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11/02/2004
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1) Karabagh, Russia, Minsk Group Say UN Discussion of Conflict Bad Idea
2) South Caucasus Parliament Speakers Meeting in Paris
3) Burjanadze Holds Talks with Top Russians
4) Abkhazia Presidential Candidates in Moscow
5) Second Social Services Complex Opens in Armenia
6) Source Reveals Russian Minister Discussed Railway Link via Abkhazia
7) Turkish Conference on Minority Rights’ Ends in Chaos
8) New Community Center Opens in Gyumri

1) Karabagh, Russia, Minsk Group Say UN Discussion of Conflict Bad Idea

STEPANAKERT (Interfax/Itar-Tass)–The foreign ministries of both Mountainous
Karabagh Republic and Russia, as well as the OSCE Minsk Group (the group
spearheads the OSCE effort to find a political solution to this conflict), all
spoke out against including the Karabagh conflict on the UN General Assembly’s
agenda. The move, initiated by Azerbaijan, was backed by the UN General
Committee which voted to recommend the inclusion of the issue on the agenda of
the assembly’s ongoing session.
“The Azeri-initiated UN discussions on the territories controlled by
Mountainous Karabagh has yet again shown Azerbaijan’s disinclination to settle
the entire range of problems between Azerbaijan and Mountainous Karabagh,” MKR
Deputy Foreign Minister Masis Mailian told Interfax.
Azerbaijan alleges that the territory is used for drug manufacturing and
terrorist training.
“This step by Baku is purely propagandistic in its nature, which in no way
facilitates the creation of a favorable atmosphere–essential for reaching a
comprehensive solution to the Karabagh problem,” Mailian said.
Karabagh has repeatedly invited Azeri authorities to start implementing
confidence building measures between the conflicting parties so as to resume
full-scale negotiations, which are “the most efficient method for settling the
conflict,” Mailian said.
The Russian cochairman of the OSCE Minsk Yury Merzlyakov said the action
could
harm efforts to bring about a just and lasting settlement
Interviewed by Azerbaijan’s ATV television, Merzlyakov said the UN General
Assembly’s session is not the proper forum to discuss the matter.
Merzlyakov iterated the Minsk Group’s statement on the move, that says,
“Today, when we are all waiting for the sides to resume talks, there was no
necessity to raise the issue.”
In its statement released on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the
suggestion to debate a Karabagh settlement at the UN General Assembly,
parallel
with OSCE efforts, “can hardly have a beneficial effect on the negotiating
process.”
Russia, along with France and the US who represent the countries that make-up
OCSE Minsk Group, abstained from the UN vote.
“The group’s format permits it to deal with any problems related to the
conflict and to ensuring peace,” the statement continued.

2) South Caucasus Parliament Speakers Meeting in Paris

PARIS (Armenpress)–At the initiation of French Senate Chairman Christian
Poncelet, a meeting of Armenian, Azeri, and Georgian parliamentary leaders
will
take place in Paris on November 4. Armenian National Assembly chairman Arthur
Baghdasarian arrived in Paris on Monday for a four-day visit, while his
Georgian and Azeri counterparts, Nino Burjanadze and Murtuz Aleskerov, are
scheduled to arrive on November 3.
According to the Armenian embassy in France, the meeting’s agenda includes
talks on developing tourism and preservation of cultural heritage. No reports
were made about whether the Karabagh conflict will be discussed. The three
parliament speakers and Poncelet will also meet with UNESCO’s Director
General.

3) Burjanadze Holds Talks with Top Russians

MOSCOW (RBC/Civil Georgia)–The Chair of Georgian Parliament Nino Burjanadze,
held separate meetings in Moscow on Monday with Secretary of the Russian
Security Council Igor Ivanov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Along with the bilateral ties, resolution of the South Ossetian and Abkhazian
conflicts were discussed during talks between Burjanadze and Lavrov. In her
talks with Ivanov, Burjanadze expressed readiness to develop “constructive
dialogue” between the two countries, reported the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“There are particular agreements; however, the difficulties in our relations
still exist. I hope that further relations between our countries will proceed
normally,” Burjanadze told reporters, but stressed that double standards are
applied to Georgia, in pointing to Russia’s struggle with separatists in
Chechnya and its backing of Abkhaz and South Ossetian authorities.

4) Abkhazia Presidential Candidates in Moscow

MOSCOW (Itar-Tass)–Abkhazian presidential candidates Sergei Bagapsh and Raul
Khadzhimba are in Moscow, a source in the Moscow representative office of
Abkhazia told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. The source did not announce, however,
which
Russian leaders the two men are scheduled to meet.
Khadzhimba, who was contacted by phone, denied any comment, saying he was too
busy. The standoff between Khadzhimba and Bagapsh has sparked a political
crisis in the self-proclaimed republic.
The current situation erupted after the unresolved October 3 presidential
elections. The atmosphere was further clouded after the Supreme Court passed
down two conflicting decisions about the election results. The first validated
the Central Election Commission’s results, which named Bagapsh the winner,
while the second–released several hours later–invalidated the entire
election
and called for new elections.
A decree of incumbent President Vladislav Ardzinba followed, ordering new
elections on the grounds that the “Supreme Court of the Republic of Abkhazia
has not passed a decision at a time stipulated by the Constitution on
complaints addressed to it and on defense of constitutional rights of citizens
and prevention of threats to the constitutional order of Abkhazia.”
Bagapsh stated that he did not intend to obey Ardzinba’s order. “At present,
the sole legal document is the decision of the Supreme Court rendering the
elections in Abkhazia to be valid, and I have been elected president of the
republic,” he said in an interview with Itar-Tass.
Supporters of Khadzhimba blocked the entrance to Abkhazian parliament
building
on Monday, when he and Bagapsh arrived in Moscow. Khadzhimba’s chief
campaigner
Vasily Avidzba said the protesters prevented parliamentarians from entering
the
building because they “were going to pass a resolution on annulment of the
order of President Vladislav Ardzinba on the repeated elections of the head of
the republic and declare a vote of no-confidence in the president.”

5) Second Social Services Complex Opens in Armenia

YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–A new social service center opened in the Armenian city
of Masis on November 2, to launch an experimental USAID program.
The center, “One Stop Social Services,” will house several local NGOs
including, the Territorial Agency of Social Services, Territorial Center of
Employment, Territorial Office of State Fund of Social Insurance, and the
Commission of Medical-Social Expert Examination.
Each NGO will take advantage of a networked computer system that will allow
them to access larger databases. The technologically advanced system will
centralize information and eliminate the need for multiple document
submissions
by those applying for services.
Minister of Labor and Social Issues Aghvan Vardanian, announced that the
specific database technology is being studied by Romanian, Albanian, and
Georgian specialists, who are interested in introducing similar systems in
their respective countries.
At the opening of the center, US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans expressed
hope that the new center would help alleviate the social and economic problems
residents of Masis and its neighboring towns currently face.
The town of Masis is currently home to 4,000 needy families, 1,500
unemployed,
and 3,000 pensioners and disabled persons.
“One Stop Social Services” is the second center of its kind in the republic.
The first was established in the city of Vanadzor.

6) Source Reveals Russian Minister Discussed Railway Link via Abkhazia

(RIA Novosti)–An unnamed source in the Georgian President’s administration
said that Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin, who visited Tbilisi on
November 1, agreed with Georgian officials over setting up joint government
groups to work on “technical aspects” of restoring the railway link between
Russia and Armenia via Georgia, which lies through breakaway Abkhazia.
On September 10, the railway link between Moscow and the capital of Georgia’s
breakaway Abkhazia was re-opened, triggering protests from Tbilisi, which
insists that the process should be accompanied by the return of Georgia’s
internally displaced persons to Abkhazia.
Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania told reporters after his talks with
Levitin that the issue of railway connection was discussed during the meeting,
but added that “until the normalization of the situation in Abkhazia occurs,
talks over railway restoration make no sense.”
Georgian Economy Minister Kakha Bendukidze, however, downplayed Russia’s
unilateral decision to reopen its rail link with Abkhazia.
Minister Levitin said at a news briefing after his talks with Zhvania and
Bendukidze on November 1 that the Georgian officials showed an “understanding”
towards Russia’s decision to reopen its railway link with Abkhazia. He added
that reopening of the route “should not lead to a worsening of relations”
between the two countries.
Armenia also insists on the reopening of the railway link via Abkhazia, which
will enable it to restore its railway connection with Russia. President Robert
Kocharian pressed this issue during recent talks with the Georgian leadership
during his visit to Tbilisi in late October.
On March 7, 2003, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Georgia’s ex-President
Eduard Shevardnadze signed an agreement in Sochi that envisioned
“synchronization” of the two processes–the return of the internally displaced
persons to Abkhazia’s westernmost Gali region and the resumption of the
railway
connection. The two presidents also agreed to set up two separate bilateral
government commissions to work out these issues; however, the commissions
failed to complete the task.

7) Turkish Conference on Minority Rights’ Ends in Chaos

ANKARA (AFX.COM)A debate over a report criticizing breaches of minority rights
in aspiring European Union member Turkey collapsed when members of a
government-sponsored human rights group, which authored the document, clashed
in public.
The incident is the latest in a series of rows within the Human Rights
Advisory Boarda body attached to the office of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdoganwhich highlighted widespread hostility in Turkey to advanced cultural
freedoms for the country’s Kurdish and non-Muslim communities.
Nationalist members of the board, which is comprised of government officials,
academics, and civic groups, sabotaged a news conference called to formally
release the report, which makes some controversial recommendations to the
government and excerpts of which were last week leaked to the media.
Shortly after the head of the board, Ibrahim Kaboglu, began speaking, a
nationalist unionist grabbed the papers from his hands and tore them to
pieces,
yelling: “This report is a fabrication and should be torn apart.”
Kaboglu was forced to leave the hall, stating: “We cannot even hold a news
conference. This is the state of freedom of thought in Turkey.”
The EU, which Turkey is seeking to join, has long pressed Ankara to grant
equal cultural freedoms to its sizable Kurdish minority as well as smaller,
non-Muslim communities such as Greeks, Armenians, and Jews.

8) New Community Center Opens in Gyumri

GYUMRI (Armenpress)–On November 2, a new three-building community center
complex opened in Gyumri, financed by the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Mission Armenia and Douleurs Sans Frontieres (DSF, Pain Without Borders) will
be providing social services to the local population which include refugees,
earthquake victims, and local residents. These services include various
facilities for youth and elderly persons, including a soup kitchen, a clinic
and trauma center, laundry services, library, conference room, counseling
services, as well as a Kindergarten for around 20 children.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a non-governmental, humanitarian
organization that has worked actively for more than 50 years to create a safer
and more dignified life for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs),
regardless of their race, religion, nationality, or political convictions. The
NRC’s mission is to work for the rights of refugees and IDPs, assisting with
food, shelter, and education, and offering counseling on repatriation.
In Armenia, NRC has invested more that $10 million in refugee-targeted
projects since 1995, including not only housing construction, but also
building
schools, and drinking and irrigation water pipelines. So far, NRC has provided
new homes for over 600 refugee families in Armenia.
Mission Armenia was registered in 1993, though its founding members started
their activities since 1988, assisting those who suffered from the devastating
earthquake.
The organization’s mission is to increase the quality of life for the
elderly,
refugees, and other vulnerable groups through its model of community-based
assistance.
Currently about 6,500 single older persons and 10,000 refugees residing at
250
temporary shelters benefit from Mission Armenia’s community-based
socio-healthcare and community development programs.
Douleurs Sans Frontieres has advanced the mission of helping those in pain
since 1995. Based in Europe, DSF is a non-governmental organization that has
brought educational and clinical pain treatment programs to developing
countries. Since November 2001, DSF has provided medico-psychological
assistance for mothers and children from Gyumri and some from Yerevan.

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