Author: Topchian Jane

FRANCE DONATES MILITARY MEDICAL EQUIPMENT OF $ 1 MILLION TO ARMENIA

YEREVAN, December 1 (Noyan Tapan). The French government donated
medical equipment worth about 1 million dollars to the Armenian armed
forces. France’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to
Armenia Henri Cuny visited on December 1 Yerevan military hospital in
order to present the equipment. Ambassador Cuny noted that France
limited the cooperation with the South Caucasian countries in the
military sphere because of the remaining conflict situation in the
region. On the other hand, the three South Caucasian republics, with
which France has relations, should participate in the cooperation.

According to the ambassador, this is the explanation of the choice: to
donate the miltary medical equipment to the Armenian armed forces. He
underlined that the matter concerns quite a tangible rather than
symbolic donation since the total cost of the medical equipment is
about 1 million dollars. The RA Deputy Minister of Defence Artur
Aghabekian told journalists the ministry has developed a long-term
program to provide the army with medical items and equipment. The
program started in 2004 by the state budget resources and will
continue until 2007. According to him, all the equipment provided by
the French side is included in this program, and more modern equipment
will be purchased by the money envisaged for the equipment purchase.

The deputy minister stated that most of the medical equipment will be
sent to the military units’ first-aid posts, which are considered to
be important not only in terms of providing first aid to servicemen
but also because of prevention of diseases among the staff.

Diario Vasco
Sábado, 4 de diciembre de 2004

OPINIÓN
Cartas

Vascos-armenios
Armén Garó Sarkisian/(Director de armenia.com.uy)

Mi nombre es Armén Sarkisian y soy parte de la comunidad de 15.000
armenios que vive en Uruguay. Leo con atención vuestros artículos,
que me parecen interesantes y de alguna forma me permiten entre otras
tantas cosas estar consustanciado con la temática de los vascos en el
Uruguay, que es una comunidad muy importante, con instituciones muy
fuertes como el Euskal Erría. Deseo comentar algo sobre del artículo
publicado acerca de las relaciones armenio-vascas y mi tocayo Vahan
Sarkisian. Su labor me parece excepcional, y realmente es otro
quijote contra molinos de viento; sin duda que su trabajo merecería
más reconocimiento. Lo que me gustaría aportar como dato es que ya en
el año 1953 el brillante sa-cerdote Pascual Tekeyan, cabeza de la
Iglesia católica armenia en el Uruguay, escapado del genocidio,
publicó un muy buen diccionario español-armenio, y que en el año 1980
publicó el diccionario armenio-castellano, una joya realmente, con
unas 35.000 entradas. Una labor titánica, que no merece el
reconocimiento a tan ardua tarea, y a veces vemos cómo se habla de
estos temas, y por desconocimiento quizás, no se nombran antecedentes
de este tipo.

AZERBAIJANI SCIENTISTS ADMIT THAT AZERBAIJANI REPUBLIC FOUNDED IN
ARMENIAN LANDS

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 3. ARMINFO. The Azerbaijani scientists admit
that the Azerbaijani Republic was founded in Armenian lands, said
Karabakh scientist and ethnographer Hrachik Haroutiunyan commenting on
the recent statements on the Azerbaijani radio by Doctor of Historical
Science Nazim Mamedov and Professor of Historical Department of
Azerbaijani State University Rovshan Hasanov.

He said that Professor Mamedov is for erection of a Monument for
Turkish Asker symbolizing, in Mamedov’ words, “the army of Ottoman
Turkey which took the region from Armenians” in the towns of Shemakh,
Shushi and in Baku. According to Mamedov, the Monument must be opened
in the autumn of 2005 and a special delegation should be invited from
Turkey. Hereby Azerbaijan will thank the Turkish asker for taking
these lands from Armenians by force. Despite this, the Azerbaijani
authorities and the pro-governmental press keep stating at the CE,
UNESCO, UN that Karabakh is their historical territory, Haroutiunyan
said.-

Interfax
Dec 1 2004

Construction begins on Iran-Armenia gas pipe

Yerevan. (Interfax) – Construction of the 40-km Armenian section of
the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline from the Armenian border city of Agarak
to Kajaran – 320 km southeast of Yerevan, began on Tuesday.

A source in the Armenian Energy Ministry told Interfax that a
ceremony to mark the start of work was held close to Agarak, and was
attended by Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Andranik Margarian and
Iranian Energy Minister Habibullah Bitaraf. The first few meters of
pipeline have already been laid.

According to the Energy Ministry, the gas pipeline will have a
diameter of 700 mm and the 140-km pipeline should be completed in
2006.

The gas transported through the pipeline will be used to produce
electricity at Yerevan Thermal Power Plant, for subsequent supply to
Iran at the rate of 3 kWh per cubic meter of gas. The gas will also
be used to meet domestic demand in Armenia.

The total cost of the Iran-Armenia pipeline and the construction of
the existing pipeline from Kajaran to Yerevan is estimated at $210
million – $220 million. Iranian gas will start to arrive in Armenia
no later than January 2007.

Tajik secretary to attend CIS security chiefs’ session in Armenia

Asia-Plus news agency
29 Nov 04

DUSHANBE

Secretary of the Tajik Security Council Amirqul Azimov will attend a
session of the Security Council committee of secretaries of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization [CSTO] on 30 November. The
Security Council secretaries of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan will meet in Yerevan.

The secretaries are to consider the role and place of the CSTO in
counteracting international terrorism and coordinate a series of
documents aimed at increasing the CSTO’s efficiency in this sphere,
the Tajik Security Council Secretariat told Asia-Plus.

The session is expected to discuss the setting-up of a coordinating
structure of the CSTO member states on counteracting drug
trafficking. It is also to consider the preparation of a list of
terrorist organizations and the training of military cadres.

UN turns down Azerbaijan-proposed resolution on Karabakh – Armenian TV

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
24 Nov 04

The UN General Assembly did not hold discussions on a special
resolution on the situation on the occupied territories [Nagornyy
Karabakh]. International news agencies are describing the developments
in the UN as the failure of Azerbaijani diplomacy.

Armen Martirosyan, Armenia’s permanent representative in the UN, told
a UN General Assembly session that Azerbaijan, which has initiated the
draft resolution concerning human rights and norms of international
law, itself does not keep to these values. The Armenian representative
stressed once again that Nagornyy Karabakh has never been part of
independent Azerbaijan and that the Artsakh [Karabakh] people exercised
their right to live independently and safely on their own land.

Armen Martirosyan noted that the Azerbaijani sides’ resolution includes
selectively references to the UN’s basic concepts. The document says
nothing about people’s right to self-determination.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov noted that the UN
General Assembly discussed the same issue 11 years ago and expressed
support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to settle the conflict,
but these efforts have yielded no result.

Speaking on behalf of the Minsk Group, which includes the USA, France
and Russia, US ambassador (?Susan Moore) said that talks on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict settlement within the framework of the
Minsk Group had yielded positive results. Moore said that progress in
the peaceful negotiations could be reached only by building confidence
between the conflicting sides.

Duma ratifies protocol to treaty on Russian base in Armenia
By Ivan Novikov

ITAR-TASS News Agency
November 23, 2004 Tuesday 4:59 AM Eastern Time

MOSCOW, November 23 — The Russian State Duma has unanimously ratified
at its plenary meeting on Tuesday the Protocol on introducing changes
in the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Republic of
Armenia on the Russian military base on the territory of Armenia. The
protocol was signed on November 11, 2003.

The ratification of the protocol “will make it possible to bring the
Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia on
the Russian military base to conformity with the letter and spirit of
the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between
Russia and Armenia as of August 29, 1997,” First Deputy Head of the
Main Department of International Military Cooperation of the Russian
Defence Ministry Albert Druzhinin said, presenting this document
to deputies.

Druzhinin stressed that “the presence of the Russian military base
in Armenia is dictated by military-political interests of Russia and
its striving to stabilize the situation in the region.”

The Armenian side ratified the protocol on April 28, 2004.

Armenian foreign minister downbeat on Europe’s Karabakh report

Arminfo
23 Nov 04

Yerevan, 23 November: Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said
in Yerevan today that he regarded the draft project drawn up by the
rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
[PACE] on Nagornyy Karabakh, David Atkinson, as an “ordinary report”.

The Armenian foreign minister said that in the view of the Armenian
side, the draft report contains wording that does not exactly reflect
the essence of the conflict.

“However, it is necessary to understand that it is a normal political
process when Armenian and Azerbaijani representatives are trying to
make the report meet their interests in full”, Oskanyan said. At the
same time, he noted that the Armenian delegation at PACE managed to
get certain provisions of David Atkinson’s document amended.

“The struggle is continuing at this and other fronts”, Armenian
foreign minister said.

Oskanyan noted that the discussion of the issue at PACE does not at all
mean that the settlement of the conflict is gradually being transferred
to the Council of Europe. He recalled that the Karabakh conflict was
also recently discussed by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Oskanyan
said that “we take all resolutions and reports calmly as they do not
attempt to predetermine political status for Nagornyy Karabakh that
would be unacceptable to us”.

Armenian president, premier discuss refugees with UN official

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
22 Nov 04

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and UN High Commissioner for
Refugees Ruud Lubbers have discussed issues pertaining to the
resolution of refugees’ problems.

Kocharyan believes that it is important for refugees to integrate
completely into Armenian society. The president focused on the issue
of providing refugees with houses and issuing them certificates to
own houses they have settled in.

At a meeting with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers,
the Armenian prime minister said that it was important to establish
the precise number of refugees in Armenia. He said that UN support
in carrying out this programme was important and they hoped to get it.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
November 22, 2004, Monday

IT IS NOT PLANNED TO RAISE THE STRENGTH OF THE 102ND RUSSIAN MILITARY
BASE IN ARMENIA

Colonel Nikolai Baranov, chief of the mobile press center of the
Russian armed forces said this last Friday. Baranov also denied an
intention to move to Armenia the Russian military base stationed in
the Akhalkalakhi district of Georgia. He only mentioned that the arms
of the 102nd Military Base of Russia would be gradually upgraded in the
framework of the general rearmament in the Russian army. “The condition
of arms and military equipment is now satisfactory in the base and
renovations of the small arms might be held alone,” Baranov said.