Author: Nanijanian Alex

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS MEET WITH ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 23 2007

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Bernard Fassier
(France) visiting Yerevan today met with Armenian Foreign Minister
Vardan Oskanyan, APA reports quoting to Armenian mass media.

The attention was focused on uncoordinated issues concerning the
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Oskanyan and the co-chairs
debated on the schedule of forthcoming meetings and future activities.

The co-chairs will tomorrow arrive in Baku.

They will meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on May 25.

The aim of the co-chairs’ visit to the region is to organize the
meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in the framework of
Economic Forum in St. Petersburg on June 10.

SERGEY LAVROV: MOSCOW SUPPORTS A FAIR SOLUTION TO THE NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 22 2007

"The interests of parties should be taken into consideration in such
cases. Very often history is cited with regard to every conflict
and unfortunately, it is observed connected with the results of the
World War II. We should try to solve all conflicts peacefully," said
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov when replying to APA’s question
"What remained undone by Armenia against Azerbaijan so that Russia
can recognize it as an aggressor" Russian Minister said they support
the achievements of the OSCE Minsk Group in mediating activity and
called this great progress.

"Russia strongly supports the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh in
the framework of OSCE Minsk Group," he said.

Mr.Lavrov added that Moscow wants a fair solution to the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict which would be acceptable for both parties.

FROM 2010 SUBSTANCES DAMAGING THE OZONE LAYER NOT TO BE IMPORTED TO ARMENIA
By Ara Martirosian

AZG Armenian Daily
18/05/2007

On May 16, 2007 the Government of Armenia adopted a legislation bill
restricting the import of substances damaging the ozone layer of
earth’s atmosphere.

Vice-Minister for Nature Protection Simon Papian said that the
International Convention on Restriction of Production of Substances
Damaging the Ozone Layer was adopted in Vienna, 1985, and tits final
provision was signed in Montreal, 1987. Armenia endorsed that document
in 1999.

The Vice-Minister said that the import of those damaging substances
will be reduced to 29,5 tons a year in 2007-2009 and finally stopped
in 2010.

BRIBE GIVERS CHARGED

Panorama.am
19:57 17/05/2007

Prosecutor’s office of Kotaik has finished the criminal preliminary
investigation on charges of "impeding free will of voters."

The investigation unveiled that Aramais Alexanyan, resident of town
of Hrazdan, has given away 4,000 Armenian drams to 32 residents of
building 62, Mikroregion community of Hrazdan with the assistance of
Bella Melkonyan, resident of the same building.

They forced the voters to vote "for" a candidate in a majority list
in their community. Both are charged based on the Armenian Criminal
Code. The case is forwarded to Kotaik first instance course for
deliberation.

Reminder: Sasun Michaelyan, Armenian Republican Party, Mkhitar
Harutunyan, Prosperous Armenian Party, Davit Harutunyan, Communist
Party and Mushegh Harutunyan, with no party affiliation, ran in
the community.

According to Central Electoral Committee preliminary information, Sasun
Michaelyan won 15 331 votes and Mkhitar Harutunyan won 15 093 votes.

AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN STUDENTS COME TO CONFLICT IN MOSCOW

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 18 2007

Azerbaijani and Armenian students again came into conflict in Peoples’
Friendship University named after Patris Lumumba, APA reports. The
culprit escaped. He is being searched at present.

Law-enforcement bodies report that one was stabbed and hospitalized.

The conflict rose due to dispute over Nagorno Karabakh.

Azerbaijani Ageli Alishov was wounded as a result of the skirmish
between Azerbaijani and Armenian students on April 30 at the
university.

Armenia and Lebanon attach importance to military cooperation

ArmRadio.am
19.05.2007 13:55

RA Minister of Defense Michael Harutyunyan received the Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Lebanon to Armenia Gebrail Butros
Jaaray.

According to Defense Minister’s Press Secretary, Colonel Seyran
Shahsuvaryan, the Ambassador congratulated Michael Harutyunyan on
assuming office and briefly presented the military-political situation
in Lebanon.

Turning to the bilateral relations, Gebrail Jaaray noted that although
the Armenian-Lebanese relations are dynamically developing, there are
still unused opportunities. He underlined that that the activation of
contacts on all levels is essential in the development of cooperation
between the two countries.

Speaking about the current state of cooperation in the
military-technical sphere, Michael Harutyunyan mentioned that the
Armenian side is always ready to deepen cooperation in this direction.

During the meeting reference was made to the regional security issues.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 19 2007

Nagorno Karabakh debated in Salt Lake city

[ 19 May 2007 12:51 ]

The conference on Nagorno Karabakh conflict has been held at Salt
Lake City the capital of the state of Utah.

The conference initiated by Political Research Department of Salt
Lake City University discussed the occupation of Lachin and Shusha
regions of Azerbaijan focusing on the solution ways of the conflict,
head of Turkish World and Nationalism Department at Political
Research department of Salt Lake University Hakan Yavuz told APA.
He said Azerbaijan Consul General to Los-Angeles Elin Suleymanov,
specialist on Azerbaijan and the author of `Azerbaijan Diary’ book
Thomas Goltz, celebrated US journalist, the author of several films
about Southern Caucasus region Dodge Billingslyin, the professor of
Wisconsin-Madison University Gulay Shamiloghlu and about 60
intellectuals participated in the conference.
Elin Suleymanov spoke on the history of Armenian occupation of
ancient Azerbaijan towns Shusha and Lachin, stressing that the
occupation turns 15 year. Elin Suleymanov on the demonstration of
Soviet period films about Nagorno Karabakh informed the participants
of the vandalism facts in the period of Armenian occupation. Consul
General said official Baku is making efforts to settle the conflict
over its occupied territories within territorial integrity of sates
under international law.
The professor of Montana University Thomas Goltz told APA the
historical maps on the region were demonstrated in the conference. He
compared the historical ethnic borders on the basis of ancient maps.
Thomas Goltz demonstrated the map on so called `Armenian from Sea to
Sea’.
Giulay Shamiloghlu, professor of Wisconsin-Madison University
stressing the pathological hostile attitude of Armenians towards all
nations of Turkish roots said this is the substantial factor in the
character of conflict.
The conference at Salt Lake University is to be broadcasted at Public
Radio of Utah State.
Utah has the biggest Armenian community in US. Businessmen from Utah
have been invested in energy and chemical industry of Caucasus
states. The church of Marmons has large religious network in
Caucasus. After the conference, Elin Suleymanov met the leadership of
Marmons church and Senate. /APA/

ANOTHER OPPOSITION PARTY TO APPEAL ELECTION RESULTS
By Ruzanna Stepanian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
May 17 2007

Aram Karapetian, a radical opposition leader, said on Thursday that
his Nor Zhamanakner (New Times) will also ask Armenia’s Constitutional
Court to annul the official results of the parliamentary elections.

According to the preliminary figures released by the Central Election
Commission, Nor Zhamanakner won about 3.5 percent of the vote, failing
to pass the 5 percent threshold for winning parliament seats under
the proportional representation system.

Karapetian said that his party got many more votes, alleging that
they were deliberately miscounted by government-controlled election
commissions across the country. "The authorities have given our votes
to other pro-government parties," he told a news conference. Nor
Zhamanakner will therefore demand a nationwide recount of ballots in
its appeal to the Constitutional Court, he added.

The pro-Russian oppositionist showed journalists what appeared to be
evidence of a huge discrepancy between official results registered
in a precinct in Charentsavan, a small town in central Armenia.

According to the vote protocol released by the precinct commission,
Nor Zhamanakner polled 111 votes there. However, the CEC data showed
it getting only ten votes.

Also planning to appeal the election results in the court are two
other opposition parties that will be represented in the newly elected
National Assembly. One of them, Orinats Yerkir, is also seeking a
vote recount.

Votes are currently being recounted only in some of the country’s
41 single-mandate districts. In one of them, covering much of the
Aragatsotn province, the recount has found that a large number of
ballots marked for opposition parties, including Nor Zhamanakner,
were actually added to the vote tallies of the governing Republican
Party (HHK) and other pro-government contenders.

Karapetian repeated his and other radical oppositionists’ allegations
that the Armenian authorities also rigged the elections by issuing
fake passports in the name of more than 400,000 voters absent from
the country. He said those passports were given to other citizens who
were bribed to vote for the HHK and the pro-presidential Prosperous
Armenia Party (BHK).

The Armenia authorities have shrugged off the allegations, insisting
that the elections were free and fair. International observers have
similarly concluded that they largely met democratic standards.

In a written statement, the HHK said on Thursday that the conduct
of the May 12 vote testified to the "irreversibility of democratic
processes" in the country. The statement also thanked those Armenians
who voted for the HHK.

ARMENIA’S COOPERATION IN CSTO FRAMEWORK AND RELATIONS WITH NATO SUPPLEMENT EACH OTHER

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.05.2007 18:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today there is no issue of becoming a NATO
member-state in Armenia’s foreign agenda, RA Defense Minister Michael
Haroutyunyan stated. He said, possibilities of coupling and relevantly
synchronous, proportional development of security policy in both
directions – NATO and CSTO, are conditioned with common tasks, which
stand in front of these two security systems, common approaches to
neutralize security threats, presence of common interests.

"Today it is becoming obvious that in order to settle security
problems in their influence zones both CSTO and NATO added to their
arsenal principally similar approaches and global scale and actuality
of international threats moved aside existing differences, making the
sides more and more widen frames of cooperation. Following the course
of complimentary policy, within the limits of our possibilities we are
trying to create a field of constructive cooperation between interested
states and security systems, guiding ourselves by common interests
and assisting alleviation of existing differences. We can say that
Armenia’s cooperation in the framework of CSTO and cooperation with
NATO do not contradict each other, just the opposite, they supplement
each other, creating additional guarantees for security both for our
country and the whole region," Michael Haroutyunyan said, "Krasnaya
Zvezda" reports.

ARSHAK SADOYAN CONSIDERS AS DEPLORABLE FACT OF KOMSOMOL-TYPE HAWKS – MERCENARY YOUTH’S ENTERING POLITICS

Noyan Tapan
May 15 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The "Alliance of National Democrates"
party (AND) envisages to found soon a political club with the
opportunity for experienced political figures to hold discussions
and exchange experience in informal conditions. The party chairman
Arshak Sadoyan, who has lost in the parliamentary elections for the
first time since 1990, said this during an interview to NT.

Assessing the results of the parliamentary elections, A. Sadoyan
expressed confidence that "like all other national elections,
these parliamentary elections were also rigged with the same
handwriting." According to him, the only comforting fact in this
process has been that "Heritage" party has some opportunity to be
represented at the parliament.

"My goal to use the parliamentary rostrum for speaking aloud about
illegalities in the country and for ensuring a healthy change of
generations in politics has not been fulfilled," A. Sadoyan noted,
considering as deplorable the fact that "komsomiol-type hawks or
mercenary young people forming 5th column" will enter politics.

Speaking about the 2008 presidential elections, he pointed out the
preparation of groups to control 1,930 polling stations as the number
1 task. He assured that their party will do its best to form a healthy
moral and psychological atmosphere among voters. "If good candidtes
are nominated, I’ll support them. Otherwise, I’ll be nominated,
but I think there will be no need to take this step," A. Sadoyan added.