Category: News

The Messenger
Friday, January 14, 2005, #007 (0781)
CIS Press Scanner
Prepared by Anna Arzanova
United States prepares revolutions in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Moldova
The Azeri newspaper Novoe Vremya writes that Namakom, a Russian
political analysis center created by former employees of the Russian
foreign intelligence service, believes that political revolutions will
continue to spread to other CIS countries. Namakom claims that the
United States is behind the recent revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine,
and believes that Azerbaijan will be the sight of the next U.S. project.
Namkom cites Washington’s dislike of communist leadership for its
interest in “the greater Black Sea region,” composed of Azerbaijan,
Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The paper writes that the
post-Soviet leaders are not convenient for the West at all. However,
analysts think that Washington will not rest on its achievements: Baku
and Yerevan irritate Washington at the moment and Ilham Aliev as well
as Robert Kocharian have been criticized by the West several times,
because neither one responds to the current U.S. requirements. That is
why they should be replaced, as the paper reports, “perhaps according
to the pre-term scenario.” The analysis continues that after the
revolution in Tbilisi and Kiev, Washington intends to activate
attempts to settle the Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh and
Transdnestre issues. Simultaneously Washington is preparing for
parliamentary, and possibly presidential, elections in Azerbaijan and
Armenia. The paper forecasts that the next change of the power will
take place in Moldova. “The main role in conducting these revolutions
will be given to the United States,” the paper writes. Azeri
political analyst Gabil Guseinli also acknowledges the possibility of
the same revolution in Azerbaijan, though he thinks that lots of
things must be done before it will take place in the country.
Particularly, the creation of youth organizations, independent TV
channels, and the strengthening of the democratic election system need
to occur in the country by all means. He thinks Western support is
necessary for all of this. According to the paper, the United States
intends to pay serious attention to Azerbaijan after the second
inauguration of George Bush. There is also information that
Washington has started intensive consultations with representatives of
the Azeri opposition. The paper notes that the centennial of the
beginning of the first Russian revolution in 1905 approaches. It is
not enough to overthrow a ruler, the paper states; just as important
the U.S. must not allow the same authoritarian force to come to power
once again. “Will the West take care of this as well or not?” asks the
paper. Putin rejects “beer law” According to the Russian newspaper
Vedomosti, Russian President Vladimer Putin vetoed a law limiting
consumption of alcohol in public places. According to the
Vice-Speaker of the Duma Lubov Sliska, his veto letter concerning this
issue was received by the lower chamber of the parliament. She also
said that proceeding from the recommendations of the president, the
law needs revision, something she says is “quite fair.” Sliska also
stated that the president has remarks regarding the territory on which
the sale of beer will or will not be allowed. Moreover, she said that
there are many disputable issues regarding beverages prepared from
ethyl alcohol, a process that should also be prohibited. The law would
prohibit the sale of alcohol in educational and medical facilities,
forbid consumption of alcohol in public areas such as stadiums, public
transport, and parks, and forbid the sale of alcohol to minors.
Kyrgyz president condemns revolutions The Russian newspaper Vremia
Novostei reports that Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev is actively
preparing for the parliamentary elections in the republic that are
scheduled for February 27. He is very concerned about the fate of the
“Kyrgyz model of liberal democracy” which “we have been building for
13 years.” However, Akaev thinks that “none of the revolutions [in
the CIS] have led to positive results” and that revolutionary ideology
threatens the stability of a country. Speaking about the issue at a
central university, Akaev cited Yugoslavia as an example of the
destabilizing nature of revolutions. He also claimed that the Rose
Revolution in Georgia was financed by outside sources. As for
Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, he said that the country was split in two
and that “a civil war almost took place.” He also claimed that
opposition leader Yulia Timoshenko is wanted by international
organizations. Akaev thinks that it is impossible to call Georgia an
“independent state, because President Saakashvili and his ministers
receive salaries from the other side of the ocean, from the
multi-millionaire George Soros.” The paper notes that Akaev’s speech
was similar to one given by Russian President Vladmir Putin last year,
“although Putin did not question Georgia’s independence.”
The Messenger.

Armenian pilots have nothing to do with Equatorial Guinea coup – official
Arminfo
14 Jan 05
YEREVAN
“The Armenian pilots have nothing to do with the coup attempt against
the authorities of Equatorial Guinea and therefore, have nothing to do
with its presumed organizers,” the spokesman for the Armenian Foreign
Ministry, Gamlet Gasparyan, has told an Arminfo correspondent.
“No evidence or proof of the Armenian pilots’ involvement in this coup
attempt was presented during the entire trial. We regard the court
sentence against our pilots as unfair,” Gasparyan stressed.
To recap, a court in Equatorial Guinea sentenced the six Armenian
pilots to prison terms ranging from 14 to 24 years on 26 November and
fined them 25-50m francs. The Armenian pilots were arrested along with
a large group of people and charged with complicity in the coup
attempt in that country.
[Passage omitted: Details of Mark Thatcher’s sentence]

Azeri pressure group’s war plan not universally welcomed
Sarq, Baku
6 Jan 05

Text of Xalid Ilyaszada’s report by Azerbaijani newspaper Sarq on 6
January headlined “There are mixed responses to the KLO’s war plan”
Several days ago the Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) released a
document outlining the measures to be taken to recapture the
Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories.
The document, called “A single plan to liberate the Armenian-occupied
Azerbaijani territories in a military way”, will be forwarded to all
political parties. The objective is to drum up political support for
the idea. The author organization believes that all opportunities for
achieving a negotiated settlement to the problem have been exhausted,
that the tactics of dealing with the problem have to be changed, that
a lot needs to be done to boost the spirit of military patriotism and
that it is time to start military action to retake our lands. The plan
has caused mixed responses among the country’s political forces.
A member of parliament representing the ruling New Azerbaijan Party,
Bahar Muradova, said: “I have no doubt that the KLO, which has
authored a number of ideas on Karabakh, has put forward this plan
because it is genuinely interested in liberating the occupied
territories. I am convinced that the plan has been prepared because
the Azerbaijanis are getting increasingly worried about the
problem. The issue worries the Azerbaijani authorities too, which is
reflected in the statements by the head of state and other government
officials.”
At the same time, Muradova added that the war option does not reflect
the Azerbaijani realities.
“I don’t think the calls for war are quite in line with the general
and political course the country is pursuing. The Azerbaijani
government has never ruled out that it may take the necessary steps if
need be. At this point, I think the negotiations have entered into a
new stage and there seems to be some optimism. Therefore, I think
Azerbaijani society has to advocate a single position. If there is a
need for change, the Azerbaijani government, not an organization, will
have to make a decision. The state can certainly take into account any
calls that reflect public opinion,” Muradova said and added that the
Azerbaijani head of state is defending the position of Azerbaijani
society in the negotiations. This is why it would be wrong to take
steps that are not part of the negotiating process.
The co-chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan, Araz
Alizada, who recently put forward his own model of a “patriotic war”,
said with regard to the “single plan” that some aspects of the plan
are not known to him. However, he said: “If the point is about the
liberation of our lands, special attention has to be paid to army
build-up. We have to learn a lesson from what happened to us in the
past.”
The deputy chairman of the People’s Front of Azerbaijan Party [PFAP],
Nuraddin Mammadli, expressed a slightly different attitude to the war
plan.
“The Azerbaijani state has made a commitment to solve the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict peacefully and the Azerbaijani opposition parties
have joined that commitment. Therefore, we are in favour of honouring
our commitments,” Mammadli said. Peaceful remedies have not been
exhausted yet, he said and added that the KLO’s plan can only be
implemented by the authorities.
“Every organization has the right to express its opinion, but it is
necessary to bear in mind that eventually the Azerbaijani state will
decide what measures shall be taken,” he said. He also noted that the
KLO had not yet forwarded its plan to the PFAP and said that if it
does, the party would discuss it as a matter, of course. At the same
time, he sees the suggestion as a propaganda attempt.

Slovenia must learn about “so far neglected” regions as OSCE chair – paper
STA news agency
14 Jan 05
Ljubljana, 14 January: A paper suggests on Friday [14 January] that
Slovenia’s stint at the helm of the OSCE could boil down to “listening
missions”. Some of the country’s priorities indicate, however, that
its main guideline will not be silence, nodding, consensus seeking and
running the organization.
Dnevnik says that the relations between the USA and Russia are at a
freezing point after the “para-war” between the East and the West in
Ukraine’s presidential election, at least about who is to control the
region between Armenia and Kazakhstan.
The paper claims that Slovenia as the OSCE chair will not be able to
make an end to the superpowers flexing their muscles over which should
have a sway over the increasingly important geostrategical
regions. The solution lies in the Kremlin and the White House.
Slovenia has shown more decisiveness in the Kosovo issue. This zeal is
encouraged by the geographical vicinity and the fact that until
recently, Slovenia and Kosovo made part of a common state.
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel therefore spoke with ease about Kosovo
as he met foreign reporters after outlining the priorities of
Slovenia’s presidency before the Permanent Council on Thursday.
But Dnevnik notes that the FM was at a loss when asked about the
chances for a reconciliation between Tbilisi and the breakaway
republic of Abkhazia after the presidential election re-run there. He
broke the embarrassing silence with an excuse, saying he had not
managed to study the election and that he was therefore not the right
person to answer the question.
What appeared to be an insignificant incident demonstrates the
broadness of the OSCE activity. More importantly, its shows the
chairman-in-office must have certain knowledge about a number of hot
spots, not just about the “Balkan hobby”, Dnevnik highlights.
“If Slovenia does not want the organization to be worse off as it
hands it over to Belgium in a year, its entire diplomatic network will
have to considerably improve its knowledge about the regions it has so
far neglected”.

RECEP ERDOGAN: IF ARMENIA DOES NOT ADMIT KARS TREATY FROM 1923, THEN
LET THEM NOT BE OFFENDED
YEREVAN, JANUARY 14. ARMINFO. “If Armenia does not admit the terms of
the Kars Treaty from 1923, then let them not be offended”, Prime
Minister of Turkey Recep Tayip Erdogan stated at a news conference in
Ankara concerning the results of his visit to Russia.
At the same time, he stressed that Turkey does not want to have
offended neighbors, but it aspires to regulate the problems with
Armenia, and “Armenia’s vacating the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan” must become a pre-condition here. “We have always taken
positive steps to meet Armenia halfway, in particular, we are working
towards establishment of land communication between the two countries
and organizations of private air transportation”, Erdogan mentioned.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IN 2004 FOREIGN CITIZENS HAVE ADOPTED ABOUT 60 ARMENIAN CHILDREN
YEREVAN, JANUARY 14. ARMINFO. About 60 Armenian children have been
adopted by foreign citizens in 2004. Minister of labor and social
affairs of the Republic of Armenia Aghvan Vardanian informed,
answering a question of an ARMINFO correspondent.
According to him, during the last two years the cases of adoption of
Armenian children by foreign citizens have decreased. At the same time
the Armenian Government makes maximum efforts for that the Armenian
children were adopted foreigners – Armenians.

San Diego Union Tribune, CA
Jan 14 2005
‘Vodka Lemon’: Dry comedy via Armenia
By David Elliott
Union-Tribune Movie Critic
The red of communism has bleached from post-Soviet Armenia, and the
hills are white with dense snow. In “Vodka Lemon,” often penurious
rustics scuffle for U.S. dollars, hope for cash from relatives in the
West, and sell off heirlooms.
Hiner Saleem’s dry, wintry film is a gentle hug for Armenia as an
outpost of endurance; life is all coping. Widowed Hamo (Romen
Avinian) is in mourning and going broke, but has the time and vigor
to shyly court a lady (Lala Sarkissian) who sells vodka to
half-numbed truckers on a desolate road.
The tone is one of mildly mournful comedy, of a carpet gone
threadbare yet still richly colored. When the vendor is asked why
Vodka Lemon doesn’t taste at all like lemon, her reply is a sobering
shrug: “It’s Armenia.”

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Jan 14 2005
Armenia Hails Progress in Transport Cooperation with Georgia
A report issued by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, which overviews
the country’s foreign policy in 2004, reads that progress made in
transport cooperation with Georgia is a main achievement of last year
in the relations between the two countries, RIA Novosti news agency
reported.
The report underlines the special importance of the trilateral
agreement between Armenia, Georgia and Russia over launching a rail
ferry service between the Georgian port of Poti and Russian port of
Kavkaz, which is scheduled to start in January, 2005. The route will
replace the currently operating ferry service between Poti and the
Ukrainian port of Ilichevsk.
Armenia expects to benefit a lot from this direct link with Russia.
It is expected that the rail ferry service will reduce the price of
transportation of cargo from Armenia to Russia by 30%. Armenia also
used the Poti-Ilichevsk rail ferry service.

Media Monitors, USA
Jan 14 2005
Humiliating EU deal offers little to Turkey
by M A Shaikh
“…while the French and the Austrians, as well as others, are
virtually certain to block Turkish membership, they are not at all
hostile to the prospect of, say, Romania or Bulgaria joining,
although, as Ankara points out, these countries are even poorer than
Turkey. Their accession talks are in full swing, and they are not
subject to humiliating or obstructive objections or conditions.”
The deal recently negotiated by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish
prime minister, in Brussels on his country’s longstanding quest for
membership of the European Union is, by general agreement, unfair and
humiliating, and by no means indicates – let alone guaranteeing –
that Turkey will eventually be allowed to become a member of the EU.
All it secures for Turkey is accession talks beginning on October 3,
which could last for a decade or more- with even more humiliating
conditions attached – and still fail to lead to admission into the
EU. Yet Erdogan, whose government is often described in the West as
`Islamic-leaning’, is determined to sell this compromising and
controversial arrangement to his own sceptical people -even to the
extent of arguing publicly that they should do much more than they
have already done to prove that their country is fit to be admitted
to the EU. But despite the fact that a large number of Turks are keen
to see their country join the Union and will support his conciliatory
– some would say submissive – style, the prime minister will find it
difficult to take the majority on board.
So much has been written and broadcast on the deal struck in Brussels
on December 17 that its provisions are familiar to all Turks and most
Muslims elsewhere, and need not be repeated here in detail.
Basically, an agreement was reached to commence accession talks on
October 3, with the understanding that talks will only start once
Turkey has signed an association agreement with all EU members,
including Greek Cyprus. A much stronger demand, calling for the
diplomatic recognition of the island, was rejected by Erdogan, who
threatened to walk out of the summit. This demand was based on the
contention that Ankara could not be invited to accession talks when
it did not recognise members of the organisation it wants to join.
Greek Cyprus was admitted to the EU on May 1 last year, despite the
fact that a UN project for reuniting the Greek and Turkish parts of
the divided island was on the table at the time.
The Turkish Cypriots had accepted the UN plan; the Greek Cypriots had
rejected it. By admitting the Greek part, the EU sabotaged the UN
project; while dropping its attempt to force Ankara to recognise
Greek Cyprus directly, it seems to have succeeded in forcing it to do
so indirectly. A direct recognition would have turned the Turkish
army’s presence in Northern Cyprus into that of an occupier. It was
not, therefore, surprising that Erdogan – and the chief of the
Turkish armed forces – objected strongly to it.
But the mere acceptance of the condition that accession talks will
not begin until Ankara signs a trade-agreement with the Greek
Cypriots means that the basis of an eventual recognition has been
laid. Moreover, the fact that the EU can make the start of accession
talks conditional on such a demand, and get away with it, means that
it can make further demands – such as Ankara’s agreement that the
killing of Armenians by the Ottomans amounted to `genocide’. On
December 19, for instance, Tassos Papadopoulos, the ruler of Greek
Cyprus, repeated his warning that Turkey’s EU accession is not
guaranteed, and that Cyprus would not support it unless Ankara
recognised his government. The prospect of Turkey joining the EU was
also treated with caution by much of the European media, and
opponents – led by Nicolas Sarkozy, head of the governing UMP party
in France – continue to express reservations.
Sarkozy told French television: `Europe already has difficulty
functioning with 25 members. The more members Europe has, the less we
will be integrated, the less we will share common values and the more
fragile we will be.’ Sarkozy is said to be more hostile to admitting
Turkey than Jacques Chirac, the French president, who is on record as
having said that he is in favour of Turkey’s membership.
Interestingly, it was Chirac who began to lay down the most effective
basis for rejection of membership when he announced that he would put
French acceptance to a referendum. He must know full well that most
French voters will reject it without any hesitation, given the
opportunity. Austria, another EU member – whose population is as
hostile to Turkish membership as the French – has announced that any
decision to admit Turkey will be submitted to a referendum. According
to EU rules, every member-state has the right to veto the acceptance
of new members by referendum.
But while the French and the Austrians, as well as others, are
virtually certain to block Turkish membership, they are not at all
hostile to the prospect of, say, Romania or Bulgaria joining,
although, as Ankara points out, these countries are even poorer than
Turkey. Their accession talks are in full swing, and they are not
subject to humiliating or obstructive objections or conditions.
So it is not at all surprising that a cross-section of Turkish
society, including highly secular people and groups, have objected
strongly to the deal agreed by Erdogan, demanding, when he returned
to Ankara from Brussels, that he abandon it. The opposition parties
and Islamic groups were the most vocal in their criticism. Denis
Baykal, leader of the main opposition group, the Republican People’s
party, said that `this is not the EU we want’, perhaps hinting, like
other objectors, that he is willing to join a union that respects
Turkish culture, religion and dignity. Certainly there are many Turks
from ethnic and religious minorities, such as the Kurds and the Roman
Catholic Christians, who believe that joining a friendly EU as an
equal member can advance their interests.
Most Turks who want to join the EU, however, `want to be a part of
Europe, but with our honour and values intact,’ as a factory-worker
was quoted on December 18 in a London paper as saying. The mayor of a
Turkish town, described by the same paper as `an undiluted EU
enthusiast’, says that he is `hurt’ by the attitudes of Europeans
towards his country.
Erdogan should heed his people’s views and feelings, and stop
demeaning them and destroying their bargaining position. By siding
with them, he is likely to gain more than from ignoring them for the
sake of a process that is extremely unlikely to culminate in the end
he desires.

Interfax
Jan 14 2005
Tbilisi ready to welcome NATO special envoy
Tbilisi. (Interfax-AVN) – A group of NATO experts has arrived in
Tbilisi to prepare the official opening of an office of the NATO
Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia,
Nikolai Laliashvili, chief of the defense policy and European
integration department in the Georgian Defense Ministry, told
Interfax- Military News Agency Friday.
According to him, the office will open in Tbilisi in February.
“It will be in Tbilisi, but will deal with Azerbaijan and Armenia,
rather than Georgia only,” he added.
He emphasized that the NATO special representative’s appointment is
an extremely important event for his country in terms of stepping up
the interaction with the Alliance, especially in light of the
organization’s approving of the program of cooperation with Georgia
in 2004.
The decision to send liaison officers and a special representative of
NATO to Transcaucasia and Central Asia was made at the NATO 2004
summit in Istanbul.
U.S. citizen Robert Simmons, NATO Deputy Secretary General, was
appointed the Alliance’s Special Representative for the South
Caucasus and Central Asia, who is expected to visit the countries in
the region from time to time. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer introduced Simmons to leaders of the countries in question
during his November visit to the South Caucasus.
The Tbilisi office will also include Romualds Razhuks, the 49-year
old advisor to the Latvian defense minister and the former vice
speaker of the Latvian Seimas, who will be the liaison officer
coordinating the activities with Simmons.
Georgia voiced its intent to join NATO during the Prague summit in
2002.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress