YEREVAN BLAMING GEORGIA IN “INTERNET BLOCKADE”
The Messenger, Georgia
Aug. 14, 2006
Rezonansi reports that for the last few days internet availability in
Armenia has been unreliable. Armenia blames Georgia in this, as the
only cable that connects Armenia to global computer networks passes
through Georgia.
The issue was discussed at the government session in Yerevan, although
any decisions are not yet publicly known. Tbilisi officials state it
is absurd to blame Georgia for an “internet blockade.”
According to the paper, the private owner of the cable is a Georgian
company, Fobt-Net, has itself been seriously damaged from this. The
Armenian network operator Armentel said that first the cable was
damaged near Kutaisi on August 4, which cut off Armenia from the
internet for six hours. This was followed by further damage of
the cable running along the Black Sea seabed, which disconnected
Armenia from the internet for three days. On August 8, Armentel’s
press secretary Asmik Chutlian stated that the internet connection
was restored with the help of reserve sources and satellite feeds,
though the repair works would take more than ten days. However, the
next day the connection was again broken off somewhere in Georgian,
according to Chutilian.
The issue was taken seriously by Armenian President Robert Kocharian,
who himself took part in the discussion of the problem.
The paper writes that the manager of Fobt-Net, Viktor Nanobashvili,
suggested that a passing ship could have been one of the causes of
damage to the Black Sea portion of the cable.
“I cannot say exactly that it was a ship’s fault, but I can assure
everyone that the investigation will be carried out to reveal the
reasons of the damage,” he said.
“The statements blaming Georgia have been made earlier as well,
although it is not fair to politicize the issue as if Georgian
government is to blame for what happened,” Nanoboashvili stated.

RABBIT-EARED ROBOT DEBUTS
By Astrid Wendlandt; Reuters News Agency
The Toronto Star
August 14, 2006 Monday
In the evolution of electronic companions, first came the speaking
doll, then the Tamagotchi virtual pet, then Sony’s short-lived
AIBO dog.
Now, it could be the dawn of the Wi-Fi rabbit era.
The plastic bunny with ears like TV antennae can read out emails and
mobile phone text messages, tell children to go to bed, alert one
to a stock collapse and give traffic updates by receiving Internet
feeds via a wireless Wi-Fi network.
The bunny, which stands 23 centimetres tall and has a white cone-like
body that lights up when it speaks, is called Nabaztag, which means
rabbit in Armenian, its creator’s mother tongue. It can also wiggle
its ears and sing songs.
“If I send a text message to my wife and she is busy cooking, she will
hear it without having to check her mobile,” said a Paris-based telecom
analyst at an international brokerage, who did not wish to be named.
French entrepreneur Rafi Haladjian, who conceived the idea, says the
rabbit sometimes carries more sway over children than their parents and
can help men who have misbehaved win forgiveness from angry partners.
“It is sad, but true,” he said.
Nabaztag costs 115 euros ($148) in France, 80 pounds ($152) in Britain
and $150 in the United States. It is made in Shenzhen, China.
Since its market debut last year, 50,000 Nabaztags have been sold in
France, Britain, Belgium and Switzerland, and Haladjian hopes to sell
150,000 by the end of this year.
The businessman is now looking to conquer the United States, where he
only has a tiny presence, and is gearing up for the December holiday
shopping season.
Last December, Haladjian appeared on CNN for three minutes and received
350,000 online information requests.
“The only problem was that we had zero bunnies, we had sold them all
already and we had not even started selling them in the United States
yet,” he said.
The rabbit is made by French company Violet, 55 per cent owned by
Haladjian and 30 per cent by Banexi Ventures, a private equity arm
of French bank BNP Paribas.
Paul Jackson, an analyst at research house Forrester, is among
several analysts who predict the Nabaztag will find favour among the
well-heeled and technology-savvy as it benefits from the spread of
Wi-Fi networks around the globe.
Wi-Fi technology is the latest must-have in many mass-market consumer
goods, from mobile phones to personal digital assistants, laptops
and TV set-top boxes. In Western Europe’s seven largest markets,
on average about 6 per cent of households have a Wi-Fi home network
while in the United States, the rate is between 12 and 14 per cent,
according to Forrester.
Nabaztag, which performs basic tasks, relies on relatively simple
technology – Wi-Fi and online software and filters.
Analysts say one of the reasons Sony’s AIBO dog was discontinued this
year was that its technology was too complex and the robotic animal
too pricey.
But some say simplicity can also be a weakness in a sophisticated
market where some want all the latest bells and whistles.
“The problem with targeting this tech elite is that they are very
fickle,” said Jackson.
Tamagotchi fell out of favour with many children after a while because
its functions were repetitive, analysts say.
Haladjian says the key to Nabaztag’s longevity will be constant
innovation and finding new applications as the Internet evolves. But
competition is heating up.
Ambient Devices, a spin-off from the Media Lab at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, is one of several rivals putting
Internet-based communicating devices on the market.
Ambient sells a lamp ball that glows different colors to display
real-time stock market trends, weather and pollen forecasts for $150,
excluding shipping costs.
GRAPHIC: BENOIT TESSIER reuters Rafi Haladjian with his company’s
creation, a plastic bunny with ears like TV antennae. The robot
can read out emails and text messages, tell children to go to bed,
or alert one to a stock collapse by receiving Wi-Fi.

A HOT CAUCASIAN CUISINE
by Leonid Timofeev
Translated by Pavel Pushkin
Source: Tribuna, No. 31, August 11, 2006, p. 2
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 14, 2006 Monday
COLONEL GENERAL LEONID IVASHOV: AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF INSTABILITY
SAAKASHVILI HOPES TO SOLVE INTERNAL PROBLEMS OF GEORGIA; Tbilisi
lacks only a mere trifle for forcefully solving the problems with
Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which is getting rid of the collective
peacekeeping forces in the conflict zone.
Tbilisi lacks only a mere trifle for forcefully solving the problems
with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which is getting rid of the collective
peacekeeping forces in the conflict zone. Russian posts are a special
obstacle.
The technology is simple. Recently, Georgian Foreign Ministry accused
Russia of shooting at Georgian posts in the Kodori Gorge. Information
about helicopters without identifying signs was launched afterwards.
Meanwhile, the situation in the gorge is growing more alarming.
According to the Abkhaz party, the so-called police operation is
failing and resistance of the rebels commanded by Emzar Kvitsiani
is growing stronger. The fate of the local population is a special
concern because it is threatened with humanitarian catastrophe.
Expert opinion
Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, Vice President of the Academy
of Geopolitical Problems: – It is necessary to speak about the
Georgian-Abkhaz conflict today in connection to what is happening
in the Middle East and in the world in general. Characteristically,
the Middle Eastern conflict was “launched” after a meeting of Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with George Bush. Saakashvili also visited
Washington on the eve of the G8 summit. He has evidently received
instructions and is kindling up a conflict in the Caucasus. What the
Georgian authorities are doing now is an obvious provoking of a large
conflict into which Russia will be involved at least partially.
Implementation of this plan will enable the Georgian authorities to
demand intervention international forces, most likely, Americans,
Turks and other NATO countries. The US is not interested in integrity
of Georgia and it needs to stir up the Caucasus. Americans have
stirred up the Middle East and now they need to extend the “arch of
instability” in the western and in the eastern directions. We see
what is happening in Ukraine. In the opposite direction, we see Iran,
Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Through Saakashvili Washington is fulfilling a task of formation of
instability zones in the world. The Georgian leader hopes that against
the background of instability it is possible to solve all internal
problems and to lay the blame for them on Russia, Abkhazia and South
Ossetia and to strengthen his position in Georgia through this.
