Armenian leader receives CIS security chiefs
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
30 Nov 04
Text of report by Armenian Public TV on 30 November
[Presenter] Armenian President Robert Kocharyan today received the
secretaries of the security councils of the [CIS] Collective Security
Treaty Organization who had a meeting in Yerevan.
[Presenter over video of the meeting] Noting that the issues discussed
were within the framework of general interests, including those of all
the modern countries, the Armenian president described close
cooperation in this sphere as important.

Armenian premier names new deputy energy minister
Noyan Tapan news agency
30 Nov 04
YEREVAN
By the decision of Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan, Grachya
Musayelyan has been appointed Armenia’s deputy energy minister, the
press service of the Armenian government has told Noyan Tapan news
agency.
[Passage omitted: Grachya Musayelyan’s biography]

Azeri leader meets new head of Organization of Islamic Conference in Qatar
Trend news agency
30 Nov 04
BAKU
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received the new secretary-general
of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Ekmeleddin
Ihsanoglu, in Doha, Qatar, today. The sides discussed the development
of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the OIC, the forthcoming summit
of the organization and the Nagornyy Karabakh settlement process.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said he would take office as the OIC
secretary-general in January 2005 and would try to facilitate the
development of relations with Azerbaijan.
Ilham Aliyev is paying an official visit to Qatar. After a
face-to-face meeting with the emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin-Khalifah Al
Thani, and negotiations in the expanded format, six bilateral
documents will be signed in the areas of economy, culture, tourism,
health, foreign ministry consultations and cooperation between the
Olympic committees.

Armenian president, Russian power grid’s top official discuss cooperation
Mediamax news agency
30 Nov 04
YEREVAN
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan met the chairman of the board of
directors of the Unified Energy Systems of Russia joint-stock company,
Aleksandr Voloshin, in Yerevan today.
The interlocutors examined Armenian-Russian cooperation in the energy
sphere and discussed the programmes implemented in Armenia by the
Unified Energy Systems of Russia, the Armenian presidential press
service told Mediamax news agency.

Armenian lawyer vows to prevent Azeri officer from serving time at home
Arminfo
30 Nov 04
YEREVAN
The Armenian side will make every effort to make sure that Azerbaijani
officer Ramil Safarov is not sent to Azerbaijan to serve his prison
term after the Budapest court passes a sentence on him, lawyer Nazeli
Vardanyan, who represents the interests of Armenian officer Gurgen
Markaryan killed in Budapest, told a press conference today.
She said that there is no confidence that Ramil Safarov will serve his
prison term in Azerbaijan. Commenting on Azerbaijani media reports
that the Hungarian ombudsman has spoken about the possibility of
sending Ramil Safarov home after a sentence is handed down on him,
Nazeli Vardanyan pointed out that she did not have such information,
and this might be another disinformation trick by the Azerbaijani
media.
Talking about the first session of the Budapest court on 23 November,
the lawyer pointed out that it was said during the session that Ramil
Safarov witnessed the Xocali conflict [1992] between Armenians and
Azerbaijanis in childhood and was full of a feeling of revenge. He
dreamt of becoming a soldier and taking revenge on the Armenians since
his childhood.
At the same time, Nazeli Vardanyan pointed out that the events in
Xocali took place in 1992 whereas Safarov went to study in Baku in
1991. Thus, he cannot have witnessed those events. Apart from that,
the lawyer added, a forensic examination showed that despite his
higher education, the intellectual development of Ramil Safarov, who
is absolutely healthy both psychologically and physically, has stopped
at the secondary school level.
Safarov is being charged under Part 2 of Article 166 of the Hungarian
Criminal Code which envisages 10-15 years’ imprisonment to life
imprisonment. Nazeli Vardanyan pointed out that Safarov’s defence is
trying to requalify the charge under Part 1 of the same article, which
envisages five to 15 years’ imprisonment.
She also pointed out that the Azerbaijani officer’s defence asked to
postpone the second session of the court till 8 February and invite
new witnesses, including a psychologist and the second Azerbaijani
officer who studied in Budapest together with Ramil Safarov.
Nazeli Vardanyan said that in parallel with the trial on the murder of
the Armenian officer, another trial is taking place in Hungary in
connection with Ramil Safarov insulting employees of a military
school.
A representative of the Armenian Defence Ministry, Gayk Demoyan,
pointed out that after the murder, Azerbaijani society ranked Ramil
Safarov as a national hero, creating mendacious propaganda about the
motives of the crime. According to their assurances, the Armenian
officers had allegedly cleaned their shoes with the Azerbaijani flag
and watched video films about “Armenian atrocities in Xocali”.
However, the witnesses testified that there had been no conflicts or
clashes between the Armenian and Azerbaijani officers. He said that
Ramil Safarov’s defence had repeatedly asked the court to demonstrate
the video film about “the brutality of the Armenians” and tried to
hand the judge a parcel that was not attached to the case and would
not influence the court ruling. “We knew in advance which steps the
Azerbaijanis might take and were ready for that,” he added. Gayk
Demoyan noted that the Hungarian media had a great interest in the
trial. Representatives of the press were given booklets and
publications, specially prepared by the Armenian side, which present
real facts and events that caused the incident.
We should remind you that on 19 February this year, Ramil Safarov
hacked Gurgen Markaryan to death while he was asleep. Both officers
were attending NATO-sponsored English language courses in Budapest.

Armenian MP chides president for congratulating Ukrainian premier
Mediamax news agency
30 Nov 04
YEREVAN
“Armenia is placing itself against the democratic world and European
entities,” a member of the [Armenian] National Assembly from the
opposition Justice bloc, Shavarsh Kocharyan, said in Yerevan today.
He was commenting on the message of Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan to congratulate [Ukrainian prime minister and presidential
candidate] Viktor Yanukovych on his election as Ukrainian
president. The parliamentarian also said that the Armenian president
joined a statement critical of the OSCE, which was signed by some CIS
presidents earlier this year.
Drawing parallels between the situation in Armenia after the
presidential elections in 2003 and the developments in Ukraine,
Shavarsh Kocharyan said that the Armenian opposition is more passive
because of the lack of “public order for democratization” and people’s
unreadiness for nationwide protests.
He also said that “Russia doesn’t want to have a strong ally in the
region as Armenia, preferring an easily managed puppet leader”.

Azeri MPs reject OSCE proposal to discuss Karabakh with Armenian counterparts
Bilik Dunyasi news agency
30 Nov 04
BAKU
The Azerbaijani delegation at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has
rejected the proposal of this organization to hold a meeting of
Azerbaijani and Armenian MPs in Brussels in January 2005 with the aim
discussing the problem of settling the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, the
head of the Azerbaijani delegation at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly,
Sattar Safarov, has said.
He said the proposal was put forward by the rapporteur of the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly for the Karabakh problem, Goran Lennmarker,
during his visit to Baku last week.
Lennmarker substantiated the refusal of the Azerbaijani side with a
lack of trust in the productivity of meetings between the
parliamentarians of the conflicting sides.

Premier hopes for “changes in region” as Iran-Armenia gas pipeline launched
Mediamax news agency
30 Nov 04
YEREVAN
Armenian Minister of Energy Armen Movsisyan has described as “historic
event” the beginning of the construction of the Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline, Mediamax’s special correspondent reports from Syunik Region.
Speaking at the ceremony of the beginning of the gas pipeline
construction, Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan said that
this project was possible due to “big political and economic
efforts”. The Armenian prime minister said that the construction of
the gas pipeline will give the opportunity to create new working
places in Syunik Region “which is Armenia’s and Nagornyy Karabakh’s
rear”.
Andranik Markaryan also said that “the gas pipeline will not only have
economic importance for Armenia and Iran but will also become a base
for certain changes in the region”.
The Iranian ambassador to Armenia, Ali Reza Haqiqian, said that the
construction of the gas pipeline will allow improving the economic
situation in Armenia and will contribute to the stabilization of the
situation in the whole region, Mediamax’s special correspondent
reports from Syunik Region.

Press Release
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research
395 Concord Avenue
Belmont, MA 02478
Phone: 617-489-1610
E-mail: [email protected]
Contact: Marc A. Mamigonian
ILLUSTRATED LECTURE ON HISTORIC MAPS OF ARMENIA AT NAASR
Armenia appears on various maps dating back to the first known
cartographic document, a clay tablet depicting the world as it was
known to the Babylonians. The ups and downs of Armenian history can be
charted on countless maps created over the last 2,500 years. Rouben
Galichian of London, England, has brought together in one volume,
Historic Maps of Armenia: The Cartographic Heritage, some 100 maps,
many extremely rare.
In an illustrated lecture and book signing on Thursday, December 2, at
8:00 p.m., at the Center and Headquarters of the National Association
for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), 395 Concord Ave., Belmont,
Mass, Galichian will give the book its North American launch and share
insights into the book’s creation and what it reveals about Armenian
history.
Decades of Collecting Rare Maps
Some thirty years ago, Rouben Galichian started collecting maps and
studying literature on general cartography, and especially about the
cartography of the region of Armenia. Several years ago he decided to
collate his own studies and the available multitude of maps of Armenia
in worldwide sources and create Historic Maps of Armenia. The maps are
not only often visually striking works of art in their own right but
also of vital historical interest.
Turkish and Azeri academicians have claimed that the Armenians are
only relative newcomers to the area known as Historic Armenia. Turkish
historians deliver lectures about the ancient culture of Turkey, with
no mention of Armenia or Armenians, whose lands they occupied after
the tenth and eleventh centuries. Some Azeri “historians” also claim
that the Armenians of the Caucasus area inhabit the land that has
always been that of the “Caucasian Albanians,” from whom the Azeris
claim descent. Using various geographic and cartographic resources,
Galichian will present and discuss maps that demonstrate the contrary.
Historic Maps of Armenia: The Cartographic Heritage will be on sale in
the NAASR bookstore and available for signing by the author.
Admission to the event is free (donations appreciated). The NAASR
bookstore will open at 7:30 p.m. The NAASR Center and Headquarters is
located opposite the First Armenian Church and next to the U.S. Post
Office. Ample parking is available around the building and in adjacent
areas.

No-one injured in Armenian hospital explosion
Arminfo
30 Nov 04
YEREVAN
No-one was injured as a result of the explosion and fire outside the
St Grigor Lusavorich [St Gregory the Illuminator] Medical Association
(former emergency hospital) in Yerevan.
The emergencies department of the Armenian government told our Arminfo
correspondent that the explosion was caused by a tank of oxygen at the
back entrance to the hospital which was designed for filling oxygen
bottles. The explosion occurred as the bottles were being filled. The
windows and several doors of the hospital were blown out in the
explosion.
[Passage omitted: Other details]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress