TURKISH HISTORIAN WANTS JOINT RESEARCH WITH ARMENIA INTO MASSACRES

Agence France Presse — English
March 16, 2006 Thursday 2:53 PM GMT

Istanbul

The leading Turkish historian who contests the definition of
controversial World War I massacres of Armenians as genocide, on
Thursday proposed to carry out joint research with an Armenian on
the issue.

“Let’s carry out a project together, dig up common graves if there
are some, to put an end to numerous demagogical arguments,” said Yusuf
Halacoglu, president of the Turkish History Society, to Ara Sarafian,
a British historian of Armenian origin.

Sarafian, a researcher at the Gomidas Institute in London, England,
told AFP that he was interested in accepting the offer.

“I will definitely consider this offer. I don’t want to show skepticism
about this proposal,” he said.

Some 70 Turkish and foreign academics are in Turkey until Friday for
a three-day conference to discuss whether controversial massacres of
Armenians during World War I amounted to genocide or not.

The Turkish gathering, in a rare move, offered the floor to academics
of all convictions, although it was largely dominated by historians
and officials who defend Turkey’s official position on the 1915-1917
killings.

Turkey categorically denies that Armenian subjects under its
predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, were victims of a genocide, but
acknowledges that at least 300,000 Armenians and as many Turks died
in civil strife during the last years of the empire.

Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in
orchestrated killings.

ALIEV INTIMATES CHANCE OF GIVING AUTONOMY TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH
by Sevindzh Abdullayeva, Viktor Shulman

ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 16, 2006 Thursday 06:48 AM EST

Azerbaijan President Ilkham Aliev did not preclude a chance of granting
an autonomy status to Nagorno-Karabakh. The president expressed this
idea at the second world congress of Azerbaijanis in Baku on Thursday.

“Granting of an autonomy to Nagorno Karabakh is possible, and positive
experience in this sphere, existing in the world, can be applied with
respect to this area of Azerbaijan,” Aliev said. In this connection,
he called on Armenia for a constructive attitude to the negotiating
process.

The Azerbaijan leader emphasized that the negotiating process cannot
be endless. “Patience of the Azerbaijan authorities and people is
petering out,” Aliev said. He noted that Azerbaijan’s participation in
the negotiating process indicates its desire to settle the Karabakh
conflict peacefully. “While we feel that there is a chance for a
political settlement of the problem, we shall conduct negotiations.

“But if we see that the process turns into a simulation, we shall
quit it,” Aliev said. He also emphasized that Azerbaijan would sign a
peace agreement with Armenia only if the Karabakh conflict is settled
on the basis of norms of international law. “We shall never agree to
a loss of our territories,” Aliev stressed.

He noted that Azerbaijan would consolidate its military potential.

“I set the task that Azerbaijan’s military expenditures will be equal
over the next few years to the total budget of Armenia,” Aliev stated.

SPECIAL ELECTIONS OF COUNCILLOR MEMBERS TO BE HELD IN THREE COMMUNITIES OF SHIRAK

Noyan Tapan
Mar 16 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 16, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA Government stopped prematurely
commissions of councillor members of the Gusanagyugh, Ghazanchi and
Vardakar rural communities at the March 16 sitting. Making of the
decision is conditioned by the fact that within different terms, in
the consequence of stopping commission of a number of members of the
mentioned community councillors for objective reasons, the councillors’
implementation of their commissions became impossible. It was decided
to appoint and hold special elections of councillor in the mentioned
communities on the last Sunday of the 30-days term following the
day of the decisions coming into force. As Noyan Tapan was informed
by the RA Government’s Information and Public Relations Department,
the RA Minister of Finance and Economy was instructed to allocate to
the joint fund of the RA Central Electorla Commission from the 2006
reservation fund of the Government 129 thousand 125 drams (about 290
U.S. dollars), 126 thousand 565 drams and 126 thousand 610 drams for
preparing and holding special elections of councillors of the rural
communities of correspondingly Gusanagyugh, Ghazanchi and Vardakar. By
another decision, the Minister of Finance and Economy was instructed
to allocate from the Government’s 2006 reservation fund to the joint
fund of the Central Electoral Commission 125 thousand 830 drams for
financing expenses of preparing and holding the special elections of
the rural community head and councillor members of Lanjar, the marz
of Ararat, taken place on February 19, 2006.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EU TO PROVIDE ARMENIA WITH 2 MLN EUROS TO REPAIR RAILWAYS

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
March 16, 2006 Thursday 6:06 PM MSK

The European Union will provide Armenia with 2 million euros under a
TRACECA program to repair the Yerevan-Tbilisi railway route, Gagik
Grigorian, the national TRACECA coordinator and head of foreign
relations at the Transport and Communications Ministry, told Interfax.

Armenian specialists estimate that about 200 million euros will be
used to prepare a feasibility study and 1.8 million euros to repair the
most damaged tracks. The timeframe for the project will be determined
after the feasibility study.

BAKU, YEREVAN WANT TO MOVE AHEAD ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH – U.S. DIPLOMAT

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
March 16, 2006 Thursday

Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev expressed their willingness to continue contributing to
efforts to reach a peace agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh during recent
negotiations in France, U.S.

Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said at a news conference
in Yerevan on Thursday.

Fried disagreed that the talks between Kocharian and Aliyev in
Rambouillet on February 10-11 drove the negotiating process into a
dead end.

Attempts are currently being made to see in which direction the
settlement process could now move, he said.

During his visit to the region, Fried said he addressed ways of
settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, energy security and prospects
for the region’s development.

The U.S. believes it would be useful to look into the future in light
of the current problems in the South Caucasus to see how the region
is to develop on the whole and how democracy and economic reforms
will be proceed there.

The U.S. does not rule out that nuclear energy could be used to
diversify energy supplies in the region, he said.

The diplomat said he is aware of Armenia’s interest in building a new
safe and up-to-date nuclear power plant and that he would inform his
leadership in Washington about this.

AZERI MILITARY BUDGET TO EQUAL TOTAL ARMENIAN STATE BUDGET – ALIYEV

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
March 16, 2006 Thursday

Azerbaijan’s military budget will soon equal Armenia’s entire state
budget, said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“Our military budget is currently about $600 million. I have set
the goal that our military expenditure be increased to the size of
Armenia’s entire state budget in the near future,” Aliyev told the
second world congress of Azeris in Baku on Thursday.

“Armenia will never be able to compete with us. The sooner the Armenian
leadership understands this, the more beneficial it will be for them,”
he said.

Along with the development of its economy, Azerbaijan is also
strengthening its military development, Aliyev said. “Great
significance has been attached to this sphere over the past years
and Azerbaijan’s military budget has been increased every year. For
instance, the military budget was increased by 70% in 2005 compared
with 2004, and it has grown by 100% in 2006. Growth is also expected
in 2007,” the president said.

ARMENIAN POWER UTILITY BOOSTS REVENUE 27% IN 2005

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
March 16, 2006 Thursday

Electrical Network of Armenia (ENA)

boosted revenue tentatively 27% in 2005 to $165 million, Vladislav
Andreyev, the company’s financial director, told Interfax.

Andreyev said the figure reflected a stronger dram against the
dollar. He said revenue in the local currency only grew 9%.

ENA also had higher electricity consumption in a growing economy to
thank for the jump in revenue, he said.

Yevgeny Gladunchuk, ENA’s general director, told Interfax that
electricity sales rose 12% to 4.381 billion kilowatt-hours. He said
sales in Armenia itself rose 8% to 4.168 billion kWh. Households
consumed 45% of the electricity.

Andreyev, for his part, said the cost of buying electricity from
power stations soared 46% last year, and revenue from the sale of
this electricity grew just 26%, reflecting the company’s reduced
tariff margin compared with 2004.

ENA is Armenia’s electricity sales monopoly and is the country’s
biggest enterprise by revenue.

RIFT IN POLICE COULD HINDER THE PROBE
Story By Stephen Muiruri

Daily Nation, Kenya
March 16 2006

Divisions among the country’s top police chiefs are likely to hamper
investigations into the activities of two men who claim to be Armenians
and who are at the centre of mercenary claims.

The investigators are torn between police commissioner Mohammed
Hussein Ali and CID chief Joseph Kamau, who fell out after the raid
on the Standard Group offices on March 2.

Mr Isaiah Osugo, the Nairobi deputy provincial CID chief, is
spearheading the investigations into claims by Lang’ata MP Raila
Odinga that the two men, who claim to be brothers – Artur Margaryan
and Artur Sargsyan – are mercenaries.

Business opportunities

The investigators are also trying to verify claims by the brothers
that they are investors exploring business opportunities in Kenya.

Mr Osugo was appointed the chief investigator on March 8 by Maj-Gen
Ali after Mr Odinga visited him at his Vigilance House office to
complain about the presence of the two foreigners in Kenya.

After the meeting, Mr Odinga told reporters that he had informed
Maj-Gen Ali that Mr Kamau knew the house in Runda where the two
brothers were staying and was aware of the protection being offered
to them by GSU officers.

But Mr Kamau dismissed the claims as “utter rubbish” and questioned
the motive of the meeting between the Maj-Gen Ali and the Lang’ata MP.

Chain of command

Yesterday, police sources told the Nation that although Mr Osugo
is supposed to report to Mr Kamau through his immediate boss, Mr
Sammy Githui, that chain of command does not apply in the case of
the mercenaries investigations.

When appointing Mr Osugo, Maj-Gen Ali reportedly ordered him to report
any findings directly to him.

On the same day Mr Osugo was appointed to investigate the saga, Mr
Kamau issued a statement through CID spokesman Gideon Kibunjah and
said there were no mercenaries in Kenya.

“We therefore take this early opportunity to dispel those baseless,
wild and unsubstantiated claims. There are no mercenaries operating
in Kenya,” said the statement.

It asked politicians “to behave responsibly and exercise maturity in
their public utterances and avoid populist and alarming statements”.

Relations between Maj-Gen Ali and his CID chief have been frosty since
Mr Kamau kept him in the dark on the Standard raid, even though it
was his own officers who led the attack.

The attack was carried out by an elite squad directly answerable to
Mr Kamau.

Mr Odinga has insisted that the two foreigners were linked to the raid.

The rift between the two top policemen reached its climax on Monday
last week when Maj-Gen Ali attempted to sack Mr Kamau.

National Security minister John Michuki intervened by promptly
informing State House, which ordered him to ensure that did not happen.

Questions being raised are whether Mr Osugo could investigate his
CID boss and ask him to record a statement on the claims made against
him by Mr Odinga.

Mr Kamau has not been questioned. However, he has said he is willing
to record a statement if requested.

Key questions Mr Osugo is supposed to seek answers to include:

Do Narc activist Mary Wambui and her daughter Winnie have any dealings
with Mr Margaryan and Mr Sargsyan?

What does CID chief Kamau know about the foreigners and has he ever
visited their Runda house or offered them protection as alleged by
Mr Odinga?

What does State House know about the two men and have they ever
visited State House?

Are Mr Margaryan and Mr Sargsyan investors or in Kenya on a dangerous
mission?

Who in the Government allowed them to use cars with GK number plates,
and who offered them police protection?

Why do they drive around Nairobi with the number plates on their cars
covered in full view of traffic police?

Who facilitated their coming to Kenya and how long have they been here?

Did they participate in the Standard raid as claimed by Mr Odinga?

Who ordered the police, headed by Runda police station boss Jeremiah
Lang’at, to leave the Runda house and return to their base on Monday,
when they went to provide security to Mr Osugo’s team?

Are top government officials keen on the truth on the real identity
and the mission of the two foreigners coming out?

I AM IN KENYA TO STAY, SAYS ARMENIAN

Daily Nation, Kenya
March 16 2006

Armenian Artur Margaryan yesterday remained defiant despite a one-week
ultimatum by two Nairobi MPs who said he should leave the country.

The MPs had earlier said they would lead a demonstration to the
Armenians’ rented house in Runda estate, Nairobi, if he did not leave
the country.

But yesterday, the Armenian enigma said he was in Kenya to stay. He
also said he had neither been to State House nor met the President.

Neither had he transacted any business with the Government.

Asked whether he had ever conducted business with Ms Winnie Wangui,
the daughter of a Narc politician, Mr Margaryan said it was his
brother’s responsibility to establish business contacts and partners.

He was just running the business.

Mr Margaryan said he was not afraid of the two MPs who had threatened
to raid his house. Instead, he invited Mr Fred Gumo and Mr Reuben
Ndolo for talks so that he could explain himself to them.

But he claimed that there were people who were calling his family in
Dubai to intimidate them.

The confident-looking man, dressed in black and sporting gold chains,
bracelets and rings, emerged from his Runda House at 10.15am to tell
a group of journalists that the Westlands (Gumo) and Makadara (Ndolo)
MPs had no authority to raid his house.

“I don’t know why they had to come here because they are neither
policemen nor immigration officials. They are not judges either but
I was not at home and I do not know what they want. They should be
told that they do not need seven days, they can come even now and
let’s meet and talk as men. I believe there is justice in Kenya,”
Mr Margaryan said.

He emerged from his home after a 15-minute stake-out by journalists,
some of whom were perched on tree tops to get a vantage point to film
the goings-on in the compound.

When he came out, he first asked: “What is it today? I have no
quarrel with the media and you don’t have to climb on tree tops to
take pictures. What if you break your leg?”

Journalists engaged him in a half hour interview during which he
said that he was willing to record a statement with the police on
the allegations he has made against Orange Democratic Movement MPs
Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka. He added: “And I am even ready to
testify in court.”

Mr Margaryan and his brother, Mr Artur Sargsyan, had earlier claimed
that they had been asked for a loan by ODM leaders.

The man also denied that he had ever used a vehicle with GK
registration numbers. He said he was covering his vehicle’s number
plates for security reasons.

He also declined to divulge details about his businesses, saying that
that would lead to “commercial spying” where such details would be
picked up by business rivals to his disadvantage.

“I’m in property development and I import electronics and cars from
Dubai. I cannot disclose more,” he said.

He said he was Armenian and had never worked for the Czech Republic
in any capacity. He was responding to a journalist’s question whether
he had any connection with the Czech Republic.

Unlike Czech citizens who have “yellowish hair and lighter skin,
we Armenians have black hair and are dark skinned. Anyone who speaks
Armenian can confirm this.”

He also denied claims that he and his brother were involved in money
laundering or drug trafficking.

“My money is legal and anyone who is thinking otherwise should prove
it,” he said.

His business life, he said, started after the collapse of the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) which, he said, had been “one
big jail. One big concentration camp. “After the collapse, my six
brothers and I began to move to Turkey and Pakistan and Egypt and
other countries and to take goods home and make a profit. We worked
in many countries and finally loved Dubai from where we have operated
for a while,” he said.

SYUNIK GOVERNOR CALLS ON GORIS AND KAPAN MAYORS TO GET FUNDS ON THEIR OWN

Noyan Tapan
Mar 16 2006

KAPAN, MARCH 16, NOYAN TAPAN. Syunik Governor Surik Khachatrian
expressed his dissatisfaction with the Goris and Kapan Mayors’
work. “You shouldn’t just wait when they will allocate funds from
the budget for you to work. You should work with international
organizations, bring financial investments and maintain the
community. And our Mayors don’t want to work,” the Governor
mentioned. Meanwhile, S.Khachatrian mentioned that considerable
work was done in all spheres in the region in the period of his
tenure. According to him, work amounting to nearly 1.5 bln drams
(about 3.3 mln USD) was done in urban development, school building,
intercommunal and interurban roads reconstruction and other
spheres. Attaching importance to the problem of creation of jobs,
the Governor, in particular, touched upon the situation in the former
mining-enrichment complex. “I will meet with the owners, will listen
to them and then we will offer our methods and will do everything to
improve the way of life of its employees,” Syunik Governor declared,
not going into details what methods are meant.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress