Armenia hopes Russia won’t close skies to its airlines

TASS
October 1, 2004 Friday

By Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

Armenia hopes that Russia will not close its skies to Armenian
airlines, representative of the Armenian Main Department on Civil
Aviation Serzh Manukyan said on Friday.

The debt of Armenia to Russian air traffic controllers “is not as
large as the debts of other CIS member countries,” and there is a debt
payment schedule, he said.

Armenia owes $5.9 million dollars to Russian air traffic controllers,
and the debt of bankrupt Armenian Airlines is $2.89 million. The
Armenian aviation authorities recognized the debt at negotiations on
September 9.

Russia’s strength being tested in Caucasus – Mironov

TASS
October 1, 2004 Friday

By Lyudmila Yermakova, Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

The Caucasus is a key region for Russia at present. It is where
Russia’s strength is being tested, Federation Council Chairman Sergei
Mironov said at a Friday meeting with the Russian regiment stationed
in Yerevan.

“Not only Russia but also all countries of this unique land of plenty
need stability in the Caucasus and Transcaucasia,” he said.

Mironov called on servicemen “to do their best to prevent the
spreading of international terrorism in the Caucasus and thwart plans
of extremists seeking regional destabilization.” “Russia thinks that
cooperation must develop in the spirit of historical and spiritual
relations between the peoples of Russia and Armenia and in strict
compliance with international legal norms and principles of the United
Nations and international organizations whose members we are,” Mironov
said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armavia dismisses reports of debts to Russian navigation services

TASS
October 1, 2004 Friday

By Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

A spokesman for Armenia’s national air carrier, Armavia, has dismissed
reports the company is in debt to Russian air navigation services.

“Rumors in Russian mass media the country’s air space may be closed to
the company’s planes due to debts are groundless,” Armavia public
relations manager Garik Siroyan has said.

He said the airlines had no debts for air navigation services to
Russia’s air traffic planning and control center.

The Armavia official described as “deplorable mistake” the mention of
the company’s name in the list of debtor air carriers. He confirmed
that Russia’s air space remained open to Armavia liners.

Russia’s air traffic and control center on Thursday formally notified
the aviation authorities of the other CIS countries navigation
services will stop to be provided as of October 1 to those air
carriers that have outstanding debts for flights in Russian air space.

Armenia’s Gyumri Airlines and Aero-Van airlines featured on the list
of debtors.

According to the Russian Transport Ministry a number of Georgian,
Kazakh and Ukrainian airlines have debts to Russian air navigators.

Yerevan to host meeting of CIS IPA Defence, Security Committee

TASS
October 1, 2004 Friday

By Lyudmila Yermakova, Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

The Defence and Security Committee of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary
Assembly (IPA) will hold its meeting in the Armenian capital on
October 5, the head of the IPA Council Sergei Mironov told reporters
on Friday.

Mironov, the speaker of the Federation Council (upper house of the
Russian parliament) said the session would discuss a model law on the
struggle with terrorism. The parliamentarians will recommend the CIS
lawmakers to use this law in drafting their national anti-terrorist
legislation.

The theme of terrorism was discussed at length and very emotionally at
a meeting of Armenian lawmakers and their Russian counterparts at the
National Assembly on Friday. The Armenian legislators offered deep
condolences over the latest acts of terrorism, including the
hostage-taking raid in Beslan.

They stressed that “strategic partnership” was needed to effectively
confront this evil of the 21st century.

Mironov and Armenian parliamentary speaker Artur Bagdasaryan signed a
joint statement condemning acts of terrorism as incompatible with
morality and humanism.

“ARMENMOTOR” AND “NOVRUZ GROUP” TO INTERFLOW INTO “ARNOV”

Cement, Tobacco and Lamps Will be Exported Iraq

Azg/am
2 Oct 04

Armenian “Armenmotor” and Iraqi “Novruz Group” companies signed a
treaty in Yerevan for creating a joined Armenian-Iraqi “ArNov”
company. Mustafa Jaf, owner of the Iraqi company, informed Azg Daily.

=1F”Novruz Group” consists of 9 branches and is specialized in the
spheres of tourism, transportation, contract construction projects,
good importation and other spheres. The headquarters is in Baghdad.

“Armenmotor”, founded in 1928, is specialized in motor
producing. Today the company produces electric motors of different
types, pumps, air-conditioners and other things.

As we have informed in our previous coverage, Mustafa Jaf and the
former Iraqi ambassador to Armenia Tarik Muhammad Yahya met with Ruben
Shugarian, deputy foreign minister of Armenia. Mustafa Jaf expressed
his willingness in importing Armenian goods and especially in opening
a joined Armenian-Iraqi enterprise and a bank.

Jaf said that 0.5 million tones of cement, big quantity of tobacco and
lamps will be imported to Iraq due to the signed agreements. “We hope
to come to an agreement with other Armenian companies as regards
importing water, juices and meat”, Jaf said.

There are no intergovernmental relations between Armenia and Iraq
these days, embassies are closed in Yerevan and in Baghdad. Mustafa
Jaf believes that the embassies will open soon and adds, “We represent
Iraq’s private sector and have no problem with good importing and
exporting.”

Jaf says that almost 80 percent of the Iraqi market is active today,
the north and the south of the country are quiet. “Today’s Iraqi
government is able to solve the existing problems, but they need
time. Iraqis are a patient nation”, he said.

Mustafa Jaf said that not everything we see on the TV corresponds to
reality. They only show explosions, kidnapping and bombing. “We will
cooperate with our Armenian partners. There are lot of big
international companies in Iraq, let the Armenian be one of them”, he
said.

By Tatoul Hakobian

Georgia, Armenia concerned about Russian border closure

Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi
30 Sep 04

[Presenter] The situation at the Lars checkpoint [on the
Russian-Georgian border] was discussed at the constituent meeting of
the Georgian-Armenian business association, which was held today at
the Courtyard Marriott [hotel in Tbilisi].

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and the
president’s wife Sandra Roelofs.

Member of parliament Beso Jugheli will be the Georgian co-chairman
of the association.

The event was also attended by business people and members of
parliament from Armenia.

Georgians and Armenians both complained about Russia’s decision to
close the Lars checkpoint, which has created problems for ordinary
people and businesses alike. Armenian businessmen asked the Georgian
prime minister to deal with this problem but Zurab Zhvania reminded
them that he was not Russia’s prime minister.

[Armenian businessman, no caption, addressing Zhvania in Russian]
I have 510 vehicles waiting at Nizhniy Lars, 510 vehicles waiting
for 15 days now. Will this border ever reopen?

[Zhvania] If you had Mikhail Yefimovich Fradkov standing in front
of you, it would probably be worth asking him this question. There
is full readiness on the part of Georgia for the border to open
completely and operate properly.

You have mentioned vehicles, so I must tell you that late last night
I received a telephone call from the Armenian ambassador, who told me
that women and children there literally had to stay in the field. I
must also say that, after I informed him about our conversation with
the ambassador, President Saakashvili, in contravention of all border,
customs and other regulations, took the decision to ensure free passage
for them. This problem is gradually becoming very serious indeed. I
hope that your vehicles are safe and will reach their destination.

Georgia’s revenues hit by Russian border closure – official

Prime-News news agency
30 Sep 04

Tbilisi, 30 September: As a result of Russia’s unilateral decision to
close the Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border, Georgia’s
state budget has suffered losses of around 4m lari [about 2.2m
dollars], deputy chair of the Georgian parliament’s foreign relations
committee, Salome Samadashvili, said at a meeting of the committee
today. Samadashvili noted that Armenian citizens were also suffering
losses because of the closed checkpoint.

First Deputy Foreign Minister Nika Tabatadze informed the meeting
that the Foreign Ministry and State Border Guard Department, in
coordination with the National Security Council, were working with
the Russian side to resolve the issue.

Tabatadze said that since the closure of the Lars checkpoint passengers
and freights from Russia had switched to the [South Ossetian capital]
Tskhinvali route, through the Roki tunnel. However, this creates legal
problems because there is no Georgian checkpoint on this section of
the border, Tabatadze said. He also noted that Armenian citizens were
unable to travel to their country through Georgian territory.

At the moment, National Security Council Secretary Gela Bezhuashvili is
trying to reach an agreement on these issues with his Russian colleague
Igor Ivanov, Tabatadze said. He noted that the Armenian ambassador to
Georgia, Georgiy Khosroyev, visited the Foreign Ministry to discuss
the problem. Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania has taken the situation
under his personal control, Tabatadze added.

Russian President [Vladimir] Putin ordered the Lars checkpoint to be
closed after the terrorist attack in Beslan.

Azeri ruling party official urges world bodies to ignore Karabakh youth forum

Ekho, Baku
30 Sep 04

Text of E. Quliyev report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 30 September
headlined “Boycott the Karabakh visit” and subheaded “Members of the
New Azerbaijan Party urge youth organizations of the world”

“The invitations to visit Karabakh sent out to representatives of
youth organizations of different countries are a political action
masterminded by the Armenian leadership,” the deputy chairwoman of
the New Azerbaijan Party, Bahar Muradova, has told Ekho.

Let’s recall that on its web site the Pan-Armenian international
youth forum has posted an address to all youth organizations of
the world, inviting them to take part in a fact-finding visit to
Karabakh and assess the situation in the area of youth policy, human
rights and democracy in conflict-stricken areas. The visit will lay
the foundation for an international youth conference in the “NKR”
[Nagornyy Karabakh Republic]. The web site also says that applications
can be submitted to Armenian embassies before 4 October, while the
trip itself is scheduled to begin on 15 November. It is said further
that Armenian embassies, with the consent of the “NKR government”,
will be issuing visas to those interested. In conclusion, the web site
says that the Armenian government guarantees an uninhibited visit to
Nagornyy Karabakh.

Muradova believes that this is all a further illustration of the fact
that Armenia, in defiance of all laws, freely disposes of Azerbaijani
lands and illegally invites representatives of international
organizations to our territories.

“Obviously a youth organization cannot finance such a major project
on its own, it is probably financed by the Armenian government or
diaspora,” she said.

She added that participation of different international
organizations could undermine Azerbaijan’s relations with the
countries they represent. The ruling party representative stressed
that among the invitees there might be organizations unaware of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

“We would like to inform them that the NKR is an illegal and
unrecognized separatist formation, while a visit there without the
consent of the Azerbaijani authorities represents support for the
occupation of our lands,” she said.

Muradova said further that a round table on Pan-Armenian’s attempt
to organize a fact-finding visit to Karabakh had been held at
the New Azerbaijan Party’s headquarters earlier this week. The
participants discussed possible measures of the Azerbaijani side,
namely youth organizations, to thwart such activities on the occupied
territories. Representatives of youth organizations adopted an address
to the world youth urging them not to yield to the Armenian provocation
and boycott the trip. Muradova added that the address would be sent
to those who had been invited by Pan-Armenian. Another address has
been sent to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

Red Cross faces shortfall of â^¬88m

Irish Times
Sep 30, 2004

SWITZERLAND: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
yesterday appealed to donors to make up an â^¬88 million shortfall
in its operational budget for 2004, largely in response to a total
of 11 armed conflicts, some forgotten and others that are frequently
in the headlines.

The ICRC sought to draw special attention to the on-going humanitarian
needs arising from armed conflicts affecting millions of lives
in Afghanistan, Angola, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Ethiopia, Israel and the Palestinian territories, the Russian
Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Sudan, Uganda and the countries
of the southern Caucasus (Armenia and Azerbaijan).

“It is vital for the ICRC to be able to respond impartially to needs
when and where they arise. The impact and credibility of our action
depends on our capacity to support people and communities caught up
in armed conflicts and internal violence around the world,” said Mr
Pierre Krähenb’hl, ICRC director of operations, speaking at the
organisation’s Geneva HQ. The shortfall represents 20 per cent of
its field budget for 2004.

ICRC said that public attention and commitments made by the
international community had not yet resulted in sufficient support
for the ICRC’s operations in Sudan (Darfur and the southern part of
the country), where the organisation is â^¬13 million short of its
funding goal of â^¬25 million.

Sudan is currently the organisation’s largest and most complex
operation, covering enormous swathes of territory, including Darfur
itself, which is the size of France. It was following a meeting
between the Sudanese president, Mr Omar El Bashir, and the ICRC
president, Mr Jacob Kallenberger, earlier this year that Darfur was
finally opened up to aid agencies in March. The organisation visits
thousands of prisoners of war throughout the country, including 700
government soldiers held by Sudanese rebel groups.

The ICRC is a private, Swiss, independent organisation which, in
accordance with the Geneva Conventions, has been visiting people
detained in connection with armed conflicts since 1915. In 2003, ICRC
representatives visited 450,000 detainees in 80 countries, including
all those for which this renewed appeal for funds has been launched.

Donor fatigue is particularly evident in terms of support for ICRC
operations in Israel and Palestine, Chechnya, Colombia and Uganda. All
of these operations in response to on-going conflicts are running
deficits of over 60 per cent.

The response has also been slow for operations in places like Angola
where fighting has ended, refugees are returning from neighbouring
countries but huge problems remain, particularly in the form of
landmines and other unexploded ordinance, and the restoration of
basic services to vulnerable populations.

“The ICRC continues to rely on timely, quality contributions from its
donor community to pursue its activities. While the overall level of
support for our work has been remarkable, major humanitarian operations
remain significantly underfunded. This financial shortfall needs to
be redressed”, said Mr Krähenb’hl.

ZORYAN INSTITUTE OF CANADA, INC.
255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
Tel: 416-250-9807 Fax: 416-512-1736 E-mail: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: George Shirinian

DATE: September 16, 2004
Tel: 416-250-9807

Newly-wed Couples Donate Thousands to Zoryan Institute on Their Wedding Day

Boston, MA – In early June, at the wedding reception of Nellie
Yeretsian and Shahan Yacoubian in Chicago, the place-card put out
for the guests informed them that:

To honor our grandparents, we have made a financial contribution to
the following institutions:

~The Zoryan Institute, devoted to research, documentation, publication
and education on contemporary issues in the history, politics,
society and culture of Armenians and Armenia.

~Armenian General Benevolent Union’s Hye Geen, devoted to empower
Armenian women in their changing roles. Hye Geen sponsors a day care
center for pregnant women in Gyumri, Armenia.

Similarly, in early September, at the wedding reception of Lisa
Siraganian and Brian Hewitt in Maryland, seating cards for each guest
announced the following message:

In your honor, a donation has been given to Church World Service
Emergency Response for aid to Sudan and Afghanistan, and to the Zoryan
Institute, an international center devoted to researching the history
and culture of Armenians.

“Who said our youth is not involved in Armenian affairs,” asked Arsinée
Khanjian, a member of the Corporate Board of the Zoryan Institute. “I
understand exactly how these young people feel. They support the Zoryan
Institute because they find answers to the fundamental questions of
history, memory, and identity, burning inside of them. They feel
empowered with the tools of history, facts, references, analysis,
and perspective that the institute provides through its seminars,
conferences and publications.” She continued by relating that this
was her own experience some eighteen years ago, when she joined the
ranks of Zoryan supporters, because “Through the institute’s work,
I learned how to situate my history in the history of other nations,
other cultures of the world, thus reconciling my identity as a
Diasporan Armenian and as a Canadian.”

“There seems to be an interesting new trend developing among
young professionals in North America, of making donations on their
wedding day to organizations that they identify with emotionally and
intellectually, such as Zoryan,” noted George Shirinian, Executive
Director of the institute. “This phenomenon is all the more interesting
as it occurs at a time in their lives when the young couples, instead
of focusing on themselves and their immediate families and friends,
are thinking about the welfare of humanity and organizations which
devote their efforts to serving that cause.”

Shahan Yacoubian is finishing residency in Orthopedics at Albert
Einstein in the Bronx, and Nellie Yacoubian is a graduate student at
New York University. Describing the motivation for their selfless
gesture, Nellie explained, “Our grandparents were afraid that
the death and suffering of their loved ones would be relegated to
the dustbin of history. They were deeply unsettled by the power of
historical revisionism at the service of political convenience. The
Zoryan Institute is the fulfillment of their hopes for a scholarly,
unshakable rendition of the facts.”

Lisa Siraganian, who is currently doing a post-doctoral fellowship
in English Literature at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, and Brian
Hewitt, who is Senior Software Engineer at Tele-Atlas in Hanover,
had this to say. “A marriage not only connects two people to one
another, but also connects us as a couple to a larger community.
For this reason, we felt, along with Lisa’s parents, that it was
important to recognize and support those communities, both locally
and globally. Zoryan’s mission of Armenian historical research and
community outreach make this donation a natural choice.”

K.M. (Greg) Sarkissian, President of the Zoryan Institute, remarked,
“We are moved that such young people are confident about their
identity, and that because of their love for humanity they feel
a natural connection with the Institute. It is overwhelming for
us at Zoryan to see that four generations away from the Genocide,
our youth, born and raised in America, the famous ‘melting pot,’
not only appreciate the work of this institute but also affirm the
universality of its mission through their magnificent support.”

The Zoryan Institute is an international center devoted to the
research and documentation of contemporary issues related to the
history, politics, society, and culture of Armenia and Armenians
around the world.