Manly Daily (Australia)
November 25, 2004 Thursday
‘Suspicious’ case empty
POLICE blocked off Pittwater Rd at North Manly yesterday morning
and evacuated a house after a black suitcase was found outside the
Armenian prelacy.
Northern Beaches crime manager Inspector Luke Arthurs said the suitcase
was treated as suspicious.
Police officers inspected the suitcase and found it was empty.
The Economist, UK
Nov 24 2004
Is Ukraine set for conflict or compromise?
Nov 24th 2004
>>From The Economist Global Agenda
Supporters of Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine’s opposition presidential
candidate, have continued to protest against alleged fraud in Sunday’s
election. But the country’s electoral commission has declared the
official candidate, Viktor Yanukovich, the winner. What happens now
is unclear.
HUGE protests continued in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, for a third day on
Wednesday November 24th, after a deeply flawed presidential election
which the opposition leader, Viktor Yushchenko, says he would have
won but for widespread balloting fraud by supporters of the official
candidate, Viktor Yanukovich. Thousands of Mr Yushchenko’s supporters,
dressed in orange, his campaign colour, continued to chant his name
in the main square, while hundreds of Mr Yanukovich’s backers, and
riot police, surrounded the electoral commission’s headquarters. The
commission rejected demands by opposition parliamentarians to
delay announcing the results until the irregularities had been
investigated. It declared Mr Yanukovich the winner, by three percentage
points – whereas exit polls had predicted a clear victory for Mr
Yushchenko. The immediate questions now are whether the opposition can
maintain the momentum of its protests; and whether they will continue
to be peaceful – or if bloody clashes with the security forces and
the official candidate’s supporters will now follow.
In an inconclusive emergency session of the parliament on Tuesday,
Mr Yushchenko had declared himself the rightful winner and had even
sworn the presidential oath, with his hand on a bible. Accusing Mr
Yanukovich and the outgoing president, Leonid Kuchma, of engineering
an electoral fraud, Mr Yushchenko said that, as a result, the country
was now “on the brink of civil conflict”. America, the European
Union and other international observers have strongly criticised
the irregularities in the poll, which reportedly included widespread
multiple voting using absentee ballots. Both the United States and
the EU have warned of serious consequences for their relations with
Ukraine if the irregularities are not properly investigated.
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has been backing Mr Yanukovich,
who favours maintaining Ukraine’s traditional ties to Moscow,
whereas Mr Yushchenko is keen on joining the EU and NATO. At first,
Mr Putin rang his candidate to congratulate him on his “victory” but,
as the protests of the opposition and of the western powers grew, he
backtracked and called on both candidates to act within the law. Mr
Kuchma stayed silent until Tuesday night, when he issued a statement
calling for talks between the two sides.
The eventual outcome remains uncertain. Mr Yushchenko’s supporters
are hoping for something like the non-violent “rose revolution”
a year ago in Georgia, another former Soviet state, in which huge
popular demonstrations forced the country’s then president, Edward
Shevardnadze, to resign following dubious parliamentary elections. Mr
Yanukovich and his supporters, in turn, show no sign of backing down.
However, on Wednesday Mr Yushchenko hinted at a possible compromise,
saying that he would be prepared to stand again in a re-run of the
second round of voting between him and Mr Yanukovich.
What happens now depends on several factors. First, the strength
of ordinary Ukrainians’ feelings about the outcome – how sick they
are of the current regime and the business oligarchs who prop it up,
and how far they are prepared to go to defend Mr Yushchenko’s claims
of victory. There has been talk of a general strike and the local
authorities in Kiev and several other large cities have declared
their refusal to recognise the official results. But Ukraine is in
the middle of its bitter winter – so staying on the streets will
demand great fortitude.
The loyalty of the state bureaucracy (which recently received a big
pay rise from Mr Yanukovich, currently the country’s prime minister)
may also influence events: a number of Ukrainian diplomats around the
world have signed a document denouncing the results. In particular, it
is not yet clear how the security forces will react to the protests. On
Monday, they issued a statement promising that any lawlessness would
be put down “quickly and firmly”. But in Georgia’s revolution last
year, Mr Shevardnadze bowed to the inevitable and stepped down after
it had begun to look doubtful if his security forces would obey any
order to crush the rising pro-democracy protests. It was reported
that a mid-ranking officer in an elite Ukrainian riot-police unit
had been sacked after denouncing his superiors for issuing “illegal”
orders to use force against protesters. Meanwhile, the defence minister
has denied rumours that he sent tanks to Kiev, and asked the army to
stay calm.
International pressure may also have a significant effect on the
outcome. As well as the pressure from America and the EU, a key
determining factor will be the attitude of Mr Putin. The crisis in
Ukraine is bound to overshadow his summit with EU leaders this week
(see article) and he risks serious difficulties in his relations with
both Europe and America if he backs Mr Yanukovich in repressing the
protests. Towards the climax of the Georgian revolution last year,
Mr Putin seemed to lose patience with Mr Shevardnadze, perhaps
contributing to his downfall. Does the Russian leader’s even-handed
call for both candidates in Ukraine’s conflict to obey the law suggest
he has already begun to hedge his bets?
All along, both Russia and the West have been taking a close interest
in Ukraine’s election, not just because it is one of eastern Europe’s
largest countries, with 49m people, but because the outcome could
have important consequences for the whole region. Mr Yushchenko
presented himself as a pro-western, free-market reformer who would
clean up corruption and enforce the rule of law. Mr Yanukovich, in
contrast, stood for deepening Ukraine’s close links with Russia. If
Mr Yushchenko had gained the presidency and led Ukraine towards
becoming a westernised democracy with European-style prosperity,
voters in Russia and elsewhere in eastern Europe might have begun to
demand the same. Thus a win by Mr Yushchenko would have been a huge
blow to Mr Putin, whose attempts to exert control over former Soviet
states would be greatly diminished.
Though Mr Yushchenko is now hoping for a Georgian-style bloodless
revolution to deliver him the presidency, there are also some less
promising precedents among the former Soviet states: only two months
ago, Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenka, “won” a rigged
referendum to allow him to run for re-election. The EU decided this
week to tighten its sanctions against those in his government it
blames for the “fraudulent” ballot. But so far there is no sign that
Mr Lukashenka will be dislodged from power. Azerbaijan and Armenia
also held flawed elections last year: in Azerbaijan, there were
riots after the son of the incumbent president won amid widespread
intimidation and bribery, but these were violently put down; and
in Armenia, voters reacted with quiet despair at the re-election of
their president amid reports of ballot-stuffing. If Ukraine follows
these precedents, hopes for change there, and in other parts of the
former Soviet Union, may be dashed.
PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
November 23, 2004
___________________
ARMENIA’S YOUNGEST THRIVE WITH SUPPORT FROM CHILDREN OF ARMENIA
SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM (CASP)
Ararat Haroutyunian, 13, lives with his younger brother and mother in
Yerevan, Armenia. His mother, Nelli, was widowed when Ararat’s father
was electrocuted on the job. The family’s economic situation is
desperate, since Nelli cannot find regular work to provide food,
clothing, and shelter for her family.
But the family has been making ends meet, thanks to Bobby and Nazeni
Nakashian of Lakewood, NJ. The Nakashians signed up to sponsor a child
through the Children of Armenia Sponsorship Program (CASP). They’ve
been paired with Ararat.
CASP is maintained under the auspices of the Women’s Guild Central
Council of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern). And
since its founding in 1991, sponsors and donors have provided more than
$3.6 million to help needy children like Ararat. Sponsors like the
Nakashians donate $200 a year for their sponsored child’s family to
purchase food, clothing, and other life necessities for the child.
THOUSANDS OF KIDS NEED A HAND
CASP — whose motto is “To be loved and cherished, that is every child’s
birthright” — was formed to help children in the aftermath of the
earthquake that devastated Armenia in 1988. Since then, it has helped
children left in need from war and the weak economy. Orphanages aren’t
the only places where these children live.
“My definition of an orphan was a child who lost both parents. In
Armenia, however, children are considered orphans when one parent —
especially the father — is no longer living,” said Susan Avakian
Stoneson, CASP’s coordinator.
In Armenian society, which has been centered on an extended family with
a mother, father, and grandparents who nurture their children together,
the number of orphans has grown significantly since the Republic of
Armenia declared its independence. In an already struggling economy
with scarce jobs and food in short supply, together with the effects of
the earthquake and the war in Karabagh, many families’ situations have
become dire, with only one parent as provider and caregiver.
“My mother was orphaned during the Armenian Genocide, so I find it
especially rewarding to help another Armenian orphan,” said CASP sponsor
Bobby Nakashian.
The Nakashians had the rare opportunity to meet Ararat and his family
while on a pilgrimage to Armenia organized by the Eastern Diocese last
fall. Thanks to special arrangements made Dr. Sam Mikaelian, executive
director of the Diocese, Ararat, his brother Arayik, Nelli, and her
sister visited with Bobby and Nazeni at the Congress Hotel in Yerevan.
“The family was so appreciative of our support. Their gratitude nearly
brought me to tears,” said Nazeni Nakashian. It was evident the boys,
sporting pressed clothes and neatly combed hair, had benefited from the
contribution of the American couple.
“Their appreciation is genuine. And like everyone else we met in
Armenia, they were eager to share what little they had to welcome us,”
Nazeni Nakashian said. “The fact that our $200 could make such a
difference in their lives is inconceivable by American standards, but in
Armenia that same money goes a long way.”
SPONSORS GIVE KIDS A CHANCE
The CASP program is stronger than ever and continues to make a
difference in the lives of thousands of Armenian children and their
families, just like Ararat.
Sponsorship is easy and requires little more than filling out a form and
making an annual tax-deductible donation of $200 per child. Upon
assignment of a child, sponsors receive the child’s photo and
biographical information, including the family circumstances and
information about the loss of the child’s parent or parents. Sponsors
are not expected to accommodate visa or invitation requests made by the
child’s family. Sponsors can contribute for more than one child, but
each child can have only one sponsor. The monetary support, delivered
in two payments per year, is used for food, clothing, and general living
expenses for the child.
“Most of the children send notes of appreciation and sometimes the
mother will write on the child’s behalf,” said Stoneson, who coordinates
the donations and communication between the sponsors and children.
“Anyone can be a sponsor — an individual, a parish, a group, or an
organization.”
But CASP is more than individual sponsors helping specific children.
Generous donations from outside the sponsorship program (from
in-lieu-of-flowers memorials; wills and bequests; in honor of special
events such as weddings, birthdays and anniversaries; and in
thanksgiving) provide yearly support benefiting the children at the
orphanage at Gamo (also called “Gavar”, near Lake Sevan) in the form of
food, clothing, medicine, shelter, education, and recreation.
Occasionally, special donations have been earmarked for specific
purposes, such as improving playground facilities, extensive renovations
for the orphanage, creating a youth center in Etchmiadzin, and for
special distributions to families in very poor, remote areas of Armenia,
Stoneson said.
CASP began in 1991, when Archbishop Torkom Manoogian appointed Mrs.
Julie Ashekian as coordinator of CASP. Julie was assisted by her
husband, Clement, who assumed the administrative responsibility for the
roughly 200 children in the program in its early days. Since that time,
the program has grown to include approximately 1,200 sponsored children,
now ranging in age from infants to 17 years old. The program’s donors
also help support 150 children living at the Gamo Orphanage.
For further information about sponsoring an Armenian child through CASP,
please contact Susan Stoneson by e-mailing [email protected], or
calling (201) 969-9303.
— 11/23/04
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News
and Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): Ararat Haroutyunian, 13, (left) pictured here with
his brother, Aravik, is an Armenian orphan aided by the supporters of
the Children of Armenia Sponsorship Program. His CASP sponsors, Bobby
and Nazeni Nakashian, visited with him during the Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern) pilgrimage to Armenia last fall.
PHOTO CAPTION (2): During a pilgrimage to Armenia, CASP sponsor Nazeni
Nakashian (center) meets with the orphan she and her husband, Bobby,
sponsor, Ararat Haroutyunian, 13, (bottom right). Also pictured are
Ararat’s brother, Arayik (bottom left), mother Nelli (top left) and aunt
(top right), is an Armenian orphan sponsored by CASP.
# # #
AZERI DEFENSE MINISTER WANTS NATO TO DISCUSS KARABAGH
ArmenPress
Nov 22 2004
BAKU, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS: Receiving Belgian defense minister
August Vandel in Baku, Azerbaijan’s defense minister Safar Abiyev
said the priority goal of Azerbaijan’s armed forces was to move to
NATO standards as close as possible.
Abiyev said the process of armed forces’ training was in may aspects
conforming NATO requirements. He also spoke in favor of placing the
Nagorno Karabagh conflict on NATO agenda. “By joining the NATO’s
Partnership for Peace program Armenia has committed not to lay
territorial claims to neighbor countries. I believe it is time to
discuss that issue,” he was quoted by Azeri news media as saying.
Belgian defense minister spoke for his part in favor of a bigger EU
involvement in the conflict regulation process and suggested also
that Azerbaijan could use Belgium’s experience in building a mobile
and easily managed armed forces.
18 Assyrians Still Being Held Without Charges in Syria
AINA, CA (Assyrian Int’l News Agency)
Nov 22 2004
Hasaka, Syria (AINA) — Syrian authorities continue to hold eighteen
Assyrians, one Armenian and one Kurd, who demonstrated against the
murder of two Assyrians in Hasaka, Syria on October 31 (story). No
charges have been filed against the detainees and no date has been
set for their release.
Background
A personal conflict between an Arab Muslim from the al-Radhi family
and an Assyrian Christian from the Abraham family culminated in the
murder of an Assyrian man on October 16. The Arab member of the
Al-Radhi family enlisted the aid of members of his family and klan,
including an officer in the Syrian Army, Mudhar al-Radhi, to attack
and kill Naseem Abraham, a 35 year old married Assyrian man. The Arab
attackers mutilated Naseem’s body, dragged his body in the street,
and insulted the Christians in that quarter of the city.
When Naseem’s friend Yalda Yacoub, aged 25, rushed to attend to his
friend, he was prevented from do so, attacked and shot. He was
transferred to the hospital in Damascus. Yalda Yacoub died on the
same day at the hospital.
The following is a list of the names of the detainees.
Name City Court Detained
Jurisdiction Since
Mazen Ibrahim Haido Hassake Juvenile 10/31/2004
Danny Edwar Kako Tel-Jazire Juvenile 10/31/2004
John Tima Ismail Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Tony Shlimon Youkhanna Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Akram Warda Youkhanna Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Samir Khoushaba Iwas Hassake Military Court 10/31/2004
Joseph Mallek Ismail Tel-Tammer Military Court 10/31/2004
Khoushaba Yousif Benyamen Tel-Tammer Military Court 10/31/2004
Fouad Boulos Youkhanna Tel-Tammer Military Court 10/31/2004
Rami Sadeq Ismail Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Johnny Younadam Tel-Tammer Military Court 10/31/2004
Farid Boulos Youkhanna Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Esam Shawkat Hermiz Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Yousif Gabriel Chamoun Tel-Jazire Military Court 10/31/2004
Ashur Gevargis Mameh Tel-Sakra Military Court 10/31/2004
Nineb Birour Abraham Tel-Tammer Military Court 10/31/2004
Samir Ibrahim Yakhannis Tel-Sakra Military Court 10/31/2004
Sarkis Agop Shahinian(Armenian) Hassake Juvenile 10/31/2004
Yousif Abdul-Ahad 11/13/2004
Wasim Khider Mardini(Kurd)Hassake Juvenile 10/31/2004
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC
Nov 21 2004
Religious diversity in Turkey spurned
Officials’ dealings with groups slow
By Susan Sachs
ISTANBUL, Turkey – In the Panayia church, one of the few Greek Orthodox
churches active in Turkey, ceiling panels dangle precariously and
flying glass has pitted the frescos. Musty carpets are rolled up and
stored beside Byzantine iconostasis.
The building, which celebrates its 200th anniversary today, has
been scarred for a year, since terrorists bombed the nearby British
Consulate and the explosion shattered dozens of stained glass windows.
Orthodox leaders, following Turkish law, asked for government
permission to make repairs but received no response.
After a few months, they replaced the broken windows. But they hesitate
to start renovations because the Turkish authorities, as frequently
happens, have not acknowledged their request.
“That’s the usual tactic,” said Andrea Rombopoulos, a parishioner who
publishes a newspaper for Istanbul’s small Greek Orthodox community.
“They don’t give a negative answer. They don’t give any answer at all.”
Turkey has long viewed its non-Muslim minorities with a certain
ambivalence, defending freedom of worship while tightly regulating the
affairs of religious institutions. Christians of Greek and Armenian
descent, in particular, have said they are blocked from using,
selling and renovating their churches’ properties.
Now, under pressure from the European Union and local civil rights
advocates, Turkey has started to reassess the way it has treated
religious minorities since the state was founded 81 years ago.
Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan’s government has prepared
legislation that would give Christian and Jewish foundations
more freedom to manage their own assets and elect board members.
Parliament is expected to vote on the bill before Dec. 17, when EU
leaders are to decide whether to open accession talks with Turkey.
For the first time, senior Turkish officials also have broken a
long-standing taboo and broached the idea of allowing the Greek
Orthodox patriarchate to reopen a 160-year-old seminary that once
served as a leading training center for priests.
Some legal constraints on religious foundations already have been
relaxed over the last three years, although European and American human
rights monitors, citing cases like the Panayia church, have reported
that local officials have been reluctant to carry out the changes.
For many Turks, though, even a discussion of minorities raises fears
of separatism. Some have argued that lifting government controls on
religious institutions would undermine Turkey’s secular foundations.
And Turkey’s president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, recently warned that
drawing attention to Turkey’s sectarian or cultural diversity harmed
the state.
MHER SHAHJELDIAN: VERY DIFFICULT PERIOD IN KARABAKH PROBLEM STARTS FOR ARMENIA
YEREVAN, November 20 (Noyan Tapan). During the recent session of
the MATO Parliamentary Assembly in Venice the report on the South
Caucasus was discussed. The RA NA deputies Mher Shahgeldian and Alexan
Karapetian who had participated in the session informed reporters about
this at the November 19 press conference. According to M. Shahgeldian,
the issue of opening Armenia’s borders with Turkey was also raised
during the NATO PA Political Committee session. The issue may become
a subject of discussion at a plenary session in the future. When
answering the reporters’ questions, M. Shahgeldian noted that in
the report at the NATO PA session the Nagorno Karabakh problem was
given as much attention as to other regional problems, and the matter
concerned only an informational report. At the same time the deputy
considered as worrying the fact that Azerbaijan’s efforts aimed at
discussing the Karabakh problem in various international organizations
have been crowned with success. He underlined that a difficult period
starts for Armenia in terms of the Karabakh problem.
Glendale telethon to fund Armenian highway
By Naush Boghossian, Staff Writer
Los Angeles Daily News
November 19, 2004
Friday, November 19, 2004 – GLENDALE — Rush-hour traffic on the
freeway, blaring horns, rude drivers — those are the stuff of dreams
for people in Armenia, who have 52 miles remaining to complete a
major north-south “backbone” highway in the country.
To that end, Armenians living outside that country are gearing up
for the Armenia Fund’s 12-hour telethon on Thursday.
More than 600 volunteers — 200 of which will answer telephones —
will help conduct the event live from Glendale. It will feature
popular Armenian singers and government officials and will air in
45 million homes throughout the United States, Europe, South America
and the Middle East.
The goal of the 10th annual telethon: To raise the $12.5 million
needed to complete the $25 million, 105-mile highway that will link
150 towns and villages and help spur the country’s struggling economy.
“The importance of the road, half of which has already been built,
is that it created 1,000 jobs in very small villages in most need
of development,” said Maria Mehranian, chairperson of Armenia Fund
Western United States. “And strategically, the road still remains
the single most important project in the country.”
Currently, the transportation of goods from one part of the country
to another is clumsy at best.
Small trucks carry goods back and forth, without any expressways
or mass transit of any sort, making for a very slow and inefficient
exchange of goods.
“We have seen firsthand here what impacts a freeway has not only on the
community but on the economy,” said George L. Pla, chief executive
officer of Cordoba Corp., a civil engineering and construction
management company. He traveled to Armenia and surveyed the country
to explore the potential of infrastructure development.
“I think it’s even more crucial in Armenia because they don’t have
too many access points to moving goods and services, so in short,
this highway is just going to stimulate the economy and create jobs,”
he said.
Over the last 10 years, the nonprofit Armenia Fund has raised about
$90 million for projects in Armenia. Last year’s telethon generated
$6.5 million, but organizers are hoping that with a larger audience
this year, they will hit their target goal of $12.5 million.
“Armenia Fund started in Glendale, and because of the large community
of Armenians that live in the city of Glendale, this has become
a very successful event, a very worthwhile event, and it does help
build infrastructure for the country that needs the help from its
community,” said Mayor Bob Yousefian.
Each year, the international organization that’s headquartered in
the Armenian capital of Yerevan identifies a cause in Armenia it will
support, causes that in the past have included building roads, schools,
hospitals, water-related facilities and creating training programs.
When Armenia became an independent country in 1991, Armenia Fund raised
money for social programs, but when the country began to stabilize,
it started to exclusively dedicate money to the infrastructure and
economic development.
Mehranian said Armenian people — many of whom have never been to
Armenia — feel compelled to send money to a country with which they
feel an undeniable bond.
“There is a strong bond between Armenia and Armenians in the diaspora,”
Mehranian said. “After years of living in other countries, for the
first time there is an idea of homeland … and as more Armenians go
back to Armenia, these bonds become stronger, people want to do more
and to give more.”
Naush Boghossian, (818) 546-3306 [email protected]
HOW TO HELP
Armenia Fund’s 2004 Telethon will air in Los Angeles from 8 a.m. to
8 p.m. Thursday on KSCI (Channel 18). It will also be Webcast at
THE ULP OPPOSES POLICY CONDUCTED BY COALITION
Azg/arm
20 Nov 04
The United Labor Party is no radical opposition and doesnâ~@~Yt accept
the policy conducted by the radical opposition. The ULP opposes the
policy of the coalition. At the same time, the party is very consistent
in its activities and will never give up its commitments. Thus, the
ULP has no oppositional attitude and status regarding RA President
Robert Kocharian, as in 2003, the party considered the program of
Robert Kocharian the closest to its ideas among the other candidates
in the presidential elections.
Criticizing the coalition, it will try to avert any slight violation
of the program, as in case Robert Kocharian fails to carry out its
program, the ULP will have to share responsibility for that. At
present, the ULP is studying the activities of the executive power
during 2004 and makes a final conclusion about the bill on “RA State
Budget in 2005.” This conclusion will be represented at the parliament
soon. Gourgen Arsenian, leader of the ULP faction, emphasized the
importance of managing the expenses and not the results. Thus, the
executive power should know the benefits gained from each allocation.
Arsenian promised to represent data concerning the activities of
all spheres in RA, i.e. they will point out concrete spheres where
resources were wasted.
Gourgen Arsenian, the guest of the National Press Club, answering the
questions of journalists, touched upon the discussion of important
issues with RA President in various formats. He said that they resemble
clashes of the views and they can be decisive very frequently. For
example, the fate of the law “On Higher and Post-Graduate Education”
was decided during the discussion with RA President, instead of being
considered at the Parliament.
Arsenian evaluated “the people suffering from revolutionary nonsense”
as “agents of the foreign special services” and emphasized that
at present, in Armenia the political power and the responsibility
the political parties share is growing. The aim of the process is to
maintain the political power and to secure its consistency by political
elections only. According to Gourgen Arsenian, the ULP doesnâ~@~Yt
strive for any executive power, including the post of RA President,
as it is carrying out the duty of the publicâ~@~Ys service. According
to the ULP, the most acceptable candidate for RA President will be
the person accepted by the people who carry the power.
According to him, the struggle for power carried out otherwise
resembles a childish way like “Let me play a bit,” that is a quite
dangerous phenomenon for Armenia.
By Nana Petrosian
–Boundary_(ID_TfAN+TiYxO8ahniMlARucQ)–
RIA Novosti, Russia
Nov 17 2004
CONSTRUCTION OF ARMENIAN SECTOR OF IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE TO START
IN LATE NOVEMBER 2004
YEREVAN, November 17 (RIA Novosti’s Gamlet Matevosyan) – The
construction of the Armenian sector of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline
will start in late November 2004, head of technical development and
foreign relations department of the Armenian Energy Ministry Levon
Vardanyan told journalists on Wednesday.
According to him, the construction of the 42-km sector of the gas
pipeline 700 mm in diameter will start with Megri-Kadzharan site. In
compliance with the existing agreements, the Iranian side will
finance the construction of this sector and the remaining sector
between Yerevan and Ararat will be completed later, Mr. Vardanyan
said.
Armenia and Iran signed an agreement on the construction of the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline in Yerevan on May 13, 2004. According to
this agreement, 36 billion cubic meters of Iranian gas will be
supplied to Armenia over 20 years. Armenia will receive 1.1 billion
cubic meters of Iran’s natural gas annually and pay for these
supplies with its electric energy.
The construction of the 141-km long pipeline (41 km on Armenian
territory and 100 km in Iran) will be completed in the end o 2006.
According to preliminary calculations, Armenian and Iranian
investments in the project will total $90 and $120 million
correspondingly.
The gas pipeline will link Tehran and Yerevan via the Megri section
of the Armenian-Iranian border. Turkmenistan’s gas will be delivered
to Armenia via Iran on this pipeline.