Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI CONFLICT OBSTACLE TO PEACE, STABILITY IN SOUTH CAUCASUS

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
July 11 2006

YEREVAN, July 11. /ARKA/. The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh is an obstacle to peace and stability in the South
Caucasus, the leading journalist of the "Bakinskiye Vedomosti"
(Baku Gazette), writer Alekper Aliyev stated at an international
conference "European integration as a factor promoting Nagorno-Karabakh
settlement".

The public in both countries is unwilling to accept the settlement
schemes being discussed by the negotiating parties, he said.

Aliyev pointed out that mutual mistrust between Armenia and Azerbaijan
is the most serious problem in the settlement process.

"Mutual demonization, growing military expenses and more frequent
violations of the cease-fire regime testify that the time for a
peaceful settlement is expiring," he said.

Aliyev expressed the conviction of an urgent need for setting a
barrier to mutual propaganda of hatred.

The conference has been organized on the initiative of the Caucasian
Center of Peace Initiatives under the "South Caucasian integration:
alternative start" project. The conference was held in cooperation
with the Analytical Center for Globalization and Regional Cooperation
and Fridrich Ebert Fund. Among the participants were over 20 experts,
political scientists, journalists, public and political figures from
Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, NKR, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. P.T.

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ARMENIAN SCHOOLS TO HAVE TWO TYPES OF FIRST FORMS IN 2006-2007 SCHOOLYEAR

YEREVAN, JULY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. It is planned to pass to 12-year
education in Armenian comprehensive schools in 2006-2007 schoolyear. In
this schoolyear the country’s schools will have at the same time
pupils learning by curricula of 10th, 11th and 12th forms.

As Norayr Ghukasian, Director of the Education National Institute,
informed Noyan Tapan correspondent, pupils having been admitted to
school until 2000 inclusive will learn and leave school by a 10-year
curriculum, in case of which the curricula and textbooks will not
change (7-10th forms of this year are meant).

Pupils having been admitted to school from 2001 to 2005 and those
to be admitted in 2006 having turned 6.5 will go to school 11 years
(2-6th forms of this year are meant).

This year schools will have simultaneously two types of first forms
– with age groups of children having turned 6.5 and 6 until 2006
December 31.

6-year-old children will learn by a 12-year curriculum and will finish
school in 2018 and 6.5-year-old children in 2017.

In the next, 2007-2008 schoolyear 2nd (for children having been
admitted to school at the age of 6.5), 3rd forms and above will be
renumerated: 2nd form at once becomes 3rd form, etc.

According to the Director of the Education National Institute,
those having been admitted to school in 2000 will finish school
in 2010 in a form renamed "11th." And those having been admitted
in 2001 will continue studying in a three-year senior school since
2009-2010 schoolyear and will leave school in 2012 in a form renamed
"12th." So, those having been admitted in 2000 will leave school in
2010 and those having been admitted in 2001 in 2012, so, in 2011 the
Armenian comprehensive schools will have no leavers.

COMMISSION TO ANNOUNCE WHAT CAUSED ARMENIAN AIRLINER’S CRASH

Armenpress

PARIS, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS: Russian transport minister Igor Levitin said
in Paris today a technical commission set up to investigate into what
could have caused an Armenian A-320 airliner to crash into the Black
Sea on May 3 morning will unveil its findings in very near future.

The Armenian A-320 airbus, owned by Armavia carrier, plunged into
the Black Sea near the Russian resort town Sochi killing all 113
people aboard.

Levitin was quoted by Russian RIA news agency as saying that the last
minutes of the flight were modeled in French Toulouse which produces
airbuses by a joint commission of Russian, French and Armenian experts,
based on the findings of the flight recorders.

Levitin said the flight simulation was the last stage in the
investigation. Now, he said, all available information should be
summed for drawing the final conclusion Levitin awarded also Russian
medals to French experts who were participating in a rescue operation
in Sochi. The awarding ceremony was held in the residence of Russian
Ambassador to France.

Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, DC
July 7 2006

IN KRASNOYARSK POLICE ARRESTS SKINHEADS WHO ATTACKED AN ARMENIAN
CITIZEN

(July 7, 2006)
The group of young people beat an Armenian citizen in Krasnoyarsk, in
end June.

"Yerkramas" newspapers of the Russian-Armenians, informed that
initially a criminal suit was instituted according to the article
#213 of RF Criminal Code envisaged for hooliganism. The adult leader
of the teens’ group accused of the crime represented himself as the
leader of the Krasnoyarks skinheads and motivated his actions by
national hatred. After the arrest, the Federal Court of Sovetskiy
district of Krasnoyarsk accused him of "stirring up national hatred
and hostility, according to the article # 282 of RF Criminal Code.
The case is being investigated at the Prosecutor’s Office of
Sovetskiy district.

ARMENIAN AND IRANIAN PRESIDENTS MEET TETE-A-TETE IN TEHRAN

Regnum, Russia
July 5 2006

Armenian and Iranian Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad have had a tete-a-tete meeting in Tehran.

Kocharyan’s spokesman has told REGNUM that the presidential rendezvous
was followed by full delegation meeting.

To remind, Kocharyan and a delegation comprising the foreign and
energy ministers, the head of the presidential staff, the ambassador
of Armenia to Iran and a number of officials went to Iran on a working
visit July 5.

During the visit the sides are to sign bilateral agreements. In
Tehran Kocharyan is to visit the tomb of the founder of the Islamic
Republic of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini. He is also to meet with Iranian
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, to visit the Embassy of Armenia
in Tehran and to meet with Tehran Armenians.

July 4 Armenian Energy Minister, Co-Chair of the Armenian-Iranian
Inter-Governmental Commission Armen Movsissyan and Iranian Oil
Minister Vazir Hamaneh and Energy Minister Parviz Fattah discussed
the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline project, as well as the project to lay
the third high-voltage power transmission line between the countries.

They also discussed a number of energy cooperation programs.

BAKU: "KARABAKH CAN BE RETURNED ONLY PEACEFULLY, BY APPROBATION OF KARABAKH ARMENIANS"

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.07.2006 14:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Azerbaijan cannot return Karabakh by force and we
do not have and will not have power to rebuff the Russian-Armenian
alliance," political scientist Hikmet Hajizade told the Zerkalo
Baku newspaper. His conviction is that "Karabakh can be returned
only peacefully, by approbation of Karabakh Armenians." As of NKR
referendum, the scholar noted that inclusion of that referendum into
the framework agreement is a big defeat of the Azeri diplomacy.

"Even if Azeri leaders manage to refuse from signing a peace treaty,
the referendum issue will loom in all other peace settlement plans
in the future," Hajizade said.

He reaffirmed the 2006 will not be the year of settlement of the
Karabakh issue. "By the highest standards it is not a conflict
between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but that between Azerbaijan and the
Russian-Armenian alliance, even between West and Russia. If Azerbaijan
agrees to OSCE conditions, luckily for us, under the pressure of Russia
Karabakh and Armenia will refuse that plan. In its turn the West want
to fight against Russia instead of us. The Karabakh peace may occur,
when the West and Russia settle their global discrepancies, one of
which – not the most important one – is Karabakh," Hajizade emphasized.

The political scientist also considers that the West wishes to conclude
the Karabakh peace as soon as possible for "continuing pumping out
energy resources of Azerbaijan and using the territory for strategic
goals. For the sake of that objective they are ready to support any
unfair peace. Some groups in the West are trying to present the affairs
as if Karabakh is not an occupied, but a disputed territory. They say
Abkhazia and Ossetia are Georgian lands, but Karabakh is a totally
different case," he said.

DAVIT HARUTIUNYAN HAS UNSETTLED PROBLEMS

Lragir.am
06 July 06

Commenting on his July 5 statement about active engagement in politics,
the minister of justice Davit Harutiunyan stated July 6 that he is
not likely to set up a political party. "At least now.

If I have such plans, I will tell." Every word by Davit Harutiunyan
arouses suppositions. For instance, Davit Harutiunyan stated several
months ago that he is not going to affiliate with any political
party. He announced today, "This statement does not mean that my
intention is going to be the same forever. I may become member of a
political party. I may not be." Davit Harutiunyan presently declines
to specify possible and impossible parties.

It is a fact that I am going to become engaged in politics, and
there are different ways of doing politics, says the present minister
of justice. Davit Harutiunyan does not fear ending up like Artashes
Tumanyan. "As a minister, a minister does politics. I am doing politics
now." According to him, there cannot be members of parliament who do
not belong to a political party and ministers who do not represent
the policy of a political party.

"I still have unsettled problems. These problems make considering
engagement in politics. It is wrong to stop halfway. I cannot insist
that my interests are confined to the sphere of justice, however first
of all I have unsettled problems in this sphere," announced Davit
Harutiunyan. My steps will be for the sake of the Republic of Armenia.

CENTRAL BANK OF ARMENIA TO ISSUE COINS DEDICATED TO CHESS PLAYERS

Armenpress
Jul 3 2006

YEREVAN, JULY 3, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Central Bank said it was
planning to issue memorial coins with a nominal value of 10,000 Drams,
dedicated to the victory of Armenian men chess players at the 37-th
Chess Olympiad in Italian Turin.

The Armenian team visited last weekend the resort town of Dilijan
in Tavush province where they were granted the title of its honorary
citizens. The local municipality has also donated land plots to each
chess players and the Armenian Chess Federation.

TWO ARMENIAN BOYS STABBED IN MOSCOW

Armenpress
Jul 3 2006

MOSCOW, JULY 3, ARMENPRESS: Moscow police are looking for unidentified
assailants who beat up and stabbed two Armenian boys in the Moscow
Underground, Russian news agencies said quoting a source in Moscow
law enforcement services.

It said the Armenians were attacked on July 1 afternoon. Both were
taken to hospital with knife wounds. The assailants escaped. Reports
from the Russian capital said also a Kazakh citizen, a student taking
an advanced training course at the Military Engineering Academy,
was attacked and stabbed in Moscow on the same day. A police unit
dispatched to the scene found out that the Kazakh had been attacked
and stabbed by ten assailants, four of whom were young women. The
injured Kazakh citizen was hospitalized.

His life is not in danger," a source in Moscow police told Interfax
on Sunday.

"The assailants, all of them aged 17-18, fled," the source said. On the
same day, officials at a city hospital informed police that two Uzbek
citizens had been admitted to a hospital with multiple stab wounds.

"Police officials later found out that the two were attacked and
stabbed on Saturday evening in southwestern Moscow. The assailants
fled," the police said.

The victims are in grave condition, police officials said. More than
100 attacks incited by nationalistic hatred have been recorded in
Russia since the beginning of the year, officially about two dozens
of them ended in deaths of the victims.

In most cases, the attacks are committed by so-called skinheads,
activists of a nationalistic youth movement.

‘DO NOT DAMAGE’
By Karine Asatrian

Source:
Yerkir.am
July 01, 2006

The Azeri delegation to the CoE Parliamentary Assembly is trying to
include two issues into the PACE agenda. The first issue is the massive
fires in territories adjacent to Nagorno Karabagh. The second issue
is "illegal settlement of Armenians" on the same territories. Azeris
are convinced they will succeed. Member of the Armenian delegation
to the PACE Armen RUSTAMIAN answers A1+’ s questions.

Q: The Azeris state that PACE delegates support them. Have you felt
such an attitude towards the Azeris?

A: I would not say so but I can say that some delegates who are not
familiar with the Karabagh issue listen to the Azeris propaganda. This
is the main goal of Azeri propaganda: to present distorted facts at
forums where there are no procedures for checking the validity of
presented information. In other words, they address the audience of
delegates who do not take the trouble to examine the issue in detail
and can easily be influenced by emotional statements.

Meanwhile, the nature of Karabagh conflict is such that if you do not
know the substance of the conflict the arguments put forward by the
Azeris seem to be more trustworthy, especially that no discussion of
such issues as what were the causes and what consequences, who is to
blame for them are never discussed at such forums. Azerbaijan uses
this opportunity to launch its propaganda.

Q: The Karabagh settlement process is regulated through the OSCE
Minsk Group. Why is Azerbaijan using its propaganda machine in the
Council of Europe?

A: The logic is the same. At the Minsk Group we have truly detailed
and deep discussions. OSCE has been dealing with this issue for a long
time and this is why it knows the issue at a much deeper level. This
is why the Azeris try to transfer discussion of the issue to the
parliamentary level.

The hearings at the CoE Parliamentary Assembly are rather weak in
this respect. When it comes to the actual resolutions the issue is
transferred to the Minsk Group with the understanding that if you deal
with an issue you have to take it seriously rather than discussing
it through committee sessions. You cannot avoid emotional outbursts
in committee discussions and propaganda techniques and naturally the
decisions taken do not always adequately reflect the substance of
the discussed issue.

Q: Does this mean that you consider creation of a sub-committee
dealing with Karabagh issue in the PACE would be useless?

A: No, I believe that if the goal of such a sub-committee is set as
assisting rather than hindering the activities of the Minsk Group,
then yes, Council of Europe can be involved in this issue.

Q: OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs stated today that they believe intensive
mediation mission does not make sense as long as the presidents of
the two countries do not show adequate political will to overcome
their disagreements. Do you think a settlement of the conflict is
possible without mediators, as some political analysts suggest?

A: There are different ways of conflict settlement and only one
of them is acceptable for Karabagh and I think this one has been
smoothly working for a long time. Starting from scratch and trying
to use alternative methods might not work with this conflict.

Of course, I am not against using all elements and approaches known
in conflict studies that would complement each other contributing to
the settlement of the conflict. The logic is the following: every
new interference should answer one question – does it hinder the
existing settlement process or not? " Do not damage", this is the
correct starting point.