Author: Kafian Jirair

SUMMING UP THE RESULTS

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
07 July 05

The months of May and June are a period of examinations at Artsakh
State University. This academic year the university had 401 alumni,
117 in full-time courses and 248 in extension courses. The number of
alumni in each department is: humanities 148, philology 52, economic
law 55, engineering 19, physics and mathematics 24, biochemistry 83
and agriculture 20. The chairmen of the state examination commissions
stated that the level of the graduate courses in ASU is very high. 7
out of 15 graduates majoring in English language and 6 out of 14
graduates majoring in law have A-grade diplomas. The vice rector of
the university Stepan Dadayan mentioned that the level of the students
of extension courses is not high, which is, according to him, easy to
explain. The head of the chair of literature and journalism of ASU
Socrat Khanian shares this opinion. In fact, we cannot but criticize
the extension courses because studies in this department have their
peculiarities. The number of hours in extension courses is 1/3 of the
academic hours in full-time courses. Besides, the village libraries
were destroyed during the war, there are no books for students, said
S. Khanian. The department of philology provides graduate courses for
four years now. The excellent undergraduate students are recommended
by the state examination commission to proceed with masters
courses. This year 4 students did an MA. The chairmen of the state
examination commissions, mainly professors of the state universities
of Armenia, highly evaluated the level of the exams and the knowledge
of the students.

LAURA GRIGORIAN.
07-07-2005

AZG Armenian Daily #125, 08/07/2005

Culture

‘CULTURAL LEGACY IS THE HISTORIC MEMORY OF ARMENIA’

Day of National Library Marked

The male gymnasium of Yerevan built in 1832 was granted state status as the
National Library of Armenia in 1919. A number of arrangements yesterday were
dedicated to the 86th anniversary of the Library.

The chairman of RA Constitutional Court, Gagik Harutyunian sent a
congratulatory note that opened the celebrations under the banner of
“Cultural Legacy is the Historic Memory of Armenia”. Among cultural workers
who took part in the celebration there were the chairmen of Theatre Workers’
and Writers’ Unions, president of the Armenian Encyclopedia, chairman of the
Fritiof Nansen Fund and others. French ambassador to Armenia, Henry Cuny,
congratulated the Library and said that when an old man dies in Africa
people say a library died. “They say so to emphasize the importance of
memory”, ambassador Cuny said.

28 employees of the National Library were awarded diplomas.

By Gohar Gevorgian

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
July 7 2005

Erdogan demands Armenia pullout

Turkey has called on Armenia to pull out of the occupied Azeri
territories and honor UN resolutions, re-affirming its support to
Azerbaijan’s fair position on the long-standing dispute over Upper
Garabagh.
“Turkey will continue supporting Azerbaijan on the Garabagh conflict
and its position remains unchanged”, Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan

said following talks with President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Thursday.

Erdogan, who paid his first official visit to Baku last week, said
Turkey has contributed to recognizing Armenia as aggressor in the
Council of Europe resolution. The country supports a settlement
through dialogue between the conflicting sides, he said.
The Turkish Prime Minister told news briefing that the European Union
has not put forth any demands to Turkey concerning recognition of the
so-called ‘genocide of Armenians’ and the issue of opening
Turkish-Armenian border in light of Turkey’s admission to EU.
“Turkey will not open its border with this country until the Garabagh
conflict is resolved fairly.”
Erdogan made an unexpected statement on Russia’s moving arms from its
Georgian bases to Armenia, which astonished the Azerbaijani public.
“The issue is Russia’s internal affair”, he said.
President Aliyev said Turkey has always supported Azerbaijan on the
Garabagh problem.
“Turkey has always stood and will stand beside Azerbaijan. It
supports our fair position and votes in our favor in all
international organizations. We are grateful to the Turkish
government and people for their support.”
The President also said he saw signs of progress in efforts to
resolve the Upper Garabagh dispute after a long period of apparent
stagnation. “Talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia are today going in
a positive direction”, he said.
Touching upon the issue over the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,
Aliyev said Azerbaijan is ready to do its utmost to find a solution.
“The fact that our Turkish brethren continue to live there in such
conditions is certainly unacceptable. The Cyprus Turks should come
out of the isolation.”
Turkey is the only country that recognizes as a state the Turkish
Cypriot-run Mediterranen island populated by ethnic Turks and Greeks.

The President voiced disappointment with the fact that the referendum
held in Northern Cyprus fell short of expectations for solving the
Turkish community’s problems.
Azeri trade and tourism companies plan to open their representations
in the republic and a charter flight will open to Northern Cyprus in
the future. Azerbaijani businessmen will visit Cyprus soon to
establish closer cooperation with their Cypriot colleagues, Aliyev
said.

‘Test for democracy’
The parliamentary elections due in November ‘will be a test for
democracy’ for Azerbaijan, the Turkish Prime Minister said.
Speaking at the parliament on Thursday, Erdogan noted that the
country is currently on the road to democracy.
“Progress in Azerbaijan is very important for us. We want the
country’s people to live in a country honoring democracy and human
rights”, said Erdogan, welcoming reforms being carried out by
President Ilham Aliyev.
“Democracy is a key to long-term stability. The elections will be a
good chance for Azerbaijan to show progress it has achieved in this
area.”
The Turkish Prime Minister also said his country is ready to provide
technical assistance in organizing the upcoming elections. Turkish
observers will be a part of the international mission to monitor the
voting, he said.
Erdogan added that he believes the Azerbaijani authorities and
opposition will ‘pass the test’.
Touching upon Turkey’s bid for EU membership, the Turkish Prime
Minister said the organization should not generate a conflict of
cultures, but, on the contrary, serve their integration.
“We do not see the European Union as an economic or Christian club.
It should be an organization uniting civilizations. For this to be
possible, we should be granted EU membership. But regardless of
whether or not we are accepted, we will stay on the road of
development.”
The European Union is due to start discussions on Turkey’s membership
on October 3.
Erdogan said Ankara will continue its efforts at mastering democratic
values. The current realities show that every nation rejecting
democratic changes and trampling on human rights is not accepted by
the international community, he said.
Erdogan called for closer attention to the global poverty problem.
The huge funds allocated for weaponry around the world should be used
to alleviate poverty instead. $900 billion is earmarked for armament
throughout the world every year, and if just half of the amount is
spent on poverty reduction, this problem can be resolved, the Turkish
Prime Minister said.
“The plight of the poor around the world is turning into a serious
problem for the countries they live in. We must help these people, as
we share a common world with them, otherwise, we will be guilty
before the future generation and history. We all live in this world
just once. The posts we hold are not forever, regardless of whether
you are president, parliament member or prime minister. At the end of
the lifetime, we will not be able to take the possessions we gained
with us. We should therefore leave behind a good memory of our
deeds.”

‘Problems for business remain’

Problems for business remain in Azerbaijan despite growing
investments, Turkish entrepreneurs said in a meeting with the Turkish
Prime Minister in Baku.
Turkey has invested over $2 billion in Azerbaijan so far. 50,000
people are employed at companies opened by Turkish entrepreneurs in
the country, board chairman of the Union of Turkish and Azerbaijani
industrialists and businessmen (TUSIAB) Bagacar Baysal said at the
meeting, attended by representatives of 249 out of 300 Turkish
companies working in the country.
Despite the unresolved status of the Garabagh conflict, Azerbaijan’s
economy is developing very rapidly. The recent launch of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export pipeline is of great economic and
political importance for Turkey and Azerbaijan, Baysal said. He noted
that Turkish businesspeople are looking forward to the opening of the
Gars-Tbilisi-Baku regional railway line.
Representative of TUSIAB construction section Yusif Ziya Inan said
Turkish businessmen hold 11% share of Azerbaijan’s construction
market but said some problems remain, although they have invested
some $360 million in the sector. “Certain ‘fees’ are requested to win
most of the tenders for construction operations”, he said, requesting
the Prime Minister to assist in solving the problem.
Turkish entrepreneurs also said that customs duties are overly high
in the country.
Businessman Mustafa Gobeklioglu noted that Azerbaijan has signed
agreements with Russia and other neighboring countries on mutual
breaks on customs tariffs, but not with Turkey yet.
“Whereas bringing a ton of cargo from Russia to Azerbaijan costs
$1,200, Turkish businesspeople spend $3,500. Therefore, documents are
needed on lowering customs tariffs between Turkey and Azerbaijan.”
Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Erdogan said that although
economic and trade ties between the two countries have expanded over
the last three years, they are still below potential.
“The trade turnover should be raised from $550 million to $1 billion.
Turkey is the third country, next to the US and Britain, for the
volume of investments in Azerbaijan. The investments should be
doubled and the commodities turnover raised to $3 billion.”
As for high financial and customs tariffs, Erdogan said ‘there are
problems on both sides’.
“Some decisions should be passed. We should also be fair in laying
out demands. At times we face conflicting demands. But the state has
its interests as well. Let’s work not on instructions from above but
in compliance with the law. We are ready to assist you in the
problems you encounter. Remember that your success is our success.”
The Turkish Prime Minister noted that the idea of setting up the
Turkish-Azerbaijani trade house was discussed and approved at his
meeting with President Aliyev. Erdogan noted that he proposed that
Azeri businessmen invest in production and the services sector in
Turkey, while his country – increase the number of production
enterprises in Azerbaijan. The proposal also envisions establishing
cooperation of the two countries’ entrepreneurs in a third country.
The meeting concluded with electing the Turkish Prime Minister an
honorable member of TUSIAB.

Baku Today
July 7 2005

Ago Group Presents Its Report on Armenia and Azerbaijan

07/07/2005 20:46

A delegation of the Ago Group of the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe visited Baku from 29 June to 2 July 2005 to assess
the progress made by Azerbaijan in the fulfillment of its commitments
to the Council of Europe.

The delegation met with the President of the Republic, members of
government as well as representatives of the opposition and civil
society. The 6th visit of the Group a couple of days before the
meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly in
Baku, underlines the importance which the Council of Europe attaches
to Azerbaijan’s democratic development at a decisive juncture in its
political history.

The forthcoming parliamentary elections were very much at the centre
of the discussions. The recent presidential decree was warmly
welcomed by the delegation. It, however, noted the concerns raised
regarding the composition of the election commissions, the accuracy
of the voters lists, the right for the opposition to campaign without
harassment in the whole country, as well as equal access to the media
for all parties and candidates.

The President expressed his determination to have completely free and
fair elections and underlined that he had given clear instructions to
all public authorities concerned to that effect. He stressed that
this is, indeed, a major opportunity for creating a normal political
environment in the country.

The Group noted that a number of important steps have been taken
which, if sustained, will without doubt improve democratic practice
in Azerbaijan. The initiation of dialogue between ruling and
opposition parties and the adoption of a code of conduct, the fact
that rallies can now be freely held by the opposition are noted in
this context. Further progress on the question of political prisoners
has also been made through the two recent presidential pardons and
the setting-up of a task force between the authorities and NGO’s to
solve all the remaining cases once and for all.

The delegation welcomed the announcement, after the first day of its
visit, of a court decision allowing two of the opposition
representatives arrested during the October 2003 events to run for
the parliamentary elections, as the delegation had urged. It
expressed the hope that the remaining five personalities will also be
allowed to participate.

Iranian governor, Armenian minister discuss expanding economic ties

Arminfo
5 Jul 05

YEREVAN

The governor of Iran’s Hormozgan Province, Ebrahim Derazgisu, who is
paying a visit to Yerevan at the head of a trade-economic delegation
of this province, and Armenian Transport and Communications Minister
Andranik Manukyan have held a meeting in Yerevan.

Discussing the prospects for the development of trade-economic
cooperation between Hormozgan Province and Armenia, Derazgisu and
Manukyan noted good tendencies in the development of Iranian-Armenian
relations and the great potential of bilateral cooperation, an IRNA
new agency correspondent has reported.

During the meeting, the Armenian minister expressed Yerevan’s interest
in using the Bandar-e Abbas seaport for cargo transportation. Manukyan
also pointed out friendly and good-neighbourly relations between
Yerevan and Tehran and stressed the importance of the swift
construction of a second Iran-Armenia road.

In turn, Derazgisu pointed out the high transport potential of
Hormozgan Province and spoke out in favour of expanding cooperation
between Armenia and the Iranian province on the sphere of cargo
transportation. He stressed that Iran’s transport potential and
especially the seaports and free economic zones of Hormozgan Province
are a good basis for developing cooperation between Iran and Armenia.

It must be noted that the average daily transport turnover between
Armenia and Iran totals 743 vehicles, including 276 lorries.

Eurasianet Organization
July 5 2005

CHANGE TO COME FOR ARMENIA’S CONSTITUTION?
Haroutiun Khachatrian 7/05/05

Armenia’s ruling coalition and opposition appear poised to reach a
consensus on amendments to the country’s constitution. The
breakthrough comes after persistent intervention by the Council of
Europe and could signal an end to the opposition’s 18-month boycott
of parliament.

Constitutional reform is a pivotal political issue for Armenia.
Overtures to western organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and the European Union have picked up pace in recent
years and Yerevan appears eager to throw its lot more decidedly with
the West. Making the case that the government is committed to
democratic reform constitutes a key part of that process.

At a June 28 press conference with Shavarsh Kocharian, a member of
the opposition Ardarution (Justice) bloc, Tigran Torosian, deputy
chairman of the National Assembly, announced that the ruling
coalition and opposition are very close to a consensus on a draft
constitution that includes provisions recommended by the Venice
Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional
law. In a statement released that same day, Roland Wegener, chief of
the Council of Europe’s monitoring mission, described the accord
reached with the Venice Commission a critical step for Armenia’s
ongoing democratization.

The changes advocated by the Venice Commission and opposition and
accepted by the government cover three main areas. Under the
Commission’s recommendations, the president would no longer be able
to dismiss the prime minister at will and a new prime minister would
require the approval of a majority of parliament’s members.

The provision is seen as essential for balancing the distribution of
power between the president and the parliament. Constitutional
amendments passed by the National Assembly in a first reading in May
2005 stipulated that the president may dissolve a newly elected
parliament if that body twice fails to endorse presidential
candidates for prime minister. The current constitution does not
allow the National Assembly to be dissolved until one year after its
election has passed.

The election of Yerevan’s mayor presented a second key concession.
Under Armenia’s current constitution, the country is divided into 11
provinces (marzs), with governors appointed by the central
government. Yerevan, home to roughly half of the country’s population
of 2.98 million, holds the status of a province. Apparently fearing
the emergence of a powerful political rival, both Kocharian and
Armenia’s first president, Levon Ter-Petrossian (1990-1998), had
favored keeping the mayorship an appointed position.

The third concession concerned the Council of Justice, a body that
plays a key role in appointing judges. The government had initially
refused to remove provisions from the draft constitution that name
the president chairman of the council. The Council of Europe had
recommended that such a change was necessary to establish the
independence of judicial power.

After final changes are made to the document and approved by
parliament in late August, the proposed constitution will be put to
Armenian voters this November in a national referendum.

With the opposition already welcoming the government’s decision to
accept the Venice Commission’s recommendations, both sides now appear
optimistic about the course of political change. “It’s too important
that the referendum to be held in Armenia by November be crowned with
success and Armenia receive a new chance for its development, [for
the] extension of democracy, as a result of which the country will
become a [leader] in the South Caucasus,” Noyan Tapan news agency
reported Torosian as saying in explaining the decision to adopt the
Commission’s proposals and work with the opposition.

If the draft submitted to the Venice Commission “completely
corresponds to the memorandum and the requirements publicly put
forward by the opposition are Fulfilled,” Kocharian stated, the
opposition would take part in the parliamentary debates scheduled for
August, when the draft constitution will be up for a second reading.
The National Unity opposition faction has already declared that it
will abandon its boycott of parliament to do likewise.

“The expected reforms . . . [are] a good ground for Armenia to be . .
. able to [advance] in its development and to . . . differ from not
only Azerbaijan, but, also, Georgia,” Kocharian said.

President Robert Kocharian first proposed changes to Armenia’s 1995
constitution upon coming to power in 1998, but the reforms have been
a start-and-stop process until now.

The newfound agreement, however, came as the result of steady
pressure. An earlier referendum in 2003, submitted by the government
one year later than promised, failed to gain voters’ support. Past
delays in advancing constitutional reform prompted the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to include this issue as an
urgent topic of discussion in its June 2005 session.

In a June 23 resolution during PACE’s summer assembly, the body
delivered a de facto ultimatum to Armenia for this latest draft: “The
Assembly strongly believes that, for the sake of its own people and
for the sake of its further European integration, Armenia cannot
afford another failure of the constitutional referendum.” The
document calls on Armenia to hold a referendum on an amended
constitution no later than November 20005 and for the opposition to
end its boycott of parliament, launched following the disputed
re-election of President Kocharian in 2003, and promote the Council
of Europe’s recommendations.

Armenia will resubmit its draft constitution to the Venice Commission
by July 7 for further discussion.

However, numerous difficulties remain. Armenia’s ruling coalition
must approve the changes made based on the recommendations and send
the document once again to the Venice Commission for approval.

Only after parliament approves the final draft document, will
preparations for the November referendum begin. These include a
public awareness campaign as well as work to remove irregularities
from voter lists that have plagued past Armenian votes.

Getting Armenians to turn out for the vote, however, could prove the
ultimate test. In a recent poll conducted by the private Vox Populi
organization, only 29 percent of some 624 Yerevan residents
definitely planned to take part or were likely to take part in the
November referendum, Armenialiberty.org reported.

But for now, a lack of voter interest does not appear to figure into
PACE strategy for working with the Kocharian administration. With an
eye to encouraging Armenia’s constitutional reform process, the
assembly’s June resolution simply urges the government “to provide
for the coming into force of the constitutional reform as soon as
reasonably possible.”

Editor’s Note: Haroutiun Khachatrian is a Yerevan-based writer
specializing in economic and political affairs.

Eurasianet organization
July 4 2005

IS GEORGIA BECOMING PROGRESSIVELY LESS DEMOCRATIC?

Liz Fuller 7/04/05

Two developments in recent weeks have further tarnished Georgia’s
claim to be the trailblazer of liberal democracy within the CIS. The
first was the launch of a process to staff the Central Election
Commission and its lower-level equivalents with people known to be
loyal to the ruling elite. That process also effectively excluded
many Armenians and Azerbaijanis from southern and eastern Georgia
from serving on such commissions. The second was the national
legislature’s initial backing of an amendment to empower the Tbilisi
municipal council to elect the city mayor.

Together, they beg questions about the dedication to democracy of the
“democrats” who came to power in the 2003 Rose Revolution.

The Georgian Example

The claim of Georgia’s pioneering democratic role derives from the
advent to power in the so-called Rose Revolution in November 2003 of
a team of young, pro-Western politicians who proclaimed their shared
determination to put an end to the corruption and graft that had been
the hallmarks of the Shevardnadze era. The opposition movements that
subsequently brought about the fall of the incumbent leaderships in
Ukraine in December 2004 and Kyrgyzstan in March 2005 both
acknowledged they were inspired and empowered by the Georgian
example, and US President George W. Bush has repeatedly hailed the
Georgian example, most recently during his visit to Tbilisi in early
May.

While the new Georgian leadership lost no time in dismissing and
arresting — sometimes in front of television cameras —
Shevardnadze-era officials suspected of corruption and mismanagement,
skepticism swiftly surfaced over the depth of the new government’s
commitment to true democratization and far-reaching reform. In a
lengthy and detailed analysis of the aftermath of the 2003 Rose
Revolution published in December, one London-based analyst suggested
that the transition from Eduard Shevardnadze to Mikheil Saakashvili
(who was elected president in early January 2004 with 96 percent of
the vote) was one from “democracy without democrats” to “democrats
without democracy.”

Contradictory Signals

The first development that supports that implicit contradiction was
the selection by President Saakashvili of the 13 members of the new
Central Election Commission from a shortlist of 30 compiled by his
staffers. At its first session on June 7, the new Central Election
Commission solicited applications from persons wishing to serve on
the 75 five-member district election commissions. Applicants must be
over 21, have a higher education, and speak fluent Georgian. That
latter requirement automatically excludes thousands of Armenians and
Azerbaijanis who grew up in regions of southern and eastern Georgia
where there are no schools with Georgian as the language of
instruction. On June 14, the parliamentary opposition accused deputy
speaker Mikheil Machavariani and other leaders of the parliamentary
majority of systematically summoning regional governors to Tbilisi
and ordering them to ensure that local election commissions are
dominated by members of the ruling National Movement, rustavi2.com
reported. Machavariani conceded that regional governors are being
summoned to Tbilisi to discuss preparations for upcoming midterm
elections, but he denied that the leadership is plotting to determine
the outcome of that ballot to its own advantage. “We are all eager to
hold free and fair elections,” rustavi2.com quoted Machavariani as
saying.

The second potentially troubling event was the approval by parliament
in the first reading on June 23 of amendments to the law on Tbilisi
that provide for the city’s mayor to be chosen by members of the
municipal council, rather than directly elected. Until now, the
president has appointed the mayor of Tbilisi, just as in neighboring
Armenia the president names the mayor of Yerevan. Armenia has for
months been under considerable pressure from the Council of Europe to
include in a package of proposed constitutional amendments provision
for the direct election of the Yerevan mayor, and last week agreed to
that demand.

Pro-Saakashvili legislators and Saakashvili himself have sought to
rationalize that procedure by arguing that the election of a mayor
whose political affiliation differs from that of the majority of
municipal council members could paralyze the city legislature. But
opposition politicians protested that the legislation would pave the
way for the ruling party to dominate the city council on a permanent
basis. Koba Davitashvili (Conservative) termed it the first step
toward abolishing all mayoral elections in all towns and predicted
that it could trigger a serious civic crisis. Even before that
amendment was unveiled in parliament, the opposition Conservative
party raised the possibility of seeking to impeach President
Saakashvili on the grounds that he has violated the constitution by
failing to introduce direct elections for the post of mayor in the
towns of Batumi, Poti, and Zestafoni, Caucasus Press reported on
April 14.

Another protest situation stems from a recent decree promulgated by
Saakashvili that strips Georgia’s universities of their autonomy and
augments the power of the rector, who is appointed by the president.
Faculty members at Tbilisi State University launched a protest on
June 27 against the decision by acting rector Rusudan Lortkipanidze
to reduce the number of faculties from 22 to six and to dismiss 800
staff. Lortkipanidze responded to that protest action by declaring
that anyone who dislikes her planned reforms is free to resign.

Top-Down Democratization?

It is unclear whether and to what extent Saakashvili’s
quasi-authoritarian approach has contributed to the growing
perception that the level of democracy in Georgia is on the decline.
On June 27, Caucasus Press cited the findings of a recent poll of 500
people conducted by the weekly “Kviris palitra” in which 26.6 percent
of respondents said they believe the level of democracy has declined
over the past 12 months. By contrast, 49.4 percent of respondents
considered that the level of democracy has not changed over that
period.

Nor is its apparent reluctance to promote top-down democratization
the only perceived failing of the new Georgian leadership. Some of
its senior members have been accused of criminal activities. For
example, Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili and his protege, Mikheil
Kareli, governor of the Shida Kartli region that encompasses the
disputed unrecognized Republic of South Ossetia, are both believed to
be implicated in smuggling, according to the Institute for War and
Peace Reporting’s Caucasus Reporting Service on April 21. On June 24,
the opposition New Conservative (a.k.a. New Rightist) parliamentary
faction accused Kareli of creating obstacles to private business,
rustavi2.com reported. Okruashvili has further been accused of
single-handedly determining how budget funds allocated for the
Georgian armed forces should be spent, according to the daily
“Rezonansi” on May 13.

To date, the fractured Georgian opposition has not shown any
readiness to close ranks and coalesce in a single, powerful
antigovernment force. There have, however, been reports that some
members of the present leadership might be considering switching to
the opposition camp. On June 24, rustavi2.com quoted parliamentary
speaker Burdjanadze as saying she is unaware whether some former
close associates of Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, who died in
February under circumstances that have still not been completely
clarified, intend to join the Republican Party. At a congress on June
27, that party elected as its new chairman legal expert David
Usupashvili. Outgoing Chairman David Berdzenishvili told congress
delegates that he believes Usupashvili is capable of transforming the
party into a qualitatively new force with strong chances of emerging
among the winners of the next elections.

AGREEMENT FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DUAL TAXATION SIGNED BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF ARMENIA AND SYRIA

YEREVAN, June 29. /ARKA/. An agreement for the avoidance of dual
taxation was signed between the governments of Armenia and Syria by
Deputy Ministers of Finance of two countries Tigran Khachatryan and
Mohamad Hader Alseid Ahmad. The agreement aims at exclusion of dual
taxation of income and tax discrimination between the sides, which is
a necessary condition for compliance with other economic agreements and
reached understanding. According to Syrian Deputy Minister of Finance,
the agreement testifies to the intensive development of relations
between the countries. He added that the agreement consisting of
29 articles, regulates tax field and refers to tax on profit and
income-tax. Hamad expressed his belief that the agreement will become
the stimulus for the Armenian and Syrian investors and businessmen
to make investments in two countries. He added that the parliament
of Syria will ratify the document in the shortest possible time period.

In his turn Khachatryan noted that the agreement will become one
more step on the way to economic cooperation. According to him,
the document specifies the work environment for the households,
and in separate cases it provides for softer terms of taxation than
local legislations provide for. “Signing of the agreement will give
stimulus to households of two countries, and after it comes in force
it will yield the results already next year”, he said. Khachatryan
expressed his belief that the agreement will be ratified by the
Armenian parliament already in autumn 2005. A.H.-0–

AZG Armenian Daily #119, 29/06/2005

Armenia-CE

KOCHARIAN GIVES IN TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Referendum and Elections in November May Turn into a Trail for Armenia and
Azeri Presidents

At a joint press conference with Armenian foreign minister yesterday,
Germany’s permanent representative to the Council of Europe, Roland
Wegener, stated that progress is looming in all 3 spheres of Armenia’s
obligations to the CE — balancing the authority of executive and
legislative powers, reforming jural system and establishing electoral
system for Yerevan mayor.

Ago group and monitoring group of PACE are the ones that monitor
obligations Armenia assumed. Wegener, chairman in office of Ago
group met with Armenian President, parliament speaker as well as the
ministers of foreign affairs and justice.

In fact, President Kocharian and the ruling coalition are making
concessions exposed to pressure from the CE. If in the past the
Armenian authorities used to resist particularly in the issue
of elective mayoralty, then they are surrendering in the last few
weeks. The European structures, the CE above all, watching developments
in Armenia and Azerbaijan are giving clear signals that the referendum
and parliamentary elections launching in the countries will be in
the focus of their attention.

“Primarily, we need to make sure that the participating states meet
the standards of the CE in the spheres of democracy, human rights and
rule of law. For that reason, we take the South Caucasian region in our
spotlight for the time being. We believe important the developments
connected with referendum on Armenian constitution and parliamentary
elections in Azerbaijan”, head of the Committee of Minister of the
CE Amaral stated lately.

Wegener also stated yesterday that it is desirable that the
constitutional reforms win the favor of the majority in the parliament
and the opposition by the beginning of second hearings in August. That
will mark, Wegener put it, a new page in the democratic process in
the country. The envoy also noted that the referendum in fall should
be a turning point on this road.

Wegener also talked of Nagorno Karabakh issue. While joining the
Council of Europe in 2001, Armenia and Azerbaijan undertook obligation
to settle the conflict only peacefully. Wegener said that he is
acquainted with the details of the talk process but there are key
points over which the sides are failing to agree.

Vartan Oskanian confirmed that he had an unofficial meeting with his
Azeri counterpart in Brussels on June 22 and labeled the meeting
“very useful”. Foreign minister repeated that he and Mamediarov
came to an agreement in Paris over one issue not accounting small
points. Oskanian did not unveil the issue that the sides agreed on
but expressed hope that it will be settled and after that they will
pass on to other issue of the conflict.

The foreign minister does not expect new tasks from the OSCE Minsk
group co-chairs arriving in the region on July 11-16. He noted that
they are conducting talks over all the suggestions that are on the
table. And if the sides reach a consensus, Oskanian said, they will
easily jot it down.

By Tatoul Hakobian

ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN REPORT MORE PROGRESS TOWARD KARABAKH PEACE
By Emil Danielyan

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Jamestown Foundation
June 28 2005

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Armenia and Azerbaijan have reported further progress in their
decade-long negotiations on the Karabakh enclave following the June
17 meeting of their foreign ministers in Paris. International
mediators are now cautiously upbeat about prospects for resolving the
most intractable ethnic dispute in the former Soviet Union. But they
caution that the conflicting parties have failed to use similar
windows of opportunity in the past.

Foreign Ministers Vartan Oskanian of Armenia and Elmar Mammadyarov of
Azerbaijan met in the presence of the U.S., Russian, and French
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to try to flesh out verbal
understandings reportedly reached by the presidents of the two
countries. Ilham Aliev and Robert Kocharian talked for nearly three
hours in Warsaw on May 15-16.

Oskanian described the Paris talks as “positive” and “constructive.”
“We have not yet managed to bring discussions on any particular issue
to a successful conclusion,” he told reporters on June 20. “Having
said that, some common ground is in sight.”

Oskanian also guarded against excessive expectations from the
Karabakh peace process. “Significantly, the presidents took a step
forward, no matter how small, on that issue and instructed us to
build upon that and find some solution,” he said in an apparent
reference to Karabakh’s future status. “We failed to do that in
Paris.”

The Azerbaijani side also appeared largely satisfied with the latest
round of peace talks. “The pace of meetings and the essence of the
discussions, in my opinion, are promising,” Deputy Foreign Minister
Araz Azimov told the Azerbaijani ANS television on June 18. Azimov
announced at a news conference two days later that Aliev and
Kocharian are scheduled to hold another meeting in Kazan, Russia, on
August 26.

Prior to the Armenian-Azerbaijani summit, there will likely be
another face-to-face encounter between Mammadyarov and Oskanian and a
visit to the conflict zone by the Minsk Group co-chairs. The troika
reportedly plans to travel to Baku, Yerevan, and Stepanakert in
mid-July.

The Yerevan daily Hayots Ashkhar quoted Arkady Ghukasian, the
president of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, as saying
that the mediators are unlikely to bring any “complete schemes or
final solutions” to the region. “I don’t think that the co-chairs’
visit will be fateful,” he said.

Still, U.S. officials now do not rule out the possibility of some
sort of peace agreement being signed in the course of this year. A
senior official in President George W. Bush’s administration
described recent progress in the protracted peace process as “pretty
significant.” But the official was quick to add that the mediators
will not “rush agreement” at this juncture.

The current phase of Karabakh peace talks is part of the so-called
“Prague process” that began a year ago and raised fresh hopes for
long-awaited peace. Sketchy details of the talks made public so far
suggest that the parties and the mediators are trying to combine two
fundamentally different strategies of conflict resolution.

Azerbaijan stands for a “step-by-step” resolution of the dispute that
would delay agreement on Karabakh’s status, the main sticking point,
until after the liberation of surrounding Azerbaijani lands that were
occupied by Armenian forces during the 1991-94 war. The Armenians, by
contrast, until recently insisted on a “package” accord that would
resolve all contentious issues at once. But they are now ready to
embrace a phased settlement, provided that they get other
international guarantees of continued Armenian control over Karabakh.

Accordingly, each side emphasizes elements of the discussed peace
deal that it finds more beneficial for itself. Azimov, for example,
said the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers discussed the
return of the occupied districts in Azerbaijan proper. For his part,
Oskanian was anxious to stress that none of those districts would be
given back to Baku without some agreement on Karabakh’s status. He
said it remains the number one issue for the Armenian side and is
high on the agenda of the Prague process.

The parties have already been close to hammering out a peace accord
in the past, most recently at a conference held in Key West, Florida,
in April 2001. But last-minute disagreements and other obstacles
always scuttled a deal that would have far-reaching political and
economic implications for the entire South Caucasus. U.S. officials
are mindful of the possibility of another fiasco. They say that is
the reason why renewed hopes for Karabakh peace will not ease U.S.
pressure on Aliev’s regime to ensure the freedom and fairness of
Azerbaijan’s upcoming parliamentary elections. They also rule out
more leniency toward Armenia’s leadership, whose democratic
credentials are likewise questionable.

Some Armenian and Azerbaijani pundits have long argued that neither
regime is interested in mutual compromise on Karabakh, as it would
run the risk of losing power. The next few months should put this
theory to the test.

(Hayots Ashkhar, Haykakan Zhamanak, June 21; BBC Monitoring, June 18,
June 20; Interviews with Bush administration and State Department
officials, June 6-9)