Azeri campaigner sees hidden agenda in Armenians defectors
Ekho, Baku
5 Jun 04
The two Armenians who fled Azerbaijan during the armed conflict
in Karabakh in 1990 and have returned to Baku asking for refugee
status in order to go to the West and leave Azerbaijan disgraced as
a country dangerous to Armenians, Azerbaijani human rights activist
Eldar Zeynalov writes in the Ekho newspaper. Should Azerbaijan accept
the men, it might urge thousands of Chechens to follow suit and harm
Azerbaijan’s relations with Russia, he said. According to Zeynalov,
the Azerbaijani authorities have a hand in this story seeking to keep
the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Baku under
control. The following is the text of an article headlined “About the
defectors: Who needs them and what for?” by Eldar Zeynalov, director
of the Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan, in the Azerbaijani newspaper
Ekho on 5 June 2004. Subheadings have been inserted editorially:
Azerbaijan still dangerous for Armenians?
The press keeps discussing the theme of the two Armenian defectors,
Roman Teryan and Artur Apresyan, time and time again, although less
intensively than two months ago when they turned up in Baku [from
Armenia]. Based on an opinion about me as a “defender of Armenians”,
some newspapers with a reputation for printing scandal have addressed
me on several occasions. I did explain my attitude but the press
never reported my words.
My stance, based on international law on forced migration, could
not be clearer than it is. A refugee is a foreigner who underwent
discrimination in his home land, which posed a threat to his life,
health or property, and who seeks asylum in another country that he
thinks is safer.
Are these Armenians foreigners to us? They argue that they lived
in Baku before the events in Karabakh. If so, they are our former
compatriots and can certainly apply for reinstatement in their
previous citizenship. All the more so that our authorities have been
treating them with overt sympathy. It was really dangerous for them
to live in Baku in 1990. How about today? Floundering in statistics,
the authorities keep saying that some 20,000 or 30,000 Armenians still
live in Baku. Why not let in another two, what is wrong about it? All
the more so that these good Armenians risked their life advocating
Azerbaijan in Armenia.
However, if such loyal returnees from Armenia and our former citizens
cannot live here, a great number of questions arise that need to be
answered before we rush slap-bang to help them move to the better-off
parts of Europe. If a person left Azerbaijan in 1990, was recognized as
a refugee, then came back home but cannot stay here, it is tantamount
to our authorities signing a confession that nothing has changed
since 1990 and it is still dangerous for Armenians (at least males)
to live here.
Returnees’ hidden agenda?
The “defectors” themselves must have been thinking as much, given
that they had asked from the very start for entry into a third state,
seeking asylum abroad before they turned to Azerbaijan. The question
arises how to define a situation with the two Armenians who actually
came to our country to set it up by making it deport themselves
to a third state and thereby prove that Azerbaijan is dangerous
for Armenians to live in and human rights are not observed here?
Strange as it may seem, this fact was disregarded above all by media
outlets normally specializing in exposing real and imaginary Armenian
provocations.
There is another point. Well, assume Azerbaijan and Armenia are
dangerous for them. Why then should they go to Germany or the
Netherlands while hundreds of thousands of Armenians who are afraid
to live in Azerbaijan and do not care about “mother Armenia” have no
problems living in other CIS states, for instance Russia, Ukraine and
even Belarus? Having no language or cultural barrier, living next to
their friends and relatives, what else would they need to be happy?
What they seek is probably a comfortable seat on the back of a Western
state. They have tried to do it on their own but to no avail. Now they
are trying to ride into paradise on another vehicle. The vehicle is our
state which is expected to blemish itself by giving them a paper with
umpteen seals affixed to certify that it is bad here. The organization
that took on the task is a specific state body, the one in charge
of safeguarding the state border that these guys crossed legally,
once they are not in jail. This body sheltered those nice guests in
an “inn” on the top of a building at the head of Parliament Avenue
[National Security Ministry], called a news conference for them and
did a lot more to promote this story.
Interests of national security
Did the state pursue any interest in getting involved in this fishy
business? Taking a closer look, one can see that from the very
outset, both the “defectors” and the state officials, and even the
non-governmental organizations that joined in (not all of them,
by the way) are coming down heavily on the office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) like a ton of bricks. If the UNHCR
office refuses to grant the Armenians refugee status, its will prove
to be inefficient; if it does, it will disgrace our country. Public
statements by local UNHCR office staff may give a cue to what all this
rush is about. It is the UN plans to give up its responsibility in
June for establishing the status of those seeking refuge in Azerbaijan.
Indeed, there is a dozen staff sitting at the UNHCR office, with only
a few of them doing the job of interviewing and inquiry. On the other
hand, the government has special services and a whole state committee
for refugees. So it is right up their street, all the more so that
the UNHCR office, the International Organization for Migration and
other international organizations have talked themselves hoarse and
run themselves off their feet coming and training our officials who
must deal with such things as part of their remit.
Fancy 8,000 Chechens turning up at our offices tomorrow to ask for
refugee status based on our very well written law. Should we grant
them the status, we would thereby recognize that the thing going on in
Chechnya is a real war and genocide of Chechens rather than a police
operation. We could also spoil our relations with the mighty northern
neighbour [Russia]. Should we deny the status or deport them, the
Chechens would sue Azerbaijan at the European Court and, I can assure
you, they would win the case (precedents can be found in Georgia).
So let the UNHCR office fiddle around with all that and be the whipping
boy. Ah, they do not care for it? Okay we will play a dirty trick
on them in the form of the Armenian defectors. Tomorrow they [UNHCR
staff] may see hungry Azerbaijani people coming from tents to smash
their windows. The day after tomorrow, a bellicose non-governmental
organization may stage a pogrom and accuse the UNHCR office of
inefficiency in getting our refugees back home and therefore being
Armenian agents. Unsmiling tie-wearing guys from a serious office
would keep watch over the process, throwing in their instructions
once in a while. That would go on until the local UNHCR office “became
reasonable” and came back under the control of our authorities, as it
used to be. It seems that they see no other scenario for the future,
unfortunately. There may be a far cry between the stubborn Ukrainian
and the pliable French.
All this looks very funny viewed from aside, my dear sirs. Would I
take part in this show? No, thanks!

Journalist Attackers Fined By Court
By Karine Kalantarian 11/06/2004 12:39
Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep
June 11 2004
A court in Yerevan convicted Thursday two men of involvement in last
April’s unprecedented attack on journalists covering an opposition
rally but stopped short of imprisoning them, fining each of them
100,000 drams ($182) instead.
Ashot Avetisian and Hrair Harutiunian admitted assaulting journalists
and smashing their cameras and were found guilty of “deliberately
damaging property” belonging to other persons. The light punishment was
demanded by city prosecutors who cited “many mitigating circumstances”
such as the defendants’ confession of their guilt. The trial was
dismissed as a farce by some of the journalists subjected to violence
during the April 5 demonstration held in the Armenian capital by the
opposition National Unity Party (AMK). “For me it’s obvious that they
were simply carrying out orders on that day,” one of those reporters,
Anna Israelian of the “Aravot” daily, told RFE/RL. “I still don’t
have an answer to the question of how strictly those carrying out
orders must be punished.
“The pre-trial investigation and the court did not wish to establish
the complete picture of what happened on that day. They just buried
the case.”
The AMK demonstration was nearly disrupted by about two dozen men
who hurled eggs at the party’s leader Artashes Geghamian and set off
firecrackers. Journalists at the scene filmed the attempted disruption
only to have their video and still cameras smashed by the well-built
thugs. According to eyewitnesses, among them an RFE/RL correspondent,
scores of police officers led by General Hovannes Varian stood nearby
and looked on as the ugly scene unfolded. Their conspicuous refusal
to intervene prompted speculation that the violence was engineered
by the Armenian authorities.
Of all journalists questioned in connection with the case only
Israelian has testified that the two defendants were among the
attackers. The two other journalists, including a cameraman for state
television, said they do not remember the men’s faces.
Avetisian and Harutiunian, for their part, refused to be cross-examined
in the court, asking their lawyer to read out their written pre-trial
testimony. They both denied being hired by anyone to stir up trouble
and claimed to have found themselves at the site of the Geghamian rally
“by chance.”
The announcement of the court verdict followed a brief but extremely
tense trial. The small courtroom was packed with about 30 burly men
who appeared to be the defendants’ friends or acquaintances. Several
of them blocked entrance to the courtroom before the start of the
hearings, preventing journalists from entering it and ignoring their
protests. They did not relent even after being approached by the
court chairman, Zhora Vartanian.
“Step aside and let them go in,” Vartanian told them. “Listen to me,
I am the chairman of this court.”
The journalists were allowed to make their way into the courtroom
only 15 minutes later. But two of them, officially listed as
“victims” in the case, walked out shortly afterward in protest
against the psychological pressure exerted by the attackers’ friends.
Police guards showed up only half-way through the trial.

KfW may credit Yerevan hydro plant modernization
Interfax
June 11 2004
Yerevan. June 10 (Interfax) – ZAO International Energy Corporation
hopes to receive a credit of 15 million euros from Germany’s
Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau by the end of 2004 to modernize
Yerevan Hydroelectric Plant, plant Deputy General Director Mels
Akopyan told Interfax.
He said that representatives from KfW are currently discussing this
project with IEC General Director Mikhail Mantrov in Moscow.
Akopyan said that the German bank is waiting for the question of
guarantees to be resolved before providing the credit. He said that
he hopes that the credit will be provided under beneficial terms.
IEC has taken on the obligation of repaying a credit for 18 million
euros already received from KfW to restore the fifth and sixth
power-producing units at Kanaker Hydroelectric Plant, which is also
part of the Sevan-Razdan Cascade power plant. This credit was provided
to the Armenian government at the end of 2000 for 40 years at 0.75%
per annum, with a grace period of 10 years.
The Sevan-Razdan Cascade united six hydro plants build between 1930
and 1962 and is one of the main electricity producers in Armenia. The
plant has a capacity of 556 megawatts or about 18% of the total power
capacity of Armenia.
ZAO International Energy Corporation was set up at the start of
September 2003 by Unified Energy System of Russia to operate the Sevan-
Razdan plant. The company has a license from the Armenian commission
for the regulation of natural monopolies to produce electricity in
the country for 15 years.

U.S. to extend Armenia $700 mln
Interfax
June 11 2004
Yerevan. INTERFAX – Armenia expects to receive $700 million in aid
from the United States in 2004-2008 under the Challenges of the
Century program, Armenia’s Finance Minister Vardan Khachatryan said
on Thursday.
Armenia hopes to receive $100 million of the aid before the end
of 2004.
The government is currently developing specific projects in order to
receive this money. It is anticipated that the money will be used in
education, healthcare and social services, and to rebuild the country’s
infrastructure, such as irrigation systems and rural area roads.
Armenia also expects to receive $20 million – $25 million from the
World Bank under a program to fight poverty, Khachatryan said.

Viet Nam joins ITI – UNESCO
Viet Nam News Agency, Vietnam
June 11 2004
Ha Noi, June 11 (VNA) – Viet Nam, Ukraine and Armenia have been
admitted to the UNESCO’s International Theatre Institute (ITI) at
its 30th World Congress.
The world congress, dubbed ”Myths and Rituals: Challenges for
Contemporary Creation in the Third Millennium”, was held in Tampico,
Mexico from May 29 to June 4 with the attendance of 242 delegates
from 62 member countries.
Trong Khoi, General Secretary of the Viet Nam Theatrical Artists’
Association, who led the Vietnamese delegation to the congress,
said Viet Nam’s pavilion, the most attractive at the congress, was
decorated with billboards of Viet Nam’s famous dramas like ”Rung
truc” [Bamboo Forest], ”Othello” and ”A ca ve o nha hang Maxim”
[A bar girl at Maxim’s Restaurant].
Bilingual books on theatrical arts in Viet Nam, its several traditional
musical instruments, videos and CDs about performing arts in the
country were also introduced at the congress.
The 31st ITI – UNESCO World Congress will be hosted by the
Philippines.-Enditem

UN rejects Armenian fugitives’ asylum plea – Azeri TV
ANS TV, Baku
9 Jun 04
[Presenter] Artur Apresyan and Roman Teryan, who fled Robert
Kocharyan’s regime in Armenia and arrived in Azerbaijan, have received
a letter. The letter is from the head of the UN [UNHCR] Baku office,
Bohdan Nahaylo.
[Correspondent over video of Artur Apresyan and Roman Teryan] Bohdan
Nahaylo, head of the UN Baku office, has sent a letter to Artur
Apresyan and Roman Teryan, who fled Armenia and arrived in Baku on
7 April and who are being held at a remand facility of the National
Security Ministry. We learnt about the content of the letter in a
conversation with the Armenians.
The letter says that the UN Baku office cannot settle Apresyan
and Teryan, irrespective of their status, in a western European
country. Nevertheless, we would like to offer our kind services to
help these two persons return to Armenia, end quote.
This offer itself caused the fury of the Armenian fugitives. Their
relatives in Yerevan believe that it is impossible for the Armenians
to return to Armenia.
Artur Apresyan and Roman Teryan say that they can live neither in
Azerbaijan nor in Armenia. They continue to insist that the UN Baku
office help them move to a third country.

Pressure group vows to bar Armenians from Azeri-hosted NATO conference
ANS TV, Baku
8 Jun 04
[Presenter] Armenian officers have voiced their intention of coming
to Baku. The Armenian Defence Ministry press secretary said that the
officers insist on coming to Baku for exercises to be held within
the framework of NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme. The Karabakh
Liberation Organization [KLO] advises the Armenians against this trip.
[Correspondent] Armenian officers declared their intention of coming
to Baku on 22 June. A planning conference for exercises within the
framework of NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme will be held
here on that day. The Armenian Defence Ministry press secretary,
Col Seyran Shakhsuvaryan, told Russia’s Regnum news agency that on 16
June, the Azerbaijani embassy in Georgia will issue relevant papers
to the Armenian officers for their trip to Baku. Let us recall that
the Armenian military was not permitted to attend conferences held
in Baku earlier.
Commenting on the Armenians’ attempts to come to Baku, the head of the
Foreign Ministry’s press service, Matin Mirza, said that the event
is being held within the framework of NATO’s Partnership for Peace
programme and that not only Armenians, but also representatives of all
the member states of the programme will take part in the conference.
In his opinion, the Armenians’ trip to Baku cannot be regarded as the
establishment of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He
said that there are positive aspects of the Armenians’ visit.
[Matin Mirza] I do not think that the Armenians’ involvement in
the Baku-based event can create any problem for Azerbaijan. On the
contrary, after arriving in Baku and participating in the conference
under the NATO programme, the Armenians will once again witness
dynamic economic and democratic reforms which have been carried
out in Azerbaijan. They will also see for themselves that not only
Azerbaijan, but also Armenia will be weakening until Armenia gives
up its aggressive policy regarding Azerbaijan.
[Correspondent] Mirza also said that by making a fuss on various web
sites, the Armenians want to tarnish Azerbaijan’s image. The Defence
Ministry press service said that the Armenians’ arrival in Baku is not
desirable and we have accurate information that they will not come,
end quote.
KLO chairman Akif Nagi believes that the country’s relevant agencies
should take a firm position on the issue. He said that the enemy
country, which won the first phase of the war, now wants to establish
cooperation with Azerbaijan, and international organizations are busy
rendering Armenia assistance in this sphere.
He does not share the optimism of Azerbaijani diplomats. As for
the statements that NATO will guarantee the Armenians’ security,
he described this as a wrong notion. We will prove that NATO cannot
guarantee the security of any Armenian on the territory of Azerbaijan,
end quote.
[Nagi] If the Armenian officers arrive in Azerbaijan despite our
protests, then keeping to its position, the KLO will make it impossible
for the Armenian officers to enter Baku. If we fail to do this and they
enter Baku via some secret routes, then using its internal reserves,
the KLO will make it impossible to begin the conference. The KLO will
use the most radical methods in this process. I would not like to
make these methods public. I mean that protest rallies will be the
mildest methods to be used. I think if the Armenian officers dare to
come to Baku, they will regret it.
[Correspondent] Nagi called on Azerbaijani officers not to take part
in any event attended by Armenian officers.
Mahir Mammadli and Seyraz Azadoglu, ANS.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TV poll shows Azeris against Armenian officers’ presence in NATO conference
ANS TV, Baku
9 Jun 04
[Presenter] Armenian officers’ visit to Baku [to attend NATO exercises]
does not cause any problems on the state level. However, this is
not the case among the public. Our correspondent has come to this
conclusion after conducting an opinion poll among Baku residents.
[Correspondent, over video of central Baku] Armenian officers’ visit
to Baku is an insult to the spirit of thousands of our martyrs and
our national values. This is the position of the Union of National
Democratic Forces [UNDF] on Armenian officers’ intention to attend
a conference due in Baku within the framework of NATO’s Partnership
for Peace programme.
Today’s sitting of the UNDF discussed attempts of the Armenians to
come to Baku. They decided that this was inadmissible. According
to Elcin Mirzabayli, secretary of the United People’s Front Party,
which is a member of the UNDF, Armenian officers will not be allowed
to arrive in Baku until Azerbaijani lands are freed from occupation.
[Mirzabayli, in his office] Using all the rights granted by the
constitution, the UNDF will try to prevent this and will use all
possible means not to allow Armenian officers to visit Baku. We
think that our actions will be quite harsh. We think that it is very
difficult to curb emotions of Karabakh war veterans and refugees from
the occupied districts who are members of our party. It is difficult
for me to predict what these actions will cost the Armenians.
[Correspondent] Elcin Mirzabayli went on to say that leaders of
the UNDF member parties had instructed their party members to foil
the Armenians’ expected visit. Our party members will be posted at
different places of the city and will prevent the visit, end of quote.
An opinion poll that we have held among Baku residents has enabled
us to approximately clarify the position of ordinary people on the
issue. Almost all the city residents we polled said the same.
[Unidentified man in the street, captioned as a Baku resident] My
mother, sister and relatives are in Armenian captivity. They have
played thousand tricks on us and are mocking us.
[Second man] It is difficult to say if their visit to Baku is good
or bad. But I do not regard it as necessary at this stage.
[A woman] This is very bad. No, they should not be allowed to
come. No-one has the right to allow the enemy into our country. My
son was martyred. I will never accept this. I do not want this and
I do not support this.
[Third man] What does the word officer mean? An officer is an armed
person who kills another person, is he not? How can we then allow
them into the republic?
[Passage omitted: others repeat similar ideas]
[Correspondent, over video of Mammadov] MP Elman Mammadov [former
executive head of occupied Xocali District] also protested against
the Armenians’ visit to Baku. According to him, the mass media and
public figures foiled the previous attempts of enemy officers to visit
Baku. The MP thinks that the same should be done this time as well.
[Mammadov] I cannot understand how some people, people who describe
themselves as Azerbaijanis, can accept the fact that Armenians,
who have occupied over 20 per cent of our territories, made over a
million of our compatriots abandon their lands and shed the blood
of tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis, will arrive in Azerbaijan,
Baku. Do you know how they will come to Baku, Azerbaijan? They will
come to the capital of the country they have occupied as victors.
They will rejoice at this fact and will tell criminals like them
back home that they have been to the capital of the country whose
territory they occupied and enjoyed themselves.
[Correspondent] Thirteen days are left until the start of the
conference which Armenian officers want to attend.
Mahir Mammadli, Sehrac Azadoglu, ANS.

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
for Justice and Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
B – 1000 BRUXELLES
Tel./Fax : +32 (0) 2 732 70 27
E-mail : [email protected]
Web :
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 11th, 2004
Contact: Talline Tachdjian
Tel.: +32 (0)2 732 70 27
EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION POLLS EUROPEAN ELECTIONS CANDIDATES
Brussels, Belgium – The European Armenian Federation has sent a
questionnaire to a representative sample of some 20,000 candidates
participating in the upcoming European Parliament elections.
The questionnaire was addressed to 1354 candidates from 25 European
Union countries, in proportion to the number of seats by country and
political party affiliations. The poll is made up of four multiple
choice questions, focusing on Turkey’s aggressive policy lead toward
Armenia and its Armenian community, in the framework of its candidacy
to join the European Union.
“The first question deals with genocide denial and the incitement of
hatred against Armenians through the Turkish scholar programmes,”
explained Laurent Leylekian, Director of the European Armenian
Federation. “The second is concerning the destruction or the conversion
of Armenian cultural heritage in Turkey. The third deals with the
blockade of Armenia, while the fourth is a more general question
regarding the European Union’s final borders.”
He went on to note: “We understand the procedural restrictions and
limitations on Members of Parliament. That is why we provided a choice
of questionnaire responses which do not deal with overall principles,
but call for concrete commitments within the framework of possibilities
and which deal with Ankara’s candidacy to the European Union.”
The European Armenian Federation office has already begun receiving
answers to the questionnaire. The results will be published,
following the tabulation of responses, on the Federation’s website —
— and through press releases.
####

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]
June 11, 2004
His Holiness Karekin II Departs for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland
On June 10, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, departed for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland for an official visit to the Church of England, upon the invitation
of His Grace Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the
Anglican Communion. Following the ecumenical visit, His Holiness will
conduct his first Pontifical Visit to the Armenian Church Diocese of Great
Britain.
>>From June 10-14, His Holiness will stay in Lambeth Palace, which is the
administrative center of the Church of England. On June 11, the Pontiff of
All Armenians will meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury, followed by a
meeting with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace. In the
course of the trip, His Holiness will visit the Nikaean Club, the Shrine of
St Edward and Shrines of 20th Century Martyrs, St Mary’s Abbey (Anglican
Benedictine Women’s Community), and the King’s School, Canterbury. His
Holiness will also attend prayer services in Westminster Abbey, and on
Sunday, June 13, will deliver a homily in Canterbury Cathedral during church
services.
As part of the ecumenical portion of the visit, His Holiness is scheduled to
have meetings with His Eminence Gregorios, Archbishop of Thyateira and Great
Britain (of the Greek Orthodox Church), and the Council of Oriental Orthodox
Churches.
>>From June 14-19, the Catholicos of All Armenians will visit the Armenian
Church Diocese of Great Britain. His Holiness will meet with Armenian
community members, visit the St. Sarkis Armenian Church (Diocesan
Headquarters), and will preside during the celebration of Divine Liturgy in
St. Yeghishe Armenian Church. His Holiness will also receive the Armenian
community of Manchester.
His Holiness Karekin II is accompanied by His Grace Bishop Yeznik Petrosian,
Director of Inter-Church Relations; His Grace Bishop Yezras Nersissian,
Primate of the Armenian Diocese of New Nakhijevan and Russia; Rev. Fr.
Mesrop Parsamian, Staff-bearer of His Holiness; and Dr. Radik Martirossian,
Rector of Yerevan State University.
##