Author: Frangulian Shushan

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARY SUPERVISORY CHAMBER EXPOSE THE MOST LARGE-SCALE
FINANCIAL MISAPPROPRIATION IN 2004 IN USE OF FOREIGN CREDITS
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 24. ARMINFO. The Armenian Parliamentary Supervisory
Chamber exposed the most large-scale financial misappropriation in
2004 in the sphere of the use of foreign credits. Chairman of the
Supervisory Chamber Gagik Voskanyan informs journalists today summing
up the results of the chamber’s activity in 2004.
In particular, Voskanyan says that the most observed is the practice
of unreturned credits of enterpreneurs issued under various programs
from the funds of foreign capital, as well as the companies which make
more attractive proposals at tenders. The SC exposed a number of
violations in the sphere of privatization as well. Thus, in conformity
with a governmental decision dated 2002 all the unfinished
constructions in the country were to be inventoried and transferred to
the Department for Management of State Property. Voskanyan also called
inadmissible the practice of privatization of facilities of strategic
importance through their bankruptcy and liquidation. Besides, the
privatized enterprises do not fulfill their obligations. For example,
he says, 4 privatized enterprises have not fulfilled their investment
commitments for some $10.7 mln.
He also says that in the park nearing the Institution of Mathematical
Machines after Mergelyan. 1,900 sq/m were transferred to the company
“Artsakh-91” subject to preservation of the green zone. The company
has not fulfilled this condition. Besides, the SC exposed violations
in the sphere of public health, he expresses bewilderment that
“healthy people undergo treatment on the state order.” Voskanyan
expresses doubts that a patient suffered from a heart attack could
recover on the 60,000 drams provided by the state.
Voskanyan also touches upon the inspections in the sphere of state
subsidizing of communities. Thus, in 2004 11.463 bln drams were
allocated to community budgets from the state budget, 11 bln were
provided to communities to equalize their budgets, 66 bln drams
dotations for preferential property tax, 19 bln drams other dotations
and 123 mln drams target allocations. Voskanyan says that mechanism
and principles of these allocations are not regulated. On the basis of
the materials of inspections of the Supervisory Commission to the
Prosecutor General’s Office, in 2004 7 officials were brought
administratively responsible and 4 criminal cases were initiated, with
19 mln drams being returned to the state budget.-m-

ArmenPress
Feb 24 2005
ARMENIAN EDUCATION MINISTRY TO TRAIN 150 TEACHERS OF GEORGIAN
ARMENIAN SCHOOLS
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 24, ARMENPRESS: Armenian education and science
ministry will train some 150 teachers of Armenian schools in Georgia
together with its Georgian counterpart. Tamara Zalinian from the
Armenian ministry’s department handling joint projects with Diaspora
Armenian educational establishments, told Armenpress teachers from
predominantly Armenian-populated region of Samtskhe Javakhk will be
trained in Akhalkalaki and teachers from other regions in Tbilisi. In
Akhalkalaki alone there are 68 Armenian schools and 1500 teachers.
Tamara Zalinian did not confirm a statement by Georgian education
ministry official that a joint team of Armenian and Georgian experts
would work to develop a textbook book on Armenian history. The
official had earlier said teaching Armenian history in Georgian
Armenian school would become mandatory after the joint commission
approved its text.

Le Figaro, France
23 février 2005
Ne confondons pas les deux référendums !;
EUROPE Désolidariser le débat sur la Constitution de celui sur
l’entrée de la Turquie
par GEORGES FENECH
Dans le contexte politisé de la ratification référendaire de la
Constitution européenne, il serait lourd de conséquences d’entretenir
une confusion entre le débat sur la Turquie et celui sur la
Constitution européenne, au risque de conforter les partisans du non
et de mettre en péril une étape vitale pour la Constitution
européenne. Un risque qui s’est davantage renforcé depuis le sommet
européen du 17 décembre 2004, lorsque les chefs d’Etat et de
gouvernement de l’Union européenne se sont prononcés en faveur de
l’ouverture des négociations d’adhésion de la Turquie.
Alors que la campagne pour le référendum sur la Constitution n’est
pas encore commencée, nombreux, en effet, sont les leaders politiques
« turcosceptiques », profitant de ce télescopage de calendrier, qui
tentent de jouer sur la réticence des Français vis-à-vis de la
candidature turque pour appeler à rejeter avec elle la Constitution,
faisant croire que les deux non seraient naturellement solidaires et
que dire non à la Constitution reviendrait à dire non à la Turquie.
Face à cet amalgame savamment entretenu, il convient de rappeler avec
force que tout d’abord un référendum sera, quoi qu’il arrive,
organisé sur le seul thème de la candidature d’Ankara avant une
éventuelle intégration effective de la Turquie. La Constitution
prévoit en effet ce type de procédure pour tout autre futur Etat
candidat. Aussi, loin d’impliquer automatiquement l’adhésion de la
Turquie à l’Union européenne, contrairement à ce que voudraient faire
croire les partisans du non, la Constitution renforce le principe de
l’unanimité et rend par conséquent bien plus aisé le blocage du
processus d’adhésion de pays candidats que ne le permettent les
institutions actuelles.
Rappelons par ailleurs que le traité constitutionnel prévoit un
statut d’Etat associé spécialement pour les Etats voisins qui
verraient leur candidature refusée. Mais une chose est sûre, la
Constitution ne donne aucun droit automatique d’adhésion à la
Turquie. En renforçant le poids du Parlement, elle conféra au
contraire une plus grande légitimité démocratique à l’Union
européenne en permettant plus de débats autour de questions
essentielles comme l’élargissement, débats jusqu’à présent
monopolisés par la seule Commission.
Au moment de se prononcer sur l’adoption de la Constitution
européenne, nos concitoyens, et en particulier les opposants de
l’adhésion à la Turquie, doivent par ailleurs se remémorer, s’il en
était besoin, que les fameuses « conditions de 1987 » posées au
moment de la candidature d’Ankara demeurent un préalable
incontournable à toutes négociations. Mieux, les derniers rapports
d’étapes de la Commission (novembre 2003 et octobre 2004) et du
Parlement européen (rapport Oosltander) n’ont jamais cessé de
mentionner les fameuses « conditions de 1987 » sans lesquelles la
Turquie n’intégrerait jamais l’Union européenne : 1) reconnaissance
du génocide des Arméniens, 2) retrait de Chypre, 3) respect des
droits de l’homme et des minorités religieuses non musulmanes
sunnites.
1) La reconnaissance du génocide arménien
Force est de constater que l’Etat turc continue de nier le terrible
génocide des Arméniens. Une rue importante d’Istanbul est toujours
dédiée à l’organisateur du génocide, Talaat Pacha. De même les
manuels scolaires nient toujours officiellement l’existence d’un
génocide. Plus récemment, début décembre 2004, Ankara a même menacé
de représailles la Slovaquie qui a fait reconnaître par son Parlement
le génocide arménien. Pire encore pour les victimes du présent,
Ankara refuse toujours de lever l’embargo azéro-turc qui pénalise
l’Arménie enclavée.
2) La question chypriote
Autre « critère de 1987 » mais aussi du sommet de décembre dernier,
non rempli, la Turquie refuse toujours, au risque de saborder son
propre processus d’adhésion, de reconnaître la République de Chypre
et persiste à justifier l’invasion de l’île en 1974 comme une
conséquence du coup d’Etat grec. Or est-il besoin de rappeler que la
République turque de Chypre du Nord n’a jamais été reconnue
internationalement et bafoue ainsi les différentes résolutions de
l’ONU enjoignant à Ankara de retirer ses troupes ? A cet égard, le
premier ministre Erdogan n’ayant pas reconnu, à ce jour, la
République de Chypre lors du sommet de Bruxelles, on ne peut que
s’étonner de l’ouverture des négociations d’adhésion avec un pays qui
refuse, envers et contre tous, de reconnaître un membre légitime de
l’Union.
3) Les droits de l’homme et des minorités
Le fait qu’Ankara empêche toujours le patriarche orthodoxe
Bartholomeus de porter son titre « oecuménique », que par ailleurs
les églises assyro-chaldéenne, catholique et protestante ne soient
pas reconnues et que l’état de siège soit rétabli de facto dans le
Kurdistan montrent qu’Ankara ne partage pas encore le même esprit de
tolérance que l’Union européenne, pour lesquelles le respect des
minorités ethno-religieuses est essentiel.
Ainsi tant la reconnaissance des minorités turques que le respect de
la souveraineté de Chypre et qu’enfin la reconnaissance du génocide
des Arméniens constituent aujourd’hui de sérieux obstacles à toute
avancée de l’idée d’adhésion turque. Et il conviendra de juger Ankara
d’ici au 3 octobre 2005, date d’ouverture effective des négociations
sur sa capacité à adhérer non seulement aux réformes
institutionnelles et démocratiques, déjà fort avancées certes, mais
également aux sacro-saints principes et valeurs qui fondent
l’identité de l’Europe moderne.
On le voit, la route d’Ankara ressemble toujours au « chemin de Damas
», même si au fond les Européens sont par ailleurs convaincus que ce
grand pays ami, fort d’une civilisation ancienne, doit poursuivre ses
efforts d’ouverture démocratique et pas seulement économique. Mais,
d’ici là, ne nous trompons pas de référendum ! La France doit
approuver sans crainte ni arrière-pensée une nécessaire Constitution.
Si l’on veut que l’Europe devienne un acteur majeur et cohérent sur
l’échiquier international, avec son ministre des Affaires étrangères,
sa défense unie et une authentique démocratie institutionnelle.
* Député du Rhône, vice-président du Comité bassin
Méditerranée-Afrique au conseil d’orientation de la politique
étrangère de l’UMP.

NEXT PRESIDENT – ALI KERIMLI?
Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
21 Feb 05
The question headlining this article will be answered in the course of
time. However, if we follow attentively the home political developments
in Baku, we shall notice an important circumstance: the West seems to
have decided to rely on the leader of the political party Popular
Front of Azerbaijan (Popular Front of Azerbaijan – `reformers’) Ali
Kerimli. Butcan he an Azerbaijani Saakashvili or Yushchenko? We have
doubts in this reference which we will share with the reader later.
And now let us try to see why Ali Kerimli appeals to Western
political scientists and technologists. Compared with the leaders of
the other leading oppositionist parties the indisputable advantage of
Ali Kerimli is his pragmatism and consideration of new actualities.
These very characteristic features became the reason why after the
death of the leader of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan Abulfaz
Elchibey his first assistant Ali Kerimli divided the political party
into two separate parties one of which was called Popular Front of
Azerbaijan (`reformers’) the other Popular Front of Azerbaijan (`
classics’). The `classics’ were headed by anti-Armenian, supporter of
the line of Abulfaz Elchibey Mirmahmud Fataev. He is known to us the
people of Karabakhby the fact that he advised his fellow countrymen to
cut the ears of those representatives of Nagorni Karabakh (in
particular, the chairman of the NK committee of `Helsinki Undertaking
92′) who will decide to visit Azerbaijan. Ali Kerimli became the
leader of the `reformers’ getting rid ofthe politically blunt who
appeared in the camp of the `classics’. It is clear that this
circumstance could not but be commended by the western countries
accreditedin Baku, first of all the embassies of the USA, Great
Britain, France, Germany and Turkey. The other advantage of Ali
Kerimli is his attempt to bring together the right-wing radical
nationalist oppositionist forces in his struggle againstthe Aliev
regime: the musavatists of Isa Ghambar, `democrats’ of ex-speaker
Rasul Guliev, the National Independence Party till recently led by not
unknown Etibar Mamedov, the `grey wolves’ of Iskender Hamidov and
other influential political parties. In this direction Ali Kerimli was
especially active in autumn of 2003, on the eve of the latest
presidential election in Azerbaijan. However, his presumptuous false
supporters (particularly Isa Ghambar) did not allow the unification of
anti-Aliev forces. As a result Ilham Aliev who won the election
defeated the supporters of Gambar who were on the verge of raising
protest the next day. After such a blow the musavatists, as well as
all the left-wing and right-wing forces have been unable to recover.
That the efforts of Ali Kerimli to unify the Azerbaijani opposition
were approved by the West is asserted by the fact that the official
representatives of embassies of many leading countries in Azerbaijan
participated in the June 1 plenary meeting of the Popular Front of
Azerbaijan (`reformers’). It is also important that Ali Kerimli is
supported by such western authoritative organizations as the National
Democratic Institute (USA), the International Institute of Republicans
(USA) Friedrich Naumann Foundation (Germany), etc. Meanwhile, new
elections await the citizens of Azerbaijan, this time to the
parliament, which will take place in autumn. Ali Kerimli, as it could
be expected, is again actively seeking to bring together the
opposition. `Overcoming the stress the society underwent after the
presidential election in 2003 after long reflections I came to the
conclusion that an essential stimulus is needed to get out of the
current situation,’ shared his thoughts Ali Kerimli. `Such a stimulus
can become the new unification and cooperation of the Azerbaijani
opposition on a healthy basis. If we manage to form an alliance of all
those forces which want to see changes and reforms in the country, it
will first of all strengthen people’s belief in themselves and belief
in the prospect of changes.’ `The unification of forces,’ Kerimli went
on, `will also guarantee that after the parliamentary election people
will defend their votes if needed.’ Pay attention to the last phrase
`people will defend their votes’. Doesn’t it smell like the events in
Georgia and Ukraine in Azerbaijan? Quite possible. Also it is not
excluded that the West already works with the leader of the Popular
Front of Azerbaijan (`reformers’) in this direction. The evidence to
this is the recent visit of Ali Kerimli to a number of European
countries (Norway, Sweden and France), as well as the USA. Whatis
more, in this country he met with not secondary politicians. Thus, in
France he even met with the foreign minister, discussed the public and
political situation in Azerbaijan. In this reference it is significant
to mention thewords of the foreign minister that the international
organizations should start discussions with the Azerbaijani government
for creating a democratic atmosphere on the eve of the parliamentary
election. The other high officials he met with also spoke about the
vital interest of the West in conducting free and fair parliamentary
elections in Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, the leader of the `reformist’
popular front is mustering courage day by day. `Despite 2003 when we
behaved quite properly, this year we shall be tougher,’ stated Kerimli
in his interview to one of the popular newspapers of Baku. `We will
appealto the society to give a peculiar punishment to the leader who
will hinder unification. I believe in unification. We cannot make the
same mistake twice. We will not allow 2003 to repeat.’ Behind these
words it should be understood that Ali Kerimli’s intention is to stand
for elections with a unified candidate in each of the 124
constituencies. The election to Mili Mejlis (the parliament) of
Azerbaijan will be conducted by the majority system because election
by party tickets is forbidden by the authorities in this country.
Thus, in the upcoming parliamentary elections Ali Kerimli will rely on
the West and the unification of the opposition. Because there is no
doubt that the authorities will falsify the election results by all
means. Ali Kerimli also hopes that the unification of the opposition
backed by the West may cause the people to protest and not only
achieve the reconsideration of the election results but also demand
Ilham Aliev’s resignation. The same happened in Georgia once. However,
let us come back to the question set forth above: will Ali Kerimli
become an Azerbaijani Saakashvili or Yushchenko? Such a scenario seems
more than problematic to us. The thing is that Ali Kerimli has already
been in the government. It was during the governance of the popular
front which discredited itself. At the age of 27 he was appointed
state secretary of Azerbaijan by Abulfaz Elchibey. His fast move into
big politics is also interesting. In the summer of 1991 when the
national liberation movement of Karabakh had already underwent the
massacres of Armenians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad (Ganja) and other
places in Azerbaijan, when the military action `Koltso’ of violent
displacement of Armenians from Karabakh implemented together by the
forces of the USSR Ministry of Home Affairs andthe Azerbaijani omon,
the special militia forces, was gathering momentum, Ali Amirhusein
oghli Kerimov, not yet `Kerimli’, was just graduating from the
department of law of Azerbaijani State University after Kirov at the
age of25. He intruded into politics through establishing the
non-official youth organization ` Yurd’ (`Fatherland’) which became a
peculiar `komsomol’ for the movement of ` popular front’. Thus, Ali
Kerimli came to power at the expense of the blood of innocent people,
unlike Saakashvili or Yushchenko. Second, we do not think that the
Azerbaijani opposition will agree to such a union in which Ali Kerimli
will order everybody. By the way, this was stated by the leader of
`Musavat’ Isa Gambar who advised the local journalists not to hurry in
making conclusions on the unification of oppositionist forces. Third,
the Azerbaijani authorities will do their best to prevent
unification. The Azerbaijani mentality which has got used to honouring
power will allow Ilham Aliev, as formerly allowed his father, to
achieve his aim. Thus, today already various coalitions are emerging
in Azerbaijan as mushrooms after rain which will hardly ally with Ali
Kerimli. Among these are the alliance `Solidarity and Confidence’ and
the union of the political parties `Civil Solidarity’, `Adalat’
(`Justice’), and ` Svoboda’ (`Freedom’). Undoubtedly, in the period
before the election the top government of Azerbaijan directly
encourages establishment of as many political alliances as
possible. Probably, the National Independence Party will play its
traditional game. The pro-Russian democrats together with their allies
from the `Vahdat’ and Islamic parties also will hardly resort
toalliance with the radical nationalist opposition. There is no need
even to speak about the communists. And fourth, the West itself may
refuse to support Ali Kerimli at a crucial moment because of his
militarist moods for the question of Karabakh. The West is for the
peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem through compromise. It is
true that these days Ali Kerimli seeks to speak less about Karabakh
and more about democratization of Azerbaijan. However, this does not
mean that after coming to power he will deny his words. This
circumstance is, indeed,taken into account by the West. Therefore,
getting close with Ali Kerimli, at the same time the West will not
forget about Ilham Aliev who may in the future,on the whole, come to
the liking of the Europeans and Americans because they are aware that
the notions of `democracy’ and `Azerbaijan’ will hardly be compatible
in the near future.
ALEXANDER GRIGORIAN.
21-02-2005

Azeri Foreign Ministry condemns Armenian excavations in Karabakh
ANS TV, Baku
19 Feb 05
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has released a statement in connection
with the archaeological excavations launched by the separatist Nagornyy
Karabakh regime around the town of Susa.
The statement reads that this arbitrary move by the so-called
government in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagornyy Karabakh region is an act
of vandalism aimed at falsifying the historical truth in favour of the
Armenians, the head of the ministry’s press service, Matin Mirza, has
said. The recent acts of this kind aimed at changing the demographic
situation and Armenianizing historical and cultural monuments in the
occupied territories show once again the nonconstructive position
of the so-called Armenian government of Nagornyy Karabakh on the
settlement process. These moves are nothing but an attempt to
strengthen the results of aggressive policy.
This arbitrary act, which followed the visit of the OSCE fact-finding
mission to the region, is viewed as an attempt to challenge
international organizations, ignore the accepted laws and display
disrespect for the international community.
The statement goes on to read that the states mediating the peace
process [between Armenia and Azerbaijan] and the international
community as a whole should not remain indifferent to the issue and
demand that the Armenians stop their arbitrary acts in the occupied
territories.

France and Turkey’s EU Bid
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Feb 18 2005
Many French are sceptical about Turkey’s EU bid according to a poll
by CSA published in Valeurs Actuelles.
57 per cent of respondents are opposed to the country’s entry into
the continental alliance, a seven per cent increase since December.
In December, the EU agreed to begin accession talks with Turkey on
Oct. 3, 2005. The EU with this decison confirmed that Turkey has
fulfiiled all the requirements for full-membership including
democratization, human rights contions and economy.
French President Jacques Chirac publicly supported the start of
accession talks between the EU and Turkey. However there is a strong
Armenian lobby group in France and the French Armenians strongly
oppose Turkey’s EU entry. Similarly the racist and anti-Muslim French
groups claim that Turkey is a Muslim country and there is no place in
the EU for the Muslims. Religionist groups in many European countries
defend that the EU is a civilasation project and Christianity is one
of the most important columns.
Polling Data
Do you support or oppose Turkey’s accession into the European Union
(EU)?
Feb. 2005 Dec. 2004
Support 28% 37%
Oppose 57% 50%
No reply 15% 13%
Voting intention of respondents who intend to participate in the
European Constitution referendum
Yes No
Those who support
Turkey’s accession 72% 28%
Those against
Turkey’s accession 50% 50%
Source: CSA / Valeurs Actuelles
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 798 French adults, conducted on
Feb. 2 and Feb. 3, 2005.

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say. Part A (Russia)
February 17, 2005, Thursday
THE CIS: ONE STEP AWAY FROM FALLING APART
SOURCE: Argumenty i Fakty, No. 7, February 16, 2005, p. 5
by Alexander Kolesnichenko
Konstantin Zatulin, Duma member and head of the Russian Institute for
CIS Countries, discusses the undercurrents in the Commonwealth of
Independent States.
* * *
Until recently, the purpose of existence for the CIS might have been
summed up as follows: to enable all member states to extract
privileges and concessions from Russia. Moscow was alone in insisting
that the CIS really existed. Over the past couple of years, however,
it’s become clear that the former Soviet republics are rapidly
sliding off in different directions. Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine
seek to join European organizations, following in the footsteps of
the Baltic states. And Russia is even having problems in relations
with its closest partners: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and
Belarus.
Ukraine has always been the greatest threat to the idea of preserving
the CIS. It is the only post-Soviet state capable of becoming a real
counterweight to Russia, and the fact that the pro-Western Viktor
Yushchenko has come to power may accelerate that process. The first
test of stability will be the Trans-Dniester region.
This unrecognized republic borders on Moldova and Ukraine. Moldovan
President Vladimir Voronin (the only CIS president to attend Viktor
Yushchenko’s inauguration) is relying on Ukraine to complete the
economic blockade of this “rebel territory.” Voronin believes that
once the Trans-Dniester region is entirely isolated from the outside
world, Tiraspol will surrender. But things aren’t that simple.
Ukraine’s nationalists consider the Trans-Dniester region to be
theirs. With their support, Yushchenko could start a game of his own,
turning the tables by offering active support to the Trans-Dniester
region. And Russia would be sidelined, losing its compatriots.
There are also some more far-reaching problems lying in store for us.
In the very near future, the GUUAM organization will make itself
heard. This is the only organization in the CIS of which Russia is
not a member. The GUUAM members are Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan,
Azerbaijan, and Moldova. GUUAM was founded in 1999 at a NATO meeting
in Brussels, as a counterweight to Russia.
All this makes it clear that the former Soviet Union is continuing to
separate into two camps. The first, pursuing advantages for itself,
still relies on Russia; but it is continuing to shrink. The second is
growing, but it is a channel for outside influence. And the greatest
tests for Russia in relations with its nearest neighbors are still to
come.
Ukraine’s potential ambitions are the main problem in the foreseeable
future. Some parts of southern Russia are susceptible to agitation
from Ukraine: the Voronezh region, the Krasnodar territory, and
others. Against a backdrop of dissatisfaction with Moscow, there
could be fertile soil here for the “Why do we need Moscow, if it
gives us nothing?” question and the slogan of “We’re sick and tired
of the Chechnya problem.”
Imagine that Russia – for a number of reasons, including due to a
confrontation with the West – becomes bogged down in its own
problems. Meanwhile, Ukraine – thanks to the West – grows rapidly and
seeks opportunites for expansion. The only possible direction for
Ukraine’s economic, cultural, and any other expansion is Russia. And
the West will be nudging Ukraine in that direction.
* * *
Addendum
The CIS Inter-State Statistical Committee recently released economic
development results for 2004. The best figures were recorded in
Ukraine: GDP growth of 12%. It was followed closely by Belarus, with
11%. Tajikistan’s economy grew by 10.6%, Azerbaijan’s by 10.2%, and
Armenia’s by 10.1%. But Russia was at the bottom of the list, with
GDP growth of only 7.1%, the worst result in the CIS.
Translated by Pavel Pushkin

[Congressional Record: February 16, 2005 (Extensions)]
[Page E251]
>>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr16fe05-14]
HIGHLIGHTING RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJAN CONFLICT
HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ
of texas
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, as a result of the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict, Armenian forces occupy the mountainous region of Nagorno
Karabagh, as well as seven additional regions, resulting in a million
refugees and internally displaced Azerbaijanis.
Located between Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan is an important partner
and ally in the international war against terrorism. While bilateral
cooperation on terrorism-related issues between the U.S. and Azerbaijan
started well before September 11, they intensified with Azerbaijan
offering unconditional support to the coalition and becoming the first
Muslim country to send troops to Iraq.
While there have been several attempts to find a resolution to the
conflict under the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) Minsk Process, little progress has been made. However, the U.S.
continues to work towards the end. According to a recent State
Department statement: “The United States does not recognize Nagorno-
Karabakh as an independent country, and its leadership is not
recognized internationally or by the United States. The United States
supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and holds that the
future status of Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter of negotiation between
the parties. The United States remains committed to finding a peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the Minsk Group
process. We are encouraged by the continuing talks between the Foreign
Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
On January 25, 2005, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe adopted a resolution on the Nagorno Karabagh conflict, which
concluded that “considerable parts of Azerbaijan’s territory are still
occupied by the Armenian forces and separatist forces are still in
control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.” Additionally it asked the co-
chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to expedite an agreement on the issue
and urged the parties concerned to comply with U.N. Security Council
resolutions by refraining from any armed hostilities and “by
withdrawing military forces from any occupied territories.”
Mr. Speaker, this shows the international community is ready for a
resolution of the conflict. I welcome the initiatives by the Council of
Europe and the statement by the U.S. Administration, and I urge my
colleagues to support a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

SBC Communications Receives “2004 Diversity Award” from World’s Largest
Language Services Provider
Business Wire
Feb 16, 2005
Language Line Services recognizes SBC companies for outstanding
corporate leadership in serving customers of all languages and cultures
SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC) has been honored for the company’s
commitment to serving consumers in more than 150 languages. The “2004
Diversity Award” was presented to SBC Communications by Language
Line Services(a), the world’s largest provider of over-the-phone
interpretation.
The award recognizes the company for providing Interpreter service(a)
free of charge in more than 150 languages, and for reaching out
to California’s ethnic communities through creative outdoor media,
direct-mail, ethnic festivals and outreach programs, and advertising
in select ethnic periodicals and newspapers.
“It’s an honor to win this award because the SBC family of companies is
committed to understanding and serving the unique needs of our diverse
California customer base,” said Jody Garcia, SBC Vice President of
Diverse Markets Group. “Not only is it the right thing to do, but
providing telecommunications and entertainment services to consumers
in their own language is a sound business strategy for the company.”
Garcia points out that SBC representatives are fielding calls from
consumers in more than 100 languages. The top 10 languages for the
number of incoming calls are Russian, Armenian, Farsi, Punjabi,
Portuguese, Hmong, Arabic, French, Thai and Cambodian.
Language Line Services builds on the SBC tradition of providing
excellent customer service. In the 1980s, the SBC family of companies
began providing customer service in Spanish to meet the needs of the
growing Latino population. SBC California later expanded in-language
customer service support to include call centers in six additional
languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Japanese and
Korean.
With Language Line Services, customers call in the language of their
choice to inquire about their bill, set-up phone service, change or
add services such as SBC Long Distance or SBC Yahoo! DSL, or have
other questions answered. The service is free to customers.
“The SBC family of companies has distinguished itself as a true
corporate citizen,” said Louis Provenzano, senior vice president
of sales for Language Line Services. “It is a model for all other
organizations that aspire to understand the cultures of their
customers and to communicate in the languages their customers prefer –
their own.”
SBC California customers can access SBC Language Lines customer
service at no charge by dialing 1-800-203-8600.
(a) Interpreter services are provided by SBC California Customer
service through Language LineServices, Inc., a company that specializes
in translations and language interpretation.
SBC Communications Inc. is a Fortune 50 company whose subsidiaries,
operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range of voice, data,
networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising, and
related services to businesses, consumers and other telecommunications
providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular
Wireless, which serves 49.1 million wireless customers. SBC companies
provide high-speed DSL Internet access lines to more American consumers
than any other provider and are among the nation’s leading providers of
Internet services. SBC companies also now offer satellite TV service.
Additional information about SBC and SBC products and services is
available at
SBC is a registered trademark of SBC Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (C)
2004 SBC Knowledge Ventures, L.P. All rights reserved. Cingular
is a registered trademark of Cingular Wireless LLC. SBC logos are
trademarks of SBC Knowledge Ventures, L.P. (C) 2004 SBC Knowledge
Ventures, L.P. All rights reserved.SBC Carey Brock, 415-318-4240

Azerbaijan entering caliphate?
By Gayane Movsesian
Yerkir/arm
11 Feb 05
A number of websites linked to â~@~Hasb Ut-Tahrirâ~@~] and other
radical organizations have posted the â~@~new world mapâ~@~], which
has a caliphate in the center of the superpower. From 1517 to 1924,
â~@~caliphateâ~@~] stood for the Ottoman Empire. Presently it
involves 49 states. And later on, the ideologists of caliphate believe
it will include the empire of the whole world.
The article â~@~Basics of Caliphateâ~@~] says that the countries,
considered by the Islamic fundamentalists as their part, are called the
core and the dubious states are suburbs. There is data that indicates
that the potential caliphate today includes 49 countries and 4 lands
that are in Central Asia, Africa, and South-Eastern Asia.
The core of the caliphate includes: Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan,
Brunei, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Guinea, Iran, Iraq,
Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Oman, Pakistan,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somali, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia,
Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekistan (31 states in total).
The suburbs of the caliphate are: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso,
Comorian isles, Djibouti, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Indonesia,
Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Yemen
(18 in total).
And now the actual caliphate also comes to include Chechnya,
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, territories controlled by Palestinians
(4 in total).
According to approximate calculations, over 10 per cent of the world
population lives in the core caliphate as of 2005, while the suburbs
have 10.5 per cent of the world population.
Note for a comparison that USA have 10 per cent of the world population
and China â~@~S 20 per cent. In addition, some of the territories
are currently controlled by the caliphate ideologists. They have a
number of illegal armed groups. And there are also great deals of
people who support the caliphate ideology. The article also says
that most of them are not linked to terrorism. They live in the free
world states and promote the caliphate ideology via information items.
The Echo daily of Baku reports that the inclusion of Azerbaijan in that
list is conditioned by the presence of a number of fundamentalist
ideologists and relevant organizations in this country some of
which were consistently shut down by the government in them past
years, namely: â~@~Hasb Ut-Tahrir,â~@~] Islamic brothers and
others. However, â~@~Hasb Ut-Tahrirâ~@~] still reports on its
website that has a functioning cell in Azerbaijanâ~@¦
Baku believes this kind of network tries to diverge Azerbaijan from the
secular direction. On the other hand, certain analysts in Baku report
that the role of Islam in the life of the countryâ~@~Ys society grows.
As the Azerbaijani historian Arif Yunosov believes, it is first of
all related to the â~@~heating around the Karabakh issue, where
it was attempted to label the Azerbaijanis as fundamentalists.â~@~]
By the way, Yunosovâ~@~Ys book â~@~Islam in Azerbaijan is to come
out soon. We shall touch on this in our next edition.
–Boundary_(ID_X+Is8eZEo2UzDevS7jagEg)–