“YERKRAPAH” MEMBERS SURE THAT FORCES BACKING TERRORIST ACT IN ARMENIAN
PARLIAMENT WILL BE PROSECUTED BY PEOPLE
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13. ARMINFO. Members of the union of volunteers
“Yerkrapah” (UVY) estimates the terrorist act in the Armenian
parliament on Oct 27, 1999 as a crime against Armenia and irrespective
of a decision on dismissal of the criminal case concerning the
organizers of the terrorist act, the UVY members express confidence
that the forces backing the crime will be brought to the justice of
the people. It is said in the resolution of the 6th congress of UVY.
As it is also said in the resolution the UVY condemns the terrorism as
a means to solve political problems. The UVY, as a fruit of Karabakh
movement, will be consecutive in the reaching fair settlement of the
Karabakh problem on the basis of the right of the people for
self-determination. “UVY members think that the fair resolution of the
Karabakh problem is possible only in the case of conducting balanced,
flexible and reasonable foreign and internal political course”, said
in the resolution.

ARMENIANS HOLD ACTION OF PROTEST NEAR TURKEY’S EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13. ARMINFO. A group of Armenians held an action of
protest near the embassy of Turkey in Washington recently, where a
reception was held on the occasion of the American-Turkish assembly.
Turkish newspaper Hurriyet informs, the participants of the action
were scanning “the 1915 must not be repeated”, “We are ashamed for
Turkey”, “Turkey must not be permitted into the European
Union”. several turks, taking art in the reception at the embassy,
came to the demonstrators and made return statements. After the
interference of law-enforcement bodies “the duel of slogans” was
stopped.

FORUM “INTEGRATION BUT NOT MERGER” HELD IN SMATSKHE JAVAKHETI
AKHALKALAKI, DECEMBER 13. ARMINFO. The Council of Armenian NGOs of
Samtskhe Javakehti held Saturday a forum entitled “Integration but Not
Merger” concerning the social-economic problems of this mostly
Armenian region of Georgia.
The forum participants said that the region’s population is not
against integrating into Georgia but cannot accept Tbilisi’s version
of integration which in fact implies merger.
Attending the forum were OSCE ethnic minorities representative to
Georgia Beatrice Schulterier, manager of the Akhalkalaki program of
European Ethnic Minorities Center Michael Gertoft, Armenia members of
the Georgian parliament, foreign ambassadors, officials.

ArmenPress
Dec 13 2004
COUNCIL OF EUROPE COMMISSION CALLS FOR BALANCED RELATIONS AMONG POWER
BRANCHES IN AMENDED ARMENIAN CONSTITUTION
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS: The Council of Europe Venice
Commission has welcomed two options of major constitutional changes
drafted by the ruling coalition and the United Labor Party
parliamentary factions, which together with a third package of
amendments, designed by a parliament member Arshak Sadoyan, were sent
to it for examination and assessment.
An interim resolution adopted by the Venice Commission during
December 3-4 session described the two packages as a step forward
that could promote Armenia’s more effective fulfillment of a range of
commitments which it assumed when joining Europe’s biggest human
rights organizations.
However, the resolution said more drastic changes should be
carried out to ensure more balanced relations among power branches.
The resolution said also that the package of constitutional changes,
presented by Arshak Sadoyan, failed to address a string of key
issues, such as protection of human rights and basic freedoms.
The resolution of the Venice Commission emphasizes a wide
involvement of all strata of the public in the process of the
Constitutional improvements.
Speaking to reporters today Arshak Sadoyan said that all political
forces concerned with the nation’s future should combine their
efforts to build such a system of power that would be welcomed by the
authorities and the public at large. He said this could be achieved
by consensus cooperation.

ArmenPress
Dec 13 2004
ARAKEL MOVSISIAN WINS PARLIAMENT SEAT IN BY-ELECTION
ARMAVIR, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS: Armenia’s Central Election
Commission (CEC) said today that Arakel Movsisian, the sole candidate
for a vacant parliamentary seat in by-election, received 27,032 votes
of all 27,474 people who went to the polls on Sunday.
The seat, contested under majoritarian election system became
vacant after Arakel Movsisian’s brother, Mushegh, died in autumn
following a heavy road accident.

EU ministers clash on ‘second-class Turkey’ fears
By Daniel Dombey in Brussels
FT
December 13 2004
European Union foreign ministers clashed over Turkey on Monday, with a
number of countries mounting a rearguard action against proposals they
fear could relegate Turkey to second-class status within the EU.
The meeting was to prepare for an EU summit on Thursday and Friday,
which is expected to take the decision to begin membership talks with
Ankara. The negotiations could last a decade.
But the UK, Italy and Belgium are worried about draft summit proposals
that suggest the EU consider preventing normal rules from coming into
force for any new member.
The proposals are part of the draft conclusions for the summit, which
say “long transition periods, derogations, specific arrangements or
permanent safeguard clauses may be considered” in such instances.
A senior European Commission official warned: “If the word
‘derogation’ appears, that really opens the door to a privileged
partnership rather thanfull membership.”
At Monday’s meeting, José Manuel Barroso, Commission president,
complained that the draft went much further than the Commission’s
official recommendation on Turkey, which suggested the EU could
consider safeguards on the movementof labour, to be implemented in
cases of economic instability.
Ankara, which has tried to deepen ties with the EU for four decades,
is hostile to any suggestion that negotiations could end with an
agreement short of full membership. But France, Austria and Denmark,
which support the proposals on safeguards, believe the EU has to leave
open the possibility of a fall-back agreement should the negotiations
stall.
Michel Barnier, French foreign minister, said the EU had to give
reassurances that Turkey’s membership was not preordained – though it
should begin negotiations with the aim of membership.
Mr Barnier also said France would seek Turkish recognition of killings
of Armenians between 1915 and 1923 as genocide, once accession talks
begin.
Although he made clear that such recognition was not a condition for
the start of talks, his remark drew an angry response from Turkish
officials, who have always denied genocide.
Croatia accession
Croatia could start talks to join the EU in the spring of 2005
provided it co-operates fully with war crimes investigators, EU
foreign ministers agreed on Monday, George Parker reports from
Brussels. The date for the start of talks will be finalised by EU
leaders at this week’s summit, but European diplomats said they could
begin as early as March.
Britain and some Nordic countries are reluctant to give Croatia a date
to start talks because they believe Zagreb has failed to honour
commitments tohand over all suspected war criminals.
Meanwhile Austria and Germany, historically close to Croatia, want the
Balkan state to join the union at the earliest opportunity.
Assuming Croatia proves it is working with the international war
crimes tribunal in The Hague, it could join the EU in either 2008 or
2009.
European leaders will have to agree on the question of who decides
whether Croatia is co-operating fully with the tribunal: the EU
itself, or the authorities in The Hague.
Ivo Sanader, Croatia’s prime minister, wrote to the EU’s 25 leaders
earlier this month urging them to give his country the green light to
start talks.
Responding to criticisms from chief war crimes prosecutor Carla del
Ponte, he said Croatia would co-operate with the tribunal “without
reserve, withholding or duplicity”.

ArmenPress
Dec 13 2004
GEORGIA WILL NOT IMPOSE ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST ARMENIA
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS: In an interview with France
Press agency Georgia’s foreign minister Salome Zurabichvili said her
government enjoys good relations with both Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Her remarks came amid Georgian and Azeri officials’ attempts to find
a way out of a problem caused by Azerbaijan’s suspicions that Georgia
allows hundreds of railway carriages to pass to Armenia across its
territory.
Currently hundreds of carriages are stooped at Georgia-Azerbaijan
border crossing. Zurabichvili said her government will prevent
transportation of weapons across its territory, but added that
“Georgia will refuse any attempts to force it to impose economic
sanctions against Armenia.”
She also said that if Georgia took any of the sides it would
further exacerbate the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
Nagorno Karabagh, which would become “destructive not only for
Georgia and its two neighbors but also for the entire region.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARAKEL MOVSISYAN ELECTED DEPUTY OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT REPRESENTING
DISTRICT NO.27: PRELIMINARY DATA
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMINFO. According to preliminary data, in the
course of Dec 12 parliamentary elections, Arakel Movsisyan, is elected
a deputy of the Armenian Parliament representing the election district
No.27.
The CEC press-service informs ARMINFO that Arakel Movsisyan received
27,032 votes. On the whole, 27,474 electors participated in the
voting, According to the course, the number of inaccuracies was equal
to naught. No complaints were received by 12:00.
To note, Arakel Movsisyan was the only candidate to the parliament
representing the district No.27. He is the brother of the MP
representing the same district Mushegh Movsisyan who was killed in an
accident.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT AMENDS RA LAW ON SOCIAL SECURITY OF VETERANS OF
GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13. ARMINFO. The Armenian Parliament adopts first
reading of a bill on amendments to the RA Law on social security of
the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, Monday.
Minister for Labor and Social Affairs Aghvan Vardanyan says that
monthly supplementary pensions of GPW participants will total 3,000
AMD instead of the current 2,000 AMD, those of GPW invalids – 4,500
AMD instead of the current 3,500 AMD. The minister says that there are
some 13,500 people of this category in Armenia. The bill requires 160
mln AMD annually.

PRESS RELEASE
December 13, 2004
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:
National Academies Press Publishes an Assessment of S&T Sector in Armenia
The National Academies Press in Washington, DC has just published a report
assessing Armenia’s scientific potential, entitled “Science and Technology
in Armenia: Toward A Knowledge-Based Economy.” The report was prepared by
the ad-hoc Committee on Science and Technology in Armenia, functioning under
the auspices of National Academies’ National Research Council, following the
Committee’s fact-finding mission to Armenia in February 2004. The Committee
members have visited and met with representatives of Armenian government
agencies, National Academy of Sciences and scientific research institutions,
major Armenian universities, private Science and Technology (S&T) companies,
and NGO’s.
The fact-finding mission and the assessment of Armenia’s S&T potential was
commissioned by the U.S. State Department and financed by U.S. Agency for
International Development to gauge the existing capacity of research
institutions and higher education capabilities and trends, and to identify
sectors to be support by public expenditure and investors, as well as by
development assistance from foreign donors, including U.S. Government. The
report will be presented to U.S.-Armenia Task Force on Economic Issues.
The main findings of the report by the National Research Council’s Committee
on S&T in Armenia note the long tradition of excellence in science,
technology and education and the positive legacy of a developed network of
research and higher education institutions. At the same time, the economic
transition and subsequent reduction of government funding have considerably
eroded the existing of S&T capabilities, although many Armenian institutions
persevered and achieved significant results, such as maintaining the
Byurakan Observatory’s international status as center for optical astronomy;
development of a vibrant information technology sector; and some
modernization of the agricultural sector leading to increased exports. The
report makes a number of specific and valuable recommendations to address
the problems and to build upon the many success stories in Armenia’s S&T
sector, including creation of centers of excellence, continued modernization
of institutions of higher learning, and strengthening the intellectual
property rights system.
As Armenia’s Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Arman Kirakossian noted, “this
report should be of particular interest to the Armenian-American community,
especially private investors seeking to make profit in promising science and
technology sectors and researchers looking for international collaboration
in Armenia.” Dr. Kirakossian perspectives on future of science in Armenia,
made during remarks at a meeting with NRC Committee members, are included in
an appendix of the report.
“Science and Technology in Armenia: Toward A Knowledge-Based Economy,” can
be obtained from the National Academies Press. Please visit
for information on the book.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress