ASBAREZ Online [04-20-2006]

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04/20/2006
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) US Envoy Steven Mann Meets with Armenian Leaders 2) ARF Bureau Member Says Recognition of Karabagh Should Be on Agenda 3) Armenian Church in Baku May Be Converted to Library 4) Turkey's Definition of 'Terror' Not in Line with European Council 1) US Envoy Steven Mann Meets with Armenian Leaders YEREVAN (RFE/RL)Steven Mann, Washington's chief Karabagh negotiator, met with Armenian leaders Thursday to discuss the Karabagh peace process on yet another visit to Yerevan. During their meeting, Mann and Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian discussed "prospects for continuing negotiations" aimed at resolving the Karabagh conflict. Mann also met President Robert Kocharian later in the day. Mann will be in Baku on Friday to meet with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev about the latter's upcoming visit to Washington during which he will be received by President George W. Bush. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, including Mann, have said that the flurry of diplomatic activity is aimed at arranging another meeting between the presidents of the two South Caucasus nations. French co-chair Bernard Fassier said they hope that Aliyev and Kocharian will meet in June or July at the latest. The planned Aliyev-Kocharian meeting may take place ahead of the Group of Eight summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg scheduled for July. The United States, France, and Russia, which is chairing G8 for the first time this year, are all members of the group of rich nations. US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said late Wednesday that Washington wants the conflicts in Karabagh and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union to be included on the summit agenda. "On the agenda we suggested today, for the first time, should be these...issues pertaining to conflicts very close to Russia's borders," Burns told a news briefing during a visit to Moscow. The formal G8 agenda proposed by Russia does not include a specific mention of the ex-Soviet conflicts. 2) ARF Bureau Member Says Recognition of Karabagh Should Be on Agenda YEREVAN (Combined Sources) - Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau member and Parliament Vice Speaker Vahan Hovannisian spoke Thursday about the Karabagh conflict, Armenia-Russia relations, and domestic political developments. Speaking about Yerevan's position on the Karabagh conflict settlement, Hovannisian said that Yerevan is not going to make more concessions other than those already spelled out for years. "The statements Armenia makes to succeed in talks and show the country in a better light should not be confused with the final goal," Hovannisian said. "If Azerbaijan admits even once it recognizes the self-determination right of Nagorno Karabagh, it would be hard for it to take its words back later." "Today, the negotiations with Azerbaijan should not be the first issue on the agenda. Instead, the first item on the agenda should be the recognition of Karabagh--in any form--by the international community. This would make Azerbaijan go for more compromise." He added that presently not only the ARF but also state officials realize this. Referring to the latest gas deals with Russia, Hovannisian said that the political side of the deal was "really very obnoxious," but in terms of economics, the deal was the best solution currently possible. Speaking of the prospects of the political developments and the possible outcome of the parliamentary election due next year, Hovannisian said he was sure the ARF will be represented in Parliament. He predicted that next year's parliamentary election in Armenia will be "unusually tense," because they will take place less than a year before the next presidential election. Those that are keen to succeed President Robert Kocharian in 2008 will spare no effort to win the 2007 vote, he said, adding that the ARF will likely field its own presidential candidate. He warned that Armenia may suffer a setback in terms of its international image if these elections are not deemed democratic. Therefore, he said, the president, the parliament, and the government must guarantee free and fair elections. Hovannisian said his party stands prepared to fight against every form of election fraud. He said law-enforcers must make it clear that those who to try to rig the polls will not be forgiven. 3) Armenian Church in Baku May Be Converted to Library BAKU (Armenpress)The Azeri culture and tourism ministry is intending to turn Baku's Armenian Church into a library. "I think that turning the Armenian Church in Baku into a library is purposeful," APA news agency cited the minister Abulfaz Garaev as saying. According to Garaev, converting the church into a library would be the right thing to do, as there are not that many Christians in Azerbaijan. 4) Turkey's Definition of 'Terror' Not in Line with European Council ANKARA (Zaman/BIA)--The definition of "terror" in Turkey's Counter-terrorism Act (CTA) was not modified by its Cabinet, even though Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek had said earlier said that it would be modified in line with the European Union Council decision. The CTA aims to boost the powers of the country's security forces in combating terrorism. Cicek said the condition of using "force and violence" was preserved in the draft that has been sent to Parliament. "In fact, it is impossible to commit terror crimes in many aspects without using force and violence. This point should be kept in mind when such acts are evaluated," said the minister. According to the information obtained, individuals chanting slogans in favor of terror organizations and carry their symbols can be sentenced to 1-3 years in prison. Cicek held a press conference after the cabinet meeting to inform that the CTA does not target ordinary citizens. The Minister explained the reason why the definition was not modified as follows: "The EU Council decision is only a suggestion. Besides, not everybody agrees on the EU's terror definition. We believe our definition contains all the necessary elements." Expectations that the CTA will bring an end to terror are wrong, he warned. Human rights activists are challenging the Anti-terror bill, which they say is "incompatible with human rights" and intends to revert to past suppression laws. They say the law restricts democratic rights in the country and punishes those who attempt to enjoy their rights in order to pursue their goals. Ayhan Bilgen, the Deputy Chairman of the Association for Human Rights and Solidarity with the Oppressed, said that he was seriously concerned about escalating violence in Turkey if the draft was passed in its present form by Parliament. "To adopt violence against violence serves no purpose but to strengthen violence" he said. "This is the kind of intervention that will stimulate the violence stemming from the Kurdish problem instead of focusing on the Kurdish issue and its reasons." Bilgen said the mentality behind the bill was "to punish activities that could be perceived as supporting armed groups in order to eradicate those groups, thus preventing that support." Bilgen added that both in the articles of the bill and its reasoning, freedom of expression, democratic struggle, and human rights activists were being held responsible and expected to pay for the failure of the security forces and intelligence organizations in conducting their duties. 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