Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 3 2005
Deputy FM denies reports on alleged talks over exchange of lands
BAKU
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov has denied recent reports saying
that the issue on exchange of lands was discussed during the meetings
of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents and foreign ministers.
Certain progress has been achieved in talks on settling the Upper
Garabagh conflict over the recent years, Azimov told journalists on
Wednesday.
The dialogue conducted by the parties to the conflict, mainly
concerns liberation of occupied lands, return of refugees to their
homes and restoration of communication links between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, he said.
Azimov added that it is impossible to exchange views on serious
political affairs until all these issues are resolved.’*

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 3 2005
OSCE fact-finding mission visits Zangilan

Baku, February 2, AssA-Irada
The OSCE fact-finding mission, conducting monitoring in the occupied
Azerbaijani territories, visited the Zangilan District on Wednesday,
Armenian media said. According to the mission’s schedule, however, it
was expected to conduct monitoring in the Gubadly District.
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov told journalists that no changes
have been made to the mission’s schedule and that Baku considers
Armenian press reports biased.
On Tuesday, the mission visited the Jabrayil, Fuzuli and Lachin.
The mission will conduct monitoring for a week, spending a day in
each of the seven Azerbaijani districts. Afterwards, it will prepare
a relevant report within the following ten days and submit it to the
OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna.*

Who are the happiest people in the world?
Mail & Guardian Online (Africa)
02 February 2005
Copenhagen, Denmark — People in Denmark, Malta and Switzerland are the
happiest in the world according to a new survey, the Berlingske Tidende
newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The trio topped a list of 90 countries where people have been polled
about how they “enjoy their life as a whole”.
The listings in The World Database of Happiness were based on research
conducted for the past 20 years by Professor Ruut Veenhoven at Erasmus
University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
The top trio scored eight on a scale of zero to 10. They were shadowed
by Iceland and Ireland with 7,8, while Ghana’s score of 7,7 put it ahead
of Canada, Guatemala, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Sweden with 7,6.
Ghana’s result may, however, be slightly inflated due to uncertainty
about sampling, and a more accurate score would likely be about six,
Veenhoven said on the database’s website.
Trends in Denmark suggested an increase in life satisfaction, bucking
trends in Switzerland and Malta where it is decreasing.
The Nordic country meets five main criteria for a society that
experiences well-being. It is a high-income country, democratic,
well-governed with a low level of corruption, has a large degree of
personal freedom and is tolerant, Veenhoven said in remarks reported by
the Danish newspaper.
Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova, Zimbabwe and Tanzania were at the bottom of
the list with Tanzania scoring a lowly 3,2.
More than 2 400 general population surveys conducted from 1946 to 2004
in 90 nations were included in the database. — Sapa-DPA
On the net:
The World Database of Happiness
;articleid=196678

Georgia PM dies in apparent gas leak
Zhvania helped topple corruption-tainted regime in 2003
The Associated Press
Feb. 3, 2005
TBILISI, Georgia – Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, who helped
lead the revolution that toppled the corruption-tainted regime of
Eduard Shevardnadze, was killed early Thursday by an apparent natural
gas leak, the ex-Soviet republic’s interior minister said.
Zhvania, 41, was at a friend’s apartment when the leak occurred,
Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said in a live broadcast on
Rustavi-2 television.
`It is an accident,’ Merabishvili said. `We can say that poisoning by
gas took place.’
‘It all happened suddenly’ Security guards broke through a window
early Thursday when they heard no signs of life inside several hours
after the prime minister arrived, Merabishvili said. Zhvania had
entered the apartment at about midnight and the guards broke in
between 4 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.
His host, Raul Usupov, deputy governor of Georgia’s Kvemo-Kartli
region, also died.
An Iranian-made gas-powered heating stove was in the main room of the
mezzanine-floor apartment, where a table was set up with a backgammon
set lying open. Zhvania was in a chair; Usupov’s body was found in
the kitchen.
`It all happened suddenly,’ Merabishvili said.
Central heating is scarce in Georgia and many people use gas or wood
stoves in their homes.
Lead role in opposing Shevardnadze A longtime politician, Zhvania was
part of the opposition to former Georgian President Eduard
Shevardnadze and played a prominent role in protests that led to
Shevardnadze’s ouster after allegedly fraudulent elections in November
2003.
President Mikhail Saakashvili, who led the protests, named Zhvania
prime minister following his landslide election in January
2004. Zhvania was considered a moderate to counterbalance to the more
impetuous president, and he was one of the key government figures
trying to negotiate settlements with Georgia’s separatist regions.
Zhvania was born in the capital Tbilisi on Dec. 9, 1963. A graduate of
the biology department at Tbilisi State University, he led the Green
of Georgia party in 1988-93 and served in the parliament beginning in
1992.
He became parliamentary speaker in 1995 and led the moderate United
Democrats opposition party, and for several years he and Saakashvili
were rivals for leadership of the opposition.
Like Saakashvili, Zhvania was a one-time ally of Shevardnadze. After
breaking with Shevardnadze, however, Zhvania followed a more
conciliatory path than Saakashvili, and he was considered a more
moderate politician who sought consensus rather than conflict.
Zhvania is survived by his wife and three children.

Separatist official says Armenians settled in Karabakh Azeri citizens
ANS TV, Baku
1 Feb 05
[Presenter] The head of the information department of the separatist
Nagornyy Karabakh regime, Aleksandr Grigoryan, has made an unexpected
statement while the OSCE mission is looking into whether Armenians are
being re-settled in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories. The
representative of the separatist regime described a large group of
Armenians living in these areas as Azerbaijani citizens and Karabakh
as a subject of talks. To recap, Xankandi [Stepanakert] has been
talking so far only about districts around Nagornyy Karabakh.
[Correspondent, over video of destroyed buildings in Karabakh] The
visit to the region by the OSCE fact-finding mission to look into the
illegal settlement of Armenians in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories
continues. The mission visited Kalbacar District yesterday [31
January] and Cabrayil District today [1 February], the head of the
information department of the separatist Nagornyy Karabakh regime,
Aleksandr Grigoryan, told ANS. The mission is still keeping under
wraps the information it obtained.
[Grigoryan, by phone in Russian with Azeri voice-over] The monitoring
group has not yet made any statements. It said that it was mainly
there to observe and listen. We hope it will give a news conference
after the monitoring.
[Correspondent] Grigoryan also said that the separatist regime had no
programme of Armenian settlement in the occupied territories. Then we
recalled that the chief of the department for refugees, migration and
re-settlement of the self-proclaimed regime, Serzh Amirkhanyan, had
spoken about the existence of such a programme. After this, Grigoryan
stepped back.
[Grigoryan, by phone] Are you saying that conditions should not be
created for people to live in Stepanakert, Askaran or some other
districts of Nagornyy Karabakh? This kind of approach is wrong. The
territories are the subject of talks. Armenians mainly from Baku,
Sumqayit and Kirovabad [old name of Ganca] are being settled in houses
here. They are Azerbaijani citizens as well, but of Armenian origin.
[Passage omitted: details of the fact-finding mission head’s interview
with the Armenian media]
[Correspondent] Azada Balayeva, ANS.

Apparent Gas Leak Kills Georgian Premier
Associated Press
February 4, 2005
By MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI, Associated Press Writer
TBILISI, Georgia – Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, who helped
lead the revolution that toppled the corruption-tainted regime of
Eduard Shevardnadze, was killed Thursday by an apparent natural gas
leak, the ex-Soviet republic’s interior minister said.
Zhvania, 41, was at a friend’s apartment when the leak occurred,
Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said in a live television
broadcast.
“It is an accident,” Merabishvili said. “We can say that poisoning by
gas took place.”
Security guards broke through a window early Thursday when they heard
no signs of life inside the apartment several hours after the prime
minister arrived, Merabishvili said. Zhvania’s host, Zurab Usupov,
deputy governor of Georgia’s Kvemo-Kartli region, also died.
An Iranian-made gas-powered heating stove was in the main room of the
mezzanine-floor apartment, where a table was set up with a backgammon
set lying open. Zhvania was in a chair; Usupov’s body was found in
the kitchen. Security guards tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the
prime minister, Merabishvili said.
“It all happened suddenly,” he said.
Central heating is scarce in Georgia, and many people use gas or wood
stoves in their homes.
President Mikhail Saakashvili convened an emergency Cabinet meeting
following Zhavania’s death. It began with a moment of silence.
“In Zurab Zhvania, Georgia has lost a great patriot, who devoted his
entire life to serving the motherland. Zurab’s death is a great blow
to Georgia and to me personally. I lost a very close friend, a
reliable adviser and a great ally,” Saakashvili said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (news – web sites) sent a telegram of
condolence to Saakashvili, which said that Zhvania “was well known in
Russia as a supporter of the development of friendly, good-neighborly
relations between the Russian and Georgian peoples.”
A longtime politician, Zhvania was part of the opposition to former
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze and played a prominent role in
protests that led to Shevardnadze’s ouster after allegedly fraudulent
elections in November 2003.
Saakashvili, who led the protests, named Zhvania prime minister
following his landslide election in January 2004. Zhvania was
considered a moderate to counterbalance the more impetuous president,
and he was one of the key government figures trying to negotiate
settlements with Georgia’s separatist regions.
Zhvania was born in the capital Tbilisi on Dec. 9, 1963. A graduate of
the biology department at Tbilisi State University, he led the Green
of Georgia party in 1988-93 and served in the parliament beginning in
1992.
He became parliamentary speaker in 1995 and led the moderate United
Democrats opposition party, and for several years he and Saakashvili
were rivals for leadership of the opposition.
Like Saakashvili, Zhvania was a one-time ally of Shevardnadze. After
breaking with Shevardnadze, however, Zhvania followed a more
conciliatory path than Saakashvili, and he was considered a more
moderate politician who sought consensus rather than conflict.
Zhvania is survived by his wife and three children.
;u=/ap/20050203/ap_on_re_eu/georgia_prime_minister

RFE/RL: Georgian Prime Minister Dies
Thursday, 03 February 2005
3 February 2005 — Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania has died by
an apparent gas leak.
Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said in a live broadcast on
Georgian television that Zhvania had been found dead by police in an
apartment in Tbilisi this morning along with an unnamed friend.
It was not immediately clear if Zhvania was in his own apartment or
elsewhere, or whether he died as a result of foul play.
Zhvania, who was 41, was appointed prime minister by President Mikheil
Saakashvili following his election victory in January 2004.
(Reuters/AP/AFP)

OSCE mission visits four districts held by Karabakh
Mediamax news agency
2 Feb 05
YEREVAN
“The OSCE mission is satisfied with the working conditions provided by
the Nagornyy Karabakh authorities,” the head of the OSCE fact-finding
mission, Emily Margarethe Haber, said in Agdam District, which the
mission visited today.
Emily Haber declined to comment on the results of monitoring, saying
that the mission has not yet completed its activity.
The OSCE fact-finding mission, which includes experts from Russia, the
USA, France, Finland, Italy, Sweden and Germany, has already been to
four out of the seven districts controlled by the Nagornyy Karabakh
defence army. These are Kalbacar, Cabrayil, Fuzuli and Agdam.

Russian minister unaware of OSCE mediator’s stance on Karabakh
ANS Radio, Baku
2 Feb 05
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who is on an official visit to
Azerbaijan has said that he is unaware of the position of the Russian
co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Yuriy Merzlyakov, who considers
the Nagornyy Karabakh separatist regime to be a party to the
conflict. The minister is going to hold meetings today to discuss the
Caspian Sea legal status and the fight against global terrorism.
[Passage omitted: other details of the visit’s schedule]

Short-hold World Bank-funded IT (education system) project in Georgia
via BISNIS
BISNIS
February 2, 2005
What: Georgian Ministry of Education tender
Deadline: March 7, 2005
Education System Realignment and Strengthening Project in
Georgia
Invitation for Bids for Supply and Installation of Visual Control,
Recording and Archiving System at Examination Centers
(GEP/G/002/ICB/2004)
Credit No. 3474 GE
1. This invitation for bids follows the general procurement notice for
this project that appeared in Development Business, issue no. 629 of
April 30, 2004.
2. The Government of Georgia has received a credit from International
Development Association (IDA) toward the cost of Education System
Realignment and Strengthening Project, and it intends to apply part of
the proceeds of this credit to payments under the contract for Supply
and Installation of Visual Control, Recording and Archiving System at
Examination Centers (GEP/G/002/ICB/2004).
3. Georgia Education Project Coordination Center now invites sealed bids
from eligible bidders for Supply and Installation of Visual Control,
Recording and Archiving System at Examination Centers in Tbilisi,
Akhaltsikhe, Batumi, Zugdidi, Gori, Kutaisi, Poti, Rustavi, Signagi,
Telavi, Ozurgeti.
4. Bidding will be conducted through the international competitive
bidding procedures specified in the World Bank’s Guidelines: Procurement
under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits, January 1995 (revised January and
August 1996, September 1997 and January 1999) and is open to all bidders
from eligible source countries as defined in the Guidelines.
5. Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information from
Georgia Education Project Coordination Center and inspect the bidding
documents at the address given below from 10:00 – 18:00 (local time).
6. A complete set of bidding documents in English may be purchased by
interested bidders on the submission of a written application to the
address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee USD100 or
equivalent in GEL. The method of payment will be direct deposit or
transfer to the Account: JSC Basis Bank, Account No.133052, Bank code:
220101956. The document will be sent by express mail and e-mail.
7. Bids must be delivered to the address below at or before March 7,
2005, 17:00 Tbilisi time. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security
of USD 6,000 or an equivalent amount in GEL. Late bids will be rejected.
Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who
choose to attend at the address below on March 7, 2005, 17:00 Tbilisi time.
Georgia Education Project Coordination Center Office
Contact Person: Thea Kvintradze
52 Uznadze St., room #102, 0102 Tbilisi
Telephone: + (995 32) 95 98 37
Fax: + (995 32) 95 83 13
E-mail: [email protected]
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION and ASSISTANCE
William Center, Senior Commercial Officer
Commercial Service Liaison to the World Bank
US Executive Director’s Office
World Bank
Tel: 202-458-0120
Fax: 202-477-2967
Email: [email protected]
For more information on Georgia, visit BISNIS online
********** Forwarded by: ***************************
Ellen S. House, BISNIS Trade Specialist for Georgia
Chang Suh, BISNIS Trade Specialist for IT sector
U.S. Department of Commerce
Tel: 202/482-4655
Fax: 202/482-2293
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