ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
November 30, 2004 Tuesday
78 nationalities represented at congress in Moscow
By Olga Kostromina, Yelena Dorofeyeva
MOSCOW
The second congress of the Union of Diasporas in Russia opened in
Moscow on Tuesday. The delegates suggested forming a public chamber
of nationalities.
“We are concerned that ethnic minorities are not represented in
federal agencies,” Union President Vartan Mushegyan told Itar-Tass.
“The public body, which may be established under the Federation
Council, will protect the rights and interests of small peoples and
ethnic groups,” he said.
Seventy-eight nationalities sent their delegates to the congress,
including the Georgian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Tajik, Korean,
Kurdish, Assyrian, Chinese and Talysh communities, Mushegyan said. He
said heads of leagues of small peoples and ethnic groups of north and
south Russia had also come to attend the congress.
Deputy Secretary General of the League of Northern Peoples Yuri
Timokhin told Itar-Tass the League is made up of representatives of
30 peoples, whose total strength is 200,000. The largest ethnic group
is Nenets (34,000), while only several dozens of ethnic Yukagir are
left.
The demographic crisis, the nationalities policy and problems of
migrants will be discussed at the forum. The League of Northern
Peoples wants to discuss “the release of textbooks in the languages
of small peoples and preservation of folk medicine, which is the way
of their survival,” Timokhin said. “We are also concerned about
difficulties in the translation of literature of small peoples into
the Russian language. For instance, Ohio University has recently
translated several works of the kind into English, but Russia does
not show any interest in literature of northern peoples.”
A new media project will be announced at the forum. The TV Rainbow
program will be launched on television in 2005 to give information
about small peoples.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
November 30, 2004 Tuesday
Construction of Iran-Armenia gas pipeline begins
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
The construction of a gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia began in the
highland village of Agarak on Tuesday. Armenian Prime Minister
Andranik Margaryan attended the ceremony.
The 40-kilometer-long gas pipeline sector in Armenia is being built
with a $30 million loan of Iran, a source in the Armenian government
press service told Itar-Tass. The loan agreement was signed during an
official visit of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami to Yerevan in
September 2004.
The construction of the gas pipeline began simultaneously in Armenia
and Iran. One hundred kilometers of the pipeline will be laid in Iran
from Tabriz to the border of Armenia’s Megri district. Gas systems of
Armenia and Iran will unite when the gas pipeline is ready in January
2007.
The initial capacity of the gas pipeline will make 1.1 billion cubic
meters a year, and it will increase to 2.3 billion cubic meters by
2019, the source said. That would require laying 197 kilometers of a
gas pipeline from southeast Armenia to central Armenia between
Kadzharan, Sisian, Dzhermuk and Ararat. Negotiations with possible
investors are underway.
The gas pipeline from Iran will strengthen the energy security of
Armenia, the source said.
An Agarak-Shinuair power line was commissioned in southeast Armenia
on Tuesday. The Armenian Energy Ministry says the power line will
double the delivery of Armenian electricity to Iran to 400 megawatt.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
November 30, 2004 Tuesday
Karabakh conflict must be settled through dialogue, intl mediation
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Igor Ivanov said a settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict should be found through dialogue
between the parties, with active international mediation.
Ivanov made the statement at the 10th meeting of national security
chiefs of the member-states of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO).
“There are mechanisms which are expected to contribute to the search
for a political settlement of conflicts, including the one in Nagorno
Karabakh,” he said, adding that Russia will continue to provide
assistance within the framework of existing mechanisms.
In his view, the present-day task is to use mediating functions to a
greater extent, which are performed by the OSCE trio (Russia, France
and the United States), and promote further dialogue between the
parties.
Ivanov noted the positive fact that the Armenian-Azerbaijani dialogue
“does take place, including at the top level.” There is no need to
introduce the elements that can complicate the development of this
dialogue, he underlined.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
November 30, 2004 Tuesday
CSTO Security Council secretaries discuss situation in C Asia
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
The Tenth meeting of the Committee of Security Council secretaries of
the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) member states was
held in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Tuesday.
“The meeting is called in the conditions of difficult political
situation in the CSTO responsibility zone,” Armenian Defence Minister
Serzh Sarkisyan said.
“The tendency towards the aggravation of global and regional threats,
first of all manifestations of international terrorism has been more
and more clearly observed of late,” the Armenian defence chief said.
“The internal political instability in Afghanistan, especially the
unceasing growth of drug trafficking, negatively affects the
situation in the Central Asian region,” Sarkisyan said.
According to him, “the analysis of the developments in the CSTO
responsibility zone confirms the correctness of the task set at a
session of the CSTO members in Astana, that is to maximally use the
potential of the organisation members in the foreign policy, security
and defence spheres in the interests of strengthening international
and regional stability.”
The CSTO will not only work to raise the effectiveness of its
structures, but will also widen cooperation with other international
organisations, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Igor Ivanov
said at the meeting.
According to Ivanov, these organisations will include first of all
the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), NATO and
the European Union.
The Russian Security Council chief also said the meeting participants
discussed the plan of action on priority fields of activity of the
CSTO – fighting against international terrorism, drug trafficking,
illegal migration and various types of extremism.
“These are the problems the CSTO member states and the entire
international community are concerned about,” Ivanov said.
Summarising the meeting results, its participants stressed the
organisation has made a transition from political declarations to
concrete work in quite a number of spheres.
For example, in the sphere of military cooperation, military
personnel training and combating drug addiction.
“The CSTO is confidently taking to its feet. It is a serious
organisation, which has won international recognition. We are
positive that its further development meets our common interests,”
Ivanov emphasised.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
November 30, 2004 Tuesday
CSTO to expand cooperation with other intl organisations
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
The Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) will not only work
to raise the effectiveness of its structures, but will also widen
cooperation with other international organisations, Secretary of the
Russian Security Council Igor Ivanov said on Tuesday.
He spoke at a meeting of the committee of Security Council
secretaries of CSTO member states held in the Armenian capital.
According to Ivanov, these organisations will include first of all
the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), NATO and
the European Union.
The Russian Security Council chief also said the meeting participants
discussed the plan of action on priority fields of activity of the
CSTO – fighting against international terrorism, drug trafficking,
illegal migration and various types of extremism.
“These are the problems the CSTO member states and the entire
international community are concerned about,” Ivanov said.
Summarising the meeting results, its participants stressed the
organisation has made a transition from political declarations to
concrete work in quite a number of spheres.
For example, in the sphere of military cooperation, military
personnel training and combating drug addiction.
“The CSTO is confidently taking to its feet. It is a serious
organisation, which has won international recognition. We are
positive that its further development meets our common interests,”
Ivanov emphasised.

DMEurope
November 29, 2004
Armenian government, OTE settle ArmenTel battle
DMEUROPE-29 November 2004-Armenian government, OTE settle ArmenTel
battle ©2004 DMeurope.com () & DME Ltd. All
rights reserved.
Greek telco OTE and the Armenian government have settled their
year-long legal quarrel.
In the autumn of 2003, the Armenian government accused OTE of not
living up to its commitments that were part of the sale of mobile
operator ArmenTel to the telco, saying the company had not
sufficiently invested in the operator. The government then threatened
to revoke OTE’s mobile monopoly in Armenia. OTE responded with
international arbitration proceedings.
The settlement, reached this week, issues ArmenTel a new GSM licence
with fewer roll-out requirements, but the government will also issue
a second mobile operation licence in the country, to be offered to a
rival.
(Distributed for DMeurope.com via M2 Communications Ltd ()

Bahrain Tribune, Bahrain
November 30, 2004 Tuesday
Archbishop due on December 10
The region’s head of the Armenian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Goryoun
Babyan, will be in Bahrain next month on his maiden visit to meet and
hold services for the Armenian community here.
Archbishop Babyan, who is the church’s head for the Gulf States and
parts of Iran, is expected to be in Bahrain from December 9 to 11.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agence France Presse — English
November 30, 2004 Tuesday 7:33 AM GMT
Armenia and Iran to start building gas pipeline, share electrical power
YEREVAN
Armenia and neighbouring Iran are due Tuesday to launch construction
of a gas pipeline between their two countries, and also start using a
high-voltage energy line that would double exchanges of electrical
power, Armenia’s energy ministry said.
The construction of the pipeline’s Armenian part would be funded by a
30-million-dollar (25-million-euro) loan from Iran to Armenia, the
ministry’s spokeswoman Lusine Arutyunyan told AFP, adding that the
82-kilometer energy line was also financed by Iran.
Armenia intended to repay the 8.4-million-dollar loan for the power
line in supplies of electricity to Iran, she said.
The construction contract for the gas pipeline has been awarded to
Iranian company Sanir.
Iran and Armenia signed a contract in May under which Iran will
supply Armenia, a landlocked former Soviet republic which borders
Iran to the north, with a total of 36 billion cubic metres of gas
over a 20-year period, expected to start in early 2007.

ARKA News Agency
Nov 30 2004
RA President received secretaries of Security Council of OACS
Country-Members
Today Armenian President receives Chairman of Board of Directors of
RAO UES of Russia Alexander Voloshin
Parliamentary Delegation of Armenia left for Moscow for participation
in the 8th sitting of inter-parliamentary committee for cooperation
RA Foreign Minister receives the former head of the monitoring group
of the CE Committee of Ministers
*********************************************************************
RA PRESIDENT RECEIVED SECRETARIES OF SECURITY COUNCIL OF OACS
COUNTRY-MEMBERS
YEREVAN, November 30. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian received
secretaries of Security Council of OACS Country-Members, President’s
press office told ARKA. OACS Director General Nikolay Borduja
estimated Yerevan meeting as productive.
Press release said that the heads of departments on fight against
drugs also took part in the sitting. The parties discussed the
results of anti-drug operation Canal-2004. Kocharian paid attention
to close cooperation in given direction. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
TODAY ARMENIAN PRESIDENT RECEIVES CHAIRMAN OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
RAO UES OF RUSSIA ALEXANDER VOLOSHIN
YEREVAN, November 30. /ARKA/. Today Armenian President Robert
Kocharian received Chairman of Board of Directors of RAO UES of
Russia Alexander Voloshin, as Armenian President Press Service told
ARKA. According to the press release, the sides discussed the issues
of Armenian-Russian cooperation in energy sector, particularly those
performed by RAO UES of Russia programs in Armenia.
To mention recently Midland resources officially declined the rumors
on sale of its shares in Electric networks of Armenia to Holding RAO
UES of Russia. The rumors were spread in relation to Deputy Chairman
of RAO UES of Russia Sergey Rappoport.
In Armenia RAO UES Russia owns Sevan-Hrazdan HPP Cascade, Hrazdan TPP
and manages financial flows of ANPP. In May 2003 the holding created
CJSC International Energy Corporation for management of Sevan-Hrazdan
HPP Cascade. Financial flows of ANPP are in trustee management of
CJSC Inter RAO UES – an affiliate of RAO UES Russia for 5 years.
Property complex of Hrazdan Thermal Power Station was transferred to
balance of newly created CJSC Hrazdan Energy Company. It Board of
Directors include representatives of Rusian Federal Agency for
management of state property, Russia Finance and Economy Minsitries,
Rosenergo, RAO UES of Russia, Rosenergoatom, Armenian-Russian CJSC
ArmRosgasprom as well as Armenian energy Minsitry. The financial
streams of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant was transferred with 5
years period to trust management of CJSC Inter RAO UES – affiliate of
RAO UES of Rusia (60%) of shares and concern Rosenerhoatom (40%).
T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
RA FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES THE FORMER HEAD OF THE MONITORING GROUP
OF THE CE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS
YEREVAN, November 30. /ARKA/. The RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian
received Ambassador Pietro Ago, the head of the monitoring group of
CE Committee of Ministers. According to the Information and Press
Service Department of RA Foreign Ministry, during the meeting Pietro
Ago told Oskanian that the Italian Defense Ministry plans to hold a
seminar on regional strategic development and asked the RA Foreign
Minister to state Armenia’s position regarding the issues of Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement.
According to the press release, Oskanian acquainted the guest with
Armenia’s approaches to regional problems, especially focusing on
processes around Nagorno Karabakh. He also touched upon the process
of Armenia’ honoring the commitments to the Council of Europe.
Ago Group was founded in January of 2001 simultaneously with
Armenia’s joining the CE. It is involved in monitoring of honoring
Armenia’s commitments to the CE and functions in the framework of CE
Committee of Ministers. L.V.–0 –
*********************************************************************
PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION OF ARMENIA LEFT FOR MOSCOW FOR PARTICIPATION
IN THE 8TH SITTING OF INTER-PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE FOR COOPERATION
YEREVAN, November 30. /ARKA/. The Armenian Delegation headed by Vice
Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Vahan Hobhannisyan left today for
Moscow for participation in the 8th sitting of inter-parliamentary
committee for cooperation of the Federal Assembly of Russia and
Armenian National Assembly. As Armenian Assembly Public and Press
Relations Department told ARKA, the participants of the sitting that
will last until Dec 3 will discuss political and military cooperation
between Armenia and Russia, cooperation of parliamentarians of two
countries in parliamentary organizations and other issues. Chairman
of the Council of Federation Sergey Mironov and Co-Chairs of
Inter-Parliamentary Committee – the Member of the Council of
Federation Nikolay Ryzhkov, Deputy Chairman of eth National Assembly
of Armenia Vahan Hovhannisyan. T.M. -0–

The Daily Star, Lebanon
Dec 1 2004
Armenia’s Gasparian enchants crowd
Famed duduk musician played big hits and folk tunes
By Betty Panossian
Special to The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Jivan Gasparian, the 70 year-old Armenian musician world
famous for his playing and composition on the duduk, or Armenian
traditional flute, hit Lebanon last weekend for two concerts of
sublime music after an almost three decade absence.
Organized by the Armenian cultural and Benevolent Association,
Gasparian performed to a primarily Lebanese-Armenian audience at the
Emile Lahoud Exhibition Hall located in Dbayeh.
Tantalized by their hero’s orchestra playing traditional folk songs
and a number of folk dance shows performed by a team from Armenian
choreographer Sophie Devoyan’s “Theater of Dance and Soul” troupe
during the the first half of the concert, the audience erupted into
cheers when Gasparian himself appeared after the interval.
Gasparian played a rich and varied program of popular Armenian songs
and melodies, and included an excerpt from his work on the soundtrack
recording to the Oscar-winning Ridley Scott film “Gladiator.” He
ended the show with a personal composition “Sokhag” (“Nightingale”),
in which his duduk narrates a tale of love and nature.
Gasparian is famous globally for his mastery of the duduk and is a
regular contributor and performer on the popular world music scene.
Armenians generally believe that no other musical instrument is able
to convey the emotions of the Armenian people so honestly and
eloquently as the duduk. Because of its evocative and colorful timbre
and warm sound, the duduk has become part of everyday life in
Armenia. Today, no festive occasion, wedding or family feast is
complete without a dudukist. The duduk is a cylindrical wooden flute
with a 1,500-year history behind it. A form of oboe, hand-made almost
always of apricot wood, the duduk is strictly Armenian.
Gasparian himself prefers to call the duduk by its Armenian name,
“dziranapogh” (apricot pipe), explaining that the word “duduk” has
been used in reference to the instrument for no more than a century,
when it was borrowed from the Russian word “dudka” – another kind of
folk pipe instrument.

Gasparian, who coaxes the sounds and spirits of nature and the human
soul out of his instrument, discovered it when he was an 8 year-old
orphan watching Armenian silent films with live musical
accompaniment.
“The musicians sat between the screen and the audience. They played
cheerful folkdance music when the scenes were cheerful, and solemn
ones, when the scenes were sad,” Gasparian recounted.
Gasparian’s collaborative projects have included recordings and
performances with the Yerevan Symphonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles
Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kronos Quartet, as well internationally
famous musicians and composers such as Peter Gabriel, Michael Brook,
Lionel Richie and Andreas Vollenweider. Of the many awards he has won
for his music the most recent was in 2002 when he was presented the
World Best Musician Award at the World Music Expo in Berlin, from a
total of 1900 artists from 80 countries.
“The duduk has a marvelous temper. Whoever listens to its sound,
falls under its spell,” Gasparian said. He stressed the crucial
importance of playing the instrument with great skillfulness, adding,
“If you use it in the right way, it turns out to be an extremely
valuable instrument.”
Most recently the duduk received wide attention in Mel Gibson’s film
“The Passion of Christ,” when a former student of Gasparian, Levon
Minassian, plays the instrument prominently in the musical score.
For Gasparian it is a part of his legacy. “I have paved duduk’s
international path and have equaled it to violin. If the young
musicians wish to become artists, to continue my story, I will be
more than content,” he said.