Karabakh Conflict Settlement Impossible without Participation of Karabakh Representatives
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.04.2006 01:01 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ From the very beginning the participants of the
Dartmouth process understood that the settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict is impossible without the participation of
representatives of Karabakh, co-chair of the Dartmouth Conference
working group for regional conflicts Harold Saunders stated during
round-table discussions in Stepanakert, reported the information and
analytical department of the NKR MFA. The discussion participants
considered the draft framework agreement on peaceful process
in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh. In his words, the
deadlock doesn’t benefit to either of the parties. “Bridges should
be established between sides. The document maintains a series of
steps targeted at peace building. This is not a substitute for formal
talks but only an addition,” the American diplomat said noting that
the Dartmouth Conference enjoys good relations with the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-chairs.

Dartmouth Conference Co-Chair: Karabakh Independent De Facto
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.04.2006 01:06 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Dartmouth Conference format is unique
because joint Russian-American projects are few in number over
the difference in approaches towards regional conflicts, co-chair
of the Dartmouth Conference working group for regional conflicts
Vitaly Naumkin stated during round-table discussions in Stepanakert,
reported by the information and analytical department of the NKR
MFA. “The fact of our constructive cooperation in the course of many
years should arouse trust in the format. Nagorno Karabakh despite
all the difficulties was recognized as a party to conflict and this
is undoubtedly the achievement of the Dartmouth process. Certainly,
such approach demanded effort and bravery of the parties,” Naumkin
said. “We want to help people to speak and settle the issues of
peace but not war. This is the essence of peace building through new
relations between the people,” he said.
According to the diplomat, the intermediate status offered in the
document automatically recognized Nagorno Karabakh as an independent
side. “This appears as certain legitimization of Nagorno Karabakh as
a party with responsibilities and rights,” Naumkin said. “The idea of
intermediate status doesn’t suppose renunciation of anything. Nagorno
Karabakh is independent de facto. We just propose to join the peaceful
process. We view the intermediate status as the process of joining
the negotiations. In our documents we create a trilateral format where
Nagorno Karabakh appears as a full party,” the Russian diplomat stated.

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
March 31 2006
As frequently ceasefire regime is violated in Armenian-Azeri
frontline, as situation is tenser – Defense Minister
Source: Trend
Author: E.Javadova
31.03.2006
As frequently the ceasefire regime is violated in the
[Armenian-Azerbaijani] frontline, as situation is tenser, Safar Abiyev,
the Azerbaijani Defense Minister, told journalists, Trend reports.
He voiced his regret for loss of Azerbaijani soldiers as a result of
intensive armistice breaches by Armenian troops. “The violation of
the ceasefire has become an ordinary case. One more soldier of the
Azerbaijani army died on 30 March as a result of the violation of
the ceasefire in the frontline,” Abiyev underscored.
The minister assured the Ministry and the Commander-in-chief of
Azerbaijan were informed of the recent armistice breaches in the
Armenian-Azerbaijani frontline.
Concerning the rumors on violence reportedly used against the soldiers
of the national army Abiyev stated that there was not a problem of
dedovshina in the Azerbaijani Army.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 31 2006
Safar Abiyev: “The Supreme Commander-in-Chief will decide action
about regular cease-fire violations by Armenia”
[ 31 Mar. 2006 13:18 ]
“The cease-fire violation in the frontline has become regular. It is
broken more often in comparison with previous years,” Azerbaijan’s
Defense Minister, Colonel-General Safar Abiyev told journalists (APA).
Stressing that Armenians regularly fire on the positions of
Azerbaijan’s armed forces, Mr.Abiyev reminded the death of one more
Azerbaijani soldier yesterday.
Referring to response actions by Azerbaijani party, the Defense
Minister said, “The situation is very tense now. Azerbaijan’s Supreme
Commander-in-Chief will determine further processes and action to be
taken as response.”/APA/

Delegation Headed by Bogdan Borusewicz, Senate Speaker of the
Republic of Poland To be in Armenia on an Official Visit
National Assembly of RA, Armenia
March 31 2006
On April 3-4 the delegation headed by Bogdan Borusewicz, Speaker
of the Senate of the Republic of Poland will be in the Republic of
Armenia on an official visit. Members of Senate, representatives of
Government, businessmen will be in the delegation.
On April 3 Robert Kocharyan, RA President, Andranik Margaryan, RA
Prime Minister, His Holiness Garegin II, Catholicos of All Armenians
will receive at Holy See Echmiadzin the delegation headed by Bogdan
Borusewicz, Senate Speaker of the Republic of Poland.
The same day the delegation members will put wreath at the memorial
complex of the Great Genocide will visit Matenadaran (depository of
manuscripts), will meet the representatives of Polish community.
On April 4 the delegation will have meetings in the National
Assembly with NA President Artur Baghdasaryan, NA Vice Presidents,
committee chairmen, heads of group-factions. A meeting is envisaged
with businessmen.
The official visit of Bogdan Borusewicz, Speaker of the Senate of
the Republic of Poland will be wrapped up with joint press conference.

Armenia hopes EU will pressure Turkey to open its border
ABHaber, Belgium
March 31 2006
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian expressed Yerevan’s hope
that Turkey will be pressured by the European Union to open its border
with Armenia during the EU membership process.
Oskanian made the remarks at a press conference in Washington on
Wednesday following his contacts in the U.S.
Underlining that Armenia has no pre-conditions for the opening of the
border, Oskanian said, “Turkish-Armenian border is the only closed
border gate in Europe. We hope Turkey will be pressured to open it
during its bid to join the bloc.”
Turkey is considering reopening its border with Armenia on the
condition that Yerevan commits to a partial pullout from the occupied
Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and within the process of
normalization of relations between Ankara and Yerevan. Ankara seeks
a withdrawal from four regions in Nagorno-Karabakh and believes that
such a move can facilitate a comprehensive agreement between Yerevan
and the Azeri capital Baku.
Oskanian also stated that Yerevan supports the establishment of
diplomatic relations with Ankara.
Touching on the Armenian genocide claims, Oskanian said that his
country doesn’t want any discussions on his country’s thesis. In a
move to lash out at Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
proposal to establish a joint commission composed of Armenian and
Turkish historians to study the genocide claims, Oskanian said,
“Erdogan’s suggestion aims to give Europe the impression that
Turkey is “on trail” in this issue. First of all there is no need
to reinvestigate the issue which is proved by documents. Secondly,
it is apparent that Turkish historians won’t confirm the existence of
“genocide” as a result of their studies since in Turkey it is even
forbidden to voice the word “genocide”.”

FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS LITHUANIAN AMBASSADOR
[March 31, 2006, 12:15:08]
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
March 31 2006
Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov met on Thursday
newly appointed Ambassador of Lithuania Viatautas Nauduzas.
Minister Mammadyarov expressed confidence that the Ambassador would
do his best for the Azerbaijan – Lithuania relationship to be further
developed.
He informed Mr. Nauduzas about the current socio-political and
economic situation in Azerbaijan, and the country~Rs participation
in a number of regional projects including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
oil and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline ones.
Touching on the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh, Mr. Mammadyarov reminded of occupation of 20% of
the Azeri lands by Armenian armed forces, told of the refugee problem,
and the course of peace negotiations.
Ambassador of Lithuania Viatautas Nauduzas first presented his
credentials to Foreign Minister Mammadyarov saying he will work hard
for development of relationship between the two countries. He said his
country is keen in enhancing cooperation with Azerbaijan in a number
of fields, especially in those of transport, finance and military
ones. The diplomat also advised that opening of Lithuanian embassy
in Baku is expected in the near future.

Gyumri, Aparan, Vardenis Become Members of World Alliance of the Cities Against Poverty
National Assembly of RA, Armenia
March 31 2006
On March 29, in the City of Valencia of Spain the Fifth Forum of
World Alliance of the Cities Fighting Against Poverty started its
works. Member cities of the alliance, partner cities and associations
of the alliance, members of parliaments and governments, businessmen,
other officials attended the forum. Vardan Barseghyan, Mayor of
Vardenis and Georgy Yeremyan, Deputy Mayor of Aparan are in the
Armenian delegation.
The goal of the forum is to elaborate a municipal action strategy
directed to fighting poverty, based on the experience of the
municipalities during the 1997-2007 World Decade of Poverty
Eradication.
At the plenary session the guarantees of 2005 World Summit of
Millennium Development Goals and the local investments directed
to its implementation were presented. Then the representatives of
municipalities gave speeches telling about the local results of
international decade of poverty eradication and about their experience.
The forum was announced open with participation of representatives
of Spanish Royal House, Municipality of Valencia and Valencia region,
Spanish Government, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and United
Nations Development Program.
At the opening of the forum Artur Baghdasaryan, RA NA President,
delivered a speech:
“We live in an era of intense globalization with different causes
but similar consequences of poverty in different parts of the world.
Globalization is increasingly accompanied by a process of
decentralization and interdependence. It naturally makes us change
our approaches of fighting poverty. In this context local authorities
take on additional importance in combating poverty as the closest
institutions to citizens. At the same time local authorities have
little control over the causes of poverty and I would like to emphasize
the importance of collective action and responsibility in eradicating
poverty.
The Parliaments, national governments, civil society organizations
and international development partners have a clear role to play by
setting adequate legal and policy frameworks, providing guidance,
mobilizing resources, channeling these resources to the targeted
priorities and ensuring broad awareness of this disease. The major
challenge before us is not the lack of understanding of the problems
facing us. It is not definitely the lack of knowledge what needs to
be done in order to get out of poverty. But, rather, it is how to
build a conductive climate, in terms of policy, institutional and
behavioral environment, which will facilitate citizen participation,
investment, growth and development. The rest of the work remains the
domain of, and dependent on, efforts on local level. I am sure this
forum is an exceptional opportunity for the participating cities to
obtain direct information on successful experiments on how to respond
to poverty most efficiently.
This year marks the end of the International Decade of Eradication of
Poverty.Hence, the Valencia forum gives us an opportunity, not only
to remind ourselves of the task before us, but also to keep track of
struggle as we move ahead. This forum provides us with an opportunity
to assess the key outputs of our efforts, reflect on the findings
and exchange ideas and strategies on the way forward. I find it to be
an excellent opportunity for all the participating municipalities to
reflect on the achievements made and the challenges encountered as well
as to deliberate on the best ways of addressing these challenges. It
is an excellent opportunity to build international partnerships and
develop joint programs.
Combating poverty cannot be limited to material and financial
assistance. Human rights violations and bad governance provide
a fertile ground for poverty to grow. Without an avenue of local
participation disadvantaged population cannot affect change and may
find it impossible to improve their living conditions. I believe the
forum is a brilliant opportunity for sharing successful programs and
policies on how to increase citizen participation and transparency
on local level.
As a country in transition Armenia still suffers enormously from
poverty, perhaps, the most formidable enemy to its development.
Already four Armenian cities are members of the World Alliance of
Cities again Poverty. This is the first time Armenian cities are taking
part in such a representative forum of global contacts and it is good
opportunity to exchange information, develop city-to-city cooperation
and broaden their access to the skills, cooperation and support
available to them from different players in the development field.
As President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia,
President of the Parliament of the country having 1700 years of
Christian traditions, I would like to invite all of you to Armenia,
where in October of this year the National Assembly and the European
Union will jointly organize international conference with participation
of European different countries. The conference will be dedicated to
the development of direct cooperation of the cities and will be an
important investment in fighting poverty on local level for finding
solutions.”
Then the works of the forum continued in the working groups.
The most important event of the day for Armenia during the forum
was that among the cities of different countries, Gyumri, Aparan,
Vardenis became members of the World Alliance of Cities Against
Poverty, which will give opportunities for the implementation of
development programmes.

Spanish Trade Industrial Cooperation Centre To Be Opened
National Assembly of RA, Armenia
March 31 2006
On March 30, in Valencia within the framework of the Fifth Forum
of World Alliance of the Cities Fighting Against Poverty Artur
Baghdasaryan, RA NA President, had several bilateral meetings.
During the meeting with Francisco Camps, President of the Valencian
Government, problems of establishing regional relations between
Valencia and Armenia were discussed. An agreement was reached on the
leave of the Valencian delegation to Armenia in future, during which
the possibilities of cooperation will be specified.
During the meeting with Rita Barbera, Mayoress of Valencia, the
problems of implementation of concrete programmes, as well as
transferring ambulance cars to Armenia between Valencia and cities
of Armenia were discussed.
During the meeting with Justo Nieto, Industry Minister of Valencia, an
agreement was reached on opening joint offices in Armenia and Spain,
the activity of which will have two directions: increase of trade
turnover and study of market, also study of goods consuming markets and
advertisement, establishment of joint fund, the goal of which will be
the implementation of scientific-educational programmes. The activity
of this office will boost the development of the Armenian-Spanish
trade-industrial and scientific-cultural development, establishment
of new possibilities and new jobs.
Other meetings are also envisaged during the day.
NA President Artur Baghdasaryan gave interviews to the central
newspapers, and the works of the forum are widely illustrated on TV.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Washington Times, DC
March 31 2006
Embassy Row
By James Morrison
March 30, 2006
Recall from Armenia?
Armenian-Americans and their allies in Congress are angered over
reports that the U.S. ambassador to Armenia will be recalled or fired
for referring to the killings of Armenians in 1915 as genocide and
upsetting established U.S. policy that avoids using that word.
Ambassador John Evans, a career Foreign Service officer,
deliberately referred to the “Armenian genocide” in a speech last
year in San Francisco, and rumors of official retaliation have
persisted for the past 12 months.
The State Department officially refers to the “massacre” of
Armenians under the Ottoman Turkish Empire but has never described
the conflict as a deliberate attempt to eliminate an entire race of
people. The delicate subject also complicates U.S. relations with
Turkey, a key NATO ally that insists no genocide occurred. Turkey
says Armenians were killed in an uprising against the Ottomans and
rejects demands for an apology from the modern Turkish state.
Reps. Frank Pallone Jr., New Jersey Democrat and co-chairman of
the Congressional Caucus on Armenia, Grace F. Napolitano and Adam B.
Schiff, both California Democrats, have demanded an answer about Mr.
Evans’ future from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
In a March 11 letter to Miss Rice, Mr. Pallone expressed his
“outrage that the State Department is recalling Ambassador Evans as
retaliation for statements he made in recognition of the Armenian
genocide. It is simply wrong for the State Department to punish
Ambassador Evans for statements he made that are factually correct.”
Mrs. Napolitano, a senior member of the House International
Relations Committee, asked, “Have State Department employees been
directed not to use the word ‘genocide’ when discussing the
extermination of 1.5 million Armenians starting in 1915?”
Earlier this month, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack
said he has no information about Mr. Evans’ future. The ambassador
has been in Armenia for nearly two years.
“I’m not aware that we have recalled anybody,” he said. “I
believe that he’s still serving as ambassador in Armenia.”
The Armenian National Committee of America also pressed Miss
Rice.
“The prospect that a U.S. envoy’s posting — and possibly his
career — has been cut short due to his honest and accurate
description of a genocide is profoundly offensive to American
values,” committee Chairman Ken Hachikian said in a March 8 letter to
Miss Rice.
In his Feb. 19, 2005, speech, Mr. Evans told the Bay Area
Armenian-American Community, “I will today call it the Armenian
genocide. I think we, the U.S. government, owe you, our fellow
citizens, a more frank and honest way of discussing the problem.
Embassy Row
By James Morrison
March 30, 2006
Recall from Armenia?
Armenian-Americans and their allies in Congress are angered over
reports that the U.S. ambassador to Armenia will be recalled or fired
for referring to the killings of Armenians in 1915 as genocide and
upsetting established U.S. policy that avoids using that word.
Ambassador John Evans, a career Foreign Service officer,
deliberately referred to the “Armenian genocide” in a speech last
year in San Francisco, and rumors of official retaliation have
persisted for the past 12 months.
The State Department officially refers to the “massacre” of
Armenians under the Ottoman Turkish Empire but has never described
the conflict as a deliberate attempt to eliminate an entire race of
people. The delicate subject also complicates U.S. relations with
Turkey, a key NATO ally that insists no genocide occurred. Turkey
says Armenians were killed in an uprising against the Ottomans and
rejects demands for an apology from the modern Turkish state.
Reps. Frank Pallone Jr., New Jersey Democrat and co-chairman of
the Congressional Caucus on Armenia, Grace F. Napolitano and Adam B.
Schiff, both California Democrats, have demanded an answer about Mr.
Evans’ future from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
In a March 11 letter to Miss Rice, Mr. Pallone expressed his
“outrage that the State Department is recalling Ambassador Evans as
retaliation for statements he made in recognition of the Armenian
genocide. It is simply wrong for the State Department to punish
Ambassador Evans for statements he made that are factually correct.”
Mrs. Napolitano, a senior member of the House International
Relations Committee, asked, “Have State Department employees been
directed not to use the word ‘genocide’ when discussing the
extermination of 1.5 million Armenians starting in 1915?”
Earlier this month, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack
said he has no information about Mr. Evans’ future. The ambassador
has been in Armenia for nearly two years.
“I’m not aware that we have recalled anybody,” he said. “I
believe that he’s still serving as ambassador in Armenia.”
The Armenian National Committee of America also pressed Miss
Rice.
“The prospect that a U.S. envoy’s posting — and possibly his
career — has been cut short due to his honest and accurate
description of a genocide is profoundly offensive to American
values,” committee Chairman Ken Hachikian said in a March 8 letter to
Miss Rice.
In his Feb. 19, 2005, speech, Mr. Evans told the Bay Area
Armenian-American Community, “I will today call it the Armenian
genocide. I think we, the U.S. government, owe you, our fellow
citizens, a more frank and honest way of discussing the problem.
“Today, as someone who has studied it, there’s no doubt in my mind
what happened. I think it is unbecoming of us, as Americans, to play
word games here. I believe in calling things by their name.”
Upon his return to the U.S. Embassy in Armenia, Mr. Evans issued
a correction that led many observers to speculate that he was under
pressure from Washington.
“Although I told my audience that the United States policy on the
Armenian tragedy has not changed, I used the term ‘genocide,’
speaking in what I characterized as my personal capacity,” he said.
“That was inappropriate.”