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| February 1 |
Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
continued its preparations for the second Armenia-Diaspora Conference
to be held May 27-28 in Yerevan. Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
said the Ministry is "looking to this conference to do what the
first conference left undone - that is, begin to create the mechanisms
which will make possible a combined approach to prioritizing the serious
issues and challenges which confront us collectively, and which will
lead to a search for their resolution." The conference will focus
on five areas, including: business and economy; science, culture and
education; information and media; political relations and advocacy;
and organizational/structural development.
Oskanian encouraged representatives from the Diaspora community to
attend the conference, noting that one of the direct benefits of such
conferences is that members of the Diaspora will have an opportunity
to work together. He said the Ministry also plans to invite specialists
and key individuals to ensure broad participation. "After all,
it is in everyone's best interests that the Diaspora be as inclusive
as possible the purpose of these gatherings is to create the environment
whereby we can understand each other better, more realistically comprehend
each other's needs and actions, and together create that which we
all want and deserve a secure, prosperous state with a healthy,
vibrant, active Diaspora," he said. |
| February 1 |
President Robert Kocharian Monday
called Armenia's Armed Forces the country's main achievement in the
decade since independence. Speaking at a ceremony to mark the army
day, Kocharian praised all soldiers and officers for the successful
defense of the nation in the past and guaranteeing its security today.
Kocharian, as Commander-in-Chief, presented a combat banner of the
Armenian Army to Defense Minister Serge Sargsian and awarded rank
promotions and medals to servicemen. They also received a blessing
from His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II. Senior Armenian and Nagorno
Karabagh officials then visited the Yerablur military cemetery, where
they paid their respects to Armenia's first Defense Minister Vazgen
Sargsian and hundreds of servicemen and volunteers killed in action.
Kocharian and other officials also visited a special forces regiment,
based outside Yerevan. On January 28, 1992 the authorities of newly-independent
Armenia officially established the Ministry of Defense to unite disparate
volunteer detachments that were created since the beginning of the
Karabagh conflict. Last year, the National Assembly passed a law designating
January 28 to be the Day of the Armed Forces of Armenia. |
| February 1 |
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian arrived
in New York this week to participate in the meeting of the World Economic
Forum. Oskanian is expected to meet with the world's political and
economic leaders to discuss ways to boost foreign investment in Armenia's
economy and the country's accession to the World Trade Organization. |
| February 1 |
Government officials stood in long
lines at the Ministry of State Revenue on Thursday evening trying
to meet the deadline to file their income and property declarations.
As part of Armenia's anti-corruption drive, the National Assembly
passed a law last year mandating some 3,000 state officials to declare
their own and family members' incomes and property by January 31.
Only about 300, including the President and most cabinet and Parliament
leaders, had submitted the declarations by Wednesday. The law calls
for a 50,000 Dram ($88) fine for late filers. The declarations are
expected to be made public in three to four months. The filing rush
comes amid renewed public calls for the authorities to clamp down
on various forms of corruption, especially tax evasion. |
| February 1 |
President Robert Kocharian issued
decrees this week merging two cabinet positions and sacking one minister.
David Zadoyan will replace Zaven Gevorkian as Minister of Agriculture.
Gevorkian joined the cabinet two years ago as a nominee of the People's
Party (HZhK), at the time a minority member of the governing coalition.
Last year he resigned from HZhK, but remained in the post until now.
Zadoyan is a senior Republican Party (HHK) member and prior to this
appointment served as the Minister-Coordinator for Infrastructure.
That portfolio is now combined with the Ministry of Territorial Administration
under Hovik Abrahamian, also a member of HHK. |
| February 1 |
A delegation led by Armenian Parliament
Speaker Armen Khachatrian traveled to London this week for meetings
at the House of Commons, House of Lords, Foreign Office and with local
government officials in Wales and Northern Ireland. In meetings with
leaders of both chambers of the British Parliament, parties agreed
to expand bilateral cooperation and work towards Armenia's further
integration with European organizations.
In a meeting with the Chairman of the Eastern Department of the British
Foreign Office John McGreggor, several issues were discussed including
the Armenian Genocide and strengthening British-Armenian relations.
McGreggor noted that Armenia's relationship with Turkey, as well as
Russia, should be clarified. He also noted that resolution of the
Karabagh conflict would encourage development in the region. Khachatrian
emphasized that Armenia is ready to cooperate with Turkey, but the
latter sets unilateral pre-conditions on the issues of the Armenian
Genocide and the Karabagh conflict.
Meanwhile, the British government made what may be the first move
towards official affirmation of the Armenian Genocide this week by
making its commemoration part of the Holocaust Memorial Day marked
on January 27. Representatives of Britain's Armenian community were
invited to participate in commemorative events. Last year, the Turkish
Foreign Ministry filed a diplomatic protest over inclusion of the
Armenian Genocide.
Parliamentary links with Canada are also set to broaden. Member of
the Canadian Parliament Sarkis Assadourian met with representatives
of the Canadian-Armenian community earlier this month to discuss the
upcoming Parliamentary Exchange between Canada and Armenia. Assadourian
has initiated an exchange program that will see a Canadian parliamentary
delegation travel to Armenia this spring and a return visit by Armenian
parliamentarians to Canada later this year. The delegations are set
to become part of a five-year program to promote political and economic
cooperation between Canada and Armenia. |
| February 1 |
Armenia's sole supplier of natural
gas pledged to drastically reduce supplies this week unless it receives
payment. Spokesmen for ITERA, which serves as the intermediary for
Russia's GazProm monopoly, said the supplies will be brought down
from the current 5.2 million to 1.8 million cubic meters of gas a
day. The company claims that Armenia is in violation of a payment
schedule agreed to earlier this year. But news agencies reported on
Friday that Energy Minister Armen Movsisian and HaiRusGazArd director
Karen Karapetian negotiated an extension for debt-repayment during
negotiations they held in Russia with GazProm and ITERA officials.
HaiRusGazArd has had chronic difficulties collecting bills and earlier
this month cut off supplies to some of the worst debtors. The gas
it distributes within Armenia helps generate about 40 percent of Armenia's
electricity. A similar cut in gas supplies last spring brought many
large enterprises to a standstill and affected Armenia's overall economic
performance in 2001. |
| February 1 |
Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev
made a state visit to Russia last week and together with President
Vladimir Putin signed an agreement granting Moscow a ten-year lease
on the Gabala radar station. In exchange, Russia reportedly pledged
to share intelligence from the station and upgrade Azerbaijan's aging
air defense forces. The strategic facility located in north-central
Azerbaijan is capable of tracking aircraft and missile launches over
an area stretching from Turkey to India and is a key element of Russia's
strategic air defense. Some 500 Russian military personnel continued
to run the base after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but negotiations
on its official status were not concluded until now.
Aliyev also announced "complete understanding on all issues of
mutual importance" with Russia and declared the advent of a "strategic
partnership" between the two countries. He reiterated Azerbaijan's
long-held hope that a third party could help Baku prevail in the Karabagh
conflict, telling Russian officials that "Moscow can play a decisive
role" in the settlement. Russia's Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov
pledged to continue efforts within the international and bilateral
framework to try to achieve a settlement.
In another sign of closer relations, Russian delegates to the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) joined their Azerbaijani
and Turkish colleagues in actively opposing a PACE resolution citing
Azerbaijan for its human rights violations. Following a heated debate,
PACE passed a watered-down resolution urging the Azerbaijani government
to immediately free its political prisoners, and adding that it "reserves
the right to take any appropriate measures at its disposal" to
persuade Azerbaijan to respect human rights. |
| February 4 |
Speaking by telephone, Russian President
Vladimir Putin and Armenian President Robert Kocharian have a wide-ranging
discussion on regional issues and review the status of mediation efforts
by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
They also discuss tentative plans for Kocharian to meet with Azerbaijani
President Geidar Aliyev during next month's summit meeting of the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Kazakhstan. The
possible meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
is dependent on the health of Aliyev who recently underwent prostrate
surgery in the United States. |
| February 6-7 |
Prosecutor-General Aram Tamazian announces
a formal investigation into allegations that the late Prime Minister,
Vazgen Sarkisian, participated in the 1995 beating and torture of
several suspects from the Interior Ministry detained for their alleged
complicity in a planned assassination attempt of then-President Levon
Ter Petrosian. Sarkisian, who was killed in the October 1999 assault
on the Armenian Parliament, held the position of defense minister
at the time. The investigation of Sarkisian is part of a broader inquiry
into the actions of Mushegh Saghatelian, the former head of the Armenian
prison system. |
| February 8 |
The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional
Reform approves the government's draft constitutional amendments and
rejects an alternative set of proposed amendments submitted by the
opposition. The government's proposals only slightly reduced the scope
of presidential powers. The opposition went much further in trimming
the president's power and sought to create a governmental system dominated
by a strong legislature. |
| February 8 |
Government spokesmen confirm press
reports that Armenia has rescheduled the $18 million Georgian debt
for Armenian electricity supplies. A severe energy shortage in Georgia
has led to a dramatic increase in the purchase of Armenian electricity
in recent months |
February
1 - 8 |
The Armenian government will submit
a new bill on mass media to substitute for the current law in force
since 1991. The existing law requires all media outlets to register
with the Justice Ministry. The new regulation would replace registration
with licensing, in order to simplify procedures for opening a media
outlet. The original registration requirement has been criticized
by western experts, who have said the 1991 law does not adequately
protect media freedom. There are some 1,500 media outlets now registered
in Armenia, but only about one-fifth of them are operational.
In another important development for Armenian media, two members of
the governing Republican Party (HHK) are planning to introduce a "Freedom
of Information" bill. Parliament members Viktor Dallakian and
Vardan Bostanjian said their proposal, modeled on the U.S. Freedom
of Information Act, will make it obligatory for government bodies
to make information more readily accessible to the public and media. |
| February 1-8 |
A 24-page booklet distributed at a
Swedish business and culture day held in Izmir, Turkey late last week
has led to Turkish condemnations of Swedish officials. According to
reports in the Turkish press, the booklet referred to the Armenian
Genocide and took a critical view of Turkey's treatment of Kurds.
Turkish officials and businessmen claimed that this criticism, "injured
their national feelings." The government-funded Swedish Institute
prepared the booklet as part of a series about Sweden's foreign relations
to mark the country's European Union presidency. The Swedish Ambassador
to Turkey Anne Dismorr, who was summoned by the Turkish Foreign Ministry
this week, defended the booklet's content and said the Turkish anger
was the result of a misunderstanding. The Swedish Parliament officially
recognized the Armenian Genocide in March of 2000. Its resolution
noted that "recognition of the Genocide of the Armenians is important
and necessary" and would be beneficial both for Turkey and the
whole Caucasus region. |
| February 1-8 |
Leaders of the Armenian government
and National Assembly appear to be divided over the planned abolition
of capital punishment. At the center of the debate is the fate of
the five perpetrators of the October 1999 terrorist attack against
the parliament, which left the then prime minister, speaker and six
other officials dead. The attackers are expected to be sentenced to
death with strong public sentiment for their sentences to be carried
out. As a result, the adoption of Armenia's new criminal code and
ratification of the European Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, both of which stipulate abolition
of the capital punishment, have been delayed. Officials from the Council
of Europe (CE), of which Armenia is a member, have repeatedly warned
that Armenia may risk suspension from that organization should any
death sentences be enacted. Armenia has maintained a moratorium on
capital punishment since independence, and President Robert Kocharian
pledged to continue to uphold it during his presidency.
Hovanes Hovanisian, who heads the National Assembly's delegation to
the CE, called on Armenians to find the "political strength"
to fulfill its obligations to the international community and move
towards abolition. However, leaders of the political opposition have
steadfastly refused to agree. The main governing party is itself divided
on the issue. A statement last week by Deputy Speaker Tigran Torosian,
that the Republican Party (HHK) is now inclined to agree to abolition,
was this week denied by Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, also of
HHK. |
| February 1-8 |
The Chairman of the Union of Armenians
of Russia (UAR) Ara Abrahamian attended the World Economic Forum in
New York last week, meeting with Armenian-American leaders there and
later in Los Angeles. In the last few years, the UAR has emerged as
the leading organization in the Russian-Armenian community. Abrahamian
discussed his organization's programs, which are helping to build
such traditional Diaspora institutions as Armenian churches and schools
throughout Russia. Additionally, UAR has established a think tank
led by a retired diplomat and international law expert Yuri Barsegov.
The Union also encourages repatriation to Armenia and has organized
several visits of Russian politicians, businessmen and media to Yerevan.
The Armenian community in Russia has increased significantly over
the last decade, primarily due to the influx of Armenians from Armenia
and other former Soviet republics, and is estimated to number over
two million people. Abrahamian discussed recurrent pressure by local
Cossacks on Armenians living in the North Caucasus, and said he recently
traveled there in an effort to contribute to a resolution of the problem.
Speaking in Los Angeles, Abrahamian touched on Armenia's relations
with Azerbaijan and Turkey. He said he was confident that a peaceful
settlement of the Karabagh conflict could be achieved, as long as
Nagorno Karabagh's independence from Azerbaijan is internationally
recognized. He also urged "drawing a civilized line" regarding
past relations between Armenians and Turks, expressing doubt that
the two nations could ever reach a compromise on the Armenian Genocide.
At the same time he said that Turkey should carry responsibility for
the Genocide in keeping with international law. |
| February 1-8 |
The Turkish press unleashed a barrage
of criticism against Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev's decision
to grant Russia a ten-year lease on a strategic military base in central
Azerbaijan. The headline in one nationalist paper ran simply: "We
are sold!" More mainstream publications with close links to the
government quoted anonymous officials as expressing "serious
dissatisfaction" over the deal. Continued control over the Gabala
base gives Russia a powerful intelligence capability to monitor the
skies over Turkey and the Caucasus, and station up to 1,500 military
personnel in Azerbaijan.
Turkey has provided millions of dollars worth of military assistance
to Azerbaijan, most notably through training. The Turkish military
had recently renovated an air base in Georgia, and Azeri media speculated
that Ankara would soon base its aircraft there, as well as in Azerbaijan.
During his visit to Russia last month, Aliyev declared Russian-Azeri
relations to be a "strategic partnership" and urged Moscow
to play the leading role in settlement of the Karabagh conflict and
Azerbaijan's maritime disputes with Iran and Turkmenistan. Also, Aliyev
reportedly sought assurances for Russian backing of his son Ilham,
who is believed to have been designated as presidential successor.
Aliyev is currently staying at a Cleveland, Ohio hospital, where in
May 1999 he underwent heart surgery. Spokesmen for the Azerbaijani
Embassy in Washington said he was due back in Baku this week. Meanwhile,
one Azerbaijani commentator suggested that Turkey intentionally sent
several of its senior envoys to Baku in Aliyev's absence to test the
attitude of Azerbaijani officials to Aliyev's recent moves. |
| February 1-8 |
Armenia's Ministry of National Security
issued a statement last week that it had detained an Armenian citizen
on charges of supplying "military, economic and political information"
to MIT, a Turkish intelligence service. According to press reports,
the suspect, 51-year old Murad Bojolian, headed the Turkey desk at
the Armenian Foreign Ministry in the early 1990s and later worked
in the office of the former President Levon Ter-Petrossian. Bojolian
was reportedly detained on the Armenian-Georgian border, while he
and his wife were on a bus bound for Istanbul. The former government
official had been engaged in the import of Turkish goods for sale
in Armenia and made at least two trips to Turkey last year.
Bojolian is regarded as an expert on Turkish affairs. Born in Anatolia,
he moved to Armenia with his parents in the 1960s. He subsequently
earned a PhD in Oriental Studies from the Academy of Sciences in Moscow.
In the past he also worked as a press commentator and, more recently,
as an occasional contributor for several Turkish media outlets. Speaking
to reporters this week, First Deputy Minister of National Security
Gor Grigorian said his agency had "ample evidence" to convict
Bojolian and that his trial will be public. |
| February 11-12 |
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian
travels to Tbilisi where he meets with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze,
Foreign Minister Irakli Menagrashvili, and other senior officials
to review plans to unify the countries' energy systems and to discuss
developments in the Armenian-populated region of Javakhetia. The Armenian
foreign minister states that the Kocharian government is aware of
an unnamed "third force" that is seeking to undermine relations between
the two countries in order to "create new dividing lines" in the region.
Oskanian adds that Yerevan does not agree with the objections of the
population in Javakhk over the planned closure of the Russian military
base there. Concluding the visit, Foreign Minister Oskanian says that
Armenia views its bilateral relations with Georgia as essential for
regional peace and security and dismisses any concerns over Georgia's
plans for a new trilateral security agreement with Turkey and Azerbaijan. |
| February 13 |
Speaking at Yerevan State University,
President Robert Kocharian dismisses any proposal that would return
Nagorno Karabagh to Azerbaijani rule, defining it as his "bottom line,"
and adds that "Nagorno Karabagh has never been part of Azerbaijan
and never will be." |
| February 13-14 |
Government delegations from Greece
and Iran meet with senior Armenian officials in Yerevan to review
plans for trilateral energy projects. The trilateral cooperation centers
on the planned construction of a natural gas pipeline from Iran to
Armenia. The Iran-Armenia route is planned according to the terms
of a December 2001 intergovernmental accord and is estimated to cost
$120 million, with both countries seeking international financing
for the plan. |
| February 8-15 |
President Robert Kocharian Wednesday
listed continued political stability, economic growth and social sector
reform as the three main concerns for his government this year. Kocharian
was speaking at a meeting with the Yerevan State University faculty.
Kocharian called the year 2001 "most successful" both for
his presidential term and since Armenia's independence. He said the
combination of government policies and a stable political environment
led to the largest economic expansion in over a decade. Kocharian
added that he will seek to minimize any impact of pre-election struggle
on the economy. He went on to say, however, that the process of constitutional
reform has already become a "hostage" to the unfolding election
campaign. Several major opposition parties refused to cooperate in
amending the presidential draft of constitutional reform backing instead
a different proposal that calls for an overhaul of the government
into a parliamentary system. Kocharian this week suggested that to
draw larger public participation, the constitutional referendum should
coincide with either local or general elections, scheduled this fall
and next spring respectively.
Addressing economic issues, Kocharian said the government will continue
to strive to expand export opportunities for Armenian companies and
to improve the highly unfavorable trade balance. He singled out the
money-losing energy sector and civil aviation, as two specific areas
which the government will attempt to turn around this year. Kocharian
also pledged to step up reconstruction works in the Shirak and Lori
provinces.
Turning to the social sector, Kocharian announced plans to overhaul
the existing healthcare and social benefits system. According to government
plans, all Armenian citizens will be assigned social security numbers
and their retirement benefits will depend on life-long contributions.
Kocharian also said that the government is looking into ways to improve
Armenia's college education by better preparing high school students. |
| February 8-15 |
Asked to identify the limit of compromises
in the Karabagh issue, President Robert Kocharian reiterated Armenia's
position this week that "Karabagh has never been part of [independent]
Azerbaijan and never will. That is the bottom line." He added
that a whole new generation has grown up in the post-Soviet reality
and that simply can not be ignored. Karabagh negotiations have been
deadlocked for close to a year, but international mediators are expected
to arrive in the region again next month.
Meeting in Stepanakert this week, NKR President Arkady Ghoukasian
and Armenia's Defense Minister Serge Sargsian stressed the importance
of strengthening the Armenian Armed Forces as the main guarantee of
the existing cease-fire. They both pledged to seek peaceful solutions
to the conflict. |
| February 8-15 |
Armenia's Foreign Ministry sent a
note of protest to its Israeli counterpart Friday over comments made
by its Ambassador to Armenia Rivka Cohen. During her visit to Armenia
last week, Cohen was quoted as refusing to "draw any parallels"
between the Holocaust and what she termed was an "Armenian tragedy."
The Armenian note said that while any crime against humanity has "unique"
consequences, any effort to distort or refute the reality of Armenian
Genocide was unacceptable. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson had said
earlier that the remarks were regrettable. "It is sad that the
political leadership of the nation which went through Holocaust continues
to adhere to such a position," said Dziunik Aghajanian. The Ministry's
note follows a strong public outcry over Cohen's remarks.
Several years ago, Turkey refused to accredit a respected Israeli
scholar Ehud Toledano as Israel's Ambassador to Turkey over his reference
to the Armenian Genocide. Last year, the Israeli Foreign Minister
Shimon Peres made remarks similar to those of Cohen, prompting a letter
signed by several dozen Jewish scholars and civic and religious leaders
reaffirming the Armenian Genocide. |
| February 8-15 |
Armenia's Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanian was in Tbilisi this week where he discussed bilateral relations
with the Georgian leadership and signed an agreement on restructuring
Georgia's debt to Armenia. The $16 million debt originally due by
2002 will now be repaid between 2004 and 2020 with three percent compounded
interest. In addition to this debt, Georgia owes Armenia $4 million
for electricity supplies which is to be repaid by the end of next
month.
Oskanian stressed the importance of opening the railroad through Abkhazia,
which Georgia closed following the conflict with the break-away region
in the early 1990s. Some Georgian officials suggested recently that
the line might reopen if Abkhaz authorities allow more ethnic Georgian
refugees to return to the region. Foreign Minister Oskanian also noted
that unlike Azerbaijan's claims on Karabagh, Georgia's case in Abkhazia
is strong and any settlement of that conflict should take into account
Georgia's territorial integrity.
Georgia's Foreign Minister Irakly Menagharishvili said that his country's
trilateral security cooperation with Turkey and Azerbaijan will "sooner
or later" include Armenia. Oskanian said that this cooperation
in its present format does not worry Armenia, and that he will continue
to follow its development with interest.
While in Tbilisi, Oskanian also visited with the local Armenian community. |
| February 8-15 |
Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi
told local media that several dozen mujaheddin connected to Osama
Bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization have fled from Afghanistan to Pankisi
Gorge in northeastern Georgia, and offered U.S. assistance in locating
them. For the past several years, the Pankisi area has been controlled
by rebel forces that had withdrawn from Chechnya, following the reintroduction
of Russian forces there. The Georgian government has only recently
conceded to long-held Russian claims that Pankisi had become a base
for Chechen rebels. But this week, chief of Georgia's intelligence
Avtandil Ioseliani said he had no knowledge of an Afghan presence
in the area. National Security Minister Valery Khaburzania in turn
implied that Azerbaijan's lax border control allows a steady stream
of illegal migrants to enter Georgia.
Last week, a British newspaper quoted an individual identified as
Bin Laden's cook as saying that his former boss has fled to Chechnya
via Iran and Azerbaijan. U.S. officials have recently criticized Iran
for allowing some Al Qaeda members on its territory, but have so far
refused to say if Bin Laden was among them. While Al Qaeda is known
to have strained relations with Iran, it has had a strong presence
in Chechnya and Azerbaijan and has launched terrorist operations from
both. Several Chechens and at least two Azeris captured by U.S. forces
in Afghanistan are known to be among Al Qaeda detainees held at the
U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay. |
| February 8-15 |
Representatives of Armenia's mass
media strongly criticized the new media law, which the government
has proposed to regulate their profession. Deputy Minister of Justice
Ashot Abovian contended that the proposal would be an improvement
over the old law and that it has been submitted to Council of Europe
(CE) experts. However, in a meeting with Abovian this week, editors
of nearly all media outlets urged the government not to submit the
proposal to the National Assembly but scrap it altogether. Opposition
parliament member Shavarsh Kocharian said the would-be bill violated
CE provisions. Editors of both pro-government and opposition newspapers
have said the proposal would make possible restoration of censorship.
Abovian denied the government had any such intention and pledged to
work with media representatives to eliminate all sticking points in
the proposal. |
| February 8-15 |
Armenia's population decreased by
over half a million people in the years between 1989 and 2000, according
to estimates released by the National Statistics Service this week.
Preliminary results from last year's census show that there are nearly
three and a half million citizens of Armenia, but roughly 300,000
of them have lived outside the country for at least one year or longer.
Many others are employed outside Armenia, mostly in Russia. The estimates
are based on about ten percent of randomly selected data. The final
results of the census will not be available until August. |
| February 15 |
The Foreign Ministry issues an official
diplomatic note protesting the Israeli Ambassador to Armenia's recent
statements dismissing the Armenian Genocide as "merely a tragedy"
that cannot be compared to the Holocaust. Ambassador Rivka Kohen's
comments are denounced in the note as "unacceptable" and characterized
as an attempt to belittle and deny the historical significance of
the Armenian Genocide of 1915. The Israeli Foreign Ministry issues
a reply four days later saying that although "Israel recognizes the
tragedy of the Armenians and the massacre of the Armenian people...
this should not be described as genocide." Ambassador Kohen also serves
as Israel's Ambassador to Georgia and is based in Tbilisi. |
| February 14-16 |
President Robert Kocharian had his
appendix removed Thursday, after being hospitalized for abdominal
pain. A presidential spokesperson said that the president's condition
following the thirty minute surgery was satisfactory and that he will
be back at work on Monday. |
| February 15-22 |
At the request of the Administration,
the Assembly's Board of Directors Chairman Van Krikorian, Board of
Directors Member Edgar Hagopian, Executive Director John Jamian and
Deputy Director Bryan Ardouny Thursday joined a small group of Armenian-American
leaders in a White House meeting with senior government officials.
The purpose of the meeting was to brief Armenian-American leaders
on foreign policy issues in the South Caucasus and particularly Armenia.
Other Armenian-American community leaders present were Garo Armenian
and Harut Sassounian of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Yervant
Azadian of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, Aram Hamparian of
the Armenian National Committee of America as well as Albert Boyajian,
Vasken Setrakian and Barry Zorthian.
Senior Advisor to the President Karl Rove, Special Assistant to the
President and Senior Director for European and Eurasian Affairs Dan
Fried, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Lynn Pascoe and National
Security Council Director for the Aegean, Caucasus, and Central Asia
Matt Bryza briefed the group. The Administration officials reviewed
post September 11th circumstances and other issues impacting U.S.
foreign policy. Among the issues discussed were Turkish-Armenian relations
including the issue of the Armenian Genocide, the Nagorno Karabagh
peace process and U.S. military assistance to Armenia. Deputy Associate
Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison J.D. Estes was
also present.
"On behalf of the Assembly, we thank Karl Rove and the Administration
of President Bush for hosting this very important meeting. We would
also like to thank the Embassy of Armenia and Ambassador Arman Kirakossian
as well as Barry Zorthian for the roles they played in making this
happen," said Assembly Executive Director John Jamian. "Armenian-American
leaders are determined to strengthen the U.S.-Armenia and U.S.-Nagorno
Karabagh relationship so we are pleased at the Administration's initiative
in maintaining dialogue with the community." |
| February 15-22 |
A senior official from Armenia's Defense
Ministry announced late last week that an element of its newly-formed
peacekeeping battalion will participate in NATO-led field exercises
in Georgia this June. General Mikael Melkonian was speaking at a three-day
conference held in conjunction with the NATO Partnership for Peace
(PfP) program in Yerevan. He also confirmed that Armenia will host
similar exercises next year.
Military and civilian officials from fourteen NATO and PfP countries
attended the conference, including representatives of NATO's Allied
Command Europe, the U.S. European Command and military officers from
Turkey. Azerbaijani representatives had earlier confirmed their participation,
but did not attend. Lt. Col. Naim Babuoglu of Turkey said his country
"will at least send observers" to next year's exercises
in Armenia, contradicting earlier reports by Azerbaijani media that
Turkey would not participate.
Professor Nikolay Hovanesian, who co-chairs the Armenian component
of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA), a NATO-affiliated non-government
organization, noted that Turkish participation is a reflection of
the new reality that has emerged since the September 11th attacks
on the United States. "After that event both Turkey and Armenia
found themselves in one anti-terrorist coalition, established and
led by the United States," said Professor Hovanesian. "It
is possible that this circumstance will work in favor of improved
inter-state relations between Armenia and Turkey." Turkey continues
to refuse to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia and lift
its nine-year-old blockade, while siding with Azerbaijan in the Karabagh
conflict.
Both the conference and field peacekeeping exercises are directed
by NATO's Joint Headquarters Southeast, located in Izmir, Turkey.
According to Command's structure it is headed by a Turkish four-star
general, with U.S. and Greek generals serving as deputy commander
and chief of staff. The Greek component rejoined the Turkey-based
Command in 1999 reflecting a thaw in relations between the two countries.
As one of Armenia's main military partners, Greece assisted in the
formation of its peacekeeping battalion. |
| February 15-22 |
Turkey's difficult relations with
the European Union (EU) appear to be entering yet another crisis period
following the hacking and publication of electronic correspondence
of the EU Ambassador in Turkey Karen Fogg. Unhappy with the content
of Fogg's e-mails, unnamed Turkish Foreign Ministry officials have
already urged her to leave Ankara. The EU in turn sent a warning to
Turkey that unless it ensures the security of its diplomatic representatives,
EU "will have to take measures for security" of its own.
The scandal came to a fore after a controversial leftist politician
Dogu Perincek made public hundreds of Fogg's e-mails, which he said
he received from an unnamed government source. The powerful General
Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces and the National Intelligence Organization
(MIT) have both denied their role in the hacking. Fogg's e-mails to
her contacts in Europe and inside Turkey contained criticism of Ankara's
compliance with the accession criteria for joining the EU and her
suggestions on how to change Turkey's attitude towards Cyprus, Kurds
and "in tackling its history." The EU bodies have repeatedly
urged Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide, which Ankara continues
to deny. Perincek and leaders of several other Turkish organizations
accused Fogg of "forming a network to destroy Turkey" and
called on the government to deport the EU Ambassador.
Turkish media speculation focused on the so-called "shadow state,"
which is a reference to an alliance of government officials, extreme
nationalists and organized crime groups opposed to Turkey's EU membership,
as a force behind the scandal. One editor called them "the circles
who have dominated this country, preventing reforms, performing character
assassinations, and manipulating events so that the current system
of repression, corruption and plunder continues." Fogg has applied
to the Turkish Foreign Ministry to take legal action to prosecute
those who hacked her e-mail account. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem called
the hacking an "ugly" incident, adding that a criminal case
has been opened. But Turkey's Interior Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen
cited the lack of a legal framework in Turkey for Internet crimes. |
| February 15-22 |
Mediators from the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said this week they will
resume their shuttle diplomacy next month, bringing "absolutely
new proposals" in an effort to find a settlement in the Karabagh
conflict. Meanwhile, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will establish
a special working group to facilitate the Karabagh process. The group
will organize parliamentary and public contacts between Armenians
and Azerbaijanis and will be led by the Assembly's Chairman Adrian
Severin. It will work in coordination with OSCE Minsk Group, the main
negotiations vehicle in the Karabagh conflict since 1992.
Negotiations over Karabagh have been deadlocked since last spring,
when Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev backtracked on agreements
reached with President Robert Kocharian. Aliyev is now in Cleveland,
OH recuperating from prostate surgery and resumption of negotiations
depends on his recovery.
Also this week, senior Armenian officials reiterated Armenia's position
on settlement. In a newspaper interview Defense Minister Serge Sargsian
said that "unless Nagorno Karabagh is independent or part of
Armenia, its security will be threatened." Both he and Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian dismissed media reports that any part of
Armenian territory, and specifically the key district of Meghri, could
be bargained away as part of negotiations. "This issue is closed,"
said Sargsian, adding that it is only floated for purposes of political
speculation. |
| February 15-22 |
Georgia's Foreign Minister Irakli
Menagharishvili accused unnamed persons and forces inside and outside
of Georgia of trying to whip up tensions in the Armenian-populated
province of Javakheti. He also praised Armenia's attitude towards
that region. The Foreign Minister's statement came after leaders of
two organizations of Javakhk Armenians called for autonomy for their
region, within a Georgian federal state. President Eduard Shevardnadze
also raised the issue during this week's meeting of Georgia's National
Security Council. An ethnic Armenian member of the Georgian parliament
Van Baibourt dismissed the outcry, saying similar statements have
been made by representatives of other Georgian provinces, but had
not caused such a reaction. He blamed political groups in Tbilisi
who, he says, are trying to worsen the situation in Javakheti. A senior
parliament member Giorgi Baramidze, who chairs the committee on defense
and security, also denied there was an "acute problem in Javakheti."
Stepan Hakobian of the Javakhk organization dismissed arguments that
his organization's calls reflected separatism. He said that self-government
can help Javakheti resolve its economic problems and as a result the
Georgian state as a whole would benefit. President Shevardnadze pledged
to pay "special attention" to Javakheti's needs during the
recent visit to the area by Rolf Ekeus, OSCE's High Commissioner on
National Minorities. |
| February 15-22 |
The former bodyguard of President
Robert Kocharian, Aghamal Harutiunian, has been handed a suspended
sentence for "involuntary manslaughter" in the death of
Poghos Poghosian last September. Poghosian was found dead at a popular
Yerevan caf after his altercation with the bodyguard. Kocharian suspended
Harutiunian and several other bodyguards soon after the incident.
Local and foreign human rights activists harshly criticized the sentence
as too light and alleged a government cover-up. Written evidence from
a British national, who claimed to have witnessed several bodyguards
beating Poghosian, was rejected by the judge. Poghosian's family is
expected to appeal. |
| February 21-22 |
A Yerevan district court concludes
its trial of presidential bodyguard Aghamal Harutiunian for the death
of Poghos Poghosian and issues a verdict finding him guilty of manslaughter.
The court then issues him a one-year suspended sentence, allowing
the defendant to go free the same day. The sentence leads to widespread
public outrage, with pro-government Unity parliamentary bloc leader
Galust Sahakian stating that "it is hard to understand" how such a
verdict can be reached in a murder case. The Armenian Revolutionary
Federation's (ARF) parliamentary faction leader Aghvan Vartanian announces
that "we are not pleased with the trial or the sentence." The 43-year
old Poghosian was an active member of the ARF and a longtime community
leader in the Armenian- populated Javakhk region of southern Georgian.
In an apparent effort to distance himself from the public outcry,
President Kocharian announces a few days later that he plans on dismissing
Harutiunian from the presidential security detail. |
| February 27 |
Armenian Parliamentarian Armen Rustoumian
calls on Georgia to provide autonomy for the Armenian-populated southern
Georgia region of Javakhetia. The deputy specifically calls for a
formal designation of Javakhetia as "an autonomous self-governing
unit...within the framework of the Georgian constitution," highlighting
the need for such a move to better address the severe socio-economic
crisis and poor living conditions affecting the region. Adding that
his call for autonomy should not be misinterpreted as "separatism,"
Rustoumian stresses that such a step would only strengthen Armenian-Georgian
relations, noting that Armenia's recent rescheduling of Georgian debt
affirms Armenia's good "neighborly intentions." |
| February 27 |
Armenian Central Bank Chairman Tigran
Sarkisian approves the country's first-ever merger of two commercial
banks. The Central Bank also pledges $5 million in loans to ease the
merger and promote the government's overall policy of banking sector
consolidation. The merger of the partially state-owned ArdshinBank,
the second largest Armenian banking institution, and the smaller Adana
bank is linked to a group of Russian investors seeking to buy the
resulting entity. The ArdshinBank which currently has more than 23.5
billion ($42 million) in net assets, has achieved impressive growth
since its near bankruptcy in 1997, but continues to suffer from fraud
in many of its 29 branches. The merger would leave 28 commercial banks
in operation, although most fail to meet normal industry standards
of size and capitalization. |
| February 27 |
In a meeting with the French, Russian,
and U.S. co- chairmen of the OSCE's Minsk Group, President Kocharian
discusses the stalled mediation effort seeking to resolve the Nagorno
Karabagh conflict. In comments after the 90-minute meeting, Kocharian
admits that he can not announce any "concrete results," but adds that
"the whole process of negotiations has reached a point where we have
a much better idea of existing problems." The meeting, held in Vienna
at the end of the Armenian leader's state visit to Austria, follows
a similar meeting in New York with the Azerbaijani president earlier
this month. The OSCE Minsk Group co- chairmen are scheduled to meet
with regional leaders during a planned visit next month and are expected
to present a newly last year's high-level talks in Paris and
Key West, Florida. |
| February 28 |
A five-member senior U.S. military
team arrives in Yerevan from Georgia to meet with officials of the
Armenian Defense Ministry to discuss the use of $4.3 million in recent
U.S. military assistance and brief them on their recent visit to Georgia.
Detailed plans for the utilization of the U.S. military aid are to
be finalized during the Armenian defense minister's upcoming visit
to Washington, set for March 2002. An Armenian Defense Ministry official
also reveals that the U.S. delegation provided an outline of U.S.
plans for bolstering Georgian internal security within a regional
context aimed to enhancing security and stability in the Transcaucasus.
The U.S. team held similar meetings with Azerbaijani officials in
Baku, as well as with Georgian officials prior to their arrival in
Armenia. |
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