Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

ARMENIAN INTELLECTUALS CONDEMN ACTS OF VIOLENCE TOWARDS ARMENIANS IN RUSSIA

Noyan Tapan
Jun 13 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The representatives of Armenian
creative unions and scientific circles condemn the acts of violence
towards Armenians in Russia, in consequence of which a great number
of Armenians were killed. The intellectuals call for undertaking
effective measures for stopping these phenomena. They criticized RA
Foreign Ministry at the June 13 meeting. According to the speakers,
the Ministry does not properly struggle against this phenomena through
its diplomatic canals.

Maria Babayan, Head of RA Foreign Ministry RF Department, said that “we
all are anxious about the existence of such a problem in Russia.” But
she does not agree that the Foreign Ministry undertakes no steps
against this. According to her, in case of any act of violence the
Armenian foreign political department responds, sends letters to their
Russian colleagues, and there are affirmations that the criminals
will be disclosed and punished.

The intellectuals are also going to make a statement, as well as to
send a message to RF President Vladimir Putin.

MEETING DEDICATED TO PREPARATORY WORKS OF ARMENIA-DIASPORA THIRD CONFERENCE TAKES PLACE IN FRANCE

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 13 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A meeting with the
French Armenian Organizations’ Coordinating Commitee took place at the
RA Embassy’s invitation in France on June 10. All French Armenian main
structures are in the staff of the committee. The meeting was dedicated
to preparatory works of the Armenia-Diaspora Third Conference.

RA Ambassador to France Edvard Nalbandian presented issues on agenda
to be discussed at the conference, especially drawing attention to
one of main themes of the conference, to program of development of
rural communities of Armenia, also touched upon the forum entitled
“New Solutions for Old Problems for Nation-State of XXI Century.”

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign Ministry’s Press and
Information Department, opinions were exchanged at the meeting on
securing proper participation of the French Armenian community in the
conference and on issues of involving French experts in the program
of development of rural communities.

Issues relating to formation of the French Armenian delegation at the
conference, preparing reports and proposals on themes on the agenda
were discussed.

At the Ambassador’s request, the French Armenian Organizations’
Coordinating Committee undertook organization issues connected
with participation of the Armenian community of France in the
Armenia-Diaspora Third Conference and committed itself to prepare
for the conference in the best way.

WEST SHOW OF IRAN ISSUES POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED: ARMENIAN DAILY

Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
June 11 2006

The West has always shown the domestic affairs of Iran in line with
its political goals, Armenian daily `Alik’ wrote on Sunday.

Alik editor-in-chief Dernik Malekian Mehr made the remark while
pointing to a news by Western media claiming that religious minorities
in Iran are obliged to carry a badge on their dresses to be distinct
from Muslims.

In line with the West’s anti-Iran propaganda, the Western media publish
news on alleged violation of human rights in Iran every year, he said,
adding this time they have focused on violation of rights of religious
minorities in Iran.

He said minor social and economic problems of religious minorities
in Iran have reduced during the past 27 years after the victory of
the Islamic Revolution.

He added religious minorities were exposed to no pressure in Iran.

The editor-in-chief further stated if religious minorities faced
problems in Iran, they would raise them through their representatives
at Majlis (Parliament) and the MPs did their utmost to settle the
problems.

He added the West has always launched such propaganda against Iran
over the past 27 years but to no avail.

Today, the communities of religious minorities in Iran face no
problem with respect to interaction with the government, he said,
adding there is no room for the West to distort realities in Iran.

Religious minorities, like every Iranian individual, can rought up
their political, social and economic problems with their deputies at
Majlis, he added.

Malekian Mehsr said the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
has always tried to settle problems of religious minorities.

There are, however, problems in Iran which are not limited to just
religious minorities rather all Iranians are faced with them, he
said, adding these problems caused no displeasure between religious
minorities and the Iranian government.

SWITZERLAND TO CONTRIBUTE TO TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONS

Lragir.am
12 June 06

Switzerland has recognized the Armenian genocide, adopted a law
prohibiting the denial of the genocide, and condemned the massacres
of Armenian khachkars in Old Djolfa. Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline
Calmy-Rey stated June 12 that their relations with Turkey did not
become tense in the aftermath though there were some trials.

Switzerland is simply interested and willing to contribute to the
improvement of Turkish-Armenian and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations
and foster the use of diplomatic methods to settle the conflict and
sustain democracy in the South Caucasus. The resolution of the Karabakh
conflict will both regulate the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and
indirectly foster Turkish-Armenian relations.

Switzerland has always made efforts to foster dialogue between
Armenia and Turkey but has failed so far, said the deputy chair of
the Federal Council of the Swiss Confederation, Foreign Minister
Micheline Calmy-Rey.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
June 9, 2006 Friday

AFTERWARD TO THE JUBILEE MEETING OF THE CIS COUNCIL OF DEFENSE
MINISTERS;
Moscow is prepared to strengthen its positions in the post-Soviet
republics

Russian Defense Minister held the 50th meeting of the CIS Council of
defense ministers in Baku last week.

Unfortunately, the majority of the CIS defense ministers failed to
attend the meeting. No one was surprised that representatives of
Georgia, Moldova and Turkmenistan did not arrive they always ignore
such meetings. However, it’s unknown why the defense ministers of
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan refused to attend the meeting.
They sent their representatives. The Ukrainian defense minister
participated as an observer. The delegation from Armenia did not
arrive, though this country is an active participant in military
cooperation within the framework of the CIS. Armenian representatives
feared that Azerbaijan would not ensure their security. This is a
reasonable argument. There was a tragic precedent: an Armenian
officer sent to a course in English in Budapest was murdered by an
Azerbaijanian officer. Azerbaijan declared the murderer person of the
year in 2005…

Only four ministers (from Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan)
participated. However, the meeting proved to be very fruitful. They
discussed the progress of realization of the Conception of military
cooperation within the CIS until 2010. The ministers focused on the
joint anti-aircraft system and the CIS coordinating committee in
charge of anti-aircraft issues. In particular, they considered issues
linked with funding the anti-aircraft system in 2007. There are plans
to allocate around 240 million roubles for its development.

The ministers analyzed the performance of the CIS coordinating
committee of meteorological services and determined its tasks until
2010. In addition, they passed joint requirements to the
communications system and discussed planning of joint operational
exercises in 2007.

The ministers analyzed the performance of the peacekeeping contingent
in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazia conflict and decided to extend
its commander’s term in office for six months.

Sergei Ivanov made a range of important statements about Moscow’s
policy in the post-Soviet republics after the end of the summit.

He noted that 1,500 peacekeepers stationed in the Trans-Dniester
territory prevent military conflicts between Moldova and the
Trans-Dniester territory. Several hundred servicemen guard ammunition
depots of the former 14th army.

The minister said that Russia has withdrawn heavy weapons from the
Trans-Dniester territory in compliance with the conventional arms
agreement. However, he noted that Russian servicemen must remain in
this region in order to prevent terrorists from obtaining the
remaining ammunition in the Trans-Dniester territory.

The Russian minister noted, “We will be protecting these ammunition
depots until a political solution to the Trans-Dniester problem has
been found.”

To all appearances, this means that Moscow has begun to defend its
interests in the post-Soviet republics. It’s no secret that many
Russian politicians reproach the government for being too diplomatic
in solving some problems, for instance with Georgia and Ukraine.

The demonstration of such serious a position is probably linked with
the fact that the OSCE chairman, who arrived in Moldova, stated that
the OSCE is prepared to allocate EUR10 million for the withdrawal of
Russian weapons from the Trans-Dniester territory. The OSCE chairman
said that his organization intends to make Russia withdraw troops
from Moldova.

Sergei Ivanov again noted that the West uses double standards for
evaluating Russia’s and the US’ military presence abroad. In
particular, he focused on the agreement reached by the US and
Bulgaria to create an US military base in this country. The strength
of the base (2,500 servicemen) can be doubled in critical situations.
In addition, the US will be able to store heavy military vehicles at
the base. The US states that this is “insubstantial military
presence”. At the same time, the US demands that Russian withdraw
peacekeepers from the Trans-Dniester territory.

Sergei Ivanov stated that at a conference in Vienna, Russia noted
that the mechanism of control over conventional arms in Europe won’t
work. This makes Russia worry because Moscow meets its commitments,
including in the North-Caucasus.

It should be noted that the OSCE chairman informed the Moldovan
reintegration minister that Kosovo and Montenegro can serve as a
precedent for the Trans-Dniester conflict. The Trans-Dniester
territory disagrees. Its president Igor Smirnov stated that the
Trans-Dniester territory will organize a referendum concerning its
independence by October. He noted that the Trans-Dniester territory
may join the CIS. The Abkhazian leader has similar plans.

Ukrainian defense Minister Anatoly Gritsenko met with his
Azerbaijanian counterpart Safar Abiyev in Baku. The Ukrainian
minister announced the idea of creating a peacekeeping unit within
the framework of GUAM.

Some media called this statement a sensation. GUAM allegedly will
weaken Russia’s positions. It’s not new that GUAM competes with
Moscow and its allies. In principle, such a turn of events cannot be
ruled out. However, many political analysts state that the political
union of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova died long ago.

Such statements encourage Russia to more active moves. Sergei Ivanov
noted in Baku that in the prospects peacekeeping units will be sent
to Nagorny Karabakh because this problem cannot be solved. It should
be noted that Russia previously made similar statements. This is why
it’s possible that Moscow will soon initiate the issue of sending a
peacekeeping group to this region. The Russian Ground Force has a
peacekeeping brigade consisting of contract servicemen. One of its
battalions is deployed in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian
conflict.

The Russian defense minister held a meeting with his Ukrainian
counterpart Anatoly Gritsenko. They determined the destiny of the
An-70 project – Russia will not build this transport plane. The Black
Sea fleet became the main topic of negotiations.

Anatoly Gritsenko said that Sergei Ivanov plans to visit Ukraine in
summer in order to discuss this issue with the Ukrainian military
leadership.

Ukraine was stirred up by preparations for the Sea Breeze
international exercise in which Ukraine has been participating since
1997. Ukrainian residents protest against the exercise. They state
that the Ukrainian leadership seeks to join NATO and deploy a
military base of the alliance in the Crimea. The Crimean local
government bodies support the protesters.

In other words, the summit and statements made by some defense
ministers in Baku testify that military problems remain one of the
main issues in the relations between the former Soviet republics.

Russia has a lot of problems with some CIS nations. These problems
aggravate. Anyway, Moscow seeks to react to these problems.
Meanwhile, Moscow will probably have to make more decisive moves in
order to solve these problems and defend its interests in the
post-Soviet republics.

Source: WPS observer

VARDAN OSKANYAN: THE DIALOGUE BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY ALWAYS EXISTED

ArmRadio.am
08.06.2006 16:35

“The dialogue between Armenia and Turkey always existed,” declared
RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan in response to the question about
Turkish media reports on secret talks between Armenia and Turkey.

According to the Foreign Minister, there have always been ties between
the two countries, there have been meetings on different levels,
even on the level of Foreign Ministers.

“There is no secret here,” Minister Oskanyan said. At the same time
he refuted that the contacts started after the correspondence between
the Prime Minister of Turkey and RA President.

“The meetings are not linked to these letters. Ties have always
existed and will probably exist in the future also. At this point,
however, there are no novelties in Armenian-Turkish relations,”
the Minister noted.

ANOTHER SENATOR IS FIRED: THE KREMLIN TARGETS THE LEADER OF KALMYKIA
By Andrei Smirnov

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
June 8 2006

Russia continues to be rocked by purges of the Federation Council,
the upper house of the Russian parliament, where deputies (often called
“senators”) represent regional governments.

On May 14, Sergei Mironov, speaker of the Federation Council,
dismissed four members of the Council. The ousted senators represented
a northern region (Nenets autonomous okrug), two Siberian regions
(Yamal-Nenets autonomous okrug, and Khakassia), and a region in the
Far East (Primorsky krai). After some local resistance, regional
parliaments approved Mironov’s decision (see EDM, May 25).

However, it soon became clear that more resignations were in the
pipeline. On June 2, Senator Levon Chakhmakhchyan was arrested by
officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) on charges of bribery.

Chakhmakhchyan represents Kalmykia, a region in southern Russia is
and vice-president of the Association for Russian-Armenian Business
Cooperation. Chakhmakhchyan and Igor Arushanov, chief accountant
for the Association, were arrested at the headquarters of Transaero
Airlines. FSB officers confiscated a bag containing $300,000, which
they claimed was a bribe.

Chakhmakhchyan was arrested after meeting with Alexander Pleshakov,
the chairman of the Transaero board of directors. The senator said that
he had visited Pleshakov “to discuss a Transaero advertising campaign
in Armenia and Transaero’s possible membership in the Association”
(lenta.ru, June 5). After the meeting, Pleshakov told the senator to
take a bag sitting under the table; Chakhmakhchyan thought the bag
contained souvenirs for him. FSB officers were waiting outside and
detained the senator and the accountant as they left the office.

Speaking to Ekho Moskvy radio on June 5 Chakhmakhchyan said, “As soon
as the two of us were out of Pleshakov’s office, we were stopped by FSB
officers. The reasons for the detention were not given. My demands for
release and the arguments that I am a member of the Federation Council
were ignored. The agents behaved rudely and cynically, used physical
violence, treated me with contempt, including [making] comments of
nationalistic nature. Only two and a half hours later was I released.”

According to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, the money
confiscated from Chakhmakhchyan and his associate were part of a
bribe to an official in the Russian Federation Board of Accounting
to close a case of tax evasion against Transaero. Armen Oganesyan,
Chakhmakhchyan’s father-in-law, works at the Board, so the senator had
suggested to Pleshakov that he could assist in solving the problem
for Transaero. Pleshakov, however, complained to Sergei Stepashin,
chairman of the Russian Board of Accounting, that Board officials
had blackmailed him.

Stepashin got in touch with FSB Director Nikolai Patrushev,
who ordered a special operation to arrest Chakhmakhchyan and his
father-in-law. Chakhmakhchyan was released due to his immunity as a
member of the Federation Council, but the next day proceedings were
initiated at the Federation Council to withdraw his mandate. On June
5, Mironov’s press service issued a statement saying that the speaker
had sent a representative to the parliament of Kalmykia recommending
that Chakhmakhchyan be recalled from the Federation Council before
his term expired (Interfax, June 5).

Despite the accusations of corruption, many observers and politicians
in Kalmykia and in Moscow regarded the attack on Chakhmakhchyan as an
attack by the central authorities on Kirsan Ilumzhinov, the president
of Kalmykia. According to Kommersant newspaper, Chakhmakhchyan and
Ilumzhinov are close friends, and Chakhmakhchyan helped Ilumzhinov
during the 2002 presidential elections in Kalmykia, which the latter
won despite resistance from the Kremlin. In 2004 the Kalmykian leader
returned the favor by helping Chakhmakhchyan to be elected by the
local parliament to represent Kalmykia in the Federation Council
(Kommersant, June 5).

“One can only regret this unpleasant accident,” Ilumzhinov said,
commenting on the arrest of Chakhmakhchyan. “I believe that the guilt
of the senator should be proved by the court.” At the same time,
the Kalmykian president added, “I have no grounds not to trust Sergei
Mironov. If he demanded the senator’s recall, it means he had grounds
for this.” However, Ilumzhinov also stressed that Chakhmakhchyan’s
guilt should be determined in court and he also pointed out that the
senator “did a lot of useful things for Kalmykia” (strana.ru, June 6).

Apparently Ilumzhinov does not have enough power to help his
old friend this time. He is under great pressure from the Kremlin
himself. The Russian authorities regard the Kalmykian leader as a too
independent regional governor. Moscow thinks that maverick governors
such as Ilumzhinov could be a problem as the Russian parliamentary
and presidential elections approach. President Vladimir Putin’s
administration is not sure that such governors will guarantee a
“correct vote count” during the elections.

The Kremlin was especially enraged by the Kalmykian leader’s recent
meeting with Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion and the
leader of the United Civic Front, a radical, democratic, anti-Putin
organization. On June 4, Ilumzhinov was reelected chairman of the
World Chess Federation. In his interview with Sport Express, Russia’s
leading sports newspaper, Ilumzhinov thanked Kasparov for providing
help in the elections (Sport Express, June 7). This statement was a
direct challenge to the Kremlin, and the Kalmykian leader flaunted
his independence by mentioning Kasparov.

The arrest and firing of Chakhmakhchyan may prove to be the Russian
authorities’ first steps in an anti-Ilumzhinov campaign. However,
there are no doubts that the campaign will not be easy, since the
president of Kalmykia has proven to be a formidable adversary for
the powerful Kremlin bosses.

LAW ON POSTAL COMMUNICATION AGAIN IN THE AGENDA OF MASS MEDIA

Panorama.am
15:22 08/06/06

“The practice of the law has indicated that the concept of “postal
communication services” has been misinterpreted since subscription
services is also understood under it. Those organizations that offer
only subscription services are equalization with organizations that
offer wide variety of other postal services. Therefore, they are
charged for licensing similar to complex postal services – 5 mln
Armenian dram. Such approach will cause liquidation of subscription
services and will end up in monopoly in the field, Boris Navasardyan,
head of Yerevan Press Club said today. According to him, the law
is unfavorable in terms of economy and contradicts to a number
of legal acts, including article 27 of the Armenian Constitution
which protects freedom of information. He said small subscription
services cannot afford AMD 5 mln license fee. “They will withdraw
from the market soon,” he said. After all, the service will be
concentrated in the hands of the national operator – Haypost and
the field will be monopolized. Armen Davtyan and Rafael Tadevosyan,
representatives of Bliz Media and Press Attache also doubted the
logic of the law. “Suppose, I take a credit and pay AMD 5 mln. But
then I have to increase my service fees and in the end the burden
will lay with the customers,” A. Davtyan said assuring that this is
not in the interest of the government proclaimed policy to support
small and mid size businesses.

The interest in the law is connected with the proposal of United
Working Party to make amendments in the law on postal service. The
draft gives solutions to the abovementioned problems and satisfies the
people concerned, as Navasardyan said. The people interested, however,
are concerned that the government will downplay the bill.

OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS SAY PEACEFUL RESOLUTION TO CONFLICT OVER NK IS ‘IMPERATIVE AND ACHIEVABLE’

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
June 7 2006

BUCHAREST, 6 June 2006 – The three Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group,
which deals with the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, have issued
a statement following their June 4 meeting in Bucharest with the
presidents and foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Their
statement reads:

“In Bucharest on June 4, 2006, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group,
Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov (Russian Federation), Ambassador Steven
Mann (USA), and Ambassador Bernard Fassier (France), and the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman in Office (PRCIO), Ambassador
Andrzej Kasprzyk, assembled at the Embassy of Poland and met with
Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev, together with their Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Vartan
Oskanian and Elmar Mammadyarov. This meeting followed the late May
joint visit to Baku and Yerevan at the Deputy Minister level of the
Co-Chair countries, in which these representatives urged the sides
to intensify their dialogue to achieve an agreement on the basic
principles of the settlement. The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE,
Minister Karel de Gucht, welcomed the Presidents and delivered
opening remarks. The discussion covered the full range of issues
relating to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. On June 5, the Co-Chairs,
the PRCIO and the Presidents, with their Foreign Ministers, conducted
a second meeting.

The Co-Chairs remain of the opinion that a peaceful resolution of the
issues is both imperative and achievable, and that 2006 remains the
favorable window to achieve such progress. The Co-Chairs continue to
believe that the basic principles they have identified and proposed
to the parties for settlement of the conflict offer an equitable
basis for such a resolution. They regret that the parties have not
yet come to agreement on these principles.

The Co-Chairs expressed their intention to report to the Permanent
Council of the OSCE later in June on their activity in the previous
months.”

ARMENIAN ATTORNEYS IN JAVAKHETI WERE REFUSED LICENSE

Lragir.am
06 June 06

AKHALKALAKI, JUNE 5, A-INFO. The people of Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda
have been unable to use the services of the local Armenian attorneys
since June 1, 2006.

The Association of Georgian Attorneys refused to grant licenses to the
Armenian lawyers of Javakheti because the latter do not speak Georgian.

This fact will complicate the state of the Armenians of Javakheti,
who will have to spend several times more money to hire a lawyer from
other regions of Georgia.