LESSONS LEARNED FROM LEBANON
“Aparazh” newspaper, Stepanakert
Yerkir.am
August 25, 2006
We witnessed the horrors of war on the TV screens in the past forty
days.
Once again, people saw that wars are the most inhumane phenomenon of
the humanity.
Beyond all this, it once again became clear for us, people who lived
through a war, that international forces starting with the UN and
the European Union cannot ensure peace if balance between conflicting
parties is not preserved.
We saw that peace cannot be achieved in conflict zones if the conflict
is not settled in a just manner.
The international community disapproved of the elections held in
Palestine.
This disapproval encouraged Israel to take action against
Palestine. This was a distortion of the balance, at least
psychologically. On the military side, USA’s and the Western countries’
support to Israel was obvious to everyone.
Moreover, in the course of the war we witnessed a new contract signed
between USA and Israel for provision of high precision rockets.
We have succeeded in establishing a balance with the enemy due to the
liberated territories. Those who want to object to this statement
should look at Azerbaijan’s increasing military budget and the
expected revenues from oil. We are the ones who should ensure this
balance through all possible legal and military means. The war in
Lebanon showed that there is no use in relying on peacekeeping forces.
The key word of the Gordian Knot of the Middle East conflict, as well
as all other conflicts, is justice. We are sure that all conflicts,
including the Artsakh conflict, can only be solved if the main
principle of justice is preserved.
Humanity’s laws and legal norms have justice as their primary aim. The
international community cannot solve any conflicts and establish
sustainable peace unless it recognizes the people’s right for justice
and freedom. This is equally true for our case. The international
actors are trying to eliminate the consequences of clashes between
conflicting parties and propose short-term solutions.
With the same logic, they propose that we should withdraw from
liberated territories so that international forces are dislocated
there with the assumption that then the refugees would be resettled
and in ten years a referendum will be held…
The international developments showed once again that relying on
one’s own strength is the only way to go. Unfortunately, leaders both
in Armenia and in Nagorno Karabagh Republic are somewhat hesitant
about this approach. Let us not be deceived and let us stand for our
positions firmly.

EAF: PRESENCE OF TURKISH TROOPS IN LEBANON WOULD PERPETUATE INSTABILITY IN NEAR EAST
Yerkir.am
August 25, 2006
In its statement issued on August 23, the European-Armenian Federation
for Justice and Democracy welcomed the cease-fire that has put an
end to the suffering of the people.
“However, the European-Armenian Federation is gravely concerned about
the possibility of Turkish troops participating in the peacekeeping
force in this sensitive region,” the statement continued.
“The presence of Turkish troops in an international force would
be a serious mistake with dire consequences for the peacekeeping
operations,” Hilda Tchoboian, chairwoman of the European-Armenian
Federation said. “Turkey is not a peacemaker.”
“The Federation therefore urges the International Community to make
a more suitable choice for the makeup of the UN peacekeeping force,”
the statement said.

LETTER PASSED TO UN SECRETARY GENERAL
Yerkir.am
August 25, 2006
Hakob Bagratuni, Member of the Lebanese Parliament, visited on August
20 the UN office in Beirut to meet with UN representative in Lebanon
George Nasr.
Bagratuni passed to Nasr a letter for the UN Secretary General from the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation Central Committee of Lebanon. Nasr
promised to passed the letter to Annan as soon as possible.
Bagratuni detailed the reasons why the Armenian community of Lebanon
is against the deployment of Turkish forces in the southern Lebanon.

NAME, FACT AND EVEN IMAGE FOR TIGRAN TOROSYAN
Lragir.am
28 Aug 06
On August 26 Diasporan Artashes Barseghyan made interesting statements
at the Azdak Club on the water supply system in Armenia.
He moved to live in an Armenian village 15 years ago and tries to
contribute to rural development. Over these 15 years he found out that
corruption in Armenia is huge. Ashot Barseghyan particularly emphasizes
corruption in the sphere of water, especially in the region of Ararat
where he knows the state of rural communities, where the water supply
and quality threatens the physical security of people. Artashes
Barseghyan gave the example of the village of Kaghtsrashen.
“Now it is clear that two people are in charge of Armenian Water
Supply, both appointed by Mr. Hovik Abrahamyan. Perhaps most people do
not know Mr. Hovik Abrahamyan, he is known as Muk, as well as abroad,
in the Diaspora. Yes, yes, if you say Hovik Abrahamyan, people in
America, Europe, Diaspora will not know him, but they know him as
Muk. This mister is a prince in this region, as far as we can see,
as far as I can see, also in our republic, he appointed two people,
Felix Melikyan in charge of Armenian Water Supply in Ararat region,
and Blbulyan, executive director, ” says Artashes Barseghyan. He
says Blbulyan is a former Communist functionary, who does not work
transparently, there is no information what he is doing.
“For already three years this organization has been gathering hundreds
of million drams in the region for water and has never replaced a pipes
in the region. There are over one hundred villages in the region of
Ararat. Water bills mount to a billion drams. Where does this money go,
what is it spent on?” says Artashes Barseghyan. He says Armenian Water
Supply System has a van with pipes which travels in the regions as if
for replacing the pipes, but the same pipes return to the headquarters.
“The terrible thing is that Armenian Water Supply is already
threatening people. How? Every day they come, switch on the water for
three hours when people are not at home. For instance, they switch
on the water at 8.30 when the farmers are already in the field. When
they come home at 1.30, there is no more water. Now Armenian Water
Supply will demand that people drink bad water and will make them
pay for it, threatening to sue them if they refuse to pay the bills,”
says Artashes Barseghyan.
Meanwhile, he sues Armenian Water Supply. Artashes Barseghyan sued
Armenian Water Supply to the first instance court of the region
of Ararat demanding regular supply of quality water, instead of
poisoning the citizens. Artashes Barseghyan says since water supply
is not permanent, when there is water, it flows out of pipes, forms
puddles on the earth, gets mixed with manure and dirt on vilage roads,
and when water is switched off, the vaccum in the pipes drafts the
dirty water into the pipes, and this poisonous staff gets mixed with
water when it is switched on and is supplied to people. Besides suing
Armenian Water Supply Artashes Barseghyan made a statement for the
district attorney and is going to send his statement in writing to
the district attorney to investigate the state of water supply in
the region.
“Armenian Water Supply prefers creating artificial shortage of
water for small parasites to come and steal water from the pipes
in the village, there is no water meter there, fill water-carriers
illegally, then take this water to villages where there is no water
and sell it. Whom do they give part of the money they get from selling
water? I saw last week. I have hundreds of photos, I saw the worker
of Armenian Water Supply, water carriers standing at the back of his
land, to take the water and sell it. When they saw me, they shouted
to switch off the water, Artashes is coming,” says Artashes Barseghyan.
He says the same situation is in all the regions of Armenia, but
he cannot fight for everyone, therefore he started with one region,
one village. The NGO he set up will also deal with the problem of gas
because he thinks there is a dangerously high level of corruption in
this sphere too. He says he realizes that the water supply system in
the villages is worn out, and it is impossible to settle the problem
in a day, but Barseghyan says he is worried about the illegality for
already 15 years, when the government does not make any efforts to
improve water supply to the population, and the officials of Armenian
Water Supply cheat people. However, they not only cheat people but
also threaten Artashes Barseghyan to sue and even prosecute him.
Artashes Barseghyan assures, however, that nothing will prevent him
from battling corruption, because he has already solved all the other
problems in his life.

LAW ON 14 COMPANIES WITH BEAUTIFUL NAME WHICH DOES NOT WORK
Aram Zakaryan
Lragir.am
28 Aug 06
The National Assembly of Armenia passed a law on May 15, Georgia and
Azerbaijan do not have similar laws. Over this period the law has
been changed twice, it has only 5 articles, and it does not work. It
is true that in terms of form we are ahead of our neighbors, but in
terms of content we are on the same level.
The name of the law is pleasing, “End use of environmental payments by
companies”. And though the companies operating in Armenia and paying
environmental payments count hundreds, the law refers to 14 companies
only; Armenian Copper Program, Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Factory,
Dino Gold Mining Company, Akhtala Metallurgic Factory, Ararat Cement,
Mika Cement, Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant, Yerevan Thermal Power Plant,
Gadjagorts, Gadj, Makur Yerkat, ASKE Group, Dzulakentron. The authors
of the law decided that if the activities and income of these companies
cause different environmental problems, air, water and other types of
pollution, part of the environmental payments should be transferred
to the community budget where the company is based to implement
environmental projects. Nice, isn’t it? Even very very nice. But.
First, why should the law concern these 14 companies only? Why
should part of the environmental payments of Ararat Cement be spent
on environmental projects, whereas part of the payments by Ararat
Gold Recovery Company will not be spent.
The amount to be allocated to the local governments for environmental
projects from the sum paid by the company to the state budget is
set down in a complicated wording. It is possible to get the meaning
after reading it for several times, however, if the aim is honest,
we could use more simple wording, say x percent is allocated from
the environmental payments of the company. And that’s all. However,
complicated wording is not the only reason why the law does not work.
In accordance with the document, the money is allocated to the
local governments. And the whole charm about it is that the local
governments do not have environmental departments or at least a
relevant specialist, and the money is paid only after the environmental
project is confirmed. These are first confirmed by the board of
supervisors, then by the ministries of environment and health. And the
projects can be confirmed or on the contrary. Now imagine our village
mayors and council members working on a project on a sphere which is
not familiar to them. And it is evident from the reality of Armenia,
which is gradually turning a desert, that environmental protection
is not familiar to our officials.
Experts think if the auhtors of the law did not go in for form and
intended to find real remedies for the wounds of nature in Armenia,
they are apparently following the wrong path and it is clear that they
did not consult specialists. And specialists say it would be easier
if instead of working out complicated and non-practical mechanisms in
the law they made the same companies direct the x amount that they
must pay to the state budget at environmental activities. And if
there is a problem of government control, it can be provided for by
the same law. Moreover, the same law could provide for implementation
of projects by these companies through the NGOs which deal with the
problems of state and environmental protection.
This would be another step to a civil society and public involvement.
By the way, different NGOs and boards of supervisors have implemented
and implement environmental projects in different regions of Armenia
on grants without waiting for the law on end use of environmental
payments by companies. Therefore, it is not always necessary to write a
law to do something good. For everyone knows what hinders a bad dancer.

THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND CRIMINAL RESOURCE IS REPELLED EVERYWHERE
Lragir.am
28 Aug 06
Several days ago the deputy head of the president administration of
Russia Surkov made an interesting statement, who is known as the
ideologist of the Kremlin policies. He announced that people are
already tired of public officials and the government needs to set
up a new political party to win over public support, which will not
include public officials. Perhaps he meant the pro-government Yedinaya
Rossiya Party, consisting of public officials.
This statement is interesting because it reminds the situation
in Armenia where besides the existing pro-government party a new
political party, Bargavach Hayastan was set up, which being obviously
a government project, announced nevertheless that it will not involve
any public official or minister. The logic of Surkov’s statement is
obvious, which allows supposing that the government of Russia tends
to reject the resource of the currupt system of officials. For its
part, this means that Russia hints at adopting a similar policy in
the CIS countries as well. This fact probably confirms the information
that the administrative criminal consolidation in Armenia within the
Republican Party is not approved by Moscow.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DEMANDED TO REPLACE DEFENSE MINISTER
Lragir.am
28 Aug 06
There is information from reliable sources that before the conference
of the Republican Party Russian President Vladimir Putin personally
suggested that Robert Kocharyan dismiss the defense minister Serge
Sargsyan. Robert Kocharyan told Serge Sargsyan about it and suggested
that he resign before becoming Republican. Serge Sargsyan refused.
There is information that this might be the reason why Robert Kocahryan
avoided participating in the informal CIS summit in Sochi on July 21.
It is notable that the Chief of the Headquarters of the Armed Forces
Mikael Harutiunyan made definite hints regarding the minister in
the meeting of the college of the Defense Ministry. The sources
mention that Mikael Harutiunyan and several other representatives
of the Command are definitely dissatisfied with the possibility of
involvement of the army in politics, for they think it threatens the
army and the national security. The fact is interesting because Mikael
Harutiunyan is a general of the Russian school and is perceived as a
representative of the pro-Russian direction, who is in close relations
with the Russian Command.
For its part, the Republican Party confirmed this information through
its channels, which caused tensions inside the already troubled
political party. The point is that the Republican Party is growing
doubtful that the defense minister will not bring success to the party
in the upcoming parliamentary election without having the support of
the Russian government. There is information that inside the Republican
Party they now often remember the statement made by the Russian
defense minsiter Sergey Ivanov concerning the post of president,
when Ivanov sitting beside Sargsyan gave a definite answer to the
question concerning the next candidate for president. Ivanov said he
is a defense minister, and if he starts thinking about presidency,
he will fail fulfilling his direct duties.

U.S.-RUSSIAN RACE IN ARMENIA SHIFTED TO CIVIL SPHERE
Lragir.am
28 Aug 06
The recent developments show that the potential of the anti-criminal
movement gathering momentum in Armenia gave rise to definite
conclusions by the great powers interested in the situation in
Armenia. Perceiving the political potential of the anti-criminal
movement, the United States and Russia compete for leading this
movement. There is information that Russia is especially active.
Though this sphere of activities is new to Russia, it is full of
resolve, for it can see the results of work of the United States
in this sphere. The evidence to this is the well-known statement
of Kolerov, adviser to Putin, that Russia will no longer support
the criminal regimes in the CIS space to prevent accusations agaist
Russia that it supports criminal governments at power. The reliable
sources also state that the elite of Kremlin made a decision concerning
Armenia intended to become more active in the civil sphere and promote
cooperation with the anti-criminal movement.

TIGRAN TOROSYAN SURPRISED THE NEUROLOGIST
Lragir.am
28 Aug 06
Tigran Torosyan’s statement that the National Assembly will
suspend funding of NGOs, and skepticism about the activity of the
Armenian-Russian Center for Interregional Cooperation surprized
the neurologist Henrich Bakunts, who is the director of the
Armenian-Russian Center for Interregional Cooperation. He says there
is nothing strange about funding an NGO, because the parliaments of
a number of countries in the world fund NGOs, including the Russian
Duma, the Senates of France and the United States, the parliament
of Hungary. Henrich Bakunts says the Armenian-Russian Center for
Interregional Cooperation was set up after lasting negotiations, and
fosters Armenian-Russian economic, public, scientific and cultural
cooperation.
“For me Tigran Torosyan’s statement was a surprise, because there
should be no problems. The funding is not from the account of the
National Assembly, the government allocates the money to the National
Assembly for us. It is not fincanced from the National Assembly’s
funds,” says Henrich Bakunts. He says the Center for Interregional
Cooperation is assisted by the Russian Duma, which pays the rent
and telephone bill of the Center. Henrich Bakunts says the office
is in Saint Petersburg, in a famous historical building, which
costs expensive and even surprised Russian figures, for it is in an
excellent and prestigious area. The director of the Armenian-Russian
Center for Interregional Cooperation says he even had a private talk
with Tigran Torosyan on this question, before his press conference and
statement. The speaker of the National Assembly said the government can
fund the center directly, not via the National Assembly. But Henrich
Bakunts says the circumstance of the National Assembly enhances the
reputation and status of the center, therefore the establishment and
activity of the center was supported by the former speaker Arthur
Baghdasaryan and the speaker of the both houses of the Russian Duma,
Grizlov and Mironov. Henrich Bakunts assures that he presented this
to Tigran Torosyan.
“All that I told you, I told more to him, and it was a warm
meeting. And I was satisfied with this meeting. He thanked me
and said we did considerable work in a short period, and frankly
speaking rather positive steps would be taken after our talk. For
me this statement was unexpected, believe me, very unexpected, that
there is such a center led by a certain Bakunts. I am not a certain,
I was the adviser to the speaker of the National Assembly for three
years, I am a member of the delegation, I made speeches in both our
parliament and in Russia, I was one of the founders of the center,”
says Henrich Bakunts. He cannot tell the reason for the standpoint of
Tigran Torosyan. However, he says, although they will not be funded
by the National Assembly, the center will go on operating.

GATHERING MONEY AT SCHOOLS IS A CRIME
Lragir.am
28 Aug 06
This was stated by the first deputy mayor of Yerevan during the August
28 briefing at the City Hall of Yerevan. Moreover, the directors
of schools who organize illegal raising of money will be dismissed
forever. “Raising money is an unacceptable phenomenon, if we have
facts, the directors will be dismissed,” warns Kamo Areyan. The latter
confirms that raising money at schools is illegal because the schools
do not have the right to make a deal with pupils.
However, in order to legalize this money raising at schools it
should be on a volunteer basis. In this case the extra-budget sums
of the schools will be considered legal. And while the first mayor of
Yerevan assures that they will battle this phenomenon, the experienced
directors of schools will resume their mission in several days.