Author: Nalbandian Eduard

Azeri presence in Iraq, Afghanistan explains increased US aid – Armitage

Mediamax news agency
26 Mar 04

YEREVAN

US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said in Yerevan today
that the suggestion of the US administration to increase military aid
to Azerbaijan in 2005 is explained by the presence of this country’s
servicemen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mediamax quotes Armitage as saying that he “openly and candidly”
discussed this issue with the Armenian foreign minister. Therefore,
the US diplomat said, the “temporary breach of parity” in the
allocation of military assistance to Yerevan and Baku is explained
only by the desire to ease the strain on the Azerbaijani state budget.

The deputy secretary of state stressed that Armenia continues to be
the first country in the world by the per capita volume of American
assistance.

Azeri agency details agenda of senior US official’s visit to region

Assa-Irada
26 Mar 04

BAKU

Speaking at a media briefing, [US] Assistant Secretary of State for
Europe and Eurasia Elizabeth Jones has disclosed details of the visit
of US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to Ukraine, Armenia
and Azerbaijan on 24 March.

“Armitage has been preparing for this visit for a long time. The goal
of the visit is to discuss ways to develop bilateral relations with
top officials of each of the three countries,” she underlined.

Touching upon the Baku meetings, the US official noted that issues of
cooperation in fighting terrorism, political and economic reforms,
energy issues and the situation in the region would be on the agenda.

“It is the first time US officials will be holding such a high-level
meeting in Azerbaijan since Ilham Aliyev’s election as president of
Azerbaijan. From this standpoint, the United States is interested in
studying the priority directions of the new president and his
government’s activity. Relations between Richard Armitage and Ilham
Aliyev lay a good groundwork for talks. Armitage is also expected to
meet leaders of the opposition and NGOs.”

Touching upon the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, Elizabeth Jones said
that a settlement to the conflict would be on the agenda of both the
Azerbaijani and Armenian visits. “By getting familiarized with the
opinion in the region, we want to ascertain how the international
community could support the activity of the [OSCE] Minsk Group [for
the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict],” she stressed.

Interfax
March 25 2004

Armenia to receive World Bank loan for education reform

Yerevan. (Interfax) – The World Bank is to allocate a $52 million
ten-year loan to Armenia for education reform, Roger Robinson, the
head of the Bank’s Yerevan office, told the press on Wednesday.

The money will be disbursed in three installments, with $19 million
allocated in the first four years for high school education reforms.
The $19 million loan, which will be given for 40 years with a 10-year
grace period, was approved on January 22.

If the first stage of reforms is successful, the World Bank will
continue to finance the education system reforms, Robinson said.

The terms and components of the second and third stages will be
determined later, he said.

Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
March 26 2004

Composers! A call to arms

Current events in Australia are crying out to be expressed in music,
Tony Stephens learns.

John Haddock believes that modern composers in the classical
tradition should turn their attention more to current affairs.
“Classical musicians should take their eyes off Beethoven for a
while,” he says.

“The pop music world used to comment on things that concerned them
about the modern world but that doesn’t happen much now. There are
opportunities for classical composers.”

Haddock saw an opportunity with the sinking of the SIEV X in the
Indian Ocean and the rescue of asylum seekers from fishing boats in
Australian waters, including the “children overboard” incident before
the last federal election.

Angered by the whole unhappy episode in Australian history, the
composer wrote the libretto and music for an aria, See My Children
Fly, which he says could come from a modern opera.

He wrote it with a particular singer in mind, the Armenian-born
soprano Arax Mansourian, who feels as passionately about the issue of
asylum seekers as Haddock does.

And tomorrow the Sydney Youth Orchestra joins the musical stand on
the refugee matter when See My Children Fly has its premiere in a SYO
concert at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith.

Mansourian sings the role of an Afghan woman fleeing with her
children from war-torn Afghanistan. She sings of her journey and the
death of her children, using the metaphor of flight drawn from the
age-old Afghan passion for kite flying.

Do not hold my hand.
Do not touch me tenderly,
Or look upon me
With the sad eyes of a stranger.
Do not welcome me.
Do not invite me in.
Do not lock me up
with the detention of your charity.
I am lost.
I am illegal.
I have nothing,
not one thing.
No visa,
no life,
no family.
Here behind the wire
and the dirt
and the mandatory detention.

“The female concerned, her life and the death of her children is my
own creation,” Haddock says. “But the sinking of the SIEV X, in
October 2001 in the Indian Ocean, and the rescue of asylum seekers
from the fishing vessel Olong by the frigate HMAS Adelaide in the
same month is very real.”

The SYO artistic director, Thomas Woods, says the new piece is one of
the most important works to have its premiere in Australia in many
years. “John’s superbly crafted music conveys an emotional, artistic
response to what has come to be described as the refugee crisis. The
artistic angle provides the human element – and allows us to identify
with refugees as people.

“Arax Mansourian is a world-class soprano with a mature,
sophisticated voice, and John has written a work that demonstrates
her abilities to the fullest.”

Haddock put the aria idea to the soprano while working with
Mansourian when she sang the lead role in Tosca last year.

“He gave me the libretto and I thought it beautiful and emotional,”
she says. “And he gave me the music. I liked it.

“John is an emotional person and I’m emotional. A critic praised my
singing in Verdi’s Requiem but said it was unfortunate I was
emotional. How could you not be emotional in Verdi’s Requiem?Anyhow,
I’m proud to be singing John’s aria.”

Haddock joined the Australian Opera in 1989 and has worked with most
leading opera conductors over a wide repertoire. His opera Madeline
Lee won an Australia Council development grant in 1999 and will be
performed for the first time at the Sydney Opera House in October.

Madeline Lee is about a World War II bomber abandoned in the Libyan
desert and the men who set out to recover it. Haddock wrote it with
Michael Campbell, and Michael Lewis and Christopher Lincoln will sing
the leading roles. “It’s about men isolated and facing up to their
past,” Haddock says.

Mansourian, formerly a leading soprano with the Yerevan State Opera
in Armenia, has performed the title role in Aida, Leonora in Il
Trovatore, Mimi in La Boheme, Nedda in Pagliacci, Liu in Turandot,
Desdemona in Otello, Leonora in La Forza del Destino, Elizabeth in
Tannhauser, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana and the title role in
Katya Kabanova. Her daughter, Shoushan Petrosian, is a pop singer in
Armenia and her brother, Tigran Mansourian, a composer. Another
brother, Mher, is an artist in France.

Tomorrow’s concert will also feature Bernstein’s Overture to Candide
and Rossini’s La Boutique Fantasque, both of which are part of the
SYO’s repertoire for their tour to Italy in July.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 24, 2004 Wednesday

Azerbaijan warns against opening of Turkey-Armenia border

By Sevindzh Abdullayeva and Viktor Shulman

BAKU

The European Union and some influential countries are exerting
serious pressure on Turkey to make it open its border with Armenia,
Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev said.

“If Turkey opens the border with Armenia, the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict will become impossible,” he warned on Wednesday.

“In his this Azerbaijan will lose a very important lever and further
negotiations within the framework of the peace process will be
impossible,” the president told journalists.

He believes this will halt negotiations.

“If the interested parties genuinely want the Karabakh conflict to be
resolved peacefully, they have to stop putting pressure on Turkey,”
Aliyev said.

At the same tine, he expressed confidence that Turkey will not give
in to this pressure. “The Turkish-Azerbaijani brotherhood is above
everything else both for us and for the people of Turkey,” he said.

Aliyev also criticised the OSCE Minsk Group for its inability to play
a positive role in the resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

“The position of the Minsk Group is not translated into efforts to
resolve the conflict and boils down to watching the process,” he
said.

Aliyev said he had repeatedly reminded the Minsk Group co-chairmen
about the need to mediate the peace efforts within the framework of
their mandate. “However when we are told that the presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia should come to agreement themselves and the
co-chairmen will support whatever decision they make, it is not
mediation,” the president said.

Evaluating the work of the Minsk Group since its creation 12 years
ago, Aliyev said, “Nothing positive has been done over this time”.

“I cannot say that the Minsk Group was indifferent to the problem. It
tried and tried to contribute to the settlement efforts, but there
has been no result so far,” he said.

Putin pledges ongoing Russian backing for Caucasus settlement

Interfax news agency
23 Mar 04

MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed Russia’s readiness to
contribute to settlement of the problems of the Caucasus region.

“A peaceful political settlement of the existing problems is certainly
in the interests of ongoing development of cooperation between Russia
and Georgia and of stability in the region. Russia is definitely
prepared to continue to promote this vigorously,” Putin said in Moscow
today at a ceremony for the presentation of credentials by foreign
ambassadors, including the new Georgian ambassador in the Russian
Federation Konstantin [Kote] Kemularia.

“Russia has an interest in having close, good-neighbourly relations
with Georgia,” Putin added.

According to Putin, “February’s visit to Moscow by the Georgian
president opened up encouraging prospects”.

Putin said that Moscow “accords great importance to implementing the
political accords (reached during the visit – Interfax note), accords
on international terrorism and on ensuring the security of our common
border”.

Georgian Armenians appeal to Council of Europe over “violation” of rights

Arminfo, Yerevan
19 Mar 04

AKHALKALAKI

The political and socioeconomic crisis in Georgia is a result of
problems that have not been resolved for many years, A-Info news
agency has quoted representatives of the public organizations of
Samtskhe-Javakheti as saying in a message to Council of Europe
Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer.

The representatives of the public organizations point out that at
present, human rights and the rights of ethnic minorities are being
violated in Georgia and the country’s commitments to the Council of
Europe are, in fact, not being fulfilled. The state is not following
the principle of self-government established by the constitution,
which has a negative impact on the development of the country’s
regions.

In this connection, such a situation is particularly topical in
Samtskhe-Javakheti, the message said. The current
administrative-territorial structure and governing policy do not take
into account the peculiarities of the region and do not meet the
people’s needs. In fact, Samtskhe-Javakheti has been pushed out of the
process of governing the country, the letter says.

Programmes on the socioeconomic development of the region, which would
meet the interests of the population, are not being implemented in the
region and the population’s poverty is approaching a threatening
scale.

The authors of the message believe that in order to extricate the
region from the crisis, it is necessary to delineate the
administrative borders of the region and endorse its autonomous status
in the country’s constitution. The representatives of the public
organizations also expressed a desire to discuss regional issues with
Walter Schwimmer.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

March 10, 2004
___________________

EMOTION-DRENCHED SERVICE IS CULMINATION OF WORK FOR NEW PRIEST

By Jake Goshert

Tears came to the eyes of parishioners gathered at St. James Church of
Richmond, VA, on February 22, 2004. It was the second day of the two-day
ceremony, during which Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese
of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), ordained a new priest for the
Armenian Church: Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan.

“Fr. Hovsep has waited a long time for this moment,” the Primate said to
more than 180 parishioners and friends during the service. “He considered
carefully what road God was calling him to. And God’s plan for his life led
him here, to this moment. This is a lesson for us all, for God has a
purpose for each one of us.”

LONG ROAD

Fr. Hovsep, baptized as Tigran, was born in Armenia in 1972, to Ruben and
Tamar Karapetyan. His father was the athletics teacher at the seminary of
Holy Etchmiadzin, and that is where Fr. Hovsep first met and learned about
seminarians. From there he would study in Jerusalem, and then in New York,
after moving to the United States in 1997.

“My journey and longtime aspiration of becoming an ordained servant of God
has become fulfilled,” Fr. Hovsep said. “It is an incomprehensible joy for
me, as I finally and fully receive the call and accept the vow of the holy
priesthood.”

When he was in New York, studying at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary, he was
befriended by Mary Bahadurian, a member of the St. Vartan Cathedral
community. She stayed a constant supporter of his ministry when he moved to
Richmond in 2000, to become deacon-in-charge of the St. James Church. Ms.
Bahadurian served as godmother during the ordination service.

“I feel very special and happy to be his godmother,” she said. “He has
always been quiet, modest, and fun-loving. And as the years have passed he
has become more reflective and committed to his vocation. Tigran’s parents
as well as his young wife are equally pious and sacrificing in their love of
God.”

Also helping in the ordination were Fr. Arakel Aljalian and Fr. Mardiros
Chevian, who served as the sponsors of Fr. Hovsep. Bishop Vicken Aykazian,
diocesan legate, offered a prayer during the banquet following the
ordination.

A FIRST FOR RICHMOND

For most people in the Richmond parish, this was the first Armenian priestly
ordination they had ever witnessed. Yeretzgin Jennifer Karapetyan said the
emotion of the event brought tears to the eyes of many. And, she added, it
brought the Holy Spirit to the eyes of Fr. Hovsep.

“It was very moving. I had seen a tape of an ordination, but this was
incredible witnessing it. A lot of people came up and said they were moved
to tears,” she said. “And you could see something in his face. I saw a
difference, he had an expression of complete humility in the process he was
going through. I could tell he was very emotional.”

Now Fr. Hovsep is in seclusion — traditional for 40 days after an
ordination — at St. Nersess Seminary. He will celebrate his first Divine
Liturgy with the St. James parish on Palm Sunday, April 4, 2004. And when
he does return, Yn. Jennifer, whom he married last year, is ready to stand
by him in his ministry.

“I look forward to being a help to Der Hovsep. The Armenian Church has
become a spiritual light for me, and I feel very fortunate to be embraced by
the community and to be serving,” she said. “The community is excited, too,
to have its own, newly ordained priest.”

— 3/10/04

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable on the Eastern
Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, joined by Fr. Arakel
Aljalian and Fr. Mardiros Chevian, ordains Dn. Tigran Karapetyan as Fr.
Hovsep during a two-day ordination ceremony, February 21 and 22, 2004, at
St. James Church, Richmond, VA.

PHOTO CAPTION (2): Archbishop Barsamian anoints Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan
during his priestly ordination on February 22, 2004.

PHOTO CAPTION (3): Archbishop Barsamian ordains Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan at
the St. James Church in Richmond, VA.

PHOTO CAPTION (4): Mary Bahadurian, godmother of Fr. Hovsep’s ordination,
holds his new priestly vestments during the ordination ceremony on February
22, 2004.

PHOTO CAPTION (5): Archbishop Barsamian joins Fr. Hovsep and Yn. Jennifer
Karapetyan, and Fr. Hovsep’s parents, Tamar and Ruben.

PHOTO CAPTION (6): The Primate blesses Yn. Jennifer Karapetyan during the
ordination of her husband, Fr. Hovsep, at St. James Church in Richmond, VA,
on February 22, 2004.

# # #

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
March 11 2004

Saakashvili, Aliyev reaffirm two nation’s commitments

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili’s March 4-5 official visit to
Azerbaijan, after only Russia and the United States, as well as
signing of a joint Declaration by the two presidents and the
settlement of the problems impeding

the development of bilateral relations, confirmed the continuation of
the relations established between the two governments by former
Azerbaijani and Georgian presidents Heydar Aliyev and Eduard
Shevardnadze in 1993. The Georgian President was welcomed at Bina
Airport by Prime Minister Artur Rasizada, Foreign Minister Vilayat
Guliyev and other state officials.

Talking to journalists at the airport, Saakashvili said that his
visit to Azerbaijan, after only Russia and the United States, proved
that he attached great importance to this country. He noted that he
would discuss a number of important issues with President Ilham
Aliyev. The Georgian President left Bina Airport for the Cemetery of
Honors to pay tribute at the graves of Heydar Aliyev and his wife
Zarifa Aliyeva. The Georgian President was accompanied by Mayor of
Baku Hajibala Abutalibov. Then, visiting the Cemetery of Martyrs,
Saakashvili put a wreath in front of the memorial complex for victims
of the 20 January tragedy and Garabagh war. He made notes in the Book
of Memory.

Presidential meeting
The same day Saakashvili held a private meeting with President Ilham
Aliyev. The two presidents focused on the development of bilateral
cooperation and the continuation of economic relations. The private
meeting was followed by a large meeting with the participation of
government delegations of the two countries. At the end of the
meeting, a number of bilateral agreements were signed. Aliyev and
Saakashvili signed a joint Declaration between Azerbaijan and
Georgia. Then the two countries’ ministers for education and foreign
affairs signed agreements on educational cooperation, as well as on
cooperation between the Azerbaijani and Georgian governments in the
sphere of information. Following the sighing of the agreements, the
two presidents held a joint news conference. President Aliyev said
that it was important to maintain and expand traditional friendly and
fraternal relations between the two neighboring countries. “Our
countries are strategic partners,” said Aliyev. Touching upon
bilateral economic cooperation including the implementation of huge
energy projects, President Aliyev noted that the constructions of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum
gas pipeline would be completed on schedule. He expressed his hope
that the economic projects would give impetus to the expansion of
bilateral cooperation. Saakashvili, in turn, said that the goal of
his Baku visit was to discuss with Azerbaijani state officials the
opportunities for expanding bilateral cooperation, the construction
of the BTC pipeline as well as the pre-parliamentary election
situation in Georgia. Noting that this was his first official visit
to Baku as Georgia’s President, Saakashvili underlined that
Azerbaijan remained as an exclusive partner for Georgia.

Georgia determined to realize Caspian oil, gas projects
Stressing that his country intends to develop bilateral relations in
all spheres, the Georgian President said, “This visit is a rare
opportunity for me to closely get to know the new leader of
Azerbaijan. I have a great respect for him and I’m ready to learn
from him.” Touching upon large energy projects, the Georgian
President stressed that the BTC pipeline was a “vitally important
issue” for his country. “A generation of new presidents, as well as
new energy and new force has come to Azerbaijan and Georgia,” he
emphasized. Saakashvili went on to say that Azerbaijan was not only a
neighboring and friendly country but also a fraternal one for
Georgia. He stated that during his meeting with President Aliyev the
further improvement of relations, the establishment of a unified
tariff system, the removal of a number of economic, customs and legal
impediments and the synchronization of the tax systems were in focus.
“Both countries have an opportunities to become the countries of a
common market and we will achieve our goals,” Saakashvili stressed.
According to the Georgian President, the establishment of a common
economic area between the two countries may lay the groundwork for
integration into Europe. Underlining that the Georgian government is
interested in developing relations with the United States, Russia and
Turkey, Saakashvili stated that the relations with Azerbaijan
shouldn’t be limited to oil pipelines. Touching upon joint energy
projects, the Georgian President said that his country would do
everything to complete the realization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil
pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline projects, which
are issues of energy security for Georgia. Saakashvili noted that he
had information on the attempts by certain forces active outside
Georgia and Azerbaijan to hinder the construction of the BTC pipeline
under the pretext of ecological problems. “However, Georgia’s new
leadership won’t allow these forces to achieve their goals and the
project will be completed on schedule,” he stressed. Asked what kind
of measures will be taken in order to improve the living standards of
the Azerbaijani population of Georgia, the Georgian President said,
“The Azerbaijani population is ‘the most faithful’ to the Georgian
state. Their integration into all socio-political processes should be
ensured. If Azerbaijanis, by maintaining their own language and
culture as well as by learning Georgian, take an active role in the
country’s life, they can be represented in the governmental
structures. Commenting on the issue of granting Armenians living in
Javakhetiya province of Georgia autonomy, Saakashvili stated that
such demands originate not from the local population but from
‘foreign centers’. The Georgian President returned home in the
afternoon on March 5. Prior to leaving Baku the Georgian President
visited the Sangachal terminal and Deepwater Jacket Factory. Briefing
journalists at Bina Airport, Saakashvili said his talks with
President Ilham Aliyev were fruitful for the two countries. Stressing
that the Azerbaijani-Georgian relations would continue to develop,
the Georgian President called the two friendly countries ‘a unified
organ’. Expressing satisfaction with his visit, the Georgian
President voiced his confidence that the construction of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline would be completed on schedule. “No
one should doubt it. We will take measures against those who oppose
the project,” he emphasized.

Biography
Saakashvili was born the son of an educated man in Tbilisi on
December 21, 1967. His father Nikolos Saakashvili is a doctor and his
mother – a historian. After leaving secondary school in Tbilisi with
a golden medal in 1984, Mikhail Saakashvili went to the faculty of
international law of Kiev University. He worked as the head of the
office for the Committee on Human Rights and International Relations
in Georgia in 1993. Then he continued his education at the Strasbourg
University on Human Rights and Columbia University getting a master’s
degree. Saakashvili also graduated from George Washington University
with a PhD. He also attended Florence Law Academy and Hague Academy
of International Law, worked for the Norwegian Institute of Human
Rights and then acted as an advocate at a legal company in New York.
He is married to Sandra Roelofs, who is Dutch. Returning to Tbilisi
in 1995, Saakashvili was elected an MP from the bloc of the ruling
Union of Georgian Citizens, became chairman of the committee on
constitution and legal issues and then the leader of “The Union of
Georgian Citizens” faction in 1998. He represented Georgia at the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 1999 and worked as
the Georgian Minister for Justice in 2000. Resigning from this post
in 2001, Saakashvili took the side of opposition and sharing the
majority of votes with the Labor Party during the municipal elections
the same year, he was elected a chairman of Tbilisi Sagrebulos
(council). Together with his supporters Saakashvili, founder of the
National Movement political union, managed to invalidate the results
of the parliamentary elections held on November 20, 2003 and forced
former Georgian President Shevardnadze to resign. Saakashvili was
elected President on January 4. This is his first official visit to
Baku as Georgia’s President, but he visited Baku to attend the
funeral of Heydar Aliyev before presidential elections in Georgia.

By Azernews Staff

Azeri leader, US general discuss stability in Caucasus

Space TV, Baku
13 Mar 04

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by the
deputy commander of the US European Command, Gen Charles Wald, a short
while ago.

Welcoming the guests, Aliyev said that bilateral US-Azerbaijani
cooperation has been successfully developing in all fields. Aliyev
regretted that there was instability in the Caucasus as a result of
the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani lands and other regional
conflicts. These conflicts have resulted in the eviction of a large
number of refugees from their native lands.

Aliyev expressed his confidence that it would be possible to urgently
settle the conflicts and achieve stability in the region as a result
of the international community’s efforts.

In turn, Wald said that Aliyev’s leadership and efficient policy would
bring about positive changes in the settlement of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.