Author: Taslakhchian Andranik

Armenia indignant over flag incident

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 3 2005

Baku, August 2, AssA-Irada — The Armenian flag in front of the
Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg has disappeared. The
Foreign Ministry of Armenia sent a note to the organization following
the incident demanding that the flag be returned.

Latest reports say that the flag has been put back and CE officials
extended their apologies to Armenia. However, official Yerevan
has refused to leave the incident behind and called for a thorough
scrutiny.

The identity of those who stole the flag and reasons behind the theft
are not known yet.*

Kasparov makes opening move in quest for Russian revolution
By Jeremy Page

The Times, UK
Aug 3 2005

The chess champion is campaigning to prevent President Putin from
standing for a third term

IF CHESS is mental torture, as Garry Kasparov once said, then Russian
politics has not been much kinder to him since his dramatic debut
this year.

In the past five months he has been hit over the head with a chess
board, roughed up by police, pelted with eggs and tomato ketchup,
and bombarded with verbal abuse.

All this after he announced in March that he was retiring from
competitive chess to dedicate himself to the political fight against
President Putin.

Mr Kasparov, 42, is not used to being the underdog, having dominated
chess since 1985 when he become the youngest world champion.

Yet, far from being intimidated, he is throwing himself into the
toughest – and riskiest – contest of his life with all the flair and
aggression that made him the greatest chess player to date.

“There’s only one chance for this country – if the regime collapses,”
he told The Times. “If the Government doesn’t change, then we must
change the Government.”

Unlike most of Mr Putin’s opponents, he is not talking about running
in the next parliamentary elections in 2007 or standing for president
in 2008.

He is travelling around Russia calling openly for a peaceful revolution
like those that rocked Georgia in 2003 and Ukraine last year. The
trigger, he predicts, will be an attempt by the Kremlin to change the
constitution to allow President Putin to serve a third term instead
of stepping down in 2008.

“Next year the country will go through a political crisis which will
decide the future of the country,” he said. “We’re talking about
mass protests.”

Such talk is highly provocative – if not seditious – when the Kremlin
has spent much of the past five years silencing political opponents.

In May Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the oil tycoon, was jailed for nine
years in what was widely seen as punishment for meddling in politics.

Then Mikhail Kasyanov, a former Prime Minister, became the target of
a corruption probe last month after hinting at running for President
in 2008.

So far, the worst Mr Kasparov has suffered is being hit on the head
with a chess board by a youth activist in April and roughed up by
police outside the courthouse where Mr Khodorkovsky was on trial in
May. “I hope that if something really goes bad, we’ll hear more than
mumbling from the West,” Mr Kasparov said.

In public, Russian officials have responded to his challenge with
disdain – dismissing him as a political non-entity who appeals only
to the West. Many political analysts agree, saying most Russians have
not heard about his campaign and would not support him because of his
Caucasian and Jewish roots. He was born in Azerbaijan to an Armenian
mother and a Jewish father.

But at the same time, officials are going to extraordinary lengths
to prevent such a respected celebrity from entering the political fray.

That much became clear when Mr Kasparov went to southern Russia
in June to drum up grass-roots support in Dagestan, North Ossetia,
Stavropol and Rostov.

“Unlike my critics, I go to the Russian regions,” he said. “It’s the
only way to learn the situation in my country because the media is
under the Kremlin’s strict control,” he said.

In Dagestan, local authorities blocked him from meeting refugees from
neighbouring Chechnya and even tried to stop him giving prizes at a
children’s chess tournament.

In North Ossetia, a meeting with Beslan residents in a cultural
centre was cancelled after officials hastily arranged a showing of
the cartoon Madagascar there. Then he was hit with eggs covered in
tomato ketchup in Vladikavkaz, the regional capital. Local officials
accused him of trying to exploit last year’s Beslan school siege,
even though the victims’ mothers said that they were keen to meet him.

At his next stops, in Stavropol and Rostov, the airports refused to
let his charter plane land. Hotels in Stavropol would not accept him
and meetings in both places had to be held outside after the venues
developed “technical” problems.

Mr Kasparov says that he believes local authorities were under orders
from Mr Putin’s representative in the region, Dmitry Kozak. “If they
act in this way, they are scared of anyone talking with the people,”
Mr Kasparov said. “If people don’t like my ideas, fine, but at least
let them speak with me.”

Mr Kasparov dabbled in politics in the 1990s and, early last year,
was voted chairman of Committee 2008: Free Choice, a liberal group
dedicated to ensuring the next presidential election is free and fair.

But his real political awakening came after the Beslan siege, when
the Kremlin announced plans to abolish direct elections for regional
governors.

This year he formed his own, more militant, group called the United
Civil Front.

“It’s extreme because the situation is extreme,” he said. “The
Government is violating the Russian constitution and limiting our
rights to influence the electoral process.”

MEET THE KING

Born April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan

November 1985 Beat Anatoly Karpov to become the youngest world champion
at 22

2000 Lost world title to Russian grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik.
Retained world number one ranking until 2005

1996 Beat Deep Blue, IBM’s supercomputer, but lost to its upgraded
version the following year

March 2005 Retired from chess to devote time to Committee 2008:
Free Choice, campaigning against Government of President Putin

THEY SAY

‘I’m a grandmaster but an awful lot of people are grandmasters these
days. Kasparov and I have the same title, but it’s a different planet.’
Jonathan Rowson, British chess champion, July 2005

‘The future of chess lies in the hands of this young man.’ Mikhail
Botvinnik, former world champion (when Kasparov was 11)

‘If Kasparov won, he would feel like a god afterwards, and if he
lost, his dejection and rage would resist all forms of consolation.’
Fred Waitzkin, American writer, on the 1990 Kasparov-Karpov match

‘Forget the prize money. The fate of humanity is on the line, at least
in Garry Kasparov’s head.’ Maurice Ashley, the only African-American
grandmaster, on the Deep Blue-Kasparov final in 1997

HE SAYS

‘I have done everything I could in chess and more. Now I plan to use
my intellect and strategic thoughts in Russian politics.’

‘I believe that the country is moving in the wrong direction,
therefore it is necessary to help Russia, to help Russian citizens,
to make the country comfortable, just and free.’

‘I devote a certain amount of time to Russian politics, as every
decent person should do who opposes the dictator Vladimir Putin.’

Russian top brass arrive in Georgia to supervise withdrawal of bases – TV

NTV, Moscow
29 Jul 05

[Presenter] In four hours’ time the first convoy of Russian military
hardware is due to leave Batumi. Thus the withdrawal of Russian bases
from Georgia is officially beginning. Today only staff vehicles will
set off on a journey from Batumi to Vladikavkaz. Hardware will leave
in a week. Nugzar Karaselidze reports.

[Correspondent] A convoy of nine staff vehicles and two accompanying
cars will leave Russian Military Base No 12 in Batumi today. This
first convoy marks the start of the implementation of the agreement
reached by the Georgian and Russian foreign ministers on the
withdrawal of Russian bases from Georgia. This process will be
supervised by the Russian Defence Ministry which has sent top-ranking
officers to Georgia for the purpose.

[Vladimir Kuparadze, deputy commander of the Group of Russian Forces
in the Caucasus] A group of generals and officers has arrived in
Tbilisi to organize the withdrawal of arms and hardware belonging to
the Group of Russian Forces in the Caucasus to Russia.

[Correspondent] How smoothly the process of withdrawal will go depends
not only on the Russian military but also on their Georgian
colleagues. Yesterday [28 July] Georgian border guards detained a
Russian military convoy on its way from Alkhakalaki to Armenia: there
were no papers for five PK machine-guns and five flare guns. The
papers were delivered later. Shortly after that the military convoy
continued its journey. Georgian border guards say they have shown
understanding and did not engage in formalities.

[Korneli Salia, acting chief of staff of the Georgian State Border
Guard Department] It was a mistake of some officer who, when the
weapons were being loaded, placed them in the wrong place.

[Correspondent] The Russian and Georgian military will cooperate for
at least three years over the course of Russian military withdrawal
from Georgia. Under the existing agreement, the Russian bases must
leave Georgia not later than 2008.

[Video shows depots with Russian military hardware, tank guns being
covered in cases, c/r 0240-0420]

IF THE CONFLICT IS ETHNIC AND POLITICAL

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
25 July 05

When considering the ethnic and political conflicts, such as the Nagorno
Karabakh, Georgian ` Abkhazian, Georgian ` Osian conflicts, we often
forget about the human factor, which is inevitably one of the main
elements of both the outbreak of the conflict and its regulation. I will
bring examples from my own experience. I lived one third of my life in
Baku as a representative of an ethnic minority. Then I moved to Yerevan
and at once became member of the ethnic majority. And with the
proclamation of Nagorno Karabakh Republic I got an indefinite status
along with my citizenship. In one word, I have experienced the
inconveniences of the ethnic minority and the advantages of the ethnic
majority, as well as the vagueness of the status of a citizen of an
unrecognized country. Nevertheless, I dare say, as an individual I did
not change myself when I changed the places. However, the attitude of
the people around me changed from friendly to openly hostile, depending
on where I lived. That is to say, I myself remained the same but the
attitude of the people towards me varied, depending on the ethnic
feature. This very factor which results from the ethnic policy of the
government of the ethnic majority presents one of the most important
elements of ethnic and political conflicts. We can therefore say that in
the post-Soviet space it is the controversy between the ethnic minority
and the ethnic majority and not the confrontation between them as
certain political scientists and statesmen think mistakenly that gives a
start to the majority of conflicts. This perfectly refers to the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. There is no direct conflict between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani peoples. If this were so, the conflict would spread in
neighbouring Georgia as well where about half a million Armenians and
just as many Azerbaijanis live side by side. The conflict of Nagorno
Karabakh is a conflict which arose between the former Armenian
sovereignty within Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani government rather than
the Azerbaijani people. Neglecting or misunderstanding the latter fact
may result in unwanted results for the parties. Therefore when looking
for ways of resolution it is extremely dangerous and irresponsible to
scatter terms like `separatism’, `terror’, etc. I think that the term
`separatism’ is not suitable for the unrecognized states of the
post-Soviet states. These unrecognized states used to be sovereign
within the former republics of the Soviet Union, and acting against the
dissolution of the USSR were in a way `unionists’ rather. Whereas it is
the former Soviet republics that should be considered `separatists’
because they were overtly for the dissolution of the USSR and they
achieved their aim. What is more, the model of the conflict between
ethnic minority and the government of the ethnic majority can be applied
to the republics of the Union. For example, the declaration of the
independence of Azerbaijan and then its recognition by the international
community can be considered the resolution of the conflict between the
Azerbaijani ethnic minority of the `Russian empire’ called the Soviet
Union and the government of this `empire’ in favour of the former. After
the dissolution of the Soviet Union the roles changed, and now the
government of the recognized states of the post-Soviet space began to
stick labels of `separatist’ and `terrorist’ to the autonomies which had
declared themselves independent. What is more, they did this in
accordance with the USSR law on the procedure of settlement of issues
related to secession of republics from the USSR, passed on April 3,
1990. The starting point was the natural right of the peoples for
self-determination, the right of the sovereign peoples for raising the
matters of their political and legal status. And this is natural for the
issues related to the dissolution of the USSR could not refer to some
post-Soviet peoples and pass by others. Thus, the declarations of
independence by several former Soviet sovereignties are but the
continuation of the process of dissolution of the USSR already in the
framework of the post-Soviet republics. And if we ignore these facts
(like the governments of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Russia did in
relation to Nagorno Karabakh, Abkhazia, South Osia and Chechnya
respectively), we shall inevitably face with unforeseeable consequences.
It is not accidental that bloodshed is successfully avoided when the
`separatists’ achieve their goal. This was the case with the Soviet
republics, as well as Czechoslovakia. There is also the precedent of
`Peaceful Divorce’ in a sovereignty of the USSR, the Autonomous Republic
of Chechnya and Ingushetia. And on the contrary, when the government of
the ethnic minority imposes the principle of territorial integrity on
the seceding ethnic minority, the bloodshed is inevitable. The examples
are many: Nagorno Karabakh, Abkhazia, South Osia, Transdniestr, Cosovo,
the Serbian-Croatian conflict, etc. The cause for this is that the right
of the nations for self-determination is natural and it therefore makes
part of the human factor, whereas the principle of territorial integrity
is artificial and has nothing to do with the concept of human rights.
And the fact that the parties of the Karabakh conflict seek to find the
resolution of the issue on the basis of these two controversial
principles may mean that another way of resolution should be sought for,
which must necessarily be based on natural principles. The degree of
democracy of this or that state could become such a touchstone. In other
words, it is possible to enable Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan to
compete within the frame of the international mediation in building
democracy because both countries have shouted loud about their
aspiration to join the European family. But what picture do we have now?
The political elite of Azerbaijan, which does not wish to negotiate with
Karabakh leaders and conducts a policy of isolating NK from the world,
actually torpedoes the democratic reforms in Nagorno Karabakh.
Nevertheless, the democratization of the social and political life in
NKR proceeds successfully despite the martial law imposed de jure on the
republic. As it is known, one of the basic indices of the degree of
democratization of a state is the presidential, parliamentary and local
elections. In the meantime, not only the recognized conflict parties but
also the international democratic community in the face of various
organizations such as the UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the
European Union, NATO, etc., is against holding elections in the states
which are not recognized. The result is a paradoxical situation when the
establishment of democracy and humanitarian principles in unrecognized
countries is blocked by those recognized states which are guided by the
same principles in their social and political life. Is this the
manifestation of democracy and humanism? Whereas, both in the recognized
and unrecognized countries people live, but the latter are constantly
refused guarantees for protection of human rights. They are even refused
foreign humanitarian aid. Thus, the international community, going in
for the principle of territorial integrity of recognized states in the
settlement of conflicts, completely forgets about the human factor.
Certainly, no one denies the importance of building bridges of trust
between the conflict parties if, in fact, there is no trust between
them. But as it was mentioned above, the peoples have nothing to do here
because it is the governments of the ethnic minority and the ethnic
majority that confront. We must therefore speak about bridges of trust
between the governments of the ethnic minority and the ethnic majority.
In the case of Nagorno Karabakh conflict the bridges of trust should be
built between the legitimately elected government of Nagorno Karabakh
and official Baku, which may be achieved only through direct
relationships. And if the Azerbaijani side does not agree to such
relationships, it means Azerbaijan is reluctant for the resolution of
the conflict but pretends to be willing to achieve its settlement. In
order to change the situation with the consideration of the human factor
it is necessary to replace the dictate of the international community,
which will be justified in this case. To sum up I want to emphasize that
in solving the ethnic conflicts it is necessary to put the stress on one
of the principles of the international law, which completely takes into
consideration the interests of those ethnic minorities the violation of
the rights of which caused the conflict.

AA.
25-07-2005

The New Anatolian, Turkey
July 25 2005

Athens Retaliates On Azeri Flights to TRNC
The New Anatolian / Athens

Athens decided on Thursday to open offices of a Greek
telecommunications company in both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in
retaliation for Azerbaijan’s recent decision to begin direct flights
to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Athens announced that Intracom, one of the largest telecommunications
company operating in Greece, will open offices in Armenia (a state
with which Turkey has no official diplomatic relations) and in
Nagorno-Karabakh (an Azerbaijani region occupied by Armenia).

Intracom will establish a joint venture with the Armenian
telecommunications company Vivacell in an agreement expected to be
signed next Tuesday. Intracom will invest 22.8 million euros in
Vivacell. The Greek company is expected to open its office in Yerevan
before September and is expected to open the office in
Nagorno-Karabakh before October.

This is considered to be a retaliatory response to Azerbaijan’s
decision to begin direct flights to the TRNC at the end of this
month, in a first step towards ending the isolation of the TRNC.

Test flight set for next week

Azerbaijan announced last week that it will begin direct flights
between its capital Baku and Lefkosa in the TRNC on July 31, and a
test flight is set for next Wednesday, July 27.

Added to the start of direct flights between Baku and Lefkosa, as
part of Azerbaijan’s efforts to help to end the TRNC’s isolation, an
eight-member Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation arrived in the TRNC
to participate in the Peace and Independence Day celebrations on
Wednesday. An Azerbaijani business delegation was scheduled to arrive
in the TRNC on Friday to explore avenues of cooperation, especially
in the trade, tourism and industry sectors.

Greek Cypriots protest direct flights

The Greek Cypriots expressed their concerns about the start of direct
flights to the TRNC during a European Union Permanent Representatives
Committee (COREPER) meeting last week, claiming that such flights are
a violation of the sovereignty of an EU member state.

UNDER GUARANTEE OF KFW BANK, GERMAN COMMERCBANK TO PROVIDE CREDIT
LINES TO THREE ARMENIAN BANKS

YEREVAN, JULY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Within the framework of the Credit
Guarantees Fund Program, the German Commercbank will provide credit
lines to three Armenian banks – ACBA, Anelik Bank and Armeconombank
under the guarantee of the KFW Bank. The indicated banks will receive
4.5 mln USD, 2.5 mln USD and 2 mln USD repectively by late
August. According to the Armenian representative of the KWF Bank
Karapet Gevorgian, these funds will be used to develop small and
medium business. The Credit Guarantees Fund Program aims at giving
guarantees to Armenian banks in order to help them get loans from
international financial markets. The three above mentioned Armenian
banks were chosen as the program participants in late 2004. The choice
was made based on these banks’ financial indices, level of management
and quality of the credit portfolio. According to K. Gevorgian, it is
not ruled out that in case of the successful implementation of the
program, there will be an increase in both funds and the number of
participating banks. It was indicated that the maximum amount of
credit per one recipient will make about 80 mln drams (about 181
thousand USD) and is repayable over 5-7 years. This will allow to
provide credits to medium-sized enterprises of the production sphere.

Russian power grid to manage Armenian electricity network

Arminfo
22 Jul 05

Yerevan, 22 July: British Midland Resources Holding Ltd, the owner
of Electric Networks of Armenia [ENA], transferred 100 per cent of
the company’s shares for 99 years to the Interenergo B.V. company
which is the “grandchild” of the Russian joint-stock company UES
[Unified Energy System] of Russia, the deputy chairman of the board
of the Interenergo RAO [Russian joint-stock company] UES of Russia,
Mikhail Mantrov, told a news conference on Friday.

He said the agreement on trust management between Interenergo and
Midland Resources was signed on 23 June 2005. Taking into account the
strategic importance of the Armenian electricity network, the UES of
Russia took it under trust management, but the holding also intends
to reserve the primary right to purchase it.

The Armenian electricity network requires a strategic investor because
their main assets are both morally and physically obsolete and require
considerable financial resources for modernization, he added.

The strategic investor intends to fulfil the 2005 investment program
approved by a public service commission. The losses are expected to
reduce to 15 per cent. The investor intends to form an optimal system
of management in the company in market conditions.

As Mantrov pointed out, Midland Resources lost interest in power
engineering, declaring last autumn that it intended to sell its shares
of Armenia’s electricity network. The UES of Russia has this interest.

Speaking about personnel policy, he said that it was being implemented
by the Board of Directors established by the owner. But on the basis
of the management agreement, the opinion of the managing company will
be taken into account. A copy of the agreement has not been given
to the Armenian government because no such requirement had been put
forward earlier, Mantrov said and added that according to Armenian
laws, an agreement with the executive authorities must be signed only
if the facility is alienated.

He said the UES of Russia group of companies was seriously interested
in energy assets not only in Armenia but also in Moldova, Georgia
and a number of other countries. The holding also intends to take
part in the privatization of Turkish electricity networks.

We recall that the net profit of the Electric Networks of Armenia
CJSC totalled 3.7bn drams [about 8m dollars] in 2004.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian National Committee of Illinois
1701 North Greenwood Road
Glenview, IL 60026
Contact: Greg Bedian
Tel: 917 428 1918
Fax: 718 651 3637
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

July 20, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ANC Protestors Urge House Vote, Demand Hastert Honor Pledge

Elgin – ANC demonstrators picketed Speaker of the House Dennis
Hastert’s “Mobile Office Tour 2005” on Wednesday, July 20, demanding
that he honor his five-year-old pledge to move the Armenian Genocide
Resolution forward in the House of Representatives.

The demonstrators, distributed flyers and carried signs stating “Mr.
Speaker, Honor Your Pledge,” “Men of Integrity Keep their Word,”
and “Let the House Vote on the Armenian Genocide Bill,” as they
picketed Hastert’s mobile office locations at the village halls in
Elgin and South Elgin, Illinois. Hastert launched his “Mobile Office
Tour” as a way to reach out to his expansive and largely rural 14th
congressional district.

The ANC also arranged for some of Rep. Hastert’s Armenian-American
constituents to meet with staffers manning the mobile office to
personally raise their concerns. The constituents raised the issue
that Hastert has twice thus far failed to live up to his commitment and
asked that the Speaker make clear his intentions regarding the Armenian
Genocide Resolution which is currently in the House International
Relations Committee. Hastert made the pledge in August of 2000,
but reneged in October of 2000 citing pressure from then President
Clinton. He also prevented a similar resolution from reaching the
floor in 2004. Staffers committed to provide the Speaker’s feedback
to the constituents very soon regarding the current bill.

“Today we sent a message to Speaker Hastert that we are prepared
to take the Armenian Genocide Resolution issue, and his failure to
honor his pledge, to his home district so that he can answer to his
own constituents,” stated Greg Bedian, ANC of Illinois chairperson.

The Armenian National Committee of Illinois is a grassroots public
affairs organization serving to inform, educate, and act on a wide
range of issues concerning Armenian Americans throughout the state
of Illinois.

CARSTENS: IMF INTERESTED IN COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA

Pan ARMENIAN Network, Armenia
July 21 2005

21.07.2005 08:29

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Armenia Tigran
Torosyan met with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing
Director Agustin Carstens, reported the Press Service of National
Assembly of Armenia. In the course of the meeting the Armenian
Vice-Speaker noted the importance of the IMF-Armenia cooperation. In
his words, on that road the efficient IMF-Armenia cooperation may
have a good result. T. Torosyan informed that in the post-soviet space
Armenia has registered high indices in market economic development that
are close to those of a number of countries claiming accession to the
EU. T. Torosyan presented the process of democratic development in
the country and within that context the constitutional reforms that
are close to their completion. In his turn A. Carstens confirmed IMF
interest toward Armenia, explaining it also by the positive shift in
the economy. He also said that in their opinion as compared to other
countries of the region, Armenia’s more rapid development is explained
with systematic cooperation between all branches of power and flexible
economic policy of the Armenian Government. Carstens also informed
that certain technical cooperation programs are already worked out. In
his words, these will be implemented in the tax and customs systems
of Armenia, while in the near future the IMF intends to launch a
large-scale program in the South Caucasian countries. Chairman of the
Standing Commission on Budgetary and Economic Affairs Gagik Minasyan
noted the importance of the fact that the IMF will further see the
Armenian Parliament among its partners and expressed readiness to
promote this.

US WISHES TO SEE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF ARMENIA

PanArmenian News Network
July 18 2005

19.07.2005 04:39

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The US wishes to see the successful development
of Armenia, reflected in actively developing enterprises, rule of law
and strong democratic institutions,” stated US Ambassador to Armenia
John Evans, reported Mediamax. “The US cooperates with Armenia in
many aspects. I would not like to rank them specifically, as direct
preferences may change from week to week.” In the Ambassador’s words,
Armenian-American security and defense cooperation seeming more
significant is due to the common fight against terror demands it.