THREAT AGAINST NATIONAL SECURITY
Hakob Badalyan
Lragir.am
03 July 06
Fluctuations in the rhythm of settlement of the Karabakh conflict
cause a feeling of insecurity in the society that the war may start.
And it is not important whether the danger is real or invented. In
such a situation the society is mostly interested to what degree
the country is defended, which is quite natural. It is also natural,
when officials who are in charge of defense of the country react to
the expectations of the society.
The reaction of the minister of defense came soon, and on June 30
Serge Sargsyan delivered diplomas to the graduate officers of the
Military Institute and made several important statements about the
effectiveness of the Armed Forces of Armenia and further enhancement.
He also stated that recent activity in the settlement of the conflict
is not a reason to think that the war will start again. However, not
all the statements of Serge Sargsyan arouse a feeling of confidence
in the society that their security is guaranteed. Moreover, certain
statements of the defense minister cause worries about the country’s
security and reliability of the system of defense generally. It is
not just a matter of effectiveness of the army.
No doubt, the Armenian army is not weaker than our neighbors’, it
may even be stronger. The problem is quite different. The ministry
of defense is building a new administrative compound. Serge Sargsyan
announced that it will be ready by the fall of 2007. The compound
costs several millions of dollars, even several tens of millions. The
minister of defense announced June 30 that the compound is not funded
from the state budget. In other words, the taxpayers do not cover
the expenses. This is strangely accepted positively in Armenia. In
case of immense expenditures the government announces consciously or
subconsciously that the budget money was not spent. In other words,
the money of taxpayers was not spent. In fact, it would be quite
logical if the money of taxpayers was spent for the country, because
it is said that the one who pays orders music. Consequently, the
expenditures of the government that are not covered by taxpayers are
not for the state or will be controlled by the source, which gave the
money. If the government does something, which is not for the state,
who is it for? And if it is for the state, on what conditions does
the government borrow the money and how is the state going to repay?
This fact appears more important for such a sphere as defense. In
fact, the building of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia is not
built by our taxpayers. So it is interesting to know who builds and
if there is a guarantee that the Ministry of Defense of Armenia
will first defend the interest of the builder, then the citizens
of Armenia if necessity arises. Logically, the citizens must feed
the system of defense with the taxes they pay, including buildings,
weapon, etc., for the ministry of defense to be accountable before
the citizens. There is no other mechanism of accountability between
the government and the citizens. If a citizen refuses to sustain this
government, naturally it cannot demand accountability. Most probably,
this is the reason why our public officials make a statement that the
money of taxpayers was not spend, which is illogical on the one hand,
but quite logical on the other hand. Hence, the public officials
avoid coming up before citizens, and in this case it is unimportant
who they are responsible before. For we have already a direct threat
against our national security.

FOREIGN MINISTER: NEW OPTION IS MAINLY ACCEPTABLE FOR ARMENIA
Lragir.am
03 July 06
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan stated in a press conference on
July 3 that currently the settlement of the Karabakh conflict has
not reached a point when pressure from the international community
would matter. “It would be possible if the stances of the parties
were very close, and they needed to agree on a small issue; in this
case, the international community would be determined to give a final
settlement of the issue,” Vardan Oskanyan.
He says he does not know if the conflict parties have reached this
level. The foreign minister of Armenia thinks that a year ago the
stances and approaches of the parties were different by 180 degrees.
Currently, the foreign minister says, there are common points between
the parties.
“However, it is difficult to say if the difference is so small that
we will be able to reach the final settlement of the issue with extra
pressure from the international community one party or another,”
says Vardan Oskanyan.
He announced again that the principles on the table of negotiations,
which were definitely revealed by Mathew Bryza, “are on the whole
acceptable for Armenia, and Armenia is ready to carry on the talks
based on these principles, because these are comprehensive, quite
balanced, and a right choice of compromise was made.”

30 PERCENT OF ARMENIAN BANKS SUFFER LOSSES
Lragir.am
03 July 06
7 out of 21 banks registered in the Republic of Armenia suffered
losses of billions in 2005. Another ten companies, which contain the
word “bank” in their names and used to offer banking services, also
suffered losses in 2005. However, there is no official information
on the official website of the Central Bank, although it was last
updated on June 29. And according to the information of the State
Tax Agency, only Econominvest Bank is broke. In other words, two
major state agencies, which deal with the state money of Armenia,
do not have enough information and do not inform the society or are
definitely careless.
So, 31 banks operate or are at least registered in Armenia, and if
16 suffer losses, a simple arithmetic sum shows that 50 percent of
banks suffer losses. The Central Bank of Armenia must have done this
sum as well, so they inform that there are only 21 banks in Armenia
and 7 suffered losses. When 30 percent of the system is dying slowly
is not as bad as 50 percent.
First of all, let us list the banks the Central Bank does not know
anything about. In 2005 United Bank’s losses totaled 15.528 billion
drams. Credit Yerevan, Akunk and Credit Service follow with 10.573
billion, 1.863 billion and 1.577 billion drams respectively.
Lend Bank is the last on the list of banks, whose losses exceed one
billion. Its losses totaled 1.074 billion. The dissolving Econominvest
Bank’s losses totaled 466 million. Armagrobank’s losses totaled
158.7 million, Trust Bank’s 83.5 million, Shirakinvest 73.4 and
Russian-Armenian Bank 34.864 million drams.
Among the banks registered with the Central Bank ASHIB’s losses
are the highest – 5.2 billion drams. The losses of Ararat Bank and
Armenian Development Bank also exceed one billion, totaling 1.132
billion. BTA Invest Bank’s losses totaled 3.09 million, Cascade Bank
34.468 million and Armswissbank’s losses totaled 13.143 million drams.

KILLINGS OF ARMENIANS IS ON THE AGENDA
Lragir.am
03 July 06
Killings of Armenians in Russia is a burning issue of the Armenian and
Russian relations, confessed Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan July
3. Two days past another attack on Armenians the minister announced
in Yerevan that Armenia is continuing to raise the issue of killings
before Russia.
“You know we will keep raising this issue. It is on the agenda, you
already know. The issue is raised in different level meetings. It
equally worries Russia,” stated Vardan Oskanyan.
“This phenomenon is widely spread in Russia and continues, and the
Russian government, I think, should consider more sufficient efforts
for prevention. Otherwise, it may grow into a serious threat against
the Russian public,” said the foreign minister of Armenia.

OSKANYAN CANNOT EXPLAIN OTHERWISE
Lragir.am
03 July 06
Mathew Bryza’s statement that the Azerbaijani democracy should serve
as a model for Armenia is explained outside the context. The foreign
minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan expressed this opinion on July
3, saying that Bryza did not want to say that Azerbaijan is more
democratic than Armenia.
“Mr. Bryza did not state that Armenia is less democratic. He said
there is certain progress in Armenia, and they hope that Armenia
will also make progress. However, he did not provide a benchmark to
measure this progress, he did not say that, and I cannot conclude
from this statement that Armenia is less democratic than Azerbaijan,”
said Vardan Oskanyan.
According to him, Bryza does not give a reason for comparison. “I
repeat again that there can be the following: by its level of democracy
Azerbaijan is here, Azerbaijan is here. But they set off from this
point, and they expect that Armenia will also take additional steps
to strengthen democracy,” says Vardan Oskanyan.

KARABAKH PEOPLE ABOUT RETURNING KARVACHAR
Lragir.am
03 July 06
People in Karabakh have a very negative attitude towards proposals
involving return of territories. They were deeply shocked to hear the
foreign minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan say that “we will give”
Karvachar after the referendum.
The reporter of the Lragir.am asked the opinion of citizens on this
announcement in Stepanakert.
G. Sahakyan, 73: “Apparently, the minister did not study the map
properly. How does he imagine life in Karabakh without Karvachar?
Would he live in Karabakh without Karvachar?”
Svetlana, 43: “Perhaps they are hopeful that Baku will reject the idea
of referendum and Karvachar will remain ours. But what if they agree?”
Andrey Ghulyan, pensioner: “Most inhabitants of Shahumyan, who remained
in Karabakh, live in Karvachar. What will their fate be?”
“Frankly speaking, I am surprised at Oskanyan. Who gave him the right
to speak on our behalf? He has never lived and will never live in
Karabakh, will he?”

RUSSIAN EMBASSY TO ARMENIA COMMENTED ON ATTITUDE TOWARDS ARMENIANS
Lragir.am
03 July 06
On June 3 the Embassy of Russia to Armenia issued a press release
that the cases of xenophobia reported in Russia are not typical of
Russia only. Besides, the embassy offers their condolences for “a
series of offences involving violence against Armenians”. In fact,
5 Armenians were killed as a result of offenses involving violence.
Actually, the Russian embassy refutes information in some Armenian
media and statements by separate people that the Russian law
enforcement agencies are being passive, as well as accusations of
complicity against some government agencies: “This information,
independent from its purpose, is not based on reliable facts and
verified information, and is not helpful for the traditional friendship
between our countries.”
The Russian embassy considered it necessary to note that Armenians are
involved in all the spheres of life in Russia, they are represented
in the federal agencies, local governments, are successful in economic
activities, free in national public and cultural activities.
Who knows, maybe the success of Armenians arouses envy and xenophobia
in the head of the Russian skinhead. Besides, nobody in Armenia
disagrees that the Armenians are involved in all the spheres of
life in Russia, they are represented in the federal agencies, local
governments, are successful in economic activities, free in national
public and cultural activities. It is only said that by some strange
coincidence Armenians are being killed in Russia.
And the Russian Embassy simply stated that we are old friends and
there are cases of xenophobia in other countries as well.

US CONGRESSMEN DEPLORE AGGRESSIVE ANTI-ARMENIAN POLICIES OF BAKU
Editorial
Yerkir.am
July 01, 2006
Nagorno Karabakh National Assembly Speaker Ashot Ghulian and NKR
Foreign Minister GeorgyPetrosian spoke at the “Karabakh Conflict:
Prerequisites of Peace ” event held at the United States Institute
of Peace.
As reported by REGNUM news agency, Ashot Ghoulian and Georgy Petrossian
presented the official position of the NKR on the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict focusing on the history of the conflict and the current
stage of the peace settlement.
The NKR Parliament Speaker presented the legal and historic grounds
of the proclamation and establishment of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic stressing their correspondence to the international norms
and experience.
Speaking of the situation in the region, Ashot Ghoulian noted that
the NKR regarded with comprehension to the vital interests of the
USA and other countries in the South Caucasus but at the same time
it anticipated understanding of its interests from these countries.
In his speech, the NKR Foreign Minister stressed that the current
format of the negotiations does not reflect the real point of the
conflict as the Azerbaijani party refuses to negotiate with Nagorno
Karabakh.
Thus, Georgy Petrossian noted, since 1988 Azerbaijan has transformed
the possibility of the legal solution of the problem to an enduring
ethno-political conflict. The NKR delegation answered the attendants’
various questions.
Then, in the U.S. Congress, the NKR Parliament Speaker and Foreign
Minister had a meeting with Ranking Member of the House Foreign
Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, Congresswoman Nita Lowey.
In the course of the talk, the NKR delegation presented the current
social-economic state in the republic, the achievements connected with
the development of democracy in Artsakh and the last developments in
the process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.
According to the NKR MFA, in the evening, in honor of the
NKR delegation, a reception took place in Capitol in which the
U.S. Congress members, RA Ambassador to the USA Tatoul Markarian, NKR
Permanent Representative in the USA Vardan Barseghian, leadership of
the Armenian Assembly of America and the Armenian National Committee of
America, Congress staff members, journalists, members of the Armenian
Diaspora took part.
Congressmen Frank Pallone, Joe Knollenberg, Edward Roys, Caroline
Malony, Adam Shiff, Bred Sherman, who heartedly greeted the NKR
National Assembly Chairman and Foreign Minister, delivered speeches
at the event. Condemning the aggressive anti-Armenian policy conducted
by Azerbaijan, the Congress members confirmed readiness to contribute
to the establishment and development of the NKR.
In their speeches, the Nagorno Karabakh officials expressed gratitude
to the U.S. Congress and American people on behalf of the people
of Artsakh for adherence to such eternal values as freedom and
democracy as well as for the humanitarian aid rendered to Nagorno
Karabakh. “Artsakh knowingly chose the way of freedom and democracy and
no obstacles will turn it from that way”, the NKR NA Speaker summed up.
After the event, the NKR delegation met with Co-Chairs of the
U.S. Congress of Armenian Friendship Group, Congressmen Frank Pallone
and Joe Knollenberg.
The participants of the talk touched upon issues related to the current
social-economic state in the NKR, development of democracy in Artsakh,
assistance rendered by the USA to the NKR and the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement.

WHAT DOES KARABAGH HAVE TO DO WITH THIS?
By Gayane Movsessian
Yerkir.am
July 01, 2006
The statements made by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Mathew Bryza
can be aimed at anything but the settlement of Karabagh conflict.
Had the State Department representative been working towards the
settlement of the conflict he would have hardly publicized such
fragmented information about the principal provisions of the so-called
‘framework agreement’.
In fact, the American co-chair succeeded in causing another wave of
militaristic hysteria in Azerbaijan. The Azeri President Ilham Aliyev
stated at a meeting with representatives of the Azeri military,
“Azerbaijan has lost its hope for international mechanisms of
conflict settlement. In this situation Azerbaijan must modify its
foreign policy.”
Head of the Azeri President’s administration Novruz Mamedov was
even more explicit in his statement, “If Armenia does not accept
the highest degree of autonomy for Karabagh offered by Azerbaijan,
we will have to liberate our territories with armed forces.”
If, as Washington’s official and unofficial representatives assure
us, US’s priority in the region is stability and security, it is very
difficult to understand why the framework agreement does not contain
such vital provisions that would guarantee the peaceful settlement of
the conflict, in other words why aren’t there any provisions committing
the sides to exclude the possibility of resorting to force? This
question is addressed to the Minsk Group and OSCE in general. The
inconsistency of the mediators on this issue allows Azerbaijan to
act like a bully threatening the peaceful settlement process.
At the same time, the mediators’ behavior leads to the conclusion that
such manipulations are in their interests because they create the
necessary environment for their maneuvers. The American co-chair’s
attempt to tie the Karabagh settlement with the normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations is even stranger.
Such statements, if they reflect Washington’s official position,
arouse suspicions as to whether US is really exerting efforts to
convince Turkey to open the border with Armenia with no preconditions
for the benefit of regional cooperation.
One gets an impression that Yerevan’s readiness for mutual concessions
is perceived not only in Ankara and Baku but also in the White House
as an expression of the Armenian side’s weakness while Azerbaijan’s
and Turkey’s exaggerated ambitions are perceived as appropriate.
However, we should pay attention to the fact that Mathew Bryza’s
statement was made on the same day when the meeting of leaders of
the CIS Collective Treaty and Eurasian Economic Cooperation member
states was taking place in Minsk. The statement was made on the eve
of the G-8 summit for which USA and Russia are heading with a number
of unsettled issues.
It’s not a coincidence that only three weeks before the summit the
Russian President Vladimir Putin started speaking about arms control,
conflicts in the region and their settlement, Russia’s relations with
Japan and USA, as well as its relations with the CIS. Russia will
not support the ultimatum against Iran. It will participate in peace
building mission in the Caucasus. Russia sees itself as a mediator
in the dialog of civilizations. These were the main messages sent by
the Russian President.
The principles for conflict settlement must be universal and must be
based on the norms of international law and the principle of respect
for the interests of all sides engaged in the conflict, Putin stated
stressing that isolation of any state is unacceptable and citing the
examples of Kosovo, Cyprus, South Caucasus and Transdniestre.
The Russian President further stated that Russia is directly
involved in settlement of a number of conflicts and will continue
its involvement deriving from a position it considers appropriate
for itself. “I would like to stress that we will continue our peace
building mission despite the obvious provocations that we have to
counter so often,” Putin stated.
Commenting on Russia’s relations with the CIS Putin noted, “I
believe the time has come to accept the principles that prevail
in international economy and trade, principles based on sober
calculation. We do not question the CIS countries’ right to act
independently both domestically and internationally.
However, this means that we also have the right to determine our
own road”.
The issue of Russia’s relations with USA was raised in a very explicit
manner. President Putin spoke about “containment”, “Cold War” and even
“clash of civilizations”
According to Putin, Russia is worried by the unpredictability of global
development at a time of “modernization of the entire architecture
of global security”. This is why the goal of Russia’s foreign policy
to “break the dangerous tendencies” and not to allow “an inertia of
past approaches”.
Russia’s position is that it does not need any confrontations. This is
why Russia will not participate in any alliances and will support all
initiatives aimed at development of inter-civilizational dialog. It
is obvious that this statement was addressed to all participants of
the G-8 summit in Saint Petersburg.
Against this background we have Washington’s gesture towards Baku,
” Azerbaijan is the leading force and the guarantor of the security
in the region”.
Such statement indicate not Washington’s appreciation of the success
of democratic reforms in Azerbaijan but a confirmation of the fact
that Azerbaijan is fully included into US’s geopolitical spectrum
whose strategic interests in the Caucasus, according to Bryza, lie
in three directions: energy, security and democratic reforms.
Everything seems to be clear regarding the issue of energy: Kazakhstan
has already joined Baku-Tbilisi-Jeyhan pipeline and now US hopes
to expedite oil export from the Azeri Caspian to the international
market since the “European gas market is facing a crisis. One cubic
meter of gas costs up to 45 dollars and the gas imported from Ukraine
and Russia is not sufficient.”
The situation with democratic reforms is more complicated: because
of lack of progress in this respect the Azeri delegation’s mandate
to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe was questioned
these days.
Therefore, Mr. Bryza’s attempt to diminish Armenia’s accomplishments
in the sphere of democracy cannot have any results. He stated, “We
hope to see a chain of democratic reforms in Armenia like the one we
hope we are witnessing in Azerbaijan.” This obviously has nothing to
do with democracy. Washington is openly hinting that US wants to see
Armenia in the domain of American, and not only American interests
and plans. It is not a coincidence that many political leaders in
Armenia noted that the present developments are very similar to the
situation in February 1998.
As to security issues, Washington’s position that “all conflicts
must be settled based on the territorial integrity of the countries
in the region” is wrong since it means settlement of the conflicts
based on the interests of just one side of the conflict. This can by
no means ensure peace and stability in any region, especially in the
South Caucasus. We have already gone through such an experience.
Presidents of CIS states will also participate in the G-8 summit in
Saint Petersburg. Will President Kocharian meet his Azeri counterpart
during the summit? This will become clear only after Mathew Bryza’s
visit to the region and the meeting of Armenian and Azeri foreign
ministers. These meetings will most likely take place in the coming
two weeks.

BAKU USES PACE FLOOR TO FALSELY ACCUSE ARMENIA
Yerkir.am
July 01, 2006
Armenian National Assembly Speaker and head of Armenian delegation
to PACE Tigran Torosian han has met with Council of Europe Secretary
General Terry Davis to discuss Azerbaijani delegation’s aggressive
stance at the PACE.
Torosian said the Azeris have been using the PACE floor to falsely
accuse Armenia, in particular, charging Armenia of setting fires to
forests in the regions around Karabakh.
“For a week already the Azeri delegation keeps on stating that
Armenians set fire to the forests along the border of Nagorno
Karabakh,” Torosian said. ” The mildest assessment I can give to this
show is cheap political gambling. I will explain why. Three years ago
Nagorno Karabakh authorities being concerned over the fires at the
near-border pastures proposed Azerbaijan to work out joint mechanisms
for prevention of fires. Azerbaijan did not response to the proposal.
The difference of the positions of NKR and Azerbaijan on the matter is
obvious. While Baku was setting up clamor NKR Foreign Ministry June
15 requested the Office of the OSCE CiO’s Personal Representative
to hold a monitoring to assess the real situation and refute false
accusations advanced by Azerbaijan.
The OSCE mission has been examining the near-border territories
for several days but found nothing what could prove Azerbaijan’s
statements.
Unfortunately, spreading hatred and invented accusations – these are
the methods Azerbaijan uses when discussing any matter. For this
purpose they are even ready to falsify the CoE documents. This is
nothing but disrespect for the PACE and the CoE principles.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress