OSKANIAN: PEOPLE OF KARABAKH FOUGHT AND WON RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION
Pan Armenian News
19.09.2005 08:30
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ September 18 Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian has addressed the UN Assembly General 60th session, RA Foreign
Ministry reported. The Minister spoke about the Millennium Development
Goals finding the combat against poverty and economy development
extremely important. In his speech the Minister also referred to the
regional conflicts and the course of their settlement. He has mentioned
that “in case of regional conflicts preaching of military solutions
is not only unreal but also reflects the absence of democracy, human
rights and the perception of civic society”. Speaking about the rights
of the people of Nagorno Karabakh, he underlined, “Self-determination
is the right of every person. The people of Nagorno Karabakh have
fought and won the right of self-determination. In order to win
it, they have fought the political and military aggression of a
government which was not elected by them and which tried to suppress
them by force. The fight for their rights was no their choice. Their
rights were neither abstract nor exaggerated. They wanted what most
of us have, that is the right to live in their houses on their lands
peacefully. Despite everything, they reached their aim. From that time
on they have shown their ability of governing and developing democratic
institution”. Finding the realization of Millennium Development
Goals, the Minister noted that we are responsible for the coming
generations. And our answer to ourselves and to our children must be
the united effort, united measures and united answers on the part of
United Nations. The UN can still be the answer, said Vartan Oskanian.

CRIMINALS IN LEBANON BEWARE: YOU ARE ON CANDID CAMERA
Ya Libnan, Lebanon
Sept 18 2005
Beirut, Lebanon – Police investigators are focusing on a film taken
by a security camera of a bank at the scene of the Jeitawi bombing
in Ashrafiyeh to pin down the identity of two suspects seen planting
two bags of explosives in between parked cars near a coffee shop that
took the brunt of the explosion’s impact, An Nahar reported on Sunday.
Witnesses have told the police that they saw the two bag carriers
climbing out of a private car driven by a third man. The same car
returned to pick them up and raced off after explosives were placed
on target, according to An Nahar.
Investigators hope to establish the identity of the bombers and their
car driver from the film that was taken off the security camera of
a Byblos Bank branch overlooking the scene of the blast that rocked
Jeitawi’s St. Louis alleyway five minutes before midnight.
The owner of the cafe, a Lebanese Armenian in his sixties, was killed
in the blast and a total of 28 people were injured. Police said Sunday
that only three of the wounded people remained hospitalized and the
rest were given quick first aid treatment and discharged.
Residents of the densely populated stricken street in a Christian
neighborhood of the Lebanese capital are still taking stock of the
damage caused by the explosions to their homes and businesses.
Beirut’s municipality launched a fund-raising campaign to help
residents to repair the damage.
An official statement said the first $100,000 donation came from
Sheikh Jassem Mohammed Al Bahr, reportedly a Kuwaiti citizen. The
City Council has decided to extend an initial aid of $500 to every
victim pending a survey of the damage by Lebanon’s Higher Relief Board.
It was the 8th such bombing since March 19. Anti-Syrian politicians
blamed the new attack, like the previous bombings, on Syria’s secret
service and allied Lebanese intelligence operatives. But Hezbollah,
which strongly condemned the Jeitawi blast as a terrorist act of
destabilization, publicly warned against handing down prejudgments.
The filming of the suspects is a message to future criminals that they
can no longer expect to get away so easily. The Lebanese are determined
to find out the truth about who is behind all these criminal acts in
Lebanon and bring to Justice all these criminals.
To those criminals contemplating similar actions in the future,
we may say: “Watch out! You are on Candid Camera”

RAGOSINA AND KENTIKIAN TONIGHT IN GERMANY
By Ewan Whyte
WBAN
Sept 17 2005
(SEPT 17) Two women’s matches feature on the bill for tonight’s SES
Box Gala in Ilsenburg (Germany), parts of which will be broadcast live
on the Astra satellite by D:SF (23:00-00:30 CET): the 7th fight on
the bill pits 17-year-old Susianna Kentikian (6-0 5KOs), an Armenian
now resident in Hamburg (who has won her last four fights in either
the first or second round), against Renata Vesecka of the Czech
Republic; whilst the 8th fight – a late addition to the programme –
is a sharpening-up operation for Natascha Ragosina prior to a promised
world title fight with Jacqui Frazier-Lyde.
Ragosina, who was born in Karaganda (Kazakhstan) but fights out
of Magdeburg, is matched here at super middleweight against Maria
Velichkova of Sofia (Bulgaria), who is making her professional debut.
In her last outing, in which she coped easily enough with the veteran
Valerie Mahfood of the States without ever finding the finish, Ragosina
seemed still to be suffering the after-effects of an illness that
had put her out of action for several months earlier in the year;
nonetheless, in terms of style she seemed markedly improved, having
abandoned the rather upright stance (once compared with that of Vitali
Klitschko) that had brought her the world championship as an amateur
in favour of a more fluid shoot-from-the-hip style reminiscent of
Muhammad Ali.
A strikingly beautiful 28-year-old with tremendous natural athleticism,
Ragosina won European championships in 1996 and 1998 as a kickboxer
before switching disciplines in 1999. This will be her eighth fight
as a professional; her record currently stands at 7-0 (5 KOs).
In a second women’s match, Susianna Kentikian defeated Renata Vesecka
in the fourth round by 58 seconds TKO.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CYPRIOT FOREIGN MINISTER HOLDS MEETINGS IN NEW YORK
Cyprus News Agency, Nicosia
17 Sep 05
New York, 17 September: The question of Cyprus, the European Union
action plan for the Caucasus and the situation in the Middle East were
on the agenda of meetings Cyprus Foreign Minister Yeoryios Iacovou
had here yesterday with US Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried, EU
Commissioner for External Affairs Benida Ferrero Waldner and Foreign
Minister of the Palestinian [National] Authority Nasser Al Kidwa.
“We talked about the Cyprus issue and reviewed recent developments in
Turkey’s accession course, as these relate to EU efforts to issue a
statement to counter a unilateral declaration by Ankara that it does
not recognize Cyprus,” the minister told CNA, responding to questions
after his meetings.
He said with the EU commissioner he talked about the action plan for
the Caucasus, following her round of talks with Armenia, Azerbaidjan
and Georgia and both agreed to confer again once Iacovou concludes
his round of talks with the same group of countries.
Iacovou also participated in a meeting of foreign ministers from the
Commonwealth to discuss financial concerns, ahead of November’s summit
in Malta.
During his meeting with the Palestinian minister, they reviewed
recent developments in the Gaza strip and the region and Iacovou
raised issues that are created within the Organization of Islamic
Conference by Ankara.
He noted that the Arab countries should display particular sensitivity
in matters of principle where resolutions of the OIC are violated.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERI PRESIDENT SAYS MILITARY SPENDING TO EQUAL ARMENIA’S ENTIRE BUDGET
Yeni Azarbaycan, Baku
17 Sep 05, p 2
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that the international
community should not be concerned about the increase in Azerbaijan’s
military spending as years of peace talks with Armenia have yielded
no results. Addressing a meeting at the Defence Ministry, Aliyev
said that he has set himself a task to make Azerbaijan’s military
equal to Armenia’s entire budget. He said that in 2006 the country’s
military spending will double and reach 600m dollars. The following
is an excerpt from unattributed report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni
Azarbaycan on 17 September headlined “The president has held a meeting
on army build-up” and subheaded “Ilham Aliyev: the Azerbaijani army’s
combat readiness deserves appreciation”.
Subheadings have been inserted editorially:
The Azerbaijani president and commander-in-chief, Ilham Aliyev,
yesterday chaired a meeting at the Defence Ministry on the development
of the army in Azerbaijan.
[Passage omitted: Defence Minister Safar Abiyev and top officers
welcomed Ilham Aliyev outside the ministry]
Addressing the meeting, Ilham Aliyev said that the army has been
developing in Azerbaijan at a high pace and very successfully. The
establishment of a proper army has brought dividends to Azerbaijan.
We are strengthening our military potential, and I am confident
that this process will also continue developing at a high pace in
the future.
[Passage omitted: about the late President Heydar Aliyev’s role in
the build-up of the army]
“Azerbaijan is living in a state of war. Our land is under occupation,
and bearing this in mind, one should pay major attention to the
army. As the commander-in-chief, I attach major importance to these
issues. It is possible to say that I deal with these issues on a
daily basis because this is the most important issue for us.”
Peace talks yield no results
President Ilham Aliyev added that Azerbaijan must restore its
territorial integrity. “We are trying to settle this issue peacefully,
through talks. However, as we know, years of talks have yielded no
results. It is possible to settle the issue in a just manner as a
whole, and I hope that we will achieve this because Azerbaijan’s
position is based on international legal norms, Nagornyy Karabakh
is an integral part of Azerbaijan and our territorial integrity is
recognized and supported by the entire world community.
Historical justice is on our side, too.”
[Passage omitted: Armenia does not comply with UN resolutions on
Karabakh; efforts of international organizations yield no results]
“At the same time, the issue remains unsettled. Despite our endless
talk about all these factors, diplomatic, economic and other political
achievements, the issue remains unsettled. What should Azerbaijan do in
this situation? Azerbaijan has conducted and expressed its peaceful
policy for many years, but the issue remains unsettled. For this
reason, it is natural that we are increasing our military potential.”
[Passage omitted: repetition]
Azerbaijan’s military spending will equal Armenia’s entire budget
President Ilham Aliyev stressed that next year’s budget will be more
than 3.5bn dollars. In this case, military spending will grow as
well. In 2004, military spending was 175m dollars, in 2005 – 300m
dollars and in 2006 it will be 600m dollars, and this is not the
final rate. As you know, my task is that our military budget should
equal Armenia’s entire budget, and maybe exceed it and it will exceed
it. We will achieve this.
President Ilham Aliyev said that Armenia and some international
organizations are concerned about this, i.e. the increase in
Azerbaijan’s military budget is the reason for their concern. The
increase in our country’s military budget is our sovereign right. On
the other hand, the sides, organizations and countries which are
playing a leading role in these organizations, should be concerned
about the fact of Azerbaijani land has been occupied for more than
10 years.
Nagornyy Karabakh is not a democracy
“I would like to speak about another issue. Armenian propaganda
has been trying to put Azerbaijan in a negative light before the
international community. They are trying to prove that there are
allegedly democratic institutions in Nagornyy Karabakh, democracy
is developing and human rights are protected there, and that in
Azerbaijan, democracy is not developing. This is a completely false
and very dangerous theory.
“First, Azerbaijan is a country which is developing at a very high
pace in terms of democratic development. Everyone admits this, and
first of all, the Azerbaijani people see this and welcome our policy.
Second, the Nagornyy Karabakh regime is an illegal establishment. It
is not recognized by anyone. A criminal regime is ruling there. For
some reason, hypocritical politicians do not pay attention to the
fact that drugs are being cultivated and trafficked, armed groups
and terrorist organizations are deployed, human rights are violated
and a totally militarized regime exists there. Nagornyy Karabakh is
presented as an alleged example of democracy in this region.
Armenians to fail hampering regional projects
“They have done their best against the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
oil pipeline, but failed. Now they are trying to tie the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline to the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict. This is a completely false idea. There is no link
between these issues. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan is an international
project, it is supported by international financial institutions
and major states, it is being successfully implemented. No lobby or
Armenian organization will be able to hamper it.
“I would like to speak about another issue as well. Armenian
officials have recently started making statements against a new
regional project. You know that we support the idea of building a
railway linking Azerbaijan to Turkey, and the construction of the
Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway is becoming a reality. We are actively
working and ready to take financial commitments to make this railway
happen in the near future. The feasibility study is being prepared,
and when it is ready, Azerbaijan will take financial commitments as
the first move.”
The head of state ridiculed the Armenians’ protests against the
allocation of funds for the construction of the Kars-Tbilisi-Baku
railway.
[Passage omitted: Ilham Aliyev said that Armenians have no moral
right to occupy Azerbaijani lands]

CHINESE POLITBURO MEMBER LUO GAN MEETS ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL
Xinhua news agency, Beijing
19 Sep 05
Beijing, 19 September: Luo Gan, member of the Standing Committee of
the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central
Committee, met here Monday with Tigran Torosyan, deputy speaker of the
National Assembly and vice-chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia.
Luo said China and Armenia have improved bilateral relations in
a comprehensive way, strengthened political trust and made their
cooperation fruitful since the two countries forged diplomatic ties
in 1992. He expressed the belief that Sino-Armenian ties would be
further enhanced with endeavours of the two sides. He appreciates
the adherence of Armenia to China’s stance on the issues of Taiwan,
Tibet and human rights.
Luo said the CCP would like to promote cooperation with all parties
in Armenia including the Armenian Republican Party in a bid to promote
an all-round and sustainable relations between the two countries.
Torosyan said Armenia attaches great importance to the relations
with China and adheres to the one-China policy. He said Armenia hopes
to further strengthen exchanges with the CCP and push forward their
cooperation in all fields.

SWITZERLAND BRINGS MORE CHARGES AGAINST TURKISH POLITICIAN FOR DENYING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
The Associated Press
09/19/05 12:09 EDT
BERN, Switzerland (AP) – Swiss authorities brought two further charges
against a Turkish politician for allegedly breaking Switzerland’s
racial discrimination laws by denying that the killings of Armenians
around the time of World War I was a genocide, police said Monday.
Dogu Perincek, the leader of the Turkey’s Workers’ Party, made the
remarks Sunday in a speech in central Switzerland, Bern cantonal
(state) police said in a statement. He then repeated them Monday in
a news conference in Zurich, and was charged by the city’s police,
spokesman Marco Cortesi said.
Perincek already had been charged twice by Swiss authorities for two
previous, similar incidents.
Denying that the Holocaust or other cases of genocide took place is
regarded as racial discrimination under Swiss law, and can be punished
by up to three years in prison and an unspecified fine.
“Based on the fact that, in the course of his address, Dogu Perincek
denied the Armenian genocide and expressed prejudices against the
western world, the Bern cantonal police has put down a complaint
because of suspicion of racial discrimination,” the police statement
said.
Perincek will be questioned Tuesday by police in neighboring Vaud
canton, where he already is under investigation for similar remarks
made in May, Bern police spokeswoman Anastasia Falkner said.
Swiss authorities launched a second investigation into Perincek in
July for making similar remarks in northern Switzerland, and Perincek
was briefly detained after that speech. Turkey called the Swiss
ambassador to the Foreign Ministry to protest Perincek’s detention
and investigation.
Similar disputes have erupted in the past between Turkey and
Switzerland. In June, a Turkish Cabinet minister postponed a visit
to Switzerland to protest an investigation of a Turkish historian
who denied in a separate speech that the killings were genocide.
In July, Turkey canceled a proposed visit by Swiss Economics Minister
Joseph Deiss because of “schedule clashes,” Deiss’s spokesman said.

AZERI OFFICIAL DOWNPLAYS ARMENIA’S THREATS TO QUIT PEACE TALKS
Bilik Dunyasi news agency, Baku, in Russian
16 Sep 05
Baku, 16 September: The latest statement of the press secretary of the
Armenian Foreign Ministry, Gamlet Gasparyan, on the Nagornyy Karabakh
process is nothing but a diplomatic trick and manoeuvring, the head
of the foreign relations department of the Azerbaijani presidential
administration, Novruz Mammadov, has said.
Gasparyan said that “our position remains unchanged. If Azerbaijan
raises any issue with the UN, Armenia will quit the Nagornyy Karabakh
peace talks and Baku will have to negotiate directly” with Xankandi
[Stepanakert].
Mammadov was commenting on the inclusion of the issue “On the situation
in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan” on the agenda of the 60th
session of the UN General Assembly.
“Behind this message is Armenia’s great anxiety. The matter is that
Azerbaijan’s position on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict has become very strong and is supported by
international organizations and states. The inclusion of the issue
‘On the situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan’ on the
agenda of the 60th session is a logical consequence of this. There
is nothing unusual here. This is our right,” Mammadov said.
Armenia sees that Azerbaijan’s stand on the Nagornyy Karabakh
settlement is getting more support from the international community and
is trying to threaten Azerbaijan that they will stop the negotiations,
step aside and involve the Armenians of Nagornyy Karabakh in direct
talks.
“First, it is not so easy to avoid the talks. The territories are
under occupation and negotiations are continuing. Armenia is in
a desperate position and may be looking for an excuse. Second,
if Armenia indeed wants to quit the talks and Yerevan officially
declares its withdrawal from the Nagornyy Karabakh issue, we will
find a chance to talk to the Armenians of Nagornyy Karabakh. We can
do it and there is no problem about that,” Mammadov added.

KOCHARYAN SOFTENED AFTER RICE CALLED HIM BUT STILL NOT ENOUGH TO AGREE FOR PEACE, ILHAM ALIYEV TOLD TURKISH “HURRIYET”
Azerbaijan News Service
Sept 3 2005
“Azerbaijan is very strong and Armenia will not withstand its
pressure. Nevertheless, we do not want war, as a great number of
people may die. I believe, earlier or later we will return our lands.
Let nobody has doubts in this respect”, the interview of the President
of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev with the Turkish “Hurriet” newspaper,
published on 2 September. “Each Azerbaijani is deeply confident, the
day will come, when the occupied lands will be freed, and the banner of
Azerbaijan will flutter again over Karabakh”, President Ilham Aliyev
emphasized, having also commented on the results of the meeting with
the Armenian President Kocharyan in Kazan. “There are no results so
far. The Armenians expect we will give them independence. However,
it is impossible. The first priority for us is to preserve the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. I told Kocharyan, we are ready
to guarantee the security of the Armenian community of Karabakh. I
stressed, Baku will not allow the community to face any danger”, Ilham
Aliyev said and added, “however, they (the Armed Forces of Armenia)
do not want to free our lands”. At the same time President Ilham
Aliyev noted, that during the recent telephone talk the US State
Secretary Condoleezza Rice stated, Washington wants the sides to
come to the conflict settlement. “I do not understand, why Armenia,
being an occupier country is not punished, although, undoubtedly,
I also understand, the Armenian lobby is rather strong.
The present situation is extremely unfair”, Aliyev said. He noted,
after this conversation I felt some softening in the position of
Kocharyan, although it is not sufficient for the problem settlement.
“We took all possible moves. However, Armenia did not take heed
of the world public opinion. Over 1 million citizens of Azerbaijan
remained homeless. The West stands for the soonest settlement of the
conflict. We will do our utmost for that”, Aliyev summarized. The
Turkish “Hurriet” newspaper’s issue of 2 September placed an
interview of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev with the
newspaper’s director on the informational matters, a journalist Tufan
Turenc. According to Trend, the interview notes, that President of
Azerbaijan put aside without opening a letter of the President of
the Greek Cyprus Papadopulos, in which there was a sharp criticism
of actions of the official Baku in regard to setting up the economic
relations with the Northern Cyprus. Furthermore, the author cites
the President of Azerbaijan: “The first moves towards Azerbaijan
were taken by the leadership of Greece, which called our Ambassador
to the Foreign Ministry and handed in the note to him. However, we
did not pay attention to it. Then came the letter from the Cypriot
Republic, which I put aside without opening. Nobody is entitled to
exert pressure on Azerbaijan”. President Ilham Aliyev underlined,
he ignores the international pressure in this issue. The head of the
state reminded, many people did not believe his statements to disrupt
the isolation regime of the Northen Cyprus. “There were many critical
articles to my address. But I kept my word. The time came for other
Turkish states to support the position of Azerbaijan on this issue.
“Now it is their turn to take similar steps’, Aliyev said. Responding
the question, whether new initiatives from Azerbaijan follow in
this direction Ilham Aliyev replied “We will do everything possible,
as we believe, the isolation of the Northern Cyprus must be eliminated.
There must be an end to injustice. Why is the side, which supported
the UNO plan on the island’s unification punished? It is not possible
either understand or accept”.

ICG REVEALS REPORT ON DAGHLIG GARABAGH
Azerbaijan News Service
Sept 15 2005
All sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict need to prepare their people
for peace much better if the seeds of their high-level negotiations
are to bear fruit. Nagorno-Karabakh: Viewing the Conflict from the
Ground,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group,
explores how the Armenians and Azeris from Nagorno-Karabakh and
the surrounding districts live and how they view the resolution of
the conflict. Despite signs of progress at internationally mediated
negotiations (to be discussed in a subsequent report), rising military
expenditures and increasing ceasefire violations are ominous signs
that time for a peaceful settlement may be running out. The brutal war
over Nagorno-Karabakh killed some 18,500 people and displaced over a
million before settling into a shaky cease-fire in 1994. Eleven years
on, life in Nagorno-Karabakh has regained some sense of normality with
a developing economy and elected institutions. Yet nothing has been
done to restore rights of war victims. The creation of mono-ethnic
institutions in Nagorno-Karabakh, the destruction of Azeri property,
and the privatisation of land and businesses pose significant obstacles
to Azeri return and reintegration. Many displaced persons have become
highly dependent on the Azerbaijani state, with few opportunities
to participate fully in political life and determine their own
future. Refusing to allow dialogue and demonising Armenians through
the state-sponsored media and schools, Baku has hardened anti-Armenian
feeling among average citizens. The Azerbaijanis and Armenians are
as separated as they have ever been. “There is need to counter the
hate propaganda and unlock the potential for confidence building and
dialogue between average Azeris and Armenians”, says Sabine Freizer,
Director of Crisis Group’s Caucasus Project. “This has to happen
before the memories of cohabitation fade and the divide becomes
unbridgeable”. Neither community appears prepared to agree to the
kind of settlement being considered by the Armenian and Azerbaijani
foreign ministers in the negotiations sponsored by the Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). “The vast majority
of those affected by the conflict have been kept in the dark about
the details of the negotiations”, says Alain Deletroz, Crisis Group’s
Vice President for Europe. “But there is no way for any peace process
to succeed unless leaders from all sides start actively selling the
idea to their people”.