Agence France Presse
30 mars 2006 jeudi 12:54 PM GMT
L’Azerbaïdjan accuse l’Armenie de violation du cessez-le-feu
BAKOU 30 mars 2006
L’Azerbaïdjan a accuse jeudi l’Armenie d’avoir viole le cessez-le-feu
entre les deux pays et d’avoir provoque la mort d’un soldat
azerbaïdjanais a la frontière entre ces pays du Caucase du Sud.
“Un soldat azerbaïdjanais a ete tue dans la cadre des violations
habituelles du cessez-le-feu de la partie armenienne”, a declare le
ministère azerbaïdjanais de la Defense.
“Les positions azerbaïdjanaises dans la region de Tovuz ont ete
visees par des formations armees armeniennes depuis la region de
Berd”, frontalière de l’Azerbaïdjan, a ajoute le ministère.
Erevan et Bakou se reprochent mutuellement des ruptures du
cessez-le-feu. L’Armenie avait accuse l’armee azerbaïdjanaise d’avoir
tue un soldat armenien le 3 mars. Et le 7 mars, l’Azerbaïdjan a
affirme que l’Armenie avait cause a son tour la mort d’un soldat
azerbaïdjanais.
L’Armenie et l’Azerbaïdjan se disputent la region du Nagorny
Karabakh, une enclave habitee en majorite par des Armeniens et qui a
fait secession de l’Azerbaïdjan après un conflit meurtrier a la fin
des annees 1980 et au debut de la decennie suivante.
–Boundary_(ID_YfaRwCwDfPCLgTeUsBjltQ)- –
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIA PURSUES CAMPAIGN AGAINST ESPIONAGE
Molly Corso 3/31/06
EurasiaNet, NY
March 31 2006
Amid rancorous exchanges between Georgia and Russia, Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili is pursuing a campaign to root out
suspected spies operating in Tbilisi.
In televised comments March 28, Saakashvili announced that individuals
spying against the Georgian government would receive amnesty if they
gave themselves up by May 1. Without going into details, he asserted
that “many” foreign agents were currently operating in Georgia.
“If they cooperate with us, I give my personal guarantee to them that
they will be absolutely untouchable regardless of what they have done
until now,” Saakashvili said. “These people should know that we have
a lot of information but we want them to cooperate with their own
country based on our country’s interests.”
Saakashvili comments came just hours after the arrest of Simon
Kiladze — a low-level official in the presidential administration
press service — for allegedly spying for an unnamed foreign
government. According to Vano Merabishvili, the minister of internal
affairs, Kiladze had been engaging in espionage since 2004.
The alleged spy had been “systematically passing to special services of
a foreign country information of a confidential nature on the Georgian
president, the heads of the country’s executive and legislature,
visits by state delegations, their meetings, issues discussed at such
meetings and other information of strategic importance,” Merabishvili
said in comments broadcast by Imedi television. The interior minister
added that Kiladze had received “a minimum of $20,000” in exchange for
information that he provided. In a telephone interview with EurasiaNet,
Interior Ministry spokesperson Shota Khizanishvili said officials
Kiladze’s activities had been under investigation for “months,”
but he declined to elaborate, saying the probe into his activities
was ongoing.
Kiladze is one of many moles working inside government agencies,
Saakashvili alleged. “I am afraid this is not the only person in
the governmental structure who is engaged in this kind of activity,”
he said. “We have too much information, which we have been gathering
for a long time.” While the president implied the government already
knows the identities of at least some secret agents, he did not go
into details and did not mention one particular country.
Davit Losabaidze, a project director at the Caucasus Institute for
Peace, Democracy and Development in Tbilisi, suggested that Kiladze’s
arrest was likely connected to several foreign and domestic factors.
On the foreign front, Georgia has been experiencing growing pressure
from Russia, as the two states have argued over the political future
of the separatist South Ossetia territory. [For background see the
Eurasia Insight archive]. Domestically, Saakashvili has been facing
growing opposition.
“This [Kiladze’s arrest] is a show of strength,” Losabaidze said. “It
an example [to show] they [Georgian officials] are not going to
back down.”
The latest move in the Georgian-Russian political chess match
occurred March 30, when Moscow banned the importation of wine from
Georgia and Moldova. Russian official alleged that Georgian wines –
a major export commodity for Tbilisi – did not meet Russian safety
standards. Given that Russia is perhaps the most important market for
Georgian wine, Tbilisi reacted furiously to Moscow’s action. Georgian
officials insisted the ban was politically motivated, and said they
would have an independent lab in Switzerland test a wide selection
of the country’s wines to disprove the Russian assertions, the Civil
Georgia web site reported March 31.
In a telephone interview with EurasiaNet, Gela Charkviani,
a presidential spokesperson, declined to comment on whether the
alleged activity of Kiladze or of other supposed spies had undermined
national security, or posed a particular threat to the president’s
safety. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Charkviani
merely reiterated that Kiladze would face treason charges, adding
that no further details would be released until the completion of
the investigation.
Saakashvili has repeatedly warned in recent weeks that Georgia’s
stability was being threatened. On March 9, Saakashvili said an
“ideological war” was being waged against Georgia. “Very influential,
very rich, very important forces are engaged in discrediting Georgia
and in portraying Georgia as unstable, dangerous, unreliable [and]
non-European,” Civil Georgia quoted Saakashvili as saying. The
president and other Georgian leaders later characterized the foiled
mass prison escape in Tbilisi on March 27 as a part of a conspiracy to
destabilize Georgia. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
There are indications that the Georgia government remains very
concerned about possible destabilization. On March 31, officials
announced that Saakashvili had postponed a visit to Ukraine that
had been planned to begin on April 4. Officials gave no reason for
the postponement, or indicated when the trip would be rescheduled,
Civil Georgia reported.
Despite the fact that authorities assert they have compiled “firm”
evidence of widespread espionage in Georgia, many local analysts
wondered whether the alleged espionage posed a serious national
security threat.
Uri Simonian, a member of the political information department at
the South Caucasus Institute for Regional Security, voiced skepticism
about Saakashvili’s allegation that dozens of secret agents working
in Georgia. “I didn’t understand when they said there are a lot of
spies that operate here in the open. It is rare that a spy operates
in the open,” he said. Simonian suggested that Saakashvili was using
‘spy’ as a euphemism for critics.
Although Russia has not been openly accused by either authorities or
reports in the Georgian media in connection with Kiladze’s arrest,
Simonian said he immediately assumed that authorities were talking
about Russia, Belarus or Armenia. Simonian, who also works as a
correspondent for the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, noted
that when the president announced “a lot of spies” were working in
the county, he interpreted this as a reference to journalists working
for Russian, Armenian and Belarusian publications. “I think some
concrete steps will be taken against these journalists,” he said.
While he could not cite any specific examples, Simonian claimed that
he and his colleagues have long felt pressure from officials.
Losabaidze, meanwhile, suggested that while Saakashvili’s assertions
should be taken seriously, there also existed an incentive for the
president to play up the potential threat posed by espionage. Over
the past few weeks, several Saakashvili administration domestic
policies have faced extensive criticism. Tbilisi merchants, for one,
have staged protests in opposition to a government policy requiring
most retail businesses to record transactions using cash registers.
[For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. And on March 29,
Georgian media mogul Badri Patarkatshvili attacked the Saakashvili
administration for attempting to stifle independent media coverage of
politics. “It smells like they [officials] want to turn the public’s
attention to another topic,” Losabaidze said.
Editor’s Note: Molly Corso is a freelance reporter and photographer
based in Tbilisi.

Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan rebuild air-defense networks
17:09 | 31/ 03/ 2006
RIA Novosti, Russia
March 31 2006
MOSCOW, March, 31 (RIA Novosti) – A deputy commander of the CIS
Integrated Air Defense System said Friday that in the past decade the
air defense networks of Armenia, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan had been
restored from scratch.
“During this time, air defense networks have been effectively revived
in the Republic of Armenia, and much has been done in this respect
in the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Kyrgyzstan,” Lt. Gen.
Aitech Bizhev said, referring to the Commonwealth of Independent
States, the loose alliance that replaced the Soviet Union.
He said that the Belarusian air defense network was by far the
most operationally effective, one of the most powerful in Europe,
adding that Kazakhstan was implementing a comprehensive air defense
modernization program, which could become a major factor in ensuring
strategic stability in Central Asia.
The CIS Integrated Air Defense System is comprised of Armenia, Belarus,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan, and Ukraine. Georgia recently pulled out of the CIS
Defense Ministers Council, but is still formally part of the air
defense system.
Over the past decade, more than 100 joint war games and military
exercises have been conducted with up to 60 various aircraft and
other high-tech equipment used in each exercise.
The Agreement on the Creation of the CIS Integrated Air Defense System
was signed by 10 CIS states on February 10, 1995.

Hamazkayin Cultural Forum
10 Rue Hussein Beyhoum
Beirut, Lebanon
Tel: +961 (1) 37-24-55
Email: [email protected]
Web:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hamazkayin Cultural Forum Applications Being Accepted for 2006
The Hamazkayin Cultural Forum Committee is currently accepting
applications for its 2006 gathering to be held in Yerevan, Armenia,
from July 16-30. All college-aged individuals are encouraged to apply.
The Hamazkayin Cultural Forum is an annual event that started in
1995 with the aim to unite young Armenians from around the world to
learn more about Armenian art, history, culture, society, and modern
life in the homeland. It is a unique opportunity for people to visit
Armenia for the first time-or as a returning visitor-and meet with
fellow Armenians from around the globe who are interested in learning
more about their people’s past as well as where they are headed.
“This is definitely an excellent way for college-aged Armenians to
come together and share ideas about what they envision as being
important for them,” stated Asbed Kotchikian, Co-Chairperson of
the Forum Executive Committee, “and if they don’t have a thorough
understanding of their history and culture, the Forum is a great medium
to learn about them. Plus, it gives people an excellent opportunity
to visit Armenia.”
“I know people who have formed close bonds with one another after
attending a Forum in the past,” he added.
There is no limit to the amount of culture that can be experienced
in Armenia. Each evening you can find multiple concerts, plays, and
music clubs to attend for entertainment. On most evenings classical
performances can be heard in one of Yerevan’s many chamber concert
halls, and in some restaurants visitors have the pleasure of hearing
authentic folk music any night of the week. Jazz and rock clubs have
become quite noticeable, and for those who enjoy dancing, there are
dozens of discos located throughout the city.
Most of Armenia’s cultural legacy however is found outside
Yerevan, in virtually all regions of the country. Armenia is home
to hundreds-perhaps thousands-of churches both preserved and in
ruins. There are also ancient fortresses and other fascinating
structures to see, including a pagan temple in the town of
Garni. Another prominent site definitely worth visiting is the
Sardarabad Memorial and History Museum, built on the very site where
the historic battle was won against the Turks, signifying the founding
of the first Armenian republic.
During the Forum attendees will have the opportunity to hear several
lectures, including one given by Dr. Richard G. Hovannisian, Professor
of Armenian and Near Eastern History at the University of California,
Los Angeles. He is the author of numerous works, including The Republic
of Armenia, Vols I-IV, and The Armenian Holocaust.
To learn more about the Forum and how to apply, visit
You can send an email to
[email protected] with specific questions. All applications must
be received by June 15, 2006.
Hamazkayin is a worldwide organization with chapters in many
countries that aims to preserve and promote Armenian art, history,
and literature. Its goal is to educate people about the humanities
relating to the Armenian people and perpetuate Armenian culture.

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Streets
New York, NY 10022-1112
Phone: 212.319.6383, x109
Fax: 212.319.6507
Email: [email protected]
Website:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, March 31, 2006
AGBU SPONSORS HARVARD ARMENIAN SOCIETY SUMMIT ON THE FUTURE OF ARMENIA
The Harvard Armenian Society welcomed over 85 university students
and young professionals to the Harvard Graduate School of Education
in Cambridge, MA on February 18, 2006 to participate in its first
Intercollegiate Summit on International Development. Funded by AGBU,
the daylong program challenged participants to examine the role of
the Diaspora in the development of Armenia, and propose concrete
project ideas to build a stronger, more prosperous homeland.
Student delegates from the Armenian Student Associations of the
following schools were present: Bentley, Boston College, Boston
University, Brown, Columbia, Duke, MIT, Northeastern, St. Joseph’s
College, Stanford, Tufts and University of Pennsylvania. “The
conference made everyone involved realize how much potential, talent
and experience there is out there,” said Nina Kouyoumdjian, Harvard
sophomore. “The first step is always generating ideas and building
a network of people who are committed to those ideas, and I truly
believe the Summit did just that.”
Representing various facets of Armenian state of affairs, such as
philanthropy, the economy, the environment, politics and culture,
the conference featured a diverse panel of guest speakers: Carol
Aslanian, AGBU Central Board Member and Director of Education; Noubar
Afeyan, Armenia 2020 Founder and CEO; Jason Sohigian, Armenian Tree
Project Representative; Bryan Ardouny, Armenian Assembly of America
Executive Director; and Tom Samuelian, American University of Armenia
Law Department Dean and Arlex International Ltd. Founder.
“I was privileged to share with this group of eager and talented
students how AGBU has devoted its time, energy and resources to
the current and future needs of Armenia and the Diaspora,” said
Ms. Aslanian. “The major outcome for me was the renewed hope I have
for future generations to play a significant role in the development
of Armenia. Volunteerism is an essential part of the lives of young
Armenians, and AGBU is prepared to help channel their unique skills
and capabilities to meet to the needs of our nation.”
Among the many Harvard Armenian Society members responsible for the
event were Co-Presidents Arie Zakaryan and Christine Megerdichian,
Vice-President Nina Kouyoumdjian, Secretary Tamar Ayrikyan, Activities
Chairman Armen Yerevanian and Treasurer Shant Hagopian.
For a copy of the proposals, please email Nina Kouyoumdjian at
[email protected]. For more information on the Harvard Armenian
Society, please visit
Established in 1906, the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) is
the world’s largest Armenian non-profit organization. Headquartered
in New York City with an annual budget of $34 million, AGBU preserves
and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through educational,
cultural and humanitarian programs, annually serving some 400,000
Armenians in 35 countries.
For more information on AGBU and its programs, please visit
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Contact: Information Desk
Tel: (374-10) 52-35-31
Email: [email protected]
Web:
Foreign Minister Oskanian Concludes Visits with SG Kofi Annan and
UN Leadership
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian concluded two days of visits with the
UN leadership in New York. On Thursday March 30 and Friday March 31,
Minister Oskanian met with Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN,
Jan Eliasson, President of the 60th Session of the General Assembly of
the UN and Kemal Dervis, Administrator of the UN Development Program.
With Secretary General Annan and with GA President Eliasson, Minister
Oskanian spoke about the Nagorno Karabakh resolution process as
well as recent ceasefire violations. He expressed Armenia¹s serious
concern that the military rhetoric of Azerbaijan¹s leaders is finding
its expression in an increasingly large number of violations by the
Azerbaijani military along the line of contact.
Armenia¹s Foreign Minister also discussed UN reforms, and welcomed
the formation of the new Human Rights Council, expressing Armenia¹s
interest in remaining engaged in human rights issues.
In these meetings, and during his talks with Mr. Dervis of the
UNDP, Minister Oskanian also stressed Armenia¹s commitment to rural
development.
He stressed that the Millennium Challenge Compact, recently
signed with the US Government, will create a momentum and that
the Armenian government is committed to building on this momentum
with a comprehensive plan for rural development that is based on
a public-private partnership which includes Armenia¹s Diaspora,
Armenia¹s business community, the Armenian government and international
organizations.
–Boundary_(ID_M6gyM uQd7KTXobdsy4Lktg)–

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
01-04-2006
Oskanian concludes his visits at the UN
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian concluded two days of visits with the
UN leadership in New York. On Thursday March 30 and Friday March 31,
Minister Oskanian met with Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN,
Jan Eliasson, President of the 60th Session of the General Assembly of
the UN and Kemal Dervis, Administrator of the UN Development Program.
With Secretary General Annan and with GA President Eliasson, Minister
Oskanian spoke about the Nagorno Karabakh resolution process as
well as recent ceasefire violations. He expressed Armenia’s serious
concern that the military rhetoric of Azerbaijan’s leaders is finding
its expression in an increasingly large number of violations by the
Azerbaijani military along the line of contact.
Armenia’s Foreign Minister also discussed UN reforms, and welcomed
the formation of the new Human Rights Council, expressing Armenia’s
interest in remaining engaged in human rights issues.
In these meetings, and during his talks with Mr. Dervis of the
UNDP, Minister Oskanian also stressed Armenia’s commitment to rural
development. He stressed that the Millennium Challenge Compact,
recently signed with the US Government, will create a momentum
and that the Armenian government is committed to building on this
momentum with a comprehensive plan for rural development that is based
on a public-private partnership which includes Armenia’s Diaspora,
Armenia’s business community, the Armenian government and international
organizations.

RA STATE COMMISSION ON PROTECTION OF ECONOMIC COMPETITION DISMISSES ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT OF ARMENTEL
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. At the March 31 sitting, the RA
State Commission on Protection of Economic Competition discussed and
dismissed ArmenTel’s administrative complaint about the commission’s
decision to fine the company for using discriminatory conditions (abuse
of its dominating position). To recap, ArmenTel launched a campaign,
during which those persons, who were its mobile contract communication
(SIM) subscribers for a year, were given the opportunity to connect
to each other at a per-minute tariff of 2 drams. The same discount
was also offered for connection to fixed-line phones, whereas a sum
several times as much as this one was required for connection to the
same network under the commutation agreement of another operator –
K-Telecom company: 9.94 drams per minute for connection to the Yerevan
network, and 19.93 drams (busy hours) and 14.04 drams (not busy hours)
for connection to the regional networks. The commission had intiated
the proceedings based on ArmeTel’s application. In its administrative
complaint, ArmenTel informed the commission that the proceedings
should be suspended since another state body, the RA Public Services
Regulatory Commission, has made a decision on the same issue.
However, the RA State Commission on Protection of Economic
Competition stipulated that the law is definite, and in case of
a violation or distortion of economic competition, the power to
give an opinion is reserved for the Commission on Protection of
Economic Competition. Moreover, the Law on Protection of Economic
Competition does not restrict the commission’s powers with respect to
any market. In other words, the competence of economic competition
protection applies to all spheres of economic activities without
exception. At the same time it was noted that these administrative
proceedings have another subject. ArmenTel also indicated in the
administrative compalint that the commission’s opinion that the rival
may be forced out of the market as a result of the above mentioned
behavior of ArmenTel is not substantiated. The company presented some
indices to show that the rival has not been forced out of the market,
and since “it was not actually forced out”, according to ArmenTel,
the commission’s position is not well-founded. However, according
to a press release submitted to NT by the commission, in reality,
based on the necessity to secure equal competitive conditions, the
legislation on economic competition stipulates that the company’s
behavior should be considered, and not the results of its behavior,
which was actually done. Moreover, the commission takes a view that
being forced out of a market does not mean to stop operating on
this market, or to “disappear” completely, also when the reasonable
opportunity to attract new subscribers is restricted. In the third
point of the administrative compalint, ArmenTel asked that the fine
be imposed not in the amount of 1% of its revenues from the mobile
communication market but also in the amount of 1% of the overall
revenues received from the calls made from the mobile to the fixed-line
phone network. Yet in this case the law fixes the amounts of fines and
does not allow the commisison to use its own discretion. So, the RA
State Commission on Protection of Economic Competition dismissed the
administrative complaint of ArmenTel on the above mentioned grounds.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Georgian Defense Minister Satisfied With Agreement On Bases Withdrawal
Prime News Agency, Georgia
March 31 2006
Tbilisi. March 31 (Prime-News) – The agreement on deadlines for
withdrawal of the Russian military bases from Georgia, signed in
Sochi on Friday is of historic importance, Irakli Okruashvili,
Georgian Defense Minister says.
“We have made certain concessions with regard to the time table;
we know that so much time is not necessary for the bases withdrawal
but we agreed with certain arguments by the Russian party”, Irakli
Okruashvili said at the briefing in Tbilisi on Friday.
According to him, the Georgian party committed itself to let military
cargoes for the Russian military bases in Armenia pass through Georgia.
“It may be considered as a compromise as well, but those cargoes
must not be dangerous for the region even in the slightest way”,
Irakli Okruashvili said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THIS YEAR CHEMISTRY MENDELEYEV 40th SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIAD TO
BE HELD IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. The chemistry Mendeleyev 40th school
international olympiad will be held on May 2-9 in Yerevan. 100
children from CIS, Baltic, and a number of East European countries
will take part in it. As Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed by
Vanik Misakian, chief specialist of General Education Department of RA
Ministry of Education and Science, three representatives of Armenia
returned with one gold and two bronze medals from this olympiad
last year held in the capital of Tajikistan Dushanbe. According to
V.Misakian, Georgia and Latvia did not take part in the school olympiad
on chemistry last year. According to him, the issue of Azerbaijan’s
participation is not clarified yet this year: it is not known whether
Azerbaijan will accept the invitation or not.