Armenian general calls for new military partners, more mobile army
Ayots Ashkar, Yerevan
11 Jun 04
headlined “What kind of army do we need?”
Gen Arkadiy Ter-Tadevosyan (Komandos [Commando]) has said that
Azerbaijan has now started a process of building up its military
potential and is gradually emerging from the former period of
stagnation.
Judging from this reality, Ter-Tadevosyan thinks that as well as
preserving military and political union with Russia, Armenia should
at the same time start active moves towards military cooperation with
other powers. In future it will be necessary for us to reorganize
the army to make it much more mobile. The general said that the
whole contemporary world is moving in this direction, as it is not
fruitful to keep a big army. It is better to have comparatively small,
but mobile and technically equipped, armed forces.

Heavy hailstorm hits northern Armenian districts
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
10 Jun 04
   
[Presenter] A heavy hailstorm has hit Lori and Tavush Districts
[northern Armenia]. A shower of hailstones destroyed the potato and
grain fields and pastures within 10 minutes. The most affected villages
were (?Hakhvat), (?Sanahin) and (?Akner). As a result of the natural
disaster the roofs of many houses and buildings were destroyed.
[Correspondent, over video of hailstorm] The people of the Akner
village will not have potato and grain this autumn. About 30 ha
of potato and 30 ha of grain fields have been destroyed completely
by hail.
[A man, captioned as resident of village] There is no hope. I think
that this will not be restored. The region’s authorities have already
been informed about this. But this issue must be discussed and resolved
at the government level.
[Correspondent] The librarian is concerned about the fate of books –
10,000 books are in danger. The hail destroyed 70-80 per cent of the
roofs of the houses.
[Passage omitted: villagers complain about natural disaster]
[Presenter] A heavy hailstorm accompanied by heavy rain also hit the
Tavush District centre. The energy, drinking water and communications
systems were destroyed. Roads in the district were also destroyed. The
rain swept away animals, vehicles and roads. A 250-km section of the
Yerevan-Idzhevan highway was temporarily closed.
[Correspondent, over video of destroyed roads] The hail hit and
destroyed the roofs and windows of houses, vehicles parked in the
streets, and vineyards. This is explained by the unusual seize of
hailstones and intensity of the hail. According to local residents,
such a hailstorm was not recorded in the last 20 years. The first
restoration measures and work are already under way.
Employees of the district and regional emergency departments,
the Idzhevan road construction organization and regional interior
bodies took part in the rescue work. The state highway opened in the
midnight, the town’s power supply and communications were restored. The
restoration work is under way.
Gayane Tamanyan, “Aylur”.

Armenian prisoners on hunger strike sew up mouths
A1+ web site
11 Jun 04
11 June: Several prisoners at Nubarashen prison have been on hunger
strike for several days. Some of them have even stitched up their
mouths. Ara Sagatelyan, spokesman of the Justice Ministry, has
confirmed this information.
We failed to find out the exact number of the hunger
strikers. Sagatelyan said that they were under the supervision of
doctors, as the law requires. “In general, it is not an extraordinary
event for prisoners in any country to go on hunger strike, since it
is a method of attracting attention and expressing opinions to which
they periodically resort.”
There is a group of public observers, who has the right to visit
prisons at any time without prior warning, Sagatelyan said. “The
criminal procedural system is quite transparent now,” Ara Sagatelyan
said.
The hunger strikers are demanding that their charges and convictions
be reviewed.
Asked if their lives were in danger, Ara Sagatelyan replied:
“Nobody will die from a hunger strike, since when doctors decide to
force-feed them, as is the case across the world, the hunger strikers
will be force-fed.”
Sagatelyan also said that the hunger strikers were ordinary criminals,
and cases of hunger strikers are on the increase because the press
pays attention to them.

Azeri daily reflects on reasons behind US general’s “unexpected” visit
Ekspress, Baku
11 Jun 04
The deputy commander of the US European Command, Gen Charles Wald,
paid an unexpected visit to Baku yesterday morning [10 June]. The
US embassy in Azerbaijan told Ekspress newspaper that the delegation
accompanying the Pentagon official had included 70 American civilian
representatives and business leaders who are members of the Joint
Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC).
[Passage omitted: about the JCOC programme and reported details]
Why did Wald come to Azerbaijan? According to official reports,
one might answer the question as follows. The visit by the Pentagon
official aimed at ”inspecting” the implementation of joint programmes
between the European Command and Azerbaijan and looking into the
preparations for NATO’s Cooperative Best Effort 2004 exercises. In
any case, one should admit that the visit to our country by such
a high-ranking Pentagon general as the deputy commander of the US
European Command in Stuttgart is not limited to the ”inspection of
cooperation programmes” only. Moreover, the importance of the visit
for Washington is obvious, bearing in mind that it was Wald’s second
visit to Azerbaijan in the past two months.
So it was clear from the brief statement which Wald made in Azerbaijan
that the USA is concerned about the state of security programmes in
the region (concretely, security issues and the protection of oil
pipelines). However, this might be understood as a gesture by the
Pentagon to show its presence in the region, since the concern was
expressed at the same time as the five-sided working group on Caspian
status was holding its summit in Astana. Moreover, by declaring the
creation of a special group to carry out US programmes on the South
Caucasus, Wald showed that the White House did not intend to hold
back from projects on the Caspian.
To recap, at the working group’s Astana meeting Russia and Kazakhstan
suggested the creation of “a military balance” in the sea and a ban
on the entry of “foreign forces” to the Caspian.
Finally, let us recall that Wald, who visited Yerevan some time ago,
regarded as necessary the participation of Armenian officers in the
NATO exercises due in Azerbaijan this autumn and said that he had
received official Baku’s guarantee on the issue. It is no coincidence
that the US general’s sudden visit coincided with Yerevan officially
expressing its intention to attend the NATO conference in June and
saying that it would approach the Azerbaijani embassy in Georgia
over this issue on 12 June. It seems that the Pentagon general had
to visit Azerbaijan again in order to ”resolve the issue on the spot”.
[Passage omitted: Azerbaijan ex-foreign policy adviser positive
on visit]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Mayor Alibeyoglu launches a campaign to gather signatures of Kars’ residents to appeal to government to open border gate with Armenia and for the closure of the Metzamor nuclear power station in Armenia
The mayor of the Turkish city of Kars, which is close to the Turkish-Armenian border, appealed on Tuesday for the opening of the border gate between Turkey and Armenia and the resumption of border trade after an 11-year interval.
The Turkish government have stressed that the border gate, which was closed in protest of the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan’s Nogorno-Karabakh district, could only be reopened if Armenia withdraws all its troops from the mountainous region, thus allowing Azerbaijan to restore its sovereignty over the area and all the displaced
Azerbaijanis to return to their homes.
From time-to-time over the past few years various Turkish governments have tilted towards reopening the border gate with Armenia, but out of concern that such a move would upset Azerbaijan — a country in which Turks have ethnic, cultural and religious affinity — have so far refrained from doing so.
Some 1.5 million Azerbaijanis have been living in tent cities and old train carts since they were forced out of Nogorno-Karanakh by advancing Armenian troops and local Armenian forces, equipped and armed by the Armenian government.
Kars Mayor Naif Alibeyoglu of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) said reopening the border gate with Armenia would boost the economy of the city.
The mayor, concerned by the Metzamor nuclear power station in Armenia, said he has started collecting signatures of Kars’ residents in order to appeal to the Ankara government to press for the closure of the power station.
He said Metzamor was built with “primitive technology” and would cause a disaster in the entire region should it develop any malfunction. “We do not want to live under such a threat,” he said.

PACE mission assessing political situation in Armenia
15:49 2004-06-14
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has sent a mission to Armenia to assess the political situation in that former Soviet republic.
Meeting Monday with the Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, Artur Bagdasaryan, the visiting PACE officials emphasized the need to resume political talks between the incumbent government and the Opposition and to create conditions for Opposition parties to return to parliament and take part in the revision of the republic’s Constitution and Election Code, the National Assembly’s PR department reports. It quotes Mr. Bagdasaryan as saying to the PACE delegation that Armenia is trying to do its best to meet its commitments on schedule.
The PACE officials also met with Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan. “My primary objective is to prepare a considered report, one that reflects the real picture of processes going on in Armenia,” Co-Rapporteur Jerzy Jaskiernia said to Mr. Oskanyan. He then went on to tell the minister about his earlier meetings with Armenian Opposition politicians and community activists.
Mr. Oskanyan, for his part, told about his trip to Strasbourg following the PACE’s adoption of a resolution on Armenia this past April. “The Armenian authorities took the resolution very seriously, and are now making active steps to solve problems raised in this document,” he assured the PACE delegation.
Unauthorized, Opposition-staged protests have been underway in the republic since April 9. The protesters demand the resignation of President Robert Kocharyan.
On April 28, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution urging Armenia to settle its political crisis by September. If it fails to, the PACE will contemplate the suspension of the Armenian delegation’s mandate.

ESTONIA SUPPORTS TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF THE STATES
Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info agency
June 14 2004
In the interview to correspondent of AzerTAj about the purposes of
visit the Estonian minister has told: “I am one of candidates on post
of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, therefore, it was
necessary to meet delegation of Azerbaijan in this structure and my
colleague Elmar Mammadyarov. The basic purpose of my visit consists in
that having met with them, to have exchange of opinions on development
of our bilateral relations, and also on the question representing
for me special value. I should note, that after the admission into
the European Union and the NATO, Estonia aspires to development of
relations with the countries of Southern Caucasus. It is necessary to
recognize, that the relations between our countries cannot be named
wide, therefore, we should do serious work in this area. Estonia is
interested in it, next week our governmental delegation will arrive
in Baku. Besides, next week the ministers of the European Union will
discuss a question of expansion of structure to the Caucasian region
and principles of good neighborhood. My country supports position of
the European Union in the said question. To tell the truth, in region
there are a number of problems, including the Armenia-Azerbaijan,
Nagorny Karabakh conflict. All problems following from this conflict
will not be solved yet the question constantly should be on the
agenda of all international organizations, including the Council
of Europe. It is necessary for us to prosecute seriously these
subjects. The concrete position of Estonia in the said question is:
Estonia supports respect of territorial integrity of all states and
protection of principle of inviolability of borders.

Party Leader Shot in Azerbaijan
The Associated Press
06/14/04 05:42 EDT
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) – An opposition party leader known for his bold
military exploits in the war over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave was
shot and killed early Monday in Azerbaijan’s capital, police said.
Fatulla Huseynov’s body was found by his neighbors outside his Baku
home, said Yashar Aliyev of the city police. Neighbors reported
hearing between four and six gunshots minutes earlier.
Aliyev said police did not yet have a motive or suspect.
Huseynov, 67, was one of the leaders of Azerbaijan’s opposition Justice
party. He also served as the vice president of the Association of
Football Federations of Azerbaijan. He had previously worked in
Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry and headed the nation’s road police.
In 1992-93, Huseynov fought in Nagorno-Karabakh, the ethnic Armenian
enclave in Azerbaijan, where he earned the nickname the “black colonel”
for his unit’s military feats.
Azerbaijani forces were driven out of Nagorno-Karabakh, and
a cease-fire was signed in May 1994. But Nagorno-Karabakh’s final
status has not been resolved and firing sporadically breaks across the
“line of control,” a demilitarized zone that separates Azerbaijani
and Armenian forces.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PACE REPORT ON ARMENIA TO BE READY IN OCTOBER
ArmenPress
June 11 2004
YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS: A senior official from the Council of
Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), monitoring the fulfillment
of Armenia’s membership commitments said today he received full
information from the chairman of Armenian Constitutional Court on a
decision the Court issued in the aftermath of last year’s presidential
election, the outcome of which was challenged by the opposition. Though
the Court upheld Kocharian’s election on appeal from Stepan Demirchian,
his main opposition candidate, who charged that government workers
falsified results, the Court yet attached a recommendation to its
decision, advocating a popular referendum on confidence in the
president within a year in a bid to diffuse the high tension.
The Court’s ruling admitted that violations “that are incompatible
with the further development of democracy” occurred at “separate
polling precincts” during the voting and subsequent vote count. In
conclusion, it shared the concerns expressed by monitors from the
Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe about violations of electoral procedures. It ruled that
law-enforcement officials, including judges and prosecutors, failed to
act adequately in many instances. Yet the court ultimately upheld the
Central Electoral Commission’s March 11 decision to declare Kocharian
the winner.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with Constitutional Court chairman,
Gagik Harutunian, Jerzy Jaskiernia (Poland, SOC), co-rapporteur on
Armenia of the Assembly’s Monitoring Committee, who arrived today
in Armenia on a fact-finding visit to assess the state of Armenia’s
honoring of its obligations and commitments, said he was going
to discuss with justice and other law-enforcement officials the
reformation of the country’s judiciary and constitutional reforms
with the parliament leadership. He said the final text of his report
will be ready in October.

PACE MONITORING GROUP IN ARMENIA
A1 Plus | 17:42:12 | 11-06-2004 | Official |
Jerzy Jaskiernia, PACE Monitoring Commission Reporter and Commission
Secretary David Chupina are arriving in Armenia today. Meetings with
Ambassadors of CE states in Armenia, OSCE Office head, international
organizations, national minorities, Media representatives, and Armenian
Constitutional Court Chair Gagik Harutyunyan are scheduled.
Tomorrow meetings with Armenian Parliament Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan,
Vice-Speaker Tigran Torosyan, members of parliamentary committees
and parties are envisaged.
On June 13 the delegation will leave for Vanadzor.
On June 14 the delegation members will meet Robert Kocharyan, PM
Andranik Margaryan, Justice Minister David Harutyunyan, Foreign
Minister Vardan Oskanyan, Defense Minister Serj Sargssyan, Police
Head Hayk Harutyunyan, General Prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepyan, Police’
Yerevan Department Head Nerses Nazaryan, members of Radio and
Television Commission, CEC Chair Gevorg Azaryan and members.
On June 15 the delegation will leave Armenia.