ARMENIAN PILOTS ARRESTED IN MALABO NOT GUILTY, DIPLOMAT SAYS
ArmenPress
May 24 2004
YEREVAN, MAY 24, ARMENPRESS: Armenian ambassador to Egypt, Sergey
Manaserian and a senior diplomat from Armenian foreign ministry
traveled on May 10 to Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea,
where six Armenian nationals had been in custody since March 9
on charges of being involved in a coup, planned to overthrow this
country’s president.
Armenians were among 20 foreigners, arrested in Equatorial Guinea
and all accused of conspiring to overthrow the government of that
country. They are Ashot Karapetian, captain of the AN-12 crew,
second pilot Samvel Darbinian, aeronautical engineer Ashot Simonian,
navigator Samvel Matchkalyan, flight engineer Razmik Khachatrian
and technician-engineer Suren Muradyan According to the Central
Administrative Board of the Civil Aviation of Armenia, the crew worked
for Tiga Air and were running chartered trade flights inside Central
Africa. But authorities in Equatorial Guinea insist that the flight
crew were part of a planned coup to overthrow President Teodoro
Nguema. The Armenian diplomats spent a week in Equatorial Guinea to
learn what their fate might be and discuss possibilities for their
release with local senior officials.
Ambassador Manaserian told Armenpress that the main goal of the visit
was to learn the conditions in which Armenians are being kept and help
their soon release, “as we have a strong belief that they are not
guilty.” The ambassador said messages from president Kocharian and
Catholicos Karekin II had been conveyed to the country’s president
through foreign minister of that country, asking for the release
of Armenians.
Manaserian said they had been given an opportunity to meet with
all six Armenians to see that their physical condition was normal,
they were given food and medical aid. “We were allowed to talk with
them for two hours in Armenian, therefore they had no restrictions
in transferring information to us. The chief of the crew was even
allowed to have a telephone conversation with Yerevan,” Manaserian
said, adding that the pilots reject all charges.
“Judging from our impressions we have come to believe that they were
not involved in the ascribed crime,” Manaserian said. Armenians will
most likely be tried by an Equatorial Guinean court between June
5-20. Manaserian said he believed they will be set free because of
lack of guilt. He said the Armenian delegation will pay another visit
to Equatorial Guinea before the start of the trial.
“They are among the best pilots of all times in Armenia. They are
professional pilots and honest people,” Manaserian said.

Angolans ‘should face EG trial’
news24.com
19/05/2004 20:37 – (SA)
Malabo – Angolans among a group of 15 people accused of plotting a
coup in Equatorial Guinea should face trial in the central African
country, says their ambassador.
“Mercenaries identified as Angolans or South African-Angolans should
answer for their actions to Equatorial Guinean justice,” said envoy
Emilio José de Carvalho late on Tuesday, quoted on state radio.
On March 6, the Equatorial Guinean government announced the arrest
in Malabo of 15 men suspected to be mercenaries, whom they accused
of preparing to oust President Teodoro Obiang Nguema on behalf of an
exiled opposition leader.
The group included Angolans, Armenians and South Africans, some of
Angolan origin.
There was also one German, who died after “an attack of cerebral
malaria”, according to the authorities.
De Carvalho, who lives in Libreville, capital of neighbouring Gabon,
came to Obiang Nguema with a message from Angolan President José
Eduardo dos Santos, said the radio broadcast.
Ruled with an iron rod
“Angola cannot allow some of its citizens to bring death and misery to
other peoples,” said the ambassador, according to the radio report,
which added that the contents of the presidential message were not
disclosed.
The government of Obiang, who has ruled the small tropical country
with an iron grip since 1979, expects Zimbabwe to extradite a further
group of 70 men arrested in Harare on March 7 and accused there of
planning to fly on to take part in the coup.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe earlier this month held talks with
Obiang after which an official said Mugabe had agreed to hand over
the men for trial and a possible death sentence in Equatorial Guinea.
However, there has not been any official statement from the Zimbabwe
government about extradition of the 70 men.
A lawyer for the 70 men, who come from South Africa, Namibia and
Angola but were almost all travelling on South African passports,
on Tuesday announced potential legal action against South Africa’s
government unless it helped the men.
They have asked the government to either seek their extradition to
South Africa or provide assurances that they will not be handed over
for trial in Equatorial Guinea, said the lawyer.
Edited by Iaine Harper

IRAN-ARMENIA COMMERCE CHAMBER OPENS BRANCH IN TEBRIZ
ArmenPress
May 24 2004
TEBRIZ, MAY 24, ARMENPRESS: The branch of Iran-Armenia commerce
chamber was inaugurated on May 23 in the Iranian city of Tebriz in
the premises of the local trade-industrial and mines chamber.
According to Sadegh Najafi, head of trade department at the governor’s
office of Eastern Atrpatakan (Azerbaijan), said a substantial portion
of bilateral trade is carried out by Tebriz-located businessmen. He
said eighty percent of businessmen involved in trade with Armenia
are from Tebriz and the province, who also use Armenia as a transit
route to taking their goods to neighboring Georgia.
Najafi said negotiations are underway to extend the area of free
zone from Julfa toward Norduz border check point, aimed at granting
businessmen from both countries a set of privileges.
Levon Aharonian, president of board of directors of the joint
Iranian-Armenian commerce chamber, said the new branch will facilitate
trade between the two nations and forge closer ties.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND YOUTH TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO YOUTH IN REGIONS
ArmenPress
May 24 2004
YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS: On May 21-23 a festival “Young creative
workers” was held in Ijevan. The aim was to discover the young talents
in the region and give them a change of serf-identification.
The first day of the festival was opened with an exhibition of
paintings, graphics, handicraft and decorative works. On the second
day a round table was held titled ‘The challenges of youth in frontier
regions and the ways to solve them’. On the third day of the festival
a delegation of culture and youth ministry, headed by deputy minister
Lilit Asatrian, participated in the festival. A decision was made to
create a youth council, affiliated with Tavush governor’s office. The
council will be made of community youth, youth NGOs, student councils
and public and private agencies, which can support the council in
its activities.
The festival was concluded with a concert of young performers.
According to Lilit Asatrian, the youth in the regions does not get
sufficient attention. The ministry will hold more such events and
visits to the regions. The deputy minister informed that the ministry
is going to hold events in Vayots Dzor, Gegharkunik and Shirak regions
by June and in other regions of Armenia by the end of the year.

ARMENIANS AND GEORGIANS IN TSALKA MAKE PEACE
ArmenPress
May 24 2004
TSALKA, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS: Ethnic Armenians in Georgia’s region of
Tsalka and local Georgians have reportedly overcome the tension that
was caused by recent clashes between them deciding to organize a joint
concert on May 26, the day when Georgia celebrates independence day
in a sign of friendship, the local A-Info news agency reported.
Ethnic Armenians comprise 57% of population of Tsalka district in Kvemo
Kartli region with population around 20,000. Also 4,500 ethnic Greeks,
2,500 ethnic Georgians, up to 2,000 Azerbaijanis live in the Tsalka
district. Local officials described clashes between ethnic Georgians
and Armenians as “a communal violence.”

Revealed: the peanut tycoon who owns Livingstone’s City Hall
by John Waples and Dan Box
Sunday Times (London)
May 23, 2004, Sunday
A SECRETIVE Swiss-based businessman has emerged as the mystery owner
of City Hall, the headquarters of London’s Mayor, Ken Livingstone.
After months of anonymity which have led to questions being asked in
the House of Commons, The Sunday Times can reveal that the offices
are owned by London Bridge Holdings, a Bahamas-based company.
The firm’s principal shareholder has been identified as Dikran
Izmirlian, 77, who made his fortune by creating a near-monopoly on
the world’s peanut market.
The news is likely to come as a surprise to Livingstone, who has
shown no evidence of knowing who controls the company with which he
has agreed a 25-year lease for his office.
Izmirlian, who is of Armenian descent, is chairman and chief executive
of Alimenta, a company that has built up a big interest in the Gambian
peanut, or groundnut, market.
By establishing effective control of the processing and export of
groundnuts, Alimenta soon became vital to the country where 70%
of the population rely on the annual harvest for their livelihood.
In 1999, Gambia’s government accused Alimenta of money laundering
and seized processing plants belonging to the company.
Alimenta successfully sued Gambia in international courts and, in 2001,
the Gambian government agreed to pay $ 11.4m (£6.37m) in compensation,
money that was partly met using grants from the EU.
Little is known about Mr Izmirlian, who has chosen not to make public
his involvement in the City Hall site.
He is registered as the director of Alimenta UK Ltd, a shell company
with total assets of £100 and no record of having traded in this
country. Its registered address turns out to be that of Lovells,
a London law firm.
Documents lodged with Companies House, however, show that Izmirlian
now lives in Switzerland and has Swiss nationality.
His son, Sarkis Izmirlian, is registered as living in Lyford Cay,
an exclusive residential enclave on Paradise Island in the Bahamas,
where he also claims nationality.
Despite holding a Swiss passport, Dikran Izmirlian has roots in
Armenia. In 1994 he established the Izmirlian Foundation in Armenia’s
capital, Yerevan, to support education and business in the country.
The foundation provides loans of up to $500,000 to encourage local
enterprises.
Other philanthropic work involves funding construction work at the
city’s university library, military academy and religious institutions.
The extent of Izmirlian’s interests in commercial property development
in this country or abroad are unknown.
What is known is that London Bridge Holdings owns the entire 13-acre
site on which City Hall is situated. The development also includes
the European headquarters of Ernst & Young and the Hewitt, Bacon and
Woodrow consultancy.
The site is the second- largest commercial development in London and
lies on the city’s south bank, between Tower Bridge and London Bridge.
Originally bankrolled by the German Depfa bank and CIT Group, London
Bridge Holdings assumed sole ownership of the site in 2002. The group
has recently completed a £460m refinancing facility underwritten by
Royal Bank of Scotland.
With this capital, it now hopes to finish development of the site.
The international law firm Norton Rose has reportedly entered into
negotiations to base its new headquarters in the development.
There are also plans for a 245-bed, four-star hotel, which has been
pre-let to the Hilton Group.

ARMENIA HAS NO INTENTION TO JOIN NATO
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
May 24, 2004, Monday
The issue of NATO accession is not included into Armenia’s agenda
on foreign policy, Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisyan said at
his press conference last Friday.
“The reply to the question regarding Armenia’s joining NATO is clear
initially, since the Armenian leaders have repeatedly declared that
this problem is not included into the agenda on foreign policy,”
the minister said.
S. Sarkisyan also said that in the immediate future Armenia has no
intention to pull out from CSTO. The minister noted that Armenia’s
involvement in CSTO is among the major components of Armenia’s
national security.

Iranian president inaugurates Abadan’s gas-operating power plant
IRNA news agency, Tehran
24 May 04
Abadan, Khuzestan Province, 24 May: President Mohammad Khatami Monday
24 May inaugurated a gas-operating power plant in this southwestern
city.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Khatami said God-given assets of
Khuzestan Province, like resistance of its patient people, are unique.
He added the power plant would add some 500 Megawatts of electricity
to the national capacity, saying Khuzestan province accounts for 25
per cent of the national power generation.
The president noted that Abadan power plant would play a key role in
the country’s development and progress.
The gas-operating power plant in Abadan, with a nominal capacity
of 493.6 Megawatts, has four gas turbines, each with a capacity of
123.4 Megawatts.
The project whose construction was started three years ago has cost
94 million euros, 23 million dollars and 450 billion rials to provide
electricity to the southern regions of Khuzestan and to tackle shortage
of electricity in Abadan and Khorramshahr cities particularly during
peak hours.
According to Petroenergy Information Network, Iranian power stations
have to boost their capacities at a rate of 3,000 Megawatts per annum.
The Third Five-Year National Economic Development Plan calls for
contribution of the private sector to building power stations.
Power stations throughout the country generated more than 148 million
kilowatts per hour of electricity in the last calendar year (ended
19 March).
Power output was higher than what had been predicted in the third
five-year national plan. The generation was also higher than
neighbours.
Demand for electricity exceeded 27,000 Megawatts last year. The figure
grew more than 2,000 Megawatts.
The national demand for electricity will hit 44,000 Megawatts by
the end of the fourth five-year development plan (in March 2010)
and the country should boost its capacity to 56,000 Megawatts per hour.
Iran’s power network is connected to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan,
Pakistan and Afghanistan. Iran will supply power to

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
May 24, 2004, Monday
RUSSIA HAS NO INTENTION TO HASTILY WITHDRAW ITS TROOPS FROM GEORGIA
AND LIQUIDATE ITS MILITARY BASE IN TAJIKISTAN
Any “hasty withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia” is
out of the question, Russia’s Acting Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov
announced during his visit to Yerevan. “In this case the measures taken
during withdrawal of the Russian forces from Germany in early 1990s
won’t pass now,” Ivanov said at his meeting with Serzh Sarkisyan,
his Armenian counterpart. Besides, Sergei Ivanov flatly denied the
information of Moscow’s alleged plans to close the Russian military
base in Tajikistan and withdraw its troops from the republic.
Source: Vremya Novostei, May 21, 2004, p. 1

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
May 24, 2004, Monday
INTEGRATION COULD BE FREE IN THE CIS ALONE
SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, May 21, 2004, p. 5
by Vladimir Mukhin
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov’s official visit to Armenia
started on May 20. He met with Armenian leaders, held the talks with
his counterpart Serzh Sarkisyan, at which the parties discussed the
issues related to the prospects of developing the bilateral military
cooperation. As of now, Russian minister’s contacts with the Armenian
military continue in the framework the ordinary meeting of the Council
of Defense Ministers (CDM) of the entire CIS.
Armenia is among few CIS states with which Russia has close military
and military-technical contacts. First of all, the sphere of military
cooperation concerns the issues of Armenia’s antiaircraft defense. As
far back as 2001 the antiaircraft defense units of Russia and Armenia
assumed joint combat duty and are performing this mission so far. The
troops are involved in joint staff command exercises and war games.
Most importantly, the Armenian antiaircraft missile defense units and
the 102nd military base of Russia and a squadron of 30 MiG-29 fighters
ensure security of the air space at the southern boundaries of the CIS.
At the meeting of May 21, the issues of creating the joint antiaircraft
defense system of the CIS will be given the foreground. In the
framework of the CDM defense ministers of the CIS will discuss the
functioning of the Unified Antiaircraft Defense system, founded
in 1995, consider the draft target program on joint counteraction
to air attacks. Nevertheless, the facts evidence that not all the
states are ready to give their active support to the integration in
the sphere of air defense, initiated by Russia. Turkmenistan, Georgia
and Uzbekistan are not taking part in the regular exercises over past
9 years, although they maintain bilateral contacts in this sphere.
These countries also maintain bilateral relations with Ukraine,
Russia’s rival in the sphere of military-technical cooperation.
Russia also has problems with other allies. For instance, Kazakhstan
is no more oriented at supplies of Russia-made weapons for its own
army and intends to invite Western states to participate in a tender
for supply of antiaircraft missile systems and radar installations.
Besides, almost all of CIS states (exclusive Russia and Belarus) are
granted multimillion aid for development of their defense from the
USA and NATO. While Yerevan and Moscow are discussing new directions
of military-technical cooperation, the Pentagon has already initiated
supplies of communications facilities to Armenia to the amount of $7
million. The USA has been involved in similar upgrade programs for the
armies of Georgia, Uzbekistan, Moldova and Azerbaijan. If many CIS
states are not involved in joint military maneuvers inside the CIS,
they regard NATO-led exercises as prestigious are a involved in them
on a regular basis.
In particular, Cooperative Best Effort-2004 military maneuvers, the
largest over entire CIS’ history and involving NATO and CIS member
states have been scheduled for this summer in Azerbaijan. Even
Armenia will take part in the exercises, General Charles Wald,
ECDC deputy commander convinced Armenian leaders. At his insistence
Armenia decided to send its troops to Iraq. As is widely known,
while the coalition troops are eliminating their presence there,
CIS states have plans to expand their presence in Iraq, supposedly
as a sign of gratitude for U.S. military assistance. The spokesmen
for Georgia and Azerbaijan announced that in addition to Armenia.
There’s no need to guess why this is happening. All military contacts
in the framework of the CIS require spending, whereas NATO and the
USA are commonly sponsoring military activities on their own.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress