ArmenPress
July 27 2004

ARMENIAN MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES DENY AZERI NEWSPAPER REPORT

Laura Baghdasarian, the head of Region organization of
investigative journalists, has denied today a report by a Baku-based
Russian language daily Zerkalo which claimed that twenty-three
Armenian NGOs have recognized the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan
and Georgia and have therefore been elected members of the
Confederation of Nongovernmental Organizations of the Caucasus
(CNGOC). The Azeri daily quoted the chairman of the board of the
CNGOC, Sahriyar Rasulov, as saying that the confederation was set up
two years ago and comprises 272 NGOs, of which 203 are Azerbaijani,
23 Armenian and the rest Georgian.
Rasulov added that the confederation could be joined by
organizations which recognize and respect the territorial integrity
of regional states on the basis of international legal norms. Of many
Armenian NGOs which applied for membership of the organization, he
said 23 accepted these conditions and were therefore admitted to the
CNGOC, but he did not reveal the names of Armenian non-governmental
organizations.
According to Laura Baghdasarian, some Armenian organizations do
cooperate with counterparts from Azerbaijan, including the Region
organization. She said the information by Zerkalo was not confirmed
by Ahvlat Amashov, the head of the union of Azeri investigative
journalists, who said he knew nothing about CNGOC. The existence of
such an organization was denied also by the Caucasian Media institute
in Yerevan.