Category: News

Armenia’s Tavush District comes under Azeri fire
Arminfo
6 Jul 04
YEREVAN
Armenia’s Tavush District in Noyemberyan Region came under fire from
assault rifles from the Azerbaijani positions in the past 24 hours.
The Armenian side returned fire and it all ended, the chief of the
General Staff of the Armenian armed forces, Col-Gen Mikael Arutyunyan,
told journalists today. He stressed that the overall situation on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border is more or less quite.
Commenting on the peaceful situation along the border as a result of
the balance of power, he said that had the Armenian army been weaker
than the Azerbaijani army, the war would have started a long time ago.
Whoever starts the war first will lose, the chief of the General Staff
of the Armenian armed forces said.

Armenia’s speaker, Council of Europe leader discuss regional cooperation
Arminfo, Yerevan
6 Jul 04
YEREVAN
Armenian National Assembly Chairman Artur Bagdasaryan and the visiting
secretary-general of the Council of Europe, Bruno Haller, have
discussed the prospects for developing cooperation between the
Armenian National Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE). The head of the PACE secretariat, (?Wojtech
Savitskiy) and an executive director of the secretary-general of PACE,
(?Peter Sich), took also part in the meeting, the press service of the
Armenian parliament told Arminfo news agency today.
The participants noted during the meeting that the Armenian parliament
is doing its best to meet Armenia’s commitments to the Council of
Europe in the set period. Artur Bagdasaryan noted the importance of
the opposition’s participation in the constitutional and electoral
reforms and the opposition’s return to legislative activity. For his
part, Bruno Haller noted that PACE never welcomed boycotts in any
country and has called and is always calling for a return to
legislative work in similar cases. The prospects of developing
regional cooperation, holding joint consultations and forums between
Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan at various political levels and
elaboration and implementation of joint programmes were discussed at
the meeting.
Cooperation of the standing commissions and administration of the
Armenian National Assembly with PACE were also discussed, as was Artur
Bagdasaryan’s initiative to hold under the PACE aegis a forum on
European integration in 2005, to mark the 10th anniversary of the
Armenian National Assembly, which, Bagdasaryan said, will undoubtedly
reinforce democratization and cooperation.

Azeri MP calls for European sanctions against Armenia at Scottish talks
ANS TV, Baku
5 Jul 04

[Presenter] The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagornyy Karabakh
is currently being discussed at a session of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly in Scotland today. The assembly’s chairman and
secretary-general are now delivering their reports.
[Correspondent over video of the building of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly] The 13th annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
has opened in Scotland’s Edinburgh. The session is entitled
“Cooperation and Partnership: Coping with New Security Threats”.
A report by the special representative of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly on Nagornyy Karabakh, Goran Lennmarker, was discussed jointly
by the Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations, Sattar Safarov, a member
of the Azerbaijani delegation, told ANS.
[Safarov, on the phone] The report said that [Azerbaijan’s] occupied
lands should be liberated and cleared of mines. Refugees and displaced
persons should return to their lands. It denounced aggression and
ethnic separatism. We started to discuss these issues. The
Parliamentary Assembly should impose economic and political sanctions
against the aggressor state.
[Correspondent] The Armenian side had its own arguments.
[Safarov] In support of their position, Armenia’s representatives said
that Karabakh was made part of Azerbaijan in the past. The talks were
proceeding very seriously. The Armenian side tried to justify their
aggressive policy. In turn, we criticized Armenia’s aggressive stance.
[Correspondent] The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly chairman and
secretary-general delivered their reports after the discussions [as
heard].
Afat Telmanqizi, ANS.

Azeri pundit slams USA for aiding Karabakh
Zerkalo, Baku
6 Jul 04

An Azeri political scientist has criticized the decision of a US
Congress subcommittee to allocate aid to the disputed territory of
Nagornyy Karabakh. Vafa Quluzada told Azerbaijani daily Zerkalo: “The
allocation of 5m dollars to terrorists in Nagornyy Karabakh is the
equivalent of the Azerbaijani parliament collecting a similar sum to
be sent to Usamah Bin-Ladin as aid to ‘religious brothers’.” Quluzada
said that Azerbaijan should keep to its pro-Western policy, but take a
“principled stance” towards its friends. He said that in the media and
at international summits Azerbaijan should tirelessly criticize Russia
for “being the author of the Armenian aggression and America for not
condemning this aggression”. The following is the text of
M. Yasaroglu’s report in Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo on 6 July
headlined “You should sometimes slap friends” and subheaded “Political
scientist Vafa Quluzada sees the USA and Russia among our friends”;
subheadings inserted editorially:
The allocation of 5m dollars to the separatist regime in Nagornyy
Karabakh by the US Congress has not surprised ordinary Azerbaijanis,
as we have long ago got used to the fact that “friends of Azerbaijan”
regard this friendship as a one-way street.
USA is no good friend of Azerbaijan
Despite the considerable distance between Azerbaijan and Iraq, we
support the anti-terrorist coalition for the friendship with the USA;
we implement the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, giving out our
interest rates to other friends of the USA, Georgia; we mourn with the
Americans, condemning the terrorist attacks in New York and so on. And
in exchange, we receive humanitarian aid, lots of statements about
support for democracy, which is often sacrificed to oil interests, the
rousing of “expectations” that the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict will
be settled peacefully and that’s it. In addition, financial aid
systematically goes to our territories which remain under occupation
without serious objections from the USA, and this aid increases every
year.
USA disregards Azerbaijan’s sovereignty
It is interesting that when Azerbaijani officials make rare attempts
to oppose it and express their negative attitude to this, the USA
replies with terse phrases, the essence of which means the following:
“we do what we want to do”.
The recent statement by US ambassador Reno Harnish is one of the
answers of this sort. Commenting on the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s
statement on the draft law adopted by a house subcommittee on
allocating 5m dollars to Nagornyy Karabakh, Harnish said that specific
figures had not been endorsed yet. This is a “preliminary” figure, he
said. This proposal can be endorsed only after joint discussion at the
Senate and House of Representatives.
It seems that the ambassador acted against his conscience here. As an
experienced diplomat, he certainly understands that the question is
not about the sum of the aid, but about the allocation of this aid
that shows vividly the mite that the White House contributes, OK then,
intends to contribute, to the flourishing of the separatist regime in
Nagornyy Karabakh.
According to Harnish, the USA renders assistance to the victims of
conflicts, irrespective of where they are. He said it is planned to
allocate 13m dollars in aid to the Azerbaijani victims of the
conflict. He said he had a conversation with the foreign minister and
is aware of official Baku’s position.
It turns out from the aforementioned statement, in which Harnish
unsuccessfully tried to justify “the world’s policeman”, that this
“tender-heartedness” gives them the right to render assistance to the
terrorists in Nagornyy Karabakh, who by the way are an integral part
of international terrorism, only because they allegedly suffered. We
wonder what would be the United States’ reaction if the state of Texas
had revolted and Azerbaijan had backed the revolt on various pretexts,
calling its deeds “restoration of communications” or something else?
We think there would be a negative reaction, as such a policy actually
proves disrespect for the country’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity.
US aid to Karabakh is like Azerbaijan helping Bin-Ladin
The former state adviser, political expert Vafa Quluzada, who is noted
for his pro-Western stance, has commented for the Zerkalo newspaper on
this step by the White House. In our view, his opinion can be regarded
as the position of most of the Azerbaijani public on the rendering of
aid to the Karabakh separatists.
“The US Congress is preparing to give 5m dollars to terrorists, who
are to blame for the Xocali tragedy, mass killings, numerous blasts on
public transport, the list is endless. The separatists of Nagornyy
Karabakh are citizens of Azerbaijan who rose against their own
state. Showing no remorse, the USA breaks international law and the UN
Charter for the only reason that they are a great power which does
what it wants to do. I do not know what causes this policy – Christian
sympathies or the fact that the Armenian lobby is among other lobbies
governing the USA. I think that the allocation of 5m dollars to
terrorists in Nagornyy Karabakh is the equivalent of the Azerbaijani
parliament collecting a similar sum to be sent to Usamah Bin-Ladin as
aid to ‘religious brothers’. A similar sum can be allocated to anyone
who is fighting against the USA today,” Quluzada said.
However, he said, it should be taken into account that Arab terrorists
caused less damage to the USA than Armenians did to us. “Bin-Ladin
blew up the World Trade Centre and a couple of US embassies in
different countries, whereas Armenia together with Nagornyy Karabakh,
having Russia behind it, razed to the ground 20 per cent of our
territories – 1,500 towns and villages. As a result, there are one
million Azeri refugees who were subjected to ethnic cleansing. The
USA turns a blind eye to this. How can one call it a super power, the
stronghold of freedom, and a guarantor of independence and human
rights?” Quluzada said.
Azerbaijan should show principled stance
The pro-Western way is the only way to prosperity and development for
Azerbaijan, he said. But on the other hand, one should show a
principled position to one’s friends: “If a friend insults you, you
should give him a slap.”
“No-one wants to give anyone a slap” in our country, he said. Not even
to slap Moscow, whose soldiers and officers were taken captive by our
troops during the war in Nagornyy Karabakh. Quluzada said that for the
sake of friendship with Moscow we should not turn a blind eye to the
fact that Moscow was the main player in the occupation of our
territories: “Armenia would have not dared to do it on its own.”
Quluzada said that while we keep to this model of friendship, we will
be treated the way we are being treated now.
And how can we slap Moscow or Washington? Quluzada said that the
Azerbaijani leadership should tirelessly publicly criticize the
leadership of countries which pursue this policy towards us. This
should be covered by all TV channels and media, including foreign
ones. The president should voice his position regarding this at all
international summits and all meetings he takes part in. “We should
criticize Russia for being the author of the Armenian aggression and
America for not condemning this aggression,” Quluzada said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

No truce violations observed on Azeri-Armenian border
Mediamax news agency
6 Jul 04

Yerevan, 6 July: The OSCE mission held a planned monitoring on the contact
line between Nagornyy Karabakh [NKR] and the Azerbaijani armed forces east of
the village of Talysh in NKR’s Mardakert Region today.
The monitoring was held in accordance with the planned schedule, a Mediamax
correspondent reports from Stepanakert. No violations of truce were observed.

State commission says Azeri POW in Karabakh OK
ANS TV, Baku
6 Jul 04

Representatives of the International Committee of Red Cross [ICRC] in
Xankandi [Stepanakert] have again met Aydin Huseynov, a soldier of the
Azerbaijani army, who was taken prisoner. To recap, this is the second
meeting of the ICRC representatives with the Azeri POW.
[Passage omitted: reported details]
We have received this report from the ICRC. The state commission of
the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry for POWs, hostages and
missing persons confirmed the report. They said that the situation of
the Azerbaijani soldier in Armenian captivity is OK. The commission’s
talks with Yerevan [on securing Huseynov’s release] are still
fruitless.
[Passage omitted: reported details]

Windsor Star (Ontario)
July 6, 2004 Tuesday Final Edition
Egoyan wins top honours at Armenian film fest
SOURCE: Star News Services
YEREVAN, Armenia
YEREVAN, Armenia — Atom Egoyan’s two-year-old movie Ararat won the
top prize at the Golden Apricot Film Festival of works by ethnic
Armenian directors, officials said Monday.
The festival included 57 movies by directors from 20 countries.
Egoyan is a Canadian of Armenian heritage.
The film depicts the plight of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Armenians
say that a 1915-1923 campaign to force Armenians out of eastern
Turkey left 1.5 million people dead and amounted to genocide.

Canadian Press
July 6 2004
Egoyan film wins top prize at Armenian festival
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
Atom Egoyan’s two-year-old movie Ararat won the top prize at the
Golden Apricot Film Festival of works by ethnic Armenian directors,
officials said yesterday.
The festival included 57 movies by directors from 20 countries.
Egoyan is a Canadian of Armenian heritage.
The film depicts the plight of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Armenians
say that a 1915-1923 campaign to force Armenians from Turkey left 1.5
million dead and amounted to genocide.
The title refers to the mountain that Armenians regard as their
national symbol but which now lies in Turkey.
In 2003, the film won five Genie Awards, including best picture.

Ottawa Citizen
July 6, 2004 Tuesday Final Edition
Egoyan takes top prize at Armenian film fest: Canadian’s movie about
genocide caused uproar in Turkey
by Tony Lofaro
Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan’s controversial film Ararat continues
to pick up honours two years after it first caused an uproar among
the Turkish people.
The film was awarded the top prize yesterday at the Golden Apricot
Film Festival in Yerevan, Armenia, which showcases works by ethnic
Armenian directors and this year featured 57 movies by directors from
20 countries.
Mr. Egoyan is a Canadian of Armenian descent and his film, made in
2002, tells the plight of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Armenians say
a 1915-1923 campaign to force Armenians out of eastern Turkey left
1.5 million people dead and amounted to genocide.
Turkey says the number of Armenians who died is inflated, and that
people died during civil unrest and not as the result of a planned
campaign.
The movie starred Mr. Egoyan’s wife, Arsinee Khanjian, Christopher
Plummer, Elias Koteas, and newcomer David Alpay, who played one of
the central roles in the film.
Ararat was screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival in
2002 and was also selected that year as the opening night gala film
at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was a hit in Canada
and went on to win five awards, including best picture, at the 2003
Genie Awards in Toronto.
Last year, the Turkish cultural minister agreed the film could be
released in the country, but it never made it to theatres. The
Armenian National Committee of Canada said the distributor pulled it
after receiving threats from Ulku Ocaklari, a group with ties to the
Grey Wolves, a nationalist paramilitary group, as well as the Turkish
military and intelligence units.
The threats did not bother Mr. Egoyan, who has said the events
depicted in the film were completely substantiated.
At a news conference at the Cannes Film Festival, Mr. Egoyan was
asked about the issues the film raises. He replied: “This is not a
film that is trying to demonize present-day Turks. In fact, it is the
opposite — I am trying to ask the viewer to consider what it means
to pass judgment on somebody who is alive today for things that were
done, for good or for evil, by people who are no longer around.”
The title of the film refers to the mountain that Armenians regard as
their national symbol, which is now in Turkey.

The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec)
July 6, 2004 Tuesday Final Edition
Ararat wins at Armenian festival
YEREVAN, Armenia/
Atom Egoyan’s two-year-old movie Ararat won the top prize at the
Golden Apricot Film Festival of works by ethnic Armenian directors,
officials said yesterday. The
festival included 57 movies by directors from 20 countries. Egoyan is
a Canadian of Armenian heritage. The film depicts the plight of
Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.