Author: Tumanian Talar

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
July 19, 2004 Monday 5:18 AM Eastern Time

Armenian N-power plant can operate at least for 12 more years

By Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

The Armenian nuclear power station can operate at least for another
12 years provided financing is sufficient, said on Monday in Yerevan
deputy managing director of the Inter RAO EES and director of the
International Power Corporation Mikhail Mantrov.

In compliance with the Russian-Armenian intergovernmental agreement,
this subsidiary company of the Unified Energy Systems of Russia
corporation was granted the administration of the financial and
economic operations of the station.

According to Mantrov, there has not been a single emergency over the
eight years after the re-start of the nuclear station, which points
to a high level of the station’s reliability. “The Armenian nuclear
power station is now in a working condition in compliance with
requirements of the IAEA,” he emphasized.

A new batch of nuclear fuel will be soon delivered to the station.
The Russian side will bring fuel without a rise in the price, despite
higher prices for uranium on world markets by more than 40 percent,
Mantrov stressed.

Put into operation in 1979, the Armenian station was shut down in
1989 after the devastating earthquake. It was re-started in 1996 with
the participation of Russian specialists. The station generates some
40 percent of all electricity, produced in Armenia by power plants.

In the meantime, the European Union strives for closing down the
station. The Armenian authorities state that its shutdown is possible
only if there are alternative sources of electricity. On July 31, the
station will be stopped for routine repairs and loading with fuel,
said station managing director Gagik Markosyan. It will be re-started
again on October 4.

ARMENIAN MARROW DONOR VAHE VARDANYAN HELPS SAVING LIFE OF 5-YEAR-OLD
ITALIAN BOY SUFFERING LEUCAEMIA

YEREVAN, JULY 15. ARMINFO. Italian Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary to Armenia Marco Klemente thanked 22-year-old Armenian
marrow donor Vahe Vardanyan who help saving the life of a 5-year-old
Italian boy suffering leucaemia.

Talking to journalists, Executive Director of the Armenian Charitable
Fund of Marrow Register Sevan Avagyan said that since the register’s
foundation in 1999, it is the third case of marrow
transplantation. The register contains data on 8,223 donors, who in
their turn were included in the register of the International Marrow
Donors Orgnaization. Some 300 people suffering leucaemia or leucosis
have already applied to the Armenian register. It should be noted that
the International register contains data on 8 million donors from 52
marrow registered world wide.

Avagyan said that by the end of the year, the number of donors from
Armenia is expected to reach 10 thousands. He said up-to-date medical
technologies allow medics to take the necessary cells from blood of
donors and not directly from marrow. As Armenia has no center for
marrow transplantation, Armenian donors leave abroad themselves,
Avagyan said, adding that the country’s public Health Ministry takes
steps to establish a similar center in Armenia. He said that the only
problem is lack of funds for purchase of up-to-date equipment, it
should be noted that the register operates due to charitable funds and
First Lady of Armenia Bella Kocharyan is its Honorable President.

Cyprus Mail
July 13 2004

Two neighbours arrested in connection with woman’s murder
By Katya Diogenous

TWO men have been arrested on suspicion of murdering Lyudmila Zipir,
34 from Ukraine, who was found dead in her apartment in Limassol on
Sunday.

Zipir was found by police after her employer called concerned at her
failure to turn up for work on Saturday and Sunday.

Police yesterday arrested Armen Grigorian, 25 from Armenia, and
Dionysis Tokalides, 26 from Georgia, who lived next door to Zipir.
They were taken to court yesterday and given an eight-day remand.

Zipir’s employer told police the victim had repeatedly complained
that the two men used to harass her with sexual innuendoes. He had
even visited the men on several occasions to ask them to leave her
alone.

When police arrested the two suspects, they appeared to have
scratches on their bodies as well as streaks of blood, believed to
belong to the victim. Blood was also found in the apartment building.

Police noticed there had been no forced entry into the apartment via
the front door, but that the balcony door connecting the victim’s
apartment with that of the suspects was closed but not locked.

The suspects deny any involvement in the murder, but cannot give a
clear story or confirm where they were at the time of the murder.

Zipir had lived in Cyprus for three years and worked in a bar in
Limassol. Pathologist Panicos Stavrianos, said the girl’s bruised
naked body was found on her bed in a pool of blood. He confirmed her
death was criminal.

–Boundary_(ID_jX71HT7MxwMuYtFYPFuD7w)
Armenian NGOs call for peace in Georgia’s South Ossetia conflict
X-Sender: Asbed Bedrossian <[email protected]>
X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 — ListProcessor(tm) by CREN

Arminfo
12 Jul 04

YEREVAN

The Stability movement which includes a number of Armenian NGOs has
expressed its concern about the deterioration of the situation in the
South Ossetia.

The possibility of military operations and engagement in the conflict
of several districts in the region may result in a large-scale war in
the North Caucasus and this causes serious concern, the movement said
in a statement sent to Arminfo news agency. The possible war will have
a destructive impact on the stability of the entire region. It will
also have a negative influence on the dynamics of development of
various spheres and areas in Armenia. “On behalf of Armenia’s NGOs, we
call on the NGOs operating in Georgia to join their efforts in order
to influence the Georgian leadership and to resolve the conflict
peacefully within the framework of humanity and values of the
mankind,” the statement said.

EU pushing for closure of Armenian nuclear power station

Mediamax news agency
8 Jul 04

YEREVAN

The European Union still supports the closure of the Armenian nuclear
power station, EU Commissioner Janez Potocnik said in Yerevan today.

Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan today, Janez Potocnik did
not give specific dates for the closure of the nuclear power
station. He just said “sooner or later it must be closed”. The EU
commissioner stressed that the EU’s interest in the closure of the
power station was based solely on safety concerns.

“We understand that Armenia must be provided with alternative energy
sources before the nuclear power station can be closed,” Janez
Potocnik said, confirming that the European Union was ready to
allocate 100m euros towards this.

ARMENIA WILL HAVE SECOND OPERATOR OF MOBILE COMMUNICATION: DAVID HARUTYUNYAN

YEREVAN, JULY 10. ARMINFO. Armenia will have a second operator of
mobile communication, RA Minister of Justice David Harutyunyan said,
responding to “hot line” questions in the “Golos Armenii” newspaper.

According to him, no doubt has ever existed about a new operator
entering Armenia’s telecommunication market, nor will it be challenged
during the RA Government’s negotiations with the OTE company. “As to
whether I am satisfied with the current state of affairs, I am not,”
the Minister said. Without commenting on the arbitration proceedings
in London, Harutyunyan pointed out that “they are going on and can be
dismissed only if the Government’s negotiations with `ArmenTel”
produce positive results.” Speaking of the interests of the Armenian
Government and people, Minister Harutyunyan stated: “The Government is
acting in the consumers’ interests and is sure that the legal
litigation at the Court of Arbitration is not the most productive
method: we are always ready for negotiations,” he said.

The RA Government has suspended the enforcement of its resolution on
amendments to License #60 of September 28, 2004, which include an
amendment depriving “ArmenTel” of its monopoly of mobile communication
and Internet access. This step was considered necessary for
stimulating the negotiations. The disagreements between the RA
Government and the “ArmenTel” company are not only in the mobile
communication sphere, but also the installation of telephone
communication in rural areas, confidentiality of negotiations,
Internet, etc..

The Times Union (Albany, NY)
June 27, 2004 Sunday THREE STAR EDITION

Old-world skills shape Armenian family’s livelihood

For years, customers bought CDs at The Music Shack without knowing
what was happening in the basement.

There, in a woodworking shop that looks like it was transported from
19th-century Istanbul, Shahin Kasparian and his extended Armenian
family use battered hand chisels, planes and saws to shape intricate
woodwork for Ovation guitars.

Their ebony, walnut, teak, rosewood and bird’s-eye maple creations
can be seen in the expensive Ovations played by Larry Coryell, Al
DiMeola and Joan Armatrading.

A fourth-generation cabinetmaker, Kasparian has had a contract with
Ovation for 20 years.

With hand tools and power sanders laid at rest for a morning break,
the family sits around a small table, dipping biscotti into mugs of
American coffee.

“We like it better than Turkish,” they say.

Drinking American coffee is a small stab at payback. Turks massacred
thousands of Armenians in 1915.

“We always had religious differences in Turkey. They’re Muslim and
we’re Christian,” says Kasparian, whose grandfather was killed in the
Armenian genocide.

“The Turks called us infidels,” he says. “We came for freedom. We
like America.”

His talk is punctuated by the metronomic creak of footfalls overhead
on the wooden floorboards of Rocky Roy’s Music Shack, which has moved
to Colonie.

Kasparian, 53, fled Istanbul in 1972 and settled in Columbia County,
where he made furniture. He was 22 years old and hasn’t been back to
Turkey since.

Kasparian later brought over his parents, Nisan and Layla Kasparoglu,
who are in their 70s, and his brother and his wife, Argentine and
Alis Kasparoglu. They work together in the shop. All but Kasparian
live in upstairs apartments. Kasparian, who owns the building, lives
in Glenmont with his wife, Karen, who is the bookkeeper.

In between churning out guitar components and custom furniture,
Kasparian has dabbled in real estate and other businesses. He sold 95
Central Ave. to Equinox. He sold 57-59 Central Ave., which is empty.
He owns 61 Central Ave., which is also vacant after his relatives
tried unsuccessfully to operate a high-end imported rug outlet,
Central Orientals. He rents 83-85 Central Ave. to S&S Used Furniture.

Like the pigeons his wife feeds on The Avenue, he’s found his roost
here.

“Central Avenue is a melting pot,” he says. “It all depends on how
you look at it. Some people don’t like what’s down here. They forget
that this country was formed by immigrants.”

Ten CIS leaders gather for informal summit in Moscow

ITAR-TASS news agency
2 Jul 04

MOSCOW

The presidents of Azerbaijan [Ilham Aliyev], Armenia [Robert
Kocharyan], Uzbekistan [Islam Karimov], Moldova [Vladimir Voronin],
Ukraine [Leonid Kuchma], Kyrgyzstan [Askar Akayev], Georgia [Mikheil
Saakashvili], Belarus [Alyaksandr Lukashenka] and Kazakhstan
[Nursultan Nazarbayev] are to visit Moscow on 2-3 July at the
invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the press service of
the Russian head of state has said.

The heads of state will exchange views on preparing a CIS summit in
[Kazakh capital] Astana scheduled for September, other issues of
mutual interest as well as joint celebrations marking the 60th
anniversary of World War II.

Learning from History

28 June 2004

“Aravot” reports that the Council of Europe’s newly elected secretary
general, Terry Davis, has publicly disagreed with Kocharian’s statement that
Nagorno-Karabakh has never been part of an independent Azerbaijani state.
Davis, the paper says, told the PACE’s Political Committee after Kocharian’s
Strasbourg speech that the international community and the United Nations in
particular do recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.

Council of Europe: Terry Davis elected Secretary General
CPME publication date: Thursday, June 24, 2004

On 22 June 2004, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe elected
Terry Davis, from the United Kingdom, as the new Secretary General. Mr Davis
will enter into office for five years starting in September, 2004. He will
replace Mr Walter Schwimmer, from Austria.

Mr Davis has been a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe for 12 years and President of the Assembly’s socialist group since
2002.

Quoting from Richard Hovannisian’s “The Republic of Armenia” The first year
1918-1919 copyright 1971 page 157:
“There were, of course, factors other than the legitimacy of Azerbaijan’s
arguments which affected the formulation of British policy. As rulers of an
extensive colonial empire that included millions of Muslim subjects, the
British stood to gain widespread goodwill for supporting the first Muslim
republic in modern history. Moreover, the British strategists maintained
that a politically and economically viable structure would render Azerbaijan
less susceptible to Pan-Islamic or Pan-Turanic agitation and to the
pervasive influences of the Ottoman Empire. At the end of 1918, they also
believed that Armenia would be awarded the Ottoman eastern vilayets. It
seemed reasonable, therefore, to regard Karabagh and Zangezur as
compensation to Azerbaijan, whose aspirations to lands further west would be
disallowed. Several critics have singled out economic exploitation as the
prime determinant in British policy. The reserve of oil at Baku was
apparently inexhaustible, and access to this wealth would naturally be
facilitated through the cooperation of an appreciative, indebted local
government. While officials in London demonstrated that the occupation of
Transcaucasia was imposing great financial strains, Great Britain
nonetheless succeeded in tapping thousands of tons of petroleum products
valued in the millions of pounds sterling. Whether or not “oil imperialism”
dictated British policy in the Caucasus, economic factors could not have
been ignored.”

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline
The BTC partners
The BTC pipeline is being developed by an international consortium of 11
partners, known as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Company (BTC Co).
Those partners are: SOCAR (the state oil company of Azerbaijan); BP (UK);
TPAO (Turkey); Statoil (Norway); Unocal (USA); Itochu (Japan); Amerada Hess
(USA); Eni (Italy); TotalFinaElf (France); INPEX (Japan) and ConocoPhillips
(USA).
BP is the largest stakeholder in the project, and is leading the design and
construction phases.

Azeri daily forecasts new government attacks on Norwegian envoy

Azadliq, Baku
25 Jun 04

Text of unattributed report by Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq on 25
June headlined “Another failure of Ilham’s diplomacy”, subheaded “The
Norwegian prime minister’s presence at an exhibition in PACE devoted
to the so-called Armenian genocide provides a pretext for Ilham to
launch a new campaign of attacks on Steinar Gil”

Relations between the current Azerbaijani and Norwegian governments,
which cooled in the run-up to the 2003 presidential elections, are
turning sour again. According to our report, government circles will
misuse a step taken by the Norwegian government during the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE] session. It
will launch a new campaign of attacks on the Norwegian ambassador in
Azerbaijan, Steinar Gil, and even plans to declare him persona
non-grata.

To recap, the main reason for the coolness in relations was the
activity of the Norwegian government and ambassador Gil to protect the
democratic forces from government violence before and after the
elections. The government of [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev was
so displeased with the Norwegians that later the visiting Norwegian
deputy foreign minister was not even received by the Azerbaijani
president. Subsequently, individual government representatives
levelled accusations against Norwegian ambassador Gil.

It seems that the Aliyev government has not forgotten the “old
hostility” and intends again to step up the campaign against the
Norwegian government, thinking that it has the chance to do this. The
pretext for this is the Norwegian prime minister’s attendance at an
exhibition in PACE devoted to the so-called Armenian genocide and his
meeting with [Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan.