Armenian officer wounded in ceasefire violation
Arminfo
28 Apr 06
Yerevan, 28 April: An officer of the Armenian armed forces has been
wounded in a ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side.
The Armenian Defence Ministry press service has reported that at about
1530 yesterday [1030 gmt 27 April], the Azerbaijani side fired on a
section of Idzhevan-Noyemberyan road. As a result, Sr Sgt Gegam
Mikhayelyan, who was travelling in a Kamaz lorry, was wounded. The
officer was admitted to Noyemberyan city hospital at about 1600 [1100
gmt]. Doctors describe his condition as satisfactory.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian foreign minister holds consultations in Karabakh
Regnum, Moscow
28 Apr 06
27 April: Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan is paying a
two-day visit to Nagornyy Karabakh. The visit is aimed at holding
consultations.
Oskanyan has already met Nagornyy Karabakh foreign minister Georgiy
Petrosyan and the ministry staff, a Regnum correspondent has reported
from Stepanakert.
It is also planned that Oskanyan will have meetings with Nagornyy
Karabakh president Arkadiy Gukasyan, prime minister Anushavan
Daniyelyan, parliament speaker Ashot Gulyan. Oskanyan will also make a
speech at Artsakh state university.

Iran expected to top agenda in Washington talks between Azerbaijani
president, Bush
AP Worldstream; Apr 28, 2006
AIDA SULTANOVA

Iran is expected to figure prominently in Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliev’s White House meeting with President George W. Bush on Friday.
Aliev, however, has made it clear from the start of his Washington
visit that he would not allow his Caspian Sea country to be used for
any operations against its neighbor.
“We think that diplomatic efforts should be stepped up for settling
all questions that arise between the United States and Iran,”
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told reporters in
Washington on Thursday.
Calling Iran “our big neighbor,” Mammadyarov emphasized that the two
countries “share history, culture and religion,” and that Iran
guarantees Azerbaijan transit rights for land shipments and provides
gas supplies to its Nakhichevan enclave, cut off by Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh.
“All this plays a great role when we speak about the situation around
Iran.”
Separately, a report being released Friday by the chief of the
U.N. nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, on Iran’s nuclear program is
expected to conclude that Tehran has failed to meet a deadline for
complying with U.N. Security Council requests to suspend uranium
enrichment.
Senior U.S. administration officials said Thursday that the White
House discussion with Aliev would address the growing number of
countries united in their concern about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. They
stressed that Aliev has what one called “a close perspective on Iran”
and that he would be able to share his views with Bush.
As for the U.S. side, its interest is in ensuring Azerbaijan and the
United States have a shared understanding of the concerns posed by
Iran.
Mammadyarov said that the Bush-Aliev meeting signified the two
countries were entering a new level of cooperation as Azerbaijan
becomes a key energy transit country. The newly built
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which provides an alternative to Russian
routes and energy sources in the volatile Middle East, is scheduled to
deliver the first shipments of Caspian Sea oil to Western markets this
June.
In the fall, the new Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline will provide a
new source of energy for the Turkish market.
“This answers our national interest and signifies the strengthening of
Azerbaijan’s independence, of our position on the international arena
and the region,” Mammadyarov told The Associated Press in an
interview.
The senior U.S. administration officials said that Azerbaijan’s
interest in U.S. help in developing energy markets gave Washington
leverage on the question of democracy promotion in the former Soviet
republic. The White House meeting will address democracy concerns,
including the last two parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan that did
not meet international standards, they said.
Azerbaijani officials also hope Bush and Aliev will discuss the
18-year-old conflict over the ethnic Armenian-dominated enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh. At least 30,000 people were killed and 1 million
made refugees during six years of war that ended with a shaky
cease-fire in 1994. Ethnic Armenian forces occupy the enclave inside
Azerbaijan.
The United States, together with Russia and the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, is trying to mediate a resolution.
___
Associated Press writer Tom Raum contributed to this story.

Armen Rustamyan :Armenian Parliament is drafting a ‘roadmap’ plan on
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement
28.04.2006 13:33
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Standing Commission on Foreign Relations of
Armenian National Assembly (NA) is working on a new plan of settlement
of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The plan was initiated by members of the
Commission.
According to the Committee Chair Armen Rustamyan, the plan was due
long time ago. It will give an impetus for parliamentaries of
different political affiliations to develop a joint clear stand on the
NK conflict resolution. To achieve this goal, commission members have
already applied to the 14 political parties represented in the
Armenian Parliament to submit their proposals on statements made in
the report on parliament hearings on Nagorno-Karabakh issue held on
May 29-30, 2005.

SPRING FLOODS LAST IN ARMENIA
Yerevan, April 27. ArmInfo. Spring floods last in Armenia.
As ArmInfo was informed in the Rescue Service of Armenia, the water
level in the Vedi river vastly increased because-of heavy rains and a
threat of the pump station flood in the settlement Gor on the
Vedi-Ararat 2 km road appeared. Damage control is carried out at
present. A support wall collapsed the same day on the Vaik-Azatek 2 km
road having blocked off the traffic. As a result of it, cracks
appeared and a stone fall happened. Repair-and-renewal operations are
carried out at present. Water level increase in the Razdan river
caused flooding of wheat crops in the villages Sis, Noramarg, Sipanik,
as well as of farmlands of 14 houses in the village Sayat-Nova. There
is threat of settlements’ flood. Moreover, the overflowed river Pambak
flooded the railway section not far from the “Rus” restaurant on the
Spitak-Vanadzor highway. Engineering works are carried out.

From: [email protected]
Subject: Armenian Dialectics
ARMENIAN DIALECTICS
Aravot.am
27 April 06
Why do people in the country like Armenia climb to power? To earn
money, in particularly in illegal ways. And why do people aspire to
earn money / it isn’t spoken of necessary money for food and clothes/?
For filling higher posts by investing that money. And so on. In short
we deal with the chain of dialectics here about which Hegel and Marx
have written a lot. And using the latter’s idea we can draw the
universal formula of so called `political life’ of Armenia;
`money’-`authority’-`money1′-`authority1′ , `money2′-`authotrity2′
etc. Where the difference of `money1′ and `money’ is equal to the
effectiveness of authority levers and «authority1» minus
«authority» is equal to the sums given to the voting
mass and officials.
The logic of coming parliamentary elections is just in this
formula. Naturally the nominated parties and candidates won’t say;
«I want to become a deputy for keeping my property and become
more wealthy». They will speak about nation, country,
democracy, Karabakh and other right things. But those words will be
pronounced mechanically and `in favor of ethics’, nobody believes in
those words any more, and the essence of motivations is hidden in the
above-mentioned formula.
Starting the pre-electoral campaign is meaningless without money. We
everybody remember how Lyov of Alraghats whose first and last read
book is the Alphabet, won the professor Ludmila Haroutiunian in the
parliamentary elections in 1999. We should have good relations with
the authority for earning money otherwise we’ll be bankrupted or
arrested whatever powerful oligarch you are. And more, young persons
from power structures say politely to wealthy person before every
pre-electoral campaign; `You earn money in this country, so you must
pay’. And those wealthy persons pay money in favor of a candidate of
the authority.
Consequently the opposition doesn’t have any chance in the coming
parliamentary elections and some percents will be written for it for
the CE doesn’t get angry. Certainly the opposition can find
alternative sources of money out of Armenia. But it will be the worst
version.
Aram Abrahamian

From: [email protected]
Subject: `We Have Nothing To Hide’
`WE HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE’
Aravot.am
27 April 06
The representatives of opposition parties say don’t worrying at all
about agents who pursuit them.
The leader of `New Times’ party made sensational revelations about
agents found in the `New Times’ after the operation towards the leader
of that party and his bodyguards by the RA NSS. We should remind the
A. Karapetian declared on 21 of April that there were 14 agents of
power structures in his party, two of which were dismissed for their
bad behavior. A. Karapetian didn’t give names at that time but
elucidated that «nicknames of some of them were said to their
bosses» and he didn’t exclude that the warm attitude of power
structures had connection with it. Whether «NT» is the
only party in the opposition where the power structures have their
agents.
The leader of «Republic» party Aram Sargsian answered to
this question; «In my opinion, the RA National Security Service
has been engaged in inter political and economic problems for about
5-6 years for solving own problems. And more, it is much possible that
the NSS tries to have its agents in the parties. As regards the
«Republic», I belong to those politicians who don’t deal
with the persons if they suspect them. I don’t think there are such
persons in our party. But I’m sure; everything is recorded in our
party. And they try to involve persons in new-formed parties for
disparting parties and putting some ideas. Our party has its
prehistory. People who passed a long way with Vazgen and each other
gather here, irrespective of the circumstance whether they have been
party members or not. But nobody is guaranteed from such things. The
authorities want to control everyone, especially the
oppositionists. But in my opinion such kind of agents are in the
authority more where people in their offices speak frightened than we
do, knowing that we are listened. Let them listen to us, we have
nothing to hide».
The PPA press speaker Ruzan Khachatrian repeated this thought;
«I consider possible the involvement of those agents. But it
isn’t understandable for me the mechanism by which the
«NT» has found them. But everything is possible. By the
way that practice is not only used by the power structures. Other
agents from other parties are involved in another parties who are
members of a party but work in favor of another. I mean the political
field in general. If there are some mechanisms of detecting agents,
let’s ask Mr. Karapetian to publish those methods».
Whether the PPA is insured against the NSS activities, or example
pursuit of party members, listening the offices. `We aren’t only
insured but also sure that it is listened. We don’t have certain
facts, but we are sure that phones can be listened as that practice is
used in Armenia. As regards the pursuit, I have felt for some times
that I’m pursued. It was after 27 of October. As regards the party
leaders, I’m sure, each their step is pursued by microscope.
Naira Mamikonian

PanARMENIAN.Net
Ghukasian and Kasprzyk Discussed Karabakh Settlement
28.04.2006 20:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ April 27 Nagorno Karabakh President Arkady Ghukasian
received Personal Representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej
Kasprzyk. Amb. Kasprzyk informed the NKR President of the outcomes of
the OSCE Mission’s monitoring of the Karabakh and Azeri armed forces’
contact line. Then the interlocutors discussed the situation at the
frontline and exchanged views on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement and prospects of its development, reported the NKR MFA
press service.

PanARMENIAN.Net
Union of Armenians of Israel Successfully Functioning

28.04.2006 21:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Union of Armenians of Israel, which is the
member of the World Armenian Congress, was registered a year ago in
Israel, director of the Tel Aviv Institute of Eastern Europe and CIS,
Knesset member Alexander Tsinker told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.
According to him, the Union includes the Israeli citizens, natives of
Armenia. `We have two organizations. One is `Ararat’ and the other,
`Nairi’, was formed by the natives of Gyumri. This year the day of
Holocaust coincided with the Armenian Genocide and on April 24 we
marked both dates. Recently we organized a concert of Armenian and
Jewish songs. The organization also brings to Israel books and
textbooks from Armenia. As a matter of fact the Armenian community in
Israel is more numerous that the Jewish one in Armenia. Actually we
have two communities – the church community in Jerusalem and the
secular community in Tel Aviv and other towns,’ Tsinker said.
He also remarked that the term `Armenian complimentarism’ is already
used in Israel. `We closely examine the principles of the Armenian
foreign policy. It’s interesting and can be useful,’ Tsinker said.
From: Baghdasarian

Baghdasaryan-Mironov meeting held in Saint Petersburg
ArmRadio.am
28.04.2006 17:55
April 28 RA NA Chairman Arthur Baghdasaryan met President of the
Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
Sergey Mironov in Saint Petersburg.
During the meeting an agreement was reached to hold RA National
Assembly Days at the Federal Assembly.
During the meeting between PACE President Rene van der Linden and NA
Chairman Arthur Baghdasaryan issues related to the execution of
Armenia’s obligations before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe. Reference was made to the Electoral Code.