PanARMENIAN.Net

Extermination of Armenian Cultural Presence in Nakhichevan –
Outcome of Baku Cruel Policy
03.06.2006 14:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian cultural monuments of Nakhichevan can be
spoken about only in the past tense, Hayk Demoyan, Candidate of
Historical Sciences, told journalists yesterday. `This was an outcome
of vandalism policy of Azerbaijan against Armenian monuments for many
years,’ he said.

According to Demoyan, such cruel policy is being pursued in Azerbaijan
for many years at the state level. In his words, full extermination of
the Armenian cultural presence in Old Jugha was a logical outcome of
that policy, reports Novosti-Armenia.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Lavrov Discussed Karabakh Issue with Turkish Leaders
03.06.2006 15:12 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ At the meetings of Russian FM Sergey Lavrov with
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Parliament Chair Bulent Arinc in
Ankara wide discussion over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline was held. In spite of the information
available, official reports did not detail the talks.

After a meeting with Turkish FM Abdullah Gul the day before, Sergey
Lavrov said Russia intends to actively participate in settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. He underscored his county makes efforts
for attaining dialogue between the parties.

In response to a request of the Turkish PM on Russia’s support in the
North Cyprus issue, Lavrov said his country supports the plan of the
UN Secretary-General and Russian businessmen will continue investments
in the Northern Cyprus, reports AzerTag.

WHAT MAY PRIVATIZATION OF LAND BY FOREIGNERS END UP WITH?

Lragir.am
02 June 06

The National Assembly of Karabakh made changes to the land
legislation, enabling foreigners to own the land they formerly could
only rent.

`I think this is a quite positive thing, and hence NKR offered a
serious bid for `peaceful and creative’ work. This is a significant
step and a guideline for a country, which is living under martial
law. Hence, we assert our readiness to meet external challenges and we
have sufficient ground for it. At the same time, it may be
dangerous. On the one hand, it is a necessary and justified step for a
country which has adopted market relations. On the other hand, the
lack of definite and tried mechanisms of self-regulation of the market
may lead to a land market regulated by administrative methods. I am
afraid these changes may lead to the emergence or legalization of
latifundists.

Whereas, the goal should be the development of farms and prosperity of
rural communities. The experience will show one way or another how the
land market will be developing in our country, and hopefully it will
be possible to improve it gradually,’ said Member of Parliament Gegham
Baghdasaryan.

Vahram Atanesyan, Chair of the Committee of External Relations, also
thinks that these changes will not do any harm to the people of
Karabakh. Since the area of land rented by foreigners is not great,
these changes are not dangerous, he said.

A1+

CHSHMARITYAN IS A LITTLE PLEASED WITH THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE DRAM

[03:09 pm] 02 June, 2006

Minister of Commerce and Economic Development Karen Chshmarityan had
complaint to «A1+» the previous year that the sudden consolidation of
the AMD harms the industry and export. Today he complained of the
consolidation too but this time he was more careful with his words.

«The consolidation is harmful for short-termed export, but on the
whole it is good for long-term projects and investments», he said.

Chshmarityan also informed that he has discussed the issue of the dram
with the President of the Central Bank but this time he characterized
the changes as balanced and not sudden. «If the cost of one dollar
changed from 20 AMD to 40 AMD that would be a sudden change. But if it
changed from 450 to 430, I think this is normal and predictable», the
Minister commented.

Panorama.am

20:38 01/06/06

ISN’T WATER THIEF A THIEF?

`The situation with the Irrigation systems is tense,’ Water State
Committee Chairman Andranik Andreasyan told a briefing today. The
situation is caused by sharp rise in temperature and respective demand
for water. The committee head promises to settle the situation in one
week.

Every year Sevan comes to help in such situations. The government has
issued a decision to water Ararat valley from the lake. According to
government decision, 120 mln cubic meter water will be supplied, but
Andreasyan says it reaches up to 140 -145 cubic meters every year.

Irrigation is an actual problem both in the regions and
Yerevan. Though the municipality states that reconstruction is held in
the irrigation system, the system fails to supply water throughout
Yerevan. `Drinking water is used for irrigation purposes.’ committee
head says. In case of fraud in water use, the violators are fined
only. They are not eligible for criminal responsibility. Andreasyan
says, 50 percent loss of drinking water is registered in every
building. /Panorama.am/

Panorama.am

20:23 01/06/06

YOU HUNG THE BELL, WE MAKE THE SPEECH

Today NA Vice Speaker Tigran Torosyan was not criticized either by the
authorities or by opposition after being nominated for NA Chairman.

Though the opposition said they are not going to participate in the
election, the discussion was mainly held by them. And since they had
no objections to Tigran Torosyan’s candidacy, either, the discussion
was mainly held on other topics. Deputy Hmaiak Hovhannisyan expressed
his concern with the law on alienation zones which was not adopted in
time and the constitutional court ruled that human rights are
violated.

Viktor Dallakyan said that this is the second time NA Chairman is
elected without an alternative candidate.

Torosyan was addressed a number of questions on political reform in
the country. Particularly, they were interested whether it will be
possible to hold free and transparent elections in 2007 or will it be
possible that the parliament ceases to be the attachment of the
executive branch. The questions were address with prior awareness that
Torosyan cannot answer them. Torosyan said he cannot make promises on
future and advised to judge him based on his performance during the
last 7 years. /Panorama.am/

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
June 2 2006

PACE rapporteur’s visit postponed

Baku, June 1, AssA-Irada

The visit by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) rapporteur Edward O’Hara to the South Caucasus region to
examine the situation with cultural heritage in the region, originally
scheduled for May 28, has been postponed for technical reasons.

The sides have agreed upon its realization in fall, member of the
Azerbaijani delegation at PACE, Gultakin Hajiyeva, told AssA-Irada.

`The rapporteur’s visit will most likely take place in September,’ she
said.*

Le Figaro, France
02 juin 2006

Aliev : «L’Arménie ne peut rivaliser avec l’Azerbaïdjan»

Propos recueillis par Pierre Rousselin

LE FIGARO. – Que peut faire l’Azerbaïdjan pour aider l’Europe à
diversifier ses approvisionnements en gaz ? Ilham ALIEV. – Lorsque
nous l’avons lancé, en 1996, notre programme gazier ne visait que les
marchés de la Turquie et de la Géorgie.

Nous n’avions pas prévu la demande européenne de diversification de
ses approvisionnements. Nous n’avions jamais considéré l’Europe comme
un marché pour nous. Il va falloir étudier la nouvelle situation et
adapter nos investissements pour pouvoir fournir du gaz à l’Europe.
Techniquement, cela sera possible dès septembre prochain grce au
nouveau gazoduc vers la Turquie, mais en termes de volume ce n’est
pas suffisant. Vous venez de participer à un sommet du GUAM aux côtés
des dirigeants d’Ukraine, de Géorgie et de Moldavie. Vous sentez-vous
sur la même longueur d’onde que vos partenaires dans cette
organisation parfois présentée comme un front antirusse ? Nous étions
un membre fondateur du GUAM en 1997 et nous n’avons jamais considéré
qu’il s’agissait d’une organisation qui s’oppose à qui que ce soit.
Nous n’avons pas pour politique de nous en prendre à nos voisins. Il
nous semble d’autant plus important de participer au GUAM que
l’Azerbaïdjan est le seul pays membre qui dispose d’un énorme
potentiel énergétique. Nous nous trouvons au carrefour de l’Europe et
de l’Asie, ce qui fait qu’aucun projet de transport dans cette région
n’est possible sans nous. Êtes-vous inquiet des risques de conflit
entre les Etats-Unis et votre voisin iranien à propos de son
programme nucléaire ? Oui. Une déstabilisation aura un impact sur
toute la région. Pour nous, il ne s’agit pas d’un spectacle lointain
que l’on peut regarder à la télévision ou arrêter de regarder quand
on le souhaite. Nous considérons que les désaccords doivent être
résolus de façon pacifique par la diplomatie et dans un esprit de
bonne volonté. Compte tenu de ses liens militaires avec les
États-Unis, quelle serait l’attitude de l’Azerbaïdjan en cas de
conflit militaire avec l’Iran ? Nous sommes très satisfaits de nos
relations avec les États-Unis dans le domaine militaire comme dans
les autres domaines. Quant à l’Iran, l’Azerbaïdjan n’appuiera pas
d’actions militaires contre ce pays. Cela est compris à Washington.
Voyez-vous un espoir de règlement pour le Haut-Karabakh, ce
territoire azerbaïdjanais contrôlé par des séparatistes arméniens ?
Le Haut-Karabakh est un territoire qui appartient à l’Azerbaïdjan.
Cela est reconnu par l’ONU et l’ensemble de la communauté
internationale à l’exception de l’Arménie. L’intégrité territoriale
de l’Azerbaïdjan doit être restaurée, les forces d’occupation
arméniennes doivent se retirer et les millions d’Azerbaïdjanais qui
ont subi l’épuration ethnique doivent pouvoir revenir. L’Azerbaïdjan
est à la veille d’un énorme développement économique tandis que
l’Arménie, qui s’est isolée de tous les projets de développement
régionaux, ne pourra supporter la concurrence et souffrira de la
pauvreté. L’Arménie doit comprendre que sa politique d’occupation ne
la mène nulle part. Certains prêtent l’intention à votre pays de
profiter de ses recettes pétrolières pour se réarmer afin d’imposer à
l’Arménie un règlement du conflit du Haut-Karabakh. Notre budget
militaire est en expansion et nous allons moderniser notre armée. Il
est hors de question que l’Arménie puisse nous égaler. Le
Haut-Karabakh étant notre problème numéro un, nous allons
certainement moderniser nos capacités militaires. Mais je veux
ajouter que cela ne doit pas susciter de craintes chez nos voisins.
Aucune option ne peut être exclue mais nous sommes un peuple
pacifique et nous voulons vivre en paix avec nos voisins. Seulement,
nous n’accepterons jamais l’occupation. Votre élection en 2003 et les
législatives de novembre dernier ont été entachées de fraude. Que
répondez-vous à ceux qui dénoncent les manquements à la démocratie en
Azerbaïdjan ? Le résultat de la présidentielle n’a pas été contesté.
J’ai recueilli 76% des voix et j’obtiendrais un résultat au moins
aussi bon aujourd’hui. L’opposition s’est discréditée. Quant aux
législatives, il y a eu des irrégularités dans 10% des
circonscriptions. Les responsables ont été sanctionnés et des
élections partielles ont été organisées. Certaines critiques sont
justifiées. Nous ne sommes pas parfaits. Notre indépendance ne date
que d’il y a quinze ans et nous vivons dans un système très différent
de celui de l’époque soviétique. D’autres critiques sont
inacceptables parce qu’elles sont injustes et intéressées. Chacun
comprend que la révolution n’a pas d’avenir en Azerbaïdjan parce que
la population n’y est pas favorable. Je vous assure que le niveau de
la démocratie chez nous n’a rien à envier aux pays voisins.

DASHNAKTSUTIUN AND PRESIDENT HAVE DIFFERENT INTERESTS

Lragir.am
02 June 06

The collapse of the coalition will continue, and this time
Dashnaktsutiun will be to blame. On June 2 Haik Babukhanyan,
Constitutional Right Union, made such a forecast at the Hayeli
Club. According to him, Dashnaktsutiun replaces the Country of Law
(Orinats Yerkir Party) in the coalition in the sense that being in the
government, it acts as opposition.

`As you can see, recently Dashnaktsutiun has been making obviously
oppositionist statements. Simply it is surprising that, on the one
hand, Dashnaktsutiun takes up some posts that were formerly occupied
by the Country of Law and, on the other hand, attempts at adopting the
same strategy, in other words, opposition inside the government,’ says
Haik Babukhanyan. According to him, the controversies between
Dashnaktsutiun and the Republican will become deeper as the
parliamentary election is coming up.

`The collapse of the coalition will go on. In the meantime, new
controversies will occur between Dashnaktsutiun and the core of the
coalition. Everyone today is anxious to know what the rules of the
game will be during the election and after the election. People have
somehow settled down, built anest, and now they have to think what is
going to happen during and after the election, ‘ says Haik
Babukhanyan. However, the controversies between Dashnaktsutiun and
the Republican, which seem likely to grow, do not mean that
disagreement between the president and the Republican is becoming
deeper too. Haik Babukhanyan says Dashnaktsutiun and the president
cannot be identified because they pursue different interests.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTED CHAIRS OF COMMITTEES

Lragir.am
02 June 06

On June 2, 72 members of parliament filled in the posts of chairs of
two standing committees, vacant since the resignation of the Country
of Law Party (Orinats Yerkir). 71 members of parliament voted for
Mnatsakan Petrosyan, United Labor Party, the only candidate for the
post of chair of the Social, Health and Environment Committee. One
member of parliament voted against this candidate. 70 members of
parliament voted for Aramayis Grigoryan, ARF, the only candidate for
the post of chair of the Committee of National Security, Internal
Affairs and Defense. One member of parliament was against.

The vacant positions are now occupied. And Victor Dallakyan says the
situation reminds the years of Brezhnev, when everything was stagnant
and everything was predictable.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress