Author: Dabaghian Diana

Aftershocks of Ukraine and Georgia are stirring up rallies in Central Asia.
By Fred Weir, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
Democracy rising in ex-Soviet states
February 10, 2005
MOSCOW – The peaceful street revolts that recently brought democratic
change to Georgia and Ukraine could spawn copy-cat upheavals against
authoritarian regimes across the former Soviet Union, experts say.
Waving orange scarves and banners – the colors of Ukraine’s revolution
– dozens of Uzbeks demonstrated in the capital Tashkent last week
over the demolition of their homes to make way for border fencing.
According to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, the protest
compelled the autocratic government of Islam Karimov, widely condemned
for human rights abuses, to pay compensation.
In Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, hundreds of pro-democracy activists
rallied on Saturday to demand that upcoming parliamentary elections
be free and fair.
>> From Kyrgyzstan on the Chinese border to Moldova, where Europe’s
only ruling Communist Party faces elections next month, opposition
parties are eagerly studying Georgia’s “Rose Revolution” and Ukraine’s
“Orange Revolution,” which led to the triumph of pro-democracy
forces. Opposition groups are even selecting symbols for their banners
when the moment arrives – tulips for the Kyrgyz opposition, grapes
for Moldova’s anticommunists.
“The recent events in Ukraine have made people everywhere understand
that taking to the streets gets the authorities’ attention,” says
Tatiana Poloskova, deputy director of the independent Institute of
Modern Diaspora, which studies Russian minorities in former Soviet
countries.
Georgian President Mikhael Saakashvili and newly inaugurated Ukrainian
President Viktor Yushchenko were clearly addressing their former
Soviet colleagues last month when they hailed their revolts as the
leading edge of “a new wave of liberation that will lead to the final
victory of freedom and democracy on the continent of Europe.”
The prospect has sent shudders through the Kremlin, still smarting from
the “loss” of pro-Moscow regimes in Georgia and Ukraine, and reeling
in the face of its own grass-roots revolt by pensioners protesting
cuts in social services. For Russia, where authoritarian methods have
been taking root under President Vladimir Putin (news – web sites),
the prospect of pro-democracy rebellions sweeping the former Soviet
Union seems to threaten the underpinnings of domestic stability. The
pro-Western bent of the new regimes in Ukraine and Georgia may also
threaten the economic ties Russia has built with post-Soviet regimes
from Armenia to Uzbekistan.
First in line could be Kyrgyzstan, where any official attempt
to rig parliamentary elections slated for Feb. 27 could trigger
Ukrainian popular action. Strongman Askar Akayev, who’s ruled the tiny
central Asian state for the past 15 years, has already faced street
demonstrations over a failed attempt to ban his chief opponent from
the parliamentary race. Mr. Akayev has pledged to step down in October,
and appears to be grooming his daughter, Bermet, to succeed him. After
a recent Moscow visit with Vladimir Putin, Akayev warned that if the
opposition takes to the streets, “it would lead to civil war.”
But some Russian experts see a “Tulip Revolution” in the near
future for Kyrgyzstan, which hosts both Russian and US military
bases. “Akayev is lost,” says Alexei Malashenko, an expert with the
Carnegie Center in Moscow. “The opposition is strong, well-organized,
and has international as well as domestic backing.”
The Kremlin may fear that political ferment in Kyrgyzstan could spread
to more important allies in central Asia. The long-time leader of
oil-rich Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has fixed elections
and changed the Constitution to extend his rule, last month dissolved
the leading opposition party after it sent a delegation to Ukraine
to study the Orange Revolution. He also moved to close down a local
institute funded by global financier George Soros, who has backed
pro-democracy movements in Ukraine and elsewhere.
In Uzbekistan, which also hosts a key US military base, President
Karimov, a former Soviet politburo member, has ruled with an iron fist
since the demise of the USSR. Karimov recently jeered publicly at those
“who are dying to see that the way the elites in Georgia and Ukraine
changed becomes a model to be emulated in other countries.” He warned
bluntly: “We have the necessary force for that.”
Some experts argue that, while velvet revolution may be possible in
semi-authoritarian Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, it is a very distant
prospect in Uzbekistan because democracy and civil society are barely
developed there. Last week’s protests in Tashkent, though based on
a narrow economic issue, hint that instability may lie just beneath
the regime’s tough and orderly surface.
Uzbekistan’s gas-rich neighbor, Turkmenistan, is run by a North
Korean-style dictatorship that permits no dissent of any kind. “In
absolutely authoritarian regimes like [Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan]
the threat of ‘Orange Revolution’ is just used by the leaders to
crack down harder,” says Masha Lipman, an expert with the Carnegie
Center in Moscow. “There is no chance for the opposition to actually
organize anything, much less a revolution.”
That paradox may help to explain why Georgians were able to rally
successfully against the lethargic regime of Eduard Shevardnadze, when
it attempted to rig the 2003 parliamentary polls, while protesters
in neighboring Azerbaijan were put down when the much more efficient
dictatorship of Gaidar Aliyev imposed the succession of his son,
Ilham, through fraudulent elections just a month earlier.
Ukrainians were able to successfully mobilize against vote-rigging late
last year in part because Ukraine had relatively free institutions,
including a parliament and Supreme Court that the president was not
able to control. In next-door Belarus, which US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice (news – web sites) has labeled “the last outpost
of tyranny in Europe,” dictator Alexander Lukashenko has crushed the
opposition and banished nongovernmental organizations, and looks set
to be handily reelected in showpiece elections later this year.
But an upsurge looks increasingly likely in ex-Soviet Moldova, where
Communist President Vladimir Voronin has lost Moscow support. He faces
a strong challenge in next month’s parliamentary elections from the
pro-Western Christian Democrats, who reportedly are sporting orange
scarves and flags in the capital.
“The Kremlin suddenly finds itself severely challenged to change its
strategies, both at home and in former Soviet countries,” says Sergei
Kazyonnov, an expert with the independent Institute for National
Security and Strategic Research in Moscow. “It can go on depending
on political manipulations and under-the-carpet deals with local
elites. But it is already becoming obvious that there are just too many
different realities here, and an unworkable multiplicity of carpets.”

“Aztag” Daily Newspaper
P.O. Box 80860, Bourj Hammoud,
Beirut, Lebanon
Fax: +961 1 258529
Phone: +961 1 260115, +961 1 241274
Email: [email protected]
Revolution and Genocide: An Interview with Robert Melson
By Khatchig Mouradian
February 10, 2005
“All victims of disasters think their disaster is unique in the world. It’s
a bit like having someone very close to you die in your family; you really
don’t want someone rushing to you saying, “I’m sorry this person died, but
let me tell you that somebody else also died!” says Robert Melson in this
interview.
As a survivor of the Holocaust, Melson has reason to feel that the suffering
of his people was unique. However, trained in comparative politics, he also
finds it important to draw parallels between the Holocaust and other
Genocides. “If you’re going to have some understanding, you have to
compare,” he notes. In his book “Revolution and Genocide: On the Origins of
the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust” (University of Chicago Press,
1992), Robert Melson does exactly that.
For him, “uniqueness does not mean incomparabilty, and comparability does
not mean equivalence.”
Robert Melson has received his PhD in Political Science from MIT (1967). His
research covers genocide and ethnic conflict in plural societies. Currently,
he is the President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
His book, “Revolution and Genocide” won the PIOOM Award from Leiden
University for the best book in the field of Human Rights for 1993 and was
also nominated for the Grawemeyer award. His other publications include,
“False Papers: Deception and Survival in the Holocaust” and “Nigeria:
Modernization and the Politics of Communalism” (with Howard Wolpe).
In this interview, conducted by phone on January 13, 2005, we discuss a
number of issues related to genocide.
Aztag-You define genocide as “a policy initiative that uses massacre and
other means to eliminate a communal group or social class from a social
structure.” This definition is, as you yourself have noted, both wider than
the UN definition and narrower. Why did you opt for this specific
definition?
Robert Melson- Well, what I was trying to do is to solve the problem of the
UN Convention (on Genocide). Many argue that the UN definition is too
narrow, because it doesn’t include political and socio-economic groups. It
is also argued that the definition is too broad because it doesn’t make a
distinction between genocide in whole and genocide in part. My definition
takes into consideration both criticisms. However, I’m not fixated on
definitions; What I’m really interested in is the process, the reality of
what leads to genocide and what stops genocide. Genocide, to me, is a
planned wide-scale destruction of innocent human beings in its largest
sense, and what I was doing in the book was trying to be scholarly and more
exact as far as definitions are concerned, but it’s not the most important
thing.
Aztag- In one of your lectures, you say, “My parents began to discover the
truth about what had happened to the jewish people, but it was knowledge
without understanding.” Was it the need to “make sense of the insensible”
that shaped your research interests?
Robert Melson- Yes, I think that’s a good way of putting it. I’m trained as
a political scientist, and as I was doing political research I found that on
the one hand I was practicing my profession and on the other hand, what was
uppermost on my mind and what was most worrying to me was my past; the
Holocaust, the destruction of my family. So the personal solution for me was
to bring my research and my thinking in line with my interest and that’s
what I did; I have to say that it took a number of years to work this out.
Aztag- And why is this “understanding” important for a survivor of genocide?
Robert Melson- That’s a very good question. Understanding doesn’t bring
anybody back to life, I’m not even sure understanding helps to prevent
future genocides –although people have stressed that without understanding,
prevention is not possible. At its most fundamental psychological basis,
without understanding you’re at the mercy of the past; you feel that you
have no control over it, you feel that you’re victimized by it. Although
understanding does not start a process of rebuilding the past, or bringing
back the people who are victimized, but at least it gives you some control
over your own thoughts. Understanding is, in a way, a selfish process, it’s
a way of dealing with your own crisis. I guess the analogy would be someone
who has a serious illness –let’s say cancer– and knows it’s a terminal
cancer. One of the things he would do is to try to understand cancer; this
won’t make the cancer go away, but the understanding helps him to deal with
it. Maybe that’s as good as an answer as I can give you.
Aztag- What about comparing?
Robert Melson- I’m not a historian, I’m not a sociologist and i’m not a
psychologist; I do comparative politics. So I naturally use the methodology
and the approaches that I’ve been trained with, and I happen to think that
it’s the best way. I think that is the way; if you’re going to have some
understanding, you have to compare. Comparison is, in a way, the basis of
all science. Without it, you can’t understand or even measure something! You
have too have a reference point; how big is the lamp that is on my desk? The
question is, “compared to what?”
Aztag- And being a Holocaust survivor and a researcher of the Holocaust,
there is the sensitive issue of uniqueness, which can make comparison a
harder endeavor, can’t it?
Robert Melson- I guess all victims of disasters think their disaster is
unique in the world. It’s a bit like having someone very close to you die in
your family, you really don’t want someone rushing to you saying, “I’m sorry
this person died, but let me tell you that somebody else also died!” You’re
not in the mood for that; it’s not appropriate. However, if you’re a
physician and you’re trying to understand a disease, you look for different
cases of this disease –again going back to the notion of comparison–to be
able to see under what conditions does this disease manifest itself.
Some parts of the Jewish community have been sensitive to the issue of
comparison, both because the Holocaust was recent and so many people were
affected by it, but there is another reason the uniqueness issue came up for
the Jews; very often they were told “Well, yes, it’s terrible that there was
Holocaust, but many other people have suffered, so don’t make such a big
fuss about it, be normal like everybody else.” And the honest reaction has
been “Give us a chance to grieve a little bit! Give us a chance to bury our
dead before you tell us to become normal.” So there was a kind of an
emotional reaction toward the comparison. But by now – we’re not in 1955 –
by 2005, with the Cambodian and Rwandan Genocide and with increased
awareness on the Armenian Genocide, I think most people do recognize that
there are more things in the world than one particular people being
destroyed.
Aztag- Can you please briefly explain the argument you present in
“Revolution and Genocide”?
Robert Melson- The main points are both in the introduction and the
conclusion of the book. I was trying to compare the Armenian Genocide and
the Holocaust, and I was trying to look not only into the ideology of the
Young Turks or of the Nazis, but also the circumstances under which both of
these Genocides occured. A revolutionary transformation that occured in the
Ottoman Empire with the coup against Abdul Hamid, and the circumstances were
WWI. And then if you look at the Holocaust, it was the coming to power of
Hitler which was also a kind of a revolution – he made it quite clear that
he was a revolutionary and that the Nazis were revolutionaries – and the
circumstances were WWII. So in both cases you have revolutionaries coming to
power and then a genocide occuring during wartime.
And then a question comes up: Why? What is it about revolution and wartime
that can, under certain circumstances, lead to genocide? I think the simple
idea behind it is that revolutionaries try to transform their societies in
profound ways, and one way to transform a society is to eliminate groups
that don’t fit into the identity that the revolutionaries would like their
society to have. And what war does is that it enables these radical measures
to take place, because wars close off societies and they call for military
solutions to social problems. Now it’s not true that every revolution leads
to genocide – the American Revolution didn’t lead to genocide, the English
Revolution didn’t lead to genocide – but under some conditions, some
revolutions do lead to genocide. Similarly, not all genocides are products
of revolutions. The destruction of Native Americans and the destructions of
peoples in Africa were products of Imperialism, not revolution.
Aztag- When I was reading your book, I kept thinking about other cases of
genocide, the Cambodian Genocide, the Rwandan Genocide…
Robert Melson- Yes, I just wrote and article about this in the book “The
Specter of Genocide” edited by Robert Gellately and Ben Kiernan. In that
chapter, what I do is extend the analysis from the Armenian Genocide and the
Holocaust to Rwanda. And again we have the pattern of revolution in the
1950s – the revolution in 1959 – and the Hutu coming to power, displacing
the Tutsi, articulating a racialist ideology, the Hamitic ideology claims
that the Tutsis were not originally a part of the nation, that they had come
from Somalia or Ethiopia and, therefore, they ought not to have any power
and they ought to be demoted from any postions that they have; very soon
after, massacres occured. When you talk to people in Rwanda, they tell you
that the genocide did not start in 1994, noting that the process of the
genocide started in 1959. The war was the war between RPF (the Rwanda
Patriotic Front) starting in 1990. Therefore, again, in Rwanda you have the
conditions of revolution and war leading to genocide.
Aztag- What about Darfur? The events that have lately caused the
displacement of more than a million people and the death of thousands of
others; many are calling what is happening there genocide, others are
falling short of using the word.
Robert Melson- Again, I know that president Bush and the US Congress have
used the term “genocide”, then again, if you go back to the UN definition,
it talks about genocide in part and genocide in whole. Genocide in whole
means extermination; this is what happened to the Tutsis, the Armenians, and
the Jews in Europe. I think in Darfur there is genocide, but it’s more like
ethnic cleansing, it resembles more what happened in Yugoslavia, where
people were being driven out and were being “punished” for political
activities; this is not a planned extermination, but it’s bad enough! Tens
of thousands people have been killed already, and if there’s not enough
support, more people will be killed, so it is a genocide in part, but it is
not the kind of extermination that I wrote about.
Aztag- When talking about the causes of the Armenian Genocide, Dadrian and
Suny do give a minimal credit to the “provocation thesis”, according to
which the actions of the Armenians caused the perpetrators to react with
violence, but you completely dismiss it.
Robert Melson- I think the difference between Dadrian and Suny and me is a
matter of emphasis. We all recognize that there were Armenian bands, that
Russian troops committed atrocities against Turkish villagers in the Eastern
Vilayets and so on. The real question is: Did these provocations cause
genocide? Bernard Lewis and Turkish “explainers” argue that the provocations
were the basis of genocide. My argument was rather simple, in any
provocation, whether it’s the Armenian genocide or when you’re provoked by a
colleague at work, how you react doesn’t depend on the provocation, it
depends on you– what you are thinking , what your attitude is towards your
colleague. Your action is not an automatic reaction to the provocation. If
you’re walking down the hall, and a colleague accidentally bumps into you,
and you push him hard, your reaction is not automatically a product of his
action. It’s a product of you being mad that morning or disliking that
person or being an aggressive person yourself. Consequently, to understand
the actions of any person who is conducting violence you have to understand
what motivates that person; it’s not enough to look at what the victim has
done. The victim might have done something, or the victim might have done
nothing. That’s it, that’s really the basis of the argument. So what I was
trying to argue is “let’s look at what was happening to the Young Turks,
what was going through their minds, rather than what the Armenians were
doing.”
Aztag- You say in one of your papers that people sometimes emphesize the
nationalism of the Armenians without looking at the nationalism of the
Turks.
Robert Melson- Exactly. I mean, sure, there was nationalism – the Dashnaks,
the Henchaks- yeah, there were nationalist movements. but what about the
Turks?
Bernard Lewis’s book “The Emergence of The Modern Turkey” is a wonderful
book, a great book, but when it comes to the Armenian Genocide, his
treatment is very strange. It’s as if somehow the Turks became some kind of
an automatic pilot, and had no conceptions of their own, no ideology of
their own. Their ideology was nationalism, of course.
Aztag- What are your research interests currently?
Robert Melson- Well, since then, I’ve thought about the Rwandan Genocide and
I wrote that article on that. I’ve also written a memoir of my family’s
experiences during the war, it’s called “False Papers.”
Lately, I’ve been thinking about prevention. At some point, one has to
think, “This analysis should be helpful, it should lead to helpful
policies”. Therefore, in terms of the study of genocide, I’ve become
interested in the question of prevention and the question of resistance.
These are two questions I’ve been thinking about, and, probably, will write
about comparatively, using the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, and the
Rwandan genocide.
I teach a course here on the Holocaust and Genocide, and very often, one of
the questions the students ask me is: “Why didn’t these people resist being
killed?” And my answer is: “Because they were not prepared to resist. They
were not an armed population, and they were being attacked by an armed
organisation; usually it takes a while to organise resistance, and by the
time that while has passed by, it’s too late, most of the people are already
dead.
Aztag- What cases of resistance do you have in mind?
Robert Melson- Exactly. For example the resistance at Van, or the resistance
at the Warsaw Ghetto, the resistance in parts of Rwanda. In some cases there
was resistance, in many cases there was none! And very often what the
victims do is they blame themselves, or they blame their culture.
The very same generation that suffered the Holocaust has been accused of
being too aggressive, too armed, and too expansive. On the one hand, it’s
too passive, on the other hand it’s too aggressive. so I don’t think that
cultural explanation is very good, I think a better explanation is the
situational/structural explanation; people who don’t expect to be killed are
not prepared to resist, and therefore, they won’t resist! And it’s a kind of
a waste of time to look at the culture and try to explain, in that context,
why they don’t resist. So that’s my thesis.
There have been heavy-duty studies of Jewish cultures, of how, for
centuries, the Jews looked the other way while violence was meted out to
them, because they had no chance to resist, just like the Armenians in the
Ottoman Empire.
The fact of the matter is that, if people can get organised, and if they can
get weapons, they resist.
Aztag- This can also make the provocation thesis less and less sustainable,
doesn’t it?
Robert Melson- That’s a good way of putting it. If people are so
provocative, why didn’t they resist? And that’s right! I mean, that’s a very
good point that you’re making, at the same time people are accused of
provoking the genocide, and they’re also accused of being passive and not
resisting. The other thing is this whole issue of denial. They provoked the
genocide, they were too passive, but of course, there was no genocide! It’s
a wonderful package of demonizing and humiliating the victims all over
again. First they’re killed, then they’re told they were killed because they
provoked the killing, then they’re told they should have resisted, then
they’re told they weren’t killed! It’s a great package!
Aztag- Historians and political scientists often speak about comparative
genocide as a way of understanding and then being able to prevent genocide.
But the fact of the matter is that we say “Never Again” and then we have it
again and again and again, so how helpful is it? Isn’t everything in the end
about real politics? One might think: “No matter how much you compare and
analyze, you won’t change much, because everything boils down to real
politics and the interests of superpowers.”
Robert Melson- Well I think there’s a grain of truth in what you’re saying.
In Samantha Power’s book “A problem from Hell: America and the age of
Genocide”, the basic argument is that it’s not an accident that the United
State does not prevent genocide; it doens’t want to prevent genocide, unless
its interests, as you put it, are immediately hurt. It doens’t want to risk
its people, it doens’t want to risk its wealth. We have beautiful words, we
have beautiful sentiments but nothing much happens, and the best example of
that is Rwanda, because the Holocaust occured under conditions of World War,
and so did the Armenian Genocide and it was very hard to intervene. However,
in Rwanda, a few battalions of US Marines could have prevented the whole
business. The Real Politic played an important role.
I guess scholars and researchers contribute a little bit, but they cannot
substitute their decision making for the decision making of people in power.
I think what they can show is that there are signs, that a genocidal
situation is developing, and that prevention in an early stage is not that
expensive. It’s not necessarilly the sending in of troops and of having a
loss of life on the part of those people who are saving others. For example
in the Rwandan Genocide, there was call for genocide on the radio and the US
and the UN didn’t want to jam that radio for example. There were public
statements made by people in power threatening genocide, no one reacted to
it, no one said “look, we’re going to impose severe sanctions on you, we’re
going to freeze your external balances, bank accounts”.
There are many things that can be done if people pay attention to signs, to
warning signs, and I think that this is where scholars can be useful. What
are the some warning signs that a genocide is about to occur? I do think
that if you have a deeply divided society that’s undergoing a revolution,
heading into war, I think those are warning signs; people can pay attention
to it or not pay attention to it, but at least as a scholar, you can say
“look, why don’t you pay attention to that early and not before it’s too
late?” That’s where you can be helpful, but of course, our influence is
limited. I’m a professor, I type! I don’t command armies!
Aztag- And you might also help create greater awareness…
Robert Melson- Sure, sure. The world is complicated, it’s not only real
politique. Out there, there is a worldwide human rights sensitivity, people
do react to, for example, the Tsunami. You have the tsunami in Indonesia and
Sri Lanka, the world got mobilized around this right away, millions of
dollars were spent to help people and so on…Why wasn’t this mobilization
there for when Rwanda occured? So there is a human rights movement, it’s
almost like an anti-slavery movement in the 19th century, in the 20th and
the 21st century there are lot of people around the world who are concerned
about these things and they can be mobilized for action and they should be
mobilized for an action, but there’s also Real Politique; people who are in
power define things narrowly, and they pay attention to public opinion, they
pay attention to the costs of actions, and if the actions are expensive in
terms of money and lives they won’t do it. If the actions are not so
expensive, and there was public pressure to do something, they might do
something, I’m stressing the obvious here, I think.
–Boundary_(ID_ooAlgermr6kV3gSq8sQcyQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Feb 5 2005
FOREIGN MINISTER OF AZERBAIJAN VISITING CHINA
[February 05, 2005, 13:10:18]
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Azerbaijan Republic Elmar
Mammadyarov is on an official visit in the People’s Republic of
China. On February 4, Mr. Mammadyarov met his Chinese counterpart Li
Zhaoxing.
Welcoming foreign minister of Azerbaijan, Li Zhaoxing noted that all
necessary preparatory works are underway for the upcoming official
visit of the Azerbaijan President to this country. Reminding his
visit to Baku a few times ago, Mr. Zhaoxing said he has good
impressions of his meetings in Azerbaijan.
Expressing his gratitude for cordial reception, Elmar Mammadyarov
underlined that the visit of his Chinese colleague to Azerbaijan
would play significant role in the bilateral relations in the years
ahead. Noting that President of Azerbaijani Republic Ilham Aliyev has
with great pleasure accepted the invitation of the Chairman of the
People’s Republic of China Hu Jintao, Mr. Mammadyarov expressed
confidence this visit would give strong impetus to bilateral links
between the two countries. `Our political relations will continue in
the atmosphere of mutual understanding and they will have certain
impact on our economic links either’, Mr. Mammadyarov emphasized.
Foreign minister of Chinese Republic Li Zhaoxing requested his
Azerbaijani colleague to convey greetings of the Chairman of the
People’s Republic of China Hu Jintao to the President of the Republic
of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Head of the foreign policy department of
Azerbaijan Republic said bilateral relations are the priority in the
current policy of Azerbaijan in regard with China.
The Chinese foreign minister thanked for unambiguous position in the
question of single China, reiterating that the State of China
supports the position of Azerbaijan in its fair cause – the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, backs its sovereignty
and territorial integrity. Noting that currently there are all
conditions in Azerbaijan for business activity, Li Zhaoxing said
evidence to that is the opportunities created for the Chinese
companies in Baku.
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said the State of Azerbaijan pays great
attention to acquiring certain agreement in elimination of double
taxation, reduction of customs dues, expansion of trade-economics
ties, involvement of investments, other contacts in the
telecommunications, humanitarian, cultural and transport spheres
which will be in focus during the visit of the head of the Azerbaijan
State to China. The Chinese minister said his country is interested
in construction of the Tbilisi-Gras railway in the frame of TRACECA
program and the Chinese side stands ready to carry out consultations
at the level of specialists.
Expressing hope for further cooperation in the frame of international
organizations, the Chinese minister said China has supported and
would support Azerbaijan in its admission to the World Trade
Organization. Reminding on grants China provided for Azerbaijan
Republic, Mr. Li Zhaoxing highly evaluated the country’s intention to
use these credit for construction of commercial center of China in
Baku. Saying his county is interested also in transport cooperation
with Azerbaijan, the Chinese minister reminded on experience of China
in this field and stressed necessity of conducting relevant
consultations.
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov informed that as a result of aggression of
Armenia against Azerbaijan the railway communication with Nakhchivan
– the integral part of the Republic – has been stopped. Having
touched the meetings which have been carried out between Ministers of
Foreign Affairs of two countries in connection with settlement of the
conflict, Elmar Mammadyarov has expressed gratitude for the
invariance position of China in the given question and support of
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. He informed that in connection
with artificial settlement by the Armenian side of the population on
the occupied territories, the OSCE fact-finding mission has visited
region.
The same day, minister Elmar Mammadyarov has met the Vice-Premier of
China Huang Ju.
Mr. Huang Ju, having noted, that is glad to official visit of Elmar
Mammadyarov to China, has emphasized, that the diplomatic relations
established from 1992 between Azerbaijan and China day by day
develop, and intensive visits carried out between two countries play
a special role in strengthening of these relations. Highly having
estimated stable position of Azerbaijan in regional questions, Huang
Ju has noted, that his state is interested in development of
relations between two countries in all spheres, including in the
field of economy. The Vice-Premier has expressed confidence that due
to expedient policy spent by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham
Aliyev, social stability, economic development in the country achieve
higher level. The Vice-Premier, with deep satisfaction having
recollected that the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev paid
to relations with China special attention and in March 1994 has made
official visit to his country, has expressed hope that official visit
of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to China would bring in
the positive contribution to relations between political leaders of
two countries.
Having emphasized the mutual understanding existing between two
countries at a high political level, minister Elmar Mammadyarov has
noted importance of continuation of these relations and within the
framework of the international organizations. Having touched the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and especially having
noted, that as a result of the conflict and occupations of the
country’s territories, one million citizens of Azerbaijan have been
expelled from the native lands and have turned to refugees and IDPs,
the Minister has once again expressed gratitude for support of the
fair position of Azerbaijan by China in the given question.
As to development of links in the field of economy, Mr. Elmar
Mammadyarov has noted necessity of strengthening of relations for
such important spheres, as agro-business, petro-chemistry, tourism.
Having reminded about Olympic games in 2008 in China, the Minister
has emphasized importance of development for this period of relations
and in the field of sports.
Then, the Vice-Premier of China has especially noted that there are
favorable circumstances for the further continuation of cooperation
with Azerbaijan in the field of energy carriers. Having ascertained
that Azerbaijan shows special interest to work forthcoming within the
framework of TRACECA program, Mr. Huang Ju has emphasized that the
Chinese side would use the best efforts in this field.
The same day, Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov has met
the deputy foreign minister of China Dai Binguo, and having noted,
that is glad to see the Minister in China, has emphasized, that
cooperation between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of two
countries would bring good results. Having touched the
transformations, which have occurred in China for last twenty years,
he has noted, that all this has appeared after reform of
transparency.
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, having informed, that spoke with the
Chinese colleague about expansion of economic relations and
importance of closer links at a bilateral level for high development
of these connections, also informed on the detailed conversation
connected to restoration of transport infrastructure of Azerbaijan
which he has carried out at the meeting with official representatives
of Sintzian – Uygur autonomous province. Especially having
emphasized, that in case of realization of the question, it will
render positive influence on relations of Azerbaijan with the western
region of China, the Minister has noted interest of both sides in
construction of the terminal at the Heydar Aliyev International
Airport in Baku.
Highly having estimated absence between two countries of disagreement
in opinions, the deputy foreign minister of China has expressed
confidence that Azerbaijan will remain the friend of China.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov informed that after
gaining independence, the Republic of Azerbaijan has passed to free
market economy, it realizes wide programs of privatization, that due
to the policy spent by President Ilham Aliyev, have been opened new
workplaces. Having emphasized importance of development of the
non-oil sector, the Minister has noted that cooperation with China in
this area would bring positive results. Having declared that
Azerbaijan supports peace settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Minister has emphasized importance of
solution of the problem as a result of joint efforts of the
international community.
Having expressed hope for settlement of the conflict on the basis of
principles of justice, the deputy foreign minister of China has
noted, that his country supports territorial integrity and
sovereignty of Azerbaijan.
The same day, Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has given interview to the
Chinese news agency ” Xinxua” and agency ” Interfax ” about results
of the visit.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
Feb 4 2005
SPEAKER OF AZERBAIJAN PARLIAMENT INVITES HIS FRENCH COUNTERPART TO
VISIT AZERBAIJAN
APPROPRIATE LETTER OF INVITATION WAS PRESENTED TO THE FRENCH
AMBASSADOR IN BAKU
[February 04, 2005, 22:48:14]
Speaker of Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan Republic Murtuz Alaskarov on
February 4 has received ambassador of France in Azerbaijan Rolan
Blatman.
Noting high level of the relations between two countries, Mr.
Alaskarov said the heads of states have great role in this. After the
visit of the nationwide leader of Azerbaijan people Heydar Aliyev to
France in 1993, the negotiations he carried out there, the bilateral
relations acquired higher level. That visit of Azerbaijan President
has defined perspectives of Azerbaijani-French relations. Due to
this, the parliamentary links also develop successfully, the Speaker
said.
Then, Chairman of Milli Majlis updated on the Armenia-Azerbaijan,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He, in particular, noted that despite of
the Resolutions of the UN Security Council, the Council of Europe and
the demand of other international organizations, neither the said
structures nor the OSCE Minsk Group directly engaged in the problem
do not impose sharp sanction against the aggressor. We hope France,
as a co-chair of Minsk Group, will increase its efforts in this
direction, Mr. Alaskarov underlined.
Ambassador Rolan Blatman said his country adheres peaceful settlement
of the conflict. He had widely discussed the question in his recent
meeting with the president of Azerbaijan. We are interested in
all-round relations with Azerbaijan, he stressed. The diplomat also
informed that the French Cultural Center would open shortly in Baku.
At the same time, the parliamentary friendship groups of two
countries will hold a meeting in the capital of Azerbaijan. Speaker
of the French Parliament also wished to take part at the actions. In
mid-year, a meeting of the inter-governmental commission is expected
in Paris. In 2005, the Days of France will pass in Azerbaijan and the
Days of Azerbaijan – in France.
Speaker of Azerbaijan Parliament invited his French counterpart to
visit Azerbaijan and conveyed appropriate letter of invitation to the
Ambassador.
In the meeting, also were exchanged views on a number of questions of
mutual interest.

ZHVANIA’S DEATH CREATES VOID IN GEORGIAN REFORM TEAM
Eurasia Insight
EurasiaNet.org
2/03/05
By Elizabeth Owen
Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania’s untimely death deals a severe blow to
Georgia’s reform process. Political analysts have expressed concern that
the loss of Zhvania’s political and administrative skills will damage
the Georgian’s government’s cohesiveness and diminish its
policy-implementation ability.
Seeking to keep potential disruption to a minimum, President Mikheil
Saakashvili moved quickly to fill the political void, announcing
February 3 that he would assume Zhvania’s duties on an interim basis.
`I, as the President of Georgia, will assume the leadership of the
executive authorities,’ Saakashvili said.
`It is very important to maintain order and discipline in the country. I
want to warn everybody that all those who violate order and discipline
will be answerable before the law,’ Saakashvili continued. `We fully
control the situation, we are a strong state, we are a strong nation and
we will manage to resolve [our] problems.’
The heads of various ministries also attempted to project a sense of
stability, stressing on February 3 that the government was operating
normally. For example, State Minister for Economic Reforms Kakha
Bendukidze emphasized during a news conference that economic policy
would continue. `All the plans regarding the further liberalization of
the economy will be carried out,’ he said.
Georgian law gives Saakashvili seven days to name a new prime minister.
The nominated prime minister will then have ten days to assemble a new
cabinet, which will then be presented to parliament for approval.
Finding a suitable replacement will prove a major challenge for the
Saakashvili administration, observers say. `Zhvania was really running
the country and implementing policies and it’s very hard to find someone
who can be a political heavyweight and function in the same [manner],’
said Ghia Nodia, director of the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy
and Development.
While Saakashvili brought charisma to the reform movement that swept
into power following the 2003 Rose Revolution, he relied heavily on
Zhvania to supply the administrative details. `I don’t think there will
be a change in policy because Saakashvili was still the main person who
defined policy,’ Nodia said. `But the quality of implementation is the
major concern in this case.’
The new prime minister, Nodia added, will not have the same political
clout that Zhvania had. `There will be a prime minister, but a much
politically weaker prime minister,’ Nodia said.
Legal and political expert David Usupashvili suggested that Saakashvili
had a special political relationship with Zhvania that will be virtually
impossible to duplicate. `The individual functions between the president
and the prime minister were in many ways the result of a political
agreement between these two politicians,’ said Usupashvili, who was one
of the critics of the 2004 revisions to the Georgian constitution that
amplified the president’s powers. `It will be very difficult for
Saakashvili to find a replacement who could fit in this model, which was
designed for two concrete politicians.’
Since Saakashvili’s administration came to power in January 2004, it has
pursued an ambitious program designed to erase Georgia’s chaotic
post-Soviet legacy. The government has aggressively pursued efforts to
reintegrate the country and root out corruption. At the same time, the
government has acted to change Georgia’s geopolitical course, breaking
away from Russia’s sphere of influence and seeking to join Western
economic and security structures.
Zhvania had been a high-profile figure in Georgia’s privatization
process, especially in the state’s sale of `strategic’ properties.
Outside observers had questioned the responsibility taken on by Zhvania,
but in an earlier interview with EurasiaNet, First Deputy Economy
Minister Natia Turnava described the prime minister’s role as `critical’
to the potential success of the privatization process. On January 31,
the prime minister announced the sale of the Georgian Ocean Shipping
Company to Armstrong Holdings Corp. for $161 million. The announcement
came one day after he had mistakenly named another company, the
British-Australian firm ASP Ship Management, as the buyer.
Zhvania’s also exerted considerable influence in Georgia’s longstanding
tussles with the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The
prime minister was widely seen in Georgia as heading a `party of peace,’
favoring a gradual reconciliation policy with the separatist
territories. In pursuing a go-slow approach, Zhvania had faced
opposition from cabinet `hawks,’ including recently named Defense
Minister Irakli Okruashvili, who, in his previous capacity as interior
minister, led Georgian troops into an ultimately unsuccessful foray into
South Ossetia in August 2004.
`He [Zhvania] spared no efforts to cease the Georgian aggression in the
summer of 2004,’ South Ossetian separatist leader Eduard Kokoiti said in
a press statement. `We hope that his death will not affect the process
of [peace] talks.’
Without Zhvania, noted Usupashvili, the `balancing act’ between
ministers who owed their political loyalties to Saakashvili and Zhvania
will be harder to maintain. That conflict most recently came to light in
December, when State Minister for European Integration Giorgi Baramidze,
a Zhvania protégé and former defense minister, publicly sparred with
Okruashvili, a Saakashvili protégé. Okruashvili recently replaced
Baramidze as defense minister amid an investigation of reported
corruption within the Defense Ministry.
`Zhvania’s group and Saakashvili’s group had some internal intrigues and
checks and balances,’ Usupashvili said. `I don’t think anyone can
replace Zhvania as the leader of Zhvania’s political group.’
Editor’s Note: Elizabeth Owen is EurasiaNet.org’s regional news
coordinator in Tbilisi.

Saakashvili Personally Assumes PM Duties
Civil Georgia (Tbilisi)
2005-02-03
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on February 3 that he will
assume the Prime Minister’s responsibilities in the wake of the death of
Zurab Zhvania early on Thursday.
`I, as the President of Georgia, will assume the leadership of the
executive authorities. I instruct the members of the government to
return to their work places and work in a usual regime. I, as the
Commander in Chief , instruct the law enforcement agencies and the army
to continue performing their functions,’ the President said after
visiting the newly built Holly Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi on February 3.
`It is very important to maintain order and discipline in the country. I
want to warn everybody that all those who violate order and discipline
will be answerable before the law. We fully control the situation, we
are a strong state, we are strong nation and we will manage to settle
the problems,’ President Saakashvili added.

ARKA News Agency
Feb 3 2005
RA Government to send a group of doctors in Indonesia
RA Foreign Minister presents condolences to Georgian people
RA President considers the role of Zurab Jvania in deepening of
century-long friendship between Armenia and Georgia invaluable
RA Prime Minister presents his condolences to Georgian Government on
the occasion of decease of Zurab Jvania
`Gender Equality in Labor. mass media’s Role’ seminar to be held in
Yerevan on Feb 8
Armenia one of leading nations in Eurasia, US Department of State
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian to leave for Equatorial
Guinea on February 20
*********************************************************************
RA GOVERNMENT TO SEND A GROUP OF DOCTORS IN INDONESIA
YEREVAN, February 3. /ARKA/. RA Government will send a group of
doctors in Indonesia for provision of assistance to the population
suffered from disaster, RA Government press office told ARKA.
To organize the trip, RA Government provided 8 million AMD from its
reserve fund to Ministry of Healthcare.
Note earlier RA Government provided 25 million AMD for provision of
assistance to citizens of Sri-Lanka. ($1 – 473.16 AMD). L.D. –0 –
*********************************************************************
RA FOREIGN MINISTER PRESENTS CONDOLENCES TO GEORGIAN PEOPLE
YEREVAN, February 3. /ARKA/. RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian
presented condolences to Georgian people on the occasion of decease
of Georgian PM Zurab Jvania, RA MFA told ARKA. `The news shocked
everyone, especially to consider that we had to meet with Jvania this
evening. I have no words to express the deepness of a loss’, Oskanian
stated. `During all his activity Jvanian expressed himself as
serious, responsible and reliable partner’, Oskanian said. L.D. –0 –
*********************************************************************
RA PRESIDENT CONSIDERS THE ROLE OF ZURAB JVANIA IN DEEPENING OF
CENTURY-LONG FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN ARMENIA AND GEORGIA INVALUABLE
YEREVAN, February 3. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian presented
condolences to the President of Georgia Mihail Sahakashvili on the
occasion of decease of Georgian PM Zurab Jvania, President press
office told ARKA. The president said that the role of Zurab Jvania in
deepening of century-long friendship between Armenia and Georgia
invaluable. `Grieving with you, from the name of all Armenian people
and myself personally present our condolences to relatives and
friends of Jvania’, the telegram says. L.D. –0 –
*********************************************************************
RA PRIME MINISTER PRESENTS HIS CONDOLENCES TO GEORGIAN GOVERNMENT ON
THE OCCASION OF DECEASE OF ZURAB JVANIA
YEREVAN, February 3. /ARKA/. RA Prime Minister Andranik Margarian
presented his condolences to Georgian Government on the occasion of
decease of Georgian PM Zurab Jvania, RA Government told ARKA. `In
this difficult moment, grieving with you, present our condolences to
relatives and friends of Jvania’, the telegram says. L.D. –0 –
*********************************************************************
`GENDER EQUALITY IN LABOR. MASS MEDIA’S ROLE’ SEMINAR TO BE HELD IN
YEREVAN ON FEB 8
YEREVAN, February 3. /ARKA/. `Gender Equality in Labor. Mass Medias’
Role’ seminar will be held in Yerevan on Feb 8. As Armenian Labor and
Social Affairs Ministry told ARKA, the seminar is organized jointly
with World Labor Organization Eastern Europe and Central Asian
sub-regional office. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
ARMENIA ONE OF LEADING NATIONS IN EURASIA, US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
YEREVAN, February 3. /ARKA/. Due its political and economic reforms
Armenia is one of the leading nations in Eurasia, as it is stated in
report `US Financial Aid to Armenia in 2004′ published by Europe and
Eurasia Bureau of the US Department of State. The report reminds that
Armenia was chosen as a country that will be provided grants in the
frames of Millennium Challenges program. In the last year the US
Government provided to Armenia financial aid in the amount of USD
89.7 mln. `Despite this and the economic growth ordinary citizens
still need more incomes’, the report mentions. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VARDAN OSKANIAN TO LEAVE FOR EQUATORIAL
GUINEA ON FEBRUARY 20
YEREVAN, February 3. /ARKA/. Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanian will leave for Equatorial Guinea for clarifying
circumstances of case of related to the charged Armenian pilots
accused in coup d’etat in that country, as Armenian Foreign Ministry
Press and Information Department told ARKA.
To remind that on November 26, 2004 the court of Malabo, the capital
of Equatorial Guinea sentenced the Armenian pilots accused of coup
d’etat to imprisonment of 14 to 24 years.
Six Armenian pilots on the base of a business agreement signed
between the KAL German Company have stayed in the capital of
Equatorial Guinea- Malabo since January 2004 for the exploitation of
AN-12 airplane, registered in Armenia. On March 7, in the evening the
Armenian pilots as well as the representative of the above mentioned
German organization were arrested in Malabo. The authorities of the
Equatorial Guinea accused the Armenian pilots in organizing an
attempt of coup d’etat as mercenaries in the country. They are also
accused of espionage. T.M. -0–

Azeri diplomats urge British Foreign Office to explain travel warning
ANS TV, Baku
2 Feb 05
[Presenter] The British ambassador has been summoned to the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry to discuss the description of Nagornyy
Karabakh and the occupied territories as a disputed area between
Azerbaijan and Armenia and also reports characterizing Azerbaijan as a
dangerous country posted on the web site of the British Foreign
Office. Baku hopes that the British Foreign Office will correct its
mistake soon.
[Correspondent over video of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry] British
ambassador to Azerbaijan Lawrence Bristow was summoned to the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. The ambassador was asked to give an
explanation of the British Foreign Office’s appeal posted on its web
site to British citizens over a potential threat of terror in
Azerbaijan.
The head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s press service, Matin
Mirza, said that the ambassador assured Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign
Minister Vaqif Sadixov that the issue will be clarified. Deputy
Foreign Minister Araz Azimov and British ambassador Bristow also
discussed the issue. Azimov said that the ambassador himself was
surprised at the warning.
[Azimov, speaking to journalists] He told me that it is
unfounded. Perhaps the issue will be looked into. This simply happened
as a result of someone’s inaccuracy or provocation.
[Correspondent] The deputy foreign minister said that Britain and
Azerbaijan have no problems and he is convinced that British citizens
living in Azerbaijan will reject the warning on the web site of the
British Foreign Office. Azimov is sure that the British Foreign
Office will correct its mistake soon.
[Passage omitted: reported details]
Baxtiyar Salimov, Ramin Yaqubov, ANS.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER EXPRESSES CAREFUL OPTIMISM IN CONNECTION WITH
RESOLUTION OF KARABAKH CONFLICT
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2. ARMINFO. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
considers that there are all the grounds for a careful optimism in
connection with settlement of the Karabakh conflict, especially taking
into account the reactivated bilateral meetings of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani foreign ministers. Minister Lavrov made this statement
talking to journalists Tuesday on his arrival in Baku.
Lavrov
said. he added. The minister noted that he
intended to discuss the whole complex of bilateral relations in Baku
and the international agenda, in particular “the reforms at CIS.”

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Jan 29 2005
AMBASSADORS OF GERMANY AND GREECE PRESENT COPY OF THEIR CREDENTIALS
TO FOREIGN MINISTER OF AZERBAIJAN
[January 29, 2005, 17:53:36]
Minister of foreign affairs of the Azerbaijan Republic Elmar
Mammadyarov on January 28 has met the newly appointed ambassadors of
the Federative Republic of Germany and Greece to the country Detlet
Lingeman and Themistokles Dimidis, who presented copy of their
credentials.
Congratulating the new ambassadors, the Minister expressed hope that
they would make every effort to develop the relations between
Azerbaijan and their countries.
Expressing pleasure of his appointment as ambassador to Azerbaijan,
ambassador Detlet Lingeman said he would do hi best to develop the
German-Azerbaijani relations.
Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan updated the German diplomat on
socio-political situation in the country, also informed on occupation
of 20 percent of lands of the country by the Armenian armed forces,
on illegal settlement of population in the occupied territories,
which contradicts requirement of the international Geneva Convention.
Speaking of Azerbaijan’s integration to the Euro-Atlantic structures,
Mr. Mammadyarov said occupation of the territories is a great
obstacle on this way.
Ambassador Themistokles Dimidis said to do most effective to serve
the bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Greece.
Speaking of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Greece, in particular,
in the energy sphere, Minister Mammadyarov said this cooperation is
of great importance from the point of view of strategic-geographic
position of both countries.
In the meeting, also were exchanged views on a number of issues of
mutual interest.