US RESEARCHER SAYS KARABAKH STATUS ‘TO BE PUT OFF’
Today, Azerbaijan
May 10 2006
The status of Nagorno Karabakh will not be determined at this
stage in the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks, a researcher of the
Washington-based influential John Hopkins University has said.
“The issue will be solved only after a lion’s share of the
occupied Azeri territories is returned,” said Svante Cornell with
the University’s Central Asia and Caucasus Research Institute,
AssA-Irada informs.
“No final decision will be made on the Garabagh status at this point.
We are talking about putting off the issue until later. First, most
of the Azerbaijani land will be returned, refugees returned home and
economic ties [between the two countries] established,” Cornell told
Radio Liberty.
The researcher said that unlike in previous years, Armenia is not
supported by France and the United States any longer. “Azerbaijan is
currently the most important country for the U.S. considering future
prospects, while France has taken a neutral stance on the Garabagh
problem. Armenia is currently left aside from the developments ongoing
in the region, while Azerbaijan is in their spotlight. This means the
former is lagging behind, while the latter is asserting its positions
both in terms of development and the NK conflict.”
The analyst said that during President Ilham Aliyev’s recent talks
with US counterpart George Bush in Washington, he called on the United
States to play a greater role in the Karabakh settlement.
America could therefore heed attention to the problem, said Cornell.
Azeri Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said the recent visits by
the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group mediating the conflict resolution
to the region “is not just for the sake of traveling”.
“The visit by the French mediator Bernard Fassier to Yerevan and
further to Baku and his meeting with the Azeri president show their
willingness to hold discussions.”
Azimov added that the Azeri and Armenian foreign ministers are expected
to meet soon.
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AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION TO BE ESTABLISHED IN NKR MARTAKERT REGION
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
May 10 2006
Hayastan Pan Armenian Foundation will establish Agriculture Development
Foundation in the Nagorno Karabakh (NKR) Martakert region, which
mostly suffered in the Azeri-Karabakh war.
Chair of Board of Trustees of Hayastan Pan Armenian Foundation Gevorg
Torosyan, who is in the NKR these days, noted the idea would be put
into practice in cooperation with the NKR government and Agriculture
Fund, REGNUM reports.
The Association will be a volunteer commercial organization. It will
render services referring to technique and equipment to its members
at obtainable prices. According to Gevorg Torosyan, the farmers will
manage to resolve the problems joining their efforts. “Agriculture
Services” joint-stock company is to be established as well.

FRENCH AMBASSADOR: FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN TURKEY AND FRANCE MUST GO ON
Hurriyet, Turkey
May 10 2006
The French Ambassador to Ankara, Paul Poudade, has commented about
diplomatic tensions between Turkey and France in the run-up to the
May 18 debates in the French Parliament over a bill which proposes
jail time for people in France who publicly deny the Armenian genocide.
In a statement in reference to the fact that Osman Koruturk, the
Turkish Ambassador to Paris, has been called back to Ankara “for
consultations” in what is being viewed as a largely symbolic protest,
Ambassador Poudade said “France is an EU member. It would be in the
interests of Turkey to continue relations.” Speaking in advance of a
dinner being hosted for EU ambassadors in Ankara by Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul, Poudade also said this about the call-back of Ambassador
Koruturk to Ankara:
“Koruturk was called back for consultations. I will be meeting with
him tomorrow (today). It is important that the friendship between
Turkey and France continue. The two countries have good economic
and political relations. We must not exaggerate this situation. I am
quite sure that the developments will be kept under control.”

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE DEDICATED TO PROBLEMS OF CAUCASUS TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN
Noyan Tapan
May 10 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. An international conference on the
theme “Caucasus without Conflicts and Terrorism. On the Crossroads
of Civilizations” will take place in Yerevan on May 17-18. The World
Congress of Armenians and the “Dialogue of Civilizations” National
Center are organizers of the event.
Aram Sarksian, the Chairman of the Democratic Party of Armenia,
a Council member of the “Dialogue of Civilizations” National Center
informed about it at the May 10 meeting at the National Press Club. The
goal of the conference is to find common borders for settling problems
existing in Caucasus: “Caucasus is one of the most difficult regions
of the world where a war may start any time.
But we are doomed to live together in this region, and that’s why the
sides must listen to and understand positions of each others.” It is
envisaged to prepare a “Declaration about Peaceful Caucasus” according
to data of the event. Aram Sarksian informed that representatives
of Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Iran, Russia which will be represented
at experts’ level will participate in the event. Representatives of
Azerbaijan as well were invited to the event but they did not give
agreement yet: according to A.Sarksian, most likely, they are afraid of
problems in their own country. A number of experts from Europe will
also take part in the conference. The “Dialogue of Civilizations”
National Center envisages to organize similar events every year.

RESPONSE TO CANADIAN “GENOCIDE” STATEMENT CONTINUES IN ANKARA
Hurriyet, Turkey
May 10 2006
The response from Ankara to Canadian Prime Minister Stephan Harper’s
accusation that the Turks had committed genocide against the Armenians
has climbed to an even higher level in the weeks following Harper’s
April 24 statements.
In the wake of Turkey’s ban on Canadian firms from taking part in
bidding for contracts in the construction of the nuclear power plant
planned for the Black Sea city of Sinop, the next stage of Turkish
reaction to the “genocide” statements was to call back the Turkish
Ambassador to Ottowa, Aydemir Erman, for “consultations” in Ankara.
And now, it appears that the Turkish armed forces too are involved
in the general reaction.
In what was viewed to be a display of shared stance between the
government and the General Staff of the Turkish armed forces, it
was announced yesterday that Turkish military forces will not be
participating in the May 12 “Maple Flag 06” national military exercises
that Canada is planning on holding. Turkey had previously accepted the
invitation of the Canadian armed forces to participate in the exercises
with 6 F-16 fighters of its own. Many other countries, including the
US, are scheduled to be involved with the military exercises.

‘CHRISTIAN TURKEY WOULD BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY BY EU’
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
May 10 2006
(Murat Sogangoz/JTW/Ankara) According to Zaman, Mario Soares, 82,
having long served in Portuguese politics as the country’s prime
minister and president, claimed if Turkey were a Christian country,
it would have experienced a different process for its European Union
membership process.
He added that Turkey has some internal problems, but it may be a
member of the EU if it fulfils the EU norms and standards. Soares
also expressed its view that he favored Turkey’s accession to the EU
as soon as possible.
This latest statement of Soares seems to bolster the evidences about
religion based objections against Turkey’s EU membership. Some policy
quarters in Europe give support to these religion based objections.
But experts say that Turkey’s accession to the EU will add much more
to Europe than the costs of it. As an economic giant, the EU is not
able to exert political influence parallel with its economic might.
The latest energy crises with Russia also illustrated the vitality
of Turkey for Europe.
European politicians are expected see benefits of Turkey’s membership
and to prepare their societies for future membership of Turkey. By
trying to use the Cyprus and Armenian issues as leverage against
Turkey during its accession process, Europe will only strengthen the
ultra-nationalist camp in Turkey. It is also interesting that some
European figures complain from the rise nationalism in Turkey.
While Turkey has the responsibility of bringing its politics and
economy in line with EU standards, the EU leaders also have the
responsibility of preparing their peoples to the future membership
of Turkey which includes cutting supports to so-called Armenian
genocide laws.

MONITORING TO BE CONDUCTED ALONG THE FRONTLINE
Author: E.Javadova
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
May 10 2006
On May 11, a monitoring will be performed along the Azeri-Armenian
frontline, Trend reports with reference to press service of Azeru
Defense Ministry.
The monitoring is authorized by mandate of personal representative of
OSCE chairman and performed near Ashagi Akipara village of Gazakh area.
>>From Azeri side, the monitoring are performing Olexander Samarski,
Imre Palatinus and Peter Kee, field assistants to aforesaid personal
representative.
>From the other side are performing Andzhei Kaspschick, personal
representative of OSCE chairman, and his field assistants Harry Eronen
and Yuri Aberle.

14 ATTEMPTS OF TRANSGRESSING ARMENIAN-IRANIAN BORDER REGISTERED IN 2005
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 10 2006
MEGHRI, MAY 10, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. 14 attempts of
transgressing the state border between Armenia and Iran were registered
in 2005, at that two of the transgressors were arrested thanks to
cooperation of local population with the law-enforcement bodies. This
was informed to the “Syunyats Yerkir” newspaper by Colonel Vilsur
Zyanchurin, Commander of Meghri frontier detachment. According to
the Colonel, 3 out of 8 transgressors detained in 2004 were caught
immediately on the border. i.e. their attempt to penetrate into
Armenia bypassing the check-point was prevented. At the same time,
the frontier detachment carries out control over crossing the border
by citizens and transport means on the Karchevan check-point. Thus,
in 2004-2006 one unit of gas arms, 146 units of cold arms, 5.1 kg of
poisonous substances, 0.1 kg of drugs, 11 units of goods not envisaged
for realization were revealed and confiscated by the established
order by the frontier detachment on the state check-point.
31 attempts of contraband transportation of goods amounting
to 55 thousand dollars were prevented. The Commander of Meghri
frontier detachment considers improbable bringing of drugs through
the Karchevan check-point as the border between Iran and Armenia is
hardly accessible, is safely protected by the engineering and technical
structures, i.e. everything is in appearance and is being controlled.

AZERBAIJAN OPPOSITION RETHINKS ALIYEV’S US VISIT
By Fariz Ismailzade for The Jamestown Foundation
ISN, Switzerland
May 10 2006
After President Ilham Aliyev’s trip to the US, opposition leaders in
Azerbaijan who were initially against the trip are now re-evaluating
their position.
Opposition parties in Azerbaijan were not happy with President Ilham
Aliyev’s invitation to visit the United States and were even hostile
about the warm welcome he received from the White House. Referring
to the contested presidential election in 2003, opposition parties
criticized US President George W. Bush for betraying his “freedom
agenda” and cooperating with a foreign authoritarian leader. Some
politicians even described Aliyev’s invitation from Washington as the
final humiliation for the domestic opposition. They predicted that
the visit would turn the opposition away from Western liberal values.
Surprisingly, the domestic opposition’s initially chilly reaction
toward the president’s visit has begun to thaw and refocus. Some
senior opposition activists are trying to sugarcoat the “damage” done
to the Azerbaijani opposition’s attitude toward the US government and
downplay the initial criticism of the Bush administration. Speaking
to the opposition daily Yeni Musavat on 3 May, Hikmet Hajizadeh,
a member of the Supreme Council of the leading opposition party
Musavat, observed, “America is busy now with the third World War
[i.e. the War on Terrorism] and just like the Second World War
brought freedom to many nations, this one can also bring freedom to
many peoples. We often seek a quick resolution of our problems, but
it is not possible. The US is now trying to fight for democracy and
economic freedoms globally. No one except the US is doing this and
wants to do this. Thus, we should help the US in this”. Hajizadeh
also heads Far Center, one of Azerbaijan’s preeminent think tanks.
Another prominent opposition activist similarly commented that the
ongoing crisis around Iran was the real motivation for inviting
President Aliyev to Washington. Fuad Mustafayev, deputy chairman of
the opposition Popular Front, commented, “That is why I believe that
[the opposition’s] relations with the US will remain the same as
before despite this invitation. The Popular Front party has never
expected anybody from abroad to come and build democracy for us here.
It is our own duty” (Yeni Musavat, 3 May).
Meanwhile, other experts clearly focused on the benefits of the
visit. According to independent political analyst Rasim Musabeyov,
“for a [country the] size of Azerbaijan, such a visit and talks with
the sole superpower in the world have extraordinary implications. It
shows the growing geopolitical role of Azerbaijan in the region”
(Echo, 2 May).
Another expert suggested that the visit had actually strengthened
Aliyev’s position as head of state. Echoing the opinion of some
Western analysts, Zardush Alizadeh speculated that President Aliyev
might change his mind regarding Iran should the time come for Baku
to take a stance.
Aliyev’s visit to the White House brought new dimensions to
US-Azerbaijani relations. Henceforth, bilateral ties will no longer
be evaluated through the prism of oil and gas alone. Now cooperation
between the two countries has shifted to address issues of geopolitical
strategy and the global fight against terrorism, both of which are
ongoing priorities for Bush and Aliyev in the region.
At the same time, opposition parties are now focusing on the
Iranian issue more and more, trying to draw Tehran into the critical
discourse regarding Aliyev’s visit. On 3 May, Yeni Musavat reported
that the United States is building a military base in the south of
Azerbaijan, which will host a radio-location station and air-defense
equipment. Such capabilities could be called into service should
Washington launch an attack on Iran.
Aliyev’s visit raised the US-Azerbaijani strategic partnership to new,
higher levels, but it still left many questions unanswered.
Pundits in Baku continue to wonder what will be Azerbaijan’s role
should the US-Iranian conflict intensify, and what will be the future
of the peace talks with Armenia over the disputed Karabakh enclave.
The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict was expected to be on the agenda
of the Bush-Aliyev meeting, yet it still is unclear exactly what they
discussed and what will be the consequences of this meeting.
Meanwhile, the co-chairs of the Minsk group gathered in Moscow
this week to discuss the ongoing peace process around the Karabakh
conflict. Azerbaijani politicians and experts believe that the results
of Rambouillet talks in February between the presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan are not as dead as they initially seemed. The Day.az
internet news service reported, “At this stage, the US is taking a
lead in the peace process.”
This article originally appeared in Eurasia Daily Monitor,
published by The Jamestown Foundation in Washington, DC., at
(). The Jamestown Foundation is an independent,
nonpartisan organization supported by tax-deductible contributions
from corporations, foundations, and individuals.

ARMENIA FAMILIES RECIEVE CALVES TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS
Source: World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe office (MEERO)
Reuters, UK
May 10 2006
A poor family with children receives their calf for breeding as part
of a five year cow breeding project in Lori ADP aimed at helping them
build sustainable livestock in the future.
World Vision MEERO, Twenty-five vulnerable
Armenian families received a calf last month, as part of a five
year cow breeding project in Lori ADP aimed at helping them build
sustainable livestock in the future.
Fifty per cent of the population in Lori lives below the poverty line,
since the fall of the Soviet Union.
In the framework of this project the Lejan Farmers’ Association
received 15 cows from World Vision with the condition of returning 25
calves per annum for redistribution, as well as providing 600 litres
of milk per annum to the local school.
‘We are trying to provide poor families with a source of stable income
and an opportunity to become self-sustainable,’ says Lori ADP Officer
in Charge Marat Manukyan.
“We lost the only breadwinner of our family when my son died in
Kharabakh war. Your projects bring us hope for life. Just see if I do
not make your gifts flourish into a consistent small farm!’ says Robert
Hunanyan, 60, who lives with his wife, daughter, and grandchildren
aged seven and nine.
The cow breeding project, as well as the rabbit breeding project
which started earlier in 2005, have already helped more than 500 poor
families. The expectation is that approximately 1,000 families will
benefit from these two projects. Local schools and kindergartens will
also receive rabbits to start small farming and create additional
funds.
‘If not World Vision assistance, we would literally starve. I have
previously received two rabbits, and now this wonderful calf. God
bless you!’ said Ashik Matevosyan, 65, who years ago sold all his
property in town to cover debts of his son’s failed business, and
moved to village to maintain a minimal existence.
Beneficiaries are required to keep the livestock for at least three
years, so that they serve long-term situation improvement rather
than immediate food needs. While giving priority to poor families
with children, consideration is also given to factors like experience
with animal breeding and availability of barns and fodder, to ensure
compliance with the requirement.
Fostering consistent and sustainable livelihoods is the ultimate
goal of the Lori ADP established in October 2004 with funding from
World Vision UK. Along with its income generation projects, it
implements a number of health care projects and GIK distributions,
and regularly provides training sessions for different community
members and groups on such topics as needs prioritisation, proposal
writing, tax regulations and other relevant topics. The Lori ADP
encourages development of proposals for community-driven projects,
the most successful of which often receive support from World Vision.