Author: Taslakhchian Andranik

Armenian paper displeased Russian-owned plants still not operating

Haykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
13 Jul 04 p 2

Text of Hayk Gevorkyan’s report by Armenian newspaper Haykakan
Zhamanak on 13 July headlined “We are not demanding, we are simply
asking”

“By taking over these enterprises, Russia hopes that the industrial
capacities and the scientific and technical potential of these
enterprises will operate in full. They will operate within the
framework of programmes that exist in Russia: electronic industry, the
development of the production of armament systems, etc,” the former
prime minister of Russia, Mikhail Kasyanov, made this statement in
Yerevan in November 2002, when he was signing the so-called “property
for debt” agreement together with Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Markaryan. According to this agreement, five Armenian enterprises
became the Russian government’s property, for which the latter
“forgave” 98m dollars of Armenia’s debt to Russia. Kasyanov’s hopes
did not come true. Nothing has changed in the life of the biggest
enterprises which were handed over to Russia: the Razdan power plant
and Mars. The Razdan power plant is operating as before, Mars is
almost non-operating (it operates even less than before).

In the remaining scientific-research institutes, the volume of orders
from customers has grown slightly, but nobody dares to say that this
growth is due to the fact that the institutes were handed over to
Russia. That is, the orders would have probably grown even if they had
not been handed over to Russia. In a word, the economic results, which
were spoken about so much while handing over the enterprises to
Russia, have not been achieved. They said that as a result of the
property for debt agreement, Russian investments will flow into
Armenia, new technologies will be brought, new jobs will be created,
etc.

Within the framework of Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan’s
visit to Russia, the further fate of the Armenian enterprises that
have become Russian property will be discussed. “We shall try to
clarify the schedule and the approaches of the Russian party. This
concerns mainly Mars,” Andranik Markaryan told journalists at
Zvartnots airport before his departure to Moscow. His careful answers
are not accidental. From a legal point of view, the Russians did not
undertake to put other enterprises into operation or provide them with
equipment. On the contrary, they were given numerous privileges. For
instance, the Razdan power plant received a tax privilege of more than
6m dollars that it could not even dream of when it was Armenia’s
property.

In a word, we have nothing to demand from the Russians. “We are not
demanding, we are simply asking,” Trade and Economic Development
Minister Karen Chshmarityan said. There are also problems concerning
the fifth block of the Razdan power plant. The point is that within
the framework of the property for debt agreement, the fifth block was
put to a so-called “option”, i.e., the Armenian party promised not to
sell it to a third party until the end of the current year and gave
the Russians a privileged right to buy it. Our delegation will try to
clarify in Moscow if the Russians will buy the fifth block or we can
sell it to somebody else.

On the whole, we have the impression that we, as well as the Russians,
are searching for excuses to explain why nothing has changed in the
enterprises that were handed over to Russia within the framework of
the property for debt agreement. Elections were being held in Russia,
a government was being formed, etc. [Russian MP] Nikolay Ryzhkov
expressed his displeasure in Yerevan that the enterprises belong to
Russia, but the Armenian laws are operating there, as if in Russia the
French laws are operating in enterprises that belong to France. It is
evident that it is only a justification so as to deny in some way that
the property for debt agreement was only a political decision which
helps Russia ensure its presence in the region, and the Armenian
authorities support this by all means. And in this case, we can only
ask and never demand.

uefa.com, Switzerland
July 10 2004

Karamyan twins set for Rapid

Twin brothers Artavazd and Arman Karamyan are to become the first
Armenians to play in the Romanian First Division after signing for
AFC Rapid Bucuresti in a 120,000 move from FC Arsenal Kyiv.

Identical careers
The pair, both Armenian internationals are 24 and have signed
two-and-a-half year contracts. Artavazd, a midfield player and Arman,
a striker, have always been at the same clubs – beginning at FC MIKA,
moving to FC Pyunik then Greek side Panahaiki GC and Ukrainian club
Arsenal. However, they never settled in Kiev and have been playing at
Pyunik in Yerevan since February.

‘Fast and efficient’
They were recommended to Rapid by former Armenia coach Mihai
Stoichita and Rapid technical director Dan Apolzan spotted them in an
international tournament in Cyprus in February. Rapid president Dinu
Gheorghe said: “We hope to have done a very good deal, because both
players are very fast and efficient.” Ironically, both could face
Romania with Armenia in November when the nations meet in FIFA World
Cup qualifying.

Miami Herald , FL
July 11 2004

Playwrights up for Downstage

BY CHRISTINE DOLEN

[email protected]

The men and women clustered around a table in the cozy old Band
Cottage on the Ransom-Everglades campus are, just like the ones
meeting across the street in a cramped upstairs apartment at the
Coconut Grove Playhouse, both daring and vulnerable.

All of them are writers looking for guidance and feedback. Not
journalists, novelists, short story writers or poets but playwrights,
people who tell stories through drama and dialogue. They summon
worlds from their imaginations, invent characters to live in those
worlds, then (if they are both skilled and fortunate) begin the
collaborative process of bringing their play to life on a stage.

Developing scripts so that they’re ready for that last step is what
Downstage Miami — the program that has brought those men and women,
Miami playwrights and their mentors, together — is all about.

”Downstage Miami allows a group of people to investigate what they
have to say in an environment that can guide them, so they don’t keep
their writing in drawers,” says Leslie Ayvazian, author of Nine
Armenians, High Dive and other works, and one of the program’s mentor
playwrights.

“In these situations, you learn as much as you teach. I’m delighted
by the way their work has leapt forward, through their own discipline
and the way they have learned to critique each other. It’s kind and
generous feedback and criticism. Not harmful.”

HELPING HANDS

This protected, purposeful nurturing of South Florida playwrights and
their scripts in professionally led workshops was the brainchild of
Rem Cabrera, chief of cultural development for Miami-Dade County’s
Department of Cultural Affairs and the Downstage Miami program
administrator.

When he was studying for his master’s degree in creative writing at
Florida International University, he recalls, “I tried to write a
play and had no one to help me. Our theater community here has just
exploded over the last 10 to 15 years, and new works have to arise
from this community. There wasn’t any support structure.”

After consulting with theater folks and the leadership of the Theatre
League of South Florida, Cabrera launched the program in 2001. Former
Theatre League head Barry Steinman suggested the name Downstage
Miami; to Cabrera, it represents “the spotlight at the center edge
of the stage, like the bow of a ship. It signifies a high focus of
attention. It connotes progress and forward movement.”

And in this still-early stage in its evolution, the program seems to
be living up to its title.

Already, it has attracted some of the biggest names in play-writing
— including Pulitzer Prize winners Edward Albee (who commented, when
Cabrera shared that his dog had destroyed his copy of Who’s Afraid of
Virginia Woolf?, ”Yes, everybody’s a critic”) and Nilo Cruz, as
well as Arthur Kopit, A.R. Gurney, Eduardo Machado, María Irene
Fornés, Jeffrey Sweet and Ayvazian — as mentors.

Kopit, mentor to the 2004 writers, has found the city “a very, very
rich dramatic and cultural broth to dip into … something you don’t
have in Toledo or Buffalo or even New York. It brings in so many
conflicting sensibilities.”

Its dramatic stories, he says, “have to do with the essence of the
United States as a melting pot. With corruption, dreams, commitment
to culture and the changing of cultures. … The background of
someone who’s lived in Miami, whether they’re Latino or not, is
influenced [by that]. That’s very powerful, enriching and
stimulating.”

The past and present participating Miami playwrights, chosen in a
”blind” process in which their submitted writing samples are
considered without identifying information attached, have backgrounds
as different as their scripts — stories about foreign adoption,
young love, an incestuous affair, a lesbian couple dealing with a
troubled grown son, a daughter yearning to flee her wealthy Cuban
father’s tyranny.

Susi Westfall, for example, is a founder of City Theatre, formerly
one of its producing artistic directors and a play-writing teacher at
the New World School of the Arts. Lauren Feldman is a young actress
and playwright whose work is being performed (she’s also part of the
acting company) in City Theatre’s Summer Shorts Festival at the
Broward Center through mid-July.

Actor-dancer-playwright Ricky J. Martinez is appearing in King Lear
and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at New Theatre this summer, and there
are plans for a New York production of his Downstage Miami play, Sin
Full Heaven, in late spring of 2005.

Buck Fever, the first play by actor Juan C. Sanchez, is making it to
New York even sooner. Sanchez, who pays his bills by working as an
assistant house manager at the Coconut Grove Playhouse and whipping
up drinks in the café at Books & Books on Lincoln Road, is getting a
production of his play by the terraNOVAcollective at Manhattan’s Blue
Heron Arts Center Oct. 29-Nov. 20. Of Downstage Miami, Sanchez says
simply, “I think the program made me a playwright. Leslie [Ayvazian]
was the first person who called me a playwright. I walked into [this]
with 15 pages of a first play and 25 years of desire. It’s obviously
very important and life-affirming.”

Dancer-choreographer and New World faculty member Gerard Ebitz, who
says of his fellow writers ”I trust these people,” became a
Downstage playwright. So did Arnold Mercado, poet, playwright,
screenwriter and fencing instructor who writes in both English and
Spanish; David Caudle, whose Feet of Clay just won the Samuel French
One-Act Competition; and actor-playwright David Cirone, who has
monologues from his Downstage-developed play The Lucky Believe
included in the just-published Best Men’s Monologues of 2003 and Best
Women’s Monologues of 2003.

STAYING POWER

At first, mentor playwrights came in for one weekend each. But
Ayvazian has kept working with her group, e-mailing back and forth,
commenting on revisions, returning to Miami in late June for another
round of work with them at Ransom-Everglades. And Kopit has led all
of this year’s sessions, even arranging for a June reading of
Feldman’s Penguins on Parade at New York’s Lark Theater, where he
runs a play-writing workshop.

”It was her first full-length play, so when she was finished, she
wasn’t sure it was good. It was important that she hear it quickly,”
says Kopit, who wanted to get her some fresh reactions.

“I’m in New York, and it was convenient for me and a useful and
essential thing for her. … I could get some people whose opinions I
value to come, like [playwrights] David Ives and Jenny Lynn Bader —
people whose judgment I trust and who know what not to say. You’re
not there to tell the writer how to fix the play; there’s always
something that’s not working, and the writer is very vulnerable.”

True enough, but Feldman intends to do a significant rewrite before
her fall reading in South Florida and believes what she got at the
Lark was “tons of exquisite feedback, and the whole experience was
nothing short of extraordinary. … I never expected an opportunity
like this could exist for a young Miami playwright.”

While Kopit was in Miami in late June, Caudle got to hear his play
Visiting Ours read in that borrowed Coconut Grove Playhouse apartment
space by some of South Florida’s best actors: Pamela Roza, Angie
Radosh, Tara Vodihn, Marjorie O’Neill-Butler and Ian Hersey.
Afterwards, Kopit solicited reaction from Caudle’s fellow playwrights
and the actors, guiding the discussion, offering his own
observations, giving Caudle lots to contemplate.

And whether the playwrights are doing writing exercises, reading
their own scripts aloud, getting feedback from their mentors and
fellow playwrights, hearing actors read their scripts or opening the
work up to public readings at places like New Theatre and GableStage,
it’s all part of the Downstage Miami process, a process designed to
let Miami voices enter theater’s mainstream.

And that, says Kopit, is a great thing.

”These are all really good writers who are working on very
interesting subjects. This isn’t about getting something right so
you’ll have a hit play; it’s about the process of learning how you
write,” he says. “A good play is so idiosyncratic [that]
playwrights aren’t jealous of each other’s success. When you see a
good play, it excites you. It reminds you of why you do it.”

Armenian minister in Moscow may discuss withdrawal from Azeri land – daily

Ekho, Baku
6 Jul 04

Text of N. Aliyev and R. Orucov report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho
on 6 July entitled “Yerevan stated its readiness to liberate seven
districts”, and subheaded “Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
disclosed details of negotiations between foreign ministers of
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey”

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan flew to Moscow for an
official visit yesterday. During the visit “special stress” will
probably be laid on the Karabakh problem, Ekho has reported.

To all appearances, Oskanyan has really got something to talk about
with his Russian counterpart. Especially in the light of an article
published in Turkey’s Zaman newspaper. In an article headlined
“Yerevan gives the first sign of surrender”, the newspaper notes that
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan, who was in Turkey last week
for the NATO summit, hinted that Armenian forces could leave all the
occupied Azerbaijani territories, except Karabakh itself.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul gave this information to Zaman.
According to him, Oskanyan said: “We can free all the territories
except Karabakh.” Moreover, Azerbaijani [Foreign] Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov reacted positively, Gul said. “An important step has been
taken in resolving the Armenian problem,” Gul announced.

The press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry refused to
comment on this topic yesterday, saying that the Istanbul negotiations
of the three foreign ministers were confidential.

In turn, Novruz Mammadov, head of the international relations
department of the Presidential Executive Staff, considered it
premature to give an assessment of the Zaman statements.

“The tripartite negotiations in Istanbul took place behind closed
doors,” Mammadov said and advised us to wait for the return of
[Foreign Minister] Elmar Mammadyarov, a direct participant in the
meeting. The latter is currently at NATO headquarters in Brussels,
where cooperation between the North Atlantic alliance and Azerbaijan,
within the framework of a fresh individual cooperation programme, is
being considered.

MP Samad Seyidov, head of the Azerbaijani delegation in the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, finds the
information, published in the Turkish paper, in full conformity with
the overall situation. “Events around the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict are developing in the right way. That is to say, the
international community is extraordinarily interested in the
integration of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia into economic and
political organizations with a Euro-Atlantic orientation.

“Analysing the situation in our region, they conclude that the state
of affairs here is indeed rotten. A country states that it adheres to
democratic values, but in fact has destroyed all possible and
impossible values that are in place in the Western and European
world.”

But the West is ready to accept the region only in conformity with its
own interests and values.

“Therefore, concrete examinations started after the emergence of this
interest. And this is connected with the possibilities of taking
decisions on our conflict. And the approval of their decisions by our
sides will be compulsory,” Seyidov said.

The MP believes that that the occupied territories will sooner or
later be returned to Azerbaijan. “As for Nagornyy Karabakh directly,
we have frequently said that there can also be no talk about these
territories. The matter boils down to the fact that the problem must
be resolved stage-by-stage, first, the liberation of the occupied
territories around Nagornyy Karabakh, and then the discussion of its
status. This is completely natural and this is that stage-by-stage
settlement to the conflict about which we have always spoken.”

Therefore, Samadov said, “the fact that now Turkish, European papers
and Oskanyan himself, to a certain extent, hint at this option shows
once again that our position is correct”.

Tehran Times
July 6 2004

MPs From 13 Countries Send Congratulatory Messages To Majlis Speaker

TEHRAN (IRNA) — Parliament speakers from 13 countries and heads of
some international parliamentary assemblies sent congratulatory
messages to Iranian Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel on his
election as speaker of the seventh Majlis.

A report released by Majlis Public Relations Department said that in
their messages, the foreign officials wished for Haddad Adel’s
success and called for expansion of parliamentary ties with Iran.

The congratulatory messages came from speakers of parliaments of
Japan, Italy, Kuwait, Egypt, Palestine, Algeria, Sudan, Bahrain,
Aman, Morocco, Indonesia, Turkey and Armenia.

Meanwhile, the secretary general of the World Inter-Parliamentary
Union, secretary general of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC member
states, chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National
People’s Congress, head of Russian state Duma, head of Russian
Federation Council felicitated Majlis speaker by sending him separate
messages.

Ambassadors of China, Japan and Tajikistan to Tehran as well as head
of the Orientology Institute of Tajikistan Academy of Science also
sent messages to Haddad Adel to felicitate his appointment.

ArmeniaNow.com
July 2, 2004

Too Far from Home?: Parents fret over treatment of their children at school
in India
By Gayane Lazarian ArmeniaNow reporter

Alvard Gevorgyan strokes her 10-year-old daughter Mariam’s head and says
agitatedly: “It was very hard to get my baby back, I thought I would never
see her again. When she returned, she was sick and ridden with ticks and
lice. The skin on her head was covered in sores.”

Mariam is one of 30 children who were sent to India to be educated at the
Calcutta Charitable Seminary under an assistance program agreed with the
Armenian Apostolic Church. She was just seven when she left Armenia in 2001.

Alvard Gevorgyan says her daughter Mariam won’t return to school in India
“The teachers didn’t allow us to write bad things in letters. If they saw
such a letter they would tear it into pieces but when my ma called I told
her, ‘mama-jan do something, take me away from here’,” she says.

Alvard, her husband and their two daughters live in the dilapidated building
of former professional technical school Number 18 located in the Tnkaran
district three kilometers from Echmiatsin. It is rat-infested and she says
she is too ashamed of conditions in the building to invite guests to visit.

Under the educational program, children from impoverished backgrounds are
offered the chance to go to India to study at the Seminary’s boarding
school. Places went first to those in orphanages, followed by children from
single-parent families and those living in conditions of extreme hardship.

Alvard is a disabled veteran of the Karabakh War. She feels she was misled
about the conditions her daughter would encounter in Calcutta, although the
girl felt that the quality of education she received there was much better
than she would have got in Armenia and she has in fact learned good English.

Mariam was in the first group selected to go to India in 2001. The family
applied for a place after seeing television advertisements about the
program. They met a priest who explained that parents who sent their
children to school in India were unlikely to see them again for ten years.
Nevertheless, Alvard signed up, believing it offered the best prospects for
her daughter.

Mariam points at a photograph of herself at the airport as she prepared to
leave with the group for India. A priest, Father Ghevond, traveled to India
with the children and ensured they were well looked after. Mariam says
everything went well while he was there, but problems began when he returned
to Armenia after the first year.

“In the beginning it was good but later. I only regret that I could not
complete my studies. But the teachers beat and insulted us. There were
children who were even listening to our telephone conversations and
afterwards running to tell the teachers what we were talking about,” she
says.

Alvard says she faced considerable difficulties in getting her daughter back
and had to borrow money from the Mayor of Echmiatsin to pay for a ticket to
secure her return.

“The school didn’t want to send my child back until they received the
money,” she says angrily.

Another child who returned home is 13-year-old Vardan Manukyan. He says: “It
‘s true that I was missing my home but if everything had been all right in
India I would have stayed there. Sometimes when me and my friends were
quarreling, the teachers told us ‘you are guilty’ and beat us. Yes, we ate
three times a day but I did not like the food.”

Verdun ‘s mother Geghetsik Manukyan says that when he called her he would
complain about the seminary and ask her to bring him back to Armenia. She
appealed for help to the Catholicos and the Indian ambassador in Armenia,
but finally she arranged by herself for him to come home.

“You should have seen my son when he returned. It was February here but he
was still dressed in his summer clothes from Calcutta . He was sick. Why did
they treat them that way? When we sent our children there they were healthy
but not when they returned,” she says.

The Calcutta Charitable Seminary was founded in 1821 and is one of the
oldest educational institutions of the Diaspora, where people from Armenian
communities in New Julfa and Isfahan in Iran, and Iraq used to visit as
well. It has functioned constantly during that time, enjoying all the
privileges granted by India to educational institutions.

However, by 2000 only five pupils were enrolled there and the school was in
danger of closing. It was at this time that the plan was worked out to offer
places to children in Armenia to study in India.

The seminary covers all of the pupils’ expenses including food, uniform, and
school supplies, and provides them with pocket money of about 500 drams per
month. At Christmas, each receives 15,000 drams (about $30), while birthdays
are celebrated with a gift.

Deacon Tigran Baghumyan is the cleric responsible for coordinating the
Calcutta project at the Holy See of Echmiatsin.

He has heard the complaints from children but doubts that they have been ill
treated or had their letters censored. Nevertheless, he intends to travel to
India to investigate for himself.

“The program pursues only one goal. People who cannot even complete an
elementary education in Armenia are able to get a complete education in
Calcutta with support from the Holy See,” he says.

He says there are plans to send another 30 children to the seminary this
year and there are many more applicants than places. However, he
acknowledges that some of those who have already gone have become homesick
or have found it difficult to adapt to their new surroundings in Calcutta.

Deacon Tigran plans to investigate the complaints
“I know about the seminary and its activities very well. I have met with
parents who have complained that the condition of their children’s health is
bad. Of course, the environment and climate in India are severe and it is
hard to adapt. At present, there are eight children in Armenia who don’t
want to return.”

Deacon Tigran says the program is being adapted in response to parental
concerns. Children will soon have their own email accounts where they can
send letters directly to their families. A centre will soon be established
in Yerevan where parents will be able to go to make free telephone calls to
their children and have access to the internet.

The Church also intends to arrange flights home each summer holiday so that
children can spend time with their families. The visits started this year,
with children arriving in Armenia on June 12 until August 10.

Fifteen-year-old Andranik Matevosyan is one of those on holiday from the
seminary. He agrees that teachers are very strict and do hit children both
with the hand and a stick, though he says he was never beaten.

“They often punish and in that case they don’t allow them to swim in the
pool and watch TV. If you talk when you eat they order you to stand up and
you have to eat standing,” Andranik says.

His mother Karineh Kirakosyan is unconcerned. She says: “If a child
misbehaves no problem if he is given a slap. I won’t feel bad. It’s a
school. If they attend that school they must endure everything and continue
to study.”

There are plans to fly a group of parents to India later this year so that
they can see conditions in the seminary for themselves and help to alleviate
the fears of other families in Armenia.

According to the deacon, social conditions have improved recently for many
parents in Armenia and as a result they want their children to return to
live with them again. He says the Church in its turn does not exert any
pressure for the children to stay in Calcutta. The biggest issue is usually
that the children miss their parents too much.

“In such cases we let children and parents decide,” says Deacon Tigran.

He says the Holy See has replied officially to letters from parents that
contained requests for medical treatment following the children’s return
from India. The families were informed in writing that Echmiatsin is ready
to cover expenses connected with their children’s medical problems and to
treat them at the Saint Nerses the Great hospital in Yerevan. However, the
parents have rejected this offer.

“I don’t know the reason, but they probably expected to get money from the
Church in compensation,” he says.

Alvard insists that she will never place her child in the Church’s care
again. She wants compensation at least for her telephone bill in making
calls to India to arrange for her daughter’s return.

The seminary in Calcutta, India
At present, about 50 children have returned to Armenia from the Calcutta
seminary for the summer vacation. Deacon Tigran says he has talked with many
of them and the complaints from some of the parents do not reflect the
experiences of the majority.

The seminary has 118 pupils now, 81 boys and 37 girls. The vast majority –
78 – come from Armenia with 35 from Iran, four from India, and one Armenian
from Iraq.

Vardan says he learnt English, Russian, and Indian languages during his time
there as well as subjects related to Armenia. He is adamant that he will not
return to Calcutta, although he regrets deeply that he has not completed his
studies there.

“I knew that if I learned then I would become a normal man,” he says.

Andranik is among those who returned sick to Armenia and he spent 15 days in
Echmiatsin’s infectious diseases hospital. But he is waiting impatiently for
the day when he will return to India. He prizes the education offered at the
school and says it will help him to get a good career.

“If I stayed in Armenia my mother couldn’t give me such education. No
problem, I will bear these years of separation,” he says.

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
June 29 2004

Oskanian: It is Premature to Expect Immediate Re-opening of
Turkish-Armenian Borders

Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers discussed the ways to
normalize relations between the two countries in a meeting held on
the sidelines of the NATO summit in Istanbul on Monday, Agence France
Press reported.

Vardan Oskanian of Armenia said he was `very satisfied’ with the
meeting he held with Abdullah Gul of Turkey where the major item on
the agenda was opening the Turkish-Armenian borders.

However, Oskanian said it would be premature to expect an immediate
re-opening of the borders.

Turkey closed off its gates to Armenian in 1993 in response to the
latter’s occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories. As a precondition
for opening of the borders and establishing of diplomatic
relationship with Armenia, Ankara demands that Yerevan release the
occupied Azeri territories, stop its efforts to gain an international
recognition of a so-called genocide of Armenians by Turks in early
20th century and give up territorial claims against Turkey.

According to ANS, a private TV channel in Baku, Turkish premier Recep
Tayyip Erdogan Erdogan reiterated the preconditions on Monday.

I am proud to have fought for Karabakh, Armenian president says

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
28 Jun 04

If Nagornyy Karabakh takes part in peace talks as a third party, this
would give an impetus to the negotiations, Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan said at a press conference at the Council of Europe on 23
June. Kocharyan put the blame for starting the Karabakh war on
Azerbaijan and said he was proud to have fought in this war. The
Armenian president also urged Turkey to put aside sensitive issues and
to establish relations based on a pragmatic approach. The following is
the text of the news conference as broadcast by Armenian Public TV on
28 June; subheadings have been inserted editorially:

[Estelle Steiner, captioned, in English] Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome
to this afternoon’s press conference with Mr Robert Kocharyan,
president of the Republic of Armenia.

[Robert Kocharyan, captioned, in Russian] I would not like to waste
time on an introductory speech and would want to spend more time on
the interactive part of our meeting.

Karabakh’s independence valid

[Questioner in Russian] Afat Yaqubova, Azerbaijani Lider TV. Mr
Kocharyan, Mr President, on what kind of international basis did
Nagornyy Karabakh hold a referendum and declare its independence? As
we all know, the Soviet republics were recognized within the borders
with which they entered the Soviet Union. Is there any document, an
international document? And did Azerbaijanis, who in 1988 constituted
30 per cent of the population of Nagornyy Karabakh, take part in this
referendum? Thank you.

[Robert Kocharyan] By the way, the Armenians of Baku, Sumqayit and
Ganca did not take part in the referendum on Azerbaijan’s independence
either. But this does not mean that Azerbaijan gained its independence
illegally. Regarding the law which you asked about, I just regret that
you do not know that. Because there was a law which was in force in
the Soviet Union on the withdrawal of Soviet republics. This law very
clearly outlined the rights of autonomous republics within those
republics. There was such a law which was adopted in 1988-89, or maybe
earlier. You can look at this law and you will see that the referendum
had a valid legal basis. The legal basis of the existence of the
Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR] is undeniable today. This inspires
confidence that this is a just case which corresponds to all
international norms.

[Afat Yaqubova] Then you also recognize the Dniester region, Abkhazia
and Chechnya as independent, weren’t they also autonomous?

[Robert Kocharyan] You know, I am not a specialist on these conflicts
and do not think there is a need to generalize all these conflicts and
compare them. Each conflict has its own history as has every
state. Drawing parallels is absolutely not right. There are conflicts
which are similar in general. There are conflicts which are completely
different. Therefore, this generalization would be incorrect. I am
interested in Karabakh as a problem and in its settlement.

Azerbaijan to blame for Karabakh war

[Afat Yaqubova] My second question is do you think that after you made
accusations against Azerbaijan in your speech here in the Assembly
[the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe] you can sit at
the negotiating table, hold peace talks and hope to receive
satisfactory answers from the Azerbaijani side?

[Robert Kocharyan] I would suggest that you just have a look at all
the speeches of the former and current Azerbaijani presidents, the
tone of those speeches, opinions voiced about Armenia and ask the
Azerbaijani president the same question.

[Second questioner in French] Armenia, which claims to be a victim of
injustice, has been occupying 20 per cent of Azerbaijan’s territory
for 10 years and has driven Azerbaijanis from their land [sentence
interrupted to allow Kocharyan to speak] –

[Robert Kocharyan] First of all, how did this all start? Why did the
hostilities start in Nagornyy Karabakh? The scheme is very simple – a
referendum was held in Nagornyy Karabakh and a war started to seize
the territories which are believed in Azerbaijan to belong to them,
and naturally there was a response. What we have today is the result
of the war which neither we nor the Karabakh people started. It is
naive to think that 140,000-150,000 Karabakh Armenians could be the
initiators of the hostilities against Azerbaijan. It was not like
that. You started with confidence that the issue would be resolved in
your favour, taking into consideration your larger numbers and
resources. The result was what we have now. As for who bears
responsibility, you should look for those responsible in your country,
not in Karabakh or Armenia. This is the reality. I know this not by
hearsay, I was there, in Karabakh, all the time and I know very well
how this all happened. So, the end of your question was about
responsibility, I am simply redirecting it.

Armenian-Turkish relations

[Questioner in French] Mr President, I would like to ask three
questions. Just now you spoke about the problem of the border with
Turkey; is there a border problem between Armenia and Turkey, that’s
the first question? You also said that you would like to have dialogue
with Turkey, how is it possible to have a dialogue when you talk about
genocide, while Turkey rejects this term? And the third question,
about the NATO summit in Istanbul: why are you not taking part?

[Robert Kocharyan] The first part of your question is particularly
interesting. Is there a border problem? There is no such problem at
all since this border is locked and it is closed not by us but by the
Turkish side. If you can call it a problem, of course, there is the
problem of closed borders which I think is simply not normal.

The second question is also interesting. How is it possible to
cooperate with Armenia if Armenia speaks about genocide? Do you mean
we should not speak about genocide? Let us then persuade the Jews not
to speak about the Holocaust. Therefore, our approach is very
clear. There is a practical policy and this practical policy and
discussions of the issues connected with our past should be held on
different planes. You know, it is we who should set the recognition of
the genocide as a precondition for establishing relations with
Turkey. It is we who incurred losses. We have managed to pass over
this barrier, which was not easy for us. We say – we are ready to
cooperate without preconditions. But everything is upside down. I do
not think that there is a common sense. I think there is emotional
perception of the situation which should be transformed into sound
pragmatism.

As concerns my participation in Istanbul, I am indeed not
participating in the NATO summit simply because we have no diplomatic
relations with Turkey, although I took part in the OSCE summit. Our
foreign minister is taking part in the summit. The question is not
about our relations with NATO. Our relations with NATO are developing
normally. I do not think it is correct for the Armenian president to
participate in a summit in a country with which there are no
diplomatic relations, with which the borders are closed. Bearing in
mind the current situation and the level of our relations, I think the
most effective approach is to put aside the problems which are
perceived emotionally by either side, to discuss them in a different
way, to establish real contacts, to develop trade, to make this border
breathe and not to be perceived by the other side as a wall between
our countries. This is a sensitive issue. Many in Armenia disregard
this border. But we do not set the reconsideration of the border issue
as a precondition for our relations. Let us put aside this all and, I
will repeat, start building our relations on a very pragmatic basis.

Proud to have fought for Karabakh

[Third questioner in Russian] The Azerbaijani bureau of Radio Liberty,
Fuad Qulubayli. My question is you said in the Parliamentary Assembly
that you are proud of the fact that you took part in the hostilities
in Karabakh and you are proud of the results of these hostilities. Is
it not strange for the pres ident of a democratic country to
acknowledge these separatist actions against a neighbouring country,
another sovereign country? Thank you.

[Robert Kocharyan] You know, I can enumerate many presidents of very
democratic countries who took part in wars and hostilities, who are
proud of this and people appreciate them for this. Therefore, I think
that in this context your argument is not convincing. I really lived
through the most difficult times and shouldered the responsibility, I
was not a rank-and-file fighter, but occupied very serious posts in
Karabakh. I am really proud of this part of my biography.

Karabakh should take part in talks

[Fourth questioner in Russian] Zulfiyya Aliyeva, Azadliq newspaper,
Azerbaijan. Mr Kocharyan, I think you lied to the Council of Europe
when you said here that autonomous republics also became independent
after the collapse of the Soviet Union, because after the collapse of
the former Soviet Union, it was not autonomous republics but
individual republics, including Azerbaijan, Armenia and other
countries, that became independent.

My question is, i.e. one question to you and another to [Armenian
Foreign Minister Vardan] Oskanyan, the world community has not so far
recognized independence of Nagornyy Karabakh, but you said here that
Nagornyy Karabakh is an independent state. Could this mean that you
ignore the opinion of the international community?

[Robert Kocharyan] I really regret that you are not aware of that very
law which was in force at that time, on the basis of which Karabakh
gained its legal independence. On the other hand, independence is a
category which does not need to be confirmed somewhere or to be
approved. There are countries which struggled for many years for their
independence and finally gained it. In modern history, there is East
Timor, for many years many people did not believe, there is Eritrea,
we can cite lots of other examples. If you look at the map of Europe,
of the former Soviet Union you will see what happened, how many new
states there are today on this political map. I can give even more
examples. You should not think that if today the NKR has not been
recognized, this means that it will never be recognized.

[Zulfiyya Aliyeva] You did not answer the question. Does this mean
that you ignore the opinion of the international community?

[Robert Kocharyan] You know, I did not answer this question because it
was put incorrectly. We would have ignored it if we were not taking an
active part in the settlement. We are taking an active part in the
settlement and, moreover, we said yes to the mediators’ latest two
proposals, but Azerbaijan said no. Does this mean that Azerbaijan
ignores the international community if it said no to the mediators’
proposals? We do not give such qualifications.

I think that Karabakh must be a party to the talks. This could really
give an impetus to the talks. Do you know why Azerbaijan rejects this?
You think that Karabakh’s participation would mean indirect
recognition of Nagornyy Karabakh’s independence. This complex is
hindering this process all the time. Get rid of it. It exists all the
same, it does not matter whether you want this or not, the NKR
exists. If it takes part in the negotiations, if there are direct
contacts, it will be easier to find a solution for those districts,
for the refugees and other very complicated and sensitive issues. Get
rid of this complex. Good-bye.

ARKA News Agency
June 23 2004

RA Government considers corruption as system evil – Robert Kocharian

RA President Robert Kocharian meets with CE administration in
Strasbourg

International forum on information technologies to take place in
Yerevan on June 28-30

Criminal case brought against two Armenian citizens for illegal
import of 3.3 kilograms of gold

Events devoted to 10th anniversary of founding Vazgen Sargsian
Military Institute of RA Defense Ministry to be held in Yerevan on
June 27

*********************************************************************

RA GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS CORRUPTION AS SYSTEM EVIL – ROBERT KOCHARIAN

YEREVAN, June 23. /ARKA/. RA Government considers corruption as
system evil, RA President Robert Kocharian stated at PACE session in
Strasbourg. He said that Armenia is concentrated on system changes
that eliminate the motives of corruption. `That is why we entered
GRECO group, where we can study the experience of other countries in
this sphere. By means of wide discussion with participation of OSCE,
WB and IMF, we development National anticorruption strategy and
several weeks ago, in accordance with my decree, we created Council
on coordination of fight against corruption’, Kocharian said. Among
number-one measures directed on elimination of corruption in Armenia
the President mentioned necessity of deepening of reform of legal
system, improvement of administration in tax and custom bodies,
creation of effective state service system. For decrease of
corruption risks Kocharian noted the importance of approval of
competitive sphere, predictability of Government activities, easing
of procedure, their transparency and public control.
`These are our priorities today and their goal is to provide
irreversibility of economic reforms and democratization of Armenia’,
Kocharian said.
According to research of international agency Transparency
International, in 2003 Armenia placed 78th place among 133 states on
the level of corruption. In this list Armenia is between Turkey (77th
place) and Iran (79th place). L.D. –0–

*********************************************************************

RA PRESIDENT ROBERT KOCHARIAN MEETS WITH CE ADMINISTRATION IN
STRASBOURG

YEREVAN, June 23. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian met with CE
administration in Strasbourg, RA President’s press office told ARKA.
The President met with the Chairman of PACE Peter Schider, CE
Secretary General Walter Schwimmer, European Court on Human Rights
Luzius Wildhaber and Norway’s PM Kjell Magne Bondevik. RA President
attended the ceremony devoted to opening of the exhibition in
European Parliament devoted to Fritjof Nansen.
Note Robert Kcharian is paying official visit in Strasbourg since
June 22. RA Today the President will hold a speech on PACE
Parliamentary Session then he will answer the question asked by PACE
MPs. L.D. -0–

*********************************************************************

INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES TO TAKE PLACE IN
YEREVAN ON JUNE 28-30

YEREVAN, June 23. /ARKA/. International forum on information
technologies will take place in Yerevan on June 28-30. The organizers
of the forum told ARKA that the forum will include to large
activities: Open Source and investment conference. According to the
statement, the participants of the seminar will be the heads of
public organizations, local and foreign companies and high officials
of Armenian Government.
The press release also notes that investment conference held in the
frames of the forum is a final stage of grant contest on stimulation
of business, initiated by Enterprises Incubator Fund. The conference
is to coordinate specialists and entrepreneurs of IT sphere,
stimulate realization of new ideas and initiatives and involvement of
foreign financing in Armenian IT sector. L.D. –0–

*********************************************************************

CRIMINAL CASE BROUGHT AGAINST TWO ARMENIAN CITIZENS FOR ILLEGAL
IMPORT OF 3.3 KILOGRAMS OF GOLD

YEREVAN, June 23. /ARKA/. Criminal case was brought against two
Armenian citizens – Anna Kamalian and Vardan Khazmalian – for illegal
import of 3.3 kilograms of gold and more than $30 thousand from
Turkey, RA National Security Service told ARKA. It was discovered
that they hid the gold in delivery blower for production of gold
products, which they received from representative of Spartak Muradian
Ltd, the company dealing with cargo transportations.
Kamalian and Khazmalian stated that they have chosen such type of
import, being confident that cargo transportations do not go through
detail inspection at custom bodies. L.D. –0–

*********************************************************************

EVENTS DEVOTED TO 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF FOUNDING VAZGEN SARGSIAN
MILITARY INSTITUTE OF RA DEFENSE MINISTRY TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN ON
JUNE 27

YEREVAN, June 23. /ARKA/. On June 27, Yerevan will hold celebrate the
10th anniversary of founding the RA Defense Ministry Vazgen Sargsian
Military Institute by organizing an event on the Republic Square. As
it is mentioned in the statement, placed on the RA Defense Ministry
website, in the course of the celebration, the graduates of the 2004
academic year of the Institute will be awarded initial military ranks
and diplomas. T.M. -0–

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 19 2004

ARMENIANS EYE SOUTHERN OSETIA
[June 19, 2004, 15:44:25]

The Armenian society “Ararat” has been established in the center of
Southern Ossetia region of Georgia – Tskhenvali, AzerTAj correspondent
reported. According to leader of the society Stepan Yaralov, their
major goal is to popularize the Armenian language and expand cultural
ties.

S. Yaralov claims that the ruler of Armenia, representative of arshaks
house – tsar Asfagur, had founded Tsenvali in II century. The ancient
Armenian streets and churches evidence it.

He expressed his regret those new generations of Ossetins and Armenians
do not speak Armenian language. Because of Georgia-South Ossetia
conflict, economic crisis and information blockade many Armenians
quitted Tskhenvali. The main goal is to restore Armenian community
here and popularize Armenian language.