Category: News

Regular summits-impetus to friendly Russia-Armenia relations
By Alexandra Urusova, Yelena Starkova
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 12, 2004 Wednesday
MOSCOW, May 13 — Regular top-level contacts “give an additional
impetus to deepening traditionally close and friendly relations between
Russia and Armenia”, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander
Yakovenko in connection with the Moscow visit by Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan, starting on Thursday. He arrives in the Russian
capital on a working visit at the invitation of Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
The sides will center on “the state of and prospects for consolidating
economic relations, implementation of the ‘property for debts’
agreement as well as cooperation in the sphere of the power industry,
transport and investments”, Yakovenko noted.
According to the spokesman, “the Russian interests are impressively
represented in the financial system and the basic industries of the
real sector of the Armenian economy”. “The sides give much attention
to settling the transport problem, for instance, by resumption
of railway traffic between Russia and Armenia across Georgia,”
Yakovenko continued.
“Attention is also given to coordination of efforts of the two
countries to revitalize the situation in the Caucasus, to reveal the
potential of multilateral cooperation, including in the framework
of “the Caucasian Four” as well as to prevent new and to settle
old conflicts, including Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Russian diplomat
emphasized.
“Russia and Armenia,” he added, “are fully determined, on a bilateral
and multilateral basis, to take purposeful moves in struggle against
terrorism in all its manifestations.” “Political cooperation in
the anti-terrorist direction is buttressed by efficient practical
cooperation of law enforcement bodies and secret services of the two
countries,” Yakovenko went on to say.
According to the spokesman, much attention is given to cooperation
within the CIS, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the
Eurasian Economic Community where Armenia was granted the status of
an observer.
The press service of the Armenian president told Tass that Kocharyan
also plans meetings with board chairman of the Russian mammoth
Gazprom gas company Alexei Miller and president of the ITERA Group
Igor Makarov during his three-day visit to Moscow.
These companies supply Armenia with Russian gas. Besides, the
Armenian president will meet members of the organizing committee
of the Association of Russian-Armenian Business Cooperation. The
organization is being created to help boost economic relations between
the two countries.

Armenia pres to visit Moscow at Putin’s invitation May 13-15
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 12, 2004 Wednesday
MOSCOW, May 13 — Armenian President Robert Kocharyan will come
to Moscow on a working visit on May 13-15 at the invitation of the
Russian head of state, Tass learnt at the Kremlin press service.

On 10th anniversary of Nagorno-Karabakh truce, leaders pledge possible
by AIDA SULTANOVA; Associated Press Writer
Associated Press Worldstream
May 12, 2004 Wednesday
BAKU, Armenia — On the 10th anniversary of the truce that ended
fighting Azeri-Armenian fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh but left its
status in limbo, Azerbaijan’s president on Wednesday pledged support
for peaceful resolution of the dispute, but raised the prospect of
military action.
Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave within in Azerbaijan,
for the past decade has been under control of an internationally
unrecognized ethnic Armenian government backed by forces who also
occupy parts of Azerbaijan adjoining the enclave.
Because of the dispute over the enclave’s final status, the
Armenia-Azerbaijan border is closed. Failure to resolve the issue is
seen as having discouraged investment in both countries because of
concern that another war over the enclave could erupt.
Armenian and Azerbaijani officials, including the country’s presidents,
have met repeatedly to discuss Nagorno-Karabakh, but with little
visible progress despite a wave of sessions in 2001 that many observers
believed foreshadowed an imminent settlement.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev underlined that Azerbaijan insists
Nagorno-Karabakh remain part of that country and that a resumption
of fighting could not be excluded.
“We are supporters of peaceful resolution of the conflict, but the
Azerbaijani people will not submit to the loss of its territory. If
talks do not give results, we will free our land at any cost,”
Aliev said. “Our army is capable of freeing occupied territory at
any moment.”
Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian, in a statement marking the
cease-fire’s 10th anniversary, said “We will observe the principle
of a peaceful regulation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
Aliev made his statements in a speech at a military institute in
Nakhichevan, an Azerbaijani exclave separated from the rest of the
country by Armenian territory.
“Azerbaijan is in a condition of war, our territorial wholeness is
violated and the army can undertake steps to restore the wholeness,”
he said.

International airport opens in Azerbaijani Nakhichevan
By Sevindzh Abdullayeva, Viktor Shulman
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 12, 2004 Wednesday
NAKHICHEVAN (Azerbaijan), May 12 – Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev
attended on Wednesday a ceremony to unveil an international airport
in Nakhichevan.
The commissioning of the airport will make it possible to link that
southwestern region of the country with Moscow, Ankara, Istanbul,
Tehran and some capitals of former Soviet republics, the first deputy
general director of the Azerbaijanskie Avialinii state carrier told
Itar-Tass.
According to Sabir Ilyasov, two landing strips of the new airport
will be able to land heavy passenger and cargo planes of the Il-76,
Mria and Boeing types.
The air terminal can accommodate up to 300 passengers an hour. The
new airport has a cargo terminal and flight-control points ensuring
the safety of flights in mountainous conditions. Nakhichevan Airport
has got the status of international one.
President Aliyev emphasized the importance of opening an international
airport in Nakhichevan, which has been cut off from the rest of
Azerbaijan since 1992 as a result of a conflict around the mostly
Armenian populated Azerbaijani enclave of Nagorno Karabakh.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, he drew attention to the fact
that such a major facility had been for the first time built without
the attraction of foreign investments.
Aliyev also said Azerbaijan was planning to buy several
state-of-the-art aircraft in 2006.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IN THIS ISSUE:
*** NGOs IN REFORMS WITHIN ARMENIA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
*** ANTI-CORRUPTION INITIATIVE IN ARMENIAN COMMUNITIES
***NGO SAVES DOGS FROM BEING SHOT
*** DISABILITY DOES NOT SLOW DOWN ATHLETE
*** CONFERENCE: SUSTAINABLE MODELS OF COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS
*** SEMINAR FOR JOURNALISTS ON THE TOPIC GENDER ISSUES IN THE MIRROR OF MASS
MEDIA
*** NGO’S RESEARCH REVEALS THE ATTITUDE ON EDUCATIONAL REFORMS
*** NGOs IN REFORMS WITHIN ARMENIA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
On April 6, 2004, the Armenian Assembly of America’s NGO Training and
Resource Center hosted the NGOs in Reforms Within Armenia’s Healthcare
System NGO/Media thematic roundtable discussion. Participating in the event
were healthcare NGOs, foundations, international organizations, as well as
representatives of media and state structures. During the roundtable, Samvel
Hovhannissyan of the Armenian Association of Family Physicians NGO, David
Petrosyan of the Human Health Humanitarian Fund, Irina Ghazaryan of the Drug
Utilization Research Group NGO and Melita Hakobyan of the Anna National
Association of Consumers NGO made presentations on the following topics
respectively: Role of NGOs in Provision of Healthcare Services, the Right to
Free Medical Service, Patients Rights, Problems in the Sphere of Medicaments
Usage, as well as on Collaboration of NGO-State-Business sectors in Solving
These Essential Problems. In their presentations, the speaker NGOs outlined
issues of concern related to healthcare system reform in Armenia and came up
with suggestions. Prioritizing the role of Mass Media, a suggestion was made
to be “both competent and popular” while covering the reform process through
outlets highlighting reforms.
Contact:
Samvel Hovannissyan
Armenian Association of Family Physicians NGO
Tel.: (374-1) 23-48-51; 23-48-62
E-mail: [email protected]
David Petrosyan
Human Health Humanitarian Fund NGO
Tel.: (374-1) 56-65-21; (374-9) 43-71-58
E-mail: [email protected]
Irina Ghazaryan
Drug Utilization Research Group NGO
Tel.: (374-1) 56-65-51; (374-9) 42-72-46
E-mail: [email protected]
Melita Hakobyan
Anna National Association of Consumers NGO
Tel: (374-1) 24-92-04; 52-04-40; (374-9) 47-05-79
E-mail: [email protected]
*** ANTI-CORRUPTION INITIATIVE IN ARMENIAN COMMUNITIES
The Information Training Center for Local Self-Government Development NGO’s
We In Our Communities project is currently underway in 48 communities of 10
regions of Armenia. The project is designed to contribute to the reduction
of violations of law (corruption, abuse of power by those in office,
plundering community resources) within the local self-governing system.
Within the framework of the project, the ?1 TV Channel airs weekly
documentaries, highlighting the activities of local self-governing bodies in
rural communities and current violations of law. Based on specific community
cases, the films cover issues related to the ability of local self-governing
bodies to make community resources available to the community, collecting
taxes and ensuring the community budget is administered to meet the
community’s needs. Through a separate TV program, comments are made on
issues related to real cases from the films. Though the project ends in June
2004, the NGO has leveraged funds to continue the TV programs. The current
project is implemented with the assistance of World Learning, through USAID
funding.
Contact:
Arevik Harutiunyan
Information Training Center for Local Self-Government Development NGO
23 Burnazyan St.
Tel.: (374-1) 55-70-62
E-mail: [email protected]
***NGO SAVES DOGS FROM BEING SHOT
On April 13, 2004 The Dunay Dogs Protection Support NGO presented its
forthcoming program to interested parties and Mass Media. With the
assistance of the Yerevan Municipality, the NGO has designed a series of
activities aimed at solving the problem of stray dogs. These activities are
an alternative to the shooting and killing method applied in the past. The
program is comprised of the following activities: picking up dogs,
registering, sterilizing, inoculating against rabies, providing other
vaccines and, with numbered collars, returning the dogs??? to previous
places. As stated by the NGO Chairman A. Ghazaryan, “Picking up and healing
stray dogs will contribute to the betterment of not only the sanitary and
hygienic situation, but also the environment.”
Contact:
Armen Ghazaryan
Dunay Dogs Protection Support NGO
3rd Tigran Mets Sidestreet, #3
Tel.: (374-1) 52-96-14
E-mail: [email protected]
*** DISABILITY DOES NOT SLOW DOWN ATHLETE
Onik Hovakimyan, athlete of Pyunik Union of the Disabled, participated in
the annual Los Angeles Marathon held on March 7. Only 59 of 19 526
wheelchair driven disabled crossed the finish. Improving his best-time from
last year by 40 minutes, Hovakimyan completed 42 kilometers in 2 hours and
17 minutes. The Los Angeles Marathon was the third in 24-year-old Onik’s
life since 1999 and 2000. “There was a time when I felt disabled,” Onik
said. “However, in the Pyunic family, sometimes we don’t even think about
it.” Pyunic not only provides the disabled with opportunities to get
involved in athletics, but also contributes to their social and
psychological rehabilitation, solution of their educational and health
problems, rights protection with its true mission of integrating the
disabled in Armenia into the society.
Contact:
Hakob Abrahamyan
Pyunik Union of the Disabled
16 Tsitsernakaberd St.
Tel.: (374-1) 56-07-07
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
*** CONFERENCE: SUSTAINABLE MODELS OF COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS
On April 20, 2004, Eurasia Foundation’s Representative Office in Armenia
organized a conference on development of local community based
organizations. Representatives of ROA Government, local authorities, local
and international organizations, community based organizations and Mass
Media participated in the event. The goal of the conference was to present
activities carried out in Armenian communities by evaluating past
achievements, identifying challenges and developing strategies for
development. After presentations, working groups were formed. During
thematic discussions on NGO activities, legislation and fundraising,
obstacles hindering activities and solutions to those obstacles were
presented.
Contact:
Yulia Antonyan
Eurasia Foundation’s Representative Office in Armenia
4 Demirchyan St.
Tel.: (374-1) 56-54-78; 58-60-59
E-mail: [email protected]
*** SEMINAR FOR JOURNALISTS ON THE TOPIC GENDER ISSUES IN THE MIRROR OF MASS
MEDIA
Between April 14-18, 2004, the Association of Women With University
Education NGO, jointly with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutes and
Human Rights, organized a seminar on Gender Issues in the Mirror of Mass
Media. Journalists, representatives of NGOs and international organizations,
as well as experts invited from the Russian Federation and Georigia
participated in the seminar. They discussed current gender problems and the
importance of highlighting gender issues in the Mass Media. Issues related
to gender in the fields of political, social and economic development and
women’s political participation, carrying out campaigns in Mass Media,
gender expertise of the social sphere, gender censorship, overcoming gender
stereotypes in Mass Media and highlighting trafficking in the Mass Media
were also presented. Participants discussed issues of professional ethics of
journalists, regional media, as well as Mass Media-NGO cooperation. At the
conclusion of the seminar, participants defined conclusions and
recommendations on solving the problems.
Contact:
Jemma Hasratyan
Association of Women With University Education NGO
33 Sayat Nova Ave.
Tel.: (374-1) 58-15-83
E-mail: [email protected]
*** NGO’S RESEARCH REVEALS THE ATTITUDE ON EDUCATIONAL REFORMS
Between October-December 2003, the Armenian Sociological Association
researched attitudes towards secondary education reforms, as well as
assessments of reforms carried out to-date. The project was financially
supported by the World Bank and results are now available. The research
aimed at revealing the stakeholder attitude towards reforms in the secondary
education system in Armenia and the evaluation of the reform process. About
600 teachers and directors of 100 schools in Yerevan, Shirak, Aragatsotn,
Gegharkunik and Syunik regions were surveyed. Eighteen advanced group
discussions were held with teachers and highschool children at 12 schools in
the same regions. Interviews were also conducted with 160 experts,
(including those in the field of education, regional government officials,
Community Council chairmen, journalists, NGO and international organization
representatives, National Assembly Deputies, businessmen and school
directors.)Research results show that Armenian society recognizes the need
for changes in the secondary education system. These changes will best meet
the requirements needed to develop a national culture and secondary
education system, adopted in the modern civilized world. The results prove
that the reforms are insufficiently covered by the media and the public
awareness on its goals and process is low.
Contact:
Gevorg Poghossyan
Armenian Sociological Association
44 Aram St.
Tel.: (374-1) 53-08-22; 53-10-96; 53-05-71
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

ARKA News Agency
May 13 2004
Science conference on Armenian medieval architecture takes place in
Brussels
RA Ex-Minister of Culture and Youth appointed on position of Director
Executive of “One-Nation – One Culture” Foundation”
RA President to leave for Moscow with working visit
*********************************************************************
SCIENCE CONFERENCE ON ARMENIAN MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE TAKES PLACE IN
BRUSSELS
YEREVAN, May, 13. /ARKA/. Science conference on Armenian medieval
architecture took place in Brussels on the initiative of Armenians of
Europe Assembly. Architects, staff of European Commission culture
department, lectors and students. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RA EX-MINISTER OF CULTURE AND YOUTH APPOINTED ON POSITION OF DIRECTOR
EXECUTIVE OF “ONE-NATION – ONE CULTURE” FOUNDATION”
YEREVAN, May, 13. /ARKA/. RA Ex-Minister of Culture and Youth Tamara
Poghosian was appointed on position of Director Executive of
“One-Nation – One Culture” Foundation, RA Government told ARKA.
According to RA President’s decree as of May 3, 2004 Tamar Poghosian
was release from taking position.
“One-Nation – One Culture” Foundation was created for organization of
All Armenia culture festival that will take place on August 14-23 in
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RA PRESIDENT TO LEAVE FOR MOSCOW WITH WORKING VISIT
YEREVAN, May 13. /ARKA/. Today RA President Robert Kocharian to leave
for Moscow with working visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s
invitation. During the visit two Presidents will meet to discuss the
whole specter of issues of mutual interest. As planned Kocharian also
to meet Russian PM Mikhail Fradkov to touch the issues related to
enhancing of and development of economic relations. RA President also
plans to meet the Managers of the companies supplying gas to Armenia
and representatives of the Russian business circles. On 15 May RA
President to return to Armenia. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Christian Science Monitor
May 14 2004
To me, rugs are no longer to be looked down upon
By Annette Amelia Oliveira
Except for a cheap braided oval from a department store in the Bronx,
my family had no rugs when I grew up. We kept to worn linoleum and
scuffed hardwood floors. The wall-to-wall rugs in the homes of my
more affluent friends seemed, to my mind, unsanitary. I was disgusted
by the idea of spreading thick wool on the floor, tracking over it
with shoes, and living with the dirt I was sure vacuums left behind.
The only rug I would ever have, I thought, was one that you could
take outside and beat.
My view of rugs changed profoundly 20 years ago, however, when I
married. My husband, Haig, is passionate about rugs. His father was
Armenian, a culture that for eons esteemed carpets as a form of
wealth. As a child, Haig spent hours at the home of his Armenian
grandmother.
There, in spaces where most people had one fine rug laid out, she
piled several, one on top of the other.
In our marriage, rugs are an arena where extravagance is permitted,
where we loosen our well-guarded purse strings to allow ourselves a
marvelous work of art. Haig revels in rug stores the way a dog,
having been locked indoors for hours, revels when he’s set free to
leap in a sunny field.
Our home is thick with rugs. A small Baluch brightens the living-room
wall. A Tibetan rug mimics a striped tiger skin, edged with
multicolored clouds. Small Chinese silk rugs soften the seats of
chairs. A Kilim stripes colors across a hardwood floor. Mexican and
Persian rugs cover the seats of our sofas. Haig, who is a therapist,
even has a mouse pad replicating the rug that Sigmund Freud once
spread out on his psychiatrist’s couch.
Our most magnificent piece is a large tribal rug that Haig hunted
down in New York City years ago when we had gone to visit family. He
found it in a dusty Middle Eastern rug warehouse, fell in love, and
excitedly asked me to take a look.
We’re both practiced bargainers who know how to maintain a stone
face. But when I saw the thing rolled out before me, I couldn’t hold
back a gasp of pleasure. We haggled the owner down. But we knew he’d
gotten the better of the deal when, with a satisfied smile, he threw
in delivery free of charge.
The rug holds myriad fancies of color and pattern in deep blue, red
madder, and ochre. It’s a joy to explore, with unexpected butterflies
and animals, not to mention a shape that looks like a Pac-Man from
Mars.
Ten years after we bought the rug, we went to an Armenian Rug Society
exhibit and discovered that the rug had been made in Armenia.
Every morning I like to do a series of morning exercises. These
entail descending to, lying across, and rising from our favorite rug.
I welcome this excuse to become more intimate with it.
A carpet is the only art form I know that is made to be, not just
gazed at, but trodden upon. Striking something with your feet usually
abases it. These marvels of tradition and faith crafted for
millenniums by the eye of the artist and the fingers of women and
children are trampled like the dust of the earth.
I think the opposite occurs, however. I think a carpet elevates the
act of walking. Just as the apostles felt raised up when Jesus washed
their feet, a rug asserts that even our worn soles deserve softness,
color, history, and the fruits of the earth.

Greece, Turkey seek end to feud
By Andrew Borowiec, THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Washington Times
May 14 2004
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Greece and Turkey have embarked on what diplomats
describe as a period of “optimism and hope” with the ultimate goal
of ending their centuries-old feud.
A meeting in Athens last week between Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Greek counterpart, Costas Karamanlis,
sparked diplomatic dispatches and newspaper editorials forecasting
an unprecedented era of cooperation.
Above all, the prime ministers pledged not to let their long-standing
dispute over Cyprus stand in the path of a rapprochement.
“The European Union has accepted the whole of Cyprus — with a
special dispensation for its northern sector,” Mr. Karamanlis said.
“For us, the issue has been solved and has been dealt with.”
He also stressed Greek backing of Turkish efforts to join the European
Union and for planned Turkish political and economic reforms.
Mr. Erdogan said, “Greek-Turkish relations must not be affected by
the Cyprus issue. … The improvement of bilateral relations between
Greece and Turkey will be to the benefit not only of the two countries
but to stability, peace and cooperation in the whole region.”
The statements caused considerable concern in Greek-Cypriot political
circles, where it was understood that the new chapter in Greek-Turkish
relations was facilitated by the Greek-Cypriot rejection of a U.N. plan
to unite the island — and a Turkish-Cypriot vote of acceptance.
International sponsors of the plan quickly moved to reward the hitherto
ostracized and boycotted Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, putting
the legal Greek-Cypriot government on the defensive.
The fear now is of a loss of international interest in the island’s
future.
Since the Ottoman massacre of Armenians and the post-Ottoman wars of
the 1920s, Greece and Turkey have rarely seen eye to eye. Although
both are partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, their
military preparations have been mostly aimed at each other.
Greece and Turkey nearly went to war three times in recent years —
in 1974 because of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in retaliation for
a Greek coup, in 1987 when Turkey sent an oil drilling ship into
the disputed areas of the Aegean Sea, and in 1996 over a disputed
uninhabited Aegean islet.
The Erdogan-Karamanlis meeting follows a steady search for better
relations, marked by 25 bilateral agreements in the past five years.
The conservative Athens daily Kathimerini, however, added a note
of caution:
“Both men seek to hammer out relations based on sincerity and trust
which will allow them to resolve nagging hitches. But the EU will
never begin accession negotiations with a state in which political
life is under the shadow of the military.”
Turkish officials and diplomats insist that Turkey has made strides
toward major changes in its political outlook.
Hakan Altinay, of the Open Society Institute in Turkey, said, “A
transformation wrought by the soft power of the European Union has
gone unnoticed by Europe. … The death penalty was repealed, draconian
laws that restricted speech and the press for decades were abolished.
“The state of emergency that curtailed basic liberties in southeast
Turkey was lifted after 25 years. The extraordinary powers of the
National Security Council which subordinated civilian rule to military
authority were eliminated.”

Forum 18, Norway
May 14 2004
TURKMENISTAN: Religious persecution’s latest disguises
By Felix Corley, Editor, Forum 18 News Service
In his latest attempt to disguise Turkmenistan’s de facto
criminalisation of religious belief, President Saparmurat Niyazov has
today (13 May) revoked the de jure criminalisation of unregistered
religious activity. Believers were, before the de jure
criminalization, treated as de facto criminals and fined, detained,
beaten, threatened, sacked from their jobs, had their homes
confiscated, banished to remote parts of the country or deported in
retaliation for unregistered religious activity. Niyazov has also
cancelled a secret decree requiring registered religious communities
to subject themselves to tight financial regulation by the state –
but has imposed tight financial regulation in a different way,
through an official model statute for religious communities. Forum 18
News Service has obtained a copy of this, and religious leaders in
Turkmenistan have told Forum 18 that they find these restrictions
unacceptable. Many prefer to continue to exist in the underground.
Under intense international pressure over its repression of religious
life, Turkmenistan’s president Saparmurat Niyazov has today (13 May)
revoked the punishments introduced into the Criminal Code last year
on those involved in unregistered religious activity. Before these
punishments were introduced, Turkmenistan already had tight controls
-which it still maintains – on unregistered religious activity. All
Shia Muslim, Baptist, Pentecostal, Adventist, Armenian Apostolic,
Lutheran, Hare Krishna, Jehovah’s Witness, Baha’i and Jewish activity
was de facto if not de jure treated as illegal. Believers were, even
before the de jure criminalization of unregistered activity, fined,
detained, beaten, threatened, sacked from their jobs, had their homes
confiscated, banished to remote parts of the country or deported in
retaliation for involvement in unregistered religious activity. De
jure decriminalisation is not expected to change the established
pattern of de facto criminalisation.
President Niyazov also cancelled a secret decree he had issued on 23
March which required registered religious communities to subject
themselves to tight financial regulation by the state. However, Forum
18 News Service has also received a copy of the six-page model
statute handed out to religious communities by the Adalat (Fairness
or Justice) Ministry which requires all religious communities to pay
20 per cent of their income to the government’s Gengeshi (Council)
for Religious Affairs and imposes other tight controls. This imposes
tight financial regulation in a different way, as well as forcing
registered communities to provide the state with information helpful
to its continued persecution of religious believers (see F18News 10
May ).
The pro-government website turkmenistan.ru claimed that the president
cancelled the criminal penalties and the secret decree “with the aim
of creating the necessary legal guarantees to secure freedom of
religion and belief, as well as to complete the laws of the country
on religious organisations”. Turkmenistan has for the last seven
years refused to register all communities of the Shia Muslims,
Armenian Apostolic Church, all Protestants (including Pentecostals,
Lutherans and Baptists), Jews, Baha’is, the Hare Krishna community
and the New Apostolic Church.
The president’s moves are the latest in an embarrassing series of
conflicting legal moves designed to head off international criticism
sparked by last October’s amendments to the religion law and the
criminal code which tightened even further restrictions on registered
religious communities and criminalized unregistered religious
activity.
In March this year, the president also announced an apparent paper
relaxation of persecution, apparently allowing religious communities
to gain official registration regardless of how many members they
have or what faith they belong to (see F18News 12 March
). However, it
became clear that this apparent relaxation masked moves to impose
stringent controls on any community that registered, such as a
requirement that any worship service or other event needs state
permission to take place (see F18News 10 May
).
The change in bureaucratic requirements also did not signal any
respite in persecution, being apparently intended to allow religious
communities to exist in theory but be persecuted in practice. Secret
police raids continued and on the same day the March announcement was
made, a Jehovah’s Witness was arrested and pressured by officials,
including a Mullah, to renounce his faith and then fired from his job
(see F18News ). As
Forum 18 has documented, persecution continued since then unabated,
Muslims, for example, being barred from building new mosques on 29
March (see F18News 30 March
). It is highly
unlikely that today’s announcement marks any actual relaxation in
persecution.
The registration regulations issued by the Adalat Ministry on 10
March, which appear still to be in force despite the latest legal
moves, come in the form of a model statute which religious
communities appear required to follow very closely if they are to get
registration. Article 13 defines the first aim of a religious
organization, ahead even of “jointly confessing and spreading their
faith”, as “respecting the Constitution and laws of Turkmenistan”.
Services would be allowed in property owned by religious
organisations and in private homes “in cases of ritual necessity”. It
remains unclear if regular services in private homes or elsewhere
would be illegal.
Only adults citizens of Turkmenistan would be allowed to belong to
religious organizations, according to Article 16, leaving it unclear
whether foreign citizens living in the country would even be allowed
to attend religious services of registered organizations.
Although registered religious communities would be able to teach
children on their own premises, teachers would have to be approved in
advance by the Gengeshi.
Article 15 of the statute requires the payment of 20 per cent of
income to the Gengeshi every quarter, while all donations from abroad
have to be registered at the Adalat Ministry.
Leaders of religious organizations have to be Turkmen citizens,
making it difficult for faiths like the Catholics or the Armenians
which do not have native clergy. The model statute also defines how
the administration of each faith must work and how often its
governing body must meet.
The model statute also states that leaders of religious organizations
are also expected to have higher religious education, a concept which
is not defined. This concept may be a further restriction on the
clergy who can be appointed, possibly related to Niyazov’s decree
dismissing from state employment, with effect from 1 June, anyone who
holds higher education decrees awarded outside Turkmenistan since
1993.
Article 38 allows courts to liquidate religious organizations for
“repeated or gross violations” of the country’s laws, while the
Adalat Ministry can also terminate an organisation’s registration
(for which the statute gives no further explanation).
Religious leaders in Turkmenistan have already told Forum 18 that
they find the restrictions in the model statute unacceptable. Many
prefer to continue to exist in the underground, as the latest
apparent relaxations mark no change in the continued de facto
criminalisation and persecution of religious believers.
For more background see Forum 18’s latest religious freedom survey at
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BAKU TODAY
May 14 2004
Oskanian: The Idea To Withdraw From Seven Districts Is Absurd And
Meaningless
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian on Thursday deemed the
idea of withdrawal from Azerbaijan’s seven occupied districts “absurd
and meaningless.”
Oskanian’s Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov came up with a
suggestion during their 13 May meeting in Strasbourg that Baku might
open up all communication lines to Armenia should the latter releases
seven districts it occupied in 1991-94 war.
Mammadyarov’s proposal holds that over 700,000 Azerbaijani internally
displaced persons (IDP) should be returned to their homes before the
issue of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status is resolved.
Armenian side has rejected thus far every plan considering stage
by stage settlement of the conflict, supporting only a “package
resolution” of the problem.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly ethnic-Armenian populated region of
Azerbaijan, is under the control Armenian troops along with seven
districts surrounding it.
A no war no peace situation continues since a cease-fire agreement was
reached on May 12, 1994, with the Azerbaijani authorities oftentimes
warning that they can resort to armed means at any moment to regain
the occupied territories.