Armenians concerned about officers rotation at Russian military base in
Georgia

Azg web site, Yerevan
19 Oct 04

The 62nd Russian military base in Javakhk [Georgia’s predominantly
Armenian-populated Samtskhe-Javakheti Region] is of great economic and
psychological importance to the local ethnic Armenians, as well as
their security.

At the OSCE Istanbul summit in 1999, Moscow consented to resume talks
on withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia. These are the
62nd and 12th military bases stationed in Akhalkalaki and Batumi.

Georgia believes that three years are enough to pull out the troops,
but Moscow claims it needs 11 years.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili went to Moscow, as he said, “to
make friends with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin”. Though the
Georgian president did not mention the military bases in Akhalkalaki
and Batumi at the Moscow meeting, the sides seem to be hardly getting
along.

On the other hand, Russia has been recently “getting rid” of local
Armenians at the 62nd military base in Akhalkalaki. About 500 ethnic
Armenian officers from Javakhk, who served in this military base and
who are Russian citizens, have been transferred to other Russian
military bases. They have been replaced by officers from North
Caucasus republics and other regions of Russia.

[Passage omitted: reactions to the replacement of officers]

Why is Russia changing the ethnic composition of the 62nd military
base? Official Russian sources note that the transfer of 500 ethnic
Armenian officers to other Russian military bases and their
replacement with non-Armenian officers are simply planned
rotation. One can believe or doubt the truthfulness of this
statement. But it is obvious that by transferring 500 Armenian
officers from Javakhk, Russia has made its “contribution” to the
“cleansing” of Javakhk of Armenians. It is beyond reasonable doubt
that the majority of the officers and their families will never return
to their homeland.

And most importantly, great significance has been attached to the
“Armenian factor” for 200 years in the issue of protecting the Russian
empire. However, at the most responsible moments of defeats, Russians
betrayed Armenians leaving them one-to-one against the Turkish
yataghan [a Turkish sword with a curved single-edged blade].

In all probability, Russians will leave Akhalkalaki. However,
consequences of this are more important for us than their
departure. It is important not to fall into the Russian
whirlpool. Otherwise, the Javakhk Armenians and Armenian-Georgian
relations will be threatened.

Cyprus official in Armenia against Turkey’s growing role in South Caucasus

Mediamax news agency
19 Oct 04

YEREVAN

The president of the House of Representatives of Cyprus, Dhimitrios
Khristofias, said in Yerevan today that ”the settlement of the
Karabakh conflict by taking into account the interests of the people
Nagornyy Karabakh will stop the growth of Turkey’s influence on the
region”.

Replying to a question from a Mediamax correspondent, Dhimitrios
Khristofias said that ”the conflict should be resolved peacefully by
taking into account the interests of Armenia and other countries of
the region”.

Dhimitrios Khristofias noted that Cyprus is interested in establishing
good relations with all South Caucasus countries, and particularly,
with Azerbaijan.

Vatican, Chief Rabbinate slam assault on Armenian Patriarch

20/10/2004 13:08

By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent

The Holy See and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel this week issued a
joint condemnation of an assault on the Armenian Patriarch of
Jerusalem, when he was spat at by a yeshiva student in the Old City.

In a joint statement released Tuesday in Rome, the Vatican and the
Chief Rabbinate called on ?religious authorities to publicly protest
when actions of disrespect towards religious persons, symbols and Holy
Sites are committed.

The statement gave as an example ?the desecration of cemeteries and
the recent assault on the Armenian Patriarch.?

The statement also calls on ?all relevant authorities? to respect the
?sacred character of Jerusalem and to prevent overt and immodest
actions which offend the sensibilities of religious communities that
reside in Jerusalem and hold her dear.?

The common declaration came at the conclusion of a three-day meeting
of Catholic and Jewish officials in Grottaferrata, south of Rome,
constituting the 4th ?dialogue session? since June 2002 between the
Holy See and the Chief Rabbinate.

The discussions this time were focused on Judeo-Christian beliefs
regarding social justice and ethical behavior. Previous sessions have
concentrated on the dignity of Man, the value of human life and the
family, and the importance of Scripture for contemporary society.

The Vatican delegation to the meetings this week was headed by
Cardinal Jorge Meija, the former Vatican archivist. The Israeli
delegation was lead by Sh?ar Yishuv Cohen, the chief rabbi of Haifa,
and its members included Rabbi David Rosen, from the American Jewish
Committee, and chief rabbis of several other Israeli cities.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of a Vatican
commission for the relations with Judaism by Pope Paul the 6th , the
head of the commission, Cardinal Walter Kasper, and Cardinal Meija
will visit Rome Synagogue for the Shabbat services.

Also this week, Cardinal Kasper and Riccardo di Segni, the chief rabbi
of Rome, will open a seminar at one of the Vatican universities, which
will focus on Jewish-Catholic relations of the past few decades.

Armenian passenger bus still trapped on South Ossetia border – agency

Mediamax news agency
19 Oct 04

YEREVAN

The Armenian embassy in Georgia is taking all the necessary steps to
rescue Armenians trapped at the Ergneti checkpoint on the Georgia –
South Ossetia border, the Foreign Ministry press service told our
agency today.

Armenian ambassador to Georgia Georgiy Khosroyev is keeping in touch
with representatives of the Georgian authorities, the ministry
said. The embassy’s staff and representatives of the Georgian eparchy
of the Armenian church went to the Ergneti village today to help
Armenian citizens.

Owing to the efforts of the Armenian embassy in Georgia, three
children and a woman have already been taken to Yerevan from Ergneti,
the Foreign Ministry press service said.

The embassy’s representatives are also taking measures to ensure the
security of Armenian citizens.

[The Georgian border authorities detained a Yerevan-bound Armenian
passenger bus at the Ergneti checkpoint on 8 October.]

Azeri opposition party pickets US embassy over Armenian MPs’ visit to Baku

ANS TV, Baku
19 Oct 04

[Presenter] An anti-Armenian protest action has been staged in
Baku. The United People’s Front of Azerbaijan Party [UPFAP] staged the
action protesting against a visit by Armenian MPs to Baku for the
Rose-Roth seminar of NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly. The protest action
was held outside the US embassy in Baku.

[Correspondent, over video of the action] The UPFAP continues its
protest actions against the [planned] involvement of Armenian MPs in
the 58th Rose-Roth seminar of NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly due in
Baku. Members of the party picketed the US embassy in Baku today.

The protesters demanded that an end be put to pressure on Azerbaijan
to ensure the participation of the Armenian MPs in the Rose-Roth
seminar and to unfair attitudes towards the Azerbaijani people. They
demanded that pressure be put not on Azerbaijan which was subjected to
aggression but on aggressor Armenia instead.

To recap, the UPFAP sent a letter to the Baku mayor’s office to get
permission to hold a series of protest actions. However, the mayor’s
office did not authorize the actions. The party members are set to
continue their pickets. Another picket protesting against the visit
by Armenian MPs to Baku will be held outside the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry on 26 October. Moreover, the party members will stage pickets
outside embassies of numerous NATO member countries.

[Passage omitted: reported details]

[Video showed protesters chanting Karabakh outside the embassy, police
officers dispersing the picket]

Ceyhun Asgarov, Emil Babaxanov, ANS.

RUSSIAN AIR UNIT IN TAJIKISTAN SAID TO COMPRISE 20 AIRCRAFT

Interfax-AVN military news agency web site
20 Oct 04

MOSCOW

The Russian air force unit to be stationed in Tajikistan will include
up to 20 warplanes and helicopters, the Russian Defence Ministry told
Interfax-Military News Agency on Wednesday (20 October).

“Russian attack planes and fighters, and also fire-support helicopter
gunships Mi-24 Hind and Mi-8 Hip should be deployed at the Ayni
airfield 20 km from Dushanbe in 2005,” the Interfax-AVN source said.

The deployment of the Russian air unit at the Ayni airfield is
stipulated by agreements on setting up a Russian military base in
Tajikistan that were recently signed between Moscow and Dushanbe, he
said.

Russian Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov told reporters on Monday (18
October) that the Russian base “will definitely have an aviation
component”, which will include fighters.

Russia already maintains two air bases outside its territory, the
source said. “A Russian air team comprising up to 20 MiG-29 Fulcrum
fighters and Mi-8 helicopters is stationed at the Erebuni airfield in
Armenia. A Russian air base comprising up to 20 aircraft too, namely
Su-24 Fencer frontline bombers, Su-25 attack planes, Su-27 Flanker
fighters, L-29 planes, and Mi-8 helicopters, is deployed at the Kant
airfield in Kyrgyzstan,” he noted.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN DRIVERS ATTACKED AND BEATEN ON NORT OSSETIA-GEORGIA BORDER

A1+
20-10-2004

The authorities of Georgian town of Tskhinvali helped Armenian
citizens, who found themselves trapped on the North Ossetia-Georgia
border.

The thing is that a huge number of vehicles accumulated on the road,
as they were barred from crossing the border. The town residents give
Armenians shelter, Regnum news agency says.

The agency also reports a group of masked gunmen attacked drivers and
beat them. Khachatur, one of the drivers, say Georgian journalists
asked them to give an interview and say something against
Ossetians. The journalists promised that, in that case, Georgian
authorities would let them continue their way. The drivers rejected
the offer.

Dar al-Hayat, Saudi Arabia
Oct 20 2004

Ayoon wa Azan (Trying the Neo-Cons)
Jihad Al Khazen Al-Hayat 2004/10/20

I demand that the neo-conservatives who worked for the war on Iraq,
and deliberately planned for its destruction and not only for the
ousting of Saddam Hussein, be tried before of the international war
crimes tribunal in Lahaye.

These criminals deserve to be the only prisoners at Guantanamo Bay;
however, I fear that if they go there, they would be subject to the
same torture that the Arab and Muslim prisoners went through. This is
why I prefer that they be tried in a decent court, in order for them
to respond to the accusation of deliberately killing more than 1,000
Americans, some 20,000 Iraqis, and the destruction of the
infrastructure of 25 million Iraqis.

I continue with brief comments on the news I followed these past two
days:

– The people surrounding Prime Minister Tony Blair denied that the
objective behind sending the British troops from Southern Iraq to
Baghdad is to help George Bush in the American presidential
elections.

This denial means that the accusation is correct, as the political
news is confirmed when it is denied, especially if the denial comes
from people renowned for their lies.

The British denial reminded me of the day when Secretary of State
Colin Powell denied the fact that the neo-cons are controlling the
American foreign policy; I have repeatedly wrote about this
non-elected Israeli mob, and did not find anything at the end of the
day that proved my words better than Powell’s denial of the existence
of this cabal.

– Would the reader have noticed the difference if Al-Jazeera and
Al-Arabiya televisions broadcast the scenes of the air raid
destruction in Fallujah, and said that these are Israeli attacks on
the Gaza Strip, or if they broadcast scenes of destruction from the
Gaza Strip and claimed that they are the product of American raids on
Fallujah?

There is no difference; both crimes are perpetrated with American
fighter jets and American money.

Nevertheless, there is a difference, which is the most important; I
support the attacks against the terrorists in Iraq, and the
destruction of Zarkawi’s network, if he or the network exist;
however, this does not happen through air raids, which kill innocent
people from Palestine to Iraq.

– The most hideous lie that has been repeated since 9/11, is Israel’s
claim that the United States and itself are facing the same
terrorism, and that America, after the terrorism it has been subject
to, understands what Israel is going through.

This is a hideous accusation against innocent Americans, as they were
monstrously killed inside their offices, without having occupied the
lands of others or threatened them. As for Israel, it is an occupying
terrorist state that undertakes Nazi crimes against the Palestinians,
and then wants them not to response to its attacks.

I would like to say that there is no resemblance between the American
victims and the Israeli casualties, who die in a land they are
occupying by force, are killing its people, and destroying their
houses. If there is some kind of resemblance, it is between the
terrorism of Al Qaeda and the terrorism of Sharon’s government.

– I have a thousand objections to the American policy vis-à-vis
Palestine, Iraq, and all Arabs and Muslims. However, this is one
thing, and fighting terrorism is another. It is the duty of Arabs and
Muslims to help the U.S. in its war on terror, especially that the
terrorists are among us. The U.S. is more capable than any other
country to get into a war on terror, and win it.

– The ousting of Saddam Hussein is an accomplishment we owe to the
Americans; but was it necessary to pay its price with the lives of
thousands of Iraqis, and casualties in the Coalition forces, along
with a massive destruction, at a time when we should have witnessed
reconstruction?

This week, five churches were subject to terrorist bombings in
Baghdad; I read a report that said that 1,000 college female students
out of 3,000, stopped going to college because they were afraid of
being attacked by fundamentalists, which reject mixed educational
institutions.

Such incidents did not occur during the days of Saddam Hussein; I
used to think that the purpose behind ousting him is to build a
democratic regime that would be better for all Iraqis, including
minorities, women, and sects.

The Christian Armenian sect in Jerusalem is boiling, after a Jewish
student spit on a cross worn by a Priest during a Christian religious
ceremony. The student was banned from entering the Old City for 75
days after the accident; and it turned out that the Jewish students
spit on the Christians and insulted them while praying. Officials in
the Israeli government have acknowledged this phenomenon, and said it
is caused by the atmosphere of religious non-compassion that Israel
is experiencing.

– Abu Hamza Al Masri will be tried in Britain, after the U.S.
demanded that he be tried on its soil.

I did not know that stupidity is an accusation punished by law; the
crime of Abu Hamza is not terrorism, but stupidity. However,
stupidity is in every person, and it is not a crime or a felony. If
this preacher had any link to terrorism, he would have been more
cautious, and he would have uttered less statements that harm Muslims
before others.

Abu Hamza is stupid, and his followers are naïve; he does not deserve
all the commotion.

Does any of the readers know the American TV star Bill O’Reilly? He
presents a famous program on Fox News; however, he became really
famous lately, after a former Fox employee called Andrea Mackris
accused him of sexual harassment, and the details are interesting.

O’Reilly is part of the neo-con cabal; I was happy that he fell
morally after he fell politically. However, I think that Al Franklin
was happier than I was; he is the writer of Lies and the Lying Liars
Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, in which he
dedicated a whole chapter to exposing O’Reilly’s lies.

Everyone will fall. Those who will not fall because of sex scandals
like O’Reilly, will fall because of financial scandals like Richard
Perle. However, it seems that the scandals of spying for Israel,
which are the most important, were not enough to make them fall; as
some of the neo-cons spied for Israel and were subject to
investigation; I have already said that, and will not repeat myself
again.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 20 2004

Russia Ready To Assist In Solving Nagorno Karabakh Conflict

AssA-Irada 20/10/2004 19:07

President Ilham Aliyev said in a meeting with his Russian counterpart
Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Tuesday that the political dialogue
between the two countries is on a high level.

Aliyev expressed a hope that Russia, as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group, will step up its efforts to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.

The two presidents discussed implementation of agreements signed
during Aliyev’s official visit to Moscow in February 2004,
fulfillment of tasks set for doubling the turnover of goods between
the two countries and prospects for strengthening the joint combat
against terrorism.
The parties also stressed the need for stepping up the international
community’s efforts to fight international terrorism.

Aliyev and Putin exchanged views on the present-day situation in the
Caucasus region as well. The Russian President welcomed the
continuation of talks between Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents
over the solution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Russia is ready
to assist the sides in settling the conflict, Putin said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Reuters
Oct 20 2004

Virtual Vote Lets Non-Americans Pick President

LONDON (Reuters) – Even non-Americans can cast a vote in the upcoming
U.S. presidential election thanks to a Web site tracking world
opinion on the race for the White House.
Surfers clicking on can tick a virtual ballot
for President Bush, Democratic challenger John Kerry, or one of five
other candidates fighting to win the real vote on November 2.

Voters are asked to register which country they’re from, creating a
non-official tally of who the rest of the world would choose to lead
the planet’s most powerful country.

“It’s fun and obviously not constitutionally approved, but it is a
serious vote because the U.S. has power over all our lives and the
election will affect the world,” Ben Carey, one of the site’s
creators, told Reuters on Wednesday.

“The votes are coming in from everywhere, from places like Armenia,
Turkmenistan and Venezuela, and if we have a sizable number we’ll
release the results 48 hours before the real election,” he said.

Besides Bush and Kerry, who are neck and neck according to the latest
Reuters poll, voters can choose one of the other candidates,
including Ralph Nader of the Reform Party and Michael Peroutka of the
Constitution Party.

Carey, a British author, said the London-based Web site is
non-partisan and is not sponsored by any political party.