ANATOLY CHUBAYS PAYS A ONE-DAY VISIT TO YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. On April 4, Anatoly Chubays,
Chairman of the Russian RAO UES company, was in Yerevan on a
one-day unofficial visit. Noyan Tapan was informed about this from a
reliable source. According to this source, A.Chubays didn’t meet with
representatives of RA Ministry of Energy. To recap, the RAO UES owns
the Hrazdan TPP, ANPP and this company intends to become the owner
of the electric networks and Hrazdan 5th energy block.

DELEGATIONS OF NOR ZHAMANAKNER AND ORINATS YERKIR PARTIES DISCUSS
HOME AND FOREIGN POLITICAL ISSUES

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. Home and foreign political issues
were discussed at the April 5 meeting of the delegations of Nor
Zhamanakner (New Times) and Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) parties.
The meeting was held at the central office of Nor Zhamanakner party.
According to the Press Service of the party, the consultation lasted
more than an hour.

IN LATE MARCH RA COMMERCIAL BANKS ATTRACT 30-DAY DEPOSITS AT LOWEST INTEREST RATE

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. In the period of March 24 to March
31, the RA commercial banks attracted 360-day and more than a year
deposits at the highest interest rate of 8% and 30-day deposits at
the lowest interest rate of 2%. According to the RA Central Bank data,
during the indicated period, the banks extended 30-day and more than a
year loans at the highest interest rate of 25% and 60-day loans at the
lowest interest rate of 7%. The dynamics of the deposits attracted by
the commercial banks is as follows: 24.03.05 31.03.05 30 days 6% 2%
60 days 4% 3% 90 days 2% 4% 180 days 8% 7% 360 days 7% 8% more than
a year 9% 8% The dynamics of the interest rates of the loans issued
by the commercial banks is as follows: 24.03.05 31.03.05 30 days 13%
22% 60 days 23% 7% 90 days 23% 20% 180 days 17% 18% 360 days 20% 20%
more than a year 21% 22%

10-HECTARE AREA ALLOCTED FOR CONSTRUCTION WASTE COLLECTION

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. A 10-hectare area has been allocated
within the administrative territory of Malatia-Sebastia community for
construction waste to be collected there. Deputy mayor of Yerevan Vano
Vardanian noted at the April 4 press conference that prior to this,
construction waste was dumped everywhere. According to V. Vardanian,
over the last 50 years, the rubbish left at the dump near Nubarashen
highway has not been processed, as a result of which 7-7.5 tons’
household waste has collected there. He noted that 430-450 tons of
household waste is dumped every day from Yerevan’s 2,050 high-rises,
2,500 apartment buildings and 52,000 detached houses. 12 organizations
with the total staff of 1,500 and special equipment of over 250 pieces
are currently collecting garbage in Yerevan. The speaker pointed out
that the fleet of refuse collectors has not been replenished over
the last ten years. According to V.Vardanian, there are 3,800 big
dustbins and 2,600 small ones in the city, which, however, do not
meet the sanitary hygienic requirements. He said the municipalities
are going to increase the number of dustbins soon – 105 dustbins were
put in various yards of the city during one week.

Azerbaijan’s Aliev Seeks Polish Help for European Integration

Jamestown Foundation
05 April 2005    

Fariz Ismailzade
   
After visits to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China, Azerbaijan’s President
Ilham Aliev reversed course and paid a visit to a European country —
Poland — on March 30. The trip refuted speculations that Azerbaijan
was gradually shifting its foreign policy course towards the East.
The visit was important from two perspectives: Poland’s involvement
in energy transport issues in Azerbaijan and the political-military
assistance that Poland can render to Azerbaijan in its efforts to
integrate with European institutions. “We should do our utmost to
widen our links in numerous fields,” Aliev said in Warsaw (Baku Sun,
April 1). Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski responded by saying
that Poland was ready to help Azerbaijan integrate into Euro-Atlantic
structures (Zerkalo, March 31).

As in his visits to other countries, economic issues dominated
President Aliev’s program. The inclusion of Minister of Economic
Development Farkhad Aliev (no relation to President Aliev) and the
head of the Customs Committee, Kamaleddin Heydarov, in the delegation
has become a regular feature of the President’s visits. This shows
the vital role that President Aliev gives to the issues of foreign
investment, bilateral trade, and increased economic cooperation.

During Aliev’s visit to Poland, the governments of the two countries
signed several economic agreements on topics such as mutual trade
and economic cooperation, double taxation, and mutual protection of
investments (Azeri Times, April 1). President Aliev also met with
Polish businessmen and encouraged them to invest in the Azerbaijani
economy by describing the recent legal and economic reforms in the
country. A group of Polish private sector representatives already
visited Baku several years ago (Azeri Times, April 1). Poland, which
has recently joined the European Union, can serve as a good model
for — as well as an advocate of — Azerbaijan, which also aspires
to become a member of the EU in the future.

Yet, potential cooperation in the oil and gas sector overshadowed all
other issues. Poland seemed very eager to cooperate with Azerbaijan
on the issue of oil and gas transit from the Caspian region. This
topic has been active since 1998, when Poland’s President Kwasniewski
visited Azerbaijan. On April 3 ANS television’s weekly analytical
program claimed that Poland’s interest in this issue comes from
its desire to lower its dependence on Russian energy supplies. One
way Poland could boost its role in the East-West energy transport
corridor is by extending the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline from Ukraine
to the Polish port of Gdansk on the Baltic Sea. President Kwasniewski
has repeatedly mentioned this idea during bilateral talks.

The project is a worthwhile consideration, if for no other reason than
it would boost the trade between Poland and GUAM members (Georgia,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) and lower their dependence on Russia
transit routes. However, in order to fully realize this idea, two
factors are required: increased amounts of oil coming from the Caspian
and reversing the flow of the Odessa-Brody pipeline (currently it
is running southward carrying Russian oil to the Black Sea.) Newly
elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has already expressed
his intention to reverse the course of that pipeline. As for the
first factor, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili recently visited
Kazakhstan where he actively urged President Nursultan Nazarbayev to
ship some Kazakh oil to Europe through Georgia and Ukraine. Nazarbayev
has reportedly promised to send a governmental delegation to Azerbaijan
to discuss the tariff issues (Echo, April 2). Should these issues be
resolved, Poland could become another important outlet for Caspian oil,
which would further strengthen the European integration of Azerbaijan.

Another issue emphasized in the bilateral talks was military
cooperation. Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Safar Abiev was added
to the delegation specifically for this topic. Unlike China, Poland
has even signed a special agreement with Azerbaijan in the sphere of
military-technical cooperation and assistance.

Poland, having recently become a member of NATO, can offer Azerbaijan
priceless lessons in terms of modernizing its army, raising it to
NATO standards, and conducting military exercises and training for
soldiers and officers. Poland could also become a strong advocate
of Azerbaijan inside the European political and military structures,
especially on the issue of the Karabakh conflict.

During the bilateral talks, President Kwasniewski reportedly
said that Poland supports Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and
believes that the Karabakh conflict should be resolved according to
international law. “Baku’s offer to give the broadest level of autonomy
to Nagorno-Karabakh is worth considering,” President Kwasniewski said
(ANS TV, April 3).

–Boundary_(ID_ICs8KorDS0y+43Yjf8347g)–

President of Nagornyy Karabakh [NKR] says “strong” army guarantees peace

Artsakh State TV, Stepanakert
4 Apr 05

Text of report by Nagornyy Karabakh’s Artsakh Public TV on 4 April

On 4 April the president of Nagornyy Karabakh [NKR] visited Martakert
Region. In the town of Martakert, Arkadiy Gukasyan met local
residents and officials. President Gukasyan talked about problems in
the region, stressed that the authorities would do everything
possible to solve the most important issues in the region and also
talked about recent developments in the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict
settlement. After meetings in Martakert, the president visited the
front line and presented bravery awards to soldiers and officers who
had shown honour on the field of battle during the latest Azerbaijani
attempts to forward their positions.

In an interview to Artsakh Public TV, the president said the
following: [Gukasyan] Our army is the best guarantee of our security.
To secure peace we must have a strong army. I am proud to have such a
strong army. I would like to assure our people that there is no
threat to our republic because our army is strong.

As to the growing Azerbaijani military rhetoric, the NKR president
said that Azerbaijan pursues two main goals. The first one is to
convince its own population that the authorities are very active in
their attempts to return the lost territories.

The second and the most important reason is to blackmail the
international community and to demand the restoration of its
territorial integrity. Azerbaijan will gain nothing from launching a
military campaign against Nagornyy Karabakh. I think that the
Azerbaijani authorities realize that the Nagornyy Karabakh army
cannot be beaten by them. However, one has to be prepared for war in
order to avoid it.

[Video showed the president talking to people, meeting members of
regional administration, and awarding medals]

PARUYR HAYRIKIAN ASSURES THAT HE WILL BEST OF ALL FULFIL ROLE OF “RA
PRESIDENT OF TRANSITIONAL PERIOD”

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. We should transfer the cooperation
of democratic forces to practical level and applying our experience
lead the people to success in the nearest future. Expressing such an
opinion during the April 2 meeting, Paruyr Hayrikian, Chairman of the
National Self-Determination Union, declared that there are serious
preconditions for this: “It remains to achieve unification without
secret political intentions.” Hayrikian again mentioned the idea
of a president of transitional period (elected for 2 years) voiced
still during the first presidential elections. In the opinion of the
chairman of National Self-Determination Union, this role may be best
of all fulfilled by “Paruyr Hayrikian, leader of the organization on
struggle for national liberation, United National Party, who has the
most significant contribution in our modern history.” Hayrikian also
said that the National Self-Determination Union plans to participate
in the arrangement on the occasion of the first anniversary of the
events of early morning of April 13, 2004.

DRAFTS OF CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS PROPOSE THAT YEREVAN BE GIVEN STATUS
OF COMMUNITY AND 4-YEAR TERM OF AUTHORITIES BE SET UP FOR LOCAL
SELF-GOVERNMENT BODIES

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, NOYAN TAPAN. During the April 4 sitting of the
interim parliamentary commission on issues of European integration
the amendments and additions proposed by the drafts of the United
Labor Party faction to the chapter of the Constitution concerning
local self-government bodies were discussed. A.Sadoyan’s draft
wasn’t discussed because of his absence. All of the 3 drafts have some
community. In particular, it’s proposed that 4-year term of authorities
be set up for local self-government bodies against the current
3 years. The authorities on disposal and management of property,
solution of communal problems, formation of the communal budget are
defined in a new way. According to the current Constitution, Yerevan
has a status of a marz while the 3 drafts propose to fix that Yerevan
is a community, the peculiarities of local self-government of which,
as well as the authorities of the bodies will be defined by the law
“On Yerevan.” The drafts mainly differ in the order of reduction of
the authorities of local self-government bodies, as well as approaches
to the issue if the Mayor’s post should be elective or appointed.

CIS Air Defense Practised on Russia’s Missile Carriers

Air defense divisions of Tadjikistan called on duty December 1, 2000
as part of the joint air defense system of CIS. Soldiers of the
launch crew in Tadjikistan run to shelter after they charged the
system.

KOMMERSANT Daily, APRIL 06, 2005

Double military exercise was held Tuesday in the air of eight countries
of CIS. At the final stage, strategic missile carriers Tu-160 and
Tu-95MS as well as bombers Tu-22M3 from the 22nd air division were
redeploying from Russia to Belarus, simultaneously acting as a
potential enemy for Belarus air defense.

In scale, the exercise held at 10:00 a.m., MSK, yesterday in the air
of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan and
Ukraine was well above the usual command-and-staff training. Chief of
Russia’s Air Force Staff, General-Colonel Boris Cheltsov said almost
60 planes were involved. Usually no more than 40 planes take part in
the exercise. Besides, Air Force Commander-in-Chief, Army General
Vladimir Mikhailov kept an eye on the exercise not from Russia’s
headquarters as he generally does, but from Dushanbe, Tadjikistan,
where he was supervising “Rubezh-2003” exercise.

Moreover, it was decided to combine the final stage of Russian
strategic air force exercise with the exercise of the CIS air
defense. En route from Russia to Belarus, Tu-160s, Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3
were simulating the planes of an enemy. They were spotted by the
air force and air defense of Belarus, backed up by the long-range
radar detection aircraft A-50, which arrived from Ivanovo to the
effect. Once intercepted and conditionally destroyed, two strategic
missile carriers Tu-95MS and a couple of Tu-160s landed in Machulishchi
aerodrome near Minsk. For Russia’s Tu-22M3 it was the first landing
on the above airdrome. At the same time, four Tu-22M3s of Russia put
down in Baranovichy.

A Split in the Armenian Diaspora

Hurriyet, 06 April 2005

Two separate Armenian lobbies, both active in the US, have come
to blows over their differing claims of genocide and demands from
Turkey. The lobby representing the extremely nationalistic Armenian
Tasnaksutyen Party, ANCA, has accused the American Armenian Assembly
(AAA), of taking part in a conspiracy by the White House. According to
ANCA, the AAA is playing a role in the Bush adminstration’s efforts
to get Turkey to accept genocide charges in return for not having to
give up any land or monetary reperations to Armenia.

The Armenian newspaper “Asberez,” which is printed and distributed
largely in Los Angeles, also accuses the AAA of “assisting in the
cover-up of the deaths of 1.5 millio n Armenians.” In a response to
this, Anthony Barsamian, a representative from the AAA, said “Prior
to finding a just solution to this all, none of us is going to support
Turkey’s recognition of the genocide.”

The arguments between these two lobbies regarding the approach to
the question of the Armenian genocide charges spread all the way to
projects carried out by the now defunct Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation
Commission. Concluding two years ago that the charges of genocide were
convincing enough to bring to the United Nations, the commission then
announced that a UN Treaty on Genocides from 1948 would not cover
the time period the Armenians were after. The ANCA lobby at this
time charged that “Turkish supporters” were controlling the work of
the Commission.