Month: August 2008

BROWN URGES TALKS ON GEORGIA

Yorkshire Post
Wednesday, 13th August 2008
UK

Gordon Brown last night called for talks to find a permanent solution
to the crisis in Georgia as Russia announced it was halting its
military operations after five days of fighting.

The Prime Minister offered to send humanitarian aid to assist the
thousands of people displaced in what he described as the "terrible
set of events" in the Caucasus republic.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband warned Moscow there could be no
return ADVERTISEMENTto "business as usual" until Russia showed it
was prepared to accept the international rule of law.

Mr Miliband broke off his holiday in Minorca so he could attend an
emergency meeting of European Union ministers in Brussels today.

British Embassy officials in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, were
frantically trying to organise the evacuation of remaining British
nationals from the conflict zone.

Mr Brown, speaking from his home in Fife, said the halt in the fighting
had come about as the result of international pressure.

"What we must do now is ensure that it’s a lasting ceasefire," he said.

"There must now be talks that will resolve this once and for all. We
cannot continue with the situation where hostilities are likely. We
must bring them to an end by having a permanent solution to this
problem."

Mr Brown said he had discussed the situation with both Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy –
the current holder of the rotating European Union presidency – who
met for crisis talks in Moscow yesterday.

Mr Sarkozy offered to send EU peacekeepers to the breakaway Georgian
province of South Ossetia which is at the centre of the crisis.

Mr Brown said he had told Mr Medvedev that "Russian aggression"
in Georgia had been "condemned throughout the world".

Mr Miliband said Russia’s actions could not go without a concerted
international diplomatic response.

"Russia has used grossly disproportionate force. It has violated the
integrity of a democratic and sovereign neighbouring country," he said.

"Business as usual is not compatible with Russian aggression in
Georgia."

He challenged the Russians to provide evidence to back up their claims
that they had been acting to prevent "genocide" by Georgian forces
in South Ossetia. "If there is any shred of evidence for that claim,
Russia needs to produce it now – otherwise it is hollow propaganda,"
he said.

Mr Miliband suggested Russia’s application to join the World Trade
Organisation and talks on a new strategic partnership with the EU
could be affected by the events of the past week.

He also hinted that Russia could be frozen out of the G8 group of
industrialised countries, with ministers from the original G7 group
acting alone.

Tory leader David Cameron said the Foreign Office should summon the
Russian ambassador in London to explain Moscow’s actions and consider
imposing new visa requirements on Russian nationals travelling to
the UK.

"History has shown time and time again that if you leave aggression
to go unchecked, you only store up graver problems for the future,"
he said.

"Russia says it is fighting in defence of Russian citizens in South
Ossetia. Who will they claim to be defending tomorrow? Russians in
the Ukraine, Russians in the Baltic states who are already members
of the EU and Nato?

"This is a dangerous doctrine with worrying echoes from the darkest
chapters of European history."

Analysts fear there is a limit to the pressure that could be brought
to bear on Moscow and that Russia’s position in South Ossetia and
the other Georgian breakaway province of Abkhazia is likely to be
entrenched.

British officials said the embassy staff in Tbilisi were continuing
to help British nationals to leave the country.

Around 35, together with embassy staff dependants, were thought to
be leaving by coach for neighbouring Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIA’S WITHDRAWAL WOULD SPELL NO TRAGEDY FOR CIS – FC MEMBERS

ITAR-TASS
13.08.2008, 06.18
Russia

MOSCOW, August 13 (Itar-Tass) — Georgia’s walkout of the Commonwealth
of Independent States, if it takes place after all, will be no
tragedy for the CIS, many members of the Federation Council (Russian
parliament’s upper house) have said.

"Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili stubbornly declares this
intention again and again. Last time he did so six months ago. But that
decision has not materialized to this day," the chairman of the CIS
Affairs Committee, Vadim Gustov, told Itar-Tass in an interview. He
does not rule out that this time the walkout may happen, but it will
certainly have no tragic consequences for the Commonwealth.

"For Georgia this will be very bad," Gustov said with certainty. He
recalled that within the framework of the CIS Georgia had signed a
number of agreements very important to it, in first place, trading,
economic and energy ones. Its walkout of the CIS would spell the
termination of those agreements.

