NAGORNO-KARABAKH RELEASES BAPTIST SOLDIER AFTER ONE YEAR JAIL
BosNewsLife , Hungary
Sept 25 2006
NAGORNO-KARABACH/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)– A Christian soldier who was
imprisoned in the troubled unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh
for refusing to swear the military oath and carry weapons on
Biblical grounds, has been released, after spending one year in jail,
BosNewsLife learned Monday, September 25.
From: Baghdasarian

NAGORNO-KARABAKH: ‘THERE IS NO GOING BACK FOR US’
Thomas Cromwell
Diplomatic Traffic, DC
Sept 25 2006
With the collapse of the Soviet Union the world became aware of the
complexity of peoples and nations that made up the diversity of the
USSR but that had long been submerged beneath the monolithic facade
of communist rule. Especially under Stalin, many ethnic groups had
been forced to leave their traditional lands or were incorporated
into Soviet states where they didn’t belong. One of these was Nagorno
Karabakh, which in 1921 Moscow had made part of the Azerbaijan Soviet
Socialist Republic, even though the majority of the population was
Armenian.
On September 2, 1991, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic declared
independence, in step with other former Soviet states. (A Soviet
law passed in 1990 allowed for Soviet autonomous entities, such as
Karabakh, to decide their own future if their ‘parent’ republic leaves
the Soviet Union.) This in effect meant declaring independence from
Azerbaijan, and soon a war was underway between Armenia-backed forces
in Karabakh and Azerbaijan, whose territory completely surrounded
the Soviet-era Karabakh enclave.
With the Karabakh population 73 percent ethnic Armenian at
independence, resistance to Azerbaijan was successful, despite the
heavy odds against them. By the time a ceasefire was agreed in 1994,
Armenian forces controlled Karabakh proper (which as an autonomous
oblast under the Soviets was just 1,699 square miles) and most of
the territory between Armenia and Karabakh.
The modern era conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which began as a
peaceful request in 1988, forced some 350,000 Armenians to flee
Azerbaijan (including 30,000 from Karabakh), mostly to Armenia, and
some 700,000 Azeris to flee Armenia and Karabakh (40,000 from the
latter), as well as Karabakh-controlled areas of Azerbaijan. Other
refugees or internally displaced persons were relatively small
groups of Russians and Kurds. A decade on, the future for most of
the displaced persons is still uncertain.
However, in a recent interview with DiplomaticTraffic.com,
Nagorno-Karabakh’s representative to the United States, Vardan
Barseghian, said that although not recognized formally by any
government, Karabakh’s continued march to secure lasting independence
is irreversible. “There is no going back for us,” he said. “Just
because Stalin gave Karabakh to Azerbaijan does not mean that
the international community has to reinforce what Stalin did.” He
continued: “What [Stalin] did at the beginning of the last century
was against the will of our people. And now we are at the beginning
of the 21st Century.”
So far, negotiations among the key players since the 1994 ceasefire,
notably through the OSCE’s Minsk Group, have produced a lot of
statements and occasional glimmers of hope, but no concrete progress
on a lasting political solution.
But, clearly, Karabakh is not waiting for others to decide its
future. It has been working to shore up its defenses while steadily
improving its economy and the lot of its 145,000 people. Barseghian
noted that GDP doubled from 2001 to 2005 (increasing to $114 million
from $53 million), and economic growth last year was 14 percent.
Investments have been in telecoms, gold mining, diamond polishing,
jewelry and agriculture. During Soviet times, Karabakh was the
biggest per-capita producer of grapes in the USSR. Karabakh is also
known for its Mulberry brandy, called Tti Oghi locally. “It is a
beautiful country,” Barseghian said, offering prospects for tourism
development. Some 4,000 foreigners visited in 2005.
Although Karabakh is still a very poor country in a seemingly
precarious political situation, its people are evidently working hard
to improve their economy and prospects for the future.
Nevertheless, there are some major obstacles to overcome for economic
development. The capital Stepanakert’s airport cannot receive large
passenger planes, due to a lack of over-flight rights for the Azeri
territory they would have to cross for safe landings and take-offs.
Hence all international air travelers and freight have to pass through
Yerevan, the Armenian capital that is 5-6 hours’ drive away.
There is a good road connecting Karabakh to Yerevan, but there is
still much need for infrastructure development within Karabakh itself.
Asked about possible recognition of their republic, Barseghian
said “there are positive tendencies” in that direction. He said
“governments recognize the fact that the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
has been established and functioning as a country, and more and more
contacts look like regular government-to-government contacts.”
However, “the US government tries not to portray these as regular
contacts, for obvious reasons.”
Nevertheless, “what’s interesting is that Washington tracks what’s
going on in Nagorno-Karabakh, including economic progress and
democratization. We have indications through third parties that
they are happy with the progress, although they would not say that
in public.”
Regarding relations with Azerbaijan, he said: “I don’t think we have
illusions about being able to negotiate with Azerbaijan directly
for our independence.” So there are two tracks that guide Karabakh’s
diplomatic efforts. One is to seek an accommodation with Azerbaijan
to be able to live peacefully side-by-side, the other is to secure
recognition from the international community. “For instance, we have
representations in Russia, France, Australia and Lebanon, as well as
the US.” (These are not accredited diplomatic missions.)
Commenting on the work of the Minsk Group, he noted that, “The main
purpose of the Minsk Group is to facilitate negotiations, and not to
achieve a pre-determined outcome.”
Barseghian said that by fighting for independence, the people
of Karabakh had “reaffirmed our right to live on the land of our
ancestors in the way that we feel is good for us.” He said, “It was
a very heavy price,” with several thousand ethnic Armenians killed.
In the summer of 1992, Azerbaijan controlled about half of Karabakh,
but Karabakh Armenians then organized more formal resistance,
including a regular army, and began to be successful. Some 30,000
people, Armenians and Azeries, were ultimately killed in the fighting.
He noted that de facto Azerbaijan has recognized Nagorno-Karabakh’s
existence by recognizing the line of contact that separates the
two sides under the ceasefire. “This is the de facto border between
Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Since 1997, Azerbaijan has not had direct negotiations with Karabakh.
By Baku negotiating with Yerevan, it underlines its position that
Karabakh is an issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But Barseghian
said that he thinks a solution can only be found through direct
negotiations.
“I believe the world recognizes that we deserve to be free, and as a
minimum we should avoid another disaster. International recognition
of Karabakh’s independence will discourage another attack by
Azerbaijan. The ceasefire has held for 12 years, and we believe this
is due to the natural balance of forces.” He noted that Azerbaijan’s
oil revenue has been used in part to strengthen its armed forces, and
Karabakh (and Armenia) stress to the US Congress and administration
that a military balance should be maintained to prevent a new attack
by Azerbaijan.
Biography of Vardan Barseghian
Permanent Representative of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the USA
Vardan Barseghian was born in 1970 in Stepanakert, the capital of
Nagorno Karabakh.
In 1993 he graduated from Moscow Institute of Construction and
Engineering.
After his return to Nagorno Karabakh in 1993 he worked for the
international organization MSF – “Doctors Without Borders”, where
he was responsible for administrative and logistic issues for the
mission in Stepanakert.
In 1996-1997 Mr. Barseghian served as Assistant to then NKR Foreign
Minister Arkady Ghoukasian. He participated in OSCE-conducted
monitoring of contact line between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan
armies and in meetings with OSCE Minsk Group negotiators.
In 1997-1999 Mr. Barseghian worked in Stepanakert Office of the
International Committee of the Red Cross. He took active part in
organization and distribution of food, shelter and hygiene supplies
to the war-torn population of Karabakh’s Jraberd, Khachen and Dizak
provinces, as well as in pioneering several ICRC reconstruction and
agro-programs in Nagorno Karabakh.
In August of 1999 by President Ghoukasian’s decree Mr. Barseghian was
appointed the Permanent Representative of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic
in the United States. Since 1997 NKR maintains a representation office
(a de-facto Embassy) in Washington, D.C. Mr.
Barseghian is the chief executive officer of the Office of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic in the United States (NKR Office). The NKR Office is
registered with U.S. Government under Foreign Agent Registration Act.
Vardan Barseghian is married to Ms. Lusine Antonian and they have a
son, Robert.
sp?ID=585

NK OBSERVER: “OSCE POSITION CONCERNING TRANSDNESTR REFERENDUM IS VERY STRANGE”
Regnum, Russia
Sept 25 2006
“Referendum on Transdnestr Moldavian Republic’s (TMR) independence was
conducted in accordance with all international norms; no violations
were recorded by us,” Nagorno Karabakh delegation member, NKR FM and
CEC representative Semyon Afiyan, who monitored the recent referendum
on Transdnestr independence as an international observer, stated to
a REGNUM correspondent.
The observer stressed republican citizens’ high activity and
responsibility. Simultaneously, he called “very strange” position of
the OSCE, which negatively reacted to referendum, having even sent no
observers to it. The Karabakh delegation, which comprised NKR National
Assembly Permanent Commission on State and Legal Affairs Chairman Yury
Ayrapetyan and NKR Industrials and Entrepreneurs Union Chairman, NA
Deputy Samvel Hakopyan, met with TMR President Igor Smirnov; it visited
famous Kvint brandy-producing factory in Tiraspol, participated in
harvest festival and new church’s consecration in Dayeban village. NKR
IEU Chairman Samvel Hakopyan donated $500 to the church’s foundation.
Economic cooperation was discussed during a meeting at Transdnestr
Chamber of Commerce and Industry. NKR representatives familiarized
themselves with Transdnestr production. The Karabakh delegation met
with representatives of Armenian community in city of Grigoriopol,
which was founded by Armenians under Katherine the Great. “Although,
there are not many Armenians in Transdnestr, they play important
role in republican social-political life, contributing to Transdnestr
economy’s development,” Semyon Afiyan said. The NKR representatives
donated books to local museum.
It is worth reminding, the Nagorno Karabakh delegation was present
at the September 17 referendum on independence, being invited by
TMR leadership.

ETHIOPIA: HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ON IN ETHIOPIAN FILM INDUSTRY
By Arefaynie Fantahun
The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)
Sept 25 2006
As many will agree, the cinema industry in Ethiopia is still in its
infant stage. In recent times, the country is seeing a good number
of new generations of filmmakers, in their majority amateurs, who
are making films that are enjoying a good run in various cinema houses.
On a not brighter note, however, the contemporary films “are not up
to the standard,” many in the industry admit. There just is much to
be desired as far as the development of films is concerned, they say.
But, ironically, cinema was introduced to this country only three
years after the world’s first film ever was projected in Paris in
December 28, 1895 by the Louis Lumière brothers. To get a sense of
how far this industry has come and why it failed to make the progress
it should, read on the following article by our regular contributor,
Arefaynie Fantahun.
In an article appeared in ‘Annales d’Ethiopie ‘(2003), a French
journal on Ethiopia, Dr. Berhanou Abebe, a renowned historian who has
published extensively on aspects of Ethiopian history and culture,
wrote that in 1898, a Frenchman from Algeria brought one of the first
cinematic artifacts to Ethiopia, and sold it to the Italian minister
Ciccodicola, who presented it to Emperor Menilek of Ethiopia as a gift.
It so happened that, Minilik, had heard about the invention and was
keen to get the cinematograph. It was said that he watched several
films after he owned the projector.
According to Dr. Berhanou, there was a film house called ‘Pate’
owned by MM. Baicovich Frères in 1909 -1910. People were stunned
by this magical invention for the first months but soon they turned
indifferent. A French historian, Merab, in his ‘Impressions d’Ethiopie
(1922), quoted by Dr. Berhanou, said, ‘people apparently didn’t like
to entertain themselves.’ Dr. Richard Pankhurst, a distinguished
historian with several publications and books to his credit, in his
widely-acclaimed book ‘Economic History of Ethiopia’ (1968) wrote
about another attempt made in 1909-10 by some Armenians, but the
project attracted only temporary interest, and was soon abandoned.
But despite such indifference, the newly established Addis Ababa was
undergoing changes and was on its way to becoming the center of the
country’s political and cultural life.
It was at this time the first European oriented school, staffed largely
by the French, was opened in Addis Ababa, and with these were imported
teachers who would promote western-style dramas, the theatres, and
films in the years to come.
According to, Encyclopedia Aethiopica, Vol. I (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz
Verlag, 2003), in the early days cinema, cinema houses were called
‘Ye Seytan Bet’, (House of Satan), a definition which well suited
the technological “devilry” of cinematographically combined images
and movement.
The first film known to be produced in Ethiopia was a short 16mm
black-and-white film, produced by a certain Tedla on the occasion of
Empress Zewditu’s coronation day in 1917.
To be continued.
–Boundary_(ID_aEzmde70iar/7KraKn9ePw) —

ALL ARMENIAN YOUTH CONFERENCE “NATION AND HERITAGE” TO LAUNCH IN STEPANAKERT
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Sept 25 2006
YEREVAN, September 25. /ARKA/. All-Armenian youth conference “Nation
and Heritage” will be held on September 26-30, 2006 in Stepanakert.
Thirty nine young people submitted applications for participation
in this event: 21 – from Nagorno-Karabakh, 18 – from Yerevan and
different Armenian regions.
The conference was initiated by the NKR Ministry of Health, Culture
and Sports and the Center for organization of youth activities of
the Ministry of Culture and Youth.

EU “THREE” DELEGATION TO ARRIVE IN ARMENIA ON OCT 2, 2006
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Sept 25 2006
YEREVAN, September 25. /ARKA/. A delegation of the EU “Three” is
to arrive in Armenia on October 2, 2006, Acting Press Secretary,
RA Foreign Office, Vladimir Karapetyan told ARKA.
He reported that during their visit the delegation members are to
discuss the plan of action of the Armenia-EU cooperation.
Head of the European Commission mission to Armenia and Georgia,
Ambassador Torben Holtz pointed out on Saturday that the delegation
will be headed by Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. Finland
is currently EU Chairman.
The Ambassador reported that the Yerevan meeting is to be followed
by RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan’s visit to Brussels to take
part in a sitting of the Cooperation Council.
The work on the plan of action will be completed when the final goal
has been achieved, Holtz said.
The plan of action envisages assistance in economic and energy reforms,
including the shutdown of the Armenian NPP, local government,
encouragement of investments, higher and specialized education,
including the IT sector, democratic management and social protection.
On June 14, 2004, in Luxembourg, the EU Council for General Affairs
and Foreign Relations made a decision on expanding the European
Neighborhood initiative to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

T. SARGSYAN: HSBC PRESENCE IN ARMENIA HAS SPURRED ARMENIAN BANKS’ DEVELOPMENT
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Sept 25 2006
YEREVAN, September 25. /ARKA/. For a decade of its activity in Armenia,
HSBC Bank Armenia has proved that there is favorable ground in the
country for successful banking business, Tigran Sargsyan, chairman of
the Central Bank of Armenia, said Saturday at the ceremony of marking
10th anniversary of HSBC Bank Armenia activity in the republic.
Sargsyan pointed out that the bank started functioning here in
the years of turmoil and suffering. “Courage was needed to start
negotiating with the government and make this step believing in the
country’s future”, he said.
In his words, in 90s, Armenian banks feared that they would fail to
stand competition and the offshore bank would humble national banking
system. Contrary to their anticipations, HSBC presence in Armenia
has laid favorable ground for national banks’ activities and spurred
their development.
There are 21 commercial banks in Armenia with their AMD 465.2 billion
aggregate assets and AMD 102.3 billion total capital. Their net profit
for the first half of 2006 was AMD 8.2 billion.
HSBC Bank Armenia, whose parent bank is HSBC Bank plc, was registered
on September 25, 1995.
HSBC Bank plc, a branch of HSBC Holdings plc, possesses 70% of HSBC
Bank Armenia shares, and 30% belong to overseas Armenian investors.
Balance profit of HSBC Bank Armenia totaled AMD 4.6 billion by June
30, 2006 and profit for Jan-June 2006 made 1.5 billion. The bank’s
statutory fund is AMD 2.4, assets are AMD 71.5 billion and total
capital is AMD 7.3 billion. Aggregate credit portfolio of HSBC Bank
Armenia was AMD 22.9 billion by June 30, 2006.
HSBC Bank Armenia is the country’s leading bank on many indices. His
share in commercial banks’ aggregate assets is 15%, in credit
investments is more than 10%, investments in securities is more than
21%. Over 23% of individuals’ and legal entities’ aggregate deposits
in Armenian banks are in HSBC Bank Armenia. ($1 – AMD 384.03).

ARMENIAN PROSECUTOR RALLIES PRESSURE GROUPS
By Hovannes Shoghikian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Sept 25 2006
In a move underscoring his political ambitions, Prosecutor-General
Aghvan Hovsepian presided at the weekend over the creation of an
alliance of non-governmental organizations uniting prominent natives
of various regions of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Hovsepian was elected “honorary chairman” of the grouping of about
three dozen “compatriots’ unions,” including his influential Nig-Aparan
organization. Its elected nominal leader, parliament deputy Vahram
Baghdasarian, claimed that the new “congregation” will be “apolitical”
and will have no ties with any political party.
However, Baghdasarian himself is a politician and a leading member of
the recently formed Association for Armenia party, which is widely
believed to be sponsored by Hovsepian. The latter was at pains to
repeat that he has no far-reaching political ambitions and that the
“congregation” will not cater for his interests.
“Do not try to drag me into politics with a donkey-like stubbornness,”
said Hovsepian. “I will not engage in politics.”
Hovsepian’s assurances are dismissed by leading Armenian politicians
and commentators. One of them, the governing Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), has repeatedly condemned his perceived
involvement in political activities. The influential prosecutor is
widely seen as a potential major contender in the next presidential
election due in 2008.
Speaking at the congregation’s founding conference, Anahit Sargsian,
a senior member of Nig-Aparan, made it clear that the consolidating
“compatriots’ union” will not be “indifferent to [the question of]
who will be the republic’s president and prime minister, parliament
deputy or mayors of cities, towns and villages.”
Sargsian also took a swipe at Armenia’s mainstream governing and
opposition parties, saying that they have all “have exhausted
themselves” and “blinded themselves with their materialistic zeal.”
“They are now discredited in the eyes of the people,” she charged.
The remarks were denounced by Hamlet Harutiunian of the Artsakh Union
of Armenia-based natives of Karabakh, which also joined the grouping.
“In general, nothing exhausts itself, especially political parties,”
he told RFE/RL.

FAMILY STILL WAITING FOR MISSING SOLDIER 12 YEARS ON
By Irina Hovannisian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Sept 25 2006
Greta Karapetian has a dream, and it speaks volumes about her pain
and desperation. She would give up everything, including her life,
to catch a final glimpse of her soldier son who went missing in the
dying weeks of the Nagorno-Karabakh war.
“I will wait for him even on my death bed,” she says in tears. “Let
my heart stop, let me die the moment my boy comes back and I see him
for the last time.”
Ashot Karapetian, who was 27 at the time of his disappearance in April
1994, is one of about 950 Armenian servicemen and civilian hostages
that remain unaccounted for more than 12 years after a Russian-mediate
truce stop fierce fighting in and around Karabakh.
Over 200 of them were citizens of Armenia proper. Most have been
formally declared dead by Armenian courts at the request of their
families who have lost any hope of finding their loved ones.
Others still hope for a miracle, embittered by what they see as
government indifference to the fate of the missing soldiers and
civilians. Karapetian’s elderly parents say no military or government
official has visited them in the last 12 years and are surprised to
see journalists taking interest in their plight.
“Nobody cares about my son,” says Ashot’s father Avetik. “I have
written to [Defense Minister] Serzh [Sarkisian], to [President Robert]
Kocharian, to everyone. They replied that they keep looking for.
“But who are they looking for? Don’t they know what happened to those
men? They know, but won’t tell us.”
Karapetian himself spent several months touring Karabakh and trying
to gather information about his son a decade ago, but to no avail.
Ashot was in a group of five soldiers who went missing in a pitched
battle with Azerbaijani forces southeast of Karabakh on April 20,
1994, less than a month before the war was stopped. One of them,
Artak Avetisian, is said to have been seen in a critical condition
by some of his comrades on that day. But his whereabouts have been
unknown since then.
Avetisian’s parents believe he is most probably dead and had the
Armenian authorities officially certify that recently. The formality
allowed them to start receiving a measly state benefit of 3,000 drams
($8) a month.
“I pinned my hopes on them for five or six years, but nothing was
done,” Avetisian’s father Hrant says, referring to the government and
the military. “All I heard was ‘don’t worry, he’ll come back one day.'”
The Armenian Defense Ministry insists, however, that it has done its
best to locate and repatriate prisoners of war. Colonel Ashot Balian,
a member of a ministry commission dealing with them, claimed last April
that hundreds of Armenians remain alive in Azerbaijani captivity. “We
have information that they are used as slave labor in Azerbaijan,”
Balian told RFE/RL. “The Azerbaijani authorities keep moving them
around and leaving no traces of them.”
“We still hope that our missing sons will return to their families
one day,” he said.
The Azerbaijani authorities have denied holding any Armenian prisoners
and allege, for their part, that as many as five thousand Azerbaijani
captives are being held in Armenia and Karabakh. Defense Minister
Sarkisian dismissed the claims as “unfounded” during an April meeting
the visiting chairman of the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC), Jacob Kellenberger.
The Red Cross, which has offices in both Baku and Yerevan, is the main
international institution that arranges Armenian-Azerbaijani prisoner
exchanges and repatriations. Both conflicting armies continue to turn
to it for assistance after reporting soldier disappearances.
Prisoner exchanges have also been arranged by private individuals,
usually via Georgia. They have strong connections in Armenia and
Azerbaijan and earn lump sums in the process. According to an informed
member of the Yerkrapah Union of Armenian veterans of the Karabakh war,
who asked not to be identified, some families have paid the middlemen
between $40,000 and $150,000 to get their sons out of captivity. “If
the parents have money and know where their son is kept, their chances
are big,” he told RFE/RL.
The Karapetians neither have money, nor know Ashot’s whereabouts.
What they have instead is a bitter grudge against the far more
prosperous Armenian officials who they feel could have done more
to bring their son back home. “Our boys went to fight and die to
swell their pockets and the coffers of Swiss banks,” says Avetik
Karapetian. “If, God forbid, there is another war, who will fight
for this country? Let them, their children fight.”

EU CALLS FOR ENLARGEMENT PAUSE AFTER ENTRY OF BULGARIA AND ROMANIA
Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
Sept 25 2006
Turkey’s aspirations to join the European Union looked very gloomy
Monday after the head of the European Union’s executive said the
European bloc cannot integrate more members after Bulgaria and Romania
and before institutional reforms.
“After the enlargement of Romania and Bulgaria it seems to us that we
are not in a position to integrate new member states without prior
institutional reform,” President of the European Commission Jose
Manuel Barroso told a press conference in Brussels this afternoon.
The European Commission is set to say Bulgaria and Romania may join
the EU in January 2007 in a report to be published on Tuesday.
“There is no formal decision but as the president of the European
Commission I think it would be unwise to bring in other member states
apart from Bulgaria and Romania, which will be joining us soon,
before we have sorted out the institutional question,” he said.
The European Parliament is to debate its report on Turkey’s EU
membership on Tuesday. The report demands Turkey recognize the
‘Armenian massacre’ before it can join the European bloc.
On Croatia, another EU candidate country, Barroso said, “Of course
I would like Croatia to join as quickly as possible if it fulfills
all the criteria.”