Author: Navasardian Karapet

FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS WITH OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE

AzerTag
[April 02, 2005, 20:33:26]

Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov has met with visiting
OSCE Chairman-In-Office, Foreign Minister of Slovenia Dimitrij
Rupel. Dwelling on the London meeting between Foreign Ministers of
Azerbaijan and Armenia expected on April 15 in the presence of the
OSCE Minsk group co-Chairs, the Minister reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s
adherence of to peaceful settlement of the conflict, and added that
his country is implementing serious reforms targeted to integration
into the Euroatlantic structures.

OSCE Chairman-In-Office Dimitrij Rupel for his part stressed the
importance of the continuation of the dialogue between the parties
saying his organization is doing its best for the conflict to be
solved in a peace way.

Touching upon the discharge of the 114 prisoners including those who
organized the 2003 October unrest, Mr. Rupel has valued this as a
serious step towards political dialogue on the threshold of the
upcoming parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan.

***

Later, the OSCE Chairman-In-Office Dimitrij Rupel has met with Head of
the Azerbaijni community of Nagorno-Karabakh Nizami Bahmanov. The
latter expressed his concern and disappointment on the fact the
conflict had not yet been solved since the ceasefire regime was
established in 1994. Noting that the Armenian’ s recent frequent
ceasefire breaking has a negative impact on the peace process, Nizami
Bahmanov called on the OSCE to intensify its activities towards the
conflict’s resolution.

***

Afterwards, Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and OSCE
Chairman-In-Office, Foreign Minister of Slovenia Dimitrij Rupel have
given a press conference. They updated the journalists on the content
of the meeting and answered their questions.

No way through for Dutch
Tuesday, 29 March 2005
By Berend Scholten

Armenia secured an impressive point

The Netherlands suffered another UEFA European Under-21 Championship
qualifying Group 1 setback as they followed a 2-0 defeat by Romania
with a home draw against lowly Armenia.

Pasveer save Coach Foppe de Haan had admitted his disappointment at
the Romania loss, especially at the lack of discipline leading to a
red card for Robin van Persie. But the closest they came tonight was
through Klaas Jan Huntelaar, selected ahead of Collins John, who hit
the post in the first half. Armenia could even have won the game with
15 minutes left, but Remko Pasveer saved Khoren Veranyan’s effort.

June games De Haan’s side are now three points behind the
second-placed Czech Republic, and may well need to defeat leaders
Romania on 3 June to revive their bid for a play-off place. Armenia,
who moved above Finland into fifth place with today’s point, welcome
F.Y.R. Macedonia the same day.

©uefa.com 1998-2003. All rights reserved.

CAR CRASHES INTO GAS MAIN PIPE IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, APRIL 1. ARMINFO. A car with state number-plate 45LL584
crashed into a gas main pipe in the yard of a house in the town of
Gyumri, Armenia, yesterday approximately at 13:00. No casualties were
recorded. The car and part of the house’s roof burnt. The fire was
liquidated in an hour. The Governmental Emergency Situations
Department of Armenia informs ARMINFO.

Besides, last night, a car accident took place. As a result,
Lt.Colonel of Police G.Hakobyan died. At 02:37 local time, a BMW
crashed into a road-post in Admiral Isakov avenue.

ROBERT KOCHARIAN AND DIMITRIY RUPEL DISCUSS KARABAKH PROCESS AND
ISSUES CONCERNING ARMENIA-EU COOPERATION

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. The process of Karabakh settlement
became the key subject of discussion at the March 30 meeting of RA
President Robert Kocharian with the members of the delegation headed
by Dimitriy Rupel, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenia’s Foreign
Minister. Dimitriy Rupel mentioned the importance of activization of
contacts and negotiations between the sides in the issue of solution
of the problem and confirmed the readiness of OSCE to assist to the
process in every way possible. According to RA President’s Press
Service, Robert Kocharian emphasized that Armenia has always been for
solution of the problem by the way of searching verges of cooperation
with Azerbaijan.

According to Robert Kocharian, the establishment of regional
cooperation, as well as Karabakh’s participation in the negotiations
will have a significant influence on achievement of progress in the
process of settlement. Issues concerning Armenia-EU cooperation were
also touched upon at the meeting. The same day RA NA Speaker Artur
Baghdasarian received the delegation headed by OSCE
Chairman-in-Office. According to RA NA Press Service, issues
concerning legislative reforms in Armenia, in particular, Constitution
and Electoral Code, local self-government bodies and judicial system,
were discussed during the meeting.

Artur Baghdasarian mentioned the importance of immediate pluralistic
work with OSCE and PACE experts in realization of the reforms. 4 main
problems were mentioned in connection with constitutional reforms:
human rights protection, establishment of a balance among legislative,
executive and judicial powers, reform of local self-government
system. The NA Speaker mentioned that Armenia fulfils its obligations
in accordance with the schedule, a working group was established in
the parliament, the goal of which is to bring Armenia’s legislation
into line with the EU criterion. Expressing satisfaction with the work
done, Dimitriy Rupel, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenia’s Foreign
Minister, mentioned the importance of realization of the
above-mentioned legislative reforms in accordance with the
international standards.

Vladimir Putin Tries to Keep Armenia as the Last Ally of Russia

KOMMERSANT Daily
MARCH 31, 2005

The official part of a visit of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, to
Armenia has begun. The formal pretext for the visit was the opening of the
Year of Russia in Armenia. In actual fact, the agenda goes beyond the
framework of protocol and cultural functions: it will include the Karabakh
problem, cooperation in the gas sphere, and the use of Armenian territory
for the deployment of Russian military bases which will be withdrawn from
Georgia within the next few years.

The President of Russia, together with his Armenian colleague, Robert
Kocharyan, will take part in the official opening of the Year of Russia in
Armenia and attend a gala concert. The pompous protocol functions serve as a
smokescreen for a very important dialogue on the burning issues of the day.
Alarmed by a whole series of “Rose”, “Orange” and other revolutions, Russia
is afraid of losing one of the last of its bulwarks in the area of the
former USSR.

In the context of the deepening of their strategic partnership the
presidents of the two countries will discuss the problems of resolving the
Karabakh conflict, as well as the prospects of deploying the Russian
military bases on Armenian territory, which should be withdrawn from Georgia
within the next few years.

As regards the first problem, Moscow tries to soften the position of Yerevan
in order to avoid the exacerbation of the relations with Baku. The Kremlin
hoped to bring the President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, and the President
of Azerbaijan, Ilkham Aliyev, to negotiations during the celebration of the
60th anniversary of Victory in the last war in Moscow in May. However,
judging by information coming in from Baku, President Aliyev will hardly
come to Moscow for the occasion.

The question of the withdrawal of Russian troops and arms from Georgia has
been solved, in the main, as a result of negotiations with the Georgian
leadership, although the deadlines have not been fixed. The most probable
time will be 2007. After that Russia hopes to deploy its military units on
Armenian territory, in the vicinity of the Russian base No 102. Yerevan
agrees to it, but puts forward a number of conditions.

The main one is a solution to the problem of the transport blockade of
Armenia. This is why both Moscow and Yerevan hope to work out a concerted
policy aimed at obtaining Georgia’s consent to a free transport corridor by
commissioning the Novorossiisk – Poti sea ferry, and also resuming the
railway connection through the territory of Abkhazia.

Naturally, the questions of military cooperation will also be discussed.
Armenia receives arms and ammunition from Russia at preferential prices. To
date more than 500 Armenian army officers study in Russia free of charge,
that is, at the expense of the Russian budget. This figure can be bigger.

A range of problems to be discussed deal with the relations between Russia,
Armenia and Iran. Teheran remains an important regional partner of Moscow,
but it views rather cautiously the plans to build a gas pipeline between
Iran and Armenia, which will later be one of the channels of supplying
Iranian gas to Ukraine and Europe. But the deputy foreign minister of
Armenia, Gegam Garibjanyan, has said that Russia should take part in the
negotiations on the matter. President Putin will, no doubt, raise the
question of “Gazprom” taking part in the implementation of this project.

by Boris Volkhonsky

Russian Article as of Mar. 25, 2005

Lawsuit Over Armenian Properties Worth $150 Million

by Sefa Kaplan, Ýstanbul
<,,sid~1@w~1@nvid~553333, 00.asp>
Hürriyet (Internet edition) 23 March 2005

The Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (ADLP) was formed by Turkish
Armenians in 1908, has been active overseas since 1915, and has been a
participant in Armenia’s political life since 1991. The party has now
launched an ugly attack against Patriarch Mesrob Mutafian. A
statement issued by the party’s central committee in Boston and
published in its official press organ Azg directly targets the
Armenians of Turkey and their patriarch. The statement alleges that
Mutafian was elected patriarch with the support of the Turkish
Republic, that he has not made any efforts to defend the rights of
Armenians, and that he has not raised his voice against injustices.
It adds that Diaspora Armenians have been monitoring Mutafian’s
actions with anxiety for a long time, that no one in the [Turkish
Armenian] community has dared to criticize this “young patriarch,” and
that Mutafian is not on good terms with [Turkish] Armenian
intellectuals.

Unbridled Ambition

Charging that the Patriarch of Turkey has been working to bring other
Armenian churches under his influence to satisfy “his unbridled
imperial ambitions,” the statement of the Boston Central Committee
says:

“Patriarch Mutafian refuses to answer our criticisms and sees the
views of the ADLP as a bankrupt ideology. The ADLP’s ideology that
Mutafian says is bankrupt is based on the democratic system and stands
for the recognition of the Armenian genocide and the independence of
the historic homeland of the Armenians (Eastern Anatolia). Only a
community that lives under the fearsome rule of the Turkish army could
declare these ideals to be bankrupt.”

They Cannot Belittle Us

In the meantime an article
<;AltYazi=3DMakaleler+%3e+Genel&Id=3D216&DilId=3D1> penned by Murat Bebiroglu and published on the HyeTert
Website <; says that the reason for
these allegations is the international legal action Mutafian has taken
to recover the funds and real estate that was bequeathed to the
Patriarchate by Garabed Melkonian of Kayseri in 1921. The Bebiroglu
article says: “The Armenians of Turkey are strong enough to defend the
Patriarch. We cannot allow anyone to belittle us.”

The Melkonian Gift

In 1921 Garabed Melkonian of Kayseri bequeathed his wealth of millions
of dollars and real estate holdings to the Armenian Patriarchate of
Turkey for the construction of an orphanage and school in his name.
Because the conditions were more attractive [in Cyprus] the school and
orphanage were built in Nicosia under the name Melkonian in 1924.
However because of the uncertainty of the future of the Patriarchate,
in 1926 all authority over the Melkonian school and its endowment was
turned over to the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), which is
an auxiliary organization of the ADLP, on condition that the AGBU
comply with the terms of the Melkonian trust and that it pay a
symbolic donation to the Patriarchate each year.

Last year the AGBU decided to close the school without giving warning
to anyone and to sell its properties for $60 million. On the surface,
the goal of this action was to open a college in Armenia. Melkonian
alumni and Armenians in all corners of the world oppose this decision
vehemently. It has now been determined that the real estate that was
said to be worth $60 million is actually valued at $150 million. In
contrast the planned college in Armenia would cost only $3 million to
$5 million. Lawyers researching the background of the dispute
eventually knocked on the doors of the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey
which appears as the legal beneficiary in the trust deed. Mutafian
had the issue examined by his own lawyers and filed a lawsuit against
the AGBU. After the lawsuit was filed in Paris [as published],
criticisms against Mutafian turned into an ugly attack.

NA COMMITTEE HOPES FOR ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OF ARMENIAN AND
INTERNATIONAL STRUCTURES ENGAGED IN NAGORNO KARABAKH ISSUE IN
PARLIAMENTARY HEARINGS

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, NOYAN TAPAN. Representatives of Armenian
departments, local and international organizations, foreign diplomats
accredited in Armenia, experts were invited to the March 29-30
parliamentary hearings dedicated to the Nagorno Karabakh problem and
ways of its settlement. The initiator of the hearings, NA Standing
Committee on Foreign Relations, hopes for the active participation
of the invitees. A positive response has been already received from
Vladimir Kazimirov, former OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairman, who is
engaged in the Karabakh settlement. As of March 24, the Committee
hasn’t received yet any official answers from the current OSCE Minsk
Group Co-chairmen, David Atkinson and Goran Lenmarker, reporters on
Karabakh issue in CE and OSCE Parliamentary Assemblies, and other
invitees from international organizations.

Zaman Online

INTERNATIONAL 03.26.2005 Saturday – ISTANBUL 09:39

Government Success in EU, not in Iraq

By Zaman
Published: Saturday 26, 2005
zaman.com

Fifty percent of Turks believe that “they are surrounded by enemies”.
According to a survey distributed by the Metropoll Strategic and Social
Researches Center, 38.9 percent of participants sees the US as “the enemy”
and 14.7 percent view it as Greece.

According to the results of the survey, Germany with 7.8 percent and
Azerbaijan with 7.7 percent were equal first as friends of Turkey. 75
percent of participants thought positively about the European Union (EU),
and 53 percent were positive about Palestine. Those countries that are
perceived negatively include Israel, Armenia, the US and Greece. The
Metropoll Company completed in March 2005 work relating to Turkish Foreign
Policy. The survey administered by conducting face-to-face interviews in the
city centers of Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Erzurum, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir,
Konya, Malatya, Samsun, Tekirdag, and Trabzon to total of 2,642 people.

The survey results have revealed interesting discoveries with regard to
Turkey’s EU bid, with US, Russian, Iraq, and Cyprus policies. The
government’s foreign policy performance was viewed by 73.5 percent as
successful; while the policies pursued in regard to the EU received the most
support with 78.1 percent. This was followed by the policies regarding
neighboring countries at 61.7 percent, the Turkish Republics with 56.8
percent, the US 55.9 percent, the Middle East and Islamic counties with 55.7
percent. According to survey results, the only foreign policy issue that the
government was found to be unsuccessful, is Iraq. Metropoll has interpreted
the results as the public expect the government to execute policy peacefully
but; more actively. As 45.9 percent of the participants think that Turkey
would not gain full membership of EU, 38.2 believe it is the other way
around. While 66.3 percent of the participants claimed that in Turkey’
present condition it is not ready for EU membership. While 43.8 percent
oppose the recognition of Greeks in Cyprus, 42.9 are in favor, while 68.4
percent of the participants are against Turkey’s withdrawal of troops from
Cyprus. The only party that dominated those electorates that is in favor of
a troop withdrawal from Cyprus, is DEHAP (Democratic People’s Party) with
46.5 percent.

Ankara

Putin returns two Moscow from 2-day Armenian visit

ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 25, 2005 Friday

MOSCOW, March 25 — President Vladimir Putin has returned to Moscow
from a two-day working visit to Armenia.

The Year of Russia in Armenia was launched during the visit. “Such
projects have a positive effect on humanitarian contacts and lay a
good foundation for economic and political relationship,” Putin said.

Putin and Armenian President Robert Kocharyan had negotiations on
trade, economic and investment cooperation and the CIS situation.

Putin gave assessment to the current developments in Kyrgyzstan at
a joint press conference. He regretted that problems in another CIS
member country are being solved with illegal methods and accompanied
with violence and casualties. The president said though that Russia
would do its best to retain relations with Kyrgyzstan.

He said he would not object to Askar Akayev’s residence in Russia.
“This is quite possible,” he said.

Russia will do its best to promote the Karabakh settlement, Putin
said. He said he hopes for the soonest meeting between the Armenian
and Azerbaijani presidents.

DON’T COUNT THE EU MEMBERS BEFORE THEY ARE HATCHED

A1+
23-03-2005

Only three of the EU members do not correspond to the European
Standards – Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Shavarsh Kocharyan, member
of the Justice bloc informed us about it today in the National Press
Club. “These are the countries which have neither will nor desire to
correspond themselves to the European standards”, he said.

According to him, today the EU attention is concentrated on Azerbaijan
and on the fall Parliamentary elections. But Shavarsh Kocharyan thinks
that in fall the EU will possibly take away Azerbaijanâ’s membership.

The next, according to Mr. Kocharyan, are we; in fall the attention
will be shifted to Armenia. “They do not see any problem in driving
Armenia and Azerbaijan out of EU”, said the head of the National
Democratic Party. According to him, Europe will be satisfied with
recognizing our membership in the program “New Neighbors”.

SALAAM ALEYQUM, DEAR VOLODYA

“It was not necessary for Putin to come, for instance, the Prime
Minister could come instead”, said Shavarsh Kocharyan about the visit
of the RF President Vladimir Putin. He finds the reason of Putinâ’s
visit more interesting. The reason is that in Armenia it is a year
of Russia.

“Do you know that this year is the year of Azerbaijan in Russia”,
asked Shavarsh Kocharyan. According to him, Russia follows not the
policy of having one ally in the region, but a balanced policy,
that is – to take care of his profits first. In this meaning
Mr. Kocharyan mentioned the issues of constructing the railways
Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran and Russia-Georgia-Turkey.

–Boundary_(ID_oWTRtCTBqPWmFG8uQdfybQ)–