Author: Nahapetian Samvel

Cybercast News Service, VA

Moscow Lashes Out at West Over Kyrgyzstan Protests

By Sergei Blagov

CNSNews.com Correspondent
March 24, 2005

Moscow (CNSNews.com) – Accusing the West of meddling in yet another
former Soviet state, Russia has voiced concerns about the ongoing
violent protests in Kyrgyzstan, where authorities are warning they
may use force against protestors contesting election results.

Both Russia and the United States have military bases in the Central
Asian country.

In a telephone conversation with European Union foreign policy chief
Xavier Solana, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov criticized what
he called Solana’s “counterproductive public statements that can be
used by Kyrgyz opposition to increase tensions.”

He was referring to a statement by Solana on Monday to the effect
that in some parts of Kyrgyzstan, recent parliamentary elections did
not meet international standards.

Criticism also came from the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE), which called the elections seriously flawed, and
from U.S. Senator John McCain, who said the balloting was riddled
with irregularities.

Solana reassured Lavrov that the E.U. favored a “political settlement”
to end the standoff.

Russia suspects Western influence played a role in protest-driven
transitions to democracy in Ukraine last year and in Georgia in 2003.

Protests began after a first round of parliamentary elections on 27
February and grew after a 13 March run-off.

The opposition charges that President Askar Akayev’s administration
helped to fix the vote, to pack the 75-seat chamber with supporters
ahead of presidential elections in October.

Kyrgyz police on Wednesday dispersed hundreds of opposition supporters
trying to enter government buildings in the capital, Bishkek. Earlier
this week, protesters took control of regional administrations in
two southern cities, Osh and Jalal-Abad.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov accused the Kyrgyz opposition of
inciting lawlessness and urged protesters to seek political dialogue.

Ivanov also emphasized that the two countries have a collective
security agreement.

Kyrgyzstan is one of five ex-Soviet Republics which in 1992 joined
Russia in a body called the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO). The others are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

In late 2001, the U.S. opened an air base near Bishkek as part of
the post-9/11 war against Islamist terror. Two years later, Russia
also established an air base in the country.

A Russian task force is there to provide air power for a contingent
of ground troops known as a rapid-reaction force. This group could
eventually total more than 5,000 troops from Russia, as well as from
other CSTO allies.

Earlier this week, Russian officials said the situation around the
airbase remained calm.

Akayev said on national television Wednesday the problems had to be
resolved through negotiation.

He rejected calls for his resignation and condemned the protests,
but said there could be a review of voting results in some regions.

The 60-year-old president has promised to leave office at the end of
his third term, in October. He has ruled the country of five million
people since independence in 1991.

Meanwhile, senior officials have threatened a clampdown. Speaking
shortly after police broke up protests in Bishkek, Keneshbek
Dyushebayev, the newly-appointed Interior Minister whose predecessor
was fired, said police may use live ammunition if necessary.

“Such methods will never be used against peaceful law-abiding citizens,
those who do not storm buildings and seize power,” he said.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for restraint, and the State
Department said it endorsed an OSCE call for immediate talks between
the government and the opposition.

Kyrgyzstan borders China, which has teamed up with Russia in the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an attempt to draw Central Asian
states into a regional security grouping.

China’s response to the crisis in Kyrgyzstan has been restricted to
calls for “peace, stability and development in Central Asia.”

IT’S PLANNED TO FUNDAMENTALLY REPAIR 7 CULTURAL CENTERS THIS YEAR IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, NOYAN TAPAN. It’s planned to fundamentally repair
7 cultural centers at the expense of the state resources in 2005
in Armenia. According to the Press Service of RA Ministry of Urban
Development, sum-total in the amount of 409.1m drams (nearly $800
thousand) will be allocated from the state budget for the purpose of
fundamental repairs of cultural centers. 130m drams out of this sum
will be allocated for fundamental repairs of 3 entities in marzes. To
recap, nearly $42m and $31m are necessary for repair and construction
of nearly 900 cultural centers in 2004-2008 in Armenia, respectively.
It’s planned to finance the repairs both from state resources and
with the assistance of international donor organizations. 60 houses
of culture have been repaired with financing of different sources
recently in Armenia.

New York Jewish Times, NY
March 22 2005

U.S. Charges 18 with Alleged Plot to Import and Sell Russian
Shoulder-Fired Missiles, Rocket Propelled Grenade Launchers, and
Other Weapons

(FBI) DAVID N. KELLEY, the United States Attorney for the Southern
District of New York, PASQUALE D~RAMURO, the Assistant Director in
Charge of the New York Office of the FBI, and RAYMOND W. KELLY, the
New York City Police Commissioner, announced the unsealing of a
complaint in Manhattan federal court charging 18 individuals with
various weapons trafficking offenses, including a scheme to smuggle
rocket propelled grenade launchers (~SRPGs~T), shoulder-fired
surface-to-air missiles (~SSAMs~T), and other Russian military weapons
into the United States for sale. In addition, the defendants are also
charged with conspiring to traffic in machineguns and other similar
assault weapons, and in fact sold eight such weapons during the
course of the investigation. The arrests are the result of a
year-long investigation that utilized a confidential informant (~SCI~T)
who posed as an arms trafficker selling weapons to terrorists. The
FBI~Rs investigation also included courtauthorized wiretaps on seven
different phones and interceptions of more than 15,000 calls.

Specifically, the 61-page federal complaint unsealed in Manhattan
federal court charges ARTUR SOLOMONYAN, CHRISTIAAN DEWET SPIES, IOSEB
KHARABADZE, JOSEPH COLPANI, and MICHAEL GUY DEMARE with conspiring to
transport destructive devices in interstate and foreign commerce. The
complaint also charges 13 other individuals with weapons trafficking
for their roles in supplying SOLOMONYAN and SPIES with machineguns
and other assault weapons, which were then sold to the CI.

The Complaint alleges that SOLOMONYAN and SPIES, with the help of
KHARABADZE, COLPANI, DEMARE, and other unidentified co-conspirators
were actively preparing to import RPGs, SAMs, anti-tank missile
systems, and other military weapons into the country from Eastern
Europe. The CI, it is alleged, had multiple conversations with
SOLOMONYAN and SPIES over the course of the conspiracy in which the
CI indicated that his clients were terrorists.

According to the Complaint, SOLOMONYAN and SPIES met with the CI on
several occasions in New York City to discuss the details of their
weapons deals, including in-depth discussions of the specifications
and prices of various weapons that the defendants could ship into the
United States. The Complaint alleges that, in June 2004, at a meeting
in New York City, SOLOMONYAN provided the CI with a list of weapons
for sale that included RPGs, stinger missiles, AK-47s, and claymore
mines. The Complaint also details numerous telephone calls between
the defendants discussing the inner workings of their plot to bring
weapons into the country. For example, the Complaint alleges that in
January 2005, SPIES spoke on the phone with COLPANI about providing
the CI with an RPG. According to the Complaint, as recently as late
January 2005, SOLOMONYAN discussed importing 200 RPGs from Armenia
for sale to the CI.

Most recently, in late February 2005, SOLOMONYAN and SPIES provided
the CI with digital photos of military weapons in Armenia that they
proposed to import into the U.S. for sale to the CI. The CI was given
the name of a Russian website, a user name, and a password in order
to access the 17 digital photos of the weapons. These photos, which
FBI forensics has determined were taken in late February 2005,
included such weapons as two SA-7b Strella Surface to Air Heat
Seeking Anti-Aircraft Missiles; a Russian AT-4 Spigot Anti-Tank
Guided Missile and Launcher; a 120 mm mortar launcher; Russian 73 mm
recoilless anti-tank guns; and fully automatic AK-74 and AKS assault
rifles, according to the Complaint.

SOLOMONYAN and SPIES were arrested last night after meeting one last
time with the CI to finalize their plans to travel to Eastern Europe
to arrange the importation of the military weapons. The FBI arrested
them before they could travel outside of the U.S. to obtain the
weapons. The FBI is currently working with Armenian and Russian
authorities to secure the weapons and to arrest the responsible
parties abroad.

According to the Complaint, while SOLOMONYAN and SPIES were actively
arranging the importation of the military weapons from Eastern
Europe, they also sold machineguns and assault weapons to the CI.
Utilizing the services of various weapons traffickers in New York
City, Los Angeles, and Florida, the defendants provided the CI with
eight weapons and conspired to sell the CI many more. As alleged in
the Complaint, each weapon was delivered by the defendants to storage
facilities rented by the FBI on the CI~Rs behalf. On several
occasions, SOLOMONYAN or SPIES was surveilled delivering the weapons
to various storage locations. Of the eight weapons, three were
delivered in New York City, three were delivered in Los Angeles, and
two were delivered in Fort Lauderdale. The weapons sold to the CI
include an SKS fully-automatic assault rifle; a Norinco Model NHM91;
an Israel Military Industries Model A Uzi; an Interdynamic Model KG-
9; a Norinco AK-47; a Norinco MA-90 Sporter; an AK-47 made by GN
Romarm SA/Cugir; and an AK-47, BA 36 0543, Arsenal, as well as two
conversion kits intended to convert both AK-47’s into fullyautomatic
machineguns.

SOLOMONYAN, 26, is an Armenian citizen residing in New York and Los
Angeles. SPIES, 33, a South African citizen, resides in New York.
KHARABADZE, 52, is Georgian and resides on the Upper West Side of
Manhattan. They, along with seven other defendants, will be presented
in Manhattan federal court. COLPANI, 53, and DEMARE, 50, both live in
Florida and were arrested there this morning.

Besides SOLOMONYAN, SPIES, COLPANI, and DEMARE, the other defendants
charged with weapons trafficking include: DMITRIY VOROBEYCHIK, 28, of
New York; NIKOLAI NADIRASHVILI, 25, of New York; LEVON SOLOMONYAN,
24, of Los Angeles; ALLAH MCQUEEN, 23, of New York; RAJAB CHAVIS, 25,
of New York; GAREGIN GASPARYAN, 28, of Los Angeles; MICHAEL JIMENEZ,
35, of Los Angeles; SHAWN JONES, 22, of New York; LEVAN CHVELIDZE,
28, of New York; VATO MACHITIDZE, 26, of New York; TIGRAN GEVORGYAN,
21, of Los Angeles; and ARMAND ABRAMIAN, 27, of Los Angeles.

The six individuals arrested in Los Angeles, and the two arrested in
Florida, will be presented in their respective federal courts and
then brought to New York to face the current charges.

As a result of the various charges in the Complaint, SOLOMONYAN and
SPIES each face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. COLPANI and
DEMARE face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and KHARABADZE
faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. The rest of the 13
defendants charged in the Complaint face a maximum penalty of 15
years in prison.

Mr. KELLEY praised the efforts of the FBI and the NYPD for their
handling of this investigation. Mr. KELLEY also expressed his thanks
to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and
Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their assistance in the
investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys BENJAMIN M. LAWSKY and MIRIAM E.
ROCAH are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and
the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an
accusation; the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven
guilty.

GERMANY’S POSITION HAS SERIOUS MOTIVE FOR SUPPORT TO DRAFT RESOLUTION
ON GENOCIDE OF ARMENIANS

YEREVAN, MARCH 18. ARMINFO. Draft resolution “Commemoration Day of
Armenians on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the masacre on
April 24, 1915 – Germany must promote reconciliation and peace between
Turks and Armenians” stresses the responsibilities of Imperial Germany
that arises from knowing of the events without trying to prevent them
German opinion can easily support this motion. Christoph Bergner MP,
the editor of the draft resolution on genocide, and President of the
German-Caucasian Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag, stated during
the interview to ARMINFO.

According to the deputy, in this connection the position of Germany
has serious grounds for supporting this draft. It is explicitly not a
resolution calling for the acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide
like the resolution adopted by the French Parliament, but a motion for
promoting dialogue and understanding both within Turkey and between
Turkey and Armenia. The evidence by now is as clear as it was 90 years
ago.

The archives of the German Foreign Ministry are open to all
researchers and have been so for over 50 years (cf. the statement of
the German ambassador to Turkey on March 12). These archives contain
well-known evidence for the events 1915-1916, because Germany being a
close ally of the Ottoman Empire had excellent information on all
proceedings within the Ottoman borders. The documents concerning the
Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire have even recently been
published on the internet, Christoph Bergner said.

Kommersant, Russia
March 17 2005

United States Intercepts Russian Missiles

// Arms smuggling

A huge scandal has flared up in the United States over illegal
shipments of Russian arms involving an international group of
smugglers. Yesterday the American authorities brought accusations
against 18 people, most of them natives of the former USSR. The
exposure of a network of smugglers offering weapons of every sort on
the American black market, from submachine guns and grenade launchers
to antiaircraft missiles, was the result of a unique, yearlong FBI
investigation.

At a press conference in New York, U.S. Attorney David Kelly gave the
details of this detective story, in which not only Russians,
Armenians, and Georgians appear, but also immigrants from South
Africa. According to Kelly, American special services succeeded in
uncovering and arresting an international band of smugglers headed by
Armenian Artur Solomonian and South African Christiaan Dewet Spies,
who are based in New York. Police captured both of them on Monday
night at a Manhattan hotel where the leaders of the criminal group
had arrived to approve the terms of a new deal with a potential buyer
who was an FBI informant.

According to Kelly, the mainly Russian arms smuggled into the U.S.
were acquired in Georgia, Armenia, and certain Eastern European
countries. It is a mystery how the arms landed safely in America
through three points at once – New York, Los Angeles, and Miami,
despite tightened border controls and unprecedented anti-terrorism
measures adopted by American special services in recent years. As
Kelly reported, before their arrest, the smugglers managed to sell
eight machine guns and other kinds of automatic weapons, including
AK-47’s and Israeli Uzis.

According to information in the American media, the smugglers were
exposed as a result of a yearlong special operation in which FBI
agents actively assisted their counterparts in Armenia, Georgia, and
South Africa. The investigators had tapes of 15 000 telephone calls
intercepted in recent months at their disposal, which gives an idea
of the scale of the operation. They were able to pick up the trail of
the criminal group after an informer of the American special services
reported his contact with people who had access to Russian-made arms
and wanted to sell them at a profit in the United States. At the same
time, the informer was shown photographs of pieces of military
equipment.

The ample opportunities available to the smugglers and the scale of
their operations are shown by the fact that, besides rifles, the
goods they offered included grenade launchers, antitank shells, and
shoulder-held antiaircraft systems. According to a report on the
American Fox News, the smugglers were expecting to get $2 million
just for homing missiles delivered to the United States. At the same
time, the New York Times in its version of the story wrote that the
unsuspecting Solomonian offered to sell the FBI informers enriched
uranium, which he claimed could be used in terrorists attacks in the
New York subway. However, the story that the smugglers had uranium
was subsequently not confirmed and was dropped. Kelly spoke of this
at his press conference yesterday.

If found guilty, Solomonian and Spies face a prison sentence of up to
30 years. The other accused could get from 5 to 20 years.

It is interesting that the scandal over Russian-made weapons,
including shoulder-held antiaircraft missile systems smuggled into
the United States, broke out soon after the summit of the presidents
of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and George Bush, in
Bratislava. Among other things, they discussed the sensitive topic of
trade in shoulder-held antiaircraft missile systems, in particular
the possibility of their ending up in the hands of international
terrorists. The American side had previously expressed its concerns
to Moscow more than once that this type of Russian weapon, which
could be used to carry out major terrorist acts, especially to shoot
down planes, might end up in the hands of `unreliable persons’. Then
new evidence appeared yesterday that the Americans’ concerns were not
unfounded.

by Sergey Strokan

International Journalist’s Network
March 14 2005

Journalism research is focus of Almaty seminar

Mar 14, 2005

Journalists in Kazakhstan can now apply for a training seminar on how
to conduct journalism-related research.

The Almaty office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) is organizing the seminar, and is accepting
applications until March 21.

Media experts from Armenia, Germany, Kazakhstan and Russia will lead
discussions on research methods. Kazakh journalists will also have
the chance to discuss their own experiences with colleagues.

Applications should include a short resume, contact information, and
a two-page essay on why the applicant wants to attend the program.
For more details (in Russian):

The event is tentatively scheduled for April 6 and 7, and a series of
follow-up training events will take place in regional cities
throughout Kazakhstan.

OSCE Center in Almaty:

Snowfall causes further road closures

The Messenger
Friday, March 11, 2005, #044 (0818)

News in brief:

According to Prime News, the road to Khevsureti is closed because
of heavy snowfall and the resulting danger of avalanches. The road
to the Armenian border is also closed in the Ninotsminda zone, as is
the Zugdidi-Svaneti road.

Also affected are the Batumi-Akhaltsikhe and the Georgian military
highway north of Gudauri

FORMER US AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIAN CALLED TO INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanArmenian News
March 11 2005

11.03.2005 03:12

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Harry Gilmore, the first American Ambassador to
Armenia, is the latest U.S. official to publicly acknowledge the
Armenian Genocide and call for international recognition of this
crime against humanity, Armenian Assembly of America reports. In an
interview with Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) this week,
the retired diplomat said, “There is no doubt that the Armenian
events were genocide~T. He also added that the crimes against the
Armenians fit the definition of genocide as determined by the UN
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.

OSCE envoy to visit Yerevan to discuss ceasefire breaches

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 11 2005

Baku, March 10, AssA-Irada

The OSCE chairman’s special envoy Anzhei Kaspshik is expected to leave
for Yerevan on Friday. During the visit, Kaspshik will extensively
discuss with Armenian officials ways of eliminating the tensions
caused by the persistent ceasefire violations on the contact line of
Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. Kaspshik recalled the commitments on
ceasefire assumed by the conflicting sides according to the Bishkek
protocol, saying that regular ceasefire breaches are unacceptable. He
voiced his concerns over the frequent ceasefire violations, considering
the intensifying peace talks. The OSCE chairman’s envoy added that
he had notified the OSCE Vienna office of the problem.

Armenia has frequently violated ceasefire on the frontline over the
last 20 days.*

TURKEY TO ACKNOWLEDGE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE SOONER OR LATER

YEREVAN, MARCH 7. ARMINFO. Turkey realizes that sooner or later it
will be forced to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, says presidential
advisor for national security Garnik Isagulyan.

But it is concerned for the possible consequences – particularly for
possible compensation,

Nevertheless Turkey will have to revise its policy on Armenia
especially considering its aspiration to join EU.

Europe realizes that the recogntion of the Armenian Genocide
is a guarantee against similar occurrences in the future. The
acknowledgement process is being encouraged by both Armenia’s
consistent foreign policy and Turkey’s intention to become part of
the civilized and democratic European family. All this is fostering
progress in the matter.

Armenia has repeatedly stated that it is ready to establish relations
with Turkey with no preliminary conditions and it is strange that
Turkey links this issue with Armenian-Azeri relations. “In fact Turkey
has fallen hostage to its own position and is well aware of it,”
says Isagulyan.