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| May 4-11 |
The conference on investment opportunities
in Armenia was held in New York this week. The US Trade and Development
Agency- and the World Bank Group-sponsored event drew over 100 Armenian
businessmen and foreign companies active in Armenia. It also attracted
several hundred representatives of leading international corporations
considering investments in Armenia. During the conference, Armenian
government officials and businessmen presented twenty-two specific
investment proposals, endorsed by the World Bank, and gave an overview
of the most promising sectors of the Armenian economy.
In an opening address delivered to an overbooked conference room at
Manhattan's Plaza Hotel, President Robert Kocharian detailed Armenia's
recent political and economic reforms and stressed the country's commitment
to democracy, free market relations and regional stability and peace.
Kocharian said that over the past decade Armenia has been able to
minimize the impact of blockades imposed by two of its neighbors --
Azerbaijan and Turkey. He said the country has achieved macroeconomic
stability and consistent economic growth, thanks to the expanding
private sector. Armenia continues to improve its trade and business
regulations, aggressively confronting bureaucratic red-tape and corruption
and expects to join the World Trade Organization this year.
At the same time, the Armenian President pointed to the high level
of unemployment as a major challenge for Armenia. Kocharian concluded
by expressing confidence that Armenia's comparative advantages and
reliability as a business partner, showcased during the conference,
will attract potential investors. |
| May 4-11 |
In an indication that the United States
has assumed a leading role in the Karabagh peace process, its envoy
Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh spent the past week traveling in preparation
for the next round of peace negotiations. The Presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan, Robert Kocharian and Heydar Aliyev, will meet for
several days in Geneva, Switzerland starting on June 15 to try to
work out remaining differences. Media reports suggest that the parties
may sign an agreement during a Group of Eight (G8) summit in Genoa,
Italy this July. The G8 brings together the world's seven largest
economies, plus Russia. After addressing an international conference
on Nagorno Karabagh that was held in Germany, Cavanaugh traveled to
Baku for confidential talks with Aliyev, then to Vienna to consult
with other mediators working under the auspices of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and finally to New
York to meet with Kocharian, who was attending the investment conference
there.
In a sharp contrast to the mediators' reported optimism, tough public
talk prevailed this week among Azerbaijani officials and opposition,
as well as Armenian war veterans. On Wednesday, President Aliyev threatened
"to punish Armenians for their aggression," and a day earlier
the Azerbaijani parliament speaker, a diehard Aliyev loyalist, said
Azerbaijan "will not give up Shushi and Lachin," two strategically
located towns that have been repopulated by Armenian refugees over
the last decade. Azerbaijan's leading opposition party, Musavat, issued
a statement reminiscent of the position of the radical nationalist
government of Abulfez Elchibey in 1992-93, conditioning autonomy for
Karabagh Armenians by a similar autonomy for Azerbaijanis in Armenia.
On the other side of the contact line in Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh,
war veterans, including former senior military commanders, argued
against withdrawing from any territory Armenians control today. The
veterans, who set up a public initiative group "In Defense of
Liberated Territories," argued that no international peace-keeping
force can provide the same level of security guarantees enjoyed by
Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh today. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Foreign
Minister Vilayat Guliyev said that the issue of deploying peace-keeping
forces in the conflict area has not been discussed at all. The issue
has in the past caused disagreements among mediators and stalled the
peace process. |
| May 4-11 |
On Wednesday Armenians marked a double
holiday - the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in World
War II and liberation of Shushi by Karabagh Armenian forces in 1992.
Over 600,000 Armenians fought in defense of the Soviet Union and liberation
of Eastern Europe from Nazis between 1941 and 1945 in what is known
as the Great Patriotic War, and nearly half of them did not return
home alive. The 1992 capture of Shushi proved to be a turning point
in the war with Azerbaijan.
Thousands of people, including senior government officials, visited
Victory Park and Yerablur military cemetery in Yerevan and the main
military cemetery in Stepanakert to pay respect to those who fell
in World War II and in the defense of Karabagh and Armenia.
Addressing veterans of both wars, Nagorno Karabagh President Arkady
Ghoukasian said that the NKR Defense Army has been established on
the basis of the patriotic spirit and military traditions of the veterans
of World War II and remains the guarantor of the republic's security
and freedom. Armenian President Robert Kocharian called liberators
of Shushi "worthy successors to our glorious ancestors,"
especially those who contributed to the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. |
| May 4-11 |
Prime Minister Andranik Markarian
Tuesday reiterated his determination to design and implement a comprehensive
plan for combating corruption in Armenia. Speaking during a signing
ceremony where he accepted a $300,000 World Bank (WB) grant to support
the initiative, Markarian said, "I must emphasize that the government
of the Republic of Armenia regards the fight against corruption as
one of the key challenges facing the state." He said the government
is well aware of "the urgent need to take resolute steps aimed
at a solution to problems related to corruption." Markarian expressed
his gratitude to the World Bank and representatives of other international
financial organizations for their assistance in helping Armenia develop
and implement rule of law practices.
The World Bank grant will help develop a comprehensive program to
wipe out bribery, nepotism and other corrupt practices. A government
commission charged with coordinating anti-corruption initiatives has
already approved its main principles. Formed last year on Markarian's
initiative, the Commission held further discussions on the issue Tuesday.
Markarian said improvement of the investment climate in Armenia will
be one of the principal aims of the anti-corruption drive. He said
passage of laws on civil service, licensing, income declaration and
state procurements will significantly limit the ability to extort
payments from business people. Such practices are considered to be
a major deterrent to the country's economic development.
Attending the signing ceremony were US Ambassador to Armenia Michael
Lemmon, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Ambassador to Armenia Roy Reeve, World Bank Resident Representative
to Armenia Oweise Saadat and UNDP Representative to Armenia Catica
Checalovic.
Meanwhile, the Prosecutor General's office reported that preliminary
investigations into Armenian energy sector practices has resulted
in the prosecution of 15 people to date and the recovery of some $1.8
million in embezzled funds. The Prosecutor General is also investigating
former Industry Minister Ashot Safarian on questionable export practices. |
| May 4-11
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The Hayastan Pan-Armenian Fund Board
of Trustees, which consists of senior Armenian officials and Diaspora
leaders, met this week to discuss last year's results and future plans.
The Fund's Executive Director Vahan Ter-Ghevondian reported the collection
of $4.5 million in contributions in 2000, up from $3.4 million the
year before. For the first time a significant portion of the funds,
over $200,000, was collected from individual contributions in Armenia
and Nagorno Karabagh, with the remainder coming from the Diaspora.
Since its creation in 1992, the charity has raised about $70 million
for infrastructure projects that focus on construction of roads in
Nagorno Karabagh and housing in the earthquake-stricken areas of Armenia.
Addressing the Board, President Robert Kocharian suggested adding
projects related to Lake Sevan to the fund's list of priorities. Specifically,
he asked for the Fund's assistance in the construction of Vorotan
Tunnel in order to stem the dropping water levels in Armenia's largest
lake. Lake Sevan plays a key role in the country's ecosystem. |
| May 4-11 |
Resident Representative for the US
Agency for International Development (USAID) Keith Simmons and Armenia's
Minister of Construction and Urban Development David Lokian this week
signed a memorandum releasing $20 million to buy housing certificates
for families left homeless in the 1988 earthquake. Some 25,000 people
are still living in temporary or substandard homes, mostly in the
Shirak and Lori provinces of northern Armenia. The two-year program
will provide housing certificates to 4,000 families, enabling them
to obtain decent apartments and houses throughout Armenia. The USAID
pilot program implemented last year by the Urban Institute, a US non-profit,
was successful in providing 300 families in Gyumri with new homes. |
| May 12-18 |
Envoys from France, Russia and the
United States will conduct another round of shuttle diplomacy in the
region this week in preparation for the next round of talks on Karabagh.
Even as the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan and mediators prepare
for negotiations in Geneva in June, media reports indicate growing
skepticism among all parties about what only weeks ago seemed like
an imminent breakthrough.
In his most recent interview on the subject President Robert Kocharian
said that while an "outline for a future [peace] proposal is
clear," disagreements over details may delay an agreement. He
refused to give a time frame on achieving a settlement. Russia's Deputy
Foreign Minister Viacheslav Trubnikov, who participated in Key West
talks in April, during a visit to Baku this week said he was uncertain
of a breakthrough this year. US Envoy to peace talks Ambassador Carey
Cavanaugh, meanwhile, reportedly told an audience last week that even
if the two presidents reach a common ground, their views may differ
significantly from the views of the majority of their constituents.
Speaking to a local TV channel last week, Armenia's Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian sought to clarify the Armenian position in the negotiations.
He said that forces of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic (NKR) would withdraw
from six of the seven districts around NKR they currently control
if the NKR and Lachin district receive a status that formalizes their
independence from Azerbaijan and provides guarantees of security.
In an important development, Oskanian stressed as crucial that the
Lachin district receives the same legal status as NKR. Speaking of
a corridor that would connect Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan through Armenian
territory, Oskanian said its status will be different from Lachin's
and that Armenia would strive to provide security to this corridor
by itself. The Foreign Minister underscored that Armenia's position
is in line with the 1992 act of the Armenian Parliament and the recent
statement by all parties represented in the National Assembly. The
1992 act prevents the Armenian government from agreeing to any document
that places NKR inside Azerbaijan. Three weeks ago, the Armenian National
Assembly issued a statement, signed by all leading political forces
in the country, which called for either a union with NKR or its independence
and refused to include any territories of Armenia proper in a compromise
deal. NKR's President Arkady Ghoukasian sounded a similar note during
his visit to France this week. Ghoukasian voiced his resolute opposition
to trading parts of Armenia, especially Meghri, as part of any settlement
deal and said Karabagh would never solve its problems at the expense
of other Armenian territories. He further downplayed the importance
of Karabagh's direct participation in the talks at this stage, saying
the Armenian President regularly informs him of the progress in talks.
Meanwhile, in Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliyev insisted
his country will continue struggling for the "entire Karabagh,"
while the President's son and heir-apparent Ilham Aliyev again weighed
a "military option" to bring about a "satisfactory
resolution." Even as the saber-rattling in Azerbaijan continued,
and domestic opposition on all sides to any concessions remained strong,
the region this week quietly marked the seventh anniversary of the
cease-fire. |
| May 12-18 |
Following the conference of Armenia's
investment opportunities held in New York last week, Armenian Minister
of Industry and Trade Karen Chshmaritian said he remained optimistic
that interested investors would "pump the vital financial oxygen"
into Armenia's economy. Chshmaritian also reported that two groups
of foreign investors who showed interest in business projects would
travel to Yerevan in May and June. World Bank President James Wolfensohn
deemed the conference a success and called on Western companies to
make more investments in Armenia. Wolfensohn said that Armenia is
committed to free-market economics, offers potential investors many
opportunities and can become a regional "technological hub." |
| May 12-18 |
The leader of a terrorist group, which
19 months ago attacked the Armenian parliament, completed his testimony
in court this week, as three parliamentary factions were calling for
establishment of a special oversight committee to probe the case.
On October 27 1999, five armed assailants, led by Nairi Hunanian,
murdered seven senior officials, including Armenia's Prime Minister
Vazgen Sargsian and Parliament Speaker Karen Demirchian, and took
dozens of government and parliament members hostage, before giving
up to security forces. The case was brought to court in February after
a lengthy and politically-charged investigation.
Nairi Hunanian, who initially refused to testify, provided an extensive
and detailed account of his life and his reasons for staging the attack
on Parliament. Hunanian claims he alone masterminded the attack, hoping
to force what he saw as an "anti-national government" to
resign at gunpoint. He says the murder of senior officials was not
pre-planned but a result of confusion during the attack. Four other
participants in the attack and six others allegedly involved in its
preparation were kept outside the courtroom throughout Hunanian's
testimony. They will testify next. A court ruling is expected some
time in the summer.
Factions of the People's (HZhK) and Communist (HKK) parties and Hayastan
(Armenia) deputy group, which is affiliated with the recently established
Party of the Republic (HK), will press for a parliamentary inquiry
into the case during a special session of parliament next week. HZhK
and HK are led by the son and brother of the late speaker and prime
minister, respectively, who remain convinced that the Hunanian group
was not acting on its own, but was backed by powerful political forces.
Communists in turn view the attack as an "attempt to eliminate
prominent pro-Russian politicians by pro-Western forces."
The year-long investigation, led by the Military Prosecutor Gagik
Jhanghirian, a close associate of the late prime minister, failed
to confirm these suspicions. |
| May 12-18 |
The Communist Party of Armenia (HKK)
and several smaller leftist groups this week renewed demands for a
popular referendum on joining the mostly moribund Russia-Belarus union.
On Wednesday, the eight-member HKK faction in the 131-seat National
Assembly failed to garner sufficient support for a special session
to bring the issue to the parliamentary agenda. Later in the day,
however, Communists joined together with anti-privatization activists
for a rally outside the parliament building.
Communist leaders and their allies brushed off accusations they were
undermining Armenian independence by advocating a union with Russia.
Aleksandr Aghamalian, leader of a small leftist party claimed Armenia
was already heavily dependent on Western financial institutions, and
could grow stronger only in a union with Russia. He called for a halt
to the ongoing privatization of state-owned production facilities
by western companies. Gagik Tatevosian, a member of parliament from
HKK, implied independence was an unaffordable luxury while many people
in the country remain poor and cannot afford even the basic utilities.
The First Secretary of the Central Committee of HKK Vladimir Darbinian
insisted a union with Russia and Belarus would bring both economic
and political advantages.
President Robert Kocharian received Communist leaders following the
rally, which drew thousands of people. Kocharian strongly reiterated
his opposition to Armenia joining the Russia-Belarus union. The majority
of Armenia's political forces are opposed to putting the issue to
a referendum. Head of the parliament's largest Miasnutiun (Unity)
faction, Galust Sahakian, summed up by saying: "There are serious
people sitting in the National Assembly, [and] very few of them would
decide overnight to incorporate their country into another country."
Most other parliamentary leaders concurred |
| May 24 |
Russia's President Vladimir Putin
arrived in Yerevan today to take part in the May 25 session of the
Council of the Collective Security Treaty (CST).
Armenia's President Robert Kocharyan, secretary of the Security Council,
defense minister Serzh Sargsyan, foreign minister Vartan Oskanyan,
secretary of Russia's Security Council Vladimir Rushaylo, Russia's
foreign minister Igor Ivanov, Russia's defense minister Sergey Ivanov,
other Armenian and Russian officials met Putin at the airport.
This is Putin's second visit to Armenia, but first one as president.
He visited Yerevan for the first time Oct 30 1999 in connection with
the
tragic events in Armenia's parliament.
Today Putin and Kocharyan will meet tÍte-ŕ-tÍte. |
| May 30 |
The International Committee of the Red Cross, the internationally recognized and
respected charitable organization which provides aid to war and disaster victims,
issued a public statement saying recent statements citing the ICRC by
Azerbaijani officials are false.
Thus, Azerbaijan's chronic disinformation campaign has failed, and this time, at the
Council of Europe - an important international forum to which Azerbaijan has just
received entry.
At its first presentation at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly,
Azerbaijan presented a motion for recommendation to introduce a resolution that
would condemn Armenia and Karabakh for holding more than 700 prisoners of war, and
for denying the ICRC access to these prisoners. Azerbaijan cited
an ICRC report as its source of information.
The ICRC's refutation of these charges was thorough and quick. The ICRC stated it
had not filed a report on this topic, had not issued such numbers, and that the
facts as stated by Azerbaijan in no way correspond to the reality on the ground.
The ICRC distributed its statement rejecting the Azerbaijani allegations to a wide circle
of Council of Europe officials.
This latest Azerbaijani propaganda ploy aimed at blaming Armenia has instead
discredited Azerbaijan's own credibility regarding all documents and all statements
in any international forum.
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May 24 -
June 1 |
Peace talks scheduled to take place
between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Geneva in mid-June have been postponed
indefinitely. "The Geneva meeting has been put off until a date
yet to be fixed," said Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman
Dziunik Aghajanian in an official statement late last week. "During
their recent visit the [mediators] expressed concern that rushing
will not help the process of resolving the Karabagh conflict,"
Aghajanian stated.
The postponement comes as Azerbaijan reportedly toughened its position
on the settlement of the conflict, signaling a continued intransigence
in Baku. Setting unspecified preconditions for the next round of talks
sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayet Guliyev told reporters
last week that peace talks will not take place as long as "certain
demands" of the Azeri side are unmet by the French, Russian and
American envoys of the OSCE Minsk Group.
The Minsk Group troika stressed the importance of finding a solution
that is acceptable not only to the leaders but also to the populations
of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Karabagh. At a May 21 press conference
in Yerevan, United States envoy to the peace talks Ambassador Carey
Cavanaugh said that peace "is very much dependent on the people
of Armenia and the people of Azerbaijan" but that an unwillingness
to compromise prevailed in the region. During their latest tour of
the region two weeks ago, the three mediators made an unprecedented
crossing of the Line of Contact separating Karabagh from Azerbaijan.
In addition to talks with leaders in Baku, Stepanakert and Yerevan,
the OSCE mediators visited rural communities in Azerbaijan, Karabagh
and Armenia, where they met with Armenian and Azerbaijani refugees
and internally displaced. The co-chairs also visited the Akhurian
railroad station, which lies just two kilometers from the Turkish
border.
The mediators stressed the need for economic cooperation between Armenia
and Azerbaijan as a means of mitigating existing hostilities and building
confidence on both sides. In response, Azeri President Heydar Aliyev
once again rejected the offer, stating that no economic cooperation
was possible unless the conflict was settled. Aliyev reportedly remains
ambivalent about prospects for regional peace. In a May 27 speech,
Aliyev once again expressed Azerbaijan's readiness to wage war, while
at the same time calling it unnecessary at this point.
President of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic (NKR) Arkady Ghoukasian
expressed his disappointment at the delay in talks. Ghoukasian said
that the NKR's government still doubts "Azerbaijan's sincerity"
and sees deep contradictions in its policy of "adherence to a
peaceful political solution" on the one hand and anti-Armenian
propaganda on the other. Ghoukasian reiterated that it is impossible
to settle the conflict without the participation of Nagorno Karabagh.
Both the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents attended the Commonwealth
of Independent States' summit in Minsk, Belarus this week and have
discussed the Karabagh conflict there. |
May 24 -
June 1
|
Leaders of five former Soviet republics
joined Armenian President Robert Kocharian in Yerevan last week in
a meeting of the six signatories to the Collective Security Treaty
(CST). Kocharian and Presidents Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Nursultan
Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan, Vladimir Putin
of Russia and Emomali Rahmonov of Tajikistan, convened in Armenia
for meetings to discuss ways to deter mutual external threats to the
region. Putin is the first Russian President to visit Armenia since
1991.
Armenia's participation in the defense alliance stems primarily from
Turkey's continued hostility. Armenia is also concerned about the
instability caused by the spread of Islamic extremism in Central Asia.
For the past several years, Armenia has also been actively engaged
in a defense agreement with Russia, which maintains a military base
on Armenian territory.
The six presidents issued a joint statement at the conclusion of the
summit expressing the goals and intentions of the CST member states.
In the statement, the signatories vowed "to jointly rebut any
attempts to disturb peace and tranquility in Central Asia." With
that in mind, the CST members finalized plans to form a rapid-reaction
force to prevent "the growing threat of international terrorism
and extremism" especially from Afghanistan. The agreement also
refers to a joint defense against potential threats from other members
of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Taking advantage of the presence of the five CST members, President
Kocharian held several meetings during last week's summit. Meeting
with Russian President Putin, Kocharian discussed bilateral relations
and the conflict in Nagorno Karabagh. Putin emphasized at a news conference
in Yerevan that Russia would continue to work toward the resolution
of the conflict. "Russia has special relations with Azerbaijan
and Armenia," he said. Kazakh President Nazarbayev and Kocharian
signed several intergovernmental agreements and formally ratified
the Kazakh-Armenian "Friendship and Cooperation" treaty.
They also discussed prospects for bilateral economic cooperation.
In an address to faculty and students of the Yerevan State University,
Nazarbayev expressed his discontent with Azerbaijani and Turkish initiatives
directed against Armenia in international forums and added that Kazakhstan
refuses to support them. Belarusian president Lukashenko and Kocharian
signed a treaty on "Friendship and Cooperation" along with
several intergovernmental agreements to facilitate cooperation in
the areas of trade, education and legal affairs. |
May 24 -
June 1
|
Armenians around the world marked
this week the 83rd anniversary of the establishment of the first Armenian
Republic on May 28, 1918. The republic was the first attempt in centuries
to reestablish the Armenian statehood. The first republic was independent
for two and a half years before Soviet takeover. Celebrations in Armenia
centered at the Sardarabad memorial, west of Yerevan. Eighty-three
years ago this month, Armenian volunteer forces succeeded in stopping
the advancing Ottoman Turkish Army at Sardarabad and Bash Aparan.
That victory and the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I six months
later helped secure the safety of the Armenian population in part
of Eastern Armenia in the aftermath of the Genocide unleashed by the
Ottoman government in 1915. |
May 24 -
June 1
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The Armenian government last week
welcomed initiatives by the executive boards of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) to provide nearly $140
million in new loans to Armenia. The IMF gave its final approval for
a three-year loan worth $87 million to support the government's economic
program. The first installment of $13 million is available immediately.
WB resident representative in Armenia Owaise Saadat announced that
the Bank's executive board had reviewed the Armenian government's
Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Program (IPRSP) and endorsed the
Bank's new Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Armenia, which supports
the IPRSP. The Board also approved a $50 million Structural Adjustment
Credit (SAC), which will cover approximately half of the government's
budget deficit for this year. |
May 24 -
June 1 |
Armenia showed signs of continued
economic growth in the first four months of this year. Compared to
the same time period last year, the gross domestic product (GDP) from
January to April increased by 8.4%. The volumes of industrial products
and retail trade also yielded substantial growth. The National Statistics
Service also reported a 22% increase in exports. The government had
earlier set a minimum of 6% growth as a target for this year. Economists
estimate that Armenia needs at least several years of two-digit economic
growth for substantial improvements in living standards. |
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