Author: Emil Lazarian

Azeri leader, EU officials meet in Brussels, discuss Karabakh
ANS TV, Baku
18 May 04
[Presenter] Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who is on a visit to
Brussels, has started his official meetings. To recap, the visit by
the Azerbaijani leader to this country mainly aims to discuss the
enlargement of bilateral cooperation with the EU leadership. ANS’s
special correspondent in Brussels, Qanira Pasayeva, is on the
line. Hello Qanira. Good afternoon. Here you are.
[Correspondent, on the phone] Good afternoon, Leyla. First,
President Ilham Aliyev met EU Enlargement Commissioner Gunter
Verheugen. Azerbaijan’s integration into Europe and the policy
of Europe’s neighbours, that is Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus
countries are among them, and the Nagornyy Karabakh problem were
discussed during the meeting.
The most interesting meeting was held later with European Commission
President Romano Prodi. The sides gave a joint briefing for the
press after a 45-minute tete-a-tete meeting. Prodi said they focused
on Europe’s neighbourhood policy. He went on to say that they
accepted Azerbaijan as following this policy, that is the policy
of Europe’s neighbours. The South Caucasus countries were invited
[word indistinct]. According to him, that was his first meeting with
Aliyev and they will establish continuous and full cooperation with
Azerbaijan. He said that they supported Azerbaijan’s admission to the
World Trade Organization and other reforms launched in the country. He
said that they had discussed these issues widely with President Aliyev.
Prodi said that the European Union was concerned about the Nagornyy
Karabakh problem, because the conflict has not been resolved for
10 years. Unfortunately, there is no peace and we want the OSCE
Minsk Group to reach some results in the solution to this problem,
Prodi said. According to him, a solution should be found in order to
reach peace between the states and neighbours. Friendship should be
cultivated among the states neighbouring us. However, the international
public should be involved in this issue and resolve the problem. That’s
all Leyla.
[Presenter] Thanks, Qanira.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Arabs should also turn their fury at their own
International Herald Tribune
Massoud A. Derhally IHT Monday, May 17, 2004
AMMAN, Jordan To the majority of Arabs, the United States is a country
of double standards, and its leadership expounds the arrogance
and belligerence of an imperialist power. Thus the abuses at Abu
Ghraib prison will be etched forever in Arabs’ minds: If only the
American people knew what their country did abroad, many Arabs think,
if only Americans understood the anguish brought on by Washington’s
self-serving foreign policies, then they would understand why so much
Arab hate is directed toward them.
Unfortunately, most Arabs end the argument here. Yes, the repulsive
prison pictures vindicate some Arab grievances. But if there is a
lesson to be learned, it is that Arabs should be equally enraged by
the deficiency of human rights in their own countries.
Countless acts of violence have taken place in the Arab world that
dwarf the abuse of Abu Ghraib. There are wretched human rights
violations every day in the Middle East, yet they somehow aren’t met
with the same indignation and high standards of accountability Arabs
hold America to.
Why is that? The United States is a beacon of democracy, freedom
and transparency. It is the very absence of these fundamental values
that underscore the impotence of the Arab people. Arabs need to ask
themselves why it is that so many places have experienced their own
form of renaissance – be it Latin America, South Africa or Asia –
and why they haven’t.
That is the lesson to be learned from this fiasco in Iraq. If
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld can exhibit some humility,
so can our leaders in admitting their mistakes – and so can we,
in our struggle to define ourselves in this century.
It is true that America’s unrelenting support of Israel, now anchored
more than ever after President George W. Bush’s unconditional
endorsement of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s unilateral disengagement
plan, provides ammunition to hate. But invoking the Israel card for
most Arab governments has, by and large, meant giving the stamp of
approval to crackdowns, the denial of civil liberties and the creation
of systems that instill fear and paranoia.
In this sense, Arab anger at America is a culmination of the
frustrations in their own lives: the inability of people to vent their
anger openly at their own governments, the failure to rise up against
injustices committed in their own backyards, and the absence of checks
and balances that in democracies ensure that those in authority are
held accountable.
Democracy, some say, is not viable or applicable for Arabs. Arabs need
to be ruled by an iron fist, the argument goes, and the culture of
the Arab world doesn’t allow for the expression of different opinions
or the coexistence of different ideologies. Such statements expound
the very stupidity that lead to the massacre of Muslims in Bosnia and
Kosovo, of Jews in World War II, and of Armenians by Turks after World
War I. It is this line of reasoning that has fostered an environment
that nurtures zealotry – a defeatist mentality that perpetuates the
subservient role Arabs have become accustomed to.
If there were a single transparent and democratic system in place today
in the Arab world, those calling for reforms would be hailed and not
arrested. Women would be empowered. Were pictures of torture, abuse
and humiliation of prisoners to come out, then perhaps the region would
escape this twilight zone and experience its own renaissance. So when
Arabs look at those pictures of Iraqis being humiliated, they should
also take a look in the mirror – they may not like what they see.
Massoud A. Derhally is a freelance journalist and a former
correspondent for Agence France-Presse.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian, Azeri, Georgian speakers agree to work on stability pact
Mediamax news agency
18 May 04
Yerevan, 18 May: The chairmen of the Armenian, Azerbaijani and
Georgian parliaments have reached an agreement on joint work on a
draft stability pact for the Caucasus.
This agreement was reached in Strasbourg on 17 May at a meeting between
Armenian Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan and his Azerbaijani and Georgian
counterparts, Murtuz Alasgarov and Nino Burjanadze respectively,
Mediamax today learnt from the Armenian National Assembly press
service. PACE [Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]
President Peter Schieder attended the meeting as well.
The meeting announced that the main political forces represented in
the Council of Europe supported the idea of signing a stability pact
for the South Caucasus.
The meeting also discussed the prospects for establishing a South
Caucasus Parliamentary Assembly.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian police confirm US citizen murdered in capital
Mediamax news agency, Yerevan
18 May 04
The Armenian police have confirmed that the corpse of a US citizen
was discovered with stab wounds in central Yerevan on 17 May, Mediamax
news agency reported on the 18th.
The Yerevan prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into
the case.
The body was found in a courtyard at 24, Sayat-Nova Avenue.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OVERCOMING POVERTY
A1 Plus | 15:58:56 | 18-05-2004 | Social |
“No policy is worked out for rural manpower in “Poverty Reduction in
Armenia” strategic program”, Hranush Kharatyan, head of Governmental
Department on National Minorities and Religion, announces.
Mrs. Kharatyan was instructed to make an analysis on occupation and
unemployment of villagers in particular, the reasons and volumes
in Armenia.
Hranush Kharatyan has today introduced her study during the seminar on
“Implementation of Projects Supporting Job Increase and Revenue Rise
for Poverty Reduction and in Armenia”.
The analyst stated there are about 200.000 unemployed in the Armenian
villages. She says occupation issue is rather passively represented in
“National Program on Poverty Reduction in Armenia”.
“Unemployment will hardly decrease soon, on the contrary, it may grow”,
Kharatyan forecasts.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Asylum-Seekers Begin Hunger-Strike In Baku
Baku Today
May 17 2004
The two Armenians, who arrived in Baku early April, began hunger-strike
on Monday in protest against international organizations’ reluctance
to help them find asylum in Europe.
Roman Terian, 38, and Artur Apresian, 48, said they will hold the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) responsible for
any negative results the hunger protest may bring about. The Armenians
appeared in Azerbaijan’s private ANS television on April 8, relating
their departure from Armenia with hardships they claimed they faced
in their home country.
Speaking to local and foreign reporters in a press conference staged
by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of National Security on May 14, the Armenians
said they left Armenia because of “Kocharian’s dictatorship,” with
one of them likening the Armenian president to Osama ben Laden.
The asylum seekers were born in Baku.They left for Armenia after the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988, but have not received
Armenian citizenship. Terian and Apresian married to Armenian
citizens. Both have two daughters.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Gevor and Tatevosyan to battle it out live on the internet
EastsideBoxing.com
May 17 2004
17.05.04 – Exciting action is coming up live on the internet. On
Tuesday Armenian Koren Gevor, 17-2 (10), will face Russian Sergey
Tatevosyan, 21-4 (13), at Hansehalle of Lübeck, Germany, in an 8-round
non-title fight. The battle of the two strong European middleweight top
contenders will be broadcast live on the internet on …
Gevor is coming off a six fight winning streak since suffering his two
losses due to unlucky injuries. Tatevosyan who knocked out former world
champion Armand Krajnc in 2002 is coming fresh of a European title
fight against Howard Eastman where he dropped a twelve round decision.
“I’ve seen videos on Tatevosyan. I know he is beatable”, the small
but powerful Gevor said. “He is running a lot to the left and to the
right. My biggest concern is that I can’t land my punches because he
moves so awkward.”
It’s Gevor’s third fight on a Spotlight Boxing event in a row. His last
contest where he stopped Dmitro Gotovskiy on March 30 at Saaltheater
in Aachen, Germany, by disqualification was also broadcast live on
“His knockout win over Armand Krajnc doesn’t impress me”, Gevor said.
“Armand was an easy target that night and at the end he landed his
punches almost by accident.”
Gevor moved to Germany in May 2000 and is now living in Hamburg
(Gevor: “I like this city a lot!”) with his young wife. His coach
is Magomed Shaburow. He was born in Edshmiadsin, a city close to
Armenia’s capitcal Erivan.
Gevor is a stable mate of WBO middleweight champion Felix Sturm who
is fighting against Oscar de la Hoya on June 5.
“I’ll put money on Felix”, Gevor said. “De la Hoya will underestimate
him and I believe Felix will win a decision. This is his chance of
a lifetime and he will use it.”
In three other fights live on , Guzmil Perdomo will
fight Gringo Mandache at super middleweight, Egon Roth will fight
Pavel Vanacek and Valeri Tschetschenev celebrates his professional
debut against Roman Kaloczai (both heavyweight).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NO SALE OF HAYRUSGAZARD SHARES DISCUSSED IN MOSCOW
ArmenPress
May 17 2004
YEREVAN, MAY 17, ARMENPRESS: HayRusGazArd company, a joint
Russian-Armenian company and the sole natural gas supplier to Armenia,
denied today media allegations that president Kocharian discussed
during his weekend visit to Moscow with the chief manager of Russian
Gazprom the question of handing over 45 percent of HayRusGazArd shares
to the Russian company.
A spokeswoman for HayRusGazArd, Shushan Sardarian, said 45 percent
of the company’s shares belong to the government of Armenia, another
45 percent to Gazprom and 10 percent to Itera.
She said Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller and Robert Kocharian discussed the
current situation with Russia’s gas supplies to Armenia and issues
connected with the condition of the gas network in Armenia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Schwimmer says Belarus far from CE standards
By Kseniya Kaminskaya and Konstantin Kizhel
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 15, 2004 Saturday
MOSCOW, May 15 — Belarus is far from the Council of Europe’s standards
and its admission to this organisation will not be considered in the
near future, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Walter
Schwimmer, said.
He told journalists on Saturday that there were so signs indicating
that Belarus was moving along the road of democracy and human rights.
Schwimmer said one of his tasks as the Secretary-General of the
Council of Europe had been to bring Belarus as close to CE membership
as possible but failed.
He hopes that this question may be resolved in the next five years.
In his words, in order to achieve this goal it is necessary to
strengthen the role of parliament in the country, ensure the freedom
of speech and complete the investigation of abductions.
Speaking about Nagorno-Karabakh, Schwimmer said Azerbaijan and Armenia
had been admitted to the Council of Europe at the same time so that
they could reach agreement on this enclave.
He expressed the hope that the presidents of the two countries will
resolve the conflict through dialogue.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agency WPS
The Russian Oil and Gas Report (Russia)
May 17, 2004, Monday
IRAN AND ARMENIA SIGNED AN AGREEMENT ON CONSTRUCTION OF A GAS
PIPELINE
The agreement on construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline was
signed on May 13. The Armenian Energy Ministry reported that Energy
Minister of Armenia Armen Movsesyan and Oil Minister of Iran Namdar
Zanganeh signed the agreement.
Under the agreement Iran will supply 1.1 billion cubic meters of
natural gas to Armenia a year and Armenia will pay for the gas with
electric energy. The countries also plan to increase gas supplies to
2 billion cubic meters a year in the future. The companies to build
the pipeline will be chosen at a tender. Previously the Armenian
party spoke about intention of Gazprom and Ukrainian companies to
take part in the project. Construction of the pipeline will cost
about $90 million for Armenia and $120 million for Iran.
Source: gazeta.ru, May 14, 2004
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress