Author: Adrine Hakobian

Entretien entre les présidents chinois et arménien
Xinhua News Agency – French
27 septembre 2004 lundi 11:01 AM EST
BEIJING — Le Président chinois Hu Jintao s’est entretenu, lundi à
Beijing, avec son homologue arménien Robert Sedrakovich Kocharyan,
qui effectue actuellement sa première visite d’Etat en Chine en tant
que président arménien.
Hu a déclaré que la Chine était prête à travailler avec l’Arménie
afin de promouvoir les relations bilatérales à un nouveau palier.
Il a appelé à renforcer les échanges et la coopération bilatéraux
dans tous les domaines, tout en ajoutant que la Chine encourageait
les entreprises chinoises à coopérer avec la partie arménienne,
à augmenter leurs investissements et à participer à la construction
des infrastructures en Arménie.
La Chine apprécie la politique diplomatique arménienne et remercie
l’Arménie pour son soutien aux problèmes de Taïwan et de Tibet,
a ajouté le Président chinois.
Kocharyan a souligné que son pays souhaitait renforcer les relations
bilatérales avec la Chine ainsi que leur coopération dans les
domaines d’énergie, d’industrie chimique, d’agriculture et de
technologie. L’Arménie reconnaît le statut d’économie de marché de
la Chine, a-t-il fait remarquer.
Il a aussi ajouté que l’Arménie continuerait à soutenir la politique
d’une seule Chine et la réunification de la Chine.
Les deux parties ont signé une déclaration conjointe à l’issue de cet
entretien et assisté à une cérémonie de signature de trois accords
coopératifs.

FREEDOM HOUSE:
FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2004
Armenia / Azerbaijan
NAGORNO-KARABAKH
Political Rights: 5
Civil Liberties: 5
Status: Partly Free
Population: 150,000
Religious Groups: Armenian Apostolic Church (majority)
Ethnic Groups: Armenian (95 percent), other (5 percent)
Ten Year Ratings Timeline [OMMITTED]
Overview
Internationally mediated efforts to find a political settlement to the
protracted Nagorno-Karabakh conflict made little progress in 2003. With
presidential elections scheduled for both Armenia and Azerbaijan during the
year, neither country’s leadership appeared willing to risk a public
backlash by agreeing to compromises over the disputed territory’s status.
Meanwhile, a mounting number of cease-fire violations led to concerns over a
possible threat of renewed larger-scale confrontations.
The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, a territory largely populated by
ethnic Armenians inside the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, was
established in 1923. In February 1988, Nagorno-Karabakh’s regional
legislature adopted a resolution calling for union with Armenia. The
announcement triggered the first mass violence related to the conflict with
attacks against Armenians in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait several days
later.
Successive battles and counteroffensives were fought over the next several
years between various Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Nagorno-Karabakh forces. At
its inaugural session in January 1992, Nagorno-Karabakh’s new legislature
adopted a declaration of independence, which was not recognized by the
international community. By the time a Russian-brokered cease-fire was
signed in May 1994, Karabakh Armenians, assisted by Armenia, had captured
essentially the entire territory, as well as six Azerbaijani districts
surrounding the enclave. Nearly all ethnic Azeris had fled or been forced
out of the enclave and its surrounding areas, and the fighting had resulted
in thousands of casualties and an estimated one million refugees.
In December 1994, the head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s state defense committee,
Robert Kocharian, was selected by the territory’s parliament for the newly
established post of president. Parliamentary elections were held in April
and May 1995, and Kocharian defeated two other candidates in a popular vote
for president in November of the following year.
In September 1997, Foreign Minister Arkady Ghukasian was elected to replace
Kocharian, who had been named prime minister of Armenia in March of that
year. In the territory’s June 2000 parliamentary vote, 123 candidates
representing five parties competed for the assembly’s 33 seats. The ruling
Democratic Union Artsakh (ZhAM), which supported Ghukasian, enjoyed a slim
victory, winning 13 seats. The Related Territories Reports 643 Armenian
Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutiun won 9 seats, the Armenakan Party
captured 1 seat, and formally independent candidates, most of whom supported
Ghukasian, won 10. International observers described the electoral campaign
and voting process as calm and largely transparent, although problems were
noted with the accuracy of some voter lists.
In February 2001, former Defense Minister Samvel Babayan was found guilty of
organizing a March 2000 assassination attempt against Ghukasian and
sentenced to 14 years in prison. His supporters insisted that the arrest was
politically motivated, as Babayan had been involved in a power struggle with
Ghukasian. Others, however, welcomed the arrest and conviction of Babayan,
who had been accused of corruption and reportedly wielded considerable
political and economic power in the territory.
Ghukasian was reelected to a second term as president on August 11, 2002,
with 89 percent of the vote. His closest challenger, former parliament
speaker Artur Tovmasian, received just 8 percent. Voter turnout was close to
75 percent. Observers from countries including the United States, the United
Kingdom, and France reported no serious violations. While a number of
domestic and international nongovernmental organizations concluded that the
elections marked a further step in Nagorno-Karabakh’s democratization, they
did voice some criticisms, including the limited access for the opposition
to state-controlled media. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry described the
election as a violation of international norms, insisting that a legitimate
vote could be held only after a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
With both Armenia’s president, Robert Kocharian, and Azerbaijan’s president,
Heydar Aliev, poised to seek reelection in 2003 – and the domestic political
risk associated with either leader’s making significant public concessions
over the territory during a campaign year – few observers expected any
breakthroughs in the conflict during 2003. An upsurge in shooting incidents
along the ceasefire line in the summer, which both Armenian and Azerbaijani
officials accused the other side of instigating, fueled concerns of a
further and more widespread escalation of violence. Meanwhile, speculation
grew over the impact of Aliev’s failing health and the October election of
his son, Ilham, to succeed him as president on prospects for a negotiated
settlement to the conflict.
Despite continued high-level discussions in the framework of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group – which
was established a decade earlier to facilitate dialogue on a political
settlement on Nagorno-Karabakh’s status – a resolution of the long-standing
dispute remained elusive at year’s end. While Yerevan insists that
Nagorno-Karabakh should be left outside Azeri jurisdiction, Baku maintains
that the territory may be granted broad autonomy while remaining a
constituent part of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan also has refused to negotiate
with Ghukasian, who has demanded direct representation in the peace process.
Political Rights and Civil Liberties
A self-declared republic, Nagorno-Karabakh has enjoyed de facto
independence from Azerbaijan since 1994 while retaining close political,
economic, and military ties with Armenia. Parliamentary elections in 1995
and 2000 were regarded as generally free and fair, as were the 1996 and
1997 presidential votes. However, the elections were considered invalid by
most of the international community that does not recognize 644 Freedom in
the World – 2004 Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence. Nagorno-Karabakh’s
electoral law calls for a single-mandate system to be used in
parliamentary elections; lawmakers have rejected the opposition’s demands
for the inclusion of party-based lists.
The territory officially remains under martial law, which imposes
restrictions on civil liberties, including media censorship and the banning
of public demonstrations. However, the authorities maintain that these
provisions have not been enforced since 1995, a year after the cease-fire
was signed.
The government controls many of the territory’s broadcast media outlets, and
most journalists practice self-censorship, particularly on subjects dealing
with policies related to Azerbaijan and the peace process. Some observers
maintain that the government used the attempted murder of President Arkady
Ghukasian in 2000 as a pretext to intensify attacks against its critics.
The registration of religious groups is required under Nagorno-Karabakh’s
1997 law on religion. The Armenian Apostolic Church, which is the territory’
s predominant religion, is the only faith registered with the state.
According to Forum 18, a religious-freedom watchdog group based in Norway,
members of various minority faiths, including Pentecostals, Adventists,
Baptists, and Jehovah’s Witnesses, have faced restrictions on their
activities. In 2003, a local Baptist was beaten, was threatened with
mind-altering drugs, and had threats made against his wife by law
enforcement officials for distributing religious literature on the street,
Forum 18 reported; authorities denied that any threats were made against
him.
Freedom of assembly and association is limited, although political parties
and unions are allowed to organize.
The judiciary, which is not independent in practice, is influenced by the
executive branch and powerful political and clan forces. Former defense
minister Samvel Babayan alleged that he had been physically assaulted during
his interrogation and detention as a suspect in the failed assassination
attempt against President Ghukasian in March 2000. The presiding judge in
the case announced that the subsequent guilty verdict against Babayan was
based on pretrial testimony in which Babayan confessed to the charges,
although he later retracted his admission of guilt, claiming that it had
been obtained under duress. The republic’s government announced that it had
replaced the death penalty with life imprisonment as of August 1, 2003.
The majority of those who fled the fighting continue to live in squalid
conditions in refugee camps in Azerbaijan, while international aid
organizations are reducing direct assistance to the refugees. Landmine
explosions continue to result in casualties each year, with children and
teenagers among the most vulnerable groups. According to the International
Committee of the Red Cross, at least 50,000 anti-personnel mines were laid
during the war, although in many cases, records of minefield locations were
never created or were lost. The HALO Trust, a British nongovernmental
organization, is the major de-mining group operating in the territory.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s fragile peace has failed to bring significant improvement
to the economy, particularly in the countryside, and pensioners are
particularly hard hit. Widespread corruption, a lack of substantive economic
reforms, and the control of major economic activity by powerful elites limit
equality of opportunity for most residents.
—
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Anand predicts tough times for menâ^À^Ùs team
Press Trust of India
Tuesday, September 14, 2004 at 0014 hours IST
MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 13: World rapid chess champion Viswanathan Anand
today said it would be a tough task for the Indian menâ^À^Ùs team to
win a medal at the forthcoming Olympiad at Spain as they would be up
against some strong opposition.
â^À^ÜWe will be playing some top chess playing countries like Russia,
Israel, Ukraine, USA and Armenia among others and it will be a tough
task for us to win a medal as all the members of the team will have
to do well consistently,â^À^Ý Anand told reporters here.
â^À^ÜCompared to the menâ^À^Ùs team, the womenâ^À^Ùs team has a
better chance of winning a medal as they not only have a very good
team but their opponents too are not as formidable as in the menâ^À^Ùs
field,â^À^Ý Anand said.
Touching on various topics, the champion said that his next important
assignments are to see that his team does well at the Olympiad and
to win the Chess Oscar.
On his recent performances this year, Anand said, â^À^ÜThis year has
been very good for me and I hope it will continue for some time. I
think I did pretty well to win the Corus Grandmasters tournament in
Wijk Aan Zee and then the Dortmund chess and Mainz chess in Germany
which had chess greats like Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik in
the fray.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agence France Presse — English
August 26, 2004 Thursday 3:28 PM GMT
Equa-Guinea prosecutor accuses Armenian flight crew over coup
MALABO Aug 26
Equatorial Guinea’s attorney general said Thursday he was surprised
at the protestations of innocence by the crew of a cargo plane
accused of helping to plot a coup, saying the sole reason they were
in the central African country was “to wait for mercenaries.”
The six Armenian crew members, including captain Ashot Kerapetyan,
told the court earlier that they were unaware on what charges they
were being held until a few days before hearings into the alleged bid
to oust long-time Equato-Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema
began on Monday.
Samuel Darbinyan, 41, a co-pilot of the aircraft leased by a company
belonging to Gerhard Eugen Merz of Germany — one of 15 alleged
mercenaries arrested in March and accused of fomenting a putsch —
said he did not know why he had been held in Malabo’s notorious Black
Beach prison since March along with five other crew members and eight
South Africans.
Merz, who was arrested along with the others, died in detention,
officially of cerebral malaria, but with rights groups saying he was
tortured to death.
But after listening to their testimony, Attorney General Jose Olo
Obono said the crew’s ignorance surprised him.
He hurled the accusation at them: “It is quite clear that your
mission here was to wait for the mercenaries’ action.”
The Armenians arrived in Equatorial Guinea in January this year.
Their Antonov-12 aircraft was hired the following month by Nick du
Toit, the South African former soldier turned businessman who risks
the death penalty for allegedly leading the botched coup plot.
>From the time they arrived in the tiny central African country, the
Armenians flew out of Equatorial Guinea once on board the Antonov,
bound for Democratic Republic of Congo where they were to deliver
cargo picked up at N’Dola in Zambia, they told the court.
Merz had given them the instructions for that trip, they said in
separate testimonies.
The flight crew said the shipment was never delivered to DRC because
the airport they were bound for there was closed. They said they
returned to Malabo with nothing in the hold.
Du Toit told the court Monday that the Antonov was to have picked up
ammunition for security agents at mines in DRC. The crew members said
they were unaware of what their payload was to have been.
The Armenians are on trial alongside eight South Africans and four
Equato-Guineans, all accused of complicity in a plot to topple
Obiang, who has been in power since 1979.
Obiang announced their arrests on March 9, saying: “A group of
mercenaries entered the country and was studying plans to carry out a
coup d’etat.”
Without going into details, Obiang said interrogation of the suspects
revealed they were financed by multinational companies and “countries
that do not like us.”
The arrests came days before some 70 men were detained when their
plane stopped off in Zimbabwe, allegedly en route to Equatorial
Guinea for the coup.
The group arrested in Zimbabwe has consistently said it was on its
way to DRC to protect diamond mines.
A Zimbabwe magistrate is expected to hand down verdicts on Friday
when the trial resumes of the suspected mercenaries held in Harare.
They are led by Briton Simon Mann, a close friend of the son of
British former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Mark Thatcher, who
was arrested Wednesday in South Africa and accused of involvement in
the increasingly complex alleged coup plot.
Du Toit is so far the only one of the 18 defendants on trial in
Equatorial Guinea to admit any involvement in a coup plot.
On Wednesday he told the Malabo court that he had been in contact
with Thatcher in July last year, but strictly for business purposes.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RIA Novosti, Russia
Aug 20 2004
RUSSIA TO TREAT CSTO MILITARY ALLIANCE ON PAR WITH DOMESTIC
PARTNERSHIP: PUTIN
SOCHI, August 20 (RIA Novosti) – Russia is willing to treat military
partnership with other countries on the Collective Security Treaty
Organization on a par with partnership ties within the country,
reassures President Vladimir Putin.
He made the statement at a news conference he and President Robert
Kocharyan of Armenia were addressing after today’s summit in Sochi,
Russia’s Black Sea coastal spa.
The State Duma, Russia’s lower parliamentary house, will debate the
prospects. The Kremlin is ready with a respective resolution, which
implies all exports/imports within the Treaty Organization proceeding
from Russian domestic prices, said President Putin.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization brings together six
post-Soviet countries-Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia and Tajikistan.
Mr. Putin spoke about Russian-Armenian economic partnership, too.
Thus, several Russian industrial companies intend to invest a total
$26 million to update the Armenian-based Armenal Co.
Power industrial partnership is an essential aspect of bilateral
ties, added Russia’s President.
President Kocharyan, in his turn, approved current trends and
developments in bilateral economic contacts. They became much more
diversified within the preceding two or three years, and capital
investment is on an upswing, he said.
The President highlighted 600 presently available Russian-Armenian
joint ventures, and stressed an increasing Russian corporate
participation in Armenian business.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Sports Features Communications (press release), FL
Aug 16 2004
BOXING: Welterweight Martirosyan Showcases the Olympic Spirit

ATHENS, GREECE – After welterweight (152 lbs/69 kg) Vanes Martirosyan
(Glendale, Calif.) earned a spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Boxing
Team, fellow Olympic Team Trials – Boxing competitor Andre Berto
(Winter Haven, Fla./Haiti) chose to use his dual citizenship to
compete for the Haitian Olympic Boxing team. Although the two
athletes were competitors, they always maintained a friendly
relationship, at least outside the ring.
Martirosyan and Berto share more than just boxing, both know what it
means to come to the Olympic Games representing two countries.
Martirosyan is boxing for the United States but feels that he is
competing for his native country of Armenia as well. Berto was boxing
for Haiti but the American teenager also wanted to make the United
States proud.
Martirosyan earned a first round victory on Sunday afternoon over
Benamar Meskine of Algeria, and Berto competed for the first time on
Sunday night. During Berto’s bout, Martirosyan stood in one of the
front rows of the Peristeri Boxing Hall in Athens, Greece.
Martirosyan didn’t just come to scout or watch his possible future
opponent, he stood and cheered for him, encouraging him in his first
round contest. Although Berto fell just short, losing 36-34 to Xavier
Noel of France, Martirosyan showed true class and sportsmanship as
well as the Olympic spirit in coming to support his fellow boxer.
Martirosyan will compete in his second round bout on Thursday,
August, 19, when he takes on defending World Champion Lorenzo
Armenteros Aragon.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Le Monde, France
19 juillet 2004
Un, deux, trois, beaucoup de génocides…
Les archives du “Monde” : plus de 800 000 articles à consulter.
Abonnez-vous au Monde.fr, 5 par mois
Aujourd’hui, de Srebrenica au Darfour, la tentation est forte de
qualifier du même nom de génocide tout grand massacre dans la bonne
intention d’arracher les victimes à la banalisation du mal. Cela est
dangereux.
Il y a dix ans , faute d’avoir pu prévenir l’extermination des Tutsis
au Rwanda, la communauté internationale avait mis un soin particulier
à signifier la singularité de ce génocide au “pays des mille
collines”. Cela parut dérisoire. Aujourd’hui, de Srebrenica au
Darfour, la tentation est forte de qualifier du même nom de génocide
tout grand massacre dans la bonne intention d’arracher les victimes à
la banalisation du mal.

Cela est dangereux.
Prenons l’exemple du Darfour, dans l’ouest du Soudan : en février
2003, au moment où le gouvernement de Khartoum, sous l’intense
pression de Washington, s’apprêtait à faire la paix avec les rebelles
du Sud-Soudan, cette région s’est révoltée contre son abandon par le
pouvoir central. Khartoum réagit en envoyant la troupe, puis en
armant une milice, les jenjawids, des “cavaliers” arabes qui se
mirent à semer la désolation en incendiant les villages des paysans
noirs – ennemis héréditaires des pasteurs nomades -, pillant, tuant
et violant à tout-va.
DISTINGUOS SÉMANTIQUES
Cette politique de la terre brûlée a chassé de leur foyer plus d’un
million de personnes, dont quelque 130 000 se sont réfugiées au Tchad
voisin. En l’absence de témoins indépendants (dans une région grande
comme la France), le chiffre de 30 000 morts n’est qu’une estimation
de ce huis clos sanglant. A ce jour, il n’y a guère que 300 agents
humanitaires au Darfour, dont une cinquantaine appartiennent aux
agences des Nations unies, la majorité étant des membres d’ONG. Ils
constatent la même volonté criminelle du pouvoir central depuis 1983
d’éradiquer par tous les moyens la rébellion sudiste. Une volonté
continue et partagée par tous les pouvoirs successifs à Khartoum qui
a provoqué au total la mort de 2 millions de personnes.
Nul ne niera le drame du Darfour, ni l’urgence à l’approche de la
saison des pluies, qui va transformer l’Ouest du Soudan en un vaste
bourbier. En même temps, les mouvements rebelles du Darfour ne sont
pas des associations de saints, de preux justiciers face aux ignobles
jenjawids. Proche de Hassan al-Tourabi, qui fut longtemps l’idéologue
islamiste de la junte au pouvoir à Khartoum avant de tomber en
disgrce et de multiplier les séjours en prison, le Mouvement pour
l’équité et la justice (MEJ), l’une des deux organisations rebelles,
ne répugne pas à faire financer ses achats d’armes par des bailleurs
de fonds proches d’al-Qaida.
L’extrême violence au Darfour relève-t-elle de l’épuration ethnique ?
Le débat s’est emballé à la mi-juin, une ONG américaine, Physicians
for Human Rights, ayant dénoncé “le génocide au Darfour”, en se
fondant sur une “volonté manifeste de détruire des familles
non-arabes et leurs moyens de survie”. C’est un point de vue, pas
nécessairement le plus qualifié. Mais il a le grand avantage de
dramatiser la pression montante aux Etats-Unis, dans les médias et
l’opposition démocrate, pour mettre fin aux atrocités. Bref : c’est
un mauvais moyen servant une bonne fin.
Conscient des implications légales pour la communauté internationale,
tenue à intervenir pour stopper tout `uvre exterminatrice en vertu de
la Convention de 1948 pour la prévention et la répression du crime de
génocide, Kofi Annan s’est montré circonspect. Pour le secrétaire
général des Nations unies, qui dispose de deux représentants spéciaux
au Soudan, la violence dans le Darfour “frôle l’épuration ethnique”.
Mais il a finalement renoncé aux subtils distinguos sémantiques.
“La question n’est pas de savoir quel nom doit être employé, a
déclaré Kofi Annan. Nous devons agir et arrêter d’argumenter sur
l’étiquette à accoler”. Le Secrétaire d’Etat américain Colin Powell a
pour sa part appelé à retrousser les manches plutôt que d’ergoter.
“Nous assistons à un désastre, à une catastrophe. Il y aura tout le
temps de trouver le mot exact plus tard. Pour l’instant, il faut que
nous agissions”. Mais peut-on savoir ce qu’il faut faire quand on ne
sait pas de quoi on parle ?
“PLUS JAMAIS ÇA !”
Le 19 avril, la chambre d’appel du Tribunal pénal international pour
l’ex-Yougoslavie a mis un terme au débat autour de la mise à mort
préméditée de 7000 à 8000 musulmans de Bosnie, en juillet 1995, à
Srebrenica. Le tribunal a qualifié le plus gros massacre sur le sol
européen depuis la fin de la Deuxième guerre mondiale de “génocide”.
Son jugement a été largement diffusé, mais guère commenté. Pourtant,
les fils et filles des victimes de la Shoah, du génocide perpétré
contre les Arméniens ou les rescapés du génocide des Tutsis du Rwanda
ont dû se sentir concernés. A Srebrenica, où les femmes et enfants
ont été séparés des maris et des pères, avant que ceux-ci ne soient
massacrés, s’agissait-il du même “crime des crimes” commis contre les
leurs ?
La singularité du génocide réside dans le fait que le massacre de
civils n’est pas considéré comme une nécessité opérationnelle pour
atteindre un avantage sur l’ennemi, mais comme un but en soi au
profit duquel, souvent à son détriment, la froide logique
d’affrontement doit battre en retraite. Hitler a dispersé ses forces
en poursuivant, jusqu’à la fin de la guerre, l’extermination
organisée des juifs ; les forces armées rwandaises (FAR) ont été
d’autant plus facilement défaites, en 1994, par le mouvement rebelle
venu de l’Ouganda voisin qu’elles n’ont pas combattu mais, plutôt,
trempé dans le bain de sang des “Tutsis de l’intérieur”.
Depuis dix ans, l’Afrique n’a pas attendu le fin mot de la
juridiction de La Haye sur Srebrenica pour qualifier tout massacre
sortant du triste ordinaire de la violence sur le continent comme
“génocide”. Cette tragique banalisation du mal ne manque pas de
fondement : puisque les tueries suivent des logiques identitaires,
puisqu’elles se servent de l’appartenance ethnique ou religieuse
comme critère de distinction entre la vie et la mort, elles sont
potentiellement “génocidaire”. Ce qui mériterait réflexion, de même
que l’exacte inversion, depuis un siècle, des proportions – de 1 à 9
– entre les tués militaires et civils dans les conflits armés.
A défaut de penser la guerre moderne dans toute sa “saleté”, et non
pas seulement comme un jeu de consoles dont les écrans masquent le
sang et les os broyés, faut-il banaliser le terme génocide pour
“anoblir” la mort de masse qui tend à se multiplier (ou qui,
rapportée en “temps réel”, live, par les médias, nous donne cette
impression) ?
Il n’y a pas seulement l’argument de la banalisation, même si, rien
qu’au Rwanda, on devrait alors reconnaître, à tout le moins, trois
génocides au cours des dix dernières années : celui des Tutsis, en
1994 ; le massacre planifié de quelque 5 000 civils hutus dans le
camp de Kibeho, en avril 1995 ; la persécution dont furent victimes,
entre octobre 1996 et mai 1997, près de 200 000 réfugiés hutus fuyant
à travers l’ex-Zaïre…
Balkanisée, la conscience universelle juge bon pour la Bosnie ce qui
est délétère pour l’Afrique des Grands lacs. Mais il y a pire. En se
payant de mots, jusqu’à celui désignant l’extermination de personnes
pour ce qu’elles sont, et n’ont pas choisi d’être, la communauté
internationale se soulage de son inaction. S’il n’y avait pas tant de
massacres à grande échelle, le débat sur “les” génocides – un, deux,
trois, beaucoup… – n’aurait pas de sens. Comme n’a déjà plus de
sens le serment prononcé après d’Auschwitz : “Plus jamais ça !”.
Stephen Smith
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS US STATE SECRETARY COLLIN POWEL
ArmenPress
June 15 2004
WASHINGTON, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS: Armenian foreign minister Vartan
Oskanian met on Monday in Washington with the US State Secretary
Collin Powel. Oskanian arrived in the USA on a two-day working visit.
Armenian foreign affairs ministry said the two men discussed issues
on prospects of developing bilateral relations, recent regional
developments, Armenian-Turkish relations and Nagorno Karabagh conflict
resolution. The two conferred also Armenia’s participation in the
Millennium Challenges Account program, emphasizing its role for
Armenia’s economic and democratic developments.
The same day Oskanian met with the US national security advisor
Condoleeza Rice and her deputy S. Haidly. During the meeting the
sides mainly discussed issues on regional security, NATO summit to
be held in Istanbul and Nagorno Karabagh conflict resolution.
Oskanian held a number of other meetings, including with US defense
secretary assistant on Europe and Eurasia M. Rikardelli, US state
secretary assistant on Europe and Eurasia E. Johns and others.
Oskanian made a speech at US Center of Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS) and spoke about Armenian foreign policy and regional
security. He then responded to audience’s questions. Today slated
are meetings with members of Congress and Senate, as well as with
American Armenian organizations and US mass media representatives.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress