“IF IT CONTINUES IN THIS WAY, WE CAN’T HOLD STATE ELECTIONS”
Margaret Yesayan
Aravot.am
21 June 06
The “Justice” group representative in the CEC Felix Khachatrian
expresses his apprehension.
The “Justice” group representative in the CEC Felix Khachatrian
opposing to the CEC chairman Gourgen Azarian’s thought that the
opposition makes declaration for justifying its real defeat, said;
“We have never lost, we have won both in presidential and parliamentary
elections in 1998 and 2003 and during constitutional referendum in
2005, people like Spartak Eghiazarian and those who appoint them
have lost, it’s another matter that the authorities have rigged our
real victory. And Grigor Haroutiunian’s words are completely true,
he had said that they had gathered for taking courses in Goris city
but the lecturers hadn’t come, I myself has phoned the chairman of the
commission informing him about it”. Felix Khachatrian explains this
unorganized situation with a special intention by the authorities,
to do their best for less people take courses and for being possible
to give certificates whom they want.
Felix Khachatrian considers important the teaching project of the
members of commissions but he thinks as a specialist that the project
doesn’t serve its purpose as the responsibility of the case is given
to the leaders of communities who try to fail the process.
Mr. Khachatrian also has complaints from the whole duration of
course organization though he is also a teacher; ”16-hour project
is formed which is too little for realizing such a great documental
study. I was myself taking part as a teacher in Masis City of Ararat
region. My first impression was too bad and referred to organization
part of courses. The group with which I must have lessons was a group
by 154 members by the list. But a hall with 90 seats was given for
lectures. It was the hall of Masis Municipality. And it became clear
that only 92 persons were present in the hall and on the end of the
day the future members of commissions have run away from lectures and
it became clear that only 27 remained. And only 25 persons instead
of 154 took part in the test. This means if everything continues in
this way we won’t be able to hold the coming state elections. But
perhaps it will become clear that all future members of commissions
have passed the test in Masis region”, – F. Khachatrian expressed
his apprehension. M. Khachatrian is sure that if a lot of people from
this region get certificates of commission members, it will be obvious
that the authorities acted by their designed scenario again. To our
question the representatives of the authority or opposition take part
in the courses more, Felix Khachatrian answered that only the name and
surname if written in list given to him and the number of passport,
there isn’t any other information and he can’t answer to that question.
–Boundary_(ID_2+4QZKZAsEhmG4OhFCcefg)- –
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

U.S. SENATE TO DISCUSS RICHARD HOAGLAND NOMINATION FOR U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.06.2006 16:41 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Americans across the U.S. will be closely
following the Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation
hearings for U.S. Ambassador to Armenia nominee Richard Hoagland,
in hopes of gaining concrete insight into the exact nature of the
State Department’s policy of complicity in Armenian Genocide denial –
particularly as it relates to the firing of the current U.S. Ambassador
to Armenia, John Marshall Evans, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA). The hearing comes as Armenian American
activists across the U.S. continue to call on Senators to demand a
full explanation for the early recall of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia
John Marshall Evans.
To remind, the recall of Amb. Evans was caused by his statement on
the Armenian Genocide made February 19, 2005 at a meeting with the
Armenian Diaspora in California. “Today I will call it the Armenian
Genocide,” Amb. Evans said.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: LITHUANIA NORMALIZES CRACKED RELATIONS WITH TURKEY
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.06.2006 16:55 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Lithuania keeps on normalizing relations with Turkey
that cracked after the adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by
the Lithuanian Seimas and promises support on the way to the European
Union, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus stated upon completion of
the meeting with Turkish President Ahmet Necet Sezer in Ankara. “The
resolution adopted by our Seimas will not introduce any changes into
the policy of the Lithuanian foreign policy,” he said. To remind,
last summer the Lithuanian parliament passed a resolution calling
upon Turkey to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. Turkey’s response
was a political demarche. Lithuanian Ambassador Vytautas Nauduzas
was invited to the Turkish Foreign Ministry and warned that the
resolution will not have a positive impact on the Turkish-Lithuanian
relations. “We agreed to avoid deeds that would damage the development
of bilateral relations,” the Turkish President stated at a briefing,
reported Trend news agency.

OSCE APPROACH TO SOUTH CAUCASIAN STATES DIFFERS
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.06.2006 17:02 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The OSCE’s approach to the South Caucasian states
differs and we try not to compare the level of freedom of press in
Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan,” OSCE Representative on Freedom
of the Media Miklos Haraszti said in response to a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter’s question. In his words, the criteria of assessment vary. “In
one state the matters stand well with electronic media, in another –
with printing media,’ he remarked.

REPORT ON ARMENIAN MEDIA TO BE SUBMITTED TO OSCE
/PanARMENIAN.Net
21.06.2006 17:06 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Upon compellation of visit to Armenia a report
on freedom of the media in the republic and recommendations for
improvement of the situation will be submitted to the OSCE, Miklos
Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media stated in
Yerevan. In his words, the report will be free for press and NGOs
interested in the issue.
The OSCE Representative remarked that some positive tendencies can
be observed in the printing media.
“They furnish a wider scope of opinions, what cannot be said about
the electronic media, specifically the TV channels. However the
positions of the printing media are weak as compared to the TV,”
he said adding that journalists are not persecuted or assaulted in
Armenia and this is a considerable achievement. At that he remarked
that the National Commission for Television and Radio formed by the
President needs reorganization. “The chapter on the National Commission
for Television and Radio should be changed in accord with the reviewed
Constitution. The Commission should be more open and independent. We
have submitted out proposals on the issue,” the OSCE Representative
said. Mr Haraszti also remarked that there are many TV channels in
Armenia but all of them furnish almost the same information.

OSCE: PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONFLICT POSSIBLE
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.06.2006 17:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There is a possibility to settle the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict peacefully, OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin
de Brichambaut stated in Baku. In his words, the OSCE Minsk group
Co-chairs will report to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna June
22. “No one can say that the process stopped. I think the international
community is interested in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict. Different variants of peaceful resolution are being
considered.
We can only hope that everything will be all right. At that it’s
hard to foretell whether the conflict will be settled this year,”
the OSCE Secretary General said. Besides, he expressed satisfaction
with the activities of the OSCE MG, reported Trend new agency.

AZERBAIJAN TO BLAME FOR ABSENCE OF PROGRESS IN KARABAKH ISSUE
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.06.2006 17:40 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic by
the international community can become a guarantee for human rights
protection and prevention of Azerbaijan’s aggressive intentions,
NKR Prime Minister Anushavan Danielyan said in Stepanakert at the
international conference titled “Nagorno Karabakh Republic: Past,
Present, Future. In the words of the NKR Premier, the war levied by
Azerbaijan on Artsakh demanded strong will, firmness and losses from
the Armenian people. With the assistance of whole Armenianhood the
people of Artsakh managed not only to defend the homeland but also
to recover from the consequences of the war. “During nearly 20 years
of existence the republic passed through all the stages of state
building. It ensured the security of the population and protected
the state interests,” Danielyan remarked.
He underscored that the efforts of the NKR leadership are targeted at
settlement of the conflicts on the basis of principles that reflect
the will of the Karabakh people. “Unfortunately no considerable
progress has been fixed in the negotiation process yet. This is
Azerbaijan’s fault, since being not ready for any compromise this
country denies the right of nation to self-determination and insists
on the principle of “inviolability” of its territorial integrity. This
circumstance doesn’t allow conveying a new impulse to the negotiations
and developing the positive tendencies achieved during recent 10
years with the assistance of international mediators,” the NKR Prime
Minister considers. In his words, the non-constructive position of the
Azeri leadership and irresponsible calls to solve the problem by force
jeopardize the security of the whole region. The leadership of Nagorno
Karabakh have many times state of their firm intention to solve the
problem peacefully and today we are ready to support the activities
of the OSCE Co-chairs’, whose potential has not been exhausted yet,”
Danielyan said.
He also said that despite the unsettlement of the conflict and
non-recognition of the NKR by the international community, the
authority of Nagorno Karabakh as de facto independent state keeps on
growing. “The NKR is interesting in developing cooperation with all
the states of the region including Azerbaijan,” the Prime Minister
of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic said, reported De Facto news agency.

OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL TO HEAR OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS REPORT
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.06.2006 18:16 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The report of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs will
be heard at the sitting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna June
22. The report offers the information on the work carried out for the
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the outcomes of the
recent meetings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani President. During the
sitting in Vienna the U.S. will officially represent newly appointed
Co-chair Matthew J. Bryza. The first consultations of the OSCE MG in
a new composition will be held in Vienna. The Co-chairs will analyze
the totals of the latest meeting of the Armenian and Azeri Foreign
Ministers in Paris. The mediators are also expected to discuss the
proposal on a new meeting of the Ministers.

ROTATION IN THE MINSK GROUP WILL NOT HINDER NEGOTIATIONS
“PanARMENIAN.Net” analytical department
PanARMENIAN.Net
17.06.2006 GMT+04:00
Coincidence of the change of American co-chairman and the appointment
of new U.S. Ambassadors in Baku and Yerevan was not accidental.
The new American co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk group will take up
duties not earlier than June 27th. On this day he will be introduced
to the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna. It is noteworthy that on Thursday
it was officially confirmed that the U.S. State Department appointed
Mathew Bryza a representative of Minsk group. Previously, Mathew Bryza
occupied the post of the deputy assistant of the State Secretary for
Europe and Eurasia.
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Change of the co-chairman should not mean that
American diplomacy is shifting accents in “Karabakh” policy. It
is an ordinary rotation which regularly takes place in the Minsk
group. Americans change their representative once in about two years.
(Steven Mann was appointed in April, 2004). France and Russia
do that more seldom. Mathew Bryza will become the 6th American
representative. It is noticeable that the rotation usually takes
place after an unsuccessful round of negotiations. A new person brings
new ideas.
But up to now rotation has not brought to any changes in the strategy
of American mediators. U.S. interests in the region remain unchanged
even after the change of presidents. Thus, little depends on the
co-chairman’s personality. However, in this case one can notice
preconditions for global changes of the American politics in the
region. The thing is that the rotation of the Minsk group co-chairman
coincided with the appointment of new Ambassadors in Baku and
Yerevan. And this is of course not accidental. (Both ambassadors have
been appointed but have not visited capitals). The State Department
is changing all the three diplomats responsible for the execution of
Washington’s policy in the South-Eastern Caucasus.
This can prove serious changes in the tactic of American diplomacy
where current priorities are first of all connected with the
development of situation in Iran.
Thus, the new person coming in to the Minsk group does not have
his predecessor’s deep knowledge of the negotiation process and the
essence of the conflict.
Baku, Yerevan and Stepanakert are all interested in the question –
whether the new co-chairman’s appointment will hinder the negotiation
process.
Worries on this issue are well-grounded. What is significant is
that Mathew Bryza himself asserts that “regulation of the conflict
is possible during this year”. He also says that currently parties
are negotiating a very encouraging draft of a document.
Braveness of the diplomat’s judgments may look vulgar, since for
the beginning he would need to get deeper in the state of affairs
and analyze the information on what had been happening in the Minsk
group before him.
However, it looks like Bryze was doing that during the past three-four
months. His indirect participation in the negotiation process became
noticeable yet late in winter. His appointment was not unexpected
for Yerevan and Baku since his deep interest in the Karabakh conflict
allowed guessing that he was to become Steven Mann’s successor. Since
the beginning of this year Bryza has twice visited the region and had
meetings with Ilham Aliev and Robert Kocharyan with whom he discussed
Karabakh problem. He also accompanied mediators during their last
visit. Thus, there can be no doubts that Bryza is already enough
prepared and there is no need to expect stoppage in the negotiation
process.
By the way, it is worth mentioning that the diplomatic level of Mathew
Bryza is quite high which testifies to the fact that Washington assigns
importance to the settlement of Karabakh conflict. At the same time,
it is obvious that the State Department valued the professionalism of
Bryza’s predecessor who was appointed to quite a high post. Currently,
Steven Mann is the State Secretary’s assistant for Asian affairs.
Certain political forces in Azerbaijan usually try to make use of
changes in the Minsk group for raising the issue of reviewing the
negotiations’ format and the mediatory mission staff. Azeris have
repeatedly tried to discredit countries which are at the head of the
Minsk group, accusing them of injustice. However, the attempts to
bring the negotiation process out of OSCE into the frames of other
international organizations do not have any prospects. The mediatory
mission’s format was agreed on the 26th of March, 1922 by the decision
of OSCE summit and was indirectly approved by four UN resolutions. The
group which is authorized to deal with Karabakh conflict regulation
was formed by the membership of the following countries: Bulgaria,
Germany, Italy, Russia, USA, Turkey, France, Czechoslovakia and
Sweden. Besides, it was decided to involve elected representatives
from Nagorno Karabakh, as an interested party.
At the beginning the Minsk group was headed by one chairman. It was
headed by a certain diplomat and not a country. The first chairman of
the group was Italian Mario Rafaelly. Later on he was substituted by
Yan Elliason from Sweden. The institute of co-chairmen was formed in
1944. Since then, the group has been headed by states and not certain
persons. Azeris often raise the issue of Russia’s withdrawal from
co-chairmanship, arguing it by Russia’s partnership with Armenia.
However, those attempts are senseless since the OSCE summit has
appointed Russia as a permanent co-chairman of the Minsk group and
Minsk conference. Besides, the second co-chairman state was appointed
by the rotation principle. At first co-presided with Stockholm, then
with Helsinki. Triple co-chairmanship of Russia, USA and France was
approved in December 1996. None of the mentioned three countries
is able to reconsider the format. It is worth mentioning that no
international organization has ever put to doubt the efficiency of
the Minsk group’s efforts. UN, PACE and European parliament have
all approved resolutions where they expressed their full trust and
support to the mediators’ activities. Thus, there are no grounds to
expect changes in the staff of co-chairmen within the coming years.

IF AMERICANS DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN KARS-AKHALKALAK PROJECT, OTHER FOREIGN INVESTORS WILL DO
AZG Armenian Daily
22/06/2006
If the American companies do not finance the construction of
Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi-Baku railway, other foreign countries and
organizations may make investments in the project, including the
European Central Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development, Georgian media quoted, Irakli Chogovadze, Georgian
economic development minister, as saying.
Earlier, daily Azg informed that Committee of Financial Issues at the
US House of Representatives adopted a decision, according to which
it forbids financing the above project from the American sources.
Chogovadze, made his statement after publication of this very decision.
It’s noteworthy that the European structures are also against the
construction of Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi-Baku railway link.