ARTSAKH PAYS TRIBUTE TO SPITAK EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS

STEPANAKERT, December 7 (Noyan Tapan). On December 7, NKR President
Arkady Goukassian visited the Memorial complex in Stepanakert,
where he laid flowers to the monument to the 1988 Spitak earthquake
victims. According to the Head Information Department attached to
the NKR President, NKR NA Chairman Oleg Yesayan, NKR Prime Minister
Anushavan Danielian, members of the Security Council, the heads
of tbe ministries and departments, executives of the presidential
staff, the parliament and the NKR government, staffs of enterprises,
organizations, institutions and educational establishments of Nagorno
Karabakh also laid flowers.

STEPANAKERT ALMOST COMPLETELY SUPPLIED WITH GAS

STEPANAKERT, December 7 (Noyan Tapan). At present the gasification of
NKR capital Stepanakert has almost finished. The Press Service of NKR
government informed NT about this with reference to Maxim Mirzoyan,
Executive Director of Artsakhgas state-owned CJSC. According to the
same source, during 10 months of 2004 the number of subscribers using
natural gas increased by 1428, owing to which 78m drams additionally
entered the state budget compared with the previous year. During this
period about 30% of pipeline network of 25-year-old antiquity was
fundamentally repaired. It was also mentioned that it’s envisaged to
supply all the populated areas of Martuni region with gas in 2005,
mounting will continue in Martakert, Askeran and Shushi regions,
gasification of Hadrut region will also begin.

Deux églises chrétiennes attaquées en Irak, à Mossoul

Libération, France
mardi 07 décembre 2004

MOSSOUL, Irak – Des hommes armés ont fait irruption dans deux églises
de Mossoul, une arménienne et une chaldéenne, en faisant sortir les
occupants avant de faire exploser des engins qui ont endommagé les
édifices religieux, sans faire de victimes, rapportent des témoins.

La ville du nord de l’Irak est principalement peuplée d’Arabes sunnites
et de Kurdes, qui ont du mal à cohabiter, mais également de nombreux
chrétiens, qui forment une minorité forte de 3,0% au niveau national.

–Boundary_(ID_oMuz9vmhd/i2+8W5PEpSmg)–

Iraq, fatta saltare una seconda chiesa cristiana in città

KataWeb, Italia
martedì 07 dicembre 2004

Quasi contemporaneamente all’attentato dinamitardo che ha fatto saltare
questo pomeriggio la chiesa caldea di Mosul (leggi qui), un altro
attacco è stato condotto, con modalità quasi identiche, contro una
chiesa armena della città. Anche qui, un gruppo di uomini armati ha
fatto uscire tutti i presenti, poi ha piazzato e fatto brillare dverse
cariche esplosive. Entrambi gli edifici hanno subito gravi danni.

–Boundary_(ID_+/xwcCgeLf6R+jJftUoD+Q)–

Turquie : nouveau débat à droite
par ENGUÉRAND RENAULT

Les Echos, France
7 décembre 2004

A dix jours d’un sommet européen crucial, au cours duquel les
Vingt-Cinq doivent décider de l’ouverture des négociations d’adhésion
de la Turquie à l’Union, partisans et opposants d’Ankara se mobilisent,
en demandant tous la reconnaissance rapide du génocide arménien de
1915. Après Patrick Devedjian, dimanche, c’est François Bayrou qui
réclame aujourd’hui, dans le mensuel « Nouvelles d’Arménie Magazine »,
qu’Ankara reconnaisse le génocide.

« Il n’est même pas concevable qu’il y ait un partenariat privilégié
avec la Turquie sans cette reconnaissance publique et claire », pointe
le président de l’UDF, qui milite contre l’entrée de la Turquie dans
l’Union. Dans le même mensuel, Pierre Lellouche, qui, contrairement
à son propre parti, l’UMP, est, favorable à cette adhésion, déclare
que « si la diaspora faisait de cette reconnaissance un préalable
à toute adhésion ou rapprochement avec la Turquie, elle commettrait
une erreur ». « Il ne faut pas en faire un préalable, mais l’une des
conditions du processus », estime-t-il.

–Boundary_(ID_4GDnXwI1eoELRE7V1ZgTNw)–

IRAQ: MOSSUL, DINAMITE CONTRO CHIESA CALDEA (2)

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
Martedì, il 7 dicembre 2004

(ANSA-REUTERS) – MOSSUL (IRAQ), 7 DIC – Un attentato analogo e stato
portato quasi contemporaneamente contro una chiesa armena della
citta’. Anche in questo caso gli attaccanti hanno fatto uscire tutti
i presenti e hanno fatto saltare cariche di esplosivi.

In nessuno dei due attentati ci sono stati feriti, ma entrambi gli
edifici hanno subito gravi danni.

–Boundary_(ID_yXRYoX0XRo172bdurhNTkA)–

RUSSIA WILL NOT ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR FULL RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS IN
POST-SOVIET AREA, BUT IT IS READY TO MEDIATE, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7. ARMINFO. Russia will not assume responsibility
for full resolution of the conflicts in the post-Soviet area, but
it is ready to mediate, Russian President Vladimir Putin says in
response to the questions of Russian journalists after Russian-Turkish
negotiations in Ankara, Monday.

President Putin says that Russia is really interested in resolution of
these conflicts as it wants the region to become stable. When solving
any complicated issues, including the political confrontation in the
Ukraine and Abkhazia, Russia is ready to further play a mediatory
role as it understands the difficulty of such problems best of all,
Putin says. Commenting on the situation in the Ukraine, the president
pointed out inadmissibility of any threats to the candidates running
for presidency as well as arbitrary interpretation and changes in the
legislation in favor of one of the parties. In his words, Russia cannot
support such developments even if one calls it democracy. Performing
its mediatory role, the Russian leadership continues closely cooperate
with the current authorities, acting absolutely correct and not
behind-the-scene. Russia is ready to deal with any president who the
Ukrainian people will elected, Vladimir Putin says.

Armenian foreign minister denies “humanitarian crisis” in Karabakh

Arminfo
Dec 07, 2004

Yerevan, 7 December: In the process of the peaceful settlement of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, Armenia remains loyal to the Minsk process
[OSCE Minsk Group] and expects the same attitude from Azerbaijan,
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said while touching on the
problem of settling the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict in his address to
the 12th session of the OSCE Council of Ministers in Sofia.

In this connection, Oskanyan recalled the four meetings between
the Armenian and Azerbaijani ministers and the Astana meeting of
the two countries’ presidents where certain progress was made,
the public relations department of the Armenian Foreign Ministry
told Arminfo news agency. Vardan Oskanyan expressed his regret
that Azerbaijan, having raised the issue of refugees with the UN,
shifted the problem from the constructive path. In counterbalance
to Azerbaijani propaganda which presents Azerbaijan as a victim, the
Armenian foreign minister recalled the roots of the conflict and the
causes of today’s realities. A group of Council of Europe deputies who
visited Nagornyy Karabakh during fierce fighting in 1992 noted that
“villages were completely destroyed, thousands of people were killed
and children were subjected to violence as a result of Azerbaijani
attacks. Taking account of Azerbaijan’s military advantage, we can
presume that only a few weeks are left to the catastrophe of Nagornyy
Karabakh, which will be followed by genocide and forced eviction,”
Vardan Oskanyan quoted the aforesaid group as saying in a statement.

He also recalled the 500,000 Armenians forced to leave Baku and
the conflict zone who are also waiting for the settlement of
the conflict. As for the settlement of the territories [by ethnic
Armenians], Vardan Oskanyan pointed out again that neither Armenia nor
Nagornyy Karabakh are conducting a state policy in this sphere. On the
contrary, such a policy is being conducted in Azerbaijan, the minister
stressed, recalling relevant decrees by the Azerbaijani president
to settle previously Armenian-populated territories in Shaumyan ,
Getashen and northern Mardakert occupied by Azerbaijan. According to
the same decree, the Oil Fund of Azerbaijan allocated 18m dollars for
settling Azerbaijanis in the aforesaid districts, although Armenians
waiting for the settlement of the conflict are still living there. The
UN has issued a report instructing Azerbaijan to find alternative
places of residence for them, Vardan Oskanyan recalled.

In other words, there is no humanitarian crisis today, the minister
stressed. The situation is equally complex for both sides, which
should not be used for speculative purposes, but should be seen
as part of the complex process. For this reason, Armenia continues
to remain loyal to the Minsk process and expects the same attitude
from Azerbaijan, the Armenian foreign minister said at the end of
his speech.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian opposition secretary predicts election fraud

Arminfo
7 Dec 04

Yerevan, 7 December: “One cannot but call the discord inside the
ruling coalition about reforming Armenia’s electoral code ruckuses,”
the secretary of the parliamentary faction of the [Armenian] opposition
Justice bloc, Viktor Dallakyan, has told Arminfo.

The parties in the ruling coalition have neither a principled
position, nor the interests of the state in mind, he said. “The
issue of the ratio of the number of deputies elected on party lists
and from single-seat constituencies is artificially exaggerated. The
problem is not about the ratio of the number of deputies elected on
any system, but it is about the presence or lack of the will of the
authorities to hold just and fair elections. Under the circumstances,
the elections will be falsified equally both on the party lists and
in first-past-the-post constituencies,” Dallakyan stressed.

He said that the representatives of the three parties are only
concerned about having seats in the future parliament rather than
reforming the electoral code.

[Passage omitted: background]

MP rejects talks between Karabakh’s Armenian, Azeri communities

Arminfo
7 Dec 04

Yerevan, 7 December: Armenian Deputy Speaker Vaan Ovanesyan today
described as “unacceptable” the proposal to hold talks between
“the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities” of Nagornyy Karabakh put
forward in the preliminary draft report of the PACE [Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe] rapporteur [on Nagornyy Karabakh],
David Atkinson.

Ovanesyan said that a similar provision was absent from the previous
draft report prepared by Terry Davis, incumbent secretary-general of
the Council of Europe.

The deputy speaker recalled that Davis had mentioned the need to hold
talks between the Azerbaijani and Karabakh sides.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress