PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
June 8, 2004
___________________
TRIBUTE TO DR. THOMAS MATHEWS TO TAKE PLACE AT DIOCESAN CENTER ON JUNE 10
A tribute to Prof. Thomas Mathews, a specialist in Armenian and
Byzantine art, will take place on Thursday evening, June 10, 2004,
at the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) in New
York City.
Cosponsored by the Diocese’s Krikor and Clara Zohrab Resource Center
and the St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, the evening will feature two
keynote speakers — Dr. Helen Evans, curator of medieval art at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Dr. Sylvie Merian, reference librarian
at the Pierpont Morgan Library — who are former students and current
colleagues of Prof. Mathews.
The retiring Prof. Mathews, the John Langeloth Loeb Professor of the
History of Art at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, has
done extensive study on Armenian and Byzantine art and architecture.
The evening is an opportunity to recognize the great contribution he
has made to the field of Armenian studies.
Dr. Mathews is the editor and co-author (with Avedis K. Sanjian) of
“Armenian Gospel Iconography: The Tradition of the Glajor Gospel,” the
first monographic study of a single Armenian manuscript. This work
was a collaborative study on an illustrated Armenian gospel book of
the 14th century which is owned by UCLA. Prof. Mathews also co-wrote
a second volume on this gospel, to accompany the exhibition of the
Gladzor (Glajor) Gospel at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
In the 1980s, Prof. Mathews conceived of an exhibit showcasing Armenian
illumination, book-making, and binding using collections in the United
States. The Pierpont Morgan Library in New York enthusiastically
adopted the idea, and more than 60,000 visitors saw it in 1994 at
both the Morgan Library and the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore.
In conjunction with the exhibit, Prof. Mathews co-edited “Treasures in
Heaven: Armenian Illuminated Manuscripts,” an introduction to the art
and history of Armenian manuscript painting, and helped to organize
a symposium which resulted in a second volume of papers titled,
“Treasures in Heaven: Armenian Art, Religion, and Society”.
Some of his articles on Armenian themes are assembled in “Art and
Architecture in Byzantium and Armenia: Liturgical and Exegetical
Approaches” (1995), while others appear in “East of Byzantium: Syria
and Armenia in the Formative Period” (1982), which he co-edited.
He is the author of the provocative work, “The Clash of Gods:
A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art” (1993; revised 1999),
“Byzantium: From Antiquity to the Renaissance” (1998), “The Byzantine
Churches of Istanbul: A Photographic Survey” (1976), “The Early
Churches of Constantinople: Architecture and Liturgy” (1971), and
“Art and Religion: Faith, Form and Reform” (1986).
He is a member of the Association Internationale des Etudes
Armeniennes, as well as the Medieval Academy of America. Among his
many honors are the J. Clawson Mills Fellowship of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art (1996), a National Endowment for the Humanities grant,
(1994), and a Hagop Kevorkian Fund research grant (1991). Dr. Mathews
received his doctorate degree in art history from NYU in 1970.
COLLEAGUES TO PAY TRIBUTE
A scholar of early Christian, Byzantine, and Armenian art, Dr. Helen
Evans has been involved with the Metropolitan Museum since 1986.
She was co-curator of the major exhibition “The Glory of Byzantium”
in 1997, and curator of the current exhibit, “Byzantium: Faith and
Power (1261-1557)”. Her dissertation at NYU was on “Manuscript
Illumination at the Armenian Patriarchate at Hromkla and the West.”
She served as co-curator of the “Treasures in Heaven: Armenian
Illuminated Manuscripts” exhibition.
Dr. Sylvie Merian has extensively researched, published and lectured
on Armenian codicology, binding, and illumination, as well as on the
history of the book. She contributed extensively to the exhibition
“Treasures in Heaven,” and was a co-author of the accompanying
catalogue.
The program and reception on June 10 will take place at 7:30 p.m. in
the formal reception room (Tahlij) of the Eastern Diocese (630
Second Ave., at 34th St., in New York City). The event is free and
open to the public, but reservations are necessary. Please e-mail
[email protected] or call (212) 686-0710, ext. 26.
— 6/8/04
# # #

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
June 8, 2004
___________________
CHURCH GROUP MEETS WITH U.N. CHIEF TO URGE SIGNIFICANT U.N. ROLE IN IRAQ
Church leaders who met with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
on Monday, May 24, 2004, said they are convinced that international
involvement in Iraq is the only way to secure a lasting peace and
provide security. The group of 11 leaders from the National Council of
Churches (NCC) urged the United Nations to take that role.
The NCC delegation included Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and
ecumenical officer of the Eastern Diocese, who serves as secretary of
the NCC executive committee. The group met with the U.N. Secretary
General for 40 minutes, discussing how they could contribute to building
lasting peace in Iraq and other countries.
“The United Nations represents all the nations in the world, so the U.N.
should represent the international community,” Bishop Aykazian said.
“The U.N. can play an important role in the peaceful solution to every
problem in the world, including the problem in Nagorno-Karabagh. There
is no other power in the world that can solve the problem except the
U.N.”
The discussion at U.N. headquarters focused on the importance of
building a culture of tolerance, and to teach peace, dignity, and
respect for human rights. The delegation also shared their view that
weapons of mass destruction and terrorism concerns should not limit
efforts to combat other serious problems, such as poverty, disease, and
environmental degradation.
The church leaders pledged to provide educational resources about the
United Nations to their members and to talk with their own governments
about the importance of multilateral collaboration in Iraq.
“Secretary-General Annan was very much interested in the opinion of
religious leaders,” Bishop Aykazian said. “He thinks the churches
should play this role and even a more important role in world affairs.”
The NCC has 36 member churches, representing a reported 45 million
faithful. The delegation included religious leaders from the United
States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
Though many of the delegation originally opposed the war to liberate
Iraq, Dr. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the NCC said that now “people
who were for the war and people who were against the war need to come
together to find an alternative way out of the current situation.”
— 6/8/04
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable on the Eastern
Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan meets with 11
leaders from the National Council of Churches (NCC) on Monday, May 24,
2004.
PHOTO CAPTION (2): Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical
officer of the Eastern Diocese, joins a delegation welcomed to the
United Nations headquarters by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan for a
discussion on the U.N. role in Iraq on Monday, May 24, 2004.
# # #

Spirited return for Armenian brandy
by Kieran Cooke, in Yerevan, Armenia
BBC News
June 8 2004
There is a right time and a wrong time to make foreign investments –
and Pierre Larretche, the French managing director of Armenia’s Yerevan
Brandy Company, thought he had made the biggest mistake of his career.
“A great drink”, says Mr Larretche
In the mid-90s Armenia, which had gained independence from the
old Soviet Union in 1991, embarked on a privatization programme of
state-run enterprises.
Mr Larretche, an executive with Pernod Ricard, the French drinks
conglomerate, was sent here from Paris to assess the potential of the
Yerevan Brandy Company, Armenia’s most prestigious business enterprise.
“On my recommendation Pernod Ricard paid $30m for the company” says
Mr Larretche.
“Immediately afterwards the rouble crisis happened and sales to Russia,
our main market, dropped by 75%. We suddenly had thousands of barrels
of unsold brandy on our hands.”
Revival
Fortunately for the Yerevan Brandy Company, Pernod Ricard and Mr
Larretche, the situation has changed dramatically.
Brandy production has risen from a low of 1.7 million litres in 1998
to 4 million litres last year. The Russian market, which accounts
for about 85% of exports, has revived.
In Armenia, a country of less than three million with few natural
resources and in which per capita annual incomes are less than $600
a year, foreign investors are scarce.
Pernod Ricard’s move into the country is a rare business success
story – but it has been a tough few years.
I wish I could earn more, but at least these days I have enough to
buy food – Hakob Karapetyan, Armenian grape grower
“At the beginning, there was a lot of local resentment about foreigners
gaining control of a company regarded with great pride by Armenians”
says Mr Larretche.
“We had to quickly demonstrate we were here to stay and not here to
simply asset strip the business.”
Court battle
The Yerevan Brandy Company, founded in 1887, had been starved of
investment in the later years of the Soviet period. Its main brand
name – “Ararat” – was being used by other brandy producers, mostly
in Russia.
Pernod Ricard, as the company’s new owners, had to undertake a series
of complex court cases to regain its brand exclusivity.
It also had to assure Armenia’s grape producers – poor farmers
dependent for survival on sales from their vines – that the company
would continue buying their produce.
“Despite the downturn in the market we kept on buying grapes” says
Mr Larretche.
“At one stage, due to ongoing production and lack of sales, we built
up more than 40 years inventory.”
‘A natural gift for business’
As what was once the Soviet market recovered – the Yerevan Brandy
Company sells mostly to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus – capital
investments were made to streamline the business. In 1998 the business
had only one computer – now there are 200.
The firm faced a battle to regain exclusivity over the Ararat brand
“Armenians are loyal workers and extremely capable managers” says
Mr Larretche. “They have a natural gift for business – out of 500
employees here only five are from France.”
Both to ensure the quality of brandy production and to protect local
grape farmers, the government brought in regulations five years ago
stipulating that only Armenian grapes can be used in the production
of Armenian brandy.
“This guarantees our brandy is uniquely Armenian” says Mr Larretche.
“But it has created a problem – now we are faced with a shortage of
grapes and local prices are rising.”
Financial security
Hakob Karapetyan tends grapes on his smallholding in the Ararat Valley,
Armenia’s main vine growing region.
In the early 90s – a time when Armenia was suffering acute economic
problems – Mr Karapetyan was forced to uproot his beloved vines and
plant vegetables so he and his family could survive.
As with many Armenian families, Mr Karapetyan’s two children had to
leave the country in search of jobs.
Life continues to be a struggle but at least Mr Karapetyan feels a
little more financially secure these days.
“In the old days, I had to take my grapes to the factory and accept
whatever price it gave me. Now we have long-term contracts and an
agreed minimum price.
“I wish I could earn more, but at least these days I have enough to
buy food.”
Mr Larretche is confident Armenian brandy can conquer other markets
besides its traditional ones in the old Soviet Union.
“At Yalta at the end of the second world war Churchill was so impressed
with Armenian brandy given to him by Stalin that he asked for several
cases of it to be sent to him each year.
“It’s a great drink – the equal of any in the world.”

The Real War
By Tom Engelhardt
Mother Jones, CA
June 8 2004
We were engulfed this last week by vast waves of media-driven nostalgia
— for a past American war and a past president. The urge to feel good
— a post-Vietnam desire that Ronald Reagan rode to the White House
— is certainly powerful. At least, Reagan promised a new “morning
in America” (whatever he actually delivered). It’s striking that the
Bush administration in its speeches promises only a drumbeat of fear,
terror, and war to eternity. Perhaps that’s why George looked so
generic in Normandy yesterday, his pallid speech buried in stirring
clips of Ronnie speaking there twenty years ago. In fact, it may be
a barometer of the times that, to experience a few good moments,
Americans have had to reach into the relatively distant past —
the landings at Normandy and the Reagan Presidency — and then to
narrow the focus and blur the lens so dramatically. The heroic,
bloody, near-disastrous landings at Normandy now exist in “history”
without so much as a nod toward the larger panorama of the global war
against fascism; and the figure of Ronald Reagan, the genial host,
stands alone on stage with most of his administration out of sight.
(For a wider lens on the Reagan presidency, don’t miss Juan Cole’s
Reagan’s Passing) You might say that blotting out both allies and
history is a distinctly unilateral way of feeling good.
Christopher Endy at the History News Network website suggests that we
might have celebrated the 60th anniversary of D-Day more in the —
gasp — French manner (“French memories of the war are more inclusive
and accurate than our own. Americans have lost sight of the fact that
even World War II’s ‘greatest generation’ could prevail only with
substantial help from its allies, including the Soviets, British,
Canadians, Chinese and many others. When Americans ignore this
lesson, as they have in Iraq, the result is a world that resents,
rather than admires, the United States”); and he reminds us that, to
this day, you can descend into the Paris Metro and travel underground
from Franklin D. Roosevelt station to Stalingrad station and back
again. Mike Davis offers a similarly timely reminder below.
Remembering Bill and Ivan
By Mike Davis
The decisive battle for the liberation of Europe began sixty years
ago this month when a Soviet guerrilla army emerged from the forests
and swamps of Belorussia to launch a bold surprise attack on the
mighty Wehrmacht’s rear. The partisan brigades, including thousands
of Jewish fighters and concentration-camp escapees, devastated the
rail lines linking the German Army Group Center to its bases in
Poland and Eastern Prussia.
Three days later, on 22 June — the third anniversary of Hitler’s
invasion of the Soviet Union — Marshal Zhukov gave the order for the
main assault on German front lines. Twenty-six thousand heavy guns
and rocket launchers pulverized German fortifications in a matter of
minutes. The banshee-like screams of the Katyusha rockets were
punctually followed by the roar of 4000 tanks and the battle cries
(in more than 40 languages!) of 1.6 million Soviet soldiers. Thus
began Operation Bagration, an assault launched over a 500 hundred
mile long front.
But what American has ever heard of Operation Bagration? June 1944
signifies Omaha Beach not the crossing of the Dvina River. Yet the
Soviet summer offensive was almost an entire order of magnitude
larger than Operation Overlord (the invasion of Normandy) in both the
scale of forces engaged and the direct cost to the Germans.
By the end of summer, the Red Army (which included full divisions of
Poles and Czechs) had reached the gates of Warsaw as well as the high
passes of the Carpathians which command the entrance to Slovakia as
well as Hungary. Soviet tanks, in a stunning reverse blitzkrieg, had
caught Army Group Center in steel pincers and destroyed it. The
Germans would lose more than 300,000 men in Belorussia alone. Another
huge German army had been encircled and would soon be annihilated
along the Baltic coast. The road to Berlin had been opened.
Thank Ivan.
It is no disparagement of the brave men who died in the sinister
hedgerows of Normandy or in the cold forests around Bastogne, to
recall that 70% of the Wehrmacht is buried on the Russian steppes not
in French fields. In the struggle against Nazism, approximately forty
“Ivans” died for every “Private Ryan.”
Yet the ordinary Soviet soldier — the tractor mechanic from Samara,
the actor from Orel, the miner from the Donetz, or even the
high-school girl from Leningrad — is invisible in the current
celebration and mythologization of the “Greatest Generation.” It is
as if the “new American century” cannot be fully born without
exorcising the central Soviet role in the epochal victory of the last
century.
Indeed, most Americans are shockingly clueless about the relative
burdens of combat and death in the Second World War. And even the
minority who understand something of the enormity of the Soviet
sacrifice tend to visualize it in terms of crude stereotypes of the
Red Army: a barbarian horde driven by feral revenge and primitive
Russian nationalism. Only G.I. Joe and Tommy are envisioned as truly
fighting for civilized ideals of freedom and democracy.
It is thus all the more important to recall that — despite Stalin,
the NKVD, and the massacre of an entire generation of Bolshevik
leaders — the Red Army still retained powerful elements of
revolutionary fraternity. In its own eyes, and that of the slaves it
freed from Hitler, it was the greatest army of liberation in history.
Moreover, the Red Army of 1944 was still a Soviet Army. The generals
who led the brilliant breakthrough on the Dvina included a Jew
(Chernyakovskii), an Armenian (Bagramyan), and a Pole (Rokossovskii).
In contrast to the class-divided and racially segregated American
forces, command in the Red Army was an open, if ruthless, ladder of
opportunity.
Anyone who doubts the revolutionary élan and rank-and-file humanity
of the Red Army should consult the extraordinary memoirs by Primo
Levi (The Reawakening) and K.S. Karol (Between Two Worlds). Both
hated Stalinism but loved the ordinary Soviet soldier and saw in
her/him the seeds of socialist renewal.
So, as George W. Bush demeans the memory of D-Day to solicit support
for his war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, I’ve decided to hold my
own private commemoration.
I will recall, first, my kindhearted Uncle Bill, the salesman from
Columbus, although it is hard to imagine such a gentle soul as a
hell-for-leather teenage GI in Normandy. Second — as I’m sure my
Uncle Bill would’ve wished — I will remember his comrade Ivan. The
Ivan who drove his tank through the gates of Auschwitz and battled
his way into Hitler’s bunker.
Two ordinary heroes: Bill and Ivan. Obscene to celebrate the first
without also commemorating the second.
Mike Davis is the author of Dead Cities: And Other Tales, Ecology of
Fear, and co-author of Under the Perfect Sun: the San Diego Tourists
Never See, among other books.

