Author: Emil Lazarian

The Messenger, Georgia
July 23 2004
Zurabishvili meets president of Armenia
After meeting with Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili in
Yerevan Thursday, the president of Armenia Robert Kocharian declared
Yerevan’s interest in Georgian stability, Mediamax reports.
According to the Armenian president’s press service, Kocharian and
Zurabishvili discussed Armenian-Georgian relations and the prospects
of development of the South Caucasian region.
Pointing at that the two countries’ actual economic relations fall
short of both the potential and aspirations of Armenia and Georgia,
Kocharian underlined the necessity of the two governments’ working
together to further economic cooperation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep
July 23 2004
Georgia: Frustration Grows Among Azeri Community
By Jean-Christophe Peuch

While Georgia is striving to restore control over its northern
separatist province of South Ossetia, tension is brewing in its
predominantly Azeri southern districts. Local residents blame the
Georgian president for failing to deliver on pre-election pledges to
improve social conditions in the region. The situation has sparked
concerns in neighboring Azerbaijan, where voices are rising in
defense of Georgia’s largest Muslim minority.
Prague, 23 July 2004 (RFE/RL) — Since they were elected a few months
ago, the two young leaders of Azerbaijan and Georgia have been vowing
mutual friendship and pledging to take neighborly ties to new
heights, while increasing bilateral trade to unprecedented levels.
Yet, concerns over the fate of Georgia’s sizable Azeri community have
cast a shadow over this idyllic picture.
Estimates generally put the number of Georgia’s Azeris at around
350,000. Most of them live in four of the six administrative
districts of the southwestern Kvemo Kartli region, an area that is
known as Borcali in Azeri. Azeris account for nearly 50 percent of
the Kvemo Kartli population.
Tensions began rising after Georgian security forces two months ago
raided Azeri border villages and arrested a number of residents as
part of what was officially presented as an attempt to put an end to
smuggling operations from Azerbaijan.
In recent weeks, Baku-based newspapers have been reporting on alleged
extortion, arbitrary detentions, and other forms of harassment
against Azeri community leaders. First among them has been the
Russian-language “Zerkalo” daily, which has been spearheading a
campaign of support to Kvemo Kartli Azeris.
But Georgian authorities deny any wrongdoing.
Kvemo Kartli Governor Soso Mamzishvili tells our correspondent that
such accusations are unfounded:
“All these reports about alleged violations of ethnic Azeris’ rights
are out of place. What [these people in Baku] say or write is sheer
provocation. Neither I nor any other Georgian has had any conflict
[with ethnic Azeris]. There can be no talk of rights violations
against [Georgia’s] Azeris,” Mamzishvili said.
Azeris are Georgia’s second-largest ethnic minority group after the
Armenians.
They are also among the least integrated — a circumstance that
officials in Tbilisi generally ascribe to the fact that 90 percent of
them reportedly do not speak Georgian.
Azeris, in turn, blame the successive Georgian governments that took
over from Soviet rule.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, collective property was abolished
throughout Georgia. But as Azerbaijani poet Eyvaz Borcali tells
RFE/RL, the then government of hard-line nationalist President Zviad
Gamsakhurdia denied Kvemo Kartli Azeris the right to purchase land.
Borcali is a native from Kvemo Kartli who runs a Baku-based
nongovernmental group known as the Borcali Society. He says most
Azeris continued to be denied land ownership rights after former
Georgian Communist Party head Eduard Shevardnadze returned to power
following Gamsakhurdia’s ouster.
“Shevardnadze has done nothing good [for the Azeris]. He made only
empty pledges, and he did nothing [to correct his predecessor’s
policy]. Many Azeris are denied access to lands that belonged to
their ancestors. Those lands have been taken by Georgians and are
being given to Azeris for temporary use. [Sometimes] the Georgian
owners are not even from the region. There are cases of urban
Georgians who own lands in villages that have been Azeri since the
dawn of time and let them to local residents,” Borcali said.
Unofficial figures show up to 70 percent of Kvemo Kartli’s
predominantly rural Azeris are still denied access to land and are
forced either to rent plots or hire themselves to Georgian farmers.
Georgia’s Azeris are now showing signs of impatience.
Earlier this year, Azeri demonstrators picketed Saakashvili’s office
in Tbilisi to request that land be redistributed fairly among Kvemo
Kartli residents. They also demanded that steps be taken to restore
Turkic village names that were
“Georgianized” under Gamsakhurdia and that Azeris be better
represented in local administrations.
Observers generally agree that simmering tension in Kvemo Kartli
partly stems from the high expectations raised by the recent change
of political leadership in Tbilisi.
During his election campaign in December 2003, Saakashvili promised
Kvemo Kartli residents that he would meet their political and social
demands, vowing to grant all citizens equal rights regardless of
their ethnicity.
As other Georgian regions, Kvemo Kartli voted massively for
Saakashvili’s National Movement-led coalition in the 28 March
legislative elections. But now local Azeris are demanding action.
Unlike many in Baku, Azerbaijani lawyer Isaxan Asurov — another
native of Kvemo Kartli — does not believe the situation of Georgia’s
Azeris has significantly deteriorated under the new Georgian
leadership. Yet, neither has it improved, he says.
“One cannot say that the situation has worsened. Simply it remains
unchanged, and that worries people. During his election campaign,
Saakashvili himself raised such issues as the land reform or the
under-representation of local Azeris in official structures. But he
has still to fulfill his promises. That explains why we are unhappy,”
Asurov said.
Kvemo Kartli Governor Mamzishvili denies Georgia’s new leaders have
remained idle in the past seven months and says measures are being
taken to address the land issue.
“We are taking steps. We are currently reviewing all land contracts.
With respect to land, Georgians and Azeris alike face problems. We
are taking back all lands that have been purchased without being put
up for auction and we will organize new tenders. We are
redistributing land according to the existing legislation,”
Mamzishvili said.
Mamzishvili is the third governor to run the region since
Shevardnadze’s ousting. He claims that, since he was appointed last
February, he has managed to bring gas and electricity supplies in the
region to near nationwide standards.
Borcali says that, even if that were true, that would not be enough
to alleviate the plight of Kvemo Kartli Azeris. “When one is supplied
with gas and electricity,” he says, “that does not mean that one’s
problems are solved.”

Drug Week
Medicine & Law Weekly
July 23, 2004
ALZHEIMER DISEASE;
Polypeptide protects brain neurons in aluminum neurotoxicosis
Hypothalamic proline-rich polypeptide protects brain neurons in
aluminum neurotoxicosis.
According to recent research from Armenia, “The damaging effect of
aluminum ions (Al) on the organism is widely investigated in clinics
and experiments that indicate its role as a participant in the
synthesis of precursors for amyloid proteins and as a potential agent
in the etiology of Alzheimer disease.
It has been shown that aluminum produces neurotoxic effects. We
established that AlCl produces degenerative changes in the
ultrastructure of Hasserian neurinoma cells in vitro and in L-929
fibroblast cells.”
“Proline-rich peptide-1 (PRP-1) isolated from neurosecretory granules
of bovine neurohypophysis is a potent antineurodegenerative agent
against spinal cord hemisection and crush syndrome-induced
neurodegeneration of brain and spinal cord neurons,” reported A. A.
Galoyan and colleagues at the M. Heratsi State Medical University in
Armenia and the Russian Academy of Sciences. “PRP-1 is one of the
neurotrophic brain factors. By electron microscopic study of the rat
hippocampus and other tissues, we succeeded in visualizing the
epithelioprotectory effect of PRP-1, contributing as a powerful agent
in removal of aluminum accumulation in different tissues in
experimental aluminum neurotoxicosis.”
Galoyan and associates published their study in Neurochemical
Research (Hypothalamic proline-rich polypeptide protects brain
neurons in aluminum neurotoxicosis. Neurochem Res,
2004;29(7):1349-1357).
For additional information, contact A. A. Galoyan, H. Buniatian
Institute of Biochemistry, Sevag Str, Yerevan 375014, Armenia.
E-mail: [email protected].
Publisher contact information for the journal Neurochemical Research
is: Kluwer Academic, Plenum Publishing, 233 Spring Street, New York,
NY 10013, USA.
The information in this article comes under the major subject areas
of Alzheimer Disease, Neurodegeneration, Neuroscience, Neurotoxin,
Neurology, and Proteomics.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES PROPOSAL OF MILITARY ACCORD WITH POLAND
Arminfo, Yerevan
22 Jul 04
YEREVAN
The government of Armenia has approved a proposal to conclude an
agreement “On cooperation in the defence field between the governments
of Armenia and Poland”.
The conclusion of the agreement will help develop Armenian-Polish
relations, exchange experience within the framework of NATO’s
Partnership for Peace programme, form and operate multi-functional
military units and support international peacekeeping and humanitarian
missions, including upgrading military medicine, armament and military
hardware.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT MAKES DECISION TO ESTABLISH STATE NONCOMMERCIAL
ORGNAIZATION “NATIONAL EXPERT LABORATORY”
YEREVAN, JULY 22, ARMINFO. Today the Armenian Government made a
decision to establish a state noncommercial orgnaization “National
Expert Laboratory” attached to the National Academy of Science of
Armenia.
The Governmental Press-Service told ARMINFO that the decision is
motivated by an agreement of cooperation in the law-enforcement sphere
earlier signed between the USA and Armenia, by control over drugs, as
well as by the RA Law On state noncommercial orgnaizations. The
Government also made a decision to provide a three-storeyed building
(1.092 sq/m) to the new organization. The building earlier belonged to
the state noncommercial orgnaization “Scientific Center for Soil
Science, Agrichemistry and Melioration after G.Petrossyan.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Interfax
July 21 2004
Building costs for Armenian gas pipeline section $140 mln
Yerevan. (Interfax) – Russian gas giant Gazprom has completed
feasibility study preparations for the Armenian section of the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, which indicate a work cost of roughly $140
million, senior Gazprom executive Alexander Ryazanov said in an
interview with an Armenian media company.
Gazprom is one of the main stockholders in Armrosgazprom, which
intends to be involved in the building and operation of this
pipeline.
The construction work includes laying a 41-kilomenter section of
pipeline from the Iranian border to the two of Kajaran (320 km from
Yerevan in southeastern Armenia), as well as overhauling and replace
parts of the Kajaran-Yerevan gas pipeline.
The project recoupment period is an estimated nine years, Ryazanov
noted.
“Financial sources for the project need to be found now, after which
there will be no other problems for construction,” he said.
Possibilities are inter-governmental loans and “the involvement of
Russia,” he said. The Armenian section of the pipeline might also be
built with “Gazprom funds,” he added.
This pipeline is of great strategic value to Armenia in terms of gas
supply and energy security, Ryazanov said. An inter-governmental gas
cooperation agreement is being readied for Armenia and Russia to
sign, he added.

Armenian foreign minister upbeat about relations with Georgia
Arminfo
20 Jul 04
YEREVAN
Relations between Armenia and Georgia are becoming more interesting
with every passing day and the agenda is deepening, Armenian Foreign
Minister Vardan Oskanyan has told Armenian Public Television,
commenting on the upcoming visit of Georgian Foreign Minister Salome
Zourabichvili to Armenia.
At the same time, the minister said that serious conceptual tasks were
added to the issues to be discussed. “The expansion of NATO is taking
place around us, and Georgia clearly wants to join this organization,”
the minister said.
He added that they also need to discuss such conceptual issues as the
expansion of the European Union, a gas pipeline and railway
communication. It is necessary to coordinate our work to avoid the
emergence of any dividing lines in the Caucasus, the Armenian foreign
minister said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri opposition urges government to refuse OSCE’s Karabakh mediation
Interfax news agency, Moscow
20 Jul 04
BAKU
The Democratic Azerbaijan opposition bloc has called on the country’s
authorities to refuse the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group in
settling the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, Samir Asadli, a
representative of the Civic Solidarity Party, which is part of the
bloc, told Interfax.
“We think the position of the OSCE Minsk Group is pro-Armenian. At the
same time, it is widely known that it was Armenia that occupied 20 per
cent of Azerbaijan’s territories,” says a statement from Democratic
Azerbaijan.
“The OSCE Minsk Group is supposed to take action, not make
statements. The co-chairmen are not doing anything to settle the
Karabakh conflict. It should be noted that one of the Minsk Group’s
co-chairmen is a representative of France, a country that recognized
the so-called Armenian genocide,” the statement says.
“This is why the Azerbaijani authorities should refuse the OSCE’s
services and attempt to resolve the problem on their own,” the
statement says.
Baku lost control of Nagornyy Karabakh and seven adjoining districts
in a conflict with Armenia in the 1990s. The UN Security Council has
denounced the occupation of Azerbaijani lands and has demanded that
Armenia withdraw its forces. The US, Russian and French co-chairmen of
the OSCE’s Minsk Group are working to settle the conflict.

Agence France Presse — English
July 20, 2004 Tuesday 4:09 PM Eastern Time
Chirac backs Turkey’s EU entry in talks with Erdogan
by HUGH SCHOFIELD
PARIS
French President Jacques Chirac on Tuesday reaffirmed his support for
Turkey’s eventual membership of the European Union during talks with
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
That was a political victory for Erdogan, but the prime minister was
irked at a news conference by questions whether Turkey intended to
apologize for the alleged genocide of Armenians under the Ottoman
empire in 1915.
Erdogan said membership of the EU “does not imply the recognition of
an Armenian genocide” and suggested this was a matter best left to
historians.
However, the French Socialist party says such recognition is
necessary, even if it supports Turkey’s entry into the EU. Turkey was
particularly irritated in 2001 when the French National Assembly
formally recognized that genocide had taken place.
According to a Chirac aide, the president said that “Turkey’s
integration into the EU is welcome as soon as it becomes possible…
Turkey has made considerable progress. It must continue and intensify
the implementation of democratic and economic reforms.”
Erdogan on Wednesday wraps up three-day visit to France to lobby for
support ahead of a crucial decision by EU heads of government in
December whether to grant Turkey the right to accession talks.
Chirac has previously said he believes the path to Turkish membership
is “irreversible,” but he is at odds with many in his own Union for a
Popular Movement (UMP) party and the public who believe the
predominantly Muslim and Asian country has no place in the club of
25.
Speaking to reporters after his lunch with Chirac, Erdogan appeared
keen to reassure a dubious French population, saying that any
decision “would not be on Turkish membership of the EU, but on the
beginning of negotiations on membership.”
He later thanked the president for his “constructive approach” and
positive attititude concerning the prospective Turkish EU membership.
Earlier French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier warned that even if
the talks are given the go-ahead Turkey’s accession would not be
automatic.
“We have to tell the truth. It is not tomorrow that Turkey will be
entering the EU. The road ahead is still long. It has been on this
road for some time preparing itself and making progress,” he told
Europe 1 radio.
The governing majority was not united on the issue. Francois Bayrou,
the leader of Chirac’s coalition partner, the Union for French
Democracy, reiterated his opposition to Turkey’s EU bid, saying that
allowing the bloc to take in “countries that belong to other
continents and other cultures” would create “a weak Europe that will
be incapable of taking action.”
Erdogan met early Tuesday with French business leaders and urged them
to use their weight to argue Turkey’s case for entry. France’s
business elite sides with Ankara, seeing the country as a major
economic opportunity.
“I am convinced that French economic circles can make a contribution
to the diplomatic process, and we await it,” he said.
The debate over Turkey’s right to join the EU has been particularly
robust in France, where there is strong opposition both from those
who fear its implications for immigration and Europe’s cultural
heritage, and those who say it will mean the end of their vision for
a politically integrated continent.
The nationalist leader Philippe de Villiers on Tuesday condemned
Erdogan’s visit and what he described as Chirac’s “determination” to
see Turkey join the EU. He said he would ensure Turkey’s membership
is at the “heart of the debate” ahead of next year’s planned
referendum on the EU constitution.
Meanwhile Chirac’s office confirmed that negotiations to sell mid-
and long-range Airbus passenger aircraft to Turkish Airlines were in
their final stages.

Le Monde
20 juillet 2004
Jacques Chirac confirme son soutien à l’entrée de la Turquie dans
l’Union
L’UMP ainsi qu’une grande partie de l’opinion française sont opposées
à l’adhésion de la Turquie.
Au deuxième jour de sa visite officielle en France, mardi 20 juillet,
le premier ministre turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, espérait trouver à
l’Elysée le soutien de Paris à l’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Union
européenne. Cela a été le cas.
Le président français, Jacques Chirac, “a rappelé que l’intégration
de la Turquie dans l’Union européenne était souhaitable dès qu’elle
serait possible”, a rapporté l’Elysée à l’issue d’un tête-à-tête
entre les deux dirigeants suivi d’un déjeuner. Le président français
a souligné que “la Turquie avait fait des progrès considérables, et
qu’elle doit poursuivre et intensifier la mise en `uvre des réformes
démocratiques et économiques”.
Peu avant, devant des journalistes, M. Erdogan avait jugé
“impensable” que la Turquie et la France soient en désaccord
politique, étant donné la vigueur de leurs liens historiques et
économiques. “La France a constamment soutenu la Turquie” depuis le
sommet d’Helsinki, en 1999, où la Turquie a obtenu le statut de pays
candidat, avait-il noté.
M. Chirac s’est déclaré à de nombreuses reprises et sans ambiguïté en
faveur d’une adhésion alors que son propre parti, l’UMP (Union pour
un mouvement populaire) y est opposé ainsi qu’une grande partie de
l’opinion française. Lors du sommet de l’OTAN à Istanbul le 29 juin,
M. Chirac avait qualifié ce processus d'”irréversible”.
Au deuxième jour de son séjour à Paris, M. Erdogan a donc obtenu un
appui de poids dans sa campagne pour promouvoir la candidature
d’Ankara dans une France très réticente et divisée sur cette
question.
Interrogé sur la radio privée Europe 1, le ministre des affaires
étrangères, Michel Barnier, a cependant estimé, mardi, que “le chemin
était encore long” avant l’adhésion mais que ce pays était sur la
bonne voie.
PARTENAIRE COMMERCIAL PRIVILÉGIÉ
M. Erdogan a, pour sa part, regretté la persistance de doutes, de
réserves ou de débats sur l’adhésion : “Le fait que ces débats
continuent à exister malgré le paquet de réformes qui a été accompli,
cela nous attriste”, a-t-il dit aux journalistes.
L’opposition de gauche française est, pour sa part, favorable à
l’adhésion mais le Parti socialiste exige en préalable la
reconnaissance du génocide arménien de 1915. La communauté arménienne
de France (450 000 personnes) est la plus importante après celle des
Etats-Unis. Elle a appelé à manifester à Paris pour que M. Erdogan
“engage son pays dans le processus de reconnaissance du génocide
arménien”.
Parallèlement, Paris et Ankara ont fait avancer un autre dossier
important, celui de l’achat éventuel d’avions Airbus par la compagnie
nationale turque Turkish Airlines pour le renouvellement de sa
flotte. Ces discussions “sont en cours de finalisation”, a indiqué la
présidence française à l’issue de l’entretien Chirac-Erdogan. Ce
contrat avait été notamment discuté lundi soir par M. Erdogan avec le
premier ministre, Jean-Pierre Raffarin. Le consortium aéronautique
européen Airbus et l’américain Boeing devraient en principe se
partager ce contrat de deux milliards de dollars (1,6 milliard
euros).
M. Erdogan a appelé les milieux d’affaires français, qu’il a
rencontrés mardi au siège du Medef (patronat français), à l’épauler
et à investir dans son pays. La France est le deuxième partenaire
commercial de la Turquie et son quatrième fournisseur.
M. Erdogan sera reçu mercredi par le président de l’Assemblée
nationale, Jean-Louis Debré, et s’entretiendra avec le chef du Parti
socialiste, François Hollande, ainsi qu’avec le président de l’UDF
(centre droit), François Bayrou.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress