Author: Emil Lazarian

Georgian minister says Russia closed border in bid to destabilize South Ossetia
Channel 1, Tbilisi
10 Jul 06
[Presenter] After meeting an EU delegation, Minister of State Goga
Khaindrava has commented on the situation at Ergneti [checkpoint on
the South Ossetian border through which mainly Russian and Armenian
citizens have been trying to enter Georgian government-controlled
territory since Russia decided on 8 July to close the only border
crossing between the two countries recognized by Georgia]. He said that
the Russian and Ossetian sides were deliberately whipping up tension.
[Khaindrava] This is a well-thought-out plan. It is clear to everyone
that all these people will then try to come here through Roki [on the
South Ossetian section of the Georgian-Russian border]. Naturally, we
will oppose this because we cannot allow the uncontrolled crossing of
our borders by criminals of all stripes and colours. This will cause
the situation to deteriorate. That is what they have been counting on.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE COCHAIRMEN PROVOKE A WAR
By Anna Israelian
Aravot.am
08 July 06
Vahan Shirkhanian says who has filled different posts in the
governing system of Armenia till 2000, both the deputy Prime minister
and deputy Minister of Defense.
* Only suppositions and doubts in 1997-1998 that the President of
Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosian can give back the regions bordering
Nagorno Karabakh cause to accuse him of “selling Karabakh” and
treason. Now the OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen elucidate themselves
that Robert Kocharian has negotiated in this whole period round
giving step by step the territories back instead of some conditions,
making unclear the matter of Karabakh status. But people don’t
revolt. Which is the reason?
* We also had the whole picture of settlement in 1998 though it wasn’t
official. And the proposal was almost the same. The positive thing
was that there were positions about status, that is; wide autonomy
in the part of Azerbaijan, by their own armed forces, police, bank,
monetary unit, flag etc. The same version, which was proposed that
time and wasn’t adoptable has worsen up to the present day. Those
powers, which aimed to settle the problem not in favor of Armenia,
managed to form an authority in our country, which disparted the
society, making the part of population emigrate.
* Your accusations refer to Robert Kocharian and Serge Sargsian,
too. Whether those who came to power for settling the NK conflict
would like to settle the conflict in unprofitable way for Armenia?
* The only profitable circumstance is that Karabakh Status-quo has
been kept for 8 years. I don’t see another positive thing in their
activities. Karabakh has been emptied, the public of Armenia has
become hostile towards both the authorities and Karabakh, and the
40-50% of Armenian population has emigrated. And the worse thing
is that the interests of the outside enemies and inside authorities
are general.
* You insist that the offered proposal is almost the same what was done
in 1997. While the representatives of the authority insist that there
is a great difference; it isn’t spoken about the use of the right
of self-determination and holding a referendum in Nagorno Karabakh.
* This is simply a cynicism for naive people. What does referendum
mean even in 5 years and especially in 10-15 years if you resettle
the Azerbaijanis in Karabakh, if Azerbaijan doesn’t have a law about
holding referendum? They must adopt that law, make amendments in
the Constitution. And even if they adopt, no Armenian will remain in
Karabakh till that time, only the Azerbaijanis will remain. Should
they hold a referendum?
* If this version is so profitable for Azerbaijan why do they oppose
to this version of settlement? The Foreign Minister of Armenia and
the Press Secretary of the President stress that just Azerbaijan
has refused this and previous proposals, but our country has agreed.
* I don’t think it is so. Why must Azerbaijan refuse? Perhaps the
only reason for refusal is that peace-making powers will be settled
and a passage through Lachin will be given to Armenia, which isn’t
profitable for them and certainly they don’t want.
* There were interpretations that the OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen
provoke to changeover of political powers, as it was supposed that
the declassified positions would make a noise in the counteracting
countries. But the head of the ruling majority, the RPA group
leader Galust Sahakian insists, “anyone’s declaration can’t have
its influence on our political situation. Which standpoint is more
basic for you?
* I exclude that the OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen or superpowers have
aimed to realize changeover of political powers. Nobody needs in
it. They won’t have more guided authority than this is. They held
everything they needed in Armenia; a new Constitution, laws about
sects, sexual minorities, removal of death penalty etc. And they can
hold again without any difficulty. It’s another matter that Key-West,
Rambuye, Bucharest and other meetings were held, proposals were
made but they all were round a focus, round territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan.
* One of them, Mathew Brayza, speaks. After cochairmen’s declaration
that “we have got tired, decide yourself, knowing very well that
nowadays Azerbaijan is much more ready than Armenia to settle the
conflict itself. I think they provoke a war. It’s all the same;
they will settle the conflict, as it is profitable for them.
* You insist that the Armenian authorities are very profitable for
the OSCE Minsk Group. While the cochairmen also blame Robert
Kocharian for the lack of political will for signing an
agreement. Mathew Brayza considered responsible both presidents
for the failure of proposals.
* In my opinion Aliev sees another danger even in the most profitable
version of settlement. If peacemaking powers will be replaced in the
region and immigration and emigration will be realized under their
control, so he loses the possibility of personal leadership. The
authoritarian leader is afraid of that prospect. As regards the
accusations addressed to Robert Kocharian, I must remind that the
policy is a game. And such accusations are also the part of the game.
* I also should mention that it is inappropriate to turn to the
societies of both countries as presidents both in Azerbaijan and
Armenia have been elected without the participation of the society,
by the assistance of the OSCE Minsk Group cochairmen’s countries. And
today, they must work together with their elected presidents.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MODELLING OF A-320 CRASHED PLANE FINISHES
YEREVAN, JULY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The modelling of the flight of A-320
plane crashed on May 3 finished in the French city of Tuluz. Gagik
Galstian, Deputy Head of the Flight Security Inspection of the Civil
Aviation Chief Department, took part in them. The modelling results
will be discussed on July 10 in Sochi, at the International Aviation
Organization’s Sub-committee. Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed
about it by Gayane Davtian, Spokeswoman of RA Civil Aviation Chief
Department.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSCE PA NEWLY ELECTED CHAIRMAN EXACTLY SEES FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN
DIRECTION OF NAGORNO KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
YEREVAN, JULY 10, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Swedish deputy Goran
Lenmarker, reporter on the issue of Nagorno Karabakh, was elected new
Chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly during the secret ballot
at the OSCE PA summer session convened on July 3-7 in Brussels. 5
candidates, including Georgian Parliament Speaker Nino Burjanadze,
pretented to the post of the chairman. As Vahan Hovhannisian, head
of the Armenian delegation, RA NA Speaker, who was also included in
the Assembly’s electoral commission, assured at the July 10 press
conference, the elections were held “in accordance with the high
European standards, without stuffing ballot-papers, without switching
off the light and stealing the ballot-box at the end.” As a result,
G.Lenmarker succeeded at the second stage. The Armenian delegation had
a short meeting with the latter, during which the further cooperation
prospects were outlined.
In response to journalists’ questions, the speaker said that the newly
appointed Assembly Chairman exactly sees the further developments in
the direction of the Nagorno Karabakh settlement and thinks that,
nevertheless, some work will be done by the end of 2006. According
to Vahan Hovhannisian, in the American, Canadian, Swedish and French
delegations they are also convinced that OSCE Minsk Group American
Co-chair Matthew Bryza with his statements makes an attempt to
“directly notify the societies and to do some spade-work among them
by evading the executive level.” “At that, everybody realizes very
well, what side took a step towards concessions and what side declined
this step.
Everybody understands that Armenia shows an extremely pliable position
and Azerbaijan not,” the NA Vice-Speaker assured. He also stated
that some countries’ activity in the direction of being involved
in the format of the Minsk Group Co-chairs engaged in the Nagorno
Karabakh settlement is obvious. He also sees some activity in the
issue of moving the discussion of the Nagorno Karabakh problem to
different parliamentary assemblies. As Vahan Hovhannisian assured,
involvement of new countries and new instances can prolong the process
of conflict settlement.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NKR DEFENSE MINISTER: KARABAKH SOLELY FOR PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONFLICT
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
July 10 2006
STEPANAKERT, July 10. /ARKA – Novosti-Armenia/. In Stepanakert the NKR
Minster of Defense, Lieutenant-General Seyran Ohanyan told journalists
Karabakh is solely for peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.
He said territories, which are under the control of Karabakh, are
not an end in itself, but serve as a security zone for safe vital
activity of the republic.
Ohanyan emphasized that issues relating to territories, as well as
quartering of peacemakers may be considered only on the last stage
of settlement of the conflict, after solution of the main problem –
legal status of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
“If the main problem is not solved, giving back territories will be
out of the question”, Ohanyan stated.
Speaking of possibility of resumption of military actions in the
context of bellicose statements of the Azerbaijani President, Ohanyan
expressed an opinion that “Azerbaijan does not want to initiate a war”.
He finds the bellicose rhetoric is aimed at probing into the public
opinion and has its home policy objects.
At the same time Ohanyan said the NKR Defence Army has a plan of
effective countermeasures aimed at protecting the republic, and in
case of an emergency “life will show who’s capable of what”. S.P.
-0–

Those who have known genocide work to save Darfur
Published July 9, 2006
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL
July 9 2006
Fran Steinmark is used to puzzlement over her T-shirt.
The shirt reads, “Save Darfur.”
“People ask me, `Is that a person in jail?'” she said. “They really
do not know.”
Darfur is not a person in jail.
It is more like a country in hell.
It’s a parched section of western Sudan, about the size of Texas,
where a 3-year-old rebellion has mutated into a horrific conflict
pitting Arab Africans against black Africans.
Several hundred thousand people are dead. Some 2 million are
refugees.
It is a crisis on the periphery of the news — way down the pecking
order from Iraq, Iran, North Korea and Brad and Angelina. We’re
talking about African Muslims dying in a place with murky and
confusing politics, far away from obvious American interests.
No wonder people don’t always get the message of Steinmark’s shirt.
And yet, hearteningly, many people do understand and do share her
convictions.
“It’s genocide. Period,” says Steinmark, a lawyer and artist from
Boca Raton. “And if you’re functioning as a human being in today’s
world, you cannot allow a genocide to occur in our lifetime.”
Steinmark is a leader of the Save Darfur Coalition of South Palm
Beach, a year-old collection of churches, synagogues, student and
advocacy groups and plain citizens who just can’t sit by.
“The atrocities are so egregious, so horrendous: slavery, gang rape,
torture,” Steinmark says. “Cruelty and violence of this magnitude
demand that we stop it — otherwise there is something fundamentally
wrong with us as human beings.”
The group helped lead a drive this year to send 1 million postcards
to the White House. The cards urged President Bush to do his utmost
to support a stronger multinational force to halt the bloodshed.
Florida produced 50,000 postcards. Only California, Pennsylvania, New
York and New Jersey generated more.
A rally in April at Boca Raton’s First United Methodist Church drew
more than 700 people, an overflow house. Police had to be called to
manage the traffic.
“We wondered who was going to come,” said Andrea Schuver, another
leader of the south-county coalition, “and it was a full range of
ages. Not just retirees with time on their hands. We had student
organizations from high schools and colleges — a whole cross-section
of the community.”
Jewish groups make up a large segment of the coalition. The St. David
Armenian Church in Boca Raton is active, too. Jews and Armenians have
had their own tragic intimacies with genocide.
But many others in the movement are Catholic, Protestant, agnostic.
“If you’re a moral human being, you have to care about this,”
Steinmark says. “I don’t care what religion you are.”
Steinmark is Jewish, born after World War II. It galls her to think
that the world stood by while the Nazis killed millions.
With Darfur, important leaders are saying the right things. Bush has
said the killings constitute genocide. UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan said it’s “the worst humanitarian crisis gripping the planet.”
And yet, despite a peace treaty on paper and 7,000 monitors sent by
the African Union, the slaughter goes on.
Two weeks ago, Schuver and Steinmark went to Washington, D.C., for a
meeting of the national Darfur movement.
The first night they met some Sudanese refugees who told of losing
their homes and families.
Schuver, who also is Jewish, was reminded of her own grandparents.
How they’d lost track of European relatives after the Nazis came to
power and never heard from them again.
“When I heard someone say, `I lost 50 members from my extended
family, I have no idea where everyone is, except one sister,’ it was
just like the stories I was told,” Schuver said.
The coalition’s motto speaks to this connection: “Never again means
never again for anyone.”
Unfortunately, a world that was too late in discovering the
death-camp ovens has seen it happen again. In Cambodia. Bosnia.
Rwanda.
Wouldn’t it be something if citizen pressure created a better outcome
for Darfur?
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Georgian PM: “Armenia to suffer with Russia’s closure of border”
Civil Georgia, Georgia
July 9 2006
Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli said on July 8 that Russia
has unilaterally closed down border crossing point in Zemo Larsi
without prior notification of the Georgian side.
“Georgia actually has not been exporting to Russia anything and
Armenia will be the one which will suffer most from this decision,”
PM Nogaideli told reporters in Batumi, where he is hosting his Armenian
counterpart Andranik Margaryan.
He also said that the Armenian PM is already informed about the
Russia’s decision.
The Russian side closed the Zemo Larsi border checkpoint, citing the
necessity of carrying out repair works.
But Vasil Maglaperidze, the Governor of Mtskheta-Mtianeti region,
alleged that the decision is politically-motivated.
“Repair jobs cannot be a real reason for closing down the major
highway,” he told reporters on July 8.
The Zemo Larsi is the only legally operating border checkpoint with
Russia. Two others are located in breakaway regions of South Ossetia
and Abkhazia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Paper debates pros and cons of selling Armenian-Iran gas pipeline to Russia
Ayots Ashkar, Yerevan
8 Jul 06
Excerpt from K.Beglaryan’s report by Armenian newspaper Ayots Ashkar
on 8 July headlined “What will be the destiny of the gas pipeline?”
The construction of a gas pipeline between Iran and Armenia is expected
to be finished by the end of the year. And the exploitation of it
will begin from next year, at best. We have recently noticed a flurry
of activity around this issue. It began after the deputy chairman of
Russia’s gas giant, Gazprom, Aleksandr Ryazanov, announced plans to
acquire the Iran-Armenia pipeline. This is not new. But the Armenian
party officially denies this. It is only natural that Gazprom wants
to buy the gas pipeline as it provides Armenia with gas and is a
co-owner of the local Armenian gas distribution network. Moreover, the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline is of an important strategic significance. By
this, Armenia would first of all settle the problem of an alternative
gas supply route.
It is very important to our state given that the situation in the
region is unstable. On the other hand the gas pipeline has serious
prospects. In this context it seems illogical to hand over the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline to a third party taking into account the
fact that Armenia managed to get an agreement for its construction
with difficulty.
[Passage omitted: reported details on expected volume]
Russia’s interest in this gas pipeline is only natural as it is
anxious not to lose the Armenian market. Armenia is expected to barter
electricity for Iranian gas. That is to say, in this way Armenia
would settle part of its problem with the exploitation of the Armenian
energy system, the production of extra electricity and its sale. This
would give a serious boost to the energy sphere. Finally, it is not
so important whether the gas pipeline will be controlled by the state
or will be sold. In fact, not much will change because of that. The
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline should be used as effectively as possible.
Naturally, there is no sense in selling the Armenian section of that
[pipeline] to a third party.
[Passage omitted: reiterates the point]
This does not at all mean that the sale of the gas pipeline should
be completely ruled out. Armenia might have to think about its sale
if that would open up serious prospects for the country, i.e., the
gas pipeline would be turned from a local into a regional one. The
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline has such potential and it should not be lost.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Georgian, Armenian premiers discuss economic cooperation, Javakheti
Imedi TV, Tbilisi
7 Jul 06
A session of the Georgian-Armenian intergovernmental commission on
economic cooperation opened today in the office of the president’s
administration in Batumi. The session was preceded by a face-to-face
meeting between the Georgian and Armenian prime ministers [Zurab
Noghaideli and Andranik Markaryan], which lasted a few minutes.
The prime ministers discussed cooperation in the energy, tourism and
construction sectors. It was noted that a new Georgian-Armenian
university would soon open in Tbilisi. The discussion also
touched on railway projects, including the construction of the
[Baku-]Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki-Kars railway and the resumption of rail
traffic through Abkhazia.
The Armenian prime minister spoke about the situation in Javakheti
[predominantly Armenian region in southern Georgia]. He said that
the single concern of the Armenians living there was economic problems.
He expressed the hope that the Georgian government would deal with
these problems in the near future.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
July 7 2006
Fire Fight Over Karabakh
Armenians and Azerbaijanis accuse each other of deliberately starting
blazes on disputed land, while others blame the heat of a dry summer.
By Rufat Abbasov in Baku, Karine Ohanian in Stepanakert and Karine
Asatrian in Strasbourg (CRS No. 347, 6-July-06)
A series of wildfires raging on lands around Nagorny Karabakh have
sparked a new war of words in the unresolved territorial dispute
between Azerbaijanis and Armenians.
The Azerbaijani authorities accused the Armenians of deliberately
starting fires in areas to the east of Karabakh which, although they
are not part of the disputed territory itself, have been under the
de facto control of Armenian forces since the ceasefire of 1994.
No one lives in these territories, but the lands are cultivated by
Armenian farmers from Karabakh.
Azerbaijan’s environment ministry says more than 132 square kilometres
of land has been burned, causing damage estimated at around five
million US dollars. Azerbaijani environmentalists have named six
villages in the Aghdam region east of Karabakh which they say have
been razed to the ground.
The Armenian authorities in Karabakh have rejected these charges,
saying that the fires have either occurred naturally as a result of
drought conditions, or have been started by negligent local people –
or caused by gunfire from the Azerbaijani side of the ceasefire line.
Igbal Agazade, a member of the Azerbaijani parliament who visited
the ceasefire line that divides the two sides, said the fires were
“nothing other than mass arson”.
He told IWPR, “This is not a whim of nature, but a continuation of
the Armenians’ policy of destroying all evidence that Karabakh is
indigenous Azerbaijani land. If that wasn’t the case, the fires would
also be happening on lands controlled by the Azerbaijanis where the
climatic conditions are identical.
“The Armenians are doing this deliberately to destroy our graveyards
and historical monuments. The historic Nargiz-Tepe monument, which
is more than 2,000 years old, has already been wiped off the face of
the earth. This is ecological terrorism.”
These allegations are denied by the authorities in Nagorny Karabakh,
a republic that is unrecognised by the international community.
“At this time of year, fires in the wheatfields are nothing out of
the ordinary for Nagorny Karabakh, and they occur for very different
reasons,” Vahram Baghdasarian, Karabakh’s agriculture minister,
told IWPR. “But this year, the number and extent of the fires in the
wheatfields in zones bordering Azerbaijan has increased somewhat as
a consequence of shooting from the Azerbaijani side, using tracer
bullets which can start a fire instantly.”
David Mikaelian, press spokesman for the government in Stepanakert
(which the Azerbaijanis call Khankendi), added, “In this season when
the temperature rises to 40 degrees and more, it is natural that
there are fires in the fields – it does not mean they were started
deliberately. But we do have information that Azerbaijani soldiers
are responsible for arson in these areas.”
Mikaelian said the local fire service had been deployed to extinguish
the fires. The emergency services department in Stepanakert said that
it had recorded 128 fires this season, and that the fire service had
been sent out to deal with all of them. Spokesman Armen Narimanian
said more than 1,000 hectares of uncultivated land and 165 hectares
of harvested land had been burned.
Masis Mailian, deputy foreign minister of the unrecognised republic,
told IWPR that it had been hard for the fire services to put out the
blazes because shots fired by the Azerbaijanis created fears for the
safety of the firemen.
The Karabakh authorities released a statement on July 3, saying that
Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, who has acted as the main international
monitor of the ceasefire line for the last nine years, in his capacity
as representative of the chairman of the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe, had just conducted a monitoring mission in
the Aghdam area and had seen no evidence that population centres had
been burned – as alleged by the Azerbaijanis – but had seen traces
of a fire that began on the Azerbaijani side of the ceasefire line.
In complete contradiction to this, an Azerbaijani defence ministry
spokesman said the OSCE ambassador had “literally with his own eyes”
witnessed proof of deliberate arson by the Armenians.
Ambassador Kasprzyk could not be contacted by IWPR for clarification.
Matthew Bryza, United States deputy assistant Secretary of State
and chief negotiator on the Karabakh conflict, told the day.az news
agency in Azerbaijan that he was “worried” by the reports and had seen
satellite photographs on which “the boundaries of the fires… are
so distinct that it looks as though someone had thought in advance
how to start them and how far the fires should spread”.
Bryza said he was reserving judgement until Ambassador Kasprzyk made
his report.
On June 27, the Azerbaijani delegation at the Council of Europe
in Strasbourg issued a statement accusing the Armenians of “mass
arson on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as a result of which
thousands of hectares of territory were destroyed, doing great damage
to the environment. The flames also spread onto territory under the
control of Azerbaijan. Fauna, buildings and cultural monuments on
these territories were completely destroyed”.
In response, Heghine Naghdalian, a delegate from Armenia, said,
“The Azerbaijanis don’t understand that fires do not recognise
administrative boundaries.
“The Azerbaijanis speak about deliberate fires in the territories
adjoining Nagorny Karabakh without understanding that the Karabakhis
cannot set fire to those fields and woods which they use for their
own needs.”
Naghdalian claimed the matter was being raised to distract attention
from an issue that Armenia has raised at the Council of Europe –
the alleged destruction of the medieval Armenian cemetery of Djugha
in Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani parliamentary deputy Malahat Hasanova gave another version
of events to IWPR, saying that the Armenians were carrying out a
“scorched earth policy” as they understood that they would soon be
abandoning these territories and wanted to leave behind dead and
burned lands.
However, not everyone is inclined to see a political subtext to the
fires. Many farmers questioned by IWPR said fires were a perennial
problem in the region.
“One carelessly-dropped cigarette, and a fire starts immediately,” said
Larisa Danielian who lives in the village of Shahbulakh in Karabakh.
Leonid Soghomonian, who lives in the village of Berdashen in the
Martuni district, reported “the burning of a large amount of weeds
standing more than two metres high weeds on the border, which block
visibility between Karabakhi and Azerbaijani soldiers”.
Soghomonian said that the weeds were burned by soldiers on both sides
to give them a better view of their adversaries, and that many such
fires had been started over the past few years.
“But when a fire like this starts up, it’s impossible to stop it –
the grass is very dry, and it spreads very quickly. And as our crops
are directly next to the border, many of the owners of cultivated
land have suffered badly from the fires and lost 10 or 15 hectares
of their harvest.”
Rufat Abbasov is a journalist and IWPR contributor in Baku. Karine
Ohanian is a freelance journalist working in Nagorny Karabakh. Karine
Asatrian is a correspondent for A1+ television.