Category: News

Al-Jazeera, Qatar
July 28 2004
Shift in US arms-sales policy deplored
By Ben Duncan in Washington DC

US foreign policy is now driven by the need for logistical support

US arms-control experts are expressing concern that the need for
allies has made Washington more willing to sell dangerous weapons to
countries previously shunned owing to poor human-rights records,
nuclear-proliferation activities and suspected links to terrorism.
They cite such nations as Pakistan, which provides much of the
intelligence and manpower needed to go after armed organisations bent
on attacking US interests.
Then there are allies in Central Asia that provide basing and
overflight rights for the US military. In the case of Djibouti,
cooperation is needed to secure ports of entry used by people
described by the US as terrorists going to and from the Horn of
Africa.
Officials from the Bush administration often cite 11 September 2001
as the day the world changed. One of the changes included relaxing
arms-export regulations in an effort to curry favour with countries
deemed strategically important in the fight against al-Qaida and
other jihadist groups, some experts said.
Policy reversal
“Certainly the day after the 9/11 bombing attacks, we saw the Bush
administration ask for a blanket lifting of restrictions on
arms-export controls,” said Rachel Stohl, a senior analyst at the
Center for Defence Information (CDI), a Washington thinktank.

Once Taliban’s sponsor, Pakistan
today is an indispensable US ally

This constitutes a reversal of a long-standing US policy, Stohl wrote
in a recent CDI report.
“The Bush administration has expressed a willingness to provide
weapons to countries that in the past have been criticised for
human-rights violations, lack of democracy, and even support of
terrorism,” she said.
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, President George Bush waived
sanctions established under the Arms Export Control Act against
India, Pakistan and several other countries.
Bush said the sanctions were not in the “national security interests
of the United States”, a move some experts said sent a message that
the US would lift penalties on states that provided assistance in the
“war on terrorism”.
“We are definitely seeing, since the war on terrorism, this ramping
up in arms export, especially to new allies in the campaign,” said
Frida Berrigan, deputy director of the Arms Trade Project at the
World Policy Institute.

New yardstick
Congress passed the Arms Export Control Act in 1976 to establish a
licensing system for the commercial sale of arms to foreign
governments.
“We are definitely seeing, since the war on terrorism, this ramping
up in arms export, especially to new allies in the campaign”
Frida Berrigan,
Deputy Director of the Arms Trade Project at the World
Policy Institute, Washington DC

“That is the yardstick by which all arms exports are supposed to be
measured, but that yardstick isn’t being used,” Berrigan said.
Prior to September 11, US sanctions greatly diminished weapons sales
to several countries now receiving such aid, according to a recent
CDI report.
Pakistan, India, Armenia, Tajikistan and Yugoslavia have all had
their sanctions lifted and are all considered allies in the US war on
terrorism.
In the case of Pakistan, the need to secure its help in confronting
Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in neighbouring Afghanistan was of such
strategic importance, that past transgressions involving nuclear
proliferation were overlooked, experts say.
“We needed to woo them, we needed to get them back in the fold,” said
Matt Schroeder, project manager of the Arms Sales Monitoring Project
at the Federation of American Scientists.

Blank cheques?
By most accounts, Pakistan’s cooperation in the “war on terror” has
been significant. Such assistance was rewarded with $75 million in
2002 for the purchase of US-made weapons and more than $200 million
in 2003 for such purposes, according to the CDI report.
Pakistan was recently given “major non-NATO ally status”, making it
eligible to receive increased levels of US military equipment.
Several countries in Central Asia, including Tajikistan, Uzbekistan,
Azerbaijan and Armenia, received substantial US funding in the two
years after 9/11 for weapons or military training. All had been
denied such assistance before the attacks, yet subsequently all were
recruited as allies in the “war on terrorism”.
Some, as in the case of Turkmenistan, provided overflight rights,
while others such as Azerbaijan were given millions of dollars for
“specialised training and equipment to prevent and respond to
terrorist incidents”.

Central Asian nations are getting
rewards for security cooperation
Many of these countries have troubling political histories involving
military coups, civil wars and various inter-state conflicts.
Some arms-control experts worry about the difficulty of ensuring that
weapons sold to such countries aren’t diverted into the hands of
terrorist groups or other private militias.
“A lot of the mechanisms that are in place to control and safeguard
US weapons from being misused aren’t enforced,” Berrigan says.
End-user agreements, designed to ensure that weapons shipments reach
their intended destinations, have been broken in the past, she said,
and the offending nations often go unpunished.
“We are sort of looking the other way when they violate end-user
agreements,” she says.
‘Counter-intuitive’
With the rise of illegal arms trafficking, experts fear the
possibility that US arms shipments will be bought and rerouted by
third-party middlemen to free-lance terrorists seeking high-tech
weaponry.
“The risk of diversion is significant,” Stohl said.

Experts say the risk of diversion
of US arms exports is significant

Stohl said the Bush policy of expanding arms sales to countries with
unstable political climates is “counter-intuitive” in the post-9/11
environment.
Some analysts also question the practice of lifting arms-export
sanctions against countries often criticised for human-rights
violations.
Several countries in Central Asia condemned for human-rights abuses
by the State Department have benefited from US military assistance in
exchange for support in the “war on terrorism”, experts say.
The sale of small arms, in particular, has allowed certain countries
to crack down on political dissent from opposition groups, Berrigan
said.
“These are the sort of weapons that are used to perpetrate
human-rights abuses,” she said.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 28 2004
Opposition Leader Calls for Protest against Armenian Officers’
Arrival in Baku
The Unified Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (UAPFP) will be organizing
a series of pickets outside the ministries of Defense and Foreign
Affairs, as well as the embassies of NATO member states in Baku to
protest against the participation of Armenian officers in NATO
training to be held in Azerbaijan this September.
MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev, chairman of the UAPFP, told a Tuesday news
conference that his party had applied to several international
organizations and some foreign embassies in Baku requesting them to
prevent the Armenian officers’ visit to the Azerbaijani capital.
Hasanguliyev stressed that if the Azerbaijani community showed a
strong protest the relevant governmental bodies and international
organizations would give in.

Deseret News, UT
July 28 2004
Birth nurses have big impact
Effect on patient, hospital’s future cited in BYU study
By Lois M. Collins
Deseret Morning News
What a nurse does in the delivery room to “dignify” the
birthing process may have lasting impact on the emotional well-being
of the patient and the economic future of the hospital, according to
a recently published study.
The results of research conducted by Brigham Young University
nursing professor Lynn Callister and co-authored by undergraduate
Rachel Matthews is published in the current issue of the Journal of
Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing.
“Even though this is an experience that lasts hours at most,
it’s a life-changing event that influences a woman for the rest of
her life,” Callister said in an e-mail interview with the Deseret
Morning News. She is in Russia on a Fulbright Fellowship. “The
satisfaction of a woman with her care while giving birth has a
lasting impact on her perceptions about the quality of the
health-care facility.
“Dignity represents an affirmation of being treated with
respect, experiencing open communication, engendering a sense of
confidence that power is shared and providing the woman with a sense
of individual worth,” she said.
She added that some believe a good birth experience does many
positive things, from enhancing the woman’s sense of self-worth and
helping her accept her maternal role to improving a couple’s
relationship and generally enriching the family experience.
The BYU researchers interviewed first-time mothers who had
given birth in the last three months. After each woman described her
child’s birth, responses were categorized and common issues
identified.
“The birthing experience doesn’t really depend on your doctor,”
one participant told them. “He’s there the last five or 10 minutes.
It’s the nurse that’s with you through the whole 12 hours. She plays
even a bigger role than the doctor.”
The mothers said that nurses best show respect for the birth
experience by sharing joy, communicating clearly, heeding the
mother’s requests and acknowledging the woman’s strength and courage
during the delivery process.
“Giving birth should be celebrated as a birthday party,”
Callister said, “and having the sense that her caregivers are
celebratory, that they have a desire to individualize her care and
are listening to what she is saying is so important.”
To illustrate the point, Callister tells of a woman for whom
delivery was moving so fast that it was too late for pain medication.
Contractions were coming fast and hard when the nurse cupped the
soon-to-be mother’s face in her hands, looked into her eyes and said,
“Nina, look at me and focus. Breathe with me. You can do it and I
will help you.” Later, the patient credited the nurse with helping
her find strength she didn’t know she had.
Callister can also tell stories that demonstrate what appeared
to the woman giving birth to be a lack of care. And she cites a
landmark study that has already shown “perceived lack of a caring
approach during such a vulnerable time was one of the core components
. . . for a traumatic birth.”
It’s a point, she said, to which hospitals and birthing
facilities should pay attention.
“In the majority of households in the United States, women are
the gatekeepers for family health and the decisionmakers about
seeking health care. Studies have demonstrated that when women have a
quality experience with a health-care facility, they are more likely
to make future health-care decisions that involve the same
institution,” Callister said. “If a woman has a positive experience
with a medical center, she is more likely to take an elderly parent
to that facility for care.”
Approximately 6 million American women become pregnant each
year.
While in Russia, Callister has been interviewing Russian women
who recently gave birth, and she has two students who are collecting
data on Armenian and Ukrainian childbearing women, as well, she said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Department of Armenian Studies, Haigazian University
Beirut, Lebanon
Contact: Ara Sanjian
Tel: 961-1-353011
Email: [email protected]
Web:
HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN LECTURES AT HAIGAZIAN UNIVERSITY ON THE ARMENIAN
COMMUNITY IN ABKHAZIA
BEIRUT, Monday, 19 July, 2004 (Haigazian University Department of
Armenian Studies Press Release) — Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian lectured at
Haigazian University on “The Armenian Community of Abkhazia” on
Thursday, 15 July, 2004.
Tchilingirian is Research Fellow and Associate Director of Projects of
the Eurasia Program at the Judge Institute of Management, University of
Cambridge. He received his PhD from the London School of Economics and
Political Science in February 2003. The title of his dissertation was
“The Struggle for Independence in Post-Soviet South Caucasus: Karabakh
and Abkhazia.” Tchilingirian’s research interests include political and
territorial disputes in the Caucasus and Central Asia and their impact
on economic and geo-strategic developments, the affairs of the Armenian
Church and the Diaspora. His numerous analytical articles and reports
have appeared in journals and publications in Europe, North America and
the Middle East. Tchilingirian’s talk on the Armenians of Abkhazia was
partly based on his two-week trip to Abkhazia in the summer of 2003.
Tchilingirian first described the overall situation in Abkhazia, which
lies on the north-eastern shores of the Black Sea and has a territory of
8,600 sq km. Abkhazia was an autonomous republic within Georgia during
the Soviet period. With its wonderful climate and developed
infrastructure for tourism, it was considered the ‘Riviera’ of the
Soviet Union. Successive Soviet leaders from Stalin onwards had their
summer resorts in Abkhazia. About 1.5 million tourists visited Abkhazia
annually in Soviet times, when its total population was only half a
million. Agriculture was also a very successful sector of the economy,
and Abkhazia had one of the highest GDPs in the Soviet Union.
The Abkhaz form a separate ethno-linguistic group in the North Caucasus,
said Tchilingirian. Ancient Greek and Roman chronicles already mention
them as living in this area. Sixty percent of the Abkhaz nominally
follow the Byzantine Orthodox tradition of Christianity. Abkhazia came
under Ottoman rule in the fifteenth century and stayed as such in the
next few hundred years. Some forty percent of the Abkhazians now are
Muslims. However, both Christian and Muslim Abkhazians remain attached
to their earlier pagan rites. There is no mosque, for example, on the
territory of Abkhazia, which was conquered by the Russians in the early
nineteenth century.
The lecturer explained that the Abkhaz had been a minority in their
autonomous republic in Soviet times, forming only 18 percent of the
total population. Georgians were the majority. Throughout the Soviet
period inter-ethnic problems existed between the two communities,
leading to the emergence of an Abkhaz secessionist movement. One of the
key grievances of the Abkhazians was the systematic policy of
“Georgianization”, which restricted the use of the Abkhaz language and
culture. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, a war erupted between
the Abkhaz and the Georgians. It ended in an Abkhaz victory, but at the
high cost of many deaths and destruction.
Tchilingirian continued that despite the presence of cease-fire
observers representing the United Nations and the Commonwealth of
Independent States (the latter, largely Russians), sporadic clashes do
continue in the bordering region of Gali. Some 60,000 Georgians have
recently been permitted to resettle in the Gali region, but another
250-275 thousand Georgians, who fled Abkhazia during the war, remain
refugees. Hence, the overall population of Abkhazia has gone down in
recent years.
According to official figures, there are now 350 thousand inhabitants in
Abkhazia. However, Tchilingirian stated that unofficial figures put the
number at 250 thousand, which is more realistic. The parliament has
passed a law making Abkhaz the primary language in the country and
rendering its teaching mandatory in all schools. However, there are not
enough qualified teachers to teach the native language, and the Abkhaz
generally remain Russophone, especially in the cities. Moreover, there
has been a very sharp economic decline since the war. People now largely
subsist on private, small-scale agriculture. Not much reconstruction is
going on, and many of the buildings damaged during the war are still not
repaired, especially in Sukhum, the capital. Post-war Abkhazia is
completely dependent on Russia. It carries on most of its trade with its
large, northern neighbor and uses the Russian ruble as its currency. The
Abkhaz are also following Russian time, which has two hours’ difference
from Georgia.
There are some signs that the economy, especially tourism, is gradually
picking up, explained Tchilingirian. Some 300 thousand tourists from
Russia visited Gagra from January to August 2003, a much cheaper
destination compared to similar locations in Russia. Moreover, Russian
companies are now investing in tourism and energy exploration in Abkhazia.
Tchilingirian then focused on the Armenians living in Abkhazia, who, he
said, feel isolated from and are largely forgotten by fellow Armenians
both in Armenia and in the rest of the Diaspora.
Armenians have lived in Abkhazia for about 150 years, said
Tchilingirian. Although Armenian merchants had established a small
community there in the Middle Ages, the first wave of the ancestors of
modern-day Armenians in Abkhazia arrived only in the 1880s, fleeing the
regions of Trabzon, Ordu and Samsun-Jenik in the Ottoman Empire. A
second wave followed after the genocide of 1915, especially from Artvin.
Hence, the Armenians of Abkhazia descend mostly from the region of
Hamshen, but unlike the Islamized Hemshin living in Turkey and Adjaria
today, the Hamshen Armenians of Abkhazia remain Christian.
Tchilingirian underlined the fact that, after the flight of the
Georgians, Armenians now form about 30 percent of the population of
Abkhazia. According to official figures, Armenians number about 100
thousand out of the total 350 thousand inhabitants of Abkhazia. The
lecturer gives more credence, however, to the estimate of 60-80 thousand
Armenians currently living in Abkhazia, out of a total estimated
population of 250 thousand. Armenian presence is significant in Sukhum,
Gudauta, Gagra and their vicinities, while Armenians living previously
in and around Ochamchira have left their homes. There are now around
50-60 Armenian villages in Abkhazia, while, in the past, that number was
as high as 100. Moreover, Armenians living in the city of Adler in
southern Russia have family ties with the Armenians in Abkhazia.
Tchilingirian explained that even after the expulsion of the Georgians,
Abkhazians now only form a plurality in their country and are destined
to remain less than half the total population in the foreseeable future.
Following the Armenians, the Russians are now the third largest group.
The Abkhaz are trying to forge close ties with the other minorities in
their republic, and, hence, the Armenians can play a significant role in
the country’s internal and external politics. The strong Armenian voice
in Abkhaz politics is also conditioned by the extensive Armenian
participation in the Abkhaz war against Georgia. There were two Armenian
battalions, totaling 1500 soldiers, in the Abkhaz army, which consisted
of 6-7 thousand soldiers. The Armenians sustained 240 dead, and there
are now about 300 crippled former Armenian fighters. Twenty Armenians
were made heroes of Abkhazia, the highest honor in the country, while 70
others received other decorations. There are currently three Armenian
deputies in the Abkhaz Parliament, which consists of 35 members. Among
them is Galust Trapizonian, who lost his leg fighting in the war. Other
Armenians serve in the ministries and town councils. In Gagra, Armenians
form 40 percent of the population, and Ishkhanuhi Kasian is the city’s
deputy mayor. Eight out of the Gagra town council’s 28 members are
Armenian, while Arsen Altunian is the deputy commander of Abkhazia’s
small air force.
There are currently 41 Armenian all-day schools in Abkhazia, said
Tchilingirian, with 3180 students and 640 teachers. Before the war,
there were 52 Armenian schools. These schools are now being sponsored by
the community’s two main organizations, Krunk (founded in Sukhum in
1994) and Mashtots (formed in Gagra in 1989). The Abkhaz government is
providing 50 percent of the salaries of the teachers, while the other
half is being supplied by the parents of the students. Almost all
teachers in these schools are Armenian, with very few Russians and
Abkhaz. The difficulties these schools face range from organizing an
up-to-date curriculum and acquiring textbooks to coping with the lack of
qualified teachers and money to repair the damage caused to the
buildings during the war. For example, the Hovhannes Tumanian school in
the mostly Armenian inhabited village of Alakhadzi, south of Gagra, was
renovated in 2003 only after the principal found a benefactor, a
graduate of this school, who is now a successful businessman in the
Czech Republic. In recent years, the Armenian schools in Abkhazia have
been receiving textbooks from Armenia, but the shipment costs from
Yerevan have to be covered by the local community.
Tchilingirian told the audience that cultural life in the Armenian
community of Abkhazia is only developing gradually. The Tsovashunch song
and dance ensemble has been organized in Sukhum, and there is a
bilingual (Armenian-Russian) newspaper, “Hamshen”, published and edited
by Artavazd Saretsian and his wife, Gohar. They receive no financial
assistance and rely solely on subscription fees and the sale of
individual issues. There are extremely few paid advertisements published
in the newspaper. Tchilingirian explained that Saretsian has an old
computer, on which the newspaper is prepared. Once a month, Gohar takes
the diskette to the nearby Russian city of Sochi. She returns to Sochi a
week later to take the 2000 printed copies for distribution in Abkhazia,
bribing the Russian border guards along the way. Artvazd Saretsian is a
poet and a member of the Armenian section of the writers’ union in
Abkhazia. He has translated Abkhazian sayings and short stories into
Armenian. Besides the newspaper, he also publishes books. There are two
Armenian church buildings in Sukhum and Gagra, but they have no
full-time priests. Armenian clerics from the neighboring region of
Krasnodar in Russia visit the community from time to time.
Tchilingirian explained that Armenian activities are hampered due to the
lack of official links between Armenia and Abkhazia. The Armenian
government does not wish to annoy Tbilisi. Like all former Soviet
republics, Armenia had its own summer resort in Abkhazia, the Armenia
Hotel, where the Soviet Armenian elite passed its summer vacations.
Since the war, the Armenian government has practically given up its
rights over this hotel so as not to be forced to sign any agreement with
the Abkhaz government, which is not recognized by Georgia. The hotel has
now been leased for 25 years to the Abkhaz army.
In the question-and-answer session, which followed the lecture,
Tchilingirian emphasized that Armenian community leaders are unhappy
with the lack of interest that both the government of Armenia and the
Holy See of Echmiadzin show towards them. In the absence of Armenian
priests, some Armenians hold their weddings and baptisms in the local
Orthodox churches. Moreover, he made it clear that while the dialect of
the Armenians in Abkhazia is closer to the western branch of the
Armenian language, the language taught at the Armenian schools is the
standard Eastern Armenian. Armenians are engaged in agricultural trade
and many own cafés along the seashore. During the war years, some 15-20
thousand Armenians migrated to Russia, and many of the youth continue to
see no prospects for the future, a feature which deeply concerns the
community leaders. In the past, most Armenians in Abkhazia used to study
in the institutions of higher learning in Armenia. These graduates
continue to hold the important positions in the community. However, the
Armenian government has ceased providing full scholarships to Armenians
from Abkhazia in the past 2-3 years, resulting in a sharp decline in the
number of Armenians from Abkhazia specializing in Yerevan. This feature
will undoubtedly adversely affect the teaching of Armenian subjects in
Abkhazia in the future, said Tchilingirian. Abkhazia has its own
university from Soviet times, but its educational standards are not
high. When a member of the audience asked about new religious movements,
the lecturer explained that the Abkhaz government has passed laws
against the spread of religious cults. Indeed, as an unrecognized state,
Abkhazia has avoided the scrutiny of international human rights
organizations. Finally, Tchilingirian informed the audience that
presidential elections would be held in Abkhazia in October, and various
Abkhaz factions are now courting the estimated 30 thousand Armenian
voters. Some political parties from Armenia are also trying to establish
themselves in Abkhazia, but these efforts have received a mixed reaction
within the local Armenian community.
Haigazian University is a liberal arts institution of higher learning
established in Beirut in 1955. For more information about its activities
you are welcome to visit its web-site at <;. For additional information on the activities of its Department of Armenian Studies, contact Ara Sanjian at .
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS OFFICE
Armenian Holy Apostolic Church Canadian Diocese
Contact; Deacon Hagop Arslanian, Assistant to the Primate
615 Stuart Avenue, Outremont Quebec H2V 3H2
Tel; 514-276-9479, Fax; 514-276-9960
Email; [email protected] Website;
A PRINCELY DONATION TO THE ARMENIAN CHURCH CANADIAN DIOCESE

In response to an appeal by His Eminence Bishop Bagrat Galstanian,
Primate of the Canadian Diocese, an anonymous benefactor, a devout
believer and supporter of the spiritual mission of the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin and of the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church, has
graciously donated the princely sum of 200.000 US dollars. The
donation is intended to promote the spiritual and national missions of
the Diocese and to foster the realization of many new projects.

This generous donation will permit the rekindle youth programs, as
well as educational and more specifically, spiritual projects.
For the past twenty years, under the auspices of the Mother See of
Holy Etchmiadzin, the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada has
been serving the faithful of the Armenian Church by advancing
spiritual, cultural and educational enrichment.

On behalf of the Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of
Canada, the Diocesan Council, the clergy and the faithful, we extend
our heartfelt gratitude to the noble benefactor, and pray that
Almighty God protect and grant good health and long life.

Divan of the Diocese
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
July 28
AZERBAIJAN PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES UKRAINIAN SUPREME RADA
COMMISSIONER ON HUMAN RIGHTS NINA KARPACHOVA
[July 28, 2004, 19:25:34]
President of Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev received at the
Presidential palace Ukrainian Supreme Rada Commissioner on Human
Rights Nina Karpachova on July 28.
Having welcomed the guest, the Azerbaijani leader expressed
satisfaction with successful development of Ukraine -Azerbaijan
relations in political, economic and other spheres.
Touching upon the results of his recent state visit to Ukraine,
President Ilham Aliyev noted that it had shown once again both
parties’ adherence to strategic partnership.
The Head of State pointed out that both Azerbaijan and Ukraine are
relatively young states, and that the process of building an
independent state requires more efforts in the spheres of politics,
economy and the priority one of human rights protection. In this
connection, President Ilham Aliyev stressed the importance of
cooperation between the two countries’ ombudsman institutes that,
according to him, is the new element in the social life of
independent states.
The Azerbaijan President highly appraised the Azerbaijan-Ukraine
human rights related cooperation in the framework of various
international organizations, especially, the Council of Europe. In
this context, the Head of State pointed to the importance of
experience exchange and coordination of efforts in this direction,
and expressed hope for development of cooperation between the two
countries’ ombudsman institutes in the future.
Having thanked the Azerbaijani leader for the warm meeting,
Commissioner of the Ukrainian Supreme Rada on Human Rights Nina
Karpachova advised that on the first day of the visit the members of
the Ukrainian delegation had visited the tomb of nationwide leader
Heydar Aliyev and his spouse Zarifa khanum.
She also passed on greetings and best wishes from the President of
Ukraine Leonid Kuchma to the President of Azerbaijan.
Noting the rapid dynamics of social and political life in the
country, the guest emphasized the importance of continuation of the
nationwide leader Heydar Aliyev’s political course aimed at
sustainable development of Azerbaijan.
Mrs. Nina Karpachova especially focused on her expected meeting with
refugees. Describing the hard living conditions of over million
people as a humanitarian catastrophe, the Ukrainian ombudswoman noted
that her country had always supported territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan with respect to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh.
She also stated that anticipated signing of bilateral agreement on
ombudsman institutes cooperation would open a new page in the history
of relations between the two countries in the sphere of human rights
protection.
Stressing active involvement of 500-thousand Azerbaijani Diaspora in
socio-political life in Ukraine, Mrs. Karpachova thanked the
President for the constant attention and care about representatives
of the Ukrainian Diaspora in Azerbaijan.
She also expressed gratitude for the care about the crew of the
Ukrainian aircraft crashed in spring in Baku.
Present at the meeting was Commissioner on Human Rights of the
Azerbaijan Republic Mrs. Elmira Suleymanova.

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
July 28
Russia: Meskhetians Setting Off Into New Exile But Vow To Continue
Fighting
By Jean-Christophe Peuch

Earlier this year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
launched a U.S.-sponsored resettlement program designed to help
Meskhetians from Russia’s Krasnodar region emigrate. The first group
of 84 Meskhetians arrived in the United States in mid-July with the
hope of obtaining permanent resident status and, eventually, U.S.
citizenship. For these Meskhetians, this might well be the end of
their journey. But the plight of those thousands who remain in the
Krasnodar region is likely to continue until they, too, finally
depart, after clearing last-minute hurdles set up by local
authorities.
Prague, 28 July 2004 — For the third time in 60 years, Russia’s
stateless Meskhetian community is setting off into exile.
Last week, 84 Meskhetians bid farewell to Russia’s southern Krasnodar
region and arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under a U.S.
resettlement program. These few families are the first of a 9,000- to
10,000-strong contingent expected to emigrate to the United States
within the next few months.
Arrangements for their initial accommodation are being made by the
Lutheran Children and Family Services, a private voluntary agency
that is providing them with resettlement services, such as housing,
food, clothing, and other basic necessities.
Sarvar Tedorov is the local chief representative of Vatan
(Fatherland), a Moscow-based nongovernmental group that campaigns for
Meskhetian rights throughout the former Soviet Union.
Speaking to RFE/RL from Krasnodar, Tedorov said he and many other
Meskhetians have decided to accept the U.S. resettlement offer for
want of viable alternatives: “Just imagine a man locked in a room and
thrashed [by his captors]. Windows are closed, armed people and wild
dogs are guarding, but the fanlight has been left open. If this man
wants to escape, then he has to use this fanlight. Thanks to the
U.S., [we] are offered an opportunity to escape all possible forms of
harassment — including physical — by local authorities. [We] simply
have no other way out. We must save our children and our future.”
Of all Meskhetians, those who live in Krasnodar have probably
suffered the most in recent years.
Also known as Meskhis, the Meskhetians are the survivors or
descendants of a rural Muslim population of southern Georgia that
Soviet leader Josef Stalin ordered deported to Central Asia in
November 1944 for reasons that remain unclear.”We must save our
children and our future.” — Sarvar Tedorov, the local chief
representative of Vatan (Fatherland), a Moscow-based nongovernmental
group that campaigns for Meskhetian rights
In 1989, following bloody pogroms that claimed dozens of lives in
Uzbekistan’s Ferghana Valley, tens of thousands of Meskhetians were
forcibly evacuated by the Soviet army and resettled in other areas,
mainly in Azerbaijan and Russia’s Krasnodar region.
Although Meskhetians themselves disagree on whether they descend from
ethnic Turks sent to colonize Georgia, or Christian Georgians who
forcibly converted to Islam under Ottoman rule, they are generally
described as “Turks” and perceived as such throughout most of the
former Soviet Union.
This has created particular problems for Krasnodar Meskhetians,
confronted with the nationalist, pan-Orthodox policy of Governor
Aleksandr Tkachev and his predecessor.
Most of Krasnodar Territory’s 13,500 Meskhetians are denied basic
civil rights — including access to work — and suffer from various
forms of harassment.
Only 4,000 of them have been granted Russian citizenship. As for the
rest, they have no legal status and continue to live in judicial and
administrative limbo 15 years after their enforced evacuation from
Uzbekistan.
The U.S. Refugee Program was launched in mid-February with an initial
16 August deadline. It is open to all Krasnodar Meskhetians who
either have no legal status or are married to stateless individuals.
The Russian authorities have welcomed the U.S. initiative, saying it
will help close the Meskhetian issue and defuse ethnic tensions in
the Krasnodar area.
Yet rights groups and community elders accuse the Russian leadership
of hypocrisy.
Tedorov said local authorities have so far failed to deliver on a
written pledge to help Meskhetians organize their departure.
Vadim Karastelev runs the School of Peace, a Novorossiisk-based
nongovernmental group that campaigns for interethnic dialogue in the
Krasnodar area. He says that, despite official denials, regional
officials are creating last-minute hurdles for Meskhetians seeking
U.S. refugee status.
“Tkachev and the heads of administrative districts where Meskhetians
live have promised to help those who want to leave. But, in fact,
they are creating many obstacles,” Karastelev said. “The main problem
concerns real estate. Citing various pretexts, local authorities are
refusing to help Meskhetians sell their houses and other property.
This is why those who left [last week] had to give relatives a
power-of-attorney so that they can sell their houses on their
behalf.”
Despite these obstacles, Karastelev said he expects the next group of
emigrants to leave for the United States in September.
Community leader Tedorov said his family and others decided to apply
for U.S. refugee status after hearing Russian President Vladimir
Putin lend support to Governor Tkachev in a televised address.
“I [decided to apply] on 24 March,” Tedorov said. “Rather, it’s my
wife who applied on our behalf after she watched television. What she
heard [Putin say] made her cry. As the rest of my people, I have to
leave [for the United States]. But I will continue to fight for my
civic rights from there and make demands to both Russia and Georgia.”
Unlike other peoples deported during World War II, the Meskhetians
were not rehabilitated after Stalin’s death. In addition to being
denied the right to collectively return to their home region, they
are still awaiting an official pronouncement that their deportation
was unjustified.
When joining the Council of Europe five years ago, Georgia made a
commitment to provide a legal basis for the return of Meskhetians
with a view to organizing their collective repatriation.
Yet, citing potential troubles with its large Armenian community,
Georgia has done little so far. A few Meskhetians have returned
individually, but their number does not exceed a few dozen.
“Russia and Georgia are responsible for the fact that we’ve been
deported twice,” Tedorov said.
“Those of us who still have faith in the future will continue — from
the U.S. — to press these countries to recognize our rights.”
Tedorov added. “We must be rehabilitated.”

Azg, Armenia
July 28
FOREIGN WORDS AND NAMES OF OUR… BREASTS
Today most of the clothes that are sold in Armenia are bearing some
words and names in foreign languages. We don’t have our own fashion
industry and this phenomenon is caused by this factor only. Or maybe
Armenian is not fashionable.
The dresses bear the names of the famous fashion designers as Gucci,
Versace and others, on the other hand, they are decorated with such
phases like “Love me”, or “Kiss me”, “Follow me”, etc. Can you
imagine what could happen if we all followed these instructions. We
could appear in a situation when some one could do undesirable things
with us. We could become victims of these phrases and words that are
decorated on our breast.
I think that’s a good reason for having a good and contemporary
Armenian fashion industry. We will not have to buy clothes bearing
phases the meanings of which we don’t understand and put our fates at
stake.
I would like to touch upon various blouses that resemble some letters
in their shape, but this is already another story.
By Gohar Gevorgian

The Daily Star, Lebanon
July 29 2004
Muslim Democrats hopeful but wary
By Ashraf Fahim
Special to The Daily Star

NEW YORK: Maya Berry remembers a time when, as an Arab-American
delegate to the 1992 Democratic convention, she held aloft a placard
that read – “Palestinian Self-Determination” – and was trailed by
security guards bearing walkie-talkies for her troubles. That
incident came at a time when Arab-Americans were struggling to get
onto the political map.
“To be frank, I felt fairly unwelcome,” recalls Berry, a Michigan
delegate to this week’s Democratic convention in Boston,
Massachusetts. “And now it’s like night and day. The Democratic Party
organizes around ethnic constituencies and we’ve become part of that
coalition.”
With issues like Iraq and civil liberties at the heart of the
Democrats’ critique of the Bush administration, and even a formal
recognition of the right of Palestinians to a state in the party
platform, Berry and the over 70 other Arab and Muslim delegates (out
of 4,300-plus) at the convention feel slightly more at home than in
the past.
“Our issues are the national issues when it comes to the presidential
race for the first time ever,” says Berry. “Now everybody’s talking
about Iraq, everybody’s talking about the Patriot Act, everybody’s
talking about the Palestinian-Israeli problem.”
Indeed, numerous speakers at the convention have attacked President
Bush’s Iraq policy, and in his Monday night speech former President
Carter criticized Bush for failing to attempt “to secure a
comprehensive peace for Israel with hope and justice for the
Palestinians.”
Illinois Senatorial candidate Barack Obama also got a rousing
response during his Tuesday night keynote address when he said: “If
there’s an Arab-American family being rounded up without benefit of
an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties.”
But the enthusiasm Berry and other Arab and Muslim delegates feel for
their party’s leader, John Kerry, who will today be confirmed as the
Democrats’ candidate for the Presidency, is tempered by what many see
as his continuation of the Bush administration’s confrontational
approach toward several Arab and Muslim countries.
Even the party’s support for a Palestinian state has come at an
extortionate price. Kerry has spoken out in favor of Israel’s
separation wall, while the party platform calls Jerusalem Israel’s
undivided capital, accepts Israel’s right to annex illegal
settlements and rejects a Palestinian right of return.
Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards, have likewise supported
sanctions on Syria, taken a hawkish line on Iran’s nuclear program
and vowed a reckoning with Saudi Arabia for its alleged support of
terrorism.
The anti-Saudi rhetoric has disappointed Berry. “In politics
sometimes you do what you think will work in focus groups,” she says.
“And the average American is unhappy with gas prices, so it’s really
easy to beat up on the Saudis. Frankly, I think it’s beneath someone
like John Kerry.”
Arab and Muslim-American delegates have refused to despair over those
foreign policy positions, however, placing faith in Kerry’s promise
to rebuild America’s ties with the rest of the world, while
channeling their enthusiasm into his domestic agenda.
“In the end we’re picking the party that, I think, is pro-minority.
The party has stood for civil rights and that is my basic concern,”
says Zafar Tahir, a Muslim-American delegate from Bush’s home state
of Texas. “Foreign policy is very important, but I think a mistake we
have made in the past is that we have allowed foreign policy issues
to overtake our immediate concerns.”
As momentum builds toward the November election, polls suggest most
Arab and Muslim voters – many of whom live in “battleground” states
like Florida and Michigan, where the tight presidential race is
expected to be decided – are inclined toward the same pragmatism
shown by their delegates in Boston. Recent surveys by the
Arab-American Institute (AAI) and the Council on American-Islamic
Relations put support for Kerry above 50 percent among those
overlapping constituencies.
However both polls also indicate a far higher percentage of undecided
voters than the national average, and strong support for independent
candidate Ralph Nader.
With few voters on the fence nationally, the Kerry campaign has
focused on energizing its traditional constituencies. On touchstone
issues like Israel-Palestine, this has meant deferring to Jewish
Americans, who Bush has courted with his pro-Israel stance. But
Kerry’s deference to right-wing Jewish opinion is a strategy
independent pollster John Zogby believes is not only “ham-fisted and
gratuitous,” but unnecessary.
“All of my evidence suggests that Kerry is going to get 75 percent of
the Jewish vote regardless,” he says. And were he to express balance
on Israel-Palestine and speak more forcefully on Iraq and civil
liberties, “he would energize a group of Arab and Muslim-Americans
who can help him win in several key battleground states.”
As the Kerry-Edwards campaign’s director of ethnic outreach, George
Kivork is tasked with ensuring the Arab-American vote is pro-Kerry
rather than anti-Bush. And Kivork, an Armenian-American who was born
in Syria, does his best to talk up Kerry’s position on
Israel-Palestine.
“John Kerry has made a commitment that under his administration the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not going to be an afterthought,” he
says, recalling Kerry’s pledge to dispatch a high-profile
representative to the region. “Bush wants to make this a wedge
issue,” he cautions, “but Arab-Americans are not single issue voters.
They have the same concerns as other Americans.
“At the end of the day Arab-Americans are heard in this campaign,”
says Kivork. “They have an opportunity to be at the table. … That’s
something that they don’t have with the Bush-Cheney campaign.”
The Kerry-Edwards campaign may be listening, but first-time Florida
delegate Neal Abid is not certain his community is being heard.
“They’ve said they’ll work with us, and they’ve always had an open
mind to listen,” says Abid, who remains an avid Kerry supporter. “But
so far, if you want the truth, we don’t feel that they’ve changed
their positions or really taken us into consideration.”

The Daily Star, Lebanon
July 29 2004
Magazine for Christian Arabs fills market niche
Al-Maghtas neither denominational nor theological, focuses on
socioeconomic issues
By Daoud Kuttab
Special to The Daily Star

AMMAN: For the first time in decades Christian Arabs in Jordan and
Palestine have their own magazine. With two issues under its belt –
the second came out last week – Al-Maghtas (The Baptismal) seems to
be filling a gap in the market.
The 40-page glossy color magazine, in Arabic, is produced in Amman
and features interviews, articles, and in the first edition even some
controversy.
One article about emigration by Reverend John Noor, the secretary of
the bishops of Jordan, says there are between 10-15 million Christian
Arabs living in the Middle East. Most of the region’s Christian Arabs
live in Egypt (7-12 million) and Sudan, 600,000 live in Iraq, 165,000
in Jordan, 900,000 in Syria, 1.3 million in Lebanon, 50,000 in
Palestine and 130,000 in Israel. Noor estimates that 4 million more
live in the diaspora.
Unlike the majority of internationally available Christian magazines,
Al-Maghtas is neither denominational nor theological. It deals with
socio-economic conditions focusing on Christian Arabs on both banks
of the Jordan. The new magazine will work on strengthening the desire
of the Christian Arab community to stay in their homeland and be a
bridge within the community and to the outside world.
Christian Arabs refuse to be called a minority, they consider
themselves part of the Arab world and partners with their Muslim
brethren in all the troubles that face the region today.
The first edition’s editorial sets out the magazine’s goals and
vision: “We are proud of both our Arab nationality and our Christian
belief … We plan to honor those in our community who deserve such
praise so that we can provide our younger generation with role
models.”
Philip Madanat, the magazine’s editor, says the strength of
Al-Maghtas is in its exclusivity for the Christian community and its
avoidance of theology.
“We are extra careful to include individuals from all Christian
denominations in our society and made a decision not to allow any
discussion of Christian beliefs and theology so as not to cause anger
to the followers of any denomination,” he says.
Among the feature stories in the magazine is an interview with
leading Jordanian businessman and philanthropist, Elia Nuqol, CEO of
the Fine tissue company. Widad Kawar, the internationally known
collector of Palestinian and Jordanian dresses and folklore, is
profiled in another piece.
An investigation into the internal struggles between three Christian
churches over the right to the keys to the Nativity Church in
Bethelem has raised the most questions amongst the Christian
community. The story which presents all points of view deals with a
situation which began during the Israeli siege of the church in April
2002 when one of the priests needed to take out an injured
Palestinian. While the three churches – Orthodox, Armenian and Latin
– are said to have copies of the key, it is understood that ownership
of the key (for symbolic reasons) goes to the Orthodox. According to
the story, the Latin priest who didn’t have access to the key
belonging to his denomination borrowed the key from another priest.
Fearing that this would have long-term consequences, the Greek
Orthodox church quickly changed the lock. leaving the keys of the
other two churches useless, and creating a major incident in which
the mayor of Bethlehem Hanna Naser and even Palestinian Authority
Chairman Yasser Arafat, were brought in to settle the dispute.
Christian Arabs, while small in numbers, feature prominently in Arab
politics, art and culture. From Gibran Khalil Gibran to modern-day
artists and politicians, the history of Arabs is full of Christians
who have left their mark in history and culture.
Latin priest Hanna Kildani writes of modern day Christian Arabs in
Palestine and Jordan in an interesting and detailed book which is
reviewed in the latest edition of Al-Maghtas. For the most part,
Christian Arabs have downplayed their Christianity as a way of
becoming accepted and featuring highly in the predominantly Muslim
culture of the region.
Countering this view, Al-Maghtas runs a review of another book issued
by the Royal Jordanian Center for religious studies that includes an
alphabetical glossary of the names of prominent Christian Arabs in
the various Islamic historical periods.
On the lighter side, the magazine, which hopes to be a source of
information and entertainment for the community, prints photographs
of Christian Arabs in Jordan and Palestine at various social events.
The recently excavated site of Al-Maghtas, from which the magazine
takes its name, on the eastern bank of the Jordan River, is featured
in various stories and photos. The back page of the magazine includes
a large picture of Jordan’s King Abdullah and the Pope during the
Pontiff’s recent visit to the baptismal site on the bank of the
Jordan River.
In its second edition, Al-Maghtas reflects a more courageous approach
in dealing with some traditional taboos in Christianity. In its
editorial, the magazine calls on religious leaders to do away with
the baptismal pools and instead to use the Jordan River’s baptismal
location. In another article the issue of Christian education in
schools is dealt with extensively with a call for a serious effort to
follow through with the efforts to get this issue implemented. A long
interview with Greek Orthodox Palestinian priest Atallah Hanna covers
three pages and includes a criticism of the Church hierarchy’s
controversial sales and rentals of properties and lands to Israelis
in Palestine and Israel.
Jordanian government spokeswoman Asma Khader is given the cover story
with a long interview that talks about her birth in the Palestinian
village of Zababdeh and follows her legal and human rights career
with her special work in defending Jordanian and Arab women. Two
pages are dedicated to excerpts from an award winning book by former
Jordanian Health Minister Ashraf Kurdi which deals with Christian
Arab doctors before the advent of Islam.
Madanat says Al-Maghtas still faces some legal obstacles with the
Jordanian government’s Department of Publications refusing to either
issue or reject the request for a license. Jordanian law stipulates
that if the government doesn’t respond in 30 days to a request for a
license then the request is considered de facto approved. The absence
of a de jur license has hampered distribution and advertising
efforts.
The initial response of Jordanian and Palestinian Christians to the
new magazine has been positive. Many have expressed that the magazine
has given them a sense of identity and resolved the issue of who they
are and the fact that they can be both proud Arab nationals without
compromising their own Christian faith.