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.

AZERI PRESIDENT REGARDS NK CONFLICT AS HIS COUNTRY’S MAJOR PROBLEM
Author: Z.Ibrahimli
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 27 2006
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev regards the conflict with Armenia on
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as his country’s major problem. He made
a statement while addressing to the foreign Relations Council which
commenced his first official visit to the United States, Trend reports.
The President voiced his hope that the current talks on
Nagorno-Karabakh will create necessary conditions for just and durable
peace, based on the principles of the international law. “We hope
that the United States as super power and OSCE Minsk Group co-chair
will contribute in the resolution of the conflict,” Aliyev underlined.
Baku is sure that such way of settlement can be peaceable and only
the international rule of law can be a base for talks. The territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan is recognized by UN and all world countries,
except Armenia, he stated.
Russian Ambassador Steven Mann, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair,
who was present in the gathering, told ITAR-TASS that he was gong
to visit Moscow next week for next round of consultations which
his counterparts. He is in optimistic mood, noting his feeling for
‘efficient base for compromise’. The US Ambassador particularly noted
as important principle the refusal from the attempts of complete
resolution of the exiting problems. He clarified that the current
approach was contradictory: movement forward step by step and leaving
some difficult issues for future, ITAR-TASS reports.

AZERBAIJAN ATTACHES STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE TO COOPERATION WITH USA VISIT OF AZERBAIJAN PRESIDENT TO USA MEETING AT COUNCIL OF FOREIGN RELATIONS
[April 26, 2006, 12:01:15]
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
April 27 2006
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, in the frame of his first visit
to the United States, on 26 April held a meeting at the Council on
Foreign Relations in Washington.
The former US president’s National Security Advisor general Brent
Scowcroft opened the meeting. He updated on the biography of Ilham
Aliyev, noting that Azerbaijan is one of the strategic partners of the
United States. Speaking of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, he said the Armenian troops had occupied territories of
Azerbaijan. He appraised Azerbaijan’s efforts for settlement of the
conflict and stressed they would and henceforth support Azerbaijan’s
fair position.
President Ilham Aliyev gave a speech. He, in particular, said
Azerbaijan experiences the period of development. He spoke of
hardships in the first years of independence, on the socio-political
situation that led the country to verge of civil war. And when
Heydar Aliyev returned to power in the Republic, it was he who
established socio-political stability in the country and launched
many international projects.
President Aliyev said Azerbaijan attaches strategic importance
to partnership with the United States of America. There is mutual
understanding on cooperation with USA in the field of safety and
economy, he stressed.
The President informed on riches of Azerbaijan and the huge investments
involved in the country’s economy. He also gave detailed information on
the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh conflict, its hard sequences
and negotiation process for settlement of the problem.
President Ilham Aliyev answered many questions.
The head of the Azerbaijan State also dwelt on the Azerbaijan-Russia
relations, noting these ties successfully develop. Azerbaijan is on
economic progress and never will become a space of confrontation,
he emphasized.
President Aliyev responded the questions on democratization process
in Azerbaijan, bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and USA and
“orange revolutions”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJAN IN ZUGZWANG: INTERVIEW WITH SARDAR JALALOGLU
Regnum. Russia
April 27 2006
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has started his visit to the US on
April 25. If the official agenda of his visit is widely known, his
“offstage” talks with US President George Bush are widely discussed.
In an interview to REGNUM one of the leaders of the Azeri opposition,
the first vice chairman of the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan Sardar
Jalaloglu gives his view of the true reason of Aliyev’s visit to
the US.
REGNUM: Why was President Aliyev invited to the US exactly now and
not one or two years ago?
Now the US has several priorities in Azerbaijan. The first priority
is to control the oil of the Azeri sector of the Caspian Sea or, if
possible, of the whole Caspian basin. The second priority is to resolve
the Karabakh conflict as soon as possible to be able to safely and
uninterruptedly pump up oil from the Caspian Sea and also, possibly,
to launch military actions against stubborn Iran next spring. The
third priority is to spread democracy over the world and to ensure
civil freedoms.
It was exactly because of Azerbaijan’s poor democracy – mass fraud
during the last presidential and parliamentary elections, maltreatment
of the opposition and dispersal of its rallies – that the White House
refrained from inviting Aliyev. And now he was invited exactly because
of the growing tensions over Iran, the necessity of early resolution
in Karabakh and early launch of the “big pipe” – Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan.
REGNUM: Can one or another geo-political situation force Azerbaijan
to take direct or indirect part in the anti-Iranian coalition the US
is said to be knocking together?
I think that the extent of Azerbaijan’s involvement in the anti-Iranian
coalition is the key topic of the coming meeting of the US and Azeri
presidents. This is exactly why Bush has closed his eyes on the
anti-democratic nature of the Azeri authorities and has grudgingly
welcomed Aliyev. The situation Azerbaijan is facing now is called
zugzwang in the chess terminology – any move leads to defeat.
But the country still has one move – to equally distance itself from
the US and Iran. I hope that Aliyev will manage to do it.
REGNUM: Will they in Washington pressure the Azeri President in the
Karabakh issue?
I should note that the Karabakh problem cannot be solved without
Russia’s consent. Even if Aliyev yields to a hypothetical pressure
and concedes, that will not be a final solution. Of course, they
will talk about the Karabakh problem, but I don’t believe they will
make a serious breakthrough without considering Moscow’s interests
and positions. I also doubt that Washington will pressure Baku in
the issue.
REGNUM: Will the sides discuss other issues and what agreements may
they conclude?
I think that the US President will certainly mention the problems
of human rights, fair elections, political and economic reforms,
democracy development in Azerbaijan. Aliyev will certainly give an
oral consent to the US President just as his father did. In any case,
the pragmatic US administration itself is not very much eager to
develop democracy in Azerbaijan, which was proved by the last autumn
parliamentary elections and the post-electoral period, including the
severe dispersal of the November 26 rally. Even if signed, the possible
written agreements will be just declarations without specific content.
REGNUM: Some experts say that in his time Aliyev Senior gave Washington
a number of promises his son is forced to keep now. Is that true?
Aliyev Senior publicly told Clinton that he would develop democracy
in Azerbaijan without fail. As you remember, after that the sides
signed the Contract of the Century and other oil contracts. Heydar
Aliyev readily gave similar promissory notes in the UN and other
international organizations. And when he was asked about results, he
artfully found thousands of convincing explanations why democratic
processes in his country were slow. Though assuring everybody that
he continues the cause of his father, Ilham Aliyev has, in fact,
disavowed his promises. One example is his proposal to start the
Karabakh peace talks from zero. It seems he has started from zero
with the West and Russia too.
Many are misled by external entourage – Heydar Aliyev schools,
monuments… But, in reality, Ilham Aliyev is acting differently –
even his ways to keep his power are tougher. So, I don’t think that
he will be asked to pay the old bills, whatever they are.
REGNUM: What will Aliyev’s Washington voyage give to Azerbaijan and
the whole South Caucasus?
Paradoxical as this may sound, an invitation to Washington now –
after two long years of hope – is the last thing Aliyev would want
to get. He will hardly get anything in such a complicated and highly
tensed international situation. As regards the region, it is too
heterogeneous for being taken as a whole. In Georgia power is in
the hands of democrats, in Azerbaijan and Armenia – illegitimate
anti-national regimes. The latter gives much to big importance to its
alliance with Russia and forgets that it is a part of the region with
all ensuring consequences. So, Aliyev’s visit to Washington will change
nothing in either the region or Azerbaijan. Still one can’t rule out
the possibility of a fiasco, which will put our country in a fix.
REGNUM: Is the growing number of visits by Iranian leaders to
Azerbaijan a coincidence?
Of course not. Iran was very much worried about the forthcoming visit
of Aliyev to the US. They in Tehran perfectly realized what the visit
will be about and did their best to neutralize Baku. It was for
this very purpose that the Iranian military minister came to Baku
and offered the country all possible benefits, up to the building
of a defense complex. The coming visit of the Iranian president is
also for the same purpose, whatever its seeming reasons might be. I
would like to say once again that Azerbaijan is facing very serious
threats in case of US military operations in Iran: missile strikes
(when the losing side already has nothing to lose) on cities, oil
pipeline, industrial facilities; an army of refugees – Iranian Azeris;
plenty of other secondary problems.

BUSH COURTS AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT AS PART OF BUILD-UP AGAINST IRAN
By Simon Whelan
World Socialist Web Site, MI
April 27 2006
Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev is to meet President George W.
Bush on April 28 in Washington. The surprise invitation extended to
Aliyev is wholly due to Azerbaijan’s geographical proximity to Iran,
Washington’s next likely military target.
Aliyev presides over one of the most corrupt economies in the world.
An ongoing fraud trial in New York has provided evidence of enormous
bribes and shakedowns at SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state oil company, in
the late 1990s. Aliyev was the vice president of SOCAR at the time
of these alleged scandals.
The ruling Aliyev clan, first under the presidency of Heidar Aliyev,
and then since 2003 his son Ilham, has yet to preside over a free and
fair election. Since their failure to win the corrupt 2003 election,
Azerbaijan’s political opposition has hoped the Aliyev regime would
be weakened by its international pariah status. By inviting Aliyev to
Washington the Bush administration has burst these presumptions. The
invite was extended just one month after a US State Department report
strongly criticised the suppression of human rights in Azerbaijan
under Aliyev.
Whilst the Azerbaijani ruling elite has rejoiced at the invite,
some commentators in Baku have suggested that Aliyev is less than
delighted-not least because he is likely to be told in no uncertain
terms that his government must side with Washington in hostile
actions against Iran. The Eurasia Daily Monitor posed the question,
“Aliyev’s Invitation to the White House: A Blessing or a Curse?”
whilst C.J. Chivers suggested in the New York Times that the visit
meant that for Washington “Oil and location trump all other concerns.”
Since it came to power in the early 1990s the Aliyev clan has been
courted by both the Clinton and Bush administrations. Not only does
the country possess considerable reserves of oil and gas, but its
proximity to the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caspian Sea makes
it especially valuable. The recently opened Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
oil pipeline which transports Caspian oil to Western markets
circumnavigates both Russia and Iran at the insistence of Washington.
A similar route is followed by a gas pipeline currently in construction
and close to completion.
Domestically, Azerbaijani government officials have sought to ridicule
suggestions of their recruitment into a military coalition against
Iran. Azeri Foreign Minister Araz Hasanov recently told television
reporters, “The reports are untrue. Moreover, how can this happen in
the absence of such a coalition?”
But Azerbaijan has little room for manoeuvre. Aliyev’s ministers speak
reassuringly of the Azerbaijani and Iranian peoples sharing a common
Shia Muslim culture, but regional political analyst Zafar Guliyev
told the Day.az web site just after the invite was made public, “I
think they [the Americans] will try to get Azerbaijan’s approval for
using their territory against Iran. To get Azerbaijan’s participation
in the coalition is as important as it was during the Iraq campaign.”
Guliyev explained, “For the time being, the Azerbaijani government
did well balancing in its foreign policy, but there are moments when
choice is inevitable.”
In March, Assistant US Secretary of State Daniel Fried stated
that Washington was feeding the Azerbaijani government information
concerning their plans for Iran “because Azerbaijan has the right
to be aware about it.” Fried added that he looked forward to the two
countries reaching consensus on the issue.
The Azerbaijani government already cooperates with Washington’s
so-called war against terror by providing troops for the occupation
of Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo. The Aliyev regime has supported the
military encirclement of Iran by granting US forces over-flight rights
above Azeri territory. The Azerbaijani authorities are also assisting
American armed forces with a Pentagon-sponsored modernisation of a
former Soviet airfield that could be used by the US when completed.
Former United Nations weapons inspector Scott Ritter suggested in an
article for Al Jazeera last summer that the US military is setting up
the infrastructure for an enormous military presence in Azerbaijan
that will be utilised for a land-based campaign designed to capture
Tehran. He believes CIA paramilitary operatives and US Special Forces
are training Azerbaijani forces into special force units capable of
operating within Iran and mobilising the large Azeri ethnic minority
within Iran.
The Azeri minority is based predominately in the country’s northwest,
what is called the Northern Tier of the Middle East, where Iran shares
borders with Turkey and with the South Caucasus states of Azerbaijan
and Armenia. The term Azerbaijan was the name given to the geographical
area on either side of the Araxes River long before the designation
of a distinct Azeri ethnic group.
While estimates vary, it is widely believed that the number of ethnic
Azeris living in Iran is at least double the population of Azerbaijan
itself, which numbers approximately 8 million. Sources close to Tehran
speak of 15 million, while Azeri separatists claim 30 million.
Azerbaijanis are easily the largest ethnic minority inside Iran,
outnumbering Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and Baluchis. They are also
considered by regional commentators to be the best integrated ethnic
minority in Iran, sharing with ethnic Persians Islamic Shia beliefs.
Iran’s supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni was born in
Khamenah, a city in the Iranian West Azerbaijan province. Khameni is
half Azeri by birth and speaks the language.
Large sections of the Tehran bazaar are controlled by Iranian Azeris
and in the upper ranks of the military ethnic Azeris are numerous.
However, nationalist and separatist sentiment was given a large boost
by the formation of an Azerbaijani nation state in 1991 when capitalism
was restored in the former Soviet Union. Not wishing to see an Azeri
state flourish and thereby bolster separatist Azeri tendencies within
Iran, Tehran set out to destabilise Azerbaijan by supporting Armenia
and maintaining the war of attrition in Nagorno-Karabakh.
This tilting towards Yerevan by Tehran pushed the government in Baku to
more firmly move into Turkey’s orbit and encouraged both anti-Russian
and anti-Iranian policies. The Popular Front administration of
Abulfaz Elcibey which ruled briefly between 1992 and 1993 pushed
Tehran further in an anti-Azerbaijani direction by making pan-Azeri
noises and claiming that Iran was a “doomed state.”
Relations between Azerbaijan and Iran improved somewhat when Ilham’s
father, Heidar Aliyev, pushed out Elcibey. However, recent altercations
between the two states over the carve-up of Caspian oil and gas have
set relations back once again.
An Azeri separatist movement exists in Iran in the shape of the
National Liberation Movement of South Azerbaijan (NLMSA). But it is
unclear just how much influence or support it has.
A further advantage of using Azerbaijan for an assault upon Iran is
the short flight distances for US military aircraft. Ritter believes
that by flying out of Azerbaijani bases, American military forces
can maintain a round-the-clock dominance of Iranian airspace.
A coastal road running alongside the Caspian Sea extends all the
way from Azerbaijan to Tehran. In this regard, Ritter explained how
US military planners have already begun war games calling for the
deployment of multi-divisional forces into Azerbaijan. In addition
logistical planning is at a well advanced stage regarding basing US
air and ground forces within Azerbaijan.

SABINA FREIZER: “US SHOULD THINK OF NK CONFLICT SETTLEMENT”
Today, Azerbaijan
April 27 2006
“Energy and security issues are likely to dominate the 28 April meeting
of President Bush and President Ilham Aliyev. It will be Aliyev’s
first visit since becoming Head of the oil-rich state bordering both
Russia and Iran; and Teheran’s nuclear ambitions are undoubtedly one
of the main reasons Aliyev has been invited to the White House.”
As APA reports, International Crises Group Caucasus project leader
Sabina Freizer has told that while expressing her attitude to
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to the US. Sabina Freizer
stated that if the U.S. is keen to protect its energy and security
interests, the main issue on the table should be the unresolved
conflict in Nagorno Karabakh. For more than a decade, only a shaky
cease-fire has kept Armenia and Azerbaijan from resuming their
full-scale fighting over the small mountainous territory wedged
between them and Iran. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and soon
to be completed Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, which Washington
sees as critical to the West’s energy security, pass within 30 miles
of this flashpoint.
In the past months, President Aliyev has intensified his bellicose
rhetoric, threatening to withdraw from peace talks and to militarily
recapture all territories currently occupied by Armenian backed
forces. He doubled the 2005 military budget to $600 million in 2006,
over 16% of Azerbaijan’s total budget. He has also pledged to make
military spending equal to the entire state budget of Armenia, and,
propped up by oil revenues, the Azeri leader’s threat is very real.
In Washington President Aliyev should be told clearly that a military
resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is unacceptable.
Instead, the US Government should – while making clear that it will
be pressing Armenia equally strongly – push Azerbaijan to accept
now the principles of a comprehensive peace deal which would include
the renunciation of the use of force, the incremental withdrawal of
Armenian-backed forces from all occupied territories around Nagorno
Karabakh, the safe and voluntary return of all displaced persons,
the reopening of all transport and trade routes closed as a result
to the conflict, and a guarantee that the people of Nagorno Karabakh
will be given the right to self-determination based on a referendum
to be held after clear conditions are met.
This is close to what the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe proposed in February, but there was little international
pressure on Armenia and Azerbaijan to encourage them to sign the
deal. As a first step President Aliyev should allow people-to-people
contacts between the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides.
Until now, the Bush Administration has claimed to have a
three-dimensional approach to Azerbaijan, focusing on security,
energy, and freedom through reform. President Aliyev was not granted
an earlier visit to the White House because the 2003 presidential
elections were considered to be seriously flawed and were followed by a
violent crackdown on the opposition. The 2005 Azerbaijani Parliamentary
Elections were another disappointment, which should have precluded an
invitation to Aliyev less than six months after they were held. Some
of the three dimensions are clearly more important than others.
Even as democratic reform was lagging, Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld traveled to Baku three times in 2003-2005. Most observers
in Baku consider these visits to be cementing the relationships that
could ease the way for the possible deployment of American troops
in Azerbaijan to be used in actions against Iran. Today’s invitation
may be part of the Bush Administration’s attempts to ratchet up the
pressure on Tehran. Interestingly, however, Aliyev is preparing to
welcome Iranian President Ahmadinejad in Baku in May, the second such
meeting in Azerbaijan after the two countries signed a non aggression
pact last year.
According to Sabina Freizer, if US wants to ensure Azerbaijan’s
long-term support of its policies towards Iran, and overall regional
security, its best bet is to first focus on securing a peaceful
resolution of the existing Nagorno Karabakh conflict. While the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains unresolved, Azerbaijan can ill
afford to undermine its improving relations with Tehran. At the same
time, if Azerbaijan makes good on its threat to take military action
against Nagorno-Karabakh, close to Iran’s northern borders, it will
undermine U.S. energy and security interests and cause the flight
of foreign investment from Azerbaijan. The volatile South Caucasus
region, plagued also by unresolved conflicts in Georgia, risks being
completely destabilized, dragging into the fight neighboring Russia,
Turkey and Iran. This perilous scenario is worth talking to Aliyev
about as much as the threats of a nuclear Iran.
URL:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TO CRACK THE MAZE: SCIENCE IS ABOUT PATIENCE AND PERSISTENCE, SAYS KHACHIGIAN.
By Jamie Pandaram
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
April 27 2006
Photo: Quentin Jones
Award-winning medical researcher Levon Khachigian compares his work
to a game of Pac-Man.
As a schoolboy, Levon Khachigian, born in Lebanon to Armenian parents,
stood out in the predominantly Anglo-Saxon North Shore suburb of
Naremburn. “I obviously spoke Armenian at home, and took to school a
lunch of Lebanese bread containing all sorts of exotic delicacies,”
he says.
A leading member of the Centre for Vascular Research at the University
of NSW, Professor Khachigian now turns heads by making medical
discoveries.
The 42-year-old violin enthusiast specialises in heart-related
illnesses, working to find links that could uncover the mysteries
of diseases.
In March, his team uncovered a complex network of molecules that
use multiplying “middle men”, or transcription factors, to block
arteries. The find was music to the medical world’s ears, raising
the possibility of preventing common heart diseases.
Khachigian hopes to soon unveil – once testing is complete – a drug
that could be used to treat heart attacks, prevent solid tumour
growths and potentially treat common inflammatory diseases.
“It has the potential to be a super drug … that can be applied to
multiple disease settings,” he says.
It is for work such as this that Khachigian received the Commonwealth
Health Minister’s Award for Medical Research and the University of
NSW Eureka Prize for Scientific Research, both in 2003.
He knows that accolades only recognise what he has done, while millions
of people stand to benefit by what he can do next. “In Australia,
one person dies every 10 minutes from a heart disease.
Clearly more research needs to be done to try and improve the quality
of life for people, to keep them out of our hospitals and having a
long and productive life.
“I felt that heart research – or cardiovascular research – had multiple
benefits that would spruce up not only our health and productivity
but also our economy.”
His parents migrated to Sydney and started the first Protestant church
in Naremburn in 1966. The family is still heavily involved with the
parish, which has moved to Ryde; Khachigian plays the violin and his
mother the piano, while his father preaches.
“My parents were missionaries in the Middle East in the 1960s and
they were doing the Lebanon, Syria and Jordan route as part of their
Christian outreach … and they had me while they were in Beirut.
“It was towards the end of year 9 that I became interested in science
because I was encouraged to ask questions. I jumped up to 10S1 [the
top science class in year 10] because I was given the opportunity to
ask questions, and that curiosity never left me. I got into science
to do research. It was a means to an end.”
After a science degree and a PhD, Khachigian was awarded a doctorate
of science in vascular pathobiology.
He is also the president of the Australian Society of Medical Research,
a position he is using to lobby for more funding.
“If we invest in health research, the Australian economy and our
social fabric benefits. It is an investment that has few parallels.”
But like all scientists, he knows only too well the “one step forward,
two steps back” method.
“It is kind of like Pac-Man. You go down a path eating away at certain
questions, and there comes a certain point where you know you’re not
yielding productive answers, so you basically come out of that avenue
and press on and ask different questions or tackle another problem.
“Science is about patience teamed with persistence, and flavoured by
wisdom to know what is likely to yield productive results and what
will not.
“I feel enormously privileged to be a part of the family of health
and medical research in this country.”
Photo:
-disease/to-crack-the-maze/2006/04/26/114586141639 6.html

ALIYEV: NO HELP FOR US MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN
IranMania, Iran
April 27 2006
LONDON, April 27 (IranMania) – According to an AFP report, visiting
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev ruled out his country taking part
in any possible military operations against neighboring Iran and
said resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia was a top
priority for his government.
“Azerbajian will not be engaged in any kind of potential operation
against Iran and our officials in the past, including myself, have
made (this) very clear,” Aliyev told an audience at the Council on
Foreign Relations, an influential Washington think tank.
“Therefore I think it is time to stop speculating on this issue,”
he said.
Aliyev, whose official visit here is his first since his election to
succeed his father in 2003, said his country has a bilateral agreement
with Tehran that clearly forbids either country from staging aggression
against the other from their respective territories, AFP said.
Aliyev comments came ahead of a meeting with US President George W.
Bush on Friday during which the nuclear stand-off with Iran is expected
to be raised.
There has been speculation that Azerbaijan, which is located between
Iran and Russia and which has troops alongside US forces in Iraq as
well as in Afghanistan and Kosovo, could be asked by Washington to
back any potential military action against Iran should diplomacy on
the nuclear issue fail, AFP added.
Aliyev, whose White House meeting with Bush has long been sought
by his government as a way to boost his stature, said he planned to
discuss a wide range of topics with US officials, including bilateral
relations, energy and security issues as well as the conflict in the
Nagorno-Karabakh region, AFP noted.
He said he hoped Washington would help revive the peace process in
Nagorno-Karabakh, which is a disputed part of Azerbaijani territory
that has been controlled since the early 1990s by its majority
ethnic-Armenian population.
Aliyev made clear that his country would not relinquish the territory
and said any settlement would have to guarantee the return of
Azerbaijani refugees to the region while protecting the rights of
the local ethnic Armenian population, AFP stated.
“I think it’s time for the Armenian leadership to behave like
statesemen, to think what will happen in five or 10 years if the
conflict is not resolved,” he said. “The patience of the Azerbaijani
people has a limit.”
The 44-year-old leader also brushed aside criticism concerning
his autocratic rule saying that he saw no chance of any “colour”
revolution in Azerbaijan.
“For that to happen, people have to be unhappy with the government,”
he said, pointing to his country’s economic prosperity.
US officials, who have been criticised for inviting Aliyev to
Washington in light of the US administration’s much-touted democracy
agenda, said democratic reforms would top the agenda during the visit.
“We have said, and we mean it, that to elevate our relationship
with Azerbaijan to a qualitatively new level (…) there needs to
be sustained progress on democracy,” Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, said.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch said it has urged Bush in
a letter to press Aliyev for concrete progress in the country’s
poor human rights record. T The Armenian Assembly of America, a
Washington-based lobby group, also urged the US leader to denounce
what it said were efforts by Azerbaijan and Turkey to isolate Armenia,
AFP noted.
Observers say Washington’s interest in Azerbaijan is related to its
strategic location and the use of its oil and gas riches to offset
European dependence on Russia.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which is expected to become
operational soon, is designed to avoid shipping oil through congested
Turkish straits while also bypassing Russia’s pipeline network,
AFP stated.

HEAVY METAL FOR THE HILL
The Hill, DC
April 27 2006
Not since Metallica showed up to fight Napster and Internet file
sharing has a heavy metal band rocked the Hill.
“Just like congressmen, every band has their cause,” Serj Tankian, lead
singer of System of a Down, said Tuesday. He and the rest of the band
came to Washington on a three-day “advocacy tour” to talk to lawmakers,
protest at the Turkish Embassy and promote their documentary.
Their cause is to persuade Congress, and the Turkish government in
turn, to recognize the Armenian genocide that killed 1.5 million
people 91 years ago.
All four members of the famously anti-establishment band are
grandchildren of survivors of the genocide. “This is more of a
personal issue for us, not necessarily a political agenda,” drummer
John Dolmayan said.
Tankian sported long, curly hair and a goatee with his suit, and
Dolmayan paired his Mohawk with a blazer and jeans Tuesday night for
the 20-minute sample of the documentary “Screamers.” The feature-length
film examines not only System of a Down’s advocacy role but also
“genocide denial” from the Armenian genocide right up to the conflict
in Darfur.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) was featured in the film and attended
the screening. He said the issue is “crying out for attention” and
emphasized the importance of moving the issue to a complete vote on
the House floor.
It was Dolmayan’s first time in Washington, and he said he is learning
a lot about how politics work, although he was disappointed that
his requests to meet with Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Majority
Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) were
turned down.
The band did meet with Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and Reps. Eric
Cantor (R-Va.) and Devin Nunes (R-Calif.).
Dolmayan said he will continue his work until Congress recognizes
the genocide: “Even a blade of grass can break through concrete,
and I’d rather be the grass than the concrete.”

AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT RULES OUT PARTICIPATING IN ACTION AGAINST IRAN
By Stephanie Ho
Voice of America
April 27 2006
Washington
26 April 2006
The president of the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan has begun
a visit to the United States with a call for a diplomatic solution
to the crisis over Iran’s nuclear program. He also said he hopes
Washington can help push for a solution to a dispute with Armenia over
Nagorno-Karabakh, the predominantly Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan. The
Azeri leader came Washington for several days of meetings.
Ilham Aliyev (file photo)
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev’s first official stop was to address
a session at the Council on Foreign Relations, a private foreign
policy organization.
Azerbaijan has been helpful to the United States in the war on
terror. So, it was perhaps not surprising that the Azeri leader was
asked about his country’s position on neighboring Iran, which is at
the center of an international controversy over its nuclear program.
He voiced his trust in the United States but also made clear that
Azerbaijan did not intend to be involved in any military action
against Iran.
“In our relations with the United States, we have [a] very high level
of mutual confidence and trust, and we’ll continue our military
cooperation because it’s to the benefit of both countries. At the
same time, Azerbaijan, of course, will not be engaged in any kind
of potential operations against Iran, and our officials made it very
clear, including myself, in the past,” he said.
He expressed the hope that the issue of Iran’s nuclear program can
be resolved diplomatically and added that a settlement is important
for regional security.
Georgetown University Professor Angela Stent said that although Mr.
Aliyev may try to steer clear of discussions about Iran, it is an
issue that will undoubtedly come up in his Washington meetings.
“They’re [Azerbaijan] neighbors with Iran. They do have a military
relationship with the United States, although I think he was clearly
implying that they wouldn’t be used in any U.S. military operation.
It’s still clearly an issue that has to be discussed,” she said.
She says in the past, Washington has criticized Azerbaijan’s human
rights record. But now, she adds, the international crisis over Iran
has apparently overshadowed that issue in the eyes of Washington
officials.
“There were parliamentary elections last fall that were not judged
free and fair. And they are going to be re-run again, but they haven’t
happened yet. And I think there are concerns about democratization and
human rights, but I would think that at the moment, the issues, the
strategic issues, must be considered to be more important,” she said.
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the U.S. government
is trying to balance a wide range of issues in its relations with
Azerbaijan.
“There are a number of significant interests in our relationship
with Azerbaijan: human rights most definitely, democratic development
most definitely, energy security, stability in the region, the fight
against terror. And we pursue all of these in parallel, while at the
same time sticking to our principles and not sacrificing expediency
for principle,” he said.
In his remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations, President Aliyev
also referred to the problem with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh,
saying he hopes the United States “as a superpower,” will contribute
to the resolution of the conflict.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous territory in southwestern Azerbaijan
that is under Armenian occupation. A 1994 ceasefire ended years of
bloody fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia, although the issue
has yet to be resolved.
The Azeri leader will be in Washington several days. He meets with
members of Congress and with officials from non-governmental groups
such as Freedom House and Human Rights Watch. On Friday, he is
scheduled to visit the Pentagon and the White House.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress