EU to benefit from cheap gas imports
EUpolitix, Belgium
May 19 2004
European consumers should be able to benefit from cheap gas imports
from Azerbaijan in five or six years time, the country’s leader
has predicted.
The delivery of Azerbaijani gas to Turkey and to Europe in large
quantities would ensure “an alternative and cheap supply” for European
customers, President Ilham Aliyev told a meeting of the Brussels-based
think tank, the European Policy Centre.
“In five or six years, Azerbaijani gas in big quantities will be
supplied to Europe,” he said, commenting that this would be even more
important for consumers than the country’s burgeoning oil industry.
“We will allow our neighbours and friends to benefit,” he assured.
Aliyev, on a two day diplomatic visit to the EU’s Brussels
headquarters, stressed Baku’s “strategic choice” to pursue closer
ties with Europe.
“Our relations with the EU are developing very successfully.
Azerbaijan has a strategically committed to a policy of integration
into European structures.”
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Tuesday he expected
the EU’s relationship with the former Soviet state to increase,
specifically in the field of energy.
The country, along with Caucasus neighbours Armenia and Georgia was
recently added by the European Commission to its ‘New Neighbourhood’
policy, which seeks closer relations with countries around the newly
expanded EU.
Aliyev used a Tuesday meeting with European Commission chief Romano
Prodi to appeal to the EU to help find a solution to a ten year
territorial dispute with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“We hope that the EU, other international organisations and the OSCE
[Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe] will play a more
active role and allow the people of Azerbaijan to come back,” he said.
Although the two republics have signed a ceasefire, no political
solution has been found to end the bitter dispute over the enclave,
which makes up around five per cent of the area of Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory which falls entirely within Azerbaijan
and is populated by Christian ethnic Armenians, broke away from Baku
when the Soviet Union collapsed.
A five year war over the land claimed around 35 000 lives and created
around one million refugees.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Talk Is Cheap Blasts Abelyan
By Chris Roberts, PA Sport
The Scotsman, UK
sportinglife.com, UK
May 19 2004
William Abelyan has hit back at WBO world featherweight champion Scott
Harrison and vowed to shut the Glaswegian’s mouth at the Braehead
Arena on June 19.
The Armenian started the war of words before the original fight date
but he has been riled by the Scot’s bold prediction that he is going
to dish out a hammering.
“Harrison’s got a big mouth and I’m going to shut if for him,” said
the WBO mandatory challenger from his training camp in Las Vegas.
“I’ve read what he’s been saying on the internet and he’s talking a
lot of garbage.
“He’s scared, that’s why he’s talking big, but I’ll be over there
for the fight soon and we’ll see if he talks just as big when he’s
face to face with me.”
The 25-year-old insists his training has not been disrupted despite
the second postponement of the fight following Harrison’s recent
wrist injury.
“I’m ready to fight Harrison right now,” he stated. “If my team said
to me ‘William we’re going to Scotland tomorrow to fight Harrison’
I would be straight on the plane.
“I have never been up for a fight more than this one.”
Originally from Yerevan in Armenia, Abelyan moved to America when he
was nine and now resides in California.
“It’s the world title and the fame I want not the money,” he added.
“After I win the title I will return to Armenia a hero. I have
never been back since I moved to America because I wanted to achieve
something spectacular before I returned.
“I will be the first world champion boxer to ever come out of the
country.
“The boxing ring is my house and Harrison is not welcome.”

No word from ‘mercenaries’ in EGuinea
Related links
‘Mercenaries’ will take SA government to court
Sunday Times, South Africa
May 19 2004
The attorney for eight South Africans held in Equatorial Guinea for
allegedly preparing a coup has still not had telephonic contact with
his clients, he said.
Attorney Bernard van der Hoven said he had met the attorney general
of Equatorial Guinea, Jose Olo Obono, in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Although he was promised telephonic contact with the men, who had
been detained for over two months, Van der Hoven did not know when
this would be allowed.
“That’s the major concern,” he said.
He had also not been granted a visa to visit the West African state.
“We’ve been trying for eight weeks, but nothing,” he said.
Van der Hoven had also asked the Presidency to place the men under
diplomatic protection. “We haven’t received their decision yet,”
he said.
Obono was reportedly in South Africa as part of an investigation
team from Equatorial Guinea. The team planned to leave South Africa
on Wednesday evening, Van der Hoven said.
The detainees are among a group of 15 men accused of planning to
overthrow Equatorial Guinea’s leader Teodoro Obiang Nguema.
They include Angolans, Armenians and South Africans, some of Angolan
origin.
There is also a German, who subsequently died after “an attack of
cerebral malaria”, according to the authorities, French news agency
AFP reported.

Turkish FM: Turkey Is Knocking On EU’s Door
Anadolu Agency
May 19 2004
BRUSSELS – Turkey was knocking on the door of the European Union (EU),
Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said
early on Wednesday.
Gul, who is in Belgian capital Brussels to attend the meeting of
Turkey-EU Association Council, told reporters that he informed his
interlocutors about recent reform wave in Turkey.
Turkish Foreign Minister Gul said that he also told his interlocutors
that Turkey had adjusted with Copenhagen political criteria at
great extent.
Gul stated that Turkey was preparing those reform packages for its
own sake not for the EU.
Turkish Foreign Minister Gul recalled that he had earlier told his
interlocutors during the former Association Council meetings that
Turkey would not knock on EU`s door before it met the political
criteria.
Gul noted that he had earlier said that “he could not say that Turkey
met the political criteria if he was to write a report on Turkey.“
Also, he had earlier noted that “Turkey would not knock on EU`s door,
being aware of its shortcomings but it would knock on EU`s door when
it met all the criteria“, Gul stated.
Gul said that he told his interlocutors during this Association
Council meeting that “Turkey was knocking on EU`s door.“
Turkey had still some problems stemming from implementation of the
reforms, Gul pointed out.
Gul noted that all those problems would be overcome and said, “we
won`t stop launching new initiatives saying we have fulfilled most
of criteria we have to do.“
He and his interlocutors also took up Cyprus issue during their
meetings, Gul stated.
Gul recalled the approach that “Cyprus is not a political criteria
for Turkey`s EU accession but is a political fact.“
“Our Cyprus policy has created sympathy and has been supported. This
will definitely be reflected on the progress report to be prepared
by the EU Commission,“ Gul said.
He explained Turkey`s Cyprus policies during his meetings and noted
that economic embargo on Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
should be lifted without losing any time, Gul said.
Gul, who went to Belgium on Tuesday morning, held separate meetings
with EU Commissioner for enlargement Guenter Verheugen, EU foreign
policy chief Javier Solana and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
the same day.
Aliyev and Gul exchanged views about Armenia-Upper Karabakh and Cyprus
issues during their meeting. Gul thanked Aliyev for Azerbaijan`s
support to Turkish theses during the senior officials meeting of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
Gul and Aliyev also took up starting flights between Azerbaijan and
Cyprus and lifting embargo imposed on TRNC.
Foreign Minister Gul will leave Belgium on Wednesday and go to
Russian capital Moscow to hold meetings on Middle East peace process
and Cyprus.

Azerbaijani Officer May Face From 15 Years To Life In Prison, Lawyer Says
Baku Today, Azerbaijan
May 19 2004
Hungarian prosecutors are charging Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov
with intentional and brutal murdering his Armenian classmate Gurgen
Markarian, a crime, if proved, is punishable by from 15 years to
life in prison, one of Safarov’s defense lawyers told reporters
on Wednesday.
The lawyer, Adil Ismailov who were in the Hungarian capital of Budapest
on 3-17 May, pointed out to some shortcomings of the investigation
into the murder case, such as its being done in Russian, which Safarov
does not speak well. The lawyer said the Hungarian authorities have
promised to settle this problem soon. Ismailov also said Hungarian TV
channels are spreading biased and incorrect reports about classified
investigation materials. He added that the investigation is due to
finish in a few days.
Citing a statement issued by Budapest police last Wednesday, the
Associated Press reported that the Azerbaijani officer Safarov has
confessed that he deliberately murdered Markarian in revenge for the
massacre Armenians committed in Khojaly on Feb. 26, 1992.
According to the report, there was no concrete grievance between the
two before the bloody incident happened on Feb. 19 in a dormitory
for attendees of an English language course organized under NATO’s
Partnership for Peace Program.
The statement said Safarov initially had planned to kill any Armenian
on the day of Khojaly massacre even before coming to attend the
classes in Budapest.
Based on Safarov’s testimonies, police investigators recommended
Budapest Attorney General’s office to charge the Azerbaijani officer
with premeditated murder done with unusual cruelty with “vile motives
and aims,” according to AP.
Ismailov said the officer’s trial would start no earlier than
September.

Caucasus: EU, Azerbaijan Discuss Nagorno-Karabakh
By Ahto Lobjakas
Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
May 19 2004
Yesterday’s visit to Brussels by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
came on the heels of a decision by the European Commission to recommend
the inclusion of the three South Caucasus countries in the bloc’s
European Neighborhood Policy. The decision — to be formally confirmed
during the EU summit in June — will mean increased integration, but
also greater EU involvement in the region’s crises. EU officials told
RFE/RL yesterday that the bloc is preparing to bring its diplomatic
muscle to bear on Nagorno-Karabakh.
Brussels, 19 May 2004 (RFE/RL) — The decision to start preparing
for the inclusion of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in the EU’s
European Neighborhood Policy promises to bring with it new levels of
EU involvement in the region’s so-called “frozen conflicts.”
Yesterday’s talks between visiting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
and top EU officials indicated the bloc is ready for the first time
to invest significant diplomatic capital in the region.
Both the president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, and the
EU’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, were unusually critical of
the 10-year-long efforts of the so-called Minsk Group — sponsored by
the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) — to
negotiate a settlement to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan
over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.”Azerbaijan is strongly convinced
that broader international attention, the attention of European
structures, and of public opinion in Europe will help find a quick and
peaceful resolution to the conflict.” — Azerbaijani President Aliyev
“It is true that progress does not seem to be taking place in the last
part of this period of time,” Solana said. “We would like to see if
we can contribute to move the negotiations forward. We hope that the
[latest] of the meetings — not only between the two presidents [of
Azerbaijan and Armenia], but the continuous contacts that are taking
place between the two ministries of foreign affairs — may contribute
to move the process [forward], restart the process. Whatever we can
do — and I promised the president — whatever we can do, we’ll try
and do it.”
Solana, like Prodi before him, stressed that the “Minsk process”
will continue to be managed by the OSCE. The EU, they say, will try
to help where it can and only when invited.
An EU official, who asked not to be named, told RFE/RL after Aliyev’s
talks in Brussels that the Azerbaijani president had lobbied strongly
for increased EU involvement. The official said Aliyev had said
Azerbaijan feels there is a palpable pro-Armenian bias within the
Minsk Group. The group is chaired by the United States, Russia,
and France. Both France and the United States are seen by Baku to be
susceptible to lobbying by the strong Armenian diaspora in the two
countries. Russia still plays a large role in guaranteeing Armenia’s
security — for instance, it provides the country’s border guards.
Aliyev yesterday told reporters after meeting Solana that although
Azerbaijan is not challenging the OSCE mandate of the Minsk Group,
he would like the EU to assume a greater role.
“We consider that the EU is playing a very important role in [relation
to Nagorno-Karabakh]. Of course, the Minsk Group of the OSCE has a
mandate to deal with that issue and of course we are not trying to
change that mandate. But at the same time, Azerbaijan is strongly
convinced that broader international attention, the attention of
European structures, and of public opinion in Europe will help find
a quick and peaceful resolution to the conflict,” Aliyev said.
The unnamed EU source said the bloc has been well served by its
first-ever special envoy to the South Caucasus, Heikki Talvitie, a
Finnish diplomat. Talvitie has earlier worked with the Minsk group
and knows the region well. His six-month mandate will come up for
renewal next month, but its extension is virtually guaranteed.
The EU official said that while maintaining its support for the
Minsk Group, the bloc is currently pursuing a wider strategy of
“triangulation,” involving Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey. In so
doing, the EU is trying to tackle not just Nagorno-Karabakh, but the
overall context of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations.
The source said Aliyev had yesterday strongly argued against steps
aimed at lifting the border closure between Turkey and Armenia
currently in effect. Azerbaijan was said to view the closure as an
essential, if not sole, lever to secure Armenian concessions over
Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied areas.
In fact, when the United States recently put strong pressure on Turkey
to lift the blockade, Baku was said to have warned Washington that
such a move would result in an end to the search for a solution to the
conflict. According to the source, Azerbaijan told the United States
that Armenia would then lose interest in working for a settlement.
Conversely, sources say, Armenia’s president, Robert Kocharian, has
announced that in protest of the border closure, he will not be going
to the NATO summit in Istanbul next month, where he has been invited
as a guest.
The EU official said the strategy of “triangulation” pursues an
incremental approach. In order to secure an easing of the border
closure with Turkey, Armenia will have to initiate a pullback of its
forces from the occupied areas of Azerbaijani territory surrounding
Nagorno-Karabakh.
This is a strategy that appears to suit Baku. According to the EU
source, Aliyev told Solana that once Armenia withdraws from the
occupied territories — but not necessarily from Nagorno-Karabakh
— Baku would be ready to launch talks on the final status of the
breakaway region. Armenia, on the other hand, is seen as demanding
a decision on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh before acquiescing to
any further talks.
According to the source, the EU favors Azerbaijan’s step-by-step
approach. The official said the bloc considers it very difficult,
if not impossible, to achieve a comprehensive settlement at one stroke.
Aliyev made clear yesterday that Azerbaijan would not give up
Nagorno-Karabakh. Speaking to the media, the Azerbaijani president
stressed that any solution must respect the country’s sovereignty
and territorial integrity.
However, the EU source said Aliyev had told the bloc’s officials that
Baku was prepared to accord full respect to the “Armenian heritage
and history” of the region, as well as to its “ancient ties” with
Armenia. He did not spell out yesterday the precise details of the
kind of autonomy Azerbaijan would be prepared to offer the breakaway
republic.
The official also said the EU believes the weak domestic standing of
Armenian President Kocharian means it will be very difficult for him
to make concessions. In contrast, the official cited Azerbaijan’s
recent impressive record on domestic issues.
Baku has released hundreds of political prisoners. Ilham Aliyev has
resettled the Azeri refugees fleeing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
— an issue on which his father and predecessor, Heydar Aliyev,
had stalled. Aliyev junior also presides over a rapidly expanding
economy, which grew by 11 percent last year. The EU source said all
this strengthens Aliyev’s hand.
The official said that although the EU still considers the human
rights situation in Azerbaijan “far from satisfactory,” the bloc
recognizes the recent improvements.
Sources say Aliyev had yesterday asked European Commission President
Romano Prodi to open a commission office in Baku. The EU’s executive
arm already has a mission in Tbilisi and has a “sub-office” in
Yerevan. However, EU sources said the current commission, which will
step down in October, is unlikely to be in an “expansionary mood”
at this stage.

AllAfrica.com, Africa
May 19 2004
NCC Executive Board Asks Urgent Intervention in the Sudan
National Council of Churches USA (New York)
PRESS RELEASE
May 19, 2004
Posted to the web May 19, 2004
Chicago, Ill
Urgent intervention to stop the killing in Sudan was the call of the
National Council of Churches USA Executive Board in a resolution
adopted unanimously today during its spring meeting here May 17-18.
The Board committed the NCC and its member churches “to intensifying
their efforts” to stop the apparent attempt at ethnic cleansing in
Darfur, western Sudan, that already has claimed tens of thousands of
lives and displaced a million people, and that risks deepening to
genocide.
It condemned the involvement of all parties perpetrating genocide in
the Sudan and called upon the government of Sudan to bring an end to
this practice immediately, including stopping attacks by its military
and proxy militia against civilians in Darfur.
And it called on the U.S. government “to continue to press the
Sudanese government to bring to a halt this unfolding horror and to
support appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian, conflict resolution and
peace enforcement efforts by the United Nations to these ends.”
Today’s resolution also called upon the international community and
non-governmental organizations to investigate and monitor reports of
crimes against humanity being committed in Sudan.
Among those voicing passionate support for the action was Bishop
Vicken Aykazian of Washington, D.C., Ecumenical Officer of the
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America. It is estimated that 1.5
million Armenians perished between 1915-23 in the Armenian Genocide,
and that a million were deported forcibly.
“My family is victim of the first genocide of the 20th century,”
scattered to the far corners of the earth, said Bishop Aykazian. “I
am very much concerned when I see that people in other nations now
are being massacred as well ­ in Sudan, simply because they are
black. Ten years ago, in Rwanda, in front of the civilized world, one
million people were slaughtered. The same thing is happening now in
Sudan. The NCC must take this very seriously and do something.” On
April 23, the NCC sponsored an observance of the 10th anniversary of
the Rwandan Genocide, held in Los Angeles and featuring Samantha
Power, who won the Pulitzer Prize for her book ”A Problem from
Hell’: America and the Age of Genocide.’
She and other speakers noted that despite the world’s pledge to
‘never again’ allow genocide, the world is not stepping up
effectively to stop the killing in Sudan.
“Knowing the history of genocide in the 20th century, beginning with
the Armenian Genocide through the Jewish Holocaust and ending with
the Rwandan Genocide, we are appalled that this legacy of death and
destruction should be carried into the 21st century,” the Board
stated.
Today’s resolution by the NCC’s Executive Board, whose 80 members are
delegates from the Council’s 36 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican
member churches, reaffirms and extends the Board’s extensive 2002
resolution on the continuing crisis in the Sudan.
In today’s action, the Board also commended actions already taken by
member communions and recommended that they prayerfully consider
further actions that they might take, individually and together as
the NCC, conducive to the establishment of peace in Sudan.
NCC General Secretary Bob Edgar urged U.S. churches not to let
current preoccupation with Iraq, the elections, the Middle East and
the U.S. economy distract them from action on Sudan. “This is an
urgent moment,” he said.

Parliament Speakers of South Caucasus Discussed Cooperation
Civil Georgia, UK
May 19 2004
Parliament speakers of the South Caucasus, Nino Burjanadze of Georgia,
Murtuz Aleskerov of Azerbaijan and Arthur Baghdasaryan of Armenia held
talks in Strasbourg on May 18 within the framework of the Council of
Europe Parliamentary Summit on May 17-19.
The speakers welcomed the readiness of the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe (PACE) to develop concrete cooperation programs
with different groups of society with a view to promoting contacts
in the region and assisting the implementation of democratic reforms.
The Assembly President and the Speakers will pursue contacts in order
to work on concrete proposals for cooperation to be discussed by the
parliamentary delegations of the three countries during the Assembly’s
October session.
In this framework, the Secretary General of the PACE Bruno Haller
will visit Baku, Tbilisi, and Yerevan at the beginning of July.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
May 19 2004
PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV ADDRESSES BRIEFING IN BRUSSELS
[May 19, 2004, 23:47:00]
On the 19th of May, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the
lunch and briefing “European Union – Azerbaijan – New Horizons For
Partnership” organized by the European Policy Center in the Conrad
Hotel in Brussels.
Opening the briefing, EPC Chief Executive Hans Martens warmly greeted
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and introduced him to the
audience. He noted the meeting is attended by influential politicians
of the Kingdom of Belgium, and that the address by the Head of
Azerbaijani State would be rather useful for them.
President Ilham Aliyev has made a speech at the briefing. The Head of
State dwelt on the difficulties Azerbaijan faced after gaining its
state independence, Armenian military aggression and its hard
consequences, restoration of stability after national leader Heydar
Aliyev’s return to power in 1993, as well as reforms carried out in
the Republic and successes achieved. President Ilham Aliyev
especially stressed that Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh, which remains unresolved for years, is the main
factor posing a serious threat to the region.
Later on, the Head of Azerbaijan responded to the questions from the
briefing participants.

VICTIMS OF PONTIAN GREEKS GENOCIDE COMMEMORATED IN ARMENIA
ArmenPress
May 19 2004
YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS: The Greek ambassador to Armenia,
Antonios Vlavianos, other dignitaries, government officials and
ordinary Armenians commemorated today the memory of hundreds of
thousands of Pontian Greeks mercilessly massacred by the government
of Turkey between 1914-1922. The commemoration ceremony was held at
Tsitsernakaberd Memorial in Yerevan, erected in commemoration of the
victims of Armenian genocide of 1915, also committed by the government
of Turkey.
Of the 700,000 Greeks living in Pontus (the area stretching along the
southern coastline of the Black Sea) in 1914, 300,000 were killed
as a result of Turkish government policy and the remainder became
refugees. “Three millennia of the Greek and Armenian presence was
wiped out by a deliberate policy of creating a Turkey for the Turks.
The Pontian people were denied the right to exist, the right of respect
for their national and cultural identity, and the right to remain on
land they had lived on for countless generations, ” the ambassador
said addressing the present.
Mr. Vlavianos said the tragedy experienced by both nations have
forged closer ties and links between Armenians and Greeks, adding also
that the memory of innocent victims will never be forgotten. He said
all efforts will be exerted to make both genocides internationally
acknowledged and condemned so that to prevent future repetitions of
such horrible crimes.
“The genocide of Pontian Greeks was recognized only by the
government of modern Hellenic Republic, which is not deemed as
its priority foreign policy issue, unlike Armenia which has made
significant progress in pushing for the 1915 genocide’s international
recognition. Greece has officially recognized the Armenian genocide,”
he said, explaining that Armenia did not acknowledge the genocide of
Pontian Greeks because of the absence of an official request on the
part of Greek government.
Around 1,500,000 Armenians and 300,000 Pontian Greeks were annihilated
through exile, starvation, cold, illness, slaughter, murder, gallows,
axe, and fire. The Pontians now lie scattered all over the world as a
result of the genocide and their unique history, language (the dialect
is a valuable link between ancient and modern Greek), and culture
are endangered and face extinction. A double crime was committed –
genocide and the uprooting of a people from their ancestral homelands
of three millennia. The Christian nations were not only witnesses
to this horrible and monstrous crime, which remains unpunished,
but for reasons of political expediency and self interest have,
by their silence, pardoned the criminal. The Ottoman and Kemalist
Turks were responsible for the genocide of the Pontian people,
the most heinous of all crimes according to international law. The
international community must recognize this crime.