Azeris protest against Armenian MPs’ visit to attend NATO seminar
ANS TV, Baku
23 Nov 04
Numerous protest actions were held this week against an expected
visit of Armenian MPs to Baku to attend the 58th Rose-Roth seminar of
the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. A group of the Karabakh Liberation
Organization [KLO] members have handed out special leaflets in streets.
Activists of the Liberal Democratic Party are now trying to picket
the Milli Maclis [parliament] in protest against the visit of Armenian
MPs to Baku.
[Video showed the people distributing leaflets outside a metro station]

Armenian security service extradites US fugitive on FBI wanted list
Noyan Tapan news agency
22 Nov 04
Yerevan, 22 November: The Armenian National Security Ministry has
traced, arrested and extradited to the USA Shagen Keshishyan, 32,
a resident of Los Angels, in line with bilateral agreements, Noyan
Tapan news agency has learnt from the press service of the National
Security Ministry.
Keshishyan has been on the wanted list of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation since 2000 and is accused of premeditated murder and
fleeing the scene of the crime. Keshishyan arrived in Armenia with
forged documents in 2002.

Azeri officer’s murder trial starts in Hungary
ANS Radio, Baku
23 Nov 04
The trial in the case of Ramil Safarov, an officer of the Azerbaijani armed
forces, who is charged with killing [Armenian officer] Gurgen Markaryan
[on a NATO course] in Hungary on 19 February 2004, has just opened
in the Budapest city court. The ANS correspondent in Hungary, Parviz
Sultanov, will give us the latest details.
[Correspondent, by phone] We are at the court located at No 27,
San Marco Street where Ramil Safarov’s trial is currently being
held. There are a lot of people outside the court at the moment. Ramil
Safarov was brought to the court and he entered the courtroom a
few minutes ago. There were many journalists from Hungarian and
Armenian TV stations. Gurgen Markaryan’s father was also present in
the courtroom. The trial has already started. The court will look
into Safarov’s case and pass a relevant verdict on him.
From: Baghdasarian

Azeri officer on trial in Hungary changes testimony
ANS TV, Baku
23 Nov 04
[Presenter] The trial in the case of Ramil Safarov, an officer of
the Azerbaijani armed forces, who is charged with killing Armenian
officer Gurgen Markaryan [on a NATO course] in Hungary on 19 February
[2004], opened in the Budapest city court today. The case is being
examined under the chairmanship of judge (?Vorkushe Anrash). It
has been reported that [Azerbaijani] lawyer Adil Ismayilov and his
Hungarian counterpart Peter Zalay jointly defend Safarov.
We are now over to Budapest. The ANS correspondent in Hungary, Parviz
Sultanov, who is on the line [from Budapest], will give us the latest
details. Hello, Parviz. Here you are.
[Correspondent, by phone] Hello, Leyla. The trial in the case of Ramil
Safarov is under way at the moment. During the trial, Safarov was asked
if he wanted to change his former testimony. Safarov said that because
of his language problems the previous testimony had not given true
facts and that he wanted to change his testimony. He made very fresh
revelations. The court took this into account. Then the Hungarian judge
read Safarov’s previous testimony and pointed to differences there.
Let us recall that Safarov’s main compliant was that he did not know
Russian well and spoke broken English. He formerly testified in these
languages. He read his new testimony today and asked the court to
take into account the facts presented there.
The trial is currently under way. It is not expected to be
postponed. That’s it.
[Presenter] Thanks, Parviz.

Russia ratifies military base agreement with Armenia
ITAR-TASS news agency
23 Nov 04
Moscow, 23 November: At today’s plenary session the State Duma
unanimously ratified a protocol on amendments to the treaty between
the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia on a Russian
military base in Armenia. The protocol was signed in Yerevan on 11
November 2003.
The ratification of the protocol “will make it possible to bring the
treaty between Russia and Armenia on a Russian military base in line
with the spirit and letter of the treaty on friendship, cooperation and
mutual help between Russian and Armenia of 29 August 1997”, said the
first deputy head of the main directorate for international military
cooperation of the Russian Defence Ministry, Albert Druzhinin, who
presented the document to the deputies.
He stressed that “the presence of a Russian military base in Armenia
has been prompted by Russia’s military and political interests and
a wish to stabilize the situation in the region”.
Armenia ratified the protocol on 28 April 2004.

Police clamp down on drugs trafficking in Russia’s Far East
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
23 Nov 04
Khabarovsk, 23 November: Over the last week, more than 170 people
were detained for crimes related to drug trafficking in the Far
East. Over 130 kg of marijuana, hashish, opium, heroin and other
drugs were seized. These are the main results of the second stage
of the Canal-2004 operation carried out from 15 to 22 November, the
Russian Federal Drug Control Service directorate for the Far Eastern
Federal District told ITAR-TASS today.
Directorate chiefs said that the operation had taken place
simultaneously in Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other member
countries of the Collective Security Treaty [which includes Russia,
Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan]. Its main
aim was to cut the channels of drug and psychotropic substances’
trafficking.
Over 1,500 officers of the anti-drug service, the Interior Ministry,
the Federal Security Service and the Customs Office took part in the
operation in the Far Eastern Federal District. They made searches at
railway and bus stations, in the airports and on the roads. Nearly
400 drug-related and other crimes were uncovered.
In addition, the Interior Ministry Main Directorate for the Far Eastern
Federal District told ITAR-TASS today that a small bus stopped by the
police for examination had been detained in Neryungrinskiy District,
Yakutia, yesterday [22 November]. A total of 12.6 kg of hashish was
seized from the caches arranged in the bus. The batch of drugs would
cost over R1m [35,000 dollars] in the black market.
A Ukrainian national was engaged in the transportation of this large
batch of drugs. Criminal proceedings have been instituted. The drug
pusher is threatened with up to 10 years in jail.
The Interior Ministry directorate added that 8,837 drug-related
crimes had been cleared up in Far Eastern Federal District since the
beginning of 2004. Moreover, local police officers cleared up over
6,000 other crimes and cut short the activities of 468 organized
criminal groups. Over 6 t of drugs was confiscated.

Joint operation yields over 600 kg of drugs in Tajikistan
Asia-Plus news agency
23 Nov 04
Dushanbe, 23 November: The second stage of the complex preventive
operation Kanal-2004 ended in all the member states of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on 22 November. The operation,
which was aimed at combating drug trafficking, involved the special
services of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan.
Over 621 kg of drugs were seized by the joint efforts of all power
wielding structures and Russian border guards in Tajikistan between
15 and 22 November, the head of the press centre of the Drug Control
Agency at the Tajik president, Avaz Yuldoshev, told Asia-Plus this
morning.
“Over this period, 100 kg of heroin and 232 kg of raw opium were
seized, and the remaining drugs were concentrated hashish and
marihuana,” Yuldoshev said. He said that seven fire-arms and 56
cartridges for them had also been found and seized from drug dealers
during the operation.
An interdepartmental meeting will sum up the final results of the
Kanal-2004 special operation this evening.
The first stage of the annual operation, the aim of which was to
block the routes of trafficking of drugs, psychotropic substances
and precursors on the territory of the CSTO member-states, was held
in September this year. The operation seized 92 kg of drugs, half of
which was heroin.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Tajik defence minister to attend CIS security sitting in Moscow
Asia-Plus news agency
23 Nov 04
Dushanbe, 23 November: Tajik Defence Minister Sherali Khayrulloyev
will attend the next session of the Council of Defence Ministers of
the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) scheduled for 25
November in Moscow.
The ministers are to discuss issues relating to the current and
future development of the organization’s military component and
the improvement of the legal basis of the functioning of the [CIS]
Collective Rapid Deployment Force, the Tajik Defence Ministry press
centre has told Asia-Plus. The issue on training of military personnel
will be of no small importance. The council is also expected to
consider an agreement on the terms of deployment of the CSTO joint
staff in Russia and the organization of its work.
The CSTO includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia
and Tajikistan.

Armenian minister says UN debates on Karabakh Azerbaijan’s “mistake”
Mediamax news agency
23 Nov 04
Yerevan, 23 November: Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Margherita
Boniver said in Yerevan today that the European Union member countries
would in all likelihood abstain in the vote on a draft resolution
“On the situation on occupied Azerbaijani territories” at a UN General
Assembly session.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan today said that “Azerbaijan
is making a mistake by initiating the discussion of this issue at the
UN, and after a while, it will understand its mistake”. At the same
time, the Armenian foreign minister said that “we are not concerned
that the resolution might be adopted, we are more concerned at the
further fate of the political process of settlement of the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict”.
Commenting on a proposal to dispatch a multinational mission of
observers to the occupied territories, which is envisaged in the
Azerbaijani draft resolution, Oskanyan recalled that Yerevan and
Stepanakert [Xankandi] had been recently urging the international
community to send a mission and put an end to Azerbaijan’s ungrounded
accusations.
“The Armenian and Karabakh authorities are ready to render every
assistance to the activities of such a mission. However, the OSCE
Minsk Group itself has a mandate to dispatch such a mission and
in this case, the decision should not be adopted at the UN level,”
the Armenian foreign minister added.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian opposition calls for new elections
Interfax
Nov 23 2004
YEREVAN. Nov 23 (Interfax) – The foreign policy pursued by the
authorities, in particular in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
has brought Armenia nothing but repeated failures, Viktor Dallakian,
secretary of the Justice opposition bloc, said at parliament on
Tuesday.
“In the years of Robert Kocharian’s presidency, the conflict, which
used to be an issue of national self-determination, has become a
territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Karabakh
itself has ceased to be an actor and become an issue in negotiations,”
he said.
Replacing the leadership through democratic elections is the sole
way to resolve the situation, Dallakian said.
Alexan Karapetian of National Unity, another parliamentary opposition
party, demanded that “the authorities disclose to the public what
is going on in negotiations over the Karabakh settlement.” He also
complained that “the priorities of Armenian foreign policy have never
been announced and there is no national security concept.”
Azerbaijan recently succeeded in having international organizations
adopt resolutions declaring Armenia the aggressor in the conflict
over Nagorno-Karabakh.