Author: Kanayan Tamar

SAFAROV’S CASE MIRRORS AZERBAIJANI-ARMENIAN RELATIONS

CENTRAL ASIA – CAUCASUS ANALYST
Wednesday / April 19, 2006

By Fariz Ismailzade

Last week the year-long court process on the case of Azerbaijani army
officer Ramil Safarov, who was accused of murdering his Armenian
colleague Gurgen Markarian during a NATO language course in Budapest
was concluded. The Hungarian court found Safarov guilty and sentenced
him to life imprisonment with the right to apply for amnesty only
after 30 years. The decision was immediately labeled in Baku as
biased and unfair. Surely, there were no doubts that Safarov was the
one who committed the murder (as he himself admitted) and few doubted
that he would be found guilty. Yet Azerbaijanis also hoped that the
judge would take into consideration such factors as Safarov’s personal
background as a refugee from the occupied Azerbaijani areas, the
provocations from the side of Armenian officers during the language
classes and his modest behavior during the course of investigation.

The news from Hungary prompted a very radical reaction in
Baku. Thousands of university students left their classes and
organized ad-hoc street rallies, demanding freedom and a fair trial
for Safarov. Police was totally unprepared to block such a massive
flow of people and could only observe the march. Students accused the
Hungarian court of being biased and unfair towards the Azerbaijani
officer. They claimed that a regular murder case in Hungary would
result in 8-9 years in prison, and that pressures from the Armenian
lobby and government forced the Hungarian judge to impose a much
harsher conviction.

Safarov’s case also brought reactions from Azerbaijani politicians and
media. `We were not able to protect our son!’ exclaimed the
Azerbaijani opposition daily Azadliq. `Making Ramil a hero, and
claiming that he embarrassed the Azerbaijani nation, are two extreme
assessments,’ said Ali Kerimli, the leader of the opposition Popular
Front party.

Safarov’s personal lawyer Adil Ismaylov gave a press conference in
Baku, saying that the defense side would appeal the decision in the
Courts of Appeals and would even take the case all the way to the
European Court on Human Rights until `Ramil receives a judgment that
his action and personality deserve.’ Ismaylov also noted that a series
of court procedures were violated by the Hungarian judge and expressed
hope that these examples would be taken into consideration by the
Court of Appeals.

The majority of Azerbaijanis continue to consider Safarov’s actions as
justified. `Armenians have occupied our lands, raped our women, killed
our children. Why doe nobody focus on that? Why does the world refuse
to talk about that? Ramil has killed an enemy and he did the right
thing,’ said Tarlan Gasimov, a master’s degree student at Baku State
University.

Safarov’s career in the military and his various achievements in
foreign military trainings add respect to him in the eyes of the
Azerbaijani public. Finally, Safarov is widely respected for not
putting up with Armenian officer’s insults and the latter’s disrespect
for the Azerbaijani flag and honor. `When they [Armenian participants
of the training] were drunk in the evenings, they would make insults
towards me and my nation. I was being patient at the beginning, but
when it came to the flag, I could not take it any more,’ said Ramil
Safarov in an interview to ANS-TV on the day of court decision.

Safarov’s case serves as a perfect example of Azerbaijani-Armenian
relations today. Most international organizations and local NGOs
continue to note the rising frustration in Azerbaijani society over
the fruitless and deadlocked peace process. This frustration as well
as the humiliation over the loss of lands is leading to the rise of a
militaristic mood among the Azerbaijani public. Most ordinary citizens
truly believe that the negotiations will not lead to the liberation of
the occupied regions and that war is the only remaining and effective
option. Thus, Safarov’s anger and revenge might be the first harbinger
of future Azerbaijani-Armenian tensions.

These issues are of special importance at the moment as Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev prepares to depart to Washington on April 26 to
meet with his American counterpart George W. Bush. It is widely
expected by the local experts that the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be one of the main issues in the agenda
of bilateral talks. American diplomat Steven Mann, in charge of the
peace process, will be traveling to the region on April 20 to make
final arrangements for the `recent new proposals’ made to the warring
sides. It will be hard for Azerbaijani President Aliyev to make
further painful compromises on the conflict while tensions in the
Azerbaijani society are high and Safarov’s case continues to remain
the number one news in the local media.

leid=4175

LAWYER OF KILLED VAHAN ABRAMYANTS DENIES EVERYDAY MURDER VERSION

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.04.2006 01:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Lawyer of the family of Vahan Abramyants, 17,
killed in Moscow metro, denies the version of murder, based on
everyday circumstances.

