Author: Emil Lazarian

Eight people wounded in overnight Beirut car bomb – Al-Jazeera
Al-Jazeera TV, Doha
19 Mar 05
Some eight people were wounded in the explosion of a booby-trapped car
in Al-Judaydah area, east of Beirut, after midnight. The circumstances
of the explosion, which inflicted material losses, have not been known
yet.
[Correspondent] This is the car inside of which the explosive charge
was planted. Only the license plate remained, revealing that its owner
is called Hagub, a Lebanese of Armenian origin, who lives in this
building. Hagub has nothing to do with politics, as those who know him
have confirmed, but they noted that one of the neighbours works at the
US embassy.
[Unidentified resident in neighbourhood] We have someone living here,
namely, Anis al-Hayik, who works at the US embassy in Awkar. In spite
of this, the motives and the target have not been announced, but
regardless of its goals, the bombing made the opposition’s supporters
head immediately to the site of the incident. Some of those came from
Al-Shuhada Square where those staging the sit-in are continuing their
action which started on the day Al-Hariri was assassinated. Their
position is to note that what has happened targets them even
indirectly.
[Ibrahim Kan’an, the opposition Free National Movement] It is clear
that the series which started a month ago continues. We hope that the
bombing would not be a message to the residents of the area or a
message to the people of Lebanon who proved their unity on 14 March,
because this message would be useless.
[Unidentified man] We want to know from all security forces the truth
about who is planting these explosive charges.
[Correspondent] It is clear that this bombing increased internal
confusion and has represented a new occasion for the opposition to
resume its attack against the authority at a time when the country
appears to be in an intertwined predicament, including a security
crisis that started with Al-Hariri’s assassination and another
political crisis resulting from the assassination and the ensuing
resignation of Karami’s government followed by the difficulties of
setting up an alternative government especially after the plea of
those behind forming it to make it a national union government. The
biggest fear for the citizens is that bombings would once again
disturb the life of the Lebanese people.
Because it is a moment when the political and security issues merged,
the repercussions of the bombing might exceed the destruction of
several apartments in this building and lead to the destruction of the
entire political house, which is something that might not be easy to
deal with. This is Abbas Nasir reporting for Al-Jazeera.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERI DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: NKR SEPARATISTS DO NOT ACT IN ISOLATION
FROM ARMENIA
YEREVAN, MARCH 18. ARMINFO. Statement of OSCE representative Richard
Morphy on responsibility of NKR leadership for populating Armenian
people on the territories controlled by NKR is in political
interests. As Baku 525th daily informs, says Azeri Deputy Foreign
Minister, personal representative of Azeri President on Karabakh’s
problem settlement Araz Azimov.
Azimov says that the statement was made by the order of co-chairmen
and is beyond of logic. “Let us to see where Karabakh starts and ends
and where Armenia starts and ends. Karabakh is an Azeri territory,
however Robert Kocharyan headed separatists in Karabakh is Armenia’s
President and Serje Sargsyan lived in Karabakh is Armenia’s Defence
Minister. It shows that NKR separatists do not act in isolation from
Armenia. Any their step depends on the will of the official Yerevan”,
Azimov noted. -r-

Baku Today
President Aliyev expects no changes in Yerevan’s position
AssA-Irada 19/03/2005 12:22
President Ilham Aliyev, who is in China on an official visit, told
journalists while visiting the Great Wall of China on Friday that Armenia is
pursuing a destructive policy and he does not expect official Yerevan to
change its position on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.
Aliyev said Baku will take adequate steps if peace talks turn out fruitless.
Commenting on the report by the OSCE fact-finding mission on the illegal
settlement of Armenians in the occupied regions of Azerbaijan, President
Aliyev said the document includes provisions directed at resolving the
conflict and official Baku should use them.
`The peace talks that have continued for over 10 years have yielded no
results yet. The Azerbaijani people’s patience is not endless,’ Aliyev said.
With regard to punishing the former leadership of the Ministry of National
Security, who were informed 4 years ago about the recently-seized criminal
group but took no steps to eliminate it, President Aliyev said that
everything will be clarified after investigation into the case is over.

OSCE REPORT STATES: THERE IS NO CLEAR ORGANIZED RESETTLEMENT, NO
NON-VOLUNTARY RESETTLEMENT, NO RECRUITMENT
Azg/arm
19 March 05
`The Overwhelming Majority of Settlers Are displaced Persons from
Various Parts of Azerbaijan’
The OSCE Fact-Finding Mission that visited the seven regions
surrounding Nagorno Karabakh on January 30-February 4, has officially
presented its report to the OSCE Permanent Council. In particular, it
is said in the report that “Overall settlement is quite limited,”
“there is no clear organized resettlement, no non-voluntary
resettlement, no recruitment.”
The Fact-Finding Mission affirms the following number of the
population: “In Kelbajar District approximately 1,500; in Aghdam
District from 800 to 1000,in Fizuli District under 10, in Jebrail
District under 100, in Zangelan District from 7000 to 1000; and in
Kubatlu District from 1000 to 1500. In Lachin, the Fact Finding
Mission estimates that there are fewer than 8000 people livingin the
district overall.”
The mission did not determine that such settlement has resulted from a
deliberate policy by the government of Armenia.” The report says: “The
Fact-Finding Mission has seen no evidence of direct involvement by the
authorities of Armenian in the territories,” “the overwhelming
majority of the settlers are displaced persons from various parts of
Azerbaijan, notably from Shahumian (Goranboy) Getashen (Chaikent) –
now under Azerbaijani control – and Sumgait and Baku.”
Masis Mailian, NKR deputy foreign minister, accompanied the
fact-finding mission during their visit. In the interview to Azg,
Masis Mailian said that official Stepanakert will give its evaluation
of the report when that will be represented to the Karabakh
side. Mr. Mailian reminded that NKR authoritiesdid everything to
secure all the conditions for the activities of the fact-finding
mission.
David Babayan, political expert from Stepanakert, also accompanied the
fact-finding mission. He said in that the report is an objective one
and reflects the reality. “But it doesn’t mean that Azerbaijan will
give up manipulating with the issue of resettling these
territories. Most likely, Baku will try to make the international
community to force the settlers move to the territory of the former
NKAR or Armenia, explaining this by the fact there are few people
living in these territories,” Babayan said.
Araz Azimov, Azeri deputy foreign minister, said in an interview to
the Baku Ekho that “We already know that the OSCE Fact-Finding Mission
has confirmed the facts of settlement. The report of the mission is
very close to the data Azerbaijan managed to accumulate.”
A press release by RA Foreign Ministry on March 17, says that the OSCE
Fact-Finding Mission denies the claims of Azerbaijan, according to
which “There are exclusively large numbers of settlers in the
territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh. At various times, their
number ranged from 30000 to 300000 even.” “The Republic of Armenia is
directly intentionally engaged in the so-called settlement process,
and even has a state policy of settlement, with budgetary
allocations,” and “the overwhelming majority of the settlers are
citizens of Armenia, or from the Diaspora.”
RA Foreign Ministry stated that the total number of these settlers is
insignificant given that there are over 400.000 Armenian refugees as a
result of the conflict. Without those living in Lachin, then the total
number of settlersis indeed negligible. The co-chairs have noted that
“Lachin has been treated as a separate case in previous negotiations.”
This is because Lachin is Nagorno Karabakh’s humanitarian and security
corridor. Without it, Nagorno Karabakh would remain an isolated
enclave. It is because of Lachin’s political and geographical reality
and security dimension that it is viewed differently in the
negotiation process,” the statement says.
“Armenia, at the request of Nagorno Karabakh authorities, has
requested that the OSCE Permanent Council mandate a fact-finding
mission for a similarly transparent assessment of those regions which
were formerly largely-Armenian populated, and are today under
Azerbaijan’s control: The Northern Martakert and eastern Martuni
regions of Nagorno Karabakh, and Shahumian,” the statement says.
It’s worth reminding that according to the United Nations Economic and
Social Council Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ” The
Committee is concerned about the illegal occupation by refugees and
internally displaced persons of properties belonging to Armenians and
other ethnic minorities.”
In particular, the UN Committee pointed out Shahumian and Getashen
region that were formerly Armenian-populated.
By Tatoul Hakobian

PanArmenian News
March 17 2005
HOLOCAUST MIGHT HAVE NOT TAKEN PLACE IF WORLD HAD UNITED AGAINST
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, SAYS ADDRESS OF JEWISH COMMUNITY OF ARMENIA
17.03.2005 02:56
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Jewish community of Armenia urges Jewish
organizations of the world to express their civil position in the
issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The address of the
Jewish community of Armenia to Jewish organizations of the world
accentuates that monstrous outrage of Ottoman Turkey against its
citizens annihilated 1.5 million Armenians. The fact fell into
oblivion for many decades and was not denounced by the humanity.
Holocaust might have not happened if the world in its time united
against this atrocity, as it is fighting against terror now. No
political or economic interests should hamper recognition of human
tragedies, the document says. According to the report, the issue of
recognition of the Armenian Genocide is by no means directed against
the Turkish people. Quite the contrary – it will raise the opinion of
the civilized world about them, as it was in the case of Germany,
which had recognized the fact of the Nazi state annihilating 6
million Jews. `On the eve of the Commemoration Day of the Genocide
victims we address those, who are not indifferent towards recognition
of the historical truth and ask to pay homage to the memory of those
victims,’ the address says.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
March 16, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]

CONGRESS RETRACTS $1 BILLION GRANT OFFER TO TURKEY
Assembly Says Action Point to Further Strains Between Washington, Ankara
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly today noted the Bush
Administration’s withdrawal of a $1 billion aid offer to Turkey aimed at
compensating that country against the negative effects of the war in
neighboring Iraq. The funding, which Congress approved following the
onset of the war, was contingent on Turkish cooperation in Iraq.
At the request of President Bush, Congress rescinded the proposal since
Ankara gave no indication it was willing to comply with the terms of the
offer. The House of Representatives approved the Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror and Tsunami
Relief, which thereby retracts the offer.
Among the stipulations for the funding is that the Turkish parliament
agree not to deploy its country’s forces to the Kurdish region of
northern Iraq.
Ankara has expressed concerns about the growing influence of Kurds in
Iraq, fearing that a possible independent Kurdish state there could lead
to an uprising among ethnic Kurds within Turkey.
“We commend the Bush Administration for proposing, and Congress for
concurring, that this assistance package be dropped given Turkey’s
continued lack of support for the U.S. effort, starting with its refusal
in 2003 to allow coalition troops on its soil,” said Board of Directors
Chairman Anthony Barsamian.
As relations between Washington and Ankara continue to strain, Assembly
leaders noted that the U.S.-Armenia security relationship has in fact
strengthened in recent months. President Bush has described Armenia as
a “key partner with the United States” in the war against terrorism and
an Armenian task force, comprised of transportation and de-mining
personnel, was deployed to Iraq in December.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt membership
organization.
###
NR#2005-031
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Baku Today
March 17 2005
Separatist Leaders Met in Moscow
17/03/2005 12:36
Leaders from three secessionist regions – Abkhazia, South Ossetia and
Nagorno-Karabakh – Sergey Bagapsh, Eduard Kokoev and Arkadi Gukasyan
held talks in Moscow on March 16, news agency Interfax reports on
March 17.
Interfax also reports, that the leaders of three breakaway regions
agreed to hold a meeting of the de facto Presidents of Abkhazia,
South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transdnestria in April in Abkhaz
capital, Sokhumi.
Earlier Sergey Bagapsh, the President of Georgia’s breakaway
Abkhazia, said at a news conference in Moscow that the leaders from
the four breakaway regions plan to hold a summit in an attempt to
coordinate their policies.
This is a partner post from Civil Georgia
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

The Moscow Times
Thursday, March 17, 2005. Issue 3126. Page 5.
Oganesyan Warns of Slowdown
Combined Reports
Itar-Tass
Federal Energy Agency head Sergei Oganesyan
Russia, the world’s second-largest crude exporter, must revive investment in
its oil and gas fields or risk a further slowdown in a five-year oil boom,
the head of the nation’s energy agency said.
The lack of investment in oil fields, part of the “barbarous treatment” of
the country’s resources, must be reversed, Federal Energy Agency head Sergei
Oganesyan said Wednesday.
Output growth will drop by almost half to 5 percent this year and probably
slow further in 2006 and beyond, he said. Drilling fell last year as Russia
demanded $28 billion in back taxes from Yukos.
Russia’s oil boom may be ending as President Vladimir Putin increases
government control over the industry, hurting investment in new wells, rigs
and pipelines. A slowdown in Russian oil production gives greater power to
OPEC as world demand rises. The group pumps about 40 percent of the world’s
oil.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency estimates Russian oil output
will rise 3.8 percent this year, less than half the average during the past
five years and the lowest since $10 oil hurt investment in 1999. Oil output
rose 9 percent in 2004 to 9.2 million barrels per day.
“It’s possible, though it’s too early to tell [whether growth will slow to
3.8 percent this year],” Oganesyan said.
His comments came as the Industry and Energy Ministry said it expected oil
output to rise by 250,000 barrels per day in the second quarter of 2005 to a
new post-Soviet high of 9.58 million bpd.
The forecast was contained in a decree on the nation’s quarterly energy
balance signed by Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko. The
ministry’s estimate represents only a guideline and has repeatedly been
overly optimistic in the past few quarters.
The ministry said crude exports via the Transneft pipeline network,
including deliveries to ex-Soviet states, would amount to around 5 million
bpd, or in line with the current levels.
Oil output rose to 9.33 million bpd in February after a four-month decline
which many analysts attributed to the state-driven breakup of oil major
Yukos.
Seasonal factors also played a role in the recent dip, but production growth
is also expected to slow this year. Transport bottlenecks are making it
harder to bring oil to export markets.
Clogged pipelines, which are boosting transport costs, have also discouraged
companies from investing in production.
LUKoil forecasts shipping costs of $3 billion this year, up 20 percent from
2004, and TNK-BP’s transportation costs rose 77 percent to $1.5 billion in
2003, according to the most recent figures available.
A tax increase last year means the government takes most of the gains as
crude trades above $50 per barrel.
“With the new tax laws put in place last year, effectively 90 percent of the
cash flow above $25 goes to the government, so we are not actually enjoying
the benefits of these high oil prices,” TNK-BP Chief Executive Robert Dudley
said in January.
(Bloomberg, Reuters)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BBC Monitoring quotes from Turkish press 17 March 05
BBC Monitoring Service
United Kingdom; Mar 17, 2005

The following is a selection of quotes from editorials and
commentaries published in 17 March editions of Turkish newspapers
available to BBC Monitoring
UK
Hurriyet [centre-right, largest circulation] “Why was a ceremony [to
mark the killing of 6 Turkish soldiers by the British troops occupying
Istanbul in 1920] which has not been organized for 47 years been held
again? Why are the words like ‘perfidious Albion’ being used again? To
whom was this message sent? Was it the British ? Or the Americans? Or
the whole of Europe? …Or are we trying to tell the West ‘Look, if
you raise the issue of the Armenian genocide, we will open your
file?'” (Commentary by Ertugrul Ozkok)
Radikal “The UK is leading among the countries supporting Turkey’s EU
membership. In the background of [Foreign Minister Abdullah] Gul’s
visit [to the UK], there lies a report from 22 February 2005, which
was published as a result of the regarding Cyprus that House of
Common’s Foreign Affairs Commission carried out in 2004 and 2005 . In
this report, apart from a couple of points that the Turkish side would
not like, there are important suggestions to the British government
foreseeing the lifting of trade, travel and economic aid embargos on
the Turkish Cypriots. Perhaps, the most important aspect of the report
for us is that there is no suggestion that we should recognize the
Greek Cypriots.” (Commentary by Gunduz Aktan)
Turkey/ EU/ USA
Posta [tabloid] “For a while, this government was doing very well. It
knew what it wanted… and it was acting accordingly. I do not know
what happened but they have begun to resemble their predecessors. For
example, it seems that they still have not made a definite decision
regarding the EU… They have still not made up their mind about their
relations with America. Will they draw closer to Washington or to its
opponents? Is it better to be closer to the Muslim countries or be
closer to the Bush administration on some policies? …Given the
situation, of course, suspicions on the opposite side are growing.”
(Commentary by Mehmet Ali Birand)
Milliyet [centrist] “Suspicions that world developments are not being
interpreted well by [Prime Minister] Erdogan and his administration
are growing. There are many signs that the priorities and things that
can be done afterwards are being mixed up. While relations with the
USA are gradually becoming sour, good signals are not coming from the
EU either. Why is that? …Erdogan’s administration would benefit
greatly from considering the situation and getting back on its feet.”
(Commentary by Hasan Cemal)
“In the meetings I attended in recent months, organized by the NGOs
and university campuses, I have witnessed that anti-Western sentiment
is on therise. Objections have been made even by those who have been
strongly supporting EU membership… Because of the Westerners who are
looking down on us and wagging their fingers, saying ‘Do this and do
not do that’, the Turkish people are moving towards the point of
giving up its 200 hundred years old dream of becoming westernized. The
opposition, whose absence is being felt, is being formed into an
‘anti-West’ axis… And among the political elite, the complaint ‘we
are giving more than we are taking’ is being voiced.” (Commentary by
Can Dundar)
EU
Radikal [centre-left] “Turkey must also learn a lesson from the
message that the EU has given to Croatia. The very simple example is
that if our police continue to beat women demonstrators who do not
throw stones at them or demolish things, the [EU] negotiations may not
start or may be suspended even if they do start. If Turkey weakens the
policy of `zero tolerance against torture’, which the government has
declared, and if the violations of human rights continue to increase,
the negotiations may not start… And more importantly, if the
articles foreseeing prison sentences for journalists in the new
Turkish penal Code which is to come into force in two weeks’ time are
not corrected and journalists are imprisoned, the EU [membership] may
suddenly turn into a distant dream.” (Commentary by Ismet Berkan)
USA
Yeni Safak [liberal, pro-Islamic] “ýAs you see, the USA is determined
not to give you any diplomatic way out. [Regarding the issue of the
Turkish president’s visit to Syria] the USA sends its warning a month
earlier and strictly excludes any diplomatic way out as it gives this
[warning] publicly… It can much more easily be understood that one
of the targets of Washington’s new `imperial policy’ line is
Turkey. Washington does not want Turkey to determine its own policy,
even regional, and follow it.” (Commentary by Fehmi Koru)
“The problem [of the USA] is not Syria. The problem is the plans for
taking Turkey a hostage, controlling and cornering it and using it as
a trigger man… Who can say that Turkey will also not be declared
terrorist, as it is becoming independent in the area of foreign
policy, putting its own interests first, planning for its own future,
moving away from the USA-UK-Israel camp, opening up to Africa, the
Middle East and Asia, and becoming bigger?” (Commentary by Ibrahim
Karagul)
Source: As given
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NKR DM REFUTES AZERI REPORTS ON VIOLATION OF CEASE FIRE
YEREVAN, MARCH 16. ARMINFO. NKR Defence Ministry refutes pointblank
the Azeri media report that there has been an exchange of fire near
Agdam.
This is misinformation and an attempt to charge Nagorny Karabakh
republic with violating the cease fire regime. But it was Azerbaijan
who was responsible for the Mar 7 and Mar 9 incidents on the NKR-Azeri
contact line. The NKR DM also refutes the TURAN report of a Tuesday
skirmish also near Agdam.
Press Secretary of Armenia’s Defence Minister Seyran Shahsuvaryan says
that there was no exchange of fire on the contact line of Ijevan
(Armenia) and Gazakh (Azerbaijan) Mar evening – as reported by
Day.az. There was no fire on either Armenian or Azeri sides. This is
one more provocation, he says noting that Azerbaijan does not miss a
chance to remind of the section and to allege some skirmishes.