Author: Felekian Ara

19-YEAR-OLD ETHNIC ARMENIAN FACING DEPORTATION TO BAKU

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 13 2006

Baku, April 12, AssA-Irada
An ethnic Armenian, who was born in Upper Garabagh, an Azeri region
under Armenian occupation and illegally emigrated to the UK at the
age of 16, may be deported from London to Baku after the British
government has refused to grant him an asylum.

Karen Ovanesian, now 19, has lived and studied in the UK for three
years but has not received a work permit.

Ovanesian is expected to be flown to Moscow and then to Baku on
Tuesday. A source from the Foreign Ministry has told AssA-Irada that
there is no information available about the deportation.

While commenting on the incident, political analyst Mubariz Ahmadoglu
has called for restraint and cautioned that there might be politics
involved. He said Azerbaijan had better not display any emotion over
the proposed deportation and express its readiness to accept its
citizen. This may serve as an example of security guarantees for all
Upper Garabagh Armenians, he said.

Negotiations on NK conflict are in new format up to Azerbaijan’s national interests – Aliyev
Author: R.Agayev

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 12 2006

The negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
are in new format up to Azerbaijan’s national interests and provide
a base for restoration of the territorial integrity of the country,
Trend reports quoting Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani President,
stating during his visit to Zagatala military unit N on Thursday.

According to Aliyev, Azerbaijan does not will resumption of military
operations, but at the same time increases its military potential.

The head of the country stressed the Azerbaijani borders must be open
for friends and closed for enemies. Therefore, the government attaches
great attention to strengthening of the border. More funds will be
allocated from the public budget for these purposes in the future.

The President said Armenian lobby and terrorist organizations continue
anti-propaganda and subversive activity in regard to Azerbaijan. Thus,
in early 1990s over 2,000 innocent people died as a result of 30 terror
acts committed by Armenia in the territory of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
must guard its borders and its independence in that way.

Aliyev also participated in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Sports
Complex in the Zagatala region.

ROMANIAN FM HOPES FOR KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT IN 2006

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.04.2006 19:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “I hope following a few meetings between ministers
of exterior of Azerbaijan and Armenia within the framework of Prague
process and negotiations held in Warsaw and Kazan in 2005, as well
as in Rambouillet, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict will be resolved,”
Romanian Foreign Minister Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu and chairman of
Council of Europe Committee of Ministers said in his written response
of April 12 to the questions raised by members of Azeri parliament
Ganira Pashayeva and Rafael Huseynov.

The letter says in part, “Heads of states shared their opinions
regarding the unresolved conflicts at the third meeting in
Warsaw. The CoE Committee of Ministers has come to decision to pay
special attention to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. This position has
undergone no changes since Azerbaijan and Armenia joined the CoE. The
societies of both countries, including members of parliament, have
their responsibilities in this respect. Using the language of threats
is it impossible to come to a positive solution,” the Romanian Minister
writes. He opines that neither the CoE nor Committee of Ministers
is authorized to interfere into the negotiations or the conflict
resolution, as this is responsibility of OSCE Minsk Group. However,
the CoE may provide some assistance in development of cooperation
between the two countries, in particular, resolution 1690 approved
by Ministers Committee in September 2005, which states a number of
such initiatives, reported Trend.

NATO CONCERNED OVER FLARING REGIONAL CONFLICTS, ITS OFFICIAL SAYS

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 12 2006

NATO is concerned over the conflicts flaring in the South Caucasus
region, the special representative of the alliance’s Secretary General
to South Caucasus and Central Asia, Robert Simmons, has said.

“These disputes are impeding cooperation among countries.”

With regard to NATO’s position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict, Simmons said it coincides with that of
the OSCE, which is brokering settlement to the conflict. He said that
a given country may station its armed forces in another’s territory
only upon the latter’s consent. As an example, he referred to the fact
Russian troops are stationed in Armenia upon agreement with official
Yerevan, saying NATO is not interfering with this.

As for the stationing of NATO peacekeepers in the region, Simmons said
this is possible after lengthy discussions. On the other hand, this
would require a consent from both parties to the conflict, he said.

Simmons did not rule out that the alliance will be involved in some
large-scale regional energy projects, including measures to safeguard
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export pipeline.

“Guarding the pipeline has not been vested in NATO’s military forces
thus far. Therefore, the alliance will for the time being confine to
conducting training and rendering technical assistance to relevant
institutions of the countries hosting the pipe [Azerbaijan, Georgia
and Turkey],” Simmons added.

ARMENIAN KHACHKARS EXHIBITION TO OPEN IN LOUVRE IN FALL

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.04.2006 20:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An exhibition of Armenian khachkars (cross stones)
will open this fall in Louvre within the framework of the Year
of Armenia in France, reported the press office of the RA Embassy
in Paris.

To note, the Year of Armenia is France will start September 21,
2006 on the Armenian Independence Day and finish July 14, 2007,
on the French Independence Day. The program provides for some 200
events in 40 cities of France.

NO FRESH US-ARMENIAN TALKS

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 11 2006

Baku, April 10, AssA-Irada
The reports saying that Armenian President Robert Kocharian has
recently had a telephone conversation with US State Secretary
Condoleezza Rice are wide of the mark, the spokesman for the Armenian
president, Viktor Sogomoyan, has said.

He said the two had last discussed the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict in February prior to the latest round of
talks between the two presidents.

The discussions held by Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian
in the French town of Rambouillet in February turned out fruitless,
as the parties failed to iron out issues of principle.

“It appears that authors of this information have simply got the time
wrong,” he said.

300 TO BE PRIVATIZED

Lragir.am
12 April 06

On April 10 the National Assembly at last heard the Report on State
Property Privatization 2001-2003. The report was presented by Karineh
Kirakosyan, the head of the Department for Management of State
Property under the government of Armenia, who also presented facts
for 2004. During the discussion of such an important issue there were
hardly 20-25 members of parliament present, and from time to time two
or three oppositionists who have been announcing about illegalities
reported in the course of privatization.

By January 1, 2005 1925 medium-sized and big companies, 7266 small
objects and 80 unfinished constructions have been privatized. In 2004
companies were mostly privatized through direct sale and tender. 48
out of 69 were privatized by direct sale, 15 were put out to tender
and 6 were sold by auction. In 2004 privatization proceeds totaled
2.752 million drams and 45 million U.S. dollars. By January 1, 2005
privatization proceeds totaled 142.32 billion drams, 63.788 billion on
privatization certificates. Although in 2003 several times more state
property was privatized, privatization proceeds almost did not grow –
2.905 billion drams. The average price of privatization of a company is
35 million drams. 214 privatized companies were dissolved, 108 filed
for bankruptcy. In this period 6 nursery schools were privatized,
unused land of other educational institutions was alienated. 471
refugees and 71 residents privatized land.

Karineh Kirakosyan said about 300 companies failed to cover their
liabilities, some companies failed the labor liability or did not
report to the Department for State Property Management. A total of
6969 jobs, 3318 new jobs had been foreseen. The government filed
actions against companies which had failed their liabilities. Karineh
Kirakosyan cannot remember cases when the companies were returned to
the state, however, she clearly stated that filing of actions made
buyers to hurry up.

300 entities remain on the list of companies to be privatized,
concluded Karineh Kirakosyan.

ROTATION OF ARMENIAN PEACEKEEPERS IN KOSOVO WILL TAKE PLACE EARLY MAY

ArmRadio.am
10.04.2006 15:30

The rotation of Armenian peacekeepers in Kosovo will take place
approximately in the first decade of May, “Arminfo” correspondent
was told at the Press Office of RA Ministry of Defense.

To remind, the current fourth group of Armenian peacekeepers left for
Kosovo in October 2005. The Armenian blue helmets are participating
in the peacekeeping mission in the composition of the Greek battalion.

REPORTS ON KOCHARIAN-RICE TELEPHONE CONVERSATION FALSE

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.04.2006 19:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Reports on an alleged telephone conversation between
Armenian President Robert Kocharian and US State Secretary Condoleezza
Rice are false, Armenian leaders Spokesperson Victor Soghomonyan
told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his words, “Robert Kocharian and
Condoleezza Rice discussed the Karabakh settlement by phone earlier
in February, before the Paris talks.” “To all appearance, authors of
the report merely confused the date of the conversation,” he added.

To remind, it was lately reported that Rice discussed the issue
of settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict during telephone
conversations with the Armenian and Azeri Presidents.

‘MEDIA SHOULD FUSE FREEDOM WITH RESPONSIBILITY’
By Saban Gunduz, Kenan Bas

Zaman Online, Turkey
April 9 2006

Antalya hosted on Saturday a “general assembly” amid the Dialogue
Eurasia Platform’s four-day meeting over “media.”

Anar Rizayev, an Azerbaijani poet and the Honorary President of the
program, pointed the finger at the role of media.

The notion of freedom should not lead to impropriety, that is why,
the media, the most powerful tool in the 21st century, ought to keep
a fine balance between freedom and liability, said Rizayev.

Islam suffers from a lax attitude from the media towards equivalence
of it with terrorism, Anar stressed.

The recent incidents in the West are a clear sign of drought of western
influence on the East, said Harun Tokak, the Head of Journalists and
Writers Foundation.

The program here is a ground to introduce eastern values to the West,
said Tokak.

“The western optimism relies today on the eastern enlightenment.”

The program sets a fine example of progress towards universal peace,
said Tokak.

“This is a region hard enough to adjust to. We are under threats
of conspiracy theories that aim for disintegration. There are evil
forces working on the deterioration of hostility and abhorrence. This
program, in this sense, is meant to be a response from the eastern
intellectuals to such evil forces.”

The Euro-Asian communities need to develop mutual relations with each
other, said Elcin Efendiyev, the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan.

It is the “truth” that Azerbaijan can only ally with in search of a
resolution to the question of the Mountainous Karabagh, said Efendiyev.

The failure, however, came over the inability to speak the truth
against the whole world, Efendiyev concluded.

Dialogue Eurasia Platform Honorary President and Azerbaijan Authors
Union President Anar Rizayev told 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories
were occupied by Armenia, claiming that the world media does not
reflect the facts about the Karabagh issue.

“I do not want problems to be solved with bloodshed; however, Karabagh
is a matter of honor,” acknowledged Rizayev.

He told that they may one day cooperate with Armenia on condition
that it does not demand soil from Turkey and give up from genocide
allegations.

Prime Minister Erdogan noted that societies sharing the same geography
pour into the same sea although they flow in different beds and meet
in the same vastness.

Indicating that this fact is valid for the Eurasia region the most,
Erdogan said: “Today, the Dialogue Eurasia Platform is making
significant efforts in order to re-establish the bridges among
Eurasian societies, which have similar adventures and develop future
perspectives. I believe that the benefit of gathering around common
interests and uniting our power will appear here. The Dialogue Eurasia
Platform will be a ground where good wills turn into real steps.”

Emphasizing the platform will make important contributions to our
historical and cultural bonds, the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament,
Bulent Arinc, told, “I wish to live in a world where civilizations
do not clash but unite.”

Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul underlined that
Eurasia is the region, which will be influenced by the international
developments and influence the other regions of the world in the
next period.

Indicating that the region countries should evaluate the developments
in the Eurasian geography in a healthy way, Gul asked to show
the necessary support in order for Eurasia to become a region of
cooperation and welfare more than a region of competition.

Teenagers to Handle Problems of Eurasia

Eurasian countries will find solutions to the world as well as
their own problems with conscious teenagers. Youth platforms will be
established within the framework of Dialogue Eurasia Platform (DEP).

DEP will reach a younger and more dynamic structure with youth
platforms from every country.

Dialogue efforts, which start with the word “da” meaning “yes” in
Russian, are traveling to new horizons. A “Youth Platform” will be
set up within the framework of DA. Leadership of Turkey and Azerbaijan
is expected to be an example to other Eurasian countries.

DA Platform Assistant Editor Cengiz Simsek expressed that together
with DA Youth Platforms, they aimed at creating a responsible youth,
cognizant of the World’s and Eurasia’s problems.