ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES REPORT ON PRIVATIZATION PROCESS IN ARMENIA IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2006
Noyan Tapan
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. At the May 4 sitting, the Armenian
government approved the report on privatization process in the Republic
of Armenia in the first quarter of 2006. NT was informed about it from
the RA Government Information and PR Department. It was noted during
the sitting that in the period under review, 8 objects included in
the 2001-2003 state property privatization program were privatized
(including 3 companies, state property separated from the property
of 2 companies, and 3 incompleted construction objects) against 14
objects privatized in the first quarter of last year. Privatization
agreements were also signed with the purchasers of 5 objects privatized
previously. In the first quarter of 2006, 65 companies were in the
liquidation process, 4 of which were declared bankrupt by court, and
the liquidation process of another 4 companies was completed. According
to the report, the privatization incomes made 90 mln 686.4 thousand
drams and 50 thousand dollars during the indicated period. 18 mln
35.7 thousand drams (about 40 thousand dollars) was transferred to
communities in order prescribed by law.

KARABAKH MINISTER SAYS PEACEKEEPERS’ DEPLOYMENT “HARDLY POSSIBLE” -ARMENIAN PAPER
Aykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
4 May 06
Text of Kristine Khanumyan’s report in Armenian newspaper Aykakan
Zhamanak on 4 May
NKR [Nagornyy Karabakh republic] foreign minister Georgiy Petrosyan’s
first interview with Karabakh’s [opposition] newspaper Demo.
“We are worried that a worsening of Iranian-American relations may
affect the Karabakh conflict, as well as the whole of the South
Caucasus. Any settlement to the Iranian problem that will involve
changing the military balance in the region is a potential danger
to the interests of all the players in the region. For this reason,
we back balanced political decisions through negotiations, decisions
which will not disturb the fragile stability and security in the
region,” Petrosyan said.
Touching on the possible deployment of peacekeepers in the region in
Iran “sauce”, he said that this seemed hardly possible. “I believe
that the military and political balance in the region, which has
been preserved since the signing of a cease-fire agreement by the
three parties to the [Nagornyy Karabakh] conflict, will prevent the
issue of peacekeepers’ deployment from being speeded up artificially,”
the minister said. He added that there were also several complicated
problems connected with the deployment of peacekeepers such as terms,
procedures, mandate, responsibility and others, which should be
resolved within the framework of settlement and agreed with all the
parties to the conflict, especially with the NKR. But the minister
said the deployment of peacekeepers could be unnecessary since there
was the self-regulating factor as the contact line, which had been
emphasized by many international experts.
Touching on the recent hearings in the NKR parliament [on the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict settlement], Petrosyan said that the fact of holding
hearings was positive in itself but one should admit that “it is a
little bit late” to openly discuss painful problems in parliament. “I
am glad that all the political forces of the NKR had the same view in
principle on the Karabakh problem which coincides with the general
foreign policy of our state. Moreover, taking into account the
fact that the Karabakh issue is often discussed by international
organizations, it is time for the NKR parliament to intensify its
efforts taking account of the vital significance of the problem,”
Petrosyan said.

RUSSIA’S PUTIN TELLS PROSECUTORS TO FIND OUT CAUSE OF ARMENIAN AIR CRASH QUICKLY
Centre TV, Moscow
4 May 06
[Presenter] [Russian President] Vladimir Putin has asked the
Prosecutor-General’s Office to do their best to establish the causes
of the crash of a plane of Armenian Airlines over the Black Sea. He
said so today at a meeting with Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov.
Ustinov briefed the president on the progress of the investigation.
All related documents have been withdrawn, the fragments of the plane
and the dead bodies are being examined by experts. Twenty bodies have
been identified and will be sent to Armenia soon. Strong efforts are
made to recover the “black boxes”, which is vital for establishing
the cause of the crash.
[Putin] I hope that despite the difficulties surrounding the retrieval
of information from the black box, which I hope will be found, the
investigation will do its best to clarify the true reason behind the
disaster in a short period of time.

RUSSIA ASKS FOR FOREIGN HELP TO RAISE CRASHED PLANE’S “BLACK BOXES” FROM SEA
Channel One TV, Moscow
4 May 06
[Presenter] Russia will be seeking foreign help to raise the fragments
of the crashed [Armenian] airliner from the sea, said the chairman
of the investigation commission, Russian Transport Minister Igor
Levitin. It has been found out that big fragments of the plane that
may contain the “black boxes” are lying on the seabed at the depth of
680 m. Russia has no equipment capable of working at such depth. Our
correspondent Kirill Polynin joins us live from Sochi.
What’s new Kirill?
[Correspondent] The main news is that the flight recorders, the
so-called “black boxes” have been detected. They are 680 m deep
in the sea at the place of the disaster. This is much deeper than
expected. Experts believed that the “black boxes” were lying at the
depth of no more than 400 m.
A meeting at the operational headquarters ended about an hour ago.
The head of the governmental commission, Russian Transport Minister
Igor Levitin, said that Russia did not possess the necessary equipment
to lift the “black boxes” from the seabed and would have to ask for
international help.
[Levitin] The Ministry for Emergencies is asking the navy for help.
We shall also appeal to other countries which have the experience
of raising objects from this depth. We do not have the necessary
equipment here in the Black Sea.
[Correspondent] Right after the French experts returned from the sea,
it became clear that the recorders’ whereabouts would be established
quite soon. The experts from Airbus, which produced the aircraft that
crashed off the Adler airport [on 3 May], went to sea early in the
morning together with the officers of the Russian Emergencies Ministry
and began to explore the seabed using the equipment they brought with
them from France. They detected the “black boxes” very quickly.
[Passage omitted: 53 dead bodies have been recovered from the sea
and 28 of them have been identified]

KARABAKH OFFICIAL DENIES AZERI REPORT ON POWS
Mediamax news agency
4 May 06
Yerevan, 4 May: The chairman of the state commission for prisoners
of war and missing persons of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic, Viktor
Kocharyan, has flatly denied the report of the Azerbaijani state
commission for prisoners of war, hostages and missing people saying
that “4,600 Azerbaijani citizens are held captive in Armenia”.
Speaking to the Mediamax news agency, Kocharyan said that “such
groundless statements are part of propaganda and policies of the
Azerbaijan authorities aimed at discrediting Armenia and Nagornyy
Karabakh”. He said that there were no prisoners of war or hostages
in Nagornyy Karabakh and that representatives of international
organizations operating in Nagornyy Karabakh could also confirm this.
Kocharyan said that all issues related to prisoners of war in Nagornyy
Karabakh were within the remit of the state commission and ruled out
any chance of POWs being held in military units or private homes. He
said that the republic’s authorities had ensured free access to places
of detention for international organizations to carry out monitoring.
“Nagornyy Karabakh has unilaterally joined the Geneva Conventions,
in accordance with which prisoners of war are immediately handed over
to Azerbaijan with the assistance of the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC),” Kocharyan said. He pointed out that the ICRC
highly rated the openness of the Karabakh commission and effective
cooperation with this international organization.
Kocharyan said with regret that Azerbaijan had refused to cooperate
with Nagornyy Karabakh in the search for missing persons and release
of prisoners of war. He said that unlike Nagornyy Karabakh, the
Azerbaijani authorities did not allow international organizations
to enter places of detention, did not inform them on time about the
existence of prisoners of war from Nagornyy Karabakh, and in violation
of international law, delayed the release of prisoners of war by all
means. Kocharyan said that the released prisoners were handed over
to Armenia but not to Nagornyy Karabakh.
“The lack of contacts between the state commissions of Nagornyy
Karabakh and Azerbaijan, as well as the lack of constructive approach
on the part of Azerbaijan, make the resolution of such an important
humanitarian problem extremely difficult,” Kocharyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIAN PRESIDENT SAYS MOSCOW THREATENS NEW DEMOCRACIES IN EASTERN EUROPE
Karl Ritter
AP Worldstream
May 04, 2006
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili on Thursday accused Russia of
trying to undermine national sovereignty and economic growth in the
fledgling democracies emerging from the former Soviet empire.
Saakashvili warned that democratic advances in Georgia, Ukraine and
the Baltic countries since the collapse of communism were under threat
from Moscow, which he said suffered from “imperial nostalgia.”
“Freedom is under threat,” Saakashvili told a forum of Baltic and
Black Sea leaders in the Lithuanian capital. “Political forces in
Moscow actively work to undermine our economies, our sovereignty,
and even our system of governance.”
Georgia, is heavily reliant on imports of cheap Russian natural gas,
and Saakashivili accused Russia of using “new tools such as energy
dependence, state censorship and the power of national monopolies”
to bully its neighbors.
“We still have imperial nostalgia around us,” Saakashivili said,
also noting a recent Russian ban on imports of Georgian wine.
Ties between Moscow and Tbilisi have cooled markedly since
Saakashvili swept to power more than two years ago during Georgia’s
Rose Revolution.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accused Russia
of restricting the rights of its citizens, and said “no legitimate
interest is served” by turning energy resources into implements
of blackmail.
The presidents of Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland and Moldova also attended the summit, sharing their
experiences in democracy-building after the Soviet collapse.
The countries are in different stages of integration with the West
through membership in NATO and the European Union. The Baltic countries
and Poland are both NATO and EU members, while Ukraine and Georgia
are still looking for membership in both.
Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga said NATO hopefuls should
not expect “any concrete invitations for accession” when her country
hosts an alliance summit in November.
Ministers from Azerbaijan and Armenia also attended the summit, and
used the occasion to accuse each other of aggression in the disputed
enclave of Nagorno-Karabach.
Nevertheless, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana proclaimed:
“Here we can see the elements of a possible breakthrough.”
The countries accuse each other of frequently violating the shaky
1994 cease-fire that ended fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian
forces over the enclave.
Solana said the EU was committed to “underpin an agreement” in
Nagorno-Karabach and other so-called “frozen conflicts” in the Black
Sea region, including Trans-Dniester, which broke away from Moldova
in 1992.
Delegates also expressed hope that the spread of freedom in the region
would reach Belarus, which Cheney called “Europe’s last dictatorship,”
and condemned the arrest of Bealrusian opposition leader Alexander
Milinkevich.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CIS SECURITY BODY CHIEF SAYS NATO FAILING TO COOPERATE
Interfax-AVN military news agency website, Moscow
4 May 06
Minsk, 4 May: The secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization [CSTO], Nikolay Bordyuzha, says that cooperation between
NATO and the CSTO is failing to take shape as the alliance does not
realize its full importance.
“That is their problem. They fail to understand the situation on a
global scale regarding security and the modern-day threats that hang
over mankind. If anyone says they do not see the point of cooperation,
there must be political reasons at play,” Bordyuzha told Interfax in
Minsk on Thursday [4 May] before the start of the first Belarusian
information forum, “Media against the challenges and threats of the
21st century”.
In his view, “it is only joint efforts that can solve problems to do
with terrorism and extremism and the illegal drugs trade”.
Bordyuzha said: “We are willing to cooperate with any organization
that stands up for security.”
The CSTO comprises Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan.

GERMAN PRESIDENT AND CHANCELLOR SEND TELEGRAMS OF CONDOLENCE TO RA PRESIDENT
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On May 3, German
President Ho rst Kohler and German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent
telegrams of condolence to RA President Robert Kocharian in connection
with the accident of Armavia airline’s Yerevan-Sochi A-320 plane. “We
ask to present our condolences to the relatives of the victims and
to the mourning people, we are with them mentally on these days” the
German President’s telegram provided to Noyan Tapan from the Embassy
of Germany in Armenia read. The telegram of the German Chancellor,
in particular, read: “I would like to extend my deep condolences to
you on behalf of the Federal government. Please, convey our sincere
condolences to the families and relatives of the victims”. German
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also sent a telegram of
condolence to RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian.

US ADMINISTRATION OFFERS CONDOLENCES TO RELATIVES OF A-320 PLANE CRASH VICTIMS
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The US President Bush
Administration offered condolences to the family members of the victims
of the Armavia crash in the Black Sea near Sochi. According to the
Regnum news agency, the statement issued in Washingtom in particular
reads: “We offer our sincere condolences to the peoples of Armenia
and Russia, and to the families of those who died in the plane crash.”

VICTOR YUSHCHENKO OFFERS CONDOLENCE ON TRAGEDY OF ARMENIAN PLANE CRASH
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006
KIEV, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Ukrainian President
Victor Yushchenko sent letters of condolence to the Armenian President
Robert Kocharian and the Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the
letters he offered condolence to the family members and friends of
the victims, to the Armenian and Russian peoples on the tragedy of
the Armavia crash near the Russian city of Sochi. According to the
press service of the Ukrainian president, the tragic news caused a
feeling of deep grief in Ukraine. Victor Yushchenko’s message to the
Armenian President Robert Kocharian in particular reads: “We share
your deep pain from the irreplacable loss that the friendly people of
Armenia has suffered. On behalf of the Ukrainian people and myself,
I offer sincere condolences to the families of the victims and the
Armenian people.”
From: Baghdasarian