Author: Felekian Ara

US envoy regrets misunderstanding caused by Karabakh remarks

Mediamax news agency
28 Feb 05

Yerevan, 28 February: The United States embassy in Armenia today
disseminated a statement of Ambassador John Evans which says that
his recent remarks on Nagornyy Karabakh status “may have created
misunderstanding of US policy”.

During his meeting with American Armenians in University of California
Berkeley on 19 February, John Evans said that although the USA
follows a policy of supporting the territorial integrity of nations,
“everybody realizes that Karabakh cannot be given back to Azerbaijan
since that would be a disastrous step”.

The statement disseminated in Yerevan today reads that “the US
government supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and holds
that the future status of Nagornyy Karabakh is a matter of negotiation
between Armenia and Azerbaijan”.

“The United States remains committed to finding a peaceful settlement
of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict through the [OSCE] Minsk Group
process. We are encouraged by the continuing talks between the foreign
ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan under the auspice of the Minsk
Group co-chairs,” ambassador Evans noted, saying “I deeply regret
any misunderstanding caused by my comments”.

AZG Armenian Daily #034, 25/02/2005

Nagorno Karabakh

‘AZERI FAMILIES LIVE IN STEPANAKERT AND ASKERAN, MOREOVER, THEY LIVE QUITE A
NORMAL LIFE’

Journalist Eynula Fatulaev Tells Azeri Press About His Impressions in NKR

Eynula Fatulaev, journalist of Monitor Azeri newspaper, visited NKR and
Aghdam on February 11-20. Returning to Baku, Fatulaev told about his
impressions in interviews to Zerkalo and Ekho. The article published in
Zerkalo in entitled was “Childish Naivety or Treason?”

“I arrived in Yerevan on February 10 and began working in Karabakh the next
day. In general, I should emphasize that the “NKR” authorities implemented
all their commitments. All the conditions were created for my activities
without any limitation. I came across the only prohibition in Aghdam. They
didn’t allow me to take any photo there. I was quite free in my activities
in all the places I visited,” Fatulaev told Ekho.

In response to the question what was the most surprising thing for him,
Fatulaev said: “The development of the civic and democratic institutions
surprised me most of all. They say that such institutes are more developed
in here, than in Yerevan. “NKR President” Arkady Ghukasian said that “the
world would never forgive NKR authoritarian and anti-democratic regime, and
that is why we should develop the civic institutions.”

“I visited the occupied territories 5 years ago, and, to tell the truth,
there have been great changes there. The military-political regime changed
into a semi-democratic one. In general, one can’t call “NKR” a democratic
state, notwithstanding the fact that democratic elections have already been
hold in “NKR.” The opposition representative won the elections of 2004.
Eduard Aghabekian, main opponent of Ghukasian became a mayor. Besides, there
is independent mass media in Karabakh. I got acquainted with the journalists
of the oppositional press. They are rather strictly criticizing “NKR”
authorities and that gets on one’s nerves, but they are tolerant,” Fatulaev
said.

Fatulaev got the impression after the meetings with Arkady Ghukasian, NKR
President, Arman Melikian, NKR foreign minister, as well as with other
officials and political figures that the Armenian side will never return
Lachin and Qelbajar. “That is why they are inhabiting these regions,” he
said.

“Lachin, the regional center, is inhabited for almost 80%. Schools, medical
centers, hospitals have been constructed, in one word, all the substructures
of the region are restored. The composition of Lachin’s residents is rather
interesting. Armenians from Iraq, Georgia, Uzbekistan and Lebanon are
dwelling there. There are many Armenians from Spitak who lost their homes as
a result of the earthquake,” Fatulaev said and added that in the course of
the 11 days he spent in Karabakh the electricity was never switched off. The
whole population of Karabakh has natural gas.”

Azeri journalist met his compatriots, as well. “Azeri families live in
Stepanakert and Askeran, moreover, they live quite a normal life. There are
10-15 families in Stepanakert and 10 families in Askeran. I took interviews
from them for Monitor magazine. For example, Tofik Rasulov invited me to his
home. He is from Ujar region. He moved to Askeran with his family in the
60s. In 1989-90 he returned to Ujar because of the well-known events. But he
failed to live there and returned. He and his family members live a serene
and natural life in Askeran,” Fatulaev said.

In particular, Zerkalo got annoyed at the fact that Fatulaev used the name
Stepanakert instead of Khanqendi, as well as at the approach the journalist
applied when representing his impressions that were fair and passionless.

Fatulaev came to think that Arkady Ghukasian and Arman Melikian are “open
people,” as a result of the meetings with these officials. “Ghukasian
mentioned in the conversation with me that he doesn’t call for the
authorities of Azerbaijan to speak Armenian with them, just like Saakashvili
spoke with the Ossetians and the Abkhazians their native language. It was
emphasized that if Azerbaijan considers the Armenians of Karabakh its
citizens, why does it speak to them from the positions of a power.
Principally, I got the impression that they are ready for a dialogue. As a
high-ranking NKR official told me, today they do not exclude the possibility
of establishing horizontal relations with the official Baku within the
framework of one state,” he said.

“At present, a generation grows up in Karabakh that has got accustomed to
the idea that Karabakh is a separate administrative unit and isn’t in the
structure of Azerbaijan. In few years, this generation will come to the
policy, business and find its place among the society of Karabakh. It will
be much more difficult to agree with those people, than with the today’s
ruling group. In this connection, the Karabakh authorities emphasize that
they are ready to hold negotiations with the representatives of Azerbaijan,
even on the level of the ministers,” Fatulaev said.

By Tatoul Hakobian

Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia
Advertiser Adelaide, Australia
The Mercury, Australia
Feb 24 2005

On this day

25feb05

1988 – Thousands demonstrate in Soviet Armenia despite directive to
local authorities to restore order.

1308 – Edward II is enthroned as King of England.
1545 – Scots defeat English forces at Ancrum Moor.
1570 – England’s Queen Elizabeth I is excommunicated by Pope Pius V.
1601 – England’s Earl of Essex is executed for treason.
1713 – Sweden’s King Charles XII is taken prisoner by Sultan of
Turkey.
1723 – Death of Sir Christopher Wren, English architect and designer.

1836 – American inventor Samuel Colt patents his revolver.
1841 – Explorer Edward John Eyre leaves Fowlers Bay in South
Australia on an overland trip around the Great Australian Bight.
1899 – Death in France of Paul Julius Reuter, German founder of the
international news agency that bears his name.
1914 – Death of Sir John Tenniel, English artist and illustrator of
Alice in Wonderland.
1948 – Communist coup in Czechoslovakia.
1954 – Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser usurps power as president of Egypt;
Syria’s President Chickekli flees following army revolt.
1956 – Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev goes before Communist Party
congress in Moscow and denounces late dictator Joseph Stalin.
1961 – Sydney’s last tram runs, to La Perouse in the eastern suburbs.

1964 – Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) becomes world heavyweight boxing
champion for the first time by knocking out Sonny Liston in Miami.
1969 – NSW Legislative Council expels Country Party member AE
Armstrong for “unworthy business conduct” for his part in helping
secure divorce evidence for another member.
1972 – Soviet Union’s Luna 20 spacecraft returns to earth with
samples of the Moon’s surface; President Kenneth Kaunda announces his
cabinet’s decision to impose a one-party state in Zambia.
1976 – United States vetoes UN resolution deploring Israel’s
annexation of Jerusalem.
1982 – Australian Government announces decision to purchase HMS
Invincible from England.
1983 – Death of Tennessee Williams, US playwright.
1986 – Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos resigns, brought down
by a “people’s power” uprising, military revolt, and US pressure.
1987 – Iranian-backed Shi’ite Muslims bury 23 militants killed by
Syrian soldiers in Lebanon, and claim they were massacred with axes
and bayonets.
1988 – Thousands demonstrate in Soviet Armenia despite directive to
local authorities to restore order.
1990 – At least 60 people are killed in India as violence mars
elections in eight states.
1991 – Iraqi President Saddam Hussein orders his forces, under attack
by allied ground troops, to withdraw from Kuwait. An Iraqi Scud
missile hits a US marine barracks near the Saudi city of Dhahran,
killing 28 soldiers and wounding several others.
1992 – Imelda Marcos accepts Philippine government conditions for
returning her husband’s body.
1993 – US Marines and Nigerian soldiers blast at snipers in central
Mogadishu, Somalia, in a five-hour battle that kills one Somali; Kim
Young-sam is sworn in as South Korea’s first civilian president for
32 years.
1994 – Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein, armed with an automatic rifle
and hand grenades, kills 40 Muslims at a mosque in Hebron, before
being beaten to death.
1995 – Two bombs blow apart a train car reserved for the military in
north-eastern India, killing at least 26 soldiers and wounding more
than 30.
1996 – Haing Ngor, a Cambodian refugee whose Academy Award-winning
performance in the film The Killing Fields mirrored his own ordeal at
the hands of the Khmer Rouge, is murdered in the US.
1997 – President Jiang Zemin delivers a final eulogy for leader Deng
Xiaoping, vowing that China’s opening to the outside world will
continue; Two days after a gunman goes on a fatal rampage at the
Empire State Building in New York, the observatory reopens with metal
detectors.
1998 – Death aged 90 of Italian abstract artist Luigi Veronesi, who
designed sets at Milan’s prestigious La Scala theatre; Death aged 82
of BA (Bob) Santamaria, Australian anti-communist crusader, political
commentator and Catholic intellectual.
1999 – China vetoes an extension of the UN peacekeeping mission in
Macedonia, which borders war-torn Kosovo province. Macedonia had
established diplomatic relations with Taiwan a month earlier.
2000 – Four white New York City police officers who killed unarmed
African immigrant Amadou Diallo in a barrage of 41 bullets are
acquitted of all charges.
2001 – The commander of the US submarine that struck and sank a
Japanese trawler off Hawaii expresses his “most sincere regret” – but
Commander Scott Waddle stops short of an apology.
2001 – Sir Donald Bradman, the greatest batsman in Test cricket
history and Australia’s most revered sporting figure, dies. He was
92.
2002 – The driver of a cash transport truck overpowers his partner
and drives off with a record $US8.7 million ($14.68 million) in euro
bills in Germany’s financial capital of Frankfurt. The robbery comes
in the wake of two similar ones in five months.
2003 – Two bomb blasts damage the Colombian consulate and Spanish
Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela; five people are wounded. The
explosions come two days after President Hugo Chavez Frias accuses
Spain and Colombia of meddling in Venezuela’s internal affairs.
2004 – The Czech parliament decides to send more than 100 soldiers to
Afghanistan in the first combat role for the Czech armed forces since
World War Two.

ArmenPress
Feb 23 2005

UNDP SUPPORTS EFFORTS TO BUILD AN INFORMATION SOCIETY IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS: The Office of the Minister for
Coordination of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure
Operations of the Republic of Armenia and the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP) launched the Support to Information
Society and Democratic Governance program. A press release from UNDP
Armenia Office said Minister Hovik Abrahamyan and UN Resident
Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Lise Grande signed a
document marking the official start of the program.
The aim of the program is to promote participatory policymaking by
establishing interactive e-governance systems countrywide and helping
to lay the ground for an information society; fostering civil society
monitoring of the implementation of the National Strategy on
Anti-Corruption and promoting private sector involvement in
anti-corruption initiatives; and introducing legislative and policy
frameworks for lobbying and promoting lobbying practices among the
Parliament, private sector, and civil society.
Under the first component of this program, an Information Society
Strategy will be developed. In addition, the e-Governance System for
Territorial Administration created by UNDP will be expanded to cover
several towns and large villages, bringing e-governance technologies
and online public services closer to the community level. Under the
second component, the unique participatory methodology developed by
UNDP during 2004 will be used by civil society networks to monitor
anti-corruption initiatives in the health and education sectors.
Appropriate legislation on lobbying will also be developed and
international lobbying practices will be introduced.
Lise Grande noted in her speech: “Through this innovative program,
ordinary citizens, including people in remote rural areas, will be
able to actively participate in public affairs through e-systems and
e-services. Under the leadership of the Government, we will also be
supporting efforts to develop legislation on lobbying, which will
help to formalize relations between the private and public sectors.”
Hovik Abrahamyan announced that 70 large rural communities will
receive technical assistance from UNDP. As part of its on-going
program with the Ministry aimed at supporting fiscal
decentralization, UNDP will provide computer equipment for these
communities as well as training for municipal finance officers.
The two-year project is co-financed by the Swiss Agency for
Development and Cooperation (SDC), and UNDP’s Democratic Governance
Thematic Trust Fund.

3 Azeri soldiers accidentally pass to Armenian side of frontline

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 18 2005

Baku, February 17, AssA-Irada — Soldiers in the Azerbaijan Army –
Hikmat Taghiyev, Khayal Abdullayev and Ruslan Bashirov – passed to
the Armenian side of the frontline on February 15, as they lost their
way close to Terter District. The Ministry of Defence is currently
in talks with the Armenian side on the return of the lost soldiers.*

[Congressional Record: February 17, 2005 (Extensions)]
[Page E269]
>>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr17fe05-14]

[[Page E269]]

THE LIBERATION MOVEMENT OF NAGORNO KARABAKH

______

HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

of new jersey

in the house of representatives

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, this Sunday, February 20, 2005 will mark
the 17th anniversary of the modern day liberation movement of the
people of the Nagorno Karabakh (NK). Seventeen years ago the people of
NK petitioned the Soviet government to correct historical injustices
and reunite them with their compatriots in Armenia.
The Armenians of NK were placed within the borders of Azerbaijan in
1921, as one of many ethnic groups there were separated by Joseph
Stalin through his “divide and conquer” strategy. Armenians of NK
were subjected to brutal Soviet Azerbaijani rule for 70 years.
It is imperative that we recognize the fact that NK’s referendum to
secede from Azerbaijan in 1988 was pursuant to Soviet law. NK was
already operating as an autonomous region and therefore had the right
and the power to secede if they chose to.
In fact, during the seven decades of Soviet rule, the Armenians of NK
repeatedly stated to each successive Soviet regime their desire to be
joined again with Armenia. These peaceful and legal maneuvers were met
with violent repression and forced settlement of ethnic Azeris into NK.
In 1988, when the Armenians of NK heard of the Mikhail Gorbachev’s
democratization agenda, they began to again move peacefully for
reunification with Armenia. At this time, the Soviet and Azeri armies
would not stand even to entertain this request and immediately resorted
to violence. Public expressions of determination by the Armenians of NK
were met with a campaign of ethnic cleansing, deporting the Armenians
of NK and Azerbaijan.
In 1991, as Armenia and Azerbaijan followed most soviet states in
succession from the USSR, NK also voted to succeed. In an
internationally monitored referendum, the NK population overwhelmingly
voted to establish an independent Nagorno Karabakh Republic, currently
known as NKR.
Following this referendum in which the country was established, the
Azeri army began a full-scale war on the Armenians of NK, which took
thousands of lives over 3 years, but eventually ended up with NKR
repelling Azeri forces. This victory was gained with an army that was
out-manned and out-gunned, but had desire and guile that proved to be
overwhelming. This conflict had a terrific human cost, leaving 30,000
dead and over one million displaced. Thankfully, although small
skirmishes have broken out from time to time, the peace has been kept
since an agreement ceased hostilities in 1994.
Mr. Speaker, I have repeatedly come to the House floor to speak of
the plight of the Armenians of NKR. I can now speak from personal
experience about NKR, having traveled there. I had the opportunity to
travel to NKR to witness the Presidential elections there, where we
served as official monitors. I am proud to say that all election
observers that participated in this historic event gave an
overwhelmingly positive response. One group in particular, headed by
the Baroness Cox from England stated that, “Our overall conclusion is
one of congratulations to all the people of Artsakh (NKR) for the
spirit in which the elections have been conducted, their commitment to
the democratic process and their pride in their progress towards the
establishment of civil society.”
This process is astounding considering that NKR is not recognized
internationally; that they still must deal every day with Azeri
aggression, and that their economy is still devastated from the war.
The elections were reported to have met, if not exceeded international
standards. All this just 9 short years removed from all-out war.
Congress recognized this consistent move towards democracy, granting
NKR $20 million in humanitarian assistance in FY `97, an additional $5
million in FY `03 and $3 million just last year. This assistance has
not just been crucial for needs of the people of NKR, but has also
fostered the beginnings of an excellent relationship between our two
countries.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to end with a final example of what I saw
during my visit to NKR. During the elections, as I visited the capitol
city and small villages alike, everyone I spoke to was incredibly
excited about the prospect of voting. They viewed the vote not only as
a choice of the leader of their country for the next 5 years, but a
statewide referendum on the democratic process and independence of NKR.
I congratulate the people of NKR for the 17th anniversary of the
Nagorno Karabakh Liberation movement and their incredible determination
to establish a free and open democratic society.

____________________

11th Temagan Meeting, Sharjah 2005

Azad-Hye, United Arab Emirates
Feb 18 2005

AZAD-HYE (18 February 2005): The overall political situation in the
Gulf Region was this time favorable for the meeting of the Armenian
Prelacy Body (Temagan) of Kuwait and Arabian Gulf Countries. During
the last two years the war in Iraq and the political instability in
the Region had affected the course of these annual meetings, without
causing significant delays or troubles.

The meeting took place in the Sharjah Armenian Community Center from
16-17 February 2005, with the attendance of about 18 delegates,
headed by Archbishop Gorun Babian, who welcomed the delegates and
conveyed to them the blessings of Catholicos Aram I.

The yearly reports of the three local National Administrations (Kuwait,
Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates of the UAE) were delivered and
assessed without public audience, in the presence of those who had
originally appointed the members of these bodies.

The Prelacy Body moved ahead to appoint functioning members of
the three National Administrations for a term of two years. Some
old members were reinstalled in their same positions, others were
reshuffled in new positions within the usual frame. Series of
self-appointments also were recorded, with the result that several
individuals assumed duties in both bodies, thus combining legislative
and executing powers.

No press was invited to attend the meeting and no writing whatsoever
is expected to circulate. A lively photo of the participants was
fixed on the announcement board of the Sharjah Armenian Church.

Azeri security minister visits Pakistan, discusses antiterror fight

Turan news agency
17 Feb 05

Baku, 17 February: Azerbaijani Minister of National Security Eldar
Mahmudov visited Pakistan on 11-14 February at the invitation of the
director-general of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Agency,
Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani. During the visit, Mahmudov had a meeting with
Kiyani, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Ehsanul
Haq, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and other officials,
the public relations centre of the Ministry of National Security has
told Turan news agency.

During the negotiations, the sides discussed problems of regional
and international security, cooperation in the sphere of fighting
terrorism, illegal drug trafficking, illegal migration and other
types of transnational crime.

Mahmudov pointed out that the Armenian-occupied territories of
Azerbaijan are being used for transnational criminal activities.

In turn, the Pakistani side said that Islamabad condemns Armenia’s
aggression against Azerbaijan and stressed the need to settle the
conflict in line with international law.

OSCE, Georgia Launch Measures to Strengthen Inter-Ethnic Ties

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Feb 16 2005

The Georgian government, with the assistance of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), launched a new project
aimed at the strengthening of inter-ethnic relations in Georgia,
the OSCE Mission in Georgia reported on February 15.

The project will mainly focus on Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti region,
which is predominately populated by ethnic Armenians.

The project, which was developed by the OSCE High Commissioner
on National Minorities, envisages Georgian language courses for
civil servants and university students, Armenian translations of
re-broadcasted of Georgian television news programs, and free legal
consultations for the ethnic Georgian and Armenian populations
in the towns of Akhaltsikhe, Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda, in the
Samtskhe-Javakheti region.

President Mikheil Saakashvili called for a “building of bridges”
with the country’s ethnic minorities, while addressing students of
Tbilisi State University on February 15. “We should learn to look at
things through their [ethnic minorities’] eyes,” he said.

PRESS RELEASE

Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V. Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317

Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version:

THE U.S.A. AMBASSADOR IN ANTELIAS

On Friday, 11 February 2005, the US Ambassador to Lebanon Mr. Jeffrey
D. Feltman paid a visit to His Holiness Aram I in his residence at
the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias. Two hours long meeting
covered issues and concerns related to the regional situation, as
well as specific cases such as Iraq, Israeli-Palestinian conflict
and Lebano-Syrian relations. The focus of the discussion was Lebanon
which is facing actually internal and regional challenges, in view
of the emerging new realities in the Middle East.

The ambassador outlined the major aspects of the policy of Bush
administration in respect to the Middle East. In this context the
ambassador emphasized the need for Lebanon to restore its full
independence and sovereignty.

His Holiness Aram I shared the concerns and perspectives of the
ambassador in his turn stressing the importance of promoting democratic
values, peace with justice and human rights, as the core and sustaining
power of governance.

Catholicos Aram I also highlighted the specific role of religion as
the guardian of moral criterion and defender of basic human values. His
Holiness also emphasized the importance of inter faith dialogue.

##

The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates
of the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the
history and the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer
to the web page of the Catholicosate, The
Cilician Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is
located in Antelias, Lebanon.