ABOUT 71% OF UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE IN ARMENIA ARE WOMEN
Noyan Tapan
Mar 20 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. As of March 1, the level of
unemployment in Armenia made 7.6% what reduced compared with the same
day of the previous year by 1.6%. As the Noyan Tapan correspondent was
informed by the “RA Employment Service” agency, women make the 70.8% of
those unemployed. At present demand of qualified computer programmers,
clerks, doctors (in marzes), translators (especially of the English
language), insurance agents, brokers, tailors, turners, welders,
milling-machine operators, carpet makers, jewellers, specialists of
the service sphere is high in the labour market. But working places for
some professions remain vacant, mainly because of the low salary. 1303
people looking for job were given work in February. Women make 59.2%
of them. It was also mentioned that as of March 1, 5341 unemployed
people got unemployment benefit.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH WORKERS’ PARTY MEMBERS PROTEST AGAINST GERMANY IN ISTANBUL
Anatolia news agency, Ankara
20 Mar 06
Istanbul, 20 March: A group of members of the Workers’ Party (IP)
held a protest in front of the German Consulate General on Monday
[20 March].
They accused Germany of rejecting to issue visas for 200 Turkish
intellectuals who wanted to attend the rally organized by the ‘Talat
Pasha Movement’ in Berlin on Saturday to protest German parliament’s
recent decision on the so-called Armenian genocide.
They chanted slogans against the German government and German
Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The demonstration ended peacefully.

CURRENT AND LONG-TERM PROJECTS IN THE FOCUS OF ATTENTION
Srbuhi Vanian
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
19 March 2006
Territorial management and development of infrastructures is one of
the broa d spheres of government’s activity. We tried to find out what
problems there are in this sphere and what efforts the government makes
to solve them during our interview with Armo Tsaturian, Minister of
territorial management and development of infrastructures. ENERGY. Armo
Tsaturian said this year 250 million drams is foreseen for the energy
sector. 40 million will be allocated to Stepanakert, 23 million to
Askeran region, 28 million to Martakert, 29 million to Martuni, 26
million to Hadrut, 6 million to Shushi and 54 million to Shahumian
regions. The rest will be spent on the reconstruction of the 35
kW substation of Maghavuz. With regard to specific programmes to be
implemented on this money, the minister said in Karabakh there are only
several communities in the regions of Kashatagh and Shahumian which do
no thave supply of electricity, therefore this sum will mainly be spent
on the reconstruction of substations. “In the post-war years there were
shortcomings in the operation of substations due to a lack of money,
and now these gaps need to be filled,” said Armo Tsaturian. According
to him, there is a lot of work to do at the substation of Sarsang,
as well as it is necessary to replace transmission lines and towers,
which often cause fires and accidents. The minister thinks that the
money provided from the state budget is not enough for the whole
work (by his estimate 800 million drams is required). Last year the
money spent on the energy sector was more, 400 million drams, and the
minister said the expenditure was targeted. On the whole, the minister
assessed the work of Artsakhenergo as positive. Armo Tsaturian said
the losses in the grid were reduced thanks to the measures taken by
the company, the collection of payments for electricity increased as
well. GASIFICATION. The government has adopted a 2001 – 2010 policy of
gasification. The gasifying of the country is planned to be finished
in 2010. This year the government will allocate 400 million drams for
gasifying. 150 million will be provided for the regions of Martuni
and Hadrut each.
Less money is foreseen for Stepanakert, Shushi and Askeran. Armo
Tsaturian, Minister of Territorial Management and Development of
Infrastructures, said the town of Berdzor, Kashatagh region was
included in the gasification program.
The government will provide 50 million drams for Kashatagh. This
year less money was provided for gasifying compared to the previous
year. In 2005 455 million drams was invested in the energy sector,
332.2 million was provided from the state budget, the rest was
invested by Artsakhgas. Last year the amount of consumed gas totaled
16.2 million cubic meters, increasing by 21.8 per cent since the year
2004. There are no final figures for this year. TRANSPORT.
The state of transport is serious. The minister of territorial
management and development of infrastructures Armo Tsaturian said
the problems are many.
The routes have not been regulated duly. In Stepanakert certain routes
are overloaded, whereas in the suburbs people often have to wait for
an hour for their only or a pair of minibuses. Safe transportation of
passengers is another issue. The minister said in August the minibus
routes will be put out to tender. Armo Tsaturian said with regard
to this there will occur problems because in accordance with the law
the cars aged 15 and more cannot participate in the tender. Besides,
the companies that participate in the tender must own 60 per cent of
the car pool. Such companies will hardly be found in the republic.
This has caused anxiety among companies because their car pools are
old. We have information that a complaint was lodged with the National
Assembly, signed by 70 drivers. Minister Armo Tsaturian mentioned
that they had not received such a letter of complaint but they are
ready to study and discuss the issue with the parliament. In answer
to our anxiety that people’s security is concerned and any concession
may harm their security, the minister said it is impossible to give
a hasty answer to such an urgent issue. Armo Tsaturian said there
will hopefully be interesting proposals during the debates at the
National Assembly. He said the distribution of the minibus routes
will be carried out by the City Hall. “The relevant department of
the Ministry cooperates with the City Hall to settle this issue,”
he said. The coach routes are also a problem. According to Armo
Tsaturian, despite the lack of money, the government tries to provide
every community with transport. Since the government has a program of
development of tourism, which would be greatly promoted by airlines,
we wondered if the government takes any steps to provide this type
of communication. Armo Tsaturian says this question has a political
context rather than an economic one, and he thinks that its solution
is related with the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, for our plane
would have to cross the airspace of Azerbaijan, which is not safe. The
minister said, however, that certain companies are already interested
in this, although the minister thinks it is early to consider the
ways of solving this question. TOURISM. This year for the first time
the government adopted a programme of development of tourism, which
supposes the establishment of an information and promotion system,
provides for the participation of NKR in different expositions,
and cooperation.
The government has allocated 2 million drams for this purpose. The
Artsakh Development Agency participated in Armenian Expo 2005
in Yerevan and presented the opportunities of tourism in Nagorno
Karabakh Republic. Recently the Ministry of Territorial Management
of Development of Infrastructures has started cooperating with
the Agency on Development of Tourism in Armenia. They arranged to
include information about the opportunities of tourism in Artsakh
in their programmes and to promote them outside Armenia. Besides,
Artsakh Development Agency is working out an information base, one
of the directions of which will be the opportunities of tourism
in NKR. TELECOM. Karabakh Telecom and establishment of cellular
communication in NKR marked the beginning of fundamental reforms in
the sphere of telecommunication. Although, according to the minister
of territorial management and development of infrastructures said,
recently the quality of cellular communication, as well as the
fixed-line telephone has gone down. Armo Tsaturian said soon the
digitalization of the fixed-line telephone in Stepanakert will
start. Negotiations with Karabakh Telecom began last year. The
renovation of the fixed-line telephone network in the country will
cost 4.5 million dollars. As to cellular communication, Armo Tsaturian
said 2-2.5 million dollars will be invested in this sphere. Last year
Karabakh Telecom invested 60 million drams. The number of cellular
base stations reached 17 from 14. This year another 7 base stations
will be placed. Armo Tsaturian said the availability of the Public TV
channels of Armenia and Artsakh grew from 80 to 90-95 per cent. The
minister said the government intends to involve private companies
to carry out reforms in this sphere. The aim of the programme is to
enable people watch more and higher quality programmes.

NKR CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION SITTING
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
20 March 2006
On March 16 NKR President Arkady Ghukassian chaired the recurrent
sitting of the NKR Constitutional Commission, during which the first
two chapters of the bill of the NKR Constitution were discussed. After
the address of Armen Zalinian, the head of the working group,
a debate took place among the political forces represented in
the commission, representatives of both the government and the
opposition. Arkady Ghukassian instructed the group of experts to
study the observations and proposals put forward during the debate
and draw up conclusions. Summing up the results of the sitting, the
president emphasized the importance of compliance of the constitution
with the international standards. He mentioned that the final draft of
the constitution will be presented not only to the political forces
and public of NKR, but also authoritative experts of the world and
the Armenian Diaspora. The president instructed the working group to
work out the schedule of activity of the Constitutional Commission.

SITUATION IS UNDER CONTROL
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
20 March 2006
On March 15 the NKR Ministry of Agriculture and Health sent specialists
to the border villages of Mataghis and Talish in Martakert for
extension on protection from the bird flu. The reason was the
information in the Azerbaijani mass media that bird flu was reported
in the region of Tartar (Mirbashir).
Tartar is close to the northern border of Nagorno Karabakh Republic,
which urges to enhance control in our poultry farms. The specialists
of the ministry found out that in the past few months no mass deaths
of birds were reported. “It means the situation is stable, and there
are no cases that cause suspicion,” said Tigran Arustamyan, the head
of the department of veterinary medicine and cattle breeding of the
Ministry of Agriculture. Ofelia Harutyunian, the head of the hygiene
and epidemic department, said the measures that have been taken reduce
the risk of the penetration of the virus.

WHO WILL “DETERMINE” NAGORNO KARABAKH DE JURE?
Alexander Grigorian
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
20 March 2006
It took the Azerbaijanis and us many years to realize the declarative
nature of the two basic principles – the right for self-determination
and territorial integrity – set down in the UN and OSCE documents. More
exactly, our neighbours and we realized that the real correlation of
these two tenets of the international law depend on the political
reality, determined by the upholding of one of these tenets by the
international community or juggling of these two principles to solve
geopolitical problems. However, better late than never.
With regard to this the words of Movladi Udugov, the chief ideologist
of Maskhadov Ichkeria, which does not exist any more, come to my mind,
which he pronounced in his interview with the Yerevan-based news
agency. Movladi Udugov gave, in my opinion, an absolutely definite
and correct answer to the question what his vision of the solution
of the eternal dilemma between the right for self-determination
and territorial integrity was. “Famous dilemmas are the result
of a question that was originally put falsely,” said number one
ideologist of Ichkeria. “We (Ichkerian leaders – A.G.) are little
interested in a so-called international recognition. This recognition
would not guarantee peace. The international politics acts with a
consideration of real forces and interests.” And what do we have with
regard to the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, if the OSCE, under the
auspices of which the peace settlement is carried on, recognized all
the parties of the conflict to have reason? In this connection the
announcement of the former OSCE Chairman-in-Office Flavio Kotti on the
principles of settlement at the OSCE summit in Lisbon is notable. As
the second principle of settlement he mentioned the legal status
of Nagorno Karabakh on the basis of self-determination, which would
give the highest degree of self-governance to Nagorno Karabakh within
Azerbaijan. In other words, on the one hand, the right of the Armenians
of Karabakh was recognized, but on the other hand, to a degree that
would be determined by Azerbaijan. Stepanakert and Yerevan rejected
the principles of the summit in Lisbon. Baku (which was at the same
time the author of these principles) accepted them, because under
these principles Azerbaijan would maintain its territorial integrity,
and would, in addition, determine the degree of “self-determination”
of the Armenians of Karabakh. Then the concept of the “common state”
emerged as a way of settlement based on compromise. However, this
proposal was rejected by Baku, because this concept would take away
from Azerbaijan the right to “determine” the Armenian population
of Nagorno Karabakh, although Azerbaijan would still maintain its
territorial integrity. And the international community, namely the
OSCE Minsk Group (more exactly the three co-chairmen), is seeking for
combining these two principles, offering a “draw” to the conflict
parties. For its part, this means that in this stage of historical
development of the region the international community (i.e. the West
plus Russia) is interested in having the Armenian population live in
Nagorno Karabakh, as well as in preventing the secession of ethnic
formations in Azerbaijan, which would destabilize the situation in the
region. And in case of defending one of the two basic principles of
the international law by the West and Russia they would not achieve
this aim. For instance, if the issue were resolved on the basis of
the right of the people of Nagorno Karabakh for self-determination,
Azerbaijan would either be divided into two independent states or
would have to cede part of its territory to Armenia. And if the
resolution were based on the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,
no Armenians would stay to live in Nagorno Karabakh. Thus, the
application of the formula “self-determination minus territorial
integrity” to the settlement of the ethnic conflicts in the South
Caucasus would divide the country into independent ethnic states, and
the formula ” inviolability of frontiers minus self-determination”
would result in ethnic clearing. However, I think, the application
of the formula “self-determination plus territorial integrity”
in resolving ethnic political and ethnic territorial conflicts
is not free of risk either. The point is that the attempts at
combining these two principles might cause a “short circuit”. And
the consequences of this short circuit might be much more tragic
than the dissolution of the state or ethnic clearing. For instance,
if there were not for the Belovezh agreements which prepared the legal
basis for the division of the former USSR into 15 independent states,
and the leadership headed by Gorbachov sought for the resolution of
ethnic conflicts by way of combining these two principles, an ethnic
explosion would happen on the one sixth of the Earth, which could
cause a nuclear threat. Therefore, the fear of such a “circuit”
compels one of the conflict parties to yield. This was the case in
the former Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, which “divorced on good
faith.” The situation was right the opposite in former Yugoslavia. As
a result even the Serbian state may soon lose Kosovo, as well as
Montenegro, which may become independent states. This is the reality
that needs to be taken into account by both the conflict parties and
the mediators. This, however, does not mean that any of the conflict
parties (Nagorno Karabakh, or Azerbaijan, for instance) should make
a unilateral compromise. The art of politics is to tune external
interests to its own interests. For this aim Azerbaijan applied the
factor of oil, which brought it significant political dividends at
the OSCE summit in Lisbon. And the overestimation of this factor by
the Baku authorities is the misunderstanding that Azerbaijan keeps
the international community under its thumb and not vice versa, which
did not allow them to achieve a settlement of the Karabakh conflict,
favourable for them. By the way, the former leadership of Armenia
also believed the “almightiness” of the factor of oil, and fearing
international isolation of the republic, accepted the principles of
resolution of the Karabakh conflict, that favoured Azerbaijan. However,
the Western community and Russia appear to be interested in having
Armenian population living in Nagorno Karabakh. Considering this,
we have to carry on persuading the international mediators, as well
as the entire civilized world, that with a vertical relationship
between Baku and Azerbaijan no Armenians would continue to live in
Nagorno Karabakh. The impression is that the international mediators
can now better imagine the consequences of returning Nagorno Karabakh
to the constitutional hug of Azerbaijan. It is not accidental that
the concept of a common state proposed by them earlier, as well as
the plan to hold a referendum on the status of Nagorno Karabakh in
the present territory of Nagorno Karabakh are efforts to give the
people of NKR an opportunity of de jure self-determination. This is the
reason of the negative reaction of official Baku, which was once again
confirmed during the negotiations between the presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan in Rambouillet, France. In 1997 the chairman of the
Committee of External Relations of the National Assembly of Armenia
Hovanes Igitian told the reporter of the Respublika Armenia Newspaper:
“I would point out some methodological shortcomings. Unfortunately,
I think, the dispute on the existence of NKR, its population, the
problems of development of Nagorno Karabakh has been shifted to a
theoretical plane: territorial integrity or self-determination. On
the one hand, this complicates the issue, on the other hand, makes
it primitive. The issue is much more complicated…” The security
of the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh should underlie the
settlement. This security, however, is impossible if Nagorno Karabakh
is joined to Azerbaijan.
And if the West and Russia are interested in having the Armenian
population of Karabakh live in Karabakh, they are simply obliged
to prevent a return to a vertical relationship between Baku and
Stepanakert. However, another question might occur. How long will
the West and Russia be interested in having the Armenian population
in Nagorno Karabakh? The answer of this question greatly depends on
NKR and certainly Armenia. The two Armenian states should interest the
international community by their actions and manner of existence. This
can be achieved in two ways. First, Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh need
to adopt the values and lifestyle of Western democracies. Second,
they should seek to benefit the realization of interests of the
world and regional leaders in their external policies. The latter is
more important than the former, because the world is not interested
in Armenia both in terms of its energy resources and geographical
position. Consequently, Armenia needs to manipulate the interests of
other states that influence the security and prospects of development
of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh in one way or another. Non-standard
steps should be taken, which might not correspond to our former ideas
of friends and foes. In politics there are no friends and foes forever,
only interests are constant. If our main purpose is to prevent the
return of Nagorno Karabakh to the constitutional field of Azerbaijan,
providing the security of Armenia and NKR, the foreign policies of
the two Armenian states should be defined accordingly. Emotions
and counterarguments emanating from the Armenian mentalities, as
well as militaristic threats would not only be impertinent but also
prejudicial. The point is that realities may change as life goes
on. For instance, in the present stage of settlement of the Karabakh
conflict the official stance of the Baku authorities is directed at
changing the existing reality, which is, on the whole, beneficial
for the Armenian parties. It is a challenge that we should cope with
duly, using all our potential. A pragmatic foreign policy and full
correspondence with the standards of Western democratic societies
with an increasing military potential might be a way. No alternatives
to this can be seen. We may reach international recognition of NKR by
becoming part of the interests of the world and regional powers through
our pragmatic actions. Consequently, with a de facto self-determination
we should seek for a de jure self-determination all by ourselves. In
other words, everything depends on us, and not Moscow, Washington,
Paris or Ankara, which do not have constant friends and constant foes,
as it is accepted in big politics.

COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIAN CHURCH AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES DEVELOPS
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 20 2006
ETCHMIADZIN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On the evening of
March 18, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of
All Armenians, hosted a gathering of political and religious leaders
from throughout Armenia in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin,
led by the Minister of Territorial Administration, Mr. Hovik
Abrahamian. Present for the meeting were all diocesan primates from
the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh; regional governors
(Marzpets) of the Republic of Armenia; and mayors of cities from
throughout the country. According to the information system of the
Mother See, also present were the lay members of the Supreme Spiritual
Council. Reflecting on the administrative matters facing the Church,
the Pontiff underlined the great importance of reestablishing parish
life within the cities and villages of Armenia as a vital precondition
of fully achieving the Church’s mission in the fields of spiritual
education and pastoral ministry. “The restoration of parish councils,
parochial boards and parish life will greatly benefit our work in
strengthening the Armenian family by providing a strong foundation
built on Christian faith, Church teachings and Holy Tradition,
and reinforcing our independent statehood through education and
leadership”, stated the Catholicos of All Armenians. Minister of
Territorial Administration Hovik Abrahamian expressed his happiness
for the spirit of cooperation which is developing between the Armenian
Church and the local authorities. The Minister also placed importance
on these meetings occurring at regular intervals, in order to plan the
work ahead for the present and future collaboration between Church and
state, which he stated would benefit the prosperity of the homeland and
the life of the people. During the meeting, many proposals were offered
by the participants regarding spheres of cooperation. Also discussed
was concern among many regional and local officials regarding the
destructive activities of cults and various sects operating in Armenia.

IT IS ENVISAGED TO ESTABLISH ARMENIAN-INDIAN CENTER OF INFORMSTION TECHNOLOGIES IN ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan
Mar 20 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. A preliminary agreement on providing
considerable assistance to the development of the information
technologies (IT) sector in Armenia has been reached between the
Armenian and Indian governments. RA Deputy Minister of Trade and
Economic Development Tigran Davtian stated this on March 20. According
to him, the assistance will cover the IT educational and technical
assistance. The issue of opening an Armenian-Indian IT center in
Armenia is now under discussion, and a preliminary agreement with
respect to it has been achieved as well. T. Davtian said that the
Armenian-Indian cooperation in the IT sector has become a realilty,
as a commission to deal with problems of this cooperation has been
set up. Besides, the Armenian company Aviainfotel has opened its
office in India.

IN OPINION OF INDIAN BUSINESSMEN, MAKING AN INDIAN FILM IN ARMENIA TO GIVE IMPETUS TO TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
Noyan Tapan
Mar 20 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian-Indian relations have
entereed a new stage. RA Deputy Foreign Minister Armen Bayburtian
expressed this opinion at a press conference with the participation of
representatives of the Indian business delegation at the RA Ministry
of Foreign Affairs on March 20. The delegation came to Armenia on the
initiative of Harshad Mehta, Honorary Consul of Armenia in Mumbai,
who is also a big investor in Armenia where he has two diamond cutting
enterprises. Among the Indian businessmen are representatives of
Bollywood – an Indian film production company. According to Honorary
Consul H. Mehta, they intend to make films in Armenia and about
Armenia. He said about 1,000 films are made in Bollywood each year,
which are watched by 1.5 bln people all over the world, and an Indian
film made in Armenia will promote the development of the country’s
tourism. “Wherever Bollywood goes, it is followed by tourists,” the
company director Mukesh Bhatt assured. He said that he was a producer
of 45 films, 27 of which were made in various countries, in which an
increase in the number of tourits started after that. He expressed a
hope that he will become the first Indian film producers to make films
in Armenia. Mukesh Bhatt indicated the absence of direct Yerevan-Delhi
flights as the only difficulty, adding that he was promised that such
flights will be operated soon, while the Armenian partners promised
to provide all the equipment necessary for a film. It was noted during
the press conference that in 2005, goods worth a total of about 11 mln
USD were imported into Armenia from India, and exports from Armenia
to India made about 400 thousand USD. The two countries are closely
cooperating in the spheres of culture, education and science.

KAPAN “GANDZASAR” WINNER OF HUNAN AVETISIAN MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
Noyan Tapan
Mar 20 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The traditional memorial tournament
after Soviet Union hero Hunan Avetisian held on Armavir “Jubilee”
sports ground was over. 9 teams of Armenian championship highest
and first group took part in it. First they competed in 2 groups
where those who took the first places competed for the prize. Kapan
“Gandzasar” and Yerevan “Banants-2” teams competed with each other
in the final. “Gandzasar” defeated the latter with a score of 3 to
0 and won the cup. The prize was given to the winner team by hero’s
son, Henzel Avetisian. The tournament organizers had also instituted
prizes for football-players that distinguished themselves in separate
game links.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress