CIS SECURITY BODY NEEDS TO RESOLVE INTERNAL PROBLEMS – RUSSIAN MP

Interfax-AVN military news agency web site
30 Apr 04

MOSCOW

Member-states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
should work out an efficient mechanism of enforcing mutual commitments
in the military sphere, Viktor Zavarzin, chairman of the State Duma
Defence Committee, said today.

“All CSTO member-states (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia and Tajikistan) should develop their own mechanisms for
enforcing military-technical cooperation agreements that have been
reached. Legislation, regulating such a mechanism, has not been
developed yet because of domestic interdepartmental differences,”
Zavarzin told Interfax-Military News Agency.

Zavarzin emphasized that CSTO member-states have not shown the proper
interest in armament modernization and overhaul programmes proposed by
Russia within the framework of the Intergovernmental
Military-Technical Cooperation Commission.

As a positive example of cooperation within the CSTO framework he
cited cooperation, pertaining to CSTO infrastructure security
(railways, airlines, pipelines, sea routes, largest power plants,
etc.), which directly influences all the national security components
of each member-state. “For instance, this January the Russian
president submitted the bill “On ratifying the agreement on
establishing a single protection system for the railways of CSTO
member states” to the State Duma for consideration. The agreement
coordinates joint planning in this sphere,” he noted.

Zavarzin said that, on the whole, there were a number of serious
problems and difficulties in each CSTO workstream. Should such
problems be solved, the organization could achieve a qualitatively new
level of cooperation, and enforce decisions, meeting the challenges of
the contemporary military-political environment in CSTO member
states. It is also necessary to refine policy pertaining to
contemporary challenges and threats, Zavarzin said. He added that one
of the priorities consisted in establishing contacts between CSTO and
UN, and CSTO and OSCE. “The organization may also coordinate its
efforts with NATO in the future, first and foremost, in the sphere of
combating terrorism, religious extremism and drug trafficking,” he
said. (Passage omitted)

RUSSIAN DUMA OFFICIAL WARNS AGAINST USE OF FORCE IN GEORGIA’S AJARIA

RIA news agency, Moscow
30 Apr 04

MOSCOW

Andrey Kokoshin, chairman of the State Duma Committee on the CIS and
Relations with Compatriots, has warned against attempts by Georgia to
resolve the Ajaria problem by force.

“Developments with regard to Ajaria is causing great concern yet
again,” Andrey Kokoshin has told RIA-Novosti.

In his view, “the destabilization of the situation in the region
caused by the Georgian authorities’ attempts to resolve this problem
by force directly touches on the interests of Russia’s national
security. This was stated in the Duma’s recent appeal to Georgian
MPs.”

Kokoshin believes that in dealing with the Ajaria problem, “the Muslim
factor and the overall difficult configuration of the international
situation – the worsening situation in Iraq, an upsurge of terrorism
in Uzbekistan and Spain, the signs of growing influence of radical
Islamism in Turkey and a number of other factors – should be taken
into account”. “Attempts to resolve the Ajaria problem by force may
have such consequences for stability in the region that even joint
actions by Russia, the West, Georgia, Armenia and other countries
aimed at normalizing the situation in the region may turn out very
costly indeed,” Andrey Kokoshin stressed.

30.04.2004 07:55:00 GMT
Armenia counting on $20 mln World Bank roads loan

Yerevan. April 29 (Interfax) – The government of Armenia is engaged in loan
talks with the World Bank for $20 million for revitalizing local roadways,
First Deputy Transport and Communications Minster Grand Beglaryan announced
at a Thursday briefing.

The government has already applied to the World Bank and the amount of work
ahead is being figured out. It will take around $300 million to revitalize
all the country’s local road networks.

Hellenic Resources Network

OVER 100,000 FOREIGN STUDENTS STUDY IN GREEK SCHOOLS
Athens, 30 April 2004 (14:22 UTC+2)

A total of 98,241 students whose parents are foreigners and 31,873 students
whose parents are repatriated Greeks study in Greek schools making up 9% of
the student population in the country.

The overwhelming majority (72%) comes from Albania, Bulgaria (3%), Georgia
(2.2%), Russia (2.1%), Ukraine (1.5%), Romania (1.2%) and Armenia (1.1%).

REMEMBERING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

______

HON. BRAD SHERMAN

of california

in the house of representatives

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I join with my colleagues tonight in somber
remembrance of the Armenian Genocide. Early in the 20th Century, during
World War I and its aftermath, the Ottoman Empire attempted the
complete liquidation of the Armenian population of Eastern Anatolia.
We must come down to the House floor tonight not only to remember
this tragic event, but we must also proclaim that the Armenian Genocide
is an historical fact. There are many who deny that this first genocide
of the 20th Century actually took place.
The American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in 1919 was an
eyewitness. In his memoirs, he said, “When the Turkish authorities
gave the order for these deportations they were merely giving the death
warrant to an entire race. They understood this well and in their
conversations with me made no particular attempt to conceal this
fact.”
He went on to describe what he saw at the Euphrates River. He said,
as our eyes and ears in the Ottoman Empire, “I have by no means told
the most terrible details, for a complete narration of the sadistic
orgies of which they, the Armenian men and women, are victims can never
be printed in an American publication. Whatever crimes the most
perverted instincts of the human mind can devise, whatever refinements
of persecution and injustice the most debased imagination can conceive,
became the daily misfortune of the Armenian people.”
We can never forget that 8 days before he invaded Poland, Adolf
Hitler turned to his inner circle and said, “Who today remembers the
extermination of the Armenians?” The impunity with which the Turkish
government acted in annihilating the Armenian people emboldened Adolf
Hitler and his inner circle to carry out the Holocaust of the Jewish
people.
It is time for Turkey to acknowledge this genocide, because only in
that way can the Turkish government and its people rise above it. The
German government has been quite forthcoming in acknowledging the
Holocaust, and in doing so it has at least been respected by the
peoples of the world for its honesty. Turkey should follow that example
rather than trying to deny history.
It is also time–indeed it is far overdue–for our Congress to
recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Mr. Speaker, I again call on my colleagues to recognize the Armenian
Genocide and to urge my fellow Americans to remember this tragic event.

OBSERVING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

______

HON. RUSH D. HOLT

of new jersey

in the house of representatives

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, April 24, 2004 marked the 89th anniversary of
one of the most harrowing events in modern day history–the beginning
of the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian community is too familiar with
the details of this tragedy. They know well the accounts of Armenian
leaders, writers and professionals in Constantinople that were rounded
up, deported and killed; the accounts of men, women and children were
driven into the desert between Terablus and Derzor to die of
starvation, disease and exposure; and the accounts of families that
were burned alive in wooden houses or chained together and drowned in
Lake Van.
Unfortunately, few outside of the Armenian community know of the
Armenian Genocide–

[[Page E701]]

one of the most awful events in modern history. Many are not aware that
Ottoman officials expelled millions of Armenians from the homelands
they had inhabited for over 2,500 years. They are not aware that
Ottoman officials attempted to exterminate the Armenian race and the
precedent this event set for the genocides that followed. It is
distressing that horrors of this magnitude have largely been forgotten.
Even more disturbing are the governments, institutions, scholars, and
individuals who deny the enormity of these crimes against humanity. It
is inconceivable that individuals and governments continue to ignore
the substantial evidence–including numerous survivor accounts,
photodocumentaries, and official documents in the archives of the
United States, Britain, France, Austria, and the Vatican–that prove
these atrocities took place. It is also frustrating that some
rationalize these crimes or refuse to recognize this premeditated
ethnic cleansing as genocide.
The international community must deal honestly with this senseless
genocide. World leaders must rise above indifference and the political
considerations that they have cowered behind. They must unequivocally
acknowledge the murders of one and a half million Armenians that began
in 1915 for what it is–genocide. They must use their position to
reveal the truth and bring attention to this tragedy that has been
overlooked and brushed aside for too long.
We all want to forget these horrific tragedies in our history and
bury them in the past. However, understanding the immeasurable wrongs
the Armenian people endured–and the mass scale on which they
occurred–is vital to grasping the impact these events continue to have
on the stability of the region. It is only through the painful process
of acknowledging and discussing these horrific events that we can
prevent similar iniquity in the future.
We owe full recognition and acceptance of these crimes to the one and
half million victims of the Armenian Genocide. Anything less is an
insult to their memory.

COMMEMORATING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

______

HON. JOHN F. TIERNEY

of massachusetts

in the house of representatives

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I join my fellow members of the
Congressional Caucus on Armenian issues, and a large number of my
colleagues, as we rightfully recognize, remember, and renounce the
Armenian genocide.
I rise today to speak on one of the most unspeakable acts that ever
came to pass. Beginning in 1915, innocent and unsuspecting Armenians of
all ages were led by Ottoman Empire officials from their villages to
their brutal death. Such atrocities endured for eight years. By 1923,
an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were massacred.
While this tragedy of incomprehensible proportions was being
perpetrated, the world stood idle. Prominent nations remained silent in
the face of skyrocketing death tolls in this corner of Europe. Today
and throughout this month, as we reflect and remember the victims of
the Armenian genocide, we must also repudiate our unresponsiveness to
this horrible mass murder.
Lastly, on behalf of the Sixth District of Massachusetts, I would
like to praise the commitment and perseverance of Armenian-Americans,
who have tirelessly labored to ensure that all know the tragic story
and great sorrow of their people. Their efforts in this regard are
laudable and serve as the best legacy they can leave to succeeding
generations.

[Congressional Record: April 28, 2004 (House)]
[Page H2451-H2452]
The Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr28ap04-141]

NOW IS THE TIME–WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to remind the world that the
24th of April marked the 89th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a
systematic and deliberate campaign of genocide of the Ottoman Empire.
Also, it marked yet another year with the U.S. formally recognizing the
atrocities that occurred. Considering how well documented the genocide
is in the U.S. archives and through an overwhelming body of first-hand,
governmental, and diplomatic evidence this is nothing less than a
disgrace. I also rise to reaffirm my support for the adoption of the
Genocide Resolution H. Res. 193. The purpose of this legislation is
prevent future genocides by stressing the importance of remembering and
learning the lessons of past crimes against humanity, including the
Armenian Genocide, Holocaust, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides
in hopes of preventing future atrocities. In addition, this resolution
strengthen America’s commitment to the universal values of the Genocide
Convention and asks the United States to commemorate the 15th
anniversary of the Genocide Convention. Support for this legislation is
widespread with a diverse coalition of over 100 ethnic, religious,
civil, and human rights organizations calling for its passage.
As Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, it was an honor
to be instrumental in preparing the report which gained unanimous
approval at the committee level. The report described the Armenian
Genocide in the following terms: “Beginning in 1915, the Islamic
Turkish state of the Ottoman Empire sought to end the collective
existence of the Christian Armenian population. From 1915 through 1918,
during World War I, the Ottoman Empire subjected the Armenian people to
deportation, expropriation, abduction, torture, massacre, and
starvation. The atrocities were renewed between 1920 and 1923. It is
estimated that one and a half million Armenians were killed out of over
two million Armenians who had lived in the Ottoman Empire. It should be
noted that these activities ceased with the institution of the new
Republic of Turkey in October, 1923.” This past March, I signed onto a
bipartisan letter to Speaker Hastert asking to bring H. Res. 193 to
vote but we have not yet been given the opportunity to vote on this
important legislation. Today, also marks the day of the Armenian
Genocide Observance on Capital Hill and I join over 110 House and
Senate Members who have agreed to co-host this observance.
The Armenian Genocide is fully documented in U.S. history. In a July
24, 1915 cable, American Consul Davis noted that, “I do not believe
there has ever been a massacre in the history of the world so general
and thorough as that which is now being perpetrated in this region or
that a more fiendish, diabolical scheme has ever been conceived by the
mind of man. What the order is officially and nominally to exile the
Armenians from these Vilayets may mislead the outside world for a time,
but the measure is nothing but a massacre of the most atrocious nature.
It would be that even if all the people had allowed to perish on the
road. As a greater part of them,

[[Page H2452]]

however, have been actually murdered and as there is no doubt that this
was done by order of the Government, there can be no pretense that the
measure is anything else but a general massacre.”
Now more than ever as the world is gripped by unrest and terrorism,
the memory of the Genocide underscores our responsibility to help
convey our cherished tradition of respect for fundamental human rights
and opposition to mass slaughter. We owe it to the victims of the
Genocide to acknowledge what happened and to teach our students and
children about their suffering, so that we can fulfill our obligation
to ensure that genocide will never happen again. Our future generation
should be able to say, “I learned, I acknowledge, and I will work to
prevent it from happening again.”

Azeri defence chief, Russian diplomats debate military, political situation

Lider TV, Baku
30 Apr 04

Azerbaijani Defence Minister Col-Gen Safar Abiyev has received the
Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan, Nikolay Ryabov, and the military
attache, Vladimir Lomakin.

Azerbaijan will soon appoint its military attache to Russia, the
minister said. The defence minister said that Azerbaijan was pinning
high hopes on Russia in the settlement of the [Karabakh] conflict.

The sides had also an exchange of opinions on the prospects of
development between Azerbaijan and Russia, the defence ministries of
the countries, including the military and political situation in the
South Caucasus.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 30 2004

Azerbaijan to open its military office in Russia soon

BAKU, April 30 (Itar-Tass) – Azerbaijan will open its military
office in Russia in a few days time, Azerbaijani Defence Minister
Safar Abiyev said in Baku on Friday at a meeting with Russian
Ambassador Nikolai Ryabov and new Russian military attaché, Rear
Admiral Vladimir Lomakin.

Abiyev noted `traditionally good relations between the two countries
and a high level of intergovernmental cooperation.’

`Azerbaijani-Russian relations have historic traditions; we have
always tried to preserve them,’ he said.

The defence minister also pointed to Russia’s `great opportunities’
as a co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk group on the settlement of the
Karabakh conflict.

`Azerbaijan pins great hopes on Russia in resolving this problem,’
Abiyev said.

At the meeting, the parties discussed prospects for the development
of cooperation between the two countries’ defence ministries and
exchanged views on a military and political situation in North
Caucasus, a source at the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry’s press
service said.