Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

THERE IS NO PROBLEM CAPABLE OF VIOLATING AZERBAIJAN-RUSSIA TIES
by Sevindzh Abdullayeva, Viktor Shulman
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
October 29, 2006 Sunday 06:42 AM EST
Russia and Azerbaijan achieved pushing aside all unsettled problems
in their relations, claimed President Ilkham Aliev. “There is no
single problem now which can darken our relations. On the contrary,
we have very good achievements in developing cooperation in the
economic, political and cultural spheres,” the president said in an
interview with members of the foreign mass media, the text of which
was circulated in Baku on Sunday through official channels.
Aliev noted that Russia is one of the three co-chairmen of the Minsk
OSCE Group, having a mandate of a mediator in settling the Karabakh
conflict. He called as “positive experience of work with Russian
officials and their policy on settling the Karabakh problem”.
“We see tht the Russian government takes sincere efforts at a peaceful
settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict,” the president said,
noting that the period of tension between the two countries which
was present in the 1990s, is over. Aliev noted that Year of Russia
in Azerbaijan is nearing completion, and the year 2005 will be Year
of Azerbaijan in Russia.
He does not believe that good relations with Armenia prevent Russia
from having similar good relations with Azerbaijan. Replying to
reporters, Aliev also said that tension between Russia and Georgia
“has not influenced and will not influence” Baku’s relations with
Moscow and Tbilisi. “The two countries are our neighbors. We have
good relations with both of them, which are relations of strategic
partnership,” he said in conclusion.

The South Caucasus in between Russian claims and Georgian pro-western policy
28.10.2006 15:15
Armen Manvelyan
“Radiolur”
This week the constantly sharpening relations between Russia and
Georgia turned into a real crisis. The scandal connected with the
arrest of Russian Officers accused of spying served as a reason for
`diplomatic war.’ In Georgia it was expressed with anti-Russian
statements, in response to which the Russian side undertook mass
deportation of Georgian nationals and withdrawal of Russian citizens
from Tbilisi. The situation has got so tense that the press is already
discussing the possibility of a military clash. In the current
situation Russia actually utilizes all its power to apply economic
sanctions against Georgia, while the latter is trying to get the
support of the US and European structures in the unequal struggle
against its Northern neighbor.
The tense situation is a serious blow not only for the conflicting
sides, but also for the region as a whole and Armenia, in
particular. Regional instability exerts not only political, but also
economic impact on us. It’s no secret that good relations with both
Russia and Georgia are of strategic importance for Armenia. We are
linked to the parties with political, military and regional questions,
and it is clear that we are probability one of the few countries, if
not the only one, to be interested in the improvement of relations
between the sides. Turning to the relations between the two countries
we can say that we observe the clash of Russian claims and pro-Western
policy of Georgia, that is to say that Russia is aspiring to resume
the status of its ever great power, while relying upon the `West will
save us’ principle Georgia refuses to launch a dialogue with its
northern neighbor. The whole danger of this kind of policy of official
Tbilisi is rooted in the fact that for coming to terms with Russia on
some important question, let’s say the gas issue, the West mat betray
the Georgian interests, as it was the case in the UN Security Council,
where the Russian side managed to have an anti-Georgian bill pass,
which ascribed the whole responsibility for the situation in Abkhazia
to official Tbilisi, and the activity of Russian peacekeepers was
considered effective. Russians managed to have the bill pass through
concessions to the US in the North Korean issue. The same refers to
the question of Georgia’s accession to NATO. The West, particularly
the United States, does not conceal its positive toward this
aspiration of Georgia; however, it simultaneously declares that NATO
will not send peacekeepers to the conflict zone. Besides, it is known
that the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia comprise serious
obstacles on Georgia’s way to the North-Atlantic Alliance. No matter
how mach Russia protests, it will not manage to prevent Georgia’s
entry into NATO, while Abkhazia and South Ossetia can permanently
block Georgia’s entry into this military block, since NATO will never
accept a country having two unsettled conflicts on its territory.
Nevertheless, it should be stated that unfortunately Armenia can do
little in a situation, where the sides do not wish to listen to each
other and speak the language of ultimatums. It is clear that both
Tbilisi and Moscow do not wish to allow any mediation for negotiating
with each other, but official Yerevan should apply every effort to
bring the parties to the bargaining table, refusing from unacceptable
statements against each other. At the same time the sides must realize
that for having influence over the South Caucasus, Russia needs to
have good relations with Georgia, while accomplishment of the Western
policy of Tbilisi is possible only after establishment friendly
relations with Moscow.

PAMUK WINS, TURKEY LOSES
Washington Post,DC
Oct 25 2006
Istanbul, Turkey – The most important story in Turkey over the past
two weeks was Orhan Pamuk winning the Nobel Prize for literature. The
announcement came an hour after the French National Assembly passed
a resolution making it a criminal offence punishable by five years
in jail to deny that a genocide against the Armenians of the Ottoman
Empire was committed during World War I.
Pamuk himself was once tried for defaming “Turkness” because he said
“a million Armenians and thirty thousand Kurds have been killed in this
land” in the course of an interview he gave to a Swiss newspaper. Many
of his detractors viciously linked the two developments. They argued
that the prize was given to Pamuk not because of his literary
accomplishments, his recognition as a master of the novel who
transformed this literary form and raised substantive questions
about East and West and their relations in his work but because of
his political stance. The public in general was unable to rejoice in
the accomplishment of one of its own.
This peculiar and rather unhealthy reaction is a reflection of
the growing self-absorption of the public in Turkey and a growing
mistrust of the West. Such a mood of xenophobic nationalism ill-suits
Turkey’s current trajectory and undermines its future projects. The
deterioration of Turkey’s relations with the West and the rise of an
anti-Western orientation will harm Turkey’s long-term interests.
Beyond that such a development will exacerbate the West’s legitimacy
problems, further fuel anti-Western rage in the Middle East and
beyond and seriously undermine pro-Western and/or secular forces in
the region as well as assisting in Iran’s ascent.

WHO CAN CHEAT RAFIK PETROSYAN?
A1+
[07:14 pm] 25 October, 2006
“It is impossible to cheat Rafik Petrosyan”, announced the head of the
NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs during the discussion
of the draft on “Alienation of property for state and public needs”.
In this case the one who failed to cheat him is the RA Government which
took out an article from the draft according to which the residents
who have received compensation can no more appeal previous decisions.
Rafik Petrosyan claims that now the Government has introduced a new
complicated article who on the whole is the same.
Minister of Justice David Haroutyunyan persuaded the deputies to
adopt the draft which has thrice been rejected. The Minister even
blamed the Parliament noting that today the citizens suffer because
of the absence of the law.
V. Lazarian from “Justice” faction who has introduced a 9-page pack
of offers about the draft announced that not the NA is guilty for not
adopting the law but he Government which does not introduce a draft
worthwhile adopting.
The discussion will continue tomorrow.

Armenian Youth Federation-YOARF Eastern US
80 Bigelow Ave
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel. (617) 923-1933
Fax (617) 924-1933
PRESS RELEASE ~ October 25, 2006
(617) 923-1933
AYF-YOARF Hosts Annual Senior Seminar at Camp Haiastan
WATERTOWN, Mass. – From October 6 to 8, Armenian Youth Federation (AYF)
members from across the Eastern Region gathered at Camp Haiastan in Franklin,
Mass., for an annual seminar, this year focused on knowledge and activism.
Over 40 AYF senior members from Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New Jersey, New
York, Boston, Albany, Chicago and Providence attended five lectures and
various night activities organized by the AYF Seminar Committee.
“Senior Seminar is one of many events we have on the AYF calendar and
actually one of the best ones,” said AYF Seminar Committee chairperson Nora
Keomurjian, “It provides our membership the unique opportunity to really get
to know one another, which they otherwise do not have at the larger events.”
The first lecture on Saturday, “The AYFer: Birth of Activism,” was given by
Dr. Ara Chalian from Philadelphia. Attendees spent the full session
discussing the role of AYF leadership in the Armenian community and what
exactly that should be. In a discussion format the group considered issues
of what leadership is and talked about successful examples.
Following Chalian was Dr. Asbed Kochikian who presented “Modern Armenia:
Challenges from Within and Without.” The lecture focused on the political
scene in Armenia, with a lively discussion about the problems, their source
and the future direction of politics as they affect the people in Armenia.
The afternoon session featured a lecture titled “The Lebanese Israeli
Conflict and its Effect on the Armenian Community: What Does the Future
Bring?” Given by Jirayr Beujekian, the talk covered historical and
contemporary issues in the Lebanese Armenian community and its future
directions.
The final session of the day was given by Kochikian who outlined
“Nagorno-Karabakh Yesturday and Today.” During the lecture Kochikian gave a
detailed historical account of the conflict in its political dimension.
After the lecture, all attendees were divided into groups for a game based
on the Karabagh war.
“The topics were intriguing, which made for interesting conversations,” said
AYF Central Executive member Lauren Da Silva, “The lecturers discussed
current affairs, which opened the mind of the attendees.”
During the evening, the group went out to Pinz, a bowling ally/arcade, to
spend some time relaxing after a long day of discussion and capture the
flag. Following the outing, members returned to camp where they sang
Armenian patriotic songs by the bonfire.
The following morning, the final lecture was given by the AYF Central Hai
Tahd Council, with Washington AYF member Vahan Callan. The group discussed
Hai Tahd activism by students on university campuses. In his portion, Callan
outlined his experience in Michigan starting a campus Armenian club. The
group also outlined other methods of becoming active: supporting fellow
student groups with similar goals, and attending and organizing lectures.
“This year’s senior seminar was a great way to bring together the leaders of
the AYF community,” said New Jersey AYF member and seminar attendee Serge
Kechichian, “The discussions and lecturers were very informative and
worthwhile.”
PHOTO CAPTIONS
Seminar 1: Over 40 AYF senior members attended lectures and various night
activities organized by the AYF Seminar Committee
Seminar 3: Dr. Asbed Kochikian (center) presented a lecture on modern
Armenian politics, bring to light the problems, their source and the future
direction of politics in the Republic

RUSSIA’S PUTIN PLEDGES TO ATTRACT 300,000 BACK TO RUSSIA BY 2010
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
October 24, 2006 Tuesday 4:28 PM EST
DPA x Russia Society Russia’s Putin pledges to attract 300,000 back
to Russia by 2010 Moscow Amid an unprecedented demographic crisis,
Russia proposed Tuesday to repatriate 300,000 Russians living abroad
as President Vladimir Putin vowed to make it easier for all foreigners
to live and work in the notoriously immigrant-unfriendly country.
Putin, speaking Tuesday at the opening ceremonies of the so-called
Congress of Compatriots in St. Petersburg, promised measures to
increase immigration, to be introduced January 15.
His comments followed a pledge by Federal Migration Service head
Konstantin Romodanovsky to spend nearly 200 million dollars to lure
50,000 native Russians to the country in 2007. The following years
would respectively see 100,000 and 150,000 return.
To attract people back to Russia, Romodanovsky told government-
controlled newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta on Tuesday, the service would
try to concentrate immigration in 12 of Russia’s 89 regions and open
a number of offices in countries including Germany.
The migration service’s five existing representative offices,
in contrast, are all in former Soviet countries: Armenia, Latvia,
Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan and Turmenistan.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russians have immigrated in droves
to the West. An estimated 200,000 Russian natives live in Germany.
Many of the regions designated special resettlement zones are in
Siberia, and others like the Tver region, north-west of Moscow, are
suffering from rampant depopulation. None of the 21 ethnic republics –
inhabited by non-Russian indigenous groups – was on the list.
Russia’s population has fallen to 142 million from 149 million in
the last 14 years. Losing 700,000 people per year, the UN says Russia
could be home to a mere 80 to 100 million by 2050.
Siberia and the Far East have always been among Russia’s least-
populated areas, and many here fear China will overflow into Siberia,
overwhelming the Russian population. The ethnic republics, on the
other hand, have seen positive growth in recent years.
Putin noted that to sustain an economy Russia needed to see immigration
numbers jump, no matter the ethnicity of the newcomers.
“In the modern world, a country’s economy, not its military, determines
its power and potential for development,” the Russian leader said.
“Leading Russian companies will have to draw qualified workers without
regard to their ethnicity.”
But with a surge in racially-motivated violence in recent years,
Putin’s hopes conflict with present realities. This year alone has
seen over 20 hate killings, and a St. Petersburg court last week
acquitted 17 in the 2004 murder of a Vietnamese student.
The Russian president, however, promised to simplify legalization
procedures and improve social benefits for all immigrants in Russia,
beginning January 15.
The speech came the same day figures showed that 5,000 Georgian
immigrants had been deported back to the Caucasus nation this year.
Putin also said the government would step up its efforts to protect
the Russian language and its speakers across the former Soviet Union.
On Tuesday, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev ordered his country’s
parliament to consider switching from the Cyrillic alphabet, which
is used in Russia, to Latin letters.
“I think we have to return to the question of moving to the Latin
alphabet,” Nazarbayev said, Interfax reported.
But Nazarbayev, one of Putin’s closest allies, also said students
should be taught three languages in Kazakh schools: Kazakh, English
and Russian.

LIFE TO BETTER IN TWO-THREE YEARS TIME
A1+
[07:19 pm] 24 October, 2006
Today, NA Speaker Tigran Torosyan met with Head of the WB Yerevan
office Roger Robinson whose mission in Armenia comes to an end.
Mr. Robinson thanked the NA Speaker for 4.5-year work mutually
beneficial for the two sides underlining that our country has had
serious achievements and stable development over these years.
NA Speaker Tigran Torosyan wished Mr. Robinson good luck in all his
further initiatives and noted that the countries of post-Soviet period
attached great importance to economic developments whereas the future
success and well-being of any country is determined by political,
social and economic amendments.
The NA Speaker mentioned that the amendments in social life may lead
to success in 2-3 years’ time providing perfect opportunities for
better life.

AZERBAIJAN: A POLITICAL EDUCATION
Leyla Amirova 10/22/06
EurasiaNet, NY
Oct 22 2006
n January 2006, Turan Aliev and Namiq Feiziev thought they had won a
battle for the opposition in Azerbaijan. They gave up a three-week
hunger strike, believing they had overturned their university
expulsions and wrenched from authorities a concession that students
should not be punished for their political views.
“Today was a victory for justice,” Aliev said.
By August, the two young men were in Norway, hoping to win political
asylum.
What happened in between, critics of President Ilham Aliev’s government
say, shows just how concerned the regime is with the emergence of a
new generation of young activists.
“Azeri leaders fear the expansion of youth movements and showed their
resolve to punish any dissent by the example of the two young expelled
students,” says Leyla Yunus, director of the Institute of Peace and
Democracy, a civil-society group close to opposition circles.
Today, instead of “victory” for opponents of Aliev’s heavy-handed
rule, it looks like business as usual in Azeri universities. For
students and teachers alike, that means avoiding opposition activity
and professing public support for the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party.
STARVING FOR JUSTICE
Although open dissent is rare in Azeri academia, universities are
a potential center of activism. Some youth groups work closely with
opposition parties, and during the 2005 parliamentary election campaign
a number of young activists were arrested.
As the 2005-2006 academic year began, Turan Aliev was a fourth-year
student at Baku State University; Feiziev was in his fourth year at
Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University. They were also active in the
opposition, Aliev in the Popular Front party and Feiziev in the Yeni
Fikir youth organization.
Popular Front, along with Musavat and the Democratic Party of
Azerbaijan, was part of the Azadlig coalition, the largest opposition
group to compete in the November 2005 parliamentary election. The
governing party won nearly half the seats, well ahead of Azadlig,
prompting sharp opposition protests. Yeni Fikir – one of the largest
youth organizations in the country, with a claimed membership of
2,000 – often cooperates with Azadlig. In August and September 2005
its leader, Ruslan Bashirli, and two of his deputies were arrested on
charges of plotting with Armenian security agents to overthrow the
Azeri government. Bashirli was sentenced to seven years in prison;
the others received shorter terms.
By the end of 2005, both Aliev and Feiziev had been kicked out of
university. Claiming the expulsions were politically motivated,
they joined other opposition activists in a hunger strike.
The protest attracted international calls for the students’
reinstatement. After a Jan. 19 meeting attended by U.S., British,
and Norwegian diplomats and representatives of the Council of Europe
and Azeri civil society, Education Minister Mardanov said Aliev and
Feiziev would be allowed to resume their education, although they
would have to repeat a year to make up for missed classes.
“This victory demonstrates that a new generation has appeared on
the political scene,” opposition supporter Hikmet Hadjizade said,
EurasiaNet.org reported.
But Mardanov’s decision was ignored by the heads of the two
universities. Instead of returning to his study of international
relations, Aliev was ordered to join the army.
“The Narimanov district military registration and enlistment office
called me up for urgent military service,” he said. University students
are exempt from conscription; Aliev appealed to the university to
clarify his situation, without success.
“It turned out that I was not a student after all,” he said.
Aliev said the expulsion order issued by Baku State Rector Abel
Maharramov cited his urging fellow students to join in street protests,
truancy, posting unlawful documents on bulletin boards and “gross
violation of university rules.”
Maharramov was quoted by the Trend news agency as saying Aliev was
expelled for violating internal university rules. The rector also
reportedly mentioned the student’s on-campus political activity,
such as distributing materials and putting up posters.
Maharramov said Aliev was expelled “for having violated discipline.
But before that he had been warned several times,” Trend reported.
“I had good examination results and had no problems on the academic
side,” Aliev said. “Students who have close contacts with opposition
parties are subjected to unreasonable pressure; they are challenged
by invented academic difficulties. All these measures aim to suppress
youth movements that always stand at the vanguard of the democratic
fight.”
Feiziev, who had been studying history at the pedagogical university,
did fail an exam in the summer of 2005, but he claimed he was expelled
without the requisite three warnings. He also said he was fined the
equivalent of $20 for having insulted and threatened to kill the
dean of his university’s philological faculty. Like Aliev, he says
his political activity was the true reason for the university’s action.
According to a EurasiaNet.com report, Education Ministry spokesman
Bayram Huseynzade said the students’ participation in opposition
rallies and distribution of leaflets violated university rules, but he
insisted they were expelled for poor grades and disciplinary problems.
“Hopefully, they will be able to continue their studies at a Norwegian
university,” says Seymur Gaziyev of the Platform of Azerbaijan Youth
coalition.
MANDATORY ACTIVISM
Opposition figures and advocates for democratic change in Azerbaijan
believe Ilhan Aliev’s government is concerned by the activities of
young opponents of the regime.
“The authorities put obstacles in the way of the activities of
dissenting youth, trying things like expulsion from university,”
says Emin Alisoy, head of the Musavat party’s youth branch.
Despite the watchful presence of the ruling party, the number of youth
groups in Azerbaijan keeps growing. One of the most vocal called on
supporters to rally against corruption and police violence on Oct. 18,
the anniversary of Azerbaijan’s independence from the Soviet Union.
