Author: Jalatian Sonya

ARMENIAN BUSINESSMEN COME TO ISTANBUL FOR INVESTMENTS
By Ercan Baysal
Zaman, Turkey
Nov 16 2006
As the reactions to French parliament’s controversial Armenian genocide
bill continue, the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association
(TUSIAD) is taking the initiative to loosen tension between Armenia
and Turkey.
Members of TUSIAD and the Union of Businessmen and Manufacturers of
Armenia (UMBA) do not want France’s stance to overshadow relations so
they will come together in Istanbul. UMBA was officially invited to
the Black Sea and Caspian Industrialists Confederation Union meeting
on Nov. 27.
TUSIAD president, Omer Sabanci, and UMBA chairman Arsen Ghazarian
will also discuss their countries’ relations besides regular business
negotiations.
Kaan Soyak, the Turkish-Armenian co-chair of the Council on Development
of Economic Ties said Ghazaryan will invite TUSIAD members to Armenia
to invest in textile, energy and telecommunication sectors.
Soyak said this meeting was important for Russia and the Armenian
Diaspora:
“Turkey has become an attractive market thanks to the atmosphere
of stability. Armenians in the Diaspora want to make investments in
Turkey mostly in hotels, real estate and port sectors. They have made
their applications to our council in this regard. These issues will
be discussed during the meeting.”
“Armenia is a virgin market, right now they only have relations with
Iran so we want Turkish investors there too,” said Soyak and added
that this kind of commercial relationship could diffuse the tension
between the two countries.
Trade between Turkey and Armenia takes place unofficially via Iran.
According to unofficial statistics, the total trade volume between
the two countries reached $200 million dollars.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) noted the
Turkey-Armenia embargo costs about $570-720 million dollars to Armenia
every year.
If the border gates were opened, Armenia’s transportation costs would
drop by about 30-50 percent, its export volume would double and its
Gross National Product would increase by about 30-38 percent.
According to World Bank statistics, Armenia’s savings in transportation
costs would be about $6.4-8.4 million dollars, energy saving would
be $45 million and its export volume would increase by about $269-342
million dollars. In this way Armenia’s total benefit from the opening
of the border would be about $320-396 million dollars.

How Armenia copes with its isolation in the combustible Caucasus
The art of levitation
Nov 16th 2006 | YEREVAN
>From The Economist print edition
NOWHERE is living next to big countries trickier than in the
Caucasus. Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan were for centuries
swallowed by rival empires; when the last of them, the Soviet Union,
collapsed, three territorial wars broke out, all of which may yet
re-erupt. Now Georgia is in a cold war with Russia.
Next-door Armenia’s geographical plight might seem the worst in the
Caucasus-or anywhere. It is landlocked and poor; of its four
borders, those with Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed following its
bloody but successful struggle for Nagorno-Karabakh, a province of
Soviet Azerbaijan mostly populated by Armenians. Its other neighbours
are Georgia (under an economic blockade by Russia) and Iran. Yet
despite the war, the economic collapse that went with it and a
terrible earthquake that preceded it, Armenia seems to have levitated
out of trouble.
It benefits from an indulgence not afforded to pro-Western Georgia.
Per person, Armenia is one of the biggest recipients of American aid
(thanks to the powerful diaspora there, which remembers vividly the
massacres of 1915). Yet that American help does not trouble Russia,
which has a military base in Armenia. GDP is growing-though still
pitifully low: monthly wages are around $150. Towns and villages in
the beautiful, barren countryside are still poor and dilapidated, but
Yerevan is full of construction cranes and posh cafes.
But levitation has its limits. After some progress in the late 1990s,
reforms have stalled. The famed cognac aside, exports are puny.
Armenia relies on foreign aid and remittances from the huge diaspora;
emigration (see article) has put the population well below the
official 2.9m figure. The international balance is also precarious.
Some in Russia want the Armenians to take sides against the
Georgians, perhaps by stirring up the Armenian minority there. “We
refuse to choose,” says Vartan Oskanian, the foreign minister.
Indeed: alienating Georgia would be suicidal.
But the Kremlin’s leverage is growing. Russian firms already control
the energy sector and want a greater stake elsewhere. Mr Oskanian
says “our needs today are too dire” to worry about future risks.
Azerbaijan’s hydrocarbons windfall makes it sound confident, even
bellicose, stoking Armenian reliance on Russia.
American interest in the pipelines that link the Caspian to the
Mediterranean, doglegging round Armenia, mean that renewed fighting
would echo far beyond the Caucasus. Internationally sponsored talks
about Karabakh limp on-Mr Oskanian met his Azerbaijani counterpart
this week-and Western diplomats try to sound upbeat. But a deal, or
even a fudge that would at least allow normal trade relations, looks
all but impossible. Sporadic shooting continues.
One reason is that bad governments in both countries bang the
nationalist drum for want of wider legitimacy. Armenia’s Robert
Kocharian has emulated his sponsors in the Kremlin, squeezing the
media and rigging elections. Corruption flourishes. It is hard to
find an Armenian politician who does not want to succeed Mr Kocharian
when his presidential term expires in 2008; it is harder still to
find one who thinks the vote will be fair. Like Ilham Aliev, who
inherited power in Azerbaijan from his father, Mr Kocharian promises
just enough change to pacify America. Unsurprisingly, considering
their history, most Armenians are too cynical to expect much better
from their rulers.
Like acrobats in a human pyramid, the Caucasus countries are
inevitably affected by their neighbours’ behaviour. Russia’s closure
of its border with Georgia, for example, hurts Armenian traders. Such
outsiders’ jostling would be much easier to bear if the three
(relative) tiddlers had a common line. But they are all, as Raffi
Hovannisian, a former Armenian foreign minister, says of his country,
“long on civilisation, short on statecraft.”
europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8173284

Press Release
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Father Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
PEACE -BUILDING AS AN INVITATION TO SPIRITUALITY
AFFIRMED THE PARTICIPANTS OF MIDDLE EAST-ASIA INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
The Asia-Middle East interreligious dialogue inaugurated on Sunday 12
November 2006, continued its work in the Armenian Catholicsate of Cilicia
with the leadership of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I.
The representatives of different religions presented papers on
peace-building from the perspective of their on faith traditions. His
Holiness Swami Parmeshananda chaired the meeting. Sheikh Muhammed Najaf (Shi
‘ite Iran) Dr Ugyen Tashi (Tibetan Hindu monk Taiwan), Dr. Muhammed Sammak
(Sunni Lebanon) and Dr. Paul Haydotsian (Christian Lebanon).
Building peace based on love, search for truth and justice is the vocation
of all religions said the speakers. At the end of the session the
participants visited at Dar-al-Fatwa Sheikh Muhammed Kabbani the Mufti of
the Republic of Lebanon. After leaving the Mufti the delegation visited the
ruins of the Israeli invasion in July 2006 in the southern suburbs of
Beirut.
Sacredness of life, a gift and a call to spirituality was the topic of the
afternoon session. Dr. Hisham Nashabe(Sunni) moderated the session and the
Venerable Guo Yuan (Buddhist Taiwan) and Mr. Camil Menassa (Christian,
Lebanon) reflected on the theme. Speakers emphasized the centrality of
protecting all life in their religions.
Following the panels the participants met in two groups to discuss the
presentations of the past two days.
One of the important aspects of the agenda of this meeting is the visits to
religious leaders in their own communities. On Sunday the members of the
dialogue had visited the Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Sfeir. In both visits
the participants appreciated the openness and sincerity of the religious
leaders. The meeting will be concluded on Tuesday 14 November in the
afternoon.
##
View photos here:
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA DID NOT OK HOAGLAND’S APPOINTMENT US AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA
Zaman, Turkey
Nov 14 2006
According to Armenian Aravot newspaper referring to its own sources,
the Armenian Assembly of America has agreed with Richard Hoagland’s
appointment US ambassador to Armenia. According to the periodical,
US senators have recently received some phone calls from the AAA
informing that the latter did not have any more questions connected
with Hoagland’s appointment US ambassador to Armenia. At the same
time, the source claimed that the AAA sources allegedly stated to the
senators that they had also received official Yerevan’s approval of
Hoagland’s appointment.
Meanwhile, speaking to REGNUM correspondent, head of the AAA office
in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh Arpi Vardanyan stated that there was
no phone call to the senators. “We could not agree with Hoagland’s
appointment US ambassador to Armenia. Moreover, we oppose the current
policy of the US administration that does not recognize the fact of
Armenians’ Genocide. We believe that truth should be said about the
Armenians’ Genocide in Ottoman Empire,” she stated. “We have principal
disagreements with US government concerning recognition of Armenian
Genocide, and we are sure that truth should not be denied.
The recall of the ex-US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans continues to
raise questions, and we continue to insist upon complete and final
recognition of Armenian Genocide by the USA. We are also informed
that the Armenian government has approved Hoagland’s candidacy, and
we are sure that presence of an ambassador will be more favorable
for the Armenian-US relations than its absence,” Arpi Vardanyan stated.
To remind, Armenian public was quite repelled by the Richard
Hoagland’s candidacy after the diplomat’s indulging in statements
denying Armenians’ Genocide in Ottoman Turkey in 1915. The Aryan Order
published an unequivocal commentary about it. Despite protests of the
Armenian public opinion, including several Armenian NGOs, Richard
Hoagland’s candidacy nominated by the US president George Bush was
considered and approved. Speaking on the occasion, US Senator from New
Jersey Robert Menendez stated that many politicians including the US
President avoid qualifying the crime committed in early 20th century
in Turkey as Genocide, and Hoagland’s appointment may become a step
backwards that will benefit neither Armenian nor Diapora’s interests.
On November 8, US Charge d’Affairs to Armenia, Vice-Ambassador Anthony
Godfrey stated at press conference: “Despite the negative Armenian
public opinion of the candidacy of Richard Hoagland who has been
approved US Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Armenia,
the US government does not consider any other candidacy for the post.”

BIGGEST WINNERS: HOUSE DEMOCRATS
Inside Bay Area (California)
November 8, 2006 Wednesday
WASHINGTON — Parochially speaking, the Republicans’ Capitol Hill
loss could be California’s gain.
When the 110th Congress is sworn in next January, a Californian will
hold the most powerful position in the House of Representatives. At
least 17 other California House Democrats are likewise poised by dint
of seniority to chair committees or subcommittees.
“It’s always great to have people in leadership, from either party,
from your state,” noted Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced.
The full impact of Tuesday’s election will unfold over time, as House
Democrats adjust to their newfound majority status.
There will be unforeseeable ripple effects, as one change begets
another. “There’s a lot of jockeying that’s going to happen before
the end of the year,” Cardoza said.
Still, the ascension of Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco to House
speaker will give the Golden State considerable clout. She will be
the first Californian to take the House’s top job, as well as the
first woman.
As speaker, Pelosi will direct what bills reach the House floor. She
picks who gets plum assignments. She appoints House negotiators who
compromise with the Senate. She will be in earmark heaven, shaping
legislative bottom lines to her satisfaction.
“It’s a big step forward,” said Vic Fazio, a Washington lobbyist who
formerly represented the Sacramento Valley in the House. “For the
region, it’s actually quite good.”
Pelosi’s top lieutenants are likewise attuned to California’s
appetites. They include close advisers like Rep. George Miller,
D-Concord, and Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Eureka. Pelosi’s chief of staff,
John Lawrence, holds a doctorate in history from the University of
California, Berkeley, and cut his political teeth on Central Valley
water politics.
Californians will chair at least five full committees, if seniority
prevails.
Miller will take over the House Education and the Workforce
Committee. Even the committee’s name might change. When Democrats
controlled Congress, they symbolically saluted their union allies by
calling the panel the Education and Labor Committee.
More substantively, Pelosi has promised that within the “first 100
hours” of the new Congress, Democrats will emphasize six priorities
that include increasing the national minimum wage to $7.25 an hour,
up from the current $5.15. California’s current minimum wage is $6.75.
The wage hike could still flounder amid Senate and White House
resistance. So could other House Democratic priorities, like the
costly proposal to screen 100percent of the 7million-plus ocean cargo
containers that arrive annually in Oakland, Long Beach and other ports.
Currently, inspectors reach only about 5 percent of seaborne containers
entering the United States.
“It is realistic to set out an agenda,” said Tim Ransdell, executive
director of the California Institute for Federal Policy Studies. “It
is less realistic to think that every item on a grand wish list can
be achieved.”
Another Bay Area lawmaker, Rep. Tom Lantos of San Mateo, is the senior
Democrat on the House International Relations Committee. The panel
will certainly become a forum for critiquing Iraq policies.
More narrowly, fresh hearings are likely for ethnic political disputes,
such as an Armenian genocide resolution favored by San Joaquin Valley
lawmakers.
The House Government Reform Committee under Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los
Angeles, will aggressively investigate the Bush administration.
Californians are likewise in line to chair committees handling ethics
and House administration.
The state’s defense industry is watching whether Los Angeles Democrat
Jane Harman will head the House intelligence panel. She has the
seniority and is lobbying hard, but she’s at odds with Pelosi, who
handpicks the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Besides committees, power will flow anew to certain coalitions.
Cardoza and Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, are among 37 members of the
Blue Dog coalition. The centrist Democrats seek more influence,
bridging the gap between Democratic liberals and moderate Republicans.
“We will have to shift into defensive mode,” said Rep. Devin Nunes,
R-Visalia. “This will mean working in a coalition with the Blue Dogs,
to stop bad things for the Valley from coming through.”
California is also losing some stature. The House water and power
subcommittee responsible for shepherding a San Joaquin River settlement
bill, for instance, is now passing from the hands of Republican
Rep. George Radanovich of Mariposa.
“I think the Valley agenda will be the same,” predicted Rep. Richard
Pombo, R-Tracy, “but it will be much harder to get things done.”

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Nov 10 2006
NATO PA TO DISCUSS NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT
[November 10, 2006, 19:24:13]
Since November 11, the first vice-speaker of Azerbaijan Parliament,
the head of delegation of Azerbaijan in Parliamentary Assembly of
NATO (NATO PA) Ziyafet Askarov and MP Siyavush Novruzov will be on a
visit in the Canadian city of Quebec to participate in 52nd annual
session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
In the frame of session, will be conducted meetings of political
committee, committees on defense and safety, on economy and safety,
on science and technology, and also political groups and Standing
Committees, press service of Milli Majlis told.
In meeting of subcommittee `Further opportunities of safety and
defense’ of the Committee on Defense and Safety, will be heard the
report on the topic `The Role of NATO in region of Southern
Caucasus’. Also will be conducted exchange of views on situation in
the countries of region, development of relations with NATO, the work
done in the field of individual cooperation, and on other questions.
On action, also will take place discussions on the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The session is to consider acceptance of the declaration of the Riga
Summit of NATO. The document will reflect importance of rendering
assistance to the countries of Southern Caucasus and the Balkans,
observance of democratic standards in the member states of the
Organization.
The visit will end 19 November.

Mehr News Agency, Iran
Nov 11 2006
Development of Iran-Armenia ties needs a legal framework: Armenian official
TEHRAN – The Armenian Ambassador to Tehran Karen Nazaryan said on
Saturday the expansion of trade ties between Iran and Armenia
requires a legal framework upon which their shared aims could be
established.
`Governments of both countries have long been trying to develop their
ties but few contracts have been signed due to lack of a mutually
accepted legal basis,’ he added, noting that the move has even been
pursued by the Iran-Armenia Joint Economic Committee.
