Author: Nargizian David

VARTAN OSKANIAN: THE ISSUE IN KARABAKH RELATES NOT TO TERRITORIES BUT TO POLITICAL STATUS

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Dec 12 2006

ISTANBUL, DECEMBER 12, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Karabakh
people held a referendum not to make a decision concerning its
independence, but to have a basic Constitution. RA Foreing Minister
Vartan Oskanian said about it in the interview given to the Turkish
"Jumhurriyet" newspaper correspondent, adding that it is impossible to
imagine a country which will not have its Constitution, and Karabakh
has been an autonomous country for 15 years. In the Minister’s words,
the referendum on the Constitution has no relations with nationality
of the present population. If peace is established tomorrow, and
Azeri refugees from Karabakh return, they will need this Constitution
as well.

Responding the Turk journalist’s reminding that once Levon
Ter-Petrosian and Heydar Aliyev shooke one another’s hands and
agreed that Armenians withdrew from seven regions being under their
control, Vartan Oskanian said that the two Presidents never shooke
one another’s hands with such an agreement. He mentioned that the
OSCE Minsk Group’s proposal was adopted by the Presidents during those
days, according to which issues of the Karabakh problem solution must
be discussed stage by stage. Levon Ter-Petrosian spoke for it but
a strong opposition was formed against him. According to Marmara,
Vartan Oskanian also emphasized that the issue in Karabakh relates
not to the territories, but to the political status. In his words,
in the prepared agreements they speak about the territories till now,
whereas the Karabakh people insists on its self-government, on the
status of independently defining its fate, and the key for solution
of the Karabakh problem is just here. Vartan Oskanian reminds that
today it is impossible to leave defining of the Karabakh status aside
and be engaged in the territorial issues. In his words, the reason for
fixing some movement in the Karabakh issue during the recent period of
time is that President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev finally approached
discussion of the status issue. And as for that statement of Ilham
Aliyev, according to which Azerbaijan will resort to military means if
the issue does not find peaceful solution, Vartan Oskanian expressed
a hope that it is not Aliyev’s sincere thought and was said just to
calm down the people, as if one develops the possibility of military
solution in his head, he may never make compromises and support
reaching agreement. In the Minister’s words, it is a great danger
for Azerbaijan, and if similar military solution was possible, Azeris
would resort to that variant till now: Azeris attempted twice and lost.

LIBERAL-DEMOCRATIC UNION INTENDS TO RUN IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 2007

Yerevan, December 11. ArmInfo. The Liberal Democratic Union of Armenia
is going to run in the parliamentary elections 2007.

The leader of the party, presidential advisor Seyran Avakyan says
that the last elections were a good lesson for the party. In any case
the party will go into Armenia’s history as a party who lacked just
0.3% to get into the parliament. Avagyan is sure that the party was
deprived of this percentage on purpose. At the same time, he blames
the party members "who worked poorly in parliamentary commissions
and failed to assert their interests."

Avakyan says that during its forthcoming congress the party will
decide if it will run on its own or in bloc.

RA GOVERNMENT APPOINTS NEW REGIONAL GOVERNORS IN LORI AND ARMAVIR

Noyan Tapan
Dec 11 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. It was decided at the December 8
special sitting of the RA Government to appoint Aram Kocharian as
the Lori Regional Governor and Ashot Ghahramanian as the Armavir
Regional Governor. Noyan Tapan was informed about it by the RA
Government’s Information and Public Relations Department. The newly
appointed Governors’ brief biographic data are presented below:
Aram Vladimir Kocharian was born in 1952, in Kirovakan. He entered
and gratuated from the Yerevan Kh.Abovian State Pedagogical Institute
in 1975-1979. He worked at the Kirovakan Instrument Making Technical
School as the history, political economy teacher in 1979-1985. He was
the instructor, department head of the CPA Gugark regional committee
in 1991-1996. He occupied the post of the deputy director general of
the Vanadzor "Hats" (bread) commercial-industrial union in 1997, and
the post of the Education Department Chief of the RA Lori Governor’s
Office in 1997-1999. He was the RA Lori Deputy Governor in 1999-2005,
and the Deputy Chairman of the RA Social Insurance State Fund from
2005 till the appointment. He is married, has two children, is a RPA
member. Ashot Sargis Ghahramanian was born in the village of Aygeshat,
the region of Hoktemberian, in 1949. He graduated from the Yerevan
State University with specialty of lawyer in 1972. He worked as the
inspector of the department on struggle against plunder of socialistic
property of the Etchmiadzin Internal Affairs Department in 1975-1976,
as the inspector, senior inspector of the office on struggle against
plunder of socialistic property of the USSR Ministry of Internal
Affairs in 1976-1980. He occupied the post of the section chief of
the department on struggle against plunder of socialistic property
the Yerevan Internal Affairs Office, then the post of the section
chief of the criminal investigation department of the same office
from 1980. He was the chief of the social-legal department of the
staff office of the RA Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1992-1993, and
occupied the post of the Internal Affairs Department Chief of Goris,
Masis, Etchmiadzin, Gyumri, in different years from 1993. He worked
as the Chief of the Internal Affairs Department of the marz of Lori
in 1996-1999, he was the Yerevan Internal Affairs City Office Chief
in 1999, and occupied the post of the RA Police Department Chief of
the marz of Syunik from 2002 till the appointment. He is married,
has three children, is non-partisan.

KNOWLEDGE OF THE U.S. LARGE CIRCLES ABOUT NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT IS NOT AT NECESSARY LEVEL
Author: A.Mammadova

TREND, Azerbaijan
Dec 11 2006

"Today the USA is a strong country of the world and the co-chair of
the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as the country where Armenian lobby is
very active. Therefore, Azerbaijan should strengthen its position
by introducing its large cultural heritage to the USA," the MP of
Azerbaijani, Ganira Pashayeva, said, commenting on the visit of
the parliamentary delegation of Azerbaijan headed by the President
of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Good-Will Ambassador of UNESCO,
Mehriban Aliyeva.

According to Pashayeva, the knowledge of the large circles of the
USA about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not at the necessary
level. "I consider that it is necessary to hold events dedicated
to the culture of Nagorno-Karabakh during the anniversaries of the
occupied Azerbaijani lands, which will provide information that
Nagorno-Karabakh is the integral part of Azerbaijan," she said.

In addition, the MP said that it is necessary to publish these
questions in the USA media, and Azerbaijani students and Diasporas
may play a great role in this issue. She said that the students are
very active in this process. "During the visit of Arkadi Gukasyan to
California, five Azerbaijani students made speeches at the meeting
and openly expressed their protest against the false statements of
Gukasyan", Pashayeva said.

"Many talented people live in USA, who may increase the knowledge
of the USA wide circles about Azerbaijan, culture of Azerbaijan,
realities about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and they will be
supported by Azerbaijan," Pashayeva said.

TERRY DAVIS: INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY NOT TO RECOGNIZE REFERENDUM RESULTS IN NAGORNO KARABAGH

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Dec 11 2006

"Referendum in Nagorno Karabagh is illegal and international community
will not recognize its results", Council of Europe Secretary General
Terry Davis announced, APA reports.

Official communique sighed by him says that the final decision on
status of Nagorno Karabagh can be determined in result of political
dialogues by the meditation of OSCE Minsk Group.

"Nagorno Karabakh conflict should be settled by means of respect
for human rights. If public election is needed, it should be free,
transparent and just. Armenian and Azerbaijani leaderships bear the
responsibility for the settlement of the conflict. This statute is
reflected among CE commitments of both countries", he said.

SINGER SILVA WINS NEXT BIG THING

BBC NEWS
inment/6216088.stm
2006/12/09 09:41:11 GMT

Armenian singer Silva has won the BBC World Service’s Next Big Thing
competition with her song I Like.

The 17-year-old was chosen ahead of six other acts from around the
world at the final, held in the BBC’s Maida Vale studios in London.

The judges praised I Like, which was composed by the singer’s brother,
as "fresh and new" and described her performance as "second to none."

"It’s terrific, it’s unbelievable to be in first place," she said.

She added the comments from the judges – producer William Orbit
described her as "fabulous" – meant she felt confident she could
"make the step up to international level."

Second place in the competition was split between Malawian rapper
NiC and London duo Stefan and Mya.

‘Great tradition’

Stefan and Mya’s song My Dunks – a rock-rap track about
a trainer-obsessed fashion victim and his bitter rows with his
girlfriend – was described by Jeff Travis – founder of UK indie label
Rough Trade – as part of "a great tradition in rock ‘n’ roll."

NiC’s Take A Look Into My Eyes – an anti-materialistic rap song about
the difficulties of getting into the music industry in Africa – was
lauded by the judges for its lyrical content and use of a Greek sample.

Meanwhile, third place went to Brazilian collective Sweet Cherry Fury
for their song Cold Blonde Body.

Generation Next

The other finalists included British rock group Skagz, American outfit
MLK and the Dreamers, and Ghanaian singer Mishkini, who performed
his song in three different languages.

The competition, part of the BBC’s Generation Next season, was aimed
exclusively at acts aged under 18.

The final seven had been selected by a panel of music journalists and
experts from a group of 20 acts – who themselves had been pooled from
all the entries submitted via the BBC’s website.

The judges for the final included legendary producer William Orbit,
Rough Trade founder Jeff Travis, African star Angelique Kidjo and
Dirty Pretty Things drummer Gary Powell.

NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA: EU OUTBIDS CIS COUNTRIES FROM RUSSIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.12.2006 15:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "What needs to be done to destroy the CIS, which is
in its last days? Practically the European Commission just the other
day answered this question, declaring about granting 12 billion euros
in the framework of Neighborhood Policy program for the development
of some states," Nezvisimaya Gazeta writes. In the list of kindly
treated countries by Brussels also appeared Russia’s partners in the
CIS – Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova combined in regional
organization of GUAM, as well as Armenia.

Besides money the European Commission promised them wide integration
in trade and economy, built on free transportation of products,
as well as simplified ways of visa delivery, systematic involvement
of those countries in joint programs and closer co-operation in the
energy and transport sectors. "This is just the same thing which is
being declared in CIS during the past 15 years but is not fulfilled
anyway. And the last CIS summit in Minsk showed that the dream of
post-soviet nations for free movement and trade in the territory of
former Soviet Union will not come true.

But promising projects like EurAsEC (Eurasian Economic Community)
and UES (United Economic Space) after close examination remind us
of Potyomkin’s villages, which generally arises a question: do the
presidents of CIS member states, and first of all of Russia, really
want to make something concrete from that neighborly relations,
the publication reports.

"If we examine our relations with CIS countries during the past
15 years, we will notice that principle of relation building
has changed. More than 15 years we held them in our sphere
of influence by providing the former sister nations with cheap,
sometimes free-of-charge gas. But this year we decided to use the same
pipeline factor as a tool in disputable political issues with neighbors
declaring that Russia will pass to a new, to European system of price
making. For the grater part of CIS countries, which used to pay $80
for 1000 cubic meters the new price of $230 became a tragedy. They
began to look for new partners and found them in Europe. Unlike
Moscow, which finances conflict zones in post-soviet territories-
South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Trandnistria (totally 1 million people),
which declared about their wish to join Russia, Brussels staked on
juridical centers and as a whole pays for Georgia, Moldavia and now
Armenia’s reorientation to the West,"Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports.

CLERGYMAN CONSIDERS "INADMISSIBLE" PERFORMANCES WITH MOCKING CONTENTS CONCERNING CHURCH OR ITS SERVICEMEN

Noyan Tapan
Dec 08 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. The meeting taken place at the
"Hayeli" debate club on December 7 was dedicated to discussion of the
issue of making the Armenian Apostolic Church and church servicemen
subject of laugh or joke during TV programs and stories. Priest
Ter Hakob Khachatrian, writer Violet Grigorian, French-Armenian
doctor-psychologist Hovhannes Rasho Hovhannisian, actor Hovhannes
Babakhanian participated in the discussion. As priest Ter Hakob
Khachatrian mentioned it is inadmissible when roles presenting persons
of church servicemen as well as clergyman’s clothes are used for
this or that comic or funny story and program. "Karekin II Catholicos
of All Armenian has persuaded and asked many times that clergyman’s
clothes are not used and their service is not distorted," the priest
mentioned. In words of Ter Hakob, every word, story, program having
mocking contents concerning the church and its serviceman, or any film
distorting evangelic truths "is a stone of temptation for those who are
just now on the way of finding the God." In his words, before preparing
those programs, it would be better to consult with church servicemen
to observe the rules of propriety and respect. Poet Violet Grigorian,
opposing words of Ter Hakob, stated that this conversation contains
signs of censorship and limits the freedom of expression. In her words,
the church, first of all, protects its interests with it. The poet
also mentioned that she did not see that the church, at least once,
protected publicly a poor person being a laughing-stock. "Why didn’t
the church protect the same people who were beaten by the authorities
at night, April 12 (after the 2004 opposition rally – NT), where was
the church," she said. In V.Grigorian’s words, clergymen very often
distort the history and role of the church just themselves. "We may
criticize even oligarches for their property or behaviour, but to speak
about the church is a close theme, taboo," the writer is sure. And
actor Hovhannes Babakhanian is sure that there was no possibility
for a long time to get to know both church and Christian traditions:
"Today we already have that possibility and must learn the missed
one and made us firmer in belief as that force supports everybody."

ATTORNEYS MAY GO TO INTERNATIONAL COURT

Lragir, Armenia
Dec 7 2006

The City Hall of Glendale decided to support Arman Babajanyan, the
editor-in-chief of the Zhamanak Yerevan newspaper, who got a 4-year
sentence on a charge of forging documents and avoiding military
service. Arman Babajanyan’s case is heard at the Court of Cassation.

The City Hall of Glendale is going to send its decision to the Court of
Cassation. The attorneys of Arman Babajanyan informed news reporters
about this on December 7. They said it is possible that in case the
Court of Cassation does not satisfy their claim they will appeal to
international organizations besides the Court of Appeal.

Attorney Haik Alumyan said it is possible. He said he is not satisfied
with the process, as it is not complaint with the law. Haik Alumyan
mentioned that the court has turned down several solicitations without
any reason. For instance, the chief justice of the Court of Cassation
refused to provide the verdicts on other persons imprisoned on the same
charges to the attorneys of Arman Babajanyan to use as a precedent
during the hearing of the case at the Court of Cassation. The chief
justice of the Court of Cassation asked them to turn to the first
instance court, and the first instance court refused to provide for
"unclear reasons".

VIMPELCOM WAVERS OVER REMAINING 10% IN ARMENTEL

RIA Novosti, Russia
Dec 6 2006

MOSCOW, December 6 (RIA Novosti) – VimpelCom [RTS: VIMP], Russia’s
second-largest mobile operator, has yet to decide on the acquisition
of the remaining 10% stake in Armenian telephone company Armentel,
a company official said Wednesday.

VimpelCom, best known for its Beeline brand, finalized a deal with
Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (OTE) in mid-November to
buy from the Greek telecoms group its 90% stake in the company for
341.9 million euros ($440 million).

Through the deal, VimpelCom will also take on Armentel’s debt, which
totals around 40 million euros ($51 million).

The Armenian government earlier proposed selling to VimpelCom the
remaining 10% stake, on condition that the company does not attempt
to monopolize the South Caucasus country’s telecoms market.

"Certainly, VimpelCom is interested in a 100% stake in Armentel,"
said Vladimir Ryabokon, a vice president and corporate development
chief. "The issue is being discussed, and a final decision has yet
to be made."

Andrei Bliznyuk, VimpelCom’s candidate for the post of Armentel
director, earlier said the Russian company plans to invest around
$100 million in the Armenian telecoms sector in 2007.

Greece’s OTE bought Armentel in 1997 for $142.5 million, and has
since invested $300 million in the company, whose earnings in 2005
stood at 110 million euros ($140 million).

Armentel has about 600,000 fixed-line and 400,000 mobile service
subscribers, and uses the GSM 900 and CDMA standards.

As well as Russia, VimpelCom operates in the former Soviet republics
of Kazakhstan, Georgia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.