Category: News

Azeri ex-state adviser calls for right definition of Karabakh conflict
ANS TV, Baku
18 Jul 04

[Presenter] The government is not defining correctly the term the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, and this might cause a problem for
Azerbaijan in the resolution of it, Vafa Quluzada, former foreign
policy adviser, has voiced concern in a statement.
Let us recall that Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan was
described as the Armenian-Azerbaijani [conflict] until 2002, however,
Karabakh’s name was also added to this about two years ago.
[Vafa Quluzada, voice] This is an absolutely wrong description and
therefore, we should revise our policy. We used the term conflict up
to now and we were wrong. We called it the
Azerbaijani-Armenian-Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and we were wrong
again. This is an aggression against the Azerbaijani lands by Armenia
with the help of Russia. When we call it the
Azerbaijan-Armenia-Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, this means that we are
secretly recognizing Nagornyy Karabakh.
You know, maybe the point at that time was to resolve the issue at the
expense of Nagornyy Karabakh. The use of such an expression at the
time was possible. However, [the former president of Azerbaijan]
Heydar Aliyev did not agree with this. Heydar Aliyev completely
rejected what had been done in Key West and opted for the principle of
complete liberation of the occupied Azerbaijani lands.
At present the Azerbaijani leadership should pay attention to the
terminology and avoid wrong terms. It should define this as Armenia’s
aggression against Azerbaijan, or an aggression against Azerbaijan by
Armenia with the help of Russia. Just look at [Georgian President]
Saakashvili who has charged Russia with aggression and occupation, and
he will be the victor. However, when we state that our lands are
disputed, we should then have lengthy talks with the aggressor, then
it turns out that we are fully in accord with the co-chairs [as
received].

Armenian court adjourns hearings on opposition activist’s case
Arminfo
19 Jul 04
Yerevan, 19 July: The Court of Appeal has postponed until 21 July the
consideration of an appeal by the lawyer of Lavrentiy Kirakosyan who
has been convicted of illegal possession of narcotic and psychotropic
substances due to the defendant’s absence from the hearings, lawyer
Vardan Zurnachyan has told journalists.
“My client was not brought to the courtroom because of some
misunderstanding. As a result, the consideration of the appeal has
been postponed until Wednesday [21 July],” Zurnachyan said.
The lawyer added that Kirakosyan had to be hospitalized a short while
ago because his renal lithiasis disease got worse.
The lawyer insisted that Article 86 of the Armenian Criminal Code was
violated during the investigation. Under the article, police officers
cannot act as key witnesses for the prosecution.
[Passage omitted: reported details]

Europe: Journalist murdered in Russia
The Guardian – United Kingdom
Jul 19, 2004

Another prominent foreign journalist has been killed in Moscow eight
days after the American investigative reporter Paul Klebnikov was
murdered outside his office.
Pail Peloyan, the editor of the magazine Armenian Lane, was found on
the hard shoulder of Moscow’s large ring road with severe head
injuries and knife wounds to the chest on Saturday morning.
Klebnikov’s killing highlights the intense risks that journalists face
on a daily basis in Russia. Fifteen have been killed since 2000,
although Klebnikov was the first westerner.
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the murder and
the Kremlin for the “climate of lawlessness and impunity” that
permitted the killing to be ordered and carried out. It views Russia
as one of the 10 most dangerous places for journalists to work.
Newspapers have speculated Klebnikov, whose ancestors fled to America
during the Bolshevik revolution, was killed because of his work. He
had published a series of lists naming Russia’s richest people, many
of whom were keen to keep their dubiously acquired wealth private.
Klebnikov’s publisher said last week the journalist had been working
on a book about the 1996 killing of TV news presenter Vladislav
Listiyev. Nick Paton Walsh, Moscow

Armenian president sets up culture council
Arminfo
19 Jul 04

YEREVAN
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has signed a decree setting up a
presidential culture council in order to conduct a single, effective
state policy on culture.
The council is a consultative body, the head of state’s press service
told Arminfo today.
[Passage omitted: list of council members]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Two Armenian fugitives said to be granted asylum in Europe – Azeri lawyer
ANS TV, Baku
19 Jul 04

