Covenant hailed as a landmark

Townsville Bulletin/Townsville Sun (Australia)
November 25, 2004 Thursday

AUSTRALIAN churches signed a covenant during the Fifth National Forum
of the National of Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA).

The forum was held in Adelaide last month.

Church leaders have hailed the covenant as one of the most
significant events in Australia’s ecumenical history.

“It’s an international benchmark,” NCCA president, Rev James Haire of
the Uniting Church said.

“No one else I believe, anywhere in the world, has been able to
produce anything quite as comprehensive as this. It is true that the
US is working towards something similar — but that doesn’t include
the Catholics.”

The invitation to the churches in Australia to engage in a process of
covenanting together at the national level has been grounded in the
conviction that ecumenical commitment is fundamental to the integrity
of the Church’s mission.

The process since 1996 has been an invitation to the churches, at the
national level, to take specific steps towards a more visible
expression of unity, to move towards a deeper experience of communion
(koinonia).

Bishop Michael Putney was present in Adelaide for the Forum of the
National Council of Churches.

Archbishop Carroll, president of the Australia Catholic Bishops
Conference, signed the covenant on behalf of the Catholic Church.

The first part of the covenanting document includes a Declaration of
Intent by the member churches.

It reaffirms their commitment to one another as partners on the
ecumenical journey and another to engage in an ongoing process of
growing together not knowing what visible form, unity, which is God’s
will and gift, may take.

The signatories to the covenant are: the Anglican Church of
Australia; Anticohian Orthodox Church; Armenian Apostolic Church;
Assyrian Church of the East; Churches of Christ in Australia;
Congregation Federation of Australia; Coptic Orthodox Church of
Australia, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia; Lutheran Church
of Australia; Religious Society of Friends; Roman Catholic Church in
Australia, Romania Orthodox Church; the Salvation Army; Syrian
Orthodox Church and Uniting Church in Australia.

Different churches then agreed to more specific parts of the
covenant.

The Catholic Church agreed:

* To explore initiatives for sharing physical resources such as
buildings

* To explore with other Christian communities issues and strategies
for mission so that the possibility of common mission is recognised
as a priority

* To seek, to develop clear and sensitive guidelines dealing with
how Christian churches together can best meet the needs of people in
local (especially rural) situations

* To recognise the Sacrament of Baptism administered in the other
Christian churches and to promote the use to the common certificate
of baptism.

Kazakh, Armenia presidents congratulate Yanukovich on victory

ITAR-TASS News Agency
November 25, 2004 Thursday 1:04 PM Eastern Time

KIEV, November 25 — The presidents of Kazakhstan and Armenia,
Nursultan Nazarbayev and Robert Kocharyan, congratulated Viktor
Yanukovich on winning the presidential election in Ukraine, the press
service of the incumbent prime minister reports.

Nazarbayev’s congratulatory message says: “My cordial congratulations
upon your election to the supreme post in Ukraine. Your victory
bespeaks of the choice of the Ukrainian people in favour of the
nation’s unity, the democratic path of development and the economic
progress. People in Kazakhstan attach particular importance to the
further development of many-faceted ties with fraternal Ukraine and
the strengthening of cooperation in all areas of mutual interest”.

Kazakhstan’s president expressed the confidence that “the relations
of mutual understanding and confidence between our countries will be
developed further” during Yanukovich’s presidency.

The Armenian president in his congratulatory message expressed the
confidence that “friendship and mutual understanding between Armenia
and Ukraine will continue developing successfully and deepening to the
benefit of our states and peoples”. Kocharyan wished health and success
to Yanukovich and well-being and prosperity to the Ukrainian people.

Armenian opposition parties oppose plans to send troops to Iraq

Associated Press Worldstream
November 25, 2004 Thursday 3:34 PM Eastern Time

YEREVAN, Armenia — Armenia’s opposition parties said Thursday they
would interrupt their boycott of parliamentary sessions to oppose a
government plan to send troops to Iraq during its expected discussion
in parliament.

Armenian President Robert Kocharian pledged 50 troops in September,
but the final decision on sending troops is to be made by the
Constitutional Court and parliament.

The Constitutional Court is expected to rule within the next few
days. In case of the Court’s positive conclusion, it will be up to
parliament to decide whether to dispatch a team of bomb disposal
experts, doctors and transport specialist to Iraq.

Deputy leader of the opposition National Unity party, Aleksan
Karapetian, said Thursday that by sending troops to Iraq, Armenia
would endanger the 25,000-person Armenian community living in the
Middle Eastern country.

Leader of the Justice opposition alliance Viktor Dallakian said
they would break their boycott of parliament sessions and would
“categorically” oppose sending Armenian soldiers to Iraq.

Two dozen opposition deputies have been boycotting parliamentary
sessions since February to protest last year’s re-election of
Kocharian, a vote the opposition charges was marred by widespread
irregularities.

Pro-government parties make up a majority in the 131-member
parliament. However, the leader of one of the pro-government factions,
Galust Saakian, also expressed opposition on Thursday to the plan to
commit troops to Iraq. He said the idea would not be backed by the
Armenian people.

The former Soviet republic has sought to portray the decision to send
troops to Iraq as a way to boost ties with Europe.

Defense minister: Azerbaijan committed to fighting terrorism

Associated Press Worldstream
November 25, 2004 Thursday 12:41 PM Eastern Time

BAKU, Azerbaijan — Azerbaijan is stepping up the fight against
terrorism by tracking down terrorist organizations and their sponsors,
the country’s defense minister said Thursday.

During the past six years, authorities have exposed six branches
of charity foundations believed to be financing terrorists, Defense
Minister Ramil Usubov said at a NATO Parliamentary Assembly seminar.

The organizations have been shut and 43 people associated with them
have been expelled from the country, Usubov added.

Meanwhile, in the last five years, authorities have detained 30 people
connected with the Islamic Jihad and the Islamic Army of the Caucasus
terrorist organizations, he said. Twenty members of rebel groups have
been tried in courts.

Usubov also said that Azerbaijan has detained and extradited to Russia
14 rebels believed to have organized various terrorist attacks.

He stressed that one of Azerbaijan’s main problems was illegal
migration, which fuels drugs and weapons trafficking, as well as
human trafficking and the smuggling of goods across borders.

The three-day seminar was supposed to have been attended by two
Armenian lawmakers, but they failed to show up at the last minute.

The Armenian deputies decided not to attend because their letter to the
heads of the Azerbaijani parliament and NATO Parliamentary Assembly
with a request to guarantee security of the Armenian deputies had
been left unanswered, said Mger Shakhgeldian, head of the Armenian
parliament’s commission for defense matters.

Previous visits to Baku by Armenian officials resulted in protests
staged by activists of Nagorno-Karabakh – an ethnic Armenian enclave
disputed by both countries.

Neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan is a NATO member, but both former
Soviet republics participate in NATO’s Partnership for Peace program.

Armenian legislators skip NATO seminar in Azerbaijan out of security fears

Associated Press Worldstream
November 25, 2004 Thursday

YEREVAN, Armenia — Armenian legislators said Thursday they would
not attend a NATO-organized seminar in neighboring Azerbaijan out of
fears for their safety.

The two ex-Soviet republics fought over the ethnic Armenian
Nagorno-Karabakh enclave in Azerbaijan in 1988-1994. Azerbaijan
does not recognize the territory’s de facto independence, won with
Armenia’s backing.

The conflict froze official relations and left the two peoples with
a strong sense of enmity.

NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly seminar in the Azerbaijani capital Baku
opened Thursday. Armenian deputies had decided not to attend because
their letter to the heads of the Azerbaijani parliament and NATO
Parliamentary Assembly with a request to guarantee security of the
Armenian deputies had been left unanswered, said Mger Shakhgeldian,
head of the Armenian parliament’s commission for defense matters.

Members of the radical Azerbaijani Organization for the Liberation
of Karabakh reportedly staged an anti-Armenian protest in Baku ahead
of the seminar.

In September, NATO canceled joint exercises with the involvement of
the two countries’ militaries because of Azerbaijan’s opposition to
Armenia’s participation.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Orquesta Sinfónica de Guayaquil llega a Argentina

El Comercio, Argentina
Jueves, 25 de Noviembre de 2004

Buenos Aires, EFE — La Orquesta Sinfónica de Guayaquil se presenta
hoy en el Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires con un repertorio de clásicos
del romanticismo y música instrumental ecuatoriana en lo que será la
primera escala de su gira sudamericana.

“Será una función muy importante, no sólo por lo que representa
el Colón, sino porque será mi primera actuación como director de
la orquesta fuera de los escenarios de Ecuador”, dijo hoy a EFE el
director armenio David Harutyunyan.

La primera parte del repertorio de los ecuatorianos en el Colón, uno
de los principales escenarios de la lírica mundial, incluye “Capricho
español”, de Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, y la obertura fantasía “Romeo
y Julieta”, de Piotr Illich Tchaikovsky.

En la segunda parte, dedicada a los “sonidos ecuatorianos”, la
orquesta de Guayaquil interpretará la suite del ballet “Aborigen”,
de Luis Humberto Salgado, obra que muestra escenas y rituales que
aparecen con el encuentro de las culturas hispanas e indígena.

El programa también incluye el poema sinfónico “Rumiñahui”, de Álvaro
Manzano, basado en temas de antes de los incas y en ritmos autóctonos
ecuatorianos y escrito en homenaje al héroe que defendió de la invasión
española al territorio de lo que actualmente es Ecuador.

“El repertorio escogido no sólo nos permitirá demostrar fuera del país
la calidad de la escuela interpretativa ecuatoriana, sino también
mostrar el talento en composición, pues afuera no se conoce que en
Ecuador hay compositores profesionales”, señaló Harutyunyan, quien
dirige la Sinfónica de Guayaquil desde abril de 2002.

El director y compositor armenio también se dará el “gusto” de guiar a
la Sinfónica de Guayaquil en la interpretación de la suite del ballet
“Espartaco”, de su compatriota Aram Kachaturian, máximo representante
de la música armenia.

Harutyunyan señaló que dirigir en Ecuador, su primera experiencia
en Latinoamérica, ha sido una “vivencia muy importante”, que le
ha permitido descubrir “la calidad interpretativa de esta parte
del mundo”.

“La tarea se me ha facilitado porque la mayoría de los integrantes de
la orquesta, ya sean ecuatorianos como extranjeros, fueron formados
en la escuela musical soviética, que es a la que yo pertenezco”,
relató el director.

Harutyunyan, formado en Armenia y en el Conservatorio Tchaikovsky
de Moscú, dirigió el Teatro Nacional Académico de Opera y Ballet de
Armenia, la Orquesta Novaya Música, la Gran Orquesta Sinfónica del
Conservatorio Estatal de Yerevan y la Orquesta Sinfónica Estatal
de Georgia.

La Orquesta Sinfónica de Guayaquil, fundada en 1949, se presentará
mañana, jueves, en Montevideo y el próximo lunes en Santiago de Chile.

La agrupación ha sido dirigida por el español José Barniol, el
rumano Vasile Ionescu, el argentino Claudio Tarris, el ecuatoriano
Patricio Aizaga, el colombiano Miguel Angel Caballero y el ruso
Andrei Vasileusky.

–Boundary_(ID_vyK3SVaurgKZAgs6vHnq9Q)–

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
November 25, 2004

AZERBAIGIAN: MISSIONE ITALIANA NELLA DALLAS DEL CAUCASO/ANSA ;
VISITA ON. BONIVER, RAPPORTI BILATERALI E PROBLEMI REGIONALI

BAKU (AZERBAIGIAN)

(dell’inviata Elisa Pinna)

(ANSA) – BAKU (AZERBAIGIAN), 25 NOV – Baku, la capitale
azera, si presenta come una Dallas del Caucaso. Nuovi
grattacieli di acciaio e vetro che sovrastano i quartieri poveri
e le mura chiare dell’antica cittadella medievale dello Scia’,
sottolineano la scommessa degli azeri in un futuro fatto di
greggio e di ricchezza.

La citta’ trasuda letteralmente petrolio circondata com’e da
pozzi e trivelle che fanno del Golfo di Baku, sul Mar Caspio,
un’immensa unica piattaforma di estrazione. In questo centro
strategico per le future fonti energetiche mondiali, ha fatto
l’ultima tappa nel suo viaggio nel Caucaso l’on. Margherita
Boniver, sottosegretario agli Esteri. I rapporti tra Italia e
Azerbaigian sono buoni e stretti e lo dimostra il fatto che
l’Italia e’ attualmente il principale importatore di petrolio
dall’Azerbaigian (circa 214 mila barili al giorno per miliardo
di dollari annui); l’Agip partecipa con una quota del 5% alla
costruzione dell’oleodotto Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan, che dal prossimo
annuo dara’ uno sbocco sul Mediterraneo, in Turchia attraverso
la Georgia, alle esportazioni azere affrancandole dall’ipoteca
dal passaggio del territorio russo.

Perche l’operazione funzioni, la regione ha bisogno di
stabilita’. Ed il primo ministro azero, Artur Rasi-Zade, ha
riproposto con forza – nel colloquio con Boniver – il problema
di una soluzione rapida al conflitto del Nagorno-Karabakh, la
regione secessionista a maggioranza armeno-cristiana.
“L’Armenia – ha denunciato – occupa il 28% del nostro
territorio, un milione di azeri sono dovuti fuggire. E’ un
problema che deve essere affrontato. Non vogliamo sentire
parlare di ‘guerre congelate o di tatticismi diplomatici’ “, ha
detto il premier, un anziano funzionario emigrato dall’epoca
sovietica alla nuova repubblica.

Il governo italiano – attraverso il sottosegretario agli
Esteri – ha ribadito la “necessita’ della via negoziale” da
portare avanti, innanzitutto sul piano bilaterale e poi nel
contesto dell’Osce (Organizzazione per la sicurezza e la
cooperazione in Europa) e del gruppo di Minsk (creato in seno
all’Osce per mediare fra Armenia e Azerbaigian), senza
trascurare tutte le istanze internazionali. L’on. Boniver ha
prospettato anche ingenti aiuti economici europei nel caso le
due parti trovino un accordo al tavolo delle trattative.

Vanno bene gli aiuti economici, ha risposto l’esponente
azero, ma – come recita un proverbio russo – “chi affonda deve
salvarsi da solo”. Ed a cio’, tanto per essere ancora piu
chiaro, ha aggiunto una massima di Mao: “La poesia e’ una cosa
bella, ma l’arma e’ una cosa migliore”.

Se la questione irrisolta del Nagorno-Karabakh continua a
condizionare il futuro del paese, l’Azerbaigian chiede
all’Italia anche di diversificare il proprio interscambio
economico, non concentrandolo solo nel settore energetico ma
estendendolo anche in quello agroalimentare, nei trasporti e
nelle infrastrutture.

In una immediata risposta a questa esigenza, il
sottosegretario agli Esteri ha firmato stamani, insieme al suo
collega vice ministro Kh. Khalafov, un accordo per la creazione
di un forum consultivo per i rapporti economici bilaterali che
sara’ affiancato da una Camera di commercio italo-azera.

Se con la mente e il portafoglio l’Azerbaigian guarda ad
occidente, il cuore di questo paese laico (a stragrande
maggioranza musulmana sciita) sembra essere rimasto ad oriente.
Tra i paesi del Caucaso, la democrazia azera appare ancora la
piu’ imperfetta. Un nuovo grattacielo-museo del defunto
Heydar-Aliev, l’uomo che e’ riuscito nel miracolo di guidare il
paese quasi ininterrottamente dagli anni Settanta al 2003 per
essere poi sostituito nel 2004 dal figlio Ilham, domina la
citta’, ed e’ quasi un obbligo per le delegazioni straniere
visitare il suo mausoleo. I manifesti del nuovo capo di Stato
Aliev jr., eletto con un voto che ha generato forti perplessita
nella comunita’ internazionale, tappezzano i muri della
metropoli.

Il neo presidente ha tuttavia espresso la voglia di avviare
un processo di democratizzazione e, come gesto di buona
volonta’, ha liberato, appena due mesi fa, alcune centinaia di
prigionieri politici. Di cio’ ha parlato con l’on. Boniver, in
vista anche del viaggio che compira’ in Italia il 24 febbraio
2005. (ANSA).

AZERBAIJAN COULD NOT SECURE THE ADOPTION OF ANTI-ARMENIAN RESOLUTION IN UN

PanArmenian News
Nov 25 2004

The General Assembly has considered necessary the preparation of
compromising variant of the resolution.

Yesterday at the 59th General Assembly meeting on the initiative of
Azerbaijan was considered the issue of the situation in the regions
which are controlled by Nagorno-Karabakh Army. As a result of the
discussion the draft resolution of official Baku by the provocative
name “On the Situation in Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan” was
not put to the vote. So, Azerbaijan could not obtain the UN Security
Council’s adoption of the resolution condemning the Armenians for
creating a security zone around Nagorno-Karabakh.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan did not resolve to demand the project
to be put to the vote, realizing that this edition of the resolution
would not be accepted. Though Ilham Aliev had promised that in any case
official Baku would not be contented with the consideration and would
insist on the adoption of the suggested project, he did not keep his
word given to the journalists. Considering the chances, Azerbaijan
has accepted the inevitable of moving some important amendments in
the text. The chairman announced that it was necessary to work on
the resolution text and closed the meeting without specifying the
date when the document is to be put to the vote. The representative
of Azerbaijan did not contradict.

In fact happened exactly what Vardan Oskanyan said. On the eve of
the consideration the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia showed
the readiness of official Yerevan to take part in the working out
the compromising variant of the resolution. Oskanyan declared that
Armenia would not have anything against the fact that the document
might contain the initiative of creating an expert group within the
OSCE which would be empowered to investigate the real situation in the
region of security zone. It is important to note that a resolution
containing such appeal will not call the competence of Minsk Group
into question. It is a question of vital importance for us. Azerbaijan
presses towards getting new intermediaries to the settlement in order
to destroy the negotiation base created due to the efforts of the
Minsk Group co-Chairs.

At the General Assembly Meeting Armenia succeeded in a very important
point. Armenia could bar the adoption of unilateral document which was
based on information got from unreliable sources. It will be possible
to speak about a substantial diplomatic success of Yerevan in case
if the final edition of the resolution contains not the appraisal but
only the call for inspection of the situation in the area. The visit
of such fact-finding mission to the region may be even beneficial for
Armenia. The inspection will allow proving the fact of occupation of
the regions in the Northern part of Karabakh and the fact of ethnic
purge carried out in those regions.

The countries which have the key role in the UN marginally stood
against the initiative of Azerbaijan even on the first stage of the
consideration. At the Meeting of General Assembly the USA and Russia
gave to understand that Azerbaijan has to express its concern to
the OSCE not to the UN. Of course the Great Powers didn’t support
Azerbaijan not because they support Armenia. They are just not
interested in involving the UN in a process which is easier to control
within the OSCE Minsk Group. However, if we judge by absolute numbers,
it is obvious that the number of countries supporting Azerbaijan in
the UN decreases every year.

Among the big countries only Turkey and Pakistan support Azerbaijan.
Pakistan for the present moment remains a member of the Security
Council. And the World Powers oppose the Azerbaijan’s attempts to
involve the UN in the process of the settlement of Karabakh conflict.
This time the initiative of Baku was not supported not only by the
co-Chairs of Minsk Group, but also by other permanent members of
the Security Council, also all the countries of the EU and even some
countries of GUAM and the Organisation of Islamic Conference. For Baku
the denial of support from China and Georgia was amiss. For Armenia
it was a considerable diplomatic success. Formerly Peking and Tbilisi
during any voting on the issue of Karabakh conflict always took the
Azerbaijan’s side. They supposed that in this way they are defending
the priority of the territorial integrity principle. But the Armenian
diplomacy succeeded in convincing the Georgians and the Chinese that
the analogies between Karabakh, Taiwan and Abkhazia are absolutely
not suitable.

If we judge by the voting on the justification of including the issue
of the situation in the security zone in the agenda of the General
Assembly, we see that less than the quarter of the UN member-countries
support Azerbaijan today (42 out of 192). More than a half of the UN
members either voted against or abstained from voting which is almost
the same in this case. 49 countries did not participate in the voting
at all which is also kind of expression of disagreement to the subject
being discussed. Hence it is obvious that Azerbaijan has a very slim
chance to pass a unilateral anti-Armenian resolution in the UN.

24.11.2004, “PanARMENIAN Network” analytical department

ARMENIAN REFUGEES WILL BE ABLE TO DEMAND PAYMENT OF DAMAGES FROM AZERBAIJAN

PanArmenian News
Nov 25 2004

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yesterday the NKR National Assembly introduced
changes in the Law on Refugees. In compliance with these, Armenian
refugees, who live in the territory of Nagorno Karabakh, are granted
a status, which lets them fully exercise the rights and services,
provided for by the international practice. Besides, the law new
language allows the refugees to demand payment of damages from the
country, whose territory they were impelled to leave – Azerbaijan in
this case.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

REGIONS OF KARS SUPPORT BORDER OPENING

Azg/arm
26 Nov 04

Turkish online edition of Gazetem posted an article in one of its July
issues informing that the town of Kars counting 130 thousand people
assembled 56 thousand signatures for Armenian-Turkish border-gate
opening. The author of the article considers border opening the last
hope for Kars in its hard economic situation.

Few days ago, on November 18, another Turkish newspaper, Akos turned
to the issue of signature gathering, emphasizing that Kars citizens
are determined in their striving and that the concern has overflowed
to the whole region of Kars.

The paper indicates to town of Aqyaqa of the region citizens of which
followed the example of Kars population and organized a signature
gathering. Apparently, the initiative came from Kars mayor Naif
Alibeyoghli who interviewed to Akos.

Declaring Kars a sister town for the towns of Armenia, Georgia and
Azerbaijan, Alibeyoghli said: “Everyone in Kars and neighboring
regions demands border-gate opening because trade is the best way
for fighting confrontations. Perhaps we can even bring solution to
Karabakh issue by that step”.

The mayor noted at the end that Kars suffers the most as a result
of Turkeyâ~@~Ys blockade of Armenia and to show how illogical the
situation is said: “You can easily find Armenian vodka in Istanbul
though the border is closed”.

By Hakob Chakrian

–Boundary_(ID_lk6YManpkowy1l7JIbpEFg)–