Category: News

Morning Star
September 20, 2004
The first tragedy;
PICK:GEOFF SIMONS is shocked to discover the truth about a terrible
forgotten holocaust of the 20th century.
by GEOFF SIMONS
THE BURNING TIGRESS by Peter Balakian (William Balakian, GBP 18.99)
MANY of us are familiar with the words Adolf Hitler uttered to his
military advisers eight days before the nazis invaded Poland:
“Who today, after all, speaks of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
– a prelude to the nazi extermination of the Jews, Gypsies,
homosexuals and other victim groups.
Few of us, I reckon, know about the sheer scale of the vast crime
perpetrated by the Turks against the Armenian nation.
This was the first holocaust of the 20th century, predating by
decades the horrors of the World War II. Regarding the Armenian
extermination, the US was to emerge as a principal holocaust denier.
Balakian describes in graphic and harrowing detail the three stages
of persecution of the Armenian people, from the relatively
small-scale massacres under Abdul Hamid II to the ethnic cleansing
undertaken by the forces of the Turkish Committee of Union and
Progress under the cover of the first world war.
Extensive use is made of eyewitness accounts of US diplomats,
missionaries, massacre survivors and others and of the gruesome
testimony of the persecutors themselves, given during the short-lived
trials of the 1920s.
The great powers failed to respond effectively, just as they failed
to halt later genocides.
As Hitler knew, the fate of the Armenians was largely forgotten and
the dreadful lessons of the genocide were largely ignored.
It is to Balakian’s credit that he has helped to restore an early
20th-century tragedy to its rightful place in history.
I read this book with a mounting sense of shock. It is enough to
quote, almost at random, from the account of the massacres:
“Acommon practice was to . . . begin with bastinado . . . which
consists of beating the soles of the feet with a thin rod . . . until
the feet swell and burst . . . not infrequently, they have to be
amputated.
“In some cases, the gendarmes would nail hands and feet to pieces of
wood . . . they even delved into the records of the Spanish
inquisition and other historic institutions of torture and adopted
all the suggestions found there.”
The tortures were perpetrated as a prelude to or during the massive
phases of ethnic cleansing. ” The deportations quickly became either
scenes of mass killing for the men, death marches for the women,
children and elderly who were whipped, raped, tortured and shot in an
ongoing procession.”
In one account, a soldier wrestles a donkey away from a young woman
with a baby. “The Turk’s scimitar descended on her wrist and the hand
fell off.”
Rivers and brooks were filled with “swollen” and “worm-eaten
corpses.” There was no time to bury the thousands of bodies. “Most of
them had been partially eaten by dogs.”
At the village of Mollahkeuy, one of thousands similarly treated,
hundreds of dead bodies were scattered on the plain, nearly all of
them women and children.
Many of the women lay flat on their backs, showing signs of barbarous
mutilation by the bayonets of the gendarmes.
Ammunition was too valuable to use, so most of the killings were done
with “axes, cleavers, shovels and pitchforks.” The Turks “dashed
infants on the rocks” before the eyes of their mothers.
The carnage around Ankara was so vast that Talaat Pasha ordered more
than 40,000 bodies to be quickly buried in mass graves, “but the
stench of death and the mounds of bodies overwhelmed the landscape.”
As one witness travelled from Keghvenk to Mezre, he saw thousands of
corpses half buried.
On the beach of Lake Goeljuk, hundreds of bodies were piled on top of
each other, almost all women and children, all “naked” and showing
“signs of the brutal mutilation” that the Turks had inflicted.
In the valley, there were no fewer than 2,000 corpses.
The witness estimated “that, in the course of our ride around the
lake, we had seen the remains of not less than 1,000 Armenians.” The
“fiendish purpose of the Turks” was “to exterminate the Armenian
population.”
Another witness described the “game of swords” played by the Turkish
killing squads with Armenian girls.
Swords would be planted in the ground with the blades uppermost.
Then, men on horseback would each grab a girl and ride at a gallop,
throwing the girl to impale her on a sword.
If she was only wounded, she would be scooped up again and thrown
until she was finally impaled. The bodies were then thrown in the
Tigris river.
In 2000, an Armenian genocide resolution, acknowledging the full
horrors perpetrated by the Turks, was proposed by the US congress.
Turkey, in response, mounted a massive propagan – da campaign with
the support of Israel, declaring that, if the Bill were passed,
Ankara would close its airbase to US planes.
President Clinton then instructed House Speaker Dennis Hastert to
kill the Bill. “Once again, the attempt to commemorate the century’s
first genocide had been effectively censored by a foreign
government.”
In October 2000, shortly after Clinton had caved in to Turkish
pressure, France passed an A r m e n i a n genocide resolution into
law, declaring the fact of the vast extermination.
Turkey protested hysterically and withdrew its ambassador from Paris.
Six months later, Turkish diplomatic relations with France were
resumed and business was back to normal.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
September 21, 2004 Tuesday
OSCE Chairman-in-Office concerned about Karabakh conflict
By Sevindzh Abdullayeva, Viktor Shulman
BAKU
OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi
is concerned about the protracted conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh,
Pasi’s special envoy for Azerbaijan and Armenia Filip Dimitrov said
at a Tuesday meeting with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev.
“The OSCE Chairman-in-Office thinks that the problem must be solved
as soon as possible,” Dimitrov said.
Abiyev thinks that the Astana meeting between the Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents “gives hope for peace settlement of the problem.”
He agreed that the conflict should be settled quickly for the sake of
“security of large economic projects in Azerbaijan with the
participation of European countries and the United States.”
The Karabakh conflict must be settled on the basis of international
legal norms and in conformity to the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan, the minister said. “Armenia must unconditionally pull out
troops from the occupied lands. Otherwise Azerbaijan will have to
free them,” he noted.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
September 21, 2004 Tuesday
Azeri pres believes Karabakh conflict hampers peace in region
By Sevindzh Abdullayeva and Viktor Shulman
BAKU
Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev believes that the Karabakh
conflict “is creating huge obstacles to peace and stability in the
region.”
Aliyev made this statement in Baku on Tuesday receiving Filip
Dimitrov, the special envoy of the OSCE chairman in office for
Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The president stressed the permanency of his country’s stance on the
issue of the problem settlement.
“It should be settled based on the principles of inviolability of
borders and territorial integrity of states,” said the Azerbaijani
president pointing out, “It will be impossible to settle the Karabakh
conflict with any other approach.”
Ilkham Aliyev is positive that the problem settling will result in
the establishment of calm, security and acceleration of economic
development in the region.
The Azerbaijani president expressed regret that the activity of the
OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno Karabakh that is performing mediator
functions in the conflict settlement has so far yielded no positive
results.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say. Part A (Russia)
September 21, 2004, Tuesday
BLACK CASH POLICY
SOURCE: Novaya Gazeta, No 69, September 20, 2004, EV
by Anna Politkovskaya
It is common knowledge that in the days following the Beslan horrors
Putin and Ivanov (the defense minister, that is) failed to come up
with anything better than George W. Bush once, and promised to
deliver preemptive strikes at terrorist bases no matter where the
latter were found. Everybody knew that the matter concerned Georgia,
a Georgia without Eduard Shevardnadze that was slipping more and more
from under Moscow’s control. Why does the Kremlin hate Georgia so
much? Why does Georgia resist the Kremlin’s control so much? And why
does this resistance irk the Kremlin? What is there about the country
and its authorities that enable the Kremlin to think in terms of
bombing the territory of this country?
In answers to these questions, we will go from the simple to the
complicated because a lot of catastrophic cataclysms in the
international relation are rooted in primitive things.
Sure, President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili is a wonder child. He
is handsome and a pet politicians of journalists throughout the
world. Putin has long since got rid of wonder children and handsome
pets of foreign journalists in his own entourage.
A few words about the Georgian “court” now. What do Putin and his
retinue see and hear during their meetings with Saakashvili?
These days, the president of Georgia begins with his senior adviser.
“My name is Daniel Kunin,” he says in perfect English.
He is likable and young. Kunin wields substantial clout with the
chancellor’s office where everybody speaks English nowadays.
Just imagine men from Putin’s presidential administration in this
atmosphere – the men used to seeing all of the CIS kneeling before
them…
This is what official Tbilisi is like nowadays: it can be summed up
in three words only – American workaholic management. West-oriented
management. No North-West as the guiding light, no political
unpredictability so typical of the Kremlin. Georgia under Saakashvili
is anti-Byzantinism. Anti-bureaucracy. Anti-hierarchy. Anti-colony.
