RA PRESIDENT RECEIVED THE NEWLY APPOINTED AMBASSADOR OF MOROCCO
ArmRadio.am
13.04.2006 13:44
Today the newly appointed Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco
Abdeljalil Sobri handed his credentials to RA President Robert
Kocharyan.
Congratulating the Ambassador on his appointment, the President
expressed the hope that certain progress will be registered in the
bilateral relations during his term in office.
According to Ambassador Sobri, he attaches importance to the deepening
of cooperation with South Caucasus countries, considering the great
opportunities of the region. The parties highly appreciated Armenia’s
traditional good relations with the Arab world and expressed readiness
to undertake concrete steps for developing cooperation.
Considering that the experience of collaboration between the European
Union and Morocco is useful for our country, Robert Kocharyan said
that a process has started in EU-Armenia relations, which started in
Morocco years ago.

FOUR OPERATING UNITS OF THERMAL PLANT SOLD FOR 35 M, FIFTH UNIT SOLD FOR 248 M DOLLARS
Lragir.am
13 april 06
On April 12 the core issue of debates between the government and the
National Assembly was the fifth generating unit of the Thermal Power
Plant of Hrazdan and the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. Prime Minister
Andranik Margaryan, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan, Minister of
Energy Armen Movsisyan elucidated the topic.
The prime minister says Hrazdan 5 was a component of the Property
for Debt Program, which was rejected by Russians, however. Some
time later Serge Sargsyan stated the opposite. According to him,
Russians have displayed interest in Hrazdan 5 since 2000. However,
their stipulation was short-term return on investment. “And it meant
that we were to buy all the energy generated in this unit. Why if we
have cheap electricity?” the defense minister elucidated the energy
problems. This time Russians rejected this stipulation, and the deal
was struck. “Nothing good happens without me,” said Serge Sargsyan
with regard to Hrazdan 5. And Armen Movsisyan had to explain how it
happened that we sold all the four generating unit to Russia for 35
million dollars, and the fifth generating unit, half-built, was sold
for 248.8 million. Because when it starts operating, it will use
240 grams of gas to generate 1 kWh electricity, whereas the other
four use 400 grams. Even half-built it cannot be compared to these,
said Armen Movsisyan.
The prime minister stated that the sale of Hrazdan 5 is not related
with the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline and the other Iran-Armenia
projects, and the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline was not discussed during
the negotiations for Hrazdan 5. “The deal was a big business, it was
sold successfully,” thinks the prime minister of Armenia.
“Owning a pipeline has nothing to do with security. We have to discuss
if Armenia needs to have two gas sectors: state and Armrusgasard. It is
a question to be discussed in the future,” says the prime minister. It
does not depend on the ownership of the pipeline; the supplier
must supply gas to consumers, and “it does not matter whether the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline under construction will be included in
Armrusgasard,” says the prime minister.

VERDICT EXPECTED IN TRIAL OF AZERBAIJANI ACCUSED OF MURDER AT NATO COURSE
AP Worldstream
Apr 13, 2006
A court in Hungary is expected to issue a verdict Thursday in the case
of an Azerbaijani officer accused of murdering an Armenian classmate
with an ax at a NATO training course in Budapest.
Lt. Ramil Safarov of Azerbaijan has confessed to hacking Lt. Gurgen
Markarian of Armenia to death with an ax in February 2004 in
a dormitory used by participants of a NATO Partnership for Peace
English language course in Budapest.
Police said Safarov confessed to the killing, claiming that the
conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia was at the root of his act.
The two neighboring, former Soviet republics remain at odds over
the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave within
Azerbaijan.
Safarov is scheduled to make his final statement Thursday morning
and the Budapest City Court is expected to announce its verdict in
the afternoon.
Prosecutors asked that Safarov be sentenced to life in prison, with
a 30-year minimum before any parole hearings.
Armenian-backed forces drove Azerbaijan’s army out of the ethnic
Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s.
A 1994 cease-fire ended the six-year war that killed 30,000 people
and left about 1 million homeless and the enclave is now under the
control of ethnic Armenians.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WHOSE FACTS ARE TRUE?
Lragir.am
13 april 06
The idea that was most often repeated during the parliamentary debates
on the report on performance of the 2001-2003 program of privatization
was the great difference between the value of the company and the price
at which it was sold. For instance, Orbita Factory was assessed at
3 billion but sold for 116 million. Hours after the debates on this
issue the minister of trade and economy Karen Chshmarityan replied
to similar accusations made during the debates on April 10-12.
The minister, as well as the head of the Department for Management
of State Property Karineh Kirakosyan delivered a small lecture on the
topic of value and price, then said, “Orbita was assessed at 3 million
drams and sold at 750 million.” Plus, the company owed debts of 320
million, 220 million other liabilities, salary debt, and products of
550 million produced for the Near East, which, however, the company
had been unable to sell due to the embargo.
Before the privatization 30 people were employed in Orbita who were
paid 15 thousand drams monthly, after the privatization 150 people
work here and get 60 thousand drams, says Karen Chshmarityan. And such
allegations may have a negative impact on the investment environment
in Armenia, he believes. It should be noted that the allegations
of the members of parliament are based on the facts that another
representative of the Executive, the head of the Department for
Management of State Property Karineh Kirakosyan had provided. The
latter characterized Victor Dallakyan’s allegation that the minister
of trade and economic development Karen Chshmarityan owns several
buildings in the center of Yerevan as “irresponsible.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN MINISTER, US DELEGATION DISCUSS AID PROGRAMME, REGIONAL ISSUES
Noyan Tapan news agency
12 Apr 06
Yerevan, 12 April: Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan today
received US Congressman Jim Kolbe (Arizona’s Eighth Congressional
District, Republican), a member of the House Financial Services and
Budget Committees, Scott Garrett (New Jersy’s Fifth Congressional
District, Republican), and Millennium Challenge Corporation Chief
Executive Officer, ambassador John Danilovich.
The congressmen are in Armenia as part of their regional tour.
They discussed Armenian-American relations, in particular, the
implementation of an agreement with the Millennium Challenge Programme
(MMC) and the opening of an office in Yerevan, the development of a
free economic system in the country and the strengthening of democracy,
and also some other issues of mutual interest, the Armenian Foreign
Ministry press service told Noyan Tapan.
The sides also noted the importance of openness and transparency for
the public when it comes to funds given to Armenia within the framework
of the Millennium Challenge Corporation as well as the importance of
the Armenian government’s adherence to democratic principles.
The sides also discussed regional issues, Armenian-Iranian and
Armenian-Turkish relations.
Minister Oskanyan briefed on the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh
conflict after the Rambouillet meeting.

‘HOLY FIRE’ EASTER RITUAL CASTS LIGHT ON GREEK ORTHODOX BATTLES IN JERUSALEM
Brian Murphy
AP Worldstream
Apr 13, 2006
ATHENS, Greece _ For Orthodox Christians, one of the most stirring
images of the Easter season is a burning candle being carried from the
site in Jerusalem where tradition says Jesus was crucified and buried.
The “holy fire” is passed among worshippers outside the Church of
the Holy Sepulcher and is taken aboard special flights to Athens and
other cities _ connecting many of the 200 million Orthodox worldwide
to their spiritual roots.
But in recent years, it also has illuminated the messier passions
of the Holy Land: religious rivalries among the Orthodox and the
building-by-building competition between Israelis and Palestinians
in some parts of Jerusalem.
Greek and Armenian clergymen have exchanged blows over who would
be the first to bring out the flame. Last year, Israeli police held
back Palestinians outraged by alleged deals to lease Greek Orthodox
properties to Jewish investors in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The upcoming ceremony on April 22 _ the eve of Orthodox Easter _
has elements for even higher drama. The land scandal has splintered
the Greek Orthodox, one of the caretakers of the Holy Sepulcher shrine.
Orthodox leaders last May ousted the church’s Jerusalem-based
patriarch, Irineos I, after reports of deals for several prime
buildings near Jaffa Gate. The church’s mostly Palestinian Christian
congregation denounced it as another attempt to weaken the Arab
presence in east Jerusalem _ which Palestinians insist must be the
capital of any future state.
Irineos, however, has not gone quietly. He has refused to recognize
his dismissal and still commands a band of loyalists. Israel, too,
has not given its formal backing to the new patriarch, Theofilos III,
who says he opposes the reported leases. Traditionally, the Greek
patriarch needs three-way approval that includes Jordan and the
Palestinians, which have given the nod to Theofilos.
The patriarchate dispute is now before Israel’s Supreme Court.
In Greece, meanwhile, investigators are digging deeper into a possible
espionage affair involving Irineos’ selection as patriarch in 2001.
The probe centers on whether a convicted drug trafficker, Apostolos
Vavilis, was sent on secret missions to lobby for Irineos, who was the
choice of Greek officials and clerics at the time. Vavilis _ whose
aliases included Apostolos Pavlos, or Apostle Paul _ was extradited
from Italy on April 6 to face charges including “revealing state
secrets” to foreign agents. He was returned to Greece wearing the
black robes of an Orthodox priest, although he is not ordained.
The official who allegedly negotiated the leases, church financial
officer Nikos Papadimas, remains a fugitive.
It’s possible Irineos could attempt to directly challenge Theofilos’
authority at the flame ceremony, but that would constitute an almost
irreparable rupture in the church. More likely is a noisy showdown
of taunts and name-calling between the rival groups. Israeli security
was heightened last year because of showdowns.
“Father Irineos is the legal patriarch,” said a supporter, a clergyman
also called Irineos. The former patriarch could not be reached for
comment.
Archbishop Aristarchos, who handles security for the patriarchate,
said there are “rumors” Irineos could make an appearance but “there
is no way that the previous patriarch will come to the ceremony as
the patriarch.”
“Only Theofilos III will come to the ceremony as the patriarch,”
Aristarchos said. “I hope and I wish that there will not be any
unpleasant episodes.”
The Orthodox ritual of the “holy fire,” performed alone by a
patriarch in the tomb of Jesus, dates back at least 1,200 years, and a
“miraculous” fire is mentioned in earlier texts. The precise details of
the lighting are a closely guarded secret, but some faithful consider
it an annual miracle.
It also illustrates another of the intricate protocols that govern
the site, which is administered by Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic
and Roman Catholic clerics. The Coptic, Ethiopian Orthodox and Syriac
Orthodox churches also have duties to maintain specific areas. Under
a pact going back to 16th century Ottoman rule, two Muslim families
share duties as the sole gatekeepers.
For some, the tensions this Easter also help drive home demands to
end Greek control of the Jerusalem patriarchate and its 40,000-member
flock.
The Greek clerics leading the church “are foreigners who don’t work
for the best interests of the Palestinian Christians,” said Dimitri
Diliani, who leads of a coalition of Palestinians Christians that plans
to bring more than 1,500 faithful to the flame ceremony. “They have
been irresponsible in handling the property of Palestinian Christians
and have been involved in ‘Judaizing’ Jerusalem.”
But Daniel Rossing, who heads a Jerusalem-based group that promotes
inter-religious dialogue, said it’s difficult to make such sweeping
changes to religious traditions in Jerusalem, which has deep
significance for Jews, Christians and Muslims.
“Any event in Jerusalem, like the Greek church troubles, cannot
just be looked at as a local squabble,” he said. “It affects all of
Christianity because of the universal nature of Jerusalem.”
___
Associated Press reporter Laura Resnick in Jerusalem contributed to
this report.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HEARINGS ON THE KARABAKH ISSUE TO BE HELD AT NKR NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
ArmRadio.am
13.04.2006 14:47
April 21 hearings on “Karabakh Issue: Prospects for Resolution ”
will be held at the National Assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh. Head of
the RA NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Armen Rustamyan,
a number of political scientists and experts of Armenia have been
invited to participate in the hearings.
In his talk with “Radiolur” correspondent Tatul Hakobyan, President
of the NKR NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Vahram
Atanesyan said that this is the second time such hearings are
organized. According to Atanesyan, the forces represented in NKR
Parliament will try to evaluate the negotiation process since the
establishment of the cease-fire and to decide upon the future deeds.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT DENIES ALLEGATIONS THAT ARMENIAN GRAVESTONES WERE DESTROYED
AP Worldstream
Apr 13, 2006
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev on Thursday vehemently denied
allegations that gravestones in a centuries-old Armenian cemetery in
western Azerbaijan had been destroyed.
Armenians have accused Azerbaijani forces of systematically breaking
up and disposing of the intricately carved crosses, called khatchkars,
some of which date back to the sixth century, at the Djulfa cemetery
in the Nakhichevan region of Azerbaijan, near the Iranian border.
“This is an absolute lie, slanderous information, a provocation,”
Aliev said in a speech in the western city of Sheki. “All historic
monuments are preserved in Azerbaijan.”
He accused ethnic Armenian forces in the disputed enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh, which is on Azerbaijani territory, of destroying
mosques and Muslim cemeteries.
“The most valuable museum displays were stolen and taken to Armenia,
and all the rest destroyed,” Aliev said.
At least 30,000 people were killed and 1 million made refugees in
the six-year war over Nagorno-Karabakh, which was ended by a shaky
cease-fire in 1994.

OPPOSITION SAYS BASE AGREEMENT WILL LEGALIZE RUSSIAN SPY PRESENCE IN GEORGIA
Imedi TV, Tbilisi
13 Apr 06
[Presenter] The Democratic Front has welcomed the start of the process
for the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia, but has
objections to a number of clauses in the agreement. They say that the
creation of a joint Georgian-Russian antiterrorist centre will impede
NATO membership. The opposition also thinks the Georgian-Russian
agreement on the transit of Russian military equipment to Armenia
through Georgia is unacceptable. Koba Davitashvili says that the
Georgian government is only interested in PR and is not taking real
steps to have the bases withdrawn.
[Davit Zurabishvili, MP] The withdrawal of the Russian bases is
absolutely essential, it is an urgent matter. However, this should be
a complete withdrawal. A Russian contingent should not be present in
a country which has ambitions of joining NATO and the EU. Therefore,
we are particularly concerned about several points in this agreement,
specifically the one on the establishment of a joint Georgian-Russian
so-called antiterrorist centre on the site of the Russian military
base in Batumi.
[Ivliane Khaindrava, MP] Why is the Batumi base going to be the site
of this centre? Why is it necessary to set up a Russian-Georgian
antiterrorist base or centre in Ajaria so close to the border with
Turkey, a NATO member? Why does Georgia need Russia’s GRU [Russian
Defence Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate] to have a formalized
spy station [Georgian: rezidentura] in the country? To what extent
does this match our country’s rapid progress towards NATO?
[Davitashvili] Russia is now free to use us as a transit country on
the way to Armenia as much as it wants, like never before, not even
in Shevardnadze’s time. They have refused inspections of the Gudauta
military base [in Abkhazia] which has not been withdrawn. This was
all signed so that in 2008 they can stage a PR stunt about the bases
being withdrawn. I would once again like to call on the government
to stop its obsession with PR. In reality this document is useless
and I call on members of the majority to refrain from ratifying it.

GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES DISMISS OPPOSITION CRITICISM OF RUSSIAN BASES ACCORDS
Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi
13 Apr 06
[Presenter] We are now going live to parliament to speak to our
correspondent Vako Avaliani. Vako, is the opposition planning to end
its boycott [of parliamentary proceedings in order to take part in
the ratification of the agreement on the closure of Russian bases]?
[Correspondent] No, the opposition is not planning to end its
boycott. Democratic Front faction MPs are now holding a news conference
to highlight the negative aspects of the agreement on the closure of
the bases. For example, the opposition has a suspicion that Georgia
and Russia will sign an agreement on an antiterrorist centre and
that this centre will be stationed in Gonio, next to the Turkish,
that is NATO, border. No Russian armed units should be allowed to be
deployed near the Turkish border, the opposition says.
[Davit Zurabishvili, opposition Democratic Front MP] Of course,
these are historic documents and we have stated our position. I do
not think there is any risk of this issue being voted down. Naturally,
the opposition supports the troop withdrawal but we also have serious
criticisms, for example over the antiterrorist centre. We believe
that perhaps it should not even be ratified in this form and these
principles should be reviewed.
[Correspondent] The establishment of an antiterrorist centre was also
discussed in the debating chamber because members of the parliamentary
majority are aware of these criticisms by the opposition. An
explanation was provided by the deputy foreign minister [Merab
Antadze]. He said that Article 20 of the agreement, which deals with
the antiterrorist centre, merely speaks of the need to start talks.
[Mikheil Machavariani, deputy speaker addressing parliament] The
sides will start preparing an agreement. There is no obligation here.
This is just an expression of will to start it. That is why I do
not want anyone to get nervous. The Georgian government and the
parliamentary majority will not take any decision that is not in the
Georgian national interest.
[Antadze] An undertaking to start talks does not by any means signify
the establishment of an antiterrorist centre.
[Correspondent] Parliament has also examined the provision in the
agreement concerning the transit of Russian military cargo through
Georgia to Armenia where Russia has a military base. This has been
agreed for a five-year period, but, in any case, if Russia breaks this
provision or if the transit of some cargo damages Georgian interests,
Georgia has a right to declare it void by giving six months’ notice.