Author: Hovhannisian John

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
June 21 2005
GUAM STATEMENT URGES OSCE TO INCREASE EFFORTS ON SETTLEMENT OF
NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT
[June 21, 2005, 23:08:22]
According to the Press-center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Azerbaijan, on June 21 a statement on behalf of the GUAM
member-states was made by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign
Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova Mr. A.
Andrei Stratan at the OSCE Annual Security Review Conference in
Vienna.
Touching upon the conflicts taking place in GUAM member-countries,
the Minister said in particular, that those `existing in the Eastern
districts of Moldova, Abkhaz and Tskhinvali regions of Georgia and
Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan continue to threaten security
and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area’, and called for
`intensification of international settlement efforts, including
within OSCE, in accordance with the norms and principles of
international law, first of all those pertaining territorial
integrity and inviolability of international borders.’
The statement further says: `Confirming our full and unequivocal
support to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the
basis of respect to territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, we welcome
activization of negotiations between the parties along the lines of
results of the so-called Prague meetings, with the view to establish
peace and cooperation between Armenian and Azerbaijani communities in
the Nagorno-Karabakh region within the Republic of Azerbaijan, and
urge the OSCE and especially its Minsk Group to increase its efforts
to this end.’

Russia says it `eased tensions over arms transfer’ to Armenia
Baku, June 20, AssA-Irada
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has said that he `eased the
tensions’ with Azerbaijan over this country’s recent arms transfer to
Armenia, in his meeting with President Ilham Aliyev.
`We will withdraw a part of the property and machinery from our base
in Akhalkalaki, Georgia not to Armenia, but to the territory of the
Russian base in Gumri. This is what we tried to explain to our Azeri
friends. There will beno changes in the balance of forces’, Lavrov
told `Vesti Nedeli’ (News of the Week) program on Sunday.
Russia earlier closed down its base in Georgia and moved a bulk of its
weaponry to Armenia, which drew fire from Azerbaijan.*

Pan Armenian News
ARMENIAN FM MET WITH PILOTS RELEASED FROM GUINEAN PRISON LATELY
21.06.2005 02:33
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian yesterday met
withArmenian pilots released from prison in Equatorial Guinea lately,
reported the Press Service of the MFA of Armenia. In the course of the
meeting the Armenian FM congratulated the pilots on their release from the
prison and return to the fatherland. The interlocutors agreed to promote
solution of issues referring to the medical examination and cure of the
pilots. In their turn the pilots again thanked all those, who worked for
their liberation. They remarked with gratitude they always felt the state
support and were very happy to return to the fatherland.

California Courier Online, June 23, 2005
1 – Commentary
German Parliament Deals Fatal Blow
To Turkish Denial of Genocide
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
2 – Dr. Yervant Zorian Named 2005 IEEE
Industrial Pioneer Award Recipient
3- Catholicos Karekin II Continues
Pontifical Visit to Central California
4 – Lark Hosts
Musical Salute
To the Baltaians
5 – House Foreign Aid Panel OK’s
$67.5 Million for Armenia in ’06
6 – Djanbazian Dance
Company Invited
To Italy Event
7 – Deadline for AEF’s Richard R.
Tufenkian Scholarships is July 30
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1 – Commentary
German Parliament Deals Fatal Blow
To Turkish Denial of Genocide
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
Last week, there were three important countries that had not yet recognized
the Armenian Genocide: Germany, the United States and Great Britain.
Following last Thursday’s action by the German Bundestag (parliament),
there are now only two major countries left that are still in denial: the
United States and Great Britain.
Just a few months ago, if anyone had said that Germany would adopt a
resolution on the Armenian Genocide anytime soon, we would have questioned
that person’s sanity.
There are several reasons why the German Parliament’s decision is a
significant development:
— Germany is one of Turkey’s staunchest allies in Europe;
— German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his ruling party were initially
completely opposed to this proposed resolution;
— While only 30,000 Armenians live in Germany, there are more than 3
million Turks in that country;
— The Turkish government and the large Turkish community in Germany tried
everything in their power to block the consideration of this resolution by
the German Parliament;
–All the political factions in the Bundestag, including the ruling party,
ended up unanimously supporting the resolution on the Armenian Genocide;
— The resolution states that the Germans acknowledge their own share of
guilt in the Armenian Genocide and urge the Turks to face up to their dark
past.
The Bundestag’s adoption of this resolution deals a fatal blow to the
Turkish government’s desperate attempts to bury the issue of the Armenian
Genocide. This must be particularly demoralizing for Turkish Prime Minister
Receb Tayyip Erdogan who spared no time and effort trying to convince the
world that there was no such thing as Armenian Genocide. In fact, as I have
written repeatedly in this column, the more the Turks try to block the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the more they bring this issue up to
the attention of world leaders and the international news media. For
example, at the beginning of June, a Turkish group paid close to million
dollars to send to Time magazine’s half a million European subscribers a
70-minute long DVD that denied and distorted the facts of the Armenian
Genocide. The Turks thus made another half a million people aware of the
Armenian Genocide.
Ironically, a big debt of gratitude for the success of the German
resolution goes to Turkey’s own ambassador to Germany, Mehmet Ali
Irtemcelik. He inadvertently helped the passage of the proposed bill by
insulting the members of the German Parliament during his hysterical
efforts to block its passage.
Some Armenians are troubled by the fact that the Germans took this
initiative in order to accomplish their own agenda of preventing Turkey
from joining the European Union. The concern is that the Germans appear to
be exploiting the issue of the Armenian Genocide to further their own
interests. In my opinion, it is salutary that German and Armenian
objectives have coincided in this instance. Such a convergence would ensure
that the Germans would not easily back away from the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, as they would not want to abandon their own interests.
After all, how can one expect the leaders of a country to side with the
Armenians on any issue, if doing so would run counter to their own
interests!
Some Armenians are also not pleased that the resolution refers to “the
deportations and massacres” of Armenians by Ottoman Turkey, rather than a
direct use of the term “genocide.” In the official explanation of the
resolution, the text actually does use the word “genocide,” and describes
in great detail the atrocities committed against the Armenians by the Young
Turk regime. Furthermore, the resolution uses various other words that are
the equivalents of genocide, such as “mass murder, extermination or
annihilation, and destruction.” It states that “numerous independent
historians, parliaments, and international organizations designate the
expulsion and destruction of the Armenians as a genocide [Volkermord].” The
resolution also estimates the number of those killed in the genocide as
“more than a million,” according to “independent calculations.” It
acknowledges that the German Reich, as the chief ally of the Ottoman Empire
during WW1, was deeply involved in the mass murder of Armenians.
In the past few days, hundreds of articles have been published on the
adoption of the Armenian resolution by the German Parliament. Once again,
the Turkish leaders made matters worse for themselves by lashing out at the
German government. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul described the resolution
as “irresponsible, dismaying, and wounding.” Prime Minister Erdogan
referred to it as “wrong and ugly.” He said that history would put the
German leaders to shame. This undiplomatic name-calling further antagonized
the Germans. A spokesman for the German government said he disagreed with
Erdogan’s characterization, saying that the resolution was “balanced.” The
Turkish and German exchange of words following the passage of the
resolution generated more articles on this issue. Thanks to Turkish
demonstrations and protests in both Ankara and Berlin, the international
media continued to provide extensive coverage of the fall-out from the
resolution on the Armenian Genocide.
As prominent Turkish commentator Mehmet Ali Birand wrote last Saturday in
the Turkish Daily News: “The Armenian genocide allegations are being
approved by a new parliament every passing day. The trap we are in is
closing on us. One day we will see, we are left alone by ourselves. All
Western parliaments will accept the genocide and will be applying pressure
on their governments. The recent development in the German parliament is
just a typical example of this. Let’s not see this as a stab in the back.
Armenians have dominated the international arena to such an extent that the
governments no longer feel the need to resist them.”
The noose is tightening around the neck of genocide deniers. It is only a
matter of time before the other two countries, the United States and Great
Britain, would abandon their feeble attempts to deny what their own
archives prove beyond the shadow of a doubt. Then Turkey would have no
place to run and no place to hide. The Turkish leaders should realize that
without acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and without making appropriate
amends to the survivors, Turkey has no chance of being admitted to the
European Union.
The lengthy text of the German Parliament’s resolution makes that point
abundantly clear.
**************************************************************************
2 – Dr. Yervant Zorian Named 2005 IEEE
Industrial Pioneer Award Recipient
ANAHEIM, Calif. /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Citing his enormous contributions
to design-for-test and embedded repair technology for complex
System-on-Chip (SoC) design, Dr. Yervant Zorian, vice president and chief
scientist at Virage Logic
Corporation (Nasdaq: VIRL) was last week named the 2005 IEEE Circuits and
Systems (CAS) Industrial Pioneer award recipient. Dr. Zorian’s technical
accomplishments include pioneering work in Built-In Self-Test (BIST) and
embedded repair technologies and products that have dramatically boosted
the quality, reliability and manufacturability of digital systems.
In 2000, Dr. Zorian brought his technology vision and expertise in BIST
solutions to Virage Logic where he helped to pioneer a new class of
Intellectual Property (IP) called Silicon Aware IP’.
“The self-test and repair capabilities that Dr. Zorian developed for SoCs
have become the de facto standard in 90-nanometer technology for much of
the electronics designed around the world,” said Adam Kablanian, president
and CEO of Virage Logic. “His pioneering vision for providing an effective
test technology solution integrated with IP has enabled Virage Logic to
deliver a proven path for design success at the advanced process geometries
of 130nm and below. We are proud to have such a technology visionary on our
team and congratulate him on his selection by the IEEE as their 2005
Industrial Pioneer.”
Each year, the IEEE CAS Society honors outstanding scientists and engineers
who have successfully translated their research into commercial products or
applications. With the Silicon Aware STAR Memory System, Dr. Zorian turned
the concepts of embedded repair to real life systems that are yieldable and
reliable, and succeeded in penetrating the industry and changing its
standard practices.
“It is a great honor to be selected by the IEEE CAS Society for this
award,” said Dr. Zorian, vice president and chief scientist of
Virage Logic.
Dr. Zorian joined Virage Logic in 2000 as Chief Scientist. Prior to
joining Virage Logic, he served as Chief Technology Advisor at LogicVision
and as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Bell Labs, AT&T. His
responsibilities included developing and disseminating embedded test and
repair solutions for IP cores, chips, boards and systems. Dr. Zorian also
serves on the Board of Directors of several public and privately owned
companies.
Dr. Zorian has authored over 300 papers and four books, received several
best paper awards, and holds twelve U.S. patents. He is a Golden Core
Member of IEEE Computer Society, Honorary Doctor of the National Academy of
Sciences of Armenia, and a Fellow of IEEE. Dr. Zorian received his master’s
degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Southern California,
a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from McGill University and an
executive master’s degree in Business Administration from Wharton School of
Business, University of Pennsylvania.
*****************************************************************
3 – Catholicos Karekin II Continues
Pontifical Visit to Central California
FRESNO – Catholicos Karekin II departed Los Angeles for Fresno, continuing
his Pontifical visit to the United States with a trip to Central and
Northern California.
Accompanied by Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, and his entourage, the Pontiff
was greeted at the Fresno airport at 11 a.m. by the clergy of the region,
as well as representatives of the Parish Councils, Ladies’ Societies and
ACYO.
At 12 noon a “Hrashapar” service took place at the St. Paul Armenian
Church, marking his official entrance into the San Joaquin Valley.
The Catholicos was accompanied by Primate Derderian as well as Archbishop
Nerses Bozabalyan from the Mother See, Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, and
Vicar General of the Diocese Very Rev. Fr. Dajad Dz. V. Yardemian.
Participating in the service were the Pastors of St. Gregory the
illuminator Church of Fowler, Sts. Sahag Mesrob Armenian Church of Reedley,
St. Mary Armenian Church of Yettem, Holy Cross Armenian Church in Turlock,
visiting Pastor of the Armenian Church of Arizona, and Archpriest Fr.
Artoon Sempadian, retired, as well as deacons and choir members.
The Catholicos praised God for the opportunity for a second visit to the
Western Diocese. He spoke of the difficulties facing the Armenian Church
and conveyed his optimism that combined efforts will make it possible to
overcome difficulties. He commended the faithful of Fresno and urged them
to continue to remain connected to the Armenian Apostolic Church, the
Christian Faith and their cultural heritage. Following the service,
Catholicos Karekin II held a press conference, and was interviewed by
local media and press.
The following day, The Catholicos celebrated Pontifical Divine Liturgy on
June 12, at St. Paul Armenian Church with the participation of the clergy
and parishes of Central California.
Serving on the Altar were Archpriest Fr. Vartan Kasparian, Pastor of St.
Mary Armenian Church in Yettem, and Archpriest Fr. Kevork Arakelian Pastor
of St. Gregory Armenian Church in Fowler. Deacons also participated in the
Liturgy. The Litutgy was sung by the united choir of Central California.
Primate of the Catholic Church of Fresno, Bishop John Steinbeck was also in
attendance.
A large number of faithful received Holy Communion from the Catholicos.
A Pontifical banquet followed at the Fresno Convention Center, where the
Catholicos blessed the attendees, praised God and commended the work of
Reception Committee.
**************************************************************
4 – Lark Hosts
Musical Salute
To the Baltaians
GLENDALE – The Lark Musical Society will host a salute to the prolific and
talented musical Baltaian Family on June 22 in Glendale.
The “Salute to the Baltaians” will be held at the First United Methodist
Church of Glendale, 134 N. Kenwood, starting at 8 p.m.
The event is a toast to the life and work of three generations of Armenian
musicians from Bulgaria, Sarkis Baltaian, Garo Baltaian, Aroussiak Baltaian
and Sarkis Baltaian, their musical contribution to Armenian music in
general, and the cultural life of Bulgarian Armenians.
Hosted by Taghouhi Arzoumanian, the event will feature the participation of
Karine Kevorkian, Victoria Symonian, Susanna Atasuntz, and the Lark Chorus,
directed by Vatsche Barsoumian.
**************************************************************************
5 – House Foreign Aid Panel OK’s
$67.5 Million for Armenia in ’06
WASHINGTON, DC – A key House Appropriations Subcommittee voted last week to
maintain high aid levels to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh despite ongoing
overall reductions to former Soviet states. The 2006 Foreign Operations
Appropriations Bill, which lawmakers passed by voice vote, calls for $67.5
million for Armenia, up to $5 million for Nagorno Karabagh and maintains
military assistance parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan with $5.75
million allocated to each country.
The level of funding for Armenia is $12.5 million above the Bush
Administration’s request submitted to Congress earlier this year.
The action also allocated $5 million in Foreign Military Financing and
$750,000 for International Military Education and Training to both Armenia
and Azerbaijan, as requested by the Bush Administration. These funds will
improve inter-operability between Armenia’s military and its Western
partners, upgrade Armenia’s communication systems and better its personnel
training.
In April, the Armenian Assembly submitted testimony before the House
Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, outlining the need for
Congress to continue funding to Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh. The Assembly
said that such assistance has helped both countries move forward as
independent, market-reformed and democratic states.
The bill will next be considered by the full House Appropriations
Committee. Once the full House and Senate complete action on their version
of the bill, a joint House-Senate Conference Committee will reconcile the
differences.
**************************************************************************
6 – Djanbazian Dance
Company Invited
To Italy Event
LOS ANGELES – After the success of “Komitas, Kroong Bnaver – Banished but
Not Forgotten, (which was the big winner of the 14th Lester Horton Dance
Awards in Los Angeles in April 2005) Anna Djanbazian and her Dance Company
have been invited to participate in the “Dance Grand Prix Italia 2005” in
Cesena, Italy.
About 1,100 dancers from five continents will compete in the big Italian
dance event to be held on June 26 at the Bonci Theatre, considered one of
the most beautiful ancient theatres in Europe. This competition will
include all types of Dance: Classical, Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, Hip Hop,
Funky, Folk and various interpretations of Dance Theatre Laboratories.
The Djanbazian Academy will be presenting three dances choreographed by
Anna Djanbazian:
Members of the Dance troupe include Arsineh Ananian, Ani Grigorian,
Narineh Ghazarians and Anna Daibyan.
Future performances include an original full length chorography based on
the life of the famous Persian poet “Rumi” to be held at the Freud Theater
at UCLA Jan. 7 and 8, 2006, and cultural dance presentation at the Disney
Center, November 12, 2006.
For more details about the tour and future performances, visit:
***************************************************************************
7- Deadline for AEF’s Richard R.
Tufenkian Scholarships is July 30
GLENDALE – The Armenian Educational Foundation (AEF) announced last week it
is now accepting applications for the Richard R. Tufenkian Scholarship for
the 2005 – 2006 academic year. Deadline for submissions is July 30.
The Richard R. Tufenkian Scholarship was established by Ralph and Savey
Tufenkian in memory of their son.
Five $2,000 scholarships will be awarded to Armenian undergraduate students
at an accredited United States college/university. To qualify for this
scholarship, students must be of Armenian descent, have a minimum 3.0 GPA,
show financial need, and be actively involved in the Armenian community.
Students who meet the above criteria are invited to submit a written
request for an application to the AEF Scholarship Committee, 600 West
Broadway, Suite 130, Glendale, CA 91204.
Written requests for applications can also be made by FAX (818) 242-4913
or E-mail [email protected]. All completed scholarship application
packages must be postmarked no later than July 30, 2005. Applications are
also available on
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*
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The New Nation, Bangladesh
June 20 2005
Political trouble brewing
By Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah
Jun 20, 2005, 12:25

In the last two years, the world heard earful of news of political
dissensions in several of the ex-Soviet republics. Some of these
nations are located near Euro-Asian border in Caucasus region while
one is in Europe. The protesters wore different colored scarves in
different dissenting nations thus engendering new and catchy names
for each of the revolution.
Take the case of Georgia (Rose Revolution) where in late November
2003 a pro-West politician by the name Mikhail Saakashvili ousted a
tyrannical president Eduard Shevarnadze, an aging ex-communist who
was the foreign minister under Mikhail Gorbachev.
The second revolution took place in Ukraine in December 2004 to
protest a rigged election in which a pro-Russian presidential
hopeful, Viktor Yanukovych, was declared a winner by a slim margin.
For weeks, protesters jammed the central city square wearing orange
scarf. The end result was the declaration of the rigged election null
and void. Within weeks, a new election put the dissident politician,
Viktor Yushchenko, into power and christening the term the `Orange
Revolution.’
In late March 2005, trouble brewed in Kyrgyzstan, a tranquil central
Asian ex-Soviet republic, where the despotic president, Askar Akayev,
who enforced an iron clad rule since the summer of 1991 when Soviet
union imploded due to President Mikhail Gorbachev’s implementation of
perestroika and glasnost. Ordinary citizens and political dissidents
stormed the presidential palace and government offices in capital
city of Bishkek. During the tumult, the deposed president Askar
Akayev fled the country to neighboring nation of Kazakhstan. The
country is now under the control of pro-west politicians.
On May 13, 2005, a political trouble escalated in Ferghana valley,
which is politically controlled by Uzbekistan. In the eastern-most
city of Andijan (in Ferghana), the government troop fired
indiscriminately killing more than 600 protesters and bystanders.
Uzbekistan is ruled iron-fistedly by a dictator named Islam Karomov
who is supported by Kremlin and tolerated by American Administration.
Many Uzbek dissenters moved into neighboring Kyrgyzstan in the
aftermath of May 13 carnage. After the putsch, life seems to be
returning to normalcy in eastern Uzbekistan. Only time will tell if
the seed of political discontent sowed in spring 2005 will amount to
anything in the future.
A month could hardly pass when we read in the news that a new trouble
brewed up in the oil-rich nation of Azerbaijan, which is located to
the west of Caspian Sea, and which is also considered an eastern
Transcaucasian nation. The geo-political significance of Azerbaijan
cannot be underestimated. It sits at the far end of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines,
situated between the Black and Caspian seas, containing two, possibly
three breakaway provinces, and borders Iran, Georgia, Armenia, and
Russia.
Some background information should come handy to better appreciate
what ails this oil-rich nation inhabited by nearly 8 million people
living in a land about half the size of Bangladesh. Azerbaijanis are
essentially Turkic and Muslim whose nation regained independence
after the collapse of the Soviet Union in summer of 1991. Trouble
brewed in 1994 with the neighboring nation, Armenia, over disputed
region of Nagorno-Karabakh enclave where Armenian people live.
Despite a 1994 cease-fire, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict
with Armenia. The country has lost 16% of its territory in the
conflict and must support some 571,000 internally displaced persons
because of the conflict. The sad part of Azerbaijan story is that
corruption is ubiquitous and the promise of nation building from oil
revenues remains largely unfulfilled. One parenthetical note about
Azerbaijanis is that most of them are Shiites. Culturally, they are
similar to people who live in Azerbaijan province of Iran whose
capital city is Tabriz.
A personal anecdote about Azerbaijani people and their devotion to
religion Islam. In early 1960s when I was a high school student in
Tejgaon, Dhaka, the Soviet Union sent a soccer team to Pakistan for
friendly matches. The Soviet team happened to be the Baku Oil Mill,
which was one of the best team in the communist paradise. A couple of
my friend befriended a team member who had a Perso-Arabic name. He
told us that he is an Azeri. We wanted to give him a gift as a token
of our friendship. He asked for a prayer mat and a copy of Koran for
his elderly parents. I now gather that during Soviet rule, the
Azerbaijanis were not allowed to practice their religion in public;
however, in private people maintained their faith. The response from
the visiting team member asking for a copy of Koran and prayer mat
speaks in volume for a thriving religion in private.
Coming back to the main story, on June 4, 2005, about 10,000
opposition Azerbaijanis chanted `Freedom!’ and carried pictures of
President Bush as they marched across nation’s capital (Baku), urging
the government of this U.S. ally to step down and allow free
parliamentary elections this year.
The spontaneous rally in Baku was the largest of its kind in which
opposition demonstrators shouted `Freedom.’ The last time Azeri
people came out to demonstrate against the government was in October
2003 when one person died and nearly 200 were injured in clashes
between police and demonstrators protesting vote rigging in the
presidential election.
Tensions have been building ever since October 2003 demonstration in
this oil-rich Caspian Sea nation in the run-up to parliamentary
elections set for November 2005. Experts from the region predict that
Azerbaijan could see a massive uprising similar to the ones that
toppled unpopular and autocratic regimes in other ex-Soviet nations
of Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan during the past 18 months.
According to news report, supporters of several opposition parties
shouted `Freedom!’ and `Free Elections!’ while holding placards with
such slogans as `Down with robber government!’ Some even carried a
picture of Bush with the inscription: `We want freedom!’ Azerbaijanis
know that America has its eye fixed on this oil-rich nation.
Therefore, carrying Bush’s photo while protesting against the
repressive regime meant asking America’s help to topple the present
government.
The U.S. Department of State has given a statement in which it
welcomed granting by the Azerbaijan Government of permit to the
meeting of opposition on June 4, 2005, last Saturday in Baku. State
Department spokesperson, Mr. Sean McCormack, underlined that the
political rally ended peacefully. On behalf of the Bush
Administration, he called on the government of Azerbaijan to grant
permit to further demonstrations of opposition so that the
forthcoming fall parliament elections met international standards.
Why should America have interest in seeing a pro-West government
installed in Baku a la Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan? The answer
lies in the fact that Azerbaijan sits on a massive oil reserve. Oil
output from Azerbaijan is expected to balloon to more than 20 million
tones in 2005. Furthermore, according to President Ilham Aliyev,
Azerbaijan, which inaugurated the four-billion-dollar
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline in May 2005, is expected to see
output grow further to 50 million tons per year in 2006 Aliyev said
at an oil and gas conference.
It should be noted here that America had backed the BTC project — an
infrastructure initiative that will allow Caspian Sea producers to
get their oil to Western markets without going through Russia – that
is expected to handle the excess output from the oilfield located on
the Caspian Sea. America is hoping that the BTC pipeline when fully
functional would allow the West to depend less on OPEC nation to
fulfill their energy demand. After 2010 when Azerbaijan will produce
less oil, then Kazakhstan would commit their crude to the BTC
pipeline. These are the reasons why America and the West would like
to see a pro-West government installed in Baku. The present
president, Ilham Aliyev, while maintains good terms with both Kremlin
and Washington but fellow Azeris considers him an authoritarian ruler
because he has the virtual monopoly to power in Azerbaijan.
Some experts in Baku say that the opening of BTC marked the
unofficial start of the parliamentary election campaign. President
Aliyev and other top officials have offered assurances that the
parliamentary vote will be fair. Opposition leaders, however, voiced
their concerns about such exaggerated claims, and expressed a desire
to intensify the pressure on the government. Opposition protesters on
June 4, 2005, milled on the streets for electoral amendments designed
to dilute the Aliyev administration’s influence over election
commissions on all levels.
In summary, opposition politicians and their supporters took to the
streets in Baku to demonstrate against the present regime on June 4,
2005. The good thing is that Aliyev regime allowed the demonstration
to go through. The parliamentary election is nearing; therefore, the
restive opposition politicians are agitating on the streets of the
capital. The Aliyev Administration hailed the opening of BTC pipeline
as a monumental achievement; however, the opposition politicians are
using the same venue to tell the world that all is not well in this
oil-rich Muslim nation as far as democracy and free election is
concerned. Stay tuned for more development in the political front. My
take is that Aliyev is a seasoned politician who would be difficult
to remove in the near term. In addition, the Bush Administration is
in good term with him. Therefore, there is no urgency in toppling
Aliyev. We maybe entering a New World Order but America still calls
the shots.
-SAN-Feature Service
[Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New
Orleans, USA.]

GERMANY ALLOCATES 3,9 MILLION EUROS TO ARMENIA FOR CREATING DEPOSIT GUARANTEEING SYSTEM
YEREVAN, JUNE 17, NOYAN TAPAN. The German Government will provide
to Armenia a credit of 3,5 million euros and a grant of 400 thousand
euros for the purpose of creating a deposit guaranteeing system. The
agreements on the credit and the grant will be signed between RA
Minister of Economy and Finance, the German bank KfW and the Armenain
Fund for Guaranteing Deposits. According to the RA Government’s
Department of Information and Public Relations, the credit will be
provided to Armenia for 30 years (2015-2045) at an annual interest
rate of 0.75%.

Karabakh leader vows “fair and transparent” elections
Mediamax news agency
18 Jun 05
Yerevan, 18 June: The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic
(NKR), Arkadiy Gukasyan, has addressed the nation in connection with
the forthcoming 19 June parliamentary elections.
Gukasyan said the election campaign “has been positive as a whole
and is another step towards the further democratization of our state
and society”.
“However, I have to admit with regret that some candidates, who ignore
basic ethic norms, have set themselves only one goal- to discredit
the authorities and their rivals at all costs in the election
struggle. But they failed to come up with their own programmes of
legislative activity,” he said.
“What causes special concern here is that the election campaign has
seen some insinuations and slander as well. Specifically, there have
been false rumours that the government is putting pressure on the
electorate, intimidating people and banning voters from meeting their
candidates. I can assure you with full responsibility that there has
not been and cannot be anything of this kind,” Gukasyan said.
The NKR president also said that during the election campaign “we
heard some statements which might cause a split in our society and
inflict irreparable damage on the security interests of the Nagornyy
Karabakh republic”.
Gukasyan said that the 19 June parliamentary elections “will definitely
be fair and transparent”. “I guarantee this as the president. I can
assure you that anyone’s attempts to break the law and destabilize
the post-election situation will be assessed appropriately. Those who
initiate and execute this will be punished to the fullest extent of
the law,” he said.
“The forthcoming elections are of international importance to Nagornyy
Karabakh. Our attitude towards the elections has to demonstrate to
the world that democratic reforms are irreversible in the country and
secure the international recognition of the NKR. If the forthcoming
parliamentary elections do not meet European standards, this will
have a negative impact on the reputation and name of our state in the
world, which might negatively affect the peace process of settling
our conflict with Azerbaijan. In other words, at stake is the fate
of Artsakh [Karabakh] and our achievements,” Gukasyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EU-Turkish official: EU plans initiatives to bring Turkey-Armenia
together
Anatolia news agency, Ankara
17 Jun 05
Hopa, 17 June: “We have some ideas to bring Armenia and Turkey
closer. We plan several initiatives (regarding this rapprochement) in
coming months,” Joost Lagendijk, the co-chairman of the Turkey-European
Union (EU) Joint Parliament Commission, said on Friday [17 June].
Visiting Mayor Yilmaz Topaloglu of Hopa town in northeastern city
of Artvin, Lagendijk said that it was important for him to closely
monitor Turkey’s situation and learn what (Turkish) people were
thinking about the EU.
Lagendijk noted that he would visit (eastern city of) Kars after
Artvin, and recalled that Kars was a city situated at Turkey’s border
with Armenia.
Stating that he would not visit Armenia this time, Lagendijk said that
they aimed to launch some initiatives to improve peace and dialogue
in this region and open the border (between Turkey and Armenia).
Lagendijk hoped that he could cross to Armenia next time he visited
this region (Kars and vicinity).

Erdogan kritisiert Schroder wegen Armenien-Resolution
Reuters
Freitag 17 Juni, 2005
Ankara (Reuters) – Der turkische Ministerpräsident Tayyip Erdogan
hat Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schroder fur die Bundestags-Resolution zum
Massenmord an den Armeniern kritisiert und ihm indirekt mangelndes
Ruckgrat vorgeworfen.
“Kanzler Schroder hätte zumindest seine eigene Haltung erklären und
die Mitglieder seiner Partei davon abhalten mussen (die Resolution zu
unterstutzen)”, sagte Erdogan einem Bericht des turkischen Fernsehens
vom Freitag zufolge. “Das ist keine gute Politik. Ich mag Politik
mit Ruckgrat.” Die Resolution sei “nicht nur falsch, sondern auch
abstoßend”. EU-Diplomaten wiesen Erdogans Kritik zuruck und sagten,
damit riskiere die Turkei, die Unterstutzung fur ihren Beitritt
zur Europäischen Union (EU) zu untergraben. Schroder gehort zu den
stärksten Befurwortern einer Aufnahme des Landes. “Erdogans Kommentare
sind bedauerlich”, sagte ein Diplomat. “Schroder hatte Erdogan klar
gemacht, dass er den Bundestag nicht an der Debatte und Verabschiedung
einer Resolution hindern kann.”
Der Bundestag hat die Massaker an den christlichen Armeniern durch
Truppen des Osmanischen Reiches am Vortag einstimmig verurteilt,
ohne die Totungen von bis zu 1,5 Millionen Menschen zwischen 1915 und
1923 als Volkermord zu bezeichnen. Zudem forderten die Abgeordneten
von der Regierung in Ankara, eine unabhängige Untersuchung der
historischen Ereignisse zuzulassen. Die Turkei wehrt sich dagegen,
dass es sich dabei um einen systematischen Volkermord handelte. Sie
erkennt zwar an, dass Hunderttausende getotet wurden, es seien aber
viel mehr Turken während eines Partisanenkriegs ums Leben gekommen,
in dem die Armenier die russischen Invasionstruppen unterstutzt hätten.
Die EU hat die Turkei aufgefordert, vor Beginn der
Beitrittsverhandlungen am 3. Oktober ihre Beziehungen zum Nachbarland
Armenien zu verbessern. Die Anerkennung des Volkermords gehort zu
den zentralen Forderungen Armeniens.
–Boundary_(ID_YoTv6/ipnr/blgSijUHXtQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Russian Paper Reports on Details of Abkhaz Railway Talks
Civil Georgia, Georgia June 17 2005
The Russian daily Kommersant reported on June 17 that during the talks
in Moscow between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides on June 15-16, Foreign
Minister of breakaway Abkhazia “categorically rejected” proposal to
link the issue of reopening railway between Russia and Georgia via
Abkhazia with the return of Georgian internally displaced persons in
Gali district of Abkhazia.
“Sokhumi is also against of Tbilisi’s proposal over participation
of the railway experts from Georgia [those who are IDPs] in the
rehabilitation works, because this would lead to return of tens of
thousands of Georgians in Abkhazia,” the Kommersant reported.
According to the Russian daily, the Georgian side also proposed during
the talks in Moscow to open joint Abkhaz-Georgian customs checkpoints
at the Psou river on the border between Russia and breakaway Abkhazia.
“The Abkhaz side has rejected to even consider this proposal, stating
that the border between Abkhazia and Russia will be guarded only by
the Abkhaz border guards and custom officers,” the Kommersant reported.
In turn, the Georgian side is against of setting up custom service
at Enguri river, which is an administrative border between Abkhazia
and rest of Georgia, “because this would mean legal marking of border
between Abkhazia and Georgia.”
According to the Kommersant the Abkhazia side also demanded from
Tbilisi to lift restrictions on navel communications between Abkhazia’s
ports of Sokhumi and Gagra with Turkey “in parallel to the process
of resumption of railway communication.”
The sides have agreed during the talks in Moscow that the experts
from the Georgian and Abkhaz sides, as well as from Russia and Armenia
will meet in Gali district of Abkhazia on July 1 to inspect the entire
railway route from Enguri to Psou rivers in an attempt to assess the
current condition of the railway, the Kommersant reported.