PROBLEM OF ARMENIAN REFUGEES REVEALED ASYMMETRY IN TALKS
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.08.2006 17:12 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The speeding up of the settlement process
revealed the weak points of the negotiation process, NKR President’s
Aide for Foreign Policy Arman Melikian said in an interview with
PanARMENIAN.Net.
“The format of the talks doesn’t correspond to the configuration of the
conflict. The problem of the Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan is one
of the factors. This problem was raised by the refugees themselves,
who unified to protect their rights and appealed to the Armenian and
Azerbaijani President as well as to the co-chair states,” he remarked.
“According to the plan proposed by the mediators, Azerbaijan
receives some territories while the Azeri refugees return to their
homes. However one should not forget that unlike the Armenian
population of Baku, Kirovabad and Sumgait these people were not
subjected to violence and ethnic cleansings. Moreover many of them
joined the Azeri troops and then retreated with the Azeri army. As
you know at that time the military units in Azerbaijan were formed
according to a territorial principle. Now the Co-chairs bypass the
problem of the Armenian refugees. I would like to remind that the
survey showed that Armenian refugees will not return to their former
residence under the jurisdiction of the Azerbaijani Republic. “Refugees
and International Law” civic society network proposes to include the
issue of 500 thousand Armenian refugees in the agenda of the talks. As
far as I know the members of the organization met with representatives
of the Embassy of one of the co-chair states,” Arman Melikian said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AIMS OF OSCE MG AND CONFLICTING SIDES DIFFER IN UNDERSTANDING CORE OF CONFLICT
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.08.2006 17:16 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today’s settlement plan and the format of the
talks is not targeted at long-term settlement of the conflict, NKR
President’s Aide for Foreign Policy Arman Melikian said in an interview
with PanARMENIAN.Net. “The aims of the mediators and sides involved in
the conflict differ in understanding the core of the conflict. As for
the proposals already rejected by the parties, it’s not worth talking
of them and judging which one was better. Restoration of communications
and opening of borders cannot resolve the conflict; moreover this will
not guarantee considerable economic progress. They say if the proposal
is accepted Armenia will prosper and investments will flow. Nothing of
the kind. The country should develop itself. People in the West can
count money and they will give as much as it’s essential to secure
their interests,” he said.

TODAY IS THE HOTTEST DAY IN ARMENIA
ArmRadio.am
10.08.2006 14:47
Today is the hottest day of the year in Armenia. Armenian
hydro-meteorological center informed ArmInfo the temperature on August
10 will reach 42 degrees centigrade.
The hot and sunny weather will continue till August 14. Taking
into the account the season of summer holidays and leaves, weather
chart-makers recommend the residents of Ararat valley, where the
weather is the hottest, to visit the areas near the town of Aparan and
Lake Sevan. The temperature in the area of Lake Sevan in the daytime
will be about 31 degrees and 32-33 degrees centigrade in Aparan.
Medics recommend the population to avoid direct sun rays and drink
much, in particular, the Armenian national drink “tan.”

AZERBAIJANIS SEEK FOREIGN PARTNERS
ArmRadio.am
10.08.2006 15:23
Kenul Hasanova has met the man she intends to marry only three times,
but that does not concern her. Kenul got to know Muhammed through an
Internet chat-room. He is an Iranian Azerbaijani fifteen years older
than her, living in Switzerland.
Part of an increasing trend of Azerbaijani women seeking foreign
partners, Kenul defends her choice of husband-to-be.
“I don’t regard Muhammed as a foreigner,” she said. “After all we share
the same faith and nationality and he observes all our customs. In
the last two years, he’s visited Baku three times with his parents.
“The first time they met my family, the second time he proposed,
on his third visit we were engaged. And now the wedding is very
close. Soon we will marry and go and live in Switzerland.”
Experts note that the main reasons for such unions is a big gender
imbalance in the country; an ambition to live in a more developed
country; and greater tolerance within Azerbaijani society.
“The number of women in Azerbaijan has exceeded the number of men
for many years,” said Aihan Mehtiev, director of the Centre for
Sociological Research in Baku. “The data from the State Statistics
Committee for 2005 shows that the correlation is 56 to 44 per
cent. Moreover, according to a survey we conducted, 70 per cent of
those who have left to work abroad are men.
“Among them are many unmarried men who later marry foreigners. And
there are many who have abandoned their family in Azerbaijan and got
married again. ” For these reasons many of our girls simply have no
one to start a family with.”
Azerbaijani men have traditionally chosen wives of other nationalities,
typically Russians, Georgians and Armenians. But there have been
greater social restrictions on women marrying foreigners.
Mehpara Yagubova recounts the troubles she had when she told her
family she was intending to marry a non-Azerbaijani she met at Moscow
University.
“Eighteen years ago when I came home for the holidays and said that
I was planning to marry my classmate and that he was an Afghan, my
parents were in shock,” she said. “My father said that he would not
allow it. I obeyed, but I said that in that case they should forget
about me getting married at all.”
In the end, Mehpara married her boyfriend, but none of her family
came to the wedding. They now live in Moscow.
The current generation of Azerbaijani young women say they experience
less prejudice than their predecessors. And they have the advantage of
being able to use the Internet or marriage agencies to find distant
partners.
Tamila Putnikova, who runs the Nigakh marriage agency in Baku, said
that the majority of her clients are looking for well-off Muslim
husbands living in Europe or America.
For example, Gulya Talybova-Badrani married Farruh, an Arab, whom she
met in London. “Farruh attracted me by his piety,” she said. “With his
help I saw Islam anew and began to practice all its precepts. We’ve
been together for eight years and we are bringing up two children. I
am very happy with him.”
The number of Azerbaijani women marrying foreigners in Baku’s Palace of
Happiness – the only location where a foreigner is allowed to have a
wedding in Azerbaijan – is still relatively low. There were 27 such
ceremonies in the palace in 2005, in 24 of which the Azerbaijani
partner was female.
Most of the Azerbaijani wives are heading straight abroad. Metin Mirza,
a spokesman for Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry, said that the ministry
gets many applications from Azerbaijanis wanting to leave the country
to marry and that most of the weddings happen in the husband’s country
of origin.
Lamia Bagirova married her husband Osman Kadyr, a Turkish citizen,
three years ago. They also met via the Internet. Now she regrets her
decision and said she faces an agonising problem over divorcing him.
“We corresponded online for more than a year and Osman told me to
come to Igdir where he lives and get married there,” she said. “My
parents were against the idea but I took the risk. We got married and
soon a son was born. But I quickly realised I had made a big mistake.”
Lamia has now returned home but has not received a divorce. She
says she is being told that if she gives up her child, she will get
a divorce.
Shafag Abdulova is still looking for her elusive foreign suitor. “I
chat online with several foreigners,” she said. “But I have not
accepted any offers yet. I wouldn’t think long over marriage with a
foreigner. Even if I don’t like him you can always get divorced. The
main thing is to leave here.”
Samira Ahmedbeili is a freelance journalist in Baku.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIAN AZERIS THREATEN TO BLOCK TBILISI-YEREVAN HIGHWAY
ArmRadio.am
10.08.2006 15:51
The Interim High Committee of the National Assembly of Azeris of
Georgia held an enlarged session in the Turkish town of Posof near the
Georgian border on August 9. Director of the NAAG information center
Abbas Muradkhanly has told REGNUM that the NAAG met to discuss the
recent murders, beatings and arrests of Azeris in Georgia.
Muradkhanly says that they have discussed “the political situation in
Georgia, the growing wave of national discrimination in the country,
the unconcealed oppression of Azeris by the Georgian police and
special services” and, more specifically, the events of the last 15
days: the murder of two Azeris, the beating and illegal detention of
three NAAG members, the official ban on the Azerbaijan-based “Hummet”
newspaper in Georgia.
In his selective telephone address, NAAG President Dashgyn
Gulmamedov said: ” Unless they set free the arrested members of
our organization and give back the seized copies of ‘Hummet’ within
the next 20 hours, we will be forced to resort to radical actions,
particularly, mass protests. Our people will block the Tbilisi-Yerevan
and Tbilisi-Marneuli-Yerevan roads and will rally in Gardabani and
Marneuli (Georgian towns with mostly Azeri population — REGNUM).
The Georgian authorities have refused to give us permission to hold
mass actions for already three months, but this time we will not ask
them for permission. I should warn that full responsibility for what
may happen if our fair demands are rejected will be put on Georgian
Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili and Head of the Intelligence
Department of the Interior Ministry Shalva Zhgenti.”

THE STORY OF A DROP OF BRANDY
James Hakobyan
Lragir.am
10 Aug 06
The Russian regional department of control over consumption informed
August 9 about suspending the license of Pernod Ricard Russe for
wholesale trade. The reason is the poor sanitary conditions. Pernod
Ricard Russe is the daughter company of Yerevan Brandy Factory,
the owner of Yerevan Brandy Factory. Pernod Ricard’s daughter is the
exclusive distributor of the production of Yerevan Brandy Factory in
Russia. Hence, the sale of the brandy of YBF is currently prohibited
in Russia.
In other words, the production of Yerevan Brandy Factory has the
same fate as the Georgian and Moldavian wines. But if in the case of
Georgia and Moldova the sale of the entire production was prohibited,
in the case of the Armenian brandy the sale of the production of one
particular factory is concerned. It is possible, however, that Russia
simply began with the production of YBF; in other words, Russia spares
its strategic partner and prohibits the import of the Armenian brandy
to Russia gradually. After Verin Lars, one may expect “an electric
chair” from the Kremlin, and we must be grateful that it increases the
voltage gradually, although it is much worse, for thereby they execute
slowly. In other words, Russia treats its strategic brother worse
than Georgia and Moldova, of course, if it has made such a decision.
Another variant is possible as well, and in this case we deal with
the continuation or repetition of the story. The point is that after
the privatization of Yerevan Brandy Factory, when it was bought by
the French, the factory began having problems with the sale of brandy
in Russia. Namely, the Moscow-based factories owned by high-ranking
Armenian public officials hampered the sale of the production of YBF,
which operated when YBF was not privatized yet, and produced brandy
with the trademark of YBF. They produced Armenian brandy with the
trademark of YBF and sold it on the Russian market in more favorable
conditions, which hindered the sales of YBF. After a lasting debate
with the government, the owner of YBF succeeded in having these
factories closed down. However, problems with the Russian market did
not end because they started to produce Armenian brandy in Russia
illegally. Besides, the company Great Ararat was opened in Armenia.
YBF began struggle against this company because it used the trademark
Ararat, which had become the property of YBF after the privatization
of the company. Again after lasting struggle Great Ararat became
Great Valley whose owner Member of Parliament Tigran Arzakantsyan was
recently involved in a scandalous incident in Moscow. The incident
was not related to the market of brandy but it is not known what it
is related to because there were only rumors, which did not become
real facts, for the member of parliament has not given any comments
and avoids returning home.
Later many other companies producing brandy appeared, and their owners,
formally or informally, are also high-ranking Armenian officials. And
the main market of the Armenian brandy is Russia. And it is not
accidental that the Armenian companies fight against one another rather
than with other actors on the Russian market. It also stems from the
quality of production of the Armenian brandy. Since the production
is low quality, it is natural that struggle against the other actors
on the Russian market becomes pointless, therefore it is necessary to
improve the quality of production, which requires additional expenses.
Whereas it is becoming rather difficult to make these expenses because
there are clear-cut quotas on business in Armenia.
Consequently, the companies are not interested in making additional
expenses. In this situation, it is more expedient to struggle
against one another for the Russian market, for it is useless to make
additional expenses. The struggle for the Russian market is from the
sphere of arrangements, and the one who arranges more and on time,
makes the most profit.

NSU TO ROUND UP POLITICAL PARTIES WITH IDEOLOGY
Lragir.am
10 Aug 06
Paruir Hairikyan, the leader of the National Self-Determination Union,
invited news reporters on August 10, the day when an agreement was
signed in Sevres in 1920, to announce that the international document
signed by 14 states “is a powerful document that the genocide was
perpetrated, and has a great role in eliminating the consequences of
the genocide.” The people who lost the possibilities provided by the
agreement of Sevres as a result of the loss of statehood should have
pursued it, believes the leader of the NSU, but since “we have not
had governments attached to the national roots” so far, we do not
have Armenia with an area of 184 thousand square km, washed by the
Black Sea.
And in order to fulfill the Armenian dream, the NSU is going to hold a
round-table meeting and invite all the political parties of Armenia,
which bear an ideology. There is a preliminary arrangement with the
Democratic Party of Armenia, the National Unity, Orinats Yerkir Party,
the Heritage Party. The NSU and the others will discuss the greatest
danger for the political life in Armenia, namely the political
sphere in Armenia is dominated by non-political and anti-political
forces. The topic of the round-table meeting will be “The role of
political parties bearing an ideology in the parliamentary election
2007”. The NSU did not invite ideology-free political parties and
political parties which profane the ideology but in order not to
assume the role of a judge Paruir Hairikyan declined to enumerate
parties which do not have an ideology. However, he added, “Tigran
Karapetyan does not bear an ideology. He is implementing a business
project. There is a political party which profanes an ideology,
profanes the memory of Njdeh by repeating the name of Njdeh.” And
everyone knows who gives the name of Hjdeh most often.
So far, two parliament forces have invited the NSU to enter an alliance
in 2007. Again Paruir Hairikyan declined to give names, but this time
to prevent encroachments against these political parties, “We do not
want to turn their civil courage into an opportunity for manipulations
by their opponents.” According to the leader of the NSU, one of the
political parties made this proposal considering their ideological
similarities, the other took into account the contribution of the NSU,
“failing to find another force whose words and actions coincide,
which will make a contribution to the life of our nation.”

KASPRZYK AND THE AZERBAIJANI PROPAGANDA
Lragir.am
10 Aug 06
Andrzej Kasprzyk, the special representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office, refuted several directions of the Azerbaijani
propaganda machine in an interview with the news agency Trend. In
particular, he mentioned that in the beginning of this year the
situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani front line was tense, while in
May it became quiet. According to Kasprzyk, as a result of skirmishes
there were about 20 casualties from both parties.
If we compare this number with the figures the Azerbaijani
propaganda offers, we may suppose that Baku pursues certain aims
in presenting a higher number. Most probably, it wants to prove the
international community that Armenia is more aggressive than “defeated
Azerbaijanis”. It is possible that on a convenient opportunity all
these facts will be used to station international forces in the region.
In fact, Kasprzyk refuted and added that the OSCE monitoring of the
front line helps to sustain the cease-fire. He also touched upon
the problem of fires and mentioned that the fires were not unusual,
they simply occurred too often. Kasprzyk said the Azerbaijani party
presented a good package of documents for this year. He mentioned
that the fires did not damage the settlements except Aghdam, where
the fire went farther than the border.
As for cooperation in this sphere, he did not receive any proposals
from the parties, Kasprzyk said. Maybe because it is a vacation time.

WILL ARMENIAN PRESIDENT AND DEFENSE MINISTER PLAY A “ROYAL GAMBIT”?
ArmRadio.am
10.08.2006 15:57
“During its last congress the Republican Party of Armenia gained
absolute control over in the country,” the leader of the Marxist Party
of Armenia David Hakopyan said at a news conference on August 9. “For
the second time since 1998 the military and punitive machines have
got into the hands of one party, who also controls the parliament
and the government,” says Hakopyan.
Hakopyan says that the RPA congress paved the way for “a parliamentary
coup.”
It was “Bonapartism, Juntism, Blacism” and “political adventurism.”
Hakopyan is sure that next spring Serzh Sargsyan will start an active
political campaign, a kind of “royal gambit.” “If Republicans fail
to do that, they will only lose as this will be the best time for
such a step. It would be political idiotism on their part to try to
do that after the parliamentary elections,” says Hakopyan.
“The RPA should follow the example of the Bolsheviks. They must not
miss their chance: Serzh Sargsyan must become Armenian President
by January 2007 -or never,” says Hakopyan. Under such a scenario,
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan should resign no later than
October-November 2006.
“After the failure of the Karabakh peace talks, Armenia needs,
at least, one year of respite on the diplomatic arena as by that
time George Bush will resign and new president Hillary Clinton will
drastically change the US policy.”
“To get this respite, we need a royal gambit and, realizing this,
Kocharyan should resign before the end of his term,” says Hakopyan.
He says that his party will run in the parliamentary elections on
its own ” with no cooperation with any other political forces.”
The parliamentary elections in Armenia are scheduled for 2007, the
presidential election for 2008.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ISRAEL TELLS SOUTH BEIRUT RESIDENTS TO GET OUT
AFX Europe (Focus)
Aug 10, 2006
BEIRUT (AFX) – Israeli forces hit the heart of the Lebanese capital
for the first time in three weeks on Thursday and dropped warning
leaflets that sent thousands of residents of southern suburbs fleeing
their homes.
Hundreds of families were leaving the southern suburbs, some in cars
and others ferried away on state-owned buses from the Shiyah district
to the Armenian quarter of Burj Hammud, north of the capital.
Loudspeakers urged panicked Shiyah residents without access to private
transport to gather at a square nearby to board the buses.
Israeli air strikes on Monday killed 32 civilians in Shiyah.
On Thursday, Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets on south Beirut telling
residents still living in three districts to get out, according to
a copy seen by AFP.
“To residents of Hay El-Sollum, Burj El-Barajneh and Shiyah, for your
own safety, you must immediately evacuate these areas, and evacuate
all areas from which Hezbollah elements perform terrorist acts,”
the tract read.
The southern suburbs are a Hezbollah stronghold which has been
devastated by bombing raids since e start of the Israeli offensive
a month ago, and thousands of residents have already fled for safer
havens.
However Hay El-Sollum had been relatively spared by the bombardments
while the district of Shiyah was considered a place of refuge until
it was hit by the Israeli air strikes on Monday.
The strike on the heart of the Lebanese capital on Thursday hit a
state radio relay antenna on an old lighthouse, triggering panic in
a densely-packed residential area.
The tip of the disused lighthouse, in an open field in the Koreitem
neighbourhood of central Beirut, was damaged by the Israeli gunboat
fire, according to Lebanese army troops based in the area.
A security official told AFP that the lighthouse included a relay
for the Radio Liban state station. He said another relay station in
the northern coastal village of Amshit was also hit by Israeli fire.
Fuad Hamdan, the director of Radio Liban, told AFP that the relay at
the lighthouse had been disused for over 30 years, while the one in
Amshit was out of use since a similar Israeli strike on July 15.
Two people were slightly wounded in Koreitem, rescue workers said.
The explosions triggered panic among residents of the capital’s upscale
neighborhood where windows of several cars, houses and apartments
were shattered, an AFP correspondent on the scene said.
Army troops cordoned off the area.
The old lighthouse is located in a heavily-guarded neighbourhood
housing the Saudi embassy compound, the Lebanese American University,
a French school and the residence of the family of slain former prime
minister Rafiq Hariri.
It was the first time that central Beirut has been hit in three weeks
during Israel’s massive military offensive on Lebanon, launched after
the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah captured two Israeli
soldiers on July 12.