Category: News

Armenia offers blankets in aid to Tsunami victims
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
5 Jan 05
[Presenter] Today Armenians said prayers in churches for the 150,000
victims of the Asian earthquake and tsunami disaster and Europeans
observed a three-minute’ silence to remember those killed by the
tsunami.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry today once again confirmed that there
was no information about any Armenians affected by the natural
disaster.
Within the next few days, Armenia will send warm blankets and
appliances to countries affected by the Asian tsunami. The State
Directorate for Emergency Situations received an appropriate
instruction from the [Armenian] government.
[Nikolay Grigoryan, adviser to the head of the State Directorate for
Emergency Situations under the Armenian government, captioned] The
government instructed the State Directorate for Emergency Situations
to send aid. We shall send warm blankets and appliances. Within the
next few days, the aid will be shipped to regions hit by the
earthquake.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Jan 6 2005
Azeri, Armenian foreign ministers to meet in Prague next week

Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers Elmar Mammadyarov and
Vardan Oskanian will meet in Prague for the fifth time on January 11.
The two ministers will focus on certain issues pertaining to the
Upper Garabagh conflict settlement, Deputy Foreign Minister and the
President’s special envoy on Upper Garabagh Araz Azimov said.
Azimov noted that Armenia’s policy of illegal settlement of
population in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan will be discussed. The
parties will also consider issues related to the visit by the OSCE
fact-finding mission to the region scheduled for late January-early
February.
The last Prague meeting of the two foreign ministers took place in
spring 2004, while the meeting originally scheduled for September had
been postponed on a request of the Armenian side.
The two ministers also held talks in Berlin in November, in Sofia
early in December and later in Brussels.*
From: Baghdasarian

Azeri society reacts negatively to pressure group’s Karabakh war idea
ANS TV, Baku
5 Jan 05

[Presenter Natavan Babayeva] The Karabakh Liberation Organization’s
[KLO] united proposal for liberating the occupied Azerbaijani lands
militarily today was submitted for consideration by the Presidential
Executive Staff, the Milli Maclis, the Defence Ministry, the Baku City
Executive Authorities and a number of political organizations.
[Correspondent, over archive footage of news conference at KLO
premises] The KLO has managed to bring the authorities and opposition
closer. It became known that none of them wants war. Neither
government structures nor political parties supported the KLO’s
position that the peace option in the Nagornyy Karabakh settlement has
exhausted itself and there is a need for war. In its united proposal
for liberating the occupied lands militarily, the KLO calls on the
Azerbaijani government, first, to reject the idea of talks with
Armenia and, second, to put an end to either official or unofficial
ties with that country at all levels.
It is clear that the [Azerbaijani] Foreign Ministry is the addressee
of this demand. The ministry does not believe that the talks have
exhausted themselves. On the contrary, the ministry regards some
agreements reached at the recent meetings in Prague, Sofia and
Brussels [between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers] as
an incentive to hold more meetings. By opting for a military solution,
one could turn into the subject of condemnation from the international
community, the ministry believes.
Let us now look at the paragraph in the proposal submitted for
consideration by the political parties. All political forces should
recognize the need for the military option. This unconditional
position has absolutely nothing to do with the views of the political
forces. For example, like pro-government parties, the [opposition]
Musavat Party believes that the talks have not exhausted themselves
and that during these years one should strengthen the army and develop
the economy.
The authorities know better whether the talks are necessary because it
is government officials precisely who are taking part in the
talks. This is the position of the [opposition] Azarbaycan Milli
Istiqlal Party. The party also believes that the military option is
becoming less topical as the conflict has become internationalized.
The leadership of the [opposition] Democratic Party of Azerbaijan
believes that it is impossible to prepare the parties for war by
sending messages of this kind, despite the fact that the party is
dissatisfied with the peace talks. The party officials, however,
think that the way out not to resume hostilities, but to have a normal
foreign policy.
The state and society should pay more attention to strengthening the
army and to ensuring public control over the army. The [Azerbaijani]
Defence Ministry has indirectly rejected the aforesaid paragraph of
the KLO’s document. In fact the public oversees the army, our doors
are open to the KLO as well and detailed answers are being given to
the questions they put, but this does not mean that the army should
open its doors to anyone who will just knock on them, end of quote.
The KLO believes that every move, which may have a negative impact on
patriotism and fighting spirit in the country, should be decisively
thwarted. But the head of the public and political department of the
[Azerbaijani] Presidential Executive Staff, Ali Hasanov, does not
support the idea of creating a war-like atmosphere in the country. He
believes that the war could be started at any moment, but there is no
need for making the international community hostile to Azerbaijan by
doing so.
This was our presentation of society’s preliminary reaction to the
KLO’s proposal. It took them a long time to prepare the proposal,
which as they say, appears not to be so united after all.
Eldaniz Valiyev for ANS.

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.

The Messenger, Georgia
Jan 6 2005
Minister defends decision to stop Armenians entering Georgia at Larsi
Speaking at a press conference on January 5, Minister of Economic
Development Aleksi Aleksishvili defended the decision to prevent
Armenian citizens from crossing the Larsi checkpoint, denying that
the decision was politically motivated.
Regarding this issue Aleksishvili explained that during winter big
trucks are not allowed to cross the Larsi checkpoint from Russia into
Georgia for safety reasons, adding that the Armenian side had been
informed about this.

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Jan 6 2005
Armenia’s Foreign Debt Highest in the Caucasus

During the discussions of the 2005 state budget in the Armenian
parliament last week, MPs expressed their concerns over the country’s
foreign debt.
Armenia’s foreign debt currently amounts to $1.129 billion ($362 per
capita). The figure will make up $1.429 billion ($458 per capita) in
the near future, as the government plans to borrow $93.6 million in
2005, $79.8 million in 2006 and $83.7 million in 2007.
Despite the hard situation, the country is expected to repay foreign
debt worth $48.6 million in 2006 and $39.8 million in 2007.
Some Armenian experts predict an increase in the country’s foreign
debt over the next five years, saying that the figure will exceed $2
billion ($622 per capita) in 2010.
Armenian sociologists, in turn, claim that the country’s per capita
foreign debt will increase and that the amount of per capita debt
will reach $1,053 in 2010.
According to the 2004 statistics, there are 3,213,000 people in
Armenia, 1,221,000 of whom, or 38% of the total population, have left
the country due to social hardship.
Armenia’s opposition explains the tough situation in the country by
its failure to participate in regional projects due to tensions in
relations with Azerba ijan and Turkey with regard to the Upper
Garabagh conflict and a high corruption level.
Georgia, with a population of 5,100,000, is second in South Caucasus
for the amount of foreign debt. The country’s liabilities make up
$1.7 billion or $333 per capita, according to the 2004 data.
The foreign debt of Azerbaijan, with a population of 8,100,000,
currently amounts to $1.5 billion, or $183 per capita. The country
repaid $102 million out of $143 million owed over the nine months of
this year.

Press-Enterprise , CA
Jan 6 2005
For some, Christmas is today

Armenian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas today, 12 days after
the churches that follow the Gregorian calendar celebrated the birth
of Jesus Christ.
Members of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Riverside will observe
the Holy Feast of Nativity during the monthly service on Sunday at
All Saints Episcopal Church, 3847 Terracina Drive, Riverside.
Bible study and hymn-singing will begin at 2 p.m., with the Holy
Badarak, Divine Liturgy at 3 p.m. The traditional Blessing of the
Water will follow the service.
The Blessing of the Water celebrates the baptism of Christ and the
revelation of his divinity.
Early Christian churches celebrated Christ’s birth and baptism
together on Jan. 6 until the 4th century, when the church in Rome
separated the two events to establish a Christian replacement for a
pagan holiday, said the Rev. Dr. Stepanos Dingilian, visiting pastor.

Kavkaz Center, Turkey
Jan 6 2005
Russia is doomed

The words that are in the heading are not a fruit of the author’s
imagination, but it is a quite substantiated prediction based on
specific figures and facts, which are a subject of discussion right
in Russia today. It is a matter of catastrophic demographic
situation.
Ethnic Russian population of the Russian Federation is rapidly
decreasing. Entire cities and villages are ceasing to exist due to
the lack of population in them. According to official figures of
National Forum, «Present and Future of Russia’s Population», which
took place in Moscow last month, 11,000 villages and 290 cities have
disappeared from the map of the Russian Federation. 13,000 villages
are still on the map, but they remained with no inhabitants in them.
Two villages are disappearing in Russia each day, which in one year
is equal to a small province.
Deputy Minister of Health and Social Development of Russia, Vladimir
Starodubtsev, said that Russia’s population has decreased by 9
million over the last 10 years. Moreover, depopulation affected
virtually entire Russia. Even according to understated figures, the
number of the Russian population is decreasing 700 to 800 thousand
each year (other reports show that the figure is 1.2 million a year).
Since 1992 death rate among Russians exceeded birth rate and the
difference has only been increasing ever since then.
Male death rate in Russia is one of the highest in the world. At the
same time 30% of the dead are men of working years. Average life of
men is 13 years less than that among women (women – 72 years, men –
58.8 years). Main reasons are alcoholism, oncology (cancer), traumas
and poisonings. Deaths from abuse of alcohol in Russia skyrocketed
3.5 times over the past 5 years. Suicide rate exceeds Central
European figures 2.5 times among males and 1.5 times among females.
In Russia there are twice as many deaths in traffic accidents as
there are in European states.
Russian youth ages 15 to 19 started dying 40 % more often. Out of
today’s generation of 16-year-olds, only 54 % will live until they
reach their retirement age.
In 1998 for the first time the number of retirees in Russia exceeded
the number of children and juveniles under 16 by 110,000. For January
1, 2004, this number has grown to 4.2 million. Right now the number
of children under 14 is 2.5 times lower than the number of retirees
(10.6 and 27.2 million accordingly). According to the predictions
that have been made, starting the year 2006 the number of retirees
will be growing even more actively and by 2016 it will comprise 25%
of the entire Russian population.
According to the census of the Russian Federation, the number of
ethnic Russians was 104 million out of 144.2 million of the overall
population in Russia. Considering the fact that demographic figures
in Russia have always been considered to be a national security
issue, then proceeding from Soviet/Russian practice of demographic
overstatements, you can say for sure that the number of 104 ethnic
Russians is set too high and it’s already been quite a while since
the real number of ethnic Russians sank under the psychological mark
of 100 million.
The signs of apparent worsening of demographic situation for Russians
have been seen right in Moscow as well. This week Komsomolskaya
Pravda newspaper («Young Communist Truth») published the figures of
ethnic structure of the population of the Russian capital. Senior
research officer of Center for Geopolitical Research of Institute of
Geography under Russian Academy of Sciences, Olga Vendina, whose
research is based on the records from civil status registries in all
districts of Moscow over the years of 1993 – 2003, ‘ethnically
tinged’ neighborhoods have already been formed in Moscow. In these
parts of the city Russian population is constantly decreasing, while
the percentage of residents of other ethnic backgrounds is
systematically increasing. Furthermore, it is in Moscow’s historical
center, where birthrate among non-Russian population is considerably
higher than birthrate among Russians, who are being naturally ousted
to the capital’s outskirts.
The largest ethnic diasporas in Moscow, whose numbers are constantly
growing due to sharp increase of newborns throughout the last 10
years are Azeris, Tatars, Armenians and Ukrainians. At the same time
each 5th Russian woman marries a man from the Caucasus.
But that’s not all. About a year ago Novye Izvestiya (‘New Tidings’)
newspaper published some figures about ethnical structure of Russia,
compiled by Jewish University of Jerusalem based on the 2002 census.
According to that sensational document, in 2002 the number of Chinese
population in Russia reached almost 3.5 million, and thus the Chinese
have now taken the fourth place in Russia’s population, following
Russians (104 million), Tatars (7.2 million), and Ukrainians (5.1
million). 15 years ago there were only 5 thousand Chinese living in
Russia.
According to the predictions made by the experts, by the year 2013
every fourth person in Russia will be a Chinese.
In this short material we quoted only a few facts that are recognized
in Russia and that are not propagandistic exercises of Kavkaz
Center’s journalists, as Moscow likes to be claiming. Anyone can draw
his/her own conclusions from these facts. And in conclusion, we would
like to quite the Holy Koran:
«But if you turn back, then indeed I have delivered to you the
message with which I have been sent to you, and my Lord will bring
another people in your place, and you cannot do Him any harm; surely
my Lord is the Preserver of all things».
(The Koran 11/57).
Said Ibrahayev,
for Kavkaz Center

Gerard Cafesjian and Kirk Kirkoryan have been awarded with great
humanitarian, Nobel Peace Prize recipient Fridtjoff Nansen medal.
Armenia TV
January 6, 2005
Prominent American-Armenian benefactor Gerard Cafesjian has been awarded
with the Fridtjoff Nansen medal for his active socio-political
participation, establishment of humanitarian principles, investments in
the motherland, namely for reconstruction of the ”Cascade” museum,
and for his active participation in all nation-wide projects. Fridtjoff
Nansen Fund’s chairman also delivered that . another prominent
Armenian-American benefactor and businessman Kirk Kirkoryan has also
been awarded with the same medal for reconstruction of the Armenian
economy and desaster zone, for reconstruction of cultural objects, for
unprecedented number of highway-construction projects and for financing
a great deal of other humanitarian initiatives. ”This once again
testifies that nothing is left unnoticable by people who live in
Armenia.” Said Felix Bakhchinyan, chairman of the ” Fridtjoff Nansen
Fund”. The fund functions for about ten years. During this period it
has awarded with medals several prominent people: among them, grandson
of the great humanitarian, architect Aidil Nansen, Russian
ex-prime-minister Nikolay Rijkov, president of the Norwegian National
Academy Bjarne Vaaler, presidendts of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, the
prime-minister of Armenia, defense ministers of Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh, writers Eduartas Majelaitis, Silva Kaputikyan, Zori Balayan,
president of the Natioanal Academy of RA Fadey Sarkissyan and so
forth. Chairman of the Fridtjoff Nansen Fund congratulates the great
patriots on the occasion of beeing awarded with the medal of the Nobel
Price recipient Fridtjoff Nansen. Felix Bakhchinyan also congratulates
them both on the occasion of the New Year and Christmas. Please, find
underneath the texts of the certificates, which were awared to Gerard
Cafesjian and Kirk Kirkoryan.
Honorable Mr Gerard Cafesjian, for your fruitfull activities conducted
towards establishing of social-political and humanitarian principles, as
well as for your unforgettable merit put within development of the
republic’s economy and for your most active participation in all
nation-wide projects, you are being granted with the comemorative medal
of the great humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize recepient Fridtjoff
Nansen.
Honorable Mr Kirk Kirkoryan, for your fruitfull activities conducted
towards establishing of social-political and humanitarian principles, as
well as for your unforgettable merit in the motherland’s development,
reconstruction of the desaster zone, road-construction and renovation of
cultural centers, you are being granted with the comemorative medal of
the great humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize recepient Fridtjoff Nansen.
High Comissioner of the League of Natioans, recipient the Nobel Peace
Prize, National Hero of Norway, physician, polar explorer and great
friend of the Armenian people Fridtjoff Nansen encountered numbers of
Armenian refugees, who escaped the Great Genocide committed by the
Turks. He also has implemented a prolific work in introducing the
Armenian problem to the world. It is well-known that Nansen has given
passports with his own signature to those Armenians who had no
documents. And those passports were accepted in many countries. n those
times the great humanitarian helped the people of Povoljie to escape
starvation. He sent to Russia 4000 trains packed with food, as a result
of which, 7 million people escaped death. Today one in every 5 Russians
is the generation of those who once were saved by Fridtjoff Nansen. In
1925 Nansen visited Armenia in order to learn personally the refugees’
situation. He understood that the super-powers and the League of Nations
once again have deceived Armenians and himself. After this, he left for
the United States, hoping to collect donations. Nansen delivered
lectures in all Universities, receiving money in return. And in the
end, in the streets of big cities, the citizen of the world, Fridtjoff
Nansen, began to ask for money for Armenian refugees.

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairman calls for Azeri concessions
Ekspress, Baku
6 Jan 05

The Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, a team of
international mediators to resolve the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, has
called on Azerbaijan to make concessions at the forthcoming talks in
order to reach a settlement of the conflict. In an interview with the
Azerbaijani daily Ekspress, Yuriy Merzlyakov described the Prague
talks as “decisive” and said: “Armenia has agreed to some
concessions. Now, it is Azerbaijan’s turn”. The following is the text
of Alakbar Raufoglu report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress on 6
January headlined “‘Prague recipe in the Karabakh settlement'” and
subheaded “Or why the Armenians have agreed to a ‘stage-by-stage
solution plan'”; subheadings are as published:
“The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers discuss at talks
issues pertaining to a staged solution to the Karabakh conflict,” the
Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Yuriy Merzlyakov, said
yesterday, commenting on the latest statements by the Azerbaijani
leadership on the Prague process in an exclusive interview with
Ekspress. He noted that Armenia has already agreed to a stage-by-stage
solution [principle]. “Now we have to work out certain details.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has told a recent meeting of the
country’s Security Council that a new stage has started in the
Karabakh settlement. The head of state said that the Prague process
envisages a stage-by-stage solution to the conflict and the
discussions are proceeding in a way that is favourable to Azerbaijan.
“We do not rule out agreement on some options proposed by Baku. But
for this purpose mutual steps should be taken, desire should be
demonstrated and coordinated,” Merzlyakov said. He described the
forthcoming Prague talks as “a decisive moment”.
Big talks due next week
“The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers are due to have
important talks next week. The dialogue can be continued towards a
final end should there be any specific results in Prague,” the Russian
co-chairman stressed.
He said the meeting of the ministers “will cast some light on many
questions about the evaluation of the situation, specific solution
proposals and prospects of holding more talks: Armenia has agreed to
some concessions. Now, it is Azerbaijan’s turn”.
Besides, the activity of a fact-finding group that will be sent to the
region of the conflict on the initiative of the OSCE on 25 January
will also be in focus in Prague. “We attach great importance to this
mission. The fact-finders may clarify many points that affect the
course of the talks and eliminate complications.”
New stage?
“The Prague meeting on the issues discussed in 2004 will be continued.
It is still too early to talk about specific results. Certain elements
will be discussed within the framework of this process,” Azerbaijani
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov told Ekspress.
He said that “Azerbaijan had more success” in the negotiations in
2004, as Baku managed to familiarize the international community with
its position on Nagornyy Karabakh. “Our primary goal is to have the
territories liberated. Now, the Azerbaijani government should carry on
its efforts in the peace process in this direction.”
Besides Armenia’s attitude to the latest talks and specific solution
options, the Prague meeting will discuss the illegitimate settlement
policy being pursued in the occupied territories, Azimov said. The
parties will also review the “details” of the fact-finding group’s
visit to the region late in January. The mission will prepare a
special report after inspecting the occupied territories. “I hope that
the new stage of the Prague process will be more active,” he said.
Touching on the details of the talks, the deputy foreign minister said
that “the interests and positions of the parties should be
distinguished”. “It is possible to make very sensitive, complicated
and principled decisions only in normal and objective conditions which
will be created after attempts to settle the conflict are stepped up
and the consequences [of the conflict] and results are removed.”
He said that Baku abides its position on territorial
integrity. Commenting on the reports that Armenia has agreed to the
idea of a stage-by-stage solution, Azimov said that Yerevan’s position
has not changed in principle but “there is desire for rapprochement”.
Karabakh’s ethnic Armenians
[Armenian] Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan held a one-to-one meeting
with the “so-called head of the foreign ministry” of the “Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic”, Arman Malikyan, in Yerevan yesterday. Official
reports say the two discussed the details of the Prague talks and the
possible participation of the separatists in the peace process.
Oskanyan told Malikyan that the position of Karabakh’s ethnic
Armenians would be taken into account in the discussions between the
foreign ministers.
“We now have a favourable situation in the conflict. Armenia must make
use of this opportunity to familiarize the international community
with the essence of the conflict and have the problem solved in line
with the principle of self-determination of the people of Nagornyy
Karabakh.”
The meeting also discussed priorities of Armenia’s Karabakh policies
next year.
“Prague recipe”
One may come to a conclusion from the above mentioned official
statements that a specific solution “recipe” will be discussed in the
forthcoming round of the Prague talks. Naturally, it is difficult to
predict the effect of this situation on the settlement process. In any
case, it is not yet clear what the ministers “bargain” on.
“The statements made in the run-up to and before the Prague meetings
allow us to conclude that the co-chairmen have produced a new
settlement recipe. Although it envisages a stage-by-stage solution,
there are some dangerous tendencies,” the former [Azerbaijani] foreign
minister, Tofiq Zulfuqarov, told Ekspress yesterday.
The Armenians aim to include certain items in the proposals which will
allow for a stage-by-stage solution, he said. At the talks Yerevan
calls for the prior resolution of issues such as the status of
Nagornyy Karabakh, a referendum among the Armenian community and other
legal issues.
“The main discussions and problems are related to it at this stage.
Therefore, the co-chairmen are now more inclined to a stage-by-stage
solution,” Zulfuqarov said. Baku should hold the “UN card” in order to
take advantage of the settlement process, he noted. One can only
expect the “result to continue the discussions” from the Prague
talks. Specific progress in the resolution of the problem depends on
international pressure on Armenia. US President George Bush is
expected to announce his country’s foreign policy priorities soon,
Zulfuqarov stressed. “If the Karabakh issue is mentioned there, the
Minsk Group co-chairmen will deal with the issue more seriously.”
Former state advisor Vafa Quluzada also believes that the fate of the
Prague talks depends not on the parties to the conflict, but on the
co-chairmen.
“The main dialogue is now between the USA and Russia. If the USA
manages to explain the existing realities to Moscow and Paris, there
will be no problems. We should know that the USA holds the key to the
problem and it will be used soon. The Prague talks and any talk of
recipes just aim at diverting the attention”.