PACE SPRING SESSION STARTS IN STRASBOURG
Author: R. Abdullayev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 10 2006
EU – Council of Europe relations – will be the major point on the
agenda of the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE). The Luxembourg prime-minister, Jean-Claude
Junker will speak on that matter today, the Trend correspondent in
Strasbourg reports. The Euro Commission chairman, Jose Manuela Barrozu
is also expected to hold a speech.
The perspectives of the EU basic rights agency creation with the
participation of the General Secretary of the CE, Terry Davis and
the EC foreign affairs commission chairman, Elmar Broke will also
be discussed. The impossibility of rehabilitating the Nazi ideology
in Europe will be included on the April session agenda. Situation
in Palestine will be under the discussion as well; representatives
from Israeli parliament and Palestinian territories, including Hamas
movement representatives have been invited.
Two questions directly relating to Azerbaijan will be discussed at
the session – problem of maltreatment in the European armies and
the problem of refuges and displaced persons in Azerbaijan, Armenia
and Georgia.
The refuges problem will be discussed on April 13, the Azerbaijani
delegation member, Ganira Pashayeva told Trend.
The given problem has already been discussed at the PACE meeting on
June 2002 (resolution 94840). “The fact this problem is again included
on the PACE agenda is very important, as it gives the possibility to
keep the world `s attention on the problem,” she said.
Azerbaijani MPs will also distribute special brochures and books
dedicated on the Azerbaijani- Armenian conflict.
Other matters including the women trafficking at the eve of the world
championship in Germany will be discussed at the meeting.
PACE has decided to postpone the CIA secret prisons in Europe issue
till the summer session as there is not enough materials on the issue.

GLO HOLDS ACTIONS DEMANDING FAIR DECISION RELATED TO AZERBAIJAN ARMY OFFICER RAMIL SAFAROV
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 10 2006
Garabagh Liberation Organization (GLO) has started holding of actions
with regard to fair decision on Azerbaijani Army officer Ramil Safarov
in the trial who is convicted in killing Armenian officer Gurgen
Margarian, GLO chairman Akif Naghi has told APA. Mr.Naghi added that
actions will be held in regions and settlements of the region on the
initiative of local organizations of GLO.
The first action from these series has been held in Terter, where
displaced persons have been settled. They said state prosecutors’
to be ill-intentioned, support position of Armenia. Akif Naghi has
stated that analogical actions will be continued.

FRENCH AMB AT OSCE MINSK GROUP HOLDING TALKS IN BAKU
Author: S.Agayeva
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 10 2006
French Ambassador Bernard Fassie, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair,
is holding consultations in Baku on the peaceable resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, French embassy in
Baku told Trend. The diplomat arrived in Azerbaijan on Monday morning.
During the visit the diplomat plans to meet with the senior leadership
of Azerbaijan. He is also scheduled to hold a news conference at
French embassy.
The French diplomat will leave Baku for Yerevan, the embassy said.

GREGORY PECK PROFILE – FATHER OF ARMENIAN ROOTS
>From Diana Saenger,
About – News & Issues, NY
April 10 2006
Notable Film Star
Date of Birth: April 5, 1916
Place of Birth: La Jolla, CA
Date of Death: June 12,2003
Place of Death: Los Angeles, California
Cause of Death: natural causes
Gregory Peck was a major screen idol in feature films from 1944 to
1998, but he was also known for many other endeavors. He was the
national chairman of the American Cancer Society (1966), president
of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (1967-1970), charter
member of the National Council on the Arts (1968-1974), recipient of
the Presidential Medal of Freedom, nation’s highest civilian award
in 1969 by Lyndon Johnson and he marched with Martin Luther King.
Peck’s Early Interest in Films Born Eldred Gregory Peck in the sunny
and posh seaside of La Jolla, California, Peck’s father, from Armenian
roots, was a pharmacist in San Diego. After his parents divorced when
Peck was five, he went to live with his grandmother, Kate Ayres. It
was she who sparked his early interest in films by taking him to
the movies every week. Peck attended grammar school in La Jolla,
graduated from San Diego High in 1933, and then headed north.
While enrolled in a pre-med program at Berkeley, Peck reconnected with
his childhood enjoyment of films and began taking acting classes. So
bitten by the acting bug, he ducked out on graduation at UC Berkeley
in 1939 and took a train to New York to enroll in the Neighborhood
Playhouse in New York. While honing his craft, Peck worked at Radio
City Music Hall as a tour guide and as a catalog model for Montgomery
Ward. After graduating he made his stage debut in 1942 in The Morning
Star. That same year Peck married Greta Kukkonen.
Instant Stardom Only one year later the handsome actor found himself
in Hollywood working for RKO pictures. Days of Glory (1944) was his
film debut; Peck played Vladimir in a film about the Nazi invasion
of Russia.
It’s rare for an actor to be nominated for an Academy Award on their
second film, but Peck was with his role as Father Francis Chisholm,
a young priest, sent to China to establish a Catholic parish among
the non-Christian Chinese in The Keys of the Kingdom(1944). Next came
the films Spellbound (1945), Duel in the Sun (1946), and The Yearling
(1946), which garnered Peck another Academy Award nomination.
Still feeling a draw to the stage, in 1947, Peck returned to La
Jolla accompanied by Mel Ferrer and Dorothy McGuire. The trio of
actors founded the La Jolla Playhouse, today a world renown playhouse
responsible for many Broadway bound long running shows. Their hope to
create a theatre where film actors could hone their craft on stage
away from Hollywood became a reality. The La Jolla Playhouse hosted
a myriad of stars from Vivian Vance to Dennis Hopper, and Peck would
return often to add his support to theatre’s fundraising campaigns.
“As our founder, Gregory Peck’s contribution to the Playhouse
and theatre in San Diego, as well as American film, leaves a
lasting legacy,” said Playhouse Artistic Director Des McAnuff in an
interview. “We want to honor that legacy by celebrating his life. He
is our artistic soul and will be in our hearts and minds as the
Playhouse moves forward into the future.” Fast becoming an extremely
fruitful actor, that same year in 1947 Peck earned two more Academy
Award nomination for his roles in Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) and
Twelve O’Clock High (1949). Other films would follow – Yellow Sky
(1949), The Great Sinner (1949) and The Gunfighter (1950) among them.
With his impressive resume, Peck could now call the shots. He chose
scripts that appealed to him, ones with noble and ethical undertones
such as Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951), The Purple Plain
(1954), Moby Dick (1956), Pork Chop Hill (1959) and The Guns of
Navarone (1961).
“They say the bad guys are more interesting to play but there is
more to it than that,” Peck once said. “Playing the good guys is more
challenging because it’s harder to make them interesting.”
In 1955 Peck divorced Greta Kukkonen. The couple had three children
– Jonathan, Stephen and Carey. That same year he married Veronique
Passani, who remained his wife until his death and gave Peck two more
children – Tony and Cecilia.
With his tall statue and heroic looks, it was only natural that
studios also wanted him for romantic leads. Peck chose these roles
as well based on stars he admired and wanted to work with, such
as Susan Hayward David and Basthsheba (1951), Audrey Hepburn Roman
Holiday (1953), Lauren Bacall Designing Women (1957) and Deborah Kerr
Beloved Infidel (1959). Peck lost the adage, “Always a bridegroom,
never a bride,” when he won his first Oscar for his performance as
Lawyer Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).
So heartfelt was his performance, the film still ranks among many
classic fans’ favorite films. Atticus Finch, was voted the greatest
screen hero of all time by the American Film Institute in May 2003.
By the late 1970s, Peck was losing his A-list star status. He tried
his hand at producing in The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (1972)
and The Dove (1974), the 57th Annual Academy Awards (1985). He did
return to his native San Diego to film scenes for MacAuthur, in which
he played Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Peck appeared in some roles in TV
mini series during these years. His last role was as Father Mapple
in the 1998 TV movie Moby Dick .
His peers, coworkers, and fans all hailed Peck as a generous, talented
and kind man, who gave Hollywood some excellent films reels and deeply
cared about the world around him. “He was exactly what I expected,”
said La Playhouse’s artistic director Des McAnuff when he met Peck
in person at the Playhouse. “A giant of a man with wonderful dignity,
a great sense of humanity and humor.
Gregory Peck died at age 87.
gPckprfe40906.htm

GAS PAINS FONT SIZE
By Evgeny Morozov : BIO| 10 Apr 2006
TCS Daily, DC
April 10 2006
As of April 1, Moldova and Armenia were to start paying $110-twice the
2005 price-for a thousand cubic meters of gas bought from Gazprom,
the Russian energy behemoth. This was part of Gazprom’s campaign of
fighting “price socialism,” as Aleksei Miller, the company’s CEO,
termed the subsidized sale of Russian gas to countries of the former
Soviet bloc.
What really happened in Moldova and Armenia before, on, and after April
1 proved that Gazprom’s intentions are not grounded in the realms of
free-market thinking, but aim to support the new reconfiguration of
Russian foreign policy, in which the Russian energy base serves as
a powerful way to restore the country’s position in the world. This
reconfiguration surfaced as early as 1999, when President Vladimir
Putin wrote that “Russia’s emergence from its deep crisis and
restoration of its former power” is preconditioned on the state’s
use of the country’s natural resources.
Now, seven years later, the crisis is over; it is restoration time.
This explains why a few days before the April 1 deadline, Moldova
agreed to continue buying Russian gas at the 2005 price for yet
another quarter in exchange for creating more joint projects with
Gazprom. Gazprom already has a majority of 50 percent plus one in
Moldovagaz, the joint Russian-Moldovan venture responsible for gas
shipments of Russian gas to the country. Gazprom has also been trying
to increase its share to 75 percent, and might as well succeed even
by the end of the year.
Armenia chose a different path and accepted the higher price.
However, its government is in talks with Moscow to alleviate the burden
by entering another “property in exchange for debt” agreement, which
would swap the energy debt for a transfer of state-owned property
to Russia (Armenia already used this scheme once; thus, five of its
companies, predominantly in the science and energy sectors, are now
controlled by Russia).
This time, the “exchange” might include the under-construction
Iran-Armenia pipeline and/or the fifth block of the Hrazdan Power
Plant. Without the exchange, the Armenians will have a hard time
coping with the burden of increased gas prices (beginning April 10,
Armenia increases its gas tariff by 52.2 percent for residents, by 85.2
percent for companies, which would have a dire effect on the economy).
Lithuania, which as a member of the EU might be tempted to feel
safer than Armenia or Moldova, faced another Russian take-over of its
Mazeikiu Oil Complex, part of the Yukos heritage in the country. The
bidding process started by the Lithuanian government to sell the
Mazeikiu to foreign investors was hampered on March 29, when the
Moscow Arbitration Court gave a ruling in favor of the state-owned
Rosneft to claim Mazeikiu as part of its campaign to settle the Yukos
“tax arrears” to the state. The situation has been so grave that the
Lithuanian government is considering nationalizing Mazeikiu based on
a threat to national security clause.
Pro-Russia Belarus, which already struck a deal with Moscow over of
gas supplies until 2020, hoped that the same agreement could have been
made about the prices. However, the cunning Kremlin caught Belarusian
President Alexander Lukashenko when he was most vulnerable: amidst
an intensifying protest campaign (with the biggest protest planed
for April 26, the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster) and
reportedly in bad health (Lukashenko suddenly disappeared for two
weeks and rescheduled his inauguration for no apparent reason).
Now, Gazprom wants what it had been trying to get for almost a decade:
either form a joint-venture or obtain full ownership of the Beltransgaz
pipeline, one of the two pipelines that carry the Russian gas to Europe
through Belarus (the second pipeline is Yamal-Europe, and it is fully
owned by Gazprom, with Belarus only leasing the land on which it is
built). With the North European Gas Pipeline looming on the horizon,
Lukashenko has little bargaining leverage (this pipeline might make
the Beltransgaz route even less relevant). The most likely outcome
in his gas war is that Belarus gives up the Beltransgaz pipeline,
and Russia tries to recapture what it has lost in Ukraine through
the murky deal with RosUkrEnergo.
The growing bonhomie along the Beijing-Moscow axis is also worth
noting. Among the 22 contracts that the 800-member Putin’s team had
signed in Beijing in late March, the most important ones had to deal
with the creation of two natural gas pipelines (each about 1,800
miles long) from Russia to China. This would place Russia at the top
of China’s energy suppliers.
What impact can it have on Europe? In the words of Sergei V.
Kupriyanov, a Gazprom spokesman, “Gazprom will fulfill all its current
contracts and obligations to Europe. However, the future increases
in gas supplies to Europe — in response to its growing demand —
will be subject to arbitrage between China and European countries.”
It appears that Moscow has a grand strategy of pitting Western and
Eastern Europe and Asia all against each other. Judging by the recent
developments in Moldova, Armenia, Lithuania, Belarus, and China, it
might be more disruptive than many in Brussels, Warsaw, or Beijing
are prepared to realize.
The author is a columnist for the Russian newspaper Akzia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MAMMADYAROV: “OFFICIAL BAKU WILL EXPRESS OPINION OF US LATEST PROPOSALS ON THE CONFLICT SETTLEMENT”
Today, Azerbaijan
April 10 2006
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov had talks with American co-chair
of OSCE Minsk Group Steven Mann and Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried at the State Department
the day before yesterday.
Mammadyarov also had talks with National Security Adviser Stephen
Hadley in the White House, APA reports.
FM stated that US high ranking officials expressed willingness to
deepen relations with Azerbaijan.
“It meets Azerbaijan’s national interests. The American side approves
President Ilham Aliyev’s prescient strategic policy on the country
as well as on the region,” Mammadyarov said.
“US thanked Azerbaijan for its contributions to the counterterrorism
coalition. Washington considers Azerbaijan as the leader in the
region,” FM added.
The Minister also said that during the talks in the State Department,
the American side put forward some proposals regarding the Prague
process to settle Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
“They are some interesting proposals. The Official Baku will analyze
and express opinion on them during Steven Mann’s visit to the region
April 18,” Mammadyarov said.
URL:

IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE TO BE OPERATIONAL DEC. 2006
Tehran Times, Iran
April 10 2006
Tehran Times Economic Desk
TEHRAN – The first phase of Iran-Armenia gas export pipeline is
expected to kick off in early December 2006, technical and foreign
relations director of Armenia Energy Ministry Leon Vartanian announced
on Sunday.
“The project is moving at desirable pace and it is going to come on
stream 30 days earlier than anticipated time,” the Persian service
of ISNA quoted Vartanian as saying, adding that the pipeline is 40
km long within the Armenian territory.
Elsewhere in the news, Iran’s oil minister, Seyyed Kazem
Vaziri-Hamaneh, stated that the country is exporting gas to
Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan Republic, on energy exchange basis and
several other gas export plans to the neighboring countries are
under consideration.
A natural gas sale to Armenia is Iran’s third largest long-term
contract in this sector after the export agreements to Turkey and
UAE. The deal is projected at the daily volume of nine million
cubic meters.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE HAD PHONE TALKS WITH ALIYEV AND KOCHARIAN
Today, Azerbaijan
April 10 2006
The US Secretary of State met Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov.
The State Secretary phoned President Ilham Aliyev first and then
Armenian President Robert Kocharian before meeting with Mr.Mammadyarov,
APA reports.
Ms.Rice discussed settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict with
the Presidents.
The talks with the Azerbaijani FM also focused on this problem. The
US State Secretary expressed hope that improvement would be achieved.
URL:

ARMENIA THREATENS TO DROP OUT OF PEACE TALKS
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
posted on April 10 2006
Baku, April 7, AssA-Irada
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian made destructive statements
during the recent discussions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh conflict with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
Oskanian said the conflict settlement will be specified over the next
two months. He said if official Baku accepts the right of Garabagh
Armenians to self-determination, “Yerevan and Khankandi will be ready
to consider all the issues involved afterwards”. Otherwise, Armenia
will not participate in the talks concerning Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity and the return of Azeri refugees home, Oskanian maintained.
“Granting Upper Garabagh’s Armenian residents the right to
self-administration should be taken as the main principle. If this
position of ours is not taken as a basis in the negotiating process,
Armenia will not be involved in addressing the problems of the persons
displaced by the conflict,” the Armenian minister alleged.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said the OSCE Minsk Group (MG)
mediation allows the conflicting sides to reach an accord. The
co-chairs are constantly working on proposals on the conflict
resolution that could help the parties to move the peace process
forward, he said.
“We do not disclose the details, as this is not in our authority,
but that of the parties to the conflict. But the Minsk Group has some
proposals that could be deemed as key for the conflict settlement,”
Lavrov said.
While in Moscow, Oskanian also met with the Russian co-chair of the
OSCE MG Yuri Merzlyakov.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN OFFICIAL SAYS AZERBAIJAN OPEN FOR PHONE CALLS
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
posted on April 10 2006
Baku, April 7, AssA-Irada
An Armenian official has said that phone calls are made from Armenia
to Azerbaijan.
“It is impossible to call from Azerbaijan to Armenia, but calling
the other way round is very easy. To connect, it is enough to dial
the 994 (area) code and the telephone number,” the head of Armenian
communications ministry’s foreign relations department, Gagik
Grigorian, said, commenting on the Azeri Minister of Communications
and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov’s statement made Thursday.
Abbasov said the government was aware of numerous facts concerning
phone communication between the two countries. He said the National
Security Ministry is monitoring the conversations. It is also working
to oversee the existing electronic communication between Azerbaijan
and Armenia, although it is extremely difficult to control, he said.
Grigorian said that indeed, hundreds of Azeris and Armenians
communicate via different Internet forums every day.
The two countries which are facing a long-standing conflict over Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh maintain no relations.