Author: Tigranian Ani

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
March 2 2007

ARMENIANS’ POGROMS IN SOUMGAIT BECAME THE FIRST GREAT BLOODSHED THAT
FOLLOWED NAGORNO-KARABAGH PEOPLE’S PEACEFUL REQUIREMENTS

Armenians’ pogroms in Soumgait became the first great bloodshed that
followed Nagorno-Karabagh people’s peaceful requirements on the NKAR
cession from one Soviet Republic to another, the Nagorno-Karabagh
Republic Deputy FM Masis Mailian told Novosti-Armenia Agency in
connection with the 19th Anniversary of the Armenian pogroms in
Soumgait.
In his words, Azerbaijan’s response was quite inadequate; people were
killed only for being Armenians, which means by ethnical indication.
The Deputy FM noted international law regarded such actions as
Genocide, and it does not matter how many people were killed.
`’The actions took place 400 kilometers from the Nagorno-Karabagh in
peaceful time, on the territory that did not refer to the national
and liberation movement we started, so in this context the measures
Azerbaijan undertaken 19 years ago may be considered inadequate”,
Masis Mailian noted.
The Armenian pogroms began in the Azeri town of Soumgait February 27,
1988. For three day tens of Armenians were killed in the town, exact
number has not been determined yet. According to official sources, 32
people were killed then.
The Soumgait events became a reply to a decision the Nagorno-Karabagh
Autonomous Region rendered February 20, 1988 `’About Petition before
the Supreme Soviets of Azerbaijani SSR and Armenian SSR for the NKAR
Cession from Azerbaijani SSR to Armenian SSR”.

THE BAKU-AKHALKALAKI-KARS RAILWAY LINE: CEMENT FOR A STRATEGIC ALLIANCE?
By Lili Di Puppo In Tbilisi

Caucaz.com, Georgia
March 1 2007

The signing of an agreement to start construction work on the
Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railway line linking Georgia, Azerbaijan and
Turkey took place on 7 February in Tbilisi. The occasion brought
together Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Azeri President
Ilham Aliev and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. During the
ceremony, the three leaders signed a declaration on a "Common vision
for regional cooperation." Despite the geopolitical dimension of the
railway project, some observers question the real long-term benefits
Georgia might reap from the rail link.

The construction of the new railway line is an additional step designed
to cement the strategic alliance between the three countries after
the inauguration of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline in
July 2006 and the completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) gas
pipeline. The potential of these projects to link Europe and Asia
transcends the immediate benefit of regional integration. Kazakhstan
has already expressed interest in joining the three projects and
Astana’s participation would thus open a door to China.

But the similarities between these projects stop here. In comparison
with the other energy links, the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars project has
received much less support from Western players in the region. The
United States and the European Union are uneasy about Armenia’s de
facto isolation. As a result of the Armenian lobby, the U.S. Congress
passed a bill which prevents US companies from financing the
construction of the railroad.

Economic costs

Armenia opposes the construction of the railway line by pointing to
the already existing Kars-Gyumri (Armenia) -Tbilisi rail link, which
ceased to operate in 1993 following the closure of the Turkish-Armenian
border. Although Armenia argues that the railroad could be easily
refurbished, Azerbaijan has stated that before it will use the railway,
Armenia must first end the "illegal occupation of Azeri territories."

The three countries will eventually finance the railroad without
external support. On 13 January, Baku and Tbilisi agreed that
Azerbaijan would provide a 220 million dollar loan to Georgia,
repayable over 25 years with an annual interest rate of 1%. Georgia
will use transit revenues from the operation of the railway line to
repay the loan.

The overall cost of the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars project is estimated at
USD 400 million. The section between Baku and Tbilisi already exists,
but Georgia will build a new 29 kilometre line between the Turkish
border and the town of Akhalkalaki in the Javaketi region. Turkey,
for its part, will build a 76-kilometer line from Kars to the Georgian
border. The Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railway section will also be restored.

Not everyone is convinced of the project’s economic benefits. Archil
Gegeshidze, a foreign policy expert at the Georgian Strategic Institute
for International Studies (GFSIS) remarks that "it will be difficult in
the first year to find cargo commodities for the new railway corridor."

5 million tonnes of goods will be transported on the railway in the
initial stages of its operation, while the capacity of the railroad
is planned to reach 15 to 20 million tonnes in the future. However,
Mr. Gegeshidze says that these figures represent the current
approximate volume of goods being transported through Georgia.

Therefore, one may ask from where the additional goods will come.

As in the case of the BTC oil pipeline, the project’s costs have
moved some observers to argue that political considerations actually
outweigh economics. A debate has started in Georgia on the railway
line’s profitability for the country.

Railway against ports?

Tbilisi is certainly pursuing its own political agenda with the
construction of the railway line. The Georgian government hopes to
boost economic development in the Javaketi region, where the economic
situation has deteriorated since the closure of a Russian military
base. The aim is also to promote the integration of the region,
populated by an Armenian majority, with the rest of Georgia.

Furthermore, Georgia is interested in cementing a strategic alliance
with Turkey and Azerbaijan, with the goal of reducing Georgia’s energy
dependency on Russia. Turkey announced on 7 February that it wants
to allocate part of its gas share from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field
to Georgia. Negotiations are underway.

In reaction to the Russo-Georgian energy row, Azerbaijan supplied
Georgia with gas in January 2006. As a sign of the importance
the current government assigns to the strategic partnership with
Azerbaijan, the Georgian government renamed a section of the Mtkvari
River’s embankment in Tbilisi after former Azeri President Heydar
Aliev, Ilham Aliev’s father.

Energy deals between the three countries have prompted opposition
leader Salome Zurabishvili to ask in January 2007 whether the railway
agreement is part of a compromise in exchange for receiving gas
from the Shah Deniz field. She has underlined that Georgia risks
jeopardizing the earning potential of its ports in this transaction.

As an argument against the profitability of the railway for Georgia,
some observers say that it may undermine the potential of the Georgian
Black Sea ports of Batumi and Poti as major transport gateways to
Central Europe.

The Georgian ports, which are currently under renovation, and their
future liaison with Black Sea East European ports, certainly represent
serious competition for Turkey in the long term. Despite the two
countries’ apparent shared interests, Turkish and Georgian ports may
well compete in the future as gateways to Europe.

Furthermore, the European Union (EU) itself is more in favour of
using Georgia and its ports as a transit link towards the Balkans and
Central Europe, especially in light of Bulgaria and Romania’s new EU
memberships. The original idea of the EU-funded Transport Corridor
Europe Caucasus Asia (TRACECA) was to link Central Asia with Europe
via the Black Sea and the Balkans rather than via Turkey. The EU has
refused to include the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railway project in the
European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Action Plans with Azerbaijan
and Georgia despite demands by Baku and Tbilisi. The Poti port,
however, has received financial assistance for its renovation under
the TRACECA framework.

The major problem is the lack of a governmental long-term strategy
on how to exploit Georgia’s potential as a transit country. As Mr.

Gegeshidze remarks, "Georgia should have a sophisticated view of
its transit policy. There should be one government oversight body
to examine these issues as a whole and to prevent the promotion of
a railway system while neglecting the impact of the railway on the
country’s ports. The government should develop a sound transit policy
with the aim of fully exploiting Georgia’s geographic location."

The rapid pace of privatization in the country has led some to fear
that the government may sell some of Georgia’s most valuable and
strategic assets.

In light of the vote of the U.S. Congress, American investment in
the Georgian railway sector is unlikely. The privatization of the
railway system may well interest Kazakh companies or even Russian
investors which, as some believe, would eventually further Russia’s
aim of controlling transport routes in the region.

OPPOSITION ALLIANCE TALKS COLLAPSE
By Ruzanna Stepanian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 28 2007

Last-ditch attempts by several Armenian opposition parties to form an
election alliance have ended in failure, it was confirmed on Wednesday.

The parties led by former Prime Ministers Aram Sarkisian and Vazgen
Manukian and former Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannisian failed to iron
out their differences in late-night negotiations on Tuesday. All
there men were tight-lipped about reasons for the fiasco, which is
another good news for the Armenian government.

Sarkisian seemed particularly disappointed with the collapse of the
talks, saying that his radical Hanrapetutyun (Republic) party will
have to run for parliament on its own. He confirmed that Hanrapetutyun
will not team up even with the former ruling Armenian Pan-National
Movement, another opposition party involved in the talks.

"I wouldn’t like to use details of those negotiation for attacking
anyone," Sarkisian told RFE/RL. "I think those details won’t be of
any use."

But the outspoken oppositionist did say that he suspects some of his
potential allies of playing into the government’s hands.

"Unfortunately, in Armenia and dictatorial countries in general there
are too many such parties," he said.

When asked to name them, Sarkisian said, "The public will see that
during the election campaign. I think the public already has suspicions
about one or another party. I don’t have to specify them."

Manukian also refused to elaborate on the opposition discussions. "I
don’t want to play the blame game," he told RFE/RL. "That’s just
the way it is. We failed for some reason, and I don’t want to make
any comments."

Manukian also said later in the day that his National Democratic Union
(AZhM), one of Armenia’s oldest opposition parties, has decided to
boycott the May 12 elections. The veteran politician has advocated
such a boycott in the past, arguing that the country’s culture of
electoral fraud leaves little room for the opposition.

The nominal chairman of Hovannisian’s Zharangutyun party, Vartan
Khachatrian, may have had Manukian in mind when he complained that
some unspecified participants of the talks were skeptical about the
chances of an opposition bloc making a strong showing in the May
12 elections. "Some organizations believed that it is impossible to
radically change this situation with this process and this make-up,"
he said, refusing to name anyone. "There were also organizations
that set conditions pertaining to the name of the alliance and their
participation in that alliance."

"We did everything in our power to reach agreement and always
remained open to mutual concessions," Khachatrian told RFE/RL. He
said Hovannisian was even ready not to occupy any of the five top
spots in the would-be bloc’s list of candidates.

Khachatrian added that Zharangutyun will decide later on Wednesday
whether or not it will contest the elections. Hovannisian suggested
last week that doing that single-handedly would make no sense.

ARMENIAN STATE TV VOWS FAIR ELECTION COVERAGE
By Irina Hovannisian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 26 2007

The head of Armenia’s state television and radio on Monday pledged to
ensure unbiased and objective coverage of the upcoming parliamentary
elections by its channels.

Aleksan Harutiunian, the recently re-appointed chairman of the
managing board of the Armenian Public Television and Radio (HHHR),
said his journalists and commentators will not seek to discredit or
attack any of the election contenders, including those opposed to
President Robert Kocharian.

"The main political forces, both in opposition and government, will
not only have equal airtime in the news and other programs but also
enjoy equal, neutral and positive treatment [by HHHR]," he told a
news conference. "There will be no smear campaigns."

Harutiunian said his TV and radio channels, that are the most
accessible in the country, will build on their coverage of the May
2003 parliamentary elections which was praised by observers from
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The observers
were far more critical of the state broadcaster’s news reporting of
the February-March 2003 presidential elections, saying that it was
extremely biased against Kocharian’s opposition challengers.

Harutiunian’s H1 channel and the private Armenian TV stations still
rarely air any criticism of Kocharian. The latter is not affiliated
with any Armenian political party but is keenly interested in the
victory of pro-presidential forces in the elections scheduled for
May 12.

The Armenian opposition has already accused the authorities of severely
restricting its access to the airwaves in the run-up to the polls. Its
leaders point to record-high prices of political advertising that
have been set by the pro-Kocharian broadcasters

But Harutiunian, who used to work as chief of Kocharian’s staff, denied
that the campaign ad fees, ranging from 80,000 to 130,000 drams ($370)
per minute, were dictated by the presidential administration. He also
dismissed opposition protests against a recent Constitutional Court
ruling that invalidated a legal provision obligating H1 to fully air
some sessions of parliament regularly featuring opposition attacks
on the government.

The court backed Harutiunian’s assertion that he decade-long provision
is unconstitutional and violates press freedom. Opposition leaders
insist, however, that it must remain in force given the lack of
independent electronic media in Armenia.

According to Harutiunian, H1 will now partly broadcast the parliament
sessions during which deputies put questions to government members
and make 3-minute statements on any topic. "No faction will see its
statements excluded from our program," he said. "It’s just that the
broadcast will be more concise."

In addition, said Harutiunian, the Armenian Public Radio will continue
live broadcasts of all National Assembly sessions for the time being.

REPRESENTATIVES OF OPPONENT PARTIES DISPUTE ABOUT ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DUAL CITIZENSHIP

arminfo
2007-02-26 16:01:00

Today member of Dashnaktsoutyun party Ruben Hovsepyan and member of
Armenian National Movement party Andranik Hovakimyan disputed about
the advantages and disadvantages of dual citizenship.

Hovsepyan said that dual citizenship will contribute to national
unity, while Hovakimyan said that dual citizenship may have many
negative consequences: particularly, it paves the way for corruption
and xenophobia.

"The problems of Armenia must be solved by people living in its
territory," he said.

Hovakimyan urged all Armenians to come and live in Armenia and to
share all the people’s joys and sorrows. "He who wants to have equal
rights with me must be like me," he said.

Hovsepyan retorted that citizenship as it is implies equal rights
and duties and makes all citizens equal to the law irrespective of
their residence.

POLAND BACKS THE SETTLEMENT OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE OSCE MINSK GROUP

ArmRadio.am
26.02.2007 16:25

Poland backs the negotiation process in the framework of the OSCE
Minsk Group. Poland has a constructive position on settlement of
"frozen conflicts," since it wants to see peacefully developing
sovereign Caucasus and have a higher level of cooperation.

"A peaceful negotiation process should be launched between Armenia
and Azerbaijan, a rapid and effective solution should be found to the
Karabakh conflict with mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. It
proceeds from the interests of both the South Caucasus and the
international community, since the Karabakh conflict exerts influence
on the security of the region," said the Foreign Minister of Poland.

She noted also that the Azeri media misinterpreted her words that she
backs the resolution of the Karabakh conflict based on the principle
of territorial integrity.

AZG Armenian Daily #035, 24/02/2007

Scientist Pursued for Recognizing the Genocide

TANER AKCAM PROFESSOR IS VICTIM OF CAMPAIGN OF INTIMIDATION

Taner Akcam, an expert on the Armenian Genocide and a visiting
professor at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Holocaust and
Genocide Studies, was detained in Montreal by Canadian customs
officials Friday. He was held for more than four hours while officials
investigated a charge of terrorism leveled against him by unknown
persons.

Akcam had been invited to speak at a human-rights symposium at McGill
niversity Law School. A Canadian customs officer showed him copies of
reviews of his new book on the Armenia tragedy, "A Shameful Act," from
Wikipedia.com and Amazon.com that said Akcam was a member of a
terrorist organization.

While being questioned, Akcam was contacted on his cell phone by his
host, McGill professor Payam Akhavan, when he failed to pass
customs. Akhavan called the office of Jason Kenney, secretary of state
for multiculturalism, and Stockwell Day, the minister of public
safety. Akcam’s release followed almost immediately.

Akcam, who is a Turk, believes this was part of "a campaign against me
by the Turkish authorities" for speaking out on the Armenian
genocide. "When I was at New York University recently as part of my
book tour, the autograph session was broken up by Turkish
nationalists. They distributed a flier labeling me a terrorist and
claiming that I was responsible for the deaths of Americans in
Turkey."

The same thing happened in December at the Benjamin N. Cardozo Law
School in New York, but with a twist. When e-mails suggested the same
group was going to break up a conference on genocide and law, the
sponsors called the Turkish Consulate in Manhattan to complain. The
next day, Akcam said, a consular official called Cardozo to say there
would be no demonstration. There wasn’t.

Akcam said that because of the campaign of intimidation against him he
is fearful for his life when he travels outside the United States. "I
have been forced to cancel five international appearances at academic
conferences, " he said. "Under the guise of freedom of speech, certain
groups are causing me great physical and material harm. It is very
difficult to do my work."

Arminfo
2007-02-24 13:29:00

Robert Kocharyan: Armenia, like France, supports power decentralization
policy

Today Armenian President Robert Kocharyan met with French Minister
Delegate for Regional Development Christian Estrosi.

The presidential press service reports the sides to express
satisfaction with the success of the Year of Armenia in France. They
noted that this event has become a real holiday of Armenian-French
friendship.

The sides exchanged views concerning regional development problems and
the prospects of cooperation in the sphere. Kocharyan noted that
Armenia’s state administration system is similar to the French one as
the French Constitution served as a sample for the Armenian one. Just
like France, Armenia supports power decentralization policy. "We are
interested in France’s experience in regional development," Kocharyan
said.

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Feb 24 2007

US congresswoman Foxx supports Turkish stand on Armenian issue

Saturday , 24 February 2007

Turkish-American relations would be negatively affected if the
Armenian genocide resolution gets approval from the House of
Representatives, said Virginia Foxx, a Republican member of the US
Congress.

As US President George W. Bush puts special importance on national
security and counter-terrorism, the US administration is concerned
that approval of the resolution would have a negative impact on the
American fight against terror and its relations with Turkey.

Foxx’s statements came after a luncheon meeting with the
Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry held in her honor
at a Turkish restaurant in New York. Fox joined the Turkish-American
Friendship Group in the US Congress, after she was elected the North
Carolina representative, in an effort to help improve relations
between Turkey and America.
Putting her personal stance on the resolution in words that expressed
opposition to the bill because, she believed, there was no sound
reason behind it, Foxx further said that most representatives who
signed the resolution do not actually know much about it and have not
thought about it deeply. Foxx added that the recent shift of power in
the House of Representatives from the Republicans to the Democrats
was adding to the concerns of the US administration. Historically, US
Democrats have been more supportive of the Armenian claims than
Republicans.

House Speaker and Democrat Nancy Pelosi has expressed support for the
resolution. The Armenian genocide resolution was introduced on
January 30th and currently has about 170 co-sponsors.

Mustafa Merc, the president of the Chamber, told the Anatolia news
agency that they were maintaining a series of one-to-one connections
with US congressmen in order to convey a truthful picture of problems
facing Turkey, to improve the American image of Turkey and to prevent
the passage of the Armenian resolution.

Armenian figure skater the 9th among 20 participans

ArmRadio.am
23.02.2007 15:50

Armenian figure skater Hovhannes Mkrtchayn took the 9th place among 20
participants at the Winter Youth Olympic Festival held in Spain.

Figure Skater Armine Stamboltsyan of Yerevan occupied the 22nd place
among 22 participants.

Commenting on the results, President of RA Figure Skating Federation
Samvel Khachatryan told Armenpress that the 9th place of Hovhannes
Mkrtchayn is success, and the 22nd place occupied by Armine
Stamboltsyan is a progress.