Author: Badalian Vardan

QUESTION OF MANDATE SEEMS POINTLESS
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
27 Feb 05
The report of the commission of the EC Committee of Ministers argues
that RA president Robert Kocharian told the commission that he had
been given the mandate to conduct negotiations for the settlement of
the Karabakh conflict by the NKR authorities. Did the NKR government
really grant such power to the RA president? â~@~S From where did this
question occur at all? What does the mandate have to do here? After
the summit in Lisbon in 1996 the negotiations in the framework of the
OSCE Minsk Group were stopped, while Nagorni Karabakh had only this
opportunity to take part in negotiations. In other formats Azerbaijan
did not wish to talk to NKR. In this situation the presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to discuss the relationships of the two
countries at the top level, including the topic of settlement of the
conflict relationships. Now is there any need for mandate for this? The
government of Armenia which is the guarantor of the security of the
people of NKR, determines its policy itself, which can be assessed by
the citizens and political forces of Armenia. It is not up to Nagorni
Karabakh to decide what is wrong and what is right in this matter. In
this sense we do not even have the right to impact the actions of the
sovereign Armenian republic. It is another question that we arrogate to
ourselves the right to express openly our own standpoint concerning
all the aspects of our issue and the impact of the conflict on
the interests of Armenia. Our standpoint was and is expressed
unambiguously. We have always thought that without the participation
of NKR the negotiations cannot be effective. What is more, significant
problems occur for Armenia and NKR both from the point of view of
diplomacy of settlement and on the international scene in general. We
think, Armenia does not have any responsibilities for the consequences
of the conflict, particularly territories outside its territory
of sovereignty and humanitarian problems before the international
community. The settlement of similar problems is the authority of NKR
and we see the settlement of these problems in direct negotiations with
Azerbaijan which is dissatisfied with NKR. On the other hand, the NKR
government is attentive towards everything that can have a negative
impact on the fate of Armenia. We have no wish to solve our problems at
the expense of Armenia, and generally by way of causing moral damage
to the people of Armenia. Therefore, the question of mandating the RA
president seems pointless. Everybody must feel responsible for the
settlement of those difficult problems together. And if something
is wrong, the situation must be discussed calmly and additional
opportunities must be sought for to overcome them. I think, today in
the world they begin to understand the standpoint of NKR. Recently
in the resolution of the PACE on Nagorni Karabakh the idea was set
forth clearly that the failure of the decade-old negotiations was
caused by the absence of direct dialogue between the governments of
Azerbaijan and NKR, and the improvement of the prospect for settlement
is connected with the necessity of such a dialogue. â~@~S But the
author of the resolution David Atkinson told in his interview to BBC
about the unacceptability of the principle of self-determination in
the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. – Everything is correct. He
does not believe that Azerbaijan may recognize the independence of
NKR. But it is already enough that Atkinson expresses the opinion of
Europe that the sides will make their decisions themselves. That is to
say, there is no complex in reference to the question that NKR may be
recognized as an independent country. Let them seat the sides at the
table of negotiations, and time will show. Why, and you want to make
a guess for everything beforehand. NKR IS WILLING TO NEGOTIATE The
political adviser to the NKR president Manvel Sarghissian, touching
upon the talks for the NKR issue in his interview to our newspaper,
implied that they are rather talks for the bilateral relationships
between Armenia and Azerbaijan. At the same time he added that although
Armenia is the country that guarantees the security of the people
of NKR, its government decides on its foreign policy, including for
Azerbaijan, itself. Mr. Sarghissian also said that Armenia, in fact,
faces difficult problems connected with the fact that the problem of
Karabakh is not settled yet. â~@~These also wait for their solution
through negotiations. Moreover, Armenia has its own understanding
of the fate of NKR,â~@~] said Manvel Sarghissian. Commenting on
David Atkinsonâ~@~Ys resolution adopted by the PACE, the adviser to
the NKR president said, â~@~The PACE resolution is first of all
a political document. Such resolutions form a background for real
politics. Therefore, we need to be interested in the real steps of the
EC starting from this resolution. Today the resolution is interpreted
in different ways, for which the document provides a wide scene. But as
it is necessary to think about the prospect of real policies conducted
by the EC, it is more preferable to follow the interpretations of the
resolution by the Europeans. In this sense I would like to draw your
attention to the interview of the author of the resolution to the BBC
immediately after the adoption of the resolution by the PACE. Pay
attention to such concepts as â~@~during ten years after signing
cease-fire the sides did not achieve peace because there were no
real relationships between the Azerbaijani and NK authoritiesâ~@¦ ,
it is necessary to start negotiations, to maintain a dialogue for its
settlementâ~@¦, the PACE suggested shifting the Minsk process to the
parliamentary plain levelâ~@¦ , and if the people of Karabakh maintain
the present independence, de facto independence from Azerbaijan,
and Azerbaijan agrees to this, we will also recognize it… , now we
are waiting for the Azerbaijani government to set up relationships
with the authorities of Karabakh and propose starting discussion â~@¦
the dialogue must begin without preconditions (from the interview in
the ). Nagorni Karabakh also thinks so. If Europe
wants to bring the authorities of Azerbaijan and Nagorni Karabakh to
the table of negotiations, this may, in fact, create an atmosphere
for the settlement of the conflict. Especially that parliamentary
relations, moving the Minsk process to the parliamentary plain of
NKR and Azerbaijan are concerned,â~@~] notices Manvel Sarghissian.
27-02-2005
–Boundary_(ID_elJMjHj/9N6JLMzSSmCiNQ)–

The Messenger, Georgia
Feb 25 2005
Armenian paper deplores “Orange babble”
Armenian newspaper Aravot (Morning) reports that the president of
Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has divided the mass media into two
categories: acceptable and propagandistic.
He thinks that six Belarus publications as well as the Russian
newspaper Izvestia, Voice of America, and Radio Liberty should be
included in a black list. However he recommends reading the newspaper
Soviet Belarus, one of the founders of which is the presidential
administration.
The Armenian paper writes that there is nothing surprising in this
because this is the disposition of the dictatorship of Lukashenko’s
government.
The paper compares this dictatorship to the new Ukrainian president
Victor Yushchenko, who prohibited high-ranking officials from
visiting bathhouses, to hunt and to have houses abroad. The new
president also ordered high-ranking officials who live outside the
capital to move to the center.
“The goal is to work more effectively and not to close the roads for
an hour while they are going to work from their country estates,” the
paper reports.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Timoshenko also ordered that lights
be turned off at 10:00 pm in all state institutions. According to
her, officials should have some sleep and not work all night as this
reduces their effectiveness. Yushchenko also prohibited high-ranking
officials from dealing in business.
“What should the people do if they are prohibited to bathe in
bathhouses, to hunt or even live outside in the country, in the
suburbs?” the paper asks.
According to Aravot, Yushchenko has chosen the old Bolshevic method
to govern the country. “He does not distinguish himself from
Lukashenko at all, only by the fact that Lukashenko does not declare
himself a democrat. This is pure babble when they order people when
to sleep, where to live and when to go to the bath. Anyway, this has
nothing in common with democracy,” the paper states.

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Feb 24 2005
Of Pipes and Men

Tea Gularidze, Giorgi Sepashvili
Civil Georgia / 2005-02-24 14:05:06

Plans to Sell Trunk Gas Pipelines Stir Controversy
Negotiations between the Georgian leadership and the Russian energy
giant Gazprom over the potential sale of Georgia’s main gas pipeline
network are currently underway. The United States calls on Georgia to
excercise caution when making a final decision.
News about the government’s decision to privatize Georgia’s gas
pipeline system broke after President Saakashvili told the Italian
newspaper La Stampa on February 20 that Georgia is in fact
negotiating with Gazprom over this issue. This triggered fierce
criticism from the opposition, which questions the political
rationale behind these negotiations.
Despite the apparent determination by the Georgian government to keep
this issue of selling the pipeline on the table, US officials remain
cautious. In an interview with the Georgian daily 24 Hours, published
in Georgian on February 24, the U.S. President’s Advisor for Caspian
Energy Issues Steven Mann said said that as a sovereign state,
Georgia has the right to independently make decisions regarding
privatization, but the United States has been calling on the Georgian
leadership to use caution when making these kinds of decisions.
Mann added, that the United States has been working to secure
Georgia’s energy independence for many years and the U.S. will be
categorically against any steps which might hinder this process.
Selling of the trunk gas pipeline will contradict the plans of the
United States, which envisages the creation of alternative gas supply
sources for Georgia, Steven Mann said.

Mann also said that he has held many discussions with Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili and late Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania
over this issue. While saying that the United States is not against
cooperation between Georgia and Gazprom, the U.S. official added the
latter represents an important part of Georgia’s energy sector.

Mann continued by saying that selling Georgia’s gas pipeline system
to Gazprom would reduce the selling potential of gas piped through
the Shah-Deniz project. The U.S.-backed Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas
pipeline, or the ‘Shah-Deniz project’, is part of the much broader,
BP-led oil and gas development project in the region, which also
includes the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Main Export Oil Pipeline
Project.

Nonetheless, Mann said that the Shah-Deniz project will be
implemented regardless of whether Gazprom buys Georgia’s gas pipeline
system or not.

Some observers suggested, that the recent revelation of the ongoing
talks between Georgian officials and Gazprom was intended to raise
the stakes in Georgia’s privatisation plans. Speaking with reporters
on February 22 Georgian State Minister for Economic Reform Issues
Kakha Bendukidze made it clear that Gazprom is not the only company
which can buy Georgia’s gas pipeline system.

`I think the fact that the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline is so
sensitive to these issues [of selling the trunk pipeline] means that
the Georgian gas pipeline system might have two potential buyers: one
may be the Shah-Deniz Consortium, the other – Gazprom; if one of them
wishes to gain a victory over the other, it should come and launch
talks with the Georgian government,’ said Bendukidze.

But BP, which leads the BTC and Shah-Deniz projects, has no intention
of taking part in this privatization process. `We will continue our
activities and do not intend to purchase anything,’ Tamila
Chantladze, a spokesperson for the BP Tbilisi Office, told Civil
Georgia on February 23.

In order to sell Georgia’s gas pipeline system the authorities will
have to make amendments to the Law on Privatization, which bans the
sale of facilities which are of `strategic importance’ to the
country. Georgia’s gas pipeline system is on the list of
`strategically important’ facilities. Bendukidze has been adamant
since his appointment that he sees no real meaning behind the
designation of certain facilities as `strategically important.’
A small group of opposition parliamentarians has already expressed
protest regarding the plans to sell the gas lines. `This will be a
huge mistake. This is really a strategic facility which should remain
under Georgian control,’ MP Davit Berdzenishvili, leader of the
opposition Republican Party, told Civil Georgia.

MP Davit Gamkrelidze, who chairs the New Rights-Industrialists
parliamentary faction, also called on the authorities to refrain from
selling the pipelines. `Transferring this facility to Russia will
finally destroy Georgia’s energy independence,’ he said at a news
conference on February 22.

The government will also have to convince Parliamentary Chairperson
Nino Burjanadze, who, in an interview with the Georgian daily
Rezonansi (Resonance) published on January 31, said she is
`categorically against selling the gas pipelines, especially to a
Russian company.’

Some observers say that the Georgian government, who normally take a
clearly defined pro-western stance, might be engaged in some kind of
political ‘horse-trading’ with Russia, in which Tbilisi may be
willing to give up its energy independence in exchange for the
political concessions by Moscow which are presently hindering ties
between the two countries. Above all these issues include the
resolution of the conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

`Of course it is not ruled out that a particular political deal might
take place; however, it is difficult to say what kind of deal it will
be,’ economic analyst Revaz Sakevarishvili told Civil Georgia.

This latest situation surrounding the government’s decision to sell
the country’s gas pipelines is nearly identical to one which
occurred over the same issue less than two years ago.
In 2003, then-President Eduard Shevardnadze became a target of
criticism by the opposition – which, at that time included most of
the current officials – as a result of a declaration of intent over
strategic cooperation with Gazprom. Steven Mann arrived in Georgia
shortly after this hand-shake agreement was made and warned the
Georgian leadership not to undertake steps which could have
endangered the Shah-Deniz project.
But the Georgian authorities at that time signed an agreement with on
strategic cooperation for 25 years, which is still valid. It
envisages the supply of natural gas to Georgian customers and the
rehabilitation of gas pipelines, including two trunk-line gas
pipelines, one of which will be used for transporting gas to Armenia
and the other to Turkey, via the Adjara Autonomous Republic. Analysts
say that Russia is mainly interested in purchasing those pipelines
which are used for transit purposes.
Russia is currently the only supplier of natural gas to Georgia.
Although a reserve pipeline with Iran has been recently repaired, its
capacity is far below what the country requires. Iranian gas is also
nearly three times as expensive as the gas Georgia receives from
Russia.

SYNOPSIS AMERICAN COMPANY INVESTS $90 MLN TO ITS ARMENIAN BRANCH
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23. ARMINFO. “Synopsis” company has provided its
Armenian branch with program tools for designing intellectual property
units for digital, analogue and compound signal chips worth $90 mln,
“Synopsis-Armenia” company’s director Hovik Musayelyan informed
ARMINFO.
He specified that the company received 60 computer-aided design
programs worth $1.5 mln each. Musayelyan also informed that presently
the company employs 150 engineers and plans to increase the number of
enrolled students from 110 to 220. According to him, Vice-President of
Synopsis Rich Goldman will visit Armenia on March 2 and will meet with
Armenia’s President and Prime-Minister to discuss company’s
perspective plans concerned with Armenia. Goldman will also tell about
the company’s intention to establish a Benevolent Fund in Armenia.
To note, “Synoposis-Armenia” was established by “Synopsis” Inc., the
world leader of electronic design of automatized technologies, in Oct
2004 on the basis of Armenian-American Leda Design and Monterey Arset
companies. Synopsis pins its strategic plans with the development of
its Armenian branch, including the tasks to enlarge its activity
spectrum. The annual turnover of Synopsis Inc. totals about $1.2 bln.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
02/23/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Regional ANC Office to Be Established in Middle East 2) Wall Street Journal Article about Turkey Causes Waves of Shock 3) Georgia and Russia at Impasse Says New Premier 4) Senior Official Arrested on Corruption Charges 1) Regional ANC Office to Be Established in Middle East YEREVAN (Yerkir)--The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau has decided to establish a regional Armenian National Committee office in the Middle East to meet the challenges of ensuring continuity and success of efforts commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. A fundraising banquet will be held on February 26 in Paris, chaired by Catholicos Aram I, where upcoming projects will be presented. Public figures and dignitaries from Armenia, Russia, Europe, and the Middle East have been invited to attend. 2) Wall Street Journal Article about Turkey Causes Waves of Shock ISTANBUL (Armenpress)--As the Turkish Daily "Zaman" reported recently, Robert L. Pollock's article titled "The Sick Man of Europe--Again," which appeared in the February 16 issue of the Wall Street Journal, has sent shock waves throughout the Republic of Turkey. Given the Journal's friendly stance towards Turkey during the past five decades, and its senior editorial page writer's personal attitude about the country--Pollock described himself as a friend of Turkey during an interview--the Turkish newspaper speculates that the article can only indicate a major shift in American sentiment toward the republic. In the article, Pollock states that during a recent visit to Turkey he discovered "a poisonous atmosphere--one in which just about every politician and media outlet (secular and religious) preaches an extreme combination of America- and Jew-hatred that...voluntarily goes far further than anything found in most of the Arab world's state-controlled press. If I hesitate to call it Nazi-like, that's only because Goebbels would probably have rejected much of it as too crude." Pollock fills his American audience in on the various rumors spread by Turkish newspapers regarding US's presence in Iraq. "Yeni Safak," which Pollock states is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's favorite, has unveiled a number of "scoops," including reports detailing the rape and murder of Iraqi women and children by US forces, the deployment of 1000 Israeli troops in Iraq, and the harvesting of the innards of dead Iraqis for the eventual sale on the US "organ market." Referring to US Ambassador Eric Edelman's difficulties in light of such attitudes, Pollock notes, "Never in an ostensibly friendly country have I had the impression of embassy staff so besieged. Erdogan's office recently forbade Turkish officials from attending a reception at the ambassador's residence in honor of the 'Ecumenical ' Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, who resides in Istanbul. Why? Because 'ecumenical' means universal, which somehow makes it all part of a plot to carve up Turkey." After describing several other such examples, Pollock ends his article with an ominous warning: "Turkey could easily become just another second-rate country: small-minded, paranoid, marginal and--how could it be otherwise?--friendless in America and unwelcome in Europe!" According to "Zaman," Armenian- and Greek-Americans have provided significant support to Robert L. Pollock, in response to his views on Turkey. A Greek-American organization, according to "Zaman," has also distributed copies of Pollock's article to members of Congress. Among the many postings on the Wall Street Journal's website, was one by a reader named David Govett, who wrote: "Turkey cannot be the sick man of Europe because it has never been a part of Europe. Ataturk's initiatives to modernize Turkey were as successful as Crazy Peter's Westernization attempts on Russia." 3) Georgia and Russia at Impasse Says New Premier By Arkady Ostrovsky TBILISI--Relations between Russia and Georgia have reached a stalemate that jeopardizes Georgia's efforts to restore stability and its territorial integrity, Zurab Nogaideli, the country's new prime minister, has told the Financial Times. Georgia's 15-month-old government, installed after a popular uprising ousted president Eduard Schevardnadze, is struggling to regain control over the break-away regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia--both backed by Russia. US President Bush told European leaders this week that Georgia was one of the countries that needed assistance in developing democracy. But Russia, which still has military bases in Georgia, has strongly opposed Tbilisi's efforts to establish control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Moscow has also used combative language in relation to Georgia, accusing it of harboring terrorists from neighboring Chechnya. In his first interview since taking office, Nogaideli said a recent visit by Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, had failed to achieve a breakthrough in the relationship between the two countries, which has turned increasingly sour during the past year. Nogaideli, former finance minister in the government of Zurab Zhvania, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning this month, had said: "For us the most important problem in the relationship with Russia is the resolution of conflicts on our territory. We want to solve the issue of territorial integrity peacefully. But everyone understands that without Russia's good will, it will be impossible." Lavrov's visit was overshadowed by a diplomatic spat after the Russian foreign minister declined an invitation to lay flowers at the memorial for Georgian soldiers who died in a military conflict with Abkhazia in the early 1990s. However, in an interview on Russian television last weekend, Lavrov indicated that Russia no longer considered Georgia to be under his country's hegemony. Both Ukraine and Georgia, he said, were "absolutely sovereign, absolutely equal states in the new geopolitical architecture." Georgian politicians said there was a risk that Russia would test its strength against Georgia to compensate for its failings in Ukraine. One senior official said: "There is a real danger that Georgia will become a foreign-policy Yukos for Russia, designed to demonstrate its strength." Russia suffered a humiliating defeat when it failed to influence the outcome of Ukrainian elections last year and its tough stance towards Georgia is seen as part of the Kremlin's efforts to prove its influence in the former Soviet space. However, while the official relationship with Moscow has been difficult, Georgia has managed to attract Russian investment. "We find talking to Russian investors easier than talking to the Russian government," Nogaideli said. 4) Senior Official Arrested on Corruption Charges YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--A former high-ranking official at the Armenian Finance Ministry who was in charge of overseeing the use of public funds by various government agencies has been arrested on corruption charges, state prosecutors announced on Wednesday. The spokesman for the Prosecutor-General's Office, Gurgen Ambarian, said that Levon Shahinian, who headed the ministry's financial oversight department, was charged the previous night with large-scale fraud that allegedly allowed him to pocket about 40 million drams ($85,000). He said the money was meant to be paid to two private auditing firms. Under Armenia's Criminal Code the accusations carry between four and eight years' imprisonment. Ambarian alleged that Shahinian forged "financial agreements, reports and other documents" to defraud the auditors, but refused to detail the accusations. It was also unclear if the suspect has pleaded guilty to the charges. Shahinian, who headed the Finance Ministry department since 2001, was relieved of his duties a week ago "at his own request," according to a ministry spokesman. The department inspects ministries and other government agencies that are financed through the state budget. Some of them are audited by private firms contracted by the government. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

The Messenger
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Cargo accumulating on Azeri border
By M. Alkhazashvili
Azerbaijan continues to delay cargo bound for Georgia as it crossed the
border between the two countries, on the grounds that part of that cargo,
they suspect, may be then transported to Armenia.
Georgian importers report they are losing millions of dollars as a result of
the hold-up, but they are not the only ones losing out: the dispute is
seriously undermining the reputation of the TRACECA (Transport Corridor
Europe-Caucasus-Asia), the functioning of which is also very important for
Azerbaijan. Local importers are demanding Georgian officials to intervene in
the settlement of the issue.
Blocking of cargo trucks bound for Georgia first became a problem in 2004.
Azerbaijani legislation forbids the transit of cargo to any other country if
it is then forwarded on to Armenia. An agreement was signed between
Azerbaijan and Georgia on June 14 last year, according to which it was
forbidden that cargo transported form Azerbaijan to Georgia be then exported
to Armenia. The agreement was finally ratified on November 22.
The existence of this agreement has not stopped the Azeri side from
currently preventing more than 700 rail wagons from crossing the
Georgia-Azerbaijan border. Only when Baku is assured that the cargo will not
be forwarded to Armenia will the trucks be allowed to proceed into Georgia.
The Georgian side is seeking to speed up the process, and part of the
cargo – some 400 rail wagons – have now crossed the border. 316
Georgia-bound wagons remain, however, including 195 loaded with wheat, 36
with liquid gas, 6 with distillates, 2 with flour and 2 with oil, reports
Rezonansi. Georgian officials state that none of the cargo is destined
ultimately for Armenia.
Apart from the rail trucks, road vehicles are also being held at the border,
bringing the total value of cargo not permitted to cross the border to
nearly USD 10 million, according to newspaper Akhali Taoba.
Although the official reason for holding the cargo is that it might be then
transported to Armenia, other reasons for the Azeri decision have been
speculated, including Georgia’s decision to move to Euro-standard petrol,
which is not produced in Azerbaijan, although the introduction of this rule
has been postponed for a year, giving Azeri factories time to change to
producing petrol which meets European standards.
Oil importers believe the main reason for suspending the cargo is an
internal disagreement with Azerbaijani oil producers, reports the newspaper
Rezonansi, while another version is that it represents Azerbaijan’s response
to Georgian efforts to stop contraband from entering the country. Analyst
Gia Khukhashvili, meanwhile, believes Russia may be behind the disagreement
between Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Whatever the truth of the matter, the fact is that the disagreement is
seriously harming businesses on both sides of the border.

THERE ARE NO SERIOUS TALKS WITHOUT CONCESSIONS: VLADIMIR KAZIMIROV
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21. ARMINFO. Azerbaijan demands that international
attention be paid to the issue of occupied territories rather than the
gist of the Karabakh problem, says Vladimir Kazimirov, former Russian
co-chair, says in his article in Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
Kazimirov says that the Prague Process of the Armenian-Azeri foreign
ministerial talks is a nice label for the impatient. In fact this is
just rare meetings of the two FMs with the presence of the OSCE Minsk
Group who are instructed to facilitate talks between the conflicting
parties. The Minsk Process has brought the parties to nowhere and it
is not clear yet where the Prague Process is leading them to. They may
very well find another capital soon for a next stage in this endless
process.
There are no serious talks without concessions, says Kazimirov noting
that neither Armenian nor Azeri presidents have so far started
preparing their societies for concessions – on the contrary for many
years they have persuaded them that they will get rather than give.
Afraid of sitting down at the negotiating table in the last months
Azerbaijan has chosen the alternative of political propaganda at
international organizations. Hoping for compassion Baku is showing
just the hard consequences of the conflict.
As for PACE it takes the problem superficially – they do not care to
go as deep as to see how it all happened, who sought to solve the
problem by force, why the war was so long. There would be no
occupation if the conflict was solved by political means. Kazimirov
slates the Russian delegates who did not even open their mouths when
PACE ascribed to OSCE what was in reality achieved by Russia – the
1994 cease fire.
Kazimirov notes that if Mar 2 the FMs agree to move on stage by stage
but with package elements the sides will soon face the problem of
guaranteeing exclusively peaceful settlement for the conflict. It was
not by chance that in a recent meeting Pres.Putin told Pres.Aliev that
the Karabakh knot should be entangled by worthy means and that
security should be ensured in the region. The Azeri-proposed phased
scenario cannot be effected without no-war guarantees by the
conflicting parties. Only naivety can urge them to resume war just
because they believe they are at advantage at the moment.
This will require both material guarantees (demilitarization,
withdrawal of troops from occupied districts) and international
involvement. This in its turn will require serious changes in the
words and actions of Azerbaijan who regularly comes out with military
threats and boasts of its growing military expenses but complaining at
the same time of the privations of a million of Azeri refugees. As for
the Armenians they should renounce their “territories for status”
stance. The Karabakh problem should be voted on by the Karabakh people
rather than haggled on by the sides.
There are many examples: voting was Quebec rather than Canada, Eritrea
rather than Ethiopia, Eastern Timor rather than Indonesia.
Kazimirov says that very complicated problems are on the negotiating
table now – they will suffice for many years of intensive work even if
no additional difficulties are found by propaganda machine.

“UZDUNROBITA” STOPS COOPERATION WITH KARABAKH TELECOM, AZERBAIJANI
MASS MEDIA SAY
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21. ARMINFO. The National Mobile Network Operator of
Uzbekistan, “Uzdunrobita” company, has stopped cooperating with
Karabakh Telecom under the bilateral inter-national Roaming Service,
Day.az report.
According to the source, Azerbaijani diplomats have achieve this in
Tashkent after they addressed an official letter of the Embassy to the
operator-company in connection with the given issues and materials on
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. It should be noted that since 2002, the
National Operator of NKR, Karabakh Telecom, has invested in
development of the cellular network of the country $15 million. The
winner of the contest for “the second” mobile network operator of
Armenia, the subsidiary structure of Karabakh Telecom, K-Telecom,
plans to invest 100 mln EUR in creation of its own network of mobile
communication in Armenia at the initial stage.

Russian foreign minister says he hoped to visit Georgian PM’s grave
RTR Russia TV, Moscow
17 Feb 05
[Presenter] Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is on a visit
to Armenia, today reacted to criticism which the Georgian leadership
had levelled against him on the eve of his trip to Georgia.
Tbilisi expressed dissatisfaction over Moscow’s refusal to include
in the agenda a visit to a memorial to Georgian soldiers, killed in
battles for the country’s territorial integrity.
Here is what Sergey Lavrov said on this score.
[Lavrov] The memorial to those fallen in the course of the wars
in Abkhazia and Ossetia, I mean a visit to it would, undoubtedly,
require complex political commentaries. We grieve for all the victims
of these wars, on both sides. I would particularly like to note
that my plans, my personal plans, included a visit to the grave of
[the recently-assassinated Georgian Prime Minister] Zurab Zhvania,
to pay homage to his memory, to lay flowers on his grave. He is a man
who has done a very great deal in order for the Abkhazian and South
Ossetian conflicts to be settled exclusively by peaceful means.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
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02/17/2005
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) 90th Anniversary Commemoration Committee Finalizes Programs 2) Russian FM Discusses Bilateral Ties, Karabagh in Armenia 3) Tbilisi Incident Concerns Javakhk Armenians 4) Christian Minority in Azerbaijan Gets Rid of Armenian 'Eye Sore' 1) 90th Anniversary Commemoration Committee Finalizes Programs LOS ANGELES--This year marks the 90th Anniversary of first genocide of the Twentieth Century--the genocide against the Armenian people. This page in history--the annihilation of close to two million Armenians --will be marked by Armenians throughout the world. The Armenian-American community of California, which has traditionally organized an array of events during the month of April, and specifically between April 17-24, will this year commemorate the Genocide's 90th Anniversary by hosting a series of events jointly organized by over two dozen Armenian political, cultural, and religious groups. With the recent addition of the Organization of Istanbul Armenians, the Iraqi Armenian Community, and the Armenian Youth Movement, the number of member groups of the United Armenian Genocide 90th Anniversary Commemoration Committee of California, grew to 26. The United Young Armenians, however, left the coalition. Having begun its work in 2004, the Committee has nearly finalized its agenda, and has resolved to mark the 90th Anniversary through: - Organizing a large-scale cultural event; - Hosting a commemoration in Sacramento with the participation of State-level elected officials and government representatives; - Organizing a demonstration adjacent to the Turkish Consulate of Los Angeles; - Hosting a requiem service at the monument, dedicated to the memory of the Genocide's victims, in the City of Montebello. - Hosting requiem services at all Armenians churches throughout the State; - Organizing a community-wide event, concluding the series of commemorative events. United Armenian Genocide 90th Anniversary Commemoration Committee of California 2) Russian FM Discusses Bilateral Ties, Karabagh in Armenia YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with President Robert Kocharian and other Armenian leaders in Yerevan Thursday on an official visit which focused on bilateral relations and the Karabagh conflict. The talks were also aimed at preparing for Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Armenia, his country's main regional ally. "We expect a very busy year for our partnership and allied relationship," Lavrov said at the end of the one-day trip. "We have to implement agreements reached by the [Russian-Armenian] inter-governmental commission on economic cooperation last December. We agreed to accelerate implementation of all issues agreed by the parties so that our presidents can see… that their decisions are put into practice." "There are no problems in our relations. But because those relations are constantly developing, they need constant attention," he added. "We are happy with the results of the visit. I believe that it will give an additional impetus to our relations," Oskanian said for his part. Kocharian told Lavrov that he is satisfied with the current state of bilateral ties and hopes that Russia will help to lift transport blockades resulting from the unresolved ethnic conflicts in the South Caucasus. The Karabagh conflict was a major theme of the talks. "We hope that the Prague process of regular meetings between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will bear fruit," Lavrov said. "The co-chairs of the OSCE's Minsk Group are ready to foster that. We will do our best to make sure that the process progresses successfully." "Sergei Lavrov is a minister who probably knows more [about the Karabagh peace process] than I," Oskanian joked at their joint news conference, underlining Moscow's role as a key international mediator. He announced that his next meeting with Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Prague will take place on March 2. Economic issues were another subject of discussions, with Kocharian and Prime Minister Andranik Markarian again calling on the Russians to speed up work on reactivating four of five moribund Armenian enterprises which were handed over to them two years ago in payment for Armenia's $100 million debt. Markarian also expressed concern at Russia's plans to finance a new railway to Iran that would bypass Armenia and run through its arch-rival Azerbaijan Lavrov, who revealed to reporters last year that his father was a Tbilisi-born Armenian, assured Markarian that "Russia will take into account Armenia's interests and will not take any steps that would damage them," according to an Armenian government statement. 3) Tbilisi Incident Concerns Javakhk Armenians YEREVAN (Combined Sources)--Voicing concern over a recent incident in Tbilisi involving the desecration of Armenian gravestones, the Javakhk Union of Georgian Armenians sent a letter to Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, urging him to take measures to preserve Armenian cultural monuments in Georgia. On February 8, Armenian gravestones from the St. Virgin Church in Tbilisi's Norashen district were removed and replaced with Georgian ones. A Georgian priest also told the Armenian clerics to pray in Armenia because "this church is ours now." The 15th century church's ornaments made by the Hovnatanyans are still preserved. Head of the Georgian-Armenian diocese Archbishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan, said he is concerned that the next incident will involve vandalism of the church. 4) Christian Minority in Azerbaijan Gets Rid of Armenian 'Eye Sore' By Simon Ostrovsky (AFP)--When a Christian people in this predominantly Muslim republic ground away the Armenian inscriptions from the walls of a church and tombs last month to erase evidence linking them to Azerbaijan's foe [Armenia], they thought they had the interests of their small community in mind. But now the tiny Christian church in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan has become the focus of a big scandal as the Udi minority struggles to find its identity in an ideological minefield. The church, which has not been used since Azerbaijan became part of the Soviet Union, has become the center of a dispute between the Norwegian backers of the reconstruction, who consider the alterations to be vandalism, and the Udi community. "We have no God, our people lost their religion under communism and this church is our only hope of reviving it," said Georgi Kechaari, one of the village elders who doubles as the ethnic group's historian. "But we live in Azerbaijan, and when people came into the church and saw Armenian letters, they automatically associated us with Armenians," he said. The Udi, who once used the Armenian alphabet, have struggled to separate their legacy from that of their fellow Christians, the Armenians, who fought a war with Azerbaijan and have been vilified here. Since the beginning of the conflict with Armenia over Mountainous Karabagh, which erupted just before the break-up of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has rid of nearly everything associated with Armenia in has been wiped away, although hundreds of thousands of Armenians lived here before the war that ended in a cease-fire in 1994. Armenian-sounding city names have been changed, streets named after Armenians have been replaced with politically correct Azeri surnames, while Soviet history glorifying Armenian communist activists has been rewritten in school textbooks. But the white stone church in Nij, some two centuries old, had not been tampered with until the Udi undertook to reconstruct it with help from the state financed Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise (NHE). "It was a beautiful inscription, 200 years old, it even survived the war," Norway's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Steinar Gil told AFP. "This is an act of vandalism and Norway in no way wants to be associated with it." But the Udis insist they erased the inscriptions to right a historic wrong. Kechaari alleged that the Armenian inscriptions, which stated that the Church was built in 1823, were fakes put there by Armenians in the 1920s so that they could make historical claims to it. The Udis are the last surviving tribe of the Caucasus Albanians, a group unrelated to the Mediterranean Albanians, whose Christian kingdom ruled this region in medieval times before Turkic hordes swept in from Central Asia in the 13th and 15th centuries. They number under 10,000 people and Nij is the only predominantly Udi village to survive to this day, and although they call themselves Christian, there is little that Christians from other parts of the world would find in common with them. The Udis have not had a pastor for nearly a century and celebrate Islamic holidays together with their Muslim neighbors. But while the Udis soul search for an identity, Azerbaijan has used their legacy to strengthen its claims to Karabagh. Armenians argue that the multitude of churches in the occupied region proves that they as a Christian people can lay a historic claim to it. But Azeris, who consider themselves to be the descendants of Albanians who were assimilated into a Turkic group, say the area is rightfully theirs because the churches were actually built by their ancestors the Albanians. To the Udi, who used Armenian script when their church was built, toeing the official Azeri line has become more of a priority than historical accuracy. The perception that they are one with the Armenians has meant that there has been little trust from the authorities; Udi men for example were only allowed to start serving in the Azeri Army two years ago. But their use of power tools to fit the status quo took their Norwegian sponsors by surprise. "They think they have erased a reminder of being Armenian...instead they have taken away the chance to have a good image when the church is inaugurated," the director of the NHE in Azerbaijan, Alf Henry Rasmussen said, adding that a visit to the church by Norway's prime minister will probably now be canceled. "Everyone will stare at the missing stones. I'm not quite sure if we can continue our work there," Rasmussen said. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets. --Boundary_(ID_QjS5LRMjJqU2iEtvGkqsWw)--