Freed anti-Armenian protester hails court for “principled” stance

ANS TV, Baku
22 Sep 04

An Azerbaijani protester, imprisoned for breaking into the hotel in
Baku which hosted the 21 June NATO meeting over the presence of
Armenian officers, has been set free after three months in prison,
Azerbaijani independent TV station ANS has said.

In an interview with the “Point of View” programme on 22 September
hours after his release from the courtroom along with five other
members of the Karabakh Liberation Organization group, its chairman
Akif Nagi thanked the people for “a single and principled stance on
the issue”. He told the programme that his fellow KLO members were
expecting to be released because of the mounting public pressure.

Asked whether he thought the initial court ruling to sentence them to
up to five years in jail and later replaced with suspended sentences,
was fair, Nagi said the trial had clearly shown that there was no
weighty argument in the hands of the prosecution. “Let’s speak
logically: they have started a criminal case against us. But such
protest actions had repeatedly been held before. Roads have been
blocked, representatives of different groups have entered the
buildings of various government agencies. We ourselves have done that
many times. We have entered state and nongovernmental buildings in
protest. The day before, on 20 June, we entered the Hyatt Regency
hotel because we thought that the Armenians were staying there. In
other words, this had happened before. And when it happened, either
the demands were met in part or in full, or an administrative
punishment was handed down. But there was no criminal offence to
institute criminal proceedings against us,” he said.

In reply to a question whether he was aware of the fact that one of
the protesters was carrying a knife, Akif Nagi said he had no prior
knowledge of that and added that he could not blame the person either
because their “voices weren’t heard”. “But why isn’t anyone listening
to these people’s demands? Why do they resort to terrorist acts?
Because they cannot reach out to certain people. We have been holding
protest actions outside the offices of international organizations
demanding that they recognize Armenia as aggressor-state and reject
the policy of double standards. We hold an action once, twice, three
times, ten times, but no-one listens to us and no-one even bothers to
read what we write after such demonstrations. And then we have to hurl
stones at their windows so that they could at last react to the noise
of their smashed windows. Again, these are forms of protest and have
nothing to do with terror, but demands have to be heard.”

When asked about living conditions in prison, Akif Nagi said prison
life certainly had its drawbacks but added that his group was treated
“with great respect”. He said that despite sharing a cell with people
convicted for different criminal offences, he found that everyone was
very supportive of the organization in general and of its position on
the anti-Armenian protests in particular. Akif Nagi went on to say
that many prisoners even expressed the wish to join the KLO.

Akif Nagi also welcomed NATO decision to cancel the Cooperative Best
Effort-2004 military exercises in Baku and noted that Azerbaijan had
achieved its goal by barring Armenians from Baku. He said the
Azerbaijani authorities had given a due response to the remarks by
senior Armenian officials who suggested earlier that the officers
would attend the Baku drills at all cost.

Released Azeri pressure group member set to continue anti-Armenian protests

ANS TV, Baku
22 Sep 04

[Presenter] The first deputy head of the Karabakh Liberation
Organization [KLO], the first group disabled, Firudin Mammadov, is now
the guest at “Xabarci” [news programme]. [Mammadov was arrested along
with other five members of the organization for protests against
Armenian presence at a NATO conference in Baku.] We are over to the
conference hall of ANS to speak to him. Good evening, Firudin bay
[form of address]. I congratulate you on your being set free.

[Firudin Mammadov from the conference hall] Good evening. Thank you. I
am very pleased.

[Presenter] Firudin bay, did you expect to be released today?

[Mammadov] Yes, we almost expected this. Because the public protest
against our arrest, including the attitude of the state leadership,
allowed us to think so.

[Presenter] Firudin bay, your health caused concern in the first
place. How did they treat you in prison?

[Mammadov] Taking this opportunity, first I want to thank all the
Azerbaijani public, elders, our respected sheikh [Allahsukur
Pasazada], MPs, the union of writers, as well as the mass media, who
supported us. The KLO expresses its satisfaction that they gave their
special support, aired the Azerbaijani people’s will and achieved our
freedom. As for the attitude towards us in prison, let me note that
all employees of the prison, including the inmates, irrespective of
the crimes they had committed, respected us highly. We thank all of
them. They appreciated our deeds more than judge Famil Nasibov and
the prosecutors.

[Passage omitted: the prison’s doctors, leadership did their best to
tackle his health problems]

[Presenter] My last question. Will your imprisonment have an impact on
your next protest actions? Will you be more careful in the future?

[Mammadov] I have been fighting for Azerbaijani lands since I was 18
or 19. I have not retreated a step from this fight over the past 15-16
years. Let me recall that I have lost one of the most valuable gifts
in the world – my sight – during this struggle. Even this fact has not
stopped me. You can assess now how difficult it is for me to serve
one-year suspended sentence. I think that the KLO and I, as a KLO
member, will do our best through public protests, and I can also
participate as a serviceman and a war veteran in a war if the state
leadership wages one. Undoubtedly, I will observe the law to some
extent. But the suspended sentence cannot stop me.

[Presenter] Thank you. I again congratulate you on your freedom.

Azeri opposition leader hails release of anti-Armenian protesters

Azadliq, Baku
23 Sep 04

Text of Aqil report by Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq on 23 September
headlined “‘The KLO members should have been acquitted'” and subheaded
“‘A suspended sentence is an intimidation tool against those
people’. The chairman of the PFAP, Ali Karimli, congratulates the
Azerbaijani people on the release of the KLO members”

The trial of activists of the Karabakh Liberation Organization [KLO]
came to an end yesterday [22 September] in the Court of Appeal. The
activists, who were arrested for protesting against Armenian
servicemen’s visit to Baku [on 22 June], received suspended sentences.

The chairman of the People’s Front of Azerbaijan Party [PFAP], Ali
Karimli, expressed his view on this and congratulated the released KLO
members through Azadliq newspaper. “I also congratulate all the
Azerbaijani people on this,” he said and noted that the release of
those who love Karabakh is definitely a victory for all the people.

Karimli reckons that the KLO members should have been acquitted rather
than given suspended sentences. “First of all, the Azerbaijani
government should have completely corrected the mistake made against
the KLO activists by acquitting them. However, their release in itself
is a major event. I believe this is one of the minor victories of the
Azerbaijani public over the regime because we remember how ruthlessly
the authorities treated the KLO members. If there had been no serious
public resistance in Azerbaijan, and if the Azerbaijani public had not
expressed its attitude unequivocally, perhaps they would have spent
more time in prison.”

In Karimli’s opinion, this example must become a positive message to
the Azerbaijani public. “The public must know that if it shows unity
and defends rights without internal divisions, any government will
eventually concede. The release of the KLO members is one such
example.”

Karimli said there were two reasons for the suspended
sentences. “First, when the government cannot keep someone in prison,
it gives a suspended sentence, so that punishing that person will
become easier next time. A suspended sentence always remains an
intimidation tool against people involved in politics and public
affairs. Second, the government has tried to somehow save its face by
not acquitting them. Because if they were acquitted, the entire world
would know that the judiciary in Azerbaijan is such that it can easily
give five or four-year imprisonment verdicts to innocent people. The
meaning of the suspended sentence is to show that they are guilty, but
not that much.”

Rights activist questions Azeri ombudsman’s activities

Ekho, Baku
23 Sep 04

Prominent Azerbaijani human rights activist Eldar Zeynalov has said
there is “some imbalance” in the activities of ombudsman Elmira
Suleymanova. The imbalance is “connected with protection of state
interests as they are interpreted by the government”, Zeynalov told
Ekho newspaper. The following is the text of R. Orucev’s report by
Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 23 September headlined “A human rights
activist accuses the ombudsman” and subheaded “Eldar Zeynalov comments
on Elmira Suleymanova’s appeal regarding the arrested KLO members”;
subheadings inserted editorially:

Azerbaijan’s ombudsman Elmira Suleymanova has recently sent a letter
to the chairwoman of the Court of Appeal, Qulzar Rzayeva, asking her
to release the convicted members of the Karabakh Liberation
Organization (KLO).

Her letter said that the protesters who took part in the 22 June
action outside the Europe Hotel against visits to Baku by Armenian
officers [for NATO exercises] were people who have lost their health
while defending Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. They have endured
the Xocali tragedy [during military operations between Armenia and
Azerbaijan in Nagornyy Karabakh] which was accompanied by mass
violations of rights of civilians, and have witnessed the cruelty of
the Armenian aggressors against the civilian population, abuse of
their relatives and compatriots who have turned into refugees,
displaced persons and hostages.

“As a result, they could not control their feelings and under the
power of emotions breached the law. Despite instances of hooliganism
and disruption of public order during the protest, the objective of
the participants was to protest at the visit of Armenian officers to
Azerbaijan,” the letter said.

The ombudsman also noted that at present the destiny of the KLO
members who were sentenced to imprisonment is in the focus of
attention of the public which awaits their release. Heeding the public
opinion, appeals by representatives of various parts of the
population, as well as by parents and family members of the convicted,
Suleymanova asked Rzayeva to assess the punishment for the KLO members
in accordance with the offences that they have committed.

First-ever protection of convicted

Prior to this, ombudsman Suleymanova had never allowed herself to
speak out for any citizen who had already been convicted. That is, as
soon as the ombudsman was asked to protect somebody who had already
been convicted, she would say that the judiciary in Azerbaijan was
independent and that she could not put pressure on the court. What
happened this time when Suleymanova all of a sudden directly addressed
the head of the Court of Appeal?

In the course of two days we could not get in touch with Suleymanova
to clarify this issue, even though the head of the ombudsman’s press
service, Zemfira Maharramli, repeatedly recommended Ekho newspaper to
do so. Finally, Maharramli explained her own stance on her boss’s
move. In her words, the actions of Suleymanova are justified because
“the conviction of the KLO members reverberated widely among the
public and politicians. Many NGOs, MPs, and even President [Ilham
Aliyev] himself said that the verdict was too harsh. Hence, the
ombudsman thought it possible to address the head of the Court of
Appeal.”

Ombudsman refuses to intervene

“In this case journalists are fully entitled to verify to what extent
the actions of Suleymanova correspond to the articles of the law ‘On
ombudsman’,” said the prominent Azerbaijani legal expert and director
of the Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan, Eldar Zeynalov. “There are
other trials under way in Azerbaijan. For instance, the case of Elcin
Amiraslanov and members of the OMON [Special Purpose Police
Detachment] has recently passed through the Court of Appeal. Before
that, the court looked into the case of [ex-Defence Minister] Rahim
Qaziyev. The trial of participants in the 2003 October events
[post-election riots in Baku] is under way. And everybody understands
that the ombudsman does not have the right to intervene in the work of
the judges, nor do the ministers, the president or actually anybody
else.”

Zeynalov recalled that the previous responses from Suleymanova were in
the same vein whenever a complaint contained the word “trial”: “Even
if it was not about the trial itself, but about delays in the
proceedings and about foot-dragging. Incidentally, it is the ombudsman
who has the right to intervene in situations when the state bodies are
accused of dragging their feet. But even in those cases Suleymanova
used to always repeat that the judges were independent and she would
not intervene.”

“Imbalance” in ombudsman’s activities

Zeynalov reckons that in general, “there is some imbalance in the
activities of the Azerbaijani ombudsman which is connected with
protection of state interests as they are interpreted by the
government”.

For instance, in the wake of events in Nardaran [in June 2002], when
the village was blockaded and the elders of Nardaran were arrested and
tortured, the villagers officially appealed to Suleymanova and asked
her to influence the situation. But the ombudsman said then that she
did not have the right to intervene and refrained from any
comments. Then there were the October events and Suleymanova allowed
herself to make a political statement condemning the opposition’s
activities. Meanwhile, she did not say a word about the unlawful
actions of the policemen who dispersed the action, Zeynalov said.

Azeri TV takes dim view of British NGO’s reconciliation project

ANS TV, Baku
22 Sep 04

[Presenter] Those who want peace in the region have started a new
project.

[Correspondent, over video of news conference] ANS’s regular viewers
are perhaps aware of the project. We have talked about this project
aimed at bringing peace to Azerbaijan subjected to aggression and
aggressor Armenia which are in completely different positions. The
fact that Britain is especially active in achieving peace between the
sides attracts attention. The point is that a special web page on
Karabakh launched by the BBC, which caused mixed reaction among the
public, is Britain’s business.

This project was launched in Britain in the early 1990s. Three to five
minutes’ long diaries are short stories written by ordinary people
without the intervention of journalists. It was launched in Georgia
nearly a year and a half ago. Those who want to implement this project
in Baku said that it was aimed at enabling people who have not been
almost heard on the air to express their opinion in public. The best
pieces from every region will be chosen, translated into English and
some other languages and broadcast in Azerbaijan, Armenia and
Georgia. The only country where this project has not been carried out
yet is Armenia.

We asked the project managers wishing those people’s integration into
the world how well they were acquainted with the Karabakh problem and
how relevant the project was to our situation.

[Jonathan Cohen, Caucasus programme manager of the conflict mediation
NGO Conciliation Resources, speaking English with Azeri voice-over]
One cannot be fully informed about conflicts. Of course, we understand
it is important to collect information about the settlement of these
conflicts. For this reason, our project wants to study all the South
Caucasus countries.

[Correspondent] Then we drew their attention to the Armenian
occupation of 20 per cent of Azerbaijan which has over 1m
refugees. Asked if the project, regarded as successful in the
Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, was relevant to our reality, they answered
that radio channels broadcasting these diaries were choosing them
independently. Programmes running counter to the state and national
interests might not be broadcast, end of quote.

However, the project’s representatives did not clarify what state and
nation they were talking about. Azerbaijan or Britain? Azerbaijan or
Azerbaijanis?

Leyla Hasanova, Ruslan Mammadov, ANS.

Over 15 tonnes of narcotics seized in operation in former Soviet republics

RIA news agency, Moscow
23 Sep 04

Over 15 tonnes of narcotic substances have been confiscated during the
Kanal-2004 operation by the law-enforcement bodies of the countries
belonging to the Collective Security Treaty Organization, RIA-Novosti
learnt from the public relations centre of the Russian Federal Service
for Control over the Trafficking of Narcotics and Psychotropic
Substances on Thursday [23 September]. The operation took place from
14 to 19 September. The CSTO member states include Russia, Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Over 2,700 kg of drugs were taken out of illegal circulation during
the operation, including 131 kg of heroin, over 2,200 kg of marijuana
and 52 kg of opium, the agency said.

The agency said over 1,400 crimes linked to drugs circulation were
uncovered during the operation, and over 1,200 criminal investigations
were launched.

CIS states to stage antiterrorist air defence exercise in October

Interfax-AVN military news agency web site
23 Sep 04

Moscow

Protection of airspace of the CIS member states, including from air
terrorism, will be refined in the course of the command post exercise
(CPX) to be held by the countries’ unified air defence system, Lt-Gen
Aytech Bizhev, Russian air force deputy commander-in-chief, told
Interfax-AVN on Thursday [23 September].

“Ten missions will be practised during the CPX scheduled for October,
aimed to improve protection of airspace of the CIS members,” he
said. He added that the issues of command and control and liaison in
case of air terrorism situation would also be practised.

According to him, the CPX will see the participation of Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan,
as well as Ukraine on bilateral basis. “Air force Commander-in-Chief
Vladimir Mikhaylov will exercise command and control of the CPX from
the Central Command Post of the Russian air force,” he said.

Russia’s Gazprom seen as aiming to buy Georgian pipelines

Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi
23 Sep 04

[Presenter] Gazprom representatives who arrived in Georgia yesterday
are currently at the Economic Development Ministry where they are
meeting [Economic Development Minister] Kakha Bendukidze’s deputy. The
director of Tbilgazi [Tbilisi gas distribution company], Davit
Morchiladze, is also at the talks.

There are reports that Gazprom is prepared to pay 300m dollars to take
control of Georgia’s trunk gas pipelines. There is also speculation
that there are plans to privatize Tbilgazi, although none of the
parties involved has yet confirmed this information.

The meeting at the ministry has been going on for more than two
hours. Our correspondent Giorgi Kalandadze is there and can tell us
more about Gazprom’s secret plans.

[Correspondent] About 300m dollars is the sum that Gazprom intends to
pay for control of Georgia’s trunk gas pipelines. According our
information, Gazprom needs these pipelines primarily to carry gas from
Iran’s huge deposits to Europe via Georgia. In relation to this issue,
there were reports in the Russian media recently that Gazprom is
trying to sell Iranian gas to Europe and for that reason the
construction of a pipeline between Iran and Armenia has been under
way, while pipelines between Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Western
Europe already exist.

For this plan to come to fruition, Gazprom and Russia need Georgia’s
agreement. About one year ago this subject came up for discussion and
a decision was taken then that it would be possible to set up a joint
enterprise, Gruzrosgazprom, or Sakrusgazmretsvi in Georgian, with the
shares split 50-50 and Gazprom representing Russia.

[Presenter] Giorgi, late last night the Gazprom delegation also met
the prime minister [Zurab Zhvania]. Is anything known about this
meeting?

[Correspondent] The meeting lasted several hours, starting at around
9.30 p.m. The energy and economic development ministers also attended
the meeting with the Gazprom delegation. Nothing about this meeting is
known as yet, although they did not conclude their discussions. It is
possible there will be another meeting with the prime minister today,
although an exact time is not yet known. The Gazprom representatives
intend to leave Georgia this evening.

Azeri speaker, Austrian chief prosecutor discuss Karabakh

ANS TV, Baku
22 Sep 04

[Presenter] Austrian Prosecutor-General Walter Presslauer, who is
visiting Baku, sees a solution to the Karabakh problem through
court. He has said this at a meeting with Azerbaijani Speaker Murtuz
Alasgarov.

[Correspondent, over video of the meeting] As a representative of the
justice system, I think that the parties to the conflict should appeal
to court to achieve the solution. The court should support justice,
Austrian Prosecutor-General Walter Presslauer told Azerbaijani Speaker
Murtuz Alasgarov. He said that the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict should
be solved in line with international legal norms.

[Presslauer, speaking German with Azeri voice-over] We hope that the
conflict will soon be resolved within the framework of the
OSCE. Displaced persons should be allowed to return homes. The
principle of inviolability of borders is Austria’s priority as well.

[Correspondent, over video] Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov said that
Azerbaijan denounces aggressive separatism and drew the guest’s
attention to the fact that international organizations have been
neglecting the Nagornyy Karabakh problem. He again criticized the
OSCE Minsk Group which is mediating a settlement of the conflict over
Nagornyy Karabakh.

[Alasgarov] In general, we are very much unhappy with the activities
of the OSCE and its Minsk Group. They should know that Armenia is an
aggressor state. If international organizations do not call a spade a
spade, then the solution is impossible.

[Correspondent, over video] Alasgarov is convinced that Austria as an
influential country in Europe, will support Azerbaijan’s just cause.

Afat Telmanqizi, Ramil Huseynov, ANS.

Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
Sept 23 2004

Council takes a glance inward

Incumbents try to gauge how recent Americana vote will affect their
reelection bids.

By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press

GLENDALE – Even before Mayor Bob Yousefian’s reelection campaign ever
made it out of the garage, he said his critics began taking aim.

Yousefian joined an intense campaign supporting a controversial
outdoor mall proposal, which voters narrowly approved Sept. 14. He
believes the campaign against the project turned into a personal
attack on him.

“This was not about the [Americana at Brand],” Yousefian said. “It
was, ‘Let’s attack Bob, let’s attack Bob to weaken Bob for the next
election.’ That’s OK. I expected this. When I made a decision to go
into the Armenian community and talk about the facts, I knew going in
what I was signing up for. I have never been afraid of standing up
for what I believe is right. That has been my history.”

As the dust settles from the most expensive municipal campaign in
Glendale history – Glendale Galleria owner General Growth Properties
and developer Rick Caruso dumped more than $4 million into the
campaigns over the Americana – three City Council members are trying
to determine how it will affect their reelection campaigns.

“My wife told me, if I lose, I have to go out and get a job,”
Councilman Dave Weaver said, laughing. “That’s motivation to get
reelected.”

Council members invested significant political cache in the election
over the Americana, and that could play a major role in April, when
three of them are up for reelection.

Yousefian became the most vocal cheerleader for the project leading
up to the election, especially within the city’s Armenian-American
community.

Weaver contributed with comments at public meetings and letters to
local newspapers supporting the Americana.

Frank Quintero, the lone dissenter on the council, remained quiet in
public for most of the campaign, but was active behind the scenes,
encouraging critics of the project to be vocal and persistent.

With the election seven months away, battle lines have been drawn.

“Obviously, it’s going to be Mr. Quintero against the rest of us,”
Weaver said. “Mr. Quintero said he didn’t like the financial terms.
I’ll argue that [Americana] project was never intended to be an
economic project. We entered it to give the people of Glendale a town
center.”

Quintero did not return messages seeking comment.

Each of the incumbents has weaknesses that can be exploited during an
election.

During the Americana election, critics tried to paint Yousefian as a
flip-flopper because he changed his mind on the project in early
March.

Those accusations are sure to resurface in the City Council election.

“He put himself in real jeopardy, in my opinion,” said Vrej
Agajanian, host of an Armenian-language television show who
criticized Yousefian during the campaign. “He should not have gotten
deeply involved. It angered the Armenian community.”

Agajanian, rumored to be running for City Council, too, said he has
not considered it.

Of the three incumbents, Weaver has had the most trouble raising
funds. In the first reporting period, Yousefian raised $63,594 and
Quintero raised $39,133, while Weaver amassed $8,500.

And Quintero will have to answer questions about his political
future. He has long discussed a possible run at state Assembly in
2006. If he wins such an election, he must vacate his council seat.
Councilman Gus Gomez, who is running for Superior Court Judge in
November, has been criticized for a similar decision.

“If we lose and if we don’t get elected, and there’s a whole new
group coming to the city, so be it,” Yousefian said. “The city will
survive. The city has a life of its own. It’s not dependent on one,
two or three council members.”