Category: News

Azeri paper slams OSCE mediators for not condemning Armenia as aggressor
Zerkalo, Baku
25 Nov 04
Excerpt from R. Mirgadirov and M. Yasaroglu report by Azerbaijani
newspaper Zerkalo on 25 November headlined “The stances of Armenia
and the co-chairs coincide” and subheaded “Both are against discussing
the Karabakh problem outside the OSCE Minsk Group”
The 59th session of the UN General Assembly in New York discussed
the situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan on 24 November.
[Passage omitted: debates in the UN on Azerbaijan’s draft proposal
on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict]
In essence, Armenian officials do not even try to hide their concern
regarding the discussion of the Karabakh issue outside the OSCE Minsk
Group. The vice-speaker of the Armenian parliament, Tigran Torosyan,
was rather outspoken on this issue when he presented the outcomes of
the 17 November Paris session of the PACE [Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe] political committee. He said that there are
no obstacles to including the Karabakh issue in the agenda of the
PACE winter session.
He said that the Nagornyy Karabakh resolution which was passed at
the emergency session of the PACE political committee contained some
points which were unfavourable and had to be changed. In particular,
they include a sentence which turns the previous call to the
Azerbaijani authorities to establish ties with Nagornyy Karabakh’s
political leadership into a call to establish ties between the two
communities. In this connection, the head of Armenia’s PACE delegation
said it is important to conduct active work in this regard.
So, it is time to answer the question why Armenia would lose out if the
Karabakh conflict is discussed outside the framework of the OSCE Minsk
Group. It is very simple. The OSCE, including the Minsk Group which it
has created, is tackling the practical aspects of settling the Karabakh
conflict on the basis of the mandate, or more precisely, the four UN
Security Council resolutions on the issue. The co-chairs of the OSCE,
namely Russia, America and France, have long and well forgotten about
the basic demands of those resolutions and are in effect engaged in
“creative activities” by proposing various solutions to the conflict.
But the most important point is that since the Minsk Group is a
temporarily created OSCE structure to act as a mediator to resolve the
Karabakh conflict, it is unable to give an internationally recognized
political and legal assessment of the actions of the sides to the
conflict.
This situation absolutely suits Armenia. When proposing various
solutions to the conflict, the OSCE co-chairs always hint that
Azerbaijan will at any rate have to make major concessions, considering
the “current realities”, that is to put it simply, the occupation of
a chunk of Azerbaijani territory by Armenia. They did not even hold
the fact of the occupation of an independent state against Armenia.
Now, with a cease-fire regime which is more than 10 years old, when
the Karabakh conflict is discussed in organizations outside the reach
of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, it becomes necessary to answer the
foremost question: who has occupied 16 per cent of Azerbaijan, which
is in itself a flagrant violation of international legal norms? And
every time, regardless of sympathies or antipathies, the international
community has to unequivocally reply – Armenia! Consequently, this
results in the condemnation by the international community – be it the
UN or PACE – of the fact of aggression against a sovereign state and of
the occupation of its territories with all the ensuing ramifications.
Incidentally, such a course of events does not suit the interests of
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. A clear definition by the international
community of the fact of aggression and occupation of territories
by Armenia deprives the co-chairs, who have their own geopolitical
interests in the region, of the room for manoeuvre. Because in
this case it will become difficult to “pressure” the victim of the
aggression and demand that in order to resolve the conflict it make
concessions that would go against its sovereignty.

Solidarity hero joins the men trying to organise a peaceful revolution
By Arnold Krushelnycky in Kiev
Belfast Telegraph
Nov 26, 2004
Yuriy Kostenko’ dark Toyota limousine slid along the sometimes steep,
snow-covered streets of the Ukrainian capital. His driver, Volodya,
relegated to the back seat, grumbled.
Mr Kostenko is in a rush these days and often jumps into the driver’s
seat before Volodya can stop him. Mr Kostenko, 50, is leader of
the People’s Party, and one of the closest political allies of the
pro-democracy opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, the man at the
centre of the political storm gripping Ukraine that has even drawn
in that old political warhorse Lech Walesa.
As Mr Yushchenko leading ally, Mr Kostenko’s days have been manic as
he stokes the mood of thousands of protesters. Their camp is preparing
for power and a possible revolution.
Sometimes, Volodya doesn’t even make the back seat of Mr Kostenko’s
limo. Yesterday, his boss left without him. “I know it annoys him a
bit but, right now, driving myself is the only way I have to relax
for a few minutes,” Mr Kostenko said.
He talked in measured tones, sometimes raising his eyebrows and
grinning as his mobile phone brought yet another call. The drive took
him to his office in parliament where he looked through a pile of
faxes and took note of a long list of messages logged by his secretary.
The office is lined with photographs of mountains and climbers. Mr
Kostenko is an accomplished mountaineer, having tackled the Alps,
the Andes and the Caucasus. He is also a potholer and in 1988 he
volunteered to rescue victims of an earthquake that had hit Armenia. He
remembers fondly some of the British rescue teams he met there.
The fitness that climbing demands probably gives him the reserves of
energy to keep going on the less than four hours’ sleep he has had
each night since Saturday.
The next stop was one of the buildings the opposition uses for its
meetings in the old city near one of Europe’s first universities, the
Kiev Mohyla Academy. Here the atmosphere crackled as young volunteers
worked furiously.
Clad in orange sweaters, dresses, hats, boots, ribbons, scarves ­ some
of the women also had orange nails ­ they rushed around, focused but
quick to smile for Mr Kostenko who greeted them all with affection.
Next, he made for a meeting with the Polish Solidarity leader Mr
Walesa, who was in Kiev to lend support. With Mr Yushcehnko and other
close aides, the small group discussed the unfolding drama which Mr
Walesa said he hoped would lead to Ukrainian democracy. He was sped
to Kiev’s main street where he made a pledge of support in front of
a cheering crowd of 200,000.
Moving on, Mr Kostenko fielded calls from all around Ukraine as local
organisers of the opposition movement looked for news. Government-run
television channels and newspapers were saying little about the
political turmoil. Mr Yanukovych himself has said “nothing unusual
is happening”.
The election commission proclaimed Mr Yanukovych the winner on
Wednesday by a slim margin. Mr Kostenko said: “That was ominous
because it meant that they were ready to use violence. Perhaps it
will come to that, but I am still optimistic we can overturn
the results and get true democracy for Ukraine without bloodshed.”
Mr Kostenko, who studied engineering, was a prominent member of
Ukraine’s independence movement in the 1980s. He became a minister
a decade ago in a government run by the outgoing President, Leonid
Kuchma, who nominated Mr Yanukovych as his successor.
He was responsible for talks to rid Ukraine of the nuclear arsenal it
inherited from the Soviet Union and also for getting help in handling
the effects of the Chernobyl reactor explosion. Eventually he could
no longer bear to work for Mr Kuchma; he was one of the few ministers
who resigned rather than being fir ed.
He drove on and smiled as a phone call confirmed that another local
administration had declared it would only recognise Mr Yushchenko
as president.
“You can see that the people, all ages, all walks of life, are with
us,” he said. “Ukraine has been waiting for this moment for a long
time and they are not going to lose the opportunity for real freedom
and real dignity.”
As he got out of the car at one stop a young man, one of the hundreds
of thousands of opposition supporters occupying the centre of Kiev,
ran towards him. He recognised Mr Kostenko and asked him to sign the
Ukrainian flag draped around his shoulders. Mr Kostenko asked his
name and signed the flag, adding “Glory to Ukraine”.
Next stop was at a former union building on Khreschatyk Street,
surrounded by a growing crowd of opposition supporters. The political
council chaired by Mr Yushchenko was meeting, incorporating the
Committee for National Salvation formed on Wednesday. It was held
behind closed doors.
After several hours Mr Yushchenko emerged to reveal: “Ukraine’s
intelligence agency is coming over to our side and the Supreme Court
has cast doubt on the election results.” Then, flanked by Mr Walesa
and Mr Kostenko, he said: “We’re creating a national guard. We’ve
had hundreds of soldiers and militiamen asking who they should report
to. They want Yushchenko as commander-in-chief.”
Soon, officers of the militia came on stage to declare their allegiance
to Mr Yushchenko. The crowd cheered. Afterwards, Mr Kostenko, who is
married with a son, said he needed a break: “I think I can meet my
wife for 15 minutes.”
–Boundary_(ID_7Ah3mv47NPuYIMeAkviEaQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FACTIONS LEADERS DISAGREE ON SENDING ARMENIAN CONTINGENT TO IRAQ
25.11.2004 18:36
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ G. Sahakian, the head of the Republican Party
of Armenia forming the ruling coalition, stated during today’s
press conference that not only he, but also all Armenian people
are against sending Armenian servicemen to Iraq. Representatives of
Justice and National Unity opposition blocs were also against the
sending while members of Dashnaktsutyun and Orinats Yerkir factions
refrained from expressing their opinion. To remind, on September 6,
2004 Armenian and Polish Presidents Robert Kocharian and Alexander
Kwasniewski signed an agreement on security cooperation according to
which Armenian contingent consisting of 50 medical officers, combat
engineers and drivers are to be sent to Iraq early next year to
join the coalition forced under the Polish command. Both Armenia and
Diaspora are seriously concerned over the issue since this measure
can jeopardize the security of the Armenian communities numbering
many thousands of people in Iraq and other Islamic counties.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia interested in stable Ukraine – president says
Noyan Tapan news agency
26 Nov 04
Yerevan, 26 November: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan today said
at the ceremony to mark the opening of the new building of the Yerevan
mayor’s office that the “congratulations to Viktor Yanukovych on his
victory in the presidential elections were expressed in the interests
of Armenia”.
The president went on to explain: “Throughout the elections in Ukraine
we did not express any opinions and had no preferences. Had Viktor
Yushchenko won, I would have congratulated him after a corresponding
statement by the Central Electoral Commission. But Yanukovych has
been elected and I congratulated him.”
Robert Kocharyan stressed that Armenia is interested in a stable
Ukraine because it is a serious partner, especially in transport
communications.
“The sooner the tension subsides, the better for Armenia,” he said.

NATO official regrets Armenian MPs’ absence from Azerbaijan-hosted seminar
Space TV, Baku
26 Nov 04
NATO has assessed the Armenians’ failure to attend the Rose-Roth
seminar [of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly] as a move which is far
from impartiality and serves other purposes.
NATO Parliamentary Assembly Secretary-General Simon Lunn regrets the
Armenian MPs’ absence from the aforesaid seminar, which is currently
under way in Baku.
He said that the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and Azerbaijan had created
all the necessary conditions for the Armenians’ participation. Their
security was guaranteed as well. Despite this, the Armenians opted
not to come.

Azeri deputy foreign minister urges NATO’s involvement in Karabakh settlement
Trend news agency
26 Nov 04
Baku, 26 November, Trend correspondent S. Logmanoglu: “Azerbaijan
considers as expedient NATO’s involvement in the peaceful settlement of
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict,” Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister
Araz Azimov told the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s 58th Rose-Roth
seminar in Baku on 26 November.
Despite the fact that the UN Security Council adopted several
resolutions on the unconditional withdrawal of Armenian armed
groups from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories, this issue has not
yet been resolved, Azimov said. That is why, NATO’s involvement in
the settlement of this conflict is considered to be expedient. The
position of “Azerbaijan’s northern neighbour” should also be taken
into account, he added.
Azimov drew the seminar participants’ attention to the fact that
10 years have passed since the adoption of the UN Security Council
resolutions on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. He dismissed statements
that these resolutions were adopted long ago and have lost their
legal force. The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 1950, but it has not lost its legal
force until now, Azimov said. Saying that the [OSCE] Minsk Group is
not very active, Azimov spoke in favour of Turkey’s co-chairmanship
in the OSCE Minsk Group.
[Azerbaijan will opt for a military solution to the Karabakh conflict
if peace talks fail, Space TV quoted Azimov as saying in its 1300
gmt news bulletin on 26 November 2004.]

PM disapproves of Italy’s stance in UN discussions on Upper Garabagh
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Nov 26 2004
Prime Minister Artur Rasizada, in a meeting with Italian Deputy
Foreign Minister Margherita Boniver on Thursday, said he disapproves
of the recent statement made by the Italian official during her talks
in Yerevan.
Rasizada said that Azerbaijan, unlike Armenia, has been subject to
aggression, and that Azeri civilians have been ousted from their homes
and the country’s territories occupied. These facts should be taken
into account when discussing the issue, the Azeri Prime Minister said.
Touching upon economic relations, Rasizada said prospects exist for
developing such cooperation. Italy is a leading country in terms
of the turnover of goods with Azerbaijan, but most of the trade
occurs on oil, he said. The Prime Minister pointed out that Italy’s
investments in Azerbaijan are insignificant and emphasized that Baku
is interested in drawing Italian investors and its participation in
global transport projects.
Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Boniver said that the documents
signed during the current visit on establishing the Italy-Azerbaijan
Economic Council and the joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry will
serve strengthening of economic ties. She added that Italy can assist
Azerbaijan in developing small and medium enterprise in the country,
as her country possesses extensive experience in this area.*

Radical group’s picket thwarted by police
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Nov 26 2004
On Thursday morning more than 50 GLO members attempted to hold a
protest action outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel to disrupt the 58th
“Rose Roth” seminar of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in protest
against the planned participation of Armenians in the event.
The action was prevented by the police and some of the protesters were
taken to police precincts in the Sabayel district, but were released
after a warning.*

Alleged Mercenary Leader Convicted
Associated Press
Friday November 26, 2004 2:46 PM
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (AP) – An alleged mercenary leader was
convicted Friday of leading a coup attempt in this oil-rich African
nation, but he avoided the death penalty when the court sentenced
him to 34 years in prison.
Prosecutors had formally asked for the death penalty against Nick du
Toit, the South African arms dealer it says led an advance team for
an internationally backed plot to overthrow the government.
Mark Thatcher, the 51-year-old son of former British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher, has been charged in South Africa with violating
the country’s anti-mercenary laws by allegedly helping finance the
foiled coup attempt.
Thatcher also faces charges in Equatorial Guinea and officials there
have said they will seek his extradition from South Africa.
Six South African and six Armenians also were convicted and drew
prison terms, three South Africans and three Equatorial Guinea citizens
were acquitted.

JAZZ: Keeping it current
By MARTIN LONGLEY
The Independent – United Kingdom
Nov 26, 2004
The Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek could be forgiven for taking
six years to produce In Praise of Dreams, the follow-up to 1998’s
two-disc Rites. It’s understandable that he has been distracted by
the overwhelming cross-over success of his collaborations with one
of the pre-eminent early music outfits, the Hilliard Ensemble. Their
Officium and Mnemosyne albums have enjoyed remarkable sales.
The other reason for the slow progress has been the rude health of
his touring diary, though the new album has no connection with his
touring band of Rainer Bruninghaus (keyboards), Eberhard Weber (bass)
and Marilyn Mazur (percussion). In Praise of Dreams has an electronic
foundation, created by Garbarek’s sampling and beat-programming,
and with contributions from Kim Kashkashian (viola) and Manu Katche
(percussion). His approach is similar to that adopted by John Surman,
adding weaving saxophone to pulsating loops and repeated sequences.
Garbarek remains committed to his regular quartet when it comes to
live work, but they will remain largely inactive next year while he
renews his acquaintance with the Hilliard Ensemble. “We meet on 7
December for a concert in Moscow, and we’ll discuss plans for future
recording. Next year, we’re mainly concerned with the tour.”
In concert on the first night of his UK tour, the saxophonist’s
performance stretches right back to 1973’s “Hasta Siempre”, and forward
to a new, as yet unnamed, composition. Yet a tour with Kashkashian
and Katche doesn’t look likely. “I don’t think it’s realistic,” he
confesses, “because the two other musicians are extremely busy and
have their schedules for years in advance. The other thing is that
there are a lot of electronic sounds. I would need to have quite a
few other musicians on stage.” And Garbarek doesn’t feel comfortable
arou nd laptops in a live setting – he wants an audience to see
musicians playing.
The album was co-produced by Garbarek and the ECM label-owner Manfred
Eicher. “It was very prosaic this time,” says Garbarek. “I just chose
10 different tempos and started to work on what sort of rhythms that
would imply. Then I started to dress them up with harmonies, melodies
and textures. I think of the electronics being brilliant for creating
a sonority, setting the stage for the characters to emerge.”
At the outset, Garbarek knew that Manu Katche would be involved. The
percussionist has already appeared on four of the saxophonist’s
albums. It turns out that he frequently wound up laying his parts down
on Garbarek’s basic rhythm patterns. “Sometimes, he will simply say,
`I have nothing for this’, either because they’re complete, or he
hadn’t any inspiration to do anything at all. He wouldn’t change the
rhythms I had made, but other things..”
The mournful viola of Kim Kashkashian is certainly sympathetic to
Garbarek’s keening saxophone sound. At times, the twinned melodic lines
swim together, inhabiting their own tonal zones. At others, they engage
in a dialogue, equally sensitive in their deep explorations. Garbarek
had already heard Kashkashian’s chamber and orchestral work on several
albums in ECM’s New Series of modern composition. Their paths had also
crossed on the concert platform, at the 1999 Bergen Festival. They
improvised on an Armenian folk song, and composer Tigran Mansurian
went on to write a new work for the pair.
“Her sound just simply stayed with me,” says Garbarek. “But I actually
didn’t think that she’d be able to do it all.” Acclaimed on the
classical platform, Kashkashian is always solidly booked, but a call
from Manfred Eicher secured her services. Garbarek had already used
a viola mock-up in his initial arrangements, so he eagerly awaited
the real thing. “Her whole personality, and the way she plays her
instrument, just took over my mind, he says.”
The album’s title track has become a familiar part of Garbarek’s
live set over the last three years, and its melody is naggingly
familiar. Garbarek mulls over his titles very carefully, needing them
to sum up the mood of each piece. He’ll often take his inspiration
from novels or poetry. “Conversation with a Stone” sounds like it has
been inspired by Indonesian gamelan patterns. “Not consciously,” says
Garbarek. “Even in the most narrow Norwegian valley, a folk fiddle
player will have heard gamelan music, he will have heard a Brazilian
samba. In my case, I’ve heard a lot of music from around the world.”
The album’s closing track, “A Tale Begun”, adopts a markedly different
approach. “It was an idea that comes from the underlying part of
another track. It consists of several instruments that we wanted to
blend. As we worked on that, it just took on a life of its own.”
Garbarek credits Eicher with organisational, conceptual skills,
admiring his talent for programming the music’s logical development
on the album: he has a vision for the complete work. Garbarek feels
too close to his music, unable on his own to achieve the necessary
perspective. Invariably, the final element to be laid on each piece
is Garbarek’s own saxophone solo. “It’s very often a first or second
take. Very often, I do one take of the whole piece, not bits and
pieces. Usually, that works best. It makes for a very coherent effect.”
During a recent Jazz Legends interview on Radio 3, Garbarek said
he no longer considered his music to be jazz. He elaborates: “It’s
just a matter of definition, really. I don’t see the need to call it
jazz, but there is a practical reason. I wouldn’t completely belong
in the classical bins. I wouldn’t belong in the world or folk type
of bins. It’s fortunate, in a way, that there is this category,
although it’s not perfect for me.”
`In Praise of Dreams’ is out now on ECM; Jan Garbarek plays Symphony
Hall, Birmingham, tonight