Erdogan: All Sectors in Turkey are Essential

Zaman, Turkey
Dec 7 2004

While the critical December 17th European Union (EU) summit quickly
approaches, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a
message to Europe about Turkey’s provisions toward minorities.

Yesterday, Erdogan spoke at the opening ceremony of the Yedikule Surp
Pirgic Armenian Hospital Foundation Museum in Istanbul. “In my heart,
this museum is a humanity museum.”

After voicing that all sectors living in Turkey are essential
elements of Turkey, the Prime Minister added: “We, as being the
children of this country, have lived together in confidence and peace
for centuries. We protect our law with civic consciousness in a
friendship. It will be like that for all eternity.” The Director of
the Hospital, Setrat Tokat, revealed his support for Turkey’s
membership bid to the EU during his remarks.

While commenting about the art the hospital displays, Erdogan said
that no eye surveying the works should look at the history of the two
cultures with crossed eyes.

Erdogan stressed: “We have in our culture, in the words of Yunus
Emre, ‘we love the created because we love the Creator’. Loving all
created things is a task common to both of our beliefs. I am here
because of this.”

After remarking that all around, Anatolian people say, “I have an
Armenian master” Erdogan said, “We cannot separate our trade,
architecture, folk music, and cuisine from each other.”

Erdogan reminded the audience that Sultan II commissioned the
Armenian hospital 172 years ago. Erdogan said that the paintings in
the museum documented a harmonious past while mass information and
speculations distort present attitudes.

12.06.2004
Baran Tas
Istanbul

Armenians Disappointed With Democratic Structures

Centre for Public Opinion and Democracy, Canada
Dec 6 2004

(CPOD) Dec. 6, 2004 – Many residents of Armenia are unhappy with thir
country’s outlook, according to a poll by the International
Foundation for Election Systems (IFES). 69 per cent of respondents
are dissatisfied with the overall situation in their country.

According to a Human Rights Watch report, hundreds of demonstrators
were detained in April and May during a series of protests against
the government. The offices of at least three opposition political
parties were raided.

President Robert Kocharyan was re-elected to a new four-year term in
March 2003 in an election marred by fraud allegations. 52 per cent of
respondents believe Armenia is not a democracy.

The Nagorno-Karabakh region is controlled by ethnic Armenians—who
consider the area an independent republic—but is claimed by
Azerbaijan as part of its territory. A war broke out in the early
1990s between both nations, ending in an unofficial truce negotiated
by Russia in 1994. Kocharyan was born in Nagorno-Karabakh and once
headed its government. Armenia is the only country that recognizes
Nagorno-Karabakh as a sovereign state.

Polling Data

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the overall situation in the
country?

Satisfied
28%

Dissatisfied
69%

Is Armenia a democracy?

Not a democracy
52%

A democracy
12%

Both
31%

Don’t know
5%

Source: International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES)
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews to 1,606 Armenian adults,
conducted from Aug. 4 to Aug. 19, 2004. Margin of error is 2.4 per
cent.

–Boundary_(ID_cgF5N5x6NtTCm07srHlJrQ)–

Azeri, Armenian foreign ministers discuss Karabakh in Sofia

Mediamax news agency
6 Dec 04

Yerevan, 6 December: A meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani
foreign ministers, Vardan Oskanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov, took place
on the sidelines of a regular meeting of OSCE ministers in Sofia on
Sunday 5 December.

The meeting was attended by the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group,
the Armenian Foreign Ministry press service reported. The foreign
ministers of the two countries discussed issues related to the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict and exchanged views on settlement
prospects.

Azeri officer on trial in Hungary complains of abuse

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 6 2004

Senior lieutenant of Azerbaijani armed forces Ramil Safarov charged
with murdering an Armenian serviceman in Budapest, has sent a statement
to Hungarian prosecutor’s office, Safarov’s lawyer Adil Ismaylov said.

“We have forwarded a statement to Hungary’s Military Prosecutor’s
Office due to the fact that prison guards used force on my client.”
Islmaylov said a criminal case has been started based on the document
and that the Hungarian prosecutor’s office is investigating the
incident. The investigation does not concern the trial of the
Azerbaijani officer currently under way, the attorney added.

Safarov’s trial started in Budapest on November 23. The proceedings
have been adjourned until February 8 due to the summoning of new
witnesses to court.*

Sentence of Armenian pilots in Equatorial Guinea “absurd”, envoy says

Noyan Tapan news agency
6 Dec 04

Yerevan, 6 December: The written verdict of a court in Equatorial
Guinea as regards Armenian pilots is absurd, Ambassador Sergey
Minasaryan [who headed the Armenian delegation during visits to
Malabo], who has returned from this country, has told journalists. The
court verdict said the Armenian pilots had performed unauthorized
flights, while the ambassador believes that every flight even in an
African country is registered by the computer.

Ambassador Minasaryan said everything had been done to reach “common
ground” with the authorities in Equatorial Guinea, including a request
by the Armenian president to his counterpart to hand over the Armenian
pilots. Another address was made by Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin
II, but no reply followed. The Armenian president has recently sent
his second appeal, together with a draft agreement on extradition.

The ambassador believes that the verdict caught everyone off guard
because while the prosecutor had asked for 86 years’ imprisonment for
one of the local residents, the court sentenced him only to 13 months
in prison. At the same time, the sentences of the Armenian pilots
are too harsh: the captain of the crew was sentenced to 24 years,
while the rest of the crew got 14 years and different penalties.

Sergey Minasaryan added that on the day following the verdict he
was allowed to meet the Armenian pilots. He said they were in a
bad psychological condition because they were still in handcuffs
and shackles.

The diplomat assured journalists that more efforts would be taken,
that work was progressing in all directions, “but we have to keep in
mind the specificity of the country in question”.

The Armenian side has already appealed to the Supreme Court of
Equatorial Guinea, but if its verdict is also negative, Armenia will
apply to international institutions.

[Six Armenian pilots have been convicted for attempting to stage a
coup d’etat in Equatorial Guinea.]

OSKANIAN AND MAMEDYAROV AGAIN DISCUSS KARABAGH

ArmenPress
Dec 6 2004

SOFIA, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS: Armenian foreign affairs minister
Vartan Oskanian, who left for Bulgaria’s capital Sofia on December 5 to
participate in the 12th OSCE Ministerial Council on 6 and 7 December,
had a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mamedyarov during
a working dinner with the OSCE Minsk group cochairmen the same evening.

Armenian foreign affairs ministry said both minister discussed the
current pace of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict resolution and exchanged
ideas on resolution prospects.

Minister Oskanian is scheduled to take floor on December 7. From Sofia
he will fly to Brussels where he will attend a regular ministerial
meeting of NATO’s Euro Atlantic Partnership Council on December 9.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Statement calling for Iraq vote delay signed by 68 political, tribal groups

Quds Press news agency, London
6 Dec 04

Text of statement issued 5 December by 68 Iraqi entities urging
postponement of general elections; published by Quds Press web
news agency

Baghdad, 6 December: Following is a joint statement issued by 68
Iraqi political parties, political movements and tribal groupings
proclaiming a united stand in calling for the postponement of the
Iraqi elections scheduled to be held on 30 January 2005.

Text of the statement: In the name of God, the most Merciful, the most
Compassionate. With God’s blessings, the political forces and entities
included in the attached list and registered at the Independent
[Higher] Election Commission [in Iraq] (IEC) [English acronym as
published] met in the Babil Hotel in Baghdad on 5 December 2004,
corresponding to 23 Shawwal 1425 AH, and agreed on the following.

1. All the conferees continue to believe that there are certain
objective and strong reasons that necessitate the postponement of the
elections from their scheduled date of 30 January 2005 for a period
of not less or about six months.

2. The conferees fully realize that there are no guarantees that
the security and political situations will be better on the proposed
alternate date. However, they agree that real action can be taken
in various fields that would provide a better environment to hold
the elections are a later date, while working to bring about the
participation of forces that reject the electoral process and calm
the situation in the hot areas.

3. The desire of the conferees to postpone the elections stems from
purely nationalist considerations pertaining to the interests of all
the various political, ethnic and religious currents of the Iraqi
people or their future. The conferees strongly denounce the local
and foreign media outlets that have portrayed our desire as a wish
to realize the interests of one sect over another. The presence
of the various sects in this conference attests to this fact. The
conferees call on the Iraqi brethren that are not convinced of the
usefulness of our call to sit at the negotiating table in order to
hold consultations and discussions on the proposed topic.

4. The conferees appeal to all the neighbouring countries not to
meddle in Iraq’s affairs and not to exploit the state of division
that unfortunately took place due to a dispute on the date of the
elections. The conferees call on the neighbouring countries to leave
this matter for the Iraqis to decide upon freely.

5. The conferees decided to send urgent letters to the US
Administration and its allies, the Iraqi government, the secretary
general of the United Nations, the secretary general of the Arab
League, the secretariat of the Muslim Conference Organization, the
secretariat of the European Union, and the Gulf Cooperation Council
to convince them of the usefulness of the proposed postponement and to
urge them to exert pressure to postpone the elections to a later date.

6. The conferees pledge commitment to what has been agreed upon. They
pledge to educate the people on the informational level and in all
aspects in the usefulness of the call to postpone the elections.

7. A non-postponement would mean the potential holding of the elections
under bad circumstances that may prevent many Iraqis from freely
and safely reaching the ballot boxes. Thus, the lack of general and
comprehensive participation would mean the emergence of a council
that would not enjoy full participation and would thus lack legitimacy.

8. The conferees have agreed to present a number of political
projects to be adopted as an alternative to the elections during the
postponement period.

9. The conferees agreed to form a follow-up committee consisting of
representatives from the political parties and movements.

The Signatories: 68 political parties and movements and tribal
groupings, as follows:

1. The Iraqi Islamic Party.

2. The Reconciliation and Liberation Bloc.

3. The Iraqi National Movement.

4. The Grouping for Iraq.

5. The Arab Socialist Movement.

6. Prince Ahmad Taha Ahmad Yasin Mahmud.

7. The Islamic Kurdistani Union.

8. The Unity Party.

9. The National Salvation Party.

10. The National Front for the Unity of Iraq.

11. The Al-Ummah Party.

12. The Iraqi National Grouping.

13. The Arab Democratic Front.

14. The Iraqi National Liberation Movement.

15. The Democratic Iraqi Current.

16. The Joint Action Front.

17. The Iraqi National Coalition.

18. The Tribes of Al Bu-Sultan.

19. The Turkoman Nationality in Iraq.

20. The Independent National Front.

21. The National Front for the Tribes of Iraq.

22. The National Front of Independents.

23. The Iraqi National Bloc.

24. The Democratic Centre.

25. The General Secretariat of United Iraq.

26. The Armenian Democratic Grouping.

27. The National Forum of the Sons of Iraq.

28. The Iraqi People Grouping.

29. The Al-Fudul Party of the Tribes.

30. The Tribes of Iraq Coalition.

31. The Council of the Al-Jubur Tribe.

32. The Iraqi Elections Organization.

33. The institutions of civic society.

34. The General Federation of Labour Unions.

35. The National Liberation Movement.

36. The Leadership of the Tribes of Iraq Rally.

37. The esteemed council members and elders of the Al-Harbah tribe.

38. The council of the tribal shaykhs of
Al-Ubaydi/Al-Shuhada/Al-Shamma’iyah.

39. The esteemed council members and tribal shaykhs of Sab-al-Bur.

40. The Union of Honourables (Al-Fallujah).

41. The Central Council of the shaykhs and elders of the Al-Zahra
Tribes.

42. The Constitutional Movement for the Monarchial Coalition.

43. The United Council of shaykhs and elders of Iraq’s Tribes
(Al-Sha’b).

44. The League of the Al-Ahwar Tribes.

45. The Al-Mandani Al-Sa’ibah sect.

46. The Central Council of Elders of Iraqi and Arab Tribes.

47. The General Federation of Farmers and Peasants.

48. The League of the Medical Staff in the Al-Tib [Medical] City.

49. The Youth Freedom Organization.

50. The Diyala Federation of Teachers in Diyala.

51. The National Union of Iraqi Students.

52. The National Council of Iraq’s Tribes.

53. The Society of Iraqi Parliamentarians.

54. The Democratic Popular Front.

55. The Bara’im al-Iraq Organization.

56. The National Alliance of Political Forces.

57. The Islamic Union for Sufism.

58. The Society of Independent Women (Mosul).

59. The Council of the Arab Tribes Coalition (Mosul).

60. The Federation of Farmers, Diyala Branch.

61. The Union of Teachers in Mandali.

62. The Shams al-Duha Society.

63. The Welfare Society of the retired.

64. The Central United Alliance of the Tribes of Iraq.

65. The Al-Sadah al-Ulwiyyah Society in Iraq.

66. The League of Turkoman Tribes (The Independent Democratic
Grouping).

67. The General Federation of Iraqi Women.

68. The Union for Iraq.

ARMENIAN ARMY OFFICERS HAVE IHL INSTRUCTORS’ COURSE

ArmenPress
Dec 6 2004

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS: A five-day training course on
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) has started today in the resort
town of Tsakhkadzor (some 40 km north of Yerevan) for 12 officers
from the Ministry of Defense’s Combat Training, Missile Troops and
Artillery Departments, Military Institute and Institute of Military
Aviation, as well as Army corps and units. The course, designed for
future IHL instructors is organized by the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) jointly with the Ministry of Defense of Armenia.

Conducted by the ICRC’s Armed and Security Forces Expert in South
Caucasus, this course focuses on the effective use of the “IHL for
Commanders” and “IHL for Instructors” manuals, used as didactic tools
for IHL training in the Armenian Army. During the course, topics
such as conduct of operations, command responsibilities and behavior
in combat will be covered with particular emphasis on requirements
stipulated by IHL. The ICRC and its activities will also be presented.

A similar training course was organized recently, in October 2004.
Through such courses, the ICRC seeks to ensure that officers from
Armenian Armed Forces know and respect the rules and principles of IHL.

The ICRC stands ready to support the Armenian military authorities
in integrating IHL into the teaching and combat training programs of
the Armenian Armed Forces.

EURASIA FOUNDATION PLEDGES $2 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR 2005

ArmenPress
Dec 6 2004

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS: The director of the Eurasia Foundation
Armenia office, Ara Nazinian, told a last Friday news conference
that the Foundation plans to provide Armenian non-governmental
organizations with around $2 million grants next year. Since its
inception in Armenia in 1995 the Foundation has made available some
600 grants totaling $20 million.

The bulk of that money came from the USAID, other major donors were
well-known Armenian Diaspora financial organizations-Lincy Foundation,
Kafesjian and Izmirlian Foundations, as well as the Open Society
Institute.

In the outgoing year the Eurasia Foundation has funded 70 projects
with a total budget of $1.5 million and has approved another 25 new
projects worth some $600,000. Almost two third of funding goes to
non-governmental organizations, active in Armenia’s regions. Ara
Nazinian said the policy of the Foundation is to shift the work and
investments from the capital Yerevan to regions.

He said the main focus of next year’s projects will be on projects
of regional importance, which will cover improvement of business
environment, development of local self-management bodies, improvement
of conditions of local mass media and introduction of high technology
in higher educational system.

Along with that the Eurasia Foundation will fund all other projects
which contain innovations and tend to strengthening of democratic
society.

AUTHORITIES VOW TO DISMANTLE ANOTHER 15 ILLEGAL PETROL STATIONS

ArmenPress
Dec 6 2004

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS: Yerevan authorities have vowed to
dismantle another 15 petrol-filling stations by the end of the year,
which were built in violation of rules. A municipality official said
the authorities started drawing the overall inventory last spring
and have so far closed or dismantled 100 such stations, kiosks, car
washing points and other outlets. He said after a thorough study some
other petrol filling stations would be pulled down.

He said the goal of the inventory is to identify illegally operating
outlets, to dismantle those which were built in violation of the
accepted standards.