VARDAN OSKANYAN AND SERGEY LAVROV DISCUSSED KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Nov 2 2006
RA and Russia’s FMs Vardan Oskanyan and Sergey Lavrov held a meeting
within the frames of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) member
countries Council of Ministers 15th sitting.
In the course of the meeting the parties discussed the process of
the Karabakh conflict’s peaceful resolution.
Vardan Oskanyan and Sergey Lavrov also considered Armenian-Russian
bilateral relations and the regional issues.

PETROSIAN VS THE ELITE
by Ray Keene and Julian Simpole, Batsford, 299 pages, £15.99.
British Chess Magazine, UK
Nov 2 2006
BCM Chess Book Reviews : November 2006
Now that we have a manoeuvring, positional player in place as the
undisputed world champion and Garry Kasparov has retired, one wonders
whether fashion will change and there will be shift of focus by
students of the game towards the great technical players of the past.
Kramnik has often been compared to Petrosian, and it seems like a very
opportune moment to review the career of the Armenian world champion
of the 1960s. One of the reviewer’s personal regrets is that I was
too prone to hero-worship the likes of Fischer in my youth.
Like many, I was carried along by the zeitgeist, but I now feel I would
have learnt far more about practical chess technique by studying the
games of Petrosian. Too late for me, but younger readers might do well
to buy this book and study the 71 victories of Iron Tigran contained
within it. Julian Simpole is acknowledged as providing the bulk of
the text. He has not relied on computer analysis, and the contents do
not overlap to any significant degree with Peter Clarke’s collection
of Petrosian games nor Kasparov’s chapter on Petrosian in My Great
Predecessors. This looks like a most enjoyable read. JS.
[for other books on chess, go to
ml ]
–Boundary_(ID_FI1EwKLu0N8yAPw723C3AQ)–

OSCE MINSK GROUP TAKES UNFAIR VIEW ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH – RULING PARTY FUNCTIONARY
Author: J.Shahverdiyev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Nov 2 2006
MP Siyavush Novruzov, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the ruling
New Azerbaijan Party, informed Trend at an exclusive interview that
he does not believe that the OSCE Minsk Group is taking a fair view
in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Trend reports.
So far the OSCE has not recognized Armenia as an aggressor though the
Council of Europe and UN have definite resolutions on this conflict.
“If the Parliament of France adopts the well-known resolution on the
so-called ‘Armenian genocide’ in Turkey, changing European values which
have been established for centuries as well as European democracy,
could can one expect it to hold fair views on the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict? Furthermore, two co-chairing countries
at the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia and France, have voted against
the inclusion of an item on the settlement of frozen conflicts in
the territory of GUAM during the discussions at the UN Security
Council. The display by the Russian Ambassador during the meeting of
the Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents in Ramboulitte demonstrated
whom he actually sympathizes with,’ Novruzov stated.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS ARMENIA’S BORDER MOSTLY OPEN
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Nov 2 2006
(PanARMENIAN.Net) – “The Armenian-Turkish border is mostly open,”
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said. In his words, 70 thousand
Armenians live and work in Turkey at present and send finances to
their relatives in Armenia, reports Trend.
“Besides, there is air communication. This is a political issue and
for most part depends of the Armenian government,” the Turkish FM
said, reports RFE/RL. To note, Abdullah Gul is participating in the
BSECO FMs’ sitting in Moscow.

NKR DELEGATION VISITED FRANCE
Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Nov 2 2006
On October 25 and 26 the NKR minister of education, culture and sport
Kamo Atayan and the rector of Artsakh State University Hamlet Grigorian
visited France. On October 25 the delegation visited the vocation
college of the city of Meudon training specialists for industries
and hotel business. On the same day Kamo Atayan and Hamlet Grigorian
visited one of the Armenian schools of the region of Paris, met with
the students and teachers, got acquainted with the teaching methods
used in this Armenian school. On October 26 the representatives
of Nagorno Karabakh participated in the forum of the France-based
Armenian societies aiding Artsakh, during which the development of the
new vocational college in Stepanakert was discussed. After the forum
the guests took part in the ceremony devoted to the 15th anniversary
of the independence of Artsakh.
French members of parliament, mayors, heads of French organizations
and famous representatives of the Armenian community in France were
present.

I HAVE BECOME GROUNDLESS
Margaret Yesayan
Aravot, Armenia
Nov 2 2006
CRU leader Hrant Khachatrian says
– Mr. Khachatrian, something strange happens in CRU, doesn’t it?
– The point is that a trap was set by a revolt organized for about
a month not only for me but for the other members of leadership, too.
People who didn’t have any authority brought a criminal case
against Suren Vardanian and I had to participate in that case as a
witness. I was participating as the former leader, but I was asked such
documents, which the current leader could give. The former leader could
testify by his memory, but it wasn’t enough for the investigation,
and I had to refuse of testifying though I was warned by criminal
responsibility. Then it became clear that my status in the party is
indefinite. On the other hand I was elected as the leader of the party
against my own free will, I didn’t want, when NSS representatives in
the office of the party prevent my entrance there.
Finally I’ll find out my status but I don’t see any serious ground
to carry out policy, a policy as I want to carry out. It seemed to
me I have become groundless, while policy is a serious thing and only
serious politicians must carry it out.
– People who have left the party with you, have turned to the court
and want to solve your mentioned status issues by judicial order.
What do you think about it?
– I myself didn’t want my friends to turn to the court but as they
are also free persons, I’m responsible for helping those persons who
became the victims of this conspiracy.
– It is published in one of the newspapers the record that CRU
leadership was engaged in trade activities and accumulated money at
the expense of commissions in the pre-electoral period, as the leader
of the party have you been informed about it?
– There was financial account, which was adopted by the leadership;
there were different applications about behaviour of the party members
and discussions and decisions about them. But there are facts which
can’t be proved.
– That record, is it true?
– Frankly speaking that record caused a strained atmosphere inside
the party, and just Gegham Grigorian was threatening Hayk Babukhanian
by that record. Gegham told Hayk Babukhanian that he gave one of
the examples of that record to me, and sent other examples to the
representatives of mass media. We didn’t know what was there. We
listened to the record and saw that there was nothing to prove.

IN TWO YEARS WE MAY FACE SERIOUS PROBLEMS
Norair Hovsepian
Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Nov 2 2006
While highlighting the necessity of developing wine growing in
Armenia we often forget about the major problems we might be facing
when the grapes ripen. There are no many processing factories in
Karabakh. For instance, Karabakh Gold, one of the biggest companies
in Karabakh, producing about 30 brands of wine and vodka, bought
about 6000 tons of grapes in 2005. The company had foreseen to buy
7000 tons in 2006, but the harvest was poor, and the company bought
only 1000 tons. In 2005, 700 tons of grapes was used for wine,
2000 tons was sold to Yerevan Brandy Factory, and 2300 tons is kept
in the factory to produce brandy. Vladik Alibabayan, the production
manager says, “Presently, the production of grapes in Karabakh must be
limited. Armenia produces the amount of grapes it needs, and does not
need to import more.” A. Harutiunian, a shareholder of Karabakh Gold
says, “In two years we’ll be facing serious problems in processing
grapes. The potential of the existing factories doesn’t correspond
to the rates of development of the production of grapes. Even today
the factories are unable to keep up,” he says. Another major problem
is the sale of the production of processing factories. The consumers
of Karabakh cannot consume this much. A. Harutiunian says Karabakh
can consume the production of hardly 10 percent of grapes grown
in Karabakh. Nevertheless, the company seeks to increase the sales
and the volume of processing. Karabakh Gold increases the volume of
grapes by an annual 500 tons. The company is also planning to make
new brands. In 2007 the company will produce brandy. The company
is likely to operate another factory in Stepanakert, but it will
not start buying more grapes from farmers. Arthur Gabrielian, CEO
of Artsakh Alco says, “How can the entrepreneur buy more grapes if
he is not sure what will happen to his production?” “The grapes we
produce is too much for the market in Karabakh, and Armenia doesn’t
need to import grapes.” Artsakh Alco focuses on the production of
eau de vies, and only 15 percent of its production is consumed on the
local market. The rest is exported to Armenia, Russia, Ukraine and the
United States. Arthur Gabrielian says the only way out is to produce
competitive products, but the conclusion is not encouraging because no
Karabakh-based company has this possibility. “The factories inherited
from the USSR cannot guarantee a high quality, and new technologies
are costly and take time,” he says. For instance, he says, if the
company has considerable achievements in the production of eau de
vies, the same cannot be said about wines. “We can also export some
amount of wines but we are not sure that it will be competitive,”
Arthur Gabrielian says. The representatives of both companies said
their companies, nevertheless, attend to the problems of the farmers,
and Karabakh Gold, which rents 100 hectares of vineyard, helps the
owners of vineyards with chemicals. The CEO of Artsakh Alco said in
2006 they opened offices in the villages of Sos and Machkalashen to
buy grapes. Next year Artsakh Alco is likely to provide farmers with
chemicals. “Buying a small amount of chemicals and having it tested
in a laboratory may be a problem for a farmer because he has to waste
considerable time, whereas for the company it is a matter of finance
but we do not suffer losses because it is included in the price of
the grapes,” says Arthur Gabrielian. In other words, both the producer
and the processor are interested in the quality of their production.

WE NEED IN STATE EFFORTS
Aram Abrahamian
Aravot, Armenia
Nov 2 2006
Turks and Azerbaijanis have always paid more attention to propaganda
than the Armenians do. I suppose that one of the reasons is the
difference of national character; those peoples pay more attention to
external effects, demonstrative steps than we do. And we can notice
it easily comparing our and their literature and art. Besides this
basic difference there is another certain circumstance; why the
Azerbaijani propaganda is more active since 1994. That circumstance
is the following; those who lose cry more loudly than the winners.
“What else could Azerbaijan do? It has lost the war, the control over
Karabakh, fell under influence of about 500 thousands refugees. What
must the President of Azerbaijan and Foreign Minister answer their
people is not to pretend as if they struggle to get NK and occupied
territories back”,- RA first President writes in his famous article.
That’s true, but 12,5 years have passed since the cease fire and there
is no hope the conflict will be settled soon. During this period the
Azeris are very active and our neighbours aggressive style will have
its results.
I remembered all these when we were informed that the Azeris presented
a book in the international book fair in Frankfurt, the main part of
which was devoted to anti-Armenian propaganda. That cynical lie may
produce a great impression on middle literate European.
And we, the Armenians, have a right to wait for the opposing answer
of our state.
The officials say in this case: “Just you, the journalists must be
engaged in it”. I don’t agree with it.
First of all journalism and PR are different things. And the second,
if I try to prove with the help of Armenian newspaper that Amberd is
an Armenia monument, my readers will consider it rather strange.
We need in state efforts, state approach.

IN THE LONG RUN BILL IS NO BENEFIT
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 1 2006
How will Armenia benefit from the bill on the genocide adopted by
the French parliament? The Lragir asked this question to its readers
over the past two weeks. 24 percent think Armenia will not benefit,
18.8 percent think that the bill adopted by the French parliament
will hinder the relation with Turkey. 29.3 percent think that it is
merely another moral victory, and 27.9 percent think it enhanced the
political importance of Armenia.

CONSCIOUS IDEA IS IDEA, UNCONSCIOUS IDEA IS …
Hakob Badalyan
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 1 2006
The problem of transport of Armenia is downplayed by the volume of
Russian investments. Haylur reported that President Robert Kocharyan
expressed this interesting idea during his visit to Moscow.
Certainly, investments and transport are interrelated. When there
are no transport routes, it is natural that the country cannot be
attractive for investments. The vivid example is Armenia, where the
investments of Germany, which is a leading country by the volume of
its foreign investments, hardly total 97 million dollars. And it is at
least surprising that instead of relating the Armenian president simply
opposed transport and investments saying that the absence of one is
downplayed by the other. Or maybe it is known to Robert Kocharyan in
case of which amount of investments Armenia will not need transport
routes any more. In reality, it is clear that the Armenian president
has nothing else to say especially if he is in Moscow. The Russians
have blocked the transport route of Armenia, and by the way, it is
not important why, even if we take into account that they had blocked
Verin Lars long before the Russian-Georgian tensions. Consequently,
either the Armenian president should not have talked about transport
in Moscow, which would definitely appear strange, or first he should
have demanded explanation from Russia about its indifference towards
its strategic partner. However, as usual, Robert Kocharyan chose the
third way – to speak and to justify Russia. And, in fact, in Moscow
the Armenian president raised the issue of transport and immediately
let it go, saying that there are no routes but instead the Russians
are making investments.
Meanwhile, Russian investments in the Armenian economy total about
67 million dollars. In addition, this is the index of the official
statistics. Ostensibly, this 67 million dollar is the price of the
transport route of Armenia. Is it expensive or cheap? It is hard to
tell. If it were easy, the president would tell about it in Moscow.
He did not tell, it means it is not important. And would we exchange
the rest of the transport routes for another 67 million dollars? Why
not? Especially that soon we will not need them anymore, given the
decline in exports, reported by the same official statistics.