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| October 1 |
The Secretary-General
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Javier Solana, arrives
in Yerevan to review Armenia's role in NATO's Partnership for Peace
program. Following meetings with President Robert Kocharian, Solana
announces that NATO will launch a new military training and bilateral
coordination initiative with Armenia's armed forces next year. The
NATO official also visits a military academy outside of Yerevan. His
visit to Armenia is the last leg of a regional tour which included
stops in Tbilisi and Baku.
Deputy Energy Minister Robert Nazarian announces that the government
is planning to privatize the nation's electricity distribution network
in the hopes of attracting more than $350 million in foreign investment.
Nazarian adds that without privatization, the national electricity
system will be unable to meet the growing demands of factories and
smaller industrial enterprises.
The Nagorno Karabagh government launches its agricultural privatization
program seeking to break up the republic's collective farming lands
by transforming them into privately held farms, orchards and vineyards.
The privatization program, approved by the parliament some time ago,
seeks to match the successful economic reforms already introduced
throughout Karabagh. Agriculture represents the republic's most significant
industry and is the key to long-term economic viability. |
| October 2 |
Prime Minister Armen Darbinian
calls on parliament to postpone planned debate on the government's
privatization program until his return from meetings with World Bank
and International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials in Washington. One
of the main targets of parliament's criticism of the Kocharian government's
privatization program is the sale of the Yerevan cognac factory to
the French Pernod Ricard group for $30 million last spring. A group
of 68 deputies, roughly one-third of the parliament, have called for
a special session to debate the privatization program.
Nagorno Karabagh Defense Minister Samvel Babayan, commenting on the
recent mediation efforts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE), states that it is now "possible to find acceptable
formulas and move forward" in the peace process. The defense
minister also states that the Karabagh economy will demonstrate signs
of real progress by next year, confirming the government's economic
reform program. |
| October 3 |
Releasing the official
results of the local elections held late last month, the Nagorno Karabagh
Central Election Commission states that new heads of administration
have been elected in 153 towns and villages throughout Karabagh. A
run-off election is scheduled for October 11th for those races that
were not decided out-right during the first round of voting. Former
Karabagh Interior Minister Karen Babayan, the brother of Defense Minister
Samvel Babayan, is elected as the new mayor of the capital Stepanakert.
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| October 5 |
Speaking at a briefing
in Washington in between meetings with World Bank and IMF officials,
Prime Minister Darbinian states that there must be no preconditions
to a settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict and reaffirms his
government's commitment to Karabagh's right to decide its own future.
The prime minister adds that Armenia is ready to enter into negotiations
over the conflict at any time, but that Karabagh must not be forced
to return to full Azerbaijani cont |
| October 7 |
The deputy speaker of
the parliament, Albert Bazeyan, announces his resignation on the basis
of his opposition to the government's privatization program. The resignation
comes during the third day of a special session of parliament empowered
to examine the privatization effort. Bazeyan specifically blames the
Kocharian cabinet for failing to be more "transparent" in
the implementation of its economic policies. The resignation of Bazeyan,
a leading figure in the 78-deputy Yerkrapah group, reveals an internal
debate by Yerkrapah over joining the opposition in protesting the
privatization program. Although Yerkrapah did not articulate its stance
on the issue, it backs the government in a vote later the same day
which narrowly rejected the opposition's demands for revoking past
privatization deals. |
| October 9 |
President Kocharian responds
to the recent parliamentary questioning of his government's privatization
program by vowing to continue the privatization effort with no significant
changes, stressing that the process is "quite good" and
adheres to "all international standards." The president
adds that the current privatization system, relying on the auction
of state assets, will produce significantly greater revenue than a
voucher-based system and that the influx of foreign investment is
essential to continuing Armenia's economic stability and job creation.
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| October 12 |
Kocharian holds meetings
with several key leaders of the Yerkrapah organization after their
essential support for the government during the parliamentary debate
over the privatization program. The nominal head of the Yerkrapah
group, Defense Minister Vazgen Sarkisian, attends the meetings and
persuades the other Yerkrapah leaders to ask for the return of Albert
Bazeyan to the post of deputy speaker. Bazeyan agrees to withdraw
his resignation two days later. Following the meeting, the chairman
of the Yerkrapah parliamentary bloc, Razmik Martirosian, states that
Yerkrapah will continue to support the policies of the Kocharian government.
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| October 13 |
Agriculture Minister Vladimir
Movsisian announces that plans are underway to privatize the remaining
120,000 hectares of state-owned agriculture lands. Additionally, Movsisian
describes new initiatives for long-term agriculture planning, irrigation
projects, and the provision of financial and technical assistance
to farmers through the formation of "regional scientific centers"
around the country.
Parliamentary speaker Khosrov Harutiunian announces the firing of
the editor of the state-funded daily newspaper "Hayastani Hanrapetutyun"
on the grounds that the editor pursued a campaign of "distorting
the parliament's work" and "consistent efforts to damage
its political standing." The editor, Liza Jagharian, is the second
newspaper head to be fired by the speaker. Last May, the editor of
another paper affiliated with the parliament, the Russian-language
"Respublika Armeniya," was dismissed after a disagreement
with the speaker.
The World Bank announces the establishment of a new $8 million loan
package for the creation of a national land registration system. The
no-interest 35-year loan will assist in land reform and privatization
by providing for the surveying, deed recording and registration of
privately-held land. |
| October 14 |
Meeting in Moscow with
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Armenian Foreign Minister Oskanian
discusses expanding bilateral ties and reviews the mediation efforts
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
concerning the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. Stressing the "full
convergence" of the two countries' strategic interests, the officials
pledge to cooperate within the OSCE mediation framework and to foster
greater political cooperation. |
| October 15 |
Leading members of the
Hanrapetutyun (Republic) parliamentary coalition, the second largest
bloc within the legislature, discuss a motion calling for the resignation
of parliamentary speaker Khosrov Harutiunian. The fifty-deputy bloc
is comprised of supporting groups and parties of the formerly ruling
Armenian National Movement (ANM) and as the second largest bloc in
the parliament presents itself as the largest opposition group. The
move against the speaker stems from the recent parliamentary debate
attacking the Kocharian government's privatization program, which
the speaker supported.
Leaders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) meet with President
Kocharian to discuss their call for the dissolving of parliament early
and the holding of new elections. According to the ARF, many of the
political problems facing the government stem from the composition
of the current parliament, a body elected in "undemocratic"
elections in the summer of 1995 which "does not reflect the correlation
of political forces." |
| October 16 |
Nagorno Karabagh officials
announce that the Council of Europe has invited representatives from
Stepanakert to attend a special series of hearings on the Karabagh
conflict to be held in Strasbourg in the beginning of next month.
Karabagh presidential spokeswoman Zhanna Krikorova adds that the Council
of Europe has also extended invitations to the foreign ministers and
parliamentary speakers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Although Armenia
has accepted the invitation, the Azerbaijani government announces
its refusal to participate in the hearings if Karabagh representatives
are present. Azerbaijan also demands that representatives of the Azerbaijani
refugees displaced from their homes in Karabagh be invited. Council
of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Secretary-General Bruno Haller states
that the hearings will attempt to restart a dialogue between the parties.
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| October 20 |
A group of seventy members
of parliament support a motion by the Hayrenik (Fatherland) group
calling for a simplification of impeachment procedures. The proposal
would enable the parliament to have the power to abrogate the current
law requiring the support of the Constitution Court prior to any impeachment
effort. According to the constitution, the president may be removed
from office if he is found to have committed "high treason or
other grave crimes," but only after a vote by two-thirds of the
deputies and "on the basis of a ruling by the Constitutional
Court." According to Hayrenik bloc leader Eduard Yegorian, the
president's privatization of the Yerevan Cognac factory and the country's
two largest hotels provide the legal grounds for his impeachment.
Armenian President Robert Kocharian meets with Nagorno Karabagh president
Arkady Gukasyan in Yerevan to discuss issues related to greater economic
cooperation and to review the mediation efforts of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The two leaders also
discuss proposals for "the granting of a new non-conventional
status" to Nagorno Karabagh. The OSCE is expected to launch a
new round of shuttle diplomacy and negotiations sometime in mid-November.
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| October 21 |
Four soldiers are killed
and five others wounded in a collision with a civilian aircraft at
the Erebuni airport outside of Yerevan. A military vehicle carrying
the soldiers is struck by a civilian YAK-40 airliner which is then
forced to make an emergency landing. A commission to be created by
the ministers of defense and transport is to conduct an inquiry into
the incident. |
| October 25 |
In an unusual announcement,
the deputy chairman of the Azerbaijani parliament, Yashar Aliyev,
announces that a new dialogue between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabagh
is possible on a certain level and given some preconditions. The Azerbaijani
official states that a parliamentary-level dialogue between Azerbaijan
and "its autonomous territory, Nagorno Karabagh, is possible
only if the Armenian side recognizes the inviolability of the Azerbaijani
borders. With no other Azerbaijani government statements regarding
such a dialogue, it remains unclear whether this statement reflects
a policy shift in Baku, however. |
| October 26 |
The Nagorno Karabagh government
issues a statement criticizing the decision by the Council of Europe
postponing planned hearings on the Karabagh conflict featuring representatives
from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabagh. The Karabagh authorities
specifically criticize the Council of Europe's "retreat in the
face of Azerbaijani pressure." The Azerbaijani government has
strongly reacted to the Council's invitation of Nagorno Karabagh representatives
and had asked for a one-month delay of the hearings. The hearings
were to convene on November 3rd in Strasbourg and be moderated by
the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly. Armenia and Azerbaijan
each hold "special guest" status while their applications
for full membership are under consideration by the Council of Europe.
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| October 27 |
Nagorno Karabagh President
Arkady Gukasyan meets with Armenian President Robert Kocharian in
Yerevan for talks on implementing joint economic programs and reforms
and to review plans for establishing new bilateral economic and commercial
programs. Special focus is given to coordinating monetary policies
and to plan for a possible economic downturn resulting form the Russian
financial crisis. |
| October 28 |
The Nagorno Karabagh Central
Electoral Commission announces that special elections to fill four
vacant seats in the Karabagh parliament will be held on December 27th.
The head of the Central Electoral Commission, Mushegh Ohanjanian,
states that the resignations of four deputies, Michael Hambartsoumian,
Novella Hambartsoumian, Sergei Arzoumanian and Karen Gharibian, necessitate
the special election. The commission chair also states that nominations
for the election will open on November 18th and will close on December
7th. The open seats cover constituencies in districts in Stepanakert,
Medztaglar, Kishi and Marduni. |
| October 30 |
A rally of over 10,000
participants is held in Yerevan demanding a government crackdown on
corruption and fraud. The rally, organized by the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF), calls on President Kocharian to condemn incidents
of corruption and mismanagement by the previous Ter Petrosian government.
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| October 31 |
The National Self-Determination
Union party announces that it is resigning from the advisory presidential
council. The announcement follows the move two days earlier by the
former ruling Armenian National Movement (ANM) pulling itself out
of the council. With these resignations, the presidential council
now consists of nine political parties. |
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