Author: Tambiyan Samvel

EU LAWMAKERS SLAM TURKISH REFORM SLOWDOWN
By Darren Ennis
Reuters, UK
Sept 4 2006
STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) – European Union lawmakers approved
a highly critical report on Monday accusing Turkey of dragging its
heels on reforms, marking the start of looming crisis between the EU
and Ankara over its accession bid.
The EU assembly’s foreign affairs committee voted through a paper
which slammed Turkey for not living up to the commitments it gave when
it received the green light last October to start talks on joining
the bloc.
“The European parliament … regrets the slowing down of the reform
process,” the report said, pointing to what it called “persistent
shortcomings” in a range of areas.
The lawmakers said Turkey had shown “insufficient progress” in
the areas of freedom of expression, religious and minority rights,
women’s rights and law enforcement since EU leaders agreed to start
accession talks 11 months ago.
The report urged Ankara to recognise Cyprus and urged it to “take
concrete steps for the normalisation of bilateral relations with the
Republic as soon as possible”.
Experts fear the niggling dispute over Cyprus and mutual public
disenchantment could lead at worst to a breakdown in accession talks
with the strategic, Muslim candidate country. But the report stopped
short of mentioning that scenario.
“We are not saying that we are not still committed to the talks or
that we do not want Turkey to join the EU,” said Dutch conservative
Camiel Eurlings, who scripted the report.
“But we are sending a clear signal to Turkey that it must move quickly
with its reforms,” he told the committee.
However the report’s demand that, as a precondition of membership,
Ankara acknowledge that Ottoman Turkey committed genocide against
Armenians in World War One — a suggestion it strongly rejects —
will raise tensions further.
Any country wishing to join the 25-member bloc requires the approval
of both the European parliament and the agreement of all member states.
ELECTION PRESSURE
The report will go before a full parliament sitting at the end of
the month and is likely to be raised when chief Turkish EU negotiator
Ali Babacan visits Brussels from Wednesday.
Babacan will try to reassure EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn
and other EU officials that Turkey is committed to pressing ahead with
economic and political reform despite national elections due next year.
The European parliament has never sought to veto any past accession,
but it has been effective in pressuring EU hopefuls to speed up
reforms in previous enlargement rounds.
However the conservative EPP-ED, the assembly’s largest political
group, still favours “privileged partnership” with Turkey rather than
full membership.
The report censures insufficient progress on freedom of expression
and raises concerns over the lot of religious minorities, corruption,
and violence against women.
It also criticised the unusually high threshold for parliamentary
representation, under which a party must score 10 percent nationwide,
making it hard for Kurdish groups to win seats in areas where they
have a majority.
The Commission is due to issue its regular progress report on October
24. Rehn has urged Ankara to show tangible improvements in human
rights legislation by then, not least to offset a likely negative
finding on its behaviour towards Cyprus.
The Commission’s report will assess whether Ankara has met an
obligation to open ports to ships from Cyprus, which Turkey does not
recognise, under a protocol signed last year extending its EU customs
union to the bloc’s 10 new member states.
If it has not complied, an EU summit in December is likely to put at
least part of the accession talks on hold.
(Additional reporting by Hatice Aydogdu in Ankara, Osman Senkul and
Paul de Bendern in Istanbul and Paul Taylor in Brussels)

ROMANIAN NATIONAL DEFENSE MINISTER TO VISIT ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.09.2006 16:52 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ September 6 Romanian National Defense Minister
Teodor Atanasiuwill arrive in Armenia on a 3-day visit. As RA Defense
Minister’s Spokesman, Col. Seyran Shahsuvaryan told PanARMENIAN.Net,
during the visit the Romanian MOD head will meet RA President Robert
Kocharian, Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan, Minister of Defense
Serge Sargsyan and Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanian. The
Romanian delegation will also attend Holy Echmiadzin, the depository
of ancient manuscripts of Matenadatan, the Armenian Genocide Museum
and lay a wreath to the Genocide victims.

CONSUMER PRICES GROW 2.% IN ARMENIA IN AUGUST 2006 ON DECEMBER 2005

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, NOYAN TAPAN. The index of consumer prices made
102.7% in Armenia in August 2006 on December 2005, 101.5% in
January-August 2006 on January-August 2005, 107.2% – on August 2005,
and 102.8% – on the year 2005. The average monthly growth of consumer
prices in January-August 2006 made 0.3% against a 0.5% decline in the
same period of last year. Accoprding to the RA National Statistical
Service, a 0.9% price fall on the Armenian consumer market was
registered in August on July 2005, which was greatly conditioned by
seasonal fluctuations in the prices of some foodstuffs. A 1.8% fall in
the prices of foodstuffs (including alcoholic drinks and cigarettes)
was registered in the country in August on July 2006. Over the same
period, there was a 0.4% growth in the prices of non-food commodities,
and a 0.2% decline in service tariffs. The price index of foodstuffs
(including alcoholic drinks and cigarettes) made 102%, that of
non-food commodities – 102.7% and the index of service tariffs –
103.8% in August 2006 on December 2005. The price index of foodstuffs
(including alcoholic drinks and cigarettes) made 108%, that of
non-food commodities – 105.3%, the index of service tariffs – 104.5%
in August 2006 on August 2005, the same indices made 101.3%, 103.5%
and 103.5% in January-August 2006 on the same months of 2005. The
price index of foodstuffs (including alcoholic drinks and cigarettes)
made 101.3%, that of non-food commodities – 104.6%, and the index of
service tariffs – 104.4% in August 2006 on the year 2005.

POLITICAL FORCE SHOULD HAVE POLITICAL TEAM
Lragir.am
01 Sept 06
Our interview with Khosrov Harutiunyan, the leader of the Christian
Democratic Union, is on the positive and negative sides of the
political situation in Armenia and possible developments.
Let us start with your political party. Will you run in the
parliamentary election 2007? Alone or in an alliance?
Khosrov Harutiunyan: We will run in the election. Alliances of
different forms are possible. This cooperation, however, will have two
important peculiarities. First, it will be based on ideological
similarity and will be for the sake of something, not against
anything. This is the political approach and resolution of the
Christian Democratic Union.

How would you evaluate the processes and livelihood in home policies?

Khosrov Harutiunyan: The upcoming developments are different from the
previous similar stages.

One of the differences is the enhanced role of the political parties
in the public consciousness. The public has started realizing that if
we expect, wish or speak about a serious policy, it must be related to
a political organization, not an individual. This is a
progress. Second, which is also positive, it is getting rooted in the
public consciousness that the activities of a political unity cannot
be separated from its ideological component. Today everyone has
started talking about ideology. Of course, by saying ideology
different forces understand different things, including a pre-election
program. At any rate, however, it is positive that they started
speaking about ideas. In the previous elections alliances were not
based on ideological similarity.

Today everyone understands that they are facing the necessity to
reshape the political sphere, and consolidate, and this consolidation
includes ideological partners rather than mechanical units. This is
the positive thing about the current home political situation, which
tend to develop and become deeper.

How about the negative?

Khosrov Harutiunyan: The negative is that the measure of influence in
politics remains the number of members of the political
party. Everyone is talking about the number of members of the
political party but nobody is trying to understand that the influence
of the political party is determined by one thing ` the ability to
make political decisions. And this is not determined by the number of
members the party has. We should admit that the powerful and
influential political forces are the ones which have serious political
ability and a political team that has potential. The political parties
which can tell the public: if you trust the program of our political
party and vote, this is our future government. And as a citizen I will
consider an influential political party the force which is more
influential, has a more able and viable political team rather than
money. This perception, unfortunately, is in embryo.

Most of us speak about the criminal. Over the past six months they
have been considering that the criminal is entering politics. Everyone
says without defining the criminal. I am asking now: are there new
figures in the political sphere we did not know before, who have a
criminal past? You won’t see such people. Everyone who has an active
role in the political processes, both in and outside the parliament,
are known to everyone. Whether they were criminal or not, they have
been in politics for a long time now. All kinds of authorities, from
the neighborhood to politics, are not new in the political sphere.
They were in the parliament, they were ministers. Hence, what does it
mean the criminal intruded politics. We must give a definition to
this. We must also define the form of struggle. This is what I am
concerned about.

What is criminal and the means of struggle against it?

Khosrov Harutiunyan: I stated my worries as long ago as in 2002.
Generally, the economic power seeks political power. This is a regular
process of organization of public life. There cannot be economic power
without its continuation in political power. Vice versa, political
power seeking for economic power is wrong. This is the path of
corruption. Economic power seeks political power. This is the classic
way. And if this political power is legal, it does not have problems
with the law, it formed under free competition, transparent income and
fair distribution of property, this economic power is even helpful for
strengthening the political power. By saying criminal, we should
understand an economic power, which has problems with the law, which
has its greater part in the black economy, which avoids declaration of
its income and fair distribution of its property. If they do not
define it so, I will not understand what criminal is. And the
political aspirations of such an economic power is dangerous for the
public,

Now the forms of struggle. Usually the existing political parties try
to use this kind of economic power, which are political parties of one
leader, a pyramid formed under a leader of charisma, where the word of
the leader is the law. And for such political parties with such a
quasi-democratic internal life this kind of economic power is a real
discovery. It is enough to buy the leader of the party, and the entire
political party is in your hands. Consequently, the problem is that
the entrance of economic power, which has problems with the law, can
be blocked by only a predictable, intelligible and perceivable
political system.

We suggest speaking about political teams in the upcoming election
independent from the number of members of the political parties. Such
a model will promote new approaches inside political parties. We
propose discussing the question of adopting a proportional system of
election, like in Holland or Scandinavia. The voter votes the party
ticket and a definite person on this list. Not only the leader but
also the entire political party is presented to the public, and
everyone needs to prove that its political party is preferable.
Having money or not is not so important in such a political
competition. In such a political situation we will have a) a gradually
quality political system, b) political parties living a qualitatively
new internal life, which cannot appear under the influence of the
economic power which has problems with the law. This is a way which
will allow protecting the political process from elements which have
nothing to do with politics.

What will the elections and the National Assembly be like, in your
opinion?

Khosrov Harutiunyan: I do not have great expectations. In fact, there
is a practical chance to have a qualitatively new National Assembly,
if we start considering political teams now. The political parties,
which seek influence, can present their political teams, meat with
people. We need to understand, hear, see, touch to find out if we can
trust it or not. If we do this, money will not be that important in
the upcoming election. If we fail to do this, we will unfortunately
have to report another failure in political developments. It is
necessary to put the problem correctly, form demand in the society.

The society wants to see political teams. The political parties will
have to introduce their teams. They cannot replace the team with
money. It is impossible. Those who will try to replace the team with
money will lose. And the presence of political teams will lead to an
ideological clash, rich people will look for professionals, and all of
us will benefit. Fish starts decaying from the head, but they start
cleaning the fish from the tail.

ARAM ZAKARYAN

Agassi beat Marcos Baghdatis in the US Open

ArmRadio.am
01.09.2006 17:36
Andre Agassi came through a dramatic encounter to beat Marcos Baghdatis in
five sets at the US Open and so extend his career by at least one more match.
The 36-year-old, who retires after the event, upset the eighth seed 6-4 6-4
3-6 5-7 7-5 in the night match.
Agassi was superb in the first two sets but missed break points in the third
and lost a 4-0 lead in the fourth.
With Baghdatis suffering cramp, Agassi recovered from a break down in the
fifth and faces Benjamin Becker next.

WITNESSES TESTIFY AGAINST JAMANAK YEREVAN’S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Panorama.am
15:46 31/08/06
The hearing of the case on Arman Babajanyan, editor-in-chief of
Jamanak Yerevan newspaper, closed today. The next hearing is expected
on September 4.
The judge announced that all 4 witnesses are away from Yerevan for
various reasons. He read out the testimonies upon the consent of the
advocate and the prosecutor.
Armine Arakelyan, the wife of Vahe Aboyan, writes, “I have never been
the wife of Arman Babajanyan and my marriage certificate was faked
under the name of Arman Babajanyan.” The birth certificates of both
of her daughters were also faked. She says, “Babajanyan caused moral
damage to my family but I do not want any money from him.”
In their testimony, the officials of military commissariat, Tigran
Harutunyan and Samvel Khachatryan, write that they trusted Emilia
Nersisyan, employee of the president’s staff and mother of Babajanyan,
and did not check the validity of the marriage certificate, even
though it was without notary certification. The next witness, Monk
Arshak, mentions that they do not have letterheads as submitted from
Babajanyan as if from the seat of St.
Edchmiadzin. Therefore, these documents were also faked.
The judge also read out the letter, based on which the case
was instituted against Babajanyan, which tells the story of
faking the documents. The letter was signed from the name of
“A. Khachatryan.” However, the advocate said, “It is nameless and
cannot be a sufficient base for a charge because they have searched
a person with that name but could not find him/her.” The advocate of
Babajanyan submitted proofs, which say that Babajanyan could not have
stolen the marriage and birth certificates. The trial is postponed
until the next hearing.

NKR PRESIDENT AND BELGIAN SENATOR ATTACH IMPORTANCE TO REGIONAL PEACE AND STABILITY
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Aug 31 2006
STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 31, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Issues relating
to the Karabakh problem settlement were discussed at the August 31
meeting of NKR President Arkadi Ghukasian with Francois Roelants du
Vivier, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
and Defence of the Kingdom of Belgium. The interlocutors attached
importance to peace and stability in the region in the affair
of development of economy and democratic institutions. As Noyan
Tapan was informed by the NKR President’s Acting Press Secretary,
Arkadi Ghukasian made explanation concerning the official position
fostered by the NKR in the settlement process as well as concerning
social-economic and political processes of the country.

ITALY SUPPORTS ARMENIA IN RECOVERY OF HISTORICAL MONUMENTS
Panorama.am
17:12 30/08/06
An international seminar on recovery of historical monuments kicked
off at the Union of Architectures organized by the Union, Yerevan
State University History Department and supported by the Italian
Embassy. Top officials of the ministry of culture and youth affairs
assured that monuments are massively recovered in the country. In
the words of Gagik Giurjyan, deputy minister, 24,000 monuments are
registered in Armenia and part of them is private property.
Marco Clemente, Italian ambassador to Armenia, said his country is
watching archeological research in Armenia with great interest and
that his government provides Euro 30,000 annually to the center for
the revival of historical monuments.
Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan said Armenia has an agreement with
Italy for cooperation in the field. She complained that the Armenia
government spends not enough money and does not take commitments in
this area.
The seminar will run till September 16 and will have practical
visits to sites in addition to discussions and reports. Yerevan
Architecture University and Yerevan State University students attend
the seminar.

EUROPA (press release), Belgium
Aug. 29, 2006
Benita Ferrero-Waldner
European Commissioner for External Relations and European
Neighbourhood Policy
Political reform and sustainable development in the South Caucasus:
the EU’s approach
`Caspian Outlook 2008′ Bled Strategic Forum
Bled, Slovenia, 28 August 2006
Chairman,
Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladie s and Gentlemen,
Let me first thank the organisers of the Bled Strategic Forum for
their excellent initiative in bringing us together. It is a great
opportunity to take a fresh look at an area of the world which is of
particular strategic importance for Europe.
I have been asked to talk about political reform and sustainable
development in the South Caucasus. From the European Union’s
perspective, now is certainly the right time, since very soon we will
start implementing the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plans
with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. I look forward to celebrating
their adoption when I visit the region with the Finnish EU presidency
at the beginning of October.
Generally however, the last weeks and months have shown worrying
trends in the South Caucasus. Three negative strands are coming
together, the combination of which is, frankly, alarming.
First, we have seen little or no progress towards settling any of the
frozen conflicts – Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia. All
parties have failed to deliver on their responsibility to find a
solution.
Second, defence expenditure in the region is going through the roof.
Quite apart from the negative message this sends for resolving the
conflicts, this cannot be good policy-making in a region where human
development indicators are a matter of deep concern. How can
governments justify spiralling defence spending when their countries
are in desperate need of investment in education, health and small
businesses?
Third, increasingly inflammatory rhetoric, as we have seen over the
past months, is shaping public opinion in a counterproductive
direction. There is a serious danger of the rhetoric lowering the
threshold for war. But it is political logic, not military logic
which must prevail. Leaders have a responsibility to prepare their
populations for peace, not war.
These recent developments are worrying for those of us who hoped for
positive movements. All sides should show restraint and adopt a
balanced approach to their neighbours. Harsh rhetoric does not create
an atmosphere conducive to restoring mutual trust and resolving these
conflicts. Any further escalation of tension could re-ignite the
conflicts with devastating consequences for the entire region.
Let me emphasise that point – this remarkable and complex region has
enormous economic promise but, to realise that potential, cool heads
must prevail. Natural resource wealth is finite. Once squandered, the
opportunity to boost the region’s development will not come again.
I do not wish to exaggerate the risks, but it is important that we
are clear about the consequences of failing to pull back from the
brink. I call on the region’s leaders to realise the weight of their
responsibility, not only to their own people, but to the region as a
whole. True leadership and statesmanship means finding the courage to
settle these disputes once and for all.
The EU will continue to play its part in working for peace. The
European Neighbourhood Policy will be a key tool in this regard.
I will talk about the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in more
depth this afternoon. For now, let me briefly explain that it is the
EU’s response to new geopolitical realities following our 2004
expansion. It is our tool for laying the foundations for a much
deeper relationship with the countries of Eastern Europe and the
southern Mediterranean. And it is designed to extend the prosperity,
stability and security enjoyed by the EU to our closest neighbours
and partners.
The most important aspects of the ENP are the following: Firstly, it
brings together our main policy instruments, in a more focused way.
We go beyond classical foreign policy to support reform and
modernisation. Secondly, we thus cover a broader range of issues than
our existing relationships, with greater intensity and throughout all
fields of governance. Thirdly, the ENP will be backed by a new
assistance instrument, the ENPI, with increased and improved
financial and technical assistance.
The ENP operates through Action Plans – such as the ones with the
three countries of this region. These Action Plans, tailor-made for
each country, set out the areas in which we both want to develop
relations further. They contain benchmarks and commitments paving the
way for a deeper relationship.
The ENP Action Plans are designed to promote political reform and
sustainable economic and social development.
As we all know, that’s the most effective way of achieving
prosperity, stability and security. They therefore cover a wide range
of activities, to strengthen democracy, promote the rule of law,
uphold human rights, liberalise trade, develop energy and transport
connections and ultimately even give the countries a stake in the
EU’s internal market.
But uppermost in my mind in thinking about the South Caucasus today
is the ENP’s potential to help support conflict resolution. Why?
Because the most important impediments to the region’s development
are the frozen conflicts.
The European Neighbourhood Policy is not in itself a conflict
prevention or settlement mechanism, but through promoting democracy
and regional cooperation, boosting national reform programmes and
improving the socio-economic prospects of the region, it can
contribute to a more positive climate for conflict settlement.
Resolving or at least de-escalating the conflicts must be the first
priority, but their sustainable resolution is largely dependent on
deepening and anchoring democratic and economic reform throughout
society. ENP tackles the underlying issues which enable conflicts to
fester: bad governance, underdevelopment and insecurity. But only if
society as a whole participates in this transformation process will
the region begin to prosper.
We are also engaged more directly in conflict resolution. The
appointment of an EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus,
Peter Semneby, is a sign of the importance the EU attaches to solving
them.
We will continue our support to the Joint Control Commission for
South Ossetia, the main conflict settlement mechanism for this
region, and honour our 2 million pledge at the OSCE’s international
donor conference for South Ossetia. We will stay involved in
confidence building and rehabilitation in Abkhazia, supporting
reconstruction of important infrastructure facilities and civil
society projects. And we stand ready to respond to the needs
assessment mission to Nagorno-Karabakh, as soon as that mission is
able to depart.
We also fully support the work of the OSCE, which Minister De Gucht
will address in a moment. And later this year our Member States will
discuss a possible enhanced EU contribution to the peace processes.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Returning for a moment to the ENP, which some of us will discuss in
more detail in one of this afternoon’s sessions, let me just recall
that it is a living and evolving policy, designed to respond to
developments and treating all our neighbours equally. Later this
year, the Commission will publish a report on two years of its
implementation, making suggestions for how it might be further
enhanced – both in terms of our partners’ efforts and our own
`offers’.
Given the EU’s own history and development, the ENP attaches great
importance to regional cooperation. However, rather than expending
effort on developing new or legally binding set-ups – which our
eastern neighbours do not necessarily want or need – such as creating
an institutional structure for our eastern neighbours, we should,
rather, focus on strengthening existing cooperation frameworks such
as Black Sea cooperation. This is of direct interest and use for our
Southern Caucasus partners and others here today.
The EU and its neighbours have a mutual interest in fostering
prosperity, stability and security inter alia through addressing the
root causes of bad governance, lack of economic development,
insecurity and instability that cause the continuing conflicts. As we
have shown in Western Europe over the last 50 years, promoting
prosperity, stability and security is the ultimate
conflict-prevention policy.
Which brings me to plead, once again, for all parties in the Southern
Caucasus to take their conflict-resolution responsibilities
seriously. We must put the long term objective of peace, prosperity
and stability ahead of short term tactical considerations.
In the globalised world of the 21st century, the way to greater
wealth and prosperity is to embrace an open economy and open
political system. That is simply not possible while the region
remains locked in a vicious spiral of tit for tat conflict.
sAction.do?reference=SPEECH/06/477&format=HTML &aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

ARTUR BROTHERS SHOULD BE ARRESTED IF THEY COME BACK, SAYS REPORT
Story by MUGUMO MUNENE
The Nation, Kenya
Aug. 30, 2006
If the bogus Armenian brothers return to the country, they should be
arrested and prosecuted for causing a security breach at Kenya’s main
airport, the Kiruki inquiry report suggests.
The list of offences they should be charged with includes assault,
creating disturbance in public, obstructing a customs officer on duty,
provoking members of the public by drawing guns and behaving in a
manner likely to cause a breach of peace.
Sources told the Nation yesterday that the commission believed that
there were other criminal offences that were possibly committed at
the Runda home of the Artur brothers.
These include robbery with violence, handling suspected stolen
property, possessing firearms without a certificate, forgery, holding
uncustomed goods, establishing radio communication without a licence
and fraudulent imitation of vehicle number plates.
According to government officials studying the document handed to
President Kibaki on Monday, the Kiruki commission also believed that
the brothers sought access to restricted areas in the airport to
enable them traffic in drugs.
The commission reportedly failed to unravel the identities of the
two brothers since they had been using stolen or fake travel documents.
The report falls in tandem with submissions by counsel assisting the
commission, Ms Dorcas Oduor, who said on the last day of the inquiry
that the brothers were international criminals who came to Kenya to
clean up illegal money.
According to investigations, Ms Oduor said, the Artur brothers engaged
only in cash transactions to disguise the suspect sources of their
money and to cloud possible investigations on their activities.
“We should not downplay the issues that have come out of the inquiry.
Tax evasion is a serious crime that is highly penalised in many
countries around the world. I can see a perfect case of money
laundering and the avoidance of Immigration laws. I can see a perfect
example of organised transnational crime,” said Ms Oduor.
Money laundering – taking money from crime and making it look clean
by putting it through a process that disguises its illegal origin – is
regarded as a serious crime in many countries but not under Kenyan law.
According to sources familiar with the report, Mr Artur Sargsyan –
the shorter and paler of the two brothers, the one who always wore
sunglasses, was a drug dealer who arrived in Kenya to find a safe
haven for his business. They were involved with a number of companies,
which were found to have engaged in a number of criminal activities.
The Kiruki team reportedly stated that it was difficult to establish
the exact business the Arturs were conducting in Kenya since they
had no offices, no bank accounts and no evidence of investment.
During the inquiry, the brothers were described as dubious
international criminals, undesirable characters and their criminal
activities during their nine-month stay in Kenya were exposed.
A shadowy identity, stolen cars, fake numbers plates, fake passports,
fake police identities, illicit firearms and ammunition, forgeries,
fraud, “outlandish and arrogant behaviour” described the character
and lifestyle of the Armenians as disclosed throughout the inquiry.
At one time, they even masqueraded as royalty, claiming that they were
from the monarchy in Armenia, a country which has not been ruled by
a queen or king for 1,500 years.
In her submissions, Ms Oduor said: “They had infiltrated many places
including the police and our security institutions. We should all
condemn their activities.”
However, the commission closed the public inquiry without taking
evidence from some business and social associates of the Artur brothers
and police officers who investigated them since March.
Police commissioner Hussein Ali who ordered the investigations in
March and suspended CID boss Joseph Kamau did not give evidence.
Neither did Nairobi CID boss Isaiah Osugo, detailed to investigate
the Arturs.