PARTICIPANTS OF GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR TO RECEIVE FREE CARDS OF INTERNET
CONNECTION

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, NOAYAN TAPAN. ArmenTel promises to give free cards of
Internet-telephone connection to participants of the Great Patriotic
War. As Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed from the company’s
Public Relations Department, the goal of this action on the occasion of
the 60th anniversary of the Victory is to give veterans opportunity to
contact over the telephone with their martial friends living in other
countries or cities. The action is envasiged to held in late April
but ArmenTel will give additional information concerning the exact
term. Later it will informe on how many free minutes’ of telephone
connection the war participants will receive.

NEWLY APPOINTED ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO US HANDED HIS CREDENTIALS TO
CONDOLEEZZA RICE

06.04.2005 04:39

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yesterday newly appointed Armenian Ambassador to
US Tatul Margarian handed his credentials to US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, press service of the RA Foreign Ministry reported.
During the meeting the parties discussed the Armenian-American
relations, regional processes and settlement of the problem
available. Tatul Margarian thanked the US for the assistance rendered,
constructive participation of official Washington in the settlement of
regional problems and said he will spare no effort for strengthening
and development of the bilateral cooperation.

CARGO DESTINED FOR ARMENIA ARRIVED IN POTI FROM CAUCASUS PORT

06.04.2005 05:19

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today 18 carriages with wheat destined for Armenia
have been ferried to the port of Poti, Arminfo agency reported. In
the word of Press Secretary of the Armenian Ministry of Transport and
Communications Tamara Galechian, 1.4 thousand tons of wheat imported
to Armenia by Victoria Trade company are being unloaded in the port of
Poti. The agreement on ferry communication was signed between Russia
and Georgia January 10, 2005.

NKR FOREIGN MINISTER AND PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF OSCE
CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE DISCUSSED SITUATION AT CONTACT LINE

06.04.2005 04:46

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On April 5, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, NKR Foreign Minister Arman Melikian
received Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office
Andrzej Kaspzyk, the NKR MFA press service reported. The prospects
of the Karabakh conflict settlement and the situation at the Nagorno
Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces contact line were discussed in
the course of the talk. The participants of the meeting also considered
a number of issues of mutual interest.

KARABAKH PROBLEM TO BE DISCUSSED IN AZERI PARLIAMENT MAY 6

06.04.2005 04:03

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Nagorno Karabakh issue will be discussed in
Azerbaijani Milli Mejlis (MM) on May 6, MM chairman Murtuz Aleskerov
stated, Trend news agency reports. In his words, the parliamentarians
will consider the report prepared by the OSCE Fact-Finding Mission,
the policy of “settling the Nagorno Karabakh by Armenians, growing
of drug matters on the seized territories, etc.” Upon completion of
the discussions a statement will be adopted and sent to the UN and
other international organizations.

RA BANKS PROVIDE LOANS OF ABOUT 312 MLN USD AS OF LATE FEBRUARY

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. As of February 28, 2005, the total
amount of the loans provided by the RA commercial banks made 146
bln 81 mln drams (about 312 mln USD), 96.41% of which represented
credit investments, 2.49% – deferred loans and 1.11% – overdue loans.
According to the RA National Statistical Service, the balance of the
population’s deposits with the banks increased 9.1% compared with
late February of last year and made 81 bln 582 mln drams. The deposits
with the commercial banks made 224 bln 937 mln drams. In January and
February of 2005, the expenditures related to foreign currency sales
and purchases in the RA banking system exceeded the revenues by 18
bln 105.1 mln drams and made 37 bln 874.1 mln drams and 19 bln 769
mln drams respectively.

NA STANDING COMMITTEE INTENDS TO DISCUSS ISSUE OF INCLUDING ELECTORAL
CODE DRAFT REFORMS ON NA PLENARY SITTING AGENDA

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The NA Standing Committee on State and
Legal Affairs plans to discuss at the April 8 sitting the issue of
including two draft laws on amendments and additons to the Electoral
Code on the agenda of the NA plenary sittings. The draft to be debated
in the second reading has not been brought to its final form on April
5. In particular, the disputable issue of electoral commissions’
forming is absent. The proportional-majoritarian ratio has already
been included in the draft. It envisages to elect 70% of the overall
number of deputies by the proportional electoral system, while 30%
– by the majoritarian system. The second draft to be debated was
prepared by the head of the deputy group “People’s Deputy” Karen
Karapetian. The draft, which was put into circulation relatively
recently – on November 24, 2004, proposes setting the above ratio at
60% to 40%. In addition, it is proposed that a representative of each
NA deputy group be included in the electoral commissions.

SMALL EVENT DEDICATED TO GREAT WRITER

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. On April 4, an event dedicated to Hrant
Matevosian’s 70th anniversary was held in the Republican Children’s
Library after Khnko-aper. The week of book and music started with
this event. According to Ruzan Tonoyan, Director of the library,
“this is a small event dedicated to a great writer.”

Tajikistan: CIS military exercises rehearse “suppression of revolution”

Kommersant, Moscow
4 Apr 05

Text of report by Ivan Safronov: “Bishkek as in the Days of Frunze.
CIS Military Training in Counterrevolutionary Struggle, Using the
Example of Kyrgyzstan”, published by the Russian newspaper Kommersant
on 4 April:

The active phase of the Rubezh-2005 [Border] Collective Security
Treaty Organization command-staff exercises starts in Tajikistan
today. Originally it was planned to hold these manoeuvres in
Kyrgyzstan, but because of the events we all know about they were
switched to Tajikistan. The scenario for the exercises was also
changed. Effectively Rubezh-2005 is a rehearsal for the possible
suppression of a revolution in the CIS, bearing in mind events
in Bishkek.

Following the events in Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation
Defence Ministry had intended to postpone holding the Rubezh-2005
command-staff exercises, but a week ago Vladimir Putin ordered that
the exercises should not be put back (they are going ahead from 2
through 6 April). The scenario for the manoeuvres has combat actions
unfolding in a mountain location between “Reds” and “Blues.” The
former will comprise army subunits from the Collective Security
Treaty Organization countries, and they will be opposed by armed
international terrorist formations.

Kommersant has discovered that the manoeuvres will play out one
possible scenario for developing events reminiscent of what happened
recently in Kyrgyzstan: The “Blues” will take advantage of popular
discontent over the results of a recent election to try to seize
power, while the “Reds” plan to “work through issues relating to a
decision to use force and collective security resources to defend the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Tajikistan, the planning
and preparation of the joint operation, and the organization of
collaboration, comprehensive provisioning, and control.” Meanwhile
ITAR-TASS had reported back on 28 March, citing the Russian Federation
Defence Ministry Information and Public Liaison Directorate, that “the
Rubezh-2005 manoeuvres are in no way connected with the situation
in Kyrgyzstan and were planned in advance in accordance with the
Collective Security Treaty Organization collective rapid deployment
forces training plan.”

Kommersant’s information is that subunits from the armed forces of
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan totalling around 3,000
men in all (the entire collective rapid deployment forces, which are
headquartered in Bishkek, incidentally, number 4,000 servicemen),
which form part of the collective rapid deployment forces, will be
brought into action. The command of the forces will be in the hands
of Tajikistan’s defence minister, Col-Gen Sherali Khayrulloyev. The
Armenian and Belarusian military have been involved only in planning
the exercises, and they will act as observers hereafter.

The exercises will conclude on 6 April with combat firing on the
Eshakmaydan [name as transliterated] range in southern Tajikistan.
According to an ITAR-TASS report, Russian Federation Defence
Minister Sergey Ivanov and the heads of the other Collective Security
Treaty Organization countries’ military departments will be coming
to Tajikistan to observe the concluding phase of the manoeuvres.
Meanwhile today, according to Kommersant’s information, the subunits
involved in the exercises will stage a dress rehearsal for the “battle”
planned for 6 April, which will be attended by General of the Army
Vladimir Boldyrev, commander of the Volga-Urals Military District
and responsible for the Central Asian strategic area at the Defence
Ministry, who has come to Tajikistan from Yekaterinburg.

4 SERVICEMEN SUSPECTED OF BURNING OF CAR OF SYUNYATS YERKIR’S EDITOR

KAPAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. According to one of the versions,
the car of S.Alexanian, editor-in-chief of the Syunyats Yerkir
newspaper, was burnt by 4 servicemen from the military unit of Goris.
S.Alexanian’s son quarrelled with them some days before the April
1 incident. Arayik Tumanian, Chief of the Military Police of Goris
garrison, confirmed the fact of the quarrel in his conversation with
Noyan Tapan’s correspondent at the same time mentioning that the
case is at the stage of preliminary investigation and he can’t say
nothing more yet. To recap, S.Alexanian accuses Suren Khachatrian,
Syunik Governor, of organizing the burning of his car. And the latter
declared that he isn’t involved in the burning of S.Alexanian’s car
and has already applied to the regional law-enforcement bodies for
the purpose of disclosing the case.