DRINKING WINE IS NOT A TRADITION IN ARMENIA
Lragir.am
06 June 06
Member of Parliament Manvel Ghazaryan, winemaker, Member of Parliament
Manuk Gasparyan and Avag Harutiunyan, the president of the Association
of Winemakers of Armenia, met on June 6 to discuss the state of
viticulture in Armenia and the level of support of the government to
winemakers. The latter was considered in the light of filling in the
gap in the Russian markets that occurred after banning the sale of
Georgian wines.
Manuk Gasparyan confessed that he drinks wine but is not fond of
drinking wine. However, as a person who understands economy he noticed
that the Russian economic system has been turned into politics, from
gas to mineral water. Hence, “it would be better if the government
helped the Armenian wine producers, at least indirectly,” because
they do not invade markets in a single day, “advertisement, marketing
are required.” “The Russian market is endless and, if we get orders,
viticulture will develop,” says Manuk Gasparyan.
Winemaker, Member of Parliament Manvel Ghazaryan states that there
have Armenian wines on the Russian market over the past 6-7 years,
the problem is to increase sales. Armenian wine cannot replace
Moldavian wine, cheap wine. The average price of our wines is 2-2.5
dollars and expensive wines cost 7-8 dollars. However, it is not a
matter of a day to fill in these gaps. Avag Harutiunyan, the chair of
the Association of Winemakers, said there are at least 10 countries
in the world, which can fill in the gap of the Russian market in
a day, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have become
more active. Moldavia is negotiating the return of its wine to the
Russian market. He declined to say why Armenia is not taking actions,
but he said that we have only three months to act. In the meantime,
the main market of the Armenian wines remains Armenia, where it is
not traditional to drink wine. “Due to our Russian orientation we are
used to drinking vodka,” says Manvel Ghazaryan. Manuk Gasparyan says
when the leadership plays basketball, everyone starts going in for
basketball, so let the leadership start drinking wine. “Soon water
will get more expensive and people will start drinking wine,” he added.

500 BOTTLES EXPORTED ANNUALLY FROM ARMENIA
Lragir.am
06 June 06
By the end of this year the law on wine will have been adopted. The
chair of the Association of Winemakers of Armenia Avag Harutiunyan
presented how the Armenian viticulture could benefit from it and how
satisfied the winemakers could be.
“We have presented a conceptual package. So far this branch has been
managed or guided by the Soviet standards, whereas Europe adopted
the law we have just introduced as long ago as 1909. For you to
understand what this is, let us try to realize the difference between
these two big policies. The personage of Celentano from a famous
film tells the place and time when the wine was produced. This is
a European approach. God created every area with its peculiarities,
and the wine of every area is different. The Soviet ideology says:
collective economy, collective vineyards, collective wine, and
everything is mixed up. Now we are trying to adopt the idea of wines
with geographical origin, i.e. the European approach. Common wine
will be produced in Armenia as well, which can be made of grapes
grown and bottled anywhere.”
“Today 500 thousand bottles are annually exported from Armenia.
We can export 5 million bottles without the quality affected. But
look what may happen above 5 million bottles. If the law is adopted,
in the production of common wines we may import wines and mix with
our wine; with a ratio standing at 49 to 51 it will be considered
Armenian wine. We can buy good wine from Argentina at 10 cents, Spain
for 20 cents, Italy for up to 40 cents, France for up to 50 cents,
Moldavia up to 60 cents, Georgia for 1 dollar, and mix with our wine.
Armenia may follow this path on the condition that corruption and
subjectivity are reduced to zero. “

CHRISTENUNIE: BESTRAF ONTKENNING VAN VOLKERENMOORD
ANP
1 Juni 2006
DEN HAAG (ANP) – Het ontkennen van volkerenmoord, zoals de
Holocaust, moet strafbaar worden. De ChristenUnie heeft daartoe een
wetsvoorstel ingediend. Wie opzettelijk genocide en misdrijven tegen
de menselijkheid ontkent om daarmee anderen te beledigen of aan te
zetten tot haat, maakt zich volgens het voorstel schuldig aan een
strafbaar feit waarop maximaal een jaar cel staat.
De indiener van het wetsvoorstel, Tweede Kamerlid Tineke Huizinga
van de ChristenUnie, wil een en ander expliciet in het wetboek van
strafrecht opnemen om een duidelijk signaal te geven dat dergelijke
ontkenningen ontoelaatbaar zijn. Ook is het dan beter mogelijk om
discriminatie op internet aan te pakken, zei Huizinga donderdag bij
de presentatie van haar voorstel.
Voor slachtoffers van volkerenmoord en hun nabestaanden zijn welbewuste
ontkenningen van het aangedane kwaad of opzettelijke verdraaiing
van feiten “onverteerbaar”. Huizinga noemde als voorbeeld behalve
de jodenvervolging door de nazi’s tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog ook
de omvang van de slavernij, waarin ook Nederland een “kwalijke rol”
heeft gespeeld.
Bovendien herinnerde het Kamerlid aan de volkerenmoord op Armeniërs
in 1915 ten tijde van het Ottomaanse rijk die in het hedendaagse
Turkije en door Turken elders nog steeds wordt ontkend. Huizinga en
andere Kamerleden zijn de afgelopen tijd bedolven onder e-mails van
vooral Turken die zich tegen het voorstel van de ChristenUnie keren.
Huizinga benadrukte dat haar voorstel niet bedoeld is om de vrijheid
van meningsuiting te beperken. Het debat over feiten in de geschiedenis
moet volgens haar altijd worden gevoerd. De ontkenning, goedkeuring
of rechtvaardiging van volkerenmoord moet daarom strafbaar zijn op
het moment dat het een welbewuste uiting is om mensen te beledigen
en te discrimineren.
De Federatie Armeense Organisaties Nederland noemt het wetsvoorstel
een stap voorwaarts en is blij dat de Armeense genocide expliciet in
de toelichting wordt genoemd. Een vertegenwoordiger ervan, Inge Drost,
gaat ervan uit dat het met deze wet mogelijk zou zijn om sites in
Nederland aan te pakken waarop de Armeense volkerenmoord wordt ontkend,
zoals op de volgens haar onschuldig ogende site www.armenië.nl.
Ook het Landelijk Bureau ter bestrijding van Rassendiscriminatie en het
Centrum Informatie en Documentatie Israël (CIDI) lieten in een reactie
weten het voorstel te steunen. Het wetsvoorstel gaat nu eerst voor
advies naar de Raad van State, waarna de Kamer zich erover kan buigen.
–Boundary_(ID_OhRUqu8hMuzbp281nkVNjw)–

WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY : “IRANIAN AZERIS: A GIANT MINORITY”
By Ali M. Koknar
Today, Azerbaijan
June 6 2006
Recently in Iran, tens of thousands of Iranian Azeris took to the
streets for several days of demonstrations touched off by the May 12
publication of a racist cartoon in the state-run Iran newspaper.
Iranian security forces cracked down violently on the demonstrators,
killing at least four people (Azeri nationalists claim twenty
dead), injuring forty-three, and detaining hundreds of others. These
developments indicate brewing discontent among Iran’s Azeri population
and should be studied for their implications for U.S. and Western
policy toward Tehran.
The Iranian regime’s effort to put out this ethnic brushfire by closing
the Tehran-based Iran newspaper and arresting its editor as well as
the ethnic Azeri cartoonist quickly escalated to the usual strongarm
response as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ anti-riot units
and Basij militias attacked the Azeri protesters.
Iranian security forces cracked down on tens thousands of offended
Azeris, who took to the streets in Tehran and in the major northwestern
Iranian cities such as Tabriz, Urumieh, Ardebil, Maragheh, and
Zenjan. The intelligence service launched a massive detention campaign,
rounding up relatives of Azeri Turks previously jailed for Turkish
nationalism.
The Iranian deputy interior minister for security affairs, Ali Asghar
Ahmadi, admitted that the demonstrations in Tabriz were far more
than a mere protest against a newspaper insult. In fact, there is
much resentment in Iranian Azerbaijan about the region’s economic
and social difficulties. That resentment is fed by the attitudes of
ethnic Persians toward ethnic Azeris-an attitude well captured in the
phrase “Torki khar” (Turkish donkey), used by Persians in reference
to Azeris, whom they regard as the “muscle” of the Iranian economy
to be dominated by Persian “brains”.
Azeri Turks, concentrated mainly in the oil-poor northwest of Iran
(along the border with Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan), make up
an estimated one-fourth of Iran’s population of 70 million. Azeris
often claim a population share close to 40 percent, a number that
includes ethnic brethren such as the Turkmen, Qashgais, and other
Turkic-speaking groups. Unlike other ethnic groups in Iran such as
Sunni Kurds and Arabs, the Azeri Turks are Shiites like the Persians.
Divided from their kin in Azerbaijan by the 1828 Treaty of Turkmanchai,
which gave northern Azerbaijan to Russia (that part of Azerbaijan
gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991)
and southern Azerbaijan to Iran, the Azeris’ role in the Persian
government was significantly weakened when the Pahlavi dynasty came
into power in 1925. Contact between the Azeri areas of Iran and the
Soviet Union were limited until Soviet forces occupied northern Iran
during World War II. In 1945, at Soviet instigation, an Azerbaijan
Democratic Republic was proclaimed in Iranian Azerbaijan.
It lasted only until Soviet forces withdrew a year later; in the
aftermath, some thousands of Iranian Azeris were killed.
Much as did imperial Iran, the Islamic regime has downplayed the
ethnic differences between Persians and Azeris. Despite the fact that
influential figures in the establishment, such as Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are of Azeri descent, the mullahs did not
hesitate to crack down hard on Azeri Turkish nationalism, using heavy
weapons to put down a 1981 uprising in Tabriz and summarily executing
hundreds of Azeris.
Azeris have had mixed relationships with other Iranian minorities.
Kurds, who make up around 14 percent of Iran’s population, do not have
particularly good relations with ethnic Azeris; several cities in
western Iran, such as Urumieh and Mako, are inhabited by both Kurds
and by Azeri Turks. In the last decade, the ethnic majority of the
Azeri Turks in some areas close to the border with Turkey has been
diluted by immigration of Kurds. The attitudes of the Turkic-speaking
ethnic Turkmens, who live in the part of Iran near the independent
republic of Turkmenistan, are unclear.
The last fifteen years has seen a boom in nationalist publications
for Iranian Azeris and growing interest in both Turkey and the former
Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. A considerable number of Iranian Azeris
watch Turkish television broadcasts now available via satellite;
this has increased their knowledge of Turkey as well as the Anatolian
dialect of Turkish.
This revival led to the creation of a new organization, the South
Azerbaijan National Awakening Movement (Gamoh), by literature professor
Mahmudali Chohraganli. After winning election to the Iranian parliament
in 1995, Chohraganli, whose own father was once tortured by the Shah’s
secret police for Turkish nationalism, was not allowed to take his
seat. Gamoh opposes what it calls “Persian chauvinism,” demanding
more cultural rights for Azeris, and a future Iranian government with
a federal structure resembling the United States in which Azeris can
have their own flag and parliament.
Gamoh’s proclaimed support for self-determination, secular government
and a pro-Western orientation does not sit well with Tehran. Its
apparent popularity has put Gamoh squarely on Tehran’s radar screen.
Gamoh is run as a secret organization inside Iran. Its members,
including Chohraganli, who was jailed for two years and released
in 1999 after falling seriously ill, are often jailed or harassed
by Iranian security forces. Denied visas by both the Turkish and
Azerbaijani governments, Chohraganli was allowed to travel to the
United States in 2002. In April 2005, bodies of two Gamoh members
were found floating in the Aras River, the boundary between Iran and
Azerbaijan. In September 2005, the Iranian government blamed Gamoh
for the shooting of a government official in Urumieh; Gamoh denied
involvement. In March 2006, several Gamoh members attended the Second
World Azerbaijanis Congress in Baku. Following that congress, several
Gamoh members were arrested in Tabriz, and in April the Iranian Azeri
newspaper Navid Azerbaijan was banned.
The plight of Iranian Azeris is followed closely by their kin in
Azerbaijan and Turkey. But both the Azerbaijani and Turkish governments
take care not to damage their sensitive relations with the Iranian
government. Turkey recently stopped allowing a Chicago-based Azeri
television broadcaster, Gunaz, from using its satellite link. Gunaz
is known for its virulent opposition to Iran’s Islamic regime and its
separatist attitude since it went on the air in 2005. On the other
hand, Ankara has given Chohraganli permission to visit Turkey soon,
and Gamoh has an open presence there.
Azerbaijan is also walking a fine line between sympathy for the Iranian
Azeris and its economic and political interests with the Islamic
regime. Tehran recently consented to the opening of an Azerbaijani
consulate general in Tabriz, Iran’s largest Azeri-majority city. With
annual bilateral trade volume of $600 million, Iran is a major
trading partner of and an investor in Azerbaijan; Tehran also offers
humanitarian aid to the almost one million Azerbaijanis internally
displaced from Nagorno Karabakh after Armenia occupied that part of
Azerbaijan in 1993. Yet the Azerbaijani public is largely sympathetic
to the plight of Iranian Azeris. “Baku, Tabriz, Ankara. Where are
the Persians? Here we are!” chanted the Azeri Turks in Baku this
week as they protested the brutal treatment of their ethnic kin by
Iranian security forces. Many Azeri nationalists are interested in
uniting “North” Azerbaijan (the former Soviet republic) with “South”
Azerbaijan (the Iranian provinces).
Ethnic tensions in Iran have been on the rise with unpredictable
results, involving not just Azeris but also Kurds, Arabs, and
Baluchs. The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has only
made these problems worse.
Ali M. Koknar is the owner of AMK Risk Management, a private security
consultancy with offices in Washington, DC, and Turkey specializing
in counterterrorism and international organized crime.
/
URL:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MAMMADYAROV: “FEDERATION OFFICIALS ARE TO BLAME FOR AZERBAIJANI CHESS TEAM’S FAILURE IN THE OLYMPIAD”
Today, Azerbaijan
June 6 2006
“If the Azerbaijan’s Chess Federation had been interested in our
national team’s success in the Olympiad, it would have sent an
optimal staff to Turin. However, focusing on their own interests,
the Federation officials did not do it and led our team to failure. I
regret for that,” said Shahriyar Mammadyarov, one of the two top
chess-players of Azerbaijan.
The Grand Master, double champion among youths was not involved to
the 37th chess Olympiad. He blamed the Chess Federation authorities
for the failure of Azerbaijani chess teams of men and women in Turin,
Italy. According to him, the Federation officials could have sent
stronger staff to the Olympiad even two days before the Olympiad
started.
“It was a complete fiasco for our teams if compared with last year.
Our women chess players, who won Armenian team for the first time in
the history of Olympiad, were not involved to the team this time. As
coming to our men chess players, if I were in the team, it would
have come fourth in the Olympiad. I was expected to be invited to the
team event to the last day. But it did not happen because of personal
hostility with me. I wanted to worthily represent Azerbaijan in the
Olympiad,” the chess player told APA exclusively.
Mammdyarov was satisfied with our Grand Master Teymour Radjabov’s
performance. “I congratulated Teymour on his victory. Vugar Hashimov
also played well. Rauf Mammadov and Gadir Huseynov could have scored
more points. Namig Guliyev is a good chess player but I think he was
anxious this time,” Mammadyarov said.
URL:

ARMENIA, UKRAINE WIN CHESS MEET
Viet Nam News, Vietnam
June 7 2006
HA NOI – Armenian men won the gold medal after a draw with their
Hungarian rivals at the last round of the Chess Olympiad at Turin.
The Armenian men’s team, seeded No 3, grabbed two points from two
draws and one win in the last three round, earning them 36 points to
triumph at the tournament.
The second and third place belong to China and USA, respectively.
The Russian team, who was expected to take the title, lost in the
last round against Israel and ranked sixth with 32 points.
Meanwhile the women’s title went to the Ukrainian team with 29.5
points, followed by Russia and China.
Vietnamese men’s team who was number 37 seed at the tournament dropped
to 39th place with 29 points due to their poor performance in rounds
11 and 12 after their 2.5-1.5 victory over Slovakia in the last round
on Sunday.
Grand Master (GM) Tu Hoang Thong (Elo rated 2457) and International
Master (IM) Le Quang Liem (2473) won two matches against two stronger
contenders GM Gennadij Timoscenko (2482) and IM Tomas Petrik (2515),
respectively. Their wins were enough for Viet Nam to pocket victory
in the last round of the tournament after GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son,
2555, drew with GM Igor Stohl, 2538, in an earlier match.
Only GM Nguyen Anh Dung (2542) played under his capacity, losing to
GM Lubomir Ftacnik (2597) in the final match on Sunday.
However, the win was not enough for them to rank higher in the table,
mainly due to their failures two rounds earlier.
Viet Nam lost 1-3 to Azerbaijan who were ninth-seeded last Saturday
and drew 2-2 with Belarus, seed No 19, one day before.
IM Liem was promoted to International Grand Master after excellent
results at the championship, scoring 9.5 points himself with seven
wins, five draws and one loss.
The 15-year-old Liem has clinched many titles in the past years
including a silver medal in the U-10 category in Spain in 2000, a
silver medal in the U-16 of the Asia Chess Championship and a silver
medal in the U-12 Chess Championship in Halkidiki, Greece.
He also won the U-14 title in the World Junior Chess Championship in
Belford, France, two years ago.
In the women’s tournament, Viet Nam team played successfully moving
to the 15th position finally after one win, one draw and one loss in
the last three rounds. They pocketed 23 points.
On Sunday, the Woman Grand Master (WGM) Nguyen Thi Thanh An (2317)
tied by Cuban WGM Sulennis Pina Vega in the first game. Her teammate
WGM Hoang Thi Bao Tram, rating 2349, lost to the Woman FIDE Master
(WFM) Jennifer Perez Rodriguez, 2263.
In the last match, WFM Nguyen Thanh Tu, 2239, took the only win for
Viet Nam, beating Maritza Aribas Robaina (2235).

OTE GETS 8 BIDS FOR ARMENTEL
Financial Mirror, Cyprus
June 6 2006
Hellenic Telecom Organisation (OTE) has received 8 non-binding bids
for its 90% stake in Armentel, which may fetch up to USD 140 mln,
according to Greek press reports.
The Russian press meanwhile reported that AFK Sistema has submitted
an interest to bid in the Armentel, Sistema’s Chairman Vladimir
Yevtushenkov said.
The stake is currently owned by Greece’s OTE, which said in late April
that it planned to sell the stake. The remaining 10% in Armentel is
held by the Armenian government.
Armentel is a privately owned monopoly having a near lock of the fixed
and mobile telephony in Armenia and is widely accused of stalling
the rapid growth of telecommunications in the country.
Armentel boasts 600.000 fixed line subscribers and 330.000 mobile.
During 2005, the OTE subsidiary reported USD 145.3 mln turnover and
profit of USD 55.9 mln.

BLACKSEA PARTNERSHIP & DIALOGUE FORUM STARTS
Anatolian Times, Turkey
June 6 2006
BUCHAREST – “To settle problems we have with our neighbors is the
main policy of Turkish government,” Turkish State Minister Besir
Atalay said on Monday in Bucharest, Romania, where he attend the
“Black Sea Partnership & Dialogue Forum”.
Asked about efforts of Turkey to normalize relations with Armenia,
Atalay said, “many problems have been solved with neighbors –mainly
Greece and Syria. There are some known problems with Armenia. Turkey
wishes Armenia to act reasonably and try to normalize relations.”
Atalay said preparations were underway regarding the 4th round of
talks (at deputy undersecretary level) between Turkey and Armenia,
but noted that he is unable to give a firm timetable for the moment.
-COOPERATION IN BLACK SEA-
Speaking to reporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport prior to
his departure, Atalay said this new initiative aimed at boosting
cooperation in the Black sea.
“Turkey is for the improvement of stability, friendship and welfare
in the Black Sea,” Atalay said, noting that, “Black Sea has become
a very important region particularly in the past 20 years. Istanbul
Strait, which is the only exit point of the Black Sea, is in Turkey.
What Turkey would say pertaining to Black Sea is important,”
he reaffirmed.
Atalay said, “Black Sea Economic Cooperation Council is the actual
platform of the Black Sea. It has already been a regional organization
and Turkey pioneered for the establishment of this organization,
which has its HQs in Istanbul.”
-ALIYEV-KOCHARIAN MEETING
Commenting on the meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
and Armenian President Robert Kocharian in Bucharest aiming to find a
peaceful solution to the problem of Upper Karabakh (Azeri territory
under Armenian occupation), Atalay said Turkey is for a dialogue
between the two countries.
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine join the forum in
presidential level. Greece is represented by Public Order Minister
and Bulgaria is represented by its deputy prime minister.
Besides the Black Sea littoral states, representatives from EU member
countries, United States, Norway, Israel and some international
organizations participate in the meeting.
Atalay is expected to return to Turkey late on Monday.

BOXING: VIC “RAGING BULL” DARCHINYAN RETURNS HOME THURSDAY!
Hardcore Boxing, CA
June 6 2006
“Team Fenech” Media Release
IBF/IBO flyweight world boxing champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan
– Australia’s only current male boxing world champion – will return
home to Sydney from the USA this Thursday 8th June 2006 at 8am after
one of his career best wins.
Darchinyan was at his destructive best last weekend, defending his
world titles against previously undefeated Mexican Luis Maldonado
on Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, USA in
front of a huge worldwide television audience.
30 year-old Darchinyan’s power packed left hand destroyed the 28
year-old from Mexicali with an eighth round TKO stoppage at the 1:38
minute mark.
Considered one of the hottest new stars in world boxing, Vic “Raging
Bull” Darchinyan now has an undefeated record of 26 wins, 0 losses
and 21 knockouts
Darchinyan will arrive by overseas flight at approximately 8am and
once he clears customs, will be available for interviews with the media
in the International Arrivals area at Sydney International Airport.
Exact flight details will be issued to the media on Wednesday
afternoon.
Darchinyan’s trainer is three-time world boxing champion and
International Boxing Hall of Famer Jeff Fenech.
30 year-old Darchinyan, the Armenia born Australian citizen southpaw,
is promoted by well-known American Gary Shaw, who guides the careers
of some of the best active boxing talent today.
Television agencies in Australia requiring footage of Vic Darchinyan’s
latest win can contact Mr David Spencer at Main Event Television on
0418 861233.

U.S. KEEPS ARMENIA ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING ‘WATCH LIST’
By Emil Danielyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
June 6 2006
The United States has placed Armenia on its human trafficking
“watch list” for a second consecutive year, citing the Armenian
government’s failure to take tough action against prostitution rings
and law-enforcement officials allegedly connected with them.
In its annual Trafficking in Persons Report released Monday, the U.S.
State Department said Armenia remains a “major source and, to a
lesser extent, a transit and destination country for women and girls
trafficked for sexual exploitation largely to the United Arab Emirates
and Turkey.”
“While the government increased implementation of its anti-trafficking
law, it failed to impose significant penalties for convicted
traffickers,” reads the report. “The government failed to vigorously
investigate and prosecute ongoing and widespread allegations of public
officials’ complicity in trafficking.”
The report covering the entire world is a further blow to the
credibility of Yerevan’s assurances that it is doing its best to tackle
the problem. Armenian officials point to a toughening of punishment
against the practice and a rise in the number of relevant criminal
cases brought by law-enforcement bodies.
The Armenian Prosecutor-General’s Office estimates that criminal groups
sent at least 140 Armenian women abroad, mainly to the UAE, for sexual
exploitation last year. It says it opened 30 trafficking-related cases
in the course of 2005, resulting in 14 prosecutions and 17 convictions.
The State Department dismissed these figures, saying that both Armenian
prosecutors and courts remain too lenient towards traffickers. “During
the reporting period, only a few convictions resulted in actual
imprisonment; the remaining offenders received suspended sentences,
corrective labor and fines,” says its report.
“Lack of public confidence and allegations of official complicity
continued to hurt the credibility of the government’s anti-trafficking
efforts.”
The report specifically mentions media reports that accused a senior
prosecutor of closely collaborating with Armenian prostitution rings
active in the UAE. A series of investigative reports that appeared
in the Hetq.am online publication last year quoted several unnamed
Armenian prostitutes in Dubai as saying that they and their notorious
pimp paid the official, Aristakes Yeremian, thousands of dollars
in bribes.
Yeremian strongly denied the allegations in an RFE/RL interview in
April 2005. He said he met Armenian pimps in Dubai in September 2004
only to “question” and warn them against continuing their illegal
activities. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in an official inquiry
conducted by the Prosecutor-General’s office earlier this year.
Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian ordered the inquiry following
an embarrassing “interim assessment” of the situation with human
trafficking in Armenia which was released by the State Department
on February 1. The document noted that “a government official, who
has been frequently criticized by victims and NGOs for trafficking
complacency, remains in his position within the Prosecutor General’s
anti-trafficking task force.”
The authorities largely ignored the problem of human trafficking until
the State Department included Armenia in 2002 into its Tier 3 group of
nations which Washington believes are doing little to prevent illegal
cross-border transport of human beings and can therefore be stripped
of U.S. economic assistance. Armenia was removed from the blacklist
and upgraded to the Tier 2 category the next year after what the State
Department described as “significant efforts” taken by its government.
However, the department went on to downgrade the country to a Tier 2
“watch list” in June 2005, citing the Armenian authorities’ “failure
to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking over
the past year.” Its latest report draws very similar conclusions.
Furthermore, the 2006 report expresses concern at a “dramatic” increase
in profits reportedly made by the Armenian traffickers over the past
year. It also notes that Armenian law-enforcement bodies and courts
are often hostile toward trafficking victims. “Some victims continue
to receive poor treatment during court cases, reducing the likelihood
of future victims willing to come forward to testify against their
traffickers,” it says.