Author: Talalian Arpi

Iran says 13,000 arrested in anti-human trafficking drive

AP Worldstream; Mar 11, 2006

Iran has over the past year arrested some 13,000 foreign nationals
attempting to illegally cross into neighboring nations, the official
Islamic Republic News Agency reported Saturday.

It said the foreigners mostly came from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and
Pakistan.

They were detained while attempting to cross into Turkey with the
intention of moving on to Western Europe, according to Gen. Hasan
Karami, police chief of Iran’s northwestern Azerbaijan province, which
has borders with Armenia, Turkey and Iraq.

The news agency’s report also said that a total of 25 human
trafficking rings have been uncovered by police over the past year.

NKR SECURITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES ISSUES CONCERNING CURRENT STAGE OF NAGORNO KARABAKH SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 13 2006

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 13, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Issues regarding
the current stage of Nagorno Karabakh settlement negotiations were
discussed at the NKR Security Council sitting in an extended staff
convened by NKR President Arkadi Ghukasian on March 13.

Then, getting acquainted with the work implemented within the
framework of the process of NKR Constitution elaboration, the President
instructed to convene Constitutional Commission’s sitting during the
current week for the purpose of summarizing its results.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by NKR President’s Acting Spokesperson,
the sitting participants also discussed a number of other issues
connected with country’s socio-economic development.

TURKISH AND AZERI FMS DISCUSSED KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

Pan Armenian
17.10.2005 19:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Abdullah
Gul and Elmar Mammadyarov met in Istanbul to discuss the Azeri-Turkish
relations.

Abdullah Gul informed his Azeri counterpart of the EU-Turkey talks. In
his turn Elmar Mammadyarov presented the pre-election situation
in Azerbaijan.

Besides, the parties discussed the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement and a number of economic issues including the schedule of
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline construction.

Associated Press Worldstream
Oct 16 2005

Armenian president’s protocol chief dies in car crash

The head of protocol for the Armenian presidency was killed in an
automobile accident, officials said Sunday.

Mamikon Tonoyan, 32, died in the accident Saturday night on the
outskirts of the Armenian capital, Yerevan, the presidential
administration said.

No further details were immediately available.

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 13 2005

Armenian president happy about investment projects of European bank

Yerevan, 13 October: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan received the
representatives of the board of directors of the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) today.

The relations between Armenia and the EBRD have entered a practical
stage, the Armenian president noted with satisfaction. He stressed
the importance of boosting the work of the bank with the private
sector. As the first steps show, the commercial entities of Armenia
are reliable partners, Kocharyan said.

The Armenian president said that the reforms in Armenia are being
conducted with a conviction that they are the driving force in the
development of the country. The economic growth achieved following
the reforms is impressive and a certain share comes to the projects
of the EBRD.

The sides also discussed the possible ways of further cooperation.
Kocharyan expressed a desire for an active involvement of the EBRD in
the development of Armenia. As of today, the total amount of the EBRD
investment projects in Armenia amounts to 100m euros. Armenia has
been cooperating with the EBRD since 1992.

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 14 2005

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS KAREKIN II AND UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO
ARMENIA MEET

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 14. ARMINFO. Catholicos of all Armenian Karekin II
met with New Ambassasdor of Ukraine to Armenia Alexander Bozhko,
Friday. It is noteworthy that Ambassador Bozhko has been appointed
the head of the Ukrainian diplomatic mission to Armenia for the
second time. The press-service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
told ARMINFO.

In the course of the meeting, Supreme Patriarch welcomed Alexander
Bozhko and expressed confidence that the Ambassador will further
contribute to developing the friendly relations of the Armenian and
Ukrainian peoples. “It is pleasant that the old friend of Armenia,
Azexander Bozhko, is entrusted with this honorable mission. Both
Armenia and the Ukraine will gain from this,” said His Holiness
Karekin II.

In his turn, Ambassador Bozhko said Armenia has become dear to him
and he was with Armenia during the last 4 years of his absence from
the country. The Ambassador touched upon his close cooperation with
the Armenian community of the Ukraine, in particular, with Leader of
the Ukrainian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Archbishop
Grigoris Buniatyan. He assured the Supreme Patriarch that he intends
to further help developing and strengthening the Armenian- Ukrainian
relations.

Catholicos Karekin II wished the Ukraine to overcome the domestic
political problems and achieve stability in all the spheres.

KARABAKH NOT TO BE INVOLVED IN AZERI ELECTION – SEPARATIST SPEAKER

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
Oct 11 2005

Yerevan, 11 October: The speaker of the National Assembly of the
Nagornyy Karabakh republic [NKR], Ashot Gulyan, today described as
“absurd” the appeal of the Azerbaijani Central Electoral Committee
to NKR citizens to participate in the parliamentary election in
Azerbaijan.

“It is clear that there will be no participation because we conduct
our own elections,” Gulyan said.

Commenting on the domestic political situation in Azerbaijan in the
run-up to the election, Gulyan pointed out that “it totally coincides
with our predictions”, Mediamax reports. He said that “we were sure
that the election campaign will be accompanied by violations, illegal
rallies, pressure on the opposition and dispersal of demonstrators”.

The speaker of the NKR parliament said that the situation in
Azerbaijan will worsen even more as the election approaches. “I
think international observers will have the opportunity to assess the
situation in the run-up to the election in Azerbaijan and compare it
with the situation in the run-up to the election in Nagornyy Karabakh,”
said Ashot Gulyan.

Touching on the Karabakh conflict settlement, Ashot Gulyan pointed
out that it is impossible to achieve a solution to the problem when
there is no trust between the conflicting sides and when Azerbaijan
is torpedoing any contacts between representatives of the two nations.

The speaker said that the position of the Karabakh side based on the
will of the NKR people, who have spoken out in favour of independent
statehood, remains unchanged.

A1+

| 18:30:09 | 07-10-2005 | Economy |

LUZHKOV PONDERS, ZAKHARYAN WAITS

`I’ll think about it’, mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov said to journalists
about buying an apartment in the centre of Yerevan city.

Of course, that was not the aim of Mr. Luzhkov’s visit. At 2 Argishti str.,
Yerevan, Moscow Culture and Business Centre will have been built by
September 1st, 2006. Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov and mayor of Yerevan
Yervand Zakharyan signed today à corresponding memorandum.

Due to tradition the memorandum was placed in a small bottle, which
simvolized the first stone of the building.

Yervand Zakharyan noted, that about 10 million dollars will go on the
building and added: «Beginning from today Moscow days start in Yerevan. The
fact that Culture and Business centre will be located near the city
administration talks to the friendship and brotherhood of two countries.

Mr. Luzhkov added, that `the centre will promote the development of
cultural, commercial and economic relations and business’. `This is what we
are expected to do’.

The architect of the building is Levon Vardanyan.

Yuri Luzhkov also stated, that before long similar territories are planned
to be given to Armenia for founding Yerevan Centre in Moscow.

Regnum, Russia
Oct 8 2005

Armenia stands for establishing of budget monitoring mechanism to
limit warfare appetite of Baku

The Karabakh problem is a conflict between the people of Nagorno
Karabakh and Azerbaijan, and not a territorial dispute between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, Head of the OSCE Department at the MFA
Varuzhan Nersisyan said at a NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan.

According to Nersisyan, even in the end of 20th century the UN
declined to recognize Nagorno Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan,
because it could pose danger to the people of Karabakh. Because of
this, liberation war was waged, during which people of Karabakh took
control over some of the nearest regions as a security measure. But
Azerbaijan still occupies some other Armenian territories, and that
should be a subject of peaceful negotiations, and nothing else,
stressed Nersisyan. `Karabakh is also a part of this conflict and
should participate in negotiations. The international community must
help people of Nagorno Karabakh Republic and find a solution between
two principles – peoples’ right for self-determination and
territorial unity of the state. This should be the main idea of OSCE
Minsk Group’, said Nersisyan. He also expressed his concerns about an
official statement made by Baku on the increase of war budget.

`Such statements can only lead to escalation of arms race in the
region’, noted Nersisyan. He also expressed his doubt whether an
increase of Azerbaijani war budget even to $600 million can help Baku
gain any advantages because of the corruption in Azerbaijani army. `I
think that the international community will formulate its opinion on
such statements. We are for the creation of budget monitoring
mechanism to limit warfare appetites.’

It should be noted, that Turkey did not participate in the seminar,
despite of the invitation, and Azerbaijan was presented unofficially
by chief of Azerbaijani Independent Research Center Leyla Aliyeva.

ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO US PAYS FIRST WORKING VISIT TO LA

Armenpress
Oct 05, 2005

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS: Armenian ambassador to US Tatul
Margarian paid his first working visit to Los Angeles from September
29 to October 2.

Armenian Foreign Affairs Ministry press service said Margarian visited
Armenian Consulate-General in Los Angeles and conducted meetings with
its staff and discussed issues on the activity of the Consulate and
its further programs. In the Consulate the ambassador also met with
the heads of parties and organizations acting in Los Angeles.

On the same day the ambassador also visited the office of the Lincy
Foundation and thanked for the wide range of programs it implements
in Armenia. Within the frameworks of the working visit he was also an
honorable guest in the meeting-reception organized by the “Hayastan”
Pan-Armenian Foundation. The event was organized for the support of
the foundation’s annual telethon.

During the visit Tatul Margarian was also present at the annual
reception organized by the Southern Californian University’s Institute
of Armenian Studies. At the end of his visit the ambassador gave an
interview to Armenian-based “Horizon” TV channel.