Author: Nalbandian Albert

Pundit says foreign envoys misinformed about situation in Azerbaijan

Zerkalo, Baku
15 Sep 04

For the first time in the whole history of the exercises within the
framework of the Partnership for Peace programme, its organizer and
sole founder NATO has come across a major organizational problem.

[Passage omitted: Azerbaijan did not want to see Armenian officers
in the country]

In the meantime, the former presidential aide on political issues
and now independent expert, Vafa Quluzada, has appealed via Zerkalo
newspaper to all ambassadors accredited to Azerbaijan. Its essence
boils down to the fact that NATO, equally the USA and the bloc’s other
member countries, possesses insufficient information, if any at all,
on the current public mood in Azerbaijan.

The pundit thinks that many European ambassadors to our country are
surrounded by well-off and respectable people who provide distorted
information about the situation in our country.

“Naturally, they [ambassadors] mislead their chiefs, and the latter
are made to think that Azerbaijan is ready to give away Karabakh and
Lacin, including other districts under occupation. Not to mention the
fact that the overwhelming majority of the Azerbaijani people would
be allegedly unruffled by the visit of Armenian military officers. At
the same time, nobody says that the Azerbaijanis detest Armenia for
it occupied their lands in tandem with Russia and that the blood feud
between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been continuing for many years.

“Actually, ambassadors are not being informed but misinformed. There
is allegedly stability in Azerbaijan, the leadership controls the
situation, and hence, Armenians can be invited here. In turn,
the ambassadors feed this distorted information to the world
community. They cannot see that Azerbaijan is like a powder keg
that can explode any time. So far it only gives an impression of an
absolutely peaceful place,” the expert said.

He believes that the abovesaid factor served as a reason for the
current extremely unfavourable situation around the NATO exercises
in our country.

[Passage omitted: First time Armenians were permitted to attend
the exercises]

“It has to be made clear that Azerbaijan and Armenia can be side by
side within NATO only after the conflict has been settled between
them and the occupied lands have been liberated,” the expert said.

Expressing his attitude towards the visit of Armenian officers to
our country, Quluzada described this as a crime.

“The hostile country should not have access to information on the
situation in our country,” Quluzada said.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Sept 17 2004

PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVED EC DELEGATION HEADED BY
ROMANO PRODI
[September 17, 2004, 18:54:16]

President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev received at the
President Palace the delegation led by President of the European
Commission Romano Prodi, on September 17.

Greeting the guest, head of Azerbaijan state recalled his meeting
with Mr. Romano Prodi in Belgium telling it was very useful. The
Azerbaijan-European Union relations develop successfully, President
of Azerbaijan underlined. “Our country attaches great importance to
development of these relations”, he said. President Ilham Aliyev state
that the relations with the European Union are one of the priorities
of our state policy and we reach new accomplishments in this field,
he added.

Noting that the “New Policy of Neighborhood” is very important,
President Ilham Aliyev underlined that this policy is one of the
priorities in the relations of Azerbaijan and European Union. Head of
Azerbaijan stated that appointment of the European Union representative
on South Caucasus serves development of these relations.

Stating that cooperation in political, economic, cultural and other
fields between Azerbaijan and European Union develops successfully,
president Ilham Aliyev expressed confidence for strengthening of
these ties. Azerbaijan is an integral part of Europe and integration
to European structures is priority of our foreign policy, head of
Azerbaijan state emphasized.

Noting that there is successful cooperation between Azerbaijan and
European Union in the field of economy, in particular, in the power
field, President Ilham Aliyev said that there is a high level dialogue
in the political field.

Head of Azerbaijani state expressed confidence that the visit of Mr.
Romano Prodi to Azerbaijan would greatly promote the development and
strengthening of the bilateral relations.

Expressing gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for warm reception,
Mr. Prodi said that he was pleased with the visit. Noting that
cooperation in the political, economic and other fields is integral
part of the new policy of neighborhood he noted that realization
of this policy is of great significance from the viewpoint of
strengthening of cooperation and solution of the facing problems.
“There are important tasks before the European Union for implementation
of this policy and the EU holds fair position in regard with the
policy of neighborhood”, he said.

Mr. Romano Prodi said that quick resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan,
Nagorny Karabakh conflict is necessary for successful realization
of the New Policy of Neighborhood. “The European Union with its 500
million population pays great importance on expansion of cooperation
between the EU and Azerbaijan that plays is significant role in the
region”, he stressed. He expressed confidence that these relations
would develop further.

Head of the PA foreign relations department Novruz Mammadov and the
representative of Azerbaijan in European Union Arif Mammadov took
part at the reception.

Cambridge Chronicle, MA
Sept 16 2004

Kessler is guest homilist at Holy Trinity
Thursday, September 16, 2004

Celebrate! Armenian Cultural Heritage at Holy Trinity Armenian Church,
145 Brattle St., will open with the Rev. Dr. Diane Kessler, executive
director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, as guest homilist
Sunday, Sept. 26, at 11:30 a.m. in the sanctuary. Kessler’s topic
will be “Stewardship: Giving Gifts of Time, Talent and Treasure.” A
reception will follow in the Charles and Nevart Talanian Cultural
Hall. Celebrate! Armenian Cultural Heritage is an annual series of
programs and concerts at Holy Trinity.

Kessler became the executive director of MCC in September 1988. She is
the eighth executive director to assume ecumenical leadership in the
council’s 100-plus-year history. She formerly served as the associate
director for strategy and action, a post she held for 13 years.

Her position entails direction and public presentation of the council’s
work in areas such as education and evangelism for Christian unity;
ecumenical worship; cooperation among local councils of churches;
various forums for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue; and social
mission/prophetic witness. In addition, the MCC executive serves as
a diplomatic liaison among religious leaders and denominations in
the effort to promote reconciliation among the churches.

The pastor and parish council of the Holy Trinity Armenian Church
invites the community to attend church services Sunday, Sept. 26,
to celebrate the divine liturgy, beginning at 10 a.m., which will
be followed at 11:30 a.m., by Kessler’s homily on the concept of
Christian stewardship.

BREAKAWAY KARABAKH SET TO BUILD DEMOCRACY

Mediamax news agency
16 Sep 04

Yerevan, 16 September: Since 1999, the authorities of the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic (NKR) have taken consecutive steps to democratize
society and liberalize the economy.

As our special correspondent reports from Stepanakert (Xankandi),
Anushavan Daniyelyan, prime minister of the NKR, said this at the first
(autumn) session of the National Assembly on Wednesday (15 September),
commenting on a recent statement by the chief of the General Staff
of the NKR’s defence army, Maj-Gen Movses Akopyan, that the country
needed to establish a special political regime.

The head of the NKR government said that ”nobody has the right to
privatize democracy and decide whether we need to hold democratic
reforms or not”.

While 85 per cent of the republic’s GDP was produced in the public
sector in 1999, now this figure has acquired a completely opposite
meaning, Daniyelyan said.

“Measures to further liberalize the economy attest to the authorities’
plans to continue the course towards democratization,” Daniyelyan said.

Armenia’s speaker urges opposition to end parliamentary boycott

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
13 Sep 04

[Correspondent over video of parliament] Before the beginning of
the autumn session of the Armenian National Assembly, the speaker
of the National Assembly confirmed his readiness to resolve the
issue of chronic absence. He said that it is necessary to give a
legal definition of what is understood by a boycott and how long it
can continue.

[Artur Bagdasaryan, captioned] What is a boycott? Parliamentary
elections will be held in Armenia in 2007. Can one political force
say that I am having a four-year boycott just after the elections? But
it will not stop them getting a salary, not stop them taking part in
the work of the National Assembly when they wish. All this has to be
resolved seriously.

[Correspondent] The session, which started on Monday [13 September],
contains most important draft laws for the country and Artur
Bagdasaryan suggested that they be adopted with the opposition’s
participation. He also noted that they must not hurry to strip deputies
of their mandates, as all this should be discussed and decided jointly
by the political forces in the coalition and opposition deputies.

Speaking about the scandal around the Armenian officers’ visit to Baku,
Artur Bagdasaryan said that Armenia has to continue its unchangeable
regional policy despite Baku’s morbid announcements.

[Artur Bagdasaryan] Armenia has to continue regional cooperation
within the framework of NATO and other international organizations,
because issues concerning the region’s peace and security urge us to
have a constructive position.

Nune Aleksanyan, “Aylur”.

NATO cancel Azerbaijan exercise after dispute over Armenian officers

AP Worldstream
Sep 13, 2004

NATO canceled military exercises scheduled to start Monday in
Azerbaijan after authorities there objected to the participation of
Armenian officers, alliance officials said.

The two-week peacekeeping maneuvers were to involve small units from
several NATO allies and former Soviet bloc nations included in the
alliance’s “Partnership for Peace” outreach program.

NATO officials said such exercises must be open to troops from all
members of the alliance and its partners.

They said alliance Supreme Commander Gen. James L. Jones canceled the
maneuvers after complaints from Azeri authorities over the planned
participation of Armenian officers.

Tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia remain high after a 1988-1992
war between the Caucasian neighbors, and they still dispute authority
over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The enclave, located within Azerbaijan, has been under control of
ethnic Armenian forces for more than a decade. A cease-fire was signed
in 1994 after Azerbaijani forces were driven out, but the enclave’s
final status has not been resolved and shooting still breaks out
sporadically along the “line of control” that separates the enclave
from the rest of Azerbaijan.

On Friday, the Azeri parliament adopted a message sent to NATO
Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer protesting the inclusion of
Armenian soldiers and warning it could inflame tensions in the region
and harm relations between Azerbaijan and the Atlantic alliance.

President Ilham Aliev also reportedly opposed the inclusion of the
soldiers, and several dozen protesters took to the streets of the
capital, Baku, on Friday.

NATO officials declined to say how many troops were expected to take
part in exercise Cooperative Best Effort 2004, which follows similar
maneuvers held in the last two years in Armenia and Georgia. The
2003 exercises in Armenia involved around 400 troops from 19
nations. Azerbaijan refused to take part.

Old Etonian gets seven years for Guinea coup plot
By Peta Thornycroft in Harare and David Blair, Africa Correspondent

The Daily Telegraph/UK
(Filed: 11/09/2004)

Simon Mann, an old Etonian and former SAS officer, stood expressionless
in khaki prison fatigues yesterday as he was sentenced to seven years
in a Zimbabwean jail for trying to buy weapons.

The biggest mercenary trial in Africa’s recent history ended in the
capital Harare with Mann’s 67 accomplices receiving prison sentences
of between 12 and 18 months for immigration and aviation offences. Two
other men were acquitted.

The court reserved its harshest sentence for 51-year-old Mann, who
holds British and South African citizenship.

“The accused [Mann] was the author of the whole transaction,” said
Mishrod Guvamombe, the magistrate, imposing sentence in a makeshift
court inside Harare’s maximum security prison. “He was caught while
trying to take the firearms out of the country.”

Mann had admitted trying to buy weapons valued at more than £100,000
from the state-owned defence company in Zimbabwe.

Prosecutors said the arms would have been used to overthrow the regime
of Equatorial Guinea. Mann and the 69 other men, all South Africans,
were arrested at Harare airport in March, supposedly bound for the
oil-rich West African dictatorship.

They were on board a Boeing 727, valued at about £2 million, which
Mr Guvamombe turned over to the Zimbabwean state.

Explaining his decision to impose a sentence on Mann nearing the
maximum of 10 years laid down in Zimbabwean law, the magistrate said
the offences “were well planned and well executed and that must be
reflected in the penalty”.

Mann’s lawyer, Jonathan Samkange, described the sentence as
“excessive”. But he ruled out an appeal to the supreme court.

Mann is likely to serve his sentence in Chikurubi maximum security
prison, where he has been held since his arrest six months ago.

After serving across the world with the SAS, he helped found Executive
Outcomes, a South African-based mercenary company in 1989. Despite his
experience, his last operation was a bungled and amateurish venture.

Maps of Equatorial Guinea and vital details about the operation were
found on the aircraft. The coup plot had been widely discussed for
months by former members of South Africa’s special forces before it
went into action. Mann and his colleagues were arrested after South
Africa’s intelligence service learned of their plans and alerted
Zimbabwe.

The men he hired for the operation were treated far more leniently. The
court sentenced 65 of them to a year behind bars for breaching aviation
and immigration laws. The remaining two were sentenced to 18 months.

The men testified that Mann agreed to pay them £3,300 each for taking
part in the operation. Mann’s family in Britain has given the men’s
relatives a one-off payment of £550.

Executive Outcomes was wound up in 1999 after South Africa banned
mercenary activity. But Mann remained active in the security business.

He lived in the expensive Cape Town suburb of Constantia, a few
streets away from Sir Mark Thatcher, the former prime minister’s son,
who has also been charged with involvement in the Guinean plot.

Fifteen other men, all South African or Armenian, are still on trial
in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea. One, Nick du Toit,
whose evidence implicated Sir Mark, faces a possible death sentence.

Armenian opposition member to appeal to European Court over arrest

Aravot web site, Yerevan
8 Sep 04

Text of unattributed report by Armenian newspaper Aravot web site
on 8 September headlined “The appeal to the Council of Europe has to
be supplemented”

8 September: The head of the Armavir territorial branch of the National
Democratic Union [NDU], Lavrentiy Kirakosyan, who was released from
Nubarashen prison ahead of schedule on 30 August, is planning to
add fresh facts to his lawsuit submitted to the European Court of
Human Rights.

We should say that Kirakosyan was sentenced to 18 months in prison
on charges of possessing drugs and served almost five months in jail.

In connection with his administrative arrest during the elections in
2003, he appealed to the European Court and now he is going to send
the materials of the “fully fabricated” case on drugs to Strasbourg.

IRAN FOR PEACEFUL END OF KARABAGH DISPUTE, KHATAMI SAYS

ArmenPress
Sept 9 2004

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS: Meeting with students and professors
of Yerevan State University Iranian president Mohammad Khatami said
Iran underscores elimination of tension in the region, “as all nations
need to develop which can be achieved only in peaceful conditions.”

In response to a question about Iran’s position on the Nagorno Karabagh
conflict he said disagreements are natural, “but Iran respects the
territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations and has been
making efforts to help end the Karabagh conflict in a peaceful way
so that the region’s countries could help each other’s development
without exhausting their resources and potential in conflicts.”

Khatami said Iran is for political solutions to all disputable
questions through negotiations. “We have a special respect for our
neighbor and friend Armenia and if the sides to the conflict decide
to make use of Iran’s possibilities and influence we are ready to
meet them halfway,” he said.

Mohammad Khatami also visited today the Genocide Memorial to
commemorate the victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide in the Ottoman
Turkey and put flowers at the Memorial. He was accompanied by the
chief of Armenian presidential staff Artashes Tumanian, Yerevan mayor
Yervand Zakharian, Armenian deputy foreign minister Ruben Shugarian,
other high-rank officials.

The museum employees presented Khatami with a research work on 1915
Armenian Genocide, a map of Armenia, Epos of David of Sasun and a
photography album of Mount Ararat.

IVASHOV: CONFLICTS SHOULD NOT BE SOLVED WITH THE USE OF FORCE

RIA Novosti, Russia
Sept 8 2004

MOSCOW, September 8 (RIA Novosti) – The settlement of conflicts on
the post-Soviet area demands restoration of trust rather than the
use of force, vice-president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems
Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov said at a press conference held in
RIA Novosti.

“The historic memory is most acute when there was a bloodshed. Time is
the only cure for hatred, and only time can restore trust and settle
a conflict,” he believes.

“The attempts to resume conflicts, solve the most difficult problems
with the use of force have no prospect,” Ivashov stressed. In
this connection, he recalled the important role of peacekeepers,
who prevent the resumption of clashes in the zones of conflicts –
in Transdniestria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Touching upon the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, he called
upon the sides “not to cherish a hope that the conflict will be settled
rapidly.” “Both the Azeri and Armenian sides should demonstrate wisdom
and begin the process of “small steps”, restore confidence of an
ordinary people to an ordinary people,” the general pointed out. “If
there are no mobilization calls to war, people will move towards
each other,” he believes. In Tajikistan, Ivashov recalled, at the
beginning of the 1990s peace was established due to peacekeepers and
political efforts. The main cause for success was that “the states,
which had different, sometimes opposite interests in the region,
wanted peace,” Ivashov pointed out. Russia, Iran, Afghanistan,
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan participated in the settlement. “Russia
played the decisive role,” the general stressed.

He also declared that he might refuse to take part as witness for
the defense in the trial of the former Yugoslavian president Slobodan
Milosevic.

Ivashov, who took part in the settlement of the Kosovo crisis as
a representative of the Russian defense ministry, explained this
by the fact that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslaviagave Milosevic a lawyer against his will, who receives the
right to determine the witness who will speak.

“In this case I will not defend Milosevic and may become an object of
manipulation. But I would like to defend him, and show the objective
principles.”

“In the Tribunal the aggressors try the victims of aggression. Those
who stirred up the Kosovo conflict, act today as prosecutors,”
Ivashov said.

“I do not see any crimes in Milosevic’s activity. If the Yugoslavian
army shot down NATO planes, this was its duty in time of attack,”
the general stressed.