Author: Kamalian Hagop

Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English
15 Sep 06

TURKEY CONDEMNS ARGENTINE "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE" RESOLUTION

Ankara, 15 September: Turkish MFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] has
condemned a resolution of the Cordoba local parliament in Argentina
that declares 24 April as the day to commemorate the so-called
"Armenian genocide" and that makes the genocide part of the textbooks
that students must read.

"We condemn the resolution with deep sadness and find it
unacceptable. The incidents that took place in 1915, a period during
World War I, are still being discussed by historians. Respectable
historians all across the globe have proved that all Armenian
allegations of a so-called genocide are baseless. Cordoba local
parliament’s resolution will have a negative impact on the developing
ties between Turkey and Argentina," said the MFA statement.

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
September 15, 2006 Friday 0

No ethnic hate behind cafe fight – Saratov police

VOLSK /Saratov region/, September 15

Police in Russia’s Saratov region ruled out ethnic hate as the prime
motive behind the fight in the town of Volsk between local residents
and ethnic Armenians in which one person was fatally stabbed.

“The incident occurred in a Volsk cafe in the evening on September
10,” regional police spokesman Alexei Yegorov told Itar-Tass on
Friday. “Three local residents came up to a table where Armenian
construction workers were taking a meal. A row flared up which
escalated into a knife fight. The injured were taken to hospital,
where one of them, a local resident, died. The other brawlers
escaped,” Yegorov said.

“We see no connection between the incident and ethnic hate. Local
residents have always had friendly relations with representatives of
other nationalities. It was a domestic incident,” he underlined.

Representatives of ethnic communities living in the Saratov region
share this view. “At present, a conference of district heads,
mayors, law-enforcement officials and leaders of the ethnic
communities is taking place in Saratov,” the spokesman went on to
say.

“A joint statement to the residents of the province is in the works;
it will underline that the incident has nothing to do with ethnic
hate and is of domestic nature,” he noted.

A criminal case was opened over the fatal fight. The participants in
the brawl have been put on the wanted list. A more precise evaluation
of what has happened will be made after they have been caught,
investigators said.

AZERBAIJAN AND TURKEY: WAYS OF EXPANSION OF TRADE UNIONS DISCUSSED
[September 16, 2006, 11:24:39]

On 15 September, Chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions of
Azerbaijan (ACTU) Sattar Mehbaliyev met with the visiting delegation
of Turkey led by minister of labor and social security of this country
Murat Bashesgioglu.

S. Mehbaliyev informed the guests on activity of the Azerbaijan Trade
Unions and the historical way passed by them, noting bitter
consequences of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the
work carried out by the management of country on peace settlement, the
support of Turkish Republic in this field.

With great satisfaction having ascertained expansion of bilateral
links between two countries in the field of social security,
realization of joint international projects, their performance on the
international actions from common position, chairman of ACTU has once
again stressed value of the contacts established with trade unions of
brotherly Turkey.

The Minister of Labor and Social Security of Turkey Murat Bashesgioglu
has expressed gratitude for warm reception, satisfaction with the
brotherly and friendly relations between two countries. He noted that
multilateral relations between trade unions are worth of
attention. Having emphasized, that development of cooperation between
the governments of Azerbaijan and Turkey in the field of social
security represents special value, M. Bashesgioglu said: `Our
cooperation plays special role in maintenance of the social and
economic rights of workers. Turkish minister has in detail told about
the work carried out by structure headed by him in connection with the
social rights of workers.

New coach boosts Ararat
Thursday, 14 September 2006
by Khachik Chakhoyan
from Yerevan

FC Pyunik continue to dominate the standings in the Armenian
championship but in the chasing pack FC Ararat Yerevan are the form
team, having won five games out of five under new coach Varuzhan
Sukiasyan.

Erzrumyans influence Sukiasyan was put in charge of the capital-based
side just before the season’s second half opened in August and under
his guidance they have cut the gap to third-placed FC MIKA to just
four points. As well as the coach’s influence off the park, brothers
Nshan and Sergey Erzrumyans have made a significant contribution on
it. Nshan has scored seven goals in four matches for his new club,
including a hat-trick against former club FC Kilikia.

Banants impress FC Banants have also enjoyed a fine spell, bouncing
back from defeat against Ararat to get nine points from three
matches. Nikolay Kiselev’s team followed up a 3-0 victory against FC
Shirak with impressive wins against reigning champions Pyunik and last
year’s cup winners MIKA – results that have taken them above MIKA into
second spot.

Leaders slip-up Banants still have some way to go to catch Pyunik, who
lead the way by ten points. However, the chasing pack can draw hope
from the fact that the leaders unexpectedly dropped five points during
their last four games.

Tight group Elsewhere, FC Gandzasar Kapan, FC Kilikia, FC Shirak and
FC Ulis Yerevan are all out of contention for the leading positions
but have formed a tight group at the bottom. With ten matches to play
bottom side Ulis are only seven points behind fifth-placed Gandzasar –
yet also five adrift at the foot of the standings.

©uefa.com 1998-2006.

HOME SOCIAL AND NETWORKING ORGANIZATIONS FOR IMMIGRANTS ARE CRITICAL FOR ADAPTATION

Kommersant
Sep. 15, 2006

The census carried out in Russia in 2002 underscored pessimistic
demographic prognoses for the country. For the first time in its
history, Russia is in a situation where demographic development,
replenishing the labor force, and even simply "filling up the space"
are possible only by attracting more immigrants. Demand gives birth
to supply, and a stream of labor migrants flooded into Russia from
the former republics of the USSR and from the Far East. Old diasporas
have begun to evolve alongside new communities of immigrants, breeding
dissatisfaction among native Russians. Polls show that only 16% of
Russians support the "opening" of the country to immigrants. According
to data from the Federal Migration Service (FOM), despite a decrease
in the number of Russians who are hostile to "foreign-borns" (from
32% in 2002 to 21% in 2006), the majority consider it imperative to
restrict migration.

Despite the decrease in the number of people who would wish immigrants
ill, the amount of general tension in relations between Russians and
immigrants is growing.

Against the backdrop of a growth in immigrant-phobia in Russia,
any attempt to institutionalize a community of immigrants provokes a
nervous reaction from society. In the Russian social consciousness,
immigrants appear as some sort of "monster of lobbying," the frontline
detachment of invaders bent on grabbing power and accumulating
financial resources.

Modern diasporas in Russia as a whole are not so threatening. Today
successful and powerful diasporas have been created by Azerbaijanis,
Armenians, Jews, Ukrainians, and many other ethnic groups. Among
other things, they successfully lobby for their business interests and
organize the continuation of their culture. Others – representatives
of some Caucasian and Central Asian peoples, along with the Chinese –
have created communities that have only limited economic goals. In
the absence of a real diaspora experience, in the wave of crime and
corruption that characterized the 1990s some communities grouped
themselves around people with dark pasts and not entirely clear
presents, out of which grew criminal structures that put the final
stamp on how the institutes of the diasporas would be received by
the authorities and by ordinary Russians.

Not Ready to Dissolve

The problem is deepened by the fact that a significant portion of
immigrants in no way strive for integration. The reasons for this
are many.

Integration is opposed by traditional mindsets; by the insularity
of the immigrant communities, which can give rise to a microcosm of
a single ethnic culture; and by a lack of real economic stimulants
(immigrants calmly "ensconce themselves" even without integration). It
is telling that, according to data from the sociological research
institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 83% of Azerbaijanis
living in Moscow (one of the most numerous and well-organized
diasporas) would like to stay in Moscow, but only 45% of that number
(that is, just over a third of the Moscow Azerbaijani community) would
be willing to live in accordance with Russian norms and traditions.

Among other diasporas, excluding only the Ukrainian and the
Belorussian communities, the situation is most likely the same or
even slightly more complicated. The experience of Western Europe also
testifies to the fact that the extraordinary influence that immigrant
communities have on their members often limits immigrants’ chances
of integration. This becomes especially clear in situations where
the authorities directly challenge the opinions of national activists.

For example, some 80% of French Muslim immigrants claim to want to
adopt the French way of life, but the ban on the wearing of the hijab
in schools raised tension within the community.

As such, the most important thing now is the problem of mutual
adaptation: on the one hand to prepare the host society to receive the
immigrants, along with their national and cultural attributes, and on
the other hand to prepare the immigrants themselves to integrate in
the host society, to take on its core values, tenets, and "rules of the
game." In this situation, precisely the organizations of the immigrant
community itself can be acceptable mechanisms for resolving problems.

Currently, dialogue with the diasporas is being conducted on the level
of "political consultation" and cultural programs. The national and
regional leadership of Russia is supporting various cultural programs
and facilitating regular meetings between government officials and
representatives of the diasporas. Russian President Vladimir Putin
has taken part in meetings with the Russian Armenian Council, the
All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress, and others.

Without a doubt, building bridges and forging contacts with
representatives of the diasporas is essential on all levels, from
federal to local. But it is not enough.

Community Adaptation

Everyone understands the direct intervention by the authorities in
the activities of the immigrant communities is necessary only when
the community structures have formed around people with criminal
histories, extremists, etc. Governmental organs in the position
of external overseers in such situations only aggravate the social
and political situation in any given region. In this connection, of
course, effective intervention in practice is possible only under the
conditions of a normally functioning judicial system and a substantial
decrease in the level of corruption.

With regard to law-abiding national communities (and they are the
majority), what is needed is a movement towards full adaptation and
integration for newcomers.

This means teaching immigrants and their children the Russian language
and acquainting them with Russian culture and the particularities of
the legal system, among other things. All efforts will be effective
only in conjunction with active reciprocation from the diasporas as
a whole, not only from their representatives.

Russia should not repeat the mistakes made by the countries of West
Europe, where the objects of integration policies were exclusively
individuals rather than national communities. In the end, national
communities that claimed control over the process of integration arose
anyway, severely restricting knowledge and understanding of what kind
of people lived in these communities. Prejudices and xenophobia can
be overcome only on the basis of a closer reciprocal relationships
between developed communities and government representatives and
civil society. The task is to mobilize the financial and organization
potential of the diasporas in the creation of their own positive image.

Under current conditions, what is required from immigrant communities
is transparency, opened, and an ability to rise to new challenges. The
conversation now should be not only about the traditional strength of
the diasporas in terms of preserving and supporting national languages
and cultures and developing their business interests, but also about
activity in the direction of the adaptation of the members of the
immigrant communities to life in Russian society.

WILL OSKANIAN AND MAMEDIAROV MEET IN NEW YORK?

AZG Armenian Daily
15/09/2006

The next meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers
will take place in New York on the sidelines of the 61st session
of the UN General Assembly on September 25 or 26, Azerbaijani
Trend agency reports citing a press release of Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry. Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Karapetian
told Azg that a meeting on mentioned dates can not be confirmed now.

IKRAM SHIRINOV AND ELMAR KERIMOV TO DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF SAFAROV’S FAMILY

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 10 2006

Lawyers Ikram Shirinov and Elmar Kerimov will defend Azerbaijan Army
officer Ramil Safarov’s family and the rights of the Defense Ministry
of Azerbaijan, the Bar told the APA.

Safarov was sentenced to life-term in prison for murdering Armenian
lieutenant Gurgen Markaryan in Hungary. The lawyers have signed a
contract with Safarov’s family and Defense Ministry. Shirinov told
the APA that they had learned Hungary criminal law and prepared the
necessary documents for defense and sent them to the Budapest Court.

He also said he will visit Budapest soon and will meet with Safarov’s
Hungarian lawyer. The presidium of the Bar will cooperate with
Hungarian lawyers for defending Safarov effectively. By the decision,
additional lawyer can be involved in the defense process.

Lawyer Adil Ismayilov defended Safarov’s rights before.

IRAN MAJLIS SPEAKER LEAVES TEHRAN FOR YEREVAN
Author: À.Mammadov

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Sept 10 2006

(IRNA) – Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel left Tehran for Yerevan,
Armenia, Monday morning on the first of a two-nation visit that will
also take him to Kyrgyzstan, reports Trend.

Haddad-Adel is scheduled to hold talks with senior Armenian officials.

Speaking to reporters at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport,
he said "expansion of ties with Caucasus and Central Asian states
has always been on Iran’s agenda.

He said his visits take place upon invitations extended to him by
the parliament speakers of these two countries and in response to
previous visits they made to Tehran.

"During these visits, the sides will discuss avenues for bolstering
political, economic and parliamentary friendly cooperation as well
as the current situation in the region," he added.

The Majlis speaker is accompanied in these visits by a number of
state officials and Majlis deputies.

–Boundary_(ID_vBrleLI5d635wkljvwWnVw)- –

SPEAKER: IRAN TO TRANSFER GAS TO ARMENIA SOON

Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
Sept 12 2006

Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said on Tuesday that the first
gas pipeline to transfer gas from Iran to Armenia is scheduled to
become operational in the coming months.

A report released by Majlis Media Department said that the speaker
made the remark while speaking to reporters at a joint press conference
with his Armenian counterpart Tigran Torossian.

Addressing reporters, Haddad-Adel said that the progress of the gas
project is supervised by the presidents of Iran and Armenia.

Haddad-Adel said that feasibility studies on the second gas pipeline
is currently underway.

He referred to projects on transfer of energy, development and port of
industrial machinery as strategies aiming to boost trade exchanges
between the two states and urged that tourism and investment by
private sector should also be facilitated.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the speaker said that establishment of
relations with the Central Asian states and Caucasia has been on the
agenda of Iran’s foreign policy over the past 15 years.

"Meanwhile, Iran-Armenia ties have been quite favorable on account of
the good bonds between Iranian Muslims and Armenian minority," he said.

Turning to the history of the presence of Armenians in Iran, he said
that they contribute to the construction and development of Iran
along with their Muslim countrymen.

For his part, the chairman of Armenia’s National Assembly pointed to
Iran’s nuclear issue and the relevant developments in the region and
said, "All countries should benefit from equal conditions to access
nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. No country should abuse its
facilities to restrict other states."

Torossian stated that the terms and conditions of international
treaties should be implemented equally for all world countries.

Besides, he referred to Iran-Armenia commonalties and called for
expansion of cooperation between the two states.

ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Sept 11 2006

Esteemed guests,

Esteemed Ministers,

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am very glad to welcome you to Azerbaijan.

The events of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) held
in Azerbaijan further strengthening relations between the country
and the organization. We are trying to be a very active member of the
organization, take part in all of its events, and are the initiators
of some of them. This is the second gathering of the Organization of
the Islamic Conference in Baku. The first one, which brought together
Ministers of Foreign Affairs, was marked by making very useful and
important decisions. Today, Azerbaijan is hosting the Session of
the Tourism Ministers. This event in itself shows that Azerbaijan
is very active in the organization and seeks to contribute to its
strengthening. The Organization of the Islamic Conference is that
uniting the Islamic world. It pleases us very much that international
influence and the role of the organization is growing every year
because nowadays, solidarity and unity of the Muslim countries take
on special significance. Our historical and cultural ties, as well
as political interests are of great importance. Our joint responses
to the existing challenges, our attitude to the critical situations,
and developments in hot spots across the globe, have essential impact
on the processes taking place worldwide.

Strengthening of our organization, the Organization of the Islamic
Conference, will strengthen our positions, bring our views on the
region and the world even closer, and thus, increase our influence
on the processes taking place around the world. This is what we want,
and this is what the OIC’s events in Azerbaijan are aimed at.

At the same time, the Islamic tourism ministers’ get-together in
Azerbaijan is a kind of presentation of Azerbaijan, because the
country is the young independent state. It has been only 15 years
since we lived as an independent state, and we still have a great
need for popularization of our country. I know the vast majority of
the ministers are for the first time in Azerbaijan, and I believe
that their familiarization with our country will create a good basis
for further cementing our relations.

What we want, and what we seek is to deepen the existing cooperation
with all the member-countries of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference. This, of course, is the aim of holding such events in
Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is rapidly developing in both political and economical
areas. The processes taking place in Azerbaijan, the processes taking
place in the region further strengthening of our country. Last year’s
economic growth in Azerbaijan was 26 percent, and has reached 36
percent only for six months of this year. It enables us to have
our financial possibilities increased, and the problems facing the
republic solved successfully. We intend to develop all sectors of
the economy, and undoubtedly, a great attention is being paid to
the tourism one. In a word, the yearly growing economy of Azerbaijan
creates a very good basis for all-round development of our country.

At the same time, unfortunately, no solution has been found to the
longstanding Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the source
of the greatest danger for Azerbaijan and the whole region.

The Armenian military aggression against Azerbaijan and the policy
of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis have led to occupation of
20 percent of our lands. Because of the occupation and the policy
of ethnic cleansing, over million of Azerbaijanis became internally
displaced. This is not only a humanitarian catastrophe; it is a great
injustice, and violation by Armenia of all the international legal
norms. Various international organizations have adopted respective
resolutions on this conflict. The United Nations Organization adopted
four resolutions demanding unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian
armed forces from the occupied territories. However, Armenia has
been ignoring the resolutions. In the beginning of the last year,
the Council of Europe adopted the similar resolution recognizing
Armenia as an aggressor. The Organization of the Islamic Conference,
as always, supports the fair position of Azerbaijan overtly demanding,
in its resolutions and decisions, putting an end to the aggressive
policy of Armenia. However, no solution has been found to the
conflict. Azerbaijan was subjected to the policy of ethnic cleansing,
and experienced a number of terrorist attacks killing over two thousand
of our compatriots.

Today is September 11, and all of you remember well the horrible
terrorist attacks on the United States of America. Innocent people were
killed, and today we are commemorating them. The Muslim world condemned
those horrible attacks, and today, our joint efforts also include
the fight against terror. All the efforts should be consolidated to
withstand terrorism. One cannot fight this threat alone.

Azerbaijan is ready to contribute to this business, and is doing
that. There is one more point that is always raised at the meetings
of the Organization of the Islamic Conference: some forces attempt to
identify terror with Islam. It must not be allowed. Those who identify
terror with Islam, deliberately or not, thereby carry out aggression
against our religion. Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. We
want to live in peace and stability with representatives of all other
religions, and we will achieve it.

Therefore, there are a lot of economic, political and cultural issues,
challenges in the organization to cover. I am convinced that the more
often we meet the more progress we achieve.

Cooperation between member-states of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference should be more intensive. We have very good cooperation
in political sphere, and the cultural ties we are bound by make a
great contribution to it. In the economic sphere, there is a need
for closer cooperation. Our countries have huge economic potential,
and I think encouragement and support of mutual trade should occupy
its place in the economic policy of each member.

Today’s conference deals with the cooperation in the tourism sector,
and short film demonstrated today here presented tourism opportunities
in Azerbaijan. There is very beautiful nature, nine climatic zones,
over 800-km coastal zone in our country. Therefore, Azerbaijan has
every condition for tourism development. We pay a great attention to
this sector now. Much investment will be made to boost the tourism
infrastructure. Besides, country’s infrastructure is being completely
renewed since there is a need to create infrastructure objects –
roads, airports and others – for developing tourism.

I can say that three new international airports are being built in the
west, south and north of the country although its territory is not so
big. Three new airports, which are up to the international standards,
will serve as a tool for the development of tourism. Motor roads are
being rapidly built, including rural roads and highways.

New roads are being built in the outlying villages to facilitate the
locals’ movement and, at the same time, create good conditions for
tourists. New modern hotels are scheduled to be built both in Baku
and Azerbaijani regions.

In a word, government does its best to have infrastructure projects
implemented for developing tourism. At the same time, the private
sector must take this opportunity to create new modern tourism
infrastructure objects.

Today, I would like to avail myself an opportunity to call on the
companies and government agencies of OIC member countries to benefit
from tourism opportunities in Azerbaijan, as this sector will develop
very rapidly in Azerbaijan; a great amount of foreign investments
are scheduled flow in the country. We would like representatives of
friendly and brotherly countries to operate in this sector. Tourism
is a culture and, of course, a great sector of the economy. At the
same time, it’s a factor uniting our countries because the fact that
people arrive in various countries, familiarize themselves with the
countries’ situation, historical monuments makes member countries of
the organization closer. Of course, political links are important and
they exist. I told of the economic relations and believe that they
will unite OIC member countries even more. Furthermore, people will
get closer to each other if tourism opportunities are taken. There
is much need in it.

I want to say that we have very rich shared history, culture; there
is Islamic religion uniting us. The more people communicate with each
other the better it will be for us, the stronger Islamic world will
become, the more accomplishments the Organization of the Islamic
Conference will achieve; and, as a whole, the world will develop
more comprehensively.

The Islamic world is a very big power. We have to effectively use
this power. Islamic world plays a key role in restoring global peace,
security, and this role is increasing. We all have to try to strengthen
relations uniting the Islamic nations and reinforce our positions even
more. Taking all the matters into consideration, I want to reiterate
that the fact that session of the Islamic Conference tourism ministers
is held in Azerbaijan is of great significance for us. I once more
welcome all the visitors, thank you for coming to Azerbaijan and wish
every success to the conference.

Thank you.

***

Then the meeting was addressed by Chairman of the 4th session of
Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers, Senegal’s Minister of
Tourism and Air Transport Ousmane Massek Ndiaye, Secretary General
of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu,
Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization
Francesco Frangialli and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Culture and Tourism
Abulfaz Qarayev.

***

Afterwards, President Ilham Aliyev and session participants
familiarized themselves with the exhibition of photographs presented
in the "Azerbaijan – 2006 tourism world" photo contest, in Gulustan
Palace.

***

After the break, the tourism ministers continued the discussions
behind the closed doors.

***

On behalf of President Ilham Aliyev, the reception in honor of tourism
ministers of OIC member countries was given September 11 at the Baku
Entertainment Center.

***

The conference will be continued on September 12.