Author: Nalbandian Eduard

The Messenger, Georgia
Jan 10 2005

Georgian-Russian border problem remains unsolved

24-Saati reports that the Minister of Economy Aleksi Aleksishvili
thinks that the arguments over the halted cars and buses on the
Russian-Georgian border is groundless. According to him, the
Mtskheta-Kazbegi-Larsi-Russia highway is a very difficult route from
the standpoint of geography and weather.
That is why, he states, the movement of large buses and cars without
any special equipment during the winter on the highway is prohibited.
He stressed that drivers of the buses were informed about this. “The
problem is that these people wanted to cross the border by bribing
the employees there. These people can cross the border by other
means,” he stated.
The Chair of the Road Department Roman Dalakishvili thinks that such
a situation on the highway will last until April 15. It is already
two weeks that 7 large buses coming from Armenian have been stopped
at the border. Passengers are demanding to cross the border
immediately.

USAID TO FINANCE PROGRAM ON HEATING 15 SCHOOLS OF ARMENIA

YEREVAN, January 5 (Noyan Tapan). Starting from February, the program
to instal local heating systems in 15 schools of the country will be
implemented with funds of the Armenian office of the USAID. According
to Sos Kocharian, RA Deputy Minister of Urban Development, about 600
thousand dollars will be allocated for the program implementation. In
case of success, funds are likely to be allocated to construct heating
systems for 15 more schools. S. Kocharian also stated that in 2003, a
USAID-funded pilot program on restoration of the heating systems in 8
schools of Armenia was implemented.

Agence France Presse — English
January 6, 2005 Thursday 4:42 PM GMT

Polish and Lithuanian soldiers leave for Iraq

WARSAW

Some 100 Polish and 56 Lithuanian soldiers left for Iraq on Thursday
to take over from other soldiers serving there in the Polish-led
multinational force in the country.

The soldiers form part of the fourth contingent Poland has sent to
Iraq since late 2003, the Polish army said in a statement in Warsaw.

A strong ally of the US since the start of the Iraq conflict, Poland
said in December that it would cut its troops from 2,400 to 1,700
after the Iraqi elections scheduled for January 30.

Some 700 other soldiers based in Poland have been put on reserve to
be sent to Iraq if needed.

After the Iraqi elections, the 5,500-strong Polish force will include
soldiers from 15 countries.

The countries contributing are Armenia, Bulgaria, Denmark,
Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Norway,
Romania, Salvador, Slovakia, Ukraine and the United States, Colonel
Leszek Laszczak said.

Armenia will contribute to the force for the first time, sending
around 50 soldiers.

Hungary withdrew its 300 troops from the Polish-led force at the end
of 2004, six months after Spain brought home its own soldiers.

“For the time being we have no information that other countries plan
to withdraw their troops,” a Polish military official said.

A poll published in December showed that 72 percent of Poles opposed
their troops’ presence in Iraq.

Poland has lost 13 soldiers and four civilians since the beginning of
the conflict.

The Taipei Times
Sun, Jan 02, 2005

Ukraine celebrates a new beginning and hope for the future

AFP , KIEV
Sunday, Jan 02, 2005,Page 1

Advertising Ukraine looked with hope to the future yesterday at the onset of
the New Year after Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich resigned and all but
admitted losing last weekend’s historic presidential rerun vote.
In tumultuous scenes on Kiev’s main Independence Square, 100,000 people
packed into the city’s central point to ring in the New Year with victorious
opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko and Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili, who led a “rose” revolution in Tbilisi last year.

Speaking before the crowd as fireworks lit the night sky, Saakashvili hailed
Ukraine’s “orange revolution” that brought Yushchenko to power as “a triumph
of good over evil.”

Yushchenko — the declared winner of last Sunday’s presidential poll — took
center stage to reiterate that “Ukrainians had been independent for 13
years, but now they are free.”

Yanukovich resigned from his post and said that his appeals over the Dec. 26
vote were unlikely to be granted, but stopped short of conceding defeat in
the poll, which would have brought Ukraine’s six-week election saga to an
end.

“I have made a decision and am formally submitting my resignation,”
Yanukovich said in a televised address. “I find it impossible to occupy any
post in a government headed by these authorities.”

“Concerning the election results, we are keeping up the fight but I don’t
have much hope for a just decision from the central election commission and
the supreme court,” he said.

Yanukovich repeated his assertion that “external forces” were responsible
for his defeat in the Dec. 26 vote.

But he got no support from Ukraine’s outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, who
called on the nation during his New Year address to “accept the democratic
choice” made in the presidential poll.

“In 2005 Ukraine will have a new president and the whole Ukraine must accept
this democratic choice as its own — because this man will need your
support,” he said without naming the election’s declared winner, Yushchenko.

Kuchma spoke as tens of thousands of people massed in Independence Square,
the epicenter of the “orange revolution” where shortly before midnight,
pro-West Yushchenko and Saa-kashvili basked in the success of their
respective peaceful uprisings against Soviet-era regimes.

Yushchenko’s “orange revolution” marked the second year in a row that
peaceful protests headed by a Western-leaning leader swept out a
Russia-friendly regime in an ex-Soviet nation.

Moscow has accused the US of fomenting the unrest in order to install allies
in its strategic backyard, charges that Washington has denied.

But opposition movements in authoritarian-leaning former Soviet republics
and Russia have hailed the peaceful uprisings and in the heat of the
“orange” demonstrations, Belarussians, Armenians, Azeris and Russians
mingled with Ukrainian protesters in central Kiev.

Yushchenko mounted 17 days of mass protests after he refused to concede
defeat to Yanukovich in a Nov. 21 runoff because of fraud.

The supreme court annulled the election due to massive ballot-rigging and
ordered a historic rerun vote, which Yushchenko won by more than 2.2 million
votes.
This story has been viewed 104 times.

Agence France Presse
Dec 31 2004

UKRAINE PM RESIGNS
1.1.2005. 10:56:09

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich has resigned and all but
admitted losing a presidential re-run vote, but stopped short of
conceding defeat to opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko.

Meanwhile Mr Yushchenko readied to ring in the New Year with Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili, who led a “rose” uprising in Tbilisi
last year, in an appearance sure to irritate Russia.

Mr Yanukovich resigned from his post and said that his appeals over
the historic December 26 vote were unlikely to be granted, but
stopped short of conceding defeat in the poll, which would have
brought Ukraine’s six-week election saga to an end.

“I have made a decision and am formally submitting my resignation,”
Mr Yanukovich said in a televised address. “I find it impossible to
occupy any post in a government headed by these authorities.”

“Concerning the election results, we are keeping up the fight but I
don’t have much hope for a just decision from the central election
commission and the supreme court,” he said.

Mr Yanukovich repeated his assertion that “external forces” were
responsible for his defeat in the December 26 vote.

“Our country is close to a serious defeat… for the first time in 13
years its independence is in danger,” he said. “External forces took
advantage of Ukraine’s internal conflict to show the outside world
their power and influence.”

He spoke as thousands of people streamed to Kiev’s central
Independence Square, the epicentre of the “orange revolution” where
shortly before midnight, pro-West Yushchenko and Saakashvili were to
bask in the success of their respective peaceful uprisings against
Soviet-era regimes.

Mr Saakashvili, who led last year’s “rose revolution” in Georgia and
was one of the most fervent supporters of Ukraine’s “orange”
counterpart, flew into Kiev Friday to show solidarity with both the
nation where he attended university and his friend, Mr Yushchenko.

“I want to congratulate all Ukrainians with the New Year and
victory,” the 37-year-old leader said in Ukrainian upon arrival as he
was handed a bouquet of orange roses.

Mr Yushchenko’s “orange revolution” marked the second year in a row
that peaceful protests headed by a Western-leaning leader swept out a
Russia-friendly regime in an ex-Soviet nation.

Moscow has accused the United States of fomenting the unrest in order
to install allies in its strategic backyard, charges that Washington
has denied.

But opposition movements in authoritarian-leaning former Soviet
republics and Russia have hailed the peaceful uprisings and in the
heat of the “orange” demonstrations, Belarussians, Armenians, Azeris
and Russians mingled with Ukrainian protestors in central Kiev.

Mr Saakashvili was mobbed by hundreds of wildly cheering opposition
supporters as he walked through a tent city in central Kiev set up in
Mr Yushchenko’s support after he refused to concede defeat to Mr
Yanukovich in a November 21 runoff because of fraud.

“I didn’t have a chance to officially support you, but during your
victory I once again felt myself a Kievite,” said Mr Saakashvili, who
attended university in the Ukrainian capital.

“Georgia’s revolution has been considerably strengthened by Ukraine’s
‘orange revolution,’ which will drive important changes in all of
former Soviet territory,” he said in an appearance on Ukrainian
pro-opposition television last week.

The mass opposition demonstrations led to the annulment of a November
presidential runoff election due to massive fraud, re-made Ukraine
into a de facto parliamentary republic and led to a historic re-run
vote on December 26, which Mr Yushchenko won by more than 2.2 million
votes.

If Mr Yanukovich chooses to continue with his appeals over the
results of the vote, which he contends was marked with
irregularities, Mr Yushchenko’s official confirmation as the winner
could be put off for weeks as the legal wrangling drags on.

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Dec 29 2004

Azerbaijan: ‘If Armenians not Withdraw, We will Try Other Ways’

The possibility of opening the Armenian border has become a big issue
in Azerbaijan in the wake of the European Union’s (EU) decision to
begin negotiations with Turkey on October 3, 2005.

Public opinion in Azerbaijan, where 20 percent of the country is
occupied by Armenians, is against Turkey giving any concessions on
the issue. A spokesman for the Azerbaijani Assembly Murtiz Alesgerov
said, “As long as Armenians do not withdraw from Azerbaijani
territories, the Turkey-Armenian borders should not be opened.” He
added that if international negotiations can’t resolve the issue of
Nagorno Karabagh, they were resolved to regain their territory
through military means.

A group of Turkish journalists went to Azerbaijan at the invitation
of Azerbaijani Deputy Melahat Hasanova. The Turkish journalists, who
met with President Murtiz Alesgerov, focused on developments
regarding the possibility of Turkey opening the Armenian border.
Mentioning that Armenians demanded Turkey to recognize the so-called
genocide and wanted territory, Alesgerov said: “Armenians are
Armenians and the enemy is the enemy; there can’t be anything else.”

The Assembly spokesman supported Turkey’s EU membership and
determined that Turkey’s position would open the door for
Azerbaijan’s accession to the EU. He also disclosed that their only
concerns abut the process was the opening of the Turkey-Armenia
border. Mentioning that Turkey had a policy about the occupied
territories, Alesgerov continued:

“If Armenians do not withdraw the occupied territories, Turkey will
not open the borders towards that country. This issue shapes Turkey’s
main policy. Turkey will be loyal to this issue.”

About 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territories are under the Armenian
occupation and the EU makes little pressure on Armenia to withdraw
the occupying forces while the Brussels try to force Turkey to open
its Armenia borders. There is a strong Armenian diaspora in the EU
states, and the local politicians do not want to lose the Armenian
votes in elections.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
12/28/2004
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1) Gomitas Institute Donates Armenian Genocide Books to US Congress Members
2) Armenian Prime Minister Conveys Condolences
3) Saakashvili Tells Armenian Population Integration Necessary
4) Another Gas Poisoning Reported in Armenia

1) Gomitas Institute Donates Armenian Genocide Books to US Congress Members

WASHINGTON, DC (Armenpress)–In commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, the UK-based Gomitas Institute on Armenian Genocide studies
has donated 500 copies of its latest publication, United States Official
Records on the Armenian Genocide 1915-17, to members of the US Senate and
House
of Representatives.
This initiative was taken at the request of a generous benefactor, and made
possible through the support of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues, as
well as the Washington, DC based Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA);
the move comes as the incoming 109th Congress faces consideration of the
Armenian Genocide Resolution.
“With the publication of this volume, the Gomitas Institute has, once again,
provided a vital resource for all those working to overcome the Turkish
government’s shameful campaign to pressure the United States into
complicity in
Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian. “The comprehensive and compelling evidence assembled in this book
establishes the US response to the Armenian Genocide as a critical
milestone in
American history–one that Turkey should not be allowed to erase.”
United States Official Records on the Armenian Genocide 1915-17 was published
by the Gomitas Institute and is the latest book among the expanding resources
on the Armenian Genocide, currently utilized by students, scholars, and
journalists.
“The documents in this book provide a first-hand look at the efforts of US
consuls and the American Ambassador in Constantinople to engage the US
government in ending the systematic destruction of the Armenian people. Sadly,
these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, the massacres continued, and most
Armenians perished as a result. . . It is our hope that this publication will
help educate America’s leaders and the general public about the Armenian
Genocide and the need for the US Congress to enact legislation that recognizes
this tragedy as genocide. Finally, we must ensure that the lessons learned
from
this tragedy are used to prevent future genocides.” write Congressmen Frank
Pallone and Joseph Knollenberg in their forward of the book.
A sister publication, United States Diplomacy on the Bosphorus: The Diaries of
Ambassador Morgenthau 1913-1916, will soon be printed.
Serving as an invaluable record of the Armenian genocide in all its
complexities, the two books reveal to what extent the United States government
knew about the Armenian genocide, as early as the summer of 1915.

2) Armenian Prime Minister Conveys Condolences
Death Toll in Asian Disaster Approaches 60,000

GALLE (Reuters)–Armenian prime minister Andranik Margarian sent
condolences to
the prime ministers of Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India to
express Armenia’s anguish over the thousands of deaths and the scale of the
destruction caused by Sunday’s monster tsunami.
The sea and wreckage of coastal towns around the Indian Ocean yielded up tens
of thousands of bodies on Tuesday, pushing the toll to 60,000.
The apocalyptic destruction caused by the ocean surge dwarfed the efforts of
governments and relief agencies as they recovered countless corpses while
trying to treat survivors and take care of millions of homeless, increasingly
threatened by disease amid the rotting remains. Thousands more were injured.
The United Nations launched what it called an unprecedented relief effort to
assist nations hit by a devastating tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.0
undersea earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
In a further threat to the region, disease could kill as many people as those
killed by the wall of water, a top World Health Organization (WHO) official
said.
While grieving families in wrecked coastal towns and resorts buried their
loved
ones, others, including many foreign tourists, searched for friends and
relatives still missing.
In Thailand, where thousands of tourists were enjoying a Christmas break to
escape the northern winter, many of the country’s paradise resorts were turned
into graveyards.
In Sri Lanka, hundreds of people were killed when a wave crashed into a train,
wrecking eight carriages and uprooting the track it was traveling on. The
train
was called “Sea Queen”.
Of the overall death toll so far of 59,186, Indonesia has suffered the biggest
number of victims, with its Health Ministry reporting 27,174 dead.
Nearly all the deaths in Indonesia were in the northwestern province of
Aceh at
the tip of Sumatra. Rescue crews were still trying to reach cut off areas.
Separatist rebels announced a truce while people search for loved ones.
Sri Lanka reported around 19,000 dead. India’s toll of 11,500 included at
least
7,000 on one archipelago, the Andamans and Nicobar. On one island, the
surge of
water killed two-thirds of the population.
Hundreds of others died in the Maldives, Myanmar and Malaysia. The arc of
water
struck as far as Somalia and Kenya. Fishing villages, ports and resorts were
devastated, power and communications cut and homes destroyed. The United
Nations said the cost of the damage will reach billions of dollars.
The tremor, the biggest in 40 years, ripped a chasm in the sea bed which
launched the tsunami, possibly the deadliest in more than 200 years.

3) Saakashvili Tells Armenian Population Integration Necessary

JAVAKHK (Civil Georgia)–Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili visited
Akhalkalak on December 28, a predominately Armenian-populated town in southern
Georgian region of Javakhk.
In meeting with the local population, President Saakashvili addressed the
necessity of integration into Georgia.
“Our Armenian population [of Javakhk] is very patriotic, and requires more
attention and care. Though you should be integrated, your language and your
culture should also be preserved. I know that you face many problems, but we
can solve them if we stand together,” he said.
Saakashvili stressed that the construction on a new highway connecting Tbilisi
with Akhalkalak would begin in the coming year, “We have already allocated
funds for this project.”
He also promised scholarships for students willing to continue their education
in Tbilisi universities.

4) Another Gas Poisoning Reported in Armenia

(AP)–A man and his wife were asphyxiated by a natural gas leak in Armenia, an
emergency official said Monday–the fourth such incident this month.
The deaths of the couple, aged 59 and 55, brings the death toll from gas leaks
and poisonings this year to 16–with 12 in December alone.
A spokesman for the emergency situations ministry said neighbors found the two
bodies on Sunday at their home in the town of Ashtarak, north of Yerevan.
Preliminary information showed that a poorly installed homemade gas heater and
an illegal connection to municipal gas pipes were to blame.
Many people in the poor ex-Soviet republic use homemade gas heaters, sometimes
tapping illegally into gas lines, because their homes lack heaters, which are
expensive.

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Civil Georgia, Georgia
Dec 28 2004

Saakashvili Travels to Akhalkalaki

Saakashvili visited on December 28 Akhalkalaki, town in southern
Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, which is predominately
populated by ethnic Armenians.

During the meeting with the local population in the center of
Akhalkalaki President Saakashvili spoke about the necessity of
integration of the ethnic Armenian population within the state.

`Our Armenian population is real patriot, which needs more attention
and care. You should be integrated but with preservation of your
language and your culture. I know that here are many problems but we
will solve them if we stand together,’ Mikheil Saakashvili said.

He said that construction of new high connecting Tbilisi with
Akhalkalaki will be launched next year. `We have already invested
funds for this project,’ he added.

Saakashvili also said that scholarships will be available for those
students willing to continue studying in the Tbilisi universities.

MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI SELLS SHEVARDNADZE’S RESIDENCE OUT TO AMERICANS

Azg/arm
28 Dec 04

The “velvet” leader of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, is reported to
sell out one of the most favorite residents of former Georgian
president Eduard Shevardnadze, Krtsansk compound, to the Americans.
Interfax agency informedthat Krtsansk with 44 hectares and 37
additional compounds was sold to an American Basel Group for $15
million. President Saakashvili is going to build a new presidential
residence in largely Armenian-populated Havlabar borough of Tbilisi.
Shevardnadze’s present-day cottage, which is part of the compound, was
not included in the privatized territory, which means that the former
Georgian leader will not move to another place.

Foreign citizens not granted refugee status in Armenia in 2004

Arminfo,
24 Dec 04

Yerevan, 24 December: Refugee status was not given to foreign citizens
in Armenia in 2004, the head of the Migration and Refugees Department
under the Armenian government, Gagik Yeganyan, told journalists today
while summarizing this year’s work and projects for 2005.

He said that in 2004, 193 foreign citizens, including 162 Iraqi
citizens of Armenian origin and 31 citizens of other states applied
to the Migration and Refugees Department for asylum. None of the
applicants was given refugee status. Eighty-five Iraqi citizens
received temporary asylum, but applications from other citizens are
being considered. Overall, in 2003-2004, 225 Iraqi citizens applied
to the Migration and Refugees Department for refugee status in Armenia.