Author: Tumanian Talar

UPDATE: FIRE IN CENTRAL YEREVAN EXTINGUISHED

RIA Novosti, Russia
May 30 2006

(Adds details, corrects GMT)

YEREVAN, May 30 (RIA Novosti) – A fire that affected a residential
area in the center of the Armenian capital, Yerevan, Tuesday has been
put out, emergency services said.

“The fire that swept five small houses was extinguished at 4.55 p.m.
[12.55 p.m. GMT], and there are no victims,” Ara Movsisyan, senior
spokesman for the rescue service, said.

Earlier spokesman Nikolai Grigoryan said a fire alarm had gone off
at about 4 p.m. local time (12:00 p.m. GMT) and eight fire engines
had been summoned to the site in the Kond district.

Firefighters experienced difficulties in extinguishing the blaze
because fire engines could not pass easily through narrow streets
and an accident the municipal water supply meant that pressure in
the hoses could not be increased.

ANKARA SAYS IT HELD DIPLOMATIC-LEVEL TALKS WITH ARMENIA

Focus News, Bulgaria
May 31 2006

Ankara. Turkey said that since last year it had held three rounds
of diplomatic-level talks with Armenia, AFP reported citing Turkish
Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Namik Tan. The talks were held on the
level of deputy foreign ministers and were aimed at “establishing
common grounds for making a specific progress in bilateral relations”.

Turkey recognized the independence of Armenia in 1991, but it has
never maintained diplomatic ties with Yerevan.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Frank Pallone: U.S. Shouldn’t Refrain from Declaring Truth to Promote
Relations with Turkey

29.05.2006 18:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The controversy surrounded the firing of
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans continued to grow this
week with a powerful statement by the Co-Chairman of the Armenian
Caucus, calls for Congressional hearings, and a series of as yet
unanswered inquiries from the national media during the State
Department’s daily press briefing, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA). In a May 25th statement on the House
floor, Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) forcefully condemned the
Administration for forcing Amb. Evans to vacate his post for publicly
affirming the Armenian Genocide. He voiced his “fear that the
Government of Turkey may have played a role in this unfortunate
event. I strongly believe they have expressed concern to the White
House over Evans’ remarks last year. In fact, immediately following
his remarks, Evan issued a “correction,” all too seemingly at the
behest of the Administration. We must not allow a third party to
interfere in U.S. diplomacy and refrain from declaring the truth in
order to promote relations with Turkey.”

Congressman Pallone noted that he has yet to receive an explanation
from the State Department, despite having written a letter to the
Secretary more than two months ago requesting a thorough description
of the reasons behind the Ambassador’s recall. Commenting on similar
unanswered letters and questions posed during Congressional hearings
regarding this controversy, he noted that, “now, the White House has
made an ‘official’ announcement but still has not given an
explanation.” He closed by expressing his “hope that the
newly-appointed U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Richard Hoagland, will not
play the word games of the White House, and comply with Turkey’s
campaign of genocidal denial.”

ARF PARTICIPATES IN SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL’S CIS AND CAUCASUS CONVENTION IN MOSCOW

ARF’s Press Service
Yerkir.am
May 26, 2006

The convention of the Socialist International’s Committee for CIS
and the Caucasus was held in Moscow on May 19-20.Representatives of
16 parties from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Byelorussia, Bulgaria, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland,
Russia, Sweden and Ukraine as well as representatives of women’s
organizations and Party of European Socialists (PES) participated in
the convention. The Russian social-democrat party chaired by Vladimir
Kishenin was hosting the event.

ARF’s delegation included Kiro Manoyan, ARF Bureau’s Political Affairs
Office director and Eduard Ghazarian of the same office as well as
Yura Navoyan, who heads the Hay Dat office in Moscow. Co-Chairman
of Azerbaijan’s social-democratic party, the first president of
Azerbaijani Republic Ayaz Mutalibov who had been exiled to Moscow
many years ago participated in the convention.

Chairwoman of the Committee, Member of the European Parliament
from the Hungarian Socialist Party Alexandra Doboji opened the
convention. Secretary General of Socialist International Luis Ayala
and the chairman of the hosting party made welcome remarks.

The two main issues on the convention’s agenda were Russia and
Byelorussia.

A number of political figures from these two countries attended
the convention.

The convention delegates discussed the situation with socialist
democracy in Russia first hearing the opinions of the Russian political
leaders and then analyses provided by the convention participants.

The Russian delegated voiced their concerns with the problems existing
in the country and the public administration system in general. The
delegates acknowledged that the federal programs initiated by President
Putin do have a socialist orientation. However, they also noted that
there are no social-democratic political movements in the country.

The delegates from the CIS countries stressed that consolidation
and development of social democracy in Russia will contribute to
the further development of social democracy in their countries and
natural development of the relations between CIS member states.

After the situation in Byelorussia was discussed the convention
adopted a resolution demanding the Byelorussian authorities to
release all political prisoners and calling upon the socialist and
social-democrat forces in the country to unite and jointly struggle
for the success of social democracy in Byelorussia.

At the convention the delegates reports on the political situation
in their countries after the Committee’s previous convention in Kyiv
was heard.

The Committee’s further plans were discussed. It was decided to
discuss the issue of Chechnya. Secretary General Ayala reiterated
the Committee’s previous decision that the next convention will be
held in the fall in Yerevan. At this convention issues of regional
importance will be discussed. Secretary General informed that Socialist
International’s Committee on Migration will convene in Moldova.

In addition to the official sessions of the convention ARF’s delegation
members had a number of meetings with participating delegations.

Socialist International is an organization that unites 170
political parties and organizations from all continents. The Armenian
Revolutionary Federation Party is the only party in the CIS that has
full membership in the Socialist International Organization.

Terror alert as Caspian oil pipeline opens

Tom Parfitt in Georgia
Sunday May 28, 2006
The Observer

In the foothills of the Caucasus mountains, a long line of broken mud cuts
across the meadows. If you go anywhere near it, camouflaged guards carrying
automatic weapons emerge from the forest beyond.
These guards in the Borjomi region of Georgia – trained by US army and SAS
veterans – are pawns in a new great game gripping Central Asia: their job is to
protect the oil pipeline buried 10ft below.
‘A terrorist attack is the greatest threat we face,’ says the guards’
commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Giorgi Pantskhava, an energetic Georgian
in desert fatigues and aviator shades.
The $4bn (£2.2bn) BTC – Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan – pipeline comes on stream today
It is key in American plans to reduce dependency on Opec oil producers in
the turbulent Middle East. Pumping oil 1,000 miles from the Caspian sea tothe
Mediterranean through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, it will avoid Russia-
increasingly seen by the US as a resurgent superpower prepared to use control
of energy resources as a political weapon.
The pipeline – 70 per cent funded by the World Bank, the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, and export credit agencies – took three years
to build and will carry up to one million barrels of oil a day to western
markets. Yet its position on the faultline between Russia and its estranged
former Soviet neighbours makes it a shaky bet.
The fiercely pro-Washington government of Georgia’s president, Mikhail
Saakashvili, welcomed the BTC with open arms, saying transit payments wouldhelp
to kick-start the economy of the faltering ex-Soviet state.
Since coming to power in 2004 Saakashvili has steered his country away from
Russia towards co-operation with the US. ‘Georgia will be America’s partnerin
spreading democracy around the world,’ Bush told rapturous crowds during the
first visit of a US president to the country last year. Yet the pipeline,
constructed and run by a BP-led consortium, will open in the teeth of bitter
opposition.
Green campaigners say the route passes too close to Georgia’s Borjomi Gorge,
a tourist spot with mineral water springs and abundant wildlife. ‘If there is
even a minor oil leak here then the reputation of the area will be
irreparably damaged,’ says Vano Shalutashvili, of the Borjomi People’s
Democracy Institute, a non-governmental organisation that has fought for the
pipeline to be diverted. A leak on one section was detected in a test run
this month.
Critics also say BTC passes too close to volatile breakaway regions in both
Georgia and Azerbaijan, making it vulnerable to sabotage that could cause a
catastrophic spill.
Georgia’s interior ministry is taking no chances. Original plans to patrol
the BTC route with unmanned reconnaissance aircraft were dropped in favour of
small, roving anti-terrorist squads. Yet even these might not be able to
prevent an attack, as another guard admitted: ‘Iran may try to strike it with
a missile and we shouldn’t forget that Russia is the primary expert for
techniques in blowing up pipelines,’ he said.
Locals are furious with BP, claiming a host of negative consequences from the
construction: houses damaged by heavy traffic, low compensation for lost
land, and polluted springs. Pavel Poshnakhov, 45, a villager in Tsikhisjvari,
said he had to show his passport to guards when he crossed the corridor with
his cattle, or went to collect firewood.

Special reports
Oil and petrol (,,608464,00.html)

Useful links
Opec ()
International Energy Agency ()
American Petroleum Institute
( h.htm)
Energy Institute ()

A1+

OSCE FUTURE PRESIDING COUNTRY GETS ACQUAINTED WITH
ARMENIA

[04:45 pm] 26 May, 2006

RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan received permanent
representative of Spain to OSCE Ambassador Carlos
Sanchez de Boado accompanied by the permanents
representatives of Germany, Norway and Lichtenstein.

During the meeting Ambassador de Boado mentioned that
the visit to Armenia aims at recognizing the country
better and preparing the presidency of Spain in the
OCSE.

During the conversation the sides discussed the
activity of the OSCE in Armenia and the future plans.
The sides expressed their content with the opening of
the Syunik region department of the OSCE Yerevan
office and voiced confidence that it will contribute
to the social-economic development and to the solution
of the ecological problems of the region.

Issues about improving the electoral legislation and
the OSCE support in this connection were also
discussed.

At the request of the guest the RA Foreign Minister
briefed him on the negotiation process of the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict and the
perspectives, as well as the present state of the
Armenian-Turkish relations.

MORE THAN 30 COMPANIES TO PARTICIPATE IN INTERNATIONAL TOURISM
EXHIBITION HELD ON MAY 25-27 IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, 24 MAY NOYAN TAPAN. More than 30 companies from Belarus,
Georgia, Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia will participate in the 6th
international tourism exhibition “The Country of Talking Stones” 2006
organized in Yerevan on May 25-27 in Moscow cinema. As the
Armenia-Information center of the Armenian Agency of Tourism
Development, a co-organizer of the exhibition, informed Noyan Tapan,
airlines, hotel complexes, transport organizations, travel agencies,
insurance companies, NGOs, publishers, information agencies will
participate in the exhiition. The tourism institutions of the marzes
of Shirak and Vayots Dzor will be exhibited in separate pavilions.

Among the organizers of the exhibition are the RA Ministry of Trade
and Economic Development, the Armenian office of the American Society
of Travel Agents (ASTA). The main sponsor is the Yerevan Brandy
Factory, the sponsors are Golden Tulip Yerevan hotel, Czech Airlines
and Congress Hotel.

ADOPTION OF CONSTITUTION IS ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT

Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
26 May 2006

Interview with NKR Attorney General Armen Zalinian, the head of the
Task Force on NKR Constitution. AA: “Mr. Zalinian, you have been
working on the NKR Constitution bill for over a year. In what stage
are you now?” Armen Zalinian: “Generally, the process of working out
and adopting a constitution defies hastiness. Every point requires a
thorough consideration, meaningful and tried approaches and tools. We
are guided by these principles, and considerable work has been done so
far. The concept of the NKR Constitution has been published, and
currently the constitutional committee is discussing the first two
chapters, namely the provisions on constitutional order and the basic
human and civil rights, freedoms and duties. It means that soon we are
going to have the main law of our country.” AA: “What are the basic
tenets of the NKR Constitution?” Armen Zalinian: “Those are reflected
in the concept. As a constitution of a sovereign, democratic, legal,
social state, in the NKR Constitution the right for self-determination
fulfilled by the people of Artsakh, promotion of democracy, rule of
law, human rights and freedoms, promotion of local governance,
establishment of a civil society will be set down. These are the main
components, upholding law and lawfulness between the society and the
state.

The key idea of the Constitution is the following scheme: rule of
right through the law.” AA: “In the long run, how will Nagorno
Karabakh benefit from the adoption of the Constitution? After all, the
country has existed without a constitution for 15 years.” Armen
Zalinian: “A country’s constitution is the determinant and the result
of a people’s historical evolution. A constitution imbibes the spirit
of a people, its legal thought and heritage, established in the course
of centuries, the system of values, which guide the aspirations of
these people. The fact that Karabakh lived without a constitution for
years on is ordinary from the standpoint that a newly established
country is unable to adopt a constitution in a short period of time.
It is necessary to have experience in state building and a choice of
guidelines. Besides, the people of NKR were forced into a war and
then had to overcome the hardships of this war in the legal, social
and economic, spiritual and cultural and, why not, home political
spheres. Over the past 15 years a tangible experience in state
building has been accumulated, which is a sufficient ground for having
our own constitution.” AA: “Is the NKR Constitution going to be a copy
of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenian in terms of contents
and form?” Armen Zalinian: “The NKR Constitution will be a
constitution of a sovereign, democratic, legal, social state with
semi-presidential governance. It will be consistent with the
tendencies and demands of development of constitutionalism in the
world. And the reality determined by the necessity of strengthening
our independent statehood will certainly be taken into consideration.

The necessary tools have been worked out. In this context, the
constitutional experience of the Republic of Armenia, the logic and
philosophy of the constitutional reform are very important. Several
provisions introduced in the renewed Constitution of Armenia will be
used in our Constitution. The constitutional experience of other
countries is also taken into consideration. In other words, we pick
up everything that is positive, everything that proved successful.”
AA: “What will be the procedure of adopting the Constitution?” Armen
Zalinian: “Naturally, a referendum. I believe that our people will
vote to the referendum on the Constitution, because the adoption of
the Constitution will be another important step towards the
establishment and strengthening of our republic.”

SVETLANA KHACHATRIAN.
26-05-2006

RA FM AND REPRESENTATIVES OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS OF CANADA DISCUS ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES OF “ARMENIA-DIASPORA” FORUM

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 25 2006

YEREVAN, May 25. /ARKA/. The RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan
Oskanian and representatives of Armenian communities of Ottawa and
Toronto (Canada) discussed organizational issues of Armenia-Diaspora”
forum, which is going to be held in Armenia on September 18-20.

According to the Press and Information Department of the RA Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, their meeting took place in the framework of
Oskanian’s visit to Canada on May 22.

According to the press-release, Oskanian and representatives of
Armenian communities of Canada also discussed program on development
of rural communities of Armenia, particularly issues of implementation
of long-term program on development of agricultural infrastructure.

Oskanian pointed out important strategic role of this program.

During the meeting sides also discussed issues of development and
deepening relations between Armenia and Diaspora.

Representatives of Armenian communities of Canada highly estimated
efforts of the RA Government directed toward development of its
economy and expressed willingness to take part in implementation of
the agricultural development program.

During short working visit to Canada Oskanian also made a speech in
the RA Embassy in Ottawa and answered to questions of representatives
of Armenian communities in Canada.

AN INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM TO CELEBRATE THE CHILD PROTECTION DAY WILL BE HELD IN YEREVAN

ArmRadio.am
25.05.2006 11:40

An international scientific symposium aimed at fostering a discussion
of modern practices and issues of child protection will take place
on May 29-31, 2006, 10.00-17.00, in Yerevan, at the hall of sessions
of the Armenian government building. First of its type in Armenia,
this event was organized by World Vision Armenia in cooperation with
the USAID and UNICEF.

Among the expected participants are leading specialists in the sphere
of child protection, special pedagogy and inclusive education, experts
from Russia, Georgia, Switzerland, Serbia, and other countries, as
well as representatives of Ministries, international and local NGOs,
charity foundations, educational and healthcare institutions.

The Symposium will help to bring together international and local
experiences in child protection and special education, introduce new
and effective methodologies, discuss state policies and strategies
related to child protection, and foster productive dialogue and
cooperation among different entities operating in this sphere.