|
|
|
| October 5 |
Prime Minister Vazgen
Sarkisian reports on his recent meetings in Washington with officials
of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Sarkisian
states that the World Bank will release $23.5 million to offset the
budget deficit, the third and final installment of a structural adjustment
credit package, and has decided to extend an additional three-year
$238 million developmental loan program. The IMF is also set to approve
a final $28 million installment of a three-year loan package. Sarkisian
reports that Armenia must now formulate a new medium-term economic
program for the World Bank and accelerate efforts to combat corruption.
|
| October 7 |
In comments to reporters
in Yerevan, former President Levon Ter Petrosian states that he sees
"no progress" in talks over the Nagorno Karabagh conflict,
and warns that the growing instability in the northern Caucasus poses
a potential threat to the country. Ter Petrosian, who has kept a very
low public profile since his resignation, says that he has no political
aspirations and admits that he does not follow Armenian domestic politics. |
| October 8 |
During a meeting with the
leadership of the Republican Party, a partner in the majority Unity
parliamentary bloc, President Robert Kocharian dismisses allegations
that the government has interfered with the election of a new Catholicos.
Kocharian also calls on the party leadership to ensure that "every
effort be made" to prevent fraud or violence in the upcoming
local elections.
Following the resolutions of the recent diasporan conference, the
head of the Armenian state television submits a new plan calling for
the establishment of a diaspora-financed "pan-Armenian television
channel." According to the state television director, Tigran
Naghdalian, the new channel would cost roughly $7 million and would
allow for satellite broadcast to North America. |
| October 11 |
The Armenian parliament
approves a measure revising the electoral law that would allow the
military to vote in the local elections according to their permanent
residence. The measure attempts to address the problem of earlier
elections in which election monitors cited incidents of soldiers voting
in polling stations near their base under the watchful direction of
their military commanders.
President Kocharian holds a two-hour meeting with Azerbaijani President
Geidar Aliyev, their fourth round of talks, along the Armenian-Nakhichevan
border. The presidents decline to reveal specific details of their
talks, but announce that they have explored all aspects of the Karabagh
peace process including the "degree of compromise." The
Azerbaijani president notes that the direct talks are "very useful"
but adds that "more meetings and talks, and mutual compromises"
are needed in order to reach a negotiated settlement to the Karabagh
conflict. |
| October 12 |
In a letter to President
Kocharian, U.S. Vice President Al Gore cites the "important progress"
made so far in attempting to resolve the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.
The letter refers to the recent meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents, the fourth such meeting. Gore adds that the U.S. government
expects the continued peaceful dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan
to lead to serious new opportunities for Armenia's partnership with
the entire North Atlantic community. The same day, the Armenian and
Azerbaijani foreign ministers hold a meeting in Luxembourg to further
discuss the peace process.
On a week-long visit to the United States, Nagorno Karabagh Prime
Minister Anushevan Danielian holds a series of public events in Los
Angeles and New York. The prime minister also meets with organizers
of a telethon, scheduled for November 25th, which seeks to raise $25
million for the construction of a 169-kilometer highway in Karabagh.
In public speeches, Danielian details his commitment to rebuilding
the economy of Karabagh and cites several significant initiatives
that have already been implemented. |
| October 14 |
Armenian Right and Accord
parliamentary bloc leader, Hrant Khachatrian, warns Armenian President
Robert Kocharian that Armenia must not agree to any peace deal that
fails to recognize Nagorno Karabagh as fully independent or that fails
to allow Karabagh to be unified with Armenia. Khachatrian adds that
if President Kocharian offers major concessions over Karabagh to Azerbaijan,
then he will "share the same fate" of former president Levon
Ter Petrosian. Ter Petrosian was pressured to resign the presidency
in February 1998 after growing dissatisfaction with his handling of
the Karabagh issue. The Right and Accord parliamentary bloc holds
only eight seats in the parliament, but enjoys the support of the
powerful former Defense Minister of Karabagh, Samvel Babayan, currently
the Commander of Karabagh's Armed Forces. |
| October 16 |
President Kocharian meets
with senior officials of the Armenian interior, defense and national
security ministries and instructs them to implement all necessary
measures to guarantee that the local elections will be free and fair
and without any serious impediment. The president defines the local
election as Armenia's last hurdle to full membership in the Council
of Europe.
The director of the country's Nairit chemical plant, Gagik Nersisian,
is formally charged with the mismanagement of funds of the state-owned
plant. The director, arrested four days earlier, attempted to overcome
some $30 million in overdue tax and electricity bills through creating
barter agreements with various firms. The Nairit plant was a dominant
producer of synthetic rubber during the Soviet period.
Speaking on Armenian television, Armenian President Kocharian reviews
his recent meeting with the Azerbaijani President Aliyev and states
that progress has been made on strengthening of the cease-fire in
effect since May 1994. Kocharian adds that he is discussing with Aliyev
the inclusion of Nagorno Karabagh as a party to the talks, an issue
that Azerbaijan had previously ruled out, and reveals that Azerbaijan
has recently agreed that Karabagh would participate in the talks at
some point. |
| October 17 |
Nagorno Karabagh President
Arkady Gukasyan issues orders to the senior officials of the Karabagh
Justice Ministry to draft reform proposals aimed at coordinating the
Karabagh judicial system with Armenia's. The Karabagh government has
already introduced several measures of legal reform, including the
abolishment of the office of the military prosecutor and military
tribunals. Martial law remains in effect in Karabagh, however, since
its introduction in 1992. |
| October 18 |
The Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) issues a statement calling for the postponement of
the election of a new Catholicos, the leader of the Armenian Apostolic
Church, due to allegations by leading Church officials that the Armenian
government is exerting great influence and coercion over the election
process. The ARF statement, supported by the Self-Determination Union
and the National Democratic Union, expresses concern over the allegations
and stresses the need to follow the normal democratic election procedures. |
| October 19 |
Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanian criticizes the Azerbaijani rejection of a European Union
plan to restore railway transport between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The Armenian government has proposed the creation of a five-kilometer
security zone along the railway line, but Azerbaijan remains adamant
in demanding the complete withdrawal of all Armenian forces from areas
of Azerbaijani prior to any restoration of transport links. Azerbaijan
continues to impose a stringent blockade of Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh,
and with Turkish assistance, has effectively cut much of Armenia's
outside rail, road and communications links. |
| October 20 |
Visiting U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State Steven Sestanovich tells Prime Minister Sarkisian
that the U.S. prefers a rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey and
proposes that, as a first step toward diplomatic relations, should
establish "information centers" in each capital. The U.S.
official adds that Washington is pleased with the recent series of
presidential meetings between Kocharian and Aliyev and stresses that
the meetings "create a basis for agreement" that can be
utilized by the mediators of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) in securing a negotiated solution to the Karabagh
conflict. |
| October 21 |
Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian
announces a new fight against corruption, including new efforts to
combat "widespread bribery" and "protectionism,"
which he termed as being particularly detrimental to attracting foreign
investment. The televised announcement follows strong pressure on
the Armenian government by the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) to adopt effective measures to reduce corruption. |
| October 23 |
The leadership of the Azerbaijani
"Fatherland Party" issues a call for a national referendum
to be held to determine the final status of Nagorno Karabagh. Fatherland
Party leader Fazil Agamly states that the current peace talks over
the Karabagh conflict should be bound by the basic preconditions that
any negotiation over the status of Nagorno Karabagh should be limited
by the terms of the Azerbaijani constitution and any final agreement
should be subject to a national referendum. The Fatherland Party is
a leading member of the pro-government Democratic Alliance coalition. |
| October 25 |
The Central Electoral Commission
reports overall voter turnout for the local elections for more than
900 seats was roughly thirty percent, with voter turnout in Yerevan
even lower at twenty percent. There are no reports of any voting irregularities
or disruptive incidents in any of the local elections. The Council
of Europe releases a statement welcoming the elections as free and
fair and citing significant improvements over the 1996 local elections.
The Council's observer mission toured 88 polling facilities and unanimously
reported a well organized voting procedure free from any negative
incidents.
The Nagorno Karabagh government announces the unilateral release of
two Azerbaijani prisoners of war as a "gesture of goodwill."
A similar prisoner release was conducted last month, leaving a total
of ten remaining Azerbaijani prisoners currently held by Armenia and
Karabagh.to adopt measures to ensure the return of areas of Azerbaijan
currently held by Karabagh forces, an effective plan to address the
refugee problem, and the deployment of OSCE peacekeepers in the region.
Azimov adds that Azerbaijan is willing to enter into negotiations
over the final status of Nagorno Karabagh and repeats President Aliyev's
recent announcement that Azerbaijan is ready to consider signing a
formal agreement. |
| October 26-27 |
On a tour of the region,
United States Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott holds a series
of meetings with Armenian and Azerbaijani officials to review the
status of talks on the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. The U.S. official
urges both the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents to conclude an
agreement on Karabagh at next month's summit meeting of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul. United
States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in letters to both presidents,
conveys Washington's desire for the parties to conclude an agreement.
Albright urges Azerbaijan to adopt a declaration of principles for
the resumption of the negotiations and calls for representatives of
Nagorno Karabagh to be included in the talks. |
| October 27 |
Delegates to the National
Ecclesiastical Assembly elect the Archbishop of Ararat, Garegin Nersisian,
as the new Catholicos, or supreme leader of the Armenian Apostolic
Church. The balloting process only took two rounds, with the new Catholicos
garnering 263 votes while Archbishop Nerses Pozapalian got 176 votes.
Five gunmen armed with automatic weapons burst into the main hall
of the Armenian parliament and fatally shoot Prime Minister Vazgen
Sarkisian, Parliamentary Chairman Garen Demirchian, his two deputy
speakers, a government minister and two parliamentarians. Security
forces immediately surround the parliament and President Kocharian
launches an intensive series of negotiations with the leader of the
gunmen, former journalist Nairi Hunanian, who continues to hold some
forty parliamentarians hostage. The initial attack leaves another
six people seriously wounded and causes the death of one deputy as
a result of a heart attack. After the government agrees to broadcast
a brief statement written by the gunmen, the remaining hostages are
released the following day and the gunmen are taken into custody.
The parliament, president and prime minister of Nagorno Karabagh issue
a joint declaration calling on all Armenians to support Armenian President
Kocharian in his attempt to "restore order and legality."
The declaration condemns the violent attack on the parliament and
the shooting of Armenia's political leaders and warns that "it
is impossible to achieve any political aim by the path of terrorism
and violence." |
| October 28 |
President Kocharian, temporarily
assuming the powers of prime minister, declares three days of national
mourning for the slain political leaders and announces that he will
appoint a new prime minister next week after the parliament elects
a new parliamentary chairman and deputy chairmen. A statement released
by the defense ministry, which Sarkisian headed from mid-1995 until
his appointment as prime minister this past June, calls for the resignation
of the prosecutor-general and the interior and national security ministers.
The state funeral is to be held on October 31st. Interior Minister
Suren Abrahamian formally submits his resignation the same day.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov states that the recent political
killings in Armenia threaten to hinder current mediation efforts for
the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. Russia, as one of three nations chairing
the Minsk Group of the OSCE, is committed to continuing the peace
talks and has welcomed the recent meetings between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents. The Russian foreign minister reviews the Karabagh
peace talks with his French counterpart during a visit to France. |
| October 29 |
President Gukasyan issues
a decree formally announcing a three-day period of mourning for the
Armenian political leaders killed in the recent attack on the Armenian
parliament. The Karabagh president heads a state delegation of government
officials that travels to the state funerals in Yerevan. |
| October 31 |
Azerbaijani President Aliyev,
commenting on the recent tragic killings in Armenia, vows that the
recent events will not disrupt the peace talks on Karabagh. In a statement
prior to his departure for a visit to Turkey, the Azerbaijani president
adds that he remains committed to pursuing the negotiations over Karabagh. |
|
|
|
|
|