PUTIN RECEIVES ARMENIAN, KAZAKH PRESIDENTS AT SOCHI
NTV Mir, Moscow
15 Aug 06
An informal summit of the Eurasian Economic Community, EAEC,
will open in Sochi this evening. It will open with a dinner for
the leaders at the Bocharov Ruchey residence. Here is some footage
which we received from Sochi a few minutes ago. Ahead of the official
opening, the president of Russia met the president of Armenia, who
is attending the summit as an observer. Vladimir Putin and Robert
Kocharyan discussed trade and economic relations. The Russian leader
noted that prospects are good because trade between the countries
is steadily growing. Kocharyan, for his part, said that for further
development it was essential to resolve transport and communications
problems and to focus on investment projects.
Later Vladimir Putin received the head of Kazakhstan, Nursultan
Nazarbayev.
New agreements on transport and freight were signed at the meeting.
[A report by ITAR-TASS at 1601 gmt said that two agreements, aimed
at “optimizing tariff policy in freight haulage”, were signed. The
agreements were signed by the two countries’ transport ministers,
in the presence of Putin and Nazarbayev.]

EURASEC INFORMAL SUMMIT STARTS IN SOCHI WITH WORKING DINNER
ITAR-TASS, Russia
Aug. 15, 2006
SOCHI, August 15 (Itar-Tass) — An informal summit of the Eurasian
Economic Community (EurAsEC) started in Sochi on Tuesday with a
working dinner.
The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and
Belarus have convened at the residence of President Vladimir Putin.
The president of Armenia, which is an observer at the EurAsEC, was
also invited to attend the meeting.
Putin, who held negotiations with Armenian President Robert Kocharian
and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev prior to the meeting,
greeted other chiefs of state on the residence staircase.
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev arrived first, followed by Tajik
President Emomali Rakhmonov.
None of them was wearing a tie, as the meeting was supposed to be
informal. Yet Putin was wearing a tie, since he had just finalized the
negotiations. Rakhmonov asked whether he had understood the meeting
format correctly.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov arrived next. He shook hands with Putin
and spoke to him for several minutes.
Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko was the last to arrive. He
was wearing a tie in contrast to his colleagues. Lukashenko shook
hands and embraced Putin.
Then the EurAsEC leaders went inside the residence.
The chiefs of state will have negotiations on Wednesday.

RAILA AND WAMBUI FACE QUIZ ON ARTURS
Story By Bernard Namunane
The Daily Nation, Kenya
Aug. 15, 2006
MP Raila Odinga, political activist Mary Wambui and her daughter
Winnie Wangui plus businessman Kamlesh Pattni are on a list of high
profile witnesses who are to be interviewed afresh over the security
scandal involving the Armenian Artur brothers.
Also listed for questioning are the entire top brass of the country’s
security system, including intelligence chief Michael Gichangi, Chief
of General Staff Jeremiah Kianga and Police Commissioner Hussein Ali.
They are to be quizzed by a Parliamentary committee over the activities
of the so-called brothers – condemned as major international criminals
– and in particular the way they breached security at Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport which led to them being deported.
And the committee is hoping to ensure all the witnesses give their
evidence in public – unlike previous witnesses who were heard in
private after Parliament’s Business Committee blocked the committee’s
pleas for public hearings.
A co-chairman of the joint committee, MP Ramadhan Kajembe, accused
Justice minister Martha Karua of blocking its bid for public hearings,
“on one or two spurious grounds”.
They would wait for Parliament to resume before asking the House to
allow hearings in public, he said,
And the other co-chairman, MP Paul Muite, commented: “We want the
public to hear what is being said so that when anybody skips a
question, the jury will be in the public court.”
The list of new witnesses includes big names not called by the Kiruki
Commission of Inquiry which wound up its public hearings on Friday
last week.
The Parliamentary committee released a list of 34 fresh names,
as it revealed its members would travel to Abu Dhabi in the United
Arab Emirates to interview the brothers, Mr Artur Margaryan and Mr
Artur Sargsyan.
The brothers were deported to Dubai, the commercial centre of the UAE,
but the Kenyan embassy, where the hearings are likely to be held,
is at Abu Dhabi the emirates’ capital.
The committee said it had become crucial for the key people in the
debacle to be questioned following what they said was the failure of
the commission chaired by former police commissioner Shedrach Kiruki
to call crucial witnesses.
The committee said the activities of the two Armenians touched on the
centre of the country’s security and that the truth must be unravelled.
“This has become even more critical given that the the Presidential
Commission of Inquiry elected not to invoke the power to compel
attendance of witnesses conferred on it by the Commissions of Inquiries
Act, Cap 102 of the laws of Kenya,” they said in a statement read by
Mr Kajembe.
“There is a compelling need to have an inquiry that for once gets to
the bottom of the matters being investigated,” he added.
Public hearings
The commission brought down the curtain on its public hearings
without summoning key people who had been linked to the entry, stay
and deportation of the two Armenians.
The only key person to go before the commission was Internal Security
minister John Michuki. Even then, he only spent 15 minutes on the
witness stand.
Yesterday, the joint committee, comprising two committees – one on
Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs chaired by Mr Muite and
the other on Security, Administration and Local Authorities headed
by Mr Kajembe – vowed to summon all key witnesses in the affair.
Said Mr Muite, MP for Kabete: “This committee, in fact, intends to
use its powers as provided for in the National Assembly (Powers and
Privileges) Act to compel witnesses to come and testify.”
So far, they said, the committee had questioned 32 witnesses in private
after their attempts to be exempted from Parliament’s Standing Orders
and hold the hearings in public were blocked by the House Business
Committee. “We have more additional witnesses whom we intend to call,”
he said.
The names on the list have been separated according to the roles they
are alleged to have played in the Arturs affair.
Quizzed about general security issues regarding the brothers will be
Mr Odinga, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, minister Michuki, Police Commissioner
Ali, National Security Intelligence Services boss Michael Gichangi
and Special Adviser to the President Stanley Murage.
Others in that category include Civil Service head Francis Muthaura,
Chief of General Staff General Jeremiah Kianga, State House Comptroller
Hyslop Ipu, suspended CID director Joseph Kamau, Nairobi police
boss King’ori Mwangi, and the city’s criminal investigations officer
Isaiah Osugo.
The Armenians themselves, Mr Margaryan and Mr Sargsyan, are placed
in this group.
Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka were the first to blow the whistle on the
presence of the Artur brothers in the country when they claimed the
two were mercenaries hired to carry out political assassinations.
But Mr Margaryan countered the claim with allegations that they had
lent Sh108 million to Mr Odinga and had hosted Mr Musyoka in Dubai.
Those to be questioned in relation to the arrest and subsequent
deportation of the two Armenians are Immigration minister Gideon
Konchellah, suspended Kenya Airports Authority deputy managing director
Naomi Cidi, suspended Immigration officer James Gitonga, the director
of police operations at Vigilance House, Mr David Kimaiyo, and two
employees of Akarim agencies, a Mr Khanyari and Ms Tsalwa.
Narc-Kenya activist and businesswoman Mary Wambui leads the group
of witnesses to be interviewed over the fracas at Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport (JKIA) and the way the brothers were given
airport security passes.
Others in this group are Kenya Airports Authority boss George Muhoho,
a Mr Keter who is protocol officer at the JKIA VIP lounge, and police
officers at the airport during the fracas.
The committee has also lined up Ms Wambui’s daughter Winnie Wangui
for questioning. Ms Wangui and Mr Aloise Omita and Julius Maina are
listed as business partners of the two Armenians as directors of a
company called Kensington Holdings Limited.
In addition to the company’s secretary, other business associates to
face the joint committee are named as Mr Kamlesh Pattni, Mr Baktash
Akasha and the Joho brothers.

