PanArmenian News
Dec 4 2004
ARMENIAN POLITICAL SCIENTIST A. ISKANDARIAN SAYS PRESENT SITUATION
WITH NAGORNO KARABAKH CONVENIENT FOR ARMENIANS AND AZERIS
03.12.2004 14:38
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “We can recall Cyprus, for instance, the conflict
with a long history. However the Greek part of Cyprus has been
recently admitted to the EU. Thus, unsettled Cypriot conflict did not
impede Europe to take such a decision. Europeans just resigned to the
situation”, well-known Armenian political scientist Alexander
Iskandarian, who moved in Armenia 2 years ago to head the Department
of Researches of the Caucasian Media Institute in Yerevan, stated in
his interview with Yerkir Armenian newspaper. The importance of
Caucasus for the West is exaggerated, he says after a long-term
travel across the Western Europe and Turkey. In Iskandarian’s
opinion, “there are tens of territories like Nagorno Karabakh and a
dozen of regions like Caucasus all over the world”. So, recognizing
the independence of Karabakh as Turkey did in respect of the Northern
Cyprus, Armenia will “cause a little anger”, but then everything will
remain as it is. When commenting on the possibility of Azerbaijan’s
resuming hostilities in case the peaceful negotiations are broken
off, A. Iskandarian said the Azeri authorities are not so stupid to
launch a war without being sure of victory. To make the army more
efficient first the Azeri society should change, while such changes
cannot occur within a short period of time. “Without such a
transformation even the most brilliant plan drawn up by Turkish
general is unrealizable.” According to Iskandarian, a war, which will
last more than two or three weeks, will inevitably lead Azerbaijan to
destabilization and inner opposition. “As for the military and
anti-Armenia propaganda, it is a correct step” of political
technology. However this technology has nothing to do with the
resumption of war. Concluding his speech the political scientist
stated that the most realistic scenario is the preservation of status
quo, what is favorable for Armenians, Azeris and for the West as
well.

PanArmenian News
Dec 4 2004
ISLAMIC PARTY OF AZERBAIJAN FOR MILITARY SOLUTION OF KARABAKH PROBLEM
04.12.2004 16:34
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There is only one solution to “liberate” “the
territories of Azerbaijan” – the war, stated Chairman of the Islamic
Party of Azerbaijan Hajiagha Nuriyev in a conversation with a
Caucasian Knot correspondent. The leader of the Islamists also
criticized the US policy towards Azerbaijan. In his words, official
Washington pursues a double policy towards Azerbaijan. “The US not
only provides much financial assistance to Armenia, but also supports
the Nagorno Karabakh “separatists.” It is an indicator of official
Washington double policy.” Having touched the issue of peaceful talks
the Party Chairman noted that those talks would not have a notable
effect. It should be reminded that official Azerbaijan is becoming
closer with the Organization of Islamic Conferences of late and an
Islamic youth forum is held in Baku on these days. There are two
groups of Islamists, operating in Azerbaijan. The first, represented
by the Islamic Party, adheres the Shiite direction of Islam,
traditional for Azerbaijan. However, Islamism in its Wahhabism
version, with a center in Abu Bakr mosque in Baku, is much more
spread among the youth. After the defeat of the opposition, tending
towards the West, in the opinion of many political scientists,
Islamists can become an actual political force in Azerbaijan in a few
years.

PanArmenian News
Dec 3 2004
BAKU SHOULD PAY COMPENSATION TO ARMENIANS, WHOSE PROPERTY WAS
ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED, UN COMMISSION DOCUMENT SAYS
03.12.2004 17:21
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights is concerned about “the illegal occupation by refugees and
internally displaced persons of properties belonging to Armenians and
other ethnic minorities,” say the Concluding Observations of the UN
ECOSOC, adopted November 26. “The Committee recommends Azerbaijan to
take corrective measures to ensure that Armenians and other ethnic
minorities whose properties are illegally occupied by refugees and
internally displaced persons be provided with adequate compensation
or offered alternative accommodation,” the document says.

Journal Times Online, WISCONSIN
Dec 4 2004
Christmas Armenian style at the museum
By Phyllis Sides
RACINE – The Racine Heritage Museum has a Christmas gift for the
community in its Armenian-American Traditions program Sunday
afternoon.

Not everyone celebrates Christmas and New Year’s Day the same way,
archivist Dick Ammann said. The program is an opportunity to discover
some of the unique and changing holiday traditions among Racine’s
Armenian-American residents.
Visitors can discover the stories of the Feast of Saint Stephen and
the New Year’s Father as well as stories of special traditional foods,
music and other practices, and learn how these practices have changed
over time, adapting and adopting some American holiday customs.
Charles Hardy, the archdeacon at St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church,
is one of the presenters. Hardy will speak about the religious
traditions of the season.
“At one time the whole Christian world celebrated Christmas on the
same day, Jan. 6,” Hardy said. “But the Western Church changed to
Dec. 25 to draw attention away from paganism. They changed it because
many of the Roman Christians still celebrated a feast called the
Saturnalia around that date,” Hardy said.
The Saturnalia was a feast that focused on the light and energy of the
sun. The move was an attempt to sanctify the date and teach that
Christ was the only source of but was the light of God.
However, in Armenia the conflict didn’t exist and Christmas continued
to be celebrated on Jan. 6, Hardy said, although today Armenians in
the west exchange gifts on Dec. 25, too.
Armenians also celebrate Jesus’ baptism on Jan. 6, Hardy said. In the
Armenian church, the Epiphany commemorates Jesus’ baptism.
The program will be divided into four parts. Dr. Levon Saryan will
speak about Armenian music and cultural traditions. Mary Buchaklian
will talk about food and Julie Der Garabedian will talk about Armenian
New Year customs and traditions.
Armenians celebrate New Year’s Day on Jan. 1, and traditionally it’s
the day Santa Claus would come for the children, Der Garabedian said,
giving out small gifts and little bags of fruit and nuts.
This free program is in conjunction with the Museum’s exhibit focusing
on State Street as a gateway neighborhood and the Armenian-Americans
who called the neighborhood home. It is part of the Heritage Museum’s
ongoing Conversations Series.

ANALYSIS-Ukraine role gives EU a place in Russia’s backyard
By Sebastian Alison
BRUSSELS, Dec 3 (Reuters) – The European Union’s mediation in
Ukraine’s political crisis has made it a foreign policy actor in
territory long regarded by Russia as its own backyard and Moscow has
no choice but to accept it, analysts say.
The EU’s eastward expansion in May to the borders of the former Soviet
Union sharpened tensions between Moscow and Brussels over what role,
if any, the bloc should play in six former Soviet republics.
“The Russians still perceive it as their sphere of influence and would
prefer not to have anyone from the EU,” said Wojciech Saryusz-Wolski,
analyst at the European Policy Centre.
The two giant trade partners have been trying to redefine their
relations on the basis of four “common spaces,” on the economy;
freedom, security and justice; education and research; and external
security.
The latter has been the most contentious, with the EU arguing that it
has a role in what it terms their “common neighbourhood” — Ukraine,
Belarus and Moldova, and the Caucasus republics of Georgia, Azerbaijan
and Armenia.
Moscow rejects this, striking the term off an EU draft document
outlining the external security “space,” and sees all six as its “near
abroad.”
But apparently without trying, the EU has been swept into a
negotiating role in the aftermath of the Nov. 21 presidential election
runoff which left Ukraine in turmoil and rudderless.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Polish President Aleksander
Kwasniewski and Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus have been
mediating with Russia’s Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the State Duma lower
house of parliament, between Viktor Yanukovich and Viktor Yushchenko,
both of whom claim victory in the poll.
The fact that Gryzlov is talking to the EU team means Russia is
recognising de facto a role for the bloc — and therefore that Ukraine
is indeed in their common neighbourhood.
“They’re forced at this point to this round table which in fact did
not prove itself fruitful. They will pull back from any such move as
soon as they can,” Saryusz-Wolski said.
“THEY’RE THERE, AREN’T THEY”
Russia has not acknowledged a formal EU role, said Michael Emerson,
Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies, but
its presence at the talks speaks for itself.
“They wouldn’t say so, would they, but they’re there, aren’t they,” he
said.
He noted the difference with Moldova, where the EU has long sought a
role in ending a “frozen conflict” in the breakaway Dnestr region.
In Moldova, talks have dragged on to no effect for years among Russia,
Ukraine, Moldova, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, with the EU kept out.
“In Ukraine, hey presto, it just happened,” Emerson said.
Even Solana’s office was vague about how he got involved in the Kiev
talks, saying he received no formal invitation but was suggested by
Kwasniewski, who enjoys wide respect in Ukraine.
Emerson said Russian President Vladimir Putin faced a dilemma once the
EU was involved — sending his own envoy to the talks would recognise
the EU’s role, while staying away would deny Moscow a place at the
table.
“Gryzlov has to be there because not being there would be even worse,”
he said. “On the other hand Putin could not be represented at a higher
level. It’s a major embarrassment.”
He said Putin had scored “one own goal after another” in his policy
towards Russia’s closest neighbours, citing Moldova, a border dispute
with Ukraine over a tiny island in the Kerch strait between the Sea of
Azov and the Black Sea, and support for a breakaway leader in the
Georgian region of Abkhazia.
“At some point the Kremlin may have to think about whether they’ve got
the right concept for near abroad policy,” he said.
The EU acquired a role in Ukraine almost by accident and despite the
fact that most of its members do not want Kiev to become a candidate
for membership of the 25-nation bloc.
“Ever since Ukraine became independent, the EU has shown remarkably
little interest in it,” the London-based Centre for European Reform
said in a briefing note.
But it is an attractive partner for Ukraine as it cares only that the
election should be fair, and not who wins, it said — unlike Moscow,
which wants a leader in line with its interests.
“Whether this leader is elected, appointed or has fallen from space is
immaterial to Moscow,” CER said.
“In contrast, the EU ultimately cares little who is in charge in
Ukraine — or Belarus or Georgia — provided that person gains
legitimacy through fair elections and upholds Western standards of
democracy and human rights.”
12/03/04 08:01 ET
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 1) 517 163
Fax: (374 1) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
December 3, 2004
Armenian Church Participates in Conference of European Churches Working
Group Meeting in Belgium
>From November 26 to 27, a meeting of the “Peace, Security and
Reconciliation” Working Group of the Conference of European Churches (CEC)
was convened at the Ecumenical Centre in Brussels, Belgium. In attendance
was Mrs. Paula Devejian, the representative of the Armenian Church in this
Working Group of the CEC. The Armenian Church is one of ten Churches
represented in this Working Group.
The purpose of the meeting was to identify and discuss current issues for
the Working Group, and also to establish goals and tasks for the committee
members. An overall theme for the group is the development and
understanding of Christian perceptions for peace and reconciliation. The
first undertaking is a review of the Security Strategy approved by the
Commission of the European Union. A theological and practical commentary
will be prepared and recommendations forwarded to the CEC for eventual
distribution to the member Churches. Additionally, with an overall goal of
formulating ways in which reconciliation can become a “mainstream” issue
within Churches, it was decided to start a project of open dialogue between
persons who have been directly affected by regional conflicts to study
methodologies of conflict resolution and the possible participation and
guidance by churches. Participants will be sought from the regions of
Northern Ireland and the Balkans.
The Armenian Church, as a member of the Conference of European Churches, has
representatives in various CEC structures. His Grace Bishop Yeznik
Petrossian, General Secretary for Inter-Church Relations, represents the
Armenian Church in the CEC Central Committee, as well as in the “Churches in
Dialogue” Commission. Rev. Fr. Hovakim Manukian, a member of the
Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin represents the Armenian Church in the
“Church and Society” Commission.
The next meeting of the Working Group will be held in Brussels in May 2005.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 1) 517 163
Fax: (374 1) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
December 4, 2004
His Holiness Karekin II Receives Sandra Roelofs, First Lady of the Republic
of Georgia
On December 3, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of
All Armenians, received the First Lady of the Republic of Georgia, Mrs.
Sandra Roelofs, in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
The Pontiff of All Armenians welcomed the visit of Mrs. Roelofs to Holy
Etchmiadzin, noting the long history of fraternal relations and friendship
between the two neighboring countries. His Holiness also spoke of the
recent visit of the President of Georgia, Mikhael Saakashvili, to the Mother
See earlier this year.
Mrs. Roelofs expressed her gratitude to His Holiness for the audience, and
informed the Catholicos of details of her visit to Armenia. She stressed
her interest in programs devoted to health care, the improvement of social
conditions and aid to “at-risk” segments of society.
His Holiness offered his best wishes and blessings to Mrs. Roelofs, and
prayed for success for her important mission. Accompanying Mrs. Roelofs
during the visit were Mrs. Nani Oskanian, wife of Armenian Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian, and Armenian and Georgian physicians.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Russia, Turkey Weave Closer Economic Ties
By SUZAN FRASER
.c The Associated Press
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Historic rivals Turkey and Russia have spent
centuries vying for influence in central Asia, the Balkans and the
Caucasus. Most recently, they bickered over routes to carry energy
resources to world markets and traded accusations that each supports
the other’s militant groups.
But underneath that antagonism, the two have quietly woven a web of
economic ties and are eyeing even closer cooperation.
The process will receive an official consecration on Sunday, when
Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Ankara in a visit rich in
symbolism. Putin will be the first Russian leader ever to pay an
official visit to Turkey.
The Russian leader is to meet Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and oversee the signing of six
cooperation agreements, including defense, finance and energy accords.
The two-day visit “will be a new boost for Turkish-Russian
relations,” Sezer spokesman Sermet Atacanli said Friday.
Turkey and Russia have been rivals for centuries.
At the height of their powers, the Ottoman empire and Czarist Russia
were locked in a struggle for regional supremacy. Friction between the
two precipitated the Crimean War and they were on opposite sides of
World War I. More recently, Turkey was NATO’s easternmost front during
the Cold War.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Turkey and Russia competed for
control in Central Asia and the Caucasus, where Turkic states gained
independence. Economically more powerful, Russia has in recent years
maintained its dominance in the region.
But since the end of the Cold War, Turkey and Russia have also been
concentrating on trade. Today, Russia is Turkey’s second largest
trading partner, after Germany. Turkey is a major consumer of Russian
natural gas, and Turkey’s Mediterranean coast is a favorite
destination for Russian tourists.
Bilateral trade is expected to exceed a targeted $10 billion this year
– an amount Turkish officials say no one would have dreamed of 10
years ago. Turkey’s Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen said trade will
reach $15 billion in coming years.
A 278-mile pipeline that carries the Russian gas beneath the Black Sea
has been operational since 2002. Turkish companies are active in
Russia in retail, construction and brewing, and investment to date
totals $2 billion.
“It is no longer rivalries, but cooperation which dominates
relations,” said Sinan Ogan, a researcher and Russia expert.
Putin’s trip, originally scheduled for September, was postponed after
the Beslan school tragedy in which more than 330 people were killed in
a siege that Chechen rebels claimed responsibility for.
The Chechnya conflict is expected to feature high on the agenda during
Putin’s two-day visit. Many Turks trace their ancestry to Chechnya and
other parts of the Caucausus, and Turks sympathize with their fellow
Muslims in the war-ravaged Russian region.
Russia has called on Turkey to crack down on Turkish charities that it
claims channel funds and weapons to Chechen rebels. Earlier this
month, Russian officials said their forces in Chechnya killed two
Turkish militants who were fighting alongside Chechen separatists.
On Friday, Turkish authorities apprehended 10 suspected Chechen
militants and two pro-Chechen Turks in an apparent gesture to Putin.
“Russia’s greatest concern is the support from certain Chechen civil
organizations inside Turkey to Chechen terrorist movements,” said
Seyfi Tashan, director of the Ankara-based Foreign Policy Institute.
Turkey has in the past accused Russia of supporting Kurdish rebels who
have waged a war for autonomy in Turkey’s southeast since 1984. The
war has killed some 37,000 people.
Putin and Erdogan are also expected to discuss contentious issues such
as the Caucasus, where Turkey is allied with Azerbaijan and Russia is
friendly with its rival, Armenia.
12/04/04 03:05 EST

134 nations drop death penalty; 62 still have it
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 3 (Reuters) – A total of 134 countries have given
up capital punishment, 10 more than had done so at the start of 2003,
a campaigner against capital punishment reported on Friday.
Of the total, 81 have abolished the death penalty completely, 14 have
abolished it for ordinary crimes, one — Russia — has pledged to
abolish it, and six are observing moratoriums, the Rome-based
organization Hands Off Cain said.
Another 32 countries allow capital punishment but have in effect
abolished it by not carrying out an execution for at least the past 10
years, the group said.
Since the start of 2003, Benin, Ghana, Malawi and Morocco had in
effect abolished the practice by not executing anyone for at least 10
years while Kazakhstan and Tajikistan had put in place a legal
moratorium on the practice, it said.
Another four countries — Bhutan, Samoa, Bosnia and Armenia — either
abolished the death penalty or tightened an existing partial ban since
the start of last year, the group reported at a presentation at
U.N. headquarters.
In all, 62 countries retain the death penalty and in 2003 put to death
at least 5,523 individuals, the group said.
One country alone, China, executed at least 5,000 people last year
while Iran put to death at least 154 and Iraq had executed at least
113 people by April 9, 2003, when the U.S.-led occupation suspended
the death penalty, it said.
12/03/04 18:56 ET

Animal diseases hamper Turkey’s EU bid -study
By Anna Mudeva
AMSTERDAM, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Strengthening Turkey’s porous south and
eastern borders to prevent animal diseases from spreading in Europe is
a key challenge in preparing the country’s agriculture for EU
membership, a report said on Friday.
The report, by an international group of agriculture economists,
assumes Turkey joins the EU in 2015 but says the country will need
more time to attain food safety standards that would allow it to be
part of a single market for animal products.
The risk of disease outbreaks in the EU might increase and food safety
and quality might be diluted by embracing a country with a poor record
in these areas, unless effective border controls were in place from
the moment of accession, the report said.
“Some highly infectious animal diseases that have been virtually
eradicated in western and northern Europe remain endemic in Turkey,”
said the report presented by the Dutch Wageningen University, which
was the lead researcher.
“The situation is complicated by the fragmentation of the livestock
sector, Turkey’s geographical location and its porous borders to the
south and east,” said the report, which focuses on the impact of
Turkish EU membership on agriculture.
Turkey, which borders Syria, Iraq, Iran and Armenia to the south and
the east, hopes EU leaders will agree at a summit on Dec. 17 to open
entry talks in 2005 and eventually join the current 25-member bloc.
The EU has said that agriculture, accounting for half Turkey’s
territory and employing a third of its workforce, will be a key issue
in its preparations for accession.
Friday’s report said highly infectious diseases including
foot-and-mouth and sheep and goat pox had occurred in Turkey virtually
each year since 1996. The country was also prone to outbreaks of
anthrax and brucellosis, it said.
Economic and political turmoil in the Middle East over the past decade
has caused an extension of animal disease epidemics in the region,
posing threats to Europe.
The report said Ankara had shown progress in harmonising veterinary
legislation with EU standards but added the infrastructure,
administrative capacity and commitment needed for effective law
enforcement and border control remained weak.
“Even with effective implementation of the acquis (EU’s set of laws),
it will be many years before Turkey reaches full disease-free status
for all the most infectious diseases,” the report concluded.
“The greatest challenge for Turkey does not, however, concern
policies. It is in fact to develop…effective control of external
borders by the time of accession.”
It estimated that EU budget payments to Turkey under structural
policies, including agriculture, would be between 9.5 billion and 16.6
billion euros in 2015, while Turkey’s budget contribution would be 5.4
billion euros.
Turkey, which would add more than 80 million consumers to the EU-25’s
total of 452 million, has been seeking membership since 1963.
12/03/04 08:42 ET