“”We flatly deny the version of murder of Abramyants, based on everyday
circumstances, as we believe the crime was committed on ethnic
ground,” Simon Tsaturyan said at a news conference in Moscow. He
reported that along with the killed young man’s father he met with
Moscow metro Prosecutor, “we solved all formal matter and Vahan’s
father was unconditionally recognized as aggrieved party.”

Tsaturyan also reported that the prosecutor’s office has instituted
criminal proceeding according to part 2 of article 105 of the
Russian Criminal Code (murder committed as a member of a group of
two and more persons), with qualifying signs of racial and national
dislike. “However, it is not clear, why witnesses of the crime gave
evidence in the militia and not at the prosecutor’s office,” Simon
Tsaturyan said. He said he was sure the investigation conceals the
video cassette with the record of the crime.

Characterizing the victim, V. Abramyants, Tsaturyan called him a
well-bred, calm young person, “and he could never behave in the way,
as some people tried to present he allegedly was,” reports Interfax.

KIRO MANOYAN: FUTURE GENERATIONS HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEMAND TERRITORIAL COMPENSATION FROM TURKEY

ArmRadio.am
27.04.2006 18:00

“The recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Osman Turkey has not
only a moral, but also a political aspect: Turkey has committed a
crime and it should respond for its results,” said Kiro Manoyan,
member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau.

In his words, Turkey would have recognized the Genocide long ago if
it knew it would have no political implications.

“Despite the fact that Armenia has recognized the current Turkish
borders and the issue of territorial reimbursement is not included
in the agenda of official Yerevan, it does not mean that our next
generations cannot demand compensation for the Armenian Genocide in
the future,” Kiro Manoyan declared.

According to him, today’s policy of official Yerevan in the
international recognition of the Armenian Genocide yields its results.

“It has been recognized by 18 countries already, the European
community is exerting pressure over Turkey regarding this question,”
Kiro Manoyan mentioned.

AZERI PRESIDENT REGARDS NK CONFLICT AS HIS COUNTRY’S MAJOR PROBLEM
Author: Z.Ibrahimli

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 27 2006

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev regards the conflict with Armenia on
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as his country’s major problem. He made
a statement while addressing to the foreign Relations Council which
commenced his first official visit to the United States, Trend reports.

The President voiced his hope that the current talks on
Nagorno-Karabakh will create necessary conditions for just and durable
peace, based on the principles of the international law. “We hope
that the United States as super power and OSCE Minsk Group co-chair
will contribute in the resolution of the conflict,” Aliyev underlined.

Baku is sure that such way of settlement can be peaceable and only
the international rule of law can be a base for talks. The territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan is recognized by UN and all world countries,
except Armenia, he stated.

Russian Ambassador Steven Mann, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair,
who was present in the gathering, told ITAR-TASS that he was gong
to visit Moscow next week for next round of consultations which
his counterparts. He is in optimistic mood, noting his feeling for
‘efficient base for compromise’. The US Ambassador particularly noted
as important principle the refusal from the attempts of complete
resolution of the exiting problems. He clarified that the current
approach was contradictory: movement forward step by step and leaving
some difficult issues for future, ITAR-TASS reports.

MILITARY SOLUTION OF IRANIAN PROBLEM WILL HARM BAKU AND YEREVAN

RIA Novosti, Russia
April 26 2006

Moscow, (Alexei Makarkin for RIA Novosti) – Escalation of the
U.S. conflict with Iran directly affects the interests of its
neighbors.

A military solution may generate serious problems for Iraq, where it
took the political forces several months to agree on the distribution
of government positions. Moreover, a Shiite has again become Prime
Minister, and the Iraqi Shiites have historical ties with their
brethren in Iran. Understandably, political risks in Afghanistan
and Pakistan will markedly grow. The states of the South Caucasus,
also Iran’s neighbors, will face problems too.

The media report that the United States is hoping for Azeri cooperation
– its territory could be used as a potential bridgehead for military
action against Iran (this may or may not happen, but nevertheless
is on the agenda). Ilham Aliyev may discuss this issue during his
U.S. visit this week. The agenda may include the use of Azeri air space
and airfields, and the deployment of U.S. troops on Azeri territory.

Obviously, Baku is not very enthusiastic about this prospect. To begin
with, Azerbaijan maintains close relations with Iran. They signed a
non-aggression and cooperation treaty in 2002. Last December their
representatives attended the inauguration of the gas pipeline –
under a 25 year-long bilateral agreement, Iran will supply 80.5
million cubic m of natural gas a year.

During his recent trip to Baku, Iranian Defence Minister Mostafa
Mohammad-Najjar said: “The security of Azerbaijan is the security of
Iran. Our defence capability is your defence capability.” He seemed
keen to find out the Azeri position on the eve of Aliyev’s visit to
the U.S. It is clear, however, that if Azerbaijan becomes an American
ally in the war against Iran, it will itself become a target for
Iranian missiles.”

Moreover, Iran is the home for at least 35 million Azeris ( their
number being bigger than the population of Azerbaijan itself), many of
them with relatives in Azerbaijan. It is rumoured that the Americans
may try and use the ethnic factor – contradictions between the Azeri
diaspora and the Tehran regime (as Stalin tried to do in 1946). If so,
the U.S. will find it hard to do without Baku. But let’s not forget
that Stalin did not succeed, although the Iranian central government
was much weaker than it is now. In addition, if hostilities break
out, refugees may flood Azeri territory and create serious problems
for the Baku authorities. Finally, the Islamic fundamentalists in
Azerbaijan may use military action to enhance their positions by
espousing anti-American rhetoric.

While Baku is thinking about its position in the Iranian crisis,
Armenia is worried that it may have a negative effect on the
Karabakh problem, in which the U.S. is increasingly trying to act as
a go-between. So far, the point at issue is whether Baku will grant
Karabakh the right to self-determination, and sanction a referendum,
the results of which are already clear. Only in this case will
Armenia agree to concessions, and return to Baku control over the
areas of the country (outside Karabakh), which are now occupied by
its armed formations. For the time being, Aliyev rejects the idea of
a referendum as a matter of principle – if he agrees to it, he will
weaken his position inside the country and give the opposition an
excuse to lash out at him.

Today, the Americans are emphasizing their role of an “honest broker”
at the Karabakh negotiations, and are trying to exert equal influence
on either side. But the question is if they are so interested in Azeri
territory as a bridgehead for military action against Iran, how can
they “compensate” Baku for the tremendous political risks involved?

At the very least, the U.S. could support the Azeri option of the
Karabakh settlement, which Armenia finds unacceptable. At most,
Washington may look the other way if Baku possible attempts to resolve
the issue with military force. The leader of the Armenian opposition
Stepan Demirchyan said with good reason: “The consequences of a war
in Iran will be destructive for the whole region.” He added that a
war in Iran would spell disaster both for Nagorny Karabakh and Armenia.

Although unlikely, even the possibility of such a war causes concern
in Armenia and other CIS nations, which have a vested interest in
peaceful settlement of conflicts on their territory.

Thus potential U.S. military intervention in Iran may not only
result in huge casualties (part of which will be caused by Tehran’s
retaliation), but also exacerbate old seats of tension, which have
been almost extinguished. In short, it could trigger a chain reaction
with unpredictable consequences.

Alexei Makarkin is Deputy General Director of the Center for Political
Technologies.

FIDèLE AU POSTE PAR PIERRE-YVES LE PRIOL. LE RETOUR DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN
Le Priol Pierre-Yves

La Croix , France
26 avril 2006

La journee de commemoration du genocide armenien a donne lieu, lundi, a
une abondante couverture televisuelle. Et les images n’ont pas manque
sur les milliers de manifestants qui temoignaient a Paris, Lyon,
Marseille, comme ils le font chaque 24 avril pour se souvenir de 1915.

Ce qu’on pouvait remarquer, dans cet interet manifeste par les
chaînes, c’est qu’il detonnait par rapport a la discretion mediatique
habituelle. Ainsi l’an dernier, pour le 90e anniversaire des massacres,
l’absence des cameras avait ete quasi totale aux defiles.

Dix mille personnes dans les rues, chaque annee, sans incidents a
deplorer, voila qui ne “fait” pas evenement…

Que s’est-il donc passe pour que ce… 91e anniversaire suscite la
curiosite retrouvee des medias? Tout simplement l’emergence, en France,
d’un nouveau negationnisme. À Lyon, le 18 mars, une manifestation
turque avait conteste – pour la première fois – la realite des faits
de 1915. Un mois plus tard, un nouveau memorial lyonnais (inaugure ce
lundi) avait meme ete profane. Une proposition de loi sera d’ailleurs
examinee, d’ici peu, visant a punir toute contestation du genocide
armenien, au meme titre que les denis de la Shoah.

Ce que nous voulons pointer du doigt, dans ce cas d’ecole, c’est
la difference de traitement radicale etablie entre un “marronnier”
journalistique (un evenement repetitif) et une actualite susceptible
d’emerger au journal televise. Ce n’est en rien le nombre des
manifestants (a peu près le meme d’une annee sur l’autre) qui justifie,
ici, une telle inegalite de couverture; mais uniquement l’enjeu
emotionnel suscite, en l’occurrence, par la contestation turque.

On peut comprendre ce que cette donnee de fait a d’exasperant pour
la communaute armenienne, mais aussi pour bien des Francais de souche.

Sans polemique en cours, sans risques de violence, une simple journee
commemorative n’interesse guère la television. C’est bien une prime
que la “logique” mediatique accorde, ainsi, a la strategie de la
tension et aux vertiges de la surenchère.

–Boundary_(ID_ZNQX12kZXfeOv32NYlo/1A )–

NKR HAS STABLE EDUCATION SYSTEM WHICH FUNCTIONS IN EDUCATION FIELD OF ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 26 2006

YEREVAN, APRIL 26, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. 240 secondary
schools, 5 middle professional institutions, the State University of
Artsakh, 7 non-state institutions of higher education and branches
function at present in the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. The number
of students of schools, middle and higher educational institutions is
correspondingly 22 thousand, 2 thousand and 7 thousand. Kamo Atayan,
the NKR Minister of Education, Science and Culture informed about
this in the interview to the Noyan Tapan correspondent. According
to Minister Atayan, the NKR has a stable educational system which
functions in the educational field of Armenia. “We have no publication
of own text-books, have no separately worked out educational programs
either and cooperate with the RA Ministry of Education and Science,” he
mentioned. According to K.Atayan, the NKR education system has numerous
problems the primary one among which creation of the material-technical
basis of schools is, what they must do with the help of Armenia. The
Minister also mentioned that an important progress was fixed in the
sphere of school constrution: “In this sense the situation is rather
good, almost all the schools of Artsakh have been constructed.” The
Minister informed that the Ministry of Education of Artsakh implements
at present joint programs with Armenia, in the direction of increasing
the quality of education. “Almost all the teachers of Artsakh undergo
a general computer training now, as it is supposed that later the
computer teaching will be put in the process of teaching all the
subjects,” K.Atayan mentioned.

YURI MERZLYAKOV RATED CONSULTATIONS WITH ARMENIAN AND AZERI FMS SUBSTANTIAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.04.2006 00:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The consultations held with the Armenian and
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers in Moscow were very substantial, OSCE
Minsk Group Russian Co-chair Yuri Merzlyakov stated when commenting on
a meeting held last week between the Foreign Ministers of Armenian and
Azerbaijan, Vartan Oskanian and Elmar Mammadyarov within the framework
of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers. “We mulled the details of
further discussions. So, the next round of talks will start shortly,”
Merzlyakov announced, hinting at the next round of talks at the level
of the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers.

According to Merzlyakov, the meeting is to be held in May, while the
term and place of talks are still to be defined. Upon the completion of
the meeting of the ministers the diplomats will mull the opportunities
for organization of a dialogue of the Presidents.

Merzlyakov noted that in early May the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs will
set up consultations in Moscow, and after tour the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict region, reported Trend news agency.

AYAZ MUTALIBOV: U.S. FOLLOWS OWN INTERESTS IN KARABAKH ISSUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.04.2006 00:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The U.S. follows its own interests in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement process, Azerbaijani ex-President Ayaz
Mutalibov stated. In his words, proceeding from the tension over Iran
Washington is not interested in instability in the region. “In this
view the efforts of the U.S. administration to localize the conflicts
are quite understandable. On the other hand, if the U.S. stands for
peaceful settlement of the conflicts available in the South Caucasus,
so why doesn’t it abide by the same principle as regards Iran?” he
said, reported Day.az.

NEWS FROM HADRUT REGION

Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
25 April 2006

4 million 475 thousand drams has been allocated for the refugees
in Hadrut.

260 refugee families displaced from different regions and cities
of Azerbaijan in 1988-1992, who came to live in Hadrut, submitted
necessary papers to the social agency of the regional administration
of Hadrut. The documents were checked and submitted to the Agency for
Migration, Refugees and Re-settlement under the NKR Government. The
agency divided these families into social categories, and priority
is given to the families of killed azatamartiks, the disabled, large
families and single-parent families. 69 families have already received
the aid, which also includes travel and transportation expenses. The
head of the social service of the regional administration S. Hakobian
said the families which are not included in the special groups, will
receive the aid in the nearest future. The NKR government assists in
building houses for refugees. In 2005 houses of 10 million drams were
built for two families in Hadrut.