Author: Chaltikian Arsine

Valley Sun, CA
July 8 2004

Aviani Burglary Suspects in Jail

By Jake Armstrong

Three men suspected of burglarizing a La Cañada Flintridge jewelry
store are in jail as authorities search for a Glendale businessman
suspected of leading an alleged jewelry-store theft ring believed to
have taken millions of dollars worth of jewelry in recent months,
authorities said.

Almost a month after a May 12 burglary at La Cañada’s Aviani
Jewelers, at 2147 Foothill Blvd., detectives from the Sheriff’s and
Los Angeles Police departments tracked leads to an undisclosed
location in Van Nuys where a surveillance operation resulted in the
arrests of six men, Sheriff’s Detective Richard Lutz said. Three of
those men – Armen Tagvoryan, Arsak Grigoryan and Ashot Avoyan – are
suspected of entering through the roof of the La Cañada jewelry store
and removing a safe laden with $400,000 in jewelry. That safe was
recovered when the store’s owner, arriving for work, flagged down a
passing deputy when he noticed the safe being carted away from his
business on the back of a tow truck.

Further investigation identified 46-year-old Ara Karapetian, owner of
Mirage Clothing and Armenia Express Money Transfer in Glendale, as
the suspected leader of an alleged crime ring that has stolen $5
million in jewels from jewelry stores. The alleged ring is suspected
of burglaries at 30 stores, said Sheriff’s Capt. Tim Peters of the
Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station. The alleged theft ring,
consisting largely of Russian-Armenians, had been targeting jewelry
stores owned by Lebanese-Armenians, Lutz said.

A $2 million warrant has been issued for Karapetian’s arrest, Lutz
said. Several search warrants have been served on Karapetian’s home
and businesses, Lutz said, adding that the suspect refuses to turn
himself in.

Tagvoryan, 23, and Grigoryan, 36, are being held without bail and
were to appear in Los Angeles Municipal Court Wednesday. Avoyan, 42,
is being held without bail at North County Correctional Facility and
is to appear Monday in Los Angeles Municipal Court. All three
suspects face burglary charges.

Authorities believe the suspects entered the La Cañada store through
the roof sometime after 5:30 p.m. May 11, and allegedly stole $7,000
worth of jewelry from the store’s display cases before carting the
safe out the front door.

Had Avedis Babayan gotten tangled in traffic on his way to Aviani
Jewelers, he might not have seen the tow truck leaving the jewelry
store’s parking lot with his safe.

In an interview Tuesday, Babayan said he recognized a logo painted on
the side of the safe and began to follow the tow truck, which was
pulling away from the jewelry store. Babayan said he stopped his car
in front of the tow truck, got out of his car and flagged down a
passing deputy.

“That was it,” he said. “The whole sheriff’s department was on top of
it. That makes me feel good.”

Babayan said he has lost $20,000 in sales since the burglary, but is
relieved by the arrests of the suspects. He commended the
investigators’ efforts.

“It is a relief. The damage has stopped,” he said. “Recovery is
secondary.”

Raleigh Biblical Recorder, NC
July 7 2004

Seminary grows church planters
By Tony W. Cartledge
BR Editor

ASHTARAK, Armenia – The Theological Seminary of Armenia stands on a
high ridge above the village of Ashtarak, about 20 minutes from the
capitol city of Yerevan. From the windows of its dining room in the
dormitory building, one can look above the roofs of nearby apartment
buildings to gaze upon snow-capped Mount Aragats, more than 14,000
feet tall. From a window in the chapel of the classroom building, one
can see the biblical Mountains of Ararat rising beyond a scattered
forest of power lines.

The view, like the seminary itself, is inspiring. The school’s first
classes were held in 1998, in facilities at Central Baptist Church in
Yerevan. On June 26, the seminary graduated its second class of
pastors.

Seminary students pose outside the dormitory as they look toward
graduation. Rector Asatur Nahapetyan and faculty member Gagik
Tarrerdyan are front and center.
The seminary does not accept a new class of students each year, as in
American schools. Rather, a single class is recruited and trained for
three years, building close relationships among the students and
simplifying the class schedule. After graduation, another class
begins its course of study.

The degree programs are more professional than academic. Most
students have a high school education, though some have more, and
some less.
The three-year track for pastors typically includes about 20
students. A two-year Christian Education program of about 30 students
trains additional workers for the churches.

Armenian culture expects men to serve in the role of pastor,
according to Asatur Nahapetyan, who is rector (equivalent to
“president” in America) of the school. The Christian Education
program, however, is predominantly composed of female students, and
Nahapetyan acknowledges that the churches depend heavily on the
contributions and informal leadership of women.
Women, in fact, make up at least 80 percent of the membership in most
Armenian churches. A large percentage of those women are elderly or
unemployed, contributing to the difficulty of churches becoming
self-sufficient.

The seminary budget of just over $50,000 annually is funded almost
entirely by donations. Most students attend on scholarship, and also
receive funds to facilitate travel to their church assignments on the
weekends. Although Armenia is no larger than the state of Maryland,
poor road conditions require some students to ride public buses for
eight hours or more to reach their church field.
Seminary facilities consist of two primary buildings. A three-story
academic building contains classrooms, offices and a small chapel. It
was constructed in 2000 with funds raised by a former International
Mission Board missionary. In 2002, N.C. Baptist men constructed a
companion building to provide dormitory rooms and kitchen/dining
facilities.

Baku Sun
July 2, 2004

View of the nation’s biggest problem

Zulfugar Agayev (Sun Correspondent)

Dr. Andrew C. Hess shares his insight
into the Nagorno (Daghlig)-Karabakh conflict.
(Sun photo by Jeyhun Abdulla)font>

Andrew C. Hess, a professor of diplomacy at The Fletcher School, – a
professional school for graduate students at Tufts University in the
United States, – is in Baku. What may seem particularly interesting to
both the Azerbaijani and as well as the expatriates readers is that
Professor Hess has taught the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Vardan Oskanian.

Baku Sun’s Zulfugar Agayev spoke with Dr. Hess and asked him to share
his views on Azerbaijan’s most troubling problem, the Nagorno
(DaghLig)-Karabakh conflict.

Question: How would you predict the future of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict? How long can this conflict over Nagorno (Daghlig)-Karabakh
and the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories last?

Answer: It’s difficult to predict the length of the Armenian occupation
of Azeri territories and also of the dispute over Nagorno
(Daghlig)-Karabakh. Because it is not just a local problem. It is
rather a regional and international affair.

Neither the U.S. nor Russia wants, on the international level, further
instability in the center of Eurasia. There is already enough trouble
in Afghanistan and Iraq that is occupying the full abilities of the
United States.

And on the Russian side, the continuing conflict in Chechnya drains
Russia’s resources at a time when it needs to improve its economic
situation.

There is no interest in keeping the situation unstable in this region.
So, I think that the great powers would like to have some kind of
solution and that is reinforced by an increasing need of Europe for the
oil and gas of this region.

Diplomats are looking at this issue and trying constantly to solve it.
It is a step-by-step affair. So, I would say that we will not see a
quick solution to this conflict.

It will be a matter of conferences and resistance to any flare-up that
would make the conflict more violent.

As Europe becomes more and more dependent on oil and gas here, tensions
probably will go down.

Question: Recently, Armenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vardan
Oskanian, stated that Azerbaijan will not be able to decide
single-handedly to resume the war to fight back the occupied
territories after the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
is over. What would you say on that?

Answer: I think what he means is that once the oil starts flowing, that
will connect Azerbaijan not only with the European economy, but also
with the world economy. The U.S. and European countries would not like
to see any kind of dramatic decision by Azerbaijan that could affect
the world economy.

So, as a regional, I mean, national state connected to the world
economy, Azerbaijan would have to consider what the reaction of the
world would be.

I think there is truth in what Osanian has said. But correspondingly,
of course. If Armenia takes actions, the same will work.

Question: If the great powers are interested in seeing a stable
Caucasus, as you have said, then why do they not take concrete measure
to resolve the conflicts here?

Answer: The first issue is that there are a lot of other issues, like
the Middle East problem, that is diverting attention of the great
powers.

The second factor is that the oil situation in the world right now is
not that difficult. The price of oil has started to turn down. So,
there is no crisis in terms of oil economics.

Question: What kind of role can Russia have in the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict?

Answer: The judgement of many observers is that Russia could play what
we call a spoiler role in settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Russia has military units in Armenia. The foreign affairs relationship
and foreign policy of Russia is close to Armenia.

So, all of this means that Russia has an ability to exert some leverage
on the Armenian affairs.

But again, it seems to me that… Russia is preoccupied with the
Chechen problem and with the whole question about what to do with its
southern frontier.

Political leadership of Russia is being very careful about not getting
itself over extended in this area. But it is being pushed by internal
politics in Russia.

Question: Is the continuation of the conflict and the occupation of
Azerbaijan’s territories in the interests of Armenia?

Answer: I don’t think so. I have told this straightly to Vardan and the
leaders of the Armenian community as well.

The reason is that the linkages between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Europe
and development of a new economy in this region is a result of oil. And
other considerations are going to advance the economic, commercial and
political strength of Azerbaijan rapidly as you can see here.

If you compare activities in Baku with those in Yerevan, it is a world
of difference.

So, the increasing economic and political strength of Azerbaijan is
going to place it in a position where it can bargain more effectively
with everybody, the Russians, Americans, Europeans and others.

It would produce more power for Azerbaijan in negotiations directed to
solving the Karabakh problem.

And it will isolate Armenia and put it in a situation where major
support will come only from external Diaspora, which is not that big
and which is not a state.

Russia has so many issues on its southern frontier that it cannot let
its foreign policy be determined only with Armenian policies.

Question: We know that Vardan Oskanian has been a student of yours. By
the way, how successful of a student was he?

Answer: Yes, he was my student in mid the 1980s. He was a very good
student. I had no idea that he would become a foreign minister of
Armenia.

Azer News, Azerbaijan
July 1 2004

Armenia blames Azerbaijan for ceasefire breach

Armenian Defense Minister Serj Sarkisian has expressed his position
on the ceasefire breach on the Armenian-Azerbaijani frontier.

He said the situation on the contact line between Armenian Tavus
region’s Berkaber village and Azerbaijan’s Gazakh region’s Mazam
village is different from that on the rest of the frontline. However,
Sarkisian said Armenian military units allegedly did not launch any
attacks and breached the ceasefire only in retaliation to Azerbaijani
strikes.

He added that two Armenian military men died as a result of the
skirmish. Two Azerbaijani officers were killed and two civilians (a
child and a woman) injured as a result of ceasefire breaches by
Armenia in June.

San Francisco Chronicle
June 30 2004

A Wise twist on Armenian family recipes

Rene Caparros, Special to The Chronicle

Bay Area chef/author and Chez Panisse alumna Victoria Wise, who has
written on a wide range of culinary subjects from tortillas to
charcuterie, goes to her own cultural heritage in her latest, “The
Armenian Table: More Than 150 Treasured Recipes That Bring Together
Ancient Flavors and 21st Century Styles.” This is as much a history
book as it is a cookbook, starting with a brief account of why
Armenians left their homeland and settled in the United States.

Wise’s grandparents were among this group, settling in California’s
Central Valley. She honors them and the rest of her large family by
including pictures of them throughout this book.

Building on her professional expertise and knowledge of the cuisines
of many countries, it is no surprise that Wise adds new flair to the
traditional family recipes, while preserving their essential nature.
A good example is her Armenian Moussaka With Lamb or Beef, Potato &
Yogurt Bechamel. Traditionally, moussaka is made with eggplant.
However, Wise opted for sliced potatoes instead. The bechamel that
tops the moussaka is also modernized, with yogurt used instead of
milk. The final product is more starchy and hearty than a traditional
moussaka, yet just as delicious.

“The Armenian Table” is well-organized, easy to use and pleasant to
read. Wise shares recipes and introduces us to her family, all with
her book as our passport..

“The Armenian Table,” by Victoria Jenanyan Wise (St. Martin’s Press;
306 pages; $29.95).

————————————————————————
Yogurt Bechamel

INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups yogurt, stirred to smooth

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

INSTRUCTIONS:
To cook in the microwave: Place the butter in a large bowl and
microwave uncovered on high for 2 minutes, until foaming. Remove and
whisk in the flour. Return to the microwave and cook uncovered on
high until boiling, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove, whisk in the yogurt, and
microwave uncovered on high for 2 minutes. Remove again, whisk to
smooth, and continue microwaving uncovered on high until thickened,
about 1 minute. Stir in the salt and nutmeg.

To cook on the stove top: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over
medium-high heat until foaming. Whisk in the flour, decrease the heat
to medium, and continue whisking until the mixture begins to turn
golden, about 2 minutes. Add the yogurt and salt, whisk to smooth,
and cook, stirring frequently, until thickened and creamy, 12 to 15
minutes more. Stir in the salt and nutmeg.

Whether cooked in the microwave or on the stove top, the bechamel may
be used right away. Or, cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
When ready to serve, reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.

Makes about 1 2/3 cups

PER TABLESPOON: 25 calories, 1 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 2 g fat
(1 g saturated), 4 mg cholesterol, 43 mg sodium, 0 fiber.

————————————————————————
Armenian Moussaka With Lamb or Beef, Potato & Yogurt Bechamel

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 pounds red, white or Yukon gold potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Kosher salt

1 small yellow or white onion, finely chopped

1/2 pound ground lamb

2 small tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups Yogurt Bechamel (see recipe)

1 large egg

1/3 cup coarsely grated ricotta salata or Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350°. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high
heat. In batches, salt potato slices and fry them, turning once,
until just beginning to turn golden around edges, about 3 minutes.
Lift out slices with kitchen tongs, letting excess oil drip back into
pan.Transfer to a plate. When last batch of potatoes is done, add
onion and lamb to pan; saute, stirring to break up lamb, until meat
is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, parsley, dill,
allspice and pepper; stir. Saute over medium-high heat, until mixture
is fairly dry and crumbly, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Arrange half of potato slices in an overlapping layer in an 8 x
10-inch casserole. Spread lamb mixture over potatoes. Cover with
remaining potato slices in an overlapping layer.

Whisk egg into bechamel and pour over the top. Sprinkle cheese over
all. Bake until golden on top and slightly brown around edges, about
45 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes. Cut into
portions.

Serves 4

PER SERVING: 545 calories, 24 g protein, 39 g carbohydrate, 35 g fat
(13 g saturated), 123 mg cholesterol, 464 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.

Rene Caparros is a graduate of the culinary arts and hospitality
management program at City College of San Francisco. E-mail him at
[email protected].

The Independent (London)
June 26, 2004, Saturday

THE CITY OF DISCIPLES;
TOURISTS ARE FLOCKING TO THE ITALIAN CITY WHERE MEL GIBSON FILMED
HIS

by JAMES FERGUSON House of God (main): the streets of Matera; (left)
Jim Caviezel as Jesus in The Passion of the Christ’

As caves go it was certainly comfortable, with firm beds, a
television, air conditioning and even a minibar. It was also stylish
in a stripped- down sort of way. Discreet lighting and subtle tiles
in the bathroom were complemented by quirky details like a squatting
gargoyle carved out of the rock opposite the loo. The small terrace
was decorated with a mosaic- topped table and fashionable seating. It
exuded taste. But I didn’t realise how trendy it was until Signore
Cristallo, its owner, produced a copy of Hip Hotels, confirming its
chic credentials.

The Sassi Hotel (sassi means “stones”) is, quite literally, a
collection of caves gouged out of the sandstone cliffs in the
southern Italian city of Matera. The 20-odd rooms are arranged on
various levels, joined by steps, and while from a distance the hotel
may look like a normal building, its facade is precisely that – a
front made out of stone blocks dug from the caves. The technology
might be Stone Age, but it works. The caves are cool in the fierce
Basilicata summer and retain warmth in the winter.

Like some troglodyte metropolis, Matera is largely comprised of holes
carved out of the hillsides that drop steeply down from the city’s
central plateau. Up on this spur, known as the Civita, is a more
familiar sort of Italian city, a cluster of narrow streets, palazzos
and elegant squares that eventually merge into modern, nondescript
suburbs. But tumbling down two ravines are the sassi, the tiers of
cave dwellings. Looking across the ravine, you see a vertical
panorama of doors and windows, with flights of steps winding up
between the buildings. As you climb these steps you walk across the
roofs of the caves below.

The hillsides present a bizarre geometry of arches, columns and
chimneys as well as the occasional satellite dish. Some dwellings are
more ornate than others, with balconies and towers, while the most
humble are little more than a door in the cliff face. Rather like a
Swiss cheese, the soft tufa stone is pitted with holes of different
sizes. Sometimes the effect is eerie, like a legion of staring eyes.
At other times, especially at dusk, the stone takes on a glorious
mellow tone.

The city is also exceptionally rich in churches: some conventional,
others – the so-called chiesi rupestri – dug into the rock. Some date
back to between the 8th and 12th centuries when monks from Armenia,
the Middle East and Asia Minor settled here, escaping persecution and
building monastic communities in the harsh terrain.

This extraordinary urban landscape is beginning to attract visitors
to Matera, and the tourist authorities are waking up to the fact that
the city is not only architecturally unique but stunningly beautiful.
And Matera has another claim to fame, for it was here that Mel Gibson
chose to film The Passion of the Christ, his notoriously intense
reconstruction of the crucifixion. Standing on the steep stone path
where Gibson shot Christ’s agonising climb carrying the cross, you
can make out a rocky and desolate outcrop across the valley where the
crucifixion itself was recreated.

Not that this was the first blockbuster to be made in Matera. Around
25 films have been filmed here since the 1950s, many seeking to
replicate what a biblical scene two millennia ago might have looked
like. But Gibson’s painful epic was probably the best, at least in
terms of local employment. “At least 500 locals got jobs as extras,
although 5,000 applied,” says our enthusiastic guide, Mariarosaria
Lamacchia, an art history graduate who returned home to work in
Matera’s fledgling tourist industry. “You could tell who was working
on the film as they started walking round town showing off their long
beards.”

You can’t begrudge Matera’s people their long-overdue change in
fortune. From medieval times, the gulf between the wealthy feudal few
who lived at the top of the town and the majority in the sassi was
huge and insurmountable. Looking down on their poor neighbours in
every sense, the elite of landowners and professionals built
beautiful civic buildings and ornate churches, many later re-styled
to suit Baroque tastes. The cave-dwellers, meanwhile, lived in abject
poverty. Most of them were farm labourers, working for a pittance for
the landowners. Tuberculosis and malaria were rife.

Little changed until well into the 20th century. New caves were still
being excavated until the 1950s, as a growing population looked for
affordable housing. Raffaele Cristallo, who was born into a family
that lived on the plateau, recalls that women used to dump their
families’ sewage into the bottom of the ravines. “But they managed to
do it with great dignity,” he says, “hiding the buckets under their
shawls.” If there was a strong sense of communal solidarity, there
was also terrible poverty and squalor. Horses and donkeys shared the
unventilated caves with entire families. Mariarosaria showed us one
cave, now housing a potter’s workshop, in which 40 people slept.

The tragic predicament of Matera’s cave dwellers was illuminated in
Carlo Levi’s account of his political exile in Basilicata in the
1930s. In his memoir Christ Stopped at Eboli, Levi’s sister passes
through Matera and likens the sassi to Dante’s Inferno, in which
people inhabit a netherworld of disease and deprivation. “Never
before have I witnessed such a spectacle of misery,” she says,
remarking that the children begged for quinine rather than money.

“Something had to give after the war,” says Signore Cristallo,
recalling that the region had elected an energetic member of
parliament who invited the former Prime Minister De Gasperi to view
the sassi in 1950. “When De Gasperi came, he saw all those tiny beds
piled up side by side in a cave and the most tragic expression came
over his face.” Soon people began to speak of la vergogna, the
national shame of Matera. True to his word, De Gasperi enacted
legislation in 1952, ordering the forcible evacuation of the sassi
and the relocation of some 15,000 people into new, purpose- built
accommodation on the plateau. The most desperate were moved first,
and within eight years almost all had swapped their caves for an
apartment in the new city. The state took over the site. There was no
choice, but, says Signore Cristallo, everybody wanted to leave. I
asked whether some might have missed their old homes. “Perhaps they
missed the solidarity of their old neighbourhood, but they had gained
a proper home, a bathroom, a new beginning.” The caves were abandoned
and bricked up. For years the sassi were a wilderness, inhabited only
by wild dogs. The identity of the city changed as people abandoned
agriculture for the construction industry. A generation was born
knowing nothing of cave life.

That might have been the end of the story. But gradually attitudes
changed, as academics re-evaluated the importance of the site. What
had hitherto been seen as a slum began to be viewed as a culturally
distinctive human habitat. A gradual, and informal, repopulation of
the sassi took place in the 1970s, as enterprising characters like
Signore Cristallo bought some of the few caves that had remained in
private hands. Then, in 1986, new legislation paved the way for a
proper renaissance, when the Italian government announced it would
support businesses and individuals wanting to resettle in the
neighbourhood. The shame of Matera finally became its pride when
UNESCO designated the sassi a World Heritage Site in 1993.

Now, groups of visitors trudge up and down the pathways of the cave
district, and a cluster of restaurants and B&Bs have opened up. The
hammering and drilling of restoration work echoes sporadically around
the ravines. There are strict UNESCO-inspired guidelines as to what
can be done. Signore Cristallo, who has witnessed the death and
rebirth of this spectacular place, welcomes all this activity and is
proud of his regular guests, who include diplomats and artists.

He is also proud that his son has married a Brazilian girl whose
father was attending a conference in Matera. It is a small symbol of
the city’s revival. Has he seen The Passion of the Christ? “I may go
one day,” he says, “just out of curiosity.” Meanwhile, in the nearby
Trattoria Lucana, they’re advertising fettuccine alla Mel Gibson,
delighted that the director would drop in after work.

TRAVELLER’S GUIDE

GETTING THERE

The nearest international gateway to Matera is Bari, 40 miles away.
Ryanair (0871 246 0000; ) flies there daily from
Stansted from pounds 46 return. British Airways (0870 850 9 850;
) flies to Bari from Gatwick from pounds 78.70. Those not
inclined to drive from Bari to Matera can take a train there: the
Ferrovie Appulo-Lucane line ( – in Italian only) runs
from Stazione FAL to Matera Centrale. There are several departures
daily except Sunday.

STAYING THERE

I Sassi (00 39 0835 331 009; ) is surprisingly
reasonable given that this is probably Matera’s finest hotel: doubles
start at EUR84 (pounds 60), room only. Casa D’Imperio (00 39 0835 330
503; ), a refurbished 16th-century farmhouse
nearby, makes a cheerful alternative. Doubles start at EUR64 (pounds
45.70), breakfast included.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Contact the Matera Turismo, a local cooperative promoting the region
(00 39 0835 336 572; ), or the Italian State
Tourist Board (020-7408 1254; ).

Eurasianet Organization
June 24 2004

A NEW VISION FOR ARMENIA?
Cory Welt: 6/24/04
A EurasiaNet Commentary

As the United States and the European Union step up their engagement
with the South Caucasus in the wake of Georgia’s “Rose Revolution,”
Armenia is taking steps not to be left behind.

During a recent visit to Washington, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
outlined a bold vision for political reform, regional security, and
cooperation with neighbors Azerbaijan and Turkey. [For background see
the Eurasia Insight archive]. His June 14 speech at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) provided a welcome change
to the disheartening news that has come out of Armenia of late.

The Armenian government’s brutal crackdown against opposition
protests this April, its attacks on journalists, the ransacking of
opposition headquarters, and political arrests were a blatant
contradiction of democratic standards. [For background see the
Eurasia Insight archive]. Two subsequent court decisions provided
further evidence of Armenia’s ambiguous commitment to rule of law – a
demonstrator who struck a police officer with a plastic bottle
received an 18-month prison sentence, while gang members who
intimidated and assaulted protestors and journalists at an April
demonstration were fined less than $200.

In his public address, Oskanian acknowledged the need for Armenia’s
political climate to improve and expressed a barely concealed hope
that the US government’s Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), an
initiative that will provide $1 billion in aid to 16 developing
countries in 2004, would be a mechanism for doing so. Oskanian
asserted that Armenia’s inclusion in the program has made the country
“more focused” on matters of governance, democracy, rule of law, and
human rights. He conceded that progress in democracy building
“require[s] further political will” on the part of the government and
the opposition.

Armenia’s inclusion in the MCA had initially raised eyebrows. But
Oskanian’s remarks appeared to be more than mere PR pitches. The
minister also laid out means for allowing Armenia’s opposition to
reconcile its differences with the government — and for Yerevan to
meet the criteria to maintain MCA funding.

While chiding Armenia’s political opposition for “its aggressive
attitude” towards the authorities, Oskanian revealed a standing
government offer to give opposition deputies – who hold some 20 percent
of the National Assembly’s 131 seats – veto rights on three issues:
amendments to the election code, constitutional reform, and
anti-corruption legislation. These veto rights, Oskanian declared,
would “force” the majority to work with the opposition to make “the
necessary changes that will benefit Armenia.”

Whether the government in Yerevan will seize the opportunity to
implement this plan for political dialogue remains in doubt, however.

At remarks before the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly
(PACE) on June 24, Prime Minister Robert Kocharian rebuffed that
body’s earlier criticism of his government’s heavy-handed crackdown
on opposition protests in March and April of this year, saying that
the Council of Europe is “not the best place” to settle arguments
with political opponents. ” Unlike Georgia, a neighbor whose November
2003 “Rose Revolution” serves as a model for the Armenian opposition,
Armenia, Kocharian argued, ” 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,”

Such a stance promises to reinforce doubts in Washington about
Armenia’s entry into the MCA. Two of the key criteria for the MCA
selection process are countries’ commitment to political freedom and
good governance.

Commenting on Armenia’s entry into the MCA, Carlos Pascual, the State
Department’s Coordinator for Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, has
noted that the awarding of funding to Armenia would take into
consideration the quality of the proposals submitted by the
government as well as its record on defense of civil liberties. “The
expectation, in order to be able to move forward with the program, is
that there would be progress on these issues and not movement
backwards,” Pascua told a May 18 news conference in Yerevan.

That message was further underlined by Paul Applegarth, the chief
executive officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the body
charged by Congress with administering MCA funds. During a visit to
Armenia and Georgia earlier this month, Applegarth stated that the
proposal review process would consider not only whether proposals
would promote economic growth – the MCA’s main objective – but also
whether governments rely on an “inclusive” decision-making process to
draw up their proposals and outline steps for improving the
political, economic, and social indicators used to determine their
eligibility for MCA funding.

Opposition leaders have declared the “first stage” of their efforts
to unseat the incumbent government finished after failing to
galvanize large numbers of supporters. Returning to parliament with
concessions akin to the ones Oskanian described would be a
face-saving maneuver for Armenia’s opposition, whose popularity has
sagged since the failure of this spring’s protests. [For background
see the Eurasia Insight archive].

It could also help Armenia stay on track for receiving MCA funds, a
key mechanism for the United States to continue prodding the Armenian
government to adopt valuable reform. While the opposition’s failure
to mount a serious challenge might give Armenian authorities
confidence to further inhibit official respect for rule of law, the
government’s newfound security could, combined with the influence of
Millennium Challenge conditionality, also encourage it to move in a
positive direction.

Other incentives exist as well. Armenia has recently modified its
approach to national security, seeking to complement a longstanding
alliance with Russia with military engagement with the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States. Yet though such a
dialogue could provide an opening for additional democratic reform,
the U.S. and its NATO allies lack pressing strategic imperatives for
providing what Oskanian termed “a better [security] shield for
Armenia.” To justify a more intensive engagement with Armenia, the US
and NATO are more likely to look for advances in democracy building
and rule of law than in military policy.

Another stumbling block to the establishment of a healthy
NATO-Armenia relationship is Armenia’s lack of diplomatic relations
with its NATO neighbor, Turkey. But, here, too, Oskanian suggested an
opportunity for change. In his speech, Oskanian exhorted Turkey to
“take the lead” in furthering Euro-Atlantic engagement with the South
Caucasus by normalizing relations with Armenia and opening its
lengthy border.

Oskanian disputed claims that normalization would require Turkish
concessions, specifically the recognition of the 1915 Armenian
genocide and border adjustments. The foreign minister declared that
while it is Armenia’s “moral obligation” to raise the genocide issue,
“recognition is not a precondition” for diplomatic relations. When
asked about potential Armenian irredentist claims, Oskanian noted
that all such issues could be adequately addressed in the protocols
that accompany the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Turkey, however, insists that Armenia make progress in resolving its
conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabagh before any
normalization of its relations with Yerevan occurs. [For background
see the Eurasia Insight archive].

On this, the long-standing bug-bear of Armenian foreign policy,
Oskanian offered cautious cooperation at best. Oblique references
were made to existing efforts with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov, with whom Oskanian met in Prague on June 22, to devise a
two-track conflict resolution plan that would simultaneously define
Nagorno-Karabagh’s political status and set out a clear timetable for
Armenia to withdraw from occupied Azerbaijani territories and for the
resettlement of Azerbaijani internally displaced persons.

Without specifying the exact political status Armenia seeks for
Nagorno-Karabagh, Oskanian instead referred to the “principles”
established in negotiations between Armenian President Robert
Kocharian and the late Azerbaijani President Haidar Aliev in Key
West, Florida in 2001. Armenia insists these involve Azerbaijan’s
surrender of sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabagh in exchange for
Armenia’s withdrawal from most of the occupied territories and the
establishment of a road link across Armenia connecting the
Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan.
Oskanian attributed Azerbaijani denials that any such principles had
been established to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev’s fragile hold
on power.

For Oskanian’s vision to come to pass, however, a tremendous amount
of effort from Armenia’s friends, and, even, adversaries and
political opponents, must be made. Most importantly, his vision of
dialogue, development, and peace must be promoted, not only by the
Foreign Ministry, but by the powers that rule Armenia today.

Editor’s Note: Cory Welt is a Fellow in the Russia and Eurasia
Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
June 24 2004

Azeri Official Calls for More Tolerance

Baku Today 24/06/2004 11:16

An official from the president’s administration on Wednesday said
while he understands the feelings of ordinary Azerbaijanis protesting
against the arrival of two Armenian officers in Baku to attend a NATO
conference, he underlined that all protest actions have to be within
norms of law.
“It is very normal to protest anything that you don’t like. But it
doesn’t mean that you may break windows of a hotel or attack a
conference hall,” said Ali Hasanov, head of the social and political
department at the presidential apparatus.
Hasanov was referring to Tuesday’s protest action by the Karabakh
Liberation Organization (KLO) in front of Baku’s Europe hotel where a
planning conference for NATO’s `Cooperative Best Effort-2004′
military training was taking place. Several dozen members of the KLO
attempted to rally in front of the hotel to protest the Armenian
participants of the conference, Colonel Murad Isakhanyan and Senior
Lieutenant Aram Hovhanesian.

Although police prevented the protestors from assembling in front of
the hotel, a group of 15-20 young KLO members managed to broke into
the hotel, after which the work of the conference was stopped for
about ten minutes. During a squabble with police and guard of the
hotel, the protestors broke several windows of the building.

Hasanov noted that the people of Azerbaijan will not stand the
occupation of their historical lands. But he added: `The Azeri people
are very cultural, so we have to be more tolerant.”

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 18 2004

AKKAN SUVER: TURKEY WILL NEVER HAVE LINKS WITH ARMENIA UNTIL OCCUPIED
TERRITORIES ARE RELEASED
[June 18, 2004, 17:01:38]

Chairman of the Millis Majlis Murtuz Alasgarov received a delegation
of Turkey led by President of the Vagf of Strategic and Social Studies
of Marmara Group Akkan Suver.

Warmly greeting the guests, the Chairman noted the historical
friendly and brotherly relations between the two countries have
reached the today’s highest level thanks to special contribution of
nationwide leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev. It was
Heydar Aliyev who initiated opening of Ataturk Center in Azerbaijan,
he said. Besides, he continued, due to the efforts by the genial
political figure, leader of the Turkish World, the foundation of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines was
laid. These projects will ensure economic development of our two
countries. Mr. Alasgarov also stressed the importance of the idea
occurred during President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Georgia and lying
in the construction of Turkey – Georgia railroad, as it will connect
Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as Central Asia and China. The intention
to realize such projects indicates that Heydar Aliyev’s political
course is being worthily continued. The Milli Majlis Chairman told
of inter-parliamentary links, Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and Turkey’s part in the problem’s resolution.

President of the Vagf of Strategic and Social Studies of Marmara
Group Akkan Suver noted that the visit’s goal is to participate in the
Scientific-practical conference Latin Alphabet in Azerbaijan, Turkey
and Turkish World devoted to the anniversary of the Heydar Aliyev’s
Decree of June 18 2001 On Improvement of Use of State Language. He
emphasized as well that along with his delegation, deputies of the
Great National Assembly of Turkey and other official had been invited
to the event.

Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, Mr. Akkan Suver noted
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem is that of not only Azerbaijan but the
whole Turkish world. Turkey will never have links with Armenia until
the occupied territories are released. We know that Heydar Aliyev’s
biggest dream was to restore territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,
and we believe that Ilham Aliyev will make it come true, he said.

An exchange of views on a number of other issues of mutual interest
took place during the meeting, as well.

Present at the meeting were deputy Chairmen of the Milli Majlis
Ziyafat Asgarov, Govhar Bakhshaliyeva, head of the Milli Majlis
Administration Safa Mirzoyev, deputies and Ambassador of Turkey to
Azerbaijan Unal Chevikez

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 18 2004

UKRAINIAN TELECHANNEL ON POSITION OF THE COUNTRY ON
ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN, NAGORNY KARABAKH CONFLICT
[June 18, 2004, 17:35:49]

In the analytical program “Hour”, prepared by 5th TV-channel of
Ukraine, commented was the objective approach of leadership of the
country to the Nagorny Karabakh conflict, which corresponds to the
interests of Azerbaijan.

The commentator of the program “Hour”, popular program in Kiev, has
reminded, that during the state visit of the head of the Azerbaijan
state Ilham Aliyev to Ukraine, President Leonid Kuchma directly
and openly expressed the ideas about occupation by Armenia of the
territories of Azerbaijan, about condition of thousands refugees.
Further, in the program, the historical roots and consequences of
this conflict have been stated. The attention of tele-viewers has
been involved to the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group, noting that
such authoritative international organization has failed to achieve
settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorny Karabakh conflict
proceeding already more of 15 years. It has been underlined, that owing
to destructive position of the Armenian side, the mediation efforts of
some of the states, including Ukraine, have remained ineffectual at
settlement of the problem. It is also marked that the statement made
by President Leonid Kuchma during official meetings with the President
of Azerbaijan by Ilham Aliyev in Kiev has caused a wide resonance.

The commentator of the program, who has stated then the relations of
the Ukrainian politicians and local press to the given statement,
has presented spectators the objective attitude to problems of
Azerbaijan. Necessity of achievement, at last, practical results has
been marked during negotiations within the framework of the CIS,
and also with assistance of Ukraine. It is underlined, that the
time has come that the international community has adopted strict
measures concerning the Armenia -aggressor and separatists of the
Nagorny Karabakh.