It is possible to stop aggravation of conflicts in reality only
by decisive political and probably economic actions. Where it is
necessary, in case of military provocations, it is necessary to stop
this by decisive actions of military nature. Russia should return
everything to the international law norms and demand stringent
observance of the agreements of 1994 from Georgia. It is necessary
to demand respectful attitude towards our peacekeeping contingent
and to reinforce it.

TBILISI AWAITS ARRIVAL OF SENIOR IRANIAN DIPLOMAT
RIA Novosti, Russia
August 14, 2006
TBILISI, August 14 (RIA Novosti) – Iran’s deputy foreign minister
will arrive in Georgia Monday on a two-day visit, where he will hold
talks with the South Caucasus country’s president and other leaders,
a national news agency said.
Novosti Georgia said that as well as meeting with President Mikhail
Saakashvili, Mehdi Safari would hold talks with Prime Minister Zurab
Nogideli and Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili.
The two countries became energy partners earlier in the year, when
Georgia signed an emergency contract with the Islamic Republic for
natural gas supplies in the midst of a nationwide energy crisis. The
Georgian leadership has expressed an interest in establishing long-term
gas imports from Iran, including the construction of a gas pipeline
connecting the countries via Armenia.

DEADLY BAGHDAD EXPLOSION WAS ACCIDENTAL GAS BLAST: US
Agence France Presse — English
August 14, 2006 Monday 12:27 PM GMT
A deadly explosion which demolished a building in a Baghdad market
was an accidental gas blast, a US military spokesman said Monday,
differing sharply from the Iraqi government’s version of events.
Iraqi officials — including the office of Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki — had earlier blamed a series of insurgent car bombs and
missile strikes for Sunday’s explosions, which killed at least 57
people as night fell.
But Major General William Caldwell, the chief spokesman for the US-led
military coalition in Iraq, told reporters that American explosives
experts believed that a major gas explosion had triggered a series
of blasts.
“Our explosives specialists reported today that it was a very
significant gas explosion on the first floor of the building,” he said.
“The secondary explosions were the result of that. There is no evidence
substantiating that something else was involved. Everything now points
out that it was an internal gas explosion that set off a series of
other explosions.”
Earlier, a statement from Maliki’s media office had blamed the
explosions on insurgent bombers, a version supported by Iraqi security
officials.
“Terrorist groups carried out a dirty and criminal operation, firing
a number of Katyusha rockets on a building in Al-Qubyasi, followed
by a car bomb explosion and a Katyusha near the Al-Barid area,”
the premier’s office said.
“This was followed by exploding a motorcycle near a public library
and the fall of a mortar shell near the Armenian Church,” it added.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CONSTRUCTION OF KAPAN-TSAV-SHVANIDZOR-MEGHRI ROAD TO BE FINISHED BY THE END OF THE YEAR
Armenpress
Aug 14 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS: Construction of
Kapan-Tsav-Shvanidzor-Meghri inter-state road is expected to be
finished by the end of the year. The road, which is of strategic
importance, will serve as an alternative to the Kapan-Kajaran-Meghri
inter-state highway and will be 94 km long.
Armenian Transport and Communication Ministry public relations
department official informed Armenpress that the reconstruction
launched in 2005 and is being carried out by 4 contractor companies.
Overall, 230 km-long roads of inter-state, republic and
provincial importance will be reconstructed, 36 road sectors, 25
bridges. Martuni-Vardenis 38 km road is also going to be repaired.
The Armenian government has released 14.3 billion drams from the 2006
state budget for the restoration and development of the country’s
road network.

PASSENGERS OF YEREVAN-BATUMI TRAIN TO TRAVEL BY BUS
Panorama.am
16:30 12/08/06
Yerevan-Batumi train has stopped nearby Airum station due to an
accident on the railways of Georgia. Ararat Khrimyan, head of Armenian
Railways, said several carriages of a Georgian train have slipped
off the railways. The communication between Armenia and Georgia will
recover shortly after the accident will be eliminated. Khrimyan said
buses have set off to Airum to take the passengers to Batumi. The
train had 272 passengers, among them children.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TIGRAN TOROSYAN: “BAKU DOES NOT DARE TO RECOGNIZE THE REALITIES”
ArmRadio.am
15.08.2006 10:45
REGNUM: Mr. Torosyan, recently an extraordinary convention of the
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) took place. What conclusions can
be drawn, what developments are expected, and has the process of
increasing the membership of the RPA already been accomplished?
TOROSYAN: I think during the convention it became clear to everybody
that one should not draw extraordinary conclusions. As for the process
of increasing the membership, I believe, this is a continuous process
for any party. If there are people who wish to be admitted to the
party, naturally the process of replenishment will go on.
REGNUM: According to your forecast how many percent of votes will the
Republican Party collect in the upcoming parliamentary elections of
2007 ?
TOROSYAN: I think it is not worth doing forecasts about the elections
today.
As a matter of fact, I am surprised that some people have already
started to “distribute” parliamentary seats. Our approach is formulated
in an absolutely clear manner. We have repeatedly made it public. In
the course of the elections we will try not only to maintain our
positions, but also to consolidate them as much as possible. One can
notice that the estimates of Serge Sarkisyan (Minister of Defense,
who was recently elected as a member Council of RPA – REGNUM) are
also within the framework of this formula.
REGNUM: However, what will be the distribution of powers in the
new parliament?
TOROSYAN: The most important thing is that the elections meet the
international standards. It is not important who else apart from us
will hold places in the new parliament. We will follow the formula that
I spoke about. The RPA is ready to cooperate with all the political
powers that will enter the parliament after the elections of 2007
both on specific issues that may come up, as well as on broader range
of issues. What the image will be in general — will be determined
by the nation. I will just say that not all experts’ predictions on
Armenia turn into reality. And understandably so, because sometimes
there is significant lack of experience and knowledge for conducting
such studies. As for forecasting by politicians, those are not really
forecasts, but are rather wishful thinking.
REGNUM: Does the Republican Party consider during the forthcoming
elections the possibility of entering any alliance with another
political party? Is such a scenario being discussed?
TOROSYAN: Such an option is not being discussed yet. Each party should
always be ready to campaign on its own. However if the processes
develop in such a scenario, that entering into pre-electoral bloc
with some political power will be convenient, naturally this issue
will be considered. I would like to emphasize once again that this
issue is not on the agenda of the party yet.
REGNUM: If the Republican Party accomplishes all the tasks and
achieves its planned aims, who will be nominated as candidate to the
presidential elections of 2008?
TOROSYAN: I think it will be correct to speak about the presidential
elections after the parliamentary elections.
REGNUM: Many politicians do not exclude the candidacy of the Minister
of Defense Serge Sarkisyan.
TOROSYAN: I know. I am also familiar with his response to that
question.
REGNUM: Do you consider his nomination possible?
TOROSYAN: I am confident that after the parliamentary elections
the Republican Party will certainly discuss this issue and express
its position.
REGNUM: Mr. Torosyan, how efficient do you consider the South Caucasian
Parliamentary Initiative? What can this structure contribute to
Armenia? There is an opinion that such initiatives are doomed to
failure from the very beginning.
TOROSYAN: First of all, we should understand the purpose of the
initiative itself. And the purpose, I believe, is both positive and
important: it is the establishment of contacts between representatives
of parliaments of three South Caucasian countries. This is indeed
very important. In the future such meetings and contacts can “break
the ice” in the relations between these countries. Of course it is
meaningless to anticipate serious results from such meetings at this
point because of one reason: the Azerbaijanis are restrained by the
the official position of Baku, which is the following: relations,
cooperation with Armenia in any area on any issue, including on the
inter-parliamentary level is possible only after settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Our position is absolutely opposite to
this. I believe any reasonable person will prefer Armenia’s position
given its constructive nature.
Alas, this is the reality. Unfortunately, the international community,
which recently has been quite often reflecting on the conflicts
and particularly on the necessity to settle the Karabakh issue as
soon as possible, however, is not willing to see the main problems
that hinder the settlement. And in my opinion the most important
obstacles are the deepening of war propaganda as well as hate speech
in Azerbaijan. Notwithstanding wishes of some people (some consider
2006 to be a window, some — a door, or others consider 2007 and 2008
pre-electoral years) independently from all the above mentioned,
as long as the propaganda in Azerbaijan continues, it impossible
to anticipate any resolution. Today it became obvious that the
settlement of this issue is possible only by applying the principle
of self-determination of peoples. However, I think the President of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is not ready for settlement of the issue
grounding on this principle, although behind closed doors he does
not deny that this very principle seems to him as the only way of
resolution.
Therefore, if the president of Azerbaijan is not ready to settle
the issue on this basis, it means he must prepare his nation not
for the resolution of the conflict, but through lies and vociferous
statements, he prepares them for the illusion that the resolution is
possible only by military means. I must say that the latter option
is also impossible; once everyone was convinced of this, including
Azerbaijanis. I don’t think it will make sense to convince ourselves of
the same once again. However, neither Armenia nor Nagorno Karabakh wish
at all to prove – as to where the ways of confrontation and war lead…
REGNUM: It seems that the negotiations on peaceful settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk
Group have failed.
Do you think it is possible to transfer this issue into another
format, particularly to parliamentary structures, for instance, to the
Parliamentary Assembly of NATO or Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE?
TOROSYAN: It’s absolutely impossible. Especially bearing in mind
the fact that some of those parliamentary institutions have a formal
character, they are not so to say real parliamentary institutions. If
one scrutinizes their regulations, style of work and mechanisms,
one will see that they are not parliamentary institutions. Those are
places where people simply come together, meet, present some reports,
express opinions and that’s it. These meetings do not have any
practical implications. This is on the one hand. On the other hand,
in order to solve such complicated problems, significant experience,
knowledge as well as insight are required. It seems to many persons
that in reality conflicts are very simple and easy to resolve. At
the same time, many of them have an opportunity to grasp that in real
life it is a complicated problem.
I am sure that serious parliamentary institutions won’t have the
temptation to get involved, since they understand that conflict
resolution is a long process in parliamentary institutions, sometimes
it is very difficult to conduct such processes, because, as a rule,
their members change quite often.
As regards the “failure” of Karabakh negotiations within the framework
of the OSCE Minsk Group, frankly speaking, I would not assess the
current situation in such way. The current situation is not different
from, at least last year’s situation. The principles of the resolution
are well known and formulated, including the principle of respecting
the right of self-determination. The only difference in comparison
with the last year is that a year ago no one knew about the gist of
the principles. Today they are known and publicly debated. Before some
principles of negotiations became public, everything was happening
behind closed doors, and neither Ilham Aliyev nor Elmar Mamedyarov
deemed it necessary to deny the fact of their existence. Nevertheless,
today when many people are aware of the principles, they are trying
to reject these principles or some of the principles. Here is the
difference.
Today I am sure as much as I was last year, that when it will be
time to make the principles completely public and formulate the
document, Azerbaijanis will go back on their word. It has happened
repeatedly. The Azerbaijani side has always demonstrated a double-faced
policy. A conduct, which is demonstrated behind closed doors when
no one sees them, especially someone from their own society, and a
conduct outside these rooms and under the sight of others.
These two behaviors essentially differ from each other very often.
REGNUM: Can the principle of returning territories to Azerbaijan,
which are found in the proposals of the co-chairmen and which represent
actually a security belt around Nagorno Karabakh, create a wave of
mass protest in Armenia?
Will it lead to a serious discontent, won’t it?
TOROSYAN: As long as the document does not have a holistic
appearance, naturally there is not a final form and extent of the
compromise. There is no sense to talk about something that doesn’t
have a final form. Theoretically there can be a discontent caused by
the comprehensive resolution of the problem.
Practically, I think no one doubts that in the course of the settlement
of the conflict a compromise has to be reached for sure. What its
content will be, and in what proportions, is a different question. What
is important today is that the right of self-determination of peoples
has been recognized for the first time as a principle of conflict
settlement. This is becoming an irrefutable fact and is enshrined in
several documents. The application of this principle will result in the
recognition of independence of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. So the
issue of territories is directly intertwined with this circumstance.
Sometimes, it is articulated that once, Nagorno Karabakh had already
conducted a referendum. But a question is raised – within what
borders? Those who insist that once there has been a referendum, and
in fact been held and no one doubts its lawfulness from political
and legal point of view, have to not forget that if we insist on
that referendum, it means that we insist also on the borders in
which it has been held. Do the people insist on these borders in
the same manner as they insist on the recognition of results of this
referendum? These two factors are interrelated. Why did I bring this
fact as an example? Because there can not be separate questions in
the course of the resolution of the conflict. And it’s impossible to
resolve territorial issues leaving the other issues aside. They are
interlinked with numerous ties directly and indirectly.
REGNUM: So, should a new referendum be held in Nagorno Karabakh?
TOROSYAN: It is the international community that proposes to hold
a referendum. I have no doubts related to how the people of Nagorno
Karabakh will express themselves during another referendum. However,
as I have already noted, there is also another question, i.e. the
borders. And those who insist on the recognition of the previous
referendum have to consider that they suggest relinquishing all the
adjacent areas. The referendum was conducted in the territories of
former autonomous region of Nagorno Karabakh and Shahumyan.
REGNUM: In this case, within what borders does the new referendum
is to be held and does it make sense to hold it, if a timeframe of
10-15 years is being anticipated?
TOROSYAN: Such a term of holding a referendum, in 10-15 years, is not
reflected anywhere. This is another Azerbaijani provocation. There
isn’t such a document that says 10-15 years, and there are no reasons
to speak about such a timeframe. It doesn’t make sense to speak about a
hypothetical timeframe. It has to be linked to certain actions. Apart
from that, the borders within which the referendum will be held have
to be indicated. Furthermore, it should be clearly stipulated, that
independently from the position of Azerbaijan, after the referendum,
the international community must recognize its results. We know from
our experience that Azerbaijan is ready to renounce any agreement,
any commitment or viewpoint at any time. They are even ready to lie
without batting an eye. Therefore, the international community has to
be the guarantor of the recognition of results of the referendum. At
the same time, if 2-3 years are required for holding the referendum,
then it is necessary to define the modalities of the interim status
of Nagorno Karabakh. So there are numerous issues that have to be
necessarily resolved in order to bring the document to its final
shape and prepare it for signing.
I hope that in the meanwhile the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
also will take part in the negotiations. Furthermore, it is very
important that the document is signed also by the authorities of
Nagorno Karabakh, since they are a fully internationally recognized
party to the conflict.
REGNUM: There is much talk about the possibility of deploying
peacekeeping forces in the area of Karabakh conflict. How effective
will such a decision be and what will it give to the conflicting
parties and to the region as a whole? In fact, it has been ten
years that in the area of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict the regime of
ceasefire is maintained by the efforts of the parties themselves,
not the peacekeepers.
TOROSYAN: I repeat myself, but it is a delusion to separate any issue
from the general context and to begin deliberations around it. Each
sub item is linked with a great number of other sub items. To tell the
truth, there is one core issue of paramount importance — it is the
status of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. However, all other issues
are connected with each other, and to discuss them separately is,
at least, meaningless waste of time.
REGNUM: Taking into account the forthcoming parliamentary and
presidential elections, do you think that till 2008-09 nothing will
change in the process of conflict settlement and the status quo will
be maintained?
TOROSYAN: Probably, your question is connected with the approach of the
co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group, that settlement of conflicts is
frozen during elections. I think that it to be a wrong approach. Yes,
certainly, this issue has a great political articulation. But what do
the co-chairmen mean? Do they mean that while coming to any decision,
for example, a tide of discontent may arise in Armenia or Nagorno
Karabakh in 2007 or 2008? Discontent may arise at any moment —
in the pre-electoral, electoral, or post electoral period – in case
the decision is unacceptable for the population. And what if it is
acceptable? Either way, the elections are absolutely not important.
Will the Nagorno Karabakh issue remain in the same form till 2009? If
the approaches do not change by that time, of course it will remain
in the same form till 2009. And there are a number of preconditions
in order to change these approaches. Firstly, the international
community that says that the two countries as well as NK should prepare
their respective populations for peaceful resolution must have clear
criterion for the evaluation of the preparatory work. If the countries
move in the opposite direction, the international community should
give its unequivocal evaluation, which will be followed by certain
steps. Only in this case will the Azerbaijani side really understand
that it is required to move in the direction of peace.
There is a good option for resolution which can be helpful also for
Azerbaijan. As I have already said Baku does not have enough courage
to recognize the realties. Moreover, the Azerbaijani side is afraid
that once those realities are confirmed, it will lose the dearest
thing for them, namely petrodollars.
Therefore they need help. The international community can do so. It
can simply recognize the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic… of course simultaneously presenting certain demands
to Nagorno Karabakh. Azerbaijan will have no choice, apart from
reconciling with it. In such a case the leadership of Azerbaijan will
be relived from the burden making this decisive step themselves. I
believe this is the possibility of the resolution. It would be
advisable for the international community to think about such an
option of resolution. If they truly accept that, in the course of
the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict the principle of
self-determination must be applied, this can easily be done even
without Azerbaijan. Once it is fixed several times that Azerbaijan is
not ready or resolution of the conflict and is taking steps in the
opposite direction, it will be possible to organize a referendum,
as well as to recognize the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, and to take
all the other subsequent steps. There is nothing impossibe in this.
REGNUM: In this case, why has the international community not yet
recognized the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic?
TOROSYAN: Probably, some time is needed to deeply understanding and
doing that. After all, 17 years have passed if we don’t count the
year 1988, since the international community has admitted that the
principle of the self-determination has to be applied as a basis for
the resolution. If it is necessary for the resolution of the problem,
to wait another 17 years, I think both in Armenia and in Nagorno
Karabakh, people have the necessary patience and will wait for that
day. And, one should not doubt that this day will come.

FOUNDATIONS BILL TO BE FINALLY DEBATED
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Aug. 14, 2006
A bill on foundations, which was submitted to the Parliament Speaker’s
Office in June 2005 but has yet to be passed, is expected to be brought
up for debate by Parliament at an extraordinary session mid-September.
The bill, which is much-anticipated by European Union officials and
included both in the Accession Partnership Document and the Union’s
2005 country progress report, despite not being in the EU acquis
communitaire, will be debated by the full Parliament after being
finalized by Parliament’s Justice Commission.
A subcommission set up under the Justice Commission prepared a
report on the bill before Parliament went on recess in July. The
subcommission made some amendments to the bill, taking the objections
of some members into consideration. According to the amendments made,
the founders and administrators of foundations have to be Turkish
citizens but foreigners will be able to be on the administrative
boards of foundations set up in Turkey. Foundations which haven’t
had administrators or administrative bodies for 10 years will be
administered and represented by the Foundations Directorate after a
court ruling.
Foundations will be able to receive donations from abroad through
banks in cash or in kind. Historical artifacts, including those on the
borders of villages, which are owned by the Treasury, municipalities
and special administrators, could be registered to foundations under
the bill. Immovable assets registered under fake names such as Jesus,
Mother Mary, etc. will be registered to foundations in the 18 months
after the bill has been passed.
Non-Muslim minority foundations were mentioned in the Accession
Partnership Document among the short-term priorities. The document
said that a bill on foundations, which is part of European standards,
needed to be passed and that the sale, as well as the confiscation,
of immovable assets owned by non-Muslim religious community foundations
by the authorities should be stopped.
The EU’s 2005 country progress report said that non-Muslim communities
still encounter significant de facto problems.
Underlining that these communities lack legal status and have
limited property rights, the report said that the administration of
foundations face interference and that they aren’t allowed to train
their own clergy. “As for property rights, of the 2,285 applications
for registration of property in line with the January 2003 regulation,
341 have been accepted,” said the report
Arabaslik: Distinction between Greece and Turkey
A letter sent by EU Commission Representative to Turkey Hansjoerg
Kretschmer to EU Secretary General Oguz Demiralp stating that the
bill is incompatible with the EU acquis drew fire in Parliament.
Parliament’s EU Harmonization Commission members charged that Turkey
is expected to draw up a very different legislation even though the
rights of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace aren’t guaranteed
by the Greek government. Commission member and main opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul Deputy Onur Oymen said
that the Greek government confiscated Turkish foundations in 1967
and that these foundations are administered by trustees appointed by
the government. Visiting the Turkish Parliament, Turks from Western
Thrace said that the Greek government doesn’t allow them to even
own graveyards and requested Parliament not to grant any rights to
non-Muslim foundations in Turkey before their rights are guaranteed.
In his letter, Kretschmer said that three articles of the bill are
incompatible with the EU acquis regarding the rulings of the European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the right to set up an association,
freedom of _expression and the inviolability of places of settlement.
There’s also speculation that cases filed with the ECHR may lead
to problems. There are currently cases with the ECHR regarding the
property rights of foundations owned by non-Muslim minorities filed by
Fener Rum Erkek High School Foundation, Yedikule Surp Pirgic Armenian
Hospital Foundation and the Greek Patriarch Buyukada Orphanage. The
foundations are seeking compensation under Additional Protocol No. 1 of
the European Convention on Human Rights, which is related to property
rights. They also claim that they are discriminated against. While the
two of these cases are expected to be finalized in the coming months,
there’s speculation that hundreds of new cases may be filed in the
near future.
Greece hasn’t implemented an ECHR ruling on a similar issue. As
Article 11 of 1913 Athens Agreement stipulates that the muftis
(religious officials) of Turks in Western Thrace can be elected by
the community, Greece passed a law in 1920 and accepted that right.
But in a law passed in 1990 in Greece, this right was removed. Under
the law, the religious officials of the Turkish minority are appointed
by the Greek government. A mufti elected by the Turkish minority was
imprisoned and he then applied to the ECHR which ruled in his favor
on Oct. 17, 2002. Despite the court ruling, the mufti still hasn’t
been able to resume his post.

TWO PEOPLE DROWNED IN SEVAN
ArmRadio.am
15.08.2006 11:50
On August 12th, around 15.25 nearby “Harsnakar” from lake Sevan by
the Special Water Rescue Detachment (SWRD) from drowning was saved
a 30-32 years old person, named Gor.
At 16:30 a signal was got about the drowning of a resident of Yerevan
Gevorg Khachatrian on Sevan beach “Lousabats”, living by the address:
Mantashian street 4, appartament 6. The cadaver was withdrawn by the
SWRD from the lake and transferred to Sevan hospital.
At 18:30 in Sevan was drown a resident of village Zolkar Norik
Hovnanian born in 1963. (the region is not being served by SWRD). The
cadaver was withdrawn by the SWRD at 19:30.
On the 12th of August at 22:00 a signal was got about falling down of
a person into the river Kavart, in the region of David Bek Square,
Kapan. The rescue group withdrawn from the river the resident
of Khnatsakh village Saro Davtian and transferred him to Kapan
Hospital. His status is satisfactory.
On the 13th of August, at 11:52 an information was got about finding
a male cadaver in lake “Hrazdan” in the region of “Hrazdan” Stadium,
Yerevan. The help of a rescue group was needed for withdrawing the
cadaver. Arround 12:03 the rescue group has withdrawn the cadaver of a
resident of Yerevan Roushan Hakobian, living by the address Noragiugh,
house 121.