Author: Toganian Liana

ARMRUSGASPROM TO START CONSTRUCTION OF MEGHRI-KAJARAN SECTION OF
IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE IN MID APRIL

YEREVAN, MARCH 11, NOYAN TAPAN. ArmRusgasprom will start the
construction of Meghri-Kajaran section of the Iran-Armenia gas
pipeleine in mid April. The director general of the company Karen
Karapetian stated at the March 11 press conference that at present,
negotiations are being conducted with the Iranian side, after which
the exact amounts of the investments to be made will be determined.
According to K. Karapetian, recently ArnRusgasprom signed an
agreement on receiving credit. whose amount he did not mention,
with the Export-Import Bank (Iran).

Armenian foreign minister rejects EU mediation in Karabakh talks

Arminfo
9 Mar 05

Yerevan, 9 March: The EU is not the OSCE Minsk Group’s rival,
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has said. He was commenting
on the statement by the first consul and head of the economic,
political and information department of the European Commission
delegation in Georgia and Armenia, Jacques Vantomme, that the EU was
also responsible for the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict
as it included the South Caucasus countries into its New
Neighbourhood initiative.

Many international organizations, particularly which Armenia and
Azerbaijan have joined to, demonstrate an interest in the settlement
of the conflict, Oskanyan said. But the conflict should be settled
within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. Other organizations
should observe the process and be ready to render assistance at any
moment, the minister stressed.

At the same time, the minister regarded as normal that the term “the
occupied territories” had been used in the published EU report on
Armenia, given that this term was used earlier in the documents
prepared by international organizations. “But this does not at all
mean that we agree. Of course, we are against this phrase and have
always fought against this,” he pointed out.

Moreover, the Armenian foreign minister believes that in no case one
can draw a conclusion from this term that “Armenia is an aggressor”.
“The Nagornyy Karabakh army could itself occupy these territories,
couldn’t it?” the minister asked. He thinks that, as a whole, the EU
report on Armenia comprehensively reflects the relations between
Armenia and the EU, shows achievements and shortcomings of the
republic and is the good base for preparing the individual actions
programme. Armenia will report its priorities in the near future and
the aforesaid programme will be prepared on their basis, Oskanyan
said.

“If scrutinized, the report itself directly and indirectly indicates
the spheres of cooperation. It points out the spheres where Armenia
lags behind and what should be done. That is why, it would be correct
to include these spheres along with the priorities,” the Armenian
foreign minister said. A visit by the foreign minister or his deputy
to Brussels is expected as well, he added.

PRICES WENT DOWN FOR ECONOMIC REASONS

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
06 March 05

On March 2 the interim executive director of â~@~Stepanakert Bread
Factoryâ~@~] CJSC, shareholder of the company Movses Sahakian gave a
press conference. The executive director of the factory Ararat
Hayriyan was also present, he gave additional comments on certain
question. Movses Sahakian said that the reason to give a press
conference was the rumours which began to spread after the factory
had reduced the price for bread. The shareholder said that the
management of the factory wished to give answers to all the
questions. Ten months ago Movses Sahakian was appointed by the
shareholders of the company to clarify the direction of further
development of the two companies in Stepanakert â~@~S the bread
factory and the mill. In answer to the questions why the price for
bread went down, whether this was determined by political motives, in
particular, the upcoming parliamentary elections, and the decrease of
the price was intended to win over voters before the election to the
parliament Movses Sahakian emphasized that the reduction of the price
for bread had economic and not political reasons. The price for grain
and flour has gone down long time ago. Ararat Hayriyan said the
factory does not have to do additional expenses on flour which is
produced in their own mill. This also enables reducing the price for
bread. Secondly, according to Movses Sahakian, the factory is buying
new equipment, which allows reducing the price for bread even more.
â~@~A high price for bread in Artsakh which is rich in grain greatly
worries the Armenian businessmen of the Diaspora,â~@~] said the
shareholder. â~@~Last year the board of the holding â~@~Voske
Hatikâ~@~] (owning both the bread factory and the bill) decided to
leave the whole profit in Artsakh to develop the two companies. This
allowed us to buy new equipment for the factory which enables
producing bread at a lower cost and start production of other
products. Already lavash is baked in the factory; we also plan to
produce tonir bread, as well as open a chain of shops owned by us
where bread will be sold at factory prices. These innovations, by the
way, coupled with creating new jobs, will allow keeping the price for
bread low. As you see, politicizing the decrease in the bread price
is absolutely groundless. Especially that none of the shareholders
belongs to any of the political parties of Artsakh. We are only
thinking for the people of Artsakh who deserve a prosperous
life.â~@~] Movses Sahakian pointed out that each of the shareholders
donates money for charity in Artsakh. As recently the question of
absence of elevators in Karabakh has been raised quite often, the
journalists wanted to know about the capacities of the mill. Ararat
Hayriyan assured that after operating the two new granaries the mill
of Stepanakert can supply the annual demand for grain in Karabakh.
The journalists also inquired about the quality of yeast used in the
factory, as the yeast produced in Turkey widely sold in Karabakh is
known to be bad for health. The executive director assured that the
factory buys yeast in Yerevan where the production of yeast of Soviet
quality has not been stopped. Movses Hakobian added that the
shareholders keep to the strategy of not using any Turkish products
in their production. Another question referred to the standards of
bread production. The executive director said that the factory does
not ensure standards because the grain is not sorted either at buying
or storing. And if the grain is not sorted, it is impossible to have
standard quality of flour and bread; everything depends on the sort
and the quality of wheat. However, the director said that this year
it will be possible to keep to the standards owing to the new
laboratory and a greater number of granaries.

SUSANNA BALAYAN.
06-03-2005

–Boundary_(ID_SSMEqyFXv5zmnRJ1acu0YA)–

Pressure group may launch protests outside US embassy

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 1 2005

Baku, February 28, AssA-Irada
The Garabagh Liberation Organization (GLO) appealed to the US
ambassador in Baku Reno Harnish saying that it is concerned over the
indifference of United States’ to the Upper Garabagh conflict, its
biased position and unfair policy of balancing, which fails to
differentiate between Azerbaijan and aggressor Armenia.
The GLO termed the above-mentioned statement by the US ambassador to
Armenia John Evans, who said that “Upper Garabagh can’t be returned
to Azerbaijan”, as outrageous, demanding to clarify it.
“We demand that you immediately clarify this statement. If what you
said is confirmed, the GLO will launch incessant protest actions in
front of the US embassy.”
In conclusion, the appeal says that “if the ambassador’s position
represents that of the US, there is no reason for your embassy to
continue working in Azerbaijan”.*

ARMENIA AND GEORGIA SHOULD CONSTANTLY COOPERATION ON
SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHETI

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 26. ARMINFO. Armenia’s relations with Georgia
concerning that country’s mostly Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti
should be systematic and should have a serious financial basis,
Armenia’s President Robert Kocharyan says in an interview to the
readers of Golos Armenii.

Both Armenia and Georgia understand this today. So they just have to
develop mechanisms to get this cooperation working, Kocharyan says.

Moscow Times, Russia
Feb 26 2005

Georgian Pipeline Sale

TBILISI, Georgia (Reuters) — Georgia plans to make hundreds of
millions of dollars on the sale of pipelines that supply Russian gas
to supply Georgia and Armenia, Georgian Economy Minister Kakha
Bendukidze said Thursday.

“We want to sell the coastal pipelines to Gazprom or to a Western
investor,” Bendukidze said, adding that the sale would include a
clause to guarantee supplies to Georgia.

“The price for the pipeline will not be tens of millions but hundreds
of millions of dollars.”

He also said the buyer could extend the network, enabling Gazprom to
pipe gas from Russia to Turkey.

USA AND EU SUPPORT ARMENIA’s ASPIRATION FOR FURTHER INTEGRATION IN
EUROATLANTIC COMMUNITY

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 24. ARMINFO. The European Union and the USA continue
to cooperate closely towards supporting the aspirations of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia for further integration in the Euroatlantic
community, says a note made by the US State Department on the occasion
of the US President George Bush’s visit to Europe.

As the source informs, the EU “New Neighborhood Policy” program and
the NATO “Partnership for Peace” program move ahead the values common
for both the US and Europe and are directed to the formation of closer
relations between the Southern Caucasian countries. Besides, the USA
and Europe realize challenges of security and stability in the
Southern Caucasus and Black See within the framework of non-settled
conflicts in Eurasia. “We advocate the territorial integrity of
Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan and cooperate in assisting
international efforts for peaceful settlement of the TransDnestrian,
Southern Osetian and Karabakh conflicts”, the reference says. -r-

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V. Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE

OF LEBANON’S INTERNAL UNITY, INDEPENDENCE AND SOVEREIGNTY

His Holiness Aram I has been in Geneva for almost a week, chairing the
meetings of the Central and Executive Committees of the World Council of
Churches. Meanwhile, the Catholicos has been closely following the latest
developments occurring in Lebanon.

When addressing the meeting, His Holiness asked the participants to observe
a moment of silence in memory of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri, condemned the heinous crime and emphasized the imperative of
preserving Lebanon’s internal unity.

Aram I spoke during a press conference held later about the current
situation of Lebanon and strongly condemned the assassination of the former
Prime Minister, considering it an act targeting the whole country.

His Holiness considered the assassination “an attempt to disrupt Lebanon’s
internal unity, create political and confessional sensitivities, weaken
Lebanon’s independence and sovereignty and tarnish its dignity.” He
emphasized that now more than ever the Lebanese people need to strengthen
their internal unity and dignity.

