Author: Nahapetian Samvel

Suspect Detained in Bush Grenade Throwing

Associated Press
July 20, 2005

Georgian police on Wednesday detained a man suspected of throwing a
live grenade during a rally at which President Bush spoke in May,
the Interior Ministry said. The capture came after a shootout in
which one officer was killed and another wounded.

The shootout and detention occurred Wednesday evening in the village
of Vashlisdzhvari, outside the capital, Tbilisi, ministry spokesman
Guram Donadze told The Associated Press. The suspect fled into the
woods but was later detained, Donadze said.

Rustavi-2 television showed pictures of a dark-haired man it described
as the suspect being hustled into a car by police officers. It said he
was wounded and identified him as Vladimir Arutyunov, in his late 20s.

The man lived in an eight-story apartment building with his mother,
Rustavi-2 reported, citing neighbors as saying Arutyunov was
unemployed. The report could not immediately be confirmed.

Eric Zahren, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, said the agency
is monitoring the investigation by the Georgian authorities. “We were
not directly involved and not present” at the arrest, he said.

The police operation came two days after authorities released a
photograph of a man suspected of throwing the grenade, which failed
to explode, at a podium where Bush was speaking May 10 before tens
of thousands of people.

President Mikhail Saakashvili also was on the podium when Bush spoke,
raising the prospect that the grenade could have been directed at him.

Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili also had announced a reward of
about $80,000 for information leading to the identification of the man,
who was shown with dark hair and dark glasses.

Saakashvili, who came to power after the 2003 Rose Revolution
that ousted Eduard Shevardnadze, has provoked enmity with his
anti-corruption initiatives and insistence on restoring control over
two separatist regions.

Bush spoke from behind bulletproof glass, addressing a huge crowd in
a main Tbilisi square as part of a visit aimed at cementing relations
between the United States and Georgia’s new pro-Western leadership.

The grenade landed less than 100 feet from the podium but did
not explode. A preliminary investigation indicated the grenade
malfunctioned, the FBI said.

Armenian opposition faces split over constitution reform

Aykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
19 Jul 05

Text of Naira Zograbyan’s report by the Armenian newspaper Aykakan
Zhamanak “The Justice bloc is splitting” on 19 July

The Justice bloc statement made on Friday [15 July], which says that
if the propositions on the constitution submitted by the opposition
are accepted, the opposition is ready not only to cooperate with the
coalition, but also to present other constitutional propositions,
has deepened the disagreements within the bloc even further.

Over the past few days the Republic party political council has
been discussing its statement which it will publicize shortly. The
provisional text of the statement says that if the Justice bloc
does not revise its strategy of reaching a political agreement
with the authorities and does resolutely renounce this imitation of
the constitutional reform, the Republic party will reconsider the
expediency of staying within the Justice bloc.

The Republic party thinks that the Justice bloc understands it well
that by adopting such a policy the bloc intentionally positions
itself on the side of the authorities, calling itself a “constructive
opposition”. The Republic party is sure that the uncertain behaviour
of the bloc is brought about by the influence that some of the bloc’s
conformist deputies have on Stepan Demirchyan.

The Republic party had to adopt its statement yesterday [18 July], but
there are certain disagreements of a strategic kind within the party
as well. For instance, Albert Bazeyan supports the viewpoint of the
Justice bloc and thinks they have to wait till 20 July, when the Venice
Commission will send the final conclusion on the draft constitution,
and only after that work out the opposition’s political moves.

Aram Sarkisyan is, in principle, in favour of taking his party out
of the Justice bloc. At the same time, he thinks that the Republic
party should be more specific about the steps it intends to take after
leaving the bloc, and only after that to apply such drastic steps.
But the next responsible member of the party, Smbat Ayvazyan, calls
for some more resolute actions. His principal approach is not to
cooperate with the authorities at all, to get out of the bloc and
to call for public action. These three approaches exist within the
party and each has its supporters.

Naturally, the Justice bloc is aware of the protest mood within the
Republic party, saying the party is free to make its own decisions.
Thus, irrespective of the statement made by the Republic party,
the Justice bloc will not change its decision. One way or another,
it will become clear in a couple of days how resolute the Republic
party is and what future awaits the Justice bloc.

AZERI DEPUTY FM: KARABAKH CONFLICT PARTIES SHOULD BE AFRAID OF LOSING WHAT THEY HAVE ACHIEVED

PanArmenian News
July 18 2005

19.07.2005 04:04

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Under the current conditions we are close to the
peace as never before,” Azeri Deputy FM Araz Azimov stated at a news
conference on the outcomes of the regional visit of the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs. Simultaneously, the diplomat said he was concerned
over a number of provocative statements being spread by Armenian
media. In Azimov’s opinion, actions like that can have a negative
impact on the talks “and the parties should be afraid of losing
what they have already achieved.” When commenting on the outcomes
of the talks of the mediators the Deputy FM reported “difficulties
and differences in the postures are still available on a number of
issues.” Having reminded that August 23 the FMs of Azerbaijan and
Armenia will meet, while the state leaders will have a meeting in
Kazan August 26, Azimov noted the parties need a healthy constructive
approach and compromise. “Azerbaijan has demonstrated the necessary
compromise, Armenia has to do the same. Otherwise the chances will
be lost,” Araz Azimov considers.

Babacan’s Performance

Zaman, Turkey
July 19 2005

Brussels that has recently learned the correct pronunciation of Babacan
finally had the opportunity to listen to Turkey’s chief negotiator in
length after months of waiting. The same goes for the Turkish press
in Brussels as Babacan, establishing a timid relationship with the
press so far, does not enjoy holding press meetings.

It was only natural that his address to the European Parliament (EP),
that has been the fiercest critic of Turkey, would attract a great
deal of attention when Ankara was only 2.5 months away from starting
accession talks. The chief negotiator of a country whose prospective
and possible membership would change almost all the parameters of
the European Union (EU) has been eagerly awaited. Lots of wise men
who rightfully think the question of what direction EU would take in
the wake of constitutional rejections in France and the Netherlands
would be clarified in the answer to be given for Turkey’s membership,
had taken their seats in the EP to listen to Babacan.

To cut a long story short, Brussels found Babacan as “uneasy”. Being
unable to deliver his speech with a dynamic English, extending
some of his answers unnecessarily, giving the impression he was not
well-prepared for some of the questions and speaking as a serious
bureaucrat instead of incorporating humor in his speech have made
Bruxelloise grade Babacan between “mediocre” and “could pass only
with the teacher’s assent”.

It is necessary to classify the criticisms about Babacan in two groups:
Those in the first group are the supporters of Turkey’s membership
while those in the second group are fierce opponents of Turkey’s
accession who would even criticize the late Osman Bolukbasi if he
was in Babacan’s place. I will return to the second group but let me
underline that the ones who should be taken seriously are of course
those in the first group.

According to the ones in the first group, Babacan received an
“average” grade, but he should improve himself rapidly, hasten his
speech and prove that he is competent not only in Turkey’s issues but
those of the EU as well. The thorniest issues between Turkey and EU
are those of political ones. He should enrich his knowledge on the
Kurdish and Armenian issue, the minorities and religious foundations.
About the Armenian issue, going beyond answers like, “We suggested
a joint commission,” he should equip himself in a manner that he
could come up with arguments considering the historical background
of the case and from time to time bring up the deficient attitude of
the West. Babacan’s most affirmative attitude, which impressed this
group, was his sobriety which he kept even when he was answering to
provocative questions. This group agrees that the one who would carry
out Turkey’s negotiations should be able to master his nerves and does
not concede on his sobriety. Of course, along with criticisms, they
appreciate Babacan’s success in his educational life and his actions
as the minister responsible for the economy. They are optimistic
that Babacan will beat his deficiencies in a short time taking into
consideration of his fast learning capacity.

The second group, which criticizes Babacan are the Christian
Democrats who want Turkey to accept their “privileged partnership”
proposal. They made nonsensical remarks after Babacan’s trip. They
stated that Babacan’s comment that privileged partnership was something
implausible for Turkey was very unfortunate. Going further, one of the
Christian Democrats- Renate Sommer -argued that Turkey would have to
accept the privileged partnership proposal meaning that “do not waste
our time”. There is no way one can take these criticisms seriously.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian International Policy Research Group
P.O. Box 28179
Washington, DC 20038-9998
Contact: Armine Khachatryan
Tel: (202) 473-0348
Fax: (202) 589-8605
E-mail: [email protected]

July 18, 2005

Subject: FOURTH ANNUAL AIPRG CONFERENCE-CALL FOR PAPERS
Armenia: Public Sector Governance and Economic Efficiency

Contact: Mr. Armine Khachatryan at
[email protected]

The Armenian International Policy Research Group is pleased to
announce that its Fourth Annual conference”Armenia: Public Sector
Governance and Economic Efficiency” will be held on January 14-15,
2006, at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC. While the
focus of this year’s conference will be on the issues related to
public sector’s role in influencing productivity and growth, papers
from all areas of relevance for economic development and growth are
welcome. References should be made to the following broadly defined
topics:

Institutional Reforms and Governance
Fiscal Policy and Tax Administration
Regulatory Reforms and Business Climate
Trade and Regional Cooperation
Geopolitics and International Law
Social Sector Reforms (Education, Health, and Social Security)
Banking and Finance
Diaspora’s Role and Channels of Involvement

Prospective authors should email abstracts to
[email protected] by September 16, 2005. The
Selection Committee will notify authors of accepted abstracts by
October 1, 2005. The deadline for the submission of completed papers
is December 16, 2005.

Applications for stand-alone sessions will be accepted as long as
they are consistent with the format of AIPRG conferences (i.e., 2
papers plus 2 discussants for regular sessions or 3-4 short papers
for discussion sessions). Select papers will be considered for
publication in the Armenian Journal of Public Policy. The final
agenda along with the list of confirmed papers will be circulated by
December 30, 2005. The official language of the conference is
English. For more information on the AIPRG please visit

CONSTRUCTED ARMENIAN CHURCH AND ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN FRIENDSHIP MONUMENT
DEFACED IN BUDYONOVSK, RUSSIA

KRASNODAR, JULY 18. ARMINFO. Vandals set on fire the constructed
Armenian church and defaced the Armenian-Russian Friendship monument
in the Russian town of Budyonovsk, reports Erkramas.

The monument to the Fathers – Founders of the Holy Cross Town was
inaugurated Oct 17 2004.

The first attack was made in Feb 2005: the plaque “1799-2004” and the
“Holy Cross” inscription were torn off from the monument. Recently
the vandals came again breaking the lamps, damaging the cross stone
and leaving a dead cat under the arch. July 16 the vandals set on
fire the fence round the church. The fire was quickly put out.

This all may be done to aggravate ethnic relations in Budyonovsk as
the monument is regarded in the town as token of Armenian-Russian
friendship. “So we are indignant at the inaction of the local police
for who it seems to be easier to find and deport labor emigrants
from Armenia than to catch real criminals,” says the chief editor of
Yerkramas Tigran Tavadyan.

Budyonovsk (Subr Khach (Holy Cross)) was founded in 1799 by Armenians
from Karabakh who were given a charter by Russian Emperor Paul I.-0

ARMENIAN JOURNALISTS AND DIPLOMATS PLAYED IN DRAW

PanArmenian News Network
July 18 2005

18.07.2005 03:47

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On the occasion of the 10-th anniversary of the
Yerevan Press Club the teams of journalists and diplomats (composed
of the members of RA Foreign Ministry and Embassies of some states)
played a friendly football match, IA Regnum reports. The status of
friendly match perfectly reflected on the outcome. The match ended
in a draw 3:3. The match proceeded in a tense and non-compromise
atmosphere. After the first period the journalist were leading 2:0,
however in the second period the diplomats activated and scored three
goals. As result the journalists launched a bitter attack against
the gates of the rivals. The efforts of the writing fraternity were
justified with the desirable goal at the last minute of the match.
After the match all the participants received prizes and presents. To
note, head of the Yerevan OSCE Office, Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin
was among the honorary quests.

CITIZENS OF ARMENIA WASTE ABOUT $400 MLN PER YEAR FOR BRIBE

YEREVAN, JULY 15. ARMINFO. According to the data of European experts,
in developed industrial countries about 1-2% of the citizens solve
their problems by means of bribes, in Russia – 20%, in African
countries – 50-60%, in Armenia – about 40%.

Nongovernmental organizations and human rights defenders of Armenia
discussed Friday the spread of bribery in Armenia and possible
mechanisms on fight against corruption. Armen Ayvazian, Head of the
group on fight against corruption, a part of the Center for assistance
to the fight against terrorism, thinks that total amount of bribes
in Armenia is about $400 mln per year, and the total turnover from
corrupted revenues is several times higher. According to Ayvazian,
the fight against corruption should mean adoption of special laws,
elaboration of mechanisms of fight, presence of will of ruling circles,
society. “The international experience of fight against corruption
shows that rather the will of the leadership of the country than the
form of state government is the key factor”, Ayvazian said.

At the same time the reporters stressed the necessity of ensuring
transparency of the activities of the officials. “Only the transparency
may stop the mass abuses when conducting tenders”, representative of
the Humanitarian Research Center Lawyer Edward Mamikonian said.

Turkey-Russia Relations Dynamics
By Asim Oku, AIA Turkish section.

Axis Information and Analysis
12.05.2005

The 90s: from “image of enemy” to “feeble partner”

After collapse of the USSR, Moscow continued perceiving Turkey as NATO
sentinel and a traditional rival in the area of the vital Russian
interests: the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Central Asia and the Middle
East. Kremlin considered Ankara as a leading sponsor of Islamic and
separatist movements in the Caucasus. Russian leadership was afraid that
Turkey, appealing to “pan -Turkism” and wide common cultural grounds
with the peoples of the Central Asia, is trying to expand its influence
upon them.

Turkish government was irritated by Russian counteracts against lining
of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline. Both countries accused each other in
supporting separatists: the Chechen – in Russia, the Kurdish – in
Turkey. Revision by both states of previously developed stereotypes
begins at the end of the ’90s. Ankara and Moscow start to perceive each
other not as a threat, but rather as a weak and, consequently not very
dangerous competitors, colliding with the same external challenges and
problems.

“The Default” in Russia, its military failures in the war with the
Chechen resistance, its inability to defend interests of Serbia in the
Balkans, reduced the fear of “Russian Bear” in Ankara. Correspondingly,
political and economic crisis in Turkey at the beginning of 2001 was
perceived in Moscow as a sign of weakness and instability. It lowers the
level of concern about the possibility of Turkish expansion in the
Central Asia and the Caucasus. Both countries aspire to benefit from
mutual relations – both on political and economic level. Simultaneously,
the rising of the US influence in the Caucasus leads to a rapprochement
of the former adversaries.

Economic Factor

Visit of the Russian Prime Minister Victor Tchernomyrdin to Ankara in
December 1997 (first visit in the rank of prime minister after the
collapse of the USSR) opens a new page in Russian-Turkish relations. It
was followed by a reciprocal visit of Bulent Ecevit to Moscow in
November 1999, during which the parties came out with joint declaration
on fighting terrorism. Prime Minister Mikchail Kasyanov’s visit to
Turkey in October 2000 strengthened the ties that were previously
attained. The apogee of partnership was the arrival of Vladimir Putin to
Ankara in December 2004, and the visit of Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Moscow
on January 10, 2005. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and leading Russian
businessmen accompanied Putin during this visit. Erdogan was accompanied
by 600 Turkish businessmen in his visit to Moscow. Economic cooperation
became the foremost basis of rapprochement. The volume of trade reached
10 billion dollars in 2004, and is growing 15-20% annually. Russia
became Turkey’s second most important trade partner after Germany. The
“Blue stream” gas pipeline turned Russia into main supplier of natural
gas to Turkey. Projects of Russian and Kazakh oil delivery via Turkey to
the West were developed, reducing tension around Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
Pipeline issue. Figures of the Russian tourism to Turkey grow rapidly.

Military cooperation is also on the rise. From the end of the ’90s
Turkey started to receive the Russian military equipment, including
helicopters and armored troop carriers.

Pain Points

Despite the intensive process of rapprochement there are still several
controversial issues. They include the Chechen and the Kurdish
separatism, the Nagorny Karabakh problem, the Cyprian question, the
Russian military bases in the Caucasus, the intervention of Turkey in
Georgia’s and Azerbaijan’s policies.

Turkey strives to attain replacement of the Russian peace-making
contingent in Aphasia, as well as in the other “hot spots” in the
Caucasus, with the international forces. Moscow in its turn is
discontented with the deliveries of Turkish military equipment to
Georgia, as well as with the participation of Turkey in modernization of
the Air Force base near Tbilisi. At the same time parties aspire to
soften existing disagreements. Turkish leaders constantly repeat, that
“the Chechen question is Russia’s interior problem”. Russia has limited
the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) activity in the country, but Ankara
insists on the announcement of this group as a “terrorist organization”.

Eurasian ideas

Russia and Turkey today share much deeper understanding of geopolitical
issues. After the intrusion of the USA in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the
increase of the American military presence in the Eastern and Southern
Europe, both states demonstrate obvious anti-American shift in their
policy. Turkey aspires to enter the EU with its aversion to “US
Hegemony”, while Russia tries to strengthen ties with France and Germany
– the principal conductors of the anti-American policy in Europe. Russia
is extremely concerned about the loss of influence in Ukraine and
Georgia, and Turkey is worried by the attempts to restrain its presence
in the Balkans. Both countries emphasize their “Eurasian nature” (this
phrase belongs to the ambassador of Russia in Turkey Alexander Lebedev),
are dissatisfied with their minor role in the world, and look for the
new allies in Asia, approaching Iran, China and India. Relations between
Ankara and Damascus improved to a great extent after the Turkish Justice
and Development Party came to power

Kremlin also revives its “special relations” with the Syrian regime in
economic and military sphere. Both Turkey and Russia refused to support
the US military operation in Iraq in 2003. Growing concurrence of
interests between Turkey and Russia leads to the signing, in 2001 in New
York, of the “Eurasian cooperation agreement”.

Ankara in a pointed manner stays out of the US and NATO attempts to
“entrench” on the Russian borders. In return Russia supports Turkish
position on Cyprus. Frank anti-American moods dominate in the
intellectual and political elite of both countries (“Edinaya Rossiya” –
United Russia and Turkish Justice and Development Party). Both countries
gradually chill off the cooperation with Israel – the main US ally in
the Middle East, while simultaneously building partnership with Israel’s
sworn enemy – Syria. Both Ankara and Moscow indefatigably repeat that
they “aspire only to defend their national interests”. In the ”real
politic” it is expressed by the attempts to regain influence, which
both countries possessed throughout the blossoming era of the empires:
the Russian – the Soviet and the Ottoman.

With regard of the aforesaid, there is a tendency between the parties to
coordinate the opposition to Washington and to create the Eurasian
alignment to ”counterbalance” the American “Atlantism”.

Milestones in Russian – Turkish Mutual Relations During the Post-Soviet
Period

1992 – Suleyman Demirel, the Prime Minister of Turkey visited Moscow.
Signing of the “Principles of bilateral relations between the Turkish
Republic and the Russian Federation”. In June the president of Russia
Boris Yeltsin came to Istanbul to the summit of leaders of “Organization
on economic cooperation on the Black Sea” states.

1993 – Tansu Ciller, the Prime Minister of Turkey visited Moscow. The
agreement on creation of a Joint committee and Working group in the
sphere of telecommunications, energy, industry and hi-tech was signed.

1995 – Tansu Ciller participated in May 9th celebrations of the 50th
anniversary of victory over the fascist Germany. Ciller and the head of
the Russian government Victor Tchernomyrdin discussed the future of
mutual relations.

1996 – Suleyman Demirel, ex-Prime Minister of Turkey participated in
Moscow summit of leaders of “Organization on economic cooperation on the
Black Sea” states. Parliaments of two countries signed the Protocol on
cooperation and the Memorandum of cooperation in fighting terrorism.
Construction of Turkish Trade center started in Moscow.

1997 – Victor Tchernomyrdin came with an official visit to Ankara in
December. It was the first visit of the Russian Prime Minister to Turkey
after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The parties agreed on a
long-term program on cooperation in economic, commercial and scientific
sphere.

1999 – The Prime Ministers Bulent Ecevit and Vladimir Putin signed in
Moscow the Joint declaration on fighting terrorism and the Report on
creation of the Incorporated economic committee, which lays a foundation
for further economic cooperation.

2000 – the Prime Minister of Russia Michael Kasyanov visited Turkey. The
parties signed the agreement on creation of Joint committee on
cooperation in the field of military industry.

2001 – Igor Ivanov`s, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, visit to
Turkey laid down a basis for the bilateral cultural cooperation.
Representatives of both countries signed in New York the “Eurasian
cooperation agreement”.

2002 – General Anatoly Kvashnin, commander of the Joint Staff of the
Russian Federation, visited Ankara in January. The parties signed the
frame cooperation agreement in military sphere and the Cooperation
agreement in preparation of the military personnel. General Hussein
Kivrikoglu, Turkish Chief of Staff visited Russia in June. The Joint
bilateral Committee on military and technical cooperation met in Ankara
in September. The “Blue stream” gas pipeline was activated.

2004 – Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdalla Gul came to Moscow to
discuss with his Russian counterpart the issue of the Chechen and the
Kurdish separatism, and the situation in Nagorny Karabakh and in Cyprus.

Official visit to Turkey of the Russian President Vladimir Putin took
place in December. The parties signed several documents, including the
Joint declaration of friendship and multi-plane cooperation strengthening.

2005 – Official visit to Moscow of the Prime Minister of Turkey Recep
Tayyip Erdogan took place in January. The visit was dated for the
opening of Turkish Trade center in Moscow.

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

=================================================

15 July 2005
KAZAKHSTAN: UNREGISTERED RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY NOW BANNED, MISSIONARY
ACTIVITY RESTRICTED

New national security amendments signed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev
on 8 July have brought in tight new restrictions on religious activity
that violate Kazakhstan’s international human rights commitments. All
unregistered religious activity is now illegal and those leading or taking
part in unregistered religious meetings can be fined. Missionary activity
by local people and foreigners is illegal unless missionaries are from a
registered religious organisation and have individual registration from
the authorities of the local area where they operate. Literature for use
by missionaries requires prior censorship from local authorities. The OSCE
had urged that the ban on unregistered religious activity should be
excluded from the law. “Unfortunately this was not done,” an official of
the OSCE mission in Almaty told Forum 18 News Service. The OSCE is
preparing a detailed critique of the “overly restrictive” new law.
* See full article below. *

13 July 2005
NAGORNO-KARABAKH: SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR EMBATTLED BAPTIST CONSCRIPT

Embattled Baptist conscript Gagik Mirzoyan received a two-year sentence,
suspended for one year, at his 7 July trial. He had refused to swear the
military oath or serve with weapons since being called up into the army of
the unrecognised republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus. “This
means he won’t have to serve any time in prison – if of course he does
nothing wrong over the next year,” Albert Voskanyan of the local Centre
for Civilian Initiatives told Forum 18 News Service. Beaten twice since
his conscription last December, Mirzoyan spent 10 days in prison for
preaching his faith in his army unit. “After a lot of pressure, Gagik was
finally happy because he could see his brothers and sisters from the
church at his trial,” a Baptist told Forum 18.

11 July 2005
TURKMENISTAN: PRESIDENT ATTEMPTS TO MEDDLE IN ORTHODOX STRUCTURES

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Aleksi II has politely sidelined Turkmen
President Saparmurat Niyazov’s attempt to split the dozen or so Russian
Orthodox parishes in Turkmenistan away from the Central Asian diocese, and
subordinate them directly to the Patriarch. A Moscow-based priest familiar
with the situation, who preferred not to be identified, insisted to Forum
18 News Service that the Church itself has to make such decisions, not the
state. The priest told Forum 18 that he believes President Niyazov “wants
the Orthodox Church to exist, but a Church that is in his hand, just as he
has done with Islam.” Stressing that the Moscow Patriarchate is keen to see
an end to the tensions between the Church and the Turkmen government, the
priest deplored the denial of visas to three or four priests who the
diocese wished to send to serve in Turkmenistan, and the refusal of the
Turkmen government so far to re-register Russian Orthodox parishes.

11 July 2005
UZBEKISTAN: COURT CONFIRMS ALL PROTESTANTS BANNED IN NORTH-WEST

The last legal Protestant church in north-western Uzbekistan has had its
appeal against a regional Justice Ministry ban turned down in court, Forum
18 News Service has learnt. All Protestant activities in north-west
Uzbekistan are now banned after a Nukus court rejected the Emmanuel Full
Gospel Church’s appeal. Separately, another example of official condoning
of kangaroo courts staged by local residents against Muslim-born converts
to other faiths has come to light. An Uzbek Protestant, who preferred to
be anonymous, told Forum 18 of the case of Daniyara Ibaidulayev, a
Protestant convert who was on 29 June beaten up by his brother and another
villager, who cut his lips with a knife, telling him he must return to
Islam. The district public prosecutor’s office told Ibaidulayev that “his
problems would cease as soon as he returned to Islam”. Also, a Hare
Krishna devotee has been threatened with losing her job as a
schoolteacher, if she does not stop sharing her beliefs.

12 July 2005
UZBEKISTAN: POLICE CONTINUE HUNT FOR RELIGIOUS LITERATURE

Police and secret police continue to hunt down religious literature in
Uzbekistan, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Latest seizures include 15
Bibles from the home of Protestant pastor Viktor Klimov in Gulistan on 17
June, 90 Hare Krishna books seized by police and secret police from a
devotee in Bostan on 16 June. Five Protestants in Kungrad were officially
warned on 1 June, after bringing religious literature into the country. An
official of the government~Rs Religious Affairs Committee has defended such
seizures, telling Forum 18 that “the police did have the right to seize
Klimov~Rs Bibles temporarily, but they then had to send the books to us for
analysis, and we of course will conclude that these books (in other words,
the Bibles) are not banned in Uzbekistan,” Begzot Kadyrov stated. Such
censorship of and restrictions on religious literature violate
Uzbekistan~Rs international commitments to freedom of expression and
freedom of religion.

14 July 2005
UZBEKISTAN: NO PROGRESS FOR ARRESTED PENTECOSTAL

Pentecostal Kural Bekjanov is still being held at a police station in the
capital Tashkent with no progress on the investigation into whether he was
connected to the murder of a US citizen in the city. “We are convinced of
his innocence, and our suspicion is that his religious beliefs are the
reason for his ordeal,” Iskander Najafov, a lawyer for the Full Gospel
Church, told Forum 18 News Service. But Shukhrat Ismailov of the
government’s religious affairs committee denied this, telling Forum 18
church members’ claims were “pure speculation”. Since his arrest on 14
June, Bekjanov has been tortured by police and cell mates trying to force
him to abandon his Christian faith. Meanwhile two Jehovah’s Witnesses in
Karshi who have already been fined for “illegal” religious activity now
face criminal charges with penalties of up to three years’ imprisonment.

14 July 2005
VIETNAM: THREE FUNDAMENTAL CAUSES OF PERSECUTION REMAIN

Despite three new legal documents on religion since last November,
government harassment of religious communities has not eased. Prison
sentences on Mennonite pastor Nguyen Hong Quang and a colleague were
confirmed in April, two Hoa Hao Buddhists were given prison sentences and
massive fines the same month for distributing the teachings of their
movement’s founder, while Hmong Protestants in the north-west were beaten
by local officials and had their properties confiscated in May. The
Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam and numerous Protestant churches remain
outlawed. A comparison of the situation five years ago and today shows no
change in the fundamental causes of persecution: the restrictions on
unregistered religious activity, the interference in the activity of
registered religious communities and the lack of a transparent line of
command from the central government to local officials which allows local
violations to continue. If religious freedom is to improve, these three
causes of persecution will be crucial benchmarks of change.

15 July 2005
KAZAKHSTAN: UNREGISTERED RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY NOW BANNED, MISSIONARY
ACTIVITY RESTRICTED

By Igor Rotar, Central Asia Correspondent, Forum 18 News Service

In defiance of its international human rights commitments, Kazakhstan has
banned all unregistered religious activity and introduced fines for
leaders and participants in such activity, Forum 18 News Service reports.
It has also restricted missionary activity to licensed missionaries only
whose literature requires prior censorship, with fines – and, for foreign
nationals, deportation – for those who violate the restrictions. The
controversial changes to the religion law – which echo those taken in
neighbouring Uzbekistan in 1998 – came in the sweeping new law introducing
changes and amendments to legislation relating to the provision of national
security, approved by parliament on 29 June and signed on 8 July by
Kazakhstan’s president Nursultan Nazarbayev. The law came into force on
its publication in Kazakh-language newspapers on 13 July and in
Russian-language newspapers on 14 July.

Under scrutiny in both houses of parliament since February, the law has
prompted strong criticism from international and local human rights
organisations, including the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE). Given the widespread criticism, it is possible the Kazakh
authorities timed the announcement that they would not be deporting
high-profile asylum-seeker and eye-witness of the Andijan massacre
Lutfullo Shamsudinov back to his native Uzbekistan as a way to distract
attention from the announcement that the president had signed the law.

An official of the OSCE office in Almaty, who preferred not to be named,
told Forum 18 on 14 July that the organisation’s Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw was preparing a detailed critique
of the “overly restrictive nature” of the new law which would shortly be
published.

The adoption of these sweeping restrictions on religious communities,
political parties, the media and non-governmental organisations – which
came as the OSCE was holding a conference in Vienna on how to protect
human rights in the fight against terrorism – will kill off any lingering
hopes Kazakhstan might have had to become OSCE Chairman-in-Office in 2009.

The new law amends a range of other laws and codes, including the Civil
Procedure Code, the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedures code, the Code
of Administrative Offences and the laws on freedom of religion and of
religious associations, operational investigative activity, the media,
non-commercial organisations and political parties.

Although Muslims and the Russian Orthodox have broadly supported the law,
other smaller religious communities have been highly concerned (see
F18News 13 May 2005 ).
Particularly worried have been the Council of Churches Baptists, who
reject registration in principle in all the former Soviet republics where
they operate. One church member told Forum 18 on 13 July that
congregations in Kazakhstan have written numerous appeals to President
Nazarbayev and other officials in recent months calling on them not to
adopt the new law. They point out that even when registration was not
compulsory, their pastors have been fined for leading unregistered
communities.

Article 4 of the amended religion law has a new fourth section that
forbids the activity of unregistered religious organisations. A new
article, 4-1, requires all citizens and foreigners engaged in missionary
activity to register before they conduct such activity. The article
specifically bans all missionary activity by any individual who does not
have such registration.

A new article, 4-2, sets out the way missionaries register with the local
authorities annually: the potential missionary has to present the local
authorities with proof that they represent a registered religious
organisation which has specifically engaged them to do missionary activity
in the local area and all literature, video and other materials that the
missionary intends to use for local officials to censor. Any new materials
to be used after the missionary already has registration also have to be
submitted to the local authorities for censorship.

A new article, 10-1, bans all activity by religious organisations whose
activities have been suspended or banned by a court.

The new law also made corresponding changes to the code of administrative
offences, adding a new article, 374-1, to punish “leadership of and
participation in the activity of public and religious associations that
have not been registered in accordance with the law of the Republic of
Kazakhstan, as well as financing their activity”. Under this article:

– The leadership of the activity of public and religious associations that
have not been registered in the proper manner, and also those organisations
whose activity has been halted or banned will attract a fine amounting to
100 times the minimum monthly wage, currently 971 Tenge [47 Norwegian
Kroner, 6 Euros, or 7 US Dollars].

– Participation in the activity of public and religious associations that
have not been registered in the proper manner and also those organisations
whose activity has been halted or banned will attract a fine amounting to
50 times the minimum monthly wage.

– The financing of the activity of public and religious associations that
have not been registered in the proper manner and also those organisations
whose activity has been halted or banned will attract a fine amounting to
200 times the minimum monthly wage.

Additions have also been adopted to Article 375 of the administrative
code, an article that already punishes violations of the religion law
(including refusal to register a religious organisation). According to the
new addition, “Missionary work carried out by citizens, foreign citizens
and persons who have no citizenship, without the appropriate registration,
will attract a fine of up to 15 times the monthly wage of a citizen, while
foreigners and persons without citizenship will be fined up to 15 times
the monthly wage and will be expelled beyond the borders of the Republic
of Kazakhstan.”

Article 375 also now punishes leaders of religious organisations that
break any law with fines of up to thirty times the minimum monthly wage,
while the organisations themselves can be fined up to 200 times the
minimum monthly wage and banned for up to six months. Religious
organisations that “systematically carry out activity in defiance of their
statute” or refuse to stop activities that led to their being suspended
face fines of up to 300 times the minimum monthly wage and a total ban on
their activities, while leaders of such organisations can be fined up to
40 times the minimum monthly wage.

The OSCE official told Forum 18 that the organisation had recommended that
the religion law amendment banning unregistered religious activity should
be excluded. “Unfortunately this was not done,” the official declared. “We
reckon that the parliamentary deputies only took on board one of our
recommendations, excluding the amendment that would have granted the
prosecutor’s office the right to halt the activity of media outlets,
political parties and religious organisations before a court decision had
been reached.”

One activist who has been involved in lobbying parliament during the
adoption process takes some comfort from the exclusion of a few of the
harshest measures in earlier drafts. Aleksandr Klyushev, head of the
Association of Religious Organisations of Kazakhstan, pointed out that the
definition of missionary activity has been changed. In the initial draft
law, missionary activity was defined as “promoting a faith by means of
religious proselytising activity”.

“Effectively, every individual believer fell into this definition,” he
told Forum 18 on 14 July. “But we have managed to ensure that missionary
activity is defined in the law as teaching and promoting a religion by
means of religious proselytising preaching which is not included in the
statute of a religious organisation that is active in Kazakhstan.”
Klyushev hopes that it will not now be possible to see representatives of
any faith as missionaries, even if they have just one registered group in
Kazakhstan.

Klyushev also voiced some satisfaction that although the initial amendment
to Article 5 of the religion law stated that “the religious education of a
child must not harm his all-round development or physical and moral
health”, pressure from religious believers has ensured that the term
“all-round development” has been omitted. “The phrase ‘all-round
development’ could be applied very widely, even, for example, to an
atheist education, and so we are very pleased we have managed to exclude
it.”

At the same time, Klyushev declared himself extremely dissatisfied at the
introduction of Article 374-1 of the Administrative code and the
amendments to Article 375 of the Administrative code. “Even before
Nursultan Nazarbayev signed this law, local officials started treating it
as already effective and started persecuting Protestants on the basis of
the changes to the Administrative Code,” he told Forum 18 (see F18News 30
May 2005 ).

The authorities have long sought to restrict religious rights by
tightening the 1992 religion law. A harsh new law was adopted by
parliament in 2002 (the eighth such attempt) and approved by President
Nazarbayev. However, under pressure from international and local human
rights organisations, the constitutional council ruled in April 2002 that
the new law contradicted the constitution and it was withdrawn.

For a personal commentary on the legal moves to seriously restrict
religious freedom in Kazakhstan under the guise of “national security”,
see F18News

For more background, see Forum 18’s Kazakhstan religious freedom survey at

A printer-friendly map of Kazakhstan is available at
las/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=kazakh
(END )

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News

Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

–Boundary_(ID_mCjWTnLiJ/kbCUEcMFamAw)–