Author: Maghakian Mike

MEPs set to greenlight Turkey report without genocide clause
27.09.2006 – 09:40 CET | By Lucia Kubosova
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The European Parliament is expected to approve a
critical report on Turkey and its progress on EU membership talks, but MEPs
have signalled they are prepared to drop the suggestion that Ankara must
recognize the Armenian genocide before it can join the bloc.
The plenary vote on Wednesday (27 September) on the report by Dutch
centre-right MEP Camiel Eurlings comes after weeks of heated discussions
topped by a final plenary debate in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
Opening the parliamentary forum, Mr Eurlings said his report was “tough but
fair,” reflecting the EU legislature’s regret about the slowing down of the
reform process in Turkey.
He highlighted three key areas where improvement is necessary – freedom of
expression, minority religion rights and the Cyprus issue.
EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn echoed the same concerns, urging
Ankara to undertake “a more resolute reform process” and noting that he is
“rather tired of repeating himself” on human rights issues.
“Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of the reforms. Journalists,
authors, publishers and human-rights activists still face judiciary
proceedings for violations of article 301 of the penal code on the vague
grounds of ‘insulting Turkishness’.”
“It is now high time that Turkey amends the restrictive articles in the
penal code” and brings them into line with basic EU principles, noted Mr
Rehn, adding that the national leaders should pursue these reforms “for the
sake of Turkish citizens, not merely to please the EU.”
He also suggested that the country needs an “open and constructive exchange
of views, also on “the most sensitive issues” – such as re-conciliation with
its neighbours, including Armenia.
The parliamentary report – as adopted in the foreign policy committee – was
particularly criticised in Turkey for its suggestion that Turkey should
recognize the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 as a pre-condition of its
EU membership.
However, both the centre-right and socialist debaters in the plenary hinted
on Tuesday that they would vote against this particular article to prevent
further controversy.
Cyprus deadlock
Concerning Turkey’s reluctance to open up its ports and airspace to Cypriot
ships and planes, both MEPs and commissioner Rehn noted that the EU’s
December deadline is fast approaching.
“The progress in the negotiations also depends on Turkey meeting its
obligations,” said commissioner Rehn, adding that Ankara’s legally binding
duty to fulfill the customs union accord with the EU is not linked with the
bloc’s political commitment to end economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriot
community on the divided island.
Still, he praised the Finnish EU presidency for its effort to break the
deadlock and prevent the suspension of Turkey’s negotiations at the end of
this year, stressing that it is in Europe’s own interest that the country
keep on its democratic path with the goal of joining the bloc.
“If Turkey succeeds, with our consistent support, it can become an ever
sturdier bridge of civilisations, at a moment when the relationship between
Europe and Islam is the greatest challenge of our time.”
The European Commission will publish its annual report on Turkey’s EU
progress on 8 November – it is expected to suggest in the report what the EU
should do if Ankara misses the deadline on Cyprus.

ALL ARMENIAN YOUTH CONFERENCE “NATION AND HERITAGE” TO LAUNCH IN STEPANAKERT
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Sept 25 2006
YEREVAN, September 25. /ARKA/. All-Armenian youth conference “Nation
and Heritage” will be held on September 26-30, 2006 in Stepanakert.
Thirty nine young people submitted applications for participation
in this event: 21 – from Nagorno-Karabakh, 18 – from Yerevan and
different Armenian regions.
The conference was initiated by the NKR Ministry of Health, Culture
and Sports and the Center for organization of youth activities of
the Ministry of Culture and Youth.

NKR REPRESENTATIVE IN THE U.S: THERE ARE POSITIVE
TENDENCIES IN THE PROCESS OF NKR’S RECOGNITION
Defacto.am
2006-09-20 15:31:00
Today, DiplomaticTraffic.com, an online periodical of the East West
Communications, published an interview with NKR Representative to
the U.S. Vardan Barseghian.
According to Vardan Barseghian, although not recognized formally
by any government, Karabakh’s continued march to secure lasting
independence is irreversible. “There is no going back for us,”
he said. “Just because Stalin gave Karabakh to Azerbaijan does not
mean that the international community has to reinforce what Stalin
did.” He continued: “What [Stalin] did at the beginning of the last
century was against the will of our people. And now we are at the
beginning of the 21st Century.” Barseghian noted that GDP doubled
from 2001 to 2005 (increasing to $114 million from $53 million),
and economic growth last year was 14 percent.
Investments have been in telecoms, gold mining, diamond polishing,
jewelry and agriculture. During Soviet times, Karabakh was the
biggest per-capita producer of grapes in the USSR. Karabakh is also
known for its Mulberry brandy, called Tti Oghi locally. “It is a
beautiful country,” Barseghian said, offering prospects for tourism
development. Some 4,000 foreigners visited in 2005.
Asked about possible recognition of their republic, Barseghian
said “there are positive tendencies” in that direction. He said
“governments recognize the fact that the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
has been established and functioning as a country, and more and more
contacts look like regular government-to-government contacts.” However,
“the US government tries not to portray these as regular contacts,
for obvious reasons.” Nevertheless, “what’s interesting is that
Washington tracks what’s going on in Nagorno-Karabakh, including
economic progress and democratization. We have indications through
third parties that they are happy with the progress, although they
would not say that in public.”
Regarding relations with Azerbaijan, he said: “I don’t think we have
illusions about being able to negotiate with Azerbaijan directly for
our independence.”
Commenting on the work of the Minsk Group, he noted that, “The main
purpose of the Minsk Group is to facilitate negotiations, and not to
achieve a pre-determined outcome.” Barseghian said that by fighting
for independence, the people of Karabakh had “reaffirmed our right
to live on the land of our ancestors in the way that we feel is good
for us.” He said “It was a very heavy price,” with several thousand
ethnic Armenians killed.
He noted that de facto Azerbaijan had recognized Nagorno-Karabakh’s
existence by recognizing the line of contact that separated the
two sides under the ceasefire. “This is the de facto border between
Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh.”
“I believe the world recognizes that we deserve to be free, and as a
minimum we should avoid another disaster. International recognition
of Karabakh’s independence will discourage another attack by
Azerbaijan. The ceasefire has held for 12 years, and we believe this
is due to the natural balance of forces.” He noted that Azerbaijan’s
oil revenue had been used in part to strengthen its armed forces, and
Karabakh (and Armenia) stress to the US Congress and administration
that a military balance should be maintained to prevent a new attack
by Azerbaijan.

The Governor has issued the following message on the occasion of the
15th Anniversary of Armenian Independence.
Lisa Kalustian
Chief Deputy Director
Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
300 South Spring Street, Suite 16701
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213)897-0322
FAX (213)897-0319
[email protected]
Septemb er 21, 2006
Armenian Independence Day
I am pleased to extend my warmest greetings to all those commemorating
the fifteenth anniversary of Armenian Independence.
It is always a special occasion when a people gather to rejoice
in their heritage, and I am privileged to join with the
Armenian-American community on this day of celebration. You enrich
our nation – and especially our state – through your hard work,
spirit of service and wonderful blend of cultural traditions. Thank
you for your contributions to California’s unique and evergrowing
diversity.
In honoring our own ancestries, we not only come to a better
understanding of ourselves, but we also gain a greater appreciation
for the breadth of cultures and customs that make up our Golden State.
On behalf of all Californians, please accept my best wishes for
a meaningful celebration and every future success.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Observer, UK
First lady of Turkish finance
Guler Sabanci, head of Sabanci Holding, says the West has the wrong
perception about her country – women have always been highly regarded,
unlike in other countries she could mention. Helena Smith talks to
Turkey’s most famous female entrepreneur
Sunday September 17, 2006
The Observer
If Guler Sabanci didn’t exist you wouldn’t dare to invent her as a
realistic fictional character. It’s not just her wealth, which is
immense. Or that she is a free spirit in a part of the world that is
undeniably patriarchal. Or even that she presides over a
family-controlled business while, somehow, also being a vintner and
Europe’s newest, hottest, patron of the arts. It is that Guler
Sabanci is all these things in Turkey, a country more bound to
tradition than most. None of this is lost on the defiantly single,
staunchly progressive Sabanci.
As chair of Sabanci Holding, an industrial conglomerate whose
consolidated revenues last year amounted to $10.6bn, she is, at 51,
Turkey’s most feted female entrepreneur – and, by virtue of her impact
on finance and culture, probably its most powerful woman to date. But
if she embodies the Muslim nation’s myriad contradictions – as the
living incarnation of its founding secular principles – it appears to
leave her unfazed.
‘So, is it easy being a woman in business in Turkey?’ I ask. We are
in her office, on the 25th floor of Istanbul’s twin-tower Sabanci
centre, a place filled as much with eclectic art – from contemporary
to medieval Seljuk – as with the standard accoutrements of the modern
corporate world.
As she ponders the question, looking out across the sun-flecked waters
of the Bosphorus to Asia, Sabanci can’t help but smile. ‘No,’ she
booms, her gravelly voice as husky as Billie Holiday’s on a bad
day. Is it harder than in other countries? After all, she is also the
first woman ever to have sat on the board of Turkey’s influential
Businessmen’s Association. Companies the size of hers – employing
45,000 people – are the backbone of the Turkish economy.
Again, the answer is categorical: ‘I don’t think so. The west has the
wrong perception about Turkey itself. Since the [foundation of] the
[secular] Republic in 1923, professional women have always been highly
regarded in this country, whereas I remember going to England in the
early Eighties where women were not allowed to lunch in a famous
bankers’ club in the City.
‘All over the world there is a gender issue … but in business it is
less of a problem because you can be more specific and
result-orientated, and measure the results.’ Results, unsurprisingly,
are what Sabanci likes best.
Established by her grandfather, Haci Omer, in the 1940s, the company
started in the cotton mills of Adana in rural Anatolia. By the
mid-1960s, Haci Omer had not only relocated to Istanbul, Turkey’s
historic commercial capital but, aided by state subsidies and tax
exemptions, become the embodiment of rags-to-riches success.
Handpicked to lead the dynasty (‘I was the eldest grandchild of six
sons and I must have been three or four when my grandfather took me to
the factory’), Guler succeeded Sakip, her uncle, who as testimony to
the family’s standing in Turkey, was given a hero’s funeral when he
died in 2004.
By the time she got to the top, the group had become a collection of
66 companies with interests in areas as diverse as banking, food,
retailing, tyres, truck-making, textiles, energy, cement and
chemicals.
‘Sakip gave me a lot of moral support,’ she concedes, even if she also
came up the hard way. ‘I started off doing standard clerical work,
filling out forms in the purchasing department. Then I climbed, step
by step. There were times, at some levels, where people may have
hesitated, where they may have said “is she going to be able to handle
it?” But I did.’
Some worried that the business was spreading itself too thinly when
Sabanci took over. But, under her watch, earnings have soared, with
the company’s consolidated net income topping $514m last year. As the
empire has expanded – it has operations in 12 countries, including a
chemicals plant in the UK – so, too, has its city-sized roll-call of
employees, with the group’s staff increasing by nearly a third last
year.
Around 3,500 personnel currently work abroad, where the conglomerate
has an array of joint ventures with foreign companies including French
supermarket chain Carrefour, Japanese car maker Toyota, and Germany’s
HeidelbergCement.
‘Our London office is our base for international trade,’ she
says. ‘It’s just opposite Madame Tussauds. They’re very nice
neighbours, very quiet, although I must say they do have a lot of
visitors.’
If Sabanci is that rare thing in Turkey – a very public woman who is
very publicly witty – she has also gained a deserved reputation for
pluck in a field where few women, anywhere, have dared to venture.
As head of Sabanci’s tyre division – a post she held for 14 years and
one which earned her the nickname ‘rubber queen’- she aggressively
broadened the division’s horizons, forging links with US company
DuPont and other global corporate partners.
And as the driving force behind the conglomerate’s 50/50 joint venture
strategy of the 1990s, it is Sabanci who, more than anyone else, has
been credited with expanding the group’s operations overseas, into
Latin America and Europe.
Despite the fluctuations in the country’s economy, no other Turkish
company has thrived, or expanded, so far away from the Middle East.
The stabilising effect of Turkey’s European Union accession process –
of which she is one of the most ardent advocates – has undoubtedly
helped. But so, too, has Sabanci’s management style. A firm believer
in delegation and teamwork – iconoclastic notions in a nation with
such a staid corporate culture – one of the first things she did
having taken the helm was to call all her executives to a US-style
‘search conference’ to discuss future trends and strategies.
‘It was an event where we looked 10 years ahead,’ she said. And what
did the company’s, and Turkey’s, future look like in 2015? ‘At
Sabanci,’ she says matter-of-factly, ‘our vision is to triple our
revenues to $30bn,’ partly through differentiation – ‘the future of
business’ – and through investing in the energy sector, which Turkey’s
conservative government has pledged to privatise.
‘But I cannot have a 10-year vision for Turkey without [thinking
about] Europe. In 10 years’ time, Turkey will be a very attractive
market. Per capita income, which is $5,000 today, will be close to
$12,500 – you’re talking about a serious economy.’ So is she saying
that in 10 years’ time Turkey will be an asset to the EU? ‘Yes, by
then its population will be around 90 million, and it’ll be a very
young population that will bring a great dynamism to Europe.’
And yet, she hastens to add, the journey in many ways will be more
important than the destination. ‘In 10 years’ time we expect Turkey to
have the right to decide to be, or not to be, a member of Europe,
which of course means doing all the right things along the road. I say
that because in 10 years’ time, we don’t know what Europe will be
either.’
To spend a day with Guler Sabanci is to witness not only her role in
Turkey’s corporate world, but the considerable effect she has on its
social and cultural life. On a single day I saw her conduct business,
inaugurate an 18th-century fountain – the first of many she has
promised to renovate in Istanbul – and launch a new wine festival,
made purely ‘for the pleasure of drinking’.
Beyond the boardroom, most of Sabanci’s energies are focused on
education and art. Since 1974, the conglomerate has poured some $1.1bn
into a charitable foundation – the largest in Turkey and one of the
biggest in the world.
Recently, funds have been injected into Sabanci University, which she
founded in 1999. Today, it is widely viewed as Turkey’s most liberal
higher education institution, teaching taboo subjects such as the
Armenian genocide. Last year, to the delight of Turks – including the
Islamic-rooted government – she introduced the country to Picasso,
arranging an historic exhibition of his works (not least his
nudes). More than 250,000 people visited the newly renovated Sakip
Sabanci Museum to see the show.
‘This country made me rich, so it’s my duty to give back,’ she tells
me. ‘I wear two hats. The one is business and increasing my
shareholders’ value; the other is social responsibility. I believe in
the goodness of people, of trying to be a good person.’
Said by most, such words might sound trite. But after a day with Guler
Sabanci, it is difficult not to believe that she means every word she
says.
The CV
Name Guler Sabanci
Born 1955, Adana, Turkey
Education Bosphorus University (business administration); Harvard
University advanced management program
Career 1978, joined Sabanci group’s tyre manufacturing company, Lassa;
1985, general manager of Kordsa, the group’s tyre cord manufacturing
and trading company; May 2004, chair of Sabanci Holding and head of
the philanthropic Sabanci Foundation
Hobbies Visiting art fairs and collecting art, especially ceramics
from the Ottoman Seljuk period; making wine

Kansas City Star, MO
Posted on Sun, Sep. 17
With KC roots, pianists blossom
Two were semifinalists in the famed Thelonious Monk
competition.
By DAVID GOLDSTEIN
The Star’s Washington correspondent

WASHINGTON | A lot of natural musical talent was on display Saturday
at the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum, and some of it was
homegrown.
Two pianists with Kansas City roots were among 12 semifinalists in the
2006 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition.
Though neither Harold O’Neal nor George Dulin were among the three
finalists selected to perform for the top prize tonight at the John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, they said it was enough
just to be on the stage.
`All 12 piano players were smoking,’ Dulin said afterward. `It was
just an honor to be able to make it this far. Hearing who they ended
up choosing for the final three, I completely see why. It’s going to
be a great final competition.’
Instead of the normal 5 to 15 minutes for deliberations, the judges,
who included jazz greats Herbie Hancock and Billy Taylor, took nearly
an hour, the longest in nearly two decades of competition.
`The quality top to bottom is as good as any I’ve attended,’ jazz
writer and former critic Bob Blumenthal said during the wait. `I can
understand why it’s taking so long.’
With jazz considered to be a uniquely American art form, the finalists
reflected how much of a world stage the music has gained. Two of the
three finalists, Tigran Hamasyan and Gerald Clayton, were born in
Armenia and the Netherlands. The third, Aaron Parks, hails from
Seattle.
The competition was started by the Thelonious Monk Institute of
Jazz. It has become for jazz artists what the Tchaikovsky and Van
Cliburn competitions are for classical pianists, and it is a launching
pad for celebrated new artists. Each pianist had about 12 minutes to
play three songs, accompanied by a bassist and drummer. One had to be
a Monk tune. Dulin and O’Neal also played original compositions.
The judges were listening for solid skills – and something personal,
new and different.
`It’s easy to mimic what’s gone by,’ said Thelonious Monk Jr.,
chairman of the institute’s board of directors. `If you are fortunate
enough to be going someplace that’s not only identifiable but clearly
your own space … that’s what jazz is all about.’
O’Neal and Dulin both studied classical piano initially and became
friends when they attended the Berklee College of Music in
Boston. Both perform in clubs across the country. Dulin has also
played overseas.
O’Neal, 25, was born in Tanzania. His family moved to Kansas City, his
father’s birthplace, when he was 4. They lived, appropriately enough,
near the 18th and Vine neighborhood, the site of Kansas City’s
historic jazz scene.
He took up the piano while a student at the Paseo Academy of the
Performing Arts and was drawn to jazz because of `the improvisation,
the expression, the openness.’
After his performance Saturday, one of the hosts, actor Billy Dee
Williams, told the audience, `That kind of brilliance is totally
amazing. It must be a wonderful way to spend your life.’
Dulin, 28, who now lives in New York, grew up in Kansas City, Kan.,
and attended Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. He enjoys jazz’s
unpredictability and freedom.
`You never know what’s going to happen,’ he said.

ArmeniaNow.com, Armenia
September 15, 2006
Pipelines Aplenty: Iranian official announces plan for
second Iran-Armenia gas line

By Marianna Grigoryan
ArmeniaNow reporter

While the first Iran-Armenia gas pipeline is still under construction,
representatives of the countries this week discussed plans for a
second one.

Iranian and Armenian leadership had a pipeline chat this week.

Last Monday and Tuesday (September 11-12), Speaker of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, Gholam-Ali-Haddad-Adel led a delegation from Tehran
to Yerevan, where he announced the pipeline plans during a joint-press
conference with National Assembly Chairman, Tigran Torosyan.
The first Armenian-Iranian pipeline construction, which is supposed to
be completed by the end of the year, should have had great strategic
significance. Besides the fact that it promised benefits in terms of
Armenian-Iranian cooperation, the pipeline was supposed to create an
opportunity to export Iranian gas to Europe through the territory of
RA, which was also highly significant for Armenia’s economic and
political development.
But, above all, the pipeline was meant to guarantee Armenia’s
energetic independence from Russia.
However, the sweet dreams of energy independence vanished on June 30,
when the Russian `Gazprom’ company representative re-declared the
company’s intention and concrete plans to purchase the pipeline.
(See also
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The Russians announced they’d buy the pipeline. And though the deal
has not been confirmed by the Armenian side, it is also understood
that the Russian plan would not allow Armenia to transport gas,
therefore negating its chance for transit fees.
The second pipeline would make export possible.
The Russian-related news did not sit well in Tehran, and became a
topic of conversation when Armenian President Robert Kocharyan visited
Iran, July 5.
And, while Tehran apparently has concerns, so do members of Armenia’s
opposition.
Suren Surenyants, political analyst of the Republic political party,
told ArmeniaNow that plans of a second pipeline are `just talk’. `Even
the first pipeline’s destiny is absolutely in limbo yet.’
Surenyants sarcastically voiced a mounting concern among political
analysts and others in Armenia, centered on Armenia’s growing
dependency on Russia.
`Apparently, Armenia’s foreign affairs are determined in the Kremlin,’
Surenyants said. `Consequently even the high-ranking Parliament
Speaker of isolated Iran is hardly apt to discuss relevant matters
with Armenia, without the Kremlin’s permission.’
Assembly Chairman Torosyan, however, says the proposed pipeline is
exemplary.
`The Armenian-Iranian relations should serve an example for the whole
territory, despite the religious differences of the two nations,’
Torosyan says. `It is very important, that the Armenian-Iranian
relations progress, especially in the field of power engineering,
which is of strategic significance.’

DOES AZERBAIJAN WANT TO WITHDRAW?
A1+
[07:40 pm] 14 September, 2006
“It is obvious that Azerbaijan is trying to divert the attention of the
international community from the OSCE Minsk group,” claims RA Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian and illustrates the recent example, when
the UNO general Assembly rejected to enter the initiative presented
by CUAM into the agenda.
But yesterday the general Assembly changed its decision and accepted
that very initiative. “This is the case which can divert the attention
form the Minsk group procedure. Thus, unless we know what direction
the UNO procedures will have, the meeting of the Foreign Ministers
will be put in question,” added Vartan Oskanian.
The Armenian Foreign Minister shares his concern that Azerbaijan
uses all its measures and efforts to divert us and to reject the
preliminary agreements. Mr. Oskanian says, “It seems that Azerbaijan
wants to withdraw from the contents of the document (including
the referendum, issue of self-determination, etc) made by the Minsk
group Co-chairs, and on the basis of this document they try to divert
the attention from the Minsk group and to focus on the UNO. We must
properly assess the current situation and take further steps according
to the results of our assessment.”
At present the Co-chairs are discussing the possibility of the
presidents’ next meeting. “We are ready to meet any time but the
general atmosphere must be favorable so that the meeting will give
proper results,” added Mr. Oskanian.

RUSSIAN POLICE CADET ARRESTED IN RACIST SLAYING
Agence France Presse
September 13, 2006
Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, DC
A Russian police cadet has been arrested on suspicion of racially
motivated murder after a knife attack on a 17-year-old student of
Armenian descent, the prosecutor’s office said Wednesday.
“Nikita Senyukov, who was born in 1988 and was a fourth-year student
at Police Academy Number One in Moscow, has been arrested on suspicion
of killing Vigen Abramyants this April,” the prosecutor general said
in a statement.
The prosecutor refused to comment on a report in Russian daily
Kommersant that the police cadet was a member of a nationalist
organization linked to a racist market bombing in Moscow that killed
11 people last month.
Senyukov, who is the son of a high-ranking policeman, was arrested
due to information provided by three suspects in the market bombing,
Kommersant reported.
The newspaper described the three bombing suspects and police cadet
Senyukov as “supporters of the nationalist organization Russian
All-National Union,” though it said that the organization denied that
the four were members.
The stabbing of Vigen Abramyants, an ethnic Armenian, took place in
the Pushkinskaya metro station in central Moscow in the daytime.
Russian NGOs have decried the rising number of racially motivated
killings in the country, with the Sova group counting 14 such
killings from March to May of this year, up from four in the same
period of 2005.
NGOs accuse police and prosecutors of frequently disregarding
racial hatred as a motivation, classifying the attacks instead as
“hooliganism.”

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY DEALS WITH ISSUE OF ARMENIAN CITIZENS ARRESTED IN GEORGIA
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 11 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Armenian
Foreign Ministry indeed received an alarm call from Tbilisi about
the respective actions of Georgian law-enforcers regarding our
compatriots. Vladimir Karapetian, Acting Head of the RA MFA Press and
Information Department, said that when commenting, at the request of
NT correspondent, on the reports that about 100 Armenian citizens
were arrested in Georgia. He noted that this number has not been
confirmed. V. Karapetian assured NT correspondent that the Armenian
Foreign Ministry is taking all necessary measures. Particularly, the
Armenian ambassador to Georgia applied to the Georgian Foreign Ministry
with the proposal to discuss the matter. The Armenian Foreign Ministry
made the same proposal to the Georgian ambassador. “We anticipate a
prompt solution of the issue,” V. Karapetian pointed out. According
to mass media reports, about 100 Armenian citizens violated the
Russian-Georgian border, for which a fine in the amount of about
2 thousand USD is envisaged under Article 334 Part 2 of Georgia’s
Criminal Code, and in case of a repeated violation – imprisonment
for 3-5 years. In the given case, the Armenian citizens entered
South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Russia, as a result of which they
were arrested. An entrance or exit stamp put in the passport as
an indication of visits to the above mentioned territories is an
“evidence”, which provides Georgian law-enforces with a ground for
arresting Armenian citizens.