Category: News

The Georgian Messenger
5 April 2004
By M. Alkhazashvili
ON April 1, Armenia’s Security Council Secretary and Defense Minister
Serzh Sarkisian paid a visit to Georgia and held negotiations with
local high-ranking officials regarding the restoration of the
Transcaucasian Railway which goes from Russia to Armenia via Georgia
and separatist-controlled Abkhazia. Other issues of their meeting
included the reduction of tariffs on cargo transported through
Georgian highways.
The issue of restoring the Abkhazia stretch of the railway first came
up one year ago at a summit held in Sochi between Russian President
Vladimir Putin and then Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze. At
that time, the two leaders agreed that this project was to be
conducted in parallel with the “safe and dignified” return of Georgian
refugees to the Gali region of Abkhazia.
Efforts to return displaced persons to the area have not met with
success, and on Friday the Secretary of the Georgian Security Council
Vano Merabishvili asked Armenia to use its leverage to facilitate this
return. “Armenia should use its special relationship with Russia and
play a more active and positive role in resolving the problem,” he
told reporters after the meeting. As land-locked Armenia has so much
to gain from the opening of the railway, Georgian officials suggested
to Sarkisian that his country use its influence on its strategic ally,
Russia, in order to accelerate the process of resolving the conflict.
At the same time when Sarkisian was in Tbilisi demanding the opening
of the railway, the Armenian activist groups in Abkhazia Krunk and
Mashtots, presented a list of demands to the Abkhaz separatist
government. They reminded the leaders that local Armenians played a
key role in “liberating Abkhazia from the Georgians.” This was despite
the fact that during the Abkhaz war of 1993, local Armenians fought on
both sides of the conflict. The growth in the Armenian population of
Abkhazia has caused the concern of separatist leaders and the fact
that resettled Armenians are occupying homes belonging to Georgians
forced out of the region could cause serious problems if and when the
Georgian refugees return to the region.
Georgian officials promised the Armenian guest that tariffs on
auto-transit cargo would be reduced and in addition, Merabishvili
apologized to Sarkisian for the inconveniences experienced by his
country when goods bound for Armenia were held up due to the recent
events in Adjara. As the crisis is not yet fully over, Merabishvili
advised Sarkisian to seek alternative routes for goods normally
transported via the Batumi Port and Sarpi Customs Check-point.

PRESS RELEASE
Office of Sarkis Yedelian, Independent Councillor, City of Ryde.
Email: [email protected]
(02) 9879 4159 BH, 0412 048 330 Mobile.
Unit4, 191 Victoria Rd., (PO Box 631)
Gladesville NSW 2111, Australia
April 5, 2004
YEDELIAN ELECTED TO RYDE CITY COUNCIL
Newly elected Councillor for Central Ward, Ryde City Council, Mr Sarkis
Yedelian today thanked the people of Ryde for electing him to serve on Ryde
City Council.
“I am deeply humbled and grateful to the people of Ryde for their support
and trust,” Clr Yedelian said.
“It is an immense honour for me to be given the opportunity to serve the
people of Ryde.
“I convey my sincere thanks to all those people who supported me during the
local government campaign.
Yedelian was elected on a platform on delivering a fresh approach to
dealing with Council issues, and bringing accountability to Ryde City
Council.
Yedelian will be calling on Ryde City Council to consider local resident
concerns first and foremost before any decision is taken on the Top Ryde
Urban Village Plan.
Yedelian will also seek to introduce Council-Business partnerships. A
model to seek cooperation with the North Ryde corporate IT business sector
to improve local childcare and sporting facilities.
“Ryde city is a great place to live, and I’ll be doing everything I can to
ensure it remains so,” Clr Yedelian said.
Yedelian has lived in the Ryde area for over 20 years, and operates a
camera and video production business in Gladesville.
Yedelian is a founding and current board member of Community TV
Sydney Ltd., CH31. He is also the president of Armenian TV Sydney
Incorporated. Established in 1994, it is the first and remains the
only Armenian TV broadcast service in Australia run entirely by
volunteers and producing 3 hours of broadcasting each week.
Yedelian is the first Councillor elected in Australia of Armenian
ancestry. He is married with two children.

A1 Plus | 18:13:29 | 05-04-2004 | Politics |
DASHNAKS’ UNILATERAL MOVE
Dashnak party said Monday it was ready to offer some cabinet minister
portfolios to the opposition activists to ease tension.
Kocharyan’s bitter opponent and key rival in presidential elections Stepan
Demirchyan rejected the proposal on Monday saying the opposition is
struggling for constitutional law restoration, not for portfolios.
Commenting on the coalition move he denounced the offer as hypocritical.
Coalition does nothing without Robert Kocharyan’s and Serge Sargssyan’s
instructions.
—

A1 Plus | 15:27:44 | 05-04-2004 | Politics |
ANOTHER ARREST
Member of “Republic” party’s council Suren Surenyants was taken in the
police custody on Sunday. No formal charges are bought against him so far.
A criminal case is believed to be opened.
—

A1 Plus | 16:01:28 | 05-04-2004 | Politics |
POLICE AUTHORITIES TAKE PREVENTIVE STEPS
Haykakan Zhamanak daily newspaper’s correspondent and photojournalist Hayk
Gevorgyan was taken in custody on Monday after he tried to photograph roads
blocked by the police.
He was released later.
—

A1 Plus | 20:05:36 | 05-04-2004 | Politics |
A GUY INJURED AT TODAY’S RALLY
A 17 year-old resident of Haghardzin village was slightly injured with knife
at today’s rally. He said he had been stabbed in the head while trying to
help photo-reporters to resist violence committed against them.
Witnesses say the group of instigators vented their anger at reporters when
they were shooting the offenders’ attack on a woman, Geghamyan supporter,
which condemned egg-throwers.
—

A1 Plus | 20:30:16 | 05-04-2004 | Social |
MINISTER’S SON CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED HOMICIDE
Urban Planning Minister Ara Aramyan’s son Hayk Aramyan was arrested on
Monday. He is charged with one count of attempted homicide and one of
illegal gun possession.
Investigation is launched into the accident happened on March 12 in cafe
Triumph, in which five were injured.
Two of the cafe personnel – Karen Hovakimyan and Arthur Gevorgyan- are
wanted in connection with the accident. They are still at large.
—

A1 Plus | 18:12:28 | 05-04-2004 | Politics |
DATE FOR NATIONWIDE RALLY ALREADY SET
On Monday, opposition leaders and MPs Stepan Demirchyan and Artashes
Geghamyan, speaking at a joint news conference in parliament announced a
nationwide rally should be held on April 9 at 16:00 in Liberty Square.{BR}
They said dozens of opposition activists including women were arrested.
Artashes Geghamyan also said his meeting with people scheduled for today
will be held despite any obstacles.
The only way to break the deadlock reached is to come to agreement on
confidence referendum, he said.
—

A1 Plus | 22:17:27 | 05-04-2004 | Politics |
ASPAREZ CLUB’S STATEMENT
Journalists’ Club Asparez came up with a statement on Monday condemning
violence committed by unidentified men against reporters.
What happened today proved that pressure can be put on freedom of speech
with impunity. Those whose direct duty is keep order encourage violence
perpetrators by turning blind eye to the illegalities being committed by
them, the statement says.
The statement contains strong condemnation of violence committed against
media representatives.
—

Thousands gather at protest in Armenian capital, call for bigger rally Friday
AP Worldstream
Apr 05, 2004

An estimated 8,000 opposition demonstrators gathered for a rally in
the center of the Armenian capital on Monday, and one of the protest’s
leaders said an even larger demonstration to take place Friday.
“A change of power is unavoidable,” Artashes Gegamian, leader of the
National Unity bloc, told the gathering. “Massive acts of protest will
begin April 9.”
Armenia is gripped by an array of dissatisfactions _ from poverty to
the unresolved status of the ethnic Armenian enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan _ which were aggravated by widespread
complaints that last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections
were fraudulent.
Unidentified youths smashed video and still cameras of several
journalists at the rally.
Some women at the rally circulated among police, giving them
carnations in an apparent echo of the roses given by protesters to
police in neighboring Georgia during last year’s massive
demonstrations that forced President Eduard Shevardnadze to resign.