“As the new academic year starts we will try again to get youth
actively involved in the social and political life of the country,”
despite Baku city officials denying permission to hold the event,
said Ali Ismayilov, chairman of the Yox (“No”) organization.
But the march never happened. On 17 October Ismayilov was detained
by police for several hours. He claims to have been warned by a
high-ranking police officer that he would face severe punishment if
the march took place.
Cases like these and the reprisals against Aliev and Feiziev appear
to have dampened some students’ enthusiasm for open opposition.
“I share the views of Musavat and even participated in their protest
acts. But I was lucky that no one in the university knew that I
had participated in the meetings, like Aliev,” says one student who
requested anonymity.
“After Aliev’s expulsion from our university, I stopped attending
opposition events,” this student says. “I didn’t want to put my career
at stake.”
Many students are active on behalf of the ruling party, chiefly because
they feel there is no choice. Sabina Mammadova, a 2005 graduate of
Baku State University, recalling having to walk out on a lecture to
attend a mandatory party meeting.
“We were afraid not to go [to the meeting] because it might have
reflected on our exams,” she says.
Teachers have also reportedly lost their jobs for their political
activity. Opposition parliamentary deputy Nasib Nasibli alleges that
three professors at Baku State, Kamil Vali Narimanoglu, Khaladdin
Ibrahimli, and Jahangir Amirov, were fired for their political views
after last year’s elections.
Educators at all levels are expected to toe the ruling-party line.
Independent-minded university teachers can sometimes find a haven in
one of Baku’s private institutions, such as Western University or
Khazar University, which enjoy far more leeway in personnel policy
than state schools.
Still, even at private universities opposition sympathizers seldom
make an open show of their beliefs. “The state sometimes has reason to
be dissatisfied with oppositionist teachers,” says Islam Gahramanov,
a professor at the pedagogical university and an opposition supporter.
“I agree that young people needn’t be involved in political activity.
We are at university to teach and not to pursue politics.”

EU does not want Armenia to stand apart from regional projects
ArmRadio.am
20.10.2006 11:35
“Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, who are included in the TRACECA,
support the Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalak-Kars railway project. However,
the European Union does not support the idea, ” National Secretary of
TRACECA Intergovernmental Commission of Azerbaijan Akif Mustafaev said,
Azeri APA agency reports. In his words, the EU does not want Armenia
to stand apart from regional projects. The EU demands to continue
construction of the railway passing through Armenia instead of the
Baku-Tbilisi- Akhalkalak-Kars. “It is, however, impossible before the
settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. The fact that separate
countries do not wish to finance the project will have no impact on its
accomplishment. Countries participating in the project have already
expressed willingness to provide means for implementation of works,”
Mustafaev declared. To remind, the project costs about $350 million.

RA FM INTENDS TO LEAVE POST OF FOREIGN MINISTER ON THE EVE OF
ELECTIONS
ARMINFO News Agency
October 19, 2006 Thursday
RA FM, Vardan Oskanyan, intends to leave the post of Foreign Minister
on the eve of elections in the Republic, he said in a interview to the
“Haikakan Zhamanak” newspaper.
According to him, it is 10 years on the eve of elections since he
takes up the post of the Minister and it would be incorrect for him
to hold it within the next 5 years. “A person, heading the FM, is to
be changed”, V. Oskanyan emphasized. He does not agree with rumors,
according to which the RA FM intends to stand for the President
post in 2008. “I have no decided yet what I will do after I leave
the Minister post, but I know for sure that I want to see Armenia,
where I and my children live, a normal country”, V. Oskanyan said.
He reminded that he was mainly engaged in a foreign policy in view
of his position and he has started talking of internal problems very
recently since “elections are coming and I see serious problems”,
among which he called the necessity to form a political field,
to eliminate the barrier between the authorities and the society,
the authorities and the people.