THANKS TO RAPID GROWTH IN CONSTRUCTIONS, SERVICES AND AGRICULTURE, ARMENIAN ECONOMY HAS INCREASED BY 13% IN 2005
By Gohar Gevorgian

AZG Armenian Daily
14/12/2006

It was announced by the representatives of European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development. They stated that external investments,
big extent of transfers, personal realization and export’s enlargement
mostly contributed to our country’s economic growth. Let’s remind
that EBRD was established to spur the transition of centralized
planning economy to the market economy in Central and South Europe
and Central Asia.

According to the previously mentioned Bank’s account of transition
period, in 2005 Georgia’s economy increased by 9.3%, Azerbaijan’s
by 26% and Russian’s by 6.4%. The growing of Georgian economy is
conditioned by good activities of financial sector, by external
debt’s improved position and by growth of budget’s profit but in
Russia the sum of investment of capital has increased. In the EBRD
account Azerbaijan economy is considered the fastest developing in
the world, owing to its oil industry’s enlarge and also owing to the
opening of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. It is not accidentally,
that it was established 26% growing of Azerbaijani economy. EBRD,
that expected positive tendency’s continuation in the region, marked
that CIS region continues being the fastest developing in the world
and in 2006 it is expected 6.2% upgrowth.

Economist Alexander Kirmicun, who introduced the account, noted that
in 2005 there were reforms in Armenia economy especially in business
field- appearance of new operator of mobile phones, but in spite of
it we see lack of competition, which is the main problem of Armenia.

OSCE MONITORING UPSET BY AZERI SIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.12.2006 17:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ December 13 the OSCE mission was scheduled to hold
a recurrent monitoring at the contact line of the NKR and Azeri armed
forces in the Fizuli direction near the settlement of Karakhanbeyli.

According to the schedule, the observing mission headed for the
monitoring site accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministries
of Foreign Affairs and Defense. However the Azeri side did not bring
the observers out to the coordinated site and the OSCE mission members
proceeding from security interests decided to cancel the monitoring.

ARMENIAN FILM ABOUT KARABAKH AWARDED AT A FESTIVAL IN HOLLAND
By Aghavni Harutyunian

AZG Armenian Daily
14/12/2006

By the assistance of BBC a movie by Armenian filmmaker Vardan
Hovhannisian entitled "A story of people£ war and peace " was presented
on the IDFA Documental Film Festival, Amsterdam. In result, the film
was included in the top 3 of the festival. Panarmenian.net informs
that only 300 of 3000 films were admitted to the final round of the
festival. The Azeri community of Holland as well as the Ambassador
of Azerbaijan to Holland expressed protest against the demonstration
of the Armenian film, but their efforts had no results.

–Boundary_(ID_H94S204RdT4YXsCACkGJ2A)–

REFERENDUM ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE NKR

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.12.2006 GMT+04:00

One more step forward towards the international recognition

According to the USSR Constitution, the autonomous republics and
regions had the same rights as the 15 "main" republics.

Referendum on the Constitution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was
held, and as it could be expected, it was held with the unanimous
approval of the population of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The
World Community’s response was also predictable; nobody recognized
its results, including the OSCE Minsk Group and the Council of Europe
and European Union. U.N.O. wasn’t among those who didn’t recognize it,
but instead GUAM Countries were.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The mentioned organization, before the referendum had
announced that "holding the referendum is violation of the Constitution
of the Republic of Azerbaijan, norms and principles of international
rights, therefore it will have no legal significance and its results
will be recognized as invalid". Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning
that according to the USSR Constitution, the autonomous republics
and regions had the same rights as the 15 "main" republics. That
means, that the autonomous region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,
South Ossetia and all the more Ajaria and Abkhazia, which used to be
autonomous republics, have the right of self-determination without
breaking the principle of territorial integrity. Consequently,
they had and still have the right of holding referendums and
elections. According to the Head of the International Relations
Problems Department of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis
Sergey Markedonov, the referendum on adopting the Constitution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, was first of all addressed to the World
Community. "Both USA and European Union talk much of democratization
as of a crucial factor in solving conflicts in a peaceful way. The
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic demonstrated adherence to this method",
he said.

As for GUAM Countries (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldavia),
they have recently been acting on one principle: "that’s the guilty
conscience speaking", however this principle is not strategically
very successful. Only the powerful country, having no complaints and
demands, is recognized by the World Community. It is the case, when it
has no oil; in case it does, it is quite another thing. Thanks God,
Nagorno-Karabakh has no oil, so it is free to do whatever he wants
(within reasonable limits, of course). Yet, Azerbaijan can always
be controlled and threatened with sanctions of Ilham Aliyev’s
authoritarian regime, who feeds the population with tales about
"fairy oil incomes", but in real the money goes into the clan’s pocket
only. But these are just trifles. Later in an announcement made by
GUAM Countries, there was an idea which was repeated by anyone who
"didn’t recognize the results": "The referendum disturbs the ongoing
peaceful process and aims at destabilizing the situation in the region
and deludes the International Community. This act contradicts the
universally recognized standards and values of democracy and the human
rights. Any Constitutional Document stipulating for self-government
of the Nagorno-Karabakh population may be developed within the
frames of legal, democratic and peaceful processes with full, equal
and immediate participation of the whole population of the region,
composed of both Azerbaijani and Armenian Communities".

The most moving part of the whole story was the part about the
participation of the Azerbaijani Community in the Referendum of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

Yes, let them come and vote, who doesn’t allow them to? Just wondering,
why should the population of 2-3 villages impose its will on the
95% population? Or maybe the Azerbaijani authorities think that the
safe haven is also included in the territory of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic. Then there are no unanswered questions left, they accepted
themselves, so it means that these territories are not subject to
any return.

In general, there is a rather familiar air in the content of the
announcement- it is very typical to Central Committee of the CPSU,
when Brejnev and Aliyev Senior were in power. The style is very
typical to the party, having tendency for "democracy", as it is
understood by GUAM Countries, and first of all, by Azerbaijan. The
cost of the announcement is the same as that of other parties’
-published and forgotten.

Especially when the discussions about the "frozen conflicts in the
territory of GUAM Countries" have been suspended in U.N.O. for a
year. For an organization like that – a year is a very long term and
it may be considered that the resolution has been simply "frozen".

"PanARMENIAN.Net" analytical department

THE TRIAL OF VARDAN MALKHASYAN WAS HELD WITHOUT HIS ADVOCATE

A1+
[06:03 pm] 13 December, 2006

Yesterday the Court of the first instance of Kentron and Norq-Marash
communities heard the mediation of the National Security Service about
imprisoning Vardan Malkhasyan who was arrested on December 10. The
trial was held without the participation of Malkhasyan’s advocate.

According to the appeal of Malkhasyan’s wife, advocate Mushegh
Shushanyan was to protect him. Yesterday Shushanyan visited the court
several times and tried to find out when the case would be heard,
but failed.

Yesterday at 06:00 p.m. the court heard the case during 20 minutes
and decided to put Malkhasyan under arrest. Mushegh Shushanyan is
now trying to meet Malkhasyan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NO ONE CAN BE ARRESTED IN ARMENIA FOR OPPOSING HANDING LAND TO AZERBAIJAN, ARF MEMBER SAYS

Armenpress
Dec 13 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS: Vahan Hovhanesian from the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) echoed today law-enforcement authorities
who pressed coup charges against Zhirayr Sefilian, a prominent Lebanese
citizen of Armenian descent, a veteran of the Karabakh war, who was
arrested for allegedly plotting to overthrow Armenia’s government.

Hovhanesian said Sefilian, at least now, is charged with
anti-constitutional activity and there was no word that his arrest
was prompted by his opposition to Armenian concessions to Azerbaijan
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. A court in Yerevan sentenced
yesterday evening Sefilian to 2-month pre-trial detention contrary
to expectations that he would be deported from the country.

The National Security Service said earlier in a statement that
Sefilian, a veteran of the 1991-1994 war in Karabakh, was planning an
armed uprising against the government during parliamentary elections
due next spring. It said Sefilian is charged with publicly calling
for a "violent change of constitutional order."

The court denied, after a six-hour long hearing, a petition by
several lawmakers to release Sefilian on bail. It also denied
Sefilian’s lawyer’s request that his wife, who is an aide to Lebanese
ambassador to Armenia, be present at the hearing. " I do not think
that anyone in Armenia can be arrested for opposing the handing of
Armenian-controlled regions around the Nagorno-Karabakh republic to
Azerbaijan,’ Hovhanesian said.

"I have not seen anyone who is getting prepared for doing this, but
we have to realize that a long-lasting peace can be achieved only
through a compromised deal," Hovhanesian said, but added that Armenia
has already made the bulk of concessions it could do.

"We did not incorporate Nagorno-Karabakh into the Republic of
Armenia, Karabakh is a different sate, we did not raise the issue
of Nakhichevan. We have made concessions and now the turn is for
Azerbaijan,’ he said.

FIVE YEARS FOR "SLAVERY"
Armenouhi Minasyan

A1
[06:12 pm] 13 December, 2006

In the Court of the first instance of the region of Shirak judge Edward
Manoukyan continued to hear the case against Ararat Mouradyan. Let
us remind you that Ararat Mouradyan (b. 1966 in Voskehat) who has
three under age children is accused of exploiting people.

In 2004 Mouradyan took Edgar Karapetyan, his father Robert Karapetyan
and Ashot Grigoryan to Russia promising high wages. He made them work
for about a year without paying money. On the whole he earned about
176 thousand Russian rubles.

The Court of the first instance sentenced him to five years’
imprisonment and ordered to confiscate his property in order to pay
the money to the victims.

TV Company "Tsayg", Gyumri

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: REFERENDUM IN KARABAKH NOT TO IMPEDE TALKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.12.2006 16:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "We do not recognize Nagorno Karabakh as an
independent state. We regret that a pro-independence constitutional
referendum was held in Nagorno Karabakh," said State Department
Spokesman Edgar Vasquez. "Being co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group
the U.S. works at the Karabakh conflict peaceful settlement. Nagorno
Karabakh’s future status is being discussed in the framework of the
peaceful talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he said. In his opinion
the referendum forestalls the process, that is why the U.S. doesn’t
recognize its outcomes. At that he is convinced that the referendum
outcomes, reports the Voice of America.

NKR MFA THANKS AZERI MEDIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.12.2006 17:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/The NKR Foreign Ministry’s press office thanked the
Azeri media for timely notification of the scheduled for December
13 rally of the Azeri community in front of the Armenian Embassy
in Moscow.

"According to your information the goal of the picket is to protest
the illegal referendum on independence," the NKR MFA press office said.

"We are surprised that the picket in Moscow was held in front of
the Armenian Embassy and want to remind that NKR is not a part of
Armenia but a sovereign state. We welcome any public events which
prove recognition of NKR. We are also surprised that a picket against
‘illegal referendum on independence’ is held 15 years later. The people
of Artsakh proclaimed independence December 10, 1991. In this view we
offer the demonstrators to protest the constitutional referendum that
was held December 10, 2006 not to waste money spent on the organization
of the rally," the statement says, reports the NKR MFA press office.

CONFERENCE ON COORDINATION OF AID TO SOUTH CAUCASUS HELD IN ZURICH

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.12.2006 18:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The delegation of the RA Defense Ministry is
taking part in the conference dedicated to coordination of aid in the
defense sector rendered by donor states to the South Caucasus. The
conference is being held in Zurich (Switzerland) December 13-15 and
aims at coordination of assistance and successful implementation
of NATO cooperation program. The Armenian delegation is headed by
Nikolay Avetisyan, the chief of the department of external relations
and international cooperation at the RA Defense Ministry.

Representatives of 20 donor states, NATO, Armenia, Azerbaijan and
Georgia as well as Moldova, which is preparing for ratification of the
IPAP with NATO, are taking part in the conference, reports RIA Novosti.