PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Network of America, Washington Region
P. O. Box 10423
Arlington, VA 22210-9998
Email: [email protected]
Washington, DC. – The Armenian Network invites you to a presentation
on US support to science and technology development in Armenia through
the US Civilian Research Development Foundation (CRDF).
This event is jointly sponsored with the Washington Section of the
Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America (GMWAS/AESA, contact
Dr. Jack Kooyoomjian, [email protected]). It features CRDF
speakers John Modzelewski, Director of Centers and Institution Building
Programs, and Ms. Siri B. Oswald, Senior Manager for Institution
Building Programs. They will introduce and update participants to
the many programs and research and development activities sponsored
by the US CRDF and other organizations which directly benefit the
scientists and engineers in Armenia.
Network seminars provide great opportunities for professional
networking. In particular, this seminar should appeal to all those
interested in (1) supporting research projects that offer scientists
and engineers alternatives to emigration and strengthen the scientific
and technological infrastructure of Armenia; (2) funding collaborative
research and development projects; (3) helping move applied research
to the marketplace; (4) strengthening research and education in
Armenian universities. On the eve of its independence anniversary,
let’s celebrate Armenia’s past scientific achievements and explore
ways of sustaining its future development.
The presentation is scheduled for 6:30pm, Tuesday, September 21,
2004, at 1530 Wilson Boulevard, 3rd Floor CRDF conference room,
Arlington, Virginia 22209. CRDF headquarters are located two
blocks from the Roslyn metro stop. For driving directions check
Advance registration is required for security purposes. Please RSVP by
noon Sept. 20th to [email protected]. Refreshments will be served.
Event is free and open to the public.
The Armenian Network of America, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
membership based organization dedicated to the advancement of the
Armenian American community.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
09/13/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs Poochigian Bill on Armenian Genocide Heirs 2) NATO Cancels Exercises over Azeri Ban on Armenian Troops 3) Warning to Azerbaijan on Tragic Consequence of Renewed War 4) Arzumanyan Resigns as Administrative Head of Ninotsminda District 5) Aram I Discusses Genocide Anniversary of Genocide with Armenian Party Representatives 6) If You Build It, We Will Come 7) A B C easy as 1 2 3, oh simple as Do Re Mi 8) Interview with Rick Caruso 1) Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs Poochigian Bill on Armenian Genocide Heirs LOS ANGELES (ANC-WR)On Friday, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law Senate Bill 1689, which will exempt Armenian Genocide life insurance settlements from state taxation and other calculations related to income. Praising the move, Armenian National Committee Executive Director Ardashes Kassakhian explained that Charles Poochigian's bill addresses an injustice that New York Life insurance committed against its policy holders who were massacred by the Turkish authorities. "The road to justice for the victims of the Armenian Genocide has been long and arduous. The passage of SB 1689 is an important step in this process," Kassakhian said. The exemptions in the bill are similar to exemptions provided to recipients of the Holocaust. The bill was crafted because of the long-standing insurance policy claims by survivors and descendants of the Armenian Genocide. Prior to 1915, the New York Life Insurance Company wrote thousands of life insurance policies to Armenians living on historic Armenian lands in the Ottoman Empire. New York Life had refused to pay out many of the claims until a settlement was reached last year as a result of a class action lawsuit. SB 1689 allows the victims and their descendants to collect their settlements without being subject to taxation by the State of California. SB 1689 was introduced by Senator Poochigian on February 20 and was subsequently referred to the committee on Revenue and Tax. The bill was passed by a unanimous 11-0 vote in committee followed by a 37-0 vote by the entire State Senate. SB 1689 secured strong support in the California State Assembly. It was then sent to the Governor Schwarzenegger on September 2 and quickly signed into law on September 10. 2) NATO Cancels Exercises over Azeri Ban on Armenian Troops BRUSSELS (AFP/RFE-RL)NATO announced the cancellation of military exercises, scheduled several months ago to take place on September 27 in Azerbaijan, after Baku said it did not want Armenian troops on its territory, a NATO spokesman said on Monday. The decision, taken by the supreme commander of allied forces in Europe US General James Jones, came after five officers of the Armenian Armed Forces were denied entry visas by the Azeri embassy in Tbilisi. News of the exercise cancellation coincided with a meeting in Brussels between NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the visiting Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian. Oskanian praised the decision taken by the NATO leadership, according to his press office. He at the same time regretted "the loss of an opportunity for regional cooperation." PfP events, largely involving peace-keeping exercises, are organized and led by NATO commanders. Under the terms of the program, a host country not affiliated with the alliance cannot prevent any other partner state invited by NATO organizers from sending troops to its soil. "We regret that the principle of inclusiveness could not be upheld in this case, leading to the cancellation of the exercise," NATO said in a separate statement. Hundreds of people attended street protests in Baku over the past week against the expected arrival of Armenian officers. The Azeri media have joined in the chorus of condemnations by running blank pages and suspending broadcasts to get the message across. On Friday, Azerbaijan's parliament adopted a message sent to de Hoop Scheffer denouncing the initial inclusion of Armenian soldiers. Its position was endorsed by Aliyev the next day. "I do not want Armenian servicemen to arrive in Baku, and Azerbaijan will take necessary measures for it," he told reporters. However, de Hoop Scheffer was quoted by an Armenian Foreign Ministry statement as telling Oskanian that Baku's stance is "unacceptable" because it runs counter to its PfP commitments. The PfP exercises, codenamed Cooperative Best Effort 2004, were due to bring together hundreds of troops from two dozen countries, including the United States. Most of the participants appeared to have already arrived at their venue near the Azeri capital. In Yerevan, meanwhile, news of the Baku-bound Armenian officers' early return home was greeted with relief by some people interviewed on the streets. "The Azeris' refusal to let them in was wrong," said one middle-aged woman. "But the security of our guys would not have been ensured there. So I'm glad that they did not go." "If they did such a thing in Hungary, imagine what they would do on their soil," she added in reference to last February's gruesome murder of an Armenian army lieutenant by a fellow Azeri officer attending a NATO course in Budapest. "What they did only harmed themselves, not us," said one man. 3) Warning to Azerbaijan on Tragic Consequence of Renewed War BAKU (PanArmenian/Itar Tass)--The US Ambassador to Azerbaijan said on Thursday that an attempt to force a military solution to the Mountainous Karabagh conflict would prove tragic not only to Azerbaijan, but also the entire Caucuses region. Reno Harnish, who has served as Ambassador to Azerbaijan for just a little over a year, said during an interview with Baku-based Zerkalo newspaper that with the stepped-up military training on both sides, Azerbaijan would bear greater losses than its 30,000,000 casualties during the previous battle over Karabagh. He also mentioned the resulting 750,000 refugees, and warned that any economic progress since 1991 would be wasted. Asked whether the US considers it possible to find a resolution of the conflict that maintains the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Harnish stressed that the US has backed all UN Security Council resolutions that reflect the attitude of the international community on a solution to the Karabagh conflict, within a certain time frame. He also explained that at the OSCE Lisbon summit, the US voted for the settlement principles put forth by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office. "Thus, it is quite clear which principles officially guide the US in this question," emphasized Harnish. Harnish explained, however, that according to the US co-chairman of OSCE's Minsk group Steven Mann, the US--as a member of that group tasked with finding a resolution to the conflict--"must act within its mandate--thus seek a just and long-term solution to the conflict." The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan are due to meet at the CIS summit in Astana, Kazakhstan that convenes on Wednesday. As he addressed correspondents in the town of Barda in western Azerbaijan on Saturday, Azeri president Ilham Aliyev said the meeting would clarify whether an agreement is close at hand, or if the sides are drifting away from finding one. As he met with a group of refugees in the Barda district earlier in the day, he stressed that the Azeri government envisioned an increase of defense spending in 2005 "to strengthen our Armed Forces and make the army one of the guarantors of settling the Karabagh conflict." While he reiterated that the country seeks a peaceful solution, he threatened that the people of Azerbaijan would free occupied territories by any means. "We have all the prerequisites for it--patriotic spirit, moral mobilization of our people, and the persistently growing economic potential." As he addressed a meeting with public representatives in Barda on the same day, Aliyev said: "The people of Azerbaijan must be prepared to liberate its occupied lands by force." 4) Arzumanyan Resigns as Administrative Head of Ninotsminda District AKHALKALAK (A1plus/Armenpress)On Monday, Rafik Arzumanyan, administrative head of Georgia's Ninotsminda District, sent in his resignation to President Mikhail Saakashvili. Although reasons for his resignation are not cited, it is believed that Arzumanyan's resignation is connected with the September 6 incident between the employees of Georgia's National Security Ministry and ethnic Armenians in Ninotsminda. As reported, two ethnic Georgians initiated a clash between Georgians and ethnic Armenians in the southern Georgian region of Ninotsminda on September 6. After drinking in a restaurant, the chief of the Georgian National Security Ministry's local branch, and the deputy head of the Ninotsminda district council, attempted to fill up their car at a local gas station without paying, saying that Ninotsminda belongs to Georgians and everything should be free for Georgians. After being denied free gas by the Armenian employee, the Georgian officials attacked and beat him. The local police interfered, but were unable to stop the shoot-out that followed a fistfight. The Georgian officials were arrested and transported to Akhaltsikha. 5) Aram I Discusses Genocide Anniversary of Genocide with Armenian Party Representatives ANTELIASOn Saturday, September 11, Catholicos of Cilicia His Holiness Aram I held a meeting with representatives of Lebanon's three main Armenian political partiesthe ARF, the Hunchak party, and Ramkavar partyto discuss the joint activities and programs commemorating the upcoming 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. His Holiness stressed the necessity of working together to organize the events. The meeting provided an opportunity for representatives of the three parties to share ideas and focus on the task at hand. 6) If You Build It, We Will Come By Skeptik Sinikian I've said it before and I'll say it again. Glendale is a world of its own. Sometimes, I feel as though it's a biosphere experiment, fully contained and independent of the world around it. The upcoming special municipal election is evidence to back my theory and for anyone who has been living in a cave in the Verdugo Mountains for the last three years, here's the Skeptik ynopsis. On September 14, Glendalers (I refuse to dignify them with an "ian" ending call me a snob if you wish) will go to the polls to decide whether they want a Town Center built in Downtown Glendale or not. If you drive through Glendale as often as I do, then you must have noticed the "No on A, B, and C" or "Yes on A, B, and C" signs littered all over the place. And contrary to what you may think after visiting the city, Glendale is not hosting an election to promote or get rid of the alphabet or literacy. By voting "yes" on A, B, and C, Glendalers will approve the project proposed by wealthy developer Rick Caruso of Caruso Affiliated. If you vote "No" on A, B, and C then you support another wealthy entityGeneral Growth Properties, owners of that vast wasteland and black hole of suburban culture known as the Glendale Galleria (just typing those two words brought back horrendous Christmas shopping memories.) Now either way, the only real people benefiting from either decision are people who have more money than they know what to do with, who care more about their off-shore bank accounts than Glendale, even if it were ravaged by the bubonic plague. Voters will have to forget this for a minute while they are herded to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots. It's like having an executioner ask you if prefer to be stoned to death or hung. At first you think you have a choice but you realize the end results are the same and you resent even being asked. It would seem as though Glendalers were stuck between a Rick and a hard place until you drive by the area where the development is supposed to be built. You can't miss it. It's that vast area of nothingness in south Glendale right before the miles of car dealerships and nothing else. The area is anchored by an empty asphalt lot used by Galleria employees as a parking lot during the Holiday season. It's no secret that when coming up with weekend plans, Glendale doesn't make it on anyone's list of top three destinations unless you happen to be a fourteen year old unibrowed kid in Adidas warm-ups who likes to smoke cigarettes while watching frog statues randomly spit water. Why has Glendale been black listed? Is it because there's nothing to do in Glendale past 9 PM? Is it because Brand Boulevard is spattered with random, mediocre restaurants, a beauty academy, and even more random clothing and gift stores? I personally think that much like some of its more bigoted residents, Glendale has no heart. No center of gravity. Nothing to pull people towards it. Everyone seems to prefer either Pasadena's Old Town or Burbank's Media Center. Personally, I think it's high time that Glendale had a "Town Center." The only argument that merits any type of consideration from the opposition is the complaint that the development would increase traffic in the area. But the Galleria complaining about traffic problems is like a chain smoker complaining to a waiter about the person at the next table smoking a fat cigar. I've read the arguments for and against this project and I personally believe that with the new development, the city will actually take steps to fix the traffic problem in the area. I'm sure that amongst the people who are complaining about traffic, there are a few SUV ownersthe same one's who think that their gigantic hunk of steel designed to fit every known animal on it two-by-two will fit into the compact car parking space in the Galleria parking lot. It's people who drive 5 miles-to-the-gallon Hummers that make me glad that oil prices are at an all time high. But that's a rant for another day. I'm also convinced that with a premiere shopping area next to it, the Galleria will be compelled to redesign and revamp the enclosed capitalist red brick gulag into a nicer, outdoor type shopping center. I haven't stepped foot inside the Galleria for nearly three years and I don't have any plans of doing so in the near future either. If I wanted to go to a depressing, enclosed space filled with obnoxious, rude, horny teenagers, I'd visit my old high school. I hope Glendalers vote to build the Town Center and I hope they do it soon. I promised myself that I wouldn't touch this topic with a ten foot pole, but it seems as though everywhere I turn, people are talking about this issue. So I'm putting in my two cents with the hope of urging people to abandon the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) attitude and do what's right for this city. In an ideal world, we'd build a nice park with a monument to the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide in the area that's going to be developed. But a park and monument won't generate tax revenue for the city. And even a monument won't knock some sense into the chain-smoking fourteen year olds hanging out at the Marketplace up the street. But a Town Center will hopefully provide us with a decent park, some stores with merchandise worth purchasing, and a place of congregation for those of us who are seeking a change of scenery from Burbank and Pasadena. Just vote "yes" on this project and let's build something that will put Glendale back on the map rather than keeping it the no-man's land/buffer zone between Burbank and Pasadena. If you build it, we will come. Skeptik Sinikian encourages people to vote their conscience on September 14regardless of their choices. He can be reached for comment at [email protected] or visit his website at 7) A B C easy as 1 2 3, oh simple as Do Re Mi By Garen Yegparian With apologies to the Jackson 5, and those who don't live in Glendale, I'll be addressing the three ballot measures citizens of that fair city will vote for or against on Tuesday, September 14. Measures A, B, and C address different aspects of enabling the construction of a major downtown development including retail, office, and residential space. It would be similar to and built by the same company that developed The Grove at Fairfax and Second in Los Angeles. Those opposing the measures cite increased traffic and crime, use of redevelopment funds, housing/environmental issues, and competition to the Glendale Galleria. Regarding traffic issues, naturally more cars will enter the area when such a large project is built. This is understandably distasteful for those who already sit in their cars while crawling at a snail's pace. Conversely, traffic engineers do come up with solutions. An example from neighboring city, Burbank, might be illuminating. Many who live, work, and shop in the area know "five points," which was a five-way intersection with hellish traffic. A very large development of stores was built adjacent to it. The intersection was reconfigured with grand promises of improved traffic flow. In fact, ramps from I-5 are also to be built to serve this area. Everybody seems to wait, idling behind red lights, for just as long as ever. So, frustrated city staff did a traffic count. Pleasantly surprised, they discovered that the number of cars going through that intersection had increased from about 4000 to about 40,000. Not bad, ten times the flow, with no increased waiting. The moral of the story is, there are solutions to traffic problems. Some $77 million dollars of Glendale Redevelopment Agency money will be allocated to this project. Some rightly argue, "Why give a rich guy more of the public's money to make even more money for himself?" Unfortunately, redevelopment funds can only be used in certain, restricted ways. One way or the other, some "rich guy" will end up with it as local government strives to improve pre-designated areas of the city, in accordance with state law. While I too find it disturbing that public money is privatized in this manner, it hardly makes a difference to which "rich guy" it goes. For me, the housing/environmental issue is the most salient. More than seventy residential units are part of this project. This kind of high-density living is absolutely necessary if Southern California is to remain livable. Sprawling endlessly like some deformed fungal growth across the landscape is not something that is sustainable. SCAG (Southern California Association of Governments) recently issued a report predicting dire consequencestremendous congestion and pollutionif the region continues growing in the same fashion as in the recent past. Sprawl destroys virgin wildlands, causes extinction, and reduces space available for people to recreatea necessary part of remaining sane. High-density developments, with attendant public transportation and open space, must become the largest portion of new residential construction. People, over the years, will overcome their aversion to this approach. It will take time, but we must start somewhere. Fear of increased crime following increased numbers of people is also likely misplaced because of the types of people this kind of "lifestyle" attracts. Does the Glendale Galleria, adjacent to the site of the proposed project, invite increased crime? People will be working, living, and playing in an open-air setting. One of the biggest opponents of this project is the Galleria. This mall's owners, rightly, fear the competition from a near-by complex of stores. This is accentuated by the growing appeal of un-enclosed settings throughout the United States. The era of the enclosed mall seems to be ending. Those who own such properties are understandably worried. Some people argue that the redevelopment funds would be better spent on improving the existing mall. It seems both those who support and oppose this project have resorted to hyperbole in advocating their position. This has engendered cynicism among votersan unhealthy and undesirable outcome regardless of the ultimate vote tallies for these ballot measures. In addition, the sheer volume of mail and telephone contact has fatigued voters. Glendale citizens will have to consider these and many others issues and risks. To go forward with the new project portends some of the ills, attenuated or not, mentioned above. To deny this project could mean the long-term loss of sales tax revenue, a very important source of municipal income for California citiesif enclosed malls go the way of bell-bottoms and afros. 8) Interview with Rick Caruso Glendale's airwaves are booming with heated debate on the pros and cons of building a proposed Town Center in the heart of downtown Glendale. In a special September 14 election, Glendale voters will consider the proposed $264 million retail and residential development project, casting their ballots on three ordinancesknown as A-B-Cthat concern the project's planning and zoning and the development agreement between Caruso Affiliated and the city. Although Rick Caruso, the Founder and President of Caruso Affiliated got the go-ahead from the Glendale City Council to build The Americana at Brand (Town Center), the referendum was forced by opponents led by the Galleria's owners, General Growth Properties Inc., the second-largest US shopping mall proprietor. Both sides say they expect the vote to be close, and have spent close to $1 million to defend their issues. The ensuing battle has not been pretty. Asbarez spoke with Caruso about the issues on the minds of voters. WHEN YOU BUILD A STRUCTURE SUCH AS THE TOWN CENTER, YOUR INTENT IS TO NATURALLY ATTRACT PEOPLE. HOW CAN YOU TACKLE TRAFFIC THAT IS ALREADY HEAVY IN THE AREA? There's no question more cars will be added to the streets. A ton of money will be spent on improving traffic, specifically $14 million to improve traffic flow. Studies show that 14 intersections will get better. Past experience shows that there will be no negative impact on traffic in the area. That was the result achieved at the Grove [Caruso's 575,000 square foot project adjacent to the Farmers Market in Los Angeles]all the intersections improved. The area around South Brand has not seen any new developments or investments in a very long time. As a result, there has been no improvements in fixing the streets, including street widening or new signal systems. A number of things can be done to improve the freeways. We are spending $1.5 million of our own money to design changes to exits and entrances. I am confident that everything will operate even more smoothly when completed. Traffic studies conducted show this. The traffic issue is a scare tactic. BUT PEOPLE ARE CALLING THE INVESTMENT THE CITY IS MAKING IN THIS TOWN CENTER, SIMPLY A BAD ONE. I disagree strongly with that. The city will get all their money back plus profit. Of the $77 million figure set aside, $65 million is for the acquisition of land that the city bought over 20 yearsand the city will retain most of the land; $12 million is for public improvement. The city is expected make $3.5 million in new tax revenues per year from sales and property taxes. Over the next 30 years, an estimated $109 million will be made in taxes$16 million would go to public schools and private agencies. HOW WILL THE PROJECT AFFECT EXISTING SMALL BUSINESSES? I know it will help the small businesses. It happened at the Grove because it brought increased shoppers to the area. Right now, there are 15 acres of empty lot and run down buildings. That hurts the area. It will create more shoppers walking around Brand. With new stores, parking structures, etc., people will flock to the area. The tax receipts for stores on 3rd street, Beverly Dr., La Brea, and Fairfax [area surrounding the Grove] show a 65% increase since the Grove was built. There is always a spillover effect. That's why the city wants to invest this money. BUT WILL YOU ENCOURAGE THE GROWTH OF LOCAL BUSINESSES? Absolutely...We not only have programs within our company that reduce rental rates [for small businesses] but we also programs called 'incubating small businesses.' For example, we have a jeweler at the Grove, Tracy Allen, who used to sell products door to door. We helped her build a store, rent-free and now she is very successful and pays rent. WHY DO YOU THINK THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE CENTER SO ACTIVE IN THIS COMMUNITY? General Growth properties, the owners of the Glendale Galleria, don't want the project built. They don't want competition, and this isn't good for the city. They want to maintain a monopoly, at any cost. It has even been said that I don't like Armenians and am trying to drive them away from the city which is absolutely not truemy sister-in-law is Armenian and lives in the area. It's very unfair and wrong, and we took them to court. Though the court ruled that they lied to the public, and ordered them to stop, they continue. DID YOU FACE OPPOSITION WHEN DOING THE GROVE? Yes, but not to this extent. The Beverly Center tried to stop it, but wasn't as vicious as the company that owns the Glendale Galleria. Malls will try to stop such projects because they don't want to reduce their rental rates as a result of the emerging competition. That's what they're trying to prevent. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

ARMENIA THIS WEEK
Monday, September 13, 2004
NATO CANCELS AZERBAIJAN EXERCISES OVER ARMENIA’S EXCLUSION
The U.S.’ military commander in Europe was forced this Monday to cancel the
Cooperative Best Effort (CBE) 2004 exercises planned to take place in
Azerbaijan from September 13-27, accusing the host country of violating NATO
principles. The last minute cancellation by the Supreme Allied Commander in
Europe (SACEUR) Gen. James Jones is without recent precedents and came after
months of Azeri efforts to exclude Armenia from the exercises conducted
under the NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) program.
A statement issued by the NATO spokesman said that “all PfP exercises are
agreed and conducted on the principle of inclusiveness for all Allies and
Partners which wish to participate. Nations participating in Cooperative
Best Effort 2004 agreed and have supported the exercise based on this
principle. We regret that the principle of inclusiveness could not be upheld
in this case, leading to the cancellation of the exercise.” Set up in 1994,
the PfP aims to promote defense cooperation between NATO and Partner
countries, reinforce stability and reduce the risk of conflict through
exchanges and joint exercises, such as CBE-2004. Georgia and Armenia
successfully hosted similar exercises in 2002 and 2003.
Armenia was due to send several officers to take part in CBE-2004, but they
were refused permission to enter Azerbaijan. Azeri officials had similarly
barred Armenians from taking part in the first planning event in Baku last
January. The U.S. State Department expressed its “disappointment” over the
development at the time, while Armenia condemned Azerbaijan’s behavior and
urged NATO to “demonstrate a principled stance.” The co-chairs of the U.S.
Congressional Caucus on Armenian issues, Representatives Joe Knollenberg
(R-MI) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), urged NATO leadership to move exercises to
another country should Azerbaijan continue to insist on excluding Armenia.
Last June, the Azeri leadership appeared to have come around on the issue
with President Ilham Aliyev pledging that no hurdles to Armenian
participation would be put up. Two Armenian officers then attended the
exercises’ final planning conference, which proceeded despite disruption
caused by government-linked protestors. Azeri Deputy Foreign Minister Araz
Azimov said at the time that his government was forced to acquiesce to the
Armenian presence or “risk cancellation of the exercises and cooling of
relations with NATO.”
Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov said that Azerbaijan should implement its
obligations. The Azeri government-controlled courts went as far as to issue
tough prison sentences against radicals who disrupted the NATO event in
June, although President Aliyev hinted that the decision would be overturned
on appeal. Even the Turkish envoy in Baku Ahmet Unal Cevikoz urged
Azerbaijan not to put up obstacles. Citing diplomatic sources last week, an
Azeri paper reported that Baku had agreed to an Armenian presence.
But on Friday, the Aliyev-controlled Azeri Parliament issued a written
protest to the NATO Secretary General demanding that Armenia be excluded and
Aliyev himself said that he “does not want” to see Armenians in Baku. He
further reiterated his view that all contacts with Armenians should be
limited to meetings between the two countries’ Presidents and key ministers,
saying that all other contacts are “inappropriate.”
Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, who met NATO Secretary General
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer this Monday, expressed regret over Azerbaijan’s stance
describing it as a blow to regional cooperation, but he also welcomed NATO’s
principled position. Scheffer agreed that the Azeri approach was
inadmissible. Oskanian was in Brussels to discuss Armenia’s expanding
cooperation with NATO and for the annual talks with the European Union
leaders. Last week, Armenia appointed Samvel Mkrtchian, previously the
Foreign Ministry’s Europe Director, as its Ambassador to NATO. (Sources:
Arm. This Week 1-16, 2-27, 4-2; 6-25; Arminfo 9-10, 13; Trend 9-10; Azertag
9-11; Express 9-11; NATO 9-13)
RUSSIA HOSTAGE TRAGEDY THREATENS TO UNDERMINE REGIONAL STABILITY
Armenia rushed to provide emergency aid to the victims of the gruesome
hostage taking in Russia, in which several hundred hostages, mostly
children, died. Armenian officials, including Defense Minister Serge
Sargsian, also expressed anxiety that the Caucasus region was becoming
increasingly unstable.
Terrorists linked to the Chechen rebel commander Shamil Basayev occupied a
school in the southern Russian town of Beslan (North Ossetia), taking over
1,000 children, their parents and teachers hostage on September 1,
traditionally celebrated as the first day of school. Most of the deaths
occurred as bombs set up by the terrorists went off during negotiations with
Russian emergency workers. Basayev had previously led a similar raid on a
hospital in southern Russia in 1995, and earlier fought on the Azeri side in
Karabakh.
In a massive outpouring of sympathy for the Beslan victims, Armenians
donated blood and thousands brought flowers, candles and toys to a makeshift
memorial at the Russian Embassy. Armenia’s Consul in southern Russia Ararat
Gomtsian reported that of 33 ethnic Armenians taken hostage, nine died and
seven remained unaccounted for. Meanwhile last week, businesses owned by
ethnic Armenians and other Caucasus natives became targets of violence in
the Russian city of Yekatirinburg. (Sources: Armenpress 9-8; Baltic News
Service 9-8; ArmeniaNow 9-10; Itar-Tass 9-10; Turan 9-10)
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In The National Interest
September 1, 2004
Commentary: By the World Forgot: Realpolitik and the Armenian Genocide
By Nir Eisikovits
Between 1915 and 1916, through a campaign of slaughter and deportation, the
nationalist ‘Young Turk’ government of the Ottoman Empire killed over 1
Million Armenians. To this day, Turkey refuses to accept responsibility for
this genocide, claiming that the number of casualties was far smaller and
that most had been killed in fighting between the parties rather than in
one-sided massacres. It seems that Turkish genocide-deniers are now
receiving assistance from an unexpected source. In a recent article, the
Israeli daily Haaretz reported that several Jewish groups in Washington have
been involved in blocking attempts to procure Congressional recognition of
the atrocities.
This involvement was much more proactive last year than it is now, but, to
quote the article, “a central activist in a Jewish organization involved in
this matter clarified that if necessary, he would not hesitate to again
exert pressure to ensure the resolution is not passed and the Turks remain
satisfied.” Surprising? Not really. Israel has systematically refrained
from recognizing the extermination of Armenians. Senior officials, including
former foreign minister Shimon Peres, have spoken of a “tragedy,” which
“cannot be compared to genocide.” The position taken by Israel and some
Jewish organizations is animated by two considerations. One has to do with
the uniqueness of the Holocaust. The other is pure realpolitik. Let us
examine these in turn.
Recognizing the Armenian genocide, so the first argument goes, could eclipse
the singular magnitude of the crimes perpetrated against the Jews during
World War II.[1] This claim is both morally warped and empirically
unfounded. It is morally warped, because we Jews do not have a monopoly on
pain. Our catastrophes are not in a separate category; we do not feel any
more agony for the obliteration of our families than others do. When
Armenians are pricked, they bleed; when they are poisoned they die.[2] If
human suffering is essentially democratic, Jews cannot, simultaneously,
attack those who deny the Holocaust and assist others who deny the Armenian
genocide. The concern for the legacy of the Holocaust is empirically
unfounded, because other cases of genocide have been recognized without the
Holocaust being forgotten or sidelined. The massacres by the Khmer Rouge in
Cambodia and the Tutsi by the Hutu in Rwanda are now universally
acknowledged. Such recognition has not eclipsed the discussion of Nazi
atrocities. It has, rather, served as a reminder that human cruelty is as
much a reality now as it was in 1915 and 1939.
As for realpolitik, Israel sees Turkey as an all-important strategic ally in
the Middle East – a moderate democratic Muslim state in a region where both
moderation and democracy are in short supply. Thus, keeping the Turks happy
is taken to be an essential Israeli interest. Two observations are in order.
First, the appeasement of Turkey does not seem to be working. Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently accused Israel of “state terrorism” and
compared its policies towards Palestinians to the actions of the Spanish
Inquisition against Jews. Turkey is said to have rolled back planned
contracts to purchase military equipment from Israel and is now
reconsidering a planned deal to transport 15 Million cubes of water annually
to the water-poor Jewish State. Apparently we have sold our moral integrity
in vain. Second, realism in international affairs, with all its merits, must
be subordinate to a nation’s most basic principles rather than dictate them.
In the case of Israel, the most deep-seated of those principles is that the
state was founded as a barrier against genocide, as a safe-haven for Jews
the world over to protect them from future persecution. The refusal to
recognize other cases of genocide undermines this fundamental tenet. It
provides invaluable ammunition to those who claim that history is written by
the victors. If that position takes hold, no group, including the Jews,
would ever be safe from hounding, and Israel would have undermined the main
reason for its own existence.
On August 22, 1939, days before the Nazis invaded Poland, Hitler addressed
his military chiefs in Obersalzburg. “The aim of war is not to reach
definite lines,” he told them “but to annihilate the enemy physically. It is
by this means that we shall obtain the vital living space that we need.” He
then went on to ask them a rhetorical question: “Who today still speaks of
the massacre of the Armenians?” The Israeli government, for one, does not.
History, it would seem, has a cruel sense of humor.
Nir Eisikovits, an Israeli attorney, is completing his Ph.D. in legal and
political philosophy at Boston University.
[1] In early 2002, after Israeli ambassador to Georgia and Armenia Rivka
Cohen rejected any comparison between the Holocaust and the Armenian
Genocide, Israel’s foreign ministry released a statement including the
following text: ” …Israel asserted that the Holocaust was a singular event
in human history and was a premeditated crime against the Jewish people.
Israel recognizes the tragedy of the Armenians and the plight of the
Armenian people. However, the events cannot be compared to genocide. This
does not in any way diminish the magnitude of the tragedy.”
[2] W. Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, Act 3, Scene 1.

US Backs NATO Cancellation of Exercises in Azerbaijan
By David Gollust
State Department
13 Sep 2004, 21:44 UTC
VOA
The United States criticized Azerbaijan Monday for excluding Armenia
from NATO partnership exercises planned this week in Baku. The
Azerbajani action prompted NATO to cancel the maneuvers. The State
Department says it supports NATO’s decision to cancel the exercises
and says it “deeply regrets” Azerbaijan’s decision not to issue visas
for Armenian participants.
Armenia was to have been among more than 20 countries, NATO members
and aspiring members of the alliance, who were to have taken part
in two weeks of exercises in Azerbaijan opening Tuesday under NATO’s
Partnership for Peace.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said late last week he did not want
officers from his country’s neighbor and political rival Armenia to
come to Baku and said he was taking the “necessary measures” to keep
them out.
On Monday, NATO’s Supreme Command decided to cancel the long-planned
exercise because of the Azerbaijani stance, which a spokesman in
Brussels said violated the principle of “inclusiveness” under which
all NATO exercises are agreed upon and conducted.
There was a similar statement from a State Department spokesman, who
backed the NATO decision and said the United States does not believe
the action by Mr. Aliyev is consistent with Azerbaijan’s often-stated
desire to cooperate and work toward closer partnership with NATO.
The Partnership for Peace was founded by NATO in 1994 as a vehicle
for helping the formerly communist countries of central and eastern
Europe meet the criteria for joining the alliance.
The exercises planned for Baku, called “Cooperative Best Effort,”
were to have involved mock peacekeeping-support operations by small
military units from 22 countries.
An official here said Azerbaijan boycotted the same partnership
exercise last year, which was held in Armenia.
The two countries fought a five-year war in the early 1990’s
over Nagorno-Karabakh, a largely Armenian-populated region within
Azerbaijan.
The conflict ended with Armenian forces in control of the enclave,
though it is recognized internationally as being part of Azerbaijan.

NATO cancels war games in Azerbaijan over Armenia row
Agence France Presse — English
September 13, 2004 Monday
BAKU — NATO’s Supreme Command said Monday it had cancelled a
high-profile military exercise in Azerbaijan hours before it was due
to start after the authorities in Baku refused to let officers from
neighbouring Armenia take part.
There has been a public outcry in Azerbaijan over the participation of
Armenian servicemen in the war games because many Azeris have bitter
memories of a war between the two countries in the early 1990s.
“The (NATO) Supreme Command has decided to cancel the exercises,”
which had been due to get underway Tuesday, alliance spokesman
Lieutenant-Colonel Luis Aparicio said in a written statement.
“All (NATO) exercises are agreed and conducted on the principle
of inclusiveness for all allies and partners … We regret that
the principle of inclusiveness could not be held to in this case,
leading to the cancellation of the exercise.”
The announcement came after a wave of protests around Azerbaijan’s
capital, Baku, at the weekend against Armenian officers taking part
in the exercises, dubbed Cooperative Best Effort 2004.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said last week he did not want
servicemen from Armenia coming to Baku, and said he was taking
“necessary measures” to keep them out.
There has been bitterness between Azerbaijan and Armenia since
the two former Soviet republics fought a war over the enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The conflict left some 35,000 people dead and displaced about one
million civilians. It ended with Armenian forces in control of the
enclave, which under international law is a part of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan and Armenia are both members of NATO’s Partnership for
Peace programme, which is seen as a springboard to full membership
of the alliance.

PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
Contact: Information Desk
Tel: (374-1) 52-35-31
Email: [email protected]
Web:
Minister Oskanian Meets with NATO Secretary General, Discusses NATO Baku
Exercises
During a two-day working visit to Brussels, Armenia¹s Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian met with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
on Monday, September 13. The meeting took place just as Azerbaijan
continued to reject Armenian officers¹ participation in NATO Best
Effort Exercises to be held in Baku this week. The Secretary General
stated NATO¹s decision to cancel the exercises if Azerbaijan continued
to reject the participation of a member state. Minister Oskanian
welcomed NATO¹s principled stance on the matter, regretting this
missed opportunity for regional cooperation. Armenia, the Minister
said, remained ready to participate in and host NATO activities.
The Secretary General stated his satisfaction at Armenia¹s level
of engagement in NATO¹s Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, as well
as Armenia¹s recent decision to enter NATO¹s Individual Partnership
Action Plan.
Minister Oskanian said Armenia welcomes NATO¹s Istanbul declaration
in June to place greater emphasis on cooperation with the Caucasus
and Central Asia. The Secretary General¹s appointment of a Special
Representative to the Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as a Liaison
Officer in the three countries of the Caucasus is certain to strengthen
such cooperation, the two agreed. The Minister also said now that the
first Armenian contingent has returned from Kosovo, Armenia expects to
continue its participation in KFOR. Armenia looks forward to hosting
the Euro Atlantic Partnership Council¹s Seminar on Contribution to a
More Favorable Security Environment thru Public Information, to be held
in Yerevan this October, as well as the Annual Session of the Atlantic
Political Advisory Group of the EAPC, also in Yerevan, in April 2005.
Armenia¹s minister briefed the Secretary General on the status of
the Nagorno Karabakh peace process.
Minister Oskanian also met with US Ambassador to NATO, Nicholas
Burns. The two discussed Armenia¹s engagement in NATO programs,
regional security concerns, as well as issues related to conflict
resolution and confidence building.
On the same day, the Minister also had meetings scheduled with Belgian
Foreign Minister Karel de Goucht, as well as the European Union
Special Representative to the Caucasus, Ambassador Heikki Talvitie.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
September 13, 2004
___________________
ACYOA’S ASP TRIP CONNECTS YOUNG AMERICANS WITH ARMENIAN HERITAGE
While other travelers were reading magazines or watching the on-board
movie, members of one group of young passengers were practicing phrases
to help them communicate with Armenian children.
Those 26 young Armenian Americans were headed to their homeland as
participants in the Armenia Service Program (ASP), organized by the
Armenian Church Youth Organization of America (ACYOA). They traveled to
Armenia not just to see the sites, but also serve as counselors at Camp
Siranoosh, a summer camp for needy children in the Yeghegnazdor region
of Armenia.
NEW FRIENDS FOR LIFE
The ASP participants worked with 95 campers, who were divided into five
groups. Activities rotated through arts and crafts, English lessons,
sports, dancing, and religion taught by the ASP group leader Fr.
Haigazoun Najarian of the St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Church of Wynnewood,
PA.
“We were the ones who taught them English, but they taught us a million
new ways to say ‘I love you’,” said Anoush Froundjian from the Holy
Martyrs Church of Bayside, NY.
It isn’t just the kids that make Camp Siranoosh so unique. It is
situated in a remote area of Armenia, far from the nearest city and even
a distance from the nearest tiny village. It is a beautiful place that
encourages self-reflection.
“Of all the wonderful moments I had at Camp Siranoush, breathing in the
fresh air and seeing the panoramic view of the mountains will forever be
in my mind,” said Anjelle Rudowicz, of the Sts. Joachim and Anne Church
of Palos Heights, IL.
Bonds quickly formed between the young campers and their new American
buddies. After two weeks at camp, the last day was filled with emotion
— hugs and kisses, followed by tears. E-mails and addresses were
exchanged, and promises were made to keep in touch and visit again soon.
“These kids are no longer just my friends; they are my brothers and
sisters,” said Levon Sukiasian from New York City.
Sad to see their counselors leave, the children also offered up gifts of
appreciation. And while they were small tokens, they were large in the
hearts of the children.
“The kids at camp were incredible. They had nothing and yet they wanted
to give us everything,” said Laura Kasparian from the Sts. Sahag and
Mesrob Church of Providence, RI. “I will always remember their smiles,
their energy, and their enthusiasm.”
FIRST TIME IN ARMENIA
The 2004 ASP trip was filled to capacity. Many were making their first
trip to Armenia, so for them the visit was moving enough, without all
the unique sightseeing experiences and the love of the children at the
camp.
“Who knew it was possible to fall in love with a place the second you
get off the plane? That was the case for me,” said first-time Armenia
visitor Sarine Zenian of the St. Mary Church of Washington, DC.
The participants saw historic and cultural sites throughout Armenia.
>>From ancient churches to modern theaters, they got a taste of Armenian
culture. They were touched by visiting the historic sites of their
faith. During a celebration of the Divine Liturgy at Khor Virab, they
climbed down into St. Gregory’s Pit.
“One thing I will never forget about my trip to Armenia is when I
climbed down into the pit,” said Harry Kezelian, of the St. John Church
of Southfield, MI. “Standing where St. Gregory once stood, to see with
my own eyes the place where the fate of the Armenian nation was
determined, a place without which we would not be here today as Armenian
Christians, was for me a moving experience.
“It’s strange to think that such a humble hole in the ground has so much
history. But then it’s fitting for our Christian religion, a humble
faith by nature. Just as a Jerusalem pilgrimage is important for all
Christians, a trip to Khor Virab is important for all Armenian
Christians to experience. What a strengthening of faith it is to stand
where St. Gregory lived for 13 years in order to give our people the
‘Good News’.”
Along with seeing important places in their homeland, they connected
with the people of Armenia. They had imaginary tea parties with the
young children at Yerevan’s Children’s Reception Center run by the Fund
for Armenian Relief (FAR). They joked and took pictures with waiters
while marveling at the rich taste of the fruits and vegetables of
Armenia.
“You don’t just go and visit Armenia, you go and experience Armenia,”
said Arese Soghomonian from the St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Church in
Wynnewood, PA.
MEETING WITH THE CATHOLICOS
One highly anticipated part of the trip was a visit to the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin and a meeting with His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme
Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. The ASP group was given a
special tour of some of the beautiful works of art and artifacts in the
collection of the Mother See, before being escorted in to meet the
Catholicos. The meeting is just one of the unique opportunities the ASP
trip provides its participants each year.
“We had several opportunities on this trip, such as working with the
kids at Camp Siranoush and meeting Vehapar, that we would not have had
on any other trip,” said Alex Sarkesian from the St. John Church of
Southfield, MI.
After introductions, the participants had an opportunity to ask
questions, covering a wide variety of topics, and discuss many issues
with the Catholicos. As they left the meeting, the participants had
smiles on their faces and memories of an intimate conversation with
their Vehapar to share with loved ones at home.
“This trip to Armenia surpassed all of my expectations. It has ignited
a spark within me that will last a lifetime,” reflected Michael
Ohanesian of New York City.
“The ASP trip was a life-changing experience. This trip is, by far, one
of the best choices I’ve ever made,” said Jonathan Banks of Southfield,
MI. “I developed a very close relationship with each participant. I
can’t imagine having this experience without them. I also look forward
to attending church and sharing my experiences with the members of my
parish.”
The ACYOA website has an online journal from this year’s ASP
participants. Visit it by going to
This year’s ASP trip was booked full and the Diocese provided $7,800
divided among all the participants to help cover their costs. If you
would like more information on next year’s trip, contact ACYOA Executive
Secretary Nancy Basmajian by e-mailing [email protected] or
calling (212) 686-0710.
— 9/13/04
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News
and Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): While serving as a counselor at Camp Siranoosh, a
participant in the 2004 Armenia Service Program (ASP), teaches a camper
how to play the guitar.
PHOTO CAPTION (2): Campers at Camp Siranoosh in Armenia show off
bookmarks they made with the help of ASP participants, who traveled to
Armenia on the ACYOA-organized trip from June 24 to July 15, 2004.
PHOTO CAPTION (3): Fr. Haigazoun Najarian of the St. Sahag and St.
Mesrob Church of Wynnewood, PA, who led the 2004 ASP trip, leads a Bible
study during the group’s two-week stay at Camp Siranoosh in the
Yeghegnazdor region of Armenia.
PHOTO CAPTION (4): Participants in the ACYOA-organized ASP trip meet
with His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, one of the highlights of their stay in Armenia from June 24
to July 15, 2004.
# # #

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
_________________________________________ ____________________
RFE/RL Iran Report
Vol. 7, No. 31, 13 September 2004
A Review of Developments in Iran Prepared by the Regional Specialists
of RFE/RL’s Newsline Team
************************************************************
HEADLINES:
* BAHA’IS SOUND THE ALARM ON ABUSES IN IRAN
* IS THE HOJJATIEH SOCIETY MAKING A COMEBACK?
* POLL SUGGESTS IRANIANS NOT INTERESTED IN NEWS
* IRAN TO LAUNCH WEATHER SATELLITE
* SYRIA’S LEBANESE OCCUPATION GETS IRANIAN THUMBS-UP
* INTELLIGENCE MINISTER DEFENDS LEBANESE HIZBALLAH
* IRAQIS LOOK AT THEIR EASTERN NEIGHBOR
* AL-SADR’S IRANIAN CONNECTION QUESTIONED
* RUMSFELD SAYS IRAN ‘NOT PART OF THE CIVILIZED WORLD’
* KHATAMI SIGNS SEVEN AGREEMENTS IN ARMENIA…
* …AND HEADS TO BELARUS
* SOME IRANIAN OFFICIALS QUESTION VALUE OF NUCLEAR AGREEMENTS
* ISRAEL CALLS FOR PRESSURE ON IRAN
* SKEPTICAL REACTION TO TEHRAN’S NEW NUCLEAR PROMISES
************************************************************
BAHA’IS SOUND THE ALARM ON ABUSES IN IRAN. The National Spiritual
Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States asserts, in an
advertisement in “The New York Times” of 12 September, that the
Iranian government has persecuted the 300,000 members of the
religious minority for the last quarter century, the Baha’i World
News Service reported (; see
the advertisement at ). The
advertisement compares the Iranian theocracy’s actions with those
of the Taliban when it destroyed the ancient rock statues of Buddha
at Bamian, Afghanistan.
The Iranian government’s most recent attack on the
Baha’i faith is the destruction in June of the Tehran house of
Mirza Abbas Nuri, father of Baha’i founder Mirza Hussein Ali Nuri
(also known as Bahaullah). A 13 September press release from the
Baha’i community notes that, earlier in the year, Iranian
authorities destroyed the gravesite in Babol of Mullah Mohammad-Ali
Barfurushi, a prominent Baha’i known as Quddus. Bani Dugal, a
Baha’i representative, described these developments as “part of a
concerted plan on the part of the Iranian government to gradually
extinguish the Baha’i Faith as a cultural force and cohesive
entity.” (Bill Samii)
IS THE HOJJATIEH SOCIETY MAKING A COMEBACK? Friday Prayer leaders
throughout Iran warned their congregations in early July of renewed
activities on the part of the Hojjatieh Society — a strongly
anti-Baha’i movement that has long been regarded as a potent, if
secretive threat to the ruling elites (both imperial and clerical)
that have run Iran since the Hojjatieh Society was created in the
middle of the last century. In Shahrud, Ayatollah Abbas Amini said
that Hojjatieh activists are recruiting new members in the city’s
mosques, Radio Farda reported on 11 July.
The Hojjatieh Mahdavieh Society was established in 1953 by a
preacher from Mashhad, Sheikh Mahmud Halabi, who supported Prime
Minister Mohammad Mussadiq. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi allowed the
society to pursue its anti-Baha’i activities after Mussadiq’s
August 1953 ouster, in exchange for the clerical community’s
support for his renewed reign. Society member Mohammad Taqi
Falsafi’s anti-Baha’i sermons were broadcast by state radio,
for example, and Tehran’s Military-Governor Teimour Bakhtiar took
a pick-ax to the Baha’i temple in Tehran in May 1955. Around that
time, Halabi persuaded the Marja-yi Taqlid (source of emulation)
Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Tabatabai Borujerdi to issue a fatwa
banning transactions with Baha’is, according to Baqer Moin’s
“Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah” (1999).
After that, the Hojjatieh Society entered a period of
relative inactivity, although the same cannot be said of Falsafi. The
shah’s court minister, Assadollah Alam, wrote in his diaries that
in 1963 Falsafi preached against the shah’s reform program and,
after a June 1963 riot, Alam had Falsafi imprisoned (Assadollah Alam,
“The Shah and I,” Alinaghi Alikhani, ed. [1991]).
There is more to the Hojjatieh Society than its
anti-Baha’i beliefs, however, although the depths of those
beliefs say a great deal about the society. While Baha’i leader
Mirza Hussein Ali Nuri (1817-1892) — who declared himself a prophet
known as Bahaullah (most Muslims view Muhammad as the final prophet
in Islam) — disputed the existence of a hidden imam, Hojjatieh
members believe that true Islamic government must await the return of
the hidden imam, or Mahdi, who is currently in occultation. For much
the same reasons, the Hojjatieh Society opposed Ayatollah
Khomeini’s theory of Islamic government and Vilayat-i Faqih (rule
of the supreme jurisconsult). It favors collective leadership of the
religious community, and opposes religious involvement in political
affairs.
The Hojjatieh Society enjoyed a revival after the 1978-1979
Islamic revolution; fearing a communist takeover, Sheikh Mahmud
Halabi urged his followers to vote in favor of Vilayat-i Faqih in the
December 1979 referendum on the country’s form of government.
Moin writes that the society was well organized at the time and its
members had “impeccable religious credentials,” so they were able to
fill administrative gaps left by revolutionary purges, as was
particularly the case in the educational sector. Some cabinet members
allegedly had Hojjatieh links as well.
Prominent clerics of the revolutionary era who were Hojjatieh
members or sympathizers included Ahmad Azari-Qomi, Ali-Akbar
Parvaresh, Mohammad Reza Mahdavi-Kani, Abolqasem Khazali, and Ali
Akbar Nateq-Nuri, according to Mehdi Moslem’s “Factional Politics
in Post-Khomeini Iran” (2002). None of them acknowledged their
relationship with the society, however, maintaining more open ties
with the Islamic Coalition Association (now the Islamic Coalition
Party) and with the bazaar sector.
Within a few years this situation changed. Concern arose
about the society’s secretiveness, as did resentment of its
members’ success. An increasingly intolerant Khomeini, Moin
writes, attacked the society and what it stood for. He said in a 12
July 1983 speech: “Those who believe we should allow sins to increase
until the Twelfth Imam reappears should modify and reconsider their
position…. If you believe in your country [then] get rid of this
factionalism and join the wave that is carrying the nation forward,
otherwise it will break you.” The Hojjatieh Society announced its
dissolution on the same day, according to Moin.
The formal end of the Hojjatieh Society did not necessarily
mean the end to its role in politics. Ali Akbar Nateq-Nuri, for
example, became the speaker of the fifth parliament and currently
serves on the Expediency Council and as an adviser to Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Ali-Akbar Parvaresh served as deputy speaker
of parliament and education minister. Ayatollah Ahmad
Azari-Qomi-Bigdeli served as public prosecutor, represented Khomeini
during a parliamentary review of the constitution, represented Qom in
the legislature, served on the Assembly of Experts, and headed the
Resalat Foundation (the regime eventually put him under house arrest
for questioning the system of Vilayat-i Faqih and questioning the
qualifications of Supreme Leader Khamenei; he died in 1999).
Warnings of renewed Hojjatieh Society activism appeared again
in 2002. Minister of Intelligence and Security Hojatoleslam Ali
Yunesi told a press conference that a group of people in Qom was
arrested on charges of supporting the society and trying to fuel
religious discord, and their books and pamphlets were confiscated,
“Toseh” reported on 27 August 2002. Rudsar and Amlash parliamentary
representative Davud Hasanzadegan-Rudsari said a little later that
the revived Hojjatieh Society is “exacerbating the Shi’a-Sunni
conflict,” “Aftab-i Yazd” reported on 1 September 2002. Hasanzadegan
described the society as “the embodiment of obscurantism.”
An editorial in the 1 September 2002 issue of the
conservative “Kayhan” newspaper took a very different tack when
discussing reports of renewed political activity by the Hojjatieh
Society. It claimed there are many similarities between the reformist
2nd of Khordad grouping and the Hojjatieh Society. Both advocate the
separation of politics and religion; just as the society opposes
creation of an Islamic government, the reformists are “trying to
separate the Islamic from the republic and then gradually turn the
Islamic system into a secular system of government.” Society members
and reformists enjoy luxury and wealth, according to the editorial,
and they both opposed Vilayat-i Faqih.
The editorial went on to claim that both groups accept all
sorts of sin and social corruption. “The only difference is that
association members say we should not fight vice so that it spreads
and the Mahdi will emerge, while certain reformers say that the
democratic principle demands that the people be left alone to do as
they please, even if it means loose morals and social corruption.”
The Hojjatieh Society, mainly because it opposes Marxism, is
pro-Western, according to the editorial, as is the 2nd of Khordad
grouping.
The Hojjatieh Society was also mentioned occasionally in
2003. Government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh said on 8 January
that Hojjatieh Society members who infiltrate the government would be
dealt with in the same way as other citizens, “Iran Daily” reported
the next day. Assembly of Experts member Hojatoleslam Hashem
Hashemzadeh-Harisi said in the same newspaper that the infiltration
of the government by such “radicals” threatens the Islamic system and
undermines national solidarity. On the sidelines of the 9 March
legislative session, Tehran representative Ali Shakuri-Rad allegedly
said that the Hojjatieh Society should be licensed as a political
party, “Resalat” reported on 10 March (“Towseh” put this into context
on 10 March, when it reported that Shakuri-Rad was comparing his
political opponents to the Hojjatieh Society).
“Aftab-i Yazd” on 7 October 2003 criticized an unnamed cleric
for defending the Hojjatieh Society. This cleric reportedly claimed
that Ayatollah Khomeini was deceived into criticizing the Hojjatieh
Society.
Sectarian conflicts reemerged in spring 2004 (see “RFE/RL
Iran Report,” 6 September 2004), which some sources linked to the
Hojjatieh Society. Rasul Montajabnia wrote in a commentary for
“Nasim-i Saba” on 4 May that members or supporters of the society
have stopped their fight against the Baha’i faith and have turned
their attention to creating divisions between Shi’a and Sunni
Muslims. Montajabnia repeated this concern in the 12 May
“Hambastegi.”
Hussein Shariatmadari, director of the “Kayhan” newspaper,
said, “The Hojjatieh Society has always been active as a creeping
current,” “Aftab-i Yazd” reported on 31 May 2004. Turning to its
renewed activism, Shariatmadari warned, “In these days all the
currents that suggest a secular establishment are the supporters of
this society.”
Ayatollah Abolqasem Khazali, who served on the Guardians
Council, defended the Hojjatieh Society in the 18 May 2004 “Aftab-i
Yazd.” He said that stories of its renewed activism are “completely a
lie.” “I know these people [society members] very well. They are not
working. They would have worked if they had known it was good for
Islam. Therefore it is a complete lie when they say they have become
active again.”
It is difficult to verify if the Hojjatieh Society really has
become more active as an organization or if recent warnings about it
relate to something completely different and this is another case of
governmental scapegoating.
Members of the Hojjatieh Society, according to Radio Farda,
are followers of the Iranian-born but Al-Najaf-based Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani
;dd=11&yy04#top. Such a
claim has not been reported elsewhere, but it is not impossible and
goes some way in explaining official Iranian concern. The Iranian
regime bases much of its legitimacy on its religious credentials and
connection with Qom. The Qom howzeh would fear the transfer of
prominence to the Al-Najaf howzeh. As suggested by an editorial in
the 8 June “Farhang-i Ashti,” Al-Najaf is the “new Islamic Vatican”
and it rivals Qom. Mashhad — birthplace of the Hojjatieh Society —
also rivals Qom, especially because, according to the editorial, it
views Islamic rule with “deep suspicion.” The editorial explains:
“Qom looks to merge religion and politics, while Mashhad thinks of
separating the two.”
A potential link to the Hojjatieh Society is not the only
cause of concern on the part of the Iranian government about
Ayatollah al-Sistani. Like the Hojjatieh Society, al-Sistani does not
advocate Vilayat-i Faqih. The government’s concern about a
religio-political organization that questions the basis of its
theocratic system is therefore understandable. The society’s
anti-Baha’i message may not find much of an audience in modern
Iran, and the right-wing tendencies of prominent members may not jibe
with overall public sentiment. Its opposition to the system, however,
may very well strike a chord with an unhappy public. (Bill Samii)
POLL SUGGESTS IRANIANS NOT INTERESTED IN NEWS. A recent nationwide
poll by the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) suggests that the
majority of Iranians do not follow the news very closely. In an ISNA
report on the poll’s results on 8 September, 82 percent of those
surveyed listen to less than one hour of radio daily and 59.9 percent
watch only one hour of television daily, while 12.2 percent watch
less than 30 minutes of satellite television daily and 25.5 percent
watch up to one hour of satellite television a day. Concerning
newspaper readership, 38.8 percent of respondents said that they do
not read newspapers at all, while 24.7 percent read a newspaper for
less than 30 minutes a day. Internet use is also remarkably low, with
81 percent not having any access at all to the Internet and 74
percent not having a computer at home. Of those who do have Internet
access, according to the poll, 42.1 percent use it less than 30
minutes a day. (Bill Samii)
IRAN TO LAUNCH WEATHER SATELLITE. Scientific and Industrial Research
Center chief Mohammad Fathi said on 2 September that Iran will launch
its first satellite by May 2005, Reuters reported, citing Iranian
state television. Fathi said the domestically made Mesbah satellite
would be used for meteorology and geology.
A few days later, an Israeli satellite intended to provide
real-time information on Iran’s missile program crashed just
minutes after its launch. The Israeli Defense Ministry announced on 6
September that the launch of its Ofek-6 satellite failed,
Jerusalem’s Channel 2 television and the website run by “Yediot
Aharonot” () reported. One of its four
directional engines malfunctioned and the rocket and payload crashed
into the Mediterranean Sea. Ofek-6 was intended to replace Ofek-5,
according to “Ha’aretz.” Ofek-5 will function for a few more
years, and an anonymous source close to the project estimates that
another replacement satellite can be put in place in time if the
necessary funds are available. The failure of the Ofek-6 cost
approximately $50 million.
Iranian Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics
Admiral Ali Shamkhani said on 7 September that Iran is willing to
demonstrate its Shihab-3 missile “in the presence of observers,” IRNA
reported. Iran test-fired the missile on 11 August (see “RFE/RL Iran
Report,” 17 August 2004). Shamkhani went on to say that Iran
continuously upgrades its defensive capabilities as part of its
policy of deterrence. “Being powerful does not necessarily mean
war-mongering, neither do the roads of peace lead to concession,”
Shamkhani said (Bill Samii).
SYRIA’S LEBANESE OCCUPATION GETS IRANIAN THUMBS-UP. President
Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami telephoned his Lebanese counterpart,
Emile Lahud, on 7 September to congratulate him on the extension of
his presidency for another three years, the Lebanese National News
Agency (LNNA) reported. The previous day, a Hizballah delegation that
included the chief of Hizballah’s Political Council, Al-Sayyid
Ibrahim Amin al-Sayyid, Mustafa al-Hajj Ali, Khadir Nur-al-Din,
Hassan Hadraj, Ghalib Abu-Zaynab, Muhammad Salih, Mustafa al-Dirani,
Hassan Izz-al-Din, Mahmud Qamati and Wafiq Safa, visited Lahud to
convey Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah’s congratulations, LNNA
reported.
These sentiments are not universal, as the extension of
Lahud’s six-year presidential term is the result of a
constitutional amendment pushed by Syria. The Lebanese parliament
voted by 96 to 29 for the amendment on 3 September.
Four cabinet members resigned in protest on 7 September, news
agencies reported.
The UN Security Council adopted on 2 September a resolution
that called for free elections in Lebanon “conducted according to
Lebanese constitutional rules devised without foreign interference or
influence;” in other words, calling for an end to Syrian interference
in Lebanese affairs. The UN resolution also calls for the withdrawal
of foreign forces from the country and the disarmament of militias,
in what is seen as a reference to Hizballah. Syria’s ambassador
to the UN, Fayssal Mekdad, retorted, “Syria is not a foreign force in
Lebanon, it is there at the request of the Lebanese government.”
There are 15,000-20,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon. (Bill Samii)
INTELLIGENCE MINISTER DEFENDS LEBANESE HIZBALLAH. While Tehran
continues to deny involvement with international terrorism, observers
in Israel suggest the opposite may be the case.
Iran’s Minister of Intelligence and Security Hojatoleslam
Ali Yunesi reiterated, in a 31 August press conference, the official
Iranian position that Lebanese Hizballah is a liberation movement,
IRNA and ISNA reported. The U.S. State Department classifies
Hizballah as a foreign terrorist organization. Responding to a
question about U.S. claims that Iran supports terrorism, Yunesi said,
“If they mean Iran’s support for Hizballah, they should know that
the Hizballah is a legal group which was created to fight Israel. It
is a defense organization which was established in order to defend
the Lebanese people and land,” ISNA reported. Yunesi added that this
is why many states in the region support Hizballah.
The State Department also asserts that Iran supports the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, two other groups labeled as
foreign terrorist organizations that are active in Israel. According
to Yunesi, however, “We do not consider the Intifada [uprising] of
the Palestinian people as a terrorist movement,” IRNA reported. “It
is the very right of the Palestinians people to defend themselves and
all Muslim countries support them.”
Hizballah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qasim appeared to
confirm the importance of Iran to his organization during a late-July
ceremony in the town of Tulin, when he said “We must stand side by
side against the Israeli enemy, because Lebanon’s strength is
part of Syria’s strength, and Iran’s support and
[Hizballah’s] support for Palestine are an honor for us,”
“Al-Mustaqbal” reported on 26 July.
Anonymous sources in the Israeli defense establishment said
that Iranian involvement in terrorism in the occupied territories has
increased, Voice of Israel reported on 1 August. These activities
mostly are run through Hizballah in Lebanon and, according to the
Voice of Israel reporter, “During the past two years Hizballah has
tripled or even quadrupled the scope of its operations in the
territories.”
A commentary in the 27 July issue of “The Jerusalem Post”
stated that the threat to Israel from rockets provided to Hizballah
by Iran and Syria has grown, both in range and quantity. Iran is
supplying an array of rockets by air and sea and overland from Syria,
while both countries are providing logistical support and training as
well.
Israeli Defense Forces intelligence chief Major-General
Aharon Ze’evi-Farkash said on 2 September, “we are dealing with a
threat on the northern front. That also means Hizballah and Iran, as
well as Syria,” “Maariv” reported on 3 September. He continued, “I
call this [threat] a bag of mixed sanctions — economic, political.
and military.”
Israel’s ability to directly target Hizballah is limited,
according to “Yediot Aharonot” on 3 September. “However, Israel can
influence Hizballah by exerting pressure on the organization’s
patrons,” which were identified earlier as Iran and Syria. The
Israel-Palestinian conflict benefits Iran because it diverts the Arab
world’s attention and permits Iranian activism in the Persian
Gulf and Iraq. Because Israel’s ability to influence Iran is
limited, it should target Syria. (Bill Samii)
IRAQIS LOOK AT THEIR EASTERN NEIGHBOR. Interim Iraqi Deputy Prime
Minister Barham Salih, during a visit to Tehran, said on 31 August
that Iran and Iraq agree that the two countries’ political
decision to have good relations should be “converted into a working
plan,” Al-Arabiyah television reported. He added, “Instability in
Iraq will have adverse consequences for the entire region.”
Salih, Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib, and Minister of
State for Provinces Wail Abd al-Latif met with Supreme National
Security Council Secretary Hojatoleslam Hassan Rohani on 30 August,
IRNA reported. Rohani noted that the security of Iran and of Iraq is
linked, and Iraq’s security has a regional impact. Salih
reassured his host, “We will not allow any threat to be posed against
Iran,” and he added that coalition forces would not be allowed to
stay in Iraq any longer than necessary.
The Iraqis met with Interior Minister Abdolvahed Musavi-Lari
on 29 August, IRNA reported the next day. Citing an Interior Ministry
press release, IRNA reported, “The officials of both sides should
notice that the enemies are frightened with [sic] the close ties
between the two neighboring countries and their peaceful
coexistence.” Their discussions reportedly addressed pilgrimage
traffic, the establishment of border markets, trade fairs, investment
in border provinces, and cooperation in counternarcotics.
Salih said afterwards that the discussions in Iran were frank
and cordial, “Al-Shira” reported on 4 September. Allegations of
Iranian involvement in Iraqi unrest continue to trouble the two
countries’ budding relationship. Salih told “Al-Shira,” “We will
not allow the country to turn into an arena for settling accounts
between Iran and the United States, for example.” He added, in what
could be a reassurance to Iran, “We will not allow our country to
turn into a launching pad for strikes at the interests of our
neighbors.” He said coalition forces are in Iraq to help establish
security and stability, and those who want the coalition to leave
must help the Iraqi government maintain security.
Interim Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim al-Ja’fari is said
to have addressed this issue during his late-August trip to Iran. He
was reportedly very forthright in a meeting with an unnamed Supreme
National Security Council official and an unnamed adviser to the
supreme leader, and he criticized Iranian military and security
units’ “blatant interference,” Alireza Nurizadeh writes in the 4
September “Al-Sharq al-Awsat.” Al-Ja’fari added that the charge
d’affaires, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, is being watched closely by Iraqi
security services, as was Qods Corps officer Khalil Naimi. Shot dead
in Baghdad on 15 April by unknown assailants, Naimi was identified
officially as the cultural and press attache at the Iranian embassy
(see “RFE/RL Iran Report,” 19 April 2004). Al-Ja’fari told the
Iranians that Qomi should avoid doing things that would get him
expelled.
Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi discussed these
allegations on 29 August, Italy’s “Corriere della Sera” reported
on 30 August. He said, “We ask that they respect our sovereignty and
do not interfere in our internal affairs.” Allawi said that although
Iraq is weak now, it has the potential to be rich and strong, so calm
is in everybody’s interest. Addressing the possibility of his
visiting Iran, a subject referred to frequently in the Iranian media,
Allawi said, “If the conditions were there, I myself could soon go to
Tehran.”
Salah al-Shaikhly, the Iraqi ambassador to the United
Kingdom, said on 2 September that Baghdad has good relations with the
governments in Tehran and Riyadh, “Haaretz” reported on 3 September.
Al-Shaikhly made his assertion in response to questions about his
colleagues’ accusations of Iranian interference in Iraqi affairs.
The problem relates to autonomous actors in these countries, he said.
“The problem is that these structures [central governments] do not
have control over the fanatical zealots that send forces across the
border to Iraq,” al-Shaikhly said. He explained that Baghdad has
asked the central governments in Saudi Arabia and Iran to take
action. He said, “We approached the two governments and asked them to
deal with this, as they are better equipped than we are to do so.”
Iraqi Defense Minister Hazim Sha’lan al-Khuza’i said
on 3 September that some of Iraq’s neighbors are fueling unrest
there and, when pressed, he said, “Yes, it is Iran. I have said it
before…. and I say Iran, Iran, Iran,” AP reported. He said Iran is
promoting violence in his country as a way to “settle its scores”
with the United States, AP reported. (Bill Samii)
AL-SADR’S IRANIAN CONNECTION QUESTIONED. Two recent reports
suggest that some of the Iranian support for Iraqi cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr may be drying up.
Ansar al-Sunnah leader Abu Abdallah al-Hassan bin Mahmud
criticized Iran in an interview published in the 21-27 August issue
of the Beirut political weekly “Al-Muharrir” (for a description of
the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, see “RFE/RL Iraq Report,” 4 June 2004). He
said bombings that target Iraqi citizens are carried out by
organizations representing Iran, because the Persians bear a grudge
dating from the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. Abu al-Hassan accused the
Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, al-Da’wah
al-Islamiya, and the Islamic Action Organization of being Iranian
products. Abu al-Hassan claimed that Iranian intelligence operatives
killed Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI)
leader Muhammad Baqer al-Hakim because he turned against his Iranian
patrons by promoting a democratic federal Iraq rather than a
Shi’a theocracy.
The Iranians, furthermore, want the “fatwa headquarters”
transferred from Al-Najaf to Qom, Abu al-Hassan said. Iran’s
objective in Iraq is to spread Shi’a Islam, create an Islamic
government, have the Shi’a rule the country, buy land, and
“obliterate the Iraqi identity.” He added that Iran wants to control
the shrines, introduce prostitution networks, sell drugs, and create
sectarian strife.
Abu al-Hassan added, in his interview in “Al-Muharrir,” that
his organization works with Muqtada al-Sadr’s Imam Al-Mahdi Army.
This cooperation is based on a note from al-Sadr’s father,
Mohammad Sadiq al-Sadr, that said if he is martyred his sons should
“follow the fatwas of Al-Sayyid [Kazem] al-Haeri and Sheikh Dr. Ahmad
al-Kubaisi. You must unite with the Sunnis.” Subsequently, the Ansar
al-Sunnah and the Imam Al-Mahdi Army exchanged personnel. “Therefore,
the relationship can be described as intimate,” Abu al-Hassan said.
Al-Haeri is an Iraqi cleric based in Qom who issued a fatwa
in April 2003 declaring that al-Sadr is his deputy in Iraq (see
“RFE/RL Iran Report,” 28 April 2003).
Since then, the 68-year-old al-Haeri has renounced his
relationship with al-Sadr. “Mr. al-Sadr used to be our
representative…but that was on condition of obedience to and
coordination with our office in Al-Najaf,” al-Haeri said in comments
posted on his website, AP reported on 5 September. Al-Sadr “does not
coordinate with our office, so his agency became void,” according to
the website, which added that al-Sadr “does not seek our advice in
his stances, so we cannot endorse what he does.” According to a 5
September report in “The New York Times,” al-Haeri withdrew his
support for al-Sadr after Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani informed senior
clerics in Qom that the Imam al-Mahdi Army caused some of the battle
damage at the Imam Ali shrine in Al-Najaf. (Bill Samii)
RUMSFELD SAYS IRAN ‘NOT PART OF THE CIVILIZED WORLD.’ “Iran
is a country that is not part of the civilized world in terms of its
behavior,” U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in a 7
September interview that was published in “The Washington Times” one
day later. Rumsfeld was discussing the provision of money and
personnel from Iran to the continuing insurgency in Iraq, although he
conceded that it is not clear who in Iran is behind this. Rumsfeld
said, “By ‘they,’ I’m not going to say which element of
the government or whether it’s even known to the government.” He
continued, “But money has come in from Iran. People have come in from
Iran. And it’s a very difficult thing to stop.” Rumsfeld also
criticized the international community’s lax approach towards
Iran. He said, “And when you have countries of the world that are not
willing to participate in an organized effort to try to persuade a
country to behave in a civilized way, it encourages them simply to
continue on its merry way.” (Bill Samii)
KHATAMI SIGNS SEVEN AGREEMENTS IN ARMENIA… President Hojatoleslam
Mohammad Khatami arrived in Yerevan on 8 September for a two-day
visit, news agencies reported. Khatami was accompanied by Foreign
Minister Kamal Kharrazi, Energy Minister Habibullah Bitaraf, Economic
Affairs and Finance Minister Safdar Husseini, and Commerce Minister
Mohammad Shariatmadari. The two sides signed agreements on bilateral
cooperation, and on cooperation in the energy, culture, and customs
fields, Armenian public television and Arminfo reported.
The energy agreements include one on financing a gas pipeline
from Megri to Kadzharan in southern Armenia, and another on
construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. The formal agreement
on the pipeline was signed in May (see “RFE/RL Newsline,” 14 May
2004), and Armenia’s ambassador to Tehran, Gegham Gharibjanian,
told RFE/RL in early September that work on the Iranian section of
the pipeline is already underway. Work on the Armenia section will
begin by the end of October, Gharibjanian told Interfax on 9
September.
Khatami and his Armenian counterpart, Robert Kocharian,
issued a joint statement emphasizing their belief that the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute should be settled peacefully and that they
had agreed on counterterrorism and counternarcotics issues. Khatami
visited the Blue Mosque in Yerevan and addressed the Armenian
legislature.
During a 9 September meeting with students and staff at
Yerevan State University, Khatami dismissed the possibility of his
country’s East Azerbaijan Province merging with the Republic of
Azerbaijan, Mediamax reported. Khatami said that Iranian-Azeris are
active in Iranian economic and political affairs, as well as culture
and science. Irredentist groups in Azerbaijan cite suppression of
co-ethnics in Iran and call for unification.
On the same day, Khatami met with Iranians who live in
Armenia, IRNA reported. Khatami noted Armenians’ ability to
protect their ethnic identity through 70 years of Soviet rule and
added that ethnic Armenians are active in many aspects of Iranian
life. (Bill Samii)
…AND HEADS TO BELARUS. President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus
officially greeted President Mohammad Khatami on 10 September, IRNA
reported. Khatami arrived in Minsk on 9 September. On the same day,
he told Iranians living in Belarus that trade is an important means
of communication, adding that trade exhibitions can strengthen
Iran-Belarus bilateral ties, IRNA reported.
Iranian Ambassador to Minsk Mohammad Musa Hashemi-Golpayegani
said on 9 September that the two sides signed agreements on
agriculture, trade, bilateral relations, culture, sports, and
customs, ITAR-TASS and Interfax reported. Khatami is scheduled to
leave for Dushanbe on 11 September. (Bill Samii)
SOME IRANIAN OFFICIALS QUESTION VALUE OF NUCLEAR AGREEMENTS. While
top Iranian officials voice Tehran’s support for and commitment
to the country’s nuclear-treaty obligations, they also stress the
related advantage of a dialogue with Europe. There are, however,
occasional voices of dissent.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi said on 5
September that Iran remains committed to its suspension of uranium
enrichment, IRNA reported. The Europeans should understand that
manufacturing parts for use in uranium enrichment centrifuges is a
completely different matter, he said.
Iranian government spokesman Abdullah Ramezanzadeh said on 6
September that Tehran is committed to discussing its nuclear program
with the EU, Radio Farda reported. Ramezanzadeh said Iran expects the
Europeans to fulfill commitments they made when the British, French,
and German foreign ministers visited Tehran in October 2003 (see
“RFE/RL Iran Report,” 27 October 2003; for the full text of the
agreement, see
2003.shtml). Ramezanzadeh said Iran is committed to the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty’s Additional Protocol, and it expects
other countries to fulfill their commitments. The International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors is scheduled to meet
on 13 September, and the most recent IAEA report indicates that
Iranian cooperation with the agency has improved (see “RFE/RL Iran
Report,” 6 September 2004).
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Hojatoleslam
Hassan Rohani discussed the nuclear issue and bilateral trade matters
with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Foreign Minister
Bernard Bot on 6 September, Radio Farda reported. The Netherlands
currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency. Rohani told Iranian
state television afterwards that the two sides discussed 10 topics,
including Iran-EU relations and the nuclear program. Rohani stressed
that Iran will not forsake its right to pursue peaceful nuclear
activities, and he emphasized that questions on this subject can be
resolved through dialogue. Rohani added that Iran expects the
Europeans to fulfill their October 2003 commitments (see above), IRNA
reported.
Some Iranian officials, on the other hand, question the
benefit of Iran’s stated commitment to the NPT and the additional
protocol. Dr. Rezai, identified by ISNA as an “international affairs
expert at our country’s Atomic Energy Organization,” said on 6
September that any obligations imposed by the NPT and the additional
protocol limit state sovereignty. For that reason, Rezai continued,
“we cannot, generally speaking, argue that our country will derive
any benefits from accepting international treaties such as the NPT or
the protocol.”
Iran’s difficulties with the IAEA, Rezai continued, are
political rather than technical or scientific. For that reason, he
said, Iranian officials must find a political solution to the
problem. Rezai went on to say that some Iranians believe the country
should adhere to its revolutionary principles in addressing the
issue, but “a rather expansive definition of our foreign policy
principles” has “limited the freedom of action of our country’s
diplomats.”
Tehran parliamentary representative Elham Aminzadeh and
Islamabad-i Gharb representative Heshmatollah Falahat-Pisheh said in
the 5 September “Kayhan” that Iran cannot be forced to sign an
agreement. Rashid Jalali from Karaj and Hussein Nejabat from Tehran
said the legislature would approve accession to the additional
protocol if doing so does not undermine Iran’s national
interests. Nejabat added, “If joining the additional protocol is to
be accompanied with international pressure and force and if our
interests are ignored and if it is used as a lever of pressure to
keep us away from our real interests, there is no reason why we
should approve it.” (Bill Samii)
ISRAEL CALLS FOR PRESSURE ON IRAN. Radio Farda reports that Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a 7 September interview with “The
Jerusalem Post” that the international community’s efforts to
keep nuclear weapons out of Iranian hands are inadequate. It is not
too late to stop Iran, he said, but the issue should be referred to
the United Nations Security Council.
“There is no doubt” that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons
capability, Sharon said. “That is their intention, and they are doing
it by deception and subterfuge, using this cover or that. This is
completely clear.” Sharon said the danger is that Israel can be
reached by Iran’s 1,300-kilometer range Shihab-3 missile, and
Iran is working on another missile with a 2,500-kilometer range.
(Bill Samii)
SKEPTICAL REACTION TO TEHRAN’S NEW NUCLEAR PROMISES. During talks
in Vienna with International Atomic Energy Agency director-general
Muhammad el-Baradei, Iranian Supreme National Security Council
Secretary Hojatoleslam Hassan Rohani pledged to suspend all uranium
enrichment activities, the “Financial Times” reported on 8 September.
This pledge includes a freeze on producing, testing, and assembling
uranium enrichment centrifuges.
Iran first pledged to suspend enrichment activities in
October 2003 but, according to the most recent IAEA report, had
intended to convert 37 tons of nearly raw uranium (yellowcake) into
uranium hexafluoride, which can be enriched in centrifuges (see
“RFE/RL Iran Report,” 27 October 2003 and 6 September 2004). The
latest Iranian offer is reportedly dependent on the Europeans’
commitment to an earlier pledge of an economic payoff for Iran. An
anonymous “European diplomat,” however, told the “Financial Times”
that Europe wants Tehran to extend its pledge to include suspension
of the preparation of materials that could be enriched in
centrifuges.
U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher seemed to be
skeptical about Iran’s offer to the IAEA, according to a
transcript of the State Department’s Daily Press Briefing for 7
September (). Boucher
told the press, “You don’t have to look back too far to find
Iranian officials saying that they were going to suspend production
of centrifuge and use of centrifuges, and then to find them saying
that no, they were going to go ahead anyway.”
Boucher went on to connect the Iranian actions with the IAEA
meeting planned for 13 September. He said, “One might conclude that
some of these cycles (of unfulfilled promises) have to do with the
imminence of IAEA board meetings — that we hear that they’re
going to do this, that, or the other before a board meeting and then,
somewhat afterwards, not necessarily too long, we find out that they
either did not or would not or will not do those things.”
Bush administration officials said on 8 September that some
of its allies are resisting the U.S. campaign to get Iran to abandon
its nuclear weapons pursuits, “The New York Times” reported on 9
September. The White House has tried to have the matter referred to
the Security Council five times already, U.S. Undersecretary of State
for Arms Control John Bolton said, and it will try again at the 13
September IAEA meeting.
Europe seems increasingly frustrated with Iran, but it is
willing to keep waiting. An anonymous British official said on 8
September that France, Germany, and the United Kingdom decided during
a meeting in the Netherlands that Iran must suspend all its
nuclear-weapon related activities by November or face sanctions, “The
Guardian” reported on 9 September. The official said, “Iran needs to
meet its commitments. We would like it to meet its commitments before
then, but if it doesn’t, Iran needs to know and it needs to know
now, that there is going to be a decision point in November and at
that point a very serious option…is referral to the United Nations
Security Council.” The official added that negotiations with Iran
cannot go on “forever.” (Bill Samii)
*********************************************************
Copyright (c) 2004. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
The “RFE/RL Iran Report” is a weekly prepared by A. William Samii on
the basis of materials from RFE/RL broadcast services, RFE/RL
Newsline, and other news services. It is distributed every Monday.
Direct comments to A. William Samii at [email protected].
For information on reprints, see:
Back issues are online at

Russia imposes transport restrictions on Georgia
Kavkasia-Press news agency
11 Sep 04
Tbilisi, 11 September: Russia has imposed a transport blockade
on Georgia. Kavkasia-Press learnt from Georgia’s Civil Aviation
Administration and Department of Road Transport that they received
letters to that effect from Russia’s aviation and transport
administrations.
A fax sent by the Russian aviation administration says that, since
Georgian airlines accumulated 3m dollars of debts owed to the Russian
aviation administration, Georgian aircraft will no longer be allowed
to enter Russia’s airspace from 1 October 2004.
The Georgian Civil Aviation Administration said that the 3m dollars
was a debt owed by some Georgian airlines that ceased to exist three
years ago. Therefore, the administration described Russia’s decision
to close its airspace for Georgia as a move aimed at complicating
bilateral relations.
As regards motorways, from now on Georgian bus companies will not be
able to operate services to Russia. The Russian side said the reason
was breaches of contracts and irregular journeys.
The Georgian side says that both letters are vague and allegations
listed in them are groundless.
Georgian experts think that Russia is trying to put pressure on
Georgia. They said it was a surprising move against the background of
Russia’s resumption of railway link to [breakaway Abkhazia’s capital]
Sukhumi. Some of the experts think Russia may be trying to compel
Georgia to agree to resumption of railway link to Armenia through
Abkhazia.

>From Beslan to Yerevan: Russia’s tragedy touches Armenia
By Julia Hakobyan, ArmenianNow Reporter
Armenianow.com
Sept 10, 2004
The gruesome details that have emerged in the aftermath of last week’s
terrorist act in Russia have revealed that 33 Armenians were among
hostages held for three days in that school gymnasium in Beslan,
Russia.
Nine Armenians, including five children, are among at least 335 who
were killed. Survivors are now in hospital in Beslan, Moscow and
other Russian cities.
About 200 Armenians in Yerevan offered blood for Beslan victims Like
other world-wide sympathizers, reports of children being shot in
the back as they fled what should be a child’s sanctuary but instead
became a life-lasting chamber of horror, shocked Armenian sympathizers.
Monday classes throughout Armenia’s capital (the hostages were taken
on the first day of school) began with tributes to the victims.
“The events in Beslan were very painful for all of us, neither pupils
nor teachers in our school could concentrate on lessons,” says Anahit
Lazarian, a teacher at School N118. “Everyone tried to put himself
in the position of hostages. We started our lessons on Monday and
Tuesday- the days of mourning in Russia with a minute of silence. We
join to all families in Beslan in their grief for killed relatives.”
President Robert Kocharyan and Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan and
other top government officials signed a book of condolences at the
Russian embassy. The Vice-Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Tigran
Torosyan said that the tragedy in Beslan showed that moral values
have eroded.
“We faced a new way of brutality that had not yet reached children,”
he said.
An Armenian airliner was the third, behind Norway and Italy, to
deliver relief supplies, and the Ministry of Health has extended an
invitation for victims to be brought to Yerevan for treatment.
“We have sent one box of plasma and 21 boxes of medication to Beslan,
including those for anti-shock and antipyretic treatment,” says Hayk
Darbinyan, the Deputy Minister of the Armenian Health Ministry. “Now
we are preparing to send another consignment, including more medical
goods and clothes.”
Meanwhile, at the Armenian Center of Hematology, residents queued to
donate blood for the Beslan victims. Yuri Karapetyan, vice director
of the clinic, says that more than 200 people applied to become donors.
“Most of them are parents, also there are many people from
law-enforcement bodies,” Karapetyan says. “We examine the
cardiovascular system, the blood pressure, and other health
parameters. So far we accept blood from 120 people, but we are going
to send more assistance to Beslan and welcome all those who want to
help the victims.”
Arpine Nalbandyan, a student of Armenian Medical College and young
mother was among the first to become a donor.
“As a medical student I know that those hostages who received severe
burns from the bombs- blasts will need long treatment and they will
need great amounts of blood. I think what every person should do now
for the sake of humanity is to be a donor, because now we can nothing
else for them,” says the future nurse.
A memorial at the Russian embassy included toys, candy, water The
event has also sparked international debate over who the terrorists
really represent. A $10 million reward has been put up for information
concerning the whereabouts of key Chechen rebel leaders. And Russian
President Vladimir Putin has responded to criticism from the west,
with his own chastisement of its handling of its “War on Terror”.
Alexander Iskandaryan, Vice-Director of the Swiss based Caucasus
Media Institute in Yerevan joined other analysts in criticizing
Russian anti-terrorist policy and calls their present steps against
terrorism ineffective.
“On the one hand it is clear the world has not yet found a successful
and final way on fighting terrorism which Russia can apply. But on
the other hand the Beslan tragedy showed that Russia is not even a
step ahead after the series of the terrorist acts in the last years,”
he said.
“As a person I want to believe that the Beslan tragedy will never be
repeated in Russia. But as an expert I will have to say that by the
measures Russia takes now it will not prevent more terrorist actions.”
The political scientist lays part of the blame on corruption in
Russia, where, he says, it would be easy for terrorists to buy off law
enforcement. “However, honest and professional agents are not enough
to stop terrorism,” Iskandaryan said. “The war between the Kremlin and
Chechnya over the past decade destroyed the region. Today in Chechnya
there is a generation of people who know nothing except war and know
nothing except killing and are ready to die, with bomb-belts.”
While analysts opine and officials make offers and public gestures of
solidarity, it is a make-shift memorial outside the embassy that most
shows the depth of thought that the tragedy in Beslan has stirred here.
Along with candles and flowers, toys have been placed at the memorial,
in a tribute to the dead children, at least 156. And with the toys and
candles and flowers, bottles of water are there, a poignant reaction
to reports that the hostages were denied drink for three days in
a sweltering and packed gymnasium, while home-made bombs hung over
their heads.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress