Author: Nargizian David

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Aug 10 2007

Ombudsman appeals to ICRC head for release of captured Azerbaijanis

[ 10 Aug 2007 14:53 ]

Azerbaijan’s Ombudsman Elmira Suleymanova has written to President of
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Jacob
Kellenberger to help release Azerbaijani Army soldier Samir Mammadov,
civilians Ashraf Jafarov and Anar Aliyev who have been captured by
Armenian Armed Forces and with regard to other nuances.

The Ombudsman’s Office told APA the Ombudsman’s letter to the ICRC
President covers the results of the analyses by Ombudsman regarding
the imprecise Armenian media reports which say as if captured Samir
Mammadov refuses his parents, family, his being brought up in
children’s home. Ms. Sulemanova has got necessary documents after
having contacted related state structures and the captured soldier’s
family.
The Ombudsman’s appeal stresses that Armenian media reports on Samir
Mammadov have negative psychological impact on him and his family and
on the other hand, mislead the country and the international
community.
Ms.Suleymanova asks the ICRC President to held in soonest release of
Azerbaijani Army soldier Samir Mammadov, civilians Ashraf Jafarov and
Anar Aliyev, and through regional offices focus on avoiding any
inhuman treatment of the captured persons.
The issue will be discussed with the ICRC representatives during the
Ombudsman’s Office sector director Zaur Aliyev’s visit to Geneva
soon. /APA/

CONSTRUCTION OF FOUR SUBWAYS TO BE COMPLETED IN YEREVAN ON SEPTEMBER 15

Noyan Tapan
Aug 06 2007

YEREVAN, AUGUST 6, NOYAN TAPAN. Starting from August 15, four
road construction programs – on overpasses at the crossroads of
Kievian-Kasian and Baghramian-Orbeli Streets, on the subway in
front of Victory Park, on asphalt laying and repairs in Azatutyan
Avenue and Artsakh Street – will begin in Yerevan. The director of
Yerevantrans CJSC Karen Yedigarian stated this at the August 6 press
conference. According to him, construction of subways in Alek Manukian,
Nalbandian, Khanjian and Vardanants Streets will finish on September
15. Construction of the subway at the crossroads of Tigran the Great
and Khanjian Streets will finish on October 15.

In his words, it is planned to replace or restore 23 traffic lights
and install 1,300 road signs in Yerevan in 2007, for which 300 mln
drams (over 895.5 thousand USD) and 70 mln drams respectively has
been allocated.

It was mentioned that this year 133 transport stop facilities (in
2008 – another 83) will be installed in Yerevan.

US DIPLOMAT DOES NOT FORECAS SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT IN 2007

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Aug 6 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / Òrend corr E. Huseynov, K. Ramazanova / The US
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Mathew Bryza, considers that there
is a possibility of achieving an agreement on the settlement of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by the end of this year.

However, Bryza was unable to say that the solution would be found in
2007. "There is a possibility by the end of this year. We will witness
constructive co-operation, but I cannot forecast that the decision
will be made this year. Possibly, a break will be made in the process
of peaceful settlement due to the elections to be held in Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and in Russia next year, but we will not give up," Bryza
said in an interview with the Russian News Times newspaper.

Bryza mentioned that a steady progress was achieved at the end of last
year during the peaceful negotiations between Armenian and Azerbaijani
Presidents in Minsk.

In May, parliamentary elections were held in Armenia, but we did not
suspend the work. We just did not precipitate the negotiations in that
period in order to give the Armenian President, Robert Kocharyan,
more political space for manoeuvres. We recall that he promised to
return to the issue after the elections. But that did not happen. It
turned out that in St. Petersburg (Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in St.

Petersburg on 9 June 2007 during an informal CIS summit) the presidents
did not make any important decision. I cannot say what the reason for
that was. Every president has his wishes and his motives," Bryza noted.

According to the diplomat, there are three main principles which can
affect the negotiations, namely the refusal to use forces, recognition
of territorial integrity of the states, and the right for national
self-determination of the nations. "I believe in every conflict,
it can be in Georgia, Caucasus, Abkhazia, Karabakh, or Moldavia,
if the people seek a peaceful solution, a compromise should be made
regarding those principles. "That is the task of the leaders.

The right for self-determination can result in independence or
autonomy. And I, as a mediator and a diplomat, cannot define which
status that will be, that is not my task. I can say that today,
in accordance with international law, we recognize the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan. Negotiations are underway and we are searching
for a compromise," he said.

The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus began in 1988
due to territorial claims by Armenia against Azerbaijan. Armenia has
occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani land including the Nagorno-Karabakh
region and its seven surrounding Districts. Since 1992, these
territories have been under the occupation of the Armenian Forces. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time
the active hostilities ended. The Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
(Russia, France and USA) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.

–Boundary_(ID_w1RxOuN24pAlO0W1ctix UA)–

GOVERNMENT PRESSES FRAUD CASE AGAINST INDIAN-OWNED GOLD FIRM
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Aug 2 2007

Prosecutors pressed on Thursday fraud charges against Armenia’s
largest, Indian-owned gold company, in a move that will likely speed
up its takeover by another foreign investor.

The Office of the Prosecutor-General said it has formally asked the
country’s Economic Court to strip the Ararat Gold Recovery Company
(AGRC) of all operating licenses and fine it almost $22 million for
tax fraud and other violations of the law.

The development follows a criminal investigation that has forced AGRC’s
owner, Vedanta Resources, to put the company up for sale. The company,
which develops Armenia’s largest gold deposits, has stood idle ever
since prosecutors raided its offices last January.

AGRC’s Indian top executives have rejected the charges as baseless
and accused the Armenian government of illegally forcing Vedanta to
leave the country. Vedanta is already looking for buyers for its
Armenian subsidiary, which it had purchased in 2002. The Russian
financial-industrial group Promyshlennye Investory is reportedly
close to gaining ownership of AGRC.

It is not clear if the takeover can be formalized before a court
ruling on the lawsuit brought by the prosecutors. The latter also
want the Economic Court to freeze AGRC assets worth the amount of
the demanded compensatory damages pending a verdict on the case.

Russia plants flag in North Pole seabed as race for riches hots up

Agence France Presse
Thursday, August 2, 2007

by Conor Humphries

Members of Russia’s parliament in a mini-submarine planted their
country’s flag four kilometers (2.5 miles) below the North Pole at the
climax of a mission to back up Russian claims to the region’s mineral
riches.

"The Mir-1 submarine successfully reached the bottom of the Arctic
Ocean… at a depth of 4,261 metres," (13,980 feet) veteran Arctic
explorer and expedition leader Artur Chilingarov told the Vesti
television channel.

A metre-high flag, made of titanium so as not to rust, was deposited on
the seabed, the ITAR-TASS news agency cited an expedition official as
saying.

Chilingarov was joined by fellow parliamentarian Vladimir Gruzdev and
four others, three of whom followed in a second mini-submarine, which
touched the seabed 4,302 metres below the surface, Vesti reported.

Billed as the first to reach the ocean floor under the North Pole, the
expedition aims to establish that a section of seabed passing through
the pole, known as the Lomonosov Ridge, is in fact an extension of
Russia’s landmass.

"We must determine the border. The most northerly border of the Russian
shelf," Chilingarov said in comments broadcast before the dive from the
Akademik Fyodorov research ship leading the expedition.

Speaking during a trip to the Philippines on Thursday, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov said he hoped the expedition "would provide
additional scientific evidence for our aspirations," in comments
broadcast on Vesti-24.

The Arctic and Antarctic Institute in Saint Petersburg said official
confirmation of the descent would come only once the mini-submarines are
back on board the Akademik Fyodorov.

The voyage reflects growing international interest in the Arctic partly
due to climate change, which is causing greater melting of the ice and
making the area more accessible for research and economic activity.

The US Geological Survey, a US government agency, said in a report
earlier that some 25 percent of world oil reserves are believed to be
located above the Arctic Circle.

In a speech on a nuclear ice-breaker earlier this year, President
Vladimir Putin urged greater efforts to secure Russia’s "strategic,
economic, scientific and defence interests" in the region.

In 2001 Russia made a submission to a United Nations commission claiming
sub-sea rights stretching to the pole. The current mission is looking
for evidence to back up this claim.

The expedition comes as several countries try to extend their rights
over sections of the Arctic Ocean floor. Both Norway and Denmark are
carrying out surveys to this end.

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently called for measures to
defend the country’s interests in the Arctic, including by boosting the
number of ice-breakers patrolling its sector.

US politicians, including Senator Richard Lugar, have urged defence of
their country’s Arctic interests to stand up to Russian claims over
large stretches of the seabed.

"Unless the United States ratifies the treaty, Moscow will be able to
press its claims without an American at the table," Lugar said in May,
referring to the Law of the Sea treaty.

Russian media reported a US expedition that set off from Norway on July
1 to study another part of the Arctic seabed, the Gakkel Ridge, was part
of a race between Moscow and Washington for the Arctic’s mineral riches.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, which was organising the
voyage, said in an email to AFP that the "expedition is in search of
hydrothermal vents and new biological life."

On Thursday a second Russian expedition was to be launched from the
northern port of Arkhangelsk for a 100-day research mission to Russia’s
Arctic seas, the Arctic and Antarctic Institute said.

p/russiascienceclimate_070802113721

PARLIAMENTARY FACTIONS HAVE ALREADY DECIDED WHO WILL REPRESENT THEIR PARTIES IN THE NEW STRUCTURE OF THE CEC

arminfo
2007-08-01 16:25:00

Parliamentary factions have already decided who will represent their
parties in the new structure of the Central Electoral Commission.

The RPA will preserve its representative Abraham Bakhchagulyan in the
Central Electoral Commission. The Prosperous Armenia party will put
forward Harutyun Shakhbazyan. The ARF Dashnaktiutyun again preserved
its representative Hamlet Abrahamyan, and the Orinats Yerkir –
Sona Sarkisyan.

It is for the first time that the oppositional Heritage party will
be represented by Zoya Tatevosyan. To note, the first sitting of the
CEC will be held on 6 August of the current year.

A GOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION HAS BEEN SET UP TO CONDUCT THE FUNERAL OF ARMENIAN ACADEMICIAN

arminfo
2007-07-30 18:39:00

In connection with the death of Kostan Kostanyan, an academician
of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences (NAS), a governmental
commission on conduct of the funeral has been set up by the decision
of Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan.

The Armenian governmental press-service told ArmInfo that the
commission will be headed by NAS President Radik Martirossyan.

RA PRIME MINISTER PAYS WORKING VISIT TO ARMAVIR REGION

Noyan Tapan
Jul 30, 2007

ARMAVIR, JULY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA Prime Minister, Serge Sargsian,
on July 28, paid a working visit to the Armavir region. In the town
of Etchmiadzin the Prime Minister got acquainted with the process of
road construction, then left for the region’s village of Gay, visited
village’s school, house of culture, the local Surb Nshan church.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Government Information and
Public Relations Department, S. Sargsian got acquainted with the
road construction of the town of Armavir, watched the newly planted
gardens in the territory of the village of Hushakert in the Artamet
community, then visited Artamet’s school, which is being built,
took part in the work on laying the foundation of the school.

The Prime Minister also visited the community of Yervandashat for the
purpose of getting acquainted with the measures on reinforcement of
the banks of the river Araks.

FORMER HEAD OF RA JUSTICE MINISTRY’S PENITENTIARY DEPARTMENT ACCUSED OF KIDNAPPING

Noyan Tapan
Jul 30, 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. Samvel Hovhannisian, the former Head
of the RA Justice Ministry’s Penitentiary Department, is accused of
point 1, part 3, Article 131 of the RA Criminal Code, kidnapping by
an organized group.

The case is examined at the Investigation Department of the RA
Prosecutor General’s Office. The other details of the case are kept
secret at present, proceeding from the interests of the preliminary
examination. It should be mentioned that the above mentioned article
envisages 7-10 years’ imprisonment.

Quest Economics Database
World of Information Europe Review World of Information
July 29, 2007 Sunday

Azerbaijan

BODY:

The ‘Texas of the East’ can legitimately claim to be the world’s
oldest oil and gas producer. Political geography, however, has not
been kind to Azerbaijan. Not only has the Nagorno-Karabakh struggle
with neighbouring Armenia been a major distraction, but the dispute
is compounded by Azerbaijani concerns about its own enclave of
Nakhichevan within Armenia. Azerbaijan’s Armenian (and Christian)
population are largely located in the enclave of Nagorno (meaning
mountainous) Karabakh. Armenia had sought to annex the enclave, which
it has considered part of Armenian territory since the nineteenth
century, by establishing an ethnically ‘cleansed’ corridor between
the enclave and its eastern border.

The dispute with Armenia

2005 had been one of the few years in Azerbaijan’s post-independence
history not dominated by its dispute with Armenia over the separatist
Nagorno-Karabakh enclave in the country’s south-west. However, there
were significant developments on this front, at least in terms of
restarting dialogue. President Aliyev had met with his Armenian
counterpart, Robert Kocharian, twice in 2005, and their respective
foreign ministers held several meetings. The OSCE Minsk Group, formed
in 1992 to settle the dispute also insisted that momentum was
gathering for a breakthrough, the last such occasion being in 2001.

Against these positive developments must be weighed other, less
encouraging events. Dozens of Azeri and Armenian servicemen continued
to be killed along the cease-fire line in small-scale clashes. More
worryingly, both countries doubled their defence spending in 2005 (to
US$300 million) and again in 2006, while Nagorno-Karabakh’s hard-line
separatist administration was re-elected in a landslide in the June
2005 elections.

Regarding its other neighbours, Azerbaijan’s relations improved
markedly with Iran. Azerbaijan-Iran relations have long been
complicated by the presence of a 15-20 million-strong Azeri minority
in north-western Iran – greater than the population of
Azerbaijan-proper (eight million). However, President Aliyev visited
Tehran in January and Iran agreed to provide its Nakhichevan enclave
with natural gas. Azerbaijan also worked hard in 2005 to cultivate
relations with Kazakhstan. At stake is control of the export route to
Europe for Kazakh natural gas. Azerbaijan and its backers, including
the US, favour south Caucasus routes such as that proposed by the
Southern Caucasus Pipeline Company, while Russia has lobbied for
transit across its own territory. In December, the presidents of
Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan signed agreements deepening trade relations
between the two countries.

Oil saves the day

In 2006, real GDP growth was estimated at over 30 per cent, making
Azerbaijan the fastest growing economy in the world. This high rate
of growth is due almost solely to oil exports. Azerbaijan has 7.0
billion barrels of proven oil reserves, and oil currently accounts
for around 80 per cent of all exports. By 2010, oil production is
expected to reach 1.3 million barrels a day. Oil exports to Europe
through the newly constructed Baku- Tbilisi- Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline (a
project reportedly worth some US$3.9 billion) began in June 2006. The
pipeline extends over 1,770 kilometres from Baku via Georgia and into
the Mediterranean Turkish port of Ceyhan where the oil is loaded onto
super tankers for European markets. However, despite the opening of
the BTC pipeline, Russia remains the primary route for Azerbaijan’s
oil exports to Europe. In 2005, Azerbaijan exported 4.1 million tons
of oil through the Baku- Novorossiysk pipeline to Russia. In 2006,
the amount is expected to be about 5 million tons. Azerbaijan still
relies on Russia, and to a minor extent Iran, to supplement its gas
output. However, gas production is forecast to reach 28 billion cubic
meters a year by 2010. A Baku- Tbilisi pipeline to Erzurum in Turkey
for gas exports to Europe is expected to open next year.

The challenge for the government will be to maintain macroeconomic
stability in the face of massive hard-currency inflows. Poverty and
inequality are equally significant concerns. Approximately half of
the population lives below the poverty line. In order to sustain
economic growth and spread economic wealth more equally, the
government will need to forge ahead with financial and legal reforms
which tackle corruption and create a favourable environment for the
establishment of enterprises beyond the oil and gas industries.

Free and fair elections

The last round of parliamentary elections was held on 6 November
2005. In the lead-up, international observers welcomed improved
candidate registration procedures and the government’s active
engagement with international observer missions. Most observers,
however, also noted that significant improvements were still needed
to bring campaign procedures up to international standards. Voter
turnout in the parliamentary elections was poor (47 per cent), and
the international observer community was sharply divided about the
overall fairness of the outcome which allotted 63 of the 125 seats to
the Yeni Azerbaycan Partiyasi (YAP) (New Azerbaijan Party) led by the
President and eight to the opposition Azatluk coalition. Opposition
leaders alleged massive ballot rigging and staged rallies against the
outcome.

The government responded by cancelling the result in some precincts,
but the opposition believes that the government did not do enough to
address the irregularities. The election was in the end depressingly
familiar for opposition supporters. The OSCE and the Council of
Europe declared that the elections ‘did not meet international
standards despite some improvements’ and opposition parties rejected
the results out of hand. Although the ruling YAP lost its legislative
majority, the result revealed that the main opposition parties had
won only ten seats. The election of scores of pro-government
independent MPs ensured that YAP would not be denied a majority on
most issues. Moreover, President Aliyev’s wife and uncle won seats in
parliament. Having dominated Azeri politics since 1969, these
victories did nothing to dispel the notion that the Aliyev clan were,
for all intents and purposes, a royal family.

Post-election demonstrations in Baku, the largest being
20,000-strong, took place in November and December. Riot police took
a less forgiving view than they had prior to the election, which
elicited a formal protest from the US State Department. After weeks
of delay, Azerbaijan’s Central Elections Commission announced in
December that results in ten constituencies were to be overturned and
elections re-run in May 2006. This did little to appease the
opposition parties and those few who had managed to win seats
launched a boycott of the Milli Mejlis. The NGO International Crisis
Group (ICG) declared the elections to be a ‘lost opportunity’ and
called upon the Council of Europe to suspend Azerbaijan’s membership
and for the international community to impose a diplomatic embargo on
the regime in Baku.The opposition to President Aliyev is currently
divided and marginalised. He is expected to be returned to office in
2008.

Outlook

With the SCP and BTC pipelines operational in 2006, thereby
increasing Azerbaijan’s capacity to exploit its oil and gas reserves
on the Caspian, continued rapid economic growth is assured. However,
this growth will almost certainly be dominated by the hydrocarbon
sector. Although President Aliyev has promised to work towards
diversifying the economy up to 2025, the ‘Long-term strategy’ (op
cit) is in its infancy

The ‘lost opportunity’ of the 6 November election is likely to remain
just that – lost. Key opposition parties are insisting on a boycott
of the Milli Mejlis. US criticism of the regime became more muted
from 2005 and it appears unlikely that the kinds of embargoes
recommended by the ICG will be implemented. Indeed, Russia has
criticised the OSCE and Council of Europe’s negative report card on
Azerbaijan’s elections, no doubt reminding Baku that it can always
rely on support closer to home. An Azadliq leader, Jalal Sardaroglu,
declared that the West had betrayed Azerbaijan’s democrats. Given
Azerbaijan’s vast oil and gas reserves and the high price of energy
resources, it seems unlikely that many governments will move to
seriously jeopardise their relations with Baku. Rumours in the Azeri
press of a US interest in establishing radar bases in Azerbaijan
further reinforce the view that the Aliyev government has little to
fear in the way of sanctions.

Risk assessment

Economic Fair

Political Good/imbalanced

Regional stability Poor