Azat Artsakh – Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (NKR)
June 23 2004
REPAIRS OF DADIVANK VESTIBULE
On June 17 the scientific council of the NKR agency for study of
historical environment and preservation of monuments discussed the
project of reconstruction of the vestibule of the monastery of
Dadivank. The head of the agency S. Sarghissian informed that the
project was accepted which means that the reconstruction works will
start this year as there is already a benefactor ready to fund the
reconstruction of the vestibule. The author of the projects of
reconstruction of the small domed church, the cathedral and the
church vestibule of Dadivank monastery architect Samvel Ayvazian said
the reconstruction of the cathedral started last year and will be
completed at the end of the current year. As to the small domed
church, its reconstruction will start only after the removal of the
frescoes which the former director of reconstruction works, painter
Armen Mnatsakanian willfully did himself in the church. There is
already the decision of the scientific council and the permission of
the head of the Artsakh diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church
Parghev Martirossian for the removal of the fresco.
SUSANNA BALAYAN

Kazakh lower house approves CIS antiterror document
Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency, Almaty
23 Jun 04
ASTANA
The Majlis (the lower house) of the Kazakh parliament approved at a
plenary sitting today the ratification of the protocol approving the
provision on the procedure for organizing and holding joint antiterror
exercises in CIS member states.
The document was sent to the parliament’s Senate (the upper chamber)
for further consideration.
Presenting a relevant draft law to the Majlis deputies, the first
deputy chairman of the Kazakh National Security Committee, Vladimir
Bozhko, noted that Kazakhstan would ratify the document “without
reservation”, although four of the 10 CIS states that signed the
document earlier had ratified the document with reservations.
The provision on the procedure for organizing and holding joint
antiterror exercises in the CIS member states was signed in Chisinau
by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine on 7 October 2002.
The provision “provides for joint efforts from the sides to thwart
terrorist activities, as well as to secure the release of hostages, to
render explosive devices harmless and to wipe out terrorist groups and
so on”, the Majlis’s committee for international affairs, defence and
security stated in conclusion at the plenary sitting.
The document also provides for the joint training of special
antiterror formations during exercises.
In accordance with the provision, the antiterror centre, which was set
up under a decision from the CIS heads of state in 2000, will
coordinate the issue of organizing and holding antiterror exercises.
In order to control directly the special antiterror formations during
joint exercises the interested side will set up a supervising body to
define the procedure for holding the exercises, including the use of
forces and special means.
The document also mentions that interference with the holding of joint
exercises is allowed only by instruction from the head of the
interested state.

AZERI PRESIDENTIAL AIDE CONDEMNS PROTEST AT ARMENIAN PRESENCE AT NATO MEETING
Assa-Irada, Baku
23 Jun 04
BAKU
The head of the public and political department at the presidential
administration, Ali Hasanov, has commented on the radical steps by the
KLO (Karabakh Liberation Organization) against the arrival of Armenian
military officers in Baku within the framework of NATO’s Partnership
for Peace programme.
He said that any protest actions should be held within civilized
norms. The protest against the Armenians’ arrival should not have
involved the smashing of the hotel doors and windows and storming of
the conference room. The official said that the public stance on this
issue was understandable, adding that however, radical steps were
unacceptable. Hasanov stressed that the Azerbaijanis were cultured
people and said that international legal norms should in no way be
violated.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN MINISTER UNHAPPY ABOUT IMBALANCE IN US MILITARY AID
Arminfo
21 Jun 04
YEREVAN
There is a disparity between US military aid for Armenia and
Azerbaijan, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has told
Armenian Public Television.
This is explained by the fact that Azerbaijan is closely cooperating
with the USA in the military field, and if Armenia also shows a strong
desire to intensify this cooperation, then it cannot be ruled out that
the aid for Armenia will be increased, he said.
The matter, the minister believes, is about the (Armenian)
complementary policy: “We are deepening cooperation with one country
and are trying to establish cooperation with the other, complementing
the security sphere.” “At the current stage, we are pleased with the
existing level of military cooperation with the USA,” the foreign
minister said. “This issue has been resolved politically, but it has
not been clarified in practice. We have a chance to balance all
these. So, there are chances and it remains to show a desire,” he
said.
At the same time, the minister said that Armenia would continue
debating the issue with the USA. “I think, we shall be able to manage
this, by expanding relations with the USA in this sphere to eventually
achieve financial parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the foreign
minister said.
He believes that it is necessary to conduct discussions with the
Defence Ministry, to find out about our needs and spheres this aid is
channelled into and whether we need aid in this sphere. “After all,
one of the components of the US military aid is combating terrorism
and stepping up border security, and we should correctly assess our
requirements in this direction which could be in keeping with the
tasks facing the USA,” the minister said.

PRESS RELEASE
Canadians For Sustainable Development In Armenia (CFSDIA)
Antoine S. Terjanian, Coordinator
5, Nicol Street
Ottawa, CANADA
Tel: 613-748-0676
Fax: 613-748-0676
E-mail: [email protected]
CAMPAIGN TO GET CANADIAN HELP FOR ARMENIA
Ottawa, June 23, 2004 – Canadians For Sustainable Development In
Armenia (CFSDIA) has launched the second phase of a campaign to
persuade the Canadian Development Agency (CIDA), an agency of the
Canadian Federal Government in charge of Canadian foreign aid, to
reverse a 2003 decision to terminate bilateral aid to Armenia. “The
CFSDIA is mobilizing support among all Armenian-Canadians concerned
about the future of Armenia. A non-partisan group, CFSDIA’s 23
workgroup volunteers come from all sides of the politico-religious
spectrum and are located in Canada’s five major urban centers” said
Antoine Terjanian, coordinator of the workgroup.
Armenia is enduring dire economic circumstances. Over 55% of the
population live below the poverty line and unemployment is similarly
very high. Yet CIDA has cut the meagre allocation it had for Armenia
even before the completion of the Paul Martin Government’s foreign
policy review scheduled for this fall. “All informed
Armenian-Canadians are intent on doing their utmost to ensure our
government helps Armenia in this very difficult period. We are
confident that Armenian-Canadians mobilised for this initiative during
the closing stretch of the federal elections on June 28 can make a
difference” said Mr. Terjanian.
During the first phase of this campaign, leaders of Armenian
organizations in Canada, from all sides of the politico-religious
spectrum, sent letters to Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, urging
him to reverse the CIDA decision. Federal Cabinet Ministers were also
approached individually. “So far our concerns have not been answered”
said Mr. Terjanian. CFSDIA has therefore decided to make public the
absence of a Canadian bilateral aid program to Armenia. “We have
called on all Armenian Canadians to become active during this election
campaign. …Armenian-Canadians are approaching candidates to express
concern for Canada’s lack of bilateral help to Armenia in these
extremely difficult times” said Mr. Terjanian. Similarly
Armenian-Canadians and friends of Armenia in Canada are being urged to
write similar letters to the “Prime Minister, Parliament Hill,
Ottawa”.
Most important, we are urging all Armenian-Canadians to vote in this
important election.

Karabakh denes foreign observers to monitor polls
Mediamax news agency
23 Jun 04

YEREVAN
International observers have never been invited to the municipal
elections in the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR] and therefore, the
Azerbaijani Central Electoral Commission [CEC] cannot be particularly
concerned about it.
The head of the NKR Foreign Ministry’s information department, Leonid
Martirosyan, said this in an interview with Mediamax news agency,
commenting on the Azerbaijani CEC’s intention to prevent international
observers from monitoring the forthcoming 8 August local elections in
Nagornyy Karabakh.
Martirosyan said that the NKR authorities had invited international
observers only to the presidential and parliamentary elections.
During the entire period of the NKR’s independence, Azerbaijan has
always attempted to prevent international observers from monitoring
elections in the NKR, but all these attempts have been vain, Leonid
Martirosyan said. At the same time, the official of the NKR Foreign
Ministry said that in their reports on the results of the presidential
and parliamentary elections in Nagornyy Karabakh, the observers highly
assessed the level at which they had been prepared and held.

The Jakarta Post
June 24, 2004
Utut’s hopes crumble at Tripoli chess meet
Musthofid, Jakarta
Utut Adianto, who had entered the world chess championship in Tripoli
with high hopes, crashed out in the second round on Tuesday.
The Indonesian grand master’s expectation of moving ahead in the
championship crumbled after he suffered a crushing loss to GM Vladimir
Akopian of Armenia.
After holding Akopian in the first game on Monday, Utut failed to
withstand the blistering attack by the 1999 championship runner-up in
the second game on Tuesday.
The Tripoli chess is only the latest championship in which Utut has
been ejected in the second round. He has had four major appearances
since 1997.
He even exited during the opening stage in 1999 in Las Vegas, where
Akopian arrived on the scene with a bang by getting through to the
final before being stopped by eventual champion Alexander Khalifman of
Russia.
The latest defeat has left Utut upset about the weakness of the
challenge he posed.
“Playing chess at the world level is obviously not an easy task,” Utut
reported by e-mail. He said he had learned a lot from his game against
Akopian.
Utut, who played the black pieces, knew that he was doomed to fail
immediately after he made a long castling on the 14th move. He
surrendered in 43 moves.
“A mistaken choice on the 14th move sunk me. What had looked a like a
normal move turned out to be a disaster.
“And Akopian, the 1999 finalist, punished me with remarkable accuracy
and machine-like precision. I should have played 14…Na5, and then we
might have built a balanced position.
“Well, Akopian has taught me a valuable lesson — that I have yet to
master a thorough, world-class opening repertoire,” Utut said.
Utut, who is 38, had earlier been confident after having spent ten
days training with Tibor Karolyi, a renowned chess trainer from
Hungary, as part of his preparations for the world championships.
But, instead of making it to the semifinals as he had hoped, he will
now be traveling home after only the second round. He seemed resigned,
however. “It seems that given my class, I have got as far as I can
go. I probably only have a 3,000 cc engine, while a 4,000 cc engine is
needed to play at the higher level.”

YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
JUNE 18-24, 2004
HIGHLIGHTS:
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND PRIVACY
THE SUIT OF “INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS” VERSUS THE YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY
REFUSED
NA DEPUTY DEMANDS THAT THE HEAD OF “ALM” MEDIA HOLDING BE CRIMINALLY
PROSECUTED
INTERNEWS ARMENIA PROPERTY RELEASED
“IMPULSE” CONTINUED TO BE AIRED ON FM 106.5
STAFF CHANGES IN THE TV COMPANIES OF HRANT VARDANIAN
ARMENIAN MEDIA LEGISLATION SCORED FIVE
“SHANT” TV COMPANY IS 10 YEARS OLD
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND PRIVACY
On June 23-24 in Tsaghkadzor “Freedom of Expression and the Right to Respect
fro Private Life” seminar was held. The event was organized by Yerevan Press
Club, the Media Division of the Directorate of Human Rights of the Council
of Europe and “Femida” NGO. The seminar brought together representatives of
public, also journalistic organizations, media, executive and judicial
powers of Armenia, the Council of Europe, international structures. At the
opening of the seminar the RA Deputy Minister of Justice Ashot Abovian, the
Spokesman of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hamlet Gasparian and the
Administrative Officer of the Media Division of the CE General Directorate
of Human Rights Charlotte de Broutelle.
A presentation on the Council of Europe standards regarding freedom of
information and the respect for private life was made by a barrister of
Matrix Chambers of London Hugh Tomlinson. The Chairman of the Civil Cases
Chamber of the RA Court of Cassation Arman Mkrtumian told how the Armenian
legislation protects privacy, whereas the head of “Femida” NGO Julietta
Amirkhanian described the Armenian court precedents related to interference
with privacy.
The second part of the seminar was devoted to media self-regulation issues.
The limits to freedom of expression in the context of privacy protection
were defined by the Legal Expert of Internews Armenia public organization
Olga Safarian. YPC Expert Mesrop Harutiunian spoke about the link of the
between the legal and ethical norms of privacy protection. The experience of
media self-regulation in other CE member countries, by the example of the
United Kingdom and Bosnia and Herzegovina was presented by a member of UK
Press Complaint Commission, the Chairman of the Media Council of Bosnia and
Herzegovina Robert Pinker.
THE SUIT OF “INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS” VERSUS THE YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY
REFUSED
On June 21 the court of primary jurisdiction of Center and Nork-Marash
communities of Yerevan refused the suit of “Investigative Journalists”
public organization and its chairman Edik Baghdasarian versus Yerevan
Municipality. As it has been reported, Edik Baghdasarian demanded to be
given access to the resolutions of the city administration, passed in
1997-2003, on the constructions made in the green zone around the building
of the National Opera and Ballet Theater. At the previous session of June 9
the respondent admitted that the municipality “was late” with the answer and
asked the plaintiff to specify what information exactly was needed. Having
received a written inquiry from the latter, the respondent petitioned the
court to provide time to prepare the information requested (see YPC Weekly
Newsletter, June 4-10, 2004).
However, at the session of June 21 the representative of the municipality
submitted to the court a letter, signed on June 16 by a head of an
appropriate division of the city administration. The letter informed that
“Investigative Journalists” must be even more specific as to which
“subjects” are of interest to them. On her behalf, the judge noted that the
organization should have gathered information from other institution, such
as the State Real Estate Cadastre Committee and only afterwards, having
exhausted all the possibilities, address the municipality. Eventually the
suit was refused.
“Investigative Journalists” intend to challenge this decision with the RA
Court of Appeals.
NA DEPUTY DEMANDS THAT THE HEAD OF “ALM” MEDIA HOLDING BE CRIMINALLY
PROSECUTED
On June 21 deputy of the RA National Assembly, the Head of the Association
of Political Scientists of Armenia Hmayak Hovhannisian addressed the RA
General Prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepian with a petition to institute criminal
proceedings against the owner and the head of “ALM” media holding Tigran
Karapetian for incitement of national hatred, libel and insult. The reason
for this was the authorship program of Tigran Karapetian “Price of Question”
, aired by “ALM” TV company on June 15. In particular, as the NA deputy
wrote, the “ALM” head said that Hmayak Hovhannisian “behaves as a Jew or
made a Jewish step”, as well as called him a “pickpocket and a liar”. As a
proof, the videotape of the program was enclosed to the application.
Tigran Karapetian himself publicly denied having made anti-Semite nature of
his utterance and noted that he can bring facts to substantiate the
remaining wording by facts.
INTERNEWS ARMENIA PROPERTY RELEASED
On June 18 at the session of the court of primary jurisdiction of Aragatsotn
region in Ashtarak city the suit of “Ashtarak TV” about removing arrest of
the property used by the TV company was partially secured. As it has been
reported, previously the same court secured the suit of Aragatsotn
Prosecutor’s Office on obliging the TV company to pay the outstanding tax
liabilities. To execute the court ruling the property of “Ashtarak” TV was
arrested – so that to be later sold at an auction. This punishment was thus
actually imposed also on the private persons and organizations – the owners
of the part of “Ashtarak TV” property arrested. In particular, on June 9
Internews Armenia public organization submitted to the court the documents
that confirmed its ownership of a part of equipment arrested (see YPC Weekly
Newsletter, June 4-10, 2004).
At the session of June 18 the court resolved to release the property owned
by Internews Armenia.
“Ashtarak TV” company stopped its broadcasts on May 21.
“IMPULSE” CONTINUED TO BE AIRED ON FM 106.5
On June 21 the National Commission on Television and Radio announced the
results of the broadcast licensing competition for FM 106.5 MHz, announced
on February 12. As it has been reported, this frequency was claimed by two
radio companies – “Impulse” and “Ultra” (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, May
21-27, 2004). By the voting of the national Commission, “Impulse” radio
station that partly re-broadcasts Russian “Mayak” radio will continue to go
on air on FM 106.5.
STAFF CHANGES IN THE TV COMPANIES OF HRANT VARDANIAN
The founder and the former chairman of “AR” TV company Meruzhan
Ter-Ghulanian that became a creative director after the restructuring of the
TV company in May last year (see YPC Weekly Newsletter May 9-15, 2003) was
appointed to the position of Vice President of a charitable fund “The
Vardanian Family”. The creative director of “AR” is now Zhirayr Dadasian,
previously on the same position at “Hairenik” TV. It should be noted that a
well-known Armenian entrepreneur, the President of “Grand Holding” company
Hrant Vardanian is the owner of both TV companies.
ARMENIAN MEDIA LEGISLATION SCORED FIVE
Russian Media Law Institute published a report “On the Media-Related
Legislation in the Countries of CIS and Baltic States”. The purpose of the
study is to determine the development level of the national legislative
frameworks in the context of legal guarantees of mass communication freedom.
