Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
March 2, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY RALLIES CONGRESSIONAL, COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR
“ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” DECLARATION BY AMB. EVANS
Rep. Pallone Tells Congress Remarks Are In Keeping With Previous
Statements by U.S. Officials

Washington, DC – The Assembly acted today to galvanize congressional
and Armenian-American support for U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John
Evans’ self-evident declaration that “the Armenian Genocide was the
first genocide of the twentieth century.” The Ambassador made the
statement repeatedly during public forums with Armenian-American
community groups throughout the U.S. last week.

Assembly leaders launched a comprehensive campaign that hinges on the
support of the community and others of goodwill to join Ambassador
Evans in properly characterizing the attempted annihilation of the
Armenian people under cover of WW I as genocide. In its ongoing
effort to bury the facts of history, Turkey will rely on its friends
in the Bush Administration, Congress, the media and think tanks to
disrupt ongoing and growing U.S. reaffirmation of the truth.

As part of that campaign, the Assembly sent an urgent memorandum to
Senate foreign affairs staff for their members to support the Evans’
declaration and to all Armenia Caucus members in the House to
encourage their members to follow the lead of Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues Co-Chairs Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Frank Pallone,
Jr. (D-NJ).

Pallone is the first U.S. official to publicly address Evans’ comments
and add his name to all those who have accurately described the facts.
In a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives last night,
he said: “Ambassador Evans’ statements did not contradict U.S. policy,
but rather articulated the same message that the Bush Administration
has sent to the public, the only difference in this case is that
Ambassador Evans simply assigned the word to the definition that was
already provided by President Bush as well as members of his
administration.” [The full text of Pallone’s comments are attached
below.]

Additionally, the Assembly this week began mobilizing its nationwide
network of grassroots activists, asking them to promptly contact
President Bush and Members of Congress to support the historical
truth.

“The Assembly commends Ambassador Evans for accurately labeling the
attempted annihilation of the Armenians as Genocide and urges the
President to follow his example and properly characterize the
atrocities in his remembrance statement next month,” said Assembly
Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian. “In fact, the Ambassador
has provided everyone in our community who has worked long and hard on
this matter a remarkable opportunity to see that the truth is told
during the community’s yearlong commemorative activities of the 90th
anniversary of the Genocide.”

Hovnanian also said that by employing the term Armenian Genocide, the
Ambassador is building on previously made statements by Presidents
Reagan and Bush, as well as the repeated declarations of numerous
world-renowned scholars. In effect, Evans has done nothing more than
succinctly name the conclusions enunciated by those before him.

In 1981, for example, Ronald Reagan issued a presidential proclamation
that said in part: “like the genocide of the Armenians before it, and
the genocide of the Cambodians which followed it – and like too many
other persecutions of too many other people – the lessons of the
Holocaust must never be forgotten…” President Bush himself has also
carefully set forth the textbook definition of the crime of genocide
as it applies to Armenians in his successive April 24th statements of
remembrance.

Furthermore, Evans’ characterization conforms to the publicly stated
declarations of over 120 renowned Holocaust and Genocide scholars who
signed a statement in 2000 affirming that the Armenian Genocide is an
incontestable historical fact and so urge the governments of Western
democracies to likewise recognize it as such. The petitioners, among
whom is Nobel Laureate for Peace Elie Wiesel, also asked the Western
democracies to urge the Government and Parliament of Turkey to finally
come to terms with a dark chapter of Ottoman-Turkish history and to
recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Evans’ characterization also conforms to the summary conclusions of
the International Center for Transitional Justice on the use of the
term Armenian Genocide, which states that: “The Events, viewed
collectively, can thus be said to include all of the elements of the
crime of genocide as defined in the Convention, and legal scholars as
well as historians, politicians, journalists and other people would be
justified in continuing to so describe them.”

“Clearly there is sufficient context and validation for Evans’ use of
the term, which in our opinion is part of a natural progression
building on the U.S. record towards an inevitable, full and
irrevocable U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide,” continued
Hovnanian. “That said, it is now up to us to come together as a
community and reach out to Armenia’s friends on the Hill, as well as
those in the public policy sector, to encourage further affirmations
of the historical truth.”

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt membership
organization.

### NR#2005-018

Editor’s Note: Below is the full text of the comments delivered by
Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) on the floor of the House of
Representatives on March 1, 2005.

STOP DENIAL OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BY TURKEY
(House of Representatives – March 01, 2005)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. PALLONE: Mr. Speaker, Ambassador Evans, the U.S. Ambassador to
Armenia, recently when meeting with Armenian Americans during visits
in several U.S. cities referenced the Armenian genocide. In a series
of public statements, Ambassador Evans who has studied Russian history
at Yale and Columbia and Ottoman history at the Kennan Institute
stated, “I will today call it the Armenian Genocide.”

Mr. Speaker, Ambassador Evans’ statements did not contradict
U.S. policy, but rather articulated the same message that the Bush
administration has sent to the public, the only difference in this
case is that Ambassador Evans simply assigned the word to the
definition that was already provided by President Bush as well as
members of his administration.

Breaking with a pattern on the part of the State Department of using
alternative and evasive terminology for the Armenian genocide,
Ambassador Evans pointed out that “no American official has ever
denied it.”

Now, Ambassador Evans was merely recounting the historical record
which has been attested to by over 120 Holocaust and genocide scholars
from around the world. In so doing, he was merely giving a name, the
accurate description of genocide, to this very administration’s
statements on the issue.

President Bush on April 24 of each of the last four years when
commemorating the Armenian genocide used the textbook definition of
genocide with words and phrases such as “annihilation” and “forced
exile and murder.” Before him, President Reagan used the word
“genocide” in 1981 when describing the annihilation of over 1.5
million Armenians.

In the day of the genocide, our U.S. ambassador, then Henry
Morgenthau, had the courage to speak out against the atrocities which
he stated were a planned and systematic effort to annihilate an entire
race.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I just want to add my name and my voice to
all those who, like Ambassador Evans, know the truth and speak it
plainly when discussing the Armenian genocide.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Caucasus Environmental NGO Network
(CENN)

77 Electronic Bulletin:
Caucasus Environmental News

Dear Colleagues! Dear Reader (DR)!

Welcome to the February issue of the Caucasus Environmental News
electronic bulletin prepared by participants of the Caucasus
Environmental NGO Network (CENN).

Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) and the production of our
electronic bulletin – Caucasus Environmental News have been funded by
the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
We are happy to inform you that current number of CENN members
constitutes of 8500!

Thanks for your interest in CENN!

***************************************************************************
VISIT CENN WEB SITE:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Announcements

1.1. Announcement

1.2. The 6th Open Meeting of the Human Dimensions of Global
Environmental Change Research Community Global Environmental Change,
Globalization and International Security: New Challenges for the 21st
Century”

1.3. Call for Papers – Environmental online communication

1.4. EIA Report of the Project on “Railway Bridge on the River
Rioni on the Batumi-Samtredia 99 km” by “Georgian Railway” Ltd

1.5. EIA Reports

1.6. EIA Reports

1.7. Announcement — The Caspian Development Advisory Panel

1.8. Request for book donation

2. Job, Internship and Study Opportunities

2.1. Annual awards for reporting on the environment

3. News from Georgia

3.1. Botched, tardy and chilling

3.2. BTC pipeline on schedule

3.3. Gas pipeline provokes disagreement

3.4. Rustavi secondary school is actively involved in
implementation of improved school project

3.5. NATO prepared to assist protection of BTC pipeline

3.6. Increase in cost of energy discussed

3.7. Turkish sailors appear in Ministry of Environment to
no avail

3.8. Mercy Corps

3.9. Georgia: black gold, hard times?

3.10. Georgia, Gazprom discuss sale of pipeline

4. News from Azerbaijan

4.1. Monthly oil production target beat

4.2. SOCAR beats monthly gas production

4.3. SOCAR fulfils its obligations

4.4. Organisms found in deepest part of ocean, reports AP

4.5. State of implementation projects Shah-Deniz&South Caucasus
projects considers in London

4.6. Congress of founders of Regional Ecological Center in Brussels

4.7. Caspian energy club members meet with EBRD representative

4.8. Power stations to use waste gas more fruitfully

4.9. Production begins at Central Azeri in the Caspian Sea

4.10. Oil-polluted areas cleaned in Absheron

4.11. Azerbaijan to become a gas exporter h

4.12. BTC hoped to alleviate dependence on Arabia, Russia

4.13. The “greatest oil” era in Azerbaijan started

5. News from Armenia

5.1. Gazprom considering participation in Iranian-Armenian
pipeline project

5.2. Representatives of countries founded Caucasian Regional
Ecological Center Met in Brussels

5.3. Agreement on construction of thermoelectric power plant
with use of biogas to be signed in Yerevan by the end of 2005

5.4. Armenia set to benefit from global warming pact

5.5. Handbooks available for Caucasus journalists, NGOs

6. NGO News

6.1. BP oil pipeline an ever greater safety threat, activists warn

6.2. CIPDD: Working Meeting of Georgian NGO and Media
Representatives – Gudauri, November 200

6.3. CENN starts new regional project on strengthening EIA/SEA
system in the South Caucasus countries

7. International News

7.1. Russia not to bar foreign companies from natural resources

7.2. Iran refused to give up heavy water nuclear reactor

7.3. Kyoto Protocol a turning point in the fight against climate
change

8. Calendar (International)

8.1. International Day of Action for Rivers March 14, 2005

SUBSCRIBING INFORMATION

1. ANNOUNCEMENTS

1.1. Announcement

Source: [email protected], February 1, 2005

In view of the PED report regarding the Banks’ investments in power due
for publishing in February, comments on the existing policy documents
(Natural Resources and Energy Operations policies) are expected before
March 30, 2005 and should be sent to: [email protected]

1.2. The 6th Open Meeting of the Human Dimensions of Global
Environmental Change Research Community Global Environmental Change,
Globalization and International Security: New Challenges for the 21st
Century”

The call for papers and posters – February 1st until March 10th

The 6th Open Meeting of the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental
Change Research Community Global Environmental Change, Globalization and
International Security: New Challenges for the 21st Century”

University of Bonn, Germany, 9-13 October 2005

Timeline and deadlines for applications:

Paper abstract submissions: 1 February 2005 – 10 March 2005

Poster submissions: 1 February 2005 – 10 March 2005

Capacity-building training seminars: 15 November 2004 – 15 February 2005

We warmly invite all interested participants to submit a paper and/or a
poster proposal for the 6th Open Meeting.

More details, including information, application forms, timelines and
deadlines, are available at the Open Meeting website,

Please understand that because of the large amount of interested
participants, we are only able to process applications, including
abstract submissions and applications for travel grants, through the
Open Meeting website.

More information can be obtained by contacting the Open Meeting
Coordinator, Lis Mullin, at [email protected].

Elisabeth Mullin

Open Meeting Coordinator

I H D P

International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change

Walter-Flex-Strasse 3, D-53113 Bonn, Germany

Tel.: +49 (0) 228 73 4957

Fax.: +49 (0) 228 73 9054

e-mail: [email protected]

website:

1.3. Call for Papers — ENVIRONMENTAL ONLINE COMMUNICATION

Call for Papers

Environmental online communication Minitrack at the 39th Hawaii
International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-39), Internet &
Digital Economy Track; January 4-7, 2006; Poipu Beach, Kauai

The Internet and wireless communication networks are transforming how
society handles the explosive growth yet dwindling lifespan of
environmental information. Addressing this transition to a
knowledge-based economy, the interdisciplinary Minitrack on
Environmental Online Communication investigates the role of the Internet
in advocating sustainability and ecosystem protection.

Submissions may be theoretical, conceptual, tutorial or descriptive in
nature. Available at the url above, the full call for papers contains a
list of possible topics in the following categories: Raising
Environmental Awareness, Environmental Web Portals, Networks and Virtual
Communities, Corporate Sustainability and Environmental Sciences.

Important Dates

15 Jun 2005: Paper Submission

15 Aug 2005: Notification of Acceptance and Reviewer Comments

15 Sep 2005: Camera-ready Copy of Revised Papers Due

04 Jan 2006: HICSS-38 Conference

Depending on their thematic focus, selected papers will be fast-tracked
to the “Environmental Communication Yearbook”, Volume IV (Eds. S.
Depoe), or considered for publication in a 2006 issue of “Technology in
Society” (Eds. G. Bugliarello and G. Schillinger).

Prof Arno Scharl

University of Western Australia, Business School

35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley WA 6009, Australia

(e) [email protected]

(w)

1.4. EIA Report of the Project on “Railway Bridge on the River
Rioni on the Batumi-Samtredia 99 km” by “Georgian Railway” Ltd

Source: “Sakartvelos Respublica” (“Republic of Georgia”), February 9,
2005

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, “Georgian Railway” Ltd.
submitted EIA report to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia to obtain
an environmental permit for the activity of first category – Railway
Bridge on the River Rioni on the Batumi-Samtredia 99 km.

EIA report is available at the Service of Environmental Permits and
Licensing of the Ministry of Environment of Georgia (15 A, Tamarashvili
str., Tel: 39 91 81). Interested stakeholders can analyze the document
and present their comments and considerations until March 24, 2005.

Public hearing will be held on March 24, 2005 at 12:00, at the
conference hall of the Ministry of Environment. 68 A, Kostava str., VI
Floor.

1.5. EIA Reports

Source: “Sakartvelos Respublica” (“Republic of Georgia”), February 11,
2005

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, “Santeli” Ltd. submitted
EIA report to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia to obtain an
environmental permit for the activity of first category – Liquid Gas
Pouring Station.

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, Entrepreneur A. Tugushi
submitted EIA report to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia to obtain
an environmental permit for the activity of second category –
Development and Management of the Hunting Farms in Kvareli Region.

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, “Sakmramori” Ltd. submitted
EIA report to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia to obtain an
environmental permit for the activity of third category – Processing of
the Dolomite Deposit in Chkhorotsku Region, Village Mukhuri.

EIA reports are available at the Service of Environmental Permits and
Licensing of the Ministry of Environment of Georgia (15 A, Tamarashvili
Str., Tel: 39 91 81). Interested stakeholders can analyze the document
and present their comments and considerations until March 29, 2005.

Public hearing will be held on March 29, 2005 at 12:00, at the
conference hall of the Ministry of Environment. 68 A, Kostava str., VI
Floor.

1.6. EIA Reports

Source: “Sakartvelos Respublica” (“Republic of Georgia”), February 19,
2005

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, “Martoili” Ltd. submitted
EIA report to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia to obtain an
environmental permit for the activity of first category -Oil and Oil
Products Processing Mini Factory in Gardabani Region, Village Martkopi.

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, “Kapira” Ltd. submitted EIA
report to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia to obtain an
environmental permit for the activity of second category -Development
and Management of the Hunting Farm “Kapiar” in Ambrolauri Region.

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, “Mamuli MPT” Ltd. submitted
EIA report to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia to obtain an
environmental permit for the activity of first category -Oil Processing
Mini Enterprise of Periodical Activity in Senaki.

EIA reports are available at the Service of Environmental Permits and
Licensing of the Ministry of Environment of Georgia (15 A, Tamarashvili
Str., Tel: 39 91 81). Interested stakeholders can analyze the document
and present their comments and considerations until April 5, 2005.

Public hearing will be held on April 5, 2005 at 12:00, at the conference
hall of the Ministry of Environment. 68 A, Kostava str., VI Floor.

1.7. Announcement — The Caspian Development Advisory Panel

The Caspian Development Advisory Panel (CDAP) invites you to attend a
dial-in briefing on Wednesday, March 23, 2005 concerning its 2004 Report
to BP on the BTC pipeline and related BP-led investments in the Caspian
region. The Panel’s 2004 Report and BP’s Response were both released
earlier this week and are available on CDAP’s website, together with
copies of earlier CDAP reports and communications (). The
dial-in briefing will begin at 9:30 a.m. (Washington/Eastern Standard
Time); 14:30 (London); 17:30 (Tbilisi); 18:30 (Baku) on March 23.

As you may be aware, BP established CDAP at the beginning of 2003 as an
independent external panel focusing on the social, environmental and
economic impacts of the BTC pipeline project as well as BP’s related
activities in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The Panel visited all
three BTC countries in late October 2004, and its latest report to Lord
Browne, chief executive officer of BP, summarizes its findings and
recommendations. The Panel has benefited greatly from its extensive
interactions with interested NGOs and representatives of the SRI
community, and the Panel looks forward to a substantive discussion on
March 23.

If you are interested in participating in the March 23
briefing/discussion, please respond to this email and dial-in
instructions will be circulated. Interested parties are also invited to
attend the briefing in person at the Washington, D.C. offices of the
CDAP Secretariat, 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (11th Floor). Please
also RSVP if you plan to attend in person.

Please feel free to pass on this invitation to other groups or parties
with an interest in BP’s Caspian investments.

Thank you.

Caspian Development Advisory Panel Secretariat

c/o Covington & Burling

1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004

[email protected]

1.8. REQUEST FOR BOOK DONATION

Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) activates its effort in the
development of environmental assessment (EA) system in South Caucasus
region. The WB funded project “Strengthening of Environmental Assessment
(EIA/SEA) System in the South Caucasus Countries” have been started
aiming at the improvement of EA legislation, capacity, practice and
public awareness. Project will be implemented in close cooperation with
the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Recourses of
Georgia.

One of the important project activities includes Establishment of Public
EA library in Georgia. The library will gather all the relevant
information sources regarding EA both for Georgia and internationally.
All the materials will be available free to public.

We will be thankful for donations that will help us build up a library,
enrich and make it more complete for interested parties.

For further information please, contact Eka Kakabadze, EA Librarian on
the following address:

CENN office: 27, Betlemi Str. 0105, Tbilisi

Tel: +995 32 75 19 03/04

Email: [email protected]

2. JOB, INTERNSHIP AND STUDY OPPORTUNITIES

2.1. annual Awards for Reporting on the Environment

The US based Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) is now accepting
submissions for its annual Awards for Reporting on the Environment. The
awards recognize the best environmental journalism in newspapers,
magazines, newsletters, television, radio and online. SEJ accepts
entries from anywhere in the world, as long as they include a complete
and accurate English translation.

The entry deadline is April 1. Each entry should be a story
predominantly on an environmental subject. The story must have been
published or broadcast between March 1, 2004, and February 28, 2005.

SEJ will hand out US$1,000 awards in nine categories. The organizers
emphasize that interested participants should choose the submission
category carefully, as only one may be selected per entry.

Entry form and details:

3. NEWS FROM GEORGIA

3.1. Botched, Tardy and Chilling

They know the risks of pollution and explosions are all too real, but
the oil giants and financiers behind the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
remain oblivious to criticism.

Source: Transitions on Line, February 3, 2004

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline is the longest export oil
pipeline in the world. It is, currently, also the most controversial.
There are many reasons for that: despite being developed by a consortium
that includes some of the world’s largest oil companies, BTC has
received many millions of dollars in public funding; it passes through
several war zones and across earthquake fault lines; it is
overwhelmingly a political rather than economic project, conceived to
assuage the anxieties of the United States over its energy supplies; and
by traversing Azerbaijan and Georgia, it involves two of the most
corrupt states in the world. But what should be–and currently is–the
main reason for the controversy is that we know, before it is even
finished, that the BTC pipeline will almost inevitably suffer a major
accident.

Today, 3 February, 2005 marks the first anniversary of the signing of
the BTC loan agreement between the BP-led oil consortium and a group of
international lenders: the World Bank’s private lending arm, the
International Finance Corporation (IFC); the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); national export credit agencies;
and 15 commercial banks. These public and private funders are stumping
up the bulk of the $4 billion being spent on the project. No doubt this
will be an occasion for celebration in many quarters: when finished, BTC
will unlock the multi-billion-barrel oil resources of the Caspian Sea,
taking oil from Azerbaijan through Georgia and eastern Turkey down to
the Mediterranean.

What won’t be mentioned is that BTC will, in all probability, leak. BP
may be an oil giant with vast experience, but, thanks to the highly
questionable selection process, the pipeline’s engineers have chosen a
safety material (to keep water out of the pipeline joints) that
chemically cannot stick to the plastic exterior of the pipe. Over the
40-year lifetime of the pipeline, the coating will peel off and let in
water, and the pipe itself will corrode. The result will be oil leaks
and the poisoning of the local environment, including national parks and
mineral springs such as Georgia’s treasured Borjomi valley, home to a
thriving mineral-water industry. BP assured interested parties before
construction began that such leaks were “virtually impossible.” The
worst-case scenario is “stress corrosion cracking,” which could cause
the pipeline to explode under high temperatures.

In what remain dubious circumstances, BP’s materials consultant chose
the liquid epoxy coating SPC 2888 before seven of eight standard tests
were undertaken, and nominated no alternative; field tests were carried
out only after application had begun. Suggestions from a competing
coating supplier of unfair play in the procurement process forced BP to
carry out an internal corruption investigation, the results of which, BP
claims, cleared all parties–but it refuses to release the report of the
investigation.

The Full Text is Available ob the following address:
;IdPublication=3D4&NrIssue=3D101&NrSection=3D2&NrArticle=3D13471&search=3Dsearch&SearchKeywords=3DBTC%3A+%22Botched%2C+Tardy+and+Chilling%22&SearchMode=3Don&SearchLevel=3D0

3.2. BTC Pipeline on Schedule

Source: The Messenger, February 3, 2005

Construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline is on schedule and
transportation of oil by ship from the Ceyhan terminal will start in the
second half of 2005, Finance Minister Zurab Nogaideli declared at a
press conference on Monday, January 31, 2005.

According to Mr. Nogaideli, the Georgian section of the pipeline is 80%
complete, and pump stations in the country 86% complete.

3.3. Gas Pipeline Provokes Disagreement

Source: The Messenger, February 4, 2005

Georgia’s main gas pipeline has become a topic of much debate within the
government. Position of the late Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and State
Minister Kakha Bendukidze was that it is possible to sell the gas
pipeline to the Russian company Gazprom.

But some analysts think that this move would jeopardize the country’s
energy security and amount to be betrayal of Georgia’s mainly the United
States. Speaker of Parliament Nino Burdjanadze has also expressed her
strong opposition to the sale of the pipeline.

According to the Georgian Constitution, the main gas pipeline is a
strategic state asset and as such can not be privatized. However upon
becoming Minister of Economy Development, Kakha Bendukidze stated that
economics does not recognize the idea of a “strategic object” and
therefore even the gas pipeline could be sold in return for adequate
compensation.

The only potential buyer of the main gas pipeline at the moment is
Gazprom. Buying the pipeline is a matter of strategic importance for
Russia. After the building of the Iran-Armenian gas pipeline, it will be
possible to export Iranian gas via Georgia to Europe. It is also
noteworthy that talks are underway about the possibility of importing
gas from Iran to Georgia. This Iranian gas would provide compensation
with the Azerbaijani gas being exported through the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum
pipeline.

When Prime Minister Zhvania and other officials expressed their support
for selling the pipeline to Gazprom, Nino Burdjanadze immediately came
out against the move. “I am categorically against gas pipeline
privatization, especially selling it to Russia. I have already said this
to the government and I cannot understand why we have to sell it to
Russia. I am pretty sure that I will have the opportunity to negotiate
with the president over this issue and present my arguments to him. I am
convinced that the president will not permit that Baku-Erzerum and
Baku-Ceyhan to be endangered”, said Nino Burdjanadze, as quoted by the
newspaper Rezonansi.

Mr. Zhvania affirmed that the gas pipeline issue will not be resolved
without Parliament, though he expressed surprise that “this gas pipeline
is being discussed as a sacred object like Svetitskhobeli (Georgian
Orthodox church in Mtskheta) and the Khakhuli icon.”

The statements by Mr. Zhvania and Mrs. Burdjanadze make it obvious that
the gas pipeline issue is a topic of heated discussion in the Georgian
administration. Some analysts think that the fate of this state asset
may reveal the country’s real foreign policy orientation.

3.4. Rustavi Secondary School is actively involved in
implementation of improved school project

Source: The Messenger, February 8, 2005

Projects by BP and its partners in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan/South
Caucasus Pipeline (BTC/SCP) are continuing to support and assist the
communities along the pipeline route. In summer 2004 Mercy Corps
implemented a new initiative, improved schools project, also funded by
Bp and its partners in BTC/SCP. The program will be implemented in 41
schools of Rustavi, Marneuli, Tetri-Tskaro and Gardabani and will work
on school rehabilitation as well as social and professional development
of teachers, pupils and their parents.

Rustavi Secondary School ?10 is one of the selected communities where
Mercy Corps and its partners have held an Action Planning Meeting where
teachers, parents and pupils together selected priorities and identified
problems they want to address during the lifetime of the program.

The school was established in 1990 as school of intensive study of
French. With support of the French Embassy in Georgia, the school has
enjoyed a successfully implemented Teachers Exchange Program; during
recent years several educators from France have conducted lessons and
workshops for teachers and pupils. In the exchange, the teachers
attended advanced training courses in one of Paris’s lyceums.

But school staff members and pupils lack basic conditions for a normal
and protected educational process. On rainy days water leaks into the
classrooms and during the winter it is impossible to heat classrooms.

“This building needs major repairs,” explains Guram Kobiashvili, school
Director. “First we have to change the roof. Imagine we aren’t able to
conduct lessons during bad weather.”

Mr. Kobiashvili adds that school staff and parents are actively involved
in the project implementation process. “And I would like to express
gratitude to the American NGO Mercy Corps for the rehabilitation of our
school, initiated and funded by BP and its partners. We will start
repair works in a few days.”

He also has praise for the work process which includes locally led
quality control. “Working bridges are already formed and community
initiative group members are going to monitor the work process and the
quality of the work, “he says, adding that the school has included the
community’s most needy in the project: “it is noteworthy that community
members independently developed project proposals and in accordance with
their decision, we will involve vulnerable community members in the
project implementation.

3.5. NATO prepared to assist protection of BTC pipeline

Source: The Messenger, February 8, 2005

NATO is ready to guarantee the security of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC)
oil pipeline, NATO Deputy Secretary General Patric Gordowin told
journalists in Baku on February 3, 2005.

Speaking after a two day regional seminar on the security of macro
economical stability and structural reforms in the region, Mr. Gordowin
said that the possibility of security risks of the BTC pipeline had been
discussed.

NATO is ready to provide security for the pipeline by common agreement
of participant countries, he said, as reported by Trend news agency.

According to NATO representatives, the alliance is ready to provide
technical support to the participant countries of the BTC project and
protect the pipeline from any possible dangers, Trend adds.

However, Patric Gordowin added that NATO has not received any request to
provide for the pipeline’s security from the governments countries
participating in the project, reports the Georgian newspaper Rezonansi.

Nevertheless, Mr. Gordowin’s statement is of great significance, coming
as it does just days after the Gori car bombing that killed four people,
not least because of Georgia’s aspirations to join NATO, and the
importance of the BTC and SCP pipelines for the country.

It could potentially be significant for Georgian-Russian relations too,
particularly as the Saakashvili government has repeatedly stressed in
its calls for Russia to withdraw its military bases from the country
would not be developed on Georgian soil.

However, the suggestion that NATO might guarantee the security of the
pipelines was not linked with integration of Georgia and Azerbaijan with
NATO. Indeed, despite optimism from the Georgian side regarding the
country’s prospects of membership of the alliance, NATO representatives
have not said when this might happen.

Although it is unclear when Georgia might join NATO, the alliance’s
acceptance late last year of its Individual Partnership Action Plan
suggests that the country is moving in the right direction in terms of
joining NATO, and also that the alliance is concerned about security and
stability in the country, something underlined by Mr. Gordowin’s
statement regarding the BTC pipeline.

When the agreement to construct the pipeline was first signed and
construction first began, it was frequently suggested that NATO should
take part in providing security for the pipeline, as this project is
important for the West. As construction of the pipeline nears
completion, it now seems possible that this could happen.

3.6. Increase in cost of energy discussed

Source: The Messenger, February 10, 2005

Akhali Taoba reports that the National Energy Regulation Commission will
continue discussion on February 11, 2005 regarding a possible increase
of energy rates. Director of the economic department of the national
energy regulation commission Iveri Shalamberidze told Inter Press that
despite information which the national energy regulation commission
received from Telasi, they are sure that energy costs will not be
increased in Georgia.

“We think that commission has much stronger argument which proves that
any increase in energy rates at this stage id groundless. Of course, the
commission should make the final decision, but according to the
specialists, there is no talk of an increase n the rate by 4 tetri,”
stated Mr. Shalamberidze.

3.7. Turkish sailors appear in Ministry of Environment to No Avail

Source: The Messenger, February 11, 2004

Several days ago in the newspaper Akhali Taoba was published a letter
about the Poti fish processing company Capadoccia. The letter pertained
to how Georgian fishermen and businessmen were unable to work in the
waters off Poti due to the fact that Turkish seiners “raid” the area and
take all the fish known sprats. The letter stated that an additional 37
Turkish seiners were to enter the area though does not explain how.

The paper writes that it received information from Poti on February 9,
2005 that Turkish seiners are getting ready to start fishing the Poti
water area. Moreover, some owners of Turkish fishing vessels appeared in
the Ministry of the Nature Protection in order to prove that by the
taking out sprats, they will contribute more to the Georgian budget then
Georgian fish processing companies, in particular Capadoccia. The paper
does not explain how they hope to prove this.

A Capadoccia employee, meanwhile, maintains that it can contribute four
times more to the budget than the Turkish fishermen and says that they
are trying to take advantage of ongoing changes in the Georgian
government.

The Minister of Environment Tamar Lebanidze did not meet with the
Turkish sailors. It seems that in the issue of quotas, she gives
performance of to Georgian fishermen and entrepreneurs. As for the
“invasion” of Turkish seiners, the paper writes that the ultimatum of
Georgian fishermen is again in force – specially, the Poti port will be
immediately closed if Turkish seiners appear in the area.

3.8. Mercy Corps

Source: The Messenger, February 11, 2005

On February 4, 2005 an exhibition of paintings by Kvemo Kartli children
was opened in the Georgian Gymnasium in Rustavi. The opening day,
organized by Mercy Corps, was full of fun, participants report. The
paintings were dedicated to the theme of oil pipeline, and the results
were fantastic.

More than 200 paintings presented by the children were full of
surprises. These paintings clearly showed the children perceive BP, its
BTC/SCP partners, the programs initiated and financed by them and the
process of realizing them as well.

The painters are children who live in cities and villages near the oil
pipeline, where the program of the Public Investments is implemented.
They represented BP and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and South Caucasus Gas
pipeline projects in the various creative ways.

For one of the artists, BP is represented as the sun throwing dollars on
his village. This was inspired by the school repairs funded by the
company.

On the opening day the children received crayons and painting albums. In
addition to the young artists, representatives from BP, Mercy Corps,
Rustavi City Hall and members of the regional educational system
attended the display.

3.9. GEORGIA: BLACK GOLD, HARD TIMES?

Source: Eurasianet, February 18, 2005

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline could prove a vital source of revenue
for cash-strapped Georgia, pumping an estimated $50 million per year
into government coffers. Yet as construction on Georgia’s portion of the
1,760-kilometer-long pipeline winds down, residents affected by
construction are wondering whether the benefits of the project will
outweigh the costs to them.

“Look, we’re not against this pipeline. The only thing we would like to
know is the status of our compensation money,” said Zura, one of about a
dozen protestors taking part in a November 2004 picket at one of the
pipeline’s construction sites near the village of Agtakla in
southwestern Georgia.

With a completion date slotted for the second half of 2005, the litany
of complaints shows no sign of decreasing. Orchards have been damaged
and grazing meadows for cattle and sheep blocked by construction work,
Zura said. “The sums we were alloted by the local government and British
Petroleum [a leading member of the pipeline consortium] are a joke,
really,” he said. Compensation for landowners ranges from $1,500 to
$5,000 – a hefty sum in a country where annual per capita income hovers
around $2,300. At the same time, many compensation recipients remain
frustrated.

Much of that frustration comes down to misguided expectations, said
Manana Kochladze, who leads the Tbilisi-based non-governmental
organization Green Alternative Georgia. With some 60 percent of the
population grappling with poverty, jobs in Georgia, whether for casual
laborers or university graduates, can be hard to come by. When local
authorities initially announced plans for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC)
pipeline, Kochladze said, “they made a big deal about employment, and
soon you had these rumors about up to 100,000 jobs that were going to be
created. Britsh Petroleum is not fully to blame for that.”

The rumors are in keeping with the project’s economic weight. Only 245
of the pipeline’s total 1,760 kilometers will pass through Georgia, but
related construction still accounted for most of the country’s 8.4%
economic growth rate in 2004, according to the Georgian Economic Trends,
a quarterly report issued by the Tbilisi-based Georgian-European Policy
and Legal Advice Centre. Once the pipeline is complete, the Georgian
government will receive an estimated $50 million per year in transit
fees, about one percent of its gross national income for 2003.

Recently, the project, long dogged by controversy over its environmental
impact, cost and technical shortcomings, has made efforts to show that
it is giving more than transit fees back to Georgia’s economy. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. In late 2004, the BTC
consortium signed two protocols with the Georgian government that
envisage grant programs totaling more than $46 million to fund social
and economic projects in the pipeline area. British Petroleum has also
announced that it will invest $10 million in Georgia in a range of
projects, including education, healthcare, cultural heritage, energy
sector revitalization and the promotion of business and civil society
links between Georgia and the European Union. On February 1, the
Georgian government received the first $9 million of the BTC grant.

But in the Akhaltsikhe-Vale sector, the last Georgian portion of the
pipeline before it crosses into Turkey little benefit is expected from
the BTC project once construction ends. In this impoverished, relatively
remote border area the pipeline has become a magnet for job seekers, who
otherwise depend on small-scale agriculture, animal husbandry,
remittances from migrant workers and limited border trade for their
cash. “Well, of course I’m glad to have this job. There’s not an
overload of alternatives around here,” said 23-year-old construction
worker Sergei, one of an estimated 250 locally hired temporary employees
on the project. “Our part of the job will soon be done, however. I have
no idea yet what will come for us after that.”

An employee of one international organization who asked not to be named
agreed that the pipeline “has not brought much sustainable employment”
to the region. The income derived from renting apartments and houses to
non-Georgian pipeline construction staff evaporated when the project
decided to relocate their staff to a trailer camp on the edge of town,
commented one Akhaltsikhe-based businessman who gave his name as Samuel.
At the same time, he said, the fact that fewer jobs were created than
expected – locals cite an initial figure of 1,000 – have caused many
residents to feel shortchanged.

The presence of about 300 foreign workers, mainly of South Asian origin,
in the Akhalkitskhe-Vale sector provide further cause for
dissatisfaction. Residents claim that the imported laborers perform
tasks that Georgians could do just as well. The BTC project’s Public
Affairs Office in Tbilisi did not respond to requests for comment about
hiring practices in Georgia, but, according to British Petroleum, a
total of 5,308 people worked on the pipeline in Georgia as of mid-2004.
About one-third of these workers were locally recruited, mainly as
manual workers, welders, machine operators, drivers, night watchmen and
cleaners. Once construction is completed, maintenance and operation of
the pipeline and related installations will require only 200 local
staff.

Potentially positive changes, however, have resulted from the project,
the international organization employee added. When the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ezurum natural gas pipeline comes online in 2006, local
residents hope to benefit from cheap natural gas for heating – an
environmentally friendly alternative to the firewood currently used.
British Petroleum has also repaired bridges and roads, and the amounts
landowners have received as compensation for property loss could be put
to good use as investment in local agriculture, observers say.

Samuel, the businessman, agreed. “[A] couple of hundred people hired is
not that bad, really. If they manage to save some money and invest it
well that will be good for the area. However, there’s no guarantee that
that is going to happen on a large scale. ”

“I’m indeed worried about what’s going to happen once we’re gone,” said
one foreign, Akhaltsikhe-based British Petroleum engineer who asked to
remain anonymous. “Once the pipeline is ready and operational, the
number of sustainable jobs will remain even more limited than they are
now. I can imagine that it will lead to more frustration.”

Editor’s Note: Bruno De Cordier is a research assistant at the
University of Ghent’s Conflict Research Group in Ghent, Belgium.

3.10. Georgia, Gazprom discuss sale of pipeline

Source: The Messenger, February 23, 2005

Talking to the Italian newspaper Lastampa the president of Georgia
Mikheil Saakashvili admitted the government is currently talking with
the Russian company Gazprom regarding the possible privatization of
Georgia’s trunk gas pipeline.

“We are currently negotiating – it is gas from Russia after all,” said
Mr. President, adding”I prefer not to talk about it further.”

Speaking with reporters on February 22, 2005 State Minister for Economic
Reform Kakha Bendukidze said privatization of the gas pipeline poses no
threat to Georgia’s energy security.

“I can not understand why it should pose a threat if those gas pipelines
through which Georgia receives gas from Russia are sold to Russia,” said
Mr. Bendukidze, as quoted by civil.ge.

The minister added the consortium building the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas
pipeline may also be interested in participating in the privatization
process.

4. NEWS FROM AZERBAIJAN

4.1. MONTHLY OIL PRODUCTION TARGET BEAT

Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
February 3, 2005

The oil production stood at 763,2 million tons in January, thus, beating
the target by 102,7 percent, State Oil Company of Azerbaijan reports. It
is 4,4 thousand tons higher than that of the same period last year. Of
this volume, 683,5 thousand tons belong to gas and oil producing
enterprises while the remaining part – joint ventures and operating
companies.

4.2. SOCAR BEATS MONTHLY GAS PRODUCTION

Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
February 3, 2005

State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic /SOCAR/ produced 424, 2
million cubic meters of gas and outstripped the target by 102, 7
percent, AzerTAj correspondent learnt from the SOCAR. Of this volume,
337, 5 million cubic meters belong to the SOCAR, while the remaining
part – to joint ventures, operating companies, and consortium.

4.3. SOCAR FULFILLS ITS OBLIGATIONS

Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
February 3, 2005

SOCAR has dispatched 138 thousand 814 tons of crude from Novorossiysk
seaport, thus, hitting the monthly target.

In accordance with the agreement signed between the governments of
Russia and Azerbaijan, Novorossiysk seaport is expected to receive 2, 5
million tons of crude this year through the northern pipeline.

4.4. ORGANISMS FOUND IN DEEPEST PART OF OCEAN, REPORTS AP

Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, February
5, 2005

Tiny single-celled organisms, many of them previously unknown, have been
discovered beneath nearly seven miles of water in the deepest part of
the ocean, reported AP.

A sample of sediment collected from the Challenger Deep southwest of
Guam in the Pacific Ocean Islands yielded several hundred foraminifera,
a type of plankton that is usually abundant near the ocean surface

Distinct creatures probably represent the remnants of a deep-dwelling
group that was able to adapt to the high pressures, the researchers
suggest in reporting the find. Their discovery is reported in this
week’s issue of the journal Science.

Because the water is so deep, the pressure where the find was made is
1,100 times more than normal atmospheric pressure at the surface.

The research was funded by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and
Technology, the Japan Society for Promotion of Science, the Kaplan
Foundation and the Natural Environment Research Council.

4.5. STATE OF IMPLEMENTATION PROJECTS SHAH-DENIZ & SOUTH CAUCASUS
PROJECTS CONSIDERS IN LONDON

Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, February
7, 2005

The Great Britain’s capital London hosts a sitting on the issues of
full-scale development of the Shah Deniz condensate field and state of
affairs on construction Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline (South Caucasus
pipeline).

Participants were discussing a current state, material support,
financial and technical issues. At the sitting took part Minister of
industry and energy Majid Karimov, representatives of the shareholders –
bp, Statoil, SOCAR, Total, LukAgip, NIKO and TPAO.

The sitting will come to the end on February 8, 2005.

4.6. CONGRESS OF FOUNDERS OF REGIONAL ECOLOGICAL CENTER IN BRUSSELS

Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, February
9, 2005

A Congress of founders of Regional Ecological Center for the Caucasus
established under the sponsorship of the European Union and other
international organizations is taking place in Brussels, Belgium.

Azerbaijan represented at the forum by Minister of Ecology and Natural
Resources of the country Huseyngulu Baghirov, and representatives of
various governmental structures.

4.7. CASPIAN ENERGY CLUB MEMBERS MEET WITH EBRD REPRESENTATIVE

Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, February
11, 2005

Members of the Caspian Energy Club met with visiting Azerbaijan
representative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Raymond Conway at the International Press Center in Baku to learn of the
EBRD’s activities in Azerbaijan and further plans.

Raymond Conway noted in particular that 80 agreements worth a total of
US $300 million was signed with Azerbaijan on 14 projects in 2004. This
year, according to him, priority will be given to the spheres promoting
development of economic infrastructure to reduce oil dependence of the
country, including construction of motor- and railways, technology and
alternative energy related projects.

In the end, Raymond Conway responded to the questions.

4.8. POWER STATIONS TO USE WASTE GAS MORE FRUITFULLY

Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, February
14, 2005

The company Japan Oil Engineering Co will provide consulting services to
local power stations to prevent loss of natural gas and use waste gas
more fruitfully. The company is expected to develop and present relevant
projects until June 2005. The project is funded by the World Bank

4.9. Production begins at Central Azeri in the Caspian Sea

Source: Baku Today, February 14, 2005

Unocal Corporation today announced start-up of oil production from the
Central Azeri development, part of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG)
field, in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.

The new platform, designed to process up to 420,000 barrels of oil per
day, is the second of five production platforms scheduled to be
commissioned through 2008 as part of the full-scale development of the
ACG field.

Unocal holds a 10.3 percent ownership interest in the ACG Production
Sharing Agreement (PSA). BP serves as operator with 34.1 percent; other
parties to the PSA are SOCAR (10%), INPEX (10%), Statoil (8.6%),
ExxonMobil (8%), TPAO (6.8%t), Devon (5.6%), Itochu (3.9%) and Amerada
Hess (2.7%).

Located in approximately 420 feet of water 62 miles east of Baku,
Central Azeri production began from the first of 10 pre-drilled
production wells on Feb. 12. The produced oil will initially fill the
new pipelines to shore and newly expanded shore facilities during
February. First export of oil is expected in March 2005. Production is
expected to increase through 2005 as the other pre-drilled wells are
brought online, prior to further platform drilling and production ramp
up over the coming years.

“With the start of production from our Central Azeri investment, Unocal
takes a significant step forward in delivering results from a strong
slate of major developments under way worldwide,” said Joe Bryant,
Unocal president and chief operating officer. “Along with other
worldwide development projects, Central Azeri production is expected to
add significantly to Unocal’s 2005 production and financial
performance.”

Unocal’s net share of production through the new platform is expected to
ramp up to between 10,000 to 13,000 BOPD by the fourth quarter 2005,
nearly doubling the company’s fourth quarter 2004 net production from
the ACG fields.

Bryant said that Unocal is proud of the work of the BP-led partnership,
the Azeri government, contractors, suppliers and the 6,000 Azeri
citizens employed in the construction and operations, all of whose
dedicated effort contributed toward the success of the project.

The Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field was discovered by the Azerbaijani State
Oil Company in the 1970s. An international consortium entered an
agreement in 1994 to delineate and develop the three fields in phases.
Production from Chirag (known as the Early Oil Project) began in 1997
and with current gross production at approximately 150,000 BOPD. The
Central Azeri platform start-up announced today constitutes Phase 1 of
the incremental field development. Successive phases include West Azeri
and East Azeri as Phase 2, scheduled to come on stream in 2006 and 2007
respectively, with Phase 3, Deepwater Gunashli, now sanctioned and
expected to begin production in 2008. Once complete, the combined
development will consist of five production platforms and is expected to
produce more than 1 million BOPD by 2009.

4.10. OIL-POLLUTED AREAS CLEANED IN ABSHERON

Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
February 16, 2005

The World Bank-funded project worth US $5, 1 million to clean
oil-polluted areas in Absheron peninsula is underway, Ministry of
Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan says. Recultivation
activities are now in progress in the area of 10 hectares. Oil-polluted
area in Absheron totals 30 thousand sqm.

4.11. AZERBAIJAN TO BECOME A GAS EXPORTER

Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
February 16, 2005

Natural gas will be extracted from Shahdaniz gas-condensate field in
September 2006, according to the Azerbaijan International Operating
Company (AIOC). In the first phase, annual production of gas and
condensate will be 8, 8 bln cbm and 2 mln tons respectively. In the next
ones, the figures are expected to reach 16 bln and 4 mln respectively
enabling Azerbaijan to turn from being gas importer into its exporter.

4.12. BTC Hoped to Alleviate Dependence on Arabia, Russia

Source: The Messenger, February 18, 2005

One of the greatest hopes had been the former Soviet Union that now
produces more oil than Saudi Arabia, and especially it’s Caspian Basin,
whose fields are located in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The
pipeline through Turkey starts in Baku and carries oil from Azeri
fields.

When the pipeline was being developed in 2001, “there was a lot of
excitement that non Middle Eastern oil, especially from the Soviet
Union, would be an alternative source of oil,” said Bulent Aliriza, an
analysts with the Washington based Center for Strategic and
International Studies. “The hype at the time was that the oil of the
Caspian would rival that of the Middle East.”

Oil Companies looked for a way of bringing the oil to Western markets
and US officials insisted that for political reasons a pipeline should
be built through Turkey, by passing the Middle East and Russia.

But many Caspian estimates proved to be unrealistic, at least in the
short term. Experts now say the Caspian should in coming years pump some
four million to five million barrels per day, on par with Iran.

4.13. The “greatest oil” era in Azerbaijan started

Source: The Messenger, February 21, 2005

A solemn ceremony on the occasion of the beginning of oil production
from the Central Azeri platform at the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli
field took place on February 18, 2005. President of the Republic of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev who arrived at the platform to officially
inaugurate the first oil was warmly met here by president of the
Azerbaijan International Operation Company David Woodward, president of
the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Natig Aliyev and specialists working
at the Central Azeri.

AIOC President David Woodward informed the President Ilham Aliyev that
total production from Central Azeri is forecasted to be some 35 million
barrels in 2005.

In addition, according to him, a compression and water injection
platform would be installed in the platform in the third quarter this
year.

Control point operator Rashid Salahov informed President Ilham Aliyev of
the work of process control system available at the platform. The
system, according to him, allows controlling all the processes taking
place both at the platform and the seabed, it also has special panels
allowing connecting with rescue vessels and drilling rigs even in case
of loss of communication.

The Central Azeri platform is located in approximately 128 meters of
water 100km east of Baku. The Central Azeri faculties comprise a 48-slot
production, drilling and quarters (PDQ) platform, a 30 oil pipeline and
a 28 gas pipeline from CA to the Sangachal Terminal, expansion of the
existing onshore terminal at Sangachal. The development is designed to
process 420, 000 barrels of oil a day.

Oil from Central Azeri will be transported via a new 30 sub sea pipeline
to be onshore Sangachal Terminal that has been expanded to receive the
additional oil volumes from the ACG field including three newly built
crude storage tanks. Processed oil from Sangachal will initially be
transported to market via existing export routes, and through new export
routes once the BTC pipeline is operational later this year.

Gas produced from Central Azeri, beyond that used for reservoir pressure
maintenance and fuel, will be exported via the new 28 sub sea pipeline
into the Sangachal Terminal gas processing facilities. From there the
gas will be transported, via a newly built gas export pipeline into the
Azerigas system for domestic use.

Now the chink on the platform number 31 gives oil, which during five
days has been transported to Sangachal Terminal. It is daily sent 35
thousand barrels of oil. By calculations, it is daily extracted half
million cubic meter of gas that since evening on February 18, will be
transported to Sangachal and will reach there approximately in a week.
Oil will reach the terminal for two weeks. After installation of other
platform in October – November of this year, it will be daily possible
to transport 7 million cubic meter of gas.

President Ilham Aliyev has tracked on monitors’ process of work of the
platform and also systems of safety, work of pumps of high and low
pressure, process of oil recovery pf the chink number 31.

With extraction of the first oil from Central Azeri, began full scale
development of ACG prospect. According to forecasts, in 2005 extraction
from here will make about 35 million barrels (on the average, 93
thousand barrels a day) oil.

5. NEWS FROM ARMENIA

5.1. Gazprom considering participation in Iranian-Armenian pipeline
project

Source: The Russia journal, February 8, 2005

Gazprom is likely to take part in the construction of Iranian-Armenian
gas pipeline. Gazprom’s Chairman Alexander Ryazanov pointed out that
should the Russian gas holding abstain from participating in the gas
pipeline construction, this gas could enter into competition with that
supplied by Gazprom via the Blue Stream pipeline.

The Armenian government acts as the principal customer to the
construction. The principal agreement was signed in Yerevan on May 13,
2004, indicating that the gas pipeline would become operational before
January 1, 2007. Armenia will receive the annual volume of 1.1bn cubic
meters of gas via the pipeline from Iran. Armrosgazprom, owned jointly
by the Armenian government (45 percent), Gazprom (45 percent) and Itera
(10 percent), is expected to take part in bidding for its construction
and running.

5.2. REPRESENTATIVES OF COUNTRIES FOUNDED CAUCASIAN REGIONAL
ECOLOGICAL CENTER MET IN BRUSSELS

Source: ARMINFO, February 11, 2005 The meeting of representatives of
Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and the ES, the countries founded the
regional ecological center for the Caucasus, took place in Brussels on
February 8-9, 2005. Deputy Minister for ecology Samvel Papyan headed the
Armenian delegation there. As ARMINFO was informed in the press-service
of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry, the members of the meeting were
acquainted with the results of five-year work and determined the key
directions of both the further activity and the co-operation sphere.
Issues on the center’s activity and implementation of measures for
effectiveness increase were discussed, too. Papyan in his speech noted
the necessity of regional co-operation in the sphere of ecology and
proposed to create a work-group, which will prepare a reform package on
center’s structures and present it at the next meeting in the summer of
2004. The meeting participants discussed a possibility of combination of
the new European neighboring policy with the center’s activity, as well
as a possible involving of private enterprises in the implementation of
the regional ecological programs

5.3. AGREEMENT ON CONSTRUCTION OF THERMOELECTRIC POWER PLANT
WITH USE OF BIOGAS TO BE SIGNED IN YEREVAN BY THE END OF 2005 Source:
ARMINFO, February 16, 2005 A Japanese company Shimizu will sign an
agreement on construction of a 1.5 megawatt thermoelectric power plant
with use of biogas in Yerevan by the end of 2005, stated Minister of
Nature Protection of Armenia Vardan Ayvazyan. He said that TPP would be
built in the territory of Nubarashen dump on the funds of the Japanese
party. The project will cost $4.5 mln. The Japanese State New Energy and
Industrial Technology Organization will finance the construction of
bio-TPP. Tariff for the electricity received due to use of biogas
(marsh-gas) is established at 8 cents for 1 kW/h by the Commission for
Regulation of Public Services Sphere. The minister thinks that besides
production of electricity, the construction of the plant will contribute
to solution to ecological problems in the capital. This project is
favorable for Armenia and the given technologies have already been
successfully used in Japan, the minister says. Nubarashen dump in the
outskirts of Yerevan started forming in 60s and some 800-900 cubic
meters of garbage are daily accumulated there. The dump occupies some 60
ha.

5.4. Armenia set to benefit from global warming pact Source:
ARMINFO, February 16, 2005 The Kyoto Protocol, the treaty that requires
cuts in greenhouse gas emissions which cause global warming, came into
effect on 16 February. Armenian Ecology Minister Vardan Ayvazyan said
that the sale of unused “credits” within the framework the Kyoto
Protocol may earn Armenia about 7m dollars annually. To recap, the Kyoto
Protocol envisages a special degree of pollution of environment by the
country’s industrial facilities. If it does not exceed this limit, the
country can sell the unused credit to another country. Armenia signed an
appropriate agreement. 5.5. Handbooks available for Caucasus
journalists, NGOs Source: International Journalist’s Network, February
18, 2005 The Media Diversity Institute plans to release several training
manuals for journalists and NGOs in the South Caucasus at a February 22
launch in Tbilisi, Georgia. The new releases include a South Caucasus
regional edition of the MDI Reporting Diversity Manual. This collection
of tip-sheets, articles and critical analysis of diversity coverage will
be available in Armenian, Azeri, English, Georgian and Russian. The
manual includes sections on ethnicity, religion, gender, people with
disabilities, the elderly, refugees and sexual minorities. MDI is also
launching three handbooks for journalists and editors in Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia, respectively. The handbooks identify sections of
each country’s national laws that could impact news coverage of
diversity. The books will be available in Armenian, Azeri, English and
Georgian. A Media Relations Handbook for Non-Governmental Organizations
is also set for release on February 22. The guide, published by MDI and
the Independent Journalism Foundation, is intended to help NGOs
communicate with the media. It will also be available in Armenian,
Azeri, English, Georgian and Russian. The publications are part of
MDI’s ongoing project to train the media and empower minorities in the
South Caucasus. The three-year program involves training journalists,
editors, journalism professors and NGO representatives in diversity
reporting and theory. The books will be made available in both hard copy
and on the MDI Web site at For more
information, contact Lydia El-Khouri at
[email protected] or Elena Aladashvili at
[email protected].

6. NGO NEWS

6.1. BP Oil Pipeline An Ever Greater Safety Threat, Activists Warn

Press Release from:

Baku-Ceyhan Campaign

Corner House

PLATFORM

Kurdish Human Rights Project

For Immediate Release February 3rd 2005

BP Oil Pipeline An Ever Greater Safety Threat, Activists Warn

On First Anniversary of World Bank, Independent Audit is Essential

Human rights and environmental groups today emphasized the growing
dangers posed by BP’s flagship oil project, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
(BTC) pipeline, and urged the World Bank and other major backers of the
project to undertake an independent audit into project safety.

Today marks the first anniversary of the signing of the loan agreement
for BTC between BP and the World Bank and other funders, who include the
British government and the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD). The agreement provided hundreds of millions of
pounds in public funds for the much touted pipeline, which intends to
bring oil from the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan, Georgia and eastern
Turkey to the Mediterranean Sea and on to Western markets.

Celebrations have been tempered ever since the signing by a growing
range of serious problems with the project, primarily involving safety.
BP insiders have criticized the choice of a safety coating for the
project, intended to keep water out of the pipeline’s joints, which has
been shown to be chemically incapable to adhering to the outside of the
pipe. The pipeline will therefore allow in water, and the consequences
could be anything from widespread corrosion and oil leakage to “stress
corrosion cracking”-pipeline explosions at high temperatures.

In November 2004, senior government officials admitted to a
parliamentary inquiry into BTC that the coating system had no track
record, contradicting assurances given to Parliament by former trade
minister Mike O’Brien the previous June. One of the project’s main
private backers, the Italian bank Banca Intesa, has since begun to pull
out of BTC.

BTC has also encountered a vast range of other problems, including
allegations of corruption, the intimidation and impoverishment of local
communities, severe environmental damage, the strengthening of
undemocratic regimes and whistleblower allegations of shoddy workmanship
and violations of basic standards.

“There is nothing to celebrate at this point; given the likelihood of a
major environmental and social disaster, any form of celebration looks
like nothing more than hubris,” said Nick Hildyard of the Cornerhouse.
“The World Bank and other backers of BTC must fulfill their obligations
to the people of the region and Western taxpayers, and undertake an
independent audit of the project to guarantee its safety.”

For more information, contact:

Nick Hildyard 07773750534

Anders Lustgarten 07973164363

6.2. CIPDD: Working Meeting of Georgian NGO and Media
Representatives – Gudauri, November 200

Source: Advocacy.ge

The Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (CIPDD)
present NGO – Media working meeting brochure. The meeting was organized
in the framework of the Civil Advocacy Program (CAP) that supports and
envisages the creation of a sustainable network of Georgian NGOs. After
the Bakuriani meeting of NGO leaders in February 2004, which was devoted
to the potential of cooperation of NGOs and the government in the
aftermath of the Rose Revolution, CAP initiated a number of meetings
between NGOs and other civil society representatives.

The objective of the Gudauri meeting was to define the potential of
cooperation between the NGO community and the media to tackle the
problems that emerged in a post-revolutionary environment. In
particular, the meeting focused on the following:

a.. Identification of problems in the NGO and media sectors;
b.. Assessment of current NGO and media activities and identification
of flaws in cooperation;
c.. Definition of priorities for joint activities of NGOs and media;
d.. Definition of specific steps for cooperation and assessment of
available resources.

More then 30 participants representing NGO and media sectors took part
in the Gudauri meeting. Participants had an opportunity to develop and
present diverse visions. The brochure gives an overview of discussions
held and contains all major views put forward in the course of the
meeting.

Check the Advocacy.ge website for the full version of the brochure:

6.3. CENN starts new Regional Project on Strengthening EIA/SEA
System in the South Caucasus Countries

CENN – Caucasus Environmental NGO Network activates its effort in the
development of environmental assessment (EA) system in South Caucasus
region. Two projects have been started aiming at the improvement of EA
legislation, capacity, practice and public awareness.

The WB funded project “Strengthening of Environmental Assessment
(EIA/SEA) System in the South Caucasus Countries” and Government of
Netherlands funded project “Improvement of Environmental Assessment (EA)
Practice in Georgia through Development of EA Implementation Tools”
include the following activities:

– Elaboration of draft Law on EA (incorporating provisions both
on EIA and SEA);

– Harmonization of EA related legislation in Georgia to ensure
improvement of the effectiveness of the whole EA system;

– Preparation of draft EA sector guidelines for most important
sectors

– Creation of the EA web site for the Ministry of Environmental
Protection and Natural Recourses of Georgia to ensure transparency of EA
related activities

– Establishment of Public EA library in Georgia;

– Organization of public oversight of EA activities in the South
Caucasus countries, and

– Elaboration of mechanism for organized transfer of relevant
environmental information to decision-makers and public and launch of
public dialog on EIA related issues in the region;

Projects will be implemented in close cooperation with the Ministry of
Environmental Protection and Natural Recourses of Georgia.

In this regard, CENN invites all interesting parties to cooperate and
take part in the development of improved EA system in the Region.

For additional information please contact:

Eka Otarashvili

Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)

EIA Program Manager

Tel: +995 32 75 19 03 / 04

Fax: +995 32 75 19 05

E-mail: [email protected]

URL:

7. INTERNATIONAL NEWS

7.1. Russia not to bar foreign companies from natural resources

Source: Itar-Tass, February 11, 2005

Russia will not totally shut off foreign companies from access to
biddings for the development of natural resources, including of oil and
gas fields of the Sakhalin-3 project and Sukhoi Log gold field, Minister
of Natural Resources Yuri Trutnev said.

“A number of new deposits will be among strategic interests of Russia.
But this does not mean a total lack of access of foreign companies to
the development of them,” he told Itar-Tass on Friday.

“A number of deposits will be developed with the participation of
foreign partners – the proportion of Russia’s participation is 50
percent plus one share. But control of these deposits must be on
Russia’s territory,” Trutnev said.

“This is a common stand on all large deposits,” the minister added.

He said “six auctions are planned in 2005, and there will be a total of
150”.

7.2. Iran refused to give up heavy water nuclear reactor

Source: The Messenger, February 14, 2005

Teheran – Iran said on Sunday February 13, 2005 it would not give up
plans to build a heavy water reactor, which can be used to make nuclear
weapons material, in exchange for a light water research reactor
proposed by the Europeans.

“We welcome such proposals but we will not under any circumstances
replace our heavy water research reactor,” foreign ministry spokesman
Hamid Reza Asefi said. “We will continue working on our heavy reactor”.
EU negotiators in talks with Iran over its nuclear activities have
offered to send a mission to help Teheran obtain a light water research
reactor in what would be the first concrete move towards rewarding
Teheran for abandoning uranium enrichment. Britain, France and Germany
are trying to convince Iran to dismantle an enrichment program the
United States says is part of a covert atomic weapons development, in
return for economic and political rewards. Teheran insists its nuclear
program is purely for civilian energy needs.

7.3. KYOTO PROTOCOL A TURNING POINT IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE
CHANGE

Source: IUCN, February 16, 2005

IUCN – The World Conservation Union celebrates today’s entry into force
of the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement aimed at slowing
global warming, but warns much deeper cuts in CO2 emissions and
adaptation measures in natural resource management are needed to avoid
dangerous levels of climate change. “This day will be remembered as the
day when the world went to work on emission reductions as well as the
start of a new era in international collaboration for the sake of our
planet and its people. It also launches the most ambitious attempt to
harness economic forces to tackle the most dramatic global environmental
challenge,” said IUCN President Mr. Valli Moosa. Temperatures have risen
by more than 0.6 °C since the start of industrialization, and this has
been linked to a 30% increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
The current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is around 376 parts per
million.

8. CALENDAR (INTERNATIONAL)

8.1. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FOR RIVERS MARCH 14, 2005

CALL TO ACTION!

March 14, 2005 is the eighth annual International Day of Action for
Rivers. This is a time to join in solidarity to protest destructive
river development schemes and celebrate successes over the last year.

It is also a time to fight for social justice and the rights of
communities over their resources and lives.

We invite you to participate in this year’s Day of Action by planning an
event to celebrate rivers, water and life. As a special focus this year,
we are encouraging efforts to celebrate, demonstrate and educate around
the theme of affected peoples and reparations for past damages. The
development of dams in marginalized peoples’ territories has been almost
universally a story of broken promises, damaged livelihoods, drowned
cultural sites and spiritual losses. But a new story is unfolding, one
where affected peoples facing seemingly impossible odds are prevailing,
with river restoration taking place and efforts to repair past damages
are beginning. In Guatemala, after a thousand Mayan villagers displaced
by the Chixoy Dam occupied the dam’s hydroelectric facility, the
government agreed to reparations talks. And in the US, the Hoopa Valley
and Yurok tribes in California celebrated a long awaited victory in
their effort to restore the Trinity River and their ancestral fisheries
when a federal appeals court ordered implementation of the 2000 Trinity
River restoration plan, which would increase the flow to the river
through existing dams.

Last year on March 14, more than 75 actions mobilized supporters and
brought their messages about the importance of healthy rivers to a wider
audience. Hundreds of thousands of people from at least 26 countries
marched to dam sites, held river blessing ceremonies, organized
conferences and photo exhibits, and participated in hunger strikes —
all as part of an annual effort to draw attention to living rivers
around the world.

Take a stand on March 14 for healthy rivers and thriving communities!

What you can do (and how we can help):

Planning an event?

First of all, contact us about your event, including: (1) a short title
describing the focus; (2) location, (3) date and time, (4) contact
person, and (5) a brief description (be sure to let us know if we should
keep your event confidential). We will post it on our web site, maintain
a master list, and distribute information to interested individuals.
Perhaps most importantly, we would greatly appreciate any photographs or
short summaries of your events.

Need materials?

Go to the IRN website () and download Day
of Action materials, background information or other documents to help
promote your event. If you need us to mail them to you instead, please
let us know what you need, and be sure to include your address.

Want to attend an event?

Keep checking the IRN website () as the
Day of Action approaches to find events in your area. And please help
spread the word!

We look forward to hearing from you.

For the rivers,

Willow Lune

International Rivers Network

1847 Berkeley Way

Berkeley, CA 94703 USA

Phone: +1.510.848.1155

Fax: +1.510.848.1008

E-mail: [email protected]

Web:

***************************************************************************
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

Editorial policy: CENN both solicits and accepts submissions for
environmental information to the Caucasus Environmental News Bulletin.
Although, CENN retains the right to edit all materials both for content
and length. The information provided for the Bulletin does not
necessarily represent the opinion of CENN and SDC.

***************************************************************************
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)

Tel: ++995 32 75 19 03/04
Fax: ++995 32 75 19 05
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

Armenian parliament approves re-appointment of Central Bank chief

Mediamax news agency
2 Mar 05

Yerevan, 2 March: The Armenian parliament today endorsed Tigran
Sarkisyan as chairman of the Central Bank of the republic.

Eighty-six MPs voted for and four against Tigran Sarkisyan’s
candidature, our Mediamax correspondent reports from parliament.

Thus, Tigran Sarkisyan, who has headed the Central Bank since March
1998, will remain in this post for the next seven years.

Opposition leader insists on referendum of no confidence in Armenian leader

Mediamax news agency
2 Mar 05

YEREVAN

The opposition Justice bloc insists on conducting a referendum of no
confidence in the Armenian president, the leader of the Justice
faction and the chairman of the People’s Party of Armenia, Stepan
Demirchyan, told a news conference at the National Press Club today.

He said “an unfavourable social situation has developed in the country
and it will be possible to get the republic out of this crisis only by
conducting a referendum of no confidence in the president”.

Stepan Demirchyan reiterated the thesis that the opposition had won
the 2003 presidential elections in Armenia, “however, that victory
wasn’t secured”.

“We can see the process through to its logical end,” the leader of the
Justice bloc said. At the same time, when commenting on the
revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine and a possible repeat of such a
scenario in Armenia, Stepan Demirchyan said that he “prefers to
describe this as the restoration of constitutional order, not as a
revolution”.

“We intend to struggle for the restoration of order without any shocks
for the population and hope to solve our tasks only by peaceful
means,” he said.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 1 2005

Ambassador’s statement irresponsible – US Department of State

Baku, February 28, AssA-Irada
The US ambassador to Armenia John Evans’s statement that `Upper
Garabagh can’t be returned to Azerbaijan’, made during his informal
meeting with the Armenian Diaspora representatives at a California
university on February 25, has sparked different responses from
Azerbaijan and the United States.
Steve Tike, a spokesman for the US Department of State, regarded
Evans’s utterance as `an irresponsible statement’, which reflects
only his personal views. `Evans’s statement doesn’t reflect
Washington’s position. The US stance on the Upper Garabagh remains
unchanged’, he said.
The United States has repeatedly stated that it does not recognize
Upper Garabagh as an independent state and supports Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity, the spokesman added.
The Azerbaijani ambassador to USA Hafiz Pashayev has discussed the
matter with US officials, including the US Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Laura Kennedy.
During the discussions, Pashayev said that Azerbaijani and American
officials are displeased with Evans’s statement. `Evans’s
undiplomatic and irresponsible statement on the eve of the next
meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Prague is
unacceptable,’ Pashayev said.
Ambassador Evans told a Monday news conference in Yerevan that his
statement on Upper Garabagh was misinterpreted. `I stated in the
meeting that the United States recognizes the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan and that the Upper Garabagh status issue may be
resolved by Armenia and Azerbaijan through talks,’ he said.
Washginton continues its efforts at settling the conflict within the
OSCE Minsk Group and considers the meetings held so far by the two
countries’ foreign ministers reassuring, he added.*

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Prelacy of Canada
Contact
Name: Dania Ohanian
Phone: (514) 856-1200
3401 Olivar Asselin
Montreal, Qc H4J 1L5
E-mail: [email protected]

Armenian Prelacy of Canada Hosts an Exhibit of Children’s Drawings

Montreal, Qc_ Under the Auspices of His Eminence, Archbishop Khajag
Hagopian, Prelate, and organized by the Prelacy’s Christian Education
Council of Canada, an exhibit of children’s drawings was held in the newly
built Prelacy building on the evening of Saturday February 19, 2005.

The colourful drawings adorning the walls of the Prelacy depicted different
themes from the Holy Bible, as perceived by the seven to 13 year-old
students who participated in the event.

Unbeknownst to the 150 participants, prizes were awarded on the following
day for the six best drawings, chosen by jurors Garo Margossian and Baydsar
Gantheg Avedikian. The winners were selected from two different age groups:
seven to nine year-olds and 10 to 13 year-olds.

The first prize for the younger group went to Maria Matossian, followed by
Aren Babigian and Goruyn Koyounian. Laura Sarimanoukian took the first prize
from the older age group, Ani Andonian came in second and Maral Margossian
third.

The other students were presented with certificates of participation from
the Prelacy and the Prelacy’s Christian Education Council of Canada.

The exhibit remained open until Sunday afternoon, allowing church attendants
to visit the exhibition after mass.

-30-

Fresno State News, CA
March 2 2005

Armenian Studies Program

California State University, Fresno
(278) 2669

`William Saroyan and His World’ Panel Discussion

to be held at Fresno State

The Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State, in cooperation with the
William Saroyan Society of Fresno, is co-sponsoring a panel
discussion, “William Saroyan and His World” at 7:00 PM on Friday,
March 11 in the Industrial Technology Building, Room 101 (corner of
Barstow and Campus Drive) on the Fresno State campus.

The panel discussion is part of the Armenian Studies Program Spring
2005 Lecture Series and is being held in conjunction with a one-unit
course on William Saroyan being offered the same weekend by Dr.
Dickran Kouymjian, Director of the Armenian Studies Program.

Dr. Dickran Kouymjian will moderate the panel discussion and serve as
a discussant.

John Kallenberg, retired Fresno County Librarian and President of the
William Saroyan Society will give the introduction to the panel.

Fresno author and historian Berge Bulbulian will speak on “Fresno in
the Time of Saroyan.” Bulbulian is the author of The Fresno
Armenians.

Barlow Der Mugrdechian of the Armenian Studies Program will speak on
“Saroyan the Writer.”

Long-time Saroyan friend and writer Ed Hagopian will speak on
“Reminiscences and Recollections.”

Fresno County California Collection Librarian and book collector
William Secrest, Jr. will present a paper on “Collecting Saroyan.”

The panel discussion is free and open to the public.

Relaxed parking will be available in Lots Q, K, and L after 7:00 PM
the night of the lecture. For more information on the presentation
please contact the Armenian Studies Program at 278-2669.

Today, Azerbaijan
March 2 2005

Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and Armenia to meet in
Paris on March 3

02 March 2005 [08:30] – Today.Az

The date of the meeting between Ministers for Foreign Affairs of
Azerbaijan and Armenia has been changed.

The meeting will not be held tomorrow as it considered but on March,
3. APA was informed of it by Matin Mirza-head of press service of
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to M.Mirza, the meeting of Elmar Mammadyarov and Vardan
Oskanyan will be held in Paris not in Prague. M.Mirza said that, he
was informed by Elmar Mammadyarov who is in Prague now. Minister for
Foreign Affairs-Elmar Mammadyarov is expected to meet with
co-chairmen of Minsk group in Prague yesterday.

The sides will discuss the report presented by Fact Finding Mission
of OSCE during the meeting. It must be noted that, Armenian press
wrote, Vardan Oskanyan couldn’t leave for Prague because of health
problem. The concrete reasons of his health problem are not
explained.

Music From the Movies, UK
March 2 2005

Vodka Lemon
Reviewed by: Peter Holm

Michel Korb’s music to the critically acclaimed drama/comedy Vodka
Lemon, by director Hiner Saleem, gets a proper release by the new
French label Amélie Aime le Cinéma. This is my first experience with
the music of Michel Korb. He is a French composer who was born in
1960 and graduated from the Berklee School of Music in 1984 with a
diploma in film scoring. The liner notes present a handful of films
that Korb has composed the music to, all of which are French, and
spans from 1994 to 2004.

Vodka Lemon reflects today’s life in post-Soviet Armenia and deals
with issues such as poverty, loss and the hope for a better life. In
the centre of the film are a widow and widower and their
relationship. It’s so far away from the glamorous films made in
Hollywood, but it’s not without a sense of humour. Korb’s score
expresses the very same in the music and mixes a variety of emotions.

He has gathered a small group of musicians, using traditional
instruments such as piano, violin, cello, bass and accordion
accompanied by the mysterious and strange colours of the duduk and
cimbalom (here called santhour). These are two of my favourite
instruments (just listen to the wonders of John Barry’s The Ipcress
File or Jerry Goldsmith’s The Last Run). Another instrument is the
exotic oud (a lute like instrument).

Korb’s score starts with the jaunty `Hamo et Nina’, which is a very
dance-like and rhythmic cue, and indeed a very optimistic one,
featuring piano and accordion up-front. This is one of the score’s
thematic tapestries along with the following `Le Jour se Lève’, which
is a more reflective piece. The opening solo part for accordion
reminds me of the bleak soundscape that Carl Davis established in The
Trial.

Even though it has its moments of melancholy and loneliness, it’s far
from a depressive score, like for instance Zbigniew Preisner’s
Dekalog, because even in bleakness there’s beauty, and Korb has
really found a perfect balance between passion, bleakness and
optimism. It’s a very intimate score and I think it owes a lot to the
fact that we get small and delightful solos from the instruments here
and there, something that reminds me of Georges Delerue’s way of
scoring.

The length of the cues varies from eighteen seconds to almost four
minutes, but this doesn’t affect the musical flow because it’s so
nicely laced together, even featuring three traditional cues along
with a concluding song (written by Salvatore Adamo). To mention a few
highlights: the piano solo in `Dans la Maison’, the soaring duduk in
`La Rose’, the flourishing `Envoléé’, the gloomy `La Lettre’ and the
cheerful `Improvisation’. Even though this is my first Michel Korb
score it’s easy to hear that he has a distinct voice of his own and I
wouldn’t hesitate for a minute if I found another one of his scores
on CD, because this guy is definitely worth following.

Los Angeles Business Journal, CA
March 2 2005

Morning Headlines

An overview of today’s top L.A. business stories

[parts omitted]

Payday for MGM Executives
Kirk Kerkorian isn’t the only one profiting from the sale of MGM,
Variety reported. Top executives there will pocket
multimillion-dollar severance packages, the company revealed in its
annual report Monday. CEO and Chairman Alex Yemenidijan is being
offered a lump sum payment of $6.25 million, while Chief Operating
Officer Chris McGurk will get $5.75 million. The executives are
expected to leave MGM once its $4.8 billion acquisition by Sony and
its consortium of investors closes.

Armenian Groups Receive Payments
Three local Armenian civic organizations received $333,333 each
Monday as part of a $20-million settlement of a lawsuit by New York
Life Insurance Co., the Los Angeles Times reported. In all, $3
million was split among nine Armenian organizations, including the
Armenian Church of North America Western Diocese in Burbank, the
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Los Angeles and
the Armenian Educational Foundation in Glendale. The lawsuit, filed
by heirs of Armenian genocide victims, accused the insurance company
of failing to honor valid claims.