Category: News

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
March 25 2004

Safarov case continues

The investigation into the criminal case of Senior Lieutenant Ramil
Safarov, an officer of the Azerbaijani Army, who is accused of
murdering his Armenian counterpart during NATO training courses in
Budapest, Hungary, is nearing completion.

Safarov killed the Armenian officer on February 19, 2004 after being
insulted by him. At a meeting with Zahid Oruj, a member of the
Coordination Council of the Committee for Protection of Ramil
Safarov’s Rights, Peter Zalay, Safarov’s advocate, said that the
results of the initial investigation would be known after March 21.

Zahid Oruj presented the advocate with all the necessary
documentation, a book outlining the Garabagh developments published
in English and newspaper cuttings featuring public opinion towards
the Azerbaijani officer. The Coordination Council’s working group
told AssA-Irada that Safarov’s health and psychological condition
were good and that no undue pressure had been exerted on him.

AzerNe4ws, Azerbaijan
March 25 2004

EU sets S Caucasus in its sights

The European Union (EU) plans to extend its borders as far as the
South Caucasus, Heike Talvitie, the EU special envoy on South
Caucasus, told a Friday meeting held at the permanent parliamentary
commission on human rights.

Talvitie said that the EU was interested not only in the settlement
of the conflicts in the South Caucasus, but also in establishing an
alliance with regional countries. He noted that a special project was
being developed to admit Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia to the EU.
The dates and conditions for admission of the three countries will be
made after the project is developed.

Underlining that he is leaving Baku for Yerevan, the EU special envoy
stressed that he would do his utmost to settle the Upper Garabagh
conflict and take advantage of all the opportunities to bring peace
between the conflicting sides.

Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
March 25 2004

Representation in federal institutions – The Legislature
By Yiouli Taki

CONSTITUENT state representatives in federal institutions should have
the internal citizenship of the respective constituent state. This is
in line with the provision that political rights in federal elections
will be exercised on the basis of internal citizenship: the people
who will elect the representatives of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot
states in federal institutions will have the internal citizenship of
the relevant constituent state.

Internal citizenship is defined on the basis of residence on the date
the Foundation Agreement comes into effect. Neither of the
constituent states will be obliged to grant internal citizenship to
those who will choose to live in their territory but have the
internal citizenship of the other constituent state.

Thus it is expected that the Turkish Cypriot constituent state will
not grant internal citizenship to Greek Cypriots who choose to reside
permanently on its territory, so as to ensure that only Turkish
Cypriots will vote for or be voted as representatives of the Turkish
Cypriot state. In this way, the equal status of the two constituent
states, as specified through their representation on a federal level,
will be translated as political equality between the two communities.

The Legislature: The House of Representatives and the Senate
The two constituent states will be represented in the House in
proportion to their population, though no state will hold less than
25 per cent of the seats. Of the 48 seats, 36 will go to the Greek
Cypriot state and the rest to the Turkish Cypriots. Decisions will be
taken by simple majority.

Representation in the Senate will be based on the political equality
of the two sides; each constituent state will have 24 seats. There
will be two decision-making procedures according to the matter on the
agenda.

Simple Majority: Standard decisions will be taken by simple majority
of the Senators present and voting, including a quarter of the
senators from each constituent state who are present and voting.

Special Majority: Certain issues will need a special majority of at
least two-fifths (10) of the Senators from each constituent state.
Such issues will include the approval of the federal budget and the
election of the Presidential Council, as well as a series of issues
concerning the vital interests of the two constituent states.

House decisions will need the approval of the two bodies. A special
law will provide for a compromise mechanism between the two bodies.

How are the religious minorities going to be represented on the
Legislature?

The Maronite, Latin and Armenian minorities will be represented by at
least one deputy each. The deputies will be counted amongst the
representatives of the constituent state where the majority of the
members of the respective minority reside.

How are the minority representatives going to be elected?
Members of the relevant minority would have the right to vote for
their deputies irrespective of their internal citizenship.

What is the authority of the Legislature?
The Constitution of the United Republic of Cyprus provides the
following powers for the legislature: 1. It will legislate and make
decisions on issues within its competence 2. It will approve
international agreements that need ratification 3. It will elect and
oversee the Presidential Council 4. It will refer to the Supreme
Court – by special majority – allegations of impeachment regarding
members of the Presidential Council and independent officials for
serious violation of their duties or serious crime. 5. It will adopt
the federal budget.

When will a special majority be needed in decision-making in the
senate?

A special majority will be necessary for: 1. Ratification of
international agreements on issues under the legislative authority of
the constituent states. 2. Ratification of conventions and adoption
of laws and regulations concerning airspace, the continental shelf
and territorial waters of the United Republic of Cyprus, including
the economic and border zone. 4. Adoption of laws and regulations
regarding citizenship, immigration, water resources and taxation. 5.
Approval of the federal budget. 6. Election of the Presidential
Council

You have stressed that political equality between the two communities
is protected through a provision in the UN plan that does not oblige
constituent states to provide internal citizenship to citizens from
the other state. Can you explain?

Political rights during federal elections will be exercised on the
basis of the internal constituent state citizenship status. The only
way for the Turkish Cypriot state to secure that its federal
representatives will be Turkish Cypriots is through the provision
stipulating that a constituent state is not obliged to grant Turkish
Cypriot citizenship to Cypriot citizens holding the internal
citizenship status of the Greek Cypriot state who choose to reside
there permanently, after the Foundation Agreement comes into effect.
Consequently, Greek Cypriots who are granted permanent residency in
the Turkish Cypriot state, will continue to have the internal
citizenship of the Greek Cypriot state.

Thus exercising their voting rights at the federal level in the Greek
Cypriot state: they will be able to elect candidates of the Greek
Cypriot state or run for office themselves. This secures Turkish
Cypriot demands since a primary concern of the Turkish Cypriot
community is that of a situation where Greek Cypriots would be
elected as representatives of the Turkish Cypriot state. The equality
of the two constituent states is thus translated into political
equality between the two communities; this would not have been
possible if Greek and Turkish Cypriots could represent the Turkish
Cypriot state at a federal level.

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
March 25 2004

Agreement is not a case , said Aliyev

Azerbaijan and Armenia have not agreed on anything said, Azeri
President Ilham Aliyev yesterday evening at Bina airport, shortly
after he arrived in Baku from Uzbekistan.
Aliyev’s statement came as response to Armenian statements that said,
Azeri and Armenian sides have reached certain agreement over Karabakh
conflict during Key West talks in the Unites States in 2001.
Let Armenian side to promulgate the agreement if there is one said
Aliyev, adding, Azerbaijan and Armenian sides had discussed in Key
West various proposals both of the Minsk group and of the sides to
Karabakh conflict for the solution of the conflict, although they did
not reach a concrete agreement for that.

The Armenian statements are for domestic politics, Aliyev said.

Aliyev said, he has told the Minsk group to extend to the Armenian
side that Armenia should step back from `lying’ position, as such
behavior is incompatible with negotiation ethics.

UEFA.com
March 25 2004

England start steadily

Hosts England made a solid start to the Group 2 mini-tournament as
they began their quest to qualify for the UEFA European Under-17
Championship finals for a third successive time.

Enthusiastic crowd
John Peacock’s side got the better of a spirted Armenia at
Hillsborough, Sheffield in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 7,000.
England began the stronger, with Shane Paul hitting the bar early on
after excellent play from Gary Roberts. However Armenia, particularly
through the ever dangerous Edgar Manucharyan, also threatened
sporadically.

Spot-kick opener
England took the lead in the 18th minute when Mark Noble was fouled
in the penalty area and duly beat Armenia goalkeeper Shahen Manvelyan
with the spot-kick. A second goal arrived in the 69th minute when
Paul combined with substitute Fraizer Campbell and blasted the ball
into the net.

Next games
In their next game, England will face fellow day-one winners Iceland
in Doncaster while the Armenians will take on the Norwegians in
Mansfield. Only the top side in the group will reach the eight-team
final tournament in France this May.

Interfax
March 25 2004

Armenia to receive World Bank loan for education reform

Yerevan. (Interfax) – The World Bank is to allocate a $52 million
ten-year loan to Armenia for education reform, Roger Robinson, the
head of the Bank’s Yerevan office, told the press on Wednesday.

The money will be disbursed in three installments, with $19 million
allocated in the first four years for high school education reforms.
The $19 million loan, which will be given for 40 years with a 10-year
grace period, was approved on January 22.

If the first stage of reforms is successful, the World Bank will
continue to finance the education system reforms, Robinson said.

The terms and components of the second and third stages will be
determined later, he said.

Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
March 26 2004

Composers! A call to arms

Current events in Australia are crying out to be expressed in music,
Tony Stephens learns.

John Haddock believes that modern composers in the classical
tradition should turn their attention more to current affairs.
“Classical musicians should take their eyes off Beethoven for a
while,” he says.

“The pop music world used to comment on things that concerned them
about the modern world but that doesn’t happen much now. There are
opportunities for classical composers.”

Haddock saw an opportunity with the sinking of the SIEV X in the
Indian Ocean and the rescue of asylum seekers from fishing boats in
Australian waters, including the “children overboard” incident before
the last federal election.

Angered by the whole unhappy episode in Australian history, the
composer wrote the libretto and music for an aria, See My Children
Fly, which he says could come from a modern opera.

He wrote it with a particular singer in mind, the Armenian-born
soprano Arax Mansourian, who feels as passionately about the issue of
asylum seekers as Haddock does.

And tomorrow the Sydney Youth Orchestra joins the musical stand on
the refugee matter when See My Children Fly has its premiere in a SYO
concert at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith.

Mansourian sings the role of an Afghan woman fleeing with her
children from war-torn Afghanistan. She sings of her journey and the
death of her children, using the metaphor of flight drawn from the
age-old Afghan passion for kite flying.

Do not hold my hand.
Do not touch me tenderly,
Or look upon me
With the sad eyes of a stranger.
Do not welcome me.
Do not invite me in.
Do not lock me up
with the detention of your charity.
I am lost.
I am illegal.
I have nothing,
not one thing.
No visa,
no life,
no family.
Here behind the wire
and the dirt
and the mandatory detention.

“The female concerned, her life and the death of her children is my
own creation,” Haddock says. “But the sinking of the SIEV X, in
October 2001 in the Indian Ocean, and the rescue of asylum seekers
from the fishing vessel Olong by the frigate HMAS Adelaide in the
same month is very real.”

The SYO artistic director, Thomas Woods, says the new piece is one of
the most important works to have its premiere in Australia in many
years. “John’s superbly crafted music conveys an emotional, artistic
response to what has come to be described as the refugee crisis. The
artistic angle provides the human element – and allows us to identify
with refugees as people.

“Arax Mansourian is a world-class soprano with a mature,
sophisticated voice, and John has written a work that demonstrates
her abilities to the fullest.”

Haddock put the aria idea to the soprano while working with
Mansourian when she sang the lead role in Tosca last year.

“He gave me the libretto and I thought it beautiful and emotional,”
she says. “And he gave me the music. I liked it.

“John is an emotional person and I’m emotional. A critic praised my
singing in Verdi’s Requiem but said it was unfortunate I was
emotional. How could you not be emotional in Verdi’s Requiem?Anyhow,
I’m proud to be singing John’s aria.”

Haddock joined the Australian Opera in 1989 and has worked with most
leading opera conductors over a wide repertoire. His opera Madeline
Lee won an Australia Council development grant in 1999 and will be
performed for the first time at the Sydney Opera House in October.

Madeline Lee is about a World War II bomber abandoned in the Libyan
desert and the men who set out to recover it. Haddock wrote it with
Michael Campbell, and Michael Lewis and Christopher Lincoln will sing
the leading roles. “It’s about men isolated and facing up to their
past,” Haddock says.

Mansourian, formerly a leading soprano with the Yerevan State Opera
in Armenia, has performed the title role in Aida, Leonora in Il
Trovatore, Mimi in La Boheme, Nedda in Pagliacci, Liu in Turandot,
Desdemona in Otello, Leonora in La Forza del Destino, Elizabeth in
Tannhauser, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana and the title role in
Katya Kabanova. Her daughter, Shoushan Petrosian, is a pop singer in
Armenia and her brother, Tigran Mansourian, a composer. Another
brother, Mher, is an artist in France.

Tomorrow’s concert will also feature Bernstein’s Overture to Candide
and Rossini’s La Boutique Fantasque, both of which are part of the
SYO’s repertoire for their tour to Italy in July.

Armenian education set to benefit from World Bank loan

Mediamax news agency
24 Mar 04

YEREVAN

The World Bank (WB) will allocate a credit to the amount of 19m
dollars to Armenia under the education level program.

An appropriate agreement was signed by Armenian Minister of Finance
and Economy Vardan Khachatryan and the director of the WB office in
Yerevan, Roger J Robinson, in Yerevan today, Mediamax reported.

Roger Robinson noted that this is the WB’s second educational program
in Armenia. He pointed out that the WB special commission highly
assessed the first educational project realized in Armenia. According
to Robinson, the WB will allocate about 52m dollars for the
development of education in Armenia in the coming 10 years.

Armenian Minister of Finance and Economy Vardan Khachatryan said that
information training centres will be set up in 600 schools within the
framework of the agreement signed today. Besides, it is expected to
unite 150 schools in a single computer network.

The financing of the program from the Armenian side will make 1.2m
dollars.

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

MARCH 19-25, 2004

HIGHLIGHTS:

ROUND TABLE PARTICIPANTS URGE THE AUTHORITIES TO SOLVE MEDIA LEGISLATION
PROBLEMS

COMMUNIQUE ON THE LAW “ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION”

COMPROMISE REACHED, WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?

STATE OFFICIAL LOSES TO “DELOVOY EXPRESS”

“A1+” SUIT VERSUS NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TELEVISION AND RADIO REJECTED

CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF “A1+”

JUBILEE ISSUE OF YSU NEWSPAPER

ROUND TABLE PARTICIPANTS URGE THE AUTHORITIES TO SOLVE MEDIA LEGISLATION
PROBLEMS

On March 20-21 in Yerevan a round table meeting “Reforms of Armenian Media
Legislation and Their Compliance With European Standards” was held. It was
organized by Yerevan Press Club and “Article 19” Global Campaign for Freedom
of Expression. Representatives of executive, legislative, judicial power,
NGOs and media of Armenia, international organizations, foreign experts
participated in the meeting. RA Minister of Justice David Harutyunyan and
Head of OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin opened the
round table.

The meeting participants discussed the whole spectrum of legislative
initiatives regulating media sphere and adopted by the Parliament in the
recent year: RA Law “On Mass Communication” (Deputy Minister of Justice
Ashot Abovian made a presentation on this issue), amendments to RA Law “On
Television and Radio” (presentation by RA National Assembly deputy Vazgen
Khachikian). Particular attention was paid to the amendments to RA Law “On
Freedom of Information” recently adopted by the Government (presentation by
“Article 19” Legal Officer Peter Noorlander). Other no less urgent topics
were devoted to Armenia’s honoring of the commitments to the Council of
Europe in freedom of expression (presentation by YPC Expert Mesrop
Harutyunyan), necessity for decriminalization of libel and insult
(presentation by International Expert Ireneusz Cezary Kaminski), Polish
experience in public broadcasting (presentation by Member of Polish
Journalists’ Association Board of Directors Agnieszka Romaszewska).

At the round table, Article 19 publicized its statement on the situation
with media legislation in Armenia. Emphasizing a certain progress in
developing legal guarantees for freedom of expression and media diversity
achieved by Armenia in the past four years – since its accession to CE, the
organization expressed its concern over a number of problems demanding
urgent solution. In particular, “Article 19” statement notes that regular
refusal of the National Commission on Television and Radio of broadcast
license to “A1+” TV Company testifies to “lack of political independence” of
this body regulating private broadcasters’ activity.

On March 21, the last working day of the round table, one more statement was
adopted – this time by its participants. The statement runs,

“We, the participants in the “Round Table on Reforms of Armenian Media
Legislation and their Compliance with European Standards”, organized by
Yerevan Press Club and “Article 19″ Global Campaign for Freedom of
Expression, meeting on 20-21 March 2004,

Emphasizing the crucial importance of freedom of expression and information
as an individual human right, as a cornerstone of democracy and as a means
of ensuring respect for all human rights and freedoms;

Concerned that while some important steps have been taken to bring Armenia’s
media laws into line with European standards on the right to freedom of
expression, much remains to be done;

Call on the Government of the Republic of Armenia to take urgent action to
address the following concerns:

Criminal Defamation

The current harsh criminal provisions on defamation and insult should be
abolished and replaced with appropriate civil defamation laws, incorporating
the following standards:

– Actual damages awarded for defamation must be proportionate to the harm
caused and take into account whether or not alternative remedies, such as
the right to reply, have been accessed. Moral damages or any other punitive
awards should be limited and take into account their likely impact on the
wider exercise of the right to freedom of expression;

– Public officials, because of their status as servants of the people,
should enjoy less protection than ordinary citizens;

– No one should be held liable for the expression of an honestly held
opinion; and

– The burden of proof of the falsity of an allegation in a matter of public
of concern should be on the plaintiff.

Broadcasting Legislation

The independence of the National Commission of Television and Radio must be
strengthened. The entire process for appointing members should be open and
democratic, include full public participation and consultation and should
not be dominated by any particular political or commercial interest.
Membership overall should be required to be reasonably representative of
society as a whole. The independence of the Council of the Public Television
and Radio Company must be strengthened likewise.

The licensing procedures included in the Broadcasting Law of 2000 must also
be made more transparent. In particular, the Commission should provide full
and complete written reasons for the grant or refusal of any broadcasting
license application.

Freedom of Information

The proposed amendments to the Law on Freedom of Information threaten
seriously to undermine the right of access to information. These amendments
should be abandoned and the current law must be implemented with immediate
effect. In particular, the implementing rules and regulations necessary to
make the Law operational must be prepared immediately, in an open and
consultative process.

Any future amendments to the Law must promote rather than restrict the right
to access to information, for example by limiting fees and reducing
restrictions, and be adopted in a consultative process fully involving civil
society, as supported by the OSCE Office in Yerevan. We welcome the
statement of intent made by the Minister of Justice in this regard and we
ask that before any further discussions take place, a report is published in
which the concerns of the Ministry of Justice with regard to the September
2003 Law are clearly set out.

Mass Media Legislation

We welcome steps taken in the Law on Mass Communication to protect
journalists’ sources, and we also welcome the statement made by the Deputy
Minister of Justice regarding further work to bring criminal procedure laws
in line with this. At the same time, we are highly concerned at the
restriction the law places on the dissemination by journalists of classified
information. This restriction violates international standards and must be
removed.

We are also concerned that the accreditation procedures currently being
prepared should promote, not restrict, the right of journalists to report on
the activities of state bodies. They should be fair, transparent and
independently administered, and not create yet another bureaucratic hurdle
for journalists to overcome.

Consultation

We request that a permanent group be set up with the Ministry of Justice to
involve fully civil society representatives in any discussion of present or
future laws and regulations that affect the exercise of the right to freedom
of expression, including the implementation of these laws. This group should
collaborate and consult with the Working Group under the parliamentary
Commission on Science, Education, Culture and Youth Issues.”

COMMUNIQUE ON THE LAW “ON FREEDOM OF INFORMATION”

On March 23, RA Ministry of Justice, Internews Armenia and “Article 19”
Global Campaign for Freedom of Expression adopted a joint communique as a
result of two days’ discussions (March 22-23) on amendments to RA Law “On
Freedom of Information”, approved by Armenian Government on February 12,
2004.

The sides agreed that the discussion on introducing amendments to Law “On
Freedom of Information”, adopted in September 2003, should not impede
implementation of the existing Law. “The Ministry of Justice welcomes any
proposals that would facilitate the implementation of the existing Freedom
of Information Law and will consider them seriously”, the communique notes.
Any amendments to the Law will aim to strengthen and clarify protection of
the right to freedom of information as recognized in this Law, the RA
Constitution and international agreements, as further mentioned.

Besides, the communique emphasizes that “in the process of drafting and
adopting amendments to the Freedom of Information Law there will be full
consultation with civil society, including the Freedom of Information Civic
Initiative, Internews Armenia, the Yerevan Press Club and others, and
international organizations”.

The communique also contains accorded commentary on several articles of the
Law “On Freedom of Information”.

COMPROMISE REACHED, WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?

On March 4 RA Government approved the Model Procedure for Accrediting
Journalists in the State Administration (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, March
5-11, 2004). After our repeated addresses to the author of the Model
Procedure, RA Ministry of Justice, the text of the ratified document was
finally provided. The draft of this sublegislative act was subject of
detailed and constructive discussion with a number of journalistic
associations and media. In particular, Yerevan Press Club, Journalists Union
of Armenia, Internews Armenia and the Committee to Protect Freedom of
Expression made their suggestions to the Ministry of Justice on amending
several provisions of the Procedure.

Thus the mentioned organizations proposed to introduce in the Procedure a
provision on prohibiting any form of censorship of accredited journalist’s
professional activity by a state institution. This suggestion was introduced
in the ratified text of the document.

According to the journalistic associations, the draft of the Model Procedure
presented extra obstacles for accreditation. The latter ones were removed,
similarly to the point providing for the cases in which the journalist is
not eligible for accreditation. Alongside this, the professional
organizations proposed to stipulate for the ban on filing any claims except
the ones specified in the point determining the accreditation procedure.
This suggestion was not included in the official document ratified by the
Government.

The journalistic organizations also suggested that accreditation limitations
be purely technical, in particular, be conditioned, for instance, by the
absence of proper venues at the disposal of a state administration body,
etc. However, the final version of the Procedure preserved the quantitative
limitation as well: no more than two journalists and two photo
correspondents/two cameramen from each media.

The suggestion on simplifying the procedure of access of media
representatives in state administration body – by identification card and
list of accredited journalists – was partially accepted.

On the initiative of journalistic organizations, a point was added in the
Model Procedure obligating the ministries no less than twice a month to
provide journalists with a summary report of their activity, as for the
ministers – no less than once in half a year to inform about the work done
at a press conference.

Thus, the ratified document may be the result of a certain compromise
between the Ministry of Justice and journalistic organizations. However, it
is necessary to admit that on the basis of this sublegislative act each
state administration body develops its own accreditation regulations. The
latter ones and their implementation will allow assessing appropriateness
and effectiveness of the Model Procedure.

STATE OFFICIAL LOSES TO “DELOVOY EXPRESS”

On March 25, the court of primary jurisdiction of Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun
communities of Yerevan rejected the suit of a member of RA State Commission
on Protection of Economic Competition Artashes Bakhshian versus “Delovoy
Express” business weekly. The plaintiff demanded that the editorial office
republish his interview to the weekly since the content of the latter, in
his opinion, was distorted as a result of editorial interference (see detail
in YPC Weekly Newsletter, March 12-18, 2004).

“A1+” SUIT VERSUS NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TELEVISION AND RADIO REJECTED

On March 23, RA Commercial Court rejected the suit of “A1+” founder,
“Meltex” LLC, versus the National Commission on Television and Radio. The
litigation was centered on the results of the broadcast licensing
competitions on June 11 and July 18, 2003 at which the bids by “A1+” were
assessed lower than the ones of its rivals (see YPC Weekly Newsletter,
November 7-13, 2003). The plaintiff claimed for obligating the National
Commission to provide grounds for refusing broadcast license on the results
of these competitions.

The hearings on this case started on November 3 last year, and at the
previous session of February 10, the representative of the respondent filed
a petition on challenging the judge that was accepted (see YPC Weekly
Newsletter, February 6-12, 2004). The new judge managed to reject the suit
in just one session.

CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF “A1+”

On March 19, Fund for Speech Freedom Support announced a campaign on April
2, 2004 in support of “A1+” TV company. On this very day, two years ago
“A1+” was deprived of air as a result of refusal by National Commission on
Television and Radio of broadcast license. Since then, the TV company
unsuccessfully participated in seven more license competitions conducted by
National Commission and still more unsuccessfully challenged the decisions
of this regulating body in the courts.

In the course of these two years, numerous international organizations,
journalistic community of the country repeatedly addressed the Armenian
authorities with a claim not to politicize “A1+” issue and to give the
society an opportunity to hear an alternative viewpoint. The recent example
of this was the Final Statement and Recommendations adopted at the Sixth
Session of EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, held on March
15-16 in Yerevan. Among the Recommendations, adopted unanimously and
pursuant to Article 89 of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement,
Parliamentary Cooperation Committee “draws attention to the vital role
played by a free press in ensuring the development of democracy in Armenia
and stresses in particular the importance of pluralism in the electronic
media”.

The initiative group on the support of “A1+” TV company calls on everyone
who values freedom of expression to participate on April 2 in the procession
and rally thus supporting the following claims to the Armenian authorities:
to conduct a competition for vacant frequencies and to involve
representatives of public organizations in the process of rating assessments
of the bidders’ competition packages.

The procession will start at 14.00 from “A1+” TV building (15, Grigor
Lusavorich St., Yerevan) and will end in a rally (at 15.00) at Yerevan
Freedom Square.

JUBILEE ISSUE OF YSU NEWSPAPER

On March 18, an event devoted to 2000 issue of “Yerevani Hamalsaran”
newspaper was held in Yerevan State University. It was founded in 1920 at a
time with the establishment of the University.

Yerevan Press Club congratulates the colleagues with jubilee and wishes them
future success!

When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
Press Club is required.

You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter to:
[email protected]

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this mailing list, please send a message to: [email protected]

Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
____________________________________________
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
375007, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 1) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 1) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
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Ministers’ meeting cancelled at Azeri initiative, says Armenian source

Mediamax news agency
25 Mar 04

YEREVAN

The meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, planned
for 29 March, will not take place.

This was announced on 24 March by the Russian co-chairman of the OSCE
Minsk Group, Yuriy Merzlyakov, in an interview with Azerbaijani TV
channel ATV, Mediamax news agency reports. The mediator said that the
decision to cancel the meeting was taken as a result of the “wish of
one side”.

“Those who accuse the mediators of inactivity should pay attention to
the efforts of the conflicting sides themselves to settle the
conflict,” Yuriy Merzlyakov said.

An informed source in the Armenian Foreign Ministry today said in an
interview with Mediamax that the Armenian side did not ask the
mediators to cancel the Prague meeting.

On 17 March Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said that the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairmen and the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers
would hold consultations in Prague on 29 March. Vardan Oskanyan
expressed the hope that “this meeting will help us understand how
exactly Azerbaijan wants to continue the negotiations”.
From: Baghdasarian