Category: News

Azat Artsakh – Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
May 7, 2004
NUMBERS SAY
According to the data provided by the Civilian Registry Office of
Stepanakert, 212 births, 74 marriages and 11 divorces were registered
from January 1 till May 1 of the current year. Against the same period
of the past year, the birthrate dropped by 14, the marriage rate by
3. Unfortunately, the divorce rate increased; last year in the same
period only 9 divorces were registered.
LAURA GRIGORIAN
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azat Artsakh – Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
May 7, 2004
GASIFYING OF STEPANAKERT COMPLETED SOON
In two or three months gasification of Stepanakert will be completed,
assured the director of “Artsakhgas” State CJSC Maxim Mirzoyan. In
this direction efficient work is carried out not only in the capital
but also the regions of the republic. Presently the company carries
out repairs of the old gas pipelines. Since May 1 the tariff of the
gas fee has been increased from 51 to 59 drams for each cubic meter.
Taking into account the fact that there are terms for payment of gas,
as well as electricity fees, which is from the first to the fifteenth
of each month, we tried to find out whether this would not arouse
problems among the population in relation to the increased tariff.
According to Maxim Mirzoyan, the employees of “Artsakhgas” carry out
corresponding explanation works among the population to pay in time
the fees for the gas used during the previous month. If the users do
mot make the payments within the mentioned term they will have to pay
by the new tariff. Maxim Mirzoyan says that all the problems in this
reference will be settled within a month.
LAURA GRIGORIAN
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CHAT
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1 Plus | 19:03:48 | 06-05-2004 | Politics |
WHO ARE POLITICAL PRISONERS?
“It is wrong to call those arrested for participation in the Opposition
rallies political prisoners”, “Republican” Party Chair Galust Sahakyan says.
{BR}
So, how to call them? “People can cause disorders, break laws and be
arrested. When it is said a political prisoner or a political pursuit,
scaled operations we have witnessed are meant. And we cried all over the
world that we have political despots and political arrests”, Sahakyan
announced.
“Why was I arrested?”, “Justice” Bloc Secretary Ruzan Khachatryan asked.
“You know, I can’t now answer what for you were taken in detention. But as
far as I know you I think you wouldn’t commit a sin”, Mr. Sahakyan answered.
“Would you answer the same way if you knew all those arrested in person?”, a
journalist asked. “To know them we must gather, discuss, analyze all the
cases and make decisions”, Galust Sahakyan said.

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
May 6 2004
Azerbaijan concerned by Uzbek company’s activity in Upper Garabagh

Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov has denied the reports that the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry had allegedly sent a letter of protest
to Uzbekistan.
Confirming the fact that Azerbaijan has sent a letter to Uzbekistan,
Azimov said the letter contained no protest, but rather a request.
The Azerbaijani government’s letter came after one of the Uzbek
mobile communications providers signed a contract with the officials
of the so-called Upper Garabagh Republic to launch activity in this
region.
In the letter, Tashkent was requested to take appropriate measures
against the Uzbek company and inform the Azerbaijani side on the
matter.

Washington Times
May 6 2004
Bush names three new U.S. envoys
Washington, DC, May. 6 (UPI) — The selection of new U.S. ambassadors
to Thailand, Armenia and the Bahamas was announced by the White House
Thursday.
The president has picked Ralph Boyce to be the new U.S.
representative to the Kingdom of Thailand. A career member of the
U.S. senior foreign service, Boyce is currently the U.S. ambassador
to the Republic of Indonesia.
For the U.S. embassy in Armenia, President Bush has nominated John
Evans, another career member of the U.S. foreign service and
currently the director of the Office of Russian Affairs at the U.S.
Department of State.
The president has selected Floridian John D. Root to be the new U.S.
ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Root is currently
chairman of the Jacksonville, Fla.-based Vestcor Companies that he
founded in 1983 and which develops multifamily rental and condominium
communities and controls a real estate investment portfolio.
All three nominations require confirmation by the U.S. Senate before
they may take effect.

The White House, US
May 6 2004
Personnel Announcement
President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate
four individuals and appoint two individuals to serve in his
administration:
The President intends to nominate Ralph Leo Boyce, of Virginia, to be
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of
America to the Kingdom of Thailand. A career member of the Senior
Foreign Service, Ambassador Boyce currently serves as Ambassador to
the Republic of Indonesia. He previously served as Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific
Islands at the State Department’s Bureau of East Asia and Pacific
Affairs. Prior to this position, Ambassador Boyce served as Deputy
Chief of Mission in Bangkok and Singapore. He earned his bachelor’s
degree from The George Washington University and his master’s degree
from Princeton University.
The President intends to nominate John Marshall Evans, of Virginia,
to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United
States of America to the Republic of Armenia. A career member of the
Senior Foreign Service, Mr. Evans currently serves as Director of the
State Department’s Office of Russian Affairs. He previously served as
Director of the Office of Analysis for Russia and Eurasia in the
Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Mr. Evans earned his bachelor’s
degree from Yale University.
The President intends to nominate John D. Rood, of Florida, to be
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of
America to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Mr. Rood currently serves
as Chairman of The Vestcor Companies, which he founded in 1983. The
Jacksonville, Florida company develops multifamily rental and
condominium communities, controls a real estate investment portfolio,
and provides construction services to its clients. Mr. Rood earned
his bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana.
The President intends to nominate Craig T. Ramey, of West Virginia,
to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Board for
Education Sciences (Researcher), for a two-year term.
The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be
Members of the President’s National Security Telecommunications
Advisory Committee:
Gary D. Forsee of Missouri
William H. Swanson of Massachusetts

Syrian Arab News Agency
May 6 2004
Syria and Armenian Agreement

Erivan , May 6 ( SANA )
Deputy Finance Minister Muhammad Khudre Assayed Ahmad and the Armenian
Deputy Economic and Finance Minister on Thursday signed an agreement
to prevent double taxation between the two countries .
The agreement comes after the two finance delegations concluded 3-day
talks in Armenian .
The agreement will contribute to activating the economic and
investment cooperation between both countries .
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Tageblatt, Luxembourg
7 Mai 2004
Moscou perd un levier d’influence dans le Caucase avec le départ
d’Abachidzé
Les autorités géorgiennes se sont félicitées jeudi du rôle qu’a joué
la Russie dans la démission pacifique du chef adjar Aslan Abachidzé,
qui était le meilleur allié de Moscou en Géorgie, et dont le départ
retire au Kremlin un puissant levier d’influence dans les affaires de
cette république du Caucase.
»La Russie nous a accordé une aide importante», s’est félicité jeudi
à Moscou le chef de la diplomatie géorgienne Salomé Zourabichvili,
après un entretien avec son homologue russe Sergueï Lavrov.
Ce dernier s’est affirmé »tout à fait satisfait que la situation en
Adjarie ait été réglée d’une manière pacifique et qu’on ait réussi à
éviter une effusion de sang, ce sur quoi avait toujours insisté la
partie russe».
Dans un scénario similaire à celui ayant vu le départ en novembre
dernier du président géorgien Edouard Chevardnadzé, sous la pression
de la rue, le chef de la république autonome géorgienne d’Adjarie,
Aslan Abachidzé, a abandonné ses fonctions sans grande résistance.
Dans les deux cas, les démissionnaires s’étaient entretenus peu avant
leur départ avec Igor Ivanov, qui était chef de la diplomatie russe
l’automne dernier et agissait mercredi soir en tant que secrétaire du
Conseil de sécurité de son pays.
Depuis la fin de l’URSS en 1991, le Kremlin s’est efforcé de
maintenir son influence sur cette zone stratégique du Caucase, verrou
méridional face à la Turquie, membre de l’Otan, et à l’Iran.
Les premiers outils de cette influence restent à ce jour les deux
bases militaires russes encore présentes en Géorgie, rassemblant un
total théorique de 7.000 hommes, et dont l’une se trouve en Adjarie.
Avec celle de Gümri, en Arménie voisine, elles dessinent une ligne
face à la Turquie.
»Ces bases ne sont pas seulement un stabilisateur de la situation
intérieure géorgienne, mais aussi un stabilisateur de nos intérêts
dans le Caucase», a rappelé mercredi le général russe Léonid Ivachov,
ex-responsable des relations extérieures du ministère de la Défense.
Aslan Abachidzé était le deuxième agent de cette influence, comme
l’avait souligné mercredi le quotidien russe Kommersant. »Dès qu’il
disparaîtra, la Russie perdra (…) un puissant levier d’influence
sur la situation dans la Transcaucasie», observait le journal.
Moscou a joué sans vergogne des tendances séparatistes en Géorgie
dans les années 90, en soutenant celles des Abkhazes et des Ossètes
du sud, dont les territoires contrôlent deux des trois voies de
franchissement de la chaîne du Caucase.
Un jeu semblable s’est mis en place à l’automne dernier, après la
démission du président géorgien Edouard Chevardnadzé, rentré dans les
bonnes grâces du Kremlin, quand la Russie a suggéré qu’elle pourrait
offrir un système de visas simplifié pour les Géorgiens d’Adjarie.
Mais à chaque fois, Moscou a fini par choisir la voie du pragmatisme,
en lâchant des féaux confrontés à une véritable contestation
populaire et rejetés de surcroît par les Etats-Unis.
Car Washington a son mot à dire dans l’affaire, avec la construction
en cours à travers la Géorgie d’un oléoduc pour le transport vers les
marchés occidentaux des hydrocarbures de l’Azerbaïdjan voisin et, au
delà, du Kazakhstan et du Turkménistan.
»Les Etats-Unis et l’Europe nous ont sérieusement aidés dans le
dialogue et nous avons reçu leur soutien total», a remarqué jeudi Mme
Zourabichvili.
Le pragmatisme de la Russie pourrait être récompensé, alors que
Moscou négocie un retrait de ses bases avec Tbilissi, et compte sur
une plus grande coopération de la Géorgie pour éliminer les bases
arrières des rebelles tchétchènes censées se trouver sur son
territoire.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 7 2004
Armenia satisfied with the crisis management in Adzharia

YEREVAN, May 6 (Itar-Tass) – The Armenian foreign ministry has
expressed satisfaction with the fact that `the tension between
Georgia’s autonomy of Adzharia and the center has ended peacefully
and without bloodshed,’ spokesman for the Armenian foreign ministry
Gamlet Gasparian said in a statement circulated on Thursday.
`The outcome of the face-off is yet another important step in the
consolidation of stability and peace in Georgia and in the entire
South Caucasus,’ the Ministry spokesman said.
Gasparian hailed `the consistent and decisive policy of the Georgian
top authorities, whose efforts made it possible to clear that serious
barrier.’
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress