Author: Virabian Jhanna

Turkish Ambassador Dismisses Reports on Opening Borders with Armenia

Baku Today
June 18 2004

Turkish ambassador to Azerbaijan, Ahmed Unal Chevikoz, on Thursday
dismissed reports that his country is planning to open its gates
to Armenia.

Chevikoz said a report by Turkey’s independent NTV television
on alleged preparations to open the Turkish-Armenian borders is
groundless.

“NTV’s report is not accurate and there have been no change in the
official statements by the Turkish president, prime minister and
foreign minister on opening of the borders,” the ambassador told
reporters.

Chevikoz reiterated the preconditions his country has put forth on the
border issue; Armenians have to stop their propaganda on the so-called
Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turkey, give up territorial claims
against Ankara and withdraw from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories.

Baku insists on return of seven occupied districts – Azeri minister

Ekspress, Baku
12 Jun 04

During his recent trip to Yerevan, the US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk
Group, Steven Mann, proposed that the Armenian leadership return three
of Azerbaijan’s occupied districts, the opposition’s Justice bloc said
in a joint statement disseminated in the Armenian parliament yesterday.

[Passage omitted: Armenian reports on the issue]

During the Prague meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign
ministers next week, the Baku government will put forward a proposal
on signing a final agreement on “the return of the seven districts”,
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists
yesterday.

Asked about the probability of new settlement scenarios in Prague,
Mammadyarov said that “this depends on the co-chairmen of the OSCE
Minsk Group”.

Asked about Mann’s proposal, Mammadyarov described it as impossible. “I
have not heard about a statement of this kind. This issue is not
being discussed at all,” he added. According to Mammadyarov, the
current talks have nothing to do with “changing any figures”.

“I have not heard any such words from Mann. Even if it is true, the
Azerbaijani side has expressed its position, making the proposal on
the seven districts”, he said.

[Passage omitted: Expert’s opinion on the issue]

Armenia likely to discuss withdrawal from occupied Azeri districts, paper says    

Iravunk, Yerevan
11 Jun 04

Text of T. Tovmasyan’s report in Armenian newspaper Iravunk on 11
June headlined “When occupying them, we knew we should give them back”

Sources close to the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun
have informed us that, during his recent meeting with the governing
coalition, the president said that when he and [assassinated Prime
Minister] Vazgen Sarkisyan were occupying the territories [Azerbaijani
districts around Nagornyy Karabakh], they knew definitely that they
should give them back.

According to the same source, Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan is
going to leave for the USA and, in all probability, he will be given
a date to start the process.

KfW may credit Yerevan hydro plant modernization

Interfax
June 11 2004

Yerevan. June 10 (Interfax) – ZAO International Energy Corporation
hopes to receive a credit of 15 million euros from Germany’s
Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau by the end of 2004 to modernize
Yerevan Hydroelectric Plant, plant Deputy General Director Mels
Akopyan told Interfax.

He said that representatives from KfW are currently discussing this
project with IEC General Director Mikhail Mantrov in Moscow.

Akopyan said that the German bank is waiting for the question of
guarantees to be resolved before providing the credit. He said that
he hopes that the credit will be provided under beneficial terms.

IEC has taken on the obligation of repaying a credit for 18 million
euros already received from KfW to restore the fifth and sixth
power-producing units at Kanaker Hydroelectric Plant, which is also
part of the Sevan-Razdan Cascade power plant. This credit was provided
to the Armenian government at the end of 2000 for 40 years at 0.75%
per annum, with a grace period of 10 years.

The Sevan-Razdan Cascade united six hydro plants build between 1930
and 1962 and is one of the main electricity producers in Armenia. The
plant has a capacity of 556 megawatts or about 18% of the total power
capacity of Armenia.

ZAO International Energy Corporation was set up at the start of
September 2003 by Unified Energy System of Russia to operate the Sevan-
Razdan plant. The company has a license from the Armenian commission
for the regulation of natural monopolies to produce electricity in
the country for 15 years.

HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN AN ARMENIAN COOKBOOK

The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY)
June 2, 2004 Wednesday Final Edition

“The Armenian Table: More Than 150 Treasured Recipes That Bring
Together Ancient Flavors and 21st Century Style,” (St. Martin’s
Press, $29.95, hardcover) is a collection of traditional favorites
and inspired contemporary variations.

CNY is giving away a copy of the book. Send your name, address and
phone number to: Armenian Cookbook giveaway, The Post-Standard, P.O.
Box 4915, Syracuse NY 13221. Entries must be postmarked by midnight
June 6. We’ll pick a winner in a random drawing.

The winner of “The Good Housekeeping Grilling Cookbook” is Lena
DeSantis, of Syracuse.

The winner of “Burgers Every Way” is Marion Wrobel, of Syracuse.

HABITAT CONTINUES BUILDING HOMES FOR INSECURE ARMENIAN FAMILIES

ArmenPress
June 3 2004

ASHTARAK, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS: Habitat for Humanity Armenia, a
non-government charitable organization that supports community
development in the Republic of Armenia by building and renovating
simple, decent, and affordable homes, has renovated the first of four
semi-built homes in the village of Voskeat, Aragatsotn province.

US ambassador to Armenia, John Ordway, traveled today to the village to
attend the start of the renovation of the second cottage. Some $5,000
are envisaged for renovation of each house. This an interest free-free
loan that the owner has to pay back in 20-25 years.

Armenian Habitat charitable non-governmental organization (NGO) was
founded in Armenia in March 2000 by a group of enthusiasts headed
by a former US Peace Corps volunteer. The prototype of this local
non-profit was Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), which
“brings families and communities in need together with volunteers
and resources to build decent, affordable housing.”

Armenian Habitat operates in Armenia’s capital Yerevan and four
surrounding marzes – Aragatsoten, Armavir, Kotayk and Ararat. The
logic behind the NGO’s projects is that the grantee should be a needy
family but with a reliable source of monthly income, have an incomplete
house, and be prepared to pay roughly US $20-30/month for the next
20-25 years to reimburse fully Habitat’s non-interest-bearing loan,
and these funds will also be used for completing new houses.

Take Ten; On visiting Nazareth – 2
by Behn Cervantes

BusinessWorld
May 31, 2004, Monday

After a hearty lunch, we went around window shopping. Now, that is
another experience.

Merchants in this area whether Arabs or Jews, have got to be the most
persistent, makulit and hard-sell of all. If you don’t like this,
there is that and many, many more to chose from. “C’mon all are of
the best of quality!” You almost feel guilty for not buying.

One lady store owner even gave me a free card because after she told
me she was Armenian, not an Arab – she added her name ended with
an “i-a-n” which, she said identifies many of her people. “Like
Khatchaturian?” I asked. “Ah,” she said “you know. Good!” Taking
advantage of my position of acceptance I added like “William
Saroyan?” “Aaah” she gasped, “you really know.” She then gave that
free card made by nuns – some Filipinas she added.

There is too much to buy in these tourist spots and I had lost interest
in collecting material souvenirs. I collect memories instead these
days. When the church opened we went through the different points of
interest including the site where Joseph, the carpenter was supposed
to have lived. Why was it underground?

Naturally, we had Kodakan sessions, mixing religious experience with
tourist concerns. However, the drive up Mt. Tabor was breathtaking.
The ancient church atop it is stark for a Catholic church which makes
it indeed impressive.

When I looked down the vast horizon and the valley below, you had to
feel spiritual. Religious thoughts returned.

Ricky pointed out Bedouin settlements when we drove down and explained
their controversial role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However,
what really got my interest was driving through Megido Valley. We
had seen it from atop Mt. Tabor but driving through it now and being
informed by Ricky that this was the alleged Biblical site of the Final
Battle or the Armageddon, my hair literally stood on end. When we
drove through it I dropped my defenses, allowed my imagination to
“ride along.” I pressed the Pause button in my doubtful mind and
consider what this all meant. Going through the alleged site of The
Final Battle or the Armageddon had an entirely different effect on me
from seeing the humble home of Joseph in Nazareth as a tourist. All
of sudden, I had very mixed emotions, one rather mundane, the other
rather spiritual and deeply profound.

Nazareth the simple home town of Joseph, the carpenter, Mary, his
wife and a young boy named Jesus is now a booming tourist attraction,
rather blatantly commercial under a patina of religiosity. It is
unrecognizable by Biblical standards after 2,000 years of progress
and commerce.

Megido Valley, on the other hand, is utterly still, unoccupied, and
empty, as though waiting to play its final role as proclaimed in the
Good Book.

One is opposite the other. The connection between the two contrasting
places is Jesus of Nazareth. As Christ he will have the central role
in Megido in that prophesied event.

I had to pause, consider and think. It was mind-boggling. I had to
pray… in my own manner.

Armenian celebration
By Malcolm Pein

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
May 29, 2004, Saturday

A CELEBRATION is planned in Moscow from June 10-16 to celebrate the
75th anniversary of the birth of the late Armenian world champion
Tigran Petrosian.

The “Armenia v Rest of the World” six-player team tournament will see
each player face all members of the opposing team.

The Armenian team will consist of three Armenians; Vladimir Akopian,
Smbat Lputian and Rafael Vaganian and three players with Armenian
connections; Garry Kasparov, whose mother is Armenian, world title
challenger Peter Leko, whose wife is Armenian, and Boris Gelfand, who
studied under Tigran Petrosian.

The Rest of the World team is likely to include Vishy Anand, Michael
Adams, Peter Svidler and Loek Van Wely.

Players from China and Georgia, countries traditionally dominant in
women’s chess, have claimed four of the eight places in the
quarter-finals of the Fide Women’s World Championship at Elista.

Alexandra Kosteniuk, the vice-world champion and European individual
champion, was surprisingly eliminated by Viktoria Cmilyte.

A swift win from one of the two Russian championship qualifiers
taking place in Saint Petersburg. Black seems to stand well but there
are hidden threats; 19…Bxa4 20.Qh6 g6 21.Rh3 wins and 21…Nxc4
22.Bxc4 Qe7 23.Rdg1 g6 24.Rxg6+ hxg6 25.Rxg6+ and Qh6 mate. In the
final position 24…Kxg7 25.Qg5+ followed by Qf6+ and Rg1+ mates.

E Najer – S Ionov

57th Russian Ch Qualifier

St Petersburg (5)

Sicilian Defence

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc6 5 Nc3 d6 6 Be3 Nf6 7 Qe2 Be7 8
0-0-0 0-0 9 g4 a6 10 g5 Nxd4 11 Bxd4 Nd7 12 f4 b5 13 Rg1 b4 14 Na4
Bb7 15 b3 Bc6 16 Rg3 e5 17 fxe5 Bxg5+ 18 Be3 Bxe3+ 19 Qxe3 Nxe5 20
Nb6 Ra7 21 Nc4 Rd7 22 Bh3 Nxc4 23 bxc4 Re7 24 Rxg7+ 1-0

Ionov
p g 7 ) p p p 7 c 6 c c p – o p p p p p p
o b p b p p p p f p A b p b p p n p d * p p

Najer

Final position after 24.Rxg7+

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL REPORT 2004

REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

Head of state: Robert Kocharian
Head of government Andranik Markarian
Death penalty: abolitionist for ordinary crimes
UN Women’s Convention: ratified
Optional Protocol to UN Women’s Convention: not signed

Covering events from January – December 2003

In line with its human rights commitments to the Council of Europe,
Armenia abolished capital punishment in peacetime. However, it failed
to meet its commitments to the Council of Europe on conscientious
objectors to compulsory military service, who continued to be
imprisoned. The authorities detained hundreds of protesters who took
part in peaceful opposition rallies to contest the outcome of the
presidential elections.

Background

In March incumbent President Kocharian won presidential elections that
were marred by widespread voting irregularities, including ballot
box stuffing, and intimidation and violence towards independent and
opposition election monitors. Mass opposition rallies protested at
illegal election practices. Following international criticism, the
President acknowledged that the elections had not met international
standards and set up a commission of inquiry to investigate reported
irregularities. Nevertheless, parliamentary elections in May were
likewise flawed by reported ballot box stuffing and intimidation of
international observers. Parties that supported the President won a
large majority in parliament.

Administrative arrests

Some 100 protesters who participated in peaceful demonstrations after
the presidential elections were reportedly sentenced to short prison
terms after being convicted of disrupting public order. Reportedly
denied access to lawyers, they were sentenced in closed trials without
legal representation. In April the Armenian Constitutional Court
declared the arrests unlawful.

Prisoner of conscience Artur Sakunts, Chairman of the Vanadzor
branch of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly (HCA), was released from
prison on 25 March after serving a 10-day sentence. He was arrested
after he attempted to organize a public meeting on 15 March on the
findings of HCA election monitoring. He was tried the same day and
convicted of “disobeying the authorities” (Article 182 of the Armenian
Administrative Code). He was not permitted access to a lawyer before
or during his trial. His arrest and the firebombing of the Vanadzor
HCA office in the early hours of 14 March raised fears of a campaign
to prevent the HCA from carrying out legitimate human rights work.

Unfair trial concerns

In December Nairi Unanyan and five co-accused were sentenced to life
imprisonment by a court in Yerevan for their part in the October
1999 attack on the Armenian parliament in which eight deputies and
government officials, including Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian
and parliamentary Speaker Karen Demirchian, were killed. There were
concerns about the fairness of the trial and the widespread support
for imposing the death penalty in the case.

Proceedings in the case had been accompanied since the 1999 arrests
by concerns about due process and the detention conditions of those
detained in connection with the arrests. These included allegations of
torture and ill-treatment, difficulties in access to defence lawyers,
lack of access to families, and denial of access to independent
medical practitioners. Widespread public and political support
for the death penalty in this case had led to the Council of Europe
warning Armenia that it would face suspension from the organization
if any of the defendants were executed.

Death penalty

In May parliament adopted a new criminal code, which abolished the
death penalty in peacetime but contained a provision that could have
allowed use of the death penalty in the parliamentary shootings
trial. In July President Kocharian commuted all outstanding death
sentences to life in prison.

In September the newly elected parliament voted to abolish the death
penalty in peacetime and to ratify Protocol No. 6 to the European
Convention on Human Rights, one of the commitments Armenia undertook
when it joined the Council of Europe in 2001. However, in November
deputies voted unanimously to amend the new criminal code to deny the
right of parole to prisoners serving life sentences for grave crimes
including murder and assassination of a state or public figure. It was
widely believed that the amendment was intended to ensure that those
convicted in the parliamentary shootings case were never released.

Conscientious objection

Parliament adopted a law in December that provided for unarmed military
service of three years or alternative civilian service under the
Ministry of Defence for three and a half years – almost double the
length of ordinary military service.

Conscientious objectors continued to be sentenced to prison terms
despite Council of Europe requirements that all those imprisoned for
conscientious objection should be freed. By December, prison sentences
of between one and two years had been imposed on at least 27 men,
all Jehovah’s Witnesses, for conscientious objection. Five more had
been arrested and were awaiting trial. A further two had been released
on parole.

—

EBRD to lend $70 mln for Azerbaijan power plant upgrade

Interfax
May 27 2004

Baku. (Interfax) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD) is ready to extend Azerbaijan a $70-million loan to upgrade
the Azerbaijan State District Power Plant, the country’s largest,
a source in the EBRD’s office in Baku told Interfax.

An agreement is planned to be signed at the end of 2004 or the
beginning of 2005, the source said.

The project will include upgrading the power plant’s eight generating
units. Azerbaijan estimates the project will cost $80 million.

The Azerbaijan State District Power Plant is located on the Upper
Karabakh Canal 400 kilometers west of Baku. The plant’s first
generating unit was built in 1981 and the eighth in 1989. The eight
units have a total generating capacity of 2,400 megawatts (300
megawatts each). The plant generates more than half of Azerbaijan’s
electricity.

Azerbaijan has been a member of the EBRD since 1992. The EBRD has
extended loans under government guarantees to Azerbaijan worth $131.79
million and $9.5 million to the private sector to date. The EBRD is
planning to loan Azerbaijan $350 million in the 2004 fiscal year.

Azerbaijan has implemented two projects in the energy sector with
EBRD loans: upgrading the Minyachevir hydropower station for $21
million and building the Yenikend hydropower station for $53 million.