NOBODY WANTED TO PROTECT HIS PRODUCT
A1+
[07:58 pm] 30 March, 2006
The 91.1% of the 500 Yerevan inhabitants who took part in the inquiry
on “Television and Advertisement” want the advertisement broadcasted
on TV to be curtailed.
1.2 % want it to be increased at the expense of the taste and
quality. Only the 7.7 % of the inquiry participants want the
advertisement to remain the same.
The survey conducted by the Public Opinion Survey Centre revealed that
the reason for such sociological state is the advertisement language,
“the non Armenian mentality,” “the advertisement stories indecent
to an Armenian” and nonprofessionalism. When the same inquiry was
made in the regions there nobody turned out to be for the notion of
advertisement, especially when their “favorite serials are interrupted
by Advertisements”.
The Public Opinion Survey Centre organized a discussion today on the
theme “Television and Advertisement” which was but a failure. According
to the director of the Centre Karine Titanyan they also invited the
representatives of main advertising agencies but none of them came
to the arrangement.
Teachers of the Armenian language were present at the discussion who
expressed their attitude towards the “the fact of spoiling the purity
and the luxury of the mother tongue.”
By the way, the deputy of the Language State Board Director Marine
Hovyan was also present and declared that the Board does not have
lingers to control the TV advertisement. They can only hear whereas the
National Committee of Television and Radio can turn to the Court. Thus,
if the expression “special offer for special women” is heard on TV
or on radio nobody can accuse the Language Centre of not fulfilling
its liabilities properly.

RA FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET UN SECRETARY GENERAL
ArmRadio.am
31.03.2006 10:28
In the framework of his visit to the United Sates RA Foreign Minister
Vardan Oskanayn will meet UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Today the Foreign Minister is expected to deliver a speech at the
University of Columbia.

WILL THE KARS-AKHALKALAK RAILROAD BE CONSTRUCTED? (ANALYSIS)
Armen Manvelyan
“Radiolur”
31.03.2006 10:50
Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and newly appointed New Jersey
Senator Bob Menendez introduced legislation this week that would
prohibit US assistance for the building of railroads traversing the
Caucasus that circumvent Armenia.
The legislation titled the “South Caucasus Integration and Open
Railroads Act ” was introduced immediately following the meeting of
the Senators with representatives of the Armenian National Committee
of America. Senator Rick Santorum noted that the construction of
the railroad would not only offset the long-term plans of the United
States in the region, but will also isolate Armenia, which does not
come from US’s interests.
It should be noted that Azerbaijan and Turkey have been leading the
policy of blockade for 13 years, and despite the periodic demands
of the different international organizations to end the blockade,
there has been no progress on this issue. Such obstinacy can be
explained with Turkey’s will to have a dominant position in the
region rather than the unsolved Karabakh issue. The construction of
the Kars-Ahalkalak railroad can considerably strengthen the blockade
of Armenia. It’s not a secret that the negotiations on this issue
between Ankara and Tbilisi started still nine years ago, in 1997,
when an interstate agreement was even reached.
However, despite the long process of negotiations and the several
tenders announced, no international structure expressed the will
to participate in the auction and finance the project of the
Kars-Akhalkalak railroad. It needs to be noted that the project,
at least so far, is not assisted by big states. It is not a secret
that any large international program can be implemented only with
the financial, and primarily political support of these countries.
Currently it is possible to accomplish any such politicized project
in the region in case there is the support of the White House. Under
these circumstances, the countries interested in the Kars-Akhalkalak
project need the approval of the United States and the European Union.
However, if before there was a firm conviction that there would
be no problems with the necessary approval, today the parties are
concerned that it is senseless to anticipate the assistance of the
West. Therefore, the parties had to declare about their willingness
to accomplish the project on own financing.
However, for finding these financial resources, it is necessary
to clarify how much the program costs. Despite the different
investigations, the evaluations here range from $400 thousand to $2
billion. This difference is explained with the fact that in reality
it is not clear so far what length the railroad will have. Many
specialists note that for constructing a railroad of international
importance it is not enough to build the 98 kilometers long
Kars-Akhalkalak railway, it is necessary to completely reconstruct
the 160 kilometer long Akhalkalak-Tbilisi sector of the Georgian
railway. That is to say that the total length of the project makes
258 km, which makes the implementation of the program considerably
more expensive and complex.
It is obvious from EU-Turkey talks that official Brussels will not
assist any program that breaks the balance in the region and moreover
does not promote the improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations. It is
clear that in case we receive complete assistance of the US Congress
on this issue, the Kars-Akhalkalak program will become a utopia.

“TREASURES OF ECHMIADZIN” EXHIBITION TO BE HELD AT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS AFTER PUSHKIN
ArmRadio.am
31.03.2006 11:11
In the framework of the Year of Armenia in Russia “Treasures of
Echmiadzin” exhibition will be held April 1-20 in the Moscow State
Museum of Arts after Pushkin. The opening ceremony of the exhibition
will be held today.
>>From March 30 to April 10 exhibition of works by Armenian artists of
Saint Petersburg will be held in the Northern capital of Russia. The
exhibition will be held in the framework of the Year of Armenia
in Russia with participation of the Saint Petersburg Governmental
Committees on Foreign Relations and Tourism and Culture, as well as
the Chief Consulate of the Republic of Armenia.

MIKHAIL MEYER: ARMENIANS GENETIC RESERVES DESTROYED IN 1915
PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2006 01:20 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ It is possible to write the impartial history
of the events in Ottoman Turkey in 1915-1923. However, the essence
is not in the number of Armenians killed and deported, but in half
of the population of Western Armenia being annihilated, professor
Mikhail Meyer, the Director of the Institute of Asian and African
Studies of Moscow State University stated in Yerevan at a meeting
in the South Caucasian branch of the Caucasus Democracy Institute
development foundation. In his words, there was no term genocide in
WWI, however it changes nothing.
“Turkey has to reconsider its attitude to the Armenian Genocide. Delay
of the process will entail negative consequences for the country
itself,” the famous Russian specialist of Turkic science said, when
answering a question of PanARMENIAN.Net. In his words, Turkey fears
not so much of territorial claims by Armenia, as compensation of
material and moral damage.
“No economy can bear that compensation,” Meyer remarked. As
of parallels with Germany, which paid compensation to Holocaust
victims, Meyer remarked, “not all prisoners of concentration camps
got compensations.”
At that the professor remarked the process of liberalization of
Turkey on the way to EU membership is not so fast. “I think the EU
will nevertheless stipulate accession by recognition of the fact
of the Armenian Genocide. EU representatives should be taken to the
Genocide Museum to see what actually happened in 1915,” he remarked.

POLISH DELEGATION TO PAY AN OFFICIAL VISIT TO ARMENIA
ArmRadio.am
31.03.2006 13:13
On April 3-4 the delegation headed by Marshall of the Senate of the
Republic of Poland Bogdan Borusevich will arrive in Armenia on an
official visit. The delegation will comprise members of the Senate,
government officials and businessmen.
Public Relations Office of the National Assembly informs that on April
3 the delegation will be received by RA President Robert Kocharyan and
Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan. The Catholicos of All Armenians
Garegin II will receive the Polish delegation at the Mother See of
Holy Echmiadzin.
The same day members of the delegation will lay a wreath of flowers
at the memorial to the victims of the 1915 Genocide. They will visit
Matenadaran and will meet the representatives of the Polish community.
April 4 the delegation will have meetings with NA Chairman Arthur
Baghdasaryan, NA Vice-Chairmen, heads of Parliamentary Committees
and leaders of groups and factions. A meeting with representatives
of business circles is also expected.

AZERI PRESS AND MASS MEDIA ARE GREAT MASTERS IN SPREADING RUMORS
AZG Armenian Daily
31/03/2006
It’s quite impossible to response to rumors that circulate in the
Azeri mass media. It’s commonly known that false ideology and lies
are composed at state level and the mass media spares no efforts to
spread the rumors. In order to make their rumors sound realistic, the
Azeri journalists frequently refer to the Armenian mass media sources.
Naturally, RA defense minister Serge Sargsian, is one of the most
favorite targets for the Azeri mass media.
Recently, AzeriPress agency “informed” that, according to Martiros
Sahakian, an official of RA Defense Ministry, Mr. Sargsian lost $650
thousand in one of the Yerevan-based gambling houses. According
to the “information source” this sum was donated to RA Defense
Ministry by archbishop Gnel Jerejian, head of Damask Diocese of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, and Yeghia Kilaghbian, abbot of Mkhitarist
Congregation.
Certainly, we don’t need to discuss these rumors thoroughly. We
just need to say that Gnel Jerejian passed away in 2001. As for the
Mkhitarist Congregation, father Harutyun Pzdikian, representative of
the Congregation, gave quite a definite and clear answer by stating
that if they had such big financial sources they would have built
their school in Yerevan.

AZERI MP URGES WITHDRAWAL OF NATIONAL TROOPS FROM IRAQ
Regnum, Moscow
30 Mar 06
30 March: The chairman of the pro-government United People’s Front of
Azerbaijan Party, MP Qudrat Hasanquliyev, said in Baku on 29 March
that “Azerbaijan should leave the anti-terror coalition created by
the Americans and withdraw its troops from Iraq”.
Regnum news agency quoted him as saying that it was pointless to
stay in the coalition, the founders of which had failed to resolve
problems in Azerbaijan.
Hasanquliyev said that the coalition member states have been providing
Armenia and the separatist Nagornyy Karabakh with material assistance.
“This is another reason for Azerbaijan to get out of the coalition,”
he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

REGIONAL LEADER BLAMES “EXTREMISM” ON EXTERNAL FORCES
Caucasus Times, Prague
24 Mar 06
The leader of the Republic of Adygeya has blamed the worsening
situation in the North Caucasus on “external forces that aim
to disintegrate Russia and take advantage of our hardship”. In a
wide-ranging interview to Caucasus Times, he stressed the importance
of finding a solution to “certain ethnic or religious issues” as a way
of counteracting extremism. The following is an excerpt from report
by The Caucasus Times website on 24 March headlined “Khazret Sovmen:
prosperity of Adygeya is linked to Russia’s prosperity”; Subheadings
have been inserted editorially:
Khazret Medzhidovich Sovmen is the president of the Republic of
Adygeya. Formerly, he headed the largest gold-mining company in Russia,
“Polyus”. He is a doctor of technical sciences.
[Correspondent Aslan Shazo for the Caucasus Times] Khazret
Medzhidovich, what is your assessment of the situation in the republic
as a whole, including the rate of economic growth, interethnic
relations and public attitudes. What would be you recommendation to
your neighbours who at present are facing grave social and economic
problems?
[Sovmen] It is certainly too early for us to speak about prosperity.
No region in Russia enjoys full economic bliss today. What is
true though is that we are enjoying a stable socio-political and
socioeconomic situation. The leading position of the Republic of
Adygeya in the Southern Federal District in terms of the pace of
economic growth is a fact.
We have achieved this by working hard and by providing a comprehensive
support for all sectors of the economy. Particular achievements have
been made in industry. Our enterprises, heavy and light industry
factories, are gradually coming out of a protracted crisis; they have
started producing competitive goods, taking up new markets, including
international markets. The Maykop machine-building factory produces
goods that can compete with the Japanese analogues, and there are
many more such examples.
Agriculture, too, is developing as huge financial injections have
been made into it. The provision of natural gas to the republic has
been going at a high pace too. Our task is to ensure that natural
gas reaches every village of Adygeya in the shortest possible time.
I would not make any recommendations to the neighbours. There is no
one blueprint for tackling socioeconomic problems. Each region has
its peculiarities that should be taken into consideration. I am simply
convinced that if there is a wish positive results can be achieved.
“External” forces at work
[Correspondent] Armed confrontations between law-enforcement bodies
and extremist groups are still frequent in the republics of North
Caucasus. In your opinion, how should such crimes be combated in the
North Caucasus?
[Sovmen] I think the problem should be broken down into two
components. On the one hand, what contributes to the growth of
extremism in the region is unresolved socio-political problems,
spiritual crisis, and the loss of moral values. On the other hand,
the external forces are at work and aim to disintegrate Russia and
take advantage of our hardship. Therefore, methods of combating
extremism should also be broken into two – those that are within the
remit of the regional authorities and those that are dealt with by
the special services.
However, I should point out here that interethnic and interconfessional
discord that feeds extremism does not emerge from nowhere. In most
cases this is a result of our failure to solve certain ethnic or
religious issues. We tend to accumulate problems and sit on them.
In Adygeya, the most favourable conditions have been created for
the self-realization and the preservation of identity, culture,
language and customs of all ethnicities and confessions. The two
main ethnic groups, Russians and Adygs, are living in an environment
of mutual understanding and support. And this is not just our wish,
but a reality in which we live.
In many Adygeyan auls [villages] there are whole generations
of Russians who speak the Adyg language better than the Adygs
themselves; children of the Russians and Adygeyans grow and study
side by side and later on, work alongside each other. High tolerance
is characteristic of both nations. The languages of those communities
that live compactly in Adygeya – Armenian, Tatar, German and Kurdish –
are taught in addition to the Russian language at schools in Adygeya. A
large number of ethnic-based cultural associations are functioning
in Adygeya, and to those listed above, the Jewish and Azerbaijani
communities have joined recently.
It seems that it is the combination of all these factors that provides
peace and stability in our republic. I personally believe in one
sacred notion, the human being. Their ethnic belonging should only
enrich intercultural dialogue and interaction in a civilized society.
Again, like in the economy, there is no one prescription for combating
extremism. No republic of the North Caucasus is the same.
They all have different characteristic features. But the route that
is taken by radicals in all places leads nowhere. The Caucasus needs
a durable peace. The authorities should create conditions for the
protection of the rights of peoples and at the same time efficiently
stop extremism which never takes notice of such rights itself.
Anti-corruption drive
[Correspondent] Moscow believes that one of the main problems in the
region is corruption. Is that correct and if so, what do you think
is the main problem in the North Caucasus?
[Sovmen] The main problem facing our region, as well as the
country as a whole, is indeed corruption and since I took office as
president of the Republic of Adygeya I have been an outspoken critic
of it. The laws are good and their implementation will ensure an
efficient socioeconomic development and a stable public and political
situation. However, corruption undermines the legal norms. The grave
situation in this sphere is caused by the fact that the law-enforcement
bodies themselves are corrupt. I fully support the president of the
Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, who has been making all possible
efforts to combat this vice, uprooting “werewolves in ranks” from
the law-enforcement system. Until the law takes full effect, the
development of our country will be much slower than it would have
been should there be solely objective factors.
Future plans
[Correspondent] Are you planning to stand for another term as head
of the Republic of Adygeya?
[Sovmen] Time will show; there is no need to put the cart before
the horse. My approach now is to continue working for the good of
the people, and not to spare no effort and energy. There are many
projects, many ideas that we plan to bring to life. So my thoughts
are occupied with current tasks and concerns.
No to merger
[Correspondent] What is your stand with regard to the idea of the
consolidation of regions?
[Sovmen] As regards the North Caucasus, I strongly believe that under
no circumstances should the border between the constituent parts of
the [Russian] Federation in this region be delineated, and ethnic
based state entities be cancelled as has been suggested by those
who do not comprehend the gravity of the issue with regards to our
republic in particular.
The status of a republic is a form of autonomy and a state guarantee,
a system of protection and promotion of the language, culture,
traditions, state symbols, and other components that enable any ethnos
to remain an ethnos.
I think nobody needs to be persuaded that the cancellation of the
Adygeyan autonomy will lead to no good. We must now resolve a whole
set of problems, establish a stable peace in the region, balance
the interests of national and religious groups, improve the level of
socieeconomic development, to be short, resolve all the dire problems.
Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Sergey
Mironov has expressed himself best of all on this topic, saying ”
Don’t trouble troubles, until troubles trouble you”.
Quite recently, on 28 February, a high-profile delegation from the
Krasnodar Region headed by the governor, Alexander Nikolayevich
Tkachev, paid a visit. He and I stated our readiness for the social,
economic and cultural cooperation between the republic and the region,
against the background of maintaining the status of each subject of
the federation.
There are many economic projects the implementation of which will
bring benefits both to us and the region. There are things that
need to be standardized – the legislation needs to be harmonized,
and artificial barriers to integration need to be removed. Much can
and should be done jointly in terms of the development of tourist
infrastructure and resort management, also transport infrastructure,
especially in order to provide the direct and shortest link of Adygeya
with the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar region.
In order to tackle these tasks a working group has been set up for
the development and implementation of joint projects. Our common
goal is to make Kuban and Adygeya strongholds of peace, stability
and prosperity in the north of Russia.
[Passage omitted: initiates a republican competition for the production
of textbooks on Adige Khabze code which teaches tolerance and calls
for stepped up awareness work among children ]
Vision of Russian future
[Correspondent] What is your vision of the future of Russia and that
of small nations, such as the Adygeyans, within it?
[Passage omitted; history of Adygeyans, Adyg and cossack festivals
are centrally funded]
My vision of the future of Russia is such – a powerful and prosperous
state within which, as Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
put it, every nation, including small nations feels as if it is in
a well-protected and comfortable place such as fortress.
I would also like to add that despite the fact that after the war in
the Caucasus, a smaller segment of the Adygeyan nation has stayed in
the historical homeland, it is this segment that is best preserved
and it is this segment to which the hopes of the nation’s revival
are pinned on. No alien land, no foreign state can replace the
homeland and create conditions for building a dignified future for
national minorities. We observe this in examples of millions of our
compatriots who live abroad and who get assimilated at a high pace,
losing their language and identity.
I am fully confident that the revival and prosperity of the Adygeyan
nation is directly linked to the prosperity of Russia. There are many
more tasks on their way to the end, but all of these are achievable.
What is needed is simply to work rather than complain about
difficulties.

NAGORNO KARABAKH FOREIGN MINISTRY: “EVERY SILENT SUPPORT OF CONFLICT PARTIES MAY DESTABILIZE THE WHOLE SOUTH CAUCASUS”
15:43 03/30/2006
Foreign Ministry of Nagorno Karabakh has published a statement
concerning yesterday’s breaking up of OSCE monitoring of contact
line between armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan by the
Azerbaijani side. NKR Foreign Ministry states:
“On March 29, this year, during monitoring conducted by the OSCE
mission to the east of Seysulan village of Martakert district of NKR,
Azerbaijani armed forces broke cease-fire, shooting towards NKR armed
forces’ positions. As a result, in order to guarantee security of
the mission members, Personal Representative of OSCE Chairman Andrzej
Kasprzyk decided to stop the monitoring. Attracting attention of the
international community to repeated facts of violations by Azerbaijani
armed units of Azerbaijani-Karabakh contact line, which became regular
last time, the NKR Foreign Ministry believes it to be necessary to
state these actions are immediately caused by continuing militant
rhetoric of the Azerbaijani leadership, which are not properly
evaluated by interested states and organizations.
Attempts of mediators to make all sides of Nagorno Karabakh conflict
equally responsible for breaking up of the cease-fire, establish
preconditions for Azerbaijan’s impunity, as actual initiator of
violations. It is absolutely unacceptable. In this connection, the
Foreign Ministry believes, every silent support of conflict parties
may break achieved stability and destabilize situation in whole
South Caucasus.”