Author: Jabejian Elizabeth

MORE HARVEST COLLECTED THIS YEAR

Panorama.am
18:05 08/11/2007

Summing up the results of this year’s harvest, agriculture ministry
department head Garnik Petrosyan told a news conference that compared
with last year 35 tones of less apricot was collected.

The department head reported unprecedented high rate of wheat
plants. According to preliminary results, 435-437 thousand tones of
wheat have been collected which is twice as many as last year. "The
high indicator of this year is conditioned by favorable climate,"
Petrosyan said also saying serious work has been done to fertilize
the plants.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH REACTS TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE SG ‘s REMARKS

ARMENPRESS
Nov 7, 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS: A foreign affairs committee of
Nagorno-Karabakh parliament has retaliated today to what it described
as ‘unbecoming’ remarks made by the Council of Europe secretary
general, Terry Davis, during a visit to Armenia earlier this week.

In a statement disseminated to media the parliament committee said
it was surprised why the usually ‘tight-lipped’ secretary general of
the Council of Europe was so ‘articulate’ to make several remarks
during a visit to Armenia which bring honor neither to him nor to
the respected human rights body he represents.

The authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh were, particularly, angered
by Davis’s description of the authorities there as’ separatists.’
In their statement the committee said that ‘all people striving for
independence have to go through a period of separatism".

"It is not the fault of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh that during
the collapse of the former Soviet Union the UN or the Council of
Europe could not impose an ‘external governance’ in Nagorno-Karabakh
that would further legitimize its current de facto independence,"
the statement says.

The statement also reminds that what the UN did in Europe to thwart
ethnic cleansings and genocide, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh did by
themselves, using only their own strength, resource and their right
to self-defense.

IS SHADOW BUDGET ELIMINATED OR WILL OTHERS BE PLACED IN CHARGE OF IT?

Lragir.am
07-11-2007 14:37:18

On September 17 Robert Kocharyan dismissed Grigor Harutiunyan, the
deputy chief of the National Security Service. Grigor Harutiunyan
was a key figure in the public administration system. Different
information has come that he and the head of the customs service
Armen Avetisyan shaped the shadow budget of the system. In this sense,
Kocharyan’s decision gave the system a surprise. At that time rumors
spread that Grigor Harutiunyan will be appointed head of the National
Security Service of NKR. Some time later, however, Robert Kocharyan’s
brother-in-law was appointed to this position, and Grigor Harutiunyan
was said not getting on well. We have learned that now the State Tax
Service and the Police have launched checking at companies working
under his protection and imposed major fines. On the other hand, the
media reported that the head of the Customs Service Armen Avetisyan
has "run away" from Armenia, by official information, he has left for
Germany for a treatment. It should be noted that these two persons
are believed to be Serge Sargsyan’s people.

_Persian Journal_ ()

Who were the Winners and Losers of the Caspian Summit in Tehran?
By Bahman Aghai Diba, PhD International Law of the Sea – Persian Journal
Nov 2, 2007, 19:08

The Summit of Caspian littoral states (Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan,
Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan) was convened in Tehran on 16th of October
2007. The Islamic Republic of Iran has claimed that the summit was
great success. (1) However, it seems that from different points of
view, the summit had different winners and losers.

The summit in Tehran was originally arranged to find a formula for the
new legal regime of the Caspian Sea which has remained unsolved since
the collapse of the USSR. The old regime which is still valid and it
will be so until the concerned states find a new one to replace it was
based on the 1921 and 1940 treaties of Iran and the USSR. Those
documents refer to the Caspian as the common property of Iran and the
USSR without going into exact legal meaning of this concept. (2)

At the same time, the newly independent states bordering the Caspian
Sea do not see that regime suitable for the present
conditions. Therefore, the littoral states of the Caspian Sea have
held many meetings (including the first Summit in Ashgabat, capital of
Turkmenistan, in 2002) in all levels to solve the problem and they
have not succeeded. (3)The Tehran summit failed to doso and it joined
the long list of failed meetings in this field. (4) The summit in
Tehran adopted a 25 point declaration which contained almost nothing
important or any serious commitment related to the legal regime of the
Caspian Sea. (5)

The first point of the concerned declaration was about efforts of the
littoral states for keeping the peace and stability. Point two was
about the commitment to continue meetings. Points three and four were
about the cooperation in economic fields. Point five was on the
exclusive rights of the littoral states, point six referred to the
legal regime of the Caspian Sea and said: the littoral states would
try to find the formula for solving this issue through concluding a
convention in future. Point seven was about sailing of the ships under
the flags of the littoral states and point eight referred to the
urgency of determining a legal regime for the Caspian. Point nine was
about respecting the mutual rights, point ten was on continuing the
process of accord, point eleven and twelve were on preservation of the
environment, and point thirteen and fourteen were on peace, point
fifteen referred to refraining from letting others use their territory
for attacking other littoral states, point sixteen to eighteen were on
observation of the international law, point nineteen was on peaceful
use of nuclear energy, point twenty to twenty four were on respecting
the UN charter, combating terrorism and eventually point twenty five
was on the venue of the next summit which was set for Baku next year.

It seems that as far the question of the legal regime of the Caspian
Sea per se was concerned, Iran lost two points:

1- Iranian regime refrained from using this important event to
emphasize its opposition to the existing agreements between the other
littoral states which are all concluded on the basis of the Russian
forced fed formula called MML. (6) According to this formula the
seabed is divided on the basis of the shorelines of the littoral
states, and the superjacent waters remain for the common use (a
formula that gives the Russians free access to allover the Caspian
Sea). Iran has in the past declared these agreements as �illegal�
and contrary to the general decisions of the littoral states to find a
legal regime with consensus. Iran kept its silence in 25 point
declaration of the Tehran Summit about those agreements. This can have
legal consequences for Iran in the course of future negotiations on
the legal regime of the Caspian Sea and also in case the issue is
finally referred to international adjudication (like the International
Court of justice in The Hague) or a special arbitration tribunal. The
regime of Iran, in contrast to the wishes of the Iranian people (who
had made it clear before the summit that they would not accept any
violation of what they considered as their legitimate rights in the
Caspian Sea for the sake of short-term political gains of the regime,
including the support of Russia from the regime in the confrontation
with the West) seemed to have made a concession to the other littoral
states about the legal regime of the Caspian sea By keeping its
silence. However, after warnings by several experts on the Caspian Sea
affairs about the consequences of the silence in the summit about the
positions of Tehran regarding the existing agreements of the other
littoral states on the basis of the MML (including the direct protest
of this writer in several radio and TV programs) (7) the Special
Representative of Iran in the Caspian affairs and deputy Foreign
Minister tried to correct this issue. After the summit, Mehdi Safari
said that Iran would not sign any document that ignored the legitimate
rights of Iran and he rejected the bilateral and trilateral agreements
for the division of the Caspian. (8)

2- The Second loss for Iran was in the point eight of the Summit
declaration which encouraged urgent action on the determination of the
legal regime of the Caspian Sea. While Iran does not need the oil and
gas reserves of the Caspian Sea urgently (or in the level compared to
the other littoral states, because there are many other sources in
Iran, including the Persian Gulf, that can be exploited with less
difficulty and more gain) and Iran uses this fact as a tool for
pushing others to give more attention to its positions, the point
eight of the Tehran summit declaration seems to be against the tactics
of Tehran.

Some observers have considered Azerbaijan Republic as the winner of
the Summit in Tehran as far as the legal points are concerned
(9). Although Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan each won one point in
this field, we can say that Azerbaijan was the real winner because
Russia and Kazakhstan do not need Iran for dividing their shares.

The leaders of these states were happy about the outcome of Tehran
summit as far as the legal regime was in view. President Nursultan
Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan said: �I announce that no issue remained
unsolved.� (10) Also, Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan said: �outcome
of the summit should be regarded hopeful.
It shows that the legal status of Caspian will be solved successfully.
Declaration of the summit is the best achievement of this event.�
(11) Turkmenistan President said, �This summit showed that our
positions have becomecloser.� (12)

Caspian Summit may eventually turn into a forum for the broader issues
than the Caspian affairs. This means that the littoral states may use
this framework for tackling problems other than the legal regime of
the Caspianand try to make it a political forum in this sensitive
region. Also, the Tehran summit may have benefited the regime of Iran
in some ways (such as portraying that it was not so isolated as the
Western states were trying to show, or making the figures like
Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei, feel great that President Putin
had come to pay a visit to them), but the Summit was a loss for Iran
as far as the legal regime of the Caspian sea was concerned.

Following the summit in Tehran, the Russian President, and the Iranian
President only referred to the political issues. Vladimir Putin said:
�we regard that authority in Caspian belongs to the littoral states.
It is also connected with subsoil resources�I want to underline
especially that all sides positively assessed issues raised.�
Iranian President said: �the Caspian ea will always be the sea of
peace and friendship among the littoral states �this was a
successful meeting�. (13) Was it? If so, for whom?

Notes

(1) UPI, Caspian Meeting and Energy Hopes, Oct. 18, 2007
(2) Bahman Aghai Diba, �The Tehran Summit and National Interests of
Iran in
the Caspian sea�, Persian Journal Oct. 14, 2007
().
(3) Ibid.
(4) Bruce Pannier, �Caspian Summit Fails to Resolve Key
Questions�, RFL/RL,
Oct.16, 2007.
(5) The full text of 25points declaration of the Tehran Summit, in Persian,
Entekhab Newspaper (, dated 10/16/2007).
(6) Dariush Dabir, BBC Persian Service, �the change in Iran�s Policy about
Division of the Caspian Sea�, Oct. 18, 2007.
(7) Interviews with Radio Farda and the VOA following the summit.
(8) Mehdi Safari talking to the press.
(9) Ibid, Dariush Dabir.
(10)Tehran Summit and Caspian States, Journal of Turkish weekly, 16 Oct.
2007
(11)APA Azeri Press, Heads of Caspian States Hold Conference on the Results
of Tehran Summit, 16 Oct. 2007.
(12) Ibid, Journal of Turkish
(13) The New Europe- European Weekly, Putin Wants Iran and Caspian in his
Pocket, Oct. 19, 2007.

Bahman Aghai Diba is a Senior Consultant to the CEO of the World Resources
Company

()

RUSSIA TO HAVE NO MILITARY CONTINGENT IN GEORGIA BY END OF 2008

RosBusinessConsulting, Russia
Nov 2 2007

RBC, 02.11.2007, Moscow 14:21:48.There will not be a single Russian
serviceman in Georgia by the end of 2008, First Deputy Head of
Russia’s General Staff, lieutenant general Alexander Burukin told
reporters today. "Russia will fully meet its obligations to Georgia
and we hope nothing will impede it," the official stressed. "There is
complete understanding from the Georgian officials in this respect,"
Burukin added.

According to an agreement reached between Russia and Georgia, the
former is to have its 62nd military base withdrawn from Akhalkalaki by
the end of 2007 and the 12th military base from Batumi by the end of
2008. The servicemen and military equipment from these two military
bases will be moved in part to the Gyumri military base in Armenia,
with the rest returning to Russia.

HAVING NO GEOPOLITICAL IMPORTANCE, GUAM WAS FORMED TO RUIN CIS

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.11.2007 16:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Georgia’s domestic tensions will not change the
balance of forces in the region, just as GUAM activities. Having no
geopolitical importance, GUAM was formed to ruin the CIS," Ruben
Safrastyan, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies, told a
news conference in Yerevan.

"The Saakashvili regime is alive thanks to U.S. financial
assistance. Even if it collapses nothing will change in Georgia,"
he said.

When commenting on closure of U.S. and British Embassies in Azerbaijan,
Dr Safrastyan said, "The Islamic factor is gaining weight in
Azerbaijan. This is not anti-Americanism, this is radical Islamism.

Although Baku’s attempts to weaken it prove fruitless, wahhabits have
no influence on political regime in the republic yet."

"ZERO VIOLENCE" EXHIBITION OPENS IN YEREVAN

armradio.am
02.11.2007 13:46

"Zero Violence" exhibition was opened at the Council of Europe
Information Office in Armenia. The theme of violence and various ways
of its perception will be showcased at the exhibition.

Black and white pictures expressing different meanings and extents
of violence aim at raising public awareness on the issue and putting
the often silenced forms of violence under public spotlight.

Contributions to the exhibition were made by youth NGOs from Armenia,
Latvia, Poland, and Spain.

Organized within the framework of the Council of Europe All
Different-All Equal Campaign the exhibition is a follow up event
originated during discussion at the November 2006 "Heroes and Heroines"
human rights training held in Tbilisi, Georgia.

CHILDREN’S SHOOTING SPORTS SCHOOL PUT INTO OPERATION IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
Oct 31, 2007

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 31, NOYAN TAPAN. On October 31, a children’s shooting
sports school was put into operation in Yerevan. There are three
shooting-grounds, a gymnasium, a sauna in the building of nearly
580 million drams, which was built with the funds of the Hayastan
All-Armenian Fund. 60 sportsmen simultaneously can hold trainings in
the shooting-grounds.

RA President Robert Kocharian, who was present at the opening
ceremony, estimated the building of the construction as a serious
achievement. This building is the 10th one within the framework of
the big program of building and major repairing of sport structures,
which started 3-4 years ago. The President said that it is envisaged to
build such shooting-grounds in the regions, first of all in Gyumri and
Vanadzor. The construction of the 5th funicular roadway in Tsakhkadzor
is already in the final stage, the 6th one is planned to be built next
year: "And the potential of the whole mountain will be fully used,"
he said.

Vahe Aghabekian, the Executive Director of the Hayastan All-Armenian
Fund, said that the fund in average implemented programs of sport
importance of 1 billion drams a year in 2006 and 2007.

Armen Grigorian, the RA Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, said that
Armenia has rich traditions in the sphere of shooting. He mentioned
Olympic Champion Hrachya Petikian, many times World and Europe
Champion Zinaida Simonian, as well as Norayr Bakhtamian, who gained
the "Beijing-2008" rating. The Minister also said that it is envisaged
to organize an international tournament in the building in 2009.

ARMENIA’S GOVERNMENT READY TO DEVELOP COOPERATION WITH OSCE YEREVAN OFFICE

ARKA News Agency
Oct 31 2007
Armenia

YEREVAN, October 31. /ARKA/. Armenia’s Government is ready to develop
cooperation with OSCE Yerevan Office, Armenia’s Prime-Minister Serge
Sargsian said at his meeting with the newly appointed Head of OSCE
Office in Yerevan Sergey Kapinos.

Sargsian expressed confidence that the productive cooperation with
the office will continue while Kapinos is in the office.

The Head of OSCE Office in Yerevan, in his turn, pointed out
that the aim is to continue the traditionally good relations and
to develop close cooperation with Armenian state institutions and
public organizations.

He stressed that after completion of the current programs in intense
dialogue and discussions with tstate and public organizations new
cooperation programs will be developed.

Kapinos pointed out the wide range of potential cooperation fields –
ecology, social sector, and support in reforming the police structure,
programs to develop the country’s regions, human rights protection
and assistance in establishing a prompt response system.

Kapinos expressed confidence in possibility of developing and
implementing major and effective projects in 2008 like the program
on processing of rocket propellant "melange".

ASSYRIAN ACADEMIC SOCIETY WEBSITE HACKED BY TURKS

Assyrian International News Agency
Oct 30 2007

(AINA) — The Assyrian Academic Society’s website was hacked by a Turk
today. The front page of the website was replaced with the picture
shown below. The Turkish phrase says "this website was confiscated
by Krutre in the name of the Turkish Nation."

An official of the Assyrian Academic Society speculated that this maybe
an act of retaliation against Assyrians for their continuing pressure
on Turkey to recognize the genocide (AINA 4-3-2007) of Assyrians,
Greeks and Armenians in World War One. The genocide, which was planned
by Turks and largely executed by Kurds, saw the killing of 750,000
Assyrians, 400,000 Greeks and 1.5 million Armenians in a three year
period from 1915 to 1918.