Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

Russia says it knows where “terrorist bases” are
By Sonia Oxley

MOSCOW, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Russia knows exactly where to find
“terrorist bases” in bordering countries and is ready to act alone
against them if its neighbours do not agree to help, Russia’s top
general was quoted as saying on Friday.

General Yuri Baluyevsky did not specify exactly where these bases
were, but his comments were likely to worry neighbouring Georgia,
long suspected by Russia of harbouring rebels.

Earlier this week Baluyevsky threatened pre-emptive strikes on rebel
bases anywhere in the world after more than 300 hostages, half of
them children, died in an attack blamed on Chechen separatists on a
school in the town of Beslan.

“We have definite information about the location of terrorist bases
abroad,” Itar-Tass news agency quoted him as saying.

“If we do not come to an understanding with those neighbouring
countries on whose territories the bases are located to take joint
action, I think we will receive the permission … to take action,”
he said.

Russia, which has two military bases in Georgia, has repeatedly accused
Tbilisi of allowing Chechen rebels — at war with Moscow for a decade
— to operate from the Pankisi Gorge, which borders Chechnya.

Analysts say Armenia, Azerbaijan and the five Central Asian states
are also on Russia’s black list.

Relations between Russia and Georgia worsened this year after Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili tried to reassert control over breakaway
regions which seek unity with Russia.

One of them, South Ossetia, wants to join North Ossetia, the Russian
region where the school siege took place.

“The Russian media and certain official circles have already begun
talking as if there are links between South Ossetia and events in
Beslan. The only link is that both Russia and Georgia have a common
enemy — terrorism,” Saakashvili said on television.

(Additional reporting by Niko Mchedlishvili in Tbilisi)

09/10/04 11:38 ET

Iranian president’s speech brings boycotting Armenian opposition to parliament

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
8 Sep 04

[Presenter] Speaking in the Armenian National Assembly today,
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami expressed his opinions on
democracy. Opposition MPs were also present at the meeting despite
their continued boycott of parliamentary sessions.

[Correspondent, over video of meeting in the National Assembly]
Extending a warm welcome to the Iranian president, the speaker of
the Armenian parliament, Artur Bagdasaryan, expressed hope that his
visit will give a new impetus to the development of Armenian-Iranian
relations.

[Artur Bagdasaryan, captioned] The achievements that our two countries
have made in the political and economic sphere, in education, science,
culture and in the spheres of economy and energy contain a great
potential for development. We are sure that after your visit these
relations in all the fields will be developed.

[Correspondent, over video of Khatami in parliament] The Iranian
president’s speech in the Armenian National Assembly was devoted to
globalization processes and development of democracy. The president
stressed that for the development of democracy it is necessary to
study and analyse the moral aspects of democracy. Those new world
processes which are the result of globalization have created a need
to once again define and explain the concept of democracy which
will prevent a collapse of democracy and restrict the development of
inhumane approaches, the Iranian president said.

He noted that Iran and Armenia have a potential as well as a rich
historical past and a basis for regional cooperation and cooperation
on the international arena. The Iranian president went on to add
that his country is ready and intends to expand bilateral relations
with Armenia, promote the settlement of the regional conflicts and
achievement of peace, stability and cooperation in the region.

Mohammad Khatami’s speech in the National Assembly brought members
of all political parties to the session hall.

[Stepan Demirchyan, leader of the Justice opposition bloc, captioned]
We did not declare a boycott against the Iranian Republic. This is a
tribute of respect and we attach great importance to Armenian-Iranian
relations and hope that this visit will promote a further development
of these relations.

[Correspondent] All the members of the parties of the National Assembly
outlined the importance of strengthening Armenian-Iranian relations.

[Galust Saakyan, the chairman of the Republican Party faction,
captioned] Our policies are complementary. We have to note that
during these 14 years the first friendly visits and cooperation which
were important for Armenia have all been connected with Iran. This
cooperation is mutually beneficial not only for Armenia and Iran but
for the whole region.

[Armen Rustamyan, Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly’s standing
commission for foreign relations, captioned] This is an important
and at the same time a historic visit because since the establishment
[of independence] we have had very good relations with Iran. We have
never serious problems with Iran. We always try to develop relations
and cooperation with Iran and of course there is a great potential
which we did not yet use. In particular, Iran’s role in regional
issues is very important.

Discrimination causes terrorism: Iranian president

Xinhua, China
Sept 9 2004

MOSCOW, Sept. 8 (Xinhuanet) — Iranian President Mohammad Khatami
on Wednesday condemned the Beslan hostage tragedy and said the root
causes of terror could be found in the “discrimination” of peoples,
according to reports reaching here.

“Without looking at the roots it is impossible to fight terrorism. The
roots can be found in the same places where security forces impose
a discriminatory policy and people suffer from this,” Khatami said
following talks with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian in
Armenia’s capital Yerevan.

“Unable to find an adequate response to this fight they (discriminated
people) take harsh steps. This is why when you condemn terrorism you
must also condemn violence,” he added.

Khatami also spoke out against the way certain terrorists want to
present their acts under the mask of religion. “They besmirch the
religions that preach peace and humanism.” Enditem

Agency WPS
The Russian Business Monitor (Russia)
September 8, 2004, Wednesday

THE STATE WILL TRY TO SELL A 25.5% STAKE IN SIBERIAN AIRLINES AGAIN

The state will make another try to sell Siberian Airlines. The
blocking interest in the company is included into the additional
plan of privatization for 2004. Experts say that the stake may be
interesting primarily for managers of Siberian Airlines and large
greenmailers and estimate it at $20-30 million.

Siberian Airlines is Russia’s second largest air company after
Aeroflot. In 2003, it transported 3.4 million passengers. Siberian
Airlines operates 34 Tu-154 airplanes, 12 IL-86s, two Tu-204s and
two Airbus-310s. Siberian Airlines has controlling interest in the
Armenian air company Armavia that operates four A320 airliners. In
2003, revenue of Siberian Airlines according to international
standards amounted to about $370 million and net profit amounted
to $1 million. Russian Federal Property Fund has 25.5% of company’s
shares and 56.8% belong to Natalia Fileva, wife and senior deputy of
company’s General Director Vladislav Filev.

Experts say that management of Siberian Airlines is the main candidate
for the stake. Michael Boboshko, director of the analytical department
of Sovlink company, says that Western investors will hardly risk
investing in a rather closed company like Siberian Airlines. Russian
investors will not participate in the auction because they are
interested in establishment of control. Natalia Zagvozdina from
Renaissance Capital also says that given an owner of controlling
interest other air companies will hardly be interested in a blocking
stake. A source in Aeroflot states, “Business of Siberian Airlines
is stringently controlled by the management and I do not think that
acquisition of a blocking stake will be interesting for Aeroflot.” Last
week it was reported that Aeroflot proposed the Economic Development
and Trade Ministry to reassign state-owned shares in regional air
companies to Aeroflot in exchange for increase of the state interest
in Aeroflot. A spokesperson for Aeroflot refused to say if Siberian
Airlines was among the candidates for takeover.

Boboshko from Sovlink estimates 25.5% of Siberian Airlines shares
at $30 million. Roman Trotsenko, Chair of the Board of Directors of
Industrial Development investment group, says that debts of Siberian
Airlines amount to about $200 million and the state-owned stake may
cost $20 million.

Source: Vedomosti, September 07, 2004

Iranian president arrives in Armenia

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
8 Sep 04

A delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran led by President Mohammad
Khatami arrived in Armenia a short while ago.

A delegation led by Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan met
the Iranian high-ranking guests at the airport. This is the Iranian
president’s return visit following [Armenian President] Robert
Kocharyan’s official visit [to Iran].

The Iranian high-ranking guests will meet in Yerevan with their
counterparts and will discuss most important issues. The fifth session
of the bilateral intergovernmental commission will also be held.

Chechnya: Why Putin is implacable
By Paul Reynolds, BBC News Online world affairs correspondent

BBC News, UK
Sept 6 2004

President Putin has drawn a line in the mountains of the North Caucasus
beyond which Russia will not withdraw.

Putin under pressure but not compromising

His insistence that there can be no surrender to demands for
independence for Chechnya is based on a number of factors which
include:

a fear of further chaos on Russia’s borders in the region

a feeling that Russia must not make any further territorial concessions
anywhere

a belief that the Chechens were offered and threw away the chance of
responsible independence before. Mr Putin has also added into this
complex mix the spectre of international (by which he means Islamic)
terrorism and an accusation that unnamed foreign countries want to
break bits off Russia.

It must also not be forgotten that he has staked his own reputation
on his policy and that therefore he is reluctant to change it.

Russian policy can be grouped under the following headings:

Geo-political

The argument is that if Chechnya, a troublesome republic on Russia’s
southern border, broke away it could provoke demands for independence
elsewhere in the region.

Chechnya has to its east the Russian republic of Dagestan which
is multi-ethnic and where there has been unrest between some of
its peoples.

To its west is Ingushetia, to which Chechnya was once joined and
which is largely Islamic. The Ingush in turn have fought with the
North Ossetians who are Orthodox Christians and whose children were
the victims in Beslan.

And all this is close to the energy-rich Caspian Sea and on Russia’s
southern flank.

Terrorism

The Russian fear is that terrorists have taken over the Chechen
opposition and that if Chechnya becomes independent, they will
take over Chechnya as well. They might then begin to spread their
influence outwards.

Mr Putin has alluded to Russian claims that Islamic terrorism is
linked to the attack on the school and other incidents.

He implies that Islamic terrorism not Chechen nationalism is the
real enemy.

Economic

An oil pipeline from Azerbaijan used to run through Chechnya, but it
was by-passed after earlier fighting and now goes through Dagestan.

There is oil and gas to be developed in the Caspian Sea and Russia
wants a stable area through which to pass supplies.

Territorial integrity

Mr Putin spoke nostalgically in his address to Russia after the
Beslan tragedy about the days when the borders of the Soviet Union
were protected.

He and others regret the loss of so much territory in the break-up
of the Soviet Union and want to stop any further territorial loss.

Necessity

The Russian president argues that after 1997, when then President
Yeltsin gave Chechnya autonomy, with independence to be discussed
later, the Chechens responded by failing to develop a stable republic.

In August 1999, radicals led by the man believed to be behind the
school siege, Shamil Basayev, invaded neighbouring Dagestan.

Putin does have a geo-political case. It is open to question though
whether his chosen means have the slightest likelihood of dealing
with the problem

Professor Margot Light, LSE Chechens were blamed for blowing up Russian
civilian targets, including apartment buildings in Moscow. Mr Putin
led the move to re-invade Chechnya.

Elections were held there recently so he claims that he has done all
he can and that his present policy is therefore one of necessity.

Western Russia watchers, like Western governments, have some sympathy
for the Russian dilemma but many doubt if Mr Putin’s approach is the
right one.

Professor Margot Light of the London School of Economics said:
“Putin does have a geo-political case. It is open to question though
whether his chosen means have the slightest likelihood of dealing
with the problem.

“He has to start talking to the people he says he will not talk
to, like Aslan Mashkadov who was the Chechen president until the
99 invasion.

“Mr Putin’s reputation is on the line. It is extremely useful to argue
that this is international terrorism and that outside countries are
involved. Frankly this is rubbish. Any involvement by al-Qaeda to
train or fund the Chechens post-dates the conflict.”

Professor Light, however, also suggested that Russian fears of chaos
on its border in that region could be exaggerated.

“Russia could afford the loss of Chechnya. Talk of other republics
leaving the federation is far from the truth,” she said.

Nicholas Redman, Russia analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit in
London commented: “Oil is an issue but it is not the main issue. If
there was oil Russia would still be determined to hang on.

“The North Caucasus was a hard-won region and Russia sees itself as a
civilising influence there. The loss of other republics in the area,
Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, makes it even more important that
it should lose no more.

‘Where do you stop?’

“There is a just a fear that if you unravel, where do you stop.

“The problem is that Putin’s tactics have to be questioned. Russian
policy has encouraged divisions among the Chechens and there is nobody
who can glue the factions together.”

Western governments have not so publicly questioned Mr Putin’s
policies. Even a hint of criticism by the Dutch government (currently
holding the European Union presidency) provoked outrage in Moscow.

The West has generally left Moscow to its own devices in Chechnya
with occasional and ineffective mutterings about human rights.

This is despite a private view among some Western diplomats that
Russia, having lost so much of the old Soviet Union, would not be
affected by the loss of Chechnya.

The reality is that many western governments have their own war against
terrorism to fight and do not want to jeopardise Russian cooperation
by making adverse comments about Chechnya.

It all adds up to a Putin policy of, for the moment, no change.

ARMENTEL GETS PREPARED FOR EMERGENCE OF A RIVAL COMPANY

ArmenPress
Sept 3 2004

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS: Out of $106.3 million investments
to Armenia’s economy in the first half of 2004 $41.5 million were made
by ArmenTel telephone operator in the telecommunications sector. Some
$21 million of this money were direct investments.

According to deputy trade and economic development minister Tigran
Davtian, ArmenTel’s investment this year were 41 percent higher
than in 2003. He attributed the increase to the operator’s plans
to get prepared for emergence of a rival company which is likely to
enter the mobile phone market next year in line with the government’s
resolute to strip ArmenTel of its exclusive rights in cellular phone
and Internet markets.

The deputy minister also said that $2 or $3 million were invested
in the same time span in Armenia’s information technology sector.
“Though this is not a big figure, this sector allows good returns
on small investments,” he said, adding that the sector is being now
diversified and unlike some years ago when the main focus was on
programming and orders used to come from abroad, now there are new
development directions.

The deputy minister said a delegation of Intel company, one of the
leading manufacturers of computer processors, is coming to Armenia on
September 14 to look into possibilities of starting a business here.
He reiterated that liberalization of telecommunications market would
result in a swift development of the sector.

Turkish Daily News
Sept 2 2004

Putin, the first Russian president to visit Turkey in decades, hopes
to cap growing economic ties with Turkey by coming to Ankara
Turkey, Russia shift into a new orbit

Putin and Turkish leaders will bypass contentious matters in public
but cannot avoid Chechnya, the PKK and disputes in the Caucasus
behind closed doors

ELIF UNAL ARSLAN

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Turkish officials hosting the first
Russian president to visit Ankara in decades will endeavor tomorrow
to slough off the disputes of the past and cap growing economic ties
between long-time rivals Russia and Turkey with a political
breakthrough in public.

Putin is scheduled to arrive in the Turkish capital tonight and will
meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer tomorrow for top-level talks.
Later in the day, he will get together with Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the pair is expected to fly to the Aegean
city of Izmir in the afternoon where the Russian leader, along with
Erdogan, will visit the Izmir International Fair and meet with
Turkish and Russian businessmen before departing from the port of
Izmir in a Russian naval vessel.

When the two presidents pose for the cameras at the Presidential
Palace, they will be inking a declaration for “Friendship and
Multidimensional Partnership” that marks a shift in the two
countries’ ties, which were strained by mutual security concerns and
rivalry over luring the Caucasus and Central Asian republics into
their individual spheres after the collapse of the Soviet Union in
1991.

Turkish officials say an evolution in commercial relations between
Ankara and Moscow is pushing for political progress. “Our economic
relationship has grown, but political dialogue between us has
remained behind this growth. Our trade volume is increasing by 30
percent a year, and in the last 10-15 years it has grown from $150
million per annum to $10 billion. That explains the importance of the
Putin visit,” a Turkish official said.

The declaration that is due to be signed at the Presidential Palace
will highlight diversification in the profit-making areas of mutual
ties, in particular trade and economy and the energy and tourism
fields, another Turkish official said.

In addition to the declaration, the two leaders are expected to seal
five more documents. Among them are two military deals, the first of
which is intended to prevent the occurrence of dangerous incidents
outside of territorial waters, and a second that will protect
intellectual property rights to the exchange of know-how and
equipment in this field.

The rest of the documents to be wrapped up are a cooperative
agreement between Turkey’s BOTAS and Russia’s Gazprom on gas sales,
the distribution and construction of gas storage facilities, a
memorandum of cooperation between the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s
Strategic Research Center (SAM) and the Russian Federation’s
Diplomacy Academy to exchange experts, and finally a trilateral
agreement among Turk Eximbank, Russian Eximbank and GunesEconombank
to provide financial resources for exports primarily to the Central
Asian and Caucasian republics, the Middle East and western Asia.

Affirmations and realities
Turkish officials and Russian diplomats in Ankara both insist that
the previously fierce competition for winning over the Caucasus and
Central Asian republics has now been replaced by partnership savvy. A
Turkish official told the Turkish Daily News that the trilateral
agreement that envisages providing financial resources primarily for
those countries was proof of that perception.

Many agree that the rivalry between Ankara and Moscow in those
republics, some possessing rich oil and natural gas resources, has
lessened to a certain extent, partly because Ankara has been locked
onto its long-running aspiration to join the European Union and
partly due to a change in mutual perceptions on the part of both
countries in regional matters.

The mutual skepticism between the two capitals, however, looks far
from disappearing completly.

Russian Ambassador to Turkey Petr Viladimirovic Stegniy told the TDN
in an exclusive interview that developments in Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan would still be on the negotiating table for Putin and
Turkish leaders. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said matters in the
Caucasus would be discused.

Turkey is discomforted by the presence of Russian military bases in
Georgia and Armenia, and Russia views with deep suspicion Turkey’s
cooperation with Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Ahead of Putin’s visit, mass-circulation Turkish daily Hurriyet
reported that the Russian leader would ask Ankara to pursue a
“balanced policy” towards Georgia and not to “spoil” it amid recent
tension between Moscow and Tbilisi over Georgia’s breakaway South
Ossetia province, to which Moscow is allegedly providing backing.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Georgia
mid-August and urged a peaceful solution to Georgia’s internal
disputes, both in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Georgia plays a crucial
role for both Turkey and Russia since it is part of a U.S.-backed
project, namely Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, to transport Azeri crude oil to
Western markets through Georgia and Turkey, scheduled to be realized
in 2005.

Ankara had pushed hard for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export
pipeline project that would bypass both Russia and Iran, whereas
Moscow had backed the “northern route” to Novorossiysk in an attempt
to control Caspian energy export routes to the West. Now Turkish
officials and Russian diplomats in Ankara say Russia is interested in
taking part in the Bakhu-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project.

On the South Ossetia dispute, the official policies of both Moscow
and Ankara are not too different. Both countries support a peaceful
solution to the South Ossetia conflict within Georgia’s territorial
integrity. An identical picture is valid for Nagorno-Karabakh, which
has caused tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Turkey and Russia
once again share a similar official stance, that is, a peaceful
solution to the trouble there within Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity.

But Ankara and Moscow, in reality, have differing views on the
resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh, with the two siding with opposing
Azerbaijan and Armenia respectively.

When it comes to the mutual accusations of the past of alleged
Russian support for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), now
known as PKK/Kongra Gel, and alleged Turkish backing for Chechen
separatists, it is easier for Turkish and Russian officials to admit
that “reciprocal mistrust” will not vanish quickly. However, they
say, frequent meetings between security officials and the regular
exchange of information have helped significantly and that headway
has been made to a certain extent to boost confidence.

After a Chechen militant raid on a five-star hotel in Istanbul three
years ago, Turkish authorities began to crack down more harshly on
Chechen sympathizer groups, a departure from Turkey’s treatment of a
group that had seized a ferry in 1996 in the Black Sea port of
Trabzon. The hijackers were later jailed for their act but
mysteriously managed to escape from prison one by one. On the
Russians’ part, Moscow no longer seems to allow outlawed PKK
activities such as a 1996 conference titled “The History of
Kurdistan” organized by PKK-linked groups there.

In a sign of progess, Russian Ambassador Stegniy said Turkish and
Russian officials had been discussing ways to put the PKK on Moscow’s
list of terrorist organizations. He, however, added that it would
require a Russian court decision.

Mutual expectations are running high for the Russian president’s
visit to Ankara. But it is quite clear that even if Putin and Turkish
leaders are able to bypass contentious issues in public, they cannot
not evade them behind closed doors.

Ivanov to hold separate talks
While Putin is attending talks with Turkish leaders, his defense
minister, Sergei Ivanov, will be holding separate negotiations today
with Turkish defense and military officials at the invitation of his
Turkish counterpart, Vecdi Gonul.

Ivanov is expected to seek ways to increase military cooperation with
Turkey that, according to a statement issued by the Russian Defense
Ministry, include the joint licensed manufacture of Russian-Israeli
joint-production Ka-50-2 Erdogan attack helicopters.

The Russian ambassador, however, was not hopeful that the issue would
be a top agenda item for Ivanov’s talks since Turkey had canceled an
earlier tender to purchase attack helicopters that was participated
in by the Russian-Israeli joint venture, and a new tender has yet to
be opened.

Turkish officials say the Russian minister will likely be told that
the Erdogan will be able to join with other attack helicopters once
Turkey opens a fresh tender. Ivanov, along with Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov, will accompany Putin in his meetings.

Among the other agenda items of the Russian president’s visit is
crude oil transportation through Turkey’s busy straits. Turkey has
long complained of the passage of too many oil-laden ships through
the narrow straits, saying this constituted an environmental danger
and a threat to the safety of Istanbul, a city of 13 million that
straddles the waterway. Russia has complained about its financial
losses stemming from delays in the passage of oil tankers carrying
its oil.

Turkish officials say Ankara and Moscow are now looking at
alternatives, such as possible pipeline routes, but no final outcome
in this area is expected during Putin’s time in Ankara.

Turkish leaders are also expected to request Putin’s support for
Turkey’s policy on the divided island of Cyprus.

Russia, one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security
Council, is perceived as one of the major sympathizers of the Greek
Cypriots, who overwhelmingly voted against a U.N. plan in April aimed
at reunification of the island.

The Greek Cypriots are lobbying to block efforts on U.N. and European
Union platforms to end the international isolation of the Turkish
Cypriots as a reward for their support of the U.N. plan.

Turkish officials agree that Russia so far has pursued a pro-Greek
Cypriot policy but say that Moscow has come to balance that position
recently, noting that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov met with
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat on the sidelines of
the latest foreign ministers’ meeting of the Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC), which convened in mid-June in Istanbul.

Melkonian alumni hire California lawyers to fight school’s closure
By Staff Reporter

Cyprus Mail
1 Sept 04

THE worldwide alumni of the Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI)
have hired a group of California lawyers to challenge the closure of
the Nicosia-based secondary school, they said yesterday.

Under their recently established umbrella body, the Melkonian Alumni
and Friends, a non-profit US foundation, the alumni have hired legal
counsel MacCarley & Rosen of Los Angeles to oppose the planned closure
of the 78-year old Armenian school in June 2005.

This alumni is working in parallel with the local Melkonian Alumni
Associations in Cyprus, Greece, the UK, Canada, the US, Armenia,
Lebanon, Australia and elsewhere.

Similar legal actions are also expected to be filed in Cyprus, as
well as other jurisdictions, a statement issued yesterday said.

The loss making MEI, which is sitting on 40 acres of prime real estate
worth around £40 million in the capitalâ’s commercial district,
has been slated to close next year by the New York based Armenian
General Benevolent Union (AGBU), which administers 22 Armenian
schools worldwide.

The AGBU said last November that the school was not for sale but then
changed tack and announced the closure three months later.

Teachers at the Melkonian have said that last year the school’s
population was reduced from 260 to 210 after the AGBU unilaterally
decided to reduce scholarships to underprivileged children from the
Armenian Diaspora.

By claiming that standards are not up so scratch, staff say the AGBU
is trying to use the them as a scapegoat for their decision to close
the school in order to sell the land and that they are using devious
methods to reduce the student population of the school in order to
turn it into a non-viable school and ultimately to close it.

“The MEI has educated and nurtured more than three generations
of Armenian professionals and leaders and is a unique educational
institution in the Armenian Diaspora,” said yesterday.

“It provides superior academic training with Western standards to
a diverse group of Armenian boys and girls from different countries
and social backgrounds.”

Azg Armenian Daily
Sept 1 2004

ONE MORE MONTH OF UNCERTAINTY IN BLACK BEACH

ARMENIAN HOSTAGES FOR IRAQI REBELS?

FREE BOOKS IN “GEORGIAN” ACADEMIC YEAR

TURKEY TO ATTACH IMPORTANCE TO RUSSIAN PRESIDENT’S VISIT

*********************************************************************

ONE MORE MONTH OF UNCERTAINTY IN BLACK BEACH

Prisoners Being Tortured

The nineteen prisoners accused of a coup d’etat in Equatorial Guinea
are to wait for one more month for a sentence. Hamlet Gasparian,
press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informed Azg
Daily that the Armenian ambassador to Egypt Sergey Manasarian
together with Gevorg Petrosian of State Ceremony Department are in
Malabo and will return theses days.

“By now we can say that the trial was postponed for a month. Our
diplomats have met Guinean officials to ease their condition and to
secure them”, said Gasparian.

The six Armenian air crew were detained on 8 of March on charges of
attempting to overthrow president Teodoro Obiang Nguema have been
kept chained 24 hours a day in Malabo’s notorious Black Beach prison.
Our pilots have been working in Equatorial Guinea since January of
the current year. They do not plead guilty of the charges made.

During the August 30 court session the prosecutor suggested to
postpone the trail as the lawsuit has to do with a coup d’etat and
some materials needed to be closely examined. It came as a surprise a
week ago that former British PM Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark Thatcher
is accused of financing the coup. The “Iron Lady’s” son was arrested
in South African Republic but was released on bail of 300 thousand
dollars. He also pleads not guilty.

Yesterday the British Independent published an article titled “Dogs
of war?” where it informs about lawsuit process and some details
about the prisoners and the president Nguema. So, the newspaper
correspondent Raymond Whitaker writes: “Their wrists and feet
shackled, the accused half-crawled”. Mr. Mico, their defense lawyer,
said: “All the accused apart from Mr. du Toit have told me they were
tortured.”

“Prison in any country is far from being a paradise. We are extremely
worried about the future of our citizens and the conditions they’re
kept in interest us. It is already the second time that our diplomats
visit the captives. We also have turned to international
organizations such as the Red Cross and to some diplomats who had the
opportunity to visit them. None of Armernian prisoners ever said to
be tortured”, said Gasparian.

The citizen of South African Republic Nick du Toit has confessed that
he was offered a huge sum of money to head the coup. Seven of 19
prisoners are South African, 6 Armenians and 5 local. Aside from Nick
du Toit all other pledge not guilty.

On August 31 the president Nguema hold a press conference for foreign
journalists where he said: “Individuals without morals who attempted
a crime against our country which would have resulted in blood being
spilt”.

The Independent reminds that since Nguema deposed and executed his
despotic uncle in 1979, he has been accused of spilling plenty of
blood on his own account, and even of eating the testicles of his
murdered enemies to imbibe their masculinity.

Equatorial Guinea was once a Spanish colony and won its independence
only in 1968. Since then the country have been ruled by dictators.
The first one was Francisco Nguema the other one his nephew, the
current president. Two years ago 68 people were sentenced to 20 years
imprisonment for a coup against president. In 1998 15 people were
sentenced to death for separatism.

What are the steps that Armenia takes to release its citizens? Hamlet
Gasparian said that the Armenians have a defense lawyer and that
Armenia does everything possible for their release. The letters of
the president of Armenia and of the Supreme Patriarch of all
Armenians were handed to the government of Equatorial Guinea.

By Tatoul Hakobian

*********************************************************************

ARMENIAN HOSTAGES FOR IRAQI REBELS?

Armenia Sends Doctors, Drivers and Deminers to Iraq

The Defense Ministry of Armenia is getting ready to support the Iraqi
people by sending Armenian doctors, drivers and deminers to Iraq.
Seyran Shahsuvarian, press secretary of the defense minister,
informed Azg Daily that the Armenian specialists will leave for Iraq
as soon as the National Assembly confirms this decision.

The official Yerevan didn’t join together with Russia, France,
Germany and several other countries to America’s anti-Iraqi campaign
to topple Saddam Hussein. But Armenia expressed its willingness to
help in rebuilding the ruined country.

At the press conference few months ago held together with Charles
Wald, deputy commander-in-chief for the European Command (EUCOM), the
head of the Supreme Headquarters of Armenia Mikael Haroutiunian said
that Armenia decided to send a military squad to Iraq. Haroutiunian
noted that there is an Armenian diaspora in Iraq, and Armenia does
everything to support in rebuilding the post-war country. But this
doesn’t mean that the “military squad will leave for Iraq tomorrow”.
The USA in its turn hopes that Armenia will join the multinational
forces as soon as possible.

The USA wants to lure as many countries as possible to its side for
justifying the Iraqi war. Of course, if so many countries were
involved in the war than it couldn’t be a blunder. The coalition
today consists of 32 countries, some of which, such as Spain and
Philippines, have already resigned in the face of rebels’ cruelties.
Such American allies as Canada, Turkey, Germany and France are not in
the anti-Iraqi campaign. The other 3 heavy-weighters not included in
the alliance are Russia, China and India.

The Defense Ministry of Armenia has already taken the decision of
sending Armenian specialists to Iraq. The government confirmed the
decisions some days ago. The parliament will go on for discussions in
autumn and “yes” or “no” will largely depend on the will of the
Armenian authorities. If official Yerevan is firm in its decision
then the Armenian specialists will for Iraq.

There are 20 thousand Armenians living in Iraq. The August 1
explosions at 5 Christian churches came to prove that the Christians
of Iraq as well as whole population of the country are not secured of
suicide-bombers. The Iraqi Armenians occasionally note that Armenia’s
participation as an American coalition member might bring them
troubles.

The Armenian government has missed a serious point: who is going to
guard our specialists in this country? We know from sad experience of
other countries that the Iraqi rebels do not consider if the
foreigner is a doctor or a soldier. The Armenian embassy in Baghdad
that is usually a safety guarantee for Armenians in Baghdad was
closed a day before the US bombs hit Baghdad.

Armenian’s participation in the reconstruction of Iraq must be
necessity from the political angel. But it must be noted that Iraq is
far from being reconstructed today, instead the multinational
coalition forces continue the occupation and destruction of the
country.

By Tatoul Hakobian

*********************************************************************

FREE BOOKS IN “GEORGIAN” ACADEMIC YEAR

Yesterday was the first day of the new academic year in many
countries of the world, particularly, in the former Soviet republics.
In Georgia, the academic year is postponed till September 20. This is
the decision of the Georgian education Ministry.

Alexander Lomaya, Georgian Education Minister, explained this step by
the desire to give up the Soviet educational system and “pass to the
European one.”

Naturally, there are various opinions concerning this step. The
minister gave the following explanation to this decision: “Each
innovation is always accepted with an air of indignation. But in this
case we wanted to divide the physical and studying capacities of the
children equally in the year.”

For decades the academic year began in September 1. According to the
minister, Georgia finally decided that “they should take into account
the Georgian climate and the interests of the people that want to
prolong their vacation in September.” New Georgian Government also
explains the decision by the importance of the places for rest and
tourism. According to Regnum agency, the presidential program
envisages to deliver new bags and books to the first form
schoolchildren for free. While non-Georgian schools will be provided
manuals of Georgian language.

The Armenian and Azeri schools will receive manuals of Georgian
History and Geography in Armenian and Azerbaijanian. These schools
will also receive special manuals for Georgian language studies.

In previous years the abovementioned schools used to buy manuals from
Armenia and Azerbaijan.

By Aghavni Haroutiunian from Tbilisi

*********************************************************************

TURKEY TO ATTACH IMPORTANCE TO RUSSIAN PRESIDENT’S VISIT

Perhaps Turkey Hopes for Reestablishing Its Authority in South
Caucasus

The month of September promises to be a diplomatically hot one in
Turkey. The main reason is the quantity of official visits that fall
on this month. Ankara is going to host the Russian president Vladimir
Putin on September 2 and Günter Verheugen, Member of the European
Commission, Enlargement, on September 5. The later will meet with the
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Gul on September
6, then will leave for the so-called capital of Northern Kurdistan
Diyarbakir, then Izmir and Istanbul.

It’s not excluded that Verheugen will visit the international fair,
which is going to be visited by Russian president. The president of
Iran Islamic Republic Mohammad Khatami is also reported to come by
the end of September.

Taking into consideration the fact that Turkey is striving for the
EU, and Verheugen’s mission in the EU, we can say that his visit is
of vital importance. We can assume that the Europeans will continue
manipulating on the Kurdish factor for enrolling Turkey in the EU.

Amidst all these, Turkey considers president Putin’s visit of a great
importance. Perhaps Ankara views Russian-Turkish relations as a means
to regaining its authority in the South Caucasus.

In the situation when Turkey can’t but explain its controversies with
the USA by its running for the EU, it becomes obvious that in case of
developed relations with Russia Turkey is granted more possibility to
maneuver between the USA and the EU. That will save Turkey from
Europe’s manipulations as regards entering the EU.

Concerning the regaining of lost positions in the South Caucasus, we
must say that Azg Daily has touched upon the issue in its previous
publications writing that the 9/11 enabled America to be militarily
present in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kirgizia and Georgia, thus Turkey
has lost its role of an American lever in the Middle East and the
South Caucasus.

But the American presence is not the only obstacle on the way of
Russian-Turkish relations and Turkish influence in the South
Caucasus. The American military presence is, perhaps, less important
than the silent agreement of Russia and America in the issue of
keeping the military balance in the South Caucasus.

Russian president’s visit hasn’t launched so far. Although Russia’s
support of Turkey cannot bring Turkey its lost authority in the South
Caucasus, its positive results may still create a favorable ground
for Iran Islamic Republic’s president’s visit to Ankara.

By Hakob Chakrian