The Kremlin is polar to all of that. Neo-Soviet Byzantinism.
Arch-hierarchy. Longing for the past empire taking the shape of
bribery of former colonies (the gift to the tune of $800 million
worth of taxes to Ukraine and Belarus is the latest example). Policy
of provocation.
Saakashvili is quite clear in his words and statements. “Why do you
dislike us so much?” – we asked the Russians. “What are we doing
wrong?” We promised pensions and salaries to budget sphere employees
in South Ossetia, Is that bad?” he asked. “The Russians never
answered. Skirmishes began instead. We have American servicemen
stationed here. We say that we do not want an armed conflict, and the
Russians boost their strength by way of response. We are not going to
permit a repetition of what happened here in 1992 because it halted
all our reforms. We want to make Georgia attractive. Is that bad? We
do not understand what Russia wants from us. Its actions in Georgia
are extremely irrational…”
Mikhail Saakashvili: We used the international community to organize
an international conference on South Ossetia – on the status, on the
political solution to the problem. The UN, OSCE, European Union
agree. The Russians do not.
Question: When was your last conversation with Putin?
Saakashvili: I called him and was told that he is not available. I
sent two letters to Putin – no answer.
Question: What do you think of the statement of Ramzan Kadyrov,
Putin’s favorite in Chechnya, concerning the readiness to send his
fighters to South Ossetia and “solve the problem?”
Saakashvili: F… him!
And this is what was not articulated in my conversation with
Saakashvili. He spoke of the deaths of 16 Georgian servicemen as of a
catastrophe. “When 16 men were killed, I knew I had to make a
decision…” Saakashvili made up his mind and withdrew Georgian units
to a safe distance. To prevent new deaths…
I was struck speechless. By the contrast, that is. In Russia, the
deaths of 16,000 servicemen do not compel the president to save the
rest by ordering units and formations withdrawn to a safe distance.
This love of Saakashvili for his people is the worst problem for
Putin, who is convinced that he is rebuilding an empire and that the
undertaking is worth lives.
These are the irrational reasons behind the clash between the Kremlin
and Tbilisi. Here we come to rational ones, financial and economic.
What do Russia’s interests in the region boil down to nowadays? What
should Putin’s bureaucracy be fighting in the region for?
Firstly, Russia has to consolidate the so called Russian “Christian
axis” (Ossetian) as a counterweight to the Russian “Moslem
underbelly” (Chechnya, Ingushetia, Karachaevo-Cherkessia,
Kabardino-Balkaria, Dagestan, Adygeya). It is a necessity and it pays
therefore to keep in the focus of attention South Ossetia – a tiny
bit of land across the mountains from North Ossetia.
Secondly, Russia needs Abkhazia as well, a strip of land along the
Black Sea coast connecting Russia with Armenia – the Kremlin’s only
strategic partner across the mountains the United States has not
subverted yet.
Interests of Tskhinvali and Sukhumi are understandable too. They are
out of options. Tskhinvali all but admits that it wants unification
with Vladikavkaz and that is impossible without Moscow. Sukhumi
refuses to return to Georgia and since there must be someone it may
lean on, Moscow is regarded as the best available shoulder.
All of that is theory. In practice, however, all these “conflicts put
on hold” have become bona fide black holes. Political maps specify
South Ossetia and Abkhazia as parts of Georgia, but de facto they are
zones without taxes, transparent budgets, legitimate power
structures, and all the rest that distinguishes territories of the
law from those without.
What does the Kremlin needs these black holes for? First and
foremost, they are convenient to have handy. To transact black cash
there, to arrange all sorts of grey arrangements, etc. We are
fighting to ensure supremacy of the law only in words. Indeed,
official Moscow persists in its policy of support of the territories
that may be used to pump black cash into. They are zones for special
operations and classified instructions when no documents have to be
signed.
Russian policy remains a policy of black cash. Nothing happens
without it. Black cash is the principle of formation of our power
structures and branches of government. Artificially maintained chaos
instead of order is what is needed.
Having black holes like that abroad is quite convenient. They are
much more convenient than offshore zones where all sorts of covers
and smoke-screens are needed and where leaks remain a constant
possibility. South Ossetia and Abkhazia do not require all of that.
For the Soviet Union, the role of these black holes was played by
some African regimes. The Politburo called them “national liberation”
regimes, pumped party funds there, and pulled off its financial
operations. For Russia, this role was played by Chechnya where the
civilized banking system had never been established deliberately. But
Chechnya is in Russia which is a distinct inconvenience: there is
always the possibility of formal inspections, the possibility that
some uncorrupt prosecutor will turn up, and besides – appetites of
Kadyrov and Co are ever growing. Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been
infallible from this point of view. What cannot be pulled off
elsewhere can be pulled off there. It is possible to pump money,
weapons, and drugs there – and they are being pumped. No control or
accounting. Just throw something to the undemanding local regimes and
scream about “protection of Russian citizens.”
Putin put Shevardnadze under such a pressure that Shevardnadze, a
Soviet oligarch knowing perfectly well how and why these black holes
operate, gave in and transferred one-third of the territory of
Georgia into the zone of the Russian black cash. The new president of
Georgia changed everything. Saakashvili pronounced the intention to
deal with the “conflicts put on hold” and immediately became Russia’s
Enemy Number One. Adjaria was the province of Abashidze and worked
mostly for him, and Putin gave it up practically without a fight. For
Tskhinvali and Sukhumi, however, the Kremlin will fight.
This game on the part of the authorities of Russia costs us, ordinary
Russians, a good neighbor – Georgia.
Hence the conclusion: the policy of the Russian presidential
administration aimed at annexation of two Georgian territories does
not have anything to do with Russia’s strategic or any other
interests in the Caucasus.
Translated by A. Ignatkin

Baltic News Service
September 21, 2004
LITHUANIAN MEP ELECTED VICE-CHAIR OF EP DELEGATION WITH SOUTH
CAUCASUS
VILNIUS, Sep 21
Lithuanian Euro-parliamentarian Vytautas Landsbergis on Tuesday was
elected vice-chairman of the European Parliament delegation with the
South Caucasus countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Landsbergis was elected the vice-president during the first meeting
of the delegation, the press service of the EP European People’s
Party – European Democrats (EPP-ED) group reported.
“South Caucasus is a very important region to the European Union.
These are our neighbors over the Black Sea with old cultural European
links,” Landsbergis was cited in the press release as saying.
Landsbergis hopes that the EU will successfully cooperate with
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia for a better future in the entire
Europe and Caucasus.
The aim of the EP delegation is to develop political parliamentary
ties with MPs of the said countries.
EP member from France, representative of the Greens faction, Marie
Anne Isler Beguin became the president of the EP delegation with
South Caucasus countries.
Landsbergis is a member of the EP’s largest EPP-ED group, which
comprises 268 representatives of the Conservatives and the Christian
Democrats.

ARKA News Agency
Sept 21 2004
Today independent Armenia is one of principal partners of the USA
Vladimir Putin congratulates Armenian President on occasion of
Independence Day
Armenian President visits memorial complex Yerablur on occasion of
Independence Day
Catholicos of All-Armenians H.H. Garegin II meets president of
European Commission Romano Prodi
Catholicos of All-Armenians meet Prosecutor General of Belarus
Captain of Police of Armenia Hayk Ghalumyan awarded posthumous order
`Military Cross’ of 2nd degree
Four Armenian artists awarded with medal
10 Armenian figures of art receive honorary titles
Number of Armenian citizens handed over gratifying letters
Armenian President awards Iosif Kobzon with St. Mesrob Mashtots order
for contribution to development of Armenian-Russian relations
*********************************************************************
TODAY INDEPENDENT ARMENIA IS ONE OF PRINCIPAL PARTNERS OF THE USA
YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. Today independent Armenia is one of
principal partners of the USA. As Armenian President Press Service
told ARKA, this is mentioned in US President George Bush’s
congratulatory message to his Armenian colleague Robert Kocharian. `I
express special gratitude to Armenia for the support provided to the
US in its struggle against terrorisms’, the US President stressed.
The message reads that the US will keep working in order to support
the Armenian Government and People in achieving economic growth,
strengthening democratic institutes and settlement of Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. `I do hope that the cooperation between our
nations and deep friendly relations between two peoples will
strengthen further’, US President’s message says. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
VLADIMIR PUTIN CONGRATULATES ARMENIAN PRESIDENT ON OCCASION OF
INDEPENDENCE DAY
YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent
his congratulations to Head of the Armenian State Robert Kocharian on
occasion of Independence Day. As Armenian President Press Service
told ARKA, the message says that `productive and multifaceted
cooperation between Russia and Armenia are anchored on brotherhood of
our peoples proved by the time’. `I am confident that further
enhancing of Russian-Armenian strategic partnership is in harmony
with root interests of our peoples and it plays an important role in
preservation of peace and stability on Caucasus’, the message reads.
T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT VISITS MEMORIAL COMPLEX YERABLUR ON OCCASION OF
INDEPENDENCE DAY
YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. On occasion of Independence Day
Armenian President Robert Kocharian visited today Memorial Complex
Yerablur. As Armenian President Press Service told ARKA, `Kocharian
and accompanying persons rendered homage and respect to sons of the
Armenian people who sacrificed their lives for freedom of the
Motherland’. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
CATHOLICOS OF ALL-ARMENIANS H.H. GAREGIN II MEETS PRESIDENT OF
EUROPEAN COMMISSION ROMANO PRODI
YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. Catholicos of All-Armenians His
Holiness Garegin II met President of European Commission Romano
Prodi. As St. Echmiadzin Holy See told ARKA, Prodi presented programs
and opinions of the EU, stressing the EU’s interest in the region.
The sides also touched upon the process of settlement of Karabakh
conflict. In his turn Catholicos mentioned that Armenians are bearers
of European system of values by their psychology, mentality. These
values are based on Christian values, His Holiness said. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
CATHOLICOS OF ALL-ARMENIANS MEET PROSECUTOR GENERAL OF BELARUS
YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. Catholicos of All-Armenians His
Holiness Garegin II met the Prosecutor General of Belarus Victor
Scheiman. As Echmiadzin Holy See told ARKA, the meeting was attended
by Prosecutor General of Armenia Aghvan Hovsepyan. Catholicos highly
appreciated cooperation between prosecutions of two countries. The
sides also touched upon joint future projects. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
CAPTAIN OF POLICE OF ARMENIA HAYK GHALUMYAN AWARDED POSTHUMOUS ORDER
`MILITARY CROSS’ OF 2ND DEGREE
YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. By decree of Armenian President
authorized employee of criminal investigations of Mashtots District
of Police Department of Yerevan Hayk Ghaluman was awarded posthumous
order `Military Cross’ of 2nd decree `for self-sacrifice and courage
when performing his debt’, as Armenian President told ARKA. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
FOUR ARMENIAN ARTISTS AWARDED WITH MEDAL
YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. On occasion of 13th anniversary of
Independence Day of Armenia Armenian President Robert Kocharian
signed decree on awarding Movses Khorenatsi medal to writer from the
Diaspora Peter Balakian, Artists of Vanadzor State Dramatic Theater
Roza Mkhitaryan and Sculptor Arto Chakhmakhchyan. As Armenian
President Press Service told ARKA, Senior Nurse of Kapan
Anti-Tuberculosis Dispensary Marusya Ghukasyan were awarded with
Mkhitar Heratsi medal. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
10 ARMENIAN FIGURES OF ART RECEIVE HONORARY TITLES
YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. On occasion of 13th anniversary of
Independence Day of Armenia Armenian President Robert Kocharian
signed decree on awarding honorary titles to 10 artists. As Armenian
President Press Service told ARKA, honorary titles of People’s Artist
were awarded to Professor of State Conservatorium after Komitas
Araxia Davtyan, singer Hasmik Papyan and film director Artavazd
Peleshyan.
Composer Araik Gevorgyan, Duduk player Gevorg Dabaghyan, violinist
Nikolay Madoev, artists of National Academic Theater after Sundukyan
Greta Mejlumyan and Harutyun Movsesyan were awarded Honored Artist
title.
Honored Artist titles were also awarded to Eduard Ter-Ghazaryan,
title of Honored Doctor-Pediatrician to doctor Yeva Bezhanova of
Amasia Health Center CJSC. T.M. -0 –
*********************************************************************
NUMBER OF ARMENIAN CITIZENS HANDED OVER GRATIFYING LETTERS
YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. A number of Armenian citizens were
handed over gratifying letters. As Armenian Government Public and
Press Department told ARKA, Levon Lazarian, Chairman of producing
center Alfael, Hrachya Ashughyan, Head of Yerevan community Kentron
Gagik Beglaryan, Chairman of Union of Dancers, Head of Apparatus of
Armavir Marz Parandzem Karapetyan and the team of National Theater of
Opera and Ballet were awarded President’s gratifying letters for
organization and holding of One Nation, One Culture Pan-Armenian
Festival.
Deputy Armenian Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs Karine
Khodikyan, Head of Department of Relations with Diaspora at Armenian
Foreign Ministry Jivan Movsesyan, Head of Secretariat of Ministry of
Culture and Youth Affairs Nora Dayan, Head of Department of
International Relations and Cooperation with the Diaspora at Armenian
Culture and Youth Affairs Ministry Susanna Khachatryan, Director of
Hyefilm Gevorg Gevorgyan, Director of Expomedia Ltd Anahit Hakobyan,
Producer of Cultural Programs Armen Manukyan were handed over
Armenian PM’s gratifying certificates.
On occasion of Independence Day and merits to Motherland Armenian PM
also awarded gratifying certificates to Atanas Movsesyan, Levon
margaryan, Andranik Karapetyan, Stepan Karapetyan, Zinaven Ghazaryan
– posthumous, Varag Arakelyan and Gurgen Armaghanyan. By decree of
Armenian Defense Minister for transferal of remains Garegin Nzhdeh,
`Garegin Nzhdeh’ medal was awarded to employees of Institute of
History of National Academy of Sciences of republic of Armenia Rafik
Hambartsumyan, Translator of State Archives of Armenia Pavel Ananyan,
Senior Lecturer of Yerevan State Institute of Economy Garegin
Mkhitaryan, Chief Doctor of Berdadzor Artsakh Buniatsyan and painter
Zhora Barseghyan. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT AWARDS IOSIF KOBZON WITH ST. MESROB MASHTOTS ORDER
FOR CONTRIBUTION TO DEVELOPMENT OF ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS
YEREVAN, September 21. /ARKA/. Armenian President Robert Kocharian
awarded the Russian singer Iosif Kobzon with St. Mesrob Mashtots
order for contribution into development of Armenian-Russian relations
as well as active benevolent activity, as Armenian President Press
Service told ARKA. By another President’s decree Yeghishe
Astvatsatryan was awarded with St. Mesrob Mshtots order for
considerable contribution into development of the Armenian economy,
active public and political life. T.M. -0–

Armenian, Belarus chief prosecutors sign cooperation memo
Arminfo
20 Sep 04

YEREVAN
Armenian and Belarus Prosecutor-Generals Agvan Ovsepyan and Viktar
Sheyman respectively signed a memorandum on mutual assistance and
cooperation in Yerevan today. A delegation of the Belarus
Prosecutor-General’s Office led by Prosecutor-General Sheyman arrived
in Armenia yesterday at the invitation of the Armenian
prosecutor-general and will complete its visit tomorrow.
[Passage omitted: the Minsk convention regulates relations between the
countries]
The Belarus prosecutor-general said that 39 trade-economic,
military-technical, scientific-technical and other agreements and
contracts in various areas had been signed between the sides. In 2001,
Viktar Sheyman added, a large-scale agreement on friendship and
cooperation was signed between Armenia and Belarus.
[Passage omitted: large Armenian community lives in Belarus]

Armenian premier, European Commission chief discuss regional cooperation
Arminfo
20 Sep 04
YEREVAN
European Commission President Romano Prodi’s visit to Armenia
testifies to the increasing interest of the European Union in the
South Caucasus countries and it can give a new impetus to the further
development of relations between the EU and Armenia and the region as
a whole, Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan said at a meeting
with European Commission President Romano Prodi on 18 September.
Prodi had arrived in Yerevan within the framework of a regional visit.
As the press service of the Armenian government told Arminfo news
agency, Andranik Markaryan, in particular, noted the importance of the
European Commission president’s visit to the region in the context of
including the South Caucasus countries in the initiative Expanded
Europe: New Neighbours. He said that this initiative of the EU would
create an opportunity for the regional countries to deepen and expand
relations with the EU and also to speed up the process of
democratization and social and economic reforms.
Informing the president of the European Commission of the steps
towards European integration, the Armenian prime minister spoke about
the work done and plans to boost bilateral trade and cooperation in
the spheres of science and research, and bring Armenian laws into line
with the EU legislation within the framework of the programme Expanded
Europe: New Neighbours. He said that Armenia considers the action plan
of the European Neighbourhood programme to be a definite step aimed at
implementing the Cooperation and partnership agreement. The national
action plan will be elaborated later. Andranik Markaryan noted that
Armenia was looking forward to the beginning of joint discussions and
drafting of the action plan and assured the president of the European
Commission that the Armenian authorities were ready to render
assistance in this regard.
For his part, Romano Prodi stressed that the European Commission was
ready to assist the South Caucasus countries in creating social
stability based on democratic values. He said that the European
Commission would prepare in the next months reports on the three
countries of the region to assess their progress in the sphere of
political and economic reforms and also in the peaceful settlement of
conflicts in the region.
The sides also discussed regional cooperation. The Armenian prime
minister put forward Armenia’s position, stressing the importance of
establishing good-neighbourly relations with all the neighbouring
countries. The prime minister and the president of the European
Commission discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to
Armenian-Turkish relations and a peaceful settlement to the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict. At the same time, they agreed that fully-fledged
integration into European structures will be in danger if the existing
problems in the region have not been resolved.
Discussing in this context the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, the sides
noted that the South Caucasus could ensure economic prosperity and
further progress only if peace and comprehensive regional cooperation
were established. Romano Prodi stressed that the European Commission
did not intend to play the role of a mediator in the settlement but it
would make serious efforts to settle the problem.

9.6% GDP GROWTH REGISTERED IN ARMENIA IN JAN-AUG, 2004
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 20. ARMINFO. The highest GDP growth in Armenia was
registered in Jan-Aug, 2004 – 9.6%. ARMINFO was informed in the press
service of the National Statistical Service of Armenia, according to
preliminary data, in Aug as against July the economic growth made up
2.4%. By the end of Aug 2004 the GDP totaled 980.2 bln drams. The GDP
index-deflator grew by 7.3%.
In Jan-Aug of the current year the Gross agriculture produce increased
by 14.4% as against the same period of 2003, totaling 234.1 bln drams
and in Aug as against July it increased by 15.8%. Volume of
construction decreased by 26.5.% in Aug as against July, and in
Jan-Aug it increased by 17.8%, reaching 131.9 bln drams.
By the end of Aug, 2004 foreign trade turnover totaled $1.3 bln (717.5
bln drams), decreasing by 5% as against the same period of 2003. The
volume of industrial product totaled 330.9 bln drams (or 33.8% out of
GDP – ARMINFO) in Jan-Aug, increasing by 2.8% as against the same
period of last year, and in Aug as against July it increased by
5.9%. Energy generation increased by 12.2% in Jan-Aug, and in Aug as
against July it increased by 10.3%, totalling 497.6 mln kw/h. In the
period under review the AMD/USD exchange rate was 549.08 drams against
one US dollar.

POPULATION’S INCOMES INCREASED BY 16.7%, EXPENSES BY 17.2% IN JAN-AUG,
2004
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 20. ARMINFO. In Jan-Aug, 2004 the Armenian
population’s incomes increased by 16.7%, totalling 764.7 bln
drams. According to the preliminary data of the National Statistical
Service of Armenia, in Aug as against July the incomes increased by
0.9%. Expenses of the population totaled 769.2 bln drams, increasing
by 17.2% during the eight months of the current year, and they
increased by 0.3% in Aug as against July. In Jan-Aug 2004 AMD/USD
exchange rate was 549.08 drams against one US dollar.
The average monthly nominal wages in Armenia totaled 40,642 drams,
increasing by 31.0% as against the same period of last year, and in
Aug as compared with July 2004 it increased by 0.4%. The average
monthly wages of citizens employed in budget organizations was 25,925
drams (40.4% growth in Jan-Aug). The average monthly wages of citizens
employed in non-budgetary organizations totaled 52,898 drams (27.2%
increase). The wages of one employee in budgetary organizations and
non-budgetary organizations increased by 0.4% in Aug as against July,
2004. By the end of August of the current year the number of
officially registered unemployed persons was 113,300 people,
decreasing by 8.0% in Jan-Aug, and in Aug as against July it decreased
by 0.8%.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress