IS THE MAP OF TERRITORIES TO RETURN READY?
Lragir.am
28 June 06
Aram Gaspari Sargsyan, the leader of the Democratic Party, continued
the revelations of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Mathew Bryza.
Announcing that Bryza told what everyone knows, Aram Gaspari Sargsyan
said it is not all.
“At the moment the map of the territories that Armenia is gong to
return to Azerbaijan is included in the document of the talks. The
places where the peacekeeping forces will be deployed are already
marked on the map,” stated Aram Gaspari Sargsyan, telling the news
reporters not to ask about the source. Aram Sargsyan says the statement
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia affirmed that they are
willing to accept it, but Azerbaijan is against. And Azerbaijan is
against the conditions because they wetted its appetite, thinks Aram
Gaspari Sargsyan. He says it is not strange that Azerbaijan rejects
conditions, which are so favorable for them.
“Look how the statement of the Foreign Ministry alleges that the
corridor between Armenia and Karabakh is discussed. It means that
this is the best way. I simply demand that Mr. Kocharyan declassify
the content of the document for us to be able to discuss it together,
unbiased and in own interests,” demands Aram Sargsyan.
The leader of the Democratic Party asserts that the NKR president
will never accept it. He also reminds the statements of the leaders of
Yerkrapah not to give up a strip of land. “Therefore the situation is
going to be so tense that we are going to face another February 1998,
and I think it is the most probable scheme. Or Mr. Kocharyan will
unbridle unprecedented repressions to suppress the surge which will
rise in case these agreements are brought into being,” says the leader
of the Democratic Party.

400 L VODKA FOR GOLDEN APRICOT
Lragir.am
28 June 06
The guests of the International Film Festival Golden Apricot will be
treated to vodka, produced by one of the sponsors of the festival.
The organizers of the festival confess theirs is not Class A. For
Class A, their dream, they need a budget of 3-5 million dollars. The
organizers of the festival, which will take place on July 10-15,
have already given several news conferences but declined to tell how
much their budget is this year. It is only known that the government
allocated 50 million drams. Besides, several companies sponsor the
festival. Thanks to sponsors, the program of the festival includes
a show of international feature films, a show of international
documentary films and a show of films entitled “Armenian Panorama”. On
the days of cinema in our country, renowned directors Artavazd
Peleshian, Robert Gedikian and others will give masterclasses. At
the end of the festival a press-cocktail is planned with the media
and guests.

NATO ASKS QUESTIONS TO ARMENIA
Lragir.am
28 June 06
On June 28 Aram Gaspari Sargsyan, the leader of the Democratic Party,
told details of the visit of the NATO delegation to Armenia last
week. The delegation of NATO including 17 people visited different
ministries, from the Ministry of Energy to the Ministry of Defense.
But Aram Gaspari Sargsyan’s information is about the round-table
meeting at the parliament, in which the representatives of the
Committee of Defense and the Committee of External Relations
participated. Aram Sargsyan affirms that the NATO delegates put the
questions definitely and openly.
“They offered five questions: explain what your complementary policy
is, the representatives of NATO say. Second, take into account that
the way to the European Union passes via NATO. Third, who are you
afraid of in NATO? Four, you cannot be in NATO and somewhere else
simultaneously. Eventually, are you with NATO or with Russia? This
was in Yerevan and I think this is political coercion,” says Aram
Gaspari Sargsyan. It is coercion since it is uttered now when Armenia
announces that NATO membership is not a foreign political priority.

CBA CHAIRMAN: TOP AGENDA IN ARMENIA’S CRACKDOWN ON MONEY LAUNDERING IS TO BUILD UP APPROPRIATE BODIES’ CAPACITY
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 27 2006
YEREVAN, June 27. /ARKA/. The top agenda in Armenia’s crackdown on
money laundering and terrorism financing is to build up appropriate
bodies’ capacity, Tigran Sargsyan, Chairman of the Central Bank of
Armenia, said Tuesday at a seminar focused on money laundry.
In his words, high-qualified specialists are needed in this area.
Armenia has never been in need of them before since money laundry
has never been reckoned among pressing problems.
“Today Armenia is actively integrating into international financial
systems. That is why up-to-international-standards measures are to
be taken against money laundering and terrorism financing”, Sargsyan
said and stressed that Armenia needs its own specialists familiar
with world experience and able to combat money laundry in the republic.
The CBA Chairman said mechanisms of cooperation either between
appropriate agencies within Armenia or with international organizations
are necessary as well.
Sargsyan said the Central Bank has already embarked on work with
Finance Ministry, Justice Ministry, National Security Service, State
Tax Agency and State Customs Committee.
He said money laundry is a new phenomenon to Armenian authorities
since they have never faced such a problem before. “Armenia has no
experience in this area, and appropriate legislation just starts
developing here”, the head of the bank said stressing that, taking
into account a special importance of the dealing with the problem,
the international community is trying to create a single standard
for combating this evil. In particular, efforts are being made for
reaching a common interpretation of national laws.
The seminar on money laundry opened Tuesday at the Central Bank of
Armenia. The event is organized by the CBA in association with UN
office on combating crime and drug trafficking and the OSCE Yerevan
office.
The seminar’s aim is to discuss an acceptable model of crackdown on
money laundry in Armenia.

NEWSPAPER STAFF PROTEST EDITOR’S ARREST
By Hovannes Shoghikian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
June 27 2006
Journalists working for an independent Armenian newspaper picketed
the Prosecutor-General’s Office on Tuesday to condemn the arrest of
their young editor-in-chief accused of draft evasion.
Arman Babajanian of the “Zhamanak Yerevan” newspaper was detained in
his office and questioned by prosecutors for several hours on Monday.
A statement released by the law-enforcement agency said he confessed
“in the presence of his defense attorney” to forging personal documents
to dodge compulsory military service in 2002. No further details of
the criminal case have been made public so far.
The allegations were rejected as unfounded and politically motivated by
“Zhamanak Yerevan” staff that staged a protest outside the prosecutors’
headquarters in downtown Yerevan along with a small group of other
reporters, human rights campaigners and opposition activists. They
chanted “Shame! Shame!” and carried posters that referred to the
30-year-old editor as a “political prisoner.”
“We don’t believe that he made a confession in the presence of his
lawyer because he did not have one,” said Manuk Sukiasian, the paper’s
executive director. “He hired a lawyer only today.”
Babajanian’s deputy Liza Chagharian and other colleagues claimed
that he is being prosecuted for publishing articles critical of
President Robert Kocharian, Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian and
other senior officials. “I insist that his arrest is connected with
his journalistic activities,” she said.
The National Press Club, which mainly unites journalists critical
of the Armenian government, echoed these claims, saying that the
authorities are trying to bully the independent media ahead of
next year’s parliamentary elections. “The NPC demands that the
law-enforcement bodies stick to the letter and spirit of law and do
not become a tool in the regime’s hands,” it said in a statement.
Two other, more moderate media associations also expressed concern at
Babajanian’s arrest. In a joint open letter, the Yerevan Press Club
and the Committee to Support Freedom of Speech urged the Armenian
prosecutor-general to name the lawyer who witnessed the editor’s
alleged confession.
Babajanian was not formally charged with draft evasion as of Tuesday
evening. Under Armenian law, the prosecutors have to press the charges
or set him free by Thursday morning.
They rejected on Tuesday the protesters’ demands to release Babajanian
pending investigation. A spokeswoman for the Prosecutor-General’s
Office, Sona Truzian, argued that indicted draft dodgers are normally
kept in pre-trial custody in Armenia. “In this sense, Arman Babajanian
is not an exception to the rule,” she told RFE/RL.
“Zhamanak Yerevan” was set up last year and currently sells several
thousand copies in Yerevan and California, which is home to a large
Armenian community. Its news reporting has generally been critical
of the Armenian authorities.

RICE ADDRESSED TO REVISE DECISION TO RECALL U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA
Regnum, Russia
June 27 2007
Four leaders of Congressional Armenian lobby George Radanovich (R-CA),
Adam Schiff (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI)
have strongly recommended to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to
reconsider the recall of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Evans, Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA) reported.
In a June 22nd letter, the legislators noted that “after months of
speculation,” the recall of Ambassador Evans “was confirmed when the
President nominated Richard Hoagland to serve as the new United States
Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia on May 23. While there has been
no official acknowledgement that Ambassador Evans removal was a result
of his February 2005 statement that the Armenian Genocide was the first
genocide of the 20th Century, all evidence points to that conclusion.”
“We join with Armenian Americans across the country in thanking
Congressman Radanovich, Schiff, Pallone, and Knollenberg – the four
leading authors of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, for once again
taking the lead in challenging the State Department’s failed policy
of complicity in Turkey’s denial of this crime against all humanity,”
said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.
The Congressmen urged in their letter that “the United States must
formally recognize the Armenian Genocide, and we will continue to work
towards that goal. Allowing John Evans to continue as Ambassador to
Armenia sends a strong message on the necessity of Turkish recognition,
and will be an important step in establishing the U.S. position on
the Armenian Genocide.”
The State Department, with the blessing of the White House, fired
Ambassador Evans in response to his February 2005 statements in which
he properly characterized the Armenian massacres in the beginning
of the 20th century as “genocide.” Later Ambassador Evans was forced
to issue a statement clarifying that his references to the Armenian
Genocide were his personal views and did not represent a change in
U.S. policy. He subsequently issued a correction to this statement,
replacing a reference to the genocide with the word “tragedy.” The
American Foreign Service Association, which had decided to honor
Ambassador Evans with the “Christian A. Herter Award,” recognizing
creative thinking and intellectual courage within the Foreign Service,
reportedly rescinded the award following pressure from the State
Department prior to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
visit to Washington, DC to meet with President George Bush.

STATEMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
June 27 2007
Taking into account the statement that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group presented to the OSCE Permanent Council, in Vienna, on June
22, and the interview that Matt Bryza, the new US co-chair gave soon
thereafter, where albeit partially, the principles of the settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict were revealed for the first time,
and also taking into account the recent desperate calls by Azerbaijan
for a military solution and autonomy for Nagorno Karabakh, we would
like to make several observations.
1. The co-chairs have partially revealed the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
resolution principles; they have left out references to a corridor
linking Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia, and issues relating to Nagorno
Karabakh’s status until a referendum; 2. The co-chairs have, for
the first time, affirmed that the people of Nagorno Karabakh shall
determine their own future status through a referendum; 3. Those
items over which the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan continue
to disagree does not include a referendum; that concept has been
agreed to by the presidents; The area of disagreement between the
presidents has to do with the sequence in which the consequences
of the military conflict are removed; 4. In an attempt to resolve
this remaining area of disagreement, a proposal was made by the
co-chairs after Rambouillet. This proposal was accepted by Armenia
in Bucharest. Azerbaijan rejected it.
5. Armenia finds that the basic principles, overall, on the table
today remain a serious basis for continuing negotiations; Armenia
is prepared to continue on that basis to continue to negotiate with
Azerbaijan; 6. Armenia believes that Azerbaijan’s wavering on these
principles is a serious obstacle to progress in the negotiations. If
this policy continues, Armenia will insist that Azerbaijan conduct
direct negotiations with Nagorno Karabakh.
7. Finally, we would remind Azerbaijan once again that regardless
of the size of their military budget, they cannot force the
people of Nagorno Karabakh to renounce freedom and the right to
self-determination.

OVER 59,000 TONS OF GOODS EXPORTED FROM JOLFA BORDER POINT
IRNA, Iran
June 27 2007
Tabriz, East Azarbaijan Prov
Iran-Jolfa-Exports
Over 59.4 tons of goods were exported from Jolfa border point in this
northwestern province during the first three months of the current
Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2006), an official at Jolfa
Customs Office said.
Speaking to IRNA here Tuesday, Seifollah Keshtiban said that the
goods exported had a value of 160 billion rials.
He said cement, iron, steel and plastic products were among the main
commodities exported from Jolfa.
The goods were mainly exported to Iraq, Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and showed an 83 and 51 percent boost in terms of weight and value,
respectively, compared to the figures for the same period in the
previous year.
On the other hand, the official noted that 18,309 tons of goods,
worth 290 billion rials, were imported from Jolfa border point into
the country over the same period.
The commodities imported during the period showed a 31 percent boost
compared to previous years.
Keshtiban cited cigarettes, glasses and industrial and mechanical
machinery as among the main goods imported into the country from
Turkey, China, Switzerland and Armenia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“ABOUT 90 PERCENT OF TURKISH COMMODITIES ARE EXPORTED TO THE POST-SOVIET STATES, WHEREAS TURKEY’S MAIN PARTNER IN THE CONSTRUCTION FIELD IS RUSSIA”
Regnum, Russia
June 27 2007
Moscow, 27 June 2006 – Almost all the region of the South Caucasus,
including the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, is Turkey’s sphere of
interests, which is discussed at all bilateral meetings, political
scientist, turkologist Viktor Nadein-Rayevskiy commented to REGNUM on
the proposed visit to Russia of Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
at a news briefing at the Caucasus Institute for Democracy. The visit
is planned for June 28-30.
Nadein-Rayevskiy said that the coming meeting of the two presidents
is hardly related to Turkeys’s striving to access the EU. “Russia
has her own relations with the EU and her own relations with Turkey.
Russia is a country that maintains partnership with all the EU member
countries but does not envision accessing the union in the foreseeable
future. This is not one of Russia’s objectives.”
Russian-Turkish relations at their current stage of development
Nadein-Rayevskiy evaluated as “normal, friendly, including closest
economic cooperation.” “Our relations are a complex thing. About
90 percent of Turkish commodities are exported to the post-Soviet
states, whereas Turkey’s main partner in the construction field is
Russia. However, shuttle trade that used to make up from $3bn to
$10bn a year of commodity circulation is not any more so flourishing.
But this form of trade is becoming obsolete. Russian consumers demand
other quality now.” The expert added that the economic cooperation
between the two countries has not faded away because Turkey started
to keep an eye on the quality of her exported goods.

MAMMADYAROV: “NK CAN HAVE AUTONOMY STATUS SIMILAR TO NAKHCHIVAN, TATARSTAN, BASHKIRIA”
Today, Azerbaijan
June 27 2007
“The framework agreement proposed by OSCE Minsk Group American co-chair
Matthew Bryza envisages main principles and ways of settlement of
the conflict.
“The issue on the status of Nagorno Karabakh is given priority in
the document,” Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told
journalists.
According to APA, he said the status of Nagorno Karabakh was on focus
in the negotiating process.
“We need to consider the form of autonomy to be given to Nagorno
Karabakh. This autonomy can be in Nakhchivan, Tatarstan, Bashkiria
and in other models. There exist conceptual issues regarding the
status. The issue of status should be considered together with
communities of Nagorno Karabakh, and relations should be established
between these communities,” Mr.Mammadyarov said.
Commenting on Armenian parliament speaker Tigran Torosyan’s claims that
Azerbaijan artificially delays the negotiating process, Mammadyarov
called these claims groundless.
“I have met with my Armenian counterpart more than ten times since
I took the post of Foreign Minister. We are ready to continue the
negotiations. The conflict is a sensitive issue. We realize that
it can be solved through stages not in package form,” The Foreign
Minister said.
The Minister also said Armenia’s intention to make public the results
of all the talks held shows its non-interest in the resolution of
the conflict.
He also commented on recent massive fires in the occupied Azerbaijani
territories set by Armenian Armed Forces, “The Foreign Ministry has
written to the OSCE chairman Karel de Gucht. Personal representative
of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzei Kasprzyk will arrive in Baku.
He will leave for the front zone to investigate the issue of fires.”
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