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06/16/2004
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1) MCA Proposal Sets Sights on Reconstruction of Rural Infrastructure
2) Armenia Remains on Tier 2 Human Trafficking Watch List
3) Georgia Demands Russian Pull out of Peacekeepers from South Ossetia
4) Armenia Takes on World, Losing by a Point
5) Armenian Opposition Halts Protest Campaign
1) MCA Proposal Sets Sights on Reconstruction of Rural Infrastructure
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Prime Minister Andranik Markarian said on Wednesday the
Armenian government will finalize by the end of next month its program
proposal
for funding under Washington’s Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) program.
Markarian spoke after chairing the first meeting of an ad hoc commission of
senior government officials tasked with assessing the country’s urgent needs,
discussing possible ways of meeting them with MCA funding, and submitting a
relevant plan to the US.
Under the terms of the MCA, Armenia and 15 other developing nations selected
by the US government last spring, must specify the amount of funding they
require for proposed programs. Top executives from the Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC), which runs the program, visited Yerevan late last month for
the first discussions on the subject with Armenian officials.
They made it clear that the aid allocation to Armenia is not a forgone
conclusion, but will depend on the quality of the proposals.
Speaking to journalists, Markarian said that the government would like to
primarily spend the MCA funds on the reconstruction of the battered
infrastructure of the country’s impoverished rural regions that have hardly
benefited from recent years’ economic growth–specifying the rebuilding of
schools, countryside roads, and irrigation networks. “All of these programs
must be in line with our [12-year] poverty reduction strategy,” he said.
Asked how much the Armenian side expects to get from the MCC, he said: “It is
too early to talk about sums. According to our preliminary estimates, however,
[the government will ask for] between $500 million and $600 million in the
next
five years.”
Finance and Economy Minister Vartan Khachatrian came up last week with an
even
more ambitious aid target: $700 million, of which $100 million should be made
available as early as this year. But he was more cautious and vague in his
comments on Wednesday. “Even [the MCC] doesn’t know what will happen,” he
said.
Khachatrian reiterated that request for proposals from Armenian
non-governmental organizations are being sought, but that only two have been
received.
2) Armenia Remains on Tier 2 Human Trafficking Watch List
YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Armenia was once again included in this year’s US State
Department report on human trafficking.
In the department’s fourth annual Trafficking of Persons Report, released
Monday, Armenia was among 42 nations listed on the Tier 2 Watch List.
Countries are classified into three categories, of which Tier 3 is the least
favorable. Armenia moved from Tier 3 to Tier 2 last year after it made a
number
of reforms. US officials have indicated that Armenia may be placed in the Tier
1 category if a sweeping crackdown is initiated.
The State Department report notes that Armenia serves as both a source and a
transit country for women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation to the
United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Russia, Greece and other European countries. The
report also adds that the trafficking of persons to be used as labor has
become
an increasingly significant problem.
The government of Armenia does not currently comply with the minimum
standards
set for the elimination of trafficking.
It is, however, making a significant effort to do so. Cooperation between
police and NGOs have increased the number of investigations, and provided
police with a greater understanding of international and domestic sources of
trafficking. The report also touched upon the improved efforts of law
enforcement agents in assisting trafficking victims by referring them to
care-providing NGOs.
Prevention activities increased during the reporting period, and were
highlighted through the use of media. The National Police were featured in
several training films and TV shows on trafficking, and the Ministry of
Education approved anti-trafficking educational lectures for secondary and
university students. In January of 2004, the government approved an
anti-trafficking national action plan for 2004-2006. The government
contributed
the equivalent of $11,000 of its own funds to support the work of the National
Anti- Trafficking Commission, with foreign donors providing the remaining
funds. The government’s Department for Migration and Refugees conducted
extensive outreach on migration issues, which prevented a significant
number of
individuals from succumbing to trafficking, according to an independent
survey.
3) Georgia Demands Russian Pull out of Peacekeepers from South Ossetia
MOSCOW (Combined Sources)–Russia denied sending troops or military
hardware to
Georgia’s restive South Ossetia province, after Tbilisi sent a letter of
protest to Moscow on Sunday about a column of trucks and military vehicles
that
drove from Russia into the separatist Georgian region that seeks to be a part
of Russia.
Georgia’s State Minister for conflict resolution Goga Khaindrava, urged
Russia
on Tuesday, to withdraw its peacekeeping forces from the South Ossetian
conflict zone.
“We [Georgia] can freely control the situation in breakaway South Ossetia.
The
Russian peacekeepers were deployed in the conflict zone 12 years ago, but they
are no longer necessary, since they choose not to perform their functions,”
Goga Khaindrava said at a June 15 news briefing.
According to Georgian officials, the convoy of more than 15 trucks crossed
from Russia’s North Ossetia region on Friday into Georgia’s breakaway South
Ossetia. Some of the trucks were carrying troops, missile launchers, automatic
rifles, and other weapons. Russia’s Defense Ministry and South Ossetian
officials have denied any cross-border military movements, but the
president of
the breakaway region, Eduard Kokoity, said a “humanitarian column” had entered
South Ossetia, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.
A Russian military official in North Ossetia said food, fuel, spare parts,
and
other supplies had been sent to Russian peacekeepers serving in the region.
Following Khaindrava’s allegations, the OSCE Mission in Georgia monitored the
situation in the South Ossetian conflict zone on June 12 and “found no
evidence” of any military vehicles in the Tskhinvali area.
Asked whether Tbilisi is considering the possibility of military force in
Abkhazia or South Ossetia, Georgia’s recently appointed defense Minister
Georgy
Baramidze said it would be the most undesirable option. “We will be doing
everything to avoid the military solution. There are many mechanisms
available–political, economic, and social. At the same time, we must be ready
for all kinds of “surprises,” he said.
As for the withdrawal of the Russian military bases from Batumi and
Akhalkalaki, Baramidze said though the issue is important, improved
Russian-Georgian bilateral relations are not tied to the issue.
4) Armenia Takes on World, Losing by a Point
A HEROIC COMEBACK BY THE PETROSIAN TEAM IN THE FINAL TWO ROUNDS FELL A POINT
SHORT. ANAND-KASPAROV WAS ONE OF SEVERAL SHORT DRAWS IN THE FINAL ROUND.
VAGANIAN HAD THE ONLY WIN OF THE ROUND, AN IMPRESSIVE BIND AGAINST ADAMS.
GELFAND, ONCE PETROSIAN’S STAR PUPIL, BATTLED HARD FOR THE FULL POINT AGAINST
BACROT TO NO AVAIL.
MOSCOW (Combined Sources)–In what commemorated the 75th anniversary of the
late Armenian world chess champion Tigran Petrosian, a dynamic
tournament–Armenia vs. the Rest of the World team, began on June 10 in Moscow
and ended on June 15, with the World Team defeating the Petrosian Team 18.5 to
17.5.
The tournament matched the best of Armenia against a team of international
stars. Each of the six team members played everyone on the other team for a
total of 36 games.
The best of Armenia’s powerful chess players made up the Armenian team–1999
World Championship runner-up Vladimir Akopian, feared Bundesliga warrior
Rafael
Vaganian, and experienced international Smbat Lputian. Tiny Armenia has the
second-highest number of players participating in the 2004 FIDE world
championship in Libya this month–seven. The rest of the Armenian team either
had connections to Armenia or Petrosian himself. Garry Kasparov’s mother is
Armenian and he has always been claimed by that chess-mad nation. Peter Leko
married an Armenian, named Petrosian (no relation). His wife Sofia is the
daughter of Armenian chess Grand Master Arshak Petrosian, who is also his
trainer and will be the coach of the Petrosian team in Moscow.
The World all-star team was composed of Anand, Svidler, Adams, Bacrot,
Vallejo, and van Wely.
It was a valiant effort, but the Petrosian team fell short by the thinnest
possible margin at the end. After looking overmatched in the first half, the
“friends of Armenia” squad didn’t lose a game in the final two rounds and
almost climbed back from a four-point deficit. It was a great match, and it
was
fitting that the Petrosian Memorial was a team event. Tigran Petrosian
consistently put up phenomenal scores in team events throughout his career. An
incredible six times he got the best score in the Olympiads playing for the
USSR over a 20-year span.
5) Armenian Opposition Halts Protest Campaign
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–The Armenian opposition officially ended, with a rally late
Wednesday, its unsuccessful spring campaign for regime change.
“The first stage of the opposition movement is over,” a leader of the
Artarutyun alliance Albert Bazeyan, said during a concluding speech. He said
Artarutyun and its principal ally, the National Unity Party (AMK), need
time to
consider new methods of waging political struggle.
Other opposition leaders cited external factors such as the ongoing peace
talks on Mountainous Karabagh and the upcoming discussion of the situation in
Armenia at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to justify
their
decision.
Some opposition leaders admitted privately, however, that their two-month
drive for President Robert Kocharian’s resignation has lost momentum. They
said
further anti-government rallies are thus unlikely to be held in the summer
months. The AMK and Artarutyun bloc had earlier repeatedly postponed a promise
a repeat of similar “decisive” actions.
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