Armenian deputy agriculture minister loses post, agency says

Arminfo
15 Jan 05

YEREVAN

Under a decision of Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan, Ovsep
Kloyan has been relieved today of the post of deputy minister of
agriculture, the press service of the Armenian government has informed
Arminfo new agency.

[Passage omitted: biographical details]

Armenian Defence Ministry discusses results for 2004

Arminfo
14 Jan 05

YEREVAN

The board of the Armenian Defence Ministry discussed at a sitting
today the results for 2004 under the chairmanship of the secretary of
the Armenian president’s Security Council and defence minister, Serzh
Sarkisyan.

The issues of military training, the results of staff and military
tactical and strategic training, problems of the observance of
military discipline, as well as training tasks for 2005 were included
in the agenda, the Armenian defence minister’s press secretary, Col
Seyran Shakhsuvaryan, has told Arminfo news agency.

Chief of the General Staff Col-Gen Mikael Arutyunyan gave the report
at the sitting. Deputies of the Armenian Defence Minister and
commanders of military units spokes as well. The issues and tasks
which will be carried out in the current year by the Defence Ministry
were identified at the sitting.

Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan, spoke about the tasks which
stand before Defence Ministry in 2005, especially stressing the
importance of the personal responsibility every commander and officer
in raising military battle readiness and reinforcing military
discipline.

NO VELVET REVOLUTION TO TAKE PLACE IN ARMENIA IN 2005-2006: RPA

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15. ARMINFO. The positive tendencies observed in
Armenia’s political and economic life in 2004 will continue in 2005
too, says the leader of the parliamentary faction of the Republican
Party of Armenia Galust Saakyan.

He refutes all the forecasts that a velvet revolution will take place
in Armenia in 2005-2006. One should not compare the situation in
Armenia with the situation in Georgia and Ukraine – so any attempts to
apply their scenarios in Armenia will fail, says Saakyan. At the same
time the opposition will continue its fight for government change.

As for the possible cancellation of the mandates of the opposition
deputies boycotting the parliament’s work Saakyan says that only their
voters can deprive them of their mandates. This issue must be
discussed in the parliament as the remaining MPs and the people should
know the opposition’s arguments.

Saakyan says that there are no prerequisites for the ruling
coalition’s split. There are certain contradictions over certain
issues but this is positive as heated debates often give birth to
effective solutions. The coalition’s fruitful activities will leader
to $1 bln budget in 2006 and 20%-25% reduction of poverty. 2005 will
see Armenia’s economic breakthrough and no political event will be
able to stop it.

As for the foreign policy Saakyan says that priority is given to the
Karabakh conflict settlement. “Karabakh is de facto independent and
this reality should be considered during the settlement talks.”

Armenia should continue its active involvement in peacekeeping and
anti-terror processes as this raises the country’s image.

RUSSIAN ANALYSTS DO NOT RULE OUT POSSIBILITY OF BEGINNING OF ACTIVE
MILITARY OPERATIONS IN NAGORNY KARABAKH, ABKHAZIA AND SOUTH OSSETIA IN
2005

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15. ARMINFO. Russian analysts do not rule out the
possibility of beginning of active military operations in Nagorny
Karabakh, Abkhazian and South Ossetia in 2005. It is said in the
article “Concerning the issue on military budgets of CIS states”,
published by a military analyst on the web site WPS. The data on
increase of the expenses for defence of CIS countries are indirect
confirmation of it.

According to the resource, the defence expenses of the majority of
post-soviet republics will increase by 30 and more per cents in
2005. If in average in CIS countries the GDP growth in 2004 was 7-9%,
then the military expenses increased in average by 30%.

Armenia ranks the second as regards the level of military expenses
from GDP – 3.6%. It should be noted that the data on expenses for
defence of Nagorny Karabakh are not included here. Though it is not a
secret that the army of defence of Nagorny Karabakh exists due to the
resources of Armenia. On the whole, in 2005 the military expenses of
Armenia for defence may make up over 4% out of GDP (i.e. over $127
mln).

RUSSIA IS READY TO FACILITATE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN ARMENIA AND
AZERBAIJAN

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15. ARMINFO. Russia’s Foreign Ministry is pointing to
certain similarity in Armenia’s and Baku’s views and concepts of the
Karabakh conflict settlement, reports RIA Novosti.

Armenian and Azeri FMs Vardan Oskanyan and Elmar Mamedyarov met in
Prague Jan 10-11 in the presence of the OSCE Minsk Group. Moscow is
pleased to see that the Armenian-Azeri meetings on presidential and
ministerial levels are becoming regular. Meeting under international
aegis Armenian and Azeri officials discuss almost all the aspects of
the problem including such acute points as withdrawal of troops,
demilitarizing of territories, international guarantees, Karabakh’s
status.

Moscow has been lately observing certain similarity in Yerevan’s and
Baku’s views and concepts of the problem. Both parties confirm their
commitments to continue joint work for reducing tensions and improving
the situation in the whole South Caucasus. This also includes the
parties’ agreement to carry out the earlier decisions to send an OSCE
monitoring group to the occupied territories and to organize a new
meeting of the Armenian and Azeri presidents in Warsaw this summer.

As OSCE MG co-chair Russia is committed to facilitate the mutual
understanding between Armenia and Azerbaijan for settling the Karabakh
conflict through peaceful talks.

ARMENIAN-TURKISH TRADE TURNOVER TOTALS $120 MLN: 525TH NEWSPAPER

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15. ARMINFO. The Turkish-Armenian trade turnover has
reached $120 mln against earlier reported $30-40 mln and will amount
to $500 mln if the present trade restrictions are lifted, reports the
525th newspaper (Baku) in its article “What is Going On On the
Turkish-Armenian Border?”

More prospective projects have been drafted for developing Turkey’s
economic relations with Armenia than the present exports of food and
garment exports to and the imports of copper goods from that country.

The newspaper quotes the member of the Turkish-Armenian business
council Noyan Soyak as saying that Turkish businessmen are eager to
carry out prospective projects in Armenia’s construction, trade and
textile. “We are trying to separate politics from economy to
facilitate the settlement of political problems. For example Turkey
is discussing its political problems with Greece and Syria in no touch
with economic ties and so may establish diplomatic relations with
Armenia too on the same conditions,” says Soyak noting that his
business council has established very good contacts between the
Turkish and Armenian governments and its efforts are actively
supported from both sides.

“We could not move forward without the Turkish government’s support.
They know everything about out projects to enlarge interuniversity,
cultural and public ties with Armenia and the meetings we are
organizing between Armenian and Turkish journalists, cultural workers
and businessmen,” says Soyak. “Our goal is to create prerequisites for
political-diplomatic meetings,” he says.

Saoyak notes that the government change in Georgia has substantially
encouraged the officially “illegal” Turkish-Armenian ties due to
reduced bribery and robbery on the Georgian border. He says that the
Turkish imports into Armenia is usually registered as the products of
trilateral partner-firms from Iran and Georgia.

GEGHAM GHARIBJANIAN APPOINTED RA DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER

ATTENTION, CORRECTED NEWS YEREVAN, January 14 (Noyan Tapan).

According to the RA President Press Office, Gegham Gharibjanian was
appointed the RA Deputy Foreign Minister by the January 13 decree of
the RA President Robert Kocharian. The RA Foreign Ministry’s Press
and Information Department provided the following biographical data on
Gegham Gharibjanian: G. Gharibjanian was born in 1951 in Yerevan. In
1971 he graduated from the Department of Oriental Sciences of Yerevan
State University. In 1994 he attended the higher courses of public
administration at the University of California. During the period of
1973-1991, he worked in the Committee on Cultural Links with Diaspora,
during 1978-1981 was dispatched to Iran as a translator. In 1991-1995
he held the position of the RA Deputy Minister of Labor and Social
Security. In 1995 G. Gharibjanian was elected deputy of the RA
National Assembly. In 1995-1997 he was Deputy Chairman of the Standing
Committee on Social, Health and Environmental Issues of the RA
National Assembly, in 1997-1999 – Chairman of the same committee,
Chairman of the Armenia-Iran deputy group of the RA NA, Deputy
Chairman of the RF Federal Assembly and the RA National Assembly
Interparliamentary Group, member of the RA NA delegation in the
Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS countries, Chairman-Founder of
the “Social State” deputy group. In 1998 G.Gharibjanian was elected
full member of the International Academy of Sciences on Nature and
Society. In January, 1999 he was appointed as Armenia’s Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Iran and pluralistically as
Ambassador to Quatar. He has a diplomatic rank of plenipotentiary
ambassador. He is fluent in Persian, English, Russian and
Turkish. G. Gharibjanian is married and has three children.

FIRST VOLUME OF TWO-VOLUME BOOK “MODERN ARMENIAN WRITERS OF ISTANBUL”
PUBLISHED IN BEIRUT

ISTANBUL, January 15 (Noyan Tapan). The first volume of the the
two-volume book “Modern Armenian Writers of Istanbul” was published in
Beirut. The book was prepared for publication by Karo Abrahamian, a
former resident of Istanbul who, despite the fact of having settled in
Beirut and setting up business there, has maintained links with the
literary and cultural life of Istanbul. The well-known poet from
Labanon Pepo Simonian also has an important contribution in the
publication of the book as the editor in charge of the volume.

According to the daily “Marmara” (Istanbul), the first volume is
dedicated only to creative literature – poetry, prose and drama, while
the second one will deal with publicism. In the part dedicated to
poetry, the introduction is followed by Pepo Simonian’s essay
“Armenian Poets of Istanbul”. The biographies of 28 poets, as well as
their photos and selected works are presented. The second part devoted
to the Armenian prose-writers of Istanbul begins with Rober Hattechian’s
article “Literary Review of Armenian Prose of Istanbul”. This part
contains works of 23 prose-writers. The third part about drama is
constructed according to the same principle: first a leading article,
Varuzhan Atchemian’s “Essay on Armenian Theatre of Istanbul”, followed
by some information about the works of two dramatists, Rober Hattechian
and Arman Vardanian. Works of 7 authors have been included in this
part. The 550-page volume has an annex with brief information on 33
other writers.

FRENCHWOMAN OF ARMENIAN ORIGIN GOES ON HUNGER STRIKE DEMANDING
RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BY TURKEY

YEREVAN, January 15 (Noyan Tapan). Mrs Karpinian, a frenchwoman of the
Armenian origin, has been on a hunger strike for 7 days, demanding the
recognition of the Armenian genocide by Turkey. The 44-year-old mother
of 4 children is on hunger strike on the porch of the Armenian Church
of Marseilles ( 339, Prado Avenue). According to the newspaper “Azg”,
she demands an audience with Jacques Chirac in order to submit to him
her demand for the recognition of the Armenian genocide by Turkey. So
far neither the local press nor the Armenian community have responded
to her demands in any way.

TRADITIONAL NEW YEAR SHOW FOR CHILDREN NEEDING SPECIAL CARE TAKES
PLACE IN CHILDREN’S CENTER OF MALATIA-SEBASTIA

YEREVAN, January 14 (Noyan Tapan). On January 13, a New Year show with
participation of children needing special care took place in the
children’s center of Malatia-Sebastia of the World Vision Armenia
organization. The traditional event headed under the title “Let’s Help
Each Other, My Friend” began with the exhibition of works made by the
children needing special care. Then a festive concert was held with
the participation of the very children. The New Year show was
organized by the Vahan, Paros, Tatev and Jah NGOs attending to the
issues of the disabled with the assistance of the Programs on
Children’s Protection of the World Vision Armenia organization. The
Programs on Children’s Protection of the World Vision Armenia
organization are aimed at raising the public awareness concerning the
rights of children needing special care, as well children who appeared
in complicated situations, creation of active mechanisms for
protection of their rights, ensurance of their possibility of getting
the corresponding education, assistance to their full involvement into
the society. At present the programs are being implemented in Yerevan
and Sunik, Shirak, Tavush regions.