Category: News

RIA Novosti, Russia
Aug 19 2004
AZERBAIJAN DEFERS TO NATO ON ENTRANCE QUESTIONS
MOSCOW, August 19 (RIA Novosti) – Questions concerning Azerbaijan’s
entry into NATO should be addressed to NATO member-countries, Foreign
Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mamedyarov said at a press conference in
Moscow.
“I am always asked whether Azerbaijan wants to enter NATO,” he said.
“But this question should be addressed to NATO member-countries.”
The minister said that it was naive to talk about the possibility of
creating NATO military bases in Azerbaijan.
“It is very naive to think that bases can appear overnight,” he said.
He reminded the audience of the difficulties in coordinating all the
issues related to deploying military bases and that the issue
required a parliamentary decision.
Touching on military and technical cooperation with Russia, he said
that this topic was discussed at his negotiations with Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday.
The minister said that Azerbaijan was cooperating with Russia in the
military and technical sphere and that Azerbaijan leased the
Gabalinskaya Radar to Russia. He also said that the two defense
ministries maintained exchanges.
Baku believes that Russia should increase its participation in
resolution of the Karabakh conflict “on the basis of the norms of
international laws.”
“We expect a significant statement from the cochairmen of the Minsk
OSCE Group in the settlement of the conflict,” the minister pointed
out.
He underscored the firmness of the principle of territorial
integrity. “Other questions, such as self-determination, can be
discussed,” Mr. Mamedyarov added.
He also said that Azerbaijan “does not believe in the idea of ‘frozen
conflicts’.” The minister reiterated the position of Azerbaijan: the
conflict should be resolved peacefully.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT DISCUSSES ISSUE OF CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF SMALL
HYDRO POWER PLANTS IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, AUGUST 18. ARMINFO. The issue of construction and operation
of small hydro power plants in Armenia was discussed during the
sitting convened by Minister of territorial management and
coordination of infrastructures of Armenia Hovik Abrahamian.
ARMINFO was informed in the press office of the government, the
participants of the sitting informed that in 2003-2004 the right for
using water was given to 43 hydro power plants. 14 HPPs of them are
being constructed now, and 29 – are operating. It was instructed to
elaborate a program of construction and operation of small hydro power
plants.

RUSSIA AS A MEDIATOR IN SETTLEMENT OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT IS IN
RATHER A DIFFICULT SITUATION: RUSSIAN POLITOLOGIST
YEREVAN, AUGUST 18. ARMINFO. Russia as a mediator in settlement of the
Karabakh conflict is in rather a difficult situation, said Director
General of the Center for Political Conjuncture Konstantin Simonov,
Newsinfo.ru reports.
He said that it is explained by diametrically opposite points of view
of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the conflict. “For them the concept ‘the
keys to solution of the Karabakh conflict are in Moscow’ means the
following.” Azerbaijan says that in case of a desire, Moscow is able
to solve the conflict within two days in favor of Azerbaijan. In its
turn, Armenia wants that Moscow resolves the conflict in favor of
Yerevan, Simonov said. He added that Moscow cannot support neither of
the viewpoints because of well-known reasons. At the same time, the
politologist said that Azerbaijan has never wanted to go on
concessions, with Ilham Aliyev’s coming to power, this position has
only strengthened. In his opinion, from the point of view of economy,
Russia sees more unfriendly than friendly steps. Armenia is better
disposed to Russia, but the latter has less interests there. There are
projects, including in the sphere of energy there, but there are no
serious facilities for investments, as it is in Azerbaijan, Simonov
said.

Armenian leader, new German envoy discuss economic cooperation
Arminfo
18 Aug 04

YEREVAN
The newly-appointed German ambassador to Armenia, Heike-Renate
Peitsch, today submitted her credentials to Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan.
Arminfo news agency has learnt from the Armenian presidential press
service that the sides expressed their satisfaction with the level of
Armenian-German relations and spoke about quite dynamic development of
ties recently. The German diplomat expressed confidence that bilateral
relations will deepen further. She conveyed German President Horst
Koehler’s friendly greetings to Kocharyan.
In turn, Kocharyan congratulated the newly-appointed ambassador and
said that Armenia paid special attention to cooperation with
Germany. He spoke highly about the German government’s assistance to
reforms in Armenia. Kocharyan put a special emphasis on the economic
component of bilateral relations. He spoke about efficiency of
programmes in the power engineering and financial-technical
spheres. The sides discussed importance of developing cooperation
between regions of Armenia and Germany.

Libération , France
18 août 2004
Le pont de Galata en eaux troubles;
Eté. Lieux mythiques. La casbah d’Alger, Yalta, le pôle Nord, le
Watergate… Tout au long de l’été, Libération revisite les lieux que
l’histoire, la géographie ou la culture ont rendus célèbres et qu’on
connaît mieux de nom que de vue.
SEMO Marc
Aujourd¹hui démonté, il était à l¹image d¹Istanbul, à la charnière
entre l¹Europe et l¹Asie.
Istanbul envoyé spécial
La rouille ronge les poutrelles et les plaques de tôle du vieux pont
flottant de Galata. Après plus d’un siècle de bons et loyaux
services, il a été traîné là en 1994 au fond de l’estuaire de la
Corne d’Or comme un navire au rebut. Désormais inutile, il pourrit
tout doucement sur ces eaux sombres et nauséabondes que bordent des
chantiers navals en déshérence, des cheminées noircies d’usines
désormais fermées et de vieux immeubles lépreux. “Il y avait le
projet d’en faire un ponton pour la culture et les loisirs avec des
cafés, mais finalement rien n’a été fait, d’autant que les islamistes
qui tiennent la municipalité du quartier refusaient d’accorder les
licences pour l’alcool”, explique un étudiant de ce faubourg d’Eyup
avec ses immenses cimetières entourant la belle mosquée aux
éclatantes faïences construite autour de la tombe de ce compagnon de
Mahomet qui prophétisa la conquête de Constantinople. Il y a deux
ans, une grande marque de voitures occidentale utilisa le lieu avec
toute sa symbolique pour le lancement mondial d’un de ses modèles.
Une brève parenthèse. Le vieux pont se meurt inexorablement sans que
les pouvoirs publics osent encore lui donner le coup de grce.
Bistrots au ras de l’eau. “Ce n’était pas un pont comme les autres.
Il était le plus ancien, le plus central. On le sentait bouger. Il
s’ouvrait pour laisser passer les bateaux et alors la ville était
coupée en deux. Les autorités l’ouvraient aussi dans les moments de
tension pour bloquer les manifestations”, se souvient l’écrivain
Nedim Gursel qui vient de publier Au pays des poissons captifs (1) et
a écrit de nombreux textes sur Istanbul. Un nouveau pont large et
fonctionnel comme une autoroute a remplacé l’ancien pour relier
Karaköy et le vieux port de passagers à Eminonü et ses bazars. Les
bistrots au ras de l’eau ont disparu, tout comme les vieux
embarcadères de bois qui craquaient au rythme de la houle. Dans la
fumée des pots d’échappement, quelques pêcheurs encombrent les
étroits trottoirs avec leurs seaux où flottent de chétives prises.
“C’est par habitude, mais ces poissons ne sont même plus mangeables”,
ironise le vieil Ahmet, retraité des postes.
Construit au milieu du XIXe siècle sur les plans d’ingénieurs
français avec des poutrelles de fer à la place d’un ponton de
barques, ce pont flottant est rapidement devenu un mythe. Même si le
premier des deux grands ouvrages d’art qui enjambent le Bosphore,
reliant donc l’Europe et l’Asie, n’a été construit qu’à la fin des
années 70. Le pont de Galata, bien que tout entier sur la rive
européenne d’Istanbul, était le symbole d’une ville à la charnière
entre deux mondes. “La Corne d’Or divise Constantinople comme en deux
continents (…); d’un côté, la ville turque Stamboul chère à Pierre
Loti, et de l’autre, les quartiers levantins parasites : Galata, Pera
et le reste”, écrivait Claude Farrère au début du siècle dernier.
D’un côté, la silhouette des mosquées et leurs minarets se découpant
sur le ciel ; de l’autre, la Tour de Galata construite par les Génois
et les discrets clochers des églises grecques arméniennes ou
catholiques. “Sur le pont de Galata, on n’y danse pas mais on y voit
défiler tout Pera et tout Stamboul (…) Voici la foule tout d’abord
indistincte des porteurs de fez mais un étranger qui sait voir a tôt
fait de les ranger en catégories : Grecs au profil délié, Arméniens
aux yeux de velours, Juifs espagnols, Turcs au visage allongé,
Persans basanés au fez en astrakan noir”, notait en 1921 Henri
Gilson, alors consul de France, dans la Fin de Stamboul (2).
La photo symbole de la libération de la ville en 1923 montre les
troupes d’Atatürk défilant sur le pont. Avec la République et le
départ des “minoritaires” (Grecs, Arméniens, juifs, etc.), la très
cosmopolite Istanbul est devenue de plus en plus turque et musulmane.
Le pont de Galata était alors l’un des coeurs de la vie stambouliote.
Comme tout lieu mythique, il suscitait ses escrocs. Ainsi Sulun Osman
qui harponnait les riches et naïfs paysans de passage, leur proposant
de leur vendre le pont en leur jurant que c’était un plan en or car
tous ceux qui y passaient devaient soi-disant verser leur obole. Mais
l’exode rural dès la fin des années 60 a complètement bouleversé une
ville qui, en un peu plus de quarante ans, a décuplé sa population.
Saccage. “Le vieux pont était sur le point de couler mais une
rénovation ou son remplacement par un ouvrage du même genre était
possible. C’est le massacre du coeur d’une ville comme à Paris celui
des quais de la Seine avec les voies sur berge”, souligne Ali Sirmen,
écrivain et éditorialiste de renom de la gauche turque qui fut l’un
des rares intellectuels à se mobiliser contre ce saccage poursuivi
tout au long des années 80, transformant le centre, éventrant les
vieux quartiers pour tracer des autoroutes urbaines. Depuis une
dizaine d’années, les habitants du centre-ville ont commencé à
s’organiser dans des associations. Les rues piétonnes se multiplient
et la municipalité islamiste évoque une vaste réhabilitation du
quartier de Karaköy, entre le Bosphore et la Corne d’Or. Mais il est
trop tard et nul ne pourrait plus aujourd’hui comme Ohran Vehli dans
l’un de ses plus célèbres poèmes chanter son amour de la ville :
“J’écoute Istanbul les yeux fermés/ des bruits de marteaux montent
des docks/ dans le vent doux du printemps flottent des odeurs de
sueur/ je t’écoute Istanbul les yeux fermés.”
(1) Editions Bleu autour, 228 pp. 18 euros.
(2) Cité dans Istanbul réel, Istanbul rêvé, par l’Institut français
d’études anatoliennes, l’Esprit des péninsules, 21 euros.
(Demain, Christopher Street, à New York)

MONTREAL
Assaulted taxi driver in coma found with money in his pockets
Police search for four suspects. After dropping off customer in St. Laurent,
three men hit cabbie’s head and face
MIKE KING, DANIELLE ADAMS contributed to this report
The Gazette
August 18, 2004
Police are still searching for four suspects wanted in connection with
the severe beating of a taxi driver in north-end Montreal Monday
evening.
Garo Tachijian, a veteran of more than 20 years with the Champlain cab
company, remains in a coma as a result of his head injuries.
But according to Montreal police Constable Miguel Alston, Tachijian’s life
isn’t in danger and his condition is considered stable.
Money was still in Tachijian’s pockets when he was found at the back of an
isolated building on Place Henri Bourassa in Cartierville, so police are
treating the incident as an armed assault rather than armed robbery.
Alston said the motive for the vicious attack remains unknown.
A nephew who answered the phone at the family residence refused to comment.
A young woman age 16 to 18 years old whom Tachijian picked up as a fare is
one of the suspects.
She had him take her to the Cartierville address, possibly from somewhere
around St. Laurent, and apparently asked him to get her purse from his trunk
once they arrived.
Investigators say it was then that three men in their early 20s jumped
Tachijian and began hitting him on the head and in the face with a blunt
object.
All four are said to have fled the scene in a Chrysler van.
“These things happen often,” said Antonio Perez, a fellow Champlain taxi
driver who has driven a cab in Montreal for 24 years. Perez said he has
heard of many cabbies who have been robbed and assaulted over the years.
A few years ago, Perez recalled, one of his fares jabbed a revolver into his
ribs and demanded whatever cash the cabbie could hand over.
“I was very afraid. I thought right away that I would die. I thought of my
children,” he said.
The robber just grabbed the money and Perez’s car keys, and took off.
It was only when Perez got to a phone to call police that he realized he was
bleeding. The barrel of the gun had been shoved into his ribs so hard that
it broke the skin.
Perez said, however, that he feels lucky having had only one such incident
in 24 years.
Richard Leblanc of the city’s taxi bureau said there have been 16 armed
robberies of taxi drivers so far this year.
He noted that is down from the corresponding period the past two years – 22
in the first six months of 2003 and 21 during the first half of 2002.
Comparatively, the number of armed robberies of Montreal depanneurs the
first six months of the past three years were 327, 350 and 262 respectively.
Leblanc reminded taxi drivers that they can refuse fares if they feel
threatened or are asked to take someone to an isolated area like an
industrial park late at night – when most assaults occur.
He said cabbies should trust their instincts and act accordingly.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RIA Novosti, Russia
Aug 18 2004
LAVROV ON NAGORNY KARABAKH, CASPIAN AND IRAQ SETTLEMENT
MOSCOW, August 18 (RIA Novosti) – The settlement of the Nagorny
Karabakh issue is possible only through agreements between Armenia
and Azerbaijan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told
journalists after talks with Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov.
“Russia is interested in the resolution of the Nagorny Karabakh
problem. The conflict can be settled only on the basis of the sides’
agreements,” Mr. Lavrov said.
He noted that Russia is ready to contribute to the negotiating
process both as “a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group and as a friend
and partner.”
“We are satisfied with the fact that the negotiating process was
resumed early last year,” Mr. Lavrov said.
“We hope that the working group on the Caspian will work out
acceptable decisions on the Caspian status at its regular meeting, to
take place in Moscow,” the minister told journalists.
He noted that these decisions would be in the field of international
law.
In his turn, Mr. Mamedyarov stressed that “the diplomatic resource
must be intensified.” He also expressed confidence that “points of
contact will be found to reach a final decision in determining the
Caspian status.”
Russo-Azeri relations have been developing actively, Sergei Lavrov
said after talks with Elmar Mamedyarov.
“We discussed a wide range of bilateral relations, regional and
Caspian cooperation, the Nagorny Karabakh settlement and
international cooperation. We agreed on a number of issues called
upon to remove the existing problems,” he said.
On his part, Mr. Mamedyarov said that Azerbaijan regards relations
with Russia as strategic partnership.
Russia speaks for involvement of all forces in Iraq, including the
opposition, in the creation of national structural bodies, he said
after the talks with his Azeri counterpart.
“Developments in Iraq cause concern. In the framework of UN
resolution 1546, the key issue is creation of national structural
bodies on the basis of involvementof all political forces, including
oppositional. This idea underlies our approach to settlement,” he
said.
“Convocation of all Iraqi forces may serve as a core for boosting the
process of overcoming the crisis with involvement of the UN Security
Council,” the minister said.
“Activation of this mechanism could become an important impetus for
all countries to help Iraqis,” Mr. Lavrov said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Gulf News, United Arab Emirates
Aug 18 2004
Anastasian and Gleizerov emerge as joint leaders after third round

By A Staff Reporter

Abu Dhabi : Grandmasters Ashot Anastasian of Armenia and Evgeny
Gleizerov of Russia emerged as joint leaders with a score of 3 points
after the third round of the Masters’ Championship at the Abu Dhabi
Chess Festival.
Bocharov (left) and Kobalia during their third round match. ©Gulf
News
Grandmaster P Harikrishna of India scored an emphatic victory over GM
Safin Shukhrat of Uzbekistan to move into joint third spot in the
$16,000 tournament being played under FIDE’s swiss rules.
With six rounds still remaining in this 56-player event, six players
– GMs Dmitry Bocharov, Mikhail Kobalia (both Russia), Artashes
Minasian (Armenia), Marat Dzhumaev (Uzbekistan), Ghaem Maghami Ehsan
(Iran) and Harikrishna are half a point adrift with 2.5 points each.
A pack of 11 players, including top seed GM Evegeny Vladimirov of
Kazakhstan and GM Tejas Bakre, share the ninth spot with 2 points
apiece.
Harikrishna is known for his technical skills in the endgame and yet
again his strong point came to fore against Shukhrat who always
thought he was within striking distance of achieving a drawn
position.
Playing the white side of a Nimzo Indian, Harikrishna opted for the
Capablanca variation and went for a long game. Shukhrat fought quite
well in the first time control and it looked as though he would
survive White’s well-conceived onslaught on both flanks.
But once Harikrishna opened the position completely, even trading of
pawns at regular intervals failed to deliver the goods for the Uzbek.

ArmenPress
Aug 18 2004
NEWLY APPOINTED AMBASSADOR OF GERMANY HANDED OVER HER CREDENTIALS TO
PRESIDENT KOCHARIAN
YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, ARMENPRESS: Newly appointed ambassador of
Germany to Armenia Mrs. Haikei Renatei Paichi handed over her
credentials to president Kocharian today. According to president
press services, the sides praised the present level of
Armenian-German relations noting that they are developing rather
dynamically especially in recent times. The newly appointed
ambassador voiced her belief that bilateral relations will further
develop. She conveyed friendly greetings of German president Horst
Kohler to president Kocharian.
Congratulating the ambassador, Robert Kocharian said that Armenia
attaches special importance to partnership with Germany. The
president of the republic assessed highly the assistance of German
government to reforms in Armenia. Economic ties play special place in
bilateral relations, according to the president. He praised relations
especially in energy and financial-technical fields.
Both sides attached importance to cooperation between different
regions of Armenia and Germany.

ArmenPress
Aug 18 2004
ARE THERE REALLY 20,000 ARMENIANS IN AZERBAIJAN?
BAKU, AUGUST 18, ARMENPRESS: Azeri state statistics committee
chairman Arif Veliev told a news conference in Baku that as of July
1, 2004 8 mln 300,000 people live in the republic. He said that
according to 1999 census, 657 Armenians live in Azerbaijan. However,
according to him, the real number is much higher totaling about
20,000. Arif Veliev said that during the census, according to UN
requirement, no documents were asked proving national identity.