The two sides, she stated, should also resolve the problems that have
so far hindered cooperation between Iranian and Armenian private
sectors.

Armenian Relief Society, Inc.
Telephone: 617-926-5892 Central Office
Fax£:617-926-4855
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown, MA 02472
e-mail: [email protected]
Contact: Hamesd Beugekian

FIRST LADY, DR. BELLA KOCHARIAN VISITS THE ARS MOTHER AND CHILD HEALTH
AND BIRTHING CENTER
On Wednesday, October 18, Armenia’s First Lady, Dr. Bella Kocharian
visited the ARS Mother and Child Health and Birthing Center in
Akhurian. This was Dr. Kocharian’s first visit to the ARS center’s
new maternity ward and recently completed Radiology & Scanning
Department.
Dr. Kocharian was accompanied by ARS Armenia Chairperson Alvard
Petrosian, who is also a member of the Republic of Armenia’s National
Assembly, as well as ARS Armenia Regional Executive Board members.
On the occasion of Dr. Kocharian’s important visit, the ARS invited
representatives of various women’s and social service organizations to
be present, including Minister of Health Norair Davtian; Armenia’s top
cancer expert Dr. Sergey Sayirian; ARF Supreme Council members Lilit
Galstian and Rouzan Arakelian; ARF Commission on Women’s Issues
Chairperson Maria Titizian; Shirak Province Governor Romik Manukian; and
ARS Central Executive Board member Karine Hovhannisian.
The visit was fully covered and broadcast on television and radio. All
the guests were deeply impressed and expressed their admiration for the
Health Center’s new additions. As a token of appreciation, First Lady
Kocharian presented the center with a television set.
The Mother and Child Health Center tour was followed by a visit to the
Psychological Center in Gyumri which recently inaugurated a new wing
built and subsidized by the Swiss “Armenianos” Fund. Center director and
noted psychologist Armine Gmuir-Karapetian cooperates closely with the
ARS Armenia Regional Executive Board. Over the last few years,
Gmuir-Karapetian has provided expertise to the ARS Armenia on various
in-depth ARS studies devoted to psychological issues faced by various
segments of the population.
Dr. Kocharian was visibly impressed by what she saw at both centers and
expressed her deep satisfaction for having the opportunity to witness
the ARS’s important work in Gyumri. In a parting promise, the First Lady
pledged to support all present and future ARS programs.
Established in 1910, the ARS is the oldest Armenian women’s
organization with entities in 24 countries. To learn more about the ARS
and its programs, visit the ARS’s website at or call
(617) 926-5892.
November 8, 2006
Hamesd Beugekian
Administrative Secretary
ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY,INC
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown MA, 02427
Tel: 617-926 5892
Fax: 617-926 4855
E-mail: [email protected]

PRIME MINISTER MEETS WITH HIS JORDANIAN COUNTERPART
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Nov 8 2006
After Azerbaijan’s Prime Minister Artur Rasizade and visiting Prime
Minister and Defense Minister of Jordan Marouf al-Bakhit met behind
closed doors, the meeting continued in the presence of the two
countries’ delegations.
Mr. Rasizade said he welcomes the level of political cooperation
between the two countries.
He expressed gratitude to Jordan’s Government for supporting Azerbaijan
within various international organizations.
The Premier also spoke of Azerbaijan’s economic progress, adding his
country is the initiator of the global energy and transport projects
in the region.
Artur Rasizade also spoke of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan’s efforts towards finding a peaceful
solution to the dispute.
Jordanian Premier Marouf al-Bakhit stressed the importance of enhancing
the bilateral economic ties, adding establishment of inter-departmental
commissions will contribute to this.
The meeting ended with the signing of a number of interparliamentary
agreements, including ones on economy and tourism.

GEORGIA, AZERBAIJAN DEBATE CONTROL OF ANCIENT MONASTERY’S TERRITORY
By Diana Petriashvili and Rovshan Ismayilov 11/03/06
Friday, November 3, 2006
EURASIA INSIGHT EurasiaNet, NY
An unresolved border between Georgia and Azerbaijan has put under
question one of the South Caucasus’s most significant cultural and
religious landmarks, the medieval David-Gareja monastery complex,
located in Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Set in semi-desert some 70 kilometers southeast from Tbilisi along
the Georgian border with Azerbaijan and within Azerbaijan proper,
the complex, which contains a rich collection of cave frescoes, has
been a site for conflict as well as for contemplation, ever since
construction began in the 6th century.
The best-known part of the complex, the Udabno cave monastery,
which contain frescoes dating approximately from the 8th to the 13th
centuries, as well as the monastery headquarters at Lavra, are located
within Georgia. Additional monasteries, some nearly inaccessible and
largely ruined, are also on Georgian territory. Azerbaijan contains
the monastery of Bertubani, which features frescoes of the legendary
12th-13th century Georgian Queen Tamara and her son, Giorgi IV.
But who should control the David-Gareja monastery? When the Soviet
Union defined the borders between the then Soviet republics of
Azerbaijan and Georgia, the monastery complex was split in two. The
border between the two now independent countries has remained
unchanged since 1991. Part of the border passes through the top of
the 813-meter-high Udabno ridge (known in Azerbaijan as Keshishdag),
which harbors cave monasteries on its top and also on the northern
(Georgian-controlled) and southern (Azerbaijani-controlled) slopes.
The monastery complex, which has withstood attacks by Tamerlane and
Shah Abbas alike, holds strategic significance for both Azerbaijan
and Georgia. From the Udabno ridge, both Azerbaijani and Georgian
territory can be easily monitored. “From the military point of view,
this position has importance for both countries,” said Uzeir Jafarov,
an independent Azerbaijani military expert in Baku and a retired
colonel. “Theoretically, in the case of military conflict, the side
which enjoys control over these heights will get a big advantage.”
Border talks, ongoing since 1991, recently reentered the news when
Zviad Dzidziguri, a Georgian member of parliament for the opposition
Conservative Party, and chairman of the Democratic Front faction,
claimed that Azerbaijan had moved its border with Georgia so that one
of the complex’s monasteries, Chichkhituri, was now within Azerbaijani
territory, putting at risk the remaining monasteries under Georgian
control.
The Georgian foreign ministry has denied the report. In an interview
with EurasiaNet, a high-level Azerbaijani State Border Control Service
official, who asked to remain anonymous, also stated that Azerbaijan
had never moved its border. Yet, still, the debate continues.
To hold on to the churches on Georgian territory, Tbilisi has proposed
giving Azerbaijan an as yet publicly unspecified section of Georgian
land near the Azerbaijani border. “All we need to do is to find a
common language with our Azerbaijani colleagues,” Georgian Deputy
Foreign Minister Giorgi Manigaladze, who oversees the State Commission
on Border Delimitation and Demarcation, told reporters in Tbilisi on
October 30.
Azerbaijani officials, however, say that they are unwilling to consider
the exchange.
“There is no room for territorial exchange [with Georgia]. There
are no negotiations over this issue,” Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf
Khalafov, co-chairman of the intergovernmental commission on border
delimitation with Georgia, said at a press briefing in Baku on
November 2. Azerbaijani officials say that in the past three years
Georgia has twice offered sections of Georgian territory in exchange
for recognition of the current border division of the David-Gareja
monastery, but that Baku has rejected the offers both times.
“This territory [Azerbaijan’s part of the monastery] has strategic
importance for Azerbaijan. And we have no intention of giving it
to anybody,” Garib Mammadov, chairman of the Azerbaijani State Land
and Cartography Committee, said in an April 2004 interview with the
Azerbaijani daily newspaper Echo. “This is a strategic overlook. The
whole South Caucasus might be monitored from this overlook very
well. Why should we give it away?”
While officials and experts in Baku maintain that their position will
not change, an official within the Azerbaijani foreign ministry,
who asked to remain anonymous, told EurasiaNet that Azerbaijan “is
open to the implementation of joint projects [with Georgia] for the
restoration of the complex.”
At a joint press conference with Georgian Foreign Minister Gela
Bezhuashvili on October 31 in Baku, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mamedyarov said that a fresh round of border talks would be
held in Baku in November. Two meetings have been held on the topic
since March 2006, Georgian officials say.
“During the commission’s meeting in November, the demarcation
will concern several areas of a 170-kilometer-long segment of the
border,” the Azerbaijani State Land and Cartography Committee’s
Garib Mammadov, a member of the intergovernmental commission, told
journalists on November 1. “The areas have already been investigated
thoroughly.” Mammadov did not specify which parts of the border
segment will be discussed.
Monks at the monastery say that they see the dispute as the result
of Soviet scheming to undermine relations between Christian Georgians
and Muslim Azerbaijanis.
“As the Soviet border is set on the territory of an important
cultural and religious monument, it is possible that the atheistic
Soviet leadership tried to cause misunderstanding between Georgia
and Azerbaijan someday in the future,” said Father Superior Ilarion.
“Right now, we have the result of this [plan].”
“I hope that Azerbaijan takes in consideration that David-Gareja
monastery is an important spiritual and cultural unit for Georgia,”
he continued. “We hope that Azerbaijan will not claim the territory.”
Monks at David-Gareja claim that they are unable to visit the church
of Bertubani, located two kilometers inside the Azerbaijani border in
the region of Agstafa, and are concerned about its maintenance. “We
are not let in by the border guards,” one of the monks said, adding
that the monastery’s leadership fears that the church’s interior has
been damaged. “All we know about Bertubani is that it is not used as
a church. There are unique frescos [there] that need special care,”
he said.
The Azerbaijani Border Service official states that a simplified
border control regime allows monks, Georgian pilgrims and tourists to
travel to the part of the complex located on Azerbaijani territory
without trouble. One Azerbaijani journalist who visited the area in
the summer of 2006, however, reported that “bureaucratic procedures”
for access could prove troublesome.
Questions, however, remain about the condition of the David-Gareja
monastery complex within Azerbaijan. One Azerbaijani scholar concedes
that the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism does not pay
sufficient attention to the question. “Neither restoration work
nor serious historical research has been held at the Azerbaijani
part of the monastery so far,” said Mekhti Mansurov, a historian at
the Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences. Azerbaijan added the
monastery’s churches to its list of national historical monuments in
2003, “only after Georgia did so,” he added, in comments published
by the Baku-based newspaper Kaspiy on November 1.
Some Georgian observers note that the thought of the monastery and
its condition brings particular poignancy to the delay in concluding
the border discussions with Azerbaijan. The topic is “painful” for
ordinary Georgians, said Caucasian affairs expert Mamuka Areshidze,
“The problem has been discussed by people for a long time, but the
authorities have been inactive” until opposition MP Dzidziguri’s
statement about Azerbaijan moving its border, Areshidze said. “There
are problems with other borders as well — for example, with Russia —
but that issue is not currently on the agenda.”
Some Azerbaijani historians are strongly against the transfer of any
part of the David Gareja monastery complex to Georgia, arguing that
the monastery is not Georgian, but Caucasian Albanian, a reference
to an ancient people, believed to be Christian, who are thought to
have once inhabited northern Azerbaijan.
In the end, the key may be to proceed with moderation, cautions
one Georgian analyst. “There is nothing special in having undefined
borders,” said Paata Zakareishvili, an independent political analyst
in Tbilisi. “If the issue is studied professionally by both sides’
experts, no political tensions should be expected.”
Editor’s Note: Diana Petriashvili is a freelance reporter based
in Tbilisi. Rovshan Ismayilov is a freelance reporter in Baku.
Alexander Klimchuk is a freelance photojournalist based in Tbilisi.