Russia observes minute of silence, people queue to give blood
Channel One TV, Moscow
7 Sep 04
[Presenter Igor Vykhukholev] The whole world is sharing the pain and
bitterness felt by Russia over the inhuman terrorist act committed
in Beslan. Hundreds of thousands of people are bowing their heads to
observe a minute’s silence in memory of the children, their parents
and teachers, against whom the bandits took their barbaric revenge.
[Clock ticks through the minute of silence, video shows Russians around
lit candles, navy taking off their hats, women laying flowers, Russian
Muslims praying, the Russian flag at half mast over the government
building and the Kremlin]
In many places in Russia today, school started with a minute’s silence
in memory of the victims of Beslan.
Sailors of the Pacific Fleet who have returned to Vladivostok
after joint Russian-Japanese exercises remembered those killed in
Beslan. At these manoeuvres, they were developing scenarios for
fighting terrorists.
They dropped the usual festive arrival at port with the traditional
flowers and orchestra and instead the sailors took off their hats
and condolences were read out for the victims of Beslan.
[Viktor Fedorov, captioned as commander of the Pacific Fleet] This is
a most terrible tragedy. We are of course all grieving, the sailors
of the Pacific Fleet. As fathers we feel the pain. Children should
not die, that’s why we are here, the parents. It’s terrible.
[Presenter] A large group of doctors is going to Beslan today headed by
the [Russian] health minister. These are the best professors from the
leading clinics in the capital. They will examine the critical patients
and make a decision about whether they can be transported to Moscow.
As for what’s happening in Beslan, our correspondent Yevgeniy Maslov
has the details.
[Correspondent] The people of the town are holding an improvised
meeting right now in the centre of Beslan. People are arriving at the
central square in front of the house of culture. It is mainly those
who cannot find their close ones, either among the dead or among
the injured. They come carrying photographs and are proposing that
a single coordinating council be set up to gather all information
about the injured in the hospitals and they want a detailed list.
[Presenter] In Volgograd, people are rushing to help the victims. The
seriousness of the injuries means rehabilitation will take a long
time, and, as the doctors are saying, a constant supply of blood
will be needed. Long queues have formed at the city blood donor
centre. Several hundred residents of the town have given blood
today, among them people from the Ossetian, Dagestani and Armenian
communities. Tomorrow, a delegation representing the local ethnic
diasporas will set off for Beslan from Volgograd to support their
compatriots and give the money they have collected. [passage omitted]
We have just received the following footage from the Far East. Queues
have formed at the blood donor centres in Vladivostok. Students and
the town’s residents are rushing to the aid of those who suffered in
Beslan and who are now in hospital. The doctors are promising that
hospitals in the capital will have the blood by tomorrow.
Radio stations in Tajikistan are today starting each hour with “Russia,
we are with you”, and everyone is giving words of support. The day
started with a minute of silence in the schools where the children
of Russian servicemen study. And over 1,000 schoolchildren – from
the young ones to the older ones – at the school for the children of
border guards joined an antiterror rally today.
Prayers are under way in all the mosques of Tatarstan for the souls
of the hostages who were killed in Beslan. [passage omitted]
Sportsmen from the main clubs in Tatarstan have decided to offer
material assistance. All money from matches is to go to a special
support fund. [passage omitted]

Azeri daily wondering about fair Karabakh settlement after Beslan events
Ekho, Baku
7 Sep 04
The brutal terrorist act in North Ossetia compelled Russian President
Vladimir Putin to make an official televised address against the
background of the Russian flag.
It is interesting that the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict was also
mentioned in that lengthy speech. Specifically, Putin said: “We will
not allow a repeat of the tragedies of Karabakh and the Dniester
region in North Ossetia” [as published, actually the Russian source
presents his statement as follows: “If we allow ourselves to be
blackmailed and if we give in to panic, we will submerge millions
of people into endless and bloody conflicts like those in Karabakh,
in the Dniester region”].
Naturally, such words might raise questions. Does it mean that Moscow
has started to understand the causes of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict
better and that the Kremlin might demonstrate greater activity now
to resolve it fairly?
We failed to get the Russian embassy’s official explanation of this
speech yesterday.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani political scientist Xaladdin Ibrahimli disagrees
with this kind of question.
“Russia cannot be compared to Azerbaijan or Moldova and it is not in
danger of losing its territorial integrity.”
Ibrahimli thinks that Putin mainly pointed to the impossibility of
alienating the North Caucasus from Russia. “With this statement,
he underlined that they will resort to anything in order to maintain
their territorial integrity. Even if the lives of innocent children
are in the hands of terrorists, they will not make compromises. This
is a signal to the Chechen movement – if you plan something even
more brutal, don’t expect any compromises in any case. I personally
understood it this way.”
[Passage omitted: Russian reports of Beslan casualties]

Witness to 1999 Armenian parliament attack dies in USA
Aravot, Yerevan
4 Sep 04
The Aravot [Armenian: morning] newspaper has reported that Roza
Ovannisyan, listed as a witness in the investigation into the 27
October case [attack on the Armenian parliament in 1999] died in the
USA last week.
She worked as a nurse at the [Armenian] National Assembly and
immediately after the 27 October 1999 terrorist attack left for the
USA. The circumstances surrounding her departure were not clear.
A few days prior to her death, Roza Ovannisyan spoke on the telephone
to her son, who is in Yerevan, and they agreed to meet in Moscow. But
the meeting did not take place because just before her departure
Roza Ovannisyan died. Preliminary reports say that she suffered a
heart attack.

Armenian, Polish defence ministers discuss cooperation
PAP news agency
6 Sep 04
Warsaw, 6 September: Security in the Caucasus, Iraq and Afghanistan and
military cooperation dominated Monday’s [6 September] talks in Warsaw between
Armenian and Polish defence ministers Serge Sargsyan and Jerzy Szmajdzinski.
Szmajdzinski described Poland’s experience with NATO and UN peace missions in
the Mideast and the Balkans, both politicians also discussed a defence
cooperation agreement sealed today in the presence of both countries’ presidents.
Sargsyan also announced the inclusion of a 50-strong Armenian military unit
in the Polish led stabilization force in Iraq.

Azeri MPs criticize NATO for inviting Armenian officers to Azerbaijan
ANS TV, Baku
7 Sep 04
[Presenter] Most of the MPs in the Milli Maclis [parliament] today
demanded that the members of the Karabakh Liberation Organization
[KLO] be released. The parliamentarians also protested against NATO
which has invited Armenians to Baku.
[MP Fazail Agamali, chairman of the pro-government Motherland Party]
We are categorically against the planned visit by Armenian officers
who were directly involved in the occupation of Azerbaijan’s lands,
rose to higher ranks in this [Karabakh] war and whose hands are
imbrued with Azerbaijani blood. I would suggest that we appeal to
NATO’s headquarters today and ask them not to allow the Armenian
officers to attend the exercises in view of the serious resentment
within the country.
[MP Qudrat Hasanquliyev, chairman of the pro-government United
Peoples Front of Azerbaijan Party] They [Armenians] expelled more than
200,000 [ethnic] Azerbaijanis [from Armenia] in cold winter days [in
1988-89]. How can we host those Armenians in our five-star hotels and
cater for them today? I think that the Milli Maclis has to express
its position on the issue. We have to appeal to the president and
ask him to express his stance on the issue.
[MP Mais Safarli, leader of the opposition Compatriot Party] If the
Azerbaijani public unanimously says no to the visit of the Armenian
officers today, then under no circumstances can we allow the Armenians
to come. I think that if the Azerbaijani government lets them in,
its reputation within the Azerbaijani people will be ruined completely.
[MP Sahlar Asgarov] [NATO] should give up its plan to turn Azerbaijan
into a social lab by bringing here first two, then four and then 40
Armenian servicemen.
[Passage omitted: MP Karim Karimov from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party
says the sentence on the KLO members has caused public resentment]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri NGOs plan protests against Armenian officers’ visit
Turan news agency
7 Sep 04
Baku, 7 September: The national forum of non-governmental organization,
which is made up of dozens of NGOs, today made a statement on holding
a march on 11 September, Azay Quliyev, the president of the forum,
has told Turan.
The action will be held in protest against Armenian officer’s planned
visit to Baku to attend NATO exercises. The forum appealed to the Baku
city executive authorities to authorize the march that is planned to
be held via the route – the 20 January metro station, Qalaba cinema,
Azizbayov monument and the Elmlar Akademiyasi metro station.
Quliyev said that the NGO forum had urged [the authorities] not to
allow the occupation officers to visit Baku.

Armenia drafts 209 proposals for US-sponsored Millennium Challenge project
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
6 Sep 04
[Presenter] Armenia has prepared 209 proposals which will be submitted
for financing under the Millennium Challenge Account. A session
of the local council of the Millennium Challenge will be held in
Yerevan this week which together with the government and political
organizations will discuss and choose the programmes to be send to
Washington. Most of them fall under social welfare and will be aimed
at reducing poverty in the country.
[Correspondent Hermine Bagdasaryan] The Armenian Finance Ministry has
already got 209 proposals for the reduction of poverty in Armenia
with assistance from Washington. Just 158 out of the 209 proposals
have been estimated at 2bn dollars. The Armenian government will not
submit this figure to the Washington office. It will be discussed in
Yerevan this week at the session of the Millennium Challenge.
[Vardan Khachatryan, Armenian Finance and Economy Minister, speaking
in his office] Various proposals have been made: 50 m dollars for
education, 86 m dollars for health care, 46 m dollars for social
security, 372m dollars for road construction and repair, 87m dollars
for drinking water. We do not know for sure whether our proposals
will be approved or not. If they are to be approved, we shall choose
the most important ones.
[Correspondent] The work which will be carried out in this direction
and expenditure will be controlled from Washington. If everything is
implemented successfully and Armenia is among the ranks of countries
enjoying American assistance, then it will get 760 m dollars in the
next three years.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MY GREATEST MISTAKE JOHN KAMPFNER, POLITICAL EDITOR, NEW STATESMAN
BY JOHN KAMPFNER
The Independent (London)
September 7, 2004, Tuesday
I CAN STILL see the article, 18 years on. It was on the back page
of Pravda. I was a trainee with Reuters, on my first overseas
posting. That morning I was the only correspondent on duty in our
office, which was hardly surprising given that there were only three
of us and we were all working long hours. Our full contingent was
five, but two colleagues had been expelled in a tit-for-tat “spy”
row after Margaret Thatcher had kicked a couple of Tass journalists
out of London.
This was a time, to coin Lenin’s phrase, of two steps forward and
one step back. Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost, or openness,
had achieved remarkable changes. Then came the Chernobyl nuclear
disaster, news of which had reached the West well before it was
reluctantly confirmed by the Soviet authorities.
As the world looked on in horror, reporters in Moscow were under
pressure to find out more. That is where my howler came in. Our affable
if excitable Armenian assistant pointed me to information in Pravda
that suggested the scope of the accident was bigger than had been
revealed. The piece named a number of towns potentially affected. I
quickly bashed out an alert reporting that a second exclusion zone
had been declared. The markets went wild. Governments went wild. HQ
congratulated me on outsmarting our rivals. We counted the minutes
before the other agencies caught up. The trouble was – they didn’t.
My stomach began to churn. I re-read the piece and realised I had
got it wrong. Some of the towns involved were already in the existing
exclusion zone. The zone had been enlarged in places, but basically
it was not a story. As soon as I got hold of my boss (these were the
days before mobiles and I couldn’t find him at home) we knew we had
to kill the story. Reuters always prided itself on double and treble
checking, especially stories as sensitive as this. I was truly in the
doghouse. That was May 1986. I think they would have sent me home,
if only the office had not been so short-staffed.
John Kampfner is the author of Blair’s Wars’. He was a foreign
correspondent with Reuters and The Daily Telegraph’ and political
correspondent for the Financial Times’ and BBC

RA PRIME MINISTER MAKES NOTES IN BOOK OF CONDOLENCES OPENED IN RF EMBASSY IN
CONNECTION WITH BESLAN TRAGEDY
YEREVAN, September 7 (Noyan Tapan). On September 7, RA Prime Minister
Andranik Margarian visited the Russian embassy in Armenia and made
notes in the book of condolences which was opened in connection
with the tragedy in the town of Beslan. “I commiserate over the
heinious crime committed. Personally and on behalf of RA President
I commiserate with the families and relatives of the victimes and
the Russian people,” Prime Minister has written. According to the
Information and PR Department of the government, Hovik Abrahamian,
RA Minister for Regional Governance and Coordination of Infrastructure
Activities, and Manuk Topusian, Minister – Head of the RA Government
Staff accompanied the Prime Minister to the Russian embassy and
offered their commiserations. Other members of the government also
visited the Russian embassy later on the day.

ARMENIA WILL PROVIDE MEDICAL AID TO VICTIMS OF ACT OF TERRORISM IN NORTH OSSETIA
PanArmenian News
Sept 7 2004
YEREVAN, 07.09.04. The action of collecting blood for the victims
of the horrible act of terrorism in Beslan town of North Ossetia
will continue in Armenia up to the weekend, Deputy Director of
Yerevan Hematology Center Yuri Karapetian told Arminfo news agency
correspondent. In his words, 80 portions of blood are already
collected, and it will be sent to Vladikavkaz along with 3 mobile
hospitals. Y. Karapetian also noted that Yerevan hospitals are ready
to receive the victims, who need operative intervention. It should
be reminded that the Armenian Government has initiated the action.