Author: Nadirian Emma

SERBIAN ENVOY SENT TO RUSSIA TO SEEK APPROVAL FOR ARMS EXPORT TO ARMENIA

FoNet news agency, Belgrade,
27 Dec 2006

Kragujevac, 27 December: Serbian President Boris Tadic said this
evening in Kragujevac in a meeting with employees of Zastava-Weapons
who are protesting in Kragujevac Town Hall [over the government-imposed
ban on arms exports to Armenia] that he had sent his special envoy
to Russia to seek permission from [Russian] state officials to renew
arms exports to Armenia, adding that this would be "the best solution
for the Kragujevac military factory".

My special envoy has already arrived in Moscow and we will know the
result of his activities in two days; it would be best if exports to
Armenia could immediately continue, because we would this way solve
a very pressing issue, Tadic said.

Tadic said that the Serbian government should compensate the factory’s
losses incurred by the ban on [arms] exports to Armenia, just as the
Cacak-based Sloboda Company and the Valjevo-based Krusik Company had
been compensated.

"It is my position that the damage should be compensated according
to the same principle as it was done with Sloboda and Krusik. If they
received compensation for an incomplete deal because a foreign policy
problem had appeared, the same should apply to you, too," Tadic told
protesting employees.

President Tadic noted that an agreement about the future of the
Serbian military industry should finally be reached at the level of
the state in order to "ensure long-term production, secure jobs and
good salaries".

"I deeply believe that Serbia with its military industry has a much
greater foreign political influence than without it. Our defence
capacities are much more stable if we have stable production of
weapons in our country," Tadic said.

Tadic noted that Serbia’s joining the Partnership for Peace would
ease exports of domestic weapons and military equipment to the world,
assessing that the Serbian Army would increase its needs for weapons
under new conditions [created in the wake of joining PfP].

"We have a problem that the Serbian Army is no longer acquiring
weapons from this factory. It is M-21 rifle that should be part of our
military’s standard arsenal as soon as possible," President Tadic said.

Serbian President Boris Tadic called on the employees of
Zastava-Weapons to stop their protest in Kragujevac Town Hall and spend
New Year’s Eve home with their families, but they refused his proposal.

2008-2013 STRATEGY OF DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURE TO BE SUBMITTED FOR RA GOVERNMENT’S APPROVAL IN 2007 MAY

Noyan Tapan
Dec 27 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 27, NOYAN TAPAN. 2008-2013 Strategy of Development
of Culture will be submitted to the approval of the government by
RA Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs by May 2007. RA Minister of
Culture and Youth Affairs Hasmik Poghosian said this at the December
26 annual brief press conference.

In her words, it will be the fundamental document, by which the
cultural programs will be implemented in the coming years. "After
the government’s decision program’s implementation will not depend
on change of state non-commercial organizations’ directors, it
will present precise working activity for the scheduled years,"
H.Poghosian said. In the Minister’s opinion, cultural policy is not
finally formed in the country, as cultural heritage is not studied to
sufficient extent yet. For this purpose questionnaires have been worked
out by the Ministry for implementing a monitoring on all cultural
institutions: the process has already started. Priority directions of
cultural policy should be determined in advance for development of the
sphere. Previously this policy was aimed at preservation of existing
cultural heritage, while now provision of various directions is also
among priority issues. H.Poghosian also said that the Ministry’s future
programs are aimed at activization of cultural life in all regions of
the country. "Cultural institutions function in unequal conditions in
Yerevan and in the regions." By 2007 February new program of cultural
development will be also submitted to the government. As the Minister
estimated, the passing year was also eventful in the respect of
regulation of legislation of cultural field – laws "On Coat of Arms,"
"On Flag" and "On Anthem" were adopted. In her words, it only remains
that RA President should ratifiy the bill "On RA National Anthem." The
government also approved conception "On Non-material Cultural Heritage"
submitted by the Ministry, from which not only the scheduled programs,
but also adoption of the respective laws will proceed. Besides, the
Minister said that starting 2007 February a programme on Armenian
museums will be broadcast once a week by the Public Television and
the Ministry will print "Mshakuyt" ("Culture") weekly.

TBILISI GARRISON CEASED TO EXIST: RUSSIAN FORCES QUIT GEORGIA AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
by Albert Yeremyan

Source: Gazeta, December 25, 2006, p. 2
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
December 27, 2006 Wednesday

WITHDRAWAL OF THE TBILISI GARRISON AND THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE GROUP OF
RUSSIAN FORCES IN TRANSCAUCASIA IS ACCOMPLISHED; Two last automobiles
of the Tbilisi garrison go to the Armenian city of Gyumri today to
the Russian military base located there. Major General Andrei Popov,
commander of the group of Russian forces in Transcaucasia, departs
from Tbilisi to Russia today too.

Two last automobiles of the Tbilisi garrison go to the Armenian city
of Gyumri today to the Russian military base located there. Major
General Andrei Popov, commander of the group of Russian forces in
Transcaucasia, departs from Tbilisi to Russia today too.

Popov said, "The Tbilisi garrison of the Russian forces ceased to exist
today. This is another step towards fulfillment of the agreement on
withdrawal of troops from the territory of Georgia.

Thus, now we only have to evacuate a part of armament and aircraft
of the 62nd military base by 2007 and to fully withdraw the military
base from Batumi until the end of 2008."

Withdrawal of Russian forces from Tbilisi was accomplished two years
earlier than it had been planned.

Last Saturday, commander of the group of Russian forces in
Transcaucasia Andrei Popov and Deputy Defense Minister of Georgia
Levan Nikoleishvili signed an act of handing over and acceptance of
the Russian military objects in Tbilisi to the Georgian party in the
Defense Ministry of Georgia.

Georgia received real estate of the headquarters of the group
of Russian forces in Transcaucasia including the building of the
headquarters, a military hospital and two depots.

Since November, armament of the Tbilisi garrison (more than 170
units) was partially moved to the military base in Gyumri and was
partially delivered to Russia via Azerbaijan in two trains. More than
380 Russian servicemen and 350 tons of materiel and ammunition were
withdrawn from the Tbilisi garrison.

Vladimir Kuparadze, deputy commander of the group of Russian forces
in Transcaucasia, says that only an operational group consisting of
13 Russian officers will remain in Georgia. Today, the group will
go from Tbilisi to Batumi where they will watch withdrawal of the
Russian bases from Batumi and Akhalkalaki. Russian officers will have
one-year visas necessary for continuation of work on the territory of
Georgia. Popov states that for settlement of current issues with the
Georgian colleagues dealing with withdrawal of these Russian bases
he will arrive to Tbilisi once a month according to invitation of
the Defense Ministry of Georgia.

According to the agreement between the defense ministries of Georgia
and Russia, the process of withdrawal of the Russian military bases
has to be accomplished until the end of 2008. After that Russia will
have only one military base left in the South Caucasus in Armenian
city of Gyumri.

THE NATURE OF CHARITY ACTIVITY IN ARMENIA CHANGING

ArmRadio.am
25.12.2006 11:00

During the recent years the nature of benevolent activity in Armenia
has changed. According to the President of the corresponding Commission
Simon Ter-Simonyan, used toys, shoes and computers are not imported
to Armenia. Above all, the monitors of computers of older generation
comprise an environmental danger. According to the decision of the
Commission, it has been banned to import used monitors for charity
purposes.

The import of used clothes has been restricted with about 90 percent.

According to the Head of the Commission, there is need for this,
especially in frontier regions. To exclude the disputes over the
sale of clothes imported for charity purposes, there will be a sign
"not for sale" on all the clothes.

There are more than 1 000 charity organizations in Armenia. These
are in most part branches of large charity organizations.

Child born in Bethlehem made the world a better place
by WILLIAM CHRISTIAN

Guelph Mercury (Ontario, Canada)
December 23, 2006 Saturday
Final Edition

It’s only about six miles from the centre of Jerusalem to Bethlehem,
a much shorter distance than I thought. I had an Israeli driver for
this trip, since the route took us south though the leafy, prosperous
Jewish suburbs of the city, where a driver with Palestinian plates
would have been made distinctly unwelcome by the authorities. For my
trip to East Jerusalem, the hotel was careful to order a car with a
Palestinian driver, since anyone with Israeli plates claimed to feel
unwelcome in those areas.

Most of West Jerusalem was built after 1949 and looks much like any
North American city. Before we went to Bethlehem, though, my driver
wanted to show me his house, part of a series of row houses that
overlooked the Church of the Nativity. In April 2002 Palestinian
insurrectionists seized the church and held it for 38 days. He
pointed to the bullet holes on the front of the building and told me
of the evening when a bullet from the church came close to killing
him as he parked his car on his way home from work.

Since he was unwilling to take tourists into Bethlehem, a town
controlled by the Palestinian authority, he had a system arranged
with a colleague, a Maronite Christian. He phoned him on his mobile
and we met at a pre-set point, where I switched cars.

Bethlehem is a very uninviting city. Its population is about 60,000
and it has the feel of some of the small cities in the rust belt
around Detroit. It was once prosperous, but it has fallen on hard
times. It has an educated, skilled, motivated workforce with nothing
to do, and nowhere to sell their goods if they produced them. There
were some quite nice shops on the main street, an especially
appealing one dealing in textiles by Palestinian women. I liked the
textiles and I was even happier the proceeds were going where they
were much needed.

There are only two serious reasons for going to see the Church of the
Nativity. The first is if you genuinely believe, as some people do,
that this is literally the spot where the Christ child was born. For
you, this would be a genuinely holy place. If you are among the
somewhat smaller number of people interested in early Christian
church architecture, this edifice, whose construction began after
529, is the place for you — but you already knew that. Otherwise,
you’re going to be disappointed by how rundown the church is, and how
unattractive the setting is. The church is in the care of the
Armenian, Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. When I was in
the grotto of the Nativity, there was an Armenian bishop conducting a
choral mass. The chanting resonated in its narrow confines. The
experience was moving.

Which is what my guide said I should be doing, rather than dawdling
around buying textiles and listening to lengthy masses when he was
being paid by the job.

So I went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, first built is 330 by
the mother of the Emperor Constantine to mark the tomb of Christ’s
burial. In the fine tradition of peace and understanding that has
governed the Middle East since time immemorial, the Persians
destroyed it in 614; it was promptly rebuilt. The Egyptians hacked it
down to bedrock in 1009; the Crusaders rebuilt it, and it remains
largely a Crusader church.

Control over the church has historically been the source of
considerable dissension. In 1852, the Turkish authorities had to
intervene and impose order on the disputatious Christian sects,
giving primary control to Orthodox, the Armenian Apostolic and the
Roman Catholics. Later, the Coptic, Ethiopian and Syrian Orthodox
were also conceded parts of the church. But since all the good parts
had been taken, the Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox churches have so
far not sorted out rights over the Chapel of the Ethiopians, which is
basically the roof over one of the interior chapels. So if you wonder
what they’re doing up on the roof, they’re protecting their turf. In
fact, in 2002, one hot summer day when a Coptic monk moved his chair
into the shade, the Ethiopians interpreted this as aggression, and
the ensuing battle to remove him put eleven into hospital.

Christians, Muslims, Jews. We worship the same God, but we’re human
— all-too-human. It’s at this time of the year that Christians
especially need too take a few moments to reflect that a child born
in occupied Bethlehem has made the world, if not perfect, at least
better than it otherwise would have been.

William Christian is a professor of political science at the
University of Guelph.

CONSTRUCTING NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA Minister of Energy Armen
Movsisian stated that the event dedicated to increasing the safety
of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant with the participation of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and donor organizations was
this year’s achievement. He said at the December 22 press conference
that an agreement was reached at this event to provide help in order
to increase the safety of the power plant before its closure. Besides,
according to A. Movsisian, a cooperation proposal was received from
the IAEA and USAID for conducting feasibility studies on construction
of a new nuclear power plant in Armenia. These studies will finish
in two years, after which it will be decided which organizations will
participate in the new power plant’s construction. A. Movsisian also
considered the tripartite meeting of the energy ministers of Armenia,
Georgia and Iran as another important achievement this year. In his
words, the meeting will promote the energy system’s integration in
the region. He said that Russia will take part in the next meeting.

Getting at the truth
By Charles Fried

December 13, 2006
The Boston Globe CHARLES FRIED

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, the egregious president of Iran, is hosting a
conference this week on whether the Holocaust really happened. There
are serious questions that someone with Ahmadinejad’s hostile attitude
toward the state of Israel might ask about the Holocaust — did it
justify the settlement of its survivors in Palestine in the first
place and has Israel misused the Holocaust to justify the Israeli
settlements in the occupied territories — but whether the Holocaust
ever happened is not one of them. To even somewhat sensible, mildly
educated people, Ahmadinejad’s conference is like having a conference
about whether the world might be flat after all.

Although Iran surely intends this as an affront to Israel and
Jewish people everywhere — my family and I fled Czechoslovakia
in 1939, leaving my grandparents and many relatives behind to die
in Theresienstad and Auschwitz — the real victims of this minor
latter-day outrage are the Iranian people and rational discourse
everywhere.

What Ahmadinejad’s conference proclaims is that truth has no place
in the world of politics; that if your ends are just, you can say
anything, no matter how far-fetched. Ahmadinejad tells us that his
pursuit of advanced nuclear capabilities is for peaceful purposes only:
power generation, medical applications, and not as part of a weapons
program. Why would a rational person put faith in any assurance from
a man so contemptuous of truth or even think there is any point in
negotiating with him?

But Ahmadinejad’s tortured logic seems almost broad-minded compared
with Turkey’s stringent criminal prohibition on any suggestion that
such a thing as its genocide of the Armenian people ever happened.
Many brave Turkish writers and journalists have suffered persecution
in recent times for proclaiming what no reasonable person would deny.
Yet the Armenian genocide is as certain a historic fact as Hitler’s
European Holocaust, for which Ataturk’s may well have served as a model
and feasability study. (A recent brief, horrifying and thoroughly
documented account can be found in Niall Ferguson’s "War of the
World.") Turkey and Iran turn truth into either a crime or charade.

And then there is the converse: What about countries like Canada
and many in Europe that make it an offense to offer propositions
derogatory of races or religions, or to deny the Holocaust, or
proposed legislation in France that would make it a crime to deny the
Armenian genocide. Here, too, the truth and how we come to know it
suffers. States that forbid such palpable lies degrade the currency
of truth as much as those who proclaim a lie as their national policy.

For in the end, the only way to bite the nickel to make sure it’s
genuine is in discussion, debate, assertion, and counter-assertion.
That is the process in which extremists in Iran and Turkey are shown
to be what they are — charlatans and liars. But states that shut down
that process, even to inane propositions like Holocaust or Armenian
genocide denial, debase the currency of truth every bit as much
as their opposites, For in their zeal, they assign to themselves,
to politics, and to official power (with its attendant machinery
of prosecutors, judges, juries, and jailors) an authority that can
reside only in the forum of individual judgment and conviction.

There is such a thing as truth; that is why Holocaust deniers are
fools or liars. But that is exactly why there can be no such thing as
official truth — truth endorsed, policed, and enforced by the power
of the state. Truth is above politics, and judges politics, which
is why politics has no authority to proclaim it. Official truth is a
contradiction in terms. In one respect the Turks seem worse than the
Iranians: They make it a crime to tell the truth, while Ahmadinejad
claims to doubt what only a fool or scoundrel would deny. Because
there is a truth about the Holocaust and Armenian Genocide, this
doubt is foolish, but that judgment is not a judgment of politics
but of the free mind that judges politics.

Charles Fried is a professor at Harvard Law School. His most recent
book is "Modern Liberty and The Limits of Government."

e/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/12/13/
gett ing_at_the_truth/

AZERI PRESIDENT TALKS TOUGH ON RUSSIAN GAS, NAGORNYY KARABAKH

Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow
Dec 23 2006

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has said Azerbaijan may reduce or cut
gas imports from Russia completely in response to increased prices
and vowed not to give in to "commercial blackmail". In an interview
with Russian Ekho Moskvy radio on 23 December, Aliyev also said
Azerbaijan intended to strengthen its economy and its army to counter
Armenia over Nagornyy Karabakh, played down the significance of the
CIS and voiced opposition to the imposition of sanctions against Iran
over its nuclear programme.

Right to refuse gas price

Aliyev said Gazprom’s insistence on a higher price for gas delivered
to Azerbaijan ran counter to the spirit of relations between the two
countries.

He said an Azeri delegation had come to Moscow for talks at Gazprom’s
invitation.

"Talks have already been taking place for quite a long time, but,
unfortunately, without success, since the positive level and baggage
of mutually-advantageous cooperation between Gazprom and the [State]
Oil Company of Azerbaijan is melting away through no fault of our
own."

"When suddenly the price goes up to 230 and at the last moment to 235
[dollars per thousand cubic metres of gas], one of course feels a
complete dissonance between such an approach and the spirit, nature
and essence of Russian-Azeri relations. And this is a matter of
regret because our relations are shaping up very positively and very
constructively, and embrace far broader spheres than merely energy.

"As far as energy is concerned, and particularly gas, it would
undoubtedly be more logical and reasonable in the future to seek
points of contact for joint activities, for joint projects, instead
of trying unilaterally to increase the price and in some measure to
force Azerbaijan into something. That is impossible. Azerbaijan is no
longer the kind of state that can be forced into anything."

Aliyev said it was Gazprom’s right to set its price, "just as it is
our right to refuse". "We are now considering our options: either to
reduce it or to do without it altogether."

Wider use of fuel oil

Aliyev said a greater reliance on fuel oil would be one way out for
Azerbaijan in response to the Gazprom price hike.

"This year our oil output was 30m tonnes, while our domestic
requirement is 6m. So there is no problem there. Gas output was
something like 4.5-5 [billion cu.m.], against a domestic requirement
for 10. So we have a shortage. And it is not nice to take advantage
of this shortage. We would never behave like that. Where are we going
to get it? We have nowhere to get it from. So we need to change our
energy equation and switch from fuel oil plus gas to fuel oil alone.

It is clear what it will lead to: we shall be compelled to reduce the
transportation of Azeri oil to the port of Novorossiysk. We have no
other way out. Our power stations need to be fuelled by something. If
it’s not gas, it has to be fuel oil. And where to get the fuel oil
from? Only by processing oil. And where can we get it from? From the
Baku-Novorossiysk pipe."

Aliyev said he could not allow Azerbaijan to be subjected to what he
described as "commercial blackmail".

"I have decided to find a way out of the situation with minimum
losses for Azerbaijan, and at the same time with dignity. I cannot
allow Azerbaijan to be turned into a country subject to elements of
commercial blackmail. I cannot allow that to happen."

No gas deliveries to Georgia

The Azeri leader denied Azerbaijan was delivering gas to Georgia.

"We do not supply gas to Georgia. We buy gas. This year we bought
4.5bn cubic metres. And, according to information and statements from
the most senior Russian leaders, we were the only country with which
Russia had no debt problems."

He said he could not rule out a political dimension to the gas price
issue.

"So, overall, I would not politicize the issue, although it is of
course impossible to rule out a political subtext. But it would also
be wrong to reduce the significance of the existence of the CIS to
cheap gas."

Little benefit from CIS

Asked what membership of the CIS meant for Azerbaijan, Aliyev denied
there was any benefit from membership other than providing a forum
for bilateral talks.

"We construct our relations with CIS members on a bilateral basis. In
the energy context, the projects that we implement with our
neighbours are outside the framework of the CIS. In terms of
political contacts, we also have good relations with practically all
CIS countries within the framework of bilateral relations. So from
the practical point of view, it gives us nothing. It is a good format
for meetings, for holding talks."

He went on: "So it [CIS] should not be demonized, nor should one
expect too much from it."

GUAM and Nagornyy Karabakh

Aliyev said the GUAM regional alliance of Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan and Moldova provided a "fairly productive" format and
noted that Armenia was the only country with which Azerbaijan had
difficulties.

"I believe the organization should not be against anything. By the
way, I think Azerbaijan’s membership of the organization is a
positive factor. Basically, we do not take part in any campaigns
against someone. We have a problem with Armenia, a country that has
occupied our territories. We are combating them and shall continue to
combat them using all ways and means along a broad front: economic,
political, military, humanitarian, propaganda, and in every other
way. But we have no problems with other countries. "

The Azeri president said GUAM had provided a platform for dealing
with separatist conflicts in a single format.

"We managed in the context of GUAM to unite all the separatist
conflicts into one format for the first time. It was not so before.

Previously, for some reason, and particularly in the West, it was
believed that Abkhazia, [South] Ossetia and the Dniester region had
separatism, while in Nagornyy Karabakh it was some sort of liberation
movement, even though the essence is the same: aggressive
separatism."

Aliyev said a thriving economy and a strong army were essential to
counter Armenia over Nagornyy Karabakh, which he predicted would
never be recognized as independent.

"We must be strong, we must strengthen the economy, we must
strengthen the army, we must be more active on the diplomatic front.

We must become a much more important country than Armenia, and are
already becoming one. With our importance, with our potential and
with our projects we must outweigh the Armenian lobby."

"No-one will ever recognize Nagornyy Karabakh as an independent
state. No-one needs a country with a population of 60,000. And,
without, primarily, the will of Azerbaijan this is impossible. And we
shall never agree to it. The main thing the Armenian leadership
should realize is that this will never happen. Beyond this, within
the framework of territorial integrity, of course solutions can be
reached."

Military spending

Aliyev recalled that two years ago he had set the task of bringing
Azeri military spending up to the level of the entire Armenian
budget.

"I am accustomed to keeping my word. And I have kept it, bringing the
army budget into line with the budget of Armenia. And that is not the
limit. It will be surpassed."

Asked about whether Azerbaijan would buy arms from the USA, Aliyev
replied: "I don’t think they will sell us any."

NATO membership

Aliyev played down a possible Azeri bid for NATO membership: "Entry
into any organization is a two-way process. Does the organization
want you to join or not? To bang on the door, to seek entry, to ask
and to plead are not in my nature. And the same applies to the EU. "

Sanctions against Iran

Asked how Azerbaijan would vote on Iran sanctions if it were a member
of the UN Security Council, he said Azerbaijan "would be
unequivocally against any sanctions".

"The development of nuclear technologies is not prohibited. Isn’t
that so? All countries have the right. There is the International
Atomic Energy Agency, there is international control. Is there
evidence today that Iran is preparing a nuclear bomb? We have no such
evidence. Do international experts have such evidence? It is all
based on assumptions. But we have recently seen what such assumptions
lead to – mistakes. So to punish a country because it wants to
develop nuclear technology – why are others allowed to and they are
not? A principle is being breached. Perhaps there are some people who
do not like it. That’s for sure. Perhaps some people feel concern or
danger. All right, then the issue has to be discussed, work needs to
be done, cooperation carried out. But to say they can’t go ahead or
there will be sanctions will lead to nothing. Believe me. "

Caspian

Aliyev also talked about ethnic Azeris and Azeri migrants in Russia
and regretted that "certain circles are trying to earn political
capital from nationalism". He gave an assurance that ethnic
minorities were treated well in Azerbaijan.

Aliyev expressed condolences over the death of President Saparmyrat
Nyyazow of Turkmenistan. He noted that "fairly intensive"
negotiations with Iran on the demarcation of the Caspian were under
way, while the border with Russia and Kazakhstan had already been
determined. But he noted that with Turkmenistan there were
differences of view on Caspian delimitation.

[The interviewers in the studio were Aleksey Venediktov and Nargiz
Asadova, and the interview lasted 53 minutes.]

ONE MORE UNCONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Lragir, Armenia
Dec 22 2006

On December 22 the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia
discussed the compliance of the 2nd and 3rd points of Article 31
of the law on political parties with the Constitution of Armenia on
the appeal of Ombudsman Armen Harutiunyan. These points provide for
dissolution of a political party if it fails to run for parliament
in the recent two parliamentary elections, or if in one of the recent
two elections it gets less votes than one percent of total votes for
the tickets of all the political parties running in the election.

Ombudsman Armen Harutiunyan relied on Article 28 and Article 43 of
the Constitution to state that if a political party does not get a
certain number of votes in the election, it is not a violation of the
law and cannot be a precondition for applying sanctions. Generally,
the Armenian Constitution provides for banning or suspending political
parties but not for dissolution. Besides, the ombudsman stated
that the purpose of the political parties is to present political
approaches rather than to get votes. And it is possible to present
political approaches even if the political party is not elected to
the parliament.

Armen Harutiunyan thinks it would be right to let the political market
determine the fate of the political parties like the economic market
determines the fate of businesses. The representative of the National
Assembly of Armenia stated in reply that the right for establishment
of political parties and affiliation with political parties is not
an absolute right. There are other limitations for political parties,
including the number of members or offices.

When Ombudsman Armen Harutiunyan started the ~Striumphant~T campaign
for revealing the unconstitutionality of one law or another by
appealing to the Constitutional Court, the media concluded that hardly
two or three laws in Armenia are not unconstitutional. The profusion
of unconstitutional acts is an indicator of the qualification of its
authors and enacters.

GEORGIA REPAIRS DAMAGED NATURAL GAS PIPELINE

Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire
December 21, 2006 Thursday 12:23 PM EET

A damaged natural gas pipeline in northeastern Georgia has been
repaired, an official with Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation, the
company responsible for the pipeline, told ITAR-TASS late Wednesday.

Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom is expected to resume gas supplies
via the pipeline Thursday, the official said.

The Northern Caucasus-Zakavkazye pipeline was shut down following a
landslide Monday, forcing Russia to supply gas to Georgia and Armenia
via a smaller reserve pipeline.

Gazprom currently supplies gas to Armenia and Georgia via the Northern
Caucasus-Zakavkazye pipeline at a price of U.S. $110 per 1,000 cubic
meters. The pipeline has the capacity to transport 16 million cubic
meters of natural gas per day. In January, Gazprom suspended gas
supplies to Georgia and Armenia for a week after an explosion along
the pipeline.