Author: Jagharian Tania

CENN – April 1, 2005 Daily Digest

Table of Contents:

1.. “Pipeline Sabotage is Terrorist’s Weapon of Choice”
2.. Turkish Admiral: We are Ready to Protect Caspian
3.. SOCAR: No Strikes Only Bad Weather in Georgia
4.. BTC: First Tanker to Sail in September
5.. Ambassador: US Supports Kazakhstan in BTC
6.. Pipes for South Caucasus Pipeline to Reach Place of Consignment
7.. “Lukoil” Drills Second Exploratory Well in Caspian
8.. Turkey: BTC Best Alternative
9.. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Highlights Global Ecosystem
Degradation
10.. Inter-American Development Bank Sets New Environmental Compliance
Policy
11.. Genetically Modified Trees in Chile: A New Forest Conflict
12.. The Second Call for Proposals Under the CEPF regional Programme
13.. EIA Reports

1. “Pipeline sabotage is terrorist’s weapon of choice”

Source: Pipeline and Gas Journal, March 2005

The campaign against the world’s vulnerable pipeline is likely to continue
to spread new territories. The terrorist have already indicated interest in
the nearly completed 1,000-miles Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, slated
to transport 1 million barrels of oil a day form the Caspian Sea to Western
markets through the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The pipeline is expected to be
operated by the end of 2005 but even before construction ends, terrorist
elements may already be planning attacks on it. According to Azerbaijan’s
National Security Minister, Namiq Abbasov, the country special services had
obtained information that regional insurgent and members of al Qaeda are
planning acts of sabotage against the pipeline.

2. Turkish Admiral: we are ready to protect Caspian

Source: Baku Today, March 29, 2005

Turkish is ready to provide assistance to Azerbaijan in ensuring the
security of Caspian oil fields, the visiting commander of the Turkish Navy,
Fleet Admiral Ozden Ornek told journalists on Monday March 28, 2005.

Ozden Ornek said that the issue of ensuring the security of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline will be in focus at his meetings with
Azerbaijani officials. “One end of the pipeline should be safeguarded by
Turkey, while the other one by Azerbaijan,” said the Turkish Admiral,
stressing that his country may also assist in ensuring the security of the
Azeri section of the pipeline.

3. SOCAR: no strikes only bad weather in Georgia

Source: Washington Times, March 29, 2005

According to a statement made by State Oil Company of the Republic of
Azerbaijan (SOCAR) President Natiq Aliyev on March 23, 2005 SOCAR continues
to deny reports that workers involved in the construction of the Georgian
section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline are on strike. Aliyev
emphasized: “The construction of the Georgian section is delayed due to poor
weather conditions. However, the Georgian side makes every effort to
complete construction operations by the end of April to receive the Azeri
oil starting on 1 May.”

4. BTC: first tanker to sail in September

Source: Oil and Gas Journal, March 30, 2005

Exports of crude oil via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline will began
in September, according to key state officials connected with the project.

Gokhan Cologlu, director general of the Turkish section, announced the
September date to an oil and gas conference in Ankara on March 29, 2005
confirming remarks made on March 23, 2005 by Natik Aliyev, president of
State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR).

“We are trying to stay on a schedule whereby the first tanker will sail from
the Turkish port of Ceyhan in September,” Aliyev said.

Explaining that there had been delays due to a harsh winter this year, he
said: “We are doing everything possible to stay on schedule and not to be
late. In Georgia all that remains is to cross the Kura River, but think that
by April we will finis everything.”

He said oil will star to flow in the Azerbaijani section in May and from
Georgia in July. “We will complete all mechanical work on the Turkish
section” on June 30, Aliyev said.

5. Ambassador: US supports Kazakhstan in BTC

Source: US Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce, March 30, 2005

The United States backs Kazakhstan’s joining to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
(BTC) main export oil pipeline, John Ordway, the US Ambassador to
Kazakhstan, told a news conference in Almaty, Trend reports.

According to John Ordway, Washington continues working on establishment of
conditions for Kazakh oil delivery via the BTC. “Though the talks still
continue, we do all possible to end talk successfully and to enable the
Kazakh oil in this direction,” John Ordway stressed.

The diplomat said that Kazakhstan should have alterative routes for oil
transportation.

“We do not regard the issue from the aspect of rivalry. Kazakhstan does not
possess enough capacity to transport its oil, which will be produced within
the next decades,” said Ordway.

6. PIPES FOR SOUTH CAUCASUS PIPELINE TO REACH PLACE OF CONSIGNMENT

Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
March 30, 2005

The last consignment of pipes for the South Caucasus pipeline has been
unloaded in the Georgian seaport Poti. The pipes are being carried to the
depots in Azerbaijan. Since the beginning of the pipeline’s construction
over 77 thousand pipes have been carried to the places of consignment.

7. “LUKOIL” DRILLS SECOND EXPLORATORY WELL IN CASPIAN

Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
March 30, 2005

The Lukoil’s semi-submersible rig “Leader” is now engaged in drilling of the
second 4500 meters deep exploratory well, located in the D-222 block in
Yalama structure, the company’s Baku office announced. The project costs US
$60 thousand.

8. Turkey: BTC best Alternative

Source: The Messenger, March 31, 2005

Turkey sounded the alarm Monday March 28, 2005 over the amount of oil
transiting the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, warning of an environmental
disaster waiting to happen. “The quantity of oil passing through the straits
has increased by 50% in the past three years, “Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi
Guler told a two-day conference here on energy cooperation in the Caspian
and Black Sea regions.

“If anything were to happen in the straits, it would pose a major problem
for the region, notably for Istanbul, and would affect oil supply for
months.” “An environmental accident in Istanbul would be a disaster,” he
said.

Hilmi Guler repeated Turkey’s view that a new Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil
pipeline, which he said should be operational within months, would be the
best way to transport Caucasian oil towards the West while cutting
congestion in the two northwestern straits.

9. MILLENNIUM ECOSYSTEM ASSESSMENT HIGHLIGHTS GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM
DEGRADATION

Source: IUCN, March 30, 2005

The landmark Millennium Ecosystem Assessment released today reveals that
approximately 60 percent of the ecosystem services that support life on
Earth – such as fresh water, capture fisheries, air and water regulation,
and the regulation of regional climate, natural hazards and pests – are
being degraded or used unsustainably. Scientists warn that the harmful
consequences of this degradation could grow significantly worse in the next
50 years. At the same time, eight international conservation organisations
release a joint statement in support of the MEA findings, and pledge their
commitment to conservation action in support of human well-being.

10. INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK SETS NEW ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE
POLICY

Source: IUCN, March 31, 2005

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is currently developing a new
Environment and Safeguard Compliance Policy. The World Conservation Union
(IUCN) has participated in several of the regional consultations, including
hosting the European consultation in Brussels. The Union welcomes the IDB’s
focus on proactive mainstreaming of environmental concerns in country
programming processes and calls for strengthening the IDB’s internal
management capacity and incentives to ensure that the policy is vigorously
implemented. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) is concerned, however, that
the draft IDB policy is too restrictive in its definitions and too narrow in
its approach to protecting conservation areas. Lastly, while the Union
welcomes the IDB’s proposals for dealing with instances of “significant
direct” environmental impacts of policy based lending, the IDB should also
establish mechanisms to deal with potential indirect, unanticipated, or
unintentional impacts. In these cases, the Union recommends the use of
participatory monitoring mechanisms linked to adaptive management processes.

11. Genetically Modified Trees in Chile: A New Forest Conflict

Source: Mapuexpress – Mapuche News , (Informativo
Mapuche),

El Hacha (The Axe) is a song written by Patricio Manns and performed by Inti
Illimani on their release Arriesgaré la piel; its final lines refer to
deforestation: “The forest comes before Man, but desert follows him.”
Without a doubt, deforestation has seriously affected the balance of forest
ecosystems worldwide, making understandable the fear that paralyzes those
who are aware of this issue; fear that is expressed in different ways, such
as in this song. A second phenomenon negatively affecting the survival of
forests is the creation of extensive single-crop forest plantations, and in
particular, current concerns about new plantations of genetically modified
trees.

To understand the negative effects of extensive single specie tree farming,
we must take into account that countries in the southern hemisphere in
general and southern Chile in particular suffer from a destructive process
that is advancing from the North. Over time, forests have been greatly
impacted by the incremental spread of agriculture and livestock, cutting for
firewood, and the felling and replacement of native forest with pine and
eucalyptus plantations, which have led to topsoil degradation and acacia and
blackberry invasions. As a result, animal habitat has been lost and the
countryside has been altered. Social problems have arisen as well, including
the forced migration of people who find themselves surrounded by huge
plantations of single-crop introduced tree species and the transformation of
the process of the restitution to Mapuche communities of traditional lands
into a matter for the courts.

The first plantations of Pinus Radiata (Monterey Pine) were established in
Chile in 1920. From that date on the forward march of this single-crop
cultivation has gone unhindered and in recent decades, the result has been
environmental change and degradation. Among the many changes are:
environmental homogeneity, evident in the vast and monotonous landscape
vistas of unchanging color and architecture; biodiversity reduction and
changes in the mechanisms that regulate its component parts; increasing
vulnerability from pest invasions and the indiscriminate application of
pesticides to control them; and the use of prime agricultural land for
cultivating tree plantations, resulting in the underutilization of this
important natural resource.

Genetic engineering techniques have been used to achieve optimum production
results in both agriculture and forest cultivation, including the genetic
manipulation of commercially important plants. These issues have gone
largely unreported to the public. People might know a little bit about
genetically modified foods, but the development of Genetically Modified
Organisms (GMOs) in the forestry industry is far less well known.

The first genetically modified (GM) trees were planted in Belgium in 1988.
In Chile, projects have been in development since the mid-1990s exploring
the use of biotechnology in trees for industrial and commercial ends, which
focus primarily on exotic species (pine and eucalyptus), with the goal of
improving productivity. These projects have public sector support from such
institutions as INFOR – Forestry Institute, (part of the Ministry of
Agriculture), Fundación Chile (Chile Foundation), and the Universities of
Concepción, Austral and Frontera, as well from the private sector -Bioforest
(controlled by Bosques Arauco). Several million dollars have been paid out
from the national treasury.

The following are some of the risks involved with planting these trees:

a) Long-term unforeseen changes in the altered or “guest” genome.

b) Genetic contamination when plantations or test stands of transgenic trees
are planted near their native forest relatives. The probability for genetic
contamination is high.

c) Changes in productivity and soil degradation (trees modified for rapid
growth are harvested in less time and use the soil more intensively, thus
there is greater demand for water and fewer opportunities for the nutrients
to recycle).

d) Possible effects on human health include resistance to antibiotics and
increased allergies.

In 2000, the New Zealand horticultural institute Hort Research won a
contract from the Chile Foundation (a governmental body) to provide
technical assistance in exchange for financing the development of a
transgenic Pinus radiata (Monterey Pine), one resistant to the moth that
attacks its buds. The goal is to “optimize the use of this natural resource
to increase its productive capacity.”

The Chilean government takes a positive view of these practices and
partnerships. In its presidential announcement, made in March 2004 at the
inauguration of the first Global Biotechnology Forum, the spread of these
new trends nationwide was referred to, opening the door for the creation of
a Biotechnology Center in Chile.

According to an article by Dr. María Isabel Manzur published in October 2000
, the planting of genetically modified trees in Chile is in its initial phas
es, but some projects working with transgenic pine and eucalyptus are
already underway:

1. Bioforest, subsidiary of Forestal Arauco, located in the VIII
Region. Its research program is centered on improving pine and eucalyptus
through cloning techniques. The company also works in biological pest
control.

2. Genfor, S.A., a partnership between the Chile Foundation,
Sylvagen of Canada and Interlink of the United States, created in 1999 with
the support of CORFO (Ministry of Manufacturing Development). It utilizes
technology for improving cloning (somatic embryogenesis) and the creation of
genetically modified Pinus radiata, soon to be planted in test fields.

3. INIA IX Región (Institute of Farming and Animal Husbandry
Research), together with the Universities of Chile and Católica, CINVESTAV
Irapuato Labs of Mexico, Department of the Ministry of Agriculture (SEREMI)
of Chile’s IX Region, Agrícola Mar Rojo, the Afodegama Foundation and Indes
Salus, are collaborating on a seed transgenesis development project to
enhance resistance to the apple tree scab.

4. Royal Dutch/Shell in Chile and Uruguay: Production of a GM
eucalyptus tree with a different type of lignin, making its removal easier
for the pulp and paper industry.

One incentive for establishing tree plantations in general and transgenic
trees in particular is the market for “carbon credits,” which are part of
the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Production Mechanisms (CPMs) that were recently
accepted at the United Nation’s 10th Framework Convention on Climate Change,
held last December in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Chile is not averse to the
idea of carbon credits, according to INFOR’s Jorge Urrutia, who stated that
CPMs could turn into a very good opportunity for the forestry sector.

It is important to recognize that Chile could become one of the countries
with the greatest number of genetically modified commercial tree plantations
without the legal and environmental safeguards to control them; (currently,
the release of transgenic crops are not subject to environmental impact
studies). One of 4 demands sought by the Foundation for Sustainable
Societies (Fundación Sociedades Sustentables) – that the planting of GM
trees should be subject to Law 19.300, which requires an environmental
impact study – stems from this issue. The other demands seek a moratorium on
GM plantations, the development of a national policy for genetically
modified trees, and an assessment of risks to human and environmental
health. I see no option but to join these demands.

We must act first, understanding that the reasons used to justified GM
plantations are lies; that genetically modified trees will not reduce
pressure on the remaining native forest, roll back climate change, solve the
problem of pollution from the pulp and paper industry, or reduce the use of
pesticides.

In conclusion, 2 facts about the paper industry underscore the issue of tree
plantations in general and genetically modified trees in particular:

1. International pulp and paper industry earnings are basically
guaranteed by the resources handed to them in the form of subsidies by
southern hemisphere nation governments. Furthermore, these countries run the
risk of dependence on a raw material subject to sharp price swings, with a
high probability of lower prices in the short term, an argument against the
tremendous increase, day by day, of these plantations.

2. The majority of all the paper produced worldwide is consumed by
developed countries, with 40% of the total destined for packaging, and that
doesn’t even take into account that most of the paper destined for writing
and printing is used for marketing and publicity.

These facts raise the following questions: Are we prepared to pay the costs
of these export models? Is it worth suffering the social and environmental
impacts caused by plantations to obtain these products? Are we truly
informed about the amount of national resources being used to finance the
research and establishment of genetically modified trees?

Stop Genetically Engineered Trees Campaign

A project of Global Justice Ecology Project

P.O. Box 412

Hinesburg, VT 05461 U.S.

+1.802.482.2689 ph/fax

<[email protected]>

mailto:[email protected]

The Stop Genetically Engineered Trees Campaign includes the Sierra Club,
Rainforest Action Network, Dogwood Alliance, Polaris Institute, Global
Justice Ecology Project, WildLaw, Southern Forests Network, Institute for
Social Ecology Biotechnology Project, ForestEthics, Klamath-Siskiyou
Wildlands Center, Forest Stewards Guild, Northwest Resistance Against
Genetic Engineering and GE Free Maine.

12. the second call for proposals under the CEPF regional programme

Dear Colleagues,

As you are aware, from June 2004 the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
(CEPF) launched its Regional Programme in the Caucasus Biodiversity Hotspot.
This Programme is intended for the following countries of the Hotspot –
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Turkey. The main aim of the
Programme is conservation of unique biodiversity in the Caucasus region. The
programme will be continued over four years (June, 2004 – June, 2008).

In the frame of a preliminary stage of the CEPF Programme the document –
“Ecosystem Profile for Caucasus Biodiversity Hotspot“ has been elaborated.
This is the key document, which defines priority species, sites and
corridors in terms of biodiversity conservation in the Caucasus Hotspot.
This document determines strategic directions and investment priorities for
biodiversity conservation in the Caucasus Hotspot as well. Exactly these
mentioned priorities will be taken into consideration during review and
selection of submitted proposals. The document – “Ecosystem Profile for
Caucasus Biodiversity Hotspot“ and a relevant application form are
available in English and Russian languages on CEPF`s web-site at

In order to ensure successful implementation of the CEPF Programme in the
Caucasus Hotspot, CEPF established a regional coordination mechanism. The
coordination team composes of regional and national coordinators. Regional
Coordinator of the Programme is Nugzar Zazanashvili (e-mail:
[email protected]) – Conservation Director of WWF Caucasus
Programme Office, National Coordinator for Georgia is Maka Bitsadze (e-mail:
[email protected], tel: 33 01 54 /55).

This notification is to announce the second call for proposals under the
CEPF regional programme. Deadline for submission of project proposals is 31
May, 2005.

Project proposals should be submitted to CEPF National Coordinator in your
country. Also, for further detailed information on the CEPF Caucasus Hotspot
programme you can apply to CEPF national coordinator.

WWF Caucasus Programme Office

11, Alexidze street,

Tbilisi, 0171, Georgia

Tel: (995 32) 33 01 54 / 55

Fax: (995 32) 33 01 90

e-mail: [email protected]

13. EIA Reports

Source: “Sakartvelos Respublica” (“Republic of Georgia”), March 11, 2005

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, “Karieri” Ltd. submitted EIA
report to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia to obtain an environmental
permit for the activity of second category – Inert Materials Processing
Enterprise in Khobi Region, Village Nojixevi.

In accordance with the Georgian legislation, “Ozurgeti Tskalkanali” Ltd.
submitted EIA report to the Ministry of Environment of Georgia to obtain an
environmental permit for the activity of second category – Water Pipeline on
the base of River Bzhuzhi.

EIA reports are available at the Department of Environmental Permits and
State Ecological Expertise (15 A Tamarashvili Str., Tel: 39 91 81).
Interested stakeholders can analyze the document and present their comments
and considerations until May 24, 2005.

Public hearing will be held on May 24, 2005 at 12:00, at the conference hall
of the Ministry of Environment (68 A, Kostava Str., Tbilisi, VI Floor).

*******************************************
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)

Tel: ++995 32 75 19 03/04
Fax: ++995 32 75 19 05
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

Armenian defence minister meets outgoing Russian ambassador

Arminfo
29 Mar 05

YEREVAN

The secretary of the National Security Council under the Armenian
president and defence minister, Serzh Sarkisyan, today received the
outgoing Russian ambassador to Armenia, Anatoliy Dryukov, the press
service of the Defence Ministry told Arminfo.

He thanked the ambassador for his seven years of fruitful work as head
of the diplomatic mission in Armenia and wished him health and success
in his future activities.

Arab Monitor, Italy
March 29 2005

Lebanese Armenians and Shiites call for national unity

Beirut, 28 March – in his Easter sermon, Catholicos of the
Armenian-Orthodox in Lebanon, Aram al-Awal, called for growing
awareness of the necessity to build a strong internal front, based on
solidarity among the various Lebanese communities.

Contemporaneously, the Deputy Chairman of the Islamic Shiite Higher
Council in Lebanon, Sheikh Abdul-Amir Kabalan issued a statement in
which he denounced the recent bombing assault carried out in a Beirut
quarter, declaring that the denotations and connotations of this
criminal act is “a black letter that contains Zionist fingerprints
that would lead to foreign intervention in Lebanon.”

Also today, the Beirut office of the Al-Jazeera news outlet was
threatened to have the building in which it’s offices are located,
blown up unless it desists from further investigating into the above
mentioned bombing assault.

’39&lang=en

National football team returns
By a staff reporter

Jordan Times
March 28 2005

AMMAN – The national football team returned home on Sunday after losing
2-1 in a friendly match against the Cypriot national team in Larnaca.

Team officials headed by coach Mahmoud Al Johary said they were
satisfied with the performance of the newcomers to the lineup,
although the team missed many scoring chances.

Cyprus scored in the 9th and 29th minutes, before Hassan Abdul Fattah
gave Jordan its sole goal in the 80th minute to make it 2-1.

The lineup for the Cyprus match missed star players from Faisali
(due to their participation in the Asian Champions Cup qualifiers) as
well as professional players Hassouneh Sheikh and Bashar Bani Yasin,
both playing in Bahrain.

Jordan will next play Iraq on June 9, the Armenian national team Aug.
17 in Amman and again in Yerevan, Armenia, on Oct. 6, and Qatar Nov.
16.

This week, Jordan’s FIFA world ranking dropped one place to 42nd
from the highest ever of 37th in August 2004, compared to 96th in
August 2002.

Jordan is still 5th among Arab countries in the rankings (behind Saudi
Arabia, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia) and 5th in Asia (behind Japan,
Iran, South Korea and Saudi Arabia).

Jordan’s ranking shot up around 100 spots in two years after reaching
the 2004 Asian Cup finals for the first time in the event’s 49-year
history and maintaining a good showing in the first leg of the 2006
World Cup qualifiers.

The national team was revamped at the beginning of the year following
Jordan’s elimination from the first round of the World Cup qualifiers
as well as the finals of the Asian Cup in 2004. Well-known faces were
replaced by players mostly under 25 years of age with the hope that
they would have the consistency and competitive form when Jordan next
plays in the Asian Cup qualifiers early next year.

The new lineup held Norway to a goalless draw in a friendly match in
Amman earlier this year.

Hoping for long-term results, players who were no longer performing as
expected, including veterans like team captain Abdullah Abu Zame’h,
Mouayyad Salim, Haitham Shboul, Rateb Awadat and Amer Deeb, have
been replaced by not so well-known faces that made their mark in the
Premier League Championship.

Johary said the new lineup intended to have a median age of 26 by
2007, adding that the list was by no means final and would continue
to be assessed prior to the Asian qualifiers in February 2006.

KARABAKH ISSUE SOLUTION WAYS DEPEND ON POLITICAL WILL OF ALL PARTIES TO CONFLICT

PanArmenian News
March 26 2005

26.03.2005 04:57

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The role of the OSCE MG Co-Chairs lies in mediation,
not arbitration, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister
Dimitrij Rupel noted, Arminfo news agency reported. He again
underscored that the ways to solution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
depend on the political will of all parties to conflict and the OSCE
mediation mission approaches to solution of conflicts in Nagorno
Karabakh, Georgia and Moldova differ and are determined depending
from the circumstances of the conflicts. ~SThe role of the OSCE MG
Co-Chairs lies in facilitating the talks that will lead to a lasting
and stable settlement of the conflict,~T Rupel noted.

CATHOLICOS ARAM I CALLS FOR DIALOGUE AND NATIONAL UNITY

ANTELIAS, LEBANON, MARCH 25, NOYAN TAPAN: On the occasion of Palm
Sunday, His Holiness Aram I, Armenian Catholicos of Cilicia, gave
a special speech to the believers gathered in the St. Gregory the
Illuminator Cathedral in Antelias on Sunday, March 20. During his
speech he spoke about the current political situation of Lebanon and
focused on the role expected from the Armenian Community. According
to the Press Office of the Catholicosate of Cilicia, His Holiness
said that Lebanon is currently facing difficult times, pointing out
that after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri,
popular protests and statements by politicians have left the people
worried and confused. “Lately, some people started to ask about
where the Armenian Community of Lebanon stands in this situation,”
His Holiness said, adding: “We are with Lebanon in the full and the
true understanding of the word. The Lebanese-Armenian Community is not
indifferent or neutral towards the events unfolding in Lebanon. It
has a clear view and a position that is based on its deep loyalty
and strong attachment to Lebanon and true love for it.” The Pontiff
assured that as a community comprising the vast Lebanese society,
the Armenians are with “Lebanon’s unity, integrity, sovereignty
and independence.” “We truly believe that Lebanon’s only road to
salvation is the unity of its people. Our community acted on and
defended this principle for thirty years.” The Catholicos added that
Armenians also support the harmonious cohabitation of the Christian
and Muslim communities. “Throughout Lebanon ‘s most difficult times
the Armenians of Lebanon tried to become a bridge between all sides
for the sake of preserving the cohabitation of the Lebanese society.
Now as well, this is the role of our community,” he said. His Holiness
emphasized that the Armenian community is with the preservation of
liberties and justice. Pointing out that Lebanon is a democratic
country and a country of freedom, Aram I highlighted the importance
of protecting these principles. He also said that the truth should be
revealed about the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
and an investigation must be conducted by the United Nations. “We are
with the full and exact implementation of the Taef Accord. Let’s not
forget that the Arab World and the international community support
the accord, which was signed with the participation of representatives
from all the communities of Lebanon,” said His Holiness, emphasizing
the imperative of the quick and full implementation of the Taef
Accord. Aram I assured that the Armenians support the establishment
of good neighborly relations between Lebanon and Syria, based on
the principle of mutual recognition of each country’s independence,
integrity and sovereignty. His Holiness reminded that the Armenians
of Lebanon have with the national consensus concerning the Hezbollah;
and he praised the initiative of the Lebanese people to unite under
the Lebanese flag with the same expectations, principles and the same
vision for Lebanon’s future. Aram I also said that the time has come
for the issues raised by the people to be discusses around the table of
dialogue. “The Armenians of Lebanon are ready to actively participate
in all the initiatives that spring from the approaches and principles
we already stated. We are continuously consulting with the different
parties in order to bring the country out of its current stalemate,” He
said. He praised the patriotic approach of the leaders of the Armenian
Community and advised them to continue their full participation in
strengthening Lebanon’s internal unity, sovereignty and integrity.

AZG Armenian Daily #053, 26/03/2005

Armenia-Russia

RUSSIA IS STILL ONE OF MAIN TRADE-ECONOMIC PARTNERS OF ARMENIA

Vladimir Putin’s Forth Visit to Armenia

Vladimir Putin, RF President, arrived in Yerevan on March 24. Mr. Putin
will officially open the arrangements of “The Year of Russia in
Armenia.” This is Putin’s fourth visit to Armenia. He visited
Armenia for the first time in 1999, then in 2001 and in the spring
of 2002. Putin participated in the congress of CSTO in Yerevan.

Robert Kocharian and other high-ranking officials met Mr. and
Mrs. Putins at Zvartnots airport.

Russia is still the key political, economic and strategic partner
of Armenia. Yerevan and Moscow closely cooperate both bilaterally
and within the framework of CSTO (Armenia, Russia, Byelorussia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan). The Russian military station
N102 is located in Gyumri and the Armenian and Russian frontier guards
together watch the Armenian-Turkish and the Armenian- Iranian border.

The Armenian-Russian trade-economic relations are still strong thought
there are no common borders between the two countries and they are
connected through Georgia. The latter has serious contradictions with
Moscow that directly influence the Armenian-Russian relations. It’s
worth reminding the Upper Lars events when the blocking of the
Russian-Georgian border directly hindered the Armenian goods and
passengers to get to their destinations.

The Armenian-Russian goods turnover amounted to $208 million in
2004. Russia became the main trade-economic partner of Armenia after
the collapse of the Soviet Union. On the other hand, Russia’ s role in
the foreign goods turnover of Armenia decreases year by year. Thus,
it amounted to 19,2% in 2001, then to 17,4% in 2002, 15,2% in 2003
and 12,9% in 2004.

At present, there are 589 Russian companies registered in
Armenia. About 300 of them effectively function. Igor Levitin, co-chair
of the Armenian-Russian Cooperation Intergovernmental Committee,
told Novosti agency that Armenal, Sibir air-company are among the
most effectively working Russian companies in Armenia.

The Armenian-Russian goods turnover and the Russian investments in
Armenia could be larger, if Moscow launched the Armenian companied
purchased within the framework of asset-for-debt 2002 program. Russia
purchased Mathematical Machines Scientific-Research Institute ($2,75
million), Management Automatic Systems SRI ($3,37 million), Mars plant
($56,29 million), and Hrazdan Hydro ($31 million) in 2002.

After getting the Armenia companies, Russia almost hasn’t made any
investments and this caused the dissatisfaction of the Armenian
side. The political experts who know Russia well say that in Russia
such companies are collapsing and one shouldn’t expect that Moscow
will restore them and make serious investments in the Armenian
companies. Recently, Victor Khristenko, RF energy minister, stated
that $21 million will be needed for restoring “Mars” plant.

Last year in Sochi the Russian President publicly expressed
dissatisfaction with the Armenian-Russian economic cooperation and the
goods turnover volumes. Armenia is not content, either. Particularly,
in Moscow, in summer, Vartan Oskanian expressed concern about the
current situation in the companies purchased within the framework
of asset-for-debt program. Andranik Margarian, RA prime minister,
expressed concern in February when Sergey Lavrov was in Yerevan. But
the reason was quite a different one. Mr. Margarian stated that
Russia is going to get connected with Iran through the territory of
Azerbaijan, while a railway system is functioning in the territory
of Armenia and it can connect all the countries of the region.

Indeed, Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi, Yerevan-Nakhijevan-Julfa railways
stretch in the territory of Armenia but, for known reasons, they
haven’t functioned for years. Even if we want it very much, the road
connecting Russia with the Persian Gulf can’t pass through Armenia. One
should take into account the fact that the unsettled Russian-Georgian
relations hinder the implementation of this project.

By Tatoul Hakobian

Providence Journal , RI
March 25 2005

Exhibit focuces on Armenian genocide

PROVIDENCE — An exhibit of prints dealing with the Armenian genocide
will be on display next month at the Mathewson Street United
Methodist Church.

The exhibit, “Man’s Inhumanity to Man: The Armenian Genocide — If I
Start to Cry, I Think I Will Cry Forever” is by John Avakian.

Avakian said the exhibit “represents an extraordinary journey into
darkness and suffering to reclaim my past, and honor my loving
parents who suffered so much,” according to the church.

There will be a program relating to the exhibit during Gallery Night
April 21. David S. Thomas, a professor of history at Rhode Island
College, will discuss “The Turkish-Armenian Conflict from World War I
to Present” at 6:30 p.m. The program, financed by the Rhode Island
Council for the Humanities, is free and open to the public.

The church said there will be time after the presentation for a
discussion with Avakian and Thomas. That will be moderated by P.
William Hutchinson, professor emeritus of theater at Rhode Island
College and chairman of the Committee for Ministries to the City and
Arts at the church.

For more information, call the church at (401) 331-8900 or (401)
232-3961.

Today.Az

Politics Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan made a statement on the
report made out by fact-finding mission of OSCE

24 March 2005 [14:27] – Today.Az

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan made statement on the
report made out by Fact-finding Mission of Minsk Group of OSCE,
about settling facts in the occupied territories.

It is stated in the information received from Ministry for Foreign
Affairs, that sending of Mission was possible by principal position
of Head Assembly of UNO.

“Such mission has been held for the first time, since the territories
of Azerbaijan were occupied and UNO Security Council made relevant
resolutions on the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”

Saying that, the mission confirms the settling of the territories and
uneasiness of Azerbaijan, MFA told that, the report was drown out
on the basis of large geological material presented by Azerbaijan
side and was prepared on the base of real materials as a result of
the process. MFA states that, despite of all objective difficulties
(climate and relief, short of time, artificial obstacle to the motion
in the occupied territories etc) the Mission achieved in fulfilling
its mission generally.

“The Ministry thank to the head and members of the Mission for their
activities.” Most of the figures presented by Azerbaijan side, coincide
with the conclusion of the Mission, the statement says. For instance,
according to the initial information of Azerbaijan side, 20.000-23.000
people were settled in the occupied territories. The corresponding
indication of the Mission is more than 17.000 people. Expressing its
alarm on organized settling in the region of Lachin, Azerbaijan side
showed that, 13.000 people were settled there.

The Mission shows this figure to be 8.000-11.000 in the report of the
mission. Azerbaijan side stresses the gift of the co-chairs of Minsk
Group of OSCE to the work of the mission , the co-chairs call in
their advice basing on this report ” Not to settle in the occupies
territories and make changes in the demographic structure of the
region any more “.

They stated that: “If the situation remains like that for a long time,
this might make the peace process complicated. “They apply relevant
international organizations and ask to dislocate the settled people
from the occupied territories and to study material and finance
needs in the region for settling the internally displaced people to
their permanent territories. Azerbaijan side highly appreciates
the decision of the co-chairs of Minsk Group on remaining this
matter on the agenda. The participation of government of Armenia in
the organized settling of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan,
it must be noted that, though the Mission has not answered directly
this question, there are enough proofs in its report, as well as in
the materials presented by Azerbaijan, in the statements made by high
ranking officials of Republic of Armenia confirming the fact that,
government of Armenia directly supports the settling.

It is doubtless that, there are mutual relations and activity between
Armenia and the separatist regime. It was established in Upper Garabagh
region of Azerbaijan and it needs no additional commentary. This matter
has not been touched upon in the report of the Mission. As concerns
the Mission has not found direct proofs about the participation of
Armenia in the settling, Armenia cooperated with the separatists in
Upper Garabagh.

The attempts to remove Armenia out of the frame of this matter are
vague and it is groundless. In accordance with the international
juridical norms, Armenia as an invader is fully responsible for any
kind of activity in the occupied territory, as well as for settling
Armenians to the territories where they didn’t live in before. The
report and advice made by the co-chairs of Minsk Group of OSCE on the
basis of the report paves the way to investigating and solving the
problem after it. The Ministry expresses hope that, international
union will support it in this matter. /APA/

The wrongs and rights of minorities

Mar 17th 2005
>From The Economist print edition

Turkey has yet to face up to its diversity

THE country has moved some way towards meeting the Copenhagen
criteria for EU membership. It has abolished the death penalty,
saving the life of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the PKK, an
outlawed Kurdish organisation responsible for a guerrilla war through
much of the 1990s. It has revised the penal code (previously
unchanged since 1926) and reinforced the rights of women. It has
introduced a new law allowing broadcasting in any language, including
Kurdish. And it has brought to an end the random searches that used
to be common, particularly in the east. Now nobody can be searched
without a court order.

The government has also introduced an official policy of zero
tolerance towards torture, for which its police and security forces
became infamous in the West in 1978 with the release of “Midnight
Express”, Alan Parker’s film about a young American imprisoned on
drugs charges. The punishment for torture has been increased, and
sentences may no longer be deferred or converted into fines, as often
happened in the past.

But changing the law is one thing, changing habits is another. A
villager in the east who gets searched by the state police may still
not dare demand to see a court order. The police forces, it is said,
are being retrained, but the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TIHV)
says that of 918 people treated at its centres in 2004, 337 claimed
they had been tortured. The comparable figures for 2003 were 925 and
340. The TIHV says that even in 2004, “torture was applied
systematically by police, gendarmerie and special units in
interrogation centres.” It claims that 21 people died in
“extra-judicial killings” during the year.

In its October 2004 report on Turkish accession, the European
Commission emphasised the need for further “strengthening and full
implementation of provisions related to the respect of fundamental
freedoms and protection of human rights, including women’s rights,
trade-union rights, minority rights and problems faced by non-Muslim
religious communities.”

Institutionalised intolerance

>From its very beginnings the republic has been confused about
minorities. In his book, “Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two
Worlds”, Stephen Kinzer, a New York Times journalist, wrote:
“Something about the concept of diversity frightens Turkey’s ruling
elite.” Officially the state recognises only three minorities: those
mentioned in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, signed after Ataturk’s army
had thrown out the occupying forces left over from the first world
war. The treaty specifically protects the rights of the Armenian,
Greek and Jewish communities in the country.

In the early years of the republic there were Kurds in parliament,
and the deputy speaker was an Alevi (a religious minority of which
more later). But after Kurdish uprisings in 1925 and 1937 were
brutally suppressed, the republic went into denial about its cultural
diversity. The word “minority” came to refer only to the Lausanne
trio, who were non-Muslims and indeed were increasingly perceived as
non-Turks. If you are a member of a minority in Turkey today you are,
almost by definition, seen as not fully Turkish.

The Kemalists’ narrow brand of nationalism has helped to suppress the
country’s sensitivity to minorities. At Anit Kabir, one of the huge
murals in the museum below Ataturk’s tomb depicts the Greek army
marching through occupied Anatolia in 1919, with a soldier on
horseback about to bayonet a beautiful Turkish girl. In the
background is a Greek cleric brandishing a cross and inciting the
soldiers. The picture caption explains (in English): “During these
massacres the fact that clerics played a provoking role has been
proven by historical evidence.” As anti-clerical as Ataturk was
(whatever the faith), it is hard to believe that he would have
approved of such a message.

Turkey has also found it difficult to face up to the Armenians’
persistent allegation that the massacres of 1915, in the maelstrom of
the first world war, were genocide. Gunduz Aktan, the head of an
Ankara think-tank and a former Turkish ambassador in Athens,
dismisses the claims as “Holocaust envy”.

The most troublesome minority in recent years has been the biggest of
them all, the Kurds. Where minorities are concerned, size does
matter. The Armenians, Greeks and Jews in Turkey today number in the
tens of thousands; the Kurds up to 15m. In the 15-year guerrilla war
in the east between the Turkish army and security forces and Mr
Ocalan’s PKK, some 35,000 civilians and troops were killed. Many more
villagers were displaced (some say perhaps a million), terrorised out
of their homes, often by fellow Kurds, and forced to move to cities
far away. But nobody really knows what proportion of the Kurds the
PKK stands for.

The more extreme Kurds say they want their own
homeland-“Kurdistan”, a word that provokes shivers in Ankara-to
embrace their people living in Iran and Iraq as well as in Turkey.
The more moderate Turkish Kurds want to be allowed to speak their own
language, to be taught it in school, and to hear it broadcast-all of
which they are slowly and grudgingly being granted. DEHAP’s party
congress this year was attended by Mr Ocalan’s sister and Feleknas
Uca, a German member of the European Parliament. Both addressed the
meeting in Kurdish. The Kurds’ cause has received extensive publicity
abroad. Leyla Zana, a member of the Turkish parliament imprisoned for
ten years for speaking in Kurdish in the parliament building, was
released last year after intense pressure from abroad. The Kurdish
Human Rights Project, a London-based charity, has been effective in
bringing Kurdish cases to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Panos
Panos

The Kurds are still waiting for better times

Among them are thousands of claims for compensation for loss of
property as a result of the military incursion against the PKK in the
1990s. Such cases, however, can be heard in Strasbourg only if
domestic laws offer no prospect of compensation, and Turkey recently
passed a law “on damages incurred from terrorism and combating
terrorism”. The governor of Tunceli, a town close to mountains where
the PKK was particularly active, said recently that 6,200 people in
his province had applied for compensation under the new law.

The government is also making modest attempts to help Kurds who were
forcibly removed from their villages to return home. Incidents in the
east are now few and far between, even though last summer the PKK,
renamed Kongra-Gel, ended a ceasefire called after Mr Ocalan was
arrested in Kenya in 1999. The organisation said the government had
reneged on a promised amnesty to its members.

Dark forces

So has the Kurdish problem been more or less resolved? Not if you
listen to the many Turks who believe in conspiracy theories. Such
theories thrive in a society that still thinks transparency in public
affairs is an oxymoron. After the tsunami disaster in Asia on
December 26th last year, the American embassy in Ankara felt obliged
to issue an official denial of colourful Turkish newspaper reports
that the wave had been caused by American underwater nuclear
explosions designed to kill large numbers of Muslims.

The conspiracy theory about the Kurds goes something like this: Mr
Ocalan, although held in solitary confinement on a remote island in
the Sea of Marmara, still controls the larger part of the
organisation through visits from his brother, his sister and a
lawyer. Since his captors are said to be able to control what
messages he conveys in return for supplying him with cigarettes and
other favours, why would he end the ceasefire unless dark forces
wished to resurrect the Kurdish uprising? And why ever would they
want to do that? In order to undermine the EU negotiations by
reigniting civil war in the east, concludes the theory.

This may not be as absurd as it sounds. There are powerful groups
inside Turkey who see no advantage in joining the EU, and many Turks
believe in the presence of dark forces inside the state. Anyone who
doubts the idea of an état profond, a deep state-a combination of
military officers, secret-service agents, politicians and businessmen
that pull invisible strings-is silenced with one word: “Susurluk”.
This is the name of a town in western Turkey where in 1996 a Mercedes
car crashed into a lorry, killing three of its four occupants. These
proved to be an eerily ill-assorted bunch: a notorious gangster,
sought by Interpol, and his mistress; a Kurdish MP and clan chief
suspected of renting out his private army to the Turkish authorities
in their fight against the PKK; and a top-ranking police officer who
had been director of the country’s main police academy. What they
were doing together that night may never be known-the sole survivor,
the clan chief, claims to remember nothing-but it is sure to fuel
Turkish conspiracy theories for years to come.

An unsung minority

There is another large minority in Turkey that has received nothing
like as much attention as the Kurds. Most Turks are Sunni Muslims,
whereas most Arabs are Shiites. But there is a group called the Alevi
who have lived in Anatolia for many centuries and who are not Sunni.

Their main prophet, like the Shiites’, is not Mohammed but his
son-in-law, Ali. Most of them maintain that their religion is
separate from Islam, and that it is a purely Anatolian faith based on
Shaman and Zoroastrian beliefs going back 6,000 years. Christian,
Jewish and Islamic influences were added later, though the Alevi
accept that the Islamic influence is the strongest.

Their number is uncertain, because no census in Turkey has asked
about religious affiliation since the early 1920s. At that time the
Alevi accounted for about 35% of the then population of 13m. Today
the best estimate is that they make up about a fifth of a population
that has grown to 70m, their share whittled down by the success of
the republic’s policy of “ignore them and hope they will
assimilate”.

Many of the Alevi are also Kurds. The most predominantly Alevi town
is Tunceli, once a PKK stronghold and a place notably short of
mosques. The Alevi are not keen on them because Ali, their prophet,
was murdered in one. Their houses of prayer are called cemevi.

In the cities they tend to practise their religion in private. Kazim
Genc, an Alevi human-rights lawyer, says he discourages his daughter
from mentioning her faith because Sunni Muslims think Alevi rites
include sexual orgies and incest. Of the AK Party’s 367 members of
parliament, not one has admitted to being an Alevi.

The current government treats the Alevi as merely a cultural group,
not a religious minority. That way it can sidestep its legal
obligation to set aside space in towns and cities for religious
communities’ “places of worship”. When in May 2004 a group of Alevi
in the Istanbul district of Kartal asked for land to be allocated for
a cemevi, the local governor said they were Muslims and Kartal had
enough mosques already. Indeed it has: almost 700 of them. But there
is only one cemevi. The Alevi have taken the case to an Istanbul
court and are awaiting a hearing.

Another case has gone all the way to the Court of Human Rights in
Strasbourg, a journey that the Kurds have taken with some success. It
involves a student who is trying to establish his right to stay away
from compulsory religious classes in school on the ground that they
teach only Sunni Islam. The authorities may have to learn to come to
terms with yet more scary diversity.

–Boundary_(ID_mZ7jZ2DaOer++qFwcUdYrw)–