IRNA, Iran
January 11, 2005 Tuesday 11:32 AM EST
Electricity transmission to Turkey via Iran
Tehran, January 11
The managing director of Azarbaijan Regional Power Company said here
on Tuesday that 245 million kilowatt/hour electricity have been
transmitted from Turkmenistan to Turkey via Iran during the first
eight months of 2004..
Fatah Qarebagh added that the transmission operation took place under
a tripartite agreement signed by the three states.
Under an agreement on the exchange of energy between Iran and
Azerbaijan, Qarebagh said that Iran imported 530 million
kilowatt/hour electricity from Azerbaijan, while exported 380 million
kilowatt/hour to the Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan.
The official also announced that over 390 million kilowatt/hour
electricity were exported to Armenia during the first half of the
1383, while 82 million kilowatt/hour were imported from Armenia
during the said period.

PanArmenian News
Jan 11 2005
SIGNING OF AGREEMENT ON DECIDING KARABAKH STATUS VIA REFERENDUM NOT
RULED OUT
11.01.2005 15:50
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “According to the data the Azg newspaper possesses,
it is not ruled out that Armenia and Azerbaijan may sign a
transitional agreement over Nagorno Karabakh, in compliance with
which the Karabakh forces will be withdrawn from some territories
under their control, while in exchange Nagorno Karabakh will be
conveyed for temporary governance of Armenia under the condition that
in 5 or 10 years a referendum on the Nagorno Karabakh status is
held,” Tatul Hakobian writes in the Azg newspaper first issue this
year. It should be reminded that a meeting of Armenian and Azeri
Foreign Ministers will take place in Prague today. Before leaving for
Prague yesterday Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian stated
that “this year’s talks will qualitatively differ from the first
phase of the Prague meetings. We will discuss some details now.”
“Azg” also reminds of the December article in Le Figaro, which
suggested approximately the same settlement option signed by the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly Chairman. The newspaper also takes note of the
lately observed trend of resolution of conflict issues via referendums.
Thereupon the Azg article author reminds of the agreement over
resolution of the conflict in Sudan, as well as in Cyprus and the
possible repetition of the referendum scenario in Kosovo.

PanArmenian News
Jan 11 2005
NOT ONLY HUNGARIAN POLICEMEN, BUT ALSO LAWYERS DISLIKE AZERI
“RASKOLNIKOV”
11.01.2005 18:15
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ No one likes Ramil Safarov, the latter-day Azeri
“Raskolnikov”, who brutally hacked an Armenian officer in Budapest
last year. Armenians do not like him and his relations with Hungarian
warders were not good. Now it turned out that the Hungarian lawyer
does not defend “the man with the axe” properly. It seemed that the
cause is evident – it is not easy to defend Safarov even for a man
raised on the Christian culture of compassion. Nevertheless, though
the guy has expressing and big eyes, he possesses all natural
inclinations of a serial maniac murderer. However, the Azerbaijani
society to all appearance considers that is not the point, but the
matter rather lies in the rude Magyars not being able to get imbued
with all the nuances of the delicate and sensible mental construction
of “the axe-man”. A new lawyer should be hired, consider members of
the Coordination Council for defense of Ramil Safarov in Azerbaijan
(it turned out that such a council may have existed), who gathered
for a close sitting on the eve of the beginning of the recurrent
court hearing of the case of the latter-day shahid to be held
February 8, 2005. We can only regret that those people never
understood what was the most important: defending their man who is
almost a maniac again confirms that the matter cannot concern Nagorno
Karabakh Armenians becoming part of a country, in which nearly a cult
of a murder on an ethnic ground is possible. Thus Armenians – a
people with a Christianity tradition of 1700 years – do not have the
same way of return to the Stone Age with the supporters of a
murderer.

PRESS RELEASE
January 11, 2005
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]; Web:
Embassy Hosts Christmas Open House, Concert by Armenian Musicians
On January 7, 2005, the Embassy of Armenia hosted the traditional Christmas
Open House reception for the Armenian American community of Greater
Washington area that featured a concert by famous Armenian musicians
performing in the U.S., Noune Karapetian (soprano) and Vahan Sargsyan
(piano).
Before the concert, Armenian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Arman Kirakossian
spoke briefly on Armenia’s achievements and challenges in 2004, emphasizing
the need for continued economic, political, humanitarian, and commercial
cooperation between the Diaspora and Homeland to sustain Armenia’s economic
growth and help address the social needs of the vulnerable people in
Armenia. Ambassador Kirakossian also presented his vision for the
U.S.-Armenian bilateral relations and cooperation in 2005.
The Armenian Ambassador then paid tribute and handed out certificates of
appreciation to Armenian-American friends of the Embassy who have
contributed toward maintenance and preservation of the historical building
of the Armenian Embassy in Washington in 2004.
The recital that followed featured selected pieces of Armenian and
international classical and folk music by Noune Karapetian and Vahan
Sargsyan.
The reception was attended by members of the Armenian-American community and
officials from the National Security Council, and State Department. Among
the guests were Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Vahram Nercissiantz
and former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Michael C. Lemmon.

PanArmenian News
Jan 11 2005
YOUNG TURKISH WRITER CONSIDERS TABOO FROM ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TOPIC
SHOULD BE REMOVED
11.01.2005 17:08
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “In 1915 made almost the half of the Turkish
population were non-Muslims, who were expatriated or destroyed. This
topic should stop being a taboo,” young Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk,
whose works are known by European readers well, said in an interview
with Hurriyet newspaper. The state leaders consider that there is no
need to address that topic, as there is a problem in relations with
Armenia. “I am not interested in the issue of state relations with
Armenia. Many people were annihilated here,” O. Pamuk said.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Jan 11 2005
RA President congratulates Viktor Yushenko with election on the
position of the President of Ukraine
Catholicos of All Armenian receives Bulgarian Minister of Science and
Education
Plane of Armavia Airlines performing the flight from Yerevan in
Rostov on don was forced to return in Yerevan
Fifth round of negotiations between Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministers on Karabakh settlement held in Prague
Monitoring of NKR and Azerbaijani Armed Forces contact zone reveals
no violations of the ceasefire regime
Robert Kocharian: `We cannot encourage creation of privileged
conditions for anyone’
Russia will be a mediator in settlement of Karabakh conflict and
relations between Turkey and Armenia – V. Putin
RA Ministry of Science and Education receives the Minister of Culture
and Science of Bulgaria
Armenia to send humanitarian aid to Sri-Lanka population affected by
tsunami disaster
*********************************************************************
RA PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES VIKTOR YUSHENKO WITH ELECTION ON THE
POSITION OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian
congratulated Viktor Yushenko with election on the position of the
President of Ukraine, President’s press office told ARKA. Kocharian
expressed confidence that historic relations between Armenian and
Ukrainian people will continue successful development and deepening
for the welfare of the two countries. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIAN RECEIVES BULGARIAN MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND
EDUCATION
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. Catholicos of All Armenian Garegin II
received Bulgarian Minister of Science and Education Igor Damianov,
St.Echmiadzin press office told ARKA. Garegin II noted expanding
relations between the countries, which are the `reflections of
century-long friendship of two Christian people’. He expressed
gratitude to Bulgarian authorities for tender attitude to Armenian
population of the republic.
RA Minister of Science and Education Sergo Yeritsian and Bulgarian
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Stephan
Dimitrov also took part in the meeting. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
PLANE OF ARMAVIA AIRLINES PERFORMING THE FLIGHT FROM YEREVAN IN
ROSTOV ON DON WAS FORCED TO RETURN IN YEREVAN
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. Plane of Armavia Airlines performing the
flight from Yerevan in Rostov on don was forced to return in Yerevan,
Armavia press service told ARKA. The decision was made after airport
of Rostov refused to accept the plant due to damage on landing strip.
L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
FIFTH ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN
MINISTERS ON KARABAKH SETTLEMENT HELD IN PRAGUE
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. The fifth round of negotiations between
Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Vardan Oskanian and Elmar
Mamedyarov on Karabakh settlement was held in Prague with
participation of Co-Chairmen of OSCE Minsk Group (MG). As Armenian
Foreign Ministry Press and Information Department told ARKA, earlier
both Ministers arrived in Prague by invitation of OSCE MG. As it is
stated in the press release, this is the first meeting of a similar
kind after some time break in the Prague negotiations. During the
meeting the Ministers discussed the issues related to possibilities
of settlement of the Karabakh conflict on the bases of common
approaches achieved during the previous stage of the negotiations.
Also, the Ministers had separate meetings with the Co-Chairmen of the
OSCE MG. Today in the late evening Oskanian returned to Yerevan.
To mention, the Foreign Ministers held four meetings around the
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. On the last meeting of
the Ministers on Aug 30, the sides achieved agreement around future
meeting with the Co-Chairmen on Oct 25, 2004, however later the
meeting was postponed. As Oskanian stated earlier, all negotiations
concerning the process were suspended as the sides were expecting new
instructions from the Heads of two States around continuation of the
negotiating process. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
MONITORING OF NKR AND AZERBAIJANI ARMED FORCES CONTACT ZONE REVEALS
NO VIOLATIONS OF THE CEASEFIRE REGIME
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. The regular monitoring of the Nagorno
Karabakh and Azerbaijani Armed Forces contact zone near the
settlement of Marzili revealed no cases of violation of the ceasefire
regime. As NKR Foreign Ministry Press Service told ARKA, the
monitoring from the NKR territory was implemented by Coordinator of
the OSCE Tbilisi Office Lieutenant Colonel Imre Palatinusz (Hungary).
The Monitoring Group included Field Assistant of Personal
Representative of the OSCE Acting Chairman Alexander Samarsky
(Ukraine).
The monitoring was held as per the established schedule and no cases
of violation of the ceasefire regime were recorded.
The monitoring mission from the NKR side was accompanied by
representatives of the NKR Defense and Foreign Ministry. T.M. -0–
*********************************************************************
ROBERT KOCHARIAN: `WE CANNOT ENCOURAGE CREATION OF PRIVILEGED
CONDITIONS FOR ANYONE’
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. `It is necessary to conduct equal and
fair approach to economic subjects in realization of tax
administration’, RA President Robert Kocharian stated during the
meeting with the administration of RA State Tax Service. According to
the President, any exception will damage the whole process. `If you
start gathering taxes form yourself, your friends and relatives, I’m
sure you will not allow others stay away of tax field. Our attention
will be concentrated on this’, Kocharian said.
He stressed the necessity of easing the methodology of conduction of
tax inspections and paid attention of principle of conduction of
inspections on the base of results of researches. `Organization of
inspections should be realized on the base of data analysis, which
will increase their productivity. Researches of control service at RA
President’s show that there are companies where the inspections have
not been conducted for years and there are structures where the
inspections are made several times a year’, Kocharian said.
The President also paid attention to use of additional methods during
checking the reliability of reports of businessmen paying simplified
tax and fixed payments and improvement of mechanisms of control over
activity of tax inspectors and increase of demands to quality of
their work.
Kocharian stressed the necessity of increase the level of
transparency and publicity of process of settlement of all mentioned
problems. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RUSSIA WILL BE A MEDIATOR IN SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONFLICT AND
RELATIONS BETWEEN TURKEY AND ARMENIA – V. PUTIN
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. Russia will be a mediator in settlement
of Karabakh conflict and relations between Turkey and Armenia, RF
President Vladimir Putin stated during the meeting with
representatives of Turkish business circles in Moscow.
Answering the question of Turkish mass media, Putin said that during
the meeting the parties did not discuss Karabakh conflict.
Both parties expressed desire to establish friendly relations between
neighbors.
`Russia in its turn will make everything to settle conflicts in post
Soviet area, including Karabakh conflict’, Putin said and added, `But
we will do it as a mediator and guarantor of agreements that will be
achieved between the parties of the conflict’.
Turkish PM in his turn spoke for future establishment of relations
with Armenia.
He reminded that Turkey already opened Istanbul airport for flights
from Armenia. Land border is not opened yet, but its opening will
depend on process of negotiations, he added.
Prime Minister stressed that Turkey is interested in development of
relations with Armenia. L.D. –0–
*********************************************************************
RA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATION RECEIVES THE MINISTER OF CULTURE
AND SCIENCE OF BULGARIA
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. RA Ministry of Science and Education
Sergo Yeritsyan received a delegation headed by Igor Demyanov, the
Minister of Culture and Science of Bulgaria. The delegation has been
to Armenia with an official visit since January 9-12. According to RA
Ministry of Science and Education Press Service Department, this is
the first official visit on the part of the Ministers of Bulgaria to
Armenia.
During the meeting Yeritsyan introduced reforms in the sphere of
education introduced in Armenia to guests. The Ministers of the two
countries discussed the program on cooperation in the sphere of
science and culture signed by the two countries in 2003, as well as
aspects of cooperation that can be implemented in the nearest future.
According to the parties, the cooperation may have an impact on both
the sphere of education and science. It’s supposed that a
corresponding protocol will be signed issuing from the results of the
visit.
In the course of the visit, the delegation will meet professors and
teachers as well as students of some Universities and will be
introduced cultural and historical values of Armenia.
RA and Bulgarian Governments began cooperation in 1994. A program on
cooperation between the two countries for 2003-2006 in the field of
science and culture was signed in the framework of the above
mentioned agreement during the official visit of RA President
Kocharyan to Bulgaria on September 8 2003. A.H.-0–
*********************************************************************
ARMENIA TO SEND HUMANITARIAN AID TO SRI-LANKA POPULATION AFFECTED BY
TSUNAMI DISASTER
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. Armenia will send humanitarian aid to
the population of Sri-Lanka affected by tsunami disaster, as stated
Armen Bayburtyan, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia. According
to him, it is planned to send tents and mobile energy generators to
the total sum of AMD 15 mln (about $30 thou), as well as antibiotics
and pain-relieving medicine of AMD 10 mln (about $20 thou). He also
said that it is also planned to send aid to Indonesia as well. In
addition, according to Bayburtyan, Armenian Church of Calcutta
pledged $210 thou to the Indian Government. Also, 10 citizens of
India can pass a treatment course by request in the Rehabilitation
Centre of the Armenian Red Cross. L.V. – 0–

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Jan 11 2005
Ukraine’s Withdrawal Seen As Politically Important, Militarily
Insignificant
By Kathleen Moore
Ukraine says it plans to pull its 1,600 troops out of Iraq in the
first half of this year. The announcement comes after eight Ukrainian
soldiers died in an explosion at an ammunition dump in Iraq. Kyiv’s
decision follows other announcements of changes to the multinational
force in Iraq. Poland, which also has one of the largest troop
contingents in Iraq, is cutting its presence by one-third within the
next few months, while the United Kingdom says it plans to send an
extra 400 soldiers.
Prague, 11 January 2005 (RFE/RL) — “The [outgoing] president of
Ukraine [Leonid Kuchma] has ordered the defense minister and the
foreign minister to immediately begin planning for a withdrawal of
the Ukrainian contingent from Iraq in the first half of this year,”
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk said.
Kuzmuk said the country’s 1,600 troops could begin leaving Iraq in
March or April. The Ukrainian parliament called today for an even
quicker withdrawal.
The troop presence has been unpopular, and a withdrawal had been
expected. But the firmer timetable announced yesterday came a day
after eight Ukrainians — and one Kazakh — died in an explosion at
an Iraqi ammunition dump.
Valeriy Chaly, an analyst at Kyiv’s Razumkov Center, told RFE/RL:
“This decision wasn’t unexpected. Parliament in December adopted a
resolution that had a recommendatory character, and today we’ve seen
that confirmed with the request for the president to sign a decree on
the immediate withdrawal of the Ukrainian contingent from Iraq. Of
course, the deaths of the biggest number of Ukrainian soldiers since
the beginning of the campaign [on 9 January] provided a shocking
stimulus [to this decision]. But nonetheless — though it might sound
cynical — I would say it has a political tinge to it.”
Kuchma’s order was seen by some as an attempt to upstage the man who
is soon to replace him. Viktor Yushchenko, who won last month’s rerun
presidential election, is also in favor of withdrawing Ukrainian
troops from Iraq. Warsaw, too, has announced it is pulling one-third
of its troops out of Iraq next month, after the Iraqi elections.
Other countries withdrew last year, like Spain and the Philippines.
But there are changes in the opposite direction. The United Kingdom
announced yesterday that it will be sending more troops to Iraq —
400 of them, ahead of the 30 January elections. Georgia also
previously announced extra troops for this month. And Armenia last
month approved sending a small contingent of troops. “In a way, it
doesn’t matter enormously how many countries are there and what
they’re producing in military terms. Politically, it’s a different
matter.”
In an initial reaction to the Ukrainian move, U.S. State Department
spokesman Adam Ereli expressed condolences for the soldiers who died.
And he said a withdrawal would not detract from Ukraine’s
contribution.
“I would reject any notion that anybody is running scared in this
matter. First of all, Ukraine has courageously supported the
multinational force in Iraq. They are one of the largest contributors
of troops. They are an important partner to the coalition’s efforts.
We value their contribution, and we recognize their sacrifice,” Ereli
said.
Julian Lindley-French is a Geneva-based security analyst. He said the
Ukrainian and Polish moves will be a blow to the multinational force,
as it needs as many troops as possible to perform a “robust”
peacekeeping job.
“The Ukrainians and Poles would argue that with the elections coming
up, they’ve fulfilled their job to be present until Iraq can
reestablish its own state sovereignty. Obviously, in the real world,
the need for troops to stabilize the situation will continue. I
suspect the Poles and Ukrainians are using the increased numbers of
American and British troops as a cover to try and get out — in a
sense, trying to force the Americans and the British to keep high
levels of troops there over a longer period, which won’t go down too
well in Washington or London,” Lindley-French said.
But British defense analyst Paul Cornish told RFE/RL that such troop
reductions don’t matter much, at least in military terms. “[The
Ukrainians and Poles are] doing important policing and guarding
roles, [but] they are much less significant than the British and
Americans and those forces — and there are few of them — that can
conduct high-intensity counterinsurgency operations,” he said. “So
really, in a way, it doesn’t matter enormously how many countries are
there and what they’re producing in military terms. Politically, it’s
a different matter.”
Any final decision on the status of Ukraine’s troops may come only
when Yushchenko takes office.
A total of 16 Ukrainian troops have died in Iraq since their
deployment as part of U.S.-led coalition forces in 2003.

ARMENIANS WHO LOST THEIR HOMES IN MARAKHA START NEW LIFE IN BERDZOR
Azg/arm
12 Jan 05
Author of “The Black Garden” British journalist Tom de Waal wrote in
his book that the Azeris invaded Marakha village on April 10 of 1992
but Armenian forces fought the village back the next day and buried 43
beheaded and burnt bodies of Armenians. 50 more Marakha Armenians were
captured 19 of whom didnot return anymore.
The village with a rich economy became an enemy territory and its
inhabitants spread all over Russia, USA and elsewhere. Some of them
began a new life in the region of Qashatakh, in the river gorge of
Hakar. Four families settledin Berdzor, former Lachin. Roza Avanesian,
82, says that her Marakha house has turned into a vantage point for
snipers. “I’ve left there my two-storied house and my pregnant cows. I
shudder to think of that. Lamentation accompanied us on our way out of
the village”, Roza Avanesian tells.
The Avanesian’s family was one of the first to settle in Berdzor.
Armenian forces conquered Lachin in May 18 of 1992, a month later
after the Marakha pogroms. On November 26 of 1991 the Supreme Council
of Azerbaijan ordered the ministries of defense and home affairs to
clear Nagorno Karabakh off Armenian population and to defend local
Azeris. But the Karabakh forces managed not only to defend the
Armenian population of the region but also to conquer strategic
territories out of the administrative territory of Karabakh.
“We left our homes naked. We went to Hrazdan at first but it was
impossible to make a living there. We were going to leave for Russia
when learnt aboutthe chance to settle at the liberated Berdzor. And we
have been here since 1994”, Valiry Avanesian says.
Angela, Valiry’s sister, also settled in Berdzor with her husband and
4 children. “We fled from the Turks, and now they live in our houses”,
Angela Avanesian says.
Berdzor is the administrative center of Qashatakh region and was
formed in 1994 including Hakar river gorge, regions of Lachin,
Khubatlu (nowaday Qashunik) and Zangelan (nowaday Kovsakan) that were
forcibly united with the Soviet Azerbaijan at the beginning of the
past century.
Plumber Slavik Grigorian notes with pain that 5 more villages of
Martakert region together with his native Marakha are still under
Azeris’ control. “I left my home in overalls, leaving everything we
had. We feel in safety her, though we are not as rich as we were in
Marakha”, Slavik Grigorian says praising God.
Armenian refugees of Azerbaijan and of the Northern Martakert region
are not the only inhabitants of Berdzor and Qashatakh. There are also
people from Armenia each of whom has his own reason for settling in
the Hakar gorge.
Father Atanes Movsisian serving at Qashatakh region, settled in
Berdzor for8 years ago. “We have great spiritual legacy in these
territories liberated at the price of our martyrs. There were churches
once but unfortunately most of them lie in ruins today.
Tsitsernakavanq, a church of 4th century, has been reconstructed.
Today there are 3 churches that hold weekly services in Qashatakh”,
father Atanes says.
The Holy Ascension Church of Berdzor was built after the territory was
liberated, Tsitsernakavanq was reconstructed on the money the Najarian
family from the US and another church was built in Aghavno village.
There are dozens of semi-ruined churches and hundreds of khachqars
(cross-stones) in Qashatakh.
The regions of Khubatlu, Zangelan and Lachin that are included in
Qashatakh were once Armenian regions in Syuniq province. Muslims,
mainly Turkish-speaking Kurds, penetrated the territories in 18th
century. In 1923, when Stalin created the autonomous region of Red
Kurdistan, the Armenian Qarvatchar, Qashatakh, Qashunik and Kovsakan
regions were included into newly formed unit.
On m y way back to Yerevan, Kamo, the taxi driver, was telling that if
the Azeris had opened the Lachin corridor in 1991-92 when the Karabakh
forces were retreating and Azerbaijan had half of Karabakh, then
Armenians would possibly leave Karabakh for Armenia. He reminded that
Karabakh forces broke through enemy ‘s defense on May 18 and opened
the humanitarian corridor. Now Kamo’s taxi was picking up speed on the
corridor’s paved road.
By Tatoul Hakobian

WILL REFERENDUM DECIDE KARABAKH’S FATE?
Azg/arm
12 Jan 05
Oskanian And Mammediarov Resume Bilateral Meetings
The regular meeting of RA and Azeri foreign ministers will be held
with the participation of f the OSCE Minsk group mediators in Prague,
on January 10. Vartan Oskanian said in the interview to Interfax
agency before departing to Prague that “the negotiations of this year
will qualitatively differ from the first stage of the Prague process.”
“At present we will touch upon certain issues and details, while in
the course of the first stage of the Prague process we discussed
general principles. The more we deepen in details the more the
negotiations get complicated. When we begin work with details we
should be ready to make mutual concessions,” Oskanian said, expressing
hope that in 2005 “we will be able to fix a progress in the Nagorno
Karabakh issue.”
The Associated Press informed that few days ago Azeri President said
in the sitting of the security council that the settlement of Nagorno
Karabakh conflict enters “a new, positive stage”. “Certainly, I don’t
mean that the conflict is settled. The negotiations are still on and
we spare no efforts to make them go in the way beneficial for us,”
Ilham Aliyev said, adding that the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh has
entered “a new stage.”
On his turn, Yuri Merzliakov, Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk group
told the Azeri press that Armenia agreed to make some concessions in
the course of the Prague negotiations. “Now, it is Azerbaijan’s turn,”
Merzliakovsaid.
During the December 22 press conference, 2004, Oskanian advised the
journalists to pay attention to the article published in the French Le
Figaro. According to him, the article reflects “today’s general
trends in the Nagorno Karabakh issue.” Pierre Lelouche, head of the
NATO parliamentary Assembly, and Anna Palacio, former Spanish foreign
minister, the authors of the article, visited Nagorno Karabakh in
autumn and expressed the opinion that “Armenia should have the
temporal control of Nagorno Karabakh who’s further fate will bedecided
though a referendum in 5 or 10 years.”
According to daily Azg’s information, it is not excluded that Armenia
and Azerbaijan will agree an agreement on Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement, according to which, the Karabakh forces should quit
several Azeri territories under their control, while Baku will agree
to hand the control of Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia under the condition
that in 5 or 10 years the status of NKR will be decided through a
referendum.
By the way, in the course of the December 22 press conference,
Oskanian said that Yerevan will be able to ratify the right of
Karabakh people for self-determination and achieve its international
recognition, on the other hand, he added that the realization of the
right of Karabakh’s self-determination can be indirect from the aspect
of the time.
Last year, in the course of one of his public speeches, RA President
Robert Kocharian drew the attention to the trends of the settlement of
the current conflicts in the other corners of the world, particularly,
he pointed out the crisis in the South Sudan, where interesting
developments take place.
A historical event took place in Kenya on January 9, with the
participation of Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, and Colin
Powell, the US State Secretary, as well as the leaders of some African
countries. The South and North authorities of Sudan have signed an
agreement, according to which the status of the unrecognized Blue Nile
and Nuba Mountain’s Country will be decided in six years through a
nation-wide referendum.
It’s worth mentioning that the international community led by the US
has chosen the referendum as a settlement of the conflicts. The same
happened in 2004, when two simultaneous referendums were held in
Cyprus among the Greek and the Turkish communities of the island. It
is not excluded that the fate of Kosovo will also be decided though a
referendum.
As for Sudan, it is worth mentioning that the sides in conflict came
to agreement in the following issue. The Southern part of the country
will be announced an autonomy and be governed according to the
principles of autonomy from the July of 2005.While in six years the
country will decide through referendum whether it stays in the
structure of Sudan or it becomes an independent state. John Garange,
leader of the separatists for many years, will become the first rime
minister of Sudan. The oil profits of Sudan that amount to $ 4 billion
annually will be equally divided between the Northern central
government and the Southern autonomy in the course of the coming six
years.
BBC states that if the referendum is held tomorrow, the South will
vote for its independence. John Garange, who signed a cease-fire with
the authorities of Sudan two years ago, is for a united state of Sudan
that has two centers.
By the way, Sudan and Azerbaijan a number of things in common. The
most important is that both Baku and Khartoum have turned for help to
Osama bin Laden, World’s terrorist N1, to settle the Nagorno Karabakh
and South Sudan conflicts, relevantly. The US exerted punishment
measures on Sudan for giving shelter to bin Laden years ago. But
Heydar Aliyev felt the danger in time and agreed to cooperate with the
US in its anti-terrorist combat.
The conflict burst out in Sudan in 1983, when Khartoum authorities
tried to impose the rules of Islamic law on the population of the
Southern part of the country that don’t speak Arabic. About 2 million
people died in thearmed conflict that lasted for 20 years.
It’s worth mentioning, that the humanitarian crisis that is still on
in Darfur, the Western part of Sudan, should not be confused with the
conflictbetween the South and the North of the country. Darfur
conflict began in 2003, when the rebels of this region began attacking
the authorities, condemning them in racism. About 70 thousand blacks
died in Darfur in two years and 2 million quitted their homes. The US
characterizes Darfur crisis as a genocide.
By Tatoul Hakobian

TURKISH SINGER DISTORTS “ADANA LAMENTATION”, A SONG DEVOTED TO GENOCIDE
Azg/arm
12 Jan 05
She Calls this Sacrilege a Wish to Talk of Genocide
The first song of Turkish singer Seden Gurel’s “Bir Kadin Sarki
Sylyor” album (2004) is the Armenian song known as “Adana Lamentation”
devoted to the massacres of Adana’s Armenian population in 1909. In
her album “Adana Lamentation” turned into a love song titled “Sebebim
Ask” – “The Reason is Love”.
Sibel Alas is the author of the words, and Istanbul Armenian Shirak
Shahrikian ‘s duduk accompanies the song. The latter’s participation
in this sacrilege aroused the indignation of the Armenian community in
Istanbul. Shahrikian wrote an article in Turkish for
Armenian website trying to justify himself where he says that the
Armenians’ disapproval was expressed by numerous phone calls. Seden
Gurel, in her turn, wrote a letter in Septemberof 2004 where she tries
to convince that the aim of the song was to tell the Turkish people of
the Genocide (Gurel used the word “soykirim” – genocide- thus
recognizing the Armenian genocide).
It’s hard to say how the Turkish society learns about the Armenian
Genocide by listening to “The Reason is Love”. The song was
broadcasted by one of Turkish state TV channels on April 24 with the
accompaniment of semi-naked Turkish women’s dance.
The song’s video clipping is available at