Author: Tambiyan Samvel

INDIA, ARMENIA SIGN MOU ON PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION
Sify, India
Oct 6 2005
Yerevan: Giving a boost to their close and friendly relations,
India and Armenia on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding
to intensify and promote cooperation between the parliaments of the
two countries.
The MoU on parliamentary cooperation was signed by secretary
(Coordination) Vijay Kumar and Hayk Kotayan, secretary general of
the Armenian National Assembly, in the presence of Vice-President
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
The pact was signed soon after Shekhawat’s arrival in this picturesque
country — the smallest of the republics that came into existence
after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 — on a two-day visit
on the last leg of his three-nation tour.
The two sides are also scheduled to initial a Protocol of Exchange
of Instruments on Friendship and Cooperation on Friday.
Shekhawat, who is the first Indian Vice-President to visit the country,
was given the honour of addressing the National Assembly at its special
session on Thursday, signifying the excellent bilateral relations.
The Vice-President had detailed discussions with Armenian President
Robert Kocharian whose country endorses India’s permanent membership
in the UN Security Council. Armenia supports India’s stand that the
Kashmir issue should be resolved bilaterally within the framework of
the Simla agreement.
The two countries have so far signed as many as 18 agreements in
diverse fields ranging from cooperation in Information Technology,
science and technology to defence.

ILHAM ALIYEV: KARABAKH TALKS FRUITLESS
Pan Armenian
05.10.2005 12:14
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “We should strengthen our military potential,”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated Wednesday when addressing
the National Guards.
The Azeri leader noted that the military construction is rapidly
developing and the military budget grows year by year. “We should
consolidate our military potential, since our lands are occupied”,
Aliyev said adding that the talks on the Karabakh conflict settlement
have proved fruitless so far.
“Our military budget will increase and we will return our lands,”
he assured.

MAMEDYAROV: I HAVE NO INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CHAIRS’ MEETING IN VIENNA
De Facto, Armenia
Oct 4 2005
Azeri FM Elmar Mamedyarov has no information concerning the issues
OSCE Minsk group Co – Chairs discussed in the course of the meeting
in Vienna.
During the talks with journalists the Minister stated the Ambassador
of Azerbaijan to Vienna had been delegated to gather the information
on the meeting in the OSCE Minsk group member – countries’ Embassies.
E. Mamedyarov also said the OSCE Minsk group American Co – Chair
Steven Mann was to arrive in Baku in mid – October.
The Minister expressed his attitude in connection with the statements
concerning the fact that a certain part of the Minsk group discretion
would be granted to the Council of Europe. “The more international
organizations will be involved in the Nagorno Karabakh settlement
process the better for the solution of the problem. We need the
international community to have more serious approach to the issue”.

EU TALKS READY TO BEGIN, BUT IS TURKEY READY FOR THE EU?
The Irish Times
October 3, 2005
Turkey has been knocking on Europe’s door since 1963 but doubts are
growing as to how much ordinary Turks want to join the EU, reports
Nicholas Birch in Istanbul
Turkey’s pro-Europeans have long looked forward to EU membership
talks as the consummation of a 40-year courtship.
But Turks are still unclear whether they’ll be getting a marriage
contract, or a jilting.
Assured by the EU on December 17th last year that it met the political
criteria for accession, Turkish anger has been mounting for months
as European countries have questioned its Europeanness.
Now doubts are growing here as to how deeply ordinary Turks want the
European Union.
Such ambivalence is not new. Bringing Turkey into line with European
civilisation was central to the vision of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
the country’s authoritarian founder.
Yet neither he nor his subjects ever forgot that independence in 1923
was plucked from the hands of invaders, sponsored by western powers
led by Britain and France.
For a long time, the prospect of EU accession has been the only thing
bridging the deep divisions in Turkish society.
A mixed bag of religious conservatives, liberals and nationalists,
Turkey’s ruling party was a symbol of the new consensus. However,
increasingly overt European hostility to Turkey’s accession bid in
recent months has only deepened Turks’ innate suspicions of European
intentions.
Back in December 2004, when Brussels gave Ankara a date to start
negotiations, polls showed 75 per cent of Turks supporting EU
membership.
That figure has now dropped to about 60 per cent. “The EU will never
accept us”, Emin Colasan, a columnist for the mass-market daily
Hurriyet wrote yesterday.
“They will use us just as they have done up to now, belittling us,
forcing us to take decisions based on their interests.”
Faced with Austrian insistence that the negotiating framework for
accession talks contain the possibility of a “privileged partnership”
rather than full membership, Turkish leaders warned last Friday that
they could walk away for once and for all.
Analysts say the temptation for the Turkish government to tone down
its staunch support for the European project must be growing. “If
prime minister Tayyip Erdogan stood up today and said ‘Turkey is a
proud country and we’ve had enough of being humiliated’, his support
would surge,” says liberal political columnist Sami Kohen.
Fearful of the staunchly secular army, which is suspicious of its
roots in political Islam, Turkey’s Justice and Development Party
(AKP) government has no choice for the moment but to carry on.
Some in the West are afraid the present atmosphere may strengthen the
hand of extreme religious groups in Turkey. Didn’t Turkey’s current
prime minister once notoriously say “thank God, I am for shariah
Islamic law “?
It’s a suggestion ridiculed by Turks, who point out that no overtly
Islamic party in Turkey has ever won more than 20 per cent of the vote.
Polls consistently show 90 per cent of Turks support the country’s
secular system.
“Turks are secular not just because they are afraid of the generals”,
says Fulya Ertekin, a student in Istanbul. “They are secular because
they have no memory of any other system, and no inclination for
anything else.”
What is far more likely, Turkish analysts say, is that growing European
hostility will lead to a surge in radical Turkish nationalism.
The foundations have always been there, thinks historian Aykut Kansu.
“Turkey,” he says, “is a country that has normalised ultra-nationalist
ideas.”
The trouble is, argues political scientist Hakan Yavuz, that they may
already have been activated by issues like the European Parliament’s
call last Wednesday for Turkish membership to be conditional on its
recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide.
“When a lot of Turks look at the EU, they see calls for better
rights for the Kurds, greater freedoms for the country’s religious
minorities”, he says.
“For them, that’s worryingly reminiscent of western plans to divide
the country up in the early 20th century.” He has no doubt that the
victims of a nationalist backlash will be Turkey’s Kurds.
It’s a very pessimistic attitude, but not uncommon.
Back in March, controversial columnist Mine Kirikkanat questioned
western fears that the huge sales of Hitler’s Mein Kampf in Turkey
had anything to do with growing anti-Semitism.
“Turks put Kurds in the place of the Jews targeted in Hitler’s book,”
she wrote in the liberal daily Radikal, “and find in its ideology of
hatred a suitable foundation for their growing feelings that enough
is enough.”
She was referring to the immense anger many feel at the increasing
Kurdish separatist violence in southeastern Turkey.
Others point out that while organised crime has long been the scourge
of Turkish cities, it is only recently that Turks and the populist
media have begun specifically accusing the gangs of being Kurdish.
Nobody is suggesting Turkey is on the verge of an ethnic civil war,
but tensions are undoubtedly high.
Bahadir Kaleagasi, Brussels representative of Turkey’s powerful
pro-European business lobby TUSIAD, thinks the EU would do well to
step very carefully as negotiations continue.
“If Turkey has been transformed for the good over the past six years,
it’s thanks to the EU”, he says. “But if present European attitudes
do not change, the EU could rapidly become a destabilising force.”

AZERBAIJAN REPORTS ANOTHER FATALITY IN KARABAKH
By Emil Danielyan
Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
Oct 3 2005
Another soldier of the Azerbaijani army has been killed in a skirmish
with Armenian forces near Nagorno-Karabakh, reports from Baku said
on Monday.
An Azerbaijani television station reported that the 18-year-old
soldier died from a bullet wound sustained in what it described as a
“truce violation” by the Armenian side in the northern section of the
Karabakh frontline. It said the deadly shooting occurred on Saturday
and was confirmed by Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry. No further details
were reported.
Armenian military sources did not report any fighting along the
heavily militarized line of contact east and north of Karabakh
over the weekend. Sporadic exchanges of fire from automatic weapons
are periodically reported from there by the warring sides, each of
them accusing the other of violating the 11-year ceasefire in the
conflict zone.
The Azerbaijani military, in particular, claims to suffer casualties
on a regular basis. Its previous fatality was reported on September 6.
The ceasefire regime along sections of the Karabakh frontline and
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is monitored by representatives of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The most
recent OSCE monitoring late last month was interrupted by a skirmish
southeast of the disputed territory. Still, truce violations appear
to have become less frequent since last spring when some Armenian
officials suggested that Baku, which regularly threatens by win back
Karabakh by force, be preparing for large-scale military action.
Renewed fighting seems even more unlikely now that the parties are
reportedly close to reaching a long-awaited agreement on the resolution
of the Karabakh dispute.

Pan Armenian News
MARGARYAN CONGRATULATED ARMENIAN TEACHERS ON PROFESSIONAL HOLIDAY
30.09.2005 07:59
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian PM A. Margaryan congratulated Armenian teachers
on their professional holiday – the Teacher’s Day, reported the Press
Service of the Armenian Government. The PM’s congratulatory message
specifically says, «Dear teachers, I congratulate you on the Teacher’s Day.
The holiday has become a good tradition and is being marked at the state
level. It is another occasion for expressing respect you undoubtedly deserve
due to your daily laborious and devoted work. Education problems are always
in focus of the Government and steps – though small – are being taken to
reform the education system, repair school buildings. I again congratulate
you on your professional holiday and I wish you health, many years of
creative work and good luck.»

SERGE SARGSYAN AND HEIKKI TALVITIE DISCUSSED KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
Pan Armenian News
29.09.2005 03:54
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Secretary of the National Security Council at the
President of Armenia, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan yesterday met
with CIS Executive Committee Chairman Vladimir Rushaylo, MOD Spokesman,
colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan told PanARMENIAN.Net. Having noted the
importance of the CIS Executive Committee work and stating 2006 was
announced the year of the CIS, the parties discussed matters referring
to further enhancement of functioning of CIS structures. The same day
S. Sargsyan met with EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus
Heikki Talvitie. British Ambassador to Armenia Thorda Abbott-Watt was
also present at the meeting. The interlocutors discussed the situation
in the South Caucasus, specifically the process of settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Regnum, Moscow, in Russian
20 Sep 05
RUSSIAN ENERGY COMPANY CHIEF DETAILS PLANS IN ARMENIA
A top official of the Russian energy giant has confirmed the plans to
buy the Armenian power grid. Andrey Rappoport, chairman of the board
of directors of Inter-RAO UES, brushed aside allegations of breaching
the Armenian legislation while taking over the power grid from a
British company. The deal is legally not over yet and the provisions
of the Armenian law on privatization will be fulfilled, Rappoport
said in an interview with the Russian news agency Regnum. Rappoport
also said that the state commission regulating the public service has
the powers to set tariffs, issue licences and endorse contracts,
making the creation of a “vertically-integrated monster” impossible
in Armenia. The following is the text of report by Russian news
agency Regnum; subheadings have been inserted editorially:
Vertically-integrated “monster” impossible in Armenia
[Correspondent] Mr Rappoport, following the explanations of
[Britain’s] Midland Resources Holding Ltd company, the discussions
around the Electricity Networks of Armenia closed-type joint-stock
company have slightly subsided. Statements are being made that RAO
UES plans to create “a vertically integrated monster” in Armenia. It
is alleged that the Russian side intends to establish a monopolistic
system of generating and distributing electricity in Armenia which
would have a negative impact on the development and energy security
of Armenia. Do you agree with this assessment? Please explain your
answer.
[Rappoport] I absolutely disagree. First of all, I would like to note
that RAO UES Russia owns only 10% of electricity generation in
Armenia – the Sevan-Razdan Cascade hydroelectric power plant, which
belongs to a subsidiary, the International Energy Corporation [IEC]
closed-type joint-stock company.
Inter-RAO UES used to manage the Razdan thermal power plant when the
property complex of the Razdan thermal power plant was being handed
over from Armenia to the Russian Federation at the expense of the
interstate debt. The reason was the need for the stable work of the
station while the legal registration took place. Inter-RAO UES dealt
with ensuring the uninterrupted and reliable generation of electric
power in the Razdan thermal power plant, supplying the reserve fuel
to the station and guaranteeing the energy balance in the winter. The
company tackled the task successfully.
We withdrew from the management after the station was handed over to
Russia and a new legal entity was created. However, Inter-RAO UES is
the managing company of Armenia-owned 100% of shares of the Armenian
Nuclear Power Station. The management was established in 2003 at the
request of the Armenian government with the aim to overcome a crisis
at the plant. As a result of our work, the plant generated an
all-time record electricity output already in 2004 and its net profit
rose to 19m dollars.
At the last session of the board of directors of the Armenian Nuclear
Power Station, a report on the work conducted has been heard and the
participants in the session agreed that the station is ready to
operate on its own. We are ready to stop managing the station even
though all these years we have been the financial guarantor of its
nuclear fuel supply. Fuel supplies will be done in 2005 in the same
way as before.
Concerning the creation of a vertically integrated company or, to
borrow your expression, of a “monster”, this is impossible in
Armenia. The fact is that the most important member in this market is
the commission on regulating public services. It regulates the state
policy on setting tariffs for each actor of the market, on issuing
licenses on their activity, confirming and coordinating contracts.
The state dictates the tariff policy, rules of work and fields.
Therefore such accusations are groundless.
No influence on tariffs
[Correspondent] Sometimes the Armenian media carries reports warning
that as the owner of the main generating capacities of Armenia, RAO
UES will have the opportunity to have an unhindered influence on the
domestic tariffs in Armenia after having bought its power grid. Does
RAO UES have such a task?
[Rappoport] The state is regulating the tariffs via the commission
regulating the public services. RAO UES is not the owner of the main
generating capacities but owns only the Sevan-Razdan Cascade, which,
incidentally, we bought at the request of the Armenian side when the
payment for the delivery of nuclear fuel and the repayments of debts
accumulated since 1995 were under discussion. At that time the
Armenian power industry had no money to settle the accounts with us
and we took the cascade as a payment. We cannot influence tariffs.
The commission is independent. Its members are elected for a term of
five years. Even the Armenian government cannot influence it.
Ownership of power grid and regional plans
[Correspondent] According to the information given by Britain’s
Midland Resources Holding LTD, 100% of shares of the Armenian
Electricity Networks were handed over to the Russian Interenergo BV
company for trust management for the duration of 99 years. By what is
behind such a long-term interest of the Russian side in the Armenian
Electricity Networks? The top management of RAO UES has repeatedly
announced that they intend to synchronize the work of the electricity
systems of the South Caucasus countries, as well as of Turkey and
Iran. Is it possible to consider the interest of RAO UES to the
Armenian Electricity Networks in this context?
[Rappoport] Concerning the period of 99 years, first of all, the
Anglo-Saxon law allows to operate with such terms and we used this
opportunity. Second, we are not going to be just a manager for 99
years, but we intend to be the owner of the grid in the near future.
All the necessary documents for owning the grids or giving the
ownership to Interenergo BV, a subsidiary company that is a member of
the RAO UES group of companies, will be sent in the near future.
Now about the synchronization of the energy systems of South
Caucasus, Turkey and Iran. We have signed a memorandum with Iran,
which in particular, talked about the organization of the network
construction and ensuring simultaneous work via Azerbaijan by 2007.
We also put forward an initiative to organize a corridor for the
parallel work via Armenia and Georgia, and have reached a preliminary
agreement to this respect with Iran. A corresponding proposal was
made to the Armenian power engineers and I think that the work in
this direction in Armenia and Georgia will become significantly more
intensive in the nearest future. It must also be taken into
consideration that Armenia’s energy system is already working in the
parallel regime with Iran.
Western criticism
[Correspondent] When the Russian side and the British company made a
deal on the Armenian Electricity Networks, USAID took an unexpected
and harsh stance. What worries the Americans in your view?
[Rappoport] Some Western organizations voiced an opinion that the
deal is not transparent. They are concerned that the owner has
changed in the violation of certain legal provisions. We carried out
a number of consultations with the representatives of the World Bank
and of other Western organizations and made it clear that the
ownership has not changed at present and that there was has not been
any violation of the legislation.
We are already a participant in Armenia’s electricity market, we know
the country’s laws very well and follow them rigidly. I want to
emphasize that the procedure of taking over the shares will also be
implemented in accordance with the law. The statements of the Western
organizations were prompted, apparently, by the fact that although
the procedure has yet to even start, representatives of these
organizations assumed that the deal was over. They assumed that it
was not only completed but also that it was done “non-transparently”.
It is possible that they did not fully understand the legal side of
the deal, but it is also possible that they fell under the influence
of the excessively emotional publications in the local press.
At this point we have already received the declaration on trust, that
is we became the beneficiary in terms of rights but we did not become
the owner. This means that legally speaking, the operation is not
over and it will be completed once the government has endorsed it,
and when the provisions of the law on privatization in Armenia are
fulfilled.
[Correspondent] RAO UES and Gazprom have suggested the Armenian
government that they complete the construction of the fifth unit of
the Razdan thermal power station which will take part in the
“electricity for gas” scheme involving the gas coming through the
Armenia-Iran pipeline. Has Armenia responded to the offer, and if
not, what is the reason for the delay?
[Rappoport] Inter-RAO UES and Gazprom did indeed jointly apply with
an appropriate commercial proposal in accordance with the decision of
the intergovernment commission on economic cooperation between Russia
and Armenia. We hoped to receive a response within a month but,
regrettably, we have still to receive any information. A possible
explanation for the delay is that there is a certain rivalry on this
issue and it is likely that some alternative proposals are being
formed.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
September 28, 2005 Wednesday
CIS police to discuss fight against corruption, illegal migration
By Svetlana Alikina, Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
The council of CIS police chiefs will meet in Yerevan on Thursday to
discuss the fight against corruption and illegal migration, Russian
Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev told reporters upon his arrival
in the Armenian capital.
Nurgaliyev, who heads the Russian delegation, said the participants
would discuss the implementation of the joint plan to combat
terrorism, and the use of an inter-state information databank.
“We’ll also consider the results of work to study the contractual and
legal and organizational basis of cooperation, and amendments to the
regulations on a uniform procedure of international search for wanted
persons,” Nurgaliyev said.
He underlined that the Council is “one of the most effective
executive CIS bodies, and that is participants are making a real
practical contribution to the fight against international crime and
terrorism.”
The Russian minister expressed the hope that the results of the
upcoming meeting would enable CIS law-enforcement bodies to open a
new page in improving the effectiveness of cooperation, especially in
its practical aspect.

CELEBRATION DEDICATED TO 14TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE OF NK TO TAKE PLACE IN BUILDING OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF US CONGRESS
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 28 2005
WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A celebration
dedicated to the 14th anniversary of the independence of the Nagorno
Karabakh is invited at the building of the House of Representatives
of the US Congress in Washington on September 28.
According to Radio Liberty, Baroness Caroline Cox, the Deputy Speaker
of the House of Lords of Great Britain is the guest of honour of
the event titled “Progress towards Liberty, Democracy and Economic
Development.” Senators Frank Palone, Joe Nollenburg, Adam Schif,
George Radanovich and others will make speeches.
The Embassy of Armenia in the US, the Hai Dat Office in the US
(Armenian National Committee of America), the Office of Nagorno
Karabakh Republic in USA and Palone and Nollenburg, the Co-Chairmen of
the Congress Committee on Armenian Issues, organized the celebration.
Hayk Gugarats, the Speaker of the Embassy of Armenia in the US
doesn’t consider as accidental holding of such a celebration just
in the building of the Congress as “still in 1989 when Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh weren’t independent yet, the Congress made a decision
supporting the struggle for independence of Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh.” “And it continues the assistance to Karabakh. The US is the
only foreign country which assists to Nagorno Karabakh officially. This
shows that the existance of Nagorno Karabakh, its efforts for the
international recognition are accepted by Congressmen,” he emphasized.