Author: Khoyetsian Rose

COLD WAR FOR KARABAKH
A1+
02-03-2005
‘The Karabakh conflict will be settled neither by an army from abroad
nor by consensus’, Vazgen Manoukyan, leader of the National Democratic
Union thinks. According to him, The settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict will last for decades, like a cold war, when the
countries wait for one of them to` collapse’.

ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM
P.O.Box 14235, Jerusalem, Israel 91141
Office of Ecumenical and Foreign Relations
Contact person: Bishop Aris Shirvanian
Tel: 972-2-628-2331
Fax: 972-2-626-4861
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
COMMUNIQUÉ
The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has heard with great concern
about the false allegations published by the media in Greece regarding
the Holy Fire ceremony, which takes place each year on the Saturday
before Easter in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, according to which:
“the Armenians are demanding that they light the Holy Fire, and it
must be noted that the issue has reached all the way to the Israeli
Knesset. As it is known, this request of the Armenians is persistent,
and many times, during the entrance and exit of the Greek patriarch,
there have occurred serious incidents.”
The position of the Armenian Patriarchate has always been to uphold
the peaceful and centuries-old traditional ceremony of the Holy Fire,
in compliance with the Agreement on the Status Quo in the Holy Places,
according to which: “The Bishop of the Armenian Church, who is to
accompany the [Greek] Patriarch into the Sepulchre, here joins His
Beatitude. The Patriarch now disrobes, and his mitre and vestments
are carried by the attendant clergy to the Altar in the Orthodox
Chapel. The door [of the Edicule] is then opened and the Patriarch
enters the Tomb, accompanied by the Armenian Bishop.”
Unfortunately, since his accession to the throne in 2001, the Greek
Orthodox Patriarch Ireneios I has maintained that the Greeks hold the
exclusive right to light the Holy Fire from the Holy Tomb,
subsequently passing it to the Armenians. Contrary to this assertion,
firmans, hujjats, and other historical and legal documents all state
that the Armenian Bishop and the Greek Patriarch should together light
the Holy Fire from the Tomb of our Lord.
The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has and will continue to reject
the attempts of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem to deny the
right of equal participation by the Armenian Patriarch in the lighting
of the Holy Fire.
#####
Jerusalem, 2 March 2005 DIVAN OF THE ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Forests NGO
38 Moscovian St., Apt. 10
Yerevan 375002, Armenia
Contact: Mher Sharoyan, Media Coordinator
Tel: (3741) 54-15-29
Fax: (3741) 58-20-39
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
1 March, 2005
NEWS RELEASE
Road to Desert continues…
Exhibition of photos “Road to Desert” opened at 2 PM on March 1, 2005 at
Yerevan-based Armenian Agriculture Academy’s Agronomy department. The
exhibition dedicated to the forests of Armenia was organized by joint
efforts of the “Armenian Forests” NGO and the mentioned department’s
Forestry chair.
The goal of the exhibition is to draw the attention of students and
particularly the future forestry experts to the situation in Armenian
forests, their protection and restoration, as well as stress the necessity
of stopping the illegal cutting of woods in Armenia. This display of photos
is the third in the series of exhibiting the “Road to Desert” throughout
Armenia since its launch in February 12, 2004.
The expo photos display both beautiful and green corners of Armenia, and the
destruction of forests and scenes of tree felling by the side of humans. The
photos were taken in the forests of Lori, Tavush and Syunik marzes.
The exhibition will be on till March 4, from 10 AM to 5 PM.

KASHI FACTORY TO HAVE MODERN WASTE WATER PURIFYING STATION
ArmenPress
March 1 2005
YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS: Four Italian specialists will arrive
in Armenia to help install and test new Italian equipment for the
water purifying station of Kashi (Leather) company, located in the
Hrazdan River gorge. The project is the joint effort of USAID,
Comprehensive Water Resource Management and ARD Inc programs.
The equipment, manufactured by Italian Echo+ company, which meets
all international standards, is already in Armenia.
According to Dshkhuhi Sahakian, coordinator of the project,
several dozens of industrial enterprises, located in the gorge, lack
waste water purifying equipment and the waste water flows
uninterruptedly into the river since 1990.
Some $300,000 were spent to put into operation the new station. It
is supposed to start working in late April. The River of Hrazdan
holds 12 percent of Armenia’s surface water reserves. If runs across
four provinces and is polluted also by agricultural waste waters.

BUILDING IN ABOVYAN STREET, IN CONSTRUCTION LOT OF NORTHERN AVENUE
BUILT IN CENTER OF YEREVAN, WILL BE PRESERVED
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 28. ARMINFO. The building in Abovyan street, which
is on one of the lots of the Northern Avenue built in the center
of Yerevan, will be preserved, the chief architect of the capital,
Head of the Town Planning Department of Yerevan Samvel Danielyan
informs journalists.
He says that the task of design and construction works submitted to the
construction company mentions both existence of the building and the
problem of its preservation. This building has always been considered
a monument, it was not included in the list of monuments for technical
reasons only, Danielyan says. The preservation of the building is a
problem of designers and relevant specialists. As regards the back
of the building that has been destroyed, it is an outhouse and is
not considered a monument. At the request of Yerevan Municipality,
the office on implementation of the programs stopped all the works
in this lot. Marking will start in this lot within the coming days
and designers are currently thinking of preservation of the building
at present.
To note, Yerevan residents has recently organization an action of
protest against destruction of the building.

New challenges
Editorial
Yerkir/arm
25 Feb 05
At the present stage, the Armenian state policy on recognition of
the genocide must consider an additional context: a completely new,
principally different situation has been created, since the Armenian
Genocide has entered the European policy agenda.
Thus, something we have been dreaming of for decades is coming true. So
the Armenian policy must undergo serious definitions, preserving the
positive gains.
In terms of the changes, we prioritize the activation of the
so-called popular diplomacy. In the recent months a number of European
intelligentsia representatives have publicly denounced Turkeyâ~@~Ys
attempts to mutilate the reality of the Genocide. However, our media
rarely cover such events and the Foreign Affairs Ministry hardly
performs any work with those individuals.
Meanwhile, it is necessary to work with those people not only via
diplomatic links but also through popular diplomacy: by activating
intelligentsia communications. We must encourage these people to find
others who may shape public opinion abroad. Note that no matter how
bureaucratic Europe is, it is still influence by the public opinion and
using the popular diplomacy, we can guide the denouncement of Turkey.
This must be a principally new approach. We must not only oppose to
Turkeyâ~@~Ys mutilating policy but make another step ahead and work
with the European society.
–Boundary_(ID_1QR4pKQzWUeN3eCCnIkzzg)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

M2 Presswire
February 25, 2005
WORLD BANK: Armenia: World Bank supports improvement of water and
wastewater services in Yerevan
M2 PRESSWIRE-FEBRUARY 25, 2005-WORLD BANK: Armenia: World Bank
supports improvement of water and wastewater services in Yerevan
©1994-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD
WASHINGTON – The World Bank’s Board today approved an International
Development Association (IDA) credit of US$20 million for the Yerevan
Water and Wastewater Project (YWWP). The credit will assist the
Armenian Government in its efforts to improve Yerevan’s water and
wastewater system by continuing and expanding accomplishments
achieved under a previous IDA-financed Municipal Development Project
(MDP).
The YWWP will help provide Yerevan with safe, continuous water supply
while reducing environmental pollution. This is the third
IDA-financed water and wastewater project in Armenia.
The World Bank also financed the initial Municipal Development
Project to support Yerevan’s Water and Sanitation Company (YWSC) and
a more recent (FY04) Municipal Water and Wastewater Project for
Armenia’s medium and small-sized cities.
“Because of Government’s visionary leadership of the Armenian water
sector, and diligent efforts by all project participants, significant
improvements have been made in Yerevan’s water service since the
first project began in 1998,” said Brian Steven Smith, head of the
World Bank team designing the YWWP, – “Much work still remains of
course, and we look forward to continued improvement during
implementation of the new project.”
The Project benefits directly from Yerevan’s successful experience
with a management contractor recruited under the MDP. For the YWWP,
Government will increase private sector involvement and competitively
recruit an operator for YWSC under a lease contract. The Project will
finance investments in YWSC during the first five years of the lease.
The Project has two components: a YWWP Fund and Technical Assistance.
The YWWP Fund will finance investments undertaken by the water
utility operator during implementation, which will yield energy
savings, improved reliability of supply, and reduction of
environmental pollution. The Technical Assistance component will fund
interim operational management of YWSC, project financial and
technical audits, and incremental operating expenses.
The Credit will be made to Armenia on standard IDA terms, including
40 years maturity and a 10-year grace period.
Since joining the World Bank in 1992 and IDA in 1993, the commitments
to Armenia total approximately US$ 860 million for 38 operations.
For more information on the World Bank’s activities in Armenia,
please visit:
For project information, please visit:
=details&eid
CONTACT: Erik Nora Tel: +1 202 458 2931 e-mail [email protected]
Vigen Sargsyan Tel: +374 1 52 48 84 e-mail [email protected]
(M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information
provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties.
Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at
on the world wide web. Inquiries to
[email protected]).

ArmenPress
Feb 25 2005
IT SECTOR REPORTS 10 PERCENT EXPORT GROWTH IN 2004
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS: A recent study conducted by the
Armenian Enterprises Incubator Foundation revealed that Armenia’s
information technology sector made a 10-percent growth last year in
export volumes, as well as recruited 10 percent more personnel.
According to the findings, the sector employs now some 4,000 people
and the number of IT enterprises grew by 10 reaching overall 140.
IT’s contribution to GDP last year was 2 percent. According to
Enterprises Incubator chief executive manager, Bagrat Yengibarian,
the companies produced officially last year $50 million worth
products, but he also added that according to some other estimations,
the figure may be around $200 million.

Journal of Turkish Daily
Feb 24 2005
Turkey and US Agree to Set up Consultative Forum
Turkey and the United States agreed on Wednesday to set up a
permanent ”consultative forum” on matters like Russia, Caucasus and
Central Asia within the framework of their ”strategic dialogue.”
Halil Akinci, the Director General of Turkish Foreign Ministry
responsible for Russia-Caucasus and Central Asia, met Laura Kennedy,
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European & Eurasian Affairs of
the Department of State, in Washington yesterday.
Sources told A.A correspondent that the situation in Georgia,
developments in Russia and Caucasus, Nagorno Karabakh problem,
relations with Armenia and energy were discussed in the meeting.
The U.S. Department of State issued a press release about Akinci’s
contacts which was entitled ”United States-Turkey Strategic
Dialogue.”
The press release said, ”as part of the strategic dialogue between
the United States and Turkey, the Department of State and an
interagency team led by Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and
Eurasian Affairs, Ambassador Laura Kennedy, hosted today, February
23, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Director General for
Bilateral Affairs, Ambassador Halil Akinci, to discuss Eurasian
issues. The bilateral meetings provided a forum for us to discuss
common interests and explore ideas for greater collaboration on
issues including, inter alia, the resolution of frozen conflicts in
the region, energy, and political and economic reform. The Turkish
delegation invited the United States side to come to Turkey for the
next session of what our two countries agree should become a
permanent consultative forum.”
TURKISH OFFICIALS TO MAKE VISITS TO UNITED STATES
Observers in Washington think that the press release of the U.S.
Department of State regarding Akinci’s contacts is an answer to
recent discussions on Turkish-U.S. relations. With this statement,
the U.S. Department of State gives a message that ”every kind of
consultation is held between Turkey and the United States” and
stresses that relations (between two countries) are covering a large
geography, they said.
Richard Boucher, the spokesman of the Department of State, had
earlier made a statement, underlining ”positive and robust”
relations between Turkey and the United States.
Many U.S. officials including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice; Douglas Feith, the Undersecretary of Policy of the U.S.
Department of Defense; U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard
Armitage; and Gen. John Abizaid, the Commander of the U.S. Central
Command; visited Turkey as a part of bilateral relations.
Sources in Washington said that now they are expecting Turkish
officials to visit their country. After newly-appointed staff of the
U.S. Department of State take over their posts, Turkish Foreign
Ministry Undersecretary Ali Tuygan is expected to visit Washington at
the end of March or beginning of April. Some other high-level Turkish
officials will also visit the United States after Tuygan, the same
sources assert.

Source Anadolu Agency

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Feb 23 2005
CHAIR OF PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION MEETS WITH NEWLY APPOINTED
AMBASSADOR OF MOROCCO
[February 23, 2005, 21:11:11]
Chair of the Milli Majlis Standing Commission on International and
Interparliamentary Relations Samad Seyidov met with newly appointed
Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of the Kingdom of
Morocco to Azerbaijan Abdullah Zagur, February 23.
Samad Seyidov informed the Ambassador about activities of the
Azerbaijani parliament, and the role legislative bodies play in
realization of democratic reforms in the country.
He also dwelt on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh, its causes and bitter consequences, noting the
importance of international cooperation for fair resolution of the
problem.
Ambassador Abdullah Zagur, for his part, noted the Kingdom of Morocco
stands for peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem on the
base of the principle of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
He added that his country welcomed both organization of reciprocal
visits of the two countries delegations, and commonness of their
positions on several issues while being debated at international
organizations.
The parties also exchanged views on the other issues of mutual
interest.