“All the communities of Lebanon and their leaders should stick to the basic
values, principles and ideals that form Lebanon’s unique identity and
strengthen its independence and sovereignty,” His Holiness said.

The Catholicos emphasized that in light of the created situation the
Lebanese should rely on dialogue, mutual understanding and respect for each
other. He assured that dialogue is the only means of strengthening Lebanon’s
internal unity.

His Holiness Aram I stressed that the Lebanese should protect their country’
s interests and preserve a good relationship based on mutual trust with
their neighbor Syria, as a guarantee to the country’s independence and
sovereignty.

Speaking about Lebanon’s Armenian community His Holiness said: “As a
constituent member of the Lebanese society, the Armenian community also has
been deeply shaken by the assassination and is concerned about the current
situation. The Armenian community of Lebanon emphasizes the importance of
the full application of the Taef Accord and calls on all parties to
determine the road to Lebanon’s restoration through constructive dialogue.
The Armenians of Lebanon with their community and political leaders are
ready to actively and fully participate in all the efforts that lead to the
strengthening of the country’s internal unity, independence and
sovereignty.”

##

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

American Daily, OH
Feb 24 2005

The Hope Of Lebanon
By Bruce Walker (02/24/05)

Lebanon may be the greatest hope of all in the implementation of the
Bush Doctrine for world peace. Why? Lebanon is the only nation which
once was what we hope all the nations of the Middle East and Moslem
world will be: a democracy with tolerance and prosperity in which
Christians, Moslems and Jews lived together in peace.

The horrors which Lebanon has endured over the last three decades
obscure the wonder of a land which was once know as the Switzerland
of the Middle East. Lebanon was not just prosperous. It was more
prosperous than Israel. Lebanon was not just democratic. It was the
longest functioning democracy in the region. Lebanon was not just
tolerant, but it provided more religious toleration than any other
nation in the region, Israel included.

Although it is a relatively small nation – like Israel and like
Kuwait – it is potentially a pivotal nation in making free democracy
work. Alone among Arab nations with large Moslem populations in the
region, Lebanon stayed out of the 1967 War. Long before other nations
in the region, Lebanon had diplomatic relations with Israel.

Lebanon proved, until Syria invaded and savaged it, that Moslems and
Christians could live together peacefully in a working democracy.
Like most other democracies with parliamentary governments, Lebanon
had a head of state, a president, and a head of government, a prime
minister. One was always a Maronite Christian and the other was
always a Moslem.

Beirut was once a name synonymous with peace and beauty, like Geneva
or Stockholm or Venice. What connived to end this? Two factors, one
now dead (although it seems to be coming back like a vampire) and the
other on the run (although the last stand has not yet been made.)

The Soviet Union, whose policy was to export misery and to hurt
America whenever and wherever it could, had many tools to influence
Lebanon. It sold arms to Syria and other gaggles of terrorists. The
Russian Navy was a genuine power in the Eastern Mediterranean. KGB
and GRU operatives could and did work to prevent happiness in Lebanon
and gratitude toward the West.

Militant homicidal Moslem groups warred against the Christian
population, committing – as Danny Thomas, himself Lebanese, once
noted – genocide, but genocide against Christians and therefore
lacking the chicness of genocide against Tibetans, Cambodians or
Jews: genocide like the willfully ignored first holocaust of the last
century, the Armenian Holocaust, the systematic extermination of the
first Christian nation on Earth.

Everyone in Lebanon suffered horribly. Poor and wretched Moslems, who
had lived for centuries in relative peace and friendship with their
Christian countrymen, suddenly found themselves besieged by invading
Moslems, by Israeli military forces, and by Lebanese Christians
trying to defend themselves.

Hope and joy died in what was once among the most hopeful and joyful
cities in the world. `Beirut’ became a synonym for the horrors of
modern terrorism and undeclared war, rather than a promise of respect
and tolerance.

All of this can, and should, change. As several pundits have noted
and as was clear in the meeting between the presidents of France and
of America, Syria must withdraw from Lebanon now. France has historic
ties to Lebanon, ties that go back not decades or even centuries but
almost one thousand years. French pride has been a principal obstacle
to American war on terrorism. There is the chance for a wonderful
confluence of French pride and Bush humility.

Let France liberate and occupy Lebanon and let America have troops
who operate under the French colors in this noble cause. It should
not matter to Americans how Lebanon is liberated, but only that it is
liberated. France has more than just its pride at stake. The growth
of Moslem populations within France means that creating a model for
Christians and Moslems to live together in peace in a Mediterranean
nation is very much in the long term interest of France.

When Lebanon is free and safe, America should provide aid lavishly to
rebuild the nation and NATO should place stout peace keeping forces
at the borders with Syria and with Israel. As Israel has become the
homeland of Jews persecuted, Lebanon should become the homeland of
both Christians and Moslems who are persecuted. Then Earth will take
a giant step forward toward being a homeland of all the children of
God.

Bruce Walker has been a dyed in the wool conservative since, as a
sixth grader, he campaigned door to door for Barry Goldwater. Bruce
has had almost two hundred published articles have appeared several
professional and political periodicals.

The New York Times
February 23, 2005 Wednesday
Late Edition – Final

The Secret Genocide Archive

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF.

Photos don’t normally appear on this page. But it’s time for all of
us to look squarely at the victims of our indifference.

These are just four photos in a secret archive of thousands of photos
and reports that document the genocide under way in Darfur. The
materials were gathered by African Union monitors, who are just about
the only people able to travel widely in that part of Sudan.

This African Union archive is classified, but it was shared with me
by someone who believes that Americans will be stirred if they can
see the consequences of their complacency.

The photo at the upper left was taken in the village of Hamada on
Jan. 15, right after a Sudanese government-backed militia, the
janjaweed, attacked it and killed 107 people. One of them was this
little boy. I’m not showing the photo of his older brother, about 5
years old, who lay beside him because the brother had been beaten so
badly that nothing was left of his face. And alongside the two boys
was the corpse of their mother.

The photo to the right shows the corpse of a man with an injured leg
who was apparently unable to run away when the janjaweed militia
attacked.

At the lower left is a man who fled barefoot and almost made it to
this bush before he was shot dead.

Last is the skeleton of a man or woman whose wrists are still bound.
The attackers pulled the person’s clothes down to the knees,
presumably so the victim could be sexually abused before being
killed. If the victim was a man, he was probably castrated; if a
woman, she was probably raped.

There are thousands more of these photos. Many of them show attacks
on children and are too horrific for a newspaper.

One wrenching photo in the archive shows the manacled hands of a
teenager from the girls’ school in Suleia who was burned alive. It’s
been common for the Sudanese militias to gang-rape teenage girls and
then mutilate or kill them.

Another photo shows the body of a young girl, perhaps 10 years old,
staring up from the ground where she was killed. Still another shows
a man who was castrated and shot in the head.

This archive, including scores of reports by the monitors on the
scene, underscores that this slaughter is waged by and with the
support of the Sudanese government as it tries to clear the area of
non-Arabs. Many of the photos show men in Sudanese Army uniforms
pillaging and burning African villages. I hope the African Union will
open its archive to demonstrate publicly just what is going on in
Darfur.

The archive also includes an extraordinary document seized from a
janjaweed official that apparently outlines genocidal policies. Dated
last August, the document calls for the ”execution of all directives
from the president of the republic” and is directed to regional
commanders and security officials.

”Change the demography of Darfur and make it void of African
tribes,” the document urges. It encourages ”killing, burning
villages and farms, terrorizing people, confiscating property from
members of African tribes and forcing them from Darfur.”

It’s worth being skeptical of any document because forgeries are
possible. But the African Union believes this document to be
authentic. I also consulted a variety of experts on Sudan and shared
it with some of them, and the consensus was that it appears to be
real.

Certainly there’s no doubt about the slaughter, although the numbers
are fuzzy. A figure of 70,000 is sometimes stated as an estimated
death toll, but that is simply a U.N. estimate for the deaths in one
seven-month period from nonviolent causes. It’s hard to know the
total mortality over two years of genocide, partly because the
Sudanese government is blocking a U.N. team from going to Darfur and
making such an estimate. But independent estimates exceed 220,000 —
and the number is rising by about 10,000 per month.

So what can stop this genocide? At one level the answer is technical:
sanctions against Sudan, a no-fly zone, a freeze of Sudanese
officials’ assets, prosecution of the killers by the International
Criminal Court, a team effort by African and Arab countries to
pressure Sudan, and an international force of African troops with
financing and logistical support from the West.

But that’s the narrow answer. What will really stop this genocide is
indignation. Senator Paul Simon, who died in 2003, said after the
Rwandan genocide, ”If every member of the House and Senate had
received 100 letters from people back home saying we have to do
something about Rwanda, when the crisis was first developing, then I
think the response would have been different.”

The same is true this time. Web sites like and
are trying to galvanize Americans, but the
response has been pathetic.

I’m sorry for inflicting these horrific photos on you. But the real
obscenity isn’t in printing pictures of dead babies — it’s in our
passivity, which allows these people to be slaughtered.

During past genocides against Armenians, Jews and Cambodians, it was
possible to claim that we didn’t fully know what was going on. This
time, President Bush, Congress and the European Parliament have
already declared genocide to be under way. And we have photos.

This time, we have no excuse.