Author: Toganian Liana

STEVE ANLIAN: HOME-BUYING VOUCHERS FOR STORM VICTIMS

Providence Journal , RI
Sept 23 2005

YEREVAN, Armenia — AS NEW ORLEANS and other Gulf Coast places weather
devastation by hurricane, home owners with enough insurance face real,
gut-wrenching choices: Leave, stay, build, buy, rehab, or rent? Those
with little or no flood insurance — reportedly as many as 60 percent
— will turn to government for help.

As officials figure out how to respond to under- or uninsured home
owners who are eligible for aid, experience abroad, in developing
countries, argues strongly for multi-state housing-purchase vouchers.

These are a logical follow-on to the Senate’s recent stop-gap measure
providing six-month rental vouchers to Katrina victims.

On Dec. 7, 1988, in Armenia, an earthquake measuring 6.9 on
the Richter scale demolished 100,000 housing units and displaced
500,000 people. With help from the United States, other countries,
and multilateral aid agencies, Armenia worked through the tortuous
economic decisions that now face leaders in Washington and the
storm-tossed American states.

Which districts should be condemned? Which redeveloped, and how? For
which local expenses should people be reimbursed? Should displaced
families be granted an unconditional right of return, regardless of
timing and cost? Should tenants get rights comparable to home owners’?

Working through such questions will take time, which many of the
current hurricane victims don’t have. But for those uninsured home
owners willing to accept a housing-purchase voucher now, as final
compensation, the transition could be far simpler. For them, help
could be on the way in weeks, instead of months or years.

A housing-purchase voucher program reflecting lessons from Armenia
and other natural-disaster-stricken countries would not have to be
complicated. Participation would be voluntary. Proceeds from selling
an existing home to a displaced family would go directly from the
funding agency to the contract seller, through banks.

Funds left over when an eligible housing unit was bought for less than
the voucher price could be pocketed by the program participant for
renovation, living expenses, or moving costs. At the other extreme,
extra funds from loans or buyers’ other assets could be mobilized to
buy a house that costs more than the voucher’s value.

Low-income participants might receive a sliding subsidy to house-hunt,
since the city of their choice might be a plane ride away.

To get a feel for how vouchers might work, imagine that your $100,000
house in New Orleans is half paid for and totally wrecked. Depending
on your insurance coverage, you might qualify for a “top-up” voucher,
which pays for the difference between what your new house costs and
what your insurance company provides for your old house. Or you
might get a 100-percent subsidy, if your insurance doesn’t cover
flood damage. You could use the voucher in any one of the designated
receiving zones, or even in New Orleans, if there is adequate supply.

If you have funds of your own to add, you can even apply your voucher
outside the approved network.

On the receiving end, the metropolitan areas deemed eligible to take
vouchers might be those that have already welcomed evacuees or where
the housing market is stable and housing affordable. Local associations
of real-estate agents could help match housing to beneficiaries.

The voucher’s size would be pegged to local market conditions. That
way, evacuees could choose a city from the list where housing prices
are a bit above those in New Orleans or Biloxi. This approach worked
after the Armenian earthquake, when the U.S. Agency for International
Development tried it. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development’s Section 8 program for low-income renters also follow
this principle.

Cities that signed up for the program would reap benefits, too. More
homes would be occupied and, therefore, the housing stock and
associated service costs would be more efficient. On balance, there
would be more demand for housing, so real-estate values would rise.

If they rose too much, vouchers could be adjusted accordingly.

If housing-voucher programs have a weakness in today’s real-estate
boom, it’s that affordable housing often means a soft economy, and
dislocated home owners need jobs. Adding more job hunters to a city
can intensify employment problems, so in selecting receiving zones,
planners would have to match skills with labor markets, even as social
scientists ponder political and human adjustments.

Yet an influx of new residents to the right place at the right
time could stimulate lagging local economies, as cash from
government-supported programs and other subsidies started to
recirculate. Home-improvement activities would be another stimulus,
though no substitute for a long-term economic-development strategy
for each city.

While we all hope that the Gulf Coast’s hurricane-ravaged hometowns
will rise again, a national housing-purchase voucher program holds
enormous potential for displaced home owners — even during the interim
period of recovery. Families who leave the area now may decide to
return when their communities have stabilized. The recent real-estate
spike in Baton Rouge bodes well for vouchers, and the Department of
Housing and Urban Development’s deep experience with vouchers could be
tapped to quickly devise and carry out a demand-side shelter strategy.

Vouchers alone aren’t enough. But neither is new construction. And
vouchers are both cheaper and faster-working. Let’s ask some of the
tens of thousands of hurricane-displaced Southerners if they would
like to give vouchers a try.

Steve Anlian, an urban planner and international-development expert,
is the (Washington-based) Urban Institute’s senior associate in
Yerevan, Armenia, where he led an international team collaborating
on the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Armenia Earthquake
Zone Recovery Program.

GREEK AMBASSADOR ANTONIOS VLAVIANOS FINISHES HIS DIPLOMATIC MISSION IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan News Agency
Sept 22 2005

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 22, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The term of the
tenure of Greek Ambassador to Armenia Antonios Vlavianos is expiring,
on the occasion of which the ambassador was received by RA Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian on September 22.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by RA Foreign Ministry’s Press and
Information Department, highly estimating Armenian-Greek relations
developing dynamically in all spheres, Minister Oskanian mentioned
ambassador’s contribution to strengthening of friendship between the
2 countries.

The ambassador in his turn mentioned the obvious economic progress
and growth in international interest towards the country registered
in Armenia during his tenure and expressed hope the in the nearest
future Armenia can provide stable development and solve its main
socio-economic problems.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN CALLS ON SPEAKER HASTERT

A1+
| 13:06:07 | 22-09-2005 | Politics |

Thousands of Fans Respond to Alert on News Section of

Within hours of posting a notice last night on the System of a Down
website, thousands of fans from across the United States have sent
ANCA WebFaxes urging Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert to schedule
a U.S. House vote on legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The
letters, sent through the ANCA’s free WebFax system, urge the Speaker
to honor his pledge, made in October of 2000, to hold a vote on the
Armenian Genocide Resolution. The WebFaxes stress that, “The Armenian
Genocide is a clear-cut moral issue.

Our government’s failure to stand up to Turkey’s denial is an outrage.

Today, the fate of this human rights issue rests in your hands. Do
the right thing – keep your pledge. Serve U.S. interests and American
values by allowing this legislation to reach the floor for a vote
at the earliest possible opportunity.” On September 15th, the House
International Relations Committee overwhelmingly approved legislation
properly recognizing the Armenian Genocide. During the course of a
three-hour meeting, 21members of this 50-member panel spoke in favor
of H.Res.316 and H.Con.Res.195, which were adopted by bipartisan
majorities of 40 to 7 and 35 to 11, respectively.

Similar legislation was adopted by the Committee in 2000, but was
withdrawn by Speaker Hastert, at the urging of President Clinton,
only moments before it was to reach the House floor for a vote. In the
aftermath of his withdrawal of the measure, Speaker Hastert pledged
to hold a vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution, but has, in the
five years that have followed, failed to honor this promise.

In May of this year, Mezmerize, the first half of the band’s two-part
album Mezmerize/Hypnotize, debuted as the number-one selling CD in
the United States. On April 24th of this year, System held a sold-out
“Souls 2005” benefit concert for the ANCA and other groups working
to prevent genocide and counter genocide denial. The band has sold
nearly 10 million CDs worldwide. A Google search for “System of a
Down” returns over 1.6 million hits. The ANCA, at the invitation of the
band, has worked alongside Amnesty International and Axis of Justice at
activist tables at concerts to distribute educational materials, secure
signatures on petitions, field questions, and promote discussion about
the Turkish government’s ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide. For
information about System of a Down, including a full listing of their
remaining tour dates, visit: The full
text of the System of a Down action alert is provided below. It can
be viewed on-line by visiting and clicking on
“NEWS.”

9.20.05 – STAND WITH SYSTEM:

U.S. RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS WITHIN REACH

Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House, has it in his power to
accomplish one of System’s goals – official U.S. recognition of
Turkey’s destruction of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and
1923. On September 15th, a major Congressional committee – rejecting
attacks from Turkey and the Bush Administration – approved legislation
recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The next step is for the full House
of Representatives to take a final vote on this legislation. But
this is only possible if Hastert lets it happen. The choice is in
his hands. By allowing Congress to vote on this legislation, Hastert
can end U.S. denial of this crime and open the doors to justice – to
the restoration, reparation, and restitution owed to the victims of
genocide. By continuing to block a vote on this legislation, Hastert
effectively joins in the denial of this crime against humanity, and
the denial of justice to an entire nation. Join with System. Click
HERE to take action and send a free WebFax urging Hastert to hold a
vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

Armenia: Country outlook

COUNTRY VIEW

ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT
PUBLICATION DATE: August 01, 2005

OVERVIEW: Tension in Armenia’s political scene is likely to ease. Real
GDP growth will be relatively strong, at an annual average of about 7.5%
in 2005-06. We forecast an average annual inflation rate of 2.4% this
year, followed by a rate of 2.5% in 2006. Strong current transfers
credits will contain the current-account deficit at an annual average of
around 5% of GDP in 2005-06, despite a growing trade deficit.

DOMESTIC POLITICS: Tension in Armenia’s political scene is likely to
ease, following the approval by the Council of Europe’s Venice
Commission of a package of constitutional amendments intended to ensure
a more balanced distribution of power. The next challenge for the
authorities will be to persuade the public to support the changes in a
referendum. A positive outcome in the referendum will depend on the
opposition’s response to the proposed changes. Prior to the Venice
Commission’s assessment, several of Armenia’s opposition parties had
indicated that they would end their 18-month long boycott of the
National Assembly (parliament) and resume co-operation with the
government, assuming that the changes were sufficiently far-reaching in
terms of reducing the powers of the presidency. Their return to
parliament would accord a greater sense of legitimacy to the legislature.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Armenia will continue to pursue a
“complementary” foreign policy, whereby it seeks to balance relations
with the US, the EU, Russia and Iran. The government is also likely to
accord a high priority to an easing of relations with Turkey, and to
talks with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh.
Negotiations over Nagorny Karabakh have gained momentum over the past
few months, with several rounds of high-level talks held. Although
Armenian officials have sought to downplay expectations that a
breakthrough in the conflict is imminent, it appears that considerable
progress has been made towards reaching a settlement acceptable to both
sides.

POLICY TRENDS: A poverty reduction strategy paper, a medium-term
expenditure programme (for 2005-08) and an anti-corruption strategy will
determine the government’s economic policy. The main policy priorities
will include further reforms of the tax and customs administration,
enhancing fiscal transparency (in particular, by improving expenditure
management), and strengthening the financial sector and the judiciary,
along with the completion of reforms in the energy and water sectors.
More effective mobilisation of tax revenue will also be a priority, with
a view to reducing dependence on foreign grants.

ECONOMIC GROWTH: We expect real GDP growth to slow from 10.1% in 2004 to
an annual average of just over 7% in 2005-06. The strong base period is
the main factor behind the anticipated slowdown, as the outlook for
domestic demand is relatively favourable. Government consumption and
investment will rise strongly, as the authorities increase both social
and capital spending, and private consumption will be supported by
strong inflows of workers’ remittances. In addition, credit from banks
to private enterprises is expected to increase.

INFLATION: Price stability will remain the main objective of monetary
policy, and to this end the central bank will refrain from intervening
in the currency markets, instead allowing the dram to appreciate in
order to reduce inflationary pressure. External pressure on domestic
prices is expected to weaken in 2005-06, in view of our forecast for
easing world food prices. We forecast an average annual inflation rate
of 2.4% this year, followed by a rate of 2.5% in 2006.

EXCHANGE RATES: Foreign-currency inflows, in the form of workers’
remittances and other private transfers, will remain high in 2005-06,
ensuring that the dram stays strong against the US dollar. The Central
Bank has projected an annual average rate of Dram485:US$1 for 2005, but
on current trends an average rate of Dram445:US$1 appears more
realistic. After strengthening briefly in mid-2005, the US dollar is
once again expected to weaken, a trend that will continue throughout
2006, resulting in an annual average rate of about Dram430:US$1.

EXTERNAL ACCOUNT: A fall in donor-financed investment could lead to a
reduction in spending on capital goods such as construction materials,
machinery and equipment. However, strong inflows of private transfers
will support private consumption, keeping expenditure on consumer goods
imports high. The growing trade deficit will be only partly offset by
the surplus on current transfers, resulting in a widening
current-account deficit. Relatively robust economic growth will
nevertheless contain the annual average deficit at about 5% of GDP in
2005-06.

SOURCE: Country outlook

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 8, No. 37, 20 September 2005

A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL’s Newsline Team

************************************************************
HEADLINES:
* AHMADINEJAD ADDRESSES UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY TWICE, AFTER
RECEIVING U.S. VISA WAIVER
* TEHRAN DENIES PURSUIT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
* NUCLEAR WATCHDOG WANTS NO ACTION ON IRAN
* TEHRAN STRESSES PERCEIVED NUCLEAR RIGHTS
* NEW SECURITY MEASURES NOT WELCOMED BY ALL
* NATIONAL AND MILITARY LEADERS TALK TO REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS
* SUPREME LEADER CALLS FOR GOVERNMENTAL UNITY
* AHMADINEJAD MAKES MORE APPOINTMENTS
* NEW GROUND FORCES CHIEF AND IDEOLOGIST APPOINTED
* BUS DRIVERS ARRESTED, JOURNALIST JAILED
* NO JAIL VISITS FOR DISSIDENT, SAYS WIFE
* ARMENIA MOVES FORWARD ON GAS PIPELINE TO IRAN
* PALESTINIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD LEADER VISITS IRAN
************************************************************

AHMADINEJAD ADDRESSES UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY TWICE… President Mahmud
Ahmadinejad left for New York on 13 September, state television
reported. Before leaving Tehran, Ahmadinejad suggested this would be
an opportunity to discuss the contentious nuclear issue, saying: “We
believe that nuclear energy is a divine gift. It…belongs to all
nations and all people. All of the people on the surface of the Earth
have the right to use this clean energy.”
Supreme National Security Council official Ali Aqamohammadi
said on 13 September that Ahmadinejad would probably submit his
suggestions on how to proceed on the atomic front, the Iranian
Students News Agency (ISNA) reported. “Naturally we cannot know what
promises to be an innovative idea, but we have heard a few things and
have an idea what the framework of his talks will be. However, he
will reveal the plan,” Aqamohammadi said, adding that rejection of
the plan will hurt those who have benefited from dialogue with Iran.
In his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on 14
September, Ahmadinejad criticized the United States, saying the host
of the event should not have special privileges. Two channels of
Iranian state television, as well as Iranian satellite television and
state radio, broadcast the speech live. Ahmadinejad complained that
neither an Islamic nor an African state has a permanent seat on the
UN Security Council. He also expressed concern about a breakdown in
spirituality and morality, and described unilateralism as a “vicious
malady.” “Unilateralism, production and use of weapons of mass
destruction, intimidations, resort to the threat or use of force, and
imposition of destructive wars on peoples for the sake of security
and prosperity of a few powers” mean that the UN must try to
institutionalize justice, Ahmadinejad said.
The U.S. delegation was not in the assembly hall to hear
Ahmadinejad’s stinging comments, news agencies reported.
Ahmadinejad announced the Iranian position on the nuclear
issue in a 17 September speech to the General Assembly (for the full
text of the speech, see
).
Predictably, he preceded the discussion of the nuclear issue by
denouncing the United States. “The Islamic Revolution toppled a
regime, which had been put in place through a coup, and supported by
those who claim to be advocates of democracy and human rights,
thwarted the aspirations of the nation for development and progress
for 25 years through intimidation and torture of the populace and
submission and subservience to outsiders.”
Ahmadinejad accused the United States of violating the
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, arming “the Zionist occupation
regime with WMDs [weapons of mass destruction],” and trying to block
other countries’ access to nuclear technology.
Ahmadinejad accused the United States of supporting Al-Qaeda
and hinted at a conspiracy in which the United States was behind the
terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.
After going on in this way for some time, Ahmadinejad got to
the point. “Peaceful use of nuclear energy without possession of
nuclear fuel cycle is an empty proposition,” he said. “In accordance
with our religious principles, pursuit of nuclear weapons is
prohibited.” He went on to express concern about the creation of a
nuclear “apartheid.” He called for a nuclear-weapons-free Middle
East.
As a confidence-building measure, Ahmadinejad said, Iran is
willing to partner with public and private groups in its
uranium-enrichment program. He added that Iran will continue to
cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, he
dismissed promises that other countries will be the source of fuel
for the Iranian nuclear program.
Ahmadinejad returned to Iran on 18 September. (Bill Samii)

…AFTER RECEIVING U.S. VISA WAIVER. The State Department announced
that the United States had waived regulations banning suspected
terrorists from entering its territory and given Iranian President
Ahmadinejad a visa to attend the UN General Assembly in New York,
Radio Farda and the “Los Angeles Times” reported on 8 September.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington
on 7 September that Iran’s UN mission applied for a visa on 5
August, allowing Ahmadinejad to attend events around the opening of
the 60th session of the UN General Assembly on 13-18 September, and
the U.S. consulate in Berne, Switzerland, issued the visa on 6
September, the State Department website reported.
McCormack added that while Ahmadinejad would have been
refused a visa for what the United States suspects are past
terrorism-related activities, in accordance with the Immigration and
Nationality Act, his ineligibility has been waived by the Department
of Homeland Security at the request of the State Department. The visa
“in no way indicates a change of U.S. views or policy toward the
Iranian government,” McCormack stressed. U.S. officials believe
Ahmadinejad might have been among a gang of radical students who took
U.S. diplomats in Tehran hostage in November 1979, a charge Iran
rejects.
A number of expatriate Iranians protested outside the UN
building on 14 September against Ahmadinejad’s presence, Radio
Farda reported. Approximately 1,500 people from various exile
opposition groups — royalists, constitutionalists, the Mujahedin
Khalq Organization, the Green Party of Iran — waved placards and
chanted different slogans. The protesters expressed opposition to the
Iranian nuclear program and the country’s purported support for
international terrorism, and they called for political prisoners’
freedom. Their overriding sentiment was that they do not accept
Ahmadinejad as Iran’s representative, Radio Farda reported.
Among the protesters outside the Iranian mission to the UN in
New York were Barry Rosen and Kevin Hermening, Radio Farda reported
on 15 September. Rosen is a former U.S. government official and
Hermening is a former U.S. Marine who were held hostage in Iran when
the U.S. Embassy was seized by militants. In a press conference the
day before, former UN Rapporteur on Human Rights Manuchehr Ganji said
that President Ahmadinejad was involved in the interrogation of the
hostages, as did another former hostage, Colonel Dave Roeder. (Bill
Samii, Vahid Sepehri)

TEHRAN DENIES PURSUIT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Nuclear weapons do not have
a role in Iranian defense policy, Minister of Defense and Armed
Forces Logistics Mustafa Mohammad Najjar said on 15 September, state
radio reported. Najjar explained that Iran insists on the acquisition
of nuclear technology so it can produce energy.
In New York, President Ahmadinejad told Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Tehran is willing to transfer
nuclear technology to other Islamic states, the Islamic Republic News
Agency (IRNA) reported. Ahmadinejad insisted that Iran has no
interest in nuclear weapons. (Bill Samii)

NUCLEAR WATCHDOG WANTS NO ACTION ON IRAN. Muhammad el-Baradei,
director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is
asking the United States to give Iran another opportunity to cease
alleged nuclear-weapons-related activities, AFP reported on 15
September, citing anonymous diplomats. Reuters reported the day
before that the IAEA suspects that referring Iran to the UN Security
Council will lead to divisions within the council. An anonymous
diplomat suggested a three-to-four-week delay would be “in
everybody’s favor.” El-Baradei reportedly told U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice that the IAEA governing board could set a
deadline for Iran to resume the suspension of its nuclear activities.
Tehran, however, has told the IAEA it will cooperate only if it can
enrich uranium, Reuters reported.
The United States would like to see immediate action by the
UN Security Council, but its efforts to persuade other countries are
not going well, the “Financial Times” reported on 15 September.
Neither China nor India have made any commitments in this regard,
according to the newspaper.
Earlier in the week, U.S. Energy Department officials made a
presentation to IAEA officials and governing board members that
purportedly shows evidence of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons,
“The Washington Post” and ABC News reported on 14 September (to view
the presentation, go to
().
The presentation describes Iran’s violations of nuclear
safeguards and a pattern of concealment. The U.S. presentation
rejects Iranian claims that the nuclear program is for power
generation and argues that it is on the scale of a weapons program.
Furthermore, Tehran has submitted a 131-page response to
el-Baradei’s earlier report on the Iranian nuclear program, IRNA
reported on 13 September. The IAEA report called for greater
cooperation and transparency on Iran’s part, and it referred to
some specific concerns (see “RFE/RL Iran Report,” 5 September 2005).
The Iranian response stressed Tehran’s belief that the issue has
become politicized and said the IAEA is being swayed by a propaganda
campaign. The response referred to efforts to divert attention from
recent violations of the Nonproliferation Treaty by other countries,
the proliferation of nuclear warheads, and the purported Israeli
threat.
IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told Radio Farda on 7
September that its recent report will be a reference for the IAEA
board of governors when it meets on 19 September to discuss
Iran’s program. She said Iranian officials have cooperated with
IAEA inspectors, but they should cooperate more, and give the agency
access to all “places, documents, and people” able to clarify
persistent questions such as the source of traces of highly enriched
uranium found on certain nuclear components in Iran. Iran has said
they came from Pakistan with the equipment. Fleming said this cannot
be ascertained, adding that there has been much progress made on
discovering the source of the traces, Radio Farda reported. (Bill
Samii, Vahid Sepehri)

TEHRAN STRESSES PERCEIVED NUCLEAR RIGHTS. Iran’s ranking nuclear
negotiator, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani,
stressed in Islamabad on 7 September that Iran will not halt its
nuclear program, but it is prepared to hold talks to alleviate
international concerns, news agencies reported the same day. On his
return from Pakistan, Larijani said that Iran “is not trying to
expand” the number of parties negotiating over its nuclear program,
and the IAEA remains its formal negotiating partner, ISNA reported on
8 September. He said third-party proposals “can be useful or
helpful,” but “Iran’s conduct is that everything should be in its
place, and we face the [IAEA] in this case,” ISNA reported.
In meetings with Pakistani officials, Larijani said, they
stated their acceptance of Iran’s “natural right” to have a
peaceful nuclear program. “I have no doubt that brotherly and Muslim
Pakistan is by our side,” he said. But Larijani also conveyed
“concern” to Pakistani officials over their recent contacts with
Iranian foe Israel. “I stated my concern” at the contacts, Larijani
said according to ISNA, and “stated my reasons, and I think they have
taken on board our perspective.” The foreign ministers of Pakistan
and Israel met in Istanbul on 1 September in the first high-level
meeting since those two states emerged in the mid-20th century, AFP
reported on 7 September.
In Tehran on 7 September, Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki
said that “nobody” should overlook “the rights of the Iranian people”
in negotiations over Iran’s contested nuclear program, ISNA
reported. He said after a meeting with foreign envoys that “no
organization can deprive us of our rights, against international
laws,” referring to Western pressures on Iran to once more suspend
all nuclear-fuel production and related activities, and negotiate
over its program. He said that “there is a rational and clear view
based on international laws that one cannot tell a country its
duties, but deprive it of its rights.”
Iran says that, within the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,
it has the right to make fuel for what it says is a civilian program.
Mottaki said the Ahmadinejad government gives great importance to
justice, and in foreign relations that means “a balance between
rights and duties” for countries signing up to international
treaties. Iran may reconsider certain bilateral agreements, he added,
as some parts have yet to be implemented, ISNA reported.
Mottaki told the press in Tehran on 11 September that Iran
will not reseal a uranium-ore-conversion plant in Isfahan, central
Iran, in response to Western demands to halt all fuel production and
related activities, and he warned that nobody will win if Iran’s
dossier is referred to the UN Security Council, agencies reported the
same day. Given Iran’s “transparent activities and clear
cooperation” with the IAEA, he said, “we see no juridical or legal
reasons” for a UN referral, and “our positions will be clear in that
regard,” ISNA reported. Going to the UN Security Council would be
“political,” he said, and would initiate “a lose-lose game, and we
prefer this not to happen.” He described a “win-win” situation as an
international community assured of the peaceful nature of Iran’s
nuclear program, and Iran being able to exercise what it says is the
right to make nuclear fuel for power stations it has yet to build.
Iran, he said, welcomes the “unconditional” resumption of talks on
its dossier, ISNA reported.
Mottaki said on 12 September that Iran’s nuclear policy
is entirely clear, and if its “natural right” to have a peaceful
program is recognized, “we respect the right of the international
community to be assured of the peaceful nature” of its activities,
ISNA reported the same day, citing an interview with Turkish
television. He dismissed as unlikely the threat of U.S. strikes on
Iranian nuclear installations. “The Americans threaten all the
world…. We do not believe a military attack is likely, but if that
happens, our response will be firm and painful.”
Mottaki said Western concerns about Iran’s program are
only partly to do with fears over its abuse for military objectives.
“The second part of the issue is that they are not inclined to have a
developing state become a first-class state” and attain advanced
nuclear technology “with numerous applications” for a country, he
said. Mottaki said Iran’s nuclear policy is based on the “duty”
it feels to reassure the international community that its program is
strictly civilian, ISNA reported. (Vahid Sepehri)

NEW SECURITY MEASURES NOT WELCOMED BY ALL. Recent steps by Iran’s
new government under President Ahmadinejad demonstrate the rightward
drift in the country’s affairs that became apparent in the months
preceding the June 2005 presidential election. These steps include
the appointment of provincial governors-general with a security
background, as well as a crackdown on social malefactors. The impact
of the provincial appointments will be felt for years to come,
whereas pressure in Tehran is likely to ease off.

Provincial Appointments

Interior Minister Mustafa Purmohammadi said in the 14
September “Iran” that the selection of provincial governors-general
will begin the next week and will only take place after consultations
with legislators and local Friday-prayer leaders. He said most of the
officials will be replaced. “Iran” reported that definite changes
include the governors from Fars, Isfahan, Khorasan Razavi, Markazi
(Central), Mazandaran, Sistan va Baluchistan, and Tehran provinces.
An anonymous Interior Ministry official said he had no knowledge of
the possibility that individuals with links to intelligence and
security agencies will be selected.
Parliamentarians’ reactions to this news varied. On the
one hand, an unnamed representative from Urumiyeh said in “Kayhan” of
14 September that Purmohammadi has shown his sensitivity to
individuals’ qualifications rather than politics in making his
choices.
On the other hand, Tabriz parliamentary representative
Mohammad Hussein Farhangi accused Purmohammadi of appointing former
officials of intelligence and security agencies as provincial
governors-general, “Iran,” “Aftab-i Yazd” and “Mardom Salari”
reported on 14 September. “At the present juncture, some intelligence
and security personalities are among the favorites to become future
governors-general,” Farhangi said. He advised against this, saying:
“The interior minister must heed the demands of the parliamentary
deputies about not employing people with intelligence and security
links and background as government officials [in the provinces],
otherwise he will certainly encounter problems in the future.”
The issue prompted two legislators to submit their
resignations. Iranshahr parliamentary representative Golmohammad
Bameri said on 14 September that he had resigned, ILNA reported.
Bameri said he was protesting Purmohammadi’s failure to
coordinate his appointment of new governors-general with the
legislature. Zahedan parliamentary representative Peyman Foruzesh
resigned the same day to protest Purmohammadi’s appointment of a
new governor for Sistan va Baluchistan Province. Foruzesh complained
that the interior minister had not fulfilled his promise to
coordinate his choices with legislators and local Friday-prayer
leaders.
The Interior Ministry’s appointment of new
governors-general will have an enduring impact. The new officials
could stay in place for at least eight years — the length of two
presidential terms. The Interior Ministry runs the elections, so the
new officials could have a profound influence on voting for members
of the Assembly of Experts (2006 and 2014), legislature (2008 and
2012), executive branch (2009 and 2013), and municipal councils (2007
and 2011). Even though President Ahmadinejad has promised to
decentralize governmental affairs, these appointments suggest an
effort by the central government to exert greater influence in the
periphery.

In The Capital

While events affecting the provinces are still developing,
security measures in the capital are already under way. Justice
Minister and judiciary spokesman Jamal Karimirad told reporters on 6
September that a crackdown on people who disrupt security in Tehran
has begun, “Jomhuri-yi Islami,” “Aftab-i Yazd,” and Radio Farda
reported. “This plan, which has been put together by the office of
the Tehran prosecutor-general, will be implemented for a period of 20
days with the cooperation and coordination of the relevant organs,
such as the Law Enforcement Force, the Intelligence Ministry, the
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and the Basij force.
Karimirad described the individuals who would suffer as a
result of this campaign: “The elements who flex their muscles and
show off their power by the use of knives and daggers; the thugs and
the mob engaging in extortion and bullying; threatening actions and
behaviors; attempts to create fear and tension in the society;
disruption of public order and safety; acts of sabotage; those
involved in selling, buying, possessing, or carrying unlawful
weapons; abduction; and gang interfighting and violence.” The
harassment of women, sexual assaults and other sorts of lewd
behavior, the establishment of brothels and gambling houses, drinking
alcohol publicly or public drunkenness, and the sales or purchase of
drugs are to be targeted as well.
Tehran police chief Morteza Talai described the type of
criminals one encounters in the capital, “Jomhuri-yi Islami” reported
on 7 September. One group carries scimitars and goes to different
parts of the city to commit random acts of aggression. A second
group, known as “lumpens,” gets drunk in public and engages in rowdy
behavior. A third group, he said, has the talent and potential for
membership in the second group.
The judicial police will be tasked with maintaining public
security in Tehran once it is equipped, financed, and ready to work,
Radio Farda reported on 10 September. Tehran judiciary official
Mahmud Mirkuhi said the force enjoys greater powers than the ordinary
police. Judicial police patrols include a judge who can convict and
sentence a person on the spot, and oversee his or her punishment,
Radio Farda reported.
One of the security measures described by police chief Ismail
Ahmadi-Moghaddam is action against “joy caravans” — cars filled with
celebrating relatives driving behind a newly wed couple, Radio Farda
reported on 11 September. He termed the celebrants “louts” and a
traffic nuisance. Radio Farda cited Moghaddam as telling the daily
“Jomhuri-yi Islami” that such celebrations block Tehran traffic and
lead to acts of “moral corruption” like dancing and alcohol
consumption.
Tehran’s provincial judicial chief Abbas Ali Alizadeh
told the press on 12 September that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei has ordered the judiciary to give a “firm response” to
“louts” and criminals, Fars reported the same day. Khamenei has
ordered “God’s laws” to be implemented against criminals, after
reading a report on crime that he found “shocking,” Fars reported. In
an undated letter to judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmud
Hashemi-Shahrudi, Khamenei ordered authorities to combat crime “as
vigorously as possible,” and to give “mischievous” people “the
harshest punishments set by God.”
Alizadeh said he showed Khamenei’s letter to a judge who
recently asked him what to do with a man charged with forcibly taking
money from people and cutting off someone’s hand. That
“criminal,” Alizadeh said, must be considered a man “spreading
corruption on Earth,” a charge applicable to various activities and
possibly punishable by death in Iran.
Just as legislators have mixed responses to possible
security-related assignments in the provinces, their enthusiasm about
this social crackdown is mixed.
Musa Al-Reza Servati, a member of parliament’s Social
Affairs Committee, has urged Iranians to show a certain “balance”
when celebrating, “Aftab-i Yazd” reported on 12 September.
“Unfortunately in Iran people go beyond accepted norms for the
slightest celebration,” he said, adding that the Islamic Culture and
Guidance Ministry should define what type of celebrations are
acceptable.
But Social Affairs Committee head Abdolreza Mesri said that
“it is much more necessary” for police to deal with armed criminals
that block city streets than with “joy caravans,” according to
“Aftab-i Yazd.” People can wait a little for a street celebration,
and “share in the joy of people around them, but waiting in traffic
for hours because a man with a knife has blocked the street is
impossible,” “Aftab-i Yazd” quoted him as saying.
The security-related developments in Tehran will not have as
enduring impact as those in the provinces. The crackdown in the
capital is scheduled to last just 20 days. Furthermore, the
government routinely implements such measures, especially at the
beginning of the school year. Therefore, there could be an easing of
pressure over time. (Bill Samii, Vahid Sepehri)

NATIONAL AND MILITARY LEADERS TALK TO REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS. Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a 14 September speech in Tehran
at a conference of Islamic Revolution Guards Corp (IRGC) commanders
that everybody is expected to be pious and patient when confronted by
hardship, IRNA reported. He added that one must resist temptation and
show restraint when one is trying to fulfill the obligations defined
by God. The country’s officials, he continued, must be
spiritually pure and morally upright.
IRGC commander Yahya Rahim-Safavi told the audience
beforehand that the June presidential election showed that the nation
supports revolutionary values, state television reported. Discussing
Iraq and regional developments, Rahim-Safavi said, “America’s
incompetence in crisis management in the region has become more
obvious recently.” He described the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as a
defeat for the United States.
Speaker of parliament Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel spoke on the
afternoon of 14 July, IRNA reported, saying U.S. policy is demagogic
and hypocritical. Its hidden objective is to control world oil
resources, he said, and its strategic aim is world domination. Talk
of spreading democracy is just a cover for these goals. He said the
United States uses cultural tools — books, films, NGOs, satellite
television — as well as economic and military ones to influence
other countries.
The next day, Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics
Mustafa Mohammad Najjar told the conference that his ministry has
presented its plans to the legislature, ILNA reported. Among the
objectives in the plan are budget increases, a stronger air-defense
capability, attention to the ministry’s research and industries,
and information security. He also mentioned greater unity between the
armed forces headquarters and the ministry, as well as the
elimination of duplication. To compensate for budget shortfalls, he
said, Iran will export more goods. Najjar said some of the military
industries will be relocated in order to create jobs.
Brigadier General Ali Akbar Ahmadian said in a 15 September
speech at the IRGC conference, “We have formulated a new and
evolutionary strategic management system in the corps,” ISNA
reported. Once Supreme Leader Khamenei approves this system, relevant
plans will be distributed to all branches of the armed forces.
Ahmadian mentioned long-term plans and programs, and added that the
IRGC’s Imam Hussein University will implement the strategic
training programs. He did not provide any details on the system,
plans, or programs. (Bill Samii)

SUPREME LEADER CALLS FOR GOVERNMENTAL UNITY. Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei said in Tehran on 8 September that senior clerics and
politicians must support the government and end outstanding rivalries
that stem from the June presidential polls, given what he described
as foreign hostility to Iran’s government, ISNA reported the same
day. Khamenei told the Assembly of Experts, a body of clerics
ostensibly charged with supervising Khamenei’s performance, that
the primary duty of politicians is to preserve “unity and cohesion”
and end “the disagreements and offenses” of the elections. He added
that “this duty pertains above all to those with a higher status in
society, and those who work against society’s unity cannot be the
friends” of Iranians and their government, ISNA added.
The election results upset some candidates, including
Expediency Council Chairman Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who alleged
he was the victim of a campaign of vilification, and Mehdi Karrubi,
who denounced malpractice at polling stations. Former President
Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami has also recently warned that
unspecified reactionaries and religious bigots are returning to
positions of power.
Khamenei said the government should not be undermined “for
certain expectations or grudges,” while “religious elites” must
counter the “organized effort” of “the enemies of the revolution” to
weaken Iran’s religion and political system. (Vahid Sepehri)

AHMADINEJAD MAKES MORE APPOINTMENTS. President Ahmadinejad has
appointed his brother, Davud Ahmadinejad, as his adviser and chief of
the presidential inspectorate, state radio reported on 13 September.
State radio noted that presidents tend to appoint close relatives to
this position — Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami selected his brother,
Ali, and Ayatollah Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani selected his son,
Mohsen.
In addition, Ahmadinejad has selected Fada Hussein Maleki as
secretary of the Drug Control Headquarters and Tehran municipal
council head Mehdi Chamran as a special adviser, IRNA reported on 13
September.
Ahmadinejad will appoint Tehran municipal council member
Masud Zaribafan as his spokesman, Mehr News Agency reported on 12
September, citing an anonymous “informed source.” Zaribafan is a
member of two hard-line political organizations, the Islamic
Revolution Devotees Society (Jamiyat-i Isargaran-i Inqilab-i Islami)
and the Islamic Iran Developers Coalition (Etelaf-i Abadgaran-i
Iran-i Islami). Zaribafan was mayor of Mahabad and deputy governor of
Kurdistan Province.
Ahmadinejad appointed Parviz Davudi as his first vice
president on 10 September, IRNA reported.
Separately, Foreign Minister Mottaki appointed Muhammad Reza
Baqeri as deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs; Mehdi
Safari for Asia, Pacific, and Commonwealth of Independent States
affairs; and Said Jalili for European and American affairs, “Aftab-i
Yazd” reported on 12 September. (Bill Samii, Vahid Sepehri)

NEW GROUND FORCES CHIEF AND IDEOLOGIST APPOINTED. Supreme Leader
Khamenei appointed Major General Ataollah Salehi the head of
Iran’s regular ground forces on 11 September, replacing Muhammad
Salimi, “Aftab-i Yazd” reported the next day. Salehi entered the army
in 1967, helped organize revolutionary “committees” in Isfahan during
the 1979 revolution, and more recently ran the personnel and
inspectorate departments at the armed forces joint headquarters, Fars
reported on 12 September. Salimi now serves as a “special adviser” to
Khamenei, IRNA reported on 11 September.
Meanwhile, Hojatoleslam Seyyed Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem has
been appointed deputy head of the armed forces’
political-ideological department, “Iran” reported. The former head of
the department, Seyyed Reza Akrami, will serve as a senior adviser to
the political-ideological department. (Bill Samii, Vahid Sepehri)

BUS DRIVERS ARRESTED, JOURNALIST JAILED. An unspecified number of
Tehran bus drivers were arrested after driving on 7 September with
their lights turned on to protest against unpaid or insufficient
wages, Radio Farda and “Aftab-i Yazd” reported on 8 September.
Company managers said they have paid wages owed to drivers and blamed
the drivers’ union for fanning discontent, Radio Farda reported.
Union member Mansur Hayat-Gheibi told Radio Farda that managers have
had some protesting drivers arrested and others sacked.
Separately, a journalist is in jail in Arak, central Iran,
for charges relating to previous press activities even though the
plaintiffs have withdrawn their original complaint, Radio Farda
reported on 8 September. Masud Bastani is being kept in the general
criminal population, and the Arak judiciary has rejected his request
for transfer to a Tehran jail where political and press prisoners are
kept, Radio Farda reported, quoting Tehran-based journalist Muhammad
Reza Ruhbakhsh.
Ruhbakhsh said the Arak judiciary has also convicted Bastani
of violating an earlier conviction, which carried a five-year ban on
press activities, by recently reporting on a Tehran protest, and the
court is expected to hand him another sentence. This conviction and
Bastani’s detention are illegal, Ruhbakhsh claimed, but he
currently has no attorney.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Jamal Karimi-Rad said in Tehran
on 6 September that the judiciary is ready to present parliament with
a bill to define political offenses, “Aftab-i Yazd” reported on 7
September. Iran often jails dissidents or politicians on charges such
as subversion or making false allegations, and is unlikely to
consider them political dissidents. Karimi-Rad said the five-year
development plan starting in 2006 requires the judiciary to define
political offenses. A similar bill was passed by the last parliament,
but rejected by the Guardians Council, a body of mostly conservative
jurists that confirms the legality of legislation (see “RFE/RL Iran
Report,” 31 December 2001). (Vahid Sepehri)

NO JAIL VISITS FOR DISSIDENT, SAYS WIFE. Paris-based Reporters
Without Borders on 6 September criticized the Iranian judiciary’s
decision to send back to jail dissident Akbar Ganji, who was on
hunger strike to protest his detention , Radio Farda reported on 7
September. Ganji ended his 70-day hunger strike on 22 August and left
hospital on 3 September, Reporters Without Borders reported on its
website. The judiciary, it added, has apparently broken a promise to
let Ganji recover at home.
Masumeh Shafii, Ganji’s wife, told Radio Farda on 11
September that she has not been allowed to visit her husband or speak
to him for a week. She said she now believes he is being kept in a
special wing outside the prison chief’s authority, though prison
authorities have told her he is being held in an ordinary cell. Every
time she calls, she said, she is told “he is in a meeting, or in the
wing, unavailable, or call in half an hour…tomorrow morning, or in
the afternoon.” She said she would “no longer keep quiet,” and has
written a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urging him to ask
visiting President Ahmadinejad “to respect justice regarding
[dissident prisoners], including Mr. Ganji.” She handed the letter to
the UN representative office in Tehran on 11 September, Radio Farda
reported.
Shafii told Radio Farda on 13 September that she has not seen
or heard from her husband for 18 days. Justice Minister Jamal
Karimirad, who serves as the judiciary spokesman, said on 12
September that Ganji is being kept in a shared cell at Evin prison
while he recuperates, Radio Farda reported on 13 September. However,
Tehran prisons chief Sohrab Suleimani has said that Ganji is in
medical quarantine. If Ganji is in quarantine, Shafii asked, what
kind of quarantine does not allow him to use the telephone? Shafii
told Radio Farda that prison authorities have sent Ganji to solitary
confinement. Whenever she asks about her husband, she continued, the
authorities refer her to Tehran chief prosecutor Said Mortazavi.
(Bill Samii, Vahid Sepehri)

ARMENIA MOVES FORWARD ON GAS PIPELINE TO IRAN. Armenian Energy
Minister Armen Movsisian announced on 13 September that the
government has formally granted permission for the Iranian company
Sanir to continue construction of the second section of a natural-gas
pipeline connecting Armenia and Iran, Arminfo reported. Construction
of the first section of the new Armenia-Iran gas pipeline is under
way and the Armenian government is still engaged in an
environmental-impact study of the full route. Energy Minister
Movsisian also reported that the Iranian MAP group will complete the
fifth energy unit of Armenia’s Razdan thermal power plant. The
first significant bilateral agreement on the 140-kilometer
Armenia-Iran gas pipeline was reached in September 2001 (see “RFE/RL
Newsline,” 13 September 2001). (Richard Giragosian)

PALESTINIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD LEADER VISITS IRAN. Palestinian Islamic
Jihad leader Ramadan Abdallah Shallah met in Tehran on 13 September
with Expediency Council Chairman Hashemi-Rafsanjani, Mehr News Agency
reported. Hashemi-Rafsanjani told his guest that the provision of
spiritual and political support is part of Iranian policy. He added
that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza is a sign of Israeli weakness
when confronted by Palestinian resistance, and warned of anti-Islamic
U.S. and Israeli conspiracies. Shallah said resistance will continue.
Shallah met with Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, in Tehran on 9 September, IRNA reported on 10 September.
Khomeini said the Palestinian issue was a major concern of his
grandfather’s. (Bill Samii)

*********************************************************
Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.

The “RFE/RL Iran Report” is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
Newsline, and other news services. It is distributed every Monday.

Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
For information on reprints, see:

Back issues are online at

Books: A Week in Books

The Independent – United Kingdom; Sep 16, 2005
BOYD TONKIN

One sign of a mature, argumentative democracy is that it expects its
bright young talents to carp at their own culture. So when Zadie Smith
seems in a US interview to call England a ‘disgusting’ place, nearly
every deadline-chasing rentamouth assumes that she has done so ”
rather than suspect that snide and sleazy New York magazine has
stitched her up. Which it did. Anyway, if the writer had trashed her
own backyard, she would merely have upheld the great tradition of
reverse nationalism among the British intelligentsia that George
Orwell wryly noted 60 years ago. The pundits should be ” patriotically
” proud of that tradition, and pay more heed instead to a country
where an author may face up to three years in jail for the ‘public
denigration’ of national identity.

The Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk ” by any standards, a giant of world
literature ” is due to answer that charge in an Istanbul court on 16
December. Prosecutors have deemed that an interview given by the
author of Snow and My Name is Red in Switzerland, in which he said
that ‘30,000 Kurds and a million Armenians were killed’ in Turkey and
that ‘nobody but me dares to talk about it’, contravenes article 301/1
of the Turkish penal code. Under this provision, any such
‘denigration’ of the nation carries an extra punishment (a third more)
if published abroad.

As plenty of eminent voices have already said, the case against Pamuk
is an outrage and an absurdity. It should be dropped at once, as
should a similar, less reported charge against the Armenian-descended
editor, Hrant Dink. If these prosecutions go ahead, they will cast
another long shadow over the accession talks that Turkey begins with
the European Union on 3 October.

At the same time, it would be folly to join the anti-Turkish stampede
that Pamuk’s case seems to have triggered in western Europe. On
Turkey’s hard road to freedom, this may be more blip than
backlash. Almost everything in the state Atatnrk carved out of the
Ottoman wreckage remains up for grabs. A fine new book by the BBC’s
Chris Morris, The New Turkey (Granta, pounds 17.99), gives an expert
and colourful overview of this ferment. By pursuing Pamuk and Dink
now, the secular-nationalist old guard have shown their teeth ” but
liberal forces also have both bark and bite.

Look at the Armenian massacres of 1915, the last and deepest of
national taboos. The Turkish novelist Elif Shafak (whose The Flea
Palace was shortlisted, along with Pamuk’s Snow, for this year’s
Independent Foreign Fiction Prize) tells me that Pamuk’s plight ‘has
left Turkey’s open-minded intellectuals in a very difficult
position’. They will defend him to the hilt against the legal
onslaught. Yet his claim to solitary courage in speaking out on the
Armenians has belittled all the silence-breaking work done by many
others.

‘There are journalists, columnists, activists in Turkey who have been
voicing this issue for years now,’ says Shafak, ‘but they are far less
known in the West.’ She points out that ‘1915 is being opened to
discussion in Turkey like never before,’ even to the extent of media
apologies to the Armenians. Then, this May, a conference on Armenian
history that 700 delegates had signed up to attend in Istanbul was
postponed at the last minute after threats from the justice
minister. Next Friday, the delayed congress will go ahead.

Shafak reports that, remarkably, the Turkish foreign minister has
offered to make an opening speech. It seems that the battle between
genuine pluralism and policed debate runs right up to the cabinet
table. Under-informed literati must not take Pamuk’s case ” stupid and
sickening as it is ” as conclusive proof. As Shafak says, ‘We need a
network. Otherwise, when and if we focus so much on individuals,
either to vilify or to glorify them, Turkish democracy does not
benefit’.

A1+

| 18:26:59 | 14-09-2005 | Politics |

BAZEYAN BELIEVS NOT IN PEOPLE, BUT IN PRINCIPLES

«We are blamed of being traitors, but I must say that faithfulness to people
is the psychology of slaves. One must be faithful to his home country, his
family and principles», announced the ex-member of the Republican party
Albert Bazeyan today in «Azdak» club.

Today he opened some brackets during the press conference titled «Politics
and Morals» and considered the campaign against them with the silent consent
of his ex-fellow politician immoral.

First Mr. Bazeyan explained what he meant by saying that the Republican
party has gone astray from its main path. He made quotations about the
foreign policy of the country from the pre-electoral campaigns of the
Justice bloc, as well as Aram Sargsyan, where the enhancing of
Armenian-Russian relations was found important, «whereas now Aram Sargsyan
speaks about leaving the CIS».

Albert Bazeyan also mentioned that his relations with Vazgen Sargsyan were
those of colleagues. He also read the letter in which Vazgen Sargsyan
informed that he and Robert Kocharyan are going to put forward their
candidacies for the post of the President of the country and expected the
support of the party.

It was mentioned in the letter, «If you have decided to follow the principle
of the relations Armenian Pan-National Movement – Levon Ter-Petrosyan, I
refuse it as you saw what it did to our country. In any case I will do
everything proceeding from the interests of the nation and not those of the
party or of the grouping, and I expect you will do the same. Yours truly,
Vazgen Sargsyan, February 07, 1998».

VIVA CELL HAS 217,OOO SUBSCRIBERS

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14. ARMINFO. Viva Cell obtained 217,000 subscribers
during its 2 and a half month of activity in the mobile communication
market of Armenia, Armenian Minister for Transport and Communication
said at the Parliament, Wednesday.

He said 85,000 of the subscribers are SIM Cards owners. To note, Viva
Cell launched activity in the country on July 1 2005. As of the first
half of 2005, the only rival ArmenTel had 257.7 thousand subscribers
of mobile communication.

GAS IN MOUSH

A1+
| 13:40:15 | 14-09-2005 | Regions |

“Hayrusgasard” has intended to finish the gasification of the Gyumri
Moush district till the end of the year. At preset the outdoor works
are being carried out.

According to the “Aqara” LTD which is realizing the works, during
gas consumption there will be problems in the district because of
the absence of the gas chimneys in the buildings.

Caucasus Environmental NGO Network
(CENN)
Weekly Digest
September 14, 2005
NEWS FROM GEORGIA

Projects Under Millennium Challenge Program to be Launched in Spring
2006

Source: Sarke Information Agency, September 6, 2005

Projection works are underway, while projects themselves, which are
worth
around $300 million, will be launched in spring 2006 as part of the
Millennium Challenge
<; more

Poverty risks in Georgia

Source: The Messenger, September 9, 2005

At the UN Millennium summit n 2000, former President Eduard Shevardnadze
signed the Millennium Declaration with other world leaders and it so
doing,
shouldered the -obligation to reduce poverty in Georgia by one half by
2015.
During the subsequent five years, however, poverty has only riser in the
country.

In determining the definition of poverty, the indicators used are the
minimum cost of living and the poverty line, though many experts contend
<; more

Tbilisi’s Lost Secret Garden

Source: The Georgian Times, September 12, 2005

The green wonder above Tbilisi, the invigorating fresh air, the merry
and
sparkling splashes of a mountain cascade, the balmy rainbow of rare
flowers
and the self-sacrificing work of devoted research assistants and simple
workers, their heartache for the beauty they have taken care of during
all
their lives – this is ‘Tbilisi’s lost secret garden’. Throughout its
long
history, the Tbilisi Botanical Garden (TBG) has seen periods of
development
and prosperity, as well as hard times of pain and humiliation when it
fell
into decay.

The Tbilisi Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of Georgia has
passed through some significant stages in the almost 370 years of its
existence. The history of the Garden began in 1636
<; more

Amazing and Colorful Variety of Flowers

Source: The Georgian Times, September 12, 2005

Bright and always lively flowers have great power and this has been
known
since the very ancient times. A bunch of flowers can make a crying child
smile as he becomes interested in their shape and color; it can melt a
cold
heart of a woman and cause the tears of gratefulness, love and
tenderness in
the mother’s eyes. Many think that they posses really mystic power and
it is
hard not, to agree with it, at least partly, as flowers are with us
during
the most emotional minutes of our lives.

Georgia was always famous for its rare and beautiful flowers. As our
warm
and mild climate was favorable to the growing of almost all kinds of
decorative plants
<; more

NEWS FROM AZERBAIJAN

CONSTRUCTION OF AZERBAIJANI PART OF SCP TO BE COMPLETED IN 2005

Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, September
4,
2005

The overall South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) project’s Azerbaijani part
is
about 70 per cent complete, AzerTAj correspondent told by the BP
press-service.

To date the constructors had strung 398 km of pipe, welded 330 km in
Azerbaijani sector
<; more

BP SOCIAL INVESTMENT PROGRAMME UNDERWAY

Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, September
5,
2005

Implementation of a $1mln 736 thousand-social investment programme,
covering
the Baku-Tbilisi Ceyhan Oil pipeline and South Caucasus Gas Pipeline
<; more

NEXT MEETING OF KAZAKH-AZERBAIJANI WORKING GROUP ON BTC DUE

Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, September
5,
2005

The Kazakh-Azerbaijani intergovernmental working group that has been
established for transporting of Kazakh oil via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main
export pipeline will hold its next meeting on September 15, AzerTAj
correspondent refers on the State Oil Company (SOCAR).

The meeting will discuss all concluding details of the agreement
<; more

Swiss company purchases September portion of Baku-Novorossiysk oil

Source: Inside Europe, September 7, 2005

Swiss Litasco company has become the purchaser of 79,000 tons of oil to
be
exported by the State Oil Company (SOCAR) through the Baku-Novorossiysk
northern pipeline in September. The consignment loaded into tankers
<; more

NEWS FROM ARMENIA

Yerevan to be Cleaned

Source: Eeinnews, September 5, 2005

Yerevan will be cleaned with the help of a Russian company with which
the
Armenian side has signed a contract to get refuse-cleaning containers.
The
head of the Construction, reconstruction and communal economy department
of
the Yerevan municipality Frunzik Basentsyan informed about it today.

The residents of the Arabkir community
<; more

Basin of Lake Arpi to Become National Park

Source: ARMENPRESS, September 7, 2005

The basin of Lake Arpi and Akhurian River, situated in the Ashotzk
mountains, close to the borders with Turkey and Georgia, approximately
110
km northwest of the city of Yerevan, in northwestern Armenia will be
turned
into a national park.

Financial aid is expected
<; more

FORESTS IN ARZNI AND NUBARASHEN RESTORED

Source: ARMINFO, September 7, 2005

The Forests Restoration and Development Fund of Armenian jointly with
the
Armenian Agricultural Ministry have elaborated two programs on
restoration
of forests in Arzni and Nubarashen. Executive Director of FRDF Vladimir
Movsisyan made this statement at a discussion at the Armenian Government
today.
<;
more

Economic Growth and Reduction of Poverty in Armenia?

Source: Einnews, September 9, 2005

According to the 2005 report about Human development, Armenia occupies
the
83rd place among the 177 countries in the world. The calculations of the
report have been made on the ground of the 2003 statistic facts and in
three
directions: education, life length and Gross output.
<; more

International News

Environmental-US: Wetlands Loss Left Gulf Coast Naked to Storm

Source: Inter Press Service News agency (IPS): by Stephen Leahy,
September
1, 2005

Massive destruction of wetlands and rampant coastal development are
among
the reasons Hurricane Katrina may have killed thousands of people on the
U.S. Gulf Coast and wreaked upwards of 25 billion dollars in damages.

“This was predicted. It is not surprising that a Category Four storm
like
Katrina would result in such devastation,” said Robert Twilley, director
of
the Wetland Biogeochemistry Institute at Louisiana State University
<; more

River Roding Flood Risk Strategy Open Meeting

Source: Environmental Agency, September 5, 2005

People living or working in the floodplain of the River Roding can find
out
about their level of flood risk and the long-term options to manage it,
at
an open evening next week.

On September 14 the Environment Agency is holding an open evening in
Woodford Green giving people an opportunity to view large maps showing
the
extent of the floodplain and look at the different options currently
being
investigated to manage the risk of flooding
<; more

Millennium Golas: Watery South Pacific Has Not a Drop to Drink

Source: Inter Press Service News agency (IPS): by Kalinga Seneviratne,
September 5, 2005

The Pacific Ocean covers 32 million square kilometers of blue water that
takes up a third of the world’s surface, and its 10,000 scattered
islands
with a land mass of 130,000 square kilometers is home to 8 million
people.
Yet, most of them lack potable water.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDG), committed to by the world’s
governments five years ago, aims
<; more

EU and China Climate Policy cut from the Same Cloth

Source: WWF News, September 5, 2005

The EU and China, two key actors in the global political arena, have
signed
an agreement on global warming, recognizing the huge economic, social,
and
environmental importance of climate change.

At the Annual EU-China Summit in Beijing, China’s Prime Minister Wen
Jiabao,
Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair, who holds the European Union
Presidency, and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel
Barroso, agreed
<; more

Mount Elgon Regional Ecosystem Conservation Programme begins in East
Africa

Source: The World Conservation Union (IUNC), September 6, 2005

Good news for the conservation of Mount Elgon: On 2 September an
agreement
was signed between the East African Community Secretariat, the
Government of
Norway and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to implement the
four-year
programme of integrated ecosystem management for Mount Elgon, one of
Africa’s largest mountains shared between Kenya and Uganda.
<; more

Hundreds of Orangutans Captured or Killed Each Year in Kalimantan, New
Report Shows

Source: WWF, September 6, 2005

Hundreds of orangutans are either killed or captured every year in
Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo.

A new Traffic report, launched today to coincide with the
Inter-governmental
conference of UNESCO’s Great Apes Survival Project in Kinshasa (DRC),
warns
<; more

`Green’ Parliamentarians to Promote Improved Forest Governance in
Central
Africa

Source: IUNC The World Conservation Union, September 6, 2005

Gland, Switzerland, 2 September 2005 (IUCN) – A high level delegation
from
the Republic of Cameroon, headed by His Excellency Roland Matta,
President
of the Central African network of parliamentarians for sustainable
forest
management, recently visited the IUCN headquarters. This visit formed
part
of a European tour (Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France and the
Netherlands) to raise
<; more

Community Service for Breaking Waste Rules

Source: Environmental Agency, September 6, 2005

On September 2, 2005, Joseph Toon, 66, operating from Beveridge Lane
Industrial Estate, Ellistown, Leicestershire pleaded guilty at Coalville
Magistrates to four charges relating to him depositing, keeping,
treating
and disposing of waste on land which did not have a Waste Management
License.
<; more

EU to Help China Tackle Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Source: Planet Ark, September 6, 2005

The European Union agreed on Monday to give China the technology for a
coal-fired power station designed to combat global warming as part of a
wider accord on energy issues and climate change

The clean coal-power plant will employ
<; more

Oil Industry Embarks on Recovery

Source: The Messenger, September 7, 2005

Though still seriously hobbled by Hurricane Katrina, the vast and
crucial
Gulf Coast energy infrastructure showed signs of recovery yesterday, as
some
refineries worked to restart and the price of oil in overseas trading
fell
to near pre-storm levels.
<; more

Rosneft Could Finance Burgas-Alexandroupolis Pipeline on Its Own

Source: SEEUROPE.NET, September 7, 2005

Rosneft is ready to independently finance the Russian part of the
Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, Rosneft President Sergei
Bogdanchikov
said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
<; more

Louisiana Scientists Expect Major Environmental Damage

Source: Planet Ark, September 9, 2005

Biologists expect to find major destruction when they take their first
close-up look at Hurricane Katrina’s impact on wildlife habitats and
Louisiana’s vital fishing industry, the state’s top conservation
official
said Thursday.

Dwight Landreneau, Louisiana’s secretary for the department of wildlife
and
fisheries
<; more

NGO NEWS

WWF Continues Leopard Protection Project in Syunik

Source: ARMENPRESS, September 5, 2005

Traces of three out of 10-12 leopards believed to live in Armenian
forests
are recorded in the southern province of Syunik. The total number of
leopards in the South Caucasus is 20-24, with another 10-12 in
Azerbaijan.
The number of leopards in the conflict zone of the district of Karabakh
is
estimated
<; more

Legal News

New law would curb air pollution by school buses, garbage trucks

Source: AP New Jersey, September 7, 2005

A diesel engine emission reduction plan signed into law Wednesday could
have
New Jerseyans breathing easier in the years to come. But first, voters
must
approve a constitutional amendment in November that would put the
program
into effect.

The plan, which backers called the most comprehensive in the nation, is
geared to cut air pollution and health risks by
<; more

NEW PUBLICATIONS

Collection on Environmental Law

Source: Environmental Public Advocacy Center (EPAC), September 7, 2005

Development of the human society in the twenty-first century is supposed
to
be accompanied by the increasing role of the environment. Meanwhile, the
more human beings want to extract from nature, thereby violating the
ecological balance, the fewer chances nature and its components have to
recover. Ecological crisis as a violation of the balance of ecological
systems and the relationship of humans and nature is a matter of concern
worldwide.
<; more

Announcements

Explore Georgia with Caucasus Travel – Adjara

Source: The Messenger, September 2, 2005

What is Adjara: Located in the south-western corner of Georgia, this
glorious place has always been a paradise for tourists – an attractive
spot
with its nature, climate, hospitable people and diverse variety of
cultures
and religions. So familiar, on the one hand, and completely unknown on
the
other hand. Control over this region has changed hands many times over
the
Centuries between Turks, Georgians, Russian, At present Adjara is
undergoing
a very difficult period, though one day this Eden will no doubt
rediscover
its former glory.
<; more

Announcement – Georgian Health and Social Projects Implementation
Center
Invitation for Bids

Source: `24 Saati'(`24 Hours’), September 5, 2005

Georgia

Primary Health and Social Development (PHCD) Project

This invitation for bids follows the general procurement notice for this
project that appeared in Development Business, issue no. 585 of June 30,
2002, most recently updated on Jan 16 2005, Issue No. 646.
<; more

Georgian Tourist Agency `La-Ta’ Tour

We represent a young Georgian tourist agency `La-Ta’ Tour, which
despite of
6 months existence has established itself on the market as a company
offering premium service quality. Our main aim is to promote tourism in
Georgia and show you the `hidden’ wealth of our ancient country.
<; more

First Announcement and Call for Papers – ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF OIL
TRANSPORTATION

European Commission

FP6 INCO SSA-Research Workshop

Organizer: Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Institute of
Radiation
Problems

Date: November 22-25, 2005.

Place: Baku, Azerbaijan
<; more

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