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| January 3-5 |
President Levon Ter Petrosian
meets with French officials during a state visit. Meeting with French
President Jacques Chirac, Ter Petrosian reviews the situation in Nagorno
Karabagh and discusses France's role in the international mediation
effort underway by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE). The visit follows an earlier one by Prime Minister
Robert Kocharian last month. |
| January 5 |
Armenian Finance and Economy
Minister Armen Darbinian meets with Iranian Ambassador to Armenia,
Hamidreza Nikkar Isfahani, to discuss the status of bilateral relations
and the construction project of an Armenia-Iran natural gas pipeline.
Both sides agree to complete work on formalizing an agreement to avoid
double taxation in order to facilitate greater trade and investment
between the two countries.
A commission meets for the first time to plan celebratory events to
mark the 10th anniversary of the national liberation movement in Nagorno
Karabagh. The governmental commission, headed by Prime Minister Leonard
Petrossian, is planning events throughout the month of February.
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| January 6 |
Prime Minister Robert
Kocharian meets with visiting U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone during
his trip to the region. The officials review the situation in Nagorno
Karabagh and the progress of economic reform in Armenia to date. Prime
Minister Kocharian reports on the favorable conditions and ease of
foreign investment in Armenia, while citing his government's commitment
to continue their economic reform program and focus on the establishment
of legal structures to protect commerce and to strengthen judicial
reform. Although stressing the need for the Karabagh conflict mediation
effort by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) to continue, Kocharian adds that the most promising avenue
for progress is direct bilateral talks between Azerbaijan and Nagorno
Karabagh. |
| January 7-8 |
The governmental Security
Council convenes a special meeting to review the current status of
international mediation efforts to resolve the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.
The Security Council, chaired by President Levon Ter Petrosian, includes
the prime minister, defense minister, parliamentary speaker and president
of Nagorno Karabagh, as well as several other high ranking government
officials. According to Deputy Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian, recent
Council meetings have failed to reach a "definitive common position"
on an approach to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. Ter Petrosian and
his Foreign Ministry have accepted the "staged" approach
favored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) as a basis for continued peace talks. However, the Nagorno
Karabagh government continues to call for a comprehensive "package"
approach encompassing all issues, including the republic's future
political and diplomatic status and international security guarantees.
The contradicting diplomatic positions have led to increasing tensions
between Armenia and Karabagh, as well as between individual Armenian
government officials. |
| January 9 |
During a meeting with
visiting U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone, Nagorno Karabagh Foreign
Minister Naira Melkoumian states that attempts by the OSCE to impose
unfavorable terms on Karabagh is unacceptable and instead calls for
the formal signing of a tri-partite cease-fire agreement once direct
talks between Nagorno Karabagh and Azerbaijan begin. The U.S. congressman,
who co-chairs a Congressional Caucus that supports Armenian-related
issues, adds that he will work to convince the Congress that supporting
self-determination for Nagorno Karabagh is not detrimental to U.S.
interests in the region. Representative Pallone goes on to say that
"a strategy to isolate Karabagh is counterproductive and will
not work." |
| January 13 |
Gigik Arzumanian, the
head of the budget department of the Finance and Economy Ministry,
announces a new "air transport tax." The government will
require all airline passengers departing Armenia to pay a 10,000 dram
(about $20) departure tax.. The new tax is estimated to generate 4.5
billion drams ($9 million) in added revenue, according to the ministry
analysis. An estimated 520,000 airline passengers depart the country
annually and, of this total, some 450,000 passengers will be subject
to the new tax. The tax exempts children under the age of twelve,
foreign officials of international organizations and embassies, and
transit workers. The new airport tax follows increases in several
other taxes and levies. Water prices have increased fifty percent
in recently months while bread prices have risen twenty percent as
a result of a new twenty percent value-added tax on grain products.
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| January 14 |
Armenian press reports
reveal additional details into the Security Council meeting held last
week. According to the reports, a deep division has formed within
the government over the approach to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.
Allegedly, President Ter Petrosian's conciliatory approach is backed
by Yerevan Mayor and head of the ruling Armenian National Movement
(ANM) party, Vano Siradeghian, and other parliamentary leaders. Meanwhile,
Prime Minister Robert Kocharian, Defense Minister Vazgen Sarkisian
and Interior and National Security Minister Serge Sarkisian all support
the Nagorno Karabagh leadership's position. Presidential spokesman
Levon Zurabian denies allegations that President Ter Petrosian had
attempted to reduce the power of Serge Sarkisian by splitting the
interior and national security super-ministry into two downsized ministries.
Press reports, however, indicate that this attempt led to a threat
of resignation by the prime minister which then forced Ter Petrosian
to back down. Both Sarkisian and Kocharian are Karabagh-born Armenians
and the media reports have centered on their serious policy disputes
with Ter Petrosian.
Prime Minister Kocharian issues a statement rejecting any proposed
settlement of the Karabagh conflict that requires the subordination
of Nagorno Karabagh to Azerbaijan. The prime minister adds that a
confederation model whereby Karabagh and Azerbaijan each enjoy equal
status would be the optimum vehicle for preserving Azerbaijan's territorial
integrity. Reportedly sharing Kocharian's position and dissenting
from the Ter Petrosian's position are Defense Minister Vazgen Sarkisian
and Interior and National Security Minister Serge Sarkisian. Commenting
on the recent Security Council meeting, Kocharian verifies that there
are serious differences within the government, but says that such
differences are normal. The prime minister also rejected press reports
claiming that he offered his resignation at the meeting. Adding his
thoughts on other political issues, the Kocharian offers his support
for the accelerated re-legalization of the banned Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF), the country's largest opposition party, banned by
the Ter Petrosian government since December 1994. |
| January 15 |
Several thousand participants
gather at a march and rally in Yerevan commemorating the eighth anniversary
of the anti-Armenian pogroms carried out by Azerbaijanis in Baku.
Anywhere from fifty to over a hundred Armenian residents of Baku were
killed by rampaging Azerbaijani mobs throughout the capital from January
13-19, 1990, who operated with virtual impunity as police and security
forces stood by passively as the events unfolded. The killings and
violence led to a mass exodus of some 250,000 Armenian residents of
Baku and led to the introduction of martial law by then-Soviet troops
on January 20th. The rally is organized by the "Organizing Committee
to Support Nagorno Karabagh" and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF). According to the head of the committee, Aram Sarkisian, the
Baku refugees have signed a petition demanding financial compensation
for their lost homes and property. Sarkisian states that the events
of 1990 demonstrate that Azerbaijan can not fulfill any promise of
providing effective security for the Armenian minority and, therefore,
shows the impossibility of returning Nagorno Karabagh to Azerbaijani
rule.
According to new statistics revealed in an interview with Aziz Tamoyan,
the head of the Yezidi National Union of Armenia, the Kurdish population
has undergone a significant decrease as nearly half of the country's
60,000 Yezidi Kurds have emigrated in recent years due to the difficult
economic situation. The Yezidi National Union was formally registered
by the Armenian Justice Ministry in November 1997 and represents the
growing organization of the country's Kurdish minority. The Kurdish
community has several newspapers and radio broadcasts in their native
language. The Yezidi Kurds differ from the Kurds of the Middle East
as they are Zoroastrian rather than Muslim, the predominant religion
of the Kurdish people |
| January 16 |
The Nagorno Karabagh Security
Council convenes a special meeting in Stepanakert to discuss the growing
differences with Armenia over the latest peace plan offered by the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Karabagh
officials are concerned over their growing diplomatic isolation as
the Armenian, Azerbaijani and OSCE positions are aligned in a common
acceptance of the "staged" approach to the Karabagh conflict.
The situation is seen by many as a threat to the security of Nagorno
Karabagh and has led to some Karabagh officials to vow to "take
more drastic steps to strengthen its independence." |
| January 17 |
The Nagorno Karabagh human
rights group, Helsinki Initiative 92, issues a statement criticizing
President Ter Petrosian for his recent conciliatory remarks on the
Karabagh conflict. The group states that his comments have weakened
the possibility for a just settlement and are completely against the
will of the Armenian people. |
| January 18 |
The head of the presidential
security service, Major General Romik Ghazarian, escapes unharmed
following an attack by unknown gunmen. The security chief's jeep was
fired upon during his return to Yerevan from Armavir, some fifty kilometers
from the capital. An official investigation begins looking into the
incident. |
| January 19 |
Nagorno Karabagh President
Arkady Gukasyan reiterates his government's rejection of the recent
peace proposal advocated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE), stating that the proposal would "freeze"
the conflict and would restore the status quo that existed prior to
February 1988. President Gukasyan adds that "simple common sense"
has prevented Nagorno Karabagh from agreeing to unilateral concessions.
Commenting on the increasingly tense political situation in Armenia,
the Karabagh president criticizes reports over the alleged resignation
of Armenian Prime Minister Robert Kocharian and voices his support
for Kocharian, his predecessor as president of Nagorno Karabagh. Gukasyan
also states that Karabagh can in no way accept the Armenian government's
preference for a "staged" step-by-step approach to the conflict
as espoused by the OSCE since the plan contradicts the vital interests
of the Karabagh population and would nullify the achievements of the
past ten years. |
| January 20 |
Responding to the Gukasyan
statement released a day earlier, Armenian presidential press spokesman
Levon Zurabian warns the Nagorno Karabagh leadership against "meddling
in Armenia's internal politics" and calls on Stepanakert to refrain
from making statements concerning a perceived split within the Ter
Petrosian government. |
| January 21 |
Armenia's deputy interior
minister, Major General Artsrun Markarian, is wounded in an attack
by unknown assailants in the third attack on a government official
in the past week. Markarian is shot in the legs near his home in Yerevan.
The attack follows a hand grenade assault on Ruben Hayrapetian, an
official of the ruling Armenian National Movement (ANM) party in Yerevan.
Yerevan Mayor Vano Siradeghian, also the head of the ANM party, calls
on the Armenian government to adopt "any measures necessary"
to restore order. Deputy Interior Minister Markarian is a protÈgÈ
of Siradeghian, who is rumored to calling for the resignation of the
Interior and National Security Minister Sarkisian. |
| January 27 |
A delegation from Christian
Solidarity International (CSI), headed by British Parliamentarian
Baroness Caroline Cox, arrives in Stepanakert. The delegation meets
with President Gukasyan and is briefed about the latest developments
of the OSCE-led negotiations. Lady Cox, who has headed many CSI delegations
to Nagorno Karabagh and brought several tons of humanitarian supplies
to the needy, offers their continued support. The delegation also
visits the village of Nor Maraga in the Mardakert region which was
recently reinhabited after being completely destroyed by Azerbaijani
forces. |
| January
28 |
The National Assembly
of Nagorno Karabagh holds its first session of the 6th assembly. In
an address to the body, President Gukasyan updates members on the
current situation of the OSCE negotiations, as well as the discrepancies
of the Karabagh and Armenian positions on these negotiations. Members
also discuss and approve the 1998 state budget.
The Nagorno Karabagh government's department of information and press
issues a detailed statement rejecting recent press reports suggesting
that the Karabagh Defense Minister and the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation are planning to overthrow the Ter Petrosian government.
According to the government newspaper Aravot, a delegation of Nagorno
Karabagh officials led by Social Security Minister Serge Aroushanian
and Minister of Culture Armen Sarkisian met with various groups and
officials, including the local ARF, during a visit to Armenia's Siunik
region. Although denying any conspiracy to overthrow the Armenian
government, the statement defends the visit and the subsequent meetings
as normal and routine and states that there is no ban or restriction
imposed on the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) in Karabagh.
A delegation of officials of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE), led by OSCE special envoy Andrei Kasprczik, tours
the Azerbaijani-Karabagh border. The OSCE delegation, accompanied
by officials of the Nagorno Karabagh foreign and defense ministries,
also holds talks with Karabagh leaders and review the state of the
informal cease-fire in effect in the region. |
| January 31 |
The Armenian Communist
Party holds a rally in Yerevan to demand the resignation of the Armenian
government and advocate an end to the country's privatization program
and the restoration of social benefits and services. According to
the first secretary of the Communist Party, Sergei Badalian, the 10,000
people attending the rally believe that a "return to socialism"
is the best way for Armenia to overcome its social, economic and political
problems. |
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