Author: Emil Lazarian

Pan Armenian News
TARJA HALONEN: EU WILL SPARE NO EFFORT FOR KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT
30.09.2005 03:51
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Achievement of peace within the shortest terms is an
important factor for the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
Certainly, each party to conflict has its claims. However a compromise
meeting the EU criteria should be achieved. We support the negotiations held
within the OSCE Minsk Group framework. As a state assuming presidency in the
EU we will do everything within the limits of the possible to promote the
peaceful negotiations and provide security of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
citizens. We believe that the New Neighborhood Policy will prove fruitful
for the South Caucasian states’, Finnish President Tarja Halonen stated in
Baku during the joint press conference with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev. She said she has been to the region with the OSCE Minsk Group
delegation and is informed about the conflict. `In my opinion all the
conflicting parties will derive profit from the peaceful process. The
European Union is interested in the peaceful settlement of the conflict. We
support Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the OSCE and EU,’ Mrs. Halonen noted
adding that the EU will spare no effort for Karabakh conflict settlement.
`The New Neighborhood Policy is very important both for Azerbaijan and the
EU. I welcome your joining to the policy and hope that the negotiations in
this direction will start at the nearest possible date. Democracy in the
region is developing but there is still a great deal of work to be done.
Democracy is a process. I welcome the accession of Azerbaijan to the Council
of Europe. It is obvious that your country is aspired to meet the
commitments undertaken to the CoE’, she said. When commenting on the
forthcoming parliamentary election in Azerbaijan the Finnish President said,
`I believe the authorities and the opposition will act within the criteria
set by the CoE. Let us wait till November. At the moment I call upon the
President and government to hold a democratic election, since the democratic
development of Azerbaijan greatly depends on the upcoming election.’

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website:
September 30, 2005
ACNIS Polls Target Armenia’s Regional and Communal Development
Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)
today convened a policy roundtable to sum up the results of the two public
surveys it simultaneously conducted in September on local development and
governance perceptions in Yerevan and all Armenia. 1000 respondents from all
regions of Armenia except the capital participated in the first poll, while
500 Yerevan residents took part in the second.
ACNIS director of research Stiopa Safarian greeted the audience with opening
remarks and made a comparative analysis of the two polls. According to their
findings, there is a marked difference between the socioeconomic development
of Yerevan and that of the remaining regions. Accordingly, 50.3% of the
respondents living in the regions find this disparity to be very
significant, 35.2% significant, and only 11.3% insignificant. The results
among Yerevan residents are 49.6%, 40%, and 8.2% respectively, fairly close
to the opinions of the first group of respondents.
It is unfortunate that people living both in the regions and in Yerevan have
a desire to move away from their permanent places of residence: 44.7% of
regional respondents and 37.9% of those living in Yerevan express such an
inclination. The percentage of those who do not want to leave constitutes
43.7% in the regions and 52.5% in the capital city. Of interest is that
whereas a plurality, namely 15.4%, of those who want to move from the
regions prefer Yerevan as their new destination, most Yerevan dwellers have
their sights set abroad, particularly the United States at 8.6%, Russia
7.8%, and Europe 5.8%. The other peculiarity refers to the causes for
leaving their places of habitation. Among the respondents from the regions
the primary reasons are unfavorable living conditions and unemployment,
48.1% for each. For 45.1% of capital residents it is the uncertainty of
their future, though 44% of them also point to unfavorable living conditions
and 30.1% to unemployment. This notwithstanding, an almost equal
preponderance of the two respondent groups, more than 70%, is convinced that
finding a job and earning money is much easier in Yerevan than in the
regions.
According to the surveys, agriculture, at 48.1%, has the greatest
development potential in the regions, while in Yerevan it is trade and
commerce with a result of 26.7%. As indicated by 47.1% of the respondents
living in the regions, the most promising branch of agriculture in their
place of residence is farming, followed by cattle breeding at 29.4%,
agricultural products 22.4%, small cattle breeding 19.7%, and beekeeping
9.6%.
It also is noteworthy that the participants of both surveys favor the
election of local community leaders. To the question “Would you like to
elect your regional governor?,” 63.5% of regional participants respond in
the affirmative, with 10.4% opposed. Regarding a corresponding query on
election of the mayor of Yerevan, 62% of capital residents say “yes” and 14%
“no.” The questionnaires make it clear that only 22.8% of the respondents
from the regions are satisfied with the activities of their community
leaders, whereas in Yerevan this rating is a mere 19.2%. On the contrary,
49.6% and 50.6% respectively are dissatisfied with the work carried out by
the person in charge of their community. Even more, a large percentage has
no confidence whatsoever in its community leader. 45.6% of the republic-wide
respondents maintain that their regional governor impedes the development of
the region or has no role in it at all, and 60.5% of survey participants
from the capital city say the same of their mayor. On the matter of the
current territorial-administrative division of Armenia’s regions, 40.5% of
the first and 24.6% of the second respondent groups express discontentment
over the regional layout.
During his policy intervention on contemporary problems facing local
government, prefect Davit Petrosian of the Nor Nork district of Yerevan
brought forth the example of his own neighborhood and highlighted recent
institutional changes, such as the collection of property tax by the
boroughs, which have increased the community budget and solved many
problems. “The relationship between community bodies and condominia needs
legislative clarification. It is also necessary that jurisdiction over the
schools be transferred over to the communities, and empowerment of the
councils of elders be further elucidated and enlarged,” Petrosian said.
In his address, deputy chairman Davit Tumanian of the Association of
Community Financists talked about the prospects for improving local
administration in Armenia. “Overall, this domain is legislatively regulated,
but it requires further fine-tuning. In order to consolidate the local
government system, it is indispensable for the National Assembly to adopt a
strategy for decentralization.”
The formal interventions were followed by contributions by Sos Gimishian
from the Association of Community Financists; chairman Aram Grigorian of the
Association of Condominium Presidents; analyst Hripsime Manukian from the
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper Monitoring and Assessment working group;
chairman Aram Mailian of the Political Discussion Club; analyst Armen
Galstian from the International Center for Human Development; lecturers
Vilik Yedigarian and Haik Chilingarian from the Academy of Public
Administration; analyst Gor Hakobian of the Institute for Democracy and
Human Rights; ACNIS analysts Syuzanna Barseghian and Hovhannes Vardanian;
National Citizens’ Initiative coordinator Hovsep Khurshudian, activists
Gohar Isakhanian and Armen Martirosian; and several others.
Among the respondents from the regions 9.3% are 16-20 years old, 25.4%
21-30, 22.9% 31-40, 20.2% 41-50, 10.4% 51-60, 7.1% 61-70, and 2.6% 71 and
above. 45.7% are male and 54.3% are female. Among them 31.8% have received
higher education, 10.6% incomplete higher education, 24.6% secondary
specialized, 29.4% secondary, and 3.2% have incomplete secondary education.
44.6% are employed, 34.8% unemployed, 11.5% are pensioners and welfare
recipients, and 8.8% are students.
In the Yerevan poll, 13.3% are 16-20 years old, 30% 21-30, 15.6% 31-40,
21.7% 41-50, 11.6% 51-60, 4,6% 61-70, and 2.2% 71 and above. 40% are male
and 60% are female. Among them 49.2% have received higher education, 13.2%
incomplete higher education, 16.4% secondary specialized, 17.6% secondary,
and 3.2% have incomplete secondary education. 54% are employed, 24.6%
unemployed, 8.2% are pensioners and welfare recipients, and 12% are
students.
Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves
as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges
facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also
aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider
understanding of the new global environment. In 2005, the Center focuses
primarily on civic education, conflict resolution, and applied research on
critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.
For further information on the Center or full graphics of the poll results,
call (37410) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (37410) 52-48-46; e-mail
[email protected] or [email protected]; or visit or
and
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Chicago Sun-Times, IL
Sept 30 2005

System of a Down gets bigger stage for its act
September 30, 2005
BY JIM DeROGATIS POP MUSIC CRITIC Advertisement
Cheerfully idiosyncratic in an old-school, Frank Zappa way, System of
a Down is an unlikely arena act. Nevertheless, in the decade since
the progressive metal quartet formed at an Armenian Christian school
in Los Angeles, it has become one of the most popular and outspokenly
political groups in rock today.
Vocalist Serj Tankian, guitarist Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo
Odadjian and drummer John Dolmayan released their eagerly anticipated
fourth album, “Mezmerize,” in May, after keeping fans waiting for
more than four years after 2001’s “Toxicity.” Now, as the band
prepares to release “Hypnotize,” the second installment of its double
album, on Nov. 22, it is touring with another equally strange and
creative act, the Mars Volta.
I spoke with Tankian from his home in L.A. shortly before the start
of the tour.
SYSTEM OF A DOWN; THE MARS VOLTA; HELLA
7 tonight
Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim, Rosemont
Tickets, $32.50-$45
(312) 559-1212
Q. I saw one of the club gigs that launched “Mezmerize” at Metro in
May. Now you’re headlining the Allstate Arena. Did you ever think
System of a Down would become an arena band?
A. It’s been 10 years, so we’ve been working at it step by step. It’s
not like we had one radio single and went from clubs to arenas. We’ve
been steadily working, and “Hypnotize” is going to be our fifth
album. It’s a trade-off: You get more people, so the energy of the
crowd is amazing. But we’re trying to get as much of that club sound
as possible.
Q. What was the thinking in splitting “Hypnotize” and “Mezmerize”
into two releases?
A. Simply put, it is a double record, and the type of music that we
have, although it has pop arrangements, it is still progressive and
it starts and stops and has tempo changes, so listening to more than
35 or 40 minutes at a time is absolutely exhausting to me. We’ve
always liked short records and not putting too much onto the plate.
Q. The group has always been outspokenly anti-war and
anti-administration, yet you don’t preach about your views in
concert. Do you think the audience connects with your message?
A. Music in general is an intuitive form. It can be intellectual, but
generally it’s a right-brain activity. I always give “B.Y.O.B.”
[“Bring Your Own Bombs”] as an example: You don’t have to be anti-war
to appreciate the satire in a song talking about a hypocritical war.
It’s more intuitive: You get it and you feel it more than you think
it. Later on, if there is some thinking, that is fine. If there
isn’t, that’s fine, too.
Q. People talk about the role music played in stopping the war in
Vietnam. Do you think that’s still possible today?
A. Music, again, touches the heart, not the mind. It can affect the
mind, but only after it has affected the heart. With Vietnam, there
was a whole cultural and social movement that precipitated that, with
the media showing clips of what was going on. People were really
finding out the truth and realizing, “Hey, this is not something that
is part of the American dream.” Music became a part of that culture.
I don’t think music created that resistance to the war; it was a part
of it. At best, true art is a good representation of our times, and a
truthful correspondence of what is going on doesn’t create that
change. It may help bring that change to an emotional place in our
lives, but it doesn’t create that change.
Q. But you’re optimistic that we’ll see a change?
A. I think I’m already seeing a change. It’s gradual, but there is a
change in attitude toward Iraq. Although they’re not showing film of
soldiers dying, people do realize that there are deaths every day and
that, “Hey, this is a war I might have supported years ago because of
my feelings about Sept. 11, but this is definitely not the right
thing. It’s the wrong war in the wrong place.” Music has a place in
that, but it is mostly people realizing the truth about what is
happening in the world.
Q. Both albums contain a mix of songs with heavy messages, like
“B.Y.O.B.,” and tunes that are simply scatological silliness, like
“Violent Pornography.” Isn’t that a bit schizophrenic?
A. I have a hard time being serious all day. I have a hard time being
serious for more than three seconds! It’s all part of life, and
lyrically it is a combination of a lot of things that Daron and I
write together. “Violent Pornography” is a funny way of talking about
media and where we are today — things we show and things we don’t
show.
Q. How do the songs come together?
A. It’s a balance of ideas. The way that it started is that Daron
would bring in most of the music and I’d bring in the lyrics. As time
progressed, I’d start to bring in more music and fully written songs,
and Daron progressed as a lyricist and a singer, so he was able to
bring in more completed songs. That balance has created better
songwriters out of both of us.
REASONS FOR LIVING
As fans of psychedelic rock giants Pink Floyd continue to hope for a
full-fledged reunion tour in the wake of the band’s performance at
Live 8 and the news that it will reconvene again in November for its
induction into the U.K. Music Hall of Fame, a new DVD offers a rare
look at the start of its career nearly four decades ago, when it was
fronted by the soon-to-become notorious acid casualty Syd Barrett and
building a reputation as the freakiest British band during the Summer
of Love.
“Pink Floyd: London 1966-1967” features the quartet performing at the
legendary UFO Club in London, making the scene at the 14-Hour
Technicolour Dream at the Alexandra Palace (a much cooler “happening”
than Woodstock) and playing in the studio during its first recording
session with American producer Joe Boyd. Much of the footage hails
from director Peter Whitehead’s film “Tonite Let’s All Make Love in
London,” and scenes of the band are interspersed with appropriately
stoned flower children contemplating the universe, go-go dancers
stripping and gyrating, Yoko Ono doing performance art and John
Lennon dropping by to check it all out (the two hadn’t met yet).
The disc only includes two songs, “Interstellar Overdrive” and
“Nick’s Boogie,” but at 17 and 12 minutes, respectively, that’s
plenty of mind-blowing music to get you through at least a bong or
two. The DVD will be released Tuesday through Snapper Music, and at
under $20, it’s a patchouli-scented, paisley-covered Day-Glo bargain.
Pop music critic Jim DeRogatis co-hosts “Sound Opinions” from 10 p.m.
to midnight Tuesdays on WXRT-FM (93.1). E-mail him at
[email protected].
dave trying to cross the Mississippi River to rebuild his life in
southwest Louisiana,” Adcock explained. “He is hallucinating as he
comes closer to his death in the swamp. But that is one of those
songs that doesn’t take too much tricking around with, in that
there’s so many people who feel like runaways right now. When I’ve
been singing that song I’ve definitely been thinking about those
people.”
Adcock then sang from the song:
“… Running through the cypress shadows/just to save my life/I’m a
man whose been through hell/ yeah, we know it well/I’m ready for my
final day with the devil/ooh yeah its a runaway life/oh yeah gotta
run tonight/misery is a runaway’s life/goin’ down down down/ drown in
Atchafalaya. …”
Adcock, 33, began calling his New Orleans friends on the Saturday
before the hurricane hit (Aug. 29). He said, “I won’t name names, but
I got a lot of, ‘I’ve been out all night, I need some sleep, can you
call back in an hour?’ That’s New Orleans for you. Alex Chilton’s
girlfriend was at my house. Alex decided to stick around, then had
strange stories of trying to get out of town yet trying to be
inconspicuous so he wouldn’t get caught up in the [crime] that was
going down in the streets of New Orleans. But it was great for people
to see our little corner of the world. It was great to see someone
like Ani out at El Sido’s [in Lafayette] listening to Keith Franco’s
zydeco on a Saturday night. She was dancing all night. It kept people
preoccupied.”
As early as the Thursday following Hurricane Katrina, Adcock,
DiFranco and Napolitano drove back into New Orleans to retrieve
records, tapes and hard drives. Adcock has been writing songs since
Katrina and Rita, but he needs time to process his thoughts.
In the meantime, he will try to focus on “Lafayette Marquis,” one of
the best roots-rock records of last year. The roadhouse beat of
Adcock’s “Stealin’ All Day” is an appropriate signoff for Nitzsche,
whose last rock production was in 1979 with Graham Parker’s
“Squeezing Out Sparks.” Nitzsche, who died in 2000, was nominated for
an Oscar for his 1975 score for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
The Chicago native was a fan of Adcock’s only other solo record, a
1994 self-titled debut for Island Records. “Stealin’ All Day” was
recorded in 1997.
“Jack’s process of producing was not the most economical and
efficient,” Adcock explained. “But it was certainly grand and
wonderful. It wasn’t the way people produce things today, like
sitting down for a couple of hours to figure out what reverb to use.
He wanted to get inside your head and inside your life. We became
very close and slightly entangled in each other’s lives.
“He dug ‘Stealin’ All Day.’ Jack understood roots music and he liked
simple things, which sounds funny to say about a man whose work is so
complex. He had a firm handle on Wagner and orchestral things
[Nitzsche did the choral arrangement for the Stones’ ‘You Can’t
Always Get What You Want’], but he loved Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson and
Howlin’ Wolf. It was the last song he ever produced, although he did
other things on me I haven’t released.”

Kane County Chronicle
September 28, 2005
Rock band leads rally at Hastert’s office
By ERIC SCHELKOPF
[email protected]
BATAVIA – Batavia High School senior Julie Allen is
not a big fan of the rock band System of a Down.
But Allen said she appreciates that the band takes a
stand on social issues. That is why she attended a
rally Tuesday in front of U.S. House Speaker Dennis
Hastert’s district office.
System of a Down lead singer Serj Tankian and drummer
John Dolmayan urged Hastert to call for a vote on the
pending Armenian genocide legislation, which would
recognize that Turkey murdered 1.5 million Armenians
between 1915 and 1923.
“I think it is awesome what they are doing,” Allen
said.
Allen said she is concerned about the 1994 genocide in
Rwanda and recent genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
“I am concerned that genocide keeps reoccurring,”
Allen said.
The Armenian National Committee of America, Axis of
Justice and the Armenian Youth Federation also
sponsored the rally.
System of a Down’s four band members are of Armenian
descent. Tankian’s 97-year-old grandfather survived
the Armenian genocide.
“This is not just political, it is personal. If my
grandfather hadn’t survived, I wouldn’t be here,”
Takian said to crowd of about 125 people. “I really
believe there are a lot of good people in Congress who
are going to do the right thing.”
The rally was peaceful and no one was arrested.
“Everything has gone great,” Batavia Police Cmdr. Greg
Thrun said.
Tankian and Dolmayan gave Batavia police a letter
addressed to Hastert, who in turn gave the letter to
Hastert’s staff. The speaker was in Washington, D.C.,
on Tuesday presiding over Congress.
Hastert in October 2000 withdrew the Armenian Genocide
resolution from consideration shortly before it was to
reach the House floor.
“President Clinton asked the speaker not to bring the
resolution to the floor,” Hastert spokesman Brad Hahn
said. “He was concerned about how it would affect the
situation in the Middle East and how it would affect
diplomatic relations.”
The House’s International Relations Committee on Sept.
15 approved two resolutions that denounced the deaths
of Armenians early last century as genocide.
However, the State Department said in a letter to
committee members that the “resolutions could
undermine efforts to rebuild a partnership between the
United States and Turkey in pursuit of America’s broad
national security interests in the eastern
Mediterranean, Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle
East.”
“Discussion is going on. No vote is scheduled.
(Hastert) is taking a step back and letting the will
of the House work its way through the process,” Hahn
said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GHUKASIAN WELCOMES INITIATIVE OF ARMENIAN TRADE CHAMBER OF SYDNEY TO ESTABLISH PRACTICAL RELATIONS WITH NKR
Noyan Tapan News Agency
Sept 29 2005
STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 29, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Issues of
widening relations with the Armenian community of Australia and making
community representatives participants of processes of improvement
and development of NKR were discussed during the September 28 meeting
headed by NKR President Arkadi Ghukasian.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the NKR President’s acting Press
Secretary, Varuzhan Iskandarian, the NKR Permanent Representative
to Australia, Hakob Abulakian, an Australian Armenian businessman,
Mihran Abulakian, a businessman and the Deputy Chairman of the Armenian
Trade Chamber of Sydney, Australia, participated in the meeting.
President Arkadi Ghukasian welcame the initiative of the Sydney
Armenian Trade Chamber to establish practical relations with the
NKR and expressed a hope that the initiative will support economic
development of the republic.
Among other issues, participants of the meeting touched upon Australian
Armenian businessmen’s programs to make great investments in the
sphere of NKR mountain industry. On behalf of the NKR authorities,
Arkadi Ghukasian expressed readiness to show necessary assistance
for their implementation.

THE OSCE MG AND THE CE WILL SUPPLEMENT EACH OTHER, TIGRAN TOROSYAN BELIEVES
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Sept 29 2005
Commenting on the OSCE MG Russian Co – Chair Yuri Merzlyakov’s
statement concerning the fact that “the OSCE Minsk group can grant a
part of its authorities to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe” in the interview with Aravot newspaper (îò 28.09.05.) RA
Parliament vice speaker Tigran Torosyan said there should be strict
division between the OSCE MG and the CE missions.
Tigran Torosyan noted Minsk group was dealing with the settlement,
while the Council of Europe was preparing the atmosphere necessary
for the settlement.
Answering the question whether Merzlyakov’s statement could result
in the change of the situation around the Karabakh settlement Tigran
Torosyan stated, “The situation has not changed, just vice versa: the
OSCE mission should supplement the Minsk group mission. The settlement
process should go on within the frames of the Minsk group, while the
works on the realization of the resolution for establishment of the
atmosphere of tolerance, cease of propaganda of hatred, militarist
statements, ensuring the atmosphere of the problem settlement by
peaceful means should be carried out within the CE frames “. “It
is not less important than the search for the settlement formula”,
believes Tigran Torosyan.
RA Parliament vice speaker thinks the development of the issue is in
favor of the problem’s just settlement.
–Boundary_(ID_mAtwdzuI8D/uCCJvsBMYlQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AMBASSADORS FAIL TO AGREE FRAMEWORK FOR TURKEY ENTRY TALKS
AKI, Italy
Sept 29 2005
Brussels, 29 Sept. (AKI) – Just four days before Turkey is due to
begin membership talks with the European Union, ambassadors from
the 25-member bloc have failed to agree on a definitive framework
for the negotiations. Austria refused to give its go-ahead unless
the official negotiating framework includes the possibility that
‘privileged partnership’ may be the outcome of the talks rather than
full membership.
Britain, the current EU president, has convened a meeting of the 25
EU foreign ministers on Sunday to try to find a way forward.
Thursday’s impasse follows Wednesday’s slight to Turkey when the
European Parliament’s approved a resolution in which it supports
the start of membership talks with Turkey but lays down a series of
provisos. The parliament said recognition of the killing of more
than a million Armenians in 1915 as genocide was “a prerequisite
for accession”.
Euro-MPs also postponed a vote on extending Turkey’s customs
agreement to the ten newest member states because of Ankara’s refusal
to recognise Cyprus. The parliament’s decisions do not affect the
start of entry talks on 3 October, but are seen as a further sign of
European reluctance towards Turkey’s bid. The European Commission,
the EU’s executive arm, described the postponement of an important
vote on the trade agreement as “an own goal”.
The decision was motivated by Turkey’s recent declaration that
signing the protocol of the Ankara Agreement did not mean any form
of recognition of Cyprus, which became an EU member last May. Turkey
also refuses to admit naval vessels and airplanes from Cyprus.
The “privileged partnership” for Turkey being pushed by Austria
is also viewed positively by the German centre-right leader Angela
Merkel, while Ankara insists that nothing short of full membership
is acceptable.

CRUNCH TIME FOR SAAKASHVILI’S GOVERNMENT
By Zaal Anjaparidze
Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
The Jamestown Foundation
Sept 29 2005
So far, the Georgian government has weathered the latest cycle
of disturbances in the country’s restive regions. Tskhinvali, the
South Ossetian capital, came under mortar fire on the heels of its
celebration of the 15th anniversary of its declaration of secession
from Georgia. The coincidence of these two events has caused political
complications for Tbilisi (see EDM, September 22).
On September 22 the U.S. Department of State urged Russia to refrain
from supporting the South Ossetian separatists and simultaneously
demanded that Tbilisi reaffirm its adherence to finding a peaceful
solution to the Ossetian problem. The OSCE also condemned the
shelling. Demonstrating just how concerned the U.S. administration
has become with Tbilisi’s actions, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia John
Taft had a face-to-face meeting with Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili on September 21. The admonishment from Washington
prompted some pessimistic editorials. One of them, “Has Saakashvili’s
High American Hope Failed?” in the Akhali Taoba daily argues that
Washington’s rebuke of Tbilisi indicates that Tbilisi should not have
any illusions about using the United States in any military solution
to either the Ossetian or Abkhazian problems. Such a lecture from
Washington, according to the article, only encourages the separatists.
Soon after the Taft-Saakashvili conference, the Georgian Interior
Ministry dismantled most of the Georgian police checkpoints in the
conflict zone and withdrew Special Forces, having accused them of
abetting smugglers.
Now Tbilisi must either produce convincing evidence that the shelling
was the work of Russian troops deployed in the conflict zone, as
Georgian officials claim, or apologize publicly if an investigation
finds that Georgian forces initiated the shelling.
Needless to say, the latter finding would harm Saakashvili’s government
politically. Suspicions that the Georgian side might have been behind
the shelling are high, because the attack coincided with a surprise
visit by the hawkish Georgian minister of defense, Irakli Okruashvili,
to the ethnic Georgian enclave in South Ossetia. Giorgi Khaindrava,
Georgian state minister for conflict resolutions and the chief
Georgian negotiator for the South Ossetian peace talks, has hinted at
his upcoming resignation and labeled the initiators of the shelling
“degenerates.”
Saakashvili reported on September 24 that “very interesting details”
have emerged during the OSCE-monitored investigation of the incident.
The command of the Russian peacekeepers argues that Tskhinvali has been
shelled from the Georgian villages. Meanwhile, the Georgian parliament
is actively debating the withdrawal of the Russian peacekeepers from
the conflict zone, which inevitably would exacerbate the already
volatile Georgian-Russian relations.
Shortly after the violence in South Ossetia, secessionist
groups in Samtskhe-Javakheti, an ethnic-Armenian region on the
Armenia-Georgia border, stepped up their activities. A council of
local non-governmental organizations, meeting September 23-24, adopted
a resolution calling on the Georgian government to grant autonomy to
the region, including the creation of a “Samtskhe-Javakheti parliament
through free and direct elections.” According to the resolution,
by offering the highest degree of autonomy to South Ossetia and
Abkhazia, which had violated Georgia’s territorial integrity, Tbilisi
is discriminating against other ethnicities that reside in Georgia
and have demonstrated their loyalty to the central government.
The relative stability in this tumultuous region, which regards any
decision by Tbilisi with suspicion, is delicate. On September 19,
police from the town of Akhalkalaki went on strike, protesting the
recent decision by the Georgian Interior Ministry to replace the
local police chief, Mkhitar Abadjian, with Aram Pogosov, an adviser to
Saakashvili’s personal envoy to Samtskhe-Javakheti, without consulting
the local authorities. Armenian sources say that Abadjian was fired
for excessive advocacy of the interests of the local Armenians.
During the July 17 Georgian-Armenian clash in the village of Samsar
(see EDM, August 3) the Abadjian-led local police sided with the
local Armenians. David Rstakian, leader of the local non-registered
political party Virk, complains that Tbilisi purposefully removes
from key posts in Samtskhe-Javakheti any Armenians who were educated
in Yerevan. Meanwhile, on September 24, Van Baiburt, a member of the
Georgian parliament and deputy chair of the public movement “Union of
Georgia’s Armenians,” dismissed the Samtskhe-Javakheti NGOs demand for
regional autonomy. Ethnic Armenians compose 5.7% of the 4.4 million
population of Georgia, according to the latest census.
Alarming trends are also emerging in Kvemo Kartli, a southeastern
region predominantly populated by about 300,000 ethnic Azeris. On
September 23, a Tbilisi court sentenced Telman Gasanov, the
former executive of Gardabani district, to three months in jail
on charges of organizing an unsanctioned rally. On September 16,
Gasanov and his 40 supporters blocked the central highway demanding
dual citizenship and equal rights for Azeris living in Georgia. The
provocative proclamations demanding autonomy for the Azeri-populated
region appeared in early September. The local radical Azeri groups,
as well as some Azeri media, increasingly refer to Kvemo Kartli using
the Azeri toponym, “Borchalo,” which implicitly questions the Georgian
origin of this area.
Georgian analysts and politicians unanimously agree that external
forces are responsible for the recent disturbances in these regions,
and the assistance from the international community, which Georgia
acutely needs to resolve the frozen and potential regional conflicts,
appears to have differed from what Tbilisi expected. This may explain
why Saakashvili’s recent public remarks contained some criticism of
the West and international bodies.
(Regnum, September 23; Resonance, September 26-27; Akhali Taoba,
September 24; Civil Georgia, September 25-26; PanArmenian.net,
Itar-Tass, TV-Rustavi-2, September 24)

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CALLED FOR RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BY ANKARA
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Sept 29 2005
In the course of the plenary session that took place in Strasbourg
on Wednesday European parliamentarians ratified a resolution on the
beginning of talks on Turkey’ entry into the EU. 356 deputies voted
for the resolution, 181 against, while 125 refrained.
European parliamentarians stressed Turkey should recognize the
Armenian Genocide and Republic of Cyprus. The items have been fixed
in the resolution.
To note, Turkish Prime Minister Rejep Tayip Erdogan has repeatedly
stated Turkey does not intend to recognize Cyprus and is categorically
against any terms of its membership in the CE.

ARMENIA 79TH IN COMPETITIVE STRENGTH WORLD RATING
Pan Armenian News
28.09.2005 08:50
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia is 79th in the annual world competitive
strength rating of the World Economic Forum (WEF), says the Report
on Global Competitive Strength in 2005-2006 published in Geneva. The
economy of Finland is at the top of the rating for the third year
successively, the US is the second, while Sweden is the third. They are
followed by Denmark and Taiwan. The top ten also includes Singapore,
Island, Switzerland, Norway and Australia. Russia is 75th in the
rating, while Ukraine is 84th and Georgia is the 86th. The rating
included Azerbaijan (69th position), Kazakhstan (61), Kyrgyzstan (116),
Moldova (82) and Tajikistan (104) for the first time this year. The
WEF rating is being composed on the basis of inquiry of business
community leaders in 117 countries, as well as official statistics.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress