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RUSSIAN MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND PRESS MIKHAIL LESIN TO VISIT YEREVAN TO DISCUSS PROBLEMS OF BROADCASTING OF RUSSIAN TV CHANNELS IN ARMENIA

SEPTEMBER 17. Minister of Information and Press of the Russian Federation Mikhail Lesin will visit Armenia in the near future. During his visit he is to discuss the problems of broadcasting of Russian TV channels in Armenia. The minister received this instruction from President Vladimir Putin at a meeting held to discuss the results of the Russian leader's official visit to Armenia. According to Russian Vice-Premier Ilya Klebanov the matter first of all concerns the relaying of the Russian ORT and RTR TV channels to Armenia. It is to be noted that the RTR relays its programs to Armenia on the metric wave band, and the ORT on the decimetric wave band.

SEPTEMBER 17.The Board of Directors of the "ArmenTel" company will hold its regular meeting this month to discuss the possibility of revoking the previous decision on introducing the per minute billing system on September 1, 2001, the company told ARMINFO. Besides, the meeting is to discuss the directions of implementing the second stage of "ArmenTel"'s US $100mln. investment program for 2001-2001. According to the data provided by the "ArmenTel" company, 127mln. USD were invested in the development of Armenia's telecommunication system from March 1998 to March 2001. We would remind you that the Armenian government transferred the ownership of 90% of the "ArmenTel"'s shares to the Greek OTE company for US $142.5 in December 1997.

SEPTEMBER 17.T In connection of the tragic events in the United States, the ArmenTel company, operating Armenia's telecoms, provided Armenian citizens with the chance to call to the United State free of charge to learn about the fate of their relatives and friends in this country. As ARMINFO has learned from the ArmenTel press-office, the limit for one call is 3 minutes, though one can call several times. This privilege will be in force till the end of Sept. According to American sources, there are 2 mln Armenians in the United States, many of them having relatives in the Homeland.

VATICAN SAYS ACTS OF TERRORISM IN UNITED STATES NOT TO AFFECT ROME POPE'S VISITS TO ARMENIA AND KAZAKHSTAN

SEPTEMBER 17. Vatican says the acts of terrorism in the United States will not affect the forthcoming visits of Rome Pope John Paul II to Armenia and Kazakhstan. According to Italian media, Vatican officials refuted the reports that Islamic terrorists had been preparing similar acts against Vatican. Meanwhile, His Holiness urged the United States to abstain from retaliatory measure. He expressed his regret about the heavy casualties caused by the acts but he said the American people should refract from the temptation to respond by violation and hatred.

CONCRETE RESULTS OF OFFICIAL VISIT OF RUSSIA'S PRESIDENT TO ARMENIA TO BECOME APPRECIABLE AFTER 2-3 MONTHS, ARMENIA'S PRESIDENT IS SURE

SEPTEMBER 17. Concrete results of the official visit of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin to Armenia will become appreciable after 2-3 months. The President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan today told the journalists. According to him, today he has had a telephone talk with the Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Kasyanov, in the course of which they discussed concrete agreements, achieved in the course of Vladimir Putin's visit to Yerevan. Besides, Kocharyan expressed gratitude to the President of Russia for holding sittings, devoted to the results of the official visit to Armenia. The President also touched upon the Russian-Armenian cooperation for struggle against terrorism and prospects of settlement of the Karabakh conflict. According to Robert Kocharyan, presently possibilities of expansion of means on struggle against terrorism and working out of conceptually new approaches are being discussed with the Russian party in the framework of the Treaty on collective security. The prospects of the Karabakh settlement were also one of the themes of the talk of the Presidents of Armenia and Russia. In this issue the parties need to be more careful, Robert Kocharyan thinks.

ILLICIT METHODS OF INVESTIGATION WERE APPLIED TOWARDS ARMENIAN JOURNALIST NAIRI BADALYAN SUSPECTED IN PARTICIPATION IN TERRORIST ACT ON 27 OCTOBER 1999

SEPTEMBER 17. Illicit methods of investigation were applied towards the journalist Nairi Badalyan who was suspected in participation in the terrorist act on 27 Oct 1999. According to him, he was tortured and beaten in the Military Prosecutor's Office. Officials were forcing him to make "necessary" evidences. Thus, he was kept on feet 12 days, he was not allowed to sit down or to lie, he was poured over with boiling and icy water. Besides, the investigators obliged him to give written false evidences against president's advisor Alexan Haroutyunyan, Badalyan informed the human rights commission by the president. This application to the temporally parliamentary commission aimed to get commission's assistance to apply to the court. The members of the commission recomended the journalist to apply to the prosecutor's office and promissed their assistance. It should be noted that Nairi Badalyan was detained on 1 Nov 1999, but as evidences were not sufficient, he was freed in June 2000.

LEADER OF "DEMOCRATIC MOTHERLAND" PARTY WAS DISCHARGED FROM CUSTODY

SEPTEMBER 17. The leader of the "Democratic Motherland" party Petros Makeyan today was discharged from custody. As it is known, he was sentenced to 10-days administrative arrest for taking part in the non-sanctioned procession and malicious insubordination to law-enforcement bodies in the course of the Sept 7 rally. In the talk with an ARMINFO correspondent the leader of the "Democratic Motherland" mentioned that he was arrested illegally. According to him, the opposition direction of his party played not the last role in what happened. Makeyan stated that during the arrest the law-enforcement bodies behaved extremely rough. "However, it should not be said that I have been beaten", he mentioned.