ACTIVITIES DEDICATED TO 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIA’S INDEPENDENCE TO LAUNCH IN ARMENIA IN SEPTEMBER
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Aug. 15, 2006
YEREVAN, August 15. /ARKA/. Starting from September 1, 2006, a number
of scientific educational and cultural activities, dedicated to the
15th anniversary of Armenia’s independence will be held in the country.
Narine Hovhannisyan, head of the department of general education
at the Ministry of Education and Science told journalists that the
beginning of these activities also coincides with the International
Day of Knowledge.
She said that the Ministry Of Education And Science plans to implement
these activities in keeping the strategic policy.
“One of the most important tasks today is to develop the patriotic
spirit in the young generation, inculcate the national cultural values
among the people, and get introduced to Armenia’s achievements in
the years of its independence and the urgent needs of the people,”
she said.
“The activities will involve exhibitions, conferences, competitions,
marches, artistic and patriotic meetings.
Besides this, Hovhannisyan reported that from August 20 to September
20, a traditional contest of essays on the topic “My Free Land”
will be held among school students.
“Best works of school graphic and artistic contests under the common
slogan ‘My Republic Is 15 Years Old’ will be exposed at the National
Art Gallery of Armenia,” she said.
September 1 is the International Day of Knowledge.
On March 23, 2006, the Armenian government approved the program of
these activities.
On September 21, 1991, a national referendum on quitting the USSR
was held in Armenia. On September 23, the Supreme Council of Armenia
approved the referendum results and proclaimed the independence of
Armenia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES STARTS TRIP TO AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA, ARMENIA
UN News Centre
Aug. 15, 2006
UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres
15 August 2006 – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) today started a six-day visit to the southern Caucasus,
an area that is host to over 1 million internally displaced persons
(IDPs) and refugees.
Antonio Guterres will be meeting with senior government officials,
IDPs and refugees during his visits to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia,
the agency announced today.
“The mission will focus on strengthening UNHCR’s supportive role in
ongoing conflict resolution efforts and political dialogue in the
region” where the agency spends $9.4 million annually, spokesperson
Jennifer Pagonis told a briefing in Geneva.
Displacement in the southern Caucasus region is the result of
protracted conflicts, and Ms. Pagonis pointed out that “peaceful
settlements and stability would allow refugees and internally
displaced people to return and reintegrate.” In Azerbaijan and
Armenia the displacement is linked to a 15 year unsettled dispute
and the future status of the Nagorno Karabakh region. In Georgia,
UNHCR is part of two parallel peace processes currently under way in
South Ossetia and in Abkhazia.
“UNHCR is ready to be actively involved in the peace process and
develop, together with the concerned governments, a framework plan
for the return in the event of a settlement,” Ms. Pagonis said.

PUTIN SUGGESTED TO KOCHARYAN DISCUSS DEVELOPMENT OF TRADE AND ECONOMIC RELATION
ITAR-TASS, Russia
Aug. 15, 2006
SOCHI, August 15 (Itar-Tass) — Russian President Vladimir Putin
suggested to Armenian President Robert Kocharyan to discuss the
development of bilateral trade and economic relations and to dwell
on topical problems of the region.
“As regards economic relations, the trade turnover between our
countries is rising, and, I am sure, we have good prospects for
growth,” Putin said on Tuesday, opening the meeting with Kocharyan.
“The business community wishes to develop this cooperation.”
“We will have themes to discuss today and tomorrow,” the Russian
president said. “I expect we will have a general debate with the
colleagues in the EurAsEC.”
“As to the known complicated problems in the region, I believe we
will have time to discuss them, too,” Putin added.
Kocharyan, on his part, suggested giving more attention to investment
cooperation. “I believe the growth of trade turnover is hard to expect
without the solution of communication and transportation problems,
so it is necessary to concentrate on the aspect of investment,”
he said. “There exist quite a number of promising projects.”
The presidents of the two countries also noted that the Year of
Armenia is now held successfully in Russia.

NEO-NAZI ARRESTED FOR VANDALIZING ARMENIAN CHURCH
Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, DC
Aug. 15, 2006
An arrest has been made in connection with an act of racist vandalism
directed against the Museum of Russian-Armenian Friendship in Rostov,
according to an August 9, 2006 report by the national daily Novye
Izvestiya. A local neo-Nazi has been detained, one of a group of
suspects, the rest of whom are at large. The suspect has a criminal
record, including charges of armed robbery and illegal weapons
possession. On July 31, vandals smashed windows and painted racist
graffiti inside the museum, which is located inside an Armenian church.

AZIMOV: WE OFFERED INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARMENIA DRAW BACK MILITARY POSTS AND WE SOLVE ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS CAUSED BY FIRES
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Aug. 15, 2006
Personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzey Kasprzyk
can officially notify his remarks on Azerbaijan’s activity to the
Foreign Ministry. His showing double standards regarding the fires
committed by Armenians are not right,” Azerbaijani deputy foreign
minister Araz Azimov told journalists, APA reports.
The deputy foreign minister recommended Andrzey Kasprzyk to more
closely read the reports on fires.
“I can make my remarks to him directly not just through the media.
Andrzey Kasprzyk must not forget that Azerbaijan is concerned about
the damages of the fires. He should deal with this issue instead of
calumniating. The problem of fires should be solved. We are ready to
help Kasprzyk if he wants to deal with this,” Mr.Azimov underlined.
He regarded the continuous arsons in the areas near the border and
in the occupied Azerbaijani territories as a factor proving Armenia’s
aggressive policy.
“As a state, Armenia does not make efforts to put out the fires.
Though Kasprzyk says he is not ecologist, in his report he said that
the fires were caused by climate. If he is not an ecologist, how can
he say that?” he said.
The deputy minister also said the Azerbaijani side raised the fire
problem at international organizations, including the UN, Council of
Europe and OSCE. We stated if Armenia does not want to put out the
fires in the areas near the border and in the occupied territories,
it should draw back its military posts 20 km. We are ready to solve
ecological problems in the occupied territories, where the Armenians
have drawn back from. If the fire does not stop, people will face
problems in living there, because, they cannot engage in agriculture
at least 5-10 years.”

AZERBAIJAN REQUIRES WITHDRAWAL OF ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES – AZERI DEPUTY FM
Author: A.Ismayilova
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Aug. 15, 2006
At the moment, discussions are being held in UNO on the fires in
Azerbaijan’s occupied territories. Azerbaijan requires that Armenian
armed forces should be withdrawn from the territories where the fires
are observed, the Azerbaijani deputy foreign minister Araz Azimov told,
Trend reports. They should release nearly 20 km, he told.
It needs to start the clean-up of these territories with the
participation of ecologists and other specialists to liquidate damages
and hold restoration works. According to Azimov, at present, the
number of fires is increasing and strengthening. Azerbaijan observes
the fires that cover a large territory.
Besides, he stressed that the territories sustained fires become unfit
for the future use. Their restoration will take five or six years. If
this process isn’t prevented, it will create additional problems for
returning of Azerbaijani people to these territories.
According to Azimov, creation of such a critical situation serves in
interests of some people. The goal of Azerbaijanis to prevent this
process as soon as possible. Besides, he noted that Azerbaijan is
ready to cooperate with Armenia in preventing the fires.
Commenting on the statement of Andjey Kaspishk, the personal
representative of the active OSCE chairman, Azimov advised him to be
engaged in real activity, but not misuse his authorities. Armenia,
as an aggressor country, doesn’t take any steps to prevent the fires.
Therefore, Armenia takers a great responsibility.

ON TUESDAY KOCHARYAN TO LEAVE FOR SOCHI TO TAKE PART IN EURASEC SUMMIT
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Aug. 15, 2006
YEREVAN, August 15. /ARKA/. On Tuesday Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan will leave for Sochi to take part in Eurasian Economic
Community (EurAsEC) summit.
Armenian will be presented at the summit as an observer, press service
of the president reports.
On August 15-17, heads of EurAsEC-member countries will meet at an
informal meeting in Sochi.
The agenda of the summit includes the following issues: formation of
customs union within the scope of the organization, establishment of
a system of international centers for rendering services of nuclear
cycle on basis of nondiscrimination access, water-energy regulation
in the Central Asia and establishment of the Eurasian water-economy
consortium, deepening of cooperation between the Community and
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), as well as issues
related to Uzbekistan’s joining the CSTO.
Member countries of the EurAsEC are Byelorussia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine
obtain the status of observers under the EurAsEC.
The treaty on establishment of the EurAsEC was signed in the capital of
Kazakhstan Astan on October 10, 2000, by the presidents of Byelorussia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Later Uzbekistan joined
the Community.