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AKHALKALAKI'S DISTRICT ADMINISTRATIONS AND STATE COMPANIES SUM UP LAST YEAR'S RESULTS JANUARY 20. The district administrations and state companies of Akhalkalaki, the mostly-Armenian center of the Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, have summed up the results of last year.
A-Info reports that chaired by the head of the district
administration, Artyusha Hambartsoumyan, the meeting stressed the
importance of putting into exploitation the new building of the local
hospital as well as noted the progress in collecting taxes and paying
wages, pensions and allowances. It was noted that certain
achievements were made in agriculture and the reconstruction of
schools and other administrative buildings.
UNION OF JOURNALISTS OF ARMENIA, YEREVAN'S PRESS CLUB AND INTER-NEWS
NGO URGE ARMENIA MASS MEDIA TO BE IMPARTIAL DURING FEB 19
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
JANUARY 20. The Union of Journalists of Armenia, the Yerevan Press Club and the Inter-News NGO urge the Armenian mass media to be impartial during the Feb 19 presidential election and to ensure its free and fair conduct. "The free and fair election will determine the future democratic development of the Armenian state and society." The above organizations note that the positive tendencies observed during the previous elections in Armenia have been curbed by growing polarization of the press. Concerned over the current pre-electoral moods, the organizations urge the Armenian journalists to be more tolerant to the presidential nominees, to refrain from libel, insult, mockery, blackmail and threats, to use only facts, to avoid political advertising, to comply with the law while canvassing for a candidate, to provide the public with unbiased information about all the candidates. However, the candidates too should be more tolerant to articles in the press.
The organizations also urge Public Television not to infringe on the
freedom of speech and to ensure equal conditions for all the Armenian
journalists. This all will help to conduct really free and fair
election, they conclude.
KOCHARYAN'S VISIT TO MOSCOW HAS NO PRE-ELECTORAL MOTIVES
Kocharyan said that he was a pro-Armenian president, which, considering the current relations with Russia, meant to be a pro-Russian politician. Today the Armenian-Russian relations are most capacious, to which testifies the package of bilateral agreements and the number of joint programs. Especially high is the level of military-technical cooperation.
As for Armenia's relations with NATO, Kocharyan said that Yerevan had
never pronounced for joining this organization, but realized the
importance of cooperating with it, particularly, in the framework of
the PfP program. If built competently the cooperation with NATO will
exclude the possibility of its considering Armenia as a potential
threat.
GAS SUPPLY OF ARMENIA STOPPED
According to the press-secretary of the ArmRosGazProm closed jsc, Shushan Sardaryan, the company has enough reserves to ensure normal gas supply in the country. It is also negotiating with Russia's GazProm for improving the situation. The pipeline is already being repaired. The company asks its consumers to be careful and economical as it does not know yet when exactly the gas supply will be resumed.
Sardaryan said that because of an earlier breakdown in the North
Caucasus (Jan 14) Armenia was receiving gas by the above reserve gas
pipeline, which was not enough for fully meeting Armenia's home
demand for natural fuel.
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT CONSIDERS RIDICULOUS OPPOSITION'S STATEMENTS THAT
HE HAS NO RIGHT TO RUN IN FEB 19 PRESIDENTIAL RACE
He told journalists that it was not serious to say things like that about a man who had been president for five years already. "Let them say whatever they want, God with them, it's their right."
Speaking about his support on the part of over ten political and
public organizations, Kocharyan said that he, nevertheless, was not a
member of any political party. He said that he had already discussed
his pre-electoral program with all of his supporters. "My
pre-electoral campaign is a result of long and scrupulous work,"
Kocharyan said noting that the program's wide discussion allowed him
to make it more concrete and created prerequisites for its joint
implementation in future.
BIOGRAPHICAL CENTER CAMBRIDGE AWARDS "21TH CENTURY IN PROGRESS" PRIZE
TO COORDINATOR OF NKR COMMITTEE "HELSINKI INITIATIVE-92"
JANUARY 20. The International Biographical Center Cambridge has awarded the "21th century in progress" prize to Coordinator of the NKR Committee "Helsinki Initiative-92", Doctor of Philosophy Karen Oghajanian. In its official letter the organization points out that Oghajanian has won the prize in the "peace and human rights" category, as acknowledgement of his outstanding contribution to the protection of human rights. The letter also points out that Oghajanian is one of the first persons in the world that have been awarded the prize. The Center made a decision to award the prize to him after it studied a million of biographies and 200 editions.
Talking to ARMINFO, Oghajanian said that this prize strengthens him
in his involvement in the process of peaceful settlement of the
Karabakh conflict and, which is much more important, convinces him of
the necessity for building a real civil society and democratic
development in the country.
ARMENIA'S PUBLIC MARKS 13TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN POGROMS IN BAKU
JANUARY 20. On January 19, Armenia's public marked the 13th anniversary of Armenian pogroms in Baku, which claimed many lives. In commemoration of the tragic events, representatives of the presidential staff, Armenian Government, and of a number of nongovernmental organizations laid wreathes to the memorial stone in Tsisternakabert. Chairwoman of the Fund against Violations of Law Larisa Alaverdian said that the first Armenian pogroms took place in Azerbaijan in 1988, in Sumgait. In August-September, 1989 Armenian pogroms took place in Azerbaijan again. And on January 12-13, 1990, mass Armenian pogroms in Baku claimed numerous lives among civilians.
According to the UN, the number of refugees from Azerbaijan residing
in Armenia totals 257,000. Fifty thousand refugees have been
naturalized in Armenia since 1999.
STATE OF HEALTH OF AZERI POW CONSIDERED AS HARD
JANUARY 20. State of health of the serviceman of the Azeri army Elmeddin Abiyev, who was taken prisoner on jan 8 of the current year on the contact line of armed forces of Nagorny Karabakh and Azerbaijan, is still considered as hard. The Head of the General information department Alexander Grigorian has stated during a briefing in Stepanakert. In the estimation of the physicians of the military hospital, where Abiyev is undergoing medical treatment, he is currently non-transportable. The POW is satisfied with that the Karabakh physicians take care of him. The representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and OSCE, who regularly visit the POW, also confirmed that fact. According to the report of the NKR state commission on POWs, hostages and the missing, corresponding structures of Azerbaijan have not made any requirements for transferring the military prisoner. At the same time, Alexander Grigorian said, the authorities of NKR, proceeding from human considerations, are ready to accept the parents of the POW for the meeting with their son. The NKR authorities guarantee the parents' full security in the territory of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. REPRESENTATIVE OF KILLED PREMIER VAZGEN SARGSSYAN CITED TO PROSECUTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE JANUARY 20.The Russian lawyer Oleg Yunoshev representing the interests of the killed Armenian premier Vazgen Sargssyan was cited to the Prosecutor General's Office during the trial in the case of the terrorist act in the Armenian Parliament. In the Prosecutor General's Office Yunoshev gave explanations concerning his statements made in the course of Jan 14 and 17 press-conferences in connection with the murder of Chairman of the Council of the Armenian Public Television Tigran Naghdalyan. According to information ARMINFO received from the press-service of the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office, Yunoshev said that his statements to some mass media are exaggerated and unilaterally commented, hereby losing objectivity and receiving sensational coloring. In reality, the statements of the Russian lawyer, in his words, is nothing but personal viewpoint based on suppositions. In particular, Yunoshev could not bring forward any facts proving his statement on "the strange circumstances" of the death of 5 operative employees informed of the country's high ranking officials' participation in the terrorist act in the Armenian Parliament. He could not explain his statement that Tigran Naghdalyan representing himself as an opposition journalist transferred a recorder compromising the country's authorities to his Russian colleagues. Yunoshev could not explain other his groundless statements as well. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, Oleg Yunoshev was notified of the inadmissibility of violation of Armenia's laws. HEADLINES OF 20 JANUARY
SEMINAR ON ARMENIAN MASS MEDIA HELD IN TSAGHKADZOR
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JANUARY 20. In an interview to the "Rossia" TV
company, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said that his recent
visit to Moscow had nothing to do with the Feb 19 presidential
election in Armenia.
JANUARY 20. The gas supply of Armenia was fully
stopped because of the Saturday breakdown of the reserve gas pipeline
in the Daryal Gorge in the North Caucasus.
JANUARY 20. Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
considers ridiculous the opposition's statements that he has no
legal right to run in the Feb 19 presidential race.
