OSCE MISSION MONITORS FRONT LINE IN KARABAKH
Mediamax news agency
8 Sep 05
Yerevan, 8 September: An OSCE mission today held a regular monitoring
on the contact line between the Nagornyy Karabakh and Azerbaijani
armed forces in the village of Levonarkh of Mardakert District of
the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR].
Andrzej Kasprzyk, personal representative of the OSCE
chairman-in-office and his field assistant, carried out the monitoring
from the positions of the NKR Defence Army, the press service of the
NKR Foreign Ministry reported today.
No cease-fire violations were registered during the monitoring.
However, unlike the Karabakh side, the Azerbaijani side did not take
the OSCE mission to its front-line positions.

AUSTRIAN, AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS ECONOMIC COOPERATION
Die Presse, Vienna
8 Sep 05
Text of report by “hd” entitled “Diplomacy before the match”, published
by Austrian newspaper Die Presse on 8 September
Vienna: “I am glad I came to Vienna on the day of the soccer
match between Austria and Azerbaijan (for the world championship
qualification in Baku – the editor) and not the day after”,
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov joked after working
talks with his Austrian counterpart Ursula Plassnik in Vienna on
Wednesday [7 September].
While bilateral relations were classified as “very good” by both
sides, as expected, Mammadyarov was “not quite satisfied with the
extent of economic cooperation”. He hopes, in particular, for an
increase in investments. “We are planning quite a few things in the
economic field”, Plassnik said, supporting him. The Austrian foreign
minister cited as an important issue of the talks the action plan
for Azerbaijan within the framework of European neighbourhood policy,
which is coordinated by EU Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
By “supporting smaller initiatives in the nongovernmental field”,
Austria wants to contribute to settling the conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan over Nagornyy Karabakh. The Armenian enclave seceded
from Baku in 1991, which has, however, not been recognized at the
international level. Despite some progress, it is still a long way
until the conflict can be settled, Mammadyarov said.

AZERI LEADER HAPPY WITH ELECTION CAMPAIGN START
Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
8 Sep 05
[Presenter] President Ilham Aliyev is visiting Astara [southern
Azerbaijan] today. Aliyev said the fact that over 2,000 people had been
nominated as parliamentary candidates showed the people’s interest
in the election. The initial stage of the election has successfully
finished, he said.
[Passage omitted: Aliyev attended a ceremony to unveil a bust of his
father Heydar Aliyev]
[Correspondent by phone] President Ilham Aliyev started the tour of
southern districts from Lankaran. Addressing a ceremony to unveil
a bust of Heydar Aliyev in a park outside the town administration
building, Aliyev said that the aim of the trip was to familiarize
himself with work done to implement the regional socio-economic
development programme.
He said 3,000 new jobs would be created throughout the country by the
end of the year. Measures had been taken to improve the population’s
social situation, Aliyev said, mentioning an increase in salaries
and pensions. He also said an a minimum salary would be increased to
150,000 manats [32 dollars] from 1 October.
As to the forthcoming parliamentary election, Aliyev said that the
initial stage of the election had successfully finished. The fact that
over 2,000 candidates have been registered shows people’s belief in
the democratic conduct of the election, he said.
Speaking about the Karabakh peace talks, Aliyev said that the talks
had yielded no result yet and Azerbaijan should constantly strengthen
its military potential. A total of 300m dollars were allocated to
military expenditures this year and the figure will total 600m dollars
the next year, Aliyev said. Azerbaijan is ahead of Armenia in terms
of military potential, he said.
[Passage omitted: Aliyev visits a medical centre in Lankaran]
[Bilik Dunyasi, in Russian 0841 gmt 8 Sep 05 quoted Aliyev as saying
that a 20-per-cent economic growth was registered in the country in
the past eight months]

AZERI OFFICIAL DECRIES ARMENIAN NGOS’ PROPOSAL TO MONITOR POLLS
Sarq, Baku
8 Sep 05
Text of APA report by Azerbaijani newspaper Sarq on 8 September
headlined “Armenian NGOs want to monitor the election”
Armenian NGOs want to observe the parliamentary election in Azerbaijan,
the secretary of the Central Electoral Commission [CEC], Vidadi
Mahmudlu, has told APA.
The CEC secretary said that the intention of the Armenian NGOs is
another provocation by Yerevan and that Azerbaijan will thwart such
efforts. Mahmudlu also said that international organizations have not
answered the CEC’s appeal for assistance in acquiring a list of voters
in the Xankandi constituency [Azerbaijani citizens of Armenian origin].
“The election will be held in the Xankandi constituency. This is
definite. However, it is still not clear if the Armenians will vote
in the election or not. Therefore, the election might fail in that
constituency,” he said.

SERVICEMAN KILLED IN ARMENIAN TRUCE VIOLATION – AZERI TV
ANS TV, Baku
8 Sep 05
A warrant officer of the Azerbaijani army has been killed on the
front line, Azerbaijani ANS TV said on 8 September.
The officer was wounded when Azerbaijan’s army positions in the
village of Borsunlu in Tartar District came under fire from the
Armenian armed forces at about 0700 gmt on 7 September, ANS reported.

BRITISH FM WARNS OF “TERRIBLE” CONSEQUENCES IF TURKEY TALKS FALTER
Agence France Presse — English
September 8, 2005 Thursday 3:42 PM GMT
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw warned Thursday of “terrible”
repercussions for co-existence with the Muslim world if the European
Union fails to follow through on the process for admitting Turkey to
the union.
“We cannot afford to get this wrong,” Straw said in a speech in which
he argued for Turkey to begin long-awaited accession talks on October
3 despite Ankara’s refusal to recognise the government of Cyprus.
“By welcoming Turkey we will demonstrate that Western and Islamic
cultures can thrive together as partners in the modern world. The
alternative is too terrible to contemplate,” he said.
Straw stressed that Turkey had met conditions for starting accession
talks that could take several years and praised “wide-ranging and
courageous” reforms in Turkey.
But Ankara still had some way to go in implementing reforms, he added,
pointing to the charges brought against world-famous Turkish novelist
Orhan Pamuk for commenting on killings of Kurds and Armenians.
“If and when Turkey does become a member, it will be after years
of structural reforms and with a long track record of sustained and
stable growth,” Straw said.
EU leaders last December gave Turkey the green light to start
membership talks, after Ankara first applied to join the union in 1987,
even though the country still refuses to to recognise the government
of Cyprus.
But last week foreign ministers of the 25-nation bloc failed to agree
on a response to Turkey’s reiteration of non-recognition.
EU members need to agree unanimously on a reponse and a negotiating
framework for Turkey before accession talks can officially begin.
Cyprus has been divided since the Turkish military occupied the
northern third of the territory in 1974 in response to a coup by
Greek Cypriots to unite the island with Greece.
“I would have preferred it if the government of Turkey had not felt
it necessary to issue its declaration… by doing so the process has
frankly been made more difficult,” Straw said.
“Normally, you get agreement in the end,” Straw said, adding that he
would call an EU meeting to discuss Turkish accession at the end of
September if that was necessary.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin earlier opposed starting
accession talks with the Cyprus issue still unresolved and other
European politicians have expressed reservations.
German opposition leader Angela Merkel, who is favoured to win
parliamentary elections later this month, opposes Turkey’s membership
of the EU outright.
“The process of Turkish accession has turned into a lightning rod
for other discontent,” said Straw.
Turkish membership “has been the long-standing policy of successive
German governments up until now,” he continued.
In his speech, Straw emphasised the common history of Turkey and
western Europe and praised the democratic legacy of Kemal Ataturk,
who became leader of a secular Turkey after the collapse of the
Ottoman empire in World War I.
Turkish membership would help the EU compete with emerging economies
in Asia and tackle terrorism and drug trafficking, Straw said.
Membership would also encourage reforms in Turkey that have already
led to the abolition of the death penalty, progress on Kurdish issues
and moves towards European Council political standards, he said.
“Turkey will go through a major, continuing process of transformation
over a number of years before it joins the Union.”

UPPER GARABAGH CURRENCY ‘NOT TO BE INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED’
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 8 2005
Baku, September 7, AssA-Irada — The ‘national currency’ that Upper
Garabagh plans to illegally release into circulation will not be
recognized by any country, deputy board chairman of the National Bank
(NBA) told journalists on Wednesday.
Alim Guliyev said, however, that Azerbaijan cannot prevent the release
of the new currency.
“The National Bank will object to the move through its own means, but
it has no real opportunities to prevent the issuance of the currency.
We can simply convey to the international community the illegitimacy
of the process.”
Guliyev added that the currency may not be used anywhere outside
Garabagh.*

RUSSIA, ARMENIA LAUNCH JOINT MILITARY EXERCISES
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 8 2005
Baku, September 7, AssA-Irada — Joint military exercises of Russian
and Armenian armed forces were launched in Armenia’s Armavir region
on Wednesday.
Official Yerevan and Moscow term the training as military cooperation
within the “collective security” agreement, according to the Armenian
media. Officers, soldiers and weapons of the Russian military base
deployed in Armenia’s Gumru region, as well as battalions of the
Armenian ground troops are involved in the exercises to last till
September 11. The training program also includes joint maneuvers of
the two countries’ air forces.
The launch of the military exercises amid OSCE chairman-in-office
Dimitrij Rupel’s visit to Yerevan on a peacekeeping mission and his
talks with the leadership of aggressor Armenia on the settlement of
the Upper Garabagh conflict was disapproved by some pundits. They
believe that the move may be interpreted as Moscow’s pressure on the
course of Armenia-Azerbaijan talks.*

BRITAIN APPOINTS NEW AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA, SAYS REPORT
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 8 2005
Baku, September 7, AssA-Irada — Great Britain has appointed its
new ambassador to Armenia. Anthony Cantor will take up the post,
replacing Thorda Abbott Watt, whose diplomatic mission will complete
next January, Armenian media quoted a source from the embassy of
United Kingdom in Armenia as saying.*

CYPRUS DISPUTE ‘SHOULD NOT DELAY TURKEY’S EU ACCESSION’
by Andrew Woodcock, PA Political Correspondent
Press Association
September 8, 2005, Thursday 11:00 AM Eastern Time
Negotiations on Turkey’s accession to the European Union should not
be delayed, even though Ankara refuses to recognise the Republic of
Cyprus, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said today.
He warned that turning a cold shoulder to Turkey would give ammunition
to Islamist extremists, while welcoming it into the EU would be
a powerful blow against the belief in a “clash of civilisations”
between the Muslim world and the West.
The long-awaited talks are due to begin on October 3, but there is
growing popular and political opposition to Turkey joining the EU in
several existing member states, including France and Germany.
Ankara’s announcement that its recent signature of an Association
Agreement Protocol with the EU – a necessary step on the road
to membership – did not imply recognition of the Greek Cypriot
administration in Nicosia was seized upon by opponents of accession
as a reason for delay.
But speaking in London today, Mr Straw said: “There is more at stake
here than Turkey’s future. This is about Europe’s future too. And
it is a question of paramount importance for the whole international
community.
“Turkey is a secular nation with a majority Muslim population. By
welcoming Turkey we will demonstrate that Western and Islamic cultures
can thrive together as partners in the modern world. The alternative
is too terrible to contemplate.”
And he added: “A stable, prosperous Turkey anchored in the European
Union would be a powerful symbol indeed that the true divide lies not
between civilisations but between the vast majority of civilised people
across the world and the uncivilised few who use violence and terror to
try to destroy the common values and beliefs which bind the rest of us.
“It will prove that a secular, democratic state which shows respect
for Islam can live comfortably within Europe. Conversely, what message
would we give out if we were perceived to turn away from Turkey?”
Mr Straw said that, due to its strategic position as a bridge between
East and West, Turkey would offer the EU vital new strengths in the
battle against terrorism, cross-border crime and drug-trafficking.
Contrary to fears that the entry of a populous, low-wage economy into
the EU would have damaging economic effects on existing members,
Mr Straw insisted that Turkish accession would boost not only its
own prosperity but that of the rest of the Union.
He hailed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “wide-ranging and
courageous reform” to bring Turkey in line with European standards
on human rights and democracy.
But he was critical of the decision to bring charges of “denigration
of Turkish identity” against world-renowned novelist Orhan Pamuk for
comments he made about the Ottoman-era genocide of Armenians and more
recent killings of thousands of Kurds.
Mr Straw said that the Pamuk case showed there was “still some way to
go in the implementation” of measures to protect freedom of speech,
and cautioned that “continued and sustained commitment” to EU norms
would be required from the Turkish Government.
The Foreign Secretary pointed out that the possibility of Turkish entry
into the EU had first been held out in 1963, with the establishment
of a customs union, and said that “the destinies of Turkey and the
rest of Europe have long been intertwined”.
The dispute over Cyprus should not be a bar to Turkish accession,
said Mr Straw. Instead, European leaders should have faith that the
EU’s “healing power” will help dissipate tensions between the two
sides once they are fellow members of the Union.
“I would have preferred it if the Government of Turkey had not felt
it necessary to issue its declaration stating that its signature of
the Association Agreement Protocol did not amount to recognition of
the Republic of Cyprus,” he said.
“But acknowledging that Turkey’s declaration raises genuine concerns
– which we, as Presidency, are working hard to address – does not
mean that we should delay the start of Turkey’s historic accession
negotiations.
“We should have faith in the power of the Union to help resolve
problems.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress