Category: News

Armenian president compares opposition rallies to TV soaps
Ayastani Anrapetutyun, Yerevan
2 Jun 04
Text of article “Kocharyan: Steps that harm the country’s image are –
if not betrayal – close to it” published by the Armenian newspaper
Ayastani Anrapetutyun on 2 June:
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan touched, inter alia, on political
matters when he gave a news conference in Gyumri. Opposition activity
was among the issues that came up, and the president said that one of
the newspapers compared opposition “rallies” to Brazilian soap operas.
“This is a very exact comparison. I do not watch Brazilian soap operas
and, as they [the rallies] are similar, I do not have the time or
the interest to spend on them.”
Kocharyan added that the rallies take place so often that they [the
slogans] could be mimed to a recording. “If that happened, they would
be taking care of their health. Maybe they have been doing this for
a long time and we simply did not think of it.”
Kocharyan was asked: “Mr President, the opposition has refused
any dialogue. In this situation, do you see a way of resolving the
domestic political crisis?” Replying, he first emphasized that there
is no domestic political crisis in Armenia.
“Crisis means a situation where state bodies cannot implement their
obligations properly. In our country this could happen when, for
instance, the coalition had problems in the National Assembly to the
extent that it was impossible to take decisions. That would really
be a crisis and our constitution has strictly defined that.
“We should make a proper assessment about the present situation. Yes,
we have a conflict between the opposition and the authorities. But
where is there not such a conflict?
“Generally, authorities-opposition relations have conflict as their
basis. The issue is whether this conflict takes place in a civilized
or non-civilized form. Both the National Assembly and the government
are working very fruitfully. Evidence of this is that the budget is
being fulfilled, debts have not accumulated and obligations are being
implemented, and serious economic growth has happened in the country.
“In this situation, the opposition can return to the parliament or
can choose not to. Life and our work will continue. Everything is
very dynamic. There is a conflict between the authorities and the
opposition, and one side in that conflict – the opposition – has
refused to take the civilized option.”
The issue of opposition activity in Strasbourg also came up during
the news conference.
“Try and strain your imagination. Can you imagine Karen Demirchyan
and Vazgen Sarkisyan working against their own country. If somebody is
able to imagine this, then there is no point in continuing an answer
to the question. Knowing them, I am sure it is impossible to imagine
such a thing. Here I mean the scale of a person.
“If people are very petty in their scale, then they work in such
a scenario against their own country not only in Strasbourg but
also elsewhere. Is this betrayal or not? I do not want to use such
terms. But one thing is evident: any step that harms the image of
the country, especially abroad, is – if not betrayal – close to it.”
As previously reported, the PACE monitoring group will be in Armenia
14-17 June to study the implementation of the demands fixed in the
PACE resolution. Kocharyan said that the purpose of the visit has
not been assessed correctly.
“They (the group) will come, have meetings and draw conclusions for
the Council of Europe.”
However, Kocharyan says that this does not mean that they will come
and we shall report to them what we have done and how.
“We should not view international organizations as higher bodies. We
have already said: we are a member-country of this organization. We
should try to present the reality: what has happened? What is the
situation in Armenia today? And the monitors should report back the
results of their investigation to the Council of Europe. If we have
shortcomings in some areas, we should try to correct them.”
The president stressed that in such matters it is necessary to use
other formulations: “We are an independent country and we should
work with our people in such a way so as not to damage the values
of independence.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenia welcomes establishment of new Iraqi government
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
2 Jun 04
Yerevan welcomes the establishment of the provisional Iraqi government
and hopes that the new government will succeed in creating conditions
in Iraq that will promote the implementation of democratic changes
and will conduct free and fair elections in January 2005, a spokesman
for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Gamlet Gasparyan, told Arminfo
news agency today.
The spokesman said that Armenia has confirmed its readiness to take
part in the reconstruction of Iraq along with the international
community for the sake of establishing peace and stability in Iraq
and in the whole region.

