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Armenian paper says Astana talks made no difference in Karabakh settlement

Aykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
17 Sep 04

The third meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents that took
place in Astana yesterday [as received, actually, on 15 September]
mainly differs from the previous ones by the participation of Russian
President [Vladimir] Putin and by the excitement generated around it.

[Passage omitted: reported statements by officials]

Is it possible that any arrangement was made as a result of Russian
President Putin’s participation? Some analysts simply rule out such
an outcome and think that this meeting between [Armenian President
Robert] Kocharyan and [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev, like the
previous ones, was not of any significance in the sense of driving
the negotiations out of the deadlock. The supporters of this viewpoint
are sure that the statements about the importance of the meeting are
made to create a certain impression. In reality, today the approaches
of the conflicting parties are so different that it is impossible to
come to agreement.

The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents are forced to imitate agreement
and progress, as the world community presses them to hold new meetings
and continue peace talks. This viewpoint seems to be substantiated
because according to trustworthy sources, during the [Armenian Foreign
Minister Vardan] Oskanyan – [Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar]
Mammadyarov meeting [in Prague on 30 August], Azerbaijan’s foreign
minister set before Oskanyan the pull-out of Armenian troops from the
so-called occupied territories as a precondition for peace talks. (By
the way, when after the Prague meeting Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov tried to disclose some details of its content,
the Armenian party immediately denied them, saying that this was
the desire of the Azerbaijani party. This once again proves the fact
that no arrangement was made in Prague.) According to a trustworthy
source, at all meetings Ilham Aliyev raises firmly the problem of
occupied territories.

Thus, if Vardan Oskanyan’s enthusiasm after the 30 August meeting was
not imitation, this means that the Armenian authorities have agreed
to settle the Karabakh issue in accordance with the step-by-step
option. But many people think this option is unreal. On the other
hand, immediately after yesterday’s meeting, Ilham Aliyev did not
say it was of a great significance, and Robert Kocharyan said that
they could not boast of success. As for the participation of the
Russian president, according to analysts, it had the same PR meaning
as the whole fuss around the Astana meeting. Today Putin thinks only
about the Beslan tragedy and the image of the Russian Federation
because of that tragedy, and by taking the role of an intermediary
in the Kocharyan-Aliyev meeting Putin simply tried to raise Russia’s
authority.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Poll Finds Public Distrust In Armenian Anti-Graft Plan
By Armen Zakarian 17/09/2004 10:26

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
September 17 2004

Armenians remain overwhelmingly skeptical about the success of their
government’s declared fight against corruption with almost half of
them believing that it itself is the biggest obstacle to the rule of
law, according to a new poll made public on Thursday.

The survey conducted by the Armenian Center for National and
International Studies (ACNIS), a private think-tank, shows that nearly
two thirds of about 2,000 people interviewed across the country
are not familiar with an anti-corruption strategy unveiled by the
authorities last year. Only 5 percent of them are confident that it
will be successfully implemented, ACNIS pollsters said. Forty-nine
percent said they would subscribe to the view that “a corrupt regime
can not fight against itself.” Others attributed the perceived lack
of results in the stated anti-graft crusade to government incompetence
and pervasive influence of business “oligarchs.”

The authorities’ anti-corruption plan approved by Western donors
is a set of largely legislative measures designed to curb illegal
practices such as bribery and nepotism. A special body headed by Prime
Minister Andranik Markarian was formed earlier this year to oversee
its implementation. The Council on Combating Corruption in turn set
up a “monitoring commission.”

The success of the council’s stated mission was called into question
in June by a senior representative of the Berlin-based watchdog
Transparency International. He said the body is likely to be
ineffectual because it is not independent.

According to the ACNIS survey, the most common popular perception
of the problem’s root causes is a political one, with 42.8 percent
saying that Armenia’s rulers lack legitimacy because they did not
come to power as a result of democratic elections. “In a country
that has disputed elections many people agree that the government
gives privileges and other rewards to those who helped them come to
power,” Stepan Safarian, a leading ACNIS analyst, told journalists,
presenting the survey results.

More than a third of those polled said they were offered bribes in
return for voting for particular candidates in last year’s presidential
and parliamentary elections. Most claimed to have refused to accept
the illegal payments.

Votes bribes are one the most frequent forms of Armenia’s chronic
electoral fraud which marred the 2003 elections criticized as
undemocratic by international observers.

The poll also suggests that nearly half of Armenians bribe government
officials at least once a year. The bulk of those who admitted doing
so said their kickbacks were meant to ensure fair and lawful treatment
by government bodies. Health care institutions, the judiciary and
the military were singled out by most respondents as the most corrupt
structures in Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EU: European Commission President Talks To RFE/RL On Relations With South Caucasus
By Ahto Lobjakas 17/09/2004 10:42

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
September 17 2004

The president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, today begins
a tour of the South Caucasus. In an interview with RFE/RL, Prodi says
he will travel to the three capitals offering closer ties and aid —
but no membership perspective.

Prodi also rules out direct EU involvement in managing the region’s
conflicts, although he indicates the bloc is leaning on Russia to
play a constructive role. RFE/RL spoke with Prodi on the eve of his
departure. Brussels, 16 September 2004 (RFE/RL) — All three South
Caucasus capitals in recent months have asked the EU a simple question
— is the bloc’s door still open?

EU leaders are struggling to find a simple answer.

The official policy — Prodi told RFE/RL this week — is to avoid
talk of doors altogether.

He has a clear message to Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia that might
be paraphrased as “do not look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Instead of focusing on membership, he says, the three should take
advantage of what the EU is already offering — including a special
“neighborhood” policy that could pave the way for more investment
and economic opportunity.

“We must give [the three South Caucasus countries] this message:
‘Europe is a big market. In the future, when you’re building your
economy, you can export to Europe — and indeed not only energy.
Europe is [also] a big investor. It is enormous…the biggest economic
[actor] in the world and [it] is not far from the three countries.’ So,
we are ready to invest. We must prepare a climate in the three
countries. And then in our aid we always help to build infrastructure
linking the three countries or helping [train] customs officials to
facilitate trade and the movement of people, etc.,” Prodi said.

Concerning eventual EU membership, Prodi says this is not possible as
long as the borders of Europe remain unclear. Prodi acknowledges the
EU’s basic treaties promise membership to all “European” countries.
But, he says, Europe’s borders are not fixed and change with time.

He adds that now — just after the EU has added some 10 new members —
is a bad time to fix the borders. He says the European public must
be sent a message that Europe is not enlarging every day.

“But this does not mean that these three countries do not belong to
Europe. They don’t belong now, and it is not planned that they belong
in the ‘European Europe.’ But the doctrine of the neighborhood policy
that we worked on so long and so deeply is [there] to build links of
friendship and cooperation, strong links with countries, which for
the foreseeable are not members of the [European] Union,” Prodi said.

Prodi does not exclude the possibility that the border of Europe may
in 2015 run between Turkey on the one hand and Georgia and Armenia
on the other. He hastens to caution that the EU has yet to decide
whether to open accession talks with Turkey — the commission is due
to make its recommendation on 6 October. But he points out that once
talks begin, they do so “with the perspective of closing them.”

Prodi also directs his comments to Russia. He says Russia is a key
partner and an important player when it comes to the future of the
South Caucasus.

He avoids comment on recent Russian statements indicating the
possibility of pre-emptive strikes on terrorist targets outside its
own borders. But he does say that Russia, in his opinion, is not
interested in destabilizing the region.

“I think that now Russia is interested in promoting stability and
security in the area. This is what I think, and I know that the
Russians are wise, they have no interest to enlarge any conflict,”
Prodi said.

Prodi suggests that the EU — as a “strong, independent” friend of
Russia — can help in resolving what he calls the “frozen conflicts”
of the South Caucasus. But he rules out any EU military presence in
the region, at least for the time being.

Prodi says force is not an option for any of the problems of any of
the three countries. This is particularly true of Georgia and its
troubles with North Ossetia and Abkhazia. Prodi refuses to directly
indicate whether Tbilisi’s use of massive force would jeopardize its
blossoming ties with the EU.

He also observes that Georgia has in recent history used “intelligent
force” — this is a veiled reference to the largely peacefully resolved
conflict with Adjara.

Prodi says the EU engages in no favoritism among the three countries,
although Georgia is, so far, alone among the three to have benefited
from an international donors’ conference which netted a many million
dollar windfall.

Prodi promises the EU will be an “honest broker” among the three
countries.

“Globally, Georgia receives more money. But if you analyze European
policy, it has been very honest between the three countries. I am
not happy that the amount of resources has not been enough for the
terribly big needs of the countries, but I want to have a balanced
strategy,” Prodi said.

He says no donor conferences are planned for Armenia or Azerbaijan
at this stage.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Book describes media laws, press freedom violations in the Caucasus

International Journalist’s Network
Sept 17 2004

A group of press freedom advocates has released a new book on media
legislation and journalists’ rights in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia,
the Yerevan Press Club reported.

“Harmonization of Media Legislation of South Caucasus Countries
with European Standards” includes reports, comparative analyses and
recommendations about media legislation in the region. It is available
in English and Russia.

The book also documents press freedom violations against journalists
between 2001 and 2003. The largest number of violations in each country
happened in 2003 – the year of elections in Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and “the rose revolution” in Georgia.

The book is the result of a regional project implemented by the
Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression of Armenia, the Baku
Press Club of Azerbaijan and the Association of Young Lawyers of
Georgia with support from the South Caucasus Cooperation Program of
the Eurasia Foundation.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

VATICAN – ISRAEL – DOSSIER
Minister Poraz: some improvements, but problems persist with the Holy See

17 September, 2004

Rome (AsiaNews) –  The meeting of Tuesday, September 14, with
Angelo Cardinal Sodano, Secretary of State, revolved around
problems concerning visas, tax measures for the Church in Israel and
the ownership of the Cenacle in Jerusalem: this is what Avraham Poraz
himself, Israeli Interior Minister told AsiaNews, while on visit to
Vatican City on the eve of the Jewish New Year.  In the afternoon
of the same day, the minister also paid a brief call on Pope John
Paul II at Castel Gandolfo.

“The visa problem — the minister explained to AsiaNews — has
been the source of many complaints in the past.  For a visa to be
issued, authorization was required from another ministry, that
of Religious Affairs.  The process was complicated and did not
work.  Now, at the request of Prime Minister Sharon, visas depend
on the Interior Ministry alone and this has speeded up the
process and improved service.  The only difficulty left is for
people arriving from countries hostile to Israel (Saudi Arabia,
other Arab countries, etc…) who are subject to screenings and
can be denied entry.  The Vatican says: but we know these people! 
And so we ask the Vatican to vouch for them.  By doing so, the whole
question will be greatly simplified.  The Holy Said has said that is
is prepared to do this.  In this way, someone takes responsibility
for these people.  I think, therefore, that the visa question is
all but resolved.”

Tax exemptions for religious intitutions was another question
discussed in Tuesday’s meeting.  The minister explained that measures
for tax exemptions date back to the British Mandate.  The question
of tax measures is part of the agenda for the implementation of the
Fundamental Agreement between Israel and the Holy See.  “According to
our laws — Poraz explained — places of worship (churches, synagogues,
etc.) are exempt from taxes.  If these institutions include shops
or offer accomodations for a fee, then taxes can be levied.  The
only outstanding problem is concerning monasteries, where religious
communities are housed.  I have decided that they should not pay
taxes, but pay only for municipal services, such as cleaning, sewage,
water, etc.  Municipalities need these taxes because otherwise they
would not be able to offer such services.”

Another matter mentioned by Poraz concerns the ownership of the
Cenacle, once a property of the Franciscans, then of the Muslims
and now of the Israeli government.  On the occasion of John Paul
II’s visit to the Holy Sites in the Holy Land, there had been talk
of the possibility of returning the place of Jesus’ Last Supper to
the Church.

Poraz said that “the problem today is a disagreement among the various
Churches on who is to take possession of it.  And Israel cannot enter
into this disagreement.  The Orthodox Church and Armenian Church have
the right to pray there, together with the Franciscans.  There are
problems with the use of all the Holy Sites, but these are settled
by the rules of the Status Quo.  There are no such rules for the
Cenacle.  Everyone is expecting a decision from Israel, but there
is no concrete decision yet.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian MP unhappy about Council of Europe Karabakh report

Public Television of Armenia
16 Sep 04

[Presenter] Adequate, but unsatisfactory – this was the assessment of
democratic changes in Armenia in a report by a co-rapporteur of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE] on Armenia’s
commitments.

At another debate in Paris, MPs of PACE heard a report on Karabakh. The
report had been drawn up by [Council of Europe Secretary-General]
Terry Davis, who said that it should not be accepted as the
secretary-general’s view. This report was filed once it was submitted
to the political commission.

The head of the Armenian delegation at the Council of Europe, Tigran
Torosyan, said that the filed report by Terry Davis did not contain
favourable statements on the Karabakh conflict. Now the major goal
is to have a new report drafted that will describe the real situation.

[Tigran Torosyan over telephone] I suggested in my speech that a
meeting be arranged without delay between representatives of Nagornyy
Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan in the presence of the co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group. The presence of the co-chairs is of utmost
importance as Terry Davis’s report also refers to the Minsk Group.

[Presenter] The MP from the opposition, Shavarsh Kocharyan, is unhappy
about the PACE report on Armenia honouring its commitments. PACE
expressed its “satisfaction” with the fulfilment of the requirements
of the January session of the Council of Europe. Kocharyan said that
the word “satisfaction” implied honouring the commitments.

Armenian delegates who were absent from the PACE session believe that
the report is impartial.

[Passage omitted: covered views of parliamentary factions]

CIS to treble joint air defence budget for 2005

Interfax-AVN military news agency web site, Moscow
16 Sep 04

Astana Kazakhstan, 16 September: The budget of the CIS joint air
defence system will be increased almost three-fold in 2005.

“On Wednesday 15 September heads of CIS member states decided to
earmark R2.3bn (79m dollars) for developing the CIS joint air defence
system in 2005,” Col Gennadiy Surkov, secretary of the air defence
system coordination committee of the CIS Council of Defence Ministers,
told Interfax-Military News Agency on Thursday.

According to him, it is an almost three-fold increase over the R800m
(27m dollars) allocated in 2004 to this end. Surkov also said that
in 2005 the joint air defence system development programme envisaged
joint operational (tactical) exercises, as well as a number of other
joint ventures.

At the present time the CIS joint air defence system incorporates the
following seven states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Ukraine participates in the CIS
joint air defence system programme on a bilateral basis.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NBC4.TV, CA
Sept 15 2004

Student Says He Was Ambushed Outside School
Principal Says Officials Are Investigating

LOS ANGELES — School officials are investigating after a 14-year-old
boy was allegedly beaten and stabbed outside Ulysses S. Grant High
School.
FeedRoom

School Investigating

Joseph Peyton said the incident occurred at about 3 p.m., Monday.

The freshman said about nine students surrounded him near a gate
outside the school in Van Nuys. School officials dispute that claim,
saying two students were involved.

“I turned around and someone socked me in the face and broke my nose,”
he said.

Peyton said his attackers were using racial slurs. The boy also was
stabbed in the face with a blunt object, police said.

Peyton’s father, Charles Peyton, said the alleged attack was racially
motivated.

“How can you study comfortably when you’re worried about gang-bangers
beating you up when you go to the next class,” Charles Peyton said.

Peyton transferred to the school from North Hollywood to take advanced
placement courses.

Students told NBC4 that there have been conflicts involving Hispanic
and Armenian students.

The school’s principal said officials are investigating. School
officials said they do not believe race was a factor.

“As soon as we find out what’s happened, whether it was racially
motivated — but from what we understand it was not at all, then the
students will be disciplined,” said district spokeswoman Monica Carazo.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Baku Dissapointed with NATO Decision

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
Sept 15 2004

According to Turan news agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Azerbaijan issued a statement where it says the Ministry “expresses
its deep regret in connection with abolition of NATO maneuvers
“Cooperativ Best Effort – 2004″ in Azerbaijan.”

Document mentions, Azerbaijan considered these maneuvers as significant
and important event on the way of integration into the Euro-Atlantic
organization and created all conditions for its conducting.

The statement stressed Azerbaijan-NATO cooperation has been
successfully developing for the last years and Azerbaijan submitted
Operational plan on individual partnership to NATO leadership.

Along with this, the statement indicates occupation of almost 20% of
Azerbaijan territory, as a result of Armenian aggression. Moreover,
statement reads, Armenian leadership sticks to tougher and
non-constructive position during peaceful negotiations.

“Participation of Armenian servicemen in maneuvers at the territory of
the state was non admissible for Azerbaijan in such situation. It is
underlined Azerbaijan party confirms its adherence to Euro-Atlantic
values and partnership with North Atlantic Alliance. Official Baku
expresses its hope that formed relations of effective Azerbaijan-NATO
partnership “will be dynamically developing in future”.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

U.S. Envoy Hails Armenian Plans To Send Troops To Iraq
By Anna Saghabalian 16/09/2004 09:42

Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
Sept 15 2004

John Evans, the new U.S. ambassador to Armenia, commended on Wednesday
official Yerevan for its plans to join America’s “coalition of the
willing” in Iraq with a small unit of non-combat troops.

“We salute Armenia for its announced intention to send a transportation
unit along with deminers and some medical personnel to Iraq,” Evans
told a news conference in the Armenian capital. He said they could
greatly assist the U.S.-led occupation force which has been struggling
to pacify the war-torn nation.

The Armenian government first announced its intention to deploy up
to 50 servicemen in Iraq a year ago and has since been discussing
practical modalities of the operation with U.S. officials. A
liaison officer of the Armenian armed forces was posted to the U.S.
military’s Central Command in Florida late last year.

A group of Armenian military officials are due to visit an area in
central southern Iraq administered by a Polish-led multinational
division to prepare for the deployment by the end of this year. A
relevant Polish-Armenian agreement was signed during President Robert
Kocharian’s visit to Warsaw earlier this month.

The planned deployment, which requires parliament approval, is
stirring up debate in Armenia, with two top army generals publicly
indicating their opposition to the idea. They argued that Armenia’s
largely symbolic military engagement could trigger terrorist attacks
against Iraq’s ethnic Armenian community.

Evans said Washington welcomes a public debate on the issue in
Armenia. The envoy also reaffirmed U.S. approval of the last-minute
cancellation of NATO-led military exercises which were scheduled to
begin in Azerbaijan on Monday. The NATO leadership pointed to Baku’s
refusal to Armenia’s participation in the maneuvers.

“We do believe that the NATO authorities made the right decision to
cancel this exercise,” Evans said. But he was quick to indicate that
the move should not be seen as a diplomatic victory for Armenia,
saying that it hurt both parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

It was Evans’s first contact with the media since his arrival in the
country a month ago. The 56-year-old career diplomat, who introduced
himself to reporters in Armenian, had previously headed the Office
of Russian Affairs in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of
the U.S State Department.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress