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08/04/2004
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1) Montana’s Burns Becomes 40th Senate Supporter of Human Rights Measure
2) Press Undermined in Azerbaijan, Reports Human Rights Watch
3) Russian Lawmaker under Fire in Conflict Zone
4) Azeri Official Declares Armenia Will be Azerbaijan’s in Coming Decades
1) Montana’s Burns Becomes 40th Senate Supporter of Human Rights Measure
WASHINGTON, DC–Montana Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) agreed this week to
cosponsor the Genocide Resolution, S.Res.164, bringing the number of US
Senators supporting this human rights measure to forty, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA).
“I am proud to join with 39 of my Senate colleagues in support of S.Res.164,”
said Senator Burns in a statement to the ANCA. “This legislation stresses the
importance of remembering and learning the lessons of past crimes against
humanity, including the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, and the Cambodian
and
Rwandan genocides, in an effort to stop future atrocities. Silence in the face
of genocide only encourages those who would commit such atrocities in the
future–a legacy which we cannot afford to pass on to our children.”
“Armenian Americans, in Montana and across the United States, join in
thanking
Senator Burns for his principled stand in defense of the fundamental right of
all people to live free from the terrors of genocide,” said ANCA-Western
Region
Executive Director Ardashes Kassakhian, who traveled to Montana in late
July to
meet with members of the state’s Congressional delegation, along with local
community activist Yedvart Tchakerian. “We have been very encouraged, in
recent
months, by the increasing effectiveness of our grassroots outreach in the
Northern Plain states, with Senators from Montana and both North and South
Dakota supporting the Genocide Resolution, and the governors of Idaho,
Nebraska, and Montana issuing proclamations commemorating the Armenian
Genocide.”
The Genocide Resolution marks the 15th anniversary of the US
implementation of
the Genocide Convention and reaffirms the commitment of the American people to
this landmark treaty. It specifically cites the importance of applying the
lessons of past genocides in order to make the world safe from future
genocides. Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ) introduced this
measure in June of last year. Its companion measure in the US House,
H.Res.193,
led by Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI), was adopted unanimously by the House Judiciary Committee
last May and currently has 111 cosponsors. On July 15th, the US House
passed an
amendment, authored by Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), which prohibited the
government of Turkey from using US foreign aid dollars to lobby against the
Genocide Resolution.
Support for the Genocide Resolution has been widespread outside of
Congress as
well, with a diverse coalition of over 100 ethnic, religious, civil and human
rights organizations calling for its passage, including American Values,
National Organization of Women, Sons of Italy, NAACP, Union of Orthodox
Rabbis,
and the National Council of La Raza.
For information about Senator Burns, who serves on the powerful Senate
Appropriations Committee, visit:
<;
2) Press Undermined in Azerbaijan, Reports Human Rights Watch
NEW YORK (HRW)-Azerbaijan’s government should act now to stop the
deterioration
of press freedom underway since the October presidential elections, Human
Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today. Azeri authorities have
failed to prosecute police responsible for attacks on journalists, imposed
crippling damages in civil defamation suits, and manipulated resources to
pressure independent or opposition media outlets.
“The political crackdown that followed last year’s election has had a
lasting,
harmful effect on press freedom in Azerbaijan, said Rachel Denber, acting
executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia division.
“The government can reverse this by finally acknowledging that police have
used
excessive force against journalists covering demonstrations, and also by
capping the crippling damages often levied in defamation suits.”
Azerbaijan’s October presidential election, which the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe called “fraudulent,” led to massive street
demonstrations and excessive police violence to quell them. In the
aftermath of
the violence, the government then unleashed a crackdown against the political
opposition and the independent and opposition media.
Rapporteurs from the Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe’s
Parliamentary Assembly are scheduled to arrive in Azerbaijan today to examine
Azerbaijan’s compliance with its commitments and obligations to the Council of
Europe.
The 18-page briefing paper, based on interviews in Azerbaijan with
journalists, editors, government officials and media rights groups, details
how
the security forces attacked journalists during the demonstrations. While
not a
single security agent was held responsible, the authorities filed charges
against an opposition activist who allegedly assaulted a pro-government
reporter during a demonstration. A journalist for an independent wire service
who was beaten by police at one of the demonstrations was subpoenaed to
testify
in court, but as a witness for the prosecution against opposition members
accused of the post-election violence. His testimony about police severely
beating him did not lead to any action against those responsible.
“Impunity for police violence against journalists gives police a green light
to use violence again,” said Denber.
Among those currently on trial for organizing the street demonstrations is
Rauf Arifoglu, editor-in-chief of a leading opposition newspaper, Yeni
Musavat.
Human Rights Watch is calling for his immediate release pending the outcome of
his trial.
The Azeri government abolished pre-publication censorship in 1998, but has
since then imposed considerable informal restrictions on the media, which have
sharpened since last year’s election. Government officials or those closely
connected to the government are invariably the plaintiffs in civil defamation
suits against independent or opposition media. Prohibitive fines imposed on
these outlets have forced them to suspend publication, suggesting that the
courts aimed primarily to cripple or close them.
Television media is overwhelmingly pro-government. The Human Rights Watch
briefing paper describes how the government informally manipulates private
broadcast media, newspaper-distribution networks and printing presses, and
blocks access to information for journalists working for the independent
press.
“Taken together, these are methods of control and intimidation, aimed at
setting unreasonable restrictions on media content without resorting to formal
censorship,” said Denber.
Since the election, the Azeri government has taken some measures to rectify
abuses against journalists. On a joint initiative with the Press Council, a
nongovernmental umbrella group, it established a permanent commission to
prevent and resolve conflict between media representatives and the
authorities.
“The establishment of the permanent council is a welcome step, but it falls
far
short of what’s needed to promote a free and independent media in Azerbaijan,”
said Denber.
Human Rights Watch called on the Azerbaijan’s government to ensure the
founding of a genuinely independent public television station, abolish
criminal
libel, introduce caps on civil libel suits and prosecute those responsible for
attacks on journalists.
The briefing paper, Azerbaijan: Media, the Presidential Elections and the
Aftermath, can be found at
3) Russian Lawmaker under Fire in Conflict Zone
(Civil Georgia/Itar Tass)–Georgian Deputy Security Minister Gigi Ugulava
refuted on August 4, reports that Georgian troops fired on Andrei Kokoshin,
who
chairs the Russian Duma’s Committee for CIS affairs.
According to the spokesman for South Ossetia Special Functions Ministry, the
incident took place in the South Ossetian conflict area, near the village of
Sarabuk. Pliyev said the car was attacked by Georgia.
“According to the information available to us, the passengers in the
car–Andrei Kokoshin and the co-chairmen of the Joint Control Commissions are
alive,” he stated.
After the car came under fire, Georgian interior troops stationed in conflict
zone heavily shelled Sarabuk. The village was fired on from a detour road.
There have been no reports of civilian casualties, the spokesman said.
Georgia refuted the accounts saying that the Ossetian side opened fire “in
the
direction of the Georgian peacekeepers, and the Georgian side responded to
it,”
Ugulava told a press briefing. “This will always happen in case of an attack.”
“I declare with full responsibility, this was a provocation masterminded by
the Ossetian side,” Ugulava said, adding that had Georgia been notified of
Kokoshin’s visit to the breakaway region, it would have ensured his security.
Meanwhile Interfax reported that the Georgian navy is ready to obey President
Mikheil Saakashvili’s order to prevent any vessel–except those on
humanitarian
missions–from entering territorial waters near the self- proclaimed republic
of Abkhazia, Koba Bochorishvili, commander of the Poti marine division of the
Georgian coast guard service, said on Wednesday.
“We did receive the president’s order that vessels that have violated the
border should be stopped in territorial waters near the Abkhaz coasts and that
fire should be opened on them if they disobey orders,” Bochorishvili said.
This
warning also applies to passenger boats that could travel from Sochi to
Sukhumi, he said.
“Fire should be opened on all vessels that enter the Sukhumi port without the
Georgian authorities’ agreement. They should be sunk,” the Georgian president
said at a news conference on Tuesday.
The Russian Foreign Minister reacted sharply on Wednesday in a statement that
said any attempts to inflict damage or infringe the lives of Russian citizens
“will be adequately rebuffed.”
“Official Tbilisi has taken an unprecedented step,” the ministry stated.
“This
warning is addressed also to Russian tourists who make excursion trips by sea
from Sochi to Novy Afon and Sukhumi.”
4) Azeri Official Declares Armenia Will be Azerbaijan’s in Coming Decades
BAKU (RFE/RL)–Armenia will cease to exist as an independent state and its
territory will be incorporated into Azerbaijan over the next three decades, a
senior Azerbaijani military official was quoted as saying, taking
anti-Armenian
rhetoric in Baku to new heights.
“Within the next 25-years there will exist no state of Armenia in the South
Caucasus,” Colonel Ramiz Melikov, the chief spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Defense
Ministry, said, according to the Baku daily “Zerkalo.” “Those people have done
so many nasty things to their neighbors that they have no right to live in
this
region.”
“Modern Armenia is built on historical Azerbaijani lands,” he added. “I think
that in 25-30 years’ times its territory will again come under Azerbaijan’s
jurisdiction.”
Melikov was quoted in an extensive “Zerkalo” article that called on the
Azerbaijani government to promptly restart the war with the Armenians and win
back Mountainous Karabagh. The Azeri leadership regularly threatens to do just
that, complaining about the international community’s reluctance to end
Armenian control of the disputed region. The most recent such threat came from
President Ilham Aliyev last week.
“Zerkalo” said Azeri military officials believe that their troops are
prepared
for renewed hostilities and that “the upcoming war will not be long-lasting.”
“Today the personnel of the Azerbaijani armed forces is not the one that
existed ten years ago,” Melikov said. “We substantially exceed Armenia with
the
size of the population and the number of soldiers. Soon the entire world will
recognize Armenia as an aggressor country. That is why Armenia is now on the
brink of defeat.”
Armenia has repeatedly dismissed such statements from Baku, saying that
Azerbaijan would have long resumed the war without a warning had it been
confident of victory. But its reaction to Aliyev’s latest threats was
unusually
sharp, with the Armenian Foreign Ministry warning Azerbaijan of “disastrous
consequences.”
The armed forces of Mountainous Karabagh Republic, on Tuesday, began a
ten-day
military exercise which officials say will test their combat-readiness during
“defensive and counter-offensive operations.” The war games followed a call-up
of army reservists and will involve the use of live ammunition.
Just last week “Zerkalo” quoted an unnamed Western diplomat in Baku as saying
that the Azeri society and army are not prepared for war and that the West
does
not take its government’s threats seriously.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress