DEFENSE MINISTER SERGE SARGSYAN SHARES CONCERN OF ARMENIAN PUBLIC OVER
POSSIBLE DISPATCH OF ARMENIANS SPECIALISTS TO IRAQ

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 30. ARMINFO. Armenian Defense Minister Serge
Sargsyan shares concern of Armenian public over possible dispatch of
Armenians specialists to Iraq.

In his interview to the Armenian Public Television, he said that
definite problems are evident, and first of all, the fact that Iraq is
a “strange country.” However, the concept “strange country” is
disputable enough, the borders of Armenia and Iraq are in 260 km
distance only, meanwhile the distance from Yerevan to Baku is 400 km
and to Tbilisi more than 200 km. Besides, no country in the world is
insured against terrorism. Of course, there is Armenian community in
Iraq which can become a target for terrorist, but whether it is in
security in condition of Armenia’s absence in Iraq, the minister
said. mentioning the terrorist acts near the Armenian Church in
Baghdad.

Besides, the minister said, Armenia has not right to come out as a
peculiar user of stability without making its contribution to it, even
the smallest one. Armenia always asks and demands unbiased attitude
to itself and Azerbaijan or Georgia from super powers. Whether it has
a right to it, if it considers the problems of super powers from
position of a user, as these super powers can ask why they should be
unbiased in this case, the minister said. He added that the Armenian
contingent supposed to be sent to Iraq is very little connected with
military actions, these are 31 drivers with 6 mechanics, 10 sappers, 3
doctors, including one therapist. Evidently, their task is to assist
the peaceful population in Iraq, the minister said, adding that the
last word in this issue rests on the parliament.

RUSSIA REMAINS STRATEGIC ALLY OF ARMENIA: ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 30. ARMINFO. Russia remains strategic ally of
Armenia, Armenian Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan told the Armenian
Public Television.

He said that all the talks that Armenia turns away from Russia, tries
to join NATO etc,, do not correspond to reality. Such rumors are
spread by political rivals of Armenia. Armenia’s cooperation with the
USA does not develop at the expense of Armenia’s relations with
Russia. If Armenia aspired to withdraw from CST and join NATO, it
would be worthwhile to change its priorities. But, as Armenia remains
in CST, it signed a voluminous Agreement with Russia, so the latter
remains the main strategic ally of Armenia. Armenia’s relations with
the USA and NATO develop paralleled, which means that Armenia uses the
existing opportunities, the minister said. As regards the prospects of
expansion of the Armenian-Russian cooperation, he said that due to the
50 agreements signed, a serious contractual base is created for
development of these relations. Military cooperation is infinite and
multi-dimensional, that is why it will further develop. In particular,
beginning from Jan 1, 2005, direct Agreements with Russian enterprises
on security of arms and ammunition for Armenia could be signed, which
is beneficial, of course, the minister said.

HOMOSEXUAL SCANDAL IN ARMENIA’s POLITICAL ELITE

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 30. ARMINFO. A homosexual scandal has broken out in
Armenia’s political elite. Parliamentarians came to calling one
another gays, and homosexualism became a subject of serious
discussions and comments in the ruling elite.

Today’s briefing at the RA National Assembly focused on the subject
and on the possibility of gays being members of the ruling elite. The
member of the “People’s Deputy” Hakob Hakobyan publicly called
Vice-Chairman of the “Law-Governed Country” party, Chairman of the
Parliamentary Commission for Defense, National Security and internal
Affairs Mher Shahgelsyan a homosexual, stating that he can present
proofs in court. In his turn, Shahgeldyan denied the claim. “Hakob
Hakobyan’s claim is a filthy lie. He just could not discredit me in
another, as I have a stainless reputation. Nobody would believe him if
he accused me of financial embezzlements, bribery, changing party
affiliation, so he decided to discredit me in this way,” Shahgeldyan
said. “After this claim Hakobyan has to have a man-to-man talk,”
Shahgelsyan said. He pointed out that he does not consider it
advisable to apply to court now.

The scandal broke out yesterday, Hakobyan demanded that Parliament
Speaker, Chairman of the “Law-Governed Country” party Artur
Baghdasaryan present an annual report on the Parliament’s
expenses. According to him, even Vice-Speakers Tigran Torosyan
(Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia) and Vahan
Hovhannesyan (ARF Board member) agreed with him. Hakobyan demanded
that the Speaker report on the spending of the additional 65,000 USD
provided to the Parliament by the RA Government. The Speaker did not
satisfied Hakobyan’s demand, which aroused the latter’s
indignation. He began swearing at the Speaker and the Head of the
Parliament staff, claiming that “persons that came to Parliament in
T-shirts are now driving armored Jeeps’.” Hakobyan stated that he is
even ready to transgress law for the people’s benefit. Then he made a
shocking claim that Vice-Chairman of the “Law-Governed Country” party
Mher Shahgelsyan is a “gay.” It is noteworthy that the reason for
active talks about homosexualism in Armenia’s political elite is a
statement made by Chairman of the “Armenian-Aryan Order” party Armen
Avetiosyan that some of the Armenian minister and parliamentarians are
gays, and he intends to publish their names soon.

Russian, Armenian speakers discuss Georgian border closure

Arminfo
1 Oct 04

YEREVAN

On 1 October in Yerevan, Armenian Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan and
Russian Federation Council Speaker Sergey Mironov discussed the
transport situation that has lately come about on the Russian-Georgian
border.

“Armenian friends have taken Russia’s measures with understanding,”
Mironov told a briefing following the meeting, adding that “the sides
should tackle this task taking into account the interests of Armenia,
which is Russia’s strategic partner in the Caucasus”.

“We need to resolve this situation in a way that will not affect the
transport problems of Armenia,” Mironov said. There are still Chechen
fighters in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge, which was also proved by [Chechen
rebel president] Aslan Maskhadov in his interview to Georgian TV.

[Passage omitted: a joint statement was signed by Russian and Armenian
speakers]

Russian, Armenian speakers discuss joint fight against terrorism

Arminfo
1 Oct 04

YEREVAN

Armenian-Russian cooperation and the fight against international
terrorism were discussed today at a meeting between Armenian Speaker
Artur Bagdasaryan and Russian Federation Council Speaker Sergey
Mironov who is on an official visit to Yerevan.

Speaking about tightened security measures on the Russian-Georgian
border in the wake of the terrorist act in Beslan, as a result of
which cargo transportation to Armenia has been halted and the country
has in fact found itself in a blockade, the sides stressed the need
for the speedy opening of a road to transport cargo to Armenia.

For his part, noting the anti-terror campaign against foreigners in
Russia, the deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament and the chairman
of the Armenian-Russian interparliamentary commission on cooperation,
Vaan Ovanesyan, underlined the need for granting Armenians of Russia
temporary status to ensure their security.

At the end of the meeting, Mironov and Bagdasaryan signed a joint
statement offering condolences to the families of the victims of the
terrorist acts in Russia and expressing the readiness to fight
international terrorism hand in hand.

The statement also called on the deputies of the CIS countries to
consolidate their efforts in the fight against terrorism.

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION IN ARMENIA INCREASED 2.4% IN JAN-AUG 2004

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1. ARMINFO. The volume of the industrial production
in Armenia in Jan-Aug of the current year as against 2003 increased by
2.8% and totaled 330.9 bln drams. Not taking into account the
energetic sphere, gas supply and water economy it increased by 2.6%.
National Statistical Service of Armenia informed ARMINFO, in Aug as
against July 2004 the volume of industrial production increased by
5.9%. Industrial production worth 326.8 bln drams were sold in the
period under review, including in CIS countries – 30.9 bln drams, and
other countries – 89.7 bln drams.

A considerable growth was registered in production of textile goods in
Jan-Aug of 2004 as compared with the same period of 2003 – the index
made up 222.8% and production of textile goods – 207.2%, nonmetallic
mineral products – 128.5%, in production of tools and devices –
124.8%. in production of finished clothes and leather working –
122.1%, in production of finished metallic goods – 113.2%. The most
considerable fall has been fixed in production of jewelry goods – the
index made up 85.6%, in working of wood 97.1% and metallurgy industry
– 92.3%

In Jan-Aug 2004 energetic enterprises of Armenia had generated 4,097.6
mln kW/h electricity or 112.2% out of the index of the same period of
last year. Electricity produced by the Armenian Atomic Power Station
made up 40.6% of the total generation, in thermal power stations –
24.1% and in hydro power stations – 35.3%.

Production of bread and bakery products for the accounting period
totaled 196,400 tons. Production of beer increased by 23.9%, totalling
6,454,000 liters. Growth of production of flour by 9%, macaroni – by
104.5%, production of vodka by 30% and wine 28.5% were registered in
the period under review. Production of cigarettes and meat products
decreased by 12.9% and 22.6% respectively.

Production of aluminum roll grew 9.2 times, black copper – by 26.8%
zinc concentrate – by 13.8%, molybdenum concentrate – 4.1%, and of
copper in copper concentrate and aluminum foil decreased by 1.9% and
97.5% respectively.

PRESIDENT OF BULGARIA GEORGY PIRVANOV WILL VISIT YEREVAN OCT 5-7

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1. ARMINFO. President of Bulgaria Georgy Pirvanov
will pay an official visit to Yerevan accompanied by his spouse Zorka
Pirvanova on Oct 5-7. The Bulgarian leader visits Armenia on the
invitation of Presdient Robert Kocharyan.

The Presidential Press Service of Armenia told ARMINFO that the main
goal of the visit is stimulation of development of interstate ties,
deepening of cooperation between the two states, designation of the
prospects of economic cooperation, as well as exchange of opinions on
the issues of mutual interest. “Today, when integration into European
structures is one of the priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy, close
cooperation with the countries of South-Eastern and Central Europe
seems necessary. In this context, it is more than important to develop
bilateral and multilateral relations with Bulgaria,” the press-service
says. On October 5, after a solemn meeting at the Armenian President’s
residency, a tete-a-tete meeting of the two presidents will be held,
which, in its turn, will result in enlarged negotiations. Then a
press-conference will be given. In the course of the visit, Bulgarian
President will meet Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Artur Baghdasaryan
and Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan. A meeting with Catholicos of
All Armenians will be held in Etchmiadzin. Georgy Pirvanov will also
visit the Memorial for the Victims of the Armenian Genocide. In the
course of the visit, an Armenian-Bulgarian Business Forum will be
held. President Pirvanov is also expected to meet the students and
the teaching staff of Yerevan State University and the school after
P.Yavorov. The president is also expected to visit historical and
cultural sights. On October 7, the Bulgarian delegation headed by
President Pirvanov will leave Yerevan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IF COALITION FAILS TO FULFILL ITS TASKS, ARFD WILL WITHDRAW FROM IT:
CHAIRMAN OF ARFD SUPREME BODY ARMEN ROUSTAMYAN

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1. ARMINFO. ARF Dashnaktsutyun joined the ruling
coalition with the object of solving the country’s urgent problems, if
the coalition fails to fulfill its tasks, ARFD will withdraw from it,
Chairman of ARFD Supreme Body Armen Roustamyan said at a
press-conference today.

At the same time, he said that if ARFD withdraws from the ruling
coalition, it will not join the opposition, as it has its own place in
the political arena. Meanwhile, Roustamyan said that in spite of
definite gaps in the activity of the coalition, the latter has a
achieved considerable results, in particular, Armenia’s international
authority has been upgraded and the domestic political situation has
been stabilized just due to the ruling coalition.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SOUTH CAUCASIAN CULTURE ANALYZED IN MOSCOW

RIA Novosti
October 02, 2004

MOSCOW, October 2 (RIA Novosti) – The plan of cooperation for
2004-2005 was adopted at the two-day 4th conference of culture
ministers entitled “Variety of cultures and European unity: dialogue
in the name of demographic stability”, which closed in Moscow on
Friday, Catherine Roth, Council of Europe’s director for culture,
cultural and natural heritage, told journalists in Moscow.

The conference was held within the Council of Europe’s Stage project
and was dedicated to the analysis of culture of the three South
Caucasian countries, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

Representatives of Austria, Germany, Greece, Russia, Switzerland,
Turkey and Ukraine also took part in the conference.

According to Catherine Roth, the sides agreed to help each other
develop museums and libraries and promote cultural policy of cities.

The conferees adopted a declaration saying that culture is making an
important contribution in the building of peaceful, stable and open
Europe free from conflicts and violence, the director said.

On his part, Azerbaijan’s Culture Minister Polad Byul-byul ogly said
in a RIA Novosti interview that “cultural dialogue was useful and
necessary”.

“Contacts are highly important. This is a possibility to get
acquainted with European cultural values, exchange cultural riches and
talk about each other’s problems,” the minister noted.

Speaking about the development of culture in Azerbaijan, the minister
pointed out with satisfaction that the state kept paying more and more
attention to cultural problems and increased state financing of this
sphere.

According to Polad Byul-byul ogly, in 2005 24% more money will be
allocated on culture development from Azerbaijan’s state budget than
in 2004.

Existing CIS agreements must be implemented for firm ties -Mironov

TASS
October 2, 2004 Saturday

By Lyudmila Yermakova, Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

To consolidate ties in the CIS it is necessary first of all to
implement the existing agreements, Russian Federation Council Chairman
Sergei Mironov said when answering questions of Yerevan University
students.

Mironov heads the Council of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.

The CIS authority in the world is sharply higher at present, he noted.

First of all, it is CIS leaders’ contribution, and the Armenian
president’s contribution is considerable in the process, Mironov
added.

The CIS corporative interests should be used more actively in
international organisations, such as the PACE for example, he noted.

The channel is used poorly now when CIS common interests are defended
and in elections to international structures, he said.

Common fight against terrorism must be a serious step in consolidation
of CIS ties.

First of all, it is necessary to create common legal approaches to it
and block channels to finance gunmen.

There must be no double standards in approaches to terrorism and its
assessments, Mironov stressed.

The speaker thanked Armenian people for the sympathy for Russia in
connection with the recent acts of terror, including in Beslan.

The Russia-Georgia-Armenia transport problem should be solved jointly
with CIS members’ participation, the speaker said.

The transport route between Russia and Armenia across Georgia should
be opened with all the partners taken into account, he noted.

The university staff honoured the memory of terrorism victims.