Author: Tigranian Ani

Azerbaijan News Service
June 7 2005

PACE JUNE SESSION AGENDA INCLUDES TWO ISSUES REGARDING AZERBAIJAN
2005-06-07 11:16

Two issues regarding Azerbaijan will be put on the agenda of the
Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe’s June session. Member of
Azerbaijani delegation to PACE Asim Mollazadeh says situation in
Azerbaijan ahead of parliamentary elections and ensuring democratic
elections will be heard during session on activity of democratic
institutions. `Because the report notes that November elections is of
trial character for Azerbaijan’. The second discussion will be on
political prisoners issue in Azerbaijan and Mr. Mollazadeh says human
rights and law committee of PACE has prepared the document.
Discussions will be based on PACE reporter Malcolm Bruce’s report on
political prisoners. Armenaian opposition seems to have severe
critical regarding the report. Venetian Commission of the Council of
Europe demonstrates rough position towards changes to Constitution
prepared by Kocharian. There is a difference between Venice
Commission and Armenian government led by Kocharian.

Journal of Turkish Weekly
June 7 2005

Armenia to Launch Iran-Built Windmill

PIN reported that Armenia will soon put into operation a windmill
Iran has cooperated in its construction.n said. Garen Nazarian told
PIN Armenia can take advantage of clean energies due to its
geographical position.

“Natural geography is of help in bilateral ties between Iran and
Armenia,” he said.

The envoy said the 2.6-megawatt power plant underwent construction in
2003 and has so far made good progress.

Armenia and Iran have developed close relations in last decade.

RA BUDGET REVENUES IN JANUARY-APRIL EXCEED BY 32.3% INDEX OF SAME MONTHS OF 2004

YEREVAN, JUNE 2, NOYAN TAPAN. In January-April of 2005, the RA state
budget revenues and official transfers grew by 32.3% on the same period
of last year to 107 bln 382.6 mln drams (about 245 mln USD). According
to the RA National Statistical Service, in the period under review,
the budget revenues grew by 28.7% to about 104.5 bln drams, with the
tax revenues increasing by 26.6% to 88.3 bln drams, and the state duty
revenues declining by 5.1% to 4.4 bln drams. The budget expenditures
made 92 bln 142.1 mln drams in January-April of 2005, which exceeded
by 13.3% the respective index of 2004. The budget surplus amounted
to 15 bln 240.5 mln drams.

Konukcu: Yerevan Will Not Open Its Archives

Turkish Press
June 4 2005

ERZURUM (AA) – Prof. Dr. Enver Konukcu of Erzurum Ataturk University
Department of History said on Friday, “our state archives have already
been opened. However, Yerevan will not open its archives since there
are so many documents which constitutes evidence of massacres committed
by Armenians against Turks.”

Holding a news conference, Prof. Dr. Konukcu said, “the Ottoman Empire
faced a series of Armenian uprisings in eastern Anatolia in 1829,
under Sultan Abdul-Hamid II. After problems became more serious, the
Ottoman Empire adopted the Relocation Law. About 12 thousand Armenians
had been living in Erzurum when the law had come into force. 5 thousand
of them had been relocated. The Ottoman Empire had taken all necessary
measures to protect the Armenian people during the relocation.”

“Armenians claim that 1.5 million Armenians had been killed by
Turks. In fact, Turks have never committed genocide in their history.

Our state archives have already been opened. But, Yerevan will not
open its archives since there are many reports proving massacres
committed by Armenians against Turks,” he said.

Konukcu noted that the media had an important place in prevalence of
such allegations, adding that owners of many newspapers in the United
States were of Armenian and Greek origin.

FIRST PHOTO EXHIBITION “POVERTY IN ARMENIA” OPENED IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, June 3. /ARKA/. The first photo exhibition “Poverty in
Armenia” has been opened in Yerevan. Lusine Torosyan, Executive,
“Poverty in Armenia” program, reported that the exhibition is aimed
at informing the public of the problems of individuals and families
living in abject poverty. About 100 works by Ruben Mangasaryan and
Herman Avagyan are displayed at the exhibition, which is to last for a
week. The pictures were made in different Armenian regions. The authors
said that they wished to show the public the faces of Armenia’s poor
people, who, however, can be happy as well. “Poverty is being much
talked of, figures are being cited, but visual information is hardly
provided,” Mangasaryan said. He also expressed a hope that the program
will cause people to change their attitude to poverty.

The program envisages the organization of four exhibitions, three of
them in Armenia’s regions. Twelve slide-shows will also be organized.

The exhibition has been organized by the Caucasian Institute of Mass
Media, with the sponsorship of the small grant program implemented
by the World Bank and the Institute of Open Society. The exhibitions
in Armenia’s regions will be sponsored by the World Vision Armenia
office. P.T. -0–

Kazakhstan, OSCE mull project to scrap arms, ammo surplus
By Oleg Antonov

ITAR-TASS News Agency
June 2, 2005 Thursday 7:43 AM Eastern Time

ALMATY, June 2 — Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Defence and the Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mull a joint project
to eliminate the surpluses of small arms and obsolete ammunition kept
at the republic’s military depots.

Vladimir Nosonovsky, chief of the Kazakh Armed Forces’ main directorate
for arsenals, bases, depots of ammunition and armaments, told Itar-Tass
on Thursday that arms surpluses amount to 30,000 weapons and about
2,5 million rounds of ammunition.

Nosonovsky said the arms had been at one time taken out by the Soviet
Army from Afghanistan, East Germany, and Armenia. They are out of
use by Kazakhstan’s Army or are damaged and are hazardous if further
stored. These are, in particular, tank projectiles of 100-mm caliber
as well as ammunition with a storage term of 40 years, Nosonovsky
said. “Other ammunition will not be eliminated,” he emphasised.

The Kazakh Defence Ministry has already eliminated 160,000 rounds of
ammunition but “the republic lacks capacities for this kind of work,”
Nosonovsky pointed out.

“The scope of assistance in this respect will be determined after
experts of the OSCE Conflicts Prevention Centre inspect the main
small arms storages in Kazakhstan,” Nosonovsky said. The experts are
expected to arrive in Kazakhstan on June 6.

INTERVIEW-Germany’s Cronimet plans UK titanium expansion

HAMBURG, June 1 (Reuters) – German metals trader and processor
Cronimet has purchased British ferro-titanium producer Metals &
Alloys International Ltd and plans to expand the company, Cronimet
joint chief executive officer Juergen Pilarsky said on Wednesday.

It was planned to expand production at Welshpool-based Metals & Alloys
from 3,000 tonnes a year to 4,000 tonnes this year and 5,000 in 2006,
he told Reuters.

Ferro-titanium is used in steel production.

The purchase price was not being revealed.

“We are still examining what form the investment could take but it is
possible than an additional furnace will be installed at Welshpool,”
he said.

Privately owned Cronimet, based in Karlsruhe, is involved in trading
and processing secondary raw materials for the steel industry such
as ferro-alloys, primary metals and scrap.

“We are expanding along the value-addition chain,” he said. “We have
long traded and purchased titanium scrap.

“We have marketed this to producers of ferro-titanium who in turn sold
to the steel works. Now we are processing and marketing more ourselves.

“We have our network of scrap trading companies in Europe which
enables us to generate the volumes of titanium scrap required to
increase production.”

The group trades around one million tonnes of metals and scrap
annually in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa including
ferro-alloys, non-ferrous metals and minor metals.

The British deal is its second major international expansion project
in around six months. In January it paid around $132 million for a
controlling shareholding in Armenian molybdenum and copper mine ZMMK.
Molybdenum is largely used in stainless steel production.

The British and Armenian investments were a reaction to opportunities
rather than a specific international expansion drive, he said.

“On both occasions suitable opportunities came forward,” he said.

“We have had a joint venture in Armenia for many years which processes
concentrates from the mine into ferro molybdenum and which in turn
markets the finished product to steel works.

“As the privatisation of the mine was announced we decided to secure
our raw materials supplies.”

06/01/05 11:22 ET

Azeri leader, visiting US senator discuss preparations for November polls

Trend news agency
1 Jun 05

Baku, 1 June: Democracy, security and economic development were
discussed during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s meeting with the
visiting US senator Chuck Hagel, the senator told a news conference
after the meeting, Trend reports.

The senator expressed his gratitude to President Aliyev for the
involvement of Azerbaijani peacekeepers in Afghanistan, Iraq and
Kosovo.

The sides also discussed the course of preparations for the
parliamentary elections [due in November]. Hagel said the sides noted
the importance of holding free, fair and democratic elections.

Hagel arrived in Baku from Turkey on 31 May. After the talks in Baku
on 2 June, he will leave Baku for Armenia and then Georgia. He is
also expected to visit Ukraine as part of the tour.

UNDERAGE PRISONERS CELEBRATING CHILDREN PROTECTION DAY

Pan Armenian News
01.06.2005 04:16

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As PanARMENIAN.Net reporter came to know from the
Armenian Office of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation,
on the occasion of the International Children’s Protection Day
representatives of the Agency jointly with the Genevan high
school of international relations initiated a visit to “Abovyan”
criminal executive institution for underage. The action was called
to attract attention of the population to the problems of unprotected
children. The Agency representatives held the meeting in the presence
of the officials of the RA Justice Ministry and Human Rights Defender,
with whom they discussed the possibilities of integrating the children
into the public life. They also talked to the children about their
rights. Upon completion of the meeting the children were given
presents.

CHARLES AZNAVOUR VISITS SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHETI

AKHALKALAKI, MAY 31. ARMINFO. International known French singer
Charles Aznavour has visited the mostly Armenian region of Georgia
Samtskhe-Javakheti.

A-INFO reports that Aznavour visited Akhaltskhe and met with local
residents. The plenipotentiary representative of the Georgian
president to the region Georgy Khachidze said that Aznavour’s visit
to Akhaltskhe was a great honor for the local residents. Aznavour
was granted the title of Akhaltskhe honorary citizen. He said that
he was happy to receive such a warm welcome. “I am happy to have come
to the homeland of my ancestors. Akhaltskhe is a native town to me,”
he said promising to come again. In Akhaltskhe Aznavour visited the
house of his grandfather.