BAKU: GSM IMOA Dismisses Karabakh Telecom From Its Membership

Baku Today

GSM IMOA Dismisses Karabakh Telecom From Its Membership

21/10/2004 07:52

After the address of the Ministry of Communication and Information
Technologies, GSM International Mobile Operators Association (IMOA) deprived
Karabakh Telecom from membership.

The Ministry several times appealed to this organization protesting that
Karabakh Telecom was illegaly operating without any license from the minstry
and operated in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia.
According to Ali Abbasov, Minister of Communication and Information
Technologies of Azerbaijan, if the company can make 70 percent of the
members of the association support Karabakh Telecom then its membership can
be discussed again.

“But this is far from reality,” Abbasov said. “We proposed them to hold
discussions with us and told them that we are ready to cooperate with the
association members. We promised that they won’t have any problem with the
service in the terriotory of Azerbaijan.”

There are names of five companies in the list of companies operating in the
former Nagorno Karabakh of Azerbaijan, which under control of Armenian
troops.

Except French `Perno Richard’ company, the others are telecommunication
companies. According to Ali Abbasov, all these companies are members of GSM
Association.

“Under the regulation of the association, there must be roaming service
among the members. As Karabakh Telecom was a member of the association,
these companies cooperated with it,” he said.

Armenia occupied former autonomous Nagorno-Karabakh region and also seven
other Azerbaijani districts in 1991-94 war, forcing over 700,000
Azerbaijanis to leave their homes. Despite an armistice signed in May 1994,
no final solution has been achieved to the conflict between the two
countries.

Photo and some information for this report provided by ANS TV.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress