Media Conference Opens in Tbilisi

Civil Georgia, Georgia
25 Oct. 2004

/ Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2004-10-25 10:29:54

More than fifty journalists from Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan will
discuss developments in the media field in their countries at the
first South Caucasus Media Conference, being held in Tbilisi from
October 25-26.

The two-day conference is organized by the OSCE Mission to Georgia
and hosted by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos
Haraszti. Libel and Insult Laws and Freedom of Information will be
the main topics discussed at the conference.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Konstantine Kavtaradze, Head of
the OSCE Mission to Georgia Ambassador Roy Reeve and Miklos Haraszti
will open the event, according to a press release issued by the OSCE
Mission to Georgia.
From: Baghdasarian

Armenia president hails unsealing of Russia-Georgia border

Interfax
25 Oct. 2004

Tbilisi. (Interfax) – The president of Armenia on Friday hailed the
unsealing by Russia of its border with Georgia while his Georgian
counterpart said the border’s closure several weeks ago “has reminded
us once again that sales markets should be looked for not only
in Russia.”

The reopening of the Upper Lars checkpoint “is evidence that tension
in North Ossetia is subsiding after the Beslan events,” Armenian
President Robert Kocharian, currently on a visit to Georgia, told
a joint news conference with Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili in
reference to the school siege in September.

“It was exactly the tension that arose in North Ossetia that explained
that measure [the border closure],” Kocharian said.

Saakashvili said: “The sealing of the border has reminded us once
again that sales markets should be looked for not only in Russia but
also in other countries.”

“While we should keep the Russian market, we should also find other
markets,” he said.

Los Angeles Daily News
25 Oct. 2004

Scholarships awarded in memory of slain sheriff’s deputy

Kuredjian inspiration for students in law enforcement

By Susan Abram, Staff Writer

GLENDALE — Five students received scholarships Sunday in memory of
slain sheriff’s Deputy Hogop “Jake” Kuredjian, whose name will live on
as more Armenian youth pursue careers in law enforcement.
Sheriff Lee Baca, Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams and several others
also were honored by the Armenian National Peace Officers Association
during the group’s first-ever scholarship ceremony.

The association formed last year with the intention of encouraging more
Armenian youths to consider careers in law enforcement.

Kuredjian “lived a life of pride, a life of wisdom,” Baca said. “His
name will always be at the forefront of what it is to be
Armenian-American.”

Some of the money used for the scholarships was raised by 14-year-old
Austin Losorelli, a Stevenson Ranch resident who collected donations in
memory of Kuredjian. Losorelli set up a table and a sign at the corner
of Stevenson Ranch Parkway a day after Kuredjian was killed in 2001.

“My dad is an LAPD officer. I just felt bad for (Kuredjian’s) family,”
Losorelli said.

With help from his brother Ian, he raised $8,000, and the association
also honored him on Sunday with a plaque presented by Kuredjian’s
brother, Garo, who told the boy, “This is long overdue.”

The slain deputy, a 17-year veteran of the Los Angeles Country
Sheriff’s Department, was helping serve a search warrant Aug. 31, 2001,
in Stevenson Ranch when a man opened fire from an upstairs window,
hitting the deputy once in the head.

Last month, the deputy’s memory was honored with a dedication ceremony
at a new park, named Jake Kuredjian Park, next to Pico Canyon
Elementary School in Santa Clarita.

Steve Shenian, a California Highway Patrol officer and the co-founder
of the Armenian National Peace Officers Association, said the group has
about 90 members in seven states.

The association’s goal is to encourage young Armenian-Americans to
consider law enforcement as a professional career. Glendale’s Armenian
community, the largest outside of Armenia, has been slowly embracing
the profession, officials said, but more work needs to be done.

“We need to get in and break barriers,” Shenian said. “We need to go
into local schools and visit groups. When the children see an Armenian
officer in uniform, it’s powerful.”

The Glendale Police Department has tried with limited success to
attract more Armenian youths to its ranks.

“Law enforcement is extremely important to the Armenian community,”
said Glendale Mayor Bob Yousefian. “I’m not one to say our community
doesn’t have issues. We need help to deal with these issues.”

Seventeen Glendale Police Department officers are Armenian-American —
only two more than there were in 1995.

“A lot of Armenians think law enforcement is not an honorable career,
because from where they came from, law enforcement had a bad image, and
they are afraid,” said 20-year-old Diana Arzrounian, a California State
University, Northridge, student and winner of one of the Kuredjian
scholarships. “We need more programs, such as this one, to talk about
… what law enforcement really is. It’s not just about arresting
people.”

Ross Simonian, Sabina Simonian, Sara Vardapetyan, and Mourad Kabanjian
also received $500 each in memorial scholarships.

Los Angeles Daily News
25 Oct. 2004

Preventing banquet brawls

City considering ways to increase security

By Naush Boghossian
Staff Writer

GLENDALE — The City Council on Tuesday is expected to considerways to
regulate local banquet halls in an effort to stem an increasing number
of violent incidents that drain police resources, officials said.
City officials plan on creating new guidelines for the facilities —
that could include beefed-up security and better communication with
police — to reduce the number of complaints about security and noise,
especially since most of the halls are located near residential
neighborhoods.

The concern is that the combination of hundreds of people at the same
place and alcohol can become a formula for mayhem.

“I want to hear how city staff and banquet hall operators want to
resolve some of the issues we have to grapple with, and I am hoping
to come up with some new solutions to some of the recent events,”
said Mayor Bob Yousefian.

Representatives of 10 Glendale banquet halls met with city and police
officials Wednesday to discuss their concerns and ways to address
the problems.

Since July, police have responded to more than 11 brawls in which
unruly crowds of 150 to 500 people had to be brought under control. The
incidents have required more than 50 man-hours, more than 100 officers
and have resulted in more than a dozen arrests for disorderly conduct,
disturbing the peace, assault and assault on police officers.

Ideas tossed around at the meeting included training security guards
more thoroughly, having adequate security and establishing better
means of communication between hall operators and the Glendale Police
Department, said Jeff Lambert, a consultant hired by the city to help
address the issue of banquet halls.

The question was also raised about whether there are ways to recover
the costs of city resources expended for calls to banquet halls.

“We’re not going to solve the problem Tuesday, but we want to define
it and get direction from the council on where we want to go,”
Lambert said.

One problem that has caused confusion for hall owners and has made
it difficult to regulate banquet halls is the lack of rules designed
specifically for the facilities, officials said.

Under current city codes, banquet halls are generally treated
like restaurants, and city officials are hoping to create distinct
requirements for each.

“For us, it’s important to identify the distinctions between
restaurants and banquet halls,” said Hassan Haghani, assistant director
of planning. “We want to see if there are different impacts and if
there should be a different set of regulations from a restaurant. Now
they’re operating as the same, and the distinctions are blurry in
the code.”

The city scrambled to create some guidelines to prevent people from
opening restaurants with the intent of ultimately changing them into
banquet halls, but those have essentially failed, Yousefian said.

For example, banquet halls cannot be located within 200 feet of a
residence and restaurants may only use 30 percent of their space as
banquet halls.

“I think those zoning laws are definitely not working, they
are very difficult to enforce, and they sit on the edge of being
unconstitutional,” he said. “And the 200-feet rule is not realistic.
Let’s deal with the real issues — noise and traffic.”

Currently, there are 17 banquet halls in Glendale that accommodate
large gatherings, including wedding receptions and parties, generally
thrown by its Armenian, Latino and Asian communities.

Some of the problems could be caused by organizations with large
facilities but no expertise in managing the gatherings that have
been trying to capitalize on the high demand by renting out to large
parties.

Vrej Sarkissian, chief executive officer of the two Anoush Banquet
Hall facilities in Glendale, said the key is having experienced hall
operators who take their business seriously.

Operating since 1990, Anoush is one of the city’s busiest and most
successful facilities, hosting at least three events per week, but
calls to police have been rare.

They employ armed security guards, have closed-circuit televisions
and screen those to whom they rent the hall to ensure the safety of
customers and neighbors.

“Our place and other reputable facilities have a tight rein on
their operations, but when you have banquet halls where the owner
and managers are not there during the events, it’s places like that
that give everybody a bad name,” said the 30-year-old graduate of
the University of Southern California and Loyola Law School.

“Anytime you have liquor involved, there’s bound to be issues, but
there are ways to mitigate those situations and the more successful
banquet halls have found ways to do that. The key is not to close
banquet halls down, but to have a system in place to minimize those
responses.”

Naush Boghossian, (818) 546-3306 [email protected]
YOU GO

The joint study session of the Glendale City Council, the Planning
Commission and the Board of Zoning Adjustments will take place 10
a.m. Tuesday in Room 105 of the Municipal Services Building, 633
E. Broadway.

AzerTag
25 Oct. 2004

FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS MEASURES OF CONFIDENCE IN ALMATY
[October 25, 2004, 12:54:12]

Deputy foreign minister of Azerbaijan Vagif Sadigov headed the
delegation of Azerbaijan in these discussions, AzerTAj correspondent
reported.

Discussed were issues on combat against terrorism, separatism,
extremism, situation in Afghanistan, restoration of peace and stability
on the South Caucasus. Participants of the event called on the world
community to show respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Iraq.

The session has adopted catalogue of Measures of Confidence, the
political declaration and official rules.

Having touched the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict, Vagif
Sadigov has stated that presence of double standards in the mentioned
question impedes settlement of the problem. As he said, the Armenians
are settled in the occupied Azerbaijan lands, which contradict
international norms. In this connection, Mr. Sadigov met the deputy
minister of internal affairs of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov, the first
deputy foreign minister of Afghanistan Zalmo Aziz, Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Thailand Surakiat Sathirathai, the deputy foreign minister
of Kazakhstan Asker Shakirov, in detail informed them on the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict.

Let’s remind, that members of meeting concerning Measures of trust in
Asia are 16 countries.

Anand’s victory goes in vain as India lose to Russia

Malayala Manorama, India
25 Oct. 2004

Mallorca, Spain: Viswanathan Anand gave India an early lead but his
effort went in vain as India suffered a 1.5-2.5 defeat against top
seeds and defending champions Russia in the ninth round of the 36th
Chess Olympiad here at the Gran Casino.

Leading from the front, Anand crashed through the defences of
Grandmaster Alexander Morozevich while Krishnan Sasikiran also did
well on the second board in getting an easy draw as black against
Russian champion Peter Svidler. But the remaining two boards saw the
Indian downfall as Surya Shekhar Ganguly was outdone from a complicated
position by Vadim Zvjaginsev while Harikrishna missed out on a simple
winnning manoeuvre against Alexey Dreev before he was eventually tamed.

In hindsight, it could have been 3-1 in India’s favour but in the end
the six-time winners proved superior. Leaders Ukraine, who settled for
a 2-2 draw with fourth seeds Armenians on the top table, maintained
a 2.5 advantage over Russia (24.5).

With just five more rounds remaining, USA was the biggest gainer of
the day as they moved to sole third spot on 24 points after drubbing
Spain ‘A’ 3.5-0.5.

Armenia and third seed Israel were in joint fourth spot on 23 points
while the Indians shared the sixth spot on 22.5 along with Switzerland,
Bulgaria, France, Slovenia, Azerbaijan and Cuba. Poland and Moldova
were next in line on 22 points each.

Gazprom increases price of gas
By M. Alkhazashvili

The Messenger, Georgia
25 Oct. 2004

Gazprom’s export arm has increased the price of natural gas to the
South Caucasus by USD 18, a 30 percent increase that will begin January
1, 2005.

The increase coincided with an article in the Washington Post, which
described Russian energy policies as “the new OPEC.” In Russia’s hands,
the paper wrote, “natural gas has become a geopolitical weapon.”

Currently, Tbilisi’s gas distributor Tbilgasi buys 1,000 cubic meters
of gas for USD 60 from Gasexport, a Gazprom affiliate supplying the
South Caucasus. Georgian newspaper 24 Saati reports that in addition to
a total price of USD 78, Gazprom is demanding partial prepayments from
Georgia, a notoriously delinquent payer for energy resources.

Russian companies justify the increase by saying it is more profitable
for them to sell the gas in Europe where 1,000 cubic meters of gas goes
for USD 120. To produce this gas for the South Caucasus at half price,
they say, is commercially unviable.

Tbilgasi has responded in shock saying that there is no way to prevent
this hike from passing on the consumers. According to them, “such an
increase in the price of gas is a catastrophe,” and they hope that it
will be possible to change something through negotiation.

Both the west and Georgia have increasingly felt Russia’s utilization
of its energy assets in the political arena. Nearly 28 percent of the
world’s gas supply is in Russia; at the same time Russia controls the
gas supply out of Central Asia. In April 2003, Gazprom reached an
agreement with Turkmenistan according to which it will purchase Turkmen
gas for 25 years. The agreement gives Russia full control over Turkmen
gas export beginning 2009.

In June 2004, Russian President Putin and Uzbek President Islam Karimov
signed a 35-year agreement according to which Gazprom will be able to
control, explore and mine gas deposits in Uzbekistan. In return for
this, Gazprom purchased 44 percent of the shares of the state gas
company Uzbekistantransgas.

Also in June 2004, Gazprom announced that it had reached a contract
with Kazakhstan that is connected with the exploitation of the rich
Kara Hagan gas deposit for a timeframe of 5-7 years. Gazprom has
expressed interest in buying part of the Kazak gas pipelines, as well
as pipelines in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

The commentary in the Washington Post wrote, “In Russia’s hands,
natural gas has become a geopolitical weapon. Citing a ‘lack of
payments,’ the Kremlin, via Gazprom, has shut off gas supplies to
Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia when the domestic or foreign
policies of those countries have run counter to its interests.”

And as President Mikheil Saakashvili noted during the visit of his
Armenian counterpart, Georgia is now in the middle of the battle for
energy independence and must negotiate for a steady position in the
energy sector. Georgia’s relationship with Gazprom will be pivotal in
this arena.

No Armenian electricity for Tbilisi

The Messenger, Georgia
25 Oct. 2004

Telasi cannot start importing power from Armenia due to technical
problems on the Armenian transmission power line, Prime News reports.
Tbilisi distributor Telasi reports that the company is ready to
start power import from Armenia in order to curtail a power deficit
in the capital.

According to the company, 100-megawatts of power will be imported from
Armenia and it will entirely fulfill the capital’s requirements. The
power limitations started from October 9.

Georgia’s transit role key in talks with Armenia

The Messenger, Georgia
25 Oct. 2004

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili continued what could become a
Caucasus tradition on Friday, when he traveled to the Georgian-Armenian
border to meet Armenian President Robert Kocharian and escort him
back to Tbilisi. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev met Saakashvili
in the same way when the Georgian president visited Azerbaijan.

As the newspaper Alia reports, 28 Armenian businessmen traveled to
Georgia with Kocharian, partly to discuss their concerns regarding the
loaded trailers stuck at the Larsi check point on the Georgian-Russian
border.

After the Beslan tragedy, Russia closed the border at Larsi, saying
that this was intended as an anti-terrorism measure. Georgian analysts
believe the border closure was actually intended to put pressure on
Georgia, not least because the Roki tunnel which links North and
South Ossetia was not closed. But in reality the closing of Larsi
has actually damaged Armenia more than Georgia.

Although Roki remains open, the Georgian authorities refuse to let
traffic to pass that way, and two Armenian buses, which passed through
the Roki tunnel, have remained detained by Georgian border guards
for more than a month.

Kocharian’s visit coincided with the statement that Russia would open
Larsi checkpoint. Kocharian expressed his satisfaction with this but
Saakashvili underlined that this must be a lesson for everybody. Akhali
Taoba cites him as saying that all businessmen and exporters who depend
on Russia must be ready for the same thing to happen again. “We must
search for alternative markets, while maintaining the Russian market,”
he stated.

Despite Kocharian’s hope that Larsi check point will not be blocked
any longer, Armenians are obviously trying to find alternative routes
for cargo to be transported through Georgia to Russia. Minister of
Economy Kakha Bendukidze’s idea of privatizing the ports has attracted
several Armenians, who have expressed their willingness to buy or to
lease one terminal in Poti.

According to Georgian MP Van Baiburti, Armenian cargo which passes
through Georgia, whether through Poti port or Larsi, will bring Georgia
GEL 300-400 million income per annum, which is too important for the
country to miss out on.

The Armenian president expressed his satisfaction regarding cargo
exports via Georgia. “There is greater order on Georgian routes,
and cases of smuggling have decreased as well. It is clear that
the Georgian executive authority completely controls the current
situation,” 24 Saati quotes Kocharian as saying.

Nevertheless, even if Larsi does indeed reopen, there remain several
communication issues to be resolved. As Alia reports, the Manager
of the Railway Department said that during the visit the issue of
reducing tariffs on cargo was discussed.

Moreover, Kocharian’s stated that a particularly important issue
discussed during his visit was that of the restoration of the
Armenia-Russia railway via Abkhazia. “This issue is Georgia’s internal
business, but resolving it is a priority. Because there is now railway
movement between Sokhumi and Moscow, from the Armenian point of view
it is pointless blocking it. The restoration of the Abkhazia complete
railway movement will be economically very profitable for Armenia
and Georgia as well. Though given the current political situation,
Georgia’s position regarding this issue is clear to me,” the newspaper
Sakartvelos Respublika cites Kocharian as saying.

The Georgian government will not restore the railway connection between
Abkhazia and Georgia unless it receives guarantees of safety for those
Georgian refugees who return to Abkhazia. It was agreed during the
2002 Sochi meeting between Shevardnadze and Putin that the railway
between Abkhazia and Russia would be opened only in parallel with the
return of Georgian refugees to the Gali region of Abkhazia. Russia’s
decision to restore the railway unilaterally was partly motivated by
a desire to establish rail communications with Armenia.

As Georgia hopes to use this as a bargaining chip in its efforts to
restore jurisdiction over Abkhazia, it is unlikely that a rail link
between Abkhazia and Georgia will be restored as long as no progress
is made in resolving the frozen conflict.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Messenger, Georgia
25 Oct. 2004

Armenian president calls for Abkhaz railway

Presidents discuss economic and political cooperation; survive weapons
scare at local disco
By Anna Arzanova

Armenia President Robert Kocharian

The possibility of renewed rail links between Russia and Armenia,
passing through Abkhazia and Georgia, was the main issue on the agenda
when Armenian President Robert Kocharian met with Georgian President
Mikheil Saakashvili on Friday.

Kocharian arrived in Georgia on September 22 for a three day visit, and
was met by Saakashvili, who traveled to the Georgian-Armenian border
to escort him back to Tbilisi in a move which mirrored Saakashvili’s
reception by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev during his visit
to Baku.

The Armenian president was accompanied by 29 businessmen, who came to
discuss the privatization of Poti Port, the energy sector, and the
trucks held up at the Russian-Georgian border at Larsi checkpoint,
which was closed by Russia on September 3.

Signs of strong relations included their private meeting on Friday,
during which Presidents Kocharian and Saakashvili met for an hour
and 15 minutes instead of the planned 45.

In their briefing afterwards, the presidents said they had discussed
many issues, including energy matter, economic relations, police,
smuggling, transport and Javakheti, the Georgian region which is
populated predominantly by Armenians.

Kocharian said that the most important issue of discussion was the
renewal of the railway through Abkhazia that would link Armenia with
Russia. The Armenian president went on to say, however, that this
issue could be resolved only by Georgia.

Nevertheless, he stated that renewed rail links would benefit
everybody. “More frequent railway movement is better for all of us. The
absence of railway communications is not favorable for either Armenians
or Georgians. I think that a pragmatic approach to this issue would be
very useful, although I understand that it is a very difficult issue,
and Georgia has to decide what to do,” the Armenian president said.

At the joint briefing to journalists, however, Saakashvili chose not
to comment on the issue

Instead, Saakashvili spoke of regional cooperation, and particularly,
on the back of his recent visit to Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,
of the proposed 3-3 agreement, envisaging co-operation between the
three South Caucasus countries and the three Baltic countries.

“The Baltic countries could push for this idea to take shape as part
of the [EU] new neighbors policy. We are ready to cooperate with them,”
said Kocharian.

On Saturday, Saakashvili and Kocharian, together with high-ranking
officials, attended events held on Shardeni Street in connection with
Tbilisoba. Saakashvili invited his counterpart to Rike and showed
him 60 buses sent to Tbilisi by the Dutch government as a gift.

During the day, Kocharian met with Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, who
praised the Armenian president. “I want to say that Kocharian always
pays great attention to eliminate even small defects in relations
with Georgia,” Zhvania told reporters, adding that they talked about
importing electricity from Armenia, which is an important issue
for Georgia.

Kocharian also met with Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze, and
said afterwards that close cooperation between the parliaments is
one of the main components of bilateral relations. He agreed with
Burjanadze upon the necessity of more active relations.

“We agreed to make more active the relations between our parliaments
and I will also tell the Speaker of the Armenian parliament of an
invitation to visit Georgia with a delegation. We have already had
the experience of cooperation and now we have only to refresh them,”
he told journalists in the Parliament after the meeting.

Burjanadze welcomed the idea of bilateral cooperation of the two
parliaments, saying that “this is in the interests of the both
countries and the region on the whole.”

Kocharian also met with Georgian Patriarch Ilia II, as well as visited
Heroes Square where he laid a wreath on the memorial to soldiers who
died fighting to preserve Georgia’s territorial integrity.

Later, Saakashvili and Kocharian expressed their condolence to the
former president of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze in connection with
the death of his wife. They paid their respects by going to the
presidential Krtsanisi residence late at night.

Afterwards, Kocharian and Saakashvili visited the Adjara Music Hall,
where a show was being held in honor of the Armenian president. The
event was marred, however, by the need for law-enforcement agents,
led by Minister of Security Vano Merabishvili, to attend following
the discovery of weapons in the building.

It remains unknown whether the weapons were part of a plot to
assassinate the presidents, or indeed why they were in the music venue.
The investigation continues.

The two presidents spent that night at the presidential residence in
Likani, near Borjomi.

On the third and last day of the official visit, Kocharian met with
the Armenian Diaspora in Georgia in the Marriott Hotel, where he
heard complaints regarding unemployment. Though, Kocharian himself
was pleased with the meeting and stated that there is an improvement
in the economic development in the Armenian Diaspora and promised to
do his best this process to become more evident.

According to the MP and representative of the Armenian Diaspora in
Georgia Van Baiburti, Kocharian is very satisfied with this visit
and is sure that the Georgian-Armenian relation are moving to another
stage, and first of all in economic relations.

Also on Sunday, Minister of Internal Affairs of Armenia Haik Arutiunyan
with the Minister of Internal Affairs Irakli Okruashvili signed an
agreement regarding the creation of the joint board. According to the
agreement, each side will have 9 members in this board and will closely
cooperate in eradication of trafficking, drugs and stolen cars. The
first session of the board is planned to be held on December 20.

“This board will have to meet once every two-three months in order
to develop this idea,” stated Okruashvili at the briefing, after the
signing of the agreement. President Kocharian returned to Armenia
Sunday afternoon.
From: Baghdasarian