Grave and cowardly acts, says papal nuncio

AsiaNews.it, Italy
Dec 7 2004

Baghdad (AsiaNews) – Fernando Filoni, apostolic nuncio in Baghdad
told AsiaNews that today’s attacks against the Bishop’s Palace and
the Armenian Catholic church are “grave and cowardly acts against
defenceless Christian symbols and institutions”.

Mgr Filoni said that the Armenian church “was supposed to be
inaugurated on Christmas day”. The attack against it shows “how little
respect terrorists have for people and holy places”.

The nuncio points out that the Bishop’s Palace in Mosul “had been
receiving threats for some time” and “today became reality”, proof
of the absurdity and premeditation of such acts.

For Mgr Filoni, “the terrorists have no respect for places that are
holy”. In reference to US action in Falluja, they promised “they
would destroy a church for every mosque that was attacked. But all
these acts stem from an exasperated violence that especially strikes
those who are defenceless”.

The nuncio does not believe that there is a link between the escalation
and Advent. For him, these “people just want to do harm”.

As for the future, he says that there is no way “he can predict
if and when other attacks will take place. “These days,” he said,
“things are not really good”. (DS)

–Boundary_(ID_7X8/8c12LyEwetmAp50dcA)–

PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE DOESN’T COMMENT ON RUMOURS THAT RA PRESIDENT
SUBMITS PACKAGE OF PROPOSALS ON KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

YEREVAN, December 7 (Noyan Tapan). “Senseless suppositions aren’t
subject to commentary,” Ashot Kocharian, Spokesman of RA President,
declared answering Noyan Tapan’s question, what package of proposals on
Nagorno Karabakh settlement RA President Robert Kocharian submitted to
OSCE Minsk Group. To recap, on December 7, Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper
referring to its “diplomatic sources” published an information,
according to which 2 new packages of settlement of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict were discussed during the Sofia meeting of Armenian and Azeri
Foreign Ministers with Co-chairmen of OSCE Minsk Group. The packages
were submitted by the Co-chairmen of Minsk Group and RA President,
respectively.

Putin casts doubt on Iraq polls, US combat deaths near 1,000

Agence France Presse
Dec 7 2004

12-07-2004, 19h57

Mehdi Fedouach – (AFP)

BAGHDAD (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin cast doubt over the
viability of holding elections as planned next month in an Iraq under
“total occupation”, as the number of US soldiers killed in combat
neared 1,000.

In the latest violence, assailants targeted the country’s minority
Christians by setting off explosions in two churches — one of them
Chaldean, the other Armenian — in the northern city of Mosul, but
without causing casualties.

“Each attack against a church pushes Christians to emigrate,” said
Faid Touma Hermez of the Chaldean Democratic Union. The insurgents
“want to erase any trace of the Christian presence in Iraq.”

In Baghdad, US soldier died after his patrol was ambushed, the
military said.

A total of 999 US military personnel have now been killed in action
in Iraq since the US-led invasion of the country in March 2003,
according to Pentagon statistics.

In other violence, an Iraqi entrepreneur working for US forces was
shot dead in his car near an American base in Samarra, north of the
capital, police said. Some 40 such killings have been carried out in
the region over two months.

“I cannot imagine how elections can be organized in conditions of
total occupation of the country by foreign troops,” Putin said as he
met Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi at the Kremlin.

“At the same time, I don’t understand how you alone can remedy the
situation in the country and prevent its disintegration,” he told
Allawi.

Putin noted, however, that Moscow had supported the UN Security Council
resolution calling for elections in Iraq to be held on January 30
and said Russia stood “ready to support your efforts to stabilise
the situation in the country”.

General John Abizaid, commander of US forces in the Gulf, said
American troops in Iraq could have a different role overall after
the elections, as their focus could shift away from combat and toward
training Iraqi forces.

“If the Iraqi security forces start to gel in terms of leadership and
seasoning in important areas around the country — which I think will
happen — then we can talk about reshaping our forces,” he told the
Washington Post.

But the general noted that, at the moment, the Iraqi troops “are
not as mature as they need to be for the security environment that’s
going to exist in the next several months.”

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, meanwhile, said the US-led
multinational forces should speed up their departure from Iraq by
training local troops more quickly.

Training Iraqis would provide an “exit strategy” for the foreign
troops, he told the British parliament.

In Moscow, Allawi was seeking in his talks with Putin to smooth
diplomatic relations, following a similar mission to Germany on a
European tour of powers that opposed last year’s invasion.

The premier said Moscow would be given a “leading role” in helping
restore Iraq’s shattered industries — a clear signal was Baghdad
was ready to give Russia access to its lucrative oil industry.

Officials in Moscow said Russia would try to win back oil contracts it
signed under Saddam Hussein’s regime in exchange for Moscow’s promise
to write off 90 percent of Iraq’s eight billion dollar Soviet-era debt.

Allawi said in a Belgian newspaper interview that Iraq’s elections —
faced with an insurgency determined to derail the process through
bloodshed — could be spread out over a period of 15-20 days in
late January.

“Everyone — Shiites, Sunnis, Christians, Kurds, Turkomans — should
take part in the vote,” he was quoted as saying by the daily Le Soir.

“For that I think one could envisage elections spread over 15 days,
20 days, with polling on different dates for different provinces …
That would allow for adequate security arrangements to be put in
place,” he added.

But in a classified cable sent in late November, the CIA station
chief at the end of a year-long tour of duty in Iraq warned that the
security situation was only likely to worsen in the runup to the polls,
The New York Times said.

More violence is in the pipeline, said officials familiar with
the cable.

On a positive note, two Sunni Muslim parties, including the key Islamic
Party, announced Tuesday plans to take part in the general elections,
despite earlier calls for the polls to be postponed.

The head of a leading Shiite Muslim movement, meanwhile, warned that
delaying the polls would create legal complications and could lead
to chaos.

“Delaying elections will lead to a legal problem, because the Iraqi
government will be illegitimate … as it expires with the election
date,” said Abdulaziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for
the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

In other developments, the US military announced the arrest in Hawija,
50 kilometres (30 miles) from the northern city of Kirkuk, of Salam
Daud, who it described as a chief of the Saddam Fedayeen militia
loyal to the former dictator.

Colonel Lloyd Miles said a number of other people were also arrested,
including Iraqi police and national guardsmen working with insurgents.

RA PRIME MINISTER GREETS IDEA OF CALLING THIRD CONGRESS OF WESTERN ARMENIANS
IN PARIS

YEREVAN, December 7 (Noyan Tapan). Karen Mikaelian, editor-in-chief
of “Armyanski Vestnik” and “Grazhdanin” magazines published in Moscow
represented the program of activities of the organizing body attending
to calling of the third congress of Western Armenians in Paris in
the near future during the December 6 meeting with RA Prime Minister
Andranik Margarian. He mentioned that the previous 2 congresses
took place at the beginning of the previous century, in 1917 and
1919 in Yerevan (the latter continued in 1920 in Paris) and the
goal of the future congress, in essense, is to continue uniting the
Armenians spread all over the world, which is aimed at strengthening
of our statehood. Karen Mikaelian attached importance to extension of
contacts and cooperation between Armenians living in the whole world
for the purpose of realization of pan-national goals, assistance to
further development of Armenian independent statehood. According to
the Information and Public Relations Department of RA government,
greeting the idea of calling the congress, Andranik Margarian also
highly estimated Karen Mikaelian’s recent activity while holding the
positions of UN employee in Soviet period, Acting Chairman of Committee
on Armenia’s Contacts with Armenians from Spyurk in 1994-96, and the
position of editor-in-chief of “Armyanski Vestnik” and “Grazhdanin”
magazines. Among the issues discussed the Prime Minister also attached
importance to the “Pan-Armenian Consultations (1912-1920)” collected
works published recently in Yerevan owing to Karen Mikaelian including
the documents and materials of all Pan-Armenian Congresses held in

Russian hands file on “Chechen terrorists” to Turkey – agency

Anatolia news agency
7 Dec 04

Ankara, 7 December: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov handed over
a file on “Chechen terrorists” to Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Turkish capital
of Ankara, sources said late on Monday [6 December].

The sources said that they did not have any information about the
contents of the file.

The same sources quoted Putin as saying that “they were aware of the
realities” regarding Cyprus issue and noted that they observed that
Russia would pursue a milder and more active policy regarding the
veto in United Nations (UN) Security Council.

Sources said that Turkish side told the Russian side that there were
serious problems regarding the transportation of oil via the Turkish
Straits, and therefore measures would continue. On the other hand,
Russian officials stated that they were aware of same problems,
but said that Russian businessmen had suffered great loss due to the
tanker traffic.

The same sources said that the Russians hoped Turkish authorities
to assume a milder attitude towards transportation of oil via the
Turkish Straits, but they were also aware that “this can’t continue
in this way in the long-term.”

Noting that this was not an issue on which a decision could be
reached immediately, the same sources said that Russian officials
would evaluate by-pass lines some time later. They also said that
two countries would hold consultations on this matter.

Regarding Azerbaijani-Armenian dispute, the sources said that Turkish
side expressed its wish to restore stability in the region, while
the Russian side drew a better tableau than thought.

The same sources said that the Russians stressed on opening of borders,
construction of railways, and re-opening of current railways.

Stating that Turkey extended support to Russia’s demand to become
an observer to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC),
the same sources added that two countries would maintain efforts to
reflect their economic cooperation on Eurasia.

Russian police spokesman outlines impact of foreigners on crime figures

ITAR-TASS news agency
7 Dec 04

Moscow, 7 December: The number of crimes committed by foreign nationals
in Russia continues to rise, reporters were told today by the head of
the Interior Ministry’s Criminal Investigation Directorate, Viktor
Pansuyev. Foreigners have committed nearly 41,500 crimes since the
beginning of the year, which is 20 per cent more than in the same
period of last year.

Most offences by foreigners concern the use and manufacture of false
documents (27 per cent), theft (18 per cent), drugs trafficking
(10.5 per cent) and also robbery, mugging and fraud, Pansuyev
said. “According to statistics, cit izens of CIS states are the most
criminally active and account for over 92 per cent of all offences,”
he said. Citizens of more distant countries – China, India, Lithuania,
Vietnam, Latvia and Mongolia – account for less than 0.5 per cent.

Migration is one of the main causes of higher crime by foreigners,
Pansuyev reported. “We are particularly concerned by the fact that
Russia has become a bridgehead for illegal migration. Expert analysis
indicates that there are about 4m foreigners in the country illegally.”

At the same time the number of crimes committed against foreign
nationals is down, Pansuyev continued. Just 8,600 have been recorded
this year. “The victims are most often foreign nationals who are
permanently resident in Russia, here on business or as tourists, or
here seeking employment,” he added. According to the figures, nationals
of Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Moldova are the
most frequent victims of crime. Most of these offences are committed
in and around Moscow and also in St Petersburg and Leningrad Region.

“One in five offences in Moscow is committed by or with the complicity
of foreign nationals,” ITAR-TASS reported at 1008 gmt, quoting the
head of the Moscow CID, Andrey Reznikov. “Over 15,000 have been
recorded since the beginning of the year, which is an increase on
last year. At the same time, Reznikov pointed out, 3,300 crimes were
committed against foreigners in the city in the first 11 months of
this year, which is 700 more than last year.”

“The Interior Ministry forecasts that the crime situation in this
respect will deteriorate,” ITAR-TASS said in another report at 0959
gmt, quoting Pansuyev. “Foreigners tend to ‘have large sums of foreign
currency and possess expensive hi-tech devices. While in Russia they
engage in business and thereby attract the attention of criminals,
including of their own compatriots’,” he said. Pansuyev added that
there are over 33,000 foreign students in Russia, and 283 crimes
against them have been recorded this year.

“He said the largest diasporas from the CIS are the Ukrainians, Azeris,
Tajiks, Moldovans, Armenians and Georgians, and from further abroad
the Chinese, Vietnamese, Indians and Turks,” RIA-Novosti news agency
reported at 0954 gmt. “This influx of foreign nationals is causing
a rise in crime linked to them,” it quoted Pansuyev as saying.

THE DIFFERENCES OF TERRORISM, SEPARATISM AND EXTREMISM

A1+
07-12-2004

In the beginning of December Parliament Vice Speaker Vahan Hovanisyan
partook in 2 grand measures â~@~S the sitting of Armenia-Russia
Inter-parliamentary Commission and the activity of CIS Commission on
Political and International Cooperation. Opposition MP Aram Gaspari
Sargssyan took part in the sitting, too.

During the sitting of Commission for Defence and Security Cooperation
of CIS Inter-parliamentary Assembly a few model laws, in particular
the Law on â~@~ Anti-Terrorismâ~@~] were discussed.

Taking into account his own experience, ARF representative has
explained CIS parliamentary colleagues the differences between
terrorism, separatism and extremism. Vahan Hovanisyan has explained
that terrorism is a crime while separatism can exist exceptionally
within law and extremism is a psychological state. â~@~These
conceptions must not be put on the same lineâ~@~], he said.

Aram Gaspari Sargssyan announced during the sitting of Armenia-Russia
Inter-parliamentary Commission that Russia must clarify its stance
over Karabakh. Vahan Hovanisyan didnâ~@~Yt join the statement since
he knows the position of Russia. â~@~If we want Russia to say that it
supports Armenia in Karabakhi issue, naturally, it wonâ~@~Yt be so. One
must not expect for anything from anyone. When people are forced to
speak, they have to avoid the concrete answersâ~@~], Hovanisyan says.

Vahan Hovanisyan also spoke about the relations with NATO. He thinks
the Russians feel somewhat of jealousy to the relations between
Armenia and NATO. But our delegation caused them to be informed that
the contacts with NATO are solely of consultative character.

–Boundary_(ID_MaS2zXAk2Grj1GNlRrHs7Q)–

TODAY ARMENIA MARKS 16TH ANNIVERSARY OF SPITAK EARTHQUAKE LEAVING 25
THOU. PEOPLE DEAD

ARKA News Agency
Dec 7 2004

YEREVAN, December 7. /ARKA/. Today Armenia marks the 16th anniversary
of the Spitak earthquake of 1988. This catastrophe in Armenia
undoubtedly was one of the most tragic events in history of the
Armenian people causing irreplaceable human and material losses.
Consequences for such a small country the catastrophe appeared to
be “universal”. The earthquake happened on 11.41 of local time. The
earthquake fully destroyed two towns in the Northern Armenia – Spitak
and Gyumri (former Leninakan) and more than 100 villages. Another
several towns have been destroyed partially. The earthquake 6 magnitude
covered the area around 30 000 sq. m. The quake was felt in Yerevan,
Tbilisi. As per scientists’ calculations energy equal to 10 nuclear
bombs dropped to Hiroshima was released in the zone of breaking in
the earth’s crust. The wave caused by the quake was registered by
seismographs in Europe, Asia, America and Australia. In epicenter
of the quake – Spitak the forth of the quake reached 10 magnitude
calculated as per 12 magnitude scale, In Leninakan the quake’s
magnitude was 9, in Kirovakan (now Vanadzor) – 8. On that day
according to official statistics 25 thou. people were killed, while
unofficial data mention the figure of 55 thou., 140 people became
disabled and half a million people were made houseless. In words
of Head of National Seismic Protection Service Alvaro Antonyan the
seismic regime in Armenia is stable today, it is monitored and does
not cause concerns. T.M. -0–

VIII EUROPEAN REGIONAL CONFERENCE HELD IN YEREVAN

Azg/arm
8 Dec 04

The convention signed in Iranian Ramsar city in 1971 is the only
one that is directed to preservation of concrete eco-systems, in the
given case, the preservation of wet territories, the dwelling places
of water birds. Armenia joined this convention in 1993, representing
the Lake of Sevan and the Arpi Lake with its neighboring swamps in the
list of preservation and restoration. In the course of the membership
the fund of the convention financed 4 Armenian projects.

A new project was elaborated for the Javakhk areas of special
preservation. KFW bank will allocate $2,2 million for the
implementation of the project.

European regional meeting is being held in Yerevan on December
4-8. 70 foreign ecology experts are participating in the meeting. The
participants of the conference will visit the national part of Sevan,
Ayrivank and Sevan Hydro.

By Karine Danielian

IRAQ WRAPUP 3-Churches bombed, US deaths in Iraq mount
By Maher al-Thanoon

MOSUL, Iraq, Dec 7 (Reuters) – Gunmen bombed two churches in the
tense Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday, fuelling fears of ethnic and
sectarian unrest ahead of an election next month.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia, a fierce opponent of the war,
told Iraq’s prime minister in Moscow he feared the country could
break up and said planned Jan. 30 elections were unimaginable.

U.S. troops suffered their 1,000th combat death in Iraq on Tuesday when
U.S. soldier was killed in Baghdad. The Pentagon also issued figures
for a record monthly U.S. death toll in Iraq. It said 136 American
soldiers were killed last month. The previous highest was 135 in April.

At least four Iraqi National Guard troopers were also killed in two
incidents, one in the capital and another further south.

“I cannot imagine how elections can be organised under a full
occupation of the country by foreign troops,” Putin told Iraq’s
U.S.-backed interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

“I also cannot imagine how you on your own will be able to restore
the situation in the country and stop it from breaking up.”

Allawi reaffirmed the election date of Jan. 30 but raised the prospect
of troubled regions taking two or three weeks longer to vote —
a proposal that could not immediately be checked with election
officials and would break a U.N. deadline of Jan. 31 for the ballot.

A new CIA assessment, reported by the New York Times, gave a gloomy
picture of Iraq’s future, seeing further insecurity if the government
fails to assert itself and promote prosperity.

No one was killed nor, it appeared, injured, in the bombings in
Mosul; smoke billowed from one of the northern city’s Armenian
churches and one of its oldest Chaldean churches was ablaze and a
wall shattered. The attackers were not identified.

In a city of 1.2 million where the two main Sunni Muslim communities,
Arabs and Kurds, are already on edge following a rout of U.S.-trained
police last month by Sunni Arab insurgents, the latest in a series
of attacks on Christians was grist to the mill of those who believe
Iraq risks slipping into civil war.

At least 16 Kurdish peshmerga fighters were killed in a suicide car
bomb attack in Mosul on Saturday. U.S. troops have turned to the Kurds,
largely autonomous in the nearby mountains and with well-trained
fighting forces, to help police Mosul.

SUNNI DISCONTENT

Sunni Arabs make up about 20 percent of Iraq’s population but have
dominated the country for decades, including under fellow Sunni
Saddam Hussein. With the election set to transfer power to the 60
percent Shi’ite Muslim majority, many Sunnis are unhappy and some
have called for a boycott of the vote.

They argue that violence by insurgents led, apparently by former
Saddam loyalists and some foreign-inspired Islamists, will make it
impossible to vote safely in much of Sunni northern and western Iraq,
including much of Baghdad.

The small Christian community of about 650,000 or some 3 percent of
the population has suffered from an upsurge in militant Islam since
the fall of Saddam’s secular regime. Some have fled or closed down
traditional businesses, notably selling liquor, which flourished in
Iraq despite a Muslim religious ban.

At least one Christian leader has been quoted recently saying he
would form an armed militia to protect the community.

“There were two or three families in the church,” one frightened
worshipper from Mosul’s ancient Tahira Chaldean church told Reuters
after the attack on the white stone building, some of which is said
to date back to the 7th century.

“Gunmen came in, took the guard’s weapon and a couple of mobile
phones. Then they made everybody leave the church. After that there
was an explosion that did a lot of damage,” said the man, who asked
not to be named for fear of intimidation.

Christians, possibly targeted partly because radical Muslims link
them with the “crusader” invaders from America and Europe, have been
attacked several times in the past four months.

Coordinated car bombings, four in Baghdad and one in Mosul, killed
at least 12 in August and five Baghdad churches were bombed on the
Oct. 16 start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

At least eight people were killed in two church bombings in the
capital on Nov. 8, and a car bomber attacked police guarding the
hospital where the wounded had been taken.

U.S. CASUALTIES

An election that provides a legitimate Iraqi government that can
defend itself is a prerequisite for U.S. President George W. Bush to
declare the invasion a success and bring troops home.

International voting experts will meet in Canada this month to try
to find a way of monitoring the election in the likely absence of
outside observers, a top Canadian official said.

In order to protect the vote, Bush is increasing U.S. troop numbers
by about 10 percent to 150,000.

Bush sought to boost U.S. troop morale by promising to train Iraqi
forces to replace them, though he acknowledged mixed results so far.

“Some Iraqi units have performed better than others,” he told thousands
of camouflage-clad Marines at Camp Pendleton, California. “Some Iraqis
have been intimidated enough by the insurgents to leave the service
to their country.”

But he said “a great many are standing firm.”

(Additional reporting by Michael Georgy in Baghdad)

12/07/04 19:27 ET