Category: News

AZERBAIJAN COULD NOT SECURE THE ADOPTION OF ANTI-ARMENIAN RESOLUTION IN UN
PanArmenian News
Nov 25 2004
The General Assembly has considered necessary the preparation of
compromising variant of the resolution.
Yesterday at the 59th General Assembly meeting on the initiative of
Azerbaijan was considered the issue of the situation in the regions
which are controlled by Nagorno-Karabakh Army. As a result of the
discussion the draft resolution of official Baku by the provocative
name “On the Situation in Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan” was
not put to the vote. So, Azerbaijan could not obtain the UN Security
Council’s adoption of the resolution condemning the Armenians for
creating a security zone around Nagorno-Karabakh.
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan did not resolve to demand the project
to be put to the vote, realizing that this edition of the resolution
would not be accepted. Though Ilham Aliev had promised that in any case
official Baku would not be contented with the consideration and would
insist on the adoption of the suggested project, he did not keep his
word given to the journalists. Considering the chances, Azerbaijan
has accepted the inevitable of moving some important amendments in
the text. The chairman announced that it was necessary to work on
the resolution text and closed the meeting without specifying the
date when the document is to be put to the vote. The representative
of Azerbaijan did not contradict.
In fact happened exactly what Vardan Oskanyan said. On the eve of
the consideration the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia showed
the readiness of official Yerevan to take part in the working out
the compromising variant of the resolution. Oskanyan declared that
Armenia would not have anything against the fact that the document
might contain the initiative of creating an expert group within the
OSCE which would be empowered to investigate the real situation in the
region of security zone. It is important to note that a resolution
containing such appeal will not call the competence of Minsk Group
into question. It is a question of vital importance for us. Azerbaijan
presses towards getting new intermediaries to the settlement in order
to destroy the negotiation base created due to the efforts of the
Minsk Group co-Chairs.
At the General Assembly Meeting Armenia succeeded in a very important
point. Armenia could bar the adoption of unilateral document which was
based on information got from unreliable sources. It will be possible
to speak about a substantial diplomatic success of Yerevan in case
if the final edition of the resolution contains not the appraisal but
only the call for inspection of the situation in the area. The visit
of such fact-finding mission to the region may be even beneficial for
Armenia. The inspection will allow proving the fact of occupation of
the regions in the Northern part of Karabakh and the fact of ethnic
purge carried out in those regions.
The countries which have the key role in the UN marginally stood
against the initiative of Azerbaijan even on the first stage of the
consideration. At the Meeting of General Assembly the USA and Russia
gave to understand that Azerbaijan has to express its concern to
the OSCE not to the UN. Of course the Great Powers didn’t support
Azerbaijan not because they support Armenia. They are just not
interested in involving the UN in a process which is easier to control
within the OSCE Minsk Group. However, if we judge by absolute numbers,
it is obvious that the number of countries supporting Azerbaijan in
the UN decreases every year.
Among the big countries only Turkey and Pakistan support Azerbaijan.
Pakistan for the present moment remains a member of the Security
Council. And the World Powers oppose the Azerbaijan’s attempts to
involve the UN in the process of the settlement of Karabakh conflict.
This time the initiative of Baku was not supported not only by the
co-Chairs of Minsk Group, but also by other permanent members of
the Security Council, also all the countries of the EU and even some
countries of GUAM and the Organisation of Islamic Conference. For Baku
the denial of support from China and Georgia was amiss. For Armenia
it was a considerable diplomatic success. Formerly Peking and Tbilisi
during any voting on the issue of Karabakh conflict always took the
Azerbaijan’s side. They supposed that in this way they are defending
the priority of the territorial integrity principle. But the Armenian
diplomacy succeeded in convincing the Georgians and the Chinese that
the analogies between Karabakh, Taiwan and Abkhazia are absolutely
not suitable.
If we judge by the voting on the justification of including the issue
of the situation in the security zone in the agenda of the General
Assembly, we see that less than the quarter of the UN member-countries
support Azerbaijan today (42 out of 192). More than a half of the UN
members either voted against or abstained from voting which is almost
the same in this case. 49 countries did not participate in the voting
at all which is also kind of expression of disagreement to the subject
being discussed. Hence it is obvious that Azerbaijan has a very slim
chance to pass a unilateral anti-Armenian resolution in the UN.
24.11.2004, “PanARMENIAN Network” analytical department

ARMENIAN REFUGEES WILL BE ABLE TO DEMAND PAYMENT OF DAMAGES FROM AZERBAIJAN
PanArmenian News
Nov 25 2004
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yesterday the NKR National Assembly introduced
changes in the Law on Refugees. In compliance with these, Armenian
refugees, who live in the territory of Nagorno Karabakh, are granted
a status, which lets them fully exercise the rights and services,
provided for by the international practice. Besides, the law new
language allows the refugees to demand payment of damages from the
country, whose territory they were impelled to leave – Azerbaijan in
this case.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

REGIONS OF KARS SUPPORT BORDER OPENING
Azg/arm
26 Nov 04
Turkish online edition of Gazetem posted an article in one of its July
issues informing that the town of Kars counting 130 thousand people
assembled 56 thousand signatures for Armenian-Turkish border-gate
opening. The author of the article considers border opening the last
hope for Kars in its hard economic situation.
Few days ago, on November 18, another Turkish newspaper, Akos turned
to the issue of signature gathering, emphasizing that Kars citizens
are determined in their striving and that the concern has overflowed
to the whole region of Kars.
The paper indicates to town of Aqyaqa of the region citizens of which
followed the example of Kars population and organized a signature
gathering. Apparently, the initiative came from Kars mayor Naif
Alibeyoghli who interviewed to Akos.
Declaring Kars a sister town for the towns of Armenia, Georgia and
Azerbaijan, Alibeyoghli said: “Everyone in Kars and neighboring
regions demands border-gate opening because trade is the best way
for fighting confrontations. Perhaps we can even bring solution to
Karabakh issue by that step”.
The mayor noted at the end that Kars suffers the most as a result
of Turkeyâ~@~Ys blockade of Armenia and to show how illogical the
situation is said: “You can easily find Armenian vodka in Istanbul
though the border is closed”.
By Hakob Chakrian
–Boundary_(ID_lk6YManpkowy1l7JIbpEFg)–

CIS to hold antiterror drill in Tajikistan in early 2005 – Russian minister
ITAR-TASS news agency
25 Nov 04
Moscow, 25 November: The CIS Collective Rapid Deployment Force for the
Central Asian region is to hold an antiterrorist exercise in Tajikistan
in early 2005, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov said today.
According to him, the exercise will be on the whole similar to
that held by the Collective Rapid Deployment Force in Kyrgyzstan
last August.
The minister said that at the session of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization agreement had been reached on a balanced build-up
of forces in all three areas of the Collective Rapid Deployment
Force’s responsibility: Belarus in the west, Armenia in the south,
and Central Asia.

Armenian MPs miss Baku-hosted NATO seminar on purpose – Azeri official
ANS TV, Baku
25 Nov 04
Presenter Armenian MPs have not joined the Rose-Roth seminar of NATO’s
Parliamentary Assembly .
Namiq Aliyev, captioned as the head of the Milli Maclis’s international
relations department, shown speaking to reporters As you know, two
Armenian MPs were expected to join the seminar. However, about 30
minutes before their flight from Moscow to Baku, they phoned the NATO
headquarters and said that they were not coming.
Correspondent What were the reasons for their refusal to come?
Aliyev I do not have information about this. But one can judge that
they did not come here because they were afraid of the topics the
seminar was going to discuss. They have nothing to say. They would
be asked about the Karabakh problem. So, they were afraid of this
and chose not to come.
We have talked to their representative. They said that they were
discrediting themselves. This is what they said, what a NATO
representative said. It was just a game. They wanted us to deny
them entry. They wanted to deal a blow to us in this way. But they
themselves got the blow in the end.

Armenian premier plays down UN debates on Karabakh
Ayastani Anrapetutyun, Yerevan
25 Nov 04
Excerpt from Gayane Gasparyan’s report by Armenian newspaper Ayastani
Anrapetutyun on 25 November headlined “We should act jointly in the
Karabakh issue”
After the parliament’s Wednesday 24 November session, Armenia’s Prime
Minister Andranik Markaryan answered several questions by journalists.
Ayastani Anrapetutyun correspondent What do you think about the recent
developments in the Karabakh issue, particularly, the UN discussions?
Andranik Markaryan Naturally, now the situation is not like it was a
day or a month ago but this is not the first time the UN is adopting
decisions on Nagornyy Karabakh. We should try to neutralize their
negative effects through our Foreign Ministry.
Correspondent Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Tigran
Torosyan said on Tuesday that Armenia has been left alone: there is
no friendly country that might vote in Armenia’s favour. Does this
mean that Armenia has found itself in political isolation as far as
the Karabakh issue is concerned?
Markaryan I would not say so. It is not only the Council of Europe
that is considering the Karabakh issue as published . It has been
considered and will be considered by other structures too. If today
for some momentary reasons some countries are making decisions that we
do not accept or that run counter to what they have said before, this
will bring about some problems but it is not a tragedy. We should take
purposeful steps in this directions during the next discussions. The
government, the parliament and public organizations should act jointly
in the matter.
Correspondent Who is mainly to blame for the failed attempts to
prevent undesirable statements?
Markaryan Armenia’s representatives, both the Foreign Ministry and
the Armenian delegation have tried to work but the opponent is also
working. There is an international institution, certain changes,
ebbs and flows. In the meantime, some countries may change their
approaches, but this has not been and will not stay constant.
Correspondent Tigran Torosyan says we need a specific programme on
the issue. Does the government have such plans?
Markaryan Do you really think that to date the government has had no
specific program on the Karabakh issue and has been acting impromptu?
Passage omitted: comments on other minor issues

Karabakh Telecom expelled from GSM Association – Azeri minister
Assa-Irada
25 Nov 04
Baku, 25 November: Karabakh Telecom’s appeal to be restored as a GSM
Association member has been rejected, Communications and Information
Technologies Minister Ali Abbasov told Assa-Irada today. Abbasov said
that thus, Karabakh Telecom was expelled from the association once
and for all.
Commenting on the fact that Karabakh Telecom has become the second
mobile communications operator in Armenia, Abbasov said that the
company would not be successful. Since Karabakh Telecom is no longer
a member of the GSM Association, it will not be able to cooperate
with other member companies, he said.
Passage omitted: background information

Azeri public has little confidence in army – paper
Zerkalo, Baku
20 Nov 04
One of the key reasons behind the lack of public confidence in the
Azerbaijani army is that although the country is going through a
period of economic development, the government cannot provide even
for the basic needs of its army and keeps the social problems of
servicemen largely unresolved, an analytical article in Zerkalo
newspaper said. The article also said violations of the law and
unjustified fatalities were aggravating the already precarious
situation in the army. At the same time, people still have vivid
memories of the army’s defeat on the battlefield in 1991-94, which
resulted in the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia. The
following is an excerpt from C. Sumarinli and F. Teymurxanli report
by Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo on 20 November headlined “Society
still mistrusts the army” and subheaded “Azerbaijan will have to
‘bend over backwards’ to establish normal relations between the army
and the public”; subheads as published:
While the army is popular with society, many prefer to dodge military
service. This phrase is known in many countries of the world. Although
today the army acts as the guarantor of society, its Constitution and
statehood, the issue of trust in the armed forced is still high on
the agenda. If our state is to return the occupied territories, it has
to cover a long road in boosting the authority of the Azerbaijani army.
The official authorities claim that public confidence in the
Azerbaijani army has risen many times over the past several years. For
instance, the army’s top brass say 90-95 per cent of conscripts aged
between 18 and 35 are serving in the army now. According to official
information, 25-30 per cent of draftees receive deferment every year.
While in 1991 a little over 13,000 people received adjournment
from military service for being full-time students, in 2001 the
figure rose to 52,000. Whereas in 1991 some 1,300-1,500 people
received adjournment for family reasons, in 2001 the figure reached
17,000. According to a Defence Ministry source, these indicators have
barely changed to date.
Statistics shows that the number of deferments is on the increase. This
and other facts show that society is treating military service quite
negatively. Several examples will be sufficient to confirm this. A
17-year-old resident of the Sabuncu district Baku , Rafiq Asadov,
sees military service as a task beyond his strength. He says that if
he can find a decent job after leaving school, he will forego military
service. He is also opposed to the fact that recruitment age limit has
been brought to 35 years. “Now thanks to this age limit I will have
to live in fear of military service for 17 years,” he says with horror.
At the same time, another interviewee, a 14-year-old resident of
Salyan, Elnur Tagiyev, has a great confidence in the army. “I want to
become a military man. For this, I am going to apply for admission to
the Camsid Naxcivanski military lyceum. I think I can find myself only
in this sphere,” he said. Tagiyev added that military service attracts
him also in material terms. “There are no jobs in the countryside. Even
a university degree doesn’t guarantee you a job.”
However, quite a few people are trying to leave the armed forces
as soon as possible. For instance, not very long ago the officer of
a Mingacevir military unit, Maj Telman Abilov, was discharged from
the armed forced only after going on a hunger-strike. Lt-Col Uzeyir
Cafarov, who is better known as a military expert now, had to go to
court to be discharged from the army. Another employee of the Defence
Ministry’s educational and training centre, Col Elnur Mammadov, has
also taken the ministry administration to court in an effort to leave
the armed forces.
So what is going on? Why are servicemen eager to be discharged from
the armed forces? Everyone is saying one and the same thing: they want
to wage an irreconcilable struggle against negative phenomena. Some
believe that their military careers are over, others think civilian
life is easier and more profitable. If we take public sentiments
into account, it can be inferred that society is split into two camps:
representatives of one camp think military service is detrimental to
their careers, those of the other take pride in it.
Is the army to blame for our losses?
A major role in the widespread negative attitude towards the army
was played by the military defeat which is still vivid in people’s
memories. However, a representative of the military and scientific
centre under the Defence Ministry, Maj-Gen Tacaddin Mehdiyev, denies
that the army played a crucial role in the defeat. He believes that
major obstacles were put up in the way of army building in 1991.
“There was an order of the first Azerbaijani defence minister, Valeh
Barsadli, to establish self-defence battalions. According to the plan,
the battalions were to defend the positions held, while the process
of army formation was to run in parallel. But that required five to
six months,” he said.
Passage omitted: minor details
Mehdiyev said in the first stages of army building the bodies of
all soldiers killed in action were defiantly carried in front of
the presidential administration building and it was demanded that the
minister join the funeral procession. “Such actions served as the Sword
of Damocles hanging over the heads of officers and commanders. Military
commanders were afraid of launching offensive operations as they knew
that the death of just one soldier could trigger protest demonstrations
in Baku. For this and a number of other reasons it can be said with
a high degree of confidence that it wasn’t the army but the country’s
political administration and the opposition which preconditioned the
defeat in the Armenian-Azerbaijani war. This holds true for the period
between 1991 and 1994,” Mehdiyev said.
He also pointed to the contribution of the mass media to the country’s
defeat. To substantiate his remarks, he said: “Any redeployment
of troops on the front line was immediately reflected in the
press. Consequently, the Armenians, capitalizing on this information,
subjected the necessary directions to attacks.”
Society intends to condemn
The state military policy is based on the public opinion which
regulates whether this policy is enjoying popular support.
Passage omitted: examples from history
In the issues of security and army building, coordination between
the authorities and public opinion is an important strategic
factor. Experts believe that the process of army formation and
modernization must be open to specialists, as well as society in
general, because this is not only the prerogative of the state but also
that of society. Several experts believe that otherwise a gaping abyss
may appear between the authorities and the people. Namely, despite
what the official authorities are saying about military reforms and
improved conditions in the army, the public mostly thinks there are
no reforms as such, that only attempts are being made to imitate them
and that the army decay is continuing. Public opinion contradicts
statements about military reforms and in some cases translates into
overt condemnation. Some even believe that there is no confidence in
society that the state can repel possible military intervention. We,
in our turn, would like to say that society can be mistaken, but we
should not forget the centuries-long military experience of our people.
Defectors are still not condemned by society
The defeat of the Azerbaijani army in the military operations of
1991-94 and the ensuing occupation of our districts preconditioned
the loss of public confidence in the army, which, in turn, weakened
the Azerbaijani public’s enthusiasm.
Those advocating pacifist ideas think “it is better to be alive than
dead”, and proceeding from this principle refuse to take up arms to
defend their motherland in the event of clear intervention. One of
the horrors of the years of war is that those who defect from the
armed forces do not come under public condemnation. They are looked
upon almost as heroes “exemplifying courage”.
As an example, we can cite a recent incident: a street patrol detained
a soldier in the vicinity of the 20 Yanvar underground station (it
later transpired that the soldier had defected from the armed forces
– author). The surrounding people violently sprang at the patrol
officers as if they were defending someone absolutely innocent. The
dumbfounded street patrol had to let the soldier go under pressure
of the “patriotic” mob. And this is not just an isolated incident.
Passage omitted: statistical data of popular support for the army in
other countries
International military experts believe that the prestige of the
military profession has hit its all-time low. Experts maintain that
there are certain criteria for securing a victory. The success of a
military operation has a direct connection with the support for it
by at least 70 per cent of the population (40-60 per cent in the
worst case scenario). If the support level is below 40 per cent,
the military defeat is inevitable.
Azerbaijani society regards violations of the law in the army,
the unjustified deaths of servicemen and other negative facts as
indicators of the ongoing degradation of the armed forces. Ordinary
citizens cannot understand why the state cannot provide for the basic
needs of its army against the backdrop of the country’s large-scale
economic development. One of the reasons behind the loss of public
trust in the army is the fact that the salaries of servicemen in
Azerbaijan, a country rich in oil, is far from world standards,
while their social problems have yet to be resolved.
Passage to end omitted: repetition

NBC4.TV, CA
Nov 25 2004
Southland Groups Spread Holiday Cheer
Chicken Chucking And Turkey Dinners Benefit The Less Fortunate
LOS ANGELES — It’s Thanksgiving, and groups around the Southland are
making sure that the less fortunate have some holiday cheer.
In Long Beach, the “Long Beach 5K/10K Turkey Trot & Chicken Chucking
Championship” is holding a walk to benefit the nonprofit Community
Action Team, followed by participants hurling rubber chickens to
raise money for local food bank charities.
Pasadena’s Union Station Foundation is holding its annual
Thanksgiving Dinner-in-the-Park, billed as the “biggest potluck in
the nation.” Volunteers are expected to serve more than 5,000 meals
to the poor, homeless and elderly.
The Los Angeles Police Department, West Valley Pals and Woodland
Hills Optimist Club are hosting a free Thanksgiving dinner at the
Guadalupe Community Center.
In Valley Village, more than 500 men, women and children will enjoy a
traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Needy residents of
the East Valley will receive vouchers provided by Temple Beth Hillel
and distributed by numerous outreach organizations, including Jewish
War Veterans, the East Valley Multi-Purpose Center, Loaves and Fishes
and The Salvation Army, among others.
In Hollywood, Food on Foot will feed and distribute backpacks to the
homeless and poor. For every two 64-pound bags of trash collected
from the streets of Hollywood, Food on Foot will reward individuals
with a $5 food gift certificate from a fast-food restaurant or
grocery store.
In Orange County, the 27th annual Dana Point Turkey Trot will feature
5K, 10K and children’s races; the Orange County Rescue Mission will
serve Thanksgiving dinner in Santa Ana; and Rep. Loretta Sanchez,
D-Garden Grove, Hon. Bishop Jaime Soto and others will join in
serving Thanksgiving dinner to the needy during the 19th annual Casa
Garcia Thanksgiving dinner that owner Frank Garcia serves in the
parking lot of his eatery in Anaheim.
And in Glendale, Armenia Fund Inc. is holding its annual Thanksgiving
telethon, “Make It Happen,” to raise funds to complete the remaining
56 miles of the North-South “Backbone” Highway in Karabakh, Armenia.
Proceeds will also benefit continued assistance in the areas of
health care, education and infrastructure development in the Republic
of Armenia. The 12-hour event will be televised live from Glendale
throughout the United States, South America, the Middle East, Canada
and Armenia.

AzerTag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Nov 25 2004
PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES MINISTER OF
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS OF THE ISLAMIC
REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN
[November 25, 2004, 22:16:18]
President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev has received in the
Presidential Palace the minister of information technologies and
telecommunications of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Awais Ahmad
Khan Legari, on 25 November.
Warmly welcoming the visitor, President Ilham Aliyev has expressed
satisfaction in connection with his participation in the Conference
taking place in Baku, “Global Information-Communication
Technologies-2004”.
Having emphasized quick development of relations between two
countries in all areas, President Ilham Aliyev has noted that
official visit of the President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf to
Azerbaijan represents great value from the point of view of the
further strengthening and development of cooperation of two
countries. The Head of State has emphasized that personal friendly
relations with the President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf serve the
cause of the further development of links between two countries,
having noted thus great value of expansion of cooperation between
systems of communications of Azerbaijan and Pakistan.
President Ilham Aliyev stated full conformity of positions between
Azerbaijan and Pakistan in the field of the international questions,
highly having estimated in this connection the constant and complete
support by two countries each other in the questions connected to the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict and Kashmir problem.
Having expressed gratitude for warm reception and kind words, the
Pakistani minister has noted that meeting with President Ilham Aliyev
is great honor for him, has conveyed to the Azerbaijan President
sincere greetings and deep respect of President Pervez Musharraf.
Once again having passed to the Head of Azerbaijan State the
invitation of President Pervez Musharraf connected to official visit
of President Ilham Aliyev to Pakistan, Mr. Awais Ahmad Khan Legari
has told that Pakistan with great impatience waits for visit of the
President of Azerbaijan.
He has noted that relations of our countries in political, economic
and other spheres successfully develop, that the great value in this
connection represents also cooperation in the field of communications
and information technologies.
Having noted that Azerbaijan and Pakistan are the friendly and
brotherly countries, the Minister has emphasized that the two states
completely support position of each other in Nagorny Karabakh and
Kashmir questions.
The visitor informed that on November 24, at session of the UN
General Assembly, Pakistan has made special statement in support of
the full right of Azerbaijan on Nagorny Karabakh.
The Pakistani minister has expressed confidence that relations of two
countries in all areas, including in sphere of information
technologies, and henceforth would develop successfully.
Having expressed deep gratitude for sincere greetings of President
Pervez Musharraf and the invitation to pay official visit to
Pakistan, President Ilham Aliyev asked the Minister to convey his
greetings to the Head of Pakistan State. President of Azerbaijan has
expressed confidence that his visit to Pakistan would serve the cause
of further expansion of relations between two countries.
At the meeting, also present were Minister of Communications and
Information Technologies of Azerbaijan Ali Abbasov and the ambassador
of Pakistan in Azerbaijan Mohammed Hafiz.
–Boundary_(ID_ELZfdVpbikoYk4YYYdGSKA)–