Armenian MP unhappy about Council of Europe Karabakh report

Public Television of Armenia
16 Sep 04

[Presenter] Adequate, but unsatisfactory – this was the assessment of
democratic changes in Armenia in a report by a co-rapporteur of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE] on Armenia’s
commitments.

At another debate in Paris, MPs of PACE heard a report on Karabakh. The
report had been drawn up by [Council of Europe Secretary-General]
Terry Davis, who said that it should not be accepted as the
secretary-general’s view. This report was filed once it was submitted
to the political commission.

The head of the Armenian delegation at the Council of Europe, Tigran
Torosyan, said that the filed report by Terry Davis did not contain
favourable statements on the Karabakh conflict. Now the major goal
is to have a new report drafted that will describe the real situation.

[Tigran Torosyan over telephone] I suggested in my speech that a
meeting be arranged without delay between representatives of Nagornyy
Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan in the presence of the co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group. The presence of the co-chairs is of utmost
importance as Terry Davis’s report also refers to the Minsk Group.

[Presenter] The MP from the opposition, Shavarsh Kocharyan, is unhappy
about the PACE report on Armenia honouring its commitments. PACE
expressed its “satisfaction” with the fulfilment of the requirements
of the January session of the Council of Europe. Kocharyan said that
the word “satisfaction” implied honouring the commitments.

Armenian delegates who were absent from the PACE session believe that
the report is impartial.

[Passage omitted: covered views of parliamentary factions]

Baku made mistake by denying Armenians entry to Azerbaijan – pundit

Ekho, Baku
16 Sep 04

Azerbaijan’s refusal to entertain Armenian officers at the NATO
Cooperative Best Effort 2004 exercises in Baku has been stirring the
Azerbaijani public for several days now.

[Passage omitted: reported statement by the US ambassador about
Washington regretting that Armenian officers were denied visas]

The ambassador is right that earlier Baku, namely its president,
gave assurances that it would ensure the security of the Armenian
officers, should they take part in the NATO exercises. It happened in
summer. Let’s also recall that after their latest meeting in Prague
on 30 August, Foreign Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov and Vardan Oskanyan
gave very high assessments of the talks, saying that their results
were reassuring and could lead to progress in the negotiations between
Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan.

>>From this standpoint, the following excerpt from the Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry’s statement made after the NATO decision to cancel the
exercises looks quite strange: “In the circumstances of the ongoing
occupation of 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territory and the presence
of 1m refugees, the leadership of the Republic of Armenia is taking
an increasingly non-constructive position in the negotiations.”

The former head of the Azerbaijani presidential secretariat and
currently the chairman of the public forum In the name of Azerbaijan,
Eldar Namazov, believes that the Azerbaijani leadership is to blame
for the tension that has taken shape.

“This is totally wrong when such an important event, which had been
planned for a long time, is called off hours before it is scheduled
to start. And this was done for a reason which, as it was clear
from the very beginning, could bring about serious consequences. The
Azerbaijani authorities should have raised the issue at an earlier
stage and shouldn’t have waited for visitors to arrive from a number
of countries and, with only several hours left till the start of
the exercises, made a hasty decision which will obviously affect our
relations with NATO,” Namazov said.

The political analyst thinks this is a “serious mistake by the
Azerbaijani authorities”.

“As for the implications of the decision, I think there will
probably be a pause in our relations now. But I think this will
first of all concern the NATO administration’s assessment of the
Azerbaijani leadership’s actions, while Azerbaijan as a state will
continue to attract the alliance’s interest. Because we are located
at a very important strategic junction between Europe and Asia,
the South-West and North-South corridors go through Azerbaijan,
Caspian oil resources will be transported to the world market through
Azerbaijan. All this causes permanent interest in our country on the
part of world superpowers and leading international organizations,
and this interest is unlikely to lessen because of such short-sighted
actions by the Azerbaijani leadership,” he said.

“I am unhappy with the way international bodies are handling the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, but from the standpoint of the state we
have to bear in mind that Azerbaijan’s national security is threatened
by dozens of international challenges. The Armenian aggression is the
main, but not the only one of these challenges. And if NATO can help
us avert other threats, then cooperation with NATO represents great
value for us,” Namazov added.

Namazov does not believe that things will reach a point when relations
with NATO will be terminated, “but further steps will be taken with
a view to how consistent the Azerbaijani authorities will be”.

CIS leaders realize need to reform to resist terrorism

RTR Russia TV, Moscow
16 Sep 04

[Presenter] CIS leaders met in the Kazakh capital of Astana today. The
central theme was one that both politicians and ordinary citizens
now talk about, namely the fight against terrorism.

They decided to pool their efforts: a CIS security council is being
set up to coordinate the fight against the common threat.

Our special correspondent Andrey Kondrashov reports from Astana:

[Correspondent] In the Kazakh capital of Astana, formerly Tselinograd,
where virgin lands are now ploughed to build palaces, today was the
day of CIS reform. The first item on the agenda was the main one:
joint resistance against terrorism. It turned out that everyone
feels solidarity with Russia – the only problem is that the CIS as a
structure hardly offers efficient help. Major reform now looms large
for the commonwealth.

The heads of state had agreed a week in advance of the summit that
the fight against terrorism and nothing else would be the central
issue. At their meeting without aides, the statement on the Beslan
tragedy was not even discussed. Everyone was in agreement, so the
chairman, [Ukrainian President Leonid] Kuchma, went on to read it
out in the presence of ministers and the press. [Passage omitted.]

[Kazakh President Nursultan] Nazarbayev said the current summit
was being held against a backdrop of advances made by international
terrorism. We need to respond together, the summit’s host went on,
and the first step is a drastic reform of the CIS. It turned out that
this step came as no surprise to the presidents. Everyone is sick of
the cumbersome bureaucratic structure, only a handful of the hundreds
of documents signed are working and officials who have been pensioned
off eat away at the common funds on foreign trips.

[Nazarbayev, in Russian] The total of our countries’ contributions
to the single budget of CIS bodies is 7m dollars. Large sums are
spent on holding summits, council meetings and sending experts to
various conferences. In January-August this year alone, over 30 expert
conference were held, many of them yielding practically no results.

[Correspondent] It has been proposed that virtually all CIS structures
should be reorganized and that a real security council should be set
up in their place so that the joint fight against terrorism is no
longer just talk, as they put it.

All the documents signed today were clearly antiterrorist in
nature. After that, Leonid Kuchma stepped down from his post and was
awarded the top CIS decoration for his good work. Taking over from
him as chairman of the council was not [Robert] Kocharyan [Armenian
president], [Ilham] Aliyev [Azerbaijan’s president] or [Alyaksandr]
Lukashenka [Belarusian president, as dictated by the alphabet, but
Putin – presumably as dictated by the situation. This meant that
everyone had the same understanding of what terrorism was. [Passage
omitted.]

It is impossible to fight terrorism efficiently as long as there are
conflicts in the CIS, including frozen one, the [final] news conference
was told. From that moment, each participant started believing that
his conflict was the most important.

[Georgian President] Mikheil Saakashvili said everything turned out
fine in Georgia once he had come, and the only outstanding issue
was Abkhazia. [Passage omitted] Robert Kocharyan then spoke about
[Nagornyy] Karabakh, but not for long: the Georgians once again
recalled Abkhazia, which they regard as the most frozen conflict.

At the end of the news conference, the Uzbek president could no
longer contain himself. He said it was not proper to use the CIS
platform for self-promotion. Mikheil Saakashvili, who obviously had
not received all the answers, was invited to a separate meeting with
Vladimir Putin. They did not talk long. [Passage omitted.]

Bulgaria says no military cooperation with Azerbaijan, Armenia until settlement

Trend news agency
16 Sep 04

Baku, 16 September, Trend correspondent S. Agayeva: “Bulgaria will
cooperate in the military sphere with neither Azerbaijan nor Armenia
until the conflict around Nagornyy Karabakh is settled,” Ivan Palchev,
Bulgaria’s charge d’affaires in Azerbaijan, has told journalists.

Palchev said that the Bulgarian Defence Ministry had been successfully
cooperating with the defence ministries of Azerbaijan and Armenia only
in the military-technical sphere. Azerbaijani Defence Minister Safar
Abiyev’s official visit to Sofia is scheduled for late October. The
Azerbaijani and Bulgarian defence ministers will discuss prospects
of future cooperation during the visit.

Palchev added that official Sofia adhered to its position on the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict believing that “Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity must be preserved, while Nagornyy Karabakh’s status is
Azerbaijan’s internal affair”.

Council of Europe report urges Armenia to withdraw from Azeri lands, MP says

Zerkalo, Baku
16 Sep 04

Text of Farid report by Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo on 16 September
headlined “Armenia should vacate occupied territories” and subheaded
“Samad Seyidov says this idea is reflected in the report on Armenia’s
commitments to the Council of Europe”

A report by the rapporteurs on political prisoners in Azerbaijan,
Andreas Gross and Andres Herkel, was heard at the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe’s (PACE) Monitoring Committee
yesterday [15 September], the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to
PACE, Samad Seyidov, has told Zerkalo.

He said the report reflects Azerbaijani realities and noted that
despite the fact that some parts of the report are arguable, it
is generally constructive and is aimed at developing Azerbaijan’s
relations with the Council of Europe.

The head of the Azerbaijani delegation added that the report would
be discussed at the PACE session in October and “we will certainly
propose amendments”.

Seyidov said the report contains both positive aspects of what is going
on in Azerbaijan and certain criticism on the part of European MPs.

The head of the Azerbaijani delegation said further that during
the meeting the European MPs had spoken highly of the latest
presidential pardon. Seyidov added that the release of [leader of
the self-proclaimed Talis-Mugan Republic in the south of Azerbaijan]
Alikram Humbatov was particularly welcomed as he was one of the three
people on the Council of Europe’s list of those who the organization
wanted to be freed or retried. Seyidov said “we can already say
that significant steps have been taken towards removing the issue
of political prisoners from the agenda and the issue has practically
been resolved”.

At the same time, he said that European MPs are unlikely to abandon
the topic so easily and will continue to trace the way developments
unfold in the future as well.

During the discussions, the European rapporteurs expressed the
hope that the trial of those involved in the [post-election] October
events would be completed soon. He said the issue of setting up public
television had also been discussed.

The report touches on the Karabakh issue as well, Seyidov said. The
document says that the problem should be resolved within the framework
of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. He added that the section of
the report dedicated to Armenia’s commitments says in plain terms
that Armenia should unconditionally withdraw its troops from the
seven occupied Azerbaijani districts [around Nagornyy Karabakh].

CIS to treble joint air defence budget for 2005

Interfax-AVN military news agency web site, Moscow
16 Sep 04

Astana Kazakhstan, 16 September: The budget of the CIS joint air
defence system will be increased almost three-fold in 2005.

“On Wednesday 15 September heads of CIS member states decided to
earmark R2.3bn (79m dollars) for developing the CIS joint air defence
system in 2005,” Col Gennadiy Surkov, secretary of the air defence
system coordination committee of the CIS Council of Defence Ministers,
told Interfax-Military News Agency on Thursday.

According to him, it is an almost three-fold increase over the R800m
(27m dollars) allocated in 2004 to this end. Surkov also said that
in 2005 the joint air defence system development programme envisaged
joint operational (tactical) exercises, as well as a number of other
joint ventures.

At the present time the CIS joint air defence system incorporates the
following seven states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Ukraine participates in the CIS
joint air defence system programme on a bilateral basis.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 1) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 1) 52.48.46
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website:

September 16, 2004

ACNIS Releases Public Opinion Results on Corruption in Armenia

Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)
today issued the results of a public survey on “Corruption in Armenia” which
it conducted among 1956 citizens from Yerevan and all of Armenia’s regions.

ACNIS director of administration Karapet Kalenchian greeted the invited
guests and public participants with opening remarks. “It would be illusory
to hope that discussions and debates on corruption could solve the problem.
However, we must carefully examine the issue in order to clarify the
directions, strategy, conception, and practical priorities of our common
campaign. Corruption is a public evil, and each of us, alone and together,
should struggle against it,” he said.

ACNIS legal and political affairs analyst Stepan Safarian focused in detail
on the findings of the opinion poll. Accordingly, a majority of surveyed
citizens (62.4%) assert that corruption in Armenia exists in all spheres and
at all levels, 29.9% think it exists in some areas, 3.7% can identify it in
but a few categories, while 4% find it difficult to answer.

42.8% of citizens think that corruption is a political phenomenon, that is,
authorities that come to power through election fraud and bribery are forced
to sponsor or give privileges to those who supported their “election.” 19.4%
believe corruption to be an economic phenomenon, as it is the most effective
way of amassing money, 19.7% assert it is a social function, and 12% explain
it as a cultural matter.

14.8% of respondents have given bribes because they were forced to do it,
39.5% have done it to solve a problem quickly and easily, while 45.2% have
never given bribes. The majority of surveyed citizens think that the health
care system is the most corrupt in Armenia (19.4%), 10.6% point to the army,
17.5% the courts, 5.2% the prosecutor’s office, 7.5% the educational system,
7.7% tax and 1.7% customs agencies, 4.4% the state transport inspection, and
4.7% the police. 23.2% are convinced that the most corrupt branch of the
Armenian government is the executive, while 15.6% blame the judiciary and
5.7% the legislature.

Among the surveyed public, 37% were offered a bribe during the presidential
or parliamentary elections of 2003. 32.5% of these actually took it, whereas
only 66.4% did not take it.

As to the principal factor fostering corruption in Armenia, 35.9% pinpoint
the arbitrariness and unaccountability of the authorities, 20.7% the
prevalence of private and group interests, and 12.8% a tolerance toward
unlawfulness in people’s consciousness. 25.3% of respondents do not believe
in the success of the Armenian government’s program against corruption, only
4.9% are optimistic on this score, and 69.3% find it difficult to answer.
The main reason for the inefficiency of the campaign against corruption, in
the view of 49.1%, is that corrupt authorities cannot struggle against
themselves. 14.8% think it is hampered by clans and oligarchs, and 14.3% say
it is adversely affected by the fact that society is not engaged in the
struggle.

The second item on the day’s agenda was a presentation by economist Ashot
Tavadian on “The Aims of the Campaign against Corruption.” “I am convinced,
and the survey proves it, that Armenia’s substantive development is possible
only by way of a serious campaign against corruption, whereas the aims of
the government’s program are declarative and unclear. In reality, the
program must persuade us that over time Armenia will achieve an
internationally recognized benchmark on the existence or non-existence of
corruption. It also should be composed based on the consensus of a large
number of political forces,” he underscored.

The formal presentations were followed by contributions by Edward Aghajanov
of the “Armat” center; law professor Hrair Tovmasian; Ruben Torosian of the
Supreme Council Deputy Club; Yerevan State University professor Gagik
Galstian; Artsrun Pepanian, political analyst for AR television; Gayane
Markosian of the Harmonious World NGO; economist Gegham Kiurumian; Armen
Ktoyan of the Institute of Management and Economic Reforms; Haroutiun
Khachatrian of Noyan Tapan news agency; National Press Club chairperson
Narine Mkrtchian; and several others.

42.7% of participating respondents are male and 57.3% female; 11.9% are
18-30 years of age, 23.6% 31-40, 21.4% 41-50, 12.7% 51-60, and 23.4% 61 or
above. 48% of the citizens surveyed have received a higher education, 11.1%
incomplete higher, 20.5% specialized secondary, 17.1% secondary, and 3.1%
incomplete secondary training. 57.6% are actively employed, 25.3%
unemployed, 9.8% are pensioners, 0.9% welfare recipients, and 6.1% students.

Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves
as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges
facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also
aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider
understanding of the new global environment. In 2004, the Center focuses
primarily on public outreach, civic education, and applied research on
critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.

For further information on the Center or the full graphics of the poll
results, call (3741) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (3741) 52-48-46; e-mail
[email protected] or [email protected]; or visit or

NBC4.TV, CA
Sept 15 2004

Student Says He Was Ambushed Outside School
Principal Says Officials Are Investigating

LOS ANGELES — School officials are investigating after a 14-year-old
boy was allegedly beaten and stabbed outside Ulysses S. Grant High
School.
FeedRoom

School Investigating

Joseph Peyton said the incident occurred at about 3 p.m., Monday.

The freshman said about nine students surrounded him near a gate
outside the school in Van Nuys. School officials dispute that claim,
saying two students were involved.

“I turned around and someone socked me in the face and broke my nose,”
he said.

Peyton said his attackers were using racial slurs. The boy also was
stabbed in the face with a blunt object, police said.

Peyton’s father, Charles Peyton, said the alleged attack was racially
motivated.

“How can you study comfortably when you’re worried about gang-bangers
beating you up when you go to the next class,” Charles Peyton said.

Peyton transferred to the school from North Hollywood to take advanced
placement courses.

Students told NBC4 that there have been conflicts involving Hispanic
and Armenian students.

The school’s principal said officials are investigating. School
officials said they do not believe race was a factor.

“As soon as we find out what’s happened, whether it was racially
motivated — but from what we understand it was not at all, then the
students will be disciplined,” said district spokeswoman Monica Carazo.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Baku Dissapointed with NATO Decision

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
Sept 15 2004

According to Turan news agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Azerbaijan issued a statement where it says the Ministry “expresses
its deep regret in connection with abolition of NATO maneuvers
“Cooperativ Best Effort – 2004″ in Azerbaijan.”

Document mentions, Azerbaijan considered these maneuvers as significant
and important event on the way of integration into the Euro-Atlantic
organization and created all conditions for its conducting.

The statement stressed Azerbaijan-NATO cooperation has been
successfully developing for the last years and Azerbaijan submitted
Operational plan on individual partnership to NATO leadership.

Along with this, the statement indicates occupation of almost 20% of
Azerbaijan territory, as a result of Armenian aggression. Moreover,
statement reads, Armenian leadership sticks to tougher and
non-constructive position during peaceful negotiations.

“Participation of Armenian servicemen in maneuvers at the territory of
the state was non admissible for Azerbaijan in such situation. It is
underlined Azerbaijan party confirms its adherence to Euro-Atlantic
values and partnership with North Atlantic Alliance. Official Baku
expresses its hope that formed relations of effective Azerbaijan-NATO
partnership “will be dynamically developing in future”.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN PRO-GOVERNMENTAL LAWMAKERS HAIL PACE MONITORING COMMISSION’S STATEMENT

A1 Plus | 19:43:47 | 16-09-2004 | Politics |

Yesterday’s statement by the PACE monitoring commission saying
Armenian authorities have complied with PACE demand was hailed by
pro-governmental members of Armenian National Assembly on Thursday.

Answering the question journalists put to him about imbroglio over
stripping A1+ TV Company of its broadcasting license, United Labor
Party leader Gurgen Arsenyan said this demand wasn’t fulfilled.