|
|
|
| May 3 |
Two summit meetings held in Turkey
and Turkmenistan in the last two weeks exemplified the all too familiar
decade-long tension among the countries located between the Black
and Caspian Seas. Meeting in the Black Sea town of Trabzon, the Presidents
of Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan discussed ways to protect the planned
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. President Ahmet Sezer also urged
his counterparts to clamp down on Kurdish groups, which have for years
been struggling for Kurdish autonomy within Turkey and reportedly
have some support in both Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Noting the glaring absence of Armenia and other regional players at
the meeting, even Turkish commentators described the summit as "deficient."
The press commented that such trilateral security cooperation "can
create new anxieties" which are unlikely to serve regional peace and
stability. The Armenian Government has been similarly weary of growing
Turkish influence in the Caucasus, in the absence of normalization
in bilateral relations. Turkey has lately increased its military and
security assistance to Georgia and, especially, Azerbaijan.
The Trabzon summit followed another high-level meeting between leaders
of the five Caspian states. Meeting in Ashghabad, the Presidents of
Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan again failed
to agree on how to divide the waters and seabed of the Caspian. Turkmenistan
disputes Azerbaijan's de-facto control of several offshore oil-fields
in the central part of the Caspian. The BP-led Azerbaijan International
Oil Consortium (AIOC) is developing two of these fields. Last year,
Iran protested to Azerbaijan over plans to develop another set of
fields, this time in the southern section of the sea. All three countries
have threatened to use force to protect what they believe belongs
to them.
Turkmen President Saparmurad Niyazov decried AIOC's development of
oilfields, which his country claims is theirs. Condemning Azerbaijan's
refusal to compromise on the issue he warned that "the Caspian reeks
of blood." The disputed fields are of particular importance since
they are the only known source of oil for the projected pipeline from
Azerbaijan to Turkey. At least eight other international consortia,
which in recent years prospected for oil off the shore of Azerbaijan,
have failed to find commercial hydrocarbon reserves. Total Caspian
oil reserves are estimated at between two and five percent of the
world's total, with most of them controlled by Kazakhstan. |
| May 3 |
An organization that has for two decades
monitored the condition of the Armenian architectural heritage in
present-day Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Turkey reported last week
a drastic difference in their condition and maintanance. Dr. Armen
Hakhnazarian, Chairman and Founder of the Germany-based Research on
Armenian Architecture (RAA), says Iran's government has taken great
efforts to restore two major Armenian monasteries located in the northwest
of that country. However, the condition of Armenian monuments in Turkey
and Azerbaijan is said to be especially bleak. Out of 2,200 churches
and monasteries registered in the Ottoman Empire in 1912, 2,150 were
plundered or burnt during the Genocide. A 1974 UNESCO survey found
that there still were 913 churches and monasteries left in Turkey.
Since then, 464 have been completely destroyed, 252 ruined, and the
remaining 197 in need of extensive restoration work. The Turkish Government
ignored calls by Armenia and the international community to help salvage
the remaining monuments and has thrown up legal obstacles to hinder
their renovation.
The Azerbaijani Government has attempted to completely erase all traces
of the Armenian culture from the territory it controls. Since 1988
twenty-one Armenian churches were destroyed in Azerbaijan and occupied
parts of Nagorno Karabagh. In 1998, Azerbaijanis bulldozed and removed
approximately a third of the 2,700 khachkars (Armenian tombstones)
still remaining at a medieval cemetery in Nakhichevan. Local authorities
stopped the destruction only after eyewitnesses to the incident, watching
from Iranian territory, alerted UNESCO and other organizations. The
cash-strapped Georgian Government has recently begun to reconstruct
a few of the Armenian monuments in Tbilisi, the majority of which
remain in a dilapidated state. |
| May 3 |
Leaders of the largest organization
of Armenian volunteers of the Karabagh war this week called on its
members to stay out of political squabbles and contribute to the country's
stability instead. Over 500 members of the 8,200-strong Yerkrapah
(Country Defenders) Union of Volunteers this week held its first congress
since 1999. They appeared to have overcome key differences between
supporters and opponents of President Robert Kocharian and reelected
General Manvel Grigorian as their Chairman. Defense Ministers of Armenia
and Nagorno Karabagh, Serge Sargsian and General Seyran Ohanian praised
Yerkrapah's contribution to the Karabagh war effort and called on
the volunteers to remain vigilant because of continuing military threats
by Azerbaijan. The organization, created in the mid-1990s by the late
Prime Minister and earlier Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsian, has played
an important role in Armenia's politics. The group brought together
many thousands of those who volunteered to fight in defense of Armenia
and Nagorno Karabagh in 1988-94. |
| May 3 |
Armenia has succeeded in substantially
reducing theft in its energy distribution networks that last year
accounted for as much as $60 million in losses, Energy Minister Armen
Movsisian said this week. Movsisian, who was appointed late last year,
said the government succeeded in improving electricity bill collections
and is making progress in streamlining the sector. He pledged that
annual losses would decrease by two-thirds this year. |
| May 3 |
Armenia's main TV channel, the Armenian
Public Television, announced this week it has begun satellite broadcasts
over the entire United States and Canada starting May 1. Until now
the broadcasts were limited to the U.S. West Coast. According to the
company, it now broadcasts for seventeen hours via Telstar-5 satellite
and some cable channels; 24-hour daily broadcast is expected by May
20. |
| May 3-10 |
Responding to news from Washington
this week that the U.S. State Department plans to impose sanctions
on several Armenian, Chinese and Moldavian companies for violating
the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000, an Armenian Foreign Ministry
spokesperson said that his government will continue active consultations
with the United States on ways to prevent proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said
Thursday that the two-year penalties "are being imposed on entities,
as provided in the Iran Nonproliferation Act for the transfer to Iran
of equipment and technology listed on multilateral export control
lists." However, he praised the Armenian government for its efforts
in nonproliferation and emphasized that the penalties do not extend
to the Armenian government. The two countries signed a nonproliferation
agreement in July 2000. The State Department has so far not identified
the number or identity of "entities" in question. |
| May 3-10 |
President Robert Kocharian led a delegation
of Armenian officials to three Latin American countries this week,
stopping in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. At his first stop in Argentina,
Kocharian and President Eduardo Duhalde signed four agreements on
bilateral cooperation in culture, tourism, communication and seismic
protection. President Kocharian later addressed the Council of International
Relations of Argentina, then met with members of the Armenian community
and visited a church in Buenos Aires.
In Montevideo, Uruguay, President Kocharian signed bilateral agreements
with Uruguay President Jorge Batlle Ibanez, relating to reciprocal
investments, trade and economy, agriculture and health. The Armenian
president also met with senior officials of the Supreme Court, parliament
and Montevideo government, as well as the local Armenian community,
and laid a wreath at the monument in Montevideo's Armenia Square.
Concluding his Latin American tour in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Kocharian
and Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso signed a joint statement
reiterating their commitment to participate actively in the fight
against terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking and money laundering.
They expressed concern over the Middle East conflict and their hopes
for a peaceful settlement. They also declared their intent to expand
commercial ties between Brazil and Armenia, and Brazil indicated that
it supports Armenian admission to the World Trade Organization. |
| May 3-10 |
Armenia's National Assembly has moved
to introduce changes to the existing electoral law that changes the
structure and composition of the country's electoral commissions.*
Existing commissions are composed of three government appointees,
five representatives of the factions elected to Parliament in 1995
and delegates of five parties and blocs that collected the most signatures
prior to 1999 elections. The current proposal would transfer the right
of appointment from the government to the president, while representatives
of parties and blocs elected to parliament will make up the rest of
the commission membership. These changes, if made, will take effect
after the next parliamentary election, scheduled to take place before
next April.
Opposition parliamentarians last week tried to scuttle the debate
on electoral law, but in an indication of his support, President Robert
Kocharian this week called a special parliamentary session to discuss
this and other pending legislation. Kocharian's opponents suggested
that he may want to alter the commissions' composition in his favor
and then dissolve the National Assembly before August, when his constitutional
right to do so expires. Presidential elections, expected next February,
would then take place after the parliamentary poll and with new electoral
commissions. This scenario would also provide for more time between
the two polls.
Meanwhile, the pro-government Country of Law Party (OYeK) wants to
introduce tough penalties for attempts to falsify elections, including
prison sentences of up to seven years. OYeK leader and Parliament
member Artur Baghdasarian said his party's amendment to the electoral
code would also call for a regular and timely review of voters' lists.
(Incorrectly tabulated lists caused much confusion during recent elections.)
Artak Sahradian, Chairman of the Central Election Commission, which
conducts the elections, expressed support for the proposals. |
| May 9 |
Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh marked
a double holiday this Thursday, May 9: the Allied victory over Nazi
Germany in 1945 and the tenth anniversary of Shushi's liberation,
a turning point in the Karabagh war. Over 600,000 citizens of Armenia
and Nagorno Karabagh (out of a total population of some two million
people at the time) and many thousands of Diaspora Armenians served
in the Allied armed forces in the World War II.
Thousands came to Yerevan's Victory Park this week to pay their respect
to those who gave their lives in the war. Soviet casualties, both
military and civilian, are estimated at twenty-five million. Although
no fighting took place on Armenian territory, some 300,000 Armenians
died in combat. Scores of Armenians distinguished themselves as army,
air force and navy commanders and fighters, and Armenian units of
the Soviet Army helped stop the Nazi advance in the Caucasus and were
among the first to reach Berlin. More than 15,000 WW II veterans remain
in Armenia today. Since 1992, May 9 has also come to signify the Armenian
military victory in Karabagh. For nine months prior to that date,
Karabagh's capital Stepanakert was under continuous missile and artillery
bombardment from Azerbaijani-controlled Shushi. A natural fortress
located on a steep hill just outside Stepanakert, Shushi fell in twenty-four
hours. The night before the attack, a volunteer unit led by Ashot
Ghulian climbed the hill undetected by the enemy and its surprise
attack in the morning was critical to sealing a rapid victory. Ghulian,
who died in combat later that year, is one of the few to be granted
a title of Hero of Artsakh.
General Arkady Ter-Tatevosian, the chief of staff of the Karabagh
self-defense forces at the time, was in charge of the operation code-named
"Wedding in the Mountains." In an interview last year he credited
the operation's success to the high morale of the soldiers under his
command. Shortly after the victory in Shushi, Karabagh forces opened
a land corridor to Armenia, which ensured the subsequent defense of
Artsakh. |
| May 3-10 |
The Turkish government announced again
this week that it will cut off all military purchases from France
unless "necessary measures are taken to protect Turkey's image" in
that country. Turkey made a similar threat against France just over
year ago after its Senate and National Assembly passed a bill on recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, which was then signed into law by President
Jacques Chirac. Nevertheless, military ties between the two NATO countries
resumed shortly thereafter.
This time, official Ankara is upset over inclusion of a picture of
the Turkish Armed Forces Chief General Husseyin Kivrikoglu in a floor
mural protesting oppression of media freedom. The mural, prepared
by an international non-government organization, Reporters Without
Borders, targets some thirty-eight reported press offenders around
the world. It has been placed on the floor of a Paris metro station.
Turkish military leaders have demanded an immediate end to the "insulting
attitude towards General Kivrikoglu."
Turkey is also unhappy with the two French government appointees who
are known to be supporters of the Genocide recognition. Renaud Donnedieu
and Patrick Devedjian will serve in the new French Cabinet formed
following Chirac's re-election as ministers in charge of the European
Union and local government affairs, respectively. |
| May 3-10 |
For the first time since the fall
of Azerbaijan's former President, the late Abulfez Elchibey, the Azerbaijani
leaders backed by Turkish nationalists appeared in recent months to
be reviving what amounts to territorial claims over parts of north-western
Iran, an area largely populated by Turkic-speaking, but ethnically
Iranian Azeris. While President Heydar Aliyev has publicly distanced
himself from any such demands, his New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) has
recently published textbooks, articles and maps showing parts of Iran
as Azerbaijani territory. The two countries continue to be at odds
over maritime borders in the Caspian Sea.
For the last two months, the YAP has also hosted an Iranian dissident
Dr. Mahmudali Chohragani, who left Iran last December, ostensibly
for medical treatment in Sweden. In Azerbaijan, Chohragani has been
touted as a leader of the "South Azerbaijan National Liberation
Movement." During one of his numerous public appearances in Baku,
the former Tebriz University professor, said that "brave nations
decide their borders for themselves" and called for international
assistance to achieve "concrete results" by 2005. He also
endorsed Azerbaijan's claim over Karabagh as a "matter of honor
for all Azeris."
Chohragani then proceeded to Turkey on invitation from its fascist
Grey Wolves organization. There he explained that he "launched
the resistance" against the Iranian government in 1995 after
his unsuccessful bid for a seat in that country's Parliament. Referring
to latent pan-Turkic designs, Chohragani described the "South
Azerbaijani issue" as having a strategic importance for the "Turkish
world" and, in the words of a Turkish journalist, a "factor [that
can] destabilize Iran. Chohragani is also expected to visit the United
States. |
| May 10-17 |
Senior officials from Armenia and
Turkey this week resumed the on-again and off-again dialogue on ways
to improve bilateral relations. Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met
with his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem during the Euro-Atlantic Partnership
Council (EAPC) session in Reykjavik, Iceland. At the insistence of
the Turkish side, the bilateral meeting was followed by an expanded
dialogue with participation of the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayat
Guliyev. The officials pledged to continue discussions in the near
future.
Establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey has
long been hampered by Ankara, which conditions them on Armenian concessions
over Nagorno Karabagh and Genocide recognition. Since 1993, Turkey,
together with Azerbaijan, has blockaded Armenia. The latest indications
that Turkey may reconsider this policy have alarmed Azerbaijan, which
continues to rely on the blockade as its primary leverage in the Karabagh
conflict. For its part, Armenia has repeatedly expressed readiness
to establish relations without preconditions.
Despite some expectations, particularly on the part of Turkish media,
there was no breakthrough at the meeting. Press reports last week
said that Karen Mirzoyan, a diplomat responsible for Middle East Affairs
at the Armenian Foreign Ministry, was in Ankara reportedly to work
on a statement on the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border. It was
reported that this statement would later be announced in Reykjavik.
But later reports indicated that Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Devlet
Bahceli failed to convince Azerbaijani leaders in talks last week
to allow Turkey some leeway in its Armenian policy. |
| May 10-17 |
Armenia will become an associated
member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) in the near future,
the chairman of the body Rafael Estrella announced this week. The
accession requires a vote by a two-third majority of the NATO PA.
Armenia's as well as Azerbaijan's membership will be discussed at
the next NATO PA session to be held in Bulgaria later this month.
Currently, both countries have observer status in the Assembly. Estrella
made the announcement during his three-day visit to Armenia this week.
He also underscored the importance of settling conflicts in the South
Caucasus as a necessary component for stability throughout Europe
and opening communications between the countries in the region. Estrella
noted that while NATO is not directly involved in conflict resolution
in the Caucasus, organizations such as the PA can contribute to the
formation of a favorable environment. He also did not rule out the
possibility of countries in the South Caucasus joining NATO. During
his meeting with Estrella, President Robert Kocharian and other senior
Armenian officials repeated Armenia's desire to expand relations with
NATO. Armenia has already been active in NATO's Partnership for Peace
(PfP) and scientific programs. This June, Armenian forces will go
to Georgia to take part in peace-keeping exercises there. Armenia
is expected to host similar activities next year. Kocharian viewed
the stepped up cooperation through NATO PA to be a significant step
as Armenia continues its European integration.
Estrella, who is a veteran member of the Spanish Parliament, also
paid a visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial. Noting "the horrors,
destruction and deliberate annihilation" of Armenians, Estrella
stated his view that they were a "crime against humanity"
and constituted "Genocide." He noted the importance of preserving
the memory of the Genocide as a "constant lesson" to preempt
similar crimes in the future. |
| May 10-17 |
The U.S. State Department identified
an Armenian vitamin-making company and its owner as the entities sanctioned
last week under the Iran Non-Proliferation Act of 2000, together with
Chinese and Moldovan firms. The Act directs the U.S. Government to
deny contracts and assistance to companies suspected in the sale of
components or dual-use items which can contribute to Iran's reported
efforts to create weapons of mass destruction. The Armenian company,
Charentsavan-based "Lizin," has specialized in the production of lysine,
a dietary supplement used largely in cattle-growing in Armenia. It
is also reported to increase human resistance to radiation. According
to official statistics, Armenia does not export the substance to Iran.
Armenian officials appeared unaware earlier this week as to how exactly
the private company violated the act, but pledged to investigate the
issue and affirmed their commitment to nonproliferation cooperation
with the U.S. A State Department spokesman Richard Boucher again this
week expressed U.S. appreciation for the Armenian Government's support
and emphasized that only a private entity is involved. |
| May 10-17 |
Deputy Foreign Ministers from Armenia
and Azerbaijan, Tatoul Margarian and Araz Azimov, met near Prague,
Czech Republic for three days this week to discuss the Karabagh conflict.
They were joined by French, Russian and U.S. diplomats who acted as
joint mediators in the talks sponsored by the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The new negotiating format, with
both Margarian and Azimov working as presidential envoys to the talks,
is an effort to keep the Karabagh peace process alive as Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabagh all enter a pre-election period. The
envoys and mediators issued a statement describing their discussions
as "useful" and said they will continue meeting, but they also said
that no significant progress was registered. Meanwhile, international
efforts to resume negotiations in full format, with participation
of representatives from the Nagorno Karabagh Republic have failed
due to Azerbaijan's intransigence on that issue. |
| May 10-17 |
Recent public opinion polls conducted
in Armenia and Azerbaijan suggest that people in both countries oppose
a renewed conflict. In spite of continuing threats by Azerbaijani
leaders to seek a military solution to the Karabagh conflict and war
propaganda in the Azerbaijani media, over sixty percent of Azerbaijanis
said they believed in a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Armenians
appeared more skeptical, with over forty percent saying that no settlement
is on the horizon and that the current status quo will continue. At
the same time, an overwhelming majority in Armenia supports Karabagh's
de-jure separation from Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan, many insist on
including Karabagh within Azerbaijani borders.
Meanwhile, efforts to bridge the gaps between the two nations continued
via popular diplomacy. Defying their government, Azerbaijani human
rights activists again visited Nagorno Karabagh to participate in
a conference that discussed the impact of last year's terrorist attacks
on the United States. President Heydar Aliyev's son and reported successor,
said that he is opposed to exchange visits by Armenians and Azerbaijanis.
"We cannot avoid holding official negotiations for the Karabagh settlement,
but any other contacts with Armenians are excessive." |
| May 10-17 |
Political parties and groups campaigning
against President Robert Kocharian this week again failed to garner
substantial political backing for impeachment hearings in Parliament.
The People's (HZhK) and Republic (HK) parties, as well as Socialist
Armenia (SHM) and National Democratic (AZhM) Unions, have been at
the core of the effort that has been described as a "psychological
attack" against the President who is seeking reelection in 2003. The
opposition groups accuse Kocharian of constitutional violations, particularly
certain government appointments and of pressuring courts. The President
and his supporters have dismissed the charges as unsubstantiated and
politically motivated. HZhK's Stepan Demirchian and AZhM's Vazgen
Manukian are viewed as Kocharian's likely challengers in 2003. Another
top contender, Artashes Geghamian of the National Accord Party, has
also called for Kocharian's replacement, but has refused to participate
in joint efforts of the opposition.
Levon Zurabian, a spokesman for Armenia's former President Levon Ter-Petrosian,
criticized the opposition efforts as divisive and therefore ineffective.
He claimed that Kocharian could easily use the divisions within the
opposition to win reelection without falsification. Zurabian also
contended that a potential Ter-Petrosian bid for the presidency would
be the "most dangerous scenario" for Kocharian. But he added that
the ex-President would run only if "asked [to do so] by the people,"
a pre-condition Ter-Petrosian set in his resignation speech in 1998. |
| May 10-17 |
Members of the Azerbaijani nationalist
opposition have renewed their allegations that circles loyal to President
Heydar Aliyev maintain links with anti-Turkish Kurdish organizations.
The allegations are rooted primarily in a widespread belief that Aliyev
and many of his confidants are of ethnic Kurdish origin. Popular Front
leader Ali Kerimov claimed this week that the Azerbaijani Government
included members of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), a group outlawed
in Turkey. Aliyev, who celebrated his 79th birthday last Friday, has
in turn, repeatedly pledged his loyalty to Turkish causes. |
| May 17-31 |
More than three thousand delegates
from Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and forty-five Diaspora communities
around the world met in Yerevan this week and confirmed their strong
support for Nagorno Karabakh's self-determination and international
affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. They also condemned international
terrorism as a threat to all humanity. The Armenian Government hosted
the second Armenia-Diaspora Conference, aiming to make it a regular
platform for all Armenians to participate in determining national
priorities and preparing concrete programs. The first conference was
held in September 1999. The next one will take place no later than
2005.
The two-day meeting was divided into four thematic sessions focusing
on a) organizational and structural issues; b) information and media;
c) economic and social development; and d) education, culture and
science. The first session debated the creation of a pan-national
coordinating body and reached a general consensus to establish a "National
Council" to coordinate relations between Armenia and the Diaspora.
Participants in the information and media session agreed to create
mechanisms for better information sharing via Internet and other means.
Participants in the third session created the Armenian Trade Network
to facilitate investments in and exports from Armenia and NKR. Among
other measures proposed at the session were a program to facilitate
immigration to Armenia and NKR, a simplified visa regime for Diaspora
Armenians and free trade zones.
While details of these proposals have yet to be worked out, the more
concrete projects advanced by the fourth session were endorsed by
the entire conference. Proposals included: computerization of all
schools in Armenia and Artsakh by 2005; assistance programs for Armenian
college students around the world; a Genocide Studies Center in Yerevan;
a commission to examine the state of Armenian studies; an on-line
Armenian Studies "University;" a regional medical center in Yerevan;
and a Diaspora museum in Armenia.
The conference was accompanied by a "Made in Armenia" exhibition,
which introduced Diaspora participants to Armenian companies and their
export-ready products. A Pan-Armenian youth center in Yerevan was
also inaugurated. On May 28 the conference concluded with celebrations
marking the anniversary of the Armenian victory over Turkish forces
at Sardarabad in 1918. |
| May 17-31 |
President George W. Bush and his Russian
counterpart Vladimir Putin issued a joint declaration last week "strongly
encouraging the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia to exhibit flexibility
and a constructive approach to resolving the conflict concerning Nagorno
Karabakh." The declaration came at the end of a high-level summit
in Moscow in which Bush and Putin focused on nuclear disarmament and
counter-terrorism efforts. They also discussed the unresolved conflicts
in the former Soviet Union and particularly the joint efforts by Russia
and the U.S., which together with France, have been the lead mediators
in the Karabakh peace process since 1997.
Meanwhile, both Presidents Robert Kocharian and Heydar Aliyev confirmed
their readiness to hold a new meeting next month. The most recent
venue where the two Presidents had an opportunity to talk was the
summit of ex-Soviet states last November. They were not expected to
meet again until a similar summit in October.
Speaking in Baku this week Aliyev "did not rule out" that mediators
may suggest "new proposals" for settling the Karabakh conflict. In
the past four years, Azerbaijan has repeatedly refused mediators'
proposals, branding them "pro-Armenian," but Aliyev is continuing
to make efforts to break out of this virtual diplomatic isolation,
hoping for a better deal. Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said this
week that no proposals surfaced at the most recent talks on the issue
between presidential envoys earlier this month. Both Kocharian and
Nagorno Karabakh's President Arkady Ghoukasian confirmed this week
that a comprehensive settlement would require either Karabakh's independence
or its reunification with Armenia.
Most observers remained pessimistic, however, that any significant
headway in the process was possible until after the presidential elections
in Nagorno Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan scheduled for 2002 and
2003. |
| May 17-31 |
The Union of Armenians of Russia (UAR)
this week pledged $1.6 million in assistance to Armenia and NKR. Its
leaders are also working with federal and local Russian officials
to safeguard the Armenian community in Krasnodar and to improve bilateral
Russian-Armenian economic ties. UAR was established only a year and
a half ago and it represents the largest Armenian community in the
Diaspora, estimated to number over two million people. UAR Chairman
Ara Abrahamian said the organization will contribute $1 million to
earthquake-damaged areas of northern Armenia and $600,000 for economic
and security needs in Artsakh. Abrahamian said the UAR's two other
projects - construction of a school in Vayotsdzor province and a soup
kitchen in Yerevan - were nearing completion. It will also continue
to organize visits to Armenia by Russian businessmen, artists and
journalists, and hold Armenia-related events in Russia.
Following increased instances of discrimination against Armenians
living in the southern Russian province of Krasnodar, the Union representatives
held a series of meetings with its governor Aleksandr Tkachev. Krasnodar
has been home to a large Armenian community for centuries. More Armenians
arrived over the last decade due to conflicts in the South Caucasus.
Last month, Tkachev initiated an anti-immigrant campaign that specifically
targeted Armenians. Shortly thereafter, local Armenians began to report
an increase in harassment and hoodlums vandalized Armenian graves
at the Krasnodar cemetery. UAR offered to cooperate with Krasnodar
authorities on ways to compensate the victims and prevent such events
from re-occurring. The two sides are now working on a regional development
program. Speaking this week in Yerevan, Abrahamian said that "At present
the situation [in Krasnodar] is peaceful but it does not mean that
all problems are solved." He added that they have also suggested to
Tkachev to visit Armenia next month.
An Armenian delegation comprising Parliament members and government
officials left for Krasnodar this Thursday on a fact-finding mission.
Planned to take place earlier this month, the visit had to be postponed
due to Tkachev's objection to the delegation's composition and his
insistence that it also include trade and culture officials. The delegation
now includes these officials, but according to its head, Chairman
of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Hovanes Hovanisian,
"We are not going to discuss cultural issues thereŻ We are going to
look for political solutions because at stake is the physical security
of our compatriots." |
| May 17-31 |
Two of America's leading information
technology (IT) companies have pledged to invest $25 million in the
specially-created Chair for Microelectronics, Circuits and Systems
at the State Engineering University of Armenia. The Texas-based semiconductor-maker
LEDA Systems launched the $5 million training program last year. The
Chair will now receive $20 million worth of software from the California-based
Cadence Design Systems, the dominant company in the market of electronic
design technologies.
Cadence Vice President Tom Malgesini, who signed the donation agreement
with the University, said the deal was part of the company's strategy
to remain a leader in its field and make sure microelectronics specialists,
such as those now trained in Armenia, use their programs. LEDA Systems'
Chairman Vahram Mouradian said that his company is already employing
110 programmers in its Armenia branch and would like to triple its
staff in the next few years. The new University program will train
thirty new LEDA specialists annually.
Armenia's fast-growing IT sector now includes over two hundred companies
employing nearly four thousand people, the majority of them programmers
and network administrators. |
| May 17-31 |
Armenia "should be able" to join the
World Trade Organization (WTO) this year, according to its Director
General Mike Moore. "We are almost there" he said, referring to the
several years of difficult negotiations focusing on agricultural subsidies
and trade legislation. Moore made the comments during his visit to
Armenia last week. He said he was "inspired" by the pace of Armenia's
economic growth and liberalization of the country's trade regime.
Armenia's accession to WTO will depend on whether member-countries'
trade negotiators will drop their opposition to its membership. Moore
urged "some pressure, some diplomacy and some flexibility...from all
sides" to achieve the goal this year. Armenia hopes its membership
in the WTO will help foster foreign investments and open new markets
for its exports. Some local producers have been apprehensive about
WTO, fearing it will result in an influx of cheaper imports from larger
foreign competitors. |
| May 17-31 |
The Azerbaijani minority in Georgia
has threatened to undertake mass actions of protest against what they
view as a conspiracy between Georgian nationalists and "masked Armenians"
to keep them out of local elections set for this weekend. Most Azerbaijanis
in Georgia live in the province of Kvemo Kartli, just south and southeast
of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, which Baku press describes as
an "historically Azerbaijani region." The area has seen recurrent
ethnic unrest in recent years, with Azerbaijanis claiming they are
treated as "second-class" citizens facing systemic discrimination.
Most recently, they have targeted leaders of the Georgian reform movement,
ex-Parliament Speaker Zourab Zhvania and ex-Justice Minister Mikhail
Saakashvili, as "ethnic Armenians" eager to deny Azerbaijanis a share
in the local government. |
|
|
|
|
|