USA allots over 1m dollars to eliminate rocket fuel components in Armenia

ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
28 Feb 05

Yerevan, 28 February: The USA is allocating over 1m dollars for the
OSCE project to eliminate rocket fuel components in Armenia, the US
embassy in Armenia has told our ITAR-TASS correspondent.

The rocket fuel components, known as “melange”, are often kept in
dilapidated containers which, in addition to inherent safety risks,
pose a significant threat to the environment, the embassy said.

[Passage omitted: minor details of the project]

“The OSCE branch office in Armenia will continue to support this
important project which is intended to improve the environment and
safety of the population,” the head of the branch office, Vladimir
Pryakhin, has said.

He has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Armenian
government on eliminating rocket fuel components.

Azeri pressure group demands explanation from US envoy to Armenia

Assa-Irada, Baku
1 Mar 05

28 February: The Karabakh Liberation Organization [KLO] appealed
to US ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish today. The appeal says
that the KLO is concerned about the USA’s indifferent position on the
Karabakh problem compared with other conflicts, the fact that it sees
no difference between Azerbaijan which was subjected to aggression
and the aggressor Armenia and its balanced policy which does not
reflect the reality [as published].

The appeal described as unseen a statement by US ambassador to Armenia
John Evans that “Karabakh cannot be given away to Azerbaijan” and
demanded an explanation.

“We demand an immediate explanation. The KLO will start regular
protests outside the US embassy if the above fact is confirmed,”
the appeal said.

At the end, the statement said that “if the position of the US
ambassador to Armenia is the position of the USA, then there is no
need for your embassy in Azerbaijan.

The Messenger

Tuesday, March 1, 2005, #038 (0812)

OSCE calls for long term police reforms

Specialists say Georgia has already come a long way and earned the support of
international donors
By Nino Kopaleishvili

Reforms in the police system will continue with the assistance of the OSCE
mission in Georgia in close cooperation with the Georgian Ministry of Internal
Affairs, officials reported on Monday.

At a roundtable held on February 28 at Sheraton Metechi Palace, representatives
of the Georgian government and groups of experts discussed how Georgia can
further develop its police system and form community policing.

“The OSCE mission in the middle of May will end writing specific
recommendations. Afterwards these recommendations will be sent to us and the
ministry will review them,” Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Bidzina Bregadze
told The Messenger on Monday.

“The OSCE will help us find financial resources for implementing these pilot
projects,” he said adding that at this stage the ministry is recruiting new
police officers to work in regions.

“They will pass a six-month course and will work in different regions of
Georgia,” Bregadze said.

With the mission to assess the country’s police system, groups of experts from
Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden arrived in
Georgia earlier this year. For one month the OSCE experts visited different
regions of Georgia, including Gori, Zugdidi, Samtskhe-Javakheti and now the OSCE
states it is focusing on long term goals for the system.

“Police Reform has begun obviously to a certain extent with the transformation
of the police,” said head of the OSCE representation in Georgia Ambassador Roy
Reeve. “What we were discussing today is that longer term efforts are needed to
transform the Georgian police service into something which matches European
models.”

According to Reeve certain positive steps have been made though “it has to be a
long-term structural change.” As Reeve sees it, the OSCE has significant
experience in the areas that it plans to assist the Georgian government.

On Monday experts presented recommendations to successfully implement current
reforms and stressed the need to form a community police, police that will
closely cooperate with society and mass media.

Community Policing Advisor Dr. Arie Bloed emphasized the fact that the citizens
of the country and the police have to work together. “One of the first things
that has to be done is to develop a concept, strategy, a plan,” he told The
Messenger, “And then we are proposing to start a new way of police that is very
successful in western countries.”

According to Bloed one of the recommendations is to start pilot projects in
Tbilisi and Samtskhe- Javakheti and later replicate the program all over the
country once it proves successful.

“I have a lot of appreciation for the reform measures that have been taken place
so far in the past year and if you look at the streets in Tbilisi two years ago
and now you feel a big difference,” said Bloed.