[Presenter in studio] Fugitives Artur Apresyan and Roman Teryan who
have fled from [President] Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia and come to
Azerbaijan are about to be handed over to a third country, but the
refugees themselves do not know about that yet.
[Correspondent over archive footage of the two fugitives] Artur
Apresyan and Roman Teryan who fled Armenia for Azerbaijan on 7 April
and who have since been held at the National Security Ministry’s
remand facility, will leave Azerbaijan within one month. This
information has been shared with us by the director of the Committee
for Democracy and Human Rights, Cingiz Qanizada.
According to him, this was discussed about 10 days ago during a
meeting between several human rights activists and National Security
Minister Namiq Abbasov. Without elaborating which country this might
be, Qanizada said it would be a West European state. Artur Apresyan
and Roman Teryan are still unaware of this.
The Armenian fugitives are saying that only the Red Cross has been
taking interest in their fate of late.
[Passage omitted: known details]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

allAfrica.com
The Central African Republic Formally Begins Participation in the IMF’s
General Data Dissemination System
International Monetary Fund (Washington, DC)
July 16, 2004
Posted to the web July 19, 2004
Washington, DC
The Central African Republic has begun participating in the International
Monetary Fund’s General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), marking an
important step forward in the development of the country’s statistical
system. Comprehensive information on its statistical production and
dissemination practices were published on the IMF’s Dissemination Standards
Bulletin Board (DSBB) on
June 14, 2004.
The GDDS, established by the IMF in 1997, provides a framework to assist IMF
member countries to develop their statistical systems with the objective of
producing comprehensive and accurate statistics for policy-making and
analysis. It addresses the quality and the dissemination of data. In
addition, the DSBB for the Central African Republic shows the country’s
plans for improvements in its statistical infrastructure and its related
technical assistance needs. This information provides the international
community with useful information to develop and coordinate their technical
cooperation projects in the Central African Republic.
Since its inception, 78 countries have participated in GDDS and have had
their metadata published in the IMF’s DSBB. Of this total, four countries
(Armenia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic) have graduated to
the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS).
Mrs. Carol S. Carson, Director of the IMF’s Statistics Department, noted
that GDDS participation was a milestone for these countries. “I am pleased
to note that the Central African Republic has joined the large number of
countries already participating in the GDDS. The commitment being made by
the Central African Republic to improve statistics is an important one,
allowing the country to take full advantage of this framework for developing
their economic, financial, and socio-demographic data.”

Milford Daily News
Hometown parade: Portuguese Picnic draws thousands
By Sara Withee / News Staff Writer
Monday, July 19, 2004
MILFORD — Thousands of people filled Prospect Heights this weekend to eat,
drink and be merry at the annual Portuguese Picnic.
The Portuguese Club’s two-day festival — a Milford tradition since
1918 — began Saturday afternoon with music, smoked meats and games,
thengathered again yesterday for the annual parade, where this year’s mayor,
John Derderian, saluted the masses.
“It was a wonderful experience coming up Water Street, coming down
Prospect Heights,” said Derderian, 55. “It reminded me of my childhood and
coming to the picnic with my family.”
Derderian is the 44th mayor to be elected by the Prospect Heights
Mayors Association. In this position, Derderian will organize the annual
mayors’ reunion in October and spearhead community outreach efforts.
Mayors must have lived part of their youth in the brick row houses the
former Draper Corp. of Hopedale built around 1900 for its workers and
represent one of the area’s five major nationalities: Portuguese, Armenian,
Irish, Italian or Polish.
“I was very honored to be asked,” said Derderian, who is Portuguese and
Armenian.
Yesterday’s parade left Sacred Heart Church on East Main Street at 2
p.m. Milford selectmen Chairman John Seaver and his 10-month-old daughter
Cristina rode in on one of the first floats with Miss Portuguese Community
Mara Lage, 18.
Lage, the second person to hold the title, was joined by Lisa
Goncalves, 16, first runner-up of the February pageant and second runner-up
Liliana Dafonte, 18.
Derderian and a dozen former mayors arrived at the Portuguese Club on
the parade’s last float, then began enjoying the beef stew, tripe and
sardines.
“It’s quite a celebration, a little piece of Americana,” state Rep.
Marie Parente, D-Milford, said.
“It gets better every year,” said Al Azevedo, 61, of Milford, the 1997
Prospect Heights mayor.
Azevedo, who is Portuguese, Albanian and Irish, said the two-day
festival is a chance to reunite with childhood friends with whom he played
outside and shared meals as their parents tried to get by in their new
country.
“We all took care of one another, our parents took care of one
another,” Azevedo said.
Azevedo said he always leaves the celebration with a strong feeling
about his past. “No matter where you go, the people who grew up here,
they’re always here for you,” Azevedo said.
Joseph Lopes, the 1971 Prospect Heights mayor, recalled his youth and
agreed, saying, “There was a level of trust in the community. Very few
people ever locked their doors.”
Fellow former mayor Joe Oneshuck, 70, said he never fully understood
that trust as a child and remembers questioning his father whenever he heard
him talking to a neighbor who spoke a language the family didn’t know.
“He said, ‘It doesn’t matter what they say, I know what they mean.’
They were all in the same situation. They were trying to raise a family.
They were trying to survive,” said Oneshuck, the 1975 mayor.
Oneshuck said he sees the same plight among today’s Prospect Heights’
residents.
“They’re going through the same things with their children as our
parents did,” he said. “They’re all trying to work their way up in society.”
But Lopes noted the melting pot has seen some changes.
“Milford has a lot of Brazilians and Hispanics,” Lopes said. “These
people are the new wave of immigrants. They pretty much represent what our
families did in those times.”
( Sara Withee can be reached at 508-634-7546 or [email protected] )

ARMENIA LEADER AND RUSSIA’S GAS EXECUTIVE DISCUSS PIPELINE TO IRAN
Mediamax news agency
19 Jul 04
YEREVAN
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and Aleksandr Ryazanov, deputy
chairman of the board of the Russian company Gazprom, discussed the
construction of a gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia in Yerevan today.
The head of state’s press service told Mediamax today that the meeting
discussed the current situation with Armenia’s gas supplies and a
number of promising programmes.
The sides expressed satisfaction with the work of the company
ArmRosgazprom in which Gazprom has 45 per cent of the shares.
Robert Kocharyan and Aleksandr Ryazanov noted that year by year the
number of ArmRosgazprom’s subscribers and the level of gasification of
the republic increases.

The Moscow Times
Tuesday, July 20, 2004. Page 11.
Georgia’s Traffic Cops Start to Straighten Up
By Chloe Arnold
TBILISI, Georgia — Ask most residents of the former Soviet Union about
traffic police, and they’ll come out with a long list of expletives.
Everyone has their own story about the notorious gaishniki, usually
involving heated exchanges, extortion and downright rudeness. My favorite is
the man who was ordered to stop on his way out to the airport in Moscow.
“What could I possibly have done wrong?” he asked the fat policemen who
ambled round to the driver’s side window and spat twice on the ground. “I’m
wearing a seatbelt, I’m driving well below the speed limit, and I wasn’t
passing anyone.”
“I didn’t like the way you just pulled over,” the policeman said. “You’re
fined.”
The South Caucasus is no different. In Azerbaijan, if the gaishniki can’t
think of a valid reason to take money from you, they simply say: “Tomorrow
is a national holiday. I need to take my family to a restaurant.”
In Armenia, they are not as blatant, but I have been fined for speeding
after being passed by a tractor.
The Georgians used to be the worst of all. In one 50-kilometer stretch I was
stopped 12 times for offenses ranging from the convoluted (“You’re not
carrying a fire extinguisher or reflective ‘Stop’ triangle in the trunk of
your car”) to the just plain daft (“You can’t stop here”).
But all that has changed. Georgia has turned over a new leaf, and there is
no place for crooked traffic cops any more. Ever since Mikheil Saakashvili,
the young and dynamic new president, came to power, he has vowed to clamp
down on corruption.
His plan seems to have worked. These days, public sector workers receive
decent wages, so they do not have to turn to bribe-taking to make ends meet.
At the border you now have to fill in all your forms in triplicate and they
give you proper receipts — something unheard of in the past.
As for the road police, you hardly see them any more. There used to be a
patrol car stationed at almost every bend on the main roads. Now, they have
all but disappeared. And if you are caught doing something you shouldn’t,
the policeman fills out a proper form, fines you the correct amount and
sends you on your way with a friendly wave.
All the same, the new regime does not seem to have penetrated the further
outposts of the country. On our way through Kutaisi, an industrial city in
western Georgia, the other day, we were flagged down.
“What’s the problem?” my husband asked.
“Decide for yourself,” he said. “But unless you pay me $20, I’ll have your
car impounded.” It seems those anti-corruption measures still have some way
to go.
Chloe Arnold is a freelance journalist based in Baku, Azerbaijan.

ARMENIA THIS WEEK
Monday, July 19, 2004
CONGRESS VOTES TO RESTORE ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN MILITARY AID PARITY
A congressional vote last week reinstated the policy of parity in U.S.
military assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan, appropriating $5.75 million
to each. The U.S. House of Representatives voted 365 to 41 to pass the
foreign aid bill that also earmarked $65 million in aid to Armenia and $5
million to Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ruben
Shugarian commended the congressional action, saying it would pave the way
to greater U.S.-Armenia military cooperation.

The United States has maintained the unofficial parity approach since the
early 1990s, when the U.S. Congress sanctioned Azerbaijan over its conduct
of the war against Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia (known as Section 907 of the
FREEDOM Support Act). The U.S. first began providing military aid to the two
countries after a 2001 congressional vote, which satisfied the
Administration request to waive Section 907 to allow for a greater U.S. role
in cracking down on Islamic radicals within Azerbaijan and for
counter-proliferation efforts in the Caspian. The waiver mandates that none
of this U.S. military aid could be used against Armenia. Last February, the
Bush Administration attempted to renege on the parity agreement, requesting
more military assistance for Azerbaijan than for Armenia. The vote by the
House of Representatives would reinstate the policy.

Meanwhile, capitalizing on higher oil prices, Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev ordered $35 million in oil revenues to be used for additional
military spending this year. The funds would cover an average of 1.5 times
increase in salaries for officers in the scandal-plagued Defense Ministry
and similar or higher increases in the National Security Ministry. The
salary hike was announced last month shortly after a senior officer at the
Azeri mission to NATO defected to a European country. (Sources: Armenia This
Week 2-6; Day.az 6-29, 7-6; RFE/RL Armenia Report 6-29; ANS TV 6-30; AAA
Press Release 7-16; Regnum.ru 7-13)
POLL: FEW ARMENIANS CREDIT GOVERNMENT WITH ECONOMIC RECOVERY
While most Armenians have seen their family budgets grow over the past three
years, only a few of them credit the government for the improvement, a
recent poll found. A survey of 1,127 Armenian citizens was conducted by the
Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS), a Yerevan
think tank. The surveyed group was mostly female (60 percent), not working
(41 percent unemployed, 10 – retirees and 7 – students) and self-described
as middle class (63 percent; just over 3 percent said they were affluent,
while 33 percent said they were poor).

54 percent of the respondents said their family budgets have grown in the
past three years, but only 44 percent think the recent double-digit economic
growth had a positive impact on them. Most respondents credit their own
personal efforts for the improvement. This view reflects a widely held
belief that economic growth is largely a result of the government’s policies
rather than an indicator of performance by mostly privately-owned Armenian
economy. In 2001-2003, Armenia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by over
40 percent, with the volume of exports more than doubling. Between 1999 and
2002, the GNI coefficient, which is used to measure income disparity, had
improved from 0.6 to 0.4.

Fully 75 percent of the surveyed group blamed economic problems in Armenia
on internal factors, such as economic monopolization, corruption,
demoralization and taxation policies, with less than 10 percent blaming
external factors such as the Karabakh conflict and closed borders. Just 26
percent believed that a change of government would be the best way to
address economic problems, with 65 percent arguing for improvement or change
of government policies. Over one half of all respondents said they expect
Armenia to become a prosperous country in 10 to 25 years.

Also, 70 percent of respondents said Diaspora plays an important role in
Armenia’s economic development, while 54 percent named economic links with
Russia and 12 percent – the United States. (Sources: Noyan Tapan 7-15;
7-16; Arminfo 7-16)
UNITED NATIONS’ INDEX RANKS ARMENIA’S “HUMAN DEVELOPMENT” AHEAD OF NEIGHBORS
Armenia continues to rank ahead of its neighbors in terms of human
development, the United Nations (UN) reported last week. The UN calculates
the rankings based on life expectancy, education and income. According to
the most recent index Armenia was 82nd, Turkey – 88th; Azerbaijan – 91st,
Georgia – 97th and Iran – 101st out of 177 countries ranked. Norway, Sweden,
Australia, Canada and the Netherlands topped the list, and together with
fifty other countries, are “countries with high development.” Armenia and
its neighbors are in the “medium development” group.

The UN rankings were based primarily on 2002 data. At the time, life
expectancy in Armenia was over 72 years, combined elementary, middle and
high school enrollment at 72 percent, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per
capita at $3,120 (with purchasing power factored in). In 2003, the GDP per
capita is estimated to have grown to $3,900, compared to $3,500 in
Azerbaijan and $2,500 in Georgia. According to the UN index, by 2002 Armenia
had recovered to slightly over the 1990 pre-independence level of
development. (Sources: Armenia This Week 12-6-02; Arminfo 7-15; Noyan Tapan
7-15; 2004/pdf/hdr04_HDI.pdf)
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