Armenian TV, radio channels get broadcast licences

Arminfo
18 Aug 05

Yerevan, 18 August: The National Commission on TV and Radio of Armenia
[NCTR] today issued licenses to Armenia TV and Ar Mezhmaterikovaya
[Intercontinental] radio station as a result of an NCTR competition
announced on 1 July this year.

Armenia TV will broadcast on the following UHF TV channels to the
following Armenian towns: on channel 34 to Vedi, on channel 48 to
Dzhermuk, on channel 28 to Sevan, on channel 26 to Gyumri, on channel
27 to Razdan, on channel 28 to Aparan, on channel 45 to Ararat, on
channel 33 to Vardenis, on channel 25 to Vanadzor, on channel 21 to
Stepanavan and on channel 55 to Abovyan.

Armenia TV broadcasts will also be relayed on UHF TV channel 53 in
Noyemberyan, 25 in Idzhevan, 21 in Dilidzhan, 24 in Sisyan, 35 in
Goris and 25 in Kapan.

Armenia TV is planning to buy more powerful satellite equipment
soon and install new modern studios for live broadcasts and other
TV programmes.

The TV channel is fulfilling its commitment to ensure that 75 per
cent of evening broadcasts are national programmes and 50 per cent
are its own programmes.

In the meantime, Ar Mezhmaterikovaya radio station will broadcast on
105.2 MHz frequency to the village of Areg, 104.6 MHz to Vedi, 107.3
MHz to Yekhegnadzor, 106.8 MHz to Zovashen, 107.2 MHz to Vanadzor,
103.6 MHz to Gyumri, 103.9 MHz to Vayk, 104.4 MHz to Fantan and 103.2
MHz to the territory of the Sevan mountain crossing.

US envoy says Armenia, Azerbaijan may be close to Karabakh settlement

Ayastani Anrapetutyun, Yerevan
18 Aug 05

Excellent opportunities have opened up for the parties to the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict to pave the way to a settlement, the USA’s Karabakh
mediator Steven Mann has said in exclusive interview with Armenian
Ayastani Anrapetutyun newspaper. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are
committed to peace, there is mutual understanding, and the parties
are close to an agreement on some issues, Mann said. The following
is an excerpt from the interview by Tsovinar Nazaryan in Ayastani
Anrapetutyun on 18 August headlined “No party to negotiating process
can get 100 per cent of what it wants”; subheadings have been inserted
editorially:

[Ayastani Anrapetutyun correspondent Tsovinar Nazaryan] Mr Ambassador,
could you please first assess the current stage of the Karabakh
peace process?

[Steven Mann] During the last 18 months the Karabakh peace talks
have substantially intensified and there have been significant
meetings between the [Armenian and Azerbaijani] foreign ministers
and presidents. The USA highly appreciates this process.

[Nazaryan] Why exactly 18 months?

[Mann] The Prague process started 18 months ago. The foreign ministers
and the presidents had then confidential meetings with the Minsk Group
co-chairs. Since then discussions within the Minsk Group framework
have grown into professional talks.

Parties should show political will

[Nazaryan] Could you please specify what the talks have arrived at
so far – especially as in order to have some opinion the public first
have to have some picture of what is going on.

[Mann] No official agreement has been reached during the period. There
is mutual understanding, and the parties are close to an agreement on
some issues. Of course, nobody wants to break the confidentiality of
the process. But agreement is possible if the parties show political
will. This will allow them to iron out their differences.

[Nazaryan] Is the Minsk Group interested in involving Nagornyy Karabakh
in the peace process or is it taking any steps to that effect as
obviously it is Nagornyy Karabakh’s fate that is being decided?

[Mann] The talks are continuing in the Armenia-Azerbaijan format.

[Nazaryan] Are there any settlement scenarios applicable to the
Karabakh conflict or can the Karabakh peace process be a model itself?

[Mann] The Karabakh conflict is a special and unique conflict. During
my work in the USA I dealt with some conflicts. There are some
similarities but each conflict is unique. Of course, we can learn
some lessons from the Balkan or Asian conflicts but this particular
conflict has its peculiar background and conditions.

[Nazaryan] Some other international organizations have lately shown
enhanced interest in the conflict, in particular the Council of Europe
and the EU. Do you think they might have more effective negotiating
resources than the OSCE and particularly the Minsk Group?

[Mann] The outsiders can help, promote the process but it is up to
the conflicting parties to find a solution. On behalf of the USA I
can say that we would very much like to see the conflict resolved. In
this situation the USA is a good friend for both countries.

[passage omitted: Mann on opening of US embassy in Armenia, working
in oil and gas sphere in Azerbaijan]

Parties committed to peace

[Nazaryan] What about the US support of Nagornyy Karabakh? Does it
imply a special attitude towards the republic?

[Mann] You should not see much in this. The USA is providing Nagornyy
Karabakh with small humanitarian assistance with no political
implications.

[Nazaryan] People in Azerbaijan often speak about oil factor in
the Karabakh peace process. What will be more decisive here – oil
or democracy?

[Mann] In order to resolve the conflict the parties will have to show
political will and commitment towards mutual concessions.

[Nazaryan] How could you assess the commitment of the parties for
peace in terms of their public and governments?

[Mann] The commitment of the presidents is obvious. I am convinced that
both [Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan and [Azerbaijani President]
Ilham Aliyev sincerely want peace. As to the public, they obviously
want all but war. The history of the Caucasus is changing. And the
last we will have to see will hopefully be solutions presented to
the public for approval.

“Excellent opportunities” for future talks

[Nazaryan] Are you or the other Minsk Group co-chairs informed of the
limits of possible concessions by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagornyy
Karabakh?

[Mann] Lots of discussions are being held on this issue. There is
a good chance for each party to achieve most of its goals. Such
talks are very hard to hold but there are excellent opportunities
for further development. No party to a negotiating process can get
100 per cent of what it wants. But the parties to the Karabakh peace
process have real opportunities for paving a stable way to settlement
provided they show strong political will.

[Nazaryan] Could you specify what “excellent opportunities” you are
talking about? Are there proposals on paper? And generally, what do
you expect from the Kazan meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents?

[Mann] The “excellent” word would be better replaced by “reasonable”
and “professional”. I do not want to create an impression that this
all is very easy. This is a hard task but the parties have done much
in this direction. The USA is closely following the work carried out
since the beginning of the Prague Process. This period has laid the
foundations for the current stage leading to the Kazan meeting. The
USA expects the parties to use this opportunity for further dialogue
and talks – in the subsequent excellent periods as well.

Research and Markets: With a subscriber growth of over 50%, the chart Africa, Middle East & Russian Wireless Landscape represents the fastest growing wireless regions in the world

Business Wire; Aug 18, 2005

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Top Council of Europe official to discuss polls, political prisoners in Baku

Turan news agency, Baku
17 Aug 05

Strasbourg, 17 August: The president of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe [PACE], Rene van der Linden, has given an
exclusive interview to Turan ahead of his visit to Azerbaijan on
21-24 August.

Asked about the range of issues to be discussed with the Azerbaijani
leadership, Linden said that the most important topic would be the
forthcoming parliamentary election in November.

“PACE said in June that the forthcoming poll would be a final
test of the country’s commitment to democracy. I will try to bring
this home to the Azerbaijani authorities and remind them of their
original responsibility for holding the election in conformity with
international standards. I expect to get firm assurances that the
forthcoming election will be fair and free. A total of 40 PACE members
will be involved in monitoring the polls,” van der Linden said.

“Besides, I will also discuss the problem of political prisoners, the
resolution of which was a key precondition for Azerbaijan’s accession
to the Council of Europe in 2001. But the problem has remained open
so far. PACE once again insisted last June on a prompt and final
solution to the problem of political prisoners. Incumbent President
[Ilham] Aliyev has done a lot and I will try to convince him not to
fail this process in its final stage,” the PACE president noted.

The talks in Baku will also focus on the progress of negotiations on
a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict. “PACE has intensified
its efforts in this area and Paris will host an important meeting of
all the key political players in a few months,” Linden said, but did
not specify details of the meeting and its participants.

Asked if PACE intended to insist on the adoption of the recommendations
of the Venice Commission on changing the electoral law by the
Azerbaijani authorities, the PACE head said this issue was raised
back at the June session. “Resolution 1456 unambiguously called on
Azerbaijan to change the Electoral Code and bring the electoral laws
into full conformity with the joint recommendations of the Venice
Commission and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights.”

Commenting on recent attacks on the headquarters of the People’s Front
of Azerbaijan Party and smear campaign tactics against the opposition,
Linden said he did not want to talk about this issue because of lack
of information. “Nevertheless, I am planning to discuss this issue
in meetings with the authorities and opposition politicians,” he
said. “It is indeed very alarming that such incidents are happening
with three months left till the parliamentary election. We believe
that the authorities should apply the relevant laws effectively and
without discrimination,” he concluded.

Concept of National Strategic Program for Export Promotion drafted

18.08.2005 16:32

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – A concept of the National Strategic Program for
Export Promotion has been drafted on the initiative of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau and the party’s Armenia Supreme
Body, Armenpress reported.

Ara Nranian, ARF Bureau’s economic advisor, says the program was
drafted during a 1.5- year period and was sent to international and
local experts for consideration.

“We expect this concept to get the government’s approval and hope
a comprehensive program to boost export would be adopted based on
this document,” Nranian said, adding that economic growth rates in
Armenia are expected to shrink in the coming years since the domestic
resources for such growth are limited and the only way to keep the
country’s economy growing is to increase exports.

The document covers all the aspects of the export. One of the sectors
with great export potential is agriculture, Nranian says.

AUTOMATIC SYSTEM OF MANAGEMENT TO BE INTRODUCED AT COURTS IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, AUGUST 16. ARMINFO. An automatic system of management will be
introduced at the courts in Armenia. One of the American firms engaged
in programming and recognized the winner office on implementation of
a credit program of judicial and legal reforms of thew WB will assume
the process of automation.

Press Secretary of the Cassation Court of Armenia Anna Lazarian
informed ARMINFO that the proposal on introduction of the system
in Armenia was made buy the DPK Consulting company. The company is
engaged in consultative support to the program of modernization of
courts. The system supposes management of the cases, budgetary funds,
cadre resources. It will be introduced at all the courts in Armenia,
and a centralized data base will ve created to coordinate the work.

JAPANESE BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION DEMANDS EXPLANATIONS ON
TRANSFER OF SHARES OF ARMENIAN ELECTRIC NETWORKS TO RAO EES RUSSIA

YEREVAN, AUGUST 16. ARMINFO. Japanese Bank for International
Cooperation has expressed its displeasure over the uncertainty
following the transfer of the shares of Armenian Electric Networks
to RAO EES Russia and demands relevant explanations, says the head of
the development and foreign relations department of Armenia’s energy
ministry Levon Vardanyan.

He says that the displeasure was expressed during a JBIC mission’s
recent visit to Yerevan and their meetings with energy and finance
and economy ministry officials. The concern is quite understandable
– the Armenian government is puzzled itself as they have not no
specifications on the deal so far. Meanwhile the owner Midland
Resources Holding Ltd is obliged to respond to the government’s inquiry
by no later than Aug 17 otherwise Armenian Electric Networks may be
deprived of license. Vardanyan says that according to the Armenian
legislation the shares of a copmany cannot be sold or given to a
third person without a government permission.

Vardanyan says that during the JBIC mission Yerevan visit the sides
considered annoucing a new tender for modernizing 33 110 KV power
sub-stations of Armenia as the JBIC 1999 $30 mln loan has proved
insufficient with the first tender suspended because no condender
would obviously do with the above sum. And so JBIC is waiting for
explanations to know what it will further do in Armenia. The bank’s
biggest program in the country is the $150 mln loan for the underway
project to modernize the Yerevan Thermal Power Plant.

Expressing displeasure earlier were also USAID and WB. USAID has
even threatened to stop its programs in Armenia unless explanations
are received.

DRAFT CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FORMATION OF
PERFECT SYSTEM OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT IN ARMENIA: ARMENIAN VICE
SPEAKER

YEREVAN, AUGUST 16. ARMINFO. There are many gaps and contradictions
in the provisions of the draft constitutional reforms in Armenia
regulating the rights and powers of the local self-government bodies.
Head of the NGO Democracy Vardan Poghosyan made this statement today
at discussions on the draft constitutional reforms organized by the
union of Communities of Armenia.

He stressed the provision providing the executive power with a right to
dismiss heads of communities elected by the people, which contradicts
to the European Charter on local self-government. Petrosyan also
emphasized the provision regulating the formation of community budgets,
He thinks the Constitution must have a provision providing for the
communities choosing the mechanisms of formation of their budgets
and the ways to use the funds. At the same time, Petrosyan thinks the
Constitution must also stipulate that the communities are responsible
for effective fulfillment of budgetary funds.

In his turn, Vice Speaker of Armenian Parliament Tigran Torosyan
stated that The draft constitutional reforms create opportunities for
formation of a perfect system of local self-government in Armenia. He
thinks there are problems which must be settled at a legislative
level. “However, to create a perfect state, we should be guided both
by the written ands not-written laws,” Torosyan says.

To note, the draft will be considered in the second reading by the
Armenian Parliament on August 29 in the course of an extraordinary
sitting of the parliament. In Nov 2005 the document will be set to
a national referendum. Adoption of the document requires 1/3 of the
total number of electors in the country that is some 800,000 citizens.

DELEGATION OF SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER’S STAFF TAKE FIRST HAND VIEW OF
ACTIVITY OF ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN

YEREVAN, AUGUST 16. ARMINFO. Armenian Ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan
informed the members of a delegation of Swedish Prime Minister’s Staff
of the activity of the Armenian Ombudsman. The meeting took place on
August 12 on the initiative of the Swedish party. The delegation head
by Secretary of State of Swedish Prime Minister’s Staff Lars Danielsson
Gunnar consisted of the head of the department for international
relations and EU affairs of the Swedish PM’s Staff Elen Eduards,
Political Advisor of the same department Maria Danielsson, Executive
of Swedish Foreign Ministry Byorn Fagerberg (names as given).

The press-service of the Armenian Ombudsman’s Staff informs ARMINFO
that Larisa Alaverdyan in particular touched upon the spheres often
mentioned in the complains of the citizens. She thinks the most urgent
issues are property rights and those related to social, political
and civil rights. The parties discussed the changes in the RA Law On
Ombudsman and the forthcoming constitutional reforms. Secretary of
State Danielsson stated that the Swedish Government plans development
of closer cooperation with the Armenian Ombudsman’s Staff. It should
be noted that the Swedish delegation to Armenia visited Armenia under
its regional visit and is in Azerbaijan at present.

KARABAKH REFUTES INFORMATION ON CEASE FIRE REGIME VIOLATION

STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 16. ARMINFO. NKR Defence Ministry refutes
pointblank the Azeri media report about cease fire regime violation
Aug 13.

The press service of the ministry says that this is one more
misinformation by Azerbaijan and that the NKR army strictly abides
by its cease fire commitments.