Author: Emil Lazarian

Traitor deprived of citizenship

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 6 2004

Baku, September 3, AssA-Irada

Alikram Humbatov, who was released from life imprisonment by a
presidential decree on Friday, has been deprived of Azerbaijani
citizenship.

Humbatov, who was not military trained and managed to receive the
rank of colonel within a short period thanks to his foreign supporters
and former defense minister Rahim Gaziyev, is noted with his handing
over the positions of the Azerbaijani military units in Garabagh to
Armenians and committing crimes against local residents. Humbatov,
who was collaborating with special service bodies of foreign countries,
which were against Azerbaijan’s independence and, who declared himself
the president of the self-proclaimed “Talish Mughan Republic” in
the summer of 1993, was sentenced to life imprisonment after Heydar
Aliyev came to power. Gaziyev played “a great role” in carrying out
Humbatov’s separatist actions.*

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH(LONDON)
September 05, 2004, Sunday

Rock CDs

By James Delingpole

Kasabian Kasabian (RCA, pounds 12.99). Leicester’s Kasabian think
they’re the new guardians of British rock ‘n’ roll. ‘The Stones,
Zeppelin, the Pistols, the Gallaghers, we’re in that line,’ says
their singer Tom, and the damnedest thing is he might just be right:
not since Oasis can I recall a debut of quite such magnificent verve
and swagger.

They’re not as tight or clever as Franz Ferdinand, but then that’s
not their point: Kasabian (named after Charles Manson’s female getaway
driver – her surname means ‘butcher’ in Armenian) represent the bummed,
druggy, louche end of rock. It’s impossible to play them without
wanting to load up on drink and drugs and spend all night dancing,
which is what apparently goes on quite a lot on the 600-acre farm
where they live, record and throw free festivals.

They’ve got the cocky slouchiness and shuffling dance beat of the Happy
Mondays, the psychedelic languor of the Stone Roses, the attitude of
Oasis, the anthemic danciness of Stereo MCs. Who would have imagined
that the early 1990s would have made a comeback quite so soon and so
brilliantly reinvented? Truly Kasabian are the hound’s testicles.

The Libertines The Libertines (Rough Trade, pounds 13.99). In a
survey last year of the greatest British pop bands, the Guardian
decided The Libertines were even better than Radiohead and put them
at number one. I’m not sure I’d go quite so far – can I ever imagine
myself going: ‘God, I just have to put on a Libertines record right
this second, or I’ll die’?

No – but their second album does give you a good idea what the fuss
is all about. It’s excruciatingly honest – detailing the break-up of
the fraught, intense, almost marital relationship between frontmen
Carl Barat and heroin-addicted Pete Doherty. It has the throwaway
assurance of a band that knows it’s great and original and doesn’t
need to prove anything to anyone, and a sweet, eccentric, ramshackle
English charm. As produced by Mick Jones it sounds a bit sludgy and
home-made, but the heartfelt lyrics are compulsive and the debonairly
punkish melodies do grow on you.

Skinnyman Council Estate of the Mind (Low Life, pounds 13.99). You
wouldn’t guess it from his authentically black-sounding patois, but the
much-praised north London rapper Skinnyman is in fact white. His tunes
and samples aren’t bad but is he the British Eminem? Not lyrically
deft enough and way too earnest. Another Streets? Not funny enough.

Yerevan unruffled by Baku’s protest against Armenian presence at NATO drills

Armenian Radio First Programme, Yerevan
3 Sep 04

NATO is the organizer of the Cooperative Best Effort – 2004 exercises
and has already confirmed the number of participants, the spokesman
of the Armenian Defence Ministry, Seyran Shakhsuvaryan, has said,
commenting on Azerbaijani media reports that Baku has lodged its
protest with Brussels against the participation of Armenian officers
in the NATO field exercises.

To recap, Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan said that the
Armenian side would participate in the NATO exercises in Baku. He
noted that seven Armenian servicemen would take part in the exercises.

RETIRED AZERI OFFICER SLAMS MINISTRY FOR CORRUPTION, POOR TREATMENT OF PRIVATES

Baki Xabar, Baku
24 Aug 04

Former brigade commander Ildirim Mammadov has accused several
high-ranking Azerbaijani Defence Ministry officers of inhumane policy,
adding that the ministry is rife with corruption. In an interview
with Azerbaijani daily Baki Xabar, Mammadov said that the Defence
Ministry was not supplying military units with necessary food, uniforms
and medicine shown in invoices. He also said that the Azerbaijani
armed forces were being governed by Soviet-era military laws and
any talk of transition to NATO standards was wide off the mark. The
following is an excerpt from report by Matanat Muslimqizi headlined ”
Professionals are being discharged from army” and subheaded “Former
brigade commander Ildirim Mammadov: Some high-ranking officers in
the army have declared themselves secret enemies of the people'”
published in Azerbaijani newspaper Baki Xabar on 24 August; with
subheadings inserted editorially:

Reports by numerous international organizations have more
than once highlighted rampant corruption in Azerbaijan’s state
bodies. Regrettably, bribery and corruption are rife in the Defence
Ministry, which is the bastion and the backbone of the nation’s
protection. The treatment of soldiers and officers in the armed
forces, high-handedness, corruption and widespread bribery in military
units are inflicting a serious blow to our national security and
state independence. We have had a detailed conversation to this
effect with Lt-Col Ildirim Mammadov, a professional officer and
former brigade commander in the Azerbaijani army. (Passage omitted:
Mammadov’s background.)

I asked my interviewee to assess the overall situation in the
Azerbaijani armed forces.

(Mammadov) Unable to put up with injustice in the army, I left the
military unit I was commanding. It was impossible to work there. Under
the existing system, when a military unit is audited three to four
times by various commissions and is requested to adjust something
without any financial support or help, it is impossible to work
normally in these conditions. Audits are conducted by the Defence
Ministry’s high-ranking officers. When the ministry sends these audit
commissions, it knows the state of affairs in military units very
well. It is impossible to endure this. Those who can endure this become
a member of the system engaged in cheating and providing false reports.

(Correspondent) What did the audit commissions from the ministry
demand specifically from you?

(Mammadov) For example, just imagine, military units are provided
with neither food, nor military uniforms nor medicine stated in
invoices. This is rife in all spheres. For example, a military unit
should be supplied with 3,800 kg of soap. However, they only get
a fraction of this amount. Out of 13,000-14,000 sets of bed linen,
one-third is never supplied. Soldiers should be supplied with boots
every six months, but they are not. If earnest investigations are
launched, one can see that high-ranking officers commanding the army
have made hundreds of firms bankrupt. (Passage omitted: officers are
elevated to high ranks undeservedly.)

Defence Ministry leadership insensitive to soldiers’ fate

(Correspondent) Why should the Defence Ministry put pressure on
officers to take care of privates? The issue at stake is human fate,
isn’t it?

(Mammadov) The Defence Ministry’s leadership is insensitive to fates
of sons of the people. If this were not the case, then the leadership
of the armed forces would have ordered commanders of brigades and
military units to cancel lessons between 1200-1700 o’clock when the
temperature rises above 30 degrees. Soldiers should rest at this
time and lessons should be conducted in the evenings.

Let us look into the matter. Why do the Azerbaijani people not love
the army? Because some high-ranking officials in the army have
declared themselves secret enemies of our people. Professional and
skilled personnel are discharged from the armed forces. However,
those who should not serve in the army are elevated. For example,
(Defence Ministry spokesman Col) Ramiz Duygun (Malikov) is a university
graduate and is 60 years old. However, he does not want to leave
his post to educate his grandchildren. (Passage omitted: on Soviet
experience in the army.)

Talk on transition to NATO standards wide off the mark

(Correspondent) It has been recently claimed that the Azerbaijani army
is being transformed to meet NATO standards. What is your attitude
towards this?

(Mammadov) Statements to this effect are purely formal. Actually,
nothing is being done. Why? Because, currently the Azerbaijani
armed forces are being ruled by Soviet laws. Being a NATO member,
first means that a soldier must be treated like a human and not like
a beast. In Azerbaijan, we see quite the contrary happen. It is very
early to speak about the NATO system in this country. Aspiring to NATO
membership also means big investment in the army. (Passage omitted:
the army needs new laws.)

(Correspondent) What is your assessment of the current state of
affairs in the Azerbaijani army?

(Mammadov) True, the Azerbaijani army with its many positive aspects
is better than the Georgian army, and the army of our enemy –
Armenia. However, I would like the Azerbaijani army be similar to
the Israeli army. Azerbaijan should have a small, mobile, strong and
professional army able to overcome all problems.

RA MINISTER OF DEFENSE MEETS WITH NEWLY APPOINTED IRANIAN AMBASSADOR
TO ARMENIA

YEREVAN, AUGUST 28. ARMINFO. RA Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan has
held a meeting with the newly appointed Iranian Ambassador to Armenia
Alireza Khadighyan.

The press service of the RA Ministry of Defense reports that Minister
Sargsyan congratulated the diplomat on his appointment, expressing a
hope for further development of Armenian-iranian relations during his
diplomatic activities in Armenia. In his turn, Ambassador Khadighyan
conveyed to the Armenian Minister of Defense greetings of the Iranian
President and the Minister of Defense, stressing Sargsyan’s personal
contribution to the development of bilateral relations. The
Armenian-Iranian relations are consolidated by serious achievements in
the political and economic spheres. During the meeting, the sides
pointed out the achievements and mapped out of directions of further
activities.

Azeri politicians divided over possible US troop deployment

Ekho, Baku
27 Aug 04

The setting up of US military bases in Azerbaijan has appeared on the
agenda again recently. The unexpected visit of US Defence Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld to Azerbaijan has brought this issue under the media
spotlight.

Moscow hopes that Washington will not set up its bases in the Baltic
countries and the Caucasus, said a statement by the Russian Foreign
Ministry in connection with the US plans to reassign its troops in
Europe (Turan news agency). As for the military bases established in
Central Asia, Moscow hopes that they will be closed as soon as the
antiterror operations in Afghanistan are over.

The deputy chairman of the PFAP [the People’s Front of Azerbaijan
Party (reformists)] on international affairs, [MP] Asim Mollazada,
said that at issue was not the deployment of troops but rather the
development of ties between Azerbaijan and the USA. Mollazada notes
that strategic partnership is being observed between Baku and
Washington in security issues, however, “it is necessary to reach a
strategic alliance”. There are all prerequisites for this, Mollazada
thinks.

The security of the region is a priority for all the South Caucasus
countries. In any case, Mollazada thinks, the USA will do its best to
maintain stability in the region. He said that mobile detachments
could be brought into the region to ensure the security of joint
projects. However, what is more important is the resolution of
political issues – “deployment of mobile units is a purely technical
matter”.

“We want solely Azerbaijani forces on the territory of our country,”
the deputy chairman of the Azarbaycan Milli Istiqlal Party [AMIP],
Maharram Zulfuqarli, told Ekho. He said that the issue of deployment
of US troops in Azerbaijan was being whipped up. They are allegedly to
ensure the security of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. The AMIP
official thinks that this function should be accomplished exclusively
by Azerbaijani troops. “We did not drive the Russian troops out of the
country in 1992 to replace them with any other foreign units.”

“Negotiations to this effect are actually under way. And the USA
wishes to deploy its military contingent in Azerbaijan,” the deputy
chairman of the Musavat Party, Sulhaddin Akbar, said. According to his
information, the authorities have not so far consented to this. At the
same time, Akbar believes that Azerbaijan should soon file for NATO
membership. “This could give us more advantages both in the military
and political spheres.”

The co-chairman of the Azerbaijani Social Democratic Party, Zardust
Alizada, is flatly against the deployment of any foreign troops in
Azerbaijan. He said that our country should adhere to
neutrality. According to Alizada, the “pro-NATO” fight for the
deployment of foreign troops here “is a grave mistake”. Those
soldiers will protect the interests of the USA, and the USA has always
backed Armenia’s interests.

Alizada also pointed at the USA’s desire to “unleash aggression
against Iran”. “This could lead to a fratricidal war as many
Azerbaijanis live in Iran.”

[Passage omitted: another similar opinion by Aydin Quliyev]

Gular Ahmadova, MP from the [ruling] New Azerbaijan Party, said that
Azerbaijan was in the US-led antiterror coalition. Moreover,
Azerbaijan fully backs cooperation with NATO. “The country’s
leadership also fully supports integration into the Euro-Atlantic
structures.” At the same time, the MP believes that the idea of
deployment of US troops is “populist”. “The country’s cooperation with
NATO is a completely different matter,” Ahmadova said.

82 HOUSES BUILT IN ARMENIA WITH HFH SUPPORT

YEREVAN, AUGUST 24. ARMINFO. During a press-conference today the
Diocesan Legate of the Ecumenical Office of the Armenian Church of
America (Eastern Diocese) Bishop Vicken Aykazyan and the President of
Habitat for Humanity Michigan Rev Ken Bensen shared the results of
their meeting with His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos and Supreme
Patriarch of All Armenians during which the partnership possibilities
among Habitat for Humanity, Habitat for Humanity International and the
Worldwide Armenian Church were discussed.

Habitat for Humanity Armenia is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity
International and supports community development in the Republic of
Armenia by assisting in the construction and renovation of simple,
decent and affordable homes. The purpose of the organization is to
help families in need improve their living conditions,m to raise funds
to support the vital work and to give hope to thousands of people
across the country. The organization was formed in Mar of 2002 and to
date has dedicated 82 homes and given shelter to 473 people.

Benson said that the selected target of HFH Armenia is families living
substandard,m over-crowded and unacceptable;e living quarters. This
group comprises more than 50-60% of the country’s current
population. These families are unable to purchase their won homes as
they do not have sufficient income to save to pay for the entire house
cost up front nor can they risk and would they be eligible for a
high-interest loan from a commercial lender.

Middle-income families are given no-interest loan – up to $10,000 for
20 years. $222,000 will be allocated this year for the construction of
40 houses and $300,000 more in 2005 under the direction of the former
US president Jim Carter.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
August 25, 2004 Wednesday 8:34 AM Eastern Time

Fresh nuclear fuel delivered to Armenian plant

By Tigran Liloyan

METSAMOR /Armavir region in Armenia/, August 25 -Armenia’s Energy
Minister Armen Movsesyan said fresh nuclear fuel had been delivered
to the Armenian plant in advance for the first time, before the
beginning of repair works.

Movsesyan, who arrived at the plant to inspect the progress of
repairs, praised the Russian financial management which had made it
possible.

“Improvement of the nuclear plant’s safety remains our priority,” he
said, adding that the republic had spent on this purpose some 40
million dollars after de-mothballing the facility.

Safety measures are financed by international donor organizations,
the European Union and the U.S. energy ministry.

According to the minister, repair works are carried out according to
schedule. Half of all planned repairs have already been completed.
The nuclear plant will go on line on October 4, he said at a meeting
with the plant’s officials.

“We won’t talk about shutting down the plant until Armenia creates
alternative power generating capacities,” Movsesyan said.

The construction of a new nuclear power plant is under discussion.
The main problem is a lack of funding, as the project requires some
one billion dollars, he said.

The Armenian nuclear power plant, located 40 kilometers west of
Yerevan, was commissioned in 1979. It was shut down after a
devastating earthquake of 1989.

In 1996, Russian specialists helped Armenia de-mothball the plant and
launch its second reactor. The facility accounts for some 40 percent
of all electricity generated in Armenia.

However, the European Union is anxious to see the plant closed. Last
year, the financial management of the plant was handed over to a
daughter company of Russia’s RAO Unified Energy Systems.

Compensation row prompted violent pipeline protest in Georgia

A-Info news agency
20 Aug 04

AKHALKALAKI

On 20 August in the morning an extraordinary situation arose again in
the village of Tabatsquri in Georgia’s Borjomi District. Some
residents of the village, anti-Ceyhaners who oppose the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline , are demanding compensation and say that
compensation should be paid to all the villagers, so they tried to
obstruct construction work on the pipeline. The police who were there
used force against the villagers. In turn the villagers threw stones
at the policemen and BP cars.

The previous evening representatives of the district administration
handed to some villagers property certificates for their land used by
BP . The villagers who did not receive privatization certificates were
amazed that their fellow-villagers had been given the certificates
away from the village and outside working hours.

The employees of BP hoped that the problem had been resolved and they
could get back work, so they tried to move their equipment to
Tabatsquri. There they met resistance, resulting in the scandal.

Passage omitted

PUTIN TO VISIT ARMENIA NEXT YEAR

ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
20 Aug 04

Sochi, 20 August: Russian President Vladimir Putin is to visit Armenia
next year. “(President) Robert Kocharyan has invited me to Armenia at
the start of next year,” Putin told a joint news conference. “It will
be my pleasure,” he added.

The Russian president said the date of the visit would be coordinated
through Foreign Ministry channels at a later date.