Kuchma, Armenian premier call for deeper cooperation in energy sector
Interfax
May 13 2004
Ukraine and Armenia should deepen energy sector cooperation, Ukrainian
President Leonid Kuchma and visiting Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian said on Wednesday.
During a meeting in Kyiv, the two also discussed prospects for further
cooperation between their two countries in the sphere of education,
the presidential press service reported.
Kuchma also thanked the Armenian government for attentively attending
to the needs, and improving conditions at the Yerevan department
of the Ternopil Academy of Agriculture – the only Ukrainian higher
educational institution with a department in the southern Caucasus.

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
MAY 7-13, 2004
HIGHLIGHTS:
RESEARCH ON KARABAGH PROBLEM AND REGIONAL RELATIONS PRESENTED
TWO OF THE EGG-THROWERS INTERROGATED
BROADCAST LICENSING COMPETITION ANNOUNCED
“ARAVOT” ON AIR
HCA VANADZOR BRANCH WINS SUIT VERSUS MUNICIPALITY
RESEARCH ON KARABAGH PROBLEM AND REGIONAL RELATIONS PRESENTED
On May 10 at the Journalists Union of Armenia Yerevan Press Club held the
presentation of “The Karabagh Conflict and Prospects for Settling It” book
published under the project “Possible Resolutions to the Karabagh Conflict:
Expert Evaluations and Media Coverage”. The project was implemented by
Yerevan and Baku Press Clubs with the support of OSI Network Media Program.
Stepanakert Press Club was also involved in the project.
The book presents the findings of the sociological surveys and media
monitoring, administered in 2001-2003 in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Mountainous
Karabagh. “The surveys of the population and decision-makers in 2001 as well
as focus-group discussions in 2002 allowed to reveal the sentiment and the
major priorities in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Mountainous Karabagh on the
conflict-related issues”, the Armenia project coordinator Ashot Melikyan
said. “The Delphi research of the experts in 2003 showed that despite the
significant discrepancies between the Armenian and Azerbaijani parties,
there is a certain potential for rapprochement which can be used during
political decision-making in the conflict resolution process.”
The media monitoring coordinator in Armenia and Mountainous Karabagh Elina
Poghosbekian pointed out the main distinctions of the coverage of Karabagh
problem by the media. The findings of the monitoring studies of Armenian,
Azerbaijani and Karabagh media, held by unified methodology and in
practically identical timeframes, showed that in 2001-2003 the most actively
discussed issues were those of peaceful or military solutions to the
conflict. At the same time the majority of publications was devoted to the
need for peaceful resolution. Unlike the Karabagh media that for three years
has been displaying generally steady attitude and a greater interest to the
subject in question, its coverage in the media of Armenia and Azerbaijan
significantly reduced in 2003. The “frozen” interest to Karabagh issue is
explained by the stagnation in the negotiations process, but it is primarily
due to the elections last year that kept the media attention focused in the
two countries. Thus, during presidential and parliamentary election
campaigns in Armenia the “Karabagh factor” was either not used or little
used (along with other economic, social and other issues) in the pre- and
post-election political debate. Year 2003 was marked by presidential
elections and the problems of power succession for Azerbaijan and its media
as well.
At the presentation Yerevan Press Club also publicized the monitoring data
on the coverage of the relations of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey by the
media of the three countries. This research has been conducted by Yerevan
Press Club and “Yeni Nesil” Journalists Union of Azerbaijan since 2002. The
“election fever” of 2003 also told on the attention of Armenian and
Azerbaijani media to the relations within Armenia-Azerbaijan-Turkey
triangle. A characteristic feature of the Armenian media coverage in
2002-2003 are the Armenian-Turkish (with an emphasis on the 1915 issue) and
Armenian-Azerbaijani (with an emphasis on the Mountainous Karabagh problem)
relations. The relations of Azerbaijan and Turkey are the least popular
subject. In Azerbaijani media three priorities can be steadily traced:
Azerbaijani-Turkish and Azerbaijani-Armenian relations as well as the
Karabagh problem. The bilateral relations of Armenia and Turkey receive very
little attention. As to Turkish media, they display permanently low interest
to Turkish-Armenian and Turkish-Azerbaijani subjects, focusing on other
foreign policy aspects.
The findings of the researches mentioned can be viewed in detail on YPC web
site:
TWO OF THE EGG-THROWERS INTERROGATED
On May 12 the Public Relations and Information Department of the RA General
Prosecutor’s Office communicated that two of attackers on journalists during
an opposition rally of April 5 have been interrogated. According to the
General Prosecutor’s Office, these are a resident of Yerevan, unemployed
Ashot Avetisian, born in 1965, and a resident of Artashat city, unemployed
Hrair Harutiunian, born in 1957. According to release, these people “made a
complete confession and gave appropriate testimony”.
As it has been reported, on April 5 the media representatives were attacked
by a group of “strong guys” while attempting to record them throwing eggs
at the rally participants (see details in YPC Weekly Newsletter, April 2-8,
2004). On May 5, a month after the incident, the General Prosecutor’s Office
informed about the transfer of the criminal case, instituted on April 8 by
the RA Police, to Yerevan Prosecutor’s Office. A week after the public
learned about the first steps of the investigative bodies. In this context
it is important to note that right after April 5 the scene of the assault
on one of the cameramen was shown on air, and the photographs of several
“egg-throwers” were published in the press. Here a question arises: has it
not taken the law enforcement bodies too long to identify only two of the
attackers and interrogate them? Hopefully, having finally set off, the
investigation will proceed at greater speed to find and punish people who
exerted violence against journalists at duty.
BROADCAST LICENSING COMPETITION ANNOUNCED
On May 11 the National Commission on Television and Radio announced a
broadcast licensing competition for 33rd UHF in Nor Hajn town of Kotayk
region. The deadline for the bid submission is August 9, 2004. The
applications will be considered by the National Commission on August 18.
Currently “Nor Hajn” TV company broadcasts on this frequency.
“ARAVOT” ON AIR
On May 10, after the technical break announced due to the change of the
owner and the title, “Aravot” TV company went on air. As it has been
reported, after the sale of “Kentron”, the TV company, renamed to “Aravot”,
was headed by Aram Abrahamian, also the Chief Editor of “Aravot” daily (see
YPC Weekly Newsletter, April 23-29, 2004). Despite the assurances of Aram
Abrahamian that he will continue to assist the return of “A1+” TV company on
air (Abrahamian hosted “PostScript” program on “A1+”), his consent to head
“Aravot” TV encountered very negative response from “A1+” management. (Two
years ago, by the decision of National Commission on Television and Radio
the opposition channel “A1+” lost the competition for its frequency to
“Kentron”, presently “Aravot” TV.)
On its behalf the Board of opposition party Armenian National Movement (ANM)
announced that it refuses to appear on the air of “Aravot” TV. On May 6,
with a reference to anonymous source in the ANM Board, “Haikakan Zhamanak”
daily reported that the governing body of the party does not want to
participate in the imitation of freedom of speech.
In an interview to “Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” newspaper of May 7 Aram
Abrahamian expressed his perplexion at the fact that “a political force
refuses to state its position on live air out of fear that it will be an
imitation of freedom of speech”. “In any case I regret that this part of the
political spectrum will not be represented on our channel, however, I am
positive that this is temporary”, Aram Abrahamian added.
HCA VANADZOR BRANCH WINS SUIT VERSUS MUNICIPALITY
The Vanadzor branch of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly won a case versus the
administration of Vanadzor city at the court of primary jurisdiction of Lori
region. The reason for the suit was the refusal of Mayor Samvel Darbinian to
provide HCA Vanadzor branch copies of all the resolutions passed by the
municipality and the Senior Council of the community in 2002-2003.
According to the head of HCA Vanadzor branch Artur Sakunts, the Mayor
referred to the provision of the RA Law “On Legal Acts”, by which the legal
acts for internal use and personal purpose are only provided to their
addressees. The remaining documents, as the Vanadzor administration head
said, were published in the periodical books of communal legal acts. The
human rights activists were unable to find them even at the municipality
itself. Thinking that the representatives of the local authorities violated
the RA Law “On Freedom of Information” the HCA Vanadzor branch filed a suit.
During the hearing the respondent did not have objections on the essence of
the case but he noted that out of 2,614 resolutions a part cannot be
provided as it contains information not to be publicized. To get the
remaining documents the plaintiff must pay a local duty of 1,000 drams
(about $2) for each copy.
At the session of April 30 the suit of HCA Vanadzor branch was secured. The
court obliged the municipality to provide the organization with copies of
all the resolutions of city administrations and the Senior Council of the
community for 2002-2003 except those constituting a secret. The total amount
of duty to be paid for the documents was defined to be only 1,000 drams.
When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
Press Club is required.
You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter to:
[email protected]
Subscription for the Newsletter is free. To subscribe or unsubscribe from
this mailing list, please send a message to: [email protected]
Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
____________________________________________
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
375007, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 1) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 1) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site:

Armenian President visiting Russia
RosBusinessConsulting, Russia
May 13 2004
RBC, 13.05.2004, Moscow 09:34:46.Armenian President Robert Kocharian
will be on a working visit in Moscow from May 13 to May 15, 2004 at
the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the press service
of the Russian President reported. It is planned that at a meeting
with Putin and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, Kocharian will
discuss the whole range of questions of bilateral cooperation between
Russia and Armenia.
In addition, it is planned that the Armenian President will
meet with Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller and Itera head Igor Makarov.
Kocharian will also meet with the association of Russian-Armenian
business cooperation.

Armenia’s ruling coalition says happy to talk to opposition
Interfax
May 13 2004
Yerevan. (Interfax) – Armenia’s ruling three-party coalition announced
in a statement on Wednesday that it was open to conducting a dialogue
with the opposition.
The coalition, which holds the majority of seats in parliament,
expressed readiness to discuss a proposal from the opposition to end
“the situation that has taken shape in Armenia after the presidential
elections in 2003.”
The coalition proposed four more items for the dialogue’s agenda –
changing key points in the Armenian constitution, changing the election
law and bringing it into line with international democratic standards,
and taking action against corruption and measures to meet Armenia’s
commitments to the Council of Europe.
Galust Sahakian, parliamentary leader of one of the ruling parties,
the Republican Party, told reporters the coalition’s main task was
“to bring the Armenian opposition back into the political field.”
He said the coalition and opposition would start discussing the
opposition’s proposals on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the opposition plans for Friday the next in its series of
rallies to demand the removal of President Robert Kocharian.
Two opposition parties represented in parliament, Justice and National
Unification, have formed a provisional alliance to work toward a
change of power.

Azerbaijan determined to get back occupied territory – president
Interfax
May 13 2004
Nakhichevan. (Interfax-Azerbaijan) – Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev said Azerbaijan will not put up with the occupation of its
lands and will ensure they are liberated.
“The Azerbaijani army is strong and is capable of solving any problem,”
Aliyev told servicemen while opening a new garrison in Nakhichevan
on Wednesday.
“Our people can restore the country’s territorial integrity at any
moment. International law gives us this right,” he said.
Aliyev said the army must be strengthened, given that part of the
country’s territory is under Armenian occupation.
Azerbaijan’s economic development will make money available for
enhancing the army’s combat readiness, Aliyev said.
He said that as before Azerbaijan believes the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict can be settled peacefully.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
May 13 2004
Parliament News
Speaker meets German MPs
On Monday, Murtuz Alasgarov, Speaker of the Milli Majlis (parliament),
received members of the German-Caucasus parliamentarian group of
the German Bundestag who visited Baku on Sunday. Pointing to the
successful economic cooperation between the two countries, Alasgarov
stressed the necessity to increase the turnover of goods.
The speaker also elaborated on the problems that the country is
currently facing. K. Berger, head of the German delegation, noted
that the close cooperation between the two countries would continue
in the future. During the meeting it was also mentioned that Germany
had rendered Euro 270 million worth of assistance to Azerbaijan so far.
Of the sum, Euro 130 million was allocated as part of bilateral
cooperation and the remainder as part of cooperation with the European
Union. The German delegation left Baku on Tuesday first for Georgia
and then Armenia.
Monument to Heydar Aliyev unveiled A monument to Heydar Aliyev
was unveiled in a ceremony at the building of the Milli Majlis
(parliament) on Friday attended by President Ilham Aliyev. Addressing
the event, Murtuz Alasgarov, Speaker of the Milli Majlis, Ali Ahmadov,
Executive Secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, and MPs spoke
about Heydar Aliyev’s activities in the protection of the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan, its comprehensive development and recognition
by the international community, as well as in the implementation
of huge economic projects. President Aliyev stressed that the
aim of Heydar Aliyev’s policy was to turn Azerbaijan into the most
dynamically developed country of the region. He also underlined that
the country would not encounter serious problems if Heydar Aliyev’s
policy continued. The monument to the late Azerbaijani President was
designed by sculptor Omar Eldarov.
Draft law “On alternative military service” discussed Despite
widespread public disapproval, a draft law “On alternative services”
will be passed shortly in compliance with Council of Europe
recommendations, according to the Deputy Chairman of the Milli Majlis
and Chairman of the permanent parliamentary commission on defense
and security issues Ziyafat Asgarov. The draft law is expected to be
put on the parliament’s agenda shortly. The bill proposes alternative
military service in private institutions instead of regular military
service. The new bill also envisions extending the duration of military
service. The draft law has triggered the disapproval of the public
and many military men in view of the fact that a number of Azerbaijani
provinces remain under Armenian occupation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
May 13 2004
PACE rapporteur welcomes presidential amnesty
President Ilham Aliyev received Malcolm Bruce, the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) rapporteur on political
prisoners, on Tuesday.
Expressing his pleasure with the May 10 presidential decree to pardon
363 prisoners, Bruce appreciated President Ilham Aliyev’s meetings in
Strasbourg and his speech at the spring session of PACE on April 29.
Stressing that the democratization process in the country and the
latest amnesty act will help in the settling of the Upper Garabagh
conflict and the gaining of acceptance and support for Azerbaijan’s
standpoint towards the conflict, the PACE rapporteur said that
Azerbaijan was taking constructive steps in this respect.
Appreciating the discussion of different issues, including the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Upper Garabagh at the Council of
Europe (CE) over the past three years, President Aliyev said that the
conflict presented a serious threat to not only to Azerbaijan, but
also to the region. Stressing that his country will continue to
cooperate with the CE in the future, Aliyev said: “The constructive
cooperation testifies to our deserved partnership.” On the first day
of his visit, the PACE rapporteur visited some jails to meet with
those considered as political prisoners. Bruce will wrap up his Baku
visit on Wednesday.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Brussels offers favoured status to boost former Soviet republics
By Stephen Castle in Brussels
The Independent, UK
May 13 2004
The European Union reached out to three former Soviet republics in
the Caucasus yesterday, promising new ties to boost economic growth
and tackle illegal migration and organised crime.
The European Commission said Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia should
be given status as “near neighbours” which could develop into a
free trade pact. But they were also told they had no prospect of EU
membership for the foreseeable future. Belarus was singled out for
arms-length treatment because of its dictatorial government.
In 2007, the EU is due to expand again, admitting Bulgaria and Romania,
while Croatia is expected to start membership negotiations shortly. A
decision on talks with Turkey will be taken in December and a bloc
of Balkan nations is vying to join.
But the EU wants to dampen expectations that it can enlarge
indefinitely. The commissioner for enlargement, Günter Verheugen, said:
“With the exception of the Baltic states [which joined the EU on May
1], the western border of the former Soviet Union will be, for a very
long time, the eastern border of the EU.”Though Poland has invested
much in improving relations with Belarus, Mr Verheugen was scathing
about the leadership in Minsk. “I do not think it is time to discuss
contractual relations with an authoritarian government that does not
respect human rights and is violating European standards,” he said.
The EU already has a programme of co-operation with Russia, Ukraine
and a host of other nations.

The Daily Star, Lebanon
May 13 2004
Greek-Turkish relations mending for EU
Cyprus accession puts added strain on historical enemies
By Sarah Khoury
Special to The Daily Star
ATHENS: December 2004 will be known as a new stepping-stone in the
triangular Greek Turkish Cypriot relations. It is when the European
Union will accept or reject accession negotiations with Turkey. If
the green light is given for consultations between both parties,
Turkey will be on a concrete path toward becoming an EU member. But
will southern Cyprus, a new EU member, veto Ankara’s entrance? And
how is this going to affect Greek-Turkish ties?
To satisfy EU demands for its entrance into the union, drastic
changes have to be made based on the 2002 Copenhagen summit criteria
that stipulates Turkey must complete a series of economic political
and human right reforms before the December due date.
The EU council will judge notably progress on human rights issues and
democratization. If the feedbacks are positive, the commission will
recommend start of accession negotiations. Athens, an EU member since
1981 has taken the initiative to offer technical assistance to its
neighbor.
In an interview with The Daily Star, director of the Greek-Turkish
relations department at Greek Foreign Ministry Vassilis Pistinis said
that, in its support for Turkey’s orientation into the EU, Greece has
created a task force to help Ankara establish or re-model its
legislations and economic cooperation to fit
EU criteria’s.
During his historical trip to Greece last week Turkish Premier Recep
Tayyip Erdogan pledged to seek “new horizons” with Greece. Greek
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis repeated his backing for Turkey’s
bid to join the EU.
Analysts have seen Turkey’s public debt as a burden to its entrance
to the EU. But in an interview with The Daily Star, Turkish
Ambassador to Greece Yigit Alpogan took the opportunity to compare
his nation to Greece.
“Greece is an EU member. It has a population of 10 million and a
public debt of $60 million. Turkey has a population of 70 million
with $120 billion public debts. This is not an issue.”
After Cyprus’s entrance into the EU on May 1, Nicosia is now one step
ahead of Ankara, as it can stall and veto Turkey’s path toward the
EU.
Consequences of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s failed blue print
in a bid to end Cyprus’s 30-year separation have topped discussions
among concerned parties. Both Pistinis and Alpogan have reiterated
the failed referendum will not strain bilateral ties.
Pistinis reiterated Athens stance on the need to avoid negative
consequences to the failed referendum. But Greek media have predicted
Cyprus would be sidelined from the diplomatic spotlight, especially
after Annan warned his blue print would not get a second chance.
Alpogan hailed Annan’s plan as an optimum compromise and said “in
modern diplomacy there must be some compromise a party can not get
all its demands fulfilled.” He said if Annan’s plan had passed it
would have been a “win-win” situation for all parties involved but
stressed Turkish-Greek relations would remain intact despite the
referendum.
Pistinis, for his part, added the EU would economically assist the
needs of Turkish-Cypriots. According to a draft EU document the union
pledged nearly $305 million to boost the economy of northern Cyprus
after the referendum left it out of the EU’s enlargement. Among
Turkish Cypriots some 65 percent approved Annan’s plan, which called
for a reunification of the island that would have abolished sanctions
and embargos on the northern part of the Cyprus.
Turkey is the only country that recognizes Turkish enclave on the
island.
When asked how Turkey felt about Greek Cypriot’s acceptance into the
EU, Turkish Ambassador to Greece Alpogan stated their application was
illegal because it only represents a portion of Cypriots.
“This government only represents the Greek side, so from the legal
sense the government did not and still does not represent all of
Cyprus that will one day unilaterally apply for EU membership. This
should be a legal application,” he said.
Alpogan added that according to the 1960 Zurich and London agreement,
Cyprus can only become a member of an organization in which both
Greece and Turkey are in. “Turkey is not a member of the EU,
therefore in 1990 that was one of our basic points of our objection
that this could not happen.”
He accused the EU of not listening to Ankara’s objection.
Director of the Greek-Turkish relations department at Greek Foreign
Ministry Pistinis agreed that under the agreements Cyprus could only
enter an organization in which both Greece and Turkey are part of. He
stressed NATO was an example of such an organization, but that the EU
did not fall under that specific legal definition.
Cyprus is not the only disagreement issue linking the two historical
enemies, but in recent years efforts have been made from both sides
to mend ties. Alpogan highlighted the 1999 rapprochement policy
drafted by Athens and Ankara, which he hailed as the beginning of “a
new era” in Turkish-Greek ties.
On a closer to home level, Greek and Turkish stances on the Aegean
Sea issue have been an ongoing difference between both Mediterranean
countries. Turkey says some Greek islands are situated on its
geographical shell calling it a “political issue,” while Greece
disputes that according to the 1975 delimitation of the continental
shell such a problem should be solved by the International Court of
Justice.
Pistinis hailed exploratory talks that are being held between both
countries and stressed: “Their purpose was to find common agreements
to solve problems and the delimitation of the continental shell.”
Pistins and Alpogan declined to give information on the
“confidential” content of discussions but expressed improvement and
optimism.
Another topic weighing down Greek-Turkish relations is the status of
minorities in Turkey which includes not only Greek Orthodox, but also
Assyrian, Armenians and Kurds.
Greek official Pistinis emphasized the right of religious freedom
under the Copenhagen agreement. He stressed Greece was concerned for
all non-Muslim minorities and not just for Greek Orthodox.

PRESS RELEASE
REF: PR/04/05/011
Assembly of Armenians of Europe
Rue de Treves 10, 1050 Brussels
Tel: +32 2 647 08 01
Fax: +32 2 647 02 00
CONFERENCE ON ARMENIAN ARCHITECTURE IN BRUSSELS
Brussels, 13/05/04 – On May 7th 2004 at the CIVA (Centre International
pour la Ville, l’Architecture et le paysage) in Brussels, the Assembly
of Armenians of Europe organized a conference dedicated to Armenian
Medieval Architecture. Mr. Bernard Coulie (orientalist, rector of the
Catholic University of Louvain,), Mr. Sarkis Shahinian (co-chairman
of the Swiss Armenian Association, researcher at the EFP, Zuirch) and
Mr. Patrick Donabedian (PhD in the history of fine arts and fellow
worker at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France) contributed to
the conference, to which architects, members of the cultural units
of the European Commission as well as students and professors were
invited. The idea behind inviting the latter group was to introduce
European specialists and academics to Armenian cultural heritage,
emphasize its role in world heritage and reveal the unknown traditions
of Armenian Architecture.
At the opening of the conference Mr. Bernard Coulie expressed his
condolences to the Belgian Armenian Community on the occasion
of the decease of Arbak Mkhitarian, famous Egyptologist,
armenologist-orientalist and active member of the Armenian community.
Mr. Bernard Coulie gave the audience insights into Armenian history,
culture and Christianity, which became the integral part of the
Armenian identity, while Mr. Sarkis Shahinian presented in detail the
architecture of Armenian Churches in the Middle Ages and revealed the
connection between the Armenian pagan and Medial Christian cultures,
as well as presented a glance to Modern Armenian architecture, in
particular the urbanism of Yerevan, capital of the Republic of Armenia.
Mr. Patrick Donabedian elaborated on the subject of ‘khatchkars’,
cross stones, in which the Armenian valley is abundant. This
conference came to highlight the fact that the majority of those
Armenian monuments concerned are in the territory of Turkey and are
in danger of disappearance. Moreover, none of the mentioned monuments
are under the protection of UNESCO.
The conference was followed by the photo exhibition on Armenia by
the French photographer Wojtek Buss. It was in Armenia that Wojtek
Buss discovered his vocation of photographer and some years later he
returned there in order to realize his dream. His book publish in Paris
in 1998 was entitled “Armenia, Splendour of a secret country”. His
wonderful photos of Armenian monasteries, churches and landscapes
bear witness to the love, mysticism and courage of Armenians.