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06/23/2004
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1. Opposition, Reforms, and Karabagh, All in A Day’s Address to PACE
2. KLO Activists Face Criminal Charges
3. Armenia Won’t Abandon Cooperation with NATO
4. European Court Condemns Turkey
5. Azeri Sniper Kills Armenian Soldier
6. Council of Europe Ends Monitoring of Turkey
1. Opposition, Reforms, and Karabagh, All in A Day’s Address to PACE
STRASBOURG (RFE/RL)–In his speech to the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary
Assembly (PACE) on Wednesday, President Robert Kocharian said that the
Strasbourg-based body should not have had to discuss the political
confrontation in Armenia last April, and defended his administration’s
response
to the opposition calls for resignation.
“I regret that some of our deputies drew the PACE into that discussion,” he
said. “I am convinced that the Council of Europe is not the best place to
settle scores between the government and the opposition. All of that must be
done in our own parliament.”
Kocharian described the Armenian opposition’s push for power as an awkward
attempt to replicate neighboring Georgia’s November “Rose Revolution” that was
welcomed in the West. “The Armenian opposition failed to take into account the
fact that Armenia’s economy, unlike Georgia’s, is developing dynamically; its
government is quite efficient and its democratic achievements are propped
up by
institutional structures, including police, which are able to maintain public
order,” he said.
In its April 28 resolution on Armenia, PACE said that the Kocharian
government’s reaction to the opposition protests was “contrary to the letter
and the spirit” of its values, and threatened to impose sanctions unless
reforms were undertaken by the September PACE session.
The Armenian leader, making his second appearance at the Council of Europe
since Armenia joined it in January 2001 emphasized the opposition’s rejection
of calls for political dialogue by the parties of the governing coalition.
“Those proposals remain in force, but they must be discussed in parliament,
not
in the street,” he said.
The Armenian authorities’ compliance with the resolution was discussed
earlier
this week by the PACE’s Monitoring Committee. Its rapporteur on Armenia Jerzy
Jaskiernia, is due to submit a final report on that in time for the assembly’s
next session in September. The committee has also been monitoring the
fulfillment of Armenia’s broader membership commitments to the Council of
Europe.
“Armenia has already fulfilled the vast majority of obligations assumed in
connection with its accession to the Council of Europe,” Kocharian declared,
adding that the remaining ones will be honored “by the end of this year.”
Armenia is going through “an active process of the formation of civil
society,”
he said.
The 20-minute speech was followed by a question-and-answer session. The two
PACE parliamentarians representing the Armenian opposition boycotted the
speech
and were not on hand to pose questions. Azeri and Turkish lawmakers, however,
grilled the president.
Asked by one of the Azeri parliamentarian whether he had any role in the war
over Mountainous Karabagh, Kocharian replied, “Yes, I took part in the war. My
children were hiding in a basement for three years and had no childhood. I am
proud of my participation in the war.”
Kocharian told another Azeri that his country would have regained most of its
territories around Karabagh had it accepted two international peace plans put
forward in 1998 and 2001, and stressed that Karabagh has never been apart
of an
independent Azerbaijan state and should remain outside of Baku’s control.
2. KLO Activists Face Criminal Charges
BAKU (ANS/Baku Today)Azeri law-enforcement authorities have charged five
members of the Karabagh Liberation Organization (KLO) with hooliganism after
their arrest on Tuesday for disrupting a NATO planning conference being
held in
Baku. The group was protesting the participation of Armenian officers Colonel
Murad Isakhanian and Senior Lieutenant Aram Hovannisian.
KLO leader Akif Naghi is reportedly among those arrested after the group
slipped away from police guarding the conference site, and succeeding in
smashing a glass wall of the conference hall.
KLO deputy chairman Barat Imani told the Turan news agency its protests were
not limited to the above disruption, but that a KLO member succeeded in
entering the conference site after the NATO session was in progress, and
announced: “You are sharing this hall with Armenian officers–aggressors,
terrorists, and occupiers. The participation of representatives of
aggressor-states in a NATO event conflicts with NATO policies. No one had the
right to invite them to Baku, and if they have dignity, they must leave
Azerbaijan.”
KLO had warned authorities earlier that they would take drastic measures if
the Armenian officers were allowed to attend the meeting to discuss the
NATO-led military exercise to be held in Azerbaijan this September.
Azerbaijan’s foreign affairs ministry meanwhile dismissed a statement by
parliamentary speaker Murtuz Aleskerov, that the Armenian officers had arrived
in Baku secretly.
A statement by foreign ministry said the arrival of Armenian officers had
been
officially announced by deputy foreign minister Araz Azimov.
3. Armenia Won’t Abandon Cooperation with NATO
YEREVAN (AFP/Armenpress)–Responding to whether Tuesday’s attack by the
Karabagh Liberation Organization, in protest of Armenia’s participation at a
NATO planning conference Baku, affects Armenia’s participation in upcoming
NATO
events, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hamlet Gasparian said that
though the act justly caused concern, Armenia will participate in the June 28
NATO summit in Istanbul.
Gasparian stressed the incident was the logical consequence of the Azeri
leadership’s position and policy [on Armenians], that affects all facets of
Azeri society and hinders Armenian-Azeri dialogue.
“Despite these obstacles, Armenia is resolute to continue its cooperation
with
NATO and participate in NATO-organized joint military exercises and other
events–including the Istanbul Summit.”
Meanwhile, Turkey is on high alert to ward off any threat to next week’s NATO
summit in the country’s biggest city that has long been a playground for
Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants, far-left guerrillas, and armed Kurdish
rebels.
Massive security measures are in place for the June 28-29 summit and Turkish
authorities say they have received no serious threat of a terrorist attack
against the meeting which will be attended by US President George W. Bush and
other Western leaders.
There have been a number of small bomb attacks in Istanbul in recent weeks,
and other cities, similar to those carried out in the past by left-wing
militants.
In the run-up to the NATO summit, Turkish security forces have detained
dozens
in security sweeps against several outlawed groups.
4. European Court Condemns Turkey
(VOA NEWS)The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Turkey for its
treatment of two men detained in 1995 for their alleged ties to a Kurdish
rebel
group. The court announced its decision in the case of Abdulrezzak Aydin and
Abdullah Yunus on Tuesday.
Doctors found the two men were physically abused while in Turkish police
custody after a police raid against the Kurdistan Workers Party.
The European court ruled that Turkey had failed to fulfill its obligation to
protect individuals while in the custody of police officers. It awarded
each of
the men approximately 27,000 dollars for damages and legal fees.
5. Azeri Sniper Kills Armenian Soldier
YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–A forty-seven-year-old Colonel from Armenia’s armed
forces Radik Avetissian was shot and killed by sniper fire in Armenia’s
northeastern Tavush region that borders the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Breaches of the cease-fire agreement are registered periodically in the area,
which is a contact line between Armenian and Azeri armed forces. An escalation
of tensions on the border was discussed at the recent Prague meeting between
the foreign ministers of the two countries.
6. Council of Europe Ends Monitoring of Turkey
STRASBOURG (ARMENPRESS)The Parliamentary Assembly decided on June 22 to end
the
monitoring of Turkey, declaring that the country had “achieved more reform
in a
little over two years than in the previous decade,” and had clearly
demonstrated its commitment and ability to fulfill its statutory
obligations as
a member state of the Council of Europe.
However, the Assembly resolved to continue “post-monitoring dialogue” with
the
authorities on a twelve-point list of outstanding issues. In a resolution
adopted by 141 votes to 8, the parliamentarians welcomed the adoption of
important changes to the Constitution in October 2001 and May 2004, as well as
abolition of the death penalty, “zero tolerance” towards torture and impunity,
the lifting of many restrictions on freedom of expression, association and
religion, the abolition of the state security courts, and the granting of
certain cultural rights to Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin.
Presenting the report, co-rapporteur Mady Delvaux-Stehres said, “This
decision
is a mark of our trust in the Turkish authorities that they will continue to
make progress. It is also a mark of trust in Turkey itself.”
In a separate vote, the Assembly also welcomed the “significant progress”
made
by Turkey in implementing decisions of the European Court of Human Rights,
including payment in the Loizidou case, but cautioned that some of the cases
outstanding were still not settled or only partly so. In its resolution, the
Assembly urged Turkey to take eight further steps to help prevent fresh
violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.
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