PRESIDENT OF ICRC TO ARRIVE IN ARMENIA ON APRIL 7
Arka News Agency, Armenia
April 4 2006
YEREVAN, April 4. /ARKA/. President of the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) Jakob Kellenberger will arrive in Armenia on
April 7th as part of his regional visit. The ICRC office in Armenia
reported that Kellenberger will meet with Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan and members of the RA government, and also with leaders of
the Armenian Society of the Red Cross.
Discussion of a number of humanitarian tasks, particularly, issues
of people missing as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
will be held in the frameworks of the visit. Issues of teaching the
international humanitarian law in the structures of armed forces will
be also discussed.
It was said in the office that Kellenberger will arrive in Yerevan
after his visit to Azerbaijan and Georgia, where they will discuss
issues, related to military conflicts in Abkhazia and South Osetia,
and also conditions of prisoners in custody.
On March 3 Kellenberger will pay a 2-day working visit to Baku,
where he will meet Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev and members of
the government. Then he will visit Georgia and have meetings with
Speaker Nino Burjanadze and Premier Zurab Nogaideli.
Kellengberger also plans to meet with leaders of the Georgian Society
of the Red Cross and the Society of Red Crescent of Azerbaijan.
The ICRC functions in South Caucasus from 1992. As part of its
activities it renders support and assistance to citizens and
communities who suffered from military conflicts and pays visits to
prisoners. The ICRC also sees to prevention of spread of tuberculosis
in jails and application of the international humanitarian law.

CHAIRMAN OF CB OF RA RECEIVES DELEGATION OF POLAND’S NATIONAL BANK
Arka News Agency, Armenia
April 4 2006
YEREVAN, April 4. /ARKA/. Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia
Tigran Sargsyan received a delegation of Poland’s National Bank
yesterday, the CBA Press Service reported.
During the meeting Sargsyan pointed out that the CBA is highly
interested in the Bank’s experience, gained during the process of
economic reforms.
The delegation of Poland’s NB, led by Chief of security administration
Zbignev Klepatsky, arrived to Yerevan on April 1st with a 5-day visit.
Poland’s representatives will inform their counterparts from the
CBA of the NB’s security system, their experience in the money and
credit policy, carried out in different procedures, the system of bank
supervision, and also the bank’s international relations, particularly,
the ways of integration into the European Union.

ARMENIAN CEASEFIRE BREACHES KILL ONE, INJURE ANOTHER
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 4 2006
Baku, April 3, AssA-Irada
The ceasefire breaches on the frontline by Armenia have intensified
over the past day.
An Azerbaijani soldier was killed and another heavily wounded during
a ceasefire violation in the partially-occupied Fuzuli District on
Sunday evening.
In another attack, the Armenian troops, from their positions in the
northwestern Gazakh District, subjected the Azeri positions on the
opposite to sustained machine and sub-machine gunfire, according to
the accounts of local residents.
Some of the bullets shot by Armenians hit a residential house in the
Alkhanli village of Fuzuli.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

US OFFICIAL DENIES PRO-ARMENIA BIAS
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 4 2006
Baku, April 3, AssA-Irada
The allocation of more financial assistance to Armenia than Azerbaijan
does not imply that the United States favors this country on the issue
of settling the long-standing Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict,
said the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and
Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza visiting Baku.
Washington backs Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and solving the
dispute on the basis of the United Nations resolutions, said Bryza.
“The UN Security Council resolutions represent worldwide laws and we
support them. We are interested in the continuation of peace talks.
The key issue here is for the sides to reach agreement that would
benefit both of them,” the American official added.
Commenting on the operation of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh
republic’s office in the U.S., Bryza said this is in line with American
laws. He said American laws do not ban the opening of any entity’s
representation in his country despite certain restrictions.
“We allow any given organization to operate in the United States and
forbid this only if it runs counter to our laws. There is nothing
illegal about the activity of an organization from the Garabagh region
in the U.S. We see nothing illegal in the activity of the Cyprus Turks’
community there either. But personally, I have not held any officially
meetings with the Upper Garabagh representatives.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AGREEMENTS SIGNED ON RUSSIAN MILITARY WITHDRAWAL FROM GEORGIA
By Vladimir Socor
Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Interfax, Prime-News, March 31
April 4 2006
Timetable set for Russian troops to leave Georgia On Friday, March 31,
Georgia’s First Deputy Defense Minister, Mamuka Kudava, and Russia’s
Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief, Colonel-General Alexei Maslov,
signed a set of agreements on the withdrawal of Russian forces from the
Batumi and Akhalkalaki bases and other Russian military installations
in Georgia.
The agreements concern the implementation of the May 30, 2005, Joint
Statement, signed by Georgia’s then-Minister of Foreign Affairs
Salome Zourabichvili with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov,
on the cessation of functioning of those bases and installations and
withdrawal of Russian forces from Georgia by 2008. The Russian side
carried out an initial stage of the withdrawal last August (see EDM,
June 3, August 1, 16, 2005).
The documents just signed in Sochi include an agreement on the
timeframe and modalities of functioning and withdrawal of Russian
forces from Georgia and an agreement on the transit of Russian military
cargoes and personnel through Georgia’s territory.
The Akhalkalaki base is to be emptied of most of its heavy equipment
during 2006 and to be completely closed by October 1, 2007, with
a possible extension until December 31, 2007, subject to weather
conditions. The Batumi base is to ship out most of its heavy equipment
during 2007 and to be completely closed before the end of 2008. The
two garrisons total approximately 3,000 Russian military personnel
at present. The Batumi base will be the last to close because it
serves as an evacuation point for heavy equipment by sea to Russia
from various points in Georgia.
During the withdrawal process, the Russian side shall retain:
a) the Gonio exercise range on the Black Sea shore outside Batumi,
to be used for logistical operations related to the evacuation,
not for exercises;
b) the Russian officers’ hostel in Mtskheta outside Tbilisi, a
way-station on the Russian forces’ evacuation route to North Ossetia;
c) the Soviet-era Kojori communications station also outside Tbilisi,
to be used jointly by Russia and Georgia under Georgian jurisdiction;
and
d) the Tbilisi building of the Headquarters of the Russian Group
of Forces in the Transcaucasus, in order for those headquarters to
manage the withdrawal process.
All of these installations are also to be handed over to Georgia in
2008. The bases shall function during this period “in a withdrawal
mode,” i.e., without conducting firing practice or other combat
exercises, essentially packing up. Russia shall allocate 2.166 billion
rubles from its state budget in 2006 through 2008 to finance the
withdrawal of its forces from Georgia. For its part, Georgia authorizes
the use of its air space, highways, railroads, and ports for the
transport of Russian military equipment and personnel out of Georgia.
It is informally understood that most of the Russian personnel and some
two-thirds of the hardware shall relocate to Russia’s North Caucasus
Military District, while one-third of the hardware is to be transferred
to Russia’s base at Gyumri in Armenia. The Russian side undertakes not
to transfer that equipment to another party, meaning Armenian forces.
Russia retains limited, strictly regulated transit rights to supply
its forces in Armenia through Georgian territory in the future. Any
Russian military equipment transported via Georgia to Armenia is not to
be handed over to other forces (i.e., Armenian) and not to be deployed
in any conflict zone (i.e., Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories
inside Azerbaijan). The content of Russian military transit cargoes
shall be agreed by Russia and Georgia one year in advance. Cargoes
must not include mass-destruction weapons, their components, or any
dual-use nuclear, chemical, or biological substances. Georgia has the
right to refuse the transit of any Russian cargo that poses a threat
to national security or violates any of those conditions.
The March 31 agreement (like the May 30, 2005, Joint Statement) does
not cover Russia’s Gudauta base, which is located in Abkhaz-controlled
territory. Moscow has claimed since 2003 that it “closed” the base,
but has not allowed international verification at the site. In fact,
a Russian garrison has continued to be stationed at the base all along,
with weapons stockpiles and helicopters.
Moscow seeks OSCE approval for the base to be assigned to Russia’s
“peacekeeping” troops in Abkhazia. Georgia’s Defense Minister Irakli
Okruashvili noted, “They’ve been lying for years, telling us that the
base was closed … We will not allow them to kick sand in our face”
(Imedi TV, Rustavi-2 TV, March 31).
On March 28, unidentified Abkhaz gunmen stole arms from the Gudauta
base and some of them were wounded in an exchange of fire with the
Russian garrison during the getaway. The March 31 agreement does not
pertain to Russia’s “peacekeeping” contingents in Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. The Georgian parliament seeks a formula for replacing those
contingents with a genuine, international peacekeeping operation.

GARABAGH MEDIATOR URGES SIDES TO REFRAIN FROM HOSTILITIES
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 4 2006
Baku, April 3, AssA-Irada
A mediator brokering settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict has called on all sides interested in
settling the long-standing dispute to refrain from military action,
a statement that followed Azerbaijan’s threats to resort to the use
of force.
“An attempt to resolve the conflict through military action could bring
about a catastrophe. The Azeri side’s statements causing escalation
of tensions are of no benefit,” said the Russian co-chair of the OSCE
Minsk Group, Yuri Merzlyakov.
The mediator emphasized that peace should be reached soon, expressing a
hope that the long-standing dispute will be finally resolved this year.
“2006 has just started and hopes remain for finding a solution by
the year-end.”
Merzlyakov said the MG co-chairs would soon hold consultations on
arranging for the next meeting of the Azeri and Armenian foreign
ministers.
“The problem is that the schedules [of the ministers] do not overlap,
which is why we are having difficulty in setting a venue and timeframe
for the meeting. On April 7, the Armenian minister Vardan Oskanian
will be in Moscow, while his Azeri counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov
in Washington.”
The co-chair said the mediators may pay their next visit to the
region in May, after which the current status of the peace process
and further steps could be tabled.
“After the recent discussions in Istanbul and Washington, meetings
are underway and an agreement may be reached now for the next round
of talks between two countries’ ministers.”
Merzlyakov said it is premature to speak of another meeting between
Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian, as this requires making
comprehensive preparations first.
The parties failed to agree upon the issues of principle during the
negotiations held by the two leaders in France in February, which
was followed by mutual threats.

TURKISH, AZERI LEADERS TO DISCUSS GARABAGH, MILITARY CO-OP
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 4 2006
Baku, April 3, AssA-Irada Turkish President Ahmed Necdet Sezer was
to start his visit to Azerbaijan on Tuesday. The Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, military cooperation and the
issue of opening the Turkish-Armenian border will be discussed during
the two-day visit.
Sezer is expected to pay tribute to the Cemetery of Honors and the
Alley of Martyrs as well as the monument to Turkish victims, followed
by a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev and broad
discussions between the delegations of the two countries’ officials.

THE HAGUE BAKU CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS GARABAGH
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 4 2006
Baku, April 3, AssA-Irada
The International Tribunal of the Hague will hold an international
conference in Baku on April 5-6. The event will be attended by
an advisor to the tribunal’s chairman, NGOs which are part of the
coalition supporting The Hague, representatives of the presidential
administration and the ministry of justice, says a former justice
minister of the Georgian breakaway republic of Abkhazia, Paata
Davitaya, who currently leads We Ourselves movement.
He said the International Tribunal had supported his claim that
Georgians were still being exterminated in Abkhazia.
The Abkhaz politician said the conference would discuss the role of
the Tribunal in conflict resolution, the Armenian-Azerbaijan dispute
over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh and the cooperation with the tribunal.
He said the fair position of the former Azerbaijani president, Heydar
Aliyev, and of the incumbent president, Ilham Aliyev, towards settling
the conflict could create a platform for the country to raise the
issue before the international court.
“Azerbaijani law-enforcement authorities have sufficient evidence
of the crimes the Armenians have perpetrated against Azerbaijanis in
Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh. This can simplify the procedure for filing
a suit with the court,” Davitaya said.

BAKU UNDAUNTED BY FRONTLINE SHOOTING, OFFICIAL SAYS
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 4 2006
Baku, April 3, AssA-Irada
The latest chain of ceasefire violations on the front-line is nothing
but provocation, Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov has said.
He said Armenia has to understand that Baku cannot conduct negotiations
in a way that does not meet its own interests.
“Further efforts will be made to bring about a peace settlement to
the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict but the opposing party has
to realize that although Azerbaijan does adhere to a negotiated
settlement, everything will depend on the efficiency of the
talks. It is meaningless to conduct negotiations only for the sake
of negotiating. Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that,” Azimov said.

MONUMENT TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS OPENS IN FRENCH CITY OF GAP
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 04 2006
PARIS, APRIL 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Edvard Nalbandian,
the Ambassador of Armenia to France, and the President of the Council
General of the state of Alpes opened an Armenian tufa-built khachkar
(cross stone) dedicated to the memory of the Armenian Genocide
victims, on the central square of the city of Gap on April 2. In his
speech Ambassador Nalbandian emphasized the necessity of constantly
remembering and condemning the crime conducted against the mankind. “A
man lost his memory has no future. A people lost its memory has
no history. And the mankind without memory will lose its mankind
face,” the Ambassador of Armenia mentioned. The event was followed
by a solemn reception at the Mayor’s Office, during which memory
medal of the honorary citizen of the city of Gap was given to the
Ambassador of Armenia. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign
Ministry’s Press and Information Department, deputies, senators,
heads of local self-government bodies, statesmen and politicians,
hundreds of representatives of the Armenian community arrived from
neighboring regions were present at the ceremony. There are about 5
dozens of monuments dedicated to the memory of the Armenian Genocide
victims in the territory of France which, together with adoption of
the law concerning recognition of the Genocide, are accepted both as
recognition and condemnation of the Genocide by the people of France
and as display of solidarity towards the Armenian people.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress