PanARMENIAN.Net
PACE Ad Hoc Committee on Nagorno Karabakh to Sit in October
02.09.2006 14:17 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The sitting of the PACE Ad Hoc Committee on Nagorno
Karabakh will be held in October, head of the Azeri delegation to PACE
Samed Seyidov said. In his words, the agenda will include the visit of
the committee members to Azerbaijan. The issue of Lord Russell
Johnston’s visit to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh will be
also discussed during the sitting.

PanARMENIAN.Net
Belgian Senator Shared Impressions of Karabakh Visit with RA FM
02.09.2006 15:19 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met
with chairman of the committee for foreign relations and defense at
the Belgian Senate, Mr François Roelants du Vivier, reported the RA
MFA press office. During the meeting the Armenian Minister assessed
highly the efforts of the Senator targeted at the development of the
Armenian-Belgian relationships. For his part Mr du Vivier expressed
satisfaction with the level of cooperation between Armenia and
Belgium.
He also shared the impressions of his visit to Karabakh with the
Armenian FM. By the guest’s request Vartan Oskanian briefed on the
current stage of the talks. Besides, the interlocutors discussed the
Armenia-EU Action Plan within the European Neighborhood Policy,
regional development and the Armenia-Turkey relations.

Abkhazia denies human rights violations in Georgian-populated district

Apsnypress
1 Sep 06

Sukhumi, 1 September: The Abkhaz president’s representative in Gali
District Ruslan Kishmaria has rejected and described as provocative a
statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia which
says that mass human rights violations are being perpetrated in Gali
District [predominately Georgian district in Abkhazia].
“All of this is being done to provoke the situation in Gali District
and the whole of Abkhazia,” Kishmaria told Apsnypress while commenting
on the statement by the Georgian Foreign Ministry’s Press and
Information Department which said that “Sukhumi’s separatist regime
continues to perpetrate gross human rights violations in Abkhazia on a
massive scale”.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry’s document reads that “Georgian
residents of Gali District are forced to dig trenches for the
so-called Abkhaz army”. Kishmaria said that no one was digging
trenches in Gali District. Work is under way there to restore
fortification buildings in the limited armament zone along the entire
line of the separation of sides, he said.
“Given the actions carried out by official Tbilisi in the upper part
of the Kodori Gorge, we do not rule out that Georgia will go to war
against Abkhazia.
Therefore, we are preparing for the defence and protection of our
state and its independence. Residents of Gali District, alongside any
other residents and citizens of Abkhazia, are participating in this
voluntarily,” Kishmaria said.
Commenting on the allegation of forceful conscription of Georgian
youths into the Abkhaz army, Kishmaria said: “There exists such a
state called the republic of Abkhazia. Even though it has not been
recognized by the world community it still has its armed forces in
which all of its citizens over age 18 serve. Anyone who considers
themselves a citizen of the republic of Abkhazia is obliged under the
constitution to pay their duty to their homeland. This applies to the
local Megrelian [ethnic subgroup of Georgians] population of Gali
District as well.”
Georgians constitute 3 per cent of the population in Gali, Russians,
Armenians and Abkhaz another 3 per cent, while Megrelians constitute
94 per cent, Kishmaria said.
“Megrelians living in Gali District consider Abkhazia their homeland
and they choose to serve in the armed forces of the republic. Forceful
conscription is out of the question. The Georgian side is trying to
artificially inflate this problem,” Kishmaria said.
The joint command of the CIS collective peacekeeping force operating
in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone did not confirm the information
circulated by the Georgian Foreign Ministry’s Press and Information
Department either.
“The Russian peacekeeping force has not registered any gross mass
human rights violations on Abkhaz territory. If there had been such,
the peacekeepers’ command would have known about them, the head of the
press service of the peacekeeping force, Vladimir Anikin, said.
Neither does the UN Human Rights Office in Sukhumi know anything about
“gross and mass human rights violations in Gali District”.
“We learnt about this from Georgian media reports and are now
verifying the information. No one has addressed the UN office in
Sukhumi regarding this yet.
No complains have been made,” the head of the office, Vladlen
Stefanov, said. Stefanov said he had sent his staff to Gali District
to verify the information circulated by the Georgian Foreign Ministry.

British envoy urges end to injustice against Azerbaijan in Karabakh – agency

Azerbaijani news agency APA, Baku
1 Sep 06

1 September, Baku: Azerbaijani Defence Minister Col-Gen Safar Abiyev
has met British ambassador to Azerbaijan Lawrence Bristow, the Defence
Ministry press service has told APA news agency.

The minister spoke about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict at the
meeting and said that there was no positive result in the settlement
of the conflict due to Armenia’s destructive position.

“Armenia does not observe four resolutions of the UN Security Council,
and the international community is putting no pressure on Armenia to
make it withdraw its troops from occupied lands. Azerbaijan will not
reconcile itself to the occupation of its lands by Armenia. Azerbaijan
will use all means, including force, to liberate our lands,” Abiyev
said.

Bristow said that Azerbaijan had the right to liberate its lands.

“But the Azerbaijani government should pursue this policy in a
balanced way. My observations in the South Caucasus during three
years show that the Armenian public is under the influence of foreign
forces. Turkey is a leading NATO country. Azerbaijan has a strong
economic foundation and has been developing harmoniously in all
spheres. What situation will Armenia be in 10-15 years’ time? An end
should be put to injustice against Azerbaijan as soon as possible,”
Bristow said.

[Passage omitted: Abiyev met other envoys too]

FT WEEKEND MAGAZINE – BOOK REVIEWS: In brief – Paris: The Secret History

Financial Times; Sep 02, 2006
By Natalie Whittle

Paris: The Secret History

by Andrew Hussey

Penguin £25, 512 pages

Where Peter Ackroyd left off with London: The Biography, Andrew Hussey
picks up with Paris: The Secret History, another obsessive history
tour, teeming with arcane, colourful detail. Hussey’s project is to
show that Paris is not, and never has been, a city in stasis: its
staid, glamorous image has always had a dirtier, more complex
counterpart.

Although it’s hardly a secret that Parisians like sex and
insurrection, Hussey has an abundance of research to show how these
tastes evolved. The 18th-century boom in bookshops, for example,
begins Parisians’ fondness for pornographic writing: all classes could
read erotica as a “sexual aperitif” before seeking gratification out
on the street.

Literary figures are important players in Hussey’s underbelly history,
huddling together in cafes, wandering the streets for inspiration and,
in the case of Balzac, taking the dawn air while his debt collectors
were still asleep. We meet other kinds of outsiders too, from
prostitutes, peddlers and sans-culottes to the “apache” street gangs
of the 1900s. There are also the many immigrants who have shaped
Parisian life. (It was a pair of Armenians who opened Paris’s first
coffee-serving cafe.)

Hussey has an obvious passion for the city and what makes it tick, and
The Secret History is an excellent introduction to its many sordid
mysteries

PanARMENIAN.Net
European Parliament Concerned over Dink Sentence
02.09.2006 13:47 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The European Parliament is concerned over the
conviction of Hrank Dink, the editor of the Armenian Istanbul-based
newspaper `Akos’. A corresponding report will be published next
Monday. To remind, Hrant Dink was sentenced to six months’ suspended
imprisonment for `outraging Turkish identity.’ The report also remarks
that the bill on religious minorities worked out in Turkey is
incomplete. It should be noted that in several weeks the European
Commission will consider the reform process in Turkey, reported
RFE/RL.

Armenia remain in the hunt
Saturday, 2 September 2006
Armenia revived their chances of reaching the UEFA European Under-21
Championship play-offs as a first-half goal from Tigran Gharabaghtsyan
proved enough to defeat Norway in a Group 1 fixture in Yerevan.
Final fixture
The result left Samvel Petrosyan’s side level on three points with
Bosnia-Herzegovina – who had beaten the Armenians 3-2 in the section’s
first fixture last month – with the match between Norway and the
Bosnia-Herzegovnians to come on 6 September. The latter need a point
to progress to the play-offs, while Armenia will qualify should Norway
win by one goal.
Opportunist Karabagtsyan
The home team had a number of early opportunities at the Republican
stadium with Artur Yedigaryan missing the target when well placed, but
the breakthrough arrived in the 24th minute when Boris Melkonyan’s
pass gave Alexander Petrosyan an opening and, although Rune Jarsyein
parried, Karabagtsyan was on hand to put away the rebound.
Norwegian opening
Samvel Melkonyan then headed wide, but Norway had chances of their
own, Magnus Myklebust twice being crowded out while Alexander Tettey
tried his luck from distance on several occasions without
success. Tomasz Sokolowski shot over for the visitors after the break
before Myklebust hit the post from close range after a great cross
from Tore Reginiussen. Armenia held out, however, and must wait and
see whether they will be involved in the play-off draw on 8 September.
uefa.com 1998-2006.

Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad says he spoke to kidnapped priest 7 days ago
AP Worldstream; Sep 02, 2006

The Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad said Saturday he had spoken on the
phone with a priest who was kidnapped earlier this month in the Iraqi
capital, who told him a week ago that he was well but still in the
hands of his captors.

Patriarch Emmanuel Delly told the Italian missionary news agency
MISNA, however, that the kidnappers had assured him at the end of his
conversation last Saturday that they would release the priest
immediately, but he had heard nothing since.

“We’ve been waiting for him for seven days, but still nothing,” Delly
said. “It’s been exactly a week since I had any news. Let’s hope they
will let him go as soon as possible, and let’s hope they won’t kill
him.”

The Rev. Hanna Saad Sirop, who is director of the Theology Department
at Babel College, was abducted Aug. 15 as he left Mass celebrating the
Assumption holiday.

Delly said Sirop told him, “I am Father Sirop, I am in good health and
I am in the hands of the men who kidnapped me,” according to MISNA.

Bishops from all of Baghdad’s Christian churches have sent a letter to
the Iraqi government asking them to help secure the release of the
34-year-old priest, and Pope Benedict XVI appealed for his release.

Christians make up just 3 percent of Iraq’s 26 million people. The
major Christian groups include Chaldean-Assyrians and Armenians, with
small numbers of Roman Catholics.

Karabakh leader urges Azerbaijan not to go to war

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
1 Sep 06
The leader of Nagornyy Karabakh has accused Azerbaijan of intimidating
this republic and harbouring “foolish and revengeful plans”. In an
address on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Karabakh’s
independence, Arkadiy Gukasyan urged Azerbaijan to resolve all issues
at the negotiating table, no matter how complicated they were. Also
speaking at the festivities, Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Markaryan said that Armenia’s main goal was to prevent a war.
The following is an excerpt from Gukasyan’s and Markaryan’s speeches
broadcast live by Nagornyy Karabakh Public TV and rebroadcast live by
Armenian Public TV on 1 September:
[Arkadiy Gukasyan, the president of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic]
Dear Armenian Prime Minister, the Holy Father, guests, ladies and
gentlemen! Fifteen years have passed since the memorable day on 2
September 1991 when a joint session of the parliaments of the Nagornyy
Karabakh Autonomous Region and Shaumyan District proclaimed the
independence of Nagornyy Karabakh.
[Passage omitted: on the way Karabakh has gone through over these
years] The Azerbaijani leadership is trying to put back the clock and
is threatening us with its military budget growth at the expense of
oil dollars. We heard these kinds of threats in the past as
well. During the years of the Karabakh movement our neighbours
intimidated us in different ways, including Azerbaijan’s erroneous
arguments, its population of eight million, favourable geopolitical
position and now with jihad.
This kind of behaviour of the Azerbaijani authorities is
pointless. The Karabakh conflict cannot be settled militarily. War
will only bring new losses and terrible suffering to both peoples. I
urge Azerbaijan to give up their foolish, suicidal and revengeful
plans and to resolve all issues, no matter how complicated they are,
at the negotiating table. Karabakh’s foreign policy is aimed in the
first place at solving the conflict peacefully together with
Azerbaijan.
In fact, the Nagornyy Karabakh people’s fight for independence is at
the same time a fight for establishing democratic norms both inside
our own state and in the whole region. Azerbaijan’s bellicose
statements calling for a military solution to the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict can be explained by the lack of democracy in Azerbaijan. I
believe that international observers, who are trying to draw up
mutually acceptable plans to resolve the Karabakh conflict, also
expect Azerbaijan to display a constructive position on the settlement
of the conflict during the negotiating processes. [Passage omitted:
repetition]
If the current settlement of the conflict has reached deadlock, this
has happened as a result of the Azerbaijani leadership’s
non-constructive position, and it is not the fault of Armenia or
Nagornyy Karabakh. Azerbaijan has not realized yet the realities of
the modern world, and by threatening to resume hostilities it wants to
resolve the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict with the help of others. A
resolution to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict is possible only through
mutual compromise, and the leaders of the conflicting sides have to
display courage and political will to that end. At the same time, a
peace agreement should not call into question the historical choice of
the Karabakh people.
I can assure you that Karabakh is ready to start a direct and
constructive dialogue with Azerbaijan without any precondition. I
believe that this format of negotiations is more normal and that it
complies with the essence of the conflict. If Baku prefers solving the
problem militarily and takes this foolish step, then it will receive a
worthy response from the defence army of Nagornyy Karabakh which is
capable of ensuring the safety of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic and
its people.
[Passage omitted: on achievements over the period of cease-fire]
[Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan] Dear compatriots, I
congratulate you on the Independence Day of Nagornyy Karabakh on
behalf of Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, National Assembly
Chairman Tigran Torosyan and the Armenian government.
[Passage omitted: Markaryan on the Karabakh people’s fight for
independence] [Markaryan] The Armenian people will support you. Your
success is our success. We are also worried about any threats made
against the Karabakh people.
Our main goal is to prevent a war. We do not want to give away our
success, which we have achieved at the cost of our blood, to others at
the negotiating table.
We have two options – Nagornyy Karabakh should either reunite with
Armenia or establish an independent state.
[Passage omitted: heads of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as the
defence minister of Nagornyy Karabakh and representatives of public
organizations delivered speeches]

Azerbaijan protests independence parade in breakaway region

ANS TV, Baku
2 Sep 06
[Presenter] A holiday was marked today on the Azerbaijani land
occupied by Armenians. The separatists of Nagornyy Karabakh celebrated
the 15th anniversary of the occupation and of the republic that they
had set up there. Baku believes that this is nothing more than an
attempt to wreck the talks.

[Correspondent] Armenians have marked the 15th anniversary of the
separatist regime set up in Nagornyy Karabakh. They even held a
military parade. [Video showed Russian TV footage]

Members of the separatist regimes of [Moldova’s] Dniester, [Georgia’s]
South Ossetia and Abkhazia also arrived in Xankandi [Stepanakert].

[Passage omitted: more details of the celebrations]

TV channels of Russia, which has undertaken a role within the OSCE
Minsk Group to mediate a settlement to the Karabakh conflict, have
demonstrated support for the self-styled regime. Russia TV’s “Vesti”
news programme presented the self-proclaimed republic as an
independent entity, separate from Azerbaijan. Have a look, this is
what they showed – Nagornyy Karabakh as an independent entity and
Arkadiy Gukasyan as its president.

A reporter of the news programme, Marina Aleksandrova, sees nothing
wrong in this.

[Russian journalist by telephone] There are Abkhazia and Dniester. We
usually present these two entities exactly the same way as Nagornyy
Karabakh. These are similar conflicts.

[Passage omitted: more about Russia TV channels’ reports on Karabakh]

[Correspondent] There should also be measures in place to prevent
international structures from questioning Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity.

[Akif Nagi, head of the Karabakh Liberation Organization] The USA’s
first ambassador to Armenia has recently sent a message congratulating
them on their independence. This shows this country’s attitude. These
people are government officials, and the authorities should not keep
aloof as though they have nothing to do with the issue. [Passage
omitted: reiteration of similar ideas]

[Corespondent] The head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s
Information and Press Department, Tahir Tagizada, believes that
celebrations like these in the occupied region of Nagornyy Karabakh
have a negative impact on the negotiations. Both the separatist regime
and Armenia and international organizations should understand that
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity cannot be a subject of talks and
that Baku will never cede even an inch of its land.

Tagizada also said that a letter by Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan to the leadership of the self-styled republic demonstrating
support had once again shown that Yerevan was not interested in
constructive negotiations.

Afat Telmanqizi, ANS.