Author: Tvankchian Parkev

Armenian paper notes importance of continuing cooperation with NATO

Hayots Ashkharh, Yerevan
30 Jun 04

Text of Artak Grigoryan’s report by Armenian newspaper Hayots Ashkharh
on 30 June headlined “NATO and Armenia”

The NATO summit which has come to an end in Istanbul has shown that
serious disagreements are continuing within this powerful military and
political bloc. Because of those disagreements a further split is
taking place in mutual interests in several main directions. They are:

a) Ways of settling the Iraq issue although the USA has moved its
“knight”: on the eve of the summit it handed over power in Iraq to the
Iraqis themselves, but failed to get France and Germany’s agreement to
use NATO forces in that country in this or other way;

b) In turn, the host country of the summit, Turkey, also did
everything possible to demonstrate its indispensability for the
Western community. But in this sense, the “performance was not
successful” either, as Bush was met in Istanbul by thousands of
demonstrators who showed a growth in anti-American moods in Turkey;

c) Also, they did not manage to restore severed cooperation between
Turkey and France, which is why Jacques Chirac did not reply to the
Turkish president’s hint about the recognition of the Armenian
genocide.

So the NATO summit showed that although the US leadership is doing
everything possible today to correct its mistakes in the Iraq war, it
has no more opportunity to return to “good old” times, because the
choice of new targets leads to a split in the interests of NATO member
countries. It is not by chance that the USA has adopted a strategy of
“employing” each of them in separate directions. The USA is trying to
take responsibility for the southern sector in order to preserve
control over the Arab world which is rich in mineral resources, is
directing the European Union to the South Caucasus and is trying to
direct Turkey to the European Union.

There is a question: will the USA manage to keep control over the
interests of its own partners who are gradually splitting up. Judging
by this, not all of them are going to oppose the USA. Simply each of
them is trying to solve its problems within the framework of
NATO. This working style is turning NATO into a specific “roof” under
which a fight for control over its separate “storeys” is taking place.

The understanding of this situation prompts us to assess in a
different way the problem of Armenia’s further cooperation with NATO,
i.e the task to see our own interests as much protected as
possible. So although Armenia continues to be a member of the CIS
Collective Security Treaty, next autumn it is going to draw up its own
programme of cooperation with NATO. Such cooperation is very necessary
to enable our country to participate in the processes taking place
within the framework of NATO today, that is, not to find ourselves
“sidelined”.

The reason is evident: although Turkey’s positions within NATO seem
strong and steadfast, this country is no longer indispensable. Turkey
has turned into a very heavy instrument which gradually rusts and
requires big expenses for taking care of it. But when the time comes
for using that complex instrument, Turkey starts putting its own
interests forward as in the case of Iraq.

In such conditions, remaining a member of the CIS Collective Security
Treaty and at the same time, strengthening our cooperation with NATO
is not a “double game”, but a conscious need “to find room” in the
world and regional security systems.

First of all, a small country like Armenia does not need to be in
opposition to any pole of power. Second, to soften as much as possible
a likely threat from the clash of their interests in the
region. Third, not to allow Turkey and Azerbaijan to use NATO for
weakening Armenia’s positions in the region. And finally, to
understand that the more often statements are made about Turkey’s
indispensability for NATO, the more evident is their role of a
junction.

We are sure that remaining a member of the CIS Collective Security
Treaty and at the same time, deepening its mutual cooperation with
NATO, Armenia will get several equally interesting opportunities for
strengthening its positions in the region and specific options for
their implementation.

Armen Press
July 2, 2004

REPERCUSSIONS OF TURKISH QUAKE REACH ARMENIAN CAPITAL
YEREVAN, JULY 2, ARMENPRESS: Repercussions of a moderate earthquake
in eastern Turkey that destroyed houses, killing 18 people and injuring
21 more on Friday, reached Armenia on July 2 overnight.
The earthquake, which struck around 3 a.m. Friday, Armenia time,
caused heavy damage in several villages in Turkish Dogubeyazit
province, near the Iranian border. Turkish officials said that rescue
efforts had been completed and the death toll was not expected to
increase.
The quake measured 5.1 in Turkish province on the Richter scale and
3 in Yerevan. Two massive earthquakes hit northwestern Turkey in 1999,
killing about 18,000 people.

ArmenPress
July 1 2004

YBC PLANS TO BUY 3,000 TONS OF GRAPES IN KARABAGH

STEPANAKERT, JULY 1, ARMENPRESS: Last year the Yerevan Brandy
Company (YBC), owned by French Pernod Ricard, purchased around 2,300
tons of grapes in Nagorno Karabagh. This year the company is expected
to buy 3,000 tons.
Pierre Larretche, the outgoing chief manager of the Yerevan Brandy
Company (YBC), was earlier this week in Nagorno Karabagh to receive a
local medal for his contributions to the development of Karabagh
economy. The Medal of Gratitude was handed to him by Karabagh leader
Arkady Ghukasian.
Pierre Larretche praised Karabagh authorities for creating good
conditions for cooperation between the YBC and a local Karabagh Gold
company.

ArmenPress
June 30 2004

GOVERNMENT RESOLUTE TO OPEN MOBILE PHONE COMMUNICATION MARKET TO
COMPETITION, MINISTER SAYS

YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS: Armenian justice minister David
Harutunian said June 29 that the government’s decision to suspend
changes to ArmenTel’s operating license until September 29 “in order
to facilitate the negotiation process with ArmenTel and its Greek
owner OTE in a bid to resolve their long-running disputes,” does not
mean that the government has backpedaled from its plans to open
Armenia’s market of cell-phone and Internet services to competition.
The announcement came after Harutunian’s return from London where
he negotiated last week with senior executives from ArmenTel and its
parent company, the Hellenic Telecommunication Organization (OTE) to
seek an out of court settlement of their dispute. “Government’s plan
to open the market for a second operator of mobile phone
communication and Internet connection is not questioned and will not
be questioned during the talks,” Harutunian told reporters, adding
that that will be the key condition of the talks..
ArmenTel and OTE Greeks filed a lawsuit earlier this year against
the Armenian government at the London International Court of
Arbitration seeking hundreds of millions of US Dollars in
compensation for damages they claim ArmenTel has sustained as a
result of the government’s failure to respect its commitments
contained in 1998 purchase deal. The suit was filed following the
government decision to revoke ArmenTel’s 15-year exclusive rights to
mobile phone communication and Armenia’s Internet connection with the
outside world that was to take effect on June 30.
Harutunian said the government will not suspend its decision after
September 29. “We have three months ahead to negotiate and try to
settle our dispute, a span of time which I think is quite enough and
if we fail to achieve an amicable settlement, the final decision will
be made by the Arbitration Court,” Harutunian said.
Harutunian said the government and ArmenTel’s new management
managed to engage in “constructive” dialogue. “If we succeed in
achieving a mutually acceptable decision the suits will be called
back,” he said. According to the minister, the government will do
everything possible to prevent clashes between ArmenTel and a new
operator of mobile phone communication.
The minister said also that the government will demand that
ArmenTel respect one of its commitments to provide rural communities
with phone communication, lower prices for Internet connection and
stop the practice of telephone conversations eavesdropping.

Zaman, Turkey
June 26 2004

Turkey to name Saakashvili ‘Democracy Hero of the Year’

Georgian President Mikhael Sakaashvili, who arrived in Istanbul
yesterday for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit,
will be presented the ‘Democracy Hero of the Year’ award.

Saakashvili assumed the Georgian presidency after last November’s
‘Velvet Revolution’ that ousted former president Eduard Shevardnadze.
Additionally, as a result of Saakashvili’s decisive policies,
Adzharia Autonomous Republic leader Aslan Abashidze was forced to
leave the country. Pro-Saakashvili parties claimed victory in last
week’s first independent parliamentary elections in Adzharia.

Mustafa Sarigul, Mayor of Istanbul’s Sisli district, will present the
award to Saakashvili during a ceremony tomorrow. The Georgian
President will also be given the key to the city of Istanbul.

Saakashvili will speak at a conference entitled ‘Atlantic Alliance at
a New Crossroad’. The conference is co-organized by the
American-German Marshall Fund and The Turkey Economic and Social
Studies Foundation (TESEV).

Meanwhile, within the framework of the NATO summit, Foreign Ministers
from Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey will meet to discuss the
Nagarno-Karabag (Karabagh) issue. The Turkey-Armenia border entry
issue and bilateral relations will also be taken up.

armenianow.com
25 June 2004

Fruitful Season of Film: First international festival to begin this week

By Gayane Abrahamyan ArmeniaNow arts reporter From June 30-July 4, Armenia
will host its first international film festival.

The “Golden Apricot” International Film Festival comes during a year when
Armenia’s real apricot crop is questionable, but festival organizers are
promising a fertile cultural event.

The idea of carrying out an international film festival in Armenia has been
on cinematographers’ mind for many years, but the ambitious step was taken
by movie director Harutyun Khachatryan, the chairman of Armenian Association
of Film Critics and Cinema Journalists Susanna Harutyunyan and film critic
Michael Stamboltsyan.

..
“First, this step of ours seemed to be insanity, since to carry out such a
festival at least $2.5 million are needed. Anyway, thanks to joint efforts
we created a ridiculous budget of $100 thousand, we found people who
believed in us and as you see the goal became true,” says Khachatryan, the
director of the festival.

According to Khachatryan film is one of the basic tools of art, through
which one can show the world the country’s history, its art and culture.

“If before there were five countries in the world that didn’t have a film
festival, Armenia was one of them. This is funny and it’s a shame,”
Khachatryan adds.

Fifty filmmakers from 20 countries will take part in the festival.
Fifty-five films will be shown in five competitions and 30, hors concours.

Prizes will be awarded for: Best Full Length Fiction; Best Short Fiction;
Best Documentary; Best Animation or Experimental; and Best Student Film.

The jury for the festival will consist of cinematography specialists of
international repute, including: Massimo de Grandi (Italy), president of
International Association of Film Unions; Ally Derks the director of
Amsterdam International Film Festival,; Kirill Razlogov project director of
Moscow International Film Festival, Swedish movie director Gunar Bergdahl
and others.

Three retrospective programs will be carried out during the festival
dedicated to Armenian Film, and to Sergei Parajanov’s and Charles Aznavor’s
80th anniversaries. New Russian, Swedish, German, Bulgarian and Italian
movies will be shown under the title Yerevan Premieres.

The movies will be shown at Moscow and Nairi movie theatres, and a press
center will organize press conferences each day, as well as meetings with
cinematographers in order to present completely the works of the film
festival.

“The main purpose of the festival is to bring art movies to Armenia, which
create a desire to think, to philosophize, to connect with real art,” says
Khachatryan. “Our youth doesn’t see anything but the American movies, we
need to bring up a new movie audience.”

Financing for the festival is being underwritten by the Union of
Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia.

“This is the first serious attempt to make Armenia a country of
international culture. Maybe this very festival will give a new life and
spirit to our art,” says the President of the Union of Businessmen Arsen
Ghazaryan. “A face of a country is its culture; let us help ourselves not to
lose that face.”

For more information about the festival see

AZERI OFFICIAL, MEDIA UNION CHIEF AGAINST JOINT RADIO PROJECT WITH ARMENIA

Ekho, Baku
23 Jun 04

Text of T. Alili report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 23 June
headlined “The Armenian-Azerbaijani radio wave” and subheaded “A
possible joint radio project is being examined”

Radio journalists from Xankandi (Stepanakert) will be engaged in a
joint Armenian-Azerbaijani project. The non-governmental organization
Conciliation Resources has joined a consortium which has drawn up a
project financed by the British government and numerous international
funds to assist a solution to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and
create an atmosphere of trust in the region. The organization is
working with the mass media.

It is scheduled within the framework of the project to create radio
journals which Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Nagornyy Karabakh region of
Azerbaijan could exchange. TV journalists Karine Musayelyan and Anait
Mirzoyan who attended a seminar organized by the Conciliation
Resources returned to Xankandi from Tbilisi a few days ago. The
preparations are still under way, however, the organization intends to
launch the project this summer.

The deputy executive secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party
(NAP), Mubariz Qurbanli, is indignant that the journalists from
Xankandi joined the project as representatives of an independent
entity.

“Why is Nagornyy Karabakh engaged in the project as a separate entity,
not as part of Azerbaijan? The participation of our journalists in the
project is inexpedient. Broadly speaking, it aims to ”reconcile”
Azerbaijanis and Armenians. Then what to do with our refugees or the
occupied lands? I think there is no need for such projects and for
creating “such an atmosphere of trust”. The Karabakh separatists are
trying to come out of isolation in all possible ways. Projects of
this kind help them in this issue,” Qurbanli said.

He thinks that participation in mutual projects together with the
Karabakh separatists has become a bad tradition.

“Certain organizations and people who are ready to get grants
immediately appear as soon as an international organization announces
a competition or carries out a project in order “to establish
contacts” between Azerbaijanis, Armenians and the Karabakh
separatists. These people are obliged to think about the negative
consequences of their steps and the reaction of the country’s public,”
the NAP spokesman said.

The secretary-general of the Confederation of Azerbaijani Journalists
(CAJ), Azar Hasrat, called on the Azerbaijani journalists who are
going to join the Conciliation Resources project “to think again how
an occupier, separatist or terrorist can be trusted. Armenians from
Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh cannot be trusted. Why are our
compatriots going to join the project? International organizations
want us to forget Nagornyy Karabakh. International bodies know that
journalists can help to shape public opinion. But I urge my colleagues
not to become a tool for Armenian separatism, the CAJ
secretary-general said.

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:

PRESS RELEASE
June 24, 2004
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]

HOUSE FOREIGN AID COMMITTEE REINSTATES U.S. POLICY ON SECURITY PARITY
Assembly Credits Congressman Knollenberg

Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly praised members of a key foreign aid
subcommittee today for reinstating U.S. policy to maintain military aid
parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Foreign
Operations bill. The bill, which lawmakers passed by voice vote last night,
foils the Administration’s attempt to provide Azerbaijan a $6 million
increase over Armenia by placing the neighboring countries on equal footing.

“We commend Chairman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and his Subcommittee for maintaining
equal security assistance between Armenia and Azerbaijan by explicit policy
and by allocating $5 million in military financing to Armenia and
Azerbaijan,” said Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian. “We
are especially appreciative of Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Joe Knollenberg
(R-MI), who serves on the committee, for taking the lead to reinstate U.S.
balance and impartiality in dealing with the Karabakh conflict.”

Representative Knollenberg said, “Parity in military assistance to Armenia
and Azerbaijan is absolutely critical to maintaining the careful balance
between the two countries. We cannot settle for anything less. I’m also
pleased we were able to increase military assistance to Armenia from $2
million to $5 million in order to help them modernize their equipment.”

Congress has recently rebuffed attempts by the Administration to tip the
scale in favor of Baku by upholding this long-standing parity policy. The
Administration attempted, during the August congressional recess last year,
to provide an additional $5 million in security assistance to Azerbaijan via
the 15 day congressional notification process. Fortunately, Congress
blocked this request until Armenia received equal treatment.

This April, Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Caucus
member John E. Sweeney (R-NY), along with over 40 of their congressional
colleagues, wrote to Chairman Kolbe urging that the subcommittee maintain
symmetry in levels of any military/security assistance for Armenia and
Azerbaijan. In addition, they requested “not less than” $75 million in
economic assistance for Armenia and an additional $5 million in humanitarian
assistance for Nagorno Karabakh in FY 2005. The Assembly strongly supported
this initiative by urging Members to sign on to this letter during its
advocacy portion of its National Conference and via a nationwide Action
Alert.

In a letter dated February 10th of this year and sent to the 131 members of
the Armenian Caucus and 35 Senators, the Assembly said that providing
asymmetrical military assistance to Azerbaijan will not only “have a
potentially destabilizing effect on the South Caucasus,” but also “damage
U.S. credibility as an impartial and leading mediator in the ongoing
sensitive peace negotiations for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.”

The Subcommittee also approved “not less than” $65 million to Armenia, an
increase of $3 million over the Administration’s FY 2005 budget request. An
additional $5 million in humanitarian assistance for Nagorno Karabakh was
also allocated. The Administration did not propose any assistance for
Karabakh.

The bill will next be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee.
Once the full House and Senate complete action on their version of the bill,
a joint House-Senate Conference Committee will reconcile the differences.

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

NR#2004-061

ARMENIA CONCERNED OVER INCIDENT AT NATO CONFERENCE IN BAKU – SPOKESMAN

Arminfo
22 Jun 04

YEREVAN

The Armenian Defence Ministry has expressed concern over the latest
incident in Baku. Members of the Karabakh Liberation Organization
(KLO) burst into the hotel (where a NATO conference was being held)
and tried to disrupt a NATO planning conference in which Armenian
officers were taking part.

The press secretary of the Armenian Defence Ministry, Col Seyran
Shakhsuvaryan, has told Arminfo news agency: “We think that a host
should feel responsibility for organizing such a high-profile event
and prepare the public to this. Representatives of the US embassy in
Baku and Azerbaijani security services took additional measures to
ensure the Armenian officers’ security. The Armenian representatives,
the organizers of the conference and representatives of the
Azerbaijani Defence Ministry were negotiating the further work of the
planning conference. The Armenian side will continue its work in the
conference if the Azerbaijani authorities assume full responsibility
for ensuring the security of the Armenian officers.”

Armenia coach Stoichita will not be back

The Associated Press
06/22/04 16:33 EDT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Armenia coach Mihai Stoichita, whose contract
has expired, said Tuesday he would not stay with the team due to
family reasons.

The Romanian coach told the Armenian Soccer Federation of his decision
in a letter just two months before the start of European World Cup
qualifying.

The federation said it is looking for a new coach, but did not
disclose names.

Armenia, which failed to qualify for the European Championship,
will face the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Romania, Finland,
Macedonia and Andorra in Group One of the qualifying competition for
the 2006 World Cup finals.

Armenia’s first match is at Macedonia on Aug. 18.