TREND Information, Azerbaijan
March 24 2006

Azerbaijan to release Armenian POW

Source: Trend
Author: E. Javadova

24.03.2006

Azerbaijan has repatriated POW Vartan Martikovich Saakyan to the
Armenian side, Commission for work with the prisoners of war, lost in
action and hostages told Trend.

V. Saakyan, born 1986, was detained on February 2, 2006, next to the
Azerbaijani-Armenian front line near Gasangay village of Terter
district. In the course of investigation, it was discovered that he
was serving on contract in the military forces of Armenia at the
occupied territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

POW release was conducted on the base of reports of the Azerbaijani
and Armenian governments to the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC). ICRC delegates visited the prisoner of war before the
operation to ensure he was returning home of his own free will.

Kommersant, Russia
March 24 2006

Make Money, Not Weapons
// The price of the question

The uniqueness of the Russian military industrial complex, whose
technological potential allowed Russia to feed its inhabitants space
food from tubes, conquer the Moon and hold the United States in the
sights of its cruise missiles, is, no matter how you twist it, a
memory dating back to Soviet times. The new, undocumented
characteristics of the complex are only now becoming known. Like war
itself, the military industry is amazing resilient to reform and is
capable to fighting off any attempts to make it profitable.
The solution of the problem of Armenian gas is at least the second
case in 2006 of the preservation of the military industrial complex
as a black hole that the government is willing to throw any amount of
money into. Military enterprises remain the leading reserve of hidden
unemployment, budgeted losses, non-paying contractors, and
Soviet-style incompetent management. Armenia resigns itself to high
gas prices for getting cheap or free military products. Who will pay
for those? Saying that Azerbaijan will do so by buying even more arms
from Russia to maintain its parity with Armenia is just an excuse.
Nothing will make Azeri President Ilham Aliev underwrite the Russian
military industry with such profitable orders after it armed the
Armenians almost for free. Even if Russia does supply Azerbaijan with
a comparable volume of weapons, the price for it will be competitive.
The total of the two contracts will still be unprofitable. But
defense workers will have orders, no one will be laid off and they
can continue forming their holdings in that unkillable sector.

Who will pay? The federal budget will pay, that is, the taxpayers –
us. What are we paying for? For the growth of the Russian military
industrial complex, now under the control of Deputy Prime Minister
Sergey Ivanov and his military industrial commission. Haven’t you
noticed that Russian President Vladimir Putin talks almost
continually about increasing the volume of arms exports, but almost
never about the profitability of those operations, about the income
that that industry produces for the country? What do those games
cost? It’s a military secret.

The same situation could be observed last month in the contract with
Algeria. Putin forgave that country’s undisputed and reliable debt of
$5 billion so that it would buy arms from Russia. If Algeria is ready
to buy arms, that means that it needs them. But why deny the state
coffers $5 billion? So that the Russian military industrial complex
would not be forced to make its products competitive if Algeria held
a tender for its weapons contract.

It is no surprise that Russian missiles cannot hit their targets in
tests. If the current economic policy in that sector continues, the
missiles won’t take off at all in a few years. Maybe Deputy Prime
Minister Ivanov is a secret pacifist. But his pacifism comes at too
high a price for the country. Any middle-aged hippy from St.
Petersburg would be cheaper to keep in his position.

by Dmitry Butrin

VICTOR DALLAKIAN: ALEXAN HAROUTIUNIAN’S INITIATIVE ADDRESSED AGAINST
OPPOSITION AT PRESENT STAGE

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, NOYAN TAPAN. The initiative of Alexan Haroutiunian,
the Chairman of the Public Television and Radio Company Council of
Armenia to take from the NA regulations-law the demand of broadcasting
programs concerning the Parliament is addressed against the opposition
at the present stage. Victor Dallakian, the Secretary of the NA
“Ardaroutiun” faction expressed this opinion at the March 24
briefing. “So, the opposition has a small opportunity to express
itself on live broadcast, they make an attempt to deprive it of that
opporitunity as well at the pre-electoral stage,” Dallakian
mentioned. But, according to him, “the problem is more fundamental.”
In his opinion, the future Parliament must have a clear issue
concerning broadcasting the state official programs on a TV and
radio. This practice is used particularly is Sweden, where separate
programs concerning the activity of the Parliament, Government,
judicial and other state bodies are broadcast on such a channel.

Touching upon the current developments of the inner-political life,
the deputy mentioned that he is sorry for the happened with Artashes
Toumanian, the former head of the RA President’s staff. He respects
A.Toumanian and considers him to be serious, completed
politician. “And from the political viewpoint, I suppose the one that
happened to him to be a political vandalism and retribution. If
Artashes Toumanian had problems with laws, one must touch it upon
within the period of time he was the head of the President’s staff,”
Victor Dallakian emphasized. As for the discussion of the case of
disputing the legality of building processes of the Yerevan center at
the Constitutional Court, in Dallakian’s opinion, this was
dramatized. According to him, an attempt is made to make legal with
the help of the Constitutional Court the actions taken place by
violating the Constitution acted before. Victor Dallakian treats
calmly to former RA Internal Affairs Minister Vano Siradeghian’s
interview expected in the March 25 issue of the “Haykakan Zhamanak”
(Armenian Time) daily, what is in essense former Minister’s
“appearing.”

POLITICIANS IN NO WAY COMMENT UPON VANO SIRADEGHIAN’S “APPEARANCE”

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, NOYAN TAPAN. ARF Dashnaktsutiun faction Secretary
Hrayr Karapetian called “sensational” the fact that the “Haykakan
Zhamanak” newspaper will publish an interview of former Chairman of
the Armenian National Movement, former RA Minister of Internal Affairs
Vano Siradeghian. He stated at the March 24 press briefing that he
knew nothing about it and only after reading the interview it will
become clear whether the interview was given by Siradeghian or not.

“After reading the interview I will be ready to touch upon all issues
interesting you,” Chairman of the National Unity Party Artashes
Geghamian mentioned in his turn. To recap, Vano Siradeghian is on the
run since early 1999 when the National Assembly sustained RA
Prosecutor General’s petition on depriving him of the deputy immunity
during the trial against him and another 11 former employees of the
system of Ministry of Internal Affairs. Siradeghian has been searched
for by Interpol up to this day. To recap, the “Haykakan Zhamanak”
newspaper has published articles signed as “Avetis Haroutiunian” for
several times and according to some data, their real author is the
very Siradeghian.

GUGARATS DIOCESE PRIMATE PERSUADES NOT TO CEDE TO PROVOKATING EVENTS
STORMING PUBLIC LIFE AND WANTING TO DISRUPT NATION

VANADZOR, MARCH 24, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. “During the last
days, leaflets including threats with the Fascist swastika were spread
in the capital of the republic and in Vanadzor. The Armenian Church
and the Armenian people will never tolerate to turn our small
Fatherland into a stage of interreligious or interethnic or other,
arisen on the religious ground, violences by villain agents,” is said
in the persuation of Bishop Sepuh Chuljian, the primate of the
Gugarats Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church the text of which
was submitted to Noyan Tapan by the diocesan services. His Holiness
himself has doubts that organizers of this provokation are from
Armenia. “Our people has tolerated the ethnic and religious minorities
for centuries, and the Church has showed fatherly attitude towards
them and often by a careful attitude of an advisor and guardian, has
undertaken a conciliatory role during both party and religious
misunderstandings,” His Holiness Sepuh writes. The primate of the
Gugarats Diocese emphasizes that for every Armenian considering
himself Armenian both in Armenia and in the Diaspora, the Armenian
Church is a holy structure uniting the Armenian people, irrespective
of his party ideology or religious position: an atheist or
believer. “Display of the spirit of intolerance with similar threats
by religious movements having no relations with our national life, who
attempts to obstacle our spiritual and national peaceful and joint
life, driving a wedge in the affair of improvement of our statehood,
is inadmissible and unpardonable for us. Especially in the case, when
our newly independent republic attempts with great difficulties to
confront various social-economic and political difficulties,” His
Holiness Sepuh says. He expresses an opinion that re-working out of
the law “On Human Rights and Freedom of Conscience” and its being
improved by corresponding legislative, sub-legislative and normative
acts and usage, by what similar negative events will be excluded, is
more than ever urgent today. “Dear Armenians, I fatherly persuade you
not to cede to provokating events storming our public life and wanting
to disrupt the nation, which are unequivocally headed by dark forces
of outside, making an attempt to put in Armenia and to pull our
Fatherland as well into the vortex of defamed and failed “coloured
revolutions,” the primate of the Gugarats Diocese writes.

PARTICIPANTS OF ARTSAKH FREEDOM FIGHT DEMAND TO STOP NEGOTIATIONS TILL
“FORMATION OF LEGAL AUTHORITIES”

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, NOYAN TAPAN. A group of volunteers and figures of
the Artsakh freedom fight made a statement on March 23, in which they
express a deep indignation “relating to the RA high-ranking officials’
defeatist, even Turks-pleasing process of the negotiations on the
Karabakh settlement.” According to the document, at the operative
gathering of the RA Armed Forces’ high-ranking staff, Defence Minister
Serge Sargsian stated: “What did we want in 88? We wanted the NKAR to
join Armenia, And what else do we want now? We weren’t liberating the
land during the war, but we were annihilating weapon enplacements.

What a liberated land? That is the security zone. No Armenians have
lived there during the last hundred years. Which of you may prove that
Aghdam was Armenian. And placing of peace-keeping troops in the
security zone is beneficial for us.” “The Minister, instead of giving
a worthy counterblow to the anti-Armenian hysteria promoted in
Azerbaijan day by day and to the growing war threat, many times has
already made an attempt to trecherously break the fighting spirit of
the Armenian people and army, to sow defeatist and panic moods among
the highest command and soldiers. This successive befaviour of the
last years is provided by the RA President’s unquenchable wish to own
the post,” is said in the statement.

According to the document authors, “not only Aghdan but many
territories after it are our Fatherland. Undoubtedly Nakhijevan as
well, which was given to the false state of Azerbaijan by the
Russian-Turkish agreement making Armenians victims, Karvajar,
Kashatagh, Kovsakan, Bargushat, Dizak and Haband are unseparable parts
of Armenia and differ from either Martakert and Hadrut or Syunik and
Lori in nothing.” Participants of the Artsakh freedom fight state that
they won’t allow “to sacrifice the Fatherland liberated at the cost of
life of the best Armenian-borns in the war imposed by Azerbaijan to
anybody’s motives aspiring to power.” They also insist that “the
people taken the power by force have no right to present themselves on
behalf of the Armenian people and Armenia,” and “their future
officiating is fraught with disastrous results.” The authors of the
document demand “to stop the negotiations held with Azerbaijan on the
Karabakh issue till formation of legal and national authorities in
Armenia,” and call on “parties of Armenia to undertake the process of
dischargement of the acting RA Minister of Defence.” Arkadi
Karapetian, the First Commander of the Defence Forces of Artsakh,
Field Commander Paykar Ghalumian, rocket-artillery troops officer,
Zhirayr Sefilian, the Commander of the Shushi special battalion, Murad
Ohanian, a member of the “Independence Army” union, Voskan Gulumian,
the Special Regiment Field Commander, Armen Yeghian, the Deputy
Commander of the NKR Defence Army military unit, Gagik Gabrielian, a
member of the “Mahapartner” (prisoners sentenced to death) regiment
and other participants of the Artsakh freedom fight.

DISPLAY OF ONE OF “HERMITAGE’S” MASTERPIECES PLANNED TO ORGANIZED AT
ARMENIAN NATIONAL GALLERY THIS YEAR

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, NOYAN TAPAN. Within the framework of Year of
Armenia in Russia, exhibitions of Armenian painters will be organized
at the “Hermitage” and at the Russian Museum and one of the
masterpieces kept in the “Hermitage” will be displayed at the Armenian
National Gallery. An agreement about is was reached at the March 24
meeting of RA Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs Gevorg Gevorgian
and “Hermitage” state museum Director, corresponding member of the
Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail Piotrovski. As Noyan Tapan was
informed from the Press Service of RA Ministry of Culture and Youth
Affairs, the “Hermitage” Director proposed holding joint conferences
in Yerevan and St Petersburg on the occasion of the 100th anniversary
of oriental scientist, archaeologist, “Hermitage” Director of many
years Boris Piotrovski.

RA FIRST LADY AND “HERMITAGE” DIRECTOR SPEAK ABOUT ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN
CULTURAL COOPERATION

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On March 23, Mikhail
Piotrovski, Director of the State Museum of “Hermitage”, corresponding
member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, also met with RA First Lady
Bella Kocharian. The First Lady spoke about displays organized in the
“Hermitage” in connection with Year of Armenia in Russia and about
Armenian-Russian cultural cooperation. As Noyan Tapan was informed
from RA President’s Press Service, the interlocutors attached
importance to the necessity to come up with new initiatives in
cultural contacts, exchanged opinions around possible steps to be
taken in this direction.

NO REPAIR WORK DONE AT BAGRATASHEN MARKET

IJEVAN, MARCH 23, NOYAN TAPAN. In response to deputy Hovik Abovian’s
inquiry about the Bagratashen market, RA Minister of Finance and
Economy Vardan Khachatrian stated in the RA National Assembly that
this border market was closed on the initiative of the Georgian
side. The minister said that repair work is underway at the market
with resources of the RA state budget. However, NT was informed that
repair work is being done neither in the Georgian section nor in the
Armenian one. A customs-quarantine building is now being constructed
at the Bagratashen customs point, 5 km from the border market.

RA GOVERNMENT RAISES SHOLARSHIPS OF GRADUATE STUDENTS AND THOSE
WORKING FOR DOCTOR’S DEGREE

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, NOYAN TAPAN. In order to improve the social state
of graduate students and those working for doctor’s degree studying at
the RA institutions of higher specialized education by the state
order, the RA Government made a decision at the March 23 sitting to
define the size of the scholarship of aspirants 10 thousand drams
(those studying Armenology 15 thousand drams), and of doctorates 15
thousand drams (about 33 U.S. dollars). According to the information
submitted to Noyan Tapan by the RA Government’s Information and Public
Relations Department, the decision action is spread on legal relations
arisen after January 1, 2006.