Author: Tigranian Ani

RENO HARNISH DOES NOT CONSIDER US NEW PROPOSALS TO MAMEDYAROV

AZG Armenian Daily
12/04/2006

US new proposals over the Nagorno Karabakh process are not new,
US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish said, when answering a
question on which proposals were presented during a meeting of US
State Secretary Condoleezza Rice with Azeri FM Elmar Mamedyarov,
Panarmenian.net reports. In Harnish’s words, during the meeting only
practical matters, relating to attaining lasting and fair peace were
discussed. The US diplomat also remarked that the work during the past
two years allowed attaining a higher level and “matters like those
should be decided by presidents and peoples of the two countries.” Reno
Harnish hoped that both Armenian and Azeri peoples will defend their
leaders. In his words, besides the Karabakh topic, security, energy
matters and reforms were discussed during Washington talks.

RUSSIAN “SYSTEM” AFC TO SHOW INTEREST IN ARMENTEL

Yerevan, April 10. ArmInfo. “The “Telecom System” CJSC, which
enters into the structure of the biggest Russian private non-charge
corporation “System” AFC, shows interest in the telecommunicational
assets in the CIS territory, including the Armenian “ArmenTel”
Company”, the Director for Public Relations of the “Telecom System”
Anna Boiko told to ArmInfo, having answered to the question about the
possible acquisition of 90% of shares of the Armenian phone monopolist
from the Greek OTE by the “System” AFC. However, she emphasized that
it is still earlier to tell about any specific plans with respect to
“ArmenTel”.

To be noted that the management of OTE has recently announced about the
readiness to sell its Armenian assets. The president of the “System”
AFC Alexander Goncharuk told in the recent interview to the Russian
“Vedomosti” newspaper that the Company will continue to enter the
former soviet republics’ market and almost all key divisions of the
Company must become important players in the CIS.

The “System” AFC was founded in 1973. At present, it owns and
controls the diversified portfolio of investments to the enterprises
of different economy branches, including telecommunications (MTS,
MGTS, “Comstar United Telesystems” and so on). The Ukrainian cell
operator UMS, telecommunicational assets in Byelorussia, Uzbekistan,
Turkmenia Kirgizia belong to the “System”. A consolidated gain of
the “System” AFC made up $5.4 bln for the first 9 months, 2005, 79%
of which falls to the share of the telecommunicational segment.

Armenian opposition MP says gas deal with Russia “economic sabotage”

Arminfo, Yerevan
7 Apr 06

“The agreement between the Armenian government and Russia’s Gazprom is
an act of economic sabotage against the people,” the deputy chairman
of the National Unity Party, Agasi Arshakyan, has told Arminfo news
agency.

He said he was certain that Armenia will spend the funds received for
the fifth unit of the Razdan thermal power plant on containing the
rise of tariffs for the Armenian consumers, and that the 140m dollars
of investments envisaged by the project will be allocated from the
profits of the Russian side.

“Armenia will pay 110 dollars for each 1,000 cu.m. of gas, which means
that Russia will return the 243m dollars it paid,” the MP said. Soon
the price for the Armenian consumers will be set at 68 drams per one
cu.m., but “this price will not last more than a year”, he said.

Arshakyan noted that Armenia discussed an Iranian offer of barter
supplies of gas in exchange for electricity from the fifth unit of
Razdan at the rate of 3 kW per one cu.m. of gas in December
2005. “Iranian gas is 20 per cent more efficient than Russia’s and for
one cu.m. of Iranian gas Armenia could obtain no fewer than 5
kW. Hence, Armenia could leave itself around 2.5 kW from each cu.m. of
Iranian gas,” Arshakyan said. He assured that the fifth unit of the
Razdan power station could work without significant investments for
around ten years at the capacity of 445 MW.

“I do not believe that Iran gave up the project,” Arshakyan said and
added that “Russia does have influence over Iran, but we should be
able to demonstrate independence in something at least”.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION PARTY LOCKED OUT
By Vahan Ishkhanian in Yerevan

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
April 6 2006

Popular ex-foreign minister blames the president for shutting down
his office.

A month after his party’s office was abruptly sealed, prominent
Armenian opposition politician Raffi Hovhannisian says he is no nearer
to regaining entry to the premises.

Hovhannisian, chairman of the Zharangutiun (Heritage) Party, blames
Armenian president Robert Kocharian personally for the standoff,
but says being locked out is “not the end of the world”.

The doors of the Heritage Party’s office were sealed on March 4, while
Hovhannisian was out of the country. Since then all its documents
and its official stamp have remained locked inside. Party officials
say its activities are effectively suspended so long as it has no
access to its documents, electronic data, communications equipment
and other property.

The official explanation is that the Paronian Theatre, in whose
building the office is located, now belongs to the government
department for state property, so the premises have to be vacated.

Heritage Party officials say they did receive a note to that effect
from the theatre’s director a week before March 4, but were given
assurances that they would be allowed time to resolve the matter.

