Author: Dabaghian Diana

The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario)
October 19, 2004 Tuesday Final Edition
The state is a powerful killing machine
by RICHARD HAALBOOM
To start off the 21st century, 9/11 of 2001 has become the most
notorious calendar date in the Western world. For most of the
remainder of this century, 9/11 will continue to stand out as a day
of horror, a day of attack by an enemy that is and was only hazily
identifiable.
How do you hit back at a perceived enemy which has no state borders
and supposedly operates elusively out of caves in the hills of a
mountain range separating Afghanistan and Pakistan.
One method is to personalize this hazy enemy. You order your troops
to get this guy, this Osama bin Laden, dead or alive. As commander in
chief, you command your military forces to blow up every mole hole in
“them there hills,” regardless of the collateral damage the killing
of innocent civilians.
When you can’t catch this Osama bin Laden, you start a second front,
a “war of liberation” against a people and a country ruled by a
brutal dictator which has no known connections with this al-Qaida
terrorist outfit. And what do you get? So far, a country in turmoil;
more than 1,100 dead American soldiers and more than 10,000 dead
Iraqi men, women and children. And how many more casualties — the
wounded, the missing and the kidnapped — have been tallied?
Recently, via our media we were again confronted with another callous
act of evil, the capture and deaths of schoolchildren in a place near
Chechnya — a part of the globe most of us cannot even locate on the
map, somewhere in or next to southern Russia.
The horror of such random killings is so effective upon the governors
of our “peaceable kingdoms” because the psychological need and
factual necessity to eradicate the wrongdoers is impossible. When one
random murderer is killed, another one pops up. Murder by terrorists
is nothing new. Brutal terrorist acts have occurred during nearly
every year of every decade over the past 100 years or more. Recall
the Irish Republican Army, the Red Brigades, the Baader-Meinhof Gang
in Germany, the assassins of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, the
blowing up of passenger airplanes, the terrorists supported by Libya,
and so on, sickeningly so.
But in sheer total numbers of killings there is no institution more
brutal and more bloodthirsty than the modern nation state. And the
more power that governments of nation states arrogate to themselves,
the more violence is inflicted upon its citizens.
Professor emeritus Rudolf J. Rummel of Hawaii has made a lifetime
study of mass murder by authoritarian government thugs. He wrote a
number of books, two of which stand out, namely Death By Government
and Statistics Of Democide. His numerous charts and calculations of
killings, slaughter, rapes, massacres, mass starvation of peoples
numbs the mind. His statistics cover up to the year 1987. His current
website address is
The following paragraph extracted out of Death By Government catches
the horror of all the killing of civilians during the first 88 years
of the last century when “almost 170 million men, women, and children
have been shot, beaten, tortured, knifed, burned, starved, frozen,
crushed, or worked to death; buried alive, drowned, hung, bombed, or
killed in any other of the myriad ways governments have inflicted
death on unarmed, helpless citizens and foreigners . . . It is as
though our species has been devastated by a modern Black Plague. And
indeed it has, but a plague of Power, not germs.”
The 170 million civilian deaths does not include soldiers who died on
the battlefield. He figures that the battle deaths during all wars of
the 20th century add up to only (only ?) 38.5 million troops, equal
to about 25 per cent of the civilians murdered during the same time
period.
He computes the killings of the 15 most murderous nation states,
outside of war dead, and comes up with about 151 million innocent
citizens of these countries wiped off the map by their top guns. The
most absolute powers — former Communist Russia; Communist China,
China under Chiang Kai-shek, Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge, Vietnam,
Yugoslavia and former Nazi Germany — together account for about 128
million civilians murdered.
The real killers, however, are the brutal autocratic rulers who
controlled those security states, those countries; the autocratic
mass murderers who ruled absolutely and who killed absolutely — no
questions asked.
Stalin leads the list. He and his henchmen were responsible for the
murder of more than 42 million persons from 1929 to 1953.
Mao Tse-Tung of Communist China comes along in second place. He
killed about 38 million of his own people between 1923 and 1976.
Then there is Adolf Hitler, who from 1933 to 1945 was responsible for
exterminating 21 million humans.
And the list continues on: Chiang Kai-shek, more than 10 million
dead; Lenin, more than four million; Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge of
Cambodia, nearly 2.5 million out of a population of approximately
seven million. And during and after the First World War, the Turks
tried to kill every Armenian they could get their hands on. And the
murder statistics continue on ad infinitum.
The recent random killings by elusive killers, the terrorists, are
indescribably horrible, but, comparatively, their numbers of innocent
victims slaughtered do not even come into the gunsights of the
government authorized killers who murdered millions upon millions of
their own citizens.
The more power governments have, the more government violence is
perpetrated upon a country’s own citizens. The more freedom a
country’s people have, the more government violence upon its own
citizenry is kept in check. As Prof. Rummel states again and again:
“Power kills and absolute power kills absolutely.”
Richard Haalboom is a Kitchener lawyer.

Agence France Presse
17 octobre 2004 dimanche 7:56 AM GMT
Génocides: paroles de victimes pour ouvrir une série de
manifestations (PRESENTATION)
Par Frédéric HAPPE
LYON 17 oct 2004
Un forum “pour la justice et la prévention des génocides” se tiendra
le 23 octobre à Villeurbanne, avec en point d’orgue les témoignages
de dix groupes victimes de génocides ou de crimes contre l’Humanité,
marquant le début d’un cycle de manifestations d’un an sur ce thème.
Le collectif d’associations Reconnaissance, qui milite pour la
mémoire et la prévention des génocides et des crimes contre
l’Humanité, a invité des Aborigènes, des Africains, des Amérindiens,
des Arméniens, des Cambodgiens, des Juifs, des Rwandais, des
Tibétains, des Tziganes et des Ukrainiens à venir non seulement
témoigner de ce qu’eux, ou leurs ancêtres, ont vécu, mais aussi à
faire le point sur leurs revendications ou leurs attentes.
Ce premier rendez-vous, d’une série de manifestations qui se
dérouleront jusqu’à octobre 2005, permet une “contextualisation” du
problème, a expliqué Jules Mardirossian, président du Centre
d’études, de documentation et d’informations arméniennes (CEDIA).
Il est important “que les scientifiques puissent écouter les victimes
pour une fois dans un cadre qu’ils ne gèrent pas eux-mêmes”, a-t-il
ajouté.
Les témoignages viendront de personnes qui “sont séparées de leur
peuple d’origine”, soit dans l’espace, soit dans le temps, puisque
l’esclavage ou la famine de 1933 en Ukraine, par exemple, seront
abordés, a souligné Ganda Camara, président-membre fondateur de la
Rencontre africaine pour la défense des droits de l’Homme (RADDHO).
Le discours sur les génocides et les crimes contre l’Humanité “ne
peut pas être laissé aux seuls spécialistes. La douleur, l’oppression
et l’injustice peuvent être décrites par les victimes”, a-t-il
poursuivi.
Evidemment, ce forum sera loin de couvrir tous les génocides, et M.
Mardirossian a reconnu que le choix avait été “en partie subjectif”.
“Avec la Tchétchénie, le Cachemire, le Sri Lanka, les Kurdes, nous
avons listé plus de 20 autres peuples victimes, mais nous ne pouvons
pas tous les couvrir, étant donné qu’ils sont plus ou moins reconnus,
et que sur certains on manque encore de recul”, a-t-il plaidé.
Au cours de l’année à venir, Reconnaissance organisera aussi une
semaine cinématographique avec débats entre le 29 novembre et le 4
décembre, puis, en partenariat avec la région Rhône-Alpes, un semaine
de formation d’une quarantaine de professeurs d’histoire qui
débouchera sur des projets pédagogiques dans 15 collèges et lycées de
la région, au cours du premier semestre 2005.
Enfin, un colloque international sur le thème “Mémoires partagées,
démarche préventive et dynamique de paix” se tiendra en octobre 2005,
pour clore ce cycle.
Un comité de suivi sera ensuite chargé de surveiller le cheminement
des propositions auprès des grandes organisations internationales et
la situation sur le terrain.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI
Oct 17 2004
RACINE HERITAGE MUSEUM: 701 Main St. Armenian-American Afternoon from
2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 17 to showcase its latest exhibit, “State Street:
Racine’s Gateway Community – The Armenian Story.” The exhibit
features themes of Armenians coming to the U.S. and settling in
Racine, their occupations, businesses, homes, community, religious
life and cultural activities. The day will feature two videos, “State
Street: The Hub of Early Armenian Settlers in Racine, Wisconsin,”
and a compilation of films showing parties at John’s Shis Kebob and
Grill on State St. Also on hand will be Peter and Katrina Wardrip, U.S.
Peace Corps volunteers in Armenia, who will display paintings, Armenian
music and snacks, and alphabet activities for all ages. Call 636-3926.

Chinese foreign minister to attend CICA FMs’ meeting in Almaty
Xinhua, China
Oct 15 2004
2004-10-15 22:31:51
BEIJING, Oct. 15 (Xinhuanet) — Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing
will pay an official visit to Armenia, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan and
attend the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Conference on Interaction
and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia(CICA) to be held from October
18 to 24 in Almaty.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue made the announcementshere
Friday, saying that Li will make this tour at the invitation of Kazakh
State Secretary-Minister of Foreign Affairs KasymzhomartKemelevich
Tokayev, Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanyan,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs ofTurkmenistan
Rashid Meredov, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar
Mammadyarov.
CICA, a forum aimed at increasing security in Asia, was first
proposed by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the 47th
UN general assembly in 1992 and its 16 members include China,
Russia,Egypt, Afghanistan, Israel, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, India and
Palestine. Enditem
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Oct 15 2004
VARDAN OSKANYAN DISTORTS NAGORNY KARABAKH – RELATED FACTS
[October 14, 2004, 20:23:54]
Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan
released a statement on October 14 to comment on the interview
concerning Nagorno-Karabakh settlement given by Armenian Foreign
Minister Vardan Oskanyan in his usual manner to the county’s Public
Television.
The statement in particular says it was the Armenian Minister’s one
more attempt to mystify the Key West talks by citing to a certain
” the only way” allegedly agreed by both sides, and implying that
Karabakh will not be a part of Azerbaijan.
“The Azerbaijani side stated more than once, and today we once again
suggest Mt. Oskayan to find better application of his persistence and
stop playing Key West games; we hereby reaffirm that no agreements
were reached on the issues discussed in Key West, the statement says.
It is Armenia that demonstrates its “unique abilities” to violate
scot-free the agreements reached, the statement says, recalling the
dismissal of former Armenian President Ter-Petrosyan who had then
accepted the OSCE Co-chairs’ plan of step-by-step settlement of
the conflict, which implied in the first stage a withdrawal of the
Armenian armed forces form the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
“The Azerbaijani side also remember other phase of the peace process
when President Kocharyan okayed in principle the transfer of a part
of Armenia’s territory to Azerbaijan that resulted in fusillade in
the Armenian parliament,” the statement says.
It also stresses that the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh cannot a
subject of compromise, it is an integral part of the Azerbaijan
Republic, and that compromises are possible only in relation to the
status of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan does not put forward any innovations; there is a rich
and useful European experience of self-government. A different
approach provokes dangerous tendencies, and the multinational South
Caucasus region is not the only one that can face their unpredictable
consequences, the statement concludes.

AZERI OFFICIAL CONDEMNS ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER’S KARABAKH REMARKS
Turan news agency
14 Oct 04
Baku, 14 October: Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan should put
an end to inventions about the Key West meeting between (Azerbaijani
ex-President) Heydar Aliyev and (Armenian President) Robert Kocharyan,
Matin Mirza, press secretary of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry,
said while commenting on Oskanyan’s recent appearance on Armenian
television.
The Armenian minister is “obscuring” the negotiations with insistence
that deserves better use, saying that an agreement was reached in Key
West that Karabakh will not be part of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani
side suggests once again that Oskanyan put an end to “games” around
Key West where “no agreements were reached”. Baku regards Oskanyan’s
statements as an attempt to undermine trust in Azerbaijan and present
it as a country that does not fulfil its commitments.
In this connection, the Azerbaijani side recalls that Heydar Aliyev
and President (Levon) Ter-Petrosyan reached an agreement on a
stage-by-stage solution to the Karabakh conflict in Strasbourg on
10 October 1997. However, Armenia’s “militarist circles” overthrew
Ter-Petrosyan (in 1998) and successfully “buried” the agreement that
had been reached.
Moreover, President Robert Kocharyan had given his “principled
consent” to the settlement option that envisaged “the handover of
part of Armenian territory to Azerbaijan”. However, this was followed
by an unexpected shooting in the Armenian parliament, and Kocharyan
deviated from this agreement “under the pretext” of the complicated
internal political situation. These facts testify that it is exactly
the Armenian side that breaks the reached agreements.
The comment points out that the Azerbaijani side will not allow
international law to be revised and “will not cede even an inch of
its land”. The territory of Nagornyy Karabakh “cannot be a subject of
a compromise” and is an “integral” part of Azerbaijan. A subject of a
compromise can be the status of this region which could be determined
in view of European experience of self-government.
The Azerbaijani side thinks that Oskanyan’s statements are caused by
“personal and domestic political motives”. All this could be directed
at disrupting the progress that was made at the Prague meetings.

MEETING IN FOREIGN MINISTRY OF AZERBAIJAN
[October 14, 2004, 11:59:17]
Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
Oct 14 2004
The same day, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council
of Europe, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway Ian
Peterson has met Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar
Mammadyarov.
As was informed to AzerTAj from the press center of the Ministry,
it is stated that having expressed satisfaction with his visit to
Azerbaijan, Mr. Ian Peterson has invited the Azerbaijan colleague
to visit Norway, and has expressed hope, that bilateral relations
between our countries in political, economic, humanitarian and other
spheres would be developed in the years coming. Then, he has shared
views on cooperation of Azerbaijan with the Council of Europe.
Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov has emphasized importance of support of Norway in
integration of Azerbaijan into the European structures. The Minister
has dwelt on the reforms conducted last years in the country,
inclusion of Azerbaijan in the initiative of “New Neighborhood
Policy in Europe”, cooperation with the NATO within the framework
of PfP program and “Operating plan on individual partnership”, has
told about activity of Azerbaijan in combat against international
terrorism, separatism, transnational organized crime and other global
threats. He also informed about cooperation with Norwegian Company
“Statoil” in realization in Azerbaijan global projects in the field
of energy carriers.
The head of foreign policy department of Azerbaijan in detail
informed the visitor on the work done for peace settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict, negotiations at level
of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and presidents.
The ministers had also exchange of views on the questions representing
mutual interest.

ARA ABRAHAMYAN SPEAKING AT A CONFERENCE
A1 Plus
13-10-2004
“The investments are not in my pocket to take them and invest. The
Armenian Authorities must provide some conditions, too”, Ara
Abrahamyan, Chair of World Armenian Congress said at the press
conference. According to him, though he invests millions in Armenia
he won’t leave because of some relations. Besides, he is not going
to be occupied with politics in Armenia.
Ara Abrahamyan says there must be a document between the Armenian
Government and World Armenian Congress to clarify the terms and
responsibilities of the parts.
He thinks lack of information mostly hampers the activity of
an investor. Mr. Abrahamyan suggests to establish a Council
of Businessmen /he has already set up one in Argentina/. The
organizations running in various states will join and an association
will be established.
Ara Abrahamyan thinks it is necessary to find an alternative way for
traffic in order businessmen should not face a situation like the one
in “Upper Lars”. “How much losses did businessmen, including you incur
as a result of it?”, we asked Abrahamyan. “Volume of losses hasn’t
yet clarified but if the problem is not settled, it will be huge”,
Abrahamyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian foreign minister gives wide-ranging TV interview
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
11 Oct 04
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has said in an interview
to Armenian TV that relations with Russia are good even though Russia
closing the border with Georgia following Beslan has caused problems
for Armenia. In the interview, which spanned various topics and lasted
a little over an hour, he added that the closure of the border was
aimed against Georgia and not Armenia. On the question of Nagornyy
Karabakh he said that the Azeri president was “driving himself into
a corner” through his recent statements on the subject while later
on in the interview Oskanyan denied that Armenia faced international
isolation over its Karabakh policies. Asked to comment on recent
reports that the USA planned to open military bases in neighbouring
Azerbaijan, Oskanyan said he treated such reports “with suspicion”. As
regards the war in Iraq, he said Armenia had never welcomed it and
would not be sending troops to Iraq. But at the same time Oskanyan
said he supported antiterror measures. He wound up the interview by
stressing Armenia’s potential for development noting this could not be
achieved without the involvement of the opposition and diaspora. The
following is an excerpt from the interview to Armenian Public TV on
11 October. Subheadings have been inserted editorially:
Correspondent Good evening. Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
will answer our questions today. Good evening, Mr Oskanyan. The
important question of this week is why the Verkhniy Lars checkpoint on
the Russian-Georgian border is not operating. Despite negotiations
at the highest level to open the border, it is not functioning
yet. People in Armenia are speaking about changes in Russia’s policy
towards Armenia.
Armenia is suffering from border closure
Vardan Oskanyan, captioned The negotiations are continuing, and I am
sure that there will be changes. It would be better if such cases did
not take place at all. The situation is indeed very difficult, there
are numerous vehicles on the border, and they cannot cross it. This
has a negative impact on Armenia. The negotiations are going on at
the highest level in order to resolve the problem. This problem cannot
last long because nobody benefits from this: Russia, Georgia, Armenia,
and also Azerbaijan to some extent, are suffering from this. I am
sure that this problem will eventually be decided once and for all.
First, we have to mention that this is the first case in our
independent history that Russia, our strategic partner, has
undertaken a step against our country and this has a negative impact
on Armenia. But on the basis of this to claim that Russia has changed
its attitude towards Armenia would be incorrect.
Correspondent Does this mean that Russia has no grounds to punish Armenia or
Georgia?
Closure aimed at Georgia not Armenia
Vardan Oskanyan Of course, this step is not against Armenia. This
is against Georgia. We should not forget that serious events have
recently taken place in that part of the region, i.e. the Beslan
events, terrorist acts on the whole. Russia is undertaking relevant
steps. There are also other problems between Russia and Georgia. All
these measures are directed at resolving these problems, but not
against Armenia. We must be ready for similar actions from countries
with whom we have close relations, and this does not only refer to
Russia; these countries can at times put their national interests
above their ties with Armenia. A country, with whom we have the
closest relations and is our strategic partner, can undertake such
steps to defend its national interests.
Correspondent But, we are losing out.
Oskanyan Yes, we are losing out, but we must hope that this will not
last long. Therefore, we must continue negotiations. Our interests,
our infrastructures in this region are related so closely with the
three South Caucasus and neighbouring countries that it has become
like one entire system. If something takes place in one country, it
has an immediate impact on other countries, too. For example, roads,
oil pipelines and other things. We should all understand this and then
the leaders would be more responsible as regards their activities.
I hope that, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and also Armenia and Russia as
well as other countries can overcome this situation. The resolution
is also dependent on the presidents’ experience and their readiness
to solve the problem through cooperation.
No problem in Armenian-Russian relations
Correspondent As a result of recent events, public opinion polls show
that the Russian-Armenian relations, the intergovernmental relations
between the two countries are not horizontal. What is your assessment
of the Russian-Armenian relations and how will they develop in future?
Oskanyan There is no problem in our relations. Our relations with
Russia are horizontal and satisfy our countries’ interests.
Aliyev is driving himself into a corner over Nagornyy Karabakh
Correspondent Nagornyy Karabakh will never be independent, we shall
never agree to a compromise, which is connected with our independence,
and the international community will never recognize Nagornyy
Karabakh’s military regime. Ilham Aliyev Azerbaijani president said
this in an interview with Reuters last week. In this interview, he
also noted that Armenia must make decisive steps in the negotiating
process by liberating seven districts. How would you comment on this
statement by Aliyev Junior?
Oskanyan You know, Aliyev has not only said this in this interview
but also in his recent speech at the 59th session of the UN General
Assembly on 24 September ; I think that he is driving himself into a
corner. I hope that he understands this. By doing this, he wants to
strengthen his precarious position in the country. But he has chosen
the wrong direction and the wrong topic. He can issue statements, but
his statements can only complicate his ability to compromise, without
which a settlement to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is impossible. He
forgets that some moves have taken place in this process. We are
also making statements on Nagornyy Karabakh and if one is attentive
enough, one can notice that no other settlement is possible in the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict in other words Karabakh will not be part
of Azerbaijan . There will be no other settlement. Karabakh must not
be part of Azerbaijan, as it has not been historically or legally
either. Therefore, the truth is stressed in our speeches, in our
president’s speeches. It is stressed that Karabakh must never be part
of Azerbaijan. We are very careful in our statements and we understand
this issue could be solved by compromises, and the areas where we
must make compromises do not contradict this. We never debate issues
where we can make compromise. We do not issue irrelevant statements
to gain political dividends. However, Aliyev does. I am not sure that
he will rectify this policy; otherwise, he could worsen his situation.
Various options possible to resolve Karabakh problem
At present Nagornyy Karabakh cannot be part of Azerbaijan and not
only we but also international organizations understand this point. A
model of a common state option and the Key West process are proof
of this. This option is also viewed as real by the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs. Some six to seven years ago nobody even wanted to hear about
this matter and we were not allowed to speak on this topic. Currently
the situation has changed and it is a real option for Karabakh not to
be part of Azerbaijan. This is one of the easiest options to implement
if we approach this issue from the international community’s point of
view. We do not know whether Aliyev understands this or not. Judging
from the contents and outcome of the negotiations, we may conclude
that he does understand. Because there is a discrepancy between what he
says in the negotiations and what he says in his speeches in public. We
regret that he prepares his public speeches differently and therefore,
he will have problems in connection with the public in future.
Correspondent Mr Oskanyan, has a common state proposal been taken
into consideration in the negotiations?
Oskanyan You know, until now Azerbaijan has wanted to choose the
easiest way based on the political line pursued by the former president
Heydar Aliyev in domestic policy. True, various options are being
discussed. However, the most difficult option for Azerbaijan is the
return of territories. As before, they agree to the easiest option
for themselves, i.e. the return of the territories, the postponement
of the resolution of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and entrusting
its resolution to future generations. This is a dangerous approach
and this method cannot resolve the matter. Because, Azerbaijan will
never make changes to its political line on the status of the Nagornyy
Karabakh if it gets some other territories back. We would be naive to
think that Azerbaijan will give up its political line in connection
with the status of the NKR, improve relations and open the borders
if we return some of the occupied territories. Nothing will change;
such an approach can somewhat ease regional tension without having
a role in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. For the time
being, the package option is the only way to achieve a resolution of
this problem. Definite changes can be made in connection with the
implementation of the package option. It is a topic of negotiations
to define consistency while applying the points of this option.
However, for the sake of establishing lasting and stable peace in
the region and improving relations, we should agree to the package
option as there is no other alternative. This is our foreign policy
line and I believe that this package should be at the negotiating
table as it has no alternative.
US bases in Azerbaijan
Correspondent Minister, the US United Press International agency
reported that Azerbaijani Defence Minister Safar Abiyev and US Deputy
Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Steven Pifer
agreed on stationing of US military bases in Cabrayil, Fuzuli and
Zangilan southwest Azerbaijan . Is this proposal being discussed in
the negotiations? Will these districts be really liberated?
Oskanyan This is the first time that I have heard this, this is
nonsense. The issue of stationing US military bases in Azerbaijan
is certainly not our problem, this is their problem. The districts,
mentioned by you, are part of the package option and they cannot be
resolved separately. Even if this issue has been discussed between
Azerbaijan and the USA, I consider it meaningless. I also treat this
report with suspicion; this is provocation by Azerbaijan. This is
what Azerbaijan would wish, it is hardly likely that the USA would
take such a step.
Passage omitted: Oskanyan comments on the Turkish-EU membership
dialogue
No Armenian troops for Iraq
Correspondent Mr Oskanyan, parliament is expected to debate soon the
issue of sending troops to Iraq. Do you think specialists should be
sent to Iraq and what is your attitude towards this issue?
Oskanyan Artak correspondent’s name , you rectified your mistake at
the end. However, the first part of your question is also wide of
the mark. It is not correct to use the word troops. We cannot speak
about troops here. Nevertheless, I’ll try to give a generalized
answer to the question. You see, unlike our regional neighbours,
Armenia has never welcomed the war in Iraq. We have been principled
on this issue since the first day and we still stick to this. We have
not participated in the war and will not do so. It is everybody’s
task to contribute to the humanitarian issue. This issue certainly
can be debated proceeding from the interests of the Iraqi people
and our community there. I hope that our parliament will take the
right decision. We should distinguish between the Iraqi war and
war on terror. We are a member of the antiterror coalition and in
tandem with the international community we are fighting against
it. We are combating terrorism through legislative means, acceding
to international conventions, protecting our borders and preventing
it being used by a third country. Armenia deals with these issues
seriously, and the USA and international community highly appreciate
our efforts. We are also interested in fighting against terrorism as
Armenia is a victim of terrorism.
Passage omitted: terrorists fought in the Karabakh war in 1992-93
Armenia will not face isolation over Karabakh
Correspondent Minister, your statement that Karabakh is priceless
and Armenia will never compromise on Karabakh for the sake of its
involvement in oil and transport projects are being widely debated
in the press. You have said that we can develop without them oil
and transport projects and we shall put up with any difficulty that
comes our way even if the war goes on for 100 years. In your opinion,
will it not cost us dear to be in isolation?
Oskanyan You asked two questions, and one of them surprised me very
much. There cannot be a citizen in Armenia who does not agree that
Karabakh is priceless. If Armenia has a citizen who does not agree
with this opinion and thinks that I am wrong, then I regret it. Passage
omitted: elaborates on why Karabakh is priceless To state that Karabakh
has a price tag and we can make compromises over it for the sake of an
oil pipeline and the opening of a railway are wrong. Karabakh cannot be
haggled over as every inch of Armenia is priceless, including Karabakh.
As the above could lead towards our isolation, it would, of course,
be better if the Azerbaijani and Turkish borders were open, the railway
were in operation and so on. I issued a statement at a press conference
based on an interview by the US Minsk Group cochair, Steven Mann,
where Mann said that Armenia might be isolated. My answer is: do not
try to frighten us on these issues. Isolation is only possible if
the international community is behind it. However, isolation is
impossible. It is Turkey’s decision to keep the railway closed.
The issue of the oil pipeline and the closure of the Naxcivan
section of the railway is Azerbaijan’s decision. It is natural
that given the above, they would like to isolate Armenia. It is
true that we have been deprived of involvement in the oil pipeline
and transport projects. However, it would be wrong to view this as
Armenia’s isolation. Isolation is possible only if the international
community takes steps against Armenia. However, this is not the case;
just the opposite. You see, due to Armenia’s current activities,
we are members of important international organizations, starting
from human rights commissions to our participation in the work
of top-level organizations. Armenia has never been so close to
international organizations as now
Stability and cooperation with others will ensure development
Correspondent You say that Armenia can be developed. Which development
resources are these? Financial, human or diplomatic? Have we sufficient
resources?
Oskanyan It is true, there are many problems in Armenia today. The
level of poverty is very high, there are many serious problems with
employment. All these have to be solved gradually. All these problems
can be solved only by ensuring high rates of economic growth. I
can boldly announce today that using only a small per cent of the
resources of our Armenianhood, including Armenia itself and the
diaspora changes tack – we have large resources. The resources are
not only human, financial and the infrastructure. The resources are
at the same time, democracy, human rights, the diaspora’s involvement
and our policies. There are also other resources which we have not
yet been harnessed. We must use these resources. I would like to
outline our political stability among these resources, and also the
establishment and formation of a political field where the government
and opposition both have a role to play . To implement all these,
we need the opposition’s involvement. We can develop and cooperate
in this region only through the correct usage of our resources. These
resources exist and all that remains is to establish peace inside the
country and to involve the diaspora in our works. An assurance that
Armenia has enough resources to develop is needed regarding Armenia,
and in order to achieve this assurance we need domestic political
stability; and to achieve domestic political stability we need
cooperation between the ruling sides and the opposition. I am sure
that we have all these resources and we must work in this direction;
and then we can implement all these things in these conditions. We
need to work on the opening of the borders, but if they do not open
we must try to continue the tempos of our development in the existing
conditions and achieve a strong and prosperous Armenia.
Correspondent Mr Oskanyan, thank you for your interesting interview
and goodbye.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Karabakh premier visits USA
Artsakh State TV, Stepanakert
12 Oct 04
Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR] prime minister Anushavan Daniyelyan is
in the USA on a working visit. The main purpose of his visit is to help
organize the coming telethon aiming at fund raising to assist the NKR,
and especially to complete North-South highway in Nagornyy Karabakh.
On 10 October premier Daniyelyan met representatives of Armenian
community of Fresno [in California]. Congressman George Radanovich
elected from Fresno also participated at the meeting and greeted
the NKR prime minister. On the same day Anushavan Daniyelyan gave an
interview to Armenian radio of Fresno.
On 11 October he visited the Armenian cemetery of Fresno and
laid flowers to the monument of the famous Armenian and American
writer William Saroyan. Anushavan Daniyelyan also visited Armenian
agricultural enterprises specializing in processing agricultural
products. He underlined the promising opportunities for such business
in the NKR and called on Armenian entrepreneurs to invest in the NKR
economy. On the same day premier Daniyelyan visited San Francisco
and met representatives of the Armenian community. He underlined
the importance of constructing the North-South highway for all
the Armenians in the world and also told the audience about the
socioeconomic situation in the NKR. In particular Anushavan Daniyelyan
noted that in recent years the total volume of foreign direct
investment in the NKR economy had constituted more than 50m US dollars.
The NKR permanent representative to USA Vardan Barsegyan is
accompanying Anushavan Daniyelyan during the meetings. NKR prime
minister’s visit to the USA is continuing.