AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Aug 4 2005
ISRAEL SUPPORTS TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF AZERBAIJAN
[August 04, 2005, 23:08:56]
Ambassador of Israel to Azerbaijan Eitan Naye has held a press
conference at the International Press Center in Baku on completion
of his diplomatic Activity in the country
He expressed deep satisfaction with his work in Baku and cooperation
with the government of Azerbaijan.
He dwelt on political, economic and cultural cooperation between
Azerbaijan and Israel describing it as successfully enhancing.
Touching on the Azerbaijan-Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
he sated his country was a supporter of peaceful settlement of the
problem on base of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
“Israel’s stance is unchangeable in this relation,” he said.
In the end, Mr. Naye thanked the leadership of Azerbaijan and the
people of the country for assistance during his tenure, shared his
personal impressions of Azerbaijan, and answered questions from
journalists.

Azerbaijani Youth Opposition Leader Arrested in Alleged Coup Plot
Agence France Presse
Aug 4 2005
05/08/2005 00:47
BAKU, Aug 4 (AFP) – A youth opposition leader in former Soviet
Azerbaijan has been arrested for planning to overthrow the government
in a plot allegedly hatched by the US’ National Democratic Institute
(NDI), Armenian secret police and the local opposition, prosecutors
said late Thursday.
Ruslan Bashirli, the charismatic leader of the Yeni Fikir youth
movement which has called for President Ilham Aliyev’s ouster,
was arrested on charges of attempting “to take power by force,”
the General Prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
Bashirli was arrested on Wednesday after a member of Yeni Fikir
informed the authorities that the group’s leader had taken 2,000
dollars (1,600 euros) from operatives of Azerbaijan’s rival Armenia
at a secret meeting in neighboring Georgia, the statement said.
Bashirli told the Armenians he represented forces “acting on the
instructions of the National Democratic Institute of the USA,” and
had received “specific instructions from representatives of this
organization to prepare a revolution in Azerbaijan,” according to
the statement.
NDI is a US non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting
democracy in developing countries, but has been criticized by
regimes in the former Soviet Union who accuse it of supporting the
revolutions that have swept Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan over the
past two years.
Prosecutors also said Bashirli’s plans were being backed by one
of Azerbaijan’s leading opposition parties, the National Front of
Azerbaijan Party.
Azerbaijan recently relaxed a crackdown on the opposition after
heavy Western pressure, allowing anti-government groups to openly
demonstrate this summer for the first time since 2003.
The new arrest raises concerns that the oil-rich state will clamp
down on opposition activity again ahead of parliamentary elections
scheduled for November.

Daily Press Briefing
U.S. Department of State
Tom Casey, Acting Spokesman
Washington, DC
August 2, 2005
INDEX:
TURKEY
Support for Turkey’s EU Bid
Terrorist Organization PKK
U. S. Relationship with Turkey
CYPRUS
U. S. Position on Cyprus / Annan Plan / Flights from Azerbaijan /
Easing of Economic Isolation for Turkish Cypriots
AZERBAIJAN
Secretary Rice’s Meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs
QUESTION: France has reported to have said, Turkey, can I get into
the EU until it ends its occupation of Cyprus. Are you on the same
page with the French on that?
MR. CASEY: Well, Barry, I think —
QUESTION: I know it’s a European grouping, but you can have an opinion.
MR. CASEY: Well, I think as you know, Barry, we have a longstanding
history of support for Turkey’s EU bid. We continue to support Turkey’s
goal of acceding to the EU. Although, of course, we aren’t a member
of the EU and this certainly is a decision for the European Union
itself to make.
With regard to Cyprus. As our friend Mr. Lambros certainly knows,
our policy on this is well known. We have not changed our views on
that. We certainly want to see a resolution of the differences on
Cyprus resolved. And we still believe that the way forward on that
is under the basis of the Annan plan and what we’re working for in
Cyprus right now is for both sides to come back to the Secretary
General in response to his suggestion that they come up with some
ideas for how to move that process forward.
QUESTION: Well, the stalemate continues. The troops remain. It sounds
as if the French have another approach that might move things along
they hope, I suppose. The U.S. is just going to wait for the two
sides to get together again, right?
MR. CASEY: Well, Barry, I mean, I think we need to remember where
this process was. The Annan plan went forward. It was voted on by
both communities on Cyprus. Because one community rejected that plan,
that was what we frankly thought was a positive, good plan and an
opportunity to resolve the issue. At this point, conversations continue
between the Secretary General, between his representatives and leaders
in Cyprus. We certainly have our contacts with both communities as
well. And again, what we are doing is encouraging them to respond
to the Secretary General’s offer to come up with some suggestions to
move forward. But at this point, it’s up to those parties to try and
respond to those proposals and see how we can move forward.
QUESTION: On Cyprus?
MR. CASEY: On Cyprus? Sure.
QUESTION: Azerbaijan has recently opened the flights to the northern
part of the island and the Greek side is very dissatisfied. They’re
threatening with retaliation of opening flights to the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan. Where does the U.S. stand on all of this?
MR. CASEY: Well, I really don’t have anything for you on the specific
flights. That’s obviously a bilateral issue. And I’d leave it to
the Azeri Government to comment on it. I think you know our policy
is that we continue to support the easing of the economic isolation
of the Turkish Cypriots and that’s the policy we’re pursuing with
response to the north.
QUESTION: A bilateral between who — Azerbaijan and —
MR. CASEY: And Cyprus.
QUESTION: The Government of Cyprus.
MR. CASEY: Yeah. It is not — it’s not an issue. It’s not an issue
for us.
QUESTION: But if the Government of Cyprus objects, where does that —
MR. CASEY: Again, I’d leave it to the Government of Azerbaijan,
the Government of Cyprus.
QUESTION: But you don’t mean bilaterally with Northern Cyprus?
MR. CASEY: No.
QUESTION: Okay.
QUESTION: (Off-mike).
MR. CASEY: Our position on Cyprus has not changed. Our position
on recognition has not changed. I think I anticipated the
question. (Laughter).
QUESTION: Mr. Casey, you have to clarify between the Government of
Cyprus and of Azerbaijan — or what? Between Azerbaijan and what?
MR. CASEY: Her question was that the Government of Azerbaijan has
instituted flights that other governments in the region have objected
to that. That is a matter between those other governments and the
Government of Azerbaijan to work out. I do not have an official
U.S. comment on it.
Let’s move around. Yeah.
QUESTION: Do you have anything on Secretary Rice’s meeting this
morning on Azerbaijani Foreign Minister?
MR. CASEY: I have a more of a preview than a readout. The meeting
was just concluding as I came out here. So in terms of the preview —
QUESTION: They’re going to (inaudible).
MR. CASEY: They were — what they were planning on talking about
was a number of bilateral issues. We certainly were going to thank
the Government of Azerbaijan for its assistance in the global war
on terror. Understand that Azerbaijan does have military forces in
Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo. We are also going to stress and talk
about the importance, as we always do in our conversations with the
Azeri Government, of the parliamentary elections in November and the
importance of those elections meeting international standards. And we
certainly expected the subject of Nagorno-Karabak to come up as well.
QUESTION: Interfax is quoting the Kyrgyz Government as saying
Secretary of State Rice will travel to Bishkek to attend the August
14th inaugural. And I know how reluctant she is to travel, but is
it possible she might be going there for the inaugural and combine
it with a vacation, possibly?
(Laughter.)
MR. CASEY: Well, I don’t have any announcements to offer you in terms
of travel, Barry, but I’m unaware of any plans for her to travel at
this time.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Did Miss Joaquim find it or breed it?
By Ng Tze Yong
Electric New Paper, Singapore
Aug 5 2005
WHO would have thought the national flower – Vanda Miss Joaquim –
would be at the centre of a controversy spanning 40 years and several
countries?
Agnes Joaquim.
And it all has to do with the romantic version of how the flower was
discovered.
The story goes like this:
One morning around the year 1890, Miss Agnes Joaquim had stepped into
the garden of her Tanjong Pagar house when she discovered, peeking
out from the middle of a bamboo clump, a little purple flower.
It was a beauty. Its broad round petals were rosy-violet and its
centre a fiery orange.
The 36 year-old Armenian woman, an avid horticulturist, was excited
because she had just discovered a new orchid hybrid.
The story is not true, say several academics and orchid buffs.
Miss Joaquim had herself raised the orchid, which became the national
flower in 1981.
In a telephone interview from Australia, Ms Nadia Wright, a historian
who researches the history of Armenians in Singapore, said:
‘The idea of Agnes finding the national flower of Singapore one
morning in a clump of bamboo is a pretty story. Unfortunately, it is
just a myth.’
To return credit to Miss Joaquim, she is writing a book to set out
her thesis.
The Armenian New Zealander’s previous book, Respected Citizens, is an
account of Armenians in Singapore.
RAISED DOUBTS
Mr Harold Johnson, 61, an orchid hobbyist for 30 years, raised
similar doubts.
‘The orchid could not have been found in a clump of bamboo. It is a
plant that grows only in direct sunlight with free air movement,’ the
tour guide at the Singapore Botanic Gardens said.
Mr Paul Johannes, the grandnephew of Miss Joaquim and her only living
descendant in Singapore, said: ‘Agnes was a renowned horticulturist.
It would be strange for her to ‘stumble’ upon the flower.’
In 1981, when the Vanda Miss Joaquim was selected as the national
flower, there was grumbling.
One journalist condemned it, giving his support to another orchid.
The Vanda Tan Chay Yan, he argued, had been developed by a ‘true son
of the soil’.
But Miss Joaquim was as Singaporean as anyone could be, her
supporters argued.
Miss Joaquim – like her mother – was born in Singapore, in 1853. Her
maternal grandfather had settled here in the 1820s.
The eldest daughter in her family, Miss Joaquim helped her mother
raise her 10 siblings after her father died.
She never married. She divided her time between the Armenian Church
of St Gregory on Hill Street and her garden in Tanjong Pagar.
It was at a flower show in 1899 that Miss Joaquim unveiled the Vanda
Miss Joaquim, possibly almost a decade after its discovery.
It won the $12 first prize for being the rarest orchid.
Suffering from cancer, Miss Joaquim died just three months later. She
was 45.
For the next 60 years or so, it was generally accepted that Miss
Joaquim had cultivated the flower.
In the 1960s, however, doubts arose.
Orchid experts questioned how someone in the 19th century could have
the skills to hybridise orchids.
Orchid cross-breeding is usually done by a method known as flasking.
Different orchid seeds are placed in a sterile flask and provided
with sugar and chemicals for germination to take place.
That’s a technique from the 1920s.
Miss Joaquim was also unable to verify which species was used as the
male in the hybridisation.
‘Orchid growers always keep detailed notes about their cultivations,’
said Mr Joseph Arditti, Professor Emeritus at the University of
California at Irvine in an e-mail interview.
The 73-year-old orchid expert jointly wrote Biology Of Vanda Miss
Joaquim, a book published by the National University of Singapore.
He pointed out that while Miss Joaquim did win many horticulture
prizes at flower shows, she had never been known to exhibit orchids.
THEORY GIVEN BOOST
By the time the Vanda Miss Joaquim was selected as the national
flower, it had come to be viewed as a natural hybrid.
The Straits Times praised it as the ‘first hybrid (orchid) found in
Singapore’, sighted in the garden of Miss Agnes Joaquim.
This theory was given a boost when Mr Basil Johannes, Miss Joaquim’s
nephew, was invited to Singapore for the launch of the national
flower.
In his speech, the 88-year-old recalled how his aunt found the flower
in a clump of bamboo.
But Ms Wright pointed out: ‘Basil was only 6 when Agnes died. I don’t
know how he remembered what his aunt told him.’
For Ms Wright, the historical evidence is clear.
In a letter to the premier horticulture journal Gardener’s Chronicle
in 1893, Mr Henry Ridley, then director of the Botanic Gardens, had
stated that Miss Joaquim bred the orchid herself.
Miss Joaquim would have been the first woman to breed an orchid
hybrid.
Singapore is the only country with an orchid hybrid as the national
flower.
‘The Vanda Miss Joaquim is a hybrid, just like Singapore is a
hybrid,’ said Mr John Elliott, president of the Orchid Society of
South-east Asia.
‘Our other national icon, the Merlion, is also a hybrid.
‘Miss Joaquim created something uniquely Singaporean,’ he added.
‘Our national flower was not created by a bee. It was a human
product, just like Singapore.’
,4136,92598,00.html

Artnet, NY
Aug 4 2005
Artnet News
Aug. 4, 2005
STEVEN VINCENT, 1956-2005
Steven Vincent, 49, art writer and reporter who had contributed to
Art + Auction magazine, Art in America and the New York Times, was
shot and killed after he was abducted in Basra in Iraq on July 2, 2005.
Steven Vincent was a noble, courageous soul and my close friend for
over a decade. Recruited by Bruce Wolmer, longtime editor of Art +
Auction magazine, Steve became a first-rate art journalist, whose
command of details in investigative pieces was second to none.
But 9/11 changed everything for Steve, a longtime resident of the
East Village. He was determined to go to Iraq in service to both
his country and to the truth. A classic liberal activist of the old
school, Steven spent three tours of journalistic duty in Iraq with
no protection other than his pen. For this he gave his life.
As other commentators more eloquent than I have pointed out, his op-ed
piece in the New York Times this past Sunday in which he questioned
the Shi’ite control of Basra led directly to his assassination. Of
Armenian descent, Steve was long attracted to the life and traditions
of the Middle East, writing about Shi’ite culture for Harper’s magazine
and many other publications.
His book In the Red Zone was a classic of naked on-the-ground
shoe-leather journalism.
Steve’s death has brought together many of his friends in the New
York art world, an intimate place in both joy and sorrow. The world
has lost a unique, stubborn, confrontational, intellectually curious
soul. May God grant him and his family grace.
— Charlie Finch

In a Ruined Country
How Yasir Arafat destroyed Palestine
The Atlantic Monthly
September 2005
by David Samuels
[The following are excerpts from the article]
..The war for Jerusalem that began after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud .
Barak’s failed peace offer at Camp David in the summer of 2000 has
become the subject of legends and fables, each one of which is colored
in the distinctive shades of the political spectrum from which it
emerged: Yasir Arafat tried to control the violence. Arafat was
behind the violence. Arafat was the target of the violence, which
he deflected onto the Israelis. Depending on which day of the week
it was, any combination of these statements might have been true…
..There is a school of opinion that blames Arafat’s personal hatred
of .
Barak for the intifada. When I try it out on Barak, he dismisses
the idea as irrational; yet as we talk, it is not hard to see why
so many people find him disconcerting. Barak has two distinct and
contradictory personalities. He combines the hyperactive, engaging
manner of the smartest ten-year-old boy on the planet with a cold,
analytical way of describing events that suggests the personality of
the computer HAL in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Oslo,
Barak believes, was a political adventure embarked on by Rabin,
who distrusted Arafat but saw a strategic need to reach a political
settlement with the Palestinians.
“What we had in mind all the time was that if you keep moving
toward a volcanic eruption of violence, as a result of being unable
to stretch reigning over the Palestinians for another generation,
we might end up with a tragedy,” Barak says, tugging at the collar
of his navy windbreaker. He recalls a meeting at the beginning of
the first intifada, chaired by Rabin, in which the Israeli defense
establishment confronted the nature of the rebellion and the range
of available solutions.
“We had a closed gathering of probably thirty people~Wthe top
brass of the defense ministry~Wwith Rabin, and he brought several
academics to talk about what they believed they were seeing,” Barak
remembers. “The first intifada was then two weeks old. And there was
a brilliant presentation made by Professor Shamir, and he talked
about the fifty precedents in the last century of such events. He
said that throughout history only three strategies came close to
being successful. None is relevant to our case. The strategies were
extermination, starvation, and mass transportation. We were targets
of extermination and the Armenians also, but it didn’t work. Biafra
was starvation, didn’t work. And he analyzed what would happen~Wit’s
a brilliant short presentation.”
As chief of the IDF general staff, and later as a minister in Rabin’s
cabinet, Barak talked to the prime minister about the problems with
the Oslo Accords very often, he says. “Many times I would ask Rabin,
Why did you give up on this or that? and he would say, ‘You know, Ehud,
we still have wide enough margins. The moment will inevitably come when
we’ll have to pass our judgment.’ Even at the time, we read Arafat’s
speeches to other audiences, in Johannesburg and other places, where
he would say, ‘Remember the false Hudna,'” Barak says, referring to a
deceptive treaty entered into by the prophet Muhammad. By the time he
became prime minister, Barak says, he found that a violent explosion
was imminent and the strategic situation was not in Israel’s favor.
“I felt in all my mature life that Israel from 1947 on could never
materialize any operational or military achievement unless we had
two preconditions fulfilled,” he explains. “One, that we occupied the
moral high ground in the world, the other that we kept our internal
unity. It was the case in 1947 exactly because Ben-Gurion was ready
to take an almost impossible international plan and agree to it, and
the Palestinians rejected it. Only the fact that Ben-Gurion accepted
it made it possible for Israel to hold to the results of the war for
fifty-seven years.”

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
08/04/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Turkey under Media Scrutiny for Attacks on US Genocide Resolution 2) Turkey, France Clash over Cyprus as EU Talks Loom 3) Secretary Rice Promises Increased US Effort in Karabagh Conflict 4) Two Reported Dead in Turkey Blast 1) Turkey under Media Scrutiny for Attacks on US Genocide Resolution Major Story in Vanity Fair, Report by Public Citizen Allege Unethical Conduct by the Turkish Government and its Allies WASHINGTON, DC (ANCA)--A major news magazine and a leading citizens~R group this week focused public attention on the unethical conduct of powerful opponents of legislation recognizing the Armenian genocide. In its September issue, Vanity Fair published a 10-page story on FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, who was fired after ~Sshe accused a colleague of covering up illicit activity involving Turkish nationals.~T According to the article by contributing editor David Rose, Edmonds claims FBI wiretaps reveal that the Turkish government and its allies boasted of bribing--with as much as $500,000--the Speaker of the House of Representatives as part of an alleged deal to stop consideration of the Armenian Genocide Resolution. The article cites accounts by Edmonds regarding FBI wiretaps of the Turkish Embassy and Turkish groups such as the American Turkish Council (ATC) and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), including, ~Srepeated references to Hastert~Rs flip-flop in the fall of 2000, over an issue which remains of intense concern to the Turkish government, the continuing campaign to have Congress designate the killings of Armenians in Turkey between 1915 and 1923 a genocide.~T Rose is careful to point out that ~Sthere is no evidence that any payment was ever made to Hastert or his campaign.~T According to the article, ~SHastert~Rs spokesman says the Congressman withdrew the genocide resolution only because of the approach from [President] Clinton, ~Qand to insinuate anything else just doesn~Rt make any sense.~R He adds that Hastert has no affiliation with the ATC or other groups reportedly mentioned in the wiretaps.~R~T The full article can be read in the September issue of Vanity Fair. In a separate development, CongressWatch, an arm of Public Citizen, recently released a 49-page report raising ethical concerns about lobbying by former Members of Congress. The report includes a 12-page case study of the Livingston Group~Rs lobbying efforts for the Turkish Government. The report details the efforts by Livingston Group founder, former House Appropriations Chairman Bob Livingston, to secure a ~S$1 billion supplemental appropriation for Turkey~Edespite that country~Rs refusal to allow US troops to use its soil as a staging area for the Iraq invasion. He also helped kill an amendment that would have formally recognized the Armenian genocide that occurred between 1915 and 1923. Turkey has always opposed this recognition.~T The Livingston Group has received over $9 million in payments from Turkey. The entire report can be read at: ~SThese behind-the-scenes accounts reveal a pattern of patently unethical and possibly even illegal conduct by the Turkish government and its allies in their efforts to oppose the Armenian Genocide Resolution,~T said Aram Hamparian, the executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America. ~SFacing growing bipartisan Congressional support for this legislation, these interests are resorting to increasingly desperate means to avoid the international isolation that Turkey will face following US recognition of the Armenian Genocide.~T In the months leading up the publication of these documents, the ANCA provided both Vanity Fair and Public Citizen with background materials, interviews, and first-hand accounts regarding Congressional efforts to recognize the Armenian genocide. 2) Turkey, France Clash over Cyprus as EU Talks Loom ANKARA (Reuters/Bloomberg)--Turkey and France clashed on August 4 over whether Ankara should recognize Cyprus, a European Union member, before it begins its own EU entry talks on October 3. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey could not accept any new conditions for opening the talks and that he was upset by comments from France that Ankara must first accept the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government. "It is out of the question for us to discuss or consider any new conditions with regards to October 3," Erdogan told reporters in televised comments. "We are saddened by the statements of the French prime minister and of President (Jacques) Chirac," he added. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said on August 2 it was "inconceivable" that Turkey start talks with the EU without recognizing one of its 25 member states, though he did not say if Paris would deploy its veto. Chirac has not publicly commented on Turkey's EU talks this week, but the French daily Le Figaro, quoting unnamed ministers, reported that the president told a cabinet meeting he agreed with his prime minister. Chirac's office declined to comment on the report. Chirac has traditionally backed Turkey's EU bid but now faces growing opposition among French voters to admitting the large, relatively poor, mainly Muslim country into the wealthy bloc. PRESSURE Maintaining pressure on Ankara, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy repeated Villepin's criticism on August 4. "Not wanting to recognize one country in the Union while wanting to join [is] not acceptable," Douste-Blazy told Le Monde newspaper in an interview. "We would like there to be an extensive discussion on this question within the EU," he added. Ankara recognizes only a breakaway Turkish Cypriot enclave in northern Cyprus. The island has been split along ethnic lines since Turkish troops invaded in 1974 after a brief Greek Cypriot coup backed by the military junta then ruling Greece. France can block the start of talks--as can Cyprus--as the 25 EU states must approve a negotiating mandate unanimously before they can begin. Villepin said France would decide its position after talks among EU foreign ministers in September. Turkey cleared the last formal hurdle to the start of its entry talks last Friday by signing a protocol extending its customs union to new EU members including Cyprus. However, Ankara also issued a declaration making clear the signing did not mean a change in its stance over the island, whose Greek Cypriot government is viewed in Brussels as the sole legitimate authority. Turkey says recognition can come only after a comprehensive peace settlement on the Mediterranean island. Ankara believes it has done all it can reasonably be expected to do about Cyprus by backing a UN-brokered peace deal last year which Turkish Cypriots also endorsed in a referendum. The plan was not supported by the Greek Cypriots. Despite the latest French comments, Erdogan said he was confident Turkey would begin entry talks on schedule. "We will start the negotiations on October 3. We think only of the negotiations," Erdogan said. The talks are expected to last many years and Turkey is not expected to join the EU before 2015 at the earliest. NOT EUROPEAN ENOUGH British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the current EU term president, advocates Turkish membership in the EU while politicians including Germany's Christian Democrats and Nicolas Sarkozy, leader of Chirac's ruling party, say it is not European enough to join in terms of geography, history and culture. Turkey won a date to start the accession process with the EU after its parliament passed laws strengthening the nation's democracy. A latest draft law on foundations has loopholes that fail to guarantee religious freedoms for non-Muslims in Turkey, European Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj told a Brussels press conference. While the legislation doesn't pose a new barrier to the start of EU membership talks, the commission has "expressed some concerns about the implication of this law on the non-Muslim community," Altafaj said. Turkey has promised to overhaul the law when parliament reconvenes in October, he added. 3) Secretary Rice Promises Increased US Effort in Karabagh Conflict WASHINGTON, DC (Combined Sources)--During his meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on Tuesday, Azerbaijan~Rs Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov discussed the Karabagh conflict, with Rice promising to boost US effort to make the regulation process more effective. Secretary Rice stressed that the US position on Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is unchanged. Mammadyarov was reportedly satisfied with the talks. The meeting also focused on bilateral and economic cooperation. Expressing satisfaction with the progress of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum projects, Rice commended Azerbaijan's leadership in the implementation of such global projects. Mammadyarov also met with Minsk Group's US co-chair Steven Mann. The conversation focused on the Karabagh peace talks on the eve of an unofficial CIS summit in the Russian town of Kazan, where the Armenian and Azeri presidents are expected to meet. Addressing representatives of the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce in the Washington based Azerbaijan Trade and Cultural Center on Wednesday, the Azeri foreign minister stressed the strategic importance of the Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi-Baku railway for the South Caucasus. Mammadyarov noted that not only would the railway promote economic development in the region, but would improve direct communication between Europe and Central Asia. During his visit, Mammadyarov held meetings at the Pentagon and National Security Council, and also met with representatives of the National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), and non-governmental organizations. According to Azertag newspaper, Mammadyarov spoke of the pre-election situation in Azerbaijan during the round table discussion. 4) Two Reported Dead in Turkey Blast ISTANBUL (CNN)--A couple leaving a wedding party was killed and five people were injured early Thursday when a trash bin exploded in the Pendik district of Istanbul, according to Turkey's state-run news agency Anatolia. The cause of the explosion, which occurred about 12:15 a.m., was not immediately known. No claim of responsibility had been issued early Thursday. The man and woman, Eda and Hatica Muslu, were getting into their car when the explosion occurred, according to the DAWN news network. Police, firefighters, and ambulance workers were at the scene, sifting through the wreckage of destroyed cars and helping the injured. On August 2, two explosions in trash bins wounded six people in the southern Turkish city of Antalya, a popular tourist resort, CNN Turk reported. Police said the first blast went off in a trash bin, wounding two municipal workers and a passerby. About five minutes later, another blast wounded two tourists and a resident of Antalya. Authorities have not explained the cause of the explosions, but bombs have been placed in trash cans in the past. Turkey has suffered a series of bomb blasts in recent months, mostly blamed on militant Kurdish separatists. Islamic militants and far-left radicals have also been behind bomb attacks in Turkey in the past, including in Istanbul. Five people were killed last month when a bomb struck a minibus in the popular Aegean resort of Kusadasi, an attack claimed responsible by Kurdish militants. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.

INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO NATIONAL MOTIVES OF DESTRUCTION OF ARMENIAN GRAVES IN SOCHI
PanArmenian News Network
Aug 4 2005
04.08.2005 02:40
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “I see no national component in the incident taken
place at the village cemetery July 29, 2005,” stated head of the
Baranovsky village district of Sochi city Ardavazd Peklivanyan at a
joint news conference with the Sochi Administration, law-enforcement
bodies and representatives of the Sochi branch of all-Russian NGO
Union of Armenians of Russia (UAR). As the Yerkramas newspaper of
Armenians of Russia reported referring to the Sochi Department
of Internal Affairs, Khosta district Administration Chief Igor
Seleznyov, Deputy Head of the Section of Internal Affairs of Khosta
district of Sochi, Criminal Police Chief, colonel Aleksandr Zhukov,
Chairman of the UAR Central District of Sochi branch Stepan Kagosyan,
Chairman of the UAR Khosta district of Sochi branch Oganes Chepnyan.
In the course of the news conference I. Seleznyov described the
circumstances of the event and evaluated it, saying, “29 gravestones
are destroyed at the cemetery of Verkhny Yurt village. Those, who
committed something of the king, have lost their human face. Things
like that should be punished. When they are found, they will be
shown on the local TV – Sochi residents should know these rogues
in the face.” He also said a special commission is formed to follow
the situation. No family, whose relatives’ monuments were destroyed,
will remain without attention. Assistance will be provided to them.
Aleksandr Zhukov informed those present about the investigation
course, “Practice shows most of crimes of the kind are committed
having hooligan motives. The criminals represent a group of minors or
young people as a rule. We have experience in revealing such crimes.
A similar one was committed this April at the Central district
cemetery. Those guilty are already charged at present. Proceedings
are instituted on the article 244 of the Criminal Code of the Russian
Federation. Police are now gathering information.” Mr. Zhukov also
noted that the Khosta Regional Section of Internal Affairs personnel
are involved in the search for the criminals. He emphasized that
the investigation revealed no national motives of the occurrence –
the cemetery is an ancient one, gravestones of not only Armenians,
but also Russians are demolished there. The word “schizophrenia”
written on the tombstones also evidences it. The investigators now
consider several versions. However two of these are the basic ones:
the crime was committed either by persons with mental disorder or
those with hooligan motives. When answering journalists’ question
A. Peklivanyan noted people of diverse nationalities and faith are
buried at the cemetery. He stated he did not see any indication of
national manifestation in the incident either. He also addressed the
families of the victims, asking to patiently wait for the outcomes
of the investigation. Mr. Peklivanyan also addressed the media,
asking not to use the incident to sow discord. Concluding his speech,
he said material assistance and moral support will be provided to
the families. S. Kagosyan and O. Chepnyan joined his request. They
also noted they do not see any nationalist signs in the incident and
promised support in restoration of the destroyed gravestones. “The
criminal does not have either a faith or nationality. Those, who
committed this crime should be correspondingly punished,” stated S.
Kagosyan. At the end of the news conference A. Zhukov addressed Sochi
residents, asking to report any information on the crime. The Sochi
Police will do its best to identify the criminals, he assured. It
should be reminded that unknown persons destroyed 29 gravestones at
a cemetery 5km away from Verkhny Yurt village of Khosta district of
Sochi. As we have reported earlier, most graves (28 out of the 29
according to the data available) belong to Armenians.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Aug 4 2005
AZERIS AND ARMENIANS BEST OF FRIENDS IN MOSCOW
National conflict is forgotten in a city where both Armenians and
Azerbaijanis feel like strangers.
By Samira Ahmedbeily and Elina Arzumanian in Moscow
“Your nationality doesn’t matter in Moscow,” said Agif Abdullaev, a
33-year-old Azerbaijani. “What matters is whether you are a local or
a visitor. Migrants here share one overriding concern: how to survive
in this giant city.”
Agif, an economics graduate, spent three years looking in vain for a
job at home, so he decided to move to Moscow and join the army of
market traders from the Caucasus. In 1998, he met and went into
business with Levon Arayan, an Armenian, at the Kuzminki market.
Although the two nations have been in conflict with one another over
the disputed territory of Nagorny Karabakh since 1988, Armenians and
Azerbaijanis in Moscow say they get along well with one another – and
often find they have much in common as Caucasians in the Russian
capital.
“I offered him my goods, and we did a deal and started doing business
together,” recalled Levon. “National hatred between our people is no
obstacle to business. We hardly ever talk about politics or Karabakh.
The whole thing was orchestrated by those in power. Regular people
like us have always been good neighbours.”
Levon joked, “What’s the use of that land [Karabakh] to Armenia
anyway? I think we should donate it to Azerbaijan in exchange for an
oilfield.”
“Levon is the only person I know who will always help me out in
emergency,” said Agif. “Once I had to scrape together 4,000 dollars.
He gave me the money, no questions asked. We really trust each other.
It’s hard to find someone you can trust in this day and age.”
His business partner chimed in, “I’ve borrowed large sums from Agif,
too. Our joint business has been very successful. We have recently
started a new project at the Tekstilshchiki market.”
The two men visit each other’s homes frequently – but only in Moscow.
Because of the unresolved Karabakh conflict, Agif cannot invite Levon
to Baku, while Levon thinks it would be too dangerous for Agif to
show up in his native Gyumri in Armenia. “I rarely go back there
myself,” said Levon. “It’s not fit for living in. I only go to see my
family there once a year, for three or four days.” Agif said he
travels to Baku quite often, but never tells his Azerbaijani family
about doing business with an Armenian.
If the 2002 census results are to be believed, there are 96,000
Azerbaijanis and 124,000 Armenians in Moscow, each group accounting
for about one per cent of the city’s population. However, most
observers think this is a gross underestimate.
Muscovites were never especially friendly to visitors from the
Caucasus, even in Soviet times. Now they are lumped together under
the pejorative tag of “persons of Caucasian nationality”. The
conflict in Chechnya has worsened Russians’ attitude towards people
from the region, and harassment and race attacks on southerners have
become commonplace.
This shared experience of xenophobia has brought Armenians and
Azerbaijanis closer together. But in many cases the partnership is of
longer standing, stemming from a shared background in the Azerbaijani
capital, Baku, which once had a large Armenian population of 200,000.
All but a handful of them left Baku between 1988 and 1990.
Edik Mirzoyan and Yashar Huseinov, an Armenian and Azerbaijani
respectively, run a flower stall at the entrance to the University
metro station. The two are childhood friends from Baku and have been
in business together for six years. Yashar trusts his partner more
than anyone else in the world. “Our business is quite recent, but
Edik and I go way back,” he said. “We’re childhood friends. That kind
of bond is stronger than money. We don’t care what goes on in and
around Karabakh,” he said.
“All my family are in Armenia, except my wife,” said Edik. “When she
gave birth, only Yashar’s wife Nargiz was here to help her. I will
never forget that.” The Armenian added, “It’s a pity that for
religious reasons I cannot ask Yashar to be my son’s godfather, even
though he is the closest friend I have in Moscow.”
Artur Shakhramanian and Zemfira Salimova are husband and wife as well
as business partners. They got married in Baku 20 years ago, but
three years later, when their daughter had just turned one,
hostilities broke out between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Baku.
“My husband is a native of Baku. I come from Ganje,” recalled
Zemfira, who is Azerbaijani. “We both went to the Pedagogical
Institute in Baku. We married during our graduation year. Then all
hell broke loose. My husband’s family fled to Armenia and wanted
Artur to come along. My family insisted I get a divorce. We defied
them all and moved to Moscow.”
Artur, Zemfira and their daughter – now 18 – all work at an upmarket
restaurant owned by an Azerbaijani. Zemfira tends the bar, Artur is
the gardener and their daughter manages the office.
“It was tough until the mid-Nineties, but since then we’ve been back
in touch with our families,” said Artur. “We call, and they visit us
from both Armenia and Azerbaijan. I’ve been working here for about
six years, and I’ve never had any problem because of my ethnic
background. I am a good gardener, and that’s all that my boss cares
about.”
Caucasians have traditionally specialised in certain trades in Moscow
– commonly working as market traders and ticket inspectors.
Vardan and Melikabbas, an Armenian and Azerbaijani, used to work in a
market but now have jobs as inspectors on tram route 28.
“Being a ticket inspector is a good job for people like us from the
Caucasus,” admitted Vardan. “Many of the people we catch without a
ticket are our fellow countrymen. For a small fee, we let them go.
For them it’s better than paying a fine, and it’s good for us too.
That way we supplement our meagre salaries.”
And – as if to confirm the prejudices of some Muscovites – the two
nationalities team up in the criminal world as well.
In June, the police arrested an Armenian and an Azerbaijani for armed
robbery in Moscow’s Shchukinsky district. According to police
reports, Alexei Aserian and Hasan Aliev spotted a man in a gambling
hall who had a huge wad of cash in his wallet. The temptation was too
strong to resist – when he left, they followed him and mugged him in
a dark street.
A week later, they were detained at the same gaming venue.
Investigators say this was not the first robbery they had committed,
and are holding them in custody pending trial.
Samira Ahmedbeily is a journalist with Azerros newspaper in Moscow.
Elina Arzumanian is a reporter for Mir TV and radio company

USA wants more democracy in Azerbaijan – foreign minister
ANS TV, Baku
3 Aug 05
[Presenter] Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, who is
in Washington, is expected to deliver a speech in front of members of
the Azerbaijani Trade and Cultural Centre about the economic reforms
in Azerbaijan.
Mammadyarov spoke about Baku’s steps towards democracy at a meeting
with Condoleezza Rice at the US State Department. Following the
meeting, Mammadyarov told journalists that they had talked about the
role of the USA as a member of the OSCE Minsk Group in the Nagornyy
Karabakh problem.
[Correspondent, over video of Mammadyarov-Rice meeting] During the
meeting with Condoleezza Rice, Mammadyarov mainly spoke about the
Nagornyy Karabakh problem. The USA, which is the member of the OSCE
Minsk Group, has made known its position on a peaceful solution of
the issue once again.
[Mammadyarov] It was a very good and wide-ranging discussion. We
discussed bilateral US-Azerbaijani relations. We, above all, discussed
the ways of a speedy and peaceful solution to the Azerbaijani-Armenian
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.
[Correspondent] Another issue discussed by Mr Mammadyarov with the
US secretary of state was Azerbaijan’s moves towards democracy. Rice
personally informed the Azerbaijani foreign minister of the problems
in the sphere of democracy [in Azerbaijan].
[Mammadyarov] We generally talked about democracy. We said that good
and comprehensive relations have been built up between Azerbaijan and
the USA and, of course, the USA would like the democratic process in
Azerbaijan be expanded. From this point of view, we also discussed the
[November parliamentary] election, which is an important factor.
[Correspondent] They also talked about economic and regional
projects. Rice and Mammadyarov discussed the transportation of energy
resources from the Caspian basin.
[Mammadyarov] We talked about some economic projects, including the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan [oil pipeline], the project which has already
been implemented. We also talked about the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum [gas
pipeline] and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway projects. I also noted that
these are important projects for Azerbaijan in terms of energy. We
also talked about international organizations and Azerbaijani-US
cooperation. In general, I am very happy about the meeting.
[Correspondent] Mr Mammadyarov will hold meetings at the White
House and the Pentagon. During his visit which will continue until
5 August, he will also attend meetings organized by the National
Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute and IFES
[the International Foundation for Election Systems].