Media chief urges BBC to end “anti-Azerbaijani” propaganda
Yeni Musavat, Baku
3 Jun 04
Text of Farah report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat on 3 June
headlined “The behaviour of the BBC employees runs counter to the
rules of journalism” and subheaded “‘Azar Hasrat: ‘Let them engage
in impartial journalism, not in anti-Azerbaijani propaganda'”
The recent lopsided stance of the BBC Russian Service on Azerbaijan
has caused discontent by numerous organizations. The Confederation
of Azerbaijani Journalists [CAJ] reacted to the issue yesterday.
A statement issued by the CAJ secretary-general, Azar Hasrat, described
the activities of the BBC radio employees as a violation of the rules
of journalism. Hasrat, who does not agree with the position of the
radio’s Russian service on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, said
that the journalists should take an equal approach to the conflicting
parties irrespective of their language and religion. He thinks
that no-one should act as a propagandist, abusing their position as
a journalist.
“As we can see, journalists [names omitted] visit the Azerbaijani lands
under Armenian occupation without the permission of the Azerbaijani
state. In addition, they are preparing pro-Armenian reports from
there. Being a journalist does not mean that one can enter the
territory of a certain country without permission. The abovementioned
BBC journalists and some other mass media representatives actually
show disrespect for international and national rules by visiting the
Azerbaijani territories under Armenian occupation without permission.
Such illegal behaviour by journalists from Western countries makes
an unpleasant impression on their Azerbaijani counterparts when they
try to learn Western journalism,” he said.
To recap, the CAJ which unites the country’s 13 journalist
organizations have always evaluated the developments only from the
viewpoint of impartial journalism and refrains from any actions that
damage the solidarity of journalists.
“This does not mean that we are going to keep silent just because
those who groundlessly propagate against our state and nation are
journalists. We have the right to demand that journalists respect our
state’s laws and borders just like we demand that the government
respect the rights of journalists. Sticking to this position,
we call on the BBC journalists and management to engage not in
anti-Azerbaijani propaganda, but in impartial journalism. Moreover,
we wish the Azerbaijani journalists working for the BBC to express
their civic position,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

US considers Azerbaijan strategic ally
AzerNews
3 June 04
Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Colonel-General Safar Abiyev received
a US delegation headed by Kurt Weldon, Chairman of the US Congress
Armed Services Committee, on Wednesday.
Recalling that President Aliyev presented the NATO-Azerbaijan
cooperation plan to the NATO Secretary General in Brussels last week,
Abiyev said the President had reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s commitment to
cooperate with the US to fight international terrorism. Touching
upon the Upper Garabagh conflict, General Abiyev emphasized that
Armenia had ignored the UN Security Council’s four resolutions on an
unconditional withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied
lands of Azerbaijan and the international community had not recognized
Armenia as an aggressor.
Weldon said he had come to Baku to hold talks on expanding the military
cooperation between the US and Azerbaijan. He said that during a
recent visit to Moscow, he reminded Russian officials of Azerbaijan’s
tremendous role in security issues. “The US will continue relations
with Azerbaijan as its strategic ally”, he said. With regard to the
Upper Garabagh conflict, Weldon said he supports the stepping up of
the efforts of his country in this respect. Several members of the US
Congress attending the meeting expressed their appreciation to the
Azerbaijani side for supporting the US in combating international
terrorism and confidence that an extensive cooperation with the US
is in store for Azerbaijan.

Foreign investment in Armenia grows 22% in Q1
Interfax
03.06.2004
 
Yerevan. June 2 (Interfax) – Foreign investment in Armenia grew
21.7% year-on-year to $41.8 million in the first quarter of 2004,
the National Statistics Service told Interfax.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) grew 74.5% to $27.9 million, the
service said.
Foreign investment in the real sector grew 26.3%. Foreign direct
investment in the real sector was up 89.7%.
During the quarter, 36.5% of the FDI went into the food industry,
27.1% into communications and 11.7% into transport.
Foreign investments in Armenia grew 5.6% to $229.6 million in 2003. FDI
grew 8.9% to $153 million.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Controversial mobile carrier in Upper Garabagh owned by Armenian
AzerNews
3 June 2004
The recent rumors concerning the operation of a US mobile
communications company in the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh Republic
have triggered a serious public outcry in Azerbaijan. Minister of
Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov, touching upon
the issue, said ‘Telecom-2’ mobile communications company operating
in Upper Garabagh is owned not by the US but by an Arab country and
is managed by an Armenian.
Abbasov went on to say that in an effort to stop the company’s
unlawful activity, the Ministry has addressed the International
Telecommunications Union and GSM Association.
An appeal was also forwarded to all mobile communication operators
cooperating with Azerbaijan not to conclude any roaming agreements with
‘Telecom-2’.

Violence against ethnic Azerbaijanis in Georgia
AzerNews
3 June 04
The Azerbaijani public has been seriously concerned over the reports
on the increasing tension in Georgia since May 30. Georgia witnessed
similar tension, which caused confrontation between the peoples of
the two countries, during the power of Georgian nationalist Ziya
Gamsakhurdiya. At that time, 500,000 Azerbaijanis living
in Georgia were driven out of their native homes. Today, on the
instructions of the Georgian leadership, the houses of peaceful people
are being searched under the cover of “fighting smuggling”. They are
being humiliated and threatened. Let’s look at official data.
The Georgian National Security Council announced that the customs
station “Red Bridge” located on Georgia’s border with Azerbaijan, would
be temporarily closed as part of an anti-contraband program. Commenting
on the measure, the chairman of the Georgian parliament’s committee
on defense and security Givi Targamadze said there have been numerous
cases of smuggling of large quantities of goods through the mentioned
customs checkpoint. Georgia’s Deputy Minister for State Security Georgi
Ugulava said the Politsala and Garajalar settlements located in the
Kvemo-Kartli region bordering on Azerbaijan have been unsupervised for
a long time and that even Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs had
not been able to set up a regional division there. Early on Sunday
morning, some 200 ‘finance police’ and Georgian MIA anti-contraband
division troops conducted an operation in a number of villages
located in the Kvemo-Kartli region. Four of those residents accused
of smuggling goods were reportedly injured as a result of ensuing
armed resistance. According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, ten
sub-machine weapons, several grenades and hand-guns, narcotics,
gold and large quantities of other items were confiscated during
the operation. Not political The Azerbaijani embassy in Tbilisi has
released a statement regarding recent media reports on the closure of
the Georgian-Azerbaijani border and on the suffering of several people
during the armed confrontation between this country’s law-enforcement
bodies and residents of Ponichala and Garajalar villages. The Foreign
Ministry told AssA-Irada that the statement reads that the reports are
groundless as relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia are based on
firm friendship and strategic cooperation. “Not a single force can
shadow the century-long bilateral neighboring and friendly ties,”
the statement stresses. The statement also says that during the
meetings held with the Georgian officials the Azerbaijani side was
informed that the special operations conducted in the country were not
political as they were directed at fighting smuggling and regulating
law and order at customs points.
Broken promises There have been serious concerns that Mikhail
Saakashvili, who calls Azerbaijanis “inferior people”, would try to
deport the entire population of “disobedient Borchali”. However,
before the election in his country, Saakashvili expressed the
readiness of new Georgian politicians to develop relations with the
new generation of politicians in Azerbaijan, notably, President Ilham
Aliyev. Saakashvili maintained that the rights of Azerbaijanis were
not protected during Georgian President Shevardnadze’s presidency
and vowed to resolve all the problems of Azerbaijanis. Before the
election, Saakashvili said he acts as a guarantor of Azerbaijanis’
rights. He said that the key goal of the Georgian government is to
act as a guarantor of not only the rights of Azerbaijanis but also
their prosperity. However, a different situation can be observed
after the election in Georgia, which illustrates the fact that the
newly-elected Georgian President has not kept his promises, to say the
least. Saakashvili handed most of the land in the Borchali settlement
to Georgian tenants, while only a small portion of the land in the
settlement was distributed among Azerbaijani residents. Georgia’s
new leadership is thus infringing upon the rights of Azerbaijanis,
including the right to own property. Saakashvili’s policy has caused
serious concerns for Azerbaijanis living in Georgia, as they are now
living in suspense. They are worried not about losing their jobs,
but of being arrested or persecuted. Despite diplomatic maneuvering
by Baku and Tbilisi, the problems of Azerbaijanis living in Georgia
remain unresolved. As is evident from the last parliamentary election
in Georgia, half a million Azerbaijanis living in this country are
treated as inferior people. â^À^ÃœDon’t believe the promises of
leaders before elections and during war,â^À^Ý said one of the
old thinkers.
Authorities denounced Zumrud Gurbanli, the leader of “Geyrat” movement
of Azerbaijanis living in Georgia, has expressed his indignation
with the arrests of Azerbaijanis in Georgia. Georgian news media
has published different positions and viewpoints on the recent
developments, based on what happened around the customs checkpoint.
The Garajalar and Politsala villages are located 5-10 kilometers
away from Tbilisi and about 60 kilometers away from the “Red Bridge”
customs station. It remains to be seen why the suspected contraband of
goods was not prevented somewhere between the customs station and the
villages. There could be no objection to the operations on detaining
individuals engaged in smuggling but such activities should not be
conducted with such a lack of professionalism. Even if there were
reports concerning smuggling of goods, such a humiliation of the
entire population of the village in question is unacceptable. Many
buses travel through the Red Bridge and they are inspected, first of
all, by the frontier guards, customs officers and other government
bodies. We should also keep in mind that it is possible to detain
illegally smuggled goods anywhere along the mentioned 60 kilometers. I
therefore disagree with those who say that they came into the village
specifically to confiscate smuggled goods and believe this is a lie. It
remains to be seen why the Georgian customs officers inspected and
released the bus, as it is impossible to even transport a regular bag
across the border without an inspection from state bodies. Two or three
months ago Governor Kvemo Cartley said he considers it necessary to
conduct the anti-contraband measures in the Politsala settlement. This
proves that the raid was a planned measure. But the way it was done
was unacceptable. At 2.a.m. some 200 people wearing masks broke into
the settlement and started shooting randomly. This is unprofessional to
say the least. What adds fuel to the fire is that the law-enforcement
bodies instead of talking with certain citizens went ahead with the
action thus humiliating innocent and peaceful residents. During the
raid none of the village’s administrators were informed of the measure
coming up in the early hours the next day, and this represents a mere
provocation. Another issue that raises concerns is that criminal cases
were started against some 100 Azerbaijanis at the terminal in Georgia,
they were subsequently arrested and their property confiscated. Most of
those apprehended had nothing to do with the incident that occurred
on the Red Bridge. “I think that this provocation can seriously
hurt the Georgian-Azerbaijani relations”, Gurbanli said. Only three
Azerbaijanis are represented in the Georgian parliament, but Armenians,
who are fewer in number, enjoy greater representation.

GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL SUPPORTS POSITION OF AZERBAIJAN IN NAGORNY KARABAKH
QUESTION
AZERTAG
[June 03, 2004, 10:51:46]
As correspondent of AzerTAj reports, on June 2, Chairman of Milli
Majlis Murtuz Alaskarov has received deputy of the Knesset of Israel
Amnion Cohen.
Chairman of parliament Murtuz Alaskarov has told: â^À^ÜWarm friendly
relations between our countries develop on ascending. The meetings,
which have been carried out by the national leader of Azerbaijan people
Heydar Aliyev with officials of the Israeli government and the state,
have played a special role in achievement of the present level of
our relations. As a whole, our country is interested in expansion of
links with the State of Israel.
Chairman of Milli Majlis has emphasized that inter-parliamentary
links also are at a desirable level.
Then Murtuz Alaskarov has in detail told about the history, the
reasons of occurrence of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh
conflict and fair position with which our country holds in settlement
of the problem. He also has expressed the government of Israel and the
organizations of the Jewish Diaspora functioning in various regions
of the world his gratitude for support of the position of Azerbaijan
in solution of the problem.
Amnion Cohen has noted, that his state also is interested in expansion
of links with Azerbaijan. It does for this purpose utmost. Businessmen
of Israel help in Azerbaijan to local experts in the field of public
health services, agriculture and other spheres.
Israel also suffers from terror, therefore, understands sufferings of
Azerbaijan connected to the Nagorny Karabakh conflict, and will always
support the fair position of official Baku in the resolution to the
problem. All states should conduct joint struggle against terrorism,
we highly estimate the position of Azerbaijan in this question.
Amnion Cohen has noted importance of mutual visits for expansion
of inter-parliamentary links and has noted, that in the near future
members of Milli Majlis will be invited to Israel.
At the meeting, also was held exchange of opinions on other questions
representing mutual interest.

FRANCE KEEN IN HIGHER DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH AZERBAIJAN
AzerTag
[June 03, 2004, 10:51:18]
As was informed to AzerTAj from the press center of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, on June 2 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan
Republic Elmar Mammadyarov has received the ambassador of France in
our country Ms. Chantal Poiret in connection with termination of her
diplomatic mission in our republic.
Having noted, that the relations between Azerbaijan and France have
traditionally friendly character, minister Elmar Mammadyarov has
emphasized necessity of more active participation of France within the
framework of the Minsk Group and in the ongoing processes in region.
Having emphasized importance of settlement of regional conflicts,
in particular the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict, for
establishment of stability and safety in the region, the Minister has
especially noted active participation of France in the economic life
of Azerbaijan.
Ambassador Chantal Poiret, having expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijan
side for fruitful cooperation and assistance rendered to her during
work in our country, has emphasized confidence of expansion and
henceforth relations between two states. She has stated that within
3 years of work in Baku was the direct witness of development of
Azerbaijan people and statehood, has expressed hope for the prompt
peace settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict
due to joint efforts of the international community.
Having noted interest of her country in development of cooperation
with Azerbaijan in oil branch, the Ambassador, speaking about
activity of one of the authoritative oil companies of France –
companies “Totalfinaelf ” – in our Republic, and also necessity of
strengthening of economic relations, informed that the delegation
of businessmen of French province Validuaz in September – October of
the current year will make visit to Baku.
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov wished the ambassador Ms. Chantal Poiret
successes in the further activity.

US scheme rewards good governance with aid
By Guy Dinmore in Washington
FT
Published: June 3 2004
US aid experts are this week visiting 16 low-income countries selected
to receive aid as a reward for good governance in a multibillion
dollar programme that has won high praise for the Bush administration.
The administration has in effect created a new category of countries
eligible for US aid through the Millennium Challenge Account. It is
meant to be free from bias in allocating the money, $1bn this year
and $2.5bn (â^¬2bn, £1.4bn) requested from Congress for 2005.
Countries with a per capita income of less than $1,435 a year had to
meet performance-based criteria using publicly available indicators
in three fields, broadly defined as “ruling justly”, “encouraging
economic freedom” and “investing in people”.
Paul Applegarth, head of the Millennium Challenge Corporation,
which administers the fund, said the project was about “government
leadership”, adding that the 16 selected countries must now propose
their own projects and administer them.
“We are breaking new ground rules here with MCC,” he said. “MCC will
focus on sustainable growth through partnerships. Countries will set
their own priorities. Funding stops if performance slips. This is
not signing a blank cheque.”
The 16 countries named in May as eligible were: Armenia, Benin,
Bolivia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Ghana, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar,
Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri Lanka and
Vanuatu. A second tier of unnamed “threshold countries” was also
created, with $40m set aside to encourage those that nearly made it.
Steve Radelet, of the Centre for Global Development, a policy research
institute, said MCC “promises to be one of the most fundamental changes
in foreign aid in decades”. The Brookings Institution described it as
“visionary”.
The US will continue to give aid to countries such as Egypt
and Pakistan, which are important political allies but would not
necessarily make the “good governance” criteria. “We will still give
aid to our political friends, but separately, from a different pot
and making the distinction clear,” says Mr Radelet.
He noted that the 16 qualifying countries were all democracies. Three
countries that passed the necessary hurdles but failed to qualify –
Bhutan, Mauritania and Vietnam – were not. “Should democracy be a
criterion? That was a huge political debate,” he said.
The board showed some flexibility. Georgia did not pass the
“corruption” test but the MCC decided its new government had
demonstrated willingness to tackle the problem. This was not yet
reflected in the data.
Carol Graham, of the Brookings Institution, said it was increasingly
accepted wisdom that aid money was better spent in countries with
good governance.
But she was concerned “bad” countries would be left demoralised
and underfunded, and that USAID, the State Department agency that
oversees aid issues, would become marginalised. “How big will the
pot be with looming deficits, huge military expenditure and aid to
Iraq and Afghanistan? Who will fight for the budgets to sub-Saharan
countries?” she asked.