Author: Takmazian

ANY CHOICE IS PART OF KARABAGH’S FATE
By Karine Mangassarian

Yerkir.am
July 20, 2007

The citizens of Nagorno Karabagh Republic elected the president on
July 19.

91,166 citizens had the right to vote. According to the Electoral
Code of Nagorno Karabagh Republic the elections are considered to be
valid if 25% of the voters participate.

Summarizing the first results of the elections as of 11 o’clock
yesterday the Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission of the
Nagorno Karabagh Republic Sergey Nasibian stated that the elections can
be considered valid because the minimal threshold of 25% was overcome.

President of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic Arkadi Ghukassian said in
an interview after he voted, "The President that will be elected will
fulfill his duties as the President with honor." Ghukassian believes
Karabagh will inevitably become a party to the negotiations because
this is the only way for the settlement of the conflict.

"If Karabagh does not participate in the negotiations, there is no
point in the negotiations because they cannot lead to the conflict
settlement. The person who is elected to be the President of Nagorno
Karabagh Republic will take up this responsibility. I am sure the
Nagorno Karabagh Republic will be in good hands and the person who
is elected to be the President will fulfill these duties with honor,"
Ghukassian stated.

Representatives of the non-recognized republics in the CIS territory
were observing elections in Nagorno Karabagh. Observers from
Predniestrovye, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia observed the elections
in Karabagh.

Representatives of NGO’s, authorities and media from Armenia, USA,
Italy, Greece, Germany, Serbia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Macedonia,
France, Great Britain, Croatia observed the elections. The observers
stated that judging from the previous elections and the referendum
it can be stated that the voters actively participate in the elections.

"The voters are very active because the population in Karabagh
treats the issue with a high sense of responsibility realizing that
any elections or referendums are a part of its fate," one of the
observers noted.

The observers were mostly interested in the amendments to the
Electoral Code of Nagorno Karabagh Republic. Chairman of the Central
Electoral Commission Sergey Nassibian said the observers pointed out
the necessity for such amendments after the parliamentary elections
in 2005 and the referendum in 2006. Some of the amendments were made
based on the observers’ recommendations.

The observers expressed the opinion that the authorities in Karabagh
have exerted great efforts to hold the elections in the proper manner.

Representative of the ARF’s Supreme Body, Chairman of the National
Assembly’s Standing Committee on External Relations Armen Rustamian
believes the people who accomplished their independence going through
suffering will never yield its right to make a choice and to elect
its authorities to anyone. Rustamian traveled to different regions
of Artsakh together with the observation mission from Armenia.

Commenting on his impressions from the elections Rustamian stated that
the most important impression is that the population of Karabagh prove
with every election that they are the masters of their independence,
that they are going to consolidate their independence and show to
the entire world that even if the international community does not
recognize Nagorno Karabagh’s independence, the Nagorno Karabagh
Republic is developing and the democratic elections prove this.

"I am impressed with these elections and I am sure that the
international observers that are present in Artsakh today can have
no other impressions. I congratulate the heroic people of Artsakh
with these elections," Rustamian concluded.

BBC aired a video material telling about the presidential elections in
Karabagh. It was noted in the material that a mosque is being renovated
in Artsakh which proves that there are no acts of vandalism there. One
of the representatives of the authorities in Karabagh is further
quoted in the video material saying that the presidential elections
are another step forward towards Karabagh’s international recognition.

The population of Karabagh wants to prove to the international
community that it has chosen the democratic way of development. The
BBC’s reporter has also commented on the counter-actions on the
part of Azerbaijan noting that during the Soviet times the level of
socio-economic development in Karabagh was not very high and the
war posed new obstacles for Karabagh’s development. Nevertheless,
Karabagh is now developing and progressing with support from Armenia
and the Armenian Diaspora, the BBC reporter concluded in the material.

The Central Electoral Commission of Nagorno Karabagh Republic will
summarize the initial voting results within 24 hours after the voting.

TURKEY: ERDOGAN’S AKP WINS NEW MANDATE
By Ben Judah

Spero News
July 23 2007

Turkey’s AKP landslide victory delivers Prime Minister Erdogan a
clear mandate to continue.

"Our leader is from the street, Our leader is from the street,"
screamed the ecstatic crowds gathered outside the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) headquarters in the working class district of
Beyoglu, in central Istanbul – an AKP stronghold and the very streets
that its leader, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan grew up on and
worked as a bus driver.

Inside the local party headquarters, as hundreds of activists and
supporters, gathered to watch the results come in, Ertan Simsek,
a key advisor to Erdogan, told ISN Security Watch he was satified
with the result.

"I’m jubilant, after such a tough campaign. This is a victory for
the people, and we won because we will bring the state closer to the
people at last," he said.

"There were so many divisions opened up during this campaign, but we
are a unifying force, not an Islamic force, but a conservative center
party. And we will unify by being transparent about who we are and
what the state is."

The AKP mayor of Beyoglu district, Haydar Ali Yildiz, said the
screaming crowds outside his officewere not celebrating the victory
of an Islamist agenda, or even a revolutionary one. "You see, a vote
for the AK party was a vote for continuity and stability, not rupture
or great change," he told ISN Security Watch.

"We won the confidence of the people that have so often been betrayed."

Activists where quick to point out that unprecedented in Turkish
history, the incumbent party had increased its share of the vote –
up from 34 percent to a stunning 46.3 percent, and that the party had
delivered strong economic growth and a historic opening of accession
talks with the EU. However, due to another opposition party breaking
the 10 percent threshold for entering parliament, the AKP will return
with fewer seats.

Western paint The campaign, which saw a rise in far-right sentiment,
mass rallies, political murders and bitter enmities, put great
stress on Turkey’s minorities, especially the Kurdish population in
the east which makes up over 20 percent of the population, and the
country’s 60,000-strong Armenian minority still recovering from the
assassination of writer and community notable Hrant Dink. Reportage
in the western press painted a picture of a nation poised between
Islam and secularism, which most Turks are quick to refute.

AKP supporter Mehmet Bayatkan explained that he supported the party
and had worked round the clock to make sure it won.

"I went door stopping every day, all day, something the other parties
don’t do because they’re not real people’s parties. Why? Because
the party is from the street, does a great job economically and
represents my views. I am not an Islamist. […] I don’t care much
for religion personally."

Verkin Arioba, a member of the Armenian community in Istanbul and
an AKP activist, dismisses the image of the campaign in the western
media as a struggle between the secular and the religious.

"It isn’t about that, it is about class. […] The elites created
much propaganda surrounding the supposed Islamism of the AK. They
want to increase personal freedom, that is good for the religious,
that is good for the Armenians, that is good for everyone and in line
with the EU negotiations."

Changing demographics At the headquarters of the secularist Republican
People’s Party (CHP) in downtown Istanbul, a party chief refused an
interview with ISN Security Watch on the election outcome.

The CHP, despite having merged with other smaller center-left parties
and received military backing, only won 20 percent of the vote.

Most distressing for the party was that while the AKP had previously
seen its support base restricted to the new boom towns in Anatolia –
such as Kayseri and the highlands – the CHP lost out to its rival
in many of the coastal regions, including Antalya, where its leader
Deniz Baykal is from.

The distribution of AKP and CHP votes is a reflection of one of the
major clefts in Turkish society, between the poorer, more traditional
center and the richer, more westernised coast and elite – though this
is weakening.

The broader electoral map saw the two opposition parties, the CHP
and the secuarlist and far-right National Action Party (MHP) garner
strongly localized results. These were the only two parties to pass the
10 percent threshold necessary to get elected, with 112 and 70 seats,
respectively – against the AK party’s 341. This means that while the
AKP may still be able to form a single-party government, it will have
to make alliances to elect a president and change the constitution.

In the east, however, is where the real surprises lay in store for the
new Turkish parliament. The Kurdish regions, mostly around Diyarbakir
and near Iraq, elected 27 independent candidates -all Kurds – who
will now form a new political party. This could see a far greater
push for Kurdish linguistic, cultural and even political rights,
especially if the AKP chooses to ally with the independents to
institute constitutional reforms.

Demographics are starting to worry the Turkish polity, as it is
expected that at current growth rates the Kurdish population could be
50 percent of the whole by mid-century. One of the unexpected results
of this election could see the slow move towards a bi-national and
bi-lingual Republic as the final answer to the minority question. Not
only has a major class shift happened, a cultural shift and an ethnic
shift has shaken Turkish politics.

Mazhar Alanson, a singer and Turkish cultural icon, told ISN Security
Watch he voted for the AKP. "I don’t see this is as Islamism creeping
in, I see this as a break with the past," he said.

For the westernized young, the fears seemed to be more class-based than
anything. Surreiya Tarbya, 19, who voted for the AKP, said that "mostly
people who voted republican [CHP and MHP] think that the peasants
are coming to the city from the mountains, and this scares them.

"It scares them that [Foreign Minister] Abdullah Gul is from Kayseri,
an Anatolian and religious city, and not one they understand. I think
people will give up now, and start to suck up to the new power,"
she told ISN Security Watch.

Military matters Since the country fell into political turmoil when
the military posted an online memorandum on 27 April expressing
its fears that the nation’s secularism was being undermined and in
alliance with the Republicans prevented Gul becoming prime minister,
fears of a coup have been running high.

Tariq, who sells fried sheep intestines in Istanbul for a living,
is not so worried anymore. "Look, they [the AKP] got 50 percent –
you really think the army is going to attack 50 percent of the
country? They can’t, they won’t."

With such a firm mandate the army is indeed left with very few options
and will have to continue to cooperate with the AKP.

However, what Turks refer to as "the deep state" – the web of networks,
secret services, army and elite alliances that have traditionally
been the arbiters of the political game here – will do is far from
certain. They may choose to prolong the political crisis and force
yet another election in October if no president is chosen with the
short month-and-a-half period allowed under the constitution.

A key test for the AKP in government will be if it is willing to
compromise by putting forward a different candidate – a consensus
candidate rather than Gul. It is open as to how much the party will
now wish to change the constitution. The AKP has made it clear it wants
a transparent state and this necessarily means a confrontation sooner
or later with the vested interests and the sinews of military power.

Constitutionally, the military is the official guardian of the
Republic’s secular system and is charged with protecting it at all
costs. But it also fears that as Turkey under Erdogan heads toward
the EU, European demands for constitutional changes could lead to a
reduction in its political power.

In the meantime, back at AKP offices in Beyoglu, frenzied activists
clustered round the television to watch Erdogan make his victory
speech.

This leader, who has done much to change Turkey in what many of his
supporters refer to as a "silent revolution," exclaimed in the accent
of the street he was born on, that "democracy has passed a great test"
with this election.

He pledged to continue his path of reform. Turkey had passed
a monumental challenge. Democracy has emerged strengthened and
culturally, the very Calvinistic nature of Turkish Islam is cementing
itself and the Kurdish issue has a chance of being resolved finally.

Ben Judah is writer and foreign policy analyst based between London and
Paris. He has previously worked as a reporter covering race relations
for the St Petersburg Times, Russia. This article was published by ISN.

FM PRAISES IRAN-ARMENIA RELATIONS

Fars News Agency, Iran
July 20 2007

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
voiced pleasure in Tehran-Yerevan developing ties in recent years
and further praised the remarkable achievements of the two states’
relations.

According to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry Information
and Press Bureau, Mottaki made the remarks in the 7th meeting of
Iran-Armenia joint cooperation commission in Yerevan on Friday.

During the meeting, Mottaki noted the prospects of the two countries’
relations and said, "The two countries’ ties have fortunately
experienced growing development in recent years and the two states’
mutual ties have resulted in remarkable achievements for both sides."

He also lauded the two nations’ strong bonds and relations, and said
that Iran-Armenia cooperation in transportation, trade exchange,
energy, oil and gas sectors indicates a growing trend in the two
countries’ relations.

Mottaki hoped that the two states’ annual trade and economic exchanges
would increase from the present $200 mln to $ 1 bln in the next year.

He also said that agreement on the construction of Aras water power
plant, feasibility studies over direct rail connection between the
two countries, primary talks and formation of a trilateral committee
for the construction of an oil refinery in Armenia by Iran, Russia and
Armenia, and establishment of Iran-Armenia trade center by the private
sector are among those areas which could cause further expansion of
Iran-Armenia relations.

BAKO SAAKYAN ELECTED AS NAGORNO KARABAKH PRESIDENT

Regnum, Russia
July 20 2007

Under provisional information of the Nagorno Karabakh Central
Election Commission, 71,285 people participated in the presidential
election yesterday, which is 77.36% of the total number of eligible
voters. 67,695 voters gave their votes for one or another candidate;
57,828 of them, or 85.42%, voted for Bako Saakyan; Deputy Foreign
Minister Masis Mailyan is the second with 12.21%, or 8,270 votes. The
third one is MP Armen Abgaryan with 1.26%, or 856 votes, Communist
Hrant Melkumyan received 0.8%, or 539 votes, and lecturer Vanya
Avansyan was the last one with 0.3%, or 22 votes.

As CEC Chair Sergey Nasibyan said, the data is preliminary, as in
accordance with the NKR CEC, the results are to be proceeded by 08:00
p.m. next day after the election. So, more precise information will
be known tonight.

It is worth mentioning, additional information will hardly change
the outcome of the election, as Bako Saakyan has a major lead at the
race. Thus, one can say that the people of Nagorno Karabakh have made
their choice and former head of the NKR National Security Service
Bako Saakyan is elected as NKR third president.

Saakyan’s election platform was based on social issues. Answering
questions whether he would replace the government if he becomes
president, he said "Yes."

First NKR president was Robert Kocharyan, who is now President
of Armenia. In 1997 he was replaced by Arkady Gukasyan, who was
re-elected in 2002. In the beginning of 2007, he announced that two
terms envisaged by the constitution were enough for him and he would
not run for the third term.

Bako Saakyan was born in Stepanakert on August 30, 1960. In 1977,
he finished school in Stepanakert. In 1978-80s was in the Soviet Army.

In 1981, he became a machinist at the Stepanakert Mechanical Works.

Since 1988, he has been known as an activist of the Artsakh Movement.

In 1990s, he became a member of the Nagorno Karabakh Defense Forces.

In 1996-97, he was deputy chief of the 10th Mountain Infantry Division
of the AO NKR in charge for the home front. In 1997-99, he was aide of
the Armenian interior and national security minister. In 1999-2001,
he served as NKR Interior Minister. Since 2001, he was head of the
NKR National Security Service. He is married and has two children.

VARDAN GHUKASYAN’S SON YIELDED HIMSELF PRISONER

A1+
[06:24 pm] 20 July, 2007

On July 20, Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan’s son Spartak Ghukasyan gave
himself up. He is prosecuted under Articles 34-104 /attempted murder/,
Article 235 /illegal weapon acquisition/ and Article 258 /hooliganism/.

Spartak Ghukasyan is taken into custody.

Spartak Ghukasyan has been in search since May 25. He participated
in the May 20 dismantling in Gyumri.

There are three other detainees in connection with the stripping:
Kolia Ghukasyan, a Gyumri Alderman member and Vardan Ghukasyan’s
nephew, Telman Karapetyan and Norayr Soloyan. Rustam Sargsyan and
Tigran Gasparyan are in search.

NKR PRESIDENT: WE HOLD ELECTIONS NOT FOR INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, BUT TO REACH OUR GOALS

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
July 19 2007

Today, at 8 a. m., electoral districts opened in Nagorno-Karabagh,
where presidential elections are being held. According to the current
data, the voters’ turn-out is 24, 54 %.

Today, answering the journalists’ questions concerning the negative
reaction of a number of international structures to the elections
being held in Nagorno-Karabagh, NKR President Arkady Ghoukassian said,
"We hold elections not for the international community, but to reach
our goals. Let those, who are against elections, against the election
of a new leader of Nagorno-Karabagh, offer their alternative".

Arkady Ghoukassian expressed opinion that presidential elections
would positively influence on the Karabagh conflict settlement
process, underscoring that Nagorno-Karabagh would inevitably become
the talks’ participant. "Otherwise the talks will become senseless",
the President stated.

Commenting on the Kosovo issue settlement, Arkady Ghoukassian noted,
"Nagorno-Karabagh has more arguments to gain independence than
Kosovo. If Kosovo gets independence, it is incomprehensible why
Nagorno-Karabagh cannot do it".

BRUSSELS ALARM AT POROUS EASTERN BORDERS
By Sarah Laitner, George Parker and Fidelius Schmid in Brussels

FT
July 18 2007 03:00

People smugglers are turning the European Union’s south-eastern
frontiers into a prime corridor for illegal migration, the EU’s
security chief has warned.

Franco Frattini, the justice and home affairs commissioner, said
growing numbers of illegal immigrants were arriving via either the
western Balkans or the Black Sea region from Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine,
Belarus and Moldova.

ADVERTISEMENT The Mediterranean is the most visible route for unlawful
entry to the Union, with thousands of Africans undertaking dangerous
sea crossings each year in an attempt to reach southern Europe.

But Mr Frattini warned that undocumented entry through the east was
a further worry. "The illegal migrants coming from the east are very
often victims of sexual exploitation, trafficking and forced labour,"
he told the Financial Times.

His comments highlight the challenge confronting Europe over migration,
with a fractious debate on whether it can manage entry. About 500,000
undocumented migrants are thought to arrive each year.

Mr Frattini pledged to try to bolster security standards in the western
Balkans through EU visa agreements and measures to allow repatriation
of illegal migrants from the Union.

An agreement to make it easier for people fromBosnia-Herzegovina,
Albania, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro to obtain EU work permits
should be concluded by the year end, the European Commission says.

The move is designed to spur legal entry and encourage reform to fight
organised crime and strengthen borders. Brussels said the Union would
move towards a visa-free regime with these countries only if they
acted against trafficking.

At the same time, Mr Frattini will explore opening channels for legal
entry from African nations from which people travel to countries such
as Malta, Italy and Greece in the hope of finding work in the EU.

For example, the EU could offer to make it easier for students from
Morocco and Tunisia to receive visas. This and other sweeteners
would be offered in return for a reciprocal deal to allow the EU to
repatriate illegal migrants.

The EU has yet to forge such a "return" agreement with any African
nation to take back citizens who are illegally in the 27-country bloc,
the European Commission said.

Mr Frattini said: "Thereis a very reluctant stanceby African countries
taken vis-a-vis Europe. I can understand perfectly. They haveto show
their public thatthe rich Europe doesnot want only security,only
protection. But we are ready to offer something. Legal migration,
for example, or visa facilitation for students."

Some member states have been accused of being slow to meet their
commitments to provide equipment for patrols of the EU’s southern
coastal waters by the union’s Frontex agency.

Nevertheless, the patrols were having an effect, Mr Frattini said. "I
have to say for the first time I see a clear positive impact on
patrolling missions and Frontex activity on the flows of migrants.

"The first seven months of operation on the Canary Islands led to
. . illegal migrant flows [dropping by] up to 60 per cent."

RUSSIA’S SUSPENSION OF CFE WON’T CREATE NEW ARMS RACE IN SOUTH CAUCASUS
By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Diana Dundua)

The Messenger, Georgia
July 18 2007

In a little less than 150 days, Russia’s suspension of the Conventional
Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty will take effect.

This suspension means that the rules of the game that existed between
Russia and NATO and Russia and the US are no longer in force. Now
Russia is free to deploy as many of its tanks or aircraft it feels
necessary in Europe and stop providing information and allowing
inspections of its heavy conventional weapons. But this decision
could affect the rules of the game in the South Caucasus just as
significantly.

Former Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze, who helped negotiate
the CFE agreement as foreign minister in the Gorbachev administration,
is nervous about the move.

"I believe this step is the first move towards reviving the Cold War,"
Shevardnadze commented on Monday.

He believes this is a response to US President Bush’s proposal to
put missile defense components in Eastern Europe.

Shevardnadze also doesn’t rule out that Russia might fortify its border
with Georgia with armed forces as "an element of extra pressure."

Armenia and Azerbaijan are also worried about how the decision will
affect their relationship.

Armenian analysts are worried that since Russia has made the first
move, Azerbaijan will follow suit (especially with the aid of a
significantly increased defense budget) effectively setting off a
new wave of military build-ups on the borders in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijan is concerned about a stronger Russian military presence
in the Caucasus, especially in its conflict zone of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan also worries about the 102nd military base located in
Gyumri. As the Russian base in Akhalkalaki, Georgia is being closed
down, many of the Russian troops and equipment are being sent to the
closest military base located in Gyumri, Armenia.

Georgia has also expressed concern about the closure of the Russian
military base located in Gudauta in Abkhazia. Russia claims it has
pulled out equipment and military hardware from Gudauta but Tbilisi
says it is necessary to maintain constant international monitoring
of the region. Ex-foreign minister Salome Zourabichvili agrees this
could pose problems in the future.

Another former foreign minister, Irakli Menagarishvili, now the head
of the thinktank Georgian Council on Foreign Relations, also thinks
Russia’s decision will complicate issues in the South Caucasus.

He told Civil Georgia this will especially cause problems for
Moldova because, "Russia has been refusing to launch withdrawal
[of its military bases] from this country."

While Russia’s suspension of the CFE treaty could theoretically
make existing problems in the region even bigger, more than likely
Putin’s decision to withdraw from the pact wasn’t targeted for the
South Caucasus and these problems would have remained with or without
a CFE treaty.

CAN THE DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY BE CROSSED OUT?

Lragir, Armenia
July 16 2007

In Armenia they also say the public sector in Karabakh is monotone, and
it is not accidental that a few days ago my acquaintance said "don’t
let this sphere be monotone, let some have other colors." He certainly
meant the NGOs endorsing Bako Sahakyan in the pre-election period.

When the political forces endorse the candidate, it is somehow logical,
but it is illogical when the NGOs come together to support the same
candidate Bako Sahakyan. No doubt the ranks of these organizations are
either unaware of the decision of the elite or are simply against their
decision. Meanwhile, no NGO has endorsed the other candidates. In fact,
the NGOs should come together not to support a candidate and shorten
the rights of voters but to guarantee the freedom of election and to
exercise public control over the election. And it is not accidental
that only 8 observers from the local organizations have been registered
with the NKR Central Electoral Commission, because an organization
that endorses one of the candidates cannot observe the election. It
allows for some suggestions. First, the public sector trusts the
government and approves the candidate put up by the candidate and
considers public control unnecessary. Second, it is possible that
the NGOs made this decision out of fear to lose what they have, or
to please the government. It follows that in Karabakh public control
is disappearing, to put it mildly. And if in a country this control
is diminishing, we can cross out the future and development of the
country. And my acquaintance is right that everything is in the wrong
place in this country, and so is the public sector, which is already…

If this is the case in the pre-election period, what will happen
under the government elected without public control? Can we hope
that this control will "resurrect"? Certainly not. And it means that
people will continue to serve humbly the government. Nevertheless,
the choice is up to people, and they choose their future.

LEBANESE OWNER RULES OUT SALE OF ARMENIAN WIRELESS NETWORK
By Shakeh Avoyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
July 12 2007

A Lebanese company that owns Armenia’s largest mobile phone network
said on Thursday that it has no plans to sell its subsidiary despite
what it described as a strong interest shown by other foreign
investors.

An Armenian newspaper report earlier this week said that Russia’s
largest mobile phone operator, MTS, has offered to purchase the
VivaCell network from K-Telecom. Another Russian wireless operator,
VimpelCom, already bought Armenia’s national telecommunications
company, ArmenTel, for about $500 million late last year.

K-Telecom’s Lebanese-Armenian chief executive, Ralph Yirikian,
declined to confirm or refute the report, saying only that many
foreign firms are impressed by VivaCell’s successful operations and
would like to buy it. But he insisted that K-Telecom will not sell
it in the foreseeable future.

"Right now VivaCell resembles a gorgeous and wealthy young woman
courted by many bachelors keen to marry her," Yirikian told
reporters. "They keep calling her, asking her to go out with them.

But the girl tells them, ‘My life is only just beginning, I don’t
want to get married as I have a lot of things to do and will think
about that later.’"

Yirikian added that K-Telecom is only prepared to sell minority stakes
in VivaCell and plans to become a public company for that purpose. "We
are going to be listed on the stock exchange so that our subscribers
and employees can become shareholders in VivaCell," he said.

The owner of K-Telecom’s Lebanese parent company, the Fattouch
Investment Group, similarly indicated that it has no intention to
leave Armenia any time soon as he celebrated the second anniversary
of VivaCell’s launch with company executives in Yerevan on Thursday.

Pierre Fattouch said the group has since invested about $340 million
in its Armenian wireless network and plans to further expand its
operations in the country.

"The Group is quite excited about the future of this country and will
be expanding its investments to cover other sectors," he said.

Fattouch also revealed that the number of Armenian cellphone users
subscribed to his VivaCell has passed the one million mark, giving his
company a commanding 70 percent share of the local market for wireless
services. "The one million is just the beginning and we are actively
expanding our network to a capacity of 1.5 million subscribers as
well as preparing the launch of third generation services," he said.

VivaCell’s launch in July 2005 came several months after the Armenian
government forced the then Greek-owned ArmenTel to abandon its legal
monopoly on mobile telephony. The development led to an explosion
in mobile phone use in the country as fierce competition between
ArmenTel and VivaCell dramatically reduced the hitherto high cost of
the service.

That competition developed into a price war last year, with the
two operators accusing each other of unfair competition and seeking
sanctions from a state anti-trust body. According to Yirikian, they
both withdrew their applications to the Commission on Protection of
Economic Competition after reaching an amicable settlement earlier
this year. He did not give details of the deal.