ASBAREZ Online [08-09-2004]

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08/09/2004
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Karabagh Holds Local Elections 2) ARF Central Committee of Mountainous Karabagh Statement on Municipal Elections 3) MKR Leadership Perplexed By CE Secretary General's Statement 4) Pan-Diaspora Educational Conference Comes to a Successful Close 5) Georgia Asks Russia To Drop Support For Separatists 1) Karabagh Holds Local Elections STEPANAKERT (RFE-RL)On Monday, officials in Mountainous Karabagh were tabulating the results of weekend municipal elections angrily denounced by Azerbaijan but touted by the leadership of the Armenian-populated territory as a manifestation of its commitment to democracy. According to the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Mountainous Karabagh Republic, 61 percent of some 85,000 eligible voters cast their ballots on Sunday to choose the heads of administrations and legislative councils in about 200 local towns and villages. The lowest voter turnout was registered in the Stepanakert mayoral electionthe most closely watched race. Preliminary figures showed Pavel Najarian in the lead with 42.8 percent of the vote. His main challenger, Eduard Aghabekian, received 34.5 percent of votes cast and is expected to receive the support by the three other, defeated candidates during the run-off scheduled for August 22. Aghabekian is also backed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Some local observers believe that this puts Aghabekian in a strong position to become the next mayor of Stepanakert. A former military medic, Aghabekian heads the social affairs committee of the MKR parliament and stands in opposition to President Arkady Ghoukasian. Najarian, on the other hand, enjoys the backing of Ghoukasian's Democratic Artsakh Union (ZhAM) party. The CEC is due to release vote results for the whole of the MKR later this week. Its chairman, Sergei Davtian, said the elections can already be considered a success. "The Central Election Commission has achieved its goal," Dadtian said. "These elections were better organized and more interesting than the previous ones." Davtian added that the CEC did not receive any reports of irregularities from candidates as of late afternoon. However, it is expected that some candidates will complain about material and moral government support given to their pro-establishment rivals during the election campaign. Sunday's vote provoked an angry reaction from Azerbaijan which insists that no elections held in Karabagh that are not under its supervision can be considered legitimate. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev on Thursday again vowed to bring Karabagh back under Baku's control. The outgoing secretary general of the Council of Europe, Walter Schwimmer, similarly criticized the holding of the polls last week, saying that such "one-sided actions are counter-productive" before the resolution of the Karabagh conflict. The criticisms were brushed off by the Karabagh Armenians. "We don't think that the international community and the European organizations in particular would be interested in the absence of government in Mountainous Karabakh," they said in a statement on Friday. Armenia, for its part, lashed out at Azerbaijan, accusing it of exploiting the polls as well as the ongoing military exercise by Karabagh Armenian forces to "divert attention from its unwillingness to negotiate a lasting peace." Official Stepanakert has said that the ten-day exercise, which began last Tuesday, will test the combat-readiness of the MKR Defense Army in "defensive and counter-offensive operations." In a separate development, the Karabagh authorities announced on Sunday the capture of an Azerbaijani soldier who reportedly tried to cross into Armenian-controlled territory through the heavily militarized frontline east of Karabagh. They said they informed the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe about the detention of the soldier identified as Anad Samedov. No further circumstances of Samedov's capture were reported. 2) ARF Central Committee of Mountainous Karabagh Statement on Municipal Elections On August 8, 2004, municipal elections in the Mountainous Karabagh Republic took place. An official announcement concerning the results of the elections has not yet been made by the MKR Central Electoral Commission. According to early election returns, the winner of the Stepanakert mayoral election will be determined through a runoff. The runoff will be between Pavel Najarian and Eduard Aghabekian. The ARF supported Aghabekian's candidacy and did not introduce its own candidate. Candidates representing the ARF did participate in MKR regional elections. Twelve of the ARF's 13 candidates were victorious in the Hatrut region; both candidates in the Askeran region were elected, while the mayoral candidate was defeated; two of three candidates in Mardouni were elected; in the Kachataghi region, 8 of the ARF's 11 candidates were elected, and two advanced to the second round of elections; 3 of the 8 candidates in Martakert were elected and two advanced to the runoffs; in the Nor Shahoumian region, 7 of the 9 candidates were elected; the ARF candidate in Shushi was not elected. The second round of elections will take place on August 22. Armenian Revolutionary Federation Central Committee of Mountainous Karabagh 3) MKR Leadership Perplexed By CE Secretary General's Statement STEPANAKERT (Combined Sources)--Reacting to recent remarks by the outgoing secretary general of the Council of Europe Walter Schwimmer, who criticized Sunday's local elections in the Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR) saying they cannot be deemed legitimate before an international agreement on the disputed territory's status, MKR's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement expressing concern and confusion. "The MKR leadership thinks that the election of government bodies on all levels based on the principles of democracy is an important step to the construction of the free democratic society," the statement read. "One-sided actions are counter-productive. The future of Karabagh must be decided through negotiations," Schwimmer had said in a statement from Strasbourg. He pointed to his criticism of elections held in Karabagh in the past. The foreign ministry statement made it apparent that it was perplexed by Schwimmer's remarks, as it was not clear on how the elections may negatively influence the process of settling the Karabagh conflict. "Only the legitimate power may bear the responsibility for the entrusted territories and has necessary authorities for carrying on peaceful negotiations on the settlement of the conflict," it read. Karabagh's ethnic Armenian leadership has hels several presidential, parliamentary, and local elections over the past decade. Official Stepanakert backed by Armenia proper has argued that only elected officials can represent the people of Karabagh in the peace talks sponsored by France, Russia, and the United States." "MKR for over 10 years has lived as a sovereign state, which bears no relation to Azerbaijan and independently organizes its life in the territory that historically belongs to the Armenians of Karabakh. All international structures that come up with such statements render political support to the regime which unleashed the large-scale war against Karabakh and does not refuse from attempts to apply force against the MKR," concludes the statement. MKR President Arkady Ghukasian said on Sunday that the local government elections are an expression of democracy and that the people had an opportunity to elect their leaders, Armenpress reported. "By holding such civil actions, we create more possibilities to be recognized by the international community," Ghukasian said. "We are just electing heads of towns and villages," Ghukasian said. "The alternative to the elections is dictatorship. It is strange that European politicians make such statements that undermine democratic values." 4) Pan-Diaspora Educational Conference Comes to a Successful Close ANTELIAS--Initiated by His Holiness Catholicos Aram I and organized by the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, an International Conference on Armenian education, held in the Armenian Theological Seminary in Bikfaya, Lebanon from August 5-7, came to a close. The conference, whose theme was "The Armenian Education in the Diaspora," succeeded in bringing together nearly one hundred participants from various diaspora communities worldwide, with different political, cultural, and religious perspectives, to focus on issues pertaining to the Armenian-Christian formation in today's world. In his opening address, His Holiness Aram I identified the concerns and challenges facing Armenian-Christian education in the context of pluralistic societies. Regarding the issue of defining today's Armenian Christian and how to shape the Armenian-Christian identity for tomorrow, His Holiness stressed the crucial importance of re-evaluating and renewing educational methodologies, strategies, and programs by making them more relevant and reliable. In order to achieve this goal, His Holiness proposed that Armenia and the diaspora must together engage in a process of developing a Pan-Armenian educational policy, with particular attention on the worldwide Armenian diaspora. On the agenda of the conference were topics including: the actual state of education in different continents where Armenian communities live; the implications of globalization on education; the role of the church in Armenian Christian formation; the family as an important educational instrument; the impact of pluralistic societies on Armenian Education; the use and misuse of technology in education; the role of the textbooks and the extra curricular activities; human resources: formation and training; the contribution of the Saturday schools, Sunday schools, and children's camps to education; the importance of new community schools for the Armenian communities established in the West. These and a number of related matters were discussed through papers, panel discussions, and hearings. The active participation of young educators and women provided new perspectives and dynamism to the discussion as they challenged the traditional views and approaches and constantly reminded that in a new world context, a renewed perception and vision of education are imperative. They echoed the challenge of His Holiness that in the present world of globalization and communication, Armenian Christian education must become more responsive. His Holiness personally attended all the sessions, highlighting the emerging views and concerns at the end of each session. The conference, an unprecedented event in contemporary Armenian history, summarized its findings in a declaration, stressing the importance of putting words and thoughts into action. In his closing remarks, His Holiness Aram I identified three words which he said must occupy a central place in Armenian diaspora educational work: relevance, coherence, and integrity. "We are living in different contexts. We must, therefore, develop different educational procedures and strategies. We are citizens of different countries, yet we are Armenians and part of the globalized world. We have our own convictions, values and norms, but we are living in a new environment. Hence, it is vitally important that we develop the kind of educational policy that provides integrity, relevance and coherence to our educational work, at the same time preserving our distinct Armenian Christian identity. This is a great challenge before us and we must take it seriously and responsibly," said His Holiness. 5) Georgia Asks Russia To Drop Support For Separatists MOSCOW (Reuters)--Georgia urged Russia on Monday not to ruin mutual relations by supporting separatists in the provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and called for dialogue. Georgia's suspicions that Moscow is backing separatists in the Black Sea region of Abkhazia and mountainous South Ossetia have soured relations between the two ex-Soviet states ever since the provinces broke away after bloody wars in 1992-93. Tension escalated earlier this year when Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili, who came to power in a bloodless coup last November, launched a concerted campaign to restore the territorial integrity of his Caucasus nation. Last week Moscow, which has peacekeepers in both regions bordering Russia, issued a series of angry statements accusing Tbilisi of preparing to seize back South Ossetia by force and threatening the safety of Russian tourists in Abkhazia. "Abkhazia and South Ossetia are not worth Russia ruining its relations with Georgia forever," Interfax news agency quoted Georgian Defense Minister Georgy Baramidze, dispatched to Moscow to negotiate a compromise, as saying. Russia has accused Georgia of building up military force in South Ossetia in violation of a 1992 peace deal and provoking violence in the region, where more than half of the non-Georgian majority have Russian passports. Moscow was outraged when Saakashvili vowed last week to shoot at boats ferrying Russian tourists along the Black Sea coast to Abkhazian resorts. More than 80 percent of Abkhazians also have Russian passports. Georgia in turn accuses Russian peacekeepers of siding with separatists and wants their mandate changed. Top Georgian officials have accused Moscow of using separatism as a card in a political game to retain influence over West-leaning Georgia. Last week Saakashvili, a US-trained lawyer, flew to Washington to seek for support in his confrontation with Moscow. But Secretary of State Colin Powell advised him to continue dialogue with Russia and promised to help with "good offices." In May, Moscow cooperated with Saakashvili when he seized control over the independent-minded Black Sea region of Ajaria, whose leaders had close ties with Russia. Ajaria, populated by ethnic Georgians, had never claimed full independence. Baramidze made clear that Tbilisi could be looking for similar deals on Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "The problem of conflicts in these regions can be solved in the interests of Georgia and Russia," he told Interfax. "If one looks pragmatically at the situation, our countries have common interests." 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.