United Nations to Hold Hearing On Occupied Azeri Lands

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Nov 23 2004

The situation with the occupied lands of Azerbaijan is to be discussed
at the 59th session of the UN General Assembly due in New York
on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov left for New York last Sunday to
attend the session, the Foreign Ministry told AssA-Irada.

Azerbaijani permanent representative in UN Yashar Aliyev earlier
forwarded a request to the United Nations to include the situation
with the occupied lands of Azerbaijan into the agenda of its session.
The UN General Assembly approved putting the issue on discussion by
42 votes, 2 against (including Armenia), with 99 members abstaining.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijan concerned about non-stop unauthorized visits to Karabakh

ANS TV, Baku
22 Nov 04

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has instructed the Azerbaijani embassy
in the USA to look into an unauthorized visit by Filip Noubel, senior
analyst of a US-based International Crisis Group [specializing in
Georgia], to Azerbaijan’s occupied territory of Nagornyy Karabakh,
the independent TV station ANS has reported.

“Although official Washington’s position on Nagornyy Karabakh is
known, unauthorized visits to the [occupied] Azerbaijani lands by
certain individuals show disrespect to Azerbaijan,” ANS said.

ANS quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying that Azerbaijan is concerned
about visits to its occupied lands by officials and individuals like
Filip Noubel.

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Nov 23 2004

PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF
OF BELGIUM, LIEUTENANT-GENERAL AUGUST VAN DAELE
[November 23, 2004, 17:25:41]

On 23 November, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev
received Chief of the General Staff of Belgium, Lieutenant-General
August Van Daele.

The Head of State expressed satisfaction with existing relationship
between Azerbaijan and Belgium. Recalling, in this connection, his
latest visit to Brussels, where he had participated in the European
Union and NATO events as well as met with the Belgian Prime Minister,
President Ilham Aliyev highly valued the visit from the standpoint of
the bilateral cooperation development.

The Azerbaijani leader expressed confidence that General Van Daele’s
visit to Baku would make a considerable contribution to development
of military cooperation between the two countries, as well.

Touching on the Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan, the Head of
State emphasized that the conflict, which had led to occupation of
20% of the Azerbaijan’s territories and over one million refugees and
internally displaced persons in the country, constitutes a serious
threat to peace, stability and security in the region. President
Ilham Aliyev stated that his country wants the conflict to be settled
only in accordance with the international legal norms, principles of
territorial integrity and inviolability of borders.

Chief of the General Staff of Belgium, Lieutenant-General August Van
Daele thanked the Azerbaijani leader for finding time to receive him,
and expressed satisfaction with his first visit to Azerbaijan. He
described his meetings in Baku as very successful, and informed the
president in detail on their results.

As to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, General
Van Daele expressed confidence in its urgent peaceful resolution. He
also pointed to the successful development of the military
cooperation between Azerbaijan and Belgium.

Present at the meeting was Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan
Colonel-General Safar Abiyev.

–Boundary_(ID_5LodLeNzT2J+9PqxZKhV8g)–

TSARUKYAN VS PASHINYAN?

A1 Plus | 21:56:40 | 22-11-2004 | Social |

Few minutes ago Nikol Pashinyan gave a brief press-conference,
where he said that his car’s explosion could possibly be organized by
businessman, MP Gagik Tsarukyan (Dodi Gago). According to Pashinyan’s
words, that’s one of the accident’s versions.

Karabakh population totals over 146,000

Arminfo, Yerevan
22 Nov 04

Stepanakert , 22 November: As of 1 October 2004, the population of
the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic NKR totalled 146,600 people, the NKR
statistics service has reported.

According to the source, as against the beginning of the year, the
NKR population increased by 0.8 per cent. In January-September 2004,
1,619 babies were born and 1,004 people died in the republic.

The natural growth of the population amounted to 615 people and dropped
by 11.5 per cent compared to the same period of 2003. Over the first
nine months of this year, 806 people arrived in the republic for
permanent residence and 303 people left it. The mechanical growth
as received stood at 503 people and increased by 69.4 per cent as
against the same period of 2003.

Karabakh defence chief dismisses Azeri reports on US troops deployment

Arminfo, Yerevan
22 Nov 04

Stepanakert , 22 November: The defence minister of the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic NKR , Lt-Gen Seyran Oganyan, has described as
groundless recent Azerbaijani media reports that Baku was allegedly in
negotiations with Washington on deployment of US troops on territories
under the control of Nagornyy Karabakh.

Commenting on debates provoked by Azerbaijani reports in the Karabakh
media on the so-called “occupied territories”, the NKR defence minister
said that since the conflict has not been politically resolved,
the territories around Karabakh serve as a security zone.

“The Karabakh army has created a serious defence system on the
controlled territories,” Oganyan said.

Oganyan described Baku’s belligerent statements as a result of
political short-sightedness and lack of knowledge of subtleties of
the Karabakh problem.
From: Baghdasarian

Armenian parliament adopts new law on alternative service

Arminfo
22 Nov 04

Yerevan, 22 November: The Armenian parliament adopted a new draft law on
alternative service in its second and final reading today.

The deputy chairman of the Armenian National Assembly, Vaan Ovanesyan, who
presented the draft law, said that the document had not undergone changes after
the first reading. Certain defects of the provisions of the [old] law on
alternative service emerged when it was put into practice. The new draft law was
compiled given the practice of applying it.

[Passage omitted: details of the document]

The deputy speaker said that a sharp increase in the number of applicants for
the alternative service is not expected after it, possibly, comes into
effect. He said that by mid-October, the district military commissariats had
received all in all 20 relevant applications. Azerbaijan has not yet adopted a
similar document, Ovanesyan added.

We should say that the [old] law on alternative service in Armenia, on the
approval of which the Council of Europe insisted, took effect on 1 July 2004.
The conscripts who refuse to serve in the armed forces for religious reasons are
allowed to chose the alternative service.

Turkey’s blockade of Armenia now in EU’s hands, says Armenian president

Arminfo
22 Nov 04

Yerevan, 22 November: One of the obstacles to EU cooperation with the
South Caucasus countries is Turkey’s blockade of Armenia, Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan said at the Berlin Economic Forum on
19 November.

“It seems to us abnormal when a country starting negotiations
for EU accession is blockading a member-country of the European
New Neighbourhood programme,” the Armenian president noted, adding
that today there is a chance to settle the problem and it is in the
EU’s hands.

“In essence, the EU was established thanks to its founders’
pragmatism. All this started not with the parliamentary assembly and
ministerial councils, but with an understanding of the harmony of
interests and compatibility of the value system. I should like to see
the same in the member-countries of the European New Neighbourhood
programme,” the Armenian president concluded.

Armenian head stresses regional cooperation in conflict settlement at Berlin forum

Arminfo
22 Nov 04

Yerevan, 22 November: One of the main obstacles hindering the Karabakh
settlement is lack of regional cooperation, Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan said at the Berlin Economic Forum on 19 November.

He said that Armenia believes the conflict can be settled through
regional cooperation but Azerbaijan refrains from possible cooperation
until the settlement of the conflict. Meanwhile, the Armenian president
considers that the main rule is to promise to do what is feasible
and to implement what was promised.

“In this way we are building our relations with all international
financial structures and international organizations,” he noted, adding
that the history of the EU once again demonstrated the advantages of
regional cooperation.

“This is not only a way to prosperity but also a tool for establishing
stability. Based on its experience, Europe should be more persistent
in the issue of conflict settlement in the South Caucasus by reviving
cooperation. We are sure that this is the most effective way to reach
peace,” the Armenian president stressed.

IMF praises Armenian Central Bank’s tough monetary policy

Arminfo
22 Nov 04

Yerevan, 22 November: The International Monetary Fund accepts and
completely supports the tough monetary and credit policy of the
Armenian Central Bank to contain the inflation rate in the country,
James McHugh, the IMF’s resident representative in Armenia, has told
Arminfo news agency.

He said that over the past several months experts of the fund and
the Central Bank had expressed justified concern about inflationary
tendencies and, therefore, the Central Bank’s decision to toughen
its policy proved to be well-founded and effective.

McHugh said that for now a very rapid growth in economic productivity
was being observed in Armenia and in connection with this the
process of strengthening the national currency, the dram, becomes
inevitable. He agreed that the consolidation of the dram is causing a
rise in the price of Armenian exports, but this process is nullified by
the growth in productivity, which also threatens inflation forecasts.

Analysing the nose-dive in the rate of the dollar in the country in
August-September, the IMF representative noted that it was hard to
forecast a sharp fluctuation in the exchange rate, all the more so
in the current situation on the global financial markets.

[Passage omitted: McHugh is happy about the policy of the Central Bank]

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress