Category: News

Kyrgyz president hails cooperation within CIS security body
Interfax news agency, Moscow
5 Aug 04
Cholpon Ata, 5 August: Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev is satisfied with the
level of military cooperation within the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO).
“Servicemen implement adopted decisions very quickly in contrast to us,
civilians,” Akayev said during a meeting with the defence ministers of CSTO member
states in Cholpon Ata today.
“The Collective Rapid Deployment Forces were set up in the region within a
short time. It became possible to create a powerful bastion such as Kant (the
Russian air base in Kyrgyzstan -Interfax-Kazakhstan) within a short period of
time,” the president said.
Commenting on the Rubezh-2004 coalition exercises taking place in Kyrgyzstan,
Akayev emphasized that these manoeuvres were of a large-scale nature. “These
are large-scale exercises, involving aircraft,” he said.
The president said: “The participation of the assault helicopter Black Shark
in them is adding special colour to the manoeuvres.”
He expressed his confidence that “the exercises will be successful since all
problems connected with their preparation have been settled”.
An Interfax-AVN news agency correspondent reports that Akayev met the defence
ministers of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan and the
chief of staff of the Armenian armed forces.
The final phase of the Rubezh-2004 exercises will be held at the Kyrgyz
firing range Edelveys Edelweiss on 6 August.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Construction Industry Update for Armenia
BISNIS
August 5, 2004
BISNIS Trades & Tenders Leads:
Company: Comfort R&V
Product: glue for ceramic tiles, doors and windows, accessories for
swimming pools, swimming pool purification chemicals
Location: Yerevan, Armenia
Lead Link:
**********************************************************************
BISNIS Search for Partner Leads:
Company: Comfort R&V
Project The company owns 17,000 sq.m. of land located
near the capital city of Yerevan where it plans to establish a large
trade center specializing in the wholesale and retail distribution of
building materials.
The total project cost is $4 million.
The company seeks a U.S. partner that would co-invest in the project.
Comfort R&V will finance 50% of the total project cost.
Location: Yerevan, Armenia
Lead Link:
**********************************************************************
NOTE: These opportunities are provided solely as an informational
service and do not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Commerce. Verification of these leads is the responsibility of the
reader.
BISNIS Programs available to you FREE OF CHARGE:
BISNIS ExpoLink Eurasia
BISNIS Trades & Tenders
BISNIS Search for Partners
BISNIS FinanceLink fm
For industry-specific information, please go to Construction Industry page at
********** Provided by: *********************************************
Irin a C. Mitchell, BISNIS Trade Specialist for Construction Industry
U.S. Department of Commerce
Tel: 202/482-3729, Fax: 202/482-2293
e-mail: [email protected]

Armenia’s ethnic minorities facing difficulties in preserving culture
Noyan Tapan news agency
2 Aug 04
YEREVAN
The Armenian government is currently elaborating a number of concepts
to preserve the cultural originality of the country’s ethnic
minorities. However, the chief of the Armenian government’s department
for ethnic minorities and religion, Granush Kharatyan, has said that
it is difficult for the ethnic minorities of Armenia to preserve their
originality simply because there are no areas predominantly populated
by them. In addition, she said, international experience testifies to
the fact that the preservation of ethnic peculiarities is possible
only if the ethnic minorities comprise at least 15-20 per cent of the
country’s population. Meanwhile, all 11 ethnic minorities living in
Armenia comprise only 2.2 per cent of the country’s population.
However, Kharatyan said, Armenia allocates 3m drams (about 5,500
dollars) every year for the publishing needs of the ethnic minorities,
as well as 20m drams about 35,650 dollars for their educational and
cultural needs.
The chairwoman of Armenia’s Jewish community, Rimma Varzhapetyan, told
our Noyan Tapan correspondent that there is a major need for the
aforesaid funds. She spoke highly about the government’s decision to
allocate premises to the House of Culture of the ethnic minorities. An
exhibition hall, a library, a concert hall, a language laboratory and
a gym will operate on these 800 sq.m.
However, she said, “there is a desire to achieve more”. She
particularly said that it is necessary to set up a joint web site and
a joint almanac of Armenia’s ethnic minorities with the help of the
state. She added that the ethnic minorities need a weekly programme on
Armenian Public TV, which is envisaged by the Council of Europe’s
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities which
was also signed by Armenia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri pundits assess Iranian leader’s visit differently
Ekspress, Baku
5 Aug 04
Text of Xazar Altay report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress on 5
August headlined “What does Khatami’s visit promise?”, subheaded
“Politicians think differently”
“One cannot expect any sensational development or turn in
Iranian-Azerbaijani relations in the near future,” ex-presidential
aide and political analyst Vafa Quluzada told Ekspress yesterday 4
August , commenting on Iranian President Mohammad Khatami’s visit to
our country today.
He said that Tehran had always established cooperation with Azerbaijan
on the basis of “mutual principles defined by Tehran” which are
unacceptable to Baku.
“We can never be the country which Iran wishes us to be. Under such
circumstances, Tehran has never accepted us, is not accepting us and
will not do so in the future either,” Quluzada said.
The political analyst, who touched upon the current
Iranian-Azerbaijani ties, said that cooperation in the economic, trade
and transport spheres are good.
“However, the political and military and technical ties have no
prospects. Iran is playing double games with us. We should either
stand this or protect ourselves,” Quluzada said.
He described Khatami’s visit to our country this time as a “tactical
and farsighted move”.
“The Iranian leadership wants to get Azerbaijan’s consent so that
official Baku establishes its relations with the West in line with
Tehran’s interests. In exchange, the mullahs will review their
cooperation with the Armenians,” political analyst Rasim Musabayov
told Ekspress.
He thinks that Khatami agreed to visit Azerbaijan after a long pause
because of “the new realities in the region”.
“Tehran simply wants to restore its presence in the region and counter
the anti-Iranian threats,” he said. Musabayov spoke about “the
existence of multilateral cooperation ties” between Baku and Tehran,
but added that Iran is not capable of compromising on the Caspian
status and cooperation with Armenia. As for the opening of the
Azerbaijani consulate in Tabriz, Musabayov regarded as impossible a
practical solution to the problem in the near future.
AMIP Azarbaycan Milli Istiqlal Party Chairman Etibar Mammadov thinks
that the Iranian president’s visit to our country will play an
important role from the viewpoint of mending bilateral ties. He thinks
that the progress in the resolution of contentious issues between the
two countries will depend on the results of the negotiations. “Iran is
a neighbouring country and it should have normal relations with its
neighbours,” Mammadov said.
Mubariz Qurbanli, an MP from the NAP ruling New Azerbaijan Party ,
described Khatami’s visit as a new stage in bilateral relations. He
added that the documents which are to be signed will strengthen the
political, economic and trade relations with Iran. He expressed the
hope that differences of opinions about some issues will be resolved
as well.
The DPA Democratic Party of Azerbaijan secretary-general, Akif
Sahbazov, said that Azerbaijan and Iran should have normal relations
since they are neighbours.
“I assume that the documents to be signed will have a positive impact
on the development of bilateral ties,” he said.
“President Khatami’s visit to Baku promises no good and this is
because the Iranian leadership is insincere in its relations with the
Republic of Azerbaijan,” according to the statement by the defence
committee of the National Revival Movement of South Azerbaijan NRMSA .
The statement says that the Iranian leadership has been preventing
Azerbaijan from opening its consulate in Tabriz. Turks of South
Azerbaijan northern Iran who are struggling for respect for their
national rights are being arrested, subjected to assimilation and are
not allowed to have schools in their mother tongue.
“This shows that Tehran applies double standards in its relations with
Baku.”
The authors of the statement, who demand an explanation from the
Iranian president over the arrest of the national movement’s activists
and the prominent Azerbaijani figures during their march to Fort Bazz
last month July , also think that Khatami’s intention to visit Azeri
poet Nizami’s grave in Ganca is not desired.
“As his predecessor Rafsanjani, Khatami also wants to gain ground by
saying that he visited ”the grave of the great Persian poet in
Azerbaijan”, the statement by the NRMSA defence committee said.

Armenian war veterans continue sit-in outside government building
Noyan Tapan news agency
5 Aug 04
YEREVAN
A sit-in of 20 azatamartiks freedom fighters – members of nine units
of the Artsakh Armenian name of Nagornyy Karabakh liberation movement,
which started on 3 August at Yerablur monument to martyrs in Yerevan ,
continued outside the Armenian government building at 0900 0400 gmt on
4 August. We should recall that the government is the addressee of
the protesters’ main demand: to allocate funds to provide their
families with flats.
A Noyan Tapan correspondent has learnt from the leader of the Armenian
Aryan Union, Armen Avetisyan, that representatives of the Defence
Ministry visited the protesters on the first day of their action.
Passage omitted: Background details

Armenian fund to restore “historical appearance” of Karabakh town
Noyan Tapan news agency, Yerevan
5 Aug 04
Stepanakert , 4 August: The Shushi Susa fund has started work to
restore the historical appearance of the Armenian town-fortress. A
Noyan Tapan correspondent has learnt from the co-chairman of the fund,
Bakur Karapetyan, that all buildings are being measured. He said that
all 500 historical and cultural monuments are being registered.
According to expert calculations, he added, 100m dollars are necessary
for the restoration of Shushi.
From: Baghdasarian

Azeri, Armenian sociologists conduct joint opinion poll on peace
Ekho, Baku
30 Jul 04
Text of E. Huseynzada report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 30 July
headlined “95 per cent of Azerbaijani and Armenian citizens want
peace” and subheaded “This is the result of joint opinion poll
conducted in two countries”:
The citizens of Azerbaijan and Armenia are ready for inter-ethnic
peace. The results of the opinion poll that was conducted in the two
conflicting countries testify to this. The absolute majority of
respondents on both sides, 95 per cent, said that they were for peace
when answering the questions.
A press conference was held in Tbilisi to announce the results of the
opinion poll that was conducted by the Millennium Association for
Education and Research from Armenia and the Azerbaijani Sociological
Association. It was said at the press conference that the opinion poll
was conducted in the two countries for two months, and 2,400
respondents took part in the survey. In each country, 1,000
respondents from different towns participated. In addition, there were
200 Armenians who reside on the occupied territories in Karabakh and
200 Azeri internally displaced people from Karabakh among the
respondents.
The project was funded by the US-based American University Centre for
Global Peace. University of Texas Department of Sociology Professor
Jeffrey Halley, representative of the university, noted that he was
very surprised by the fact that the both sides of the conflict have so
many things in common. “When asked whether the re-establishment of
relations between the Azeris and the Armenians was desirable, 97 per
cent of Armenian respondents and 93.2 per cent of Azerbaijani
respondents replied in the affirmative,” Halley said. Meanwhile, the
representative of the American university pointed out the fact that 60
per cent of Armenians stipulate the so-called “independence” of
Nagornyy Karabakh as the main condition for “peace”. The release of
the occupied territory was cited as a top condition for 38 per cent of
the respondents from Azerbaijan, and 31.8 per cent deem the return of
the refugees to their land the main condition as published; in actual
report, 31.8 per cent of the respondents from the internally displaced
persons’ group listed the release of the occupied territory as the
condition for re-establishing relations .
According to Sevil Asadova from the Azerbaijani Sociological
Association, the sum of these two indicators (69.8 per cent) means
that the Azeris support the idea of the liberation of the occupied
Azerbaijani territories as published; the 69.8 per cent figure is not
encountered in the survey .
“The survey showed that 23 per cent of the respondents blame the
conflict on a third party, and 28.2 per cent – on the political elite
of Armenia,” Asadova said. President of the Millennium Rubina
Ter-Martirosyan also confirmed that the majority of the respondents
from Armenia blame the conflict on the “internal” forces, and only 14
per cent – on “external” ones. “In Armenia, 70.2 per cent of the
population obtain information about Azerbaijan mainly from TV, which
presents one-sided information. This situation has to be changed.”
figures in the preceding paragraph not present in the survey results
According to her, the idea of the joint study was conceived in 2000,
when she visited Baku and Sevil Asadova visited Yerevan under the
framework of a conference on problems of women. The researchers were
allocated 40,000 US dollars, which was split equally between the two
countries. The organizers intend to translate their reports into
Armenian and Azeri. Similar events will be held in Baku and Yerevan.
The full version of the reports can be read at
http:

ALL YEREVAN STREETS TO HAVE NAMEBOARDS OF NEW PATTERN TILL END OF THIS
YEAR
YEREVAN, August 5 (Noyan Tapan). The names of 160 streets, as well as
gardens, alleys and other units were changed in Yerevan during the
recent 15 years. But there are no boards with names and numbers of
streets not only in the renamed streets, but also in the streets
keeping their old names. It prevents to orient oneself in the city
rightly. Besides, according to Gagik Baghdasarian, Chief of the
Organization and Inspection Department of the Yerevan Mayor’s Office,
the absence of name-boards prevents from the normal work especially
during the elections and census. At the same time, Gagik Baghdasarian
noticed that the new patterns of name-boards, which will be of the
same kind in all the regions, are being elaborated now. He assured
that all Yerevan streets will have the boards of new pattern with
names of streets and numbers of houses till the end of this
year. Though according to the law the name-boards should be in
Armenian, it is possible that they will also include names in English
for tourists’ convenience.

KAREKIN II: “ARMENIAN-IRANIAN COOPERATION SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONS IN THE WHOLE REGION”
YEREVAN, August 5 (Noyan Tapan). According to the Information System
of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, on August 4, Catholicos of All
Armenians Karekin II received newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of Iran to Armenia Ali Reza Haqiqian in his
residence in Etchmiadzin. The Supreme Patriarch expressed hope that
the warm traditions of cooperation with the Embassy of Iran formed
since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Armenia
and Iran will also continue in the future. “We are sure that
Armenian-Iranian cooperation should contribute to the development of
warm relations and effective cooperation not only between the two
peoples, but also in the whole region,” mentioned the Catholicos.
Ambassador Ali Reza Haqiqian in his turn gave assurance that all his
steps will be directed at the strengthening of close and friendly
relations between the two peoples. The Ambassador also mentioned that
being from Isfahan he knows the Armenian religion and the life of the
Armenian people from childhood.

1919 A SUMMER OF INSURGENCY
The Sounds of August
General Corey dared no longer risk the safety of his agents. Plowden had
recently been the victim of Halil Bey’s taunts. Rawlinson had beern recalled
from Erzerum, and Prosser had failed in efforts to arrange a modus vivendi
at Kars. Prosser, in his last reports to division headquarters, described
the Armenians as so distressed that they tried to prevent his departure; it
was only with much difficulty that he obtained transportation on the evening
of August 30. His evaluation of the situation was grim. All available
Armenian troops had been dispatched to Sarikamish and Kaghisman, and many
wounded were being carried back from those fronts. Civilians had been
forbidden to evacuate Kars, but some were fleeing by night. Prosser added: ”
The Armenians are undoubtedly depressed at the withdrawal of the British to
whom in spite of frequent assurances to the contrary they had looked to the
last for assistance on behalf of the Allies. They talk about fighting to the
death, etc., but I think most of the fight in them went out with our
departure.” He ended with the following ominous prediction: “Taken all round
the position of the Armenians in Kars province is not a happy one at the
present moment.. They are surrounded by a hostile population and with the
advent of the Turk, Kars as a portion of Armenia will most likely cease to
exist.”
Colonel Plowden, taking leave of a tearful Armenian premier, departed from
Erevan on August 28 as instructed. His final appraisal reflected the views
of most British officers involved with the Armenians. Describing the tragic
state of affairs, Plowden suggested that part of the trouble was the
dominance of the Dashnaksutiun’s Bureau, which prevailed over the moderates
in government. The Dashnakists had led the bloody struggle for Armenian
freedom and “as soldiers and patriots no praise is too high for them, but as
politicians and administrators, they are grotesque and responsible for the
hopeless condition of Armenian foreign and internal politics today.” The
educated and wealthy bourgeois classes of Baku, Tiflis, Rostov-on-Don, and
other regions of the former Russian Empire were scarcely represented because
of financial disorder, incessant warfare, and political pressure tactics.
The people, weary and hungry, would welcome anybody who could bring peace
and return them to their fields.
A major source of Armenia’s agony, wrote Plowden, was “the hope that some
at least of all the outstanding promises that have been made her by the
Allies, before, and since the war will be fulfilled.” President Wilson’s
“self-determination” had given the Armenians reason to believe that the
Allies, especially the United states, would send aid required to make their
dreams become reality. Plowden felt that the Armenians were so desperate
that they would have to sign a treaty with a nearby power, even if it meant
the loss of their hard-won-independence, or else disappear.
Only Armenia, Plowden continued, had remained loyal to the Allied cause,
suffering terribly, whereas Azerbaijan had embraced the Turks and Georgia
has assumed a pro-German and anti-Allied stance in 1918. These irrefutable
facts made it all the more difficult for the Armenians to comprehend why
they were not accorded equal treatment, since British regiments remained in
Tiflis and Baku even as Erevan was being strangled. It was common knowledge
that the Turks were supplying the insurgents with officers and arms, yet
then British refused to provide the Armenians with rifles and ammunition for
self-defense. And the award of Karabagh to Azerbaijan was the hardest blow
of all; “Karabagh means more to the Armenians than their religion even,
being the cradle of their race, and their traditional last sanctuary when
their country has been invaded. It is Armenian in every particular and the
strongest part of Armenia, both financially, militarily, and socially.”
In contrast with Rawlinson’s denigration of the Armenian army, Colonel
Plowden’s description was glowing: “The morale of the troops is wonderful.
Although practically completely without boots, no suitable clothing, no
ammunition and no bayonets, they have fought against very considerably
superior numbers, better fed, better clothed and with unlimited S.A.A.
[small arms ammunition] against troops trenched behind wall and trenches,
with a bravery equal to the best European troops.” Given ammunition and
equipment, “Armenia could hold off the Turks and Tartars until winter makes
fighting impossible.” The officers, he continued, “have behaved with great
gallantry all through the operations, sacrificing themselves for their men
in a manner up to the best traditions of any army.” Any country willing to
supply Armenia with critically needed armaments, transport facilities, and
medical supplies “would make a friend who in time may be a sufficiently
powerful one.” But time was running short. A Turkish advance would be
accompanied by organized massacres, and even without that disaster thousands
of refugees would die during the coming winter if housing were not found for
them. Plowden concluded that the Armenians should abandon their hopes for a
large state and turn from the Dashnaksutiun to the sound leadership offered
by the cultured elements in Armenian intellectual and commercial centers in
the former Russian Empire. “I consider that as a Nation they are much
maligned. Given a good Government, the country will develop very quickly.
The people are industrious and good farmers and very docile, and the
soldiers are really fine material.”
Protests and Appeals
In seeking to attenuate the disappointment of Armenian officials, Colonel
Plowden had explained that Great Britain, although never an enthusiastic
proponent of self-determination, was the only world power to have the
principle applicable to many regions. Britain alone had sent troops to the
Caucasus, an enormously expensive operation, and had assisted the local
governments: “I compared this with the other Nations who had come into the
war late; had forwarded their theories and ideals, but had taken no steps
whatever to send troops to help the small nations, but had, on the contrary,
demobilized their troops first of all and had declined further
responsibility.” Plowden’s jibe was aimed at the Americans, who deplored the
British retreat yet were unwilling to send their own troops to the Caucasus.
In hundreds of messages, American consular, relief, and intelligence
officials stressed the crisis in Armenia: a Turco-Tartar campaign was
underway to annihilate Armenia and continue wartime massacres; it was
questionable whether Armenian survivors could endure another winter; relief
efforts without adequate military protection were futile; the Armenian army
was denied weapons to defend the Republic while enemy forces were being
armed to the teeth; the indecision of the Allies and the peace conference
had emboldened conspiratorial elements and prevented the industrious
Armenians from concentrating on reconstruction; the abrupt British
withdrawal from Kars and Nakhichevan could not be justified either
politically or militarily; the Armenians had become pawns in the designs of
imperial powers which coveted lands with quickly exploitable economic wealth
and which courted so-called Muslim opinion by showing partiality to
Azerbaijan and declining to enforce the armistice terms in Anatolia and
Transcuacasia.
While the Armenians in Transcaucasia waited in vain for a satisfactory
response from Washington, a loud dissenting voice was heard from
Constantinople. Acting Rear Admiral Mark L. Bristol, senior American
representative in the Ottoman capital, expressed vehement opposition to the
formation of a united Armenian state and to American political involvement
with the Armenians in communications to naval colleagues, government
departments, the American peace delegation, and to businessmen,
philanthropists, missionaries, and politicians of many hues. Bristol,
scornful of all minorities, hoped to reeducate responsible Americans who had
been taken in by the popular portrayal of the “terrible Turk” and the
torments suffered by the Oriental Christians. He protested to the naval
adviser of the American delegation: “There is no doubt in my mind of an
influence continually exerted to involve America with Armenia and divert our
attention from the big question of the whole Near East.” The Armenians had
brought many of their woes upon themselves, and the encouragement of the
British authorities and American missionary-relief interests had emboldened
the unscrupulous Armenian leaders to employ aggressive tactics. The United
States should not let itself be maneuvered into Armenia. “England should be
compelled to remain in the Caucasus. She went to the Caucasus for selfish
reasons and she is leaving now for selfish reasons.” Bristol denied being
pro-Turkish: “I do not believe I am pro-anything except what I believe is
absolutely right and I try to follow that road and not give a damn for
anybody else that don’t agree with me. If I am considered pro-Turk because I
believe there are 20 million of Moslems out there that should be helped to
gain modern civilization as well as 2 millions or so Armenians, I would like
this fact to be known and then I am willing to stand on that basis. The Turk
has been a devilish brute and he has not changed his spots, but you cannot
change his spots by making a martyr of him, whereas, you can do something
for him by giving a proper assistance.”
Excerpted from “The Republic of Armenia”
Volume ll
>From Versailles to London
1919-1920
Richard G. Hovannisian
Copyright 1982