Category: News

NATO chief supports peaceful solution to Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict
ANS TV, Baku
5 Nov 04

The brief visit to Baku by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer is ending.
[Passage omitted: reported details]
Scheffer met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov.
[Correspondent, over video of Scheffer and people accompanying him at
Baku’s Heydar Aliyev airport] Azerbaijan is one of NATO’s important
partners. Therefore, NATO attaches special importance to relations
with Azerbaijan. Scheffer also touched on the attendance of Armenian
MPs at the 58th Rose-Roth seminar of the Parliamentary Assembly of
NATO, due in Baku on 26 November. He said that although the presence
of any partner country in the seminar is beyond his purview, he sees
as necessary the attendance of Armenian MPs at the seminar.
[Scheffer speaking to microphone with Azeri voice-over] The holding of
the Rose-Roth seminar is outside the NATO secretary-general’s
sphere. I am not responsible for this. If the issue was within the
purview of the NATO secretary-general, as previously my position would
not change. My position is that the attendance of any guests is
admissible at this kind of seminar.
[Correspondent] The NATO chief left Bina airport [as heard]
immediately for a meeting with ambassadors of NATO member countries in
Azerbaijan.
This morning Scheffer visited the grave of ex-President Heydar Aliyev
in the Avenue of Honour. The NATO secretary-general had a meeting at
Baku State University. Delivering a speech in front of students,
Scheffer said that it was his first visit to Baku as NATO
secretary-general.
I have been to the region as OSCE chairman. But I see now there is
progress in Azerbaijan, end of quote.
The secretary-general said that Azerbaijan is cooperating with NATO
dynamically. Mr Scheffer recalled that Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev had submitted a plan of individual cooperation with NATO during
his visit to Brussels and said that NATO will cooperate with our
country more closely within the framework of that plan, as an
organization supporting peace and partnership in the region. Then he
answered questions from students. He was asked about the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict and NATO’s position on treating identically the
aggressor and the side subjected to aggression.
Having been the chairman-in-office of the OSCE, I was familiar with
the conflict. Many people are suffering from this conflict. I hope
that the conflict will be resolved peacefully. The international
public and the OSCE Minsk Group should help you in this conflict.
Scheffer left Baku State University for the Foreign Ministry. He had a
40-minute meeting with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. Neither
Mammadyarov nor his deputy Araz Azimov disclosed details of the issues
discussed.
The Foreign Ministry press service reported that the meeting focused
on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict as well and the NATO
secretary-general expressed his respect for Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity. The secretary-general said that even though NATO does not
directly intervene in the issue, it supports a peaceful solution to
the conflict.
Mahir Mammadli, Ceyhun Asgarov, Ibrahim Telmanoglu, ANS.
[Video shows Scheffer’s meetings at Baku State University and the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry ]

NATO chief rules out plans on bases in Azerbaijan
Turan news agency
5 Nov 04

BAKU
“I have had productive meetings with the Azerbaijani leadership,
including tete-a-tete talks with President Ilham Aliyev, and I am very
pleased with the results,” NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer has said opening his news conference at Baku airport before
leaving Azerbaijan.
The subject of the talks was plans for further cooperation between
NATO and Azerbaijan in the light of the Individual Partnership Action
Plan. “We have exchanged opinions, now both we and you have a big home
task which needs to be seriously worked on,” the secretary-general
said. He said that the sphere of cooperation ranged from projects
within the framework of restoring the Great Silk Road and
environmental protection to scientific research.
“The Karabakh problem was also discussed, but it is known that NATO is
not engaged in this issue and is not going to be involved. NATO
respects Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, but it is up to the OSCE
Minsk Group to deal with the settlement of the problem, and the
alliance does not interfere in this process,” Scheffer said.
Asked about whether he had discussed the holding of a seminar of the
NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Baku and the possible presence at the
event of Armenian MPs, Scheffer answered affirmatively. “NATO
principles are widely known, and I think that they will be put into
practice. This means that every participant in the Partnership for
Peace Programme can take part in all projects within the framework of
the programme, and in this seminar as well,” the secretary-general
said.
As for the cancellation of the Cooperative Best Effort 2004 exercises
in Baku in September [2004], Scheffer said: “I made this decision
after a telephone conversation with Ilham Aliyev”.
“NATO is not planning to set up military bases in Azerbaijan,”
Scheffer said, commenting on reports in a number of western media in
this regard. As for the Individual Partnership Action Plan with
Azerbaijan, this is “a very expanded programme” that envisages serious
reforms in the army and the defence system in general, as well as
ensuring the rule of law and respect for human rights.

Different country
The Guardian – United Kingdom
Nov 05, 2004

In Soguksu, which has been under the command of fundamentalist sheikhs
since Ottoman times, few have heard of the EU. Only one man in the
village of 2,700 has been to university.
Like many of Turkey’s 12 million ethnic Kurds, the girls who weave
colourful kilims in a chilly room on Soguksu’s treeless outskirts do
not speak enough Turkish to follow events conveyed by the community’s
sole concession to modernity – the satellite dish.
Of the EU, one girl says: “No, I don’t think I know that place. Do
they have sheep?” Like the rest of the group, her birth has never been
registered, and she has not received an education.”Do people marry
there?” she asks. “Do they believe in God? What do they eat?”
Outside the workshop, Bekir Bingol, a father of15, says he has heard
that Europe is “very clean”. He adds: “But I’ve got the brains to know
that all these mountains and all these hills don’t belong
there. Anyway, I wouldn’t want my daughters not keeping our
traditions. If they got other ideas they might not read the Qur’an.”
Mr Bingol’s neighbour, Ali Cicek, agrees. “In real life we’ve never
seen anything like it,” he says. “How can we even dream of such stuff?
Once I went to western Turkey and it was beautiful, but it really felt
like a different country.”
Soguksu is almost two hours north of the formerly Armenian city of
Van, one of Turkey’s most primitive regions and certainly its
poorest. It has become a no-go area during the country’s bitter
campaign against Kurdish separatists. Forced marriages have prompted
at least five newlyweds to take their lives since September. With 70%
of the population unemployed, most barely scratch a living from the
land.
But although it is awash with refugees and smugglers, Van is also on
the mend. The EU has launched an aid programme and, as in other towns
in Turkey, civil society has undergone a revolution.
Zozan Ozgokge, who runs Van’s EU-backed women’s association, says:
“Before I even put up our new group’s sign, women were lining up
outside the office door. Sometimes, we’ve had women rushing in here in
their slippers, after being beaten by husbands, fathers, uncles and
even their sons. Before, these women rarely left their homes.”
At 26, Ms Ozgokge is typical of a new generation of bright ethnic
Kurds now improving lives in what once seemed like eastern Turkey’s
irredeemable badlands.
“When I was at university, western Turks would sneer and ask if I
lived in a tent,” she says. “They had seen so many TV documentaries
that portray eastern Turkey in a very bad light, but for Kurds Europe
has been a salvation.”
Under Turkey’s drive to meet EU membership criteria, she says, human
rights have improved to such an extent that most Turkish Kurds have
turned their backs on the prospect of violence solving their problems.
Prof Ergil identifies four types of Turks: the global Turk who lives
abroad (numbering 500,000); the well-off international Turk, who reads
the foreign press (5.5 million); and the rural and urban parochial
Turks (30 and 35 million respectively) who are desperate to improve
their lot.
“The first two categories can communicate with each other and the
outside world, and for them Turkey is just like a European country,”
he says. “The other two have absolutely nothing in common with the
first, but they are very supportive of Turkey joining the EU. Frankly,
these people are like cannonballs chained to the ankles of this
country. It has to drag them in its race towards civilisation.”

Armenia chooses second mobile operator
Mediamax news agency
5 Nov 04
YEREVAN
The K-Telecom company will become Armenia’s second mobile operator.
This decision was taken on 3 November by the tender committee set up
by the Cabinet of Ministers, the government press service told
Mediamax. The tender committee was set up immediately after the
ArmenTel company was deprived of its monopoly in the sphere of mobile
services. The government press service is not saying how many
companies took part in the tender, which gave preference to K-Telecom.
The K-Telecom closed-type joint-stock company belongs to Lebanese
businessman Pierre Fattoush, who owns the Karabakh Telecom Company,
which provides mobile communication services on the territory of the
Nagornyy Karabakh Republic (NKR), Mediamax has learnt.

Kenya Does Well At Olympiad
The Nation (Kenya)
Nov 05, 2004
Nation Correspondent
Kenya moved up 24 places to the 95th position in the international
chess federation rankings (FIDE) after the World Chess Olympiad in
Calvia, Spain.
Ukraine dethroned Russia to become the new Olympiad champions, winning
the gold medal. Russia won the silver medal and Armenia the bronze
after beating the US team on tie-break.
The Kenyans played their hearts out in the 14-round event and among
the casualties in the final rounds were Aruba and Cyprus whom the
Kenyans beat by a score of 3l-l and 3-1 respectively.
These two wins catapulted the team 10 places upwards.
University of Nairobi student Ben Nguku, making his debut at the
international stage, was the toast of the Kenyan team. Nguku was
placed 25th on Board Four with a percentage performance of 62:5 per
cent. Kenya finished ahead of Uganda, Barbados, Angola, Nigeria and
Libya. The 14-round contest featured 129 countries.
Out of the 13 men’s team from Africa, Kenya was ranked at the
respectable fifth position behind Botswana, Tunisia, Morocco and South
Africa which was the best African team.
The Kenyan women made their maiden appearance at the Olympiad and even
though they were ranked second from last but they managed to notch up
memorable wins against Libya and Japan with identical scores of 2-1.
The team arrived back in the country this week.
Meanwhile, the national junior team is in Greece to take part at the
World Youth Chess Championship in Crete Island.
Brian Obilo will spearhead the Kenyan onslaught in the event playing
in the boys’ under 12 age category.
Obilo made his debut at the international scene in July this year when
he took part at the sixth Chess Festival in France.
The experience should come in handy in Crete and he is expected to
post better results than in France.
Other players who travelled to the annual youth event were: Vaishnavi
Rammohan (girls under 10), Shiv Shah (boys under 10), Isabelle Asiema
(girls under 14) and Kush Shah (boys under 14). Over 80 countries will
be taking part represented by over 1,000 players. This will be the
fifth time Kenya will be competing at the event
Kenya Chess Association secretary, Lawrence Kagambi accompanied the
team as head of delegation.

CIS-based regional organization sets up commission to promote arms trading
Interfax-AVN military news agency web site
5 Nov 04
MOSCOW
The Collective Security Treaty Organization is setting up a commission
to promote arms trading and military cooperation, the organization’s
Secretary- General Nikolay Bordyuzha told Interfax-Military News
Agency yesterday.
“By creating the commission for military cooperation, we want to step
up contacts in this area. We have plenty of suggestions on
establishing joint ventures and holdings to repair and upgrade Soviet
and Russian-made weapons and military hardware, joint research and
development efforts and programmes aimed at designing certain kinds of
arms,” Bordyuzha said. The commission will operate on a permanent
basis, he said.
[The Collective Security Treaty Organization comprises Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan.]

U.N.-sponsored group urges Russia, Turkey and other OSCE members to help
their internally displaced
AP Worldstream
Nov 05, 2004
SUSANNA LOOF

Russia should stop pressuring displaced people to return to Chechnya,
while Turkey must remove pro-government guards from areas displaced
Kurds have returned to, a U.N.-sponsored group said in a report
released Friday.
Europe has about 3 million internally displaced people _ people who
have fled their homes but not crossed any international borders _ the
Global IDP Project said in a new report.
Turkey’s displaced population is about 1 million, mostly Kurds,
displaced by the conflict in the country’s southeast, said the group,
created by the Norwegian Refugee Council at the request of the United
Nations.
Azerbaijan is home to 575,000 displaced people, while Russia houses
360,000, Bosnia 320,000, Georgia 260,000, Serbia-Montenegro 250,000
and Cyprus 210,000.
“Governments must ensure that the displaced can go back to their homes
in safety and dignity,” Raymond Johansen, secretary general of the
Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a news release.
“But where return is not yet possible or not wished by those affected,
states must do more to ensure that the displaced can freely settle and
integrate elsewhere in the country, without being subjected to
discrimination or other restrictions of their rights.”
The report, to be presented Friday in Vienna at a meeting of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, urged OSCE’s 55
member countries to “make all necessary efforts to enforce the right
of IDPs to return home voluntarily in safety and dignity.”
However, it also cautioned that “return should not be promoted to
areas where minimum conditions of safety are not met” and called on
governments to ensure that displaced people have the same rights as
other citizens.
In Russia, people who have fled from war-ravaged Chechnya face
increasing insecurity, discrimination and pressure to return although
their home area remains dangerous, the report said. It called on
Russia to stop pressuring people to return to Chechnya “until adequate
conditions of physical, material and legal safety are created.”
The Geneva-based group said the biggest obstacle for Turkey’s
displaced people to return was the about 58,000 armed village guards
the government keeps in the southeast to control Kurdish rebels.
“Village guards hinder return by setting up checkpoints, denying
displaced villagers to access their fields and pastures and attacking
or intimidating those attempting to return to their homes without
official permission,” the report said, adding that some guards had
occupied displaced people’s homes and properties.
Return isn’t an option for the Azerbaijanis displaced following the
country’s 1991-93 conflict with Armenia, the report said, calling on
authorities to improve the dismal living conditions of the displaced.
“IDPs remain significantly more vulnerable to poverty than other
Azerbaijani citizens,” the report said, noting that 63 percent of
displaced people there live below the poverty line, compared to 49
percent of the overall population.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT ACCEPTS SECURITY CHIEF’S RESIGNATION
Mediamax news agency
5 Nov 04
YEREVAN
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan today signed a decree dismissing
Karlos Petrosyan from the post of chief of the National Security
Service of the Armenian government.
The Armenian president signed the decree on the basis of Karlos
Petrosyan’s own request, the presidential press service told Mediamax.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
MEDIA ALERT
November 5, 2004
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
RE: Armenian Assembly Congratulates President Bush
The Armenian Assembly of America congratulated President George W. Bush
yesterday on his election victory. Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair
Hovnanian and Board of Directors Chairman Anthony Barsamian, in a letter to
President Bush, said the Assembly is committed to working with the
Administration to continue strengthening the U.S. relationships with Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh.
The complete text of the Assembly letter to President Bush is below.
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
NR#2004-095
************************************************************************
November 4, 2004
The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
On behalf of the Armenian Assembly of America, we congratulate you on your
re-election as President of the United States. Our organization looks
forward to working with your Administration in the years ahead to promote
the United States’ objectives of regional peace, security and prosperity in
the South Caucasus.
Despite many obstacles, Armenia continues to make important strides-from
ongoing democratic and economic reforms, to its accession into the World
Trade Organization. In fact, this year, despite the dual blockades by
Turkey and Azerbaijan, Armenia was ranked 44th out of 165 on the Wall Street
Journal/Heritage Foundation’s Economic Index of Freedom. Notwithstanding
Armenia’s economic progress, maintaining significant U.S. technical and
developmental assistance continues to be an essential component of its
performance. This was confirmed earlier this year by Armenia’s
certification as a Millennium Challenge Account qualifier based on positive
reviews by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Armenians in both Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh look to the United States as
the leader of the Western world and a beacon of hope in defense of freedom
and democracy. To this end, Armenia has committed to an assessment of its
armed services as requested by the Pentagon and to deploying an Armenian
contingent to Iraq in its continuing efforts to deepen the security
dimension of our bilateral relations. As you stated two years ago, “Just as
the United States reached out to the Armenian people to provide shelter and
freedom early in the last century, so did Armenia extend a supportive hand
to the American people in the immediate aftermath of September 11. Our two
peoples stand together in this fight in support of values that define
civilization itself.”
Again, congratulations on your re-election. Together with
Armenian-Americans nationwide, we look forward to working with you to ensure
that the U.S. relationship with Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh continues to
grow and that the enduring U.S. principles of justice, democracy and human
rights are upheld.
Sincerely,

Hirair Hovnanian
Chairman, Board of Trustees
Anthony Barsamian
Chairman, Board of Directors
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
USC’s Information Services Division
Doheny Memorial Library
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0183
Contact: Tyson Gaskill
Tel: 213-740-2070
Fax: 213-740-2448
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
Discussion and Book Signing with Chronicler of Armenian Genocide
LOS ANGELES – The University of Southern California’s Doheny Memorial
Library will host a reception and book signing on Friday, November 12,
at 11 a.m., with Peter Balakian, author of the recent bestselling book
“The Burning Tigris.” The reception, sponsored by the USC Institute of
Armenian Studies and the USC Armenian Student Association, is free and
open to the public.
Balakian grew up in an affluent New Jersey suburb. His grandmother, who
played a major role in his upbringing, often told him stories. Mixed
among the familiar Mother Goose and Grimm yarns, however, were strange
and often disturbing tales of her youth in Armenia – all cloaked in
metaphor and symbolism.
The mysteries from his family’s past remained so until years later when
Balakian finally pieced together their meaning. The terrible event that
his grandmother had fallen victim to was the Ottoman Turk government’s
extermination of more than one million Armenians in 1915.
Balakian has researched and written extensively about the atrocities
that befell Armenians during World War I.
The Burning Tigris gives a detailed history of the events – the first
modern genocide of the 20th century – and recounts the vast outpouring
of humanitarian feelings generated in America. The New York Times Book
Review called the book a `fascinating and affecting memoir.’
Balakian is the Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor of the
Humanities at Colgate University, where he teaches American literature,
creative writing and a course on the Armenian genocide and the
Holocaust. He is director of the university’s new Center for the Study
of Ethics and World Societies.
Balakian has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Anahit Literary
Prize and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities Book Prize.
The book signing and reception are held in conjunction with `They Shall
Not Perish: Relief Efforts of the Near East Foundation, 1915-1930,’ an
exhibition that documents through photographs, letters, posters, books,
and rare artifacts a relief effort for victims of the genocide.
The exhibition continues in the ground floor rotunda of Doheny Library
through Sunday, January 30, 2005; admission is free.