ZHIRAYR SEFILIAN’S DEFENDERS TO APPEAL AGAINST FIRST INSTANCE COURT’S DECISION ONE OF THESE DAYS

Noyan Tapan
Dec 13 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The defenders of the Defence
of Liberated Territories public initiative’s Coordinator Zhirayr
Sefilian will appeal against the decision of Yerevan Kentron and
Nork-Marash communities’ first instance court on choosing arrest as
a preventive punishment to him. NT correspondent ws informed about
it by lawyer Vahe Grigorian. To recap, lawyer Ara Zakarian together
with the latter defends Zh.Sefilian.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KARABAKH ANNOUNCES REFERENDUM RESULTS

Public TV, Armenia
Dec 12 2006

[Presenter] The final official results of the Nagornyy Karabakh
constitutional referendum was made public in Stepanakert today. A
total of 99.03 per cent of those who took part in the referendum
[on 10 December] voted for and 0.7 per cent against the constitution.

Some 77,800 people, or 87 per cent of the voters, turned out to vote
in the referendum.

[Correspondent reports from Stepanakert over video of the head of the
Central Electoral Commission, Sergey Nasibyan] The Nagornyy Karabakh
republic [NKR] is an independent, democratic and legal state. The
people of Artsakh have confirmed 15 years of independence by voting
for the constitution. A total of 77,279 people [as heard] voted to
adopt the constitution on 10 December.

[Arkadiy Gukasyan, captioned as Nagornyy Karabakh president] I cannot
see any other way for Nagornyy Karabakh. I am absolutely sure that
the international community wants is peace in the region. The way to
peace is Karabakh’s independence. Any other way is the path to war.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN PARTY LEADER LINKS EX-COMMANDER’S ARREST TO FORTHCOMING POLLS
by Margarit Yesayan

Aravot, Armenia
Dec 12 2006

"’Terrorists’ are always found before elections"

Members of the opposition comment on Zhirayr Sefilyan’s arrest.

Yesterday [11 December] the press centre of the National Security
Service [NSS] issued a statement saying that Lebanese national Zhirayr
Sefilyan and a number of his supporters arrested on 10 December
"planned a forcible interference in future political processes in
Armenia".

The statement says: "As a result of a search we obtained evidence
that Lebanese national Zhirayr Sefilyan and the Union of Volunteers
of Armenia, which was established by a number of his supporters but
has not been registered as stipulated by the Armenian law, planned to
take illegal and forcible actions during future political processes
in Armenia, in particular to commit terrorist attacks during the
forthcoming parliamentary election in 2007."

The NSS said that at a closed sitting on 2 December some leaders of
the structure made public statements calling for an armed struggle in
order to replace the incumbent authorities and "presented their action
plans". It also said that the leaders of the Union of Volunteers of
Armenia planed to incite the opposition to civil disobedience.

Yesterday opposition members gathered in Armenia-Marriot Hotel to
defend Karabakh war commander Zhirayr Sefilyan and the leader of
the Ashtarak branch of the Motherland and Honour party, war veteran
Vardan Malkhasyan.

The former foreign minister, Aleksandr Arzumanyan, said that the
previous night employees of the NSS also "visited" activists of the
Civil Disobedience movement. The secretary of the Armenian Democratic
Party, MP Grigor Arutyunyan, said that the same night activists
of the party in Goris were searched. The commander of the Artsakh
regiment, Mikael Apresyan, said addressing the political forces that
were present at the meeting: "We should unite, otherwise we will lose
this state…" [ellipses as published]

MP Mayak Ovanesyan said that he was present at the meeting of the Union
of Volunteers of Armenia and that he fully shared responsibility:
"At the beginning of the emergency session of the parliament I am
going to ask the prosecutor-general to arrest me too.

I was present at the meeting and there was no call for a coup d’etat
or a forcible seizure of power. True, the atmosphere was emotional
as people were present at the meeting who paid a high price for their
victory [in the Karabakh war] and who worry about its destiny."

[Passage omitted: the leader of the New Times party, Aram Karapetyan,
gave details of Sefilyan’s arrest]

Yesterday representatives of political forces thought that they should
demand that the authorities release the arrested people. The leader of
the New Times party, Aram Karapetyan, said: "The Armenian political
field is aware of these kinds of actions when before elections or
some processes the authorities, especially security agencies and
criminals operating in Armenia, take steps to terrorize the political
field and the public. This time two important circumstances coincided:
one is the forthcoming [parliamentary] election and the other is the
processes connected with the NKR [Nagornyy Karabakh republic]. As
you see, it were the soldier-liberators who received the blow."

The deputy chairman of the public initiative For the Protection of
Liberated Territories, Armen Egyan, said that 32 of their friends
had already been searched and had given a written undertaking not to
leave the city.

[Zhirayr Sefilyan heads the organization For the Protection of
Liberated Territories.]

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IN VARTAN OSKANIAN’S WORDS, TURKEY CASTS DOUBT ON TREATY OF KARS WITH ITS ACTIONS

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Dec 13 2006

ISTANBUL, DECEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. RA Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian characterizes the current relations between
Armenia and Turkey as a "misfortune." According to Marmara, in his
interview to the Jumhurriet Turkish newspaper the Minister considers
as a misfortune the fact that Turkey has stopped its diplomatic
relations with Armenia for 15 years. 15 years passed in vain and each
day continues to be vain, he said adding that if Turkey opened the
borders everything would develop another way. In Oskanian’s words,
Armenia’s position in this issue is exact: "Yes, there are the
issues of the Genocide and Karabakh, there are also other issues,"
Armenia says. "But show us two countries in the world that have no
such problems with each other. But none of these countries closes
its borders with another one before discussing these issues." In
the Minister’s words, if some relations were established between the
two countries, it would be possible to form commissions by the way
proposed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (a commission
on study of the issue of Armenian Genocide: NT), but this commission
should consist of not historians, but of politicians. He said that
historians representing Turkey will not even wish to pronounce the word
"genocide." "How can they speak with the Armenian historians? There
are prohibiting laws in Turkey and this is like leaving a bird out of
the cage by breaking its wing," V.Oskanian said. In response to the
question, "does Armenia recognize the Treaty of Kars," Vartan Oskanian
said: Armenia has never made a problem of validity of the Treaty of
Kars, as Armenia remains loyal to all agreements inherited from the
Soviet Union. Besides, in Oskanian’s words, the point is that Turkey
itself does not put in practice a number of articles of the Treaty of
Kars. For instance, according to this agreement, Turkey was to open a
consulate in its three eastern neighboring countries. Turkey violated
this article. A question emerges: how much is the Treaty of Kars valid?

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ANDRANIK MARGARIAN: GAZPROM IS WILLING TO FUILFIL ITS INVESTMENT COMMITMENTS IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Dec 13 2006

Armenian Prime Minister’s Answers To Questions Of Noyan Tapan News Agency

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN. NT: Mister Prime Minister, according
to the agreement on transfer of the fifth power unit of the Hrazdan
Thermal Power Plant to the jurisdiction of Gazprom, which was signed in
April 2006, Gazprom assumed a commitment to invest the necessary funds
for completion of the power unit’s construction. At the same time,
there have been doubts that this commitment cannot be fulfilled, say,
under the pretext of lack of funds. What about this problem? When is
the construction of the fifth unit expected to finish? A.M: There is
no problem of insufficient funds. Gazprom has already transferred the
first tranche for the fifth power unit. Now the assessment of technical
state and the design work are under way. It is envisaged to complete
the 5th unit’s construction in 2008. NT: There are also investment
problems in the four operating power units of the Hrazdan Thermal Power
Plant, which are considered depreciated and non-competitive. RAO UES,
their owner, also speaks about investments. Will these investments
be made, and if so – when? A.M: First of all, the Hrazdan TPP’s four
power units are not the property of the RAO UES but the property of
the RF Federal Property Management Agency that manages it. As regards
investments, today these four power units can be operated in parallel
with each other, whereas in the past we were able to operate only two
units at the same time. Enough investment was made and is being made
in these units now. NT: The problem of communication routes linking
Russia and Armenia continues to be urgent. Can we expect progress in
this respect, be it opening overland routes or increasing the passing
capacity of sea routes (a new ferry, etc)? What steps does or can
the government take with respect to this problem? A.M: As you know,
the problem of opening the overland routes is related to improvement
of the Russian-Georgian relations, in which our country is, quite
naturally, interested. We have no right to interfere in the internal
affairs of the two countries. However, during meetings with the
authorities of these countries we have always stated that if Armenia
can assist with improvement of their relations, it is ready to do this
and will try its best. As for communication by sea, here we see some
opportunities to improve the situation and are conducting an active
dialog with Russia. This problem is one of the agenda issues of the
Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission, with the sides being
committed to finding efficient solutions. During my recent visit to
Russia, we discussed seriously this problem during the meeting with
the Russian Prime Minister Fradkin. Taking into consideration that
the Verin Lars crossing point has been closed for an indefinite
time and its functioning has a seasonal character, the issue of
organizing Novorossiysk-Poti-Novorossiysk car-ferry transportation
becomes especially urgent. We also spoke about the launching of
the Kavkaz-Poti-Kavkaz reailway-ferry link. We are interested in
completing the construction of the second shift of the ferry complex
at the Kavakaz port as soon as possibble, which will allow to put
this route into operation. NT: Next year Russia is likely to cut off
the gas supply of Georgia, which may endanger Armenia’s gas supply by
Russia. How much prepared is Armenia to deal with such a situation:
for example, can this lack be compensated with gas from Iran? A.M:
If the gas supply from Russia is cut off for some reason or other,
Armenia’s energy system is ready to use such regimes that would cause
the minimal problems for both the economy and population in terms
of electricity and gas supply. The government attaches importance
not only to the operation of the new gas pipeline but also to the
use and development of alternative energy sources in the future, it
is already taking measures aimed at developing hydropower energy,
using wind energy and developing other sources. NT: The Russian
government recently made a decision to prohibit or restrict the labor
of foreigners in the country’s market. It means that tens of thousands
of Armenians may lose their jobs in Russia, which is fraught with
unpredictable consequences, up to the return of these people in large
numbers to homeland. Is the government taking any measures in this
connection (for example, Azerbaijan has set up a special governmental
commission)? A.M: I think the matter concerns the Russian government’s
Decision No. 683 of November 15, 2006 on Fixing the Permissible Number
of Foreign Workers Employed by Economic Entities Engaged in Retail
Trade in the Territory of the RF in 2007. When assessing the possible
consequences of this decision for Armenian citizens, we should view
two groups of our citizens: legal workers, i.e. persons who do not
break the RF migration legislation and the requirements on foreign
labor and so have job pewrmission, and illegal workers who are either
unregistered or have no job permission. Persons of the first group
can find jobs in other spheres after the decision comes into force –
their legal status allows them to do so. Naturally, persons of the
second group will have job problems. The decision’s approaches will
take effect in 2007, and it is not ruled out that as a result of the
practical use of this decision, these approaches will be reviewed
in 2008 and some new approaches will be adopted. Nevertheless,
it is likely that some of our citizens will return because of this
decision. They will be able to find jobs in the same order and by
the same rights as all our citizens: they can get registered at a job
agency and will be offered jobs, they may participate in competitions
for vacant jobs, as well as get a suitable job based on market demand –
in the same way as any other Armenian citizen.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE AIR BLOCKADE OF RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE NO 102 IN GYUMRI
by Sarkis Gevorkyan

Hayots Ashkhar, Armenia
Dec 13 2006

Since 8 December a military and political blockade has been added
to the economic and communication blockade of Armenia as Georgia has
banned flights by Russian military aircraft to the Russian military
base in Gyumri via its territory. Under an agreement signed between
Russia and Georgia on 31 March 2006, Russia has the right to such
flights via the territory of Georgia. Russian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Mikhail Kamynin assessed this ban as an attempt to hinder
both the normal work of the Russian military base in Gyumri and the
withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia.

The reason is obvious: the ban on the planned flights of Russian
aircraft via Georgia to Armenia hinders the final withdrawal of
Russian bases from Georgia and they find themselves in a blockade.

But do Georgian national interests require the creation of extra
tension in Russian-Georgian relations? On 8 December, as a result of
talks held in Georgia, the Turkish, Azerbaijani and Georgian energy
ministers came to an agreement in principle that Georgia’s gas demands
would be satisfied at the expense of Turkey’s share of the Azerbaijani
gas to be received via the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline in
2007. That is to say, Georgia’s share increased from 250m sq.m. to
1.5bn sq.m., which will almost cover Georgia’s demand in 2007, which is
estimated at 1.8bn sq.m. Thus, as soon as it became clear in Tbilisi
that Russia’s last attempts to stop gas supplies to Georgia by means
of putting pressure upon Baku had failed, flights by Russian military
aircraft were immediately stopped. In fact, this step by Georgia is
compensation for the generosity of "brotherly Azerbaijan". To save
Georgia from a gas blockade, Azerbaijan and Turkey asked Georgia to
hinder flights by Russian planes to Gyumri so that to deprive Armenia
of an opportunity to make use of its main strategic bases.

This option has also been proven by the second demand put forward to
Georgia by Azerbaijani political experts who suggest that Tbilisi
should sharply raise the transit price of the Russian gas supplied
to Armenia beginning from 1 January 2007. In this way Azerbaijan,
helped by Turkey, is trying to blame Armenia for the tension in
Russian-Georgian relations and to put our state in a military and
political, as well as energy blockade ahead of restarting Karabakh
talks in January 2007. Baku understands very well that the OSCE Minsk
Group mediators are resolute. Moreover, the West is doing its best
to remove Russia from the region. For this reason, they have to take
advantage of the created opportunity and, by supporting the West’s
strategy, foil the energy blockade of Georgia, turn "grateful" Georgia
into an instrument with the help of which Armenia will be blackmailed.

Being a member of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization,
Armenia at the same time did everything possible not to meddle in the
fight between the West and Russia over Georgia. But instead the 102nd
Russian military base is blockaded while Azerbaijan is threatening
to restart war and Turkey is pursuing an openly hostile policy.

We think that Armenia should draw conclusions from this story and
revise its policy towards Georgia. What is the point of taking a
neutral and even reserved position in the events concerning Georgia
if the latter is carrying out an openly anti-Armenian policy?

"WE HAVE THE DRAFT, THE REST IS IMMATERIAL"
by Anna Satjan

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
December 13, 2006 Wednesday

Draft National Security Concept presented to the parliament of Armenia.

Draft National Security Concept was presented to the parliament of
Armenia on December 1. Discussing it, most lawmakers agreed that
the document had some shortcomings but was more or less a success
all the same. US, Russian, and European structures the document
had been forwarded to for evaluation praised it too. Presenting the
draft document, Serj Sarkisjan of the National Security Council made
an emphasis on what he believed its central clauses. Here are some
excerpts from Sarkisjan’s speech.

"Armenia is ready for compromises in the Karabakh conflict resolution
as long as certain principles are honored. They include unacceptability
of vertical relations between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh,
existence of a land border between Karabakh and Armenia, international
guarantees of Karabakh’s participation in global processes, and
guarantees of non-renewal of the war and safety of the population…"

"Armenia aspires for betterment of relations with Turkey through
establishment of contacts. Armenia wouldn’t put up with any preliminary
conditions put forth by Turkey… The Concept demands acknowledgement
of genocide by Turkey as restoration of historic justice and guarantees
of no more encroachments on Armenia…"

"The Concept attaches considerable importance to relations with
the diaspora whose representatives are playing a certain part in the
political and social lives of their respective countries. The diaspora
may serve as a bridge facilitating Armenia’s bilateral relations with
other countries, one that promotes the principles of democracy and
development of commerce and tourism…"

Source: Novoye Vremya (Yerevan), December 5, 2006, EV

… SPRING WILL COME: ONCE MORE ON THE SUBJECT OF PROMISING NUANCES OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT RESOLUTION
by political observer Grigori Alexandrjan
Translated by A. Ignatkin

Source: Novoye Vremya (Yerevan), December 5, 2006, EV
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
December 13, 2006 Wednesday

ARMENIAN POLITICAL OBSERVER ON THE KARABAKH CONFLICT RESOLUTION;
Analysis of the Karabakh process: a view from Yerevan.

Analysis of the opinions on the Karabakh conflict resolution
process coordinated by chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group leads to
two conclusions. First, the process is anything but clear. Second,
practically nothing about the talks changed in the last 12 years.

Probably save for the shape of the peace talks as such because the
Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh is no longer involved. Status
of the region remains the stumbling block for the whole process
of negotiations. All sorts of statements on what is presented as
"progress" are only restricted to the effort to overcome consequences
of the armed confrontation. Why are the Armenians so worried about
the step-by-step resolution plan? Because we fear that Azerbaijan may
flatly refuse to discuss the status of Karabakh once the troops are
withdrawn from the territories they currently control. Unfortunately,
these fears are not groundless. They are not just a diplomatic whim
or anything like that.

Baku annulled Karabakh Armenians’ autonomous status and went to war
on them when not a single district around Karabakh was occupied.

When, in fact, Azerbaijani kept living there. When Azerbaijan was
defeated and conflict resolution talks were under way, our neighbors
drafted a Constitution that does not specify any self-government
powers for Karabakh. When Ilham Aliyev or his Foreign Minister Elmar
Mamedjarov maintain nowadays that the matter of status should be
settled on the basis of the acting Constitution of Azerbaijan,
we are at a loss over how we are supposed to react. Demanding
it at this point makes all and any talks a plain waste of time
and effort. That is why the Armenians insist on a document that
will specify overcoming consequences of the military phase of the
conflict and, no less important, outline the principle definition
of the status of Karabakh. In other words, the Armenians stand for
gradual implementation of a package accord so that neither involved
party will be able to shirk any clause of the document.

As for Aliyev, he says he is not going to sign any document that so
much even hints at the possibility that Karabakh may eventually quit
Azerbaijan. In the meantime, everyone is stone-cold confident that
Aliyev will be elected president again in 2008 (he will all but elect
himself, really), but Robert Kocharjan in Armenia will step down in
2008. It follows that the positions of the involved parties are not
going to change at least until 2008. Count on Aliyev not to change
his stand on the matter. And what will the next president of Armenia
do? Our neighbors would certainly like to know that. They are stalling
for time in the hope that the new head of the Armenian state will
reconsider his options. That is why we do not really expect Aliyev
to sign any documents pending election of the president in Armenia.

If the heads of states decide to sign a document that does not specify
the procedure of Karabakh’s status definition on the other hand, they
will incur the wrath of their own peoples and opposition forces. It
does not take a genius to foresee that every president will present
the document as his own diplomatic triumph. In the meantime, it is
impossible to have two winners and not a single loser, isn’t it?

Statements made in Yerevan and Baku nowadays plainly indicate that
neither side so much as entertains the thought of a compromise in
the matter of Karabakh’s status even though both capitals do extol
the latest meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in
Minsk, Belarus.

All of that confirms our previous forecasts that chairmen of the OSCE
Minsk Group would do everything in their power to create at least
an illusion of some progress made in this "year of opportunities",
everything to prevent the process of negotiations from becoming
history altogether. Neither involved party will outsmart the other.

Neither will international mediators fare any better. Judging by
the latest statements made by senior Armenian and Azerbaijani
negotiators, they are determined to be on the level with their
respective peoples. It apparently means that we will yet encounter new
"promising nuances" in the conflict resolution saga.

It is the unbelievable lack of information on what is happening in
the conflict area and what the conflicting sides are after displayed
by some representatives of the West that cannot help being amazing.

According to a story in the Baku newspaper Zerkalo, one Steffen
Raiche of the German Bundestag believes that the Armenians living in
Karabakh might accept autonomy in Azerbaijan as long as the Azerbaijani
authorities permit them to commemorate victims of genocide of the
Armenians in Osmani Turkey! Along with everything else, the German
lawmaker is confident that it is the Azerbaijanis who aspire for a
just and fair resolution. "The Armenians themselves will slow down
their development unless they do what they can to have spring to
come into the region. Whoever refuses to join prosperous Azerbaijan
nowadays will miss his chance for millennia to come…"

ARMENIAN COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER CONDEMNS NA VICE-SPEAKER’S ACT

Noyan Tapan
Dec 14 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Instead of touching upon
country’s serious problems and proposing ways of their solution or
commenting upon his own party’s disgraceful actions, RA National
Assembly Vice-Speaker, ARFD Bureau member, Vahan Hovhannisian
prefers to make unworthy statements addressed to the symbols of
another political organizations. Ruben Tovmasian, First Secretary of
Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia, said this in
his December 14 interview to Noyan Tapan correspondent, commenting
upon V.Hovhannisian’s statement made the day before when he said that
V.Lenin was a "unique scum" and a "murderer." R.Tovmasian considers
it inadmissible that "a person with higher education, holding a high
state post makes such a cynical statement."

In his words, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia
is going to publicize a statement condemning V.Hovhannian’s act.

RATIFICATION LEAVES PROBLEMS UNSOLVED
by: Svetlana Kuskova

Source: Voenno-Promyshlenny Kuryer, No 47, December 6 – 12, 2006, p. 12
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
December 13, 2006 Wednesday

The CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization: military personnel
training accord comes into effect

MILITARY PERSONNEL TRAINING ACCORD OF THE CIS COLLECTIVE SECURITY
TREATY ORGANIZATION AND PROBLEMS OF ITS IMPLEMENTATION; Member states
of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization train military
personnel together.

The Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS Collective Security
Treaty Organization met in Brest on November 23. The defense ministers
traditionally discussed military-political situation in member states
and the Organization’s zone of responsibility. They also discussed
military-technical cooperation and military personnel training. No
wonder officials of the Secretariat and United Headquarters of the
Organization met with trainees from the national armies of Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan studying
at Russian military educational establishments.

The meetings took place on November 29 and 30.

Russia launched the military personnel training program for CIS
countries in 1996. Some trainees are paying in full, others are
entitled to a discount (meaning that the training is free of charge
but residential expenses are covered by the trainee’s army). As a
matter of fact, it is with the latter that problems were encountered.

Some former sister nations never recompensed Russian military
educational establishments for the provided uniforms, meals, or
quarters. They did not do so because the matter was settled in a
different manner – say, the cost was subtracted from what Russia was
paying the respective CIS country for the use of military objects on
its territory.

Defense ministers of the Organization discussed the matter with
President Vladimir Putin in 2003. The following meeting, in Dushanbe,
resolved to organize joint military training. The heads of states
signed the military personnel training program in Moscow in June
2005. The document stipulates free-of-charge training and support.

This arrangement is certainly something new, thought up and introduced
in the Organization alone. Here are some figures reiterating its
efficiency. One hundred and fifty-nine servicemen from member states
came to Russia to study in 2003, 388 in 2004, and 795 in 2005. All
in all, trainees from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan in Russian military educational
establishments number almost 2,500 men these days.

In November 2005, the Council of Defense Ministers compiled the list
of military educational establishments participating in the joint
personnel training program. The majority of them (45) are Russian.

The list also includes 6 Belarusian, 3 Kazakh, one Armenian, one
Kyrgyz, and one Tajik military college (57 in all). The list includes
nearly all military colleges that train needed specialists. The list
may be extended on the decision of the Council of Defense Ministers.

Ratification of the military personnel training accord by national
parliaments confirms member states’ interest in implementation of the
document. The parliament of Belarus ratified the document in January
2006 (six months after its signing) and that of Kyrgyzstan in March.

The Kazakh parliament ratified the accord in May and Armenian in
August. Sources in the Secretariat say that the military personnel
training accord is being considered by the involved Russian
structures at this point (Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry,
Finance Ministry). The document is not even ratified by the Duma,
but official Moscow has already set aside nearly half a billion
roubles for its implementation.

Some problems and difficulties are, however, encountered, and hence
discussion of the matter at the closed meeting in Brest. In any
case, the subject became public knowledge all the same soon. On
November 29 and 30, executives and senior officers of the United
Headquarters met with trainees. A great deal of issues were discussed:
from establishment of regional army groups of the Organization to
traffic prevention.

In the meantime, the meetings were not centered around "global" issues
alone. More "mundane" ones were brought up as well, first and foremost
ones related to the terms of foreigners’ presence in Russia and to
organization of their studies. Our allies are nettled that they are
treated as foreigners in some colleges. Representatives of Kyrgyzstan
and Kazakhstan, for example, study in a group with African officers
in the Military Academy of the General Staff. It goes without saying
that the Kyrgyzs and Kazakhs on the one hand and trainees from Africa
on the other are at different levels. Armenian and Kazakh trainees
at the Faculty of Translation of the Military University are denied
probation spells which Colonel Mikhail Usachev of the Russian Foreign
Ministry explained were "not for foreigners".

As a matter of fact, the term "foreigner" was frequently used when
questions concerning the social sphere were asked.

The United Headquarters is now working on Provision on status of
servicemen of the Organization studying in Russian military educational
establishments. The document is supposed to make foreign trainees’
life in Russia better regulated and, generally, easier.

Valery Semerikov, Deputy General Secretary of the Organization,
promises that the document will handle all problems of the trainees –
financial, medical, transport, recreational. "The decision was made to
have the document endorsed by the heads of states and not by defense
minister," Semerikov said. "It will be done at the next meeting of
the Collective Security Council in the second quarter of 2007."