Author: Dabaghian Diana

AZERI OFFICIAL CONDEMNS ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER’S KARABAKH REMARKS

Turan news agency
14 Oct 04

Baku, 14 October: Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan should put
an end to inventions about the Key West meeting between (Azerbaijani
ex-President) Heydar Aliyev and (Armenian President) Robert Kocharyan,
Matin Mirza, press secretary of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry,
said while commenting on Oskanyan’s recent appearance on Armenian
television.

The Armenian minister is “obscuring” the negotiations with insistence
that deserves better use, saying that an agreement was reached in Key
West that Karabakh will not be part of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani
side suggests once again that Oskanyan put an end to “games” around
Key West where “no agreements were reached”. Baku regards Oskanyan’s
statements as an attempt to undermine trust in Azerbaijan and present
it as a country that does not fulfil its commitments.

In this connection, the Azerbaijani side recalls that Heydar Aliyev
and President (Levon) Ter-Petrosyan reached an agreement on a
stage-by-stage solution to the Karabakh conflict in Strasbourg on
10 October 1997. However, Armenia’s “militarist circles” overthrew
Ter-Petrosyan (in 1998) and successfully “buried” the agreement that
had been reached.

Moreover, President Robert Kocharyan had given his “principled
consent” to the settlement option that envisaged “the handover of
part of Armenian territory to Azerbaijan”. However, this was followed
by an unexpected shooting in the Armenian parliament, and Kocharyan
deviated from this agreement “under the pretext” of the complicated
internal political situation. These facts testify that it is exactly
the Armenian side that breaks the reached agreements.

The comment points out that the Azerbaijani side will not allow
international law to be revised and “will not cede even an inch of
its land”. The territory of Nagornyy Karabakh “cannot be a subject of
a compromise” and is an “integral” part of Azerbaijan. A subject of a
compromise can be the status of this region which could be determined
in view of European experience of self-government.

The Azerbaijani side thinks that Oskanyan’s statements are caused by
“personal and domestic political motives”. All this could be directed
at disrupting the progress that was made at the Prague meetings.

MEETING IN FOREIGN MINISTRY OF AZERBAIJAN
[October 14, 2004, 11:59:17]

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
Oct 14 2004

The same day, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council
of Europe, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway Ian
Peterson has met Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar
Mammadyarov.

As was informed to AzerTAj from the press center of the Ministry,
it is stated that having expressed satisfaction with his visit to
Azerbaijan, Mr. Ian Peterson has invited the Azerbaijan colleague
to visit Norway, and has expressed hope, that bilateral relations
between our countries in political, economic, humanitarian and other
spheres would be developed in the years coming. Then, he has shared
views on cooperation of Azerbaijan with the Council of Europe.

Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov has emphasized importance of support of Norway in
integration of Azerbaijan into the European structures. The Minister
has dwelt on the reforms conducted last years in the country,
inclusion of Azerbaijan in the initiative of “New Neighborhood
Policy in Europe”, cooperation with the NATO within the framework
of PfP program and “Operating plan on individual partnership”, has
told about activity of Azerbaijan in combat against international
terrorism, separatism, transnational organized crime and other global
threats. He also informed about cooperation with Norwegian Company
“Statoil” in realization in Azerbaijan global projects in the field
of energy carriers.

The head of foreign policy department of Azerbaijan in detail
informed the visitor on the work done for peace settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict, negotiations at level
of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and presidents.

The ministers had also exchange of views on the questions representing
mutual interest.

Karabakh premier visits USA

Artsakh State TV, Stepanakert
12 Oct 04

Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR] prime minister Anushavan Daniyelyan is
in the USA on a working visit. The main purpose of his visit is to help
organize the coming telethon aiming at fund raising to assist the NKR,
and especially to complete North-South highway in Nagornyy Karabakh.

On 10 October premier Daniyelyan met representatives of Armenian
community of Fresno [in California]. Congressman George Radanovich
elected from Fresno also participated at the meeting and greeted
the NKR prime minister. On the same day Anushavan Daniyelyan gave an
interview to Armenian radio of Fresno.

On 11 October he visited the Armenian cemetery of Fresno and
laid flowers to the monument of the famous Armenian and American
writer William Saroyan. Anushavan Daniyelyan also visited Armenian
agricultural enterprises specializing in processing agricultural
products. He underlined the promising opportunities for such business
in the NKR and called on Armenian entrepreneurs to invest in the NKR
economy. On the same day premier Daniyelyan visited San Francisco
and met representatives of the Armenian community. He underlined
the importance of constructing the North-South highway for all
the Armenians in the world and also told the audience about the
socioeconomic situation in the NKR. In particular Anushavan Daniyelyan
noted that in recent years the total volume of foreign direct
investment in the NKR economy had constituted more than 50m US dollars.

The NKR permanent representative to USA Vardan Barsegyan is
accompanying Anushavan Daniyelyan during the meetings. NKR prime
minister’s visit to the USA is continuing.

Georgian-Russian border crossing closed again

Prime-News news agency
12 Oct 04

Tbilisi, 12 October: The Lars border checkpoint is closed again. The
Customs Department told Prime-News that the Lars crossing was only
open for a few hours on 11 October. Most of the vehicles which crossed
the border were lorries heading for Armenia.

“Several private cars and lorries heading for Georgia were able to
join those heading for Armenia, but after a few hours the border was
closed again,” the Customs Department said.

At present only a few cars are waiting at the Lars checkpoint,
although the Customs Department says this number could grow.

The crossing was closed unilaterally by the Russian government after
the Beslan tragedy.

In the last 40 days the crossing has only opened a few times, most
recently on 10-11 October.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Oct 12 2004

JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE
[October 11, 2004, 19:00:45]

On the 11 October, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President
of Romania Ion Iliescu gave a joint press conference.

The President of Romania and Azerbaijan made a statement.

The Heads of State updated in detail on the issues they had discussed
both in private and enlarged format. They noted that the visit by
President Ilham Aliyev to Bucharest would promote strengthening
relations between the two countries.

After that, the Presidents responded to questions from journalists.

Answering the question from Azerbaijani reporter concerning the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution, President
Ion Iliescu said Romania has always supported Azerbaijan in this
relation. The conflict must be settled by peace way on the base of
the countries’ territorial integrity, he said.

***

On the same day, an official reception in honor of President of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev was given on behalf of President of Romania
Ion Iliescu at the “Cotroceni” Palace.

Presidents of Azerbaijan and Romania made speeches at the reception.

Armenia’s govt wants ArmenTel to vacate some GSM 900 channels

Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire
October 11, 2004

EREVAN, Oct 11 (Prime-Tass) — Armenia’s national telecommunications
company ArmenTel might have to vacate some of its GSM 900 channels for
the use of a new second mobile operator and allow it to use ArmenTel’s
fiber-optic communications line, Armenia’s Justice Minister David
Arutyunyan told a press conference on Monday.

The government and ArmenTel have been discussing these and other
proposed measures aimed at depriving the company of its ‘exclusive
rights’ rather than stripping it of its monopolistic status, Arutyunyan
said. The talks are expected to be completed by October 28.

Arutyunyan said that ArmenTel’s giving up some of its GSM 900
frequencies for the use of the second mobile operator was meant to
create conditions for effective competition. He added that ArmenTel
currently occupies most of the GSM 900 frequencies, and given the
current situation the second operator would not have enough frequencies
to provide services.

Neither would it be able to operate without using the fiber-optic
communications line to which ArmenTel has exclusive rights, Arutyunyan
said.

There are also dozens of other issues that the government and the
company still have to agree on, Arutyunyan said.

Arutyunyan said the government and ArmenTel have agreed that two
mobile operators are enough for Armenia’s telecom market. A larger
number of operators might lead to a slowdown in the development of
the market, since smaller companies might not have enough funds to
invest in networks.

While the coming of the second operator should lead to a decrease in
tariffs, the government is to ensure that operators do not engage in
price dumping to squeeze out competitors, Arutyunyan said. This does
not mean, however, that telecom tariffs will be fixed, he added.

The Armenian government decided last year to amend ArmenTel’s license,
which stipulates the company’s right to a monopoly for 15 years, but
postponed introducing the amendment from October 12 to October 28,
according to the government press service’s report on October 7. End

Animation company sets up a film festival

UK Newsquest Regional Press – This is The Lake District
October 7, 2004

BY: Gazette News Desk

A KIRKBY Stephen-based animation company is lending its talents in organising
a major film festival for young people.

Sisters Bryony Cadi and Linnhe Catlow the directors of film company 3 Bear
Animations have helped organise this year’s Co-operative Young Film Makers
Festival.

The annual celebration of cinema is targeted at young people aged 21 and
under and aims to give a new understanding of TV and film productions.

This year’s festival will take place at the National Museum of Photography
Film and Television in Bradford. A programme brimming with activities boasts
more than 30 events for children and young people aged five to 21.

“We’re particularly proud of the programme this year said joint event
coordinator Bryony Catlow.

We have Nick Dudman coming up from the set of Harry Potter Four to talk about
his work as special effects supervisor on films such as Star Wars and Harry
Potter which we are very excited about.”

In addition to the workshops and talks there will be screenings of films made
by young people from places as far flung as Armenia and Australia.

“We received around 400 entries this year and selected 100 for screening. The
filmmakers are of all ages and abilities ranging from five and six year olds
to 21 year olds producing films of almost professional quality said Cadi
Catlow.

Some of the films will receive awards from organisations and companies
involved in the film industry including 3 Bear Animations, BBC Blast and the British
Film Institute.

We decided to present an award at the festival because we want to encourage
the next generation of animators said Linnhe Catlow.

We used to enter Co-Operative Young Film Makers ourselves when we were
younger and the festival definitely inspired us to continue to produce animation. We
know from experience how important it is to have encouragement when you’re
starting out she added.

Co-operative Young Film Makers 2004 is open to everyone and will run today
(Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday). Entry to the majority of the events is free.
For a full programme see or call the festival
office on 0161-2462216.

Armenian leader in Shanghai to discuss economic ties with China

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
29 Sep 04

The Armenian delegation led by President Robert Kocharyan, who is
on an official visit to China, held a number of meetings today. The
president today flew to China’s second biggest city of Shanghai. The
Armenian delegation discussed wide-ranging issues of deepening economic
ties between the two countries.

The Armenian president will meet the mayor of Shanghai in the
afternoon. Lilit Sadrakyan has details on the Armenian delegation’s
meetings today.

[Sadrakyan on the telephone] Shanghai is the centre of China’s economic
progress. This morning Kocharyan visited one of Shanghai’s major
areas where the city’s biggest exhibition halls are located. These
exhibition halls have come up with the initiative to demonstrate
goods manufactured in Armenia. Kocharyan also visited the world’s
third tallest TV tower in Shanghai. The Armenian delegation visited
the Shanghai history museum, too. At the end of the day, the Armenian
president will be visited by the Shanghai mayor.

EU, Georgia forge open skies aviation agreement
By Jeff Mason

BRUSSELS, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Georgia has agreed to an “open skies”
aviation pact that will allow European Union airlines to fly to
the former Soviet republic from any EU city, the 25-nation bloc’s
executive Commission said on Monday.

The agreement follows a decision by the European Court of Justice
in 2002 that ruled bilateral deals between individual EU countries
and the United States broke European rules that create a single
internal market.

Such agreements would prevent, for example, a French carrier from
flying to a U.S. city from a British airport.

The European Commission was granted a mandate after the court
ruling to negotiate a new U.S.-EU agreement and to eliminate similar
discrimination in pacts with other countries such as Georgia.

The latest agreement, which has been initialled by both sides but
still needs to be signed, will allow EU airlines to start in any EU
city en route to Georgia, the Commission said in a statement.

Bilateral agreements remain in place, but the new pact will remove
their illegal, discriminatory aspects.

“Both delegations welcomed the agreement as a concrete step forward
in the development of the overall relationship between the EU and
Georgia, and in particular as the beginning of the strengthening in
their relations in the field of air transport,” the Commission said.

The pact replaces those aspects of the bilateral accords that were
discriminatory without negotiating a new, more wide-ranging deal,
thus making it a “horizontal agreement,” a Commission spokesman said.

A similar agreement has also been forged with Chile.

The Commission has been negotiating toward a more wide-ranging
open skies pact with the United States that includes new ownership
rules. The latest deal between the two sides was rejected by EU
ministers in June largely because it lacked significant opening of
U.S. domestic routes to European airlines.

A U.S.-EU agreement is seen as a precursor to eventual mega-mergers
between airlines on both sides of the Atlantic.

09/27/04 15:16 ET

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:

September 28, 2004
___________________

DAY OF DISCUSSION AND ACTION FOR THE FUTURE ALSO A TIME TO HONOR
VOLUNTEER TEACHERS

The Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) has long been on
the forefront of keeping the Armenian heritage, culture, and tradition
alive in modern America.

The front lines of that effort are the Armenian schools in local
parishes. On Saturday, September 11, 2004, about 100 Armenian language
and culture educators — from as far as Florida and North Carolina —
gathered at the Diocesan Center in New York City for an educational
symposium.

The symposium focused on giving educators the tools to educate the next
generation about their Armenian heritage. A series of expert speakers
addressed educational issues including: new programs and publications
offered by the Diocese, projects for classroom use by Sylva der
Stepanian; ideas for teaching the Armenian alphabet’s importance in both
Armenian religion and politics by Fr. Haigazoon Najarian, pastor of the
Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Church of Wynnewood, PA; and a lecture on
classroom discipline by Prof. James Jacobson, chairman of the
educational department at St. Peter’s University. The teachers also
learned about an opera written by Dr. Socrates Boyajian, from the
Association of Armenian Church Choirs of America (AACCA), titled “The
First Christian Nation.”

The attendees also discussed the Diocese’s expanded Khrimian Lyceum
program, a rigorous six-year educational course designed to make
Armenian School graduates skilled community leaders. Last year the
Diocese successfully expanded the Khrimian Lyceum program beyond New
York City by opening two branch programs, one in the Boston area and a
second in Chicago.

“More young people than ever are involved in our efforts to teach them
not only their heritage, but how to serve as a leader to keep our
culture active,” said Sylva der Stepanian. “That so many young students
around the Diocese would give up their weekends to attend this
‘ivy-league’ program is a great opportunity for the future.”

THANKING THE TEACHERS

While the symposium’s focus was on giving teachers skills and ideas for
a new Armenian School year, the event also was a chance to thank those
teachers with long histories of service to their local parish Armenian
School programs.

Four educators were honored for 25 years of service by Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese. Receiving the “Long Live”
award were: Alice Igitkurt from the Holy Cross Church of Union City, NJ;
Tamar Kayserian of the Holy Martyrs Church in Bayside, NY; Margrit
Hamparsoumian of the St. Gregory the Enlightener Church of White Plains,
NY; and Seta Yavru-Sakuk of the St. Thomas Church of Tenafly, NJ.

A fifth educator — Noelle Sarkissian from the Armenian School of
Charlotte, NC — was recognized with the “Tigran the Great” award for
giving her time and talent to participate in four summer sessions at the
Diocesan Center.

The four sessions were each eight-day courses, featuring more than 20
expert speakers. Participants in these courses earned college credit.

“The Diocese works to make our Armenian language and culture education
efforts as widely available as possible,” said Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
(Eastern). “And thanks to our dedicated volunteers, we hope to reach
more and more young people with the message that our Armenian heritage
is a noble one worth celebrating even today.”

— 9/28/04

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