FUTURE OF SOUTH CAUCASUS – SETTLEMENT OF ALL CONFLICTS
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.03.2006 20:29 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During the visit to the countries of the South
Caucasus three basic topics were discussed: prospects of the Karabakh
peace process, energy security and the future of the region, US
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
Daniel Fried stated during a news conference at the US Embassy in
Yerevan. “Speaking of the future of the South Caucasus, I mean the
time, when all conflicts – Nagorno Karabakh, Abkhazian and South
Ossetian are settled, the countries live in peace and choose their
place in this world without any external pressure,” Fried remarked. In
his words, the dialogue with Armenian FM V. Oskanian will continue
in Washington – during the ceremony of signing an agreement between
Armenian Government and the Millennium Challenge Corporation March
27, 2006.

AZERBAIJAN TO REVIEW POLICY SHOULD ARMENIA DISRUPT PEACE PROCESS, PRESIDENT SAYS
AzTV Baku
16 Mar 06
President Ilham Aliyev has said that Azerbaijan wants to resolve
peacefully the conflict over the disputed region of Nagornyy Karabakh
but it may rethink its policy if Armenia disrupts the peace talks,
the state-run AzTV reported on 16 March.
In a live address to the Baku-hosted second congress of Azeris of
the world, the president said: “If we see that the peace process is
being undermined by Armenia…, then of course, Azerbaijan will have
to reconsider its participation in the peace process.”
“Over the past 12 years we have shown loyalty to the peace talks
despite the failed attempts to resolve the conflict. There has been
a cease-fire regime between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the past 12
years. We are taking part in the talks because we are still hoping
to achieve certain results. But how long will this continue? This
process cannot go on forever. The patience of the Azerbaijani people
and authorities is being tested… Our participation in the peace
talks once again confirmed our resolve to settle the problem not
militarily, but peacefully. We have channelled all our efforts into
this. If we see that Armenia’s position at the talks is insincere and
not constructive, if we see the international community being deceived
and misinformed by Armenia – we will have no choice…. Azerbaijan
will not participate in the talks for the sake of talks,” Aliyev said.
The president called for the Armenian withdrawal from the occupied
territories and the return of Azerbaijanis to their homeland, including
to Nagornyy Karabakh.
“Normal relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan can be restored only
after this. Only then will the peace process be possible. We will not
allow Nagornyy Karabakh to part with Azerbaijan today, tomorrow, in a
decade or in a century. We are the victims of the conflict. Armenia
had carried out an ethnic cleansing policy against us for which it
should answer before the international community,” the president said.

NO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS, US STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL SURE
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.03.2006 20:37 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The talks over the process of the Nagorno Karabakh
settlement stagnate, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and
Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried stated at a press briefing in Yerevan. In
his words, based on the meetings between Armenian and Azeri Presidents,
one can say with confidence that the talks will continue. “Presidents
of both parties resolutely insist on their national interests,” he
remarked. Daniel Fried also said that before the visit to the region
the OSCE MG American Co-Chair Steven Mann and he met with Russian
and French mediators and got their full support. At the same time
US Assistant State Secretary rejected the supposal that there are
differences between the mediators.
In his turn, Steven Mann present at the briefing said that Armenian
and Azeri presidents show interest towards progress. “The US is ready
to support them by all possible means,” he said.

NIGEL SHORT: ABCDEFGH: THE KING AND I: 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The Guardian – United Kingdom
Mar 16, 2006
Kok’s support is visibly swelling (see rightmove06.org). In Europe,
where the majority of important tournaments are still held, it has
already become obvious that the Dutchman will rout Ilyumzhinov. Were
the aloof Kalmyk’s woes confined to that continent, he could hold
out hopes of garnering enough votes from the other two-thirds of the
electorate. This looks increasingly implausible. Neglect is palpable;
dissatisfaction global. While some delegates may be won over by
hopes of preferment, few will be induced to support the incumbent on
principle. Here is a president so disdainful of his constituents as
not to show up for the 2004 AGM in Calvia. The Kirsan campaign is as
shambolic as his governance: his team does not even have a website. In
the absence of anything resembling strategy and, for the first time,
with his back firmly to the wall, the Caucasian demagogue will have
to come up with other goodies to sway fickle affections. More of
the Kirsan T-shirts, watches or vodka that many received at the last
Olympiad, perhaps? Venal and gullible as Homo ludens undoubtedly is,
for once Ilyumzhinov’s hopes may be dashed.
The Morelia/Linares tournament was won by Levon Aronian. While all eyes
were on the resurgent world champion, Veselin Topalov, the Armenian
immaculately timed his acceleration for the last round against the
faltering Peter Leko.
Leko, P (2740) – Aronian, L (2752) Morelia/Linares (14), 11/03/2006
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 GBP6 4.BGBP4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5
7.Bb3 0-0 (Intending the Marshall attack, 8.c3 d5!?) 8.GBP4 b4
(Loosening the queenside but retaining the c8 bishop on the best
diagonal.) 9.d3 d6 10.GBP5 Be6 11.Nbd2 Qc8 12.Nc4 (An odd-looking
move. In a similar position in 1993 Kasparov played the more logical
Bc4 against me, not fearing Bxc4 as dxc4 will exert an unpleasant
clamp.) Rb8 13.Bg5 Kh8! (A cunning manoeuvre, preparing an attack
down the f-file.) 14.h3?! (Contrary to the Steinitzian principle
of not moving pawns unnecessarily in front of the king.) Ng8! 15.c3
bxc3 16.bxc3 f5 17.BGBP4 fxe4 18.Bxc6 exf3 19.Bxe7 Nxe7 20.Bxf3 Ng6
(The exchanging sequence has left Black in command. Were the White
pawn still on h2, the defence g3 could be contemplated. As it is,
it would simply drop a pawn.) 21.Bg4?! Nf4 22.RGBP2 Qb7! (The mate
threat compels a retreat.) 23.Bf3 Qb3 (After this White’s position
collapses.) 24.Rc2 DIAGRAM Nxd3! 25.Qxd3 Qxc4 26.Qxc4 Bxc4 27.Bc6
Rb3 28.g3 g5 29.Re3 RGBP3 (A second pawn is added to the captured
booty.) 30.Be4 RxGBP5 31.g4 (Perhaps hoping to generate counterplay
by h4 followed by swinging the rook to the h-file. However this plan
is nipped in the bud.) Bd5! 32.f3 Bxe4 33.fxe4 RGBP1+ 34.Kg2 Rff1
(One pawn often suffices for victory, but here Black has twice
the cushion and an initiative as well.) 35.Ree2 Rg1+ 36.Kh2 Rh1+
37.Kg3 Rag1+ 38.Rg2 Re1 39.Rgf2 Re3+ 40.Kg2 Rexh3 Three pawns is too
much. White resigns. There are few indeed who can defeat a player of
Leko’s calibre, in a key game, with such apparent ease.

NO POLITICAL IMPLICATION IN OSCE MG MEETING IN ISTANBUL
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.03.2006 20:43 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There is nothing special about the next meeting
of co-chairs of the OSCE MG for settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict being held in Istanbul, OSCE MG US Ambassador Steven
Mann told journalists in Yerevan. In his words, “there is no
political implication in it.” “It is just suitable to everyone,” he
remarked. Steven Mann does not think the talks in Rambouillet were a
step backwards. “Currently we continue consultations and still hope
to have some results. The talks continue and it is the most important
thing,” he emphasized. To remind, the next meeting of the OSCE MG
will be held in Istanbul March 20.

GEORGIA: ETHNIC ARMENIAN MP, NGO CONCERNED ABOUT TENSION IN SOUTHERN PROVINCE
Imedi TV, Tbilisi
15 Mar 06
Hamlet Movsesyan, an ethnic Armenian member of the Georgian parliament,
has expressed concern about recent tension in ethnic Armenian populated
areas of the Samtskhe-Javakheti province in southern Georgia. He said
that local people were worried about ethnic Armenian officials who do
not speak Georgian being replaced by ethnic Georgians. The head of the
Multiethnic Georgia non-governmental organization, Arnold Stepanyan,
also an ethnic Armenian, has said that the teaching of Georgian has not
been mandatory in ethnic Armenian areas for the past 15 years and it
is “unreasonable” to require local people to speak the language. The
following is the text of a report by Georgian Imedi TV on 15 March:
[Presenter] Complaints by MPs in Armenia and ethnic Armenian MPs in
the Georgian parliament are starting to resemble each other. Some
want political autonomy while others want cultural autonomy for
Samtskhe-Javakheti.
What did the MP for Akhalkalaki [town in Samtskhe-Javakheti, scene
of recent protests and riots] want to say to the president, why do
Armenians not speak Georgian, and is the national minority being
discriminated against because of that?
[Uncaptioned ethnic Armenian protester in Akhalkalaki, in Russian]
This happened before. You probably know that this already happened
in 1991. Do they want a repetition of that? We can do that, no problem.
[Correspondent] In 1991 [as heard] separatist statements were first
made in public in Tskhinvali and Sukhumi. The conflicts in South
Ossetia and Abkhazia have still not been resolved. The Javakhk
organization does not rule out the possibility of history repeating
itself in Samtskhe-Javakheti.
Noyan Tapan news agency reported a statement by someone called
Madoyan [Razdan Madoyan, member of the Javakhk council]. There
are two ways events could develop: this could either become another
Nagornyy-Karabakh or another Naxcivan, Madoyan says. Javakhk believes
that, if necessary, Armenia should send troops to Javakheti.
[Beso Jugheli, Georgian MP addressing parliament speaker Nino
Burjanadze] Kalbatono [polite way of addressing a woman] Nino, have
you spoken to Akhalkalaki constituency MP Hamlet Movsesyan? Hamlet
Movsesyan is asking for a meeting with the president.
[Correspondent] What did Hamlet Movsesyan want to say to the
president? The Akhalkalaki MP feels that many problems have
accumulated, the most important of which is that knowledge of the
Georgian language is a requirement for appointment to official
posts. The Akhalkalaki MP himself does not speak Georgian.
Another thing that concerns people there is the appointment of
Georgians in the region who do not speak Armenian. The local Armenians
are angry not so much at not being able to communicate with them as
the restriction of their rights.
[Hamlet Movsesyan, in Russian] The local people still do not speak the
state language, unfortunately. For that to happen needs time. Local
people are, of course, worried about Armenians being dismissed and
replaced with Georgians.
[Correspondent] Today Armenian MP Albert Bazeyan told journalists in
Yerevan that Javakheti should have cultural autonomy.
Van Baiburt, [an ethnic Armenian] member of the Georgian parliamentary
majority, says that Bazeyan’s call for cultural autonomy is a
mistake. He believes that Armenians in Georgia have had an unwritten
cultural autonomy in Georgia for a long time.
He has already apologized on behalf of Armenians for the riots
in Javakheti [on 11 March]. He does not like the analogy between
Nagornyy-Karabakh and Javakheti.
[Baiburt] Comparisons between Javakheti and Nagornyy-Karabakh are
completely without foundation. It is such a crude, crazy thing to
say. These are not so much anti-Georgian statements as they are
anti-Armenian and against Armenia.
[Correspondent] The situation in Javakheti reminds the head of
Multiethnic Georgia [NGO] of the American film Home Alone. That is how,
in his opinion, Samtskhe-Javakheti was abandoned 15 years ago.
[Arnold Stepanyan, captioned as head of Multiethnic Georgia] Fifteen
years ago we forgot about one of our regions at home. Now we have
suddenly realized that this child is there. We have forgotten,
however, that this child has grown since then. Samtskhe-Javakheti
has effectively been developing in autonomous mode.
What did we expect when we were sacking judges in Samtskhe-Javakheti,
what did we expect when we were sacking customs officials?
[Correspondent] The main problem appears to be that they do not speak
Georgian. The head of the NGO believes that it is unreasonable and
illogical now to require the knowledge of something that has not been
mandatory in education over the past 15 years.
Movsesyan, Baiburt and Stepanyan today agree that it is not so
much separatism as social problems that are behind the conflict
in Javakheti.

CONFUSION AS POLICE CONFRONT ARMENIAN
The Nation (Kenya)
Mar 15, 2006
One of the Armenian brothers at the centre of claims and counter
claims by the Government and Orange politicians yesterday refused
to allow police into his rented home and rebuffed their attempts to
persuade him to record a statement.
Mr Artur Margaryan told the squad of eight police officers who went
to his home in Runda, an upmarket Nairobi estate, that they should
either arrest him or produce a search warrant before he could cooperate
with them.
The police, headed by Runda police station boss Jeremiah Langat,
left the house after receiving a telephone call from a senior officer
ordering them to return to their base.
The eight had gone to House 977 on Glory Road, off Runda Grove, as
an advance team to provide security for detectives investigating the
activities of Mr Margaryan and his brother, Mr Artur Sargsyan.
Mr Margaryan was to have been interviewed by Nairobi deputy
provincial CID chief Isaiah Osugo, who was appointed last week by
police commissioner Mohamed Hussein Ali to investigate claims by
Lang’ata MP Raila Odinga that the brothers were mercenaries.
Mr Osugo did not go to the house after his advance team was denied
entry.
However, Mr Margaryan later emerged from the compound and chatted with
journalists as Mr Langat, his deputy and three armed police officers
in uniform returned to the house. When Mr Margaryan saw the officers,
he cut short his impromptu Press conference and called someone on
the mobile phone who rushed to open the compound gate.
During his brief talk to the journalists outside his gate, Mr Margaryan
confirmed the police had gone to his house in the morning and that
he would neither leave nor allow the police into the house unless
they had either an arrest warrant for him or a search warrant.
Mr Margaryan repeated his claims that he had in the past met Mr
Odinga. He said it was between December 13 and 15, last year in Dubai,
when he allegedly gave him the equivalent of Sh100,000 in UAE currency
(dirham), to spend as he wished.
He said his brother would be returning to Kenya next week.
He went on: “I will go to court as well as demand protection from
the Government because it was my right to ask for protection.”
Mr Margaryan acknowledged that his company Brotherlink International
Ltd had entered into a contract in January this year to rent the
house. His company was involved in various businesses including car
imports, electronics and real estate.
He further denied having ever visited State House or having met any
senior police officers.
Meanwhile, State House last night warned Mr Odinga against dragging
the presidency into the mercenary claims.
It said in a statement that allegations that the two men alleged
to be mercenaries had visited State House on two occasions in the
recent past were part of a “propaganda war” by Mr Odinga and other
politicians in the ODM .
Asked who allowed him and his brother to hold a Press conference at the
VIP lounge at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Mr Margaryan
claimed it was the journalists themselves who had diverted them to
the lounge as they were walking to the first class lounge.
But when journalists, some of whom were at the Press conference
protested they did not have such powers, he contradicted himself,
saying it was his lawyers Mr Antony Macharia and Mr Fred Ngatia who
had arranged the Press conference.
Mr Macharia, who had arrived earlier, declined to comment. He
also refused to say where or when a Press conference promised by
Mr Margaryan would take place saying he could do that only after
receiving instructions from him.
Asked to explain why his brother’s particulars were missing from the
passenger manifest on the flight he claimed he had taken from Dubai to
Kenya, he said all passengers from Arab countries used their mothers’
names and not their own or their fathers’.
He promised to avail the manifest during the forthcoming Press
conference.
After his brief chat with the journalists, Mr Margaryan returned to
his compound and later drove off in a dark blue Subaru whose number
plates were hidden behind strips of cardboard. He was accompanied by
a woman who on Monday he claimed was his bodyguard.
Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media. (allafrica.com)

POLITICAL GROUP URGES ARMENIA TO ACT AMID TENSION IN SOUTHERN GEORGIA
Noyan Tapan news agency
14 Mar 06
Yerevan, 14 March: The Javakhk council [political group demanding
autonomy for ethnic Armenians in the southern Georgian region of
Javakheti, referred to by the group as Javakhk], which comprises
15 public organizations, has appealed to the Armenian government
to pay proper attention to the problems of Armenians in Javakhk and
recognize the political component of this problem. This was set out
in a statement issued by the council on 14 March.
“Encouraged by the total indifference of the authorities of
the Republic of Armenia, Georgian circles have become even more
unrestrained,” the authors of the statement say. Recent anti-Armenian
steps in Georgia have included the dismissal of judges of Armenian
origin on the pretext of them having no knowledge of the Georgian
language, the opening of an eparchy of the Georgian church on the
territory of Armenia [as received] and the killing of an Armenian
youth in Tsalka.
“Without ruling out the possibility of a third party, including
Azerbaijan and Turkey, having been involved in provoking and
instigating these Anti-Armenian steps, the Javakhk council considers
the authorities of Georgia and the Georgian Orthodox Church to be
the main culprits. A share of the responsibility is borne by the
authorities of the Republic of Armenia, who have done nothing to help
resolve the problem of Javakhk,” the statement says.
“The core of the Javakhk problem is political. As long as Javakhk’s
political status is not clarified and Javakhk does not have guarantees
that Armenians will not be victimized, these issues will be impossible
to resolve,” council representative Razdan Madoyan said.
According to him, an overwhelming majority of Armenians in Armenia
are concerned about the problem of Javakhk because they understand
that it cannot be viewed in isolation. “On the one hand, it is the
question of Hay Dat [Armenian cause] and, on the other, it is the
question of Armenia’s physical survival because Javakhk is currently
the only possible link to Europe. We understand that if Armenians
leave the area, they will be replaced by Turks, which means that
Armenia will be complete blockaded,” he said.
Madoyan sees two possible scenarios: this will develop into either
another Naxcivan or another Karabakh. In his words, if Armenia wants
to continue its existence in the region as an independent state,
it should manage to preserve everything Armenian that remains there.
According to council representatives, Armenia should, if necessary,
send troops into Javakhk. Asked if Armenia was capable of fighting on
two fronts, council representative Gagik Ginosyan replied that this
would be a fourth front for Georgia. He said that one should not be
afraid of war if there was a threat of the motherland and national
dignity being lost and that Javakhk’s case was about the physical
survival of the republic of Armenia.

Armenia: Opposition leaders sought Sh3b loan
Standard, Kenya
March 14 2006
Below is the written statement read by Artur Sargsyan.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My name is Artur Sargsyan. I have just arrived from Dubai. I was last
in Kenya on 25th February, 2006.
During the last few days I have been greatly troubled by reports
emanating from your local press to the effect that I am a mercenary
and that I was part of the gang that raided the Standard Group. These
accusations are entirely false hence the decision to come to Kenya
today.
The truth of the matter is as follows: My brother, Artur Margaryan
and I have vast business ventures in Dubai where we ordinarily
reside. We also have various investments in several other countries.
Late last year we came to Kenya to seek business investment in the
Hotel Industry and general trade. Upon arrival, we were introduced to
local politicians including Hon Raila Odinga and Hon Kalonzo Musyoka.
A request was made to us to finance an anticipated vote of No
Confidence against the President. The sum, which was requested, was
Sh3 billion. We declined to finance the exercise as we do not engage
in local politics in all the countries where we have investments.
I must nevertheless state that Hon Raila Odinga also requested a loan
of $1.5 million, which I advanced to him on the basis that he will
repay the debt by mid January, 2006. He has not repaid the debt to
date.
My uncle is the President of the Republic of Armenia and I am a
Presidential Candidate. I am appalled by the baseless accusations in
your Press.
Your political leaders should not be peddlers of falsehood and the
Press should not merely publish sensational but senseless stories
which can damage the reputation of persons whose only interest in
your country is to invest in legitimate trade. I have come to your
county today to clear my name and to demand my money that Hon Raila
Odinga owes me. I will also have an opportunity to discuss this
matter with my lawyers.
Signed by: Artur Sargsyan
JKIA, Nairobi
13th March, 2006′

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laurel Lambert, KCET
(323) 953-5246
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tomikka Anderson
Publicity Associate
KCET
323-953-5308 phone
323-953-5678 fax
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KCET TO PREMIERE ‘LE GENOCIDE ARMENIEN’ (‘THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE’) AT
9 PM ON MONDAY, APRIL 17 – ‘MY SON SHALL BE ARMENIAN’ TO AIR MONDAY,
APRIL 24 AT 9 PM
KCET has scheduled its premiere of “Le Genocide Armenien” (“The
Armenian Genocide”) the 2005 documentary by French filmmaker Laurence
Jourdan, for 9 pm on Monday, April 17. (The film had originally
been slated to air at 10 pm). The English-narrated documentary will
be premiering for the first time on American television. Also in
April, KCET has scheduled an encore of “My Son Shall Be Armenian” by
Armenian-Canadian filmmaker Hagop Goudsouzian to air Monday, April 24
(9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.)
“We have received very positive feedback regarding our airing of
‘Le Genocide Armenien’ and we are choosing to air it earlier in the
evening to create the opportunity for a larger audience to view this
important production,” said Mary Mazur, KCET executive vice president
or programming and production. “We feel the comprehensive storytelling
of the documentary and its educational content will be appreciated
by a broad range of KCET viewers.”
“My Son Shall Be Armenian” follows the journey of filmmaker Hagop
Goudsouzian, who, accompanied by five Montreal men and women of
Armenian origin, returned to the land of his ancestors in search
of survivors of the genocide of 1915. Through the moving testimony
of those centenarians and the funny and touching accounts of his
fellow travelers from the New World, Hagop Goudsouzian has crafted a
dignified and poignant film on the need to make peace with the past
in order to turn toward the future.
Additional information about the films and filmmakers is available
on KCET.org.
# # #
From: Baghdasarian