Author: Emil Lazarian

AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT HINTS AT NAGORNO-KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
Rovshan Ismayilov

EurasiaNet, NY
Nov 29 2006

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has announced a negotiating
breakthrough in long-stalled talks to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. In comments broadcast November 29 by state television,
Aliyev said "we are approaching the final stage of negotiations." An
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry source indicated that Baku and Yerevan
had agreed on a way for Azerbaijani to regain territories currently
occupied by Armenian forces.

Aliyev met with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian on the
sidelines of the CIS summit in Minsk on November 28. [For additional
details see the Eurasia Insight archive]. During those talks, Aliyev
said that the two focused on "contentious issues" that have held up
a provisional peace settlement under the so-called Prague Process,
mediated by the OSCE’s Minsk Group. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive].

"On some of the issues on which we have previously disagreed, we now
have agreement," Aliyev said, without elaborating. Armenian officials
have not confirmed Aliyev’s depiction of the talks.

A source at the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry confirmed to EurasiaNet
late on November 29 that "the presidents reached agreement on some
very important issues." The withdrawal of Armenian forces from several
occupied Azerbaijani regions around Karabakh was one of the issues
on which Aliyev and Kocharian agreed in Minsk, the source added. "So
far it is just verbal understanding between the presidents. But trend
of the negotiations process is very positive, and the signing of any
initial document on the conflict resolution in the near future is
not excluded," the source said.

Earlier, some experts in Baku suggested that the recent closure of
the ANS TV channel, along with the eviction of an opposition party
and its newspaper from its erstwhile center-city headquarters in Baku,
might be connected to a potential Karabakh deal. [For background see
the Eurasia Insight archive].

In talking about the breakthrough, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan had
not altered its negotiating stance. "Azerbaijan’s position has not
changed," he said, adding that the country’s "territorial integrity
should be restored, and within that [arrangement], the people
who live in Nagorno-Karabakh should be given the maximum degree
of self-rule." He also said that "the position of international
organizations has changed in positive way" in recent months.

Editor’s Note: Rovshan Ismayilov is a freelance reporter based in Baku.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BOOSTING CIS EFFECTIVENESS WAS AMONG KEY ISSUES – KAZAKH PRES

ITAR-TASS, Russia
Nov 29 2006

MINSK, November 29 (Itar-Tass) -The leaders of the CIS countries
who held a summit in the Belarussian capital, adopted a statement on
stepping up cooperation in fighting illegal migration.

The CIS presidents also signed an agreement on the director of the
CIS antiterrorist center.

The CIS presidents decided to gather for the next top-level meeting
in St.Petersburg, Russia, on June 10, 2007.

Taking part in the ceremony of signing documents at the summit were
the delegations of the CIS states.

CIS executive secretary Vladimir Rushailo said the heads of state had
failed to reach a consensus on border delimitation issues. "The border
issue was raised by Ukraine. At a meeting between the CIS foreign
ministers on October 16, three countries objected to the document
on state borders. Then, in accordance with the Charter, one of these
countries expressed its objection, so the issue has been taken off,"
Rushailo underlined.

Speaking at a summit meeting attended by CIS delegations, Belarussian
President Alexander Lukashenko said Minsk had always been a good floor
for settling all issues and that his country had done everything for
the current summit to be effective and dynamic.

"We have no complaints from all other summiteers," Lukashenko said.

For his part, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed his
gratitude to the Belarussian leadership and people for kinds words
and hospitality.

"The agenda was packed; in particular, the CIS leaders were discussing
development prospects, improving CIS effectiveness, humanitarian
cooperation and the stepping up of joint work in fighting illegal
migration," Nazarbayev said.

He elaborated on the problem of creating a zone of free trade in the
CIS, acknowledging that the process was making headway with difficulty.

The issues related to the free trade zone have been under consideration
for a long time, with Ukraine raising them persistently.

Ukraine simply assumes that borders should be open. But a free
trade zone implies uniform tariffs and a uniform tax policy. All
the documents should be signed, ratified and become law, the Kazakh
leader underlined.

As of now, 39 decisions have been approved of the 92 necessary for
normal functioning of the free trade zone. Issues are more often
resolved on a bilateral basis. Unlike the CIS, the Eurasian Economic
Community has coordinated up to 70 percent of documents on creating
a free trade zone.

The Kazakh president said a "very good exchange of opinions" had
taken place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili.

"It went very calmly, and it gives the hope that the relations between
the countries will improve with assistance by the sides," Nazarbayev
told a news conference.

The president of Kazakhstan, whose country is presiding in the CIS,
said that the Russian-Georgian relations were not on the summit’s
agenda.

He was asked why the Russian and Georgia presidents had not held a
separate meeting.

"It is not convenient for me to comment my counterparts, this is their
question. This meeting is outside the CIS framework. On the whole, a
very good exchange of opinions has taken place at the summit /between
the Russian and Georgian presidents/," Nazarbayev said.

For his part, CIS executive secretary Vladimir Rushailo, answering the
question about a future participation of Georgia, said this country
had not sent any official document to the CIS administration stating
its intention to withdraw from the organization.

"We haven’t received any statements from Georgia on its intention
to withdraw from the Commonwealth. I wouldn’t like to comment on
politicians’ statements, especially because they’ve been voiced for
the past eight to ten years," Rushailo said.

Azerbaijan’s president Ilkham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart
Robert Kocharian met after the CIS summit on Tuesday at the Russian
embassy in Minsk, to discuss a settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict.

The two leaders met one-on-one. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
opened the talks.

The summit was somewhat overshadowed by Belarus’ decision to bar
several reporters from covering the event. Kremlin journalists then
left the summit venue in protest, saying Minsk’s decision was not
justified. They informed the press office of the Russian president
about their decision, which unsuccessfully attempted to resolve
the problem.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

82 PERCENT OF ARMENIAN WOMEN TAKE INTEREST IN POLITICS

Armenpress
Nov 28 2006

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS: A booklet dedicated to gender
problems in transitional nations was presented today at the UN Armenia
House. Titled ‘Political Participation in Transitional Societies:
Gender Equality Measurement," the booklet was prepared and released
by the Association of Armenian Women with University Education in
cooperation with the Peace and Democracy Center.

Jemma Baghdasarian, the chairwoman of the Association, said the
booklet was based on a survey conducted among 500 women and 500 men
in 2005 and 2006. All the respondents had higher education and were
believed to be well aware of domestic political developments.

The survey has revealed that the majority-82 percent-of women were
interested in politics. Some 15 percent said they were prepared to
be injected in active politics. Likewise 15 percent of men were ready
to come out with political initiatives.

Another finding of the survey is that almost 80 percent of males
agreed that giving equal opportunities to men and women is a condition
mandatory for democracy development. This booklet was printed in
Armenian, Russian and English.

ARMENIAN DIAMOND-CUTTING COMPANIES REPORT DECLINE

Armenpress
Nov 28 2006

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS: A senior official of the Armenian
trade and development ministry who is in charge of diamond cutting
and jewelry businesses, said last week the sector suffered a tangible
setback in January -September of 2006 with a 20 percent output decline
and nearly 18 percent decline in sale volumes.

Gagik Mkrtchian, head of the department, said almost eight percent
of workers (300 people) were laid off. He said 42 percent of rough
diamonds were brought from Belgium, 54. 6 percent from Israel and the
rest from other countries. Mr. Mkrtchian attributed the decline to
decreased demand fro diamond and gold items at the world markets saying
consumers are buying more essential goods. Another reason, he said,
that should be blamed for the decline is the continued appreciation of
the Armenian dram against major hard currencies, which makes exports
an unprofitable business, as it increases the primary cost of goods.

He said lack of competent managers in Armenian diamond-cutting and gold
factories was yet another reason accounting for the decline. Mkrtchian
said Armenian prime minister Margarian is leaving soon for Moscow
where he will negotiate with Russians ways to establish cooperation
between diamond cutting companies of the two countries.

As good news Mr. Mkrtchian reported a five percent growth in the
mining industry, which he said was due to fresh investments in
the sector. He said a 20 percent increase is expected in 2008 when
Armenian is supposed to produce 4 percent of all molybdenum in the
world. Armenia now produces about 4,000 tons of molybdenum annually,
which make 2 percent of the world production.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KARABAKH TALKS IN ‘FINAL STAGE’
By RFE/RL staff (29/11/06)

Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
Nov 29 2006

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said today that negotiations on a
settlement with Armenia over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh
are entering their ‘final stage, RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service reported.

"It has been almost three years that the Karabakh negotiations have
been conducted within the Prague [peace] process," Aliyev said.

"During this period we have had many meetings at the levels of
presidents and foreign ministers. Of course, in these meetings ways
of resolving the problem were discussed. There were different stages,
but I can tell you we are approaching the final stage of negotiations."

Aliyev’s comments, broadcast on Azerbaijani State Television, came a
day after his talks with Armenian President Robert Kocharian on the
sidelines of the CIS summit in Minsk.

Constructive talks Aliyev assessed the results of his 28 November
meeting with Kocharian as "good," saying that the "negotiations were
held in a constructive matter." The success of future negotiations,
he added, will depend on the two presidents.

"The most contentious issues were at the center of the negotiations,"
Aliyev said. "Lately we have succeeded in resolving some of them. On
some of the issues on which we previously disagreed, we now have
agreement. But we still have some principal issues on which we have
different opinions. And both presidents addressed these issues."

Armenia has not yet commented on Aliyev’s statement. However,
upon arriving in Yerevan on 28 November, Armenian Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian provided a similar appraisal of the presidents’
talks that day.

"I can’t give you an assessment yet whether there was a progress
during the talks or not, but I can tell you that both presidents
positively evaluated the meeting itself in terms of atmosphere and
constructive approaches," Oskanian said. "I think in coming days the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan will analyze everything in detail,
after which they will give concrete instruction to the ministers
about further steps to be taken."

The two countries are still officially at war over the predominantly
Armenian territory that seceded from Soviet Azerbaijan in 1988. About
30,000 people died in fighting between the two sides before a
Russian-brokered cease-fire was reached in 1994. The conflict
has been "frozen" ever since, with Armenian forces occupying
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Clear stance The Azerbaijani president clearly outlined the stance his
country is taking in negotiations on a settlement to the longstanding
conflict.

"Azerbaijan hasn’t changed its position," he said. "Azerbaijan insists
on the resolution of the issue [of Nagorno-Karabakh] on the basis of
our territorial integrity. The four resolutions of the UN Security
Council should be implemented. Azerbaijan’s land should be vacated by
the occupying forces, and more than 1 million of our citizens should
be able to return to their lands.

"Again, Azerbaijan’s position has not changed. [Azerbaijan’s]
territorial integrity should be restored and within that [restoration],
the people who live in Nagorno-Karabakh should be given the highest
status for self-rule."

Aliyev had strong praise for the role international mediators have had
in trying to resolve the dispute. The OSCE Minsk group, co-chaired
by representatives of Russia, the United States, and France, has
overseen negotiations since the 1994 cease-fire went into effect.

"Respected international organizations saying that the issue should
be resolved within the principle of our territorial integrity –
of course this approach strengthens our position," Aliyev said.

"Generally, every issue should be resolved in keeping with
international law and norms. No issue can be resolved outside of
this approach. Because the creation of any kind of precedent can also
create problems in the future for other countries."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH PRESIDENT VETOES EU-SOUGHT RELIGION LAW

Reuters, UK
Nov 29 2006

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer vetoed an
EU-inspired law to improve the property rights of non-Muslims, the
president’s office said on Wednesday.

Sezer, a staunch secularist, sent the law back to parliament for nine
articles to be reviewed, the president’s office said.

The ruling came on the day the European Commission recommended
suspending some parts of Turkey’s accession talks because of its
failure to open its ports to EU member Cyprus.

The so-called foundations law, which fell short of European Union
expectations, affects Greek Orthodox, Syriac and Armenian communities,
and was approved after months of fierce debate in officially secular
but predominantly Muslim Turkey.

Nationalists were concerned the law would give non-Muslim minorities —
seen by some as foreign in the case of the Greek Orthodox Church —
more influence in Turkey.

Sezer, who is sometimes wary of EU-inspired reforms which he fears
could weaken the state or its secular structure, often vetoes
legislation, which the AK Party dominated parliament can overturn.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CRIMINAL GANG HARMING RUSSIA’S DEFENSE CAPACITY NEUTRALIZED

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Nov 29 2006

Russian law enforcement bodies managed to neutralize criminal gang
harming defense capacity of the country, APA reports.

Armenian citizens headed the gang, trying to sell rocket fuel with
platinum content by 1m rubles. The gang was engaged in stealing
strategic materials used in the production of rockets in defense
industry enterprises. The gang was especially engaged in taking
platinum out of rocket fuel and selling a gram of it by $26 in black
market. Volgograd resident Eduard Kobelyan and Armenian resident
Karen Akopyan headed the gang. The gang activists Alik Melikyan and
Alisan Azatyan were also arrested. 32 bottles of acid with 4.5 kg
platinum in content were confiscated from the arrested. They had
planned to sell them by 1.5m rubles in black market.50kg of jewelry
and 1m rubles were confiscated during the search in the Armenians’
house. Criminal case was launched against Armenian criminals on the
article illegal turnover of valuable metals.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ARMY IN ARMENIA FOCUS OF DISCUSSION ORGANIZED BY OSCE OFFICE

OSCE.org
Nov 29 2006

YEREVAN, 28 November, 2006 – Conscientious objectors, alternative
military service and civil society oversight of the armed forces were
the key topics of a discussion organized today by the OSCE Office in
Yerevan and the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation Armenia.

"Democratization of the armed forces is important to protect human
rights," said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office
in Yerevan. "We welcome the steps already taken by the Armenian
Government in this respect. However, there is still some need for
improvement and today’s meeting aims to contribute to this process."

About 30 participants from the Ministries of Defence, Justice, Foreign
Affairs, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Ombudsman Office, the Department
for National Minorities, civil society and the international community
assessed the implementation of the Armenian Law on Alternative Service.

Participants suggested several ways to bring Armenian legislation in
line with European standards. Civil society representatives presented
a concept of co-operation with the Defence Ministry for monitoring
the Armed Forces.

The OSCE Office will continue to support the Armenian Government
and civil society in this regard by following the conclusions of
the meeting.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FISH & FEATHERS: WITH GUNS WE ARE CITIZENS, WITHOUT THEM WE ARE SUBJECTS
By Capt. RON MALAST

Chinook Observer , WA
Nov 29 2006

The age-old controversy of "gun control" has been argued for many
years, but never with a satisfactory conclusion. Advocates of
gun control believe that by taking weapons away from the general
population, they put themselves in a safer position, In my opinion,
nothing could be further from the truth.

When the public submits themselves to the restriction of having their
guns taken away, in the interest of public safety, they are under a
false assumption. To believe that criminals are going to abide by
these rules and the government is going to protect the public is
pure fantasy.

The government has its own reasons for not wanting armed citizens.

Whether you agree or not, it’s an interesting lesson in history.

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953
about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded
up and exterminated.

In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5
million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up
an exterminated.

Germany established gun control in 1938. From 1939 to 1945, a total
of 13 million Jews and others were exterminated.

China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million
political dissents were massacred.

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000
Christians, unable to protect themselves were slaughtered.

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000
Mayan Indians were killed.

Notice a pattern here? At least, 56 million defenseless people have
been exterminated, in the 20th Century.

Twelve months after gun owners in Australia were forced to surrender
their personal weapons (640,381 of them) by their own government,
at a cost of 500 million to taxpayers, the results are in.

Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2 percent.

Australia-wide assaults are up 8.6 percent.

Australia-wide, armed robberies are up 44 percent.

Seems like the "bad guys" forgot to turn in their guns.

This seems to be a trend in countries where gun control has taken
weapons out of civilian hands. Why should criminals worry about
recrimination, if they know there will be no armed resistance from
their targeted victims.

Law biding citizens will turn in their guns so that they do not break
the law and become criminals. Criminals do not give a damn and will
break the law to reach any means. If the courts of this country would
support the police and enforce existing gun laws the criminal element
would be reduced considerably.

~U As of 1992, for every 14 violent crimes (rape, murder etc.)
committed in the U.S., one person went to prison.

As of 1992, average length of imprisonment for:

~UMurder 10 years. Rape 7.6 years, aggravated assault 3.4 years

~UIn mid-1990’s, criminals on parole or early release from prison
committed about 5,000 murders, 17,000 rapes and 200,000 robberies
a year.

~UAmericans use firearms to defend themselves from criminals at least
764,000 a year, according to surveys conducted by Galiup and the Los
Angles Times.

~UWashington, D.C. Enacted a virtual ban on handguns in 1976. Between
1976 and 1991, Washington, D.C.’s homicide rate rose 200 percent,
while in the rest of the country it rose 12 percent.

~UFlorida adopted a right-to-carry law in 1987. Between 1987 and
1996 these changes occurred – in Florida the homicide rate dropped 36
percent; in the rest of the United States it dropped only 0.4 percent.

The figures speak for themselves.

– "Gun Control," by James Rucnco ( control.htm)

Ron Malast is operator of the charter boat Big Dipper working out
of Sea Sport Fishing Charters in Ilwaco 866-211-6611. You may e-mail
him at [email protected]

http://www.chinookobserver.i nfo/main.asp?SectionID=12&SubSectionID=30& ArticleID=16525&TM=11855.46

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT LAUNCHES DEMONSTRATION IN FRONT OF CC

Panorama.am
14:24 27/11/06

Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) has launched a demonstration in front
of the Constitutional Court (CC) calling the judges and CC chairman to
express their disobedience to authorities-in-power. Arkady Karapetyan,
commander of Yerkrapah detachment and a member of initiative group,
said they want to mobilize all public and political forces as well
as the individuals, "The whole Armenian nation," Karapetyan said.

"We celebrate one year of referendum on constitution with a protest
action. An exceptional event happened on November 27, last year. More
than one million fraud was drawn and the referendum passed," Michael
Apresyan, commander of Arstakh detachment, said. The initiators
connect little hope with CC administration to join the group. Apresyan
claims only 180,000 people participated in the referendum. "Where
are the remaining 1 million 200 thousand? People have boycotted the
referendum. They have written it was held," he said. The commander of
Artsakh detachment said the verdict of CC on incompliance of alienation
of property with the constitution was in vain. "The decisions of the
CC have no power in this country," he said.

One of the initiators of the movement, ex-minister of foreign
affairs, Alexander Arzumaynay, demanded resignation of the president,
pre-term presidential elections and formation of free, fair and lawful
authorities in power.