Author: Khoyetsian Rose

NA DISCUSSES PRIVATIZATION OF STATE PROPERTY

AZG Armenian Daily
13/04/2006

As a result of privatization processes in 2001-2003, the state property
was squandered away, Hovhannes Margarian, member of Orinats Yerkir
Party, said at parliament on April 11. He said that the government
keeps complaining of the lack of financial sources. He added that
this is quite possible, as the property costing AMD 5 billion 850
millions was sold at AMD 950 million, which makes the 16,2 % of its
real cost. In particular, the assets of Orbita CJSC were valued at
AMD 3 billion 212 millions but the company was privatized for AMD 116
million, which makes 3,6% of its real cost. “How can our authorities
restore the banking deposits of the population or secure the residents
of earthquake zone with flats, to reconstruct the transportation
infrastructures of Ashotsk and Amasiya regions that connect Armenia
with Javakhk if the people’s wealth had been squandered?” he posed
a rhetoric question.

ALBERT BAZEYAN THINKS DEPOSING DEFENSE MINISTER IS POINTLESS

Lragir.am
12 April 06

The threat to banish Jirayr Sefilyan from Armenia is determined by
Sefilyan’s statements against Serge Sargsyan, said Albert Bazeyan,
the leader of the Azgayin Veratsnund Party, on April 11.

“For years they have criticized the government’s policy on the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict, and during one of the recent news
conferences a demand for resignation of Serge Sargsyan was voiced,
and there were appraisals,” says Albert Bazeyan.

Bazeyan agrees with Sefilyan and his supporters but in the sense that
the defense minister should not speak about concessions, have a more
tough and rigorous standpoint, considering Azerbaijan’s tough stance.

Azgayin Veratsnund, however, disagrees with Jirayr Sefilyan and his
supporters in deposing Serge Sargsyan.

“You know that the head of state appoints Serge Sargsyan and all
the other ministers. We have pursued the deposal of Kocharyan for
years on but we did not reach anywhere. The other problem will not
be solved unless this problem is solved,” says Albert Bazeyan.

AIR FRANCE: POLITICS TRAVELS BY PLANE

Lragir.am
10 April 06

Guarantee of France-Armenia ties. This is how the officials of Air
France and the French Embassy to Armenia describe the entrance of Air
France to the Armenian market. There will be Yerevan-Paris scheduled
flights three times a week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Flights are already carried out, and several days after the start, on
April 10 Ambassador Henry Cuny and the Air France officials assessed
their step at the French Embassy in Yerevan. Ambassador Henry Cuny
thinks that the presence of Air France in Armenia has a political
importance. The ambassador thinks that the entrance of the French
airlines implies enhancement of ties between two countries.

The ambassador points out the economic aspect of this event,
particularly the development of tourism. “Besides an evidence of
friendship, it is a call to other French investors,” says the French
ambassador to Armenia.

To mark the entrance of Air France, this time Charles Aznavour flew
to Armenia in the plane of the French company.

The price of the ticket Yerevan-Paris-Yerevan is 399 dollars, taxes
excluding. Besides Air France planes fly to Moscow, Sanct Petersburg
and Kiev. The representatives of the company say this provides a
circulation of 100 million euros. They are hopeful that Yerevan will
comprise one quarter or one third of this sum.

ARMEN NAZARYAN WON SILVER MEDAL

A1+
[02:17 pm] 10 April, 2006

In the judo world “Super Cup” championship in Moscow Armen Nazaryan
from Hrazdan won silver medal in the 66kg weight category. In this
championship Armenia was also represented by Hambardzum Tonoyan (66kg)
and Hovhannes Davtyan (60kg) who did not win medals.

The Armenian Judo Federation informs that after the Moscow competition
the Armenians sportsmen will prepare for the European Championship
in Tampere.

There will probably be three sportsmen in Finland including Armen
Nazaryan.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Azeri MFA: Baku Cannot Prohibit Azeri Journalists from
Visiting Karabakh

08.04.2006 01:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Azerbaijan is a democratic state
and we cannot prohibit journalist from going where
they want,’ head of the department of press and
information policy at the Azeri MFA Tahir Taghizade
stated. In his words, it would be more advisable for
the Azeri journalist to go to Karabakh after `the
seized territories are liberated, communications
restored and peacekeepers deployed.’ `When the issue
of return of Azeris to Nagorno Karabakh is discussed
the trips of journalists there will be not only
possible by essential,’ Taghizade said.

To remind, Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov said there
is nothing bad in the journeys of Azeri journalists to
Nagorno Karabakh while Deputy FM Halaf Halafov called
to bar such trips.

Bahrain News Agency, Bahrain
April 8 2006

Syria, Armenia hold talks

date: 08 04, 2006

Damascus, April 8 (BNA) An official talks was held on Saturday
between Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al Mualem and the visiting
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian.

The talks between both sides focused on bilateral developing ties,
regional issues of common interest and the situation in the region.
The Armenian Minister said in a statement following the talks that
his talks with Syrian President Bashar Al- Assad relations between
Syria and Armenia and the latest developments in the region.

`THE NK CONFLICT ISN’T SETTLED IN A PROFITABLE WAY FOR US’
– the NA deputy Shavarsh Kocharian thinks.

Aravot.am
06 April 06

The Parliament has livened up in the problem of NK conflict
settlement; in most probability the legislative body will be
responsible for its settlement.

Responsibility is indeed a difficult thing and the ruling powers will
try to share that responsibility among each other. But it is still
difficult to say what will happen but the initiation of the NA
commission of foreign issues to get addition standpoint of the NA
groups make us think in this way. The NDP leader Shavarsh Kocharian
was the first to answer to the chief of the commission of the NA
foreign issues Armen Rustamian’ proposal. Shavarsh Kocharian explained
his position in the following way; «There is only a declaration
on the NK conflict made by the parliament in 2001 the meaning of which
is that the parliamentary political powers must adopt such a
settlement of the conflict by which Karabakh mustn’t be the part of
Azerbaijan. But today such attitudes and position can’t be enough
because there isn’t any aspect there. And for settling the problem you
should have a clear formulated aspect in which we’ll need for inside
and outside for the political powers not to have discrepant
approaches. And it is obvious that there are such things. It is too
important first of all for propaganda and for strengthening our
positions and in the international structures as well. We also welcome
the hearings on the NK conflict organized last year and the proposal
made to the political powers by the commission; to produce certain
approaches on the NK conflict settlement.’

Shavarsh Kocharian explained the activation of the parliament in the
following way; «I think this process is late indeed, because
the position of the parliament should be specified. But the
declaration adopted in 2001 didn’t say anything new. There is a lack
of aspect approach. And those officials who speak of Karabakh as the
inseparable part of Armenia, they indeed pour water into Azerbaijani’s
mill because The goal of Azerbaijanis was just it; to change the
essence of the problem turning it into territorial quarrel between
Armenia and Azerbaijan. And they took advantage of the circumstance
that the authorities of Armenia chose that way.’

Shavarsh Kocharian thinks that they should have an aspect approach for
a long time after which it will be very effective to use the
possibilities of Diaspora and realize normal lobby activities.’

Shavarsh Tocharian doesn’t consider real the conversations that 2006
year is the best period of settling the problem; `I have already said
about it even when the cochairmen were speaking of the problem very
positively, I don’t consider that term real for a very simple
reason. The NK President Arkady Ghukasian has described the situation
very exactly, till Azerbaijan avoids of negotiating with Karabakh the
conflict can’t be settled. And the next, the international structures
want to get rid of disturbing circumstances including the NK
problem. And that’s why they make new proposals and that’s why Prague
process was quite different from the former ones because they tried
for the first time to mention both the model of territorial integrity
and the model of self-determination.’

Margaret Yesayan

RIA Novosti, Russia
April 7 2006

OSCE monitoring ceasefire on Armenia-Azerbaijan border
10:46 | 07/ 04/ 2006

YEREVAN, April 7 (RIA Novosti) – Officials from Europe’s largest
security organization conducted ceasefire monitoring Thursday along a
stretch of Armenian-Azerbaijani border, an Armenian defense ministry
spokesman said.

Seiran Shakhsuvaryan said officials from the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) had registered incidents of
gunfire from Azerbaijan during the monitoring, conducted following
talks between OSCE representatives and an Armenian regional governor,
who said Azerbaijan had been shooting at the Idzhevan-Noemberyan
highway.

Previous monitoring scheduled for March 28 was cancelled because of
gunfire before it started. Azerbaijan and Armenia accused each other
of starting the firing. The two countries exchanged numerous
allegations of ceasefire violations in February and March on the
border near troubled Nagorny-Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a
largely ethnic Armenian population.

Previous OSCE inspections this year in the conflict zone registered
no violations of the ceasefire regime.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh
first erupted in 1988, when the region claimed independence from
Azerbaijan to join Armenia.

Over 30,000 people were reported dead on both sides between 1988 and
1994, and over 100 others died after a ceasefire was concluded in
1994, leaving Nagorny Karabakh in Armenian hands, but tensions
between Azerbaijan and Armenia have persisted.

FIRST PRIME MINISTER OF SLOVAKIA IS ALSO AMONG PARTICIPANTS OF PRAGUE CONFERENCE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUES

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 05 2006

BRATISLAVA, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Jan Carnogusky,
the first Prime Minister of Slovakia and the former Justice Minister,
the founder and first Chairman of the Christian-Democratic movement of
Slovakia will participate in the conference dedicated to the Armenian
Genocide. The conference is organized by the Senate of Czechia. Ashot
Grigorian, the Chairman of the All-Armenian Organizations’ European
Representation and of the Armenian community of Slovakia informed
Noyan Tapan about this. Czech Senator Jaromir Stetina, presiding the
conference, sent an invitation for participation in the conference to
Jan Carnogursky and Ashot Grigorian, with a goal to exchange experience
of adopting at the Parliament of Slovakia the resolution on Armenian
Genocide. Carnogursky, who is also a famous lawyer, prepared a report
concerning legal bases of the resolution on the Genocide. Ashot
Grigorian will not be present at the conference himself, as he
will participate in the court procedure going on in Budapest on
the case of Armenian officer Gurgen Margarian’s murder. However,
he attached much importance to holding such a conference in Czechia,
emphasizing that this gives a basis to hope that following the example
of neighboring Slovakia, Czechia will also adopt in the nearest future
the resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide and “will join those
progressive countries which have had courage to say their true word,
ignoring Turkish pressures.”

EU: TESTED MODEL CANNOT BE APPLIED FOR ALL OTHER CONFLICTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.04.2006 19:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Each conflict has its peculiarities and the Kosovo
model cannot be applied to all the “frozen” conflicts in the post
soviet space,” EU Envoy for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby stated
in a conversation with PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. “Once tested model
cannot be applied to all the other conflicts,” he said.

According to Mr. Semneby, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is very
specific and its settlement should be based on the negotiations
exclusively. “The parties to conflict are likely to complete the
talks and I think a decision will be found. As for compromise,
in my opinion it should be elaborated through long and delicate
negotiations,” Semneby emphasized. To note, March 1, 2006 Swedish
diplomat Peter Semneby replaced Heikki Talvitie at the post of EU
Special Representative for the South Caucasus.