Gustov agreed that Georgia was heavily funded by the United States,
but at the same time he doubted that "these injections will be able
to substitute for full-fledged economic development and cooperation
with near neighbors."

He also recalled that over 700,000 Georgian citizens arrived in Russia
lately in order to earn a living and were sending back home millions
of dollars in cash.

"The loss of this source of income will hit the Georgian population
really hard," the chairman of the CIS Affairs Committee warned.

As for Saakashvili’s call addressed to Ukraine and other CIS members
for leaving the CIS, too, Gustov believes it was very difficult to
judge at this point what their response might be.

For Ukraine, he said, this is a no easy question. On the one hand,
it is drifting westwards, but the European Union has told it that
no date for its admission could be set for now. On the other hand,
if it is to speed up economic development, Ukraine should increase
integration within the CIS, and the country’s leadership cannot but
be aware of this, Gustov said.

And the chairman of the Federation Council’s Defense and Security
Committee, Issa Kostoyev, described Saakashvili’s threat Georgia
would leave the CIS as a "blank shot."

The Georgian president, Kostoyev said, has been fanning tensions with
his statements, apparently waiting for approval and support from some
of his counterparts, but the chances this tactic of his may succeed
are not obvious at all.

True, some countries, including Ukraine, may try to capitalize on
this theme somehow, but their ultimate decision will depend on a
variety of foreign policy factors.

Kostoyev is certain that the Central Asian countries, Belarus, Armenia
and Azerbaijan (the latter is subject to the strongest pressures)
are unprepared to move in this direction.

Both FC members believe that the CIS should be more quick and active
in reforming itself. The stronger the CIS and the more effective its
operation, the fewer the doubts about its future and the weaker the
decision to leave it, the senior legislators said.

RUSSIA CALLS OFF ITS ATTACKS ON GEORGIA
By Mark Dowdney

Mirror.co.uk
13/08/2008
UK

Russia yesterday called off its attacks on Georgia – as 350 Britons
prepared to flee the capital Tbilisi amid fears the ceasefire will
not hold.

President Dmitri Medvedev announced the Russian army had achieved
its objectives in the fiveday war with neighbouring Georgia over the
breakaway province of South Ossetia. But he warned his troops would
not hold back if attacked – and ordered his commanders to be ready
to strike.

And hours after the announcement the Georgian city of Gori was
reportedly still being pounded by Russian artillery and warplanes.

The Foreign Office said 350 Britons had contacted its embassy in
Tbilisi asking for evacuation help.

Coaches have been hired to take them over the border to Armenia.

It said: "They are for those unable to make their own arrangements
to leave, mainly families with children or the elderly."

Meanwhile, British oil giant BP announced it was shutting two pipelines
passing through Georgia as a "precautionary measure".

The pipelines carry around 90,000 barrels of oil a day from Azerbaijan
to Turkey. A prolonged closure could send already sky-high oil prices
spiralling further.

Medvedev announced the ceasefire in a TV broadcast and said the safety
of Russians in South Ossetia had been restored. He accused Georgia’s
pro-Western leader Mikheil Saakashvili of needlessly starting the war
by sending forces to retake the province. He added: "The aggressor
has been punished and suffered significant losses."

Russia has agreed to an EU sponsored peace deal to end the
conflict. Georgia will now study it.

At least 2,000 people, mostly civilians, have died. A further 100,000
fled their homes

EU DIPLOMATS KEEN TO AVOID RUSSIA CONTROVERSY
Philippa Runner

EUobserver.com
Today @ 09:27 CET
Belgium

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The French EU presidency is expected to endorse
the Russia-Georgia ceasefire, offer humanitarian aid and urge EU unity
in a statement after an EU foreign ministers meeting on Wednesday
(13 August), with Paris keen to avoid controversy on who to blame
for the crisis.

Preparatory discussions by EU diplomats on Tuesday saw a group of
former communist states speak in "sharp language" about Russia, but
the tone was "less radical than they used for their domestic press,"
one diplomat who attended the debates told EUobserver.

The foreign ministers meeting room in Brussels (Photo: eu2007.de) Print
Comment article "The presidency thinks, right now, it’s better to focus
on problem-solving, rather than trying to go into characterisation of
the war, who started what, who reacted, and the EU is united behind
the idea," he added. "The presidency wants to preserve as much room
for manoeuvre for future mediation as possible."

Wednesday’s EU statement will probably be a French declaration rather
than a formal joint position by all 27 countries, an EU official said.

"The situation is still evolving. It’s not black and white. Of course,
Georgia made some mistakes, Russia made some mistakes. But the idea
now is to help mediation, to see what we can do from a humanitarian
point of view."

The declaration is likely to fall short of Georgian hopes, with
Georgia’s EU ambassador, Salome Samadashvili, saying she would
like the EU to label Russia’s behaviour as an "act of aggression,"
condemn the bombing of the Georgian town of Gori, cast doubt on
EU-Russia negotiations on a new strategic pact and reaffirm Georgia’s
territorial integrity.

The foreign ministers meeting will begin with a briefing by France’s
Bernard Kouchner, who came to Brussels from Tbilisi on Tuesday night
after taking part in talks between French president Nicolas Sarkozy
and Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili.

Russia and Georgia on Tuesday signed a Russian-drafted, six-point
ceasefire plan which calls for troops to pull back and for
international talks about the "modalities of security and stability"
in Georgian separatist regions.

Shockwaves

The five day war erupted when Georgia fired on Russia-backed rebels
in the Georgian province of South Ossetia last Friday (8 August)
and Russia launched a massive retaliation, moving tanks deep into
Georgian territory, mobilising its navy and ordering bombing raids.

The fighting killed hundreds of civilians and shocked former communist
EU states, as well as Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan, some
of which fear that a newly-assertive Russia will try to undermine
other pro-western neighbours in future.

"The EU should say ‘no’ [to Russia’s subjugation of Georgia] and push
Russia out. This means tough language, sanctions [against Russia]
and quick EU humanitarian intervention," a diplomat from one of the
former communist EU states said, looking at the EU’s policy options
down the line.

The Russian incursion into Georgia was clearly "military aggression"
and should bear "costs" in terms of EU-Russia relations, but a
suspension of the current Partnership and Cooperation Agreement or a
symbolic arms export embargo would be ineffective, European Council
on Foreign Relations analyst, Nicu Popescu, said.

The EU’s main focus should instead be the swift deployment of an
impartial, international peacekeeping force made up of UN or EU
soldiers and civilian monitors followed by a donors’ conference to
help rebuild the war zone, he advised.

"The first lesson of this crisis is that the old policy of
EU non-engagement has encouraged both parties to escalate their
actions. From an EU perspective, the first casualty is the theory that
by getting more involved in Georgia, the EU will irritate Russia and
provoke instability."

Mr Sarkozy in Moscow on Tuesday spoke of the possibility of an EU
peacekeeping mission, with Estonia quickly offering to send troops.

Peacekeeping conundrum

But creating a force that will be acceptable to all sides could prove
hard, with Russia’s NATO ambassador, Dmitry Rogozin, on Tuesday
ruling out any Georgian component, while Ms Samadashvili said no
Russian troops can take part.

Last year, Russia and Estonia were involved in an ugly row
over Tallinn’s decision to move a Soviet-era statue from its city
centre. And the current Russia-Georgia conflict has injected bitterness
into international relations beyond Europe.

Russia’s Mr Rogozin at a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday complained
that NATO had listened to Georgian delegates but failed to convene a
NATO Russia Council as planned, implying that Georgia ally, the US,
secretly knew about Georgia’s plans to attack the South Ossetia rebels
last week.

"I suspect the American allies will be ashamed to discuss this with
their European colleagues," he said.

BAE SYSTEMS MANAGER ROSS BISHOP WAS RUSHED TO SAFETY

Lancashire Evening Post
Wednesday, 13th August 2008
UK

"Previous" PreviousNext " Next "View GalleryADVERTISEMENTA Preston
backpacker has spoken of his "evacuation" from war-ravaged Georgia.

BAE Systems manager Ross Bishop was rushed to safety away from
advancing Russian troops as he was finishing a 10-day walking
holiday in the remote Svaneti region – less than 60 miles away from
heavily-bombed South Ossetia.

The 31-year-old, of Princes Reach, Ashton, was one of 11 travellers
enjoying an adventure mountain trip when trouble flared up last
Thursday night.

But news of the fighting in the break-away region did not fully get
through until Saturday. Luckily, it was in time to avert the group from
heading through the city of Gori, which was heavily bombed and occupied
by Russian troops on Monday, and on to the closed Tbilisi Airport.

Mr Bishop, who works on the Eurofighter project at Warton, said:
"It could have been a near miss. We didn’t face any direct danger
but if I was travelling alone I would have headed for Gori.

"We had started to hear stories when fighting started and there was
a feeling of dread and ‘oh no, not again’ among the Georgian people."

The keen traveller, who has previously visited Pakistan and the
Himalayas, said his Georgian guide later broke down in tears afraid
her younger brother could be enlisted in the army. She also received
a text message from a friend who had seen aircraft harrier destroyed
by Russian bombers.

The group was taken quickly by minibus along rough roads down to
Armenia where Mr Bishop found one of the last spaces on a flight from
Yerevan back to Heathrow on Monday. He had to wait four hours for a
visa as he joined the thousands rushing to get through the border.

Mr Bishop was reassured to take the trip with London-based Wild
Frontiers despite the Foreign Office previously issuing advice against
travelling to the region.

The group, which ranged of men and women aged between 31 and 59,
paid around £1,175 each for the trip, excluding flights.

–Boundary_(ID_/HFlvgY2oaTASy+ktKJNGA)–

UPDATE 1-INDIA NMDC SAYS TO SIGN IRON ORE PACT WITH RIO TINTO
By Biman Mukherji

Ninemsn
Aug 13, 2008
Australia

NEW DELHI, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Global miner Rio Tinto (RIO.AX RIO.AX
, 111.600, -2.400, -2.110%) will sign an agreement this month with
Indian mining firm NMDC to prospect for iron ore, the chairman of
the state-run Indian company said on Wednesday.

"We will sign a memorandum of understanding. It is for prospecting
of mainly iron ore. They (Rio Tinto) will look to prospect in India,"
NMDC Chairman Rana Som told Reuters.

NMDC’s shares rose more than 3.3 percent after the news of the
agreement, which Som said would be signed on Aug 18.

The agreement is to prospect outside of India as well as on the
subcontinent and Som said NMDC would help Rio Tinto in prospecting
for iron ore in India.

India exports about 90 million tonnes of iron ore, mainly to
China. Most of the sales are done on spot basis, unlike other big
suppliers who tie up long-term contracts.

Som said company officials were yet to fix a date to go to Japan to
negotiate price agreements with buyers for supply of iron ore.

In early 2007, the government imposed an export duty of 300 rupees
per tonne ($7) on higher grades and 50 rupees on lower grades, to
discourage exports and to conserve future supplies for domestic steel
makers, many of which are planning to expand.

India’s ministry for mines said in June it opposed the tax and it
wanted to encourage local firms to sell ore overseas.

The government, which is trying to calm soaring inflation, has
persuaded steel firms to hold their prices steady since May and is
keen to keep iron ore prices down to help steel makers.

Earlier, the Indian Express daily said NMDC was increasingly looking
at foreign opportunities to boost its mineral reserves.

NMDC, which contributes 15 percent to India’s total iron ore
production, was also in the race to acquire a mine in Canada for 30
billion rupees, the newspaper said.

With no fresh allocation of iron ore mines domestically, NMDC had
signed a joint venture agreement with India’s Spice Energy and was
close to clinching a deal to acquire mines in mineral-rich Eritrea,
Congo and Armenia, it said.

$1 = 42.6 rupees (Reporting by Biman Mukherji; Editing by Mark Williams
and Charlotte Cooper)

A REAL PICK ME UP /WHO NEEDS U.S. AS CHINESE OVERWHELM OPPONENTS IN HEAVY-METAL COMPETITION
John Crumpacker, [email protected]

San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
USA

(08-12) 21:10 PDT Beijing — – As it turns out, the world of Olympic
sports does not revolve around the fortunes of the U.S. team, 596
strong and locked in a battle with China for most medals.

Ten weight lifters in the men’s 69-kilogram class (151.8 pounds) did
just fine without a single American in the field. In fact, there were
precious few Americans even in the Beijing University of Aeronautics
and Astronautics Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

The competition featured a world without the United States, Canada,
Mexico, Central America, South America and virtually all of Western
Europe save a Frenchman by way of Cameroon.

Lifters ranging in height from 5-foot-2 to 5-6 from China, the two
Koreas, Thailand, Cuba, Armenia, France and Azerbaijan competed for
medals while hoisting more than twice their body weights over their
heads without collapsing in ruin.

China continued its rampage through the weight-lifting classes
and has now won a gold medal in every division it entered, men and
women. Favorite Liao Hui provided the requisite thrills for the home
crowd when he lifted a total of 765.6 pounds for the gold medal in
the men’s 69 kg category.

"My first coach is a very persistent person," Liao said of mentor Gan
Yongkui. "At the very beginning, my parents didn’t approve of weight
lifting, but my coach was very persistent. He came to my house three
times to persuade my parents that I was good weight-lifting material. I
really appreciate him."

The 5-6 strongman hoisted 347.6 pounds in the snatch and 418 pounds in
the clean and jerk for that 765.6 total. It was more than enough to
distance himself from the silver medalist, Vencelas Dabaya-Tientcheu
of France, who lifted 743.6 pounds (332.2 plus 411.4).

Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan of Armenia lifted the same amount, 743.6
pounds, but got the bronze medal because he weighed in at 1.2 pounds
more than Dabaya-Tientcheu.

There is plenty of strategy involved in Olympic weight lifting in
addition to the elemental act of hefting an extremely heavy object over
one’s head. Dabaya-Tientcheu tried to steal the night from Liao and
his Chinese partisans but the mind, and thus the body, was not willing.

For his third and final lift in the clean and jerk, Dabaya-Tientcheu
requested 197 kilos, or 433.4 pounds. A successful lift would bring
him into a tie with Liao and the gold medal because he weighed 1.3
pounds less than the Chinese lifter.

Twice Dabaya-Tientcheu failed to lift the heavy bar over his head,
and the gold went to Liao in a most popular decision with the noisy,
chanting fans.

"I saw on the TV that he successfully lifted 187," Liao said. "He
looked to lift it easily. So when he was about to lift 197, I was
worried. I was really nervous."

Thirty minutes before the heavy lifting commenced, 11 female Chinese
cheerleaders stormed into the gym wearing electric yellow-green
dance outfits and armed with American-style Thunder Stix to whip up
enthusiasm for men smelling of chalk dust and sweat.

Hokey, to be sure, but a darn sight superior to the laughably bad
cheerleaders Turin trotted out at the emotionally dead 2006 Winter
Olympics.

The whole thing took a tidy two hours and fans went home happy. The
U.S. team might be a mighty one, but weight lifting is not a
strength. No one seemed to mind on a night given over to China and
France and Armenia. And you, too, Azerbaijan.

VAFA QULUZADE: "RUSSIA MAY USE KARABAKH THE WAY IT USED SOUTH OSSETIA"

Today.Az
13 August 2008
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with Vafa Quluzade, political scientist and former
state adviser on external policy issues of Azerbaijan.

– How would you comment on Mikhail Saakashvili’s decision to quit CIS?

– I consider this decision natural, as the CIS chairman-Russia-
has carried out armed aggression against Georgia. Why should Georgia
further stay with the CIS in such conditions? Thus, I consider the
decision to be quite right.

On the whole, CIS is an ineffective organization, which has not
attained any of the set tasks. The collapse of the organization is
inevitable. Thus, Saakashvili, resented at bombardment of Tbilisi,
Poti and other Georgian cities and conduction of a large scale military
operation by Russians, made the first step in this direction. What
else should he do? Georgia can not resist Russia in the military sense,
as it is weaker than Russia?

– Will Georgia lose something in case it quits CIS?

– Absolutely nothing. Any other country, which may quit the CIS, does
not lose anything as well. The so-called Commonwealth, which, in fact,
does not exist, builds all relations on the bilateral basis. That
is Russia’s idea to make everything possible for restoration of the
USSR by means of the CIS has failed long before. Moscow is aware
of inefficiency of it. CIS also does not lose anything as there is
no such organization in the reality. Georgia’s decision may formally
bother Moscow. Well, Russia has bombed Georgia and Georgia may verbally
hurt Russia in a response.

– Declaring Georgia’s quitting the CIS, Saakashvili called on all
leaders of the former USSR countries also to follow his way. What do
you think will be the official position of Azerbaijan?

– This question can be clarified only by the country’s leadership. On
the whole, if we speak of our position on the events, the Azerbaijani
officials have fully supported Georgia in this conflict. The
well-known announcement of the Foreign Ministry on Georgia’s support
is a demonstration of Azerbaijan’s position. It is unnecessary for the
head of state to express the position each time. The Foreign Minister
is the demonstrator of country’s position on any problem. In this case,
the country has supported Georgia.

– Azerbaijan unlike Georgia, manages to create balance in the relations
with foreign partners. We have quite good relations with Russia and
if Georgia does not lose anything from quitting the CIS, a similar
step by Azerbaijan will probably cause Russia’s resentment and in
the result a chain of negative events.

– I do not think that we have good relations with Russia. The unsettled
Nagorno Karabakh conflict has been incited by Moscow. Russia has
initiated this conflict, occupying 20% of Azerbaijani lands under
Armenia’s pretense and prevented the problem settlement for 15
years. Russia may use Karabakh the way it used South Ossetia. I have
repeatedly warned about the possibility of such a variant: accussation
of Azerbaijan of violating ceasefire and mass attacks by Russian forces
in the Armenian form with use of military technique, tanks and planes
from the same military base in Gumri. It may happen or may not.

Thus, I would not say that relations with Russia are positive.

– Which other political steps against Russian can Saakashvili
undertake?

– Saakashvili has the only purpose to access NATO and he will continue
to do everything possible in this direction. Russia’s military actions
failed to overthrow Saakashvili and bring Giargadze to powers in
an attempt to change the political course of Georgia. Therefore,
I consider this action unsuccessful for Russia. It has not attained
what it wanted.

– Some Russian political scientists hope that the recent events have
deprived Georgia of the chance to join NATO in the near future.

– Nonsense. It is a deliberately erroneous position. The world widely
supports Georgia’s position.

– Do you think that the developments in South Ossetia did not influence
the prospects of Georgia’s NATO accession?

– Absolutely. They have even accelerated the process, even if it
occurs without Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

VN MASTERS DRAW, DROP DOWN

VietNamNet Bridge
13:28′ 13/08/2008 (GMT+7)
Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge – Both representatives of Vietnam drew in the World
Junior Chess Championship’s ninth round on Monday, bringing them both
down in ranking.

The ninth seed of the tournament Grand Master (GM) Nguyen Ngoc
Truong Son (Elo 2,579) tied unexpectedly with International Master
(IM) Hrant Melkumyan (Elo 2,507) from Armenia while GM Le Quang Liem
(Elo 2,577) drew with Indian IM Arun Prasad Subramanian (Elo 2,492).

Son now has six points and ranks 11th, one spot lower than the
day before.

The draw has worse consequences for Liem, with 5.5 points, shooting
him down three spots from 20th to 23rd. It was an upset for the master
who was seeded No 10 and considered a potential tide candidate.

In the next round, Son will play Chinese GM Wen Yang whose Elo
rating is 2,487 and Liem will face the Turkish master Atakan Sirin
(Elo 2,107).

Both rivals are considered weaker than the Vietnamese representatives,
with lower Elo ratings.

As for the rest of the international crowd, the youngsters’ fighting
spirits carried on and the top spot changed hands again.

GM Maxim Rodshtein (Elo 2,605) of Israel crowned his comeback with
a victory over one of the joint leaders GM Chao Li (Elo 2,590)
from China.

However, the new sole leader is German IM Arik Braun who scored a vital
win against Chinese Women GM Hou Yifan (Elo 2,557) with white pieces.

England’s GM David Howell, the player with the longest and most
thrilling games, faced GM Ivan Popov (Elo 2,549) at the other side
of the table and defeated him.

Braun now leads with 7.5 points followed by Howell with seven. Fourth
to seventh places went to Li, GM Eltaj Safarli (Elo 2,527) of
Azerbaijan and Filipino GM Wesley So (Elo 2,577) respectively.

On the girls’ side, Indian IM Dronavalli Harika (Elo 2,461) drew with
her fellow patriot Women IM Swaminathan Soumya (Elo 2,293) to defend
her lead with 7.5 points.

WGM Mariya Muzychuk (Elo 2,413) of Ukraine drew with Women FIDE Master
(WFM) Guliskan Nakhbayeva (Elo 2,170) from Kazakhstan, Muzychuk
follows Harika at seven points together with WIM Miranda Mikadze
(Elo 2,258) of Georgia who defeated Russian WFM Zoja Severiukhina
(Elo 2,300) to share second and third places.

The world tournament, which kicked off on August 2 and will close this
Saturday, has drawn the participation of 195 masters from 60 countries.

The championships are under the auspices of FIDE and the organisation
of the Turkish Chess Federation and Sehitkamil Municipality.

The winner of each group will be the player with the most points
after the 13-round-robin format.

ALOVSAT ALIYEV: "AZERBAIJAN WILL NOT BE ALONE IN FACING THE THREAT OF DEMOGRAPHIC CATASTROPHE, WHICH EMERGED IN THE REGION DUE TO RUSSIA’S EMPIRE AMBITIONS"

Today.Az
13 August 2008
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with Alovsat Aliyev, head of the Center of legal
assistance to migrants of Azerbaijan.

– How can the Russian-Georgian military conflict influence the
migration processes in the South Caucasus region?

– First of all, we are now witnessing Russia’s open aggression against
Georgia. The area of military actions has already been moved from
the South Ossetian zone inside Georgia, which is a direct violation
of the territorial integrity of Georgia by Russia, longing to seize
control over the entire South Caucasus.

The currently obvious attempt to occupy Georgia just demonstrates that
Russia still considers the former USSR republics to be its property,
but not independent states. This is a real flag of distress for the
whole South Caucasus region, including for Azerbaijan, which should
understand the Kremlin’s message: Nagorno Karabakh’s fate is in our
hands and we will always support separatism.

Russia’s conduct creates a great risk of significant demographic
problems in the South Caucasus region, as first refugees from Georgia
has already arrived in Azerbaijan. Naturally, Gergian refugees,
arriving to Azerbaijan are not men of the call-up age, but are women,
elderly people and children, who fell victims of Russia’s aggression.

I think that this flow of refugees from Georgia to Azerbaijan may
increase with Russia’s continuing annexation of Georgian territory. At
the same time, Azerbaijani citizens, residing in regions neighboring
Georgia may also move, as mass migration and refugees is one of the
main elements of war. It is the war declared to Georgia by Russia,
which is thus threatening the security of entire South Caucasus region.

– Is Azerbaijan ready for receipt of so many refugees from Georgia?

– Our country has sufficient experience in settling migration
problems. As we all remember that Azerbaijan managed to settle
about a million of refugees and internally displaced persons, who
were deprived of their homes in the result of Armenian aggression,
encouraged by Russia, against our country.

At the moment there is no threat that the flow of refugees from
Georgia will be so large. Anyway, I think Azerbaijan will cope with
these flows. Our country will not be alone in facing the threat of
the demographic catastrophe, which emerged in our region due to the
empire ambitions of Russia, ready for the open annexation of a small
neighbor in order to meet them.

– Russia’s anti-Georgian actions are not limited by annexation. For
example, the Russian movement against illegal immigration is compiling
the list of flats, where Georgians live "illegally". Movement leader
Alexander Belov noted that upon the completion of this action, the
lists may be submitted to the law-enforcement bodies, if the government
decides to expel the citizens of this country from Russia. Are these
actions of the movement lawful?

– These are absolutely lawless actions by the movement and the open
violation of human rights, as there are sufficient number of structures
in Russia, which regulate the migration processes in the country and
there is no need for the movement’s actions. These actions have all
signs of inciting national enmity and this is considered a crime.

Naturally, considering the growth of xenophobia and nationalism
in Russia, no one can reject possible anti-Georgian hysteria in
Russia. But I would recommend to all persons of Georgian nationality,
who face the violation of their rights and fall victims of nationalism
in Russia, fix each fact of the kind and file a claim against those,
responsible for it.

Thus, they will be able to add arguments to official Tbilisi, which
declares the Kremlin’s intention to terminate the freedom-loving
Georgian people.
From: Baghdasarian