Category: News

Russians to reinforce Kyrgyz military base by end of 2004
Interfax-AVN military news agency web site, Moscow
9 Aug 04
Kant, Kyrgyzstan, 9 August: The Russian Kant Air Force base in
Kyrgyzstan will be reinforced with personnel and materiel before
year-end, a source in the AFB Air Force base staff told
Interfax-Military News Agency Monday 9 August .
“It will become 650 men and 20 aircraft strong,” he said.
According to him, the fleet of aircraft will include Su-27 Flanker
fighters, Su-26 Frogfoot attack aircraft, L-39 planes and Mi-8 Hind
choppers.
The runway is to be increased to allow landing for all types of
aircraft in service with the Russian Air Force. “Moreover, there are
plans to increase the parking area by 70 per cent,” he said.
Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov told reporters on 6 August that
the Kant AFB will be reinforced. “Russian leadership has plans to
further develop the Kant AFB, and President Vladimir Putin has
approved of them,” he said.
Putin and his Kyrgyz counterpart Askar Akayev officially opened the
Kant AFB on 23 October 2003.
The base was formed to support the Collective Rapid Deployment Force
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in Central Asia.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization, formed in May 2002,
includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and
Tajikistan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Trial of Azeri pressure group members postponed
ANS Radio, Baku
9 Aug 04
The trial in the case of the six arrested members of the Karabakh
Liberation Organization KLO was to have begun at Baku’s Nasimi
district court today. However, the trial was postponed, since lawyers
Elton Quliyev and Vidadi Mahmudlu did not appear in court.
The court is presided over by judge Famil Nasibov. At the preliminary
hearing on 27 July, the judge rejected the appeal to release the KLO
members.
KLO Chairman Akif Nagi, his deputy Firudin Mammadov, KLO members Manaf
Karimov, Rovsan Fatiyev, Mursal Hasanov and Ilkin Qurbanov, were
arrested for protesting against the visit of Armenian officers to Baku
to attend NATO exercises on 22 June.

Leader of Karabakh votes in local poll, stresses role of democracy
Artsakh State TV, Stepanakert
8 Aug 04
Presenter Local elections are going on throughout the NKR Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic . President Arkadiy Gukasyan and first lady Inna
Gukasyan have also voted. In a short interview Arkadiy Gukasyan said
the following:
Gukasyan All elections are important, because they are the most
important indicators of democracy. Today we are also electing the
mayor of Stepanakert . This is also important, because Stepanakert is
not only the capital of the NKR, it is a capital of all Armenians.
Presenter NKR Prime Minister Anushavan Daniyelyan and the chairman of
the National Assembly, Oleg Yesayan, have also voted.
Video shows people, officials voting
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Transitions Online, Czech Republic
9 August 2004
Frozen Conflicts: Time to Challenge Russia
by Robert Cottrell
The frozen conflicts in Moldova and the southern Caucasus are becoming
top-level issues – and if the EU and the next U.S. president apply the right
pressure, Russia will change its position.
To call South Ossetia a “rebel region” or a “breakaway province” of Georgia
flatters it with the language of political struggle. Better to think of it
as a Russian-backed smuggling racket with a large piece of land attached.
The sooner the land returns to Georgian control, the better for everyone.
Georgia has an interest in South Ossetia’s peace and prosperity. Russia has
none.
Of the four “frozen conflicts” in the Black Sea region, that of South
Ossetia has the merit of being the most straightforward. The separatist
“government” now in place there has nothing to be said for it at all,
whatever the factors that sent South Ossetia to war with Tbilisi more than a
decade ago. The presence of Russian “peacekeeping” forces, backing up the
South Ossetian authorities, ensures the continuation, not resolution, of
this conflict within Georgia.
The case of Transdniester, in Moldova, is almost as straightforward. There,
too, Russian troops and Russian diplomacy prop up an illegal separatist
regime that divides and cripples the country. They obstruct, rather than
facilitate, a constitutional settlement giving Transdniester extensive
autonomy, to which Moldova would readily subscribe.
A third frozen conflict, over Abkhazia, another rebel province of Georgia,
is comparable to that in Transdniester. Abkhazia’s history also gives it a
more persuasive claim to some form of special political status. Georgia is
ready to talk. But, again, by sponsoring and protecting an Abkhaz government
that appears to live mainly off smuggling, Russia obstructs a better
solution.
The fourth frozen conflict, over Nagorno-Karabakh, is different again.
Russia has an influence here, but so far a more constructive one, as
Armenia’s main political ally. Karabakh, an Armenian-populated part of
Azerbaijan, has formed a de facto union with Armenia since winning a war
of secession from Azerbaijan in 1994. The absence of a permanent
settlement stunts the economic and political development of Armenia and
Azerbaijan, and leaves both vulnerable to fresh waves of nationalism and
militarism.
TOP-LEVEL PROBLEMS…
At long last, these four frozen conflicts look set to attract the attention
they deserve–which is a step toward solving them. There are several reasons
for making this guardedly optimistic claim.
One is the election of President Mikheil Saakashvili in Georgia, following
last November’s “rose revolution” when crowds fed up with corruption and
vote-rigging drove out Eduard Shevardnadze.
Previously, the Caucasus had had no leader capable of capturing America’s
attention, still less its enthusiasm. (Shevardnadze had, at most, the
sympathies of some Washington veterans, not for his record in Georgia but
for his earlier role as Gorbachev’s foreign minister.)
Saakashvili has the charm and energy of youth, the advantage of good
English, and a clear commitment to liberal democracy, which he proposes to
apply to the whole of his country. His arrival on the scene, his popularity,
and his policies offer living proof that things can go right in the southern
Caucasus. That matters a lot to foreign policymakers, who need to believe
that success is at least possible before they get involved in any problem.
A second factor that may help thaw the frozen conflicts is the decline of
Western confidence in Russia. Until now the West has allowed Russia the lead
role in managing (or, rather, mismanaging) the problems of Moldova and the
Caucasus. But the Yukos case, together with the continuing Chechen War and
President Vladimir Putin’s suppression of free broadcast media, have
persuaded Western governments that Russia is moving away from them in its
political values and toward more authoritarian ones. They cannot trust its
intentions, as they tried to do when Putin came to power.
President George Bush’s freedom to review his Russian policy has been
hampered by his absurd declaration three years ago that he saw into Vladimir
Putin’s soul and knew he could trust the man. But, embarrassing as it may be
for Bush personally, the U.S.-Russia relationship has been getting so much
less trusting over the past year or two that a new and tougher U.S. policy
can only be a matter of time. The United States will certainly move in that
direction if John Kerry wins this year’s presidential election and if his
administration begins, as new administrations usually do, with a skeptical
review of the policies of its predecessor; and it will probably do so if
Bush wins and appoints a new secretary of state.
A third factor pushing frozen conflicts up the transatlantic policy agenda
is the eastward enlargement of NATO and the European Union, coupled with the
heightened U.S. interest–after 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq–in what it calls the Greater Middle East, with Turkey at its
northwestern corner.
Moldova and the countries of the southern Caucasus suddenly find themselves
a center of strategic interest. They are neighbors of NATO and future
neighbors of the EU. As such, their stability must be watched and nourished.
They are a platform for displaying and projecting Western values to the
south and east.
The fact that Europe and America now have a clear reason to want these
countries as reliable allies gives an equally compelling reason to want an
end to the frozen conflicts, which destabilize these countries from within
while also posing wider threats. A recent study from the U.S.-based German
Marshall Fund describes the conflict zones as “unresolved fragments of
Soviet Empire [which] now serve as shipping points for weapons, narcotics,
and victims of human trafficking, as breeding grounds for transnational
organized crime, and last but not least, for terrorism.”*
… DESERVE TOP-LEVEL DIPLOMACY
Of all the frozen conflicts, it is Karabakh that has so far come closest to
a solution, in 2001. The Azeri president of the day, Heidar Aliev, died
before he had quite overcome his hesitations, but the broad outlines of a
deal remain clear to both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Broadly speaking, Azerbaijan would cede Karabakh to Armenia. In exchange,
Azerbaijan would get back other territories that Armenia has occupied since
the civil war, plus a narrow corridor of land across Armenia, giving
Azerbaijan access to its exclave of Nakhichevan, which is wedged between
Armenia and Iran.
The deal will be done when Ilham Aliev, the new president of Azerbaijan, has
the self-confidence to do it–unless Russia interferes, worrying that peace
and stability would draw Armenia, its main ally in the southern Caucasus,
too close to the West. Russia could use its considerable military and
economic leverage within Armenia to that end; or it might hint at tilting
its foreign relations in favor of Azerbaijan, reawakening Armenia’s fears.
Karabakh is a special case. Russia’s role there is important, but secondary.
For the other three frozen conflicts, persuading Russia to cooperate will be
three-quarters of the work needed to find a solution: the regimes in
Transdniester, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia survive thanks only to Russian
military and diplomatic support.
Russia is not making it easy. As it retreats from democracy, so its
political workings become more opaque, and its true intentions even harder
to discern. But whatever the mix of signals Russia sends out, they have one
fairly constant theme. It is the desire for respect and authority in the
world. So this is the front on which the West should challenge Russia.
The West should tell Putin, directly and preferably publicly, that Russia’s
proclamations against crime and terrorism and secessionism elsewhere in the
world cannot be taken seriously as long as Russia goes on sponsoring
criminal regimes that undermine regional security and cripple legitimate
governments in its own back yard. It should say that the miserable bit of
local leverage that Russia gets from manipulating the frozen conflicts in
Georgia and Moldova is far less than the wider respect and authority that it
forfeits by doing so.
The West needs to put the case in exactly those blunt terms if it wants to
make Russia shift its position. Untruth and evasion are an integral part of
Russian foreign policy. Challenging those untruths and evasions is the
necessary first step toward changing the realities they obscure.
Russia will shift its position, if pressed in the right way, because
Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transdniester don’t really matter very much to
it in the end. A few crooks in Russia profit from their rebellion
commercially, and a few nationalists in the Russian Duma politically. But
they are not worth much of Putin’s political capital. If these problems can
be taken to the top, they will be settled more easily than by argument at
lower levels, where narrow lobbies fight their corners.
This top-level diplomacy will be a job mainly for the United States, whose
president can command Putin’s attention in a way no European leader can. But
the European Union has much complementary work to do.
First, the EU must echo America’s political message. Second, it must follow
through on the idea of its “New Neighborhood” policy, offering the Black Sea
countries more access to EU markets and more EU aid, in exchange for
good-government reforms. Third, it must use its leverage with Turkey, a
candidate for EU membership, to persuade Turkey to normalize relations with
Armenia. If Turkey were to reopen its borders to Armenia, which it closed as
a gesture of support for Azerbaijan, it would reduce Armenia’s siege-induced
dependence on Russia, give Armenia’s economy a boost, and so encourage
conditions for a Karabakh peace deal.
An argument with Russia over the frozen conflict zones will be doubly worth
having, because by winning it, and by helping Georgia and Moldova emerge as
normal countries, the West will help Russia, too. It can only improve
Russia’s security and prosperity to have strong and settled states on its
borders. Russia half-knows that, too, but needs to be prodded into acting on
it. The year or two of hard haggling needed for the West to change Russia’s
behavior would be time well-spent.
* see: “A New Euro-Atlantic Strategy for the Black Sea Region,” ed. R Asmus,
K Dimitrov, J Forbrig; GMF, 2004; Page 21. The book is also available in
PDF.
—
Robert Cottrell is The Economist’s correspondent for Central and Eastern
Europe, and a member of TOL’s advisory board. A former Moscow correspondent
for The Economist and for the Financial Times, he visited Georgia and
Armenia in July.

HAMLET GASPARIAN: “MILITANT APPEALS OF AZERBAIJAN ONLY DEEPEN
ATMOSPHERE OF MISTRUST AND CYNICISM”
YEREVAN, August 9 (Noyan Tapan). RA Foreign Ministry considers
inadmissible Azerbaijan’s last attempt to disguise its
non-constructive position in achievement of a long peace. Hamlet
Gasparian, the Spokesman of RA Foreign Ministry, emphasized this in
the August 6 press release while commenting upon the statement spread
on August 4 by the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan in connection with
the military exercises held in Nagorno Karabakh. “Azerbaijan’s
militant statements, doscontent with peace, legal, democratic
elections of the Nagorno Karabakh people or disdainful statements
regarding fulfilment of the right of self-determination by it only
deepen the atmosphere of mistrust and cynicism,” the press release
said. The Spokesman of RA Foreign Ministry mentioned that despite of
unsuccessful comment of the Azeri side, Armenia is always ready to
participate in the efforts of the international organizations is the
region, in particular, in the forthcoming exercises within the
framework of the “Best Joint Effort – 2004” program of NATO, as well
as to continue being involved into the negotiation process on peace
settlement of the conflict.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THERE IS LACK OF BUILDERS IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, August 9 (Noyan Tapan). It’s the second year when the
Builder’s Day is marked in the newly-independent Armenia. At the
reception organized on August 7 Aram Haroutiunian, RA Minister of
Urban Construction, congratulated the builders on occasion of their
professional holiday. The congratulatorly addresses of RA President,
RA NA Chairman and Prime Minister were read.
A.Haroutiunian said that with the state resources amounting to 12b
drams allocated this year work in the sphere of construction of
schools, residential houses and other spheres will be done. It was
also mentioned that construction is carried out in the republic at the
expense of private investments: investments amounting to about $100m
have already been made. Lack of builders is felt in the republic in
the recent years in consequence of the growth of the volumes of
construction and old age of the builders’ staff. It’s planned to work
out a program of training of young builders for the purpose of
overcoming this problem. According to the Minister, during his recent
working visit to Moscow the problems of the sphere of construction
were discussed, a memorandum on cooperation was signed with Viktor
Khristenko, RF Minister of Power-Engineering and Industry. The sides
also achieved preliminary agreement about holding of a meeting of the
heads of construction sphere of CIS in Yerevan, during which issues of
cooperation and investments will be discussed.

CENTER OF CULTURE SUPPORT AND STRATEGY AGAINST ESTABLISHMENT OF
COUNCIL ON CULTURAL ISSUES AT RA PRESIDENT
YEREVAN, August 9 (Noyan Tapan). “The Council on Cultural Issues
established by the July 16 decree of RA President Robert Kocharian
will deepen the crisis of the Armenian cultural life still more,
distorting and destroying national cultural values, mental faculties.”
Such a statement was made by Armen Hovhannisian, Armen Atanian and
Simon Kamsarakian, Co-Chairmen of the Armenian Center of Culture
Support and Strategy (ACCSS), during the August 6 press conference.
According to A. Atanian, on November 22 of last year the Armenian
Center of Culture Support and Strategy applied to the RA President
with a suggestion on the establishment of the Commission on Issues of
Security and Development of Culture of Armenia. The Co-Chairmen of the
Center met with the RA President in April. The President promised to
answer whether the center will be established or not within three
weeks after the detailed acquaintance with the suggestion.
“18 weeks passed, but we haven’t received an answer yet, of course, if
we don’t consider the July 16 decree as a reply,” A. Atanian
mentioned. According to the organizers of the press conference, “if
the executors and legislators have caused damage to the sphere of
culture, science and education to great extent up to now, now the same
will be made by the RA presidential machinery.”
Nevertheless, the Co-Chairmen of the Center are going to turn to the
RA President with a request to meet in September with the purpose of
the discussion of the problems raised by them.

CONGRESSMAN HUNTER PLEDGES MEMBERSHIP TO ARMENIAN CAUCUS
WASHINGTON, August 9, (Noyan Tapan). During the meeting with the
Armenian Assembly of America on August 6, Congressman Duncan Hunter
pledged to join the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, reported
the Armenian Assembly of America. “We’re pleased that Congressman
Hunter has pledged to join the Armenian Caucus,” said Assembly Western
Office Director Lena Kaimian. “Congressman Hunter is keenly aware of
the issues facing the Armenian-American community, having championed
legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide and calling on Turkey to
acknowledge the atrocities of 1915,” she emphasized. According to
Kaimian, such important issues as the need for Congress to maintain
military aid parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Fiscal Year
2005 Foreign Operations bill were raised by the Assembly delegation.
The group said that attempts to provide Azerbaijan $6 million more
than Armenia in military financing would disrupt the careful balance
between the neighboring countries. Congressman Hunter, who is Chairman
of the influential House Armed Services Committee and a member of the
Select Committee on Homeland Security, commended Armenia’s efforts on
the war on terror and its participation in Iraq. Rev. Father Datev
Tatoulian of St. John’s Armenian Church, Assembly Fellow Trustees
Rouben Avsharian and Gary Takessian and Affiliate Members Serop
Karoglanian and Joanie Schwarz were also present at the meeting. The
Armenian Caucus has focused on strengthening the U.S.-Armenia and
U.S.-Karabakh relationships, searching for a peaceful solution to the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict, ending the Turkish and Azerbaijani
blockades of Armenia and Karabakh, as well as reaffirming the
U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide.

OVER HALF OF CREDITS GIVEN BY PROGRAM OF GERMAN-ARMENIAN FUND DIRECTED
AT SPHERE OF TRADE
YEREVAN, August 9 (Noyan Tapan). The crediting portfolio of the
crediting program of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) of the
German-Armenian Fund (GAF) increased twice as much in comparison with
the index of late July of last year and made 24.1 mln euros as of late
July of this year. 52.4% of credit funds is invested in trade, 26.2% –
in production, 12.2% – in service, 9% -in agriculture and 0.2% – in
construction. Garik Khachatrian, consultant on credits of the
German-Armenian Fund, told NT’s correspondent that since the beginning
of the program, i.e. since 1999, banks-participants (today
“Armeconombank”, “Converse” Bank, “Anelik” bank and “Inecobank”) have
given 13,000 credits of a total of 80.8 mln euros. Credits of a total
of 20.4 mln euros were given only this year. Credits are given with
the term till 3 years (19-24%). Annual interest rates of
“express-credits” of till 1 mln, 200 thousand drams (about 2.3
thousand dollars) make 25-27% with the maturity date till a year.

FIRST CONVENTION OF EUROPEAN ARMENIANS TO TAKE PLACE AT THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT
BRUSSELS, August 9,(Noyan Tapan). The first Convention of European
Armenians will take place at the European Parliament, Brussels, on
October 18-19. According to the European Armenian Federation, this
pan-European meeting will be a forum for sharing ideas and concerns on
topics of importance to the Armenian communities across Europe.
European citizens of Armenian descent now number more than two
million, stemming from three large waves of immigration that resulted
from the Genocide perpetrated by Ottoman Turkey (1915), war in the
middle-east (1975) and the fall of the USSR (1991). Though well
integrated in the economic, social and cultural life of their new
countries, they have kept their identity and their interest in
Armenian issues. The topics to be discussed at the convention are as
follows: Armenian culture and identity in Europe – Relations between
the European Union and Armenia – The Stakes involved in European Union
Enlargement. “With this first European Convention, we are not aiming
to establish any superstructure that would replace the various
organisations dealing with Armenian issues in Europe. Rather, we aim
to create a framework for free expression that will enable the shared
positions and opinions of the European communities to emerge,” Hilda
Tchoboian, Chairwoman of the European Armenian Federation, stated.