By empty (6/13/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The 17 deputies elected from the opposition Artarutiun bloc and the nine from the opposition National Unity Party (AMK) failed on 12 June to attend the opening session of the parliament elected on 25 May, RFE/RL\'s Yerevan bureau reported. Majority leaders expressed regret at the opposition deputies\' absence and said they hope it will not be permanent. Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, whose Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) is the single largest faction with 40 seats, told journalists he believes there will be future \"opportunities for cooperation\" with Artarutitiun and the AMK, with whose chairman, Artashes Geghamian, he said he recently held a \"constructive\" meeting.

By empty (6/13/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Meeting in New York on 13 June with visiting Georgian parliament speaker Nino Burdjanadze, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stressed that it is imperative that those responsible for the 5 June abduction in the Kodori Gorge of three members of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) be apprehended and brought to trial. Kidnappers were surrounded by Georgian troops and released their hostages on 10 June after being granted free passage by Kodori Governor Emzar Kvitsiani. Also on 13 June, Annan\'s special representative for Abkhazia, Heidi Tagliavini, said in Tbilisi that UNOMIG has suspended patrols of Kodori for an unspecified time period.

By empty (6/12/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Georgian National Security Council Secretary Tedo Djaparidze told Caucasus Press on 12 June that the inclusion of Georgia in the third-annual U.S. State Department report, which was released the previous day, listing 15 countries liable for sanctions because of their failure to take measures to combat human trafficking is \"a misunderstanding\" based on inaccurate data.