Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

Minneapolis Star Tribune , MN
April 2 2004
Sunday’s film festival highlights
[parts omitted]
OAK STREET:
“The Documentarist,” 9:45 p.m. (Armenia, 62 min.) Black-and-white
portrait of Armenia, a country that throughout history has been
ravaged by war, poverty, substance abuse, emigration and crime.

Azerbaijan, Armenia hinder peace process – Russian mediator
Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
1 Apr 04
[Presenter] The Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Yuriy
Merzlyakov today [1 April] made a new statement about the current
state of the [Karabakh conflict] settlement process. Saying that the
Minsk Group has prepared new proposals and ideas, Merzlyakov said that
they had not been discussed through the fault of the conflicting
parties. He also said that it is not possible to produce a proposal
which would satisfy both parties.
[Correspondent] The OSCE Minsk Group is trying to decide a place and
date for the talks on the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict. However, no agreement has been reached with the parties so
far. This is what the Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group,
Yuriy Merzlyakov, told ATV.
Commenting on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement that the
OSCE Minsk Group had not made concrete proposals, Merzlyakov said that
there were new ideas and proposals, but the co-chairmen could not
obtain the parties’ consent to meet and discuss them.
[Merzlyakov, by phone, with superimposed Azeri translation] It is
impossible to produce a proposal which will satisfy all the
parties. Therefore, the talks must continue. The Minsk Group has new
ideas and proposals; but unfortunately, we fail in our attempts to
organize a discussion of the proposals with the parties.
[Correspondent] As for other complaints about the Minsk Group’s
activities, Merzlyakov said that it was the fault of the parties, not
the Minsk Group, that consultations had not taken place.
[Merzlyakov] We have been working since January 2004 to have the
consultations held. But we cannot achieve this as either one or other
party insists that the date of a meeting should be changed. We first
received Armenia’s proposal to postpone the Prague meeting. Then the
other side came out against the meeting.
[Correspondent] Merzlyakov went on to add that one cannot say that the
peace process has reached a deadlock. We are optimists and hope that
we will be able to start consultations with the sides soon, end quote.
Kamran Hasanov, “Son Xabar”.

Armenian National Committee of New Jersey
461 Bergen Boulevard
Ridgefield, NJ 07657
Tel: 201-945-0011
[email protected]
April 2, 2004
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Kim Arzoumanian
[email protected]
NEW JERSEY ARMENIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY TO COMMEMORATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
— Remembrance Program and Memorial Service to be held on April 24; BBC
Documentary “Armenia: The Betrayed” to be shown on April 18
RIDGEFIELD, NJ–The Armenian National Committee (ANC) of New Jersey is
organizing a program marking the 89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
The remembrance will take place on Saturday, April 24, at Sts. Vartanants
Armenian Church in Ridgefield. A Memorial Service at Sts. Vartanants will
begin at 6:30 pm, and will be followed by a bilingual program in the
adjacent Church Hall.
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau Member Hagop Der
Khatchadourian will offer a keynote address in Armenian. Professor Henry
Theriault, Director of Worcester State College’s Center for the Study of
Human Rights, will also deliver an address in English. Members of the
Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) New Jersey “Arsen” chapter will also offer
remarks during the commemoration.
In addition to the remembrance program, the New Jersey ARF “Dro” Committee,
the New Jersey Hamazkayin, the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, and the
Tekeyan Cultural Association are cosponsoring the showing of the BBC
documentary “Armenia: The Betrayed” on Sunday, April 18. The viewing begins
at 2:30 pm at the Hovnanian School, 817 River Road, New Milford.
Joining those in attendance will be BBC reporter Phillip Wearne, who will
field questions from the audience at the conclusion of the documentary. In
addition, Armenian Genocide survivor Rahan Kachian will be honored.
“Armenia: The Betrayed” details efforts to pass the Armenian Genocide
Congressional resolution in October of 2000. Despite garnering wide
bipartisan support, the resolution was pulled at the last minute from floor
consideration by House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), who cited a letter
from President Bill Clinton expressing opposition to the legislation. The
documentary features interviews with Congressmen George Radanovich (R-CA)
and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Armenian Genocide survivors, and senior Turkish
officials.
Both programs are free and open to the public. Further information can be
obtained by contacting Kim Arzoumanian at [email protected].
The Armenian National Committee (ANC) is the largest Armenian American
grassroots political organization in New Jersey and nationwide. The ANC
actively advances a broad range of issues of concern to the Armenian
American community.
####

Azeri ministry concerned at UK reporter’s visits to breakaway Karabakh
Ekho, Baku
1 Apr 04

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry intends to look for verification of
the reports carried by Kavkazskiy uzel news agency and some other
sources that British journalist Thomas de Waal, coordinator of the
Caucasus project of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, has
visited Stepanakert. The visit’s objective was familiarization with
preparation for the first edition of the new “public Karabakh
newspaper Demo”, sponsored by an international foundation.
Armenian sources maintain that Thomas de Waal, author of the book,
Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War, on the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, was an informal intermediary in this
process between the British grant-givers and the newspaper. The
sources said that in addition to material about life in Karabakh, Demo
will carry reports about other countries of the Caucasus region.
[Passage omitted: minor details]
De Waal said that over the past eight years he has visited Nagornyy
Karabakh 10 times. Certainly, he visited the occupied Azerbaijani
territories without the official permission of the Azerbaijani
government.
The head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s press service, Matin
Mirza, said that if the reports are confirmed, then the ministry will
tell the UK embassy in Azerbaijan about its concerns. As for de Waal’s
private visits to Stepanakert, this issue must be looked at from
different perspectives, Mirza said.
“The Armenians may, as usual, hype up the information about de Waal’s
visits to Stepanakert and his objectives. They mainly do this to
attract more attention from the international community. However, it
must be noted that foreign citizens do not have the right to visit
Nagornyy Karabakh without permission from the Azerbaijani
government. This is unacceptable and jeopardizes the notions of
territorial integrity and inviolability of Azerbaijan’s borders, as
well as threatens peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict,” he
said.
In addition, Mirza described the assistance of a UK citizen in the
publication of a newspaper in the separatist entity as “an attempt of
blatant intrusion in the process of peaceful settlement of the
conflict”. De Waal’s stance on this issue has to be interpreted as
assistance in the dissemination of Armenia’s anti-Azerbaijani
propaganda, Mirza said.
Yesterday [31 March], Ekho newspaper managed to get in touch with de
Waal, who was in Tbilisi. In response to a question about the
Azerbaijani government’s permission to visit Stepanakert, he said that
he “never even thought about making such a request to the Azerbaijani
authorities”.
In his words, he is a man monitoring developments in Karabakh,
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. “In my job, I advise the press
publishers on how to organize their work. I have paid many visits to
Karabakh,” he said.
De Waal confirmed to Ekho that he had recently visited Stepanakert. “I
have visited Azerbaijan and met high-ranking officials here for many
years. I have never concealed and will not conceal that I visit
Karabakh. When in Azerbaijan, I inform the officials that I was in
Karabakh. For this reason, I never ask for permission to visit that
region. I am a foreign correspondent who often visits unrecognized
territorial entities, such as Karabakh, Abkhazia, Chechnya and
others. This is the duty of foreign reporters.”
He told Ekho that he intends to continue visits to Karabakh skirting
the Baku government. “I consider myself a neutral person and can make
such visits.”
In conclusion, de Waal said that he will soon visit Azerbaijan. He
hoped that Azerbaijani officials will not obstruct his visit to Baku.

RIA Novosti, Russia
March 26 2004
ARMENIAN AND AZERI FOREIGN MINISTERS NOT MEET IN PRAGUE
YEREVAN, MARCH 26, 2004. (RIA NOVOSTI). The meeting between the
Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers in Prague was postponed because
Azerbaijan was not prepared for it, said the European Union special
representative for the South Caucasus, ambassador Heikki Talvitie.
“I do not exactly know all the reasons for which the authorities of
Azerbaijan decided to postpone the meeting. But I believe that they
were simply not ready to hold it,” Talvitie said.
At the same time, the ambassador stressed that the point at issue was
the postponement of only one meeting, and this fact should not be
assessed as the termination of the negotiating process on the
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Talvitie also said that during his meetings in Baku he became
convinced that the Azeri leaders understood there was no alternative
to the negotiating process.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 25, 2004 Thursday 11:35 AM Eastern Time
Opening of border with Turkey helps Karabakh settlement – view
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
The opening of the border with Turkey will have a favourable impact
on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenian Foreign
Ministry senior spokesman Gamlet Gasparyan said.
Gasparyan said on Thursday Armenia is convinced, “The opening of the
Armenian-Turkish border will facilitate the development of regional
cooperation and have a favourable impact on the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
The Armenian diplomat commented on Azerbaijani President Ilkham
Aliyev’s statement saying, “Whether Turkey opens its border with
Armenia, it will be impossible to settle the conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh.” “Thus, Armenia can lose a very important mechanism
and the talks as part of the peace process will be impossible,”
Aliyev said.
The Armenian spokesman stressed, “Turkey may be an important
mechanism in the development of the economic and political situation
in the region whether it gives up its unilateral approach towards its
attitude to Armenia and Azerbaijan in favour of Azerbaijan.”

Armenia calls for help in securing release of suspected mercenaries
Arminfo
23 Mar 04
YEREVAN
The accusations against Armenian pilots of plotting to overthrow the
government of Equatorial Guinea are rather contradictory and are in no
way related to their work, the press secretary of the Foreign
Ministry, Gamlet Gasparyan, has told a press conference.
He said that the Guinean authorities are trying to present the
Armenian pilots as mercenaries which they are not. They are
professional pilots with many years of experience. The authorities of
Equatorial Guinea claim that the Armenian citizens arrived in the
country by boat whereas they arrived in the Guanine capital Malabo on
their plane.
The charges against the Armenian pilots of gathering intelligence do
not hold up as without the knowledge of local traditions, language and
location they could not have been used in the espionage activities
during their two months of work in Malabo.
Gamlet Gasparyan noted that, through the mediation of the diplomatic
representative offices in Moscow and New York, they are working with
the authorities of New Guinea to clarify the situation and secure the
release of the pilots. The Armenian Foreign Ministry also appealed to
other friendly countries, in particular, to Russia and France, which
through their diplomatic missions in Malabo could help the detained
pilots. Diplomats of the French embassy have already visited the
Armenian prisoners and noted that their state of health is
satisfactory.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan sent a letter to the Kongo
Foreign Ministry calling for its help in securing the release of the
Armenian pilots. The Armenian Foreign Ministry also appealed to the
International Red Cross Committee and the International Amnesty
Organization.
If need be, the Armenian Foreign Ministry is prepared to send its
diplomats to Equatorial Guinea so as to resolve the issue on the spot.

Minor reshuffle in Armenian government
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
23 Mar 04

Staff changes have been made in the government.
By decision of Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan Amayak
Garoyan has been relieved of the post of head of the State Emergencies
Department.
The former chairman of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of
Armenia, Artak Sagradyan, has been appointed deputy minister of
education and science.
The head of the cultural department of the Yerevan mayor’s office,
Arman Saakyan, has been appointed deputy mayor.
Gagik Martirosyan has been relieved of the post of head of the State
Committee for Water Resources and appointed the prime minister’s
councillor.
Andranik Andreasyan has been appointed head of the State Committee for
Water Resources. He has been relieved of his the post as deputy
minister for coordinating territorial administration and production
infrastructures.

DISCUSSIONS CONTINUE
Azat Artsakh – Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
22-03-2004
Presently the question of introducing the 12-year educational system
is discussed. According to the Minister of Education of NKR Armen
Sarghissian,the introduction of this system in Armenia and NKR is
still a question to be discussed, trying to find out its advantages
and disadvantages. In Armenia a number of documents have been drawn
up, in particular, “The Main Principles of the Conceptual State
Secondary Education System”. According to Armen Sarghissian, the
advantage of the 12-year secondary education is that in the upper
classes the pupils will have the opportunity of specialization, and
thus favourable conditions will be provided for the pupils who will
want to proceed with higher education. This system will also bring
about problems. The children will goto school at the age of
6. Therefore much work has to be done for establishing primary
education institutions. The teachers with necessary specialization
will change to the nursery schools. In the! end the minister added
that especially in the education system reforms must be done with
special care as it is a conservative system in the positive sense of
the word, a mechanism created in the course of years and rapid changes
will cause failure. Because the reform will be effective in the case
of correct planning and funding. If anything is done with faults, the
reform, even the best idea will fail.
LILIT ASRIAN.
22-03-2004

Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire
March 18, 2004
OSS-Zvezda fails to get license for mobile services in Armenia
MOSCOW, Mar 18 (Prime-Tass) — Russian-Armenian telecommunications
joint venture OSS-Zvezda failed to receive a license from Armenia’s
Transport and Communications Ministry to provide GSM 1800 mobile
services in Armenia, the company’s information service told
Prime-Tass Thursday.
The ministry refused to provide the license to the company, saying
that another company, the Armenian Telephone Company is currently
licensed to provide mobile services in the country.
In spite of the ministry’s rejection, OSS-Zvezda plans to bid for a
license as well as to open its affiliates in the country acting under
local legislation.
The company’s total investments into its Armenian project are
estimated at 60 million euros.
The company also plans to build a mobile network to cover the
Caucasus Region, including Georgia, under the brand name Kavkazskaya
Zvezda (Caucasian Star). End