Mehr News Agency, Iran
Sept 30 2005

Melal Orchestra performance moved from Persepolis to Vahdat Hall
TEHRAN, Sept. 30 (MNA) — Iran’s Melal Orchestra is to perform at
Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on the nights of October 2 and 3, the Iranian
Students News Agency (ISNA) reported on Monday.
The concerts were originally scheduled to be held at Persepolis, but
the location was changed due to the fact that the site lacks the
proper sound, filming, and lighting facilities.
The orchestra will perform the program Anitra’s Dance of the
Norwegian composer Edvard Hagerup Grieg (1843-1907) and some pieces
composed by Romanian musician Bela Bartok as well as the national
anthem of Iran during the reign of the Qajar dynasty king Mozaffar
ad-Din Shah, which was composed by a French musician.
The 85-piece orchestra also plans to perform folk songs of Fars
Province and compositions by Vivaldi, Mozart, and some Iranian
musicians, including Morteza Naydavud and Aref Qazvini.
Conductor Peyman Soltani has announced that ten Armenian musicians
will accompany the orchestra for the shows.
The program is being held in line with an agreement signed by Soltani
and the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (CHTO).
However, Soltani said in early August that the changes that the CHTO
made to the contract could lead to the cancellation of the group’s
planned concert tour of major Iranian monuments.
According to the original contract, the CHTO had agreed to allocate
15 billion rials for the orchestra’s one-year concert tour and to
arrange the sound, lighting, and filming facilities at the monuments
where the performances were to be held. It had also agreed to pay the
wages of the orchestra and road crew and to cover other expenditures
of the programs.
The CHTO then decided to reduce the funding to 200 million rials for
only the concerts at Persepolis, which were also cancelled later.
According to the original agreement, the CHTO was to purchase half of
the tickets for all of the concerts, but this article was omitted
from the revised contract.
The group had been scheduled to continue its tour with shows at the
Chehel Sotun Palace in Isfahan, Ferdowsi’s tomb in Tus, Gonbad-e
Kavus Tower in Golestan Province, El-Goli in Tabriz, Dolatabad Garden
in Yazd, Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat near Shush (Susa), Shazdeh Garden in
Kerman, the ancient site of Ecbatana in Hamedan, and Takht-e Soleiman
in East Azarbaijan.

Press Information Bureau (press release), India
Sept 29 2005
VISIT OF THE VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRI BHAIRON SINGH SHEKHAWAT TO
ROMANIA, BELARUS AND ARMENIA FROM OCTOBER 1-8, 2005

The Vice President of India, Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat will pay a
State visit to Romania, Belarus and Armenia from October 1-8, 2005.
He will be accompanied by 4 Members of Parliament namely Dr. Chandan
Mitra, Shri K. Jana Krishnamurthy, Shri P.K. Maheshwari and Shri
Robert Kharshing and senior government officials.
Shri Shekhawat’s visit to Romania (October 1-4) is at the invitation
of Senator Nicolae Vacaroiu, President of the Senate of Romania. The
Vice President’s first engagement will be to participate in a
ceremony dedicated to the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on the
morning of October 2, 2005 at India House. He will meet the same day,
the members of the Indian community in Romania and the Indo-Romanian
Cultural Association.
During his visit, Hon’ble Vice-President will meet H.E. Mr. Traian
Basescu, President of Romania, H.E. Mr. Calin Popescu-Tariceanu,
Prime Minister of Romania, H.E. Mr. loan-Codrut Seres, Minister of
Economy and Commerce and H.E. Mr. Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, Minister of
Foreign Affairs apart from his host, the President of the Senate and
Senator George Sabin Cutas, Deputy Speaker. He will also meet Speaker
of the Chambers of the Deputies, H.E. Mr. Adrian Nastase. Hon’ble
Vice-President will also meet other Senators and visit the Palace of
Parliament where he will attend the Senate Plenary Session.
Hon’ble Vice-President will also visit Peles Castle and Sinaia
Monastery during his visit to Romania.
Shri Shekhawat’s visit to Belarus (October 4-6), is at the invitation
of Mr. G. Novitski, former Prime Minister and currently Chairman of
Council of Republic (Upper House) in the National Assembly of
Belarus.
During his visit, the Vice President would be meeting the Belarusian
President and a dinner would be hosted in the honour of the visiting
dignitary by the Chairman, Council of Republic (Upper House). The
programme drawn for the visit, in addition to the political meetings,
provide for a visit to a tractor factory which would showcase the
strength of Belarusian technology. A cultural programme and wreath
laying ceremony to the victims of the Second World War are there in
the Vice-President’s programme.
An agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters between
the Republic of India and Republic of Belarus would be signed during
the visit.
The visit of the Vice-President to Armenia (October 6-8) is in
response to an invitation extended by the present Armenian President
Mr. R. Kocharian who visited India in October-November, 2003.
Shri Shekhawat’s visit is in the context of India’s commitment to
maintain close and friendly relations with the countries of the
Caucasus region of which Armenia forms an important part.
During the visit, the Armenian President would be hosting a lunch in
the honour of Vice-President. The visiting dignitary would also be
addressing the special session of the National Assembly of Armenia.
He is the first Indian dignitary to do so. An honorary degree of
Doctor of Medicine with a University Gold Medal would be conferred on
Vice-President by the Yerevan State Medical University.
Prior to Shri Shekhawat’s visit, the then President Dr. S.
Radhakrishnan and the then Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi visited
Armenia in 1964 and 1976 respectively.
Shri Shekhawat will be returning to India in the evening of October
8.

Pan Armenian News
KOCHARIAN NOTED IMPORTANCE OF ARMENIA-GEORGIA ENERGY COOPERATION
30.09.2005 05:20
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian met with
Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli, who arrived in Armenia for the
participation in the 4-th sitting of the Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental
commission on economic cooperation, RA President’s press center reported.
Presenting the outcomes of the Yerevan sitting to Robert Kocharian the
Georgian Premier stated that mutually beneficial decisions were taken on
most of the issues of the agenda. During the meeting Robert Kocharian and
Zurab Nogaideli discussed cooperation in energy, transport and customs
fields paying special attention to export of Armenian energy to Georgia.
Taking into account the developing tendency of the Armenian-Georgian tourism
cooperation, the parties stressed the necessity of creating new transport
facilities including Yerevan-Tbilisi and Yerevan-Batumi flights as well as
Yerevan-Batumi railway communication. The interlocutors also touched upon
the possibilities of preventing contraband circulation of goods. In their
words, though the amount of contraband has been considerably reduced, the
problem still remains unsettled. Besides, they discussed social and economic
cooperation in the Armenian-inhabited Samtskhe Javakheti region of Georgia.
According to Nogaideli, the Georgian government intends to launch a
five-year project targeted at highway repair with the funds allocated within
Millennium Challenge Account framework. Moreover, the Georgian government is
going to work out programs for the Armenian-speaking population of the
region and take active part in the construction of schools in Javakhetia.

Pan Armenian News
RA MOD SIGNED MEMORANDUM ON UTILIZATION OF PROPELLANT
30.09.2005 04:51
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Secretary of the Security Council at the RA
President, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan and Head of the OSCE Yerevan
Office, Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin signed a memorandum on utilization of
rocket propellant, RA MOD Spokesman, Colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan told
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. The propellant will be processed in an
ecologically clean fertilizer.

Pan Armenian News
KOCHARIAN: OUR AIM TO MAKE CONSTITUTION LIVE REALITY
30.09.2005 03:29
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During recent 10 years Yerevan has become the place for
conduction of international forums on constitutional justice, says the
welcoming address of Armenian President Robert Kocharian to the participants
of the international conference dedicated to the 10-th anniversary of the
adoption of the RA Constitution and formation of the Constitutional Court
that started in Yerevan today. `This conference is a jubilee one. With its
composition and urgency of the issues to be discussed it will make
considerable contribution to the theoretical and practical settlement of the
problems available. Armenia is getting ready for serious constitutional
reforms. The experience of many countries testifies of the danger of
constitutional standstill. You, the professionals, are well aware that the
constitutional decisions should concord with the public development and
should by all means promote them. The operating Constitution played a
significant role in the development of democracy and its inevitability. It
helped Armenia to become a member of the Council of Europe. However,
practical implementation of the Constitution has revealed serious conceptual
faults that impeded development of democracy in the republic. Today it is
essential to create constitutional guarantees for the formation of a legal
state. Efficient collaboration with international structures including the
Venice Commission and long-term discussions are coming to an end. In the
near future a draft keeping with the modern developments will be submitted
to the nation. This draft guarantees appreciable progress for the protection
of human rights and division of power. The level of independence of the
juridical power and local self-government has been considerable raised. Our
purpose is to make the Constitution a live reality. It should become popular
for each citizen of our republic. Right and law should become the fundament
for public life built upon liberal values. This is the dictate of our times.
I believe that the discussions held during the conference will accord with
the reality and will help the society to comprehend the significance of
constitutional developments. I would like to thank all of you for visiting
Armenia and participating in this jubilee event. I do not doubt in
efficiency of the conference and wish our guests pleasant stay in the
Republic of Armenia,’ the message says.

A1+
| 15:00:42 | 29-09-2005 | Official |
RA PRESIDENT MET HEIKKI TALVITIE
Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian received EU Special Representative
for the South Caucasus Haikii Talvitie to discuss cooperation within the New
Neighbors EU Program.
The parties also touched upon the Karabakh conflict settlement, some
regional problems and development programs. The process of constitutional
reform was as well considered.
Robert Kocharian and Mr. Talvitie stressed the importance of the
constitutional amendments rating them as a new possibility for developing
and strengthening democracy in Armenia.

A1+
| 12:11:02 | 30-09-2005 | Politics |
TURKEY RENOUNCES EU
Turkey renounced the negotiations about the membership to EU which were to
take place on October 3, the Foreign Minister of Turkey Abdullah Gyul
announced. He said that the EU must keep Turkey aware of its plans. {BR}
In any case, according to the Foreign Minister, the sides continue to work
in order to eliminate the disagreements.
The Turkish Prime Minister Rejeb Tayip Erdoghan in his turn announced that
Turkey will participate in the negotiations but will not accept the EU
conditions. Let us remind you that the EU conditions put forward against
Turkey referred to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and Greek
Cyprus.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1+
| 19:11:19 | 29-09-2005 | Politics |
RA FM SHOWS RESTRAINT
Today Armenian Foreign Minister was answering journalists’ questions
referring to the Karabakh settlement negotiations without enthusiasm.
The RA FM restricted himself to short answers like `yes’, `no’, `I don’t
think so’, `the agreements underwent no changes’. The last remark referred
to Azerbaijan’s permanent attempts to submit the issue to the UN General
Assembly.
As for the outcomes of the Vienna meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs,
Vartan Oskanian said that `no official information has been furnished yet.’
To note, once the Armenian FM told journalists that he never tells lies but
sometimes does not tell the truth.

A1+
| 18:52:07 | 29-09-2005 | Politics |
FOURTH U.S.-ARMENIA DEFENSE CONSULTATIONS HELD IN YEREVAN
On September 28-29, the fourth annual U.S.-Armenia Bilateral Defense
Consultations were held in Yerevan, Armenia. As part of the consultations, a
U.S. delegation led by Mr. Scott Schless, Principal Director for Eurasia in
the Office of the Secretary of Defense, met with Armenian Ministry of
Defense officials. The Armenian delegation was led by General-Major Artur
Aghabekyan, Deputy Minister of Defense. Both Defense Minister of the
Republic of Armenia Serge Sargsyan and U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans
also attended the consultations.
The purpose of these consultations was to review the previous year’s
bilateral defense cooperation and to agree to a plan for 2006 bilateral
defense cooperation. A broad range of themes was discussed by the parties,
including national security, defense reform, peacekeeping operations,
military training, military education, and the military’s role in disaster
response. During the consultations, Ambassador Evans noted the broadening
and deepening of the U.S.-Armenia defense relationship.
The U.S.-Armenia Bilateral Defense consultations, which were held in the
U.S. state of Kansas last year, alternate between being held at a U.S.
location one year, and an Armenian location the next.

A1+
| 17:31:18 | 29-09-2005 | Social |
BELGIUM TO SEE STRUGGLE OF RESIDENTS OF BUZAND STREET
Foreigners show great interest in the fate of the residents of Buzand
street. Presently a film about the street, its residents and their struggle
is being shot.
Today members of one of Belgian TV Companies accompanied the protesters to
the government building.
It should be noted that the problem was never enlightened by the Armenian
TV. Today’s event was not an exception.