JAILED SOLDIERS’ LAWYERS FACING PROSECUTION
By Anna Saghabalian and Emil Danielyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 25 2006
State prosecutors have launched criminal proceedings against the
defense attorneys of three Armenian soldiers sentenced to life
imprisonment on what local and international human rights groups see
as trumped-up murder charges, it emerged on Wednesday.
Zaruhi Postanjian, Ashot Atoyan and Stepan Voskanian are being
investigated for allegedly showing contempt for three judges of the
Armenian Court of Appeals that handed down the ruling last May.
It is not clear when the judges lodged a formal complaint with the
Office of the Prosecutor-General. The latter opened a criminal
case against the lawyers on October 10, the day after the Court
of Cassation, Armenia’s highest body of criminal justice, agreed
to consider their appeal against the extremely controversial life
sentences.
The lawyers strongly deny the contempt of court accusations that
could be leveled against them and see the prosecutors’ move as a
retaliation for their vocal support for the jailed soldiers. “They
are thereby trying to force us to abandon the case,” Voskanian told
RFE/RL. He said it is the three judges that repeatedly insulted the
defense lawyers during the appeal proceedings and must be prosecuted.
The extraordinary criminal proceedings bring a new twist to the saga
of Razmik Sargsian, Musa Serobian and Araik Zalian. The three young
men were originally convicted of murdering two fellow servicemen
in Nagorno-Karabakh and sentenced to 15 years in prison by a local
court of first instance in April 2005. They protested their innocence
throughout the trial and appealed against the verdict only to see it
toughened to life imprisonment by the appeals court.
Military prosecutors allege that Sargsian, Serobian and Zalian murdered
the two other soldiers and dumped their bodies into a reservoir in
northern Karabakh in December 2003 following a brawl over a food
parcel that was delivered to one of the servicemen. The accusations
are based on Sargsian’s pre-trial testimony in which he admitted to
this version of events.
However, Sargsian subsequently retracted the testimony, saying that
he incriminated himself and his comrades under brutal torture. The
two other defendants, who never pleaded guilty to the charges, also
claim to have been mistreated in custody.
Both courts refused to investigate the alleged torture, denied by the
prosecutors, leading the defense lawyers and Armenian human rights
activists to denounce the trials as a parody of justice.
Ruben Sahakian, chairman of Armenia’s Chamber of Advocates, expressed
serious concern at the case on Wednesday, saying that the leadership
of the bar association will meet soon to discuss it. “We will adopt
a statement during that meeting,” Sahakian told RFE/RL.
The case has also had a resonance outside Armenia, with Human Rights
Watch finding the torture allegations “credible” and urging the Court
of Cassation to give the young men a fair trial.
“Human Rights Watch believes that it is very important that … a
prompt investigation into the allegations is ordered, and that all
measures are put in place to ensure that any conviction based on
evidence coerced under torture does not stand,” the New York-based
group’s director for Europe and Central Asia, Holly Cartner, said in
a September 12 letter to the Armenian Court of Cassation.
Aaron Rhodes, executive director of the Vienna-based International
Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, echoed those concerns in a
similar letter sent to Yerevan three days later. “The investigation
into the murders, and the subsequent trials, were marred with
irregularities that raise questions about Armenian prosecutors’ and
judiciary’s professional qualifications and commitment to international
standards for a fair trial,” Rhodes wrote.
The defense trio suspects that both murders were committed by Captain
Ivan Grigorian, the Karabakh Armenian commander of the army unit
where the dead soldiers served. According to their version of events,
Grigorian beat one of the soldiers to death and killed the other
after the latter refused to “confess” to the crime.
The commander of the Karabakh army, Lieutenant-General Seyran Ohanian,
lent more credence to these suspicions when he wrote to Armenia’s
chief military prosecutor in early 2004 and asked him not to bring
charges against Grigorian. Ohanian argued that the officer had greatly
contributed to the Armenian military victory over Azerbaijan.

KOCHARIAN TOURS ARMENIAN FRONTLINE POSITIONS
By Emil Danielyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 25 2006
President Robert Kocharian has conducted a two-day inspection of
Armenian troops deployed along the volatile frontline with Azerbaijan,
his office said on Wednesday.
A statement by the presidential press service in Yerevan said Kocharian
visited “a number of frontline army units” on Monday and Tuesday to
assess their “combat and technical readiness.” “The president of the
republic visited firing ranges, followed the course of trainings,
talked to officers and soldiers, and familiarized himself with their
living conditions,” it said.
The statement did not specify the location of the inspected units.
But photographs released by Kocharian’s office showed the Armenian
leader in the company of Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, the
commander of the Nagorno-Karabakh army Lieutenant-General Seyran
Ohanian and Karabakh leader Arkady Ghukasian, suggesting that he
toured heavily militarized areas around the Armenian-controlled
disputed region. The four men, all of them natives of Karabakh,
were shown wearing army uniforms, with Kocharian shaking hands with
soldiers and inspecting their seemingly brand new light weaponry.
Kocharian’s previous tour of Armenian frontline positions was reported
in November 2004. His latest inspection coincided with the start of
the Karabakh Armenian army’s regular military exercises held near
the no-man’s land separating it from Azerbaijani forces. A military
spokesman in Stepanakert was reported to say that Karabakh army units
will practice coordination of their actions in “defense battles and
counteroffensives.”
News reports from Baku said residents of Azerbaijani villages located
close to the Karabakh frontline heard powerful explosions late on
Tuesday. Local residents were also cited as saying that Azerbaijani
army positions in the area came under Armenian fire. The Armenian
and Azerbaijani militaries did not immediately comment on the reports.

GOVERNMENT SIGNALS RUSSIAN CONTROL OF IRAN-ARMENIA PIPELINE
By Ruzanna Khachatrian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 25 2006
Prime Minister Andranik Markarian on Wednesday effectively confirmed
reports that Russian energy companies are set to gain a controlling
stake in a key pipeline which is due to start pumping Iranian natural
gas to Armenia next year.
Markarian indicated that his government will likely sell the first
Armenian section of the under-construction pipeline to ArmRosGazprom
(ARG), the Russian-Armenian joint venture that owns Armenia’s gas
distribution network.
The 40 kilometer section was reportedly covered by a controversial
April agreement that allowed Armenia to temporarily avoid a surge
in the price of gas imported from Russia in return for handing over
more energy assets to Gazprom, the state-run Russian monopoly. The
most important of them is the incomplete but modern Fifth Unit of
the country’s largest thermal power plant located in the central town
of Hrazdan.
Gazprom initially confirmed but later refuted reports that it will
also get hold of the Armenian pipeline from Iran as part of the deal.
Officials in Yerevan also denied that.
However, the Yerevan daily “Haykakan Zhamanak” reported last week
that the Russians will after all win control of the pipeline through
the ARG operator, in which Gazprom and the Russian-owned group ITERA
hold 45 percent and 10 percent shares respectively. The remaining 45
percent belongs to the Armenian government. The paper cited a Russian
document which presented the takeover as a fait accompli that will
be formalized by January 1.
Markarian appeared to confirm the information as he spoke to
reporters after his cabinet’s regular question-and-answer session
in parliament. “We are not talking about the sale [of the pipeline]
as such,” he said. “It’s just that Armenia may invest in the charter
capital [of ARG] or we will jointly make investments because it would
be illogical to have two gas distribution networks in Armenia.”
Markarian added that Moscow and Yerevan hope to reach agreement on
the issue by the time the pipeline comes on stream later this year
or early next.
Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, who has been actively involved
in Russian-Armenian energy dealings, also strongly hinted at the
pipeline’s imminent transfer under ARG control. He said he will ask
the ARG chief executive, Karen Karapetian, to publicly “explain the
situation in great detail.”
The pipeline from Iran was supposed to end Armenia’s strong dependence
on Russian gas and other energy resources. Critics say that by putting
it under de facto Russian control the Armenian government would only
deepen that dependence. Moscow is thought to have already made sure
that the pipeline’s diameter is not large enough to re-export Iranian
gas to Georgia and other countries.

RUSSIAN EXPERT SUGGESTS RESOLVING THE KARABAKH CONFLICT AT THE EXPENSE OF GEORGIA
ArmRadio.am
25.10.2006 12:26
Head of the Caucasus Department of the CIS Institute of Russia
Mikhail Alexandrov considers that the best way of resolving the
Karabakh conflict is the transfer of Georgian regions inhabited by
Azeris to Azerbaijan. Mikhail Alexandrov said this in an interview
with Strana.ru, Mediamax agency reports.
“Since there is a region in Georgia, mainly inhabited by Azeris, we
can think about transferring it to Azerbaijan. Instead, Azerbaijan will
refuse from Nagorno Karabakh. Such development of events is possible in
case of disintegration of the central authority of Georgia and collapse
of the country. It is not ruled out in the light of Saakashvili’s
current policy. The policy of pressuring ethnic minorities,
confrontation with Russia, conservation of internal discrepancies
can lead to this kind of collapse. In this case the establishment of
peace in Georgia can become the priority of CIS peacekeeping forces,
and in the course of this action decisions will be taken on secession
of some regions of Georgia inhabited by ethnic minorities,” Head of
the Caucasus Department of Russia’s CIS Institute declared.

PARTY LEADER: ARMENIA’S LEADERSHIP AFRAID OF MIKHAIL SAAKASHVILI
Regnum, Russia
Oct 25 2006
Armenia’s position in relations with Georgia should be clear-cut
and tough. New Time opposition party leader Aram Karapetyan made the
announcement at a news conference on October 25.
According to him, “the current situation with Javakh (Javakheti,
Armenian-populated area in Georgia – REGNUM) is a result of
lack of a clear action plan by the Armenian authorities.” “It is
necessary to present the question and claims in a tough way. If
we solve the Javakh issue on conditions favorable for Georgia, it
should be pre-conditioned that the Georgian side settles all the
problems of the Armenian-speaking population: teaching in Armenian,
Armenian-speaking TV-channel, and other issues,” he notes. Besides,
as Karapetyan stresses, the issue of transit roads is to be determined
by a special article in all intergovernmental treaties, which will
result in final settlement of the problem.
As Aram Karapetyan says, Armenia’s leadership avoids harshness, as
they are afraid of Mikhail Saakashvili, thinking that if the Georgian
leader is “pro-American,” it is necessary to be in “good relations”
with him. For the reason of those “good relations,” he notes,
the republican authorities practically yielded 6,000 km of its own
territories. “The current authorities are unable to comprehend one
thing: last for power should not be the basis for such an affair,”
the party leader concludes.

AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENTARIANS’ APPEAL DISCUSSED IN CE MINISTERS COMMITTEE MEETING
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Oct 25 2006
The 978th meeting of the representatives of ministers was held in the
CE Ministers committee, APA Europe bureau reports. Four written appeals
to Ministers Council made by Rafael Huseynov and Genire Pashayeva,
the representatives of Azerbaijani Parliament in PACE was discussed
in the meeting.
The document sent by Rafael Huseynov is called “Impediment of the
dangerous precedent caused to the future and integrity of Europe by
the belligerent Armenia, which is not willing to obey international
laws and legal norms” and the documents sent by Genire Pashayeva are
called “Environmental catastrophe as a result of the pollution of the
Azerbaijani water sources with chemical and biological substances by
Armenia” , “The functioning of the Metsamor Atomic Power Station of
Armenia : great danger for the South Caucasus and the whole of Europe”,
“Regular violation of the agreement on cease-fire regime between
Azerbaijan and Armenia and crimes against humanity perpetrated by
armed forces of Armenia against civil citizens of Azerbaijan”. The
discussions were tense. Armenian side suggested removing of these
issues from Ministers Committee’s agenda and suggested sending
a letter to PACE President, because they think there will not be
consensus. Azerbaijani Standing Representatives in PACE also made
speeches in the meeting. Azerbaijani side also presented Pashyeva’s
position on Metsamor Atomic Power Station to the committee. She stated
that the work of this station is dangerous not only for Azerbaijan,
but also for the region. Turkey, Germany and Switzerland supported
Azerbaijani’s position.
At the end, the chief of the committee suggested holding consultations
between Azerbaijan and Armenia on this problem with its participation
and it was decided to discuss the problem in further meetings.

BULGARIA, ROMANIA PROPOSE NEW COMMISSIONERS
EurActiv.com, Belgium
Oct 25 2006
In Short:
Meglena Kuneva and Varujan Vosganian have been named as Commissioner
candidates by Bulgaria and Romania.
Brief News:
The Bulgarian candidate Meglena Kuneva holds a doctorate degree in
law and has worked on environmental issues in Bulgaria, as well as
for international organisations, such as the World Bank. Since 2001
she is deputy minister of foreign affairs and chief negotiator for
Bulgaria with the EU. In 2002 she was elected special representative
for Bulgaria to the Convention on the Future of the EU.
Varujan Vosganian holds a doctorate degree in economics and is the
president of the Union of Armenians in Romania. He is founder and
former president of the “Union of the Right-wing Forces” party.
Currently he is spokesman and MP for the Alliance of Liberals and
Democrats for Europe. According to Mediafax, Vosganian was proposed
and especially favoured by Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu
Tariceanu. Tariceanu said: “I strongly believe that the solid
political experience and the professional profile of Mr. Varujan
Vosganian recommends him for this position.”
The official decision will be announced on October 26 2006, following
the Council meeting.
The European Parliament hearings of the two candidates is expected
to take place 27-29 November 2006. The Parliament is to vote on the
new commissioners on 4 January 2007.
EurActiv.ro has contributed to this article.

YEREVAN QUESTIONS RUSSIAN VERDICT ON PLANE CRASH
By Karine Kalantarian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 25 2006
Armenia’s aviation authorities have expressed serious reservations
about Russian investigators’ preliminary conclusion that last May’s
crash of an Armenian airliner in southern Russia, which killed all
113 people aboard, was caused by pilot error.
Citing their findings , Russia’s Transport Minister Igor Levitin said
in July that the crew of the Armenian Airbus A-320 lost control of the
plane as they made a second attempt to land at the Black Sea city of
Sochi. This conclusion was endorsed by the Moscow-based Interstate
Aviation Committee (ICA) of the Commonwealth of Independent States
which also investigated the deadliest air disaster in Armenia’s
history.
The Armenian government’s Civil Aviation Department essentially
accepted this verdict at the time. At the same time, its director
Artyom Movsisian said that although the “human factor” apparently
played a role in the crash, Yerevan believes that there are still
some key unanswered questions about its causes.
It emerged on Wednesday that Movsisian’s department has presented the
ICA with a six-page document that questions some of the conclusions
drawn by the Russian investigators. In particular, the Armenian side
complained that the Russians failed to take note of Sochi airport’s
alleged failure to “detect dangerous weather conditions” that are
thought to have prevented the plane belonging to the national airline
Armavia from landing safely on first attempt.
Armavia’s owner Mikhail Baghdasarian insists that the A-320 would
have avoided the crash had it not received a last-minute order to
veer away from the airport’s runway and make a second approach.
Baghdasarov, who is a Russian citizen of Armenian descent, has rejected
the ICA verdict and demanded an “independent inquiry.”
The Civil Aviation Department also took issue with the investigators’
implicit claims that Armavia had failed to properly train its pilots
and assess their professional level. It further urged them to drop
from their preliminary conclusions an assertion that moments before
the crash the A-320 crew found themselves in a “tense psycho-emotional
situation” due to unspecified “imperative demands to land at Sochi.”
According to rumors cited by the Armenian press, those demands were
made by some wealthy and influential passengers of the doomed flight.
There have also been allegations that a gunfight may have broken out
between crime figures that were allegedly among the victims of the
crash. The Armenian government and Armavia have dismissed the claims.
Aviation Department spokeswoman Gayane Davtian could not say when the
ICA will release its final verdict or whether Yerevan will succeed
in influencing its content. “They may publish their final findings
at any moment,” she told RFE/RL.

ARMENIAN OFFICIAL: “KARS-AKHALKALAK-TBILISI-BAKU FRUITLESS FOR REGION”
Today, Azerbaijan
Oct 25 2006
Construction of Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi-Baku railway line is aimed
at restrictive policy and is economically inefficient.
Yuri Petrosian, counselor of Armenia’s embassy in Georgia told APA
bureau he considers restoration of through-Abkhazia railway line
(joining Russia and Armenia) as a pragmatic project.
Petrosian said that Kars-Baku project is political project and planned
to discriminate Armenia and this factor is known to most international
organizations and leading countries.
“The existing Kars-Gumru-Tbilisi railway is not in use. Some
South Caucasian states aspire to construction of an inefficient,
discriminating and useless project. The funds can be used for more
actual projects,” he said.
He said that restoration of the railway through Abkhazia to Russia
requires $150-200m and some two years and this project is beneficial
for all parties. This project can Georgia’s transportation expenses
by 30% and ensure Armenia’s way-out to Russia.
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UNDP AND HAYASTAN FOUNDATION SIGN MEMORANDUM ON COOPERATION IN ARMENIA
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 25 2006
YEREVAN, October 25. /ARKA/. The UNDP and the All-Armenian “Hayastan
Foundation” signed a memorandum on implementation of programs on
poverty reduction in rural areas.
The UN permanent coordinator in Armenia Consuello Vidal reported
that poverty reduction in Armenia’s rural areas is in the center
of special attention of not only the UN structures, but also the
Armenian authorities.
“We intend to join our efforts both with the Hayastan Foundation and
representatives of the Diaspora and local governmental structures to
achieve a more tangible result,” she said and added that the fundament
for implementation of the programs aimed developing rural areas was
laid at the third Armenia-Diaspora Forum.
In her turn, Executive Director of the Hayastan Foundation Naira
Melkumyan pointed out that by cooperating with the UNO, implementation
of new governmental programs, aimed at developing rural, and especially
border-line areas of Armenia, will be possible.
The Hayastan Foundation was established in 1992 by the decree of
the Armenian president. It has implemented programs for a total
of $160mln. Projects with the total budget for $160mln have been
implemented. Over 220 km of roads, 130 km of water canals, 36
schools, 3 power substations, 210 residential houses, and 14 medical
institutions have been constructed.
The UNDP within the frameworks of the activity in Armenia, has
elaborated plans for development of 20 border-line villages of
Armenia. Works on provision of financial support for these programs
are being implemented. The third Armenia-Diaspora Forum was held in
Yerevan on September 18-20.