Category: News

EU envoy arrives in Armenia
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
23 Mar 04
The special representative of the EU for the South Caucasus, Heikki
Talvitie, arrived in Armenia from Baku today. He announced in the
Azerbaijani capital that the negotiations on the settlement of the
Karabakh problem reached the decisive stage and the EU could help the
mediators in that.
The Finnish MP said that the negotiations should be stepped and an
atmosphere of mutual trust should be created. Talvitie said also that
he does not intend to visit to Nagornyy Karabakh now.

EU envoy, Armenian MPs discuss constitutional reforms, ties
Mediamax news agency
23 Mar 04
YEREVAN
The special representative of the EU for the South Caucasus, Heikki
Talvitie, held meetings in the Armenian National Assembly today.
Talvitie said that the meetings in parliament paid special attention
to constitutional reforms and changes to several key laws, Mediamax
news agency’s parliamentary correspondent has reported.
In addition, Talvitie discussed with Armenian MPs the prospects for
engaging the South Caucasus countries in the programme “Expanded
Europe: New Neighbours”. Talvitie said that the European commission
will take its final decision in this regard in May-June 2004.

EU envoy meets Armenian foreign minister
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
23 Mar 04
The special representative of the EU for the South Caucasus, Heikki
Talvitie is holding negotiations with the Armenian leadership. The
Finnish envoy met Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan two hours
ago. According to official sources, they discussed the current
situation and prospects for the settlement of the Karabakh
problem. The EU has recently stepped up its activities aimed at
solving the conflict.
The organization is trying to help the OSCE Minsk Group mediators
speed up the settlement process.
The sides also discussed the “Wide Europe: New neighbours” programme.

Azeri officer needs more experienced Hungarian lawyer
Zerkalo, Baku
23 Mar 04
The issue of defending the senior lieutenant of the Azerbaijani armed
forces, Ramil Safarov, who is being charged with killing an Armenian
officer, is still on the agenda. Lawyer Elcin Usubov visited him in
Budapest last week. Our correspondent met Usubov yesterday and asked
him to talk about the results of his visit to the Hungarian capital.
To recap, the Safarovs have authorized Usubov to defend their son’s
interests and carry out all the necessary procedures.
According to Usubov, before his visit to Budapest, he was fully
unaware of the functions of Ramil Safarov’s lawyer. Under Hungarian
law, only local lawyers can defend people charged with committing a
crime on Hungarian territory. Usubov said that although he spent four
days in Budapest and worked together with Ramil Safarov’s Hungarian
lawyer, Peter Zalay, he still has many questions about his
functions. Meanwhile, he said that nobody in Hungary questioned his
status as Safarov’s lawyer.
[Passage omitted: Usubov spent a lot of time on solving technical
issues]
But the main thing Usubov managed to do was a meeting with
Safarov. According to the lawyer, his client feels better, is actively
cooperating with the investigation, is in high spirits and has a calm
attitude to all the actions against him. Usubov said that Safarov
testified twice at the beginning of the investigation and his
psycho-neurological state was examined. Different checkups are
currently under way.
Usubov failed to meet the investigator dealing with the Safarov case
in Budapest. He was on leave. However, the Azerbaijani lawyer said
that the main investigative measures had been completed. But we cannot
speak about a specific date for the full completion of the
investigation.
Talking about the Hungarian lawyer, Usubov said that Peter Zalay’s
services can satisfy Azerbaijan at the current stage. But our lawyer
thinks that the Azerbaijani government should take steps to strengthen
the Azerbaijani serviceman’s defence by involving more experienced
lawyers in this work.

A1 Plus | 20:03:59 | 23-03-2004 | Social |
“A1+” CLAIM REFUSED
Armenian Economic Court has today rejected “Meltex” LTD claim against
inactivity of TV and Radio National Committee. It is to remind that “A1+”
demanded to allow the bases that TV and Radio National Committee didn’t
grant the TV Company the broadcasting license.
It took Judge Robert Sargssyan only 15 minutes to make such a decision. The
whole trial lasted for 1,5 hours.
By the way, it’s the first trial Sargssyan presided over. He substituted
Judge Chilingaryan after TV and Radio Committee representative demurred him.
Let’s remind that TV and Radio Committee representative Varser Karapetyan
challenged the Judge after he had ignored her solicitation over hearing the
claim on the 25th frequency (“Armenia – TV”) separately.
—

PRESS RELEASE

March 23, 2004

American University of Armenia Corporation
300 Lakeside Drive, 4th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576

Contact: Gohar Momjian
E-mail: [email protected]

AUA DEPT. OF LAW RAISES AWARENESS OF ARMENIA’S HUMAN TRAFFICKING
PROBLEM

Yerevan – On Saturday March 13, the American University of Armenia’s
(AUA) Law Department, and the AUA Shitak Student Law Club organized a
3-hour law conference on “Trafficking in Humans: A Growing Problem in
Armenia.” Trafficking is a largely unnoticed crime in which women,
and sometimes children and men, are purchased and sold like
merchandise. The event addressing this sensitive topic was attended by
over 170 people filling every seat and leaving many to stand in the
aisles.

`Human trafficking is a problem in Armenia, but the Government of
Armenia has now begun to take concrete steps to prevent it,’ said
Vivian Walker, Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy in
Yerevan. She noted that just this year, Armenia’s status was upgraded
from `tier three’ to `tier two’, which designates a country with
a trafficking problem but which is trying to comply with international
standards.

Other guest speakers included representatives of the International
Office of Migration (IOM), the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the UN and several non-governmental
organizations.

`Trafficking in women and children is a growing problem in Armenia and
throughout the world. It is also a problem few people want to
acknowledge,’ noted Matthew Karanian, Associate Dean of AUA’s Law
Department. `Press coverage was extensive and as a result, through
this event our department helped raise public awareness of Armenia’s
trafficking problem.’

The Law Program of the American University of Armenia offers a
Master’s Degree in Law and in Comparative Legal Studies. The programs
feature a strong focus on business and international law, with special
emphasis on legal and institutional reforms in the former Soviet
republics.

****
The American University of Armenia is registered as a non-profit
educational organization in both Armenia and the United States and is
affiliated with the Regents of the University of California.
Receiving major support from AGBU, AUA offers instruction leading to
the Masters Degree in eight graduate programs. For more information
about AUA, visit

Picture 0115 – Matthew Karanian, Associate Dean of the AUA Law
Department, addresses the law conference “Human Trafficking: A Growing
Problem in Armenia.”

Picture 0123 – More than 170 people attended the law conference on
human trafficking at the American University of Armenia on March
13. The conference was sponsored by the AUA Law Department and the
university’s Student Law Club.

Armenian National Committee of Wisconsin
4100 N. Newman Road
Racine, WI 53406
PRESS RELEASE
March 23, 2004
For Immediate Release
Contact: A. Zohrab Khaligian
[email protected]
COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AT WISCONSIN STATE CAPITOL
MADISON, WI–On Tuesday, April 20, 2004, the Armenian National Committee
(ANC) of Wisconsin, State Representatives Mark Honadel, Bonnie Ladwig, and
Jeff Stone, and State Senators Mary Lazich, Jeff Plale, and Cathy Stepp are
hosting a reception and program to commemorate the 89th Anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. This event will be held from 10:30 am to 12 noon in the
GAR Hearing Room, 417 North, at the Wisconsin State Capitol. The program
will feature remarks from Robert O. Krikorian, PhD, Representative Jeff
Stone, Senator Mary Lazich, and Mayor John Antaramian from the City of
Kenosha.
The purpose of this event is to thank the Wisconsin State Assembly and State
Senate for adopting Armenian Genocide Resolutions which designate April 24
of each year as “Wisconsin Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of
1915 to 1923″ and to continue to educate and promote awareness of Armenia
and Armenian issues, particularly the Armenian Genocide.
This reception and program is one of five events being held in commemoration
of this tragic event in history and to continue efforts to obtain justice
for this crime against humanity. The other events include:
Three lectures by Robert O. Krikorian, PhD. Dr. Krikorian is a historian in
the Office of the Historian at the US Department of State and a Professorial
Lecturer at George Washington University.
The first lecture, entitled ” Education and Responsibility”, will take place
Sunday, April 18, at St. Hagop Armenian Church, 4100 N. Newman Road, Racine.
The lecture will begin at 12:00 pm and is hosted by the Racine “Marzbed”
Committee of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
The second and third lectures, entitled “In the Shadow of War: The Ottoman
Empire and the Extermination of the Armenians”, will take place Monday,
April 19, at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside Library in Kenosha and at
the University of Wisconsin, Madison Union South Building, respectively.
The UW-Parkside lecture will begin at 12:00 pm and is hosted by the Friends
of the UW-Parkside Library as part of their Spring Speaker Forum. The
UW-Madison lecture will begin at 7:00 pm and is hosted by the UW-Madison
Armenian Students Organization and UW-Madison History Department.
A joint memorial service on Saturday, April 24, 6:30 pm will take place at
Holy Resurrection Armenian Church, 909 Michigan Avenue, South Milwaukee.
The memorial service will include the participation of all four Armenian
churches in Wisconsin: St. Hagop and St. Mesrob in Racine, St. John the
Baptist in Greenfield, and Holy Resurrection.
All events are free and open to the public. For more information on any of
these events or about the Armenian National Committee of Wisconsin, please
contact Zohrab Khaligian at [email protected].
The Armenian National Committee is the largest Armenian American grassroots
political organization in Wisconsin and nationwide. The ANC actively
advances a broad range of issues of concern to the Armenian American
community.
####

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
March 23 2004
EU PAYS SPECIAL ATTENTION TO DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONS WITH AZERBAIJAN
On March 22, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Vilayat
Guliyev the delegation headed by the special representative of the
European Union for the Southern Caucasus Heiki Talvitie.
As was informed from the press center of the ministry, Vilayat
Guliyev, warmly welcomed the visitors, emphasized that development of
relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union represents
special value for the Country.
Having noted that Azerbaijan is most economically advanced country on
Southern Caucasus, the Minister has emphasized necessity of the
further expansion of cooperation between our country and EU.
Then, Vilayat Guliyev informed visitors on prospects of connections
of Azerbaijan with the neighboring states, including with Georgia,
and the economic projects which are carried out within the framework
of regional cooperation, the work spent in the field of settlement of
the Armenian-Azerbaijani, Nagorny Karabakh conflict, activity of the
OSCE Minsk Group in this direction.
The special representative of the European Union for the Southern
Caucasus Heiki Talvitie has emphasized that the structure represented
by him attaches huge significance to the further development of
cooperation with Azerbaijan and supports more intensive continuation
of the connections representing mutual interest.
Having touched the Armenian-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict,
Mr. Heiki Talvitie has noted necessity of continuation of bilateral
negotiations and has expressed hope that as a result of joint efforts
of the international community, the conflict would shortly find the
fair peace settlement.
Then, the parties had exchange of views on a number of issues
representing mutual interest.

The Georgetown Hoya, DC
March 23 2004
Pulitzer Winner Calls for Attention to Human Rights
By Irmak Bademli
Hoya Staff Writer

Pulitzer Prize winner Samantha Power described the foreign policy of
the Bush administration as
Samantha Power, the 2003 Pulitzer Prize winner for nonfiction, said
there are obstacles to integrating concern for human rights into U.S.
foreign policy, but that the Bush administration can overcome these
obstacles by heightened commitment to principles and institutions.
Power delivered a lecture called `Terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, and
Human Rights: Can the United States Promote an `Age of Liberty’?’
Thursday evening in Copley Formal Lounge.
Power started her lecture by quoting a speech President Bush made on
Nov. 6, 2003 in Washington, D.C. `Sixty years of western nations
excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did
nothing to make us safe, because in the long run, stability cannot be
purchased at the expense of liberty.”
While she said some could respond to the speech cynically, seeing the
speech only as `rhetoric,’ Bush’s speech served to recognize the
shortcomings of the U.S. foreign policy.
Power said `the enemy of my enemy can be my friend’ attitude in
foreign policy must change. She gave the example of U.S. backing of
Iraq when `Iran was the enemy in the neighborhood.’
She said at the time Saddam Hussein was violating the rights of the
Kurdish minority in Iraq, but the United States overlooked these
violations.
`Lines not to cross were moved to keep Iran down,’ she said.
When Iraq started threatening not only Iran, but also Kuwait and
Israel with its weapons development program, it became clear that the
United States could no longer support Hussein, according to Power.
Power outlined many obstacles to integrating concern for human rights
into U.S. foreign policy.
The first one, she said, is that `victims of human rights abuses
don’t vote in the U.S.’ She said even she, `the genocide chick,’ did
not vote on the 1996 elections on the basis of how the Clinton
administration `allowed’ genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia.
According to Power, the second obstacle is a structural one. She said
unlike domestic politics, foreign policy does not have `checks and
balances’ to make sure `urgent will not trump the important, and
short term will not trump the long term.’
Power said the third obstacle is people’s lack of `moral
imagination.’ She said even though people know real-time facts, like
the number of Rwandans who died in the genocide, they have no real
knowledge of the `human stakes,’ they do not stop to imagine the
struggle of every person.
The main default of foreign policy is that short-term security and
economic interests always get in the way of the concern for human
rights and that while ethnic lobbies like Albanians and Armenians
play a constructive role for policy change, their efforts focus on a
particular group and lack universality.
Power called U.S. foreign policy `gratuitous unilateralism,’
recalling the resistance of the United States to the International
Criminal Court. She said the United States tried to convince its
allies not to turn in U.S. soldiers to the international court and
cut or suspended military aid to countries that refused.
She said that even though the United Nations itself stands as an
obstacle against human rights, it is still important. She recalled
the efforts of the U.N. inspectors in Iraq and the World Food
Program, which `kept the Iraqis fed while the war was persecuted.’
Power won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction with her
book, A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. In her
book she examined U.S. foreign policy toward genocide in 20th
century.
Power was the fourth speaker in this year’s Graduate School
Distinguished Lecturer Series.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan
March 23 2004
REGULAR MONITORING TO BE HELD ON TROOPS’ CONTACT LINE
[March 23, 2004, 15:28:40]
In accordance with the mandate of the OSCE acting Chairman’s personal
envoy, a regular monitoring of the armed forces of Azerbaijan and
Armenia on the contact line in the west of Borsunlu village of
Geranboy region of Azerbaijan Republic will be conducted on March 23.
According to the Defense Ministry’s press service, the monitoring on
the Azerbaijan side will be conducted by field assistants of the OSCE
acting Chairman’s personal envoy Jurgen Schmidt and Imre Palatinus.
On the opposite side of the contact line, the job will be done by
OSCE acting Chairman’s personal envoy Andzey Kaspshik and his field
assistants Kenneth Pickles and Gennadiy Korzh.