RUSSIAN PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES ARMENIAN LEADER ON INDEPENDENCE DAY
The Associated Press
09/21/05 10:46 EDT
MOSCOW (AP) – President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday congratulated
Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian on his country’s independence
day, underlying Russia’s strong ties with its staunch ally in the
volatile Caucasus region.
“It is good that Russian-Armenian relations, which are dynamic and
wide-ranging, have become a major factor of stability and security in
the region,” Putin told Kocharian in a letter posted on the Kremlin
Web site.
While many other ex-Soviet nations are looking increasingly toward
closer integration into Western structures, Armenia has remained
loyal to Russia. It hosts a Russian military base, which has become
even more important for Moscow after neighboring Georgia pushed for
the withdrawal of Russian troops.
Russia’s energy monopoly Unified Energy Systems controls Armenia’s
only nuclear plant and manages Armenia’s national grid company.
Armenia also depends on Russia for natural gas supplies.
Armenia, an impoverished landlocked nation of about 5 million, gained
independence after the Soviet collapse in 1991.

PRESS RELEASE
THE HERITAGE PARTY
7 Vazgen Sargsian Street
Yerevan 375010, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 10) 580.877
Fax: (+374 – 10) 543.897
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
September 20, 2005
The Heritage Party Position on Draft Constitutional Amendments
No.
The Constitution is the fundamental law of the land and its citizens. The
most authoritative source of rights, it defines and guarantees the
structure of state, its political system, and civil liberties and
obligations. Its legitimacy and force of example turn on its acceptance as
the fruit of political consensus and civic confidence.
The Constitution is not a game. It is not a means or excuse to cling to a
political seat or to clarify private relationships. It is not a veneer to
gloss over cracks in the republican home and to hide societal sicknesses.
Our home is cracked, divided, and under pressure. The first decade and a
half of our rediscovered independence have borne witness to an impressive
array of legal and human rights violations committed, in large measure,
under the very cover of cunning constitutional and legislative references.
Testifying to the subjugation of the absolute benchmark of the national
interest to layers of personal gain, our Homeland has been usurped, our
voice and vote have been grabbed away, millions of individual destinies have
been torn asunder, and the assets and inheritance that belong to the
generations have been stolen or sold off together with any remnant sense of
honor.
And then wonderful talk about national interests and security, the rule of
law, rights and freedoms, civil society, democracy, Constitution.
We have already crossed the final frontier of forging and being forged,
deceiving and self-deceiving. The world is not dumb, and Armenia is not a
gaming hall.
Against this light, the Heritage Party finds that:
· The sovereignty of the people, as the sole carrier of authority
under the Constitution, together with the factor of its decisive empowerment
have long remained latent in real life. This has found its simple
reflection in all functions of critical import for our statehood, and has
been expressed through the doubtful level of legality of virtually every
Armenian administration and thus even of the laws each has enacted.
· The official version of constitutional amendments, by virtue of
several provisions and standards set forth therein, represents a relative
step forward in comparison with the existing Constitution.
· The crown of illegitimacy earned by our country’s authorities
beginning ten years ago and cresting in 2003 is not commensurate even with
the lowest threshold required to posit constitutional amendments for an
accountable public vote.
· If in the present conditions that document is put to referendum,
the most compelling priority will become not its small substantive
advantage, but the imperative of democracy through the conduct of a free,
fair, and truly participatory electoral procedure. Any breach or falsehood,
whether during the campaign, on election day or in the counting, will strike
a blow to the Republic of Armenia, its esteem and future, its every citizen.
Our heritage as witness, that shall be the final shame of modern Armenian
history.
Heritage, a national liberal party, will stand at full capacity for the
democratic integrity of the process and a democratic result on the merits.
Considering that the instant draft of the Constitution, as much as it
betokens a textual improvement, is in essence a collection of half-measures
born of unhealthy circumstances, the party is now preparing and will soon
make public its own alternative Armenian Constitution. Our firm expectation
is that, among other things ruling out any prejudicial propensity toward the
undemocratic reproduction of authority, it will become one of the
cornerstones of our forthcoming political quest and with its inclusive
vitality will guide Armenia through the 21st Century, permanently offering
sound answers and comprehensive solutions to the national challenges of our
times.
20 September 2005
Yerevan

Middle East Times, Egypt
Sept 21 2005
Beauty to the fore at Israeli-Palestinian pageant in East Jerusalem
September 21, 2005

Photo: BEAUTIES: Israeli and Palestinian girls participate in the
‘Miss Seam Line’ beauty pageant in the Israeli neighborhood of Gilo
near Jerusalem on September 20. The contest is meant to bring
together girls from both sides of the controversial Israeli barriers
buffer zone.
(REUTERS)

JERUSALEM — A Palestinian teenager walked off with the tiara at a
groundbreaking Israeli-Palestinian beauty pageant held in East
Jerusalem on Tuesday.
The pageant, with 20 young women and girls taking part, was being
held for the second straight year. It is the brainchild of Adi Nadar,
a resident of the Jewish settlement of Gilo in annexed East
Jerusalem.
The area is frequently the target of automatic arms fire from the
neighboring Palestinian town of Beit Jallah in the West Bank.
“We were looking for a way to forget our mutual suffering and our
distrust, by avoiding sport and politics, and we thought about beauty
and women were the best way to bring us closer together,” said Nadar,
who heads a Jerusalem residents association for peace.
The five judges considered the competing merits of 17 young Israelis,
an East Jerusalem Palestinian of Armenian origin and two other
Palestinians from Beit Jallah.
It was one of these last two, Shira Marie Farah, a 17-year-old with
chestnut brown hair, who was declared the winner following the parade
of evening dresses and swimsuits in a Gilo school, accompanied by the
music of Abdel Hakim Hafez, one of the biggest stars of Arab music.
In a rare show of Middle East harmony the Israeli contestants draped
themselves in the Palestinian flag, and vice-versa.
The winner received an air ticket to Paris and invitations from
several major fashion houses.
“It was wonderful to see these young girls together, like a family
… Before the pageant they went together to the Dead Sea and to the
Ramat Rahel kibbutz,” in the Jerusalem area, said makeup artist
Claire Skafie.
“Of course, I entered the contest hoping to be crowned the winner,”
said 19-year-old Eliane, another Palestinian contestant who works in
an East Jerusalem hairdressers. “But for me the important thing is to
meet up with my Israeli friends.”
“What I won tonight was that our neighbors in Gilo have become our
friends,” said fellow Palestinian hopeful Christine, aged just 14.
There was the same enthusiasm among the Israeli girls.
“This contest allows me to get to know my neighbors, and I like them
a lot,” said Tali Cohen, 17.
“I hope to become a professional model but in any case, this contest
allows us to discover each other,” echoed 15-year-old Hodaya Mizrahi.
Several Israeli Labor deputies, including Danny Yatom and Colette
Avital, attended the event.
Israeli singer Koby Shai was also in the enthusiastic crowd.
“I hope that next year I might be able to sing in the Arab world,” he
said.

ARMINFO News Agency
September 20, 2005
SHARZHA EMIR LAYS A WREATH TO MEMORIAL OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS
YEREVAN,SEPTEMBER 20. ARMINFO. Member of the Supreme Council of the
United Arab Emirates, Emir of Sharzha, Sheikh Dc. Sultan Ben Mohammad
al-Kasimi laid a wreath to Tsitsernakaberd, the Memorial of Armenian
Genocide victims.
Al-Kasimi also visited the Museum of Armenian Genocide and left notes
in the Book of honorary guests.
Answering the question of ARMINFO’s reporter Director of the Heritage
Maintenance Association of Sharzha Musalam stated that the tragedy of
Armenian people had happened because of the absence of mutual
respect. “It is necessary to learn to respect and bearing so not to
make enemies, it is necessary to live in peace”, he noted denying to
comment on measures Turkey must take on Armenian Genocide issue,
referring that the issue is of diplomatic meaning. Speaking about the
acquaintance with NKR he noted that it has been limited for the Arab
world only by Armenia so far. However, the trip to Armenia gave an
opportunity to know more about Karabakh and other regions.

PRESS RELEASE
St. Garabed Armenian Church of Louisiana
6208 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Tel: 225-248-0627
Fax: 225-248-0628
Email: [email protected]
2005-09-18
Contact: Tamar Meguerditchian ~ Tel: (504) 723-2906

LOUISIANA’S ARMENIANS DEVASTATED BY HURRICANE KATRINA

Twenty-six Armenian Families Face an Unforeseeable Future

New Orleans, LA – Twenty-six Armenian families’ homes and businesses
were severely destroyed and damaged by Hurricane Katrina and its
devastating aftermath. During this period of reconstruction and
recovery, many of these families are faced with an unforeseeable
future.

The Armenian community of Louisiana is a unique community – unique in
size and spirit. The first Armenians settled here over thirty years
ago hailing from Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Armenia and Iran. In 1984, a
few community leaders gathered and decided the community needed to
start a parish and hold church services in Armenian. In an attempt to
foster growth in the community, Fr. Nersess Jebejian was appointed by
the Primate, Archbishop Torkom Manoogian of the Eastern Diocese of the
Armenian Church, as the mission parish priest to hold services in
churches in both New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The name St. Garabed
Armenian Church of Louisiana was given to the mission parish.

In January 2005, after months of fundraising, planning and
construction, St. Garabed Armenian Church of Louisiana opened its
doors as the first Armenian Church in Louisiana. This debut was a big
step for this community, which has progressed slowly over the years,
but nonetheless progressed.

Now many of the Armenians living in the New Orleans Metropolitan area
have been devastated, as many of their homes and businesses have been
damaged. The Armenian community in both LaPlace and Baton Rouge has
reached out to the affected community members by opening their homes
to them, providing them comfort and consolation. Many of the
community’s students – elementary, high school and college/university
students – have been displaced and are either registered elsewhere or
absent this semester. Faced with the daunting task of rebuilding their
homes and businesses, as well as the shocking sights in the area, it
will be a long time before some will be able to move back home. It
will be months before they sense or establish normalcy; and, even when
these families are able to move back home and businesses are repaired
and reopened, the uncertain economy will still create obstacles and
challenges.

Hurricane Katrina uprooted more than trees, homes and buildings, it
uprooted lives and divided families. It has, most definitely, divided
the Armenian community. Armenians nationwide have reached out to the
community, sending donations to the affected community members. The
Diocese of the Armenian Church, under the leadership of the Primate,
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, has sent money to the affected community
members. Numerous other donations have arrived from individuals and
organizations around the country as well. As Times-Picayune columnist
Chris Rose wrote, `…We thank you. For your money, your water, your
food, your prayers, your boats and buses and the men and women of your
National Guards, fire departments, hospitals and everyone else who has
come to our rescue.’

If you would like to help, please send monetary donations only, as so
many are unaware as to where and when they will have a permanent
address. Donations may be sent to: St. Garabed Armenian Church of
Louisiana, 6208 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70806. Any questions or
comments should be directed to Fr. Nersess Jebejian, the pastor, at
(727) 545-0380 or Parish Council Chairman Vasken Kaltakdjian at (225)
413-4620. You can also e-mail the Parish Council at
[email protected].

Soon, these `Cajun Armenians’ will celebrate Mardi Gras, host their
crawfish boils, and cheer on the Saints, but until then faith and
community will prevail. `When you meet us now and you look into our
eyes, you will see the saddest story ever told. Our hearts are broken
into a thousand pieces. But don’t pity us. We’re gonna make it. We’re
resilient. After all, we’ve been rooting for the Saints for 35
years. That’s got to count for something,’ Rose wrote.

-30-

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 10) 517 163
Fax: (374 10) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
September 21, 2005
CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS KAREKIN II
CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS
ON THE OCCASION OF ARMENIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY
September 21, 2005
We extend greetings and blessings from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to
all our sons and daughters in Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora,
congratulating them on the festive occasion of Independence Day of the
Republic of Armenia.
A new page opened in our history on September 21, 1991 – a day blessed by
God, whose great sacred mystery will be celebrated and commemorated by our
succeeding generations.
Our people did not yield to the difficulties and sacrifices of the
liberation struggle for Artsakh, the earthquake and the blockade; rather
with one heart and one will defended the right to live free without
hesitation. We have passed through a difficult yet ascending pathway on the
journey to create our new life and new statehood, a course which will become
broader and brighter through the united efforts, faith, devotion and love of
our people.
We shall nurture each day of free Armenia, for the sake of the development
and prosperity of our Motherland, in the name of the unified and glorious
future for all Armenians.
We offer prayers and wishes to heaven, that the Lord protect the Republic of
Armenia under His Fatherly Right Hand, and keep our people filled with grace
and reinforced with faith, to live and work for the love and glory of our
homeland.
May the grace, love and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us and will
all.

Azeri official rules out Ukraine-style revolution
By Lada Yevgrashina
BAKU, Sept 20 (Reuters) – The speaker of Azerbaijan’s parliament told
opposition parties on Tuesday they were wasting their time if they
hoped to turn the ex-Soviet state’s Nov. 6 parliamentary election into
a Ukraine-style revolution.
Opponents of President Ilham Aliyev say if the vote is rigged, huge
crowds of protesters will come out on the streets in an uprising like
the “Orange Revolution” that forced out Ukraine’s ruling elite a year
ago.
Mimicking their Ukrainian counterparts, Azeri opposition parties have
adopted orange as their colour and flew in a pro-democracy activist
from Ukraine to share his experience. He was deported at the weekend.
But Aliyev’s supporters — and many analysts — say a Ukrainian
scenario is unlikely in this Muslim nation of 8 million on the Caspian
Sea.
The ruling elite is buoyed by the petrodollars from its offshore oil
fields while its opponents are divided.
“Our opposition need not bother travelling to Ukraine and bringing
back activists, orange flags and T-shirts,” said parliamentary speaker
and Aliyev supporter Murtuz Aleskerov.
“They need to respect their own Azeri people and the laws of
Azerbaijan,” he said.
The U.S. military is considering setting up temporary bases in
Azerbaijan, which borders Iran and Russia.
BP has invested billions of dollars in Azeri reserves and is
weeks away from loading the first crude from a pipeline that stretches
from Baku to the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
Azerbaijan — ruled for three decades until 2003 by Aliyev’s late
father, Heydar — has yet to stage a vote deemed fair by Western
monitors.
But the Nov. 6 election is under unprecedented international scrutiny
after disputed votes brought thousands onto the streets and propelled
the opposition to power in Ukraine and also ex-Soviet Georgia and
Kyrgyzstan.
“We want to see fundamental changes in the country and if that does
not happen through transparent elections we will do it via peaceful
revolution,” said Namik Seidiyev, a leader of the “New Thinking” youth
group.
His radical group is a clone of Ukraine’s Pora movement that
spearheaded the “Orange Revolution.”
ORANGE TINGE
The mainstream opposition do not openly advocate revolution, but they
too look to Ukraine for inspiration.
At an opposition rally in Baku this month, party leaders wore orange
T-shirts. Days later, police seized a store of tents from one
opposition party office. A protesters’ tent city was a feature of
Ukraine’s revolt.
However, Aliyev supporters say all that is just window dressing to
mask opposition weakness.
For many voters, the main opposition leaders are tainted by having
served in a 1992-1993 government marked by economic chaos and
disastrous setbacks in a war with neighbouring Armenia.
And they are not united. There are two big opposition blocs running in
the election, each made up of several parties. No one has emerged as a
clear leader.
A few thousand people, claiming electoral fraud, demonstrated after
Ilham Aliyev’s victory in a 2003 presidential vote. But the protest
melted away after riot police violently dispersed the crowd and
arrested activists.
“Lacking any worthwhile ideas of its own, (the opposition) is copying
Ukraine’s example,” said Siyavush Novruzov, deputy head of the New
Azerbaijan ruling party. “There are none of the preconditions for that
sort of revolution here,” he said.
09/20/05 13:29 ET

ARMINFO News Agency
September 20, 2005
15 BEST I.T. STUDENTS AWARDED PRESIDENTIAL AWARDS
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 20. ARMINFO. The Synopsys Outreach Charitable
Foundation for Armenia and the President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan
held a reception today for the recipients of the President of the
Republic of Armenia Awards. The awards were given to the top 15
students and 3 pupils in the IT industry including two awards created
to honor the best female students in IT. The annual awards honor
students who demonstrate outstanding achievements in their study and
research projects in the Armeian IT sector, reports Synopsys.
The Armenian government and Synopsys are both interested in the
development of the national high tech industry, stated Lilit
Gevorgyan, assistant to President Kocharyan and member of the Armenia
Awarding Committee. We value Synopsys’ support of our specialized
high-tech education and realize that these efforts including
supporting the President of the Republic of Armenia Awards will
inspire new generations of students to cintinue the long-standing
Armenian tradition of engineering excellence.
The Synopsys Outreach Charitable Foundation for Armenia supports the
pursuit of the highest level of technology education for teachers and
students. By providing universities with the latest technology and
concepts in electronic design automation and semiconductor design,
teacher training and support. Synopsys helps enable the engineering
community to steadily increase the quality of its design work and
advance the high-tech industry. Furthering math and science education
around the world is a fundamental value at Synopsys.
Synopsys realizes that a thriving high0-tech industry within Armenia
requires support in the form of university and industry programs,
stated Rich Goldman, CEO of Synopsys Armenia. We are proud to be able
to he;lp recognize Armenia’s brightest students by funding the
President of the Republic of Armenia Awards through Armenia’s leading
technical universities.
The recipients of these awards represent the future of Armenia. These
awards stress the importance of education and honor those students
that have the potential to make significant contributions to the IT
economy in Armenia. Synopsys is proud to be associated with Armenia’s
best and brightest students. We look forward to seeing the continued
acheivements o these talented young engineers in Armenia, Goldman
said.

Voice of America
Sept 20 2005
Turkey an Example of Religious Tolerance for 500 years
By Miguel Angel Rivera
Istanbul

Turkey is 90 percent Muslim. But in parts of the large cities, there
are pockets of people of different faiths. VOA’s Miguel Rivera looks
at three houses of worship that share adjacent parcels in Kuzguncuk,
Istanbul.
Kuzguncuk is an ancient part of Istanbul, the only city in the world
that lies in two continents: Asia and Europe. For hundreds of years
its been inhabited by Muslims, Jews, and Christians; Turks, Armenians
and Greeks.
Kuzguncuk lies on the Asian side of the Bosporus Strait. There is a
church, a mosque, and a synagogue, right beside each other. The
priest of the Armenian Orthodox Church, using a key made in 1835,
opens the doors to a Christian world within a Muslim one. The priest
is one of a few who come from another part of Istanbul to serve the
faithful. And when he says `faithful,’ he is referring to Jews and
Muslims, as well as Christians, who enter this holy place to pray.
“There is no difference between us,’ says priest Mehmet Biraz.
‘Muslims come in here to light a candle. Yes, Muslims come to pray
here. They light the candle and they pray. There is no difference.
There is only one God and different paths to that God.”
The church leader says cooperating on every level is vital for
offsetting the religious negativity he finds in politics. He says
ties with others are still strong.
“We have good relations with the neighborhood. We are buying things
from this area because we want the local merchants to benefit from
our trade. In the political world there is the appearance that
religions have problems among themselves. But at the people level, we
have no problems among ourselves.”

A small park adjoining the mosque, synagogue, and church
A woman has been living in front of the church and mosque for 20
years.
“Very beautiful… We live in peace here,’ she says. ‘Everybody loves
each other. This mosque on this side, and the synagogue on the other,
being so close to each other, shows that Turks really accept
different religions and cultures.”
It is a fresh late morning, after a rain, and faithful Turks await
the arrival of the imam, or hoja — the religious leader to direct
them in midday prayers — and prepare to pray with ritual cleansing.
The land the mosque sits on was a gift — from the Armenian Orthodox
Church.
For hundreds of years, the Ottoman Empire promoted religious
tolerance. Modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal, also known as
Ataturk, rejected tying his new government to Islam, even prohibiting
the use of traditional clothing in favor of western wear. Religious
tolerance was also his government’s policy.
“We have good relationships with our neighbors the Armenians and the
Greeks. They come to our funerals. We go to their funerals,’ says
Mahmut Uslu, a worshipper at the mosque. `The Armenian Church is
older than ours. Ataturk’s new republic had an open door policy to
all religions. The Sufi’s with Mevlana (known in the Western world as
Rumi) also had the same idea hundreds of years before. No matter what
country or creed, you can come to our home. Religion is important,
not what religion you belong to.”
Imam Aydin Vatan has led prayers in the Kuzguncuk mosque for years.
“We are all very close, like the flesh and fingernail. We are all
together. Nobody can separate us, Christians, Jews, and Turks.”
There are more than 22,000 Jews in Turkey. Most of them live in
Istanbul. There was an influx into the Ottoman Empire during the last
years of the 15th Century, after Jews and Muslims were expelled from
Spain during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella.

Jews held senior positions in the sultan’s government. Rabbi Cenk
Misraji is the highest-ranking Jewish leader in Asian Turkey.
“From the moment of our arrival more than 500 years ago, there has
been great religious tolerance in Turkey. We have been able to follow
our religion, and open our synagogues wherever we desired. We were
free to follow our traditions, practices and Jewish customs,” said
the rabbi.
There have been some glaring exceptions to the general tolerance of
Turkish society. The Christian Armenians say they were the victims of
Ottoman genocide in 1915, when thousands died. The Turks deny the
accusation. Turks and Kurds, fellow Muslims, have battled each other
for years in parts of the country where the Kurds are found.
And there have been terrorist attacks against Jewish targets, most
recently in 2003.
But in this neighborhood, there is a different history.
Here in Kuzguncuk, a Muslim — in a gesture of brotherhood —
designed, constructed, and donated a small park with its delicate
fountain in front of the doors of the synagogue, behind, and
adjoining, the mosque and the church.

EurasiaNet, NY
Sept 20 2005
YOUTH ACTIVISTS IN AZERBAIJAN SAY THEY ARE BEING TARGETED BY
GOVERNMENT
Khadija Ismayilova 9/20/05
As Azerbaijan’s November 6 parliamentary elections draw closer,
opposition and youth organization representatives say they are
feeling increased pressure from the government. Their concerns have
been stoked by the recent arrests of youth activists, one of them a
Ukrainian citizen.
On September 12, Yeni Fikir Deputy chairperson Said Nuri was detained
for 48 hours on suspicion of conspiring to stage a coup against the
Azerbaijani government. While attending a training session in Poland
that was sponsored by the National Democratic Institute, Nuri
allegedly received instruction on organizing anti-government protests
with the aim of overthrowing the established order, Azerbaijani
officials contend. Nuri had assumed responsibility for running Yeni
Fikir, a youth group loosely aligned with the opposition Popular
Front Party of Azerbaijan, shortly after the August arrest of Ruslan
Bashirli, the group’s leader. Bashirli was charged with conspiring
with Armenian special services to foment unrest in Azerbaijan. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The same day as Nuri’s
detention, Ramin Tagiyev, another Yeni Fikir deputy chairperson, was
sentenced to a three-month prison term for his role in a supposed
coup plot.
The US State Department has sharply criticized Nuri’s arrest. In a
September 15 interview broadcast by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s
Azeri Service, Terry Davidson, a US State Department official,
expressed concern that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s
administration was trying to squelch legitimate domestic political
opposition. “The US government is concerned [by] the arrest of youth
leaders in Azerbaijan as well as the campaign against the Popular
Front Party,” Davidson said. `We urge the Azeri government to provide
basic civil liberties in preparation for the parliamentary elections,
including freedom of assembly, equal access to the media and not
being a subject of pressure.”
In an interview with EurasiaNet, Popular Front Party Chairman Ali
Kerimli stated that the arrests were motivated by the authorities’
fear of Yeni Fikir’s increasing popularity and the related need to
reduce youth activism in Azerbaijan. “They [authorities] think that
the only way to make these young people stop the struggle is to
isolate them,” Kerimli said “However, the opposition’s rallies
demonstrate that, more and more, orange-clad youth have joined the
nationwide struggle against dictatorship.” [For additional
information see the Eurasia Insight archive].
The Popular Front Party has responded to Nuri’s arrest with a blood
donation campaign for individuals suffering from thalassemia, a
series of genetic blood disorders from which the Yeni Fikir activist
suffers. Soon after his arrest, Nuri was taken to the Musa Nagiyev
Emergency Hospital in serious condition. Nuri’s family, friends and
lawyer have not been allowed to see the detainee since his
hospitalization. A statement released by doctors two days after
Nuri’s arrest said that the youth activist’s condition had
stabilized. The state prosecutor’s office has since reportedly
stalled its investigation out of consideration for Nuri’s health.
Nonetheless, the scandals surrounding Yeni Fikir show no sign of
abating. On September 15, organization members reportedly discovered
three hand grenades and a cartridge of TNT in the group’s main office
in Baku. Media reported that the police officer called to the scene
to investigate refused to remove the explosives. The building also
houses the offices of the opposition newspaper Azadliq and the
Popular Front. Azadliq Editor Ganimat Zahidov, reportedly accompanied
by foreign and local journalists, eventually took a bag with the
explosives to the local police station. Zahidov claimed that the
explosives were deliberately planted by authorities to provide
justification for another Yeni Fikir arrest, and to search the
organization’s headquarters. Zahidov has since ordered all
individuals entering the building to be checked. Police pledged to
conduct a thorough investigation of the incident, but have not issued
any updates.
Some human rights activists believe that the arrests of Yeni Fikir
members are designed to reduce the potential for a election-related
protest in Baku akin to those that occurred in Georgia and Ukraine in
2003 and 2004 respectively. Those protests resulted in regime-change
in Tbilisi and Kyiv. [For additional information see the Eurasia
Insight archive]. Georgian and Ukrainian youth groups played key
roles in organizing those demonstrations. [For background see the
Eurasia Insight archive]. “The former leaderships of Georgia and
Ukraine never took such tough action against youth leaders,” said
Saida Gojamanli, director of the Bureau of Human Rights and Law
Observance.
The arrest of a representative of the Ukrainian youth group Pora in
Baku has helped fuel speculation that the government plans to
discourage such organizations from playing any role in Azerbaijan’s
parliamentary elections. Azerbaijani authorities detained Sergei
Yevtushenko — an advisor to the Ukrainian foreign minister, and a
Pora leader – at Baku airport on September 15. Two days later, he was
forcibly returned to Ukraine. Yevtushenko had traveled to Azerbaijan
at the invitation of the opposition election bloc Azadliq to attend a
conference on democratization in Azerbaijan and Belarus.
No official reason was given for Yevtushenko’s detention. The
Ukrainian consul was allowed to meet with Yevtushenko only after the
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry lodged a formal diplomatic protest. In a
September 16 interview with Trend news agency, the country’s
ambassador to Baku, Igor Kizima stated that Azerbaijani officials had
violated international agreements by making the Ukrainian consul wait
five hours before seeing Yevtushenko. Ukrainian officials also
accused Azerbaijan of violating bilateral agreements that provide for
a no-visa entry to Azerbaijan for Ukrainian citizens.
Editor’s Note: Khadija Ismayilova is a freelance journalist based in
Baku.