Kenya
Bling-bling boys from abroad
Jun 15th 2006 | NAIROBI
> > From The Economist print edition
An odd saga with Armenians has mocked the government Reuters
I’m only on safari
“THE last six days have been humiliating for this nation,” opined
Kenya’s Standard newspaper this week. “Our sovereignty has been
violated. Our nationhood has been insulted. Our borders have been
encroached by hostile forces.”
Earlier this year two men claiming to be Armenian brothers, confusingly
calling themselves Artur Margariyan and Arthur Sargsian, came to
the nation’s attention. They were alleged, said Kenya’s opposition
politicians at the time, to be mercenaries responsible for organising
raids by police commando units on television and newspaper offices. The
raids were supposedly an attempt to muzzle Kenya’s largely free
press by powerful figures in the embattled government appointed by
President Mwai Kibaki-and specifically to stop investigative reporting
on government corruption.
It was the Armenians’ style that caught the eye. They were not
mercenaries, they insisted, but worthy businessmen involved in
property, diamonds and a night club. Their bling-bling image-dark
glasses, gold chains and wads of cash-delighted Nairobi’s hip-hop crowd
and appalled others, particularly those whom the Armenians came up
against. The brothers’ claims to be relatives of Armenia’s president
sounded shaky. Some even doubted whether they were Armenian at all.
They certainly seemed to have protectors high up in Kenya’s
government. But it was only after the two men allegedly pulled
guns on customs officials at Nairobi’s main airport last week that
the extent of their ties was revealed. The police commissioner,
Hussein Ali, had them deported on June 9th and their Nairobi house
and buildings searched. Inside, according to police reports, were
a Mercedes with government licence plates, AK-47 machine guns with
presidential security unit serial numbers, Ceska automatic pistols,
Kenyan passports bearing the photos of the Armenians but with other
names, a document appointing one of the men a Kenyan police detective,
plus masks and jackets similar to those used in commando raids on
the media outlets. Among other items was a security pass granting
the Armenians access to secure areas of the airport; this, along
with the alleged way the men claimed a piece of luggage at gunpoint,
particularly upset diplomats, some of whom reckon that Nairobi and
its airport remain a target for jihadist terrorist plots.
Distancing himself from the Armenians, Mr Kibaki has suspended several
senior policemen and immigration and airport officials. An inquiry
may reveal who the Armenians really were, what they did and whether
they were in the pay of the government. It is unlikely to improve
the government’s reputation or help the forlorn, indecisive Mr Kibaki.

Central Bank Chief Admits Dollar Shortages In Armenia
By Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenialiberty.org
Friday 16, June 2006
The chairman of the Armenian Central Bank (CBA) acknowledged Friday
that buying U.S. dollars in Armenia is now considerably more difficult
than it was in the past, raising more questions about the official
reason for the dramatic strengthening of the dram.
The Armenian authorities maintain that the national currency has gained
more than 30 percent in value against the dollar since December 2003
because of robust economic growth and increased cash remittances from
Armenians working abroad.
However, the official theory about Armenia being awash with dollars
seems at odds with the fact that many local currency retailers now
routinely refuse to sell dollars to individual buyers, citing a lack
of the U.S. currency in their coffers. The shortages again came to
light with the dram’s renewed surge against the greenback which began
a month ago.
Tigran Sarkisian, the under-fire CBA chief, blamed the bizarre
phenomenon on currency traders. “We are now carrying out inspections
at currency exchange offices and are finding widespread violations,”
he told RFE/RL. “The problem raised by you does exist, and that problem
is created by currency exchange offices. We will try to sort it out
in the course of this year.”
“They are catering for the shadow economy, which is illegal,” Sarkisian
said without elaborating.
The CBA has already controversially shut down many exchange offices
in Yerevan in the last two years. Sarkisian would not say why buying
dollars was not a problem even before the stabilization of the
macroeconomic situation in Armenia in the mid-1990s.
Opposition politicians and other government critics, who dismiss
the official theory, claim that the Armenian authorities themselves
buy “cheap” dollars and thereby siphon off a considerable part of
hundreds of millions of dollars in cash sent home by migrant workers
each year. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians rely on those transfers
to make a living.
Large-scale importers of fuel, wheat and other key commodities, all
of them closely connected with the government, are seen as the prime
beneficiaries of the stronger dram. Conversely, many Armenian exporters
have been hit hard by the increased cost of their products. Some of
them, including Armenia’s main tobacco manufacturer, have threatened
to move their production operations abroad if the dram appreciation
continues.
Sarkisian made it clear that he is untroubled by possible job
losses. “Those enterprises that are not competitive must either close
or file for bankruptcy or move to territories where they can operate,”
he said. “We are creating an environment for competitive businesses.”
“We always tell our entrepreneurs that in the conditions of economic
growth, exchange rates inevitably change and their salvation lies in
a growth in productivity,” he added.
Official statistics show the volume of Armenian exports falling by
nearly 8 percent to $253.7 million in the first four months of this
year. Net imports, by contrast, rose by 13 percent to $584 million
during the same period.

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER DID NOT DEPRIVE TURKISH DIPLOMAT OF CAR
AND BODYGUARDS
Yerevan, June 17. ArmInfo. Armenian Parliament Speaker Tigran Torossyan
refutes pointblank the reports by Azeri and Turkish media that during
a visit to Yerevan Turkish diplomat, NATO official Vahid Erdem “was
deprived of car and bodyguards.”
“This is one more absurd misinformation. They present everything the
way they would like it to be,” Armenian Parliament Speaker Tigran
Torossyan says to ArmInfo.
To remind, referring to Turkish media Trend news agency (Baku) reports
Torossyan to allegedly demand that Erdem recognize the Armenian
Genocide and to deprive him of car and bodyguards when he said that
there was no Armenian Genocide and that it is just an ideological
tale. As a result, Erdem was allegedly forced to go to the airport
by taxi and to check-in with other passengers.
Torossyan refutes this and says that in Yerevan Erdem was treated
the same way as all the other delegates.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER FOR EASY PROVISION OF DUAL CITIZENSHIP TO
ARMENIANS WORLD WIDE
Yerevan, June 17. ArmInfo. Dual citizenship one of the most important
tasks of both Armenia and Armenians, Vardan Oskanyan, Foreign Minister
of Armenia, said at a forum “Dual citizenship: alternative decisions,
economic and social consequences” opening in Yerevan, Saturday.
I am extremely liberal in this issue as I think we must provide dual
citizenship in the easiest way to all Armenians who would like to get
naturalized in Armenia. I understand all the nuances and difficulties
of the issue which we must give answers to, but the starting point for
making a final decision on the issue must be a board vision of the
issue,” the minister said. He said his position is not conditioned
by the fact that he had to refuse from the citizenship of a foreign
country to get naturalized in Armenia. He said he believes in the
potential of the Armenian people, in the future of Armenia, and he
is well aware of the situation and of mutual expectations of the
Armenian people inside and outside the country.
The minister believes that when considering the issue, several
circumstances must be taken into account: the “forced” separation
of the Armenian people (Armenia and Diaspora), the idea of newly
formed state-nation, the fact that Armenia has passed a great way as
regards the provision of rights to Diaspora. Vardan Oskanyan said
the status of a ten-year-long residence is equal to the status of
citizenship, with the exception of army service and the right of
vote and election. “That is why, I am surprised at such questions
as what will be the impact of dual citizenship on economy, on the
property prices in the country. We have already given this right to
our compatriots and that was right. We can see its positive results
already now. So, the greatest part of the way has been passed, we just
need to settle the army problem and the right of vote and election
in accordance with the law,” Vardan Oskanyan said. And the last issue
is regulated by the Constitution, the minister added. Mentioning the
small number of Armenians and the current challenges in the region,
the minister stressed the necessity of using the chance to increase the
number of Armenian people. Getting naturalized in Armenia, a person
will not need to return to Armenia. “I think our solidarity with
the Diaspora is our power.” The minister shared his concern over the
fact that removing the ban on dual citizenship from the Constitution,
but adopting a law hampering provision of dual citizenship, Armenia
will disappoint the Diaspora. “If the whole our people resolved to
change the Constitution, we ought to make the process of getting dual
citizenship maximum easy,” Vardan Oskanyan said.

THEY IN AZERBAIJAN CONTINUE PROSECUTING SOLDIERS FOR ESPIONAGE
FOR ARMENIA
Yerevan, June 17. ArmInfo. They in Azerbaijan continue prosecuting
soldiers for cooperation with Armenian special services.
Azeri media reports that Friday the Military Board of the Grave
Crime Court sentenced Binali Mamedaliyev to 12 and Shahriyar Islamov,
Shamhal Agajamalov and Parviz Gabibov to 11 years in jail for high
treason. The soldiers were charged with spying for Armenia.

BTC IS GUARANTEE OF PEACE BUT NOT OBLIGATION ON AZERBAIJAN TO RESOLVE
KARABAKH CONFLICT BY PEACE
Yerevan, June 17. ArmInfo. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline is
a guarantee of peace but it is not an obligation on Azerbaijan to
resolve the Karabakh conflict only by peace, Azeri Ambassador to
Turkey Zahir Hashimov says in a interview to Trend.
On the contrary, it obliges and forces Armenia to resolve the
Karabakh conflict by peace. BTC is a lever of economic pressure on
Armenia. “Now the Armenians who do not want peace and welfare in the
region and refuse to give back occupied territories will realize what
mistake they have made when they see the profits we will get from
this project. They will understand that by refusing to take part in
such projects they only lose,” says Hashimov.
Asked about the prospects of Amenian-Turkish relations, Hashimov says
that he does not think that Turkey will change its position.

ROBERT KOCHARYAN: LAW MACHINERY HAS TO RESPOND TO MURDERS IN RUSSIA
ON NATIONAL BASIS, ACTING RIGIDLY, NEATLY AND CLEARLY
Yerevan, June 16. ArmInfo. President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan
has met with Dmitriy Kozak, the plenipotentiary representative of RF
President in the South Federal District.
As ArmInfo was told in RA President’s press office, having noted the
importance of cooperation development between separate territorial
administrative subjects of two countries, R. Kocharyan said that it
creates a good basis for strengthening of interstate relations. The
parties touched upon the whole complex of Armenian-Russian relations.
Kocharyan emphasized that due to activation of business contacts, the
Russian business takes more place in Armenia’s economy. In the context
of bilateral trade-economic cooperation extension, the significance
of efficient transport communication establishment was noted.
D. Kozak noted that the most numerous Armenian Diaspora lives on the
South of Russia and that its representatives are involved in all the
spheres of the region life in the best way. The meeting participants
condemned the murders, recently committed in Russia on the national
basis and noted that this occasion is not in the interests of Russia
and the Russian people. According to Kocharyan, the Russia’ s law
machinery should respond rigidly to the occasion, acting quickly,
neatly and clearly.
To be noted, D. Kozak had already visited the Russian military base
dislocate in Giumri. He thanked the Armenian authorities for the
favorable service conditions created for Russian military men.

AZG Armenian Daily #112, 17/06/2006
Seminar
DIFFERENCES IN FOREIGN POLICY AS BASIS OF
ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN RELATIONS
Experts Discuss
The seminar on prospects of Armenian-Georgian
relations organized by the Spectrum Center for
Strategic Analysis and supported by the Friedrich
Ebert Foundation had one main approach ~V not to harm
Armenian-Georgian relations as much as possible.
Georgian ambassador to Armenia, Revaz Gachechiladze,
welcomed all participants saying that
Armenian-Georgian relations are very important in
terms of regional stability. Meanwhile, he stated that
new problems in bilateral relations are reducing with
time.
Senior expert at the Georgian center for Development
and Cooperation, Paata Zakareishvili, thinks that
while discussing Armenian-Georgian relations one
should first of all consider different vectors in both
states~R foreign policy. The less differences, the
fewer problems in Armenian-Georgian relations, the
expert said.
Paata Zakareishvili thinks that if Georgia is declared
to conduct a pro-American policy than in Armenia~Rs
case it is not pro-Russian but a forced pragmatic
policy. In taking decisions Armenia considers Nagorno
Karabakh issue, but Georgia creates a hostile image of
Russia and takes steps based on this assumption; also
the country~Rs authorities are young and have not
necessary experience to establish priorities.
Speaking about Javakhk the Georgian expert said: “This
issue is more fuming than burning.” The issue of
churches, for one, should not be that overrated; let
the historians deal with it. In effect, viewing such a
vital for the Armenians issue out of the public
context, Mr. Zakareishvili stated that our peoples
were strong enough to preserve their culture and
history.
His approach to the Armenians of Javakhk is somewhat
different. Mr. Zakareishvili is not scared by the
statements about autonomy, he simply regrets that such
issues are not discussed in Tbilisi where they
listened to. As to the possible return of Meskhet
Turks to Javakhk, the Georgian expert said that the
state~Rs authorities understand this is a risky step.
The language issue remains topical but in this issue
too the local population should work in concert with
the authorities to integrate into public life.
Paata Zakareishvili thinks that everything that was
possible to spoil in Armenian-Georgian relations has
been already spoiled. Gayane Novikova, head of the
Spectrum Center for Strategic Analysis, agreed to this
idea. Considering the Armenian-Georgian relations
generally outlined, she emphasized that there are few
negative moments in these relations. Gayane Novikova
thinks that problems arise also because of discrepancy
in economic interests of Armenia and Georgia and as a
consequence participation in different regional
projects. Meanwhile, In her words, our countries do
not properly use the chance to integrate into the
Euro-Atlantic structures.
However, the experts preferred to round off on
optimistic note saying that it~Rs time put in order
Armenian-Georgian relations and settle issues on the
agenda. But, in Georgian expert~Rs words, as the
experts do not have much influence on politics, we can
only wait for the Armenian and Georgian authorities to
sit at a table in such optimistic mood and meet the
challenges.
By Aghavni Harutyunian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #112, 17/06/2006
Home
CASCADE INSURANCE INCREASES ITS LEGISLATIVE CAPITAL
The paid legislative capital of Cascade Insurance has increased by
500 million AMD (1.1 million USD). As a result the Cascade Insurance
belonging to Cascade Capital Holding became a company with the greatest
paid legislative capital in the insurance market of Armenia.
To remind, 65% of Cascade Insurance’s shares belong to Cascade Capital
Holding and 35% belong to the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development. The Cascade Capital Holding, in its turn, belongs to
the Gefeschian Family Fund.
By Ara Martirosian
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KARAPETYAN WILL NOT GIVE ANYTHING TO ANYONE
A1+
[04:32 pm] 16 June, 2006
During the coming elections leader of the People’s Party Tigran
Karapetyan is not going to give his votes (which in his own words
were earned throughout so many years) to anyone. “I am not going to
give my votes to anyone. I am also not going to create an alliance”,
he announced today in club “Pastark”.
Tigran Karapetyan does not exclude the possibility of bribery and
fabrications during the elections.
According to him, these cases are due to the fact that the politicians
do not believe in the possibility of getting votes honestly. He is
sure that if they intend to make fabrications, “no Venice will help”.
In any case Tigran Karapetyan is sure that he will win. “If we go
to the Parliament, it will be a victory. If we do not, it will be a
victory too”. As for how he will go the Parliament, Tigran Karapetyan
insisted, “With the help of the people”.
Having 10 thousand people on his side Mr. Karapetyan complains
of both the authorities and the opposition and considers himself
a centrist. Neither is he pleased with the activity of the Mass
Media. But he does not blame the journalists as “they are not free
and they have masters”. But he threatens, “I will say the same about
them as they say about me”. Tigran Karapetyan is displeased that the
journalists ignore the 5th anniversary of “ALM”.
By the way, Tigran Karapetyan also referred to the RA national anthem
and the “Eurovision”. He likes the present anthem of the country
and does not think we should change it. As for the “Eurovision”, he
considers it a nice show. But he is not going to send his “diamonds”
to the “Eurovision” as “they are pure children”. “What we do is
national folklore”, he concluded.