ARMENIAN FM SPEAKING ON KARABAKHI CONFLICT IN OSCE

A1+
07-12-2004

Today Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan made a speech at the
12th meeting of OSCE Ministers. Referring to the issue of OSCE reforms,
Armenian FM stated that though there are various power poles inward
the organization, Armenia can’t fully join any of them, and suggests
being a colleague, neighbour and a friend instead.

Then Minister talked about Nagorno Karabakh. Mentioning the 4 meetings
between Armenian Azerbaijani FMs and the one of 2 Presidents in Astana,
during which some progress was fixed Minister expressed regret that
Azerbaijan misled Karabakhi issue from the constructive course by
raising the refugee problem in UNO agenda.

Minister reminded about the conflict beginnings and the reasons of
the present situation. A group of CE MPs who were in Nagorno Karabakh
during the tense hostilities, have registered the following in 1992:
“As a result of recent Azerbaijani attacks villages were completely
ruined, peaceful residents were killed and children suffered violence
in Nagorno Karabakh”.

“Taking into account the decided superiority of Azerbaijani Armed
Forces in comparison with human power, weapons and equipment, fuel and
food provision, frequency of air bombing of Nagorno Karabakhi one,
we can suppose that a few weeks if not less are left till collapse
of Karabakh. It is obvious that genocide and transmigration will most
probably follow”, Minister cited.

Armenia keeps remaining loyal to Minsk Group activity and expects
for the same adherence of Azerbaijan, Minister informed.

Minister Oskanyan expressed hope that European Union Summit scheduled
on December 17 will underline necessity of opening the frontiers with
Armenia in connection with launching negotiations over Turkeyâ~@~Ys
membership. Minister Oskanyan talked about these issues with Jean
Asselborn, Luxemburg Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs
and Migration that will assume EU presidency beginning from January,
2005.

Armenian FM left for Brussels from Sofia to partake in the ministerial
sitting of NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Council.

–Boundary_(ID_d4qQK0r8YT+tfZF7qp1e4A)–

Armenian pilots sentenced in Equatorial Guinea coup place appeal

Agence France Presse — English
December 7, 2004 Tuesday 12:20 AM GMT

YEREVAN Dec 7 — Six Armenian pilots who last month were given stiff
jail sentences by a court in Equatorial Guinea for plotting to oust
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema have appealed to that country’s supreme
court, a senior Armenian foreign ministry official said late Monday.

Although Armenia did not expect the appeal to be successful, this
would open the possibility of then turning to international instances
for help, Ambassador Sergei Manaserian told a press conference.

“We do not expect (the supreme court) to overrule the court’s verdict,
but this move will enable us to turn to international instances in
the near future,” said Manaserian, who heads the foreign ministry
delegation trying to obtain the pilots’ release.

“We hope to receive an answer from the supreme court within two
months,” said Manaserian, who added that the appeal had been placed
by the pilots’ lawyer.

Armenian President Robert Kocharian sent his Equatorial Guinean
counterpart a message asking him to pardon the pilots, or to extradite
them to Armenia, Manaserian added.

“Armenia is continuing to do all it can, including through bilateral
negotiations and negotiations with international organizations, to
secure the release of our fellow citizens, who are not guilty and have
absolutely nothing to do with the attempted coup in that country,”
Manaserian said.

Two of the pilots were suffering from malaria and typhoid fever,
he said.

The six Armenian pilots were arrested last March. Three of them were
sentenced to 24 years in jail, while the other three received a 14
year sentence.

Five south Africans also received jail sentences for plotting against
the Equatorial Guinean authorities, and eight members of a government
in exile set up in Spain, Equatorial Guinea’s former colonial ruler,
were tried in their absence and sentenced to 52 years in prison each.

Exiled Equatorial Guinean opposition leader Severo Moto was sentenced
in his absence to 64 years in jail and fined two billion CFA francs
(three million euros).

The son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Mark,
was also heard by a South African court for allegedly bankrolling
the conspiracy.

Obiang’s regime, which has ruled since 1979 with an iron hand over
one of the world’s poorest countries turned major oil producer,
announced it had foiled a complex coup bid in March, which appeared to
have tentacles reaching across Africa and into Europe and the former
Soviet bloc.

Armenia slammed the verdict, saying the court had produced no proof
of the Armenians’ guilt.

Armenian ministers says Sofia talks on Karabakh fruitless

Yeni Musavat, Baku
7 Dec 04

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has said that the meeting
with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov in Sofia on 6
December was fruitless since no specific decision was made. Oskanyan
also criticized the OSCE Karabakh mediators for making no proposals
at the meeting. For his part, the Azerbaijani minister said that
Yerevan should abide by international law rather than coming up with
ideas based on “realities achieved by force”. However, the Russian
co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Yuriy Merzlyakov, said that
the mediators were upbeat about the Sofia talks and promised that
the sides would make public their positions soon. The following is
an excerpt from Alakbar Raufoglu’s report by Azerbaijani newspaper
Yeni Musavat on 7 December headlined “Mammadyarov-Oskanyan dialogue
resumed” and subheaded “Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers
agreed in Sofia to continue ‘Prague process'”; subheadings have been
inserted editorially:

The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers, Elmar Mammadyarov
and Vardan Oskanyan, met in Sofia yesterday [6 December].

[Passage omitted: reported details]

Another meeting planned

The Sofia meeting lasted for only about 25 minutes. The ministers
who first had one-to-one talks then continued the discussions with
the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen. No statement
was made for the media after the meeting.

A press release circulated by the press centre of the Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry yesterday evening just reads that “the sides discussed
a number of issues related to the [Nagornyy Karabakh] settlement and
regarded as necessary to actively and effectively continue the talks
in the near future”.

They decided to hold another round within the format of the Prague
meeting on the sidelines of a Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
session in Brussels on 9 December.

After the meeting, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov delivered a
speech at the 12th session of the OSCE foreign ministers. He drew
attention to the fact that Armenia which has occupied Azerbaijani
territories is striving to build up its military aggression. It
is pursuing an active settlement policy in Nagornyy Karabakh and
around it and “this is a serious violation of international law and
specifically runs counter to the Geneva Convention of 1949”. Baku
backs a settlement that is in line with relevant UN Security Council
resolutions and OSCE documents.

“We are ready to normalize relations with Armenia. But Yerevan should
not come up with realities achieved by force and the ideology of
territorial claims, but abide by international law and democracy,”
the minister said.

Armenian minister says talks were fruitless

“The results of the Sofia meeting will help continue the Prague process
which has already assumed a long-term nature. We touched on specific
issues and exchanged views during the talks,” Vardan Oskanyan said
in an interview with Armenian journalists yesterday evening (Arka
news agency).

He said that they had decided to continue the dialogue “at the
level of the current realities” at the meeting with his Azerbaijani
counterpart. The sides think that “the Prague process creates hopes
for good results”.

The meeting mainly focused on the presidents’ positions on the
Prague talks.

“We have already received relevant instructions from the heads of
states and from now on will discuss those details,” Oskanyan said.

He said that he had got the Armenian president’s blessing and
instructions before he visited Sofia, however, this was fruitless.

“We conduct discussions and talks, but finally we cannot make a
specific decision,” the Armenian minister said.

The meeting also discussed the recent increase of tension on
the frontline and also UN discussions on the illegal settlement
of Armenians on the occupied territories in Karabakh. Azerbaijan
informed Yerevan of its position on the two issues. “We decided that
these issues should be approached seriously and their influence on
the negotiating process should be taken into consideration. I hope
an end will be put to these issues,” Oskanyan said.

OSCE mediators upbeat on Sofia talks

The co-chairmen made no proposals during the Sofia meeting.

“We did not see any proposal. The mediators again just arrived and
left,” Oskanyan said.

[Passage omitted: no specific news can be expected from the dialogue
in the near future, if the co-chairmen continue their efforts this way]

“The co-chairmen are upbeat about the Sofia discussions. The sides
will meet in the near future and will make public their positions,”
the Russian co-chairman of the Minsk Group, Yuriy Merzlyakov, said
in an interview with Ekspress.

Azeri opposition paper critical of foreign minister’s Karabakh policy

Yeni Musavat, Baku
7 Dec 04 p 4

Text of Zahid report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat on 7
December headlined “Mammadyarov’s groundless optimism” and “The
minister claims that the Karabakh talks have entered ‘a second stage'”

The traditional annual meeting of OSCE foreign ministers started its
work in Sofia yesterday. Azerbaijan is represented by Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov at the meeting. According to available information,
the minister is expected to address his foreign counterparts. He
is also planning to meet Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
within the framework of the summit. It is curi ous that although it
was reported earlier that all three co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk
Group would join the meeting, Oskanyan said that only one of them
will come to Sofia.

If this fact is confirmed, this will be another confirmation
that there is really no constructive atmosphere in the Nagornyy
Karabakh talks. Otherwise, the mediators would be happy to join
the discussions. It seems that the mediators are also tired of the
tedious and nonproductive settlement process. The only person that
does not get tired is our foreign minister. Ostensibly, Mammadyarov
is very keen on sitting and chatting with his Armenian friend. He is
so keen that he used the following pithy phrase in connection with
the forthcoming meeting: “The first stage of the negotiations has
ended successfully and we are starting the second stage.”

Of course, there are some questions in this case. First, if the
negotiations are really successful, why did official Baku have to
raise the issue with the UN? On the other hand, what “second stage”
is he talking about? What miracle or progress happened and what did
we achieve in the first stage of the negotiations to make Mammadyarov
say now that “it is time to step into the second stage”? Maybe Mr
Mammadyarov thinks that the public still believes such fairy tales
by Azerbaijani officials? Maybe, he has not lived in the country for
a long time. For this reason, he probably thinks that the regime’s
plan of lies and falsifications has not been fulfilled yet.

And Oskanyan did not share the optimism of his Azerbaijani counterpart,
of course. If this man keeps saying on behalf of his government almost
every week and what’s more with full confidence that “Nagornyy Karabakh
has never been and will never be part of independent Azerbaijan”,
what rapprochement and “already completed first stage” is Mammadyarov
talking about? No-one, apart from the foreign minister himself,
knows for whom and why this stage has come to an end.

According to information received yesterday evening, the ministers
finally met. The meeting is said to have taken place with the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs in attendance. The sides discussed the prospects
for solving the Nagornyy Karabakh problem. But as can be seen from
everything, the Karabakh conflict is still not a priority issue
for the OSCE. The subject of Ukraine is in the focus of the OSCE’s
Sofia summit.

Azeri parliament to send factfinding mission to Georgia – speaker

Trend news agency
7 Dec 04

Baku, 7 December: Let the Georgian administration know that its incomes
as a sovereign state will depend on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) and
the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum oil and gas pipeline projects, Azerbaijani
Parliament Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov said in parliament today.

“Let them know that Azerbaijan has always maintained friendly relations
with Georgia and we are still in favour of that. There are up to
500,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Georgia. And Azerbaijanis will
live in this land,” the speaker said.

Alasgarov added that not a single ethnic Azerbaijani is currently
involved in the construction of BTC on the territory of Georgia and
no-one has received a plot of land, while ethnic Armenians have
received theirs. This issue perturbs the Azerbaijani side a lot,
the speaker added. He said a Milli Maclis [Azerbaijani parliament]
commission of four MPs would be set up to investigate the developments
unfolding in Georgia. The commission will be sent to Georgia on a
factfinding mission and prepare a report for the Milli Maclis. The
report will also be submitted to the presidents of the two countries.

It must be remembered that a woman was killed and several people
received various severe wounds as a result of an armed conflict
in the village of Asagi Guslar in Georgia’s Marneuli District last
week. The incident occurred between employees of a local stud farm
and ethnic Azerbaijanis who were protesting against the use of land
by the horse breeding factory. The Georgian Ministry of Internal
Affairs has instituted criminal proceedings into the incident.

AZERIS IN GEORGIA CAN UNDERTAKE MOST RADICAL MEASURES

PanArmenian News
Dec 7 2004

07.12.2004 18:13

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Azeris residing in Georgia can undertake most
radical measures – up to announcing an autonomy in the areas of
their compact residence, if the Georgian authorities do not stop
their discrimination policy towards the Azeris,” stated Zumrud
Gurbanov, the Chairman of Heyrat non-governmental organization, which
represents Azeris residing in Georgia. Day.az reported referring to
Trend news agency. Gurbanov is former MP of the Georgian Parliament,
representing E. Shevardnadze’s party. It should be reminded that the
other day a 65-year-old Azeri woman died at hospital from firearm
wounds. Four Azeris were gravely wounded due to an armed incident
next to Kula village. In Gurbanov’s words, “the incident in Kula
village took place before the eyes of the police, which did not
undertake anything.” Azeris compactly live in the South-Eastern part
of Georgia, known as Kvemo Kartli. These are the descendants Borchalu
Turkic-language tribes, which were brought to the region by Abbas
Iranian shah – after he had undertook mass expulsion of Georgians and
Armenians from the region. Azeris, whom the Georgians traditionally
call “Tatar”, today are the second on the size national minority of
Georgia. Most of them do not speak Georgian and are slightly integrated
into the Georgian society. Increase of Islamist sentiments among them
is not ruled out.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Belmedpreparaty to open trade agency in Armenia

Pharma Marketletter
December 7, 2004

Belarus-based pharmaceutical firm Belmedpreparaty is to open a trading
agency on the basis of the Sanara-farm pharmaceuticals company in
Armenia, according to the Belta news agency. This will represent the
firm’s first overseas trading operation.

The company said that the center has been opened in order to promote
the sale of its products on the Armenian market. Belmedpreparaty
currents sells 35 products in the country and exports are forecast
to rise 15% following the establishment of the agency.

Armenian, Russian MPs agree on more active cooperation in world bodies

Mediamax news agency
7 Dec 04

Yerevan, 7 December: Armenian and Russian parliamentarians have agreed
upon more active coordination of cooperation within international
organizations, “which will allow the two countries to effectively
protect their interests”, the vice-speaker of the Armenian National
Assembly and co-chairman of the Armenian-Russian interparliamentary
commission, Vaan Ovanesyan, told Mediamax in Yerevan today.

The vice-speaker expressed hope that the agreements reached at the
latest meeting of the commission in Moscow would be put into practice
in the months to come “during the forthcoming serious discussions of
the Nagornyy Karabakh problem and the situation in Chechnya at the
parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and NATO”.

The parliamentarians of the two counties appealed to the co-chairmen
of the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission and the Armenian
and Russian foreign ministers, suggesting that a ferry link be put into
operation between the port Kavkaz [in Russia’s Krasnodar Territory] and
Poti [in Georgia] before the direct railway through Abkhazia reopens.

The Armenian vice-speaker said that the operation of the ferry
would allow it to avoid adverse effects on the Armenian economy of
incidents such as the closure of the Verkhniy Lars checkpoint on the
Russian-Georgian border in September-October this year.

Blasts Shake 2 Northern Iraqi Churches By VOA News

Voice of America
Dec 7 2004

Authorities in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul say two Christian
churches have been the target of nearly simultaneous bomb attacks.

Witnesses say gunmen stormed the Armenian and Chaldean churches
Tuesday, planting explosives that detonated, setting the buildings
on fire. No casualties have been confirmed.

Iraq’s minority Christian community has been the target of attacks
before, most recently last month when three people were killed in a
bomb attack on a Baghdad church.

Meanwhile, interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said in published
interviews that elections set for January 30 could be staged over a
two or three week period to help ensure adequate security and give
all Iraqis the chance to vote.

Bombs explode at two churches in Mosul

AsiaNews.it, Italy
Dec 7 2004

Mosul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Twin bomb blasts have struck Christian
churches in Mossul, in northern Iraq. It appears that neither blast
caused victims. Both attacks were carried out in the same manner:
a commando entered the church, had people leave the premises and set
off bombs. The first blast struck the Chaldean cathedral in Mossul,
northern Iraq. The church in question was considered by many the most
beautiful in the area.

The news was given by a local priest, Fr. Raghid Aziz Kara, according
to whom an armed group stormed the church this afternoon at 4:30 p.m.
local time and forced the people there to move into the courtyard.
The commando then placed various explosive devices in the church.
Again according to Fr. Kara, the attackers then moved everyone out
of the area and set off the bombs.

Mossul’s Chaldean church was build in 1950 and was enlarged in the
1990s. A similar attack was carried out almost simultaneously against
an Armenian-rite church in the city. In this case as well, attackers
cleared people out of the church and then made their bombs explode

–Boundary_(ID_Ep+mAwwDIBf2uy7+ffMSkw)–