NAGORNO KARABAKH PRESIDENT FLEW TO PARIS
PanArmenian News
June 8 2004
STEPANAKERT, 08.06.04. Nagorno Karabakh President Arkadi Ghukasian
flew to Paris today for the participation in the measures dedicated
to the 10-th anniversary of establishment of the cease-fire regime
at the territory of the Karabakh conflict. As reported in the press
office of NKR`s President, the measures are arranged on the initiative
of the Armenian Union of France `In Defense of Karabakh` and with the
assistance of the Coordination Committee of the Armenian Organizations
of France. During the visit Arkadi Ghukasian will visit Marseilles and
Nicå. NKR leader is as well expected to meet with French co-chair of
the OSCE Minsk Group Anri Jakolen. Meetings with the representatives
of the Armenian Diaspora are also scheduled.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Igdir Residents Demand Closure of Metsamor Nuclear Plant
Baku Today, Azerbaijan
June 8 2004
Baku Today 08/06/2004 12:24
Residents of Turkey’s northeastern province of Igdir, which borders
Armenia and Azerbaijan’s autonomous republic of Nakhchivan, began
demanding Turkish authorities and international organizations help
close down Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear power plant, Anadolu agency
reported on Sunday.
Mayor of the province, Nurettin Aras, reportedly said the residents are
deeply concerned over possible danger the plant may cause. He said the
Igdir residents were preparing an appeal to the Turkish government,
World Health Organization and the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) to take necessary measures regarding the Metsamor plant.
“Our residents are worried about any possible leak or explosion at
the power plant,” Aras told the Anadolu agency. “Several trees near
Armenian border have died, causing us to feel we are in danger. I
call on the World Health Organization to take action as soon as
possible. Necessary initiatives should rapidly be launched to close
down this plant.”
Aras said the Igdir residents had collected 2,500 signatures on the
first day of a one-week campaign launched by his office for closure of
the nuclear power plant, which is some 15-20 kilometers east of Igdir.
Experts believe that the Metsamor nuclear plant is a source of a
potential danger for the whole region in view of Armenia’s being
a seismically active country. A powerful earthquake that jolted
Armenia in December of 1988 put end to the lives of tens of thousands
of people.

Japan to invest in Yerevan power plant
Interfax
June 8 2004
Yerevan. (Interfax) – The Japanese government plans to invest $4.5
million in the construction of a thermal power plant in Yerevan with a
capacity of 1.5 megawatts based on a waste incineration plant, Armenian
Natural Resource Minister Vardan Aivazyan told journalists on Monday.
He said that the ministry has approved the construction of the plant
and thermal power plant at the Nurabshen dump, which covers an area
of over 60 hectares. Talks are currently underway between a potential
subcontractor for the project – Japan’s Shimizu – and the Yerevan
Mayor’s Office.
Aivazyan said that the project would involve the use of up to 800 –
900 cubic meters of rubbish per day to produce methane to be used in
electricity production.
The minister said that recently Armenia set an output tariff for
electricity produced from burning biogas of $0.08 per 1 kWh. The
investor is happy with this tariff.
He said that the talks should be completed by September 10, after
which construction should begin.
Diana Arutyunyan, the national coordinator of the project, told
Interfax that the Japanese state company New Energy and Industrial
Technology Organization plans to finance the project.
She said that Shimizu has already completed the first stage of work on
an audit and preparation of a feasibility study. She also said that
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is interested
in this project.
Electricity production in Armenia fell 0.29% to 5.5 billion kWh
in 2003.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARKA News Agency
June 7 2004
7 June
Goran Lennmarker: Europe is very interested in quick settlement of
Karabakh conflict
Ecological decade launched in Armenia
RA CBA work experience is in the centre of attention of colleges from
Russia and CIS countries
Europe’s Armenian Unions’ Forum sixth conference takes place in
Vienna
Robert Kocharian and Andranik Andreasyan discuss process of
realization of reforms in RA water sector
*********************************************************************
GORAN LENNMARKER: EUROPE IS VERY INTERESTED IN QUICK SETTLEMENT OF
KARABAKH CONFLICT
YEREVAN, June 7. /ARKA/. Europe is very interested in quick
settlement of Karabakh conflict, as stated by Goran Lennmarker, OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly Chairman Special Representative on
Nagorno-Karabakh, in the course of his meeting with NKR President
Arkadi Ghukasyan. According to NKR President’s Press Service
Department, Lenmarker, as a Special Representative of OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly, expressed his readiness to contribute to
Karabakh conflict settlement, using his experience in settlement of
conflicts in other regions. He stated about unacceptability of
resumption of military actions in the region. At the same time he
noted that he estimates the efforts made by NKR in order to be in
line with European standards. Lenmarker noted the importance of
visiting NKR to have more clear idea about the conflict. He noted
that the state of problem’s not being settled has a negative effect
on the economy and social state of the countries involved in the
conflict, especially on the life of refugees. It also hinders the
implementation of important regional problems, the integration of
South Caucasus countries into European community. A.H. –0–
*********************************************************************
ECOLOGICAL DECADE LAUNCHED IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, June 7. /ARKA/. Ecological decade, joint initiative of RA
Ministry of Environment and UNDP, was launched in Armenia. According
to UNDP Armenian representative office, ten-day period began from the
visit of RA Minister of Environment Vardan Aivazyan, ex-Chairman of
UNDP in Armenia Lise Grande, and the Head of UNDPI department in
Armenia Valeri Tkachuk the biggest garbage dump in Nubarashen.
According to Grande, it’s very important that Armenia has a high
economic growth for the last ten years. However, UNDP is concerned
about the ecological consequences of the economic growth that are
important not only from economic standpoint, but also from that of
future generations, “who have the right to live in pure environment”.
According to her, having polluted environment, the country cannot
have really good future. She noted that UNDP is one of the biggest
donors in the area of ecology in Armenia. She expressed her firm
belief that co-operation with state structures and civil society will
allow resist the challenges of the transition period and ensure
healthy environment. A.H.–0–
*********************************************************************
RA CBA WORK EXPERIENCE IS IN THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION OF COLLEGES FROM
RUSSIA AND CIS COUNTRIES
YEREVAN, June 7. /ARKA/. RA CBA work experience is in the centre of
attention of colleges from Russia and CIS countries. This was stated
at today’s press-conference by the Head of RA CBA Tigran Sargsyan,
presenting the CBA annual report for 2003. According to him, this is
conditioned by the leading positions that CBA occupies in the area of
banking supervision. “The administration of CB of Russia considers us
to be leaders among the CIS countries in this sphere, as well as in
terms of tools used by us”, said Sargsyan. He mentioned that there is
a great interest in many CIS countries towards “out experience” of
using these tools. According to Sargsyan, the matter concerns such
tools as credit register, Deposit Insurance Fund, which are still in
the process of discussion in the Russian Federation and CIS
countries. L.V. –0–
*********************************************************************
EUROPE’S ARMENIAN UNIONS’ FORUM SIXTH CONFERENCE TAKES PLACE IN
VIENNA
YEREVAN, June 7. /ARKA/. The 6th conference of Europe’s Armenian
Associations Forum took place in the capital of Austria. According to
EAAF, Vazgen Manukyuan, the MP of the RA National Assembly spoke at
the conference. Speaking about the strengthening of Armenia’s State
system and the role of Diaspora in this process, Manukyan mentioned
that this kind of policy should be the concern of all Armenians, as
only the State system can ensure the solution of all national issues.
The participants of the conference also discussed the question of
arrangement and holding of actions dedicated to 90th anniversary of
Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey in 1915.
The conference was organized by the Europe’s Armenian Associations
Forum and the Armenian Apostolic Church administration in Austria.
L.V. –0–
*********************************************************************
ROBERT KOCHARIAN AND ANDRANIK ANDREASYAN DISCUSS PROCESS OF
REALIZATION OF REFORMS IN RA WATER SECTOR
YEREVAN, June 7. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian and Andranik
Andreasyan, Chairman of Water Committee at RA Government discuss
process of realization of reforms in RA water sector. As RA President
Pres service told ARKA, during the meeting they touched upon the
issues concerning the programs, realized jointly with the
international institutions.
As Andreasyan reported earlier, two water sector investment program,
were not completed: condominium project was delayed, while water
supply and Armavir marz sewerage channels rehabilitation project was
fulfilled in 2003 only by 10%.
In 2003 in the frames of water supply project and rehabilitation of
Armavir marz sewerage channels financed by German KfW, it was
suggested to fulfill the works with the cost AMD 3.5 mln, while the
condominium support project (Japanese Social Development Foundation)
with the cost AMD 598 thous. (1USD – AMD 545.57). T.M. –0–
*********************************************************************

KOCHARIAN AIDE WANTS ANOTHER KARABAKH-BORN LEADER FOR ARMENIA
By Hrach Melkumian and Emil Danielyan
Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
June 7 2004
YEREVAN, 08.06.04. Garnik Isagulian, President Robert Kocharian’s
recently appointed national security adviser, said on Saturday
that Armenia’s next president should also be originally from
Nagorno-Karabakh, arguing that it is a “vital territory” for all
Armenians.
“Without Karabakh Armenia can not breathe, no matter how many borders
you reopen,” Isagulian told a roundtable discussion in Yerevan.
The adviser did not specify whom he would like to see succeed
Kocharian and when. Still, the remarks could be interpreted by some
local commentators as another indication that Kocharian’s preferred
successor is Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, the second most powerful
government official in Armenia and also a native of Karabakh.
The two men led the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic during its
successful war with Azerbaijan before moving to higher positions
in Yerevan, with Sarkisian appointed defense minister in 1993
and Kocharian prime minister in 1997. Some leaders of the Armenian
opposition frequently attack them as the heads of the “Karabakh clan”
allegedly governing the country.
Armenia’s next presidential elections are to take place in 2008, and
its existing constitution bars Kocharian from contesting them for a
third term in office. Neither the president nor his top lieutenant,
who have been busy dealing with an opposition campaign of street
protests for the past two months, have shed light on their long-term
political plans so far.
Isagulian joined the presidential administration in early April
to take up a position that has been vacant for the past decade. A
retired officer of the Soviet-era KGB secret police, he entered the
political arena in the early 1990s, getting elected to Armenia’s first
post-Communist parliament and joining the then opposition Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). He was expelled from the
party about two years after it was controversially banned in 1994
by former President Levon Ter-Petrosian and emerged from a political
oblivion three years ago to set up his own nationalist group called
the National Security Party.
Isagulian has since been an outspoken supporter of Kocharian and
detractor of his political opponents. He on Saturday strongly defended
the recent government crackdown on the opposition, alleging that
the latter has attempted to stage a coup and labeled Kocharian as a
“murderer.”
Ironically, Isagulian had himself faced `terrorism` and coup charges
in July 1995 along with 31 members of Dashnaktsutyun, including Vahan
Hovannisian, who is currently the deputy speaker of the Armenian
parliament. But unlike them, Isagulian went into hiding and escaped
arrest and trial. He remained on the run until Ter-Petrosian’s
resignation in February 1998.

Daily questions US diplomat’s optimism on “fundamental changes” in Azerbaijan
Yeni Musavat, Baku
7 Jun 04
Text of Qosqay report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat on 7 June
entitled “Fundamental changes?”, subheaded “Seven months ago the West
returned Azerbaijan from threshold of these changes”
Speaking at a conference entitled “With Women towards Victory”,
the deputy US ambassador for political issues, Nancy McEldowney,
voiced an intriguing opinion. She said Azerbaijan was in the run-up
to fundamental changes and called on women to play a more active role
in public life. While mentioning fundamental changes, the diplomat
meant oil revenues (will there be revenues? – author), a peaceful
resolution to the Karabakh conflict, democratic elections and a
guarantee of freedom of speech.
Undoubtedly, these are fine words. We regret that what the experienced
diplomat mentioned as fundamental changes cannot simply be implemented
in Azerbaijan.
This process has been going on in Georgia. [Georgian President]
Mikheil Saakashvili has won democratic polls and is implementing the
democratic changes mentioned by Mrs McEldowney. The country’s budget
revenue has grown, important steps are being taken almost every day
towards building civil society. Finally, territorial conflicts, like
the long-drawn-out Karabakh conflict, are being resolved peacefully
as mentioned by the diplomat.
Following the West’s erroneous stance towards the last [presidential]
elections, Azerbaijan was halted on the threshold of radical
changes. To be more precise, voters’ hopes were betrayed, those
who showed the will were again returned to the Aliyev clan’s
enslavement. Everybody was in favour of changes and we regret that
this was impossible.
What changes have taken place since Ilham Aliyev stepped into
his father’s shoes (on 31 October 2003)? We have no intention of
mentioning them. There is no need for a guide if the mountain can be
seen. Budget money is being spent sporadically, corruption is rife,
freedom of assembly is suppressed.
We should not also forget that women, who are invited to play an active
role in public life, come across tremendous deprivations. Are women,
who sell their bodies for a loaf of bread, not a hostage to Aliyev’s
10-year-old policy?
Now the country’s population understand that nothing will change for
the better unless the dynastic regime disappears from Azerbaijan. Or
the other way round, without a radical power change.