Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

MULTISTAGE SETTLEMENT-SCHEME OF KARABAKH CONFLICT AND FORMULA
“TERRITORIES FOR SECURITY” MORE REALISTIC THAN OTHERS: FORMER RUSSIAN
CO-CHAIRMAN OF OSCE MINSK GROUP

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19. ARMINFO. The multistage settlement-scheme of
Karabakh conflict and the formula “territories for security” are more
realistic than others, writes the former co-chairman of OSCE Minsk
Group on resolution of Karabakh conflict, Ambassador Vladimir
Kazimirov in a new article published on the web-site of Regnum News
Agency.

He said that Baku will not be able to adopt the status of Nagorny
Karabakh demanded by Armenians in the “package,” it is necessary to
leave it for the best time. “At the first stage, it is necessary to
start release of the region outside the borders of Karabakh in
exchange for return compromises. But first of all, a number of issues
must be made clear,” Kazimirov says. In his words, return of the
territories requires, first of all, a guarantee that military actions
will not be resumed (in the course of the negotiations of 90s, a
number of guarantees were on question, in particular, deep
demilitarization of the liberated territories for the whole period
before determination and granting the status to Karabakh). “If anyone
plans to make the returned territories a base for military actions, it
is also naivety. The territories will be released only in case of a
system of guarantees with a large international component,” Kazimirov
writes. That is why the threats to resolve the conflict in any way are
counter-productive, he writes. However, Kazimirov thinks that there is
much shorter way to withdraw the troops, quite an opposite way,
i.e. serious commitments of the parties to settle any disputable
issues, including the status of Karabakh, by exclusively peaceful
means. Then “security zone” will not be necessary either.

According to the Ambassador Kazimirov, Nagorny Karabakh itself is a
special point. Demanding withdrawal of troops from there is possible
only together with the native population. The persistence of Ilham
Aliev in this issue is perceived only as a requesting position. If the
parties really seek for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, they
should recognize Karabakh both the subject and the object of the
dispute. In the essence, the whole world recognizes this fact, except
the parties, Kazimirov says. It is necessary to search for a new
border, and it is impossible without Stepanakert. Protraction of this
issue means protraction of withdrawal of the troops. It is time for
the parties to stop the dispute around the circle of the negotiation
participants. The more so as the resolution of OSCE Summit in Budapest
(1994) has not been cancelled, Kazimirov says.

He writes that the Azerbaijani leadership put the main stress on the
force resolution on the conflict and not on the negotiations. He says
that the reasons of the reconciliation are quite other: the result of
military failure of Azerbaijan on the one hand, an opportunity to
avoid a collapse of the power, on the other hand.

There are still so many issues waiting for agreements between the
parties, that one fails to declare the successes of 2004. They are too
insignificant in this background, Kazimirov writes for conclusion.-m-

US envoy hails Armenian peacekeeping mission to Iraq

Mediamax news agency
18 Jan 05

YEREVAN

“US-Armenian relations are at a very good level and are getting better
day by day,” the US ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, said in Yerevan
today.

The US diplomat said this in his address to today’s ceremony of
dispatching an Armenian peacekeeping contingent to Kuwait from where
the Armenian military experts will go to Iraq in two weeks’ time.

“US-Armenian cooperation in the security field is developing very
positively,” John Evans noted. The ambassador said that the
participation of Armenian servicemen in the operation to stabilize the
situation in Iraq would help strengthen US-Armenian ties in the
security field.

Mideast stock shots – minus war and tyranny

REVIEW

Newsday (New York)
January 14, 2005

BY ARIELLA BUDICK, STAFF WRITER

Third World faces, battered by war and disaster, gaze out of the pages
of the daily newspaper. Their pain is palpable, yet far away, a distance
shaped by differences of dress and culture as well as a sheer quantity
of miles. Our vision of the Arab world, and particularly Iraq, is now
shaped by images of destruction. Pictures of ruined homes, blown-up cars
and wailing civilians are now the principal filter through which we can
understand this part of the world – or so it seems.

The Grey Art Gallery means to issue a corrective to this skewed view of
the Middle East with a show of 20th-century portraits taken in Lebanon,
Egypt and Iraq. These formal, serious images offer a different panorama
of that part of the world. The people staring seriously into the lens
are neither random victims of violence nor grateful recipients of
international largesse, but individuals self-consciously confronting the
camera with unruffled dignity.

The exhibit’s two organizers, Walid Raad and Akram Zaatari, both
contemporary artists, collaborated with a Beirut-based photo archive
called the Arab Image Foundation to assemble a wide range of indigenous
images.

Most striking is a wall of some 4,000 ID photos by Antranik Anouchian
(1908-1991), a Turkish-born Armenian immigrant whose studio was in
Tripoli, Lebanon. Taken for passports, licenses, permits and the like,
these portraits offer a kind of random cross section of Tripoli society.
Oddly, though, Raad and Zaatari have mounted them into a mammoth mosaic
that wipes out the singularity of the separate faces. It’s a curious
echo of the Western media’s take on the Middle East, in which individual
dramas are subsumed into larger stories of war, devastation and tyranny.

The same kind of generalization takes place in another section of the
exhibit devoted to group photos of Iraqi and Egyptian policemen and
soldiers, produced between 1920 and 1940. Rather than simply mounting
and framing these rather prosaic graduation pictures, Raad and Zaatari
have chosen to display them, one after another, in a looped video. Here
it is the changing fashions in uniform design and hairstyle that one
notices rather than the specific faces, which tend to blend into one
another. A 1927 group of graduates sports fezzes. Another group looks
much more Western, dressed in Colonial khaki.

What we see here is different from the usual newspaper fare, but hardly
seems less dehumanizing. Another group of pictures, taken by the Sidon,
Lebanon-based itinerant photographer Hashem el Madani, shows an array of
interchangeable vacationers at the beach, all in bathing suits and
virtually identical poses. What stands out is the formulaic quality of
the shots, the way each person becomes a stock character in a generic
depiction of leisure.

Madani began shooting Sidon’s citizens in 1948, a turbulent year that
saw the founding of the state of Israel and an influx into Lebanon of
large numbers of Palestinian refugees. Yet these photos convey few hints
about the political or social context in which they were taken. Unlike
contemporary news images, these pictures are about nothing but
themselves. Their eloquence is muted by conventionality.

WHEN & WHERE: “Mapping Sitting: On Portraiture and Photography, a
Project by Walid Raad and Akram Zaatari” will be on view through April 2
at Grey Art Gallery, New York University, 100 Washington Square East,
Manhattan. For exhibition hours, call 212-998-6780 or visit

,0,6906765.story?coll=nyc-enthome-museums

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone 212.319.6383 x.118
Fax 212.319.6507
Email [email protected]
Website

PRESS RELEASE

Thursday, January 13, 2004

AGBU-SUPPORTED KARABAKH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PERFORMS FIRST OFFICIAL
CONCERT

New York, NY – Last month, the AGBU-funded Karabakh Chamber Orchestra
(KCO) presented its first official concert in Stepanakert, the capital
of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. Performing along with the State
Choir of Karabakh, the December 10, 2004 event was a landmark occasion
for the three-month old orchestra.

Gevork Muradian, Artistic Director and Conductor of KCO, traveled to
Stepanakert with a dozen musicians from Yerevan in September 2004 to
form the ensemble. Including several graduates of the Karabakh music
college among their ranks, the KCO began rehearsals on September 10th.

“After a month’s rehearsals the first performance took place on
October 8 in Stepanakert on the occasion of the 83rd General Assembly
of AGBU. Karabakh President and high-ranking officials attended the
concert. We were very warmly and enthusiastically received by the
people of Karabakh, which means that classical music has its audience
in Karabakh. Moreover, people were approaching our musicians after the
concert asking them to listen to their children’s musical abilities
and teach them. Two violinists and one violist already teach in the
music school of Shushi. New classes of viola and cello will be opened
in the Stepanakert musical college next year,” Muradian explained to
Armenia’s Aravot daily in a December 3rd interview.

Muradian elaborated that, in addition to AGBU funds, KCO receives
support from the Karabakh government. In the spring, KCO will travel
to Yerevan to perform in the Armenian capital and later to various
regions of Armenia for additional concerts.

Established in 1906, AGBU () is the largest Armenian
non-profit organization in the world and has been at the forefront of
promoting and preserving the Armenian heritage around the world. In
addition to the KCO, AGBU also financially supports the Armenian
Philharmonic Orchestra.

Early morning duplex fire kills former U. professor

The Salt Lake Tribune
1/10/2005

By Jason Bergreen

A three-alarm fire ripped through a Salt Lake County duplex early
Sunday, killing one man and causing the evacuation of the neighboring
family.

Inside the home was Leonardo Alishan, 53, a poet and former University
of Utah professor. Friends of Alishan were at the charred home Sunday
and said Alishan lived there alone. His family is traveling to Utah to
make funeral arrangements, said Zorheh Aminian, whose husband was a
close friend of Alishan’s.

The fire started about 2:30 a.m. in the basement of the duplex and
caused about $200,000 in damage, Unified Fire Authority Capt. Greg
Reynolds said. Alishan’s remains were recovered about 10 a.m. The cause
of the fire is under investigation.

Fire crews arrived at 7274 S. Ponderosa Drive two minutes after
neighbors smelled smoke and called 911, Reynolds said. After forcing the
front door open, firefighters saw smoke and noticed the floor was
unstable – one firefighter’s foot went through the floor when he tried
to enter – but saw no flames.

A second attempt was made to enter through the back door, but it was
quickly abandoned when firefighters noticed thick, black smoke near the
floor and felt intense heat – an indication a “flash over” was about to
occur, Reynolds said.

`That’s when everything in the room hits its ignition temperature at
once,’ he said. `Everything catches fire.’

No firefighters were injured in what Reynolds described as a `slow
explosion.’

A few minutes later the first floor collapsed into the basement,
Reynolds said.

`The whole level’s gone,’ he said.

Crews were able to extinguish the fire by about 4 a.m. The blaze also
caused minor damage to a nearby unit.

Alishan was originally from Tehran, Iran. He came to the United States
for graduate studies in 1973 and taught at the University of Utah from
1978 to 1997, including courses on Persian literature and comparative
literature, according to the Lynx Magazine Web site. He received
distinctions as a professor twice, Aminian said. He received a faculty
fellow award from the University of Utah for the 1994-1995 school year.

Alishan published two books of poetry. The first of which, “Dancing
Barefoot on Broken Glass,” was published in 1991. “Through a Dewdrop”
was published in 2002.

Tribune reporter Michael Westley contributed to this report

The Jamestown Foundation
Wednesday, January 5, 2005 — Volume 2, Issue 3
EURASIA DAILY MONITOR

IN THIS ISSUE:

*Yerevan agrees to add troops to Polish force in Iraq
*New Islamic terrorist group emerges in Tajikistan
*As tensions increase with West, Russia must look to China for allies
*New documentary implicates Russia in second attempt to murder Yushchenko

————————————————————————

ARMENIA TO DEPLOY TOKEN CONTINGENT TO IRAQ

On December 24, the Armenian parliament approved a symbolic deployment
of Armenian military personnel as part of the U.S.-led coalition in
Iraq. The vote was 91-23, with one abstention, after a seven-hour
closed session late into the night. A last-hour switch by the
opposition National Unity Party of Artashes Geghamian ensured the wide
margin for passing a deeply unpopular decision, made palatable to the
public by the token size of the troop commitment. The Armenian
Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutiun, a component of the governing
coalition, voted against the deployment, as did the opposition Justice
bloc.

Technically, the parliament was voting to ratify Armenia’s signature
on the Memorandum of Understanding with Poland — lead country of the
multinational force in south-central Iraq — on the deployment of
Armenian personnel with that force. Armenia is the nineteenth country
to become a party to that Memorandum.

The Defense Ministry has announced that the Armenian contingent is
ready for deployment as of January 5, but has not made public any
specific date for actual deployment. The ministry had adumbrated that
possibility with Washington as well as with the Armenian public since
late 2003, but it has taken more than a year to put it into
practice. The uncertainty and delays have inspired remarks that Poland
might withdraw from Iraq before the Armenians ever arrive, thus
rendering any Armenian deployment moot.

The parliament also approved the Defense Ministry’s concept of sending
46 personnel to Iraq for one year. The group consists of: two
officers, one signals specialist, 30 drivers, ten sappers, and three
medical doctors with civilian specialties. Armenian personnel are not
to participate in combat, but only in humanitarian activities. They
are also barred from any joint actions with Azerbaijani troops in
Iraq. The Armenian group will deploy without equipment, and Yerevan
will only pay the soldiers’ base salaries. Coalition forces in the
theater will provide the equipment, and the United States almost all
the funding for the Armenian group.

Defense Minister Serge Sarkisian is the prime mover behind this
mission, not only in the military but also in the internal political
arena. Sarkisian argues that Armenia cannot afford to stand aside and
risk forfeiting U.S. goodwill at a time when Azerbaijan and Georgia
are present with troops in Iraq (and elsewhere) to support the United
States. Sarkisian’s political statements obliquely suggest that the
Iraq deployment would raise Armenia’s standing in Washington, mitigate
what he terms “discriminatory” treatment there, and earn a title to
more favorable consideration of Armenian interests in the
region. Without publicly alluding to the Karabakh issue in this
context, Sarkisian has hinted that he expects Washington to lean on
Turkey to open the border with Armenia, as one of the possible
quid-pro-quos for the deployment to Iraq (Armenian Public Television,
December 25; Noian Tapan, December 27).

Somewhat more defensively, Prime Minister Andranik Margarian argues,
“Armenia’s presence [in Iraq] is primarily symbolic and for political
purposes” (Haiastani Hanrapetutiun, December 25). The government in
Yerevan rejects any characterization of the mission as a “military
presence,” terming it instead a “humanitarian presence.” This line
reflects concern for the group’s safety in the dangerous environment
of Iraq, as well as seeking to mitigate the domestic political fallout
from the deployment decision. Armenian public opinion surveys are
showing less than 10% approval of the mission and more than 50%
disapproval. Cutting across the political spectrum is the view that
Armenia’s presence alongside the United States would expose Iraq’s
Armenian diaspora community to reprisals from insurgents. That
community, currently estimated at nearly 30,000, is concentrated
almost entirely in the insurgency-plagued Sunni area.

(Mediamax, Armenpress, Noian Tapan, PanArmenian News, December 23-30).

–Vladimir Socor

TAJIKISTAN OFFICIALS FAIL TO APPREHEND KEY MEMBER OF BAYAT

On the night of December 25-26, 2004, law-enforcement officials in
Tajikistan attempted to apprehend a member of the Islamic terrorist
organization Bayat, Ali Aminov, in the village of Chorku, Isfara
district, Sogdy oblast (northern Tajikistan). Law-enforcement agents
had received a tip that Aminov was hiding in his sister’s house. At
approximately 1 am a police task force surrounded the house and
attempted to storm the compound to apprehend the terrorist. However,
the occupants responded with armed resistance and the standoff soon
deteriorated into full-blown armed confrontation. The police task
force retreated under heavy fire and called for backup. A special
forces regiment arrived by 4 am. Upon entering the house, the members
of the special forces team encountered resistance from Aminov’s
relatives. Aminov himself managed to escape through a secret passage
(Vecherny Bishkek, December 29).

The first indications of Bayat’s existence (“bayat” means “a vow” in
Arabic) appeared in the press in April 2004, when Tajikistan’s special
services apprehended 20 members of this organization in the Isfara
oblast of northern Tajikistan. The suspects were accused of carrying
out several aggravated criminal acts that were motivated by racial and
religious hatred. The group was charged with the January 2004
assassination of the head of the Baptist community in Isfara, Sergei
Bessarab, as well as torching several mosques that were headed by
imams, whom the terrorists believed had exhibited excessive loyalty to
the ruling regime. According to the Office of the Prosecutor-General
of Tajikistan, the suspects resisted arrest and searches of their
houses, carried out by law-enforcement officials, turned up hidden
arms caches.

Bayat is not affiliated with such outlawed organizations as
Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HUT) or the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU),
which are better known in the region. Nor does Bayat maintain any
links with the only legally functioning Islamic organization: the
Party of Islamic Revival of Tajikistan. According to some sources, the
Bayat activists are Tajik citizens who previously had fought on the
side of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, and some of them are now
imprisoned at the American military base in Guantanamo, Cuba. A
connection between Bayat and the IMU should not be ruled out, however,
because IMU militants have been known to operate in the Fergana
Valley, and they also fought along side the Afghan Taliban members
(see EDM, May 3, 2004). Currently Bayat is trying to spread its
influence to neighboring countries. Thus, a branch of the Bayat
movement was recently opened in Osh, Kyrgyzstan (Vecherny Bishkek,
December 29).

Isfara is a very special region in Tajikistan. The population there is
more religious than in other regions of the country. In July 2002 the
President of Tajikistan, Imomali Rakhmonov, visited the city of Isfara
and stated that three citizens, who were originally from the Isfara
region and who had fought on the side of Taliban, were being held at
Guantanamo. Furthermore, the Party of Islamic Revival of Tajikistan is
particularly strong in the Isfara region. In the 2000 parliamentary
elections, the majority of this region’s population voted for the
Party of Islamic Revival. Moreover, in the main Islamist enclave —
the village of Chorku — 93% of the votes cast were for the Party of
Islamic Revival (Forum18.org, May 27, 2004). In a sense, Chorku,
albeit to a lesser degree, resembles the Islamist enclave in the
village of Karamakhi in Dagestan, which was destroyed by Russian
troops in 1999. For example, both villages strictly prohibited alcohol
consumption and required women to wear veils while in public. The
centers of public life are mosques, and the imams adjudicate and
resolve all disputes in accordance with the Sharia law.

The Islamist enclave in Isfara region is dangerous also because of its
geographic location. Isfara is located in the Fergana Valley section
of Tajikistan, only a few kilometers from the Uzbek and Kyrgyz parts
of the Fergana Valley. The Valley is widely considered to be one of
the most potentially volatile areas in Central Asia. In 1989
anti-Jewish pogroms took place in Andizhan (Uzbekistan), which led to
the exodus of the Jewish population from that city. That same year,
inter-ethnic clashes between Uzbeks and Meskhetian Turks broke out in
the Uzbek city of Fergana, which resulted in 150 casualties and the
mass exodus of Meskhetian Turks from Uzbekistan. In 1990 inter-ethnic
clashes between local Uzbeks and Kyrgyz claimed 320 lives in Osh
oblast (Kyrgyzstan). Furthermore, all the leaders and the majority of
the militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan are originally
from the Fergana Valley. The addition of another militant group will
hardly calm the region.

–Igor Rotar

RUSSIA AND CHINA: DO OIL AND WEAPONS MAKE A MARRIAGE?

Russo-Chinese relations in 2004 were not all sweetness and light.
Moscow’s destruction of Yukos and preference for a Japanese rather
than a Chinese pipeline in Siberia put severe pressure on Chinese oil
supplies, because Yukos was China’s main Russian oil supplier and
Chinese demand for energy is exploding. Thus shortages or supply
failures seriously injured China’s economy and led to public muttering
about Russia’s unreliability. However, as Russia’s ties to the West
worsened in late 2004, it had no choice but to turn back to China and
find a solution that entailed guaranteeing Beijing more access to
Russian energy supplies.

To overcome their bilateral tensions in energy, the two governments
have arrived at a four-part solution.

First, Russian firms will participate in joint construction of nuclear
power plants with China, and they will build a thermal power plant at
Yimin and Weijiamao (RIA-Novosti December 21).

Second, efforts are underway, apparently with Kazakhstan’s support, to
involve Russian companies in the current project of laying a pipeline
from Kazakhstan to China. There are also discussions about sharing
energy from the Kurmangazy oil field (RIA-Novosti, December 22). This
would create another avenue by which Russian energy supplies could go
to China.

Third, because no pipeline is currently available, Russian railroads
will transport up to 30 million tons of energy to China by 2007,
beginning with 10 million tons in 2005. While the railroads could
handle freight up to 50 million tons, that is their maximum, and a
pipeline would have to be built to carry annual amounts of 50 million
tons or more. This railway shipment program thus represents a
tripling of current oil shipments to China by 2007, from the existing
level of 10 million tons annually (Itar-Tass, December 24).

Finally, Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that the China
National Petroleum Company (CNPC) might be invited to take part in the
production of Yuganskneftgaz, which was the main production unit of
Yukos. Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko has indicated that
CNPC might gain as much as a 20% ownership of the new company that is
to be owned and managed by Gazprom. Beijing would thus be able to
recoup the energy that was going to China before Yukos was destroyed
(Kremlin.ru, December 21; Reuters, December 30).

While the Yukos affair has incurred much criticism abroad and will
reduce the efficiency of Russia’s energy companies, soliciting Chinese
participation represents an effort to mollify Beijing and give the
deal a patina of legitimacy. Ironically, it represents a major policy
reversal from 2002, when xenophobic protests derailed earlier Chinese
efforts to buy into Slavneft. Thus, this deal also signifies Russian
efforts to come to terms with the rise in Chinese economic power that
clearly fueled huge anxieties in the Kremlin.

But the rapprochement with Beijing goes beyond energy supplies to
encompass defense issues as well. Russia and China will hold
bilateral army exercises in China during 2005 that will apparently
test the new Russian weapons that are also going to China
(Nezavisimoye voyennoye obozreniye, December 17). These exercises
will be “quite large” and involve not only large numbers of ground
forces but also state-of-the-art weapons, navy, air, long-range
aviation, and submarine forces to provide interaction with Chinese
forces (Itar-Tass, December 27). These exercises, particularly on the
planned scale, are unprecedented and mark an expansion of both Russian
and Chinese military diplomacy to encompass greater interaction among
their militaries.

Russian arms sales to China faltered in 2004 because China demanded
only the most advanced weapons while Russia insisted on the extension
of existing contracts for the supply of weapons (RIA-Novosti, December
20). This dispute prompted China to press harder for the termination
of the EU embargo , but with only limited success. While the
possibility of renewed EU arms sales to China must alarm Russian arms
dealers who cannot survive without selling China weapons systems,
China still must rely on the Russian market for now because of the
strong American opposition and threats to the EU if it lifted
sanctions (Russian Business Monitor, December 22; Vedomosti, December
20; RIA-Novosti, December 20; NTV, November 8, 2004). Thus during
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov’s visit to China in December,
agreements were hammered out upgrading the scope of Russian arms sales
to China. These agreements include delivery of Su-30MK2 fighters and
licensing the assembly in China of Sukhoi-27SK aircraft for the
Chinese Navy (Itar-Tass, December 13). Thus in 2005 Russia will sell
24 more Su-30 planes to China (Itar-Tass, December 13; Russian
Business Monitor, December 22). Other big deals involving Ilyushin-76
Candid transport planes, Ilyushin-78 Midas aerial tankers, and engines
for China’s Super 7 and Super 8 planes are also being discussed
(Interfax-AVN Military News Agency, December 24).

Paradoxically, these deals reveal the existing tensions in
Sino-Russian relations as well as the efforts to overcome them. China
wants state-of-the-art weapons that Russia, for obvious reasons, is
not prepared to sell, but Beijing still cannot generate sufficient
leverage to push Moscow to sell those weapons. However, in the energy
sector Beijing can induce Russia to live up to existing contracts,
sell energy to China, and even invite it into some form of equity
ownership in Russian energy firms. This may not be the ideal solution
for China, but it shows that while Chinese economic power is clearly
growing, it still cannot compel Russia to comply with Chinese demands
in defense economics. Nor is it entirely clear that this energy deal
will eventually work out to China’s benefit, given the atavistic fears
of Chinese economic power in Moscow. While Russo-Chinese relations
may have reached “unprecedented heights,” according to Presidents
Putin and Hu Jintao, closer examination suggests that the mountain
that both sides are still climbing remains a rocky one.

–Lionel Martin

DETAILS EMERGE OF SECOND RUSSIAN PLOT TO ASSASSINATE YUSHCHENKO

As Viktor Yushchenko prepares for his inauguration as Ukraine’s third
president, he knows that Ukraine-Russia relations will be one of the
most difficult issues he faces. The Economist (December 29) advised
Yushchenko, “to kiss and make up with Russia and Vladimir Putin, who
backed Mr. Yanukovych and has thus been humiliated by his defeat.”
Such reconciliation will be far easier said than done. Russia is
reportedly behind two attempts on Yushchenko’s life, one through
poisoning and a second with a bomb. Yushchenko alluded to the latter
plot when he said, “Those who wanted to blow myself up did not
undertake it, because they came too close and could have blown
themselves up” (Ukrayinska pravda, December 16).

While details of the poisoning are better known, evidence of the bomb
threat has only just come to light in a documentary on Channel Five, a
Ukrainian television station sympathetic to Yushchenko. Details aired
in the weekly “Zakryta Zona” (Closed Zone) documentary, under the
suitable title “Terrorists” (5tv.com.ua/pr_archiv/136/0/265/).

During last year’s election campaign a still-unexplained bomb
detonated in Kyiv, killing one person and injuring dozens more. The
Kuchma government blamed the Ukrainian People’s Party (UNP), a member
of Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine bloc, for the attack. Explosives were also
planted during searches of the offices of opposition youth groups. The
Security Service (SBU) and Interior Ministry (MVS) have now admitted
that charges of “terrorism” against the UNP and youth groups were
false (Ukrayinska pravda, December 16; razom.org.ua, December 23).

According to Channel Five, the real terrorists were the authorities,
conspiring with the Russian security services (FSB). It would be naive
to believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin was unaware of the
plot. An illicitly transcribed telephone conversation, cited at length
in the “Zakryta Zona” documentary, between a Ukrainian informant and
an FSB officer showed how the Russian authorities were fully aware of
the dirty tricks being used by Russian political advisors working for
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. The “advisors,” such as
Gleb Pavlovsky and Marat Gelman, worked with Yanukovych’s shadow
campaign headquarters, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Andriy
Kluyev. Presidential administration head and Social Democratic United
Party (SDPUo) leader Viktor Medvedchuk served as Gelman and
Pavlovsky’s principal contact. The taped conversation reveals that
Gelman and Pavlovsky considered assassination to be a legitimate
campaign strategy. The FSB officer on the tape specifically discusses
the poisoning of Yushchenko.

The bomb attempt may have been conceived after the poison failed to
kill Yushchenko before election day. Plans for the bomb attack were
discovered when a spetsnaz unit of the State Defense Service (DSO) was
sent to investigate a burglar alarm. The alarm went off near one of
the three offices used by the Yushchenko campaign. The DSO noticed a
car with Russian license plates and asked the two occupants for their
documents. After a check of their Russian and Ukrainian passports
revealed them to be false, a search of the car’s trunk found three
kilos of plastic explosives, enough to destroy everything within a
500-meter radius.

Both passengers were arrested and a subsequent investigation unmasked
them as Mikhail M. Shugay and Marat B. Moskvitin, Russian citizens
from the Moscow region. Their only contact in Moscow had been a
certain “Surguchov” who had hired them in September for the bombing
operation against Yushchenko and his ally, Yulia Tymoshenko. The
terrorists were to receive $50,000 after the bomb plot was
completed. After smuggling the explosives through the
Russian-Ukrainian border, both FSB operatives set up a safe house in
the village of Dudarkiv, 15 kilometers from Kyiv. A search of these
premises found pistols, radio equipment, and bomb-making instructions.

The plot thickens with additional taped telephone conversations played
in the “Zakryta Zona” documentary. These conversations were made by
the SBU during the elections and handed over to Yushchenko after round
two. Kluyev is heard discussing with unknown individuals the
whereabouts of Yushchenko’s office and where the leadership of the
Yushchenko camp meets. The documentary’s producers believe that
Kluyev sought this intelligence to pass on to the Russian
assassination team, so that bombs could be placed to murder not only
Yushchenko, but also other members of his team, such as Tymoshenko.

Increasing evidence points to Russian involvement in Yushchenko’s
poisoning. In December Yushchenko’s doctors in Vienna concluded that
he had, in fact, been poisoned by TCDD, the most toxic form of
dioxin. His dioxin level was 6,000 times higher than normal and the
second highest recorded in history. Alexander V. Litvinenko, who
served in the KGB and the FSB before defecting to the United Kingdom,
has revealed that the FSB has a secret laboratory in Moscow that
specializes in poisons. A former dissident scientist now living in the
United States, Vil S. Mirzayanov, reported that this institute studied
dioxins while developing defoliants for the military. (TCDD was a
component of Agent Orange.) SBU defector Valeriy Krawchenko also
pointed to this FSB laboratory as the likely source of the dioxin that
poisoned Yushchenko (New York Times, December 15).

Yushchenko has alleged that the poisoning took place during a
September 5, 2004, dinner at the home of then-deputy SBU chairman
Volodymyr Satsyuk, a member of the SDPUo. This again reveals the
involvement of Medvedchuk and Russian political advisors working for
Yanukovych. Not surprisingly, Satsyuk and Kluyev have hurriedly
abandoned their government positions to return to parliament, where
they enjoy immunity.

Russia’s involvement in two terrorist attacks in Ukraine, a poisoning
and bombing, make a mockery of Putin’s alleged commitment to work
alongside the United States in the international war on terrorism.

–Taras Kuzio

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Associated Press
Jan 6 2005

Orthodox set to celebrate Christmas

MIKE ECKEL

MOSCOW – The head of Russia’s Orthodox Church offered blessings and
prayers on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas Thursday, noting in his
traditional holiday greetings that 2004 was a difficult year for
Russia

Patriarch Alexy II also addressed Christians worldwide and people of
other faiths, saying “Let us work together for the sake of peace and
the prosperity of our peoples.”

Christmas falls on Jan. 7 for Orthodox Christians in Russia and other
Eastern Orthodox churches that use the Julian calendar instead of the
16th-century Gregorian calendar adopted by Catholics and Protestants
and commonly used in secular life around the world.

The top U.N. official in Kosovo, Soren Jessen-Petersen, called upon
Serbs, who are largely Orthodox Christian, to use this period to
“make special efforts to reach out to all, regardless of their views
and backgrounds.”

Kosovo was placed under U.N. administration in 1999, following NATO’s
air war aimed at stopping the Serb forces crackdown on
independence-seeking ethnic Albanians.

In the former Soviet republic of Armenia, worshippers lit candles and
attended services to mark the holiday and President Robert Kocharian
and other top government officials attended services at the
Echmiadzin Cathedral outside the capital, Yerevan.

Pope John Paul II also offered his “cordial wish of peace and joy in
the Lord” to “the brothers and sisters of the Eastern Churches which
are celebrating in these days Holy Christmas.” Jan. 7 is celebrated
in the Catholic church as Epiphany.

The Russian patriarch referred in his greetings to the string of
terrorist attacks that struck Russia including the August crash of
two airliners, and the September hostage-taking at the school in
Beslan where some 340 people died, nearly half of them children.

“Flouting everything that is holy in their impious madness,
terrorists raised their hands against children. The deaths of
innocent victims has become our common grief and filled our hearts
with pain and sorrow,” he said.

“But at the same time, the horrible tragedy has shown that moral
ideals are alive in the people: facing death, many people manifested
high examples of sacrificial love for their neighbors, laying down
their lives for their friends, as the Holy Scripture says,” the
patriarch said.

The patriarch also met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the
Kremlin. Putin spoke at length about the humanitarian aid and the
rescue efforts Russia has provided to Asian countries devastated by
the Dec. 26 tsunami.

“I want to again wish you a Merry Christmas, happiness and health to
you and all the Orthodox Christians, to all the people who will be
observing this holy holiday,” Putin told the patriarch.

The Messenger, Georgia
Dec 31 2004

Problems and prospects of the Georgian economy
By M. Alkhazashvili

In spite of certain positive changes in the Georgian economy, 2004
did not witness a major breakthrough in the economic fortunes of
Georgians. This year, hopefully, will emerge as a prelude to economic
progress. Only after a new tax code is adopted, financial amnesty is
put in place and large-scale privatization enacted can we judge the
new administration’s economic policy. But this will happen only in
2005.

The first achievement of 2004 is the better administration of
budgetary revenues and the fulfillment of budget parameters. The
state budget was not cut for the first time in years and extra
revenues were even brought in. This allowed the government to pay
pensions and salaries and even increase pensions by a few laris. In
addition, old salary and pension debts from past years were paid off.

There were also certain achievements in combating smuggling into the
country.

However, there were also negative aspects, including the fact that
budget fulfillment was not the result of new enterprises starting up
or the development of business and trade, but rather due to better
administration of revenues and the confiscation of money from former
high-ranking officials in the fight against corruption.

The Rose Revolution authorities unfortunately did not possess a well
thought out economic program upon coming to power. They did not know
what to do or how. The preparation and adoption of the new tax code
and law on financial amnesty took almost one year and this
uncertainty created a feeling of instability for business in the
country and led businessmen to act very conservatively. Shootings in
South Ossetia did not help to attract investors either.

However the tax code and amnesty law are now ready and both will come
into effect in the near future. Although both have their critics, it
is hoped that they will have a positive impact on the economy. The
Georgian authorities proudly declare that the new tax code will be
the best among former Soviet Union countries. It will be the most
liberal, and the lower tax rates should encourage local business to
become more active.

Expectations are high, then, that 2005 will bring the economic growth
and greater prosperity that largely failed to materialize in 2004, a
year in which the population’s socio-economical conditions actually
worsened due to the increase of consumer prices.

On top of price hikes, the strong showing of the Georgian lari
inhibited the purchasing capacity of many Georgians who receive
assistance from relatives abroad or save money in dollars. Prices
also went up on goods coming in from neighboring countries due to
stricter control at Georgian border points and shutting down of many
smuggling routes.

Unemployment also increased dramatically, as the state discharged
tens of thousands of people from government jobs. For instance, about
20,000 people were dismissed from law-enforcement structures (such as
the police, traffic police and so on) alone.

Altogether the number of unemployed persons in the country increased
by around one hundred thousand people. Among them were many who
welcomed and even supported the Rose Revolution. Today, these people
are not only skeptical, but actively oppose the current
administration.

Furthermore, the increased value of the lari made it more difficult
for Georgia to export its goods, while the tense situation with
Russia also had a negative impact on the nation’s export capacity, as
the former Soviet Union still remains the biggest export market for
Georgia.

In 2005, however, the first stage of the privatization process
declared by former minister of economy Kakha Bendukidze will go
forward and the money acquired will be spent to fill the budgetary
gaps. It is also envisaged that foreign investments should finally
start flowing into Georgia.

The biggest event of the year, though, will be the start of operation
of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, to be followed by the
beginning of construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum natural gas
pipeline. Direct economic results from these two pipelines will be
seen in the coming years, when the natural gas pipeline in particular
should secure Georgia’s energy security.

President Saakashvili has promised to pay more attention to the
development of transport infrastructure, which will undoubtedly
contribute to the significance of Georgia as a transit country as
well as the development of the economy more generally.

Specifically, a 90-kilometer road in the West Georgian region of
Samegrelo will be built, while the government intends to start in the
near future construction of a highway traversing the country from the
Red bridge (on the Georgia-Azerbaijani border) to Poti (on the Black
Sea coast). The first stage of this project will go from Tbilisi to
Khashuri.

Also being planned is the rehabilitation of the Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki
railway, which will make it easier for the Samtskhe-Javakheti region
to transport its goods into Tbilisi and further integrate this
primarily ethnic Armenian region into the Georgian state. A new
Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki highway is to be built as well.

2005 should be a decisive year from the standpoint of economic
development. This is the promise of the current administration and
Georgian society hopes that their dreams will be realized: on the
achievements of the next twelve months, or lack of them, hang the
success of the current administration and the future development of
the country.

President Saakashvili visits ethnic Armenians in southern Georgia

Imedi TV, Tbilisi
28 Dec 04

[Presenter] During his visit to Akhalkalaki [town in southern Georgia
with a large ethnic Armenian population] today, which lasted just
about 30 minutes, the president managed to find time to visit two
local families. Mikheil Saakashvili unexpectedly called on an ethnic
Georgian and an ethnic Armenian family and personally gave them New
Year presents. [Passage omitted]

[Saakashvili, interviewed] Unfortunately, as you know, my predecessor
[Eduard Shevardnadze] would only meet local activists in the function
room. He seemed to think that there was no need to visit people. As
for me, I am more interested in ordinary people than in activists. I
take interest in specific people and their problems.

Next year we are starting the implementation of a big project, the
construction of the Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki road. This, naturally, cannot
be completed within a year. We are thinking of starting it some time
in the autumn. We have already secured funding for that. It will be
one of the main projects of my presidency.

This region needs to be integrated and linked to the main transit
routes, to the capital of Georgia. People should be able to move about
more. They should be able to sell their produce somewhere else and be
integrated into Georgia both economically and politically. [Passage
omitted]

Caucasus Environmental NGO Network
(CENN)

75 Electronic Bulletin:
Caucasus Environmental News

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electronic bulletin – Caucasus Environmental News have been funded by
the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

We are happy to inform you that current number of CENN members
constitutes of 8577!
Thanks for your interest in CENN!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Announcements
1.1. DIUC press release
1.2. EIA Report of the Project on “Silicomanganese Experimental
Producing Plant in Kutaisi” by `M&Comlany’ Ltd
1.3. EIA Reports Submitted to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia

2. News from Georgia
2.1. Exxon spurns BP’s pipeline in favour of trains
2.2. Bendukidze lashes out at forestry department head
2.3. BTC costs increase
2.4. RTRS-Italy’s Banca Intesa quits BTC oil pipeline project
2.5. BTC construction preserves
2.6. BTC backer looks to sell shares
2.7. BP and British council announce successful scholarship candidates
2.8. Additional funds for protection of oil pipeline Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan

3. News from Azerbaijan
3.1. US company to ship oil from Azerbaijan via Georgian ports
3.2 Seminar on involvement of NGOS in state program on poverty reduction

3.3 Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources denies conjecture of
Russian expert
3.4 Shah-Deniz field rich in gas condensate resources
3.5 SOCAR spent $50 mln for `Shah-Deniz’ project
3.6 Detained poacher has wounded employee of Ministry of Ecology and
Natural Resources
3.7 SOCAR thinks Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline may be 11 % over budget
3.8 BP, TNK-BP discuss Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipe

4. News from Armenia
4.1. Premier hopes for “changes in region” as Iran-Armenia gas pipeline
launched
4.2. OSCE Office awards journalists for reporting on environmental
issues in Armenia
4.3. Climate change: A disappointing start for the clean development
machine
4.4. EU aids Armenian gas network In Metsamor closure hope
4.5. United press Int’l: Energy watch
4.6. SLZ company to invest about $1.5 mln in Vanadzor chemical plant in
Armenia
4.7. Human rights and environment
4.8. By the end of 2004 Sanir Company to announce tender for
subcontractor work on Armenian section of Iran-Armenia gas pipeline

5. NGO News
5.1. Major private backer pulls out of embattled BP oil pipeline
5.2. CENN launches Environmental trainings/workshops
5.3. Community center opens in Gyumri

6. International News
6.1. Environmental scandal threatens ABN AMRO’s Caucasus oil pipeline
6.2. Kazakhstan signs agreement to prevent spread of bioweapons

7. New Publications
7.1. New book: “Ecological Agriculture and Rural Development in CEE
Countries’
7.2. Follow the money
7.3. Culture of secrecy enforced by repression

8. Calendar (International)
8.1. II International seminar on Mountain Tourism
8.2. Regional Civil Society Meetings towards the 6th Global Civil
Society Forum (19-20 February 2005, Nairobi, Kenya)
8.3. Ecological Impact Assessments: Science and Best Practice

SUBSCRIBING INFORMATION

1. ANNOUNCEMENTS
1.1. DIUC PRESS RELEASE

Dear All,

DIUC Press Release covering the latest information on our BTC Monitoring
is available on the following address:

Sincerely yours,

Razi Nurullayev
Co-chair of Society for Democratic Reforms
Demokratik Islahatlar Ugrunda Cemiyyet (DIUC)

Deputy-chairman on Foreign Affairs of Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan

Mailing Address: AZ 1117, house 11/103, kvartal 5057-68,
Bilajari Settlement, Baku, Azerbaijan
Tel/fax: (+994 12) 449 88 00; 436 18 40
Mobile: (+994 50) 323 70 24
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]

1.2. EIA REPORT OF THE PROJECT ON “SILICOMANGANESE EXPERIMENTAL
PRODUCING PLANT IN KUTAISI” BY `M&COMLANY’ LTD

Source: `Sakartvelos Respublica’ (`Republic of Georgia’), December 9,
2004

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, `M&Comlany’ Ltd. submitted
EIA report to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia to obtain an
environmental permit for the activity of first category –
Silicomanganese Experimental Producing Plant in Kutaisi.

EIA report is available at the press-center of the Ministry of
Environment (68, Kostava str., VI floor) and at the Department of
Environmental Permits and State Ecological Expertise (87, Paliashvili
Str., Tel: 25 02 19). Interested stakeholders can analyze the document
and present their comments and considerations until January 25, 2004.

Public hearing will be held on January 25, 2004 at 12:00, at the
conference hall of the Ministry of Environment.

1.3. EIA REPORTS SUBMITTED TO THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT OF GEORGIA

Source: `Sakartvelos Respublica’ (`Republic of Georgia’), December 23,
2004

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, `Simba’ Ltd. submitted EIA
reports to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia to obtain an
environmental permit for the activity of first category – Acid Starter
Accumulators Producing Enterprise in Tskaltubo, Maglaki Village.

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, `Procredit Bank’ submitted
EIA reports to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia to obtain an
environmental permit for the activity of second category -Planned
Functioning of the Heater and Diesel Generator on 154 David
Agmashenebeli str., Tbilisi.

EIA reports are available at the Service of Environmental Permits and
Licensing of the Ministry of Environment of Georgia at the following
address: 15 A Tamarashvili str., Tbilisi. Interested stakeholders can
analyze the document and present their comments and considerations until
February 8, 2005.

Public hearing will be held on February 8, 2005 at 12:00, at the
conference hall of the Ministry of Environment of Georgia 68 A Kostava
str., VI Floor, Tbilisi. Tel: 36 45 41.

Service of Environmental Permits and Licensing of the Ministry of
Environment of Georgia

2. NEWS FROM GEORGIA
2.1. EXXON SPURNS BP’S PIPELINE IN FAVOUR OF TRAINS

Source: The Times, November 25, 2004

After billions of dollars and billions of headaches, BP’s mammoth
project to pipe oil from the Caspian to the Mediterranean is almost
complete but ExxonMobil will not use it. It is too expensive, the
Americans say. ExxonMobil is ignoring BP’s new pipe and, instead, has
chosen to export its Caspian oil via rail tankers to a Black Sea port.

BP was quick to insist that Exxon’s decision would not hurt the
economics of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) link. Exxon speaks for 8% of
BP’s Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli offshore Caspian oilfield but the American
penny-pinching is as much a political embarrassment as a financial blow
to BP.

A decade ago Washington threw its diplomatic weight behind a project
that was once dismissed as foolish and dangerous: a 1,760-km steel pipe
linking oilfields offshore of Baku to a Turkish Mediterranean port.
Passing through the troubled Georgian republic and skirting Armenia, BTC
is a political statement as well as infrastructure: a route for Central
Asian oil to reach Western markets without touching Russian soil.

The American oil giant confirmed that it had signed a five-year contract
with Azpetrol to ship 10 million tonnes of oil by rail from Baku to
Batumi. “There was a cost issue and we signed with Azpetrol for
competitive reasons,” said an Exxon spokesman.

The complexity of Caucasian politics has dogged the BTC project, which
has also had to end off campaigning by environmental groups determined
to make an example of BP’s project. The pipeline rises from sea level to
2,800 metres and passes through national parks.

2.2. BENDUKIDZE LASHES OUT AT FORESTRY DEPARTMENT HEAD

Source: The Messenger, November 26, 2004

Minister describes plans for rehabilitating tourist infrastructure and
removing IDPs from hotels

Minister of Economic Development Kakha Bendukidze hit out at the Head of
the Forestry Department Bidzina Giorgobiani over disagreements between
the two regarding the privatization of Georgia’s forests.

Although Mr. Giorgobiani said in an interview with the media that
government members had been able to come to an agreed view regarding
forestry reform at lat week’s government session and that there were no
longer any questions on the issue, Bendukidze told the media on Monday
November 22, 2004 that `it seems Mr. Bidzina has forgotten that he is
working at the government.’

`The government has not yet made any decision with regard to forestry
reform. When Mr. Giorgobiani talks about the `government view’, he means
the view of him and his deputy,’ the minister said.

`The forestry department is a part of government and it is the
government which is responsible for making decisions on this issue,’ the
minister added.

Mr. Bendukidze says that the position of his ministry is to be maximally
careful in creating new state owned enterprise with new functions, such
as looking after the forests.

`As a rule, state owned enterprises are badly managed and a source of
corruption. If we want to create a joint stock or limited company
someone should write a special plan concerning its functions. Creating
some kind corporation does not mean that the problem is solved,’
Bendukidze said.

Also on Monday the minister addressed the issue of the possible transfer
of Trade Union property to the state, property that includes numerous
hotels throughout the country that are currently inhabited by IDPs.

Mr. Bendukidze said, ‘There is no talk of Trade Union property being
transferred to the state. We are saying that there are very many hotels
and sanitariums in the ownership of the Trade Union, where over 11, 000
refuges are living. That is why we agreed to create a special fund that
will be called the Fund for Developing Resorts.’

According to the minister, ‘the National Fund for Developing Resorts
will be charge of management the hotels and sanatoriums, developing the
tourist infrastructure and removing the refugees from these building,’
adding that some of assets under the ownership of the Trade Union will
also be included in the fund.

`The Trade Union expressed the desire to finish rehabilitating some of
these assets and the National Fund will provide funding for the
realizations of their aims,’ he said.

He said that Tkhaltubo and Borjomi regions would be the main
beneficiaries from this process.

`Tskhaltubo as a resort town is `dead’, as over 6000 refugees are living
in the sanatoriums located there. We should do something with regard to
these people. So we are moving to a new mechanism of managing the
property and we have also offered this to the Trade Union,’ said Mr.
Bendukidze.

2.3. BTC COSTS INCREASE

Source: The Messenger, December 1, 2004
Interfax, November 29, 2004

Major Oil Company choose rail transit via Batumi over pipeline

According to President of State Oil Corporation of Azerbaijan (SOCAR)
Natik Aliev, the 1760-km Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is 99% complete.
USD 3 billion has already been spent on its construction and Aliev says
that costs are set to exceed expectations by around 5-6%.

Speaking at a press conference on November 25, 2004 Aliev said that the
BTC pipeline will cost more than had been planed. The project cost was
initially estimated at USD 2.95 billion, but USD 3 billion has already
spent and the pipeline has not yet entered operation.

`Overall project costs are $3.6 billion, allowing for $200 million to
pay for oil and other expenses,’ Aliev said as quoted by Interfax, `Now
we think those expenses will rise by $300-350 million. But we want to
allow for other costs as well, and think overall project costs will rise
to $4 billion. However the actual cost will only be known once the work
has been finished.’

In Tbilisi, BTC said they had always expected price fluctuations in the
course of the construction.

As part of construction of the pipeline, BTC must purchase roughly 10
million barrels of oil to keep it filled during the operation.

As for the reason of the price increase, Aliev said there is a mix of
natural and outside causes. `The main one is that construction has
fallen behind schedule. Talks between government and banks are
protracted, and the noise created by NGOs has taken into toll,’ he said.
Construction delays could push the cost of the BTC pipeline up to $4
billion, said Aliev.

`Construction firms have been forced to idle, and the dollar has
weakened we made all our cost estimates in dollars and a lot of
equipment has been purchased in Europe. So their are natural causes for
the increase in costs,’ Aliev said, nothing optimistically that the
pipeline has almost been completed.

A more serious issue emerged last Wednesday when ExxonMoblile announced
that it had signed a five-year contract to export 10 million tons of oil
from the Caspian `s Batumi Oil Terminal.

`ExxonMobile and AzPetrol signed an agreement in November to pump its
first volumes of oil by rail from Baku to Batumi,’ ExxonMobil’s
spokeswomen in Azerbaijan, Leyla Rzakuliyeva, said as quoted by Agence
France Press.

AFP reported that the decision `is likely to irritate Azeri
authorities,’ who have already lost Lukoil from the BTC project because
of its high cost.

Although ExxonMobil signed the `deal of the century’ in 1994, the
company has for the time being pulled out of the pipeline because of a
conflict over fees.

Responding to ExxonMobil’s announcement, SOCAR’s Aliev explained, `There
has been friction.’

`This is a consequence of Exxon not having been able to come to a
consensus with BTC concerning the concerning the tariffs,’ Aliev said as
quoted by AFP.

Despite these unexpected problems, the 1760-km -445-km in Azerbaijan
245-km in Georgia and 1070-km in Turkey – is sill expected to begin
operating in May 2005.

2.4. RTRS-ITALY’S BANCA INTESA QUITS BTC OIL PIPELINE PROJECT

Source: Reuters, December 1, 2004

Italy’s Banca Intesa <BIN.MI> confirmed on Wednesday that it had pulled
out of an international syndicate financing the BP-led
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline project. “We confirm the sale of
part of our investment and we are in addition negotiating with several
parties for the complete sale of our position,” an Intesa spokeswoman
said.

She did not give a reason for the decision.

Earlier the Baku-Ceyhan Campaign, a group opposed to the BTC, said the
bank, a member of the syndicate that has signed off a $1 billion
financial package for the pipeline, had quit the project and had already
sold part of its $60 million share.

The BTC that is expected to become operational early next year, will
link Azerbaijan’s oilfields to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan,
providing a direct outlet for Caspian oil to European markets. But
several environmental and human rights groups comprising the Baku-Ceyhan
Campaign say the project will be disastrous for the fragile ecology of
the Caspian and will not benefit the region’s population.

“This extraordinary move shows just how widespread concerns about the
safety of BTC now are,” said Greg Muttitt of Platform, a member of the
Baku-Ceyhan Campaign.

The oil companies and lenders argue that the one million barrels per day
(bpd) BTC is key to unlocking the impoverished region’s economic
potential.

They say the pipeline conforms to the highest environmental standards.

2.5. BTC CONSTRUCTION PRESERVES

Source: The Messenger, December 8, 2004

The construction of the Georgian segment of the BTC pipeline is
scheduled to be finished by March 2005 and despite two recent business
setbacks for the overall pipeline construction in Georgia is
progressing.

After the completion of the Georgian section the pipeline in Turkey must
also be completed and then filled with oil. As soon as BTC begins
operating, construction will begin on the parallel Shah-Deniz natural
gas pipeline project. The implementation of the both projects is of
vital political and energy security spheres.

Although the pipeline is nearing completion – Natik Aliev, head of the
State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), told reports in
late November, `We expect the Azerbaijani section to be launched in
January and the Georgian section in March,’ problems have also surfaced
in the overall business plan.

At the same press conference, Aliev announced that construction costs
have increased over preliminary estimates. He noted, ‘Turkey assures us
that its section will be ready by the end of March, although BTC
shareholders are a little pessimistic.’ Also in November, a British
parliamentary committee held a hearing relating to the pipeline’s safety
standards, though little new revelations or accusations were made.

More serious business issues are that last week one of the largest
Italian banks – Banca Intesa announced it was selling its share in the
financing of the pipeline. The Financial Times reported that the bank
was selling hits stake at a loss from the original loan amount. Another
setback came when ExxonMobile announced it was signing contracts to ship
crude oil by rail over next five years. Thus skirting the BTC. UK’s
Sunday Times described the move as `American penny pinching’ that `is as
much a political embarrassment as a financial blow to BP.’

But despite these setbacks, they cannot hinder the successful completion
of the pipe. A solid core of investors – and governments – are keenly
interested in its operation and price increases can be easily defrayed
thanks to the high price of crude in the world market.

In Georgia, the president of GIOC (Georgian International Oil
Corporation) Nika Vashakidze tells the paper Rezonansi that BTC
construction has played an important role in developing the Georgian
economy. Most of the investments have already been made in connection to
the project he states; adding that new jobs were created and a variety
of Georgian companies were involved in its construction.

The operation of BTC will also deliver budgetary revenues and increased
global importance of Georgia. Once the sister pipeline Shah-Deniz starts
pumping natural gas to Turkey via Georgia, the country will
significantly strengthen the security of its natural gas supply system.
According to current calculation Azeri natural gas could reach Georgia
by the end of 2006, thus giving Georgia a viable alternative to Russian
Gazprom supplies.

2.6. BTC BACKER LOOKS TO SELL SHARES

Source: The Messenger, December 9, 2004

The Financial Times reported on Thursday, December 2, 2004 that the
Italian Bank Banca Intesa has sold part of its interests in financing
BTC pipeline, and is in talks to sell the remainder of its USD 60
million stake in the project.

`We can confirm to you the sale of part of our investment in the BTC
project,’ the bank said in a statement in response to questions from the
FT. `We are, in addition, negotiating with several parties the complete
sale of our position.’

The bank, Italy’s largest in terms of assets, declined to name the buyer
due to confidentiality reasons.

The Ft also wrote `Banca Intesa had expressed concerns about the
pipeline sealant. Executives from the bank sought a meeting with Derek
Mortimer, the whistleblower who highlighted potential problems with the
sealant in an independent report for BP.’

Once the BTC is put into operation, a group of banks, which would have
included Banca Intesa, was to take over financing of the project. The
remaining syndicate members are ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Credit
Agricole, HVB, ING, Royal Bank of Scotland, Societe Generale and WestLB.

2.7. BP AND BRITISH COUNCIL ANNOUNCE SUCCESSFUL SCHOLARSHIP CANDIDATES

Source: The Messenger, December 17, 2004

On December 16, 2004 BP Georgia and the British Council announced the
selection of their candidates for a new international scholarship
program, targeting leaders in a wide range of study fields from
businesses to media.

The Bp-funded program, launched in October, will send 10 students to
study Masters level courses in the UK for a period of 12 months. The
British Council will manage this program that received more than 250
applications alongside the UK government’s Chevening scholarships
program.

The announcement follows BP’s recent commitment to a new social
investment program for Georgia, through which – in consultation with the
Georgian government – it will invest US $10 million in arrange of
projects covering areas such as education and healthcare.

Head of BP Georgia, Wref Digings says: `This scholarship program is part
of our commitment to successful, long term relationship with Georgia. It
is the first step in our education program that is set to expand to
include other long distance learning opportunities for Georgians. It
also fits well with BP’s global emphasis on the role of education in the
development of enterprise and civil society.’

Jo Bakowski, Director of the British Council in Georgia, adds: `WE have
been managing scholarship programs for the more than 10 years and they
are one of our most important activities, clearly demonstrated by the
achievements of our alumni. The candidates selected fort the BP program
are of similarly high standard and have shown how their studies could
contribute to positive change in Georgia.’

The fields covered by the scholarship are: banking, finance and
economics (including insurance); business studies; management
(agriculture, education, energy, health and transport); human rights;
law; media; social and political studies; built environment (includes
architecture, urban planning and design); and international relations
and diplomatic studies.

For further information on program, please visit the British Council
website at:

2.8. ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR PROTECTION OF OIL PIPELINE BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN

Source: Sarke, December 20, 2004

The draft of the budget-2005 envisages disbursing of 30.9 million lari
to the special state protection service, what exceeds the financing
volume of the current year by 56%. The Finance Ministry explains the
volume has been increased due to the funds, directed to protection of
the oil pipeline Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, which launches in 2005.

2.9. BTC: NO NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FINANCING

Source: The Messenger, December 22, 2004

British Petroleum and its partners in the Baku- Tbilisi- Ceyhan (BTC)
pipeline project will not ask international financial institutions for
an extra loan to cover the 10% increase of the project cost, BP
Azerbaijan President David Woodward said at a press conference in Baku
on Tuesday, December 21, 2004. The shareholders borrowed USD 2.6 billion
from foreign credits this February. Mr. Woodward said they borrowed more
than needed, so an extra loan was unnecessary. He said the stakeholders
would bear any extra expenses.

Projects like BTC always imply a 10-15% change from the initial estimate
and the increase of the Baku- Tbilisi- Ceyhan pipeline project cost does
not go beyond that, Mr. Woodward said.

He said over 90% of work had been done in the Azerbaijani sector of the
pipeline, over 85% in the Georgian section of the pipeline and 85% in
the Turkish sector.

2.10. NEW YEAR’S TREES SOLD AT 4 AUTHORIZED LOCATIONS

Source: The Messenger, December 23, 2004

Akhali Taoba reports that the Head of the Forestry Department Bidzina
Giorgobiani together with the newly appointed Premier of Tbilisi Temur
Kurkhuli made a statement concerning the sale of the New Year’s trees
all over the city.

According to them, because of the coming New Year, the fir-trees are
being sold everywhere without any control. `We ask regional
administrations, president’s representatives and the policy service to
strengthen their control over this issue,’ the authorities.

`The sale of the New Year’s trees will be allowed only at four locations
– on the territory of the Sports Palace, near Vake Hospital No: 9, near
Akhmeteli theater and near Varketili metro,’ stated Mr. Giorgobiani at a
press conference on December 21, 2004.

As it was said at the press conference, the Patrol Police as well as
their employees will jointly control the situation there, in order to
prevent the theft of these threes and there ban the illegal cutting of
trees. The purchase of the New Year’s tress will be possible from
December 25 until December 31. Mr. Giorgobiani also said that for every
illegally cut tree, distributors will face a minimum fine of GEL 10.

3. NEWS FROM AZERBAIJAN
3.1. US COMPANY TO SHIP OIL FROM AZERBAIJAN VIA GEORGIAN PORTS

Source: RIA Novosti, November 29, 2004

The US ExxonMobil subsidiary, Exxon Azerbaijan Ltd., has made a deal
with the Azerbaijanian Azpetrol Holding on shipping part of its oil from
Azeri and Guneshli (Azerbaijan) deposits via Georgian seaports.

Novosti-Georgia reports with reference to a press release of the US
company that according to the agreement, oil is to be shipped along the
Baku-Batumi (Georgia) railway in the amount of ten million tons during
five years.

Despite being a participant in the project to develop sea oil deposits
Azeri-Chyrag-Guneshli, ExxonMobil at a time did not find it necessary to
become a shareholder in BTC Co. that builds the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
pipeline. For this reason, ExxonMobil is considering all possible
options for exporting oil from Azerbaijan, including the northern
(Russian) route of the Baku-Novorossiisk oil pipeline.

Oil pumping through the BTC pipeline will cost $3-odd per barrel on the
average. But these tariffs will only be applicable to the companies that
participated in constructing and financing the oil pipeline as
shareholders of the BTC company. Other companies wishing to transport
their oil through BTC will have to pay more.

Azpetrol Holding shipped over 15 million metric tons of oil and oil
products via the South-Caucasus transport corridor when it began
operating (2001). In 2003 alone, this company transported 4,045,656
metric tons of oil and oil products along the Baku-Batumi route.

3.2. SEMINAR ON INVOLVEMENT OF NGOS IN STATE PROGRAM ON POVERTY
REDUCTION

Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
December 2, 2004

Seminars under the project `Assistance in Intensification of Local NGOs
in the State Program on Poverty Reduction and Economic Development in
the Azerbaijan Republic in 2003-2005′.

During these seminars organized by representatives of local NGOs,
municipalities, the participants were updated on the work done among
youth and efforts towards directing the activities of local communities,
allocation of micro credits.

3.3. MINISTRY OF ECOLOGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES DENIES CONJECTURE OF
RUSSIAN EXPERT

Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
December 15, 2004

The press-service of the ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of
Azerbaijan has distributed a message containing refutation of
conjectures of the Russian expert I. Zonn, announced by him in the
report `Caspian Is One of Hot Points of the World’ with which he has
addressed the 10th Conference of the sides of the Frame Convention of
the United Nations on change of climate in Argentina. In the message, it
is stated that consequences of wreck of ferry “Mercury” with 16 tanks
onboard, sunk in October 2002 at coast of Azerbaijan, within the nearest
1-2 years will lead to ecological catastrophe, is nothing but cheap
propagation. Periodically conducted, including with participation of
foreign experts, monitoring has not revealed on present time of any
traces of outflow of oil.

Making comments on the far-fetched facts, I. Zonn has demonstrated the
slides fixing “absolute” records of Azerbaijan in pollution of the
Caspian at the Conference. On the data of the Ministry of Ecology and
Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, the basic sources of pollution of the
sea are the large rivers running into it from which fall on the share
only of the Volga River 70-80% from the total pollution. The pool of
Volga is a zone where the largest industrial enterprises of the Caspian
region are concentrated. From 200 big cities, 220 large enterprises
located in pool of the Caspian, only insignificant part is located in
the territory of Azerbaijan. From the above-stated, it becomes clear
that Azerbaijan cannot be considered as one of the basic polluters of
the sea.

3.4. SHAH-DENIZ FIELD RICH IN GAS-CONDENSATE RESOURCES

Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
December 16, 2004

The first batch of gas from Shah-Deniz field in the Azerbaijani sector
of the Caspian Sea is expected to be produced in mid-2006. The credit
agreement on Shah-Deniz field development was signed on December 14 this
year in London.

The first phase of the project implies extraction of 178 million cubic
meters of gas per year and 34 million tons of condensate. Further, it is
scheduled to increase this volume up to 8-16 billion cubic meters of gas
and 2 billion tons of condensate.

BP and Statoil hold 25% stake in the Shah-Deniz project, SOCAR, joint
Russia-Italy LUKAgip Company, OIES of Iran and French company Total –
10% each.

At present, exploratory drilling works are successfully going on. First
results confirm experts’ estimations on gas-condensate reserves.

3.5. SOCAR SPENT $50 MLN FOR `SHAH-DENIZ’ PROJECT

Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
December 19, 2004

State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has spent $50
million for the Shah-Deniz gas-condensate development project. Besides,
SOCAR will direct $110 million of the $170 million credit it receives
from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to its
10-percent share in this Project.

3.6. DETAINED POACHER HAS WOUNDED EMPLOYEE OF MINISTRY OF ECOLOGY AND
NATURAL

Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
December 22, 2004

During a raid aimed at revealing of the illegal facts of hunting, which
was held by the 2-nd Territorial Department of the Ministry of Ecology
and Natural Resources in territory of Duyarli village of Shamkir region
was detained by poaching the resident of region Samir Ismailov.

As informed correspondent AzerTAj from the press-service of the
Ministry, the poacher who has not obeyed requirements of ecologists, has
opened fire and wound the employee of department Elmar Aliyev. The case
investigated by the Office of Public Prosecutor Shamkir region

3.7. SOCAR THINKS BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPELINE MAY BE 11 % OVER BUDGET

Source: EINnews, December 23, 2004

26-11-04 The cost of building the nearly completed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
oil export pipeline could hit $ 4 bn, SOCAR said, just days after
Azerbaijan’s state oil company downplayed the extend of cost overruns.
The pipeline was originally budgeted to cost $ 3.6 bn.

“Total expenses may increase by $ 350 mm-$ 450 mm,” SOCAR General
Director Natik Aliyev said. “We’ve reached the conclusion that costs may
reach $ 4 bn.”

Aliyev said the pipeline could exceed its budget by 5 % to 7 %. Costs of
$ 4 bn represent an 11 % increase.

One reason for the increase is the rising price of oil. After a pipeline
is built, the operator must fill it with the requisite minimum amount of
oil that’s to be in the pipeline at all times. BP, which leads the
consortium of companies that own the pipeline, originally estimated that
it would have to spend $ 40 a barrel on this so-called technical crude,
Aliyev said.

Pipeline shareholders plan to buy 10 mm barrel of oil from the nearby
Azer-Chirac-Guneshli project to fill the pipeline in the first stage.

“But now it’s impossible to tell what the price will be in January or
February of next year,” he added. “It could be $ 60 a barrel, or it
could fall.”

Rising global demand and political instability in the Middle East have
caused prices to rise to as high as $ 55 a barrel in the past several
months. Other reasons behind the cost overruns include responding to
protests by nongovernmental organizations, a temporary work stoppage in
Georgia, a rise in the costs of transporting pipes from Japan and an
increase in the price of those pipes.

The falling dollar also played a role, Aliyev said.

“Most of the equipment was procured in Europe, and its
dollar-denominated price rose” with the falling dollar, he said.

Apart from BP, SOCAR, ENI, Itochu, Unocal, Statoil, ConocoPhillips and
Total are shareholders in the project.

3.8. BP, TNK-BP DISCUSS BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPE

Source: Interfax, December 21, 2004

British Petroleum and TNK-BP are discussing the possibility of
transporting TNK-BP oil through the Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, BP
Azerbaijan President David Woodward said.

He said that they have not yet reached the stage of discussing volumes
and transport schedules and that they are only discussing transport
options and possibilities.

He said that one potential option for transporting Russian oil through
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline may be to reverse the Baku-
Novorossiisk pipeline to Baku. Woodward also said that it is possible to
supply oil by sea from Astrakhan to Baku, for further transportation
through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

4. NEWS FROM ARMENIA
4.1. PREMIER HOPES FOR “CHANGES IN REGION” AS IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE
LAUNCHED

Source: Mediamax News Agency, November 30, 2004

Armenian Minister of Energy Armen Movsisyan has described as “historic
event” the beginning of the construction of the Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline, Mediamax’s special correspondent reports from Syunik Region.

Speaking at the ceremony of the beginning of the gas pipeline
construction, Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan said that this
project was possible due to “big political and economic efforts”. The
Armenian prime minister said that the construction of the gas pipeline
will give the opportunity to create new working places in Syunik Region
“which is Armenia’s and Nagornyy Karabakh’s rear”.

Andranik Markaryan also said that “the gas pipeline will not only have
economic importance for Armenia and Iran but will also become a base for
certain changes in the region”.

The Iranian ambassador to Armenia, Ali Reza Haqiqian, said that
theconstruction of the gas pipeline will allow improving the
economicsituation in Armenia and will contribute to the stabilization of
thesituation in the whole region, Mediamax’s special correspondent
reports from Syunik Region.

4.2. OSCE OFFICE AWARDS JOURNALISTS FOR REPORTING ON ENVIRONMENTAL
ISSUES IN ARMENIA

Yerevan, 10 December 2004 – Eleven journalists from different regions of
Armenia were today awarded prizes for their reporting on environmental
issues in a competition run by the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

The competition, for TV and print media, was co-organized with the
Public Environmental Information Centre (Aarhus Centre) and linked to
Human Rights Day.

“The main objective of the 2004 competition was to explain to the public
that living in a healthy environment is a universal human right,” said
Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office, after handing out
the awards. “Being aware of environmental problems and understanding
ways of solving them is crucial for democratic development and securing
a prosperous future”.

A special prize was also awarded for explaining the issues of
environmental protection and human rights to citizens in remote regions
of Armenia.
The OSCE Office in Yerevan and the Aarhus Centre support and encourage
environmental journalism by organizing workshops, exchange of
information on the subject and facilitating international contacts.

For further information, please contact:
Public Affairs Unit
OSCE Office in Yerevan
89, Teryan Str., 375009, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: +374 1 54 58 45
Fax: +374 1 54 10 61

4.3. CLIMATE CHANGE: A DISAPPOINTING START FOR THE CLEAN DEVELOPMENT
MACHINE

Source: IPS, December 10, 2004

In 1997, when the developing South agreed to a market incentive for
industrialized nations that would allow them to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions through development projects in poor countries, the expected
result was investment in clean technologies. So far, however, the
results have fallen far short of expectations.

Raúl Estrada, director of environmental affairs in Argentina’s Foreign
Ministry and the head of the Argentine delegation at the 10th Conference
of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(COP-10), currently underway in Buenos Aires, admitted on Wednesday that
the projects being submitted to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) do
little to promote renewable sources of energy and involve minimal
technology transfer.

“This was not what we had in mind,” said Estrada, who presided over the
committee that drafted the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. He was addressing the
COP-10 plenary session devoted to discussion of the 2003-2004 report
from the CDM Executive Board, made up of 10 representatives from
different member countries. The results of the report are nothing less
than disappointing.

The protocol signed in Kyoto, Japan, and scheduled to enter into force
on February 16 with 129 member countries, was designed to establish
quantitative and measurable commitments on the part of the
industrialized nations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, methane
and other gases that trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere and lead to
global warming.

The CDM is one of the “flexible mechanisms” of the Kyoto Protocol, which
make it easier and less costly for industrialized nations to meet the
greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets that they have agreed to
under the protocol. The CDM is also meant to “assist developing
countries in achieving sustainable development.”

Through this mechanism, an industrialized country with a GHG reduction
target can invest in a project in a developing country without a target,
and claim credit for the emission reduction that the project achieves.

The 30 industrialized countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol
have accepted the commitment to reduce GHG emissions to levels 5.2%
lower than in 1990, by a deadline that ranges from 2008 to 2012.

To take advantage of the mechanism, a large number of private companies
in industrialized nations have submitted projects to the CDM Executive
Board, but few have been deemed satisfactory by the proposed receptor
countries.

Australia, a major GHG producer, has still not ratified the Kyoto
Protocol. As for the United States – which is responsible for 25 percent
of global GHG emissions – President George W. Bush actually withdrew
completely from the treaty in 2001, after it had been signed by his
predecessor, Bill Clinton (1993-2001).

Estrada noted that the CDM Executive Board has to negotiate with teams
from the applicant companies that work on these projects full time,
which means that the board members are at a distinct disadvantage.

For its part, the Chilean delegation recommended making more resources
available to the Executive Board, to allow its members to concentrate on
their task, and not find themselves rushed into approving projects of
doubtful environmental integrity.

As of now, the only project to be approved by the CDM board is a
Brazilian plan to capture methane gas from landfills and use it to fuel
a thermoelectric plant that will supply power to a poor suburb of Rio de
Janeiro. The initiative is expected to reduce emissions by 12 million
tons over the next 21 years.

But some environmentalists do not think the project is a model to be
emulated.

Juan Carlos Villalonga, an energy specialist from the Argentine chapter
of the environmental watchdog Greenpeace, told IPS that the Brazilian
project, and others being submitted for implementation in developing
countries, make an extremely limited contribution in terms of new
technology.

He explained the challenges facing the CDM using the same “market logic”
principles that served as its foundation.

Complicating matters further is the fact that Russia, which ratified the
Kyoto Protocol in November and suffered the collapse of its industrial
sector in the late 1990s, has a large supply of emission-reduction
credits that it could place on the “emissions trading” market, another
mechanism of the treaty.

Because of the decline of industry in Russia, its carbon dioxide
emissions are already far lower than they were in 1990, and thus lower
than the target it is committed to meet through the protocol. As a
result, other countries can purchase this “surplus reduction” to help
meet their own targets.

The CDM was established to create a form of profit incentive for
projects that would not be profitable in their own right. But
unfortunately, until now, that incentive has not been powerful enough to
spur investment in renewable energy sources, Villalonga concluded.

4.4. EU AIDS ARMENIAN GAS NETWORK IN METSAMOR CLOSURE HOPE

Source: RFE/RL Armenia Report, December 10, 2004

On Friday, December 10, 2004 gas operator has officially completed the
reconstruction of some of its key facilities that has been financed by
the European Union in the hope of speeding up the closure of the
Metsamor nuclear plant.

Top executives from the Armrosgazprom Company, joined by government
officials and European diplomats, inaugurated three underground gas
storage facilities just north of Yerevan. They were refurbished with 2
million euros ($2.7 million) provided by the EU’s executive Commission
in 2002. The purpose of the program was to help to render Armenia’s gas
network more modern and reliable.

Natural gas is used for generating more than a third of Armenia’s
electricity. EU officials hope that increased use of the fuel would
create an additional incentive for Yerevan to decommission Metsamor that
satisfies over 40% of the resource poor country’s energy needs.

`In essence, the European Union is helping us to create the
prerequisites for the closure of the nuclear plant,’ Deputy Energy
Minister Areg Galstian told RFE/RL. One of those prerequisites is
`reliable supplies of energy resources,’ he said.

The EU believes that Metsamor’s Soviet-built reactor fails to meet
modern safety standards and should be shut down as soon as possible. The
bloc had hoped that this would happen in 2004. However, Armenian
officials insist that the plant is secure enough to operate for at least
ten more years.

Mr. Galstian reiterated the government’s position that Metsamor will not
be closed without an alternative source of power created in its place.
`We must have a new facility of the same capacity,’ he said, adding that
it could be a new thermal power station.

`In my view this [EU project] has in no way affected the closure of the
nuclear plant,’ said the Armrosgazprom director, Karen Karapetian. `We
had to carry out this modernization anyway.’

Karapetian said the Russian-Armenian joint venture needs an additional
$27 million for the network’s modernization and has already approached
potential investors.

4.5. UNITED PRESS INT’L: ENERGY WATCH

Source: UPI, December 13, 2004

Armenia’s natural gas operator Armrosgazprom has officially completed
the European Union-financed reconstruction of a number of important
facilities. The EU underwrote the project in the hope of hastening the
closure of Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear power plant, the country’s sole
atomic energy facility. Top Armrosgazprom officials joined by government
officials and EU diplomats inaugurated three underground gas storage
facilities north of the capital Yerevan refurbished with a $2.7 million
2002 EU Executive Commission grant, intended to upgrade Armenia’s
natural gas network. Natural gas currently generates more than a third
of Armenia’s electricity. EU officials’ hope that increased use of the
fuel would create more incentive for the Armenian government to
decommission Metsamor, which currently provides over 40 percent of the
energy impoverished country’s energy needs.

The head of technical development and foreign relations department of
the Armenian Energy Ministry Levon Vardanyan said that construction of
the Armenian sector of the Iran-Armenia natural gas pipeline would start
shortly. Construction of the 26-mile, 27.5-inch pipeline will begin in
Megri-Kadzharan. Iran will finance most of the pipeline construction.
Armenia and Iran agreed to build the pipeline in May 2004. Under the
agreement, Iran will send 47 billion cubic yards of natural will to
Armenia over the next two decades. Armenia will annually receive 1.43
billion cubic yards of Iranian gas and will pay with electric energy
exports. The construction of the 87.6-mile long pipeline will be
completed in late 2006. The gas pipeline will link Tehran and Yerevan
via the Megri border region. Turkmen gas will also be delivered to
Armenia via Iran on the pipeline.

4.6. SLZ COMPANY TO INVEST ABOUT $1.5 MLN IN VANADZOR CHEMICAL PLANT IN
ARMENIA

Source: Arminfo, December 14, 2004

Till the end of 2004 the Slovak company SLZ at the primary stage will
invest $1.480 mln for launching the Vanadzor chemical plant in Armenia.
Minister of Trade and Economic Development of Armenia Karen Chshmaritian
informed journalists on Tuesday, December 14, 2004.

According to him, the agreement for it was reached during the Yerevan
meeting of the representatives of the SLZ Company with the owner of the
Vanadzor chemical complex. The minister informed that $880 mln would be
invested for purchase of raw materials, and $600,000 – for current
expenses. He added that the plant is to be launched on Feb 15, 2005.
Karen Chshmaritian noted that the plant will be launched in experimental
order within 6-8 months, and then the Slovaks sign an agreement with the
owner for trust management or leasehold use by the chemical complex. At
this stage it is planned to resume the production of carbide, corundum
and acetate film.

4.7. HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENT

Source: Yerevan Press Club Weekly Newsletter, December 10-16, 2004

On December 10, on the International Day of Human Rights in Yerevan the
ceremony of awarding monetary prizes to the winners of competition
“Human Rights and Environment” was held. The competition was
administrated by the OSCE Office in Yerevan jointly with the Public
(Airbus) Center of Environmental Information.

In the nomination “Print media” the first prize was awarded to Susanna
Shakhnazarian (“Ban ev Gorts”, Syunik region), the second – to Karineh
Danielian (“Azg”, Yerevan), the third – to Arthur Sakunts and Narineh
Bulghadarian (“Civil Initiative”, Vanadzor). Encouraging prizes in this
nomination were conferred on Anush Sargsian (“Loru Marz”, Lori region)
and Sarah Petrosian (“Investigative Journalists” public organization).

In the nomination “TV Journalism” the first prize was granted to Edik
Baghdasarian (“Versus” studio, Yerevan), the second – to Satenik
Kaghzvantsian (free-lance journalist, Shirak region), the third – to
Valery Gasparian (Armenian branch of “Mir” Interstate TV and Radio
Company).

Encouraging prizes were also conferred on Nelly Danielian
(“Yerkir-Media”, Yerevan) and Stella Martirosian (“Shoghakat”, Yerevan).

Special prize was awarded to the film of Hrachia Papinian (“Ankyun+3”,
Lori region).

4.8. BY THE END OF 2004 SANIR COMPANY TO ANNOUNCE TENDER FOR
SUBCONTRACTOR WORK ON ARMENIAN SECTION OF IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE

Source: Arminfo, December 17, 2004

By the end of this year the Sanir company from Iran will give start to a
tender to enroll subcontractors or laying the Armenian section of the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, says the director general of ArmRosGazprom
company Karen Karapetyan.

He says that his company will certainly take part in the tender and has
quite good chances to win it. “Even if we lose the winners will be
forced to cooperate with us considering that we have domestic gas market
monopoly,” says Karapetyan. He notes that after the Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline is built and the Abovyan underground gas depositary is restored
Armenia will have almost no energy security problems.

Sanir is the general contractor of the project. Iran will lend Armenia
$30 mln for laying the Armenian section of the pipeline – from Megri to
Kajaran. The loan will be given for 7.5 years at 5% a year. The project
will be finished in two years to be launched Jan 1 2007.

5. NGO NEWS
5.1. MAJOR PRIVATE BACKER PULLS OUT OF EMBATTLED BP OIL PIPELINE

PRESS RELEASE FROM:

Baku-Ceyhan Campaign
Friends of the Earth
PLATFORM
Corner House

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 1st 2004

Major Private Backer Pulls Out of Embattled BP Oil Pipeline
Italy’s Largest Bank Selling its $60 Million Stake in Baku-Ceyhan
Project

Italy’s largest bank, Banca Intesa, has decided to sell its $60 million
stake in BP’s hugely controversial Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil
pipeline, a new article reveals today. So concerned is Banca Intesa at
the reputational and other risks associated with the BTC project that it
has already sold one third of its share at a loss.

The decision by Banca Intesa to abandon the embattled BTC project is
disastrous for BP, as the long-term viability of the pipeline depends on
support from private finance. The move, reported in a detailed article
by journalist Michael Gillard on the Spinwatch website
(), follows Banca Intesa’s deepening concern over
evidence of safety failures and BP incompetence, first raised by former
BP consultant Derek Mortimore earlier this year.

Mortimore noted that BP’s choice of safety coating for the Georgian and
Azeri sectors of the BTC project would not work, leaving the pipeline
open to corrosion, leakage and possible explosions. This directly
contradicted repeated assurances from BP that pipeline leakage would be
`virtually impossible.’ BTC passes through several areas of outstanding
natural beauty on its way to delivering Caspian oil to Western markets.

The UK government has subsequently admitted to a parliamentary inquiry
that the coating system has no track record, contrary to its previous
assurances, and that the pipeline would be likely to fail some time
during its forty year operational life. Engineers’ reports further
suggest that the equivalent coating for the Turkish sector has suffered
`catastrophic failures’ on four other pipelines.

According to Gillard, the revelations `staggered’ Banca Intesa, which
agreed to participate in BTC only because of the involvement of the
World Bank, and was `very disturbed’ at the Bank’s lack of due
diligence.

Greg Muttitt of PLATFORM, one of a coalition of human rights and
environmental organisations that have been monitoring the BTC project
for the last three years, said, `This extraordinary move shows just how
widespread concerns about the safety of BTC now are. When a major
private backer pulls out of a project, it suggests that something is
seriously wrong: the private sector doesn’t take financial losses on its
investments without a very good reason.’

Nick Hildyard of the Corner House, another group involved in monitoring
BTC, said, `Banca Intesa’s withdrawal adds yet more credence to our
demand for an independent audit of the safety of the Baku-Ceyhan
project. BP guaranteed affected people that they would not suffer as a
result of this project. Why won’t they prove that by having the pipeline
audited?’

Gillard’s article, in addition to its revelations on Banca Intesa,
provides a detailed account of the safety issue and of allegations of
procurement fraud and incompetence that have dogged BP for the last two
years.

For more information, contact:

Michael Gillard 07949 964354
Anders Lustgarten 07973164363
Greg Muttitt 07970589611
Nick Hildyard 01258 817518

5.2 CENN LAUNCHES ENVIRONMENTAL TRAININGS/WORKSHOPS
Within the framework of the project `Raising level of public
environmental awareness and information in the transboundary region of
the South Caucasus Countries’ implemented by five partner organizations

CENN launched first cycle of environmental trainings / workshops within
the framework of the ENVSEC Initiative project `Raising level of public
environmental awareness and information in the transboundary region of
the South Caucasus Countries’ implemented by GTZ (GTZ Food Regional
Cooperation and Security (FRCS) project) and supported by the ENVSEC
Initiative (OSCE, UNEP, UNDP).

The trainings / workshops are focused to provide the participants with
the information on:
ž Natural resource and their use;
ž Sustainable development;
ž Environmental problems- result of non-sustainable use of natural
resources;
ž Environmental security as the cross-cutting aspect of human and
national security;
ž ENVSEC Initiative;
ž `Cause-Problem-Solution’ of the local environmental problems;
ž Elaboration of environmental action plans for solution of the
environmental problems.

The project includes two cycles of trainings / workshops and
implementation of environmental actions / campaigns to take place in
transboundary districts of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. After the
workshops in a later stage, the local community associations will
establish Public Environmental Information Points / Centers. The Public
Environmental Information Points / Centers will work in close
cooperation on solution of local and regional environmental problems and
implementation of the Aarhus Convention on the local and regional levels
together with other organizations in the neighboring districts (e.g.
CENN Public Environmental Information Centers in Bolnisi, Kazakh and
Akhtala supported by the Eurasia Foundation).

For further information on the project, please contact: GTZ FRCS office:
[email protected]

For information on the environmental trainings and workshops, please
contact the CENN office: [email protected]

5.3. COMMUNITY CENTER OPENS IN GYUMRI

Source: Armenian NGO News in Brief, December 12, 2004

On November 2, a new Community Center opened its doors in Gyumri. The
building was renovated by the Norwegian Refugee Council and houses
Community Social-Healthcare and Pedo-Psychological Assistance Centers as
well as a Kindergarten. Services of the Community Social-Healthcare
Center will be provided by Mission Armenia Charitable NGO and are
designed to meet the needs of vulnerable, single, older and disabled
people and refugees residing in temporary dwellings. This integrated
center includes a soup kitchen, social services center, health post,
bath and laundry, hairdressing room, training resource center,
conference room and other more.

The soup kitchen will be operational on weekdays and provide hot
nutritious meals to about 200 beneficiaries. The social services center
will provide health, psychological, legal trainings and individual
consultations. The in-home services for almost 600 single older
residents of Gyumri are one of the most significant activities to be
carried out through the center: provision of individual care, personal
hygiene, medical assistance, psychological, gerontological and legal
assistance, home renovation, heating of homes, and more. It will also
serve as a good place for arranging cultural events, meetings and
round-table discussions. The health post will provide primary health
care and necessary medications to beneficiaries free of charge. The bath
and laundry will meet primary hygienic needs of older beneficiaries. The
hairdressing room will provide relevant services to the vulnerable.
Through the training resource center, computer, hairdressing and
tailoring skills will be transferred to the vulnerable refugee and local
population of the town, providing them an opportunity to acquire new job
skills. Mission Armenia Charitable NGO implements these activities
through funding support received from USAID.

Contact: Hripsime Kirakosyan
Mission Armenia Charitable NGO
42 G. Nzdeh St.
Tel.: (374-1) 44-47-92; 44-47-93
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

6. INTERNATIONAL NEWS
6.1. ENVIRONMENTAL SCANDAL THREATENS ABN AMRO’S CAUCASUS OIL PIPELINE

PRESS RELEASE
Friends of the Earth Netherlands

Banking giant ABN Amro asked to freeze its pipeline loan

Amsterdam (The Netherlands), 25 November 2004 — Friends of the Earth
Netherlands (Milieudefensie) wants ABN AMRO to take urgent action to
prevent the environmental disaster that threatens British oil company
BP’s oil pipeline in the Caucasus.

Experts have concluded that the methods used during the construction of
the pipeline could lead to large oil spills and even heavy explosions.
ABN Amro is an important investor in the controversial oil pipeline that
runs from Baku (Azerbaijan) through Tbilisi (Georgia) and to Ceyhan
(Turkey).

Following irregularities during the construction of the pipeline,
experts were asked to testify before an Enquiry Committee of the British
Parliament last week. Civil servants of the British Export Credit Agency
(ECGD) admitted to the committee that there was a considerable risk that
the pipeline could leak. The experimental anti-corrosion treatment that
was applied to prevent the pipeline from rusting is not working and
apparently was not adequately tested. In the past, BP claimed that the
risk of the pipeline leaking was ‘practically impossible’.

Before even one drop of oil has been transported, the pipeline is
already showing hairline fractures. Research has made clear that over a
quarter of the welding seams in the Georgian part of the pipeline are
not in order. Derk Mortimore, a consultant hired by BP, who warned BP of
these risks in 2002, was fired afterwards. Mortimore concluded that the
pipeline meant BP would be burying ‘thousands of environmental time
bombs’. The effects of an accident could be disastrous to the
environment, especially where the pipeline goes through the ecologically
significant National Park Borjomi in Georgia.

In November 2003 and February 2004, Friends of the Earth Netherlands
warned ABN Amro of the risks of this project and urged the bank to
withdraw from the project until sufficient environmental measures had
been taken. The bank ignored these demands and played down the evidence
of BP’s negligence. ABN Amro is an important investor in the 3.6
billion-dollar project.

“ABN Amro must accept its responsibility and freeze BP’s loan until the
company takes adequate measures to guarantee the safe functioning of the
pipeline,” says Paul de Clerck, Friends of the Earth Netherland’s
campaign coordinator. If BP does not solve the problems sufficiently,
the bank should withdraw from the project.

Added De Clerck: “ABN Amro’s integrity is at stake. Investing in this
pipeline is contrary to its own policy on corporate responsibility and
the sustainability rules called the ‘Equator Principles’ that it also
has adopted.”

For more information:

Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) Press Office,
+31 (0) 20 5507 333 or

6.2. KAZAKHSTAN SIGNS AGREEMENT TO PREVENT SPREAD OF BIOWEAPONS

Security expected to improve at Kazakh biological facilities

Source: , December 17, 2004

Washington — Kazakhstan and the United States have signed an agreement
designed to eliminate the threat of proliferating biological weapons
(BW) or the use of related technology or know-how by terrorists.

On December 8, 2004 the two nations signed an amendment to a 1995
bilateral agreement that is part of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat
Reduction program. The program is designed to prevent the proliferation
of biological weapons technology, pathogens and expertise.

Under the terms of agreement, the United States will provide $35 million
for study projects, including one designed to develop medical
countermeasures for diseases than could be spread in Central Asia by
biological agents such as the plague.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar pushed for
stronger cooperation between the two nations during a visit to Almaty in
2003. The latest development prompted he to praise the Bush
administration and the Defense Department: “This is a critical step
forward in addressing the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction,” Senator Lugar said.

Senator Lugar also praised Kazakhstan for partnering with the United
States “to work toward successfully eliminating the risk of biological
weapons and preventing bioterrorism.”

The U.S. assistance will be used to prevent the proliferation of BW
through cooperative research efforts, strengthen biosafety and
biosecurity at Kazakh facilities, consolidate dangerous biological
agents at secured central repositories, eliminate BW-related equipment
and infrastructure, and bolster Kazakhstan’s ability to detect
biological agents and to deter or respond to an attack.

Lugar spokesman Mark Hayes is quoted in the Global Security Newswire as
saying this is the first time the United States has had a comprehensive
biological weapons engagement with Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan has not signed the 1975 convention banning biological
weapons.

More information about the convention is available on the Internet at

7. NEW PUBLICATIONS
7.1. NEW BOOK: “ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN CEE
COUNTRIES’

IOS Press is pleased to announce the launching of the book “Ecological
Agriculture and Rural Development in CEE Countries” (edited by Walter
Leal Filho, TUTech, Hamburg, Germany), published as volume 44 of the
NATO Science Series (Science and Technology Policy). The book contains a
set of papers on matters related to sustainable agriculture from a
number of countries (e.g. Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Poland, Romania,
Turkey, UK), paying a particular attention to the situation in Central
and Eastern Europe. The publication considers how elements of science
and technology policy in agriculture, which are intertwined, may promote
sustainable practices that may reconcile agriculture and biodiversity.

“Ecological Agriculture and Rural Development in CEE Countries” (edited
by Walter Leal Filho), 2004, 228 pp., Hardcover, ISBN 1 58603 439 1,
published by IOS Press, Amsterdam (Further details at:
or [email protected])

7.2. FOLLOW THE MONEY

A new report on oil and gas revenues and budgets has found that
political repression is most extreme in countries that possess
substantial oil and gas wealth. `Follow the Money’, published by the
US-based policy program Revenue Watch, aims to help citizens of
resource-rich countries more effectively monitor government earnings and
expenditures, based on the experiences of some of the most successful
budget groups in the world. `Follow the Money’ is the first in a series
of guides promoting government transparency and accountability to be
released by Revenue Watch, an initiative of the pro-democracy Open
Society Institute, a private grant-making foundation founded by
billionaire investor George Soros.

The report is available online at:
<;

7.3. CULTURE OF SECRECY ENFORCED BY REPRESSION

A submission by Thomas Devine, Legal Director, Government Accountability
Project (GAP), to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Roundtable
on whistleblower protection policies of multilateral development banks A
Washington, DC-based legal advocacy groups reports it has been
‘overwhelmed’ by whistleblowers from multilateral development banks
(MDBs) who describe a ‘nightmare of repression’ when they trust MDB
reporting channels and try to use them. Addressing a US Senate
roundtable on MDB whistleblower protection policies, Thomas Devine,
legal director of the Government Accountability Project (GAP), said
nearly all the new whistleblowers GAP had seen were from the WB. The
Bank’s whistleblower policy in practice had been ‘the primary weapon
against them,’ he said, adding that the Bank’s Department of
Institutional Integrity (INT) had been more active investigating
whistleblowers than their evidence of institutional corruption. ‘Instead
of being trusted as a safe haven, many whistleblowers view INT as a
legalized plumbers unit,’ – originally, a White House creation to plug
leaks and perform political espionage – Devine told the Senate. He said
entrenched patterns at institutions like the World Bank will only be
disrupted when the US Treasury begins aggressively enforcing the
transparency mandate of the McConnell-Leahy amendment. This provision
requires the Treasury to report to Congress on progress at the MDBs
toward achieving a set of specific transparency and accountability
goals, including effective whistleblower protection, by June 2005. So
far, reports Devine, the Treasury’s initial assessments have ‘skipped’
the word ‘effective,’ and have only disclosed whether banks had a
program on paper. ‘As a result,’ he said, the ‘Treasury’s report was
only marginally better than meaningless.’ Most significant, said Devine,
has been a ‘disturbing pattern’ of personal leadership by World Bank
President James Wolfensohn in ‘sustaining both harassment and an
environment of fear.’ Mr. Wolfensohn has repeatedly personally
intervened with INT for investigations of whistleblowers. Unless he
drastically reverses course Devine warned, ‘his legacy for the Bank will
be intensified secrecy enforced by repression.’ Strong whistleblower
protection is being viewed as an essential tool in the fight against
corrupt uses of MDB funds which the Senate Committee has been told could
amount to as much as $200 billion dollars over the past 60 years.

<;

8. CALENDAR (INTERNATIONAL)
8.1. II INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON MOUNTAIN TOURISM
MOUNTAIN HUTS – CHALLENGES FOR TOURISTS AND NATURE?

Source: Mountain Forum, December 14, 2004

First Announcement and Call for Papers

Organized by: International Friends of Nature, Institute of Tourism and
Recreation of Cracow Academy of Physical Education

Polish Tourist Country Lovers’ Society (PTTK) – Cracow Academic Section
to be held in Szklarska Poreba (Poland)

14 – 17 April 2005

Mountain huts play a pivotal role in access to the World’s high places.
They allow climbers to commence their ascents early in the morning,
backpackers can create adventurous high-level treks, but they should not
be viewed simply as facilities; properly managed mountain huts evoke a
powerful atmosphere of fellowship, helpfulness and responsibility which
has an educational impact, especially on younger tourists. Some mountain
huts are very old, possessing rich historical and architectural values,
and should be protected as cultural monuments in their own right. On the
other hand mountain huts are a form of enterprise, which have to be
economically viable. Finally, mountain huts are invariably sited within
a very fragile natural environment, intruding upon the landscape and
impacting upon local biodiversity. Technical and economic developments
together with the growing and increasingly sophisticated demands of
people are changing the nature and extent of mountain tourism. Mountain
huts are not immune to these pressures. Larger, more accessible, and
increasingly comfortable huts inevitably results in increased impacts on
local resources.

This is why the organizers have decided to invite people involved in the
various aspects of this complex issue to jointly discuss the present and
the future of mountain huts. The objectives of the Seminar are to
exchange information, experience and ideas on topics which include:

o mountain huts as historical monuments and witnesses to the past;
o huts in the mountain landscape (disfigurement or additional value?);
o environmental impact of mountain huts and how to limit it;
o mountain huts as a place of interpretation and education;
o creating the right social atmosphere in mountain huts;
o nature – friendly mountain huts;
o mountain huts and protected areas – conflict or cooperation?

In addition the Seminar will provide participants with an opportunity to
visit the Giant (Karkonosze) Mountains National Park – an area of
exceptional bio-cultural diversity and with more than two hundred years
history of mountain tourism. Visits to other national parks in the
Sudety Mountains will be possible during the post-seminar excursions.

Participants/Audience:

The organizers invite participation from all people with an involvement
or interest in mountain tourism – natural as well as cultural –
including managers of mountain huts, mountain guides, tour leaders,
interpreters, rangers, park managers responsible for environmental
education, scientists, writers and journalists interested in mountain
issues from all over the world.

Call for papers:

Participants are kindly invited to submit papers, posters or any other
kind of presentation related to the theme of the Seminar. Papers,
accepted by the Editorial Committee, will be published in the
post-conference issue of Folia Turistica – the scientific journal edited
by the Institute of Tourism and Recreation in Cracow.

All colleagues wishing to participate or to be informed about further
details are requested to send an e-mail or fax to:

Michael Prochazka – [email protected]
Fax: ++43 1 8129789
Or Piotr Dabrowski – [email protected]
Fax: ++48 12 4231697
Indicating: name, surname, e-mail address and represented
Institution/society/protected area/company/media organization. The
organizers will forward full details and a registration form.

We look forward to seeing you in Szklarska Poreba!
Michael Prochazka – Secretary General IFN
Piotr Dabrowski – Chairman of the Cracow Academic Section of PTTK

8.2. REGIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY MEETINGS TOWARDS THE 6TH GLOBAL CIVIL
SOCIETY FORUM (19-20 FEBRUARY 2005, NAIROBI, KENYA)

In November -December 2004, each regional office of UNEP hosted a civil
society meeting (six in total) in preparation of the 6th Global Civil
Society Forum (GCSF). Gathering around 40 civil society representatives,
each forum had a special focus on international environment governance
(IEG), the UNEP work programme 2006-07 and UNEP capacity building
cooperation with civil society. On December 3, 2004, two civil society
organizations from each region gathered in Nairobi to elaborate a global
civil society statement based on the regional outcomes.

I also attended civil society meeting in Geneva and actively
participated in adoption of regional statement. I had informed
attendants about activities in the sphere of information dissemination,
activities of working groups on GMO, European Plan on Environment and
Health and Ecostrategy.

First of all I had driven attention of attendance to water, sanitation
and human settlement issues and I am happy to say that everybody
supported to include this important (mainly for the South Caucasus
region) issue into the statement which describes the importance of UNEP
participation in realization of EU Water Initiative(See page 5 of the
attached statement of UNEP ROE)

On February 19-20, 2004 more than 100 civil society representatives from
all over the world are expected to attend the 6th GCSF. The event,
organized back to back with the GC-23/GMEF, February 21-25, 2005 is the
main venue for civil society to participate in UNEP decision-making
process.

The regional and the global statements will be distributed to
governments in in view of the twenty-third session of UNEP Governing
Council/ Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC-23/GMEF) and are also
available online().

By decision of UNEP ROE I will be among those who will present mentioned
statement to the 6th Global Civil Society Forum (February 2005, Nairobi,
Kenya).

Best regards

Rafig Verdiyev, ECORES, UNEP NC, Azerbaijan

8.3. ECOLOGICAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTS: SCIENCE AND BEST PRACTICE

Special British Ecological Society Institute of Ecology and
Environmental Management Conference

Ecological Impact Assessments: Science and Best Practice

The venue and date of this conference is to be changed (originally Bath
Spa University College: 12-13th July 2005)

Further announcements will be made on the venue and date as soon as
possible.

The call for papers has also been extended to 1st February 2005.

Aims of the conference

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are an important tool for
conserving ecosystems and biodiversity in the wider environment. Recent
national and international legislation has increased mandatory
requirements for EIAs, their scope and standards. However, standards of
ecological assessment have often been deficient and current ecological
principles and scientific methods overlooked or poorly applied.

The BES (Conservation Ecology Group) and IEEM are therefore organising a
joint symposium, the aim of which is to complement the Guidelines for
Ecological Impact Assessment that are being prepared by IEEM by
focussing on raising the standards of ecological science in EIAs. The
specific objectives of the conference are to:

– emphasize the need for ecological science in EIAs;
– promote current best practices in the application of ecological
science to EIAs;
– identify opportunities for applying new ecological theories and
knowledge in EIAs; and
– identify further ecological research needs with respect to EIAs.

The conference is primarily aimed at ecological scientists undertaking
research applicable to impact assessments, EIA clients and
practitioners, and others involved in the EIA process, including
developers, consultants, planners, government development agencies,
local authorities, conservation agencies, lecturers and trainers in EIA
and non-governmental conservation organisations. Attendance will be
limited to a maximum of 200.

The meeting will consist of a 2-day symposium, with presentations
reviewing key issues, and workshop sessions to produce agreed practical
recommendations on best practice. This will be followed by a web-based
discussion forum on the meeting’s conclusions and recommendations. The
symposium presentations and the workshop recommendations will be fully
published as edited and peer reviewed proceedings.

Call for papers

Proposals are now invited for papers and presentations on the following
topics:

1. Surveys and evaluation of ecological importance, e.g.
2. Design and analysis of ecological surveys (e.g. quantifying the
probability of detecting species of conservation importance).
3. Identification of valued ecosystem components and sensitive
receivers.
4. Evaluating and reporting on the importance of habitats and species.
5. Evaluating the importance of a species’ population (e.g. approaches
for taking into account biogeographical importance, the role of
metapopulations and migration staging posts).
6. Defining, quantifying and assessing the significance of ecosystem
functions and services.

Predicting impacts and their significance, e.g.

– The application of risk theory to ecological impact predictions.
– Modeling and quantifying impacts from habitat loss and change.
– Quantifying disturbance impacts.
– Predicting cumulative impacts.
– Reporting on the significance of impacts.

Mitigation techniques, e.g.

– The effectiveness of translocations and the factors that promote
success.
– Habitat restoration, enhancement and creation; predicting the
likelihood of success and the value of habitats in the short and
long-term.
– Approaches for monitoring mitigation success.

Presentation proposals should initially assume a 40 minute presentation
and should focus on one or more of the topics listed above.
Presentations should include a relatively broad review of the topic in
question and then focus on a few case studies that illustrate best
practice application of ecological science to EIAs. Presentations should
conclude with key recommendations for application of ecological science
to the particular issue in question, and where appropriate, requirements
for further research that may assist with raising ecological standards
in EIAs.

All reasonable travel and conference subsistence costs will be
reimbursed for speakers from the UK and elsewhere.

Proposals for presentations should be made by submitting a detailed
abstract together with a CV to the conference coordinator Graham Tucker
[email protected] (Tel. 01480 498395). The abstract
should clearly define the topics that will be covered in the paper,
briefly describe the case studies that will be examined and outline the
key recommendations that will be made. Any publications, or papers in
press or preparation by the author(s) that relate to the presentation
should be listed with full citation details.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 1st February 2005.

Poster papers may also be presented, and instructions for offering
posters will be provided on this website in February.

***************************************************************************

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CENN, on behalf of the Caucasus Environmental NGOs, would like to
express gratitude to the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
(SDC) for provision of financial support for regional environmental
networking program.

For more information about the program, please visit CENN web-page:

***************************************************************************

Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)

E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

************************************************** *************************

Editorial policy: CENN both solicits and accepts submissions for
environmental information to the Caucasus Environmental News Bulletin.
Although, CENN retains the right to edit all materials both for content
and length. The information provided for the Bulletin does not
necessarily represent the opinion of CENN and SDC.

—
*******************************************
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)

Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

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CENN is a moderated mailing list created by Caucasus Environmental
NGO Network (CENN) to maintain and encorage e-mail discussions on
environmental issues in the Caucasus region and abroad.
By sending the letter on address [email protected] all subscribers will
receive it. To unsubscribe, send the message <UNSUBSCRIBE CENN> to
[email protected] The message subject is irrelevant and can be left
blank.

For help, contact the list manager: [email protected]

Editorial policy: CENN both solicits and accepts submissions for
environmental information to the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network.
Although, CENN retains the right to edit all materials both for
content and length. The information provided through CENN does
not necessarily represent the opinion of SDC and CENN.

CENN, on behalf of the Caucasus Environmental NGOs, would like to
express gratitude to the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
(SDC) for provision of financial support for regional environmental
networking program.

For more information about the program, please visit CENN web-page: