RAMIL SAFAROV DECLARED HIMSELF IRRESPONSIBLE
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.04.2006 21:10 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Ramil Safarov accused of the murder of Armenian
officer Gurgen Margaryan has addressed the Hungarian court with his
last statement.
He said he was irresponsible when hacking the Armenian officer. Telling
about the faults that in his opinion occurred during the process the
accused requested the court for a fair sentence.
Safarov focused his story on the “occupation of his native Jabrail
region by the Armenian invaders and the tortures Armenians subjected
the Azeri people including his relatives and friends to.” He
also mentioned of the “millions of Azeri refugees and displaced
persons.” In his words, he committed the crime because the Armenian
officer “outraged the state flag of Azerbaijan and insulted the Azeri
armed forces,” reported Day.az. To remind, the court will announce
the verdict on Safarov’s case today.

NO AMENDMENTS TO BE INTRODUCED IN ARTICLE 301
Yerkir
13.04.2006 16:15
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, unveiling a
new reform package prepared by the government, said on Wednesday there
was no problem in the implementation of the new Turkish penal code.
Gul said the reform package did not foresee any amendment to the 301st
article of the Turkish penal code under which several journalists and
authors including Orhan Pamuk have been accused, reported Zaman. The
Foreign Minister said the new reform package would swiftly be brought
on to the parliamentary agenda. The anti-terror bill, which was opened
to the cabinet signature, would not infringe on liberties, Gul added.
To note, the controversial article 301 of the new Turkish Penal Code
(TCK) received criticism by the Council of Europe. The Council’s
Committee of Ministers answering Council of Europe Parliamentary
Assembly (PACE) French deputy Rudy Salles’s question about the new
TCK said they are nervously following the new law after freedom of
expression cases opened about Orhan Pamuk and Ragip Zarakolu.
The subsequent dropping of the Pamuk case and the circular published
by the Ministry of Justice in January stating that “the new TCK
will be implemented in the frame of the European Convention on Human
Rights” have been welcomed in the official answer of the Committee
of Ministers; the Council of Europe’s decision-making body.
The answer says the new law caused concerns in the Council just as in
the world’s opinion, and the Turkish Ministry of Justice’s declaration
that it will interpret the TCK in the frame of European Human Rights
Convention was found positive. The Committee of Ministers asked Turkey
to act in the frame of Convention resolutions in the cases opened for
article 301, and emphasized they will keep a close eye on later cases.
It should be noted that Article 301 provides for punishment for the
“outrage of the Turkish state”. Orham Pamuk and other journalists were
accused for mentioning the Armenian Genocide in their publications.

PACE CALLED UPON YEREVAN, TBILISI AND BAKU TO GRANT LEGAL STATUS TO REFUGEES
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.04.2006 21:36 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
called upon Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to find a legal status
for the refugees on the basis of international humanitarian law. “The
situation of refugees and displaced persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia continues to be an obstacle for the development of these
countries in economic, socio-political and health terms. Efforts
to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have not as yet
produced results. Border incidents still occur, the fate of missing
persons has yet to be solved and landmines continue to cause injury and
death. There remain urgent humanitarian needs which are becoming ever
more difficult to satisfy as donor fatigue sets in. Urgent humanitarian
needs, however, must be increasingly supplemented by international
development aid to provide a future for the refugees and internally
displaced persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. There are,
however, some positive signs that the three countries are moving
forward with the local integration of their refugees and displaced
persons, thus allowing these people to regain their dignity and
prepare for the future,” says the Report of Committee on Migration,
Refugees and Population Rapporteur Mr. Boriss Cilevics, Latvia.
The document also maintains the UN data on the number of refugees
and displaced persons in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Thus, up to
1999/2000, the number of refugees opting for Armenian citizenship was
relatively small. This changed with the enactment in 2000 of a law
on persons forcibly displaced from Azerbaijan between 1988 and 1992
who have been naturalised; the legislation grants these persons the
right to protection and assistance. As a result, over 15,000 refugees
in 2000 and over 16,000 in 2001 acquired citizenship; since 2002,
this wave of naturalisation has decreased in intensity. In Georgia,
the figures are also vague and legislation has been slow to adapt. The
number of displaced persons is put at 237,069 a figure, which shows
little variation.
According to statistics gathered during the visit to Georgia, this
figure includes 224,938 persons from Abkhazia alone, who are unevenly
distributed between the regions of Georgia, with a very strong presence
in the Tbilisi and Samegrelo (Mingrelia) areas. The number of persons
displaced from the former autonomous oblast of South Ossetia is
put at 12,131; the same remark may be made about their distribution
between the regions of Georgia, with very high densities in Tbilisi
and Kartli. In Azerbaijan the statistics provided by UNHCR (for the
end of 2004) indicate a figure of 578,545 internally displaced persons
and 8,606 refugees.

PRE-ELECTION CHALLENGES CORPORATION
Hakob Badalyan
Lragir.am
13 april 06
When politics is mixed with economy, the outcome is neither economy
nor politics. This magnificently simple formula was given by the
minister of defense on April 11, commenting on the Russian-Armenian
agreement on gas and thereof the sale of the fifth generating unit of
the Thermal Power Plant of Hrazdan to Gasprom. They say other things
were sold as well, but first let us try to find out if the outcome
of the sale of the fifth generating unit was economics or politics.
A recent news release of the news agency Regnum on the decision
of the Armenian government informed that before the sale the fifth
generating unit was transferred from the balance of the Ministry of
Energy to the Ministry of Defense which was going to sign a contract
of sale with either Gasprom or the legal entity founded by Gasprom
in Armenia. And the proceeds from the sale of the fifth generating
unit, 248 million dollars, would embark the balance of the Ministry
of Defense. Of course, under the decision of the same government, 188
million dollars out of this money will be paid to Armrusgasard within
three years to subsidize gas consumed by the population and industry.
The other 60 million will be transferred to the state budget, again
within three years.
If the money is to go to the state budget finally, why did the Ministry
of Defense sell the fifth generating unit and not the Ministry of
Energy? And why is the money first transferred to the ministry and
only then to the necessary targets. This money “voyage” seems not
to obey any economic rule. It does not mean, however, that it has
a political logic. If apparently it is not economy, and we will say
it is not politics not to politicize, what is it then? Does it mean
that what was mixed with economy in the deal was not politics, or
what was mixed with politics was not economy, or something else was
mixed with economy and politics, or yet this something was covered
with economy or politics?
Since the deal and its details are kept in an atmosphere of secrecy,
and the defense minister promises to explain the charm of the sale
of the fifth generating unit later, we have to look for answers to
these questions all by ourselves, tracking facts and statements.
Under these circumstances the fact of selling the energy plant via
the Ministry of Defense causes surprise. It is surprising, for the
Ministry of Defense had not interfered with the sale of any of the
objects of the energy sector of Armenia that were also sold or given
to Russia. It is true, of course, that the defense minister is also
the co-chair of the Russian-Armenian intergovernmental commission,
but he was the co-chair of this commission when the distribution
networks were given to Russia to repay the debt of Armenia, and the
Ministry of Defense did not interfere.
It is also rather interesting that till the agreement on gas the
co-chair of the intergovernmental commission and the minister of
defense displayed no public activity with regard to gas. Certainly,
instead of words and forecasts he preferred to tackle the danger
threatening the people of Armenia, in other words, he was busy with
real work while the other government officials were making indefinite
allegations. We were rather late to learn, however, that the defense
minister was working. He announced March 22 that he had extended
proposals to Gasprom which were accepted and the population was
saved from a social aftershock. In early April it became known what
proposals had been mentioned and what the price of salvation of people
had been. The joy for salvation was so great that people forgot to
ask if the defense minister alone had realized that selling the fifth
generating unit would relieve people’s state for three years, if the
Russians agreed to buy the generating unit from the defense minister
only or if only the generating unit. For Gasprom officially published
that it would buy other objects of the energy sector of Armenia,
and the minister of defense announced there would be interesting
developments with regard to the Iran-Armenia pipeline.
So there is no need to cause problems with anti-Russian moods now and
have to overcome them later, announced Serge Sargsyan. He announced
that the anti-Russian groups did not have any influence, all they could
do was to make a noise. If they do not have influence, how are they
supposed to cause problems. It means they have influence, nevertheless.
Besides, there is a noteworthy nuance, which had a rather typical and
revealing role in the entire odyssey about gas, however. The defense
minister voiced the criticism against anti-Russian groups when John
Danilovich, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge
Corporation, was visiting Armenia. Through the latter the U.S.
government is going to allocate 235 million dollars to Armenia, which
is characterized as a carte blanche to President Robert Kocharyan
on some conditions, of course. But one man’s meat is another man’s
poison. This is life.
Another nuance is interesting, which is also important. Earlier when
the president of Armenia visited Russia to settle the question of gas
with Putin, it was announced that the problem of gas would be settled
in mid-February. Surprisingly, however, the problem was solved much
later. The deal of 248 million dollars was signed in early April, a
week after the agreement on 235 million dollars signed in Washington,
which means that within only three years more money will be transferred
to the balance of the defense ministry (outside its budget) than the
money that will come from America within 5 years.

PACE FACT-FINDING MISSION TO DEPART FOR NAKHICHEVAN TO INVESTIGATE KHACHKAR DEMOLITION
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.04.2006 21:48 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The PACE Committee on Culture, Science and Education
has confirmed the decision to send a fact-finding mission led by
rapporteur on cultural heritage Edward O’Hara to Nakhichevan late May
to investigate the site where Armenian khachkars were destructed. The
PACE Committee requested the leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan
for full support to the mission activities, reported Mediamax.

1ST INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL DEMOCRACIES TO BE HELD 3-7 JULY IN YEREVAN
ArmRadio.am
13.04.2006 16:15
YERITAC Armenian Youth NGO is organizing a scientific youth conference
entitled “National Democracies or Nations against Democracies?” which
will take place in Yerevan, Armenia, on July 3-7, 2006.
The purpose of the 1st International Youth Conference on National
Democracies is to bring together young scholars, students, activists,
etc. both from advanced democracies and transitional countries, who
are enrolled in democracy studies and national studies to provide an
opportunity to discuss the possible issues of transitional democracies
as well as to argue on the sharper aspects and find possible solutions.

AZERI LAWMAKER SUGGESTS JOINT SEARCH FOR WAYS TO SETTLE KARABAKH ISSUE
Armenpress
Apr 13 2006
BAKU, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS: An Azerbaijani parliament member said
lawmakers from Armenia and his country could meet to discuss the best
ways to resolve their dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Sabir Hajiev, who is also chairman of a small party called Civic Unity,
was quoted by Trend news agency as saying that the accord of Armenian
and Azeri presidents was needed to convene the first such meeting. “If
they (the presidents) believe a joint search for ways to settle the
conflict by lawmakers could help they should endorse this proposal,”
he was quoted as saying.
This idea was supported also by another Azeri lawmaker, Fazan
Gazanfarogly, who however, argued that this problem could not be
solved by the efforts of deputies, because it was not solved so far
either by presidents or their foreign ministers.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FINAL STAGE OF POLICE TRAINING CENTER RENOVATION STARTED
Armenpress
Apr 13 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian Police Training Centre
has launched today the third and final stage of its renovation,
Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan,
Major-General Ararat Mahtesyan, First Deputy Head of the Armenian
Police, Mr. Anthony Godfrey, Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy
in Armenia toured around the Centre, which was followed by a short
presentation of the accomplished and anticipated activities.
Renovation of the centre is part of a large-scale Police Assistance
Program launched by the OSCE Office in Yerevan in 2004. The program
envisages three key components: refurbishment of the Police Training
Centre, development of the curriculum in line with international
standards and introduction of a community-policing model in one of
Yerevan districts.
Refurbishment of the Training Centre has been made possible with
financial contributions from the Governments of the USA, Belgium
and Sweden.

MISSION OF NKR OFFICE TO US TO LOBBY INTERESTS OF ITS COUNTRY
Washington, April 12. ArmInfo. Like the other diplomatic offices in
Washington, the office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic represents
and lobbies the interests of its country, says the NKR permanent
representative to the US Vardan Barseghian.
He says that the NKR diplomatic representation to the US was
registered by the US Justice Department in 1999 as the Office of
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic to the United States and has a legal
status. All foreign representations to the US are registered by that
department. But because the NKR is not officially recognized the NKR
office to the US has a bit different status. The NKR representative
to the US like other NKR representatives are appointed by the NKR
president.
To note, a few days ago the US Justice Department published a report
on the activities of lobby companies representing the interests of
foreign states, organizations and individuals in the US. 135 states
and territories like Tibet and Hong Kong, officially considered as
part of China, and Nagorny Karabakh, de jure part of Azerbaijan,
have their lobbyists in Washington. Registration of the lobbyist of
an unrecognized state does not mean its official recognition by the US.
The report says that Azerbaijan uses the service of three firms: JWI
(public relations), Linvingston Group (political advising) and White &
Case (lobbying).

WITHOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 3 MAJOR ASPECTS THERE CAN BE NO DEVELOPMENT IN THE TURKISH – ARMENIAN RELATIONS: TURKISH MP
Yerevan, April 12. ArmInfo. Without the implementation of the 3
major aspects there can be no development in the Turkish – Armenian
relations, the head of Turkish parliamentary delegation to PACE,
Murat Merjan says in an interview to Trend.
These 3 major aspects are: resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
on acceptable for both sides’ conditions, resolution of so-called
Armenian genocide issue in the Ottoman times, and acceptation by
Armenia of existing borders according to the Kars Treaty.
“Without implementation of the given conditions, we can not speak
about the normalization of Turkish – Armenian relations,” he said,
adding opening of the Turkish – Armenian border also depends on these
3 aspects.