Author: Ekmekjian Janet

“All the Boots we Received were the Right-Foot Ones”
Kommersant, Russia
Dec 18 2004
Eighty years ago, at the end of 1924, the de-centralization of the
supply system of the Red Army began. The responsibility for the
procurement of food and uniform was transferred onto the shoulders of
regiment commanders, the idea being that this could help to finally
arrange the normal life of the Red Army men. Vlast’s columnist Evgeny
Zhirnov has studied the results of the experiment.
When I served in the army in the second half of the 70-s the army was
viewed as the school of courage. Quite justly so – you needed courage
even for ingestion. For example: cans with goby in tomato sauce,
which were produced some twenty years ago and have already gone bad,
are delivered from some reserve stock, opened up, thrown onto pans,
fried and then poured into millet porridge. It was only cooked
semolina with small fry (boiled soft with scales and giblets) that
could compare to it.
Lapping over the tunic that could be wrapped twice around me (“As if
made just for you!” the master sergeant said tenderly giving out the
uniform) I remembered a joke about overdeveloped socialism: you can
already buy nothing with money whereas nothing is handed out free of
charge yet. However, according to the documents, in the history of
the Russian army normal provision of soldiers has always been an
exception from the rule.
“Red Army Men are Involved in Plundering and Panhandling”
At the time of the Civil War self-provision was the main way of food
procurement in the Red Army – requisition (a euphemism for the
plunder of the population). It took time and effort for the troops to
fall out of this habit after the war.
Photo: RGAKFD/ROSINFORM
To find out how long a Red Army man could do without food and uniform
the commissaries (see the photo) used their favorite method – probing
action.
The report on the condition of the RKKA (Workers’ and Peasants’ Red
Army) for July, 1922 read: “The previous report mentioned the
rowdiness of the Red Army men in the Nikolaev and Kremenchug
provinces, which was manifested in unauthorized requisitions and
plunders. At present this phenomenon is observed in the Podolsk
province.”
As time passed no grave changes took place. The September report of
1922 mentioned: “The provision of the units stationed in the
Samarkand and Fergana regions is dreadful. At times the units
stationed in the Fergana region received one fourth of a pound of
bread a day … All this results in the following: the Red Army men
plunder and panhandle, which extremely exasperates the aboriginal
population of Turkestan that is already quite negative in their
attitude towards the Soviet power.”
However, food was not the only item in demand. In October, reports on
the shortage of uniforms flooded in: “Armenia holds the first place
in terms of lack of winter uniform – they have none whatsoever. Then
it is the Bryansk province (85% shortage), the Kostroma (70%
shortage), Tsaritsyno (50%) and Pskov (40%) provinces. Such phenomena
are manifested to a lesser degree in the Smolensk, Kursk, Tula,
Kaluga provinces, in the Tartar republic, in Kuban, in the Siberia
(the Omsk and Irkutsk provinces), in the Orenburg, Bukeevo, Tyumen
provinces, in the naval units of Arkhangelsk, in the Gomelsk province
and in other places…”
Photo: RGAKFD/ROSINFORM
A Red Army man washed himself in the same water that he had washed
his shirt in (above); he fed himself on what he had managed to
recover from the collective farm peasants in the battle for the
harvest (below).
Once the Red Army was more or less dressed the problems with footwear
were aggravated. The report for April-May, 1923 read: “The shortage
of footwear is especially tangible. It reaches the level of 80% in
the Voronezh province; in the units of Zabaykalye, Severo-Dvinsk,
Vyatka, the Tartar republic – 50%, in the border troops of Georgia –
40%, Fergana – 25%. Units of the Ryazan province (the Red Army men
wear bast shoes), the Irkutsk, Vitebsk, Priamurye, Vologda,
Yaroslavl, Tyumen, Pskov, Kursk, Votsk, Omsk, Mari, Primorsk
provinces and Karelia (21 provinces all in all) need footwear.”
Once they just managed to somehow solve this problem (one of the
regiments “received small-size boots, all of them being the
right-foot ones”) it turned out that the bulk of the food, which was
channeled to the troops, was not of the best quality to put it
mildly: “The 8th division of the Western Military District got 1,107
poods of bad meat. In July and August 15,000 poods of corned beef
were scrapped in the 6th corps of the South-Western Military District
and 1,500 poods in the 3rd Kazan division. Off-test flour and cereals
were distributed in many units of the West Siberian Military
District. Almost in all districts the quality of bread baked is
unsatisfactory as a result of which intestinal diseases are spread.”
Apart from that “the absence of blankets results in the quick wear of
overcoats, which are used instead of blankets”.
“Red Army Men have to Sleep on the Bare Ground.”
The unending circle of supply problems was explained not only by the
difficult economic situation in the country. The supply branch
officials of various ranks made good money on the practice of the
emergency stopping of gaps. For example, in 1922 in the North
Caucasus Military District the case of a high-raking supply official
was investigated – deputy commissioner on haying Ivan Rakityansky.
Rakityansky was charged with the episodes, which had little in common
with haying – striking patently unprofitable deals with private
dealers for the supply of textiles, sacks, salt and wire. Apart from
that he was charged with receiving bribes for the deliveries of meat
and with extorting mediatory interest for certain goods ordered for
the Red Army units from abroad.
Photo: RGAKFD/ROSINFORM
However, in defending himself the commissary was most persistent and
consistent. For some reason the Workers’ and Peasants’ Inspection
failed to determine the average level of prices on salt, sacks and
other items at the time the deals were made. It refused to evaluate
the damage done to the treasury. As for the representative of
Vneshtorg who had been the object of Rakityansky’s extortion (the
latter wanted 5% interest from the volume of deliveries), at
confrontation he confirmed the words of the commissary: “He mentioned
the 5% in a joking tone nine months ago when it was fashionable to
talk about commission in a private setting – just like it is
fashionable to talk about bribes now.”
Still GPU was going to transfer the case to the military tribunal.
Rakityanky’s standard of living apparently did not correspond to his
salary. This was quite sufficient for the verdict of guilty. However,
there was one little thing. A military man could not be tried without
the agreement of his command. It was suppliers like Rakityansky that
he was subordinated to. His report with the request to cease the
court persecution against him received a positive resolution.
For the same reason other commissaries remained unattainable for the
retributive sword of the party. GPU reported in the Central
Committee: “In a number of cases it is the absence of experienced and
reliable managers that is the reason for the grave condition of the
units. This is ascertained through informative materials,
investigations held by the Workers’ and Peasants’ Inspection and by
the command. At times in the units of the 3rd division of the
Detached Cavalry Brigade business managers were replaced 4-6 times a
year. Often the military-economic department does not recall the
managers who are on trial.”
Photo: RGAKFD/ROSINFORM
The model Red Army was always half a bowl ahead of the real one.
As for the commissaries, they continued to expand the sphere of their
activity. At the end of 1923 the army bakeries were transferred to
cost accounting. Right away there began mass thefts of flour. To
conceal the misappropriation they baked bread with various
admixtures. When it was buckwheat or weeds it was half the trouble.
Often they added sand. The money allocated for the remodeling of
barracks and for the purchase of firewood was stolen as actively.
Beginning with the middle of 1924 practically everywhere the Red Army
men received over-seasoned or bad fish instead of meat.
When the troops went to summer camps it turned out that there was an
array of problems there as well. “The camp conditions are
dissatisfactory,” read the report for July, 1924. “The tents are old,
they leak, there is impermissible overcrowding (up to 15 men in each
tent). Since many Red Army men lack bedding they have to sleep right
on the ground. The supply and the boiling of water is established
poorly.”
The next month the report on the state of the army read: “It is the
culpable attitude of the administrative bodies towards the cause of
the army supply that is the reason for the dissatisfactory supply of
the units. The Turkestan Front and the Western District stand out in
this respect. On the order of the head of the Turkfront’s
military-economic department they accepted the meat, which was bad
and had been scrapped earlier. The head of the supply of Turkfront
agreed to the delivery of vegetables on the conditions, which were
unprofitable for the treasury. This happened because the staff had
received the bribe of 1000 rubles from the suppliers. The front’s
supply bodies received 70,000 poods of oats that were no good and
that had been recognized as dissatisfactory. In the Western Front
there have been cases of negligence towards grain. Thousands of poods
of grain had rotted and were still delivered to units. In Vyazemskiy
grocery store 4,000 poods of rye are infected with vermin. Bad hay
was delivered to the Leningrad district. In many military units the
food prepared is tasteless, often dangerous for health, frequently
prepared in non-sanitary conditions.”
Photo: RGAKFD/ROSINFORM
“The Party Staff Tries to Avoid Appointments to Administrative
Offices”
The way out from the exclusive circle of intendancy’s stealing looked
attractive. The military department decided to transfer the
contractual work to the regiment level. In this way the commanders
who faced their soldiers every day would be in charge of the money
allocated for the supply. This new de-centralized system was called
independent procurement.
“In the course of transfer to the new system of supply,” the report
for December, 1924 read, “the units had to face the old question of
staffing the administrative apparatus. The issue has become most
topical under the present circumstances. As was mentioned in the
previous materials, the practical skills of the old staff of the
administrative apparatus (these were bureaucrats who often had
deliberate criminal attitude towards the work) do not correspond to
the demands of the new system. The party staff attracted into the
administrative apparatus is even less prepared for this kind of work
and tries to avoid responsible positions in the administrative block.
All of the above-said is confirmed by the practice of independent
procurement. Thus the 2d territorial division of the Western Military
District has signed an agreement for the supply of vegetables, which
will be more expensive than vegetables at the market because of the
distance of deliverance. In the 10th Cavalry Division of the Moscow
Military District the lard bought from a private dealer turned out to
be bad. Every week the North Caucasus Military District receives
information on the poor quality of meat. For example, there was a
case in the 13th division when the prepared food contained intestines
with excrement. At first the 27th division of the Western Military
District signed an agreement with the Smolensk meat packing plant.
Photo: RGAKFD/ROSINFORM
The plant supplied good quality meat. However, under the pressure
exerted by the district suppliers the division was compelled to break
this agreement and sign another one with the front commission of
assistance to war invalids. At prices higher than the market ones
this commission supplied lean stringy meat with bruises, which the
Red Army men refused to eat. There are many examples of the kind.”
Such examples continued to multiply in the new year (1925) because
the number of administrative workers who had real money on hand
increased by dozens of times. In some cases Red Army commanders
became accomplices of the commissaries. Then the reserves of whole
regiments were stolen.
In general though the calculation of the army command turned out to
be correct. Having grasped the point of the matter the majority of
regiment commanders brought the independent procurement to the
necessary level (as it was said back then). In the summer of 1925 for
the first time since the introduction of the Soviet power the report
on the condition of the army read: “The de-centralization of the
supply of the Red Army has by and large brought positive results. The
quality of provision has significantly improved, the deficiencies of
supply have been almost overcome.”
It was only big military suppliers that were dissatisfied. They kept
twisting commanders’ arms trying to make them sign agreements with
the organizations in the jurisdiction of the intendancies. At the
same time as a rule the agreements were not observed and the number
of those eager to have anything to do with the central supply bodies
kept decreasing.
Photo: RGAKFD/ROSINFORM
The experiment with the practice of independent procurement could be
a success and could become the norm. Had it not been for the skill of
the high-ranking suppliers and for the inflation. By the beginning of
1926 the prices on food and uniform, which the commanders could now
order independently, increased. As for the financing, it remained on
the previous level – apparently not without the effort on the part of
the chief commissaries. Commanders of regiments and their
administrative workers began transferring money from one item of
expenditure to another, they were confused and became the objects of
investigation. They were not tried but the desire to work on
agreements and supplies was completely gone.
With time the practice of centralized supply was restored. However,
stealing did not disappear. It continued throughout the thirties and
during the time of the Great Patriotic War. As the former head of the
food supply service of the Soviet Army shared, “during the time of
the war we had cases of thefts and cases when food was not entered
into books however nobody was tried by the tribunal at the front”.
There were problems with the quality of food as well. However, the
command found a reliable way of solving them. For example, in 1942 a
private letter of the Special Department of the North-Western Front
read: “The Special Department of the 144th detached brigade arrested
Red Army man Volkov P.A.
Photo: RGAKFD/ROSINFORM
Even temporary deliverance from the wrong-size boots resulted in an
uncontrollable flush of vis vitae with the Red Army men.
In a conversation with soldiers he ran down the quality of food and
spoke of shortcomings in the organization of nutrition in the unit.
Despite the fact that this was the only instance of Volkov leading
such conversations and that he was characterized positively by the
command, the Special Department charged him with counter-revolution
propaganda, the prosecutor confirmed this absurd accusation and the
military tribunal sentenced Volkov to death.”
Volkov was lucky and his sentence was canceled. However, most likely
from that point on none of those serving with him plucked up the
courage to discuss commissaries.
by Evgeny Zhirnov
–Boundary_(ID_FKPZP/vZ5lJMaGOok5XwAg)–

Corriere della Sera, Italia
16 Dicembre 2004
Strasburgo approva il via ai negoziati. Chirac: un’adesione parziale
per Ankara non è accettabile
L’Europarlamento dice il primo sì alla Turchia
Tra le richieste, tolleranza zero sulle torture e l’ammissione del
genocidio degli armeni
DAL NOSTRO INVIATO
STRASBURGO – L’Europarlamento invita a iniziare il negoziato di
adesione della Turchia all’Unione Europea: collegandolo però al
rispetto di varie condizioni che, se non fossero rispettate,
consentirebbero di bloccare tutto in qualsiasi momento. Questo
messaggio politico, approvato a Strasburgo dopo un acceso dibattito,
è indirizzato ai capi di Stato e di governo dei 25 Paesi membri
dell’Ue, che stasera e domani si incontrano nel Consiglio europeo a
Bruxelles per decidere se (e quando) andare incontro alle aspettative
turche di integrazione nell’Ue. E anche per valutare come conciliare
le esigenze politico-economiche con l’ostilità manifestata da ampie
fasce di europei verso l’adesione di un Paese con 70 milioni di
abitanti in maggioranza musulmani.
Il presidente dell’Europarlamento, lo spagnolo Josep Borrell, ha
considerato «chiaro» il segnale lanciato ai governi. 407 deputati
hanno votato a favore dell’inizio della trattativa con il governo
turco. I contrari sono stati 262 e 29 gli astenuti. Il sì è stato
trainato dalla maggioranza dei socialisti, liberali, verdi e
comunisti. I popolari hanno provocato polemiche chiedendo il voto
segreto, che ha tentato di rendere meno evidenti le loro spaccature
interne (i membri tedeschi e francesi sono contrari, mentre Forza
Italia e i conservatori britannici appoggiano la Turchia). La Lega ha
votato no con il gruppo degli «euroscettici». Non è passato il
tentativo di declassare il negoziato nella concessione di un
«partenariato privilegiato». Il presidente francese Jacques Chirac,
finora critico verso l’ingresso della Turchia, è apparso alla tv Tf1
per spiegare l’indisponibilità dei turchi verso un’adesione parziale
e l’utilità di accoglierli nell’Ue se rispetteranno tutte le
condizioni previste. Per questo, ha spiegato Chirac, «la domanda che
ci si deve porre è: l’Europa, e in particolare la Francia, hanno
interesse ad accogliere la Turchia? La mia risposta è: “Sì, ma…”.
Sì, se la Turchia risponderà a tutte le condizioni imposte a ciascun
candidato che vuol aderire alla nostra Unione».
Tra le condizioni poste ieri a Strasburgo dell’Europarlamento spicca
il rispetto dei diritti umani. Vengono pretese garanzie sulla libertà
religiosa, sul trattamento delle minoranze curde, sull’inizio di una
«tolleranza zero» della tortura. Ci si aspetta poi l’ammissione del
genocidio del popolo armeno nel periodo 1915-1923 (richiesta anche
ieri da Chirac), negata dalle autorità di Ankara. La presidenza
olandese di turno dell’Ue ha rilanciato il (non facile)
riconoscimento della parte greca di Cipro, Stato membro dell’Ue dal
maggio scorso.
«E’ ora che il Consiglio europeo annunci l’apertura dei negoziati con
la Turchia», ha auspicato il presidente della Commissione Josè Manuel
Barroso. Ma stasera i leader di Francia e Austria potrebbero
continuare a guidare il fronte scettico accentuando le condizioni e
contrastando l’orientamento a far partire il negoziato già entro il
2005 per cercare di concluderlo in 10-15 anni.
Ivo Caizzi
Esteri
–Boundary_(ID_S0OHl6sdmRXmUsf0LpB9dw)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
CROSSROADS E-NEWSLETTER – December 16, 2004
PRELACY MOURNS DEATH OF JOHN O. VARTAN:
PRINCE OF CILICIA AND BENEFACTOR
The Prelacy received the news of the passing of John O. Vartan with deep
regret. Mr. Vartan died yesterday, December 15.
Mr. Vartan was a supporter and benefactor of the Eastern Prelacy where
he established the Vartan Family Fund. He was honored with the Prince of
Cilicia insignia by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia, in recognition of his life-long support of the Armenian Church. He
was a major philanthropic contributor to many charities around the world and
especially in Pennsylvania and the Harrisburg area.
Mr. Vartan was the founder of the Vartan Group, Inc., headquartered in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, comprising of Vartan National Bank, Vartan
Construction Company, Vartan Enterprises, Vartan Inventory Company, Vartan
Management Company, Vartan Supply Company, and Parev Restaurant.
His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate, expressed his sincere
condolences to Mrs. Maral Vartan and the Vartan family.
The Prelate said: The memory of John Vartan can never be forgotten by
the Armenian Church, an institution he was devoted to on many levels. We
pray that our Lord will provide comfort to his loving family. His life and
deeds will surely remain an indelible part of our history and serve as an
inspiration for generations to come.
REQUIEM SERVICES FOR ARCHBISHOP ASHJIAN
OFFERED BY PRELACY PARISHES LAST SUNDAY
Requiem Services on the occasion of the first anniversary of the passing
of His Eminence Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian, former Prelate of the Eastern
Prelacy, took place last Sunday in all Prelacy parishes. The late Archbishop
served as the Prelate of the Eastern United States and Canada from 1978 to
1998.
In New York City, the services were under the auspices of Archbishop
Oshagan at St. Illuminator Cathedral, where Archbishop Souren Kataroyan, the
former Prelate of Aleppo, officiated over the Divine Liturgy and Requiem
Service. Archbishop Souren gave an eloquent sermon in honor of the late
Archbishop’s life and service. Following the services a traditional memorial
meal (madagh) was offered in his memory.
PRELATE ISSUES CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
Archbishop Oshagan issued his annual Christmas Message to the faithful.
His message for Christmas 2005 is based on the theme, GOD IS WITH US. His
Eminence stressed the importance togetherness through God gifts of
friendship, comfort, sympathy and strength.
To read the entire message go to:
MUSICAL ARMENIA WILL FEATURE BARITONE OSHIN GREGORIAN
AND THE WORKS OF COMPOSER ERIC HACHIKIAN
The 2005 Musical Armenia concert, which will take place on Sunday,
January 30, 2005, will feature the baritone Oshin Gregorian and the works of
composer Eric Hackikian. The concert will take place at Weill Recital Hall
at Carnegie Hall, New York City, at 2 p.m.
Mr. Gregorian is currently a member of the Boston University Opera
Institute, an intensive performance-based program for emerging operatic
artists. He graduated from Boston University and received a Masters degree
from the Manhattan School of Music. He will perform works by Mozart,
Donizetti, Gomidas, and Sayat Nova.
Mr. Hachikian has won numerous awards and grants for his compositions.
He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and is currently a graduate
student at New York University. His works will be performed by the Motyl
Chamber Ensemble.
Tickets for Musical Armenia, which are $25, can be purchased through the
Prelacy, 212-689-7810, or at the box office, 212-247-7800.
CATHOLICOS ARAM CONGRATULATES
JAROSLAV PELIKAN
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia,
congratulated the renowned church historian Dr. Jaroslav Pelikan who was
recently awarded the John W. Kluge prize for lifetime achievement in the
humanities and social sciences. His Holiness said: You deserve such a
prestigious award for your outstanding achievements as historian and
theologian. In fact, your numerous publications are eloquent testimonies of
your vast scholarship, rich knowledge and perceptive and analytical mind.
Your contribution particularly to church history and doctrine remains
unprecedented in the modern history of world Christendom.
Some of our readers will recall that Professor Pelikan was the main
speaker at the 1700th anniversary commemoration organized by the Eastern
Prelacy that took place October 4, 2000. Catholicos Aram presided over the
commemoration. Professor Pelikan spoke about the paradox of church and
national identity. He said:
For good or ill or some combination of the two, it has been the historic
Eastern pattern to establish and nurture a close bond between Church and
national identity. From that pattern has come the historical paradox I want
to examine tonight, by exploring two Orthodox traditions that have often
come into bitter conflict with each other but that in fact display deep
parallels: the Armenian Orthodox tradition to which most of you so proudly
and gratefully trace your roots; and the Slavic Orthodox tradition in which
I have my roots and have found my spiritual home, no less gratefully and no
less proudly.
DIRECTOR OF CATHOLIC NEAR EAST WELFARE
ASSOCIATION VISITS ARAM I
His Grace Mgr. Robert Stern, the director of the Catholic Near East
Welfare Association, visited His Holiness Aram I this week in Antelias,
Lebanon. The Catholic Association serves the humanitarian needs of Christian
communities in countries of the Near East.
ARTICLE IN TIMES OF LONDON
ABOUT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AND TURKEY
The December 15 issue of the Times of London featured an article
entitled, Turkey will not Apologize for Armenian Genocide, written by
Anthony Browne.
The article stated that Turkey has reacted angrily to a demand by France
that it accept responsibility for a genocide against Armenians. Michel
Barmier, the French Foreign Minister insisted that Turkey must officially
recognize the 1915 genocide before it joins the European Union.
ST. JAMES OF NISIBIS IS REMEMBERED
This Saturday, December 18, the Armenian Church commemorates the life of
St. James of Nisibis, one of the participants at the first ecumenical
council in Nicea in 325 A.D. St. James was educated in Caesarea and was a
first-cousin of St. Gregory the Illuminator. He was the first bishop of
Nisibis, an important Christian center.
St. James (Hagop) is one of the most beloved saints of the Armenian
Church. Gregory of Narek dedicated one of his hymns to him. According to
tradition he was the first person to try to reach the summit of Mt. Ararat
in search of the Ark. A fragment of the Ark, which he found, is displayed in
Etchmiadzin.
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
This Sunday, December 16, is the fourth Sunday of Advent in our journey
toward Christmas Day, January 6. A line from a popular Christmas Carol, Let
every heart prepare him room, is a good description of Advent: A time to
make room for Jesus in our lives.
It is the season when in our search for narrow and selfish worldly
wishes and desires we expose universal values-freedom, love, respect,
humility, meekness, charity and goodness. Let us strive to find all these
that truly keep us in a pleasant condition, so that we feel the presence of
God, proclaim our faithfulness toward Him and His commandments, and never
feel alone.. On the occasion of the New Year and the Holy Birth, let us feel
the descent of God in our hearts and recognize it as a gift distributed to
us. Let us act such that our work and life will be a Christian gift first to
God and then to each other, turning our New Year to thanksgiving.
Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan
>>From Christmas 2005 Message
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OSCE to send monitoring mission to Upper Garabagh
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 16 2004
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will send a
monitoring mission to Upper Garabagh to check reports from Baku about
Armenia’s establishing settlements in the area, Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists in London.
“The main thing is to define the format of this mission and the
date of arrival. We would like it to begin as soon as possible,”
Mammadyarov said.
An agreement to organize a monitoring mission was reached with Armenia
during talks between the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers in
Sofia and Brussels earlier this month, he said.
The co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group directly engaged in settling the
Upper Garabagh problem should join the monitoring mission, he said.
Mammadyarov urged Armenia to assume a constructive position in the
talks. “On the one hand, we are in talks, but on the other Armenia
is building illegal settlements in the occupied territories. If this
continues, serious negotiations are out of the question,” he said.
Mammadyarov welcomed the agreement with Armenia to continue the
negotiating process.

Azeri leader vows not to give up Karabakh, calls for “constructive”
opposition
ANS TV, Baku
13 Dec 04
Excerpt from report by Azerbaijani TV station ANS on 13 December
[Presenter] ANS’s special correspondent in London Ali Ahmadov is on
the line. He will give us the details about the [Azerbaijani]
president’s visit to Great Britain. Here you are, Ali.
[Ali Ahmadov, by phone] Good evening, Leyla. As you said before,
President Ilham Aliyev had his first meeting today with the Queen’s
representative [a member of the House of Lords], Baroness
Seccombe. That was just a brief meeting.
[Passage omitted: reported details of meeting with the British defence
secretary]
At a meeting [with Secretary of State for Defence Geoff Hoon] they
discussed the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict as well. President Ilham
Aliyev told the British defence secretary about the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict and the consequences of it not being resolved. They exchanged
views on the ways of settling it.
The president’s meeting at Chatham House [the UK Royal Institute of
International Affairs], which ended a few minutes ago, was the most
interesting one today. Influential politicians use this organization
to exchange views. The president spoke about Azerbaijan and, in
particular, about Nagornyy Karabakh. Then the participants [in the
meeting] asked the president questions. The president said that the
main problem for Azerbaijan is the issue of Nagornyy Karabakh, 20 per
cent of which are under occupation. There are about 1m of refugees and
they live in appalling conditions.
The most interesting fact was that the Armenian ambassador to Britain
asked the president about a settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict. It was a rather aggressive question. The president was asked
whether Azerbaijan intends to attack Nagornyy Karabakh. The president
strongly reacted to this. He said that Armenia is an aggressor state
and that it’s position in talks with Azerbaijan is not
constructive. This makes the talks fruitless. Azerbaijan does not want
to continue the talks just for the sake of them. Azerbaijan might stop
the talks if it sees that they yield no results. The president said if
the point is the liberation of lands, then the Armenians might check
the Soviet encyclopedia as many areas in Armenia have Azeri
placenames, but Azerbaijan lays no claims to any of them.
As for the liberation of lands, the president said if the talks with
Armenia yield no results and if Armenia refuses to vacate the lands
following the talks, Azerbaijan would, itself, liberate the
lands. Vacate our lands, otherwise we will do this ourselves, end of
quote.
The president clarified another issue as well. Commenting on the
freight transported to Georgia via Azerbaijan and the freight checks,
he said that when it joined the TRACECA [Transport Corridor
Europe-Caucasus-Asia] corridor, Azerbaijan set a condition that the
freight transported through Azerbaijan should never go to
Armenia. However, according to recent reports, the cargo has recently
been sent to Armenia via Georgia. The freight needed to be checked
thoroughly after Azerbaijan received this information. The cargo
mainly comes from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
The president said that as long as the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is
not resolved, not a gram of freight transported via Azerbaijan will go
to Armenia and that all the cargo and it’s final destination will be
checked.
Moreover, the president was asked about his internal policy,
specifically about democratic processes in Azerbaijan and his attitude
to the opposition. He said that the country needs a new opposition
force. He said the opposition should be more constructive and that the
existing opposition is destructive and cannot engage in constructive
negotiations with the authorities.
[Presenter] Thank you very much, Ali.

A1 Plus | 16:02:26 | 14-12-2004 | Social |
INDEPENDENT WHEN NO LONGER BEATEN
‘Joining the citizens concerned with the future of the country ‘New
Armenia’ Bloc keeps focus on the problems alarming society’, Eleonora
Manandyan, head of the `New Armenia’ social organization said at a
conference held today.
The probable forming of a new opposition bloc has widely been discussed
in the pres recently, and the pro-Western orientation is declared to be
the ideological base of it.
According to Eleonora Manandyan, the powers in opposition must first be
guided by settlement of numerous problems of the people and elaboration
of potential ways for establishment of statehood.
‘Horde sentiments now prevail in our country. We didn’t become
independent by declaring independence. There will be democracy in our
country only when we are no longer beaten during the elections’,
Eleonora Manandyan says.
‘We call upon political powers in Opposition to become mighty and to
stay away from obliged decisions to follow our national interests and
consolidation of statehood’, `New Armenia’ member Seda Arzumanyan says.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 14 2004
Armenian opposition says Ukraine developments may occur in their
country

Media in a number of foreign countries have published numerous
reports saying that the current developments in the Ukraine may take
place in Armenia as well.
Commenting on these statements made by Armenian opposition
representatives in their interviews to `Voice of Armenia’ newspaper
and a resolution released by the Armenian National Movement last
week, Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanian confirmed that there
are forces in the country trying to create a vision and convey to
foreign countries that such developments may also take place in
Armenia.
The mentioned resolution, adopted in conclusion of the Armenian
National Movement 14th congress, admits that Armenia has lost in the
Upper Garabagh settlement issue. The document says: `As a result of
Armenia’s unsuccessful diplomacy, the country has been left out of
regional projects. This creates a possibility of a war that may wipe
Armenia and Upper Garabagh off the map’.
Chairman of Armenia’s Liberal Progress Party Ovannes Ovanessian told
local press last week that this country has fallen into a predicament
and faces pressure from foreign countries with regard to the Upper
Garabagh problem.
He did not rule out that surprises are in store for Armenia from the
international community. A pro-Western political bloc therefore needs
to be set up in Armenia to prevent this, Ovanessian added.*

Le Monde, France
lundi 13 Décembre 2004
Paris demande à Ankara de reconnaître le génocide arménien

En marge d’une réunion des chefs de la diplomatie européenne
consacrée à la préparation du sommet européen sur l’ouverture des
négociations de la Turquie à l’Union européenne, le ministre des
affaires étrangères, Michel Barnier, a demandé à la Turquie de “faire
son devoir de mémoire”. Le président Jacques Chirac, invité du
journal de 20 heures de TF1 mercredi, s’exprimera sur l’éventualité
de l’ouverture des négociations.
La France demandera à la Turquie de reconnaître le “génocide”
arménien pendant ses négociations d’adhésion à l’Union européenne, a
déclaré lundi 13 décembre le ministre des affaires étrangères
français, Michel Barnier. Cette demande, qui ne constitue pas une
condition à l’ouverture de négociations, a provoqué une fin de
non-recevoir de la part des autorités turques, qui démentent que la
mort de nombreux Arméniens en 1915 constitue un génocide.
“La France posera cette question”, a dit Michel Barnier en marge
d’une réunion des chefs de la diplomatie européenne consacrée à la
préparation du sommet européen. “Je pense qu’un grand pays comme la
Turquie doit faire son devoir de mémoire”, a-t-il ajouté. Il a dit
avoir “évoqué la demande que fera la France, au cours de la
négociation, d’une reconnaissance de la tragédie du début du siècle
qui a touché plusieurs centaines de milliers d’Arméniens”, a ajouté
le ministre français. “Si, comme je le crois, le projet européen
depuis plus de 50 ans est fondé sur la réconciliation, réconciliation
entre nous – et la France et l’Allemagne ont fondé ce projet sur
cette idée-là – et puis réconciliation avec soi-même, alors je pense
que la Turquie devra, le moment venu, faire le travail de mémoire, de
réconciliation avec sa propre histoire et reconnaître cette
tragédie”, a ajouté M. Barnier.
REFUS D’ANKARA
Prié de dire s’il croyait que la Turquie allait changer changer sa
position, il a répondu : “Ce qui est nouveau, c’est que la Turquie
veut maintenant entrer dans l’Union.” Mais, comme en 2001,
lorsqu’elle avait durement réagi à la reconnaissance du génocide
arménien en suspendant l’achat de matériel militaire français ainsi
que les visites officielles en France, la Turquie ne paraît pas près
d’accepter cette demande. “Notre position est bien connue”, a déclaré
un porte-parole du ministère des affaires étrangères turc. “Nous ne
reconnaissons aucun soi-disant génocide et nous ne le reconnaîtrons
jamais”, a-t-il ajouté.
De son côté, la République de Chypre a demandé à ce que la Turquie
manifeste sa volonté de normaliser ses relations avec Nicosie avant
le sommet européen de mars 2005. Cette normalisation, a expliqué le
ministre des affaires étrangères chypriote, George Iacovou, doit
passer par l’élargissement par Ankara aux dix nouveaux pays de
l’Union européenne de l’accord d’union douanière qui lie la Turquie
et l’UE. “Nous n’avons pas demandé une reconnaissance définie sur le
plan international, mais une normalisation des relations en général
et en particulier dans le domaine bilatéral”, a-t-il ajouté.
Réunis à Bruxelles et en proie à de fortes dissensions sur le dossier
turc, les chefs de la diplomatie des Vingt-Cinq ont entamé lundi leur
débat sur l’opportunité d’ouvrir les pourparlers d’adhésion avec
Ankara, prélude à la décision que doit prendre en fin de semaine le
sommet européen.

Azerbaijan wants more British support in Karabakh issue – aide
ANS TV, Baku
11 Dec 04
[Presenter] The country’s main Karabakh problem will be in the focus
of attention during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s official
visit to London, which starts tomorrow. Official Baku intends to gain
political support from the visit, the head of the international
relations department of the Azerbaijani presidential administration,
Novruz Mammadov, has told us.
[Correspondent over video of Mammadov in his office] President
Aliyev’s meetings in London will focus on the Nagornyy Karabakh
problem and the expansion of economic relations between Azerbaijan and
Britain.
[Passage omitted: reported details]
Taking into consideration mainly the level of relations between the
two countries, the president will stress during the visit that
Azerbaijan also needs more support for the settlement of numerous
issues in the political sphere.
[Mammadov] In exchange for the relations we have, we expect the
British government to give us more support in the Karabakh settlement
and to be more active in this sphere.
[Correspondent] During his meetings in parliament, the president will
express official Baku’s stance on various visits by British MPs,
especially Baroness Cox, to Azerbaijan’s occupied region of Nagornyy
Karabakh. He will also touch on Britain’s neutral position on the
situation in Azerbaijan’s occupied lands discussed at the UN General
Assembly.
This is not the first time that we have seen such an attitude, Mr
Mammadov said. As for relations between the OSCE and the UN, numerous
countries of the world have been taking such a stance, he noted [as
heard]. We already know this, he said.
[Mammadov] We are surprised at this simply because that this position
is not fair. Today this does not help issues to develop in a positive
direction and solve problems in line with international legal
norms. However, these states express their positions in this
way. Azerbaijan expresses its position on the subject not only during
such meetings. The Azerbaijani president has expressed this position
in various ways in Azerbaijan. They also know this. We simply describe
this as double standards sometimes. And we are actually right to do
so.
[Passage omitted: more about the schedule of the president’s visit]
Aytan Safarova and Elxan Huseynov for ANS.

Armenian, Azeri foreign ministers to meet in Brussels on 9 December
Arminfo
8 Dec 04
Yerevan, 8 December: Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan and
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will have a meeting in
Brussels on 9 December. The meeting will be attended by the co-chairmen
of the OSCE Minsk Group to settle the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict,
the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry has told Arminfo
news agency.
The Armenian foreign minister arrived in Brussels from Sofia
yesterday to participate in a meeting of the foreign ministers of
the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (CEAP). As was reported, the
two countries’ foreign ministers also held a meeting in Sofia.
According to the source, Oskanyan today held a meeting with the
ambassadors of CEAP member countries and representatives of analytical
centres drawing up European policy. During the meeting, the sides
touched on relations between Armenia and Turkey, Armenia’s prospects of
integrating into and expanding cooperation with the European Union in
the context of Europe’s New Neighbourhood policy. The foreign minister
then met the European Commission’s commissioner for expansion issues,
Olli Rehn, to present Armenia’s approach to the 17 December summit of
the European Union regarding Turkey’s accession to the European Union.
[Passage omitted: Vardan Oskanyan also met other European officials]