ABUILDING ARMENIAN CHURCH SET ON FIRE IN BUDENNOVSK RUSSIAN TOWN

PanArmenian News Network
July 18 2005

18.07.2005 02:52

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The monument to Armenians, the founders of the town
was desecrated for the second time during the recent six months,
Yerkramas, the newspaper of Armenians of South of Russia reports.
According to Editor-in-chief Tigran Tavadian, the opening ceremony of
the memorial to the Fathers – Founders of the town of Saint Cross
took place October 17, 2004. The memorial is constituted of an
8-meter high arch, a Khachrar (cross stone) and a composition of
stones. The bell mounted under the arch has gathered the flock of the
Armenian Church for many years. For the first time the vandals
desecrated the monument in February 2005. The other day another act
of vandalism was committed. Lanterns were broken, the Khachkar was
damaged with fragments of concrete and dead body of a cat was thrown
under the arch. According to the source, the action bore a ritual
character. However on July 16 a recurrent incident took place. The
abuilding Armenian Church was set to fire. The fence was burnt and
the flame reached the Church itself. The witnesses do not doubt it
was arson. It is not ruled out that the vandals purposed the
objective to stir up tension in the town. “The inactivity of the law
enforcers, who are more interested in persecuting peaceful workers
without registration than in catching criminals, arouses
indignation”, Tigran Tavadian stated. To remind, the town of Surb
Khach (Saint Cross, presently Budennovsk) was founded by Armenian
migrants from Karabakh in 1799.

INTERIOR MINISTER’S VISIT TO VIENNA
[July 18, 2005, 13:39:33]

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
July 18 2005

Interior Minister of Azerbaijan Colonel-General Ramil Usubov stayed in
Vienna, Austria on July 14-15 on an official visit at the invitation
of the Federal Interior Minister of the country Liese Prokop.

During the meeting, the Ministers highly valued the developing
cooperation between the two countries interiors, and discussed
strategic directions of its further expanding. Mrs. Prokop invited
his Azerbaijani counterpart to attend the European Union ministerial
conference expected in Vienna in 2006. The Ministers also signed the
Agreement On police cooperation. Minister Usubov invited his Austrian
colleague to pay a visit to Azerbaijan.

During the visit, the Interior Minister of Azerbaijan also met with
other Austrian officials to inform them on legal reforms implemented
in Azerbaijan, democratic development in the country, and touched
upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He also had
a conversation with Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and
Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna Antonio Maria
Costa, on way of further strengthening cooperation between Azerbaijan
and UN in global fight agaists intenational crime. “It is important
for Azerbaijan that the United Nations is represented at a high
level at the 40th Session of the UN Sub-Commission on the Struggle
Against Illicit Drugs & Drug Trafficking in the Near & Middle East,
to be held in Baku on September 12-16,” said Ramil Usubov, handed
over the letter of invitation to attend the event Mr. Costa.

OSCE to discuss draft resolution on Garabagh conflict in 2006

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 18 2005

Baku, July 15, AssA-Irada — The draft resolution on the Upper Garabagh
conflict prepared by rapporteur Goran Lennmarker will be discussed
again at the next session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA)
in Vienna on February 22-23, 2006.

Head of the Azerbaijani delegation at the Assembly, MP Sattar Safarov
told AssA-Irada that there will be no need for discussing the draft
if positive steps in the liberation of Azerbaijan’s occupied regions
and repatriation of refugees are taken.

“We would really like this issue to be resolved by the PA session so
that we can talks about other matters.”*

ARMENIAN DIASPORA DANGEROUS FOR TURKEY, TURKISH HISTORIAN CONSIDERS

PanArmenian News Network
July 18 2005

18.07.2005 06:08

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There is no political pressure on the discussion of
the Armenian issue, Professor Hikmet Ozdemir, head of the Armenian
Studies Department at the Turkish Union of Historians stated when
asked why the open discussion of the Armenian issue is under political
pressure, Die Welt reports. When commenting on the negative statements
by Turkish Foreign Minister on the Armenian Genocide Conference
in Istanbul Ozdemir noted that no one forced the initiators to
cancel the conference. In his words, Turkey refrained from the
discussions of the Armenian issue due to the unwillingness to reopen
old wounds. “The Armenian Diaspora has convinced the whole world in
the thesis of Genocide and this prejudice can have grave consequences
for Turkey. We urge international discussion of the issue. We have
opened our archives. We request all other participants of the First
World War to produce the documents they possess”, Ozdemir stated.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri representative at OSCE PA discontent over Foreign Ministry statement

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 18 2005

Baku, July 15, AssA-Irada — The Azerbaijani delegation at the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly (PA) has expressed discontent over the Foreign
Ministry statement on a draft resolution on the Upper Garabagh conflict
prepared by the Assembly’s rapporteur Goran Lennmarker.

Head of the Azerbaijani delegation at the Assembly, MP Sattar Safarov
told AssA-Irada that unlike the Ministry, Azerbaijani representatives
want ‘things to be presented as they are’. Armenia should be called
“invader” in the resolution to be passed by the OSCE PA and sanctions
imposed on this country.

The Foreign Ministry, in its statement issued following the OSCE PA
session, said that Azerbaijan is satisfied with Lennmarker’s draft
resolution.*

Steven Mann: Garabagh conflict may be settled by year-end

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 18 2005

Baku, July 15, AssA-Irada — The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Upper Garabagh may be settled by the year-end, the US co-chair of
the mediating OSCE Minsk Group told a news conference in Yerevan.

“Major progress is observed in the conflict resolution over the past
year, which enables a conclusion that the conflict will be settled by
the year-end. But we do not know for certain that this will happen.”
Russian co-chair Yuri Merzlyakov said the parties are currently
trying to work out the ‘elements’ forming the basis of the conflict
resolution.

“The parties have compromised indeed and real opportunities came
about for the conflict settlement.”

The French mediator Bernard Fassier said the upcoming parliamentary
elections in Azerbaijan and a referendum due in Armenia should not
affect the negotiating process ‘in theory’, but it is unknown whether
this will be the case ‘in practice’.*

Putin, Erdogan to discuss Garabagh conflict

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 18 2005

Baku, July 15, AssA-Irada — Russian President Vladimir Putin and
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan will hold an informal
meeting in Sochi, Russia on July 17-18.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper Garabagh will be among
the issues to be discussed, Armenian Erkir newspaper reported.*

FM says peace talks focus on return of occupied land

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 18 2005

Baku, July 15, AssA-Irada — The Azerbaijan-Armenia talks on the Upper
Garabagh conflict settlement are focusing on the return of the seven
regions around Upper Garabagh, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
said on Friday.

Baku has reiterated its position on the matter during the recent visit
by the mediating OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to Azerbaijan, he said.

Mammadyarov and his Armenian counterpart Oskanian are due to hold
talks in Moscow on August 22 four days prior to the meeting of the
two countries’ Presidents in the Russian city of Kazan.

With regard to reports on holding a referendum on the Garabagh status
in the future, the Minister regarded this as ‘subversion of Armenian
sources’, as an agreement may be reached strictly within Azerbaijan’s
Constitution.

Mammadyarov continued that the parties have already come to terms on
some of the ‘elements’.

“After the Warsaw meeting, the Presidents instructed foreign ministers
to coordinate certain details. The elements that we do not agree
upon will be further put on discussion of the next meeting of the
two Presidents.”

The Minister emphasized that peace talks continue and it is premature
to speak of reaching a certain agreement. He did not rule that the
Azeri and Armenian communities of Upper Garabagh main joint the
negotiating process in the future, but said this is possible only
after Azerbaijanis that were driven out of their land return home
and an ‘end is put to ethnic cleansing in the region’.*

TATUL MARGARIAN: ARMENIA ENJOYS EXCELLENT RELATIONS WITH U.S.

PanArmenian News Network
July 18 2005

18.07.2005 07:20

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A. Armenia enjoys excellent relations with the
United States, which are deeply rooted in our shared values and
principles, Armenian Ambassador to the US Tatul Margarian when asked
by Armenpress news agency to comment on the current status of
U.S.-Armenian relations. “Our task is to further enhance the already
high level of cooperation and partnership with the United States to
the mutual benefit of our nations and in order to meet the challenges
that the international community now faces. Since the restoration of
its independence in 1991, Armenia has had many achievements in
building democratic institutions and civil society, a representative
form of government, and a free-market economy. We appreciate greatly
the enormous political, moral, and humanitarian support that the
United States has extended under the Freedom Support Act, and which
helped Armenia to sustain an independent statehood and implement
democratic, legal, and economic reforms. The many institutionalized
meetings and consultations between the Governments of our countries,
such as U.S.-Armenia Economic Task Force, U.S.-Armenia Strategic
Dialog, Bilateral Defense Consultations, provide a framework for
dialog on bilateral political, security, and economic cooperation.
Bilateral visits play an important role, and this year we have
already had a visit by the Foreign Minister, and the Prime Minister,
the Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly, and the Defense
Minister will visit later this year. U.S.-Armenia Task Force and
U.S.-Armenia strategic dialog meetings will be conducted in
Washington later this year”, he said. As for the level of the
Armenian-American economic cooperation, T. Margarian noted that since
1992, the level and scope of U.S. assistance programs have changed
from providing humanitarian assistance to mostly focusing on economic
development and democratic and legal reforms, reflecting the
significant progress made by Armenia in these areas. “Armenia’s
economy is now more efficient, diversified, than those of its
neighbors. According to Wall Street Journal and the Heritage
Foundation, Armenia ranks higher in index of economic freedom than
any other country in Eurasia and most of Eastern Europe. Armenia’s
inclusion as a potential recipient of the Millennium Challenge
Account funds is a testimony to Armenia’s ability to rule justly,
promote economic freedom, and invest in people. The MCA funds and
continued U.S. assistance to Armenia will advance the objectives of
poverty reduction and promotion of economic growth, thus helping to
unleash the creative potential of the Armenian people. The
appropriate Congressional subcommittees have already voted to markup
assistance to Armenia at the same level in 2006 as it was this year.
Equally important was maintaining parity in Congressional allocation
of military assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan. Also, U.S. will
continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh. The
United States is among Armenia’s top five trading partners, and over
the last 5 years, the exports of Armenian products to the United
States have grown significantly. Earlier in 2005, Armenia was granted
the Permanent Normal Trade Relations regime by the United States. At
the same time, the level of U.S. investments in Armenia is not high
compared with the existing potential. Therefore, promotion of trade
and investment will be an important priority. Most U.S. investment to
Armenia went into Armenia’s hospitality and IT industries,
particularly software manufacturing. Most of Armenia’s software
companies are geared towards the U.S. markets. Many hotels in Armenia
are now operated by Armenian-American investors, and this has helped
raise the standards and promote competition in this important
industry. There are also numerous small- and medium-scale
Armenian-American entrepreneurs who own businesses in Armenia, or
engage in export and import operations. Nevertheless, the prevailing
model for U.S. investment in Armenia has been foreign direct
investments, or personal involvement of the entrepreneur or manager.
During my meetings many express willingness to take advantage of the
economic opportunities in Armenia, but the main limitation is that
potential investors are unable, due to lack of time or career
considerations, to move to Armenia to personally run their
businesses. Therefore, in order to attract more American investment
to Armenia, there is a need for new mechanisms, vehicles such as
venture capital funds, investment companies, etc.”, he said,
Armenpess reports.

ARMENIAN DEVELOPMENT AGENCY ATTRACTS INVESTMENTS IN HI-TECH STATES

PanArmenian News Network
July 18 2005

18.07.2005 06:20

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Development Agency has initiated
a telemarketing campaign for attracting investments to the sphere
of informational technologies of Armenia, head of the investment
department Hasmik Hovhannisian stated in conversation with “.am”
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In her words, during the telemarketing
campaign over 30 organizations of the EU states engaged in Hi-Tech
industry showed interest in cooperating with Armenia. “We achieved
agreement on cooperation with several companies intending to open
branches in Armenia. Other companies requested data on the situation
with the information technology industry in Armenia and expressed a
wish to meet and discuss possible cooperation. Armenia represented
high technologies with precision instruments, electronics, organic
chemistry, medicine and biotechnology. During a week the ADA working
group held meetings with the representatives of 13 out of 25 interested
companies, who inquired about the professional level of the Armenian
personnel. Hasmik Hovhannisian informed. She also said that the process
of attracting investments is not a one-day task and Armenia’s presence
in the investment package is a good result. To note, thanks to the
efforts of the ADA the Sonics branch was opened in Armenia.