Author: Zargarian Hambik

WHO WILL REPLACE RUSSIAN TROOPS IN JAVAKHETI?

Lragir.am
14 June 06

Shirak Torosyan, the chair of Javakhk Association, says the people of
Javakheti protesting against the withdrawal of the Russian military
base are concerned about their security. He stated this June 14 at
the Pastark Club. Shirak Torosyan says the withdrawal of the Russian
military base is the problem of Russia and Georgia, and should be
settled by them. The chair of Javakhk Association says the Armenians
of Javakheti are concerned about the security gap that emerged after
the withdrawal of the Russian military base. Shirak Torosyan says the
presence of the Russian military base makes the Armenian population
of Javakheti feel more secure, therefore they are concerned about
who is going to replace the Russian troops.

Shirak Torosyan thinks that the presence of the Georgian military
force in Javakhk is unacceptable, for history showed that Georgian
soldiers do not behave properly, giving rise to problems with the local
population. “In other words, the presence of the Georgian troops will
be constantly threatening by skirmishes. This is evident.

If the NATO forces are stationed, it arouses concern that NATO member
Turkish troops may arrive here. This uncertainty worries the people
of Javakheti more than their unemployment,” says Shirak Torosyan.

According to him, the Russian military base was employment and a source
of income for many of them, but unlike the economic consequence that
the Armenians of Javakheti may solve through economic migration or
farming, the problem of security will persist.

AZERI MP CITES POOR LIVING CONDITIONS IN ARMENIA

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
June 13 2006

Baku, June 12, AssA-Irada
A parliament member who has recently visited Yerevan as part of the
Azerbaijani delegation to attend a session of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation Organization (BSEC) Parliamentary Assembly has said there
is hardly any population in the Armenian countryside and cited poor
living conditions in these areas.

“There is not a living soul in most villages that used to be settled
by Armenians or those Azerbaijanis were ousted from,” Musa Guliyev
told AssA-Irada. He said they had traveled to the Armenian capital
through Georgia by car and witnessed no amenities being provided or
activity to improve the situation.

“Along the way, we saw dilapidated buildings. The same situation was
observed in the towns we passed through. We then learnt that most of
these were built back in the Soviet times.”

Guliyev said the only positive development was the good condition of
roads, and the reason for this was the considerable funding provided
by an Armenian millionaire living in the United States.

The MP said that in the center of Yerevan, however, extensive work was
underway to improve its plight. Foreign nationals visiting the city
often stay at the hotels located in the area. “By doing this, they
are trying to create a vision that everything is great in Armenia.”

Guliyev said that along with members of a Turkish delegation, the
Azeri MPs had a conversation with local Armenian residents outside
the hotels they were staying in.

“They complained about their conditions. They said that by making
the downtown area look better, the government is trying to create
an illusion that the living standards in the country are improving,”
the parliamentarian added.

A DEMOGRAPHIC TRAP

Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
12 June 2006

It has become clear recently that the mediators in the settlement
of the Karabakh-Azerbaijani conflict tend to set out the Armenian
sides for the following model of resolution: first, the Armenian
party immediately concedes five of the regions of the former Soviet
Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan it controls, which were outside
the borders of the former Autonomous Region of Nagorno Karabakh,
the Azerbaijani refugees return there, second, peacemaking forces
are stationed in the conflict area, third, the Azerbaijani refugees
return to the NKR territory, controlled by the NKR government (in
fact, the territory of the former ARNK because Shahumian and Getashen
occupied by Azerbaijanis are not mentioned anywhere). A referendum
must be held to decide and set down the future status of NKR. The
outcome of the referendum is suggested to be definitive. It should
be noted that accepting the proposal on holding a referendum means
rejecting that the outcome of the referendum held on December 10,
1991 was legal. Practically, neither the European organizations nor
Baku hides this circumstance. Certain European organizations pursue
their interests in the settlement of the conflict over Karabakh, which
in fact coincide with those of Azerbaijan for a number of reasons,
using such levers to influence the international public opinion as
“NGOs”, which are formally independent but are, in fact, controlled
by these organizations. One of these NGOs is the International Crisis
Group. In the September 14, 2005 report of the ICG entitled “Nagorno
Karabakh. Viewing the Conflict on the Ground” is an attempt to deny
not only the lawfulness but also the legal force of the December 10,
1991 referendum. The ICG reporters stressed the following argument
borrowed from the Azerbaijani propaganda: since the Azerbaijanis did
not vote to the December 10, 1991 referendum, it is illegal. Moreover,
they openly distorted facts to assure the international community that
their conclusions on the December 10, 1991 referendum are real. For
instance, in the draft of the report the demographic profile of the
Autonomous Region of Nagorno Karabakh is not precise: by the USSR
census 1989 the number of Azerbaijanis in ARNK was 21.5 percent,
the report gives 25.3 percent. The report also gave facts about the
December 10, 1991 referendum: approximately 108 615 people voted
for the independence of Nagorno Karabakh. Very few of the 47 400
Azerbaijanis turned up. Hence, first another exaggerated number
of Azerbaijanis was set forward, second, the number of the Armenian
voters was compared with the number of the Azerbaijanis living in NKR,
including children (which is, by the way, exaggerated too), not the
number of Azerbaijani voters. In fact, according to the facts of the
NKR Central Election Committee, the number of the Azerbaijani voters
totaled 26.4 thousand, which is 20 percent of all voters. Whereas,
according to the false facts of the ICG, the Azerbaijani voters
totaled 30.4 percent. In the final draft of the September 14 report
of the ICG the most striking distortions were deleted. The tendency
remained, however. Let us suppose, for instance, that the referendum
is, nevertheless, held. What will be the conditions? What changes will
take place in NKR within the 10-15 years that must precede the new
referendum according to the plan of the mediators? The ICG carelessly
provides some details about the proposed referendum. Hence, the ICG
representatives particularly stated that the question of one community
or another outnumbering the others in Nagorno Karabakh will not be
posed categorically after the resolution, that only the inhabitants
of Karabakh who lived here before the conflict should participate in
the referendum. According to the ICG, they count about half of the
146 thousand Armenians living in NKR (by preliminary data of the
census taken in autumn 2005, about 137.7 thousand). Hence, it is
neglected that by the official data of the census in the USSR 165
thousand Armenians lived in NKR in 1991 (including Shahumian and
Getashen). That by official data, over 60 thousand were displaced
by the war, but after the war many returned home. People who have
recently moved from Armenia and Turkmenistan were born in Nagorno
Karabakh, or their children now have the right to return home,
independent from whether they were in Karabakh in 1988 or not. The ICG
report does not contain any mentioning of the return of Armenians of
Shahumian or Getashen, whereas the authors of the report use the term
“vast return” for the Azerbaijani refugees. It is certain that if
necessary conditions are created (international peacemakers, pullout,
and diminishing the role of the NK Defence Army to that of a national
guard) neither 40.5 thousand (by 1989) nor 47.5 thousand Azerbaijanis
(by the draft report) will “wish” to return to Karabakh. In case of a
“vast return” protected by international troops, groups of Azerbaijani
“refugees” with a total number of 70-80 thousand will head for NKR.

And every “native Karabakhi” family will have a “legal” passport with a
notice that they were born in Karabakh or the notice of the government
that these people are refugees from ARNK, whereas the real refugees
will most probably be living in Russia or Turkey. And every family
couple of “refugees from ARNK,” who had allegedly left the region at
a young, maybe teen age, will have 5-8 big and small children. Baku
does not even hide this. By recent information, the number of refugees
from ARNK has doubled, reaching 84 thousand. With such a demographic
pattern, in 10-15 years, till the next referendum, the number of
Armenians and Azerbaijanis will have become equal. Considering that the
mediators suggest that only the Karabakhis, who lived in the region in
1988, and their children born there must participate in the referendum,
and the same ICG decided that the Armenians count 70 thousand, it
is not difficult to predict the outcome of the referendum. Certain
international organizations are experienced in fooling their peoples
and the international community, and they can explain very logically
how and why it happened. The following conclusions can be drawn. The
will of the NKR people was clearly expressed in the December 10, 1991
referendum, which was held in compliance with the international law
and the USSR legislation in force then. The Azerbaijani minority of
NKR was given every possibility to express their will freely, however
under the pressure of official Baku the Azerbaijanis rejected their
right and neglected the referendum, displaying indifference towards
the future of the region.

Accepting a new, delayed referendum would mean for the Armenian
side denying the legality of the referendum in 1991 and its
outcome. Theoretically, the situation can change over the 10-15 years
preceding a new referendum to a degree that holding it may become
impossible for different reasons. Such as, for instance, the refusal of
Azerbaijan. The motivations may vary, including coercion on behalf of
Baku. Even if the referendum is held, the demographic picture in NKR
will change in favour of Azerbaijanis over the preceding period, and
the outcome will be for its “territorial integrity.” If the Armenian
side accepts the idea of a delayed referendum, after signing an
agreement neither Armenia, not NKR will be able to prevent Azerbaijan
from changing the demographic pattern, provoking ethnic skirmishes
to cause tensions and coercing the Armenian population of NKR under
the cover of “peacemakers” and after the return of refugees.

Panorama.am

18:53 09/06/06

2396 SUICIDES AND SUICIDE ATTEMPTS IN THE COURSE OF 6 YEARS

2396 suicides and suicide attempts were registered in Armenia in
2000-2005, including 1241 (51,8%) suicides and 1157 (48,3%) suicide
attempts, Vladimir Grigoryan, a supervision body at the general
prosecutor’s office reported a session today.

According to the information, the most cases were reported in Shirak
region. 460 suicides and 545 suicide attempts were registered in
Yerevan. 69% of self-murderes were men and 31% were women. Studies
show that 59% of those who committed suicide were unemployed, 11,5%
had permanent jobs, 5,7% were students, 2,4% were military servants
and 21,5%- pensioners. 608 mentally disabled ended their life in
suicide in the reporting time.

Speaking about the reasons for suicide, V. Grigoryan mentioned that
356 people committed suicide because they had incurable illness, 76
cases were committed because of old age, 158 cases – personal grief,
74 – love and jealousy. Most of the cases – 718 were committed on
social or material grounds. /Panorama.am/

Panorama.am

18:08 09/06/06

WHEN TAIL STARTS RULING BODY

This fall will be full of cultural programs. Armen Ashotyan, NA
deputy, told about another event planned for this September. `The
parliament will become a theater stage,’ he said. It is determined by
a number of conditions – the fall is the right time to start
pre-election campaign. `No event will surprise me before parliamentary
elections 2007.’ Ashotyan said. In order not to be surprised one
should understand that the political system is in the phase of
establishment in the country, he said.

According to A. Ashotyan, the political system may be called
established and civilized when the power stick will move not from hand
to hand but from head to head. In the deputy’s opinion. today
political situation is conditioned by foreign political and
civilization streams. He said that at the moment there is no
opposition in the the country. /Panorama.am/

TIME WILL COME THEY WILL SAY

Lragir.am
09 June 06

On June 9 Aram Manukyan, All Armenian Movement, commended the
secession of the Orinats Yerkir Party from the coalition. At the
National Press Club Aram Manukyan said it speeded up the collapse of
the coalition, and the collapse of the coalition speeds up change of
power. However, the member of the All Armenian Movement is amazed by
the political process that followed the move of Orinats Yerkir.

`Within a few hours the coalition shrunk, became minority, and within
a few hours the minority became majority. Why? Because our members of
parliament are tools, not actors. The Armenian parliament is a group
of people set upby personal files,’ says Aram Manukyan.

The developments connected with Orinats Yerkir attracted Aram
Manukyan’s attention from the human aspect, or as he says, people at
the bottom. He meant those who betrayed the political party for the
sake of office. `Vano Siradeghyan used to say, never trust people
below 5 feet. You remember, Levon Ter-Petrosyan said dear Sergo, you
will not be fine. Sergo is not going tobe fine because he does not
dare and does not have the right to look in the eye of anybody. He
will not be fine in this country. Tamariks are not going to befine,
and all the other guys who let down are not going to be fine, because
their sons’ friends are going to say your father is a betrayer,’says
Aram Manukyan, adding that time will come when they will say, because
the generation is improving.

Armenia-San Marino match to be held in Yerevan

ArmRadio.am
09.06.2006 11:00

Armenia-San Marino response match of the qualification round of under 21
European Championship will be held at the Republican stadium after Vazgen
Sargsyan.

To advance to the next round the Armenian team has to win with the vantage
of four goals, since after the match in San Marino UEFA registered 3:0
technical defeat for bringing to the field a disqualified player.

COMMUNITY BUDGETS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED WITH UNDP SUPPORT

ArmRadio.am
08.06.2006 15:22

Today, five cost-sharing agreements were signed with five
municipalities and Memorandum of Understanding with the US Agency for
International Development (USAID) for projects in the scope of UNDP
Armenia Performance Budgeting project. In addition, United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) presented the Performance Budgeting
Manual.

The ceremony, held in UN House in Yerevan, was attended by
municipality teams, experts of the project, USAID representatives,
as well as representatives of the US Treasury Department, Armenia
Social Investment Fund, Government and the media. Ms. Consuelo Vidal,
UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative made a welcoming
speech.

Since its inception in 2005, the Performance Budgeting Project
has generated much interest among local self-governance bodies
in Armenia. The goals of the project are to support further
decentralization in Armenia, strengthen the capacities of local
self-governance bodies, and facilitate accountable and measurable
public expenditure management. It assists in the implementation of
performance budgeting during community planning, monitoring, and
evaluation processes ensuring citizens’ participation in the whole
process. This is new to not only Armenia, but also to the region.

The “Performance Budgeting in Local Government” training manual also
presented today is a product of a comprehensive and in-depth work
in the framework of the Performance Budgeting initiative supported
by UNDP. The manual presents experiences gained during training
courses, advisory meetings, and joint seminars and actual budgeting
processes conducted in the five pilot towns of Armenia (Ijevan, Masis,
Abovyan, Vedi and Dilijan). It provides a detailed description of local
performance budgeting principles, framework, budgeting process phases,
and budget planning, execution, and oversight. It is designed to become
a step-by-step guide for other communities in Armenia and abroad.

CPJ CONCERNED FOR PERSECUTION OF COLUMNISTS

BÝA, Turkey
June 8 2006

New York – “We are concerned by the ongoing criminal prosecution of
journalists in Turkey” says the Committee to Protect Journalists
New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide.

CPJ’s concern is the three journalists appearing before the courts
in Istanbul this week for their work.

Magden

Perihan Magden, a columnist for the weekly magazine Yeni Aktuel, went
on trial on Wednesday charged with discouraging Turks from performing
military service by defending conscientious objectors.

In a December article, Magden took up the case of Mehmet Tarhan, who
received a record four-year sentence in military jail for refusing
to wear his military uniform, The Associated Press reported. Magden
called for the establishment of civilian service as an alternative
to military conscription. She faces up to three years in jail if
convicted under article 318 of the Turkish penal code. Magden’s trial
was adjourned until July 27.

Belge and Saymaz

The trial of journalist Murat Belge of the daily Radikal resumes
Thursday. He is charged with attempting to influence the outcome of
judicial proceedings through his writing. He wrote an article last
year challenging the decision of an Istanbul administrative court to
ban an academic conference on the mass killing of Armenians under the
Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1917. The Armenian massacre is still taboo
in Turkey. If convicted, Belge faces up to four and a half years in
prison under article 288 of the Turkish penal code. Charges against
four other journalists prosecuted along with Belge for writing about
the conference ban were dropped in April.

Another journalist for Radikal, Ismail Saymaz, will also appear in
criminal court tomorrow on charges under article 288, which stem
from an article alleging the torture of children by authorities,
according to the Turkish press freedom organization BIA.

Cooper: “Repeal the laws

“The existence of repressive laws in Turkey gives an opening to the
enemies of press freedom. We urge Turkish prosecutors to withdraw the
charges against these journalists, and refrain from filing future
charges,” CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said. “We call on the
Turkish government to continue to work for the repeal of laws that
restrict work of the press.”

BIA says that since the new Turkish penal code went into effect on
June 1, 2005, 17 journalists who discussed human rights cases, the
Armenian conference ban case, and torture cases, have been charged
with attempting to influence court decisions under Article 288.

–Boundary_(ID_fYekFSwvJFznJgyOrhenpg)–

BLAIR HOPES FOR GARABAGH SOLUTION IN 2006

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
June 7 2006

Baku, June 6, AssA-Irada
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has expressed hope for a resolution
of the long-standing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh this year.

“I hope that 2006 will see a solution to the conflict that has claimed
many lives,” he wrote in a congratulatory message to President Ilham
Aliyev on the occasion of the opening of the 13th International
Caspian Oil And Gas Exhibition in Baku on Tuesday.

Blair wrote that oil revenues will open up extensive opportunities
for Azerbaijan, which necessitates reconsidering future prospects
and outlining programs for the coming years. He indicated that the
country would continue taking steps to expand its ties with NATO,
the Council of Europe and OSCE to promote free society and economy.