Month: June 2005

Gathering discusses preparations for Year of Armenia in France
13.06.2005 17:13
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Over 40 leaders of French Armenian organizations
operating in Lyon and Ron Alps regions of France gathered in Lyon on
June 10 to discuss the preparation of the Year of Armenia in France,
Armenpress reported.
According to the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Armenian
ambassador to France Edvard Nalbandian briefed those gathered on the
main directions and plans of the events to be held. It was also pointed
out that the Year of Armenia in France poses a great opportunity to
present the Armenian culture in that country and Europe.

Reuters
June 13 2005
1936 book on ‘Cinderella Man’ Braddock scores hit
Mon Jun 13, 2005 11:56 AM ET
By Philip Barbara
CLIFFSIDE PARK, N.J. (Reuters) – Sportswriter Lud Shabazian, who
covered the “Cinderella Man” James J. Braddock’s boxing career from
his first fight in 1923 to his crowning victory over Max Baer in 1935,
told this story years later:
In the steaming, cluttered attic of his New Jersey home, he struggled
to write Braddock’s biography, the words giving him fits. Energy
drained from his body and sweat dripped from his chin, soaking his
clothes until, he said, perspiration puddled to his knees.
A storyteller’s poetic license, for sure. But Shabazian identified
with Braddock’s hard-knock rise to the world heavyweight title. The
stifling attic became Shabazian’s ring, an empty page the blank stare
of an opponent, as he slugged it out toe-to-toe with a typewriter.
When Shabazian’s book “Relief to Royalty” was published in 1936 by
his newspaper, the Hudson Dispatch, it wasn’t formally distributed for
retail sale. Instead, the author and the champ gave it to family and
friends. Often they sat together at charity events co-signing copies,
not asking for the $1.25 cover price in those can’t-spare-a-dime days.
With a forward by famed writer Damon Runyon, the book has been
rediscovered as the foremost original source for anyone wanting
an insider’s glimpse into Braddock’s career and the glory days of
prizefighting. It is also legendary among collectors of rare boxing
books — hard to find and harder to afford at $1,500 a copy.
“I can’t overstate the value of ‘Relief to Royalty.’ I don’t know how
I would have written ‘Cinderella Man’ without it,” Jeremy Schaap,
author of a riveting new biography of that name, told Reuters. “By
reading Lud, I got an excellent sense of the most important moments
in Braddock’s life and career.”
Schaap’s biography and the new eponymous Russell Crowe movie
“Cinderella Man” are part of a burst of interest in the Depression-era
saga, which includes at least three other books and several articles.
PROMISING PRIZEFIGHTER
In 1929, Braddock was a promising New Jersey prizefighter with $20,000
in the bank. But his fortunes spiraled downward when the bank failed
and he suffered a demoralizing loss to light-heavyweight world champ
Tommy Loughran.
With boxing his only trade, Braddock kept fighting despite a
chronically broken right hand, and his defeats mounted.
Married, with three young children to feed, and seen by fight
matchmakers as a has-been, he was forced by 1933 to hustle a living
as a laborer, often walking 16 km a day searching for work along the
New Jersey docks.
When the gas and electricity to his basement apartment were shut off in
the terrible winter of 1934, he turned to the county relief. “I didn’t
mind being hungry, but the kids needed to eat,” he would later say.
Using his left hand to unload cargo allowed his right to heal, and he
was hardened by suffering. After manager Joe Gould got him a fight
with just two days’ notice, in June 1934, he flattened the touted
“Corn” Griffin.
Subsequent victories lifted him into contention for the heavyweight
title, and on June 13, 1935, he took the crown from the enigmatic Baer,
for heavyweight boxing’s greatest upset.
Braddock became an overnight sensation. He was, as Runyon said,
the Cinderella Man.
FOLLOWING HIS CAREER
Shabazian, who at age 20 had become sports editor of the Dispatch,
in Union City, New Jersey, had been following Braddock since his
first amateur fight in 1923.
He saw Braddock soar to amateur boxing heights and smash his way to
contention. When Braddock began slipping, he urged the fighter on
in his columns. When everyone said Baer would annihilate Braddock,
Shabazian, who signed his columns and cartoons simply “Lud,” for
Ludwig, clung to the New Jerseyan.
They became friends, making him a natural choice to write Braddock’s
“authorized” biography.
During the two years Braddock held the title — taken away by Joe
Louis in June 1937 — and in the decades that followed, Lud and
Braddock appeared at countless sports nights and charity events.
They were a contrasting pair: Braddock, the pale, rugged, 6-foot-3
(1.9-metre) Irish-American would bow but say few words as he was
introduced by Lud, a connoisseur at the microphone and 5-foot-6
(1.6-metre) Armenian-American, with dark hair that bristled like an
old brush.
“My granddad and Lud were very tight,” said Jay Braddock, the champ’s
grandson. “We considered Lud part of the family.”
HOLLYWOOD INTEREST
Jay Braddock said Cliff Hollingsworth, who brought the story idea
to Hollywood, relied on family material and did not read “Relief to
Royalty.” Yet during filming in Toronto, director Ron Howard’s staff
called the Jersey City Library repeatedly asking whether Braddock
had a crest on his robe, said Charles Markey, a library staff member.
Markey and others turned to Lud’s book and Dispatch columns. The
answer: Braddock didn’t have a crest on his robe, but did wear a
shamrock on his trunks.
Kevin Johnson, of Royal Books in Baltimore, found a copy of “Relief
to Royalty” this winter after hunting for five years.
With a dust jacket it’s worth $1,500, and $700 without one. With
a jacket and the signatures it would fetch a considerable premium,
Johnson said.
About 2,500 copies were published, hundreds of which were donated
by Lud to the USO during World War Two for soldiers’ recreation,
according to Lud’s son, Bob Shabazian.
Braddock died on Nov. 30, 1974, after which the biography was
serialized in the Dispatch. Lud, by then sports editor for five
decades, spoke about Braddock wistfully to his staff, including this
reporter, and described his struggle to write the book. He died in
July 1990.
“Keep punchin,” was his advice to young writers.
A photo taken just after the Baer fight illustrates Lud’s and
Braddock’s friendship. The fighter is hugging Lud with one arm as a
ring official holds up the other to introduce the new world champion.

Council of Europe parliamentarians debate monitoring of Russia as
well as media and terrorism at their summer session
Strasbourg, 13.06.2005 – An assessment of Russia’s honouring of its
Council of Europe obligations and commitments and a report on the
media and terrorism which calls on journalists to refrain from
disseminating shocking terrorist images are among highlights of the
summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE), which takes place in Strasbourg from 20 to 24 June 2005.
The Assembly will also look beyond the Council of Europe’s 46 member
states, with a possible current affairs debate on the situation in
the Republics of Central Asia (*) and a debate on the situation in
the Middle East, as well as a report on the disappearance of women
and girls in Mexico (a Council of Europe observer state).
Following the recent proposal to create an “Asian Parliamentary
Assembly” on the model of PACE, Pakistan National Assembly Speaker
Chaudhry Amir Hussain and Philippines Congress Speaker José de
Venecia – representing the 40-member Association of Asian Parliaments
for Peace – will take the floor to elaborate on the initiative.
Other invited guest speakers include the Prime Minister of Bosnia and
Herzegovina Adnan Terzic, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer and EBRD President Jean Lemierre, who will take part in a
debate on the Bank’s contribution to economic development in central
and eastern Europe.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Diogo Freitas do Amaral, who currently
chairs the Committee of Ministers, will present the Committee’s
communication to the Assembly and reply to parliamentarians’
questions.
Other highlights include a debate on the current situation in Kosovo,
a joint debate on the functioning of democratic institutions in
Azerbaijan and on political prisoners in the country, as well as a
possible urgent debate on the constitutional reform process in
Armenia (*). A second urgent debate has been proposed on follow-up to
the Third Summit of the Council of Europe (*), with a statement by
the Organisation’s Secretary General Terry Davis.
(*) Requests for urgent debates and a current affairs debate must be
approved by the Assembly at the opening of the session.
* * *
./..
The following is a provisional order of business with proposed
modifications. The Assembly itself will decide its final order of
business at the opening of the session.
Monday 20 June
* Media and terrorism
* The environment and the Millennium Development Goals
* The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the realisation
of the Millennium Development Goals
Tuesday 21 June
* Statements by Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir
Hussain, President of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace
(AAPP), and by Philippines Congress Speaker José de Venecia,
Chairperson of the Advisory Council of the AAPP
* Contribution of the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) to economic development in central and eastern
Europe and statement by EBRD President Jean Lemierre
* Address by Bosnia and Herzegovina Prime Minister Adnan Terzic
* Possible current affairs debate: situation in the Republics of
Central Asia
* Situation in the Middle East
* Current situation in Kosovo
* Disappearance and murder of a great number of women and girls in
Mexico
Wednesday 22 June
* Honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation
* Communication to the Assembly presented by Portuguese Foreign
Minister Diogo Freitas do Amaral, Chairperson of the Committee of
Ministers
* Joint debate on the functioning of democratic institutions in
Azerbaijan and follow-up to Resolution 1359 (2004) on political
prisoners in Azerbaijan
Thursday 23 June
* Possible urgent debate: follow-up to the Third Summit, and
statement by Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis
* Possible urgent debate: constitutional reform process in Armenia
* Address by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
* Democratic oversight of the security sector in member states
Friday 24 June
* Abolition of restrictions on the right to vote
* Improving the response to mental health needs in Europe
* * *
Practical information
René van der Linden, President of the Parliamentary Assembly, will
give a press conference on Monday 20 June at 11 a.m. in Room 1. Other
press conferences will be announced on the spot.
See the Assembly’s website, , for further
details. Additional information may also be found on the Council of
Europe web portal,
Contact:
Communication Unit of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
Tel. +33 3 88 41 31 93 Fax +33 3 90 21 41 34; e-mail:
[email protected]
Press Release
Parliamentary Assembly Communication Unit
Ref: 323a05
Tel: +33 3 88 41 31 93
Fax :+33 3 90 21 41 34
[email protected]
internet:
The Parliamentary Assembly brings together 630 members from the
national parliaments of the 46 member states.
President: René van der Linden (Netherlands, EPP/CD); Secretary
General of the Assembly: Bruno Haller.
Political Groups: SOC (Socialist Group); EPP/CD (Group of the
European People’s Party); LDR (Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’
Group);
EDG (European Democratic Group); UEL (Group of the Unified European
Left).
–Boundary_(ID_9+YQ1yXBJmY4WCkEAnC1nA)–

Lebanese interior minister announces official third round elections results
Tele-Liban TV, Beirut
13 Jun 05
Lebanese Tele-Liban TV at 1205 gmt on 13 June began to carry live
from the Lebanese Interior Ministry in Beirut a news conference by
Lebanese Interior Minister Hasan al-Sab’a on the “official results”
of the third round of the Lebanese parliamentary elections.
During the news conference, the minister read the official results
of the elections, including names of winners and losers and how many
votes they won.
He spoke first about the first constituency of Mount Lebanon, which
includes Jubayl and Kasrawan and in which the total seats were eight
and the number of candidates was 59.
He said that in Jubayl, one seat for the Shi’is was won by Abbas
Husayn Hashim, who won 62,294 votes.
The two Maronite seats in Jubayl were won by:
Walid Najib al-Khuri, with 56,840 votes; and
Shamil Yusuf Muzaya, 51,678 votes.
In Kasrawan, the winners of the five Maronite seats were:
Michel Na’im Awn, 67,432 votes;
Joseph Hanna Khalil, 61,840 votes;
Ni’matallah Faris Abi-Nasr, 59,738 votes;
Farid Ilyas al-Khazin, 56,719 votes; and
Gilbert Maurice Zuwayn, 52,376 votes.
In Al-Matn, the winners of the four Maronite seats were:
Ibrahim Yusuf Kan’an, with 56,840 votes;
Salim Emile Salhab, 54,776;
Nabil Sab Niqula, 48,872;
Pierre Amin al-Jumayyil, 29,421.
The Greek Catholic seat in Al-Matn went to Edgar Fu’ad Ma’luf, with
55,017 votes.
The two Greek Orthodox seats in Al-Matn were won by Ghassan Emile
Mukhaybir, with 56,906 votes; and Michel Ilyas al-Murr; with 48,662
votes.
The Armenian Orthodox seat in Al-Matn was won by Hagop Radonian,
with 53,272 votes.
The minister also read the results from the other constituencies.
At the beginning of the news conference the minister described how
the elections had proceeded. He said that the third round had been
different from the previous rounds in that there had been numerous
lists for movements, parties and figures active in political life. He
said that the number of contested seats in this round had totalled
58 and noted that there was an atmosphere of “enthusiasm and strong
competition among the candidates, leading to a significant rise in the
voter turnout, compared to previous rounds”. The electoral process,
he said, had proceeded “as planned” and in a “normal and democratic
atmosphere”. He said that had nothing disturbed this process due to
the security measures taken by the Interior Ministry and the Lebanese
army. He noted some “limited problems” that had been tackled by the
security forces. He said that the Complaints Committee had received
several complaints about some people “bribing” voters in various
areas, saying that the Interior Ministry had ordered the security
forces to investigate these complaints immediately and adopt legal
action against the perpetrators.
The minister added that all measures would be taken to ensure the
success of the fourth and last round of the elections in the north.
At 1236 gmt, the minister began to take questions from reporters. The
news conference ended at 1245 gmt.

Baku unhappy with OSCE report – MP
Bilik Dunyasi news agency
10 Jun 05
Baku, 10 June: As is known, the Council of Europe [CE] has drafted
a plan of action for the forthcoming parliamentary elections in
Azerbaijan in November this year.
Azerbaijan does not agree with many of the points made by the OSCE
rapporteur on Nagornyy Karabakh, Goran Lenmarker, in his proposal
to the Azerbaijani parliament. The first point that angered Baku was
the fact that the aggressor country was not named.
“The position of the Azerbaijani delegation was such that the OSCE
meeting in Washington in early July and the winter session of the
Parliamentary Assembly [PA] of the CE should adopt a resolution
recognizing Armenia as an aggressor country and the self-proclaimed
regime in Nagornyy Karabakh as separatist. It can be seen from the
report that the OSCE does not have the same position as Azerbaijan,”
a member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE, MP Eldar Ibrahimov,
has said.
That is why, the issue of putting the Karabakh problem on the agenda
of the OSCE’s annual meeting has not been resolved yet. This will
depend on the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group.
“The organization thinks that the OSCE Minsk Group is dealing with
a Karabakh settlement. But unfortunately, the Minsk Group does not
aspire to resolve the conflict,” Ibrahimov stressed.
This issue will be clarified following the meeting of the OSCE office
in Copenhagen in the second part of June.

Premier says China determined, capable of curbing HIV/AIDS
Xinhua news agency, Beijing
13 Jun 05
Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua
(New China News Agency)
Beijing, 13 June: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told UN officials here
Monday [13 June] that China is determined and capable of controlling
HIV/AIDS in the country.
“China is still facing serious challenges in HIV/AIDS prevention
and control, but the Chinese government is determined and capable of
curbing the spread of the disease to ensure the people live a healthy
and peaceful life,” Wen said in a meeting with Peter Piot, executive
director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
China has an estimated 840,000 people infected with HIV, including
80,000 with full blown AIDS. Wen said the Chinese government attaches
great importance to the work of HIV/AIDS prevention and control and
has set up a working mechanism led by the government, coordinated by
different departments, and participated by all social sectors.
China’s cabinet set up a high-level committee in 2004. The
organization, known as the AIDS Prevention Committee, is headed by
Vice-Premier Wu Yi, and involves 23 departments and institutions of
the central government and leading officials of concerned departments
of seven provincial governments.
Wen said China has formulated its national guideline on HIV/ AIDS
prevention and enacted a series of policies. “We also greatly increased
financial input and manpower into the fight against HIV/ AIDS.”
In September 2003, the Chinese government announced that it would
provide free anti-retroviral treatment to AIDS patients in rural
areas and those urbanite sufferers with financial difficulties. The
government also promised free HIV screening, free therapy to
intercepting mother-to-infant transmission, free infant HIV testing
and financial assistance for orphans whose parents have died of AIDS.
Wen said China also increased the intervention work among the groups
with high-risk behaviours and enhanced public education to improve
people’s awareness of self-protection and reduce social discrimination.
“Those efforts have led to significant results,” he said, adding that
the Chinese government will continue to intensify the efforts and
make sure that all the policies and measures will be fully implemented.
Wen also expressed appreciation for international help, saying that
the Chinese government wants to improve exchanges and cooperation
with the international community to make its due contribution to the
global fight against HIV/AIDS.
Piot said he was deeply impressed with Chinese government’s
determination and policies in curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS. He said
China is playing a positive role in the global fight against HIV/AIDS
and the UNAIDS will continue to offer its help and support. After
the meeting, Wen met with Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Putin seeks G8 debt relief for ex-Soviet republics
AFX Europe (Focus); Jun 13, 2005
NOVO-OGARYEVO (AFX) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has called
for a reduction of the international debt owed by the poorest of the
former Soviet republics and signalled Russia would put the issue on the
Group of Eight agenda when it assumes the G8 chairmanship next year.
“For Britain, it is quite important to know the situation in the
African countries,” Putin said at a news conference following talks
with British Prime Minister Tony Blair who is touring member countries
ahead of a G8 summit in Scotland in July.
“It is equally important for us to address the situation” in the
ex-Soviet republics that make up the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS), Putin said, adding: “Hopefully next year we will be
able to impartially assess the situation in these countries with
our colleagues.”
The Russian leader admitted that relations between Moscow and a number
of the former Soviet republics it once dominated were not always
“easy-going,” but said these countries nonetheless “want our support
and the support of the international community.”
Several — specifically Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia,
Georgia in the Caucasus and Moldova which is sandwiched between Ukraine
and Romania — objectively qualify as heavily indebted developing
countries in most urgent need of help from international lenders,
he said.
“We need not turn these CIS states into a battlefield. Rather we
should transport this space into a space of cooperation and we need
to do our best to provide assistance to these countries in developing
democracy and enhancing their economic basis.”
The International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development and other international lending
institutions have focused in recent years on poverty and debt control
in ex-Soviet republics through an initiative launched in 2002 known
as the CIS-7.
The countries that are the object of the plan are: Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Boston Herald, MA
June 13 2005
Pops shows its true colors
By Keith Powers
Monday, June 13, 2005 – Updated: 01:10 AM EST
The Boston Pops, America’s quintessential musical patriots, began
celebrating Flag Day three days early on Saturday evening. Principal
guest conductor Bruce Hangen led the orchestra, a trimmed down
Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and several soloists in the refreshingly
cool confines of Symphony Hall on this sweltering summer night.
Full disclosure: Patriotic displays of almost any kind incite profound
ambivalence in this listener. A full-page ad opposite the program notes
for something called the “Association of Former Intelligence Officers”
(ever seen that before?) heightened my terror alert before a single
note was fired. The presence of Daniel Rodriguez, a New York City cop
whose singing career launched just after 9/11, had me at code orange.
Mercifully, “Love it or leave it” tendencies were tempered greatly by
mixing the Americana portion of the bill with the Pops’ annual Armenian
night. Oud master John Bilezikjian treated the largely ethnic crowd
to a Vivaldi lute concerto, a delightful arrangement of Albeniz’s
“Leyenda,” and Khachaturian’s familiar “Saber Dance.”
The oud – lute-like with a larger bowl and shorter, straight neck
-has delicately soft textures, and so had to be amplified. Using an
amplified folk instrument over ambient classical instruments made
for tricky pitches and risky sonic textures in some spots. But
Bilezikjian’s virtuosity and dynamic phrasing made a winning
combination.
A musical version of “Hayr Mer” (“The Lord’s Prayer”), conducted
movingly by the Very Reverend Father Oshagan Minassian from his
wheelchair, brought the Armenian cultural section to a close.
(Armenians and many others in attendance stood with respectful
attention during “Hayr Mer”; curiously, many Neanderthals did not.)
Rodriguez, self-proclaimed in his bio as “America’s Favorite Tenor,” is
just that. A tenor. His sense of bravura and overwhelming volume could
not hide the evidence: He might consider going back to the old beat
in Flatbush. His career is certainly one of the lesser evils spawned
by the infamous attacks, but that seems small reason for it to blossom.
But as does happen from time to time, this listener was clearly a
minority of one, to judge from the raucous appreciation Rodriguez
received from the sold-out hall. Even the Neanderthals were standing
when Rodriguez came out for one last patriotic encore, an unsurprise
attack on “God Bless America.”

Spotlight on Nagorno Karabakh
Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates
June 13 2005
Mohammed A. R. Galadari visited Azerbaijan on an invitation from the
President, Ilham Aliyev. The visit was aimed essentially at putting
the spotlight on the Nagorno Karabakh issue, one of the “smouldering
problems” of the Caucasus region, which seems to have been largely
forgotten by the world.
Armenian-backed forces in the region had driven out Azerbaijani troops
in 1994, in the follow up to a war that killed nearly 40,000 people
and about a million homeless.
Azerbaijan’s complaint is that the international community has shut
its eyes on the case. Nagorno Karabakh area has been occupied by
Armenia while one million of its inhabitants are out of their homes
and their territory. Those people are living in refugee camps in Baku
and elsewhere in miserable conditions.
“The Government of Azerbaijan wants the Arab world and the Islamic
countries, especially the Gulf states, to get to know about the
sufferings in another part of the Islamic world and offer whatever
help possible to these people”, senior leaders said, noting that
Khaleej Times being the premier daily for the Gulf Region, it could
help in this matter.
“The whole world agrees and admits that Nagorno Karabakh is a part
of Azerbaijan and Armenia should pull out its troops and let the
original inhabitants of Nagorno Karabakh return to their territories.
But, the fact is that no help is coming and the solutions are still
on paper. The Armenian forces are occupying Nagorno Karabakh for the
last many years. Nothing has happened since then, and the patience of
Azerbaijanis is running out. They cannot fight Armenia as they are
sure they are not going to fight just Armenia, but also the powers
that support Armenia.
What has Ali Hasanov, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister, who is also
the head of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, and head of
the Republican Commission on International Humanitarian Assistance,
to say on the subject?
Hasanov said the main reason which hinders a peaceful solution to
the problem is the interest that the neighbouring countries – Iran,
Turkey, and Russia – take in the matter. “They have their own agenda”.
“We have about one million refugees from a total population of eight
million. We are trying to help those refugees through addressing all
humanitarian organisations as well as calling on Armenia to release
their territory. However, all these calls have been ignored and no
one listens to us,” he said.
He said the Armenian leader even refused to reply, “and that’s why
we feel there is no justice coming from international organisations,
as they are adopting double standards”.
“Many a time, our president said that if the problem of Nagorno
Karabakh doesn’t get solved peacefully, we will be forced to fight
to liberate our land. “Our patience is running out, and there is a
limit to everything. All we are asking is, how long will our case
be ignored? There is no similar situation anywhere in the world,
whereas neighbouring countries who are members of the Commonwealth of
Independent States have seized and captured the land of its neighbour.
Question: Why did you say that Armenia doesn’t care about the
international community … and how do they have this power?
Answer: In fact, they have no power, but the power has been given to
them through the endless support of other countries, especially Russia.
Question: Why don’t you use force to liberate your land?
Answer: We have the international right to do that, and we will be
able to liberate our land if the struggle is limited between Armenia
and Azerbaijan. I mean, there should be no interference from regional
powers. Russian military bases surround us. There are two military
bases around Azerbaijan.
Question: Why can’t Azerbaijan make this issue alive? And why is it
ignored like that?
Answer: There is enough information available about Nagorno Karabakh as
well as about the Armenian occupation. At the end of 2001, the United
States issued a statement against the occupation of Nagorno Karabakh
by Armenia. The world started to pay attention to the issue when
the EU Commissioner issued a statement last year. At the beginning
of 1991, when Azerbaijan was a newly independent country, we were
still weak, which gave the chance to Armenia to occupy our land,
but in the last 6-7 years, we have been very active. Some years ago,
the US Congress passed a law stipulating punishment for any country
helping or supporting Azerbaijan, and it was very clear that Armenian
power was behind the US policy.
In fact, Armenia is being helped by the US State Department by
being paid hundred million dollars every year. The US, French and
Russian governments have their interest in the region. Russia also
has a military interest in the region, as it has its bases in Nagorno
Karabakh. The power of the Armenian community in France is also very
great as there are a great number of Armenians living in France. The
Armenian community has a great say in the elections in both the US and
France. Therefore, US and France will not try to solve the problem
seriously as the Armenian lobby exerts pressure in decision-making
in both France and US.
Question: Actually Russia has been benefited from Azerbaijan oil for
a long time, and both Russia and Azerbaijan had good relations. So,
why is Russia more helpful to Armenia than to Azerbaijan?
Answer: We don’t think Russia is helping Armenia more than Azerbaijan,
but historically, Russia has been concerned with Armenia for a
long time.
Question: Does this mean Russia is more interested in Armenia than
Azerbaijan because they were responsible for creating Armenia?
Answer: In fact, Russia did create Armenia, but then, look at countries
like Iran and Turkey. Was Armenia ever a part of them?
Question: Iran is helping Armenia. Is it because they don’t want
an Azerbaijan bigger than Iran as there is about 25 per cent of
Azerbaijani territory in Iran?
Answer: In 1992, when the National Party was in power, the president
used one phrase, which may have scared Iran about the agenda of
Azerbaijan.
Question: Maybe Turkey supports Armenia because it does not want
to create a Kurdistan state, as there are Kurds in Iran, Turkey and
Iraq? Similarly, in Iran, there is a big community of Azerbaijanis,
and maybe Iran is afraid of unifying the Azerbaijani community,
which feels Azerbaijan is the mother state.
Answer: Actually, we don’t have Kurds in Azerbaijan, but I don’t really
know why Iran is helping Armenia because the Azerbaijanis who are
living in Iran are Iranians. There are Iranian official delegations
paying visits to Armenia and to Nagorno Karabakh specifically, where
they supplied the region with humanitarian aid and other logistic
supplies. We are amazed and surprised over such kind of help.
Question: What about the Organisation of Islamic Conference? Did it
support Azerbaijan? They did issue a statement some time ago, that
Armenia has occupied Azerbaijan land. But, the OIC has never come out
strongly on any issue. See what is happening in the Kashmir case and
that of Palestine, and the OIC does not appear serious about them.
Answer: There have been lots of statements issued by the world
organisations.
Question: Why aren’t you starting a media campaign against Armenia
to explain your case?
Answer: Azerbaijan is not that rich to make such kind of campaigns
but Armenia undertook such campaigns against us and said we are very
rich and have benefited from petroleum wealth, but this is not true.
The Azerbaijan economy is, in fact, in a crisis as it is down 11 per
cent from what it achieved at the time of being a part of the Soviet
Union. As for the oil contracts, we will not really benefit from them
for the next few years.
Question: Historically, we know that Turkey has bad relations with
Armenia. Then, why does Turkey not make good use of its ties with Nato
of which it’s a member to help solve the problem of Nagorno Karabakh?
Answer: Turkey can’t do that because Armenia has the protection of
Russia, and Russia will interfere in the war in case of any attacks
against Armenia.
Question: What about the refugees living in camps, and in what
circumstances are they living?
Answer: There are about 1,600 settlements for the refugees and there
are also complexes for them. We are trying to ease their lives. In
Baku, there are 160,000 refugees living in our camps and settlements.
***************
Visit to refugee camps in Baku
The refugee camps in Baku and elsewhere were established as a result
of Armenian occupation of the Azerbaijani area Nagorno Karabakh.
The occupation led the Azerbaijani inhabitants of the occupied region
to flee their territory behind them.
The number of refuges is about one million, out of a total eight
million inhabitants in the country – that means one out of every
eight persons in Azerbaijan is a refugee.
Galadari witnessed the miserable conditions in which the refugees were
living. He was accompanied by members of the Republican Commission
and the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs.
The Republican Commission on International Humanitarian Assistance was
established on the basis of the Azerbaijani Presidential Decree No. 144
dated January 15, 1995. The Republican Commission is coordinating its
activities with international humanitarian organisations. As a result
of the ethnic cleansing policy of Armenia over 1988-1992 period, some
250,000 Azerbaijanis, who lived in that territory, were forcefully
pushed out of their native land, and they came to Azerbaijan. 5As a
consequence of military aggression of the Armenian armed forces in
1988, some 20 per cent of Azerbaijan territories – mountains Karabakh
and seven adjacent regions were occupied, and 60,000 Azerbaijanis
of mountains Karabakh and more than 600,000 fellow countrymen from
surrounding regions lost their permanent homes, and were temporarily
settled in more than 1,600 shelters within 62 cities and regions of
the country.
Due to this encroachment, 100,000 Azerbaijanis living in territories
adjoining Armenia such as the autonomous republic of Nakhtchivan,
Agstafa, Kazakh, Touvuz, Agabadi, Gadabay were forced to leave
their homeland. The visit was aimed at highlighting the problems of
the refugees of karabakh in addition to attracting the attention
of the world, especially the Arab world to another problem in the
Islamic world. The problem is about 15 years old when Armenian forces
occupied a part of an Islamic country and forced its people to flee
to Azerbaijan.
The refugees were seen living in groups in places looking like caves
without any facilities. Their shelters are made of tin plates. In
winter, they are exposed to freezing cold.
It is important that the Islamic world and the people of the Gulf
region extended generous help to the refugees by supplying them with
humanitarian aid.
************
Interview with Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Question: To be frank, I liked your country and I am keen on knowing
more about the Nagorno Karabakh issue and to have a good chance to
highlight the issue to my readers. There are a lot of cases of issues
in Islamic countries being ignored by the international community. In
the case of north Timor in Indonesia, and in south Sudan, and many
other cases, we find the international community rushing to help and
find solutions to these cases. But the same enthusiasm is not seen
in cases relating to the Islamic countries.
Answer: It is very good of you to come to our country to know about the
Karabakh issue. I know that Khaleej Times is a good, reputed newspaper
in the Gulf region. It is good of you to have come here and see from
close quarters what is happening to your brothers in Azerbaijan.
Question: In the UAE, we have expatriates from over a hundred countries
and get about five million tourists a year. It will be a good chance
for the people there to know about the issue of Nagorno Karabakh.
Answer: Yes, that’s true. We are in need of activating our issue
and we need to bring the attention of the international community
to do its best to find a solution to the conflict. Otherwise, the
sufferings of the Azerbaijanis will continue, which is not good,
and the area will be a source for conflict. We also do not agree
that the Armenians will continue to occupy the land and capture the
territory of the Azerbaijanis forever.
Question: In fact, when I paid a visit to the refugee camps, I was
really concerned over their plight and I have sympathised with them…
Answer: Yes, it is true they are suffering and we are doing our best
to solve their problems and ease their lives, in spite of the fact
that we know no place on earth will equal one’s homeland. Therefore,
we are tying to solve the case through peaceful means, and we are
doing our best to help them. We also try to explain to Armenia that
violent measures are not the way to solve the problem. Why should
people suffer like that where they are forcefully expelled and deported
from their homes?
It will not only be the Azerbaijanis who will suffer, but also the
Armenians if a war breaks out between the two countries. We are
trying to attract the attention of the international community and
the world organisations to find a solution to the issue. It should be
a movement from the West and the world community to solve the issue,
but unfortunately, it is not as easy as it sounds.
The war started in 1988, and we could say it was the first clash, and
the real war was in 1990. In the same year, a ceasefire was fixed. As
a result of this war, about 20 per cent of the whole population is
affected, leading to a full destruction of communications, including
the part which is isolated and captured by Armenian forces.
We are definitely doing our best to rebuild the country. Azerbaijan is
rich with resources, we have oil and gas in addition to other sources
and the Azerbaijani manpower is our main source, which will give
Azerbaijan a good opportunity to be a developed country and witness
comprehensive development in all sectors. We have tried to deal nicely
with the Armenians and cooperate with them, but they have refused. We
explained to them that, let us cooperate with each other, which will
benefit our economies, but unfortunately there was no response from
the Armenians. This is the major problem and the other problem being
that the Armenians don’t want to have peace.
Question: Your country had called in many western companies to help
develop and export your oil. How are things progressing?
Answer: You know that we in Azerbaijan are not doing things like
that…the most important thing for Azerbaijan is to build a very
strong and independent state. Therefore, we are trying to have good
relations with all the countries. We also appreciate the support from
the Organization of the Islamic Conference. In the case of western
communities, we have quite strong relations with the Europeans from
where most of the investments here are coming.
We have invited big oil companies from all over the world and we
didn’t name specific companies.
Question: What benefit do you expect from the long pipeline from
Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkish port of Geyhan?
Answer: This is one of the major successes we have. It is important
for us because it will be our access to the Mediterranean area and
Azerbaijanis will be benefited because we will be able to produce
one million barrel of oil per day, and if we just calculate that,
it would show Azerbaijan will receive about one billion dollar per
year, which will benefit the people.
Question: Why had environmental groups been protesting against the
pipeline project?
Answer: Most of the environmental groups raised this issue in
Georgia and we think that there are lots of sources and foundations
supporting this. Any way, we addressed these matters to companies,
which are engaged in the project, such as Azerbaijan State Oil Company,
Azerbaijan International Oil Company and BTC, and they addressed the
issue and we settled all the demands of the environmental groups.
Question: Some say you are walking a tightrope between Russia and
western regional geo-strategic interest. How do you view this charge?
Answer: Our relations with Russia have been developed in the last few
years quiet successfully. We have a huge community of Azerbaijanis
living there. It is important for us for multiple purposes, as Russia
is a very huge market for us, as well as Russia and Azerbaijan were
a part of one state for decades. Therefore, it is important for both
of us to have good relations in all sectors such as agriculture,
industry etc.
We are developing relations with Russia from the economic point of
view, while in the political part, we have in the last few years
established equal partnership between the two countries. With regard
to the geo-strategic importance, yes, in fact, if you look at the map,
you will see how much Azerbaijan is important to Russia. Azerbaijan
is its access to central Asia and the Caspian sea and it is very
important, and we have taken a stand to cooperate with everyone. The
most important thing is that we have to strengthen our independence.
Question: What is the state of economic and political reforms in
Azerbaijan?
Answer: Through the last few years, after the appropriate decrees of
the president, the GDP of Azerbaijan has doubled. We can say 80 per
cent of the Azerbaijani GDP is coming from the private sector.
Question: How is the economy faring? How serious are you about
industrialisation? What are the investment opportunities?
Answer: Investment opportunities are very good, and as I said, we
are getting more and more investors from all over the world.
Question: What about the Gulf region? Are you getting investments
from there?
Answer: We are focusing on them and in fact we are inviting them to
Azerbaijan and I tell our people to go and call the Gulf people to
invest in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is both the access point to Asia
and to the huge market of Russia, which will be a good chance to
companies to have investments in Azerbaijan.
Question: A complaint is that the living conditions of the people are
not improving, even though enough money is coming into the government
hands from the oil revenue. Why is it so?
Answer: I think you are an angel from a human rights group. Any way,
it is good that democracy is coming to the Gulf region. In the case
of the poverty in Azerbaijan, you should take into considerations
the fact that the country is in transition, the real money whatever
we put in, will take time to give returns, which will come after 2006
or thereafter. We have to wait for more years to savour the fruits of
our present endeavours. We have invested largely in the oil sector,
for instance, and it will help us in future.
Question: How are you tackling the issue of corruption, which I
perceive is a serious problem in this country?
Answer: Corruption is a problem here and I can say it is a worldwide
problem. There are a few ways to get rid of corruption, and one of
these approaches is to increase the salaries of the people, which will
help in that it will reduce the urge to take bribes. The second way is
through strengthening the laws and the measures against corruption. The
third solution is on strengthening the educational system. The more
educated the people are, the less the chances of corruption.
Question: What about the country’s relations with Russia? Russia has
good relations with Armenia. How is it affecting your case?
Answer: Armenia occupied the land of Azerbaijan after getting help from
Russia and other countries, and see, we don’t have any doubt that they
will return our land. In our relations with Russia, we are looking for
an equal partnership, but in the case of the relations of Russia with
Armenia, frankly, we don’t like or we don’t want to interfere in that,
but we know that Russia supplied Armenia illegally with weapons and
as well with soldiers. In case of the relation of Azerbaijan with the
others, we try to explain that the political stability and economic
development are the main objectives of Azerbaijan.
Question: How are your relations with Armenia after signing the
cease-fire in 1994?
Answer: In fact, the two armies are facing each other and exchanging
fires from time to time, and we still have causalties on the border.
Question: The opposition is raising the issue of dynastic
succession-the president having succeeded his father. They say this
would set a bad precedent for the central Asian region. How do you
view the scene?
Answer: The opposition says this. What I want to say is that we
want to continue the good work we are doing with a view to bringing
prosperity to Azerbaijanis, as also political stability.
Question: President Bush sent a letter to president Ilham Aliyev,
offering him support when he took over. Bush sought his support for
building democratic institutions. How does he respond to Bush’s call?
Answer: It is not only because President Bush sent a letter that
we are promoting democracy. We have undertaken that process, we are
constructing the foundations of democracy, and so our aspiration is
towards developing democracy now.
Question: Freedom of speech is guaranteed in your constitution. But
there are complaints of the media not being free.
Answer: I totally disagree with you and if you have looked at our
newspapers, you will know how they are doing their jobs in a very
free and liberal atmosphere. They often criticise ministers.
Question: Rights organisations complain about the operation of the
judicial process and abuse of detainees’ rights by police. Please
comment.
Answer: No, I don’t believe in that. In fact, when we are talking
about the abuses of police, I think it had happened from time to time,
and we don’t hide it and we deal with such situations in a fair manner.
Question: What are the fields in which Azerbaijan and UAE have
cooperation?
Answer: We have lots of opportunities for cooperation, and we have
the possibility to develop the relationship. We have good cooperation,
especially in trading, and we have three flights per week between the
two countries. Lots of tourists are coming from Azerbaijan to the UAE.

Orange County Register, CA
June 13 2005
Pride of place
Armenians celebrate heritage and raise money at first Orange County
festival.
By JUSTINO ÁGUILA
The Orange County Register
LAGUNA HILLS – Maria Kloby and her family walked into the first
Armenian Festival of Orange County and couldn’t wait to sample foods,
check out the booths, and watch folk dancers in colorful and
traditional costumes.
More than 2,000 people gathered to do the same thing Saturday and
Sunday at the Laguna Hills Community Center, celebrating Armenian
culture and raising money for Armenian orphans.
“I’m Filipino, and we’ve been to many festivals,” said Kloby, a
Laguna Hills resident who attended with her husband, Michael, and
son, Benjamin. “We were curious about the Armenian culture.”
The festival had two main objectives, according to Tom Kalajian, an
organizer. First, organizers created it to help unify the local
Armenian community, which organizers said now numbers about 25,000
Orange County residents. The other mission was raising money for the
thousands of children scattered throughout Armenia in about 2,000
orphanages.
“Those children are the future,” said Kalajian, a Lake Forest
businessman. “This is the first time all of the Orange County
organizations have unified for a festival.”
The idea to launch a festival came after Laguna Hills merchants Garo
Mardirossian and Paul Aslanian thought the Laguna Hills Community
Center would be a good place for a festival.
Organizers wanted all 19 Orange County Armenian-based organizations,
most of them nonprofit, to support one another as they raised money
for orphans and celebrated their roots at the same time.
Each table at the event included cards with Armenian facts such as,
“Armenians built churches in a gothic style of architecture a century
before it first appeared in Europe.” Another card indicated that
there are between 8 million and 10 million Armenians in the world.
Event organizers hope that guests learned more about Armenian history
and culture and possibly corrected misinformation. Armenians, for
example, are not Middle Eastern. The sweet dessert baklava is an
Armenian creation, not a Greek one.
“It was the right time for this festival to happen in Orange County,”
said Virginia Rhoads, president of the local chapter of the Armenian
Relief Society-Karni. “The Armenian population has grown in Orange
County, and I think that’s another reason the festival was needed.”
There are similar events throughout the country, including Los
Angeles.
Aslanian spent much of the weekend making sure that festival guests
enjoyed their time as music and dancing spilled out into the grassy
area of the park.
“We’re already getting calls from people for next year,” Aslanian
said. “Even people in Los Angeles want to participate. I think that
shows that this festival was overdue, and I think it’s going to get
bigger.”
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