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April 1-7
A US official close to the
Nagorno Karabagh Peace Talks in Key West, Florida has said Armenian
President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev
are expected to come to Washington, DC for an official visit. As of
press time, President George W. Bush is expected to meet with Kocharian
and Aliyev separately on Monday afternoon.
The two Presidents met this week with each other and international
mediators in Key West, a tropical island off the coast of Florida.
The discussions were said to be centered on developing a common position
on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. On Tuesday, they
were greeted by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, and since then
have held several sessions with mediators from the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), representing France, Russia,
and the United States. Observers have widely speculated that the OSCE
mediators have presented a new outline of a peace proposal to the
Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents. In an interview with Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty late Thursday, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
said meetings between the OSCE and the Armenian delegation were successful,
and that similar progress with Azerbaijan may result in breakthrough
in negotiations. He said at this point progress in talks depends on
Azerbaijan.
The Key West talks got off to a rough start on Tuesday, when President
Aliyev read out a 40-minute long list of Azerbaijan's grievances against
Armenians and the OSCE mediating team. President Kocharian responded
briefly, but tersely, that he did not travel to Florida to engage
in propaganda or tutor the mediators, but to work constructively to
achieve a settlement. Speaking to journalists on Thursday, US mediator
Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh said the talks were "very productive"
and expressed hope for imminent progress. But Cavanaugh added that
participation of the Nagorno Karabagh side is necessary for any comprehensive
agreement.
Nagorno Karabagh President Arkady Ghoukasian this week reiterated
his Republic's position that Nagorno Karabagh's independence or union
with Armenia are the only two ways of reaching a settlement. "All
other options mean that we move not toward peace but toward war,"
he said. |
April 3
Key
West, Florida ˜ US Secretary of State Colin Powell opened
the Key West Peace Talks today between Armenian President Robert Kocharian
and Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev. |
April 4-5
The Key West talks between Azeri and Armenian presidents will be a
step forward towards adjustment of the Karabakh conflict. This statement
was made by the U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in a news conference
held after his separate meetings with Azerbaijan 's Heydar Aliyev
and Armenia's Robert Kocharian. Commenting on the talks, Mr Powell
said the meetings gave him hope the conflict would be resolved on
the basis of «mutual concessions.» The Secretary reminded that the
two presidents had met before and added that the latters' adherence
to peaceful resolution of the conflict were «highly» rated by international
community. At the same time, Mr Powell noted that the disagreements
between the parties were «remaining.» According to the top U.S. official,
he and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will help the conflicting parties
to reach rapprochement in their positions. The U.S. diplomat also
hinted that some suggestions had already been proposed to the parties
but no more details were made public. Herewith, Mr Powell emphasized
that all three co-chairs - the United States, France and Russia -
come out from the same position and are ready to support any decision
by the two presidents. The meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan
and Armenia, as well as the U.S. Secretary and the three co-chairs
will end at 3:00 a.m. Baku time on April 5. |
April 1-7
Most Armenian and Azerbaijani observers, asked to comment on the ongoing
talks in Florida, expressed pessimism about prospects for a Karabagh
settlement. Aleksandr Iskandarian, who heads a Moscow-based Center
for Caucasus Studies and has followed the Karabagh conflict since
1988, said he did not think the sides were ready for compromise. He
said that any agreement on Karabagh at this time would mean a loss
for either or all sides to the conflict, and would result in internal
political destabilization. Iskandarian also said that a settlement
imposed by an outside party will not be implemented. The Armenian
and Azerbaijani societies are simply not ready for co-existence just
yet, he said.
Azerbaijan's Tofig Zulfugarov predicted no progress at the Key West
Talks. He added that the OSCE mediators may present a new proposal
to Kocharian and Aliyev, but doubted there would be an agreement.
He said the most he expected is that the two presidents may just make
a joint statement or not even that. Zulfugarov, who has been a key
Azerbaijani expert on the Karabagh conflict since 1991, resigned as
Foreign Minister in September of1999, following reported disagreements
with Aliyev.
Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani President's Chief of Staff, Ramiz Mehtiyev,
published an article ridiculing those Azerbaijani politicians and
commentators, including Zulfugarov, who consider the military option
as the only viable way of achieving a settlement in Karabagh. Mehtiyev's
article is construed as another step by the Azerbaijani government
in preparation for compromises on Karabagh. Mehtiyev has been widely
considered the second most powerful politician in Azerbaijan after
Aliyev, ever since the ouster and exile of former Speaker of the Azerbaijani
Parliament Rasul Guliyev.
A member of the Azerbaijani parliament from the ruling New Azerbaijan
Party who was in Yerevan this week said he saw no alternatives to
a peaceful resolution. Shaitdin Aliyev, who is also a member of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)
group, said he was sure that neither people wanted another war and
that the conflict would be resolved peacefully. |
April 1-7
Proceedings resumed this
week in the case of the 1999 attack on the Armenian Parliament after
being postponed for over a month. The judge in the case, Samvel Uzunian,
ruled to postpone the trial in late February to comply with the legal
request of the chief defendant, Nairi Hunanian, for more time to study
court materials. Hunanian this week continued what is widely construed
as his delaying tactics and refused to testify, citing alleged procedural
violations in the case. The judge then opened the floor for prosecutors
to read out Hunanian's testimony given in preliminary detention.
Hunanian claims he masterminded the bloody attack on the National
Assembly, which took the lives of Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian and
Speaker Karen Demirchian, as well as five other officials. At various
times during the investigation, Hunanian changed his testimony, claiming
the murders were not pre-planned, but rather a result of a shootout
with security guards in the parliamentary chamber. Initially, during
a preliminary investigation following the attack, Hunanian also gave
testimony implicating several officials and politicians with involvement
in the attack. He later claimed that the testimony was given under
pressure. |
April 1-7
Disagreements over the privatization
of Armenia's energy distribution networks this week renewed a rift
that again threatened to split the majority Unity bloc. The tender
was postponed last week until mid-April per a request from one of
the bidders. Armenia's People's Party (HZhK), one of two members of
the Unity, backed the Communist faction's legislative initiative to
halt the privatization process. In the end, the measure failedto collect
the number of votes necessary to stop the tender.
In addition to threatening the government's privatization program
and WorldBank lending, the vote may result in a long-anticipated realignment
offorces in parliament and affect the stability of the current cabinet.
Nosingle party has a majority in the 131-member parliament, with the
largest, Republican Party (HHK), holding only 27 seats. HZhK is the
second largest with about 20 seats. HHK and HZhK, together make up
the Unity bloc, which won the 1999 parliamentary elections, but have
since suffered from defections and disagreements over key economic
and political policies.
Vardan Mkrtchian, who is a senior HZhK lawmaker, said his party had
"no desire" to break with HHK despite disagreements over
energy privatization. Meanwhile HZhK's Acting Chairman Stepan Demirchian
criticized his party over the vote, saying a halt in the long-delayed
privatization threatens Armenia's economy. Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian, who is a member of the Republican Party, said HHK resented
HZhK faction's behavior. "We will have to make appropriate conclusions"
he said.
Over the past week, the government has tried to solidify its parliamentary
support base by attracting the votes of 27 independent deputies. Observers
say the pro-government forces in parliament are trying to set up two
new deputy groups, each numbering about 10 members, that could substitute
for the possible loss of HZhK's support. |
April 1-7
Armenia's State Revenue Ministry
reported this week that it topped tax and custom duties collection
targets for the first quarter of the year. Over$65 million entered
state coffers in the first three months of 2001, about$15 million
more than in the same period of last year. Andranik Manukian, the
State Revenue Minister, said about 60% of the amount came from the
collection of taxes and 40% from customs duties. The growth in tax
revenue collection is attributed to the expansion of domestic production
and clampdowns on tax-evaders. An increase in customs duties collection
occurred in spite of a decline in actual import volumes, with the
government fighting cross-border smuggling more effectively.
Higher revenue collection translates into the government's ability
to cover its public sector debts. Also this week, Finance and Economy
Minister Vardan Khachatrian said the government will be able to cover
about a half of its$14.5 million debt to public healthcare workers
immediately, and the rest later this year. The debt accumulated mostly
due to shortfalls in state revenues last year. |
April 8-14
President Robert Kocharian
returned to Armenia this week sounding optimistic about the progress
made with the international mediators from France, Russia and the
United States in Key West, Florida during the April 3-6 peace talks
on the Karabagh conflict. Calling the talks "successful"
for Armenia, Kocharian expressed hope that mediators made similar
progress with Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev. In a clear indication
that this was not the case, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayat
Guliyev denied that any progress had been achieved. However, the mediators
said the talks were marked by significant progress and brought parties
closer to peace.
Shortly after the talks, Aliyev and Kocharian flew to Washington and
held separate meetings with US President George W. Bush to discuss
the talks in Florida. Vice President Richard Cheney, National Security
Advisor Condoleeza Rice, and Secretary of State Colin Powell were
also present. Later in the week, during a brief stop-over in Paris,
Kocharian met with French President Jacques Chirac, and upon returning
to Yerevan, had a phone conversation with the Russian President Vladimir
Putin and a meeting with the President of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic
(NKR) Arkady Ghoukasian. Kocharian plans to meet with leaders of major
Armenian political parties shortly to brief them on the Key West talks.
Aliyev, meanwhile, flew to Cleveland, Ohio for a week-long medical
check-up. Aliyev underwent a heart by-pass operation at the Cleveland
Clinic two years ago.
The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan are expected to resume their
talks in June in Geneva, where they will be presented with a new "comprehensive"
peace proposal, now being drafted by international mediators. Kocharian
predicted this week that the new plan will be in line with Armenian
national interests and will be based on the "package" principle.
As Kocharian's foreign policy aide confirmed this week, any peace
proposal would also need to be endorsed by the people of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and NKR. At the very least, that would entail parliamentary
approval. Leaders of the Azerbaijani Parliament, who are primarily
Aliyev loyalists, said this week they would support any agreement
reached by their President. Approval by the factions and deputy groups
in the more politically diverse Armenian parliament is likely to be
more complicated. |
April 8-14
The Nagorno Karabagh Republic's
Defense Forces this week began their annual military exercises, involving
all units deployed along the Line of Contact, plus army reservists.
In what seems to be a reactive move, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry
began an unexpected call-up of reservists from districts adjacent
to NKR and moved army units from the country's interior towards Karabagh.
A spokesman for NKR Defense Forces reported that Karabagh's air defense
units observed Azerbaijani military aircraft fly along the Line of
Contact. Unlike NKR, which informed Baku of planned exercises ahead
of time, Azerbaijan made no such announcements, since "it does
not recognize such an entity [NKR]," according to a spokesman
for the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.
The current cease fire, in effect since May 1994, was signed by Azerbaijan,
Nagorno Karabagh, as well as Armenia. NKR's Defense Minister Seyran
Ohanian told a local newspaper last week that he did not expect that
the fighting with Azerbaijan would resume, considering the existing
balance of forces. "I think that the high-level negotiations
between [Armenian President Robert]Kocharian and [Azerbaijani President
Heydar]. Aliyev are leading to a peaceful settlement of the conflict,"
he said, but added that a comprehensive settlement would require NKR's
participation. |
April 8-14
The New York Life Insurance
Company agreed this week to pay at least $7 million to the heirs of
more than 2,000 policy holders who died in the Armenian Genocide in
the Ottoman Empire. As part of a settlement, the company will contribute
an additional $3 million to Armenian civic organizations.
Prior to World War I, the American company sold the insurance policies
to over 3,000 Armenians then living in the Ottoman Empire, many of
whom died in massacres and in the course of expulsions in the following
years. Their descendents could not initially collect the policies,
because many of them lost the insurance documents required by New
York Life in order to authorize payments.
When the descendants of the policy holders took their case to court,
the company initially tried to dismiss it. But following a decision
by the California State Assembly to extend the statute of limitations
permitting Armenian-Americans to file suits in California against
insurers to recover money from unpaid policies, New York Life began
negotiations with plaintiffs. One of the lawyers for the plaintiffs
said the American company was more forthcoming than their European
counterparts who have dragged out similar claims by descendants of
the Nazi Holocaust victims for years. |
April 8-14
Over the past week, Armenian
government officials hosted a series of meetings with their counterparts
from Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany and Romania. The busy diplomatic traffic
included: Romania's National Defense Minister Joan Mircea Pascu who
signed a military cooperation agreement with Armenian Defense Minister
Serge Sargsian; Bulgaria's Minister of Transport and Communications
Antonii Slavinsky signed cooperation agreements with his Armenian
counterpart Yervand Zakharian and Agriculture Minister Zaven Gevorgian;
Germany's Economic Cooperation Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul
finalized her country's assistance program to Armenia's hydro power
energy network; and the Estonian Foreign Minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves
signed an agreement on avoidance of double taxation with Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian. |
April 8-14
The total volume of foreign
investments in the Armenian economy increased 29% over 1999. Armenia's
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tigran Davtian said this week
that a preliminary estimate of $180 million for 2000 had been revised
upward to $190 million |
April 15-20
The Editor-in-Chief of the
highly acclaimed Encyclopedia of Genocide Professor Israel Charny
this week condemned Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres for his
recent remarks negating the Armenian Genocide. Charny said that Peres
"went beyond a moral boundary that no Jew should allow himself
to trespass." A Turkish newspaper quoted Peres as saying that
he "rejects attempts to create a similarity between the Holocaust
and the Armenian allegations. Nothing similar to the Holocaust occurred.
It is a tragedy what the Armenians went through but it was not a genocide."
Peres reportedly extended his support to the Turkish denial campaign
by calling the historical facts of the Armenian Genocide "meaningless."
The statements were made by Peres prior to a one-day visit to Turkey.
In his letter to the Foreign Minister, Charny also noted the 30th
Annual Scholars' Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches held
in March 2000, where many researchers on the Holocaust, including
Israeli historians, signed a public declaration that the Armenian
Genocide was factual. The Israeli Consulate General in Los Angeles,
CA issued a statement saying "they do not support the comparison
of Armenian tragedy with genocide on Jews."
Reaction to Peres' statement has come from Armenian organizations
worldwide. Noted author of The Banality of Indifference: Zionism and
the Armenian Genocide Dr. Yair Auron also issued a press release in
response to Peres. "...now the Foreign Minister has joined the
deniers on behalf of the Israeli Government. This was not a holocaust
or a genocide, claimed the minister. Picture yourselves our reaction
to a similar claim made by another country's Foreign Minister regarding
the Holocaust. What would we feel if the Holocaust had been called
a 'tragedy'?" he said. During a Holocaust commemoration vigil
in Yerevan this week, Rimma Varzhapetian, President of the Jewish
Community of Armenia, said that in spite of the position of the Israeli
Foreign Ministry, Jews around the world empathize with Armenians'
plight in the Ottoman Empire and support the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. |
April 15-20
Leaders of several National
Assembly factions in Armenia expressed optimism about the Karabagh
peace process following their meeting with President Kocharian this
week. The President of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic, Arkady Ghoukasian,
was similarly upbeat, saying that "I believe that we have a real
opportunity of resolving the conflict and am optimistic." Azerbaijan
President Heydar Aliyev told journalists earlier this week that the
latest talks in Key West made a positive contribution to the peace
talks. The international mediators are expected to present a new peace
plan in Geneva this June. Speaking at a public event in Washington
this week, US Special Negotiator Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh acknowledged
it was impossible to predict a timetable for the resolution of the
Karabagh conflict. "The most daunting task remains to convince
the Azerbaijani and Armenian publics that compromises and peace are
in their interest," he said. |
April 15-20
Armenia's economy posted
the highest growth in a decade during the first quarter of 2001, President
Robert Kocharian announced this week during a weekly cabinet session.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was up 12 percent over the same period
of last year. The 20 percent growth in industrial output and nearly
30 percent growth in export accounted for much of the increase. Kocharian
again underscored the need for political stability in order for the
current economic trends to continue. He pointed to neighboring Turkey,
where a spat between its President and Prime Minister recently triggered
the worst economic crisis in years. Kocharian praised the government
of Prime Minister Andranik Markarian for the "unprecedented"
macroeconomic growth, and denied media speculation about an imminent
cabinet reshuffle. The President's Chief Economic Advisor Vahram Nercissiantz
told a local newspaper earlier this week that Armenia would need several
years of at least 10 percent GDP growth to bring about tangible improvement
in living standards. The Armenian economy has grown on average by
five percent since a nearly 50 percent rise in the early days of independence.
A recent study found the current volume of GDP of under $2 billion
to be at the level of the late 1970s. The Kocharian Administration
hopes that continued reforms, coupled with political stability and
resolution of the Karabagh conflict, would boost private investments
and job creation, and result in across the board economic benefits
for Armenia. |
April 15-20
About 2,000 families, most
of them refugees from Azerbaijan now residing in Armenia, have filed
petitions for resettlement in NKR, the Armenian agency responsible
for migration reported this week. Agency head Gagik Yeganian said
Armenia and NKR are jointly looking for funds to make this resettlement
possible. NKR's Prime Minister Anushavan Danielian earlier set an
ambitious goal to more than double the republic's population to 300,000
people over the next decade. The Karabagh government provides resettled
families with housing, land plots, low-interest long-term loans and
five year tax exemptions. Since the resettlement program started six
years ago, some 4,000 families, previously living in Armenia, Georgia,
Russia, Turkmenistan and Ukraine, re-settled in NKR. Several Armenian
Diaspora communities are assisting Armenia and NKR in this effort.
Yeganian indicated he believes more involvement is necessary. |
April 15-20
Several thousand protesters
rallied this week in opposition to the privatization of Armenia's
electricity distribution networks. Over two dozen, mostly small leftist
groups that organized the rally believe the upcoming privatization
of the networks by Western companies is against Armenia's national
interests. They are counting on backing from several parliamentary
factions to again scuttle the long-delayed tender. The government,
meanwhile, needs the tender to go ahead to cover half of this year's
budget deficit, and argued it will cut chronic losses of state funds
in a potentially profitable sector through better management and capital
investments.
The tender is also seen as a political contest between Russia and
the West over Armenia's energy system. Russia, the sole supplier of
nuclear fuel and natural gas to Armenia's power plants that account
for over three-fourths of all generated electricity, is trying to
solidify this dominant role by acquiring additional generating and
distributing systems. Moscow is unhappy over the exclusion of two
Russian companies from the distribution networks tender and has in
recent months threatened to reduce or cut gas supplies. Armenia, in
turn, is seeking to ease its dependence on Russia by building a gas
pipeline from Iran and selling the distribution networks to Western
companies. The tender results are scheduled to be announced this weekend. |
April 21-27
Government officials and
civic leaders throughout the world this week commemorated the 86th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In his official statement, Armenian
President Robert Kocharian called the Genocide "the biggest tragedy
in the history of the [Armenian] nation." He reiterated the need
for international recognition and assessment of this crime against
humanity. Referring to the Jewish Holocaust in Nazi-controlled Europe
and subsequent instances of mass killings in other parts of the world,
he said "the world has already tasted in the 20th century the
bitter fruits of rendering to oblivion this crime."
Hundreds of thousands of Armenian citizens, including senior government
officials and foreign diplomats, joined the annual silent march to
the Tsitsernakaberd memorial in Yerevan to pay their respects to the
one and half million Armenians who fell victim to the Ottoman Turk
government's genocidal policies. The Supreme Head of the Armenian
Church, Catholicos ofall Armenians, Karekin II, together with Catholicos
of Cilicia Aram I, madea pilgrimage to the Der-Zor desert in present-day
Syria, to where many Armenians were deported and ultimately died there
of hunger and disease.
US President George W. Bush issued a statement commemorating "the
forced exile and annihilation of approximately 1.5 million Armenians
in the closing years of the Ottoman Empire." As President Bill
Clinton before him, Bushshied away from using the term Genocide. Turkey,
which refuses to recognize the Genocide, has threatened other countries
with economic sanctions and political retributions should they officially
recognize the Armenian tragedy. Still, a growing number of countries,
especially in recent years, have defied Turkey's blackmail. Over half
of the fifty American states have also joined in the official recognition
of Genocide. A spokesperson for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, expressed
the Armenian government's appreciation for the US President's statement,
but said it hoped that "for the sake of historical justice and
the prevention of such crimes in the future, President Bush will give
the events of 1915... a proper definition in his future statements:
the genocide." |
April 21-27
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
this week reaffirmed Armenia's position that it would reject any proposal
that would subordinate the Nagorno Karabagh Republic (NKR) to Azerbaijan.
Oskanian said Armenia would seriously consider "anything on the
level of horizontal ties" between Azerbaijan and NKR. International
mediators from France, Russia and the United States, working under
the umbrella of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), said earlier they will prepare a new peace proposal and present
it to the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the irnext meeting,
scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland in June. Oskanian added
that a deal is not likely to be signed in Geneva, as both sides will
bring the proposal home for approval by domestic constituencies. If
necessary, Armenia will hold a referendum. In addition, NKR will have
to be a party to any peace deal.
On the other hand, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, Vilayat Guliyev,
said this week that he did not expect mediators to come up with a
mutually acceptable peace deal. Guliyev contended that the Azerbaijani
public is neither ready for a compromise peace settlement nor the
resumption of fighting. Guliyev went on to repeat an oft-stated Azerbaijani
view that a" key to settlement" of the Karabagh conflict
lies in Russia. Azerbaijanhas, over the years, tried to alternatively
recruit Russia and the West to help it prevail in the Karabagh issue,
so far with little success. Meanwhile, in Yerevan, leaders of the
leftist Front of National Accord, Ashot Manucharian and Eduard Simoniants,
who were in charge of Armenia's State Agency for National Security
between 1992 and 1994, called on the Armenian President to inform
the public of the general outline of ongoing confidential talks with
Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev. The former officials have repeatedly
speculated that a proposed settlement of the conflict might include
a clause on international control of the strategically important Meghri
district in the south of Armenia. Major Armenian political parties
have repeatedly stated their opposition to relinquishing direct control
over Meghri. |
April 21-27
The secretaries of the National
Security Councils of seven former Soviet republics met for two days
in Yerevan this week to discuss ways of deterring common security
threats. Senior security officials from Armenia, Belarus,Kazakstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, all of which are members ofthe
Common Security Treaty (CST) of the Commonwealth of Independent States(CIS),
as well as Georgia, laid out an agenda for the May 25 summit of CST
states in Yerevan. The parties discussed the establishment of permanent
information exchanges and mutual assistance to counter terrorist threats
in member countries and cross-border raids in Central Asia. Russia
and other CST members made a commitment to set up a joint rapid reaction
force and provide military and technical assistance to Tajikistan
and Kyrgyzstan. In recent years they have been targeted for incursions
by Islamist radicals operating out of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Armenia had previously sent modest military assistance to Kyrgyzstan,
but refused to commit ground forces for joint operations. Armenia
itself hosts a Russian contingent of several thousand troops as a
deterrent against possible hostile actions by Turkey. |
April 24
Hundreds
of thousands of Armenians from all parts of the world walked up the
Tsitsernakaberd hill in Yerevan to the 1915 Genocide Memorial on the
annual day of remembrance for Armenians massacred in the Ottoman Empire.
Ceremonies were also held in Armenian communities throughout the world.
Click for more... |
April 21-27
The Armenian government was
forced to nullify the long-awaited tender for privatization of the
country's electricity distribution networks, when the US' AES Silk
Road and Spain's Union Fenosa decided not to submit bids last weekend.
The World Bank (WB), Armenia's largest lender, which earlier made
its next Structural Adjustment Credit (SAC-4) worth $50 million conditional
on the privatization of the networks, is now expected to delay its
disbursal.
Armenia's Energy Minister Karen Galstian said this week that the government
still hopes to complete the privatization by the end of this year.
Armenia depends on the WB loan to cover half of this year's budget
deficit. The Western companies were said to have been deterred by
several government demands, including a requirement not to increase
electricity prices in the next three years. The Armenian government
insisted on this condition in response to public concern that privatization
would result in an increase of electricity costs.
Aram Sargsian, chairman of the small left-wing Democratic Party who
led a coalition of two dozen parties and organizations in opposition
to the sell-off, argued this week for a takeover of the networks by
Russian companies. Russia's Itera and Ros Atom Energo, who are respectively
sole suppliers of natural gas and nuclear fuel to Armenia, were disqualified
from participating in the networks' tender last year. Officials argued
that the companies had no experience in running public utilities. |
April 21-27
The United States Overseas
Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) released an$18 million loan
to a US company reconstructing one of Armenia's main hotels, Armenian
news agencies reported late last week. Additionally, the International
Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, reportedly
purchased 25 percent of Hotel Armenia shares for $3.6 million. The
US company, AK Development, initially purchased 80 percent of the
hotel shares in August 1998 for $8 million with an investment commitment
of an additional $22 million. The company has since embarked on a
large-scale reconstruction of the hotel and hired a Marriot International
managing team to run it. The loan is the first of its kind by OPIC
anywhere in the Caucasus and was initially announced in October 1999.
It is also the first case of direct investment by IFC in Armenia.
The corporation had previously made investments in Azerbaijan and
Georgia. Armenian officials hope to boost tourism revenue through
privatization and reconstruction of the country's tourist infrastructure.
A major influx of visitors is expected this year for the events related
to the 1700thanniversary of Armenia's adoption of Christianity as
the state religion. |
May 3
ARMENIA WINS A SEAT ON AN
IMPORTANT U.N. BODY
At its meeting on May 3, 2001, the UN's Economic and Social Council
elected 14 new members to three-year terms on the UN Human Rights
Commission. Against great odds, Armenia won one of those 14 seats.
Click for more...
|
April 27- May 3
In a rare expression of solidarity,
all eleven parliamentary parties and groups signed a joint statement
late last week outlining their position on the settlement of the Karabagh
conflict. The statement was welcomed by Armenia's President Robert
Kocharian, who is expected to meet with Azerbaijan's President Heydar
Aliyev in Geneva, Switzerland in mid-June. The US Envoy to the peace
talks Carey Cavanaugh confirmed the timing of the meeting at an international
conference on Karabagh that was held in Germany this week. In addition
to the United States, France and Russia will continue to act as mediators
in talks between Aliyev and Kocharian.
The co-signers of the parliamentary statement, representing the entire
Armenian political spectrum, from communists to groups advocating
business interests, called for a peaceful settlement of the conflict,
to ensure a lasting stability and development of the Caucasus region.
Armenian lawmakers called for reunification of Armenia and the Nagorno
Karabagh Republic (NKR), or, alternatively, international recognition
of NKR, as two acceptable forms of settlement. A final version of
the settlement, which parliamentarians said must include participation
of the NKR leadership, must involve a direct ground link between Armenia
and NKR, and a demilitarized border between NKR and Azerbaijan. Armenian
MPs ruled out any concession on the territory of Armenia proper as
part of a settlement with Azerbaijan. While praising the activities
of mediators, parliamentarians warned against "hasty steps"
or putting "pressure" on the conflicting sides, calling
such tactics counter-productive. A leading Armenian analyst concurred.
Citing the recent violence in the Middle East, he urged mediators
not to rush the peace process at the risk of "making things worse."
Kocharian called the parliamentary initiative important. Compared
to the outcry over Karabagh negotiations in Azerbaijan that often
borders on hysteria, the relative calmness in Armenia, in the words
of the President, "testifies to the self-confidence [of Armenian
political forces] rather than indifference." In an interview
this week, Armenia's Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian once again presented
the official position of Yerevan on a Karabagh settlement: "There
must be horizontal relations between Karabagh and Azerbaijan.., thus,
autonomy is not sufficient." In reference to speculation on a
possible exchange of territories, Oskanian said that "we are
not discussing a barter trade with sovereign territories. We are talking
about Armenia's free access to Karabagh and Azerbaijan's free access
to Nakhichevan." |
April 27- May 3
President Robert Kocharian
will lead a senior government delegation to New York next week to
participate in an international conference on investment opportunities
in Armenia. The US Trade and Development Agency, the International
Finance Corporation and the World Bank organized the conference that
will be held at New York's Plaza Hotel from May 9 through 11. The
conference will feature presentations by businessmen already investing
in Armenia and will introduce potential investors to Armenia's legal
and tax environment and available transportation and logistics options,
as well as the specific investment opportunities in information technology,
energy, mining, tourism and agribusiness. Kocharian will be accompanied
by the Ministers of Energy, and Industry and Trade, and the Deputy
Minister of Finance and Economy. World Bank President James Wolfensohn
and US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage are also expected
to attend. |
April 27- May 3
President of Lebanon Emile
Lahoud paid a two-day state visit to Armenia this week for talks with
his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian and Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian. The Lebanese President and Armenian leaders agreed to set
up an inter-government commission to boost economic ties. Armenia
is particularly interested in Lebanon's experience in the banking
sector. Last year's bilateral trade amounted to a modest $9.5 million,
with the lion's share accounted for by Lebanese imports. The two countries
have traditionally friendly ties. Lebanon is home to a 200,000-strong
Armenian community, which is represented in the country's government
and parliament. The community is largely comprised of descendants
of survivors of the Genocide in Ottoman Turkey, who, following deportations
from Anatolia, found refuge in the Levant. Lebanon is the only Arabic
country to have recognized the Armenian Genocide. It has consistently
opposed anti-Armenian initiatives lobbied by Azerbaijan in the Organization
of Islamic Conference. |
April 27- May 3
Senior security officials
from Armenia and Russia have announced a series of measures designed
to improve coordination between the Armenian army units and Russian
forces, stationed along Armenia's border with Turkey. In the early
1990s, Armenia agreed to allow Russian forces on its soil as a deterrent
against Turkey, which consistently maintained an aggressive posture
against Armenia, even threatening a military intervention. In spite
of Yerevan's goodwill, Ankara continues to refuse to establish diplomatic
relations, maintains a blockade against Armenia and undermines the
Karabagh peace process by providing direct military assistance to
Azerbaijan.
The Russian contingent in Armenia includes motorized infantry and
air defense forces, numbering several thousand. This week, the Russian
forces' air defense component, the core of which consists of S-300
long-range air-defense missile complexes and MiG-29 interceptor aircraft,
and the Armenian air-defense units and army aviation, completed preparations
for joint combat duty. The Defense Ministers of Armenia and Russia
initially agreed to the measure in March of last year.
Armenia's Defense Minister Serge Sargsian told journalists late last
week that Armenia and Russia will soon set up a joint ground force
that will deploy along the border with Turkey. The force, that will
be under Armenian command, will be comprised of the motorized infantry
component of the Russian forces based largely in Gyumri, in northwestern
Armenia, and the 5th Corps of the Armenian army, headquartered just
south of Yerevan. The Armenian army's four other corps are deployed
along the borders with Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic. |
April 27- May 3
Armenia's Parliament this
week authorized the Ministry of Finance and Economy to use $16.2 million
from the proceeds collected through privatization to cover part of
Armenia's debt to Russia. The move came following Moscow's refusal
to further restructure debts accrued in the early 1990s, when Russia
provided Armenia with loans to re-commission its nuclear power plant.
Armenia initially intended to use the privatization proceeds for construction
projects in the earthquake-damaged areas in northern Armenia. Armenia's
total debt to Russia stands at $114 million. Armenia was forced to
borrow funds in order to cover expenses for supplies of nuclear fuel
and natural gas from Russia. Local press reports suggested that Russia
toughened its attitude towards Armenia's debts, following the exclusion
of Russian state monopolies from the tender for privatization of Armenia's
electricity distribution networks. |
April 27- May 3
Most Armenian newspapers
ran editorials this week marking the International Day of Journalism.
The majority of authors agreed that while free of censorship, Armenian
newspapers have not yet reached the level of financial independence
necessary to be completely independent. Almost without exception,
Armenian newspapers, even those officially independent, are affiliated
with one or another political party and their advertising revenues
are usually small. Even while they represent a diversity of views,
with a total print run of just 50,000, largely limited to the country's
capital, the newspapers are not yet in a position to shape public
opinion nationwide. |
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