The report covers the period of June 12, 1990 (when the USSR Law “On Press
and Other Media Outlets” was adopted and, in the opinion of the researchers,
set the grounds for the freedom of expression and press in the post-Soviet
countries) up to now.
The comparative analysis the CIS countries and Baltic states was made along
21 sections, starting from constitutional provisions up to norms that
regulate the issues of professional activity (protection of information
sources, media production export and import, restrictions on advertising,
etc).
The level of the media in a specific country was assessed by a 11-unit scale
and along the following criteria: constitutional provision for media freedom
and the prohibition of censorship; the presence of laws on media, TV and
radio broadcasting, public service broadcasting; protection of professional
rights of journalists; the nature of procedure for media registration;
restrictions on foreign ownership of media; linguistic requirements; absence
of criminal libel and/or insult and separately – officials.
None of the 15 countries of the former USSR received maximal number of
points (11). The rating list is headed by Estonia (9 points), followed by
Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine (7 units each) – where, according to the
research, the level of media regulation is high.
Armenia, along with Latvia and Tajikistan was among countries with medium
level of media legislation (5 units each). The same group also includes our
neighbors in South Caucasus – Azerbaijan and Georgia that scored 4 units
each, similarly to Belarus, Russia and Uzbekistan.
A lower lever of legal regulation media is taken by Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan (3 units each). The last place of the rating is taken by
Turkmenistan (2 units).
“SHANT” TV COMPANY IS 10 YEARS OLD
On June 21 “Shant” TV company (Gyumri, Shirak region) celebrated the 10th
anniversary of its first air. Since 2000 “Shant” started to broadcast in
Yerevan too.
Yerevan Press Club congratulates colleagues and wishes prosperity and
further success.
When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
Press Club is required.
You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter to:
[email protected]
Subscription for the Newsletter is free. To subscribe or unsubscribe from
this mailing list, please send a message to: [email protected]
Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
____________________________________________
Yerevan Press Club
9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
375007, Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+ 374 1) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
Fax: (+374 1) 53 56 61
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site:

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From: “Katia M. Peltekian”
Subject: Protesters in Baku try to storm NATO conference
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World News / Jang News, Pakistan
June 23 2004
Protesters in Baku try to storm NATO conference
BAKU: A NATO conference in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan
was disrupted on Tuesday when hardline nationalists tried to storm
the hotel where the meeting was taking place. Police arrested 12
demonstrators, who were protesting against the presence at the
conference of two servicemen from the neighbouring country of
Armenia. Azerbaijan and Armenia are officially in a state of war
after fighting in the early 1990s over the disputed enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
About 30 demonstrators broke through a police cordon outside the
venue for the meeting, a hotel in the Azeri capital, Baku, and
smashed the glass door of the conference hall, witnesses at the scene
told AFP. They were prevented from getting into the hall by the
hotel’s security guards and were later detained by police. The
meeting was suspended for five minutes as a result of the
disturbance.
Earlier, the protesters had marched through Baku carrying placards
with the slogans: “Armenians Out!” and “The Armenians criminals have
the blood of our people on their hands.” “We will continue this
protest action all day,” said Akif Nagi, who led the demonstration.
“Our aim is to force the Armenians to leave the conference.” The
conference is being held to prepare for a training exercise of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, called “Cooperative Best Effort,”
which is due to take place in Azerbaijan this fall.
The conference is being attended by delegates from 24 NATO member
states and partner countries, including the two Armenian officers.
They have been identified by Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry as Colonel
Murad Sakhanian and Senior Lieutenant Aram Hovannisian. Also on
Tuesday, there were complaints about the presence of the Armenian
officers from deputies in Azerbaijan’s parliament. Speaker Murtuz
Aleskerov said he “expressed his protest about this issue.”
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are members of NATO’s Partnership for
Peace programme, which is seen as a stepping-stone to full membership
of the military alliance. This is not the first time a NATO event has
brought clashes between the two countries. Earlier this year, an
Armenian officer studying English in the Hungarian capital, Budapest,
as part of a NATO-sponsored course, was beheaded as he slept in his
student dormitory. An Azeri officer, who had been studying on the
same course as the victim, has been arrested and charged with the
murder.
The war between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the early 1990s over
Nagorno-Karabakh left some 35,000 people dead and forced about a
million people on both sides to flee their homes. It ended with
Armenian forces in control of Karabakh, which is internationally
recognised as part of Azerbiajan.
–Boundary_(ID_N0QnvKfW6sUo6O2cd/JFrQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

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From: “Katia M. Peltekian”
Subject: Looking Back to Move Forward
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Washington Post, DC
June 23 2004
Looking Back to Move Forward
By Nora Boustany
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, the president of George Washington
University, is dedicated to interpreting history to extract enduring
lessons.

Trachtenberg is the recipient this year of the Hannibal Club USA
Award for Service. He was honored for generating programs that bring
students on campus together — leading them beyond their disparate
cultural perspectives and boundaries.
Tunisian Ambassador Hatem Atallah, speaking about Trachtenberg at the
award ceremony last Wednesday, said the university president had
sought to teach students “that we are all part of the same line of
history.” The Hannibal Club here, one of several around the world,
was founded six years ago to honor prominent Americans in the public
domain for their contributions to fostering tolerance and interfaith
dialogue.
In response to the growing U.S. need for fluent Arabic speakers as it
addresses security challenges and powerful cultural and religious
influences, the George Washington University Classics Department and
its honors program launched an innovative Arabic-language studies
program. It provides a full-tuition summer grant for a special
12-week, eight-credit course for 31 students to study the
fundamentals of the language. “Educating our students to facilitate
communication with the Arab world is one way that GW can be part of
the solution to the global challenges of our times,” Trachtenberg
said when the program was launched.
Speaking engagingly at the event honoring him, Trachtenberg sought to
draw modern lessons from the case of Hannibal, the Carthaginian
general who conquered and lost, then killed himself.
Modern warfare has come a long way since Hannibal used elephants to
cross the Alps to charge against Roman lines in the third century BC,
but the wisdom of hero worship can still be questioned, according to
Trachtenberg. Do individuals like Hannibal really change history, he
asked, “or are they names we apply to historical currents, to things
that would have happened anyway, if slightly differently?”
Thankful in Armenia
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, a graduate of Harvard and
Tufts universities, met with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and
other senior U.S. officials last week.
Oskanian said his government was thankful for being among 16 “good
partners” that can apply for U.S. financial assistance through the
Millennium Challenge program. Armenia cleared the first hurdle of
eligibility and can now apply for funding intended to support good
government, Oskanian said in a telephone interview last week. He said
Armenian officials are working on specific plans and funding
proposals.
Oskanian said he discussed regional stability issues with U.S.
officials, including the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh
region and the prospect of establishing diplomatic ties with Turkey.
He said the United States had expressed interest in a normalization
of Armenia-Turkey relations. Oskanian also praised U.S. officials for
their efforts to meet with representatives of small countries, even
though they are preoccupied with developments in Iraq, Afghanistan
and elsewhere.
Keeping Track of Liberia
Nickie Smith, the International Rescue Committee desk officer for
Liberia, says her mission at the nongovernmental relief organization
is to maintain awareness about the issues of displacement and
violence following 20 years of war in the African nation.
She said in an interview on Friday that gender-based violence is a
prime concern. The exploitation of women continues in Liberia, she
said, and demobilized female combatants continue to struggle to
secure food for their families. Camps have been set up in Liberia to
rehabilitate such women, and to provide psychological counseling and
case management in a partnership between the IRC and the United
Nations.
“Cantonment sites,” where boys and men are separated from young women
after being disarmed, have high security walls and are run like
prisoner of war camps, she said.
In addition, the country faces major medical and educational
challenges, Smith said. Medical screening has shown that 73 percent
of the women have sexually transmitted diseases, while 65 percent
have been sexually abused. “The medical challenges are huge,” she
said.
While there are pockets of stability in Liberia now and relief
workers have been able to reach wider areas of the country, safety
concerns still exist, she said. Her group of 10 international relief
workers and 160 local staff members has been working at more than 30
sites to help support internally displaced people.
Smith said the processes of disarmament and integration must develop
in tandem to prevent former combatants from fighting again. “If
reintegration and relocation programs don’t go on line, it is likely
these people will pick up their guns again,” she said.
–Boundary_(ID_jR5IsSxA0IsvZxjLdZpCVA)–