“On the other hand, the improvements are still fragile there is no mechanisms
that guarantee that this will stay the same. So, that’s why the OSCE is
recommending a number of measures to support the Georgian police, to further
improve and to make it sustainable,” he said.

According to Rector of the Police Academy of Georgia Levan Izoria intensive
cooperation with the OSCE and the Georgian ministry of internal affairs started
in January since the new minister came to power. Talking to The Messenger,
Izoria stressed the need for some financial assistance as well.

“Pilot programs demand material assistance, for implementing this there is
needed the applicable technical equipment,” he said. “The OSCE has serious
finances for this cooperation and this year about half a million dollars will be
spent from their side.”

The OSCE has helped to develop such programs in Kyrgyzstan that are estimated to
involve Euro 3 million. Reforms in Armenia and Azerbaijan are also under way.

But According to Police Affairs Officer of the OSCE Strategic Police Matters
Unit (SPMU) Viacheslav Vorobiev it is not yet determined what will be the
financial assistance provided to Georgia, though as he sees it raising funds
from international donors will be easier for Georgia than for other states.

“In Azerbaijan we have not received the essential sum to start this program but
we hope that we will raise these funds,” he said. “We are great enthusiasts with
regard to Georgia. The international community will have a huge interest to
support reforms in Georgia. That’s why I think that raising funds will be
connected with fewer problems here than in other countries,” he said adding, “In
my opinion this will be more than 2 million but how much exactly I cannot say it
yet.”

According to Vorobiev once the funds are raised the entire program may start in
the fall. “If the issue of donors will be determined soon, it is possible that
we will start the program in the fall,” he said.

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News

Today is Tuesday, March 1 2005 12:45 pm GMT+2 updated at 12:00 P.M.

Famous Rebetika musician Ketencoðlu to perform in Ankara

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News

Internationally renowned Rebetika musician Muammer Ketencoðlu will be
performing at Laterna, a Greek cafe-restaurant in Ankara, on March 2 and 3.

His accordion and vocal repertoire during the two concerts will include old and
new tunes from across the Aegean Sea.

Ketencoðlu received his initial musical training in a school for the blind.
During his university education at the Bosporus Department of Psychology, he was
attracted to the folk music of different countries. Although he first focused on
contemporary Greek music (Laika) and Rebetika, his affinity for other peoples’
folk music ultimately led him to find alternative courses in Balkan music.

His first album, Latremmena Akroyalia (Passionate Coasts), featuring old and
new Greek songs, was released in 1993. He prepared two collections of Rebetika
songs, Rebetiko I and II, which were produced in 1994 and 1995 respectively.
Another anthology compiled by Ketencoðlu and produced in 1995 was titled
Pioneers of Klezmer Music. The album brought together examples of Klezmer music
based mainly on traditional Eastern European Jewish music.

In the same year he prepared an anthology, Halklardan Ezgiler (Popular Tunes),
comprising four albums, each containing folk songs that best represent the
traditional music of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Central Asian Turkic
Republics.

From 1993 to 1997 he organized yearly concerts known as the Seven Colors of
Earth, each with a new repertoire of folk songs performed by a number of
musicians.

Taking part in various groups and individual musicians’ works, Muammer
Ketencoðlu also gave many solo concerts both in Turkey and abroad. Together with
the native Anatolian Greek singer Ývi Dermancý, he shared the stage with the
great Greek musician Mikis Theodorakis in 1996, first in Livadia and then in
Athens. He has performed twice, in 1997 and 2000, in the “Peace Concert”
organized in southern Cyprus.

Kompania Ketencoðlu, his group performing Rebetiko has given concerts in
Istanbul, Athens, Saloniki, Tricala, Xanthi, Lesbos and Crete. Ketencoðlu also
took part in various festivals in Germany, several times in Berlin, Bilefeld,
Frankfurt and in France, both Paris and Metz. For further information on
Ketencoðlu’s Ankara concerts, contact Laterna Café-Bar, Tunus Cad No. 50
Kavaklidere.

–Boundary_(ID_/rokNO8pHqupGhqRIXp5Xg)–

The Messenger
Tuesday, March 1, 2005, #038 (0812)

Outages highlight weak infrastructure

Both water and electricity systems go offline in domino effect
By Keti Sikharulidze

More water woes: low water levels and a
diminished generating capacity in
Georgia’s hydroelectric systems, like the
Zhinvali reservoir pictured on Sunday
(above) have made the country even more
reliant on the Kavkasioni line
Severe weather damaged the country’s sole high voltage electricity line from
Russia Monday morning, leaving the capital Tbilisi temporarily without power and
knocking its water system offline for most of the day.

The loss of power, and subsequently water, came only days after the president
held an emergency government session addressing problems in the energy sector.

To make matters worse on Monday, the 370 kilovolt Kavkasioni high voltage
transmission line, Georgia’s only electrical connection to Russia, was taken off
line three separate times on Monday because of the weather and high winds.

The accidents first occurred at around 10:50 am., immediately causing blackouts
throughout the country including Tbilisi. According to the state power system
the deficit of the energy during the accident was nearly 600 megawatts.

According to Black Sea Press, the Kavkasioni line was repaired in forty minutes
and the import of 50 megawatts was restored at first. According to electricity
officials, 160-megawatts was imported from Armenia as well, which was
distributed among vital objects.

Speaking with Rusatvi-2, Minister of Energy Nika Gilauri stated on Monday that
the accident was caused by bad weather along the Kavkasioni high transmission
line and added that the system would be fully restored by the evening.

“The situation will be better after we finish repairs on the 9th power unit [in
Gardabani] and tonight we are going to test it. It will be ready for functioning
by tomorrow afternoon. Until then we will have to fully load the Kavkasioni
line,” said Gilauri.

Water service in the capital stopped shortly after the first outage as the
city’s water service, Tbiltsqalkanali, lost its pumping capacity. Lela Chanidze,
assistance to the director of the water service, confirmed to The Messenger on
Monday, that the lack of the water resulted from the breakdown of the
Kavkazioni. “By the evening the entire city will receive water supplies,” she
added; for most of Tbilisi, water had returned by 8:00 p.m.

On Monday, Gilauri also highlighted his ministry’s new two-year program and
stated that the accident that happened on Kavkasioni was the best example of the
priorities of the two-year program, which includes constructing a separate high
voltage line.

“Our energy system has always depended on this one Kavkasioni line, which could
be knocked out by bad weather or by sabotage. Such accidents badly affect the
entire energy system of Georgia,” said Gilauri.

Already this year, there have been at least two cases of sabotage on the line
when unknown people shot out the insulators used to hold the line to towers in
the Kodori Gorge.

According to the ministry’s plan, Georgia should first build its generating
capacity to meet the country’s needs and then use imports only as backup should
be necessary only for reservation. The two-year plan includes the construction
of new power plants and the refurbishment of turbines.

“If we fulfill the plan as it was presented, I can assure you that such deficits
of electricity will not be repeated any more,” said Gilauri.

Gilauri also said the ministry would print booklets detailing information on
electricity limits during repairs to the Enguri Hydroelectric Station that are
to begin on April 1.

“The schedule for electricity will be different in each region of Georgia and
this information will be sent to all residents of Georgia,” he said.

Turkish novelist Pamuk declared hero by Armenians

Turkish press yesterday
Tuesday, March 1, 2005

Hürriyet reported that British daily The Observer published a commentary about
well-known Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk’s statements that he made in a Swiss
newspaper earlier this month on Turkey’s so-called massacre of Armenians and
Kurds in the 20th century.

However, the commentary that appeared in The Observer was written by Nouritza
Matossian, an Armenian author who said Pamuk has become the hero of Armenians
with his statements, Hürriyet reported and questioned the objectivity of the
British daily.

Posta mentioned the same story and quoted the Armenian writer as saying that
Pamuk was a hero who was telling the truth while he was a symbol of hatred in
his home country.

–Boundary_(ID_PCgNbl/Oc1aTDrKP6vmdMg)–
From: Baghdasarian

Armenian Groups Receive Payments
By Rachana Rathi, Times Staff Writer

Los angeles Times
March 1, 2005

Three local Armenian civic organizations received $333,333 each
Monday as part of a $20-million settlement of a lawsuit by New York
Life Insurance Co.

