Author: Toneyan Mark

ArmenPress
Jan 20 2005
FRENCH ARMENIAN WOMAN ENDS HUNGER STRIKE
MARSEILLE, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS: A French Armenian woman in
Marseille who went on hunger strike on January 6 in the premises of
an Armenian church to request a meeting with president Jacques Chirac
whom she wants to put forth Turkey’s recognition of the 1915 Armenian
genocide as precondition for joining the EU, said she ended the
strike after persistent requests of her relatives who feared for her
life.
The 50-year Koular Gharibian, a writer, had said she was outraged
by debates in France over Turkey’s possible membership with the
European Union. “Germany is part of the EU, but it had acknowledged
the Holocaust and apologized to Jews ,” she was quoted by Nouvelles
d’Armenie magazine as saying.
She first requested a meeting with Chirac in 2004 October
announcing her decision to go on hunger strike if he refused to
accept her.
She sent a second letter to Chirac before going on hunger strike
saying she would end it after Chirac agrees to meet her and gives
assurances that Turkey would be allowed to join the EU after
recognizing the 1915 genocides and apologizing to Armenians.
Ending the hunger strike she called on French foreign minister
urging him to push the government for asking Turkey to acknowledge
the genocide.

Two Las Vegas Girls Are Deported to Armenia
KLASTV.com
19 Jan 2005
(7 p.m.) — Good news came Wednesday night for the family of two local
teenagers who were just hours away from being deported to Armenia. A federal
judge granted an emergency order preventing immigration and customs
enforcement from sending the girls out of the country.
The two young women,18-year-old Emma Sarkisian and her 17-year-old sister
Miriam, are being held in Los Angeles. They live in Las Vegas with their
family. Miriam is a senior at Palo Verde High School.
Eyewitness News is actively working this story and will bring you the latest
developments.

Tajik Avesta commentary praises Tajik-Russian accords, lists events of
the year
Avesta web site, Dushanbe
10 Jan 05

Text of report By Zafar Abdullayev entitled “The leap year has got the
harvest”, posted on Tajik Avesta web site on 10 January; subheading
inserted editorially
According to ancient beliefs, a leap year contains many difficulties
and problems, and the outgoing year 2004 was no exception. At the same
time, despite it not being “propitious” these 12 months were
relatively productive for Tajikistan, at least in terms of foreign
policy.
The country’s main achievements in the past year were a Tajik-Russian
comprehensive agreement on the basis of which Russia wrote off
Tajikistan’s 300m-dollar debt, and an agreement to transfer control of
the Tajik-Afghan border to the Tajik military.
Moreover, the UES [Unified Energy System] of Russia and Rusal
expressed the willingness to invest up to 2bn dollars in our national
economy. In exchange, Russia received the Norak space complex and
permission to set up a military base in Tajikistan.
At the beginning of June, after a meeting of the two countries’
presidents in Sochi, it seemed that the Tajik side had lost out. But
after the autumn summit, it became obvious that Tajikistan benefited
virtually from everything, even from its concessions. In addition to a
promise of investment incredible by Tajikistan’s standards and its
debt being written off, the country will also receive a military base
on its territory, which is a factor of military and political
stability. It is no secret that after the anti-terror operation in
Afghanistan, many countries of Central Asia wanted NATO military bases
on their territory as a source of stability and finance. But not
everyone was offered this role, and Russia served as an effective
substitute here.
On the other hand, in my opinion there is a clearly weak link in the
Tajik-Russian agreements. It is the Tajik-Afghan border. The
withdrawal of Russian border guards from there will hardly strengthen
its protection, but obviously Tajik citizens, especially those living
in the Pamirs, a region with chronic unemployment, will suffer direct
financial losses, not to mention security issues.
The authorities are counting on assistance from the West in the
formation of their own frontier troops, which is possible only with
full independent control of the border, but time will show the
effectiveness of this step.
Anti-corruption drive
Equally significant events of the year were the opening of criminal
cases against former field commanders who held high state and military
positions in the recent past. Yoqub Salimov’s case is different, but
accusations against the ex-commander of the presidential guard,
G. [Ghaffor] Mirzoyev, and the former head of Tojikgaz,
M. [Mahmadruzi] Iskandarov, are similar in some respect and have
common motives behind them. Having big powers with force (armed
supporters) and money, both leaders could not refrain from competing
with the head of state. And only if they tried to do that strictly in
the political arenaý [ellipsis as published]
The authorities have once again proven to them and all other such
“contenders” that the times of militants and threats of force have
passed. At the same time it can be forecast with a high probability
that ordinary people will pay fairly cold attention to this process as
they understand that none of the “commanders” ever thought about
them. They thought only about their detached houses and bank accounts.
However a lot of people ask questions about the honesty of the started
campaign to fight corruption and crime in the echelons of power. Will
thesecases be followed by others as the number of candidates “for
dispossession of kulaks” is more than a hundred? Will the fight
against corruption turn into a fight against dissidents? One would
like to believe that no, it will not. And this is only the start of “a
big purge”.
This is especially important from the point of view of “velvet”
revolutions in some CIS countries, specifically Georgia and Ukraine,
the last significant events of the year. The stunning success of
“rose” and “orange” transfer of power from the ruling forces to the
opposition makes the governments of our country’s neighbours think
about their fate, especially as Armenia and Kyrgyzstan have already
been named as potential candidates. To all appearances, this is
because of the upcoming presidential elections there. Presidential
elections will also be held in Tajikistan soon, that is next year,
which does not rule out the possibility of a repetition of that
scenario in our country. It is possible to prevent social and
political cataclysms only through creating an open democratic society,
holding free and transparent elections and purging the state apparatus
of bribe-takers and corrupt officials.

SUCCESS OF SCULPTOR FROM ARTSAKH
Azg/arm
20 Jan 05
Recently, Robert Askarian, a sculptor from Nagorno Karabakh,
participated in the international symposium of sculpture organized in
the Brazilian city of Bruskve. He was awarded among the best 10
sculptures. It is worth mentioning that 184 sculptures arrived in this
Brazilian city from various countries of the world to participate in
the symposium.
Robert Askarian’s “The Angels’ Rendezvous” sculpture was chosen among
the other works and passed to another stage. Robert Askarian was proud
and delighted to represent Artsakh, an internationally unrecognized
country, among the other countries of the world.
In 2004, the sculpture created by Robert Askarian and dedicated to the
1000th anniversary of “The Book of Mournful Songs” by Grigor Narekatsi
was set in Kaunas, Lithuania. The sculptor was awarded NKR’s annual
award after Yeghishe Charents by the end of 2004.
The sculptor stated at the press conference that the participants and
the organizers of the symposium highly estimated the Armenian culture
and he was proud of representing his nation abroad.
We are hopeful that “The Angels’ Rendezvous” by Robert Askarian will
be given a higher prize during the conclusion of the symposium’s
results this summer in Brazil.
By Kim Gabrielian in Stepanakert

Azeri Speaker censures US congressmen for Armenian bias
ANS TV, Baku
12 Jan 05

[Presenter] A meeting between Azerbaijani Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov and
a delegation of the German Marshall Fund of the United States at the
Milli Maclis [parliament] today focused on the Karabakh problem.
[Correspondent, over video of the meeting] Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov
told the meeting with the delegation of the German Marshall Fund of
the United States that 20 per cent of our lands had been occupied as a
result of Armenia’s aggression and over 1m people had become
refugees. Alasgarov said that Azerbaijan supported a peaceful solution
to the conflict that would be in line with international legal norms
and also criticized the work of the OSCE Minsk Group. He said that
being a co-chairman of the Minsk Group, the USA should try to reach a
fair solution to the conflict and step up its activity. The speaker
also sent a message to some pro-Armenian congressmen.
[Alasgarov addressing the delegation members] Let the congressmen
supporting Armenia’s interests know that Armenia is trying to expand
its territory by all possible means at the expense of Azerbaijani
lands and that it has committed aggression against Azerbaijan.
[Correspondent] The head of the delegation, [Senior Transatlantic
Fellow at the German Marshall Fund] Ronald Asmus, said that a new
project launched by the German Marshall Fund was aimed at
disseminating information about Azerbaijan in the USA.
[Asmus, speaking in English with Azeri voice-over, captioned] We aim
to gain insight into Azerbaijan’s current problems and exchange
opinions with [Azerbaijani] MPs and government members over this.
[Correspondent] Ronald Asmus promised to collect documentary evidence
about the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and submit it to US
congressmen. The US Congress is planning to hold hearings on Nagornyy
Karabakh.
Afat Telmanqizi, Azar Qarayev, ANS.

Armenian minister predicts intense diplomatic activity in 2005
Arminfo
12 Jan 05
YEREVAN
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan predicts intense diplomatic
activity in the country in 2005, he told a news conference today.
He said that in 2005 traditional bilateral relations would be
continued and, moreover, the list of friendly countries would be
extended. Visits to new countries have been planned. Armenia intends
to take part in global issues, in the struggle against terrorism, and
in the reforms of the UN and OSCE.
The year 2005 will be marked by the launch of an individual programme
of cooperation with the EU within the framework of the New Neighbours
policy.
A corresponding EU report on Armenia is expected to be ready by
March. A programme of individual cooperation with NATO is being
drafted. It is expected to be ready by April-May.
At the forthcoming summit of the Council of Europe Armenia will be
presented as a country which has implemented its commitments and it
will at the same time assume new commitments, the minister noted.
“I think that this summit can become a turning point for us, in this
sense, we have completed the first and are entering into the second
stage of democratic processes,” the minister noted, adding that a UN
summit will also be held in autumn.
The year 2005 will see changes in the Karabakh issue as well. “We are
entering into the second Prague stage, which will differ qualitatively
from the previous one,” the minister noted.
He also spoke about Turkey’s integration into Europe and noted the
need for efforts to open the Armenian-Turkish border and recognize the
Armenian genocide.

ArmenPress
Jan 12 2004
TRAINING COURSES ORGANIZED FOR UNEMPLOYED IN KAPAN
KAPAN, JANUARY 12, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Social Security Fund had
released more than 1 million drams for an employment center in Kapan,
the capital of southern province of Syunik, which will use the money
to organize computer training courses for 20 local unemployed people.
The course is part of a government supported program for teaching the
unemployed new professions.
The head of the local employment center told Armenpress that
several local companies said they will hire the unemployed after they
finish the two-month course. Participants will be given also
allowances, in the amount of an unemployment benefit during the
training. Sixty other unemployed, including 10 disabled persons are
set to have similar courses this year.

Minister says Armenia to benefit greatly from new Russian-Georgian ferry link
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
10 Jan 05
[Presenter] The official reopening of a ferry link between the
[Russian] port of Kavkaz and Poti [in Georgia] was held today. In
accordance with initial agreements, a ferry carrying 24 wagons will
operate every three days. According to expert assessments, it is
expected that over 500,000 t of cargo will be transported between Poti
and the port of Kavkaz annually. The price of imported goods may
decrease because the transport tariffs for goods transited from Russia
to Armenia via the newly-opened route will decrease by about 30 per
cent.
[Andranik Manukyan, Armenian transport and communications minister,
over the phone from Tbilisi] An agreement was signed on a ferry link
between the ports of Poti and Kavkaz in Tbilisi today. Under this
agreement, from now on cargo bound from Russia for Armenia will be
transported from the port of Kavkaz to Poti and from there to Yerevan
by railway. It is a very advantageous option for Armenia, because
compared to the current transport route, the cost of cargo transport
from (?Lichevskiy) to the ports of Poti or Batumi is about 30-35 per
cent higher.
This will also result in a surge in trade between Russia and Armenia,
as well as in a decrease in prices. This route is twice as short as
the distance between the ports of Lichevskiy and Poti. This will also
benefit our shipping companies and will promote an increase in foreign
trade.
Negotiations were also held between the Russian and Georgian sides
today and it was decided to create a coordination council to oversee
ferry cargo transportation. There will be an Armenian representative
in the council as well. We will have an opportunity to take part in
setting tariffs.
I reckon that this agreement is of paramount importance to the
Armenian economy.

Couple hosts fundraiser for kids’ vaccinations
A Christmas party Saturday yielded donations instead of gifts to help
children in Armenia
Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader
January 10, 2005
By Darleene Barrientos
Amid a dark, rainy Saturday evening, Roobik and Carmen Ovanesian’s
glowing home was a beacon, beckoning to neighbors and friends to come in
and donate money to help every child in Armenia get vaccinated.
About two hundred people made their way in the door to drop off a check
Saturday, raising nearly $8,000. The party was a fundraising event for
the Millennium Armenian Children’s Vaccine Fund, part of the Ani and
Narod Memorial Foundation.
The event was deliberately scheduled Saturday, as part of Armenian
Christmas celebrations. Armenian Christmas, or the Day of Epiphany, is
celebrated Jan. 6.
Organizers hoped to raise $20,000, to close out the $1.5 million
campaign goal. More than 400 guests were invited, and were asked to make
a tax-deductible donation to the fund in lieu of a Christmas gift. The
amount raised over the weekend will be matched by UNICEF.
“We would l ove for the last $20,000 to be raised tonight,” Project
Coordinator Eliza Karagezian said. “But whatever comes in, we are
grateful for it.”
Roobik and Carmen Ovanesian offered to host the event after Carmen saw a
brochure detailing the campaign and its goals.
“It is very important, it’s a very good cause,” Ovanesian said.
“Vaccinations are a simple thing, but children die from smallpox and
polio all the time.”
Armenia might be far from Glendale, but its important that any child in
every country be vaccinated, Glendale Community College trustee Armine
Hacopian said
“Every child that’s vaccinated makes it a safer world,” she said.
“Children are not restricted to one country.”
The celebration attracted several Armenian and Armenian American leaders
from Glendale and beyond. Mayor Bob Yousefian and Glendale Police Chief
Randy Adams both attended, along with several candidates for the City
Council, City Clerk, the Glendale Unified School District board and
Glendale Community College trustee board.
Burbank Unified School District board Vice President and Burbank
attorney Paul Krekorian and Downey City Councilman Kirk Cartozian also
attended the foundation fundraiser.

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Jan 6 2005
Major investors in Upper Garabagh disclosed

Base Metals and Garabagh Telecom companies are major investors in the
self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh Republic, Armenian press reported last
week.

According to the reports, Base Metals with 700 employees has been
developing copper and gold deposits in the region for many years. The
company, which exported the first consignment of copper and gold to
European markets in October, has invested $7 million in Upper
Garabagh over a year and a half and plans to invest a total of $20
million in the region. According to the company director Artur
Mkrtumian, processed bars of copper and gold are produced in Armenia
and then exported to Europe. Copper and gold fields in Upper Garabagh
are to be developed within 20 years, he said.

Another major investor Garabagh Telecom has been providing
telecommunications, cellular and Internet services in the region
since February 2002. The company has invested $15 million and
succeeded in establishing a mobile communications system which
currently covers 75% of the Upper Garabagh territory.
US-funded project
US Agency for International Development (USAID) signed an agreement
with the Armenian Assistance Foundation in October to implement a
humanitarian project in Upper Garabagh before September 2007.
3,000 houses and social establishments located in five districts of
Upper Garabagh, Azerbaijan’s region occupied by Armenia, will be
restored under the project.
A tender for the rehabilitation of 23 houses, 20 medical stations and
water pipelines in Asgaran region has been announced. Restoration
operations will commence in April 2005.
The project manager Andranik Sarkisian told the Armenian press that
rehabilitation work started in Khojavand region in November.
Renovation of 290 houses, 11 medical stations and water pipelines in
Aghdara region will begin shortly, Sarkisian said.