IRNA, Iran
January 22, 2005 Saturday 4:43 PM EST
Iran, Armenia stress cooperation in labor affairs
Tehran, January 22
Labor and Social Affairs Minister Nasser Khaleqi and his Armenian
counterpart Aghvan Vardanian stressed here Saturday expansion of ties
between the two countries in labor affairs..
Iran and Armenia have had cordial relation for many years and can
therefore increase their cooperation in other areas as well.
Cooperation between the two sides in employment and labor affairs,
technical and vocational training, research, and other areas in
industry can increase product quality in both nations.
The experts of the Labor Ministry are ready to hold discussions with
their Armenian counterparts, Khaleqi added.
For his part, Vardanian said the two nations have had over 2,000
years of friendly relations.
Armenia`s labor laws have been rewritten after the fall of Soviet
Union and Yerevan is eager to cooperate with Iran on employment and
labor affairs.
“Tehran and Yerevan have good cooperation in energy and
transportation sector,” he added.
A draft agreement was also signed between the two officials which
will be further discussed in the coming days and if agreed, will be
signed.
The two nations are engaged in various joint industrial projects.
Speaking in an interview with a Yerevan-based weekly in December
Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Alireza Haqiqian said, “Iran`s
relations with foreign countries, in particular its neighbors, is
based on mutual respect and non-interference in their domestic
affairs.”
Expressing satisfaction over the current level of Iran-Armenia
relations and its growing trend, he said that the visits of Armenia`s
President Robert Kocharian to Tehran and President Mohammad Khatami`s
trip to Yerevan played a crucial role in further strengthening mutual
ties.
. He referred to some of the projects on the agenda including the
meetings of the joint economic commission, active participation of
Iranian tradesmen in Armenia`s market, the activities of Iranian
economic institutions there and cooperation in the energy sector.
In response to a question whether Moscow-Baku-Tehran railway will
replace Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan route, he said that given Iran`s decisive
role in the regional transit system, the interest of the countries of
the region in cooperation with Iran is quite natural.
He added that according to a number of specialists, the Baku-Ceyhan
railway project is a political scheme, not economical.

PanArmenians News
Jan 22 2005
ELIZABETH JONES IS SORRY
22.01.2005 15:47
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As reported by Haylur information program of the
Public TV Company of Armenia, in a telephone conversation with
Armenian Foreign Minister V. Oskanian US Assistant Secretary of State
E. Jones stated she was sorry her words that actually did not refer
to Nagorno Karabakh were negatively responded by the Armenian
society.

Gulf News, United Arab Emirates
January 22, 2005
RISING COST OF LIVING DAMPENS FESTIVITIES FOR MANY
by Daniel Bardsley, Staff Reporter
Regardless of race and religion, each of us enjoys the chance to meet
with family and friends and mark a big occasion.
With the UAE enjoying the Eid Al Adha holidays many people are taking
time out to relax and forget their day-to-day worries.
But the celebrations that accompany this important part of the Muslim
calendar can easily burn a large hole in the pocket. Likewise,
marking major Christian or Hindu festivals can prove expensive.
With costs in Dubai seeming to increase by the day, it could be that
residents are struggling to find the money needed to do justice to
the significant dates of the year.
Gulf News spoke to a cross-section of residents, representing several
of the city’s major religious groups, to canvass views.
Indian graphic designer Jordan Seerao, 30, said prices had gone up a
lot during the seven years he has been in the UAE. The worst rises
have been in rents, which he said had rocketed in the past couple of
years in particular.
As a result, Seerao, a Christian, said Christmas last year was a more
muted affair than normal, with fewer presents handed out to family
and friends.
“We have lost a lot of money because of rent. It has increased quite
a bit – in the past two years it has gone up by Dh4,500 a year. We
have had to cut back on shopping and we cut back on gifts as well,
which is a shame.
“Instead of sending people a present, we just sent them a card.”
His wife Rochelle, 30, a banker and broker who is also from India,
said it was not just rent that was denting the family budget more
than before.
“Normal expenditure has increased so much, including things like food
items. My salary has not increased to cope with the rises in these
items and rent,” she said.
She said the family had cut its spending on gifts by as much as half
in recent years because of the cost increases.
“We send gifts to family in India and give them to family and friends
in the UAE, although less so this year than before,” she said.
Habid Ahmad, a 24-year-old Muslim from Lebanon, said his rent had
jumped by about 20 per cent in the past year.
“Definitely I have less money available than I did before. You spend
all your money here and it’s hard to save. Nobody celebrates
religious festivals as much as they should. At the moment, everybody
should sacrifice a sheep, but how many people are buying a sheep and
doing that? Not many, because it costs money,” he said.
He said it was also becoming increasingly hard to send money home to
his parents in Lebanon and still have enough left over to live on.
“I send less money home than I did in the past because I have less
money left,” he said.
Englishwoman Julie McLaughlan knows all about the spiralling cost of
renting a property in Dubai, because she returned from a visit to
England over Christmas to discover her annual rent had shot up from
Dh40,000 to Dh45,000.
However, the 40-year-old, who works in the financial sector, said
this would not stop her from marking big occasions in future.
For example, she said she would not be put off flying back to England
in future to spend the festive season with her family.
“During the seven years I have been in Dubai, salaries have gone up
as well to cope with the price increases,” she said.
McLaughlan said in the time she had been in Dubai, costs had risen
more back home in Britain than in the UAE.
Cohan Majid, 38, from Iran, said it was not lack of money that
stopped him from marking the major events on the Muslim calendar.
“I never have any big celebrations because I am just too busy and I
don’t have any time,” the businessman told Gulf News.
Vikas Dikhit, 42, an Indian Hindu who has lived in Dubai for more
than four years and works as an engineer, is lucky enough not to have
to worry about rent increases because his employer covers the costs.
He said he had seen little effect from increasing prices. He said any
price rises had been “very marginal”.
“The way I celebrate religious festivals has not been affected by
inflation. I don’t feel there has been much of an increase in
prices,” he said.
UAE national Tariq Makki, 34, agreed with Dikhit that any price
increases had little effect.
“Things have not gone up too much. It’s easy to cope with. Prices
here are still better than in many parts of the world outside the
UAE, including Europe,”
“I have just as much money now as I had before. I don’t have less
money to spend on celebrations. I normally do not do a great deal
anyway – I just stay with my family,” the accountant said.
Armenian Syrian Harair Manjikian, 37, a steel fabricator who has
spent the past 18 years living in the UAE, said price rises were
hitting his budget hard.
“Everything seems to have become a lot more expensive lately. As well
as rent, the price of petrol has gone up a lot as well.
“It is not enough to affect the way we celebrate though. We still
give gifts to each other during the big occasions,” he said.
Fellow Syrian Armenian Maral Garjikain, 28, who has been living in
the UAE for nine years, agreed inflation was heavy, saying prices had
gone up “a lot”. “I was much more careful spending money over
Christmas than before, although I still bought presents for people.”
Mother-of-four Catherine Aggarao, 44, an advertising agency account
manager from the Philippines, said the heaviest price increases had
been rent, electricity and water.
“I am sure it does affect the way we celebrate Christmas because the
cost of living is so much more. For a lot of people, 50 per cent of
their wage now goes on rent and food. Previously you could buy a lot
more with your money.
“I cannot buy as many presents now as I could before. The
celebrations are not like they used to be.
“I don’t spend as much money at Christmas as I used to. You work more
here in Dubai but you earn less because more people are coming to
Dubai. It’s the law of supply and demand and salaries are lower now,”
she said.
Despite this Aggarao said the standard of living in the UAE remained
higher than that in her native Philippines.

Caucaz Europenews
UN resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh : a wasted effort ? [UN – KARABAKH]
By Laurence RITTER in Yerevan
On 20/12/2004
The vote which was asked by Azerbaijan at the UN General Assembly on last
November 23rd, was postponed sine die. Officially, Armenia expressed that it
was satisfied with this report, denouncing the azeri attempt to change the
framework for the negotiations of the Minsk group at UN.
The text submitted by Baku expresses the perpetual Azerbaijani stance : it
reaffirms Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over the Karabakh enclave and the serious
worries about the Armenian occupation of the Azerbaijani territories which
border this enclave.
For the Armenians, those territories, called « freed » territories,
constitute before all a security belt around the enclave de facto controlled
by Armenian forces since 1994. For the Azerbaijanis, those territories are «
occupied », and they should be placed back under the azeri authority, as
Karabakh itself.
As of today, Karabakh is at it was after the vote of 1991 which
self-proclaimed its secession from Azerbaijan : a self-proclaimed autonomous
republic. Technically, the enclave is attached to Armenia and directly
supplied by the development aid offered by the Armenian diaspora .For
instance, the last Armenian Phoneton organized by the United Armenian Fund
fund-raised 11 millions dollars, as donation promises for upkeeping the
Karabakh roads.
As regards the International Law, its statute is still difficult to
determine. On the first hand, Baku refuses to recognize the least secession
from its territory, and to give up on Karabakh definitively, what would
definitively confirm its military defeat. On the other hand, Armenia is also
holding the same firm positions.
Thus Armenians denounced the azerbaijani proposal for a UN resolution as a
manipulation. But according to Babken Artarktsian, Chairman of the National
Assembly under Ter Petrossian, this wasted effort from Baku which did not
get any vote from UN might show that you can’t see the wood for the trees.
According to declarations he made on December 2nd 2004, Azerbaijan would
have been discreetly reinforced by UN. Indeed UN might be trading the sword
of Damocles of this vote against Armenia for a softening of Armenian
positions.
But there is an issue : ones cannot really see how given the inefficiency
reached by UN, one of its resolutions might change the course of events.
>From the conflict in ex-Yugoslavia to the Irak’s matter, the world’s great
assembly seems to have widely proven UN’s free-fall. Moreover, the Armenian
side affirmed that the Minsk Group had intervened so that the vote does not
take place.
Why would the Minsk Group be blackmailing (threat of the resolution in order
to soften the Armenian stance) if it was so much convinced that it is only
by way of its mediation that the conflict may be solved ? Indeed, it would
mean to admit the failure of this very group of which three protagonists
(France, United States and Russia) have contradictory interests.
France, in the name of Europe is on a knife edge torn between its
pro-Armenian tradition and the upcoming Turkey’s entry into Europe. The
United States would have no scruples settling in favor of Azerbaijan since
it strongly needs stability in Caucasus. But Russia is certainly not ready
to concede Europeans, and even less Americans, a single square centimeter of
its Caucasian influence zone.
In fact, Artarktsian’s pro-Ter Petrosian position casts an immediate doubt
on his declarations. The former president and his clan have never concealed
– and the recent stealthily comeback of Ter Petrosian shows that his
position is still the same – that they favour a « step by step » solution of
the conflict. That is to say, to evacuate the freed/occupied territories for
a relative autonomy of the enclave.
By denouncing the alleged UN’s blackmailing Ter Petrosian would take the
advantage, as he would appear as a generous pacifist/visionary as compared
to Kocharian who promotes the integrity of the enclave inside its current
geographical limits. Finally, this is about convincing Armenians that as
regards Nagorno-Karabakh, they are better off with a bad solution negotiated
by Armenians than with a just as bad solution imposed by third parties.
And yet officially Armenia still holds the same position : the Armenian
minister of Foreign Affairs, Vartan Oskanian, repeatedly affirmed that in
case this resolution was passed by UN, Armenia would step out of the
negotiations process. Azerbaijan would then have to negotiate directly with
the Karabakh authorities.
Translated by Marie Anderson.

Dunya Gazetesi, Turkey
Jan 19 2005
VAT meetin cancelled, Russia wants to act as a mediator between
Turkey and Armenia
19/01/2005 10:47:58 Geri dön gönder yazýcý
The Viennese Armenian-Turkish Platform (VAT) yesterday announced that
it would not carry through its starting initiative “The First
Viennese Armenian-Turkish Round Table” originally planned for spring
2005.
The reason is that the Armenian side has failed to provide the
platform with the necessary confirmation as agreed in August 2004.
The Turkish side accepted to participate in the dialogue, in which
each part was supposed to present 180 documents on the year 1915
showing their understanding of the so-called Armenian genocide. In
July 2004, the first 100 documents each from the Armenian and Turkish
side were exchanged to get the dialogue started.
The VAT was founded by four Austrian historians as a neutral platform
serving as an intermediary for Turkish and Armenian researchers
scientifically investigating the Armenian-Turkish Question. In
related news, the Moscow radio yesterday announced that the Russian
Federation is ready to act as a mediator between Turkey and Armenia
as well as the guarantor of any possible agreement to be signed
between the two countries.

L’entrevue – Le génocide revisité
Le professeur Frank Chalk a étudié les trous de mémoire de
l’humanité exterminatrice
Guy Taillefer
Édition du lundi 17 janvier 2005
Mots clés : Union européenne (UE), onu, génocide
L’une des preuves que la mémoire est souvent courte consiste à
penser que le génocide est pour l’essentiel un produit des conflits du
XXe siècle, alors qu’il s’en est commis dès l’Antiquité, ainsi que
l’illustre la nouvelle Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes against
Humanity. L’un de ses auteurs, Frank Chalk, est professeur d’histoire
à l’université Concordia. Nous l’avons rencontré.
Holocauste, nettoyage ethnique en Bosnie et au Kosovo, génocide des
Arméniens en Turquie et des Tutsis au Rwanda : les cas les plus
étudiés et les plus catastrophiques sont près de nous. Mais bien
avant ces événements, et bien avant que l’ONU ne définisse en 1948
le crime de génocide comme tout acte «commis dans l’intention de
détruire, en tout ou en partie, un groupe national, ethnique, racial
ou religieux», de nombreux autres gestes de nature semblablement
exterminatrice étaient survenus dans l’histoire : l’annihilation des
habitants de l’île-État de Milos par les Athéniens en 416 avant
Jésus-Christ, par exemple, et celle des Carthaginois trois siècles
plus tard par des Romains décidés à appliquer la «solution
finale» à une communauté qui leur tenait tête militairement.
L’Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity, publiée par
l’éditeur américain Thomson Gale, ramasse en trois volumes et 300
articles étalés sur 1500 pages la mémoire de ces innommables
dérapages, que la conscience humaine s’emploie aujourd’hui encore à
nier. L’encyclopédie, publiée uniquement en anglais, est
présentée comme le premier ouvrage de référence exhaustif,
après l’Encyclopedia of Genocide parue en 1999, couvrant l’histoire
internationale des crimes contre l’humanité — pas seulement les
génocides et l’holocauste — et met à contribution des experts en
histoire, en droit international, en littérature, en psychologie…
Des Indiens Pequots exterminés au Connecticut par les Puritains aux
Hereros massacrés par les Allemands en Afrique de l’Ouest, «le
génocide n’est pas qu’un produit de la modernité, du capitalisme, de
l’industrialisation», affirme M. Chalk, un exemplaire de
l’encyclopédie fraîchement sorti des presses trônant sur son
bureau. Pas fché, ce M. Chalk, d’autant que l’exemplaire que lui
avait envoyé l’éditeur s’était égaré dans les dédales de la
firme de messagerie UPS.
Réflexe négationniste
L’ouvrage explore notamment le réflexe négationniste lié au
caractère inconcevable et extrême du crime. Ce négationnisme est
celui des coupables, comme on le constate depuis des années devant le
Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda (TPIR). «Le déni des
auteurs, affirme-t-il, constitue le stade final d’un génocide.» Mais
il est aussi celui de beaucoup de spécialistes, dit M. Chalk,
offusqués à l’idée d’étudier dans une perspective génocidaire
certains grands événements de l’histoire — les Croisades, par
exemple.
Il n’y a pourtant pas d’autres façons, dit-il, de qualifier les
exactions commises par les Assyriens, considérés comme les premiers
génocidaires dans l’histoire de l’humanité, quelque 700 ans avant
J-C. Ni de décrire celles de Gengis Khan et des Mongols, au XIIIe
siècle. Conduits par le «mépris du sédentaire» à l’époque
de la révolution agricole et de l’apparition des villes, les
Assyriens, «qui se sont vantés plusieurs fois d’avoir commis des
génocides», volaient les récoltes et exterminaient les
communautés qui leur résistaient.
Deux mille ans plus tard, Gengis Khan serait «un génie à ce jeu»
qui consiste à semer la terreur en massacrant les hommes des villages
qu’il prenait et en tuant ou asservissant les femmes et les enfants.
«Avant les mitraillettes et les ordinateurs, Gengis Khan maîtrisait
tout à fait l’art du génocide.»
Autre cas : le Tibet. Si les soldats chinois y sont allés, explique
M. Chalk, ce fut au début du XVIIIe siècle parce que le dalaï-lama
de l’époque les avait invités à y venir pour le débarrasser d’un
envahisseur mongol, la tribu des Zunghars. Ces derniers furent
déportés par les Chinois au nord du Tibet et massacrés après
avoir tenté de se rebeller.
Formes de déviance
États-Unien d’origine, installé au Canada depuis le milieu des
années 1960, M. Chalk est une sommité internationale en la
matière. Le groupe des cinq responsables de publication dont il
faisait partie — et dont était également membre un ancien
professeur de l’UQAM, William Schabas, aujourd’hui du Centre des droits
humains de l’Université nationale d’Irlande — planchait sur le projet
d’encyclopédie depuis deux ans et demi.
Mais M. Chalk s’intéresse en fait à la question depuis la fin des
années 1970 alors que, prenant un café avec un collègue sociologue
de Concordia, Kurt Jonassohn, les deux hommes s’avisent qu’ils
«donnent un cours sur toutes les formes de déviance qui existent
sous le soleil, excepté la plus létale». Le premier cours est
donné en 1980 et fait toujours, 25 ans plus tard, partie du cursus :
«Le premier jour, je préviens mes étudiants de la difficulté du
cours et de la gravité déprimante du sujet», dit-il.
Concordia est aujourd’hui la seule université sur la planète à
donner un cours en deux sessions sur l’histoire et la sociologie du
génocide. Les compétences des deux hommes, dont les familles ont
vécu les horreurs du nazisme, débouchent en 1990 sur la publication,
aux éditions Yale, de History and Sociology of Genocide, devenu une
référence. Deux ans plus tard, il prend un congé sabbatique et
visite la Californie, le Cambodge, la Tasmanie, l’Australie… Ce que
son épouse a baptisé par raillerie son Genocide World Tour. Comment
garder le sourire devant un sujet pareil ? «Il faut des gens, dans
ta vie, qui te rendent heureux.»
Hypocrisie
Des génocides ont été commis dans l’histoire pour éliminer une
menace potentielle, pour créer la terreur dans la construction d’un
empire, ou par pure cupidité. Mais le motif le plus effrayant est
idéologique. Le génocide des Juifs par les nazis, dont le modus
operandi peut être retracé dans celui des Hereros en 1904 et des
Arméniens en 1915, en constitue l’exemple le plus emblématique, mais
non exclusif.
«Alors que les nazis planifiaient l’invasion de la Pologne en 1939 et
l’assassinat d’intellectuels, de professeurs et de religieux, Hilter
aurait répondu à des généraux s’inquiétant pour la
réputation de l’Allemagne dans le monde : “Souvenez-vous de Gengis
Khan et des Arméniens, personne n’en parle plus maintenant.” La
négligence internationale, le déni, l’absence de mémoire, dit M.
Chalk, ont encouragé Hitler à penser qu’il pourrait s’en sauver et
que le monde s’en rappellerait comme des grands rois.»
Et maintenant, le Darfour, alors que la communauté internationale,
pendant qu’on discute avec M. Chalk, continue de tergiverser sur la
définition des exactions commises par les milices arabes appuyées
par l’armée soudanaise contre des dizaines de milliers de Noirs
musulmans.
«La question, au Darfour, n’est pas de savoir s’il s’agit ou non d’un
génocide, explique-t-il. Le vrai problème, c’est que, dans nos
relations internationales, on estime n’avoir aucun intérêt à
intervenir pour sauver les vies de victimes potentielles de crimes
contre l’humanité. Voilà où nous en sommes à l’heure actuelle.
Nous avons écrit d’excellents rapports, mais des rapports hypocrites
puisqu’ils ne sont accompagnés ni de la volonté politique ni des
capacités militaires.» Il est vrai que le monde a peut-être
aujourd’hui une plus grande conscience humanitaire, «mais nous ne
sommes pas plus civilisés et humanitaires si nous n’agissons pas».

TO HAVE A BEAUTIFUL TOWN
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
22 Jan 05
Did the work style of the City Hall department for architecture and
building change after the election to the municipalities? According to
the head of the department Nver Mikaelian, the order of providing land
on a competitive basis is a progressive step. Among the responsibilities
of the department, besides responding to the applications of the
people of Stepanakert, N. Mikaelian pointed out the repair of facades
of buildings of the town.
THE TOWN WILL HAVE A NEW RESIDENTIAL AREA
On the outskirts of Stepanakert near the village Khanatsakh a new
residential area will be established with 740 detached houses.
According to the City Hall department for architecture and building,
preparation works are going on for allotting lands. Presently, the
road is built. In allotting lands preference will be given to certain
groups of people, such as families of disabled or killed persons. The
order of allotting lands has not been decided yet. It will become
clear after the preparation works. `As the chief architect I consider
important the looks and beauty of the town, and all our efforts are
directed at this aim,’ said Nver Mikaelian.
STEPANAKERT WILL HAVE ITS EMBLEM
The head of the department for architecture and building Nver
Mikaelian said, the town has never had an emblem and now they want to
fill in this gap. For this aim the City Hall holds a competition for
the design of the coat of arms of Stepanakert. The projects are
submitted up to February 22 and then the special commission will make
a choice. The head of the department said the participants must study
the history of the town and only then decide to take part in the
contest. According to him, no works have been submitted yet but
several painters and sculptors are interested in it. A competition
cannot be without prizes. The first prize is 100 thousand drams, the
second 50 thousand dramsand the third prize is 25 thousand drams.
LION AN UNFLINCHING SYMBOL
Nothing is eternal in this world, like different statues once erected
with great enthusiasm. Aged inhabitants of Stepanakert must remember
that in the 1950-60s a statue with the image of a lion was put at the
northern gate of the town, which perhaps symbolized power. They also
say that there was another animal near the feet of the lion, but we do
not know and do not want to suppose what it symbolized. The question
is that recently the City Hall has discussed the question of having a
statue of a lion at one of the gates of the town. The department for
architecture and building informed that the leadership of the City
Hall approved the idea and mentioned that unlike the `lion’ created in
the Soviet times which was not a monumental statue, the new statue
will be a work of art created with good taste to be in tune with the
spirit of the people of Artsakh. This time the statue will indeed
become a symbol of power. According to the headof the department for
architecture and building Nver Mikaelian, as in all developed towns it
is desirable to have a splendid statue marking one of the gates of
Stepanakert, which is considered the most important one today.
N. Mikaelian said, 17 works have already been submitted for
competition and very soon the monument will be erected at one of the
gates of the town.
LAURA GRIGORIAN.
22-01-2005
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SUMMING UP 2004
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
22 Jan 05
The NKR government implements program for encouraging birthrate in the
republic. According to the information provided by the NKR Ministry of
Social Security, within the framework of this program 493 bank
accounts were opened in the NKR branches of `Artsakhbank’ of which 301
accounts were opened on the name of the third child of the family, 118
accounts were opened on the name of the fourth child, 33 on the name
of the fifth child, 18 accounts were opened onthe name of the sixth
child, 12 accounts were opened for the seventh, 4 for eighth, 4 for
ninth and one on the name of a tenth, an eleventh and a twelfth
child. The total sum on the bank accounts opened in 2004 is 462.700 US
dollars. In the framework of this program 1446 children of 259
families received allowances for electricity. The total sum of
allowances for electricity is 15359.3 thousand drams. For families
having more than six children under 18 recorded in 2004 houses were
built all over the republic (before no houses had been built in the
capital. They had been built in the regions for families having more
than 7 children under 18). The building of 20 houses was finished, the
other 10 will be completed in 2005. According to the head of the
department for family and children of the NKR Ministry of Social
Security Samvel Dadayan, in 2005 it is planned to build houses for five
families in Stepanakert. The children of families where the fourth and
the following children were born after the year 2000 received
allowances for renting textbooks (except for children at elementary
school). 975 children of 492 families received allowances for the
school year 2004-2005. The sum of allowances totals 3067.7 thousand
drams. Financial aid was provided to the family of Tamara Sarghissian,
village of Vazgenashen, Martouni region and Gayaneh Simonian, village
of Nor Verin Shen, Shahoumian region after the birth of their 11th and
10th child respectively. 5000 US dollars was transferred into the bank
accounts opened on their names. In 2005 the NKR state budget provides
618466.8 thousand drams for the program of increasing birthrate. In
the current year the NKR Ministry of Social Security togetherwith `
Karabakh Telecom’ CJSC will implement a program of financial aid
tosocially insecure families having children from 4 to 18 years old,
living in Stepanakert and the regional centers. The department for
family and children of the NKR Ministry of Social Security informed
that the program is financed by `Karabakh Telecom’ CJSC providing 6500
drams monthly for each child. The program existed in 2004 too but the
sum was 5000 drams. By another program implemented again by the
Ministry of Social Security and `Karabakh Telecom’ parentless children
under 18 receive 10 thousand drams every three months. Bank accounts
are opened in `Artsakhbank’ on the name of the guardians of parentless
children to which the transfers are made.
SRBUHI VANIAN.
22-01-2005

TO IMPROVE WATER SUPPLY
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
22 Jan 05
In winter water supply of the capital is worse than in other seasons
of the year. Water supply stopped for several times in the first ten
days of January. According to `Water Supply – Sewer’ State CJSC at
the area Ghaybalu in the tributary of the river Karkar water has
decreased and freezes in winter andas a result water supply is not
regular in the capital. Recently the company carried out works of
breaking the ice in the river and presently 150 litersof water per
second is supplied to the filtering station N1 and the corresponding
quarters of the capital already have regular water supply. At the same
time, inhabitants of certain quarters who built water pipeline on
their means didnot keep to the technical rules and the pipes froze
causing problems of water supply.
LAURA GRIGORIAN.
22-01-2005

Le Figaro
22 janvier 2005
Gaudin «hostile» à l’adhésion turque; UMP
Le sénateur-maire (UMP) de Marseille, Jean-Claude Gaudin, a affirmé
hier qu’il était «totalement hostile à l’entrée de la Turquie» dans
l’Union européenne. Selon le vice-président de l’UMP, cela lui vaut
des discussions parfois «hard» avec son «ami», Jacques Chirac. «Je
suis dans l’incapacité de mettre dans la balance des intérêts
diplomatiques et économiques et de l’autre un million et demi de gens
massacrés», a-t-il affirmé, évoquant le génocide arménien.