Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

ArmenPress
Dec 27 2004

GAS LEAK RESULTS IN ANOTHER FATAL ACCIDENT

ASHTARAK, DECEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS: A 60 year-old man and his 56
year-old wife were asphyxiated by a natural gas leak in Ashtarak
town, the administrative center of Aragatsotn province Saturday,
emergency officials said today- the fourth such incident of gas
poisoning in Armenia this month.
Emergency officials said the accident was caused by the couple’s
failure to observe safety rules. They used a gas water heater while
their apartment does not have a waste-heat flue.
The return of widespread use of natural gas in Armenia has caused
a number of safety problems in recent years, officials say. The
country had almost no natural gas for about 11 years because of
supply problems. Last week, a family of five died in the town of
Etchmiadzin. Two days later, a gas leak killed two people in the town
of Gyumri, followed by another accident in the village of Brnakot, in
Syunik province, where a man, his wife and 7-year-old child were
asphyxiated by a natural gas leak.
Concerned with the growing number of fatal incidents caused by
natural gas leaks president Robert Kocharian instructed last week
relevant government agencies to combine efforts to prevent use of
poorly installed homemade gas heaters and illegal connection to
municipal gas pipes.

40 APPLICANTS CHOSEN FOR WORKING IN QATAR

ArmenPress
Dec 24 2004

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS: The government-affiliated department
for refugees and migrants has shortlisted 23 hospital nurses and 27
programmers from a pool of hundreds of applicants who are likely to
travel to Qatar to get there high-paid jobs for at least one year.

The head of the department, Gagik Yeganian, told a news conference
today the final decision will be made by a Qatar official who is
going to visit Yerevan soon to conduct interviews with each of the
applicants.

The Qatar side will pay their travel expenses along with providing them
with housing. The recruiting was made in accordance with a bilateral
agreement. The applicants must be fluent in English and have at least
a three-year experience.

Council of Europe rapporteur pleased with Azeri local polls

Ekspress, Baku
22 Dec 04

A co-rapporteur of the Monitoring Group of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe has described the 17 December municipal
elections in Azerbaijan as “another step towards democracy”. In
his interview with Ekspress newspaper, he also called on Baku
“to seriously investigate irregularities in the elections and take
relevant steps”. The following is the text of Alakbar Raufoglu report
by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress on 22 December headlined “Gross does
not want us to call the Armenians occupiers” and subheaded “The PACE
Monitoring Group co-rapporteur is both satisfied and dissatisfied with
the municipal elections”. Subheadings have been inserted editorially:

“We have closely observed the municipal elections in
Azerbaijan. Generally, the voting both satisfied and dissatisfied
us. The major concerns were naturally about the identification of voter
lists, something that was noted during the previous elections. In any
case, Azerbaijan’s relevant authorities should have taken specific
measures in connection with the voter lists and fully resolved the
problem over the past time. But generally, we are fully satisfied with
both our visit and the elections,” the co-rapporteur of the Monitoring
Group of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [MG PACE]
on Azerbaijan, Andreas Gross, said as he was commenting to Ekspress
on the results of his visit to Azerbaijan.

“Another step towards democracy”

He said that the municipal elections “can be described as another step
towards democracy in Azerbaijan”. At the same time, the PACE Monitoring
Group calls on Baku to “seriously investigate irregularities in the
elections and take relevant steps”.

“Anyhow, the fact that some opposition parties did not stand in
the race is food for thinking, its reasons should be investigated,
shortcomings should be found and, if necessary, political debates
should be held and the problem should be resolved altogether,”
Gross said.

Touching on the domestic political situation in Azerbaijan, the
co-rapporteur said that human rights, democracy, elections and the
freedom of the press “were seriously discussed” during his meetings
in Baku. “We were given specific promises, and mechanisms are being
prepared to keep them. Probably after that, we will be able to reveal
those promises in full details. I can only say that the mentioned
issues are in the constant spotlight of the PACE Monitoring Group,”
he said.

Final report to come next month

The PACE Monitoring Group rapporteurs can hardly accomplish their
mission shortly, since there is still much to be done, Gross said. “We
are working, becoming familiar with the country and making our
proposals. Therefore, we will pay many visits.”

The PACE Monitoring Group will issue its final report on the outcomes
of the municipal elections next month. The process is currently being
investigated “in full detail”, Gross said.

The Monitoring Group experts are expected to discuss their observations
at a session of a PACE sub-committee next week. After that, the
Monitoring Group will prepare a relevant report.

Call for concessions

The Nagornyy Karabakh problem was also discussed during Gross’s
current visit. It was connected to the hearings that will be held on
the mentioned issue at the forthcoming session of PACE. “The fact that
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict remains unresolved creates obstacles
to resolving other problems in the region,” the co-rapporteur said.

The extension of the negotiations on Karabakh “becomes a serious
obstacle” to the political and economic development in Azerbaijan, he
said. The Council of Europe can only express an independent opinion
and make a proposal on any problem. “As we mentioned last time,
we made some proposals on the issue, but nobody is listening to them.”

Stressing that preparatory seminars for the hearings on the Nagornyy
Karabakh settlement will be held at PACE, the co-rapporteur said that
he and his colleagues had presented the parties with their ideas on
a peaceful solution, “but they have not been officially discussed
yet since they are formal”.

Both parties to the conflict should make concessions for a successful
solution to the problem, Gross said. “It does not bring success
to the settlement process to search for an occupier or a victim,
on the contrary, it complicates the peace negotiations,” he said,
stressing that it is necessary for the parties to make concessions.

“This is the most important precondition for the existing
dialogue. I became familiar with the living conditions of Azerbaijani
refugees. They live in hard conditions and say that the conflict
should be resolved in any way. I think a conclusion should be made
from this concern by the refugees. It does not give credence to
Azerbaijan to harp on Armenia’s aggression in the peace process,
because it is impossible to bring up growing generations in the two
countries in the spirit of animosity against each other,” he said.

Gross said that since the Karabakh issue is a direct obligation of Baku
and Yerevan, the mission wants to investigate this problem closely.

Saying that the refugees are “a heavy burden for both parties”,
the European visitor noted that one does not have to put the whole
blame on the fact of occupation. “It would not be nice to make such
statements during the negotiations.”

As for the formats of the settlement process, Gross said that he
“does not want to go deep into details” and “is in favour of taking
facts as a basis” in solving the conflict.

The rapporteur also said that he intends to visit Nagornyy Karabakh,
become familiar with the internal situation there and investigate
official Baku’s accusations that it is used as a region for drug
trafficking. This visit will probably take place early next year.

Turkey taken to task over Armenia

EuroNews – English Version
December 17, 2004

Braving bad weather, protesters have gathered in Brussels to urge
EU leaders to keep Ankara out of the club. That is because of the
importance of the “G” word – genocide – the term at the heart of a
bitter dispute.

For the demonstrators, Ottoman Turks committed nothing short of
systematicgenocide against the Armenian people.

They say up to 1.5 million lives were lost between 1915 and 1923 and
they want Turkey to recognize what happened, as such.

Ankara, however, sees things differently.

It admits that thousands of Turks and up to 300,000 Armenians died
in clashes but vehemently denies that genocide took place.

For one expert on Turkey at the Free University of Brussels, semantics
might be getting in the way.

“There were certainly more than a million dead in this massacre,”
says Robert Anciaux.

“But can we talk about genocide? For me, it is just a question of
words. It is something for historians to sort out.

“The problem is that the Turks must recognize that in some way there
was a massacre of Armenians.” But, for those whose ancestors were
caught up in the turmoil, acknowledging the full horror of what
happened is hugely important.

They say that long before Rwanda and the Holocaust, this was the
first genocide of the 20th century.

European Parliament says yes to beginning accession talks with Turkey but sets conditions

Athens News Agency
Dec 16 2004

The European Parliament’s Plenary Session on Wednesday approved the
Eurlings Report regarding Turkey’s progress towards EU accession,
with 407 voting for it, 262 against it, and 29 abstaining. Thus, the
European Parliament is in favor of beginning EU accession talks with
Turkey without unnecessary delay and says that Turkey must recognize
Cyprus. Aditionally, Eurodeputies have rejected the option of
establishing a ‘privileged partnership with the EU’.
Among the amendments approved and which are of interest to Greece is
amendment 59, which was proposed by the Socialist Eurodeputies. The
amendment calls on the council to realize its promises and to end the
Turkish Cypriot community’s isolation, and to quickly approve the two
regulations regarding financial aid and commercial relations with the
northern part of the island.

Another amendment proposed by Athanassios Pafilis and Diamanto
Manolakou from the United Left was rejected. Pafilis’ and Manolakou’s
suggestion was for the issue of the continental shelf in the Aegean
to be referred to the International Court in the event that it wasn’t
resolved otherwise.

Amendment 31, which requested that the Committee formulate a “road
map” with a timeframe regarding the implementation of the Copenhagen
criteria, with special emphasis given to: the recognition of Cyprus
and the withdrawal of Turkish occupational forces from the island;
progress in resolving problems related to the Kurds, guarantee of
human rights and fundamental civil liberties in theory and practice.

The voting was conducted by secret ballot, something that provoked
many reactions. “The ALDE [Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for
Europe] group is opposed to holding a secret vote on the Turkey
report. Parliamentary responsibility and political accountability
require MEPs to take positions openly. We reject the coward’s option”
ALDE leader Graham Watson said.

“Our view is that fundamental decisions must be clear, open and
transparent so that voters know what their elected representatives
are doing on their behalf,” Socialist Group leader Martin Schulz
said.

The United Left asked European Parliament President Josep Borrell for
the issue of the secret vote to be voted upon. Borrell said that he
had examined the issue with the Parliament’s legal department and had
concluded that the secret vote was legal.

ND Eurodeputy comments on outcome

“The message that the European Parliament has sent to Turkey by
adopting the report of Camiel Eurlings, Dutch Eurodeputy of the
European People’s Party, is multidimensional and at the same time
crystal clear,” head of New Democracy Eurodeputies Ioannis
Varvitsiotis said.

“Turkey has to realize that it has to fulfill all that is outlined in
the Eurlings report,” Varvitsiotis stressed. “That includes
continuation of reforms, recognition of the Republic of Cyprus,
immediate re-opening of the Theological School of Halki, public use
of the ecclesiastical title Ecumenical Patriarchate and protection of
the basic rights of all Christian minorities and communities in
Turkey, such as the Greeks of Istanbul, Imvros and Tenedos,” he
added.

Furthermore, the European Parliament has also asked that Turkey
recognize the Armenian genocide and to protect Kurds’ rights.

Eastern Daily Press
December 16, 2004

A 23-year-old Yarmouth woman is due to appear at court today in
connection with the death of a man whose body was found burning in a
field near Peterborough almost exactly two years ago.

A 23-year-old Yarmouth woman is due to appear at court today in
connection with the death of a man whose body was found burning in a
field near Peterborough almost exactly two years ago.

Arpine Karapetian has been charged with attempting to pervert the
course of justice in relation to the death of Armenian Hovannes
Amirian and will appear at Norwich Magistrates Court.

On Tuesday Nishan Bakunts, 27, also of Yarmouth, appeared at court
accused of murdering Mr Amirian, 42, in King’s Lynn on December 20
2002.

He was remanded in custody and is due at Norwich Crown Court for a
plea and directions hearing in February.

As reported in the EDP, Mr Amirian’s burning body was discovered by a
cyclist. He had been shot and stabbed before being set on fire.

Officers spent months trying to identify Mr Amirian’s body.

He was finally identified after Cambridgeshire police and Interpol in
Belgium traced his widow and four-year-old son.

PRESS RELEASE
Shahumyan-Getashen Patriotic Benevelont Association
Address: Yerevan, Armenia, Koriun Street 19/a
Contact: Eduard Balayan
Tel: (374-1) 560154
E-mail: [email protected]
16 December, 2004

Shahumyan-Getashen refugees apply to European court of Human Rights

Four families who were forcibly removed from the Shahumian and Getashen
regions have formally appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.

Assisted by the Shahumyan-Getashen Benevolent Union, the Armenian
residents of Shahumian and Getashen have raised before the court
the following issues: the violation of the property rights of the
forcibly displaced families, as well as the violation of their right
that their accommodations be respected.

The Shahumyan-Getashen Patriotic Union reaffirms its readiness to
defend, in appropriate international organizations, the rights of
thousands of Armenian families who are suffering as a result of
Azerbaijan’s military offensive launched in the early 1990s.

IRNA, Iran
Dec 15 2004

EP calls on EU to begin membership

The European Parliament said Wednesday that the European Union should
begin accession negotiations with Turkey “without undue delay”.

MEPs adopted a resolution during a plenary debate in Strasbourg
saying that Turkey has made “impressive progress” in respecting the
political criteria, enough for negotiations on EU membership to
start..

The resolution was adopted by 407 votes in favour, 262 against and 29
abstentions in a secret ballot.

The EP is the only elected institution in the EU, but its resolution
on Turkey is not binding .

The EP resolution will be given to EU leaders meeting in Brussels
Friday to discuss Turkey`s bid to join the European bloc.

However, the EP acknowledged that problems continue to exist, such as
regarding minority rights, religious freedoms, trade union rights,
women`s rights, the role of the army, Cyprus and the relations with
Armenia.

Therefore it stressed that, in the first phase of negotiations,
priority should be given to the full application of the political
criteria.

In case of serious breaches of the political criteria, negotiations
must be suspended, said the resolution.

MEPs also underlined that starting negotiations will not
automatically result in Turkey`s accession and that appropriate ways
will have to be found “to ensure that Turkey remains fully anchored
in European structures”, should negotiations not be successfully
concluded.

Agence France Presse
Dec 15 2004

After long wait, EU decision at hand for Turkey

BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (AFP) – Turkey will soon learn if its long-running
campaign to enter the European Union is reaching fruition as EU
leaders prepare to resolve one of the most divisive issues facing the
bloc.

When they convene Thursday evening for the EU’s winter summit, the 25
heads of government are expected to give the green light that Turkey
has long sought for the opening of accession negotiations.

But diplomats say the leaders will likely defer the actual start of
the talks until the autumn of 2005, and their approval will come
hedged with a raft of caveats unprecedented for an EU candidate
state.

And last-minute objections that might stymie Turkey’s hopes cannot be
ruled out. Cyprus is one obstacle.

As the price for its accord, the internationally backed Greek-Cypriot
government wants Turkey to move on normalising relations frozen since
Turkish troops occupied the Mediterranean island’s northern third in
1974.

France, though nominally on Turkey’s side, has fuelled Turkish
frustration by using the word “genocide” for the first time to
describe the 1915-1917 Ottoman Empire massacre of Armenians.

French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier told parliament Tuesday that
Paris would ask many questions, “notably that of the Armenian
genocide”, in eventual EU-Turkey negotiations.

It is French pressure above all that is likely to result in the EU
failing to abide by a promise to launch accession talks with Turkey
“without delay” once the leaders give their approval.

Fearful of the Turkey question overshadowing a referendum on the EU’s
first constitution, the French government wants the launch of the
negotiations put back to the second half of next year.

The French government’s fears are not without foundation given that
in France, as in Germany, public opinion is largely hostile to
Turkey’s EU bid.

With an eye on winning their publics over, the EU leaders are
expected to impose a series of stringent conditions on Turkey and
warn that the accession talks will last a decade at least, with no
guarantee of success.

Turkey, which physically spans the Bosphorus divide between Europe
and Asia, has been knocking on the European bloc’s door for more than
four decades, first signing an association agreement with the
then-EEC in 1963.

Its big breakthrough came two years ago, when the EU agreed — at the
same time as agreeing to let in 10 states in the bloc’s biggest-ever
expansion — to decide in December 2004 on whether to start talks
with Turkey.

Now that moment has come, and the arguments are, if anything,
stormier than ever.

The most pro-Turkey EU states — including Britain, Italy, Spain and
Germany — argue that admitting Turkey is a strategic priority as a
bridge to the Muslim world.

But there is a hardcore of sceptics including Austria, Denmark and
Cyprus. They argue that Turkey is simply too big, too different and
too poor to join. The alternative proposed is a “special partnership”
rather than membership.

But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will be in
Brussels for the summit, has insisted time and again that the EU must
treat Turkey like any other candidate.

He said Tuesday his government had met all the criteria required to
begin accession talks through major democratic and human rights
reforms adopted over the past two years, and now expects the EU to do
its part.

“I believe the EU will not undersign a historic mistake which will
weaken its own foundations and will make a decision in line with
Turkey’s expectations,” Erdogan said.

Le Figaro, France
lundi 13 Décembre 2004

Le Parlement européen s’empare du dossier

L’institution n’a qu’un avis consultatif mais son message conforte
les capitales dans leur souhait d’une ouverture des négociations
d’adhésion

Bruxelles : de notre correspondant Pierre Avril
[13 décembre 2004]

La Turquie dans l’Europe, les députés européens sont pour. Renonçant
à leurs traditionnelles joutes parlementaires, les dirigeants des
principaux groupes européens devraient appeler leurs troupes à voter
en faveur d’une ouverture des négociations d’adhésion avec la
Turquie.

Le débat en séance plénière aura lieu ce soir à Strasbourg, mais le
vote final n’interviendra que mercredi, à la veille du Conseil
européen, le seul autorisé à prendre la décision finale. Du strict
point de vue des traités, l’avis des eurodéputés n’aura aucune
répercussion sur le comportement des chefs d’Etat. Mais d’un point de
vue politique, le message qui sera envoyé de l’hémicycle ne fera que
conforter les capitales dans leur choix : il est temps d’ouvrir une
perspective claire d’adhésion à ce pays.

Le 30 novembre, la commission des affaires étrangères du Parlement
avait déjà ouvert la voie : par 50 voix pour, 18 voix contre et six
abstentions, les eurodéputés estimaient, dans le rapport qui sert de
base au débat, que les négociations devaient s’ouvrir «sans délai
inutile». Certes, ils reprenaient à leur compte les arguments de
prudence de la Commission européenne, selon lesquels cette première
étape institutionnelle ne saurait conduire «a priori et
automatiquement à l’adhésion». Mais l’objectif reste bien que «la
Turquie devienne membre de l’UE».

Ils émettaient également des réserves sur la situation des droits de
l’homme dans le pays. Mais, pour le reste, ils ont assoupli leurs
positions par rapport aux recommandations formulées par l’exécutif
européen, le 6 octobre. Ainsi, la proposition d’instaurer une clause
de sauvegarde «permanente», destinée à freiner l’immigration des
travailleurs turcs, a rebuté les parlementaires. Ces dispositions, a
estimé la commission des affaires étrangères, ne doivent «pas avoir
d’impact négatif sur les efforts de la Turquie» de transposer la
législation communautaire. Surtout, l’idée alternative d’instaurer un
«partenariat privilégié», au cas où les négociations patinent, a été
rejetée.

Ce dernier épisode, en particulier, a constitué un revers pour les
députés français et allemands du PPE, le groupe conservateur
majoritaire au Parlement. Aujourd’hui, ces derniers, alliés à
quelques Britanniques, devraient à nouveau soumettre cette idée de
partenariat privilégié, en demandant un vote secret. Mais sans
illusions. «De nombreux parlementaires soutiennent en privé cette
solution. Le problème, c’est qu’au moment du vote, ils se sentent
obligés de soutenir leurs gouvernements qui, eux, la rejettent»,
explique un porte-parole de l’UMP au sein du groupe PPE. A l’inverse,
les parlementaires allemands de la CDU-CSU – qui représentent la plus
grosse force politique au sein du PPE – s’opposent ostensiblement au
gouvernement social-démocrate de Gerhard Schröder, fervent supporter
de l’adhésion turque. Mais les Français et Allemands du PPE ne seront
pas assez nombreux, au sein de leur groupe, pour modifier l’équilibre
des forces. Les conservateurs devraient majoritairement voter en
faveur de l’ouverture de négociations d’adhésion avec Ankara.

Ce sera également le cas des socialistes, des Verts, et des
libéraux-démocrates regroupés au sein de l’ADLE. Cette formation, qui
comprend en particulier l’UDF de François Bayrou, devrait proposer
plusieurs amendements au rapport de la commission des affaires
étrangères. L’un soutient également la notion de partenariat
privilégié, et d’autres demandent de la part de la Turquie une
reconnaissance du génocide arménien et de la république de Chypre.
Mais là encore, seuls 39 députés, sur les 88 que compte le groupe,
devraient soutenir ces amendements. L’appoint, par ailleurs, de voix
eurosceptiques sera insuffisant. A Strasbourg, Ankara compte de
nombreux amis.