Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 19, 2004, Friday

NATO MONTHS IN THE CAUCASUS

SOURCE: Russky Kurier, March 15, 2004, p. 6

by Rada Guseinova, Marina Kalashnikova

VISITS OF AMERICAN DELEGATIONS TO BAKU: THE UNITED STATES HOPES TO
DRAW AZERBAIJAN INTO THE ORBIT OF INTERACTION WITH NATO AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE

American military and diplomatic delegation was met in Baku,
Azerbaijan, on March 12. The delegation includes a group of the
Supreme Consultative Council of the US Army European Command under
General Charles Wald. The delegation comprises Admiral Gregory
Johnson, US Navy Commander in Europe and NATO Commander in South
Europe, and numerous ambassadors.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met with the Americans on
Saturday. In his speech, Aliyev ascribed rapid rapprochement with
official Washington and NATO in general to the necessity of
“reinforcing regional stability and security.” General Wald in his
turn added that terrorist acts in Spain testifying to activeness of
international terrorism only served to made Western aid in security
matters all the more assured. Efforts of the international community
should be concentrated on settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, protection of Caspian energy resources, and elimination of
terrorist groups in the southern part of the Caucasus. That is why an
emphasis is made on military cooperation, not economy. Military
cooperation and interaction was the talk of the week in Baku. In
fact, the whole week became “American” for official Baku because of
the delegations from across the ocean coming one after another.

The capital of Azerbaijan was visited by a group of the US AF
College, Undersecretary Lynn Pasco, a delegation under Eric Schultz
of the US Department of State and Bruce Rogers, assistant political
adviser to the US mission to NATO. Washington’s plans are simple. It
is out to draw countries of the southern part of the Caucasus – first
and foremost Azerbaijan and Georgia – into the orbit of close
cooperation with NATO within the next two or three years. And to
bring their national armies closer to NATO standards. The latter
objective is inseparable from settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict. All these issues were discussed at length by Defense
Minister of Azerbaijan Safar Abiyev and Schultz and Rogers. A more
detailed discussion is to follow during Abiyev’s upcoming visit to
Washington in the near future.

For the time being, General Wald in Baku continues discussion of the
mobile groups, the idea he first came up with three months ago. A
well-informed and trustworthy source in military circles of
Azerbaijan says that the Americans came with specific suggestions.
Issues of the European ballistic missile defense are being discussed
among other things. An accord with Baku on the use of the Gabala
radar may be of particular interest from this point of view. For the
time being, the radar is a subject of the Russian-Azerbaijani
agreement in accordance with which the signatories share the
information obtained by the radar. Meanwhile, Baku signed several
information exchange accords with advanced countries including the
United States. According to the source, Wold is trying to convince
official Baku that “Azerbaijan should share the information obtained
by the radar with the United States as its military partner” since
“there are no legal obstacles to it, actually.” Details of military
cooperation will be discussed at the meetings with heads of the
Defense Ministry, State Border Service, and National Security
Ministry.

Inspired by the new stimuli of rapprochement with the European Union
and NATO, Aliyev with his Georgian counterpart is about to visit the
countries that have already been drafted into the NATO orbit. He will
meet with leaders of the Vilnius Ten in Bratislava within the
framework of an international conference on the “expanded Europe” and
“new neighbors” on March 18 and 19. Premiers of Ireland, Turkey,
Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovine were invited to the
forum too. NATO General Secretary Jaan de Hoop Sheffer and European
Union Expansion Commissar Gunther Verheugen will also be present.

US State Undersecretary Richard Armitage will tour capitals of the
Caucasus in late March. This visit may speed up the sharp turn of
countries of the southern part of the Caucasus to the West. Armitage
is known as a prominent specialist in matters of security and war on
terrorism. He intends to discuss pressing problems of the war on
terrorism with three presidents of the Caucasus. It was Armitage who
said in his time that establishment of US military bases in
Azerbaijan was but a matter of time. Neither is Armitage exactly
ignorant of Azerbaijani affairs. It is Armitage who knows everything
there is to know about the Aliyevs and their affairs and explains
their interests to the US Administration – both in the spheres of
politics and oil. When in the Caucasus, he will apparently discuss
Caspian oil, security of the Baku – Tbilisi – Dzheikhan pipeline,
location of mobile groups, and roles of the three countries of the
Caucasus in the war on international terrorism.

Translated by A. Ignatkin

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 19, 2004, Friday

KANT WANTS TO BE FRIENDS WITH MANAS

SOURCE: Russky Kurier, March 16, 2004, p. 2

by Vitaly Strugovets

Operational conference of the United Headquarters of the Organization
of the CIS Collective Security Treaty begins in Moscow. Lieutenant
General Vasily Zavgorodny, Senior Deputy Chief-of-Staff, says that
the conference will be attended by chiefs-of-staff of national
armies, General Secretary Nikolai Bordyuzha, and Major General Sergei
Chernomordin, Commander of the Central Asian Fast Response Collective
Forces.

The decision to establish the United Headquarters as “a permanent
working body of the Organization of the CIS Collective Security
Treaty and its Council of Defense Ministers” was made almost a year
ago, in April 2003. Fifty-five staff officers represent members of
the Organization of the CIS Collective Security Treaty in accordance
with their financial contributions. Russia accounts for 50% of the
budget and other countries (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
and Tajikistan) 10% each.

Chief-of-staff always represents the country whose defense minister
is currently chairman of the Council of Defense Ministers. Nowadays,
it is Tajikistan. Needless to say, chief-of-staff is quartered in his
native country and not in Moscow. Daily activities of the United
Headquarters are supervised by senior deputy chief-of-staff. The
United Headquarters commands army groups – West, Caucasus, and
Central Asia.

Military experts call the Organization of the CIS Collective Security
Treaty a mini-NATO. There truly are some aspects similar to both
alliances. For example, whenever a country of one of the bloc finds
itself under attack, all of the alliance regards it as an attack on
all. This is a major difference between the Organization of the CIS
Collective Security Treaty and the 1992 Treaty. “There are but two
organizations in the world nowadays that view security matters as the
first priority. They are NATO and the Organization of the CIS
Collective Security Treaty,” General Secretary Nikolai Bordyuzha
(formerly Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian
Federation, head of the presidential administration, and Ambassador
to Denmark) said not long ago. He believes therefore that the two
alliances must interact. “The Organization of the CIS Collective
Security Treaty already has a plan of cooperation and interaction
with NATO,” he said. “Distance between military bases of the
Organization of the CIS Collective Security Treaty and forces of the
counter-terrorism operation in Afghanistan (that means NATO) is under
three dozen clicks.” Needless to say, Bordyuzha meant airfields in
Kyrgyzstan, Kant and Manas. According to what information this
newspaper has compiled, the Council of Foreign Ministers of the
Organization of the CIS Collective Security Treaty has already
drafted a document which will suggest military cooperation between
bases in Kant and Manas.

Unlike NATO, however, its CIS analog is financially unstable. That is
what generates friction among its members. It is clear nowadays that
the Organization of the CIS Collective Security Treaty owes its
existence mostly to the Russian budget. All its structures are
financed by Russia by at least 50%. Actually, Russian contribution is
even larger than that. Consider for example the Kremlin’s decision to
sell military hardware to countries of the Organization of the CIS
Collective Security Treaty at the prices demanded from Russian
buyers. Not even NATO has come up with that. This lenient terms
regime only applies to the units involved in international
contingents these days, but official Moscow contemplates its
application to all armed forces of all members of the Organization of
the CIS Collective Security Treaty. This assistance may even be made
mandatory.

Russia is also prepared to face the bill of training officers for CIS
national armies. 2,700 men from armies of the Organization of the CIS
Collective Security Treaty are being trained in Russia. Members of
the Organization of the CIS Collective Security Treaty pay $1,000 for
every trainee annually. The subject of training them without charge
is being considered now. Russia pays for maintenance of the forces
comprising the nucleus of all army groups of the Organization of the
CIS Collective Security Treaty. First and foremost, the matter
concerns AF bases in Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.

Aircraft based in Kant, for example, are officially recognized as a
part of the Fast Response Collective Forces. Still, Russia alone
finances the base. It will cost $10 million to outfit the base only,
and annual maintenance is estimated at $4 million more. It is not
exactly a “grant” as some politicians present it.

As a matter of fact, the anti-Taliban coalition pays Kyrgyzstan
$7,000 for every takeoff or landing in Manas. It is this easy money
that spoils the relations between Moscow and Dushanbe, Bishkek,
Astana. The United States alone intends to transact over $6 million
to Kyrgyzstan by way of military assistance (discounting what this
country is paid for the use of the Manas facility, that is). The sum
is double what Kyrgyzstan received in 2003. Kazakhstan is promised
helicopters, military transport planes, and ships under 1,000 tons
water displacement. Considerable technical aid is promised Tajikistan
too. Forget Central Asia for a minute. Even official Minsk in the
course of the recent “gas crisis” began talking of the necessity to
take money from Russia for “the military objects located on the
territory of Belarus.”

It does not take a genius to see that Russia cannot hope to satisfy
all of the demands its “allies” come up with. Financially, that is.
It follows that weapons and military hardware should be offered.
Sources in the United Headquarters say that these deliveries exactly
will be in the focus of attention of the operational conference of
the Organization of the CIS Collective Security Treaty in Moscow.
Defense ministers will even visit Granit, the foremost provider of
antiaircraft means for the Russian Armed Forces. It is common
knowledge that antiaircraft defense is our allies’ major headache.

Official commentary

Major General Sergei Chernomordin, Commander of the Fast Response
Collective Forces: The Taliban has never been abolished

Chernomordin: Headquarters of the Fast Response Collective Forces is
located in Bishkek. The operational group comprising officers from
all countries is quartered there too. National armies of participants
of the Organization of the CIS Collective Security Treaty are
represented in the Fast Response Collective Forces by a reinforced
battalion each. These are units of permanent combat readiness that do
not need a lot of time to up their readiness status. These units are
fully staffed and equipment. Whenever the order is received, the
units are ready for combat in the plains or in the mountains in
virtually no time. These are not ordinary units. I mean, infantry.
The Kazakh Armed Forces for example are represented by a battalion of
paratroops. Hence the weapons – light weapons and portable grenade
launchers. The battalion is quite mobile, up to missions in all
conditions. The national army of Tajikistan is represented by a
similar unit. Kyrgyzstan is represented by a battalion of
mountaineers. All Kyrgyz servicemen are seasoned fighters. The
nucleus of the Kyrgyz battalion is comprised of the veterans who
fought in the Batken region in 1999.

The battalion tactical group of the Russian 201st Motorized Infantry
Division is equipped and trained for mountainous warfare. It has
tanks, armored personnel carriers, mobile artillery systems. All
these units will be promptly airlifted to the endangered area and
deploy there. I do not doubt their efficiency.

Question: Do the Fast Response Collective Forces have an action plan?

Sergei Chernomordin: We have the deployment plan for potential
actions on the territory of any of the four countries. Usually, all
officers and units of the Fast Response Collective Forces remain at
their permanent quarters, working in line with their own curricula.
They come together only in the special period. they have to be
drilled constantly, taught to operate in the designated area. That is
why our units are deployed in Tajikistan today, and tomorrow
exercises may be run in Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan. This is how we
train our units the year round. Along with everything else, we remain
in close contact with the CIS Counter-Terrorism Center and national
armies. Whenever necessary, the Fast Response Collective Forces may
operate under the command of a national defense minister. Together
with armed forces and other security structures, of course. If the
appropriate decision is made, I will submit to the defense minister
of the country where our involvement is needed. Or else, I may
operate independently.

Question: What do you think of the situation in Central Asia?

Sergei Chernomordin: The counter-terrorism operation has hurt the
Taliban but never abolished it altogether. Moreover, Taliban
detachments mount more and more resolute attacks on forces of the
counter-terrorism coalition and the government of Khamid Karzai.
Tribal strife continues as well. Instability has not been routed out,
nor weapons have been laid down. Trafficking via Central Asia to
Europe and America increases in scope. This is what worries the
governments of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan first
and foremost. Traffic means inevitable infiltration of the
territories of Central Asian countries by armed gangs.

Specialist’s opinion

The Fast Response Collective Forces is the Central Asian army group
of the Organization of the CIS Collective Security Treaty. It
comprises Kazbat paratroops battalion, battalion of Kyrgyz
mountaineers, Tajik paratroops battalion, Russian motorized infantry
battalion (of the 201st Motorized Infantry Division quartered in
Tajikistan), and communications units. Numerical strength approaches
1,500 men. Aviation of the Fast Response Collective Forces based in
Kant includes ten SU-25 and SU-27 aircraft, nine military transport
planes, four training planes, and two helicopters (all of them
Russian). Meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers in December
2003 found it necessary to up numerical strength of the Fast Response
Collective Forces 2.5 times this year. Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and
Russia are expected to provide another battalion each, Tajikistan two
battalions.

The Caucasus group comprises units of the Russian and Armenian
armies. Russia is represented by the 102nd Military Base in Gyumri.
There is also a considerable antiaircraft group – a wing of eighteen
MIG-29 aircraft and a battery of complexes with radars.

The West group was first mentioned during President Vladimir Putin’s
visit to Belarus in May 2002. A group 3,000 men strong was mentioned
then. The Defense Ministry of Russia explained afterwards that the
group would comprise some units of the Moscow and Leningrad military
districts, Baltic Fleet, and the Belarusian army. Whenever necessary,
they would follow common operational plans. United headquarters were
established for the duration of command exercises on two occasions.

Investment Opportunities in Armenia

BISNIS Armenia Report
March 18, 2004

You are receiving this update as a BISNIS client in order to share with
you the following trade leads and market information concerning Armenia.

1) Armenia Consular Information Sheet

2) TENDER FOR SUPPLY OF SERVICES VEHICLES
3) TENDER FOR SUPPLY OF VALVES, FITTINGS AND FLANGE ADAPTERS FOR POTABLE
WATER

***************************************************************
Armenia Consular Information Sheet
To read the full document, please go to:

Date: January 27, 2004
From: U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC

COUNTRY DESCRIPTION: Armenia, located in the southern Caucasus Mountains,
is the smallest of the former Soviet republics. Armenia’s borders with
Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed due to the dispute over the status of the
Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Long transportation routes and
economic difficulties limit the availability of imported goods. Tourist
facilities, especially outside Yerevan, the capital, are not highly
developed, and many of the goods and services taken for granted in other
countries may be difficult to obtain. Travelers frequently experience
problems with local officials seeking bribes to perform basic duties.

*********************************************************************************
IMI (ARMENIA): TENDER FOR SUPPLY OF SERVICES VEHICLES ANNOUNCED

15 MAR 04
SOURCE: US EMBASSY YEREVAN

INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT, U.S. AND FOREIGN COMMERCIAL
SERVICE AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 2004. ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES.

1. THE MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT
INVITES ARMENIAN AND FOREIGN COMPANIES TO SUBMIT BIDS
FOR THE DELIVERY OF SERVICES VEHICLES. THE DELIVERY
PERIOD IS 60 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF ISSUING THE LETTER
OF CREDIT. BIDS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY APRIL 9, 2004, NO
LATER THAN 17:00 LOCAL TIME.

2. THE GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA HAS RECEIVED A CREDIT
FROM THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION TOWARDS
THE COST OF THE MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AND
INTENDS TO APPLY PART OF THIS CREDIT THE PROCUREMENT OF
SERVICES VEHICLES, CONTRACT NO.
IF5/JETTSUCT_BREAKVAN_CRANETRUCK/004:

LOT 1 SEWER SUCTION AND JETTING MACHINES
LOT 2 BREAKDOWN VAN
LOT 3 TRUCK WITH MANIPULATOR CRANE

3. BIDDING WILL BE CONDUCTED THROUGH THE INTERNATIONAL
COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCEDURES SPECIFIED IN THE WORLD
BANK’S GUIDELINES: PROCUREMENT UNDER IBRD LOANS AND IDA
CREDITS, AND IS OPEN TO ALL BIDDERS FROM ELIGIBLE
SOURCE COUNTRIES AS DEFINED IN THE GUIDELINES.

4. THE BIDDING DOCUMENTS IN ENGLISH CAN BE OBTAINED
FROM THE MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT
UPON SUBMISSION OF A WRITTEN APPLICATION AND PAYMENT OF
A NONREFUNDABLE FEE OF USD 100. FOREIGN CONTRACTORS
WILL BE CHARGED AN ADDITIONAL FEE OF USD 50 PER PACKAGE
TO COVER POSTAGE EXPENSES. THE PAYMENT CAN BE MADE
EITHER IN CASH OR VIA BANK TRANSFER. IN CASE OF
TRANSFER, FEES SHOULD BE TRANSFERRED TO THE FOLLOWING
ACCOUNT:

(SWIFT: MIDLAM22) OF HSBC ARMENIA BANK, YEREVAN,
ARMENIA
ACCOUNT NO. 001-155563-001

5. BIDS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY APRIL 9, 2004, NOT LATER
THAN 17:00 LOCAL TIME TO THE MUNICIPALITY DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT. ELIGIBLE BIDDERS CAN BID FOR
ONE LOT OR MORE/ALL LOTS AND THE EVALUATION OF BIDS
WILL BE ON A LOT-BY-LOT BASIS. ALL BIDS MUST BE
ACCOMPANIED BY BID SECURITIES PER THE FOLLOWING
SCHEDULE OR AN EQUIVALENT AMOUNT IN A FREELY
CONVERTIBLE CURRENCY:

LOT 1 SEWER SUCTION AND JETTING MACHINES – USD 3,300
LOT 2 BREAKDOWN VAN – USD 700
LOT 3 TRUCK WITH THE MANIPULATOR CRANE – USD 1,200

6. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT
8 VARDANANTS STREET
YEREVAN 375010, ARMENIA
TEL: (374 1) 522-795
FAX: (374 1) 547-072
E-MAIL: [email protected]

******************************************************************
IMI (ARMENIA): TENDER FOR SUPPLY OF VALVES, FITTINGS AND FLANGE ADAPTERS
FOR POTABLE WATER ANNOUNCED

15 MAR 04
SOURCE: US EMBASSY YEREVAN

INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT, U.S. AND FOREIGN COMMERCIAL
SERVICE AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 2004. ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES.

1. THE MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT
INVITES ARMENIAN AND FOREIGN COMPANIES TO SUBMIT BIDS
FOR THE DELIVERY OF VALVES, FITTINGS AND FLANGE
ADAPTERS FOR POTABLE WATER. THE DELIVERY PERIOD IS
WITHIN 120 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF THE OPENING OF THE
LETTER OF CREDIT. BIDS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY APRIL 13,
2004, NOT LATER THAN 17:00 LOCAL TIME.

2. THE GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA HAS RECEIVED A CREDIT FROM
THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION TOWARDS THE
COST OF THE MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AND INTENDS
TO APPLY PART OF THIS CREDIT TO THE PROCUREMENT OF
VALVES, FITTINGS AND FLANGE ADAPTERS FOR POTABLE WATER,
CONTRACT NO IF5/VALVE/002.

3. BIDDING WILL BE CONDUCTED THROUGH THE INTERNATIONAL
COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCEDURES SPECIFIED IN THE WORLD
BANK’S GUIDELINES: PROCUREMENT UNDER IBRD LOANS AND IDA
CREDITS, AND IS OPEN TO ALL BIDDERS FROM ELIGIBLE
SOURCE COUNTRIES AS DEFINED IN THE GUIDELINES.

4. THE BIDDING DOCUMENTS IN ENGLISH CAN BE OBTAINED
FROM THE MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT
UPON SUBMISSION OF A WRITTEN APPLICATION AND PAYMENT OF
A NONREFUNDABLE FEE OF USD 100. FOREIGN CONTRACTORS
WILL BE CHARGED AN ADDITIONAL FEE OF USD 50 PER PACKAGE
TO COVER POSTAGE EXPENSES. THE PAYMENT CAN BE MADE
EITHER IN CASH OR VIA BANK TRANSFER. IN CASE OF
TRANSFER, FEES SHOULD BE TRANSFERRED TO THE FOLLOWING
ACCOUNT:

(SWIFT: MIDLAM22) OF HSBC ARMENIA BANK, YEREVAN,
REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
ACCOUNT NO. 001-155563-001

5. BIDS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY APRIL 13, 2004, NOT LATER
THAN 17:00 LOCAL TIME TO THE MUNICIPALITY DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT AND MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A
BID SECURITY OF USD 6,500 OR AN EQUIVALENT AMOUNT IN A
FREELY CONVERTIBLE CURRENCY. LATE BIDS WILL BE
REJECTED.

6. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT
8 VARDANANTS STREET
YEREVAN 375010, ARMENIA
TEL: (374 1) 522-795
FAX: (374 1) 547-072
E-MAIL: [email protected]

Additional information on Armenia is available via
BISNIS Online, at

BISNIS Programs available to you FREE OF CHARGE:
BISNIS ExpoLink Eurasia
BISNIS Trades & Tenders
BISNIS Search for Partners
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BISNIS FinanceLink fm

********** Provided by: ***************************
Joan M. Morgan, BISNIS Trade Specialist for Armenia
U.S. Department of Commerce
Tel: 202/482-2709, Fax: 202/482-2293
e-mail: [email protected]

***********************************************************************************
Investment Opportunities in Georgia

BISNIS Georgia Report
March 16, 2004

Dear BISNIS Clients:

In today’s message you will find:

1) International Bidding for Poti Port Terminals in Georgia (Deadline
extended to May 3, 2004) (3/04)

2) Commercial News Update for Georgia (3/04)
229GGcomnews.htm
3) List of Governmental Institutions in the Republic of Georgia (3/04)

4) Opening an Office in Tbilisi, Georgia (2/04)
130GGopenoffice.htm

***************************** ***************************
1) INTERNATIONAL BIDDING FOR POTI PORT TERMINALS (GEORGIA) (deadline
extended to May 3, 2004)

March 5, 2004
Source: US Embassy, Tbilisi, Georgia

Announcement

“The Sea Port of Poti”- Legal Entity of Public Law, pursuant to the
decision of the Tender Commission, created in compliance with the
Presidential Decree No 104 from March 12, 2002 on transferring certain
terminals (berths) of the Poti Sea Port for long term lease or with
management right through International Tenders, ensuring to carry out
the Presidential Decree, No 424 from 27 September 2000 on Adoption and
Realization of Restructuring and Modernization Strategy of Poti Sea
Port, informs all interested persons, willing to participate in
international tender on transferring Terminals No.9, 10 for long term
lease announced on 04.11.2003 (newspaper “Sakartvelos Respublika”
No.297, 04.11.2003) that the tender terms have been changed as follows:

**********************************************************
2) COMMERCIAL NEWS UPDATE GEORGIA
February 18-29, 2004
9GGcomnews.htm

AUTHOR: HELEN SARADOVA, BISNIS REPRESENTATIVE FOR GEORGIA

This report contains the following information:
§ Tariff increase for transportation of oil;
§ USAID renews support for microfinance stabilization in Georgia;
§ EBRD keeps a full plate in Georgia;
§ Government to regulate price of bread;
§ National Bank increases rate of discount;
§ Russian-Georgian trade-economic co-operation;
§ Oil pipeline construction from Novorossiisk to Turkey via Georgia;
§ New launch services.

************************************************************
3) List of Governmental Institutions in the Republic of Georgia
GListMinistries.htm

March 2004
Source: BISNIS Representative in US Embassy, Tbilisi, Georgia

Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili, President
Mr. Irakli Chubinishvili, Head of President’s Administration

Chancellery
Mr. Zurab Zhvania, Prime Minister
Tel: (995 32) 922243; Fax: (995 32) 921069

**************************************
4) Opening an Office in Tbilisi, Georgia (2/04)

January 2004
Source: Helen Saradova, BISNIS Representative, Georgia

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Georgia is a mountainous country bordered by the Russian Federation in
the north, Turkey in the southeast, Armenia in the south, Azerbaijan in
the east and by the Black Sea in the west. Georgia’s main economic
activities include the cultivation of agricultural products such as
citrus fruits, tea, hazelnuts, and grapes; mining of manganese and
copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing alcoholic and
nonalcoholic beverages, metals, machinery, and chemicals. The country
imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil
products. Even though Georgia’s sizable internal energy resource is
hydropower, during the last years it simultaneously suffers from an
energy crisis.

********************************************************************
BISNIS Programs available to you FREE OF CHARGE:
BISNIS ExpoLink Eurasia
BISNIS Trades & Tenders
BISNIS Search for Partners
fm
BISNIS FinanceLink fm

For country-specific information, please go to the Georgia page at

You are receiving this broadcast because you have elected to receive the
Georgia updates from BISNIS. To modify your personal selections or to
unsubscribe, please go to MyBISNIS at

********** Provided by: ***************************
Joan M. Morgan, BISNIS Trade Specialist for Georgia
U.S. Department of Commerce
Tel: 202/482-2709, Fax: 202/482-2293
e-mail: [email protected]

The Bay City Times, MI
March 18 2004

COMING TO A CLOSE
Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra ends season with final conductor
candidate

By Amy Jo Johnson
TIMES WRITER

Geoffrey Moull likes Freddie Mercury, Sting and Eric Clapton, but
it’s the symphony that really makes his heart skip a beat.

Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra in Canada, Moull will
be charged with keeping the beat Saturday when he serves as guest
conductor for the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra.

The 8 p.m. concert at First Presbyterian Church is the final concert
of the orchestra’s 2003-04 season and a tryout for Moull, who is
vying to become the orchestra’s permanent conductor.

Moull is the last of five conductor candidates to lead the orchestra
this year. Symphony leaders hope to select a new orchestra conductor
by the end of May.

Moull said he wants the job because, even though SBSO would have
fewer performances than his present orchestra, there would be more
musicians – allowing for a greater repertoire of music.

“I can perform a repertoire in Saginaw that I can’t perform in
Thunder Bay,” he said.

Moull says he’d also like to move from Thunder Bay’s remote
wilderness setting.

The orchestra will perform songs from Ravel, Tschaikovsky, Debussy
and Mendelssohn under Moull’s direction on Saturday.

“It’s a very nice program. Very eclectic,” he said. “It’s almost like
going on a field day as a kid – meeting a new orchestra and meeting
new people involved with the orchestra.”

Moull is in his glory when working with symphonic music, but he’s
open to other musical styles, too.

He likes some blues, and a Jeans in Classics program in Canada that
teams rock music with symphonic arrangements has struck his fancy. A
recent concert event focused on the music of Queen.

But there will be no Britney Spears or R. Kelly CD purchases in
Moull’s future.

“I don’t feel that has much to do with music anymore,” he said.
“That’s just pure commercialism. There’s no artistic depth to it.”

Moull said the general public has this view that symphonic music is
some elitist thing that they can’t understand and won’t enjoy.

That’s just not true, he said. There’s no education or training
required to enjoy the beauty of the symphony, Moull said.

“You just have to go in with an open mind and listen,” he said.

Moull holds a bachelor of music degree in conducting from McGill
University in Montreal. To his amazement, he graduated without ever
having stood in front of an orchestra.

He went on to further his education at the Staatliche Hochschule fur
Musik in Detmold, Germany, earning master’s degrees in conducting and
piano.

After he finished his formal studies, Moull stayed on in Germany for
17 years working his way up the conducting ladder.

“Conducting is a long process,” he said.

Moull returned to Canada in 2000, making Thunder Bay his home.

Today, he conducts the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, which employs
30 full-time musicians for 24 weeks of the year.

The orchestra takes its show on the road touring cities in northern
Ontario for two weeks each season – covering a geographical area the
size of France, Moull said.

“If we didn’t come to these towns, they would have no exposure to
symphonic music at all,” Moull said.

The Thunder Bay orchestra also is active with the schools, where many
of the music and sports programs have been cut, he said.

“We’re essentially the missing link to try to get kids interested in
music again,” Moull said.

The featured soloist for Saturday’s concert is cellist Suren
Bagratuni, of East Lansing.

Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Bagratuni began his musical education there
at age seven. He began performing at age 10 and appeared as a
concerto soloist by age 14.

Bagratuni has performed throughout the former Soviet Union, Europe
and the United States. He’s appeared with the Moscow Philharmonic,
the Boston Pops, the Armenian Philharmonic, the Philharmonic
Orchestra of Halle in Berlin, and the symphony orchestras of Chile,
Guatamala and the Dominican Republic.

Concert tickets for Saturday’s performance can be purchased by
calling the SBSO office in Saginaw at (989) 755-6471 or by calling A
& J Galleries in Bay City at 891-1400.

Season tickets for next year’s concert series aren’t yet available
but should be on sale early in June. Those interested in purchasing
season tickets should call 755-6471 to be put on the SBSO’s mailing
list.

– Amy Jo Johnson covers features for The Times. She can be reached at
894-9637.

WHO: Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, with guest conductor Geoffrey
Moull and guest cellist Suren Bagratuni

WHAT: Final concert of the ‘Pathway to the Future’ series
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: First Presbyterian Church, 805 Center Ave.
TICKETS: $30 in advance or at the door, $10 for students
INFO: (989) 755-6471

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian

CROSSROADS E-NEWSLETTER: March 18, 2004

ARCHBISHOP OSHAGAN ATTENDS
PREVIEW AND DINNER AT
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan attended a special preview and
dinner on Monday, March 15, representing His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of
the Great House of Cilicia, ushering in the official opening of the exhibit
Byzantium: Power and Faith (1261-1557). Included in the extensive exhibition
are three pieces from the museum of the Cilician See in Antelias, Lebanon.
Overall there are 10 or 11 Armenian pieces of art included in the 350 pieces
from thirty nations. Most of the pieces in the exhibit are rarely seen and
some have never been shown outside of the churches and monasteries that have
preserved them for the past seven centuries.
Representatives of countries who contributed works of art to the
exhibit, as well as sponsors and special guests including His All Holiness
Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch, attended the black tie dinner.
The magnificent 656-page book that accompanies the exhibit is a bargain
at $75 for the hardcover edition. The back cover of the jacket is a
Reliquary Triptych of the Skevra Monastery, Armenian Cilicia, 1293. It is on
loan from the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The exhibit will open to the public Tuesday, March 23 and continue
through July 4, 2004. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located at Fifth
Avenue and 81st Street, New York City.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING
WILL CONVENE IN MID-WEST
As part of a program to bolster communications with parishes, the
Executive Council has been scheduling some of its monthly meetings in areas
outside of New York. The next such meeting is scheduled for next weekend,
March 26 and 27 at All Saints’ Armenian Apostolic Church, Glenview,
Illinois. The Prelate and Executive and Religious Councils will meet
individually with pastors, boards of trustees, and delegates to the National
Representative Assembly of each area parish. The representatives of all the
parishes will have lunch with the Councils and also participate in a joint
meeting following lunch. The parishes participating are: All Saints Church,
Glenview, Illinois; St. Sarkis Church, Dearborn, Michigan; St. Gregory
Church, Granite City, Illinois; St. Paul Church, Waukegan, Illinois; and St.
Hagop Church, Racine, Wisconsin.

FOURTH LENTEN LECTURE EXPLORES
THE FAMILY AS A SMALL CHURCH
The fourth Lenten Lecture, delivered by Rev. Fr. Khatchadour Boghossian,
pastor of Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey, took place last
night. Rev. Fr. Boghossian spoke about the Family as a Small Church.
Rev. Fr. Khatchadour began his lecture by going back to creation and
viewing the relationship between God and human beings. He described various
families in the Bible beginning with Adam and Eve, describing their problems
and showing that sin has always existed in families. Coming to the New
Testament he described the Holy Family, and presented the admonitions of the
Apostles, especially Paul, concerning the family. He also offered the advice
given by Armenian Church Fathers (Nerses Shnorhali, Hovhaness Yerzingatzi,
and Krikor Narekatzi) concerning the Christian education of children and the
responsibility of parents.
A question and answer period followed the lecture. Everyone enjoyed a
time of fellowship while sharing a Lenten meal prepared by the Prelacy
Ladies Guild and the Ladies Guild of St. Illuminators Cathedral. Discussions
on various topics of interest to the Church continued in small groups
following dinner. The Lenten Lectures are sponsored by the Armenian
Religious Education Council and the Prelacy Ladies Guild.

FIFTH LENTEN LECTURE WILL FEATURE
PROFESSOR VIGEN GUROIAN
Professor Vigen Guroian will be the featured speaker on March 24 at the
fifth Lenten lecture. Professor Guroian is a professor of theology and
ethics at Loyola College, in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the author of many
books and articles, many of which have appeared in Outreach, the publication
of the Prelacy.
The year 2004 has been proclaimed the Year of the Family by His Holiness
Catholicos Aram I, and the Lenten lectures have all focused on an aspect of
the family. Professor Guroian will speak about The Christian Family under
Fire.
The lectures take place at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, 221 E. 27th
Street, New York City. Lenten service begins at 7:30 p.m., in the Sanctuary,
followed by the lecture and fellowship in Pashalian Hall. All are welcome.

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I WILL TAKE PART IN COMMEMORATION OF
10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GENOCIDE IN RWANDA
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, has been
invited to participate in the 10th anniversary commemoration of the genocide
in Rwanda, in April.
Dr. Charles Murigande, Foreign Minister of Rwanda, invited His Holiness
noting: You stood by the people of Rwanda as they struggled to deal with the
terrible consequences of genocide. It therefore gives me pleasure, on behalf
of the people and government of Rwanda, to invite you to the ceremonies
marking the 10th anniversary of the 1994 genocide. Join us to reflect on how
to prevent and banish genocide forever through active universal solidarity.
A high-ranking delegation will accompany His Holiness including Dr. Sam
Kobia, the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches; Dr. Andre
Karamagali, the director of the Department on Africa Affairs; Bishop
Dandala, General Secretary of All Africa Council of Churches, Ms. Teny
Pirri-Simonian, Director of Church Relations Department of the WCC; and Rev.
Krikor Chiftjian, Director of Information and Communications for the
Cilician Catholicate.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GENOCIDE
WILL CONVENE IN ANTELIAS, LEBANON
An International Conference-Genocide, Impunity and Justice-will take
place in Antelias, Lebanon, April 22-23, 2004. Initiated by His Holiness
Aram I, the conference will focus on the question of impunity, which will be
analyzed from juridical, religious and political perspectives. The Armenian
Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th Century (1915) and the Rwandan
Genocide, the last genocide of the 20th Century (1994) will be presented as
two different cases of impunity. An international body of scholars,
politicians, and academicians will take part in the conference.
The question of impunity has become a critical issue on the agenda of
the world community. The conference will provide a framework for people
coming from different religions and backgrounds to discuss this question in
a spirit of creative dialogue.

PRELACY BIBLE STUDIES GROUP WILL DISCUSS
“THE PASSION OF CHRIST” THIS MONDAY
The Prelacy’s Bible Study group will discuss the Mel Gibson movie, “The
Passion of the Christ”, this Monday evening, March 22, 7:15 p.m. to 8:45
p.m. The discussion will be led by Deacon Shant Kazanjian, Director of the
Armenian Religious Education Council, at the Prelacy offices, 138 E. 39th
Street, New York City.
In preparation to see the movie and the subsequent discussion, Deacon
Shant suggested reading at least two accounts of the passion of Christ, the
Gospel of John and one of the other Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke),
or better yet all four Gospels.
If you have seen the movie and would like to join the group for this
discussion, contact Deacon Shant at 212-689-7810.

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT:
SUNDAY OF THE JUDGE
We have now come to the fifth Sunday of Lent, which is the Sunday of the
Judge (Datavori Kiraki). The reading on this day is from the Gospel of St.
Luke, chapter 18, verses 1-8, which tells the parable of the judge. The
judge in this parable is seen as hard-hearted without principles, fear of
God. or regard for people. A widow of the same town has been ill-treated and
she has come to the judge for justice. Although her cause is just, he does
not pay attention to her case. However she persists in coming with the same
appeal until at last the judge decides to see that she gets justice. He does
this not because he cares for justice, but in order to get rid of the widow.
The moral teaching of this parable is that in life one must persevere
and pursue righteousness relentlessly with confidence that perseverance will
be rewarded. In particular the parable teaches perseverance in prayer.

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RIA Novosti, Russia
March 18 2004

MOSCOW REJECTS ACCUSATIONS OF NON-FULFILLMENT OF ISTANBUL AGREEMENTS

MOSCOW, March 18, 2004. (RIA Novosti) – Accusations of Russia’s
non-fulfillment of the agreements reached at the Istanbul OSCE summit
in 1999 is the pretext for delaying the ratification of the adapted
Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, Russian First Deputy Foreign
Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov said in an interview with journalists.

“We pursue the policy of constructive relations with the United
States and NATO. Sometimes our partners aberrate from it and float
the idea that without the liquidation of the Russian military bases
in Georgia ratification of CFE treaty is impossible (two Russian
military bases remain in Georgia: one in Batumi, capital of the
Adzharian autonomy, and the other in Akhalkalaki on the border with
Armenia)”, he said.

“We see the attempts to put the blame on us for ‘the non-fulfilment
of the Istanbul agreements’ as an invented pretext for
procrastinating the ratification of the agreement on the adaptation
of the CFE treaty,” Vyacheslav Trubnikov stressed.

Russia has early and in full performed all its obligations for the
pullout of arms and military equipment, limited by the treaty, from
Georgia and Moldova, the interview says. “We have substantially
become close to the solution of problems unrelated to the CFE treaty
– the closure of the Russian military bases in Georgia and the
withdrawal of military equipment from Transdniestria (the land on the
left bank of the Dniester river populated by multiethnic
Russian-speaking people. In the early 90s it proclaimed itself the
“independent” Transdniestrian Moldovan republic with the capital in
Tiraspol),” Trubnikov said.

“There are no legal obstacles for the start of ratification of the
agreement on the CFE treaty adaptation. We invite our partners to
begin it without artificial procrastination,” he said.

Houston Press, TX
March 18 2004

Village Person
Arshile Gorky changed his name, but he couldn’t change his painful
past

BY JOHN DEVINE
[email protected]

Many artists have had difficult childhoods, but by any measure,
Arshile Gorky’s was particularly traumatic. He was born Vosdanik
Adoian in the village of Khorkom in Turkish Armenia in 1904. Two
years later, his father emigrated to America. Whether he left to find
work or to avoid arrest for being an Armenian nationalist has never
been clear, but it would be nearly 15 years before father and son met
again. By then, Gorky would have experienced the loss of his village,
witnessed the genocide of his people by the Turkish government,
endured the refugee poverty and famine that killed his mother when he
was 15, and, finally, with his younger sister Vartoosh, sailed to
America, leaving behind forever his mother’s grave, his homeland and
his beloved village. But not his past.
That past resonates through “Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective of
Drawings,” on view at the Menil Collection. Curated by Janie C. Lee,
adjunct curator of drawings at the Whitney Museum of American Art,
the exhibition offers an intimate introduction to one of America’s
most influential artists.

After a few years in Providence and Boston, the young Armenian artist
moved to New York City in 1924. He had already rechristened himself
Arshile Gorky; the first name was a variant of an Armenian royal
name, and the surname means “bitter one” in Russian. (By all
accounts, Gorky was an inveterate raconteur and rarely let the facts
interfere with a good story. If you wanted to believe he was related
to the great Russian writer Maxim Gorky, he wouldn’t disillusion you
— despite the fact that the writer’s name was also an assumed one.
The writer of his New York Times obituary was one such mistaken
soul.) In New York, Gorky’s talent was recognized almost immediately,
and he managed to eke out a living teaching drawing, both
academically and privately; by the early 1930s, his work began
appearing in group shows.

An incessant drawer from early childhood, Gorky was essentially
self-taught — one of his sisters remembers him finding a dead fish
and drawing it over and over in the sand. (Later, he would be fired
from a Boston rubber factory for drawing on the molds.) His major
influences were the great 19th-century French classicist
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, as well as contemporaries Pablo
Picasso and Henri Matisse. As installed in the Menil, the first three
galleries of the exhibit (which has been judiciously edited down from
the ungainly sprawl and visual overload of the Whitney’s version)
show how in his early work, Gorky worked to incorporate their
disparate approaches into a pictorial language of his own.

Of particular note are the drawings of his mother, especially the
portrait on loan from the Art Institute of Chicago. Gorky faithfully
rendered his mother’s face from a formal 1912 photograph of the two
of them, taken to send to his father. It’s a beautiful, loving
portrait, intimate and yet reserved. The profound depths of her eyes
are matched only by the eyes of her young son in some other drawings
on display. One of the pleasures of seeing this retrospective at the
Menil are the echoes that occur not only within Gorky’s body of work
but between it and the rest of the museum’s collection. The portrait
of his mother resonates with some Egyptian Fayum mummy portraits in
the Menil’s classical galleries (Gorky kept a reproduction of one
from the Metropolitan Museum’s extensive Egyptian collection in his
studio).

The other series of note in these first rooms is the Nighttime,
Enigma, and Nostalgia series. Composed in 1931 and 1932, the group of
works demonstrates Gorky’s habit of repeating forms and motifs
through different mediums — here, principally graphite or ink — and
methods, such as crosshatching and shading, to create numerous
variations on a theme. The series demonstrates the countless formal
possibilities of drawing (this one alone runs to more than 50 works).
Inhabited by entangled biomorphic shapes of no particular provenance,
the melancholy meditations of Nighttime, Enigma, and Nostalgia compel
our lingering attention. When asked what personal or symbolic
significance the series’ imagery held, Gorky’s response was “wounded
birds, poverty, and one whole week of rain.” A related drawing, Image
at Khorkom (1934-36), references the village of his birth.

Gorky’s mature work began in the early 1940s, when he encountered the
surrealists, who were here in America to escape the Nazis. He would
incorporate their ideas into his own work and become the link between
the surrealists and artists like Willem de Kooning and Jackson
Pollock. Of prime importance to Gorky’s development was Roberto
Matta, who encouraged him in the surrealist technique of automatic
drawing — the hand moving unguided by the mind. Around this time,
Gorky left New York for Connecticut and began drawing from nature.
The combination seems to have unleashed a torrent of creative
invention in Gorky as he filtered the world he saw before him through
his imagination and memory. In Drawing (1946), two figures in the
lower half are clearly cows, but a foreleg of one cow ends in not a
hoof but a scythelike shape. And in the lovely large drawing The Plow
and the Song (1946), the sinuous vertical figure in the center
suggests an Armenian plow from Gorky’s childhood.

But this is not to say that to appreciate Gorky’s art one must play a
game of identification; form was more important to him than the
object that suggests the form. It’s the whole composition as an
abstraction, the interplay of forms, and the assuredness and economy
of draftsmanship that seduces. In Study for Charred Beloved (1946),
there isn’t a wasted line or gesture, as if, in executing this
delicate composition, Gorky barely removed pencil from paper.

The last drawings in the exhibit are dated 1946-47. In January 1946,
a studio fire destroyed about 25 of Gorky’s paintings. That March, he
underwent a colostomy operation necessitated by rectal cancer. A
fastidious man, Gorky was deeply embarrassed by the procedure. He
also had marital problems. Still, Gorky continued to work through
1947. In 1948, his marriage collapsed, and in June, his collarbone
and two neck vertebrae were broken in an auto accident. Confined by
an immobilization collar and constrained from working, on July 21
Gorky wrote “Goodbye my loveds” on a wooden crate in his Connecticut
studio, and then he hung himself.

Through May 9 at the Menil Collection, 1515 Sul Ross, 713-525-9400.
Through April 25 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet,
713-639-7300.

One Hell of a Gift

Caroline Wiess Law has been very, very good to the MFAH. An art
collector and philanthropist, Law died last Christmas Eve on her 85th
birthday. She left the museum a $25 million endowment and a cache of
55 artworks, with an estimated value of between $60 million and $85
million.

Law was Houston to the core. She was the daughter of Harry Wiess,
co-founder of Humble Oil & Refining Co., which became Exxon. Her
first husband was a partner at the law firm Vinson, Elkins, Weems &
Francis; after he died, she married Theodore Newton Law, founder of
Falcon Seaboard Drilling Co. Wiess’s parents were founding members of
the MFAH, and Law herself was an MFAH supporter for four decades. In
1998, the Watkins-Mies building was named after her.

“A Spirited Vision: Highlights of the Bequest of Caroline Wiess Law
to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston” presents works from some of the
major names in 20th-century art. Philip Guston’s Passage (1957) is an
early ab-ex-inspired work that feels incredibly fresh. Its smears and
brushy smudges of color have a visceral feeling. They remind you of
the hues used for those plastic models of the human body from biology
class — the rosy pink of flesh; the pale, greenish-blue of veins;
the deep red of the heart; the brownish red of the liver.

Joan Miró’s Painting (The Circus Horse) (1927) is especially nice,
with the lush, chalky blue of the background playing host to the
artist’s tentatively elegant linear elements. One of the more
appealing works by Hans Hoffman in the show features brushy
rectangles of near-primary colors on a pale ground. It hangs
especially well between two vivid works by Lucio Fontana, one an
intense red and the other a powerful, almost artificial green. True
to form, Fontana has interrupted their saturated monochromatic
surfaces by elegantly slicing through the canvases.

There are some early, colorful works by Franz Kline that are okay,
but they make you glad he switched to the black and white of his 1961
Corinthian II. Picasso’s Two Women in Front of a Window (1927) was
donated in 1964 but remained in Law’s home until her death. It’s a
notable work and a definite feather in the cap for the MFAH, but
there’s so much Picasso in the museum world (the MFAH alone has 80),
it’s hard to be visually excited about it. Andy Warhol’s Caroline,
four 1976 portraits of Law, is also included. Warhol cranked out
scads of portraits of collectors and celebrities in the ’70s and
’80s. This is a particularly unflattering series that gives Law the
look of a not-overly-convincing transvestite. She must have really
loved Warhol to keep those around.

Neither Law’s upbringing nor her education predisposed her toward the
modern art she came to love. When she was furnishing her home in the
’50s, dealers kept showing up with impressionist paintings. According
to Law, “I just couldn’t get interested in those things. They didn’t
talk to me.” Law went on to find artworks that did talk to her — and
now they’re holding forth at the MFAH. – Kelly Klaasmeyr

Through April 25 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet,
713-639-7300.

Institute for War and Peace Reporting
March 18 2004

Karabakh Rejects Drug Claims

Allegation made to the UN that Nagorny Karabakh is used as narcotics
route is angrily denied by the Armenians.

By Ashot Beglarian in Stepanakert (CRS No. 223, 18-Mar-04)

The Armenian authorities in Nagorny Karabakh have invited
international officials to come and monitor the territories they
control, after allegations from Azerbaijan that the region is a
transit corridor for the drugs trade.

The issue cropped up this week at a Vienna meeting of the United
Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs. One item on the agenda proposed
that, `The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in coordination
with the appropriate organs of the United Nations system, Interpol
and other international organisations should be invited to study the
drugs situation in the territories outside the control of the
legitimate governments of the countries in the region (Afghanistan,
Iraq and the Nagorny Karabakh region of Azerbaijan).’

In response, Masis Mailian, deputy foreign minister of the
unrecognised republic of Nagorny Karabakh told IWPR that his
government was happy to welcome an independent international
monitoring group to visit all of the territory it controlled – both
Karabakh itself and the Armenian-occupied territories around it.

`The group must include truly independent international experts who
would conduct an objective investigation,’ said Mailian.

Azerbaijan claims that Nagorny Karabakh and the surrounding lands
under Armenian control have become a transit point for narcotics on
the `southern route’ of the heroin trade, that originates in
Afghanistan and passes through Iran on its way to Europe. It says the
long stretch of border along the Araxes river between Iran and the
empty lands controlled by the Karabakh Armenians is entirely
unmonitored, and is therefore a good entry point for drug
traffickers.

Ali Hassanov, chairman of Azerbaijan’s State Commission to Combat
Drug Abuse and Illegal Trafficking, said the main problem his
commission faced was `the uncontrolled territories occupied by
Armenia, where narcotics are cultivated, and through which they are
trafficked’.

However, Karabakh Armenian official Mailian challenged anyone to
provide evidence of this, noting that the US State Department’s
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report published on March 1
this year failed even to mention Nagorny Karabakh, while stating that
Azerbaijan is one of the main transit routes for international
trafficking.

IWPR also asked the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC. in Vienna
whether it had evidence of Karabakh being used as a transit point.
The response was that UNODC had no available evidence, although a
change of personnel in its Tehran office meant it was unable to check
fully with its sources in Iran.

The Karabakh Armenian authorities say that, on the contrary, they
have been waging a persistent campaign against the cultivation of
opium poppies and wild cannabis that used to grow in Karabakh.

Locals now admit that the territory suffered from a drug problem
during the war of 1991-94, but they say that this has now been
brought under control.

`The problem of cultivating narcotic plants was particularly
difficult during the war, in 1992-1993,’ said one villager. `You
should have seen the care – that should have been put to better use –
with which some people grew poppies. There’s nothing surprising about
that – the plant is easier and cheaper to grow, and profits from
selling it are much higher, than many other plants, vegetables and
fruits.’ He explained that drugs were sometimes bartered for flour,
sugar and other items that were then in short supply

When fighting was still going on in 1993, the police force launched
their first operation Mak (Poppy), which has been repeated every year
since then in Karabakh and the surrounding territories. On average up
to five tons of wild cannabis and up to 15 kilos of unprocessed opium
poppies are found and destroyed each year.

`Two years running, in 1993 and 1994, I was involved in Mak
operations as part of various internal affairs ministry groups,’
Albert Voskanian, a retired lieutenant colonel in the police, told
IWPR. `We searched through all the regions, all the fields and garden
plots where opium poppy could possibly be grown. We began the
operation at a time when the poppies were almost ready, but it was
still too early to harvest. We uprooted the plants that we found,
registered them in a report and took them away to burn.

`Many owners were reluctant to give up the harvest voluntarily, and
there were cases of resistance. The operation was so important that
some troops were called in from the front to assist.’

Voskanian said that in the first year the owners of plantations were
not punished, only warned. This proved to be effective – there was
much less cannabis and poppy during the second year.

Slavik Gasparian, another veteran of these operations, also says they
were broadly very successful. `During the war I served as a senior
sergeant in a unit of the Karabakh army and I knew about all the
operations to destroy poppy and cannabis plantations. I can say just
one thing – the joint efforts of the law enforcement forces, army and
other agencies produced an excellent result. At least after 1995,
people were afraid to grow even one poppy plant openly.’

Karabakh’s interior ministry says that in 1998-2003, the authorities
uncovered 156 drug-related crimes, half of which were related to
cultivating illegal narcotic plants and the rest to the illegal
purchase, possession and abuse of drugs. It says that drug-related
crimes comprise only five per cent of all offences.

Representatives of the penal institutions of Nagorny Karabakh said
that interior ministry doctors provide compulsory treatment for all
drug addicts in custody.

Sociologist David Sarkisian said that some Karabakhis experimented
with cannabis, but there was a strong social taboo against drug
taking as a whole in society.

`There are no objective preconditions for the wide dissemination of
drugs and drug abuse in Nagorny Karabakh,’ Sarkisian said. `Our
society categorically rejects drug addicts, considering them the most
degraded members of society – worse than even the most miserable
drunkards. Many young people try cannabis and other weed either out
of curiosity or from a mistaken idea of self-assertion.’

The more controversial matter of whether drugs are passing through
Karabakh from Iran will remain disputed as long as there is no
verdict from international agencies. The UN has so far not decided
whether to send a delegation to the region to study the claims.

Ashot Beglarian is a freelance journalist based in Stepanakert.

The Toronto Star
March 18, 2004 Thursday Ontario Edition

Very dramatic tale of overcoming

by Robert Crew, Toronto Star

Rogues Of Urfa a personal and ancestral battle Araxi Arslanian
triumphs over vascular ills

Araxi Arslanian and her family know all about survival.

Arslanian, 32, has successfully fended off a life-threatening,
neurological disorder known as AVM; her Armenian grandfather survived
the massacres in Turkey in the early part of the 20th century.

And exploring and learning from both these experiences is the purpose
of Arslanian’s new play, The Rogues Of Urfa, which opens at Artword
Theatre next Wednesday. It was when Arslanian was at Montreal’s
National Theatre School that the symptoms of her condition began to
affect her seriously.

AVM – Arteriovenous Malformations – is caused by the malformation of
blood vessels (arteries and veins) and can lead to seizures and
strokes

Arslanian was having difficulty speaking, talking and walking and
attempted to cover up her behaviour with “crazy stories.”

She was asked to leave and, “I have so successfully creeped out
everyone in my class that nobody wanted me there and I don’t blame
them.”

She was in the University of Alberta’s drama program when the grand
mal seizures began. Her doctors initially accused her of faking it,
but finally diagnosed AVM.

“The misshapen vein is so deep inside my head that they can’t do
anything about it. They would have to cut through a lot of healthy
brain tissue to get at it and that would mean paralysis at best,
death at worst.”

She was put on medication and was seizure-free for eight years. Then
she and her husband moved to Toronto. The medication suddenly became
ineffective and the seizures returned with a vengeance.

“My life to all intents and purposes was over. I couldn’t get an
agent, I couldn’t go to auditions. I was bedridden for two months and
housebound for another two. I had 11 grand mal seizures a day, on
average.

“I went through seven months of hell before the doctors at Toronto
Western found the right cocktail for me.”

She is 6 feet tall, weighs 200-plus pounds – “I am a big, big girl” –
and is a forceful and outspoken character. But she was deeply hurt
and torn with self-doubt by her experiences during the second show
she did after her return to acting.

The production of Our Country’s Good “was one of the most horrific
experiences of my professional life because, for whatever reason,
four or five people in the show decided that I was an outcast and
treated me horribly.

“They had decided that I was the most incredible loser in the world
and were spreading rumours about me. I was treated as a piece of
garbage every day by people that I respected and adored.”

But she was the one who got a Dora Award nomination for her work in
the show and that affirmation was a turning point. “This is when I
thought there is no way anything is going to stop me,” Arslanian
says.

It was also when she began wondering why she was able to survive when
others fell by the wayside. What was different about her? Was
survival in her genes?

It was then that she began to ask her father (who is Armenian) and
her mother (who is Irish) about family history.

She learned that her grandfather, a determined young soldier named
Hovannes, was one of a handful of Armenians from the city of Urfa to
survive the tumult during and after World War I.

Arslanian recounts details of the dramatic story of his escape in the
course of the play, along with her own story.

“Although I would not in a million years, wish such difficulties on
anyone, I wouldn’t trade my life experience, mostly because I feel
there isn’t anything I cannot do or handle,” she says.

“That’s a gift. I am extremely proud of who I am and what I have
overcome and where I come from. That’s the point of this piece.”

And she is eloquent about the blessings she has received.

“When all guarantees are removed and all the trappings of who you are
supposed to be are gone, that is when you become your truest and
purest self.

“I know who I am, not who I am supposed to be. Every tragedy is an
opportunity to know yourself and to know the majesty and miracle that
is life.”

She hopes The Rogues Of Urfa, an earlier version of which was
presented at SummerWorks last year, will attract a decent audience.

“It is always a challenge for a solo female performer to attract a
large audience unless you take off your top and are really stacked,
which I don’t intend to do, at least not in this show.”

“But it doesn’t matter to me at this point if the show sells out
every night. The people who see it are meant to see it.”

Her job as an artist is to create for the audience, she says, in
typically forthright fashion. “I am there for them, they are not
there for me.

“My greatest rage as an artist is expressed towards people who are
too busy waiting for what the audience can do for them: ‘How are you
going to make me feel good about myself by applauding me, what tricks
do I have that are going to make you applaud?’ I think there is a lot
of that in Toronto.” What: The Rogues Of Urfa by Araxi Aslanian

Where: Artword Theatre, 75 Portland St.

When: Previews March 23, opens March 24, runs until April 4

Tickets: $10 – $20 @ 416-504-7529

GRAPHIC: Araxi Arslanian’s new play opens at the Artword Theatre
Wednesday.

The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia)
March 18, 2004 Thursday Final Edition

Singing won out for exceptionally gifted soprano

by Lloyd Dykk

Isabel Bayrakdarian, one of the freshest voices to have come by in
long while, makes her second visit to Vancouver a little later than
planned. The Vancouver Recital Society originally booked her for Feb.
29 but Bayrakdarian, 29, became ill and the concert was rescheduled
for Friday at the Orpheum.

Speaking from her home base in Toronto, she regrets missing that
first date, because it happened to fall on Rossini’s birthday. She
loves Rossini and was going to make the program exclusive to him. Now
she’s making it a half-Rossini night. The program includes several of
his delightfully witty or sad late songs, which aren’t like his
operas at all.

Bayrakdarian is something exceptional in music. Academically
distinguished, she got a degree in biomedical engineering and was
fielding offers from bio-med companies, also won the Metropolitan
Opera auditions and, at age 14, a national championship in bicycle
racing in Lebanon.

Singing won out and it wasn’t a hard choice, she says. “When you’re
in sync with the flow, you don’t resist it. And I never looked at
sports as a profession. It was more for morale and building
self-confidence.”

Her musical career takes her throughout the world, “but I’ll always
be based in Toronto. If you counted the days that I actually spend in
one place, I wouldn’t be a resident of anywhere,” she says with a
laugh.

Her ravishing lyric soprano is booked through 2008. Her Met debut
last year was an unusual one: William Bolcom’s View from the Bridge.
Recently at the Met she starred in Berlioz’s almost never-done epic,
Benvenuto Cellini. Next year, Mozart’s Don Giovanni. She just sang
Mozart’s Requiem three nights in a row in Minnesota. “It was heaven,
heaven, heaven. For me, it all comes down to Mozart. Susanna [in
Marriage of Figaro] is the core for me.”

Wherever she’s appearing, she tries to find an Armenian church choir
where she just slips in and sings. “I don’t do it for publicity and I
stay anonymous. I figure that’s the only way my prayers will be
heard.”

Her pianist is Serouj Kradjian, soon to become her husband. The
concert’s at 8 p.m.