Category: News

NKR FM responds to Azeri statement on Karabakh military exercises
Arminfo, Yerevan
6 Aug 04
STEPANAKERT
The foreign ministry of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic NKR has issued
a statement in response to the statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry on the exercises held by the NKR defence army.
Arminfo has learnt from the NKR Foreign Ministry’s press service that
the statement reads: “On 4 August, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
issued a statement which strongly condemned the staff exercises of the
NKR defence army in the NKR. The NKR Foreign Ministry’s press service
states that the exercises, which are under way at the moment, were
planned beforehand and that according to the established rules, all
the interested parties were informed about them in advance. One should
note that over many years, the armed forces of Nagornyy Karabakh have
been conducting various military exercises which are one of the very
important means of increasing the combat readiness of the Karabakh
army.
“The NKR authorities think that maintaining the high level of the
combat readiness of the NKR troops is an important condition for
guaranteeing the military security of the NKR and its people,
especially in conditions of uninterrupted bellicose calls in
Azerbaijan for a military settlement to the Karabakh problem. While
Azerbaijan is fuelling tension and the conflict zone has no
international peacekeeping forces, the NKR defence army, which is an
important element of preserving regional stability, is actually
playing the role of a factor of restraint. Anyone who has a sincere
interest in preserving stability established in the last 10 years and
in the joint development of the entire South Caucasus region realizes
this unique function of the NKR armed forces which are in fact an army
of peace.
“The NKR Foreign Ministry press service states that adhering
exclusively to a peaceful settlement to the conflict and in order to
avoid a new armed invasion by Azerbaijan, the Karabakh side will
continue in the future to strengthen the NKR’s statehood and its armed
forces as an important body defending the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of the NKR.”
From: Baghdasarian

Tehran Times, Iran
Aug 7 2004
Peace And Security Cannot Be Actualized Through Suspicion, Force,
Threats: Khatami
BAKU (IRNA) — Visiting Iranian President Mohammad Khatami here on
Friday called peace, security, and justice the most basic needs of
humanity, saying that peace cannot be established by suspicion and
lack of confidence and security cannot be maintained by force and
threats.
Speaking at Azeri National Assembly, he added that in today’s world
peace and security are of great importance.
He added that new understandings and close cooperation are required
to promote peace and security.
“However, firm determination to promote peace, security and justice
as well as campaign against war, terrorism and discrimination on the
international, regional and national levels can open new horizons to
the human community,” he added.
Turning to the fact that today the fate of regional and world
countries are interdependent, he noted that dialogues, initiatives
and new measures are required for getting over the concerns inherent
in unilateral politics, economy and culture.
“Today, on the eve of entering the era of information and
communication technology, the world is facing new dilemmas and
limitations. Therefore, democratic methods and logic should be used
to tackle misleading approaches.
Prior to the president’s speech, Speaker of Azerbaijan’s National
Assembly Murtuz Aleskerov welcomed the Iranian chief executive and
hoped that his visit would give momentum to further expansion of
ties. —————- Focusing On Parliament Shows Respect For
Nation—————
Khatami also referred to parliament as the cornerstone of democracy
and symbol of sovereignty and said that placing focus on parliament
indicates respect for the nation.
Speaking in a meeting with the Speaker of Azerbaijan’s National
Assembly, he pointed to the decisive role of the parliaments of both
countries in expansion of mutual ties and urged to implement the
mutually signed agreements, despite bureaucratic problems.
The president noted that security, stability and progress in
Azerbaijan is linked to security in the Islamic Republic of Iran and
hoped that Karabakh clashes will lead to sustainable peace.
Appreciating the steps taken to establish a legal Caspian regime, he
said that Majlis is quite serious on the issue.
The chief executive hoped that a comprehensive plan securing the
interests of the Caspian littoral states will soon be drawn up.
“The convention on the Caspian Sea environment inked by the littoral
states will soon be examined by Majlis. We expect Azerbaijan’s
National Assembly will take a similar step,” he added.
Aleskerov also appreciated Iran’s approach towards Karabakh issue on
the international scene and said, “We believe that Iran will take
measures towards seeking a peaceful solution to the problem.

Iranian leader wants “friendship and security” with Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani TV Channel One, Baku
6 Aug 04

[Presenter] Azerbaijani Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov today met a
delegation led by Iranian President Mohammad Khatami. Then the Iranian
president delivered a speech at the Milli Maclis.
[Correspondent, over video of the meeting] Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov
spoke about the development of relations between our countries during
the independence of Azerbaijan. He stressed national leader
[ex-President] Heydar Aliyev’s exceptional services in the creation of
Iranian-Azerbaijani cooperation. He said mutual visits by the [former]
presidents of the two countries, Heydar Aliyev and [Akbar]
Hashemi-Rafsanjani, had laid a good basis for multilateral relations
between our countries. Speaker Alasgarov highly assessed the
interparliamentary ties. He spoke in detail about the Nagornyy
Karabakh problem which democratically developing Azerbaijan has
faced. He said that Azerbaijan also relied on Iran’s support for the
resolution of the problem.
At the meeting, Iranian President Khatami expressed his satisfaction
with the level of interparliamentary relations. He said that the
Caucasus was one of the most important regions in the world and that
Iran was leading a policy to maintain its interests here. He spoke
about the role of our national leader Heydar Aliyev in the development
of Iranian-Azerbaijani relations. He said that a detailed exchange of
views had been held during the meetings with Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev. He stressed that the two sides should make efforts to
ensure the signed documents are carried out. He said that Iran will do
its best to contribute to a solution to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict
and reach a lasting peace in the region.
Then a meeting was held at the Milli Maclis. First, Speaker Alasgarov
talked about Iranian President Khatami’s visit to our country, his
life and activities.
Iranian President Khatami delivered a speech at the Azerbaijani
parliament. He highly evaluated the role of parliament in any
country’s life and stressed the importance of the laws adopted to rule
the country. He talked about the relations between civilisations. He
noted the importance of developing dialogue and mutual understanding
in this sphere. He said that the modern world needs peace and
security. He said that one-sidedness, unipolarity and the double
standards applied by many countries are unacceptable to international
policy. Khatami said that knowledge, public information and mutual
ties linked countries in the modern world to each other and that
democracy was an important factor in creating political theories. He
noted that important steps have been taken towards democracy over the
last 200 years. Khatami talked about Azerbaijani-Iranian relations and
stressed the presence of stronger potential for the development of
cooperation between our countries in the economic, political,
cultural, trade and other spheres. He shared his views about the
Caspian Sea’s environmental security and legal status. Iranian
President Khatami said that we support living with Azerbaijan in an
atmosphere of friendship and security.

IT IS EXPECTED THAT THREE LARGE-SCALE INVESTMENT PROGRAMS TO BE
IMPLEMENTED AT “MARS” ENTERPRISE
YEREVAN, August 6 (Noyan Tapan). Investments of a total of 200 mln
drams (about 364,000 dollars) were made in the Yerevan “Mars” CJSC
after its assignation to the Russian government within the framework
of the “Property for Debt” program. The sums are mainly directed at
the marketing researches, the reconstruction of the heating system and
the increase of salaries about two-fold. Radik Vanunts, Director
General of “Mars”, reported during the August 5 press conference that
“Mars” is one of 30 enterprises of the military-industrial sphere of
Russia. According to Radik Vanunts, in the past production depended on
orders, that’s why “Mars” hasn’t turned out basic output up to now. At
present the new owners of the company work in this direction. Three
large-scale investment programs will be implemented at the enterprise
in the future. It was noticed that till the end of this year the
company will prepare five experimental models of radio stations worked
up by the Voronezh Institute of Communications. 2.5 years and the
investments of 4.7 mln dollars are necessary for the implementation of
another investment program. The third investment program concerns the
sphere of high technologies. It was also noticed that it is expected
that the certain funds will be allocated to the enterprise by the 2005
state budget of Russia for the performance of the orders. To recap,
“Mars” is the most expensive entity among the five enterprises given
to Russia against the debt. It is estimated at 56 mln dollars. The
Moscow “Radioexport” state-owned enterprise is appointed by the
Russian government plenipotentiary manager of the Yerevan “Mars” CJSC.

ACCEPTANCE OF GREEN MASS OF TOBACCO BEGINS IN TAVISH
YEREVAN, August 6 (Noyan Tapan). It’s already 5 days that the
“International Masis Tabak” company has begun acceptance of green mass
of tobacco of the “Virginia” sort in Tavush. 1 kg of the mass is
accepted at the price of 55 drams (about $0.1) in the acceptance point
situated 8 km far from Ijevan and the payment for the stored
raw-materials is made within 10 days. The accepted raw-materials are
dried with hot air in 4 rooms with a capacity of 5-6 tons within a
week. This year it’s planned to accept about 200 tons of green mass of
tobacco. To recap, at present 300 hectares of tobacco are processed
in the Tavush region, and tobacco of the “Virginia” sort makes 14
hectares out of them.

SHARE OF SPHERE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN RA GDP MAKES 40% IN
FIRST HALF-YEAR
YEREVAN, August 6 (Noyan Tapan). According to the preliminary data,
the share of the sphere of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in
RA GDP made about 40% in the first half of 2004. Over 4,700 new
entities of SME with about 11,000 jobs were registered during the
indicated period. RA Minister of Trade and Economic Development Karen
Chshmaritian said during the August 6 press conference that a total of
over 70 mln drams of guarantee sums (about 127,000 dollars) were
allocated to 2,500 companies with the purpose of contribution to the
sphere of the small and medium enterprises. 60% of these sums fell on
the regions, which is explained by the fact of the absence of the
subject of security under credit. The RA Minister also said that the
SME Coordination Council was established with the purpose of the
coordination of programs on the improvement and development of the
policies in the indicated sphere. Representatives of the World Bank,
USAID, UNDP, OSCE are within this Council.

RA MINISTER OF NATURE PROTECTION CALLS ON ECOLOGICAL NGOs TO COOPERATE
YEREVAN, August 6 (Noyan Tapan). RA Minister of Nature Protection
Vardan Aivazian during his August 6 meeting with representatives of
the leading ecological NGOs suggested that the Public Council should
be established with the purpose of cooperation of the Ministry and
NGOs. It was mentioned that the Ministry should be notified about the
activities carried out by the NGOs, in particular, on grants given by
the international foundations. According to the RA Minister, NGOs,
dealing with the allocated funds, often replace the state structures
though they don’t have sufficient information and specialists. In
their turn representatives of NGOs agree that the Ministry should be
notified about their activities, but at the same time they mentioned
that the Ministry isn’t always interested in cooperation with
NGOs. They reminded the RA Minister that the issue of the restoration
of the Public Relations Department in the structure of the Ministry
was arisen many times, and the Ministry should provide ecological
information in accordance with the demands of the Orhusk convention,
and wide public should participate in the processes of making
decisions. Vardan Aivazian suggested that participants of the meeting
should assume the discussion as a basis and prepare the draft
Memorandum on cooperation. Gennady Kojoyan is appointed Coordinator of
the draft.

La Nouvelle République du Centre Ouest
06 août 2004
Danses et musiques d’Arménie
Dans le cadre du festival de Confolens Monts-sur-Guesnes vient
d’accueillir l’ensemble folklorique arménien « Bert » d’Erevan,
groupe constitué en 1963 pour conserver et restituer de façon vivante
le folklore de son pays.
Fougueuses danses des hardis montagnards ou évolutions gracieuses des
jeunes filles, danses paysannes, danses des pêcheurs, chansons
exprimant la peine et les combats du peuple ou la nostalgie de
l’exilé, instruments de musique aux sons étonnants, superbes
costumes, sans oublier le talent des danseurs et musiciens… Une
nouvelle fois, les quelques 2000 personnes qui s’étaient rassemblées
sur la place du Chteau ont pu apprécier un spectacle d’une grande
qualité, a tel point que les quelques gouttes de pluie qui sont
venues se mêler à la fête lors du final, n’ont en rien diminué les
longs et chaleureux applaudissements qui ont salué la prestation de
cet ensemble.
Après ce spectacle, un grand feu d’artifice musical illuminait le
ciel montois de milliers d’étoiles multicolores, véritable bouquet
final à cette soirée concoctée de main de maître par toute une équipe
composée essentiellement de bénévoles.

DWELLERS OF AKHALKALAKI HAVE TO CONDUCT CHECKUP OF CARS IN AKHALTSIKH
AKHALKALAKI, August 6 (Noyan Tapan). The State Motor Licensing and
Inspection Department was liquidated as a result of the reforms
carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. The Road
Patrol Service with more limited number of employees will be
established instead of it. In Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda the Office
on Cars Registration was also liquidated as a result of these
changes. As a result one should go to Akhaltsikh, the regional center
of Samtskhe-Javakheti, for conducting the checkup of cars and
receiving the driving licence. According to the “A-Info” Agency, the
order of maintenance and registration of cars wasn’t changed in other
regions of Georgia. Such a change took place only in the Akhalkalaki
and Ninotsminda regions. In addition, it is expected that the
registration office in Akhaltsikh will move in November.

LEBANESE DEPUTY PRESENTS HIS POLITICAL PROGRAM TO CATHOLICOS OF GREAT
CILICIAN HOUSE
ANTELIAS, August 6 (Noyan Tapan). Lebanese MP Rober Ganem presented
his political program in the upcoming presidential elections during
his meeting with the Catholicos of the Great Cilician House held at
Bikfaya temple on August 3. Ganem presented his approaches to
different spheres of the life of Lebanon. Catholicos Aram I stressed
the necessity of the respect of the rights of national communities
along with the observance of their obligations especially in the
political circles, as well as the importance of the strengthening of
the democratic direction. According to the press service of the Great
Cilician House, the meeting became a reason for the discussion of the
problems of the region, especially of the latest events in
Iraq. Catholicos Aram I expressed his concern on the occasion of the
terrorist acts committed at the Christian churches, mentioning them as
a phenomenon unworthy of neither Islam nor Christianity.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress