Author: Karapetian Hovik

RA PREMIER MEETS WITH GEORGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER

YEREVAN, JULY 21. ARMINFO. RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan and
Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvily discussed issues of
developing the bilateral relations.

The press service of the RA Government reports that during a meeting
today the Armenian Premier expressed his satisfaction over the high
level of bilateral relations. According to him, the Armenian-Georgian
relations are one of the components of regional stability, but they
need attention and discussion, especially in the economic aspect. In
this context, pointing out the importance of the Georgian Foreign
Minister’s first official visit to Armenia, the Armenian Premier
stressed that it will contribute to his own visit to Georgia in a few
days. During the visit, the Armenian-Georgian Intergovernment Economic
Cooperation is to hold its regular meeting to be chaired by the
Armenian and Georgian Premiers. Stressing the importance of the
Commission’s activities, the Armenian Premier expressed confidence
that he will discuss a wide range of issues of Armenian-Georgian
economic cooperation with his Georgian counterpart Zurab Zhvania.

Speaking of ensuring regional stability, Andranik Margaryan stressed
Armenia’s concern with stability in Georgia. In his turn, the Georgian
Foreign Minister presented the political situation in Georgia, in
particular, the new situation in Ajaria, the problems in Abkhazia and
South Ossetia, Georgia’s relations with Russia and Turkey. The sides
also discussed problems of Javakhetia. Pointing out that Armenia is
constantly concerned with the Armenian diaspora, the Armenian Premier
expressed a hope that the Georgian authorities will deal with the
socio-economic, educational and cultural problems of Georgia’s
citizens of Armenian nationality. Andranik Margaryan re-affirmed
Armenia’s willingness to assist with the implementation of
socio-economic development programs in Samtskhe-Javakhetia. The sides
re-affirmed the willingness of the Armenian and Georgian Governments
to strengthen the bilateral political and economic relations, as well
as to be actively involved in regional integration.

IRANIAN PRESIDENT MOHAMMAD KHATAMI WILL DISCUSSED SETTLEMENT OF
KARABAKH CONFLICT IN BAKU

YEREVAN, JULY 21. ARMINFO. In the course of his visit to Baku, Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami will discussed settlement of the Karabakh
conflict with the Azerbaijani authorities, the 525th newspaper
reports.

According to the source, the visit is fixed for Aug 4-5. At present,
the visit’s program and the agenda of bilateral negotiations are being
specified through diplomatic channels. During his visit, M.Khatami
will hold a tete-a-tete meeting with Ilham Aliyev, as well as an
enlarged meeting. Discussions of both regional and bilateral and
international issues are expected. As a result of the negotiations,
more than 10 bilateral documents are expected to be signed, as well as
a joint press-conference of the two presidents will be held.

Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
July 17 2004

WRITING THE RIGHT
Bridging a gap once thought too wide

ANI AMIRKHANIAN
I remember walking to school dressed in my checkered uniform wearing
a tight black veil around my head. Indoors, the veil would come off
and I could breathe a sigh of relief. But as soon as I stepped
outside, the veil came back on.

It was a time of unrest and an era of uncertainty. It was as though I
was living in two different worlds – like so many children of my
generation at the time – as the revolution divided the lines and set
boundaries between Christians and Muslims.

I lived in Iran for the first seven years of my life. When I stepped
indoors into an Armenian school – intended for only those of Armenian
descent – I was an Armenian of Christian faith. The teachers read and
taught the lessons in Armenian and the students staged the skits for
the Christmas pageants, while the nuns preached from the Bible and
repeatedly said that God was watching.

But walking outside into the Muslim world, I had to “become” Muslim
and abide by Islamic law. Women – whether Armenian, Muslim or other –
covered their hair and neck, always careful not to reveal any flesh.
Men wore long sleeves and reserved shorts and other more revealing
attire only for the beach.

Muslims attended mosques and prayed, while Armenians went to church
to pray. Christian Armenian students learned to pray in Armenian and
studied the teachings of the Bible, while Muslims read and lived
their lives by the Koran.

Christians never married Muslims or vice versa. It was forbidden.
Each had their own places of worship, schools and other institutions
that set them apart.

Despite the fact that Christians and Muslims did co-exist, they were
separate but equal in their own terms. A Christian – or in my case,
Christian Armenians – were told to keep a distance. There was mutual
respect and understanding, but the line between the two was never
crossed.

A Muslim family lived next door. They were hard-working, decent
people who shared similar values and morals. We were good friends and
often visited each others’ homes regularly. My brother and I were
friends with their son and daughters. We always had an understanding
for each other and enjoyed the company we kept.

But then again, there was the issue of “us” and “them.” We kept a
distance. I don’t remember a time when we went out in public
together, or celebrated birthdays with each others’ families and
friends. There was socialization, but it was kept to a minimum – we
were restricted from getting too close with our Muslim neighbors.

It’s funny when I think back to that time. I never saw my Muslim
neighbor friends as “people who were Muslims.” To me, they were like
any other people who were living in a society where the social and
political climate dictated their lives and required them to obey a
strict religious and moral code.

I don’t think there was ever a time when they thought of us – a
Christian family – as “them.” We were no different from each other,
with the exception of religion.

Flash-forward 25 years later in America when a significant number of
Christian Armenians have already migrated to the states along with a
large portion of the Muslim Iranian population.

Here, it seems as though Christian Armenians are no longer setting
boundaries with Muslims and vice versa. Although there is still
tension between Christians and Muslims in general, there are fewer
boundaries, divisions or distances that once existed between people
on a daily basis.

As a child, for just a few short years of my life, I witnessed and
experienced a divide between people – all in the name of religion.
Now, as an adult, I can’t help but be grateful that I don’t have to
abide by rules that set me apart and distant from people who happen
to be of another religion.

A Muslim friend of mine once said she felt confused whether to
consider herself a Muslim or Christian. She said she felt more “like
a Christian,” but didn’t deny the fact she was raised as a Muslim.

Maybe, I said, it was because she had always had Christian friends.

“Does it really matter – Christian or Muslim?” she said. “I’m just
glad we have been good friends.”

– ANI AMIRKHANIAN is a resident of Glendale, a graduate of USC and a
freelance writer. Reach her at [email protected].

Tehran Times
July 16 2004

Iran May Increase Gas Supplies To Armenia

MOSCOW — The amount of gas being supplied to Armenia under a
bilateral agreement to build a pipeline between the two countries may
be increased by over 30% from 36 billion cubic meters to 47bcm during
the 20-year contract term, Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisian
told journalists.

He said that initially the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline would pump 1.1
billion cubic meters of gas per year, which will increase to 2.3 bcm
at the end of the contract.

He also said that the contract might be extended by five years – from
20 to 25 years.

Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Mohammad Farhad Koleini was quoted as
saying earlier that trade between Iran and Armenia arising from the
agreement to build and operate the pipeline will amount to $10
billion over the next 20-25 years.

Armenia and Iran signed an agreement on May 13 for the construction
of a pipeline between the two countries. The pipeline is 141 km long,
inducing 41 km in Armenia and 100 km in Iran. The total cost of the
project is estimated at $210-$220 million.

Gas should start to arrive in Armenia from January 2007 and will be
used at Armenian thermal power plants to produce electricity for
export to Iran.

Associated Press Worldstream
July 16, 2004 Friday 1:53 PM Eastern Time

No breakthrough for Karabakh mission

AIDA SULTANOVA; Associated Press Writer

BAKU, Azerbaijan

Foreign mediators ended a mission to Azerbaijan and Armenia on Friday
without a breakthrough in the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, and the
U.S. representative told the nations that the main burden in reaching
a settlement is on them.

Comments from the American, French and Russian envoys from the
Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe’s Minsk Group,
which has been mediating the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh for nearly
a decade, suggested their latest twice-yearly visit brought little
progress.

“The progress or lack of progress, whatever it is, rests in Yerevan
and Baku, and that is an important fact,” the group’s U.S.
co-chairman, State Department official Steven Mann, said at a news
conference in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

Mann and his French and Russian counterparts also visited the
Armenian capital Yerevan and Nagorno-Karabakh, a largely ethnic
Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan that Armenian-backed forces won
control of in a 1988-94 war that killed some 30,000 people were
killed and drove a million from their homes.

Despite a cease-fire, the two countries continue to face off across a
heavily fortified no man’s land, and shooting occasionally erupts. No
final settlement has been reached, and the conflict continues to
aggravate economic troubles and threaten unrest in the two former
Soviet republics.

The Minsk Group’s French co-chairman, Henry Jacolin, said that forces
in Armenia and Azerbaijan sometimes point to the mediators to explain
the lack of progress. “Instead of blaming those who are negotiating,
it is always easier to look for a scapegoat. We know that we have to
play this role,” he said.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev said the international mediators’
role is “very important,” but added that, “for many years, in spite
of the fact of being involved in the process, there is not progress.”

[Congressional Record: July 15, 2004 (House)]
[Page H5804-H5825]
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr15jy04-87]

FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS
APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005

Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this bill
and encourage all of my colleagues to vote in favor of it today.
I want to thank the gentleman from Arizona (Chairman Kolbe) and the
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) for their working together to
produce a very, very good bill. Let me also commend the staff for the
work that they have contributed. They have addressed the chairman’s,
ranking member’s and as many of the other Members’ problems and
interests as possible and done a very good job in producing an
effective bill. I hope and expect it will receive broad bipartisan
support today.
Mr. Chairman, the foreign operations bill is arguably the most
important contribution to America’s foreign policy that the House of
Representatives makes. Let me briefly highlight a few areas.
Assistance to the Middle East is always a central part of this bill.

{time} 1230

For fiscal year 2005, Israel will receive $2.2 billion in military
assistance, $360 million in economic assistance, and $50 billion to
resettle Jewish refugees in Israel. I strongly support all of that
funding.
The U.S.-Israel relationship is a cornerstone of our overall foreign
policy, and Israel is our critical ally in the Middle East. We do
disagree from time to time, but the U.S.-Israel relationship is
incredibly strong.
I also support the military and economic assistance to Egypt in this
bill. Because of the level of cooperation we are receiving from Egypt
in the war on terrorism and the peace process, I believe the bill
contains the right balance of military and economic assistance for each
at this time.
I understand that an amendment will likely be offered today to change
the balance of assistance to Egypt. I will strongly oppose that
amendment, and I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing it as well.
I am also very pleased this bill contains $35 million in economic
support funds for Lebanon, including $4 million for the American
educational institutions that are there. Lebanon has great potential,
and USAID’s Village Cluster Program has played an important role in the
development of villages throughout Lebanon. I know many Members agree
with me on that and that the continuation of this program of $35
million is critical.
Let me just highlight what this bill provides for Armenia.
Unfortunately, Armenia is a landlocked country surrounded by nations on
both sides that are hostile to it. Because transportation routes into
Armenia are sealed, the Armenian economy is being strangled. Therefore,
it is appropriate for the U.S. to provide substantial economic
assistance. This bill provides $65 million in economic assistance to
Armenia, which is an increase above the administration’s request.
We also must be very careful with the military assistance we provide
in the Caucasus, in the South Caucasus. I believe it is absolutely
critical to maintain complete parity in military assistance to Armenia
and Azerbaijan. I am pleased that this bill does exactly that.
The State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative is becoming
one of the most progressive reform programs in the Middle East. I am
pleased that this bill continues to provide funding for this important
initiative.
There are many more valuable programs in this bill, including the
Millennium Challenge Corporation, IMET to Greece, microcredit, and, of
course, funding to fight the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

Soundtrack Has Developed In Iran: Musician

15 July 2004
Tehran Times Art Desk

TEHRAN (MNA) — Prominent musician Loris Tjeknavorian is convinced
that soundtrack in Iran has been developed in recent years.

Participant at the Christian Film Week underway at Film Museum of Iran
in Tehran, Tjeknavorian said there was less facilities in the past to
combine cinema with music and that the musicians could not make use of
many musical instruments.

`Iranian and eastern music enjoy high potentials which I love the
most,’ he further noted. Tjeknavorian who is an Iranian-Armenian
musician continued that Iranian people had served Armenians, `I made
the symphony `Rustam and Sohrab’ to appreciate the Iranian nation.’

Other participant Shahin Farhat also stated that in the 50th decade
soundtrack was melody rather than soundtrack, but later in the 60th,
it turned into professional soundtrack in Iran, and `Struggle in
Moonlightâ=80=9D was the first Iranian film made with professional
soundtrack.

Musician Farhat is convinced that Majid Vafadar and Mahdi Khaledi are
the first musicians who played a major role in Iranian soundtrack.

Christian Film Week entitled `Christians in Iranian Cinema’opened
Saturday evening at the Film Museum of Iran in Tehran. Intent on
commemorating Christian contribution to Iranian cinema, organizers
have allocated nights to Christians working in the fields of music,
Iranian arts as well as those who are engaged in short film cinema and
performance during the week-long event.

Azeris expect ‘unbiased” approach from NATO on Armenian visit, says official

Ekspress, Baku
14 Jul 04

Text of Alakbar Raufoglu report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress on
14 July entitled “Baku has not given any guarantee to Armenian
officers” and subheaded “Araz Azimov: Yerevan wants to provoke us'”

Official Baku has not given any consent or guaranteed the Armenian
officers’ participation in NATO’s Cooperative Best Effort-2004
exercises, and at the same time, it considers that “if NATO is
interested in Yerevan’s attendance at this event, this can happen “.

Araz Azimov, deputy foreign minister and special presidential envoy on
the Karabakh settlement, said in a conversation with our correspondent
when commenting on the Armenian Defence Ministry statement that
Azerbaijan’s guarantee for the arrival of the Armenian officers in
Baku had been obtained.

Armenia is planning to send seven officers to the exercises in
Baku. The Armenian Defence Ministry is stating that if their officers
again meet with protests this time, Azerbaijan will bear the
responsibility for this. “They have given us a guarantee that the
officers in Baku will feel as if at home,” the ministry’s statement
read.

“There cannot be talk about any guarantee. The Armenians want to
provoke us,” Azimov said, adding that Azerbaijan “is expecting two to
three officers” from Armenia.

At the same time, he said that this number “will depend on the format
of the exercises, its scenario and the roles to be given to individual
countries. We hope that NATO headquarters will be unbiased in this
issue”.

Speaking about the Nagornyy Karabakh settlement, the deputy minister
said that “Armenia will find itself in a difficult situation if it
does not reconcile itself to the reality that has cropped up in the
conflict settlement”. He believes that official Yerevan is inflicting
damage on itself by delaying the peace process.

“At present, Armenia has lost over 2m of the population. They live in
foreign countries in a grave situation and this is a tragedy for
them,” the deputy foreign minister said, adding that the unresolved
conflict would further aggravate the Armenians’ living conditions.

Press Release
Kanayq Hayots Women’s Resource Center
Contact person: Lara Aharonian
Tel: 09-48-63-30
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

Kanayq Hayots Women’s Resource Center Celebrates First Anniversary

Kanayq Hayots Women’s Resource Center, based on the campus of Yerevan
State University, in Armenia, is celebrating the Center’s first
anniversary of operation with the unveiling of its E-Center website,
which was enabled by a grant from the World Learning Armenian NGO
Strengthening Program. As a part of the Kanayq Hayots collective’s
vision, this bilingual E-Center will first of all act as a safe zone
for Armenian women who are interested in learning about their own
history and heritage, promote women’s activism and participate in the
democratic and social development within our society. The website will
host and periodically post updates on events concerning women’s issues
taking place at the Kanayq Hayots Center and Yerevan State University.

The model is based on the democratic participatory structure of
women’s centers in Quebec, Canada, which is run and governed only by
and for women. The free walk-in premises are open to women from all
communities, offering educational and other support services.

The E-Center focuses on scholarship as a prime promoter of the social
standing of women in Armenia, where significant numbers of women are
among the poorest layers of society, and are grossly underrepresented
within the government. Kanayq Hayots provides an on-campus academic
resource center geared toward supplying the necessary tools to empower
women, and raise awareness of gender inequalities and discrimination
within the University, as well as other communities. Our objective is
to eradicate discrimination against women based on their sex, age,
race, class, religion, ethnicity, physical or mental disability,
sexual orientation or marital status, and foster solidarity among
women. The Center’s location within the academic setting sustains, but
does not limit, our commitment to the female student population on the
campus of YSU.

###

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
July 2, 2004 Friday

Russia, Armenia should increase protection of investment projects

By Stanislav Alikin, Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

Russian and Armenian law enforcement bodies should boost cooperation
in protecting bilateral investigation projects from criminal
encroachments, said on Friday Russian Interior Minister Rashid
Nurgaliev, speaking in Yerevan at a meeting of the leaderships of the
Russian Interior Ministry and Armenian police.

He noted that “mutual interests of Russia and Armenia are considerable
and cover all spheres of economic and political life”. “Positive
processes in relations of our countries are influenced by various
threats, including crime. We face now common tasks: we have something
to protect from criminal encroachments, and for this purpose we have
all necessary things,” Nurgaliev emphasized.

According to the minister, “it is very important now for Russia to
have support from sisterly states in settling domestic law enforcement
questions. Incidentally, Armenia is given a special role among these
states”. For one, the minister continued, “I mean struggle against
terrorism, illicit drug trafficking, illegal immigration, trade in
people, banditry and economic crime”.

Nurgaliev also suggested that his colleagues from Armenian police
should boost cooperation in implementing anti-terrorist measures,
ensuring security of vital projects and implementing measures on
protection of public law and order.