INTEGRITY AND DETERMINATION – ALL ABOUT THE NATION
By Raffi K. Hovannisian
The Moscow Times, Russia
June 14 2006
With the purpose of keeping people informed, newspapers can and should
publish, side by side or in sequence, comment pieces offering points
and counterpoints concerning conflict situations that affect peace
and security.
At some juncture, however, partisan polemics must give way to the
consideration of hard facts in order to resolve contemporary divides
inherited from the ebb and flow of history. The truth is often harsh
and can cause pain to both the messenger and recipient.
None of us — Armenians, Azeris, Turks — can boast a spotless register
of state-building, mutual respect for human rights, or even regard
for the liberty and dignity of our own citizens. We must do better
in having our deeds match our words both individually and in concert.
With regard to Nagorno-Karabakh, understanding the following points
is vital:
~U In no way discounting Azeri cultural affinities, Nagorno-Karabakh
has been historically and will be in modern times part of the Armenian
patrimony. Its forcible inclusion by Stalin in Soviet Azerbaijan had,
and continues to have, no juridical basis under international law. For
those who might argue that it does, then so should Nagorno-Karabakh’s
response to the aggression by Azeri forces, in the form of its 1991
referendum on independence from Soviet Azerbaijan. The referendum was
held not only according to universal principles of self-determination
and other standards of international practice, but also pursuant to
the Soviet Constitution and relevant law on secession.
The question at issue is not the indisputable right of today’s
Azerbaijan to its territorial integrity, but specifically the lawful
frontiers of that integrity. Nagorno-Karabakh’s legitimate quest for
decolonization and for sovereign control of its own identity, security
and destiny is anchored both in fact and in law. Whether acknowledged
or not, it is a precedent established in East Timor, Montenegro and
other places yet to come and requires no further foundation.
~U The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s 1992
mediation mandate and the tripartite 1994 ceasefire bear witness,
no matter how or how many times you slice it, to the fact that there
can be no enduring settlement to the conflict without the full-fledged
participation of the republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. That is the bottom
line. For its own reasons, the Azerbaijani government in Baku can
whip up militant xenophobia, raze the medieval Armenian cemetery at
Julfa to the ground and then try with a straight face to deny it. But
if it ever means to negotiate, it has to talk to the Nagorno-Karabakh
capital of Stepanakert just as much as the Armenian capital of Yerevan.
~U No comprehensive solution on Nagorno-Karabakh will ever be
achieved without a synchronized normalization of the Turkish-Armenian
relationship based on an honest and brave assessment of history and its
contemporary consequences. We cannot build a peaceful and prosperous
region, where all political actors are on the same page with regard
to security and cooperation, by seeking an escape hatch from the
record of genocide and its derivative legacy, however sensitive or
inconvenient dealing with this history may be. We’re all grown men
and women. It’s time to face the music.
~U Finally, we will be unable to forge a meaningful reconciliation —
one that touches the lives of all of the region’s nations and people —
without the victory of democracy and rule of law in every jurisdiction,
whether considered separately or taken together. There can be no
peace, security, realization of national interests or international
partnership where tyranny triumphs over liberty and where semi-feudal,
post-Soviet verticals of power prejudice the future of forward-looking
generations in Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia, Turkey, and
the world beyond.
The promise of freedom, justice and equity belongs to all of us,
but the long road to its fulfillment must start at home.
Raffi K. Hovannisian is the former foreign minister of Armenia and
director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies.

TEYMOURIAN STANDS OUT FOR IRAN
Globe and Mail, Canada
June 14 2006
Friedrichshafen, Germany – Many soccer players have a habit of
routinely crossing themselves as they emerge onto the field for a
World Cup match.
But Anderanik Teymourian is different.
His simple gesture has amazed television viewers around the world
because Teymourian plays on the national team of Iran, one of most
thoroughly Islamic nations in the world.
Teymourian is a member of Iran’s tiny Armenian minority, part of
an Orthodox Christian presence dating back to biblical times. About
200,000 Armenians currently live in Iran, mostly in Tehran and other
towns of the northwest.
Although Iran is an Islamic theocratic state, Christianity and other
non-Muslim religions are not banned as in other strictly fundamentalist
states such as Saudi Arabia.
“I’m the first Christian Iranian player in the World Cup since 1978,”
Teymourian said.
The last non-Muslim player on the national team was defender Andranik
Eskandarian in 1978. He now lives in the United States.
The gangly, 22-year old midfielder, who is seen as one of the great
hopes of Iranian soccer, plays for the Aboo Muslim club from Tehran.
He also has played for Iran at every youth level so far before being
drafted to the national squad by coach Branko Ivankovic.
“He is a wonderful player. Very serious, very committed, I can rely
on him to fulfil any task,” Ivankovic said. “He will definitely play
a big role on the national team for many years to come.”
Teymourian says he gets along very well with his teammates, and that
religious differences don’t affect their relations on the field or
on a personal level.
“I am very happy that as a Christian I am playing for a Muslim team,”
he said. “I will put all my abilities at the disposal of the nation
and the team.”
He said that normally he regularly attends church in Tehran.
“But it’s been impossible to get out of the camp in Germany because
of security, so I haven’t been able to do so here.”

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT, MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DISCUSS URGENT ISSUES ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND NATURE MANAGEMENT
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 14 2006
YEREVAN, June 14. /ARKA/. Armenian President Robert Kocharian and
Minister of Environmental Protection Vardan Aivazyan discussed the
urgent issues on environmental protection and nature management. The
press service of the Armenian president reported that the discussion
covered the issues of the level of Sevan Lake, management of deposits
and protection of national parks.
According to Aivazyan, the rise of water level of Sevan Lake today
totals 2.38 meters. At the same time, he informed the president of
the ongoing cleaning works along the lakeside.
Kocharian assigned him to arrange the work on approving nature
management payments and detecting their hidden amounts, and also
ensure transparency of tenders for rights for geological exploration
and toughen control over these processes.
They also discussed a concept on inculcation of mechanisms of
ecotourism in Sevan National Park, Dilijan and Khosrov Park.
The Armenian president and the minister also touched upon the issues
related to air pollution, control over forests, and biodiversity.

ARMENIA-NATO ONE OF GUARANTEES OF ARMENIA’S SECURITY
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 14 2006
Yerevan, June 14. /ARKA/. The Armenia-NATO cooperation is one of the
guarantees of Armenia’s security, Vice-Speaker of the RA Parliament
Vahan Hovhannisyan stated at a roundtable held in Yerevan and attended
by representatives of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
Calling the Armenia-NATO cooperation efficient in the context of
recent development of parliamentary diplomacy, Hovhannisyan stressed
the importance of Armenian parliamentarians’ participation in the
work of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
The delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly includes members
of the subcommittee for future security and defense potential,
Commission for Defense and Security, and members of the subcommittee
for democratic governance, Commission for Civil Measurement, NATO
Parliamentary Assembly.

“FAIR OF IDEAS” EXHIBITION OPENED TODAY AT YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 14 2006
YEREVAN, June 14. /ARKA/. “Fair of Ideas” exhibition was opened today
at the Yerevan State University.
Head of the Department for youth policy and youth issues at the
Ministry of Culture of Armenia Arsen Soghomonyan reported that about
60 organizations were represented at the exhibition.
Among them are students councils of Armenian universities, youth
wings of political parties, youth NGOs from all the regions of the
country and also local offices of international organizations.
“This activity will enable the participants to exchange their
experiences and establish new contacts between organizations,” he said.
The exhibition is held within the frameworks of the three-day
conference “Youth, Reality, Perspectives”, organized by the Ministry
of Culture and Youth Affairs of Armenia and Center for Organization
of Youth Activities and will last until June 15.

EDUCATIONAL REFORMS IN SENIOR CLASSES AT ARMENIAN SCHOOLS TO BE COMPLETED BY 2014-2015: MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 14 2006
YEREVAN, June 14. /ARKA/. Educational reforms in senior classes at
Armenian schools will be completed by 2014-2015. Armenian Minister of
Education and Science Levon Lazarian reported that the final round of
the program on reforming the education system in the country requires
a serious reconsideration.
According to him, the process of reforming, providing for 12-year
education, should be carried out step-by-step.
“The current education system does not imply any principles and
concepts that could prepare students for entering a university
without reducing the quality of education,” he said and added that
the reforms should not affect the quality of knowledge of students
and their further life In this context, the minister pointed out the
necessity in including some courses, taught during the first year at
universities, in the school curriculum for senior classes.
“Students of senior classes should have an opportunity to independently
choose courses and teachers,” he said.
Lazarian reported that this process is rather long. “At least a
decade is required to complete the work on the education system and
its criteria, and also those elements that will be introduced to the
high school little by little.

NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI FMS OVER NK PROVIDE BASIS FOR FUTURE PRESIDENTIAL MEETING
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 14 2006
YEREVAN, June 14. /ARKA/. The negotiations of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani foreign ministers, started yesterday in Paris, provide
a basis for a future meeting between the two countries’ presidents,
Armenian Premier Andranik Margaryan told reporters.
“After Bucharest, there is the necessity in making new steps toward a
peaceful settlement to the conflict. The foreign ministers currently
attempt to supplement what was not achieved by the presidents,”
Armenian Foreign Minister said.
The negotiations between foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan
Vardan Oskanyan and Elmar Mamedyarov were held in Paris on 13 June.
They discussed the available principles and approaches that give rise
to disagreements between the sides.

IRANIAN VICE-AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA: IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT CAN BE AMENDED ONLY UNDER BOTH SIDES’ CONSENT
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 14 2006
YEREVAN, June 14. /ARKA/. Iran-Armenia gas pipeline construction
project can be amended only under both sides’ consent, Iranian
Vice-Ambassador to Armenia Ali Akbar Jokar told journalists on Tuesday
commenting on probability of a pipeline section acquisition by Russia.
In his words, there are no amendments so far and the project
implementation runs in due course in accordance with the agreement
signed between Armenia and Iran.
He said Iran remains committed to providing gas to Armenia.
Construction of Iran-Armenia 141-km gas pipeline of 700mm diameter
has been estimated to cost 120 million.
Construction of Meghri-Kajaran, the pipeline’s first Armenian
section, started on November 30, 2004. The second section
Kajaran-Sisyan-Jermuk-Ararat will be constructed by Sanir Iranian
Company. The pipeline construction is expected to be completed by
2007.

NEW REFERENDUM FOR NK STATUS DETERMINATION WOULD MEAN 1991 REFERENDUM RESULTS VOIDING
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 14 2006
STEPANAKERT, June 14. /ARKA/. New referendum for Nagorno Karabakh
status determination would mean the 1991 referendum results voiding,
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign Ministry says in Demographic Trap
publication placed on its portal.
The ministry says that some European organizations involved in
the process of Karabakh conflict settlement just secure their own
interests, which coincide with Azerbaijani interests.
As an example of these organizations, NKR Foreign Ministry singled
out International Crisis Group who calls into question the legitimacy
of the referendum conducted on December 10, 1991, in accordance with
the then USSR law, which reflected Karabakh people’s will.
“What for Azerbaijani minority, it enjoyed right for expressing
opinion, but Karabakhi Azerbaijanis rejected this right and ignored
the referendum expressing indifference to the republic’s future”,
the ministry says.
The ministry also said that if Armenian side gives consent for a new
referendum, then neither Armenia nor Nagorno Karabakh will be able
to bar Azerbaijan from changing demographic situation in the republic
under cover of “peacekeepers” mission and “refugees” return.

IRAN TO START GAS SUPPLY TO ARMENIA
United Press International
June 14 2006
TEHRAN, June 14 (UPI) — Iran will begin supplying natural gas to
Armenia starting in 2007, Iranian Deputy Ambassador to Armenia Ali
Akbar Jowkar said Tuesday.
“Iran has committed itself to providing Armenia with gas and will do
so,” Arminfo quoted Jowkar as saying at a news conference.
An agreement between Iran and Armenia was signed earlier this year
to allow for natural gas supply.
The two countries have been working to complete the construction of
the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline that will be put into operation later
this year. The agreement, according to Jowkar, has not undergone
any changes.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress