori, started his meetings in
this region. By March 29 he has already had 6 meetings. The political
party will publicly state its political line and announce the date
of their assembly as soon as the bureau of the political party is
ready. “It will be in late summer, in fall. One of our aims is to
run for parliament in 2007 as a political organization,” said Vahram
Baghdasaryan to our news reporter.
Vahram Baghdasaryan does not deny cooperation with other NGOs, as
well as the People’s Deputy Group in the future. “We are ready to
cooperate with any political force, an alliance is not excluded. Our
doors are open to everyone.”

UNESCO DIRECTOR GENERAL READY TO SEND EXPERTS TO REGION TO STUDY ISSUE OF ANNIHILATION OF ARMENIAN MONUMENTS OF OLD JUGHA
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 28 2006
BRATISLAVA, MARCH 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Ara Abrahamian,
the Chairman of the World Armenia Congress, as an ambassador of
kind will, touches upon the problem of annihilation of the Armenian
monuments of Old Jugha by Azeris, at the official meeting with Koichiro
Matsuura, the UNESCO Director General. As Noyan Tapan was informed by
Ashot Grigorian, the Chairman of the All-Armenian Structures European
Representation, the RA Foreign Minister’s Advisor, Ara Abrahamian
seriously condemned the vandalism towards cultural monuments in
general and the act of annihilation of the Old Jugha khachkars
presenting a great value for the Christian culture particularly,
mentioning that has too serious political consequences as well and
more distabilize the political state of South Caucasus. Informing
that RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian also negotiated with him
on that issue, Koichiro Matsuura expressed readines to send a group
of experts to the region to estimate and condemn the study of the
problem and of what happened. Details on experts’ visit will be known
soon. Ara Abrahamian also invited Koichiro Matsuura to visit Armenia
personally to get acquainted with treasures of the Armenian culture
closely. Koichiro Matsuura assured that as soon as he gets an official
invitation, he will schedule his visit to Armenia with pleasure.