Author: Toneyan Mark

Azeri political expert speak on unreality of Armenia’s joining to GUAM
Today, Azerbaijan
June 2 2005
01 June 2005 [13:43] – Today.Az
Eldar Namazov, the Director of the Public Forum “In the name of
Azerbaijan”, ex-head of the President’s Secretariat, thinks it too
immature a statement by the Armenian Foreign Minister, Vardan Oskanian,
on possible consideration of membership at the GUAM by Armenia.
“I’d advise Armenia don’t bustle, but think thoroughly on principles
of relationships with the neighbours, in particular with Azerbaijan,”
Namazov said.
In Match 2005 Oskanian stated Armenia was not going to set up active
relationships with GUAM, or consider the issue on observer status in
the organization. Earlier in 2000 the Armenian Minister criticized
the GUAM, stating that this alliance had a negative impact on the
integration process in CIS.
Rasim Musabayov, a political scientist, said that Armenia in fact is
not willing to enter the GUAM.
“The statement by Oskanian is nothing else than hypocrisy,” he
underlined. Armenia is country developing its relationships with
other countries with blocs. It enters the Collective Security Treaty
and its participation in GUAM will be inappropriate. “In addition,
GUAM unites the countries which suffer from separatism, whereas
Armenian is source of separatism,” he underlined. GUAM selected the
way of integration into NATO and the European Union, while Armenia
approaches the cooperation with the EU calmly, and demonstrates full
rejection in regard to NATO.
Musabayov guesses such statements target political maneuvers. Armenia
would like to develop relationships with the member-countries of
the alliance.
One more political expert, who desired not to be revealed, also
regarded the statement by Oskanian as unreal. The basic document of
the GUAM envisages adoption of resolutions under the organization on
the base of consensus. So, Armenia cannot enter the organization,
as Azerbaijan will come against it. The expert is sure that the
statement was of propagandistic.
“If interests make Armenia to enter the GUAM, it will take such
step,” Zardust Alizada, a political scientist said. He noted the
role of the tool for painless and peaceable disband of former Soviet
republics. “Understanding the U.S. adherence to GUAM, Armenia wants
to see itself in the organization” he underlined. Azerbaijan will
certainly oppose it, while the GUAM will become neither stronger,
nor weaker from the entrance. Simply, the member-countries will more
and more estranged from the Soviet past,” Alizada underlined.
URL:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

COOPERATION WITH NATO CONSTITUENT OF ARMENIA SECURITY
Pan Armenian News
02.06.2005 04:53
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Secretary of the National Security Council at
the Armenian President, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan met with
US Senator Norm Coleman, reported Defense Ministry Press Secretary,
colonel Seyran Shahsuvaryan. In the course of the meeting S. Sargsyan
remarked that the US-Armenia relations develop pretty rapidly. Within
the context of military cooperation he noted that it started three
years ago and documents that form favorable conditions for promotion
of the relations were signed within that period. “I am sure that the
final returns of the assessment of the Armed Forces of Armenia will be
satisfying, as oral opinions are rather positive,” the Minister said.
Touching upon Armenia-NATO cooperation, he accentuated that the volume
of cooperation with the NATO has increased several times. Adding
that Armenia’s foreign policy agenda does not include accession to
the NATO, he said Armenia considers cooperation with the NATO and
the US a national security constituent. At the same time Armenia
develops cooperation with European countries, NATO member and
non-member states, has military cooperation with Russia and CSTO
countries. “The most important thing is that we have no differences
in this respect,” the Minister stated. In his turn N. Coleman noted,
“I know the level of the Armed Forces of Armenia is rather high and
we establish close ties both in the defense and other spheres.” In
his words, he had conversations with defense evaluation specialists,
who held a positive opinion of the Armenian Armed Forces. “I have
come intending to get to know what exactly is necessary for further
development of the US-Armenian relations,” Coleman said.

ARMENIAN OMBUDSPERSON: OFFICERS OF NATIONAL SECURITY SERVICE OF ARMENIA KEEP DISCREDITING THE STATE
Pan Armenian News
31.05.2005 08:02
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ At 10:30 a.m. today officers of the National Security
Service (NSS) of Armenia came to a limited company engaged in legal
counseling and introduced themselves as if they were officers of the
Ombudsperson’s staff, Armenian Ombudsperson Larisa Alaverdian stated
in the course of an on-line interview with OpenArmenia.com. Then,
in her words, by means illegal methods, including attempts to use
coercion, they tried to frighten the staff of the company with a
“document” not having legal force “to invite” the head and the staff
of the company to the NSS “for a conversation”. Getting a competent
and worthy response and not having managed to explain the attempt to
get information on the complaints of persons, who have addressed both
the company and the Ombudsperson, by deception and fraud in any way,
they insensibly disappeared. At that they did not take the statement
of the company head on the happening, though it was already sent
via mail, being addressed to the NSS head. “The fact evidences that
the information that was kept in the processor, withdrawn from the
Office of the Ombudsperson, was available to the NSS and is already
being used for pressure upon other subjects of the society, including
commercial ones,” she stated. “Thus, it is not ruled out that the
information will be used for pressure upon citizens also in the
future,” the Ombudsperson proved. As of the incident of withdrawal
of the processor, letters to the Armenian Prime Minister, President,
National Assembly Chairman are prepared: these describe and qualify
the occurrence and propose taking respective measures at the state
level to prevent similar incidents in the future. At that she noted
that such actions have a least negative impact upon the activities
of the human rights institution.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
05/31/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Thousands Dance to Mark Armenia's Independence Holiday 2) Empty Polling Stations in Beirut~Rs Armenian Districts Reflect Dissent 3) ANCA & Africa Action Call on Bush Administration to Take Decisive Action on Darfur Genocide 4) Russia Agrees to Close Military Bases in Georgia 5) Turkey Adopts Penal Code Reforms 1) Thousands Dance to Mark Armenia's Independence Holiday YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--Tens of thousands of people, among them President Robert Kocharian, formed a human chain around Armenia's highest mountain on Saturday in a dance that celebrated the 87th anniversary of the restoration of Armenian statehood. The traditional Armenian circle dance took place along the 163-kilometer perimeter of the sprawling Mount Aragats and was meant to symbolize "national unity" on one of the country's most important public holidays. Organizers hailed it as a resounding success, saying that more than 160,000 people participated in the unprecedented event. "We will try to express the unity of our nation around Aragats," Kocharian said before he joined hands with fellow participants in the area about 60 kilometers north of Yerevan. "Thank you all for coming," he added. The dance began at 3 p.m. local time after a public "blessing" voiced by the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Karekin II, and lasted for 15 minutes, with several Armenian fighter jets roaring overhead. Participants, each of them part of a group assigned to a particular section of the area, began arriving at the Aragats foot early in the morning. The massive movement was overseen by the police that closed some of Armenia's key highways for regular traffic. Thousands of buses and minibuses were diverted from their service routes in Yerevan and other parts of the country to transport people to the scene. The operation left public transportation in the capital effectively paralyzed throughout the day. 2) Empty Polling Stations in Beirut~Rs Armenian Districts Reflect Dissent BEIRUT (Combined Sources)--Heeding the Armenian Revolutionary Federation's (ARF) call to boycott the Beirut district elections, the majority of Armenians stayed home in Sunday's first stage of the staggered election to the 128-member assembly. In heavily Armenian populated areas such as Ashrafieh, the effects of the boycott were apparent with only 17 percent voter turnout. Overall low voter turnout--only 28 percent of 420,000 eligible voters casting ballots, seemed to indicate that many people in Beirut stayed away because Saad Al Hariri's victory seemed a foregone conclusion, with nine of the 19 seats falling unopposed to his bloc even before the vote. Hariri, the son and political heir of former slain Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, angered Armenians when he opted to exclude ARF candidates from his electoral list for vacant Armenian seats in Beirut's three constituencies. Hariri instead proposed Armenians who do not have the backing of the majority Armenian population, namely ARF supporters. The party called for the boycott, saying that Hariri's "list ignores those forces that hold actual political weight in Beirut." Low voter turnout was also felt in Christian districts, in protest of the electoral law which they claim does not allow for true representation. Hani Hammud, editor-in-chief of the Hariri-owned Al Mustaqbal daily, said, "Working toward national unity after the elections would be achieved with the drafting of a new electoral law to replace the current one which was drafted by the [Lebanese] authorities and the services, under Syria's tutelage." "The electoral law has rightfully frustrated many Lebanese, mainly the Christians," he acknowledged. "The first mission of Saad Hariri and his allies [in the opposition] will be to start dialogue for a new electoral law, following a compromise with all parties," Hammud said. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, nevertheless, praised the "democratic conduct" of the first round of voting. "These elections constitute a major opportunity for the Lebanese people to shape their own future, to strengthen their political institutions and to restore their full sovereignty," he said in a statement. Results announced by Interior Minister Hassan Sabei showed Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, won 39,500 of 42,000 votes cast in his constituency, the highest number in any of the 10 contested seats in the mainly Sunni Lebanese capital. A pro-Syrian Shiite Hezbollah candidate on Hariri's slate was the second highest vote-getter with 32,000. Beirut had a 34 percent turnout in 2000, when Hariri's father, then cooperating with Syria, also swept the board. For the first time, foreign observers monitored the polls, with a team of more than 100 led by the European Union, who announced the first round of elections were "open and transparent." Political analyst Ghassan Ezzeh said: "I do not think we can speak about free and democratic elections because there was no real electoral battle." But he said that "even if the new parliament will not have real popular representation, world powers [the [US and France] have already given it legitimacy, and this is enough." As soon as Saad claimed victory late on Sunday, he called for national reconciliation in a country still bearing the scars of the 15-year civil war and extended an open hand to all factions who helped the campaign that led to the Syrian pullout. 3) ANCA & Africa Action Call on Bush Administration to Take Decisive Action on Darfur Genocide Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) Draws Parallels between Darfur and Armenian Genocides at White House Vigil WASHINGTON, DC--Armenian Americans from the Greater Washington, DC area joined with local student leaders and community activists this week to protest the ongoing Genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) was among speakers at the May 25 White House vigil, organized by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). Rep. Pallone thanked attendees for calling attention to the situation in Darfur, Sudan, and went on to draw parallels between the Armenian and Darfur genocides. "It's very reminiscent of what happened in the case of the Armenian Genocide," stated Rep. Pallone. "There were people that were speaking out that were not listened to. In the case of the Turks, they were out there in the fields, constantly killing people and moving people into the desert. While there were those who were speaking out [about the Armenian Genocide], the Western powers really weren't doing anything about it. We don't want to be in that situation again here in the United States." Rep. Pallone praised the leadership of fellow New Jersey Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) and Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) in spearheading the Darfur Accountability Act (S.495/H.R. 1424) in the Senate and House. The ANCA has joined with Africa Action and other groups in nationwide ANCA WebFax campaigns calling for the passage of the legislation. ANCA Government Affairs Director Kate Nahapetian updated attendees about the status of each bill and called on activists to urge House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL) to work for final adoption of the measure. During the vigil, representatives of the ANCA, Africa Action, the Armenian Youth Federation, Genocide Education Project, and Armenian American activists and supporters gave impassioned remarks about the importance of continued activism to press for decisive action by the Bush Administration to end the violence in Darfur. Among the speakers joining Rep. Pallone and Nahapetian were ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian; Communications Director Elizabeth Chouldjian; Africa Action Executive Director Salih Booker, Director for Public Education and Mobilization Marie Clarke Brill, and Program Associate Akenji Ndumu; Genocide Education Project Education Director Sara Cohen; Armenian American activist Sylvia Parsons; and AYF member Megan Young. Hamparian expressed concern about the US Government's inaction following a September 2004, statement properly characterizing the killings and rapes in Darfur as "genocide." "By using the term genocide--and not acting on our legal and moral obligations, our invocation of the term genocide is hollowed of meaning. Our commitment to the Genocide Convention is undermined. Those whose lives it was within our power to save are abandoned," explained Hamparian. Booker concurred and noted, "President Bush's senior advisors have been asked, 'Is the President still engaged on the issue of genocide in Darfur?' And the Presidential aides, the White House aides have said: yes, the President remains engaged on the subject of genocide, but there are other more important matters requiring his attention. We are here on the lawn of the White House to ask: What is more important than stopping genocide?" Booker thanked the ANCA for providing the leadership for the vigil, and for providing leadership "not just today, not just over the weeks, not just being an ally, but providing leadership in this country to get people to understand what the crime of genocide is and why it's unacceptable anywhere that it occurs on this earth." The ANCA has participated in previous Darfur vigils, protested outside the Sudanese Embassy, spoken at genocide prevention conferences, and generated support--both at the grassroots level and in Washington, DC--for Congressional legislation aimed at ending the slaughter in the Darfur region. Up to 400,000 people have already died and more than 2,000,000 dislocated in Darfur over the past two years. Recent reports confirm that the situation on the ground is deteriorating, and the humanitarian crisis is reaching desperate proportions. For more information about Darfur: To send a free ANCA WebFax protesting the Darfur Genocide: 4) Russia Agrees to Close Military Bases in Georgia --NATO, EU Hail Russian Pledge MOSCOW (AFP/Reuters)--Moscow and Tbilisi have completed an agreement on the pullout by the end of 2008 of Russia's last two Soviet-era military bases in Georgia, a deal that could allow the establishment of other foreign bases there. "The final pullout will be finished during 2008," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks Monday in Moscow with his Georgian counterpart Salome Zurabishvili. "We have taken an important and constructive step. We have achieved our goal," Zurabishvili told journalists. The government in Tbilisi is left free to bring in US or other foreign troops, but Zurabishvili said her government had no intention of doing so. The agreement marked a breakthrough after years of rancorous negotiations over the two bases, formerly part of Soviet defenses on the southwestern flank with NATO, but more recently a bargaining chip in Moscow's fight to retain influence in the Caucasus. Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili hailed the agreement as "historic." "This is a very important political event, it is a historic moment for our country, as it puts an end to Russia's 200-year military presence in Georgia," Saakashvili said late Monday following the signing of the deal in Moscow. "We want friendly, neighborly relations, we will never create any problems for Russia," the Georgian leader added. Under the accord, the approximately 3,000 servicemen on the two bases--one in Akhalkalak, near the Georgian-Armenian border, the other in Batumi, on the Black Sea coast--are now on 'withdrawal' status. It was unclear whether Georgia had made any major concessions in the deal, but a mention in the agreement of a possible joint "anti-terrorist" centre seemed to leave the door open for some sort of Russian military presence in the country. Under the accord signed by both foreign ministers, withdrawal of heavy weapons will begin later this year, with September 1 the deadline for removing the first hardware, including up to 20 tanks, the agreement said. The last heavy weaponry must be gone from Akhalkalak by the end of next year, and from all Russian installations by the end of 2007, with the final pullout of the last men and materiel by the end of the following year. The agreement also says that "part of the personnel and technical means and infrastructure" from the Batumi base will be used to set up a Georgian-Russian anti-terrorist center. Russia's refusal to make a speedy withdrawal from the two bases has contributed to tense relations with its neighbor since the collapse of the Soviet Union, especially since Georgia's pro-Western president Mikhail Saakashvili came to power in the "rose revolution" of November 2003. Russia has hoped to stem an erosion of its influence in the Caucasus, where the United States has become an increasingly important player. Georgia has applied for membership in NATO and hosts a small contingent of US military trainers. NATO and the European Union welcomed Russia's pledge to pull its troops. "In taking steps to resolve this longstanding dispute, the two sides have ..advanced security in the Caucasus region," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de. Hoop Scheffer said. De Hoop Scheffer also called in a statement for an early solution to a separate dispute with Moldova over 1,200 Russian peacekeeping troops in the Russian-speaking Dnestr region, which fought a brief war with newly independent Moldova in 1992. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also issued a statement welcoming the Georgia accord. Some diplomats have suggested the presence of Russian troops in Georgia is an obstacle to Tbilisi's ambition to join NATO, though the alliance insists there is no formal link. In another sign of a possible thaw in relations, Lavrov said there had also been a decision to agree before the end of the year on delimitation of the Georgian-Russian border, which runs along the Caucasus Mountains range. "We will do everything" to contribute to peaceful resolutions of Georgia's separatist conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Lavrov added. Moscow-backed separatist forces control both regions, which are on the Georgian side of the rugged border. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently cleared the way for an end to the row over the bases, saying that Moscow could not drag its feet. "Foreign bases of all countries in the world--if they are not occupying troops--are there with the agreement of their partners. If there is no such desire among our partners, then we have no choice. We have to take this step. For better or worse, we are leaving there," he said. Georgia is impoverished and has a population of less than five million. But it has gained in strategic importance with the building of an oil export pipeline that stretches from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, with a section passing through Georgia. Its troubled border with Russia includes a section shared with Chechnya, where tens of thousands of Russian troops are tied down in the second guerrilla war in a decade. 5) Turkey Adopts Penal Code Reforms ISTANBUL (BBC News)--The Turkish parliament has approved changes to a new penal code--a key condition for the start of European Union membership talks. The code will come into effect at the beginning of June. The last-minute changes came after journalists said that some clauses were highly restrictive of media freedom. Turkey is due to start entry talks with the EU in October, but is not expected to be allowed to join the bloc for at least another nine years. Few pieces of reform legislation have been as difficult to get through parliament as the new penal code. Late last year, Turkey's entire EU membership project appeared to be under threat when the government insisted on including a clause criminalizing adultery in its reformed code. After some heavy hints from Brussels, the clause was dropped. A couple of months ago, just as the code was supposed to come into force, journalists protested at clauses covering what could or could not be published. They said that some were as bad as those in the old code. Some of those clauses have been changed, but there are still restrictions that will raise eyebrows in western Europe: criticizing some state institutions is still a criminal offence, as is publishing material deemed "contrary to fundamental national interests"--such as suggesting that the killings of Armenians in World War I was a genocide. But the code as a whole has been welcomed by EU officials and human rights activists as a giant step forward for the Turkish penal system. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

Aspen Times, CO
May 30 2005
A reprieve from the ‘weltschmerz’
By Paul Andersen
May 30, 2005
It was peaceful in the kiva last weekend. The static roar of
industrial civilization could hardly penetrate the thick stone walls
and mud thatch roof. Except for the occasional thunder of a
commercial jet, all was serene.
A kiva is an underground ceremonial chamber with a geometric log roof
covered with willow sticks and adobe mud. The one I visited was high
on a ledge under a broad overhang of sandstone in a wilderness
canyon.
Even in the 100-degree heat of the day the kiva felt air-conditioned
because of the radiant coolness of a billion tons of sandstone. I
climbed down into the darkness on a rickety wooden ladder and found
relief for my conscience.
Escaping from contemporary life may not be why the Anasazi Indians
built this kiva a thousand years ago, but this room of transcendence
still serves as a vital grounding place far from the noise and tumult
of the world.
The allure of remote, quiet places grows stronger in me with each
increment of disappointment. A knowing friend suggested that I’m
stricken with “weltschmerz,” a German word that has no succinct
English equivalent.
Weltschmerz translates to pessimism, hopelessness, depression. It
means world pain, global angst, a feeling of universal gloom.
What a joy I must be around the house bearing my mantle of
weltschmerz. What pleasant company I must provide while eulogizing
mankind and despairing the state of the world. Surely it’s nothing
that a stiff drink and a few hours of sitcoms wouldn’t cure.
I would rather stew in it, attributing my weltschmerz to an aggregate
of feelings about things over which I have little or no influence,
issues for which there are no appeals, no higher courts, no just
solutions. Weltschmerz reflects my sense of life’s tragedies.
The impact of these tragedies is cumulative. Each grim revelation
gnaws into my soul. I’m not crying in my beer every night, or taking
Prozac. My weltschmerz provides a subtle emotional release, a coping
mechanism for inner truths that are difficult to bear.
My weltschmerz comes from Darfur, Bosnia, Rwanda, Nazi Germany,
Armenia and the grim specter of history. It is contemporized in
Afghanistan, Iraq, the Guantanamo “gulag,” Israel, Palestine, and
wherever the blatant erosion of the rule of law and human rights
damns us all.
A bumper sticker reads: “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying
attention.” Anyone who comprehends war, poverty and the ruthless
exploitation of human beings and nature must feel a pang of
conscience, must feel something.
Weltschmerz is outrage dulled by futility and passivity, a forlorn
tolerance for wrongs that have gone un-righted. Weltschmerz lives in
the realization that fatal flaws underlie human brilliance,
creativity and productivity.
This deep sorrow for human failure, this pained regret of the shadow
side rises from a holistic conscience that implies compassion.
Weltschmerz is a life-force, a pure emotion that touches something
universal and sympathetic. Weltschmerz acknowledges universality.
Martin Luther King said: “We are caught up in an inescapable network
of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny.”
That destiny determines our worth as a people. When that destiny
turns tragic, an outpouring of weltschmerz seeps into the common
conscience like the dull roar of a jet finding its way into the cool
sandstone of the kiva.
Paul Andersen thinks mutuality is the ultimate cause. His column
appears on Mondays.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

V. OSKANIAN: REVOLUTION DOES NOT THREATEN ARMENIA
Pan Armenian News
30.05.2005 04:14
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Armenia has in due time overcome the revolutionary
spirits and they do not threaten our republic any longer”, Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told journalists. In his words,
Armenia prefers stepwise evolutional development to sharp revolutionary
changes. The Minister also commented on Ukrainian Supreme Rada
statement on possibility of Armenia’s joining the GUAM. He noted that
the Armenian party has not received a proposal of the kind yet. “For
joining any organization it is essential first of all to believe in its
principles and goals. GUAM is still in the process of reconsidering
its goals and programs; there are too many uncertainties there”,
the Armenian FM noted, IA Regnum reports.

Al-Jazeera, Qatar
May 29 2005
Saad al-Hariri’s bloc sweeps Beirut
Candidates led by the son of slain ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri have
won all the seats in Beirut in Lebanon’s general election, a
government source said.
“The count is nearly over and it’s a landslide for Saad’s list,” said
the source, who asked not to be identified.
Saad al-Hariri’s anti-Syrian bloc had already won nine of the
capital’s 19 seats in the 128-member parliament before the vote
because they were not contested.
The source said candidates on Saad’s list had taken all 10 remaining
seats.
“This victory is for Rafik al-Hariri. Today Beirut showed its loyalty
to Rafik al-Hariri,” Saad, 35, told a jubilant crowd celebrating
outside his villa in the capital.
“Today is a victory for democracy…freedom and sovereignty,” he said
to chanting supporters.
Saad’s candidates have taken all
10 remaining Beirut seats

Turnout
Turnout in the first round of Lebanon’s election on Sunday stood at
28%, Aljazeera reported quoting preliminary official estimates at
close of polling.
Disclosing this information at a press conference in Beirut,
Lebanon’s Interior Minister Hasan al-Sabaa said “official results
would be announced midday on Monday”.

According to Sabaa, “no security incident that could have affected or
obstructed the electoral process took place” during the daylong
elections in the capital – the first in a four-stage poll.

“The Lebanese people voted in a democratic atmosphere and in full
freedom, without pressure,” Aljazeera quoted him as saying.

“We have received congratulations from international observers about
the exemplary process of the elections”.
Boycott urged
Over 400,000 men and women
above 21 were eligible to vote
Earlier, followers of Christian leader Michel Aoun, left off Saad’s
anti-Syrian ticket, urged people to shun the polls, handing out
orange stickers that said: “Boycott the appointments”.
The Armenian Tashnag party, disgruntled because the four seats
reserved for Beirut’s big Armenian community had gone unopposed to
Saad’s candidates, also demanded a boycott.
“No participation without proper representation for all in Beirut,”
said Tashnag leaflets in Arabic and Armenian.
The polls follow two political earthquakes in Lebanon – al-Hariri’s
killing in a bomb blast many Lebanese blamed on Damascus, and the end
of Syria’s 29-year troop presence.
Between those landmark events, flag-waving Christians and Muslims,
including many civil war foes, flooded the streets in protests
against Syria, which denied any hand in al-Hariri’s death.
New start
For some, Lebanon’s first elections in three decades without Syrian
troops offer a new start.
“I voted because I believe in change,” Basil Eid, 27. “We want
Lebanon free of any subordination. We have to rule ourselves by
ourselves.”

Late Rafik al-Hariri’s wife Nazik
cast her ballot in Sunday’s vote
For others, the euphoria of the anti-Syrian protests has given way
to dismay at politicians who have reverted to electoral horse-trading
and alliances that curtail voter choice.
“Why should I vote when the result is already decided?” said
Abdul-Rahman Itani, in his 40s, near the polling station where the
late al-Hariri’s wife Nazik cast her ballot.
Armed police and soldiers guarded polling stations in Beirut, where
more than 400,000 men and women aged over 21 are eligible to vote.
Official results will be declared on Monday.
Only a handful of pro-Syrian leftists and Muslim hardliners are
competing with Saad’s Future bloc in Beirut.
Solidarity eroded
The solidarity of the anti-Syrian alliance that blossomed after
al-Hariri’s death has eroded in the run-up to the election.
“Why should I vote when the result is already decided?”
Abdul-Rahman Itani,
Beirut resident
Saad’s alliance with Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and some Christian
foes of Syria is intact, but Aoun, a fierce opponent of Syria just
back from exile, was left out in the cold.
Yet the Saad-Jumblatt front has also made deals with the main
pro-Syrian Shia alliance.
Saad’s Beirut ticket includes a Hizb Allah candidate. The joint
Amal-Hizb Allah list in the south embraces Bahiya al-Hariri, the
slain leader’s sister.
Tight contests are expected in the north and centre of the country,
especially among Christian rivals.

Azerbaijan News Service
May 26 2005
DAQLIQ QARABAQ CONFLICT TO BE SETTLED IN THE FRAMES OF TERRITORIAL
INTEGRITY OF AZERBAIJAN, BERNARD FASCIAE, FRENCH CO-CHAIRMAN
2005-05-26 20:59
Repeated cease-fire breaches by Armenian side was one of the main
topics discussed in the meeting of Safar Abiyev, defense minister of
Azerbaijan and Bernard Fasciae, French co-chairman of OSCE Minsk
group. I witnessed occupied Azerbaijani lands and I think we must
find way out from this situation soon, said co-chairman. He also said
international community is for settlement of Armenia-Azerbaijan
Daqliq Qarabaq conflict in the frames of territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has a great authority among the world’s
states. And there is not a single state that recognized independence
of Daqliq Qarabaq de-facto. End of quotation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenpress
GEORGIAN COMMANDERS PUNISHED FOR PANDERING BEATINGS OF ARMENIAN SOLDIERS
23.05.2005 05:31
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian soldiers who left the military unit in
Akhaltsikh early May were conveyed to the military unit quartered in Gori,
A-info agency reported. 14 Armenian soldiers fled from the 31-th Georgian
battalion on May 14. It turned out that on account of not knowing the
Georgian language the Akhalkalaki soldiers with the silent consent of the
commanders were beaten by Georgian brothers in arms every day. Thanks to the
interference of the Georgian National Defender, the Akhalkalaki authorities
and the parents of the soldiers the Georgian Defense Ministry dismissed
commander of the 3-rd brigade Nodar Inanidze and commander of the 31-th
battalion Zaza Dzkheidze, who insisted on being unaware of the beatings. The
Armenian soldiers were conveyed to the military unit of Gori.

Saad Hariri’s block vows to overthrow Lahoud After Elections
Sunday, 22 May, 2005 @ 5:42 PM
NaharNet, Lebanon
May 22 2005
Aramoun, Lebanon: The Hariri Block has vowed to unseat President Lahoud
once the May-June elections install a Lebanese parliament free from
Syria’s influence for the first time since the1975-1990 civil war
guns fell silent.
Legislators of slain ex-premier Rafik Hariri’s bloc in the current
parliament took the ‘topple-Lahoud’ oath in an elections rally in
suburban Aramoun on Beirut’s southern flank, calling Lahoud the head
of Lebanon police state pyramid.
The oath coincided with reports that coalition negotiations between
Gen. Aoun and Walid Jumblat were teetering on the brink of collapse
over the Aley-Baabda election tickets, with the General expected to
hold a news conference Sunday or Monday to formalize the schism.
The first anti-Lahoud salvo at the Aramoun rally came from legislator
Walid Ido. “The dweller of the Baabda palace will have one option after
the elections are over, which is to quit. We will tell him ‘go because
you have long been the source of all crises in the country,” Ido said.
“People are bent on shooting the ballots from the polls at Rafik
Hariri’s assassins. The truth about the assassination will begin to
unfold after you go,” said Ido in a thinly veiled charge of a Lahoud
complicity in Hariri’s Feb. 15 murder.
Another Hariri legislator, Serge Toursarkissian, an Armenian, said in
a speech in fluent Arabic at the Aramoun rally: “Three victories are
in store for us in the polls: We shall enter the new parliament en
masse, we shall be in the new government also en masse and we shall
finally enter the Baabda Palace,” he said.
Saad Rafik Hariri, who fielded three tickets for all 19 Beirut seats
in Parliament on a platform of tribute to his father’s policies,
was absent from the Aramoun rally because he had not returned yet
from a private visit to Saudi Arabia.
Source: Naharnet
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress