Azerbaijan Resumes Probe Into Xocali Killings
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, Czech Republic
Aug 3 2005
(RFE/RL)
3 August 2005 — The office of Azerbaijan’s military prosecutor
says it has reopened a criminal investigation into the killing of
dozens of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians by Armenian forces during the
Nagorno-Karabakh war.
The investigation had been suspended since March 1994.
A statement released today by Azerbaijan’s military prosecutor says
nearly 350 residents of Xocali, a predominantly Azerbaijani town of
Karabakh, were killed in February 1992 soon after the poorly defended
area fell into Armenian hands.
Earlier official figures released in Baku had put the number of
civilians killed in Xocali at nearly 500.
The Azerbaijani military prosecutor’s office also says it has opened
a criminal investigation into the February 1992 killing of nearly
50 residents of Qaradagli, an ethnic Azerbaijani village of the
predominantly ethnic Armenian separatist enclave.

ARMENIA’S DRAFT CONSTITUTION DIVIDES OPPOSITION
Haroutiun Khachatrian 8/03/05
EurasiaNet Organization
Aug 3 2005
Strong support from the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission for
Armenia’s draft constitution promises to bolster President Robert
Kocharian in his ongoing feud with the country’s opposition. With a
draft document that meets many of their earlier concerns, opposition
leaders are now divided over what further course to take. Even while
the largest opposition faction has announced plans to continue its
boycott of parliament, most other opposition leaders now appear ready
for cooperation with the government.
The amendments, designed largely to curtail the president’s powers,
would provide a “good basis” for bringing Armenia in line with
“European standards” for human rights, democracy and rule of law, the
Commission, which advises the Council on constitutional law matters,
argued in an official statement on July 22. The draft promises to
“pave the way for [Armenia’s] further European integration,” the
Commission concluded.
With the Council of Europe now supporting the government’s proposed
amendments, the political ball has fallen into the opposition’s
court. The nine-party Ardarutiun (Justice) opposition bloc, the
country’s largest, which has boycotted parliament since early 2004,
had earlier pledged that it would work alongside the government to
secure support for the new constitution. Once parliament approves
the draft in a third reading on August 29, the amendments will be
submitted for approval in a nationwide referendum expected to be held
in November 2005.
Such an alliance would be unprecedented. But whether or not it will
ever materialize remains in doubt. Two parties within the Ardarutiun
bloc – Hanrapetitiun (Republic) and the National Democratic Alliance
– appear to be driving a split. On July 19, Hanrapetitiun released a
statement that characterized a refusal by the opposition to work with
the government as the best bet for ending President Robert Kocharian’s
rule. “Following the failure of the constitutional amendments in
2003, another failure will inevitably result in the inglorious end
of the anti-popular regime,” the statement read. By working with the
government, Hanrapetitiun has argued, the opposition will only help
Kocharin’s administration retain power. “These authorities have no more
resources for reforms,” Smbat Ayvazian, a Hanrapetitiun board member,
commented after a July 15 meeting of the Aradarutiun bloc. Arahsk
Sadoyan, leader of the National Democratic Alliance, went further,
terming one opposition member’s support for cooperation with the
authorities “betrayal.”
Meanwhile, the majority of Ardarutiun members appear to have
taken a more moderate position. A July 19 statement released by
the parliamentary faction Ardarutiun reflected these views. The
faction expressed willingness to participate “in the process of
constitutional reforms and to present its proposals for improving the
draft [constitution] given the full implementation of the principles
put forward by the faction.” The faction has listed implementation of
the Venice Commission’s January 2005 recommendations and measures to
ensure a fair vote in the November constitutional referendum, including
changes to the electoral code, punishment of those involved in vote
rigging during the 2003 parliamentary elections and unrestricted
broadcast coverage of the referendum, including reopening the private
A1+ television station, as among its pre-conditions for participation
in the constitutional reform process.
Some observers believe that these differences could lead to
Hanrapetutiun eventually leaving the Ardarutiun bloc, a situation that
would only worsen problems already known to exist between Ardarutiun
and the influential opposition National Unity Party. National Unity
Party Chairman Artashes Geghamian is generally believed to be more
inclined to cooperate with the Kocharian administration than the
leaders of Ardarutiun.
For now, though, opposition members maintain that a split is not yet
inevitable. In an interview with the Aravot daily on July 19, National
Unity Party Deputy Chairman Aleksan Kirakosian stressed that “[i]f
the Ardarutiun bloc is broken, this will benefit the authorities,
and for this reason any problems should be settled without noise
rather than on the pages of newspapers.”
At a July 19 press conference, Shavarsh Kocharian , an Aradarutiun
bloc leader, seconded the call for reconciliation, citing a lack of
information as one potential cause for Hanrapetutiun’s opposition to
the draft constitution. Further talks, he told reporters, may lead the
faction to change its position. “The goal of Artarutiun has always
been to change the rules of games in the country, and we will reach
this goal.”
Editor’s Note: Haroutiun Khachatrian is a Yerevan-based writer
specializing in economic and political affairs.

Saudi King Fahd dies; half-brother takes over
BY JAMES RUPERT, STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Newsday (New York)
August 2, 2005
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd died yesterday and
was succeeded by his half-brother, Abdullah, ending a handover of
power that began a decade ago. Fahd was 82 and had been in decline
since a 1995 stroke. Abdullah is 81.
The formal succession will bring no quick changes to the country that
holds a quarter of the world’s known oil, but it will let Abdullah
accelerate his campaign for gradual reforms that are critical to the
country’s long-term stability, analysts said. During his 10 years as
the effective regent to Fahd, Abdullah has faced resistance in the
royal family to his efforts to reduce corruption, cut government
spending, streamline the economy and open policymaking to greater
public debate, Saudi watchers have said.
With the stability of the Saudi government one of the most worried-over
questions in the Middle East, Abdullah is seen by many as the best hope
for managing the evolution necessary to prevent violent upheaval. “He
is a godsend for the royal family” because “he has the highest level
of popular legitimacy” of any of its members, said Richard Dekmejian,
a political science professor and Middle East specialist at the
University of Southern California, who has written on the Saudi
political process.
Abdullah’s popularity is based on his image as the most austere, not
corrupt and just member of the royal family – a persona opposite that
of Fahd, who loved luxury. Abdullah is “a hard, tall, vigorous man
who represents the [Arabian] tribal values of surety and hard work,”
Dekmejian said.
News of Fahd’s death came in a statement read on state
television. “With all sorrow and sadness, the royal court … announces
the death of the custodian of the two holy mosques, King Fahd bin
Abdulaziz,” Information Minister Iyad Madani said. “He died after
suffering an illness. God now allows … King Fahd, with great mercy
and forgiveness, to reside in his wide heaven.”
Fahd, an overweight, long-time smoker, had diabetes, arthritis and
other ailments in addition to several reported strokes.
As a favored young son of the kingdom’s founder, King Abdulaziz bin
Saud, Fahd developed an affinity for the U.S. and for life in the West.
For decades, he spent months at a time in his villas and palaces in
Europe, Morocco and elsewhere.
As king he worked to reverse his playboy image and emphasized his
claim to religious authorities by adding to his title the phrase
“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques,” the most sacred shrines of Islam,
in the cities of Mecca and Medina.
Fahd often was seen as a vacillating monarch, but he led his country
through a painful period of enormous change. Falling petroleum prices
slashed the country’s oil revenue from $110 billion in 1981, the year
before he took power, to $43 billion in 1990. That forced politically
difficult budget cuts, but Fahd remained a staunch U.S. ally who
could be counted on to pump more oil into the world market when prices
threatened Western economies.
He also made the dangerously controversial decision to invite U.S.
troops into the kingdom after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The U.S.
military presence became a rallying point for Muslim extremists,
notably Osama bin Laden, and Fahd struggled to manage the
irreconcilable conflict between the royal family’s two essential
allies: the U.S. and the puritanical religious leadership of Saudi
Arabia’s Wahhabi sect of Islam.
“King Fahd was a man of wisdom and a leader who commanded respect
throughout the entire world. He was a friend and strong ally of the
United States for decades,” said President George W. Bush. Bush has
built close personal ties with Abdullah, inviting him to his Texas
ranch and calling him yesterday to express condolences.
French President Jacques Chirac said Fahd “put the safety of his
people above all else. In perilous times he was the guarantor of his
country’s cohesion and the defender of regional stability.”
Oil prices jumped $1 a barrel to a new high yesterday on the news
of Fahd’s death and any uncertainty it might bring but they later
retreated based on the smooth Saudi transition.
Funeral prayers for Fahd will be held today. Tomorrow Saudi citizens,
beginning with members of the royal family, will formally pledge bayat,
or allegiance, to King Abdullah.
In an arrangement negotiated years ago, Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz,
a brother of Fahd and the leading rival of Abdullah, has been named
crown prince. Sultan, 77, is seen as a major source of resistance
to Abdullah’s reforms, and analysts say a key signal for the speed
with which Abdullah will be able to enforce change will be whether a
“pro-reform” prince is named as the new third in line to the throne.
Where we buy oil
The United States relies on Saudi Arabia as its No. 3 foreign source
of crude oil. The top providers, as a percentage of U.S. crude imports:
Rank/country % of imports
1.Canada 16%
2. Mexico 16
3. Saudi Arabia 15
4. Venezuela 13
5. Nigeria 11
6. Iraq 6
7. Angola 3
8. Kuwait 2
SOURCE: Energy Information Administration
,0,57616.story?coll=ny-worldnews-print
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

San Diego CityBEAT, CA
Aug 3 2005
BEATING THE SYSTEM
Despite a ‘difficult’ sound and a disregard for marketing, System of a Down sells millions
by Troy Johnson
“I have two penises. And fungus growing on both.”
“Oh, OK. Congratulations.”
“I heard scaring people cures the hiccups.”
“Thank you. I think it helped. Actually, I was just concerned for
you.”
In his soft, hiccup-impeded voice, Serj Tankian does indeed sound
genuinely concerned, even at my juvenile gaffe. You get the feeling
the vocalist for System of a Down has a rather large capacity for
concern. Whether it’s regarding the genocide of his native Armenian
people, the Wild West recklessness of the Bush administration or just
researching the ethics of, say, a beverage company that wants to
sponsor his band’s tour, he spends a good amount of his time trying
to do the right thing.
“I annoy management, and I annoy our lawyers, and I annoy our merch
company- everyone-because I’m trying to get so much information,” he
admits. “But in the end I think it’s worth it. If I can do the right
thing for us mostly and catch as much of the mistakes as possible,
then that’s good, isn’t it?”
It is good. It’s also costly. They are the perfect b(r)and for a
Fortune 500 company looking to up its hip index. Their new album,
Mezmerize, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling
430,000 copies in its first week, their best sales yet.
“We’ve turned down millions and millions of dollars-be it
sponsorships for tours or television stuff,” Tankian explains,
refusing to name specific companies they didn’t feel inclined to
partner with. “We play music, but it’s really important to pay
attention as much as we can to all aspects of our business and how
we’re doing it. Because if we’re doing it in a way that doesn’t
represent us, then that’s a problem. It’s not just because of press,
not just because of fans, but personally.”
Tankian agrees that there are positive aspects of commercial
sponsorship, especially how it allows artists to lower the price of
concert tickets for their fans. But after spending 12 years making
sure that everything surrounding them-from sponsorships to
merchandise and movies-jibes with their own ideals, the band is not
about to trade integrity for cash.
“It’s a tough call,” he acknowledges. “But if Coke wanted to sponsor
us, we can’t do it. We can’t work with a company that has no respect
of labor standards. Now, if there’s an equitable company that does
good for the world and has done good stuff, and we believe in their
standards, then there’s a possibility of us working together.”
So it’s peculiar that System of a Down recently played a promotional
concert at Best Buy, a company that gets a lot of heat for draconian
business practices that hurt independent music retailers.
Tankian explains: “We did it because they had a whole promotion
campaign. They get heat from indie stores, but if I found out that
Best Buy’s business practices or environmental practices were not so
cool, then that would be different. And sometimes you don’t know, to
be honest with you, man. It’s very hard to know everything.”
They don’t have the commercial staying power of a pop star like
Mariah Carey, whose album is still No. 2 after 15 weeks. It’s not
surprising, really. For their first “single,” SOAD released “BYOB”
(Bring Your Own Bombs), a song that takes a lyrical machete to Bush
and is rife with the f-word.
Not the greatest marketing move.
“We’re not the greatest marketing band in the world, to be honest
with you,” Tankian readily admits. “If we were, we would probably
release some sort of single from our third record. Instead, we
decided to make an anti-war video with Michael Moore before the Iraqi
war even occurred. And that wasn’t the best marketing move.”
Another reason SOAD’s massive commercial success is so surprising is
the music itself, a disjointed mix of hard rock that shifts tempos
and genres 50 times over, sometimes in the same song. It’s music that
eschews convention as sport. Any effort to find music that’s as “out
there” and still sells buckets eventually leads to a discussion of
Radiohead.
“There is a surprising element to [our success], definitely,” Tankian
admits. “But we’ve been at it for 10 years of touring and working
hard for our fans. It’s not until later [that] commercial
outlets-radio, video-actually caught on. And so, in some ways I am
and some ways I’m not surprised.”
Mezmerize itself is an example of how System of a Down worked for its
fans-by showing restraint. Though the band had completed enough songs
to issue a double-album, they decided against it because, well, they
thought such overabundance sucks for the music listener.
“We wanted to put six albums into one; they wouldn’t let us,” Tankian
laughs. “We had way too much material. We’ve always hated long
records because it takes too much-it becomes a little overwhelming. I
don’t like listening to more than 40 minutes of music at a time from
an artist, even if I love them. After 40 minutes, it’s almost like
your ear needs a break.”
Fans will hear the rest of the band’s new material this fall, when
SOAD releases the rest of it on Hypnotize, Part 2 of their recent
work. Meanwhile, their current tour with Mars Volta is underway,
Tankian is reading scripts to choose a film to score, and the band
continues its campaign to have the Armenian genocide recognized as
such, even though Tankian admits “we’re kind of tired of doing
it-it’s got to happen already.”
For the latter, Tankian will take part in a new documentary about the
genocide, part of which includes the story of his grandfather, a
survivor who may or may not be 97 years old.
“He doesn’t know his real age,” Tankian explains. “And that comes
from having lost all documents and home and family and not knowing
your complete identity…. The thing about the Armenian genocide is
that it’s got to come out. It’s going to be the best thing for
everyone involved.”
System of a Down plays with Mars Volta at the Sports Arena, 7 p.m. on
Aug. 6. $39.50-$44. 619-220-8497.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Journalists of Azerbaijan participating in conference on subject
“Supporters of the Southern Caucasus” held in Vienna
Today, Azerbaijan
Aug 3 2005
02 August 2005 [11:43] – Today.Az
The Media Diversity Institute of Great Britain is holding a conference
on the subject “Supporters of the Southern Caucasus” in the capital
of Austria, Vienna.
According to the information given to APA from the National Tele-Radio
Council (NTRC), media representatives from the Southern Caucasus
countries are participating in the measure.
The chairman of NTRC Nushiravan Maharramli, Gulu Maharramli, chairman
of the “Yeni Nasil” (“New Generation”) Journalists Union Arif Aliyev
and others joined the conference from Azerbaijan.
The representatives from Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia are holding
discussions on the activity of mass media, protection of freedom of
speech and opinion, legislation in the media field in their countries
and other subjects. The conference will finish yesterday.
URL:

The Innocents and the Guilty
By Pap Hayrapetyan
Editor-in-Chief , Sevan regional newspaper
Does trafficking exist in Sevan city? The question came as a shock to
the local government official sitting across the table from me. I had
to explain what trafficking is, and then again I met his surprised
stare.
“What are you talking about? I never heard anything like it. That
can’t exist in Sevan city,” he insisted.
There was no sense in trying to convince him that he was wrong, that
our city had not avoided the ugly phenomenon that brings grief to so
many people in the 21st century. It is just that dignitaries do not
like to have the truth flung in their faces.
Yet something like that did happen in Sevan. So I asked the official
to be patient and hear me out. I told him my stories are based on
fact and the people in them – the victims of trafficking – all come
from the neighborhood.
1. YOU DON’T GET FREE PILAF IN DUBAI
“I married a man from Razdan city,” one of the victims tells me between
sobs. “My life was terrible,” she continues. “My second child was
just forty days old when my husband left us and went to Russia. We
heard nothing from him for a long time. I lived with my in-laws. No
one in the family worked.
We barely survived on my parents-in-law’s pensions. It was getting
worse every day. I was forced to leave my in-laws and live on my
own. There was no other way. I started looking for a job. One of my
neighbors helped me to get a job as a waiter in a restaurant in Razdan
city. The wages I got were barely enough to buy bread. Two little kids
were waiting at home. One day my husband showed up. I wished that he
hadn’t. I found out that he had been involved in gambling and that we
had huge debts.” Then she began avoiding my questions. I was curious
so I kept asking what happened next? And next?
Earlier, she had promised to tell me the full story, so she continued
in a low voice. “I had a terrible time and I kept trying to find
ways out of my awful situation. As if we hadn’t suffered enough,
I suddenly learned that my husband had lost me and our son in a game
of cards. My parents who lived in Sevan city turned away from me.
“There was a lady from Yerevan city that often used to eat at our
restaurant. She would always bring her dog along. You could see she
was well off. The girls advised me to ask her for help. For a long
time I didn’t dare. One day she noticed the depressed look on my face
and asked what had happened. I had a chance to tell her everything.
“‘I can help you,’ she said, ‘My daughter lives in Greece. She has
good contacts there. Go see her; she will give you a job gathering
bananas.’ “I was very happy. I told her that if she could arrange
this, I would be very glad. It is just that I didn’t have any money
to cover my expenses.
‘Don’t worry, ‘ she said, ” I shall sort everything out”. Indeed,
five days later she got in touch with me and arranged everything. She
even gave me a new passport with a visa inside.”
She stopped talking, breathed in deeply and wiped the tears from
her face with a handkerchief. I realized that it hurt to remember
the days that brought her suffering and changed her life. She told
me that the lady was known in Razdan as Mamma Roza. She gathered a
group of young women. “Most of them were women my age, 25 to 30, from
Razdan and Yerevan. We met on the plane. We all knew we were going
to Greece to gather bananas. Mamma Roza saw us off at the airport
and told us that her daughter would meet us in Greece and make all
the arrangements for our jobs.
“The flight seemed terribly long. We all sat there planning our new
lives, thinking of all kinds of things. Who could have known that life
had a surprise in store for us?” She became silent for a while.”We
never reached Greece,” she continued. “Our plane landed in Dubai,
the capital of the United Arab Emirates. In place of Mamma Roza’s
daughter, we were met by a portly young man. We later learned that he
was aide to the Boss – the man who would decide our fates. Right at
the airport, we were very upset, we started to protest, but who cared?
“Then they took us to the boss. He had a well-furnished house of
his own.
The boss talked to us, and each girl was taken to a different place. I
started to protest and said I had been swindled. He told me that they
had not brought me to Dubai for my own amusement.
“‘Pay us back five thousand dollars and we’ll send you home,’ he told
me in an angry voice.
“I realized that we had been sold like commodities, and that it was
Mamma Roza’s business to buy and sell people without asking their
permission.
“I did not give up, I kept protesting. I told the boss that had I
been this kind of woman, I would have made my living that way in
Armenia and provided for my kids. I even told him I would seek the
protection of the law.
“The boss laughed. ‘There is no law like this in this country. You
came here, you must work’. There were girls there that came a long
time ago, some of them of their own will. They were making their
living that way.”
I asked if he had had her passport with her.
“I did, but he tore it into a hundred little pieces,” she
explained. “And he told me I would never leave this place until I
paid him back the money.
“Since I kept protesting, the boss’s men gave me a beating. For five
days I could not move, the girls used wads of cotton wool to drip
water into my mouth. They really beat me and humiliated me. Every day
the boss would come to my room and say: ‘Hurry up, you are wasting
your time. You’ve got work to do, you must make a profit for me.’
“I learnt that the girls from my group were distributed among different
hotels. For five or six months I worked for my boss. We would wait
in our rooms for the clients – there would be 10 to 15 every day. We
had no sleep or quiet. I really could not stand it any more, I cried
all the time. My friend Nana, who had worked there for seven years
and told me she had already brought the boss 300,000 dollars, gave
me the advice to cry all the time – maybe someone would have pity of
me and help me. I followed her advice and kept crying and protesting
in front of the hotel owner. In the end, he believed me and realized
that I really had not come there of my own accord.
“It was especially difficult for me because I did not speak the local
language. The girls would write things for me and I showed them to
the hotel owner. Eventually he took me to his own home and I worked
there as a servant. He had an Indian wife who was very kind. She saw my
grief and tried to help me. I stayed one or two months at their home
and even learned some Hindu. The hotel owner’s wife asked him to find
a job for me. He knew a girl in Abu Dhabi city, 350 km from Dubai,
and he sent me there. I got there somehow, in the night, without a
passport. I worked in factory that manufactured cellular phones. There
was a furniture store next door. The owner of the store, an Arab,
saw me and fell in love with me. One day he approached me and asked
me to marry him. I had been fooled many times in my life, so I did
not believe him. I thought this was just another trap. The girl who
had helped me to get that job advised me to do as he asked. ‘You have
no other way,’ she said. ‘ Maybe this man will help you. ‘ “I lived
in the Arab’s house for six months without marrying him. Against my
expectations, he proved a very kind man and helped me with everything
he could. He sent 5000 dollars to my friend in Razdan so she could
buy a house for me. He kept sending clothes and food to my children
who were in an orphanage.
“We must marry and start a family, ” he insisted.
But I kept thinking of my kids that I had left in the orphanage. He
promised to help me go back to Armenia on the condition that he
would come and fetch us to live with him. Meanwhile we could not get
a new passport. One way of getting the passport was to be tried and
deported. But, by the law, before they deport you, you have to stay
in jail for as long as you stayed in the country illegally.
“Adil, the Arab, did everything he could for me. He spent ten thousand
dollars to buy a paper that said I had been tried and deported. That
way I got back to Armenia. I am now here with my kids. Adil visited us
twice and tried to take us with him but could not. We have problems
registering our marriage. ” I asked her if she would like to go
with Adil?
“There is no other way,” she said. “I regret my life worked out like
that. I hope that the future will be better for my kids and myself.”
I asked her if there were many Armenian women in the Emirates.
“Quite a few,” she said. “There were many women from Razdan, Gavar,
Yerevan and Gyumri. The saddest thing is that many of them went
there of their own accord, to make a living. For them, just like
for Mamma Roza, it is just a business, a way of making money. ”
“Does it work?” I asked.
“For some people,” she said. “It works out very well. For others,
life becomes a nightmare. ”
2. MOSCOW IS NOT A DREAM CITY
Moscow attracts people. For many Armenians faced with extreme poverty,
Moscow appears to be the only solution. With hopes of finding such
a solution, a group of over sixty car drivers from various parts of
Armenia, mostly from Gegharkunik, went to Moscow to find jobs for
themselves. One of the group, Yurik Barseghian, tells his story.
“Like many others, I was surprised to learn that drivers were invited
to go to Moscow to work at a construction site – they were building
a new military base. Why shouldn’t I go, especially since I’d been
sitting home jobless for two years already, and they were offering
very large wages – 1000 to 1500 dollars a month, and provided lodgings
and food.
“They told me that Martik Vartanian from Sevan city would gather
the group.
I had known him for a long time, he was the one who gave me my
driving license. The next day I went to his place. There were more
than a dozen men standing in front of his door. I knew some of them,
we had worked together in a transport company. Everybody looked happy,
they talked all the time, mostly about Moscow.
“Martik received us one by one, interviewing us. He asked each one
of us whether he had a job, what kind of driving license he had and
whether he needed money. He promised to sort everything out, including
getting new driving licenses, B-licenses instead of BC etc. We had
to pay for these services ourselves, while Martik and another man
from Sevan, Yurik Mkhitaryan, would pay our travel expenses.
“After talking to Martik, I went home and had a long discussion
with my wife. She was also in favor of my going to Moscow. She said:
“Go there, work, at least will pay back our debts”.
“But where could I get the 350 dollars to pay for a new driving
license? We found a way: we took my wife’s jewelry and pawned it at
the Agrobank. I gave the money to Martik. Several days later I got
my new license and a passport with a visa inside.
“Two days later they asked me to come to Martik’s office. There were
many people there. We had a meeting. Martik spoke first, and then
Yurik. They made long speeches. They said the construction of the
military base had started long ago and they needed drivers badly,
so that we’ll get jobs as soon as we get there. Then several drivers
took the floor. We were so inspired that no one doubted that everything
would work out very well.
“Two days later we were on our way. There were sixty of us. The
organizers sent us by bus to cut the costs down. The first surprise
awaited us on the way. They stopped us at the Georgian border and
kept us there for a day and a half. They made each pay 150 rubles
and only then let us go on our way. In Minvody, we paid 200 rubles,
and in Voronezh, the same amount.
“Several days later we finally arrived in Moscow. The traffic police
stopped the bus as it entered Moscow and did not let it inside the
city. The leaders of the group, Martik and Yurik, left us there and
went to Moscow to sort things out. We spent three days and nights
in the bus but they did not show up. Our food supplies were running
low. Worse still, we had spent almost ten days in the bus and smelled
awful. On the fourth day, police told us to move to the nearby forest
on the grounds that we interfered with the traffic. We did not have the
guts to disobey and went to the forest. We stayed there for two more
days. We slept in the bus and wandered in the woods during the day.
The police forbade us to move the bus so much as a meter
forward. Eventually the bus drivers told us to get out of the bus:
their time had run out and they had to go back.
“If you want to go back to Yerevan, pay for your tickets and we’ll
take you back”, said one of the drivers, Arthur.
“But how could we go back if we had borrowed lots of money to pay
our way here? We got out of the bus and stayed in the woods. We began
to realize that something was wrong but we still had hopes. We spent
one night under the trees. The next day, three cars started to move
in our direction.
Well-dressed, well-fed young men were driving the cars. Some of
the guys from our group recognized them at once. They were men from
Sevan city that had moved to Moscow several years ago and started a
successful business. The cars were laden with food. There were the
Meloyan brothers from Sevan city, Armen Grigoryan from Ddmashen, and
others. They approached us, we all hugged each other. Martik and Yurik
arrived a little later. In the presence of the guys from Moscow we
held back our anger at those two. Martik started to give excuses. He
said we had arrived too late, drivers for the construction site had
been found already and everyone will have to seek his own fortune. We
felt as if he poured cold water over our heads. No one spoke. What
can you do with you pockets empty, who will give you shelter?
“The Meloyan brothers took the matter in their hands. An hour later
a bus arrived. They came to terms with the police and we were on our
way. We settled down in cottages next to a garage belonging to Armen
Grigoryan. We could not sleep from that day on. We woke one day and
found that Martik had left. He fled during the night fearing revenge
from his pals. Until this day we have not heard from him.
“We started looking for jobs. Some of the guys, mostly from Martuni,
found some kin, phoned them, and they came and took them away. I got a
job at Armen’s garage: I changed the tires and washed the cars. Three
of our group started to work as manual laborers at a market across
the street. We did all kinds of work but could only earn enough to
buy bread.
“I stayed in Moscow for six months before I could make enough money
to pay my way home, and came back. Until this day I have not paid
back my debts or the interest.
Indeed, Moscow has surprises in store for Armenian drivers. They
trust someone, leave their homes with the hope to make their living
and borrow money to pay their way. With the terrible social situation
and growing unemployment in Armenia, people lose all hope to find
jobs at home and go to Moscow. How could they know that this was a
trap skillfully set by several men who were doing business that way?”
My next interviewee was from Chambarak village. He used to work as
a driver in a local transport company. He had a good income, was
respected in his village, built a house for his family. Independence
became a nightmare for him. The company where Martik Galstyan worked
went bankrupt and closed down.
For around two years he was jobless. Every day he would look for
small jobs to do and thus provided for his daily bread. It was Yurik
who told him about the opportunity to go to Moscow.
“One day Yurik phoned me and said he would visit me in a couple of days
and bring good news. Then he came and said that guys from Sevan were
putting together a group to go to Moscow and that he had asked them
to take me as well. I agreed because I had no other option, and two
days later I came to Sevan. Yurik introduced me to Martik. At first
he refused to take me saying that there were too many applicants from
Sevan and he can hardly accept all of them. Yurik pleaded for me and
Martik agreed to accept me on the condition that I pay 300 dollars
extra. I agreed. Several days later I received my papers and went to
Moscow with the group.
I asked what he had done when he realized that he had been swindled?
“I stayed a few days with the guys from Sevan,” he said. “I am grateful
to them for their help with food and shelter. I have a school pal in
Moscow, by the name of Hrach. Luckily I had his phone number. Armen
helped me to find him. He came and took me away. I worked as a manual
laborer in a shop, got a temporary residence permit. I worked for
about eight months. The job was awful. I couldn’t stand it anymore,
so I put some money aside and came back.
By chance I found a job here and managed to pay back my debts. But
you can’t imagine how mad I am at Martik. How could he swindle sixty
people, sixty families and leave with a clear conscience! Until this
day I cannot understand what he wanted.”
In Sevan, Razdan and Gavar we talked to the drivers who had been
swindled by Martik, and to their families. Until this day they cannot
forget what had happened. They are very angry with Martik and his
companions. The women damned him for making them go into debt.
Gaghik Hakobyan from Zovaber village tells his story.
“One day after midnight an old friend of mine from Sevan called and
offered that I come to Sevan the next day. I agreed without knowing
what he wanted.
We met near a technical school and had a short conversation. He told
me that a driver, Martik, was gathering a group of drivers to go to
Moscow. It was a good job, they promised good money. Later we met with
Martik and talked to him. The next day I gave him the required amount,
450 dollars. Next time we met on the day of departure. I can remember
very well that the guys were very enthusiastic. On our way to Moscow
we were joking, everybody was telling what he would do after coming
back. By the way, I borrowed money from my neighbor on the condition
that I would send it back in two months. ” I asked whether he believed
they wouldn’t swindle him?
“There was no doubt,” he said. “Could you believe they would swindle
60 men at the same time?”
“Then how did they manage to?” I asked.
“Well, they did,” he said. “It was the first time in my life I had been
swindled. A few days ago my neighbor suggested going to Moscow where
he had found a good job. I didn’t believe him. No, brother, I told him,
I’ll better stay here on bread and water than go to Russia again.”
“How did it go in Moscow?”
“At first I carried meat boxes in a supermarket, then I was night
watchman.
Those were hard days. I barely managed to come back home.” I asked
Misha Stepanian from Vardenis City, how he ahd joined the group.
“Damn that day.,” he said. “My wife is from Sevan. My brother-in-law
called me and told me about the group. Than he said that it was very
hard to convince Martik, so I had to come right away to Sevan and
bring about 500 dollars. The next day I went to Sevan. He acquainted
me with Martik, who seemed a nice guy but boasted a lot. I asked him
if he would keep his word.
He answered with confidence and even looked offended with my
question. I gave him the money, my old driving license and passport
and came back home.
A few days later we were on our way, full of expectations. I had
lots of debts; both my children study at a private college. I went
and came back and I’m still in debt. ”
The list of drivers swindled by Martik and Yurik includes three men
from Razdan city – Varuzhan Gevorkyan, Barsegh Poghosyan and Edgar
Hakobyan; Garnik Ignatevosyan from Lchashev village; Yerem Hakobyan and
Shahen Astvatsatryan from Gavar city, and many others. Meeting these
people and talking to them made me think that it was their difficult
situation that made them choose the seemingly attractive solution
of going to Moscow. Not one of them had the slightest suspicion that
they might be tricked.
Meanwhile Martik and his pal Yurik did not stop at anything in order
to make money. They didn’t even have any scruples about the fact that
many of their victims were their friends or relatives. They were
blinded by the desire to make a quick profit. The way back proved
very long for the swindled drivers.
Some of them are still in Moscow, far away from home.
3. INSTEAD OF A CONCLUSION
Those were just two cases that I described to the official in front
of me.
He listened to the stories and, finally seemed convinced that
trafficking does exist in Sevan. He could not help it: the facts
spoke for themselves.
Behind the facts there are people – helpless, despairing, tricked by
their own kin, forsaken by the authorities. There are many similar
cases. Society needs to be protected against trafficking.
–Pap Hayrapetyan

Le drapeau armenien disparaît devant le Conseil de l’Europe: Erevan proteste
Agence France Presse
2 août 2005 mardi 4:20 PM GMT
EREVAN 2 août 2005 — L’Armenie a vivement proteste mardi après avoir
constate la disparition de son drapeau devant le bâtiment du Conseil
de l’Europe a Strasbourg, dans l’est de la France.
“Le ministère armenien des Affaires etrangères condamne le vol de
notre drapeau national et exige de connaître les circonstances de
cette disparition et que soient prises les mesures adequates a l’egard
des delinquants qui ont commis cet acte”, a declare le ministère dans
une note de protestation adressee au secretariat general du Conseil
de l’Europe.
Le 30 juillet, le drapeau armenien a disparu du siège du Conseil de
l’Europe et le representant permanent de l’Armenie au Conseil en a
immediatement informe les services de securite et a demande que le
pavillion soit rapidement hisse de nouveau, a explique le ministère.
Le secretariat general du Conseil de l’Europe lui a presente ses
excuses mais l’a renvoye a la police francaise, responsable de la
securite de l’endroit où flottent les drapeaux de tous les pays
membres du Conseil de l’Europe, a precise le ministère.
Les autorites armeniennes ont donc informe la police francaise de
cet incident, a precise le ministère.
–Boundary_(ID_S9uYZJQpkGuzRDc99xlcAw)–

PRESS RELEASE
Fund for Armenian Relief’s Fellowship Alumni Association
29 Rubinyants Street,
Yerevan, Armenia
Contact: Armine Gasparyan,
Program Assistant
Tel: (3741) 249677, 249675
E-mail: [email protected],
[email protected]
Web:
OMI/FARFAA SATELLITE SYMPOSIUM
“ANESTHESIOLOGY”
Yerevan, July 25-26, 2005
FARFAA – Salzburg Medical Seminars Program, the Open Medical Institute (OMI)
program of the American Austrian Foundation, as well as the Armenian Society of
Anesthesiology and Intensive Care and Armenia Pain Control and Palliative Care
Association organized a Satellite Symposium on “ANESTHESIOLOGY”. The symposium
was sponsored by the American Austrian Foundation and of FAR (Fund for Armenian
Relief).
It took place on July 25-26, in Yerevan. About 150 anesthesiologists, from
different hospitals of Armenia both from the capital and province attended.
The chairmen of the symposium was Professor Gagik Mkhoyan, the head of the
Armenian Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care .The symposium was lead
by Dr. Sudhir Diwan and Dr. Aarti Sharma from Weill Medical College of Cornell
University, New York, USA..
Some of the lectures during the symposium were “Opioids and Chronic Pain”,
“Neuropathic Pain: Current Concepts”, “Interventional Pain Management” (by Dr.
Sudhir Diwan), “Overview of Neonatal Physiology and Anesthesia”, “Pediatric
Airway Interventional Pain Management”, “Management of Congenital Cardiac
Problem for Non-cardiac Surgery”, “” (by Dr. Aarti Sharma ). Several case
presentations were demonstrated on “Case of Missed Aspiration”, “Iatrogenic
Injury of Trachea” (by St G. Lusavorich MC), “Rare Complication of Difficult
Airways Management”, “Presentations of Clinical Cases” (by EMC),
“Intra-operative Extubation” (by Khojalu MH), “Fatal Complication after General
Anesthesia” (by St Nerses Mets MC). .
The goal of the symposium was to present the latest information on the
experience and the knowledge of the international faculty members to Armenian
doctors.
Participants positively evaluated the symposium and organizing committee thanks
to the high level of presentations, interesting discussions and established
connections.
On July 25-26, the guest lecturers paid visits to Yerevan hospitals.
We hope that this program will continue in the future and will help to enhance
the practice of local specialists through the gained theoretical knowledge and
discussions.
Dr. Gevorg Yaghjyan, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Plastic Reconstructive Microsurgery, Heratsi
Yerevan State Medical University ()
Local Seminars Coordinator, FARFAA-Salzburg ()
Chair, Educational Committee, Armenian Medical Association ()
58 Abovyan street, 375025 Yerevan, ARMENIA
Phone. (374-10) 56-0636
Fax. (374-10) 54-2898
Email: [email protected]

TWO CASES OF TRAFFICKING TO THE EMIRATES
Arpine Haroutinunyan works for Hetq, an internet-based investigative
magazine, the following story is based on interviews for the Team Reporting
Project
By Arpine Haroutiunyan
Hetq Online
“My friend Armenuhi deceived me” says Narine. “She promised me a
well-paid job in the United Arab Emirates. So I went. Once I got
there she took my passport and forced me into prostitution to make
money for her.”
Narine (her name has been changed at her request) is 34 years old
and she lives in Vanadzor – Armenia’s third largest city, in the
northeast, 120 kilometers from the capital, Yerevan. Officially,
Vanadzor is supposed to have a population of 120,000. But 30,000
or 40,000 people leave every year in search of work. Unofficially,
the population is considered much closer to 50,000. A disastrous
earthquake in1988 killed at least 800 people, left tens of thousands
without homes or jobs, and shattered the economy.
We met Narine in her one-room apartment where she lives with her two
sons on the outskirts of Vanadzor. When she returned from the Emirates
no one would take her in, so she was forced to rent the single room,
which has only one chair and a small table-the family usually sits
on a mattress on the floor.
There is no heat. For months they haven’t been able to pay for
electricity and it is often colder inside the apartment than
outside. Narine has to borrow money for bread.
Her husband was killed in Russia. Narine’s mother told us that he fled
Vanadzor after resorting to stealing. He never sent money from Russia,
and Narine’s relatives have been helping her to survive. She worked
as a clerk in a local store, but couldn’t support her family on what
she earned. So she took her friend Armenuhi’s advice and left for the
Emirates. She hoped that she would find a job in a store or cafe and
save some money. “Armenuhi and I had been friends since childhood,”
she explains. “I always trusted her and she was good to me. It never
occurred to me that that she could treat me like this.” Armenuhi
left Vanadzor for the Emirates in the spring of 2001, and then in
July invited Narine and a woman named Ofelia to join her. The women
didn’t know that their friend was involved in prostitution; Armenuhi
said she had been working as a seamstress. Narine left her boys with
a friend, R. B., and set off.
Armenuhi’s brother drove Narine to the airport, and Armenhui met
Narine when she landed in the Emirates. she immediately took her
passport. Then her attitude changed dramatically. “She told me that
I had to work as a prostitute or else I could stay there and rot,”
says Narine. “She said I had to give her $10,000 to get my passport
back. She found Ofelia a place in a cafe,” Narine says. Armenuhi
had been renting an apartment in a place called the Laundry Building
in Abu Dhabi . Narine worked there for nearly eight months, making
up to $200 an hour. She received six or seven men a day. She was
often treated cruelly, beaten, and forced to work even when she was
sick. As a rule, Armenuhi would take the money in advance, promising
to divide it up afterwards. Narine says she was not the only one in
this situation. There were many Armenian girls, some as young as 16
or 17. While in the Emirates, Narine periodically sent money to her
children – about $1,250 over the course of eight months. “I couldn’t
stay there anymore, I was like an object, like a slave. Sometimes the
Arab men would see me crying and spare me, they wouldn’t touch me,”
Narine recalls.
One day Narine noticed some stitches in her mattress; she ripped it
open and discovered her passport. She confronted Armenuhi and demanded
the money she had earned, but Armenuhi refused to pay her. In the end,
Narine was helped by an Arab man, who bought her a plane ticket and
sent her back to Armenia in April 2002. Narine was met at the Yerevan
airport by Armenuhi’s brother, who was accompanied by two friends,
one of whom was a police officer. A few days after she returned to
Vanadzor, the p;olice officer who had met her and another policeman
took her a detective with the Vanadzor police, who was nicknamed
Rambo. “Rambo asked me in an angry tone why hadn’t come to see him and
whether I knew that he was in charge of the girls returning from the
Emirates,” Narine explains. “Then he threatened me by saying that he
would deprive me of my parental rights if I didn’t write down what he
dictated, and he demanded $500. I wrote down everything that happened
to me in the Emirates.”
Narine told Armenhui’s brother about her declaration, and asked that
his sister pay her the money she was owed – $8,750. She took $200 from
him, on the condition that he would give her the rest later. Narine
says the brother signed a paper stating that the money was for
sexual exploitation. But then he consulted with Rambo about what
to do next. Rambo threatened Narine again and told her to leave the
brother alone, insisting that Armenuhi didn’t owe her anything. Narine
believes that Rambo was behind all of it. “Rambo told me that he was
in charge of this affair and I had to check everything with him. Rambo
was informed about everything-he knew that Armenuhi owed me money
and wanted to get something out of it, too,” she explains.
Narine informed both the Armenian police and the Foreign Ministry
of what had happened to her. On June 17, 2003, she received a letter
from the ministry stating, “In reference to your letter of June, 3,
2003 we would like to inform you that according to the information we
have received from the Police and Transport departments of the Lori
Marz, from 1990 to 2003, Vanadzor residents Vanadzor Armenuhi Simonyan
and her brother Artak Simonyan recruited and sent to the United Arab
Emirates for sexual exploitation a number of women, including residents
of Vanadzor. The Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia is now investigating
the case. Measures are being taken to locate Armenuhi Simonyan.”
Narine does not work now. She had a job at a bakery for a while,
but she left because the salary was too low, and her health was
poor-she has had serious kidney trouble since she returned from the
Emirates. Her children have not attended school for a year-an-a-half
– they don’t have textbooks, school supplies, or clothes. All her
relatives have abandoned them. “I understand that my daughter was
deceived. But I cannot forgive her anyway; she wouldn’t listen to us,
and she led an immoral life,” says Narine’s mother, Hasmik.
Narine has appealed to some international organizations, and they have
promised to help her defend her rights. “I will fight until Armenuhi
returns the money I earned-$8,750. She deals with big money and our
police officers profit from it,” she insists.
Charges have been filed in the case and the Office of the Prosecutor
General is in charge of the investigation. Armenuhi used to
visit Armenia a few times a year, but hasn’t done so since Narine
filed her complaint. Her contacts keep her informed her about the
investigation. Other woman from Vanadzor besides Narine fell victim to
Armenuhi Simonyan. They were afraid to meet with us. The mother of one
of them told us that her daughter was mentally disturbed and couldn’t
talk. Ofelia, who went to the Emirates with Narine, agreed to speak
with us. But in Vanadzor, we were met by her daughter instead. “Armen
Tamazyan, an investigator from the prosecutor’s office, told us that
you are not authorized to meet with us. My mother will not tell you
anything. The lawyers gave us the same advice,” she said.
The new Criminal Code of Armenia, which came into force on August 1,
2003, contains a provision on human trafficking: “Driving people to
prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, to forced labor
or services, to slavery or to a state equivalent to slavery or to a
subordinate condition, as well as recruiting, transporting, hiding
or receiving people in order to obtain their organs, is subject to
punishment in the form of a fine from 300 to 500 times the minimum
wage, or corrective labor for up to one year, or detention for up
to two months, or incarceration in prison from one to four years,”
reads Article 132 of the Criminal Code.
Rafik Giulnazaryan, senior assistant to the Prosecutor General,
says he helped Narine Karapetyan write her appeal. He advised her to
mention procuring and recruiting women. This was in 2001, under the
old Criminal Code, which had no provision on human trafficking, but
contained only one relevant article – #226- which defined punishment
for procuring and recruiting.
After Narine Karapetyan filed her complaint against Armenuhi Simonyan,
However, Giulnazaryan says, the investigation ascertained that Armenuhi
Simonyan was not a procurer but a go-between. Her main occupation was
prostitution. “Armenuhi Simonyan assists a number of procurers. When
she visits Armenia , she just happens to take some women back with
her to the Emirates. We know who the main procurers are. We are going
to bring them back to Armenia ,” Giulnazaryan says.
He also suggests that Narine Karapetyan, who went to the United Arab
Emirates with a group of other women from Vanadzor, probably knew in
advance where she was going and why. Among the women recruited by
Armenuhi Simonyan, only Narine has complained. She maintains that
Armenuhi had promised her a job at a factory, saying, “Armenuhi
deceived me, and she took the money I earned – $8,750. I want my
money back.” And Giulnazaryan explains: “The money Narine Karapetyan
earned must be returned not by Armenuhi but by their principal
procurer. Armenuhi paid the money she took from Narine to people who
were above her.”
Narine Karapetyan has also accused several law enforcement
officers. She insists that they too were involved in the affair. “I
consider that to be nonsense and provocation,” Giulnazaryan says. “We
have no evidence at all regarding these people. They are not involved
in this business.”
It is not clear yet how long this case will take,” Giulnazaryan
concludes.
“The lawyers say there won’t be much progress until the procurers
are brought back. And no one can say when that will happen. “We are
interested to see the case resolved in Narine’s favor. She lives in
really very hard conditions. But it is still obscure why she’s the
only one who lost out. The others don’t complain; some of them are
even very happy.”
“They catch the procurers, take money, and let them go” “My life
is ruined. There’s nothing I can do to change it. I’m lost, and I
don’t know how long I can live like this,” says 38-year-old Mary
Hovhannissian (the victims’ names have been changed).
Mary lives in Yerevan with her parents and brother. But her family
doesn’t know what she does for a living. She tries hard to make sure
that no one knows that she earns money through prostitution. “I’m
forced to do this since I can’t find any other job,” Mary tells
us quietly, as we talk in a cafe. In 1997 she met a man named
Seryozha. She was working as a waitress at the time, but her salary
was so low she couldn’t support her family.
“Seryozha told me that there were well-paid jobs in Greece and we could
make some money. He said we could buy a house when we came back-in
short, we could live safely,” Mary Hovhannissyan agreed. Seryozha took
her passport, ostensibly to buy tickets. At the airport on the day
they left, Seryozha said that first they would go to Dubai , then to
Greece . “Seryozha told me that we would get some money in Dubai and
then go on. But he tricked me and left me in Dubai ,” Mary explains.
A woman met them at the Dubai airport. Seryozha gave her Mary’s
passport and disappeared. Later Mary learned that Seryozha had brought
other women to the United Arab Emirates. She was told that she had
been “sold” and that she wouldn’t get her passport back until she paid
$6,000. “I was outside Armenia for the first time, and I didn’t know
what to do. I didn’t speak the language, I didn’t know the city, and I
had no money. I couldn’t even make a phone call,” Mary explains. She
was placed at the Rock Al Hadi hotel in Abu Dhabi. She earned $6,000
within a few months, but her passport was not returned. It was sold
for $3,000 to another Armenian woman. So Mary was required to earn
an additional $3,000 to free herself from the second procurer. After
paying off this sum, Mary was “sold” again. “So I was passed from hand
to hand and suffered like a slave. They beat me up if I refused or was
unable to work. They wouldn’t give me any medicine when I was sick. I
had no friends, I couldn’t trust anybody. Besides, the procurers
created such an atmosphere that girls would inform on each other,”
Mary recalls.
One of Mary’s procurers was called Marietta. She was the boss,
and other procurers in the Emirates – Anahit, Nano, Nelli, Zhanna –
worked for her.
The procurers were staying in a different hotel. Each of them had
from 10 to 15 girls, along with their passports.
Mary received fifteen or twenty men a day and was paid $13 for five
minutes.
She says that under-age girls were paid up to $200 for five
minutes. Their main clients were Arab men, who preferred Armenian
girls. According to Mary, there were a lot of Armenian women in Dubai ,
from fifteen to thirty years old. Mary made about $400 a day, of which
she was allowed to keep only $100-the rest went to the procurers. In
the course of six months in Dubai she made about $15,000.
In February 1997, Mary was arrested by the Dubai police. She was
imprisoned for three months. “The conditions in jail were horrible. I
kept getting sick. I could barely stand the life there. I almost
went crazy,” Mary recalls. In May 1997 she was deported from the
Emirates. She returned to Armenia exhausted and penniless. She didn’t
file any complaints-she was afraid that they wouldn’t believe her,
or would blame everything on her. She tried and failed to find work
as seamstress, her profession. So she went back to the life she fell
into in Dubai . Today she can be seen in the neighborhood of the
Ararat movie theater in Yerevan, working as a prostitute.
Mary blames law enforcement above all for the “sale” of herself
and other such women. “It’s their fault. They pretend to catch the
procurers, but they take money and let them go. That’s how they dealt
with the procurer who sold me, Marietta . They took the money and
set her free. As for Seryozha, he was never held responsible-he left
for Russia
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SMALL ELECTRIC POWER STATIONS TO BE BUILT IN ARMENIA
PanArmenian News Network
Aug 3 2005
03.08.2005 03:35
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Within next few years small electric power stations
with a capacity of 70 megawatt will be built in Armenia, RA Deputy
Energy Minister Areg Galstian stated. In his words, investments
totaling in $70 million will be made. At that the investments will
be private. Various funds will be formed for the creation renewable
energy sources. The World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, KfW Bank and Kafeschian Foundation showed interest in
the project. To remind, June 4 during a press conference in Yerevan
World Bank Regional Vice President for Europe and Central Asia,
Shigeo Katsu stated that till end 2005 a $10-million credit program
for renewable energy sources will be launched in Armenia jointly
with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, UN Ecology
Foundation and a number of local financial institutes. The funds will
be also spent on the investigation of the possibility of using wing
energy for electric power processing. The cost of the program can go
up to $15 million, Express agency reports.