“He said, ‘Yes, we will wait’ – and then this happened,” Gevorg
Kalenchian, the director of the party’s central office, told IWPR.

Theatre manager Karo Shahbazian denied that there was any political
motivation behind the lockout.

“The building has been transferred to the department for state
property management and I am obliged to hand the property over to the
government,” Shahbazian told IWPR. “I told them [Heritage] to vacate
the building but they refused. That is why I have put another lock on.”

However, Hovhannisian says he is in no doubt that this is part of an
officially-inspired campaign to stifle his party. He said his appeal
to Prime Minister Andranik Margarian to intervene in the dispute had
been met with silence.

“This is the latest mean-spirited order… that reflects the essence
of the regime, and that we got instead of an honest answer,” said
Hovhannisian.

Responding to Hovhannisian’s accusations, presidential spokesman Viktor
Soghomonian told IWPR, “The president and his administration have not,
are not, and will never be interested in Raffi Hovhannisian.”

Hovhannisian, 47, is the only major politician from the Armenian
diaspora. The son of famous historian Richard Hovhannisian, he was born
in the United States city of Fresno, and was the first foreign minister
of independent Armenia in 1991-92. The year after he left office,
he founded the Armenian Centre for Strategic and National Studies.

Many experts believe the office closure is a preventive strike against
the party ahead of next year’s parliamentary election.

Hovhannisian is also widely expected to stand in the 2008 presidential
ballot.

“It is clear that this is not a property dispute, and that it’s a
political rather than legal struggle, linked to the parliamentary
election,” said Alexander Iskandarian, political analyst and director
of the Caucasus Media Institute.

Another political analyst, Yervand Bozoian, added, “The opposition has
not been a problem for the authorities so far, but everyone understands
that it could become a problem under certain circumstances. Something
similar could happen to any opposition figure tomorrow.”

Hovhannisian has been in conflict with the authorities since 2003,
and especially enraged them by actively campaigning against last
year’s constitutional referendum.

He tried to stand for president in 2003, but the central electoral
commission refused to register him as a candidate. The constitution
says that presidential contenders have to have been Armenian citizens
for at least ten years, but Hovhannisian was granted citizenship only
in 2001.

Denied a chance to stand, Hovhannisian took part in protests against
what the opposition said was election fraud, and founded the Heritage
Party in 2002.

In November last year, security officers searched Hovhannisian at
Yerevan airport, claiming they were looking for documents containing
state secrets. The following month, Heritage member Edgar Hakobian was
among 30 participants in a protest rally who were arrested by police.

At an opposition rally on December 9, Hovhannisian read out
21 questions addressed to President Kocharian. He asked whether
Kocharian had been involved in contract killings, suggesting there were
unanswered questions about his involvement in an attack on parliament
in October 1998, when the then prime minister and parliamentary speaker
were killed. He also asked what property, businesses and funds the
president, his wife and other members family members possessed.

Kocharian’s spokesman Soghomonian told the Haiots Ashkharh newspaper
that “this scrap of paper” from Hovhannisian was not worthy of the
president’s attention. But the accusation triggered a media campaign
against the opposition leader, with one newspaper article suggesting
that the questions had been written by the US security services.

In a country with no reliable opinion polls, it is hard to judge
the true level of support for Hovhannisian, but he has an unusually
positive image in Armenia. The closure of Heritage’s office led to an
open letter from 18 parties and non-government organisations demanding
that the party be allowed to resume work immediately.

Iskandarian believes that Heritage’s clash with the authorities is
a symptom of the struggle between a weak governing regime and an
equally weak opposition.

“The authorities’ weakness lies in the fact that they become nervous
for no reason, and fear things they should not be afraid of,” said
Iskandarian. “They take forceful steps for which there is no need.

When an opponent’s office is closed down in this manner, it’s a sign
of weakness, not strength.”

Hovhannisian says he has not decided yet whether to take part in the
2007 parliamentary election, but insisted that “a tent is enough”
for him to carry on in politics.

“We have paid the rent and all the rest meticulously. There are no
grounds for evicting us. We will fight to the end,” he said.

“However, if we are deprived of these premises that were given to us
in 1994, it won’t be a problem. We will continue to work at home.”

Vahan Ishkhanian is a reporter for the Armenianow online weekly
in Yerevan.

GREEK OTE REVIEWS OPTIONS REGARDING ARMENTEL

Yerevan, April 4. ArmInfo. Hellenic Telecommunications Organization
SA (OTE), the Greek full-service telecommunications provider, today
announced that, after consultation with the Government of Armenia,
it has initiated the process of examining options for the disposal
of its 90% stake in ArmenTel, the incumbent operator in Armenia,
OTE headquarters in the Athens told ArmInfo.

HSBC Bank plc is the financial adviser to OTE. To note, according
to ArmInfo’s data, the company is studying a possibility of selling
the stake to one of the Russian companies engaged in the sphere. The
Armenian Government sold 90% stake of ArmenTel to OTE for 142.5 million
USD in December 1997, the remaining 10% the government reserved.

OVER 100 CRIMINAL CASES ON CORRUPTION CHARGES LAUNCHED IN ARMENIA IN 2005

Mediamax news agency
6 Apr 06

Yerevan, 6 April: The Armenian investigation authorities instituted
371 criminal cases on corruption charges in 2005.

About 175 “corruption cases” were sent to courts in 2005. A total
of 223 people were charged with corruption. Sixty four of them were
officials, the press service of the Armenian Prosecutor-General’s
Office has told Mediamax.

Courts considered 157 corruption cases in 2004.

EU: BAKU MADE HAZARDOUS STEP BY STATING READINESS FOR KARABAKH CONFLICT MILITARY RESOLUTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.04.2006 20:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Karabakh conflict has no military
resolution. Azerbaijani waged the war and lost it, this time the
story will repeat, Armenia Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian stated at
a joint press conference with EU Envoy for the South Caucasus Peter
Semneby. In his words, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict should be settled
peacefully. “If the Azerbaijani government demonstrates political
will the negotiation process can advance within next several months,”
he remarked.

For his part Peter Semneby noted that during his visit to Azerbaijan
he has many times said he “dislikes the statements on readiness for
a war.” “Any attempt to settle the problem by force is pregnant with
negative consequences for all the parties to conflict and for the
whole region,” the diplomat underscored.

Peter Semneby reiterated that Azerbaijan has made a hazardous step
by stating of the readiness to settle the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
by force. At the same time he noted that protraction of the conflict
will result in Armenia’s complete isolation what will impede the
economy development.

According to Vartan Oskanian, neither of the sides benefits from
the protraction of the process. The Minister considers that the
negotiations should be continued even after the failure of the
Rambouillet talks. “Everything depends on the outcomes of Azerbaijani
FM Elmar Mammadyarov’s visit to the U.S.

His meetings in the State Department will determine the date of
our meeting. Bit it’s premature to speak of the rendezvous of the
Presidents yet,” he said.

OTE TO SELL ITS ARMENTEL SHARES

Macedonian Press Agency, Greece
April 4 2006

The Greek Telecommunications Company, OTE, announced its decision to
sell its shares in the Armenian telephone company Armentel within the
framework of the new policy it implements regarding its investments
abroad.

According to a relevant announcement, a process has been launched
in consultation with the Armenian government to examine ways to sell
its 90% equity stake in Armentel.

OTE has hired HSBC Bank PLC to act as its financial consultant and
collect bids from prospective buyers.

Armentel serves approximately 595,000 fixed-line telephone subscribers
and 345,000 mobile phone service customers, while its annual turnover
is an estimated 110 million euros.

According to OTE senior executives, there is a great interest in
purchasing Armentel on behalf of Russian operators and Russian and
European Investment Portfolios.

OTE paid 120 million euros in 1997 to purchase Armentel but then it
had serious problems with the Armenian government and as a result,
the company’s value dropped to 60 million euros by the end of 2004.

However, a systematic effort was made during the past year within the
framework of which the initial license was renegotiated and as a result
the problems were fixed, the company was reformed, an environment of
trust was created and the company value recorded a notable increase.

BRITISH COLUMBIA PARLIAMENT RECOGNIZES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Yerkir
04.04.2006 13:57

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
adopted a resolution on April 3 recognizing the Armenian Genocide,
the Armenian National Assembly of British Columbia reported.

Since September 2005, the Armenian National Committees of Vancouver and
British Columbia have worked hard to ensure the resolution’s success.

The resolution was introduced by Assembly member from Vancouver
Kingsway Adrian Dicks who is a member of the New Democratic Party.

The Armenian National Committees of Vancouver and British Columbia
met with Dicks on March 24 to coordinate efforts of the Genocide
resolution.

PRESS RELEASE
Union of non-governmental organizations
“Yerkir”
for Repatriation and Settlement
Agatangeghos str., apt. 267
Web:
Contact: Robert Tatoyan
e-mail: [email protected]

Yerevan, April 4, 2006

GRAND OPENING OF EXHIBITION ON THE HISTORY OF THE KARABAKH BORDER
REGIONS TAKES PLACE ON APRIL 4TH, 2006

During the grand session on the 60th anniversary of the National
Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan held on December 14, 2005, Ilham
Aliev, President of Azerbaijan, stated that he will allocate funds to
the scientific community of Azerbaijan in order to prove that
Armenians are not natives of Kharabagh and appeared there beginning
from the second half of the 18th century.

?Yerkir? Union for Repatriation and Settlement is organising the
second Exhibition of the cycle ?History of the border regions?. The
event will be held from April 4th to 18th at the Naregatsi Art
Institute?s Yerevan Center. This exposition will be exclusively
devoted to the archeological excavations of Shushi, Handaberd and
Tigranakert in Kharabagh, which prove Armenian constant presence in
Artsakh from ancient times.

A scientific symposium covering the academic excavations and
researches on the Karabakh border territories will be held on April
13th, 2006, at 11AM.