Agence France Presse — English
September 14, 2005 Wednesday 7:53 AM GMT
Detained Azerbaijani opposition activist hospitalized
BAKU
A prominent opposition youth leader detained in connection with
alleged anti-government activity was treated in hospital in unclear
circumstances, the opposition said Wednesday.
The deputy head of the Yeni Fikir youth movement, Said Nuri, was
hospitalized with what may be liver problems after being arrested
Monday in a case linked to an alleged plot to overthrow the
government in a Ukraine-style uprising.
“Nuri has a liver condition. It is quite possible the police used
excessive force and exacerbated the problem, but there is no way of
knowing for sure,” said Murad Gasanly, a spokesman for the Azadlyq
opposition bloc.
Late Tuesday about a dozen police blocked the entrance to one of
Baku’s main hospitals where Nuri was believed to be receiving
treatment.
An officer at the scene told AFP Nuri had been hospitalized with a
headache and had since been returned to a central police station.
However according to Gasanly, Nuri received a blood transfusion at
the hospital early Wednesday and was due to be sent home later in the
day.
“Some of the Western embassies made phone calls to the government
last night, and because of the pressure he may be released,” Gasanly
said.
On Tuesday prosecutors said Nuri’s detention was linked to the arrest
last month of Yeni Fikir’s leader, Ruslan Bashirli, who was charged
with plotting a Ukraine-style uprising backed by the US-based
National Democratic Institute (NDI), a democracy pressure group, and
money from Armenia’s government.
Both the NDI and Armenia have denied the allegations, with Yeni Fikir
claiming the case is a state-sponsored smear campaign directed at the
opposition ahead of parliamentary elections in November.
Yeni Fikir participated in a demonstration by some 20,000
anti-government protestors in the capital Baku on Saturday to mark
the official start of election campaigning.
The last national vote in the mostly Muslim republic, the 2003
presidential elections in which President Ilham Aliyev took over from
his father Heydar Aliyev, ended in two days of rioting and hundreds
of arrests.

AZG Armenian Daily #165, 15/09/2005
Exhibition
ALEKSANDER PIRADOV WISHES TO PRESENT ITS ART COLLECTION TO ARMENIA
Daily Azg has already informed that a four-day exhibition “The Round Surface
of the Plate” opened Jotto Museum reconstructed by the support of the Lincy
Foundation. Realistic, surrealistic and abstract paintings on crystal plates
with oil paints by 27 Georgian and 5 Armenian artists from Tbilisi made up
the exhibition. The owner of these famous plates’ collection is Dr.
Aleksander Piradov who originates from renowned aristocratic dynasty and
lives in Tbilisi.
Most of Piradov’s are not plates but paintings and graphic pictures. One can
find there canvases of Yeghishe Tadevosian, Gevorg Bashinjaghian, Edgar
Shahin, Vahram Gayfejian, Harutyun Shamshinian and Hmayak Hakobian. Art
critics think that the collection is especially valuable for the Armenian
culture for having names of artists that are unknown to most of us.
Reproductions of paintings by Nina Vermisheva, Emma Lalayeva, Madlena
Amirkhanova, Mkrtich Margarian (Mako), Mikael Khununts, Sergey Chakhoyan and
others that we saw in “Aleksander Piradov’s Collection of Tbilisi’s Armenian
Painters” album printed in Moscow amazed us.
Last year, Piradov exhibited his collection at Marina Tsvetayeva Museum
under the title of “Forgotten Names”.
“If the Armenian government provides with an appropriate building, I will
gladly present the collection to my people”, Aleksander Piradov said.
A. Amirkhanian

A1+
| 19:56:25 | 14-09-2005 | Politics |
NEGOTIATIONS WITH STEPANAKERT?
Will the issue of «occupied territories» be included in the 60th session of
the UN General Assembly?
«Azerbaijan cannot take any step insisting on that point, as it will
contradict to the previous arrangement between the parties about that
issue», says the RA Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Hamlet Gasparyan in
answer to «A1+».
Azerbaijan tries again to include the issue of the situation in occupied
Azerbaijani territories into the agenda of 60th session of the UN General
Assembly, and according to the Azeri site ans.az, the issue has already been
included into the agenda.
«According to the UN conception, among other issues not discussed in the
59th session that one can also pass on to the 60th session. The Armenian
approach towards the issue has not changed: in case of raising any suchlike
issue in UN by Azerbaijan, Armenia will leave the process of negotiations
about the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and Azerbaijan will
have to continue the negotiations directly with Stepanakert», said Mr.
Gasparyan representing the RA Foreign Ministry’s comments on the issue.
According to the UN Public Information Administration Yerevan Office, the
issue was included in the preliminary agenda of the UN General Assembly 60th
session, but on September 12 in the offers about the agenda it was not.

A1+
| 18:26:59 | 14-09-2005 | Politics |
BAZEYAN BELIEVS NOT IN PEOPLE, BUT IN PRINCIPLES
«We are blamed of being traitors, but I must say that faithfulness to people
is the psychology of slaves. One must be faithful to his home country, his
family and principles», announced the ex-member of the Republican party
Albert Bazeyan today in «Azdak» club.
Today he opened some brackets during the press conference titled «Politics
and Morals» and considered the campaign against them with the silent consent
of his ex-fellow politician immoral.
First Mr. Bazeyan explained what he meant by saying that the Republican
party has gone astray from its main path. He made quotations about the
foreign policy of the country from the pre-electoral campaigns of the
Justice bloc, as well as Aram Sargsyan, where the enhancing of
Armenian-Russian relations was found important, «whereas now Aram Sargsyan
speaks about leaving the CIS».
Albert Bazeyan also mentioned that his relations with Vazgen Sargsyan were
those of colleagues. He also read the letter in which Vazgen Sargsyan
informed that he and Robert Kocharyan are going to put forward their
candidacies for the post of the President of the country and expected the
support of the party.
It was mentioned in the letter, «If you have decided to follow the principle
of the relations Armenian Pan-National Movement – Levon Ter-Petrosyan, I
refuse it as you saw what it did to our country. In any case I will do
everything proceeding from the interests of the nation and not those of the
party or of the grouping, and I expect you will do the same. Yours truly,
Vazgen Sargsyan, February 07, 1998».

A1+
| 17:01:53 | 14-09-2005 | Social |
`COCA-COLA’ WAS TRIED
Today the Economic Competition Protection state Committee fined the
`Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company Armenia’ for abusing its predominant
status in the market. The company will have to pay 1% of its profit for the
last year. The Committee has been investigating the activity of `Coca-Cola’
since summer after the article published in the newspaper `Iravounq’. It was
mentioned in the article that `Coca-Cola’ has threatened all the stores not
to sell Pepsi-Cola in the refrigerators with the logo of that company on
them . After the publication of the article there came complaints of
different stores and `Jermuk Group’ which imports Pepsi-Cola.
Artashes Kakoyan who represented the interests of `Coca-Cola’ in the
Committee, said that the members of the Committee are biased and they
protect the `Pepsi-Cola’.
Curing the session facts were made public about different shops turning to
the Committee and complaining of the illegal activity of `Coca-Cola’. The
main complaint was the following, `We were told that If we sell the products
of Pepsi Cola too, they will take away their refrigerators and will not
supply us with their products any more.
It is worth mentioning that `Coca-Cola’ has a 67.35% predominant status in
the market.

The Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario) Canada
September 14, 2005 Wednesday
Final Edition
Aram I to visit Niagara
by: Don Fraser, The Standard
The highest ranking figure in the Armenian Apostolic Church will pay
a rare visit to Niagara next month.
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos will visit Canada from Sept. 22 to
Oct. 5.
While his Ontario schedule hasn’t yet been finalized, Aram is
scheduled to visit the region Oct. 4, said Rafi Istanboulian,
president of the parish council of the St. Paul Armenian Apostolic
Church of St. Catharines.
This is at least the second time the head of the church has come to
Niagara, said Istanboulian. The last visit was in the late 1960s.
“That’s why it is a big event for our community,” he said, adding
there are about 1,050 Armenians in Niagara. “We do know he will will
be visiting St. Catharines, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls.”
There are a number of anniversaries that Aram I will be marking while
in Canada, according to a recent release from the Armenian Prelacy of
Canada, the governing religious body in this country.
That includes the 1,600th anniversary of the Armenian alphabet, and
the 75th anniversary of the Catholicosate Seminary in Lebanon, which
is a focal point for training Armenian religious leaders.
It is also the 10th year that Aram I has been ordinated as Catholicos
(leader) of the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, the equivalent of
the Vatican and located in Lebanon.

AZG Armenian Daily #165, 15/09/2005
Economy
RUSSIA DID NOT LOSE INTEREST IN ASSET-FOR-DEBT DEAL
The Russian side has not so far presented the list of activities of Armenian
enterprises that Russia obtained within the frameworks of Asset-for-Debt
Project, trade and economic development minister Karen Tcshmaritian told
Mediamax agency. Asked whether Russia will not lose its interest in Armenian
enterprises, the minister said that “Russia is still paying attention to
this issue”. He said that the enterprises are in ready-to-work position but
do not function to the uttermost capacity. Minister Tcshmaritian expressed
hope that Russia will soon present its projects to RA Trade and Economic
Development Ministry, after which it will be possible to speak about
operation dates and investment size.

AZG Armenian Daily #165, 15/09/2005
Visit
A DELEGATION OF ST. PETERSBURG VISITS YEREVAN
An official Russian delegation from St. Petersburg headed by governor of
Leningradskaya region Valentina Matvienko arrived in Yerevan Sept. 13 to
take part in the days of the city within the frameworks of days of Russian
culture in Armenia. The delegation has already met the Supreme Patriarch of
Armenia, took part in the exhibition of painters from St. Petersburg, met
with the students of Russian-Armenian University and listened to a joined
concert at Arno Babajanian Concert Hall.
The two cities signed an agreement on June 19 of 1997 in order to map out
and implement common projects.
By Marietta Makarian

Armenpress
COMMISSION FINES COCA COLA
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS: A government commission for protection
of economic competition has ruled to fine Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling
Company Armenia in the amount of one percent of its last year’s profits.
The decision followed a complaint from Jermuk Group, the exclusive
representative of Pepsi Cola in Armenia that Coca Cola was threatening trade
kiosks and shop owners to take away its refrigerators if they install also
Pepsi Cola refrigerators.
The commission said today it had asked Coca Cola two months ago to drop
these threats, but its letter remained unanswered. It also said its decision
was backed by findings of a survey among shop and kiosk owners.

Armenpress
ECAC NOTES PROGRESS IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS; Before wrapping up a visit to Armenia,
Kis Laszlo, the chairman of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC),
commended today in Yerevan the Armenian Civil Aviation Department for doing
a great deal of work to meet European aviation requirements, both in terms
of legislation and safety measures. He said the progress is important for
Armenia’s cooperation with European carriers within the frameworks of the
European Neighborhood Policy (ENP).
Chief of Armenian Civil Aviation Department, Artiom Movsesian said
delegation members took a close look into what Armenia did to meet European
safety requirements. He said the findings of the ECAC will serve as a basis
for development of a plan of actions which Armenia should implement until
next February. Asked to comment on Belgium’s decision to include Armenian
Air Van Airlines into its list of air companies which are not allowed to
land in that country, Laszlo said there is no official list approved by the
European Union and every country has its own.
Movsesian added that the company was given two months to eliminate the
shortcomings. He said the Department will hire an international auditing
firm to check the books of those Armenian carriers which operate outside
Armenia. Thirteen Armenian 13 carriers were licensed to operate flights.
Altogether they run 50 aircrafts.
ECAC was founded as an intergovernmental organization by the Conference
on the Co-ordination of Air Transport in Europe ( CATE) in Strasbourg in
1955. In close liaison with ICAO and the Council of Europe, ECAC’s aim is to
promote the continued development of a safe, efficient and sustainable
European air transport system that has regard to environmental requirements.
ECAC is composed of 37 Member States.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress