Author: Toneyan Mark

Azeri foreign minister says breakaway Karabakh can join talks
ANS TV, Baku
2 Apr 05
[Presenter] The OSCE chairman-in-office, Dimitrij Rupel, visited
Azerbaijan today. Relations between the OSCE and Baku, the situation
in the region and the OSCE’s role in the Karabakh settlement topped
the agenda of Rupel’s meetings with Azerbaijani officials.
[Passage omitted: reported details]
[Correspondent] Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov did not rule out
Nagornyy Karabakh’s involvement in the peace process, adding that
official Baku should first conduct talks with Armenia and wait for the
outcome of the talks.
[Mammadyarov, speaking to reporters] Sooner or later, the Armenian
community of Nagornyy Karabakh should join the talks because we cannot
take any step without them. However, we think that we should continue
the talks with Yerevan first and achieve some results. Then all
experts, including those from the OSCE and Karabakh, should come
together and discuss the issues.
[Correspondent] The OSCE chairman-in-office has also met the head of
Nagornyy Karabakh’s Azerbaijani community, Nizami Bahmanov, at the
Foreign Ministry. Mr Bahmanov said that the interested sides of
Nagornyy Karabakh, that is to say, both communities of Karabakh cannot
join the peace process now. The talks could have yielded positive
results within this format as well, if Armenia would have given up its
unconstructive position.
[Bahmanov, speaking to reporters] The current position of Armenia, its
refusal to make compromises and hold a constructive dialogue will
inevitably lead to war.
[Passage omitted: Rupel also met Parliament Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov]

DIMITRIY RUPEL: “AGRESSIVE LANGUAGE AMONG PARTIES TO BE EXCLUDED”
YEREVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. The OSCE continues to believe that
political way is the only one for solving the Karabakh
conflict. Stating about it at the March 30 press conference in
Yerevan, Dimitriy Rupel, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the Foreign
Minister of Slovenia, called to cease attempts to resume the
fire. “Agressive language among the parties should be excluded, we
should aim to bring the parties closer through dialogue,” D.Rupel
said. According to him, he envisages to discuss the issue of attempts
to break the regime of cease-fire, which have recently become more
frequent, during his coming visit to Baku.
Concerning statements of Azerbaijan high ranked officials about the
necessity of solving the Kharabakh problem in the military way,
D.Rupel stated: “The OSCE does not believe in such means. We shall
make attempts to assure Azerbaijan that no means other than peaceful
negotiations are acceptable.” As for the involvement of Nagorno
Karabakh in the process of the negotiations, the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office mentioned: “I can imagine the situation when the
opinion of the interested parties will be asked. But the main players
in this game are Armenia and Azerbaijan.” According to him, the
Karabakh conflict is a “special case”, which cannot be compared with
other conflicts on the post-Soviet territory.
Both D.Rupel and Vardan Osakanian, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Armenia, expressed satisfaction with the results of D.Rupel’s visit to
Yerevan and called the meetings taken place of full value and
effective. According to them, at the meetings of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office with the Chairman the RA NA and the RA Foreign
Minister, the first and foremost issue was the peacesful settlement of
the Karabakh conflict.
Vardan Oskanian highly estimated the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group
in the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.
According to him, the Minsk Group has not exhausted itself, it is able
to play a great role in the process of settlement. He also expressed
confidence, that a meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
will take place in May: it may happen on May 9 in Moscow or on May 16
in Warsaw.

“ARMENIAN GENOCIDE” DOCUMENTARY FILM TO BE BROADCAST OVER ARTE
EUROPEAN TV-CHANNEL APRIL 13
YEREVAN, MARCH 31. ARMINFO. A premiere of “Armenian Genocide” French
documentary film took place the day before at “Star” movie theatre in
Paris. Armenian Ambassador to France Edvard Nalbandyan participated
there.
As ARMINFO was informed in the press-service of Armenian Foreign
Ministry, the film will be broadcast over one of leading European
TV-channel ARTE April 13, some days before the 90th anniversary of
Armenian Genocide. Film author Lorans Zhurdan in
documentary-and-historical genre introduced undeniable facts of
inhuman massacre of Armenian people in Ottoman empire in
1915. Evidences of eye-witnesses about this bloody slaughter are
introduced widely, too.

Construction of Armenian section of Iran-Armenia gas pipeline launched –
agency
Arminfo
29 Mar 05
YEREVAN
The ArmRosGazprom [Armenian-Russian gas industry] company has started
the construction of the Armenian section of the Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline from Megri to Kadzharan, Armenian Energy Minister Armen
Movsisyan told journalists today.
He said that the completion of the pipeline in Kadzharan will allow
Armenia to join Iran’s gas system. When the volume of imported gas
increases, Armenia will have to build a pipeline from Kadzharan to
Yerevan, the minister said. [Russia’s] Gazprom recently submitted to
the Armenian Energy Ministry a proposal on building a gas pipeline
from Kadzharan to Yerevan, he said.
This proposal was put forward by the deputy chairman of the Gazprom
board, Aleksandr Ryazanov, during his visit to Armenia. At the moment,
this proposal is being considered by the Armenian side and the
minister declined to comment on it.
[Passage omitted: known details]

AZERBAIJAN WANTS PEACEFUL RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBOR COUNTRIES< ALIYEV ASSURES 31.03.2005 04:48 /PanARMENIAN.Net/ `The Armenian solution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is a dream,' President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated at a meeting with students of Warsaw University in Poland. As PanARMENIAN.Net got to know from own sources, Aliyev stated that `the only true option of solving the problem in compliance with the international law is that proposed by Azerbaijan.' `Armenians let Azeri refugees return to Karabakh, Azerbaijan provides wide autonomy to Karabakh within the borders of Azerbaijan, as well as security guarantees, which will allow Karabakh to enhance the level of economy, and Armenia should refuse the occupied territories,' Aliyev noted. `Armenia istrying to build its own state at the expense of the others. What if Armenians had tried to get the states, where they live - and there are many,' he emphasized. As noted by Al iyev, `Nagorno Karabakh is a historical Azeri land and has never been Armenian.' `Armenians were moved there from Turkey and Iran in the 19-th century,' he added. To confirm his words Aliyev cited the fact that the word `Karabakh' means nothing in Armenian, while in Azerbaijani it `large garden.' As noted by the Azeri President, when the issue of borders was decided after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was decided from the point of view of history, and at that time 75% of Karabakh population were Armenians, while 25% were Azerbaijanis. `After the collapse of the Soviet Union a separatist movement appeared in Karabakh, which resulted in 1 million refugees in Azerbaijan today and occupation of 20% of the territory by Armenia,' he stated. At that Aliyev said he hoped for the Nagorno Karabakh problem to be solved within the Council of Europe framework.

AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA, TURKEY EXPERTS TO DISCUSS NEW RAILWAY IN TBILISI
TBILISI, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS: Experts from Georgia, Azerbaijan and
Turkey will meet in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on April 4-5 to
discuss a joint plan of building a 100 km long railway that would
connect the Turkish city of Kars with Georgian Akhalkalaki. Some 70 km
of the road would run across the Turkish territory.
The Kars-Akhalkalaki rail line is conceived to take the place of
the non-operating link between Kars and Gyumri in Armenia, which was
once the only rail connection between the Soviet Union and
Turkey. Turkey sealed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity
with Azerbaijan, however, Russian transport minister Igor Levitin
announced last weekend that Russia was negotiating with Turkish
authorities over taking the Kars-Gyumri railroad on lease. He
explained Russia’s intention by political motivations as a
counter-proposal to Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish plans. He said
resumption of the Kars-Gyumri railway would be incomparably cheaper
than building a new road.
According to Azeri mass media, the three countries are planning
totake a loan from international markets to finance the construction
of the Kars-Akhalkalaki line, which they say is estimated to cost
between $500 million and $700 million. Turkey’s feasibility study will
cost $1 million. The project has been included in Turkish Railways,
Seaports and Airports Construction Directorate General’s investments
portfolio for 2005.
A story in the Armenian daily Hayots Ashkhar last year said Armenia
should act quickly to avert Turkish-Georgian-Azeri rail link. The
daily said the railway, if built, would strengthen Armenia’s
dependence on Georgia and prevent the opening of the Armenian-Turkish
border, which will leave the country ina blockade forever.
The daily said also Armenian authorities should persuade Europe,
the USA and Russia that the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway will allow Turkey
to continue the economic blockade of Armenia and will speed up the
withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NOTHING KNOWN YET ABOUT ROMANIAN JOURNALISTS KIDNAPPED IN IRAQ
YEREVAN, MARCH 31. ARMINFO. Nothing is known yet about the fate of the
three Romanian journalists kidnapped in Iraq Mar 28, reports Armenia’s
FM.
To remind, one of them is 36-year-old Armenian Ovidiu Oganessyan
working with the Romania Liberia newspaper. The journalists were
kidnapped the day after Romanian President Traian Basescu visiting the
Romanian peacekeeping forces in Iraq. Basescu says that Romania will
do its best to have the journalists back. The kidnappers have not yet
laid any claims.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
March 30, 2005, Wednesday
Investigation ordered into banning of Turkish author’s books
Ankara
The Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into the banning
from sale of one of Turkey’s best known authors in the southwest of
the country, the Anadolu news agency reported Wednesday.
Turkish newspapers on Wednesday were full of fury at the decision to
ban works of Orhan Pamuk from shops and libraries in the Isparta
district of Sutculer.
A sub-governor ordered the ban on February 15 after Pamuk had
reportedly told a Swedish magazine that 30,000 Kurds had been killed
in fighting between security forces and the Kurdish Workers’ Party in
the 1980s and 90s and that one million Armenians had been killed by
Turks during the World War I, both extremely sensitive topics in
Turkey.
It was Pamuk’s comments to the magazine and not the content of his
books that were the reason behind the ban, Radikal newspaper on
Wednesday said.
“Barbarism in Isparta”, read the main headline in Radikal, which said
the governor of Isparta had the ban overturned on Tuesday.
Pamuk’s books include “My Name is Red” and “Snow”, which the New York
Times named one of the top 10 books for 2004. dpa cw ms

PanArmenian News
March 30 2005
ROBERT KOCHARIAN DECORATED RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA WITH MKHITAR
GOSH ORDER
30.03.2005 04:45
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Robert Kocharian decorated
Russian Ambassador to Armenia Anatoly Dryukov with the Mkhitar Gosh
order for the significant contribution to the consolidation of the
Armenian-Russian relations, RA President’s press service reports.
During the visit Robert Kocharian noted that considerable progress in
the bilateral relation has been observed during the period Anatoly
Dryukov was at the office. In his turn, Anatoly Dryukov noted that
during his diplomatic mission in Armenia he aspired to the
strengthening of the Armenian-Russian relations. And added that he
wishes to see Armenia a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous state.
To note, Anatoly Dryukov is completing his mission in Armenia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ArmenPress
March 28 2005
VIC DARCHINYAN RETAINS FLYWEIGHT TITLE
YEREVAN, MARCH 28, ARMENPRESS: Australia’s Vic Darchinyan wore his
opponent down Sunday and eventually broke his heart as he retained
his International Boxing Federation flyweight title with an
eighth-round stoppage of South African Mzukisi Fikali at the Sydney
Olympic Park Sport Center, ABC reported.
Armenian-born Darchinyan, who was making his first defense of the
title he won last December, was leading by one point on two of the
judges’ cards and by three on the third at the time of the stoppage.
Fikali retired himself just over half a minute out from the end of
the eighth round after soaking up some vicious blows in the preceding
couple of minutes. It was unbeaten Darchinyan’s 23rd straight win.