TERI DAVIS ANSWERING QUESTIONS
A1Plus
04-10-2004
Azeri journalists asked the CE Secretary General Teri Davis about
CE-Azeri relations after Azeri president Ilkham Aliev’s visit to CE.
Davis said some changes are visible in Azerbaijan – a part of
political prisoners are released. Works need to be continued.
What for including Karabakhi issue in the PACE winter session agenda,
Davis said he had completed his report on Karabakh.
`New reporter is already appointed. I can’t predict his steps: he can
use some parts of my report or can not to do that’, said Davis without
clarifying whether Karabakh will be put in the winter session agenda
or not.
Asked about Abkhazia, Davis said it goes without question that
Abkhazia is a part of Georgia like Chechnya is Russia’s and
Pridnestrovie Moldova’s. He didn ‘t mention Karabakh.

MEETINGS AT FOREIGN MINISTRY
AzerTag
October 05, 2004
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov met the US
delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military
Affairs Lincoln Bloomfield. The latter called Azerbaijan a strategic
partner to theUnited States, highly valued the country’s support to
the US’ fight against terrorism, and stressed the necessity to deepen
the cooperation.
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov noted that Azerbaijan attaches great
importance to the partnership with the United States, and that the
participation of the Azerbaijan’s soldiers in Kosovo, Afghanistan and
Iraq is a graphic evidence of this. He expressed hope this support
would be mutual, and the USA as the OSCE Minsk group co-Chair would be
more active in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.
The guest said he realized how complex the situation is in both
countries, and promised the US would continue its effort under the
Minsk Group.
US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish attended the meeting.

Azeri defence minister, Turkish chief of staff discuss Karabakh
Lider TV, Baku
5 Oct 04
[Presenter Rasad Nasirov] Azerbaijani Defence Minister Safar Abiyev is
on an official visit to Turkey at the invitation of Turkish Chief of
General Staff Hilmi Ozkok. Our special correspondent Matanat Agamirli
has more:
[Agamirli, over the telephone] Rasad, as you know, the delegation led
by Abiyev met Ozkok yesterday [4 October]. The sides discussed
bilateral relations and cooperation.
Abiyev also held meetings at military units. But I would like to draw
your attention to the meeting between Abiyev and Ozkok. Ozkok pointed
to Turkey’s sensitive approach to Azerbaijan’s Nagornyy Karabakh
problem, adding that Turkey had always supported Azerbaijan.
Noting that Azerbaijan relied on Turkey, Abiyev thanked Ozkok for
close cooperation.
The Azerbaijani delegation left for Izmir today. More meetings will be
held at military units there. Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is
expected to meet Abiyev tomorrow.
This is all for now.
[Presenter] Thank you, Matanat.

Eye on Eurasia: Putin’s greatest fear
Putinru.com
05 October 2004
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned last month that the
post-Soviet states face “up to 2,000” potential ethno-confessional
conflicts, any one of which could explode “if we don’t do anything
about them.” Both that number and the possibility that they will
involve violence far exceed estimates made by most Russian and Western
analysts. But Putin’s expressed belief in them highlights his sense of
the fragility of Russia and other former Soviet republics. And it
helps to explain his commitment to rebuilding the coercive capacity of
the state.
In a partial transcript of the Russian president’s meeting with
foreign academics and journalists on Sept. 6 provided by Jonathan
Steele of The Guardian newspaper and distributed on the Johnson Russia
List, Putin provided his clearest statement yet of just how much
ethnic and religious conflicts threaten the post-Soviet states.
“In the wake of the break-up of the Soviet Union, many conflicts of
ethnic and confessional nature have broken out,” Putin said, adding,
“We do have up to 2,000 conflicts of the type which are in the dormant
stage.” But, “If we don’t do anything about them, they could provide a
flare up instantaneously.”
Putin then offered his views on why such conflicts could emerge, who
is responsible, and the roles democracy and state power have to play
to ensure that potential conflicts do not become real.
The Russian president suggested that the conflicts that have broken
out did so precisely because of the collapse of state power: Pointing
to the violence in Karabakh and South Ossetia, Putin said that “once
the state became weaker, separatism, which was very natural, was on
the rise. It happened elsewhere. It happened here.”
In linking the emergence of such conflicts to the decline of state
power, Putin explicitly rejected that Russian policies had been in any
way responsible for what has happened in Chechnya. “There is no
connection whatsoever, there is no connection between the policies of
Russia regarding Chechnya and subsequent events,” he said.
The Russian leader indicated that the free play of democracy could not
by itself prevent ethnic and confessional flare-ups. Indeed, democracy
introduced too quickly or in ways that are not “in conformity with the
development of society” could in that event be “carrying a destructive
element.”
Consequently, Putin said, he and his government will “see to it” that
democratic institutions in his country become ever more “efficient”
and work closely with those institutions that are rebuilding the power
of state rather than weakening them.
Three aspects of Putin’s remarks are striking. First, he views his
country and its neighbors as far more threatened by ethnic and
religious conflicts than almost any other leader or analyst does. And
he sees conflicts as potentially having a domino effect, in which the
outbreak of any conflict anywhere threatens to spark more conflicts
elsewhere.
Second, the Russian president clearly believes that the weakness of
the state rather than the aspirations of the people involved is the
primary cause of current conflicts and of future ones.
And third, he sees democracy as a a form of government that may
trigger such conflicts rather than as a means of managing or even
solving them. Consequently, democracy for Putin is a system that must
be managed lest democratic arrangements “undermine through
counterproductive means” the ideas of democracy.
This set of views helps to explain why Putin is so obsessed with the
restoration of the agencies of state power, why he is unwilling to
deal with these challenges in a political way, and why he views
democracy as a threat rather than an opportunity.
But the experience of authoritarian states, including the Soviet
Union, suggests, Putin’s approach — however understandable it may be
given his premises — may prove counterproductive, radicalizing those
whose views the authorities are not prepared to listen to and making
them more rather than less willing to turn to violence to gain their
ends.
Source: The Washington Times
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian National Committee
San Francisco – Bay Area
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
Tel: (415) 387-3433
Fax: (415) 751-0617
[email protected]
Contact: Roxanne Makasdjian (415) 641-0525
KARABAGH MINE CLEARING SPECIALIST VISITS SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco, Sept. 8, 2004 – Bay Area Armenian-Americans learned about
the efforts underway in Artsakh to rid the country of dangerous
landmines. Kurt Chesko, the Program Officer for the demining agency HALO
gave a presentation to Bay Area Armenian-Americans about the extent of
the problem of landmines in Artsakh and the effort to clear them. The
event was hosted by the Bay Area Armenian National Committee at San
Francisco’s Vaspouragan Hall.
Chesko spent two months this past fall. With the permission and
cooperation of the government of Artsakh, HALO has been working in the
country since 1995, when it conducted an 18-month program surveying the
region and equipping and training deminers. By 1999, the deminers had
successfully cleared hundreds of mines. HALO returned to Artsakh in
2000 with a project of re-equipment, providing additional training, and
establishing a “mine action center,” which collects and maintains
information about the mines, safe routes, etc. In addition to
landmines, unexploded ordnance is also cleared.
In Artsakh, both Azeri and Armenian forces laid minefields. In many
areas, access to prime agricultural land is denied and many farmers and
villagers have been wounded by their inadvertent detonation of the
hidden mines. In the first quarter of 2004 alone, mines were responsible
for 8 deaths and 10 injuries in Artsakh. Aid organizations in the region
have also been forced to restrict their operations due to fears of
landmines on or just beside roads and the presence of unexploded ordnance.
Chesko explained that there are several kinds of mines in Artsakh, the
most common of which is the “Osean 72” which explodes when stepped on,
throwing shrapnel in all directions. He said the worst problem is the
anti-tank mines, which are extremely destructive, carrying 10 lbs of
explosive, and which are not as easily detected by the mine clearing
equipment.
HALO employs a team of 186 local Armenian men and women in Artsakh,
including mine clearers, medics, drivers, and teachers who educate
communities about how to protect themselves against the landmines. The
deminers are organized into units of 8, each with a team leader. Many of
the deminers are former soldiers. The deminers receive 2-4 weeks
training, and longer for those working as medics or those needing
training on the clearance of other types of ordnances, like grenades,
small rockets, etc.
To clear the mines, HALO first surveys an area, talking to farmers to
understand where the mines are located. The organization then ranks the
area according to the urgency for demining – #1 being an area of high
population, and #5, lowest population.
“We’re not clearing the mines they need for defense,” said Chesko.
“Those on the front lines are not touched. Those areas are not a
priority for us.” He also said that neighboring Azerbaijan which has a
similar or worse mine problem has refused HALO’s offer of demining and
has expressed strong opposition to the ongoing demining efforts in Artsakh.
Chesko displayed photo slides illustrating examples of damage done by
exploded mines: a farmer’s flock of sheep killed, villagers without
limbs, damaged farm equipment. He also displayed the simple tools used
by the deminers: metal detectors, Kevlar vests, small shovels, and
protective headgear. The workers cordon-off the area to be demined, in
lanes of one meter in width, and each worker slowly waves the metal
detector along his/her lane. When a mine is detected, the worker
carefully digs the dirt until the side of the mine is exposed. An
explosive puts a charge near the mine and it is exploded and removed.
The deminers are able to clear approximately 18,000 square meters per
day. To date, 11,000 acres in Artsakh have been cleared of mines. HALO
predicts the need for 4-6 more years of demining in order to rid the
problem in Artsakh.
The HALO Trust (Hazardous Area Life Support Organization) is a
not-for-profit NGO (non-governmental organization) with over 5,500
mineclearers in 9 countries in Central and Southeast, Africa, the
Caucasus & Balkans. HALO’s 2004 budget for Artsakh is financed by the
Dutch government ($574,000), USAID ($450,000) and the Cafesjian Fund
($60,000).
Chesko said HALO’s administration rate is 7%, with 93% of its funding
going directly to clearance efforts. Artsakh’s deminers are paid $175
per month, a payment calculated to support 12 family members. If
workers are injured to the extent they can no longer work as a deminer,
they are compensated with $3,000.
Chesko plans on returning to Artsakh next year.

A1 Plus | 14:47:29 | 05-10-2004 | Social |
WAR FIGHTERS PROTESTING
Authorities manage to split and incite the various strata against each
other. The families of invalid and perished war fighters of Artcakh
now face the situation.
The point is that the families of dead fighters will be granted to
apartments under the prior order set by Armenian Government. The
invalid and wounded war fighters consider the decision absurd since
sometimes a few wives of one dead fighter who had given birth to one
and more sons of the same fighter are allocated apartments.
The initiative group of commanders of Artcakh War has today held a
press conference in Armenian Aryans’ Union. They set Government a
deadline till tomorrow to respond to their demand of 6 points or else
they will go on a termless sit-in in front of the Government building.
Initiative group demands:
1. to declare 2005 the Year of War Fighters;
2. to pass a law on the status of war fighters;
3. to restore the privileges provided by the decree of President in 1992;
4. to reconsider Government decision and to increase the least wage of invalid war fighters to the least pension for a military man retiring;
5. to grant the dwelling problem of perished and dead war fighters;
6. to count and to involve the expenses for the above issues in 2005 budget.

Bulgarian News Briefs
bnn
05.10.2004
UPDATE 1: New items on British visas for Bulgarians, Parvanov visit to
Armenia, Azerbaijan
SOFIA (bnn)–Britain may retain its entry visa regime for Bulgarians even if
the Balkan country joins the EU, and official said Tuesday.
British Ambassador Jeremy Hill said his country would revise the current visa
regime once Bulgaria is admitted in the EU but it was possible that the visa
requirement remains even after that.
***
SOFIA (bnn)-Bulgaria’s President Georgi Parvanov started Tuesday a four-day
trip to Armenia and Azerbaijan, his press office announced. On the first day
of his visit Parvanov met his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharyan. He wasto
travel to neighbouring Azerbaijan on Wednesday and meet his colleague Ilham
Aliev. The talks are expected to focus on improvement of commercial and
transport links between Bulgaria and the two formerly Soviet republics.
***
SOFIA (bnn)–Macedonia’s Interior Minister Siljan Avramovski will visit
Bulgaria, the Focus news agency reported Tuesday. The agency quoted Macedonian
Interior Ministry spokesman Goran Pavlovski as saying Avramovski would discuss
bilateral co-operation with his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Petkanov. He would
not immediately set a date for the visit.
  /bnn/

Armenia posts 0.7% deflation in September
05.10.2004
Yerevan. (Interfax) – Armenia posted 0.7% consumer price deflation in
the month of September, the country’s state statistics committee told
Interfax.
Prices for food goods including alcohol and cigarettes dropped 1.1% in
September and prices for non-food items remained flat. Service prices
dropped 0.1% in September.
The government said inflation was 7.9% in September 2003-September
2004. Prices for food goods including alcohol and cigarettes grew
11.2% in the period, non-food prices 0.7% and service prices 1.6%.
Consumer prices grew 8.6% in 2003.

Armenia ready to counter Azerbaijan if need be
01.10.2004
Yerevan. (Interfax-AVN) – Armenia does not want to resume military
operations against Azerbaijan, Armenian Defense Minister Serzh
Sarkisian has told Armenian Public Television.
“Armenia will declare war only if attacked by Azerbaijan. However, if
it is the case, Azerbaijan will be repulsed so as not to even mention
the war again for years to come,” he emphasized.
Azerbaijani authorities have recently repeatedly stated the
possibility of resuming military operations against Armenia to settle
the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis, if peaceful negotiations do not yield any
results.
“The aftermath of the war will be heavy for both sides,” the Armenian
defense minister said.
“Given the most favorable outcome of the war for Armenia, we do not
wish to resume military operations, since a war always results in
human casualties. Even if the losses ratio equaled 1:7, as was the
case in 1993-1994, we would not be willing to start a war,” Sarkisian
pointed out.
In addition to that, in wartime the sides will have to spend their
limited resources on solving military problems, he noted.
At the same time he emphasized that the Armenian Armed Forces were the
most combat ready force in Transcaucasia.
Sarkisian also said that NATO’s decision to cancel the military
exercise in Azerbaijan, slated for mid-September, due to the fact that
Armenian officers were not allowed to participate in it, had not been
a surprise to him.
At the same time he said that Armenia was interested in Azerbaijan’s
participation in the NATO-sponsored Partnership for Peace
program. “Azerbaijan’s participation in this program imposes certain
commitments on Baku, and we will be better off dealing with
Azerbaijan, committed to its promises,” he pointed out.

Armenia Starts Bulgaria’s President Two-Leg Trip
novinite.com
5 October 2004, Tuesday.
President Georgi Parvanov will pay a visit to Armenia October 5-7, to
be followed by a two-day stop at Azerbaijan October 7-8.
Parvanov is scheduled to confer with counterparts and other state
officials, together with the Transport and Communications Minister
Nikolai Vassilev and the mayors of several cities who accompany him.
Business forums and bilateral agreement signing ceremonies are also on
the agenda of the visit.