COUNCIL OF EUROPE OFTEN IMPOSES DECISIONS ALIEN TO ARMENIAN PEOPLE’S
NATURE, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF NEWLY ESTABLISHED ALLIANCE STATES
YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, NOYAN TAPAN. When making decisions imposed on
Armenia by the Council of Europe, the National Assembly should hold
nationwide discussions on their drafts and take into consideration
the opinion of the majority of citizens. Ishkhan Tovmasian,
the executive secretary of the social union “The National Values
Protection Alliance”, expressed this opinion at the first congress
of the union on August 16. According to him, the Council of Europe
often imposes such decisions that are alien to the nature of the
Armenian people. The speaker noted that the main objective of
the alliance is to protect the national values, and this idea was
born from a desire to withstand the negative consequences of the
widespread privatization. In this connection I. Tovmasian said
that even facilities of strategical importance were alienated in
Armenia. In his words, an important guarantee of the national values’
protection is adopting the appropriate law, with its draft being
currently developed by the alliance. I. Tovmasian stated that the
newly established alliance will participate in the elections to
the local self-government bodies and the presidential elections,
nominating its candidates and supporting most worthy of them, as
well as struggling for the international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide and the independent NKR. More than 40 NGOs, compatriot unions,
philannthropic organizations and 538 individuals have been united in
“The National Values Protection Alliance”.

GROUP OF ITALIAN SCIENTISTS DEVELOPS PROGRAM-BID TO PROMOTE TOURISM
IN SHIRAK MARZ
YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, NOYAN TAPAN. A group of lecturers, post-graduate
students and students from Carlo Cataneo University (Italy), headed
by Prof. Dipak Pant have developed a program-bid for promoting
tourism in rural areas of Shirak marz. Prof. Pant stated at the
August 16 press conference that in the event of receiving the Armenian
government’s approval and funds being made available, the program will
be implemented in the next three years. The Italian scientist said they
had chosen Shirak marz for the reason that it is famous for its nature
and many cultural and historical monuments. In his opinion, Armenia
has prospects for its tourism development. The Italian scientists
conducted their studies in July and August with the financial
assistance of the Italian Foreign Ministry and the Armenian government.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH CITIZEN FOUND GUILTY AND RELEASED IN COURTROOM
YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, NOYAN TAPAN. The court of first instance
of Yerevan’s Malatia-Sebastia community (chaired by Judge Karen
Farkhoyan) made on August 16 a decision, according to which Ektan
Turkyilmaz, a Turkish citizen, was sentenced to two years’ conditional
imprisonment with one year’s probation without supervision. The court
ruled that material evidence containing 88 items of literature shall be
handed over to the Republic of Armenia. The court found E. Turkyilmaz
guilty of smuggling and attempted smuggling. In his indictment, the
prosecutor Koryun Piloyan asked to impose a punishment not related to
imprisonment – 1 mln drams (about 2.3 thousand dollars) in fine and
confiscation of the books as material evidence. On the contrary, the
defence took the view that the acuused must be acquited of smuggling
charge in the absence of crime. To recap, according to the indictment,
the accused, aided by his sister, smuggled Ghevond Alishan’s book
“Sisvan and Cilicia: Levon Metsagorts” out of Armenia. As regards
attempted smuggling, the defence asked the court to impose a punishment
not related to imprisonment – without confiscation of the seized
items. The Turkish citizen may appeal against the court decision to
the RA Appeal Court on Criminal and Military Cases within 15 days.

Why Turkey is not in US plans
By Burak Bekdil
Kathimerini English Edition
Tuesday August 16, 2005
Ankara has little relevance within emerging energy map of world and
Washington’s intentions to shape it
For over half a century the USA has deemed Turkey a staunch ally. The
end of the Cold War sealed the beginning of the end of the once-solid
alliance.
Since the start of the Iraq war, there has been every indication of
mutual mistrust, as well as a visible decay in bilateral ties.
It’s perhaps too simplistic to blame the corrosion on Turkey’s refusal
to allow US troops to use Turkish soil as a launch pad for an attack
against Iraq. There are broader, more realistic (and less sentimental)
reasons why Turkey does not appear in American plans for the future.
The USA today cannot get any reading on the position of Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “unreadable” governance. They think the Turks
are keeping their cards “close to their chest.” Then again, to the
Turks the United States appears to be an object of hysterical fear and
hatred when viewed from the other side of the Atlantic. The new fight,
disguised as efforts to promote democracy in non-democratic states,
will be for energy.
Although the USA would welcome it if Turkey decided to participate
in Washington’s new war on terror at any level they wish, it is hard
to imagine, today, that the Americans want anything but amicable and
business-like relations with Turkey, and at a minimum.
According to well-informed US sources, Turkey has not exerted any
influence in Central Asia on behalf of the effort to support US
anti-terrorism operations and promote democratic reform. Turkey is
sympathetic to the Shanghai Group, which the US thinks solely exists
to advance Chinese and Russian interests against the allied efforts
to stabilize Central Asia.
There is much evidence that this seemingly new conceptual framework
for dealing with the Islamic fundamentalist movement will represent a
large change in how the US will do business around the world. There are
a number of important trends that must be combined into any foreign
policy strategy, and the new Pentagon formulation indicates a “sea
change” in US operations and incorporates these various trends.
The steady rise in energy prices is a trend that will probably continue
until most nations are flat on their backs. Oil should be at $70/bbl
by this winter. In 2006, one may look for prices in the $90 range,
and a deep worldwide depression should set in by 2008. The United
States is quite aware of this trend. Already, drastic conditions are
developing in numerous countries. Indonesia has a shortfall of 20
percent in oil usage which the US thinks is a disaster. The US is
having troubles on its southern border too.
Mounting pressure Mexico is a major source of oil for the US market
and has announced that its largest oil field, El Cantarell, has
reached its peak of production. That field accounts for 62 percent of
Mexican production and is now depleting at a rate of 14 percent per
year. Conservatively, the US absorbs approximately 3 million Mexican
refugees, and the pressure will probably increase.
The stability of China and its international intentions is a major
US preoccupation. Africa is collapsing, and the US intends to protect
the West African oil fields.
Europe, according to US sources, is disarming itself and is of little
to no use beyond its own borders. The US is currently withdrawing
the bulk of its armed forces back to US territory (two divisions are
returning from Germany, leaving only one brigade; three brigades are
returning from South Korea, and probably about 70-90,000 personnel
will withdraw from the Middle East by the end of 2006).
The era of the stabilizing influence of large numbers of US forces
stationed around the world is probably over. The USA is retrenching
and providing its main support to what it deems “reliable/democratic”
allies. And that would be Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Japan,
India and Israel. Otherwise, it is trying to reach out to nations
that wish to assist in anti-terrorist and stabilization efforts on
their own behalf. Turkey does not appear to be in either group.
Also, the US thinks certain places must be protected one way or another
without fail. These are the critical geopolitical pressure points:
that would be Egypt, the Malacca Strait, Panama, the Horn of Africa,
South Africa, US territorial waters and approaches.
Access to Middle Eastern oil is extremely important, but not as
important as one might expect. If it comes to priorities, says one
US expert, and it soon will, West Africa, Mexico, the North Sea,
Trinidad, Canada, Australia, and Japan are more important than what
the United States is doing in the Middle East today.
“Now,” the expert says, “if we had reliable allies in Europe and
Turkey, things would look differently. That is not the case. So,
at some point, the problem will belong to Europe and Turkey without
major US participation. If you want oil and stability, you go get it.”
He continues, “Frankly, with oil at $90-150 a barrel and even more,
Kurdish Iraq, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and the Azeris may be more important
than Turkey.
In a world of extremely high-priced oil and diminishing supplies,
who knows, even Turkey might find that its eastern provinces are a
bigger liability than they are worth.”
All that should ring alarm bells in Ankara. It may, soon. But there
is little Turkey can do in an emerging energy map of the world and
US intentions to shape it – especially at a time when the Americans
think Turkey has been cast adrift by US policy.

MCC approves compact aimed at reducing poverty, stimulating growth
USINFO.STATE.GOV
16 August 2005
The Bush administration’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has
approved a five-year, $295.3 million agreement with Georgia that aims
Georgia To Receive Over $295 Million in Millennium Aid Fundingto reduce
poverty and stimulate economic growth in the regions outside of Tbilisi, the
country’s capital.
The agreement — called a compact – is based on proposals developed by the
government of Georgia. It focuses on rehabilitating regional infrastructure
and promoting private sector development, according to an MCC statement
issued August 16. The compact is expected to be signed in September.
The funding will support improvements to roads, a gas pipeline and other
infrastructure; an investment fund to provide risk capital for small and
medium-sized enterprises; and grants and technical assistance for farmers
and agribusinesses.
“Georgia’s proposal was truly a homegrown effort,” said MCC Vice President
Charles Sethness. “They had a vision for reducing poverty and submitted a
thoughtful, results-oriented program to execute that vision. This Compact
is a testament to Georgia’s commitment to development.”
In March 2002, President Bush proposed a “new compact for global
development,” which linked greater contributions from developed nations to
greater responsibility from developing nations. The mechanism to implement
this compact is the Millennium Challenge Account program, under which
development assistance is provided to those countries that rule justly,
invest in their people, and encourage economic freedom. The Millennium
Challenge Corporation was established on January 23, 2004, to administer the
MCA.
For additional information on the MCC and compacts that have already been
signed with Madagascar, Cape Verde, Honduras and Nicaragua, see Millennium
Challenge Account.
Following are an MCC press release and a fact sheet:
Millennium Challenge Corporation
August 16, 2005
MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION BOARD APPROVES $295.3 MILLION COMPACT WITH
GEORGIA
Washington, D.C. -The United States, through the Millennium Challenge
Corporation, has approved a five-year $295.3 million Compact with Georgia.
The Millennium Challenge Compact aims to reduce poverty and stimulate
economic growth in the regions outside of Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, where
more than 50 percent of rural households live below the poverty line. By
focusing on rehabilitating regional infrastructure and promoting private
sector development, the program will directly benefit approximately a
half-million Georgians. In addition, over one quarter of the population of
the country will receive indirect benefits from the program; for example,
the reliable transmission of gas will reduce environmental, health, and
safety risks.
“Congratulations to the people and Government of Georgia for developing an
integrated program targeted at helping the regional poor,” said MCC Vice
President Charles Sethness. “Georgia’s proposal was truly a homegrown
effort. They had a vision for reducing poverty and submitted a thoughtful,
results-oriented program to execute that vision. This Compact is a
testament to Georgia’s commitment to development. MCC looks forward to
building on our partnership with the people of Georgia to ensure that they
have the tools needed to lift themselves out of poverty.”
The Millennium Challenge Corporation anticipates signing the Compact with
Georgia in September. In addition to approving a Compact with Georgia, MCC
has signed Compacts with Madagascar, Cape Verde, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
MCC is also actively engaging with other Millennium Challenge Account
eligible countries.
Launched by President Bush, the Millennium Challenge Account is a historic
approach to development assistance that recognizes sound policies and good
governance are critical to poverty reduction and economic growth in
developing countries.
—–
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government corporation
designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world, is based
on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces good
governance, economic freedom, and investments in people that promote
economic growth and elimination of extreme poverty.
GEORGIA AND MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION: BUILDING A PARTNERSHIP FOR
POVERTY REDUCTION THROUGH SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH
The Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) Board of Directors has approved
a five-year, $295.3 million Compact with Georgia.
In Georgia, 54 percent of the population living outside of the capital city,
Tbilisi, lives in poverty. The Georgians identified two barriers to poverty
reduction and economic growth in the regions outside of Tbilisi — a lack of
reliable infrastructure and the slow development of businesses, particularly
agribusiness. To address these impediments, the people of Georgia, through
a broad consultative process, developed a program focused on rehabilitating
regional infrastructure and enterprise development.
The two projects complement one another by facilitating economic growth.
The first enables agricultural and other suppliers to more easily connect
with consumers and the second facilitates access to capital for business
development. These projects will improve the lives of the Georgian poor by
helping them to integrate economically through improved access to jobs and
markets, by providing more reliable access to basic services such as heat
and electricity, and by providing capital and technical assistance for
enterprise development.
Regional Infrastructure Rehabilitation
The Regional Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project of the Compact totals
$211.7 million and includes the following three activities:
— Samtskhe-Javakheti (S-J) Road Rehabilitation – The $102.2 million
activity will fund rehabilitation and construction of approximately 245
kilometers of main road traversing the S-J region.
— Energy Rehabilitation – The $49.5 million activity will be used to
rehabilitate the North-South Gas Pipeline that fuels electric power
generation and provides heat to homes and businesses, and to further develop
and implement the Georgian government’s energy sector strategy.
— Regional Infrastructure Development Facility – The $60 million activity
will fund regional and municipal physical infrastructure for water supply,
sanitation, irrigation, municipal gasification, roads and solid waste in
regions outside of Tbilisi.
Enterprise Development
The Enterprise Development Project of the Compact totals $47.5 million and
includes the following two activities:
— Georgia Regional Development Fund – The $32.5 million activity will fund
a professionally and independently managed investment fund to provide
long-term risk capital and technical assistance to SMEs [small and
medium-sized enterprises], primarily in the regions outside of Tbilisi, and
will identify legal and policy reforms needed to improve the investment
environment.
— Agribusiness Development Assistance – The $15 million activity will be
used for technical assistance and grants to farmers and agribusinesses that
supply agricultural products to the domestic market.
Program Administration
Program Administration and Control will cost $27.6 million and Monitoring
and Evaluation will cost $8.4 million.
The Millennium Challenge Compact with Georgia is expected to improve the
lives of the rural poor in the following ways.
— Reduce the incidence of poverty in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region by 12
percent.
— Benefit approximately a half-million Georgians, and over one-quarter of
the population of the country will receive indirect benefits from the
program.
— Reduce average travel time from regional areas to Tbilisi –currently
6.5 hours — almost three hours or 43% percent, thereby reducing
transportation costs for farmers, for small business owners, and for
Georgians needing access to social services.
— Reduce the risk that a major accident will occur due to the gas
pipeline’s dilapidated condition. The completed rehabilitation of the gas
pipeline will provide reliable heat and electricity to over one million
Georgians.
The Compact is expected to be signed in September.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: )

You Appreciate Your Own Country in a Foreign Land
HETQ ONLINE – [August 8, 2005]
“There are between 40 and 50 thousand Armenians in Greece , 16-17
thousand of which are Greek-Armenians born here. The rest are people
who have come from Armenia over the last ten or fifteen years.” This
we were told by Hovsep Parazian, the editor-in-chief of Azat Or,
the official newspaper of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF/Dashnaktsutiun), when we met with him in Athens . No one knows
exactly how many Armenians there are among the one million immigrants
in Greece today. “Many people come and move to the islands to work;
they aren’t registered anywhere,” said David Aivazian, editor of the
newspaper that the Hayastan Social-Cultural Center of Athens puts out.
The Armenian community in Greece is not united; like Diasporan
communities elsewhere, it is divided along party lines, Church
affiliation (subordinated to Echmiadzin or Antelias), and
Hayastantsi-Hunastantsi identification.
[IMAGE]
“The problem that our compatriots who have recently arrived have
is that they haven’t been able to find their place within Armenian
circles, clubs, and unions. In the Diaspora everything is partisan
– you either belong to one of the parties or you’re isolated. The
Antelias See implemented a policy of not accepting newcomers,
especially regarding children – they would not accept children into
their schools. A large number of children couldn’t go to Armenian
schools, so they went to Greek schools. The boarding schools run
by the Dashnaktsutiun party or the Ramkavar party had the potential
to accommodate the children from Armenia but they didn’t do so. And
this is how the children from Armenia are becoming Greek. The party
bureaucrats say that by not helping them, they encourage people who
have come from Armenia to go back. But the problem is that if they
can’t settle here [in Athens ], the newcomers go to the islands,
where no one can keep track of them. And if they left Armenia it
means that they had problems there, doesn’t it?” Aivazian said.
I’m in Armenia
There are three places in the city where you can encounter Armenians –
Ramkavars get together at the offices of the Ramkavar-Azatakan Party,
Dashnaks at the offices of the ARF, and people who have no without
party affiliation at the Hayastan Social-Cultural Center .
The ARF is the strongest group here, and no doubt aware of its
position, has little contact with the Ramkavars or non-partisan
Armenians. “They don’t even invite us to their events, or their
holiday celebrations,” said the regulars at the Hayastan Center .
The Ramkavars have a three-storey office building in one of the
central districts of Athens , which also houses the editorial offices
of their party organ Nor Ashkhar. According to Armenians from Armenia
, the building’s large playground, its state-of-the-art gym, and
its well-equipped music club, are almost always empty, and newly
arrived young people are not invited to use them. Two members of the
party, Comrade Sargis and Comrade Hakob, complained to us about the
indifference of Armenian youths toward the party, and political and
national problems. The Ramkavars were aware that generational change,
revitalizing its ranks with young, people, particularly from Armenia,
was a big problem for the party, but they also admitted that they
were doing little to address it.
[IMAGE]
For Minas Minasyan, who came from Armenia to Athens with his family in
1996, the Hayastan Center represents the only possibility of remaining
Armenian and maintaining contact with Armenia. “They didn’t admit my
son into the Armenian school; they said they had no room.
But there were places in both the Dashnak school and the Ramkavar
school. I was forced to send him to a Greek school,” he said. His
son, Karapet, has adapted to this society and has no intention of
returning to Armenia . “I might move to the US from here to devote
myself to professional music, but I doubt I’ll go to Armenia -or if
I do, I’ll go as a tourist,” Karo said.
Minasyan and David Aivazyan founded the Hayastan Social-Cultural
Center in 2000. “I had just come from Iran ,” Aivazyan recalled. The
main problem that our newly arrived compatriots had was that they
had no place within Armenian circles, clubs, unions. Wham they first
arrive, they don’t have residence permits or jobs, they don’t know
the language, they’re isolated and hanging in the air. We saw their
problems; they were in a crazy situation. At the same time, there were
students from Armenia who had come through the interstate students’
exchange agreement who faced similar problems. Nobody met them when
they arrived, they didn’t know how to get to the university. We met
with some of these boys who are now back in Armenia . They tried
several times to establish contacts with some Armenian circles here,
to found a students’ union of local Armenians, but they didn’t succeed,
since they were told from the very beginning that they had to join
a political party.
“So we got together with our compatriots working here and decided to
create this center to assist newly arrived Armenians. At that time,
many young women were coming here and marrying Greeks just to get the
necessary papers. The students built this center, voluntarily, without
any pay. The main assistance was provided by those Greek-Armenians
who are cut from the local politicized and partisan community. Many
of them don’t even speak Armenian, but are constantly making donations
to the center.”
[IMAGE]
In 2000, the center began publishing its newspaper, Hayastan, which
mainly provides information about Armenia and has a circulation of
about 1,500. The center offers Armenian, Greek and English language
courses for children free of charge, with the help of students and
teachers who have come from Armenia to live permanently in Greece
They run an Armenian Sunday school as well. Parents and teachers
organize. performances and holiday festivities for the children.
Marietta , a teacher from Vanadzor came to Athens nine years ago;
she subsequently brought her only daughter, and then, two years ago,
she brought her father and mother to live with her as well. She teaches
Armenian language and history at the Hayastan Center on Sundays. On
weekdays Armenians from Armenia gather at the center at 8 p.m. to learn
about each other’s “Armenian and Greek” worries and problems, and to
exchange news and information from the homeland. Every conversation
here turns to Armenia.
“Now when people phone each other and ask: `Where are you?’ the
answer is. `In Armenia ‘ We’ve created a little Armenia here. And
we have one principle – we won’t allow the center to be politicized,
to become partisan,” David Aivazyan said.
One day, we’ll all go home
[IMAGE]
“It’s hard for an artist to leave his country at 40 and to create
an environment in a new place. It’s like uprooting a tree,” said
Armen Gizgizyan, a painter. He, his wife, and their two children left
Armenia to live in Athens temporarily in 2001. “At first we decided to
come here for six months, to save some four or five thousand dollars
and go home. At that time, 2001, $ 5,000 was quite a sum. I could
at least solve my family problems, and I wouldn’t have to sell my
paints or melt high-voltage cable for 2,000 drams (about $4) a day
to buy a little bread, and to go to the Vernissage on weekends to
sell some paintings. If I had earned $200 a month in Yerevan at that
time I would have stayed there. Now I earn 1,500 Euros a month here,
though I still don’t live normally; I pay my bills every month and
send a little bit of money to Armenia.
[IMAGE]
“I dream about stabilizing my financial situation and going back,
because I’m getting tired… I’m tired of being alone. There’s no on
here of my color to relate to, to curse your fate, to just sit with,
without talking. Because I grew up in another environment, it’s like
cutting a person from his roots and bringing him here. Now you can
say: no one brought you here by force, you came yourself. There are
so many tens of thousands of Armenians with a status like mine.
People look at them and say, they are traitors, they left their
fatherland. But I assure you that many of the people who are living
in a foreign land deserved to be called Armenian much more than the
people doing the talking,” Gizgizyan said.
“True, an Armenian is first of all a person who lives in the
homeland, but you appreciate your own country when you’re in a
foreign land. Perhaps the people of Armenia should be taken to another
place to live for a few years to understand what their homeland is,
then be brought back in order to live with each other with love and
without grievance.”
All the Armenians from Armenia we met in Athens dreamed of returning to
Armenia, but few of them saw it as a real possibility. “The problem is
that the children are growing up here and it’s hard to imagine their
future in Armenia. If I take my son there, how is he going to fit in
with the kids there? My children don’t even understand Armenian jokes
now. In Yerevan they would say, who is this fool? This is one of my
biggest problems, one that really upsets me, that my child will be
like a Diasporan in Armenia. I’m from Yerevan, and my child will be
a stranger in Armenia.”
Liana Sayadyan, Edik Baghdasaryan
Athens-Yerevan

Poll Shows Turks Dislike al-Qaeda, But Blame Bush for Terror
A survey conducted throughout Turkey shows little of no support for
al-Qaeda and its methods, but ironically, 54% say Bush is ‘the number
one guilty party’ for terrorism, while only 22% blame Osama bin Laden
Sabah (Turkish daily newspaper)
August 7, 2005
Ninety-one percent (91%) of the Turkish public expressed a negative
opinion about the al-Qaeda organization, known for its terrorist
operations.
A poll conducted by the International Strategic Research Organization
(ISRO) under the coordination of Director Sedat Laciner and Ihsan
Bal revealed that none of the participants said, “I am happy with
al-Qaeda’s attacks” nor did any say, “al-Qaeda defends Muslim rights.”
The survey entitled “Perception of Terrorism” was conducted with
2,500 participants in Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Adana and Bursa.
Only 4% perceive al-Qaeda’s attacks as “jihad,” and 5% think the
network fights for independence. Thirty-four percent of Turkish
society thinks al-Qaeda harms Muslims, while 57% says its attacks
are acts of terrorism.
Those “ashamed as a Muslim of al-Qaeda’s attacks” were recorded at
18% and 31% say they are worried about the world’s future. Eighteen
percent think Muslims are humiliated by the al-Qaeda attacks, and
those saying, “I am happy with its attacks” was recorded at 0%.
Ninety percent say the bombing attacks that occurred in London,
Madrid and Egypt were “unfair,” while only 3% supported the fairness
of the attacks.
In response to the question, “Why did al-Qaeda attack Istanbul?,” 40%
said, “Because Turkey is the best alternative to al-Qaeda.” However,
36% said, “Because Turkey is a Western ally.”
U.S. President George W. Bush is shown as the number one guilty
party for terrorism, at 54%. Twenty-two percent indicated Sharon, 17%
indicated al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and 4% indicated British
Prime Minister Tony Blair as being most responsible.
Sixty-six percent of participants blamed U.S. Middle East policy
as the cause of global terrorism, yet 20 percent pointed to the
inequality in income distribution and economic problems as the prime
cause for terror.
Only four percent of the Turkish public links terror with religion.

Azeri minister says peace deal with Armenia not to be reached “soon”
MPA news agency
16 Aug 05
Baku, 16 August: [Azerbaijani] Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
has ruled out the possibility that an agreement may soon be signed
with Armenia over [disputed region of] Nagornyy Karabakh despite the
predictions by some US experts. “Azerbaijan and Armenia have not yet
reached the level of signing a document,” he said.
Mammadyarov’s meeting with his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanyan has
been postponed till 24 August, as the council of CIS foreign ministers
will convene in Moscow on 23 August. The two ministers will head for
Kazan [Russia’s central republic of Tatarstan] following the meeting
on the same day, Mammadyarov said.
The sides will try to formulate a common concept of how to settle
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. Mammadyarov said that seven to
nine elements of the settlement were on the agenda of the talks
with Armenia.
“Our first priority is to restore Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity
and to have refugees return to their native lands,” Mammadyarov
stressed.

Black box of crashed Cyprus airliner missing recording device, investigator says
By PATRICK QUINN
AP Worldstream; Aug 16, 2005
The search for the causes of a Cypriot airline crash that left all 121
people aboard dead suffered a setback Tuesday when an investigator
said one of the two black boxes _ the cockpit voice recorder _ was
not found intact.
Akrivos Tsolakis, the head of the Greek airline safety committee,
said the device was ejected from its cover when the plane crashed
into a mountainous region north of Athens on Sunday.
“The only fortunate event in the investigation is that we have the
flight data recorder that will be sent at all costs to France for
decoding,” Tsolakis said, adding that the box would be flown to Paris
on Wednesday.
Investigators would be searching for the voice recorder’s
mechanism. American experts were assisting, including a representative
of the plane’s manufacturer, he said.
“It a terrible accident that is indescribable and was unforeseen,”
Tsolakis said. “It is an airplane that is spread out over an area
that covers mountains plains and hills. The pieces are spread out
all over. We have found the basic pieces of the plane.”
Tsolakis also confirmed that the bodies of the Cypriot co-pilot and a
flight attendant were found next to the wreckage of the cockpit. “They
were found very close,” he said, but would not comment further while
the investigation was ongoing.
Athens’ chief coroner Fillipos Koutsaftis said autopsies conducted
on the first six bodies identified showed they had been alive when
the jetliner crashed.
“Our conclusion is they had circulation and were breathing at the
time of death,” Koutsaftis said late Monday.
But he could not rule out that they were unconscious when the Helios
Airways Boeing 737-300, with six crew and 115 passengers, plunged
10,400 meters (34,000 feet) into a mountainous area near the village
of Grammatiko, 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Athens.
By Tuesday morning, Koutsaftis and his team of coroners had carried
out about 13 autopsies, including a flight attendant, but had released
results only from the first six. They were preparing to examine the
body of co-pilot Pambos Haralambous.
In Cyprus, police raided the offices of Helios Airways in the coastal
city of Larnaca, near the international airport.
A search warrant was issued “to secure … documents and other evidence
which could be useful for the investigation into possible criminal
acts,” Cyprus’ deputy presidential spokesman Marios Karoyian said.
Investigators also were trying to determine why the pilot was not in
his seat shortly before the crash.
The pilots of two Greek air force F-16 fighter planes scrambled to
intercept the plane after it lost contact with air traffic control
shortly after entering Greek airspace said they saw the co-pilot
slumped over the controls. The pilot did not appear to be in the
cockpit, and oxygen masks were seen dangling in the cabin.
The fighter jet pilots also saw two people possibly trying to take
control of the plane; it was unclear if they were crew members or
passengers.
The plane might have run out of fuel after flying for nearly three
hours on autopilot, air force officials said, asking not to be named
in line with Greek practice.
After the crash, authorities said it appeared to have been caused by
a technical failure _ resulting in high-altitude decompression. The
airliner’s pilots had reported air conditioning system problems to
Cyprus air traffic control about a half-hour after takeoff, and Greek
state TV quoted Cyprus’ transport minister as saying the plane had
decompression problems in the past.
But a Helios representative said the Boeing 737-300, manufactured in
1998 and operated by Deutsche BA until April 2004, had “no problems
and was serviced just last week.”
Searchers were still looking for three bodies, including the plane’s
German pilot, fire officials said. Cypriot authorities identified
him as Marten Hans Jurgen, 50, from Berlin.
A German Foreign Ministry spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity
in line with German practice, identified one pilot as a 58-year-old
German but would not give his full name. There was no immediate
explanation for the age discrepancy. Greek and Cypriot authorities
often list surnames before given names, and Hans-Juergen would likely
be the pilot’s first name.
In Berlin, police were guarding the house at the address where
the Cypriot government said the pilot lived _ a gray stucco house
surrounded by a tidy, tree-filled garden in a quiet neighborhood near
the Schoenefeld airport. The name on the mailbox said Merten. Neighbors
said his first name was Hans-Juergen and said he was a pilot in his
50s, but gave no other details.
There were other unanswered questions about the pilot, including
how long he had worked for Helios. “I don’t remember the exact date
of his employment,” Helios General Manager Andreas Drakos said at a
news conference.
A passenger list showed there had been 20 children under the age of 16
on board. At least 10 families with children were among the dead. The
passengers and crew included at least 12 Greeks and the German pilot,
and a four-member family of Armenian origin. The rest were Cypriot.

Azeri court releases would-be Karabakh guerrilla
Yeni Musavat, Baku
16 Aug 05
Text of unattributed report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat
on 16 August headlined “One more ‘Karabakh guerrilla released” and
subheaded “The cases of 12 people will be reconsidered on 30 August”
One more “Karabakh guerrilla”, Ilqar Ibrahimov, has been released
from jail under a Supreme Court ruling, the chairman of the Karabakh
Liberation Organisation (KLO), Akif Nagi, has told APA.
Nagi said eight of the jailed 21 “Karabakh guerrillas” have already
been released. But the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling
on [one of the would be guerrillas] Adalat Aga. He will serve his
imprisonment term until the end, Nagi said.
The Supreme Court is going to consider the cases of the remaining 12
prisoners on 30 August.