Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT OFFICIALLY WELCOMED BY IRANIAN COUNTERPART

IRNA website
5 Jul 06

Tehran, 5 July: Visiting Armenian President Robert Kocharyan was
officially welcomed by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad at the
Presidential Office here on Wednesday [5 July].

In the welcoming ceremony, the national anthems of the two countries
were played and the two presidents reviewed a guard of honour.

The ceremony will be followed by a private session between the two
presidents.

The first round of official talks of the two countries’ delegations
will be held this afternoon. The talks will be presided by the two
presidents.

President Kocharyan arrived here at the head of a high-ranking
politico-economic delegation for a two-day official visit this morning.

On hand to welcome the Armenian president and his entourage upon
their arrival at Mehrabad International Airport here was Iranian
Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki.

Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, Minister of Energy Armen
Movsisyan and Deputy Foreign Minister Armen Kirakosian are accompanying
the president in this visit.

The Armenian president, during his two-day stay here, is scheduled
to hold separate meetings with senior Iranian officials including
Foreign Minister Mottaki.

IN BAKU THEY GET ANGRY AND SURPRISED AT SUGGESTIONS OF OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS
By Nana Petrosian

AZG Armenian Daily
06/07/2006

The Azeries get angry and surprised at the recent statements by the
OSCE MG Co-Chairs. The press Secretary of Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
informed that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process is
based on the negotiations of RA and Azeri Foreign Ministers and not
on the statements by the OSCE MG Co-Chairs. "Day.Az" informed that the
co-chairs’ emphasis on the meeting of RA and Azeri Presidents aroused
the surprised of the press secretary. The latter stated that everyone
knows that the settlement process is based on the negotiations of RA
and Azeri Foreign Ministers who should discuss the whole package of
serious issues and prepare the probable meeting of the presidents of
two countries.

By the way, Araz Azimov, RA Foreign Minister, said that there is no
prepared draft for the framework agreement to sign.

AZERBAIJANI AND EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTRIES HOLD POLITICAL CONSULTATION

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
July 1 2006

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry held political consultation with Egypt’s
Foreign Ministry at the level of deputy ministers.

APA reports quoting the Ministry’s press center. Azerbaijani deputy
foreign minister Khalaf Khalafov pointed out importance of this
consultation in terms of continuing political dialogue between the
two states. Egyptian deputy foreign minister Fatima al-Zahra said
her country is ready to develop relations with Azerbaijan in all
spheres noting her visit in Baku aims at continuing the political
consultations launched in Cairo, strengthening bilateral relations
and discussing offers for developing the cooperation.

The sides also exchanged views on the prospects of efficient
cooperation between the two countries in the frames of international
organizations, in particular the UN and OIC as well as regional and
international issues of mutual interest. The sides also discussed the
results of the negotiating process between Armenia and Azerbaijan
for the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Garabagh conflict. The
Egyptian visitor was informed in detail about Armenia’s aggressive
policy and unconstructive stance regarding the negotiating process.

The sides stressed the importance of developing relations in economic,
commercial, scientific, cultural, tourism, health, educational and
other spheres and noted it is very significant to strengthen the
law-contract base from this aspect.

The discussions at the meeting also focused on establishing a direct
air relation between Cairo and Egypt, prospects of cooperation in
the frames of TRACECA project, relations with the European Union and
mutual cooperation. They also exchanged views on Baku’s hosting the
next meeting of Egypt-Azerbaijan intergovernmental commission early
in 2007.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
June 30 2006

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT PROPOSES TO WITHDRAW CENTRAL DEPARTMENT FOR
FRONTIER DEFENSE FROM FRONTIER TROOPS

YEREVAN, June 30. /ARKA/. The Armenian Government proposes to
withdraw the Central Department for Frontier Defense from the
frontier troops. The press service and public relations department of
the Armenian government reported that the government approved during
yesterday’s sitting the relevant draft amendments to the law "On
Frontier Troops" providing for the abovementioned withdrawal.
The government explains that the current frontier troop’s
headquarters effectively performs the functions of the abovementioned
department.
The amendments also specify the authority of the Commander-in-Chief
of the frontier troops, related particularly to allocation and
demobilization of servicemen.
Besides this, the approved amendments to the law "On Frontier" are
supposed to apply these changes only along the frontier line, not in
the entire frontier zone. The need in these amendments is accounted
for by the territorial peculiarities of Armenia, particularly the
location towns and settlements in the frontier zone.
Both of the draft laws will be submitted to the parliament for
consideration. R.O. -0–

VARTAN OSKANIAN MEETS WITH NINO BURJANADZE AND MAKES SPEECH AT FOUNDATION FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 29 2006

TBILISI, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. RA Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian paying a two-day official visit to Georgia met with
Nino Burjanadze, the head of the Georgian Parliament on June 28.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign Ministry’s Press
and Information Department, the sides discussed a wide circle of
issues concerning the Armenian-Georgian relations. Touching upon
particularly the Armenian and Georgian parliamentarians’ cooperation,
the interlocuters considered important coordination and comparison
of their positions at international organizations.

Issues of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region and employment of Georgian
Armenians were also touched upon.

Then Vartan Oskanian made a speech at the Georgian Foundation for
Strategic and International Researches (GFSIS). The Minister spoke
about the regional developments and political priorities of the
foreign policy of Armenia.

MATHEW BRYZA’S NEW INTERVIEW

Lragir.am
30 June 06

On June 29 Mathew Bryza, the OSCE U.S. Co-Chair, again gave transparent
comments on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. In fact, Bryza
repeated and completed the statements he made during the first
interview. In his new interview with Radio Liberty he mentioned
that over the past two years the presidents and foreign ministers
of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been unable to reach agreement on the
key principles set forward by the co-chairs.

Bryza said talk about recapturing Karabakh by force or any use of
force by any party is simply not helpful.

"It’s a mere statement of fact that my predecessor, Steven Mann, and
my current fellow co-chairs, have exerted all of the creativity and
all the negotiating energy that they could and they have gotten this
framework of core principles as honed as possible in their judgment,
such that the presidents, in their mind, need a little time to think
things over and decide whether or not they can accept or adjust this
framework. But what we’re saying in the statement is that there is
no more room for diplomatic creativity to make this piece of metal
shine a little bit more brightly," said Bryza, with regard to the
June 22 statement of the OSCE Minsk Group in Austria.

According to him, from a political aspect, the compromise that will
follow an agreement is so important that it can be made by the conflict
parties only.

The U.S. co-chair thinks that the pullback of Armenian troops from
the occupied territories may reduce tension. "That’s why it’s a
core element of our core principles. But the Armenians aren’t just
going to pull back the troops because we say, "Golly, gee, that would
help reduce tension." They’ll do it if they get something for it and
that’s precisely what these core principles are all about," stated
Mathew Bryza.

He mentioned that the recent statement reflects the efforts for the
pullout of troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

"Demilitarization is the phrase used for troop pullback, and that, as
the framework indicates, should be, or could be, accompanied by some
sort of process that would lead to a population vote, or a referendum
vote on the future status of Karabakh. I think that’s, in the Armenian
mindset, extremely important, so that’s what the Azerbaijani side would
have to offer the Armenians, along with the other things within this
statement to which I refer you. On the Azerbaijani side, I think that
they are willing to consider the possibility of some type of a vote on
the status of Karabakh if many other elements of this overall package
are present. What gets difficult is how you correlate the withdrawal,
or the redeployment, of Armenian troops with the timing of a vote on
the future status of Karabakh," said Mathew Bryza during his second
interview as an OSCE Minsk Group co-chair.

YOU CAN’T LOOK TO THE FUTURE IF YOU DENY THE PAST, HEAD OF AAA YEREVAN OFFICE CONSIDERS

ArmRadio.am
30.06.2006 15:34

On June 28 Senate Foreign Relations Committee members George Allen
(R-VA) and Norm Coleman (R-MN) bombarded US Ambassador to Armenia
Designate Richard Hoagland with questions about official US complicity
in Turkey’s campaign of Genocide denial, questioning him, during his
confirmation hearing, regarding his ability to effectively represent
the United States in Armenia without properly recognizing the Armenian
Genocide.

Hoagland said that no one in the Administration has ever denied
the tragic events that befell the Armenians. He said his visit to
the Genocide Museum and Memorial in Yerevan was a very sobering and
disturbing experience, but added that the Administration’s position
is clear and that, if confirmed, he would uphold US policy. Hoagland
noted that he is against "getting stuck in the past" and wants to
focus on "living in the future."

"You can’t look to the future if you deny the past," commenting on
Hoagland’ s words, Head of the Yerevan Office of the Armenian Assembly
of America (AAA) Arpi Vardanyan said in an interview with "Radiolur"
correspondent Alisa Gevorgyan. Hoagland’s response serves as a basis
for Arpi Vardanyan to infer that as US Ambassador to Armenia he will
have opportunities to visit the memorial to the Genocide victims,
but he will never use the word "genocide" like any other US Ambassador
to Armenia except John Evans.

Let’s not forget that the rumors about the recall f John Evans came
about just after using the word "genocide."

Notwithstanding the political position of this or that
country, the struggle for recognition of the Armenian Genocide
continues. Furthermore, Armenians are struggling not only for
recognition of the massacre of our people but also for prevention of
any genocide in the world.

Dark Secrets of Armenian Brothers Begin to Emerge
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The East African Standard (Nairobi)
NEWS
June 29, 2006
Posted to the web June 28, 2006

By Biketi Kikechi
Nairobi

Details of the dark secrets of the Armenian brothers – which the
Government kept from Kenyans – started to emerge as the Kiruki
Commission began its sittings in Nairobi.

It emerged that since March 18, the Government knew that the Artur
brothers could be international crooks on the run with forged Armenian
passports. Even more shocking, the police knew that the man presenting
himself as Artur Margaryan could be a dangerous criminal using a
passport reportedly stolen in Armenia, making his real identity a mystery.

These damning revelations are in a report relayed to Nairobi by
Interpol. However, Kenyan police failed to act on the March 18 alert.
The details came out on Wednesday when Immigration minister Gideon
Konchella took to the stand at the Commission of Inquiry appointed by
President Kibaki to investigate the activities of Margaryan and Artur
Sargasyan.

They point to the fact that the Government knew all along that the
Armenians were questionable characters, even as its own officials put
out statements variously defending the duo as investors, consultants and
law-abiding citizens. The Government, heavily criticised for bungling
the affair, instantly found itself on the receiving end only moments
after the proceedings started.

International criminals

Konchella, who has displayed remarkable inconsistency every time he has
spoken on the Armenian saga, slipped deeper into the vortex of
contradiction when he admitted the duo were criminals.

"All I can say is that these were dubious international criminals," he
told the inquiry sitting at the Kenyatta International Conference
Centre, Nairobi. The minister said Kenyan passports recovered from the
Arturs’ house in Runda were stolen from the Immigration offices at Nyayo
House.

Assisting Counsel Dorcas Oduor gave Konchellah evidence to show that the
Kenya Revenue Authority also allocated them Personal Identification
Numbers for civil servants.

Interpol wrote another letter to their Kenyan counterparts dated April
3, which read in part: "Please be informed that we have all the grounds
to think that the person who presented himself as Margaryan Artur in
your country is, in fact, another person who uses the passport of Artur
Margaryan which got lost in 2002".

The Kenyan passports were registered in the names of Sargasyan Arman
number A1031195 and Sargasyan Arturk A 1031196, with both Armenians
describing themselves as Kenyans.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Konchella admitted that the two brothers
were deported to Dubai instead of their country of origin.

Contents from the Interpol letters showed that the Armenian authorities
were particularly keen to know whether any criminal proceedings had been
preferred against the brothers. At one point, Interpol expressed
surprise that no action had been taken against the duo.

Interpol report

The letter from Interpol Yerevan read in part: "It is therefore
surprising that no action was taken against the alleged crook since
March when Kenyan police were furnished with photographs of the real
Artur Margaryan".

Former Police Commissioner Shedrach Kiruki chairs the three-man
commission. The other members are Bishop Horace Etemesi and lawyer Ahmed
Hassan Issak.

Taking Konchella through the evidence-in-chief, Oduor sought to know the
requirements for entry and exit in Kenya, visa application, passports,
work permits, citizenship and deportation. Konchella said he first
learned about the Armenian saga on March 14, while working in western Kenya.

"The journalists asked me who they were and my response was that they
could have been Czechs or from some eastern European country but I
clarified five days later when my officers told me they were actually
Armenians," said Konchella.

He said that according to records at the Immigration Department, the two
were consultants in marketing, business development and finance.
Konchella was given the Interpol report, which contained details that
the real Artur Margaryan was born on January 15, 1973, in Yerevan city,
Armenia. He is holder of Armenian passport number 0631173 issued on
October 11, 2002, given to him after he lost his first passport number
0322223 issued in Sokhi City, Russian Federation.

Deportation order

Interpol said Artur had never been to Africa or Kenya and was at the
time, March 18, living in Armenia.

Armenian police said Artur Sargasyan also lived in Yerevan before
relocating to the United Arab Emirates with his family.

They had no relationship with the Armenian prime minister, a claim made
by their alleged namesake in Kenya. They provided Kenyan police with
pictures of the real Margaryan and Sargasyan for comparison with the
persons who were introducing themselves by those names.

"Inform us whether a criminal case is instituted against the persons in
subject, the accusations and details of the case," demanded the Interpol
office in Armenia.

They expressed concern because the mass media in their country was
already in possession of stories about the alleged mercenaries from
their country. Konchella said Immigration officers issued passports and
other documents like work permits.

He said he did not know much about the Armenians until he signed their
deportation order on June 9, 2006.

"I dealt with their case again on June 9, 2006, when the Principal
Immigration Officer called to tell me that the Commissioner of Police
had demanded the deportation of four people.

Konchella said he complied and signed the order on the same day because
the law allows him to deport anyone considered undesirable.

Oduor then demanded to know why his deportation order said they were
Armenians yet they were deported to Dubai.

Excerpts of the proceedings:

Oduor: Look at your order, it says they were Armenians and yet they were
deported to Dubai, do you see that?

Konchella: I authorised that according to Section 8 (1) F and I also
later learned from the Principal Immigration Officer that they had
requested to be deported to Dubai.

Oduor: Did you confirm that they came from Dubai?

Konchella: Yes, we learned from reliable information that they actually
lived there.

Oduor: What about Alexander Pack and Dimitri Tasch?

Konchella: Alexander was to be deported to Russia while Dimitri was to
be deported to Moldovia.

Oduor: Our information is that they were also deported to Dubai, is that
right?

Konchella: I was told that they all requested to be transferred to Dubai.

Oduor: Is it also true that Margaryan left on a different passport and
not the one he used when coming to the country?

Kiruki: Can the minister answer that?

Oduor: I just want him to tell the commission if he was aware but if
not, he is free to say so.

Kiruki: The minister may not know that.

Oduor: Yes, that is true, but I just want to hear if he knew.

Konchella: Yes, I’m aware that one had a passport and the other didn’t have.

Oduor: What about their Tanzanian bodyguards?

Konchella: I heard they were taken to the border and handed over to
Tanzanian police.

Oduor: Did you sign their deportation order?

Konchella: I did not sign and they were not deported. They were just
escorted to the border by police and sent away.

Oduor: What about the two Kenyan passports recovered from their house in
Runda?

Konchella: Yes, I heard that the passports were recovered from their
house in Runda.

Oduor: Look at the first passport, the names are Arman Sargasyan number
A1031195, did you see it?

Konchella: No, this is the first time I’m seeing that but they are
genuine Kenyans passports. I did not sign them. These were forged documents.

Oduor: Let us look at the second passport and the name there is Arturk
Sargasyan number A1031196 and again he describes himself as a Kenyan and
his place of birth as Russia.

Konchella: They are genuine Kenyan passports, but what I can say is that
three passports got lost from the Immigration Department. We reported
the matter to all border points, and circulated information to our
foreign missions and other agencies on May 2. One of those passports is
still missing.

KOCHARYAN EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES TO PUTIN ON DEATH OF RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS

Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 28 2006

YEREVAN, June 28. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharyan has addressed
a telegram to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the tragic
death of Russian diplomats in Baghdad.

"With deep sorrow and indignation we received the news about the
brutal violence against Russian diplomats who fell innocent victims
to terrorists in Baghdad," Kocharyan said.

According to Kocharyan, the violent act is another confirmation of the
inhuman essence of terrorism and of the necessity of urgent struggle
against all manifestation of terrorism, says the message.

The RF State Duma adopted a resolution demanding a comprehensive
investigation of the murder of Russian diplomats in Baghdad. The
RF Foreign Office has demanded that the Iraqi authorities and the
Command of the multinational forces exert every effort to punish the
perpetrators of this crime against the Russian citizens.

ARMENIA URGED TO FOLLOW AZERI ‘DEMOCRATIC REFORM’
By Harry Tamrazian in Prague

Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
June 26 2006

Azerbaijan is moving faster than Armenia in democratizing its political
system despite being considered a more undemocratic country by Western
human rights organizations, according to a senior U.S. administration
official.

In an RFE/RL interview late last week, Matthew Bryza, the U.S. deputy
assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, implied that
President Robert Kocharian has to follow Azerbaijan’s reform example if
he wants to be received by President George W. Bush at the White House.

Washington normally snubs those foreign leaders who were not elected
in polls deemed free and fair by the international community. Bush
made what is widely seen as an exception to that rule when he held
talks with Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliev at the White House last April.

The talks came five months after an Azerbaijani parliamentary election
that was denounced as fraudulent by Western observers.

Asked whether Kocharian too can now count on securing a White
House reception, Bryza said, "We obviously don’t look at balancing
presidential meetings like that, but there’s no reason not to want
President Kocharian to come to Washington. Let me just say I hope we
can see a similar series of positive steps on democratic reform in
Armenia as we hope we are starting to see in Azerbaijan."

"Maybe we’re wrong about Azerbaijan. Maybe we’re overly hopeful. But
we think things are moving in a positive direction. And we hope to
see more of that from Armenia," he said.

Bryza claimed that there were "some significant improvements" in
the Azerbaijani authorities’ conduct of the November parliamentary
election even if they "didn’t go as far as we would like."

A monitoring mission from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, headed by a U.S. congressman, described the
polls as deeply flawed, citing numerous serious violations witnessed
by its observers. Western human rights groups also condemned a brutal
break-up by security forces of a big opposition demonstration in Baku
against the official vote results.

In a statement issued ahead of Aliev’s Washington trip, Human Rights
Watch urged Bush to "press for concrete progress in Azerbaijan’s poor
human rights record." The respected watchdog said the Azerbaijani
government continues to harass political opponents and has yet to
implement election-related recommendations of the OSCE and the Council
of Europe.

Another New York-based group, Freedom House, again rated Armenia more
highly than Azerbaijan in it latest annual survey of political reform
across Eastern Europe and the former Soviet that was released earlier
this month. "Azerbaijan’s democratic performance continues to show
signs of deterioration, especially in the categories of electoral
process and civil society," the survey said, explaining a drop in
the country’s already poor democracy rating.

By contrast, the same rating assigned by Freedom House to Armenia
improved slightly. The watchdog argued that although the November
constitutional referendum in Armenia was also flawed, it resulted in
the enactment of amendments that "should provide a more even balance
of power between the president, Parliament and the judiciary."

Bryza insisted that democratic reform is high on the Bush
administration’s agenda but admitted that other factors such as
Azerbaijan’s oil reserves and geographic location are also at play.

"Just because Azerbaijan hasn’t gone as far as we would like on
democracy doesn’t mean we’re going to ignore our energy interests or
our military interests," he said.

"Why would we freeze out President Ilham Aliev from contact with our
president forever because we think he needs to do more on democracy?

That doesn’t make sense," he added.

Turning to the Armenian government, Bryza pointed to its handling of
the constitutional referendum which was also criticized by European
observers and denounced as fraudulent by the Armenian opposition.

Washington expects relevant "positive changes" from Yerevan before
the next Armenian elections, he said.

Incidentally the Bush administration official stopped short of
questioning the Kocharian administration’s commitment to democratic
change when he spoke with RFE/RL in the wake of the disputed
referendum. "It’s too early to judge whether or not democracy has
moved forward," he said on December 7.

Bryza also steered clear of criticizing the Armenian authorities’
democracy and human rights records when he visited Yerevan last March,
stressing instead the importance of building democracy "from the bottom
up." He said Washington regards Armenia as a "democratizing country."