Sh36 million found stashed away in Runda
By TIMES TEAM
Kenya Times, Kenya
June 17 2006
THE deported Armenian duo of Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargasyan
had 500,000 US dollars (approximately Sh36 million) in their Runda
residence, repeated search by detectives revealed.
Unfolding evidence also indicate that the Artur brothers, operating
under Kensington International Company, could have defrauded the
government of Sh116 million in unpaid duty for several containers
packed with electronic goods they had imported through the port
of Mombasa.
Emerging details further indicate that the Armenian brothers were
carrying a paltry 100 US dollars in their pockets at the time of their
deportation though the subsequent search of their residence by police
revealed they had 500,000 US dollars stashed away.
Evidence collected by Police further reveal the involvement of the
Armenian duo in the KTN/ Standard raid, with balacavas, jackets of
the elite Quick Response Team (QRT). A map of the I&M building which
houses the raided media house was also found in their palatial house.
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officers at the port confirmed yesterday
that alleged mercenaries had, by the time of their deportation,
imported more than 28 containers at the port since March this year
and not one container as was previously reported.
Details dug through police investigations further reveal that the
duo were introduced to a senior politician by a Narc activist, and
that they held talks with the politician on four separate occasions.
As state guests, Magaryan and Sargasyan effectively enjoyed round
the clock protection from officers attached to the General Service
Unit and were also hosted in lavish hotels by Cabinet ministers,
senior police officers and senior civil servants.
Documents retrieved by the police during the twin raids of the
Armenian’s Runda home indicate that the Arturs also had correspondence
with another senior government official who had commended their
efforts to invest in Kenya.
At the same time KRA deputy commissioner in charge of the southern
region Ntongaine Alphonce Mronga confirmed that the Armenian brothers
had evaded duty by claiming a tax waiver for the containers which
they claimed were meant for charity.
Addressing the press at the Mombasa port police yard during the
verification of one of the containers, the KRA commissioner also named
the Marketing Bureau Services, under the directorship of James Gitonga,
as the company hired by the Artur’s brothers to clear the cargo.
“This is a punishable offence because we thought the container was
carrying television sets only as indicated by the Import Declaring Form
(IDF). However inside it there is an assortment of goods,” Ntongaine
said as he revealed that the remaining containers within the port’s
precincts will be impounded next week.
The IDF indicated that the 40 feet container was carrying televisions,
but a physical verification by the customs revealed that it contained
an assortment of goods including mobile phones, generators, small
radios and mattresses. Others were portable gasoline generators,
speakers and DVD’s.
During the verification exercise, witnessed by the port’s deputy OCPD
Ayub Gitonga, all goods were emptied from the container before two
sniffer dogs from the anti-narcotics department said to have been
airlifted from Nairobi. The sniffer dogs could not however detect
any narcotics .
And in a fascinating turn of events, the management of a newly
established Casino in Nairobi has denied having any links with the
controversial who were deported a week. The management denied that the
duo were among a group of VIP’s invited during the official opening
of the casino last Friday.
Stanislav Ganchev, a manager at the Casino Technology located at the
Grand Regency hotel yesterday convened a press conference at the
hotel where he denied media reports linking the two brothers with
their business.
Contrary to media reports, Ganchev said the Casino was co-owned by
two Bulgarians whom he named as Shtilian Stoyanov and a Zlatigelev and
flayed reports that a local businessman, who was adversely mentioned
in Goldenberg case, was a major partner in the business.
He said the management had invited 50 guests during the official
opening of the Casino on June 8, and neither the Armenian brothers nor
their accomplices were on the guest list. However, Ganchev failed to
avail the list of the invited guests nor disclose the names of those
who were invited citing customer privacy.
He also said that by the time police officers raided the residence
of the Artur’s in up-market Runda estate and confiscated CCTV
cameras, they had already installed their own first class and modern
surveillance system. This was in response to a question as to whether
the recovered CCTV cameras were meant to be installed in the Casino.
And the Parliamentary committees on Administration of Justice and
Legal Affairs- chaired by Paul Muite- and that of Administration,
National Security and Local Authorities- chaired by Seif Kajembe-
agreed at a joint session held at County Hall yesterday to probe the
controversial brothers saga together contrary to the divisions that
had emerged as to which committee had the legal mandate as per the
standing orders last week.
The committees agreed that the probe, commenced by the Muite team in
March this year following the raid at the Standard/KTN in which the
Artur brothers adversely mentioned, be chaired by the two Chairpersons
as respective vice chairmen Kenneth Marende and Musa Sirma coordinate
the summoning of individuals who have any useful information to assist
in the unraveling of the truth surrounding the Armenian saga.
The meeting agreed on the terms of reference on the investigations
that will begin on Tuesday when immigration minister takes the witness
stand to tell Kenyans how the foreigners came to the country and on
whose invitation. Also to be investigated is the Arturs business and
conduct during their short stay in the country, business associates
and or partners that interacted with them.
The joint parliamentary committees will further grill the security
minister John Michuki, Police Commissioner Hussein Ali and suspended
Criminal Investigations Director Joseph Kamau on the breaches of
security committed by the Armenians and their associates in Kenya.
The circumstances and the manner under which they were hurriedly
deported from the country will also be investigated in addition to
the role various government agencies and other certain individuals
in the saga.
The committee, according to a statement by the joint parliamentary
team will probe into any other issues that may determine to be of
relevance to the investigations in unraveling the mystery surrounding
the aliens alleged to be mercenaries or investors.
The Muite committee has since indicated that it will be summoning
politicians Raila Odinga who blew the whistle on the mercenaries
claims, Kalonzo Musyoka, Security Minister Michuki, Police Commissioner
Hussein Ali, CID director Joseph Kamau, State House Controller Hyslop
Ipu and PS Stanley Murage as well as Narc activist Mary Wambui and
her daughter Winnie Wangui to state what they knew of Margaryan
and Sargasyan.

Turkey and Armenia
The ties that divide
Jun 15th 2006 | KARS
> > From The Economist print edition
Locals dream of reopening the frontier between Turkey and Armenia
NAIF ALIBEYOGLU, mayor of Kars, a town bordering Armenia, has a
dream. He pictures a party of Turkish officials embracing their
Armenian counterparts in the middle of an ancient bridge over the river
that divides their countries. Reduced by war and neglect to a pair of
greyish stone stumps on opposite banks of the river, its condition is
an apt symbol for relations between the two countries. The bridge,
part of the historic site of Ani (see article), would in theory be
easy to reconstruct. Fixing the broader relationship between Turkey
and Armenia promises to be a great deal harder.
Turkey was among the first countries to recognise Armenia when it
emerged from the Soviet Union’s wreckage in 1991. But bitter arguments
over the fate of the Ottoman Armenians-did the mass killings of 1915
constitute genocide?-together with lingering border disputes have
stood in the way of formal ties. The estrangement deepened in 1993
when Turkey sealed its land frontier with Armenia (while still allowing
direct air travel). The Turks acted after Armenian forces had occupied
a chunk of Azerbaijan in a war over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Years of secret talks between Turkish and Armenian diplomats-the
latest of which were held in Vienna in March- have failed to ease
tensions. And this is despite vigorous backing for renewed ties from
both America and the European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join.
Mr Alibeyoglu, who is from Turkey’s ruling AK party, says the
people of Kars are paying the price. With average annual incomes of
only $823, Kars is among the country’s poorest and most neglected
provinces. Yet before the cold war Kars was among the young republic’s
most progressive places. It is vividly evoked in “Snow”, a novel by
Turkey’s most famous writer, Orhan Pamuk. Locals would attend the
theatre and ballet and dine on caviar and champagne. Such tastes were
inherited from former Russian occupiers, whose traces can still be
detected in the grandeur of its Tsarist-era architecture.
Mr Alibeyoglu, whose penchant for wine and naughty sculptures would
have gone unnoticed in those days, now sees a chance to reverse
his city’s decline, but only if Turkey unconditionally reopens its
borders. By doing this, Turkey would regain some moral high ground,
as well as securing access to strategic markets in Central Asia
and beyond. Kars could even become a regional hub in the Caucasus,
especially if a rail link to Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, were
restored. Trade volumes between the two countries, now averaging
a measly $100m a year, almost all of it conducted via Georgia,
should soar.
There is more. As many as 200,000 members of the Armenian diaspora
return to their homeland every year. Many would like to cross
the border into Turkey in order to visit Armenian archaeological
sites. The tourist trade could be worth millions of dollars. “They
would also meet Turks and realise they aren’t quite as evil as they
imagined,” adds Kaan Soyak, co-chairman of the Turkish-Armenian
Business Development Council.
But how to break the diplomatic deadlock? Mr Alibeyoglu’s answer is to
take matters into his own hands. In 2000 he drove to the Armenian town
of Gyumri, where he appeared on television with his fellow mayor and
appealed for peace. This autumn, Mr Alibeyoglu will host a festival
that features, for a second time, performers from Armenia, Georgia
and Azerbaijan. The Armenians will have to make a tortuous journey via
the Turkish cities of Trabzon and Istanbul. But the mayor hopes that,
one day soon, their journey will be much quicker.

Ani, a disputed city
Haunted by history
Jun 15th 2006 | ANI
> > From The Economist print edition
The ruins of a contested capital are still hostage to geopolitics
WHATEVER you think about ghosts, it is hard to speak of this desolate
plateau on Turkey’s eastern edge without using the word “haunted”. A
millennium ago, Ani rivalled Byzantium as one of the great cities
of the Christian world. At its height, the Armenian capital had
over 100,000 inhabitants. Now all that stands is an impressive wall,
and the gaunt but beautiful remains of churches and mosques randomly
scattered across a vast expanse of grassy earth. On a hot day in early
summer, with flowers blooming and birds swooping through the ruins,
the place is utterly empty.
Ani’s location at one of Eurasia’s nodal points, where rival
civilisations either clash or co-operate, has been both a blessing and
a curse. The “silk route” linking Byzantium with China ran through
it. But less than a century after it became the Armenian capital in
961, the city began falling victim to waves of conquerors, including
Seljuk Turks, Georgians and Mongols. In 1319 it was devastated by
an earthquake.
Even as a ruin, Ani has been a disputed city. In 1921 when most
of the site was ceded to Turkey, the Armenians were dismayed. They
have since accused the Turks of neglecting the place in a spirit of
chauvinism. The Turks retort that Ani’s remains have been shaken by
blasts from a quarry on the Armenian side of the border.
Turkey’s authorities insist that they are doing their best to conserve
and develop the site. “By restoring Ani, we’ll make a contribution
to humanity,” says Mehmet Ufuk Erden, the local governor. “We will
start with one church and one mosque, and over time we will include
every single monument.” The culture ministry has listed Ani, with
an Armenian church on an island in Lake Van, among the sites it is
keenest to conserve. For a country that was reluctant, until recently,
to accept the cultural heritage of non-Turks, this is a big change.
But some scholars say more is needed. “Piecemeal restoration is no
substitute for a master plan for Ani as a whole,” argues Stefaan
Poortman of the Global Heritage Fund, a California-based conservation
group that helps to manage endangered historic sites. And making
a master plan for a site straddling two countries is impossible
unless they co-operate. Could it happen? In September, some 14 Black
Sea countries hope to meet in Istanbul to dicuss their cultural
heritage. So Turks and Armenians will get a chance to talk about Ani,
if history’s ghosts can be exorcised

Kenya
Bling-bling boys from abroad
Jun 15th 2006 | NAIROBI
> > From The Economist print edition
An odd saga with Armenians has mocked the government Reuters
I’m only on safari
“THE last six days have been humiliating for this nation,” opined
Kenya’s Standard newspaper this week. “Our sovereignty has been
violated. Our nationhood has been insulted. Our borders have been
encroached by hostile forces.”
Earlier this year two men claiming to be Armenian brothers, confusingly
calling themselves Artur Margariyan and Arthur Sargsian, came to
the nation’s attention. They were alleged, said Kenya’s opposition
politicians at the time, to be mercenaries responsible for organising
raids by police commando units on television and newspaper offices. The
raids were supposedly an attempt to muzzle Kenya’s largely free
press by powerful figures in the embattled government appointed by
President Mwai Kibaki-and specifically to stop investigative reporting
on government corruption.
It was the Armenians’ style that caught the eye. They were not
mercenaries, they insisted, but worthy businessmen involved in
property, diamonds and a night club. Their bling-bling image-dark
glasses, gold chains and wads of cash-delighted Nairobi’s hip-hop crowd
and appalled others, particularly those whom the Armenians came up
against. The brothers’ claims to be relatives of Armenia’s president
sounded shaky. Some even doubted whether they were Armenian at all.
They certainly seemed to have protectors high up in Kenya’s
government. But it was only after the two men allegedly pulled
guns on customs officials at Nairobi’s main airport last week that
the extent of their ties was revealed. The police commissioner,
Hussein Ali, had them deported on June 9th and their Nairobi house
and buildings searched. Inside, according to police reports, were
a Mercedes with government licence plates, AK-47 machine guns with
presidential security unit serial numbers, Ceska automatic pistols,
Kenyan passports bearing the photos of the Armenians but with other
names, a document appointing one of the men a Kenyan police detective,
plus masks and jackets similar to those used in commando raids on
the media outlets. Among other items was a security pass granting
the Armenians access to secure areas of the airport; this, along
with the alleged way the men claimed a piece of luggage at gunpoint,
particularly upset diplomats, some of whom reckon that Nairobi and
its airport remain a target for jihadist terrorist plots.
Distancing himself from the Armenians, Mr Kibaki has suspended several
senior policemen and immigration and airport officials. An inquiry
may reveal who the Armenians really were, what they did and whether
they were in the pay of the government. It is unlikely to improve
the government’s reputation or help the forlorn, indecisive Mr Kibaki.

Central Bank Chief Admits Dollar Shortages In Armenia
By Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenialiberty.org
Friday 16, June 2006
The chairman of the Armenian Central Bank (CBA) acknowledged Friday
that buying U.S. dollars in Armenia is now considerably more difficult
than it was in the past, raising more questions about the official
reason for the dramatic strengthening of the dram.
The Armenian authorities maintain that the national currency has gained
more than 30 percent in value against the dollar since December 2003
because of robust economic growth and increased cash remittances from
Armenians working abroad.
However, the official theory about Armenia being awash with dollars
seems at odds with the fact that many local currency retailers now
routinely refuse to sell dollars to individual buyers, citing a lack
of the U.S. currency in their coffers. The shortages again came to
light with the dram’s renewed surge against the greenback which began
a month ago.
Tigran Sarkisian, the under-fire CBA chief, blamed the bizarre
phenomenon on currency traders. “We are now carrying out inspections
at currency exchange offices and are finding widespread violations,”
he told RFE/RL. “The problem raised by you does exist, and that problem
is created by currency exchange offices. We will try to sort it out
in the course of this year.”
“They are catering for the shadow economy, which is illegal,” Sarkisian
said without elaborating.
The CBA has already controversially shut down many exchange offices
in Yerevan in the last two years. Sarkisian would not say why buying
dollars was not a problem even before the stabilization of the
macroeconomic situation in Armenia in the mid-1990s.
Opposition politicians and other government critics, who dismiss
the official theory, claim that the Armenian authorities themselves
buy “cheap” dollars and thereby siphon off a considerable part of
hundreds of millions of dollars in cash sent home by migrant workers
each year. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians rely on those transfers
to make a living.
Large-scale importers of fuel, wheat and other key commodities, all
of them closely connected with the government, are seen as the prime
beneficiaries of the stronger dram. Conversely, many Armenian exporters
have been hit hard by the increased cost of their products. Some of
them, including Armenia’s main tobacco manufacturer, have threatened
to move their production operations abroad if the dram appreciation
continues.
Sarkisian made it clear that he is untroubled by possible job
losses. “Those enterprises that are not competitive must either close
or file for bankruptcy or move to territories where they can operate,”
he said. “We are creating an environment for competitive businesses.”
“We always tell our entrepreneurs that in the conditions of economic
growth, exchange rates inevitably change and their salvation lies in
a growth in productivity,” he added.
Official statistics show the volume of Armenian exports falling by
nearly 8 percent to $253.7 million in the first four months of this
year. Net imports, by contrast, rose by 13 percent to $584 million
during the same period.

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER DID NOT DEPRIVE TURKISH DIPLOMAT OF CAR
AND BODYGUARDS
Yerevan, June 17. ArmInfo. Armenian Parliament Speaker Tigran Torossyan
refutes pointblank the reports by Azeri and Turkish media that during
a visit to Yerevan Turkish diplomat, NATO official Vahid Erdem “was
deprived of car and bodyguards.”
“This is one more absurd misinformation. They present everything the
way they would like it to be,” Armenian Parliament Speaker Tigran
Torossyan says to ArmInfo.
To remind, referring to Turkish media Trend news agency (Baku) reports
Torossyan to allegedly demand that Erdem recognize the Armenian
Genocide and to deprive him of car and bodyguards when he said that
there was no Armenian Genocide and that it is just an ideological
tale. As a result, Erdem was allegedly forced to go to the airport
by taxi and to check-in with other passengers.
Torossyan refutes this and says that in Yerevan Erdem was treated
the same way as all the other delegates.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER FOR EASY PROVISION OF DUAL CITIZENSHIP TO
ARMENIANS WORLD WIDE
Yerevan, June 17. ArmInfo. Dual citizenship one of the most important
tasks of both Armenia and Armenians, Vardan Oskanyan, Foreign Minister
of Armenia, said at a forum “Dual citizenship: alternative decisions,
economic and social consequences” opening in Yerevan, Saturday.
I am extremely liberal in this issue as I think we must provide dual
citizenship in the easiest way to all Armenians who would like to get
naturalized in Armenia. I understand all the nuances and difficulties
of the issue which we must give answers to, but the starting point for
making a final decision on the issue must be a board vision of the
issue,” the minister said. He said his position is not conditioned
by the fact that he had to refuse from the citizenship of a foreign
country to get naturalized in Armenia. He said he believes in the
potential of the Armenian people, in the future of Armenia, and he
is well aware of the situation and of mutual expectations of the
Armenian people inside and outside the country.
The minister believes that when considering the issue, several
circumstances must be taken into account: the “forced” separation
of the Armenian people (Armenia and Diaspora), the idea of newly
formed state-nation, the fact that Armenia has passed a great way as
regards the provision of rights to Diaspora. Vardan Oskanyan said
the status of a ten-year-long residence is equal to the status of
citizenship, with the exception of army service and the right of
vote and election. “That is why, I am surprised at such questions
as what will be the impact of dual citizenship on economy, on the
property prices in the country. We have already given this right to
our compatriots and that was right. We can see its positive results
already now. So, the greatest part of the way has been passed, we just
need to settle the army problem and the right of vote and election
in accordance with the law,” Vardan Oskanyan said. And the last issue
is regulated by the Constitution, the minister added. Mentioning the
small number of Armenians and the current challenges in the region,
the minister stressed the necessity of using the chance to increase the
number of Armenian people. Getting naturalized in Armenia, a person
will not need to return to Armenia. “I think our solidarity with
the Diaspora is our power.” The minister shared his concern over the
fact that removing the ban on dual citizenship from the Constitution,
but adopting a law hampering provision of dual citizenship, Armenia
will disappoint the Diaspora. “If the whole our people resolved to
change the Constitution, we ought to make the process of getting dual
citizenship maximum easy,” Vardan Oskanyan said.

THEY IN AZERBAIJAN CONTINUE PROSECUTING SOLDIERS FOR ESPIONAGE
FOR ARMENIA
Yerevan, June 17. ArmInfo. They in Azerbaijan continue prosecuting
soldiers for cooperation with Armenian special services.
Azeri media reports that Friday the Military Board of the Grave
Crime Court sentenced Binali Mamedaliyev to 12 and Shahriyar Islamov,
Shamhal Agajamalov and Parviz Gabibov to 11 years in jail for high
treason. The soldiers were charged with spying for Armenia.

BTC IS GUARANTEE OF PEACE BUT NOT OBLIGATION ON AZERBAIJAN TO RESOLVE
KARABAKH CONFLICT BY PEACE
Yerevan, June 17. ArmInfo. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline is
a guarantee of peace but it is not an obligation on Azerbaijan to
resolve the Karabakh conflict only by peace, Azeri Ambassador to
Turkey Zahir Hashimov says in a interview to Trend.
On the contrary, it obliges and forces Armenia to resolve the
Karabakh conflict by peace. BTC is a lever of economic pressure on
Armenia. “Now the Armenians who do not want peace and welfare in the
region and refuse to give back occupied territories will realize what
mistake they have made when they see the profits we will get from
this project. They will understand that by refusing to take part in
such projects they only lose,” says Hashimov.
Asked about the prospects of Amenian-Turkish relations, Hashimov says
that he does not think that Turkey will change its position.

ROBERT KOCHARYAN: LAW MACHINERY HAS TO RESPOND TO MURDERS IN RUSSIA
ON NATIONAL BASIS, ACTING RIGIDLY, NEATLY AND CLEARLY
Yerevan, June 16. ArmInfo. President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan
has met with Dmitriy Kozak, the plenipotentiary representative of RF
President in the South Federal District.
As ArmInfo was told in RA President’s press office, having noted the
importance of cooperation development between separate territorial
administrative subjects of two countries, R. Kocharyan said that it
creates a good basis for strengthening of interstate relations. The
parties touched upon the whole complex of Armenian-Russian relations.
Kocharyan emphasized that due to activation of business contacts, the
Russian business takes more place in Armenia’s economy. In the context
of bilateral trade-economic cooperation extension, the significance
of efficient transport communication establishment was noted.
D. Kozak noted that the most numerous Armenian Diaspora lives on the
South of Russia and that its representatives are involved in all the
spheres of the region life in the best way. The meeting participants
condemned the murders, recently committed in Russia on the national
basis and noted that this occasion is not in the interests of Russia
and the Russian people. According to Kocharyan, the Russia’ s law
machinery should respond rigidly to the occasion, acting quickly,
neatly and clearly.
To be noted, D. Kozak had already visited the Russian military base
dislocate in Giumri. He thanked the Armenian authorities for the
favorable service conditions created for Russian military men.