Author: Toneyan Mark

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
July 5 2005
ECONOMIC GROWTH IN ARMENIA IN JAN-MAY 2005 EXCEEDS CIS COUNTRIES’
AVERAGE INDEX BY 3.5%
YEREVAN, July 5. /ARKA/. Economic growth in Armenia made 8.5% in
Jan-May 2005, compared with the same period a year earlier, exceeding
the CIS countries’ average index by 3.5%, the CIS Statistical
Committee says. The average economic growth in the CIS member
countries made 5%. Armenia ranked third following Azerbaijan with its
16% GDP and Belarus with 8.9%. Economic growth in Tajikistan is 7.5-%
economic growth, in Russia 4.8% (production in economy’s basic
sectors), Ukraine 4.7% and Kyrgyzstan 3.3%. There are no data on
Georgia, Kazakhstan and Moldova for that period. GDP in mentioned
countries rose for the 1st quarter by 7.34%, 9.14% and 8.24%
accordingly. M.V. -0–

Pan Armenian News
LENNMARKER: «GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH ISSUE
AVAILABLE»
05.07.2005 02:44
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today there is a «golden opportunity» for peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh issue based on the win-win outcome, when
Armenia and Azerbaijan will take least losses. The parties should intensify
the talks over the issue. OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) special
representative for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict Goran Lennmarker made a
statement on this at the PA annual session held in Washington. As reported
by OSCE PA press counsellor Jan Jooren, Lennmarker presented his report over
the issue to the delegation heads. The document reflected the rapporteur’s
ideas over securing a peace resolution of the conflict under the aegis of
the OSCE Minsk Group. In his speech Lennmarker underscored, «the Karabakh
conflict is not frozen. Many people annually die at the contact line between
the parties.» He also remarked, «there is virtually no alternative to the
peaceful resolution. It is absolutely necessary to solve the conflict and
put an end to the personal economic, social problems of both parties.» The
Swedish MP proposed not to base on the respective European experience, when
«democracy and integration form the foundation for securing final peace.»
«Powerful European and international institutions are ready to assist
Armenia and Azerbaijan at any moment. It is a generous offer and it should
be useful,» he emphasized. Lennmarker also noted the activities of the
Armenian and Azeri parliamentary delegations were very helpful. «Once a
peace agreement has been finalized by the two Governments, the parliamentary
dimension becomes invaluable in informing the public and in ensuring the
implementation.» It should be noted that Goran Lennmarker was appointed to
the office of the OSCE PA special representative for Nagorno Karabakh in
June 2002 and has visited Armenia and Azerbaijan several times since then.
He has also held meetings with representatives of various public sectors of
the parties, including refugees, the Yerkir newspaper reported.

Azeri pressure group protests Armenian presence at Baku-hosted seminar
ANS TV, Baku
4 Jul 05
The Karabakh Liberation Organization has issued a statement in protest
against the participation of Armenians at a seminar [on the
displacement of population in the South-Caucasus] of the Committee on
Migration, Refugees and Population [Sub-Committee on Refugees] of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe held in Baku.
The KLO said in its statement that Armenia’s participation in the
Baku-hosted seminar was against Azerbaijan’s interests. The KLO
demands that Armenian representatives be immediately banished from
Baku.
The organization said they would do this themselves if their demand
was ignored.

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
July 1 2005
SPECIAL POLICE UNITS FORCE SADAKHLY VILLAGE RESIDENTS UNBLOCK
GEORGIA-ARMENIA ROAD
[July 01, 2005, 20:48:23]
Over 400 residents of Sadakhly village in Marneuli region of Georgia
blocked, June 29, central road connecting Georgia and Armenia to
express dissatisfaction with recent disappearance of their
fellow-villager Sadreddin Palangov, but were driven away later by
Georgian special police units.
The protesters then gathered in front of the police station as they
linked the incident with its chief Goja Shubitidze who had a row with
Palangov two months ago for the latter’s criticizing the local police
for horrendous corruption and criminogenic situation in the region.
Reportedly, search actions have not yet yielded results. Special
police units left Sadakhly village on June 30. Georgian
law-enforcement bodies have launched an investigation into the case.

Special Broadcasting Service, Australia
July 2 2005
Armenian to Terek’s aid
PA Sport
Terek Grozny have boosted their fight against relegation by signing
Armenian midfielder Romik Khachatryan from Panathinaikos.
The 26-year-old international has also played for Olympiakos and may
be available as soon as this weekend for Terek, who have won just
twice in the league this season and lie joint-bottom with Rostov.
“Today we’re waiting for the Khachatryan transfer documents from the
Greek club,” read a statement on Terek’s website.
“If we’re on time to include him in our squad then he may play
against Lokomotiv Moscow on Sunday.”

“ARMENIAN TIME TROUBLE” AT PACE
YEREVAN, JUNE 23. ARMINFO. Today PACE is to hold special debates on
the constitutional reform process in Armenia while the ad hoc
committee on Nagorno Karabakh is to have its first meeting and Venice
Commission experts to meet with the Armenian delegates to the CE.
The co-rapporteurs of PACE monitoring committee Georges Colombier and
Jerzy Jaskiernia and the co-rapporteur of the PACE committee on legal
affairs and human rights Erik Jurgens will attend the debates.
A CE source reports that the debated document contains an urge to the
Armenian authoriites to fully comply with the Venice Commission’s
recommendations and to organize second parliamentary reading of the
issue by Aug at latest. Besides the document urges the Armenian
authorities to take urgent measures to establish a political dialogue
with the opposition and to hold a constitutional reform referendum in
Nov at latest.
The ad hoc committee was set up in the structure of the PACE Bureau
and comprises 19 representatives of the countries interested in the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution.
The source says that the meeting of the Venice Commissioners with the
Armenian delegates to PACE may be continued on Friday.

Chicago Tribune, IL
June 22 2005
Scholar’s arrest fuels diplomatic dispute
Turkish man is held on Armenian charges
By Catherine Collins
Special to the Tribune
Published June 22, 2005
ISTANBUL — The arrest of a Duke University doctoral student last
week on charges of trying to smuggle rare books out of Armenia has
stirred concerns among academics and officials and illustrates the
quagmire of Turkish-Armenian relations.
The student, Yektan Turkyilmaz, was the first Turkish citizen ever
given access to the Armenian national archives. He had just concluded
his fourth research trip there Friday when he was arrested before
boarding a plane at the airport in Yerevan, the Armenian capital.
Armen Yeganian of the Armenian Embassy in Washington described the
case as a customs violation and said Turkyilmaz had several books
dating back as far as the 17th Century. But Turkyilmaz’s family and
academic associates said a researcher of his caliber never would try
to steal priceless books.
Because Turkey and Armenia do not have diplomatic relations,
Turkyilmaz initially landed in a diplomatic no-man’s land. University
officials and the U.S. and Turkish governments have taken up his
cause, and Turkey on Tuesday officially requested Turkyilmaz’s
release.
“I believe this case is fundamentally about academic freedom,” said
his academic adviser, Orin Starn, a cultural anthropology professor
at Duke University.
Starn described Turkyilmaz, 33, as “a brilliant and widely respected
young scholar” who has received numerous fellowships to support his
research into nationalism among Turks, Armenians and Kurds in the
dying days of the Ottoman Empire.
His family has not been able to contact Turkyilmaz, though they have
spoken with his friends in Armenia, some of whom were detained and
interrogated, said his sister, Zeynep.
Turkyilmaz’s case is the latest episode in a long-running diplomatic
dispute about what happened to hundreds of thousands of Armenians in
Turkey between 1915 and 1922.
Armenians say that Turkey’s mass deportation of Armenians during
World War I was part of an organized genocide that killed 1.5 million
people. Turkey denies there was any systematic attempt to kill
Armenians.
The Turkish State Archive recently issued a list of more than 523,000
Turks it says were killed by Armenians the same years.
Regardless, it is a dark chapter in Turkish history that until
recently has been discussed rarely and left out of Turkish textbooks
while landing many scholars, journalists and activists in jail.
Turkey’s best-known novelist, Orhan Pamuk, shattered a taboo earlier
this year when he said that 1 million Armenians were murdered in his
country. Days of screaming headlines, death threats and several
lawsuits charging him with insulting the Turkish state followed his
statement.
Turkey has for years engaged in diplomatic scuffles with any country
it suspects of taking the Armenian side. This spring, the Turkish
parliament demanded apologies from the legislatures of the 12
countries that have recognized Armenian claims of genocide.
Gradually, however, partly as a result of efforts to join the
European Union, a door on the past has been opened.
Although Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul insists that the
genocide label is “pure slander,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
has called on all countries to open archives to scholars to determine
once and for all what has happened.
A spokesman at the Turkish Foreign Ministry said he is baffled by the
arrest.
“This is a very strange situation,” the official said, speaking on
condition of anonymity. “From what we know of Turkyilmaz’s research,
it seems he was more sympathetic to the Armenian view than the
Turkish.”

ARAM SARGSIAN, ACCORDING TO HIMSELF, HAD MEETINGS AT RATHER HIGH LEVEL IN US
YEREVAN, JUNE 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Aram Sargsian, Chairman of the
Political Board of Hanrapetutiun (Republic) party, who has lately
returned from the US, avoided to publicize the results of the visit
that provoked great interest. In his interview to press Sargsian
reported that he had meetings at rather a high level in the US, which
was a surprise even for him. Not willing to speak about the content of
the discussions yet, he assured that he doesn’t condition his
political activity by “various guarantees.” He also mentioned that the
time of the visit was rightly chosen, as Turkish Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister, as well as Armenian Foreign Minister were in the US
simultaneously with him and they stayed at the same hotel. Aram
Sargsian refuted the information that he declared in the US about
Hanrapetutiun party’s leaving the Ardarutiun (Justice) bloc and the
intention of party representatives to put down their deputy
mandates. Aram Sargsian declared that the power shift in Armenia can
be carried out exclusively through a revolution and confirmed his
conviction that the state elections will be special.

HOUSE FOREIGN AID PANEL APPROVES NEARLY $68 MILLION FOR ARMENIA FOR FY 2006
WASHINGTON, JUNE 17, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian Assembly of America
praised members of a key House Appropriations Subcommittee on June
16 for maintaining robust aid levels to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh
despite ongoing overall reductions to former Soviet states. The
Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill,
which lawmakers passed by voice vote, calls for $67.5 million for
Armenia, up to $5 million for Nagorno Karabakh and maintains military
assistance parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan with $5.75 million
allocated to each country. “Given the current budget restraints, we
appreciate the leadership of Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Joe Knollenberg
(R-MI) and commend Chairman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and his Subcommittee
for securing this assistance to Armenia and Karabakh,” said Assembly
Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. “We also thank Ranking Member Nita
Lowey (D-NY) for her steadfast support.” “We want to express our
appreciation to Congressman Joe Knollenberg for his advocacy within
the Subcommittee, to thank Chairman Jim Kolbe and Ranking Member
Nita Lowey for their leadership, and to share our gratitude for the
support of Steve Rothman, John Sweeney, Mark Kirk, Jesse Jackson,
Jr., Carolyn Kilpatrick, Chaka Fattah, and our other friends on this
vitally important panel,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director
of the Armenian National Committee of America. “We were, of course,
especially pleased to see that, consistent with the President’s budget
request, the Subcommittee contributed to the continued stability
of the Caucasus by appropriating aid directly to Nagorno Karabagh,
and maintaining parity in military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan. We
also appreciate the efforts of our friends, in the face of overall
reductions in aid to the region, to increase Armenia’s assistance above
the level proposed by the President, and look forward to action by the
Senate – and later in conference committee – to bring this figure to at
least last year’s figure of $75 million,” added Hamparian. The level of
funding for Armenia is $12.5 million above the Bush Administration’s
request submitted to Congress earlier this year. The overall request
level is part of a continued trend that reflects a serious drop
in U.S. assistance to the former Soviet states – specifically from
$555 million in FY 2005 to $477 million for FY 2006. The action also
allocated $5 million in Foreign Military Financing and $750,000 for
International Military Education and Training to both Armenia and
Azerbaijan, as requested by the Bush Administration. These funds will
improve inter-operability between Armenia’s military and its Western
partners, upgrade Armenia’s communication systems and better its
personnel training. On April 18th of this year, Representative George
Radanovich (R-CA) and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Frank
Pallone (D-NJ) sent a letter to the leadership of the Subcommittee,
cosigned by 43 of their House colleagues, calling for an earmark
of at least $75 million for Armenia; maintaining the President’s
request for equal levels of military aid for Armenia and Azerbaijan;
an additional $5 million in direct aid to Nagorno Karabagh for fiscal
year 2006, and; keeping in place the Section 907 restriction on aid
to Azerbaijan. The bill will next be considered by the full House
Appropriations Committee. Once the full House and Senate complete
action on their version of the bill, a joint House-Senate Conference
Committee will reconcile the differences.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT CALLS ON EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TO IGNORE ELECTIONS
IN NKR
YEREVAN, JUNE 18. ARMINFO. The Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan made an
appeal to the parliaments of European countries in connection with the
parliamentary elections in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. To remind,
the elections in NKR will be held Sunday.
As Day.az informs, the authors of the appeal mention that “to
conduct elections in conditions of territorial seizure contradicts
the principles of the international law and the Constitution of
Azerbaijan”. “That’s why these elections does not have any legal
force”, said in the appeal. The information about the participation
of deputies of the parliaments of a number of EU countries in the
elections as observers arouse anxiety, Azerbaijani MPs think. In this
connection the parliament of Azerbaijan calls on the parliaments
of European countries not to permit the participation of their
representatives in the elections in NKR.