ONE AZERBAIJANI ARMY SOLDIER WOUNDED AS RESULT OF CEASEFIRE VIOLATED BY ARMENIA
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 27 2006
As a result of ceasefire violation by Armenian Armed Forces in Terter
region direction, one soldier of Azerbaijani Army was deadly wounded.
According to the information of Garabagh bureau of APA Novruz
Ismayilov Nuraddin has been taken to a hospital with a wound on his
face. Azerbaijani Defense Ministry press service has confirmed the
information. Press service chief substitute Ilgar Verdiyev has informed
APA that, Ismayilov was drafted to military service in October 2005
from Dashkesan region military commissariat. He said the health of
the soldier in the hospital to be medium-constant.

EXTRACTING A LESSON FROM ARMENIAN EMIGRATION
By Mehmet Kamis
Zaman Online, Turkey
April 27 2006
The Editor in Chief of the Armenian newspaper Agos, Hrant Dink
and Turkish-Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan made two different
statements last week on the Armenian issue. Dink said it was a big
mistake on the part of the Armenians to trust the British, Germans,
French, and Russians.
Protestant missionaries and Russians caused conflicts among the
two communities which had lived together for centuries, during
the last years of the Ottoman Empire, and they watched the events
that unfolded and the Armenian emigration. These countries acted in
accordance with the interests of their respective states and left
when their interests were at risk. These provocations caused the
deaths of hundreds of thousands of Turks and Armenians. People were
left homeless. Children became orphans and women became widows. Two
good friends became enemies, perhaps forever. The big states left
this region after getting what they wanted. Neither the rights nor
the future of the Armenians was secured.
Unfortunately, the same game is being played today and the players
of this game do not even need the least change in tactics. The game
that was planned for the Armenians in the past is presently being
planned for the Kurds. Those who are striving for the establishment of
a Kurdish state with encouragement from Western powers are not taking
the future into account. They do not care about what they will do with
the regional forces they are provoking, after these foreign powers
leave this region. However, the locals should make their calculations
very well as to what they are going to do when the foreigners are gone.
Mutafyan’s remarks last week need to be diagnosed very well. Looking
at the Armenian issue from another perspective, he said that Armenian
political parties and Armenian patriarchs in the 19th century also
bore the responsibility for the outbreak of the crisis. Mutafyan,
undoubtedly, did not put all the blame on the shoulders of the
Armenians; however, he stressed that the Armenians and big states
also bore the responsibility along with the Ottoman Empire.
What I am particularly interested in here is the mistakes of the
Armenian leaders; the Armenian patriarchs not fulfilling their
duties of averting such a crisis and the Armenian leaders not warning
the youths sufficiently to prevent them from being deceived. It is
necessary to scrutinize the mistakes of the Armenian leaders who
did not issue the necessary warnings and take measures against the
provocations made by the Russian spies and Protestant missionaries
at the break in this historical faultline.
Dink’s and Mutafyan’s statements on the Armenian issue are such
that could bring a new perspective to history. These rare warning
statements show that this geography can still extract very important
lessons from the past. Instead of judging the past once again, we
should rather focus on “What lessons could be drawn today from those
events”. While events that occurred 90 years ago are being reenacted
through the Kurds this time, one should look back at those days again
and extract lessons from the mistakes. Powers outside the region,
which have some plans for this region, have always provoked conflicts
among various ethnicities here. When their plans materialize and they
leave the region, the region’s residents are left on their own.
Turks and Kurds had been living in these lands before everyone else.
They had the same belief and thought. They married each other. They
are still living in these lands and will also continue to do so in
the future. Moreover, they are still relatives. Their leaders, with
common sense, should tell the youths more about these realities. The
leaders of the Kurds, in particular, should understand this historical
fact well and act in a more constructive manner. Ethnic nationalism
has done no good to any nation; it will do the Kurds no good, either.
People living in this geography should be more careful when they are
listening to the utterances of foreigners. If there is another break
in the faultline, the consequences will be hard to bear.

GEORGE BUSH DISAPPOINTED ARMENIANS
Democratic Azerbaijan
April 27 2006
US President made no mention of genocide in his traditional speech
George Bush, US President disappointed Armenians once more. According
to Hurriyyet Turkish newspaper, a day of so-called Armenian genocide
the President of the United States addressed concerning the events
held in Ottoman Empire in 1915. But in his speech he did not use of
word genocide.
In his speech G. Bush said that the events took place in early XX
are considered as tragedy, and nobody should forget it. G.Bush noted
that he welcomes the people trying to research certainty of events of
last century. US President informed that all conditions for regulation
of multilateral dialogue and normal relationship between two States,
including establishment of Joint Commission will be created.
In his address G. Bush touched upon Nagorno-Garabagh conflict. “We
adhere to the opinion that this point should be settled as soon as
possible by peaceful meanings, and we do not lose a hope for that
Azerbaijan and Armenian leaders will undertake proper steps for
attainment of these purposes”, says presidential address. Armenian
lobby not being able to keep discontent accused the US President of
non-implementation of his promises. According to Sabah newspaper,
Armenian lobby held rally in front of the building of Turkish Embassy
to Washington. Group composed of Azerbaijanis and Turks opposed them.
This group accompanied by police and security forces of Washington,
with Azerbaijan and Turkish flags, advanced slogans against
Armenians. In spite of diligence of police, one Armenian could squeeze
into group of Azerbaijanis, but he had been detained by police and
taken away from this territory.
P.S. Armenians attracted the very young children to rally.
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STORMING THE STREETS
By Carl Kozlowski
Pasadena Weekly, CA
April 27 2006
Hanging red, blue and orange Armenian flags throughout Glendale and
LA, thousands of Armenian Americans took to the streets Monday for
an annual demonstration memorializing the 1915 genocide of more than
1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turk government.
Goals of the protesters were twofold: To draw an admission of guilt
and the offer of reparations from the Turkish government, and to
inspire Congress to officially recognize the genocide and pressure
Turkey into doing so as well.
Whether packing the gymnasium of Glendale High School for a
commemoration assembly produced by the school’s 400-member Armenian
Club or taking part in the 2,500-person march to the Turkish Consulate
at 6300 Wilshire Blvd., the day’s events may have remained on a
smaller scale than the city’s recent immigration protests, but were
intensified by the same type of righteous energy.
“Basically, the purpose of this type of activity is to keep the public
aware of what happened in 1915, what’s the current situation, and what
needs to be done,” said Vahe Bozoyan, a math teacher at Glendale High
and sponsor of the Armenian Club.
As for Turkey, “The only way the continuing intransigence on the
part of the Turkish government will change is when we withdraw US
military aid to the government of Turkey,” said Bill Paparian, an
Armenian American and former mayor of Pasadena who is running for
Congress as a member of the Green Party.
“We must begin a program of divestment similar to what happened in
the government of South Africa in order to shun their government into
ending apartheid.”

AZERIS STAGING PROTESTS AT YEREVAN’S GENOCIDE CLAIMS
AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
April 27 2006
Azerbaijani and Turkish communities are staging actions of protest
worldwide to condemn the so-called Armenian genocide campaign. The
Armenians allege that on April 24, 1915, they fell victim to genocide
on the part of the Turks.
The objective of the Azerbaijani and Turkish communities is to provide
an accurate account of what really happened in Turkey in 1915. The
World Azerbaijanis Congress is now conducting one such action in the
capital of Russia’s Tatarstan, Kazan.
Ethnic Azeris and Turks are expected to launch a series of protests in
a number of American and European countries to counter the genocide
claims. A representative of the US-Azerbaijan Friendship Society,
Badir Mammadli, said in Washington that large-scale campaigns will
be held outside the Turkish embassy. For this, posters and photo
stands have been prepared documenting the atrocities unleashed by
the Armenians in Khojaly. Hundreds of civilians were brutally killed
by Armenian forces in the Khojaly district on February 26, 1992,
which marks one of the bloodiest pages in Azerbaijan’s history. A
representative of the Movement for Azerbaijan in Germany, Guldana
Rzayeva, said local Turks and Jews would join the actions of protest
to be staged by the movement. Similar actions will be held through
May 8 in many parts of the world.

ARMENIAN ARMY 45,000-PEOPLE STRONG
AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
April 27 2006
Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian has said his country’s
troops are 45,000 people strong, explaining this by the current
situation in the South Caucasus region.
Touching upon the plight and structure of the three-million nation’s
forces, Sarkisian said it is common knowledge that the Armenian
military consists of infantry regiment units and the air force. The
troops are not centralized in any way and have no local headquarters.
“There is only one chief HQ overseeing all of the armed forces. This
involves commanding separate corps, artillery units and air defense
forces,” said the minister, who also serves as secretary of the
Armenian National Security Council. Sarkisian, who attended military
training in the occupied Azeri territories last week, maintained that
despite his country’s adherence to peace talks, it should improve
its military in the meantime. Sarkisian’s statements at a time of
intensifying international efforts to accelerate the peace process
once again prove that the root-cause of the long-standing dispute
is not the aspiration of Garabagh Armenians to self-determination,
but Yerevan’s occupation plans. The Armenian minister trying to cover
up his country’s policy of aggression explained his participation in
the illegal training activities by what he called Yerevan’s acting
as guarantor for the security of the self-proclaimed republic until
the Garabagh conflict is settled.

OMBUDSMEN OF BSEC GATHER IN ISTANBUL
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
April 27 2006
Ombudsmen of the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(BSEC) have gathered in Istanbul, Turkey, to discuss role of ombudsman
institution in strengthening democracy.
The two-day conference organized with the assistance of the
Parliamentary Assembly of BSEC started on April 26.
Addressing the meeting, former Turkish President Suleyman Demirel
expressed hope that ombudsmen would contribute to bring peace and
stability to the region.
Human rights commissioner of Azerbaijan Mrs. Elmira Suleymanova spoke
of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
She said over one million Azerbaijani nationals were forced to flee
their homelands and became refugees or internally displaced persons
(IDP) in result of 18-years long Armenian aggression.
Mrs. Suleymanova also called on all the human rights defenders to step
up their efforts to help Azerbaijani refugees return to their homes.
The conference will last until April 27.

BAKU RUBBISHES TURKISH WEBSITE REPORT
AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
April 27 2006
Azerbaijan will launch an attack on Armenia in the coming days, a
Turkish report has said. Azerbaijani officials have dismissed it as
groundless. Turkish hurhaber.com website quoted diplomatic sources as
saying that the Azeri government has made serious preparations for
liberating Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh from occupation and that Baku
has passed a decision to restart hostilities.
Armenia has occupied 20% of Azeri territory in defiance of
international law since the war broke out in the early 1990s which
has claimed thousands of lives and displaced 700,000 of Azeris from
their homes. The report linked the expanding US-Azeri relations to
the military action to be waged in Garabagh, saying that US President
George Bush welcomes the idea of launching military action. The website
also indicated that the operations would affect the oil price. Armenian
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian said the Garabagh conflict could
not be settled through war, which is confirmed by EU representatives.
“Military action by Azerbaijan may become its last mistake,”
he said when commenting on the Turkish site’s report in a news
conference held jointly with Austrian Foreign Ministry Secretary of
State Hans Vinkler. “Azerbaijan may restart war only when all hope
for peace is gone. However, the Azeri leadership can’t make this
decision on its own,” Oskanian said. Oskanian added that Armenia
would closely follow the talks on the Garabagh conflict to be held
during President Ilham Aliyev’s upcoming visit to Washington. Armenian
Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian could not help voicing his concerns
over Azerbaijan’s warnings about the resumption of military action
and the country’s growing military expenditure. “We are not afraid
of war but don’t want it to flare up. An agreement [ceasefire] on
ending hostilities was reached in 1994 with Russia’s mediation. Our
troops have already taken preeminent defense positions and we have
been invigorating our positions with engineering facilities over the
past 12 years,” he said. He said the Caucasus is a very small area,
which makes regional countries dependent on each other. “For this
reason, a resumption of military action could bring about negative
consequences for us,” the Armenian defense chief said. Sarkisian
claimed that Azerbaijan’s statements that its military spending
has doubled are nothing but “blackmail”. Former Armenian foreign
minister Alexander Arzumanian said he does not expect any drastic
changes in the conflict resolution. “However, considering Azerbaijan’s
statements made following the two presidents’ meeting in the French
town of Rambouillet, it is not ruled out that this country may resume
military operations.” Azerbaijan threatened to use force to free its
territories from Armenian occupation after the latest unsuccessful
round of talks between the two countries’ leaders. The Azeri Defense
Ministry spokesman, Ilgar Verdiyev, said the report contradicts
reality and peace talks are underway. The Foreign Ministry official,
Tahir Taghizada, declined to comment on such “rubbish” published by
the Turkish site. He said Azerbaijan is still adhering to a peaceful
option to resolve the dispute, but warned that the Azeri people’s
patience was not boundless and the country “won’t negotiate for
the sake of negotiating”. If the talks yield no fruit, Azerbaijan
reserves the right to regain its lands no matter what it takes,
Taghizada said. The outgoing US ambassador to Azerbaijan, Reno Harnish,
said on Friday it was necessary to get rid of the military rhetoric
to resolve the long-standing dispute. “A resumption of hostilities
in the Caucasus could completely destroy the region.” The diplomat
said the negotiations to settle the conflict had intensified over the
past two years. “Tangible results have been achieved in agreeing the
principles of a fair and lasting peace,” Harnish said, adding that
Washington would continue to do its utmost to accomplish the goal.

IRAN SEEKING CLOSER TIES AMID RISING TENSION WITH US
AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
April 27 2006
A high-ranking Iranian military official held talks in Azerbaijan
last week in what many see as the neighboring country’s attempt to
forge closer ties amid escalating tensions with the United States.
The Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Muhammad Najjar said the Azeri
leader’s upcoming talks in Washington could alter the U.S. policy
on Iran.
“We believe President Ilham Aliyev will urge American officials to
see things the way they are and be rational. This may convince them to
abandon their actions. But this does not mean Azerbaijanis will act as
mediators, as they can only explain our position to Americans,” Najjar
told the press after talks with officials in Baku on Thursday. Western
countries suspect Iran of seeking nuclear weapons under the cover of
a civilian atomic program, a charge Iran denies saying its uranium
enrichment activities are peaceful.
The UN Security Council has lately given Iran 30 days to comply owing
to the pressure built by the US. The Iranian embassy on Friday flatly
dismissed media reports suggesting that the defense minister tabled
the issue of Azerbaijan’s mediation in US-Iran talks. The Iranian
minister described the reports saying the US plans to declare a war
on Iran as mere talk. “We have never been afraid of Americans. The
US has been threatening Iran for 27 years and this is not new to
us. We are ready to resolve all issues through talks, but if we are
confronted with something, we are ready to deal with it,” Najjar
said. US President George Bush says he is using diplomacy to curb
Iran’s atomic ambitions, but does not rule out a military option,
including a nuclear strike, to prevent the Islamic republic from
acquiring nuclear weapons. “Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful, but
some countries trying to present it as a source of tension will not
achieve their goal. We do not see implementation of the program as
such and intend to proceed with it,” the minister said. Najjar said
consistent work in this area is underway and his country continues
to develop its atomic program in compliance with the demands and
wishes of millions of Iranians. “We have already completed uranium
enrichment and even held celebrations on this occasion attended by
the Azeri ambassador to Tehran Abbasali Hasanov,” he said. Najjar
dismissed reports saying his country is cooperating with Armenia in
the military field. “This information is completely wide of the mark.
This has never happened and will not happen.” The Iranian minister
said his country is interested in expanding military ties with
Azerbaijan. “The goal of my visit is to expand collaboration
in line with the agreements signed by our countries. Tehran may
assist Azerbaijan in developing its defense industry and we can
exchange relevant experience,” he said. Azerbaijani Defense Minister
Safar Abiyev called on Iran to assist Azerbaijan in finding a fair
settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh, during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart. He emphasized
that Armenia’s policy is the main obstacle for security in the
region. Muhammad Najjar, in turn, said his country is ready to provide
such assistance, adding that Iran has always supported Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity. An MP from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party,
Mubariz Gurbanli, said Azerbaijan plans to stick to a balanced policy
on the crisis over Iran. “Azerbaijan and Iran have an agreement banning
the use of their territories by another country for an offensive on
either state. Azerbaijan remains faithful to the document.” However,
many in the country doubt Baku will be able to retain its neutral
stance on the Iran issue. The editor-in-chief of opposition Azadlig
newspaper, Ganimat Zahidov, says that in the best-case scenario, the
Azeri government, taking into account the balance of forces, may trim
its sails either in favor of the US or Iran. “By defending the United
States, Azerbaijan may come under overt and indirect interference
on the part of Iran. A recent visit by the Iranian defense minister
to Baku indicated how dangerous this may be,” Zahidov said. Zahidov
said, however, supporting Iran could pose even a greater threat. “It
should be taken into account that Azerbaijan is facing a sensitive
problem like the Upper Garabagh conflict. Defending Iran would prove
even more perilous.” The newspaper editor went on to say that acting
as Iran’s partner could also hamper Azerbaijan’s integration into
Europe. “This could be a setback for the country both in terms of
human rights and economic development.
Moreover, its position on the Garabagh conflict may weaken,” said
Zahidov. Nonetheless, some experts say that supporting Iran could
bring Azerbaijan certain dividends. The Azadlig editor said joining
the international anti-Iran coalition could considerably strengthen
the country’s ties with the United States, but warned that it would
be hard to fathom the potential benefits. In general, the Azeri
public does not support moves to join the anti-Iran coalition and is
opposed to granting permission for the use of the country’s territory
for a possible strike. A launch of hostilities could have dire
ramifications. Apart from the threats arising in borderline regions,
hostilities would affect Iran’s 30-million ethnic Azeri population.
The director of the Caspian Studies Program at Harvard University
Brenda Shaffer says there was a specific objective behind the Iranian
defense minister’s visit. “The Iranians are interested in showing
to the world that they have good relations with neighbors because
in the event of [US] sanctions or military action, the reaction of
Iran’s neighbors will have to be reckoned with. This, however, does
not mean that the Iranian minister has been putting any pressure
on Azerbaijan,” Shaffer said. With regard to the possibility that
Azerbaijan may broker a US-Iranian dialogue, Shaffer said it was
possible, albeit not necessary. “The point is that Iran already has
such relations with Russia and Europe and there is no need for yet
another mediator,” she said. She said it was highly unlikely that Iran
might provide Azerbaijan with any assistance in its conflict with
Armenia over Garabagh. “Iran has forged warm relations with Armenia
and Upper Garabagh in particular. When I was in Garabagh, I saw a
great number of Iranian cars there. Obviously, this being the case,
Iran would not be able to provide any assistance to Azerbaijan,”
Shaffer said. As far as President Ilham Aliyev’s upcoming visit to
the US is concerned, the researcher said it was a major success of the
Azerbaijani diplomacy. She said it showed the geo-strategic importance
Azerbaijan represents to the USA. “In the event of economic sanctions
against Iran, Azerbaijan’s borders will represent special importance
to the West. Obviously the issue will be discussed by Presidents Ilham
Aliyev and George Bush. Under such circumstances, Aliyev may well say
to his US counterpart that while Azerbaijan is actively cooperating
with the West in such important issues, Baku was also in need of the
West’s cooperation in resolving the Garabagh conflict. This meeting
could produce tangible results,” Shaffer said.

THE MOSCOW-TBILISI RAILWAY LINE: THE ARMENIAN PERSPECTIVE AND THE ABKHAZ HURDLE
By M. Alkhazashvili
The Messenger, Georgia
April 27 2006
A quadripartite Russian-Georgian-Armenian-Abkhaz consortium will be
responsible for taking care of the restoration-rehabilitation work
that needs to be done on the Abkhaz section of the Tbilisi-Moscow
railway line. This project is estimated to cost between USD 150-250
million and it is up to the consortium members to find this money.
In December 2005 a Russian-Georgian intergovernmental economic
commission agreed to tackle this project.
Then the governments of the two countries ordered their railway
departments to create a joint Georgian-Russian consortium to oversee
the restoration of the Abkhaz railway. After this was done, the two
sides agreed to create an international consortium. Even as early
as December 2005 it was clear that both Armenia and Abkhazia would
become members of the consortium. The opening of this railway has a
vital importance for Armenia, which has closed borders with two of
its neighbors – Turkey and Azerbaijan. This rail link will finally
provide the country with a relatively efficient way to trade on a
large scale with its regional strategic partner, Russia.
The fact that Abkhazia is represented in the consortium as an
independent entity is an expression of Georgian goodwill. The
consortium’s quotas are distributed as follows: Russia – 50 percent;
Georgia – 30 percent, and Armenia and Abkhazia have 10 percent each,
the newspaper Khvalindeli Dghe reports.
The participation of Armenia and separatist Abkhazia in the consortium
was initially met with controversy in Georgian society, although
many observers strongly support the idea that the Abkhaz side is
represented in the consortium as a separate unit.
“This is very profitable for Georgia because Sukhumi will once again
see that the Georgian side is ready to consider their interests,”
explained Paata Zakareishvili, a conflict resolution specialist,
as quoted by the newspaper Khvalindeli Dghe.
The most problematic issue connected with the reopening of this
railway is that of customs control. The Abkhaz side is categorically
against the opening of a Georgian customs office in Psou on the
Abkhaz section of what Tbilisi considers to be the Georgian-Russian
border. At the same time the Georgian side is just as unbending and
has stated repeatedly that they will not compromise towards the issue.
“We will not discuss the border question – for us it is a closed
issue. We will continue to take part in tariff negotiations, and how
the revenues from this railway should be divided. As for the border,
negotiations surrounding this issue are ruled out. Psou is on the
Georgian-Russian border and that’s that,” declared Irakli Alasania,
presidential assistant for the resolution of the Abkhaz conflict,
the newspaper Khvalindeli Dghe reports.