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04/20/2006
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1) US Envoy Steven Mann Meets with Armenian Leaders
2) ARF Bureau Member Says Recognition of Karabagh Should Be on Agenda
3) Armenian Church in Baku May Be Converted to Library
4) Turkey’s Definition of ‘Terror’ Not in Line with European Council

1) US Envoy Steven Mann Meets with Armenian Leaders

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)Steven Mann, Washington’s chief Karabagh negotiator, met with
Armenian leaders Thursday to discuss the Karabagh peace process on yet another
visit to Yerevan.
During their meeting, Mann and Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
discussed “prospects for continuing negotiations” aimed at resolving the
Karabagh conflict. Mann also met President Robert Kocharian later in the day.
Mann will be in Baku on Friday to meet with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev
about
the latter’s upcoming visit to Washington during which he will be received by
President George W. Bush.
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, including Mann, have said that the flurry of
diplomatic activity is aimed at arranging another meeting between the
presidents of the two South Caucasus nations. French co-chair Bernard Fassier
said they hope that Aliyev and Kocharian will meet in June or July at the
latest.
The planned Aliyev-Kocharian meeting may take place ahead of the Group of
Eight summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg scheduled for July. The
United States, France, and Russia, which is chairing G8 for the first time
this
year, are all members of the group of rich nations.
US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said late Wednesday that Washington
wants the conflicts in Karabagh and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union to be
included on the summit agenda. “On the agenda we suggested today, for the
first
time, should be these…issues pertaining to conflicts very close to Russia’s
borders,” Burns told a news briefing during a visit to Moscow.
The formal G8 agenda proposed by Russia does not include a specific
mention of
the ex-Soviet conflicts.

2) ARF Bureau Member Says Recognition of Karabagh Should Be on Agenda

YEREVAN (Combined Sources) – Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau
member and Parliament Vice Speaker Vahan Hovannisian spoke Thursday about the
Karabagh conflict, Armenia-Russia relations, and domestic political
developments.
Speaking about Yerevan’s position on the Karabagh conflict settlement,
Hovannisian said that Yerevan is not going to make more concessions other than
those already spelled out for years.
“The statements Armenia makes to succeed in talks and show the country in a
better light should not be confused with the final goal,” Hovannisian said.
“If
Azerbaijan admits even once it recognizes the self-determination right of
Nagorno Karabagh, it would be hard for it to take its words back later.”
“Today, the negotiations with Azerbaijan should not be the first issue on the
agenda. Instead, the first item on the agenda should be the recognition of
Karabagh–in any form–by the international community. This would make
Azerbaijan go for more compromise.”
He added that presently not only the ARF but also state officials realize
this.
Referring to the latest gas deals with Russia, Hovannisian said that the
political side of the deal was “really very obnoxious,” but in terms of
economics, the deal was the best solution currently possible.
Speaking of the prospects of the political developments and the possible
outcome of the parliamentary election due next year, Hovannisian said he was
sure the ARF will be represented in Parliament.
He predicted that next year’s parliamentary election in Armenia will be
“unusually tense,” because they will take place less than a year before the
next presidential election.
Those that are keen to succeed President Robert Kocharian in 2008 will spare
no effort to win the 2007 vote, he said, adding that the ARF will likely field
its own presidential candidate.
He warned that Armenia may suffer a setback in terms of its international
image if these elections are not deemed democratic.
Therefore, he said, the president, the parliament, and the government must
guarantee free and fair elections.
Hovannisian said his party stands prepared to fight against every form of
election fraud. He said law-enforcers must make it clear that those who to try
to rig the polls will not be forgiven.

3) Armenian Church in Baku May Be Converted to Library

BAKU (Armenpress)The Azeri culture and tourism ministry is intending to turn
Baku’s Armenian Church into a library.
“I think that turning the Armenian Church in Baku into a library is
purposeful,” APA news agency cited the minister Abulfaz Garaev as saying.
According to Garaev, converting the church into a library would be the right
thing to do, as there are not that many Christians in Azerbaijan.

4) Turkey’s Definition of ‘Terror’ Not in Line with European Council

ANKARA (Zaman/BIA)–The definition of “terror” in Turkey’s Counter-terrorism
Act (CTA) was not modified by its Cabinet, even though Turkish Justice
Minister
Cemil Cicek had said earlier said that it would be modified in line with the
European Union Council decision.
The CTA aims to boost the powers of the country’s security forces in
combating
terrorism.
Cicek said the condition of using “force and violence” was preserved in the
draft that has been sent to Parliament.
“In fact, it is impossible to commit terror crimes in many aspects without
using force and violence. This point should be kept in mind when such acts are
evaluated,” said the minister.
According to the information obtained, individuals chanting slogans in favor
of terror organizations and carry their symbols can be sentenced to 1-3 years
in prison.
Cicek held a press conference after the cabinet meeting to inform that the
CTA
does not target ordinary citizens.
The Minister explained the reason why the definition was not modified as
follows: “The EU Council decision is only a suggestion. Besides, not everybody
agrees on the EU’s terror definition. We believe our definition contains all
the necessary elements.”
Expectations that the CTA will bring an end to terror are wrong, he warned.
Human rights activists are challenging the Anti-terror bill, which they
say is
“incompatible with human rights” and intends to revert to past suppression
laws. They say the law restricts democratic rights in the country and punishes
those who attempt to enjoy their rights in order to pursue their goals.
Ayhan Bilgen, the Deputy Chairman of the Association for Human Rights and
Solidarity with the Oppressed, said that he was seriously concerned about
escalating violence in Turkey if the draft was passed in its present form by
Parliament.
“To adopt violence against violence serves no purpose but to strengthen
violence” he said. “This is the kind of intervention that will stimulate the
violence stemming from the Kurdish problem instead of focusing on the Kurdish
issue and its reasons.”
Bilgen said the mentality behind the bill was “to punish activities that
could
be perceived as supporting armed groups in order to eradicate those groups,
thus preventing that support.”
Bilgen added that both in the articles of the bill and its reasoning, freedom
of expression, democratic struggle, and human rights activists were being held
responsible and expected to pay for the failure of the security forces and
intelligence organizations in conducting their duties.

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