City News Service, CA
April 12, 2005 Tuesday

Threat Arrests

PASADENA

Two young men of Armenian descent were arrested after they yelled
“all white people should die” and threatened — but did not harm — a
number of people, Pasadena police said today. The alleged threats
were made Sunday after the suspects — Avedis Sankikian, 21, and
Hovig Gedjekoushian, 24 — accompanied by two women, went to an area
where a sister of one of the women had been killed in a traffic
crash, Pasadena police Lt. Randell K. Taylor said. They got out of a
vehicle — which they left in the middle of Sierra Madre Boulevard,
across from Pasadena High School — and set up a memorial for the
fatal victim, police said. Several passers-by told them not to “leave
that stuff in the neighborhood because it looks bad and another
warned they would get a ticket,” Taylor said. He said the suspects
“followed (one passer-by), jumped a fence and chased him into his
house.” According to Taylor, the suspects “made tons of derogatory
statements about white people, and saying they were Middle
Easterners, ‘we will bomb you, and remember 9/11,”‘ Taylor said. The
suspects then allegedly threatened every “white” person they saw,
said Taylor. Witnesses said the suspects waved weapons, variously
described as bats, a metal pole, or a leather strap. The suspects
threatened to beat up passers-by “but didn’t touch anyone,” said
Taylor. He said the two men were arrested about 11:30 that evening at
a parking lot near Washington Boulevard and Hill Avenue. The two were
booked in Pasadena City Jail on suspicion of making criminal threats
and held on $50,000 bail each. Taylor said the pair appeared to have
been drinking heavily. Anyone who may have been victimized by the
suspects was asked to call Taylor at (626) 744-4517, or the watch
commander at (626) 744-4620.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FOREIGN MINISTERS OF RA AND BULGARIA EXCHANGES MESSAGES ON OCCASION OF
10TH ANNIVERSARY OF FRIENDSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES

YEREVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Exchange of messages of congratulation
of Vartan Oskanian, the RA Foreign Minister and Solomon Passi, the
Foreign Minister of Bulgaria, on the ocassion of the 10th anniversary
of the agreement about friendly relations and cooperation between the
two countries, (signed on April 10, 1995) took place in the RA Foreign
Affairs Ministry on Apil 11. Minister Vartan Oskanian, attaching
importance to the meaning of the agreement, which became the basis for
signing more than four dozen legal documents in different spheres of
the bilateral cooperation between Armenia and Bulgaria, expressed
confidence that Armenian-Bulgarian cooperation will continue to
develop and include new spheres of cooperation which becomes the most
important one from the veiwpoint of the European Neighbourhood
policy. In his turn, Solomon Passi expressed a hope that cooperation
between the Foreign Affairs Ministries of the two countries, which is
stimulated with striving for being involved into the European family,
will be the main motive of actively developing bilateral relations in
future as well. As Noyan Tapan was informed from the RA Foreign
Ministry’s Press and Information Department, Armen Buiburdian, the RA
Deputy Foreign Minister passed the letter from the Armenian party, and
Stephan Dimitrov, the Ambassador of Bulgaria to Armenia passed the one
from the Bulgarian party.

“IT IS SURPRISING THAT THE COUNTRY’S OFFICIALS DO NOT SPEAK ABOUT THE
ECONOMIC GROWTH CONSEQUENCES,” RA PRESIDENT NOTES

YEREVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. At the April 11 meeting at Yerevan
State University, the RA President Robert Kocharian said: “Armenia’s
2005 budgetary expenditures exceed the 2004 expenditures by over 77
bln, 53 bln of which is the net tax revenues expected. This means
allocating an extra amount of 19 bln to the Ministry of Education and
Science, another 7 bln for health care and 2 bln for sports and
culture.” According to R. Kocharian, in 2005, 50 thousand teachers
receive 50,000 drams (about 101 USD) instead of the previous salary of
30,000. The average salary of the army officers has also risen from
70,000 to 120,000 drams. “And all this has happened in a year. It is
surprising that the country’s officials do not speak about this, have
a “complex” about stating the consequences of the country’s economic
growth,” he noted. R. Kocharian said 20 bln drams is used today for
road construction, with considerable part of this funds allocated to
build roads in Syunik and other marzes. 8 bln drams is envisaged for
the irrigation system of Armavir and Vayots Dzor marzes. “It is
necessary to present all this courageously to the public in the form
of figures and fact, and also to tell where the economic growth is
directed,” the President noted.

ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION GROWS 5.8% IN ARMENIA IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY

YEREVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. During the first two months of 2005,
1,274.7 mln kwh of electricity was produced in Armenia or 5.8% more
than in the same period of 2004. According to the RA National
Statistical Service, the amount of electricity produced by the thermal
stations increased 28%, whereas that of the Armenian nuclear power
station and the hydro-power stations decreased 0.5% and 14.9%
respectively. The Armenian nuclear power station produced 527.9 mln
kwh of electricity, which makes up 41.4% of the total electricity
produced in the country, the thermal stations produced 515.4 mln kwh
(40.4%) and the hydro-power stations – 231.4 mln kwh (18.2%).

PROJECT HARMONY CELEBRATES GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY

YEREVAN, APRIL 13. ARMINFO. Project Harmony-Armenia, together with
organizations from more than 100 countries around the world, is
planning community service projects and special events to celebrate
the 6th Annual Global Youth Service Day, which will take place from
15-17 April 2004.

Project Harmony Office in Yerevan informs ARMINFO that Global Youth
Service Day (GYSD) is an annual global event led by Youth Service
America with the Global Youth Action Network as its key partner,
together with a consortium of 34 International Organizations and more
than 150 National Coordinating Committees. It is a public education
campaign that highlights the amazing contributions made by youth
year-round to their communities through volunteering. Since GYSD
started, a number of international organizations have joined Youth
Service America and Global Youth Action Network to expand this
program, including Inter-American Development Bank, Youth Employment
Summit, IEARN, Service for Peace and others. One of the major events
taking place in the framework of GYSD is the visit to Nork elderly
house. On April 15 students from Yerevan school

131 will prepare PowerPoint presentation on London and together with
grannies will create a “Virtual Tour” to the capital of Great
Britain. On the same day young artists from “Tsitsernak” NGO will
make a visit to the same elderly house to give a small performance of
singing and dancing. Similar visits to the elderly houses will be
organized in other regions of Armenia.

Some other interesting events, such as the human rights seminar for
disabled children in Lori region, visiting the Second World War
veterans in Vayots Dzor region, and the Gavar orphanage children’s
visit to the ICC will be implemented under GYSD. In addition, all
Internet Computer Centers (ICCs) created through the Armenia School
Connectivity Program in all eleven regions of Armenia will provide
the local community with free service by organizing an open doors day
on April 16 and 17. During these hours the site staff and students
will promote the ICC to the community and will help visitors use ICC
resources. At the same time, a community service project will be
organized by each ICC, which will include the cleaning of school
grounds and neighboring parks, tree planting, and other projects. In
Yerevan, on April 16 all schools will participate in the City
subbotnik (cleaning day) organized by the Yerevan municipality.

Project Harmony builds strong communities by fostering civic
leadership, harnessing Internet technology and facilitating
cross-cultural experiential learning. Project Harmony was founded in
Vermont in 1985 as a grass-roots exchange organization for Soviet and
American high schools. Today, Project Harmony has 13 offices
worldwide. In its 20-year history, Project Harmony has facilitated
educational, professional, cultural, and community-based programs
involving hundreds of families and individuals.

ARMENIAN INSPECTION FOR NATURE PROTECTION REVEALS ILLEGAL SUBSOIL USE
BY 32 TRANSACTION UNITS

YEREVAN, APRIL 13. ARMINFO. As a result of check-ups conducted in
Jan-Mar 2005, Armenia’s Inspection for nature protection revealed
facts of illegal subsoil use by 32 transaction units, informed
Minister for nature protection Vardan Ayvazyan at today’s
press-conference.

He noted that at present the worst situation of a fertile stratum of
soil is observed in the territory of Kajaran copper-molybdenum
industrial complex which does not fulfil mine reclamation. Ayvazyan
stated that the same situation of arbitrary subsoil use is also
observed in the other mines. Takings given from subsoil users will be
returned to themselves by their agreement when guaranteeing to fulfil
reclamation works. Otherwise, the Ministry will announce a tender for
conducting these works around the mines which will allow to use the
fertile stratum of soil in future. -r-

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ANSA English Media Service
April 13, 2005

FRAILTIES WHISPERED ALONG VATICAN CORRIDORS

by Denis Greenan

Vatican City

(ANSA) – Vatican City, April 13 – Vatican corridors allegedly fill
with whispers of frailties before the election of a new pope – and the
lull before next week’s conclave is no exception, Vatican watchers
told the Italian press this week.

The so-called ‘papabili’, or favourites for the post, are not
required to present a medical report as qualification for the job –
but there’s always somebody ready, insiders say, to recall physical or
emotional ills that could bar the path to St Peter’s throne.

For Vatican experts, the whispering campaign bears comparison to
the so-called stylum Curiae or ‘dagger of the Curia’ which killed the
bids of so many confident candidates over the centuries.

When the going gets tough, and the interests of the Church press
close at heart, some cardinals or their minders leave their scruples
at home, it has been suggested.

Suddenly there’s talk of a nervous breakdown suffered many years
ago, or the Parkinson’s Disease that crippled the last pope, or heart
operations, brain tumours and other debilitating conditions cardinals
swear they have recovered from.

This year an Asian papabile is said to be bound in an orthopedic
corset that limits his mobility, while a South American favourite is
being linked to the dread word diabetes, an ailment known to make
sufferers moody and temperamental.

But this rumour may already have been exploded: the cardinal in
question was seen eating lustily just the other day – as was the
future John XXIII when the same illness was linked to him before the
1958 conclave.

In fact, to put the whisperers firmly in their place, Cardinal
Angelo Roncalli, as he was then, made a point of publicly munching
sweet desserts in the run-up to the conclave.

But doubts and daggers have been wielded more effectively on at
least one occasion.

In 1963 Cardinal Krikor Boutros Agaganian of Armenia was said to
be a hot tip, having run Roncalli close five years earlier.

But Armenia was part of the Soviet Union, and an Italian secret
service slur about the cardinal’s sister being a spy was enough to
sink the Armenian’s candidature.

Fifteen years later, one of the two Italian favourites wrote a
tirade that was only supposed to be published once the conclave doors
had been sealed.

Instead, it came out during the horse trading and reportedly
sealed his fate – along with that of his chief rival, suspected of
releasing the hard-hitting document.

The suicidal clash between the top Italians opened the way for a
consensus to build around a compromise candidate from Poland, Karol
Woytila – soon to achieve greatness as John Paul II.

Europe Information Service
European Report
April 13, 2005

FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL: LUXEMBOURG ‘GYMNICH’ LOOKS AT ‘FROZEN
CONFLICTS’

European Union Foreign Ministers meet in Luxembourg on April 15-16
for an informal Council dominated by the question of how to bring
stability to the troubled Caucasus region. At their ‘Gymnich’, the
Ministers will discuss the so-called ‘frozen conflicts’ in Chechnya
(Russia), Abkhazia (Georgia) and Nagorny Karabakh
(Armenia-Azerbaijan) that have simmered for years without any
apparent resolution. And they will talk about possible measure to
promote openness and democracy in Belarus. A separate discussion will
concern the EU’s relationship with China, although this covers the
broad strategic issues and will not address the arms ban. The
Ministers will also debate their Mediterranean and Middle East
policies, and see whether the strategic partnership agreed at the
June EU summit should be updated.

‘Frozen conflicts’.

The ‘frozen conflicts’ in the Caucasus region have never generated
much political attention, yet they have been vicious, bloody and
lengthy. The EU’s Luxembourg Presidency is expected to say that the
EU cannot afford to neglect the region: Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan form a strategic corridor linking southern Europe with
central Asia.

The region has faced civil wars, closed borders and a serious refugee
burden which, combined with the breakdown of the Soviet-era economy,
led to economic catastrophe in 1994. Many borders are still closed
and the refugees are still waiting to return. But there are also
ample opportunities: there is perhaps as much oil under the Caspian
Sea as under the North Sea and a huge amount of gas there and in
Central Asia. The Caucasian corridor is the fastest way from southern
Europe to central Asia and beyond; peace would help realise the
potential for transporting goods and energy from the Caspian region
and central Asia.

The EU is involved in helping all three governments to develop their
economies and promote regional co-operation. It has spent about euro
1 billion in grants to the area over past decade and Tacis, its
technical assistance programme, has helped to make the
Europe-Caucasus-central Asia transport corridor, Traceca, a reality
and enable the Caucasians to manage oil and gas transport.

All these issues – the conflicts, the relationships with Russia,
treatment of minorities, the economic problems, the decisions on
pipeline routes – are closely interlinked. The Luxembourg Presidency
is expected to say that the way to strengthen the three states is for
their governments to enhance their own credibility and determination
to promote their national development by means of regional
co-operation. Solutions cannot come from outside, no matter how well
intentioned they may be. The Ministers will be urged to raise the
issue with other countries with an interest, above all those in the
region itself – Turkey, Iran and, especially, Russia – and with the
US and the international organisations responsible for conflict
resolution.

—

The Abkhazia conflict concerns the formally autonomous republic
within Georgia which is de facto independent, although not recognised
as such internationally. The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh concerns an
Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan: local Armenian separatists
declared independence in 1991 but the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR)
is not recognized by any country in the world. The Chechen Republic,
also known as Chechnya is part of the Russian Federation: during the
collapse of the Soviet Union, a group of Chechen leaders declared
themselves to be the lawful government, announced a new parliament,
but their independence is not recognized by any relevant state. Since
1994 over 200,000 insurgents and civilians have been killed in
Chechnya.

—

In a linked discussion, the Ministers will look at how to promote
democracy in Belarus. The debate is timely: after the bloodless
revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, attention has turned
to Belarus and its authoritarian slant. In March, the European
Commission said it was preparing to increase its assistance to
Belarus from around euro 10 million annually to some euro 12 million
each year in 2005 and 2006. But there are broader issues to be
debated, like how to promote human rights and the rule of law. Since
1997, the EU has restricted ministerial contact with Belarus and
suspended aid apart from assistance for projects which support
humanitarian causes or democratisation. Last November, the EU
introduced a visa ban against officials held directly responsible for
what were deemed a fraudulent election and referendum, and those
responsible for the subsequent repression of demonstrators.

Mediterranean and Middle East.

The Ministers will discuss the progress in their relations with the
Middle East and the Mediterranean since they adopted their Strategic
Partnership at their Brussels summit last June. The EU’s Strategic
Partnership with the Mediterranean and Middle East involves It
provides a policy framework for these two regions with a view to
promoting political, economic and social reform, generated from
within the affected societies, as well as contributing to their
socio-economic development.

The aim of the initiative is to boost cooperation to promote peace,
prosperity and progress in the region. However, the Ministers will
discuss how they can do more to encourage reform in the region, and
promote modernization. The region has long endured a poor record for
democracy, civil society, and human rights (see Europe Information
2951), and the Ministers will examine how progress can best be
supported. They will also look at related areas like security and
migration. And they will prepare for the next EuroMed meeting, and
the tenth anniversary of the 1995 Barcelona summit between the EU and
key Mediterranean nations.

China.

The talks on China will look at how best to develop the relationship
with a growing political and economic power. China’s economic growth
over the past two decades has appeared relentless, but Beijing is now
showing an increasing political muscle, engaging in the nuclear talks
with North Korea and raising the temperature in its relations with
Taiwan. Although the Ministers will not look at the current political
hot potato of whether to lift the Chinese arms ban, they will examine
the political climate in the country, including human rights.

OSCE.

Candidate countries Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Turkey will join
the discussion on the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE).

__________________________________
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ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
April 13, 2005 Wednesday 8:03 AM Eastern Time

March to Yerevan memorial to victims of 1915 genocide planned

By Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

As many as 1.5 million people will march on April 24 to the Yerevan
memorial to victims of the 1915 genocide in the Ottoman Emperor,
Vartan Oskanyan, the Armenian foreign minister, told a news
conference on Wednesday.

The number of the marchers is significant as 1.5 million people fell
victim to the tragic events of 90 years ago, the minister said. He
said people from dozens of countries would be among the marchers.

“Ninety years have passed since the first occurrence of genocide in
the 20th century but there has been no international acknowledgement
of the crime,” the minister said. “Turkey has no wish to acknowledge
genocide and even stepped up the efforts to deny it,” Oskanyan said.

Meanwhile, Ankara, he said, “looks forward to becoming a member of
the European Union, the organisation that is based on human rights
and liberties, that recognizes the principles of historic justice and
tolerance. “Therefore, this problem goes beyond the framework of
Armenia and is of significance to entire humanity,” the minister
believes.

The matter of international acknowledgement of the fact of genocide
remains on the order of the day for Armenia’s foreign policy, the
minister said. He recalled that the United Nations classes genocide
with threats and challenges facing humanity, that this evil is a
threat to the whole world.

DRAFT LAW ON INVESTMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED TO NA BY END OF THIS YEAR

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, NOYAN TAPAN. It is envisaged that the draft law on
investments will be sunmitted to the RA National Assembly by the end
of the year. Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic Development Tigran
Davtian stated at the April 12 press conference that the sphere is
currently regulated by the law on foreign investments which was
adopted in 1994 and has created the most favorable conditions for
foreign investors with the aim of encouraging a steady flow of foreign
capital. The deputy minister indicated that the draft law envisages
establishing equal conditions for foreign and local investors without
any tax concessions. T. Davtian noted that local investments now make
quite a considerable amount, and discriminatory practices with respect
to investors should be abolished. Addressing the Law on Profit Tax,
T. Davtian noted that the tax concession stipulated by the law,
according to which foreign investors are exempt from profit tax in
case of making investments of over 500 mln drams (about 1.1 mln USD),
will be in effect until 2007. By that time the transitional period
will have been over in Armenia, with the economy functioning
naturally. It was stated that although the World Bank assessed Armenia
as a “low average income country”, the work in international
organizations will continue to improve the country’s status. In an
effort to make this work more efficient, the RA government made a
decision for Armenia to have its representatives in Europe, Russia,
the US and the World Trade Organization. In addition, negotiations
with the European Union are underway with the purpose of recognizing
Armenia as a country with a market economy.