Minister says Azerbaijan, Armenia exchanging views on Karabakh
MPA news agency
1 Jun 04
Baku, 1 June: The third meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
foreign ministers will take place in Prague on 21 June.
According to MPA, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov thinks
it is early to speak about a rapprochement between the positions of
the sides. Commenting on the course of talks between the Azerbaijani
and Armenian foreign ministers, the Azerbaijani foreign minister said
that the sides were exchanging views. According to him, Azerbaijan
is putting forward its ideas and is listening to those suggested
by Armenia. The [OSCE Minsk Group] co-chairmen also have certain
ideas. Mammadyarov believes that if they manage to properly arrange
these ideas, then they can move on.
Stressing the role of the European Union in the conflict settlement,
Minister Mammadyarov said that Azerbaijan supported the idea of keeping
the Karabakh issue on the agenda of the EU and the European community.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian opposition leader says “prominent” activists arrested
Noyan Tapan news agency
1 Jun 04
Yerevan, 1 June: The secretary of the National Unity Party’s
territorial organization, Simon Amirkhanyan, and his colleague,
Razmik Kchoyan, were arrested in the town of Gavar in Gegarkunik
Region on 31 May, chairman of the party Artashes Gegamyan said.
According to him, they are being blamed for telling people of
Gavar District, in particular, in the villages of Karmir, Gandzak
and Sarukhan and the town of Gavar about a meeting of MPs from the
National Unity faction with their voters scheduled for 2 June.
According to Gegamyan, [Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan is behind
the arrests. He said that by this move Kocharyan wanted to show to the
Orinats Yerkir [Law-Governed Country] Party and its leader that though
the marzapet [head] of Gegarkunik was one of the prominent members of
the Orinats Yerkir Party, however, this was of no significance to him.
Gegamyan has not yet reported the arrests to Jerzy Jaskiernia [PACE’s
co-rapporteur on Armenia], because he believes that “we should resolve
our domestic problems within the country and appeal to the Council
of Europe only in case of obstacles”.

New Armenian TV chief outlines future plans
Yerkir web site
1 Jun 04
on 1 June entitled “Yerkir-Media on the air”
Yerevan, 31 May: On 28 May Yerkir-Media, a new television station,
began to broadcast on channel 56, Rubina Kazaryan, Yerkir-Media’s
director-general, presented the plans of the station.
She said the station will air its programmes on a trial basis for a
while before starting its main programmes. “Usually, a long trial
period precedes the main programming of a TV station,” Kazaryan
said. “But, we started a news broadcast off on 28 May. What we did
was quite risky.”
On the first day on the air, the station showed programmes dedicated
to the first Armenian Republic. The day was concluded by the movie
“Nahapet”.
During the trial period, the company will broadcast news programmes
twice a day. The broadcast license, the company won in a tender late
last year, requires that Yerkir-Media broadcast 18 hours a day starting
from 20 June. Kazaryan says that the company will have a wide range
of programmes to satisfy every viewer.
Political shows will take an extensive part of the air. Every two hours
there will be newscasts to cover domestic and international affairs,
as well as weekly analytical programmes. “We are going to present
pure news which will be free of comment,” Kazaryan says. “Commentary
will be presented in separate shows.”
The station will begin its day early in the morning with domestic and
international news, press reviews and shows for housewives. There
will also be history programs on Artsakh [Karabakh], Eastern
and Western Armenia. Zori Balayan will host programmes about on
Karabakh. Programmes on Armenia’s monuments and prominent figures in
history will also be shown. The station will also air youth shows.
Besides, Kazaryan says, the station plans to prepare three programmes
on the issues that society faces, including one on consumers’
rights. There will also be educational shows, including those on
environmental issues. Children will also have their share.
A programme on Armenian regions will cover events there as “Armenia
does not begin and end with Yerevan”, according to Kazaryan. “We
have reached agreements with regional TV stations.” Yerkir-Media
will present a number of cultural programmes on theatres, museums,
etc. Kazaryan said that Yerkir-Media will not air pirated movies.
The station signed a five-year contract with Armenfilm and a number of
Moscow-based companies which sell licenses for films. The station’s
board decided not to show “silly” soap operas. “We might lose out
financially, but we would rather show more good quality films,”
she said, adding that preference will be given to documentaries.
The station has been cooperating with five TV and radio companies
run by the Armenian diaspora, and will exchange shows with them.
“We started broadcasting on 28 May, but we have already shown
that we have something new to say,” Kazaryan said. “We will be
unbiased. There are TV stations that serve the interests of various
groups or individuals.”
In 2005, Yerkir-Media will be on the air for 24 hours a day
broadcasting throughout Armenia and its diaspora.

Lawyer to Stars Leads Peterson Defense
By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer
Newsday.com
Tuesday, June 1, 2004
May 31, 2004, 2:52 PM EDT
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — The attorney who is Scott Peterson’s best
hope of not being convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and their
fetus is a lawyer to the stars, a man who charms jurors, attorneys
and judges with an easygoing style. Mark Geragos says he is committed
to fighting for underdogs.
“The whole idea … is to defend people and to fight for their rights
and their liberties,” Geragos said.
Geragos has said police and prosecutors did all they could to convict
Peterson in the court of public opinion before a gag order was imposed
on the case.
That’s one reason why he is so chummy with reporters, in stark contrast
to prosecutors in the case. “What drives me just crazy is when I think
that somebody is getting a raw deal,” he explained in an interview.
Geragos gained public attention after he secured an acquittal for
Whitewater figure Susan McDougal and took on the cases of actress
Winona Ryder and former congressman Gary Condit.
Beyond the cameras’ glare, Geragos is committed to his job, his family
and his Armenian-American culture.
“Being Armenian and having all four of my grandparents who fled
genocide, I have a great and deep and abiding appreciation for what
it’s like to be the subject of tyranny,” Geragos said.
One of his proudest achievements is a settlement in January that
went mostly unnoticed. The descendants of some 1.5 million Armenians
who were killed nearly 90 years ago in the Turkish Ottoman Empire
will share in a $20 million settlement for unpaid life insurance
benefits. The class action took four years of work.
Married with two children, Geragos, 46, is managing partner of a Los
Angeles law firm that includes his father and brother.
He had been defending both Peterson and Michael Jackson, until the
pop star complained his child molestation defense wasn’t getting
enough attention. Geragos shrugged off his firing, saying only that
“I truly, truly wish him well and am hopeful for a favorable outcome
for Michael.”
Geragos has lost his share of cases, but even the best lose some, said
Shepard Kopp, a lawyer at his firm. “That’s the ultimate challenge. As
a trial lawyer, you take cases that appear to be unwinnable and you
find a way to win.”
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press

Armenian opposition reports new arrests over rallies
Noyan Tapan news agency
1 Jun 04
Yerevan, 1 June: There have been new arrests of opposition activists
over the last two days. According to the office of the [Justice] bloc,
six men were arrested in different regions of Armenia on 31 May and 1
June. Some of them were subjected to several days’ of administrative
arrests, while others were fined.
An investigation into Artak Gabrielyan’s case, who was arrested for
his participation in rallies, was postponed until 2 June. On the same
day, the trial of Tigran Ter-Markaryan and Karen Markaryan will take
place in Gyumri.

Armenian rally outside prosecutor’s office demands release of prisoners
A1+ web site
1 Jun 04
1 June: Once again representatives of various public organizations
gathered outside the Prosecutor-General’s Office today to demand
“Freedom to political prisoners” and “We demand to punish those who
resorted to force”.
The organizers of the picket managed to collect 8,000 signatures
in support of the political prisoners. “We believe that our protest
actions will somehow help the political prisoners and that they will be
released, but even if this does not happen, it makes no difference,
I am ready to go there again. We do not strive to bring together
as many people as possible, we simply want new faces to join us,”
protester Arutyun Alaverdyan said.
Today 391 signatures were handed over to the Prosecutor-General’s
Office. Members of the Justice political bloc also attended this
peculiar protest action.
Up to now, the protest actions went on for about an hour, however,
beginning from 2 June, protest actions will go on for two hours, from
1000 to 1200 [0500-0700 gmt]. The organizers are calling everyone to
join them.

Azeri paper critical of Georgia’s “anti-smuggling operation”
Zerkalo, Baku
1 Jun 04
The Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo has criticized the Georgian
authorities for acting “unprofessionally” during their recent
anti-smuggling operation on the border with Azerbaijan and called
for the use of “civilized” anti-smuggling tactics. It described
the operation in the Azeri-populated region of Georgia as “dirty
provocation” aimed “to deport the entire population” of this region.
In an interview with the newspaper, the leader of Georgia’s ethnic
Azeri movement said that he was “outraged about the mass arrests of
our compatriots” during the operation especially as many of those
arrested had nothing to do with the border incident. The following is
an excerpt from report by M. Yasaroglu, A. Rasidoglu in Azerbaijani
newspaper Zerkalo on 1 June headlined “Over 100 Azeris have been
arrested in Georgia”; subheadings have been inserted editorially
Georgia has tightened control on the border with Azerbaijan and, in
fact, has closed down the state border, the leader of the movement
Qeyrat [of ethnic Azeris in Georgia], Zumrud Qurbanli, has told
Zerkalo.
Meanwhile, according to information from the Georgian Security
Council, the Red Bridge checkpoint will be temporarily closed within
the framework of the programme to combat smuggling from Azerbaijan
(Turan news agency).
[Passage omitted: Georgian officials comment on the border incident
with Azeris on 30 May; Azeri ambassador to Georgia deals with the
issue]
Yesterday [31 May] the Georgian ambassador [to Azerbaijan] told
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov about the results of
a sitting of the Georgian Security Council and, particularly, with
regard to the situation on the border. According to Mammadyarov, the
traffic on the Red Bridge has not been blocked. “Certain clashes have
occurred there between law enforcement agencies and Georgian citizens
of Azerbaijani origin,” Mammadyarov said. He added that “Georgia is
our strategic partner and a friendly country, that is why, stability
and tranquility there have major importance to us.”
Paper cannot share Azeri foreign minister’s optimism
We would like to share Mammadyarov’s optimism, but facts are
different. Long before [Georgian President] Mikheil Saakashvili’s
election there were fears that he will do his best to deport the
entire population of “naughty Borcali [Azerbaijani name of Georgia’s
Kvemo-Kartli region]” whom he describes as “Tatars” and “second-rate
people” [Passage omitted: about Saakashvili’s election promises to
guarantee the rights of ethnic Azeris].
But completely different processes started after the elections which
allowed us to assume that the new Georgian president’s election
promises, to put it mildly, are not being fulfilled. What happened
after Saakashvili’s election as president? Contrary to his promises,
he has given all lands of Borcali to [ethnic] Georgians lessees,
and only their scanty part, which is unsuitable for use, has been
given to Azeris. The Azeris are being denied all rights, including
the right to land, by the new Georgian political leadership. The
Georgian leadership’s policy is not logical – it’s a fact.
Zerkalo newspaper has repeatedly talked about the violation of rights
of our compatriots in Georgia, a country via which territory we are
laying an oil pipeline to Europe and for whom we have arranged reduced
transport tariffs. True, Saakashvili himself understands fully well
that Azerbaijan would not have agreed to the oil pipeline going via
Armenian territory and the USA was categorically against “the Iranian
route”. The only choice was “the Georgian scenario””…[ellipsis
as published].
As a result of Saakashvili’s policy, the Azeris living in Georgia
are concerned about their fate. There is no need for them to be
afraid of being sacked, as they are already being persecuted and
arrested. [Passage omitted: only three ethnic Azeris have been elected
to the Georgian parliament].
No link between border incident and “anti-smuggling operation” in
Azeri v illages
The movement Qeyrat is the only organization which supports our
compatriots. Zumrud Qurbanli is outraged about the mass arrests of
our compatriots.
[Qurbanli] The Georgian media outlets have been trying to analyse
the unfolding events from various positions and angles. The incident,
which happened around the customs checkpoint, is being taken as the
basis. But this is not just about the incident on the Red Bridge. The
main events occurred not on the border, but in the villages of
(?Garadzhalar) and (?Politsala), 5-10 km from Tbilisi.
The events at the customs checkpoint and in these villages can be
linked indirectly only because 60 km separate these two areas. Had
it been only about smuggling, they could have been dealt with that
en route.
Second, nobody objects to the Georgian authorities’ anti-smuggling
operations. But one should not carry out operations of this kind so
unprofessionally and in the homes of innocent people. Even if there
was information about smuggled goods in someone’s house, there was
no need to humiliate the whole village.
Many buses in Georgia pass the Red Bridge and, naturally, they are
being first of all checked by border guards, the customs as well
as other state bodies. One should not forget that a bus carrying
smuggled goods could have been detained while it was covering the
60 km en route to the village. So, I cannot agree with those who say
that they allegedly “came to the village to confiscate the smuggled
goods brought precisely by this bus “. This is a lie.
How could the Georgian customs have missed this bus? It is
impossible. It is impossible to take even a bag across the border
without the state bodies’ inspection.
Authorities could have informed village administration about operation
I recall that nearly two to three months ago the governor of Kvemo
Kartli called for measures to combat smuggling by the village of
Politsala. This proves that “carrying out measures” has been planned
long ago. But how did they carry out the operation? At 0200 [2100
gmt on 29 May] nearly 200 people in masks burst into the Azerbaijani
village and started to shoot randomly. This is a sign of unprofessional
approach to say the least.
[Passage omitted: background information]
There is another issue of concern, i.e. the Georgian side has
instituted legal proceedings against more than 100 Azeris, who
were arrested and whose property was confiscated. Many of those
arrested had nothing to do with the incident on the Red Bridge. That
is why, I believe that this dirty provocation may seriously damage
Azerbaijani-Georgian relations. There are civilized ways of combating
smuggling and the border service and the customs should start to
do this.
[Passage omitted: the Qeyrat movement tries to protect the rights of
the Azeris and some forces could make use of arrests; Azeri parliament
and envoy to Georgia are dealing with this issue as well]
[Zerkalo] The aforesaid operation was carried out after [Azerbaijani
President] Ilham Aliyev’s statement about his forthcoming visit to
Georgia. In your opinion, could this incident lead to the postponement
of the visit?
[Qurbanli] Ilham Aliyev’s visit has nothing to do with
Georgian-Azerbaijani relations because he is planning to attend
the GUUAM’s [Georgia-Ukraine-Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan-Moldova] regular
sitting. Thus, the recent events will have no impact on the Azerbaijani
president’s visit to Georgia. It is necessary to establish relations
with Georgia as both countries will benefit from this. This will,
in turn, help solve problems of the Azeris in Georgia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Separatist Karabakh ready for talks with Azerbaijan “in any format”, leader says
Mediamax news agency
1 Jun 04
Yerevan, 1 June: Nagornyy Karabakh is ready for negotiations with
Azerbaijan in any format – “be it with Armenia or without it, with
the OSCE Minsk Group or without it”, the president of the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic [NKR], Arkadiy Gukasyan, said in Stepanakert today.
Mediamax news agency correspondent reported from Stepanakert that
the head of the NKR said that Azerbaijan “will be obliged to sit at
the negotiating table since there is no other way”.
Arkadiy Gukasyan believes that the sides have not yet managed to reach
an agreement because there is no tradition or culture of communication,
which he thinks requires time. At the same time, he noted that the
“Karabakh side intends to work constructively”.

LITHUANIA CONTINUING COOPERATION WITH SOUTH CAUCASIAN, CIS STATES
Baltic News Service
June 1, 2004
VILNIUS, Jun 01 — Representatives of the Armenian, Azerbaijani,
Bulgarian, Romanian, Slovak, Ukrainian and Uzbek armies are starting
a four-day visit to Lithuania on Tuesday, during which they will get
acquainted with the country’s system of military training.
This is the first visit of the kind, the Defense Ministry has reported.
The guests are scheduled to go to the Kaunas-based Division General
Stasys Rastikis NCO School, Nemencine-based General Adolfas Ramanauskas
Military Advanced Training Centre, Lithuanian Great Hetman Jonusas
Radvila Training Regiment in Rukla, General Jonas Zemaitis Military
Academy of Lithuania in Vilnius.
The military officers will hold a meeting to discuss results of
the visit.
In the framework of the Partnership for Peace Program, in the end
of 2003 Lithuania proposed military officers from South Caucasian,
some Central Asian and CIS countries training at the Lithuanian
Military Academy. Lithuania also suggested sharing experience in such
fields as crisis management, resource planning, military strategies,
security policy.
The training at the Military Academy — intensive 4-month English
language classes arranged according to NATO program and international
courses for captains — has been favored the most.
Since 2002 the Lithuanian Defense Ministry has sponsored education
of Georgian officer in the Baltic Defense College, and from this
year will pay for studies of two Georgian officers, one officer from
Armenia and one from Azerbaijan.

Take Ten; On visiting Nazareth – 2
by Behn Cervantes
BusinessWorld
May 31, 2004, Monday
After a hearty lunch, we went around window shopping. Now, that is
another experience.
Merchants in this area whether Arabs or Jews, have got to be the most
persistent, makulit and hard-sell of all. If you don’t like this,
there is that and many, many more to chose from. “C’mon all are of
the best of quality!” You almost feel guilty for not buying.
One lady store owner even gave me a free card because after she told
me she was Armenian, not an Arab – she added her name ended with
an “i-a-n” which, she said identifies many of her people. “Like
Khatchaturian?” I asked. “Ah,” she said “you know. Good!” Taking
advantage of my position of acceptance I added like “William
Saroyan?” “Aaah” she gasped, “you really know.” She then gave that
free card made by nuns – some Filipinas she added.
There is too much to buy in these tourist spots and I had lost interest
in collecting material souvenirs. I collect memories instead these
days. When the church opened we went through the different points of
interest including the site where Joseph, the carpenter was supposed
to have lived. Why was it underground?
Naturally, we had Kodakan sessions, mixing religious experience with
tourist concerns. However, the drive up Mt. Tabor was breathtaking.
The ancient church atop it is stark for a Catholic church which makes
it indeed impressive.
When I looked down the vast horizon and the valley below, you had to
feel spiritual. Religious thoughts returned.
Ricky pointed out Bedouin settlements when we drove down and explained
their controversial role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However,
what really got my interest was driving through Megido Valley. We
had seen it from atop Mt. Tabor but driving through it now and being
informed by Ricky that this was the alleged Biblical site of the Final
Battle or the Armageddon, my hair literally stood on end. When we
drove through it I dropped my defenses, allowed my imagination to
“ride along.” I pressed the Pause button in my doubtful mind and
consider what this all meant. Going through the alleged site of The
Final Battle or the Armageddon had an entirely different effect on me
from seeing the humble home of Joseph in Nazareth as a tourist. All
of sudden, I had very mixed emotions, one rather mundane, the other
rather spiritual and deeply profound.
Nazareth the simple home town of Joseph, the carpenter, Mary, his
wife and a young boy named Jesus is now a booming tourist attraction,
rather blatantly commercial under a patina of religiosity. It is
unrecognizable by Biblical standards after 2,000 years of progress
and commerce.
Megido Valley, on the other hand, is utterly still, unoccupied, and
empty, as though waiting to play its final role as proclaimed in the
Good Book.
One is opposite the other. The connection between the two contrasting
places is Jesus of Nazareth. As Christ he will have the central role
in Megido in that prophesied event.
I had to pause, consider and think. It was mind-boggling. I had to
pray… in my own manner.