In all, $3 million was split among nine Armenian organizations,
including the Armenian Church of North America Western Diocese in
Burbank, the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Los
Angeles and the Armenian Educational Foundation in Glendale.

“The organizations that were selected were charities that helped
people like my grandparents get started, get a new life, feed them,
clothe them,” said Brian S. Kabateck, an attorney of Armenian descent
who worked on the case. “Today was a way to repay them for the way
they helped Armenians who arrived in this country after the genocide.”

About 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of Turks between 1915
and 1923, and tens of thousands were deported.

The lawsuit, filed by heirs of Armenian genocide victims, accused the
insurance company of failing to honor valid claims. Of the remaining
$17 million, $4 million was allotted for attorney’s fees, $2 million
for administrative fees and $11 million for individual claims.

Any unclaimed money will be distributed to Armenian charities, said
Paul Krekorian, a member of the three-person board appointed by
California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi in late September
to evaluate claims.

About 770 claims were submitted since the settlement, but not all of
them have been validated, according to its administrator.

The claims typically range from $15,000 to $20,000, according to
Kabateck.

New York Life published a list of more than 2,400 policies issued to
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire before 1915 that were not paid.

Descendants who haven’t already filed a claim for a portion of the
settlement must do so by March 16.

The Journal of Turkish Weekly
2005-03-01 09:23:10

France Cannot Question Turkish History without Recognizing ‘The Algerian Genocide’
Jan Soykok – ANKARA

The first sitting of the EU-Turkey Interparliamentary Committee was held in
Strasbourg on February 23. The representatives of the European Committee and the
CE were present at the sitting.
Jacques Toubot, French parliamentarian, demanded to include in the agenda the
Armenian issue. Toubot argued that Turkey had to recognize Armenian allegations.
He claimed that the recognisition of Armenian arguments is a pre-condition for
full-membership.
The French parliamentarian Toubot further demanded that Turkey should recognize
accept the Treaty of Sevres, too. The Treaty of Sevres was signed by the Ottoman
representatives after the First World War, however it was never ratified. Turkey
and the allied states signed Lausanne Peace Treaty instead of Sevres in 1923.
Lausanne Peace Agreement was signed and recognized by France, Greece and Russian
Federation too. However the radical and militant Armenians do not recognize
Turkey’s national borders. Strangely the same people ask Turkey to set
diplomatic relations with Armenia.
Marios Matsakis, parliamentarian from Greek Cyprus, took the floor and stated:
“Turkey carried out genocide against the Armenians, the Greeks and the Kurds.”
Turkish MP Sukru Elekdag strictly criticized Matsakis and called his approach
“rough, full of hatred and behavior unbecoming of the EU.” Eleqdag said that
Toubot’s statements were groundless, adding that the issue should be studied by
the historians and not by the political figures. Afterwards, he suggested to
establish with the assistance of UNESCO a Committee for Studying the Issue of
the Armenian Allegations, including Turkish and Armenian specialists in that.
The demand to recognize the Treaty of Sevres was declined by Oghuz Demirlap,
Turkey’s Permanent Representative to the EU, saying that “such demands are
unacceptable.”
Dr. Nilgun Gulcan said the French politics become ‘ugly’ after 17 December EU
Summit. In the Summit the EU leaders declare that Turkey is a serious EU
candidate and they took decision to start full-membership negotiations.
Dr. Gulcan further continued:
“There is a strong Armenian lobby in France, and many politicians abuse the
issue in order to prevent Turkey’s EU membership or to increase their votes in
elections. Pro-Armenian French politicians accuse Turkey of committing genocide
against Armenians in 1915, however none of the French politicians speak about
the massacred 500.000 Azerbaijanis between 1918-1921 and more than 510.000
Turkish and Kurdish people killed by the Armenian gangs during the Ottoman
period. The Armenians armed militants killed thousands during the Karabakh war
and tortured many civilians in Khojally. Similarly the French MPs do not
question the French period in Algeria. About 1 million Algerians were tortured
and killed by the French soldiers. However France does not accept ‘Algerian
Genocide’. Thousands of Jewish were also sent to the Nazi Germany by the French
authorities during the Second World War. Most of these Jews were tortured and
killed by the Nazis. Turkey was one of the exceptional states which refused the
Nazi demands. I mean the French past is not perfect and the French politicians
cannot question Turkish history. They do see the Armenian torture and occupation
against Azerbaijan but they can talk about the so-called events happened almost
a century ago. It is strange. The strange role of the France in Turkey’s EU
membership has become uglier. The anti-Turkish and anti-Muslim groups could do
anything possible to halt Turkey’s membership. However they also undermine their
states as well. The anti-Turkish policies encourage the racist movements in
France and Germany. Secondly France prefer 2,5 million Armenia to 75 million
Turkey. It is strange. But it is not surprising. The French did the same mistake
many times.”

1 March 2005

Azeri POWs in Karabakh feel okay, official tells agency

Arminfo, Yerevan
26 Feb 05

Stepanakert, 26 February: Albert Voskanyan, the Karabakh coordinator
of the international working group on POWs, hostages and missing
persons captured in the Karabakh conflict zone, today visited captured
Azerbaijani servicemen Xayal Abdullayev, Hikmat Tagiyev and Ruslan
Bakirov in Stepanakert.

The servicemen were captured by the defence army of the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic on 15 February of this year after they crossed the
northeastern section of the contact line between the armed forces of
Nagornyy Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

In an interview with Arminfo, Voskanyan said that the moral,
psychological and physical condition of the servicemen and also the
place where they are being held are normal. He told the co-chairmen
and coordinators of the international working group about his meeting
with the POWs.

Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of sending settlers to disputed enclave
By SUSANNA LOOF

The Associated Press
02/28/05 17:21 EST

VIENNA, Austria (AP) – Azerbaijani officials on Monday accused
Armenia of conducting an orchestrated settlement campaign in an
attempt to claim the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding area.

Parviz Shahbazov, a counselor at the Azerbaijani Embassy in Vienna,
said Armenia had illegally sent 23,000 settlers to Nagorno-Karabakh
and adjacent territories, which are under control of ethnic Armenian
forces.

Azerbaijanis living in the area fled during the six-year war in the
1990s and now live in camps in the rest of Azerbaijan in “very hard
and difficult conditions,” Shahbazov said.

Armenian officials were not immediately available for comment.

The Armenian settlement policy appeared aimed at preventing the return
of those displaced, he said.

“Such steps of Armenia represent a blatant violation of international
humanitarian law and totally contradicts the Geneva conventions,”
Shahbazov told news conference.

Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas have been under the control
of ethnic Armenian forces since the mid-1990s. A cease-fire in the
conflict was reached in 1994, but Nagorno-Karabakh’s political status
remains unsettled. Its ethnic Armenian government is not recognized
internationally.

Shahbazov argued that Armenia’s settlement policy also hindered the
peace process.

The settlements are “goal-oriented, planned, organized and are carried
out with the immediate participation of the government of Armenia,”
Shahbazov said.

Embassy officials showed grainy video clips and satellite images
of the area they said proved that Armenia had sent settlers there,
built them new houses and provided them with cows and other means to
make a living.

“All this has only one purpose: to consolidate the results of
aggression by Armenia against Azerbaijan – the ethnic cleansing
and occupation of the Azerbaijani territories,” said Fariz Rzayev,
an embassy official.

The Vienna-based Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe
in early February ended a fact-finding mission dispatched as part
of efforts to resolve the conflict. The mission investigated, among
other things, whether ethnic Armenians were settling in the area.

The mission’s report was to be released to the so-called Minsk Group
– which includes OSCE member countries involved in trying to resolve
the conflict – on Monday.

Shahbazov said some mission members had made premature statements ahead
of the release of the report that appeared to justify the settlement
of Armenians and diminish the scale of the settlement campaign.

“Such claims do not and cannot excuse the policy of the transfer of
the population,” he said.

OSCE spokesman Richard Murphy refused to comment on the Azerbaijani
allegations.

The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers are set to meet
Wednesday in Prague, the Czech Republic, to continue peace talks.