EurekAlert, DC
May 25 2004

51 globally threatened species get new lease on life in the Caucasus

$8.5 million in grants and six-country council to benefit region

Tbilisi, Georgia (25 May 2004, 0200 GMT) – WWF, the conservation
organization, and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) today
announced a CEPF investment strategy and a high-level advisory council
of governmental and nongovernmental representatives from Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Russia and Turkey to help conserve the
rich natural resources of the region.

Support for the council is a strategic part of a new regional
coordination approach, led by the WWF Caucasus Programme, to ensure
success of CEPF’s $8.5 million investment strategy. CEPF will award
grants to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other civil society
groups working to safeguard high-priority areas for conservation in
the region, which spans the area between the Black and Caspian seas.

“These new developments will pull together partners from across the
region, enabling an inclusive approach for planning and action across
political boundaries that can be obstacles to successful conservation,”
said Giorgi Sanadiradze, director of the WWF Caucasus Programme.

A regional approach involving multiple stakeholders is also vital to
effectively address the broader social, economic and policy factors
essential to results that benefit both nature and people.

The forests, high mountain ecosystems and arid landscapes of the
Caucasus contain more than twice the animal diversity found in adjacent
regions of Europe and Asia. However, biodiversity of the Caucasus is
being lost at an alarming rate. Human activities have transformed
nearly half of the lands. Fifty-one species are at risk, including
the Critically Endangered Saiga antelope, Siberian crane and Baltic
(Atlantic) sturgeon.

CEPF investments will focus on conserving these 51 globally threatened
species, the majority of which are found in specific sites in five
target areas: Greater Caucasus, Caspian, West Lesser Caucasus, East
Lesser Caucasus and Hyrcan.

The announcement came as part of a series of events being held
in Tbilisi this week, including a workshop May 25-26 for NGOs,
government representatives and other stakeholders to learn more about
the CEPF investment strategy and to help develop an action plan
for its implementation. The first meeting of the Regional Council
for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use in the Caucasus
Ecoregion will be May 26. A May 27 event will draw together all
participants for an official launch.

The Caucasus “ecoregion” is globally outstanding for its
biodiversity. It is also one of the world’s 25 biologically richest yet
most threatened areas. These areas known as “biodiversity hotspots” are
the focus of CEPF, a joint initiative of Conservation International,
the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the John
D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank.

“Our investment program for the Caucasus is designed to meet the
challenges in a vast region of six unique countries,” said Dan Martin,
CEPF senior managing director. “By placing a regional conservation
leader such as WWF Caucasus at its heart, our support to local
groups will pioneer and equip new partnerships and approaches that
are necessary to make lasting conservation happen.”

The WWF Caucasus Programme coordinated an intensive process to
develop the CEPF strategy, known as an ecosystem profile, for the
Caucasus. Its approach ultimately drew participation from more than
130 experts representing scientific, governmental and nongovernmental
groups from the six countries.

The Programme will act as the hub of CEPF strategy implementation in
the region, ensuring integration of the WWF and CEPF approach, helping
local groups develop grant proposals, disseminating information and
assisting in monitoring of the CEPF portfolio.

With headquarters in Tbilisi and country offices in Armenia and
Azerbaijan, WWF Caucasus will work together with WWF offices in Russia
and Turkey and the Centre for Sustainable Development and Environment
in Iran to ensure effective coordination region-wide. The approach
also includes building a regional group of experts from the six
countries to assist in reviewing grant proposals as needed and act
as a technical advisory group, as well as assisting the new Regional
Council in its overarching role.

###

CONTACT:
Kakha Tolordava, WWF Caucasus, tel. 995-3233-0154,
[email protected]
Bobbie Jo Kelso, CEPF, cell phone 202-369-2031,
[email protected]

The WWF Caucasus Programme works to stop the degradation of the
natural environment in the Caucasus and to build a future in which
humans live in harmony with nature.
()

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund aims to dramatically advance
conservation of the Earth’s biologically richest and most threatened
areas in developing countries. A fundamental goal is to ensure that
civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation. ().

Armenia added to Batelco mobile network

AME Info, United Arab Emirates
May 25 2004

Batelco mobile users traveling to Armenia will now be able to make
and receive calls while they are there, thanks to the deal struck
between Batelco and Armenia Telephone Company (ArmenTel) in Armenia.

Roaming facilities between Bahrain and Armenia took effect last week.
The signing between Batelco and ArmenTel preceded the start of
operations between the telecoms companies.

Ebrahim Al Sayed, acting senior manager mobile services at Batelco
said: ‘We have been working to expand the international network that
our customers are using for roaming services. The signing of this
agreement increases the already substantial reach Batelco’s mobile
users have.’

‘Our aim is to provide a network for our customers that encompasses
anywhere they might travel to. The recent signing has allowed us to
extend the scope of international roaming connections for Batelco
mobile customers by a significant amount.’

Batelco now has commercial roaming agreements with 103 countries and
248 operators.

AZERBAIJAN, LITHUANIA: PROSPECTS OF CO-OP DISCUSSED
[May 25, 2004, 10:40:06]

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
May 25 2004

On May 24, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov
has met the delegation led by the deputy foreign minister of Lithuania
Darius Yurgelevichius.

As informed to AzerTAj from the press center of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, warmly having welcomed the visitors, minister Elmar
Mammadyarov has noted, that Lithuania has got wide experience on
the way of integration to Europe, and has congratulated them on its
recent admission into the NATO and the European Union. Having stated
that Azerbaijan shows interest to cooperation with Lithuania, the
Minister has noted, that this visit would benefit to strengthening
of friendship between our countries, and has expressed gratitude for
support of the position of Azerbaijan within the framework of the
international organizations.

Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has noted, that the meetings which have
been carried out by the President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham
Aliyev with heads of structures of the European Union during the
recent working visit to the Kingdom of Belgium, and signing of the
Protocol to the Agreement on partnership and cooperation between
the European Union and Azerbaijan create favorable conditions for
steady development of relations between our country and the mentioned
international organization.

The deputy foreign minister of Lithuania Darius Yurgelevichius has
emphasized necessity of development of links between his country
and Azerbaijan and in the field of policy, economy and tourism, and
also continuation of close cooperation of the Ministries of Foreign
Affairs of both states. He has noted, that development of relations
in the said form instills belief in prospects of cooperation between
our countries, and has emphasized necessity of continuation of closer
cooperation in the international organizations.

Then, minister Elmar Mammadyarov has told about participation of
our country in a number of large economic projects, including in
construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum
gas pipelines, and also about effective cooperation with the
member-countries of Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
within the framework of the said structure, has in detail informed
the visitor on the Armenia -Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict,
the work done in the direction of its settlement, and heavy condition
of the refugees and IDPs.

At the meeting, also discussed were some questions of mutual interest.

More than 110 foreign firms to attend St Pete Economic Forum

ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 25 2004

ST. PETERSBURG, May 24 (Itar-Tass) — more than 100 foreign firms
will take part in the St. Petersburg Economic Forum to be held in
the middle of June.

A presentation of one of the CIS states – Armenia, Russia’s
Southern Federal District, and, for the first time one of the
European countries, the Czech Republic, will be held at the forum,
the Secretary-General of the Council of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary
Assembly, Mikhail Krotov, said on Monday.

Joint Russian-Czech transport projects are expected to be presented
as well.

The participants in the forum will be able to familiarise themselves
with Czech and Armenian culture works.

Forum organisers hope that not only businessmen but also foreign
leaders and the heads of Russian regions will take part in the forum.

SOCIAL CARDS WILL PROTECT THE HUMAN RIGHTS

A1 Plus | 17:53:15 | 24-05-2004 | Social | author: Mher Arshakyan |

Q: Recently a few citizens have applied to the Armenian Ombudsman
complaining of the fact they are imposed to obtain social cards. Can
people refuse the social cards within their rights?

A: What does it mean to defend oneself from a social card? We don’t
consider imposing the social cards as infringement of rights since
there is a Law obliging everyone. The Law provides that implementation
of the right of social insurance must be conditioned by introduction of
the system, so it is a clause provided by Law and everyone must obey
it. People say their rights are violated at the aspect of religious
convictions. The issue was discussed and settled in the newly-approved
Law. The Law makes provision that a social card, which is a document
is allowed to citizens and the social card or the document has a
number. One can say under the same logic he doesn’t want to have a
passport since it violates his rights. But we all know a passport is
a document, which is given to citizens and applied for implementation
of citizens’ rights in cases and order provided by Legislation.

Q: How do you explain the fact that a citizen can’t separate a social
card from the religious context?

A: As a Christian and a believer of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
a citizen must accept the statement of Armenian Apostolic Church,
under which the religious problems were settled in the new Law on
social cards. In other words, there isn’t a religious problem any more.

Q: Is the fact that social cards are imposed on citizens within the
human rights?

A: The right is not one-sided. If a citizen produces a fact on
infringement of his rights, he must realize that the rights of others,
too, are protected by Constitution, norms and clauses. A system that
must solve problems is introduced.

Q: Which are those problems?

A: We say that one person must not receive a pension from 4 places
and one family must not draw pension from 5. Through applying the
system of social cards we provide the right of others to receive
pensions and grants. If a person receives a pension from many places,
naturally, he deprives others of the chance to enjoy pensions. So,
we solve the problem by applying the system. Some people say they
don’t want to lose the chance to draw grants from a few places. We
oppose it because others needy must get it, too. If someone refuses
to pay taxes, a mechanism is applied to make him pay and he pays. So,
the mechanism for social cards is being introduced to control problems.

DetNews.com, MI
May 25 2004

Pride in up-and-coming Islamic Center shows

Dearborn mosque’s debut will coincide with Arab-American museum
opening

By Shanteé Woodards / The Detroit News
Steve Perez / The Detroit News

DEARBORN — Metro Detroit’s significant Muslim population will soon
have a mosque befitting its size.

Once completed this fall, the Islamic Center of America — which will
be among the largest in the country — will have a 120,000-square-foot
complex that includes the mosque, the Muslim American Youth Academy,
an auditorium and library. Currently, the school is open, and the
other phases of the project will begin after the mosque is
operational.

But the mosque is one of the highlights of the $12 million project
because it will provide the Islamic Center’s 3,000 members with more
room to worship and have community activities. Its current facility
in Detroit – which the group has occupied for about 40 years – is too
cramped to meet all their needs.

Zana Macki said she feels as if she has watched the mosque being
built from the ground up, from the pillars up to the dome that was
added earlier this year. Macki, an Arab-American activist, said she
found it significant that the mosque is going to be near Armenian and
other Christian churches.

“(The new mosque) is very much needed. This is a steppingstone,” said
Macki, a Dearborn Heights resident. “Where else but in America can
you have the freedom to have different religions right next to each
other and practicing their religions freely … and not having any
fear of government?”

There are about 500,000 Arab-Americans living in Metro Detroit. About
30,000 Dearborn residents — about one-third of the city’s population
— are of Arab descent. Arab immigrants have brought the cultures of
more than 20 nations to the Detroit area.

The opening of the mosque will be coupled with that of the Arab
American National Museum, scheduled for October in Dearborn. The
36,000-square-foot museum is being modeled after the
Japanese-American National Museum in Los Angeles and will be the
first of its kind.

The Islamic Center’s existing mosque in Detroit began as the Islamic
Center of Detroit in 1963. Imam Mohammad Jawad Chirri founded the
17,000-square-foot facility after rallying the local Arab community
and his contacts throughout the Middle East.

The opening of the mosque will represent phase two of a construction
project that began in 1997 with the opening of the Muslim American
Youth Academy. The school, which is on the old YMCA site in Dearborn,
opened in time for the 1997-98 school year with 35 students. Now
about 170 students attend the school, which goes from kindergarten to
sixth grade.

When the decision was made to build the new mosque, members of the
group’s construction committee talked to many people in the community
and visited mosques in Cleveland, Toronto and Toledo to see what type
of facility would best fit their needs in Dearborn. They decided a
large-scale community center would be best because of the growing
membership at its existing mosque.

The mosque will feature a prayer area for more than 700 men and a
separate area upstairs for about 300 women. There will also be a
seating area for 1,000 people. It will have separate spaces where
members can drop off their children when they are attending events.

“We can’t profess to say how large the largest (facility) is,” said
Kassim Allie, the mosque’s administrator. “We don’t aim to be the
biggest. We are one of the oldest, and we believe our program is a
high-quality program, and I think we will improve them as we go
along.”

Because Metro Detroit has such a large Muslim population, mosques
often run out of room for religious and cultural events. It doesn’t
help that many of the facilities are buildings like storefronts and
stores that are later transformed into mosques.

Dearborn resident Suehaila Amen saw the inside of the mosque when it
was in its infancy. She is eager to see it complete.

“I know it’s going to be a beautiful thing,” said Amen, who is also
on the executive board of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee. “This one is set up so more visitors and people will be
able to come to a more central location. We have such a large
community here that hopefully we’ll be able to do more things, like
carnivals and festivals, the way other churches do.”

You can reach Shantee’ Woodards at (734)462-2204 or
[email protected].

Kocharian ‘Dismayed’ By Row Over World Bank Loan
By Ruzanna Khachatrian and Karine Kalantarian 25/05/2004 13:57

Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
May 25 2004

President Robert Kocharian has reacted with dismay to the
inner-government row over the alleged misuse of a 1999 World Bank loan
to Armenia’s judiciary, according to some leaders of the parliament
majority who met him over the weekend.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, they told RFE/RL on Monday
that Kocharian expressed his discontent with the public spat between
parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian and Justice Minister David
Harutiunian over the findings of the National Assembly’s Audit
Chamber. But they said he stopped short of siding with either
politician.

In an annual report unveiled last month, the parliament body controlled
by Baghdasarian decried the “inefficient use” of a $4.45 million
share of the $11.5 million credit which was set aside for repairing
and reconstructing 20 rundown court buildings across Armenia. It
argued that only 11 courts have benefited from the scheme designed
to strengthen the country’s judiciary.

Baghdasarian and Harutiunian publicly clashed over the allegations
during a parliament session. The latter vehemently denies any
wrongdoing, accusing the Audit Chamber of lacking professionalism
and manipulating facts. He pledged on May 14 to hold the Chamber
accountable for the allegations.

A Justice Ministry body in charge of the implementation of the World
Bank project was scheduled meet later in the day to discuss the
matter. Journalists were invited to cover the meeting. Invitations
were also extended to the head of the Audit Chamber, Gagik Voskanian,
and his top aides. None of them was in Yerevan, however.

The oversight body was also attacked on Monday by a member of
the parliament’s People’s Deputy group of non-partisan lawmakers
supporting Kocharian. Hakob Hakobian charged that it is manipulated
by Baghdasarian to conduct arbitrary inspections of government
agencies and present an incomplete or distorted picture of how they
use public funds. Observers believe that the People’s Deputy leader
Karen Karapetian was behind the verbal attack on the speaker.

Karapetian, Baghdasarian were among the leaders of all
pro-establishment factions of the parliament who met with Kocharian
on Saturday. It was the second such meeting in just over a month.

A brief statement by the presidential press service said the meeting
focused on the work of the National Assembly and issues to be discussed
during its upcoming sittings. Karapetian and other participants
likewise said that they mainly discussed their “legislative work.”

According to Mher Shahgeldian, chairman of the parliament committee
on defense and security, Kocharian and his top allies also agreed
that the almost four-month opposition boycott has not weakened or
undermined the assembly.

OTE invests $216 million in Armenian telecoms

Interfax
May 25 2004

Yerevan. (Interfax) – Greece’s OTE has invested $216 million in
developing the telecommunications network in Armenia and does not plan
to leave the Armenian market, Georgios Vasilakis, acting executive
director of Armenian national operator ZAO Armentel, in which OTE
has a 90% stake, said on Monday.

He said that the company will continue to work in Armenia after the
company’s monopoly on mobile communications and external Internet
services is restricted on June 30, following a government ruling.

“How can we leave the Armenian market if $150 million has been paid
for Armentel shares and another $216 million has been subsequently
invested,” he said.

EDGAR ARAKELYAN STANDS TRIAL

A1 Plus | 20:48:26 | 25-05-2004 | Politics |

Trial of Armenia’s Lusakert town resident Edgar Arakelyan, 24, started
Tuesday at Center Nork-Marash first instance court in Yerevan. He
is charged with participating in unauthorized rally on April 12 and
beating a policeman with an empty plastic bottle.

The accused says he threw the bottle after being punched in his mouth
and losing teeth. He acted such a way only to defend himself from
the assault, Arakelyan said. Besides, he said he had no idea that
the attacker was a policeman as the latter was dressed as civilian.

Police officer Sahak Martirosyan, the victim, insists he was in
uniform. It should be noted, there was no light on the scene then –
Baghramyan Avenue was in darkness.

Calling on judges to show clemency toward the defendant, the policeman,
at the same time, persisted in saying that the bottle was full
of water.

It became clear at the hearing that the accused was forced to make
written confession that he beat the policeman in the head.

The prosecutor Ara Amirzadyan grounding on Arakelyan’s above-mentioned
forced confession offered to sentence him to two and a half years
in jail.

Defense attorney will speak tomorrow.

PRESS RELEASE
May 25, 2004
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:

Armenia, United States Sign Agreement on Protection of Cultural Heritage

On May 25, 2004, an important cultural agreement was signed between the
United States and Armenia, providing for safeguarding the cultural heritage
of all national, religious, or ethnic groups residing and having resided in
both countries. Agreement on Protection and Preservation of Certain Cultural
Properties was signed by Armenian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Arman
Kirakossian and Warren L. Miller, Chairman of U.S. Commission for the
Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, representing the governments of
two countries. The signing ceremony was held at the State Department, in the
presence of Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman, as well as officials from
State Department and Embassy of Armenia.

The Agreement commits both parties to protect and preserve the cultural
heritage of any ethnic group residing in their territory or against the
nationals of the other Party in its laws concerning the protection and
preservation of their cultural heritage; the right to contribute to the
protection and preservation of their cultural heritage; and public access to
such heritage, including places of worship, sites of historical
significance, monuments, cemeteries and memorials to the dead as well as
archival materials.

The Agreement also stipulates that “each Party shall take special steps to
ensure such protection and preservation of cultural heritage within its
territory and shall invite the cooperation of the other Party and its
nationals where assistance is required for this purpose.”

Speaking at the ceremony, Undersecretary Grossman and Chairman Miller hailed
the agreement as another bridge linking the peoples of the United States and
Armenia. In his remarks during the ceremony, Ambassador Kirakossian said
that this agreement was the first such treaty regulating the cultural
affairs between the two countries, augmenting already strong cooperation on
economic, political, and security areas. He added that it was of great
significance to Armenia because “we understand the value of cultural
heritage and the importance of its protection and preservation.”