114TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN LIBERATION MOVEMENT MARKED IN ZEITUN DISTRICT OF TEHRAN

TEHRAN, November 8 (Noyan Tapan). An arrangement dedicated to the
114th anniversary of the Armenian liberation movement was held at the
“Sukerian” hall of the Zeitun district of Tehran.

According to the “Alik” daily newspaper of Tehran, Ara Shahnazarian
was the key noter of the celebration organized on this occasion for
the second time in succession (after the arrangement organized at the
“Komitas” and “Nairi” halls). He mentioned that this movement was
the protector of the rights of the Armenian nation and the Armenian
Cause from the very beginning up to now, and the ideological youth
was always in the first ranks of this movement.

Then Levon Shant’s “Yesin Mard” play was staged and national songs
were performed.

Azerbaijan denies holding Armenian POWs

Ayna, Baku
9 Nov 04

Text of Turan’s report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ayna on 9 November
headlined “There are no ‘Armenian slaves’ in Azerbaijan”

Commenting on an appeal to the OSCE Minsk Group by the Karabakh
Armenians, the Azerbaijani state commission for prisoners of war,
hostages and missing persons has told Turan news agency that Armenia’s
statements that there are Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan, that they
are being used as slaves and concealed from international organizations
under false names are wide of the mark.

The source said that representatives of an international working
group for POWs, hostages and missing persons checked in 1996
whether Armenians were present in quarries and other places
[in Azerbaijan]. Members of the group from Yerevan and Xankandi
[Stepanakert] were also among them. They visited the aforementioned
places and saw no Armenian hostages being used as slaves. Azerbaijan
is ready even now to enable them to search for POWs.

“There is not a single Armenian hostage in Azerbaijan now. All of
them have been handed over to Armenia,” the state commission said.

Pressure group condemns Azeri speaker’s remarks on Armenian MPs’ planned visit

Assa-Irada
9 Nov 04

Baku, 8 November: The Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) has made
a statement on Azerbaijani Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov’s comments about
Armenian MPs’ planned visit to Baku [to attend the NATO Parliamentary
Assembly’s Rose-Roth seminar on 26-28 November]. The KLO statement
alleges that Alasgarov is betraying Azerbaijan’s national interests
as he wants to see Armenian MPs in Baku this month.

“One of the main Armenian foreign policy goals is to make sure that
its aggression is forgotten. So, Armenia is trying to build relations
with Azerbaijan in every field. The speaker’s behaviour is making
contributions to the interests of the aggressor,” the statement reads.

In its end, the statement condemns the speaker for his attempts to
cooperate with aggressor Armenia and his desire to see the Armenian
legislators in Baku.

Azerbaijani president says peace treaty on Nagorno-Karabakh only possible
after seized territory is freed

AP Worldstream
Nov 09, 2004

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev said Tuesday that ethnic Armenian
forces in Nagorno-Karabakh must withdraw before a peace agreement
can be signed.

“We demand with justification that the seized territory be freed and
the occupation forces withdraw,” Aliev said during a visit to Astara,
about 315 kilometers (about 195 miles) south of the capital, Baku.

Armenian forces drove the Azerbaijani army out of Nagorno-Karabakh,
an ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, in the 1990s and took
control of several areas outside the enclave as well. Since a 1994
cease-fire, the sides have been separated by the so-called “line of
control,” a demilitarized buffer zone, but occasional shooting breaks
out and each side accuses the other of mounting small incursions.

Negotiators under the auspices of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe are trying to work out an agreement on
Nagorno-Karabakh’s final status, but no visible progress has been made
in recent years and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev has repeatedly
raised the prospect of military action if no negotiated solution
is reached.

“It is possible to sign a peace agreement only after the occupied
land is freed,” Aliev said.

Aliev also announced that this ex-Soviet republic would boost defense
spending next year. Finance Minister Avez Alekperov said it would
increase by about 33.5 percent from the 732 billion manat (US$149
million, Aâ~B¬115 million) allocated on defense this year.

–Boundary_(ID_GjpHpI7yWVRqmnXNiEqScg)–

Karabakh leader calls for talks with Azerbaijan

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
8 Nov 04

[Presenter] Azerbaijan is not ready for negotiations, the Artsakh
[Nagornyy Karabakh] president [Arkadiy Gukasyan] has said in an
interview with “Aylur” programme [of Armenian Public TV]. He added
that the Karabakh side was ready to discuss any issue in any format.

Arkadiy Gukasyan described as a propaganda the Azerbaijani authorities’
clamour over visits of international organizations to Artsakh.

[Arkadiy Gukasyan, captioned] We are ready to negotiate with Azerbaijan
in any format, with and without Armenia. I must say that our position
is very constructive. We are ready to discuss with Azerbaijan any
issues, starting from the issues of the status [of Nagornyy Karabakh],
refugees and [occupied] territories. It is a different matter that
Azerbaijan is not ready today to negotiate with Karabakh and, in fact,
Azerbaijan’s current position is an ultimatum.

I consider that the world community and the co-chairmen of the OSCE
Minsk Group can draw a conclusion from these approaches and report on
Azerbaijan’s current position [at talks] today. As for discussing this
or another issue out of a package, I think that this is illogical. I
reiterate, we are ready to discuss any issues, but we consider that
these issues must be discussed in the general context.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT APPOINTED NEW NATIONAL SECURITY SERVICE HEAD

08.11.2004 19:02

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian signed
a decree on appointing Gorik Hakobian Director of National Security
Service under the Government of Armenia. As reported by the Press
Serivice of the President, the same day R. Kocharian intorduced the
newly appointed director to the Council leaders. It should be noted
that G. Hakobian has been working in the national security system
since 1970 and took various top offices there.

A1 Plus | 16:03:26 | 09-11-2004 | Social |

AYB-FE NEWS AGENCY DENIED ACCESS TO NEWS CONFERENCE

A news conference focused on the isolated case of the masterminds of
October 27 terrorist act committed in 1999 in the Armenian parliament
is to be held on Tuesday in the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office.

However, not every journalist will given access to the event, despite
this contradicts Armenian law.

Chief of the office’s unit on public relations Gurgen Ambaryan
empowered himself to decide personally which media outlet to be given
entry and which not.

Ayb-Fe news agency correspondent was denied entry “because of lack
of space in the hall”.

Despite that, information about the news conference will be placed
on our site today.

Naira Melkumian: Let’s Pass Victorious Path Together

Azg
9 Nov 04

$12,5 Million More Needed to Strengthen Artsakh

On November 25, “Hayastan” Pan-Armenian Fund will hold a TV marathon
in Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora. The sums accumulated through the
marathon will be assigned for the construction of “North-South”
road that is considered a key one in Artsakh. During the recent 4
years 57,2 km of the road has been constructed, while $12,5 million
are needed for the construction of the 31,5 km left. We talked with
Naira Melkumian, executive director, about the envisaged TV marathon
and the issues connected with the Fund’s activities.

– Mrs. Melkumian, are there any innovations in this year’s marathon
that can help accumulate money?

– TV marathons are being organized since 1996. We consider this
year’s marathon as not only a mere means of accumulating money, but
also a means that contributes to the communication of the Armenians
throughout the world and see the development of Armenia and Artsakh. We
also consider TV marathon as a patriotic arrangement that can unite
the nation. Millions of Armenians who love their motherland watch the
marathon. And we want to give them an opportunity to see Armenia as
it is. We aim to tell about the best sons of our nation during the TV
marathon. We have already unfolded large-scale propaganda that includes
some stories about Armenian philanthropist. We called the program
“Golden Book” and Nerses Catholicos’ life opens this series. “Never
refuse to pay your debts to your motherland,” words said by Alexander
Mantashiants, great Armenian philanthropist, became a slogan for
us. He addressed these words to the Armenian businessmen long ago.

– After being appointed an executive director, you have visited
a number of Armenian communities. What do you expect from this
year’s marathon?

– We hope that we will manage to gather sufficient money to complete
the construction of this road. We need $12,5 million more for the
construction of “North-South” road. We hope that our philanthropists
will be more active, they are always generous. But there is one issue
that they put forward in front of our nation: they are ready to hand
out huge sums for Armenia and the developments of the recent years
testify to that. But they want each Armenian to participate in these
activities. The activities of “Hayastan” Pan-Armenian Fund are based on
the idea that each Armenian should contribute to the strengthening of
his motherland. One may give millions of dollars, some other – just a
dollar. It is very important for the establishment of the fund. This
fund contributes to the maintenance of the state, of Artsakh and
it is not accidental that we direct our main activities to Artsakh
during the recent years. Artsakh is the part of our homeland that
receives no international aid and which is considered a risky zone for
investments. But we see that our efforts are not in vain, Artsakh is
developing. If each of us understands that in order to hold Artsakh in
our hands we need to develop it economically. In that case we can say
that Artsakh is an inseparable part of Armenia and the Armenian nation.

– We are through with the 50 per cent of road construction. What did
this road give Artsakh from the economic viewpoint?

– Roads and telecommunications are the guarantee for every state’s
development. The road indeed has great impact on Artsakh’s development.
There is a new hotel at the road section leading to Gandzasar. Drmbon
mine is already operating. This road will secure Martakert region’s
development. Besides being an agricultural region Martakert has
industrial potential. Plants of agricultural good processing spring
up at the paved sections of the road. There were 70 per cent more
tourists visiting Artsakh this year. The spheres of agriculture and
tourism are directly connected with roads. Artsakh should not lag
behind Armenia because if we want more people to settle there then we
should create conditions where people will feel as real citizens. The
Fund has created 1000 work places this year.

– Previous marathons showed that the Russian-Armenians stood aloof
of the money accumulation. What will you do this year to include
Russian-Armenians in the marathon?

– Firstly, Russia’s great Armenian community has to be objectively
evaluated. There are lot of wealthy Armenians there. But we should not
forget that this is a young community and that it has close ties with
Armenia. Russian-Armenians are rather generous at handing money out
and we should not try to drag more money out. I think the numbers are
not that important in this case. We must take into consideration that
Armenians invest in Russia and help their families here in Armenia.

– Travelers often share their good impressions of Stepanakert. But
Shushi leaves a sad impression on visitors. Do you have projects for
rebuilding the town?

– Shushi’s reconstruction is a great challenge that Armenians
should take. As soon as we are able to say that there is enough
money for the road, we may turn to Artsakh regions. I think Shushi
will be a priority in that case. The Board of the Trustees takes
our projects of strategic importance into consideration and I hope
that we’ll look forward to new programs from May. We are already
carrying out few projects in Shushi. There are donors who have started
reconstruction works. Shushi’s reconstruction has a personal meaning
for me. I adore Shushi and think that it should become a cultural
center for the Armenian nation. Shushi and Gyumri played a huge role
in the cultural life of Armenians and they both should gain their
former role in our lives.

By Tatoul Hakobian

PRESS RELEASE
November 5, 2004
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:

Pan-Armenian Games World Committee Solicits Information from Armenian
Communities

The World Committee of the Pan-Armenian Games has requested that the
Armenian communities preparing to send teams for the 4th Pan-Armenian
Games to submit information on the sports categories in which they
would like and are able to participate.

In view of the fact that at least two new kinds of sports are being
added to the Program of every Pan-Armenian Games, the World Committee
has so far received suggestions that boxing, wrestling, horse-race
and fencing be included in the Program of the 4th Pan-Armenian
Games. Please note that only Olympic kinds of sports can be included
into the Program of the Pan-Armenian Games.

For information and detailed inquiries, please contact the Secretary
General of the World Committee, Armen Grigoryan, at Government House 2,
Yerevan, 375010, Armenia, or by telephone/fax: (+374-1) 526802.

Attached is the press release on the results of the 10th session of
the General Assembly of the World Committee of the Pan-Armenian Games,
submitted by the WCPAG.

******************************
WORLD COMMITTEE OF THE PAN-ARMENIAN GAMES (WCPAG)

Results of the 10th session of the General Assembly
(Yerevan, October 3, 2004)

The 10th session of the General Assembly of the WCPAG was held on
October 3, 2004, in Ararat Hotel, Yerevan. More than 30 members of the
WCPAG and PAG City Committees (Commissions) from over 20 cities of the
world participated in the session. Vartan Oskanian, the President of
the WCPAG (Yerevan), opened the session and greeted the participants
of the General Assembly.

After the adoption of the Agenda the WCPAG President Vartan Oskanian
presented his two-year report, noting the problems of the World Committee.
The Secretary General Armen Grigoryan (Yerevan) also greeted the
participants, presented his report, in which he mentioned the drawbacks that
took place during the Third Pan-Armenian Games and stated that new kinds of
sports should be included into the program of the Games. The participants of
the General Assembly agreed that new kinds of sports should be added to the
program and it was decided that it would be better if participants of the
Games would define the kinds of sports themselves. In this regard a letter
will be sent to the PAG City Committees (Commissions), so that they mention
all kinds of sports the Armenian Community of their city wishes and is able
to participate in. Among suggested kinds of sports were boxing, wrestling,
horse-race and fencing.

The president of the Auditing Committee of the WCPAG Berdj Halajian
(Alexandria) presented the report of the financial activity of the World
Committee. He noted that not all City Committees (Commissions) of the
Pan-Armenian Games pay their membership fees in time and that the WCPAG
needs to find new sources of financing. In this regards President V.Oskanian
charged the members of the WCPAG to follow that City Committees
(Commissions) of the Pan-Armenian Games of their regions fulfill their
financial obligations in the dates prescribed by the Charter. The president
also noted the necessity of finding new sources of financing and informed
that in case of success, the budget of the WCPAG will be included into the
state budget of the RA beginning from 2005. The Vice-President of the WCPAG
Roland Sharoyan (Yerevan) presented the new edition of the Charter of the
World Committee which was unanimously adopted by the participants of the
General Assembly.

The issue of the changing the logo of the WCPAG was also discussed at the
meeting. The participants discussed new variants of the logo, but new ideas
were born and it was decided that all those who wish will send their
variants in 15 days and the Vice-president R.Sharoyan and the Secretary
General A.Grigoryan, authorized by the President, will follow the process of
choosing new logo. It was repeatedly noted that many cities that have large
Armenian communities do not have City Committees (Commissions) of the
Pan-Armenian Games and that corresponding measures should be taken.

Organizational issues of the First Pan-Armenian Basketball Championship and
the First World Pan-Armenian Sports Congress were discussed. The
participants of the General Assembly decided that the Sports Congress will
take place on August 20, 2005 and the Opening ceremony of the basketball
championship will take place in the evening of August 21, 2005. The deadline
for the preliminary application forms is January 30, 2005, and the deadline
for the team application forms – April 30. The representatives of Vanadzor
and Stepanakert suggested that some of the competitions take place in their
cities and expressed their readiness to accept the participants and provide
them with everything they need. In this regard Mr. Oskanian said that these
issues can have a more detailed discussion after the appropriate
examination.

The Vice-President R.Sharoyan presented the new order of paying membership
fees elaborated together with the Auditing Commission of the WCPAG. The new
order runs as follows: “Participant-cities are obliged to cover all expenses
connected with the banking transfer and to clearly mention the name of the
city and the date of the transfer.”

One of the last points of the Agenda were the elections of the President,
three Vice-presidents, Secretary General, members of the Executive and the
Auditing Committee. All these persons were unanimously elected. Two new
members were elected into the World Committee – Andre Kisajikian (San Paulo)
and Zohrab Malek (Roma). The Vice-President Stepan Derbedrossian (Beirut)
informed the participants that Harout Haroutyunyan (Yerevan) is appointed
the representative of HOMENETMEN in the WCPAG instead of Harout Cezar
Chekijian (Beirut). At the end V.Oskanian thanked the participants of the
General Assembly for cooperation and fruitful work.

The same day the participants of the General Assembly watched “Anush” opera
at the Yerevan State Theatre of Opera and Ballet. The next day the
participants of the General Assembly of the WCPAG met with the Prime
Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Andranik Margarian. During the meeting
the Prime-minister noted the importance of the work of the WCPAG in the
sphere of strengthening Armenia-Diaspora relations and expressed hope that
the work of the World Committee will continue to be successful. The Prime
Minister also promised to assist in the process of finding place for the
House of the World Committee of the Pan-Armenian Games.

ARMENIA THIS WEEK
Monday, November 8, 2004

NATO HEAD SEES GROWING PARTNERSHIP WITH ARMENIA
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was in Armenia last week for
talks with Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian and other officials. De Hoop
Scheffer’s visit comes following a recent appointment of a NATO envoy for
the Caucasus and Central Asia. While in Yerevan, De Hoop Scheffer noted that
“the relationship between Armenia and NATO is developing very well indeed,”
pointing in particular to Armenia’s decision to launch an Individual
Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), a most extensive NATO cooperation program
short of membership, and Armenia’s role in Kosovo peacekeeping. Kocharian,
in turn, expressed a desire to be more actively involved in NATO programs.

Also last week, the NATO Secretary General urged Azerbaijan “to turn a page”
in relations with Armenia amid continuing Azeri threats over the unresolved
Karabakh conflict. Two months ago, NATO commanders were forced to cancel
peacekeeping exercises, due to take place in Baku, over its last-moment
refusal to allow Armenian participants to enter the country. Armenian MPs
are due to attend a seminar organized in Baku later this month by the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly, and radical groups linked to the Azeri government
have already expressed their opposition. In an interview last week, U.S.
Ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish recalled that in accordance to NATO
charter all partners are welcome to Alliance events and that Baku should
make a firm decision in that regard. (Sources: Armenia This Week 7-12, 9-13;
AzerNews 11-4; Haykakan Zhamanak 11-4; Zerkalo 11-4; AFP 11-5; Arminfo 11-5;
RFE/RL Arm. Report 11-5)

ARMENIA’S ECONOMY GROWING DESPITE SHORTFALL IN LEADING INDUSTRY
Armenia’s economy continues to grow robustly, despite a 25 percent fall in
diamond processing over the period, the country’s flagship industry in
recent years. In a report covering the first three quarters of 2004, the
National Statistics Service reported that the overall Gross Domestic Product
(GDP), the main economic indicator, has grown by over 10 percent.

Even though Armenia’s economy is estimated to be close to recovery from the
post-Soviet slump, few Armenians appear to be satisfied. A recent poll of
nine countries by ROMIR Monitoring, one of Russia’s leading public opinion
agencies, found that only eight percent of Armenians gave a positive
assessment to the state of the country’s economy, just ahead of Ukraine (6
percent) and Bulgaria (4), but behind Kazakhstan (32) and Moldova (22).

Last week Armenia’s government unveiled a draft budget for 2005 that calls
for a 30 percent increase in social spending and overall government spending
is due to increase by 18 percent to total $702 million. Deputy Finance
Minister Pavel Safarian anticipated continued growth in revenue based on
estimated eight percent GDP growth and improvements in tax collection next
year. Social Affairs Minister Aghvan Vartanian argued recently that 300,000
Armenians underreport their incomes and 130,000 others have jobs, but are
not officially registered at all.

Armenia is also set to receive additional low-interest loans from
international financial institutions to cover budget deficits. The World
Bank’s South Caucasus Director Donna Dowsett-Coirolo confirmed that
additional funds would be forthcoming noting that “independent evaluators
overall found that Armenia was one of the best users of [World Bank] credit
resources.”

Official reports also indicate continued stabilization of Armenia’s
population, which declined significantly throughout the 1990s. According to
this data, Armenia’s population grew slightly year-on-year to over 3.2
million. Real estate prices continued to skyrocket in Yerevan (33 percent)
and grow significantly in smaller towns (11 percent).

In January-September 2004, Armenia saw its exports growing by 1.3 percent to
$511 million and imports by 4 percent to $975 million. Dependence on outside
supplies of energy and fuel continued to keep the trade deficit large. The
European Union (EU) countries remained Armenia’s top trade partners –
accounting for 37 percent of the total turnover. The list of Armenia’s top
trading partners continued to be topped by Belgium (17 percent of all
exports and 9 percent of imports), Israel (12 and 8), Russia (11 and 13),
and the United States (10 and 8).

Armenia’s trade with Russia continued to decline, making up just over $152
million in the first three quarters of 2004. A decline in Armenian purchases
of Russian rough diamonds, modernization at Armenia’s Russian-owned aluminum
processing plant and a nearly two-month closure of the Russian-Georgian land
border largely accounted for the decline. Armenia currently has the smallest
trade turnover with Russia of all former Soviet republics. Over the same
period, Russia’s trade with neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan amounted to
$224 and $475 million respectively. (Sources: Armenia This Week 8-2, 9-27;
RFE/RL Armenia Report 10-15, 29; Arminfo 10-20, 30, 11-1, 2, 5)

A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED BY THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
122 C Street, N.W., Suite 350, Washington, D.C. 20001 (202) 393-3434 FAX
(202) 638-4904
E-Mail [email protected] WEB

[AAA Note: For your information below is a letter from the Co-Chairs of the
Congressional Caucus on Armenian issues.]

Congress of the United States
Washington, DC 20515

November 7, 2004

The Honorable Colin Powell
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20520-0001

Dear Mr. Secretary:

We are writing to share with you our alarm over the prospect that
Azerbaijan’s continued efforts at the United Nations to manipulate the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict will, if unchecked, undermine our clearly
articulated national interest in the stability of the Caucasus.

We refer, of course, to Azerbaijan’s recent introduction of an ill-advised
resolution on the “situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.”
This intentionally disruptive resolution threatens the principles and
procedures of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) as well as the Minsk Group mediation effort, co-chaired by the United
States, France and Russia, to resolve the Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan’s
proposal represents a hostile declaration against the entire peace process,
aimed only at fostering increased divisiveness. Its consideration can only
set back the cause of peace.

We are deeply concerned that the OSCE Minsk process cannot survive
Azerbaijan’s destabilizing tactics. Continued tampering with this process
will inevitably produce a chain reaction resulting in its demise. We cannot
afford to allow Azerbaijan to continue to disrupt the work of the OSCE,
which, as you know, has been recognized by the UN itself as the lead arbiter
in this conflict.

We value the special role the United States plays as an honest broker in the
Nagorno Karabakh peace process. In this capacity, given our desire to keep
the parties talking and moving forward, we need to act forcefully against
destabilizing steps that will unravel the peace process. Our interests are
best served by the continuation of dialogue on the outstanding issues
related to Nagorno Karabakh within the OSCE framework, not by the
fragmentation of this orderly process.

Efforts to reinforce stability and reduce the risk of conflict are in the
best interests of the U.S. and the South Caucasus region. To this end, we
urge that the United States forcefully renounce this proposal, secure its
retraction, and impress upon the Azerbaijani government that it should drop
such counter-productive tactics in favor of a serious and lasting commitment
to the OSCE Minsk Group process.

Thank you for your consideration of our views. We stand ready, of course,
to assist you in addressing this matter in the interest of the American
people.

Sincerely,

/s/ /s/
Joe Knollenberg Frank
Pallone, Jr.
Member of Congress Member of
Congress