Author: Emil Lazarian

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS DENIED THEIR STATEMENTS IN YEREVAN
Today, Azerbaijan
Oct 4 2006
OSCE Minsk group co-chairs met with Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan yesterday.
They agreed on Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers meeting in
Moscow on October 6, OSCE MG Russian Co-Chair Yuri Merzlyakov said
in press conference in Yerevan, APA reports.
French co-chair Bernar Fasie said the meeting of the presidents is
possible only after the Foreign Ministers’ meeting.
Armenian mass media claims the co-chairs denied their statements made
in Azerbaijan. While in Azerbaijan, Bernar Fasie said that the format
of the negotiations cannot be changed. In Yerevan he said he made no
statement on Nagorno Karabakh negotiations in Baku.
The co-chairs did not make public the details of the negotiations in
Yerevan. French co-chair said the principles of the negotiations have
not been changed in past two years.
Commenting on Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev’s statements they
said military solution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict is impossible.
“Azerbaijan President can say anything he wants. We will not comment
on his statement.”
The co-chairs said the solution plan was approved by G8 summit in
Washington, Paris and Moscow, but Azerbaijanis and Armenians are not
ready to live together.
Bernar Fasie said the solution of the conflict is out of the question
if the two nations are not ready to live together in peace. The
co-chairs will hold meeting in Khankendi today.
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TURKEY SHOULD RESUME ITS REFORM PROCESS, REHN
Turkish Press
Oct 4 2006
ANKARA – Turkey should resume its reform process with determination,
said European Commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn.
Holding a joint press conference with Salih Kilic, the chairman of
Turk-Is (Confederation of Turkish Employees’ Trade Unions) in capital
Ankara, Rehn stated that he is visiting Turkey for three reasons, and
listed them as ensuring cooperation among social partners and showing
the importance they attach to the NGOs; marking the first anniversary
of start of Turkey-EU entry talks. “And, thirdly I am here because
I don’t want this first anniversary to be the last one,” he said.
Rehn pointed out that Turkey should fulfil its liabilities,
particularly those stemming from additional protocol to the Customs
Union.
On the recent initiative launched by EU Acting President Finland
regarding Cyprus, Rehn said that this initiative has not been rejected
by any parties so far, and noted that all parties are trying to find
a solution as they have seen the seriousness of this matter.
Rehn refrained from detailing this initiative, but he said, “I don’t
want to be so much optimistic but this is an encouraging situation.”
-GEN. BUYUKANIT’S REMARKS-
On Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit’s remarks about
fundamentalist threat and asked if he sees such a threat, Rehn said
that they have great respect to the professionalism of the Turkish
Armed Forces, but underlined importance of reforms for democratization
of civilian-military relations.
“The army is under civilian control in European democracies,” he said.
-ARTICLE 301 OF TCK-
Commenting on the Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, Rehn noted
that the freedom of expression is defined as a fundamental freedom
in the European Convention on Human Rights.
Rehn said, “you see that there is not any concept like insulting
Britishness or insulting Finnishness. So, there is no approach in EU
countries like the approach in Article 301 (insulting Turkishness).”
Rehn pointed out that the number of cases filed under this article
has risen, pointing out that more than 60 people have been tried
under Article 301.
Most of the cases ended up with acquittal, he said. “Turkey is a strong
country, why does it need such an article. It is not an article in
line with EU standards,” he noted.
Rehn said that there should not be any violence when expressing
thoughts.
“If any thought incites violence, this is another thing. In this case,
it cannot be considered within the scope of freedom of expression,”
he added.
Rehn emphasized that it will be for the best interest of Turkish
people if Turkey fully ensures freedom of expression, and said
this will also be important for not only social change, democratic
progress and Turkey’s modernization, but also it is related with the
negotiation process.
-SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS-
Stressing that recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide
allegations is not a precondition before Turkey’s membership, Rehn
said that such historical issues should be solved within Turkey,
and underlined importance of discussion of this matter by Turkey
and Armenia.
Rehn said that the EU is supporting all types of dialogue aiming to
resolve this matter, and welcomed Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
proposal to set up a joint commission of historians.
Reiterating resumption of Turkey’s reform process, Rehn said that the
ninth reform package should be adopted as a first step, then freedom
of expression, rights of Non-Muslims and religious minorities should
be taken up.
“We may prevent a train crash by taking necessary decisions,” he added.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WEB TO LINK TEACHER WITH ARMENIANS
Orlando Sentinel, FL
Oct 4 2006
Education Schools In Brief
New Dimensions High School teacher Nicolle Boujaber has been chosen
as one of 25 educators nationwide to participate in the 2006 Armenia
School Connectivity Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of
State and administered by the nonprofit Project Harmony. Boujaber
and her students will engage in online discussions with high-school
students in Armenia on topics such as globalization, economics,
environment, culture and democracy. Boujaber will attend a conference
in Burlington, Vt., this month where she will join other educators
to discuss the project. Her students are also raising money for needy
Armenians. Details: projectharmony.org.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

YEREVAN AND BAKU AGREED TO CONTINUE DIRECT CONSULTATIONS
Gayane Movsesyan
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Oct 4 2006
According to the international mediators, the main obstacle to the
settlement is the lack of confidence between the parties.
The central goal of the OSCE Minsk group Co-Chairs’ visit to the
Karabakh conflict region has been achieved: an arrangement on the
resumption of the direct consultations between Armenia and Azerbaijan
on the principal issues of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement
has been reached. The RA and AR FMs’ current meeting will be held
in Moscow October 6. After that, in 7 – 10 days, the two countries’
FMs may hold another round of consultations with the mediators’
participation. Only after that the mediators may put forward a
proposal on the organization of a meeting of the Presidents Robert
Kocharyan and Ilham Aliyev, the OSCE MG Co-Chairs Yuri Merzlyakov
(Russia), Matthew Bryza (the U. S.) and Bernard Fassier (France)
stated yesterday in the course of a press conference held in Yerevan
on the outcomes of a meeting with RA President Robert Kocharyan,
with whom they had discussed the issues referring to the present
stage of the Karabakh talks. The OSCE Chair-in-Office’s Personal
Representative Andrzey Kasprzyk>>> also participated in the meeting.
At the press conference the Minsk group Russian Co-Chair Yuri
Merzlyakov stated an addition had been written to a basic
principle presented by the mediators to the conflict parties this
May. Y. Merzlyakov refused to go into detail, alluding to the
negotiation process’s confidentiality.
In the U. S. Co-Chair Mathew Bryza’s words, “the basic principles is
the best thing the mediators could offer, however, it does not mean
they are agreements”.
The Co-Chairs underscored they had elaborated a common view on the
necessity to activate efforts to achieve the conflict’s settlement,
as they have been convinced of the readiness of Yerevan and Baku
to search for the ways of advance. Yet the mediators noted great
breakthrough could hardly be achieved in the near future. There are
some difficulties, and the principal one is the lack of confidence
between the conflict parties.
In this connection the OSCE Chair-in-Office’s Personal Representative
Andrzey Kasprzyk pointed out frequent cease-fire violations in
the conflict zone that resulted in victims from both parties. “The
cease-fire should be strengthened”, A. Kasprzyk stated. Answering
the journalists’ questions, the French Co-Chair Bernard Fassier
categorically refuted the Azeri mass media’s information that being in
Baku the day before he had allegedly spoken against Nagorno Karabakh’s
return to the negotiating table. Matthew Bryza also refuted some
publications in the Baku mass media. In part, he allegedly said
the GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova) countries’
initiative to discuss the issue on the protracted conflicts on the
countries’ territory at the U. N. would be useful for the process
of the Karabakh conflict settlement. However, Bryza actually said,
“the GUAM countries are not represented at the OSCE MG and the MG
co-chair countries hope the proposals they have offered are aimed at
the achievement of the conflicts’ just settlement”.
Today the Co-Chairs will leave for Stepanakert to hold consultations
with the NKR President Arkady Ghoukasyan and other authorities of
the Republic.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERI DELEGATION WILL ASK CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS OF COE QUESTIONS REGARDING NK
Author: J.Shahverdiyev
TREND, Azerbaijan
Oct 4 2006
The meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will
take place in the Spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE) that will be held in Strasburg, the member
of the Azerbaijani delegation in PACE, MP Ganira Pashayeva told Trend.
She stressed that after the speech by the Head of the Committee,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, he will be asked questions.
The Azerbaijani side has also prepared its questions. Pashayeva
emphasized that despite the fact that Russia is the co-chair of
the OSCE Minsk Group and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers and
states that it recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,
the TV channels of this Country presents the head of the separatist
regime Arkadi Kukasyan as the president of fictitious Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic. “My questions will deal with this problem,” she stressed.
In addition, she said that the Chairman of the Committee will also
be presented questions regarding the non-implementation of the PACE
Resolution No. 14/16 containing the necessity of returning Azerbaijani
refugees to their land occupied by Armenian Armed Forces.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

U.S. CONGRESSMEN CALLED ON GEORGE BUSH TO EXPAND ENGAGEMENT WITH KARABAKH
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.10.2006 13:25 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The congressional letter, signed by 77 members and
sent to the White House on September 29, highlights a long history
of U.S. support to Nagorno Karabakh and the will of the people of
Artsakh to build a democratic and economically viable country.
As PanARMENIAN.Net came to know from the NKR Representative Office
in the U.S., the letter also notes the continuation of Azerbaijan’s
destructive policy, which threatens peace and stability in the
region and “goes against U.S. interests.” Most importantly, the
congressional letter advocates for expansion of U.S. political and
economic engagement with Nagorno Karabakh.
The letter said in part: “As we work towards peace, the United
States can and must expand its engagement with the lawfully and
democratically established Nagorno Karabakh Republic. These ties
should not be dictated by outside forces but rather should be guided
by the shared values of our two nations. […] We should build on this
success by investing in developmental and good governance programs that
will strengthen Nagorno Karabakh’s economy, democratic institutions,
and promote even greater cooperation on a range of regional and
security issues.”
“Everyday, we are advancing in building a country of our dreams – a
free, democratic and prosperous Artsakh. Fifteen years of independent
statehood have proved the righteousness of the historic path chosen
on September 2, 1991. Throughout these years, the people of Artsakh
have been truly blessed to enjoy the political and economic support
of the U.S. Congress.
We are deeply thankful to the American people for their generous
economic assistance that helped restore dozens of war-torn
villages, drinking water supplies and medical facilities,” said NKR
Representative in the United States Vardan Barseghian.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CONFERENCE ON PROSPECTS OF NATO-SOUTH CAUCASUS COOPERATION TO BE HELD IN TBILISI
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.10.2006 13:46 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ October 10 the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and
the International Center of Conflicts and Talks of Georgia will hold
an international conference titled “Prospects of cooperation between
NATO and South Caucasian states”. The conference will be attended by
Georgian government members, representatives of political parties,
NGOs, media and experts. FNF Head of South-Caucasus-Project Wolfgang
John, ICCT project director Giorgi Khutsishvili, NATO PA member Elke
Hoff, Georgian Deputy Defense Minister Mamuka Kudava and Georgia’s
Republican Party expert on foreign policy Ivliane Khaindtava will
give reports, said Trend news agency.

POWER SUPPLY HALTED BECAUSE OF LIGHTNING
A1+
[03:30 pm] 04 October, 2006
The residents of several districts of Yerevan have serious concerns
about the possible resumption of periodical cessation of power supply,
especially taking into account the fact that the Nuclear power station
has ceased its work for 45 days. Power supply was halted in Ajapnyak,
Nor Norq, Arabkir and Kentron.
The situation lasted up to 10 hours.
According to press secretary of “Armenian electricity supply network”
Zara Torikyan, the reason was the weather: the strong wind and the
rain damaged the overhead cables which were rather old. According
to the press secretary, the cables are being repaired. By the way,
in several districts were power supply wasn’t halted, the residents
themselves switched off the safety devices.
Zara Torikyan informed “A1+” that the situation lasted
only a few hours, and the results of the incident were soon
eliminated. Nevertheless, the building in Buzand 1/3 was deprived of
electricity for ten solid hours.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSCE-LED TEAM STARTS MISSION TO ASSESS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF SOUTHERN CAUCASUS FIRES
Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)

Oct 4 2006
BAKU, 3 October 2006 – An OSCE-led team of international experts,
backed by a United Nations General Assembly resolution, began an
11-day mission today to assess the environmental impact of fires in
and around Nagorno-Karabakh.
Bernard Snoy, the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental
Activities, heads the Environmental Assessment Mission, which
includes United Nations, Council of Europe and European Union and
NASA specialists and other local and international experts. Other
OSCE officials will also participate.
“The mandate of the Mission is to assess the short-term and long-term
impact of the fires on the environment in the fire-affected territories
and to make recommendations on how to counteract those consequences,”
said Mr. Snoy. “We will make recommendations for a future environmental
operation that would, among others, prevent the reoccurrence of
such fires.”
“It is significant that this team draws on specialist knowledge from
several international organizations as well as local expertise,”
he added.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/60/285)
last month that called on the United Nations Environment Programme
in particular to work with the OSCE. The resolution asked the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office to provide a report to the United Nations General
Assembly by 30 April 2007.
The UN resolution said the General Assembly was seriously concerned by
the fires and said they had inflicted widespread environmental damage.
To ensure the assessment is as comprehensive as possible, the Mission
will examine and assess fire-affected areas along both sides of the
Line of Contact, Mr. Snoy said.

POPE BENEDICT’S TRIP TO TURKEY ON TRACK.
Wanted in Rome, Italy
Oct 4 2006
Preparations for Pope Benedict XVI’s first visit to Turkey at the
end of November are going ahead despite a series of security issues,
according to Vatican authorities. On 3 October, the Turkish press
printed a message from Al Qaeda threatening any Muslims who play host
to the pope in Turkey, including state authorities. On the same day,
a Turkish national flying from Tirana in Albania to Istanbul hijacked
the plane and demanded that it land in Italy so he could deliver a
letter to the pope, sparking fears of a terrorist attack. After the
plane landed safely in Brindisi, the man was found to be unarmed and
is thought to have been trying to enlist the pope’s help to avoid
national service in Turkey. A Christian convert, the man said he did
not want to fight in a Muslim army.
The incidents follow the pope’s speech at the university of Regensburg
on a trip to Bavaria on 12 September in which he quoted a 14th-century
orthodox Christian emperor saying the prophet Muhammed had brought the
world only “evil and inhuman” things, causing widespread outrage across
the Muslim world. The pope subsequently apologized for the upset.
The last pope, John Paul II, was shot four times on 13 May 1981 by
a Turkish national in St Peter’s Square. His would-be assassin, Ali
Agca, has warned the current pope not to make the trip to Turkey,
which is currently scheduled from 28 November until 1 December.
Turkey’s population is 98 per cent Muslim, with a 100,000-strong
Christian community as well as orthodox Armenians and Jews making up
the remaining two per cent. Membership negotiations with the country’s
government for entry into the European Union began in October 2005.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress