Author: Zakarian Garnik

BETTER SELL HRAZDAN 5 THAN NEGOTIATE

Lragir.am
14 April 06

On April 14 the sale of the fifth generating unit of the Thermal Power
Plant of Hrazdan was discussed at the Hayeli Club. The main speakers
were Khosrov Harutiunyan, the leader of the Christian Democratic Party
and Vazgen Manukyan, the leader of the National Democratic Union. The
discussion often deviated from the topic.

Khosrov Harutiunyan thinks the right of ownership of the energy
capacity is not as important as `the supplier of raw materials for
these industries.’ With regard to this our situation is not better;
over half of our energy capacity is owned by Russia, where 75 per cent
of the entire energy is generated. With regard to this we are
vulnerable, as for Hrazdan 5, there is nothing strange, thinks Khosrov
Harutiunyan. Vazgen Manukyan agrees, however he disagrees with regard
to the right of ownership of energy capacity, `Not only the child is
important, but also the child’s father.’

Naturally, the high price of gas used in Hrazdan 5 and Thermal Power
Plants and its prehistory could not be neglected. The speakers agreed
on the question that selling Hrazdan 5 was a mistake. Khosrov
Harutiunyan offered to review the terms and conditions of stationing
Russian military installations in Armenia to counterbalance the
increased price of gas. Vazgen Manukyan offers another solution: the
Russian gas is getting more expensive, Armenia can decide the width of
the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, not Russia, and not sell the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. The speakers say it will be a mistake to
give the gas pipeline to Armenia. To emphasize the importance of the
pipeline Khosrov Harutiunyan cites the example of the owner of
Vanadzor Chemprom Senik Gevorgyan, who bought 2 billion cubic meters
of gas but did not have a pipeline to transport it to
Vanadzor. Especially that Georgia also has expensive Russian gas but
does not have to sell anything to Russia.

Today’s speakers think it is strange that the price of gas supplied to
Armenia was set for the upcoming three years, while it is accepted to
decide the price of this product for 15-20-25 years. Consequently, the
deal has a political component and context, conclude the speakers
without going into detail. They only mention that the Russian gas
supplied to Armenia will soon go up again.

The leader of the Christian Democratic Party emphasizes the role of
the National Assembly in preventing the transfer of the Iran-Armenia
gas pipeline to Russia. The executive which was engaged in the deal
must have the support of the legislative. `The National Assembly can
adopt a law, barring the ownership of strategic objects by a foreign
country.’ Vazgen Manukyan agrees but he does not think that the
National Assembly can have certain importance in giving whatever we
have to Russia. `There is no National Assembly. This is not the body
where you can say something right and they will understand you.’

`The energy sector is an opportunity to restore the importance of
Armenia in the region,’ thinks Khosrov Harutiunyan. Therefore, Hrazdan
5 must not become an asset of Armrusgasard, a third party must be
barred in the Iran-Armenia gas programs, and a new nuclear station
should be built, preferably not operating on Russian fuel, and the
volume of renewable energy generation, the volume of production of the
hydro power plants must be increased.

OSCE MG RECURRENT MEETING TO BE HELD IN MOSCOW

Yerkir
13.04.2006 11:52

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group dealing with
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement are going to meet in Moscow,
Russian mediator Yuri Merzlyakov said.

He said the outcomes of the co-chairs’ April visits to the region
will be discussed at the meeting. Besides, they will discuss the
agenda of the regular visit to the region scheduled for early May.

According to Yuri Merzlyakov, the precise date and plan of the visit
have not been decided yet but most probablythe mediators will first
pay a visit to Baku, then Yerevan and Stepanakert. The co-chairs
will also discuss the possibility of the meeting of the Armenian
and Azerbaijani FMs in May. Yuri Merzlyakov refuted reports on his
separate visit to the conflict region.

MISS IRAQ BOWS OUT AMID DEATH THREATS: BID TO CHANGE COUNTRY’S IMAGE SUFFERS SETBACK
Daniel McGrory, Times of London

The Calgary Herald (Alberta)
April 13, 2006 Thursday
Final Edition

It is proving as hard to find a beauty queen as it is to find a prime
minister in Iraq.

Exhausted by the time their politicians are taking to agree on a
leader, the country thought it had at least succeeded in choosing a
Miss Iraq.

But Wednesday night, the people’s choice — Tamar Goregian, 23, a
blonde student with photogenic pout — was in hiding in neighbouring
Jordan, having hastily renounced her crown following death threats
from Islamic extremists.

Only six days ago she was revelling in her victory, blinking back
tears of joy as she told admirers crammed into a Baghdad nightclub
that “maybe beauty is the final step to end the violence here and
preach peace after all.”

Organizers had hoped her appearance at the Miss Universe contest in
Los Angeles in July would show the world a different image of Iraq.

By Wednesday they were searching for a replacement after
fundamentalists denounced the terrified Goregian, an Armenian
Christian, as “the Queen of Infidels.”

The two runners-up, both Muslim, swiftly declined the crown.

On Wednesday it was left to the fourth-placed contestant, Silva
Sahagian, 23, another Christian, to assume the mantle. “Our politicians
should have more to worry about than whether Miss Iraq should go to
America,” she said. “I cannot believe the extremists would do anything
to a beauty queen.”

AZERBAIJAN ACHIEVES GREAT SUCCESSES IN INTERACTION WITH NATO – MP PASHAYEVA
Author: R.Abdullayev

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 12 2006

Azerbaijan has achieved great successes in the interaction with NATO
under the Partnership for Program. In 2006, 600 Azerbaijani military
participated in 178 training under the aegis of NATO. The statement was
made Ganira Pashayeva, an Azerbaijani parliamentary representative to
the PACE, during the discussions over the draft resolution on Human
Rights in the armies of CE member-states, a correspondent of Trend,
dispatched to Strasbourg to cover PACE spring session reports.

MP noted that since 1997 the training of specialists at the Azerbaijani
military universities have been conducted at NATO standards.

He stressed the necessity of considering the fact that 70% of the
composition of the Azerbaijani National Army are in trenches.

“Azerbaijan is in condition of undeclared war with Armenia, which
occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani territory.”

“We have definite problems, but the budget of the Azerbaijani armed
forces grows constantly. If in 2005 the public budget assignments
for military need comprised $300m, in 2006 it was doubled.

It all releases definite problems and enables to normalize terms
of military service, first of all the soldiers and sergeants,
she underlined.

Besides, Pashayeva in reply statement by Armenian delegates on the
necessity of rapid conviction of an Azerbaijani officer, who is
accused of assassination of Ramil Safarov, at the Hungarian court,
she said, “I want to inform the member of the PACE that Safarov is
from a refugee family and his native lands are currently under the
Armenian occupation. He saw with own eyes the murder of many members
of his family and it could not pass by on the bringing up.”

Draft report 10861 had been developed by a Bulgarian MP, Alexander
Arabajiyev, and presented to the PACE on 24 March 2006.

TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP DEPENDS ON THE KURDS
by Harry Sterling, Citizen Special

Ottawa Citizen, Canada
April 10, 2006 Monday
Final Edition

‘The security forces will intervene against the pawns of terrorism,
no matter if they are children or women.”

With these chilling words Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
warned Kurdish families that women and children could be killed by
security forces if they continued to participate in anti-government
demonstrations in Turkey’s violence-wracked southeast region, homeland
to the nation’s large Kurdish minority.

Mr. Erdogan’s warning came following several days of clashes between
Kurds and riot police in various locations in the region. In the town
of Kiziltepe, thousands of Kurds took to the streets, hurling rocks
and Molotov cocktails at police. The local headquarters of Mr.
Erdogan’s Islamic-based Justice and Development Party, AK, were
set ablaze.

Three children died among eight killed during clashes with riot police
in the capital city of Diyarbakir. Three died elsewhere.

Mr. Erdogan claimed terrorists were deliberately using children to
gain sympathy. Kurdish representatives insisted the children were
innocent bystanders. The government praised security forces for their
“restraint” during the violence.

The anti-government riots erupted after recent funerals for 14 alleged
Kurdish insurgents from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, killed by
the Turkish military. A funeral rally in Diyarbakir, numbering 10,000,
erupted into a riot, with Kurds calling for “revenge.” Some mourners
waved flags of the banned PKK.

Local Kurdish leaders said the unrest was the worst in more than a
decade and denounced the government for its “policy of violence.”

They said the wide support for the demonstrations was symptomatic
of anger over the second-class treatment accorded Kurds, many
without jobs for years, others living in cramped temporary shelters,
thousands forced to flee their homes during fighting between the PKK
and military.

The European Union — which Turkey wants to join — has expressed
growing concern over the upsurge in violence. It has urged the
government to improve the cultural and linguistic rights of the
Kurdish community, a process that the Erdogan government had already
begun since coming to power three years ago.

However, some within the EU question the true commitment of Turkey
to continue reforms giving Kurds and other minorities greater human
rights. In their view, the dismantling of various restrictions on
minority rights has more to do with improving Turkey’s acceptability
to become a member of the EU than with any true desire to improve
the rights and conditions of Kurds — or other small minorities,
like the Armenians and Greeks.

Although the Erdogan government has now allowed the Kurdish language
to be used in the media, and in schools under certain circumstances,
critics say such apparent steps forward are essentially window dressing
to appease the EU. The violence of recent days will only reinforce
this viewpoint.

Unfortunately for Turkey, the issue of growing anti-foreigner,
anti-Muslim sentiment within European nations could further undercut
its EU prospects.

The populations of many countries, particularly France, Germany,
Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, increasingly see Muslim Turkey’s
membership as threatening their countries’ traditional cultures
and values.

Former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing bluntly opposes Turkey
joining, saying its membership could destroy the future integration
of EU countries. Germany’s new chancellor, Angela Merkel, appears
ambivalent about membership, seemingly favouring instead a partnership
of some kind. Britain however, remains in favour.

Although Mr. Erdogan’s relatively moderate and pragmatic policies
had lessened concerns over his party’s pro-Islamic roots — improving
considerably his government’s image, especially vis a vis Greece —
some recent developments cause concern among European and other states.

His government’s hosting of a senior Hamas leader, Khaled Mashal,
and an invitation to the radical Iraqi Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr,
hasn’t been appreciated by the U.S. or Israel, not to mention Turkey’s
secular-minded military, which is determined to prevent Islamization
of its country.

The widely publicized death threats made by Muslims over the Danish
cartoons and threatened execution of an Afghan Muslim convert to
Christianity, along with the violence in Turkey’s Kurdish region,
have provided further fuel for those questioning the compatibility
of a Muslim nation such as Turkey joining the EU.

However, some see the turmoil in Turkey’s Kurdish region as simply one
aspect of a much broader situation involving the evolution of Turkish
institutions toward authentic democracy and the Turkish government’s
commitment to guarantee fundamental human rights for all its citizens.

Paradoxically, this transformation is taking place when growing
numbers of Turks are questioning the value of joining the EU,
convinced European nations are trying to impose their own western
values on Turkey as the price of admission to the EU’s exclusive club.

The challenge for Mr. Erdogan is to convince his own countrymen and
those of EU states that it is possible to be both a good Muslim and
a defender of democratic principles at the same time.

But the Kurds must be full partners in that transformation if it’s
to truly succeed.

Harry Sterling, a former diplomat, is an Ottawa-based commentator. He
served in Turkey.

US CONGRESSMEN KOLBE AND GARRETT IN ARMENIA AS PART OF REGIONAL VISIT

Yerkir
11.04.2006 13:49

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – U.S. Congressman Jim Kolbe, Congressman Scott
Garrett and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Chief Executive
Officer John J. Danilovich are visiting Armenia April 10-12 as part
of regional travel, US Embassy Press Service told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The focus of the visit is to review government, economic, and
military issues in the South Caucasus. As part of their trip,
Congressman Kolbe, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee,
Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Congressman Garrett, member of
the House Financial Services and Budget Committees and Ambassador
Danilovich will visit MCC and other United States Government-funded
assistance project sites throughout Armenia.

In addition, the delegation will hold meetings with Armenian government
officials including President Robert Kocharian, civil society leaders,
Millennium Challenge Armenia representatives and political and
business leaders.

A number of issues will be discussed during the meetings, including
the U.S. assistance to Armenia, the Millennium Challenge Corporation
Compact with Armenia, U.S.-Armenian bilateral relations, civil society
development and the importance of free and fair elections in Armenia
in 2007 and 2008. These issues are important for Armenia’s continued
eligibility for funding by the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

YEREVAN POLICE REPORT RISE IN GRAVE CRIMES

Armenpress
Apr 11 2006

YEREVAN, APRIL 11, ARMENPRESS: Colonel Nerses Nazarian, chief of
Yerevan’s police department, told reporters on April 11 that eight
murders were reported to police in the first quarter of this year,
up from 3 murders reported in the first quarter of 2005.

He said four of this year’s murders had been disclosed and
investigation into another was accomplished. Overall, he said, 1,098
crimes were reported in the first quarter, a 13 percent growth from a
year ago. He said the number of grave and very grave crimes went up,
coupled with rise in drug-related crimes. Nazarian said 40 items of
illegally possessed arms were confiscated in the reported period,
including 8 automatic guns, 4 rifles, 20 pistols, 30 grenades and
4,0000 ammunitions.

A1+

SEMNEBY IN THE PARLIAMENT

[08:48 pm] 07 April, 2006

RA NA Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan received the delegation of the EU
special envoy to South Caucasus, Ambassador Peter Semneby.

Ambassador Semneby represented his views about the relations with the
EU mentioning that the EU intends to develop the relations with the
South Caucasus and Armenia and to contribute to the enhancing of
democracy which is the basis for progress.

At his request Arthur Baghdasaryan gave Peter Semneby detailed
information about the mentioned issues underlining the importance of
the relations between the EU and Armenia for enhancing democracy.

The sides also referred to the amendments of the Electoral Code and
other issues.

KARABAKH DENIES AZERI CEASE-FIRE VIOLATION REPORT

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
3 Apr 06

The defence ministry of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic has denied
the Azerbaijani reports on the violation of cease-fire.

Quoting the press service of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, the
Azerbaijani mass media reported the violation of the cease-fire regime
in the area of Fuzuli District on 2 April, as a result of which one
Azerbaijani soldier was killed, another wounded.

The spokesman for the Defence Ministry of the Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic, Senor Asratyan, said the Karabakh side is observing the
cease-fire regime. The [Azeri] report is wide off the mark and is
purely a propaganda campaign by the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry
whose aim is to attract the attention of the international community,
Senor Asratyan said.

KARABAKH SETTLEMENT CAN BECOME PRECEDENT FOR OTHER CONFLICTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.04.2006 01:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The talks on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement
are proceeding in normal course.

We all perfectly understand that this is a complicated issue and it’s
impossible to resolve it immediately, NKR Prime Minister Anushavan
Danielyan told journalists in Yerevan. In his words, there is optimism
for progress this year but it doesn’t mean that the matter will be
settled in 2006. As for the Kosovo model, the NKR Premier noted that
the Karabakh conflict settlement can become a precedent for the other
conflicts. When commenting on the frequent ceasefire violations,
the Premier said it’s a usual phenomenon.

When commenting on the latest statement by Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, who said that “the Armenian community
of Nagorno Karabakh can take part in the negotiations if they admit
Azerbaijani citizenship”, the NKR Prime Minister noted it cannot be
treated seriously. “We will hold talks with Mammadyarov if he admits
Karabakh citizenship as a representative of the Azeri community of
Nagorno Karabakh,” Danielyan said.