Author: Varosian Antranik

MPs to discuss Upper Garabagh conflict

AzerNews
6-15 April 05

The Milli Majlis (parliament) will discuss the Upper Garabagh problem
before May 8, the anniversary of occupation of Azerbaijan’s Shusha
District by Armenia, Parliament Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov said on
Tuesday.

The status of talks over settlement of the Upper Garabagh conflict
and a report on the results of the OSCE fact-finding mission’s visit
to the occupied Azerbaijani regions will be discussed.

“An appeal to international organizations will be adopted at the
end of the discussions. We will try to reveal Armenia’s policy of
aggression,” the Speaker said.

Opposition MP Alimammad Nuriyev and MP Zahid Oruj, deputy chairman
of the pro-government Ana Vatan Party, stressed the need for holding
hearings on the frequent ceasefire violations at the parliament.

NEWLY APPOINTED ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO US HANDED HIS CREDENTIALS TO
CONDOLEEZZA RICE

06.04.2005 04:39

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yesterday newly appointed Armenian Ambassador to
US Tatul Margarian handed his credentials to US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, press service of the RA Foreign Ministry reported.
During the meeting the parties discussed the Armenian-American
relations, regional processes and settlement of the problem
available. Tatul Margarian thanked the US for the assistance rendered,
constructive participation of official Washington in the settlement of
regional problems and said he will spare no effort for strengthening
and development of the bilateral cooperation.

NKR FOREIGN MINISTER AND PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF OSCE
CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE DISCUSSED SITUATION AT CONTACT LINE

06.04.2005 04:46

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On April 5, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, NKR Foreign Minister Arman Melikian
received Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office
Andrzej Kaspzyk, the NKR MFA press service reported. The prospects
of the Karabakh conflict settlement and the situation at the Nagorno
Karabakh and Azerbaijani armed forces contact line were discussed in
the course of the talk. The participants of the meeting also considered
a number of issues of mutual interest.

VOLUME OF RUSSIAN INVESTMENTS IN ARMENIAN ECONOMY IN 2004 MADE $67
MILLION 204.6 THOUSAND

01.04.2005 04:17

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In 2004 Russia invested $67 million 204.6 thousand
in the Armenian economy, what makes 21.99% of the total volume of the
investments. According to the data provided by the National
Statistical Service of Armenia, direct Russian investments in 2004
made $48 million 690.8 thousand. The funds were mostly invested in
processing and delivery of electric power, gas and hot water ($31
million 280.5 thousand) and financial mediation ($19 million 851.1
thousand). Besides, $3 million 233.6 thousand was invested in computer
engineering, $3 million 445.3 thousand in wholesale and intermediary
trade, $3 million 872 thousand in metallurgic industry and other
fields of economy, Arka news agency reports. The total volume of
foreign investments in Armenia made $305 million 550.8 thousand, $226
million 723.4 thousand being direct investments in the real sector of
economy.

Paper blames Moscow for provoking row in Armenian-populated Georgian district

Aravot, Yerevan
1 Apr 05 p 2

By Tigran Avetisyan

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a notable statement at a
news conference in Yerevan recently. He described the CIS as a club
where the member countries could speak about common problems, for
instance, the refugee problem.

It is remarkable that the Russian president skipped over all possible
and known categories of refugees and underlined in particular the
possibility of Armenian refugees from Georgia. It becomes clear that
was not just an example. Unfortunately, this time as well we have
come across a Russian destabilizing factor.

The latest quite alarming events taking place in Javakhk [Georgia’s
Armenian-populated Javakheti region] should be viewed in this
context. Yesterday [30 March] about 3,000 people held a rally in
Akhalkalaki [Georgia’s Armenian-populated district]. They criticized
the Georgian government and along with other problems they demanded
that the Russian military base deployed in Akhalkalaki should not be
pulled out. It seems that this problem could have been settled long
ago at different levels of Armenian-Georgian relations. That is to
say, the authorities in Armenia should have had enough wisdom to use
their influence on Javakhk in a right way to put an end to such absurd
and dangerous demands.

What is going on? The decision to withdraw Russian military bases from
Akhalkalaki and elsewhere in Georgia was made long ago at the OSCE
Istanbul summit, which was signed by not only Georgia but also Russia
and Armenia. Even Moscow does not argue that Russian military bases
should be withdrawn from Georgia. But the latter has disagreements
with the Tbilisi government over the terms of withdrawal. The Armenian
factor has resurfaced against the background of the Russian-Georgian
disagreement. It turns out that what the Armenians of Javakhk want
from the Georgian government is something against which Tbilisi has
been fighting for a long time, something which has long slipped out of
Moscow’s authority and which is next to impossible.

We have to guess what consequences the creation of a new hotbed of
tension in the region will have for Armenia, which has the Karabakh
problem that is getting complicated by the day, especially taking into
account that it is obviously being provoked by Moscow using the
Armenian factor.

ASHOT MANUCHARYAN: `WE SHOULD PURSUE GLOBAL POLICY’

A1+
31-03-2005

`The territories that we consider to be liberated and the Azeris-
occupied, really belong to the Armenians of Azerbaijan and only they
can determine the fate of these territories’, head of the Armenian
Social Forces Ashot Manucharyan stated at the seminar-discussion
entitled `National Citizens’ Initiative’.

In Manucharyan’s opinion, the activation of discussion on Karabakh
allows us today to pursue a flexible policy with 5 important
directions – Russia, the US, Europe, China-India and the Islamic
world. `We live in a regionwhere a global policy should be pursued’,
he noted.

Ashot Manucharyan is convinced that the active participation in
numerous international processes will help Armenia to occupy the
leading position inthe Karabakh settlement. By the way, during his
speech Manucharyan assured that after the visit of Strobe Elbot to
Armenia, it is the OSCE Minsk Group thatwill deal with the settlement
of the problem. However, he did not go into detail.

CAUCASIAN FOUR SPEAKERS TO MEET IN TBILISI APRIL 22-24

31.03.2005 04:14

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The recurrent meeting of Speakers of the Parliaments
of the Caucasian Four (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia) is
scheduled in Tbilisi April 22-24, Regnum news agency reported. The
Speakers intend to discuss the social and political situation in the
countries, issues of development of regional and inter-parliamentary
cooperation, settlement of conflicts. The meeting will be organized on
the initiative of the Georgian Speaker Nino Burjanadze.

The `Caucasian Four’ format was instantiated by Russia in 1996. Since
then several meetings of the Presidents, Ministers of Internal
Affairs, Security Council Secretaries, as well as the Speakers of the
four countries have been held.

Agence France Presse
30 mars 2005 mercredi 10:37 AM GMT

Berne appelle Ankara à un travail approfondi sur le génocide arménien

ANKARA 29 mars

La ministre suisse des Affaires étrangères Micheline Calmy-Rey a
appelé mardi la Turquie à entreprendre un travail historique
approfondi sur le génocide des Arméniens perpétré dans ce pays sous
le règne des Ottomans pendant la Première Guerre mondiale.

“Nous pensons qu’il est essentiel que chaque pays mène une recherche
approfondie sur son propre passé, particulièrement à propos d’une
question aussi douloureuse”, a déclaré Mme Calmy-Rey à la presse à
Ankara après une rencontre avec son homologue turc Abdullah Gul.

La ministre suisse s’exprimait au premier jour d’une visite
officielle à Ankara, qui aurait dû avoir lieu en 2003 mais avait été
annulée après le vote par le Conseil national, la chambre basse du
parlement suisse, d’une résolution reconnaissant le génocide des
Arméniens sous l’empire ottoman.

M. Gul a pour sa part répété que l’accusation de génocide par la
diaspora arménienne était “inacceptable” pour la Turquie, tout en
reconnaissant que cette question “empoisonne parfois nos relations
avec d’autres pays”.

Ankara, très sensible sur cette question, refuse d’admettre le terme
de “génocide” pour les massacres d’Arméniens commis en 1915 sous
l’empire ottoman alors que les Arméniens affirment que quelque 1,5
million des leurs ont été massacrés délibérément à cette époque.

Mme Calmy-Rey a salué comme une “bonne idée” la récente proposition
d’Ankara de charger des historiens d’un travail approfondi sur cette
question. Elle a précisé avoir proposé à M. Gul d’y faire participer
des experts internationaux pour rendre ce travail plus crédible.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 30, 2005 Wednesday

OSCE head to travel from Armenia to Kyrgyzstan

By Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN, March 30

The head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel will travel to
Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday evening.

He said in Yerevan that the OSCE had business to attend to in this
Central Asian country.

Initially it was planned that the visit to Armenia would last till
Friday, but the trip to Kyrgyzstan changed the schedule.

Rupel’s talks and discussions in Yerevan focused on Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The OSCE believed and believes that a political settlement is the
only correct way” to resolve the conflict, he said.

In his view, “It is necessary to stop ceasefire breaches in the
conflict zone”.

He warned against aggressive rhetoric. “We must foster dialogue and
confidence-building measures,” Rupel added.

He said Slovenia was ready to assist the conflicting sides in
achieving an agreement and even provide a venue for talks and
meetings.

DIMITRIJ RUPEL TOO KNOWS MUCH ABOUT KARABAKH

A1+
30-03-2005

Today the meeting of the Nagorno Karabakh President Arkadi Ghoukasyan
and OSCE Chairman-in-Office Dimitrij Rupel took place. After the
meeting the OSCE Chairman-in-Office quickly said two things to the
journalists, «I think starting from this point to summer another
window has opened for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict».

The second was that the Karabakh side may possibly take part in the
negotiations. The Foreign official also said that he still has
meetings till late in the evening and after those meetings he will
tell everything.

Arkadi Ghoukasyan heard about Karabakh’s perspective to take part in
the negotiations from the journalists during the short press
conference at the end of the meeting, «If the OSCE Chairman-in-Office
has said so, then it may happen, and I’m very glad in that
connection».

Arkadi Ghoukasyan expressed preoccupation that there is no atmosphere
of mutual trust between the conflict countries. As for the preaching
for mutual hostility and hatred between Armenia and Azerbaijan, he
explained it this way, «Azerbaijan wants to convince the international
society that Armenia is an aggressor, for the settlement of the
conflict to be organized the way they want, but they will not manage
it. Ilham Aliev solves internal problems by his military
announcements».

Let us remind you that this fall in Azerbaijan there will be
Parliamentary elections. There will soon be elections also in Nagorno
Karabakh. Arkadi Ghoukasyan has offered Rupel to sent OSCE observer
mission, but he has not yet received an answer.