Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

Turkish novelist Pamuk declared hero by Armenians
Turkish press yesterday
Tuesday, March 1, 2005
Hürriyet reported that British daily The Observer published a commentary about
well-known Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk’s statements that he made in a Swiss
newspaper earlier this month on Turkey’s so-called massacre of Armenians and
Kurds in the 20th century.
However, the commentary that appeared in The Observer was written by Nouritza
Matossian, an Armenian author who said Pamuk has become the hero of Armenians
with his statements, Hürriyet reported and questioned the objectivity of the
British daily.
Posta mentioned the same story and quoted the Armenian writer as saying that
Pamuk was a hero who was telling the truth while he was a symbol of hatred in
his home country.
–Boundary_(ID_PCgNbl/Oc1aTDrKP6vmdMg)–
From: Baghdasarian

Norwegian envoy says alterations to Azeri church “tantamount to vandalism”
525 Qazet, Baku
26 Feb 05
Excerpt from unattributed report by Azerbaijani newspaper 525 Qazet
on 26 February headlined “The Norwegian ambassador does not justify
Armenians’ archaeological excavations in Susa” and subheaded “Steinar
Gil: It is not appropriate that archaeological excavations are carried
out in the conflict zone while the conflict remains unresolved”
The Azerbaijani public are seriously concerned about archaeological
excavations in the Armenian occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
International organizations have failed to react to the excavations
carried out in Susa. So have the foreign embassies in Baku.
The Norwegian ambassador to Azerbaijan, Steinar Gil, has said in
his interview with APA news agency that he has no information on
the excavations.
“I do not have specific information about that. However, I think that
this will not have a positive effect on the peace process. It is not
right to carry out archaeological excavations in the conflict zone
while the problem remains unresolved,” Gil said.
An Albanian church has been renovated in the Udi-populated village
of Nij in Qabala District [northern Azerbaijan], and a Norwegian
humanitarian organization [Norwegian Humanitarian Enterprise, NHE]
financed the project. The NHE stopped funding the renovation after
some inscriptions, which were presumed to be in Armenian, were
erased. Ambassador Gil also commented on this.
“Any historical monument should be protected. One should take care
of historical monuments despite political relations. I visited that
village in November last year and saw the Armenian inscriptions. I
regret that the inscriptions have been erased. It would be better if
they had been preserved. This was a chance for Azerbaijan to set an
example for the whole world,” Gil said.
A letter signed by over 100 villagers, who supported the removal of
the inscriptions, has not changed the ambassador’s mind either. Gil
believes that historical monuments should be preserved and any
alteration to them is tantamount to vandalism. By this move the
Azerbaijani side has violated international conventions and gone back
on the promise it had given before the renovation started, he said.
[Passage omitted: minor details]
From: Baghdasarian

THERE IS NO ETHNIC HOSTILITY BETWEEN ARMENIANS AND AZERIS
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25. ARMINFO. One should not confuse relations
between Armenians and Azeris with Azerbaijan’s official
position. There is no ethnic hostility bewteen the two nations, says
Rector of Yerevan State Linguistic University Suren Zolyan.
For example Armenians and Azeris quite peacefully coexist in Georgia
and there are many reports of Azeris’ saving Armenians during the 1988
pogroms in Sumqayit.
Zolyan says that the Sumqayit events were a well organized action
against the self-determination right of the Nagorno Karabakh people
and its decision to secede from Azerbaijan and to join Armenia.
The hidden motives the Azeri authorities had in Nakhichevan came to
surface in Sumqayit. The Nagorno Karabakh people’s self-determination
is not just a whim but something imperative. The Sumqayit Armenians
were the first victims of this struggle for independence. The fate of
the USSR was determined in 1988 when Soviet troops’ passivity in the
conflict marked the end of the Soviet era.
This is a historical lesson that should be well understood, says
Zolyan noting that now many in the world speak about security in the
region but there will not be one unless they recognize the Sumqayit
tragedy and punish all its perpetrators. This is an issue of global
importance as this was a crime against humanity. One should not forget
that those scanning “Freedom to the Heros of Sumqayit” are now in
power in Azerbaijan.
From: Baghdasarian

Armenia’s membership of CIS military bloc won’t impact ties with NATO – envoy
Mediamax news agency
24 Feb 05
YEREVAN
The terms of signing the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP)
between Armenia and NATO depend on the Armenian side, the special
representative of the NATO secretary-general in the South Caucasus and
Central Asia, Robert Simmons, said in Yerevan today.
NATO highly appreciates Armenia’s wish to sign the IPAP with the
alliance and is ready to render any kind of support to draft this
document, he said.
Nevertheless, it is up to the Armenian side to decide on the contents
and terms of signing the document, Simmons added.
He noted that NATO’s communications officer, Romualds Razuks, will
consult the Armenian interagency group which is working on the IPAP.
Although time is needed to draft the IPAP, Armenia is already involved
in the activities under the aegis of NATO, Simmons said. He informed
that a group of NATO experts on defence planning will visit Armenia in
the near future to meet the representatives of the Armenian Defence
Ministry.
Robert Simmons spoke highly of the Armenian servicemen’s participation
in the peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and Iraq. This testifies to
Armenia’s sincere wish to make a contribution to international
security, he said.
Answering questions from journalists, the special representative of
the NATO secretary-general said that Yerevan’s membership of the [CIS]
Collective Security Treaty Organization and close Armenian-Russian
relations will have no impact on the level of the NATO-Armenia
relations.
“We have very good relations with Russia. Apart from this, we have
frequently said that NATO is not building relations with countries on
the basis of rivalry or taking into account its membership of various
organizations or alliances,” Robert Simmons said.
From: Baghdasarian

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 22 2005
Reports on ceasefire breach not confirmed

Baku, February 21, AssA-Irada
The Ministry of Defence did not confirm TV reports on breach of
ceasefire by Armenia on the frontline in Aghdam District on Monday.
Armenian military units, from their positions in the occupied
Shikhlar village of Aghdam, fired at the Orta Gishlag village of the
same district and a Kamaz truck with large-caliber submachine guns
and machine guns, according to the reports.
Civilians in the village were hiding in the basements of their houses
during the incident. No casualties are reported.*
From: Baghdasarian

Foreign minister comments on Russia running Armenian companies
RosBusinessConsulting Database
February 17, 2005 Thursday
Russia is doing its best to enhance operational activities of Armenian
companies after securing control over them under debt restructuring
agreements, head of the foreign ministry of Russia Sergey Lavrov
announced in the Armenian capital of Ereven after a meeting with
Armenian Prime Minister Andrahik Mrakarian. The foreign minister
stressed the importance of timely fuel supplies for the Armenian
nuclear power station and the work aimed at updating this station.
Armenia handed control over its companies to Russia to settle its
debt worth USD93m under bilateral agreements signed in 2002.
From: Baghdasarian

Tufts E-News
February 14, 2005
TOP STORY:
Bridging A Divide In Europe
A Fletcher School graduate student says that tensions between Turkey and
Armenia won’t subside as long as the border between the countries remains
sealed.
Medford/Somerville, Mass. Centuries-old tensions between Armenia and Turkey
continue to percolate, thanks in large part to the sealed border that divides
the two countries. The counterproductive closed-border policy, says a Fletcher
School student, has impoverished many people in the two nations while blocking
any chance of working toward a resolution.
“The current policies in the region applied by both countries are indisputably
a failure. It is time to open a fresh process of dialogue and reconciliation by
opening the Turkish-Armenian border,” Harout Semerdjian, a graduate student in
international relations, wrote in the English-language publication Moscow Times.
When Armenia achieved independence in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet
Union, it faced many problems.
“For the large and influential Armenian diaspora worldwide, the most important
issue remained recognition of the events of 1915 as genocide,” Semerdjian
wrote. “However, for the majority of Armenians living in Armenia, the most
significant issue became survival in a period of economic hardship and social
turmoil.”
Turkey, he added, also faces setbacks: “In recent years, farmers have put
entire villages in the Sivas region of the country up for sale. Isolated
eastern provinces such as Erzerum, Kars and Igdir near the Armenian border are
anxious to boost their economy in order to improve their low standards of
living.”
Enforcing a sealed border, Semerdjian contended, only exacerbates the problem.
“It only maintains the poverty in the border regions, which would otherwise
benefit from cross-border economic activity.”
The tension stems from long-standing conflicts, such as the slaying of over a
million Armenians at the hands of Turkish soldiers in 1915 (whether or not it
was genocide is a hotly debated subject) and the recent dispute over the
Azerbaijani enclave of Nagorny Karabakh, which is heavily populated by
Armenians.
These tensions, Semerdjian asserted, are hurting both nations.
“While authorities in Turkey may feel they are punishing Armenia in support of
Azerbaijan, both countries are in fact merely punishing their own people by
maintaining closed borders.”
But a foundation of understanding cannot be established without communication,
Semerdjian wrote.
“How can Turkey expect the Armenian diaspora to behave in a positive,
conciliatory manner when it is unwilling to establish basic communication links
between the two countries? How can Armenia expect Turkey to understand its
needs and historical issues when Mount Ararat currently acts as an Iron Curtain
rather than a mountain of peace?”
Semerdjian, a member of the Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council,
wrote that unsealing the border would be mutually beneficial.
“Open borders would encourage contact, trade, business opportunities and
tourism between the population of both countries — which would in turn create
a sense of confidence and greater understanding between the two peoples.”
He added that opening the border would be a strong, independent step for both
nations.
“It would demonstrate to the international community the strong will and
determination of both countries to solve their differences themselves, not in
the corridors of the French senate or the U.S. Congress,” he wrote.
Semerdjian urged top Armenian and Turkish officials to reconsider their reasons
for keeping the border sealed.
“Leaders of both countries should be encouraged to think in global and
realistic terms and start taking alternate steps toward peace, if they are
serious about bringing harmony and eventual prosperity to the region.”
From: Baghdasarian

SCAD POLITICAL AND TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES TO HOLD MEETING
[February 09, 2005, 21:27:14]
Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
Feb 10 2005
Political and technical committees of the “South Caucasus Anti-Drag”
(SCAD) Program financed by the European Union is going to hold a
meeting with participation of the state and governmental officials of
the three Caucasus courtiers, the EU Assistance Commission leadership
and the UNDP representatives for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia in
Tbilisi, on February 1-12.
Deputy interior minister of Azerbaijan Zahid Dunyamaliyev, deputy
chairman of the state customs committee Rafail Mirzayev and national
coordinator of SCAD Program Mazahir Efendiyev and other officials
will represent Azerbaijan.
The goal of meeting is to analyze the works done within the program
in 2004 and discuss plan of activity related to combat against illegal
circulation of narcotics.
From: Baghdasarian

NIKITA MIKHALKOV: ZORI BALAYAN ALWAYS ACHIEVES HIS GOAL
Azg/arm
10 Feb 05
Itâ~@~Ys rather easy to talk about Zori Balayan on one hand and very
difficult on the other as his versatility and the polarity of diverse
situations during his lifetime put him beyond comparison. My encounter
with him dates more than 30 years back to the wonderful time when I
was doing my army in the Far East, in Kamchatka, when Zori joined our
legendary 117-day long tour on dog and deer sleighs. Zori, I guess,
has been solely independent since his childhood with a unique way
of thinking, wit and sometimes outwardly strange decisions. In the
meantime he was very attentive to everyoneâ~@~Ys needs, even the
trivial ones. >>From this perspective Zori is a unique personality.
I am grateful to him for being a true friend during a rather tough
period in my life when I was far away from home. They will understand
me who know what it means to appear in a warm flat with a bathroom and
food after the barracks. My warm recollections of Kamchatka are linked
with Zoriâ~@~Ys personality who was a friend, a doctor and a defender
in some cases. He was in freedom, on the other side of the wall and I
was on the other, at the checkpoint. In such conditions people value
the simplest things that pass by your attention in daily life. I felt
that again years later when my elder son, Stepan, was also serving in
the seas of the Far East and was writing letters telling that a pair
of woolen socks are more important then a tape recorder of Sharp brand.
Zori has a very important human and a manly feature that amazes
me. He always achieves goals he sets. Hardly anyone will imagine
how difficult it was to go on an expedition with dogs and deer
from south Kamchatka to north Chukotka. Only he could talk us into
naming the expedition Karabakh. Why Karabakh? On dogs, in Kamchatka,
in winter. And Karabakh. It seemed inexplicable. But that was Zori
we dealt with. Karabakh was not simply a location or a geographical
spot for him. It is his life. I understood that years later when
events started there. I understood why he called the expedition
Karabakh. Zori used to apply words with deeper meaning from then on.
As I said, Zori was a versatile character and as I see that quality
did not leave him afterwards. I know that he went on a sea voyage
lately. By the way, I was also invited to join him. He is one of those
who say: “Yes, I am of the kind of adventurers who imperil their own
lives but not othersâ~@~Y”. I think he ran the risks at the sea this
time either. And hopefully he came out as winner.
It certainly didnâ~@~Yt surprise me. I remember Zori voyaging in the
bay of Avachinsky with his friend Vyacheslav Panteleyev, captain of
a small yacht Delphin, in summer of 1972. I was lucky to join them
aboard the ship few times. Zori wrote about our voyages in his “The
White Marathon”: “It took our breath away each time we approached the
3 brothers: the 3 huge rocks sticking out of the ocean. The width of
the place where the water was of other color â~@~S true blue â~@~S
waves mightier, foam bigger and whiter drew us to itself. Our Delphin
was too small; smaller of foam waves of the Pacific”.
We were getting ready for an expedition on dog sleighs into the
tundra. Once Zori told me on the yacht that he is going to surprise
me. He asked the captain of Delphin to steer out of the bay and
asked me to sing a verse “I am walking down Moscow but I can still
cross the salty Pacific, tundra and taiga” from “Iâ~@~Ym walking down
Moscow”. Then added with faith in his intonation: “Now we will cross
the Pacific but undoubtedly weâ~@~Yll cross the tundra and taiga too”.
Few months later we crossed both tundra and taiga. That was perhaps the
most invaluable gift in my life. The words from “Iâ~@~Ym walking down
Moscow” â~@~S song that whole my country sang â~@~S turned prophetic
for me thanks to Zori.
Now, I wish Zori the most important thing: never lose your harmony
which is for me an entire philosophy. It is a life where your desires
and your abilities correspond. All the troubles people face come from
thinking that they can if they want. I am sure that Zori could stand
back from such trend and hopefully will keep on that.
Dear Zori, I congratulate you on your jubilee. I remember every day
and every hour of our journey. I was reading our diaries lately,
and I think of publishing them some day. I wish you, my brother,
to want things you can achieve. That is the true manâ~@~Ys harmony
in the world. I wish you good health.
–Boundary_(ID_BCrqtu1wnsx5MD+K2O6w7g)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Deputy FM doesn’t rule out another monitoring in occupied lands
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 9 2005
Baku, February 8, AssA-Irada – A fact-finding mission may be sent
to the occupied regions of Azerbaijan in any stage, Araz Azimov,
Deputy Foreign Minister, the President’s special envoy on the Upper
Garabagh conflict has told journalists.
Azimov did not rule out the conduct of another monitoring of illegal
settlement of Armenians in the occupied regions. “The parties to the
conflict are waiting for the OSCE fact-finding mission to prepare
a report on the results of the monitoring and it is early to give a
political assessment to the issue,” he underlined.
Azimov said that the OSCE mission has completed part of its mission
by registering the facts on illegal settlement of Armenians.*
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress