Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

INDIA-ARMENIA SIGN MOU ON PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION
WebIndia, India
Oct 7 2005
India and Armenia today signed an MoU on Parliamentary Cooperation
aimed at promoting and intensifying cooperation between the Indian
Parliament and the Armenian National Assembly.
On the second day of his visit here, Vice-President Bhairon Singh
Shekhawat stressed the need for strengthening the imperatives of
bilateral cooperation in multilateral forums between the two countries.
Addressing members of the National Assembly of the former Soviet Union
Republic, the first Indian statesman to do so, the Vice President
whole-heartedly appreciated the CIS country’s support for India’s
candidature for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
He also highlighted the need for reforms in the United Nations to
make it more democratic.
“Globalisation needs to have a much wider and substantive content
that promotes overall human happiness, especially of the millions
of people in different parts of the world who continue to suffer the
curse of poverty and deprivation,”said Mr Shekhawat to the thumping
of desks by Armenian Parliamentarians.
The Vice President also thanked Armenia for its consistent support
to India on the issue of terrorism and added that “all nations of
the world, like India and Armenia, should work together to root out
the scourge of terrorism”.
The MoU was signed from the Indian side by Mr Vijay Kumar, Secretary
(Coordination), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and from the
Armenian side by National Assembly Secretary General Hayk Kotanyan.
Tomorrow, both countries XXX( EDS: here pick up from last para of DF9,
External-India-Armenia-MOU).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HETQ.am
I Can’t Wait Any More
October 3, 2005
“I can’t imagine that he’s alive,” the mother of a soldier who went missing
in action in the Karabakh War admitted painfully. “If he were, wouldn’t he
know that we’re waiting?”
Sirush Hakobyan still has a list of 21 Azerbaijani soldiers who were
captured during the war, and she keeps their photographs in an album along
with those of her own son. Once these soldiers were her only hope of finding
her son. She and her husband were told in Karabakh that if their son was
found by the parents of one of the 21 Azeribaijanis, they could exchange him
for one of them. But in twelve years, hope has turned into uncertainty.
“I still hope. But when I imagine getting a final answer, and it’s bad news,
I go crazy,” the mother said, choking back tears.
The search for Vahe Yeghshatyan has not yielded any results. In May of 1993,
the family learned from a friend that their son, who had secretly left his
home in Vanadzor three months earlier, was now fighting in the Karabakh war.
He and other soldiers were fired on when a tank they were in crossed the
border during a battle in Martakert. Only one of them managed to escape.
Wounded in the leg, Vahe was caught by the Azerbaijanis.
The soldier’s capture was confirmed by his commander. The day after the
gunfight, the officer talked with Vahe over the radio and found out that he
had been taken prisoner. Vahe’s father went to Martakert where he found
Vahe’s clothing, sports bag, and a picture of his dead uncle in the burned
tank. Vaghinak Yegshatyan returned home with a certificate of his son’s MIA
status and an intriguing offer from Vahe’s commanding officer.
The officer had promised to get their son back if Vahe’s parents would
provide 25 million Russian rubles. They had collected nearly all the money
when Vahe’s commander was killed in a gun-battle in Karabakh. With his death
the family lost all traces of the soldier from Vanadzor. According to the
Armenian Defense Ministry, 947 soldiers and civilians from Armenia and
Karabakh have gone missing between 1988 and 2005. 224 of them are from
Armenia. “Every time we heard that something happened, we went to check to
see what it was,” Vahe’s mother said.
Now fifty years old, Sirush Hakobyan no longer remembers the exact
chronology of events; they mean little to a woman who has been waiting for
so many years. The last information she received was in 1999 or 2000, from a
woman in Shushi.
“We received one letter in good Armenian, which said that the sender had my
son’s passport, and that we could get it.” They subsequently found out that
the letter had been written by a woman who had shown Vahe’s passport to
passengers on a Vanadzor bus and told them that Vahe was healthy and living
with her. Once again, the Yeghshatyans followed their son’s trail to
Kharabakh. This trip was also in vain; they never found the woman who had
written the letter. Somehow, the Ministry of Defense managed to get hold of
the missing soldier’s passport. I was with great reluctance that they handed
it over to his parents.
Vahe’s mother described her conversation with defense ministry officials:
“When I said, ‘You know something you’re not telling me,’ they told me,
“What can we say? We can’t find your son; he’s dead.”
Relatives have moved Vahe’s belongings out of his room, in an attempt to
ease his mother’s suffering. Only his desk and a picture remain. The parents
have stopped writing letters to various ministries and agencies. They’re
tired of knocking on doors and receiving inconclusive responses. The only
help they receive from the government are special benefits which were
awarded only after they presented a death certificate.
Their son was declared dead by the state two years ago, even though nobody
knows where he is, or what happened to him. The government has never
specified the status of soldiers who went missing in action in the Karabakh
war. There isn’t any legislation granting these soldiers special status and
providing their families with an alternative to going to court to have them
declared dead. The families take this step for different reasons, but mainly
to improve their social condition. According to the defense ministry, 166
MIAs have already been declared dead by the court. Despite numerous
statements by the ministry that there are government committees working on
finding the lost Armenians in Karabakh, and that recently their work has
been particularly intensive and productive recently, the families of those
who are missing have lost all hope of finding their loved ones.
Naira Baghdasaryan

HATE MEETS HISTORY IN CARTOONIST’S ART
Simon Ostrovsky
iAfrica.com, South Africa
Oct 6 2005
Venom dripping from its fangs onto a Swastika, only the efforts of
powerful arms grasping metal pincers restrain a black serpent and
its desire for global domination, in a drawing displayed at a Baku
gallery recently.
This could be the description a World War II-era Soviet propaganda
poster depicting the concerted effort of the allies as they hold back
the menace of Nazi Germany and the Axis forces.
But this poster – and others like it, recently on display in the
Artists’ Union in former Soviet Azerbaijan – are the recent works of
an Azerbaijani scientist-turned-cartoonist.
You may not have heard of it, but the author Kerim Kerimov is on a
mission to blow the whistle on “Armenian hegemony.” Slithering across
a watercolour globe towards Azerbaijan, the serpent is Kerimov’s
metaphor for Armenia and its “Greater Armenia” policy while the six
arms grasping the pincers represent Azerbaijan’s Turkic brethren from
Turkey to Turkmenistan.
The president of Azerbaijan’s National Geophysicists Committee,
Kerimov is better known in oil circles for his role in the signing
of the so-called “contract of the century.”
The mid-1990s Caspian Sea oil deal marked the launch of development –
with Western participation – of Azerbaijan’s sizable oil reserves,
which Kerimov assessed on behalf of the Azerbaijani state.
Few know of his prolific political drawings however, which have
appeared in Soviet and later Azerbaijani newspapers for nearly
50 years.
Much of his work targets Armenia, against which Azerbaijan fought a
bloody war, and in large parts complements the government’s official
information campaign against the Caucasus nation.
Anyone in Baku will tell you that Azerbaijan has many enemies: Armenia
with its Russian backing, Armenia’s wealthy diaspora, Azerbaijan’s
own opposition forces and perhaps a few loose clerics from Iran.
Kerimov goes further and puts the enemies into pictures, with horned
and bewarted horrific caricatures of Armenians clawing at the map of
Azerbaijan or driving a wedge between the country and its ally Turkey
with a giant bomb.
Schooled in the style of Socialist Realism in the days when both
Azerbaijan and Armenia were constituent republics of the Soviet Union,
the 72-year-old Kerimov is a self-described disciple of Russian
WWII-era cartoonist Boris Yefimov.
But if Yefimov is remembered for his drawings of a contorted Hitler
in the pages of Soviet propaganda sheets, Kerimov has set his sights
on tackling Azerbaijan’s modern-day foe.
“I don’t want Armenians to see an enemy in me,” he said however,
claiming he has received death threats from Armenians and other
“enemies” of Azerbaijan.
“I want them to see that the policies they are carrying out are wrong;
then life will be better for both peoples.”
But his stated peaceable intentions might prove to be a tough sell to
Armenians, who in his drawings are alternately depicted as big-nosed
hairy demons or sometimes white-hooded Ku Klux Klan members.
from AFP

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
10/05/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) US Plays Key Role in Resolving Deadlock in Turkey-EU Talks 2) Campaign Kicks-off for November 27 Referendum on Constitutional Reforms 3) Uruguay Armenians Stage Protest against Turkey's Accession to EU 4) Opposition, Police Clashes Jar Azerbaijan Election Campaign 5) Armenia Receives $4 Million to Combat HIV/AIDS 1) US Plays Key Role in Resolving Deadlock in Turkey-EU Talks ANKARA (AFP)--US lobbying was instrumental in breaking a deadlock that threatened, until the last minute, the start of Turkey's membership talks with the European Union. The talks opened early Tuesday in Luxembourg when the 25 EU foreign ministers, after more than 20 hours of wrangling, overcame Austria's insistence to include in the negotiating guidelines an offer to Turkey of `privileged partnership' instead of full membership. Another sticking point--less in the limelight but just as vital for Turkey --was a demand that Ankara refrain from vetoing attempts by EU member states to join other international bodies. The Turkish government interpreted this as a possible means of forcing it to agree to an eventual bid by EU-member Cyprus, which it does not recognize, to join NATO. That is where US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stepped in `to underline Washington's interest in support for Turkey as they begin their accession talks with the EU,' as State Department spokesman Sean McCormack deftly put it. As EU foreign ministers struggled to broker a deal in Luxembourg, Rice called Austrian leaders and asked them to drop their objections to Turkey. She then called Turkish leaders to hear their complaints, and then persuaded Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos to soften his stance, paving the way for Turkey to clinch a deal with the EU. `We think that decisions about NATO membership should be left to NATO members,' US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington on Monday, without going into details of Rice's calls. The intervention was much appreciated by Turkey, a predominantly Muslim but strictly secular state Washington praises as a role model of co-existence between Islam and democracy. `We are very content' with the US support, foreign ministry spokesman Namik Tan told reporters here Wednesday. `They backed this project because of the importance they place on the expansion of the space where common values, such as democracy, rule of law, and market economy, prevail,' he said. The United States attracted storms of criticism from EU leaders in the past for meddling in the bloc's internal affairs by actively lobbying on behalf of Turkey. When US President George W. Bush said during a visit to Ankara last year that Turkey `ought to be given a date' for EU entry, French President Jacques Chirac angrily retorted that the US leader had gone too far. But both Turkish and US diplomats say the picture was different this time. `They [the US] did not mean to twist the EU's arm but to help them understand the global repercussions of their decision,' said Turkish diplomat, who did not wish to be named. `The US displayed a very strategic vision... If the talks had collapsed, the idea of an alliance between civilizations would have suffered; there would have been a great frustration in the East,' he said. An Ankara-based foreign diplomat said Rice's mediation should not be seen as `an attempt by the US to insert itself in EU decision-making.' `The US was not a leader in the negotiations, it only saw an opportunity to play a supportive role' to help Turkey's EU bid, the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP. Turkey's Vatan newspaper, meanwhile, linked the lack of any European criticism of Rice's mediation this time to improved EU-US ties, strained because of French and German opposition to the war in Iraq. `Nowadays, the US acts together with Paris and Berlin on sensitive issues such as Iran and Syria,' the daily said. But it warned that seeing Washington's support as a `kiss of life' for membership talks would be an `exaggeration.' `The real battle in Europe was essentially waged by Turkish diplomats and politicians,' it said, `...and the first to say thank you abroad are, rather than Bush and his team, the left-wing and Green parties and the intellectuals of Europe.' 2) Campaign Kicks-off for November 27 Referendum on Constitutional Reforms YEREVAN (Combined Sources)Official campaigning for a referendum on proposed constitutional reforms kicked-off in Armenia on October 4, after President Robert Kocharian signed a law establishing the nationwide vote would take place on November 27. If passed, the amendments would create a strict separation of powers between the judicial, executive, and legislative branches, and pass greater powers from the president to parliament and the prime minister, They would also remove the President from the Council of Justice, a body that plays a key role in appointing judges, and would eliminate a clause outlawing dual citizenship for diaspora Armenians. Besides the Council of Europe, the amendments have been publicly endorsed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as the US and Great Britian. To pass, the amendments must be backed by at least one third of Armenia's 2.4 million eligible voters, and would enter into force two years from the referendum. 3) Uruguay Armenians Stage Protest against Turkey's Accession to EU YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Members of Uruguay's Armenian community demonstrated outside the European Union (EU) mission in Montevideo, to protest the start of membership talks with Turkey, and to demand the latter recognize its genocide of Armenians before being granted membership into the Union. Ethnic Armenian member of the Uruguay Parliament Lilian Keshishian, accompanied by another member of parliament Iván Posadas joined the October 3 protest, organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation's `Armenia' Youth Union. Protesters held posters reading `Historic truth cannot be hidden,' `Turkey, admit to your crime--the Armenian Genocide,' and `No to Turkey's accession to EU unless Armenian Genocide recognition.' A delegation handed an EU representative a petition signed by 30,000 people, demanding the EU deny Turkey membership, unless the country recognizes the Armenian genocide. 4) Opposition, Police Clashes Jar Azerbaijan Election Campaign (Eurasianet.org)--With just five weeks to go before Azerbaijan's parliamentary elections, the chances for constructive dialogue between Azerbaijan's opposition and the government seem to be fading. On October 1, after a breakdown in talks between the authorities and opposition leaders, about 700 protestors took to the streets of central Baku to call for a fair and transparent parliamentary vote on November 6. Truncheon-wielding riot police moved in quickly to break up the protest, the second such unauthorized gathering in a week. Authorities have warned in recent weeks that they will use force to prevent opposition groups from staging `provocations' against the government during the final weeks of the election campaign. The city government had refused to sanction the October 1 rally in the city center, offering instead a site far from the city center. The opposition has presented the government's reaction to the October 1 gathering as a violation of their right to free assembly. `We will fight for citizens' rights to assemble and to create a democratic pre-election situation,' said Ali Kerimli, the leader of the opposition Popular Front. `The government's illegal bans will not stop our battle.' Police report that they detained 34 people during the October 1 rally, although Kerimli claims as many as 200 were arrested. Riot police could be seen at times making free use of their truncheons to beat back protestors from the planned demonstration site, and several participants were reported badly injured The October 1 protest followed an attempt by the opposition a week earlier to hold an unauthorized demonstration in Jafar Jabbarli Square. The protest was suspended after the Azadliq bloc, which includes the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, Musavat Party and Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, agreed to resume talks with government officials under the mediation of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)'s Baku office. Fuad Mustafayev, deputy chairman of the Popular Front, said that the decision to negotiate with the government was taken following an appeal to the bloc's leadership from Ali Hasanov, head of the public-political department of the presidential staff. Opposition leaders said talks took place after US Ambassador Reno Harnish called President Ilham Aliyev's chief of staff, Ramiz Mekhtiev. Up to 100 supporters of the Azadliq bloc were reportedly detained during the September 25 protest. They were released following the start of the OSCE-mediated talks. Kerimli said that the negotiations focused on the `guaranteeing of our constitutional right to hold a meeting in the center of the city.' He said Azerbaijani law states that opposition political parties do not need permission to hold rallies, but must only notify the authorities ahead of time. The government disagreed, but consented to holding to further discussions on the issue, according to Kerimli. However, government representatives failed to show for a September 29 round of talks on potential venues for the October 1 rally. Maurizio Pavesi, head of the OSCE office in Baku, blamed the authorities for the breakdown in dialogue, adding that Hasanov had `personally told me' that he would attend the OSCE talks that day. `I am very surprised by the behavior of the government representatives,' Pavesi told reporters on September 29. `Frankly speaking, we had opportunities to find compromises. The failure of the Baku executive authorities and the ruling New Azerbaijan Party to attend the meeting shows that they have no will to continue a dialogue with the opposition,' Pavesi went on to say. The OSCE mission chief stated that while some of the routes proposed by the opposition for a demonstration in central Baku were problematic, others could have served as the topic of further discussion. An OSCE report issued September 30 complained that Azerbaijani authorities were not acting on OSCE recommendations for improving the election process. The head of the presidential executive staff, Ramiz Mehdiyev has maintained that the government sees no need for dialogue with the opposition. In a letter forwarded to opposition leaders by the Baku mayor's office, Mehdiyev said that the government had proposed five potential venues for a Baku demonstration. `They may choose one out of the five and hold their rally. In my view, everything is clear as for venues, and there is no need for extra conversation there,' he stated. Ali Hasanov, the presidential aide, seconded that view. He maintained that the opposition could stage demonstrations only in places assigned by the mayor's office. `The number of such places is limited and we are not going to discuss other routes', Hasanov said. Meanwhile, leaders of the Azadliq bloc insist on holding rallies in the center of the city. `We were prepared for negotiations with authorities, but we will not abandon the idea to hold a rally,' Kerimli said. The next demonstration has already been scheduled for October 8. Azerbaijani Prosecutor General Zakir Garalov that authorities would act swiftly and firmly to any illegal assembly, adding that the Azadliq bloc held responsibility for keeping its supporters within the law. Hasanov, meanwhile, urged the opposition to avoid confrontation with police, noting that strict measures will be taken against `those breaking the law.' Mediators appear to be losing hope that a dialogue between authorities and opposition leaders can be resumed. `The OSCE will spare no efforts to arrange meetings. We tried to eliminate the likelihood of the 25 September confrontation in Baku once again,' said Pavesi, commenting on the failed talks that preceded the October 1 protest. `Regrettably, we did not manage it and the government did not understand the problem.' 5) Armenia Receives $4 Million to Combat HIV/AIDS YEREVAN (Armenpress)--The Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) has committed $4 million to support the National Program on HIV/AIDS prevention in the Republic of Armenia for the next 3 years The grant comes in the second of a two-phased, $ 7.2 million GFATM program. The first grant of $3.2 million was successfully completed in September 2005, with Armenia receiving a high score for implementation. Established in January 2002, the Global Fund aims to rapidly disburse grants to supplement existing spending on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria while maintaining sufficient oversight of financial transactions and programs. The Country Coordination Commission on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria issues in Armenia (CCM) overseas the implementation of the grant as the coordinating commission for the National Program on HIV/AIDS activities in the Republic of Armenia. World Vision was nominated as the Principal Recipient (PR) of the grant in 2003 by the CCM and, in partnership with different bodies experienced in the area of HIV/AIDS, works to support the implementation of the National Program on HIV/AIDS prevention. For the first time in Armenia PLWH gained access to the antiretroviral (ARV) therapy thanks to the GFATM grant. Presently, 23 PLWH are receiving ARV treatment, including 3 children. Through partnership with the Ministry of Health, the National Center for AIDS Prevention, Ministries, and local and international NGOs, Phase II will build on the success from Phase I, and continue to implement prevention, care, and support targeting the general population, with particular emphasis on the youth, key groups, and PLWH. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

RA HOPES
A1+
| 22:01:40 | 04-10-2005 | Politics |
Today the EU-Turkey talks have opened. How does the Armenian Foreign
Ministry comment on the situation?
“The negotiations with Turkey applies a new quality to the EU-Turkey
relations. Drastic changed are expected to take place in Turkey.
Consequently Armenia hopes that the possibility of the EU membership
will urge Turkey to open the borders with Armenia and undertake
serious measures for securing the rights of the national minorities,
freedom of speech and other democratic values.
We also hope that Turkey will acknowledge the Armenian Genocide
as it was recognized as a precondition by the European parliament,
RA MFA Spokesman Hamlet Gasparyan said.

ANDRE’S NEW SHOW
A1+
| 21:39:05 | 04-10-2005 | Culture |
September 11 well known singer Andre will appear before the audience
in a completely new image. The concert will be staged with circus
and dance items, director of the State Philharmonic society Laert
Movsesyan said during today’s press conference.
October 13 the signer will perform in Vanadzor and October 18 –
in Gyumri.

U.S. INTERVENES TO RESCUE STALLED EU TURKEY TALKS
Reuters
10/03/05 09:53 ET
LUXEMBOURG, Oct 3 (Reuters) – The United States intervened on Monday
to try to rescue membership talks between the European Union and
Turkey as a diplomatic deadlock deepened hours before the historic
negotiations were due to open.
EU president Britain said the 25-nation bloc was “on the edge of
a precipice” after Turkish objections to a clause it fears could
affect NATO membership piled on top of Austrian demands that the
Muslim nation be offered an alternative short of full membership.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Turkish Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan to assure him that the proposed EU negotiating
framework would not impinge on NATO, diplomats said.
A presidency spokesman said Britain still hoped to hold the opening
ceremony on Monday but it would clearly be later than the planned 5
p.m. (1500 GMT) start.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was waiting nervously in Ankara
for the EU to adopt a negotiating mandate before he could set off
for Luxembourg.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw telephoned Austrian Chancellor
Wolfgang Schuessel to try to clinch agreement on a formula to satisfy
Austrian concerns that the EU may not be able to absorb the vast,
poor, Muslim country, diplomats said.
The United States had also contacted Vienna to try to overcome
objections fuelled by overwhelming public hostility to Turkish
membership, they said.
Turkish financial markets yo-yoed amid the uncertainty. Stocks fell
some 2.3 percent from Friday’s close and the lira was down nearly 2
percent against the dollar, but both recovered in mid-afternoon amid
hopes the problems would be resolved.
Rice’s involvement was potentially embarrassing for the EU,
highlighting its inability to solve its problems alone.
“CATASTROPHIC”
Straw told the 24 other EU foreign ministers upon resuming talks
after only a couple of hours’ sleep: “Yes, we are near (to a deal)
but we are also on the edge of a precipice.
“If we go the right way we reach the sunny uplands. If we go the
wrong way, it could be catastrophic for the European Union.”
In Ankara, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a meeting of the ruling
AK party that Turkey was not prepared to compromise further on the
conditions for opening the long-awaited talks.
“Those in the EU who cannot digest Turkey being in the EU are against
the alliance of civilisations. What I declare is this: the costs
resulting from all this will be paid by them.”
Turkey has frequently portrayed its entry to the EU as a way of
bridging a gap between the Christian and Islamic worlds and easing
tensions that may have fostered islamic militancy.
Diplomats said Ankara had objected to a clause in the EU negotiating
mandate that stipulates it may not block accession of EU states to
international organisations and treaties.
Turkish nationalists and the powerful military argued that might
prevent Turkey blocking a divided Cyprus from joining NATO. Cyprus
refused to let the EU change the wording.
But diplomats said Straw and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana
hoped to assuage Ankara with a letter clarifying that the clause did
not impinge on sovereign defence arrangements.
TIME RUNNING OUT
As the clock ticked down, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer
told ministers: “Time is running out. We have got to get this right.
We seem so close. We cannot let this opportunity slip away.”
Failure to start the talks could deal a blow to political reform and
foreign investment in Turkey, a strategic country of 72 million people
straddling Europe and the Middle East.
It would also deepen a sense of crisis in Europe, after referendum
defeats for the draft EU constitution in France and the Netherlands,
and an acrimonious failure in June to agree on a long-term budget
for the enlarged bloc.
“If there is no deal, my personal judgement is that we are increasingly
starting to look like a Union of failing states because we cannot make
any decisions,” Latvian Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks told Reuters.
Ratcheting up pressure on Austria, Straw postponed a planned review
of Austrian ally Croatia’s progress towards EU entry talks until the
Turkey issue was sorted out.
A Turkish official said nerves in Ankara were “extremely stretched
… Every minute that passes is making things more bitter and it
won’t be nice starting negotiations with all these bruises.”
The European Parliament compounded Turkish irritation last week by
saying Turkey must recognise the 1915 killings of Armenians under
Ottoman rule as an act of genocide before it can join the wealthy
European family.
Several hundred Armenians staged a noisy demonstration outside the
EU meeting, demanding that Turkey be forced to make amends for what
they called the Armenian genocide.

ARMENIA MUST PROVE ITS ADHERENCE TO EUROPEAN VALUES THROUGH CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
ArmInfo News Agency
Oct 1 2005
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1. ARMINFO. ‘Europe does not force European
integration upon Armenia. It was Armenia that has proclaimed itself
a follower of western values. Thus, Armenia must prove its adherence
to these values through Constitutional reforms,’ said Head of the
Parliamentary Commission for Defense, National Security and Internal
Affairs, Vice Chairman of Orinats Yerkir party, Mher Shahgeldyan at
today’s seminar on constitutional reforms.
He noted the recent interest of Europe in the South Caucasus,
especially the inclusion of South Caucasian states in the
EU-implemented program “Wider Europe: new Neighborhood.” Despite its
traditions and culture, the Armenian people has a European mentality,
Shahgeldyan thinks. Constitutional reforms will be the first step
to bring the political structure of the country in harmony with the
people’s mentality. Each political forces must bear responsibility
for a possible failure of the draft constitutional reforms at
the referendum, Shahgeldyan said. To overcome corruption, social
polarization and other negative phenomena, it is necessary to display
a political will and consistency, Shahgeldyan thinks.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 30 2005
ARMENIAN IS AMONG THE LEADERS IN THE WORLD BY THE NUMBER OF CASES OF
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
YEREVAN, September 30. /ARKA/. Armenian is among the leaders in the
world by the number of cases of cardiovascular diseases, as the Head
of the Therapeutic Department of the RA ministry of Health Vahan
Poghosyan stated. “The number of cardiovascular diseases increases in
Armenia and this acquires threatening trends”, he said. According to
him, in the first half a year of 2005, 11 thsd 300 calls (or 15,7%)
for emergency out of 72 thsd calls. were because of cordial diseases.
For the first 6 months of 2005, 1400 people were hospitalize in
Yerevan with the diagnoses of cardiovascular diseases, versus 1300
people in 2004. “Prophylaxis and treatment of such diseases require
professionalism and latest clinical technologies”, he said. Poghosyan
added that the healthcare system of Armenia has this potential, with
the consideration of increasing the amount of funds spent on
healthcare. A.H.-0-

Armenpress
KOCHARIAN RECEIVES CIS INTERIOR MINISTERS
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS: President Robert Kocharian received
today CIS member countries interior minister, who arrived in Yerevan
yesterday for a regular conference of the Council of CIS Interior Ministers
that has brought together the ministers from Armenia, Belarus, Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan
and even a deputy interior minister of Azerbaijan.
Kocharian’s press office quoted him as saying that the Council of CIS
Interior Ministers is one of the most effective CIS structures. He also said
interior ministers in all CIS countries face the same problems which he said
is a good basis for cooperation. The agenda of the conference was dominated
by fighting corruption and illegal migration.