Russian Speaker arrives in Armenia

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
1 Oct 04

[Presenter] Russian Federation Council Speaker Sergey Mironov arrived
in Yerevan on a three-day visit today. Sergey Mironov will meet the
country’s leadership during the visit. His meeting with the teachers
and students of Yerevan State University has also been scheduled. This
is Sergey Mironov’s third visit to Armenia. Answering journalists’
questions at the airport, Sergey Mironov spoke about the Armenian
cargo accumulated after security was stepped up on the
Georgian-Russian border.

[Sergey Mironov, captioned, at airport, in Russian with Armenian
voice-over] As long as we know that many terrorists feel free on
Georgian territory and, of course, after Beslan, we have had to take
appropriate steps. They had nothing to do with the Armenian cargo. We
are aware of Armenia’s problems in this sphere and are ready to help
Armenia. We hope that the Armenian leadership will show understanding
of the reasons that made us take the aforesaid steps.

Azeri pundits say Armenia trying to provoke resumption of hostilities

Zerkalo, Baku
1 Oct 04

Armenia is trying to speak to us in the language of threats. This
conclusion can be inferred from Armenian Defence Minister Serzh
Sarkisyan’s statement made in an interview with Armenian Public
Television. He said that the fallout from hostilities in Nagornyy
Karabakh would be extremely unpleasant for both Armenia and
Azerbaijan. He added that “whatever the outcome of a possible war,
even the most beneficial for Armenia, we have no desire to be dragged
into hostilities”.

He said Armenia would have to fight only if the Azerbaijani side
launched an attack. Sarkisyan noted that Armenia was capable of giving
“a response that would discourage Azerbaijan from fighting for many
years”. Let’s recall that Armenian officials have repeatedly made such
statements.

We have asked some Azerbaijani analysts what they think about the
Armenian defence minister’s remarks. The former foreign minister,
Tofiq Zulfuqarov, said that the statement is unlikely to stem from the
Armenian minister’s desire to maintain peace in the region. He said
the statement reveals Armenia’s intention to blame Azerbaijan for a
possible resumption of hostilities.

Zulfuqarov said Sarkisyan’s statement comes at a time when, as he
thinks, another round of talks has not produced results due to
Armenia’s non-constructive position. “To demonstrate Armenia’s
firmness in the issue, the Armenian minister is trying to show that
Armenia can defend its position even by force,” the former minister
said.

He added that the resumption of hostilities is mainly impeded by the
position of the international community. At the same time, he said “if
no breakthrough is reached in the negotiations, the start of
hostilities is practically inevitable”. The former minister did not
rule out the possibility of Armenia attempting to resume hostilities,
thus capitalizing on the factor of the US presidential elections when
the country’s attention will focus on domestic problems.

Zulfuqarov believes that in a move to solve domestic problems, the
Armenian administration may provoke Azerbaijan to start a war. He
added that such statements must send a message to the Azerbaijani
authorities that the resumption of hostilities by Armenia is a real
threat and “at this juncture, our country must take specific and
large-scale action to strengthen its defence capability”.

[Passage omitted: comments by another political analyst]

Military expert Uzeyir Cafarov said that Sarkisyan’s statement
proceeds from his confidence in Russia. He said that the agreement on
strategic partnership between these countries enables Moscow to
provide assistance to Yerevan. Cafarov believes that the wait-and-see
position of the Azerbaijani authorities is very convenient for
Armenia. The military expert thinks that while Armenia continuously
builds up its military potential, Azerbaijan acts like a “guilty
schoolboy”. He added that Azerbaijan must not allow Armenia, its
defence minister in particular, to make such statements.

Considering Sarkisyan’s statement that starting from 5 January 2005
Armenia will be able to sign agreements directly with Russian
[military] enterprises on arms and ammunition supplies on the same
terms as the Russian army, our country has to think carefully about a
reciprocal action.

Armenian opposition urges leader “to engage in political activities
earnestly”

Noyan Tapan news agency
1 Oct 04

YEREVAN

The [opposition] Justice bloc considers that in the current situation
in the Karabakh issue, which is unfavourable for Armenia, the
president should not miss an opportunity to speak from the rostrum of
the UN General Assembly.

At a 30 September briefing, Grigor Arutyunyan, a member of the Justice
bloc, said that it was clearly obvious from the reports by the
[former] rapporteur [of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe] on the Karabakh issue, Terry Davis, the US co-chairman of the
OSCE Minsk Group, Steven Mann, and other high-ranking officials as
well as articles published in the western media that the position of
the international community on the Karabakh issue is obviously in
favour of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

Given this, he said, [Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan is obliged
to personally answer to anti-Armenian attacks of Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev made from the highest rostrums, and not give the tasks of
this kind to Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan.

The opposition calls on Robert Kocharyan “to engage in political
activities earnestly instead of studying the Chinese Wall”.

Vardan Oskanyan flew to New York to attend the 59th session of the UN
General Assembly. In turn, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan was
paying a state visit to China at that moment.

Azeri official favours meetings with Armenians in neutral countries

ANS TV, Baku
1 Oct 04

[Presenter] The Baku government favours joint meetings between
representatives of the Azerbaijani and Armenian governments in a
neutral country, the head of the public-political department of the
Azerbaijani presidential administration, Ali Hasanov, has said.

[Ali Hasanov, speaking to journalists] We are against all forms of
cooperation and ties with Armenia until this country withdraws its
troops from the [occupied] Azerbaijani lands and ends its policy of
aggression. However, there are some issues that do not depend on
us. Specifically, this pertains to events organized by international
organizations in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and other countries. It
is better to hold these events in neutral countries so that we and the
Armenians can attend them. This will enable us to unmask them.

Chinese foreign minister discusses UN role with counterparts

Xinhua news agency domestic service, Beijing
30 Sep 04

UN role”, carried by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China
News Agency)

United Nations, 29 September: PRC [People’s Republic of China] Foreign
Minister Li Zhaoxing, in New York to attend the 59th UN General
Assembly, on 29 September met separately with 59th UN General Assembly
President and Gabonese Foreign Minister Jean Ping, Belarusian Foreign
Minister Syarhey Martynow, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Uthman
Isma’il, Comoros Foreign Minister Souef Mohamed el Amine, Vanuatu
Foreign Minister Barak Sope Maautamate, Pakistani Foreign Minister
Khurshid Kasuri, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan, South
African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Burmese Prime
Minister’s Office [Labour] Minister Tin Win, and Jamaican Foreign
Minister Keith D. Knight. They exchanged views on bilateral relations
as well as international and regional issues of mutual concern.

Li Zhaoxing said that only by adhering to multilateralism and adopting
collective action can global threats and challenges be met
effectively, can there be advances in the democratization of and the
rule of law in international relations, and can general security and
common development be realized. Li Zhaoxing stressed that the United
Nations is the most universal, authoritative, and representative
international organization, and that it is an important venue for the
realization of multilateralism. All nations have the responsibility
and duty to continually strengthen the core role that the United
Nations plays in international affairs, he added.

All sides praised China for actively promoting the development of
multilateralism and strengthening the role of the United Nations. They
expressed willingness to make joint efforts with China, to adhere to
the path of multilateralism, to strengthen the role of the United
Nations, and to collectively respond to threats and challenges.

Li Zhaoxing also expounded on China’s stance on the Taiwan issue. Jean
Ping and other foreign ministers all reiterated that they will adhere
to the one-China stance and oppose having Taiwan participate in the
United Nations and other intergovernmental international
organizations.

While meeting with South African Foreign Minister Zuma and Pakistani
Foreign Minister Kasuri, Li Zhaoxing said he hoped that the two
countries would earnestly protect the safety of local Chinese
citizens. The two nations stated they will adopt corresponding
measures.

Li Zhaoxing thanked Jamaica for volunteering to serve as the host
country for a “China-Jamaica economic and trade cooperation forum”
proposed by China. The Jamaican foreign minister said that the forum
will be beneficial to the promotion of friendly cooperative relations
between the Caribbean countries and China.

Immigration into Karabakh on the increase – official

A1+ web site
1 Oct 04

>From 1994 up till now, 23,000 people have moved to the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic [NKR] and 150 settlements have been reconstructed,
including 120 settlements reconstructed completely.

The chief of the NKR department for refugees, migration and
resettlement, Serzh Amirkhanyan, said that 623 people (120 families)
moved to the NKR in January and February 2004, which is more than in
the same period of 2003.

Certain work is being carried out in the legislative sphere to resolve
the problems of Armenian refugees who were deported from Azerbaijan in
1988-1992, Serzh Amirkhanyan said.

Turkey, EU clash over northern Cyprus’s participation in OIC-EU forum

Anatolia news agency
30 Sep 04

Ankara, 30 September: European Union (EU) Acting Presidency offered
Turkey that observer countries including also [self-declared] Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) should take their place at the
table in the OIC [Organization of the Islamic Conference] – EU foreign
ministers’ Joint Forum without their name plates. Dutch Ambassador to
Turkey Sjoerd Gosses replied to questions of reporters, after the
luncheon hosted by Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullah Gul in honour of EU countries’ ambassadors to Turkey.

Stating that Turkey did not accept the offer made by EU Acting
Presidency on Wednesday evening [29 September], Gosses said that
Turkish side insisted that name plates should be on the table.

Gosses said that he would convey this response to Dutch authorities,
noting that EU Acting President’s Office asked all EU countries to
give information about their participation in the forum. [Passage
omitted]

Expressing his sorrow over this problem, Gosses noted that it could
not be said that this name (‘Turkish Cypriot State’) was accepted by
the OIC so EU should also accept it.

Gosses stated that many countries said that if TRNC attends the forum
under the name of ‘Turkish Cypriot State’, they would not take part in
the forum. Gosses said that they also proposed that they could issue
a statement saying that “they don’t recognize TRNC” before the forum,
but this proposal was not accepted by a significant part of new
members of the EU. [Passage omitted]

Asked whether the Dutch foreign minister would participate in the
forum, Gosses said that he could not say for sure, adding he was
doubtful whether foreign minister would attend under these
circumstances.

Foreign Minister Gul said that he considered that EU Acting
Presidency’s offer that observer countries should attend OIC-EU Joint
Forum without their name plates was not normal.

Answering a question on participation of EU countries in the forum,
Gul said that EU authorities would decide on this issue, adding that
they expected foreign ministers to attend it. “OIC and EU are
different organizations. TRNC is an observer member of the OIC, and it
will attend the forum with this status,” he added.

Other issues

Sources said that Greek Ambassador to Turkey Micheal Christides asked
Gul to inform them on his meetings in the UN General Assembly and his
meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan.

Gul said that he had many meetings in New York, stating that his
meeting with Oskanyan was very fruitful, stating that they would
continue to contribute to solution of problems between Armenia and
Azerbaijan.

British Ambassador to Turkey Peter Westmacott mentioned attacks on
HSBC branches and asked what measures Turkey has taken.

Gul said that both intelligence and security departments were paying
great attention to this issue, noting that they would not allow such
attacks. Gul added that they were in touch with British authorities
and acting together on this issue.

deseretnews.com
Friday, October 1, 2004

Azerbaijan looks to U.S. as leader in democracy

By Mammad Baghirov
For the Deseret Morning News

The presidential campaign in the United States is being watched
very closely in Azerbaijan – an oil-rich former Soviet republic,
situated in the Caucasus region. And that is not surprising: Since the
first year of its independence, Azerbaijan has been working to keep
strong relations with the United States.

Mammad Baghirov

The first reason for this is democracy, as my country faces a
period of transition. Another reason is the geopolitical environment –
Azerbaijan borders Russia on the north and Iran on the south. A close
relationship with the United States gives the Azerbaijani leadership
an opportunity to be more independent in the dialogue with our
powerful neighbors.

As to the attitude toward the U.S. presidential candidates, the
sympathy of many people in Azerbaijan does not lie with President
Bush. And war in Iraq is the main reason for that feeling. People see
that things are getting worse there. But, ironically, we also have
military in Iraq because the Azerbaijani leadership decided to join
the U.S.-led coalition. Many people are also concerned with the
possibility of a military operation against our southern neighbor –
Iran – and what might negatively influence the regional situation.

John Kerry seems to be the more pragmatic leader. But there are
also fears in my country that if Kerry is elected, the attitude of the
United States toward Azerbaijan could change. One of the top-priority
issues for my country is the restoration of territorial integrity. At
the moment, 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands are occupied by a
neighboring state – Armenia, which pursues the goals of increasing its
territory by gathering “historical Armenian lands,” which include part
of the territory of Azerbaijan and Turkey. As a result of aggression
of Armenia, thousands of people in my country were killed and wounded
and hundreds of thousands became homeless. In 1994 a cease-fire was
achieved and negotiations started. Unfortunately, they haven’t brought
any results up to now, but the good news is that they are
continuing. And there is a large Armenian diaspora in the United
States, which claimed support of Kerry’s candidacy. That’s made people
in Azerbaijan cautious about Kerry.

It seems to me that Thursday’s presidential debate increased the
chances of Bush winning the race. The American president looked much
stronger than his opponent. Kerry’s stance was, as clearly stressed by
his opponent, “inconsistent.”

Watching the debate, frankly speaking, I was impressed by the
atmosphere of openness and mutual respect between candidates. It’s
very difficult to imagine the current president in Azerbaijan running
for another term and participating in such a debate with his
opponents. Unfortunately, there is lack of respect for opposite views
in my country, and that makes the political situation in Azerbaijan
very tense.

Azerbaijan is moving towards democracy, but this movement is
still very slow. One reason: It’s difficult to build democracy with
those who ruled Azerbaijan in the Soviet period. They can say they are
democrats, but in reality their way of thinking and doing things has
nothing in common with this word. We adopted good laws, but often they
don’t work because of the resistance of such “democrats.” People in my
country, for instance, have the right to elect and be elected, but
there are still big doubts about the fairness of the vote.

Unfortunately, it was also the case during the last presidential
elections in the United States when some American watchdog
organizations were seriously concerned about the results. And it
strengthened the standing of Azerbaijani “democrats,” who used the
example of the American elections of 2000 in debate with those who
criticized the vote in my country. Now, upon harsh criticism of
Azerbaijani elections, they could point to the American case and say
that it’s not only Azerbaijan that had problems during elections, but
also the United States – the leading democratic state.

Let us hope that the upcoming elections in the United States
become really the best example of democracy at work.

E-mail: [email protected]

Collective Security Treaty to ensure Russia’s military presence in CIS

Interfax-AVN military news agency web site
1 Oct 04

Moscow, 1 October: A protocol expanding supplies on easy terms of
defence hardware for Collective Security Treaty Organization [CSTO]
member nations has been submitted to the State Duma, an official in
the lower house headquarters told Interfax-Military News Agency today.

The protocol allows for supplies of defence hardware to be given not
only to units incorporated in multinational forces of the organization
but also to all services of the member nations, the official said. The
protocol also provides for sending arms to any member nation in
numerous cases, including an aggression against a member nation,
realization of the nation’s right to self-defence under the UN
Charter, and terrorist attacks or other threats to national
sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“The decision to expand supplies on easy terms of defence hardware was
made to boost efficiency of military technical cooperation between
member nations of the treaty,” the official said. The protocol’s
ratification will contribute to the strengthening of military and
political integration in the CSTO framework, maintaining optimal
military presence of Russia on the former USSR territory, and
countering attempts at forming regional security systems not involving
Russia, the document’s explanatory note reads. The CSTO includes
Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

BBC News
Last Updated: Friday, 1 October, 2004, 16:50 GMT 17:50 UK

Roxburgh’s EU diary: September

Angus Roxburgh takes a wry look at life in Brussels.

I’ve always felt the EU would do best to avoid stunts with unfortunate
associations – balloons (hot air), circuses (clowns), etc.

Nonetheless, Eurocrats and Euro-hangers-on returned from the summer break
this month to find a huge multi-coloured tent occupying the entire Schuman
roundabout, in the heart of the EU district of Brussels.

Inside this circus big top was an elaborate display, using photo-montage,
cartoons, captions and cardboard cut-outs, to trace the history of Europe –
from the Big Bang (no less) to the present… and well into an imaginary
future.

The exhibition was sponsored by the Dutch government, currently in charge of
EU business, and its vision was one of relentless progress…

A few years from now, the euro becomes the world’s favoured reserve
currency, rather than the dollar.

In 2007 the EU is joined not just by Bulgaria and Romania but by Iceland,
Norway, Croatia and Switzerland. Others, from Armenia to Albania, apply to
join.

In 2015, “the southern half of the Roman Empire returns” – with Morocco,
Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, Israel and Palestine joining. The EU
becomes known simply as “The Union”.

And how serious are the authors of this vision?

Well, in 2012, they say, to simplify things Chinese is chosen as the EU’s
“single language”. Ah, I see!

—————————————————————————-

Makeover

The Berlaymont, the huge cross-shaped headquarters of the European
Commission, is finally ready for reopening next month, when the new
Commission moves in.

The revamped Berlaymont will be the source of EU legislation

The paving stones and flower beds are in place, and 25 flagpoles, which they
can’t quite decide what to do with, not wishing to appear premature.

One day they sport 25 blue-and-yellow EU flags, the next just one. Today as
I look out my window at them, there is no flag at all. Tricky business, EU
protocol.

The building has been closed for 12 years for refurbishment and now sports
tilting, heat-sensitive window slats, state-of-the-art air conditioning and
energy-saving ceilings.

Perfect conditions, then, for cool thinking in the commissioners’ huge
offices on the top three floors.

—————————————————————————-

Qualifications

All 24 prospective commissioners have, meanwhile, spent the month filling in
two questionnaires about their suitability for their jobs.

Peter Mandelson faces a grilling from MEPs next week
It’s the sort of thing mere mortals do before they are appointed to a job,
but commissioners get the job first and then have to explain why they want
it.

“For all my political life I have been interested in Europe’s development,”
said the UK’s Peter Mandelson, trade commissioner-designate. Predictable,
but worth saying.

Ingrida Udre, the commissioner from Latvia, by contrast, was quick to point
out that she had learnt teamwork skills by “playing basketball at an
international level”.

That must be what the strangely shaped outcrop on top of the Berlaymont is –
a basketball court, to help them all get on together.